"Are you excited for the show?" Quatre asked the table as he, Duo, Relena and Dorothy sat together at dinner.

Duo smiled. "I am. I've seen this one before and it's wonderful. You guys are in for a treat."

"Tell us about it," Relena enthused next to him, squeezing the hand she held under the table.

"Absolutely not! It's better if you don't know what to expect." On a whim he lifted their hands and gave hers a kiss. She blushed faintly and he smiled to himself. She blushed so easily and he loved watching her do it. She was always beautiful, but he especially loved the way she looked when her cheeks flushed like that.

"You two sure are enjoying yourselves," Dorothy said pointedly. Duo and Relena released each other's hands in the same moment and this time it was Duo's cheeks that heated. "Don't stop on my account," she continued. "I'm glad to see you're having fun even when the parents aren't looking."

"Errr… right," Relena replied, nervous, then dropped Duo's hand. He wanted to growl at Dorothy for her interference, but restrained himself.

The food arrived and everyone dug in, much to Duo's relief. Quatre was giving him a Look again and he anticipated another talk in his future concerning his intentions toward Relena. What exactly could he say to him? I can't be leading her on because I love her? Quatre would go right to Relena with the information, which was the last thing Duo wanted. Things between them were going so well, really. He didn't want to burst the bubble and scare her off.

Conversation started again after a brief silence, Dorothy and Quatre apparently letting go of the topic. They talked about Quatre's work on his MBA, Relena's Political Science thesis, and Dorothy's work as a professional lifestyle coach, of all things. Personally, Duo found Dorothy to be rather intimidating. He couldn't imagine many clients having the guts to do anything except exactly what Dorothy told them to do. He wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to, if he were honest with himself.

After their plates were cleared, they declined the server's offer of dessert. There wasn't time if they wanted to get to the show.

They walked together toward the large room where the performance would be, and Duo couldn't help but smile when Relena took his hand in hers. They were meeting her parents there, so likely that was the reason, but he squeezed her hand anyway and gave her a wink. She smiled back, a sight that never failed to warm his heart.

They found her parents already sitting in their assigned seats. "Good evening Maggie, Richard," he greeted, still feeling a bit strange about calling them by their first names. Especially the Vice Foreign Minister. Probably it had to do with the fact that this wasn't a permanent relationship. Relena was only his wife on paper, so they were his in-laws only by technicality. He yearned for there to be a deeper connection, for the marriage to become real, but he wasn't about to get too close to people he knew wouldn't be a part of his life for too long. He was already in too deep with Relena. He didn't need to add her parents on top of that.

Dorothy ended up sitting between Relena and her parents, with Duo next to Relena and Quatre on his other side. Before long, the lights dimmed and the audience hushed.

"Welcome all!" came a booming voice that sounded a lot like a movie trailer announcer. "Behold, the amazing sibling duo, Blooming Delights!"

Music started playing as the curtains rose, a lilting and beautiful melody in a minor key. The melody featured a flute, and Duo wondered whether Trowa had played for the recording. Two sets of silks slowly dropped from from the ceiling, both periwinkle blue in the dim light on the stage. As the ends lowered to the floor, a loop hanging between them appeared near the ceiling.

Trowa and Catherine entered from opposite sides of the stage, moving sinuously to the music as they approached each other. They each stopped before one set of silks, hands reaching toward each other but not quite touching. Then Catherine backed away, giving space for Trowa to grab both silks and begin pulling himself up.

When he reached the loop at the top, he lifted himself in it, hanging upside down from his hips. Catherine walked to one of the hanging silks, taking it in hand and spinning the end of it around before tossing it up to Trowa. Trowa took hold of it and Cathy lay across the resulting loop, then began spinning as Trowa pulled her up and up as if it took no effort at all.

When she reached him, she wrapped the silk around one wrist and he dropped the end. She then took hold of one of his hands, then the other, letting the silk drop, and hung suspended in the air with only the support of Trowa holding her from above. Then began the truly impressive part of the show.

Even though Duo had seen this act before, watching them move together in the intricate series of acrobatic feats was still a wonder to behold. Looking over at Relena from time to time to see the absolute joy on her face as she watched made it even better. Her gasps of surprise, the way she squeezed his hand for all she was worth during particularly precarious maneuvers, just served to heighten the experience for him.

The music began to slow as the act neared its end. The silks began to lower, including the loop in the middle. Catherine was now hanging upside down from Trowa's feet as he sat atop the loop. As the music swelled into a crescendo, she executed a stylish tumble once she was closer to the floor, and Trowa swung forward and back a few times before launching himself into the air, performing an intricate spin and backflip all rolled into one before landing at Catherine's side. The music came to an end and together, they bowed.

The audience rose almost as one to their feet, clapping and cheering. Duo put his fingers to his lips and gave a loud whistle of appreciation, and Relena whooped beside him. Her excitement only stoked his own, and he felt the urge to kiss her hand once more, but held back. Her eyes were shining with joy as she looked over at him, her smile wide, and as it often did in moments like this, his heart skipped a beat and he felt almost as if he couldn't breathe. She was so beautiful, so lovely, and so… not his. Not permanently.

He shook that bleak thought away and smiled back, then walked with the rest of the group out of the theater. Relena was happy, and for now, that would have to be enough.