Disclaimers and warnings in first part
ADVANCED RESERVATIONS – PART 4
With the key nestled safely in the wrinkled pants of his uniform, Trowa stepped out of Duo's apartment into the hallway. Hearing another door shut, he looked to the other door on the opposite side of the long hallway. He started for the elevator, his eyes taking in every inch of the man coming toward him from the other side.
Jet black hair fell in soft waves over a chiseled face, eyes the color of the sky meeting his in challenge. The man was perfectly formed, tall and muscular. The faded jeans he wore molded to long legs, the white dress shirt clinging to his upper body. Trowa could see the tanned skin peeking out from where the shirt had been left unbuttoned. The man had one large hand folded around the handle of a leather briefcase.
In the back of his mind, he could hear Duo talking about keeping the apartment for his own personal use. He felt a surge of jealousy at the thought of this man touching his Duo.
His Duo?
Shaking off the sudden and irrational thought, Trowa pushed the call button for the elevator, waiting silently. When it arrived, both men entered and began the ride to the ground floor. Trowa had already decided not to speak, mildly scared of what would come out of his mouth. His mind was screaming at this man to stay away from what was his, but he couldn't say that. Duo wasn't his…yet.
The man, on the other hand, seemed to have no problems speaking what was on his mind. “Should I ask who you are, or was it just for one night?”
“It wasn't just one night,” he sneered, hands fisting at his sides. “I didn't sleep with Duo.”
“That makes you a fool, then,” was the sarcastic retort. “I wouldn't have wasted the opportunity if I had a chance.”
Trowa's eyes narrowed for a second, until his mind sorted out what had just been said. He rubbed his face; exasperated at his own reaction to a man he didn't know. With a long sigh, he held out his hand as the elevator came to a stop. “My name is Trowa. Sorry about being a jerk, I have a lot on my mind right now.”
With a grin, the other man took his hand, shaking it as they left the car. The lobby was empty except the security guard, so they stopped and turned to face each other. “My fault,” the other man said with a chuckle. “I have a tendency to be a bit…overprotective of Duo. Not that he can't take care of himself, mind you. My name is Alexi. Alexi Popov.”
Trowa took a closer look at the man and had to admit, at least to himself, that he was gorgeous. He could hear the slight Russian accent now that he wasn't focused on his anger. He gave a small smile of his own, “I'm Trowa Barton.”
Blue eyes grew wide after hearing his full name, Alexi laughing a bit. “It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Trowa. I've heard a lot about you,” he snickered when he saw Trowa frown in confusion. “Duo has spoken of you before. Many times. What brings you to our fine city?”
“I work for the Preventers,” Trowa surprised himself by answering the question. He was not one to speak, especially to someone he barely knew, but there was something about this man that made him want to talk.
“I gathered that much by the uniform, though you do look a bit…er…bedraggled.” When Trowa blushed, Alexi let out a delighted laugh, clapping him on the shoulder as if they were old friends, not just people that had met fifteen minutes ago under hostile conditions. “Do you have to be anywhere soon?”
“Not really,” Trowa shrugged a little, needing to go to the office to get his clothes, but not ready to leave the other mans company quite yet. He was very curious about what relationship this man had with Duo.
“I was going to get some late breakfast. Would you care to join me?” Alexi's eyes were twinkling with humor. “I could tell you some things Duo has been doing the last few years,” he added knowingly.
Trowa blushed yet again; feeling rather like a regular teenager must, attempting to learn about his crush. He agreed, and the two were off to a nearby restaurant, the conversation on inconsequential things like the weather. Alexi was a cheerful person, his personality exuberant, smiling at everyone that passed. It was difficult not to compare him to Duo, the boisterous laughter and huge grin a constant reminder of the cheerful American.
Once they had settled and given their orders to the waiter, Alexi sat back in his chair, a small smile playing about his lips. “So how did you happen to find Duo?” Trowa started at the strange question, the other man's smile turning into a smirk. “I know who you are, and how you first met, so don't worry about it. I have no issues with that. I was just wondering how you ended up coming out of his apartment after obviously spending the night there.”
“I actually wandered into his restaurant last night, and one of his bartenders recognized me. Duo and I stayed there late, talking. When he realized I didn't have a hotel room for the night, he invited me to stay,” he replied, again shocked to find himself answering.
Those eyes fixed on him, serious, the smile disappearing for a moment before being replaced by a wistful look. Trowa waited for a response or explanation of some sort. “It's strange that Duo didn't just offer the other apartment to you,” Alexi commented. “He doesn't normally allow people to stay in his home.”
“You were in the other apartment,” Trowa clamped down the bitterness that wanted to spill out when he said that.
Alexi looked at him in surprise, “No, I wasn't. I arrived this morning. After a flight I go to the apartment so I can get my things settled and calm down. I hate flying, it scares me to death. Duo knows about this phobia. He lets me use the space to gather myself before I have to work. After my meetings are over, I will go to visit my sister and her family outside the city. They live in Sacramento, where she manages one of Duo's businesses for him.”
Surprised at the amount of information the other man was willing to share, Trowa listened carefully, storing any pertinent information. He sat back in his own seat as their food arrived, taking a few bites to sort through his thoughts. Several minutes later, he glanced at his companion, “Another restaurant?”
“Hmmm? Oh, no, not a restaurant. It is a bakery.” Alexi burst out laughing when he saw the stunned look on Trowa's face. “You never expected that, did you?”
“A bakery?”
“Ever heard of `Death's Delight'?”
Trowa could only stare at the man. Death's Delight had some of the finest baked goods in the United States. There was a bakery in almost every large city that he knew of. He had eaten in many of them, relishing the sweet treats like it was a secret sin. He could even remember when the bakery had launched the opening of the store in a city he had been in, but unable to attend the grand opening because of his job. Several key members of the city had been there for the event. “I was in Seattle on opening day a few months ago. I wasn't able to go because of work,” his voice was shaky, uncertain. What else was he going to discover about Duo?
Could he really hope to offer anything to Duo? Was his dream doomed to remain just that, a fantasy? Did he even have a chance?
“I think you do,” he met calm blue eyes, realizing that he must have said at least part of that out loud. Alexi lifted an elegant eyebrow at him, then sighed in resignation. Pushing his empty plate to the side, he crossed his arms over the table, leaning forward a bit. “Duo is a very successful man who is also very lucky when it comes to business. He has never had an idea that didn't take off from the get-go. I'll be honest with you. He has enough money to be set for life, could have the best money could buy, but he's just not made that way. He keeps enough money to live comfortably on, but that's about it.”
“What does he do with the rest of his money?” Trowa was still finding it hard to believe that Duo was very wealthy, the image not wanting to gel in his mind, at odds with the carefree man Duo still seemed to be. Even knowing about the restaurants hadn't altered his opinion, but to learn that he had other businesses that were very successful was an intimidating revelation. Trowa knew that money could change people, and sometimes the changes were not good at all.
“Uses a lot of it to fund trips to the colonies when he goes to find new employees, sometimes he pays for his employees to go back to the colony to see their families, and there are a lot of donations to charities. I don't think he really knows what to do with it, and more money comes in all the time. In the last three years, Duo has been responsible for renovating four orphanages, and building two others, all on the colonies. Right now, a church and orphanage are being funded by the Maxwell Foundation here on Earth.”
Trowa had to smile at that. Duo had never been comfortable with the wealth that had surrounded him when at one of Quatre's homes during the war. He had once overheard the American state that his gang could have eaten for a week on what had been paid for a silver serving tray. “It seems that Duo hasn't really changed all that much in the last few years. Money never meant much to him.”
Alexi gave a laugh and nodded. He took the bill that the waiter had placed on the table, holding up his hand to stall Trowa's arguments. After paying the tab, they left the restaurant, walking up the sidewalk. It was several minutes before the Russian began to speak again. “The money means a lot to Duo. The more he makes, the more he can do for the people that don't have the means to do for themselves. He doesn't make a big deal of it, but he takes several trips a year to the colonies. It used to be just the L2 cluster, but recently he has started to travel to L3 and L1. He spends several weeks at a time there, in some of the worst places you could imagine, watching people to see who might have the inclination to work for him.”
Trowa could see some of the areas of L3 in his mind, the mercenary camps he had lived in as a child popping in his head. He could see the children, clothes torn and dirty, ribs and hipbones poking out of the skin because they had been underfed. It hadn't been the parent's fault, there just had never been enough food or money to eat or live better. “So he doesn't just pick people at random?”
“There is actually a very meticulous screening process everyone has to go through. If they are not willing to work for what they want, there is no point in trying to provide a better life for them.” Alexi fell silent for several minutes, coming to a stop in front of a building that was very familiar. Trowa was surprised that they were standing in front of the Preventers building. Sad blue eyes met his, and he could see the worry Alexi carried for Duo. “What Duo does is very dangerous, and he goes alone, ignoring our warnings. We worry about him when he is gone, Trowa. He takes risks to give people a better life, but what would happen to them if he was hurt or killed on one of these self-imposed missions?”
“And what would you suggest I do?”
“He cares about you a great deal,” Alexi's voice was slightly envious. “If you could talk to him, he might listen to you. He won't listen to me, Car, or David, no matter how much we try to caution him. Or could you do something through your job? He is a wealthy man going into a dangerous area, could you arrange for him to have a bodyguard?”
An idea began to form in Trowa's mind, one that had a great deal of potential. He would need to speak with Duo, but it would be a way to spend more time together. Giving Alexi a smile, he shook his head, “I have an idea, but I need to talk to Duo before making any other plans. I need to hurry if I want to get back before he does.”
“How long do you need?” The Russian sent him a wink. “I'm his accountant,” he confided. “We have a meeting today. I can keep him busy as long as you need afterward.”
Sensing he had a willing accomplice, Trowa grinned, then shared some of his plans. By the time he was done, Alexi was wearing a grin of his own, an evil glint in his eyes. “I can keep him at the meeting for two hours at the most, but after that I will take him to a late lunch. Duo never turns down food. I should be able to keep him busy until about five or so, if I can talk Car into helping me drag him shopping.”
“That would be perfect, giving me enough time. Does he have to work tonight?”
“He never has to work, he just does. I'll make sure Car knows he has the night off,” the two men shook hands, a silent agreement, much like the contracts that Duo had with his employees. Before leaving, Alexi gave Trowa a long look, eyes intent and probing. “I wish you luck. He is content with his life, but not truly happy. You could be very good for him, but if you hurt him, I will come after you, my friend.”
Knowing the message was more of a promise than a threat, Trowa nodded solemnly. “I will do what I can to make him happy, if he will let me.”