Number Lovers and Bookworms

By Misanagi

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: 3+4+3, 2+4, 1+3.

Summary: Sometimes people meet in the most unexpected places, and sometimes they meet in the most normal ones.

Warnings: AU, College fic, language.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters used in this fic.

Archive: Gundanium Line.

Notes: Written for Blackster's request on the Fic on demand community on LJ.

Thanks a lot to Anne for the beta.

Quatre entered the classroom, stopping briefly at the door to look around. The room was only half full. On the middle, beside the wall, was a group of about ten people chatting amiably. There were a few smaller groups but most of the students were alone. Quatre took a seat at the back and continued staring at the crowd. Most people had a bored look on their faces, which wasn't surprising considering that they were probably taking the class out of obligation rather than genuine interest. It was one of those general courses all students had to take as a requirement for graduation, no matter what program they were on.

Most people picked the literature classes thinking that they could just rent a movie and fly through the course. Quatre, on the other hand was very interested in studying something beside the numbers and figures he saw every day in his finance classes. His friend Wufei had taken this same class last semester and had recommended it to Quatre, assuring him that it wouldn't be a bird course, and that he would have to work hard if he expected to pass with a good grade. That was just fine. Quatre enjoyed challenges.

"I give it a week before half of them drop it."

Turning away from the window to follow the voice, Quatre saw a brown haired boy entering the classroom with two girls. He had a weird haircut that covered part of his face, and a green backpack he carried on one shoulder. The guy took a seat near the group of about ten people Quatre had seen earlier, and the girls each sat on one side of him.

"Lit students," said Duo, stumbling to reach the seat next to Quatre. He was carrying his backpack, half a chocolate doughnut and a coke can. Finally reaching Quatre, Duo dumped the food items on Quatre's desk and the backpack on the floor. "They are the only ones who know a lot of people in this type of class."

Quatre put the coke on Duo's desk. "I'm glad you decided to take this with me," he said, and then took a huge bite of the doughnut. "Mmm doughnut..."

"Hey! That's mine." Duo took the doughnut back from Quatre and ate what was left of it.

"I hate taking classes where I don't know anyone," continued Quatre, ignoring Duo and taking a sip from the coke.

"I'm not just someone, you know? You should be grateful. We haven't taken a class together since high school."

"Is it my fault that you decided to become a boring lawyer?" asked Quatre, absentmindedly giving the coke back to Duo. He looked at his watch. It was eleven thirty, definitely time for his coffee fix. If this class turned out to be even a bit dull he would fall asleep. "Hey, Duo, do me a favor? If you hear me snore, wake me up before someone notices."

Duo laughed. "You say that like it's an easy task." He finished the coke and put the can on the floor. "Do I need to remind you of when I had to throw ice water on you so we wouldn't miss our flight?"

"That happened once," Quatre grumbled, "when we where sixteen. I think you can let go of it now."

A smirk crossed Duo's face. "If it wasn't for me we would probably still be in Madrid, and you would probably be sleeping."

"Oh come on!" Quatre gave Duo a look. "I would have slept for four years and you would have done what? Learnt Spanish?"

"I could if I wanted to," said Duo in his bragging voice.

Quatre said nothing, and instead decided to take his notebook out of his bag. The teacher chose that moment to arrive. She was an older lady. She had gray hair and wore it in a braid, not nearly as long as Duo's, but it did reach her mid back. She wore no make up, baggy jeans, a sweater and a scarf. She slowed a bit to nod and say hello to the group of literature students sitting by the wall, and then stepped to the front of the classroom.

"Good morning and welcome to Science Fiction. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Giselle Wagner." She wrote her name on the board with messy, rushed handwriting. "As you know this is a literature class. If you are here, then you are expected to do the reading and work on your essays. This course can be used to fill your basic cycle credits but I urge you to remember that the class is part of the literature program and works on those standards."

There were already a few people looking at the teacher with apprehension, and a few others looking at the door in longing. Quatre turned his eyes to the brunet. He was relaxed on his chair, looking ahead, with a small, almost imperceptible, amused smile.

"I've already left two texts at the copy shop. Both are by Ursula Le Guin, one on fantasy and the other on science fiction; just to get us started. I expect you to read those for next class."

Quatre spent most of the class taking notes, sharing a commentary or two with Duo, and pretty much enjoying the lecture. The teacher knew a lot, and she had an interested sense of humor that seemed to terrify most of the students. When a girl's cellphone rang in the middle of the lecture, Miss. Wagner criticized the Pink Panther ring tone instead of reprimanding her. Judging by the look on the girls face, she would have preferred the reprimand.

The other part of the class was spent looking at the brown haired guy. By now, Quatre was sure he was a literature student. He had spoken a couple of times, mentioning a thing or two about the topic. The teacher had referred to him by name: Trowa.

"Please tell me you are not falling for that lit guy," said Duo, bringing Quatre back to the present. They were both collecting their stuff and getting ready to head out and have some lunch.

Quatre looked around to check that Trowa was out of hearing range. "I just saw him for the first time. Why would I fall for him?"

Duo looked at Quatre seriously for a moment and then grinned. "It's the first guy I've seen you look at for so long." They started to walk out. "That isn't me, of course. But I'm irresistible."

Quatre raised an eyebrow. "Keep dreaming." Trowa was nowhere to be seen. He was probably still in the classroom. Quatre started to walk a bit slower. "And I've looked at guys before. Other than you, of course."

"Look being the keyword. You've never done more than that, except with me, of course. But you want this guy, I can see it." Duo grabbed Quatre by the arm and started pulling him down the stairs. "Quit stalling, Cat. You'll see him next class and if we don't hurry we won't find a table anywhere."

Quatre nodded and walked faster. Duo was right. There was always next class.

Trowa leaned against the wall and waited. He still had ten minutes until the next class and none of his friends had arrived yet. If he didn't make the call soon then Heero would be in class and there would be no way to contact him.

Leaning on the balcony and looking down, was a blond guy with his back turned to Trowa. He had a cup of coffee in one hand, and a navy blue kippling backpack, with a small cellphone peeking from the front pocket. Deciding to try his luck, Trowa approached the blond and coughed discreetly. He turned around slowly and gave Trowa a smile and a questioning look.

"I was wondering," said Trowa, not bothering to introduce himself. "Could I buy a minute from you?"

The blond blinked, clearly confused.

"The cellphone," clarified Trowa. "I need to make a call; I can pay you."

The blond gave a small laugh and took the phone out of his backpack, giving it to Trowa. "No problem, go right ahead."

Trowa nodded in thanks and dialed Heero's number.

"Who's this?" asked Heero, as soon as he picked up.

Trowa smiled. "You don't have to be so paranoid. Not every unknown number is a government agent conspiring to accuse you of something."

Hearing a weird noise, Trowa turned to the blond, just to find him quietly sipping his coffee, but something told him there was a smile hidden behind the cup.

"You never know," answered Heero. "What happened to your phone?"

"Left it at home. I'll meet you for lunch in front of the G, one o' clock. I have to go; I'm using a borrowed phone."

"One pm, G. Got it."

The call was ended and Trowa looked at the screen; Forty three seconds, not bad at all. "Thanks," he said and gave the phone back to its owner. He reached into his pocket to pay but a hand stopped him.

"That's not necessary."

Trowa gave him a look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm terrible with change. I'll probably lose it anyway. I'm Quatre, by the way." He put the phone back in his backpack. "You are in the science fiction class, right?" He took another sip of his coffee.

"Yes. You're taking it for general credits?" Trowa had never seen the blond before, and he knew all the lit students since there weren't many to begin with.

Quatre laughed. "You say that like it's a bad thing. It is discrimination against us finance students."

"You study finance," Trowa repeated, slowly.

"And that sounded as a condolence." Quatre smiled, amused. "I guess you don't care very much for us number lovers."

Trowa shook his head. "Number lovers." He shuddered. "That has to be the nerdiest thing I've ever heard."

Quatre crushed the plastic cup and threw it at the garbage can near the classroom door. It went in. "Is nerdiest a word?" asked Quatre, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you lit students cared about language."

"Poetic license. It fitted the occasion so it needed to be said that way," explained Trowa. "How did you know I was a lit student?"

"The general credits question, and the tone," answered Quatre. "The only ones who don't take lit courses for general credits are lit students." Quatre shrugged. "Besides, you look arrogant enough."

"Arrogant?" Trowa tried to hide his amusement. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Last time I checked it was an adjective, meaning chesty, self important." Quatre's eyes were shining.

"You sound like a lit student," said Trowa.

Quatre snorted. "Why? Because I know what an adjective is? Not all finance students are incapable of forming a coherent sentence."

Trowa grinned. "No, I was referring to the arrogant tone." With that he walked into the classroom, following the teacher who had just arrived. He smiled. Maybe not all finance students were bad.

"We're not going to have time to eat," said Duo, raising his hands in exasperation and glaring at the line. "This is your fault." He turned his glare on Quatre. "If you had just waited to go to the bathroom until we'd found a place to eat we wouldn't be standing in the middle of the street waiting for a table."

Quatre moved his backpack to the other shoulder. Those damn books were heavy and his back was starting to ache. "How many times do I need to apologize? It's not my fault that you get cranky when you are hungry." The truth was that Quatre got cranky when he was hungry too, and right now, his stomach was screaming.

Duo sighed. "We really need to put a restaurant slash copy shop here. We'll make millions, and we'll always have someplace to eat." Duo leaned on the wall as the line moved a bit. Now there where only about twelve people in front of them. "So, you never got a chance to tell me what happened with the lit guy. When I found you, you were glaring at the classroom door."

"He said I was arrogant." Quatre blew the bangs from his face. "Me, arrogant!"

Duo chuckled. "How dare he! When you are clearly the most modest guy I've ever met." He rolled his eyes.

"Like you're one to talk." Quatre let his backpack drop on the floor beside him. "He seemed nice, anyway."

"Hmm, nice, uh?" Duo took his sunglasses out of his bag and put them on. "So are you gonna be abandoning me for that bookworm?"

"Are you kidding? Who would go to karaoke with me, or laugh at the nervous people in bad horror movies?" Quatre took off his jean jacket and threw it on the floor, on top of his backpack. The sun was shining brightly, and Quatre was feeling hungrier and thirstier as the minutes went by. "I need a beer."

"I thought finance students only drank coffee."

Quatre turned around so fast that he almost lost his balance. Sure enough, Trowa was standing there with an amused look on his face.

"After noon, we finance students are allowed to drink anything." Quatre leaned on the wall beside Duo, and crossed his arms above his chest.

"That's if we are able to get in anywhere." Duo raised his hands in frustration. "Why are all the fucking places that serve food, full?"

"That's a result of the rule that forbids the university to have classes between one and two o'clock, which makes it the official lunch hour for all the student body and faculty. That, and the fact that there aren't really enough dining facilities in the vicinity of the university, makes it almost impossible to get a table anywhere." Quatre hadn't even noticed that Trowa was with someone else until then. The guy had spoken without much inflection in his voice. He had a neutral expression in his face too, but Quatre had the idea that the he was enjoying the conversation, even if he didn't show it.

Duo rolled his eyes. "Have you ever heard of a rhetorical question?" He turned to Trowa. "Is he a lit student too?"

Trowa's friend snorted and took a step back, putting his hands in front of him as if he was trying to protect himself from something. "System Engineering. Trowa and I went to school together."

"Oh, that explains it," said Duo, grinning.

Quatre decided to interrupt before the boy had a chance to say anything and challenge Duo, who had decided to study law just because he would be able to argue for a living –or so Quatre kept saying- "That's Duo." Quatre signaled him with his thumb. "I'm Quatre. What's your name?"

"Heero Yuy." He frowned. "I'm melting."

Quatre blinked. That was something he wasn't expecting. Engineers were supposed to be boring and predictable. This Heero was just weird.

"I melted fifteen minutes ago," said Duo, lowering his glasses to look at Heero. "I'm in the middle of the evaporating process now."

"Heero's right." Trowa took off the light brown jacket he had been wearing to show a white t-shirt with some abstract image stamped on it. "Want to have lunch with us? I know a place with free tables."

Duo lowered his glasses all the way to his chin this time. "You are not bullshitting us?"

Trowa smirked. "Why would I?"

Quatre was already picking up his backpack and jacket from the floor. "Then let's go. I'm starving and I really need that beer."

Moving away from the food line, the group walked through a small alleyway between the G building and a faculty parking lot, made a right, and arrived in front of an old house. "In here," Trowa said, walking inside.

Everyone followed him into the dark hallway. After a few steps they could see a small indoor garden at the end, with tables, and groups of people eating and talking together. Trowa motioned them to a small, empty table in a corner.

"Where the hell did this place come from?" asked Duo, looking around with wide eyes.

"It's always been here," said Trowa, passing around the menus. "Not many people know about it because it's a bit tricky to get here. The food is excellent." He turned to Quatre. "And the beer is cheap."

Quatre raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly did you find this place?"

Trowa smirked. "I'm a lit student."

Quatre and Duo just blinked at the comment waiting for Trowa to elaborate. He was certainly in a playing mood every time Quatre saw him, and by the look on his face, Quatre knew that Trowa wasn't going to explain his mysterious statement.

Heero looked at Trowa and gave him a small glare. "The literature department is reached by entering the parking lot. Do you see those houses there?" he asked, pointing to three brightly painted roofs that could be seen from the garden. "That's the department. Not many people know where that is either."

"So we are basically infiltrating bookworm territory?" Quatre smiled at Trowa. "Well, we got a table, so it's worth it. Now let's get some food."

"And beer," added Trowa.

Quatre relaxed on his seat. "We can never forget beer."

"What time is it?" asked Heero, placing another empty bottle of beer on the table.

"Six thirty." Trowa leaned back on his chair and took another swing of his beer. The sun had gone down a while ago. "You already missed all your classes; what do you care?"

"You are a bad influence," said Heero. "You two also." He pointed the tip of his empty bottle at Quatre and Duo.

Trowa smirked. They were probably all a bad influence. Heero really wasn't one to cut class just so he could have a long lunch and spend the afternoon drinking beers with friends. But he was having a good time, all of them were, so Trowa really didn't mind being a bad influence. Besides, Heero needed to get out more.

Quatre shook his head, his bangs brushing his eyes. "Excuse me but I'm certainly not a bad influence." He pointed his thumb in Duo's direction. "That's his job."

Duo laughed so hard that he had to place his beer bottle on the table to keep it from spilling. "I know he looks serious because he's polite and shit, but don't let him fool you. I've never met a more devious man; and I'm a law student."

"That's why you love me," Quatre said, and smirked. He brought the bottle to his lips, made a face and shook it. "It's dead."

"Just like mine," said Heero, poking his own empty bottle with a finger. "May they rest in peace with their predecessors. New ones?"

Quatre was already getting up, and Heero joined him. They both disappeared inside the restaurant.

"I guess they are too... thirsty to wait for the waitress to come out to the garden again." Trowa checked his beer. It was still half full.

"That's Cat; if he wants something, he'll go and get it." He gave Trowa a look. "And he's very fond of his beer."

Trowa didn't quite get what Duo was trying to tell him. He nodded nonetheless. "I see," he said. "You've known him for long?"

"How long have you known Heero?"

Bringing the bottle to his lips, Trowa took a mouthful of beer. "My mom recalls that I met him the day of my school interview. Supposedly I had a sword fight with him while she went inside to talk to the principal." He shrugged. "I don't really remember; he has always sort of been there."

Duo smiled. "I can just picture you two playing with little swords." He laughed. "Cute."

Trowa glared. It had been a while since someone had called him cute. A very long while. He was way too old for something like that. "So, you and Quatre...?"

"Oh yeah," Duo smiled apologetically. "I moved here on first grade, and started at his school, but we mostly ignored each other until sixth grade. We became best friends then, and have been ever since."

"Just friends?" Trowa raised an eyebrow.

Duo gave him a hard look. "No, Quatre would never be just a friend." He drank more of his beer. "Is Heero just a friend?"

"Point taken." Trowa raised his bottle to Duo before taking a sip. The day Heero Yuy became 'just a friend' was the day Trowa cut off his right hand. It was interesting to meet someone else with a similar friendship. Duo and Quatre were very casual with each other. They didn't touch too much, but they sat close together, drank from the other's beer and even finished each other's sentences. They were obviously very comfortable. Trowa wondered if maybe they had been more than friends, if maybe they weren't close minded, and open to possibilities. Duo seemed like a blunt enough guy, and Trowa always liked an up front approach, so why not ask him? "Have you-"

"It's inefficient. People will be too tired to work properly," Quatre said, arriving at the table and interrupting.

Heero sat loudly on his chair, bottle of beer in hand. "Not necessarily. People will have time to relax while awake, which will develop creativity, and still sleep eight hours."

Quatre took his seat more quietly. "Still, earth rotation is a big negative factor. We need sunlight. The costs of electricity would be too high."

Suddenly Trowa understood what the enigmatic conversation was all about. "Heero, you are not trying to convert him to your thirty-six hour day cult, are you?"

Duo snorted, and put a hand above his mouth. He coughed a couple of times and looked at Trowa with wide eyes. "What?"

It was Quatre who answered. "Heero has the theory that we should have day cycles of thirty six hours instead of twenty four. The idea is very interesting but there are too many practical problems for it to work."

Trowa rolled his eyes. "Not the thirty six hour day discussion again." He let his head drop on the table and closed his eyes. He hated the stupid thirty six hour day.

"You like him." Duo leaned back on the sofa, grabbed the bowl of popcorn and turned on the TV.

Quatre took off his shoes and sat beside Duo on the couch, putting his feet on the coffee table before him. Duo was changing channels so fast that Quatre didn't have time to focus on any image. "I..." he opened his juice and took a sip, then he lowered his eyes and looked at his hands. "Maybe."

Duo smirked and put a hand around Quatre, holding him close. "I knew it!" He took Quatre's juice out of his hand, drank a bit and gave it back. "Well after that last girlfriend, I think it's about time you tried playing for our team."

Quatre punched Duo in the arm but couldn't help but laugh. "Dorothy wasn't so bad. You just hated her because she kept calling you Barbie boy."

"No," Duo said, rubbing his arm and glaring at Quatre. "I hated her because she was a Devil Woman." Finally leaving MTV, Duo threw the remote control on the table and started to eat the popcorn. "This Trowa guy, on the other hand, you have my full support. And you know you can't date anyone without my blessing."

"Says who?" Quatre gave Duo a look. "I think I might even call Dorothy to see how she's doing..."

Duo's glare intensified. "You wouldn't!"

"You know I keep in touch with her. She's a great study partner. Really smart." Quatre smirked. "Actually, I introduced her to someone."

For a moment Duo looked like someone had just killed his cat. "No, you didn't."

Quatre's smirk just widened, and then, as if it was planned by the sky, someone knocked on the door. Quatre just took another sip of his juice and looked at Duo expectantly. With a curse Duo went to open it. Quatre rested his head in the back of the couch and looked at the door. This was bound to be amusing.

The look on Duo's face was priceless. Quatre knew that he was smiling with what Duo called his 'devious smile', but he couldn't help it.

"You introduced the Devil Woman to Wufei?" Duo gave Quatre his meanest glare, and then turned to Wufei. "Please tell me this is an elaborate joke."

Wufei smirked, put a hand around Dorothy's shoulders and entered the apartment, not bothering to answer Duo. Dorothy, however, paused as they walked by Duo, leaned in and spoke at Duo's ear, loudly enough so everyone could hear. "If I were really a Devil, you would already be my minion, Barbie boy."

Before the incident could explode into a Dorothy-Duo war that would surely give Quatre a headache, Quatre jumped over the couch, grabbed Duo by the arm and dragged him to the kitchen. "Make yourselves comfortable," he said, in an apologetic tone. "We'll get snacks and drinks."

Duo let Quatre lead him to the kitchen, all the time glaring at Dorothy and mumbling things that would surely offend any other woman but that Dorothy would find amusing. Once the door of the kitchen was closed, Quatre pushed Duo softly against the counter, keeping a hand pressed on Duo's chest.

Duo gulped. "Cat, we have visitors. This is not the time to further explore your homosexual side."

Quatre kept his eyes fixed on Duo's. "Wufei's happy."

"And you can tell this, how?" asked Duo, moving his head slightly to the side.

"I know him. Watch and I'm sure you'll be able to see it too." Quatre took his hand off Duo's chest and stepped back. "For him, try to keep your arguments with Dorothy from becoming a war." A smile found its way to Quatre's face. "Like you did for me," he added.

Duo let out a long suffering sigh. He then smiled his own devil smile and put an arm around Quatre. "If I do that you'll have to do something for me."

"I don't like this." Quatre shook his head, but waited for Duo to explain anyway.

"Ask him out," said Duo, simply.

"What?" The word left Quatre's lips before he had time to process Duo's request. "Ask who out?" he added, deciding that playing dumb would buy him a few seconds of freedom. It was a useless thought but it was worth a try.

"Like you don't know." Duo rolled his eyes. "Attractive, weird hair, piercing green eyes, arrogant lit student otherwise known as Trowa... what was his last name? Bartender? Breathtaking? Baritone?"

"Barton!" Quatre said, a little too firmly. Duo was clearly amused and he could still play Quatre like a piano. "I need a beer." Quatre turned around, heading for the fridge.

"Grab me one. We can toast for you finally seeing the light and coming over to the dark side of the force."

Quatre couldn't see Duo but he knew Duo was playing with an imaginary beam saber behind his back. "How do you figure your side is the dark one?" Quatre threw a beer at Duo and opened his own can.

Duo shrugged. "I like black?"

"Great argument, counsellor. Tell me, is this how you win all your cases?" Quatre moved out of the way before Duo could hit him, and then headed for the door. "I need to go study with Wufei and Dorothy now."

"You forgot the snacks and brewages," Duo pointed out. "And I'm still waiting for an answer."

This wasn't the way Quatre wanted things to go. He didn't like to be pushed; he liked to do things in his own time, when he deemed it was appropriate. On the other hand, he always told people that they couldn't let opportunities fly them by. So what the hell? If worse came to worse, he would have Duo to blame. "Fine."

Quatre got the snacks and two more beers and headed to the living room. He could talk to Trowa after class tomorrow. Yes, that sounded fine. It was good to have a plan.

"Why are you here?" asked Heero as soon as he opened the door.

Trowa ignored him, walked right in and sat on the computer chair.

Heero glared. "You are in my seat." He closed the door and locked it, using all three locks.

"Take the couch." Trowa pointed to the old gray couch with his head. "I can't sit there."

"Don't want to fall asleep?" asked Heero, choosing to lean on the back of the couch.

Trowa nodded. That couch had the ability to make him sleepy no matter what time of the day it was. It was very useful during Trowa's insomniac times of the year, but right now he needed to stay awake. He had come to Heero's to talk, not to take a nap. It was something they did. Whenever one of them had a problem of any kind, they would go to the other's house and talk. It was really more like thinking out loud. They would sit in the same room for hours if necessary and ramble until they could find a solution to their problems. It was effective, and it was just what Trowa needed right now.

"I think I have some coffee," said Heero, moving to the kitchen and returning a few minutes later with two mugs in his hands. He gave one to Trowa and then sipped quietly his own brewage. "It's the blond, right? He got to you."

Trowa nodded. His eyes were focused in the coffee, watching the way the dark liquid moved inside the cup. "I don't even know him."

"But that's not the point." Heero had the habit of finishing Trowa's thoughts when Trowa didn't want to voice them. Trowa did the same; that's how well they knew each other.

"I don't date." It was something Trowa had decided a while ago. He found the ritual annoying and unnecessary, especially since he had never looked for a relationship of any kind. It wasn't his style. However, something told him that leaving things at a simple friendship with Quatre would be a stupid thing to do, and Trowa wasn't stupid.

"Then don't." Heero put his empty mug in a nearby table. "Trowa, I thought you were capable of thought outside the closed box of our shallow society." He crossed his arms above his chest and looked directly at Trowa's eyes. "What is a date?"

Trowa knew Heero well enough to understand that his friend wasn't asking for a typical answer. Heero always challenged Trowa to think differently, and this was no time to disappoint him. "A frame of time."

A smirk and a nod told Trowa that he had given the desired answer. "And time as we know," explained Heero, "is an invention," said the both of them.

"Hence, a date is also an invention." Trowa took a sip of his coffee and grimaced; it was cold. "And as any invention, it's open for upgrades and improvements."

Heero nodded and moved away from the couch. He took the mugs and walked to the kitchen. When he returned, he gave Trowa a small smile he didn't use very often. "Improve it. I'm going to sleep."

Trowa decided to sleep on the couch. It wasn't a good night for insomnia.

"You have quite the fan club," said Quatre, looking at the girls sitting at the side of the classroom.

Trowa sat beside Quatre, at the back of the class. His friends, all of them girls, gave him questioning looks but in the end they just smiled at him and resumed their conversation. "Most of the lit students are girls," Trowa replied with a shrug.

Quatre smiled. He could see that Trowa was very popular among the lit students. After all, he was a nice guy, fun, intelligent, and very attractive. Who wouldn't want to get to know him? Quatre bit his lip. He was falling, hard and fast, and he was scared.

"So Trowa, what brings you back here with the commoners instead of sitting with the bookworm elite?" Duo had his elbows on Quatre's desk and his head was resting on his hands.

"There's nothing wrong with trying new things." Trowa leaned back on his chair, and played with his pen.

"No, there isn't." Quatre was staring at Trowa's hands as if hypnotized. Without even thinking about it, he raised his eyes to look at Trowa's and asked, "Want to have lunch? There is this great place I know, but it's a little far away, so you'll have to cut your next class." Quatre bit his lower lip, waiting for an answer. He was about to say something else since he hated waiting and awkward silences, but Duo stepped on his foot before he could say anything. Quatre smiled a little. He should carry Duo around; he was great at keeping Quatre from babbling.

Trowa didn't had time to answer since the teacher chose that moment to enter the room, and they all knew better than to talk once class started. Quatre glared at the teacher and opened his notebook. Moments later Trowa used his pen to write one simple word above Quatre's notes: 'Yes.'

"So, your best friend and my best friend." Duo was leaning on the balcony. On the floor below, Quatre and Trowa were walking together, heading for the exit.

"It looks like it." Heero was standing beside Duo, also watching the couple below.

"So," said Duo, nudging Heero with his elbow. "Want to go get a beer?"

Heero shrugged and gave Duo an appreciative look. "Why not."

"You might miss your next class," warned Duo.

Heero shrugged again. "You are a bad influence."

Duo smirked and put a hand around Heero's shoulders. "Always."

The End -