Quatre woke to the sound of breaking glass. Eyes snapping open, he lifted his head to see Trowa watching him with one eyebrow raised. Blinking, Quatre followed his gaze to see two of his sisters standing in the doorway, the lamp that had sat on his desk lying broken on the floor. Blushing furiously, Quatre glanced at Trowa who smirked slightly, before looking to the girls again. A minute passed as the four stared at each other, then the screaming started.
Folding her arms over her chest, Ireia glared at Trowa and Quatre. "What's going on, Quatre?" When the blonde boy exchanged glances with Trowa again, she took an angry step forward. "You answer me, Quatre! What is this boy doing in your bed!"
Since Quatre didn't seem ready to 'play it by ear', Trowa decided to speak up. "Until you came crashing in," he said, voice monotone, "I was watching Quatre sleep." Ignoring her outraged gasp, he looked down at Quatre who stared at him for a second in surprise at his gall, then covered his mouth, stifling a giggle.
"I want to know what's going on, right now!" Ireia shouted, starting to turn red. "Quatre, stop laughing this minute! Your behavior is intolerable. I--"
"No." Trowa glared at the girl, giving Quatre a slight squeeze around the waist when he looked as if he was going to say something. "Quatre will explain in his own time, or not at all. I think you should leave."
"How dare you! Who do you think you are?" She looked from the angry green-eyed boy to Quatre who was watching her, bottom lip held between his teeth. "Quatre?"
"Ireia, I...I didn't want you to find out like this. Can you wait until after breakfast? I promise, I'll explain everything then."
"At least let me get dressed before you start questioning us," Trowa said, eyes narrowed as he sat up carefully. The blanket fell down, exposing his bare chest but hiding the fact that he still had his pants on. As it was, it had the effect he'd hoped for, causing the girl to gasp in shock and blush bright red before quickly turning her back on him. Grabbing the other girl who was still staring from the doorway, she fled the room with an affronted cry.
Getting out of the bed, Trowa crossed the room, shutting the door firmly. Then he turned back to Quatre who was practically sagging with relief at having postponed the confrontation. "You should get a lock for your door," Trowa said, crossing the room to sit on the edge of the bed. "Although they were definitely shocked so your plan worked well."
"You can say that again," Quatre said with a small smile, pushing the covers back as he sat up. "I'm glad you spoke up, Trowa. I froze. I couldn't think of a thing to say. When I do explain, I'm going to have to plan what I'll tell them ahead of time. I'm really bad at playing it by ear." Suddenly, he smiled. "But you were great! When you told her you were watching me sleep I thought Ireia's eyes were going to pop out of her head!"
Smirking when the blonde boy laughed, Trowa leaned forward a bit, catching his eyes. "I was watching you sleep."
"Oh." Blinking at him for a moment, Quatre blushed. Scooting off the bed, he hurried to his dresser. "Hope I didn't snore," Quatre said quickly as he grabbed some clothes.
"You didn't." Turning, clothes in hand, Quatre's eyes widened as he watched Trowa put on his turtleneck. Catching the boy staring, Trowa raised an eyebrow, smirking when Quatre glanced away abruptly. "Do you want me to join your family for breakfast?"
Turning in surprise, Quatre frowned. "Of course. No matter what, we always act very civil at mealtime. In fact," he smiled wryly, "it isn't often that any of my sisters get angry or upset. I think I'm going to see a new side of them in the next week."
"What about you?" Trowa asked, looking over his sweet face. "Do you get angry often?"
With a soft laugh, Quatre nodded. "All the time. I guess that's why they don't pay much attention to what I have to say. I'm the only son, and the youngest child, so they tend to treat me like a child despite my age. If I get angry I'm just 'throwing a tantrum'. It doesn't matter if I have a right to be angry." Looking over Trowa's expressionless face, Quatre grimaced. "I do sound like I'm whining. I'm going to change, I'll be right back."
.-.
Breakfast was interesting, to say the least. While many of Quatre's sisters had been married years ago, nine of them still lived with him. And as rumors fly among close siblings, all were watching the stairs when Quatre and Trowa came down. Nodding to the table in general, Quatre grabbed Trowa's hand.
"This is Trowa," he said quickly, gesturing for him to sit at a spot conveniently left empty beside Quatre's seat. "These are my sisters. You'll have a chance to get better acquainted after breakfast."
His was the last word said. He couldn't help his urge to pick at his food and thereby postpone the confrontation. When the tall boy beside him touched his shoulder lightly, he turned. With a significant glance at the boy's plate, Trowa arched an eyebrow and smirked. Sighing, despite the smile that made its way to his face, Quatre finished his breakfast.
Looking up, he found that the girls hadn't eaten much either, all nine were watching him with expressions that ranged from curiosity to anger, to betrayal. Meeting Ireia's pointed look, Quatre pushed away from the table and stood up, tossing an appreciative smile to Trowa when he stood as well. "We'll be waiting in the den when you've all finished eating." Knowing he had about two minutes before they gave up all pretense of being interested in food, he grabbed Trowa's hand and quickly left the room.
.-.
Smiling at Trowa, who squeezed his hand quickly before releasing it, Quatre stood and walked to the center of the large den, turning slowly to look at each of the girls before stopping to face Ireia. Taking a deep breath, he began.
"This is Trowa Barton, my lover. We've been seeing each other for a while and we decided we had to tell you now, especially since the wedding is only a week away. I'm very sorry I hid this from you..." Mustering up his most soulful expression, he looked at his sisters. "I was afraid you wouldn't accept the fact that he was a boy. Last night I decided to tell you. That's why I had him stay. I didn't mean to shock you this morning," he looked at Ireia, "but I was afraid if I let him go last night I would lose my nerve." Stopping, he gave them a chance to respond.
Ireia, who was now the oldest sibling in the house, stood, no doubt having been selected to be the voice of her sisters. "What I don't understand," she said slowly, "is why you thought we wouldn't accept him. Have we ever done anything to make you think we were prejudiced? That the sex of a person is more important than whether or not there is love? Do you have any idea how much it hurts to think that we almost forced you to marry Dorothy when you were in love with another?" Glaring at the wide-eyed boy, Ireia nodded sharply. "You should have told us as soon as you realized you were in love. It hurts to know that you wouldn't share something so important with us." Looking Trowa over critically, she frowned. "While I'm not sure if I approve of this boy, the fact that he's your lover makes whether or not I like him a moot point." Silence reined for a minute or two, then she sat down. "I don't know how we're going to explain this to Dorothy. She's been really excited about the wedding."
Looking away as he remembered the way his sisters had not believed him, Quatre moved to sit beside Trowa on the small couch. For some reason, Dorothy had made a good impression on his sisters and they'd been very unhappy when he'd accused her of plotting his murder. Thinking of the way her voice had sounded when she'd talked about his death, Quatre glared. He certainly would not worry about how to break the news to her.
Silence continued until Trowa spoke, looking around the room at the girls. "Quatre told you my name, but he didn't tell me what your names are."
.-.
"It went great!" Quatre cried happily, shutting his bedroom door and rushing to give Trowa a hug. Pulling back, he grinned up at the tall boy. "I can't believe they actually gave you permission to stay here. And they didn't even suggest marriage! I had no idea they were so...modern in their views. I was sure they'd throw a fit when they found out I had a lover and wasn't married yet. God, I should have just done this to start with and not bothered trying to get them to believe me about Dorothy."
"Who is she?" Trowa asked as they sat next to each other on the edge of the bed. "Why do your sisters like her so much?"
"I think they like her because she has a very strong personality. She says whatever she thinks without worrying about how people will react. I," Quatre looked down in self-disgust. "I admired her for that."
"How long have you known her?"
"Not very long. Actually, it's only been about a month now."
"As protective as your sisters are, I'm surprised they would think to marry you to someone they've only known for a month."
Looking at Trowa, Quatre nodded, brows drawn together. "I wondered about that myself. I guess it's because I'll be inheriting soon and they'll be getting married and leaving. I think they are in a hurry to set me up with someone so they won't have to worry about my being alone. It's nice to know they care, but I wish they had more faith in me. They'll probably always see me as the baby, the youngest child, only son, and runt of the litter."
"I don't blame them for feeling that way," Trowa said, smirking when Quatre shot him a sharp look. "I've known you for one night, and I still feel the emotions you call up in people. I don't know if it's the way you look, or how kind and trusting you are, but you have an air about you that screams, 'I'm fragile and sweet, protect me.' " Now the pale boy was glaring in anger.
"I am not fragile," Quatre said sharply, giving Trowa a warning glare. "I can't help it if I'm a short blonde with blue eyes, blame my mother. Just because I'm not as strong as you doesn't mean I'm weak. And kind? How kind am I, if I wanted to kill that man last night? And I was ready to do it, too."
"That doesn't mean you're not kind Quatre. You were angry. And I didn't say you were weak." Enjoying the way his pale blue-green eyes sparked, Trowa smiled. "And I wasn't complaining about your appearance. You look very nice." Quatre blushed and Trowa's smile widened a bit. "I was just explaining why people treat you like a piece of precious china. But don't bother worrying about it, Quatre. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't change your spirit. And your spirit exudes sweetness."
"You make me sound like a saint," Quatre muttered, shaking his head as he looked at his hands where they were folded in his lap. "I'm not perfect and I wouldn't want to be."
"Not a saint," Trowa said slowly, eyeing the boy's downcast expression. "Saints don't kiss like you do." When Quatre turned to look at him in surprise, Trowa leaned forward and their lips touched.