Chapter One

AC 200 EARTH (2 months after the most controversial first year wedding anniversary in ESUN history)

Well, Duo did it again. Heero, Trowa and even Wufei had to salute him. He really knew how to celebrate with a bang. For their 2nd year wedding anniversary, Duo surprised Hilde by arranging a sailboat wedding in the Bahamas. But not only did he plan to renew their wedding vows, he also made sure that they all had fun. So for 3 days, Duo, Hilde, Heero, Relena, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, Sally, Zechs, Noin, Dorothy and Catherine enjoyed the boat, the beach, the hotel, the scenery and each other's company.

After spending the whole day island hopping, the gang went back to their rented suite to sip their drinks (except for Relena who was 3 months pregnant, she was stuck to drinking juice) and have a little chitchat. This was their last night together and by tomorrow, they would be returning to their respective homes. They were maximizing every minute of their little get-together because they had to wait for months before they could have another chance like this to relax and be together.

Catherine anxiously smiled at everyone as she sipped her drink. Dorothy, on the other hand, finished one glass after the other, trying to calm her nerves. They planned to tell everyone the truth about their relationship during Duo and Hilde's 2nd year wedding anniversary and this was their last chance. When Dorothy felt that she was buzzed enough to have the guts to confess, she glanced at Catherine. Seeing that she was as buzzed up as she was, Dorothy said, "Umm, guys I have a confession to make."

Everyone stopped talking and focused their attention on her. "What I mean is we have a confession to make. Catherine and me," she amended, her voice becoming slurred because of too much alcohol and anxiety. Ten pairs of eyes looked at her, then at Catherine, then back at her again. Catherine finished her wine in one gulp and poured another glass. When a few minutes passed and Dorothy just kept on staring at everyone, Duo said, "So? What's the confession? We're dying to hear it."

Dorothy blinked and studied Duo carefully. His face was neutral but his eyes were twinkling mischievously, as if telling her that he already knew what the confession was all about. She could just imagine the satisfaction on his face when they confirmed his suspicions. I bet we'll never hear the end of his gloating, she thought. Coming to a decision, Dorothy took a deep breath then slurred, "We're drunk. Right, Cathy?"

Catherine was surprised that Dorothy backed out at the last minute, though what the blond woman just said was not entirely a lie. "I guess so. I can see two of you, Dorothy."

Everybody laughed. Trowa stood up and went to his sister. "Cathy, it's time for bed. Come on, I'll take you to your room."

"Go and enjoy yourself, Trowa. I'll take care of her. I'm heading to bed myself," Dorothy told him as she helped Catherine to her feet. "Goodnight, guys," Dorothy and Catherine called out.

"Goodnight," the other 10 chorused, watching Dorothy held Cathy's arm as she led her to their room.

Upon entering, Catherine threw herself on the bed, Dorothy joining her after she had closed the door. They laid on their backs, side by side, staring at the ceiling.

"Why did you chicken out, Dorothy?"

Dorothy cringed at Catherine's choice of words. She hadn't backed out of anything before, and it made her feel weak just thinking that she, indeed, chickened out of their confession earlier. "I really was planning to confess, Cathy. But seeing Duo's face, I just kind of lost my resolve."

Catherine smiled. "I understand. But unless we do something about his face, I'm certain that it would stay that way for a long, long time." Dorothy chuckled, thinking of so many ways of 'changing' Duo's face. "We can't continue on procrastinating forever. We have to tell them, and the sooner it is, the better."

A sigh escaped from Dorothy's lips. "I know. Maybe if Duo is not present, I'll get the guts to confess. But I guess that's only wishful thinking. Duo is always going to be there, whether we like it or not." She turned her head to look at Catherine. "So, want to try it again?"

Catherine reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from Dorothy's face. "I think we should wait. I have this feeling that we're not that ready yet to come clean. Maybe on Christmas, during Noin and Zechs' grand Christmas celebration in the Sanc Kingdom, we could finally tell them."

"Hmm, good idea. That way, we still have more than 3 months to prepare ourselves. And I promise that I wouldn't get intimidated by Duo's face then," Dorothy said, grinning. She lifted her head and leaned over to plant a kiss on Cathy's forehead. "Well, a shower is a must. It'll clear up our heads and erase the mixed smell of the ocean, the sun, sweat and alcohol in our skins."

Catherine smiled her consent as both of them rose from the bed and headed to the bathroom.

When the two women disappeared from view, Wufei commented, "That was interesting."

"You said it, Wu-man. I really believe that they were finally going to tell us about 'them'. But I guess they chickened out," Duo said.

"Can't blame them though. Seeing Duo's face might had changed their minds,"Zechs stated.

"What's wrong with my face now?" Duo wailed.

"Well, you had that all-knowing, all-smirking look on your face that would scare anyone out of their confession," Heero answered, his hands reaching out to Relena's still small tummy. Relena smiled and snuggled closer to her husband.

"I can't help it if I already knew what they were going to say. And I desperately wanted to yell 'I told you so' to everyone,"Duo retorted.

"Duo!" Hilde exclaimed, slapping him on the shoulders. "Why do you insist that Cathy and Dorothy have a relationship?"

"Yeah. Tell us. What's with men that they always assume that two women who are always hanging out together have a relationship?" Sally added.

"Because they really do have a relationship," Trowa replied.

"You can't be serious," Noin said.

"I am. I had my suspicions for a while now and our charade with them 2 months ago just confirmed it."

"As did I. We were just too caught up with our own problems then to focus our attentions at them," Heero ammended.

"How could you be suspicious? None of us had seen anything suspicious about their behavior," Relena said, glancing at the 3 other girls in the room. They all nodded their agreement.

"As Sally said earlier, it's a male thing. We don't know how or why but we always know," Quatre told them.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Duo asked.

Everyone turned to look at him. "Why would we do anything about it, Maxwell? It's their life," Wufei said.

"I agree with Wufei. We should just wait for them to personally tell us the truth," Zechs added.

"But it's taking them too long! And we all already knew about it anyways."

"Even so, we still have to wait for them to tell us. They're our friends, Duo," Hilde told them.

"Hilde is right. We should respect their privacy and their decision. If and when they choose to tell us, we'll be there for them," Noin said.

Sally put down her glass. "But what I can't understand is why they haven't told us yet, that is if they really do have a relationship. What are they afraid of? We've accepted Trowa and Quatre's relationship, theirs wouldn't be that different, would it?"

Quatre sighed. "No it wouldn't. But it still is very hard to admit that kind of thing to everyone. Remember that it took us a year before Trowa and I admitted our relationship to you guys. Then it took us another year to admit it to the whole ESUN."

Relena took a sip of her orange juice. "It must be tearing them apart, not being able to reveal their true selves, not being able to tell everyone whom they really love. It's just like what I felt a year ago."

"Now, do you understand what I was trying to tell you guys? They're hurting and as their loving and supportive friends, we've got to do something to help them," Duo said.

"Help them? How?" Hilde inquired.

"We all established the fact that we're going to accept their relationship just like we had accepted Trowa and Quatre's, right?" Everyone nodded. "So the only thing left is for them to confess."

"That's the problem, Duo. We all know that they want to tell us about their relationship but something is holding them back," Noin told him.

"Well, we just have to back them in a corner so they don't have any choice but to confess."

"How are we going to do that?" Sally asked

"Divide and Conquer," Heero suddenly said.

Relena looked at him. "What are talking about, Heero?"

"Divide and Conquer, one of the most famous and effective strategies of all time. You isolate your enemies, dealing with them one at a time."

"We're not dealing with enemies here, Heero. It's Cathy and Dorothy we're talking about."

"Heero is right. It's a good strategy, even in dealing with friends," Trowa voiced out.

Duo pondered his words. "Divide and Conquer e? It might just work. I have a plan but I need Quatre and Trowa's help."

Zechs looked at him suspiciously. "What are you up to now, Duo?"

"Think about it. If two men, shall we say, come on to Dorothy and Catherine, they'll be forced to admit that they're already involved with someone else to ward off these 'admirers'. And the only two men I could think of that would be suitable for the job are Trowa and Quatre."

Wufei rubbed his throbbing temple. "Just as I expected. Only Maxwell can come up with a crazy idea like that."

Duo ignored Wufei. "Well?" he asked Trowa and Quatre. The two looked at each other. "If it's really going to help them, then I agree," Quatre answered.

"And if it's ok with Quatre then it's ok with me," Trowa said.

"What? Are you seriously thinking of going through with this? After all that Dorothy and Catherine had done for us, you're planning on tricking them just so they could finally confess that they have a relationship?" Relena asked increduously.

"I feel bad about this whole deception thing too, Relena. But if this is the only way I could help them then I'll do it. I don't want them to continue on hiding forever," Quatre told her.

"The same goes for me. They helped us when we needed them, it's high time we pay them back. And helping them to openly express their love for each other is the only way I could think of returning the favor," Trowa ammended.

Relena sighed. "I understand. I want to help them too you know. Just be careful, this kind of plans tend to backfire."

"By the way, after they confessed we're going to tell them the truth too right? What if they get mad at us? I don't think blatant deception comprises a good friendship," Hilde said.

"We'll just tell them that we had their best interests at heart when we thought of the plan. They'll understand," Sally told her.

"I think that we should give them ample time to confess on their own before implementing the plan. That way, we could honestly say that we really do have their best interests at heart, resorting only to deception when there's no other alternatives left for us in order to help them," Noin suggested. "Maybe 3 months would be fine."

Duo smiled. "3 months it is. Comments? Suggestions? Violent reactions?" he asked. None. "So, are you all in?" he asked again. Hilde, Sally, Noin, Relena, Trowa and Quatre nodded. Wufei, Zechs and Heero just shrugged. Well, in my vocabulary that means yes, Duo said to himself. "Ok, here are the details..."

Catherine lifted her head up from Dorothy's shoulders when she heard her vidphone ring. Without thinking, she immediately reached out to her bedside table to answer the call.

"Cathy, I'm --- " Quatre's voice trailed off as he saw Catherine shot up into a sitting position, clutching her blanket to her chest (her very naked chest that is). Quatre gulped at the sight of her, only managing to tear off his gaze when he saw something stir from behind her.

Hearing Quatre's voice, Catherine jolted into a sitting position, startled. She barely remembered to cover herself with her blanket. She then noticed that Quatre was staring at something behind her. Oh no! Dorothy! She must not let him see Dorothy. With this in mind, Catherine fully faced the screen, blocking Quatre's view. That way, all that he could see was her. Well, it worked alright. Quatre definitely stopped peering over her shoulder and started focusing his attention on her, more specifically on the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest. "What were you saying, Quatre?" Catherine asked, smiling.

Quatre blinked. "Oh, I was just saying sorry for calling you this early in the morning," he told her. Remembering his mission, he made his face grew sad. "I just wanted to know if you have heard from Trowa, if he's with you or if you know where he is."

Catherine frowned. "Why? Isn't he with you?"

Quatre shook his head. "We had this huge fight yesterday and he stormed out of the house. I thought that he just needed to cool off so I left him alone and waited til he came back. But he never did. Then I called the Preventers base here and asked them if Trowa stayed there last night. They told me that Trowa filed an indefinite leave of absence yesterday afternoon. And they hadn't seen him ever since he stepped out of the base." Quatre stopped for a dramatic effect then in a broken voice continued, "Cathy, I think we broke up."

Catherine felt a pang in her heart as she looked at his sad blue eyes. She wanted to reach out and comfort him. "I don't know all the details but I'm pretty sure that it still hasn't come to that. Maybe both of you just needed time. You'll work things out. And I promise that the moment I heard from Trowa, I'll tell you where he is."

Quatre gave her a sad smile. "Thanks, Cathy."

Catherine really felt bad for him. "Can I do anything to help?" she asked. "Do you want me to keep you company for a while?"

Quatre's eyes brightened. It worked! So Duo was right all along. Nobody can resist my sad baby blue eyes, he thought happily though he was feeling a twinge of guilt. How can I do this to Catherine? No, I shouldn't think about that. I'm doing this for their own good, hers and Dorothy's. "Can you? I would really like to have a friend stay with me. I'm not used to being alone. Trowa was just gone for a day but I'm beginning to miss him. I don't know if I could bear it…"

"I'll be happy to stay with you. Luckily, we'll be having a two-week show there at L4. We'll be leaving today."

"That's great! You can stay here at the mansion and I could just drive you to the circus whenever you need to go there for practices and shows. Then during your free time, we could go out and have fun."

Catherine was glad that she managed to uplift Quatre's spirits. "That sounds fine to me. But what about your work? I might take up too much of your time."

"I'm planning to take the next two weeks off. I don't think I could accomplish much with my present state of mind," Quatre replied, forcing his voice to sound sad. "Then there's the Peacecraft Christmas Ball. That's 16 days from now, right? So after your show, you could stay here for another 2 days then we could go to Earth together."

"Sure. I like that," Catherine answered with a smile, though mentioning the Christmas Party made her a bit nervous.

"By the way, what time are you arriving here? That way I know when to pick you up."

"We'll be there by 2. The circus will be performing on the Cratian Plaza so we're going to head there directly from the spaceport to set-up the tents and everything."

"Cratian Plaza? That's only 10 minutes walking distance from the mansion," Quatre beamed. "Well then, see you later, Cathy. And thanks for everything."

"Anytime, Quatre. Bye." With that, Quatre's image disappeared from the screen.

"Did I hear it right? Did Quatre and Trowa really break up?" Dorothy asked.

"That's what Quatre said. I couldn't believe it either. Those two were practically inseparable. They even had that charade with Heero and Relena for a year so they could remain true to their selves and to their love. How would a single fight break them up?"

"It might be more serious that we think," Dorothy said. Then she remembered something. "Hey, you're spending more than 2 weeks with Quatre, right? Maybe you can ask him for details so we'll know why they broke up."

"That's a nice idea. I'll do that," Catherine said, thinking of the ways how she could pry information from Quatre, subtlety of course. A frown suddenly appeared on her face as she exclaimed, "But where the hell is Trowa? He wouldn't just disappear somewhere without telling me first, would he?"

Dorothy gave her a hug. "Don't worry, big sister. Little brother just left yesterday. He'll call you real soon. I just know it," she assured Cathy.

Catherine smiled. "Thanks. Now, off to the shower with you. You still have to go back to your house and pack your things. You might miss your flight."

"Yes boss," Dorothy saluted as she reached out for her robe and headed to the trailer's bathroom. Catherine donned her robe as well, making her way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. A few minutes later, she heard her vidphone ring again. She placed the plate of newly cooked bacon on the table then went to the bedroom to answer the call.

"Trowa! Quatre just called here looking for you. Where the hell are you?"

Trowa felt guilty at the thought of lying to his sister but he had to. You're doing this for her, he assured himself, so she could be happy. After this, both of you would be happy. "I'm staying with Heero and Relena. Can I ask a favor, sis?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I know the circus is scheduled to perform on L4 so I figured maybe you could keep an eye on Quatre for me. I think he's taking this hard."

So, he still cares about him. "Did you really break-up? Is it really over?" Catherine asked.

No. We just made it appear that way so Quatre can seduce you and I could seduce Dorothy, he said to himself. Trowa remained silent, wondering what Catherine's reaction would be like if ever he said those words outloud. Catherine misinterpreted Trowa's silence, thinking that maybe Trowa couldn't deal with this right now or he was just confused as to whether their relationship was really over or not. "Want to tell me all about it?"

"I can't talk about it now, Cathy. Sorry."

"Oh, it's ok. I understand. And don't worry about Quatre. I'll look after him."

"Thanks." Suddenly Trowa asked, "Who's that?" pointing behind her.

Looking over her shoulder, she had a glimpse of long, platinum blond hair before the bathroom door was shut close. "Umm, it's just this guy I'm seeing."

"A guy with long, platinum blond hair. I didn't know you had a thing for Zechs look-alikes, Cathy," Trowa commented. Catherine frowned. There was something about the way he said it that made her suspicious. She tried to read his face, looking for a sign whether he already knew her secret or not. But as usual, she found nothing.

"I'll see you at the party, sis. Take care." With that said, Trowa ended the call.

Dorothy went out of the bathroom, clad in her terry robe. "That was another close one. And Zechs look-alike my ass. I don't look like Zechs." Catherine chuckled. "Ok, maybe it's the hair. But still. And why do people suddenly got the urge to call you this early in the morning?"

Catherine watched her put on her clothes. "Well, Trowa and Quatre just had a crisis, it's expected of them to call those closest to them for support." Catherine then grinned. "I guess I'm not the only one who's going to spend time with a brokenhearted guy."

"Oh yeah huh. I'm staying with Heero and Relena for more than 2 weeks too. My incompetent Board of Directors can't do anything right, I have to do everything by myself. I have to close 3 business deals and attend a conference on L1. Life sucks."

"No it doesn't. You're going to get a chance to spend time with Heero, Relena and Trowa. That's fun. And after the hard work, you're going with them to the Christmas Party," Catherine told her. An idea then popped to her head. "Maybe you could talk to Trowa and find out what happened."

Dorothy cocked an eyebrow. "If you, his own sister, can't make him talk about it, what gives you the idea that I could possibly succeed where you failed?"

"Because Trowa would rather open up to you than to me about those stuff," Catherine said knowingly. "And maybe then, we could do something to make them get back together."

"Hmm, you'll take care of Quatre while I take care Trowa. The principle of Divide and Conquer. Not bad. Not bad at all." Dorothy stated. "I agree. It's a deal then," she grinned, reaching out to shake hands with Catherine.

Catherine took her hands and shook it, smiling as they sealed the deal. "After this, they're so going to love us."

Oh they will. They definitely will.

L1 colony 12 noon

Dorothy emerged from the shuttle and looked around the spaceport's receiving area. She would have asked her company driver to come and pick her up but Relena insisted that since she would be staying with them, they should be the ones to pick her up. But instead of Heero and Relena, she saw a guy with familiar brown hair and green eyes headed towards her.

"Hi, Trowa. Where are Heero and Relena?"

"At home. Relena's not feeling well so Heero asked me to get you," Trowa answered, taking her bags.

"Thanks."

"Hn," he replied. The two then headed to the parking lot. They reached Heero's MB convertible and after depositing her bags inside, Trowa climbed in and started the engine.

They drove in silence. Finally, Dorothy said, "Umm, Trowa, I heard about your break-up with Quatre. I'm really sorry." Then something hit her. Quatre just confirmed that they broke up this morning! She couldn't possibly have known about it if she wasn't with Catherine when Quatre and Trowa called. Covering up her blunder, she added, "I mean, I talked to Catherine before I left and she told me about it."

Yeah, you heard it alright, Trowa thought, amused. "I am sorry too."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Trowa glanced at her momentarily before replying, "Your meeting starts at 2 right?"

"Uh-huh. Why?"

"I'm just making sure that we have enough time to eat lunch and talk before heading to Heero and Relena's place."

So Cathy was right. Trowa would talk about it with me. "What about Heero and Relena? They might be expecting us to go straight home from the spaceport," she inquired.

"I'll just call them from the restaurant. They won't mind."

"If they won't mind then it's fine with me. To tell you the truth, I'm famished. I haven't eaten a single thing from the shuttle. I don't like shuttle food, they taste like blob."

"I know what you mean," Trowa told her, pulling over at an Italian restaurant. Trowa handed the keys to the valet and the two of them headed inside.

Once inside, a waiter led them to their table. After a quick scan of the menu, Trowa gave his order immediately. While Dorothy was still deciding on her order, Trowa excused himself to use the restaurant's phone and call Relena. When he came back, he saw that their wines were served.

Dorothy watched him take his seat, gauging how she should start their 'talk'. She waited until he had a sip of his wine before asking, "Trowa, what happened to you and Quatre?"

"We had a fight yesterday."

"What was the fight all about?"

Trowa caught her eye. "Quatre accused me of flirting with one of the female agents."

Dorothy almost choked on her drink. Trowa flirting? And with a girl? It was like being transported into a scary parallel dimension. "What did you tell him?" she managed to ask.

"That he was doing the same with Carly, his secretary."

Dorothy really choked on her drink this time. She even snorted the wine out of her nose. Trowa patted her back and while she was busy pulling herself together, she didn't notice both the odd glances being thrown at them by the people in the surrounding tables and the amused expression in Trowa's eyes.

"I'm ok now, Trowa. Thanks," she told him as she regained composure.

Trowa nodded, his face neutral. He then continued with his story. "I knew that he wanted to deny it but he couldn't. It was the truth. Instead, he asked me if I'm attracted to girls. I said yes. He told me that it was the same with him. So he suggested that maybe we should explore that possibility. I agreed with him then went out of the house."

Dorothy's head was spinning. "You mean… Are you really considering…"

"Maybe. I don't know."

Before Dorothy could respond, their waiter arrived and served their lunch.

Catherine narrowed her eyes in concentration. After a few seconds, she threw 4 knives, 2 from each hand, at the rotating wheel where a clown was strapped in, his arms and legs spread apart. One of the knives struck the space a few centimeters away from the clown's right cheek, the other near his left cheek. The two other knives embedded themselves near his right and left armpits.

"Remind me never to give you knives when you're pissed-off," a voice said. Catherine turned her head and saw Quatre a few feet away, standing by the tent's door, smiling at her. She smiled back.

"How long have you been there?" she asked as she walked towards the target to help her colleague out of the straps and also to retrieve her knives.

"Maybe 2-3 minutes. I know that you have to rest first then set things up and practice so I didn't come right away. Are you still busy?"

Putting her knives away, she answered, "Nope. I'm done practicing and I already placed everything in order so I'm free to play hooky with you."

"Great! We could get your things to the mansion first then try out that new carriage ride they were offering in Tristone Park. After that, we could have an early dinner before your show."

"Sounds good to me. But I have to tell the manager about our plans first before we go." She glanced at Quatre's neat and well-groomed appearance then looked at herself. "And I think I also need a quick shower."

Quatre chuckled. "You can take a shower at the mansion after unpacking your things. Come on, let's go find the Manager."

The two went out of the tent and found the Manager by the animal cages.

"Quatre! It's nice of you to drop by. Where's Trowa?" the Manager asked when he saw them.

Quatre smiled uneasily. It was hard enough to lie to Catherine, he couldn't possibly lie to the Manager as well. Sensing Quatre's discomfort, Catherine answered, "Trowa's in L1 for an assignment. While he's away, I'll keep Quatre company for the duration of my stay here."

Quatre smiled at her gratefully. Turning his head to the Manager, he said, "It's good to see you too, Manager. Can I borrow Catherine for a while? I won't keep her out long." Quatre then realized that it sounded like he was asking permission from Cathy's dad to date her. When this is over, we sure are going to have a good laugh about this, he said to himself.

The Manager smiled. If not for Quatre being involved with Trowa, he would have wanted Quatre and Catherine to get together. They would make a wonderful couple. "Sure. Just be here at 5:30 ok? The show will start at 6:30 sharp."

"We will. Bye," Catherine called out. Quatre waved his thanks then followed Catherine to her trailer to get her stuff.

Quatre helped Catherine into the carriage. "Wow. This is amazing," she said when the two of them were seated.

"I know. Trowa and I have been planning to try this since we heard of Tristone Park's plans to offer carriage rides. We might try it when he comes back…" Quatre trailed off. He mentally kicked himself for making a big slip-up. He and Trowa were supposed to have broken up! He just hoped that Catherine would think that he said it out of habit. Well, he should thank his lucky stars. Catherine thought of just that.

"Quatre, do you want to tell me what happened?"

Quatre nodded. He took a deep breath then said, "It all started when I caught Trowa flirting with a female agent." Catherine's eyes bulged out of their sockets. She knew that her brother was hot and girls had flocked him before but this was the first time she heard that Trowa was the one doing the flirting. "So the moment we were alone, I immediately confronted him about it."

"What did he say?"

"That I shouldn't feel bad coz I was flirting with my secretary too." Hearing his answer, Catherine fell from her seat. "Cathy, are you ok?" he asked, helping her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, rubbing a sore spot on her bottom. "That bump caught me by surprise, that's all." She wasn't exactly lying when she said those words. Their ride got kinda bumpy when they were talking. But Quatre flirting with his secretary? It was just something one could really fall for.

Quatre nodded at her, though he knew she was lying. Well, if he were in Cathy's place, he would definitely fall from his seat too.

"Is it true? I mean, did you really flirt with Carly?" she asked, increduously.

Quatre looked away, knowing that he couldn't pull this off if he stared into her eyes. He would laugh so hard he would never be able to stop. "Maybe. A little. I don't know," he answered, as sad and confused as he could. "It was like a natural thing to do, an impulse, an instinct. I'm not sure of anything anymore. That's why I suggested that maybe we could explore this possibility, so we could figure things out. Do you think I made the right thing in suggesting that?"

Catherine thought about it for a while. "Was Trowa feeling the same? Did he say that he flirted with that girl not just because he wanted to get back at you but because he was attracted to her?"

"Yes. He felt the same way, that's why he agreed."

"So you made the right suggestion, Quatre. It was the only logical thing to do. You couldn't smother love. If you really love someone, you have to let go. If your love was meant to be, you'll find your way back to each other. And if you ask me, I'm pretty sure that you and Trowa are meant to be together. Just you wait and see."

Quatre turned his head and smiled at her, a genuine, grateful smile. "Thanks, Cathy. You don't know how good that made me feel."

Suddenly, they felt the carriage stop moving. That only meant one thing --- their carriage ride was over. Quatre took her hand and the two stepped out of their carriage.

Catherine just finished putting on her make-up when her vidphone ring. She smiled when she saw Dorothy's image on the screen.

"Good, you're there," Dorothy said as a form of a greeting, smiling at her. "I made sure that I'll call before your show so you're there in your trailer and not with Quatre."

"Is it safe to talk? Where are Heero, Relena and Trowa?" Catherine asked.

"At the patio. Talking. I excused myself and told them I have some business to take of," Dorothy answered, grinning sheepishly.

"Oh, so that's why you keep glancing behind you to look at the door."

"Yup. I just want to tell you that you were right. Trowa talked to me during lunch. Isn't it great? Now I know why they broke up."

"I talked to Quatre too. What do we do now? How can we make them get back together?"

Dorothy glanced over her shoulder first before answering, "I have a plan. They think that they're attracted to girls right? And that's the cause of their break-up. If, shall we say, two girls come on to them, they might realize that they were wrong about liking girls and that they still love each other."

"And by those two girls you mean, you and me?"

"Right." She saw Catherine frowning. "We're not actually going to sleep with them. We'll just play with them a little. They're pretty sensible guys so I'm sure that they'll come to their senses soon."

Catherine thought of the plan. "Hmm, it might actually work. A little flirting could do no harm, right? Besides, if this is the only way we could help them get back together then I guess it is worth a try."

Dorothy smiled. "We have more than 2 weeks to make this work. We must get them back together by the time we go to the Christmas Party. Then we'll tell everyone about us." She turned to look at the door again.

"Do you think the others already knew about the break-up?"

"Hilde called earlier. I think Relena told her about it since it was Trowa who answered the call. So I guess Hilde had told everyone about it by now." The two women chuckled. They very well knew that Duo and Hilde were the undisputed walking grapevine of the group.

Suddenly, they heard someone banging the door of Catherine's trailer. "Catherine, the Manager wants to see you at the tent now," someone yelled from outside.

"I'll be out in a minute," Catherine called out. She looked back at the screen. "I have to go. I'll try to call you soon. Bye, Dorothy."

"I'll call again if I get the chance. Bye."

Dorothy just terminated the call when she heard a female voice asked, "Who were you talking to, Dorothy?"

Dorothy whirled around and saw Relena, Heero and Trowa standing by the door of the study. Relena was leaning against Heero, his arm wrapped around her shoulders for support, her right hand resting on her protruding belly. "A business associate," she coolly replied.

"We were talking about this new Japanese restaurant downtown. I thought we should try it out," Heero told her.

"I like that," Dorothy answered. She then glanced at herself. She was still wearing her business suit. "I think I should change to something more comfortable first."

"Me too," Relena amended. Like Dorothy, she was still in her 'formal' clothes. Even if 6 months pregnant, Relena continued her work as the Vice Foreign Minister though Heero insisted that she shouldn't travel much and just let those old buffoons come to her for consultations, not her going to them. And being her husband and bodyguard, as well as one of the top Preventer officials, nobody dared contradict his decision. He was officially listed as one of the Preventer agents in the L1 base after transferring there from L4 but his main mission was to protect Relena so he wasn't given any other missions or assignments and the head of the Preventer base there didn't have power over him. Lady Une, the Preventers' Chief of Staff, was the only authority he recognized, directly receiving orders from her and reporting only to her.

Heero and Trowa looked at each other. There was no need for them to change, they were comfortable enough in their clothes. "I'll go tell Pagan to ready the limo. I'll wait for you outside," Trowa told them. Heero held Relena's arm as the three of them went upstairs.

Dorothy rubbed her throbbing temple as she reviewed the papers on her desk. It was taking her a long time to close this deal, those stuffy businessmen wouldn't seem to cooperate. But that wasn't her only problem. She unconsciously shook her head. It wasn't really a problem --- just some situation she unwittingly got herself into. Believe it or not, she now had a boyfriend. "Lucky me," she muttered dryly. How? Well, instead of running away from her 'advances', Trowa actually fell for them, even making his own moves on her as well. They went out several times without Heero and Relena, he took her to places when she wasn't busy at work, he even drove her to and from her office everyday. At first, she didn't give any meaning to his actions, dismissing them as just friendly gestures. Trowa might be stoic and silent but he cared for his friends. And these little gestures were his way of showing he cared. Besides, she didn't want to make the same mistake of thinking he had feelings for her like what she did when they were 17. But if what happened yesterday still didn't make her believe that he definitely had feelings for her, nothing else would. He asked her to go steady with him! She could clearly remember hearing the theme song from this very old TV show (dating far back to the old calendar) "The Twilight Zone" playing at the background when he popped the question. She fought her sudden urge to drag him to the spaceport and take him to Earth so Sally could check if he was suffering from a severe brain damage, if he was a clone or an alien replacement. Of all the things he could possibly do, she wasn't expecting that! But she couldn't possibly say no since she spent the past week or so sending signals to him, with the sole intention of making him so repulsed by it he would immediately go running back to Quatre. Unfortunately, the opposite happened, and with no other options left, she said yes.

Even with this minor setback, she was resolute on continuing with the plan. This was her idea in the first place and she wouldn't let anything deter her from accomplishing what she set her mind to. Even if it meant agreeing to have her girlfriend's brother whom she had a thing for 3 years ago to be her boyfriend. Fake boyfriend, she corrected herself. But she had to call Catherine first to let her know of the current situation. So the minute she got the chance to be alone, she went to the study and called Catherine in her trailer.

The funny thing was, when she contacted Catherine she discovered that the exact same thing happened to her. Quatre also asked her to go steady with him. Still, both of them agreed to push through with the plan. They had to hurry though --- the Christmas Party was just 3 days away. So until they got things all settled out, she was stuck in having Trowa as her boyfriend.

Dorothy stood up and went to her office window, peering down at the cars and people 10 floors below. To be honest, the situation wasn't that bad. Some hidden part of her actually liked it, and having this liking made her feel guilty. "You're doing this for them --- for Quatre and Trowa, so they could get back together. Not for you to forever make them apart by snagging Trowa for yourself. You already have Cathy," she reminded herself. She then closed her eyes. I'm not falling for Trowa. I'm not falling in love with him. Not again. Not again, she chanted to herself. Her eyelids suddenly fluttered open when she heard her intercom buzzed. She went back to her desk.

"Yes, Sonya?" she said to the intercom.

"Miss Catalonia, a Mrs. Hilde Maxwell is on line one for you," the secretary told her.

"Thanks." After pushing a button on her vidphone, Hilde's cheerful face appeared on the screen.

"Hi, Dorothy. Am I disturbing you?" Hilde asked.

Dorothy smiled at her friend. "No, not at all. I'm just taking a breather."

"So how are you? From what I'd heard, you should be glowing with joy," Hilde said knowingly.

Dorothy raised an eyebrow. "And what is that you heard about me, hmm?"

"You don't have to be secretive about it. I called Relena in her office earlier and she told me the good news. Trowa himself told her and Heero about the two of you," Hilde half-lied. "I'm really happy for you and Trowa."

"Thanks," Dorothy replied brightly, knowing the fact that she should appear like she was 'glowing with joy' in front of Hilde since she was supposed to be happy with her newfound love. But deep down, she couldn't help thinking that her 'joy' wasn't all an act. "Catherine and Quatre just became a couple too, you know."

"Really?" Hilde said, feigning surprise. "Wow. Who would have thought that we'll all end up as couples?" she commented.

The way Hilde said those words made Dorothy frown. There was something weird about this whole scenario. Like in Trowa's case, it wasn't really in his nature to ask a girl to go steady. And when he asked her, it seemed like he wasn't expecting her to say yes, but she was sure that he was expecting her to say something else. Then there was Hilde's reaction. It sounded like she wasn't surprised at all. Were they on to us? Did they already know about me and Cathy and that this is all a set-up to make us tell the truth?" she asked herself. Nah. That couldn't be it.

"So you two will be going as a couple to the Christmas Party then?" Hilde inquired.

I hope not. "I guess so."

"And what a surprise it would be to everyone. Well, to the other invited guests, I mean. Just five months ago, Trowa and Quatre confessed their relationship and now they have girlfriends. Those ESUN bigshots will surely be shocked." Hilde then saw Dorothy's unease at the mention of the Christmas party. Flashing her a big smile, she said, "I can't wait to party on Christmas Eve then have a relaxing week with you guys in the Peacecraft Palace then party again on New Year's Eve. It'll be a blast."

Dorothy managed to brush all her worries away. She and Catherine just had to make sure to finish their mission before the party. "You said it, Hilde. I can't wait to leave all of this work behind either."

"Well, I have to go. Duo would be coming home from the church soon and I still have to prepare dinner. See you at the party, Dorothy."

"See you there too. Bye, Hilde."

"Bye," Hilde replied once last time before disconnecting the call.

Dorothy sighed. She then glanced at her watch. Office hours were nearly over so she started cleaning up her desk. Trowa would be there any minute. And the thought that he was coming for her made her smile.

Trowa finished the last of the paperwork he needed to do for this day. He was virtually running the L4 base from the L1 base. He didn't really file for an indefinite leave. They just made it up so Dorothy and Catherine wouldn't suspect a thing. Besides, Lady Une wouldn't permit a Preventer Head to go on an indefinite leave without any valid reason, even if things were peaceful in both the Earth and the Colonies. She knew about their plan to make Cathy and Dorothy confess their relationship, just like she knew about the whole mismatching deal with Heero and Relena. She was cool about everything and as long as he and the others didn't neglect their duties, she wouldn't interfere with whatever 'hobby' they do in their spare time. Especially if they were doing something for the cause of true love. Trowa gave a small sigh. That 'cause' had caused him to have a girlfriend. That wasn't part of the plan. The plan was to pretend that he had some romantic intentions on Dorothy, which they thought would force her to admit her relationship with Catherine. That simple. What he didn't expect was that she would fall for his supposed interest, even managing to trade some 'moves' with him. Dorothy spent the last week hitting on him, subtly of course. But even the subtlest of subtle could never escape his well-trained, observant eyes. At first, he thought that she was just being friendly and accommodating. She always had been friendly and accommodating to him. He could remember doing all these stuff with her when they were 17 --- eating out, going to places. And if it hadn't been for Quatre, he would have fallen in love with her. He somehow knew that Dorothy also had feelings for him back then, but that was all in the past. That was why he went through with the plan of asking her to go steady --- it never occurred to him that she would say yes. But she did. This is the last time I'll listen to Duo and his plans, he promised himself.

When he was sure that Dorothy was sleeping, he sneaked into Heero and Relena's room to call Quatre and tell him of this unexpected turn of events. He should have expected that the same thing happened to Quatre, with the luck that they were having. Then they made a conference call to Duo and the rest so they could think of an appropriate plan of action. They all decided that since Trowa and Quatre couldn't possibly back out now, they should just continue with the pretense until they make the two women confess. But they got to act quickly --- they only had a few more days left before the Christmas Party where everything was supposed to go back to normal. Well, if they couldn't meet the first deadline, they still had the entire week before the New Year's Eve party to straighten things out. Trowa couldn't wait for all this playacting to end. Especially now that he was having these weird and unexplainable feelings towards Dorothy.

He couldn't describe the exact feeling but being with Dorothy felt so natural. Well, he knew that it was only natural for a guy to feel that way with a girl, but still. It felt… nice, for the lack of a better word. Aside from that, he couldn't deny that he liked the idea of her being his girlfriend. Trowa shook his head. "This isn't right. You got yourself into this mess in the first place to help them come clean so they could get on with their lives. Not for you to destroy their relationship by going after Dorothy," he reprimanded himself. This is just playacting. You're not really falling for her. You just got caught up with the moment, that's all. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine Quatre's blonde hair and blue eyes. But each time he could picture him in his mind, the image was always being replaced with a platinum blonde haired woman with ash-blue eyes. Realizing the futility of it, he opened his eyes and started inserting the files on top of his desk to his bag. He had to go to the Council Building across the street where Relena's office was so she and Heero could take his bag home. Dorothy didn't know that he was working. She thought that he was a bum, just staying at home or sometimes helping Heero as Relena's bodyguard and that he only went out of the house to drive her to and from work. Heero was generous enough to lend him his car for the duration of his stay there.

He was on his way out of his office when he heard the vidphone rang. He went back to his desk to answer the call.

"Hello, buddy. How are ya?" Duo greeted.

"Fine. You're still in church, I presume."

"Yup. I just finished my last counseling session. So how's your 1st day-sarry huh?" Duo asked, grinning.

Trowa's face was neutral when he answered, "You know that this wasn't supposed to happen. Your plan has loopholes in it."

"I know, I know. But maybe this is for the best. This way, you'll have more chances of repulsing Dorothy." He saw Trowa cocked an eyebrow. "What I mean is, as her boyfriend, you're now entitled to go lovey-dovey on her, right? So she might easily confess their relationship just to stop you from getting cozy with her." Duo then frowned. "What I don't understand is why Dorothy and Catherine agreed to go steady with you and Quatre. I'm pretty sure that they really do have a relationship, I'm not just being delusional or anything. And it'll be easier for the four of you if they just told you the truth instead of saying yes to your proposal."

Trowa was wondering about the same thing too. Dorothy hitting on him, agreeing to go steady with him, Quatre and Catherine undergoing the same thing --- it didn't make any sense. Unless… "Maybe Dorothy and Catherine were planning something --- like get me and Quatre back together. And having girlfriends might make the two of us realize that we don't like being with anyone but with each other."

"Nah. That's impossible. Those two wouldn't come up with that kind of plan," Duo replied. Then his violet eyes twinkled. "Or maybe they somehow sensed that we're trying to make them confess so they decided to just ride along."

"If that's the case, we'll be having more problems. This charade will continue forever if none of us would crack."

"Don't worry. They'll crack soon enough. Just continue showing 'affection' to Dorothy and I assure you once she saw your lips only a breath away, she'll immediately confess that she already has a girlfriend," Duo said mischievously. He then looked at his watch. "Well, gotta go. I'm starving. See ya at the party, Trowa. And goodluck with your girlfriend."

"Hn," Trowa responded. Duo's image then disappeared from the screen.

Trowa picked up his bag and headed out of the office. Though things were kinda messy, he believed that everything would eventually turn out fine. As of this moment, the only thing in his mind was that he couldn't wait to see Dorothy again.

"Master Quatre, you should take a break," Rashid said as he entered the control room.

Quatre looked up from his terminal and saw his bodyguard and long time friend carrying a tray of coffee and sandwiches. "Thanks, Rashid. I don't know what I'll do without you," Quatre said with affection.

Rashid smiled as he placed the tray on the nearby table. "So much for your vacaton. You're still stuck at work in the middle of the night."

Quatre left his terminal and went to the table. "Well, family business emergencies don't recognize vacations," he replied candidly after taking a seat. "I'm just glad that things are pretty lax in the Council so I could spend time with Catherine while she's staying with us."

Rashid bit back the remark that was about to come out of his lips when he heard Catherine's name and settled on grinning slyly instead. He knew about the whole scam and he laughed so hard when Quatre told him about Catherine's 'answer' to his proposal. The plan was starting to back fire. And from what he'd observed about Quatre and Catherine for the past week, the plan would backfire even some more. Soon.

"I'll go check if Abdul and the others are finished with the repairs in the South Wing. Enjoy your dinner, Master Quatre," With that, Rashid left the room.

Quatre leaned back on his chair as he took a sip of his coffee. He knew what Rashid was thinking when he mentioned Catherine. He couldn't blame him though. It was really funny, the way things turned out to be --- if you weren't the one caught in the middle that is. If he wasn't the one who pretended to court a girl for the past week, if he wasn't the one who asked a girl to go steady with him, and if he wasn't the one who was stuck in having a girlfriend by accident, he would have laughed his head off too. But he was all of that.

"How did I get myself into this mess?" he wondered out loud. He then grimaced. "It was just like Duo to concoct a half-baked plan." In his opinion, nothing about the plan went as expected. Catherine was supposed to be appalled by his advances, not be enamored by them and also flirt with him! She was also supposed to turn down his proposal and confess her relationship with Dorothy, not say yes! Did I upset some cosmic balance or did I incurred the wrath of Allah in anyway that caused me to be in this situation?

But he had to admit that it wasn't actually as bad as it sounded. That was the problem. Having Catherine as his girlfriend, even in pretense, wasn't as bad as he wanted it to be. And it scared him to think what this might mean. I'm not actually falling in love with Cathy, am I? he wondered. He shook his head. Maybe this is just the result of being together for 13 days, living in the same house, doing everything together. That's probably it. It's only natural for me to get attracted to her since she's beautiful --- both inside and out, he reasoned. Well, he'd been attracted to her before, when they were 17. And if not for Trowa, he might have pursued his attraction to her.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a beep of an incoming transmission. He stood up and went to the terminal. "Hello, Noin," Quatre greeted with surprise. "How did you know I'm here?"

"I've been calling the mansion the entire day, both you and Catherine were always out. Then the last time I called, your butler told me that you left to deal with this emergency in the W-018 Resource Satellite so I decided to call you there. Cathy still wasn't in the mansion," Noin told him.

"Cathy's show ends at 8 then they still have to clean up and do some other stuff first so she won't be able to get home 'til 8:30 or 9."

"What about you? What time will you be home?"

"I might be home by ten, the earliest," Quatre answered.

"So how are you holding up?"

"If you disregard the fact that things didn't go as planned and that my boyfriend's sister is now my girlfriend, I'm just fine," Quatre replied with little humor.

"Don't worry. It will be over soon," Noin said with sympathy. "Just remember that you're doing this for Catherine and Dorothy."

"Who are you talking to, hon?" they heard Zechs asked from the background.

"Quatre. I finally able to reach him," Noin told her husband.

Zechs then appeared beside Noin. "Hi, Quatre. How does it feel to have a girlfriend?" Zechs inquired with a slight grin.

Quatre sighed. "It's not really different from just having a friend who's a girl to hang out with. But it's kinda awkward to make 'contact', you know."

"That's understandable. She's Trowa's sister afterall. And you're just playacting. It's really hard to make contact with someone you're not in love with," Noin said.

Quatre inwardly cringed. He couldn't shrug off the feeling that sometimes, he wasn't playacting.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We made some changes regarding the Christmas Party. Noin and I thought that it would be for the best if it'll only be us --- like a private gathering of close friends. If you and Catherine, Trowa and Dorothy come to the party as couples, the news that you and Trowa broke out will spread like wildfire since all the ESUN bigshots are invited. We want to keep everything among 'family' and not involve the whole ESUN. That's why we told everyone to come to the New Year's Eve Ball instead," Zechs told him. "That gives us another week to settle things if by Christmas Eve, things aren't what they're supposed to be."

Quatre smiled with gratitude at the couple. He was worrying about the same thing. "Thanks guys. That's one problem off our chests."

"No need to thanks us. It's the only thing we could do to help. Hopefully by New Year's Eve, everything is back to normal," Noin replied. "We'll leave you to work so you can go home early. Bye, Quatre."

"Bye, Noin. Bye, Zechs."

"Bye," Zechs said. The call was then terminated.

Quatre went to the table to grab a sandwich before returning to his terminal. He ate with the other hand while the other worked on the control panel. The thought of seeing Catherine, of going home where she might be waiting for him, made him want to finish his work faster.

”Nice show, Miss Catherine,” Auda told her when she went out of the circus tent.

”Thanks,” Catherine answered, smiling. Then, she thought of something. “Auda, why are you here? I thought you went with Quatre, Rashid and Abdul to the resource satellite.”

“Master Quatre asked me to stay so I could take you home after the show. And also to keep you company while he’s away.”

Catherine couldn’t help smiling. If Quatre was anything, he was thoughtful. He always had been. “I have to warn you though that were not leaving just yet. I still have to help with the clean-up.”

”You don’t have to worry about me. Go change to something comfortable, Miss Catherine. I’m going to help the clowns inside,” Auda told her before going inside the tent.

Catherine headed towards her trailer and went in. She plopped down on her bed then sighed. Her life couldn’t get more complicated than this. After spending the last 12 days with Quatre, doing everything and going everywhere together, also seducing each other, they were now a couple. Imagine --- her brother’s ex-boyfriend, whom she had the hots for 3 years ago, was now her boyfriend (fake boyfriend but still her boyfriend) while her brother was now the boyfriend of her current girlfriend. It was like an elaborate soap opera. She wasn’t expecting any of this when she agreed to Dorothy’s plan. And she didn’t know how Quatre would fall for her lame attempts in flirting (for she didn’t know the first thing about seducing men) nor she couldn’t comprehend why Quatre would flirt with her too and actually ask her to go steady with him. Quatre wasn’t the type of guy who flirts or who asks a girl to go steady. Come to think of it, no guy in their group was that cheesy.

”Why do I always find myself in this kind of situations?” she wondered outloud. It was just like 5 months ago when she and Dorothy had to pretend to be Heero’s and Trowa’s girlfriends. But they got a better deal then --- the 4 of them knew that they weren’t really couples. In this case, only she and Dorothy knew that they were pretending since the two of them were already involved and that they only planned to hit on Quatre and Trowa so those two guys could get back together.

”Why do I always get paired up with someone for the good of humanity?” she asked again. “First with Heero, now with Quatre. At least Dorothy got paired only with Trowa --- then and now. Why does this always happen to me?” Actually, she already knew the answer to that. It was because she was single, or they thought she was single. “Maybe I should get myself a boyfriend so I wouldn’t be paired up with anybody anymore.”

Realizing what she just said, she sat up and clamped her mouth with her right hand. Did I really mean that? she asked herself. She lowered her hand. That was absurd. I’m already involved with someone --- Dorothy. I don’t need a boyfriend. She suddenly grinned. Technically speaking, I also have a boyfriend. Then something hit her. She enjoyed pretending to be Quatre’s girlfriend! She enjoyed being with him, she even was pining for him since he left at 4 that afternoon. This was the first time he missed a show. They spent the entire day together, true, but he had to leave suddenly because of some emergency in one of the Winner resource satellites. But he promised to be back at 10. What’s happening to me? Is it possible that I’m falling in love with him? Again? she silently asked. She shook her head. I might just got used to him being around. It was a natural side-effect of living in the same house, she reasoned. Besides, it’s ludicrous for me to fall in love with him. I agreed to this plan in the first place so I could get him and Trowa back together, not get Quatre for myself, thereby forever separating them. I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t that. But somehow, she still felt guilty.

She stood up and grabbed the pair of jeans and t-shirt on top of her dresser that she wore before the show started. She just finished changing when her vidphone rang.

”Hi, Sally,” Catherine greeted.

”Hello, Cathy. How was the show?” Sally asked.

”Fine. I did a new routine tonight. You should see it.”

”I definitely will. You know that I’m a devout fan of yours. Just tell me when you’re going to perform here on the Sanc Kingdom,” Sally said. “By the way, I heard about you and Quatre. Congratulations.”

If only they knew that we’re just pretending. “Thanks,” she answered brightly. And the strange thing was, she didn’t force herself to answer brightly. The thought of her and Quatre being a couple made her naturally 'bright'.

”Onna, it’s already late. Who are you talking to?” Wufei asked from somewhere in their house.

Sally rolled her eyes. “I’m talking to Cathy, Wu. And it’s not yet late.”

Wufei suddenly materialized behind Sally. He nodded at the redhead. “Catherine.”

Catherine smiled at him. As anal as ever, she thought with affection. “Hi, Wufei.”

”Did my onna tell you about the changes Zechs and Noin made for the Christmas Party?” he inquired.

Catherine’s brow furrowed. “Changes?”

Wufei turned to his wife. “I knew that you’ll forget.”

”I didn’t forget. I was about to tell her when you interrupted us by showing up,” Sally retorted. She then addressed Catherine. “Instead of having a grand celebration on Christmas Eve, we’ll be having a private gathering --- just us. The grand celebration will be held on New Year’s Eve.”

”So, they switched the plans for the Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties, huh,” Catherine commented. Mentioning the Christmas Party made her uneasy though. They had to get Quatre and Trowa together before then so she and Dorothy could confess their relationship. If they failed, then they had to postpone their confession. They couldn’t just tell everyone that she and Dorothy were involved if they had boyfriends. Besides, Quatre and Trowa might get hurt. “But why did they change the plans?”

Wufei and Sally looked at each other. "We don’t know. Maybe they thought that a cozy Christmas party is better,” Wufei half-lied. “I like this plan better though.”

”Me too. And I think it’s more appropriate to celebrate Christmas with close friends then celebrate the coming of the New Year with many people. Not vice versa,” Catherine replied.

”I agree. Oh my, sorry if we kept you. I know you’re tired. We’ll go now so you can rest. Bye, Cathy. See you at the party,” Sally told her.

”Bye, Sally. Bye, Wufei.”

“Bye,” Wufei said. Afterwhich, he terminated the call.

Catherine combed her hair then went out of her trailer. While helping the Manager put away stuff, she hummed to herself. She couldn’t wait for Quatre to come back. To her.

Chapter Three

Quatre groggily carried a buzzed up Catherine to her trailer. The circus' 2-week show just ended and they were all celebrating. A little too much, actually. Everyone was all buzzed up --- the Manager, the clowns, the other circus performers, the whole Maganac Corps, even Quatre. He barely managed to walk, much less walk carrying a 115-lb drunk woman in his arms. Upon entering, he headed straight to her bed. Finally, he thought, depositing his precious cargo on the bed. But being drunk and all, he stumbled on the bed, landing on top of her. Quatre blinked. Twice. His face was just millimeters away from hers, his chest pressed against her breasts. He stared at her, studying the curves of her face. She was beautiful. Then bit by bit, her purple eyes changed to green, her red hair to brown, until all that Quatre could see was Trowa. He slowly leaned down and gently pressed his lips against his.

A drunk Dorothy entered the house, followed by an equally drunk Trowa. He watched as Dorothy tried to walk in a straight line, unsuccessfully of course. To be honest, he was having the same difficulties. But fortunately, he knew how to carry himself and he was adept in hiding any form of weaknesses from others. And being as buzzed up as he was, it was a wonder how he managed to drive them home safely from the last bar they went to. After work, Dorothy wanted to celebrate, having just closed the deal that was giving her hell the past week. And since Heero and Relena were staying with Duo and Hilde to attend a conference in L2 and wouldn't be returning until the next day, he was the only one available to celebrate with. Besides, he was supposed to be Dorothy's boyfriend, he should escort her everywhere. So he found himself being dragged by Dorothy from one bar to the other, making him grasp the reason why they put the word 'hopping' in 'bar hopping'. Trowa suddenly sobered a bit when he saw Dorothy tripped on the stairs. He reached her just in time to break her fall.

"Whoa," Dorothy muttered.

"Come on. I'll carry you to your room," Trowa said, poised to sweep her off her feet.

"No need for that. I can walk," Dorothy slurred, pushing away from him only to find herself stumbling again. Trowa caught her and started helping her up the stairs. He would have carried her but knowing how proud she was, he settled on helping her walk instead. Finally, they reached her room. Trowa opened the door for her.

"Thanks for everything, Trowa. Goodnight," Dorothy told him, standing on tip-toe to kiss him on the cheeks. Trowa, on the other hand, started to lean down to kiss her goodnight on the cheeks too. But as everyone knew, alcohol had a drastic effect on a person's motor skills, not to mention on one's calculation and judgment regarding spaces and distances. So instead of the cheeks, they ended up kissing each other on the lips. Surprised, they suddenly broke apart, making Dorothy lose her balance. But with lightning quick reflexes (which, surprisingly, wasn't affected by his present intoxication), Trowa caught her again. She looked up and held his gaze.

Catherine felt her head spin as she opened her eyes and saw a familiar pair of ash-blue eyes and long platinum blonde hair. Dorothy, her mind chanted. She saw her leaning down towards her, closing her eyes when their lips touched. She reached out to cup her face to further deepen the kiss, her hands slowly gliding down Dorothy's shoulders then her waist. She could feel Dorothy's hands touching every curve of her body. But Dorothy's touch seemed so… unfamiliar, so different, so unlike her, just like what Cathy felt while running her hand on Dorothy's body. It seemed more like it was a man, not a woman, she was in bed with. She then felt her blouse being unbuttoned and Dorothy's lips making a trail down her chest. She let out a gasp when Dorothy captured a hardened nipple with her mouth and began suckling her. She opened her eyes and saw Quatre, not Dorothy, on top of her. Quatre looked up, their eyes meeting momentarily before he moved on to her other breast. And instead of withdrawing away from his touch, she closed her eyes again and moaned, not wanting him to stop.

Quatre felt Trowa's hands cupped his face, wanting to deepen the kiss. He complied, giving Trowa a kiss that would knock him breathless, while Trowa's hands traveled further down his body. Quatre pulled away and started kissing his neck, then his chest. His tongue circled around a nipple, teasing him, before capturing it with his mouth. It was only a little later on did it register to his head how odd everything was. For one thing, the last time he checked, Trowa didn't have big breasts. Aside from that, his body felt so soft to be male. He looked up and instead of Trowa, he saw Catherine staring back at him. But it was already too late. He wanted this. And he wanted her. So without any second thought, he continued on what he was doing, wanting to taste every part of her.

Dorothy's vision was all fuzzy, so when she looked at Trowa, she saw Catherine instead. Trowa, on the other hand, alternately saw Dorothy and Quatre in front of him. They stared at each other for a few more seconds then slowly, their lips met again. Dorothy closed her eyes, drinking her in. Trowa held Quatre by the shoulders and pushed him inside the room, his foot shutting the door close. He could feel his hands under his shirt, roaming around his well-built torso. Trowa fumbled with Quatre's top, then his jeans as he gently steered him to the bed. The moment his hands kneaded his breasts, he knew. It wasn't Quatre. His vision cleared a little and saw Dorothy beneath him. At the same time, Dorothy opened her eyes, realizing that the hard body pressed against her was Trowa, not Catherine. But they let everything be. It was too late. They were in too deep into this now, there was no turning back. Besides, their bodies were aching for each other. They discarded their remaining clothing as their hands and mouths continued exploring each other.

Dorothy wanted to pretend that it was Catherine who was causing these pleasurable sensations, but she couldn't. It was Trowa's lips, Trowa's hands and Trowa's body that were driving her crazy. "Ooohhhhh," she moaned, her body trembling, her head thrashing against the pillows while Trowa held her waist down and continued suckling her center. After a few minutes, Trowa released her and started kissing her navel, then her breasts, making a hot trail towards her lips. Dorothy kissed him passionately then without warning, rolled him over, straddling him. She rocked her hips as her lips traveled down his neck. She slid further down and with one hand held him captive. She licked and sucked him until he groaned. Trowa stopped her, not wanting to reach his peak just yet. He then flipped her over, his body crushing hard on her. He parted her legs and slowly entered her.

Catherine gently lowered herself, feeling Quatre fill her bit by bit. Once completely inside, she lifted herself then went down again. Quatre's hands reached out to her waist, making her bounce on him faster. He then flipped her over, thrusting hard into her. Catherine wrapped her legs around him, meeting each of his thrusts. Quatre continued thrusting, their bodies grinding, burning, nearing their release...

Trowa lifted Dorothy into a sitting position and made her back rest against the headboard. He put her legs around his neck, thrusting once, then twice, all the while suckling her breasts. His thrusts became faster while her moans became louder as both of them neared their peak...

They held onto each other as their bodies trembled with release and ecstasy. A silent moment passed, pleasure washing over them. Then after a few heartbeats, exhaustion finally caught up with them making them fall into a deep sleep.

Catherine woke up with a bad headache when she heard her vidphone ring. It was a good thing that she was facing the vidphone so she just reached out to answer it.

"There you are," Sally greeted. She then grinned when she saw how Cathy looked and that she was still in bed and it was almost lunchtime. "That must be one hell of a celebration last night huh. I've been calling the mansion and Ray said that you, Quatre and the whole Maganac Corps still haven't come home from the circus' closing party. Hey, where's Quat---" Sally trailed off and paled when she saw something stir beside Catherine.

Catherine noticed Sally's reaction. "Why, Sally, what's wro---" she began to say, following her friend's gaze. She saw Quatre sitting beside her, rubbing his eyes, naked from the waist up (and the waist down, she was sure of it but the blanket was covering him). Quatre turned to look at her. They both blinked. Then blinked again.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!" they both exclaimed, Catherine clutching the blanket to her naked chest, Quatre jumping out of the bed. Realizing his 'predicament', he quickly snatched a pillow and covered himself, turning beet red. "Trowa will kill me!" they yelled at the same time. "And Dorothy too!" they added. "Huh?! What do you mean by that?" they both asked.

"Who are you talking to, onna? And why all the yelling? I could hear ---" Wufei's eyes bulged when he reached his wife's side and saw the image in the vidphone's screen. "Kisama! What in Nataku's name... The dishonor!"

Catherine and Quatre turned to look at the screen and reddened. "Umm, guys, we'll get back to you later ok? As can you see, we're --- uhh, busy here," Cathy told them.

Though still dazed, Sally managed to nod before disconnecting the call. Quatre quickly grabbed his clothes. "I better leave," he said, putting on his boxers.

"Yeah," Catherine responded, putting on her clothes as well. When Quatre was finished dressing up, he mumbled, "Bye," then rushed out of the trailer.

Trowa's head was pounding when he woke up. This is the last time I'll drink that much, he vowed to himself. Aside from the killer hangover, he also had that alcohol-induced weird dream of him sleeping with Dorothy. He turned over, planning to sleep-in all day until his head stopped pounding when he saw Dorothy beside him. At the same time, Dorothy opened her eyes, thinking of the strange but hot dream she had. Emerald green met ash-blue, both widening at the realization that it wasn't just a dream afterall. Suddenly, they felt very naked (well, they really were naked) and too close for comfort that they both jumped off the bed, tugging the blanket to cover their bodies. Unfortunately, the blanket wasn't big enough to cover both of them so they ended up with a blanket tug-of war. Trowa then came to his senses, realizing that he should be a gentleman and let Dorothy have the blanket so he let go and grabbed a pillow instead. Dorothy didn't know that Trowa would let go so she kept tugging with all her might, making her fall hard on her butt. Trowa inwardly cringed when he saw her fall on the floor. "Sorry," he muttered, hastily putting on his boxers.

"It's nothing," Dorothy replied, rubbing her sore bottom before rising on her feet and wrapping the blanket around her body.

Trowa picked up his shirt after zipping his pants. If it were any normal circumstance, he would just do his famous silent exit routine. But after what happened the night before, he thought that he should say something before he left, as a courtesy to her. "I better go," he said, walking towards the door, holding his shirt with one hand. When he opened it, he got his second shock of the day.

"Trowa!" Relena exclaimed, her hand poised to knock on the door.

"Relena. You're back," Trowa said in his usual tone, hiding the fact that he was shocked and embarrassed to be caught half-naked in Dorothy's room.

Relena tried to ignore his half-dressed appearance and Dorothy's wrapped-in-a-blanket fashion statement inside the room. "Umm, we arrived early this morning. I just want to tell Dorothy that lunch is served."

Dorothy approached them, standing behind Trowa. "Relena, I ---"

"Relena, Trowa isn't in his room," Heero called out. Heero's lips then twitched up a bit when he saw Trowa and Dorothy. He put his arm around Relena's shoulder then said, "There you are. I presume Relena told you about lunch being served. We'll meet you two downstairs."

Dorothy nodded while Trowa gave him a grateful look. Trowa glanced at Dorothy first before going to his room, afterwhich Dorothy gave the couple an embarassed smile then closed the door.

Heero and Relena went downstairs. "You're right. These kinds of plans tend to backfire," Heero told his wife.

Zechs and Noin just finished talking to Lady Une in the Preventer's main HQ in the Sanc Kingdom so the 3 decided to ask Wufei and Sally to go eat lunch with them.

"Sal, Wu, want to join us for lunch?" Lady Une asked when they entered the couple's shared office.

Sally and Wufei didn't respond. They just remained staring at the blank vidphone.

"Hey, Sally, Wufei, what's wrong?" Noin asked, noting the shocked expression on the couple's faces.

The two looked at them, as if just realizing that they had company. "We have trouble," Wufei told them.

"What kind of trouble?" Zechs inquired.

Wufei and Sally looked at each other. "Quatre and Catherine slept together," Sally answered.

"Oh. My. God," Noin and Lady Une muttered just as Zechs said, "Holy shit."

Lunch in the Yuy residence that day was a quiet affair, which was unusual even if Heero and Trowa were naturally silent. For the past two weeks, the 4 friends managed to have a lively conversation during their meals. But this day, a tensed silence enveloped the dining room. Trowa and Dorothy avoided each other's gaze throughout the whole meal. They also avoided looking at Heero and Relena who were the only two other persons who had an idea on what happened between them last night. Relena averted her gaze too, having been ashamed of discovering Trowa and Dorothy's little secret while Heero remained nonchalant about everything, as if nothing extraordinary happened. After lunch, Dorothy and Trowa excused themselves to do their own thing, something they hadn't done the whole two weeks they were there, having always tried to do everything together.

A little later on, Heero found Trowa in the bar. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to drink after what happened last night," Heero said, heading towards the counter to get a drink.

Trowa smiled wryly before gulping his drink and handing it to Heero for a refill. It was just like Heero to immediately deduce what happened last night. He might have smelled the alcohol from him this morning. "Where's Relena?"

"Resting."

Trowa nodded. He then waited for a few moments before asking, "And Dorothy?"

"In her room," Heero answered with slight amusement. He finished pouring Trowa's drink and handed it to him.

Trowa took the glass and stared at it. "When I woke up this morning, I vowed not to drink that much again. But here I am, skulking down one drink after another when just last night I was so drunk I slept with my sister's girlfriend. Oh, and I'm still suffering from a hang over," Trowa told him flatly.

Heero sat down beside him. "Alcohol would just cause you to lose your inhibitions, not make you do something you don't want to do," Heero pointed out.

Trowa inwardly sighed. Heero was right, as usual. "I know. I might be drunk but I know what I was doing. At first I thought I was with Quatre but in the back of my mind, I know I was with Dorothy. And when I confirmed that I really was with her, I still didn't stop."

"What are you going to do now?" Heero asked.

"Continue with the plan. I don't want Quatre, Cathy and the others to suspect anything. And the sooner everything's straightened out, the better," Trowa answered. After a while, he decided to answer the hidden implication of Heero's question. Regarding Quatre and Dorothy. "About the other thing, I don't know."

"Hn," Heero replied, finishing his drink. "Come on. A good fight in the simulation room will clear your head. It's better than intoxicating yourself," he told Trowa as he stood up.

Trowa finished his drink and followed Heero to the simulation room.

Quatre paced inside his room. In just a few days, things got from complicated to an absolute nightmare. He had to do something or else he would go completely insane. Making a decision, he went to the vidphone and dialed a number.

Relena laid on the bed, thinking of Trowa and Dorothy's current extracurricular activity and how this would affect Quatre and Catherine when she heard a beep from Heero's laptop. She reached out to the bedside table to answer the call.

"Quatre!" she said, surprised. Not only because she was just thinking of him but also because he looked like hell.

"I see that you're resting, Relena. Maybe I should call later…"

"No. It's ok. I'm just lying down anyways," Relena said as she sat up, smiling at him.

Quatre smiled back, though a little wearily. "Umm, where's Heero?" he asked, stalling for some time.

"He went downstairs to look for Trowa. Er--- he wanted to have a good fight in the simulation room."

"Oh. How are Trowa and Dorothy, by the way?"

Relena became slightly nervous. "Umm, good. Great. They're fantastic. You know, the usual," she answered. She then decided to change the topic. "How about you and Catherine?"

"Good. Great. Fantastic. Oh, and I slept with her last night," Quatre replied with a tinge of sarcasm.

Relena's eyes widened as she put her hand to her mouth to keep herself from shouting. The world is definitely coming to an end. The peace we all worked hard for will just be going to waste, she thought.

Seeing Relena's reaction, Quatre hastily said, "I didn't plan on it, I swear. It just happened." He said it so sadly and heart-broken that Relena lowered her hand and looked at him sympathetically. "That's why I called you. I'm going to explode if I don't talk to someone about this."

"What exactly happened, Quatre?"

Quatre took a deep breath. "We were drunk. I carried her to her trailer. Then one thing led to another. Not that I'm blaming the alcohol for my actions. I might be buzzed but I still had an idea of what I was doing. At first I thought Catherine was Trowa, but the weird thing was, when I learned that I really was with Catherine, I still continued on what I was doing. Maybe mistaking Catherine for Trowa was just a psychological mechanism to make my actions seemed right."

Relena could see the pain in his face, in his eyes, she could even hear it in his voice. If only she could reach out and comfort him. "What are you planning to do now?"

"Continue with the playacting. I couldn't possibly back-out now, everyone will surely suspect that something was wrong," he answered. He then saw the question in Relena's eyes. Quatre sighed. "I don't know, Relena. I really don't know."

Relena gave him a comforting smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure things will be better. Always remember that we're all here for you."

Quatre gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks for listening, Relena."

"Anytime. Bye, Quatre. See you tomorrow."

"Bye." The call was then terminated.

Relena laid down again. It surely looks like we'll be having one hell of a Christmas vacation, she thought before closing her eyes.

Catherine took her time walking from the Cratian plaza to the Mansion. If only the circus wasn't leaving to go back to L3 today, she would have stayed in her trailer until their flight to Earth tomorrow. So she just contented herself in helping pack things up, stalling for time. But the circus just left for the spaceport and now, she didn't have anywhere else to go. And here I thought that my life couldn't get more complicated, she thought, bitterly. It was like saying nothing worse could possibly happen then finding out that something worse indeed happened. She felt guilty, and bad about herself. She might be drunk and she might be thinking of Dorothy at first, but she still let it happen. She wanted it to happen. And to top it all, she still had that killer headache. But she knew that she had to continue with the plan. Maybe getting Trowa and Quatre back together would atone for that one wanton act. She finally reached the mansion and rang the doorbell. Ray, the butler, opened the door.

"Miss Catherine, come in. We've been waiting for you."

After spending two hours doing combat simulation, Heero headed to their room. He went to the bed, sat down and kissed his sleeping wife gently on the lips.

Relena opened her eyes and smiled at him. "So how is he?" she asked, snuggling closer.

"The combat simulation helped ease him out a bit. He's still troubled, though. I guess anyone in his position would be. But he's resolute in continuing with the plan."

"Just like Quatre," Relena told him. Heero looked at her questioningly. "Quatre called earlier. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he had undergone the same experience with Catherine last night," she explained.

"Hn. I should have expected that. With what's happening lately and with the luck those 4 are having, it's evident that something like that would happen. It's very symmetric actually. What happens to Trowa and Dorothy also happens to Quatre and Catherine and vice versa."

"If the situation isn't this serious, I would have found everything amusing. But 4 people's feelings and relationships are at stake here," Relena said in a sad voice.

Heero then thought of something. "If Catherine gets pregnant, Dorothy will get pregnant as well, because of the symmetry, right?"

Relena lightly slapped him on the shoulder. "Stop joking around, Heero. That's not funny."

"I'm not joking. We have to face the fact that there's a big possibility of Catherine and Dorothy getting pregnant. Even if they had intimate relations only once."

Relena sighed. "I know. Let's just hope it won't come to that. The situation is complicated enough as it is."

Suddenly, they heard a beep coming from Heero's laptop. Heero pushed a button and saw the images of Duo and Hilde, Zechs and Noin, Wufei and Sally on the monitor, each couple occupying a small portion of the screen.

"Houston, we have a problem," Duo greeted.

"What are you talking about, Maxwell?" Wufei grumbled.

"It's a line from this very old movie where the shuttle they sent to the moon was having problems so ---"

Heero cut him off by saying, "Just get to the point, Duo."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Geez. Ok. There's a slight complication in our plan. I know you wouldn't believe it, I had troubles believing it myself. But Sally and Wufei saw it with their very own eyes so it must be true. I have to warn you, though, it really is shocking. I mean ---"

"Just tell it to them already," Zechs told him.

"Ok. Ok. Quatre and Catherine slept together," Duo said, waiting for the shocked reactions of Heero and Relena.

"We know," Relena said coolly.

The 3 couples facevaulted. "WHAT?!"

"Quatre called me earlier and told me about it."

"And that's not our only problem," Heero added.

"We have other problems?" Hilde choked out.

"Trowa and Dorothy slept together too," Relena informed them.

Six pairs of eyes were in danger of popping out and falling to the floor.

"Whoa. Brain freeze," Duo said as he rubbed his head.

"What?! When?! Where?! Why?! How?!" Noin asked one after the other.

"Yes. Last night. In Dorothy's room. They were drunk. You have to ask them about that," Heero answered.

"What are they planning to do about this, then?" Sally inquired.

"They both want to continue with the charade. They didn't want anyone to suspect so all of you should act as if you don't know anything, well, except for Sally and Wufei who saw Cathy and Quatre," Relena replied. "And we should be careful. One slip and we jeopardize those four's relationship with each other." Everyone looked at Duo pointedly.

"Not a word, promise," Duo told them. "So, what can we do to help?"

Wufei shook his head. "There you go again, Maxwell. We did enough damage already. We should just let them play it out."

"But we couldn't just stand here and do nothing. Besides, I won't be able to sleep knowing that this is all my fault considering I was the one who came up with this plan in the first place."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Duo. This is not entirely your fault. We are also at fault since we went along with the plan," Sally said.

"But what can we do? I mean I really want to do something but it's scary to think that we might end up making everything worse," said Noin.

"Yeah. We were just trying to help but look where it got us," Hilde stated.

"Wufei is right. We should just let them play it out on their own. Any interference might do more harm than good," Zechs told them. "Besides, they only committed one slip up. It's up to them if they want to pursue it or if they're going to tell it to their respective partners."

"I couldn't help but think that they are bound to commit more slip ups since they'll be coming to the party tomorrow as couples. And they're going to sleep in the same room. That's one temptation that would be hard to resist," Relena said. "Then Trowa and Quatre have to pretend that they were just friends now in front of Dorothy and Catherine all the while pretending to the rest of us, especially to each other that nothing happened between them and their girl partners."

"We could help them prevent another slip up like that from happening," Heero voiced out.

"How?" Hilde asked.

"If you think someone in the next room will hear you, would you still risk doing 'it'?"

Duo smirked. "If I can remember correctly, you, Relena, Quatre and Trowa still risked doing it."

Relena reddened while Heero just shrugged. "Zechs and Noin's room was far from ours. And we didn't know that Relena and Quatre would shout that loud," Heero said, earning a light slap on the shoulders from his wife again.

Wufei nodded. "I know what you're getting at, Heero. The knowledge that the other is just in the next room will make Trowa and Quatre more resistant in succumbing to temptation."

"Hn. It might also strengthen their guilt and make them confess faster. Zechs, you can let Quatre and Catherine stay in my former room there while Trowa and Dorothy can stay in Relena's room. Trowa and Quatre know that I made the walls separating the two rooms thinner so I could easily hear if someone tries to sneak in and harm Relena. They also know that I put a connecting door between our rooms though they don't know where it is and how to open it."

Zechs glared at him. "You mean that throughout your stay in the Palace, you have complete access to Relena's room?"

"It's for her own protection. How could I protect her if I couldn't go inside her room at will? Besides, you and Noin were still in Mars when I made the changes."

"Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you didn't use that door for any other 'purpose' except to protect Relena?" Zechs asked, staring directly into his eyes.

"No. I'll be lying if I do," Heero replied with a slight smile.

Zechs was about to answer back when Duo said, "Well, just think about it this way, Zechs. Relena is safer if Heero is in bed with her." Duo then mock-gasped when Zechs glared at him. "I mean if Heero is with her," he added mischievously.

Zechs glared at him again, then at Heero before letting out a sigh. He should just let it go. It was all in the past and they were already married.

"So I guess that's all we could do for them huh," Relena remarked, steering back to the original topic of conversation.

"With all of this happening to them, I wonder if they'll be able to pull off the plan," Sally said.

"I hope so. And I hope soon enough. They only have until before the New Year's Eve party," Hilde replied.

"What if things weren't back to normal by then?" Noin inquired.

Silence. "I say we pull the plug, but we have to ask Trowa and Quatre first," Duo told them.

After battling with Heero in the simulation room, Trowa went to the study. Heero was right, the combat simulation helped clear his head. He still felt guilty, and rotten, but he just had to make sure not let that thing happen again. What mattered now was to finish the mission --- and the sooner it was, the better.

He sat down in front of the vidphone, dialed a number and waited. After a while, Quatre's image appeared on the screen.

"T-trowa, hi," Quatre greeted, a little surprised.

Guilt gnawed at Trowa the instant he saw Quatre. "Hi, Quatre. How are you?"

"Ok. And you?"

"The same," Trowa answered. "I need to talk to you about something."

Quatre's heart pounded in his chest. "What?"

"I don't think we could finish the mission by tomorrow. Dorothy still hasn't shown any signs of confessing." To put it lightly, Trowa thought.

I'm not in a hurry to confess myself, Quatre thought. "Catherine isn't showing any signs of confessing either." Then realization dawned on him. "Oh. And because we'll be coming to the party tomorrow as couples and stay that way until everything is straightened out, you're worried that I'll get jealous, is that it? Don't worry. I won't. I know everything is just playacting." Quatre almost choked while saying his last sentence. Trowa, on the other hand, inwardly cringed when he heard the word 'playacting'.

"Hn. We have one week to make them confess. See you tomorrow, Quatre."

"See you tomorrow. Bye." Quatre then disconnected the call.

Trowa sighed in relief then stood up. He was walking out of the room when he heard the vidphone ring again. He went back to answer it.

"Cathy," Trowa said, barely managing to hide his surprise. During Dorothy's entire stay there in L1, Catherine didn't call even once.She must be using the phone in the study, he thought. But what rotten luck he was having. He just slept with Dorothy last night then the next day Cathy would call him? Was it some sort of divine act to further amplify his guilt?

Catherine grinned at him sheepishly. She didn't know how Trowa would react if he learned that she slept with his ex-boyfriend. The magic word was 'ex' but she was certain that those two still had feelings for each other. I sure hope he forgives me. "Hello, Trowa. How are you doing?"

"Fine. So how was the closing show?"

"Excellent, as usual."

"Speaking of the 'usual', I bet you got blind drunk again during the closing party," Trowa teased.

Catherine started getting nervous. "You know me too well, Trowa."

"I know that you get drunk easily. I assume Quatre took care of you?"

Her heart rate was really escalating now. "Uhh, yeah."

Trowa smiled. "Hope you didn't give him too much trouble. You're a handful when you're buzzed."

Oh, I gave him trouble, alright, she thought while smiling uneasily at him. She didn't want where the conversation was heading. "Umm, Trowa, can I talk to Dorothy?"

Trowa cocked an eyebrow. This is interesting. "Sure. I'll go get her."

"Thanks."

In her room, Dorothy peered out the window, lost in thought. After lunch, she closeted herself in her room all day. If only she still had work to do, she could bury herself in them and forget about what transpired last night. She felt horrible. Guilt and shame alternately ate upon her. Thinking that Trowa was Catherine was a poor excuse indeed. This wasn't suppose to happen. How could I let this happen? she asked herself. But wallowing about the past wasn't her style. All she could do now was to make sure not to repeat the same mistake again. She also had to focus on the mission at hand. She had to continue with the plan or else all that they went through would be put to waste. Her reverie was interrupted when she heard a knock on her door.

"Dorothy, Cathy wants to speak to you," Trowa told her.

Trowa? Cathy? "Thanks, Trowa. I'll be right down."

Dorothy took a deep breath before going inside the study. She headed straight to the vidphone. "Hi, Cathy. How was the circus?" she asked, masking her guilt with a bright smile.

"Great. How about you? How was work?" Catherine asked brightly back though her heart was pounding.

"A pain in the ass. But I finished everything so I'm not complaining anymore."

Catherine peered over Dorothy's shoulder. "Where are the others?"

"Heero and Relena are in their room. Trowa told me that you want to talk to me then disappeared when I opened the door. He might also be in his room."

A tensed silence followed. "So, Dorothy, repulsed him yet?"

Dorothy grimaced. On the contrary… "Umm, no. Not yet. You?"

He slept with me so I guess not. "Nope. That means that we have to do a rain check on our confession tomorrow huh."

"Yeah. We also have to go to the party tomorrow as couples," Dorothy replied. "And until we make them get back together, we'll remain as their girlfriends and we wouldn't be able to confess our relationship."

"So we must finish this mission as quickly as possible, hopefully before the New Year's Eve party. That means we must redouble our efforts in 'repulsing' them," Catherine said. They stared into each other's eyes. "There's nothing to worry about, right? We shouldn't get jealous or anything. We're just pretending to be interested," Catherine remarked, a little nervously.

"Yeah. It's not like we're really attracted to them," Dorothy replied, almost gagging at her words.

"I guess I'll just see you tomorrow then. Bye, Dorothy."

"Bye, Cathy," Dorothy told her before ending the call.

Catherine let out a sigh of relief. Thank God that was over. But she still had one more thing to do. She had to talk to Quatre.

Trowa found Dorothy sitting on a bench in the garden. "Can I sit here?" he asked.

"Sure," Dorothy answered. Trowa sat down beside her. They remained in a companionable silence.

After a while, Trowa said, "Dorothy, I apologize for what happened last night. I don't want you to think that I took advantage of you."

"I never thought that you'd taken advantage of me, Trowa. And I'm sorry too, for not handling the situation better. It just happened too fast, I didn't know how to react."

"Hn. We must take it slow then," Trowa told her. They looked at each other then smiled. Trowa offered a hand. "Let's go back inside. It's time for dinner."

Quatre and Catherine ate dinner in silence. When they were finished, Quatre said, "Cathy, can I talk to you?" at the same time Catherine told him, "Quatre, can I talk to you?"

They looked at each other then laughed. Quatre stood up. "We can talk in the study, if you like," he suggested.

Catherine nodded and followed him. They entered the study and sat down facing each other.

"Who goes first?" Catherine asked.

"Ladies first."

Catherine took a deep breath. "I want to say sorry for freaking out on you this morning. It's just that I wasn't expecting us to do that this soon in our, uhh, relationship."

"I know what you mean. I was just as freaked out as you. And I want to apologize too, Cathy. Please don't think that I took advantage of you or that I just used you because I'm on a rebound."

"I would never think of you that way. I know you, Quatre. You're not capable of such actions," Catherine told him.

Quatre smiled. "Now that we got everything out in the open, what do you say we watch a movie downtown, hmm?"

"Sure. I'll love to," Catherine answered with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 4: Uh-oh


December 24 3pm

So far, so good, Duo thought as their limo traveled from the spaceport to the Peacecraft Palace. If he didn't know better, he would think that Trowa and Dorothy, Quatre and Catherine were really couples. Everything seemed so natural, there were no awkward moments nor tensed silence. Trowa and Quatre, Dorothy and Catherine could even look directly into each other's eyes and keep a straight face while holding their respective partner's hand. Duo had to commend them, they were pretty good fakers. Actually, they all were. He and Hilde, Heero and Relena also played their parts well. They showed no indication that something was going on. But Duo couldn't help thinking that maybe those 4 weren't playacting anymore. And that was one scary thought.

Zechs and Noin greeted them when they arrived. Noin hugged Relena first, then the other girls, while the maids scurry past them to take their luggage upstairs, the boxes of Christmas presents to the Palace Ballroom. "So, how was your flight?" Noin asked.

"Fine," came the chorus of replies. Relena pulled away from her brother's hug and without thinking said, "It's good to be back. The last time I was here was before my 'elopement' with Quatre. And that was more than a year ago."

Everyone laughed at the memory, though their laughs slowly dissolved into forced smiles when they realized how uneasy that remark made everyone feel. The whole purpose of that mismatching deal was to make Relena and Quatre be with the ones they truly love. And now, only Relena was with the one she truly loved, seeing that Quatre and Trowa had new girlfriends. Sort of.

Oops, Relena thought, realizing that for the first time in her life, she had put her foot in her mouth. To change the topic, she asked. "By the way, where are twins?"

"Taking their naps," Zechs answered. "Don't worry. You'll definitely know the second they wake up."

"Speaking of naps, I know you're all tired . We'll show you to your rooms so you can rest a bit before dinner," Noin told them. She looked at Trowa, Dorothy, Quatre and Catherine. "Umm, you're going to stay in one room right? I mean Trowa and Dorothy will stay in one room, Quatre and Catherine in another?"

The 4 looked at each other first before nodding at Noin. What other choice did they have? They were all couples now, it was expected of them to share a room. Insisting that they sleep in separate rooms would only make their respective partners suspicious since they already had done 'it' (though they weren't planning on repeating the act any time soon, thank you very much). Besides, it was a surefire way to finish the mission, to repulse each other into confession. It might felt awkward but as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. And this was definitely a desperate time, all of them being that desperate to end this charade as quickly as possible.

The 8 of them followed Zechs and Noin upstairs. "Heero, Relena, this will be your room," Noin said, leading them to a luxurious room at their left. "Duo and Hilde will be staying in the room next to yours." Pointing to the opposite rooms, Noin continued, "Trowa and Dorothy will take Relena's former room while Heero's former room will be Quatre and Catherine's."

Heero and Relena, Duo and Hilde, went inside their rooms. Catherine and Dorothy took deep breaths first before going inside their respective rooms as well. But Trowa and Quatre stood arrested by the hallway, somewhat shocked.

"Is something the matter, Quatre, Trowa?" Zechs asked in what he wished was an innocent tone. Those inside their rooms poked their heads out once they heard Zechs' question.

Uh-oh, Quatre thought in the same time as Trowa's mind chanted, Great. This is just great. Not only would they be sleeping in rooms right next to each other, they would be sleeping in rooms that had a connecting door between them! Well, they didn't exactly know where it was or how to open it but the idea that the other could accidentally barge in was... disconcerting. Though they weren't really planning on doing anything and the 4 of them already agreed to take things slow after their little 'drunken accident' (meaning they could sleep in the same room and on the same bed but they wouldn't do anything that would go beyond cuddling and making out), they knew too well that they were only human not to get tempted, so to speak. Aside from that, they both knew that the walls were thin, thanks to Heero, so they could hear anything that was happening in the next room. How could they use their 'lover boy charms' full force on Catherine and Dorothy if they were constantly worried of someone hearing them?

"Nothing," the two men lied. They knew that it was improper to ask Zechs and Noin for new rooms since they already prepared these rooms for them. And after the initial shock, the logical part of their brains kicked back to life. This arrangement might actually work to their advantage. Catherine and Dorothy might get jealous (or furious, whichever the case may be) and immediately confess their relationship once they heard 'sounds' of their real partners being fawned over by the two men. As for Quatre and Trowa, they shouldn't be affected by any sounds that they might hear since both of them already settled the fact that this was all playacting, that they were just doing it to finish the mission. And to top it all, they would less likely be tempted to do anything 'real', knowing that those they cared about the most were just in the next room. A broken trust was a lot harder to set right than a broken bone and those wouldn't be the only things that would be broken if ever they commit the same slip up again.

"If everything's to your liking then we'll leave you now to rest. Dinner will be at 7 but we'll meet you at the bar by 6:30. Wufei and Sally will be here by then," Zechs told them.

The four couples nodded before returning to their rooms. Zechs and Noin then headed downstairs to make preparations for their small gathering that night.

Dorothy marched towards the closet and eyed their luggage warily. Just thinking that they had to unpack made her feel more tired. "I can't wait to shower and change," she muttered, more to herself than to Trowa.

Trowa locked the door and went to her side. "Then go take a shower. I'll take care of our luggage."

Dorothy looked at him doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

Trowa rummaged through one of Dorothy's suitcases. "Hn. Now go, before I change my mind," he replied, handing her some clothes.

Dorothy took the clothes and marveled how he knew what ensemble she was planning to change into, complete with matching underwear. "Thanks, Trowa," she said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Trowa watched her as she made her way to the bathroom. When the bathroom door clicked shut, he sighed and began the arduous job of transferring their clothes to the closet.

A while later, Dorothy emerged from the bathroom and saw that not only was Trowa done unpacking, he was also sound asleep. She smiled. She went to the bed and watched him for a minute. He looked so cute and peaceful lying there that she couldn't resist giving him a kiss on the forehead. Trowa's eyes opened for a second before closing again. Feeling a little sleepy herself, Dorothy lied down and snuggled closer to him. Instinctively, Trowa wrapped an arm around her. Dorothy smiled again before falling to sleep.

Quatre and Catherine started unpacking upon entering their room. Minutes later, Quatre noticed that Catherine had yawned for the 3rd time since they entered the room, not to mention that she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. Smiling, Quatre took her hand and led her towards the bed.

"Hey, [yawn] we're not done unpacking yet," Catherine protested.

"I know. But you're tired, so go to sleep," Quatre replied, sitting on the bed. "I'll finish up for you."

Catherine was about to protest again but another yawn cut her short. Not missing a beat, Quatre gently pulled her to him as they both lied down, her head resting on the crook of his arm. Catherine immediately fell asleep.

Quatre looked down at the sleeping girl on his arm then glanced at their suitcases. He promised her that he would finish unpacking but he was feeling tired himself. I'll finish up later, he decided as he too drifted off to sleep

Dinner was splendid, which didn't come as a surprise since it was one of Noin's famous 7-course meals. The twelve friends, minus Lady Une and Marimeia (both of whom were currently celebrating Christmas with Treize's relatives), enjoyed the food, the conversation and most of all, the Peacecraft twins' antics. Those 2-yr old monsters were a bundle of energy and a lot of fun. But they were quickly ushered to their rooms after dinner so the adults could talk freely in the den.

"Zoe and Laird are so adorable! I want one too, Wu," Sally remarked.

Wufei's eyes bulged. "Twins? You want twins?"

Sally rolled her eyes. "I mean, I want to have our own baby too. But now that you mentioned it..." She trailed off suggestively. Wufei paled.

"Why Wu-man, not up to the challenge?" Duo teased.

Wufei smirked. "Look who's talking about 'not being up to the challenge'. Correct me if I'm wrong but I haven't seen any little Maxwells running around. Not that I wasn't grateful for that fact though."

Duo's mouth opened but no response came out. Wufei was right. He and Hilde had been married for more than two years now but they still didn't have any kids, unlike Heero and Relena, who were married for less time. Wufei and Sally might even have a baby before them too.

Sensing Duo's gloom, Hilde came to his aid and without thinking said, "For your information, Justice Boy, you'll soon see little Maxwells running around and they'll enjoy making your life miserable." Hilde then realized what she just said when she saw 11 pairs of questioning (not to mention widened) eyes staring at her. "Umm, surprise?" she said lamely.

They were surprised alright. "D-do you mean it, babe?" Duo croaked out.

Hilde smiled at him. "Yes. I just confirmed it from my doctor before we left. I'm 2 months pregnant. I was planning to break the news this midnight, sort of like an added Christmas present, but I guess I slipped a little early and ruined the surprise. Merry Christmas, Duo."

Duo smiled back, his violet eyes twinkling. "Merry Christmas to you too, Hilde. This is the best Christmas present I ever had," Duo replied as he hugged his wife.

A chorus of "Congratulations" ensued. Everyone was happy for the couple. They all knew how long Duo and Hilde waited for this.

"Hey, wait a minute. What did you mean by 'little Maxwells', Hilde?" Relena asked.

"Twins?" Heero added, though the idea made him a little queasy.

Hilde shook her head and looked lovingly at Duo. "Triplets." Duo's eyes rolled up and if he weren't sitting down, he would have crumpled to the ground.

Noin, Catherine, Sally, Dorothy and Relena shrieked upon hearing Hilde's response and ran to where Hilde was seated to envelope her in a big hug (of course Relena got to hug her first, being seated right next to her). Afterwards, the 5 women hugged Duo, who looked like he fainted sitting down.

"Wow. Triplets. You've top me there," Zechs commented.

Quatre stood up and patted Duo on the back. "You've outdone yourself this time, Duo. We're very happy for you." Trowa and Heero raised their glasses in salute.

"I can't believe it! 3 Maxwells all at the same time. Injustice!" Wufei wailed. Duo was more than enough to make his life miserable. But another 3?! Hilde was absolutely right, his life would become more miserable.

At last, Duo showed signs of movement upon hearing Wufei. He turned his head and gave Wufei a smug smile. "Top that, Wu-man."

Everybody laughed. They continued their banter as they sipped their drinks (except for the two pregnant women that is), waiting for the clock to strike twelve. When midnight finally came, they greeted each other with a hearty, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Noin stood up then said, "Come on guys. Time to open our presents."

The twelve of them trooped out of the den and headed to the Palace Ballroom where all of their gifts were placed under the gigantic Christmas tree. Minutes later, torn paper wrappings, empty boxes and ribbons littered the ballroom floor as exclaims of joy and thanks echoed within the 4 walls. The 6 couples didn't only exchange presents but also hugs and kisses as well.

After hugging Relena, Hilde turned around then grinned after noticing something. "Hey. Trowa and Dorothy are standing under a mistletoe."

Trowa and Dorothy looked up and confirmed that they were indeed standing under a mistletoe. Everyone smiled at them encouragingly, knowing that there wasn't any big deal about kissing under a mistletoe.

"What are you waiting for hotshot? Kiss her. It's tradition," Duo remarked.

"Yeah. We don't want to break tradition," Quatre added in a pleasant voice.

Trowa looked at him strangely before leaning over to capture Dorothy's lips in a passionate kiss. At first, everyone was smiling, but when the two continued kissing, all of them became uneasy. At the corner of their eyes, Zechs, Noin, Duo, Hilde, Wufei, Sally, Heero and Relena saw Quatre and Catherine looking at the kissing couple with shock and hurt. Finally, Trowa and Dorothy broke apart, both of them looking a little dazed.

Suddenly, Catherine commented, "Well, that was a good show but Quatre and I don't need any mistletoes. Right, Quatre?"

"Right," Quatre replied as he pulled Catherine close and kissed her fervently on the mouth. Everyone watched, dumbfounded. The pair continued kissing, even longer than Trowa and Dorothy. When they saw that Quatre and Catherine weren't planning on pulling apart soon, Dorothy said, "Umm, I'm tired. I'll head up to bed now. Goodnight." She then started walking towards the door.

"Me too. See you tomorrow," Trowa added before catching up with Dorothy.

Quatre and Catherine pulled apart upon hearing Trowa and Dorothy and watched the couple disappear from their view. The other occupants of the room remained silent.

"I think I should head to bed too. Goodnight guys. And Merry Christmas," Catherine said, standing up.

Quatre stood up as well. "I'll go with you. I'm pretty tired myself. 'Night everybody," Quatre said as the two of them went out of the room.

The remaining occupants of the room looked at each other, troubled. They had this feeling that things would start to heat up soon.

The following day went amazingly well, the awkwardness of the 'mistletoe' incident seemingly forgotten. Lady Une and Marimeia arrived with Wufei and Sally so for lunch, the 14 of them went to a picnic. Then at night, they all went to watch this special Christmas Musical in the city. Marimeia, being the smart 11-yr old that she was, held her tongue when she saw Quatre with Catherine and Trowa with Dorothy. As she had said before, there were things in the adult world that kids like her failed to comprehend.

But as the others predicted, things began heating up for the next 3 days when Trowa and Dorothy, Quatre and Catherine became 'better' in pretending to be couples. Those four became more showy with their 'affections' that even if everybody knew that they were just going 'lovey-dovey' to quickly finish the mission, more often than not, they had to remind themselves that it was all playacting. And sometimes, it felt like those four were competing with each other. If Trowa kissed Dorothy, Quatre would also kiss Catherine, but longer. Then Trowa and Dorothy would retaliate by kissing even longer than Quatre and Catherine, both of whom by the way would also try to outdo their counterparts which would eventually lead to a full blown make-out session. The whole set-up was starting to put a strain on everyone so they decided to have an all-boys' and an all-girls' day out the next day, sort of like taking a break from couplehood.

Noin, Hilde, Sally, Relena, Dorothy and Catherine entered the Palace, a horde of maids following behind them carrying tons of shopping bags. The 6 women headed to the den and plopped down on the couch.

"That was fun. Tiring but fun," Noin remarked. She looked at Relena and saw her resting her head against the couch, her eyes closed. "How are you feeling, Relena?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. Walking was a good exercise for a pregnant woman but Relena might have overdone it this morning.

Relena opened her eyes and smiled at her sister-in-law. "Don't worry about me, Noin. My feet are killing me but other than that I'm ok," she answered. "I'm really happy that we thought of this all-girls' day out and that Heero let me go with you without him tagging along,"

"It wouldn't be an all-girls' day out if he went with us. And he has nothing to worry about since the 5 of us are here to take care of you," Sally said. "Besides, he knows well enough that you deserve a time out with us just like he deserves a time out with the guys."

"Speaking of the guys, I bet they're still in the rink playing ice hockey with the neighbors," Catherine stated.

Hilde smiled. "Yup. But I also bet that once their stomachs start growling, they'll immediately head home. And since it's almost lunchtime, they'll be here any minute."

"We can listen to some music while we wait for them," Dorothy suggested as she stood up and looked for the audio system's remote control. "I just discovered this one station that plays 20th century dance tunes. I know you'll love it." Dorothy pushed a button and the whole den was filled with music.

(I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny)

The 6 women shrieked upon hearing the opening tune. It was one of their favorite dance songs, the one they always requested whenever the 6 of them were in a disco. Noin, Hilde, Cathy, Sally and Dorothy went to the middle of the room and started moving their bodies in time with the music.

You got me horny in the morning
And you know oh oh
I try to call you
But I can't find the telephone

I sent a message through the internet
But it rejected it
I wrote a letter
And I sent it with the po-oh-ost

Hilde and Noin tried to pull Relena up from the couch so she could dance with them, just like old times. But Relena just smiled at them and remained seated. She really wanted to join them and she vowed that once she had her body back (Relena [cooing to her tummy]: No offense, baby. Baby: Hmmph!), she would take the girls to a night out. But for now, she had to content herself in just watching them have a good time. A 6-month pregnant lady sexy dancing wasn't really nice to look at. Respecting her decision, Hilde and Noin relented and the 5 women continued dancing.

The postage takes so long
So I gotta sing this song
To let you know
How I feel
What's the deal baby?

And I can't wait for you
And all the things you make me do
My heart is ringing
So I'm singing this song for you

Knowing that the chorus was nearing, Catherine and Dorothy faced each other, as well as Noin and Sally. Whenever the 6 of them went to a disco, they paired up in the same way. And since Hilde's partner was presently incapable of dancing with her, she danced by herself. Catherine and Dorothy, Noin and Sally started dancing with each other, their bodies moving more sensually when the chorus came in.

I'm horny,
Horny, horny, horny
So horny,
I'm horny, horny, horny

I'm horny,
horny, horny, horny
So horny,
I'm horny, horny, horny tonite

(I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny,
All night long
I'm horny)

Zechs, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei, all of whom were newly showered and were carrying their gym bags and hockey equipment, stopped on their tracks as they saw the 5 women dancing sexily, umm, very sexily inside the den. Relena, on the other hand, was just tapping her foot and bobbing her head in time with the music. All of them were oblivious about everything else, too caught up with music. Maybe that was why their bodies moved so well.

I search from town to town
But I can't find my boo-oo-oo
I felt so desperate
That I sent a rocket to the moon

In New York City
Someone said they saw you singing the blues
But it was a man
From New Orleans
That looked like you

Trowa couldn't take his eyes off Dorothy while Quatre kept staring at Catherine. The other four's eyes were fixed on their respective partners as well (and though Relena was just sitting down, Heero still found her very sexy), but their eyes kept reverting to Catherine and Dorothy who were dancing as if they were the only two people in the world. Anyone who looked at those two couldn't help but react to the electricity running between them. (A. N. Just imagine the episode where Buffy and Faith were dancing at the Bronze, that's how Catherine and Dorothy were dancing)

But I will keep searching on
This feeling's much too strong
My heart is ringing
And I'm singing this song for you

They saw Dorothy put her hands on her hips while Catherine raised an arm as both of them swayed down, then up, then down again. Quatre and Trowa felt the room get hot all of a sudden, their minds involuntarily conjuring up delectable images. They all continued gawking.

I'm horny,
Horny, horny, horny
So horny,
I'm horny, horny, horny

I'm horny,
Horny, horny, horny
So horny,
I'm horny, horny, horny tonite

I'm horny, horny, horny tonite
I'm horny, horny, horny tonite

Sally stopped dancing when she noticed the guys standing by the doorway. "Hey, you're all back. We've been waiting for you."

The other girls stopped dancing as well, their eyes following Sally's line of vision. Catherine and Dorothy consciously moved away from each other. "How long have you been there?" Hilde asked.

Quatre and Trowa shook their heads as if to clear their thoughts while Zechs, Heero, Duo and Wufei entered and went to their wives. "Long enough to see all of you grooving," Duo replied, kissing Hilde on the lips.

"How I wish I'd been 'grooving' with them. It's been a long time since we hit the party scene," Relena remarked with a sigh.

"Just be patient. Once you have given birth, you girls could do your 'infamous' night outs that you're all very fond of," Heero told her.

"So we could also go in our own night out," Zechs said with a sly smile. Since Zechs and Noin returned from Mars, whenever the whole gang was together they allot a certain night to be the girls and the guys' night out, which, ironically, always ends up with the girls and the guys meeting in one of the bars. Unfortunately, the tradition stopped with Quatre and Relena's 'elopement'.

Quatre and Trowa finally went to their 'girlfriends'. "Where did you learn to dance like that, Cathy?" Quatre asked softly as he stared at her. There was an unidentifiable expression in his face.

"Well, Dorothy and I always go nightclubbing in L3. We practically know all the bars there by heart, and all the people who frequent the night scene too. In L3 or any other place."

Trowa brushed a strand of hair away from Dorothy's eyes. "So that's why you knew a lot of people when we went barhopping in L1," Trowa told her.

It was too late when Trowa realized what he just said. He and Dorothy felt uneasy, not only because that was the night of the 'incident' that they vowed never to mention or repeat ever again, but also because Quatre and Catherine were giving them surprised looks. "You two went barhopping in L1?" Quatre inquired, his eyes asking Trowa, Why didn't you mention that to me? Catherine was also giving Dorothy the same look.

"Umm, yeah. I just finish the last deal I've been working on and since Heero and Relena were in L2, Trowa and I were the only ones who went out to celebrate," Dorothy replied. Again, it was too late when she realized where her explanation would lead them.

"You mean you went barhopping, possibly went home drunk and you two were alone in the house?" Catherine asked, a little apprehensive. Somehow, the set-up was so familiar. She had a bad feeling about it.

Dorothy fidgeted. "We're a little buzzed up but---"

"We're not as buzzed up as you during the circus' closing show, Cathy," Trowa finished for her. He had been a soldier long enough to know that the best defense was a good offense. "Thanks for taking care of Catherine, Quatre. She's a handful when she's drunk. I hope she didn't give you too much trouble."

It was Quatre and Catherine's turn to fidget and Dorothy's turn to give them strange looks. Dorothy's eyes narrowed as she stared at Catherine, as if saying Why didn't you tell me that you got drunk and that Quatre took care of you? Like Trowa, Dorothy knew very well how Catherine behaves when she was drunk. That was exactly how the two of them 'got together'.

Quatre tried to smile. "Oh, it was nothing. I just carried her to her trailer then, uh, I left her to rest," he said, giving Wufei and Sally a look that promised death if ever they opened their big mouths.

Trowa cocked an eyebrow. Why was it that the scenario seemed so familiar? He didn't like where their conversation was heading.

Zechs, Noin, Heero, Relena, Duo, Hilde, Wufei and Sally watched the four mismatched couples worriedly. Wufei couldn't take the tensed silence any longer. Wanting to change the topic, he cleared his throat then said, "I'm hungry. Let's go eat lunch."

Eleven pairs of eyes looked at him, as if he had grown another head or something. He glared at them. "What? I'm hungry. Is Maxwell the only one allowed here to ask for food?"

As if on cue, the butler entered the den and announced, "Lunch is served." Twelve stomachs growled in response to the announcement, unwittingly breaking the tension. All of them laughed then followed the butler out to the dining room.

After lunch, the girls and the guys continued their respective 'day-outs' (which, strangely enough, they spent not 'outside' but inside the Palace), the guys in the newly built steam room, the girls by the indoor swimming pool.

"Glad we finally got to use your steam room, Zechs," Wufei commented.

"Yeah. This is really nice. I can live in here. It's even better than Quatre's. No offense," Duo added.

Quatre didn't respond. He remained silent, contemplative. Sensing Quatre's mood, Zechs said, "Well, it's thanks to Quatre that this steam room was built. After staying in his mansion for a week, I got used to using the steam room there so I planned on building my own. That way we could all relax in here whenever you come to visit. I know that you all got used to it too."

"Since you're concerned about your guests' relaxation that much, why not build your own a simulation room too? We also got used to using it," Duo suggested with a grin.

"Relena and I will be staying here until she gives birth and a month after that. With that span of time, I can build a simulation room for you," Heero offered.

"Thanks but no thanks. I really would want you to build one for me but those Earth Aristocrats would have a fit if ever they discover that the Peacecraft Palace has a combat simulation room."

"That's a shame, Zechs. If you liked the simulation room in the mansion, wait 'til you try out the one in L1. Heero made some improvements and I really enjoyed our battles there," Trowa said.

"I bet that's not the only thing you enjoyed when you were there," Quatre muttered under his breath.

Trowa looked at him, and so did the others. "What did you say, Quatre?"

"Nothing."

Trowa was usually a rational and very patient man. And if this were an ordinary day in their ordinary life, he would have held his tongue and not say anything at all. But Quatre's behavior was really getting to his already strained (and very confused) nerves. "Don't tell me that you're jealous. We already talked about this, remember? Everything is just an act."

"I don't think you're still acting, Trowa."

Trowa was taken aback by Quatre's remark but his face failed to show any form of emotion. "I saw how you interact with Dorothy these past few days. Then just moments earlier, I discovered that you failed to mention some detail about your stay in L1. What else did you forget to tell me, huh?"

Trowa's eyes were hard when he answered, "Don't give me that bull shit, Quatre. All that you just said, I could throw right back at you. Seeing you and my sister these past few days also made me think that you're not playacting anymore. And talk about 'forgetting to mention some detail', you didn't tell me that you took care of Cathy. I learned it on my own when I talked to her. So, care to tell me what other things you're hiding from me?"

Quatre flinched but he didn't respond. The two of them continued staring at each other, neither one wanted to look away. The other 4 watched the pair silently, feeling a bit uneasy to have witnessed their argument. Finally, Quatre broke the silence by asking, "Are you falling in love with her?"

Trowa didn't exactly know the answer to that. "What if I am?"

Quatre gave him a wistful smile. "Then we're just even," he replied before storming out.

Trowa was about to follow him when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Let him cool off for a minute," Heero told him.

"Hn," Trowa replied as he sat back down. Things were getting more ugly and confusing by the minute, they had to resolve this quickly. And he intend to resolve this today.

"Hey, you two. Change into your swimsuits and join us here! The water is great!" Sally called out to Dorothy and Catherine who were peacefully lying down on two lounge chairs. Opposite them, Relena was also lying down on a lounge chair, reading a book.

"I understand Relena just sitting down there, but you two? Come on in," Noin added, swimming to their side.

Dorothy shook her head. "I don't know how you can swim when it's winter."

"Duh. There's a heater. We might turn into prunes but it's not like we'll die of hypothermia," Hilde answered.

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "I know. What I meant was it's snowing outside, the guys just went out to play ice hockey and everything else is frozen solid. But still, here you are, swimming."

"Well, Hilde and I had this thing about swimming and as you know, we don't own a pool. So whenever we have the chance to use one, like here or in Quatre's mansion, we always make the best out of it. Even if it's winter," Sally explained.

Catherine laughed good-naturedly at Sally's explanation of their swimming addiction. She and Dorothy liked swimming too and they also didn't own a pool but they wouldn't be caught dead swimming in the middle of winter. "What about you, Noin? You own this pool so you can go for a dip whenever you feel like it. Why swim during winter?"

"It's simple. I'm a mermaid in my past life." Everyone laughed.

"We're going to have a race--- all 4 styles. Want to join us?" Hilde asked.

"Nah. I'll pass," Catherine answered.

"Me too," Dorothy amended. "I don't feel like swimming."

"Ok. Your loss," Hilde called back as the 3 of them started their race.

Catherine and Dorothy watched them with amused looks. "You know what I like to do? I want to drink hot cocoa and snuggle up by the fireplace. Get cozy," Catherine said.

"With Quatre I bet," Dorothy said dryly.

Catherine flinched with Dorothy's tone. "Umm, yeah. So I can repulse him and finally finish this mission."

"I don't think you're still doing all those 'repulsing' for the sake of the mission, Cathy."

"Well, I can say the same to you," Catherine shot back.

Dorothy tried to hide her uneasiness with Cathy's remark. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you honestly think that I haven't noticed that you and my brother had been acting pretty cozy this past few days? It sure didn't look like playacting to me."

"And how about you and Quatre? It didn't look like playacting either. And why didn't you tell me that Quatre took care of you when you were drunk?"

"Maybe for the same reason why you didn't tell me that you and Trowa went bar hopping and went home to an empty house."

"And what reason is that? That you're falling in love with Quatre again? Haven't you learned it the last time that whatever happens, Quatre will always choose Trowa over you, even if you're the one he's currently calling girlfriend?" Dorothy said as spitefully as she could. She wanted to hurt Catherine for hurting her, for causing her to feel these awful emotions.

Catherine's eyes felt hot, but she willed herself not to cry. Not in front of her anyways. "Speak for yourself, Dorothy. You should listen to your own advice since we're on the same boat. Trowa might think that he loves you now but if given the chance to choose between you and Quatre, he'll definitely choose Quatre. And don't go crying to me when that happens. Again."

The two women stared at each other, their eyes filled with hurt, questions and confusion. Suddenly, they heard Relena called out, "Hey guys, I'm going in to rest for awhile."

Catherine turned away from Dorothy's gaze and said, "I'll walk you up, Relena." Without giving Dorothy a second glance, she marched where Relena was and the two of them went inside the Palace.

”Thanks for walking me up, Cathy,” Relena said when they reached their rooms.

Catherine tried to blink away the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes, her earlier argument with Dorothy still ringing in her head. ”It’s nothing. I know that Heero doesn’t let you do the stairs alone,” she replied softly.

Relena watched her carefully, debating whether to ask her what the matter was or just wait for her to tell it herself. Choosing the latter, she told her, “Thanks again, Cathy. See you later.” After giving her friend one last smile, Relena entered her room and closed the door.

Catherine briskly rubbed her eyes and started walking towards the stairs. All that Dorothy said was true, but it still hurt like hell. Confusion and jealousy alternately ate her heart, she didn’t know what to do. When she felt a fresh wave of tears coming, she did an about face and ran towards her room.

Dorothy felt bad about their argument so she too headed upstairs. She wanted to talk and apologize to Catherine, to tell her that she didn't mean what she said, having been blinded by jealousy (being confused between what was real and what wasn't these past few weeks didn't help either) and that she wouldn’t behave that way ever again. Her hand was poised to knock on Catherine’s door but at the last minute, she lost her resolve and just went inside her room.

A very upset Quatre emerged from the steam room, fully dressed and went upstairs. He couldn’t believe that he lost his temper like that. Things were not only getting out of hand, they were also getting confusing and complicated. Not to mention weird. They told Catherine and Dorothy that he accused Trowa of flirting with a girl in which Trowa countered that he was also flirting with a girl, causing them to break up. Now, their fake reason was becoming a reality. Talk about twist of fate. Or karma. Finally, he reached his room and entered. He had to think things through first before he could talk to Trowa and apologize or else they might end up arguing again.

After giving Quatre a head start, Trowa went out of the steam room and followed him upstairs. He stopped in front of Quatre’s room, deliberating whether to talk to him now or not. Everything about this stupid 'mission' was getting more confusing by the minute that if they didn't set things straight now, they would all be facing serious repurcussions very soon, one that they wouldn't want nor know how to deal with. But was he really prepared to talk to Quatre now? Trowa mentally sighed. He might be fearless in battle but when it came to emotions, he was just as a coward as the next guy. Deciding that it would be for the best to talk to Quatre when he knew what to say, he opened the door to his room instead and went in.

Quatre saw Catherine kneeling by the bed, her head buried in her hands… crying? He immediately went to her side, also kneeling on the floor. “Sshh, Cathy. I’m here. Everything’s going to be fine,” he told her as he gently ran a hand on her hair.

Catherine looked up and Quatre almost gasped when he saw her face. She looked so confused, so lonely, so alone, just like what he was feeling, that his heart immediately went to her. He cupped her face and gently wiped the tear streaks on her cheeks. As he did so, Catherine's lips trembled and closing her eyes, more tears fell on her face. He couldn’t stand seeing her like that so acting on impulse, he kissed both of her eyes, wanting to brush away her tears. When her tears subsided, she opened her eyes and their gazes met. Seeing the same expression mirrored in each other’s eyes, they understood. At that particular moment, he needed her as much as she needed him. They were both lost and confused, why not take solace with each other? Ever so slowly, their lips met. Maybe, just maybe, in doing this, they might find the answers they were looking for. If not, at least there would be 2 less lonely people in the world.

Trowa was surprised to see Dorothy inside their room, much less see her walk back and forth, lost in thought. She didn’t even look up when he opened the door. He knew immediately that something was troubling her. They were so alike, hiding their real emotions through a cool facade. Without thinking, he went to her and grabbed her by the waist.

Dorothy gasped when her musing was interrupted, finding herself face to face with emerald green eyes that were looking at her with concern. Seeing him, the root of all her problems (actually, the root of half her problems, Catherine being the other half), she couldn’t stop the sob from coming from her throat. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face on his chest, wanting to draw strength from him.

Instinctively, Trowa kissed the top of her head, his one hand rubbing circles on her back as he let her cry. He didn’t know what it was all about but he knew that he would do anything to ease her pain. He smiled wryly. His boyfriend act was becoming more convincing everyday that sometimes he had trouble discerning what was real and what was not. He hadn’t been this confused his entire life.

Suddenly, Dorothy pulled away, her face hidden by her hair. “Thanks, Trowa. I needed that.”

Trowa approached her once more and with his finger, he lifted her face to meet his. Their eyes locked onto each other, their longing and confusion bare for each other to see. Here they were, two confused and lost souls, looking for answers and understanding. It was obvious --- they needed each other. And maybe, if they just followed their emotions, everything would fall into place. Trowa wiped the last traces of tears from her face then slowly leaned down to capture her lips in a sweet kiss.

They continued kissing as Trowa gently pushed her to the west wall. He unbuttoned her blouse then let it fall to the ground while Dorothy helped him remove his shirt. Dorothy moaned as Trowa’s lips traveled to her neck, down to the top of her breasts, their hands roaming each other's bodies. Lost in her, Trowa unknowingly hit the camouflaged lever by his foot, thereby opening the connecting door (which happens to be the ‘wall’ Dorothy was resting on). Dorothy stumbled back, falling. With lightning quick reflexes, Trowa whirled her around, making them exchange positions at the last minute so as to prevent her from getting hurt. Trowa’s back hit the floor with a loud ‘thud’, Dorothy lying on top of him. Trowa immediately rolled both of them on their sides, wanting to resume what they were doing when the two of them suddenly froze. They saw Quatre and Catherine in a similar position on the floor, staring wide-eyed at them. The 4 of them jumped to their feet and yelled their lungs off, well, except for Trowa (of course) who just stood there, shocked.

Zechs, Noin, Heero, Duo, Hilde, Wufei and Sally were in the hallway leading to their rooms (Wufei and Sally had rooms their too where they could put their things, rest or change) when they heard the screams coming from Quatre and Catherine’s room. Thinking that there was some sort of trouble, Zechs, Heero, Duo and Wufei hastily tried to open the door but since it was locked, they broke it down. There was trouble alright. They saw a topless Quatre and an equally topless Trowa standing beside their ‘girlfriends’ who for some reason (which everyone could deduce what) were only wearing their bras as tops for their sarongs. Relena went out of her room to see what the noise was all about and she too stood frozen by the doorway when she discovered the half-naked people inside the room. Everyone’s eyes were wide, almost bulging out of their sockets. Duo summed up what everyone was feeling with one word. “Uh-oh.”

When the yelling subsided and the initial shock had passed, Quatre, Trowa, Catherine and Dorothy’s brains finally processed what they just saw, and as could be expected they weren’t too happy about it. Dorothy and Catherine faced off, as well as Trowa and Quatre, completely ignoring their 8 friends standing with their jaws hanging by the doorway and the fact that they were half-naked.

”WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!!!” the 4 of them yelled at each other. They all cocked their eyebrows, realizing that they asked the same question at the same time.

”WELL, YOU’RE DOING THE SAME THING!!!” they yelled again in unison. Surprised with their answers, Quatre and Dorothy, Trowa and Catherine regarded each other then asked, “WHAT IS IT TO YOU, ANYWAYS?!”

The four of them snorted. ”FOR YOUR INFORMATION, SHE’S MY GIRLFRIEND!!!” Catherine and Dorothy answered just as Trowa and Quatre replied, “HE’S MY FUCKING BOYFRIEND FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!”

”Finally,” Wufei remarked, a little too loud actually. He and the rest of the gang by the doorway gulped when they saw the look Cathy and Dorothy were sending their way.

“What do you mean ‘finally’?” Dorothy asked in a deadly tone. Returning her gaze to Trowa and Quatre, she added, “And what do you mean by boyfriend? You said that you two broke up!”

Quatre and Trowa looked at each other then at their fellow conspirators. “Umm, you see, uhh, we kinda pretended to break up so we could court you then make you confess your relationship,” Quatre explained.

”Rest assured that we only did that to help you. We knew that you’re having trouble telling us the truth and since it’s not a big-a-deal to us, we thought that a little push might make it easier for the both of you to finally come out in the open,” Hilde amended.

”You mean you’re all into this?” Catherine asked incredulously. They all nodded.

”So all that we did these past weeks was just a waste? That we didn’t have to go through that mission to make the two of you get back together since you didn’t really break up in the first place?” Dorothy remarked with disbelief.

”Mission? What mission?” Trowa asked.

”Dorothy will seduce you while I’ll seduce Quatre so you’ll realize that you’re not attracted to girls, making the two of you get back together,” Catherine stated flatly.

”Sounds a lot like our plan, doesn’t it?” Sally commented.

Zechs nodded. Everything was becoming clear now. ”So that’s why they agreed to go steady.”

Catherine and Dorothy couldn’t believe that their friends conspired against them! Sure they had good intentions, and the two of them did the same thing to Trowa and Quatre but still… Their eyes were ablaze when they looked at their so-called boyfriends. “So sleeping with me was part of the plan too huh?” Dorothy and Catherine asked in unison.

Before the two men could answer, what the other just said registered to everyone’s brains. “YOU SLEPT WITH HER?!!” Trowa and Quatre asked each other at the same time Dorothy and Catherine questioned, “YOU SLEPT WITH HIM?!!”

”Another uh-oh,” Noin muttered.

"I WAS DRUNK THEN! AND I THOUGHT I WAS WITH YOU!" the 4 of them answered. They looked at each other. "HUH?!"

Silence. The 4 of them remained staring at each other, hurt and disbelief written on their faces. ”AGGGGHHH!!! I can’t believe this!” Catherine yelled, grabbing her blouse and running out of the room.

”I have to get out of here,” Dorothy said before marching back to her room, obviously to get her blouse. Relena and the others then saw her storm out of the other room.

Trowa silently walked back to his room too, and fully dressed, also went out. Quatre put on his shirt then said, “I need to be alone,” before walking right past them.

”I guess we need to prepare 4 new rooms for them,” Relena said a matter-of-factly.

Duo then turned to his bestfriend. “Your plan didn’t work, Heero. We didn’t succeed in preventing them from committing another slip-up. And the connecting door proved to be more harmful than good.”

”I told you that it would make them confess faster. And it did. It’s high time that this charade came to an end and for the four of them to finally resolve their emotions,” Heero answered. "All they needed was a little push in the right direction. A last resort, shall we say."

Wufei looked at Heero, understanding dawning on him. "You mean---"

"Everything went according to plan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 5: And they all lived happily ever after (sort of)

December 31

They ate breakfast in silence. Actually, they ate every meal in silence since that incident 2 days ago. And from then on, things had gotten more strained and frustrating. After storming out of the Palace, Trowa, Quatre, Dorothy and Catherine didn't return until the next day. It was a good thing that Zechs and Noin already prepared new rooms for them, even telling the servants to transfer their belongings from their former rooms to their new rooms with the strict order that once they saw any or all of those 4, they should be escorted to their new rooms immediately. But even if Trowa, Quatre, Dorothy and Catherine were in the Palace, they didn't show themselves to anyone. Relena and the others gave up knocking at their doors since they wouldn't answer. They also waited for those 4 to eat with them but they never appeared in the dining room. If it weren't for the servants reporting that they had seen and served food to those 4, the rest of the gang would have thought that they had bailed out on them.

The silence was suddenly broken when Duo banged his utensils against his plate. "I just can't take this anymore! Is this still part of your 'let's-put-them-in-rooms-that-have-a-connecting-door-so-there's-a-chance-that-they'll-catch-each-other-in-the-act-which-will-eventually-lead-them-to-confess-and-finally-decide-which-one-they-love-the-most' plan huh, Heero?"

Strangely enough, Heero looked calm when he replied, "You might think I'm cold-hearted to have thought of that plan but believe it or not, I only did it for their own good. I came up with that plan as a last resort, and it would only be set into motion if ever they were tempted to do something for real the next time around. After discovering that they accidentally slept with each other, I figured that old emotions were awakened among them, which would eventually lead to more trouble if this charade wouldn't end soon. And I was right. This operation was getting nowhere, they were becoming more confused, the line between pretense and reality blurred in their minds. You've seen how they acted the whole time we were here, they were becoming accustomed to the idea of being couples that they were on the verge of cheating on each other, intentionally this time. If not for that 'connecting door' incident, we don't know how long they would continue on being friends pretending to be couples who actually became couples pretending to be friends who were just pretending to be couples."

"After that incident, I don't think any of them are still couples, much more friends for that matter," Duo mumbled. "Those 4 had been avoiding each other and avoiding us since they returned yesterday from God knows where which we wouldn't have known if not for the servants informing us. They don't talk to us, they don't eat with us, hell, we don't even see them. We have to do something!"

"More meddling won't do anything that hasn't already been accomplished, Duo. And now that everything is out in the open, we need to let them sort things out on their own," Heero told him.

"Heero is right. That's one big bombshell that was set loose 2 days ago. They just need more time to come into terms with what has happened, and to decide on what course of action they must take," Wufei amended. "This is something that only they could decide for themselves. But I'm certain that they'll come around eventually."

"I hope that 'eventually' comes soon, like tonight for instance," Hilde said. "If Trowa and Quatre were still in non-speaking terms when they go to the New Year's Eve Ball tonight, everyone will suspect something is up. And we all know that the media will feast on them like vultures."

"If that happens, there's a big possibility that the media will blow things out of proportion, making it worse and more difficult to fix," Relena said, sighing.. "I can't forget the expression in Cathy and Dorothy's faces when they learned that we all conspired against them. We didn't even got the chance to say sorry," she added in a sad voice.

"I know. I really want to talk to them and straighten things out. But they won't talk to us. I don't know how long I'll be able to stand this silent treatment," Sally remarked.

"But that's understandable. They won't be able to talk to us until they finished sorting out their own feelings and talked to each other," Zechs said.

"So all that we could do is wait, and pray that things get back to normal soon," Noin stated. She stood up then said, "Excuse us but Zechs and I need to make sure that the arrangements for tonight's party are complete. See you guys later."

Everyone nodded and resumed eating. Zechs also stood up and the couple went out of the dining room.

After storming off, Trowa, Quatre, Dorothy and Catherine spent the remaining part of the day cooling off, which wasn't an easy feat, mind you. But they had to cool off. They needed to have clear heads before they would be able to think things through, that was why they didn't return to the mansion immediately. Then, they spent the whole day yesterday thinking. But in order to do that, they had to stay away from each other and from the rest of the group. Though their friends had contributed a little part in this mess, they knew that this was something that they had to do on their own. And now that the thinking was over, it was time for action.

Trowa learned from one of the maids that Dorothy asked to borrow a fencing foil so he knew that she was going to the local fencing club. It was common knowledge among them that fencing helped Dorothy let out some steam but Trowa also knew that it was something she always did in order to boost her confidence and remove her nervousness before making a big decision or facing someone she didn't like to face but had to. It was like alcohol to most people. That was why he knew that she was ready to talk to him, she was even psyching herself up.

Dorothy thrusted forward, causing her opponent's sword to fly away. Both she and her opponent took off their helmets, smiling at each other. It was a nice workout. Now, she was ready to face Trowa, Catherine, Quatre and the others.

Suddenly, she felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. Turning around, she saw Trowa leaning by the doorframe, his arms crossed. It seemed like he was waiting for her. She walked over to him then asked, "How long have you been there?"

"Since the start of your match," Trowa answered. Their eyes locked. "We need to talk."

"I know. I'll change first then I'll meet you at the snack bar. There won't be a lot of people there."

"Hn," Trowa replied before heading towards the snack bar. Dorothy took a deep breath then made her way towards the dressing room.

Quatre heard the maids talking about Catherine's request for something that she could use as a target --- a corkboard, a dart board, a scarecrow, a piñata, anything. Probably to practice knife-throwing, Quatre thought. All of them had different ways of venting, in Catherine's case it was through throwing knives. But that was not all. Quatre knew that it was also her way of conditioning her mind before doing something she found difficult to do. That was why he knew that this was the right time to finally talk to her since she was planning on talking to him herself.

Catherine was thankful that the maids kept the rotating wheel she and Trowa used when they performed during Relena's 18th birthday party, much to the aristocrats' chagrin. But they didn't care. They knew that Relena wanted to see them perform, not having the time to go to the circus to watch before Trowa left to join the Preventers and only hearing Duo and the rest rave about their famous 'act'. She smiled at the memory. I think I'm ready to face them now. She was about to retrieve her knives when she heard a knock on her door.

"Cathy, it's Quatre. Can I come in? We need to talk."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This is it, she thought. Gathering all of her courage, she went to open the door. They stood their face to face, staring at each other. Finally, Catherine said, "Come in, Quatre. We have a lot to talk to about."

Dorothy was right. The snack bar at the fencing club was virtually empty. The two of them chose a booth tucked at the far corner. Trowa waited a few seconds after they were seated before saying, "I might have been pretending to be your boyfriend but all that I've shown you these past weeks is real. Just like what I felt for you and still feeling is real. I hope you know that."

Sitting opposite him, Dorothy nodded as she stared solemnly at him. "I'm not really gay, in the sense that I only like men for a partner. I've been straight my whole life, and I never believed in soulmates before but meeting Quatre changed all that. Actually, everything in my life changed when I met him. With him, I realized that gender is of no importance. Whether he be a man or a woman is inconsequential, for we'll always be part of the same soul." Trowa stopped for a second before continuing. "What I'm trying to say is that I love you. I did 3 years ago and I always will. And if things were different, I would really want to spend my life with you but…"

Dorothy placed her hand on top of his. "I understand. I love you too, you know. And I'll be more than willing to also spend my life with you if things were different. But that's alright. Knowing that you'll be happy with Quatre is enough to make me happy."

Trowa gave her a small smile, his eyes grateful. "What about you and Cathy?"

Dorothy sighed. "I wish I could say the same about me and Cathy with what you just said about you and Quatre but I can't. Don't get me wrong, I do love her. But thinking about what happened these past few weeks made me realize that maybe the only reason we're together is that we're lonely. You know that we became bestfriends since I moved to L3 3 years ago before you left the circus to become the head of the L4 Preventer Base. But we became even closer after you and Quatre told us about your relationship. We were both devastated then that we turned to each other for love." She paused then smiled as she continued, "Just like you, I've been pretty much straight my whole life so my relationship with Cathy is quite a different experience for me. But now, I think it's time for us to move on."

"Whatever will make you both happy is fine with me. It goes for all of our friends," Trowa replied. "And there's something else I want you to know. .."

Dorothy waited as Trowa trailed off. "I was not entirely honest when I said that the only reason why I slept with you was because I was drunk and that I thought you were Quatre. I really did mistake you for Quatre at first, being drunk and all. But even after I knew I was with you, I still didn't stop because it was something that I wanted to happen even before but thought would be too impossible. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? It was the same with me. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life, Trowa. And for that I want to thank you."

"I want to also thank you, Dorothy. It was a special night for me too," Trowa told her with a smile. "I'm glad that things are finally clear between us. And now, I think it's time for us to head back to the Palace."

"Yeah. We still have a lot of things to take care of before we finish off living happily ever after," Dorothy said as the two of them left their booth and headed outside.

Catherine sat on her bed while Quatre sat on a chair in front of her. Taking a deep breath. Quatre said, "I love you, Cathy. You know that, right?"

Catherine smiled. "Yeah, I know. But you love Trowa more," she finished for him.

Quatre nodded. "And it's not because he's a man or you're a woman. I'm not attracted to every man I see. And to be honest, I've always been attracted to girls, I still am. I know that you know it's the same case with Trowa. But Trowa and I, we're soulmates. It just happened that he was a man. If he was born a woman, I'll still feel the same way about him. Because whatever his gender is, he's still a part of me. We are one and the same. That's why we're meant to be together." His eyes flickered with love and sadness when he said, "I've fallen in love with you 3 years ago and I know that I'll continue on loving you. And if circumstances were different, I wouldn't think of anyone else to share my life with. But it's not. I'm so sorry, Cathy. For everything. I hope that what happened these past weeks didn't ruin your chance to be happy with Dorothy."

"It didn't. On the contrary, it made me realize that Dorothy and I were just bestfriends. We're not really in love the way you and Trowa are. It was just that you're all paired up and there we were, two women nursing our broken hearts. That's why we found solace with each other. We didn't know what we were doing at first, that being our first time to be in that kind of relationship. But it felt so nice to have someone be there for you, to take comfort with, to care for. But we couldn't possibly continue a relationship that was based from convenience or comfort. We both deserve to find our own soulmates, like you and Trowa. So I guess it's time for me and Dorothy to move on with our lives."

Quatre stood up and sat down beside her. Tucking her hair behind her ear, he said, "Whatever you two decide, remember that we're always here for you."

Catherine smiled then hugged him. "Thanks, Quatre." She then pulled away when she remembered something. "Oh, umm, I want to say sorry for what I said 2 days ago. About being drunk and mistaking you for Dorothy when we, uhh, you know," Catherine said, blushing. "It wasn't entirely true. I mean I really was drunk and I thought that you were Dorothy at first but…"

"When you realized it was me, you still let it happen," Quatre finished for her. Catherine blushed even more. "Don't worry, I understand. It's the same with me. I also wanted it to happen. It was something I thought of before but believed could never happen. Thanks for that wonderful evening, Catherine. I won't ever forget it."

"Same here. I just hope that Trowa and Dorothy would forgive us."

"There's only one way to find out." Quatre stood and helped her up. "Come on. We don't want to greet the new year with our relationships still unresolved now, do we?"

Dorothy found Catherine standing by the pond. "I thought I might find you here."

Catherine looked over her shoulder. "That's why I chose this place. I know you'll look for me here," she told her before returning her gaze to the pond.

Dorothy smiled and went to her side. "Do you remember that time when you found me here crying in the middle of the night?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah. It was when Trowa and Quatre admitted to all of us that they have a relationship," Dorothy answered as they watched the ducks swim circles. "I was taking a walk, hoping that the night air would clear my head and let me stop moping when I saw you right here, crying softly."

"Then you hugged me and let me cry on your shoulder, comforting me," Catherine said, facing her. "I never felt alone since then, Dorothy. Thank you."

Dorothy took her hand and smiled. "Me too. I'm very thankful to have you by my side for the past few years, Cathy. You've been my bestfriend, girlfriend, sister and mother all rolled into one. And it had been fun. But," Dorothy's face became solemn, "I think it's time for us to end this and move on." She looked deep in Catherine's eyes, hoping that she would understand.

Catherine smiled at her reassuringly. "I think so too. Being with Quatre made me realize I want something more than a relationship of comfort and convenience. We owe it to ourselves to find our own true loves. We've been running and hiding for so long, Dorothy."

Dorothy sighed. "I know. We used each other as a security blanket, to keep ourselves from getting hurt again. But being with Trowa made me remember and accept the fact that falling in love is a risk, but it's worth the pain. I think we're both ready to take that kind of risk again."

The two women hugged. "It had been a blast, Dorothy. I won't ever forget it."

"Ditto. It's fun while it lasted," Dorothy replied. Pulling apart, she asked, "Bestfriends?"

"Always." Catherine gazed in her eyes, questioningly. "Still love him, huh?"

"Yeah. Trowa will always hold a special place in my heart. You?"

"The same," Catherine replied. Then she started laughing. "Funny, isn't it? We've always known that they somehow feel something for us but we also know that whatever emotions they had for us wouldn't be enough to have them choose us over the other."

"But we still continued on loving them. We're like martyrs or something," Dorothy added, also laughing. "This is so hilarious! I never thought of myself as a martyr before. Did you?" Catherine shook her head. "We really need to find ourselves some boyfriends, Cathy. I think it should be our New Year's Resolution."

Catherine's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Hmm, sounds good to me. We might even find our Prince Charmings tonight at the ball."

"It's worth a try," Dorothy replied just as mischievously. Suddenly, the humor disappeared from Dorothy's face. "But before that, we still need to find and apologize to the two Prince Charmings we knew."

Catherine nodded and the two of them started walking away.

A small smile tugged on the corners of Trowa's lips when he saw Quatre inside the gazebo, waiting for him. He knew that this was the most likely place where he could find him, the gazebo holding a sentimental value to both of them.

Trowa stopped by the entrance, waiting for Quatre to acknowledge his presence. With his back still turned, Quatre said, "This was the place where you first told me you love me, the place where you first kiss me, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Trowa replied quietly. Quatre turned around to face him, their eyes meeting. "Quatre, I'm---"

"Sshh. You don't have to say anything," Quatre cut him off. He slowly approached him, stopping only a few feet away. "You love her, don't you?"

"Yes," Trowa answered. "But not as much as I love you."

Quatre smiled. "I love Cathy too, you know."

"I know. And I'm glad that you do. I don't like the idea of you sleeping with my sister then not loving her."

"I share the same sentiment. I treat Dorothy as a sister too and I would rather know that you love her and slept with her than just plain sleeping with her," Quatre told him. He then started laughing. "We're one very weird couple, aren't we?"

Trowa laughed as well. "We sure are. So, forgive me?"

"Only if you forgive me."

"Deal." Trowa's face then regained its serious expression. "I hope this wouldn't put a strain on our relationship and our relationship with them," he said, referring to Catherine and Dorothy.

"It won't," Quatre assured him. "A part of my heart will always belong to Catherine, just like I know a part of yours will always belong to Dorothy. The 4 of us know and already accepted that fact. But you and I also know that the remaining part of our hearts, the bigger chunks, not to mention our souls, will always belong to each other and only to each other." He lifted his hand and touched Trowa's cheeks gently. "The events these past few weeks proved that. You returned to me, and I returned to you. That's all that matters. "

"I guess this place will hold more sentiment to us now. For this is where we found each other again," Trowa said huskily as he leaned down and captured Quatre's lips with his own. They both closed their eyes, savoring the moment. It had been a long time since they last kissed, but this kiss was different from any other kiss that they had before. It was full of different colors and textures, memories and lessons of the past few weeks. This wasn't just a kiss of reconciliation, but also of affirmation. They might have been confused and they might have lost their way for a moment there, but they found their way back home.

When they broke apart, they heard Dorothy say, "Glad to see that you two made up."

They turned around and saw Dorothy and Catherine standing outside the gazebo. Catherine went to Trowa while Dorothy approached Quatre. They hugged each other.

"I'm so sorry, Trowa. I never meant to go between you and Quatre," Catherine told him, tears falling on her face.

"Shhh, it's alright, Cathy. I understand. I'm sorry too for deceiving you and Dorothy."

Catherine pulled away and wiped her face. "Don't worry about it. I know that you guys wouldn't do such a thing to deliberately hurt us. You thought that you're doing it for a good cause, the same reason why Dorothy and I came up with our plan. It was just our luck that everything backfired."

"Quatre, I just wanted to get you and Trowa back together but instead I stirred up trouble between you two. I'm so sorry," Dorothy said as she tried to hold back her tears.

"There now, Dorothy. It's ok. I'm the one who should be apologizing for taking a part in this pretense."

Dorothy pulled away and smiled at him. "Oh, it's nothing. It's our fault anyways. We should just have confessed earlier so we could have prevented all of this from happening."

"Well, everything is over and done with. So we should just take the lessons we learned and forget about everything else. What do you say?" Quatre asked.

"Sounds good to me," Dorothy said happily.

They all hugged one last time before Trowa remarked, "Three down. One more to go."

"So what are we waiting for? It's time to wrap things up," Catherine said with a smile. The 4 of them then headed inside the Palace.

Eight heads looked up when Trowa, Quatre, Dorothy and Catherine entered the den. "Hi, guys. So, what's new?" Dorothy asked.

Relena, Noin, Hilde and Sally suddenly stood up and hugged the two women. "We're so sorry. We didn't mean to hurt you," the 4 women said in unison.

"That goes for all of us," Duo amended. Heero, Wufei and Zechs nodded their assent.

"Don't worry. It's ok. We understand," Dorothy told them.

"All is forgiven and forgotten," Catherine added.

Duo then approached Trowa and Quatre. Noting that Trowa's arm was slung around Quatre's shoulders protectively, he said, "Sorry if my plan almost broke you two up. I promise that from now on, I won't meddle with anyone's lovelife anymore."

They all laughed. "It's a relief to hear you say that Duo," Quatre replied with a smile. "Kidding aside, it's not entirely your fault so you don't need to take all the blame. Remember that we willingly agreed with the plan. Besides, what just happened made us realize something about ourselves, strengthening our relationship even more." Quatre looked up at Trowa lovingly.

Trowa turned to regard Heero. "It was you who told Zechs and Noin to let us stay in your and Relena's former rooms, not only to help us resist temptation but also as a last resort to make us confess if ever we did get tempted, right?"

Heero nodded. "Sorry."

Trowa gave him a small smile. "Good call. Thanks."

Hilde clapped her hands. "This is great! We're all cool again. And just in time for the New Year's Eve Ball. The coming year will surely be a blast, having everything resolved and out in the open, not to mention all of us being couples."

Dorothy and Catherine looked at each other. "Umm, not all of us," Catherine remarked.

Everyone looked at her, confused, well except for Quatre and Trowa. "What I mean is, not all of us are couples. Dorothy and I just broke up."

Sally got to say first what was in everyone's minds. "How come? Just when you finally admitted your relationship to us after keeping it a secret for so long, you broke up just like that?"

"It's really a long story. If you want, we'll tell you all about it some other time. For now, let's just say that after all that has happened, we realized that we're just bestfriends," Dorothy replied.

Zechs, Noin, Heero, Relena, Duo, Hilde, Wufei and Zechs looked at each other. That was one scenario they never had predicted. Smiling, Noin said, "As long as you two are happy, anything you do is ok with us."

"Yeah. Always remember that we're here to support any decision you make," Relena added.

Catherine and Dorothy smiled at them gratefully. "Finally, things are back to normal. As Heero would say, Mission Complete," Zechs commented.

"I don't think that this mission is a success at all," Wufei commented.

"Why? We got them to confess, didn't we?" Zechs asked.

"We made them confess before the New Year's Eve Ball, true, but they broke up. And don't forget that nothing went according to plan. There's also that whole mix 'n matching thing," Wufei pointed out.

"But we still got them to confess," Duo retorted. He was the one who thought of this plan and he would allow no one to say that it was a failure.

Wufei smirked. "Why, Maxwell? Don't want to hear that your half-baked plan had a lot of loopholes in it? This charade wouldn't have ended if not for Heero and his 'last resort' plan."

"The objective was to make them confess. And we did. End of argument," Duo said stubbornly.

Everyone shook their heads as Duo and Wufei continued arguing. Dorothy and Catherine smiled at each other while Trowa and Quatre held each other's hands, also smiling. It was really nice to have things back to normal again.

Dorothy excused herself from the group she was talking to and headed towards Catherine who just got off the dancefloor to get a drink. "Having fun?" she asked.

Catherine smiled brightly. "Yup. I haven't found my Prince Charming though," she replied, sipping her drink.

"Me neither. But as they say, we need to kiss a lot of frogs before we find our princes," Dorothy told her.

Catherine couldn't help herself from giggling. "Speaking of kissing, I think everyone's getting ready for the countdown," she remarked, noticing that everybody inside the Palace Ballroom seemed to be pairing up.

As their eyes wandered the room, they saw Heero, Relena, Duo, Hilde, Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, Sally, Zechs and Noin assembling at the other side, looking up at the giant screen showing the countdown and the Plaza where the giant Ball of Peace would be dropped at exactly midnight. Only a few more minutes to go before they welcome AC 201.

Dorothy watched their friends wistfully. "They look so happy and in love, I wish we too are like that. Or at least I wish we have someone to kiss when midnight comes."

"Well, we can kiss each other just this once. For old times' sake," Catherine suggested. The two women then saw their friends waving at them, wanting them to come over. Catherine and Dorothy started walking towards the group when suddenly two handsome men appeared in front of them, blocking their way.

"Hi, I'm Aries," the raven-haired guy with hazel eyes said, holding out his hand to Dorothy.

"And I'm Dale," the blue-haired one added, holding out his hand to Catherine.

The two women smiled and shook hands with them. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Dorothy and Catherine said in unison

Dale's light blue eyes were focused on Catherine when he said, "The pleasure is all ours. We've been wanting to talk to you all night but it seems like you're always surrounded by people."

Aries smiled. "Yeah. That's why when we finally saw you two alone, we immediately jumped at the chance of meeting you. Hope we're not imposing."

The two women didn't have time to reply when they heard everyone yell, "10, 9, 8…"

Dorothy smiled. "You're not. Actually you're the answer to two maidens' prayers."

"You two really have impeccable timing," Catherine remarked, also smiling.

"…3, 2, 1. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!" everyone shouted, kissing their respective partners or the person closest to them.

Aries leaned over to kiss Dorothy while Dale captured Catherine's lips with his own. When they pulled apart, their gazes met and the 4 of them smiled at each other. "Impeccable timing," Catherine repeated, softly.

They all turned their heads when they heard Duo shout, "Cathy! Dorothy! Over here!" Dorothy and Catherine shook their heads when they saw their friends watching them with sly grins plastered on their faces.

"Come on. We'll introduce you to our friends," Dorothy told them. The two men offered their arms and they all made their way toward the 5 couples. While walking, Catherine and Dorothy sneaked a glance at each other and grinned. They had the feeling that they didn't need to kiss any other frogs anymore.

"Bye, Aries. See you tonight," Dorothy said as Aries kissed her one last time before leaving to get back to his place. The New Year really started off well for her and Catherine. She and Aries, Catherine and Dale had been dating ever since the New Year's Eve Ball. And things couldn't be better, the 4 of them being officially couples now. Dorothy smiled at the thought. They did find their Prince Charmings in the Ball afterall.

The smile on Dorothy's face was replaced with apprehension upon closing the door. She went to her dresser drawer, took out a box and headed straight to the bathroom. She shut the door and stared at the box she was holding. It was a pregnancy test kit. It was already the last week of February but she still hadn't gotten her period since the 1st week of December last year. It wouldn't have worried her if she were still involved with Catherine. Her menstrual cycle had this pattern of skipping a month or two once in a while. But now that she had a boyfriend, not to mention that one time with Trowa, she had to consider the possibility of her getting pregnant. And that was where the problem lies. If she were pregnant, she wouldn't know for sure who the father was, until maybe after she had given birth. If the baby were Aries', it would be great, but what if it were Trowa's? Would he acknowledge it? What would Quatre feel? What would Aries do? Would he leave her?

Shrugging all these grim thoughts away, she psyched herself in proceeding with the test. She carefully followed the instructions then waited for the results. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the apparatus in her hand. She blinked. Then blinked again, checking the box just to make sure. "Thank, God," she muttered in relief. It was negative. Her cycle must have just skipped two months afterall.

Her head jerked up when she heard her vidphone ringing. She went out of the bathroom to answer the call. "Hi, Cathy. What's up?"

Catherine gave her a tensed smile. "Dorothy, I'm pregnant."

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