Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine. Nor will it ever be. That is downright impossible and preposterous.
Sorry, no more lemons. About Duo and his priesthood, I shouldn't have used the word 'priest' but instead 'minister'. I know that it created some kind of confusion coz Catholic priests can't marry. The word priest is kinda shorter, so I used it.
This is basically Noin and Zechs' chapter --- how they view the whole situation, their analysis of the couples, the parallelism between their points of view. Married couples tend to think and act alike, don't they? For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com
6th day of their vacation (4 pm)
Noin sat in the gazebo, immersed in her thoughts. Even from their first day here, she could sense something strange about this whole set-up but she didn't say anything about it to anyone. As far as she knew, she was the only one who was feeling this way. But since yesterday, she was certain that her soldier's instinct and her female intuition had been right all along. There's definitely something weird going on around here, she told herself. Aside from catching Heero and Relena kissing in the kitchen yesterday, she also uncovered some bizarre occurrences.
In the steam room…
"Oh, this is great," Catherine said.
"You said it, girlfriend," Hilde told her.
"This is what a real vacation should be like," Sally commented. "Relaxing by day, playing kinky by night…"
The girls laughed. "Speaking of kinky, did your men enjoy their special treats last night?" Noin queried, referring to the lingerie.
Hilde and Sally grinned mischievously while Relena blushed. "I practically had Duo eating by the palm of my hand. Or, let's just say some other body part."
"And I actually had Justice Boy begging for more."
"INJUSTICE!" the six girls chorused. They then turned to Relena. "He definitely liked it. He said that it tasted so good."
"What about you, Dorothy? Catherine?" Noin asked.
"Oh, Heero enjoyed it a lot. In fact, he asked me to buy more," Catherine replied.
"Trowa too. He's really grateful that you gave it to me last night."
Noin frowned. But it was a lie, she told herself. Dorothy and Catherine were lying. I saw them yesterday morning sneak out of Trowa's room carrying their lingerie. They didn't use them. But why lie? More importantly, why lie to me? She then remembered her talk with the boys.
Noin saw Heero, Duo, Trowa. Quatre and Wufei emerge from the simulation room. "Hi. Where's Zechs?"
"He's not with you?" Quatre asked.
"No. I thought he's with you trying out the combat program."
"He was. When I defeated him, he went out for a drink. He didn't come back," Heero informed her.
"So how was last night? Nice and sweet huh," Noin said with a grin.
Duo smiled slyly while Heero and Wufei smirked. Trowa and Quatre grimaced. Noin looked at the two. "Hey, why so grim? Didn't you enjoy Relena and Dorothy's treat for you?" Noin asked.
"I did. It tasted good and blue suits her well," Quatre replied.
Heero shot him a look. Noin frowned. "Blue? Relena's lingerie is white."
"Huh? Oh yeah. Sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention," Quatre said sheepishly.
"We know what you mean. I also can't remember what color Dorothy's lingerie was but I definitely enjoyed it," Trowa said, covering up for Quatre.
Why would the guys lie too? What's going on? Then there was that mystery on how Catherine got inside Trowa's room. Noin caught her sneaking out again this morning. Do they have connecting doors or something? she wondered. Nah, that couldn't be it. It must be a sibling thing. That sure was strange but there were more important matters to think of. Like Heero and Relena's relationship for instance.
Since the kiss yesterday, Noin had been watching them carefully. She couldn't believe that she missed all the signs before. And from all the little details that she had gathered, she could safely conclude that Heero and Relena really did have a relationship. Relena might had always stayed beside Quatre and Heero beside Catherine but they kept exchanging these longing looks. Aside from that, Heero was always ready to give her a hand in everything, he also went with her everywhere. Like this morning when Relena went to doctor. Well, Heero was her bodyguard afterall. But there were just some things that only the husband should do, right?
Noin sighed. Quatre can be so trusting at times. He didn't know that his own friend was having an affair with his wife. But come to think of it, it sure looks like that Quatre and Relena were not in love. There was no doubt that they cared for each other, being bestfriends and all but they were just not in love. The same could be said for Heero and Catherine though this was not due to their lack in public displays of affection. Heero had always kept to himself and even with his relationship with Relena, he didn't show his feelings in public. But anybody within a feet of him could never deny what he truly felt. Maybe it was the expression in his eyes whenever he looks at her. Noin couldn't see that look in his eyes when he was with Catherine. But she could see it when he was with Relena.
To be fair, it was evident that Heero had some affection for Catherine (which was saying a lot since Heero was not an affectionate guy) but in a sisterly kind of way. Sort of like what Trowa felt for Catherine, or what Heero felt for his female friends. As for Catherine, they all knew that she had a soft spot for Heero, him being so much like Trowa. Also, she was the one who took care of him when he self-detonated. Though she threatened and blamed Heero for Trowa's failed self-detonation, they had become close these past years. They liked each other but they were definitely not in love. Noin can understand why Relena married Quatre even if she was not in love with him but why would Heero and Catherine be together if they were not in love?
Her reverie was interrupted when she heard a familiar voice. "Hey, Noin, what are you doing out here all alone?" Hilde greeted as she and Duo entered the gazebo.
"Yeah. Where's Zechs?" Duo asked.
"He's around here somewhere. We both wanted to be alone with our thoughts for a while."
"Why? Did you two have a fight?" Hilde inquired.
Noin shook her head. "No. It's not about us." Suddenly she asked, "Do you think Heero and Relena are still in love with each other?"
"It's not a big deal. They're married," Duo immediately answered. Noin furrowed her brows while Hilde discretely pinched him. "What I mean is, it wouldn't matter if they still have feelings for each other. Relena is married and Heero might marry Catherine," Duo amended. Nice pun. Hope she buys it. He sighed in relief as he saw that Noin bought his explanation.
"But did it occur to you that they might act on those feelings even if Relena is married or Heero plans on marrying Catherine?" Noin asked again.
Duo and Hilde were definitely nervous now. "You mean sneaking around, cheating on each other, that sort of thing?" Hilde queried. Noin nodded. Hilde crossed her fingers then continued, "What made you ask that? Did you see them do something?"
"Not really," Noin lied. "I'm just curious, that's all."
Duo and Hilde were relieved. "Well, Heero is my best friend and I don't think that he's the kind of man who'll cheat on his girlfriend and covet his friend's wife," Duo replied in a very priestlike way.
Noin looked at them intently. What Duo said rang true, but something was amiss, she just couldn't put her finger into it. Either they didn't know anything or they were covering for Heero and Relena. "Where are the others?"
Hilde replied, "Relena, Catherine and Dorothy are in their rooms, resting while Heero, Trowa and Quatre are in the simulation room upgrading the combat program. They're adding more helmets since Sally and I decided to try it out. Want to come with us?"
"Hmm, that sounds interesting. Ok, I'll try it too."
"Great! Let's go back inside. They'll be done by now," Duo said to them.
"Wait. I have to find Zechs and tell him so he could join us."
"Don't worry. Sally is looking for you too. She and Wufei might have found Zechs by now and told him about us joining them in the simulation," Hilde told her.
Noin smiled. "In that case, let's kick some major Mobile Suit ass," she said with flourish.
At the same time…
Zechs stared out of the window. He couldn't erase the image of Trowa and Quatre kissing in his mind. It wouldn't had been an issue if Quatre was not married to Relena, but he was. Since that scene in the bar yesterday, he watched them carefully, noting every look, every touch. And from what he had seen so far, he was certain that Trowa and Quatre's secret affair had been going on for a long time. He felt really stupid for not recognizing the signs earlier. Though Quatre always stayed beside Relena and Trowa beside Dorothy, they had this intimate look in their eyes whenever their gazes meet. Aside from that, whenever Quatre goes somewhere, Trowa comes with him. Zechs couldn't deny seeing the love shining in their eyes. And he knew how lucky those two were for finding something as rare and as beautiful as that love, but what about Relena? And Dorothy?
To be honest, Zechs knew from the very beginning that Relena only married Quatre out of desperation. She had to marry a Colony delegate whether she liked to or not so it was just a brilliant tactical move on Relena's part to choose her guy best friend and also the current Head of the Colony delegates for her husband. Though he knew that Relena and Quatre love each other, they were not in love. And he was fairly certain that Trowa and Dorothy were not in love either.
Trowa had always been stoic, even more so than Heero, that was why it was not so surprising that he disliked public displays of affection. But Zechs knew him well enough by now to know his true feelings. He was fond of Dorothy, this fact was obvious, but he was fond of her in a way that he was fond of the rest of the girls. And it was the same with Dorothy. Her affection for Trowa was just like her affection for the rest of them. So why did they bother to be together if that was the case? For convenience? For sex? What?
But that was not the only mystery here. There was something about this whole set-up that perplex him, his soldier's instinct telling him something was amiss. This strange feeling started the day they arrived but he kept his mouth shut. He thought that he might just be imagining things. But with what he had discovered lately made him realize that his instinct might be right all along.
Yesterday afternoon
It was the guys' turn to use the steam room. "Nice. This is one good spa you have, Quatre," Wufei commented.
"Thanks. As a matter of fact, this is my favorite room in the whole mansion."
"I'm really enjoying this. I think I'll have one installed in the Palace," Zechs told them.
"We always had assumed that you already had one," Trowa remarked.
"Good idea, Zechs. That way whenever we go to the Sanc Kingdom for a vacation we could use it," Duo said to him. "Hey Heero, after we're done here can we exchange slippers? I really like to wear Wing Zero for a while."
"No."
"Pretty please? My Deathscythe is really clean. And I don't have any foot fungus."
"No."
Duo looked at him with puppy-dog eyes. "Please? Heero ol' buddy, ol' pal? It'll be just like swapping Gundams. You let Wufei and Trowa borrow Wing Zero during the war. And Trowa lend you Heavyarms once."
Heero looked at him as if he was crazy. "You're crazy. You know that I don't like other people touching my stuff. Especially my Mobile Suit. I let them borrow Wing Zero out of necessity."
Zechs frowned. "I thought you and Quatre swapped slippers? Kinda liked swapping Gundams."
"Huh?"
Quatre gulped. "Umm, Heero don't you remember? We swapped slippers a few days ago. That's why Relena accidentally put on your slippers when she went out to meet Zechs."
"So you swapped with Quatre but not with me. And here I thought you're my best friend," Duo pouted.
Heero glared at Quatre. Then at Duo. "Fine. Let's swap slippers. But only for this day."
"Yipee!" Duo exclaimed, knowing the fact that he just conned Heero into doing something he doesn't like.
"You better be telling the truth about not having foot fungus, Duo. Or I swear, best friend or not, I'm going to kill you."
Heero couldn't had forgotten about something as mundane as swapping slippers, could he? And I know that he really didn't want other people touching his things, Zechs thought. But if this was the case, why would Heero let Quatre and Duo bully him into saying that he did? Then there was this other thing that struck him as odd.
Last night (At the living room)
Relena put down her wine glass. "I think I'll head to bed now," she said, glancing at Dorothy and Catherine.
Dorothy faked a yawn. "Me, too. I'm beat."
"I guess I'll head upstairs too. I'm pretty tired myself," Catherine added.
"Ok. We'll stay here a little bit longer. Goodnight," Sally told them.
"Hope you have a pleasant evening," Hilde said with a grin.
"Goodnight," Relena, Catherine and Dorothy said in unison as the three of them, Quatre, Heero and Trowa stood up and walked toward the staircase.
Zechs watched the 3 couples went up the stairs and disappeared from view. "I just noticed something. This is the second time I saw those six go to bed at the same time. Do they have this agreement of sleeping at the same time? Or do they have this competition on who among them could make the loudest noise?"
Sally swallowed her entire drink while Hilde fidgeted in her seat. Duo and Wufei looked at each other.
"Don't get too worked up in something as insignificant as that, Zechs. It's just a coincidence," Wufei told him.
Wufei had a point. But why can't I help feeling that the six of them going to bed at the same time is not a mere coincidence? What's really happening behind their closed doors? he asked himself.
"There you are, Zechs. Where's Noin?" Sally asked as she entered the study, Wufei trailing behind her.
"I don't know. She might be outside."
Sally studied him. "Do you two have a problem?"
"No," Zechs answered quickly. "We really don't. I'm just thinking, that's all."
"About what?" Wufei inquired.
Zechs replied, "Trowa and Quatre are still in love, right?"
"Pardon?" Wufei choked out.
"I said, Trowa and Quatre are still in love. I just want you to confirm it."
Sally rocked her brain for the right answer. "Umm, maybe. Why do you ask?"
Instead of answering her, Zechs asked, "Do you think Trowa and Quatre will continue their relationship even if Quatre is already married and Trowa has a girlfriend?"
Sally and Wufei tensed. "What makes you say that, Zechs? Did you see them do something? Or did you find some evidence that will lead you to think that?" Sally queried.
"No. I didn't find anything," he lied. "I just want to know if there's even a remote chance of that happening."
Wufei decided to answer his question. "I've known Trowa and Quatre for a long time now and I can say that they wouldn't do something as dishonorable as cheating on one's wife and girlfriend. Even if they still have feelings for each other."
Zechs nodded. He was certain that Wufei believed for himself that he was telling the truth. It was not really in Quatre and Trowa's nature to cheat. Still, he couldn't shrug off the feeling that there was something wrong about everything.
"I almost forgot. We've been looking for you and Noin to ask you if you want to join us in the simulation room," Sally told him.
"Heero and the others are installing additional helmets so Sally, Hilde and Noin can battle with us. You coming?" Wufei asked.
"Yup. It'll be good to do some practicing. And I'm done resting for the day," Zechs answered. "But I have to find Noin first."
"I think Duo and Hilde already found her. They went out to look for the two of you outside," Sally said.
"Well, what are we waiting for? I'm itching for a good fight. And I can't wait to see how these onnas can stand up to us."
"Just wait and see, Wufei. We're going to give you a run for your money," Sally said smugly. Wufei smirked at her.
Zechs laughed. "As for me, I'm going to defeat Heero this time."
An hour later…
Noin went out of the simulation room. She felt tired. Battling 6 Gundams and 2 Tauruses even in a simulation was tough work. Heero really made one hell of a combat program. It was like battling for real. So after Wufei blasted her Taurus into oblivion, she decided to quit and rest for one or two hours before dinner.
She was headed towards the stairs when she heard the vidphone in the study rang. She went inside to answer it.
"Hello. This is Dr. Brooks. Can I speak with Mrs. Winner please?"
"She's resting right now. Do you want to leave a message?"
***************************************
Everyone was chatting happily during dinner. When dessert was served, Noin looked at Zechs, who in turn nodded at her. Noin cleared her throat then said, "Hey Relena, Dr. Brooks called this afternoon."
"What did he say?"
"You're pregnant," Noin replied with a smile.
All conversation in the table came to a halt. Quatre sputtered his drink, Heero's eyes widened though he kept a straight face while Trowa' expression remained neutral. In her excitement, Relena turned to Heero (who was sitting beside her) and smiled brightly at him. Trowa coughed twice when he saw that Relena was inclined to do something more than smile at her real husband. Fortunately, Relena caught herself before she could hug Heero and instead focused her attention at Quatre and held his hand.
"Wow. Congratulations! I can't believe that Heero will finally be a---" Hilde then realized her mistake when she saw 9 glares aimed at her. Salvaging the situation she continued, "---godfather. And I'm going to be a godmother." Phew, close one, she sighed inwardly.
"We're all going to be godparents, right Relena?" Catherine said.
"Right."
"And I'm going to be an uncle," Zechs told them proudly.
"I'm sure that Zoe and Laird will be happy to know that they'll finally have a cousin," Noin told them. She turned to look at Quatre and smiled. Quatre looked dazed but at least he was conscious. "I can see that you're handling the news very well, Quatre. I can still remember when I told Zechs I was pregnant. He jumped up and down then fainted." Everybody laughed at this. "So, how are you feeling?"
Quatre blinked a few times. "Wow. I'm so surprised." He locked gazes with Relena, her eyes silently asking him a question. "I'm happy. I really am. You're going to be a wonderful mother, Relena. I'm sure of it."
Relena smiled and squeezed his hand. She was worried that Quatre might be mad but she could clearly see that he was happy for them. Though this will cause the end of their little charade.
"Let's go shopping for maternity dresses tomorrow," Dorothy said.
"And baby clothes too," Sally added.
"Are you kidding onna? We don't even know if Relena's child is a boy or a girl!" Wufei exclaimed.
"We can let her go for an ultrasound," Duo suggested.
"No ultrasound. We'll wait 'til the baby is born," Heero suddenly said. All eyes turned to him. Heero no baka, he told himself. "I know that Quatre and Relena wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," he quickly amended.
Trowa raised his glass for a toast. "For the new parents." Everybody raised their glasses. "From this night onward, nothing will ever be the same again."
***************************************
After dinner, the twelve of them decided to call it a night. "Goodnight," Relena called out to them. She glanced at Hilde and Sally, who nodded at her with silent understanding. Afterwhich, they all entered their rooms.
After two minutes, Hilde and Duo, Wufei and Sally sneaked out of their rooms and tiptoed to Trowa's room. Duo knocked his name in Morse code (softly of course). Trowa opened the door and the 4 of them entered.
"So this is the famous sliding bookshelves huh," Duo said as he tinkered with the thumbprint checker. They could all see Heero's room through the opened bookshelf and the Master's bedroom through the open connecting door. "Smart and trendy, if I do say so myself. Only Heero can make sneaking around this high-tech." He then grinned at Catherine and Dorothy. "Care to tell us what you two had been doing for the past four nights, hmm?"
Catherine's eyes turned to mere slits. "Are you implying something, Duo?"
"Just curious. Don't be so defensive, Cathy."
"We didn't do anything but sleep, Duo. We're not like you," Dorothy told him.
"You still have that crazy idea about me and Heero huh, Dorothy. I repeat for the millionth time that we didn't have any relationship! We're just good buddies."
"Just like me and Dorothy. Satisfied?" Catherine said.
"If you say so."
Sally saw that Dorothy plans on answering back so she asked, "What are you guys planning to do now?"
Quatre, Trowa, Heero and Relena looked at each other. Quatre took a deep breath before speaking. "I think it's time for us to tell everyone the truth."
Hilde looked at them intently. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. We all knew that this day would come. We can't keep pretending forever," Relena told them.
"When are you planning to make your announcement?" Catherine inquired.
"Tomorrow," Quatre answered.
Everyone was stunned. Even Heero and Relena. They knew that Quatre will like them to come clean as soon as possible but they didn't expect it to be that quick!
"Why so soon? You still have approximately what, 7, 8 months to prepare for this. There's no need for any rush," Sally said.
"Sally has a point, Quatre. You have more at stake here than Relena and me. We can wait for another few months," Heero told him.
Quatre smiled. "Thanks for your concern, Heero, but it's ok. I want you both to enjoy Relena's pregnancy together. I know that Relena will need you now more than ever before. And I want you to be there for her every step of the way as her husband and not her bodyguard in front of everyone."
"But what about you, Quatre? The Council might force you to resign your position as the Head of the Colony delegates. You also might lose your business deals. And don't forget your sisters. Aside from that, they might also force Trowa to resign his position as the head of the Preventer base here. We must not be hasty in our decisions. We should think about how you two can avoid all the hassles that will come as consequences of our actions," Relena said.
"As for me, I don't care whether they remove me or not," Trowa informed them. "Do what you have to do and don't worry about me."
"I'm resolute with my decision, Relena. Why wait longer if we can do it tomorrow? I'm really getting tired of all this sneaking around. I'm tired of pretending. If they want me to resign, so be it. As for my sisters, I can handle them. The business? Let's just see about that. But I assure you that the Winner Corporation wouldn't go down that fast," Quatre replied. "How about you? I know that you'll be in deep trouble too."
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm already married and not in a million years are they going to succeed in having our marriage annulled. And I'm sure that they won't do anything against me or Heero. They wouldn't like to feel the wrath of the Perfect Soldier now, would they? As for my position, I love being the Vice Foreign Minister but I'll happily hand in my resignation if they really want me to."
"About your business, Quatre, I can help you. Besides, there are many open-minded businessmen out there. You don't need to deal with those prudish jerks anymore," Dorothy told him.
"And the fear of Trowa being removed as the Preventer head here is groundless. Lady Une wouldn't do anything as weak and dishonorable as that even if the President told her to. The Preventers is autonomous, the Council has no power over us," Wufei informed them.
"Yeah. Besides Trowa's record speak for himself. He's one of the best soldiers and best Preventer agents there is. They wouldn't fire him just because of some petty reason that wouldn't ever affect his job performance," Duo said.
Relena's eyes started to water. "Thank you guys so much. You are all heaven-sent. This little arrangement of ours wouldn't have lasted this long if you hadn't helped us." Hilde, Catherine, Dorothy and Sally hugged her.
"I agree with Relena. Thank you very, very much," Quatre said with feeling.
"We really appreciate everything you've done for us," Trowa told them.
"We're eternally grateful. We owe you big time," Heero added.
"I speak for everyone when I say you're welcome. What are friends for, right?" Hilde answered.
"Yeah. And we know that you'll do the same for us," Catherine said with a smile.
"But don't forget that you have to face Zechs and Noin first before facing the whole ESUN," Wufei reminded.
Relena paled. She had forgotten about her brother! Oh, boy. Tomorrow's gonna be bloody.
Quatre glanced at Relena. "We'll talk to them after breakfast. I think it'll be for the best if we all be there, not only the four of us."
Everyone nodded. "That's it. That's the plan. You can all go back to sleep. I have to call the Council and the press for an emergency Press Conference tomorrow."
A series of goodnights was heard as Duo and Hilde, Wufei and Sally went back to their rooms.
Noin donned her robe and slipped out of the bathroom. "Don't take too long, hon," Zechs called out inside the bathroom. Noin chuckled. She was going to the kitchen to get some whipped cream and ice cubes. She barely opened the door when she saw Wufei and Sally, Duo and Hilde cautiously went out of Trowa's room. Noin scowled. What in the world are they doing there? And what's so special about Trowa's room anyways that people keep on sneaking out of it? she wondered. She waited until the two couples were in their rooms before she went out and made her way to the kitchen to get their special ingredients for the night.
Next on Mismatched… How will Zechs, Noin and the whole ESUN react to Quatre and Relena's announcement?