With out another word he left some money for the bill and took her outside. He'd spotted a park a little down the street and herded her in that direction. They got as far as the fountain before she plopped down head bowed down breathing heavily. Feeling a little awkward, he slid down beside her and tried to pat her shoulder. She was about to have a meltdown and it was partly his fault. He felt the strong impulse to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight.

"It's alright," he said quietly "just about everyone reacts that way when they think of brain augments. I apologize for Duo; he's still new at this." Although Trowa was sure he'd felt the echo of Quatre in the conversation he was thankful that the man had the sense not to speak.

"It's not that. Well, it's partly that. I'm just revolted that members of my own profession could do something like this. And I can't stop thinking about those poor children."

"Children?"

She gave him an indignant look. "Of course the children! It's unlikely that there were only six test subjects that we know of. How many died? Or were terminated? There could have been dozens!"

Trowa gaped at her again. That was the second time today she did something that caught him by surprise. Of all the things she'd experienced today her first thoughts were about a bunch of kids she never knew. Everyone else floundered on what the two women were and could do.

"Perhaps I should take you home. You've experienced a lot tonight. I think maybe you need a break."  He helped her up and they began walking. She directed him to an apartment complex a few blocks away. On the way there, they stopped at an ice cream vendor.

Aside from the odd purpose of their meeting, Trowa kept going over in his mind about he felt more at ease than he probably would have if he'd actually got around to asking her on a real date. Again the impulse to hold her hand or stroke her hair or something came over him.

"So where were you planning on staying tonight? Seeing as you were supposed to leave on tonight's shuttle." She asked him. She was staring into her mint chocolate chip cone blushing.

"I'll stay at a hotel. I don't suppose you could recommend one?"

"Well… there are several good ones… but… you could stay with me if you'd like." She wouldn't look at him when she said it and her face was red as a beet. Cute. "I mean I don't normally offer a room to virtual strangers, but it would give us some more time to talk?"

Surprise number three. Again she went in a direction that he wasn't expecting. He should say no. There was no way his hormones were going to leave him alone if he spent the night in the same apartment with an attractive woman who'd been subtly flirting with him during dinner. She'd been through a lot today and she was still looking a little wild around the eyes.

"I shouldn't. Like you said we're still practically strangers..."

Soren stopped and turned to him "Can I get you to hold this a moment please?" she asked passing him her ice cream.

A little flustered at being interrupted he took the cone and was about to continue when she slid her hands up to cup his face and pull him down to kiss her.

His mind stopped functioning after that. He'd never pegged her for being so bold. From the instant of contact the only sensation he was aware of was the sweet caressing of her lips on his. The gentle probing flick of her tongue was met with his own. He was just at the point where he was going to toss the cones and get into some real kissing when she pulled back.

With a mischievous glint in her eye, she very deliberately reached over and took his cone of raspberry sorbet and started to eat it. She winked at him and started walking.

"W…whu…why did you do that?" finally finding his voice.

Playing dumb, "Yours tastes better."

"I meant kiss me." His brain was coming back on line now that blood flow was gradually being restored to it.

"Now we're not quite strangers anymore." She said simply "Mmm… you know your cone really does taste better. Now you were saying?"

Well that did it. From now on he was just going to give up trying to anticipate where her mind was going because it was painfully obvious it was never going to be where he expected it. Her mind was like a butterfly. It just seemed to flit from impulse to impulse. A man could go mad trying to track her thoughts and anticipate it. Perhaps it was her spontaneity that drew him to her. He made up his mind to not fight temptation too much.

"I was going to say 'I shouldn't but I'm enjoying your company too much to leave' but your idea worked too." He answered and their awkward flirting continued all the way to her apartment.

*********

"What's with all the clocks?" he was a little surprised when he entered the apartment. There were timekeeping devices everywhere. Digital, analog, gaudy, whimsical, and ordinary clocks were the main décor of her place. Here he thought her waiting room was vibrant. Her apartment outshone that to the nth degree.

"That's my family's sense of humor. I've been known to be late on a few occasions and now every birthday or Christmas they give me clocks as gifts." Although her face was supposed to be sour, there was softness to it as well. Trowa could clearly tell what her family meant to her.  He knew from his research that they all survived the war. She had two sisters and a brother. He'd never trade Catherine for anything, but sometimes he felt he'd missed something growing up as he did.

"So what do you normally do when your not fraternizing with brain augments?" She asked.

"Psionics. They prefer to be called psionic. Normally I'm an aspiring veterinarian. I was supposed to be going for my certification in a couple of weeks before I got sidetracked by this." [1]

Sidetracked indeed. He'd been looking forward to telling his friends about the end of his school career and the beginning of his chosen vocation. It was more special to him because he been at it for so long. When he decided to go back to school he chose to not accept special adult student status. He didn't want to take any short cuts. Instead Trowa went back to school and took all the education he'd missed out on in his youth. Catherine called him crazy for doing things the hard way, but she still sent him little gifts with each stage of education he conquered.

"You're going to miss your certification because of this? Are you sure you want to do that?" she asked concern evident in her expression.

"It's alright. There's another opportunity for me to take it in a two months. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time the fate of others interfered with my own plans." He said quietly. As long as he lived he would never be proud of being a killer, but on the same thought he was proud of being a gundam pilot and thankful all that it brought to him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's late we should get some sleep." He didn't bother hiding his desire to change the subject. Besides the sooner he got to bed the less likely he would do something really stupid. Like make a pass at his hostess.

Shooting him an annoyed look "Alright I'll let it drop for now, but I warn you sooner or later I'll find out. I have ways of getting what I want. C'mon the spare room is this way."

[1] Okay I'll be honest about this; I really don't know what it takes to become a veterinarian and I only made a lame attempt to find out. What can I say? I'm a busy woman and I'd rather be writing than searching through a zillion spots on the net to find out.