Notes: For all the strong reactions and the mixed emotions reviews I received for the last chapter, I thank you. *bows* The romantic part is finally here! We're happy about that, I think. ::sigh:: This was difficult to write, but the reviews helped more than anyone will know, and that was the fuel behind this chapter, for sure. Here's hoping that this long chapter was worth the wait. :) Thank you also for the correction (señor vs. señorito). However, the use of señorito and señorita was intentional, and I will be using them for the rest of the story.

More notes at the bottom. One of them is actually pretty important because it regards Lucia's language limbo. (Mark! Thank you for asking, because me thinks it's one of my common "Well, duRr!" moments) So ::poke poke:: mosey on down over there after you're done reading. Please? :)

FINAL WARNING: SARCASM AHEAD BY THE GALLON, POUNDS, ETC.! Proceed at your own discretion. More enjoyable if it is read along with Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On". Did I mention that this was a long chapter?


March 28 Saturday, 6:52 pm

Too soon, the night of the party came. More like, next night soon. I didn't even see Heero for the whole day since I came back to the mansion. Lucia told me that he was trying to finish his work so he can relax at Winner's party. "I let him know you come home, though," she ended, feeling proud of herself as shown by the smile on her face. "He sounded pleased. He told me to say to you that he will come home and then you will go."

"Won't he want to take a nap or something?" I asked, not noticing Lucia's smile turn into a knowing one.

"No, he's ok. Besides, he has pretty woman to keep him awake. If he decides to sleep," her smile turned into a impishly conniving grin, "offer him your lap, of course!"

The way she said that... it was like the most obvious thing in the world to do.  It made my face colour into so many hues of red.

"Isn't he mad?" I asked quietly. I had an inkling that he was still upset about the events of the previous day. Not that I blame him, but the guilt was eating me alive. Slowly and torturously. I have never wanted to say sorry to someone so badly in my life.

Until now.

Words cheapen emotions. Actions enhance and amplify them. If Heero gives me the chance, I will be a good girl tonight.

Lucia's hand patted mine, her warmth seeping through the clammy skin of my hand. "He's hurt. But he's better since you came back. That's all he wanted." Her smile willed strength in me that I couldn't help but feel uplifted.

The dress? Oh, yes, the dress. Lucia was an expert seamstress, but Lucia the seamstress and the deviant Lucia were a dangerous combination. Nevertheless, the dress was beautiful. It was strappy, with a back so low it makes me blush just at the thought of it. Folds of the pink silk gracefully draped over my chest. The dress was meant to bring out curves, but it was so tight that I seriously thought Lucia sewed some modernized form of a corset in it. "Don't breathe from your stomach tonight," Hilde suggested at the expression on my face.

I got the feeling that Lucia had way too much fun with this dress. Suspicions, suspicions...

Hilde brought Duo with her, as she had promised. Words just fail to describe their compatibility with each other because... well... they're just it! They could finish each other's sentences, be so affectionate to one another that they don't even notice themselves doing it... If Hilde never told me their story, I would think they've known each other their whole life.

I was completely at ease with their presence. Since they came, my room was filled with laughter, jokes, and chides. I missed moments like this! Everything was just happy and nice and friendly... It reminded me of the time I was still working at Starbucks, where the team would just gossip, joke around, and exchange stories about unforgettable customers.

Until a certain suggestion was made and I was literally forced to go with it. And for some reason, my suspicion that everything tantalizing and risquè about this dress was intentional just became stronger.

"Maxwell, I will kill you."

It didn't matter which one turned to look at me because I was referring to both. Duo was showing me his mischievous grin, while Hilde donned a sheepish grin. "It will get better," Hilde tried to reason. "It's not all that bad in the beginning."

"Besides," Duo winked, "the husband will like it. That's, of course, if he'll be able to have it by the end of the night."

Just what on earth are we talking about?! I'll put it in simple terms: they forced me to wear a thong. As in the thong with a pathetically small triangle patch of fabric, with three strings connected to each vertex of the triangle. They call this underwear?! It's not, I tell you! I'd rather go to places without wearing undergarments than to wear one such as the kind I'm using! But alas, the things I do for modesty...

"You've gone through worse, Relena!" Hilde pleaded. "Keep it on! Would you seriously show your panty lines for the rest of the night?! That's embarrassing!"

"Yeah, and then you and Mr. Anal will be able to rock the party. As in literally." Duo was snickering when something black, hairy, and made of plastic hit him on the head. "Aw, Hilde!" he distressed, sneezing when his nose couldn't handle the particles of "Shimmering Pearl" powder. "I told you those giant blush-on brush things hurt like a mother-"

Hilde rested her forehead on her left hand, and raised her right hand towards him. "You know, your lewdness is entirely out of place for the moment. Actually, your lewdness is out of place anytime. So unless you want to spend some quality time with your sleeping bag out in the living room tonight, you should say more appropriate things, okay?!" She exhaled. "Relena, seriously. Keep the thong. It's not like you're going to tell the world that you're wearing one. Besides, those wrinkly old ladies that you see on TV? Or in movies?" Her head bobbed up and down knowingly. "It's the thong, baby. It's the thong."

I gasped. "You're kidding." But Hilde shook her head at me. Dammit! How is it possible that old ladies, whose thighs shared huge resemblances to cottage cheese, could even bear the agony of having mere string between their wrinkled buttocks?! I'm only in my twenties and I can't stand the damn things...

The moment I realized that, I gained more respect for such elder women.

Thank God for Hilde and Duo to fill me in with trivia. I was never into the whole "what's in and what's not" type of thing; besides, I was busy! Now, if I really needed to know something that was in that category, I could just ask her. Lucia seems pretty knowledgeable about stuff like that, too. I pulled my skirt down, extremely uncomfortable with my underpants. "You guys owe me big time." God, the urge to just let go and pull that eternal chewy was too great to resist...

I played it cool. When no one was looking, I pulled discreetly. The fleeting comfort gave way to the bothersome sensations once more. Cursed chewy! Curse all chewies! And God bless string bikinis.

"Nope," Duo told me. "You owe us. But seriously, be careful tonight. It's a party for a Forbes Top 100 List member and it's going to be big. The hounds are guaranteed to be there."

His eyes were serious; Hilde's eyes were also serious. I turned around to get my shoes. "So what about reporters?" I muttered. "They're just there for the scoop, right? Check out the party, try the shrimp cocktail, and then '¡Vamonos!' before we know it." They didn't reply. "You mean to tell me that every stereotype I've heard about reporters obsessed with getting their story are true."

"Most tabloid reporters are, anyway. You've got to understand that Heero's big in their world, Relena. They'll sniff out everything that they could on him." Hilde's tone was frank; her expression was hidden from me. While talking, her back was turned to me as she cleaned up a bit. "Some of them became familiar faces. But they got tired of him eventually, because it was like listening to the same song over and over again in different remixes. Girl, dumped; new girl, dumped; new girl again." Her luggage of make-up clicked shut. "The ones at the party might be a little nicer. I mean, Quatre's one of the nicer people in the whole upperclass society thing. Making the nice guy mad is not good for a tabloid." Then she turned and smirked at me. "Heero doesn't do anything about it, though. I guess now that he's got you, maybe you could give him a bit of a backbone. Not that I'm saying he doesn't have one, but with them... he just doesn't bother. The only time I recall that he ever did anything about them was... you know..."

I knew. It was when he told every single tabloid to erase everything they've got on his engagement with Sylvia Noventa. It didn't matter if he did it when he found out daddy died or after we got married. It was a big deal because he just did it.

Duo's next words sent an anvil down my gut. "Funny that we started talking about Sylvia. Isn't she going tonight, also? She didn't take the break-up very well and she's unpredictable as she is creepy."

"Duo!" Hilde sent him a glare before turning to me. "Don't mind him, Relena," she said apologetically. "Heero chose you. And Sylvia's just spoiled, that's all. Bet you anything Heero's value to her is the same as a Louis Vuitton bag."

Wow. What a good way to start the night. Sweat formed at the base of my neck and I reflexively rubbed it off me. "Umm... Can we go downstairs now? Lucia wanted to see me as soon as possible and I have every intention of putting my shoes on down there." They raised their eyebrows at me and I shook my head. "I'm, you can say, gravitationally impaired. The last time I wore these was at my high school prom, during sophomore year."

I descended the stairs somewhat sluggishly, with this paranoia that I will rip my dress if I as much stretch my legs to take the next step. "Duo, thanks for the braid idea," I said as we were going down. "I thought you were talking about cornrows, but these small braids do the trick."

That's when men's cologne assaulted my senses. Nice, fresh, and crisp... I thanked God I didn't keel over.

"Hilde, did Duo put something on before we got out of the room?" I asked. When no one replied, I turned around. Husband and wife had these goofy grins on their faces, their eyes at the bottom of the stairs. "Hilde, I was asking-"

"Aie! You're so lovely!" Lucia squealed. "Come down! Or look down here first! That dress looks nice on you! Oh, I'm so good..."

I propped my hand on my hip and turned around, ready for my comeback statement, when I saw that she wasn't alone at the bottom of the stairs. It was also a reminder why one should never meet a gorgeous man eye to eye because the risk of paralysis was high.

Heero's eyes pulled me down to him. Entranced, I continued to descend, not aware of anything but him. His gaze seemed to caress me, though any emotion was not evident on his face. My body started to tingle and I was reminded of that article I memorized long ago.

Oh my god... Am I falling? But there's no fireworks or music! I guess that's a good sign; at least I know I'm not going insane. Then again, maybe musing and going down the stairs at the same time was a bad idea.

One foot stepped on the hem of my dress and I was falling literally.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn gravity impairment!

"Ack!" I exclaimed, my arms flailing to grab onto anything in an attempt to save my dignity and pride. What they touched instead was a pair of warm shoulders as I limply hung from Heero's arms. I felt the blood rush all around my body, extremely embarrassed.

I peeked over his shoulder, my eyes teary from the sudden rush of blood in my head. Even then, Heero kept his tight hold on me, warm hands on my back. "You're beautiful." His words carried much sincerity and he said it so softly, I thought I was going to melt... I didn't push him away, surprising myself. Instead, I allowed him to hold me as long as he wanted to, as he wished to.

There was a panicked exclamation from Lucia and we let go of each other, though Heero lingered for a moment. "Oh my god! Are you okay?! I saw that, I saw that! Oh, lo siento! I'm sorry for distraction!" Suddenly I was surrounded by her, a laughing Duo, and an annoyed Hilde. I vaguely heard her say something about how insensitive her husband was, but it didn't really matter.

All that mattered was Heero smiling, albeit its small size. And he was smiling because of me.

That's one point, Relena. Hope you can keep him in a good mood for the rest of the night.


7:21 pm

What a lovely, lovely limousine I was riding in at the moment.

Observe how spacious the distance was between Heero and I.

At the moment I entered the limousine, I scooted myself as far away from him as possible, practically gluing myself to the corner of the other side. I sat there, snuggled in my coat while I twiddled my fingers restlessly. I was uncomfortable and I knew it. This was the first time I've ever been alone with him in an enclosed space.

The silence itself was overwhelming and I opted to talk to Pagan, as opposed to the Adonis-like person who was right next to me. What should I talk to Pagan about, though? How about if I ask for gum? Anyone who's driving would be insane to not have gum with them. "Pagan, I was wondering if-"

"Privacy? Of course I wouldn't mind." Before I can protest, the mechanical sounds of the separating window came to life and slid a sheet of dark tinted glass between the side I was in and the side that Pagan was in.

Great! I hate it so much when people just put words in my mouth! There goes the last thing that keeps me from... from... I turned to look at Heero.

Come on, Relena! Talk! But be nice... Your tendency of saying before thinking is very, very high.

"You've been sitting there like a statue," I told him. "Are you concentrating to see if you can turn yourself into one? I can't even hear you breathe."

Being nice just flew out the window.

"It's too quiet..." I murmured. He didn't even say anything, and I think it's because he's starting to get used to my argumentative tendencies. But my reasons were different now. Before, I argued with him because I disliked him. But now, I wanted to fill the silence in the vehicle. Because this silence was triggering images in my head that I was definitely not ready to think about. All of them happened to include that guy I was stuck with in the backseat.

Oh lord... backseat? We all know what happens in the backseat, right?! Pull the coat closer around you, Relena. You will feel safe... nice, warm, CLOTHED, and safe...

Heero turned to look at me, and I had a gut feeling that he noticed the little shiver earlier. "Cold?" he asked. When I shook my head no, he nodded. "I agree with you. It's too quiet. Pagan," Heero called while pressing a button on his side; I heard the elderly man reply. "Turn the radio on and tune in to 104.7."

"Checking on Dr. Maines, sir?" he asked. I assumed that it was the name of the DJ.

"Yes. I'm just doing a follow up."  I looked at him queerly.  Without turning around, and without me asking him, he spoke.  "Just problems with the station."

"Maybe you just approved too much workload for him, sir. Maybe he's starting to get confused between Bach and the BeeGees. He is assigned to two different stations, after all."

Heero's eyes flashed sternly. "I don't care. He asked for it, he said he can handle it, and he better be playing the Beegees, the oldies in this station..."

I leaned against my seat. Music! Music fills the emptiness... Noise fills emptiness. I heard him ask if I didn't mind, and I almost nodded my head too fast. They were playing endorsements, something that I usually hated. Right now, however, the guy making stupid noises sounded like Pavarotti to my ears.

Anything... ANYTHING... To drive the silence away until we get to the function.

"One-oh-four point seeeveeeen, at night," the jingle singers sang. I smiled softly, relief and relaxation washing over me like warm water on a cold day.

Waa waa waa waaauaaaa...

Oh, hell no... Now *that* was a splash of ice-cold water on a cold day.

I've been reeeally tryyyyyin', baaayyb-eh...

Of all the songs... did it have to be Marvin Gaye singing "Let's Get It On"?!?!

Then the most amazing thing happened. Heero, the composed one; Heero, the collected one; Heero, the cool one, bolted right up and pushed the button again. "Pagan, change the station." His words were spoken quickly and mists of sweat dotted across his forehead. "He's all right. My god, he's too all right..."

"What was that about?" There was a double-meaning to my question: one was the timing of the song, and the other was towards his reaction. He shook his head at me, which left my brain to conjure its own crazy theories and conclusions. Then he took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead from the sudden sweat. Beside him, the intercom that linked us to Pagan was still on and more of the music wafted through it.

Oooh, come on, oooohh... Let's get it on... oh baby! Let's get it on... ooh suuugar...

My eyes widened when I realized that Pagan was singing along with it. Beside me, I heard sudden shuffling and when I looked, Heero turned the small intercom off and rubbed his face harshly. "Damn..." I heard him mutter.

I gave him a lingering look before turning my head fully to look at the scenery as we whizzed by. No matter how stupid this thought was right now, I wondered if the song reminded him of Sylvia. Before, the mere thought of her was one I accepted as a fact. But her title and role in Heero's history, for some reason, began to intimidate me, even hurt me somewhat...

The only decent conversation that sprouted between us was when we were close to the hotel. Heero moved closer to me and murmured close to my ear. "When we get there, you have an idea of what to expect, am I right?"

I nodded. "A pretty good idea... Hilde and Duo prepared me somehow."

"Good. You're a new face with me, Relena. They'll be asking questions and if the questions bother you, just keep on saying 'no comment'. Ignoring them may be better." He stopped me when I opened my mouth to retort. "I know that you'll want to say something should you feel offended with one of their questions, but please. I know this territory more than you do; I'll handle it." Then he held my hand and squeezed it.

I didn't fight him. I was too busy thinking of how to present myself when we go out there. It's enough that Heero already has a controversial name in the industry, so he didn't need me to drag him even lower.

After all, I owed him for the stupidity I committed.

Then there was Sylvia. I wondered if she'll be wearing the same perfume that I smelled on Heero that one night. I suspected it was her. She was the last woman, besides me, who had close access to Heero. Well, it was my hypothesis anyway. Unless he had a secretary, or a close female friend. And he did have a lot of female friends... Maybe he invites them over while he's working...

You know little about him, my stupid conscience told me. What are you basing your hypothesis on?

Uhh... Tabloids?

Oh, right. Trash material.

Damn it! I hate it when I'm right.

But who would be crazy enough to visit him at such an ungodly time? And who would be crazy enough to pick a fight with their conscience?! My stomach was lurching already and we're not even at the hotel yet!


8:33 pm

I was still pondering these things when Pagan pulled up and a valet opened the door. I didn't know if Heero looked at me, because I kept my eyes away from him eversince our conversation trailed off. I felt him tug at my hand and when he descended from the limousine, I took one last calming breath... well, as calming as it could get... before following him.

Lights flashed across my eyes like crazy before they came to a sudden standstill. I noticed everyone was gawking at Heero and me, though for what reason, I knew not. Maybe because he had a blonde on his arm and they were used to black or brown. Or maybe it was because I really did know why they were having a staring problem; I just didn't want to think about it. That was just for a brief second, however. After that, they started flashing again, but this time, there were more of the flashes. I just knew there was.

We started our walk on the red carpet and that's when the questions started to come.

"Heero! Over here! Who is your date?!"

"Heero! Is it true that you've eloped with someone?! Is that her?!"

"Ma'am! Are you Mr. Yuy's secret wife?!"

"What do you think Sylvia Noventa's reaction will be? Does she know that you guys are married?"

"Miss Noventa looks gorgeous tonight. Do you think it's an attempt to get you back in her life, sir?"

Ouch. That one hit too close to home. I stayed quiet, looking at them calmly. Some of the reporters asking the more offending questions stopped to look at me. They were silent for one minute and the next, they got busy talking on their mini-recorders. I don't know what they were saying, and I certainly did not care.

I was aware of Heero's reply to one question and one question only. "Yes," he replied, and the way he said it was... different. A good, if not strange, different. "This woman is my wife." More questions were asked, but we were already at the door and hurriedly stepped inside.

"Thank you," I said graciously to the door man. He stopped for a moment and stared incredulously, before he smiled and nodded. "What was that for?" I asked Heero.

"He's just not used to sincerity, that's all." I frowned at his answer, but looked around and realized some of the truth in his answer. The world I was being introduced to was the world of the upperclass and I don't think I like it very much. I found myself constantly wondering if the woman I looked at has a natural nose or a nose job, a natural bust or a boob job, or worse, a natural behind or a butt job.

Then I saw her. Slithering over to us like a purposeful and determined snake.

Sylvia Noventa was as gorgeous and appealing as papers all over the world portrayed her to be, the moment she crossed over to America from her native Paris. Her dress was a slinky number with a dark red color. I *knew* it's a dress, but it looked more like lingerie to me. Her skin was flawless...damn, has she ever had acne issues?! Even her hair was perfect! Her brown coiffure was piled up on her head in a messy bun, but she still looked elegant. She was, in every way, a nostalgic beauty. A woman who looked like she jumped out of a 1960's sitcom, with the mixture of today's epitome of beauty. She could give the highest-paid models a run for their money.

Oh, but if looks could deceive, Sylvia takes the top spot.

I wanted to bow my head, to hide my insecurity. Negative thoughts of my appearance, ones that I've never had before, ran through my head. But, if I bowed, that would be like yielding, wouldn't it? I can't yield! I forced myself to keep my head up, using every bit of those aristocratic features that Hilde said I had.

After the tabloids released pictures, Lucia later told me that my glare kicked Sylvia's butt with her trademark wink and playful nudge. Most ended up dedicating a long section of just photos of the "showdown", headlined as "Round 1: the Model Vs. the Lucky Woman". Wonder if anyone ran a betting pool that night...

Sylvia reached Heero and kissed him on both cheeks. His grip on my hand got tighter, but I didn't respond in the same fashion. "Good evening," she greeted. Her voice was husky and seductive, with almost no trace of an accent in her English. "I thought you were going to skip this event."

"Quatre is a close friend," Heero told her in a monotone.

She nodded thoughtfully and turned to look at me. I looked at her defiantly, challenging her to say something even remotely offensive. "I suppose you're the source of the whispers floating around tonight, hm?" I didn't say anything. "Have you swallowed your tongue or something?"

"No," I replied evenly. "Thank you for your concern for my tongue. I think you should be concerned about yours; it seems to be wagging a bit."

I bit the inside of my cheek to contain laughter when Sylvia stiffened visibly. She continued her critical perusal of me and her eyes twinkled. "Your dress is very... nice," she commented, though I felt that it was the start of an insult. "I've never seen it before. I mean, I've been to Ralph Lauren, Versace, and Vera Wang, but none of them had something that looked like yours. Did you buy it from Macy's? Or maybe... that one old woman... Lucia? Yes, her. I know she can sew. Did she make it for you?"

Heero's hand squeezed tighter. I gently tugged my hand out of his strong grip and tapped my chin, pretending to be in deep thought. "Actually, it doesn't really matter where my dress came from." I gave her a tight-lipped smile. "People can tell it's a dress. I mean, why would I spend thousands of dollars on something that looks like sleepwear?"

Oh yeah... I've had a lifetime's worth of practice on sarcasm and snapbacks, chicken legs. Don't mess with me!

Sylvia smiled again, her perfect teeth bared like fangs. "Are you implying something?"

It was when noticed something that gave me the upperhand in this little argument. My lips twitched and I forced myself to refrain from smiling, lest I ruin it for myself. Oh, what fun, what fun...

I raised my eyebrow and shook my head. "No. It wasn't an implication of any sort, and I apologize..." Well, not really. The apology was given because I wanted to make a good impression for Heero's sake. But, no, dear Sylvia: that wasn't an insult; however, the one coming up is. "By the way, is that a lipstick stain on your tooth, Miss Noventa?" I asked in a loud voice. "I think you may want to use the ladies' room to check it out. You know, before you embarrass yourself." No sooner than the second statement came out of my mouth, cameras started clicking and I can hear the photographers' zoom lenses zooming like crazy. A swarm of people surrounded Sylvia. Those were probably her assistants, the poor humans...

It was a disadvantage to have all those people surround her because I wasn't able to savor the expression on her face. But I used it to my advantage to slip away from Heero's sight so I could get some time to myself. Calm as I seemed to be, I was seething. I didn't mind so much that Sylvia disapproved of me; she's not my mother, for one thing. The fact that made me livid was that she had no respect for Lucia. Not one ounce of respect.

How could Heero have dated someone like that?

I groaned and gritted my teeth in anger, storming towards some random open door. When anger slightly ebbed from my vision, I realized that this was the hotel's main balcony. The full moon shined brightly and made those that reflected its rays shimmer. Among them were droplets of water from the fountain in the garden, which the balcony overlooked. I took deep, calming breaths. As expected, these breaths were not that different from the ones I took in the limousine; they were not even remotely calming.

Then I noticed another person was on the balcony with me, leaning against a baluster and looking up at the moon. This lady looked like she came out of a fairytale, with her Cinderella-like silver gown and pale skin... She reflected the moon's light. This silvery ghost-like figure turned to look at me and I nodded towards her. "Hello," I greeted.

"Hello." The lady made her way towards me until we looked at each other eye to eye. She smirked, showing her approval through her eyes. "I was on my way here when I heard you arguing with the model. Relena, yes?"

I didn't reply. I was too shocked because someone from this party knew my name. I also noticed a distinct French accent in her English, and I tried to associate this with people I know who had accents. It was futile, I know. I mean, if I knew the person, she wouldn't have to ask my name, right? Unless, of course, she's one of those creatures that met me and Heero at the entrance...

Her intuition must have picked up my distress. "Don't worry, I'm not a journalist or 'hound', as we've come to call them." She smiled and raised some material from her puffy skirt. "I don't think I'm dressed for the occupation, anyway."

"How do you know my name?" I asked carefully.

She smoothed the front of her dress over and at the back. "I'm one of Heero's few friends." Before I could say something else, she moved in and kissed me on both cheeks. "My name is Dorothy Catalonia. Thank you for coming in Heero's life."

Oh my god... Dorothy Catalonia, one of the leading biologists and environmentalists in the world, introduced herself to me and thanked me! Why... I did a paper on her for one of my science classes during freshman year in college! I told her so and she laughed.

I lost track of time as we talked. She was truly fascinating, passionate about her work, her beliefs. I told her that it was her work that made me more appreciative of science, while she told me that it was because of her coastal homeland in France that she fell in love with marine biology. Our talk eventually left science and gave way to other matters. "How are things with Heero? The last time I saw him was at his late meeting. I wanted to say hi and talk to him before the party." She gave me a teasing smirk. "You should accompany Heero to work more often. I thought he wouldn't be such a workaholic anymore now that he's married... Besides, I don't think he'd mind the distraction."

I frowned. The last time Heero had a late meeting, it was the night when I knocked him out cold. I inhaled deeply and let the air out as a sigh, catching the scent that I was expecting to find on Noventa.

I felt like I was slapped across my face.

It was here where I realized I could react in two ways: I could jump to the conclusion that Heero was playing a game behind my back, or I could take her word as it was. That they were friends as she claimed them to be.

But then again... Something else got Dorothy's attention and I took the chance to scrutinize her. She's very intelligent, independent, strong-willed... that much I gathered about her by doing that paper and meeting her tonight. Geez, I'm starting to sound like a jealous and possessive wife. "Oh. I see," was all I said to her suggestion.

Wait. Holy mackerel, I said the word "jealous"! I finally see the light! I am jealous and possessive! I wanted to laugh outloud because everything I've done and all the things I pushed away served to lead me to this moment.

"Mademoiselle? C'est l'heure."

With surprise on both of our parts, we turned and saw a man standing outside the balcony's entrance. I watched as she stared at him for a long moment, her hand reflexively reaching for the pendant on her necklace. Funny, I didn't notice that earlier... Dorothy seemed pensive, reflecting on her thoughts as all three of us stood there. "C'est l'heure," she repeated slowly. "It's time... I suppose it is..." She nodded towards the man and bid him a soft thank you, before turning to me. "We sit in the same table," she said, smiling. "I wanted a chance to talk to you and I didn't anticipate we would meet in here. Now that I think about it, I doubt we would have had the chance to talk at all at our table."

Absently, I nodded, distracted and confused with all the things running through my head. I stopped walking with her presently, and waited until Dorothy noticed my absence. "When you thanked me for coming into Heero's life," I started slowly, "what was the meaning of that?"

She smiled again; this time, mysteriously. "Sylvia was nothing. When you resisted Heero, you became everything. He's a good man. A man who's deserving of happiness. You're very lucky, but the question is," she looked directly at me, "is he lucky with you?"

That provoked thinking. Is he lucky with me? The lingering scent of her perfume reminded me of the night I thought he fooled around. I doubted him, and I realized that the doubt was rooted from the fact that he had been a playboy. Dating around, the tabloids keeping a diary on his numerous endeavors, sometimes in detail... how could he be trusted? How could any player be trusted?

How hypocritical of me. Earlier, I told myself that tabloids are trash. And there I was, believing their word instead of getting to know him better. Then, the guilt... The most powerful emotion next to love.

This also meant I should trust that Dorothy was just a friend. A concerned friend who visited Heero when he worked late and went home even later...before I bashed him on the head, when I thought he was an intruder. I was supposed to be the one who checked on him because, simply put, I was the wife. But I wasn't there.

Like I said, some things will be changed tonight. I just don't know how much more of these truths will I realize. Nor was I sure I'm ready for them.

+++++++++--------++++++++++

The longest "notes" section I've ever written:

Mark ~ Don't kill me! ;_; I'm sooo sorry and I will now state that I was born with the procrastinator gene. It's a random act of nature, I swear... I'll try to explain the itty bitty foreign language tidbits. Señorito (masculine) and señorita (feminine) are titles for people as an acknowledgment of their higher status (or since they're rich people, housemaids use those titles to call their bosses that). Kind of like, "sir", "ma'am", "madame", "lady", to name a few examples. In Spanish, I'm thinking that señor and señora are the equivalent? Hmm... Gotta research that. Anyway, señorito and señorita come from a different language and I decided to use them instead. The rest of Lucia's vocabulary/phrases are Spanish, save for those two. The meanings for those phrases are embedded in the sentences they're in.

MCSHELL@aol ~ Man oh man oh man... The e-mail you sent me was on the day I had to study for an honors class final. Then summer school started picking up and all I've managed to do was read your e-mail! I'm sorry. ::hands over the WhackaWeed 5000:: Feel free to use it appropriately. You know whacking this person will make everyone feel better for the long periods of waiting... If they're still waiting. O.O

Boss: I owe you one. BIG TIME. Thank you for rambling with me. Hope I get to talk to you soon!!!

Tifa: Yeah, yeah, you're special, see? Believe it or not, folks I see her every morning for summer school, constantly reminds me to "Update, damn you!" and is the representative of the frustrated readers. She nags, she cries when she reads an unfinished chapter, and she's a great friend. Thank you, ading! Hope you're drawing my picture w/ your Copic Marker! And when are we going to stalk 'the Hood'?! LoL! Have his girlfriend chase us away with her sushi roll... LOL!