Another of the more popular parings in Gundam Wing…
What evidence is
there that it could work?
When fighting Trowa, Quatre surrenders (ep 3).
Trowa and Quatre spend some time together after their first battle, and even play musical instruments together ^o^ (ep 4).
After Trowa has left, Quatre says he wouldn't mind if they ended up fighting again, because at least then they'd meet again.
They fought alongside each other at New Edwards (ep 7)
When Trowa hears that it's Quatre who has Wing Zero, he continues his mission as if looking forward to it, disregarding the fact that Quatre is blowing away colonies.
Trowa says to him at some point, "This isn't like you at all," which makes the assumption that Trowa knows him well enough to make such a statement.
In the fight between Heero and Quatre, Trowa takes the blow to try and wake Quatre up (ep 25).
Immediately afterwards, when Quatre does wake up, he is desperate to save Trowa. He even tells Heero to kill him if need be, and then save Trowa (ep 25)
While on Earth, Quatre is constantly worrying about Trowa, and eventually goes into space to find him. When he finds him, he's crying.
Seeing Quatre starts to trigger Trowa's memories when they meet again the circus.
Trowa and Quatre are often pictured together the same way Heero and Duo are: Trowa is the perfect soldier, and Quatre the pure soul he's trying to protect.
In the case of
Quatre
In the past, Quatre was very unsure of himself, and certainly a lot of that insecurity has followed him into the present. Though he has learned to believe more in himself and trusts in the righteousness of his mission, he is still searching for himself. Quatre needs someone who is strong—someone to reinforce the progress he’s made with his life. He needs to keep moving forward. Trowa is strong enough to support Quatre—he’s committed and determined, and even looks out for him. Though Quatre’s emotional strength grows considerably over the course of the show, he still needs someone to watch his back. And, as stated in the Trowa section, looking out for a fellow is what Trowa does best.
Over the course of the show Quatre shows more and more that he honestly cares about Trowa—he spends the entire second half of the show looking for and worrying about him. He never went looking for Duo, who had spend over a month with him on Earth—he was worried about Trowa. He cares enough that he would rather die than let Trowa die (ep 25).
In the case of Trowa
Whether or not you subscribe to Trowa as a rape victim, it's obvious that for some reason he's hidden his emotions. They're not gone—just repressed. The more time spent in the presence of the other pilots, the more those emotions are drawn out (Quatre got him to play the flute, after all, ep 4). The first time we see a really positive attitude in Trowa is when he and Heero are out in the Mer And Vay suits, after Quatre. Trowa's voice and manner indicates that he's going to visit an old friend—he's confident and looking forward to the encounter, despite Heero's warnings and the reports of the destroyed colonies. At that point Trowa and Quatre had only known each other for a relatively short time, and yet Quatre has already had an effect on soldier instincts that Trowa had been building all his life.
Trowa has always lived in battle, and hasn't changed much in that time (supposedly). People from his past refer to him as a perfect soldier, and he himself admits that he's buried most of his emotion. As with Heero, Quatre is a kind of soldier unlike anything Trowa has thus far encountered. He's not used to dealing with people that are pure and innocent like that, and it's no wonder he tries to protect Quatre. The dark silent type paired with the pure heart is a common theme in anime and video games (Aoshi and Misao from RK, Squall and Rinoa…etc). It's the kind of thing us angst writers live for: "I love him/her, but I'm not worthy…he/she is so much more pure than I am…" etc. If Trowa is going to learn to live with his emotions from now on, Quatre would be the best one to teach him. Not only is Quatre kind, patient, and understanding (as he too has gone through difficult times), but he honestly wants to help Trowa.
What evidence is
there that it wouldn’t work?
Though Trowa and Quatre spend time together after their first battle, Trowa did leave (ep 4).
When the pair meets up again at New Edwards, Trowa gives Quatre a dirty look, kinda insults him and walks away (when Quatre says working together would be better, Trowa says, "I wonder about that," in a way indicating he doesn't think Quatre would be of any help to him).
By the way, Trowa and Quatre did not share a hotel in New Edwards. Quatre made a reservation, talked to Trowa, and then Trowa walked away. There is no indication that they were together again until the battle.
A year after the end of the war, Trowa is still with the circus, and goes back at the end of Endless Waltz. Quatre, meanwhile, has a huge business (more like an empire) to run. It's the same problem that Heero and Relena have: if Quatre hooks up with anyone, everyone is going to know about it. Though I'm sure he'd have no problem working through details and dealing with that, Trowa isn't exactly the social type. He might have trouble fitting into a role as the lover of the head of the Winner family.
In Conclusion
There is a lot of positive evidence between this pair. Quatre is always trying to help Trowa, and Trowa behaves towards Quatre very differently than the other pilots. Especially with the Wing Zero event, Trowa forewent a lot of precaution for having known Quatre only a short time. Both take a lot of risks for the other, and are often shown together. Quatre even sings a song, "I'll Be Your Friend," which sounds remarkably like he's talking to Trowa. There are some domestic problems—how would people react? Could Trowa handle being in the social spotlight? And true, he does return to the circus whenever he can. However, he's still young—he doesn't need to live on his own, yet. Trowa and Quatre both have a lot of growing space left, and they need to work out things for themselves before they can consider a relationship. However, given enough time, it wouldn't be surprising if they sought each other out.
Whether or not you
support this pair as a couple (as they made no action towards each other during
the realm of the show) it’s obvious that they share a connection. When they meet at the end of ep. 3, the
background music changes to “Just Wild Beat Communication.” Whenever the theme of an anime is used
as background (especially the full vocal version) it signifies an important
event, usually reserved for the end (Sailor Moon, Fushigi Yuugi). The fact that the Gundam theme--which
carries the intent of strong connection—is played at their meeting shows that a
bond has already formed. Whether
this be romantic is anyone’s guess, but there is definitely something there.
