Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Gundam characters. The story plot is mine, as well as, the original characters.
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Off to Join the Circus!
Chapter 10 ~ Old Friends
By West Wind

Duo and Lisa were taking a walk on the fall evening. Duo glanced at Lisa still not sure of his feelings for her. There was a definite brotherly love he felt towards her, yet there was lurking something in him that could bloom into something more if given the chance.

Lisa turned to Duo.

"Duo, how can I tell if a guy likes me?" she asked.

Duo's heart fluttered in him. He wondered if she knew of his hidden crush on her.

"Depends on the guy," Duo started as they strolled. "Usually he will watch you when he thinks you are not looking, try to spend time with you, talk to you."

"But, what if you already spend a good amount of time together?"

Duo's hopes rose that she was referring to him, yet feared that she did not return his feelings.

She continued, "He is not much of a talker to begin with."

She got this distant look in her eyes briefly. Her last statement ruled Duo out. His growing hope crashed and burned. He pondered who she would be talking about.

"Could she be referring to Trowa?" Duo pondered. "Is he attracted to her?"

Duo thought about it and came to the conclusion that one could not tell with Trowa. He had a tendency to hide his feelings unlike Duo who tended to wear them for the whole world to see. There might be some signs of attraction on Trowa's part, but it was hard for Duo to know. Catherine would be the better judge of that. Then the thought hit him. Maybe, the attraction was on Lisa's part.

He pulled her to sit on the grass with him.

"So, is there someone that has caught your fancy?" he asked looking her in the eye.

She blushed and looked down at the blade of grass she was rolling between her fingers.

"Yeah," she murmured. "There is someone."

Duo raised an eyebrow in inquiry, "May I be privileged to know who I need to pulverize if he hurts you?"

She smiled at his protective comment, and thought he was being sweet.

"Duo, thanks for watching out for me and being my brother," she said before leaning in and giving him a kiss of gratitude on his cheek.

It was Duo's turn to blush. That simple touch caused his heart to race in his chest.

"I'm serious. You don't want me to defend you from some young man's advances that you want to receive. So tell me."

"It's Trowa. I like Trowa," she admitted slowly and reluctantly, "but I don't know how he feels about me."

With that simple hesitant statement, flood gates were open. Lisa continued to pour out her feelings for Trowa, her fears, and her insecurities to her "brother" as she had done as a small child. Duo listened with an attentive ear understanding her situation having gone through it himself with her. Only he could not act on his for fear of blowing her cover and loosing her forever. As she talked, Duo pushed his brotherly love to override his romantic love for the girl before him, and he promised to try to help her with her current state of confusion.

"Have you talked to Cathy about it?" he asked. "She might know."

"Already did," said Lisa. "She said that Trowa is tight lipped with everyone on any romantic feelings he has."

"I will see if I can break that seal," promised Duo as he helped her off the ground, "but you could always try the direct approach and ask him."

"Maybe," she said uncertainly. "If he does not feel the same, how will that affect our friendship?"

She brushed the bits of dried leaves off her pants and picked pieces out of Duo's hair before they headed back.

~@~

Lisa checked her e-mail and was surprised to find a message from Quatre.

Friend,

I hope all is well with you. We are all fine here, but would like to see you. Would there be anyway of you stopping by sometime in the next month or two? There are urgent things that need to be discussed face-to-face. When you come, I will take care of everything and there will be nothing to worry about. Get back to me soon.

Quatre

The e-mail was a couple weeks old already. Lisa pondered what to do. She did not want to run the risk of being caught in her home town, but Quatre would not ask if it weren't important. She pondered what to do as she went about her daily routine.

After the evening's performance, Lisa and friends all went to the Barton's to unwind since the fall evenings were too cool to hang out outdoors. Catherine and Wufei were curled up on the couch. Lisa was sprawled out on the floor moving through a series of stretches to ease her tight muscles. Trowa was lounging in a chair not far from Lisa's feet. She watched him from under her half closed eyes as she stretched.

Duo bounded in from his room caring a game box. Every one in the room groaned at the sight of the item he held.

"We are not playing that stupid game again!" growled Wufei at Duo.

Duo looked at the room's occupants in disbelief at their unwillingness to play the world's best game, Monopoly.

"It is a great game," Duo said defending it.

"You just like it because you always win by default since we all quit before getting close to the end," pointed out Lisa as she gave his leg a nudge with her foot.

Duo eyed her on the floor evilly before placing his foot on her stomach. She grabbed his leg and tried to move it off, but Duo kept enough pressure on it without squishing her. Lisa suddenly rolled out from under his foot. Duo struggled to keep from falling. He managed to not fall but the game slipped from his hands. The box hit the floor on its side, the lid separated from the bottom, and game pieces radiated out from the crash site as they slid across the floor. Duo crawled on the floor to collect his precious game pieces and return them to their home.

Lisa rolled into a sitting position and sat cross-legged before the coffee table before addressing those around.

"I am going to have to leave the circus for a bit," she announced out of the blue her conclusion from a day of pondering.

That drew the attention of everyone in the room and several serious looks. Duo popped his head up from the stalking of his prey with his mouth hanging open.

"Where do you have to go, and for how long?" asked Catherine.

"I have to go see some old friends, and it should not take more than a couple days. I figured with our winter hiatus starting it would be a perfect time to make the trip," she offered.

They all eyed her carefully looking for what she was not telling them.

"What precipitated this sudden trip?" asked Wufei cutting to the heart of the matter.

Lisa looked anywhere but at her friends as she tried to think of a way around Wufei's direct question. She knew when it came down to it, she would end up telling them why she had to leave. She let out a heavy sigh before starting her explanation.

"A friend of mine, from my previous life, sent me an e-mail, asking me if I would meet him because he and my adopted sister needed to see me in person. It has to be important otherwise he would not have asked," she stated.

"You trust him?" Duo asked with violet eyes focused intently on her.

"Yes," she nodded with her voiced affirmation. "He was one of my first friends when I moved there. I trust him with my life," she said as she slowly pleadingly looked each person in the eye as she scanned the room. "And maybe I am," she thought to herself as she fought the dread at going back to her home town.

"If you have to go, you have to go," said Trowa from his chair with arms crossed and eyes hidden behind his bangs.

He looked up so one green eye could be seen, and he firmly locked it onto Lisa before continuing.

"But, you will not be going alone," he said in a no argument tone that Lisa could only node her head in acceptance.

"That she won't," agreed Duo with agreement from Wufei and Catherine.

"You all can't come," she entreated.

"Trowa and I will go with you," said Duo as he motioned to his partner in this escaped. "Won't we?"

Trowa signaled his willingness to participate in the activity.

"Well," said Catherine as she clasped her hands together, "I believe that is settled for the time being. When will you be going?"

"I have not gotten that far in my planing yet, but I will let you know," Lisa assured them.

~@~

Quatre,

I will come. I will be free by the end of the week. Where and when do you want to meet? What's the plan?

Talk to you soon,

Your friend

~@~

That's great! Can you get here by Friday of next week? We will meet at my place. My sisters are all off at college and my parents have a dinner to go to. It should give us plenty of time to talk.

Let me know if this does not work for you

Quatre

~@~

Two figured stood on the train platform among a group of moving passengers as dusk settled around them. They secured their coats against the cold November winds that whipped down the tracks. The one with the long chestnut braid was commenting on how cold it was to his companion when they were joined by a third.

"I got the tickets," Lisa informed them as she came to stand between them. "The train should arrive in the next fifteen minutes."

Trowa inclined his head in acknowledgment. While Duo sprung back into his running verbal commentary.

The keening sound of the train's horn could be herd in the distance as the train approached the station. The engine rumbled past. The vibrations could be felt in the air and moving through ones body. The train slowly came to a complete stop. Passengers exited before those on the platform began to migrate on.

Lisa and companions gathered up their carry-ons and got in the queue to bored. Once on they found a set of empty seats. Trowa and Duo stored their bags in the overhead storage location. Duo turned to Lisa and snatched hers from her grasp and placed it with the others. She gave him a quick smile of gratitude before slipping into one of their seats. Duo took the seat beside her and Trowa sat across from her. Lisa stared out the window at the people milling about the train station. The sound of rushing clothing filled the car as people moved down the aisle in search of seats. Two children, several rows down from Lisa, were noisily picking on each other while the adult with them tried to get them to settle down. Lisa just let the noise wash over her as her mind drifted in quandary over what would be so important that Quatre and Dorothy had to see her. The more time passed, the more it began to eat at her. She wished she was there already and had this out of the way.

The train lurched as it started to slowly move away from the station. It built up speed and soon they were moving swiftly down the tracks. Once they were at a steady speed, the children began to run up and down the aisle. Lisa glanced over at Trowa, who had reclined his chair, had arms crossed, and head down as if her were asleep. She was not sure if he was truly asleep or watching what was going on around unobtrusively. One could never tell with Trowa, especially with his bangs covering his eyes. His long stretched out legs brought his feet closer to her own chair. Her eyes rested briefly on Trowa before scanning the rest of the car and its occupants.

"You think he's asleep?" whispered Duo to her after nudging her arm.

She only shrugged her shoulders in reply as her eyes landed on her friend once again.

"No, I'm not yet," enlightened Trowa.

~@~

A curly-haired blond three-year old was staring at Duo over the armrest of her seat across the aisle. Duo mad faces at her. She would giggle in response and hide below the armrest before peeking out again a bit later. Her mother watched her antics and smiled. Duo reached into his pocket and pulled out an uninflated long balloon which caused the girl's eyes to widen with anticipation. Duo stretched the balloon before filling it partly with air and tying it off. With the skill of long practice, Duo's swift hand turned the balloon into a dog, pulled out a marker to make eyes, and handed it to the girl. A grin split her face as she accepted the gift and started playing with it.

Her watching mother asked, "What do you tell the nice man?"

The girl looked sheepishly up at her mom before turning back to Duo and saying, "Thank you," in a timid shy voice.

"Your welcome," whispered Duo to her as he leaned into the aisle.

She beamed with happiness at him before returning to play with her new toy. Duo leaned back in his seat and glanced over at Lisa who had been watching the exchange between him and the girl. She gave him a wink before going back to the book she was reading. Duo glanced over at Trowa who was looking out the window before settling back in his seat and closing his eyes.

~@~

Lisa shook Duo to wake him up.

"We've stopped. Do you want to get off for a bit?" she inquired.

"What time is it?" he asked blinking sleepily.

"One in the morning," supplied Trowa.

Duo squinted at Trowa who looked wide-awake. The three stood and made their way off the train to stretch their legs a bit. Everything was shut down for the night. Silence penetrated the air which made the sounds of the train seem a hundred times louder. There was not much to see, but it felt good to get some fresh air and move about. They boarded the train once more and settled in for their journey.

The three slept for most of the trip to their stop. After six in the morning they arrived in Royalton and got off the train. From here they would have to catch a bus to Lisa's home town.

The three stepped off the train with luggage in hand. They moved toward the station house a few paces before stopping and getting their bearings. The eastern sky was just beginning to show evidence of the coming sun, and areas of light fog scattered the landscape.

"The train station is this way," said Lisa before setting out in the direction.

Her two shadows followed.

Once in the station, Lisa secured their tickets before they went in search of breakfast and a bit of freshening up.

~@~

They got off the bus at their destination, Lisa's home town. Lisa looked around with the wind whipping her escaped strands of hair around, noticing not much had changed in her absence. She had figured it had not. The bus ride had not been long, but the wait between getting off the train and catching the bus was. Trowa and Duo looked to Lisa for her lead, since she knew what the game plan was.

"So this is where you grew up?" teased Duo.

"Ummhu," she voiced as she pushed the hair on her left side behind her ear once again. "Let's get a place to stay, clean up, and then grab lunch."

"Sounds good to me!" chimed in Duo.

Trowa let out a low chuckle at Duo's predictable response.

They checked into one of the moderate hotel. They all grabbed a quick shower and changed cloths. When Trowa came out of the bathroom he found Duo sitting on the edge of the bed watching cartoons with Lisa behind him replanting his hair. She secured the end with the elastic hair band.

"There," she said with satisfaction as she tossed the end over his shoulder, lightly smacking him in the face.

"Let's eat," said Duo seeing Trowa was ready.

~@~

Lisa lead them down a street with very elegant houses. Trowa and Duo, Duo more so, gawked at the wealth belonging to the owners that the houses spoke volumes off. She strolled up to the gate of one of the biggest houses there. She pushed the intercom button on the box and waited.

"Winner residence," came the unmistakable voice of Quatre.

"Quatre, it's me," was all she said and waved at the camera she knew was there.

"Relena?" he questioned, the skepticism coloring his statement.

"Yes, I hope you don't mind, but I brought two friends with me."

"No, no, not at all. Come on in."

There was a buzz at the gate. Lisa pushed it open and they entered.

They made their way up the long walkway. A blond around their age meet them at the door.

"Relena!" he said overjoyed and caught her up in a friendly embrace.

Duo tried to keep from glaring at Quatre as he greeted Lisa.

"Come in," gestured Quatre.

The three entered and followed Quatre to what would appear to be a sitting room.

"We have to wait for Dorothy," explained Quatre. "She should be here soon. Can I get you something to drink or munch on?"

They indicated they would and Quatre disappeared to retrieve the items. He returned and the four chatted for a bit until their fifth member regally entered the room. Her presence almost demanded your attention.

"I always wondered how much hair you had wrapped around your head," stated the long haired blond as she stood in the doorway as if it were common for her to be here.

"More than many would guess," Lisa replied to her adopted sister.

"Wherever you have been, it sure has agreed with you," Dorothy admitted as she assessed Lisa's new look. "You brought friends."

"We did not think she should travel alone," Duo informed the new member cautiously.

"Well, let's get down to business," said Quatre.

Dorothy smoothly moved into the room and took a seat.

"Catalonias Incorporated is being controlled by an outside source," Dorothy started.

"Who?" asked Lisa even though she suspected she knew. "How do you know?"

"A group called Romefeller, and I know because I stumbled across some interesting documents several summers ago when I was working there."

Dorothy proceeded to tell them of her discovery of documentation of how her father was laundering money for some one. This caused her to covertly look into it. With her job, she was often running errands to various parts of the building and retrieving files and other such things, so no one ever questioned the information she gathered or why she was in a specific room. If they did ask, they were always satisfied with her response that her father or someone else had sent her to get a specific item. Each summer she worked there, she would gather more evidence and squirreled it away for the day she could use it.

It turned out that her father was not only laundering money for them, but had become part of the group as one of their financial engineer. As he became more involved, so did the company. On the surface there was no evidence of the pressure and influence the Romefeller organization had on the business, but it began to take its toll on Dorothy's father.

About a year before Relena ran away, Dorothy learned about Romefeller's plans to make a move on Winner Corp, but before she could find a way to warn Quatre or his father, Romefeller paid Mr. Winner a visit.

From that point Quatre took over the narrative. He had been in a small conference room attached to his father's office doing homework, when the group made their visit. A part of the conversation caught his attention, and he moved closer to the door to hear.

The Romefeller representative offered Mr. Winner some enticing offers for his companies aid in their project, but Mr. Winner refused them at every turn before having them escorted out. The man did not leave without giving a warning and a veiled threat to the company owner. Not long afterward, Quatre's father was attacked and severely injured, but he lived.

That is when Dorothy approached Quatre with what she knew and what she suspected. Between the two of them, they came up with a very drawn out plan to take down Romefeller starting with taking back Catalonias Incorporated.

"After Quatre and I shared our mutual problem, we mapped out a plan to reclaim what Father has given away," explained Dorothy with an evil smirk twisting her lips.

Her audience looked at her quizzically but said nothing.

"Together we are going to take over Dad's company," she announced.

A shocked gasp escaped Lisa's lips.

"How?" she murmured.

"We started a company," chimed in Quatre from his chair, "with the money we had both saved and a lone from my sisters."

Lisa was even more confused and expressed it.

"We started out company," continued Dorothy, "to provide funds to start making investments into Catalonias Incorporated."

"What kind of company did you start?" asked Duo.

"HotFads.com," Dorothy answered smartly.

"Really," mused Duo, "I visited it a few times. Most of that stuff is frivolous."

"Agreed," said Dorothy, "but it has a great earning potential. If a person can only be in on the beginning of a few big fads, it does not take long to make a pretty profit. The problem is they have a limited peek life span."

"They are great cash cows for a short amount of time," summarized Quatre. "The key is to know the next trend before it is big. That is where Dorothy came in," the blond pointed out. "With her 'position' in the school what she thought was cool became cool."

"That is why some of the things you wore to school did not seem like your standard attire," said Lisa voicing her realization.

Dorothy nodded and smiled cat like.

"I introduce the product to our market, and direct them to where to buy it. It is fairly simple. Those at our school display the item to their friends at other schools. They buy the product and repeat the process. The really good products become popular nationally over time. So far the hardest part is coming up with new items to sell."

"The business has faired well, with a few items that bombed. With the profits, we started investing in such a way to put us in a position to take control of Catalonias Inc.," explained Quatre. "That was phase two of our plan and things have been moving in our favor. In a few more months we will be in a position to make our move, but first we need your aid."

Lisa stared at the pair quizzically unsure how she could help in their elaborate plan.

"Whether you realized it or not," chimed in Dorothy, "Father has been giving us small amounts of controlling stock in the company over the years. If we combine that with the other things we have cooking, our plan will succeed, but we have to have your permission to be your voice when voting."

"Who has that now?" wisely asked Trowa.

"Father," Dorothy almost spit venomously.

"How do you plan to get that right from him?"

"Soon I will be eighteen," explained Dorothy, "and come into control of my own, but for Relena's we need her guardian's agreement too."

"But, he will not give it," pointed out Lisa.

There was a twinkle in Dorothy's eyes.

"But, Mom will. They are separated. Mom kicked him out over a month ago, and she has been starting the divorce process. Currently she has custody of us and our holdings."

That news hit Lisa. He was no longer in the house. She could return if she wanted to. She glanced at her circus friends and knew she did not want to. She loved her new life. Plus, the divorce could be ugly and best avoided.

"What do I have to do?" Lisa asked.

"You have to meet with my lawyer and sign some papers he has," stated Quatre. "You can meet with him tomorrow if you like."

Details were worked out before Lisa, Trowa, and Duo left the estate and went back to the hotel. As they got ready to leave, Dorothy pulled Lisa aside for a privet conversation.

"Do you still have the box I gave you?" Dorothy asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes," said Lisa curious about the item. "I have not opened it."

"Good. Hold on to it still. In it is copies of documentation to support what we told you here tonight, plus, other information. It is our insurance policy. There is a small list of names, various passwords and what they go to, account information, and other things like that. In the right hands it could be used to create havoc for those company steeling bastards," Dorothy spit out venomously. "Unfortunately, some of the more important items and accounts require more information than I was able to find and gather."

Lisa let the information sink in.

"Keep it safe for when the need arises," continued Dorothy.

"I will," promised Lisa once more as they finished their conversation.

A brief hug was exchanged between the girls before they parted company.

~@~

Lisa emerged from the bathroom to find Trowa and Duo playing rock/paper/ scissors. Duo counted to three while they brought their fist in contact with their outstretched palm with each number.

"What are you doing?" she inquired as she walked past on the way to her bed.

"Aarrggg," growled Duo before he responded. "We were seeing who got the bed, and Trowa won."

Her hand pulling back the covers stopped as she looked at them puzzled.

"It's a full size bed. You both can fit in it," she pointed out.

The two boys exchanged looks saying girls just don't understand.

"Guys just don't sleep in the same bed," stated Trowa with arms folded across his chest.

"Why not?" she innocently inquired.

"We just don't," said Duo as he scooped up a pillow from the bed and prepared to sleep on the floor.

Lisa rolled her eyes at the two boys preparing for bed and their pride and climbed into her bed. She watched Duo make a bed on the floor and took pity on him.

"You can sleep in my bed if you want," she offered sleepily, "as long as, it does not offend you since of pride."

"Really!" Duo brightened for the idea of sleeping on cold hard floors once again did not appeal to him.

"Ummhu," she assured as he jumped up off the floor and slipped into the free side of the bed.

Duo reached up and turned off the light between the two beds since Trowa was already in his and wished his roommates good night.

"Night," said Trowa and Lisa.

They then settled down to sleep. Lisa rolled to face the wall and pulled the covers around her tightly to keep the chilly night air out before drifting off to sleep

~@~

Trowa awoke and silently got out of bed. He looked over at the occupants of the room's second full sized bed. During the night the gap that had been between them had decreased. Lisa was curled up against Duo with her head resting on his chest. His arm was wrapped around her waist as if holding her to him while her arm was draped across his chest and dangled off the edge of the bed. A smirk tugged at the corners of Trowa's mouth as he silently moved to the bathroom.

Trowa shut the door and let out a sigh for his friends. He knew Duo was in love with Lisa even though he never said any thing, and Trowa knew that currently he was the object of her infatuation. He saw what they thought no one saw, the hidden glances and longing looks. Trowa stepped into the shower as he pondered the predicament. He liked Lisa, but not the way she wanted. She was like a younger sister to him, while the one who played her brother was head over heels in love with her, and she only saw him as a brother. He chuckled lowly to himself as the irony that life always seemed to hand people. As he got out of the shower and dried off, Trowa had come to no solutions to the situation.

After dressing Trowa emerged and went to wake Duo. Duo seemed to sense Trowa's presence looming over him. Duo slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Trowa who gave him a suggestive smile and motioned to Lisa curled up beside Duo. Trowa's chest moved with merriment at Duo's expression of annoyance to Trowa's innuendo. Duo's desire to not wake Lisa was the only thing keeping Duo from vocalizing his rebuke to Trowa. Trowa just walked off. Duo turned his attention to the girl wrapped around him. He closed his eyes briefly and savored her closeness before he gently tried to maneuver his way out of bed. His movements caused Lisa to start to stir.

"Mmm. Time to get up?" she asked groggily as she rolled onto her back and rubbed an eye.

"Yeah," responded Duo before walking to the bathroom.

Once Duo was done with the bathroom, Lisa entered. As soon as, the sound of running water could be heard, Duo turned to Trowa.

"What were you insinuating this morning?" Duo demanded defensively as he pointed at Trowa. "There is nothing beyond friendship going on between me and Lisa."

"I know, but you wish there was more," smirked Trowa.

Duo opened his mouth to make a rebuttal, but Trowa cut him short.

"I know you have fallen for her," said Trowa as he gestured to the bathroom. "I have seen it when you look at her or talk about her."

All the steam seemed to escape from Duo and he deflated.

"I'm that obvious? I thought I was hiding it well," said Duo gloomily.

"Yes, and no," supplied Trowa. "I know you well, and I watch and see things others miss, like her current infatuation is me."

Duo's mouth dropped open, and Trowa could not help but be amused at Duo's speechlessness.

"B..bbuuut …," Duo stammered. "You know," he finally managed to get out.

Once Duo got his mental feet back under him he said to Trowa, "Promise me, you won't tell her."

Trowa nodded.

~@~

That morning they found the office and meet Dorothy, Quatre and his lawyer, Mr. Welch. They sat down in a conference room in the empty office building. Mr. Welch handed Lisa the paper work for her to read over. Lisa scanned the pages with Trowa and Duo reading over her shoulders. It looked strait forward enough to her, but she and her two male companions made sure to ask questions till they were sure of complete understanding of the document.

Lisa picked up the pen and prepared to sign her name. She caught herself in time to keep from signing Lisa Maxwell. She scrawled her given name across the line and handed the papers to Mr. Welch. He had both Dorothy, Quatre and himself sign the document as well.

With their business finished, they prepared to leave.

"May I use you phone?" inquired Lisa as she made a spur of the moment decision.

"Go ahead," said Mr. Welch.

Lisa picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number. She crossed her fingers that Hilde would be the one to answer.

"Hello?" answered Hilde.

"Hilde!" said Lisa excitedly while her friends looked at her inquiringly.

There was the barest whisper of "Relena" from Hilde.

"It's me. I am in town for a brief time and wondered if we could get together this afternoon before taking off. "

"Yes," said an eager Hilde. "Where? When?"

"I was thinking the mall food court around noon," answered Lisa as she scanned the faces of those in the room.

"Tell Hilde I will pick her up and meet you there," offered Quatre.

Lisa relayed the message, and Hilde agreed to the plan. Trowa and Duo stood with arms crossed as they watched the conversation unfold.

Lisa hung up the phone with a grin plastered across her face.

~@~

Lisa, Duo, and Trowa sat at a table waiting for Lisa's friends. Lisa scanned the ever moving crowd of people migrating through the mall. She caught sight of blond hair moving through the crowd in their direction. Within second after that, Quatre emerged with Hilde beside him. He paused briefly as he examined the tables for his friends. Quatre caught sight of them and pulled Hilde in their direction. Once at the table, he introduced Hilde to the trio at the table. Hilde blinked slowly a few times as she lowered herself into the seat by Lisa. Quatre grabbed a chair from another table, pulled it over to the one they were occupying, and straddled it with his arms crossed on its back and chin resting on his arms. He smiled as Hilde reacted to the new Relena even with his warning.

If she did not let the color of the hair and eyes blind her, it was obvious that the girl before her was Relena.

"You look so different!" gasped Hilde.

"Thanks," responded Relena as she suppressed a giggle.

"Where have you been?" asked Hilde before she actually registered the other occupants of the table. "And, who are they?"

"A bit of everywhere, and they are my friends, well, more like family," Lisa said.

Hilde said hi to each of them. Duo flirtingly winked at Hilde who snickered at his playful gesture in response to her greeting. Trowa sat there quietly with bangs hiding one eye as normal. He only nodded in response.

"Anyone want something to eat?" asked Quatre.

"I do!" said Duo almost jumping out of his seat.

Lisa and Trowa only shook their heads at their comrade's never ceasing love of food. The two took orders and went off to purchase food, leaving Trowa to guard over the two long separated friends. Before long, it was like no time has separated the two as they chattered and shared what was happening in their lives. Hilde more so than Lisa for obvious reasons.

"So how's that boyfriend of yours?" asked Lisa.

Lisa almost caught her breath as Trowa shifted ever so slightly in his seat at her question. She glanced quickly at him trying to read his face and body language.

"Long gone," answered Hilde.

"Reaallyy," Lisa drew out as she once again glanced in Trowa's direction.

There was a subtle change in his demeanor. Lisa's curiosity was piqued, and she was determined to try to ferret out what was going on, even if she did have a good guess already.

"What happened?" Lisa prompted as Duo and Quatre came back with trays loaded with food.

Once they were settled with food in hand, Hilde began to unfold her tale of her doomed relationship.

"He was planing out our lives already," Hilde explained. "He dreamed of us going to the same university. He was going to be an engineer, and after we graduated, we would get jobs. Then we would get married and raise a family, and Live happily ever after!" Hilde ended the sentence in the most sugary sweet voice she could muster before pretending to gag herself with her finger.

"Not the life you want?" matter-of-factly asked Trowa speaking up for the first time.

Hilde's eyes latched on to Trowa's.

"Parts of it, maybe someday. I just don't want someone else planing my life around his without even consulting me first," she explained. "Hell, I don't even know if I want to go to college straight out of high school. There is just so much out there to see and do. There is just so much to consider before I can decide."

Hilde finished with a shrug of her shoulders, and Trowa nodded at her response.

"The problem is, applications have to be filled out now," said Hilde. "So, I have applied to some schools to please my parents, but I make no promises to go if accepted."

"That is something I have not even thought of," observed Lisa. "With everything over the past few years, college is the last thing on my mind."

"Your grades are good. You might want to start considering it," pointed out Trowa.

Duo shot him a quick look of betrayal.

Lisa laughed.

"So are yours and Duo's," she pointed out but got no response from either. "Maybe when things become a little more secure in my life I will consider it. I don't even know what I would do," she sighed.

The group continued to talk and laugh as they visited. Lisa finally looked down at her watch and stated that they had to go to make their travel arraignments. The group got up from the table. Lisa and Hilde hugged farewell. When Lisa went to get her bag, Quatre held it out to her. The trio took their leave and retraced their steps of only the day before.

~@~

Once again Lisa found herself seated on a train with her two companions. This time it was daylight for most of their journey.

Lisa watched the country side pass and thought about her meeting with Hilde. She glanced at Trowa in the seat across from her. He liked her. Lisa just knew it. Trowa had tried not to show a reaction, but she found after working and living with him for over a year she had picked up more of his subtle nuances than she realized. Once Hilde showed up, he fidgeted more than normal and seemed keenly interested on any topic dealing with her.

"Well, I guess he is not attracted to me," she thought.

She admitted that deep down she already knew that, and surprisingly the thought of Trowa liking Hilde did not disturb her. In fact, she found the idea appealed to her. Maybe she was not in love with Trowa like she thought.

Lisa pondered how to get the two to meet again. Maybe she could talk Hilde into visiting in the future. Hilde would love hanging out at the circus. Lisa rolled ideas around in her head.

"You have the cards?" Duo asked Lisa interrupting her planning as he riffled through his own belongings.

"In my bag someplace," she responded as she retrieved the item in question.

She shuffled through the items.

"What's this?" she said to herself as she pulled out a thick white envelope.

Duo looked over her shoulder to see what she had, and Trowa leaned forward a bit.

Lisa turned it over and found her name neatly printed on it. She recognized the lettering as Quatre's.

"What did you give me, Quatre?" she murmured as she turned the envelop over for access to the folded in flap.

She pulled the triangle our of its nestled home. Peeping above its v-ed opening was a crisply folded off white stationary with green bills behind it. She quickly flipped through the contents which revealed twenties and a few fifties before she pulled out the note. She placed the envelope on her lap before unfolding the letter.

Lisa,

I don't know how far you three had to come, so we wanted to help pay for the expenses you acquired on your trip here and back. You came when we needed you and it is our way of showing our appreciation.

Quatre and Dorothy

P.S. Don't think of giving it back. I won't accept it.

Quatre ended the letter with his trademark emblem that he had for only his friends.

"Quatre, Quatre, Quatre," said Lisa after reading the letter, "that is just like you."

Duo let out a soft whistle as he cautiously examined the envelope's contents. He gave it back to her. Lisa slipped the note back in after showing it to Trowa. She secured the gift in her bag before finding the original item she had been looking for.