Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Final Grade ❯ Chapter 3

Title: Final Grade
Chapter: 3/?
Warnings: More yaoi fun! Oooh, hints of yuri, too!
Disclaimers: Gundam Wing and all characters associated with it is not mine, nor am I making any money from this. This is purely for my personal enjoyment, and the enjoyment of the people who read this. GW is copyright Bandai, Sunrise, etc. I do not own Andre Norton, Mercedes Lackey, or any works by those two authors. Their names and works are used without their permission. Use them and I'll do something evil to you, like, uhm . . . spank you through e-mail? ( ^o^ ) Enjoy!

Quatre reached over and picked up his cell phone, dialing the circus' number. An automated recording came on, asking for the extension on the person he wanted, yadda yadda yadda, and Quatre glanced at the screen in front of him before punching in the appropriate numbers. It rang twice, then someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, I'm looking for Miss Cathrine Bloom?"

Quatre could almost see the woman arching an eyebrow. "This is she. Who am I speaking with?"

"This is Quatre Winner, I'm Triton's psychology teacher. Miss Bloom, Tri---"

"You're Quatre?"

The man paused. The way she'd said it sounded like she knew who he was already. "Well, yes. Has Triton mentioned me?"

A snort. "You could say so. How may I help you, Mr. Winner?"

'I could say so? What?' "Ah, Miss Bloom---"

"Miz."

"Ms. Bloom, Triton's been absent since Monday. Now, normally this isn't a problem, but Triton's in the habit of coming to school wether he feels well or not. Is everything all right?"

"Yes, of course everything's all right. Triton's just not feeling well, that's all."

"Oh. Well, I was just checking. Do you have any idea of when he'll be back at school?"

"Oh, he'll be back on Monday, I assure you."

"All right. He can't miss a lot of school because we're really busy this last trimester, and even missing this week will put him behind quite a bit. He's a good student, though, and I don't doubt he'll catch up in no time."

"Uh-huh." Cathrine looked up as Hilde walked in and smiled. "Well, thank you for your concern, Mr. Winner. Triton will be back on Monday, don't worry."

Hilde's face lit up and she wrapped her arms around Cathrine's waist. "Hi, Mr. Winner!"

"Ah, who was that?"

Cathrine shoved Hilde away. "Go sit down, I'll be there in a minute. Just Hilde. Triton says she's in your class with him."

Quatre chuckled. "Ah, yes, Miss Schbeiker. Tell her hello for me, would you? Oh, and if she's going to be visiting you soon, I could send her with some bookwork for Triton to go over so he's not totally lost on Monday."

"Hilde, do you want to bring Triton some homework?"

"How much you gonna pay me, woman?"

"I'll feed you." Cathrine turned and unzipped her shorts, flashing her underwear at Hilde.

Hilde's eyes lit up. "Deal."

Cathrine turned back to the phone. "That would be just fine, Mr. Winner. I'm sorry to chase you off the phone, but I've got to go now."

"I understand. Good day, Ms. Bloom."

"Good day, Mr. Winner." Cathrine hung up the phone and turned to Hilde. "I'm so damned polite on that thing I make myself wanna puke!"

Hilde laughed. "C'mere and gimme some food, love. I'm hungry." Her eyes twinkled as Cathrine straddled her lap, hands unbuttoning her blouse.

"Sure thing." Both women laughed, bodies alight with the flames of desire, and it was a long time before anyone exited the trailer. When they finally left, Triton was sitting on the front steps. He got up and walked into the trailer without a word, leaving Cathrine and Hilde blushing and grinning behind him, respectively. Cathrine turned to her lover and kissed her gently. "See you tomorrow, love?"

Hilde hugged the younger woman. "Of course." They waved good-bye 'til Hilde's car was out of sight, then Cathrine went back inside.

"Your teacher called me today."

Triton glanced up as he boiled some water. "I have several."

"Your psychology teacher."

Triton was glad he hadn't been holding the pot of water, because he would have dropped it on his foot. "Mister . . . Winner?"

Cathrine leaned against the counter. "Quatre Winner, yes."

"What . . . what did he say?" Triton swallowed nervously, hands shaking.

"He was worried that you hadn't been to class, and wanted to know when you'd be back." Cathrine tilted her head to the side. "You could have told me it was your teacher that you've been dreaming about."

Triton stared at the water, refusing to answer.

"I don't care, Triton. It's none of my business if you're attracted to men. Who am I to throw stones? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a lesbian."

Triton's gaze didn't waver. "He's my teacher," he whispered. "I shouldn't think of him like . . . like that."

"Why not? Is he attractive?" Triton nodded. "Is he nice?" Another nod. "Then why not?"

"James---"

Cathrine's fist landed on the counter with a bang, her voice angry as Triton jumped. "Dammit, Triton, stop it! You can't let James ruin your life! He's gone, and no one's going to do that to you ever again. Oh, Triton . . ." Cathrine wrapped her arms around her brother's waist, cheek resting against his broad shoulders. "I know it's got to be hard for you, but can't you open up for someone, just a bit? Ask Mr. Winner about pain, Triton, and I'll bet he could tell you a lot. He was in the war, remember?"

Triton turned his head. "No. I don't remember much about that time period."

Cathrine nodded. "He was one of the five Gundam pilots sent to Earth to free the colonies. Quatre Winner, Heero Yuy, Wufei Chang, Duo Maxwell and Trowa Barton."

Triton shook his head. "I hadn't realized . . . I mean, I learned about the Gundam pilots in school, but I never made the connection . . . Duo Maxwell? He's in my class. Wufei Chang is another teacher of mine. Didn't Mr. Winner's father die in the war?"

Cathrine nodded. "Yeah. You learned about ZERO System?" Triton nodded. "Quatre's the one who found the plans and built the Gundam. Went crazy with grief, remember?"

"Yes . . . How do you know all of this?"

"One, I didn't have shit happening to me that I blocked out. Two, Hilde Schbeiker's my girlfriend. She's one of Duo's best friends. She tells me stories about the war whenever I ask." Cathrine smiled and leaned up to place a gentle kiss on Triton's cheek. "So . . . Maybe Mr. Winner will understand your pain. He seemed awfully concerned, Triton. Why not sit down and talk with him? Maybe he likes you, you know?"

Triton shrugged, eyes fixed on the water. "I . . . don't know. It's so hard . . . I don't know, Cathy. I'll think about it."

"Well, that's the best I'll get from you, I guess. Just . . . Triton . . ." Cathrine sighed and tightened her grip for a moment. "I just want to see you happy, that's all."

Triton nodded. "I know."

* * *

"All right, sleepy-head, wake up! Time for school!" The covers were pulled off of Triton and he whined in protest, blindly groping for them.

"Cathrine . . ."

"Don't even complain, Triton. Get up and get ready for school." The curtains were thrown open, lighting the room as Cathrine rummaged through Triton's new clothes. "Come on, get up."

"Cathrine, I'm not wearing anything!" Triton sat up, the covers falling to his lap. Cathrine half turned, eyes widening slightly.

"Oh . . . I . . . see . . ." She turned around. "If I leave, are you going to go back to sleep?"

Triton sighed and rubbed his eyes. "No."

"Good. There's an outfit for you right here, put it on and get ready." She left, closing the door behind her. "Hilde, wake up!"

"We have time for one more good lay, Cathrine. Come back to bed!"

"Those two . . ." Triton sighed again and slowly got dressed, ignoring Cathrine's choice of clothes for his own. He'd come to a decision over the week that he'd stayed home, and if he didn't act on it now he never would. "I just hope it works . . ." He smoothed out his clothes and opened his door as Hilde's car pulled out. Cathrine walked back in the trailer and glanced at him, then did a classic double take.

"What the hell are you wearing?!"

"You don't like it?" Triton turned slowly, showing her the whole thing.

Cathrine snorted. "Like what? You're practically naked! Why are you wearing that outfit?"

Triton considered his answer. Should she hear the whole reason? "I want to be noticed."

"Triton, that outfit screams 'fuck me silly,' do you realize that? Is that school appropriate?" His elder sister leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.

Triton shrugged. "We'll know soon enough."

"Why are you wearing it? You get noticed in all your other outfits, why wear that one?"

"I know, but he can ignore all the other ones. I want to get his attention today."

Cathrine snorted. "You're a manipulative one, you know. Quatre's not the only person who's going to notice that outfit, love. Had you thought of that?" She looked worried. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Triton put his hands on his hips, glowering. "Cathy, I'm nineteen. I can take care of myself." He looked at the clock. "I'm going to be late."

The young woman sighed. "All right, all right. Go to school, Triton. Just . . . be careful."

"I will." Triton grabbed his book bag and left, pulling into the school parking lot fifteen minutes later. He checked his make-up in the rearview mirror and smoothed his hair out, then smiled tightly. Half an hour 'til school started. Perfect.

'All right, Mr. Winner, let's see you ignore me in this.' He got out and walked to his psychology class.

Quatre leaned back in his chair and cracked his neck. Triton should be in school today, good. He smiled. He'd missed his student, missed the quiet company of him before class. He found it both frustrating and satisfactory that this was an everyday class, but it was such sweet torment, being able to see but not touch. The door opened and he looked up, his welcoming smile turning into a gaping stare.

A skirt so tight it looked painted on and so short it just barely covered anything clung to Triton's hips, an eye-catching shimmering crimson. An equally shiny gold halter-top that was the all straps in back type covered Triton's chest, but just barely. He'd left off the bra, and a gold and crimson choker encircled his slender neck. An ultra-sheer black shirt covered his shoulders and arms, falling to his ankles as skintight black leather knee-high boots covered his legs. Quatre's hormones kicked into over-drive as Triton made his way down the stairs to his desk, looking at his teacher through lowered lashes, eyelids a dark, shimmery red to match his skirt. The same shade covered his lips, lips that Quatre ached to touch, to kiss. He gasped softly and doubled over when Triton graced him with a soft smile, staring intently at the floor.

'I will not break, I will not touch him, I will not let my body take over, I will keep control, I will stay in my seat, I will---'

"Mr. Winner? Are you all right?"

Triton's low voice made Quatre groan softly. 'Oh, God save me. Please, save me from this torment.' He sat up and held his face in his hands, not daring to look at his student. "Mr. Bloom, hello." 'That's it, be calm.' "Ah, welcome back. I---I mean, we missed you . . ." Soft footsteps approached, then Triton knelt next to the Arab, one hand resting lightly on his knee.

"Mr. Winner . . ."

"Ahhh!" Quatre scooted back, staring at the young man with wide eyes. "Yes?"

Another half-smile. "Are you all right? You look . . . flustered." He smiled to himself as Quatre looked him over unabashedly. 'That's right, Mr. Winner. Take a good, long look. You want me, yes, I can see that. But are you willing to take me?' He tilted his head to the side. "Mr. Winner?"

Quatre gulped and forced himself to meet Triton's eyes, but was immediately lost in their depths. So beautiful . . .

"Am I? Am I really?" Quatre blinked. He'd spoken out loud? Triton moved forward, this time putting his hand on Quatre's thigh. "You like what you see?"

Quatre attempted to glare at his student. "Mr. Bloom, I think that you need to change your clothes. Now." Triton blinked, but didn't move back. He leaned forward. Quatre stifled a groan. "Mr. Bloom, I'm completely serious. I don't know what sort of game you're playing here, but you need to stop. I'm your teacher, and this sort of thing isn't allowed between a student and their teacher, so ple---"

"You want me."

Quatre sighed. "That's not the point."

"What is?" Triton moved his hand up slowly.

Quatre stood up as his willpower crumbled to itty-bitty pieces, taking Triton by the arm and tossing his student onto his desk. Triton's eyes widened in alarm, then he smirked when Quatre leaned over him, one hand on either side of him. "The point," he whispered harshly, face barely half an inch from Triton's, "is that you know the effect you have on me, and you're exploiting that knowledge ruthlessly. You want to seduce me? Do it on your own time. Not on the school's time." Quatre glared at the young man, who's smirk wilted slightly. "What the hell do you want from me, Triton?! To torment me with something I can never have? What is it?" He shook his head. "However, since you've managed to tempt me beyond all recognition of sanity, I guess you need to be taught a lesson." He glanced at the clock as he moved one hand between Triton's legs, rubbing his inner thighs. Twenty-three minutes until school started. Plenty of time. He smiled tightly and pushed Triton until he was flat on his back, then moved his legs apart and leaned over him. "Is this what you wanted, hmm?"

Triton's eyes were wide as he stared at his teacher. This hadn't been the reaction he'd been expecting. He'd underestimated Quatre's attraction to him, it seemed. Was this what he wanted? He thought back to his dreams, of being held tenderly in Quatre's arms as they made love. He wanted . . . He wanted to be wanted. Desired. Needed. He wanted to be loved. He nodded.

"Oh, really?" Quatre laughed, sliding his right hand from Triton's knee to his upper thigh. "There's a big difference between love and lust, you realize." He leaned up and captured Triton's mouth, right hand sliding under Triton's skirt as his left moved under the gold top. "Mmm . . ." Triton opened his mouth slightly and Quatre slid the tip of his tongue in, running it over Triton's front teeth. His right hand moved from the young man's thigh to the back of his knee, pulling the leg up and half around his waist as his left hand found one of Triton's nipples and toyed with it. Triton's back arched with a gasp and he opened his mouth more, tongue hesitantly touching Quatre's as his arms moved around the blonde's neck. Quatre grunted softly and broke the kiss, pushing the shirt up and moving his head down to kiss Triton's chest, tongue snaking out to lap at the boy's nipples.

Triton gasped and arched his back again, wrapping his legs around Quatre's waist as the blond licked at his chest. It felt so good, better than in his dreams. 'Take that,' he thought at the nasty voice that had mocked him, then cried out as Quatre's hand moved up to where his leg joined his torso, sliding under the strap of the thong he was wearing. The emerald-eyed young man squirmed, whining low in his throat as his hips pushed up at his teacher. His back was starting to hurt from the way he was laying across the desk, but he ignored it, concentrating instead on the feelings Quatre was making him feel. He bit his lip and fought back another whine as Quatre kissed up his neck and to his ear, nibbling softly, and pulled his teacher even closer.

Quatre sighed and blew softly into Triton's ear before pulling back and kneeling down, kissing the young man's inner thighs gently. Triton's whole body jerked as he cried out softly, hands reaching down to entangle in Quatre's hair. The blonde's mouth twitched upward a tad as he kissed up to Triton's stomach and around to his other leg, never once touching the area in most need of attention. This gentle teasing was making his student writhe, head tossing from side to side on the desk. Quatre stood once more and leaned over Triton, mouth close to the brunette's.

"Is this what you wanted?" he asked softly, pulling away when Triton raised his head for another kiss. The boy whimpered softly and tightened his legs around the blonde's waist, nodding frantically. "Hmph." Quatre pulled him off the desk and dragged the confused boy over to his own desk, picking up the book bag and shoving it at Triton. The young man took it, blinking in confusion, then made a soft sound of protest when Quatre took his elbow firmly and led him to the door. Before opening it, Quatre grabbed Triton's chin and made the boy look at him. "Go away," he said firmly, "and don't come back until you are decently clothed and prepared to do nothing but learn in this class." He took a breath as Triton looked at him in confusion. "Because I will not be distracted by you any longer. I have a job to do. That job does not include sleeping with you. Is that clear?" Triton looked to the side sullenly and Quatre shook him. "Is it?"

"Yes . . . sir," Triton murmured, a soft, mocking emphasis on the 'sir' which Quatre chose to ignore.

"Good. Now go, and don't you dare come back until you're going to learn, not seduce me." He snorted. "You're bad at it, anyway. Short outfits alone don't work well for a real, good seduction. Now go." He pushed the bewildered young man out the door and closed it firmly, heading back to his desk as Triton wondered what the hell had just happened.

'Why didn't that work? He wants me, so . . .' Triton shook his head, then blushed. 'I don't know. All I do know is that I just made a complete fool of myself.' He looked up as Hilde and Duo approached, then hesitantly walked up to them.

Duo's eyes bugged out when he saw Triton's outfit, a low whistle coming from his lips. "Wow, Triton! Wanna come home with me tonight?" He winked suggestively.

Triton shook his head. "Could you two please do me a favor?"

"Sure, Triton. What is it?"

He looked at Hilde. "Could you . . . please . . . tell me what we did everyday in class, what we read, all that? I . . . can't go to class for a while."

Duo chuckled. "Quatre finally kick you out?" Triton just looked at him. "Okay, okay. We'll get your work. Anything else?"

The younger man looked at Hilde again. "Don't tell Cathrine."

Hilde bit her lip gently. "Well . . ." Another look at Triton made her sigh. "All right. But if she asks me if you've been going to class, I'm telling her the truth. Just don't tell me where you are during class and I won't have to tell Cat."

Triton smiled slightly and nodded. "Thank you, both of you." He turned around and left, slipping quietly into the library. There he got out his psychology book and thoroughly read the chapter and took notes on what he thought were the most important points, then summarized each section, then the entire chapter. Once that was done he had about thirty minutes left before his next class, so he got up to see if the library had any interesting books. He was looking through the fantasy section when a soft cough caught his attention. He turned slightly, meeting the blue gaze of a small blond woman.

She smiled at him. "Know of any good authors or series?"

Triton flushed slightly and looked down. "It depends on what you're looking for, ojousan."

"Something with dragons and faeries."

Triton nodded and moved down the row until he found what he was looking for. He selected a couple of books and handed them to the woman, unconsciously tugging his skirt lower. "They're about three hundred years old, but it's a good series."

"SERRAted Edge, by Mercedes Lackey." The young woman nodded. "Was she a good author?"

Triton nodded. "I'd recommend anything by her."

"Ah. Any series in particular?"

Triton tilted his head to the side. "For elves and faeries and such, the SERRAted Edge series. She also did the Halfblood Chronicles with Andre Norton. The elves in that are mostly bad, though."

The woman smiled at him. "Thank you." She held out her hand. "My name's Sylvia."

Triton took her hand and bowed slightly from the waist, kissing the back of it gently before releasing it. "Pleasure to meet you, Sylvia. I'm Triton."

Sylvia blushed slightly. "How gentlemanly of you." She blinked at her hand, then rubbed the back of it as she smiled. "My. No one's done that to me for a long time. Thank you."

"Just being courteous, ma'am," Triton murmured, rubbing his upper arms self-consciously. Damn, he wished he had a coat. What had he been thinking? He hadn't been, obviously.

Sylvia smiled again and looked his outfit over. "You seem like a nice boy, Triton. Would it be rude of me to ask why you're dressed like that?"

Triton flinched. 'Ouch.' "Ah . . . no, it wouldn't be . . ." 'Great. What do I tell her?' He moved to a table and held out a chair for her. "It's a project for psychology."

Sylvia sat with a nod. "I see. Something tells me that that particular outfit is a little extreme, though."

Triton blushed. "Ah, it's, uhm, I was just---"

A laugh was Sylvia's response, then she took off her jacket. "Here. It's my fiancé's, and he's only a little shorter than you. This will cover the outfit."

Triton took the coat and slid it on with a sigh of relief. "Thank you, ma'am, thank you very much."

"Oh, it's perfectly all right. Keep it all day, just return it tomorrow, all right? Don't worry about finding me, I'll probably be in here all day long. And please, call me Sylvia. Ma'am just sounds . . . old." She smiled.

"All right . . . Sylvia." Triton bit his lower lip and looked down. "Those books are really good, Sylvia. You don't need to talk to me if you'd rather read them. I like silence."

Sylvia smiled again. "All right, if you don't mind." Triton shook his head and she picked up the top book, flipping to the first page.

* * *

Quatre sighed and sat up in his chair, dialing the circus' number once again. He'd found Triton's teleunit number and, since the boy hadn't come back to class, was about to give his sister another call. He'd asked around and found out that Triton had been going to every single other class, and that didn't make him too happy.

'Damn that boy. He's so difficult to understand!' He tapped his desk impatiently as he waited for Cathrine to pick up.

A young woman's face appeared on the screen, a slight smile on her face. "Hello, Bloom residence."

Quatre smiled at her. "Ms. Bloom, this is Quatre Winner."

Her eyebrow raised. "Mr. Winner, hello. To what do I owe this call? Is Triton doing all right in class?"

"That's the problem, Ms. Bloom. Triton hasn't been coming to class. Not my class, at least."

Cathrine went still and turned slowly as Triton came out of his room, crossing her arms over her chest. "Triton Bloom, why the hell haven't you been going to class? You promised, Triton!"

Triton froze and shrunk in on himself as his eyes widened. "'Neesan---"

"Ah, Ms. Bloom, please." Cathrine turned back to Quatre, scowling. "We have three and a half weeks of school left, and I'm sure you don't want Triton to have to go to summer school. Now, normally if a student were having a problem with me as their teacher, I'd suggest moving them to another class. However, considering that it's the end of the year, I can't do that."

"What do you suggest, Mr. Winner? Sit down, Triton. Don't you dare leave this trailer, because you are in such deep shit." Triton sat down meekly, head hung low.

"Well, if he came in before school and stayed after, he could start catching up. However . . ."

"Yes?" Cathrine placed her hands on either side of the teleunit and leaned over it, glowering down at Quatre's image.

Quatre was very glad he wasn't Triton at that moment. He almost pitied the boy. "However, I'm not sure that will be enough. There's only a certain amount of time before school, and I have things to do after, as well." He took a breath. "If you don't mind, Triton could come over to my house this weekend, and we could use that time to help him finish catching up. That might actually be the best idea."

Cathrine pursed her lips and thought. "We have a performance this weekend. Both days."

"Ma'am, your brother's grade depends on this. It's a big part of the final."

Cathrine glanced at Triton. "All right. He never goes anywhere anyway, so this will be about the only punishment that will actually get through." Triton looked up with wide eyes, shaking his head as he silently pleaded with his sister to not make him miss the performances. "He can stay at your house all weekend if that will help, Mr. Winner. In fact, if it's not too much trouble . . ."

Quatre leaned forward. "Yes?"

"Well, I'm not sure how appropriate this is, but to make sure he goes to class," and this was said with a glare at Triton, who wilted, "you could take him to school. I don't mind at all."

Quatre pursed his own lips and sat back to ponder this. Would he be able to control himself? That close to the boy he wanted . . . He shook himself and sat up again. They'd see soon enough. "That would be fine. And since he's not going to be doing the performances this weekend, I could take him home with me and we could study more there after school. I'll bring him back no later then eleven. Would that be fine?" 'You really like to tempt Fate, don't you, Winner?'

Cathrine gave him a brilliant smile and nodded. "That's great. We'll see you bright and early in the morning, then?"

Quatre smiled. "Yes, ma'am. Good evening."

"Good evening." Cathrine flicked the off switch and rounded on Triton. "What the hell, Triton?! You promised you'd go back to class! Promised! What, you're damned outfit didn't work?!" She stomped right in front of him and placed her fists on her hips, glaring.

Triton cringed and made vague motions with his hands. "Cat, please, don't make me---"

"Shut up, Triton. You didn't go to class for a week and a half, and now you're paying the consequences. You're studying with Mr. Winner because I said so, and I'm the adult."

"The hell you are!" Triton shot back, glaring up at her. "I'm nineteen, that's legally an adult!"

Cathrine sneered at him. "You're still my charge, under my roof. Until you turn twenty-one or move out, you follow my rules, and do what I say. And I say that you're studying with Quatre Winner until he says that you're caught up with the rest of the damned class!"

Triton shook his head. "No, I'm not doing it!"

"Why not, Triton? Why the hell not?!"

"Because I want him, dammit!" Triton wailed, covering his face with his hands in shame. "I want him! I want him to touch me, like James did! I'd go willingly for Quatre!" Cathrine took a step back, startled. "You want to know what happened on Monday, Cathrine? He kissed me. He touched me. And I liked it." Triton alternated between glaring at his sister and almost crying. "I liked it. He didn't just kiss my lips, either. He kissed me here," Triton moved his legs apart and touched his thighs, "and here." He moved his hand to his stomach. "And here." He touched his chest, eyes closed tightly. "He . . . he kissed my chest, he licked at my nipples . . . Cathrine, I wanted him to do that! That's why I wore that outfit! And . . . it scared me." Triton covered his face again and sobbed, once. "It scared me so much," he whispered, "because I liked it so much. I, it made me . . ." He trembled, another sob wracking his body. "Cat, I'm not a slut. I hear, I hear James' voice, and it tells me I am, but I'm not, really! I . . . I wouldn't open my legs for anyone, please believe me. But Quatre, Quatre makes me feel so odd, and it's a good odd, not bad. I, he wants me, and he doesn't just take me. No one's ever done that before. James took what he wanted without asking, without caring what I wanted. Quatre . . . refuses to touch me. But . . . I push his limits, even when I'm not trying. I'm afraid that if we spend too much time alone, he won't be able to stop himself . . ." Triton's voice lowered, barely audible. "And I'm afraid I won't want him to."

Cathrine knelt by her brother and put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you afraid of having sex with him?"

Triton nodded. "It's not just the sex, either. It's . . ." He stopped, face reddening even more.

"Are you afraid of what you'll feel?"

A gulp and a nod. "I, he makes me feel, Cathy. I . . . I'm not used to feeling. It scares me, that I could feel something so strongly, and that that's not half as strong as it would feel if I had sex with him. I . . . orgasmed once, with James. I wasn't expecting it, and it only happened once, I swear!"

Cathrine nodded and sat down, pulling Triton close. "I believe you. Go on."

"It, it felt so good, and James laughed at me, called me a slut. It, it made me afraid to feel that way. Like it was a bad thing to feel that strongly that way." Tears were running freely down Triton's cheeks as he leaned his head on Cathrine's shoulder. "Am I bad, Cathy? Am I a slut?"

Cathrine glared at the wall and stroked her brother's hair, speaking softly. "No more than I am, Triton. Do you think I'm a slut for sleeping with Hilde?" Triton shook his head. "Listen to me, love. Sex isn't about one person getting pleasure. It's about two people getting pleasure, liking it. It should be about love, and trust. A lot of times it isn't, but still. What James did to you, what he told you, was wrong. You're not a slut for liking what Quatre did to you. In fact, I just might try it on Hilde." She smiled as Triton groaned and hid his blush in her shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. But Triton, there's no reason to fear having sex with someone, or having an orgasm. It's a very pleasant experience, let me tell you. And why would people have sex if it didn't feel good? Look, you're nineteen, as you pointed out. If you and Quatre want to have sex, have sex. I can't stop you, nor do I want to. I want you to be happy. If sleeping with Quatre will make you happy, go for it. Just be careful." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You orgasmed once, you said." Triton nodded. "Did the whole experience feel good?"

"God, yes," he whispered. "It felt . . . indescribable. Just . . . so . . . so!"

Cathrine chuckled softly. "Like your world was shaken up and twisted around, then plopped back down?"

Triton nodded. "But in a good way."

Cathrine nodded. "And that's how it's supposed to be. Triton, you have a choice. If Quatre does something you don't want him to, you can say no. You don't have to let him keep doing whatever it is you don't want him to." She tilted his head up and looked him in the eye. "Please, promise me? Promise me that no matter what happens, if you don't want Quatre to do something you'll say no? Tell him to stop? Promise me you won't just sit or lay there and take it?" She worried her lower lip as Triton closed his eyes and thought.

"All right," he whispered. "I promise."

Cathrine hugged him tightly and kissed his nose. "Thank you, Triton. Thank you so much." A gentle push moved him off of her, then she stood. "Now, you still need to study with Quatre, do you realize that?"

Triton nodded. "Yes. I . . . I did a stupid thing, and I need to make up for it. These are the consequences of my actions. I'm not complaining."

Cathrine smiled. "Nineteen going on ninety. Hungry?" Triton nodded. "How about some gourmet macaroni-and-cheese? Not as good as what you'll be getting at Quatre's house, but hey, it's homemade!"

Triton smiled. "And I'll bet you grew the wheat to make the noodles yourself, too."

Cathrine nodded with a wink. "Why, yes! I grew all the ingredients, made the noodles, mixed the sauce, and I even packaged it!"

A chuckle. "What more could I ask for, but the food that came from your blood and sweat and hard work?"

Cathrine laughed. "Go study, kid. Dinner'll be ready in a jiffy."

"Jiffy?"

"Go!"

Triton chuckled softly again and went.