FicWad

The Unicorn- Chapter 4


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Trowa stared up into Quatre's serene face. "What do you mean, choose? Just what am I supposed to be choosing?"

"Who you will give your heart to...and your virginity," the unicorn said with a wink. Trowa began to twist around in an attempt to remove Quatre from his lap.

"Wait just a second," Trowa said as he shoved Quatre onto the other side of the bed and sat up. "Just because you invited Duo over and just because we happened to have a good time, doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to jump into bed with him. I barely know him, Quatre." He sighed heavily. "I like him, that much is obvious, but you can't just force us together and say 'happily ever after.' It doesn't work out that way."

The unicorn shook his head in disappointment. "Trowa, I'm not trying to force what your heart has already decided it wants."

Trowa stared at the unicorn. Quatre stared back, the moonlight streaming through the bedroom window reflecting cat-like in his eyes. It was here, bathed in this light that Trowa could see Quatre's true form: not the willowy stallion he met in the park all those nights ago, but a beautiful, ethereal creature that transcended all earthly bounds. He glowed with a luminescence that had to heaven born. Trowa's breath caught in his throat and he sat upright.

"Quatre?" he asked, suddenly unsure. The unicorn was out of the light and back straddling Trowa's hips before the boy could react to the movement. The unicorn was once again the human form Trowa was familiar with.

"You doubt me? Why?" Quatre asked as he pushed Trowa flat onto his back. There was hurt in his voice. It was a tone that Trowa had never heard from the unicorn before. Sure, there were the times when Trowa had to scold him like an errant child, but never had he heard such genuine pain in the unicorn's voice.

Trowa looked up into that beautiful face. "I...I don't doubt you, Quatre, but how am I supposed to just take your word for it? I don't feel-"

"You'll feel it soon enough," Quatre interrupted with absolute certainty.

"Quatre," Trowa sighed. "If you keep pushing, it's going to have the opposite effect. If Duo is truly interested, then we're just going to have to wait and see."

"Oh, Trowa," Quatre cried as he lay down on Trowa's chest and nuzzled his face into the crook of his neck. "I want you to be happy. That night, when I saw you for the first time, you were so lonely. Your heart was crying so loudly that I couldn't escape it. I knew I could help you. I knew I had to help you."

Trowa snorted and turned to face the window. "Yeah, right. You've been trying to get me to have sex with you since the day I brought you home. You won't let up until I give you what you want, right?" Quatre's body went so still that the unicorn didn't appear to be breathing. "This is just a game to you; don't think that I'm not on to you. Is the unicorn that nails the most virgins held in higher esteem?" Quatre shot back up and grabbed Trowa by his shoulders.

"No, Trowa...no," the unicorn vehemently denied. Trowa turned his head to glance up at the blonde's face. In the dimly lit room he could see the tears brimming in the unicorn's eyes. "If you were to give me a gift as precious as that," Quatre began breathlessly, "I..I would cherish it for the rest of my days. That is the truth, Trowa Barton, and I would never deceive you about that."

Trowa had no choice but to believe the sincerity and naked honesty that burned in Quatre's ocean-blue eyes. "O...okay, Quatre," he began hesitantly. Trowa knew that he had offended the unicorn with his rash comments. Deep down in his heart he knew that it was just Quatre's nature and the inexperience that came with pretending to be a human that caused him to be so uncensored. Not realizing that he should be embarrassed or that his actions sometimes caused others to be uneasy made every emotion that the unicorn expressed so much more genuine. There was nothing whatsoever false about anything Quatre did, and in his quick-tempered reaction Trowa forgot this. "Look, I'm sorry. I just don't want to get my hopes up. It'll be easier that way if he decides that he's not interested in me."

"How could he not be interested in you? You're a beautiful person, Trowa. You give so much of yourself to others without even thinking about it." Quatre moved off of Trowa's lap and lay back down beside the green-eyed boy. Finding a comfortable position, he rested his head onto Trowa's shoulder. "I have faith in you," Quatre continued. "You're just unsure of yourself, but I know you'll grow out of that."

"I'm so happy to know you're so sure of this," Trowa said sarcastically. The unicorn fell silent for a moment before he chuckled softly.

"What's so funny?" Trowa asked.

"He couldn't keep his eyes off you the whole night. You'll see. He's as captivated with you as you are with him."

Trowa began to run his fingers through Quatre's hair and the unicorn purred in contentment. He gave only a passing thought to the ease in which he now was able to share such proximity to the unclothed unicorn before letting his eyes close. I hope so, Quatre...I hope so.

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The next day came and went without a word from Duo. Trowa justified it by reminding himself that the braided boy had said he would contact him in a few days when he left after dinner. So, not hearing from him the very next day was no big deal. Duo had his own work that kept him out at strange hours. Perhaps he was just waiting for his schedule to allow a moment where he could contact Trowa to set up "something," as he called it. Yes, that had to be the reason. Duo was busy with work. That still didn't stop Trowa from cooking a little more food than usual that night in the hopes that Duo might stop by. If such an occurrence happened, he wanted to be prepared to invite Duo to stay.

But dinner came and went while Trowa and Quatre ate in a companionable silence and Duo never made an appearance. As he washed the dishes that evening, Trowa scolded himself for acting like a foolish, lovesick child. But he couldn't help it. He found himself conjuring up different scenarios all day long about how Duo would ask him out and how he would respond. Trowa slammed the palm of his hand down on the kitchen counter. Stupid, stupid, stupid. You're starting to build this up too much. If you keep doing this to yourself it's only going to hurt that much more when he never speaks to you again. Damn it. I'm already expecting it to go bad when it hasn't even begun. A frown touched his lips as he hung his head. Quatre's right. I don't want to be alone anymore.

"Trowa?" Quatre called from the living room. "Do you need help cleaning up?"

"No, I'm okay," he answered dejectedly and finished washing the last of the dinner dishes.


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Two more days passed with no sign of Duo. And as much as Trowa tried to not let it faze him, he was beginning to doubt that he would ever hear from him. This was a familiar pattern that Trowa had experienced before. In his first semester of college he decided that he was going to try and open up more. He was in a different atmosphere with new people that had no prior knowledge of him. It was the perfect opportunity for Trowa to make a fresh start. He initiated conversations with some of the other students in his classes and found himself being accepted in ways he had never imagined. There were even a few boys who seemed interested in him on a romantic level, but that was where things always seemed to stall. They would tell him that he seemed like a nice person and that they would like to hang out some time. Phone numbers would be exchanged and dates would be planned, but rarely did they come to fruition. The ones that cancelled on him at the last minute were only slightly better mannered than the ones that outright disappeared on him.

Those few bad experiences only served to make Trowa withdraw further. He still maintained his friendships with a few choice people, but even they were now being kept at a distance. His shyness around people was beginning to cost Trowa his interpersonal relationships, not to mention that it was ending any chance of sexual relationships before they even began. Trowa knew this. He knew that his irrational fears and discomfort were constantly being misinterpreted as unwillingness or lack of interest. And he tried, in his own little way, to be more assertive and confident. But it never seemed to work out, and after one too many failed attempts, he gave up. At twenty years of age, Trowa Barton was resigned to the fact that he just wasn't good with dealing with people who wanted more than just a casual acquaintance. That was why when a certain young man with a long chestnut braid sauntered into his existence with a self-assured attitude and a smile that would melt the coldest of hearts, he attempted to be content with the occasional chat in the hall. At least, that was what he tried to tell himself. The fact that he found himself hoping that he would run into Duo told him that things weren't going according to the plan.

Trowa crawled into bed that night with a heavy heart. He had spent the better part of the day distracted from his work and worried, actually worried, about why he had not heard from Duo yet. He conceded that it was still childish to be feeling this way, but as more time passed, the more he began to think that Duo was avoiding him.

"Trowa, cut it out. All your thinking is making my head hurt," Quatre chastised playfully.

"Sorry," Trowa answered dejectedly.

"Stop worrying. He's going to get in touch with you."

"I'm not worried," he denied, though he knew it was a lie. "If he calls, he calls. If he doesn't...that's fine. I'll get over it."

Quatre moved over to spoon up behind Trowa and pulled the taller boy back into the warmth of his body. "Stop lying," he whispered into Trowa's ear. "You and I both know that you will most certainly not be fine if he does not call. I know you think you've been hiding the uncertainty you've been feeling from me, but I see right through you. I know you want this more than you're willing to admit. So, it's alright to admit that you're nervous and a little overanxious."

"I'm scared, Quatre," Trowa admitted quietly. "I've never let anyone get this close to me before, well, besides you, but I didn't have too much choice there." The unicorn laughed softly. "What if Duo finds out we have nothing in common and doesn't want to have anything to do with me anymore? What if he ends up not being who I expected him to be? What if-"

"Shhh, Trowa," Quatre interrupted softly. "You cannot fret over the possibilities. You can only worry about the here and now. If you waste your time concerned with what might happen, you will miss what is happening. It's okay to be scared, this is something new, but it is also something exciting. You'll see. Stop worrying so much about being something and just be, Trowa."

There was a long stretch of silence in which the two lay entwined and unmoving. Trowa replayed everything the unicorn had just told him over and over in his head, letting it all sink in. Quatre was right, but of course that didn't stop the cynical part of his mind from scoffing at the advice, claiming that it sounded like it came from some bad self-help book.

"I'll try, Quatre," Trowa said, and was surprised to find that it wasn't just an empty sentiment, and that he really meant it.

"Good," was the unicorn's only reply, and he nuzzled his face into the back of Trowa's head and promptly fell asleep.


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Trowa shut the door behind him and walked, shoulders hunched, towards the bedroom, yanking at the knot in his tie.

"Hi, Trowa, how was your day?" Quatre asked from where he was lounging on the couch.

Trowa groaned something unintelligible and kept walking. It had been a bad day. The bus he took that morning broke down, and after a three block dash in the heat and humidity, he made it to the subway platform just as the train was pulling away. Hailing a taxi in the middle of the morning rush hour was almost impossible, so he walked the rest of the way to work. He arrived at his office building almost an hour late, his feet throbbing from the effort. If that wasn't enough to ruin his day, he managed to spill his coffee all over his work, gave himself a nasty paper cut in the webbing between his index and middle fingers, and bashed his knee hard into the metal bracket under his desk.

"That doesn't sound good," the unicorn said as he sat up. "What happened?"

"Bad day...don't want to talk about it." Trowa mumbled as he walked into the bedroom and flopped face first onto the bed. Quatre leapt up from couch and sprinted after the green-eyed boy.

"Oh, Trowa, it couldn't have been that bad," the unicorn said as he climbed onto the bed and smothered Trowa's body with his own. Quatre let his head rest between Trowa's shoulder blades and listened to the sounds of his breathing.

"Trust me, Quatre, it was that bad," Trowa's voice was muffled by the mattress. Quatre sat up so that he was seated on Trowa's backside and began to massage the tense muscles in the boy's back and shoulders. Trowa moaned in appreciation as the unicorn pressed his palms into a particularly tight knot at the base of his neck. Trowa found himself relaxing, the stress being pushed from his body by Quatre's skilled fingers. Just as he began to drift off into bliss, he heard a loud knock at the apartment door. Quatre's hands stopped and Trowa propped himself up on his elbows.

"Was that a knock at the door?" he asked the unicorn. When the banging came again, Trowa disengaged himself from Quatre and made his way out of the bedroom and to the door. He noticed the unicorn following him in all his naked glory and he gestured for him to stay in the bedroom. "Stay there or put something on," he whispered harshly. "I'm not explaining to whomever it is why you have no clothes on." Quatre ducked back into the room and closed the door. It came as a surprise to Trowa when he received no argument.

Unlocking the deadbolt and unhooking the security chain, Trowa pulled the door open slowly to reveal Duo standing on the other side. Panic immediately flared in his belly at the unexpected visit.

"D-Duo, hello. What brings you here?" Trowa asked. The shock of seeing the other man was responsible for the unconscious stutter. The braided young man wore a smile that reached ear to ear.

"I just got the best news and some friends and I are getting together to celebrate. I was wondering if you're interested in coming," Duo stated brightly.

Trowa blinked at him for a few heartbeats. He just asked you to go somewhere. Relax and don't panic. This is what you've been waiting for.

"Yes, I think I would like that very much," Trowa answered a little unsteadily. His own voice sounded strange to him, but he managed to get the words out. Duo's face beamed with joy.

"Great. Um, yeah, that gallery agreed to show some of my work. This is my first real showing and I'm super excited, and when I told some friends, they wanted to meet up for drinks to celebrate and I told them yes, but I wanted to see if you wanted to go and...and I'm babbling," Duo said as he rocked back on his heels. "Sorry, I tend to do that when I'm nervous or excited about something."

"It's okay," Trowa said. "Do you mind waiting while I change? I just got home from work."

Duo shook himself as he realized what Trowa was wearing. "Oh, yeah...sorry. I didn't realize. My head's in the clouds. I'll come back in fifteen minutes. Is that enough time?" Trowa nodded once. "Okay, cool, I'll see you then. Oh, is Quatre around? He can come too if he wants."

"I'll ask him."

"Great, I'll see you in a bit," Duo said and then turned to walk back to his apartment. As soon as the door was shut, Trowa sprinted towards the bedroom. He burst into the room, startling the unicorn and causing him to stumble backwards onto the bed.

"Did you hear what just happened?" Trowa asked elatedly. Quatre nodded his head.

"Yes, I was listening at the door. See? I told you he was going to get in touch with you."

Caught up in the moment, Trowa threw his arms around Quatre, lifted him off the bed proceeded to sweep him into a bear hug. "I was so nervous. I hope I didn't sound like an idiot," he said as he spun the unicorn around.

Quatre was practically vibrating with glee. "I'm sure you were fine. Oh, this is so exciting. I'm so happy for you," he said as he squeezed Trowa harder. Quatre pushed on the auburn-haired boy's shoulder to signal him to release his hold. "Let's get you ready to go."

Trowa immediately stepped back from the unicorn and pulled his tie off and threw it on the bed. The blonde began to help him with the buttons on his shirt while he pulled his pants off. Too excited to care about hanging them up, Trowa just threw them on the bed with the rest of his clothes. He turned to open a dresser drawer and pulled out a fresh pair of jeans.

Quatre, in the meantime, went through the shirts hanging in the closet. The unicorn decided that a simple, casual outfit would be best in this situation. He pulled a royal blue Old Navy T-shirt off a hanger.

"Here, Trowa, you should wear this shirt," he said as he handed the shirt over. Trowa regarded him a skeptically.

"Why this shirt, Quatre?"

The unicorn didn't answer. He just flashed a smile and winked.

"I suppose I'm just going to have to trust you on this, huh?" Trowa asked as he pulled the shirt over his head. The unicorn nodded knowingly.

Quatre followed Trowa to the bathroom and watched the other boy as he brushed his teeth and combed his hair. When Trowa continued to fuss over his long bangs, the unicorn slid next to him and gently pulled his hands away from his face.

"You look fine," he told Trowa. Quatre still had a firm hold on the other boy's hands as their eyes met. "Are you nervous?"

"I'm scared shitless," Trowa admitted.

"Well, don't be. Remember what I said about trying to be something you're not. Just be yourself and Duo will respond to it." The unicorn smiled warmly.

Trowa took a deep breath and tried to calm the butterflies that were attempting to burst out of his stomach like the creatures in Aliens. He walked slowly from the bathroom to the front door.

Quatre trailed behind him, tying the belt of his robe loosely around his narrow waist. When Trowa's hand paused on the doorknob, he embraced the boy from behind. "You'll be fine," the unicorn reassured. He felt Trowa inhale slowly and when he heard the door open, Quatre loosened his hold.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Trowa asked as he crossed the threshold. There was a nervous tremor in his voice. The unicorn responded with a gentle nod of his head. When Trowa began to linger in the doorway, Quatre gave him a shove and sent the auburn-haired boy the rest of the way into the hall.

"Go now, your prince awaits you." And with one last, hopeful smile, the unicorn shut the door and left Trowa standing alone in the hall.

The tall boy stared at the closed door to his apartment for a moment. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He was about to spend some quality time with Duo, the one person in the world who could, with an easy smile or a soft laugh, send his brain into sensory overload. There was a feeling of trepidation, there was no doubt about that, but there was also excitement and exhilaration. The realization that he wanted Quatre to accompany them to act as a safety net was not a surprise, but it still made him feel like a child for entertaining such thoughts.

Trowa took one last, cleansing breath to center himself and began to walk down the hall towards Duo's apartment. He had only taken three or four steps when the door to Duo's apartment opened and the dark-haired boy stepped through. Trowa paused and watched the longhaired man pull the door shut and turn his key in the lock. The end of Duo's braid swayed slightly with the motion of his body. He had yet to register Trowa's presence and it gave the tall boy a chance to give the shorter man a once over. Duo was wearing a pair of black jeans that were tight enough in all the right places and accentuated his firm and nicely rounded ass. A loose fitting black t-shirt was tucked into the waistband of the jeans and on his feet he wore a pair of black suede work boots.

Dressed head to toe in black, huh? It suits him. I don't know why, but it does.

Duo turned from the door and started to walk while he tucked his keys into his pocket. He looked up and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Trowa. His eyes went wide, but when he recognized the figure before him his lips curved into a half-smile.

"Jeez, Trowa, give a guy a heart attack why don't you?" Duo jested. "Make some noise next time so that I don't think I'm about to get mugged."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't give it another thought. I just didn't want to have to get medieval on your ass," Duo said as he dropped into a mock Kung Fu stance.

"As long as you don't come after me with a blowtorch and a pair of pliers1 I think I'll be fine," Trowa responded. Duo's grin became even wider.

"You know that movie?"

"It's one of my favorites."

"Wow," Duo said as he exhaled. "Good looks and good taste in movies...must be my lucky day." Trowa averted his gaze as a blush blazed its way across his cheeks. "Cat didn't want to come?"

It took Trowa a second to realize who Duo was referring to. "No, uh..." He panicked for a second while trying to come up with a good enough excuse as to why Quatre didn't want to come. "He...uh...said he didn't feel like going out, but he wanted me to congratulate you."

"Oh, okay," Duo said with a shrug of his shoulders. It caused Trowa to take note of the words Got Blood? printed in red letters on the front of Duo's shirt. The braided boy followed the line of Trowa's gaze down to his chest. "A vampire friend of mine gave me this shirt. Cute isn't it?"

"Vampire friend?" Trowa questioned.

"Well, not an actual vampire, but...well you know the type: black clothes, pale skin, hates the sun. In fact, you'll get to meet her tonight." Duo looped his arm around Trowa's elbow and began to walk him towards the elevator. The action seemed second nature to Duo, but Trowa's body stiffened reflexively.

Duo sensed the tension in Trowa's body and immediately let go of his arm. "Sorry," he apologized. "I tend to act without thinking sometimes. If you are uncomfortable with anything that I do, please tell me. I know you're the quiet type and I don't want to scare you off or anything."

Trowa blinked at him in astonishment. He's worried about scaring me off? I think he's got that backwards. "It's okay, Duo. It's my fault, really. I'm not used to people touching me. You just took me by surprise." Especially since I happen to have the biggest crush on you. You would think that Quatre's constant attempts to cop a feel would make me less jumpy. I guess I'm just really nervous.

Duo seemed to consider that statement for a moment before shrugging. "No prob, I'll take that into consideration the next time I want to touch you," he said with a cheeky grin and walked to the elevator and pressed the down button.

Trowa felt his face go red-hot once again and cursed himself for having this reaction. It made him feel like a stereotypical "blushing virgin" whenever it happened. Men are not supposed to blush like little schoolgirls; it's demeaning. Trowa realized that the voice in his head just now sounded an awful lot like his father and that thought saddened him briefly. But he shook off the melancholy and moved to stand beside Duo. When the elevator doors opened, the two stepped inside the car. The ride down to the lobby was in silence, but the two would occasionally glance in each other's direction and share a warm smile. The knots that had been twisting inside Trowa's gut began to loosen and as he looked over to the boy beside him, the feeling that he was about to make a fool of himself dissipated.


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They met up with Duo's friends at McSorley's pub three blocks south of their apartment building. It was a small, cozy bar and not one of the loud and obnoxious sports bars or snobby micro-breweries that seemed to be popping up all over the city. This establishment catered more to the local crowd and not the tourists. Happy Hour was in full swing when they entered, and Duo and Trowa were greeted by the sounds of classic rock piping from the jukebox and the din of patrons attempting to converse over it.

Duo's friends were waiting at the bar, and Trowa sidled a little closer to the braided boy as they approached. After the hugs and congratulations, Duo introduced the shy green-eyed boy. It came as no surprise to Trowa that Duo would have friends as eclectic and interesting as he was. Ted was a typical technophile with short, spiky blonde hair and soft brown eyes. He had attended film school with Duo before the two of them decided that they were never going to be the next Scorsese and dropped out. Karen was the vampire friend that Duo had mentioned earlier. Her hair was dyed jet-black and she sported a ring in her left eyebrow, a stud in her right nostril, and one on her bottom lip. She was dressed completely in black, and Trowa noticed an intricate tattoo that circled around her right wrist. Despite her shocking appearance, Karen was incredibly sweet-natured, and Trowa found himself speaking with her for a good portion of the night. He didn't fail to notice how she was sizing him up. The group toasted Duo's first big step with shots of Black Haus and followed that with a few rounds of beer. Not once did Trowa feel uncomfortable or out of place. Duo made sure that he didn't leave Trowa hanging for too long with his friends, and when they left the pub later that evening still buzzed from the alcohol, it was as if they had all been hanging out for years.

Duo and Trowa said their goodbyes to Ted and Karen with the promise that they would all get together again soon and headed back to their apartment building. The conversation between the two of them never lagged, and even when there was a pause between topics, it was comfortable and unstrained.

"So, I left home and moved in with a friend of mine," Duo said as they stepped off the elevator. "If my father couldn't accept me for who I was, then I wasn't sticking around for more of his insults and hatred."

"Have you spoken to him since?" Trowa asked as they lingered in the hall. He wasn't sure if he should head to the left towards his apartment or go to the right towards Duo's.

"I talk to my mom every once in a while, but I have to be careful to be sure he's not around." Duo rubbed the back of his neck in what Trowa was beginning to recognize as a nervous gesture. "Say, you mind coming back to my place? I've got something I want to show you." Trowa arched one questioning eyebrow and Duo chuckled softly. "Nothing like that," he quickly admonished.

"What do you have to show me?" Trowa asked. His curiosity was piqued.

"Well...it's something that's going to be part of my exhibit, but I kinda need your permission."

"My permission?" Trowa was definitely intrigued now. He followed Duo down the hall to the door to his apartment. The braided boy pulled his keys from his pocket to unlock the door, but paused just before he slid the key into the lock.

"Uh, please excuse the mess. I don't do a lot of entertaining, so it pretty much resembles the epicenter of an earthquake," Duo said with a sheepish grin. And he was right. When he opened the door and flicked on the light switch, Trowa was treated to quite the spectacle.

The first thing Trowa noticed was the absence of the usual pieces of furniture one would expect to find. There was a small television against the wall to their immediate right with a small sofa directly opposite it. That was it in the way of "normal" furniture. The rest of what should have been the living room was bare with the exception of a mattress stuck in the corner under the window and against the bedroom wall. There were tripods, lights on stands, lights mounted to the walls, various colored screens, and other photographic paraphernalia scattered all over the room. Trowa's first thought at seeing the mattress in the living room was that Duo might be using the bedroom for other purposes, but seeing the way the lighting gear was set up he realized that this was some sort of makeshift studio. The walls were covered in various photographs, some framed, and some stuck up with push-pins. From what Trowa could see, the apartment wasn't filthy or dirty, just cluttered and unorganized, but then again he had not seen the kitchen or the bathroom yet, and those rooms were the true test of a person's hygiene.

"I know, pretty scary, right?" Duo said as he closed the door behind them.

"No, I wouldn't say it was scary, but it's definitely...you. Did you take all these?" Trowa asked, gesturing to the pictures on the walls.

"No, not all of them. The framed ones over there were a gift," Duo indicated with a flick of his wrist. "The ones here...are mine. I'm still trying to figure out which ones will go in the show." Trowa stepped closer to the wall that was covered in with 8-by-10 prints of various subjects. As Trowa's eyes roamed the myriad images, Duo stepped up next to him.

"I want to show my range," he began quietly. "These pics here were an experiment in negative space." Trowa looked carefully at the pictures. They consisted of mostly inanimate objects; statues, buildings, cars. "The ones here," Duo indicated the next grouping of pictures, "were my portrait studies." Those pictures were of different types of people in obviously planned poses. It reminded Trowa of the type of pictures you might get from a department store and he chuckled when he saw a head-shot of Karen mixed in the bunch. The braided boy shrugged and smiled. "She works cheap, can't ask for more than that." Duo pointed to the final cluster of pictures, and Trowa leaned in for a closer look. "These are my candids. I like to go out and try to capture real people in real situations...you know, nothing staged."

Trowa glanced at Duo from the corner of his eye and noticed that he seemed a little anxious, like he was waiting for something to happen. The green-eyed boy paid it no mind and continued to peruse Duo's work. He found himself liking the candid shots the best. Duo really did have the knack when it came to expressing real human emotion. The pictures seemed to come to life. There was a shot of a middle-aged women dressed in a power-suit seated on a park bench. In one hand she held a cell phone to her ear, and in the other; she was idly rocking a baby stroller. There was a picture of a little boy trying to keep his ice cream cone out of reach of a dog that was twice his size. Trowa continued over the pictures until he stopped at one and his eyes nearly left their sockets.

"This is...me," he said and he turned to Duo for an explanation.



TBC........



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1 This little exchange brought to you courtesy of the movie Pulp Fiction. If you know the movie, then you'll know the scene.