Finding the Other Half of My Soul - Conversations in the Morning
Quatre got up the next morniing when he heard someone taking a shower in the bathroom he shared. 'Miss Dorothy,' he thought and got up. 'I'll wait for Miss Dorothy to finish her shower before I have one. Then it's time for breakfast,' he decided.
Dorothy finished her shower and grabbed her terry-cloth robe off the towel warmer, wrapping it around her while she grabbed a comb to start untangling her long hair. She began to hum a song she'd heard when she was a little girl, a hauntingly sweet melody.
Quatre opened the bathroom door after he'd waited nearly fifteen minutes, thinking that Dorothy would be done with the bathroom by now. He was met by a cloud of strawberry-scented steam. When the steam had disappeared, he stepped inside and saw Dorothy standing in front of a mirror, trying to work the knots out of her hair. "I'm sorry for walking in on you,Miss Dorothy. I thought you were done," he apologized with a blush, turning to leave.
Dorothy looked at Quatre over her shoulder. "Pay no attention to me, Mr. Winner. I'll be gone as soon as I get all this untangled," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Quatre debated with himself for a second. "Would you like my help, Miss Dorothy?" he asked.
Dorothy hesitated. "All right, Mr. Winner," she replied. She watched Quatre's approach in the mirror, trembling a bit inside.
Quatre took the comb from Dorothy and took a lock of her long, white blonde hair and began working the knots out of it, doing his best to supress another blush. "You don't have to call me Mr. Winner, Miss Dorothy," he said.
"Then what am I supposed to call you?" Dorothy asked, watching Quatre in the mirror.
"Just Quatre would be fine," the blonde Arabian replied, meeting Dorothy's eyes in the mirror. The blush he'd been fighting won and his cheeks flushed a bright red.
Dorothy smiled. "Only if you stop calling me "Miss" all the time," she said. "Deal?"
"Deal," Quatre said, returning Dorothy's smile, his blush beginning to fade. It returned in full force when Dorothy turned around to face him.
Dorothy was quite amused by Quatre's blush. 'I'm completely covered by my robe. What's there to blush about?' she wondered. "Shake on it," she said, holding out her hand.
"Quatre took Dorothy's hand in his and shook it, his eyes locked with hers. "Shake on it," he repeated.
Dorothy smiled again and took her hand back, turning around so Quatre could continue his work. "I wanted to apologize for stabbing you on Libra, Quatre," she said.
"It's all right, Dorothy," Quatre said. "I forgave you a long time ago. It's been three years since then."
Dorothy just smiled as she felt the guilt she'd been carrying disappear. "Thank you, Quatre," she murmured. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of having someone else working on her hair. Relena had sometimes brushed her hair when Dorothy seemed really upset and it always calmed her down. She'd returned the favor to Relena a couple of times when the other girl was really stressed out. It was such a relaxing feeling.
Quatre smiled softly as he watched Dorothy relax, totally at ease in his company, and continued to work on her hair.
~*~
Relena got up out of bed, stretching as she padded over to throw open the balcony dorrs, wanting to enjoy the morning air. She smiled when she saw Heero asleep in the corner of the balcony. She went back inside and pulled a blanket off the bed, returning to wrap it around Heero's shoulders. 'He looks so sweet and innocent when he's asleep,' she sighed silently. She then went back iside to get showered and dressed for the long day ahead of her.
Heero woke up when he heard Relena using her hair dryer. He was momentarily confused when he saw the blanket wrapped around him, but he soon figured out that Relena had done it. 'She's up before me. That's a first. Usually Pagan has to wake her up,' he thought as he folded the blanket. He was putting it back on Relena's bed when she walked in.
Relena paused for a moment, but then decided to ignore Heero as she walked over to her huge walk-in closet. 'I made the first move yesterday night. It's his turn now,' she thought. She opened the doors and stepped inside and began to go through her suits, trying to find one suitable enough to wear for the day. She was studying a pale blue one when she sensed Heero behind her, but she was more worried about what she was going to wear at the moment. The Ambassador of L1 was an important person and she needed to make a good impression if she wanted him to accept the proposal she'd written with Dorothy's help. She cocked her head as she pulled out some suits.
"Wear the navy blue suit," Heero said.
Relena's eyes widened and she turned to look at Heero.
Heero looked back at Relena calmly. "The navy suit would make you look less likely to be a pushover," he said.
"Thank you, Heero," Relena said softly. She looked into his eyes for a moment longer before beginning to look for a blouse to wear with the suit. She was surprised when a red blouse was handed to her by Heero. She looked at him questioningly.
"Wear it," was all Heero said.
Relena shrugged and added the blouse to the suit, wondering when Heero had developed a fashion sense. 'Now to find shoes," she thought.
Heero followed Relena silently, wondering what had made him help her choose what to wear. He supposed that he was repaying her for feeding him last night.
Relena grabbed a pair of navy pumps and left the closet, waiting til Heero was out before shutting the doors. She walked over and put the suit, blouse and heels on the bed, winding her hair up into a bun so it wouldn't get in the way. "Would you please leave so I can get dressed?" she asked Heero.
Heero nodded and stepped back out onto the balcony.
Relena quickly stripped off the robe, pulling on hose before putting on the suit and blouse, knowing that Heero wouldn't peek while she changed. She slid her feet into the pumps and walked back into the bathroom to do her hair and makeup.
~*~
Dorothy thanked Quatre for his help with her hair and went to get dressed. 'Maybe I should cut my hair?' she wondered. She knew Relena would probably be doing her hair about now so she hurried. She pulled on a black suit jacket, teal blouse and a black skirt, slipping her feet into black pumps. She pulled her hair back into a sleek, braided bun, putting on her makeup with the mirror over the fireplace. 'Ready to face the day,' she decided after a critical look in the mirror and grabbed her briefcase, putting a few bulging folders inside before leaving her room. She met up with Relena on the stairs. "Good morning, Miss Relena. How did you sleep?" she asked.
Relena smilled. "Morning, Dorothy. I slept fine. And you?" she asked as the two of them walked into the breakfast room. She said 'good morning' to Pagan as she passed him.
"I slept fine as well, Miss Relena," Dorothy replied. "Ready for work today?"
Relena nodded as she sat down. "I've arranged it so that we're free to meet Quatre for lunch today," she said. "That way we'll be relaxed when we meet with the Ambassador."
Dorothy nodded. "Good idea," was all she said before starting in on her breakfast. She looked up when Quatre walked into the room, nodding to him before returning to her meal.
"Good morning, Miss Relena," Quatre said as he took a seat at the table. He smiled at the princess and Dorothy as he picked up his tea cup.
"Morning, Quatre. Did you sleep well?" Relena asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Very well thank you," Quatre replied. He drank some of his tea and began to eat the plate of food Pagan set in front of him.
Relena and Dorothy finished eating and got up, saying good-bye to Quatre as they went to meet the limo.
"I'm so glad I had it repainted," Relena said. "A pink limo is a sure sign of insanity."
Dorothy laughed. "So is a gold limo. Black, white and gray are the only proper colors for a limo."
~*~
Quatre was just finishing his breakfast when Duo and Hilde walked in.
Duo looked surprised to see Quatre. "What are you doing here, Q-man?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face.
Hilde smiled a greeting as she took a seat in the chair Dorothy had vacated fifteen minutes earlier.
"I'm here on vacation," Quatre said with a smile of his own. "It's nice to see you and Miss Hilde again, Duo."
"Nice to see you too. Wu-man and Trowa will be coming here for a conference soon, so all of us'll be together again. Well, except for Heero. No one seems to know where he is," Duo said.
"I bet Relena would like to see him again," Hilde said.
'So they don't know that Heero's guarding Miss Relena. I'd better not mention that I've seen him,' Quatre decided. "It'll be nice to visit with Wufei and Trowa. I haven't talked to Wufei in ages."
"Yeah. I'd better make sure to hide his katana when he gets here though. I don't want my braid to get cut off," Duo said.
"If you'd stop teasing him, you wouldn't have to worry about Wufei going after your braid, Duo," Hilde said, finishing off her coffee.
Quatre nodded in agreement.
Duo pouted. "But he's so much fun to tease," he protested. "I can't help it if he can't take a joke."
"Anyways... Do you know that Dorothy is living here, Quatre?" Hilde asked.
Quatre nodded. "Dorothy is Miss Relena's top aide. Apparently, Miss Relena asked her to move in so they could discuss things at anytime," he replied. "She's also Miss Relena's closest friend."
"'Jousan is really weird if she considers Psycho Bitch a close friend," Duo said, swallowing a piece of toast whole.
"Miss Relena is not weird, Duo. I also consider Dorothy a close friend," Quatre said. "And don't use that terrible name for her!"
"Since when are you two friends? Last I heard, you hadn't seen her since she stabbed you on Libra," Hilde said.
"I talked to her this morning," Quatre replied stiffly. He was still upset at Duo's name for Dorothy and was now defensive.
"When did you arrive?" Hilde asked.
"Late last night. Miss Relena and Dorothy showed me to my room," Quatre replied.
"Where'd they put you?" Duo asked.
"In the Green room," Quatre replied and waited for a reaction.
"Why would you get a room adjoining Dorothy's? There are lots of rooms near us," Duo said.
Quatre tried to think of a tactful reply. "I wanted to talk to Dorothy. You know, patch things up between us," he finally said.
Duo and Hilde looked sckeptical, but didn't question Quatre any further, deciding to eat their breakfast instead.
Quatre got up the next morniing when he heard someone taking a shower in the bathroom he shared. 'Miss Dorothy,' he thought and got up. 'I'll wait for Miss Dorothy to finish her shower before I have one. Then it's time for breakfast,' he decided.
Dorothy finished her shower and grabbed her terry-cloth robe off the towel warmer, wrapping it around her while she grabbed a comb to start untangling her long hair. She began to hum a song she'd heard when she was a little girl, a hauntingly sweet melody.
Quatre opened the bathroom door after he'd waited nearly fifteen minutes, thinking that Dorothy would be done with the bathroom by now. He was met by a cloud of strawberry-scented steam. When the steam had disappeared, he stepped inside and saw Dorothy standing in front of a mirror, trying to work the knots out of her hair. "I'm sorry for walking in on you,Miss Dorothy. I thought you were done," he apologized with a blush, turning to leave.
Dorothy looked at Quatre over her shoulder. "Pay no attention to me, Mr. Winner. I'll be gone as soon as I get all this untangled," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Quatre debated with himself for a second. "Would you like my help, Miss Dorothy?" he asked.
Dorothy hesitated. "All right, Mr. Winner," she replied. She watched Quatre's approach in the mirror, trembling a bit inside.
Quatre took the comb from Dorothy and took a lock of her long, white blonde hair and began working the knots out of it, doing his best to supress another blush. "You don't have to call me Mr. Winner, Miss Dorothy," he said.
"Then what am I supposed to call you?" Dorothy asked, watching Quatre in the mirror.
"Just Quatre would be fine," the blonde Arabian replied, meeting Dorothy's eyes in the mirror. The blush he'd been fighting won and his cheeks flushed a bright red.
Dorothy smiled. "Only if you stop calling me "Miss" all the time," she said. "Deal?"
"Deal," Quatre said, returning Dorothy's smile, his blush beginning to fade. It returned in full force when Dorothy turned around to face him.
Dorothy was quite amused by Quatre's blush. 'I'm completely covered by my robe. What's there to blush about?' she wondered. "Shake on it," she said, holding out her hand.
"Quatre took Dorothy's hand in his and shook it, his eyes locked with hers. "Shake on it," he repeated.
Dorothy smiled again and took her hand back, turning around so Quatre could continue his work. "I wanted to apologize for stabbing you on Libra, Quatre," she said.
"It's all right, Dorothy," Quatre said. "I forgave you a long time ago. It's been three years since then."
Dorothy just smiled as she felt the guilt she'd been carrying disappear. "Thank you, Quatre," she murmured. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of having someone else working on her hair. Relena had sometimes brushed her hair when Dorothy seemed really upset and it always calmed her down. She'd returned the favor to Relena a couple of times when the other girl was really stressed out. It was such a relaxing feeling.
Quatre smiled softly as he watched Dorothy relax, totally at ease in his company, and continued to work on her hair.
~*~
Relena got up out of bed, stretching as she padded over to throw open the balcony dorrs, wanting to enjoy the morning air. She smiled when she saw Heero asleep in the corner of the balcony. She went back inside and pulled a blanket off the bed, returning to wrap it around Heero's shoulders. 'He looks so sweet and innocent when he's asleep,' she sighed silently. She then went back iside to get showered and dressed for the long day ahead of her.
Heero woke up when he heard Relena using her hair dryer. He was momentarily confused when he saw the blanket wrapped around him, but he soon figured out that Relena had done it. 'She's up before me. That's a first. Usually Pagan has to wake her up,' he thought as he folded the blanket. He was putting it back on Relena's bed when she walked in.
Relena paused for a moment, but then decided to ignore Heero as she walked over to her huge walk-in closet. 'I made the first move yesterday night. It's his turn now,' she thought. She opened the doors and stepped inside and began to go through her suits, trying to find one suitable enough to wear for the day. She was studying a pale blue one when she sensed Heero behind her, but she was more worried about what she was going to wear at the moment. The Ambassador of L1 was an important person and she needed to make a good impression if she wanted him to accept the proposal she'd written with Dorothy's help. She cocked her head as she pulled out some suits.
"Wear the navy blue suit," Heero said.
Relena's eyes widened and she turned to look at Heero.
Heero looked back at Relena calmly. "The navy suit would make you look less likely to be a pushover," he said.
"Thank you, Heero," Relena said softly. She looked into his eyes for a moment longer before beginning to look for a blouse to wear with the suit. She was surprised when a red blouse was handed to her by Heero. She looked at him questioningly.
"Wear it," was all Heero said.
Relena shrugged and added the blouse to the suit, wondering when Heero had developed a fashion sense. 'Now to find shoes," she thought.
Heero followed Relena silently, wondering what had made him help her choose what to wear. He supposed that he was repaying her for feeding him last night.
Relena grabbed a pair of navy pumps and left the closet, waiting til Heero was out before shutting the doors. She walked over and put the suit, blouse and heels on the bed, winding her hair up into a bun so it wouldn't get in the way. "Would you please leave so I can get dressed?" she asked Heero.
Heero nodded and stepped back out onto the balcony.
Relena quickly stripped off the robe, pulling on hose before putting on the suit and blouse, knowing that Heero wouldn't peek while she changed. She slid her feet into the pumps and walked back into the bathroom to do her hair and makeup.
~*~
Dorothy thanked Quatre for his help with her hair and went to get dressed. 'Maybe I should cut my hair?' she wondered. She knew Relena would probably be doing her hair about now so she hurried. She pulled on a black suit jacket, teal blouse and a black skirt, slipping her feet into black pumps. She pulled her hair back into a sleek, braided bun, putting on her makeup with the mirror over the fireplace. 'Ready to face the day,' she decided after a critical look in the mirror and grabbed her briefcase, putting a few bulging folders inside before leaving her room. She met up with Relena on the stairs. "Good morning, Miss Relena. How did you sleep?" she asked.
Relena smilled. "Morning, Dorothy. I slept fine. And you?" she asked as the two of them walked into the breakfast room. She said 'good morning' to Pagan as she passed him.
"I slept fine as well, Miss Relena," Dorothy replied. "Ready for work today?"
Relena nodded as she sat down. "I've arranged it so that we're free to meet Quatre for lunch today," she said. "That way we'll be relaxed when we meet with the Ambassador."
Dorothy nodded. "Good idea," was all she said before starting in on her breakfast. She looked up when Quatre walked into the room, nodding to him before returning to her meal.
"Good morning, Miss Relena," Quatre said as he took a seat at the table. He smiled at the princess and Dorothy as he picked up his tea cup.
"Morning, Quatre. Did you sleep well?" Relena asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Very well thank you," Quatre replied. He drank some of his tea and began to eat the plate of food Pagan set in front of him.
Relena and Dorothy finished eating and got up, saying good-bye to Quatre as they went to meet the limo.
"I'm so glad I had it repainted," Relena said. "A pink limo is a sure sign of insanity."
Dorothy laughed. "So is a gold limo. Black, white and gray are the only proper colors for a limo."
~*~
Quatre was just finishing his breakfast when Duo and Hilde walked in.
Duo looked surprised to see Quatre. "What are you doing here, Q-man?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face.
Hilde smiled a greeting as she took a seat in the chair Dorothy had vacated fifteen minutes earlier.
"I'm here on vacation," Quatre said with a smile of his own. "It's nice to see you and Miss Hilde again, Duo."
"Nice to see you too. Wu-man and Trowa will be coming here for a conference soon, so all of us'll be together again. Well, except for Heero. No one seems to know where he is," Duo said.
"I bet Relena would like to see him again," Hilde said.
'So they don't know that Heero's guarding Miss Relena. I'd better not mention that I've seen him,' Quatre decided. "It'll be nice to visit with Wufei and Trowa. I haven't talked to Wufei in ages."
"Yeah. I'd better make sure to hide his katana when he gets here though. I don't want my braid to get cut off," Duo said.
"If you'd stop teasing him, you wouldn't have to worry about Wufei going after your braid, Duo," Hilde said, finishing off her coffee.
Quatre nodded in agreement.
Duo pouted. "But he's so much fun to tease," he protested. "I can't help it if he can't take a joke."
"Anyways... Do you know that Dorothy is living here, Quatre?" Hilde asked.
Quatre nodded. "Dorothy is Miss Relena's top aide. Apparently, Miss Relena asked her to move in so they could discuss things at anytime," he replied. "She's also Miss Relena's closest friend."
"'Jousan is really weird if she considers Psycho Bitch a close friend," Duo said, swallowing a piece of toast whole.
"Miss Relena is not weird, Duo. I also consider Dorothy a close friend," Quatre said. "And don't use that terrible name for her!"
"Since when are you two friends? Last I heard, you hadn't seen her since she stabbed you on Libra," Hilde said.
"I talked to her this morning," Quatre replied stiffly. He was still upset at Duo's name for Dorothy and was now defensive.
"When did you arrive?" Hilde asked.
"Late last night. Miss Relena and Dorothy showed me to my room," Quatre replied.
"Where'd they put you?" Duo asked.
"In the Green room," Quatre replied and waited for a reaction.
"Why would you get a room adjoining Dorothy's? There are lots of rooms near us," Duo said.
Quatre tried to think of a tactful reply. "I wanted to talk to Dorothy. You know, patch things up between us," he finally said.
Duo and Hilde looked sckeptical, but didn't question Quatre any further, deciding to eat their breakfast instead.