Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Final Grade ❯ Chapter 13

Title: Final Grade

Chapter: 13/?

Warnings: Angst and hormones, shameless muse insertion (it wasn't my fault, I swear!)

Disclaimers: Gundam Wing, its characters, and its settings are not mine, nor am I making any money from this story. GW is copyright Bandai/Sunrise/etc. and is used without permission, for entertainment purposes only. Amir, however, is mine, and may not be used without my permission.

Note: I'm going to be straying from the original Gundam Wing timeline for the rest of the fic. I don't know where, I don't know when, but it will happen. This is due to the fact that after the fanfic is done I'm going to be publishing it as a non-GW novel and I can't have it exactly like the series and Endless Waltz. Therefore, some changes will be made to the plot/timeline/etc. of Gundam Wing. Please note that these are deliberate and do not stem from ignorance on my part. There will also be the use of carefully thought-out original characters, also due to the future novelisation of this fanfiction. I'm aware the a lot of fans dislike OCs, but these, I assure you, are necessary and, I hope, will add to rather than detract from the story. Thank you.

"So . . ." Triton frowned. He wasn't a conversational person. "I'm sorry, I don't really have anything to talk about."

Ralph just grinned and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Tell me about yourself."

"I already did."

"Pretend I forgot. Pretend we just met." He stopped walking and turned, holding his hand out. "Hey there. I'm Ralph Kurt."

With a laugh the younger man played along, taking Ralph's hand and shaking it. "I'm Triton Bloom. Pleasure to meet you. I think." The last was muttered under his breath.

"The pleasure's all mine. Now, what's an attractive young man such as yourself doing alone?"

"You know, that just ruined this whole 'let's pretend' thing." Triton rolled his eyes a bit and clicked his long nails together. "And you know about me, so now I want to hear about you. Come on, tell. Fair's fair."

"Well, I'm a single, bisexual Japanese Scorpio . . . Or were you thinking something else?"

With a sigh Triton shook his head. "Scorpio. That explains the flirting. What do you do, other than art?"

"People." Triton blinked once. Ralph grinned. "Oh, as a job. Well, I'm an artist. I . . . used to be a mechanic and gunsmith. Then Queeny Girl made all weapons damned near illegal, so I dropped out of that business."

"Queeny Girl? That's a rude way of referring to Her Highness."

"Yeah, well, Her Royal Highny-ass can suck it up. I'm not saying it to her face and neither of us works for the government, so she'll never know." Ralph winked. "Anyway, I'm back at college now, being artsy. It's Yaten-muse's fault."

"Back at college? What did you do the first time?"

"You need a degree to work with mobile suits, baby-thang."

Triton nodded and it took a moment for what Ralph had called him to sink in. "Did you just call me 'baby-thang'?"

"Yeah."

"Don't."

"Sure."

"I mean it." He frowned at Ralph.

The taller man shrugged. "Yeah. So, that's me. Anything else you want to know?"

"Why you're so persistent when I keep turning you down."

"Because you eventually say yes, and besides, you like the attention."

Triton nodded as they walked, ignoring the last comment. True as it was, he wasn't going to admit it. "Where are we going?"

"To get coffee or some food or something. Or wherever you'd like to go."

A shrug. "I don't really care."

Eventually Ralph led Triton to a small cafe and held his chair out for him. "See, I may be persistent and a terrible flirt, but I'm a gentleman."

Triton smiled despite himself. "Thank you." He sat as Ralph pushed his chair in.

"All right, how do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"That chair-sitty-down thing. Women can do that, too. Except for Chris. But how do people do it?"

The young man shrugged. "I don't know. We just do. Who's . . . who's Chris?"

"My best friend. Maybe you can meet her sometime. She's visiting in about a month and a half." Ralph sat and rested his elbows on the table, propping his chin on his folded hands as he watched Triton.

"Maybe." When the waitress came over Triton ordered a coffee.

"I'll have the same, thank you." As she walked away Ralph turned back to his companion. "You mentioned seeing some of my art when I bumped into you at the college. You never said what you thought about it."

"Fishing for compliments, are we?"

"Of course. I also like your voice."

Triton smiled reluctantly and looked down. "Well . . . I liked it. Most of it, anyway. I didn't get to see all of it because I was late for class. I liked the flame sculpture a lot. How did you get it to do that? What's it made of?"

The older man was positively preening and his grin nearly split his face in two. "It's made out of glass and something that captures light and reflects it, and some other material that has a shine in the center of it. It took me a long time to get it right. I'm still not exactly happy with it, but no artist is ever one hundred percent satisfied with their finished work."

"Well, I liked it." Triton sipped at his coffee.

They talked for a while longer, until Ralph had to go. He offered to walk Triton to his car but the young man politely refused.

"All right. Hey, what type of music do you like?"

"Me? I don't really care what I listen to, but I really like hip-hop."

"Hip-hop? You like it?" Ralph shook his head, somewhat incredulous.

"Yeah," Triton nodded, "I do. It's got a good rhythm and a good beat and I can dance to it."

"Oh. Well, there's a folk music festival going on next weekend and I'd like it if you came with me." He'd stepped close to Triton, looking down at him.

"As in, you want another date."

Ralph smiled, tilting Triton's head up to look him in the eye. "I want to get to know you better. Please come with me?"

"I'll think about it."

"Good enough." The older man leaned his head down slightly. "Do I get a kiss goodbye?"

Triton's eyes widened a little and he smiled as he shook his head. "Not on the second date."

"What about the third?"

"I . . . I'm not thure."

Ralph's eyes sparkled with laughter. "Oh? Well, I'll just have to take you out until you decide I get a kiss goodbye. Then take you out more so I get more kisses."

"You're impothible," Triton laughed softly as he pulled away from Ralph. "I've got to go now. I'm lithping again."

"I like your lisp, and please note that I'm not teasing you about it anymore." Ralph bowed slightly from the waist and winked at Triton. "I'll see you Monday, then, for sure. Maybe sooner. Who knows? Goodbye, Triton."

"Goodbye, Ralph." Triton headed back to the park, a smile on his lips. He'd definitely go with Ralph to that festival. He sighed and put a hand over his heart, feeling it race. Damn, the last time someone had made his heart pound was . . . was when he'd been around Quatre, before that blasted party night.

Triton stopped, stunned at his train of thought. Quatre had made him feel something like this, only much stronger. And Triton liked being near Ralph. He'd liked being near Quatre. What did this mean? As he got into his car he frowned, brow furrowed in thought. What had happened to those warm feelings he got around Quatre?

'He fucked you when you were drunk, that's what happened to them.' Triton swallowed sharply as he pulled into Quatre's driveway. There was a swing hung from a branch of the weeping willow in his teacher's front yard and Wufei was pushing Relena on it. The young Queen looked up and waved, and Triton raised his hand in acknowledgment as he walked slowly into the house. He wandered to the back patio, staring down at the couch there. He remembered Quatre's hands on him, his lips, everything about that day. How much he'd liked it. How much more he'd wanted, been willing to give.

'Damn it, so many times I would have slept with him . . .' Moving to the pool area, Triton shivered. He hadn't been in the pool since Quatre had taught him to swim. Since he and Quatre had held each other and kissed each other, and he'd fallen asleep in his teacher's arms only to wake up, safe and unmolested, on a long chair.

Then there were all those times they'd only exchanged quick kisses during their study time before and after school, or when Quatre had dropped him off at the circus and one or the other had leaned over for more kisses. Quatre had never, ever taken advantage of him. He'd pushed Triton away, asking if as far as they were going was what he really wanted. Triton sat down and shook, eyes wide as he stared at the pool without seeing it. There was nothing at all in his memories to indicate that Quatre would have gotten him drunk or taken advantage of him had he known his student was drunk. Nothing at all. So why was Triton so angry with him?

He turned and left, intending to go to his room and think. As he passed through the foyer to the stairs, Quatre opened the door and walked in. Both men stopped, uneasy. 'Shit, what do I say to him?' The memory of what he'd said earlier that day came back and Triton hung his head. 'Might as well apologize for insulting him and his religion. I'm an atheist, but that gives me no right to rag on anyone's religion.' Especially when all he'd wanted was to satisfy his curiosity and a release for his anger . . . Triton muttered an apology.

Quatre blinked. "Pardon?" Triton mumbled a little louder and he still couldn't hear. The blond moved closer to his student, standing right in front of him. "Speak up, please?"

"I'm sorry," Triton repeated, louder. "I . . . I shouldn't have said what I said earlier, about . . . about your religion and your god. I . . . shouldn't have said any of that. I'm sorry."

"Triton . . ." Quatre raised a hand and gently cupped his student's cheek. Triton flinched and looked away, but didn't pull out of the other's grasp. "Thank you, Triton. I don't mind explaining Islam to you at all, if we can talk calmly, without fighting or insulting each other. Thank you for apologizing." Triton nodded. "Would you like to talk?" The young man shook his head, a pained expression on his face as he tilted his head lower and leaned toward Quatre slightly. 'He looks so sad . . .'

It was that thought that had Quatre leaning forward and tilting his head up, brushing his lips against Triton's, that thought and the fact that they weren't fighting, Triton wasn't yelling, and he wanted to touch his student so very badly. Quatre expected the young man to pull away and start hollering, but it never happened. Triton let out a soft sigh and kissed Quatre back, lips moving softly over the Arab's. It was Quatre who reluctantly broke the kiss, resting his forehead against Triton's as they panted softly. He hated to do this, but he had to.

"I'm going to walk away," he murmured, "and we have some choices to make. I can walk away and we can pretend that this never happened, and you can go on hating me, or." He swallowed before continuing. "Or I can walk away and we can acknowledge that this happened, and sit down and talk about what's happened since we met and what we can do to at least get along. It's your choice."

'Oh shit oh shit oh shit I can't believe he kissed me! I can't believe I kissed him back!' Triton took several deep breaths to calm himself and thought about Quatre's offer. Pretend it never happened? He'd like that. He'd like to forget he ever met Quatre Winner, forget everything that had ever happened between them. 'Other than his kisses and making out with him, hm?' The young man shook his head against the tiny voice in his mind and backed up. "This never happened," he said softly. He . . . he didn't like Quatre. He couldn't like Quatre. 'I'm too fucked up to know whether I like him or not.'

Quatre closed his eyes against the pain in his chest and nodded, turning and walking from the room. He knocked on the door to the living room and heard some scrambling. Rolling his eyes, "You two need to knock that off or Trowa's going to find out and throw a fit and get a restraining order against Duo. He'll lock Mariemaia away forever." He waited for a few moments before opening the door. Mariemaia was sitting in her wheelchair, smoothing her short red hair down. Her shirt gaped and she covered her chest, buttoning the green blouse she wore hastily. Quatre raised an eyebrow. "I certainly hope that the third button was the last undone button, young lady." She blushed and mumbled something as Quatre turned to Duo. His friend was only slightly less messy than Mariemaia. "'Rie, I need to talk with Duo. May we have some privacy, please?"

"Yes, Quatre." The young woman wheeled herself out, head lowered. When she was gone, Quatre sat next to Duo.

"Send her away, Quatre," Duo spoke up before Quatre even opened his mouth, desire and pain making his voice choked. "Send her away. I can't stand not being able to hold her. I can't stand not being able to touch her, even in a friendly way, because it turns into something more intimate and she won't stop me. Please, make her and Trowa leave."

"Have you had sex with her?"

"God, no, but I want to. She wants to. We both want to, but we can't because she's only fifteen and if Trowa found out I'd spend a long, long time in jail. Please, talk with Trowa and make them leave."

"I'll see what I can do." Quatre sighed and lay down, resting his head on Duo's upper thigh. "Trowa may need to stay to keep in close contact with the rest of us about Dover, but I'll call Une and have her send for 'Rie."

"Thank you. Thank you, Quatre, I love you, you're fantastic, and unless you're going to give me a blowjob I suggest you move because I'm really horny." As Quatre sat up he sighed. "So, tell me about that fight with Triton. Can I smack him yet, please?"

"No, but I'll tell you when you can. He just apologized, by the way."

"No shit? Damn. Off and on, isn't he?"

The Arab nodded. "Pretty much. Basically, he pointed out that I'm being a hypocrite by being Muslim and a practicing bisexual, and he got pretty nasty about it. He wanted to know why, if there's a Higher Power, that They let him be molested and let war happen and things like that. I couldn't answer him."

"He's atheist?"

"Yes."

"Great. A bitchy drag queen atheist." The brunette sighed and lay as Quatre had, head resting on his lover's leg.

"You're not that religious, yourself, Duo."

"So?" The young man sighed. "So, when can I smack him?"

"I'll tell you when. He ran out almost in tears and when I got back from the temple he was about to go upstairs. I had to stand next to him to hear him apologize, he was talking so softly, then he leaned forward and down like he used to do when he wanted to be kissed, but wouldn't ask. So . . . I kissed him."

"You know, I was distracted, but not distracted enough to not hear him screaming."

"That's because he kissed me back."

Duo sat up. "No shit! What happened then?"

"I stopped and told him that I was going to walk away and we could either pretend it didn't happen, or accept that it did and talk about what's going on between us."

"He chose to pretend, didn't he?"

"Yeah. God, Duo, what am I going to do? What did that kiss mean? That he loves me? Wants me? Is just horny? What?"

"Confused, maybe? I'm not sure, but I think you should press that conversation. You're babying him too damned much. You're becoming some meek little thing that does everything he can to avoid a fight. Damn it, the boy was raped for how long? Half his life? He lost his parents at a young age, too, right? He's gotta have pent up anger. He's gotta get that anger out."

"Are you suggesting I get in a fist-fight with him?"

Duo shrugged. "Maybe. I think it would do him a lot of good, and besides, you could whoop up on his ass any day."

"You're still ticked that we're a pacifistic society now, aren't you?" Duo nodded cheerfully. "And it's been how many years? Give it up, Duo. Go take kick-boxing or something if you feel the need to be violent."

That made Duo snort. "Yeah, right. Sure. Naw, I'll just get into a fight with Trowa and beat him down." He stretched and then leaned over, licking Quatre's cheek. "Yum. Wanna screw?"

"Not right now. I've got work to do and things to think about. Amir's demanding that Triton be grounded so he can't go on any more dates." Quatre rolled his eyes. "Six months. I have six months to deal with that child. I don't really mind, but once he gets an idea in his head it's hell to get it out. And he's set on Triton and I being together. I think I'll call Yasmeen and have her talk to him."

Duo laughed. "Not man enough to handle the runt, eh? Calling his Mommy to beg her to deal with him."

He was still chuckling when Quatre tackled him. "You know, saying things like that leads to very large, hulking Arabs knocking at your door and beating the crap out of you."

Duo rolled his eyes as he fought for dominance. "Yeah, but I'm the God of Death and would whoop their asses big time." He grunted and rolled, pinning Quatre beneath him.

The blond made a face as he struggled. "Not unless they jumped you and took you out from behind."

"I wouldn't mind being taken from behind . . ."

With a laugh Quatre managed to sit up, tickling Duo's sides. "That's because, my dear, you're a slut."

Duo was nearly howling with laughter. "Yeah, but . . . you like it!"

Laughing and panting, the two young men finally stopped wrestling and lay next to each other, Quatre with his arm across Duo's chest and Duo resting his head on Quatre's other, outstretched arm. They were still chuckling when the door opened and Amir flew into the room with a shriek, flinging himself on Quatre's stomach.

"Fatheeeeeeeer!" He giggled as he knocked the wind out of Quatre and the older Arab nearly doubled over. Small arms went around Quatre's neck and a small face pressed against his cheek. Amir started rocking side to side as he sang. "I love you, a bushel and a peck!" He kissed Quatre's cheek. "A bushel and a peck!" Again, he kissed his father. "And a hug around the neck!" This time he squeezed as hard as he could and giggled again when Quatre made a choking noise.

The older man laughed and hugged Amir tightly. "And I love you, too, munchkin. What do you need?"

"You promised that you'd help me with my Sandrock model!"

"I already did, love."

Amir's brows knit together as he frowned. "Oh. Well, then . . . Can I have a pony? I want a pony. A yellow one, that changes color. And flies! With wings! And a horn! A unicorn-Pegasus that changes color!"

Quatre grinned. "I'll work on that. Is there anything else?"

"Uhm . . ." The small boy thought really hard, scrunching his face up. "You're not going to ground Triton, are you?"

"No."

"Bah. Well, then, uhm . . . Then tell Uncle Heero and Aunt Sylvia to stop having sex because I'm bored and want someone to play with! Uncle Wufei and Aunt Relena aren't here and Uncle Trowa is locked in his room and you and Uncle Duo are playing in here and Miss Triton is locked in his room and Mariemaia can't swim and I want to swim!"

Duo blinked. "That was one helluva run-on sentence. How about Quatre and I swim with you, rodent?"

"I'm not a rodent!"

"You look like one to me. All scraggly and messy." Duo ruffled Amir's dark blond hair. "See? Rodent!"

"No! Father, tell him I'm not a rodent!"

"Oh, but didn't you know?" Quatre asked cheerfully. "I'm a were-rat. I turn into a big rat on full moons. So does your mother." Amir turned a horrified look on Quatre. "So you're a rodent."

"But . . . but . . . but I've never turned into a rat!"

"That's because it kicks in during puberty and you haven't reached puberty yet."

"No! I hate rats! I can't be a rat!"

"You don't hate rats," Quatre told Amir. "You were playing with Relena's yesterday."

"I don't wanna be one, though," the child muttered.

Quatre and Duo laughed as they stood, Amir in Quatre's arms. "Then let's go swimming and pretend we're not rats."

Amir was all hyper and happy smiles as the three changed for the pool. He waited until Quatre and Duo were both in the pool before cannonballing in gleefully. After surfacing the boy dog-paddled over to his father, grinning.

"I'm gonna getcha, Father! I'm gonna eat you up!"

Quatre rolled his eyes. "Oh, eek. The dreaded Pool Monster. Someone, save me. Save me from certain doom." He started backing up, always keeping just out of Amir's reach. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw someone come into the poolroom. As Amir described how he would cook Quatre once he'd caught his father, Quatre continued to back up and dryly protest. "Oh, no, you can't eat me. I'm all skin and bones. No meat. Oh, eek. The Pool Monster is going to get me. Who will ever save me? Oh, save me. Distress, distress. Eek. Screams of fear are erupting from my lips." Had that been Triton? Quatre was now facing away from the door and couldn't see. "Help me, help me. Someone help me."

"There are scarier things than little Pool Monsters," Triton's voice said behind Quatre as Amir started panting.

"Oh? What's that?" Quatre wanted to know.

"Big Pool Monsters." That said, Triton ducked under the water and pushed off from the floor of the pool, bypassing Quatre and surfacing as he grabbed Amir by the waist, lifting him out of the water. "Especially big Pool Monsters who eat little Pool Monsters."

"Eeeeeeee! Father!!! Triton's gonna eat me!!! Save me Father! Save me!" The young boy kicked and squirmed, begging Quatre to save him as Triton lowered him and started to tickle the child.

"I can't; you'll turn around and eat me. After all, you were describing how you'd cook me just a second ago." The older man chuckled.

"Noooooo! Father! Please! Aiy!"

Triton was laughing softly. It had been pure impulse to come down and have a swim, and even though Quatre was there, his presence didn't bother Triton like he'd thought it would. "See, there's a pecking order here. Big Pool Monsters eat the little Pool Monsters, who eat intruders."

"But I haven't eaten the intruder yet!"

"Well then, I'll hold him down and you eat."

"But then you'll eat me!"

Triton considered. "Then we make a pact." He stopped tickling and held Amir against him as they looked at Quatre. "You eat the intruders and I won't eat you. Deal?"

"Deal!"

Triton lowered himself so that only he and Amir's heads were above the water, a smirk on his face as he circled them around Quatre. He was going to dunk the bastard under the water if it was the last thing he did that day. Quatre's eyes widened and he started to honestly try to avoid the two, but Triton was just fast enough to grab him and pull him under. Quatre fought back, both men being gentle so as not to dislodge Amir, who was clinging to Triton's back. He managed to pull Triton's head under a couple of times before Amir decided the game was boring and pushed away from the Latin man, swimming off. Immediately both men stopped and turned to make sure he wasn't drowning.

"He really loves you," Quatre murmured in Triton's ear. One arm was around the young man's waist and the other had a hold of his shoulder. The Arab shivered a little and told his heart to calm down, that nothing like the last time they'd been in the pool was going to happen.

Triton was telling himself the same thing. He noticed their position and shoved Quatre away from him, scowling. "I know he does." He turned and swam over to Amir, turning to float on his back. Amir promptly pushed him down into the water with a giggle.

"And I really love you," Quatre whispered. He watched as his son and student sat on the steps in the shallow end, talking and splashing each other playfully. "I really wish you'd forgive me."

"Y'know, only crazy people talk to themselves."

Quatre smiled softly and shook his head. "That would explain, then, why you talk so much. Wouldn't it?"

Duo snorted. "At least I admit it. I'm not in denial about being crazy." He wrapped his arms around Quatre's waist and bit his friend's neck.

"Quit chewing on me, Duo." Quatre kept his voice light to take the sting out of his words. "It's been a week, you know."

"Since?"

"Since Amir's party."

"Oh. Yeah. Well, uhm . . . Where's this heading?"

The Arab shrugged. "Nowhere, really. It was just an observation. You have no idea how much I regret it, Duo . . . And right now I'm not even sure I didn't know Triton was drunk. I could have very well ignored all the signs because I didn't want to see them, because I wanted to have it be real, have Triton really wanting me."

"Would you shut up, Quatre? You know damn well that you can't change the past. From what you told me you and Triton were getting hot and steamy in his room before he went to sleep at night up to the party, so who's to say that you two wouldn't have ended up in bed together if he hadn't been drunk? Don't be an idiot, my friend. Be in love all you want, but don't be blind. Use that wonderful, genius brain you were given. Trust me, use it a bit every day and it exercises it, and pretty soon you'll be quoting Shakespeare. Don't worry, it only hurts the first week or two you use it."

Quatre had to laugh at that. "You sound like you're talking to a virgin. 'Don't worry, it only hurts the first time.'" He rolled his eyes and felt Duo cringe behind him. "Damn, I'm sorry, Duo. I forgot."

"Yeah, well, that's all right. You know, what's completely unfair is that I want to be her first, and so does she, and she's determined about it, and here I am, screwing you and getting almost all the sex I could want. That's just . . . wrong. Not fair. Unjust. Stupid."

"True. Well, if it's weighing on your conscience then we can stop after Mariemaia leaves."

"Oh? And how will you deal with wanting Bitch Boy over there?"

"Be nice, Duo. I'll figure something out."

"Date the new Dean. She's hot. I'd date her."

"That's because you have a fascination for redheads."

"I wonder why."

With a sigh Quatre moved away from Duo and headed for the shallow end. "Amir, I'm getting out now. I've got papers to grade and the final to think up."

"All right, Father." The young boy stood on Triton's knees and held his arms out for Quatre, giving him a hug and a kiss when his father leaned down and hugged him. Quatre returned the kiss and smiled at his son and Triton. "Be good for Triton, all right?"

"Yes, Father!"

Quatre leaned down lower, on the other side of Triton and whispered in his ear, "I'm really sorry about not telling you that Amir has asthma. I doubt you believe me but I'm sorry." Without waiting for a reply he stood and left, grabbing a towel on his way out.

Triton flinched. That had hurt; he hadn't gotten around to bringing that up with the Arab yet and Quatre had known that he'd been upset about it.

'Well, fuck. All right, so he's sorry he forgot to tell me when he's got a perfect memory. Hmph. I don't . . . all right, so I buy it. I believe him. He still should have told me.' The young man picked Amir up and tossed him into the water, then waited until the child swam back to him to do it again. Amir loved the new game. "If you like this, I bet you'd love the trapeze."

"Really? I wanna learn! When can you teach me, Triton? What're trapeze?"

The made him smile. "It's the hanging bars that people swing from in the circus. That's the trapeze."

"Ooooooh! But . . . there aren't any circuses around here! Yours left!"

"But they'll be back, and besides, there are other circuses. And if you're good, maybe Quatre will let us go to one in another part of the colony, or even on Earth."

Amir suddenly got very, very quiet and huddled close to Triton. "I . . . I don't wanna go to Earth," he whispered.

Triton frowned. He sounded afraid. "Why not, Amir?"

"I . . . I don't like it. It scares me."

"There's nothing to be afraid about Earth, Amir. I was born there. Why are you afraid of it?"

"Because, because it doesn't feel like the colonies do. It's not stable like they are. It's like it's alive, and will open up and swallow me."

Triton tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean, it's not stable?"

"The ground isn't stable."

"It's far more stable than the colonies are, Amir. If someone jabs a hole through the side of a colony, everyone may die. If someone jabs a hole in the Earth, it's just a hole."

"No, not like that! I can . . . I can feel it, Triton." The child looked up at Triton, frowning as he chewed on his lower lip. "I can feel the Earth deep down, below my feet, and it's moving. It's alive and it might eat me. The colonies aren't like that. They're not alive; they're just metal. Sure, the dirt and plants are alive and I can feel them, but the metal of the colonies isn't alive and it doesn't move. I can't feel them like I can Earth." He screwed his face up as he tried to explain, then put Triton's hand over his heart. "See? You can feel my heart, right?" Triton nodded. "I can feel Earth's heart, but it's not steady like mine, or yours. It's all violent and crashing and it scares me. That's why I don't want to go to Earth."

"Amir," the young man whispered, "have you told your Father this?"

"He wouldn't believe me."

"Why not?"
"Because . . . I don't know. I don't think he'd believe me. I tried telling him when I was smaller, but he told me it was a wonderful story. He thought it was a story."

"Well, that was when you were younger. He may believe you now." Amir could sense the Earth and other living things? Triton shook his head. Unbelievable, yet he believed Amir. "You can feel plants, even? What about animals?"

"Well . . . sometimes I can. I mean, they have to be really big. I can feel the willow tree because it's so big, but I can't feel the dirt if I hold it in my hands. The bigger it is the more I feel it." He fidgeted nervously. "Do you . . . do you believe me, Miss Triton?"

"I believe you, Amir. I think you should tell your father, too, before what you can do gets out of hand."

"How could it get out of hand?"

Triton stood and picked Amir up. He was getting pruney from sitting in the pool. "Well, I read a lot of fantasy books, and in one of the books there's this girl who has a really strong power, but she doesn't know how to use it. No one taught her how to, well, turn it on and off and use it right."

"Was it like what I can do?"

"No, it was worse. She could feel people's feelings. It got so bad that she couldn't stand being near people and she almost lost a friend because someone had told him something bad about the girl which wasn't true, but her friend didn't know that. Anyway, she almost killed him on accident. They ended up learning how to use her power, but it was really hard because she hadn't been taught earlier."

"Does that mean that I might hurt someone if I don't control feeling things?"

Triton smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. But it's better to be safe, right?" Amir nodded. "And besides, if you can control feeling living things, then you can go to Earth and not be afraid."

"Really? Oh, let's tell Father, Triton! Let's let him know!"

"He's busy right now, but you can tell him later."

"Will you tell him with me? So he believes me? He'll believe me if you tell him too!"

That kind of put a crimp in Triton's plan of avoiding the blond, but what the hell. "I'll tell him with you. After dinner."

"Yay! Oh, yay! Ooooh, I can't wait!"

Triton had to laugh at Amir's never-ending cheerfulness. As he toweled them both off his mind wandered to Ralph. A little bit of unease settled in the pit of his stomach. Ralph flirted far too much. He didn't seem . . . He seemed like . . . Triton frowned, a little frustrated. Ralph was attractive, and intelligent, and far too bent on getting a date with him. A trophy.

'Trophy? Is that all he wants? To sleep with me?' With a long sigh Triton followed Amir out of the room. 'Well, why not? I suppose it's my destiny to forever meet and date men who only want my body.' He sullenly kicked at the floor and nearly tripped when his foot caught in a rug. 'Damn it. Well, it's not like I'm worth more. Used goods.' He sighed again and went to his room, staring at himself in the mirror. 'So damned fucked up that I dress like a woman to escape myself.' Escape was what he really wanted at the moment. With a slight smirk at his reflection Triton mimicked his sister. "You don't get out enough, Triton. Triton, go to a club and dance. You love dancing, you should go out and dance. Triton, get out of this trailer before I kick you out and weld the door shut." He laughed softly. 'Thank you, Cat, I needed that.'

It was early in the evening, barely even evening at all. He had a few hours before the clubs would be in full swing and besides, he preferred the darkness. Triton carefully selected an outfit and lay it out on his bed before taking some nail polish, polish remover and some cotton balls out to the front porch. He passed Sylvia and Heero as he did so and ended up with Sylvia following him, wanting to paint her nails the color he'd chosen. He just rolled his eyes and didn't utter a word.

"That's a really pretty color. Metallic colors are way cool."

"Aren't you a bit old to be using 'cool'? And isn't that an out-dated term?"

Sylvia shrugged. "I read out-dated books, listen to out-dated music, use out-dated terms. Don't make me start speaking Middle English."

"Can you speak Middle English?"

The young woman giggled as they sat on the porch. "Nope. Paint my nails for me?"

"After I'm done with mine, sure."

Sylvia lay on the porch with her head hanging off the top step, watching Triton out of the corner of her eye as he carefully painted his nails. "What's the occasion? You going out tonight or something? Or just wanted a new color?"

"I'm . . . going out tonight. Is that all right?"

"Psh, not my house, Bub. And you live here now, so it's not like you have to ask permission to go places. Where are you going?"

"I'm not sure . . . Sylvia . . ."

"Yeeeees?"

Triton fidgeted and kept his attention focused on his nails. "What . . . What would you do if you met someone who was really attractive and flirted outrageously with you, and kept bugging you to go on dates with him?"

"I'd tell him to bug off or else I'd have Heero bite him. But really, if I were single . . . I'm not sure. Why? You meet someone?"

'Great, she's going to tell Quatre . . . Ah, well.' Triton shrugged. " . . . Yes."

"Really? What's he like?"

"Like I said. He's attractive, flirts with no shame, teases me relentlessly about . . ."

"About what?"

Here the young man flushed. "Well, I . . . I had a lisp when I was younger and sometimes it pops back up . . ."

"Cute! Oh, I love lisps!" Sylvia clapped her hands together delightedly.

Triton rolled his eyes. "They're horrible. But . . . What would you do, Sylvia? I mean, he teases, flirts, makes no effort to hide the fact that he wants me . . ."

"How long have you known him, honey?"

"Less than a week."

"Whoa, either he's a natural flirt or he's got something up his sleeve." Triton sighed as his shoulders slumped and Sylvia patted his skirt-clad knee. "Or maybe he just wants a date. You're really cute, Triton. Like, gorgeous. Like, if I didn't have Heero I'd be following you around like a bitch in heat."

"Who's a bitch in heat? Are you talking about your Queen behind her back?"

Triton flushed and jumped as Sylvia laughed. "Always. C'mere, 'Lena. Triton's having guy troubles. He's being flirted with and doesn't know what to do about it."

"Flirt back." Relena plopped herself down beside Triton and picked up the bottle of nail polish just as he was about to put the brush back in for more. With a scowl the young man waited for his Queen to put the bottle down. "So, what'd I miss? I want to know all about him, Triton."

"Women are odd."

"Yep."

He rolled his eyes at their mutual response and continued. "Well, he's very handsome and he's a gentleman, though he teases me and flirts with me without stop. He keeps asking me to go on dates with him and doesn't stop until I say yes. He's infuriating!" He frowned and looked at his nails, blowing softly to get them to dry faster.

"How many times have you gone out with him?"

"Well . . ." Triton sighed and looked across the yard, not meeting Relena's gaze. "Twice, I guess. Today was kind of . . . a spontaneous date. And he asked me out again."

"Sounds like he's interested in you, or just wants to get in your bed. Then again, that's how it is for most guys."

"Unless you're dating Anal Man," Sylvia snickered.

"Oh no, we're not officially 'dating' yet. Wufei claims it's not a date until we go out for a fancy dinner, which he refuses to pay for, never mind the fact that we're sleeping together and doing almost everything else together. Oh, he bitched about the premarital sex for a bit, too, until I told him that if it was so damned wrong then we'd best stop." The young Queen grinned. "But anyway, back to Triton's dilemma. Does he come across as sleazy? Like getting you in bed is all he wants?"

"I . . . I don't know. I don't know. He looks at me, yes, but he also talks to me. He'd be all too willing to sleep with me but he's also willing to just sit and talk, and he doesn't seem afraid to admit it, either."

"In other words, he's not afraid to be sexual but sex isn't everything he thinks about." Relena started playing with her hair contemplatively.

"Well, yes. Why am I talking to women about this?"

Sylvia giggled. "Paint my nails now, please? Because we're smarter than men in the ways of love, and really, who's there to talk to about romance and such here? You're avoiding Quatre like he's the plague, Trowa's too in love with himself to care about other people and he's straight anyway, Duo's just plain horny and can't stop thinking about Mariemaia, Wufei's Anal Man as mentioned before, and Amir's just a kid. Relena and I are the only adult women here, and we know what it's like to be in love, be courted---"

"Since when does 'thrown down and fucked' count as being courted?" Relena teased.

"Oh, Heero courted me! He did! He was very sweet and innocent and naive about it, too. A perfect gentleman. It was after I told him to throw me down and fuck me that the throwing down and fucking started."

Triton was blushing, hiding his face behind his hands. Hearing Sylvia talk about getting fucked by Heero was not what he wanted to hear. The thought of that . . . He shuddered. 'Icky. That's what it is. Icky!'

Relena's laugh and poke made him look up. "Poor boy's all red! You're so virginal, Triton."

"I'm not a virgin," he replied cooly, eyes narrowed. "You two should know that."

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Virginal, virginal. You act like a virgin. I never said you were. And is it the talk about sex that's got you red, or the talk about hetero sex that's gotten you so flushed?"

Triton scowled and went back to painting Sylvia's nails. "No bloody comment."

Sylvia and Relena burst out laughing and as Triton let Sylvia's hand go, finished, they both cuddled up to him, batting their eyelashes.

"Oooh, do you like girls, Triton?"

"Oh no," Relena cut in, "Triton thinks they're icky. Don't you, Triton? Don't you think girls are icky? They have cooties, don't they?"

"Eew! Get away from me! Yes, girls are icky! Go! Shoo!" He cowered, hunching his shoulders as the two women laughed and Sylvia kissed his cheek. He yelped and jerked away, right into Relena, who wrapped her arms around him and held him against her, petting his hair.

"Oh, poor Triton doesn't know what he's missing! So you're gay, then, Triton?"

"I don't know! I don't like girls!"

Sylvia snickered. "You don't like girls, yet you don't know if you're gay or not. Skeezers. Well, there's one sure way to find out, you realize . . ." She leaned in close and trailed the tips of her fingers down Triton's chest as his eyes widened and he struggled to get away without hurting either of them. Her lips were hovering right above his.

"Don't you dare, Sylvia! Don't! Stop! Argh!" Triton was helpless as Sylvia kissed him full on the mouth, and as she pulled away he glared daggers at her. She just laughed at him.

"Well? How was he?"

"Hmm, needs some practice." Sylvia settled between Triton's legs, just as Triton himself rested between Relena's, and leaned back against his chest. "But he's got potential."

"I am not a willing participant in this!" Triton protested as Relena kissed his cheek.

"Hush, darling. Sylvia and I are talking about you like you're not here." She grinned. "You could always sleep with a woman, if you really want sure proof if you're gay or not. Then, if you are, you can just smile at the girls following you and say 'Sorry, ladies, but I'm gay.' See? Wouldn't that be wonderful? No icky girls pestering you." She grinned.

"Yeah, nice plan, but who would I sleep with? I don't trust anyone that much except for Cat, and she's my sister, for crying out loud!" Triton pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, only to find Sylvia's chest in the way. He eeped and snatched his hands back, but the damage was done. He'd touched her breasts. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Sylvia! I didn't mean to do that!"

Sylvia laughed. "Oh, I know. They get in the way. Breasts do that." She giggled. "And if you had meant to grope me, I'd've smacked you silly. So, about your mystery man. What's his name, anyway?"

"Ralph."

"Ah, all right. What's he look like?"

"Heero, but older."

Relena jerked a bit and Triton looked at her. She was frowning, but smiled at him. "All right, so he's abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous. What's he do for a living?"

"He's an artist."

"Ooooh, the artsy-fartsy type!" Sylvia giggled and clapped. "How wonderful! Does he have money?"

"I don't know; he's never mentioned it."

"Well, that's all right. Well, from what you've told us, it seems like he's pretty open, so ask him if all he wants is to sleep with you, or if he wants to try for a relationship."

"And if he's sleazy then he'll lie to me."

"Yeah, well, hm." Sylvia considered.

"You should try, though. If you like him, go on a few more dates with him. If you're still not sure what his true intentions are or if you still get a bad feeling about him, then stop seeing him."

Triton frowned and fidgeted. "I'd have thought that you two would be pushing me to get together with Quatre."

Relena sighed. "Look, Triton . . . Most everyone at this house, minus you, thinks that you and Quatre had a good thing going that could have turned into a great thing, but then a really stupid thing happened and it all fell apart. Most everyone, again minus you, also thinks that it could have been mended and could still be mended, if only you'd forgive Quatre. But if you truly don't like him any more, or aren't interested in him any more, then you don't or aren't and we can't force you to do anything you don't want to. We want you to be happy. If that means you seeing someone else, so be it. You can't keep a bird caged and expect it to be happy. You have to let it fly and if it's meant to be, it'll return to you. We know that. Quatre knows that."

"I see why you're Queen," Triton murmured.

"Because I'm self-sacrificing and noble and always put others before myself, I know. Bah, it's horrible. Morals suck. Anyway, do you get what I'm telling you? It's your life, to do with as you please."

"I get it," he nodded.

"Good. Now paint my nails, too, and then let's pick out outfits for Sylvia and I because if you're going out then you need protection from all the icky girls . . . no, all the icky guys if you'll be dressed like a woman, and we can save you."

Triton laughed as they all sat up, blushing a bit. "And why you like me is beyond me, but I'm not going to question miracles."

"Yeah, well. Hey, that color-changing outfit you had on when we met, would it fit me?"

"And I've got a really cute set of hair clips. Can I do your hair?"

"Someone save me . . ."