Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or it's characters, not much else to say yet.
Chapter 3
"KITTY!" Precious bounded into Hope's apartment, racing up to a kitten sitting on her sofa. Half-scared by the outburst, the cat leapt off and ran for its life with Precious hot on its tail.
"Precious, this is not a playground, calm down." Trowa said. She immediately stopped and folded her hands behind her back, bowing her head shamefully.
"Oh, it's alright, she can play if she wants." Hope said, swiftly stepping in and kneeling next to Precious. She called out her kitten and pet her, whispering to Precious, "If you pet her and be gentle, she'll love you." As the little girl wandered off with the ball of entertaining fur, Hope stepped into the kitchen and said, "You can have a seat in the living room, I won't be long."
"You sure you don't need some help?" Trowa casually stood in the doorway and watched her busily take out various food items and pans.
"Oh, I'm fine, I've cooked enough dinners for my family and guests that I know how to juggle multiple items at once." She said with a wink, a stack of eggplants in one hand as she readied a pan with the other, shutting the open refrigerator door with her foot while she did.
"You're very organized, most girls I've dated couldn't get out their keys and hold something at the same time without dropping something." Trowa commented in an almost amused tone. Blushing, Hope said, "Well, my father always said I wasn't like most girls. . ." As she cooked, Trowa watched her and she finally noticed his studious eye, getting a little nervous. Finally, he said, "Are you a dancer?"
"I used to be, I took ballet and various other classes when I was younger but it didn't really suit me. . .how did you know?"
"Just the way you moved, very graceful." He said simply. With a giggle, Hope said, "Thank you, I guess. . .are you one yourself?"
"No, I'm an acrobat. I work in the local circus as part of the high flying and knife throwing acts; I'm their clown."
"Clown? You don't seem like the type who would dress up as a fool everyday for a living."
"Things aren't always what they seem. . ." Trowa said in a quieter voice. Hope paused and glanced at him, bowing her head back to her cooking as she said in almost a whisper, "No. . .they aren't." They heard a sudden screech from the living room and both adults ran in, finding Precious holding her hand and whimpering on the opposite side of the room from the kitten. Trowa ran over to her and knelt down, taking her hand and saying, "Precious, what happened?"
"The kitty bit me. . ." She sniffed, pointing to the innocent and confused looking kitten crouched on the sofa. Hope walked over to Precious and took a look at her hand before saying, "Oh, it's just a scratch. Here, I'll get you a Band-Aid and some medicine, okay, sweetie?" Precious nodded and sniffed and Hope hopped down the hall, quickly returning with the promised items. She quickly tended to the girl's injury and gave it a kiss, saying, "There, all better. Be careful with Princess, she gets riled up easily because she's so young and doesn't quite know the difference between play and petting. Do you want to play with some of my toys?" Completely forgetting the bite, Precious bounced and grinned, saying, "Yeah, yeah!"
"Okay, follow me!" She ran down the hall with Precious giggling behind her. Trowa stood slowly, a little surprised by Hope's motherly skills.
She must have spent a lot of time alone. . .maybe an older sibling? Trowa thought, trying to figure her out like he usually did with people he didn't know. She quickly returned and reentered the kitchen to tend to the food. Trowa took his place in the doorway again and watched her more, saying, "You're good with kids."
"Oh, it's nothing! I used to help at a daycare center in my father's building when the teacher was away, which was often. Dinner's ready, I'll get it on some plates and you can retrieve your daughter." Trowa quietly left and searched for his child, wandering up the stairs to the second floor of her apartment. He heard tinkering noises and found his daughter sitting on a wide window seat over looking the lake by the complex. Precious smiled up at her father briefly before returning to her playing. Looking out at the view, he said to the little girl, "Dinner's ready, come downstairs." She happily cheered and jumped at her father, wrapping her arms around his neck, saying, "I like it here! Can we live here now?" Trowa blinked and said, "No, we don't even know Hope. . .come on, get down." Precious let go and scampered downstairs, leaving Trowa to take one last lingering glance out the window. He arrived at the dinner table just in time as Hope came out with three plates balanced on one arm and silverware in her other hand. He quickly took it from her, saying, "Are you a waitress, too?"
"How'd you know? Oh. . .the balancing thing. . .yeah, I had a job with a diner for a couple years."
"You've done just about everything, haven't you." Trowa said in amusement, sitting the plates of delicious looking food on the table.
"Well, I'm always willing to try something at least once! I hope it's edible, I didn't have some ingredients I needed." They all sat down and began to eat, Trowa surprised by how good it actually was.
"It's great. . .let me guess, you were a cook too."
"Heh, nothing gets by you. . ." Hope blushed, shyly picking at her food for a second before taking a bite. Trowa smiled and everyone was quiet for the remainder of the meal. At the end of the meal, Trowa said goodbye and they left, walking slowly down the corridor to the elevator hand in hand.
"I like her, Daddy. . .she's nice." Precious chirped, swinging her arm to make his do the same.
"She is. . ." Trowa agreed.
"Daddy?"
"Hmm?"
"Why don't you ask her to come to our home like all those other ladies?"
"That's different, Precious, it was a date."
"You can date Hope!"
"She's. . .not my type. . ." Trowa said, looking around as they walked out of the building and hit the cold air.
"What does that mean?"
"It's grown up talk."
"Oh. Well, I think she likes you!"
"You do, do you?"
"Yep, she smiled a lot. . ."
"I noticed. . ."
"And she was nice to me, all your lady friends weren't very nice. . ."
"I know. . .someone will someday."
"Hope is here now, what's wrong with her?" Trowa didn't respond as he thought to himself, Nothing. . .that's the problem. . .
"Heero. . ." Relena happily dropped her belongings and ran to her husband, wrapping her arms around his neck as he spun her around. They embraced in a quick yet deep kiss before she sighed and said, "It's good to be home. . ."
"It's good to have you home. How did your journey go?" Heero asked as he picked up her things and carried them into her office with her by his side. As Relena stepped into her office and turned on the light, she said in a tired tone, "It was fine, very long flight and I didn't get a wink of sleep with conference calls constantly and work to be done on my laptop. sigh And more work yet to be done here, I see. . ." Relena reached to pick up a paper from the tall stack on her desk and felt a hand rest on hers.
"You couldn't be of any good at this point, all work and no play make a politician very tired. . .we both need a break. . ." Heero pulled her gently over to him, wrapping his arm around her waist as he breathed in her scent, resting his face her neck. She moaned as the sensation of his breathing tickled her skin, feeling his fingers tracing up her spine that shivered beneath his touch.
"Heero. . ." Relena whimpered, feeling like melting in his arms.
"Let's go upstairs. . ." He whispered in her ear, slowly leading her backwards toward the open door. She tried to push away as she said, "I have so much work to finish, I can't just leave it. . ."
"The world won't sink to ruin, Relena. . .besides, aren't I at least second on your list of most important things?"
"Heero. . ."
"I know, I'm not being fair. . .but I haven't seen you in over two weeks. . .just. . .one night will make me happy, I'll help you with your work in the morning if you have so much to get done."
"But what about your own?"
"Long since done. . .I've been waiting the past hour for you to get home and believe me. . .I was excited to see you. . ." Heero cocked an eyebrow and she shivered, saying as she leaned against his shoulder, "I. . .I suppose one night won't make a big difference. . ."
"It will to me." Heero whispered with a smile, picking her up and carrying her the length of the stairs to their bedroom, quickly closing the door to continue with his plans in private.
Early the next morning, sometime around 5, Heero woke to the sound of a telephone ringing incessantly by the bed. With a moan he hugged Relena closer to his body as she also awoke.
"Don't answer it." Heero groaned. She snuggled into his arms and said, "Wasn't planning on it."
"Man, they haven't answered their phone all night, where are they? They better still be alive, for your sake!" Duo said angrily, turning to glare at Trowa who sat on the living room couch with his arms folded, looking sleep deprived like the others.
"Why won't you believe me? Look, I told you, it wasn't me, it was some woman who stole my costume yesterday before I went on at the circus." Trowa growled, rubbing his forehead slowly with his fingers.
"Then where were you last night, huh? Why won't you tell us that!" Duo began to raise his voice.
"Duo, please, Precious is asleep. . ." Trowa pleaded, feeling a migraine coming on. Duo cleared his throat and said, "You're lucky there's a little girl around, I'd curse you out otherwise!"
"Duo, perhaps he's telling the truth." Rachel said as she walked into the room with some cups of coffee. Trowa looked up at her and said, "Why would I lie to you? I don't have anywhere else to live and with Precious I couldn't live on the run, it wouldn't be fair to her."
"Then tell us where you were!" Duo demanded, close to raising his voice again. Trowa kept his mouth wired shut as he looked away from his questioner.
"Trowa, we're your friends, we just want to clear your name before. . .higher authorities decide to take action. Why can't you tell us where you were?" Rachel asked, concerned for her friend. He still wouldn't respond as a look crossed his face briefly that made Rachel wonder.
He never shows his true feelings in situations like this. . .something's really bothering him. . .alright, time to take some actions of my own. Rachel thought as she watched Trowa closely. She took Duo's arm and whispered, "Can you check on Precious? I don't want her to hear something and get the wrong idea. . ." Duo frowned for a second before sighing and stalking off toward the stairs. As soon as he disappeared, Rachel sat next to Trowa on the couch and said, "Trowa, what's going on, you seem. . .troubled by something."
"Can't you see your boyfriend bugging the heck out of me?" Trowa said, slouching back in his seat, staring blankly at the hallway.
"That's not what's bothering you. . .now is it. . ." Rachel touched his arm and he snapped his vision over to her.
"What are you talking about." He said, trying to deny anything else was wrong.
"It's just a simple question, we want to know where you were. It's not that big of a deal, is it?" Rachel asked, frowning in concern as she leaned toward him, his face turning away from her.
"I didn't do it, my word should be enough for you." Trowa said in aggravation. The phone suddenly rang and Rachel sighed, getting up to answer it.
"Hello?" Rachel said tiredly, glancing back at Trowa who wasn't paying attention.
"Oh Rachel, hello. Is Trowa there somewhere?"
Hope. . .Rachel thought, turning away from Trowa's view.
"He's indisposed at the moment, may I take a message?"
"Yes, he left his cell phone at my apartment last night, I was just wondering whether he'd like me to drop it off at your place or. . .he'd rather come and get it."
"Last night?" Rachel whispered.
"Oh, we bumped into each other at the grocery store and I invited him and his lovely little girl over for dinner. Well, I don't have much time to talk, I have to visit my father's work for him in a few minutes."
"I'll give him the message, I'm sure he can pick it up. Thank you for calling."
"No problem! Have a good morning."
"You too, good day." Rachel hung up the phone and raised her eyebrows briefly before putting on a poker face and turning back to Trowa. He glanced at her and said, "What?"
"Nothing, just a call for you. . ." Rachel said, slowly walking back over to him. He uneasily sat up straight and set his hands on the couch as he said, "Who. . .was it?"
"I think you know. . ." She said, lifting a brow as she fought the urge to smirk. Trowa looked nervous as he said, "No, I don't, tell me."
"It was Hope, she said you left your cell phone at her place last night. . ." She said, raising a hand and examining her nails casually.
"It's not what you think, honest." Trowa shot up suddenly. Rachel raised her eyebrows in surprise and said, "So you didn't just have dinner with her?"
"I. . ." He turned away and said, "Look, it's not a big deal, okay? Don't go telling everyone."
"Gosh, Trowa, you made such a big fuss over not saying and now you say it's no big deal? One might think it's a bigger deal than you let on. . ." Rachel folded her arms and stared at him expectantly.
"Just. . .let it go." Trowa started to walk away when Rachel said, "You know the others are going to insist on knowing of your whereabouts. . ."
"And who's going to tell them?" Trowa glared at her.
"I don't know why you're making such a big deal over this, it was just dinner. Unless. . .it meant more to you. . ."
"It was just dinner. . .nothing more. . ." Trowa said, walking toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Rachel walked after him.
"I need some fresh air." He said as he grabbed his coat. Rachel rested her hand on the door and stared at him, saying, "You can't just leave, people are probably going to recognize you and you're going to get in a heck of a lot of trouble!"
"You make it sound like I can't take care of myself, Rachel. I lived through a war just taking care of myself, I think I can handle some angry citizens." Trowa said, sounding insulted. He grabbed her arm and pulled it away from the door, reaching for the lock to open the door.
"Trowa, please. . ." Rachel begged. He quickly stepped out and closed the door, putting on his coat as he walked down the hallway thinking, Why does everyone always want to know how I feel? Why can't they just leave me alone. . .this is all that stupid woman's fault, if I hadn't accepted her invitation. . .why did I? I have to set things straight; it was nothing, just dinner. I'll just go over to her place, get my phone, and say goodbye, forever. Then it'll be over, I won't see her again. . .it's for the best. . .right?
