Howdies, Beauty of Venus here!
Well, you know what sucks? A couple days after uploading the last chapter for this story, my computer decided that it wanted to have an affair with a virus. Now taking into consideration that I figured my computer would always prefer girls(since it has me) that it wouldn't cheat on me with a Dr. Watson Postmodern Debugger virus thingy. Well, once I finally broke them up, our relationship was never the same. Like for instance, it decided that I didn't need to use certain items and also that it wanted to continue seeing his Virus buddy. So I had to become a murderer and kill Dr. Watson. Yes, I'll admit it. I did kill the virus dude in a jealous rage. But once done, my sweet laptop decided that I was the better companion(or at least the stronger one). But I am sorry for the lateness in this next chapter nonetheless . Man.. I really had something else to say, but I just can't remember it.. Oh well...
On the with the story...
The car ride back to the apartment was silent. A little too silent for Minako. She would steal glances at her silent driver every so often just to make sure that he was okay. She knew that something had been up with Quatre and that other guy. She felt the tension was before she even made it to the staircase. She had walked as quietly as she could so that she wouldn't disturb whatever had made the tension so strong in the air and had come across the two men standing at the bottom of the stairwell. Her first thought was that they were probably enemies or something until Mina got the look on Quatre's face. The blond seemed to be battling with something internally and was looking at the other man in... shame? Sympathy? Love? She couldn't tell but it was enough to convince her that maybe these two men had something else between them. And Why not? Mina thought flippantly. That other guy was almost a 9 on the hunk scale. Taking a deep breathe, she stole another glance at the quiet blond next to her. He seemed to still be lost in thought, not even noticing her presence at all. She wanted to help him with what was bothering him. She wanted him to talk to her about it. She may not have the perfect love life but she could still give great advice. She had figured it out what had went on between those two. She had stood at the stairs until Quatre made her presence known. She had hoped that with her presence she could either cause a distraction or an exit point in the conversation the two men were having. When Quatre looked up at her, he seemed relieved and thankful but didn't make a move to leave with her as she walked by. Once she got outside the door, she put the box into the car and shut the trunk. As always her curiosity got the better of her and she had found herself back at the door listening intently. She had heard Quatre apology and the statements that followed. If Only. Her new blond roommate had been reduced to using the "if only" statements. If only I had been there. If only I was better. If Only. He was blaming himself for something and from what she had found out it was for a broken relationship. She gave her new friend a look of sympathy and frowned slightly. Quatre was a good looking guy and he had more good points than bad, so why would someone try to hurt him. There had to be a reason or a motive for someone to even think about hurting Quatre and he had to be a good one. At least there had better be a good one. Mina thought venomously. She wasn't one to see people get hurt, especially not her friends, no matter how new they were. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of someone 'huffing'. "Fine then. Ms Aino if you would please be so kind as to open your car door and exit the vehicle. We are at the apartment and I do wish to begin the treacherous task of bringing the boxes up the stairs." It was then that she realized she had been staring at him the whole time she was lost in thought. She blushed slightly and opened her car door. Stepping out, she realized what he had said.
" Excuse me? Did you just call me Mis Aino, again?" She turned to give him her best glare. The other blond sent her a questioning glance before moving to the back of the car. " Well, you wouldn't answer to anything else." She grinned sheepishly. She was deep in thought, so she was pretty sure she had ignored the first couple of times he had called her. "Anything else?" She raised an eyebrow at him, deciding that she would have some fun with him before they went up stairs. When Quatre, didn't answer her she walked over to where he was pulling boxes out of the car. " So what exactly did you call me?" She saw him shrug and answer her with a 'matter of fact' voice. " I tried Mina a couple of times and even went to using Minako once or twice." " Oh was that it?" She watched his face as his eyebrows pulled together and his lip poked out slightly. He was trying to figure out what she was up to, but she wouldn't let him get the chance. " Are you sure? Because I was sure I heard you call me by something else." She looked at him and leaned onto the box he was about to lift up. "I could have swore you called me by... well... you should know." When she said this statement she gingerly started making circular patterns with her finger on his arm. She almost laughed at how his face went from confused to surprised and then back again. "Mina... I'm, uh, not quite sure... that I know exactly what you are talking about." He looked away as he said this and Mina couldn't quite tell if he was either uncomfortable or embarrassed. Probably Both. She frowned slightly and copied the face he made earlier. "Really, Quatre?" She let her voice drop to just above a whisper and smiled sweetly. "Because I'm pretty sure you do..." She kept her eyes trained on his face even though she felt his arm move out from under her teasing finger. She fought the instinct to pull her head back as he slowly brought his face towards hers. The grin that was slowly spreading across his face quickly mesmerized her. " You know what? I do believe I did call you by something else.." He slowly brought his face to his until his mouth was close to her ear. The heat unwilling rose to her cheeks as she felt his breath on her ear. His voice was so soft that she had to strain to hear his words. "I called you..."
She should had seen it coming. After all she did ask for it, but the embarrassment she felt was nothing compared to the shameful fact that she actually enjoyed him being that close. That, and plus she was mad. Really mad. One minute she was enjoying how his breath was tickling her ear and was actually waiting to hear his next words when the next thing she knew she was flat on the ground; face first. She answered the slight knock on her door with a gruff "Go away!". "Mina, please I'm sorry. I didn't expect for you to fall. It was a joke." Didn't expect her to fall? HA! That was funny. He had waiting until he knew that she would be distracted and then yanked the box away that she was leaning on. That was how she had found herself on the ground. "Mina, please come out." "No! I can't believe you did that. You made me fall and then laughed." She heard him cover up another laugh with a cough. " And you're STILL LAUGHING." "No I'm not." By the way he said it she could tell that he had a smile on his face probably the size of Mt Fuji, which made her even madder. He cleared his throat. "Mina, I'm sorry I shouldn't be laughing, but you..." He was interrupted by the loud ringing of the telephone. She listened to his footsteps as he walked to the kitchen and barely heard his muffled 'hello'. She still couldn't believe that he did that. She could still hear his teasing laugh he gave when he had helped her off of the ground. He tried to muffle his laughter with hand as he followed her up the stairs to the apartment. Each time that he had asked her if she was alright he would choke back another laugh. Mina crossed her arms over her chest and huffed loudly. "Mina?" She ignored him. "Mina, you have a phone call." She decided she was going to ignore that, too. "Mina?" God, He doesn't give up! She covered her ears with her hands, "La la la.. I'm not listening" She was answered with a type of silence that only meant she was starting to get on his nerves. Good! He deserves everything his getting. "Fine, then. I'll just tell Ms Mizuno that you are indisposed." Hearing Ami's name caused Mina to forget that she was mad and rush to her door. Swinging it opened she was greeted by a phone. Quatre had it waiting for her. She snatched it away, murmured a 'thanks', and slammed her door shut. Ami was their informist. If anything was going to go down they would hear about it through Ami first.
Standing yet again beside the closed door, Quatre shook his head. Mina was definitely something else. First, she had tried to flirt with him by the car. He had caught on to her mind game when she had touched his arm. So to teach her a lesson, he flirted back and decided to finally out the knowledge Duo gave him to use. When he knew that she would be the most distracted, he simply just shifted the box to the right. She didn't catch herself like he had thought and she had ended up on the ground. Then she got mad at him for laughing. Quatre chuckled again softly remembering how her face looked with she stared at him in shock, oblivious to the dirt on her nose and chin. Turning away from the door, he heard a muffled gasp and was almost tempted to stay and find out what the blond was being told on the phone. Almost. Probably just girl talk. Somebody must have broke up with somebody. Shrugging off his curiosity, Quatre headed towards the door. While trudging back down the stairs, Quatre prayed silently that none of his stuff was stolen. I can't believe I forgot about it. I bet somebody is trying on my clothes right now. He reached the front doors and noticed a rather tall brunette walking towards the doors as well from the outside. He opened the door and held it so that she could pass through. He wasn't too terribly startled to find that she was taller than him. Most of his friends were taller than him. "Thanks, Mister." Her voice wasn't soft and light like Mina's, but rather had a small hint of ... gruffness? Quatre stared after the brunette for a little before making his way through the doorway. When he got to his car he silently thanks Allah for his boxes being all present and accounted for. Grabbing one of the heavier ones he turned and headed back towards the door. He carried the box up the stairs and to the apartment. Shifting it carefully in his arms he tried the doorknob and found it locked. Sighing he reached into his pocket and confirmed that he had left his key inside. She's probably still sulking. I'm not even going to chance knocking because she'll probably just laugh and keep me out here. Setting the box down beside the door, Quatre decided that he would leave the boxes there and then when she wasn't mad anymore, move them into the apartment. The boxes are safer here than they are out by my car. Quatre turned and made the trip back down the stairs. "That's gonna suck, y'know." Quatre had been lost in thought and didn't even realize that he had made it back to the front doors. Turning his head sharply, he recognized the person immediately. "I can't help it. The elevator's broke." He watched silently as his 'friend' made his way to over, his long braid swaying slightly.
"Well... would you like a hand?" Quatre's jaw tightened slightly as he tried to sort out his emotions. Here in front of him was the guy who stole the one thing he loved more than anything, he guy who had been his best friend for years, the guy who was sporting a nose bandage because he had lost his temper. Quatre was angry, but not at his friend. No, I'm more upset with myself. I brought all of this on me. It's my fault and all Duo ever did was be there when I needed him and whenever Trowa needed him. Swallowing back a lump that had formed in his throat, Quatre looked at the ex pilot again. "Sure, Duo." Quatre smiled slightly, sadly "I could use the help."