"I don't get it. They're just sitting there. Why won't they say anything? It's too weird." Catherine put down the binoculars in disgust. "It's the oddest thing I've ever seen!"
"What I don't understand is how you managed to convince me to come with you," said Relena crossly, a note of disgust in her voice.
It had been a week since Trowa and Dorothy's first lunch date, and since then, they had been practically inseparable. To Catherine, this was a mixed blessing. It was nice to see Trowa out socializing with other people, but at the same time, he never told her anything about what he and Dorothy did! Finally, the curiosity had gotten to be too much. So, she had called Relena, catching her on a rare day when she wasn't in conferences, and had convinced Relena to accompany her to the park that afternoon.
Now they were in the park, hiding behind some bushes. Trowa and Dorothy were seated on a park bench not too far from the bushes. Neither one had said a word for the better part of an hour.
"Oh, come on. You're as curious as I am and you know it!" whispered Catherine gleefully. "Trowa hasn't said a word about these dates he has with Dorothy. Aren't you the least bit curious yourself?"
"Not at all. Dorothy tells me what she wants me to know."
Catherine was taken aback for a moment. It's just not fair! she thought. Why couldn't I have been given a little sister instead? A sister would have told me everything by now! "Yes, but that's different! Dorothy's not your sister. Trowa's my little brother!"
"Catherine, I have a brother, too, and I don't follow him around out on dates!"
Catherine clucked her tongue. "That's because he's your older brother. Trowa's my little brother! It's different! Besides, Milliardo and Noin have been going out since the beginning of time, right? And come on, hasn't Milliardo followed you out on dates before?"
"No, as a matter of fact, he has not!"
Catherine made a disgusted noise and peered at the couple through the binoculars. "I wonder why they won't say anything?"
"It's because they've known you two were hiding in the bushes since you got here," said a different voice. Catherine jumped, startled. Relena looked up, and immediately blushed.
"Heero! I...uh...we...that is, I..."
Heero made a noise suspiciously sounding like a laugh. "I'm just going to pretend I understand exactly why you two felt the need to hide in the bushes, so you two can pretend to understand exactly why I am making you leave."
Catherine tried to look indignant. "We have a very good reason for being here, Mr. Heero Yuy, and it's none of your business!" she hissed.
Heero gave her a calculating look, and straightened. "Trowa?" he called, "They're over here. I told them you knew they were here the whole time." Trowa's voiced "Thanks, Heero," floated toward them on the breeze as the couple got up to leave. Catherine looked outraged. Relena shook her head in defeat.
"They wouldn't have known we were here if it weren't for you!" Catherine exclaimed angrily.
"I doubt that. You were making so much noise, it was fairly easy to pinpoint where you were. I only came here looking for Relena. I knew she went with you to the park, but I didn't know why."
Relena stood up, brushing grass off of her knees. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Heero glanced at her. "The Minister of Foreign Affairs wanted a word with you," he said. "I told him that you were out for a pleasure stroll, and that I'd find you." He took her arm gently. "We'd better get going. The Minister was quite emphatic that he had to speak only to you, and couldn't leave a message to be delivered."
"Drat it," she said sullenly, but allowed herself to be lead back toward the hotel. "I'm sorry your plan didn't work, Catherine," she called over her shoulder.
"Yeah, me too," said Catherine sullenly. She was angry that her cover had been blown, and that her plan hadn't worked, but she was more nervous about what Trowa was going to say to her that evening.
"You're mad."
"I'm not mad."
"Yes, you are. You're mad and I know it."
"Cathy, I think I'm a better judge of when I'm mad than you are."
Catherine stood up and paced around the trailer. "Then why won't you yell at me?"
Trowa smiled. "Because I think you've suffered enough punishment with Heero finding you hiding in the bushes than anything I could say to you about it now."
Catherine blushed. "Trowa, that's not funny!" Then she grew curious. "Did you really know we were there?"
"Of course I knew. You two made quite a racket getting set up. You didn't even try to be quiet."
Catherine hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry I was spying on you, Trowa."
"That's okay, Cathy. But why were you spying on us?"
Catherine glared at him. "Do I have to answer that?"
"Yes, you do."
"I thought you said I'd had enough punishment!"
"I changed my mind."
Catherine folded her arms across her chest. "That's not fair, Trowa!"
"No, what's 'not fair' is that you ruined the nice afternoon I was having with Dorothy today," Trowa said sternly, a hint of anger in his voice. "My wanting to know why you ruined it is fair and just."
"See? I knew it! You're mad!"
Trowa sighed. "Cathy, I'm not mad because you were hiding in the bushes with a pair of binoculars. I'm mad because you don't trust me, and were spying on me."
"I do trust you! I can't help it! I'm curious! You never tell me anything about what happens on those dates!"
"Could it possibly be because it's none of your business?"
"Trowa, because I am your big sister it is too my business!"
"You know, Quatre told me that he has this same problem with his sisters. Only they don't follow him and his dates around with binoculars."
Catherine flushed. "Trowa, I already said I'm sorry!"
"But did you mean it?"
"Of course I do!" Catherine blurted, then pondered the question. "Really. I am. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spoil your date."
"That's okay, Cathy. We're meeting for dinner tonight, anyway. And I hope that I am being perfectly clear when I ask that you not follow us?"
Catherine flushed. "I wouldn't have to follow you if you would just tell me what you talk about!"
"Really Cathy, what does it matter what we're talking about? What are you so afraid of, anyway?"
"I don't have to answer that question, Trowa, and you know it!"
"You will eventually, you know."
"Maybe so, but I think you'll have figured it out by then, if you haven't already."
Trowa didn't say anything, just snorted and shook his head.
Catherine gave him a measured look. "What are you going to do when the circus moves on? We're only here for three more days, you know. And you can't spend much time with Miss Dorothy during those days, because we have to strike the tents and get the animals ready for transport. The Manager doesn't let anyone out of that, no matter what their excuse is!
"We were going to talk about that this afternoon, but it's funny; we never got a chance to do that."
"Humph. So...what are you going to do about it?"
Trowa was quiet for a moment, then shrugged slightly.
"You mean you don't know?"
"Am I supposed to?"
"Well, yes! What are you going to tell Dorothy?" Catherine made a funny face and straightened in a caricature of Trowa. "'Hi Dorothy, I think you're swell, but the circus is moving on, I guess that's it for us!'" she mocked.
Trowa narrowed his eyes. "You imply I'm going to break things off?"
Catherine's eyes widened. "You're not going to break up with her?"
"I wasn't planning on it, no."
"You're not--you wouldn't--you couldn't!" she squeaked.
"Couldn't what? Cathy, what's gotten into you?"
"You're not going to...quit...the circus...are you?" she asked in a small voice.
Trowa rolled his eyes. "No, Cathy, I'm not going to quit the circus. That wasn't one of my options."
"Oh." Catherine looked relieved. "Well, then, what are you going to do?"
"I haven't decided yet."
Catherine raised her eyebrows. "You haven't decided yet?" she said incredulously. "When are you meeting Dorothy for dinner?"
"In about an hour."
Catherine made a strangled noise in the back of her throat. "Have you done no planning whatsoever? How can you be so unprepared? For being a former Gundam pilot, your strategy stinks!"
"And I suppose you have a fool-proof plan?"
"Well, no, not exactly...But I know I wouldn't walk into that restaurant totally unprepared!"
"I'm not totally unprepared."
"Oh yeah? Then what are you going to do tonight when you tell Dorothy that the circus is leaving the colony?"
"Probably something similar to what she's going to tell me when she returns to Earth with Relena and Heero in a few days."
"Oh yeah...I forgot about that."
Trowa smiled. "I am not nearly as unprepared as you think I am, dear sister. I may not know exactly what I'm going to say tonight, but I'm going to listen to what my heart tells me to do. Right now, my heart tells me that there will be a way."
Catherine snorted derisively. "Yeah, and my mind tells me that you are going to be whistling a very different tune when you come home from your date tonight...the 'I Just Got Dumped Blues'."
"We'll see, Cathy...we'll see." With that, Trowa turned and headed toward his trailer.
Catherine folded her arms across her chest as Trowa walked away. Men, she grumbled to herself. They think they know everything!
"So? What did you tell her?
Trowa looked up as he neared his trailer and heard Catherine's voice. "Cathy?"
"Duh, stupid, who else would I be?"
"How long have you been waiting here for me?"
Catherine shivered lightly in the chill night air. "Not that long," she lied.
Trowa gave her a look. "You've been here all night, haven't you?"
"Maybe I have and maybe I haven't. But, if my being here all night means you'll tell me what you told her, then yes, I've been here all night."
Trowa shook his head incredulously. "You never cease to amaze me, Cathy." He opened the door to his trailer and stepped inside. Catherine follwed him as he walked into the kitchen area and started water boiling for tea.
"Well? Are you going to tell me what you told her or not?"
Trowa shook his head. "I'm not going to tell you because there is nothing to tell."
"Huh? What do you mean, there's nothing to tell?"
"We didn't talk about it."
"What?" Catherine gaped. "Are you both crazy or what? Either that or you're in some serious denial about the whole thing!"
"It just never came up."
"Well, you'd better make it come up, and soon! You don't have that much time left."
"Why are you so concerned? I thought you didn't like Dorothy."
Catherine frowned at him. "I don't, but that doesn't mean I want you to hurt her feelings by acting like a jerk!"
"I'm not acting like a jerk."
"Yes, you are!"
"You're just angry because I don't tell you anything about what we do when we're together."
"Okay, fine," she grumbled, accepting the steaming mug of tea that Trowa handed her. "Just this once, I'll mind my own business, on one condition."
"And that is...?"
"That you tell me when you tell her that you're leaving."
"And I suppose you'll want to know what was said as well."
Catherine made a frustrated noise. "Of course I will! But I won't ask this time," she said with obvious difficulty. I'll try Relena's tactic, she thought to herself, because it seems to work with Dorothy!
Trowa raised one eyebrow. "What's the catch?"
"There's no catch. You just have to tell me that you told her and what her reaction was."
"I think I can handle it," said Trowa evenly.
One day passed, then the second. Trowa and Catherine were kept busy on the circus grounds, striking the tents, packing their belongings, and preparing to leave. Each night, Trowa would excuse himself from the company of the circus and meet with Dorothy. And each night, Catherine would hound him when he returned, wanting to know if he had told Dorothy that they were leaving, and each night, he told her no.
"You've only got one day left!"
"I know. I can handle this."
The third day dawned bright. The final preparations to leave were made, and a shuttle was secured. The Manager told everyone what their next destination would be, and the circus performers discussed this, trying to remember who had friends there, and which ones could be reached.
That evening, Trowa stood before a mirror in his trailer, straightening his bow tie.
"Wow, Trowa, you look great! What's the occasion?" Catherine stuck her head in the door.
"There is a formal event at the embassy where Relena has had all those conferences," he said, not turning to face her. "Dorothy asked me to be her escort."
"Are they leaving tomorrow, too?"
"Apparently."
"Are you going to tell her tonight?"
"Probably"
"Do you think she'll be mad that you waited this long?"
"Possibly."
Catherine made an angry, strangled noise in the back of her throat, and left. She knew Trowa wouldn't tell her anything else right now. She went back to her trailer and prepared herself to wait. She had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen, and if she knew Trowa, he would need her support.
"What have you told Trowa about our leaving for Earth tomorrow?"
Dorothy clasped her hands nervously, and smoothed the skirt of her ball gown. "I haven't told him yet," she confessed. "I tried, but the words just wouldn't come out. I didn't know how to say it!"
"I see," said Relena, and straightened her own dress, tugging at the sleeve of one long, white glove. "You do realize that you'll have to tell him tonight, don't you? I don't think you'll have time to see him before our transport leaves tomorrow morning."
"Yes, I know," she said disconsolately. "I just don't know how to tell him."
Relena gave her a look. "You really care about him, don't you?"
Dorothy looked up at her. "Yes...I think I do," she said quietly. "But Miss Relena...if I care about him...why is it so hard to tell him that we're leaving?"
Relena smiled softly. "I think you've answered that question yourself, Dorothy," she said gently. "You have to tell him good-bye. That's never easy."
"Yes, but--" Dorothy's comment was interrupted by the shrilling of the telephone. Relena weaved her way around the packed suitcases stacked near the table and answered it. "Yes? Oh, I see...Thank you, I'll send her down right away." She hung up the phone and turned to face Dorothy. "That was the concierge. Your escort is here." A slight smile hovered on her lips.
"I guess this is it, then, isn't it?" Dorothy clasped her hands and kneaded them nervously.
"Only if you want it to be," said Relena.
Dorothy cocked her head, confused at the statement, but Relena only smiled and led her to the door of the room. "Don't keep him waiting," she said softly.
Dorothy shook her head and hurried to meet Trowa.