Incredulous, by Lufia
Author's Note: Gundam Wing and it's characters do not belong to me. I am just
borrowing them for a while. The story takes place some time after "Endless Waltz."
A young man sat alone in the corner of the bustling coffee shop, idly moving the
plastic stirrer around in his mug of irish crème in lazy circles. His green eyes stared
off into the distance, unfocused and slightly glazed over. He was bored. No, more
than that, he was depressed. And, he was depressed for what he considered to be a
very dumb reason.
"We're getting married!" his bubbly sister had told him two weeks earlier. "Isn't it
great?"
He blinked, staring at the brunette like she had just said that she was growing an
extra limb. "Married?" he repeated, dumbfounded.
Her silver eyes sparkled as she nodded, her curls bouncing around her cheeks. "In
three weeks. I know it's really sudden, but we didn't want to wait. And Quatre can
arrange for everything quickly enough, so it won't really be a problem. Oh God, I'm
so excited!"
"Married?" he repeated dumbly.
She giggled. "Are you okay, Trowa? I mean, seriously okay?" Her voice became
more steady. "I don't want you to think I'm stealing away your best friend, or
anything. If you don't think it's a good idea, we'll put it off for a while."
"No, it's fine, Cathy. Really."
She beamed, her smile spreading the full width of her heart-shaped face. "Oh,
Trowa!" She wrapped her arms around him tightly, planting a kiss on his forehead.
"Then would you give me away at the wedding? I know Quatre wants you to be his
best man, but you're my only family, and I really don't want anyone but you
standing in for Dad, so…."
"Of course," he replied automatically, plastering a smile on his face.
She had squealed, hugged him again, then run off to help with plans for the
ceremony, leaving Trowa alone in the circus trailer, staring blankly after her, the
faintest hint of a tear forming in his eye.
He sighed, his breath causing little ripples on the surface of his coffee. The wedding
was next week. His sister would become Catherine Winner, no longer Catherine
Bloom, and would end up living with his best friend on L4, far away from the circus
where the two of them had found each other again some years earlier. Trowa would
again be left alone.
Alone. That was the problem. All of his friends had someone, all but him. Heero
had been married to Relena Peacecraft for nearly a year now, and seemed happier
than any of them had thought it was possible for the stoic young man to be. He
wasn't too comfortable with bureaucratic duties that came with being the husband of
the Vice Foreign Minister to the Colonies, but he handled it with the typical
determination he gave to all his missions. Relena, for her part, thought her
husband's devotion was the most adorable thing in the system, and let him get away
with far too much in the way of slips of protocol.
Duo and Hilde had also been married for quite a while. He'd finally popped the
question last Christmas, much to the delight of Miss Schbeiker, and they had eloped
on Christmas Eve, ever true to their impulsive natures. Duo still worked salvage, but
had cut his hours short as of late to help Hilde with their twins, Solo and Olga,
named after Duo's childhood friend, and Hilde's late mother. The two were quite a
handful, and Duo loved telling the others long-winded stories of their exploits. He
was a born father.
Even Wufei had finally finished mourning the loss of his wife, Meiran, and had begun
to notice Sally's affection for him. While Wufei wasn't one to rush into anything, he
and Sally had been dating officially for the past month and a half. And, he seemed
to genuinely like her. His callous attitude toward the "weakness" of women had
softened considerably, and he had actually complimented her on her fighting ability
without adding "…for a woman" to the end of the sentence, much to everyone's
delight.
Even those people he worked with but didn't know as well were with someone.
Zechs had Noin. They hadn't gotten married yet, but everyone knew it was only a
matter of time. Their unofficial but devoted relationship was the staple of Preventers
gossip. And neither one of them did anything to discourage it. They simply smiled,
glanced at each other knowingly, and continued about their business.
Lady Une had decided the day Treize died that she would not fall in love with anyone
else, but she was far from alone. She was raising Treize's orphaned daughter,
Marie-Maiya, as if she were the girl's own mother. She was devoted to the child, as
she had been to the girl's father. And, she was developing a friendship with Dorothy
Catalonia, Treize's cousin. While the Lady did not have a lover, or even a passing
fancy, she had family.
Trowa let the stirrer slide from his fingers, slipping into the creamy liquid and
disappearing beneath the surface. His features dropped slightly. He'd had a family
too, up until two weeks ago. He'd had his beloved sister, and their "family" at the
circus. And, he'd had Quatre, his best friend. The two were as close as brothers.
But, since the engagement was announced, Catherine and Quatre had spent all of
their free time together, planning, decorating, etc. Trowa tried his hardest to feel
some sort of happiness for them, but, although he knew on some level he was
genuinely happy for his sister and friend, he could not express anything beyond
depressed indifference. He sighed again.
"You okay, sir?" a woman's voice asked from beside him. Trowa blinked, focusing
his thoughts back to the present, and turned his head to see who had spoken. A
young woman stood beside his table, her fine platinum hair pulled back from her face
into a thin braid. Her large silver eyes stared down at him, full of a concern that
seemed odd for one to show a stranger. She was dressed in the light gray uniform
of the waitresses of the coffee house.
Trowa nodded, staring intently at the girl. He found that he could not take his eyes
off of her. A thought was twisting at the back of his mind, working its way toward
consciousness. She seemed so familiar….
"You don't seem okay," she continued. "You looked very sad, actually. Do you want
to talk?"
"Talk?" Trowa echoed softly. The girl seemed to take this as an invitation, because
she pulled out the opposite chair and swiveled herself gracefully into it. She leant
forward slightly, the concern still apparent in her features. Trowa's gaze followed
her the entire time. Her eyes, he decided, were exceedingly familiar. "Do I know
you?" he asked her.
The girl's features darkened for a brief moment, then relaxed into a more calm state.
She nodded slowly. "We met long ago, when we were children. I wasn't sure if
you'd remember me, but I recognized you as soon as you walked in. And you looked
so sad, just like you did then, and I couldn't help coming over to talk to you."
Trowa nodded slightly, trying to make sense of this story. A girl he knew a long time
ago…. His eyes widened slightly, and he leant forward, his coffee forgotten in front
of him. "Midii?" he asked.
The woman nodded. "You remembered my name."
"Of course I remember your name. I remember everything…." He trailed, off, his
mind flashing back to the mercenary camp, and the young girl who had betrayed the
group, but helped him to escape. "You saved me."
She shook her head. "I betrayed you, and your friends. And, for that, I am
eternally sorry. I didn't want to hurt anyone…."
"But you did what you had to," Trowa finished for her. When her eyes widened, he
continued. "I understand now. I've had to do things too, things that hurt many
people, but were for the best, as I knew it. I don't hold any anger toward you,
Midii."
The girl sighed heavily, closing her eyes. "I cannot believe you can tell me that, but
I am grateful. I don't know what I would have done if you were still angry at me.
I…." She trailed off, blushing.
Trowa placed a hand over hers. "You what?" he asked softly, his curious stare
softening to a gaze.
Midii opened her eyes as he touched her hand. "I love you." She blushed. "I know
it sounds really silly, but I have been in love with you since I first met you. I never
stopped loving you. You were the first person to be kind to me, and to take care of
me. You were the last one for a long time after that to have been. When you yelled
after me that you hated me, it almost broke my heart. But, I understood. It didn't
stop me from loving you."
"Midii…." Trowa stared into her silver eyes, unsure of what to do or say. She…loved
him? She didn't even know his name, he remembered, because he hadn't had a
name back then. She didn't know the first thing about who he was, who he had
become. Yet, when he looked into her eyes, he could see that she was speaking the
truth. "Midii…."
She smiled faintly. "I don't expect a confession of love from you. I know this is a
really big shock for you. I just want to be your friend, that's all, to get to know you.
If that's okay with you."
Trowa smiled, a genuine smile, and brushed his thumb across the back of her hand.
"I'd like that," he said softly. "When are you free?"
Midii smiled. "I got off work right before you sat down, actually. I hope you don't
think badly of me that I spied on you."
Trowa shook his head, rising. "Not at all." He offered his hand to her. "I'm Trowa
Bloom. It's a pleasure to see you again, Midii."
The girl smiled. "Trowa…." She tested the name. "It suits you." She took his hand,
allowing him to help her to her feet. He offered his elbow, which she took with a
smirk, and the two strode out into the dimming twilight.
Author's Note: Gundam Wing and it's characters do not belong to me. I am just
borrowing them for a while. The story takes place some time after "Endless Waltz."
A young man sat alone in the corner of the bustling coffee shop, idly moving the
plastic stirrer around in his mug of irish crème in lazy circles. His green eyes stared
off into the distance, unfocused and slightly glazed over. He was bored. No, more
than that, he was depressed. And, he was depressed for what he considered to be a
very dumb reason.
"We're getting married!" his bubbly sister had told him two weeks earlier. "Isn't it
great?"
He blinked, staring at the brunette like she had just said that she was growing an
extra limb. "Married?" he repeated, dumbfounded.
Her silver eyes sparkled as she nodded, her curls bouncing around her cheeks. "In
three weeks. I know it's really sudden, but we didn't want to wait. And Quatre can
arrange for everything quickly enough, so it won't really be a problem. Oh God, I'm
so excited!"
"Married?" he repeated dumbly.
She giggled. "Are you okay, Trowa? I mean, seriously okay?" Her voice became
more steady. "I don't want you to think I'm stealing away your best friend, or
anything. If you don't think it's a good idea, we'll put it off for a while."
"No, it's fine, Cathy. Really."
She beamed, her smile spreading the full width of her heart-shaped face. "Oh,
Trowa!" She wrapped her arms around him tightly, planting a kiss on his forehead.
"Then would you give me away at the wedding? I know Quatre wants you to be his
best man, but you're my only family, and I really don't want anyone but you
standing in for Dad, so…."
"Of course," he replied automatically, plastering a smile on his face.
She had squealed, hugged him again, then run off to help with plans for the
ceremony, leaving Trowa alone in the circus trailer, staring blankly after her, the
faintest hint of a tear forming in his eye.
He sighed, his breath causing little ripples on the surface of his coffee. The wedding
was next week. His sister would become Catherine Winner, no longer Catherine
Bloom, and would end up living with his best friend on L4, far away from the circus
where the two of them had found each other again some years earlier. Trowa would
again be left alone.
Alone. That was the problem. All of his friends had someone, all but him. Heero
had been married to Relena Peacecraft for nearly a year now, and seemed happier
than any of them had thought it was possible for the stoic young man to be. He
wasn't too comfortable with bureaucratic duties that came with being the husband of
the Vice Foreign Minister to the Colonies, but he handled it with the typical
determination he gave to all his missions. Relena, for her part, thought her
husband's devotion was the most adorable thing in the system, and let him get away
with far too much in the way of slips of protocol.
Duo and Hilde had also been married for quite a while. He'd finally popped the
question last Christmas, much to the delight of Miss Schbeiker, and they had eloped
on Christmas Eve, ever true to their impulsive natures. Duo still worked salvage, but
had cut his hours short as of late to help Hilde with their twins, Solo and Olga,
named after Duo's childhood friend, and Hilde's late mother. The two were quite a
handful, and Duo loved telling the others long-winded stories of their exploits. He
was a born father.
Even Wufei had finally finished mourning the loss of his wife, Meiran, and had begun
to notice Sally's affection for him. While Wufei wasn't one to rush into anything, he
and Sally had been dating officially for the past month and a half. And, he seemed
to genuinely like her. His callous attitude toward the "weakness" of women had
softened considerably, and he had actually complimented her on her fighting ability
without adding "…for a woman" to the end of the sentence, much to everyone's
delight.
Even those people he worked with but didn't know as well were with someone.
Zechs had Noin. They hadn't gotten married yet, but everyone knew it was only a
matter of time. Their unofficial but devoted relationship was the staple of Preventers
gossip. And neither one of them did anything to discourage it. They simply smiled,
glanced at each other knowingly, and continued about their business.
Lady Une had decided the day Treize died that she would not fall in love with anyone
else, but she was far from alone. She was raising Treize's orphaned daughter,
Marie-Maiya, as if she were the girl's own mother. She was devoted to the child, as
she had been to the girl's father. And, she was developing a friendship with Dorothy
Catalonia, Treize's cousin. While the Lady did not have a lover, or even a passing
fancy, she had family.
Trowa let the stirrer slide from his fingers, slipping into the creamy liquid and
disappearing beneath the surface. His features dropped slightly. He'd had a family
too, up until two weeks ago. He'd had his beloved sister, and their "family" at the
circus. And, he'd had Quatre, his best friend. The two were as close as brothers.
But, since the engagement was announced, Catherine and Quatre had spent all of
their free time together, planning, decorating, etc. Trowa tried his hardest to feel
some sort of happiness for them, but, although he knew on some level he was
genuinely happy for his sister and friend, he could not express anything beyond
depressed indifference. He sighed again.
"You okay, sir?" a woman's voice asked from beside him. Trowa blinked, focusing
his thoughts back to the present, and turned his head to see who had spoken. A
young woman stood beside his table, her fine platinum hair pulled back from her face
into a thin braid. Her large silver eyes stared down at him, full of a concern that
seemed odd for one to show a stranger. She was dressed in the light gray uniform
of the waitresses of the coffee house.
Trowa nodded, staring intently at the girl. He found that he could not take his eyes
off of her. A thought was twisting at the back of his mind, working its way toward
consciousness. She seemed so familiar….
"You don't seem okay," she continued. "You looked very sad, actually. Do you want
to talk?"
"Talk?" Trowa echoed softly. The girl seemed to take this as an invitation, because
she pulled out the opposite chair and swiveled herself gracefully into it. She leant
forward slightly, the concern still apparent in her features. Trowa's gaze followed
her the entire time. Her eyes, he decided, were exceedingly familiar. "Do I know
you?" he asked her.
The girl's features darkened for a brief moment, then relaxed into a more calm state.
She nodded slowly. "We met long ago, when we were children. I wasn't sure if
you'd remember me, but I recognized you as soon as you walked in. And you looked
so sad, just like you did then, and I couldn't help coming over to talk to you."
Trowa nodded slightly, trying to make sense of this story. A girl he knew a long time
ago…. His eyes widened slightly, and he leant forward, his coffee forgotten in front
of him. "Midii?" he asked.
The woman nodded. "You remembered my name."
"Of course I remember your name. I remember everything…." He trailed, off, his
mind flashing back to the mercenary camp, and the young girl who had betrayed the
group, but helped him to escape. "You saved me."
She shook her head. "I betrayed you, and your friends. And, for that, I am
eternally sorry. I didn't want to hurt anyone…."
"But you did what you had to," Trowa finished for her. When her eyes widened, he
continued. "I understand now. I've had to do things too, things that hurt many
people, but were for the best, as I knew it. I don't hold any anger toward you,
Midii."
The girl sighed heavily, closing her eyes. "I cannot believe you can tell me that, but
I am grateful. I don't know what I would have done if you were still angry at me.
I…." She trailed off, blushing.
Trowa placed a hand over hers. "You what?" he asked softly, his curious stare
softening to a gaze.
Midii opened her eyes as he touched her hand. "I love you." She blushed. "I know
it sounds really silly, but I have been in love with you since I first met you. I never
stopped loving you. You were the first person to be kind to me, and to take care of
me. You were the last one for a long time after that to have been. When you yelled
after me that you hated me, it almost broke my heart. But, I understood. It didn't
stop me from loving you."
"Midii…." Trowa stared into her silver eyes, unsure of what to do or say. She…loved
him? She didn't even know his name, he remembered, because he hadn't had a
name back then. She didn't know the first thing about who he was, who he had
become. Yet, when he looked into her eyes, he could see that she was speaking the
truth. "Midii…."
She smiled faintly. "I don't expect a confession of love from you. I know this is a
really big shock for you. I just want to be your friend, that's all, to get to know you.
If that's okay with you."
Trowa smiled, a genuine smile, and brushed his thumb across the back of her hand.
"I'd like that," he said softly. "When are you free?"
Midii smiled. "I got off work right before you sat down, actually. I hope you don't
think badly of me that I spied on you."
Trowa shook his head, rising. "Not at all." He offered his hand to her. "I'm Trowa
Bloom. It's a pleasure to see you again, Midii."
The girl smiled. "Trowa…." She tested the name. "It suits you." She took his hand,
allowing him to help her to her feet. He offered his elbow, which she took with a
smirk, and the two strode out into the dimming twilight.