Chapter 19

"Don't make me seriously mad, if you want to live long." -Duo Maxwell

"Why Sarah, you look marvelous!"

I curtsied politely, flashed a false smile, and took my seat next to Trente, who grinned broadly while staring at me in awe. Smirking, I yanked off my gloves and folded them neatly on my lap, remembering the teachings of my mother, who was versed in all the customs of dinner etiquette. I glanced up quickly and looked Trowa straight in the eye. I didn't quail, I never backed down. I challenged, and he accepted, holding my gaze until Trente asked me to pass the pitcher of iced tea. I wasn't angry at him any more, his presence didn't annoy me...because I understood him. I understood why he had affected me so, and found a way to counter his attack, keeping my cool by mimicking him.

He was exactly like my father.

Dinner wore on, and I found that Trowa did not deprive himself of delicacies I had never even heard of. He and Trente discussed the many cars he owned while I looked around the room, admiring the decor. 'Maybe I was wrong...'

"Don't you think so, Sarah?"

I quirked a brow at Trente, questioning him as I had not been paying attention. "Ah...hmm?"

"Do you?"

Trowa chuckled quietly, and wiped his mouth fastidiously with a silk napkin that he produced from his lap. "Sarah, what do you think of my decoration?"

"It's very nice."

There was a pause, and it seemed Trowa took as much time as he could to blink his eyes before almost whispering, "What do you really think?"

I stared at him, my own eyes narrowing in thought. In my peripheral vision I saw Trente raising his eyebrows almost to his hairline, a confused expression crossing his face. "Well?" The man prompted.

"I..." I was at a loss for words. What to tell him? That I was considering the fact that he might be...a little bit curvier than the normal person? My subconscious, usually present when I was dealing with my father, took over my thought process. 'You'll make him mad. Come on...see how far you can push him. It'll be fun, really!' "I was thinking that your decorator might be homosexual..." An odd glance from Trente pushed me to add, "Or a female."

A smirk graced Trowa's thin lips, almost worthy of mocking me. "I decorated every room you've been in so far. With help, yes, but I chose the design."

Trente's mouth dropped so low I was sure he would get peas on his chin. I sighed, acting as nonchalant as I could, and yawned, looking away. "Oh, really? I couldn't tell."

The man across the table nodded slowly, corners of his mouth curving upwards slightly as his emerald eyes narrowed to slits while he stared my way, analyzing me. "Well? Do you like it?"

"It's very...interesting. I like how the...maroon is trimmed with gold, those colors go well together. It reminds me of my father's study, only he did his walls in..." I trailed off, noticing Trowa yawning quiet loudly and glancing around the room. I cleared my throat, feeling the anger start to bubble in my veins, and continued, ignoring him the best I could. "He did his walls in hunter green, which really accented the dark wood desk and shelving Mother had installed in there." More yawns caused me to want to continue, to do something to catch the man's attention. "Did you know that my father...ah...has a picture of you?"

Trowa's immediate alertness to my presence caused me to jump slightly as he glared at me, burning gaze making me suddenly feel self-conscious. "What did you say?"

I shifted, uncomfortable suddenly in his midst, and glanced away. "Ah, will you excuse me? I need to...go...to...the powder room."

Five seconds later I was standing in front of the mirror of the closest bathroom, staring at my reflection. I looked so...scared. Frightened. Why would I-or should I-be frightened?

It was the intensity with which he looked upon me. I knew it right then and there. It was like being with my father again, who had given me that look many times throughout my childhood. It sent ice-cold fingers trailing up and down my spine, causing me to shiver uncontrollably. I rubbed my bare arms, and then stood back a few feet.

I did look rather nice...

I shook my head, tossing all thoughts of that horrible glare Trowa had given me away. No. He was just...playing mind tricks, just as Father had. It had to be it. He was testing me, as the others had. Uncle Miliardo tested me on strategic strengths, Wufei tested me on physical strengths, and Duo tested me on emotional strength. Trowa was testing my mentality and ability to deal with mind games. 'It's as if they all...'

'As if they all are working together.' I almost laughed at the thought, and then contradicted myself. 'It's not such an odd probability...it could happen, couldn't it?'

"Sarah? Are you all right?" a deep tenor voice called through the door, startling me momentarily. Dropping my paper towel onto the sink counter, I exhaled loudly and closed my eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine, Trowa. Thanks for asking."

"Well...you just gave me the oddest look, and...I was concerned."

So he wasn't exactly like my father. He cared. 'Or he acts like he does, anyway.' "No, I'm fine. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Can I come in?"

Without thinking, I responded with a loud, "Yes!" and then immediately smacked myself in the forehead. The door creaked opened, and I turned to face him, standing in the frame of the doorway with a droll expression on his face. I was confused for a moment, but I brushed it away as 'just another mind trick' and shot a slim smile at him before turning and sitting on the small loveseat against the far wall.

He watched every move I made, and I realized that he always seemed to be doing that: staring at me, and always intensely. He observed me like a bird watcher would an oriole, with a bit of confusion but a large amount of concentration. The atmosphere in the mood hung like a blanket of wet wool over us, dragging us to the ground in silence.

He broke the ice with, "Do you love your father?" and I was sure I heard every crystal shatter as they collided with reality.

"What?"

"You heard me."

I stared at him, and realized he was serious. 'Well, either that, or he is too much like my father, even mimicking his expressions down the to the slightly raised eyebrow when in inquiry...'

"Sar--"

"I do, dammit. I do." He sighed, and seemed...disappointed in my answer. Disappointed? "What, is that not good enough for you, Trowa?" The most adorable expression of confusion crossed his normally saddened features, and I felt compelled to laugh, however I held it back.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, regaining his composure. I shook my head, and glanced past him as Trente entered the room.

The boy flicked an eyebrow towards me, at which I shrugged, and he asked, "What, are we having a party in the bathroom and I wasn't informed?" I laughed lightly, glad to have him there with me, however knowing that I couldn't run from facing Trowa forever. I would have to prove myself, just as I had with the others...

'Too much like a conspiracy.'

"Trente? Could you excuse us, please? I need to discuss something with my goddaughter."

'No!' my thoughts screamed. 'Don't you dare make him leave...!' Duo's son glanced to me as if asking approval, and I felt myself nod, and before I could stop him, he was walking down the hallway to the dining room. I inhaled, filling my lungs, and then sighed, eyes dropping past Trowa to the floor.

"Sarah? We need to talk. Why do you despise me so?" Again I felt the urge to laugh, yet I managed to restrain myself.

"Despise is such a...strong word, Trowa." I answered slowly, taking my time to enunciate each syllable. "What made you get that idea?"

He rolled his eyes, and I felt that that was the most emotion anyone had ever seen out of him. "Oh, probably the fact that you haven't said a nice word to me since you found my hiding place."

"Why in the hell did you think you had to kidnap me?" I suddenly shouted, standing up in front of him defiantly. "We could have both been hurt very badly!"

"You were hurt very badly." he stated quietly, sighing.

"Wha--" I paused, thinking this over. Trente said that we had been there...three days? Or was it four? My head ached from the adrenaline rush, and I reached out to the wall to steady myself. "How badly are we talking about?"

"You were drifting in and out of consciousness for about a week, Sarah. Trente didn't wake up until he arrived at my complex, which meant he was unconscious for about four days before that. You were taken to a local hospital first, and then I found out about it when it hit the news. I didn't think twice about it until I saw your picture, and...you resemble both your parents so well I'm surprised no one recognized you and identified you. I checked you out of the hospital after producing fake birth certificates, identification cards, and social security information stating that you were my dependent, and brought you to my special hospital."

The information came as a slight shock to me, however the fact that he had the means to produce such items didn't surprise me in the least. "Why did you keep me in a room that resembled a hospital and keep up the nurse charade?"

A light red tint rushed to Trowa's cheeks and ears, and he rubbed his neck slowly with the palm of his hand. "For observation purposes."

"Observation?"

"Yes. I...wanted to see how much you really were like your father and mother...although you must know, you don't recover as quick as your father did from being in a car accident. You scar easier, too. Look down the front of your left shin."

I frowned, knowing I hadn't checked myself over for scars, and then reached down to lift up the hem of my dress. There was a long red line running the length of my shin, stretching from my knee cap to my ankle. "Where are the stitches?"

He smirked. "Stitches? You practically closed up yourself, without any help from the doctors. I looked you over when you arrived here, and that had almost completely healed, however there will most definitely be a scar, judging by the other scars you've received. I perceive Heero has...trained you?"

I nodded, and continued to analyze my leg, amazed that I hadn't noticed that before. "You mean that most people don't heal this quickly?"

"No. If I had gotten that deep a cut on my leg, I would still be wrapped up now, even if it happened a month ago. You did get your father's genes in that department, but not completely." He shrugged, eyebrows raising as he did so in a comical expression. "How did he train you?"

"The same way he was trained."

The impassive expression faded from his face rather quickly and he frowned, eyebrows furrowing over his nose to create huge wrinkles in his forehead. "It can't have been." Again I nodded, and glanced up to look at him, lips pursed. "Then...why are you...you?"

"What do you mean?"

"We all went through the same training. Heero, however, went through something a little more...painstakingly difficult than the rest of us. For you to have gone through it as well...I'm surprised that you still have enough human left in you to think Trente is attractive. Most of us...barely survived our own training..." I blushed, grinning broadly, and then noticed the faraway look in Trowa's eyes. "It was...hard, to say the least."

"Well..." I said, then drifted off. Why had I been able to survive Father's rigorous training? "Maybe it's because...of my determination. And my...ah..." A brief respite in my deep thoughts and an ocean of memories came flooding forward, showing me the stiff upper lip I was forced to keep every time I failed. Was it because of...my yearning to prove myself in front of my father, the ever present critic?

Trowa sighed, and placed a comforting hand on my forearm, causing me to jump slightly. "It really doesn't matter how you survived, just that you did. You are definitely Heero and Relena's child..." he shook his head while saying, chuckling quietly to himself. Almost silently, he added under his breath, "Although how they managed to stop their running around in circles long enough to conceive you, I don't know..."

I stood, yawning. "Are we done with this conversation?"

The man I was questioning flicked an eyebrow at me, slightly taken aback at my abruptness, and nodded. "As long as you stop being perpetually rude to me..."

"As long as you stop..." I paused. Should I say it? "As long as you stop being so damn much like my father."

Trowa smiled. "Watch your language, young lady."

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A/N: Yeah, I know it's been a while since I've updated, but...here it is! Now I must work on Chapter 20, ne? My Kami...chapter 20. I'm surprised I've kept up with it this long, but you know...it's your reviews that make me!

A reviewed author is a happy author, if you take my meaning! *grin* Thanks much for being so patient.