Chapter Five: Caught!!

"Hey man! Check those two out!! Damn, any closer and they'd be one person! Do you think they ever come up for air?"

"Heehee, doesn't look like it! I wonder how long before they stop? Ten to one it'll take them five, no ten, minutes before stopping--" Duo's voice faltered as he noticed another couple sitting underneath the huge oak tree reserved for those "special couples." The girl, in particular, caught his eye. "Rian! Isn't that Lena over there? Who's the guy with her?"

Rian's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're right. It IS her. But I've never seen him before. What's say we go over and introduce ourselves?"

***

"Try another canapé, Heero. They're really good, aren't they? Noin made them fresh this morning, said they were for some 'special guest.' So you better appreciate all the trouble I went through for that canapé you're enjoying!"

Her rampage was cut short by the sound of someone calling her name. "Huh? Who's that?" Relena turned around, only to see Duo and Rian heading towards her. "What?! What are they doing here?"

"Hey Lena! Long time no see! Man, where have you been lately? Never at home, never at our usual hangout, never anywhere!! And who's your new BOYFRIEND, huh? Aren't you gonna introduce us?"

Relena sighed tiredly, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Duo, Rian, Heero. Heero, I'm sad to admit it but these two numbskulls are my closest friends, Duo and Rian."

The three young men assessed each other and nodded their heads in silent greeting. 'Oh brother. I thought that Duo would at least make an effort to talk. I wonder how Heero is handling this?' Snapping out of her reverie, Relena was amazed to see Duo and, "Omigosh! Is that Heero?!"

"Shhh! Don't talk so loudly, Lena! Duo dared Heero to sneak up behind that girl...y'know, sort of as an initiation-type thing. After all, if he's gonna start hanging out with us, we need to see if he can hold his own--"

Rian's voice was interrupted by a shrill scream and husky male laughter. "Well, whaddaya know? He's not as stiff as he seems..." Rian said, amusement tingeing his every word.

A petite woman with short dark-blue hair shook herself dry of the drink that had just splashed all over her. Face contorted with anger, she began yelling at the now remorseful Heero and the still-smirking Duo.

"Duo! You jerk! You scared the living daylights outta me! And look!" she exclaimed, groaning at the mess before her, "You made me spill my drink all over my new outfit! Aaargh! You are the most annoying and insensitive jerk that I have ever known!!"

"Awww, c'mon Hilde. It's not THAT bad. I think that pink is definitely your color...it compliments your eyes beautifully! Plus, why are you getting mad at ME for? I'm not even the one who made you spill! HE DID!" Duo said cheerfully, pointing at Heero.

"Thanks a lot, Maxwell," Heero grumbled beneath his breath, "Out of the frying pan and straight into the fire. Yup, I'm definitely gonna get you back for all this." Taking a deep breath, Heero calmly met the gaze of the still irate Hilde and said, "I'm terribly sorry if I made you spill your drink. You see, Duo was just commenting on how beautiful he thought you were but since he's so shy, he was unable to tell you his true feelings. That's why I had to help him catch your attention. And...since you now have each other's attention, why don't I leave you two lovebirds alone? Well, it was nice meeting you, Hilde. Hope to see both you and Duo together REAL soon!"

Before Duo could say anything, Heero ran off, snickering softly at the stricken look on Duo's face. When he finally reached Relena and Rian, his smile quickly turned to a frown as he noticed how comfortable the two were in each other's presence. 'A little TOO comfortable,' his mind whispered gleefully, 'I guess you're not so special after all.' Refusing to acknowledge the traitorous thoughts running rampant through his head, Heero smiled widely at the pair. "I think that Duo is gonna be busy for a little while. Relena, what would you like to do now?"

Curious about what had happened, Relena opened her mouth to ask when she suddenly noticed the time. "Oh shoot! Is that the correct time? I'm supposed to meet up with my brother and his dinner guests in half an hour! I have to go or else Noin is gonna KILL ME!" She hurriedly packed up the basket and stood up to leave. "I'm so sorry that I'm leaving you guys like this but Millardo said that this dinner was really important and that I should be there. I'll meet up with you guys tomorrow, okay? Bye!" And without any further notice, she ran off.

"So, what do you want to do now? Should we go and rescue Duo from Hilde or should we just let him suffer a little while longer?" Rian asked, turning around to face Heero, only to find him gone. "Hmmm, strange guy. I wonder what exactly HIS story is? Oh well, I better go help Duo out...He starting to look a little green around the edges."

***

Relena quickly rushed home, flung the picnic basket into the pantry, and ran up the stairs into her room, all before Noin could comment upon her whereabouts. "What to wear, what to wear?" she muttered beneath her breath. "Aha! I found it!" Seeming like an answer to her prayers, the dress hung in the far corner of her immense closet. It was a plain dress but one designed to last forever due to the simple elegance of its style and cut. And the deep rose color offset her complexion perfectly. Hastily donning the dress, Relena twisted her hair up into a very complex French twist, leaving a few tendrils to float gently around her face. Deciding to forgo any makeup except for some clear lip gloss, she rushed down the stairs, just in time to see her sister-in-law opening the door.

"Welcome everyone! I'm so glad that you all could make it. It's been so long since we've all seen each other...there's so much catching up to do!" As Noin opened the door a little further, two men in their early to mid-twenties stepped in, along with a beautiful woman with long blond hair.

Hardly daring to believe her eyes, Relena ran up to hug the two men, both of whom were her absolutely favorite people in the whole world, besides her brother and Noin, of course. "Trowa! Quatre! What are you guys doing here?! When Millardo said that he was having some 'special guests' over, I thought he meant someone old and stuffy, not you two!" Relena groaned internally at her comment. 'Oh God, Relena! How much lamer sounding can you get? Thank goodness for the dress you're wearing. At least it'll make you LOOK more mature in his eyes.'

To her profound relief, both men laughed at her comment and returned her hugs with ones of their own. Before she could say anything else to embarrass herself, Millardo spoke. "So, Quatre! I hear that congratulations are in order! Is it safe to presume that the lovely lady accompanying you is your new bride-to-be?"

Both Quatre and his fiancé blushed becomingly. "Thank you for your kind words, Millardo. Please, allow me to introduce to you the woman who has agreed to make me the happiest man in the world...Ms. Dorothy Catalonia! Dorothy, these are two of my closest friends, Trowa and Millardo, his wife, Noin, and of course, my very favorite cousin, Lena."

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Catalonia. I trust your visit to the Sanq Kingdom has been enjoyable so far?" Relena inquired politely.

"It has, thank you for asking. And may I say that it's a pleasure to finally meet you all," Dorothy answered, pale blue eyes gleaming with good-natured humor, "Quatre has told me so much about everyone, I feel like we're already old friends. But please, call me Dorothy. After all, soon we'll be family, right?"