REVISDED

When I Knew You

Chapter 2

By Moony

After Colony 195

Sank Kingdom

"Dorothy!" Quatre cried when he saw his old best friend walking down the halls of Relena Peacecraft's school mansion. The hard look Dorothy had fell when she saw Quatre. Hew as the only one who she ever let see past the brick wall she had made against the rest of the world.

"Quatre Rababra Winner," said very in a very cool tone, managing to hold back the urge to tackle him with a huge hug. "What brings you to the Sank Kingdom…" she smiled viciously. "Oh yes, you're a fugitive now. I never would have thought..."

"Walk with me?" Quatre asked and offered his arm. He didn't want to talk about war anymore. "It would be nice to speak to an old friend." Dorothy took it and began walking down the hall with Quatre.

"You must have been in training the last time we met." Dorothy said.

"I' m sorry I didn't tell you, Dorothy." Quatre replied. He paused then whispered, "The coffee shop is destroyed now..."

"I heard about your father. I'm sorry," Dorothy sighed. "I thought things would be different..."

"How different, Dorothy? More death," Quatre sneered.

"No," she said slowly. "I don't really know what I thought, but we are enemies now."

"Well, let's call a truce for now, okay?" Quatre pleaded, his voice low. Surprised Dorothy nodded in agreement.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Dorothy whispered as the two made their way out the doors and into the garden.

"You know I couldn't. My father didn't even know until it was too late." He said then thought 'Besides you would've thought you won.'

"You came here with Heero Yuy didn't you?" Dorothy asked, changing the subject. The pleasure she found it mocking people like Relena and Heero did not come when she saw the pain on her old friend's face. She found the stir of compassion disturbing.

"Yes, I'm sure he and Miss Relena are together now. He's crazy about her."

"And she is even more crazy about him. Can you imagine the pacifist princess in love the perfect soldier? Now that's a hopeless romance in the making, sure to end in tragedy." She paused a long time before adding "And what happened to yours Quatre?" she was searching to find out if any of the roomers she had heard were true. Even then she was trying to deny the hatred she held against Trowa were not based out of jealousy. Quatre looked at her shocked.

"He is not a love interest," Quatre assured. "He was my friend... and I killed him."

"Oh," was all Dorothy could reply. The answer was what she wanted, but the pain in Quatre's eyes struck her far too deep for any joy in the truth to remain. They were silent for a while as they walked through the lovely garden of Relena Peacecraft. Dorothy then broke the silence with a question that was eating her up inside. "Why did you do it?"

"I was under the influence of something called the Zero system. It heightens your fighting senses, but it also can drive you insane if you can't handle it. I couldn't handle it," Quatre explained. "But Trowa had to die to show me the error of the machine. Heero is the only reason I survived."

"I see," Dorothy said soberly. "Then I am thankful to I'm, no matter how much I will have to hate him." Quatre merely smiled sadly.

"Did nothing I do or say when we were children help?" he asked.

"Help?" Dorothy asked. "what do you mean?'

"Do you feel anything at all behind that mask?" Quatre said and looked directly into Dorothy's eyes. She was shocked at the harshness of his statement.

"More than I would like," she said finally, smiling. "But I'm working on it."

The two walked for a while, neither speaking. They stopped when they saw Relena and Heero sitting on a bench together.

"Excuse me, Quatre. I must interfere with them for the good of my family. I would be most obliged if you would not intrude," Dorothy said and released herself from Quatre's hold, then walked up to Relena and Heero.

Quatre sighed and walked back to the estate with his hands in his pockets. His feelings were just as strong as they were last time he saw Dorothy. He was still crazy about her, even if she was just crazy.

'I wonder if she feels...' was all Quatre could wonder.

Relena was walking with Dorothy down the hall when Quatre bumped into them. Quatre forced a smile, for the first time in his life he was not too happy to see Dorothy. She grinned at him as they made eye contact.

"Hello Quatre," Relena smiled.

"Miss Relena, Miss Dorothy," Quatre grinned and bowed slightly. Dorothy kept from gaping at him. He had never called her Miss Dorothy in their lifetime together. She felt his coldness far stronger than her face dare reveal. Relena looked over t Dorothy, a bit surprised, then back at Quatre.

"I did not know you two knew one another," she said to both Quatre and Dorothy. They just continued staring. Quatre finally turned to Relena.

"Yes, we know each other, Miss Relena. Our families have had interaction since we were young children," Quatre explained simply. "That's all."

"Oh that's wonderful!" Relena cried. "We will be having a celebration tonight for my girls and I was afraid you would feel out of place with only Heero, but now I have no fear of that. I do hope you will attend."

"Of course, Miss Relena," Quatre smiled at Relena. Dorothy suddenly hated Relena for getting to feel that warmth of his smile.

"Good!" Relena cried. "Then we had better all get ready... Oh Quatre," Relena said after they had begun passing each other. "Would you please try and get Heero to come?"

"I'll do my best, Miss Relena," Quatre assured.

"Thank you," Relena said then they went their separate ways.

Dorothy looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a formal red dress. It was long past her legs with a slit up to her knee on the right side. The upper part of the dress was spaghetti strapped, but she had a small jacket to cover it. It was nice not having to wear that stupid black dress her grandfather had chosen for her. She was made to wear it whenever she was at Romefeller. It annoyed her to no end. She liked bright colors so much better than plain black. She also could do thing with her hair, rather than wear it down as her grandfather requested.

After primping she walked out of her room. A few of the girls form the school walked past her awing at her and the dress. They were dressed in frilly things, like what Relena wore. Dorothy didn't understand how they could ever be comfortable like that.

Dorothy walked with the girls to the ballroom and made her entrance quietly. She found Relena immediately. She was speaking to a few of the girls and some young gentlemen from a male privet school she had invited.

"Dorothy?" she heard the voice she loved most say behind her. Dorothy turned and saw Quatre standing in a white tuxedo. It took all she had not to laugh at him on the spot, but then she also found him very handsome at the same time. "You look incredible."

"Thank you," Dorothy smiled. "You look very... secret agentish, but in a charming kind of way. Is Mr. Monotone going to be joining us tonight?"

"I'm not sure. I told him and all he did was grunt," Quatre smiled. Dorothy laughed lightly. "He is very much the macho ideal, isn't he?" Quatre offered his hand to Dorothy and she took it. He pulled her onto the dance floor.

"I wouldn't call it macho," Quatre said. "I think it's much deeper than testosterone. Something I'm sure you can relate to far better than anyone else in this castle"

"He is the perfect man for me, isn't he?" she teased.

"No," Quatre said seriously. "He wants peace."

"Oh yes, the quaint idea appears again. That would be the failing of our relationship too." "So, what are your next plans, Quatre?" Dorothy asked.

"I'm not sure... my Gundam is destroyed," Quatre explained.

"What about you?"

"My grandfather is planning an attack on the Sank Kingdom," Dorothy explained. "Do me a favor and please take care of Miss Relena. I still have to play the roll my family has given me, but you may do as you please." Quatre looked at her stunned.

"You trust me enough to tell me this?" he whispered.

Dorothy smiled sarcastically. "Someone has to protect the one who will usher in peace and I'm obviously not capable," Dorothy paused. "And maybe I wasn't a complete waist."

Quatre stood with Heero as they watched Relena and Dorothy get into the limo to go to the Romefeller foundation. Quatre made his protests to Heero about her going alone without much luck. Just after Relena got in the limo, Dorothy looked up at the two boys. She made eye contact with Quatre and he knew she was saying goodbye.

After the limo had driven away Quatre whispered to himself, "Goodbye Dorothy."