Daine—While I do think that the Q&Dorothy idea you suggested is absolutely wonderful, I've been planning on a different course for the plot. However, if you email me at quatresboo@hotmail.com with some more input about what you want to see, I would happily write a fic featuring Quatre and Dorothy for you. I look forward to hearing from you!
And for the other notes—THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS! I'll try and get around to those of you that have FF.net accounts and return the favor when I get the chance. If you don't have an account but have left an email address, look for an email from me…. Thank you ever so much for reading my fic!
Grand Prize Winner (pun intended)
Part 3: The Rescue—Phase 1
"So what exactly do you want me to do?" Angel asked as she entered the apartment's dining room with dinner. Duo shrugged, eagerly serving himself as soon as she had taken a seat. He seemed happy enough to eat for a few moments before answering, allowing Angel a moment to serve herself.
"Nothin' much. I just want you to get to know him, kind of steer him away from Relena. I mean, I love her and all, but they're just not…compatible. They're workaholics, both of them," he replied around a mouthful of food. Angel, having been schooled far more extensively in manners, cut and ate her food in smaller bites, and swallowed before answering. "See!" Duo pointed out, watching her eat. "You and Quatre even have the same kinda manners."
Angel eyed him and shrugged. "Just keep in mind I'm not interested, okay, Duo?"
He nodded. "Totally understand. Hands-off, strictly friends. Besides, I think two thirds of the female population is after him anyway."
She smiled in satisfaction and continued her meal. She ate in silence until Duo commented again.
"Of course, there is a reason that Quatre is the world's most attractive and eligible bachelor."
"Duo!"
"What!?"
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Sally had to admit it; Wufei was actually being civil enough for her to tolerate. She knew that if he had something to focus on he'd quit ranting for a moment. She smiled as she stared at his dark head, bent over a list of reasons they'd compiled to outweigh any arguments that Quatre might have had about marrying Relena. Hopefully the list would be convincing enough, but if it wasn't…
Sally shook her head and settled down across from Wufei, glancing the list over once more. Wufei had been pouring over it for most of the day, eager for something to do in the peaceful, uneventful time that they now lived in. Even the Preventers had little enough to worry about. More often than not, they would merely patrol the space around Earth and the colonies, probe into any possible terrorist groups, discover nothing incriminating, and return home to debrief. Sally secretly suspected that all the non-action had started to drive Wufei mad.
He had expressly informed her that he had nothing against Relena besides her total pacifism policies. He thought her quite intelligent for the most part, in fact, and though he had once been fighting a war on the side of her kidnappers, seemed to respect the woman. Sally only wished she could inform Relena of the awesome honor it was to have Wufei think so highly of her. It was something he rarely expressed about women.
However, beyond his respect for Relena, there was little else emotionally there. He disapproved of her wish to start a family because she was a very busy woman, and was always called away from her home on political issues. He was even further set against her marriage to Quatre because he was in the same situation. He had been brought up believing firmly that a woman stayed home to maintain the house and care for the children, while the man went out into the world to bring his family honor and care for their worldly needs. In other words, Wufei viewed a Winner-Peacecraft union as something akin to a disaster.
Though she agreed with Wufei, and had agreed with Duo when he'd called them and said nearly the same thing, there was something else about the pairing that didn't sit right with her. She couldn't place a finger on it, but their being together just didn't feel right.
She shook it off and placed a hand on Wufei's shoulder. She smiled when he looked up and blinked, seeming rather dazed.
"How about a dinner break?" she suggested, and stood to get their coats.
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Dorothy was less than pleased when she heard from Rasid that Trowa, Kathleen, and Cathy would be coming to visit Quatre at the estate for a few months. She and Trowa still suffered from mutual distrust. He always seemed to be watching her with that single visible, amazingly emerald green eye. Kathleen was a total sweetheart, and so easily manipulated that Dorothy felt…sorry for her. She was lucky that she had found someone strong to protect her, but it was too bad that her protector was someone Dorothy could hardly tolerate.
She and Trowa were always on their best behavior, however, when Quatre was with them. Trowa valued their friendship too much to insult Quatre kindness to her, and she was too uncomfortable with Quatre to make a jab at his friend while in his presence.
"I'll just…grin and bear it," she said softly to herself, running two fingers over her left eyebrow. She had long ago manipulated her brows back into single, arched lines, losing the split that she had shared with Treize Kushrenada.
"Good evening, Ms. Catalonia," greeted a voice from behind her, and she whirled to face Quatre. He smiled as he continued to approach her. "Heading down to dinner?"
Telling herself firmly to relax—after all, it was only Quatre Winner—she nodded. "Yes."
"Care to join me?" he asked, offering his arm.
"Certainly, Quatre Raberba Winner."
He furrowed his brow slightly at her use at his full name, but his smile didn't waver, and he continued to hold out his arm to her. Slowly, hesitatingly, she accepted his arm. He steered her through the maze of hallways and down two flights of steps to the dining room, where the Maganac were waiting patiently behind their chairs. Quatre shook his head slightly, then motioned for them to take their seats as he pulled out Dorothy's chair.
Why is my heart pounding? Dorothy wondered.
Then, after a moment:
Blast it all.
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Heero pushed himself away from his dinner table and wandered over to his sink, already lost in thought. He automatically started washing the dishes, but he didn't have to pay much attention to his task. His mind was miles away, locked on Quatre. He could understand the benefits of their marriage for the general good of the people, but on a personal level he couldn't see any benefits at all. They hardly knew each other, other than on the level of acquaintances.
Why did it bother him so much? It had no bearing on his lifestyle whatsoever. Relena hadn't been a major part of his life in several years. But he kept having mental images of Quatre chained down and it was starting to really bother him.
Deciding he couldn't possibly let Quatre go through with the marriage, Heero made plans to; a. move temporarily into the Winner Estate, and b. convince Quatre that his marriage to Relena would be unsuccessful and unprofitable.
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Cathy always adored staying at the Winner Estate. It's scenic beauty and quiet majesty was calming. It was an entirely different world than the circus. Everything there was chaotic and temporary. At Quatre's estate, however, one had the feeling that they were in a place that would forever be exactly as it was, a true sense of timelessness. That sense of serenity soothed her every time she visited. Plus, Quatre was there, and that was always a good thing. She could admire him when he did his morning three-mile swim in his indoor pool, when he jogged before bed on his treadmill, when he ate, when he was in the same room…
…Damn…I have a serious crush, she thought. Laughing quietly at herself, she continued down the hall until she was standing just inside of Kathleen's room.
Kathleen Barton was four months pregnant, just enough to have morning sickness and be a bit round. Trowa seemed to find this stage of pregnancy thoroughly adorable. Kathleen, on the other hand, wasn't as enchanted with it as her husband. For her the experience was trying. Being nauseated every morning was starting to get on her nerves. However, at the sight of her sister-in-law, she smiled warmly.
"Hi, Cathy," she greeted brightly.
"Hey, Kathleen…how're you feeling?"
"Pretty…gross. How are things with you and Quatre?" she teased. Cathy blushed.
"Is it that obvious?" she asked.
"Only for Trowa and I. But you might want to tone the staring down."
Cathy's blush deepened as she settled back next to Kathleen. "Oops."
"So…are you in?"
"On what?"
"Trowa and I have this plan to break Quatre and Relena up…"
And Cathy listened in shock as her normally placid sister-in-law explained a devious little plot.
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Author's Notes: Okay, this one's a little bit shorter (sorry!)…but I hope you're enjoying it anyway. The real fun starts when they all act on their little plans. That's coming up really soon, so keep your eyes open for posts! Happy Reading!
*Angel