A/N: Due to RL and our other many WIPs, we took a while to update! But today is my chapter (Miss M) and Clara's will be uploaded on Friday.

Chapter Three

It felt like a dream. But then when Trowa dreamt it tended to be about dying in the zombie apocalypse or walking naked in front of his class. Not something of this magnitude. Not that he - and Duo - were suddenly expected to care for a child.

Trowa had never wanted children. He had no dislike of them just... His life was very singular. Work. Students. Research. Quatre had mocked him for it but Trowa was happy. And a child was not in his life plans. It was devastating enough that Quatre was dead but the reverberations of the revelation were still ringing in his head. They were expected to care for Olivia… Trowa could barely comprehend it.

Iria was talking and Trowa glanced to see Duo's expression with the same kind of dumbfounded shock that his own must have. As it was true – Iria was as much Winner Inc. as Quatre was. And Quatre had devoted so much of his life to it feeling the unimaginable pressure of stepping into his father's shadow, walking in Zayeed Winner's shoes and Trowa had known that it had been hard. Iria had done the same – working alongside her brother and she was the obvious successor. Trowa understood that. He still just couldn't understand why Olivia was being left in his care. No not only Trowa's. His and Duo's care.

He was tempted to walk out of the fancy ass office, stop looking at Treize fucking Khushrenada and stagger to the bathroom – throw up, splash water on his face, hell, bang his head against a wall to feel something that felt real. Not like this twilight zone he was living in. But all he did was look forward and blink, trying to find something else to say.

"This must be a mistake," Duo said and Trowa felt he could reiterate that. "This has to be a joke."

As them? Two guys who barely knew each other? The only common denominator between them was Olivia and though they both loved her and were her godfathers, it didn't mean they were capable of becoming her guardians. Her surrogate parents.

"It's no joke, Mr. Maxwell. It was their wishes."

Duo made a noise that was akin to a chuckle but Trowa could sense the despair in it as the whole weight of this began to crush in on them.

"What happens…" Trowa began and then he coughed, feeling both Duo and Iria's gaze. "What happens if we don't…?"

He hated himself for saying it but the smooth lawyer was not shocked, he only shuffled papers. "I imagine Olivia would become a ward of the state until the legal ramifications could be dealt with. Iria – I imagine that some of your sisters would feel they have some entitlement towards custody?"

Trowa made a noise under his breath as he remembered some of Quatre's sisters. Iria was his closest sister but he had seven other's and some of them had been problematic to say the least. Trowa could barely remember their names but he remembered that Zayeed had cut one of them off during their time in college and she had appeared begging Quatre for some money and to plead her case to their father. That kind of person – the kind of person who cared more about money than anything else – was not someone Trowa would ever want to look after a child. And Trowa felt ever so slightly manipulated.

"It would end up being a big legal battle," Trowa said heavily.

"Indeed, Mr. Barton."

There was a short silence then as Trowa played with a thread on his cargo trousers rather than look at anything else in the office. As he didn't know why Quatre and Relena had decided this – why they had gone through the effort of adding them to their will but if it was what they wanted… Trowa looked up to see Khushrenada's eyes darting between the two of them.

"How does this work?" Duo asked, his voice matter-of-fact. "I mean… I don't live in a kid friendly environment and I guess Mr. Book Worm don't either."

"You've been left a property – one of the smaller townhouses. I believe you will be familiar with it, Mr. Barton?"

Khushrenada pushed a photograph across the desk and Trowa picked it up, looking at the townhouse. It wasn't as large as Winner mansion but it was still the sort of property Trowa could only afford in his dreams. A property he remembered from Quatre's "wild" period – just after his father died and prior to Relena. There had been many drunken nights in that house – and many drunken fumbles with guys Trowa barely remembered. He handed the photograph to Duo who seemed in the same state of shock.

"There have been… extensive provisions made for Olivia's welfare. Money set aside for a prestigious pre-school, her private school, her college education… as well as an allowance for her day to day life."

Trowa nodded as he had guessed that – money was not an issue with Winners. But still the whole thing made his head spin. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing back his bangs from his eyes and licked at his lips. He felt exhausted, strung out, emotionally fucked and then he thought about her…

Olivia. Tiny, helpless Olivia.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice rougher sounding than he intended, raw with an emotion that he couldn't place. He remembered her – the small pudgy cheeks, her fingers wrapped around his own little finger, her blue eyes that were so damn Quatre… the small shock of blond hair. And he wanted to see her.

Iria answered. "She's with Leia."

He remembered that sister. She hadn't been as close to Quatre as Iria but still was one of the sisters who had some involvement in Winner Inc. and was therefore someone Quatre would trust with his daughter. But obviously not as much as him.

"I need to see her."

Khushrenada looked shocked for a moment but then he smoothed his face into the same neutral and slightly sneering appearance.

"Then you are taking guardianship of her?"

Trowa shook his head. "Our friends died, our godchild is parentless and now we are sat in damn lawyer's office. We shouldn't be here. We should be with her."

He knew his voice had cracked as he spoke and he suddenly felt the touch of Duo's hand on his thigh and Trowa glanced towards him, seeing those bright blue eyes he remembered from the bad sexual encounter and he saw there was some agreement with his anger, with his annoyance at being sat here when Olivia had lost her world.

"I agree with Trowa. We gotta see her… this is all too damn much."

A conversation started between Khushrenada and Iria about whether this was an issue and Trowa decided he couldn't listen, getting to his feet and walking towards the bathroom, hating the fact he was stuck in a slick lawyers office and how his world, boring, safe and average had suddenly been turned upside down in so little time.

He didn't throw up, only walked over to the sinks, ran the water as cold as possible and splashed it on his face. He was unsurprised when Duo joined him within a few minutes, standing at the door to stop anyone else from entering.

"We're going to see her," he said, his arms folded across his chest and obviously Trowa looked as bad as he felt as Duo gave up on his guarding of the door and walked towards him. "You okay, man? You look like hell."

"My best friend died and we're being asked to be the guardian of their kid. What do you think?"

Duo chuckled, the noise not at all humorous. "I feel you… I don't know what I feel but fuck… it hurts."

Trowa saw the look in Duo's eyes, the way he was trying to hold it together just as he was and he offered small comfort, the touch of hand to shoulder but in this situation they only had each other.

"They're organising a car," Duo said, "so we should get back and go see Liv, right?"

Nodding in agreement, they walked out of the bathroom together, Iria informing them her black town car was waiting outside that they could use – she was going to continue her conversations with the lawyer regarding the company and all the other legal ramifications.

As they were about to leave, she gave the smallest smile. "I know this seems… an odd choice but my brother believed this was the best decision for Olivia. And I always agreed with his judgment. His methods may've seemed unorthodox but you two might be what she needs."

It wasn't exactly comforting and Trowa mumbled something under his breath, barely intelligible words as they made their way to the lobby and the street and the town car.

The journey through the Chicago streets was familiar but eerily unfamiliar. Maybe it was the state of unreality that Trowa found himself in but soon they were at the Winner Mansion on the outskirts of the city and Trowa was swallowing as he remembered the last time he'd been in the house.

At Olivia's Christening. When he'd talked with Quatre in person for the last time. And that thought was too raw and painful as they pulled up outside the front door, it opening and a tall familiar man stood on the step. Rashid had been an employee of Quatre's father and arguably more of a parent than his actual father and Trowa was greeted by him warmly, the sad smiles and handshakes shared. They exchanged some meaningless words of grief and sorrow but soon Trowa was following Rashid, Duo by his side, the sound of a baby crying heard as they walked the halls.

Leia was in the sunroom, the dappled light coming through the windows and Olivia was in her arms as she walked the length of the room, cooing and singing to the baby to try and soothe her. It was not working as she seemed to be crying her small heart out as if she knew. Trowa didn't know what babies knew – if they smelt their parents, if they recognised them in the vaguest way but somehow the idea that Olivia was crying for her dead parents was just too damn much. He felt like falling to the floor, he felt like shedding tears until there were no more but instead he watched Duo walk towards Leia.

"She's been fed, changed and burped… I don't know why she won't stop crying!"

Duo was mumbling under his breath and a moment later he held the screaming pink bundle, her small arms flailing as he held her close to his chest, her head over his heart. He rocked her in his arms and walked towards Trowa, her crying starting to abate and when Duo was in front of Trowa, she had stopped crying entirely, only short stuttery breaths coming from her small lips, her cheeks red and eyes sparkling with tears.

"Here's Trowa… you remember Trowa, Liv?" Duo cooed, his voice soothing and calm.

And Trowa looked down at her as Duo offered to pass her over and he opened his arms, feeling the gentle weight of her small body, the heat of her skin and the soft shaky breaths.

Cradling her close, Trowa walked the length of the sunroom, his eyes closed as pressed his nose to her head, smelling the distinctive smell of "baby" as he took a deep breath. As suddenly, as soon as he held her in his arms, he knew he couldn't say no to Quatre's wishes – he'd do what he was asked. What Quatre and Relena wanted. He'd take care of this little girl whatever.

He opened his eyes and saw Duo watching him, his face showing the first trace of a smile he'd seen since they'd met on this awful day, and they shared a look that spoke volumes without words. It was an agreement, a silent one that they would do what they were asked – that they would become Olivia's guardians no matter how crazy their lives would become. For Relena and Quatre. But mostly for Olivia.