Soon after they were at the coffee shop, all ten friends went to watch The Phantom of the Opera. They were able to get box seats with the help of Relena's family's connections. All sat quietly in awe of the actors' and actresses' performances except for Duo and Hilde who were whispering comments to each other somewhat loudly and, amazingly, Trowa, but only because he had to turn around and growl at Duo to stop kicking his seat.
After the show they decided to walk on over to a nearby Denny's for dinner. There they talked about the show and how the Phantom dressed wonderfully for being a dead guy and about how life in general had been progressing over the years. Everyone learned about Hilde and her love of dancing and of Ralph and how he started Quintessence Records. Quatre was then reminded to ask Relena if he and Ralph could use the Peacecraft Theatres and she agreed. Once dinner was through they all went their separate ways except for Ralph and Hilde who got into the same cab.
As soon as they reached their apartment, Duo and Heero went straight to bed, tired from the day's excursions. Trowa and Quatre were left together in the living room. The two were seated on the couch. Quatre was curled up against Trowa, his head resting upon the taller boy's shoulder while Trowa's arm was placed languidly around the blonde's shoulders as he rested his head upon Quatre's.
"Today was fun…" Trowa murmured.
Quatre smiled, remembering a conversation that started the same way years ago. "…Parts of it."
"Bad time at work?" Trowa asked, tilting his head to look at Quatre.
Quatre stayed silent.
"Quatre?" Trowa sat up right to get a better look at his friend.
"I had to play for a Quinn party today." The blonde whispered.
Though the answer was barely audible, Trowa heard every word. He grabbed Quatre's shoulders and turned the smaller boy to face him. "What?! And you went? Was he there? Did he do anything?"
"Trowa calm down." Quatre said, looking up at his friend. "Of course he was there. It was his company's party."
"Did he do anything?" The brunette asked urgently.
Quatre shook his head and looked down. "He tried…" When he felt Trowa tense up again, Quatre looked him in the eye. "But nothing happened. He didn't hurt me or anything."
Trowa relaxed only slightly. "Tell me everything."
Quatre sighed. "I went to work and during the whole time I played, I didn't see him anywhere. Soon, the gig was up but just before I left, I went to the bathroom. He came in as well. He apologized and said that he never meant to hurt me, that kind of stuff. He tried to hug and kiss me but I wouldn't let him. I just pushed him away and hit him. Then I ran off."
Trowa clenched and unclenched his jaw as his hatred towards Taylor Quinn grew ten-fold. "And that's it?" Quatre nodded his reply. "You're not planning on taking him back, are you?"
"No! Of course not! I would never! I'm not stupid, Trowa."
The brunette looked down. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry."
Quatre sighed, again. He tilted up Trowa's chin to meet his gaze. "It's been rough on both of us, I know. Believe me when I say 'I would never go back to Taylor Quinn.' Ever."
Trowa nodded. "So that's it then? Nothing happened after that?"
"Well," Quatre chuckled. "After I ran away from Taylor, I ran into Ralph."
Trowa cocked an eyebrow. "Why do always laugh when you say that?"
Quatre laughed even more. "Cause I ran into Ralph. Literally." Trowa got the picture and smiled, shaking his head. "So I invited him to join us today. We went to the coffee shop to wait for you and the others and that's where we got on to talk about what he does and what I do. The usual chitchat that people have when they haven't seen each other in a long time."
"Hmmm." Trowa nodded in understanding. "I was pretty shocked to hear that he owns a record company; Quintessence, none-the-less."
"Me too. He's in New York scouting. He wants to hear me play. That's why I asked Relena if we could use her family's theatre."
"Wow. This could be your big break."
"Yeah…" Quatre trailed off. He bit his lip.
"What's the matter?"
"Well, even though Ralph's my friend and all, it's his job to scrutinize everything I do. I…I guess I'm just nervous that I'll mess up."
"Quatre, you have nothing to worry about. You're a magnificent musician. I'm sure you'll do fine."
Quatre offered Trowa a small smile. "Trowa, do you think…maybe…could you come with me? You know, for support…maybe?"
Trowa smiled back. "Of course I'll go."
Quatre's small smile grew into a huge grin. "Thank you, Trowa." He threw his arms around the taller boy's neck. "You're the best friend anyone could have."
Trowa wrapped his arms around Quatre's tiny waist and gave the blonde a tiny squeeze. They stayed that way a bit longer than needed but neither cared. Eventually, Quatre pulled away, biting his lip once again and looking away.
'I should tell him…' Quatre thought. "Trowa…"
"Yes?"
"Trowa, I…I l-"
But before Quatre could finish his sentence, a loud crash came from inside Trowa's room.
Trowa and Quatre looked at each other before dashing towards the room just in case their friends were hurt. Trowa, being the first to reach the door, threw it open to reveal Heero and Duo sitting on the floor. Duo was rubbing his backside as Heero was rubbing his own knees.
"Are you guys all right?" Quatre asked.
"Uh, yeah. We were just wrestling." Duo grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah. Sorry about that." Heero said, tossing a glare towards Duo. "You guys can continue on. We're fine."
"Right…" Trowa furrowed his brow but decided it would be best not to think of what they were really doing. He shook his head and closed the door.
As soon as the door was shut, Trowa and Quatre were graced by Heero's voice screaming "DUO, YOU BAKA!"
* * *
"So what are you guys planning on doing today?" Quatre asked Duo and Heero as he pulled on a vest.
Last night, there were no more sudden crashes or loud obscenities yelled throughout the apartment. Trowa and Quatre decided to call it in for the night and clambered into bed.
"Well, we thought we would go help Wufei job hunt." Duo said, tying off the end of his braid.
"Wufei's looking for a job?" Trowa asked, poking his head out from the kitchen. He was currently cooking breakfast for his friends.
"Yeah. He said his current job is crap-ass work with low pay. He was hoping to find something in New York or at least someone who would know of a job that required 'skills'."
"Oh. I hope he finds something good. Maybe if he finds something, he and Sally could find a place here and we could visit each other more often." Quatre said, taking a seat at the dining table, followed by Duo.
"That only leaves us then." Heero joined in, stepping out of Trowa's room, his hair damp. "Duo and I would be the only ones not in New York and far from our friends."
"Awww, man. Heero, let's get a job here. We can look for one with Wufei, today." Duo pouted.
"Duo, we have jobs."
"But I wanna work here. We can be near Kitty-Cat and Tro-man."
Heero rolled his eyes. "Then go ask Philip to transfer us here, baka." He said matter-of-factly. The company that the two worked for had stations worldwide so it wouldn't be too much of a problem to move if it were necessary.
"That's right!" Duo brightened. He stood up quickly, nearly causing his chair to tip over. "Can I use your phone?" he asked Quatre.
Quatre nodded and smiled as Duo dashed away. He turned to Heero. "You guys can do that? Just transfer over here?"
Heero nodded. "The company we work for wouldn't want to lose us anyway. They think Duo and I are geniuses."
"That's great!" Quatre beamed. "Now I really hope Wufei finds a job."
Just then, there came a knock upon the door.
"I wonder who that could be. I'm not supposed to meet with Ralph until five this afternoon." He stood and walked over to the door. He opened it and was met with a giant of a man. Quatre gaped. "Oh my…Rashid!"
Rashid smiled at the small blonde before being assaulted with a hug. "Hello, Master Quatre."
Quatre looked up at Rashid, a grin on his face. "What are you doing here? How did you know that I was here?"
"Well, Quatre, I was sent here." Quatre gave Rashid a confused look. "Your father wanted me to find you and bring you to him."
"My…my father?" Rashid nodded. Quatre pulled away and looked at his feet. He shut his eyes at the oncoming memory.
Mr. Winner glared at his son with an ugly sneer on his face, his breathing getting shallower and quicker.
"I will not tolerate such disgusting behavior in this household."
"Dad-"
"No! You are not my son! My son could never be a fuckin' queer!"
"Dad, just listen-"
"No! Get out of my house!"
"But-"
"Did you hear me, dammit?! Get out! GET OUT!" Mr. Winner approached the boy, and grabbed his shirt. "You will never step foot in this house again!!" With that, Mr. Winner raised his free hand and punched the small blonde just below the eye.
"Quatre?" Rashid called gently, worry evident in his eyes.
Quatre looked back up at the huge man. "What…what does he want?"
"He didn't tell me. He just asked me to find you." Quatre looked back down. "I know you left on bad terms, Quatre. I'm sorry you had to go through that. But I'll be there with you this time and if he tries to harm you in anyway, I will stop him. You have my word."
"Thank you, Rashid…" Quatre looked up again as a single tear dripped from his eye. "I'll go."
"And so will I." Trowa said. He had been listening to their conversation and was damn sure that he wouldn't let Quatre go to his father alone.
Rashid simply nodded, acknowledging Trowa as the one who took in his Master Quatre when he needed it the most. "We should be off then. You know that Mr. Winner is a very busy man."
Trowa nodded and turned back into the apartment to get dressed.
"What's going on?" Duo asked after swallowing a bit of eggs. "Where're you going?"
Quatre's heart clenched, afraid of what will happen. "…To see my father."
Author's Notes/Disclaimer: I own a pair of thick framed glasses and not the GW characters or Taylor Quinn.
Ok. So Quatre didn't get to profess his love for Trowa yet. Sorry. And I guess that'll be held up a little more due to the fact that Mr. Winner is back in the picture, temporarily. I can't tell you more than that. It'll ruin the plot. Muahahaha! O_o *sweatdrop*
Anyway, curiousness will surely arise about what happened in Trowa's room when Heero and Duo crashed. I'll make it a side-story when and if I finish this one. And about Heero and Duo's job, don't ask me where they work because I have absolutely no idea if you couldn't tell I was avoiding giving their company a name. Heh. And I told you before that Quatre's father was going to make another appearance in this story so you can't be too surprised. And about the Phantom of the Opera bit. I decided to toss that in since it's my favorite show.
Dang...this story is getting way too long...
Yeah. That's all.