Disclaimer: Not mine. Don’t sue.
“Trowa?” Zechs pushed his chair back and rose to his feet, his eyes widening in disbelief at the sight of the other man before him. “What are you doing here?”
Trowa merely shrugged in response. “I got the day off work and thought you might like to go someplace for lunch seeing as it is almost 12 already.”
“Why…I, yes, of course,” Zechs said, still slightly in shock at the fact that Trowa had sought out him rather than it being the other way around. “Just let me tell Une that I’m heading off and then I’ll be all set.”
He reached for his jacket and draped it over his shoulders, wondering why Trowa was really here asking him out to lunch. Maybe he felt that Zechs would feel more confident around his own turf and that he was just paying him back for seeing him at the circus those few short days ago.
“You know, I’m sure it would please Une if you dropped in to her office and said hi,” Zechs announced.
“Well, as long as I’m here, I suppose it’s something I could do.”
Zechs nodded and led Trowa in the direction of Lady Une’s office. He knew better than anyone how many times she had tried to get Trowa to come work for her at the Preventers, but the young man had politely refused every time.
Stopping outside Une’s office, Zechs rapped sharply at the door before waiting to be invited inside. He opened the door for Trowa and allowed the younger man to enter first. Zechs almost laughed at the expression on Une’s face when she caught sight of Trowa.
“Barton,” she said crisply, placing the file she’d been reading down on the table. “Well, I must admit that this is a nice surprise.”
“Zechs and I are going out for lunch,” Trowa said softly, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. “He mentioned that I might like to say hello before we left.”
“I see.” Lady Une motioned for them both to sit down, but Trowa shook his head, staying put where he was and Zechs followed his lead, preferring to stay standing rather than to take a seat. “You know, Barton, my offer still stands. God knows we could use someone of your experience working here.”
“I’m honoured that you think so highly of me,” Trowa replied. “But I’m afraid that I’ll have to turn you down once again. I’m more than happy with the job I have now, thank you.”
“Prancing around at the circus and playing with lions all day?” asked Une, arching one eyebrow. “Trowa, don’t you think that joining the Preventers would be a much more fulfilling and challenging job for you? Won’t you at least go home and think it over for a while before you tell me no?”
“I’ll think about it,” Trowa said calmly. “But I doubt that I’ll change my mind. Thanks for the offer all the same though.”
“I understand,” Une said, giving a small sigh of defeat. She must have seen Zech smirking from out of the corner of her eye because her next words were, “And just what is it you find so amusing, Marquise?”
“Nothing, ma’am,” Zechs muttered, lowering his head and trying not to laugh. He felt like he was back in kindergarten the way Une was glaring at him.
“Then either take your lunch break or go do something constructive,” Une told him sharply, going back to her files. “Nice seeing you again, Barton,” she said, glancing up briefly to give a quick nod farewell.
Together, Zechs and Trowa left Preventers Headquarters, Zechs leading the way to a small café bar. They were in the middle of studying their menus when Zechs said suddenly, “You really should think about Une’s offer you know.”
Trowa glanced over the top of his menu looking mildly interested in Zechs’ comment. “Why do you say that?” he asked, cocking his head to the side slightly.
Zechs shrugged. “Well, like Une said, I’m sure that you’d find Pervernter work a lot more challenging and stimulating. If I know anything about you, Trowa, it’s that you like to be kept on your toes.”
“Your hair’s looking a little messy,” Trowa said tonelessly.
“That’s because it needs re-braiding,” Zechs replied, taking a little pride in that Trowa hadn’t managed to catch him off-guard again by rapidly changing the subject. “You wanna do something about that?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“All right then, if it means that much to you then yes, Zechs. I will braid your hair again.”
“Thank you.” Zechs smiled slightly. “You avoided the subject though. Are you going to think about Une’s offer?”
“Of course,” Trowa said evenly. “I said I’d think about it and I will. I didn’t say I’d take her up on it though. Why is it so important to you anyway?”
“I want to see you doing well for yourself,” Zechs answered sincerely. “I know that you could enjoy it there if you only gave it the chance.”
“I see. So you have my best interests at heart and your motives for wanting me to join the Preventers are purely altruistic,” Trowa said. If Zechs didn’t know better, he could swear the other man was smirking at him.
“Absolutely,” Zechs told him. “That and I would also be able to get to know you better if we were actually in regular contact with each other. It’s a little hard to keep a friendship going when one of the people in said friendship treks off all over the world to do shows with his circus.”
“I suppose it is,” Trowa replied. “Like I said, I’ll think about it.”
“Good,” said Zechs evenly. “And if you do decide to accept Lady Une’s offer, there’s a spare room at my apartment that I’ve been meaning to let for a while now. You’d be welcome to stay for however long you like.”
“If I decide to accept the offer,” Trowa reminded him.
“It’s your call,” Zechs said with a shrug. “But let me know when you decide.”
“I’ll do that,” Trowa said solemnly. Zechs smiled.