Growing Pains

Chapter 3: You know Mr. Winner, I've always thought of you as a very attractive man

"She's got you high and you don't even know yet, open your mind, believe it's gonna to come true, keep romance alive and hope she's gonna to tell you," -Mumm-Ra, She's Got You High

The Peacecraft mansion was a formidably elegant structure. But the inside was an even more awesome sight. The dining room, which from some people's perspective may have been considered more of a ball room, was decorated with lofty, white curtains on it's floor to ceiling windows and the pillars leading to the doorway of the veranda overlooking the back gardens were wrapped with dusty rose tinted ribbons. To match, large flower arrangements of white and light pink roses, fuchsia carnations, white daisies and queen anne's lace were placed strategically about the room and on the fifteen tables scattered about the large hall. Every chair was adorned with a dusty rose colored ribbon and the tables were each covered with creamy table cloths. Three crystal chandeliers glowed in the evening light creating fantastic patterns on the shadows of the ceiling.

"It's heavenly." Milliardo Peacecraft overheard a woman say as she entered the grand room with her husband, one of Relena's many advisors whom he could not put a name to.

Milliardo sighed, rolling his shoulders that were currently being confined by the black tuxedo he was wearing. His icy blue eyes roamed the room, making contact with the Preventers stationed at every entrance and the ones watching from the overhead balcony hallway. A delicate hand was laid on his arm.

"Stop worrying." Lucrezia's voice was soft in his ear. She rested her chin on his shoulder and kissed the edge of his jaw soothingly.

He turned his eyes so he was looking at her sideways. "I'm not worrying."

"You look worried." Noin's hand traveled up his arm sending shivers through his muscles and reached up to play with a lock of his platinum bangs. His own hand shot up and took hers tightly, but instead of chastising her, he kissed the tips of her fingers gently. "I just want Relena to have a wonderful birthday."

Noin smiled and blew a stray piece of dark hair from her face. "You know she will."

"I know..." Milliardo hesitated, gazing back out at the guests gathering at the dinner tables. A string quartet sat perched in the corner of the room, going over their pieces silently before the party began. Relena would be arriving soon, along with Heero who would have his eyes open like usual. Still Milliardo was anxious, as always, when it came to his Relena.

"Always the protective older brother." Noin's eyes shined with amusement. She brushed the front of her wine colored, slim fitting cocktail dress. "She'll be fine." She grasped his hand sweetly. "Besides, she's got Heero, hasn't she?"

It always amazed Milliardo how easily Lucrezia could read his mind.

Heero slid his hand around Relena's waist soothingly, eyeing the blank looking stare on her radiant face. "Alright?"

"Hmm?" She blinked and turned to him. "Oh, just thinking." He held her gaze easily. The curls framing her cheeks had loosened slightly by the night's activities, but she did not look as tired as she was acting. The head table at which they were currently sitting had become fairly desolate, whether guests were dancing, mingling, or had retired for the night already, there was a surplus of privacy for the couple at the moment.

Heero leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips which in turn made Relena's complexion glow pink; he was never one for public displays of affection. "Happy Birthday Relena."

She smiled widely, but returned her gaze to the rest of the room around them. "I know you don't like discussing it...dear...but..." Heero's face went blank. "Did you talk with Duo at all earlier?"

How had it suddenly become a trend to speak about Maxwell whenever they were sharing an intimate moment? Heero leaned back an inch, but didn't remove his eyes from his wife. "We spoke."

Relena's features brightened curiously and she moved closer to him, closing the gap that he had recently created. "About?"

Heero furrowed his brows slightly. Why was Relena so curious with Hilde and Duo's love life? Or lack thereof to be exact. He cleared his throat. "About your friendship with Hilde."

"That's it?" Her lips pursed. "Nothing about...inner turmoil or unspoken emotions?"

"Isn't that a bit melodramatic?" A hint of a smirk wound its way onto his lips.

"You're no help."

"What do you need Relena?"

She huffed a sigh and turned her eyes back to the dance floor, Heero followed her gaze. Hilde had her head rested against Duo's shoulder as they danced a very slow waltz. The two melted in perfectly with the other couples around them, as if they truly were "together" rather than just ignorant roommates. Hilde's eyes were closed and a soft smile graced her petite lips while Duo glanced down at her every few seconds affectionately as if he wasn't sure exactly what was taking place, but scared that it would end too soon.

"They're perfect." Relena's voice was nothing more than a passionate whisper. Heero looked to her and back to the two companions swaying slowly together and eventually back to her again. Maybe she was right. After all she had been right about them from the moment she'd met him.

Quatre Winner ran a long finger around the rim of his nearly empty champagne glass. The party had been enjoyable enough, it was wonderful to see everyone again, and being able to speak to Relena strictly on a casual basis was always a highlight for the politically intertwined businessman. But something was still not quite...there for him.

He knew what it was, but he also refused to dwell on it.

Sipping the last few drops of bubbly liquid from the crystal champagne flute, he decided that maybe a touch of fresh air would do him good.

The Peacecraft estate was surrounded by many elegant balconies over looking countless gardens of roses and whatever flowers were in season. This ballroom's balcony looked out to a lightly trickling fountain of a Grecian looking woman and her child, crystalline blue water flowing from a pair of twin vases in their hands into a glistening tiled pool. Surrounding it were multitudes of white rose bushes and small flagstone walkways.

Quatre leaned against the marble railing admiring the beauty of the warm spring evening. He missed earth and it's simple splendors. The luminescent moon from far away, the crisp, untainted air. Even on his countless visits to the planet he was always cooped up in a conference room or office building; it was nice to be able to enjoy life's little pleasures relatively uninhibited for once.

Brushing a hand over his eyes Quatre realized just how tired he had become over the past few days. A sigh emanated from his lips and just before he was going to return to his lonely table a voice from behind startled him.

"Quatre Raberba Winner." The tone was light with a hint of sly remembrance. It was a voice he could never forget and it made him cringe ever so slightly inside.

Quatre turned to face Dorothy Catalonia with a friendly look in his aquamarine eyes, but the rest of his demeanor was quite standoffish. "How are you, Miss Catalonia?"

"Please, no formalities dear, you know you can call me Dorothy." Her crimson lips twitched into a gentle smirk as she gave him a once over, her peculiar brows raising as her eyes roamed the petite Arabian man.

"Yes, well..." Quatre cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Dorothy, it's been quite a while."

"It has. Too long I'd have to say." She flipped a strand of long ash blond hair over her shoulder. From first impressions, in Quatre's opinion, she hadn't changed much. "What have you been up to? I hear the name Winner quite a lot nowadays." Dorothy moved closer to him, her eyes shining with strange curiosity. Quatre back stepped until he hit the railing he'd been leaning against only a few moments before. He braced his hands against the smooth surface, heat forming at his cheeks.

"The family name is well known, yes." He scoured the rest of the balcony, but the moonlit shadows were very desolate.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Quatre." She ran a manicured finger over his starch white collar. The meeting had swiftly become more than problematic.

"Dorothy," his voice shook and may or may not have actually cracked.

"Why, you're making more money than the Vice Foreign Minister and her staff combined. One of the ESUN's leading young politicians." Her face glowed with excitement in the dim lighting surrounding the two.

Quatre furrowed his brows. "I am not a politician, Dorothy."

She waved her slender hands casually, rolling her eyes. "It comes with the territory, dear."

What is going on here? Quatre's mind went on overdrive as he stared slightly past Dorothy, not really focussing on anything in particular, purposefully of course.

Dorothy's soft fingers found their way to his jaw line, pulling until he was facing her again. Instinctively Quatre brought his own hand up to grasp hers and sweep it away from his face. "Dorothy, is there something I can help you with?"

Her laugh was sly and nearly sincere. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?" She grinned, catlike. "Can't an old friend just want to...catch up?"

He had never once in his life considered Dorothy a friend, not hardly even an acquaintance. Her body pressed closer to his own, a suggestive shiver running between them. Quatre swallowed and kept his composure. "I think I'll be going now."

"Oh, don't leave so soon." She laid her forearm comfortably against his neck and shoulder and ran her thumb against the nape of his neck. Quatre went to push her away, but was stifled by the awkward placement of his hands and the unsteady disposition of his body weight.

"Dorothy, please." It was more a plead of embarrassment than one of begging. Ignoring him she moved her silk encased hips and red glossed lips towards him sensually. Quatre could smell the sweet, pungent scent of alcohol laced on her breath now.

"You know Mr. Winner, I've always thought of you as a very attractive man. I don't go for those roguish types, I'm much more partial to the sensitive ones." Before he could respond Dorothy's lips closed in on his own, pushing hard and passionately. Quatre's eyes closed for only a fraction of a second before widening in shock and discomposure.

Before her champagne tainted tongue could explore any more than it had, Quatre managed to pull away and break the seal she had so suddenly and expertly created. "Dorothy, get a hold of yourself!"

"Oh, don't be such a prude!" she squealed, lunging in for more. This time Quatre found his footing and placed his hands firmly on her uncovered shoulders. She was intoxicated, that was certainly clear now, but he wasn't exactly sure how to handle the situation. It wasn't like he'd had to deal with anything like this before. Sure, aiding in the liberation of the ESUN he could do, dealing with an ardently drunk woman on the other hand...

"Miss Catalonia, please take your...amorous impulses elsewhere. I am not interested." His voice was firm, but not harsh. Before allowing her a rebuttal, Quatre extricated himself from his previously pinned position and walked briskly back into the ballroom, the coolness of the night not able to calm the violently hot flush that had so instantaneously manifested on his cheeks.

"Duo?" His eyes dropped to meet Hilde's wondering gaze. After growing tired of the nights main festivities, the two had found a comfortable spot perched on a small window seat in the foyer outside the ballroom. Duo sat back against the small slice of wall next to the large window, his legs supporting the tired form of his best friend.

"Yeah?" Having his attention, Hilde sat up slightly on her elbow to make the connection of a more serious conversation.

She breathed once, deeply and asked, "How many girls do you think you've been with?"

Duo laughed, not a mocking laugh, just simply an amused one. Hilde blushed, but glared at him to try and hide it. "What?"

"It's just a funny question." He grinned at her. "I wasn't expecting it." He began to chuckle again, closing his eyes and shaking his head, as if her question was just a joke.

Hilde's hand slapped down on his thigh hard. Duo's eyes opened and stared at her incredulously. "Jesus, Hild, what was that for?" It didn't hurt him any, but he hadn't been expecting that either.

"I'm being serious here," she huffed. "How long have we been living together now? And I don't know hardly a thing about you."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Yes you do Hilde, you know plenty more than most about me."

"I don't know anything about your dating history. Half the time I don't know where you're going or with whom, and--"

"Since when are you so worried about this, Hild?" All amusement had left Duo's violet eyes now. "You're acting like you're my...girlfriend or something."

While watching Hilde's reaction Duo Maxwell consequentially decided that he would never in his life understand the intricate workings of the female mind.

Hilde pushed herself up roughly, dangling her bare feet over the side of the window seat and crossing her arms childishly, facing away from him. "I live with you. I thought I was your friend. Isn't that enough?" Her voice was venomous and made Duo cringe.

He reached his hand out to touch her back comfortingly but recoiled. "I've dated a few women. But, I've never held a serious relationship." He swallowed and tried to fight a blush as he went on. "I don't know exactly what you're looking for here Hilde. I guess...well...I've never been..." he screwed up his eyes and shut them tightly, trying to find the right words. "sexually intertwined with anyone before...?"

Hilde's head snapped towards Duo, his eyes still scrunched tight, a grimace on his reddened face. Hilde's own cheeks darkened slightly. He opened one eye, cautiously evaluating the scene in front of him. Her face was blank and so he opened his other eye, slightly less inhibited now.

The silence was thick before she spoke the first word. "Really?" her voice was quiet, but high pitched.

Duo nodded, embarrassed. He shrugged his shoulders and averted his eyes from her. "Now you know, okay?"

"Oh, Duo." Her voice was breathless and sympathetic, but her lips turned up into a pleasant smile. Never had she thought that Duo Maxwell was...well...a virgin.

He scowled at her. "Happy?"

Hilde ignored him, giggling. "I bet you didn't get along with those other girls as well as you do with me, huh?"

It took a tense moment, but Duo's glower eventually turned into a smirk. "Sure thing, Hilde. I live with you don't I? That means I must like you, right?"

She smiled, her eyes sparkling with misty, unshed joy. "Right." Though the banter had a definite undertone, neither acknowledged it.

In a moment of spontaneous delight Hilde tackled him, nestling into his chest affectionately. Duo wrapped his lanky, toned arms around her and without thinking kissed the top of her head lightly.

That night, kissing had apparently become quite contagious.

To be continued.