Sins Revealed
written by NemKess
Duo was the one who found her.
He scowled down at her lithe form where it was curled up on the church pew. Though she was asleep, there was obviously nothing restful about her slumber. He could see the dried tear tracks on her cheek.
With a sigh he sat down at her feet, absently noting their bareness.
He thought back over the last couple of days as he stared at her. Another sigh escaped and he turned his gaze to the statue above the altar.
A distraught Trowa had called them all three days ago. Cathy had run off into the night taking nothing and wearing only her nightgown and a robe. He'd had no idea what had upset the woman, and no clue to where she may have went. Though reluctant, they had gathered back at the circus and began searching for her.
It hadn't taken long to figure out that the woman was still somewhere on the colony. That had begun the systematic search of every nook and cranny in the largest colony in the L3 cluster. For three days they'd been searching.
He leaned back in the pew and stared up at the statue of the Virgin Mary.
What in the hell had bothered Catherine so much that she had taken refuge in a church?
Duo waited a few more minutes before shaking her awake. "Catherine, wake up. It's time to go."
"Huh?" Her lids opened about half mast before dropping once more and she rolled over onto her other side. And was jolted awake as the movement caused her to tumble to the floor.
"What the hell is wrong with you woman?" He asked, pointedly ignoring the disapproving glare that a passing nun shot at him. He wanted answers. "Do you have any idea how worried Trowa is? Do you? He's frantic, looking all over the place for you." By this time she'd managed to pull herself back onto the pew and was just staring rather dazedly into space. That lack of response just grated on his already irritated nerves. He took her shoulders and shook her roughly until she jerked away from him and scooted back, glaring from a safe distance. "Well? What the hell do you have to say for yourself?"
She just flinched and looked away.
Now, Duo Maxwell had been accused of many things in his lifetime. Being patient was not one of them. Never the less, he somehow managed to dredge up enough to keep from snapping at the woman. "I don't like you and I never have, but I thought you'd at least show a little consideration for Trowa." When she still refused to even look at him, he sighed and stood up, one hand outstretched. "Whatever. Come one, we need to get you back to Trowa before he gets any more upset."
"No." It was inaudible, more a release of breath than an actual word, but Duo's ears had been trained to hear what the average person couldn't.
"No? What the hell do you mean by that?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
He could see the internal struggle. It was obvious that she didn't want to tell him.. That she didn't want to talk about it at all. It was just as obvious that she needed to tell someone or it was going to eat her alive.
"Did you know that I'm an orphan, Duo?"
He scratched his head, unsure of where this was going. "I guess.. Trowa might have mentioned it. I don't really remember."
"My parents died when I was five. But before that, we were so happy even though we were poor. Even though we lived in a circus wagon. My mom... my dad... my little brother. We were so happy." She'd trailed off and though she was staring straight at him, Duo had the distinct impression that she wasn't seeing him at all. "He was the cutest little boy, two years younger than me. I loved him so much. I promised Triton I'd be the best sister in the world. That we'd be together forever and that I'd protect him from anything that would hurt him." Tears had begun to trail down her cheeks, but she didn't seem to notice. "But I guess we were too happy. We used up all our happiness too soon. The men came one day and attacked. I don't remember why. They just did."
As silence lingered between them for a moment, Duo wanted to comfort her in some way, but knew it wasn't possible. When she spoke again, her voice was even lower and he had to strain to hear her.
"I guess I passed out... The next thing I remember is waking up in the fortune teller's wagon. They said that the wagon had burned and my family had burnt with it. Triton was only three. Still just a little boy, and I didn't protect him like I said I would. I let him die."
"Cathy-"
She continued, completely ignoring his attempted interruption. "Even worse, though.. I never went back to see if it was true. If they were really gone. I just took the old woman's word for it. I never let myself wonder if it was possible.. If one of them might still be alive."
He took her shoulders and shook her again, more gently this time. "It wasn't your fault Catherine. You were just a little girl." She nodded even though there was still doubt in her eyes. "And what, exactly does this have to do with Trowa?"
"That summer- before they were killed- the circus had portraits taken of all the acts. Since Triton was too young to really do anything and Mama and I did a different act than Daddy, they took three of us. One of Mama and I, one of Daddy and Triton, and one of us all-as a family. The ones who rescued me had managed to save some of my stuff. Two of the pictures were in the box, a little burnt, but still okay enough. The other was never found. In fact, I'd forgotten all about it until the other night." He still didn't understand and it was starting to frustrate her. "Trowa has the other picture, Duo."
"So?" He shrugged his shoulders and glared at her. "Are you telling me that you're mad at Trowa because he stole your picture? Sheesh, I'm sure if you ask he'll give it back."
This time she actually growled and hit him in the back of the head. "How dumb are you?! He's had it for as long as he can remember! He has it because it belongs to him!"
A vague suspicion crossed his mind and his stomach lurched at the idea. "You mean-"
She just nodded dejectedly. "Trowa Barton is really Triton Bloom." A distinctly unamused laugh escaped. "My lover is my brother."
Duo grimaced. Out of all the scenarios he'd imagined, he had to admit, that wasn't one of them. And he could certainly understand why she'd had to get away. But...
What now?
She just shrugged helplessly when he vocalized that question.
They sat there, staring at the statue of Mary, for quite a while as if hoping it could provide all the answers to their dilemma.
When Catherine finally moved again, she stood up and stretched the kinks out of her arms and wrinkled her nose. She had, after all, been sitting there in the same clothes for three days. She sighed softly and turned to Duo. "I'll have to leave now. I can't face him again. Not knowing what I know. I won't tell him, either."
"But Catherine-"
She held up a small hand to stop him. "It's better this way. He can move on to Quatre and live with a clear conscience. He may wonder and he may despise me, but at least he'll never have reason to despise himself. He'll never have to live with this sick feeling in his gut whenever he remembers that he slept with his own sister." The look on her face, so full of self directed disgust pulled at his heart.
"What do you want me to do?"
It was 2 days later when Duo sat among his friends, offering what comfort he could to Trowa while doing his best not to look the other man in the face. He knew if he did, there was no way he would be able to keep his promise. No way he would be able to keep from telling the circus clown everything he knew. And that included his own part in helping Catherine get off the colony without anyone knowing.
After securing some clothes and a little cash for her, he'd took her to the shuttle bay and called in a few favors. Once she was off and everyone had been sworn to secrecy under the threat of severe repercussions, he'd walked to the nearest mail drop, and dropped off the letter she'd given him for Trowa. Then he'd continued on pretending to search with the rest of them.
Then it was just a matter of waiting for his friend to get the letter, which had happened that morning.
Duo just prayed that no one had cause to ask him any questions because then he'd really be in between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't lie, but he couldn't break his promise either. So far, only Heero seemed to have noticed his own odd behavior, but the former Zero pilot had yet to corner him about it. And he wasn't about to stick around long enough for that to happen.
"Trowa, man, I hate to do this to you, but I really gotta go. Hilde's trying to run the salvage yard all by herself ya know."
"Of course, Duo. I'm sorry to have kept you so long with my problems."
Internally, he winced, but on the outside, he managed to put on what he hoped was a comforting and guilt-free smile. "Don't worry about it, buddy. That's what friends are for." The words tasted bitter in his mouth, but he wasted no time thinking about it. He made a hasty exit. Unfortunately, he'd only gone a handful of steps before he felt that piercing glare drilling a hole in his head.
"Duo-"
"Don't ask, Heero. For God's sake, and Trowa's, just don't ask." Heero seemed taken aback by the seriousness of his tone, but after a second's thought nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"I'm going to trust that whatever you're hiding would be worse on Trowa than this already is. If I find out differently..." He trailed off the warning with a meaningful look and Duo finally found some amusement in the whole situation.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said with a light grin. "You'll kill me, right? You're getting too predictable, old man."
He actually chuckled at the self-righteous look of annoyance that settled onto his friend's features. "See ya around."
With a careless wave, he started off towards the shuttle bay. He really needed to get home and see Hilde. And he promised himself that he'd remember to say his prayers every night, not only to thank God for the happiness he had with her, but to ask that all of his friends somehow managed to find some of their own.
Especially Trowa and Catherine.