After the Shindig

[04_after]

Quatre's lying on the sofa in his apartment, socked feet resting up on one of the arm rests as he reads a book. He's vaguely waiting for his boyfriend (he hasn't changed out of what he is wearing for the party, though he's pulled his sleeves back down), but it's the type of book -- and he has the type of patience -- that he can probably wait near-infinitely (for sums of the infinite under 12 hours).

Hopefully, though, he won't have to.

Comments

[3nanashi]

Maybe not indefinitely, but he will have to wait a while.







Eventually, though, one of the sets of footsteps coming down the hall has a possibly familiar rhythm, and is followed by a hand on the doorknob. (A hand that the lock is keyed to, in case Quatre was in any doubt. He's Quatre; he wasn't.)

[04_after]

Quatre sits up, checking what page he is on and setting the book on the side table; he stands about when Trowa walks in. He turns towards him, and smiles. "Hey," he says, quietly.

[3nanashi]

Normal people wouldn't call this relaxed mostly-deadpan much of a smile; for Trowa, though, it counts.

"Quatre."

The door closes behind him. Trowa moves into the room, and towards the couch.

[04_after]

Quatre goes to meet him, and --

Oh, yep. There's kissing.

Okay.

[3nanashi]

Yeah. Trowa's okay with this.




Yep.



He was kind of figuring there would be some more words exchanged first, if not many more, but he's not objecting to postponing that a while.

[04_after]

That covered, Quatre is still pretty thoroughly in Trowa's space, back of his hand resting lightly against his shoulder.

Trowa smells like bonfire which, despite the time spent beside it tonight, is still strange to Quatre.

"Want anything?" He asks, historical context allowing that this means from my refrigerator and/or cabinets.

[3nanashi]

Trowa shakes his head slightly.

Not a lot, because a) he doesn't need to, and b) Quatre's head is right there.

(Trowa has one thumb hooked comfortably in a back beltloop of Quatre's jeans -- Quatre hardly ever wears jeans -- and the other curled loosely around his shoulder. Hello, boyfriend, nice to see you too.)

Slightly dry: "I had marshmallows already."

[04_after]

"A feast," Quatre agrees, whole face brightening with the sort of amusement that would usually accompany a laugh. He brushes his lips against Trowa's cheekbone, instead. That's like the same thing.

"I might need some coffee eventually, though," he admits, making no signs of disengaging, "if we're going to discuss what's going on."

He wants to be awake for this! He gets the feeling it's probably pretty interesting.

(And he's still looking for a good opportunity to spring sweetheart or darlin' on Trowa without cracking himself up first.)

[3nanashi]

What's going on gets an amused sidelong glance.

"Okay."

Coffee can be arranged.

"Which part?"

[04_after]

"I didn't know you and Ava knew each other."

[3nanashi]

"We met a while back."

Thank you, Trowa.

"She's interesting."

Trowa says this more like he means as a puzzle to be solved than as a friendly person to hang out with; there's an underlying thoughtfulness, and a distance.

[04_after]

Quatre makes a slight, questioning noise.

[3nanashi]

Trowa considers that.

There's plenty to say; the question is where to start, and in what order, and what counts as relevant.

"She's a good liar."

Trowa knows from good liars! This in and of itself is not necessarily a criticism.

"The demon bunnies hate her."

[04_after]

"More than they hate most people?" Quatre asks, tilting his head. He knows the answer must be yes, otherwise Trowa wouldn't have mentioned it at all -- but he's looking for contextual clues.

[3nanashi]

Trowa doesn't look bemused, but he is, faintly.

The demon bunnies, like most animals, seem very clear to Trowa. He's always a little bemused when other people don't understand them as well.

"They don't usually hate. They're just angry."

Formlessly, continuously, and comprehensively angry.

[04_after]

Quatre is distracted from the main topic of conversation, now. "Why?"

[3nanashi]

Trowa shrugs slightly, with the shoulder Quatre's not leaning into.

"They all are, usually. As a baseline."

"I don't know if it's based on some event or tradition, or if it's just part of their nature. But the Milliways population is consistent about that."

It's always a little weird to realize that this isn't obvious to everyone. Everyone observant and intelligent, anyway. If Trowa were talking to someone whose perceptiveness he didn't respect, he wouldn't be surprised at all, but he also wouldn't be explaining like this.

[04_after]

... Excuse your boyfriend, Trowa, his eyes are just going to widen slightly with new possibilities.

"They have traditions?" he asks, self-aware enough not to let his voice dip too far into enchantment.

(His heart, on the other hand...)

[3nanashi]

Trowa's smile is faint, but very fond. And not directed at the absent rabbits.

"I don't know."

"But they're pretty intelligent. I don't have cause to rule it out."

[04_after]

"I wonder how they'd view the bonfire." Quatre thoughtfully curls his hand against the part of Trowa's upper back he's shifted it to, feeling the fabric catch slightly against his fingers.

Because fire would probably be important to their society.

"Anyway, I suppose a specific hatred of Ava would support the hypothesis that they're at least as advanced as some corvidae." Flock logistics were, in fact, part of Quatre's training.

[3nanashi]

Trowa agrees, which he communicates by fractionally tipping his head with a slow blink.

Anything more seems unnecessary.

"I don't know," he says, about the bonfire question. "They avoid large groups of people." Most animals do.

But tonight's bonfire was pretty well surrounded by humans (and other Milliways approximations thereof).