Chapter Three
"Sorry I'm late…Got caught up in the traffic…" said Dorothy as she entered one of the new trendy cafes that had recently opened in this sector of the colony.
"That's ok…just been here a few minutes myself…" replied Trowa starting to get up.
"Oh no, no…sit back down. I've had enough chivalry in my life to last me a lifetime…" said the platinum blond girl sitting down herself.
"Sorry…" said Trowa a bit embarrassed. This girl always confused him. In any case, Trowa decided to go straight to the point and, after Dorothy had asked for a café latte, he said:
"Well, so, where should we start…".
At the same time, a blond guy stood on the opposite side of the road looking at the two engaged in what it seemed a very intense conversation.
'I knew it…I have fully blown it this time…but, from all people…why him?' the man thought.
Making an effort, Quatre Raberba Winner started walking to get as far away as possible from that place.
He promptly found Rashid waiting for him next to the limo that had been rented for their stay in this colony. Officially, Quatre was there to attend a trade conference. Unofficially, he had known that Dorothy would have been there so he decided to see what she was up to.
Now that he knew he felt like flying to Saturn and never come back. It was his own fault for raising his hopes. 'Get real…why a girl like her would pick a guy like you?' Quatre kept torturing himself.
All of this had started right after Lucrezia and Milliardo's wedding. When Dorothy had hosted them in her residence. After a quick chat, since they were tired, they all went to bed. Even so, Quatre had found it rather difficult to fall asleep so he had decided to take a quick stroll around the garden.
There he found Dorothy sitting on a stone bench. He was quite surprised to find her there but he did not complain. This might have been the chance he was waiting for.
He asked for her permission to sit by her side and she had accepted. They started chatting about trivial things till both decided it was cold and they went inside. There Dorothy offered him a drink and he asked for a tea. Dorothy had a glass of wine and another, and another. Soon enough she was way beyond tipsy so Quatre took her to her room. As he was putting her in bed, Dorothy reached for Quatre's face and forced him to kiss her. Well, at the beginning she was forcing him, after a few seconds Quatre started kissing her back. Had it not been for Quatre's strong sense of honour, they would have ended up making love, but, Quatre stopped them from doing anything 'stupid' because she was drunk and he felt she was in no condition to know what she really wanted. Quatre tucked her in bed and, wishing her good night, quietly left the room.
After that night, Quatre felt incredibly embarrassed. He had been very adventurous with the moonlight but, with the cold morning light coming through his window, he decided that he had done a very wrong thing and he did not know how to fix it.
He left the room thinking what to do when he found Trowa and Dorothy having breakfast. Quatre did not know what to say so he chose to keep quiet and to leave everything unsaid till after breakfast. Then he had got a videocall from Rashid. The man was asking Quatre to go back to L4 urgently. There had been an accident in one of the mineral satellites and Quatre needed to get back a.s.a.p. Apologising for the inconvenient and thanking for the hospitality, Quatre left Trowa and Dorothy alone.
Then, things had just gone crazy with his business and his role as colony representative and Quatre had not seen Dorothy again till Duo's wedding. He got there to find Dorothy with another gentleman escorting her.
Quatre felt devastated but still said nothing. Then, during Heero's wedding, Quatre had tried to approach Dorothy again. He still remembered their conversation:
"Hello Dorothy…how are you?".
"I'm very well, thank you…" replied the girl politely.
"Ah…I see…I was meaning to call you…" started Quatre.
"And I was going to hold my breath…" replied Dorothy sarcastically.
"Dorothy?" asked a shocked Quatre thinking that surely she had not meant that.
"Quatre, look, I don't have time now…Sorry, I think that Relena needs me now…Excuse me…" said Dorothy leaving a startled Quatre.
Quatre did not understand why Dorothy was so upset with him. He did not understand anything anymore. Rashid was right, women were difficult creatures. Better off without them…'Who are you trying to fool?' Quatre scolded himself. He had admitted a long time ago that he held very dear feelings towards the long haired, blond girl.
He tried to speak to her a few times during the wedding but, somehow, she had managed to avoid him during the entire do, mainly by talking to or dancing with his best friend, Trowa.
Now, after he had seen the two of them in the café, it had come all clear. Trowa and Dorothy were together. And there was nothing he could do about it.
Quatre tried very hard not to look as upset as he felt. He did not want Rashid doing a full interrogation. Although Quatre was grateful for all Rashid did for him, sometimes the older man was a bit overprotective and Quatre felt suffocated by him.
The blond Arabian arrived to the conference building and, making an effort, tried to concentrate in his business.
After a few hours, Quatre left the conference building to find the last person he would have wanted to see, standing by his car in the parking lot, obviously waiting for him: Trowa Barton.
"Hi there…" said Trowa seeing the blond man.
"What do you want?" asked Quatre directly forgetting all about manners.
"Hey man…what's wrong?" asked a very surprised Trowa.
"It's funny you, from all people, ask me that…you should know what is wrong…" replied Quatre trying, and failing, to control his anger.
"Where are you going?" asked Trowa seeing that his friend was about to leave.
"Well, I'm sorry but, unlike you, I don't have time to play around…" replied Quatre cynically.
"Quatre…" started saying Trowa grabbing one of the Arabian man's arms.
Quatre turned around freed himself and, without thinking twice lifted his fist and connected it with the left side of Trowa's face almost sending him to the ground. Shocking Rashid, the limo driver and, chiefly, Trowa in the process.
Thankfully Trowa's balance was really good so he did not fall. He touched the side that had received the punch and looked at Quatre bewildered.
"Quatre, since I am your friend, I will skip this and I will allow you the benefit of explaining to me why you've hit me…" said Trowa with his calmest voice. Quatre saw that Trowa was making a tremendous effort not to hit him back.
"My friend? You're no friend of mine! Friends do not steal girls from one another!" shouted Quatre.
"What? What the hell are you talking about?" said Trowa even more confused.
"Dorothy, I'm talking about Dorothy…man, you know I love her…why did you have to get in the way…" replied Quatre still shouting.
"What? Dorothy? Man, you're not making any sense…" said Trowa still not understanding anything.
"I've seen you…today, in the café, you were talking and she was holding your hand…and during Heero's wedding you two spent the whole time together…" explained Quatre.
"Ah! I see…you're fucking nuts you know that? Dorothy is helping me. I asked her for help during Heero's wedding. I'm looking for someone, and I asked her if she would give me a hand…" said Trowa.
"What? Why didn't you ask me for help?" asked Quatre now being his turn to get confused.
"Because it was a very private thing and I felt embarrassed about it…" admitted Trowa.
"Why is that? Nothing you could do would be embarrassing…I would have understood…" said Quatre.
"Well, allow me to have some doubts about it. At the end of the day it's not me that has jumped into stupid conclusions without even checking…Quatre, really, I thought it was more Heero's style, you know, hit first, ask later…" said Trowa touching his face again, it was getting swollen and it would have a nasty bruise soon.
"I'm sorry…is just that I love her so much but I think I've fucked everything up with her. I don't know what to do…and then when I've seen you two in the café…I just did not see anything clear anymore…" tried to apologise Quatre now looking very worried.
Trowa almost laughed. This man was unbelievable, he could be the kindest man on ESUN but, if you pissed him off, man, you just had to run as fast as you could…he could be scarier than Heero.
"Well, why don't you try talking to her. I think you would have a nice surprise if you do…" said Trowa almost smiling.
"Do you think so? Really? Is just that I don't know what to say…" said Quatre.
"Well, you just have to say four simple words. Try with 'Dorothy, I love you'. Those tend to do the trick…" said Trowa sounding convinced.
"I don't know… I will try anyway…" said Quatre feeling slightly better.
"Ok. You'll do that…in any case, I was coming to see you because I've been trying to call you but your assistant told me that you were here in L3…Just wanted to spend sometime with you taking the chance you were here but…I think you better go to the Excelsior hotel…you have some business there…say room 404…"said Trowa starting to leave.
"Trowa…Thank you…" said Quatre.
"You're welcome…in any case I expect to be at least your best man…after this punch you will have to be real good to me if you expect me to forgive you…" said Trowa while walking out the parking lot.
Quatre was so ashamed that he hardly could look at Rashid in the eye. His behaviour with Trowa had been abominable. He still could not believe that he had hit Trowa. He was definitely nuts.
In any case, Quatre asked the driver to take him to the Excelsior hotel. Once there, he asked the receptionist, a nice good looking girl with this huge smile, to call room 404 for him.
The girl passed the receiver to him once the guest in room 404 had answered the phone.
"Dorothy? Is Quatre here…Trowa told me I would find you here. Would you mind to come downstairs for a minute…I have something to tell you…" said Quatre really nervous.
"Why…Quatre…sure. I'll be down in a minute…" replied Dorothy obviously surprised.
Quatre waited in the lobby for a few minutes. Then one of the elevator's doors opened and Dorothy stepped out of it. She was so beautiful…Quatre felt like running away…He was never going to be brave enough as to carry on with Trowa's suggestion.
"Hello Quatre. How are you?" asked Dorothy smiling gently.
"I'm fine thank you. How about you?" replied Quatre.
"What is it that you need to tell me?" asked Dorothy not wanting to hear all those pleasantries.
"Wait, not here…come with me…please" said Quatre taking one of her hands and leading her to the half deserted bar.
"I cannot find any other, more suitable way to tell you this, so I will say it the simplest way: Dorothy, I love you and I don't want to see you with any other man but me. If you will have me, that is…" said Quatre in one single sentence and not leaving himself time to think twice.
Dorothy just stood there not saying anything. Quatre began to think that he had made a huge mistake when he saw Dorothy's mouth curving in a big smile. It was really strange because her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears.
"I was about to give up on you, you know?" said Dorothy.
"Why?" asked Quatre.
"Because I thought you ignored me purposely. I have tried every trick in the book but everything failed…after that night in my house, when we kissed, I hoped we would sleep together but you left me there all by myself, then during breakfast you just ignored me totally, then you had to leave and I did not hear from you till I saw you during Hilde's wedding. I even brought a distant cousin of mine thinking that it would have made you jealous and you would have reacted…then during Relena's wedding, when you approached me, I tried to be cold and distant to see if you did something about it but that did not work either…Thank goodness Trowa was there, otherwise I would have got drunk and I would have made a fool of myself…" explained Dorothy.
"We've been running from each other, haven't we?" said Quatre smiling sadly.
"It seems that way to me…" replied Dorothy.
Then Quatre took a couple of steps towards Dorothy, then, taking her face with his two hands, kissed her. She kissed him back. The few people in the bar stared at them with unhidden interest. The young couple could not care less.
After a while, they stopped kissing and Quatre asked her:
"Dorothy, earlier on Trowa told me you are helping him to find someone. Who are you trying to find?".
"I don't know for sure who she is but, her name is Midii Une…" replied the girl.
END OF CHAPTER THREE