Continue to Part 2
Disclaimer: Not mine. Don�t sue.
�Trowa Barton. It�s been a while.�
The auburn-haired boy glanced up disinterestedly for a second before turning
his gaze back to the window.
�Zechs Marquise,� he said evenly. �Long time no see as Duo would say.�
�May I join you?� Zechs asked quietly. �You look as though you could use some
company.�
�It isn�t my place to say who can or can�t sit with me,� Trowa replied, still
not looking at the taller man. �This is a public restaurant. The seats aren�t
reserved here as far as I know.�
�A simple yes or no would have sufficed,� Zechs said with a slight smile,
pulling out a chair and sat down opposite Trowa who sipped absently at his drink
every now and then as he stared out into the street. He obviously wasn�t in the
mood to talk, but Zechs didn�t mind.
He ordered a coffee from a passing waitress and leaned back in his chair,
studying his companion as he waited. Trowa looked as though he was lost deep in
thought, but Zechs knew otherwise. He didn�t know much about Trowa, but he did
know that he was keenly observant and very perceptive.
Zechs wondered why he had felt the need to interrupt the young man�s brooding.
He was clearly sending out signals that screamed, �leave me alone!� so why had
he blatantly ignored them and chosen to sit with him and talk?
He was distracted by his musings upon the return of the waitress and he
thanked her, accepting his coffee and taking a small drink.
�So, Trowa, how have things been going for you, lately?� he asked, eventually
tiring of the silence.
Trowa finally shifted his gaze from the window and his eyes met Zech�s briefly
before looking away. �He has green eyes...� Zechs thought. Funny, he�d never
noticed before.
�Why are you even asking me?�
�That�s a good question,� Zechs thought wryly. �No reason. I was simply
curious,� he said mildly. Trowa�s gaze flickered back up to his face for a
moment and Zechs fought to keep still under his scrutiny. Apparently the boy
must have found something he liked because he decided to answer.
�I�ve been...well,� he said after a while.
Zechs nodded. �And do you still keep in touch with the others?�
Trowa didn�t answer straight away and Zechs suddenly realised that he must be
suspicious. �I�m here as a friend,� Zechs told him. �In case you haven�t
noticed, the war is over. I no longer fight and neither do you. I ask you a
question and you answer. I think that�s how it works. I believe people refer to
it as common courtesy.�
�I�m aware of that,� Trowa replied with a slight arch of one eyebrow.
Zechs smiled. �Forgive me. I�ve obviously said something to rub you up the
wrong way. Let�s start over again.�
Trowa narrowed his eyes for a second before responding with a quiet, �All
right.� He took another sip of his drink. �Quatre and Duo are really the only
ones who keep in contact. I see Wufei from time to time, but he�s busy with
Preventer work. And as for Heero...�
Zechs was surprised when he saw the corners of Trowa�s lips tug up into
something resembling a smile, but it vanished almost as soon as it had appeared.
�Not even your sister has been able to track him down,� Trowa continued.
�Heero obviously does not want to be found.�
�Interesting,� Zechs thought to himself. This was the most he�d ever heard
Trowa speak. He knew that the other man wasn�t much of a conversationalist, but
whenever he did have something to say it was usually very eloquent and well
expressed.
�See, that wasn�t so bad now, was it?� Zechs told him. �I say something, you
respond to it. If I didn�t know better, I could almost think that we�re actually
having a conversation.�
�Well, don�t get your hopes up,� Trowa said softly, his gaze flickering back
to the window.
Zechs frowned slightly. He�d meant his earlier comment in good humour, but it
seemed whatever he said, Trowa always seemed to take it the wrong way. Zechs
wondered if he was always this suspicious of everybody.
Not everyone, he reminded himself. From what he�d witnessed, all of the Gundam
pilots shared a bond with each other. They cared for each other and worked well
as a team. Trowa must have lowered some of his barriers to allow them to get so
close to him.
�Quatre asked me to go and live with him you know,� Trowa said suddenly. Zechs
was surprised. It was the first time the younger man had spoken of his own
accord. He had responded to Zech�s questions and comments, but until now he
hadn�t bothered to actually take the initiative with their conversation.
�Judging from the way you said that, I assume you didn�t take him up on it,�
Zechs said.
�You should never assume,� Trowa told him coldly. �Assumptions lead to
mistakes. I�d have thought someone like yourself would know that.� Zechs opened
his mouth to respond, but Trowa beat him to it. �But your assumption proved to
be correct. I didn�t accept his offer.�
�Why not?� Zechs asked gently. Trowa never voluntarily gave up information
about himself so Zechs was intrigued as to why he had decided to do so now. �You
two were pretty close from what I�ve heard.�
Trowa merely shrugged. �Maybe,� he replied calmly. �It�s irrelevant though. I
have a home to go to, people that I can call family. I didn�t really want to
leave the circus, not after everything they�ve done for me.�
�You work in a circus?� Zechs asked, surprised. From what he knew, Trowa had
the skills that could get him any number of high profile jobs, so why would he
confine himself to a place like the circus?
�I�m a clown,� Trowa said flatly.
Zechs fought the urge to laugh out loud at that. �A clown?� he repeated, a
small smile etching on his lips. So the boy was a paradox as well. He simply
couldn�t imagine someone as stoic as Trowa in a clown�s outfit. In some kind of
strange cosmic way it made sense, but still, it was an interesting little piece
of information to file away in his mind.
Trowa simply nodded, seemingly unperturbed by the taller man�s response. He
finished the rest of his beverage and rose to his feet, looking down at Zechs
for once instead of it being the other way around.
�I�ll be performing in town for the rest of this week,� he said casually. �If
you�re that interested in my profession, then feel free to come to one of the
shows and see for yourself how it works.�
He left before his companion could respond and Zechs gazed thoughtfully at his
coffee cup. �I think I might just take you up on that offer, Trowa Barton.�