Murphy's Law (Part 4)
by Lorena Manuel

"Thanks again, Rashid."

"That's no problem at all. Are you sure you're all right, Master Quatre? You don't look too well. You look--uh--kind of green."

The boy nodded, forcing a smile. "I'm fine. It was just a stupid joke--I mean, you know--a bit of New Year's Eve mischief. It just got--well--out of hand. I'm sorry for putting you out. I'm sure you were enjoying a good evening with your family and all…"

Quatre could barely meet his savior's eyes, feeling his face burn like hellfire. He was close to tears at this point.

"It's all right," Rashid replied gently as he lightly patted the boy's shoulder. "The night hasn't been spoiled…"

Well, it sure has been for me.

"I'd best be on my way then. Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"Yes, yes, thank you," Quatre said, painfully raising his eyes and feeling that nauseating sense of shame churn in his gut once again. "Give your family my love, Rashid. And I suppose I'll be seeing you in a couple of weeks when I go back home."

Rashid smiled at the boy--almost sympathetically, it seemed--before turning around and disappearing in the crowd. Quatre sighed, hanging his head, oblivious to the pandemonium that surrounded him. He couldn't believe his luck. He never realized how screwy his karma had become, and he began to wonder what it was he'd done in his past life for him to deserve such a downright shitty time at the present.

"You okay, Cat?"

He gave a start at the sound of Heero's voice. He looked at his friend, nodding and reddening even more. "Where's everybody?" he asked in a small voice as he glanced around the police station.

"They're coming." Heero paused, watching his friend steadily, before adding, "Quatre, you really didn't have to go through all this, you know. Trowa would've been fine with a nice, quiet evening with you. You've got to stop this before you do yourself some really serious damage…"

"Heero, you know how I feel about him…"

"I do, but, damn, Cat--setting the hotel room on fire?"

"It was an accident!"

"And now this? Indecent exposure?"

"Sssshh! Not so loud, for heaven's sake!"

**********

Oh, yes--it was indecent exposure, all right. It was almost as though Quatre had simply gone mad. After returning to the hotel from the bar fiasco, the boy had gotten more than upset at his perceived failings, and something seemed to have snapped. Actually, after having told Duo and Heero about his restaurant and bar adventures, that saucy little gremlin responsible for his awkward boldness imposed itself in his thoughts once more and dared him to go full throttle.

"Coward!" it cried in his ear as it sat its hairy little green butt on his shoulder while he washed up in the bathroom. "Did you think people got what they want by giving up? Did you think they let screw-ups keep them from getting to their goal?"

"But I feel so stupid!" Quatre whined as he stared at himself in the mirror. "And I'm sure Trowa thinks I'm just the biggest idiot ever to be artificially conceived! I mean, if there were a stupidity tax, I'd be owing the government for the rest of my life!"

"Oh, boo-hoo! I'm weeping!" the crotchety little creature sneered, jabbing a claw up its nose for effect. "Poor baby! Things didn't go well for you, so now you think you're a total loser--time to go run and hide your head in the sand, little Quatre!"

"Stop it! It's not like that at all…"

"Oh, but it is, isn't it? Poor, poor baby!"

"I'm not a baby, for heaven's sake!"

A knock on the bathroom door interrupted his manic soliloquy.

"Uh--Cat?" Duo called out. "You okay in there? Uh--who're you talking to? I mean--don't get me wrong now--people talk to themselves all the time. But--uh--you sound a little too--well--intense."

"I'm fine," Quatre called back.

"No, you're not," the pesky gremlin chimed in. "You're giving up. For someone who'd gone around blowing people up in combat, that ain't fine at all."

"I'm not a coward!"

"Uh-huh--sure--Quatre Raberba Winner, you can kiss my furry little butt!"

And with that, his persecutor vanished into thin air, and the boy was left swimming in a confusing mix of emotions, unable to think clearly if his life depended on it. And as he stared at himself in the mirror, all he could see was Trowa, and all he could understand was how far gone he was with this green-eyed god. It was then when he snapped.

"You are a coward," he hissed at himself. "You know he's worth all you have, yet you're giving up so easily. You're not just any coward. You're a sad coward. Sad, sad, sad."

"Cat? You sure you're okay?" Duo called once more.

Quatre finished cleaning up and strode to the door, opening it and stepping out into the room, facing his friends with a look of grim determination. Heero and Duo, for their part, stared at him with a look of no small alarm.

"I'm fine, thanks," he simply said, his voice calm, his eyes flashing a brilliant blue. "I'm ready to head on out. Where's Trowa?"

"At Wufei's," Heero replied slowly, still eyeing him with some concern.

"Thanks," the boy said and marched on to the door. And before he reached it, he looked over his shoulder and added, "Have a great New Year's, you two. Don't wait up for us."

And as he stepped out onto the hallway, he heard Duo say, "I didn't like the sound of that, Heero."

"Neither did I."

Quatre could only smile and shake his head at his friends. Oh, sure, he thought as he closed the door quietly behind him. Just because I'm trying to take charge of things on my own, everyone starts freaking out. Well, I'll show them. They wouldn't be so patronizing after tonight.

He then went to Wufei's room and immediately accosted Trowa by boldly declaring that he was up for a drive--not to the place Trowa first had in mind to escape the crowd, but somewhere closer--somewhere that could be deemed dangerous enough for what he had up his sleeve. And he almost laughed when he saw the look on Wufei's face--it was no different from the look he got from Duo and Heero just a few minutes before.

"Quatre…" Wufei began, but he was immediately cut off.

"I'm fine, Wufei," the boy practically snapped. "What is it with everybody tonight? I'm fine! I'm okay! I'm all right! Sheesh!"

His friend simply stared at him in silence, his brows furrowed. Trowa, for his part, looked almost as bewildered as Wufei, but he seemed to keep it all in check and desisted from making any comments. He gathered his keys and walked to the door after the boy.

"We're off then," he said quietly.

**********

"Cat, what happened?" Heero asked gently as he led the boy aside, away from the confusion of harried policemen, irate prostitutes, and obnoxious drunken revelers. They found a quiet bench in one corner of the area and perched themselves there.

"I really don't want to talk about it, Heero," Quatre replied wretchedly as he leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, hoping to blot out the humiliation of the last hour and a half. Hell, the entire evening if he could. "Where's everybody?"

"I don't know. Somewhere lost in the crowd, I'm sure. Look, Quatre, I'm here. You can talk to me. I really hate seeing you like this, you know that."

The earnestness of Heero's tone comforted the boy somewhat, and he took in a deep, shaky breath through his fingers, not once lifting his head. He just couldn't bear looking his friend in the eye.

**********

"Here's a good spot," Quatre said, and Trowa obligingly pulled over and turned off the car's engine. The two sat in silence for several seconds before Trowa spoke up.

"Okay, we're here. Now what?"

"Wait, wait--I'm thinking," Quatre replied as he chewed his lip, mustering all the brazenness that he could under the circumstances.

How did Duo put it into words again? Oh, yes--naked as a sheared lamb. The boy looked around. So far so good. There weren't any signs of life around them despite the fact that they'd chosen a park for some--well--bonding moments. He'd always thought that couples went to parks for some hooky, but all the same, he felt some relief at finding themselves alone.

I need to be daring, he thought, cold sweat breaking out at the notion of what he was about to do. I'd like to surprise Trowa by doing something he'd never expect me to do. I'm sure he'd appreciate all the trouble I'm willing to go through for him.

But, damn, this was going way out on a limb! Talk about getting hardcore here…

He closed his eyes and uttered a silent prayer, feeling his heart race. His palms began to grow sweaty. Then, heaving a sigh, he turned to his date, offered a big, beautiful smile that could have charmed the pants off anyone (so to speak).

"Trowa? I'd like to talk to you about something, but I've also got a surprise for you--uh--it sort of leads into what I want to talk about…" Quatre sputtered, fumbled some more, and eventually ended his spiel with a shaky "Am I making any sense?"

Trowa looked at him, perplexity written all over his face. "I think so," he replied.

"All right then. You need to close your eyes and don't open them until I say so. And no cheating!"

He shrugged and closed his eyes, the look of uncertainty still there. That didn't put the boy at ease at all. Trowa didn't seem to have any confidence in him, and that stung some.

Do it! the gremlin cried from some dark recess of his mind. Come on, chicken! Do it!

Quatre hesitated once more, took in another deep breath, and began pulling his shirt off, feeling his entire body blush as he stripped, feeling both shocked and numbed at what he was actually doing--and once again feeling utterly lost.

Why the hell didn't anybody tell him how psychopathic love could be?

He was done within a few minutes, being simply clad in a shirt and shorts. He decided to leave his socks and sneakers on, though. He turned to face Trowa, who still had his eyes shut, and whose expression had now taken a graver turn. He was frowning--almost annoyed. And that almost made the boy falter, but Quatre was quick in rationalizing his way out of a full-scale panic attack and managed to eke out another iota of courage to help him see himself through this.

"Don't open your eyes yet until I'm done talking," he said quietly. Trowa remained silent. The frown stayed.

The boy shifted his position until he was on his knees on his seat, and, reaching out a hand, he cupped Trowa's chin and gently turned his face toward him.

I can't believe I'm doing this…

"Trowa, I've got something to tell you," he began, scooting forward a little. "I wanted to say…"

A face suddenly appeared at the driver's side window, flashing a light inside the car.

"Oh, my God! It's a peeping Tom!" Quatre cried.

"Huh? What?" Trowa said, his eyes flying open.

He turned to find the face glowering through the window and then turned to find his date--well--naked as a sheared lamb before him. And with a horrified cry, Trowa pounced on the boy, throwing his body over his in a desperate bid to cover him.

"Quatre!" he shrieked. "What the hell are you doing?"

Quatre could only gag and choke as Trowa knocked the breath out of him, feeling his weight press down hard. Pale, slender arms and legs flailed about as he struggled to push Trowa off him, but his date seemed hell-bent on mashing him to death.

"Cover yourself, for God's sake!" Trowa cried as the security officer started to knock her flashlight against the car's window.

"What's going on here?" she demanded as the two grappled away on the passenger's side.

**********

"Whoa," Heero said, whistling. "But how'd you guys get arrested? Don't you just get cited for indecent exposure?"

"Assault," Quatre replied in a tiny voice. "I really don't know what happened since I was putting my clothes back on, but Trowa got into a fight with the police officer. I mean--before I knew what was going on, they were rolling around on the ground, duking it out."

The boy groaned as he tried to force the images out of his mind, but they were destined to remain etched in his memory forever. "Oh, Heero," he said, covering his face once more, "you've no idea how humiliating this has been. All I ever wanted was to spend some time with Trowa and show him how I feel, but everything I do just keeps blowing up in my face. I don't get it."

Heero sighed, and Quatre felt his friend's hand on his shoulder. "Cat…"

"You've never had that sort of problem with Duo," the boy continued, his face still buried in his hands. "Things have always gone so smoothly with both of you. Why can't it be the same for me? What am I doing wrong? It's almost as if I'm being punished for feeling this way about him. I don't get it. I really don't."

"I'm so sorry, Cat," Heero said, and he pulled his friend toward him and held him in a comforting embrace. "You don't deserve any of this. You've done nothing wrong. And it's okay to feel that way for Trowa."

"But nothing's going right for me."

"It's really just bad luck, Cat. I know it doesn't make you feel better to hear this, but it's true. Sometimes we just have a downright shitty day, and no one's to blame for it."

The sound of their friends' voices interrupted their conversation, and both looked up to find Trowa, Duo, and Wufei approaching them with Trowa and Duo exchanging heated words while Wufei patiently kept himself in between them in a desperate effort to pacify both.

"I'm in big trouble, aren't I?" Quatre whispered, turning to stare, saucer-eyed, at Heero.

"I hate to say it, but I'm afraid so, Cat."

"Come on, Quatre," Trowa said once they got to the two. "Let's get out of here."

The boy mutely stood up and approached him. Trowa immediately took his hand and pulled him away from the group before he could say anything to anyone. Quatre didn't dare look over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of what the others were doing. He simply kept his mouth shut and followed Trowa through the crowded station and out onto the parking lot.

"Where are we going?" Quatre presently asked, fidgeting anxiously as he watched Trowa unlock the car doors in grim silence.

"Somewhere. We have to talk."

With a sinking heart, the boy got into the car and strapped himself in, wondering just what it was that awaited him. Trowa pulled out of the parking lot and sped off without another word. Quatre numbly kept his eyes on the darkened road ahead of them, not even daring to make the slightest peep. His companion was pissed off as hell, and he couldn't begin to imagine what was going through Trowa's mind at the moment.

After what seemed an agonizing eternity, Trowa pulled off to the side of the road, turned off his lights, and shut the engine. Then he reached over to take out a flashlight from the glove compartment.

"Let's go," he said in a clipped tone as he stepped out. Quatre swallowed and meekly obeyed, feeling his knees give way as he stumbled out of the car.

That evening being a fairly cloudless night, they really didn't need the flashlight as the moon did an impressive enough job blanketing the darkened landscape with a silvery sheen, and the boys didn't find it difficult maneuvering their way through relatively rough terrain as they trudged along the road. They presently found themselves before an iron gate, one a bit rundown with a large enough gap in between the two massive iron doors for the two to slip through. The large, clunky chain and padlock that held the gates closed rattled a little as they sneaked in.

Quatre was puzzled. He glanced around the general area as he walked beside Trowa, trying to make heads or tails of where they were. And when his eyes fell on an ancient stone monument some distance hence--one upon which drooped a weeping angel--he knew.

"Trowa!" he whispered. "What are we doing in a cemetery?"

Trowa simply glanced at him and then walked on without once bothering to respond, and the boy began to feel some apprehension grow in his stomach. He gulped as they made their way among the headstones and some older tombs that stood above ground, wondering what his companion was hoping to accomplish by scaring the bejeesus out of him.

They presently stopped in front of a marble tomb. Trowa turned around to face him, eyeing him steadily as Quatre fidgeted before him, hugging himself and feeling his skin tingle from both the increasing coolness of the night air as well as the creepy atmosphere of the ancient graveyard. Then Trowa doffed his leather jacket and gently placed it around Quatre's shoulders, quietly urging him to wear it.

"Thanks," the boy replied, his anxiety still growing. "Trowa, what are we doing here?"

"Well--isn't this where you wanted to go next, Cat?"

The boy gaped at him. "What? Why should I?"

"Isn't this what Duo suggested?"

Doh!

The boy bit his lip. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied lamely.

"Sure you do. I know everything, Quatre," Trowa said, still retaining that seriousness that made the boy squirm. "Dinner in our hotel room? Getting under the table at the restaurant? Stripping in the car? I made Duo tell me about your conversation while we were at the police station, Cat. Everything you've done tonight--they were all from Duo, weren't they?"

Quatre could only stare at him in wretched silence.

"He told me that he'd suggested a cemetery, so here we are."

"I don't like cemeteries, Trowa."

"And you don't like getting under tables and stripping in cars," Trowa replied impatiently, "but you did them anyway."

"You don't understand…"

"Yes, I do understand, Quatre! You're putting up a front for God knows what reason, and it's not working!"

"I did it for you, Trowa!" Quatre blurted out, now just as frustrated as his companion. "Don't you get it? Everything I've done tonight, I did for you!"

"Why? For God's sake, I felt like I was dating a total stranger!"

Quatre fell silent, mortified at what he heard. Trowa watched him and then sighed, softening as he did.

"Look, Cat, I wanted to spend time with you--you. Not Duo. But it felt like I was dating him. The only time I felt some kind of connection with Quatre Winner was during those short moments when your guard was down--when you weren't forcing yourself into acting like someone you're not. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"But I thought you'd be bored with just a quiet dinner somewhere…"

"Says who? Duo? Jesus, Cat, what does he know about what I want?" Trowa sighed, running a hand through his hair. Then he looked at the boy once more, holding both his hands together as though he were praying and shaking them before him to emphasize every word as he added, "I wanted to be with you. I wanted to enjoy your company. If I wanted someone else, I would've asked someone else. But I didn't. I wanted you. You."

Quatre was close to tears as he listened. "But you were ignoring me all day, Trowa. You've been spending time with Wufei, and when I was with you, you've been so distant…"

"Because I didn't feel comfortable around you. Quatre, you've been acting strange all day. You've been preoccupied and antsy, and from out of the blue, you started doing all these things I never expected you to do and that I sure as hell know you'd never, ever do. Frankly, I couldn't figure you out. That's why I turned to Wufei for advice and some encouragement."

Quatre couldn't look at him. He stared down at his shoes, feeling a lump in his throat as he mulled over his blunders. He couldn't believe it. He just wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

"You looked at me like I was some kind of leper," he said, his voice cracking. "After the fire--when I was in Heero's room."

"When I first saw you dressed up--before the fire--I didn't know what was going on. I just went along for the ride, not knowing what to expect. But after the fire, Wufei told me that you'd been spending time with Duo, and that pretty much messed me up. When I came into Heero's room, I wasn't sure if the person I was looking at was Quatre or Duo's little creation. It had nothing to do with how you looked, but with how you were. Oh, damn it, I'm not making sense even to myself."

Quatre wanted desperately to kick himself hard. But since the physics behind such a drastic act proved to be impossible, he opted for spontaneous combustion, if not getting struck down by lightning until only a sorry pile of ashes was left. Never before had he felt so miserable.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment's silence. "You've no idea how much I hate myself right now, Trowa. I feel so stupid…"

He faltered and finally burst into tears of frustration. "I don't understand why things can't go right with me," he sobbed, and he soon found himself safely cradled in Trowa's arms, bawling his eyes out on the other's chest.

"You were living out Murphy's Law, Cat," Trowa replied quietly, gently rocking the boy as he held him. "It could also be some great cosmic being's way of shaking some sense into you."

Quatre allowed every ounce of exasperation out of his system as he cried, feeling his body purge itself of every nasty bit that had taken root in him since the beginning of the day. And the relief that slowly followed and enveloped him was positively sublime. Within minutes, he was simply leaning against Trowa, exhausted as hell but utterly renewed, finally exorcised of all those pesky demons and basking in the unbelievable comfort this release offered him.

Now if he could only stop his hiccoughing fit. After a long moment of intense, energy-draining sobbing, his lungs seemed to have forgotten how to function, and he could neither inhale nor speak without being hit with an annoying hiccough.

Trowa remained silent for some time as he waited for Quatre to cry himself dry, holding him close, rocking him gently, planting an occasional kiss in his hair.

"Did you know," he finally said once Quatre had calmed down, "that you were supposed to share the room with Wufei? I made him switch with me when we checked in."

"You (hic!) did (hic!)?" Quatre replied weakly, still clinging to Trowa.

"Believe it or not, Wufei was being pretty damn difficult to bargain with. He actually wanted to know if my intentions toward you were honorable."

Quatre smiled wearily. "What (hic!) did you say (hic!)?"

Trowa shrugged. "Told him I didn't need to answer that. He bought it."

The boy snickered but almost choked when his hiccoughs interfered. Then he heard Trowa let out a small sigh and felt the rocking stop.

"Will you have me, Quatre?" Trowa suddenly asked, his voice tentative and quiet.

Quatre quickly pulled away and stared at him in disbelief, his slight body still racked with hiccoughs that were, thankfully enough, slowly dying down.

Trowa gazed steadily at him, giving him an awkward smile. "I know I don't have much to offer--I'm not rich or anything. But there's nothing else in the world I'd rather do than to make you happy."

Quatre returned look for look, the expression of shock slowly being replaced by a smile that grew in both size and brilliance. Then he slowly shook his head. "Why on earth (hic!) did it take you this long (hic!) to ask me?"

He couldn't have given a clearer answer despite the indirectness of his response, and Trowa beamed, leaned down to lightly kiss his forehead, then his nose, then his mouth. Arms slowly wrapped themselves around waist and neck, lips pressed themselves harder against each other--the two clung to each other as they engaged in never-ending rounds of deep kisses, emerging occasionally for some air and a whispered intimacy before plunging into yet another moment of liplocked bliss.

They finally pulled away and looked at each other in breathless silence. Trowa held Quatre's face in his hands as he smiled down at him, his thumbs gently stroking the flushed cheeks.

"You know," he whispered, "I'm not completely averse to Duo's suggestion."

"You mean about cemeteries?"

Trowa's smiled broadened to a saucy grin. "Sure. Why not?"

Quatre considered for a moment before returning Trowa's grin. "It's kind of a strange idea, but I think you're right."

Trowa made a move to lift him up onto the tomb that stood beside them, but Quatre quickly stopped him.

"No, wait--I'd like to be somewhere that's a little shadier. The moon's going to be in my eyes here."

"Quatre Winner, I never thought you to be the finicky type when it comes to making love," Trowa laughed, playfully tweaking the boy's nose.

Quatre blushed furiously. "Well--it's my first time, and it's with you. I just want it to be perfect."

Trowa bent down and kissed him soundly. "Looks like your day's gotten better."

The boy smiled beatifically. "I think I've broken my jinx."

Trowa took his hand and allowed him to dictate the spot as they explored the old cemetery. Quatre proved to be choosier than expected, vetoing a number of prospective places with complaints of their being too grungy, too rundown, or too crowded. His companion bore all this with a patience that would have shamed a saint.

"Wait--there's another area over there," Trowa said, flashing his light on a spot beyond a thick cluster of trees and shrubs at one end of the cemetery. "It looks pretty private and shaded."

"All right then. Oh! Ouch!"

"What's wrong?"

Quatre leaned against a headstone as he shook his right leg with a grimace. "A stone got in my shoe," he said. "It feels pretty sharp, too. Go ahead and check the place out. I'll be right there."

"Okay then."

The boy knelt down and untied his sneaker, pulled it off, and shook it vigorously until the stone fell out. He occasionally looked up to check on Trowa's progress, but the trees and shrubs got in his line of vision, and he could only listen to his companion's movements at the other side.

"Whoa!" Trowa called out. "Holy shit, grave robbers have been here!"

The boy was lacing up his sneaker at this point. "That's awful! What's the damage?"

"Pretty bad. They've even gotten the corpse halfway out the coffin and just left it there! What bastards!"

Quatre had done, and he plunged headlong into the thicket. "I'm coming," he called out.

"Damn, we've got to tell the caretaker about this, Cat. Let me look around some more and see if any other grave's been violated."

The boy stumbled out and onto the open space, leaves and twigs clinging to his hair and clothes, his arms and legs scratched from low-hanging branches and spiky bushes. He glanced around the area and found Trowa about fifty feet away, busily scanning for other signs of grave robbers. A massive cloud had momentarily obscured the moon, plunging the landscape into an even deeper darkness, and it was with some difficulty that he'd manage to spot Trowa.

"Watch your step, Cat. Keep an eye out for open holes."

"Hmm. I suppose this wouldn't be the place for us then."

Trowa laughed. "You're still thinking about that? My, my, you saucy little tart."

Quatre snickered as he stumbled along the uneven terrain. "It's true, though. There's nothing so unromantic than making love with an exposed coffin lying next to you in an open ho-oooooooooooole!"

"Cat? Cat?"