Author's Notes: So sorry it took me so long to get the next chapter written! I've been trying to figure out who would be my next victim… I mean I was trying to make sure the story flowed well instead of being choppy and all over the place. Don't worry folks! Duo is going to face the music but not just yet! I want him to sweat it out a bit first! By the way, in case anyone is curious the setting for this story is Earth. As always a big, grateful, heartfelt thank you goes to PimpMastaPopo for being my beta reader! She's awesome so do yourselves a favor and check out her fics. Italics will denote character thoughts and constructive criticisms are welcomed. Without further ado, happy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything else associated with Gundam Wing.

Given his current mindset, he really shouldn't be driving. As a matter of fact, he shouldn't have left her in the first place but she hadn't given him much of a choice. He should have stood his ground and reasoned with her but she wasn't exactly known for being reasonable.

Currently his mind was a swirling chaotic vortex all thanks to his girlfriend. He could barely focus on the road because his thoughts kept going back to their argument from earlier. Not that he wanted to keep thinking about it but he just couldn't believe how thoughtless she was being.

He wasn't a violent man nor would he ever resort to belittling other people but for once in his life, he had been extremely tempted to throw pacifism to the wind! If only it would have gotten her to see his point of view then maybe it would have been worth it but before he had the chance to say anything he would regret later, he had angrily stormed out of her home, never once looking back. As he was leaving; a small part of him kept hoping that she would call out for him and maybe even apologize but that was asking for too much.

He was by no means an idiot or a weakling, but apparently his girlfriend thought otherwise. So he had made the tiny, small and relatively harmless mistake of making plans with Trowa for the evening.

Never mind the fact that he spent a good majority of his time cooped up in board meetings, visiting various sites for his business on Earth and the Colonies and being a part time Preventer. As was it, he barely had any time for her!

Was it so much to ask for him to actually spend some time with someone other than his Board of Directors, employees, personal aides or her?

No matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, this was nothing more than a power-play. A blatant excuse for a battle of the sexes. But since he was refusing to partake in said battle, that made him the weaker of the two.

If he had a dime for every time, people assumed he was the woman in the relationship or worse, he wouldn't have even bothered inheriting his father's company!

He was actually still reeling from the rumors and gossip surrounding his relationship with Trowa. Ever since word came out that he was dating Dorothy, the tabloids began printing all sorts of stories. While some of the reports and articles served to greatly amuse him and the others, there were quite a few that severely pushed his patience.

Dorothy wasn't helping matters either. Instead of her being appalled and maybe even a bit supportive, she was actually enjoying every last bit of this whole ordeal. She never failed to tease him or question him about his "escapades" with Trowa, which was exactly why he was currently refusing to answer to his cell phone.

He knew it was no one else but her, but he wasn't in the mood to hear from her. She'd done enough damage for one day. A man could only take so many teasing comments.

So he was very close with another man. That did NOT mean he swung the other way. Nor did it mean he was only dating Dorothy to save face. He wasn't nearly as upset about that as he was with the way the media was portraying her. All of the reports claimed that she was only with him because of his family's business and that she didn't really love him.

The reporters, his family members and everyone else were absolutely convinced that she was just using him for her own secret agenda. None of them actually saw her as a real, living and breathing human being with feelings and thoughts. They just thought of her as this terrible, wicked and vindictive creature out for his blood and most importantly, his money.

And when he actually tried to voice his concerns to Dorothy about this, she had merely brushed him off by telling him he was worrying for nothing. Maybe he was blowing things completely out of proportion… but wasn't it his job to have her best interests at heart?

Didn't it count for something that he had actually gone out of his way to find her again after the Eve Wars?

He hadn't had any plans of forming a romantic relationship with her either. He had merely wanted to check up on her and make sure she was all right.

But he had nothing to gain or lose from befriending her. During the wars, he had known she was just simply lonely and perhaps even a bit depressed. Back then, however, he had made no move to approach her. It hadn't been because he was intimidated by her or because he didn't know what to say.

Actually he wanted to help her because he saw so much of himself in her. Her bitterness and anger at the world, the icy shields she built around her heart and even the way she tried to pretend she wasn't kind or caring. He had been down that road before and knew firsthand that nothing good could come of it.

Perhaps it had been fate or even destiny that their paths ended up crossing again during the battle abroad Libra, but it wasn't until after everything was said and done that he started to wonder about her.

There were many nights where his thoughts would inevitably drift towards her. He would catch himself thinking about whether or not she had taken Trowa's words to heart or if she had stubbornly remained the same just to spite them both.

But now that they were finally together, it just wasn't enough for him. To him, it felt as though he wasn't good enough for Dorothy. Her constant jabs about his masculinity (or lack thereof) was grating on his nerves. To make matters worse, she tended to shy away from his affections. The icing on the cake finally came the other night when he had accidentally overheard her telling Relena that she wished he wasn't so feminine and instead more manly like Heero, Trowa or Wufei.

Okay, so he wasn't built like a Spartan. And maybe he actually had manners, treated women like they were equals and not trophies, tended to be polite with just about everyone he came in contact with, didn't drink, smoke or do anything that one would consider "cool", had a nasty habit of apologizing for nearly everything even when it wasn't his fault, was naïve and loyal to a certain fault and actually believed that the world wasn't such a bad place.

Was it such a crime for a man to have all of those personality traits? Well, according to her, it was that and much more.

Gripping the steering wheel a little more tightly than needed, he forced all of those thoughts out of his mind. For once he was going to have a stress and worry free evening even if it killed him!


Glaring at her cell phone, Dorothy could only come to two conclusions. 1) Her boyfriend was more sensitive than she originally thought. 2) Perhaps she might have gone a bit too far with her teasing.

But being the obstinate woman that she was, she was more inclined to believe it was the first choice. It wasn't her fault the man didn't know how to take a joke.

"He could have at least answered." She mumbled.

Placing the phone back on the table, she began to dial a familiar number. The vid-phone rung twice before she quickly hung up.

"What am I doing? I didn't really do anything wrong! He just can't take a joke! Besides, he knew what he was getting into when we started dating…" Her voice trailed off, losing its haughty tone.

Damn it! He's starting to rub off on me…

Glancing once more at the vid-phone, she willingly pushed aside her pride and dialed the number again. Right now she felt like an idiot but she'd have time to worry about that later.

She drummed her fingers lightly on her desk as she waited patiently while the screen crackled and then finally came to life; however, she wasted no time in starting a conversation.

"How are things between you and Mr. Perfect Soldier?" She asked cheekily.

Who needs tact when you can forget about your problems by irritating your friend about her love life?

Relena rolled her eyes before responding. "And to what do I owe the pleasure Dorothy?"

Dorothy smiled. "Why Miss Relena, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were being sarcastic."

"You think so?" She questioned, the sarcasm still heavy in her voice.

"Of course, I know you better than anyone else! So tell me, what has the idiot done this time? Didn't buy you any roses or lilies? Forgot to call you on your lunch break? Hasn't been paying you any attention? Or could it be that your needs just aren't being met adequately?"

Relena didn't know whether she should be mortified or amused by Dorothy's antics. It was clear something was bothering her, otherwise she wouldn't have wasted her time asking about Heero, nor would she have bothered to call.

Quickly putting the pieces together, Relena couldn't help the slight smile that came to her face. "Not that it's any of your business but Heero and I are just fine. He canceled our date for the evening but somehow I get the feeling you're in the same boat."

Dorothy raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Was this date supposed to be more important than the others you've been on?"

It didn't go unnoticed by Relena that Dorothy failed to respond to the last part of her statement. Inwardly, she was laughing uncontrollably. Normally she was the one calling Dorothy for advice and not the other way around.

I knew it! So she is calling me to talk about Quatre!

"Perhaps it was but you never answered my original question. And before you even say it, you never call to chat with me."

She sighed before muttering, "Yuy's a bad influence on you after all."

Relena really did laugh then. "No he isn't. I just know how to read between the lines."

Folding her arms across her chest, she couldn't help the slight scowl that came to her face. "If you're so inclined to know, Quatre's mad at me."

That tidbit of information didn't faze Relena in the least bit. She knew Dorothy was the type of person who could get under your skin effortlessly. Try as you might, there was no getting rid of her either. She would only leave you alone once she lost interest in you. That or when she saw that you were onto her game. She just loved pushing people's buttons and testing their patience.

All of their friends kept telling her that one of these days, that particular quirk might end up being the death of her. In true Dorothy fashion, however, she just merely brushed their concerns aside and continued to do as she pleased.

Sighing softly, Relena couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her. For all the pretending Dorothy did, she was well aware that she didn't mean to be so spiteful and irritating. She just didn't know how to curb that side of her personality.

Instead of voicing her sympathies, she asked, "What did you do this time?"

The scowl on her face darkened considerably. "You're aware of the reports about Quatre's relationship with me and Trowa aren't you?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "You didn't!"

Resisting the urge to hit something, she muttered, "I was only teasing. I had no idea he was going to get so upset."

"Dorothy you know that sort of thing bothers him. Don't you think he has enough to worry about without you adding onto to his problems?"

She blinked as confusion spread across her face.

Sighing yet again, she began to explain everything to her. "Ever since he's taken control of his father's company, his Board of Directors have continually doubted him. They don't think he's capable of handling things as well as his father did. There's also the fact that his family has been pressuring him to take a wife for quite some time. He's also been stretching himself thin for the past few years because of his responsibilities. But he always seems happiest when he's with you though."

She could only stare at Relena until finally her eyes narrowed menacingly as her voice became like ice. "Are you implying I don't know about my boyfriend's problems Relena?"

Unperturbed by this sudden change in behavior, Relena continued forward. "No that's not what I meant. I was simply reminding you that maybe it wouldn't hurt for you to be a bit more sensitive towards his feelings."

That comment actually managed to make her flinch. She knew she wasn't the greatest person to be around but it bothered her to know that Relena was right on so many levels. It even unnerved her slightly to find out that Relena seemed to know more about Quatre than she did. Of course she would never admit any of that out loud though.

Smirking slightly, she couldn't help herself as the words came out. "You'll have to forgive me then. Not everyone was meant to be such an optimist Relena."

Narrowing her eyes, Relena knew she was playing dirty now. "Optimist or not, you had better be careful Dorothy. He's a good man and he deserves to be treated as one. If you end up losing him…"

The smirk had become a full blown catty smile. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you love Quatre more than you love Heero. But don't worry Relena. I can assure you that I'm taking very good care of Quatre. Now if you'll excuse me I bid you goodnight."

She hung up quickly before Relena even had a chance to respond. It was one thing to lecture her on her less than favorable quirks. It was a completely different story altogether to call into question her feelings for Quatre.

Regardless of what anyone thought or felt about her, she loved him more than anything else. Not even her love for battles and war compared to what she felt for him.

Well, maybe I don't love him that much but it's damn close!

She'd see to it first thing in the morning that everything would be set right. But for now she just wanted a nice and generous helping of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Nothing made a woman feel better than a bowl of her favorite ice cream.