A/N: No, this is not an update for any of my WIPs. This is, in fact, a new story. I apologize for not updating my current projects. To be honest, every time I start to update any of them I find myself just staring at the screen: I feel so disconnected from the characters and stories. I'm not abandoning them, but I'm taking some very solid advice to write what I am inspired to write at the moment. I will return to those fics, sooner rather than later, but I just need to get back into the flow of writing again.
A/N #2: This is an epic fic, in that it spans 13 years. It is split into 6 parts, each with multiple chapters. Each part will feature a different character POV and will run in roughly chronological order (Parts 3 and 4 are concurrent-ish).
A/N #3: Chapel Hill=Carolina=University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Warnings: AU, Angst, language, yaoi, lots of pairings (1x2, 2x3, 2x4, 2x5, 1x5, 2xH, 3x4, 1x3, 3xRalph) melodrama - probably I should add this warning to everything I write...
Special thanks to my beta Artemis Fenir.
This Time
Part 1: Chapter 1
Fall 2001
"That's everything? Do you have enough towels? What about toothpaste - did you pack -"
"Yes. I have towels. I have toothpaste. I have deodorant. I have the coffee maker. I have the computer and the power cable and the cell phone and that charger. I have everything I need."
Catharine looked around the dormitory with a frown.
"Are you sure? Because Target is just down the road and we could -"
"If I need something I'll go and get it. There's a bus I can take."
Trowa was exasperated with Catharine's overprotective nature. He appreciated it, just a little, but at the moment he was exhausted and all he wanted to do was unpack and then sleep.
"Are you tired? Do you feel dizzy or -"
"No. I'm tired because we drove eleven hours. I don't feel dizzy."
Catharine regarded him warily.
"It's only been a two weeks since you got out of the hospital. Maybe it's too soon for you to -"
"Cathy, it was a concussion. I didn't have surgery. My life was never in danger. It was just -"
"You were unconscious for two days! Your life was in danger and it wasn't just anything." Her eyes started to tear up and Trowa sighed.
"I'm sorry, Cathy. I didn't -"
"Oh shut up." She hugged him tightly. "I love you."
"Am I interrupting anything?"
Trowa pulled away from his sister.
A long haired boy was standing in the doorway. He was dressed in well-worn shorts and an even more well worn t-shirt. His messy bangs, the long braid of hair and the old-fashioned sunglasses perched on his forehead all seemed to indicate that he was a total burnout.
The boy's eyes landed on Catharine and he smiled, a charming expression that transformed his entire face from casually good-looking to irresistible.
"I knew this was a co-ed floor but I didn't realize the rooms were co-ed. How did I get lucky enough to have you as a roommate Ms...?"
Catharine rolled her eyes but one corner of her mouth tipped upwards.
"My little brother is your roommate." She pointed to Trowa.
The boy dropped two duffel bags on the floor carelessly and settled a backpack on top of them.
"Well, in that case, pleased to meet ya! I'm David Maxwell - but I only answer to Duo. You must be," he turned to look at their names on the door, " Trowa Barton?"
Trowa reluctantly shook hands with him.
"So, do you plan on visiting Trowa often? Because if you do maybe you could give me your number? Just so we can coordinate our schedules?"
Duo winked and Catharine snorted a laugh.
"I don't date minors, Duo."
"That's okay - we don't have to date. Just a few evenings spent enjoying my talented hands and your -"
Trowa cleared his throat.
"Sorry, you might want to cover your ears for this next part." Duo winked at him.
Trowa hated him.
"Anyway," Catharine said before Duo could continue.
She looked over at Trowa.
"You've got everything?"
He nodded.
She kissed his forehead and then turned to Duo again, a look of amusement on her face.
"I'm trusting you with my brother's life. If you let anything bad happen to him I'll come after you?"
Duo smirked.
"Is that a promise? Will there be spanking involved?"
Catharine rolled her eyes.
"Don't forget to call me," she gave Trowa one last instruction before leaving.
Duo was silent for all of ten seconds.
"Dude, your sister is smoking hot."
Trowa glared at him.
"I'm not insinuating that you think she's hot - I'm just admiring from a distance." In fact, Duo had craned his neck and was clearly watching Catharine walk down the hall out of their dorm.
"Where do I go to request a room change?"
Duo's jaw dropped and he turned to look at Trowa. He stared at him for a minute before starting to laugh.
"Oh man, this is going to be fun!"
Trowa disagreed but decided to unpack. He half-expected, half-wanted Duo to argue about getting stuck on the right side of the room, but the long haired boy seemed perfectly content. He even started humming as he unpacked his own gear.
"So, where ya from?"
Trowa contemplated remaining silent but decided that if he answered Duo he might get bored and leave him alone.
"New York."
"What brings you down south?"
"School."
"Funny - that's what brought me here too. What are the odds?"
Trowa turned to glare at him, but Duo just smiled back and even chuckled.
"You know, you didn't pay for a single - which means you've got to have a roommate. You might think you got the short end of the stick with me - but buddy, you are dead wrong. I'm an awesome roommate."
Trowa arched an eyebrow at that.
"It's true - and I've got all year to prove it."
All year. Trowa didn't think he would make it all day.
"But I do have a few rules, to help ensure roommate togetherness or whatever."
"Really?" Trowa found it hard to believe this boy followed any rules.
Duo smiled at him and held up one finger, ready to tick off points.
"Pick up your shit or at least shove it under your bed."
"Okay," Trowa said when it was clear Duo was waiting for a response from him.
"Masturbate in the showers - trust me, it's more hygienic and neither one of us wants to wake up to the other one rustling his jimmies, right?"
Trowa glared, refusing to give Duo the pleasure of getting to him.
Duo held up a third finger.
"Sock on the door means keep out, okay? There was some confusion on that with my last roommate and I want to make sure we're clear."
Trowa continued to glare.
"Drugs - I'm not judging, you do what you do, but don't get high in the room. Also please, please tell me that you don't like country music."
Trowa shook his head in the negative but at Duo's look of relief he decided to start listening to it.
"Thank God. Oh - and I'm gay. I promise not to molest you in your sleep or anything, but I'm telling you now so that you don't freak out and go all Deliverance on me later, okay?"
"You just spent five minutes flirting with my sister!" Trowa protested.
Duo shrugged one shoulder.
"So maybe I'm more bisexual."
Trowa could only continue to glare at him.
"Anyway," Duo said after looking at his watch. "I hear there's a badass keg party starting up in about an hour - want to join?"
Trowa shook his head.
"No. Of course not."
Duo smiled and shrugged.
"Suit yourself. Catch ya later, Tro!"
Duo was out of the door before Trowa could tell me not to call him that.
-o-
Classes didn't begin until three days after they moved into the dorms, and Trowa spent every one of those days dodging his roommate. He buried himself in the library on campus - easily finishing reading the textbooks for all of his classes that fall. He spent so much time in the library those first few days that other students assumed he worked there and started to ask for help. This quickly came to the attention of the actual librarians who offered him a work-study position in the library.
Trowa took it eagerly - he suspected that even when classes started his roommate would continue to be a menace.
He was quickly proved right.
Trowa didn't know if Duo ever studied - but he was convinced he never slept. Every night after classes Duo came back to their room, invited Trowa to go hang out with him, and after Trowa's inevitable refusal went out and didn't come back until almost dawn. Every night.
He didn't even look tired - he somehow managed to be chipper and handsome at all times.
At least, Trowa was relieved to discover after a week of classes, they didn't take anything together.
Trowa was quickly absorbed with his course work and had been invited to join study groups in his history and French classes. He often used both as an excuse to dodge Duo.
Less than a month into the semester and Trowa was already counting down the days until the end of the year - he didn't care if he had to work three jobs this summer, he was going to save up enough money and pay for a single next year.
One Tuesday morning Trowa was still in bed, savoring the fact that his Tuesday and Thursday classes didn't start until right before lunch, when Duo came barrelling into the room.
Trowa had never seen him like this.
Duo looked frantic and had a cell phone in one hand, mashing the buttons angrily and swearing under his breath.
Trowa didn't know if Duo even knew he was awake, and he tried to lay still as Duo turned his back and started to pace.
"Yeah... yeah, Carol it's Duo. I need to speak to him. No, I know that, Carol. This is important. Carol - Carol I can't get in touch with Solo."
There was a moment of silence.
"Thank you. Yeah, I'll wait. Don't let him blow me off, Carol."
Duo continued to pace and Trowa wondered what the hell was going on.
Suddenly Duo's entire posture changed - his straightened up and stopped pacing. It looked as though he was facing a firing squad.
"No, sir. I understood exactly what you said the last time we spoke. No, I'm not trying to - No. Look, I don't care about any of that! I just want to know if Solo is okay. What do you mean? Haven't you turned on - you don't know. Just turn on the news."
More silence and Trowa wondered what the hell was going on.
"Yes, I tried calling him. I called his office and his cell phone. The office is... the office is gone but I can't get through to his cell phone either. Will you... will you let me know if he's okay?"
Trowa had never heard anyone sound that desperate before and he suddenly felt sick with himself for listening in on this conversation.
"Thank you."
Duo hung up the phone and was still for a moment before turning and fixing Trowa with his blue gaze.
"Sorry about that."
And then Duo was gone from the room.
Trowa was instantly out of bed and stumbled into a pair of jeans and pulled on a t-shirt before leaving their room and heading down to the common area.
He could hear voices and people crying before he was even halfway there.
The huge television was on CNN, as usual, but most of the floor was gathered around, sitting on the floor and the couches. People were holding each other and several were on cell-phones. Everyone was staring at the television.
Trowa stared open mouthed at the footage of two planes crashing into the World Trade Center.
-o-
Trowa's composition class was cancelled fifteen minutes into class when one of the students answered her phone and ran out of the room crying. Afternoon classes were cancelled across campus, and it was surreal to see everyone milling about, so many people holding each other and everyone looking as if the world had suddenly been turned upside down on them.
Catharine called him early in the afternoon.
"I'm fine," he assured her. "I'm in North Carolina - nothing happened here."
"I know, I know. I just saw it on the news and... I don't know, I guess I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I'm fine," he repeated. He paused and drew in a breath. "Do you know if -"
"Trowa."
"I'm allowed to ask at least if anyone died, aren't I?"
Catharine was silent.
"I don't know. I called Hugo to ask. He said that Mr. Winner was out of the country. I don't know if Sophia and Clara were with him or at the office."
Trowa closed his eyes. He could only imagine how worried Quatre must be, wondering if his sisters were alive or dead.
"Trowa."
"I can't just stop caring!"
She sighed over the phone.
"He did, Trowa. You can too."
He clenched his jaw against the angry words he wanted to shout back at her.
"I think my roommate has a friend or family or something who might be missing," Trowa said, trying to change the subject.
"Oh that poor boy. Tell him my thoughts are with him."
Trowa frowned at that. He couldn't imagine having any conversation with Duo that would lead to him conveying that sentiment.
"I've got to go - dinner prep. I love you."
"Love you too," he told her before hanging up.
Dinner at the caf was like a mass funeral brunch. It was echoingly quiet and Trowa ate as quickly as he could before escaping back to his dorm room.
He pulled out his laptop and sat on his bed. He tried to start working on an essay due next week but instead found himself staring at the screen.
He put the computer aside and pulled out his phone.
Trowa scrolled down through his contacts to Quatre's name. His finger hovered over the call button.
The door opened and Duo walked in.
He looked even worse than this morning. His customary swagger was gone and his braid was messy, as though he had been pulling strands out. His mouth was curved downward and his eyes, red rimmed, had a glassy look to them.
"Hey," Trowa found himself saying.
Duo looked up, startled.
"Hey," he managed, his voice gravelly. "Did you know anyone?"
Trowa shook his head in the negative. It wasn't worth explaining.
"Any word about - any word?"
Duo shook his head and threw himself onto his bed, burying his head in the pillow.
"No. I've tried calling everyone. Either I can't get through or they don't know."
"It's only been a few hours," Trowa offered. "And there's a lot of chaos right now."
Duo remained still.
"I don't understand. Why would anyone even do that?"
Trowa had no answer to give.
"It's not just Solo - it's everyone. People had families and lives and dreams. Why would anyone kill them? How can someone have that much hate?"
Duo's voice was muffled by the pillow, but Trowa could hear the emotion clearly.
"I don't know."
-o-
It was two days later when Duo got the phone call, late at night, that Solo was alive.
They were in their dorm room. Trowa was trying to study for his French test and Duo was staring blankly at the wall, just as he had the night before, when Duo's phone rang.
The braided boy almost fell out of his chair in his effort to reach for the phone.
"Hello? Gemma? He - he's okay? You're sure? Oh thank God."
Duo buried his head in his hands and Trowa heard him sniff loudly.
"Thanks Gemma. No, no I'm fine. No, I am. It's okay. I just needed to know. Yeah, yeah. I'll see you in October, okay? I love you too."
Duo hung up the phone and Trowa decided he should give him some privacy.
He started to pack away his books.
Then he heard Duo actually cry - a kind of muffled sob that stopped Trowa in place.
Duo drew in a deep breath and scrubbed at his face before turning around. He smiled weakly.
"Okay, well - good news. Solo's alive and... more than a thousand people are dead but one guy... one guy I care about made it out. So that's... that's something I guess."
Even as he did it Trowa didn't believe himself, but he reached out and hugged Duo.
The other boy stood awkwardly in his embrace for a moment, but then he patted Trowa on the back.
"Hey, buddy, don't use my emotionally vulnerable state to start feeling me up."
Trowa instantly stepped away from him and glared.
"I mean, unless you want to, I guess...?" Duo leered and Trowa turned away in disgust. He threw his French books into his backpack and slammed out of the room.
He didn't understand how or why he ever could have felt sympathy for Duo. He was the single most annoying person on the planet and even now - even at a time like this he couldn't pass up an opportunity to irritate Trowa.
Over the next few days it only got worse - Duo redoubled his efforts to get Trowa to spend time with him, and Trowa's refusals only seemed to egg him on.
"You know," Duo said one night before midterms, "I could help you with your French. I'm practically fluent and -"
"I don't want your help," Trowa said patiently. "I have a study group if I need help. I want to translate this passage and go to bed. I can't do that if you don't leave me alone."
Duo arched an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder.
"I guess you could translate it like that. But don't you think -"
"Duo!" Trowa jumped up from his desk, forcing the other man to take a step back. "Leave me alone. Go off and get drunk or get laid or something - I don't care, but back off."
Duo held up his hands in a placating manner.
"Hey, man, I'm just trying to help. You never relax or hang out - you're going to give yourself an aneurysm if you keep it up. Why don't -"
"No. I'm not interested. I'm never interested and I'm never going to be interested. I came to this college because I want to learn. I don't want to waste my time with you. You - you're just some selfish moron who doesn't understand that there's more to this that just having a good time! I can't believe I actually started to like you after September 11th!"
Duo stared at him for a solid minute before shrugging.
"Okay. You stay here and screw up that Abelard passage and I'm going to go hang out on the fifth floor. If you change your mind and want to have fun... well, that's never going to happen so peace."
Duo left and Trowa was left in blissful silence.
He glared at his homework and then started reading over what he had written.
Damnit. Duo was right - he had translated it wrong.
Trowa tore the page out of his notebook and crumpled it up. He started on a fresh page, cursing his roommate all the while.
-o-
The afternoon that Trowa finished his last midterm he returned to his dorm, intent on sleeping for a solid day. He had pulled two all-nighters just to finish his work and he felt confident that he had done well on the tests and papers that had seemed to literally suck his soul dry. But now he just needed to sleep.
As he approached the door, however, he noticed a sock on the doorknob.
The sock looked clean - pristinely white even - but its presence infuriated Trowa.
He pulled it off and opened the door, ready to launch into a tirade.
Duo was naked, which Trowa had more or less expected. What he hadn't expected was the naked girl riding him.
"What the fuck - dude! The sock!" Duo shouted just as the girl shrieked.
Duo reached up to cover her breasts with his hands.
The tirade vanished from Trowa's brain. He dropped the sock and retreated, closing the door behind him.
He heard voices on the other side of the door, cursing and laughing, and then a moment later the girl opened the door.
She was fully clothed now, and she brushed her short, dark hair back and regarded Trowa with a glare.
"I'm sorry," he felt the need to say.
"I'm Hilde," she responded with a smirk. "Duo was right about you." She winked. "Let me know if you're ever interested in more than just watching."
With that she walked away, turning to wave at him before leaving the hall.
After she was gone he managed to pull himself together enough and entered the dorm room again.
Duo was dressed now, and he looked up at Trowa's entrance to glare.
"I thought you understood the system. Sock on the door means go the fuck away."
"It's my room. If you want to use it for co-ed activities then you're going to have to give me a heads up."
"The sock is the heads up."
"Not when I haven't slept in three days it isn't," Trowa argued. "And I thought you were gay!"
Duo arched an eyebrow at him.
"And I thought we had established that I'm bisexual. I didn't realize labels were so important to you."
Trowa could only glare.
Duo grinned and checked his watch.
"Which reminds me - you should take a shower and change."
Trowa scowled.
"Why?"
"Because we're going out in an hour."
"I am not going anywhere with you. Ever."
"I know, I know. But my grandmother's in town and she wants to take me and my roommate out to dinner. You know that place over on State - Harvey's? With the steak and the lobster thing and the sweet potato whatever?"
Trowa could only nod. Of course he knew about Harvey's. He couldn't be his sister's brother without knowing about the best restaurant in town.
"Yeah, well, that's where we're going. Free food and all that - so go shower. Want me to pick out your clothes?"
Trowa glared at him and Duo grinned.
"You're right - you're a pretty sharp dresser."
So it was that an hour later, defying all logic and every instinct he had, Trowa went with Duo to Harvey's for dinner. He more than half expected the whole thing to be a setup - Duo's grandmother had probably been dead for years and this was just some elaborate plot to get him out of the dorm room.
But when they walked in Duo headed straight for an elegant white haired woman.
"Gemma." He kissed her cheek and smiled widely. "This is my roommate, Trowa."
The woman regarded him levelly.
"Hi," Trowa said, feeling inexplicably nervous.
"Please, join me."
Duo sat down beside her and Trowa took the seat across.
"How are your studies going?" She directed the question towards Trowa.
"They seem to be going well," Trowa told her, suddenly thinking that this woman could be part of the trap. Maybe this was his punishment for blowing off Duo all those times - an interrogation by a seventy year old woman.
"Duo tells me that you are pursuing a degree in history."
Trowa looked at his roommate - how did Duo know what his major was? Trowa didn't even know what classes Duo took, let alone what his major was.
"I am," Trowa finally acknowledged when Duo refused to look up from his menu.
"And just what do you plan to do with that?"
"Gemma," Duo spoke up, a warning tone in his voice.
"I am merely asking a question, David." She turned her cool gaze back to Trowa.
"I plan to go to graduate school," he said.
"Where?"
"Gemma, we're freshmen - he doesn't know where he wants to go yet."
"You do," she said frostily.
Duo grinned.
"Yeah, but I'm special."
"Yale," Trowa said, already desperate for the evening to end. He didn't need Duo defending him from his grandmother.
"Hm."
Trowa wondered where Duo planned to go. He also wondered what his major was and he had the sudden sensation of guilt. He should at least know that much about him, shouldn't he?
The waiter arrived to take their orders before Gemma could ask any more questions, and Trowa took the opportunity to remind himself that the food, at least, would be worth the torture.
"I'll be right back," Duo said after the waiter left. He rose from the table and headed towards the bathroom.
Leaving Trowa alone with Gemma.
"He speaks very highly of you."
Trowa had to blink.
"You're joking."
Gemma arched one eyebrow.
"Do I appear to be laughing?"
"No," he said quickly.
"Duo speaks highly of you... yet I think it's obvious you don't feel the same about him."
Trowa wanted to crawl under the table.
"Your grandson is... really energetic," Trowa tried.
"My grandson thinks too highly of people," Gemma corrected him. "And my grandson trusts people too easily. He might think you are a paragon of virtue but I am not so easy to convince."
"I, uh, I don't -"
She held up one hand.
"I'm not here to upset David. If he wants to somehow believe that you are his friend then for this evening I will allow it. But do not think that I am fooled. I won't allow another boy to ruin his life."
Duo came back to the table with a smile on his face.
"Please tell me she didn't pull out the naked baby pictures or anything."
Gemma rolled her eyes.
"Nonsense. Trowa and I were just talking about his sister's restaurant in Hartford."
Trowa stared at her, but Gemma only cocked her head to one side.
"I thought you were from New York," Duo said.
"I am. My sister opened a restaurant in Hartford this summer."
He had no idea how Gemma had known that - unless she had looked into his background. But why would she do that?
He looked at her again and noticed that she wasn't just an elegant older woman. She was wearing the same type of clothing that people in the Winner circle wore - she was rich. And she didn't want anyone to ruin Duo's life. Again.
"What kind of restaurant?" Duo asked.
"It's this delightful place that serves American food with a French twist. I actually ate there two weeks ago when I was at a board meeting."
Duo sighed.
"Gemma. What board meeting?"
"David, you know I'm on the board of trustees for Trinity College."
Which told Trowa that Gemma was not only rich - she was disgustingly rich. And she was clearly threatening him.
"No, Gemma, I didn't. When did you get that appointment?"
She smiled slightly and took a sip of the wine in front of her.
Duo gave Trowa an apologetic look.
"Anyway," Duo said into the silence, "I've still got a midterm to finish up before tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is Saturday, David," Gemma said.
But Duo stood up and looked at Trowa.
"Didn't you say something about having to study tonight?"
"David, sit down. You are acting like a child."
"Nope," Duo said. "I'm being a responsible adult - putting my school work first and all that. Anyway, I love you. Great to see you again." He kissed her cheek. "Let me know if you want to visit again."
With that he walked away from the table.
Trowa stared dumbly after him for a moment before standing up and following.
Duo was waiting for him outside of the restaurant.
"Dude, I am really, really sorry about that. I had no idea she was going to go all Law and Order on you."
Trowa arched an eyebrow.
"I swear - she just told me to bring my roommate to dinner tonight. She didn't say anything about doing a freaking background check on you or joining the Trinity College board of trustees. Jesus!" Duo ran his hands through his hair. "Look, I'm really, really sorry. I'll talk to her tomorrow and work this out - she won't bother you again. And she's not going to do anything to your sister."
Duo seemed about ten times more upset about this than Trowa felt, and he wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Was Duo overreacting or was Trowa underreacting?
"Look, you promised me food," Trowa said. "And you're clearly loaded, so you can at least afford to buy me a pizza or something."
Duo stared at him for a minute and then grinned.
"Yeah - yeah I can do that."
They started to walk back towards campus and Duo ushered them into the pizza shop across from the library.
Duo led the way to the back and they sat down at a booth.
After a waitress came to take their order Duo buried his face in his hands.
"God I'm so embarrassed. The one time I convince you to hang out with me and my grandmother tries to steamroll you."
"She's pretty scary - is your family in the mafia or something?"
Duo looked up.
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you."
Trowa rolled his eyes at that.
He waited until the pizza was in front of them before he asked the question he needed answered.
"She said you spoke highly of me - why did you bother to lie to your grandmother?"
Duo frowned around a mouthful of pizza.
"I didn't lie."
"You don't think highly of me."
"Says who?" Duo actually looked offended.
"Duo - we don't get along, at all."
"Sure we do - did you know that Bobby Preston, down the hall in 212 - he and his roommate beat the shit out of each other two weeks ago because Bobby left his dirty underwear on the floor again." Duo shrugged. "Never happened in our dorm room. You also don't have a secret narcotics lab in our room." Duo paused and arched an eyebrow. "Or do you?"
Trowa glared at him.
"I'll take that as a no. Besides, Gemma's background check would have pulled up any drug convictions. All I'm saying is, yeah, duh. I think highly of you if that's what she said."
Trowa decided that he was an asshole. He had hated Duo from the start and never given him a fair chance. Maybe, all this time, Duo had been a decent guy.
"I'm sorry about the other night - with the sock thing."
Duo shrugged.
"No worries. You're right. I should schedule those things. It just sort of, you know, happened."
Trowa sighed.
"Don't worry about it - just, leave the sock on the door in the future and I'll go away."
Duo shrugged again.
"Yeah. Okay. Sure. Same for you, you know."
Trowa snorted.
"Yeah, I think I'll pass."
Duo looked ready to say something, but then he shrugged and took another bite of his pizza.
-o-
The rest of the semester was surprisingly anticlimactic.
Finals had nearly destroyed Trowa's sanity - coupled with Duo's legitimately insane grandmother - but they completely prepared him for the sprint to finish the semester. He had his final papers done early and as finals week approached he was able to attend his study groups and impress everyone else with how prepared he was.
Of course, the fact that he came home to his dorm room to find a sock on the door almost every afternoon and was forced to spend hours in the library before he was able to get into his own room had something to do with that.
Trowa seemed to only see Duo in passing anymore - early in the morning when Duo stumbled in, coming back from wherever he had partied that night; when Duo left their room with his conquest of the day in tow after a "study" session; occasionally in the showers when Duo offered him a mock salute and absolutely no words of greeting.
Part of Trowa was relieved to no longer have to dodge his roommate. But another part couldn't help but notice that when he did see Duo, the braided boy always looked distant and unhappy.
It reminded Trowa too much of Quatre.
-o-
TBC