Waking Up In Vegas
Chapter Seventeen
Trowa wondered where Cathy was, but not overly so. She was a woman grown, and it wasn't unusual for her to be gone long before he even woke. He had a huntch she was probably with Delana. As much as Duo was his best friend... Delana was Cathy's.
And he had other things to think about.
The morning was silent, and dim inside the house. Broken only by the soft sounds of pans clinking, of the 'fridge opening- shutting. Broken by slight giggles, hushed whispers. In the near silence, the two young men danced around each other in the kitchen, preparing themselves a small breakfast of eggs and bacon and toast. Quatre giggled every time they 'accidently' bumped each other, and Trowa returned with a hushed whisper that would turn Quatre's fair cheeks a light shade of pink.
It all seemed so... normal... to Trowa. It all seemed right. On the rare occasion Midii had stayed over at his home, mornings were always quick and rushed, or awkward. Midii hadn't wanted to cuddle before getting up to greet the day. She hadn't ever felt like just taking things slow and simple, to stop and smell the roses as the saying went.
She'd never helped him make breakfast. There'd been no hip-bumping; and Midii would never giggle. Midii hadn't modesty enough to blush at anything. Even Quatre's kisses were different. Sweeter, somehow. But more couldn't for the life of him find any similarities between the two. They were as different as black and white.
Over breakfast, Trowa finally tossed out the idea of having Quatre pose for him. Quatre beamed, and eagerly, but shyly, agreed. Trowa smiled brightly. Midii hadn't liked posing for him. She'd complained, and found any way out of it she could. Even as his mind started working out poses and scenes and sets and colors and lighting, he made a mental note to finish that project for Treize sometime that day.
He stood up, grabbed his plate and Quatre's... and then the doorbell rang.
Quatre grinned at him, before standing and giving his cheek as quick, shy kiss.
"I'll get it. You're hands are full."
Trowa smiled as his petite little 'husband' walked away towards the living room. No, he thought. Things had never been like this with Midii. They never could have been.
~*~*~*~
"Of course I understand, Tori," the woman said into the phone. "No. I explained it. No, Duo nor Wufei hates you. They love you. You're doing everything in your power to help them. Things like this take time. They understand that. You're just being crazy. No, no. I will. Yeah, give my love to Adam, kay? Of course. Bye."
She sighed as she flipped the cell closed. She would never have refered the two loving and lovable men to her high-school friend is she didn't think that Victoria Lakes couldn't do what she'd promised; if she didn't think the lawyer could get them their rightful custody of Meilan Long.
The first time she'd seen that little girl, so many years ago, Meilan had been little more than an infant. Megan had had high hopes that the little girl would soon be adopted from the orphanage into a loving home. And upon hearing that the deceased mother's will had expressed a strict wish for the baby's god-father, Chang Wufei, to take care of the baby. Loving and honorable, Wufei had wanted to do right by his best friend; he'd expected to take full responsibility for Meilan.
Megan's eyes narrowed as she thought about what had happened next. Somehow, the one of the orphanage's lawyers had found out that Wufei had recently began his romantic involvement with an architectural student named Duo Maxwell. And Jackson Boothe was homophobic in the very worst possible ways; he'd made life a life a living hell for Wufei, and even suggested that if Wufei dropped Duo, then the case against him would be void. Wufei hadn't taken kindly to the attempted blackmail. Instead, his love with the architect had grown, and eventually led the two to take public vows of commitment to each other.
The law still frowned upon, and occasionally forbid, homosexual couples from adopting children, but an agreement had been struck before the child's birth that Wufei would take custody. It was an almost stalemate in the courtroom... and the last five years had been one long battle over the future of one little girl.
Long, tan arms wrapped around her from behind, startling her from her thoughts. "Bad news, my love?"
"Alejandro," she breathed, leaning back for a moment into the strong chest of her husband. "No. Not really. More like 'no news'. Which they say is good, right? They're at an impasse almost. Neither side is budging. Victoria is worried, but she's hopeful."
"Then that's good. Now let's go and...."
"Mommy!!! Mommy!!!!"
Megan Martinez leaned down to scoop up the four-year-old brown-haired ball of energy that shot at her.
"Zoe, what's wrong?"
"Zander hit me with my Barbie doll," the girl exclaimed, pouting and pointing a finger at the other room, where her twin still sat playing.
"Oh, did he now? Well... let's go see what we can do about that...."
~*~*~*~
Long, slender fingers gripped the steering wheel with vice-like vigor. Brown eyes stayed squeezed closed. She hated this. Hated what she had become. What she was about to do. It was horrible, and despicable. And she had no choice.
She *liked* Trowa. He was stubborn, and so *slow* in doing things it was nerve-wracking. He was obsessive... him and that silly painting he did. God, but she did like him. He had his redeeming qualities. He was sweet, kind, with a kind of laid-back, cat-like charm and a chivalry that was hard to find anywhere nowday.
It hadn't broken her heart to leave him... but it had pained her to know she hurt him. If the reclusive, quiet man had found someone to put up with not only him, but that insane institution he called a family... why would she want to break it up? She didn't want to hurt him.... not again. She knew she wasn't the kindest person on Earth, but she'd be damned if she'd take the award for 'Worlds Best Villain'. Gripping the steering wheel once more, she sighed in defeat. Yes... she was the Worlds Best Villain.
This was beyond evil.
But... with that thought, she got out of the sleek Mercedes and stalked up to the house, ringing that familiar doorbell.
Moment's later, the door opened. She'd plastered a huge smile on her face, one it almost killed her to portray. But it wasn't Trowa who opened the door. He was petite, about the same height as she, maybe a tad taller. With hair the blondish-white of soft, sun-warmed sand, and eyes to match the aqua-blue of the ocean itself, he stood there, slender and smiling and so.... perfect.
It twisted at her heart. She knew this to be Trowa's 'husband'. They'd told her as much. But they hadn't told her how angelic he would look in the early morning light, or how sweet he would smile at her.
"Hello," he chirped. "Can I help you?"
Damn, she thought, feeling her heart crashing into a million pieces, shattering across the cold stone that had become her soul. She'd wanted to hate him. She'd wanted him to be ugly and rude and utterly distasteful, so that she could justify herself. So she could reason with herself that she was *saving* Trowa.
She hadn't wanted- or expected- kind, polite, and beautiful. A part of her wanted to turn around right there and black-mailing be damned, leave Trowa to his new happiness. But another part of her knew she couldn't. So she beamed back at him, smiling winningly.
"Hi. Yes, please. I was looking for Trowa. He wouldn't happen to be in right now, would he?"
She was secretly glad that it was just the blond. She didn't think she could handle it if Catherine was there. She mentally shivered at the thought. All of Trowa's family was scary. Duo would gladly deck her if given the chance, save for the fact that he 'didn't hit women'... a trait instilled by his mother and re-enforced by his own husband. But Trowa's sister and Duo's sister... well, they had no such qualms about hitting other women. Midii could clearly remember the last encounter she'd had in Cool Water. She'd sported a black eye for several days after that incident.
She could see those blue eyes narrow, as if their owner could somehow sense that something was not right. How very intuitive.
But never-the-less, he turned.
"Trowa? I believe it's for you."
And then, not a second later... there he was, at the door... staring at her.
"Trowa," she smiled with an enthusiasm she didn't feel.
He remained silent, and then... just the one word.
"Midii...."