[Ficlet] Homecoming

[misanagi]

I can type!

My arm is castless and the hand is feeling good enough ^-^ So...

Homecoming
Quatre gen. PG
For clarediva

The man at the front desk looked him up and down and gave him a hard stare. He stood at least five inches taller than Quatre and had twenty pounds on him. His security guards uniform fitted him way too snugly, especially around the belly where the buttons seemed to be just moments away from popping loose.

Quatre kept his eyes fixed on the man, too aware of his bangs falling on his face again but he refused to pull them back. "I'm here to see Mr. Harlow," Quatre spoke in a clear voice. He stood firm but the strain was making his side ache. He wasn't supposed to be doing any physical activity yet but this was something that needed to be done and he wouldn't show any weakness, not to this security guard, Harlow or anyone who stood in his way.

"Do you have an appointment?" the guard asked and Quatre could see the 'kid' just brushing the man's lips. Quatre hardened his stare.

"He should be expecting me. My name is Quatre Winner."

The guard's lips parted and a sound between a gasp and a word came out. His eyes widened. Quatre knew how he looked, wearing secondhand jeans Abdul had gotten for him from a box of old clothes in MO3 and a spare black shirt Duo had been nice enough to give him as a parting gift. The old boots Auda had been lending him for the last week were muddy and tearing in parts but Quatre had refused to take the good pair from the man's feet and had made due with what he had. The too big combat jacket Ahmed had found him made him look even smaller. He ignored all this, though and gave the guard an expectant look. His name had been recognized, it was the one at the door after all, and he expected to be treated accordingly.

"Just a moment," the guard said in a whispered and headed for the phone in his small desk.

Minutes later Quatre was being rushed up to the twenty seventh floor by a man in an expensive suit that kept making excuses for the guard but Mr. Winner should understand his visit was quite unexpected. Yeah thought Quatre, I'm supposed to be dead, but he nodded at the man's words nonetheless, a polite expression firmly placed on his face.

Harlow was waiting by the double doors of Quatre's father's office. "Quatre, my boy!" he exclaimed and opened his arms in the most fake expression of fondness Quatre had ever seen. "You haven't changed," Harlow continued, "except for the clothes of course, you look like a war refugee," and he laughed.

Quatre didn't. Harlow knew very well where Quatre had been and he had probably hoped Quatre wouldn't come back. Harlow might think Quatre hadn't changed, but he had. The last time Harlow had seen him was before he had taken Sandrock to earth since the man hadn't even bother to appear in Mr. Winner's funeral.

Quatre walked past Harlow into the office and sat at his father's desk, pointedly ignoring the look Harlow threw at him. The door of the office closed and it was only when Harlow and Quatre in the room when the former let his fake smile drop from his face.

"That's my chair," he said.

"It's never been, though I guess you took care of it. Fortunately," Quatre let a small smile appear on his lips, "that service no longer required of you."

It was two hours after when Harlow exited the office and WEI building for good, his face red in anger and shame and his words promising revenge. Quatre took them to heart and quietly filed them with all the other threats he knew had and hadn't been voiced against him. Quatre allowed himself a moment, looked down at his clothes one more time and promptly asked the secretary to do some shopping for him. It was AC 196, the war had ended and year had just begun. It was time for a change of wardrobe.

Comments

[darthanne.livejournal.com]

This is very Quatre. *Loves it *

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it.

[okaasan59.livejournal.com]

Awesomeness. I can haz a continuu?

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I don't know, it might be... ^-

[snakewhissperer.livejournal.com]

glad to hear you're castless again, and that rocked!
So very Q

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm happy without the cast. It's been off for about a week but the hand wasn't cooperating much before...

[snakewhissperer.livejournal.com]

give it time and plenty of light exercise and it will be fine.

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

*nods* Yeah, that's what I'm doing ^-^

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

Yay for getting the cast off and being able to type. It's good to see you and Quatre back and in business.

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I've had the cast off for about a week but the hand wasn't quite ready to do much. It's a lot better now.

[alleyprowler.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you've got all your typing fingers back! That was awesome.

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! All the fingers are working now and quite happy about it ^-^

[driley1.livejournal.com]

Glad the cast is off! And love this ficlet. When Quatre takes charge, everything will be just fine. :)

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

The cast has been off for about a week but it took the hand some time to cooperate. It's good now. Quatre is ready to take charge of things and we know people shouldn't stand in his way.

[salamandere.livejournal.com]

congratulations on getting the cast off!
hee! quatre is so quiet and tough--it's what I love most about him! this was quite fun =D

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm quite happy without the cast.

I'm glad that you liked it. I love writing a tough Quatre.

¡Wii!

[waka-kouhai.livejournal.com]

¡Te felicito! :D

Sigue escribiendo como Dios manda. ;)

Re: ¡Wii!

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

¡Muchas gracias!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_sapphiredreams/]

Hey. I'm glad that your hand is feeling better. How many stories did you come up with with all that pent up creative energy when you couldn't type. :P It's great to see you back.

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

I'm really happy to have the cast off. It was annoying. Now I get to write, which really, I was missing.

[clarelondon.livejournal.com]

Oh this is just so..... perfect for my prompt! LOL. I feel very strongly about him, that the pretty, little-boy looks might serve him ill in the corporate jungle. But his time as a soldier has given him the gravitas and courage and maturity to take what's his, and to sort the allies from the sycophants. You wrote this so well!!! I loved the description of his ill-fitting clothes, and the temptation to push back his hair that he resisted.

Thanks so much!!!!!!! ♥

I'm sorry I took so long to reply - thanks for letting me know it was here, I don't always check 'clarediva' as regularly nowadays. But I always do in the end, for nuggets of fiction like yours *hugs*

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

I'm very happy that you liked it and that it was what you had hoped for. I had fun writing this, plus I had all the saved energy from the cast and the uncooperative hand. Don't worry about replaying a little late. I'm just really glad that you liked it and well it took me long enough to write it too ^^;;

[tyreling.livejournal.com]

What happened to your hand? It's nice to hear you're okay.

This is very good! I love how you wrote Quatre here~! For some reason, looking over your icon, I thought the fic was going to turn into a mafia one shot. o_O;

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

I broke my arm a few months back so it affected my writing since typing with one hand is a pain. All better now, though ^-^

I live the icon, it makes Quatre look so dangerous. I've always thought bounty hunter but mafia works too. I'm glad that you liked the ficlet.

[tyreling.livejournal.com]

Either way, dangerous!Quatre is a thrill to behold. :D