6-Aug-2000
Category: Pause in the Insanity.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money being made or sought here.
NOTES: All right. After doing Storm Seeker I decided I was going to peek into Trowa's mind. We did a little work tonight but he's proving to be a much tougher nut to crack. So, think of this as a little side series as bang boy and I have some conversations. I also wanted a reason to have Quatre and Duo making a tire swing.. don't know why... summer bug biting me.
The slam of the front door against it's hinges yanked Trowa out of the world of wild lions. He shook his head as he returned from the Savannah and leaned forward to watch Quatre go racing down the hallway, slipping comically on the combination of leather soled dress shoes and hardwood floors.
"DUO!! DUO I'M HOOOOMMMMEEE"
"COOL! GET CHANGED AND MEET ME OUT FRONT!"
Trowa winced a little. He loved Quatre and was fond of Duo but why the hell they couldn't communicate at normal volumes escaped him. He was chuckling inwardly when the wind was knocked out of him as Quatre dove into his lap for a welcome home kiss.
"Mumph!" Was all he had time to say as warm lips eagerly devoured his. It amazed him how Quatre could pack so many *words* into a nonverbal expression.
~~Hi! How are you? I'm HOOOMMMEEE!! Had a good day thanks for asking! Need me for anything??? No? Going to go find mischief!!! Love you!~~
Trowa felt practically bowled over and the little Arabian hadn't said a word! He closed his arms around the vibrating form of his lover, holding him close for a moment, then letting him go and watching bemused as Quatre bounded off, trying to simultaneously get out of his dress pants and run up the stairs.
The quiet, green eyed boy didn't bother to cover up the smile that lit his features as he watched Quatre stagger, fall, scrabble, trip and careen up the stairs. He reached up and brushed his hand through his hair, then reached for his book. He'd just gotten back to the Savannah when Duo's voice split the air.
"QUUAATREEE!!"
"He's getting changed Duo." Trowa groused softly, setting his book once more to the side and walking to the doorway.
"Into what?" Duo shot back peevishly.
Whatever rejoinder Trowa had escaped him as he got a good look at Duo. The American was standing at the very end of the hall, in the front door. He wore a ratty old pair of shorts and nothing else. He was holding up a giant tractor tire that stood nearly to the top of his chest and had a large coil of heavy duty rope slung over his bare shoulders. A baseball cap sat at a jaunty angle on his head.
"Duo... wha..." Trowa began only to be interrupted as Quatre came dashing down the stairs. The little blonde had changed into a pair of cut offs...
'Mine' Trowa noted with a moments fond irritation...
...and an old oxford shirt, flew unbuttoned behind Quatre like a small cape. The little blonde launched off the last four steps and landing with a barefooted little oof on the hardwood floor. He grinned brightly at Trowa and then dove into a cupboard by the front door.
"Quatre! Come on. For Pete's Sake you take longer then most women!"
"Hold your horses Duo, the river isn't going anywhere."
Trowa leaned against the doorjamb of the study and watched the rather enticing picture Quatre's south end made as his north end burrowed in the cupboard. He looked over at Duo who smiled he best manic...~Who me? Trouble on two legs? Naaaahhhh~~ grin. Trowa just lifted his elegant brows in Duo's general direction and the American broke eye contact first.
"Uh... you ready yet Quatre??"
Quatre had half crawled into the cupboard and Trowa was beginning to think he was going to have to go in after him when suddenly, with a deft little wriggle, the Arabian popped back out.
"Found em!"
'Em' turned out to be a pair of the grungiest looking sneakers Trowa had ever seen in his life. He watched with an expression of disbelief as his GQ, fastidious little lover yanked the moldy, filthy things onto his feet. One toe peeked out through a large hole in the front of one shoe and the back of the other flopped loosely at the heel.
Trowa was still watching the sneakers as they went scampering out the front door. He looked up, hearing a squabble over who was going to roll the tire, in the end Duo just threw the rope on Quatre and moved off with the tire and the two boys were gone. He stood in the doorway, listening to quiet befall the house. He usually appreciated quiet time and he knew that his team mates went out of their way to make certain he had time to himself. Still, as he looked back into the study and the book, he felt no pull towards it's peaceful silence.
Turning quickly, Trowa trotted gracefully up the stairs. He had a pretty good idea where Mischief parts 1 and 2 were headed.
Dressed in a pair of torn jeans and an undershirt, Trowa followed the noise. He again had to grin to himself. Quatre and Duo were making enough of a racket to clear out the wildlife in the forest for 10 square miles!
"Masters of stealth and sneakiness... my ass."
He had his hands slid into the back pockets of his jeans as he carefully navigated his way down the slippery river bank. On the other side of the lazily moving water, Quatre and Duo were struggling with the large tire. Trowa tugged his hands free of his jeans and scrapped some leaves together near the base of a tree. Settling himself down on his make shift pillow, he sank into that curious stillness of his and watched.
Quatre was up in a large, sturdy looking tree, hanging off a thick branch that reached out over a naturally made pool in the river. He and Duo had the thick rope secured around the branch and back to the trunk of the tree and the two were currently trying to get the large tire into position so that they could tie the rope back around it. Duo's slim body was straining as he held the tire in place, trying to keep it from rolling down the steep bank into the river.
"Come on Quatre! Just lean a little further!"
Trowa looked from Duo up to Quatre who by the look of his drenched hair and shorts, had already 'leaned' a little too far out at least once!
"Duo, just pick it up a little."
"Pick it up?!?!? Did you fall on a rock? This thing weighs over 180lbs"
"Oh, whaa... Mr. I bench press 180lbs before breakfast."
"...."
"What? What was that Duo? Did you maybe.. exaggerate that a little?"
"I do NOT exaggerate!"
"Oh? Really?"
"Listen you little... Shit.. SHIT!! QUATRE!!"
"AAAHHH"
Trowa had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud and giving away his position as the argument upset the delicate balance Duo had on the tire and the large object began to slip down the muddy bank, dragging Duo with it. With the rope half way around the girth of the tire, Quatre also found himself being tugged off the branch as he and the branch were already too damp to give Quatre the traction he needed to stop his own decent.
Gravity took over and all three bodies only gained momentum as tire, Duo and Quatre sailed into the river with a gigantic splash. The tire popped up first, then Duo, then Quatre. As soon as he was assured that both boys were safe, Trowa had to hold his side to keep the laughter silent. He rocked back and forth, green eyes sparkling as he watched the pair try to get control of the large, unwieldy tire.
"Ack! Quatre get behind it!"
"Right.... ummm.. Duo... Duo this isn't working!!"
"Shit! It weighs more then you do."
"Hey! It weighs more then either of us does. Eek! Don't let it get around that rock!"
"Hell, Hell!! How did we do this the last time??"
"Uh.. we had the rope."
"Right! Get the rope."
"Duo! It's tied around the tree you baka!"
"Ah, damn it."
Trowa nearly rolled himself right off the bank as he watched Duo and Quatre struggle with the current and the tire... and loose. Two master terrorists, two of the most deadly operatives the Preventers had.. being run away with by a tire. He leaned forward, watching the two struggle with the large tire and the muddy bank. There was a fierce determination on their faces as well as mud and leaves.
As he watched, Trowa could feel the tenacious force of will that flowed from both boys. He'd always been a little bemused by the relationship between the sheltered Winner heir and the street wise urchin. He'd always assumed that they'd gravitated to each other simply because it was the best place to find conversation. Now, he saw another level of understanding shared between the two boys.
They both used the same masks. Humor and an outward going nature helped to keep the world at bay. Trowa frowned a little. His own silence was a powerful deterrent but he also recognized that it was an even stronger draw. People *knew* that there was something behind his enigmatic stillness and they wanted to get behind his walls. Duo and Quatre... well people wouldn't even think to look twice.
Except someone who used the same defense mechanism.
Trowa pulled his knees up to his chest and watched Duo and Quatre struggling with the tire. Though they both laughed and bantered back and forth, they both pushed themselves to the limit as they fought against the tug of the water, the slippery bank and the tire's own weight and unwieldiness. Both refused to give in.
That stubbornness of will was also a link the pair shared. A link to each other and to the rest of the team. Trowa smiled a little as he realized that for all his impassive masks, his stubbornness was probably more recognizable. For all his walls, he was more open, even though they seemed more free.
Maybe that was one of the things that drew him to watch their play but not disturb it. There was a purity to their play that the rest of the world would never see. Trowa knew that he would be welcome to join them but somehow, just watching them frisk up the bank, made him feel more at peace then trying to do it himself. It was not who he was. He could be, he was chameleon enough to pull it off, Trowa knew that. But it would lack the purity he sensed in the other two.
Trowa looked up through the canape of tree leaves above him. The ache of not knowing his birth name weighed on him at times. It was like, no matter who he choose to be... it would always be false. He heard a shout from the river bank and looked over quickly. Quatre, Duo and tire were once again heading into the river. Trowa watched as they surfaced yet again and the whole process began, yet again. He smiled a little, recognizing, in their determination, one of the things that drew him to the little blond and to the team as a whole.
Something more powerful then a *name* had drawn them together. A shared purpose and an unknown something that had allowed them to recognized in each other a common goal. It had been more then just their Gundams. They could have all shared the same mission parameters, the same weapons but never shared the same heart, the same determination. For all their differences, Trowa recognized that he felt like part of a whole with the team. Even if his name was borrowed.
Trowa relaxed back against the tree, letting his thoughts still and go quiet. Sometimes, it was too much to focus on at any one time and he was enjoying watching Gundam pilots vs Old tractor tire. He quirked a grin, wondering how long it would take them to realize they needed to put the rope on the tire *first* then tie it to the tree. He considered calling the suggestion across the river to them but decided against it as Quatre lost control of the tire and it rolled over Duo, squishing him into the mud.
Why ruin their fun... not to mention his own.
The End
(( I know... didn't really solve anything but... would we want Trowa to be that quick? ::Evil grin:: I don't at least. Hope you all enjoyed and as always feedback is craved, cooed over and smiled at!))
Laekin
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