Clueless
Hey everyone. Help you all... I'm back with another fic. Now here comes the bit that I don't want to say, but unless I want to get sued, I have to.
Disclaimer: No, I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters and if any of you think otherwise, then you need help. Seriously.
Warnings: Quatre and Dorothy romance fic. If you have a problem with that, then simply don't read. This is set a little after the Libra incident, and before Endless Waltz, which unfortunately, I haven't seen… * sob *. Also, I'm dedicating this to Figgy, as I am a Figgy-worshipper *^_^* Hope you like this Figs! Sweet story, but sappy. Seems like I have a thing for sappiness. Uh oh.
Character's thoughts in 'text', speech in "text".
~~*~~
The moon shone down on the lone figure sitting on the beach, her pale blond hair swishing gently, framing the elegant features of her face. She had sat there for quite a while, watching the sun sink below the horizon, radiating a fiery, orange-red glow before setting completely.
This was her favourite place, where she could just reflect on the day's events and think things over. It was at this time every single day when she was truly at peace with herself. Peace. She had once despised that word with a deep loathing that even she couldn't comprehend. But now… the wars had ended, at least for now. There was nothing left for her.
In the past, she had helped her grandfather, Duke Dermail, for what? What was her purpose in life? She sighed slightly as she continued to reflect on her life. She was only sixteen, yet already seen many things that a lot of older adults hadn't.
She decided not to dwell on it that much, and slipped her sandals off to dip her feet in the sea. As the cool water lapped gently over her feet, she felt a wave of calm wash over her and she gazed up into the sky at the moon and stars. 'What now?' She asked herself.
~~*~~
"Stop here Rashid," Quatre Raberba Winner said to his loyal servant and friend. They were heading back to his mansion after a business meeting.
"Master?" enquired the kind giant.
"I've got a strange feeling… it's just… oh never mind, perhaps I'm just tired," Quatre shrugged the feeling off as they drove past the beach.
Rashid looked worriedly at the young Gundam pilot. The angelic blond boy looked exhausted and overworked, his hair slightly dishevelled and his eyes dull. It wasn't easy, trying to maintain peace and managing a huge business corporation at the same time. 'He could really do with a vacation', thought the Maguanac.
Once they had reached the Winner mansion, the young heir started in the direction to his office, but was stopped abruptly by Rashid. "Master, excuse my rudeness, but I really think that you should rest tonight and get some sleep."
"But… I…" Quatre replied weakly as the gigantic man steered him towards the staircase. Rashid winked at the surprised boy.
"Don't you worry yourself, Master Quatre," he boomed. "I'll arrange for someone to take care of things for you."
"Thank you Rashid," Quatre smiled warmly at his friend before making his way up the staircase that led to his room. "And please, just call me Quatre."
As he lay in bed, he wondered how the others were getting along in their lives. He knew about Relena of course, he saw her almost every week when he was required to attend a meeting. He even kept in touch sometimes with Trowa and Duo. But what of the others? Heero had just disappeared after the Libra incident, and he had no idea where he was. As for Wufei, well, he never really talked to the young Chinese pilot anyway. As he thought of the incident on Libra, he absently ran his hand along the scar he had across his stomach as a result of Dorothy Catalonia stabbing him. He had forgiven her for that, long ago. He wondered how she was doing now, in this fragile era of peace. How was she coping? 'I hope she's well...' he thought idly as sleep swept over him.
~~*~~
Dorothy was woken the next morning by the gentle rhythm of the waves lapping at the shoreline. She smiled absently. 'What a lovely day... I love the sound of the ocean...' She sat up abruptly and frowned. The ocean? What was she doing at the beach? Then memories of last night flooded her mind. 'Of course… I must have dozed off.' She scolded herself for allowing sleep to overcome her, before picking up her sandals and making her way back to her tiny apartment.
It was strange, living in that dingy apartment block, when she was used to a life of luxury and comfort. It had taken a long time, but finally she got used to it. 'After all', she thought bitterly. 'It's not as if I have much of a choice.'
Although she was now the Head of Romefellar, and the money that she earned from her position would have been more than enough to buy a large mansion, somehow she had sensed the hostility that some people still showed towards her, and she had wisely decided to hide away in a busy city away from the Sanq Kingdom, where she knew many of the other people involved in the wars lived.
She snapped out of her trance-like state when she reached the door to her apartment. She slipped the key into the lock and focused on her plans for the day. 'Let's see... go shopping for new clothes, lunch with a colony representative, press conference at 2:30pm... and a meeting with Miss. Relena.'
She winced slightly at the last thought. She had betrayed Relena in the war, and Relena had forgiven her of course, but she still felt rather awkward whenever they met. 'She may have forgiven, but she hasn't forgotten... not to mention the Gundam pilots.'
It was true that the Gundam boys were still a bit wary of her, and she didn't blame them. Especially since she had stabbed one of their fellow comrades. 'Quatre...' she whispered to herself. She had been thinking of him a lot lately. 'Why do I care about him so much?' she asked herself. She opened the door and flopped down on the couch face down. 'Why?'
~~*~~
The sun rose slowly into the sky, another day began for the young Arab slowly stirring from his sleep. Quatre sat up and stretched lazily. He glanced at his clock and gasped. He was late for his meeting with Mr. Drew, the head representative of Colony L2! He hurriedly dressed into his formal business suit and flew down the stairs to grab his notes on the proposal.
"Good morning Ma… I mean Quatre."
Quatre turned towards the familiar voice. "Oh, good morning Rashid. Have you seen my notes on the L2 proposal by any chance?"
"Why yes Quatre, I do believe that these would be what you are searching for." The Maguanac looked slightly amused as the blond boy snatched the papers away from the giant's hand and rushed outside to the limousine, impatiently tapping his foot and eyeing his watch.
"Rashid! It's time to go!" Quatre sounded desperate now. He had never been late to a meeting before, and he wasn't going to start now.
The kind servant put on a fake shocked expression. "Oh gosh Quatre. No one informed you of the changes?"
"Changes? What changes?!" The blond looked astonished. He looked closely at the Maguanac's eyes sparkling from merriment and was instantly suspicious. "Rashid?"
"Oh dear Quatre. I thought that I had sent someone to notify you. You don't have a meeting today."
"I don't?" Quatre frowned. He was almost positive that there were several meetings scheduled for today.
"No, you don't. In fact, you won't have any for the next two weeks." The man said surprisingly calmly. Little did Quatre know that the giant was already prepared for the explosion to come.
"WHAT?!" yelled the blond Arabian.
Rashid didn't even flinch. Instead, he just looked at his master straight in the eye and stated firmly, "You need a vacation."
The boy blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Now the giant man couldn't keep in his amusement. He roared with laughter, tears flowing down his cheeks. Quatre looked so surprised, the expression on his face was one of pure shock. When he finally managed to control his laughter, Quatre was staring at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation.
"Well, you see Master, all of us Maguanacs have decided that you have been working far too much lately, and we all strongly agree that if there's anyone that deserves a vacation, it's you."
"But… how could you?" The young boy looked flustered. "All those proposals… the Winner Corporation…" He trailed off as he noticed the gleam in Rashid's eye.
"Oh Quatre, all your sisters have agreed to manage the family business, they thought it was only fair to give their little brother a break," explained the servant.
Quatre blushed slightly and sighed in defeat. He knew when he had lost. "Ok. But only for two weeks, do you understand Rashid?" He tried to look stern, although his eyes were evidently shining with relief, like a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Of course Quatre." The older man smiled sympathetically.
"You Maguanacs get more bolder every day!" Quatre teased. "But I don't know where I would be without you."
Rashid grinned. "Don't you worry Quatre. We will always be faithful to you, our saviour."
"Thank you, my friend."
~~*~~
Dorothy was stepping onto the platform to catch her train when she caught a glimpse of blonde hair. 'No... it couldn't be...' She slipped casually into the crowd and blended in perfectly. As she approached the owner of the shining golden hair, she gasped slightly. 'Quatre...'
By some unknown force, she couldn't move. She stood there, rooted to the spot she was in, never shifting her gaze from the angelic boy.
~~*~~
Quatre had decided to spend the first day of his vacation just having what some people would call a 'normal' day. He wanted to go and shop for things on his own, without other people having to do so for him. He had also refused Rashid's kind offer to take him in the limousine; he wanted to travel like other teenagers did, not attract unwanted attention being chauffeured around in some swanky limousine. Basically, Quatre just wanted to see what it was like to be 'average'. 'I was born into a rich family... what is it like to just be 'normal'?'
Right now the kind-hearted boy was at the train station, waiting for his train. He was thinking of where to visit next, and was mentally running through a list of possibilities so he could go sightseeing, relax or visit friends. 'I wonder if the others will be happy to see me again... it's been quite a while since I last contacted them... Dorothy.' He jerked slightly with surprise. 'Why did I just think of her? I haven't seen or heard from her since the Libra incident... I do consider her as a friend... don't I? Or is it something more?'
"I did -not- just think that," he murmured to himself.
Suddenly, he sensed someone watching him. He tensed and prepared to face the person.
~~*~~
Dorothy smirked as she saw him tense. Naturally, it seemed that his Gundam pilot senses were still as sharp as ever. 'Looks like he's still got it...' She noticed that he was getting ready to turn and face her, so she decided to make the first move.
"Why hello Mr. Winner, what a coincidence," she purred, her voice as smooth as silk.
Quatre froze. He'd know that voice anywhere. He spun around to come face to face with Dorothy Catalonia. She was wearing an elegant peach sundress, which accentuated her slender figure and a white, wide-brimmed hat. She looked casual, yet regal at the same time. 'She's beautiful...' he thought. 'What?! Where did that thought come from??'
Dorothy gazed at the boy. She noticed that he had grown a few inches or so taller than her and his face had become more masculine, although he still had that same aura of boyish innocence surrounding him, and the same angelic features. 'I could drown in those eyes...' she thought dazedly, as she gazed into the deep pools of turquoise... 'Huh?! Did I just think that??'
Quatre's gentle voice brought her back to the present. "Good day Ms. Catalonia, it's a pleasure to meet you again."
He extended his hand, which Dorothy accepted. "Oh no Mr. Winner! The pleasure's all mine." She said softly with a genuine smile.
~~*~~
Well, I was planning to write this fic as a one-page thing, with no following chapters. But it seems that I sort of got carried away and added more details than I was actually intending to. * Smacks herself * So I guess that I'll have to write the next chapter… and the next… and the next. He he… I can't help it! It's too hard not to add lots of detail! Damn all the inspiration inside my head!! Inspiration… hmm… Muse… HEEEEERO!!!
Heero: * in monotone * Yes?
Me: Have you been messing with my head?
Heero: No.
Me: Really?
Heero: Yes.
Me: * pause * DUUUUO!!!
Duo: What?!
Me: Stop putting all these ideas into my head!!!
Duo: Who me?
Me: -_-
Duo: But… but Crys! I'm only doing you a favour! You should be thanking me!
Me: * raises an eyebrow * A favor?
Duo: Yes!!
Me: What favor?
Duo: I'm being your Muse!
Me: Duo… I have a Muse…
Duo: Yeah, yeah, Heero, I know. But he's not doing his job.
Me: Hey… you have a point. He's never really offered any inspiration…
Heero: * death glare *
Duo: Exactly.
Me: Duo… you could be on to something there…
Duo: So… do I get his job? Huh? Huh?
Me: Hmm… * thinks for a moment * No.