Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Dear Cathy ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Dear Cathy

 

Disclaimer: It's on the first two chapters. Series = not mine. Twins = my babies. ^_^ Got it? Clear? Good…

 

AN: Wow, the past year had to end in such a crazy way. x_x But now I'm back and I offer my apologies to all of you with this new chapter. Hopefully it'll make up for the lost time. Thank you to all who have read so far. If you can, please review. I like to know what my readers are thinking and if anything should be changed or cleared up. So yes…chapter three is here and chapter four will probably be written up in a few weeks as well. School shouldn't be so hard this next semester, hopefully.

 

Happy New Year to you all!

 

----------

 

Chapter 3

 

----------

 

“Hi auntie!”

 

“Hello lovelies.” A smile. “How are you two? Is everything alright with Cathy? How is she doing?”

“It's so cold here Auntie. There's lots of snow everywhere.”

 

“Cathy says it snows lots because colonists are desperate.”

 

“Cathy and Trowa let us play in the snow.” One twin.

 

“As long as we're good!” The other twin. Turning to the screen, smiling. “We wake up early and eat on time and help with chores and—”

 

“—brush our teeth and sleep early and help with cooking—”

 

“Alright, alright! My, you two are full of energy tonight!”

 

“Yeah! Cathy and Trowa let us eat lots of dessert tonight because we'd been so good.”

 

“We had some cake and we shared a piece of pie—”

 

“—and there was this stuff called flam—”

 

“—flan! It was flan!”

 

“Oh, right!”

 

Identical smiles on non-identical faces.

 

A beat. “So, this Trowa…He's good to you two? He treats you well?”

 

Identical giggles. “Of course! He's like Cathy's brother so he's our cousin too!”

 

Frowning then a nod. “Alright, well, I'd like to talk to you both about your brother. I'm at his home now.”

 

“Is he nice?”

 

“What's he look like? Like me?”

 

“You're a girl, Tristine! He's a brother not a sister!”

 

“Oh…” Two sets of blinking eyes turn to the woman on the screen. She smiles.

 

“You'll get to see him. He looks like your father and he has your pretty eyes too.”

 

“Yay!” One shouted.

 

“I don't have pretty eyes. I'm a boy…” One grumbled.

 

A reassuring smile. “Don't worry. I've already sent pictures to you two. You should be getting them before you leave for the next colony. You'll get to see him before you really meet him. Don't forget to show Cathy, it's her cousin as well!”

 

“Of course! And Trowa, too!”

 

“He's our cousin now, too!”

 

Approving nod. Two sets of identical, sparkling eyes.

 

“Alright, well, it's getting late. You two should go to bed now. Be good to your cousin, okay?”

 

“Okay!”

 

“We will!”

 

“G'night Auntie!” was the simultaneous cry.

 

“Good night lovelies.”

 

----------

 

Kristoff held onto his sister's mitten-clad hand as they both skipped toward the large yellow tent. It was the last night of the circus' performance before they would move to yet another colony. The twins always looked forward to the move because they enjoyed riding the shuttle and gazing out the window to see Earth.

 

“We never go to see it from out here. We slept the whole time on the plane,” one of them explained.

 

“Auntie says Jeremie and papa are from there. And she was born there too.”

 

The pictures that Margaret sent had arrived earlier that day and the twins took the task of carefully pasting the photos into their picture book. They were also able to add a label under the pictures that read “our brother, Jeremie.” Catherine had been surprised to see the photo album. She had never noticed it before and was surprised that the twins had hid it all this time.

 

“You never showed this to me,” she said with a pout. The twins could only pat her hand like adults always did and promise to show her their entire “picture book” later, after the performance tonight.

 

The audience tonight was bigger than usual and their presence allowed a moderate amount of heat inside the tent. Hats and mittens were removed and jackets unbuttoned as the twins made their way down the stairs. Cathy had told them to at least keep their jackets on and by now they knew better than to argue with her. She and Auntie Margaret definitely had at least one thing in common: the look accompanied by the hands-on-the-hips gesture. The twins quietly joked to one another about how their Auntie and cousin looked so much alike when they were being serious.

 

They scooted into an empty spot in the front row, Kristoff kindly letting his sister go first, and sat down between a young woman with dark hair tucked under a hat and an old man with a pointed moustache. Wanting to feel like a good brother, Kristoff traded seats with his sister so that she sat next to the young woman. Next to the young woman was a young man with a blue cap on his head that bore a picture of a wrench and lettering in a language that Tristine couldn't read. She noticed the woman watching her and gave a small wave with an even smaller greeting. A smile lit up the woman's face and offered a greeting as well then turned her attention to center of the tent.

 

As always, the twins were excited, though, by now they knew what to expect since they'd seen all the acts almost every night and day since their arrival at the circus. Their favorite part though would always be Trowa's lion taming act. It was the only act that, at first glance, seemed improvised, though it was really just switching the order of the different parts.

 

“Everything is the same. The act is broken up into different parts with very smooth transitions in-between and at the beginning of each little part there's a certain…movement that he does that let's the lion know which part is going to come next. The lion is trained to understand all the movements. It's like their own special code.”

Catherine had to explain to her younger cousins, who at their innocent age truly believed Trowa and the lion could read each other's mind, the trick that made the act seem made-up.

 

The twins now grew excited as the lights went down, signaling their favorite act. The twins turned attentively to the center of the tent and Tristine couldn't help but whisper lowly to her brother.

 

“I wonder what Trowa will do this time,” she said in glee.

 

The woman next to Tristine turned and whispered softly to her, “You know Trowa?”

 

At this, Tristine nodded and smiled. “He and Cathy are our cousins. Kristoff and I have been living with them for a long time.”

 

Kristoff hushed her as the curtains opened and Trowa, dressed only in waist-fitted green pants that bunched from knee to ankles and was held up by crossing yellow suspenders, tumbled and flipped his way to the middle of the tent. He stood still with both arms lifted in the air, is infamous mask covering the right side of his face. A drum roll began and the lion, a rather large male named Rafael, ran straight toward the young man standing erect in the middle of the tent. As the lion came halfway to the center, Trowa tumbled and flipped his way forward, away from the beast. Right as he came up to the sidelines of the audience, where the twins sat, he executed a rather exaggerated gainer somersault that landed him on the back of the lion in a clean one-armed handstand.

 

The audience cheered enthusiastically and the twins couldn't help but join along in the applause. As Trowa continued his act, Tristine turned to the woman sitting beside her and asked for her name.

 

“Hilde Schbeiker,” she replied with a smile, “and this guy sitting next to me with the funny hat is my friend, Duo Maxwell.”

 

Tristine giggled and put out her hand for Hilde to shake as the man, Duo, muttered about his hat being pure advertisement. No funniness involved. Tristine held out her hand to him and he took it with a smile.

 

“It's nice to meet you, kiddo.”

 

“Not kiddo. Tristine. This is my brother, Kristoff.” She took said brother's hand and gave it a tug, motioning for him to at least say hello, which he did grudgingly.

 

While Duo turned his attention back to the act, which was almost done, Hilde continued her conversation with the little girl beside her. She asked how Trowa was their cousin and Tristine took it upon herself to explain in detail her and her brother's arrival at the circus, their relation to Catherine, and how Trowa fit into their little family. When she finished, she was slightly out of breath but happier all the same. Now one of Trowa's friends knew about the ever-growing family.

 

Trowa's act finished and he tumbled his way behind the curtain. The ringleader and the rest of the performers then came out for the finale and the twins stood and waved to their cousins, who could only smile and wave back. When the performance was over, the twins sat in their chairs as they always did and waited for the crowd to disappear. Hilde and Duo stayed in their seats as well since they were planning on meeting with Trowa for an hour or so. When the crowd finally dissipated into a few people, the twins got up and motioned for their new friends to follow them.

 

“Katerine is waiting for us backstage. You can talk with Trowa there too,” Kristoff explained and the four of them made their way behind the curtain.

 

It was utter chaos backstage. Performers were chatting, wiping sweat from their foreheads and at the same time donning jackets while the backstage crew moved to and fro, packing equipment in preparation for the next morning's departure. Hilde held onto both children's hands so as not to lose sight of them in the clutter and after a few “excuse me's” and squeezing in-between objects both animate and inanimate, they made it to the dressing room where Catherine was waiting.

 

“There you are! I was getting worried that you had gotten lost in the after-performance rush!” she exclaimed and gave the children quick hugs. She waved a greeting to Duo while sharing cheek kisses with Hilde. “I didn't know you two would be here as well. Trowa is putting Rafael away. He'll be back soon.”

 

She offered them seats, which they gladly took, while the twins investigated the small dressing room. They poked their hands and heads into the shelves and tried to read the labels of products lying around on the counter, but to no avail. They had yet to learn how to read English. After a few minutes of idle chatter with the adults and seeking out anything new with the children, Trowa came into the room, wearing a pair of loose jeans and a white hooded sweater. He greeted everyone and when the twins came bounding up to them, he took turns picking them up and swinging them around what little space the room offered. Catherine announced that they should all head over to her trailer where it would be warmer and they could all talk over a nice dinner.

 

Dinner consisted of stir-fried broccoli and beef with rice. The twins enjoyed the meal, having never tasted such cuisine before. Contrary to what most adults thought, they rather enjoyed the broccoli and asked for second helpings of the dish. The adults talked of this and that while the twins, after finishing their filling meal, excused themselves to play with their only toy, the plastic ball that Trowa had given to them.

 

The night wore on and soon the guests left and the twins went to bed, their arms wrapped around one another. Catherine bid her brother good night and couldn't help but take a few minutes to gaze at the sleeping “lumps” on the bed before bending over to place kisses on the two identical heads.

 

----------

 

Catherine smiled as she watched her young cousins. Kristoff and Tristine were standing in separate rows of the shuttle and staring out the window, calling out to one another whether or not they'd seen this or that. The ride to the next colony was thankfully not as long as the other one. The last time they'd traveled, the twins ended up terribly bored and it took every bit of Catherine's patience to keep them and herself from creating any problems.

 

“Katerine,” Tristine called and the young woman looked up as her little cousin took the seat next to her. “You've been to earth right?”

 

“Yes, I was born there.”

 

“And you've been to all of the colonies too, right?”

 

“Well, not all of them. There's a few in each Lagrange area that I have yet to go to.”

 

“Oh,” Tristine said with slight disappointment. “Kristoff said that you've been everywhere.” She began to kick her legs, a sign of growing boredom. Kristoff returned from his window and sat in the seat on Catherine's left. Before his sister could go and pester him about the lie he had told, he reached into the bag stowed under the seat in front of him and pulled out a thin album. He set it carefully on Catherine's lap, so all three of them could look at it, and began talking.

 

“Auntie bought this for us so that we wouldn't lose any of the pictures. She says that she can't make anymore copies, so we have to be careful with them.”

 

He flipped the album open and the first picture made Catherine's heart drop. As the twins pointed to the first picture and explained who the people were, her mind began to race back twenty or so years. In her mind she could see the moving figure of the man who stood in the middle of the picture. His combed-back light brown hair, the twinkle in his green eyes that matched that of the man standing next to him. Actually, both men looked quite the same, if not for a few differences in facial hair and choice of clothing. They were brothers, twins. The one on the left was her uncle, the father of the two children who sat on either side of her. And the other…

 

Papa.

 

She clapped a hand over her mouth and swallowed down a sob. How many years had it been since she'd seen his face? Since he'd held her hand and told her stories of a princess who bore her name and looks and always had a happy ending. Who would swing her around and let her ride on his shoulders even if her mother complained she was too big for that. It was so typical. She was a daddy's girl as some said, yet she kept the memories close, only remembering them when no one was around to see the tears and hear the sobs.

 

Before she could respond, the twins flipped the page and Catherine was greeted by the warm smile of their Aunt Margaret, sitting in a simple wedding gown next to a man who could only be her husband.

 

“He died in the war. All I have now are these two little ones,” the older woman had said. When she said it, Catherine couldn't remember, but she knew that it had been said.

 

“Auntie says this is her wedding picture. Isn't she pretty?” Tristine asked. Catherine nodded and offered a smile while the children continued their explanations of the pictures. For the moment, she felt like she was the child and they the adults, telling her all about the life that she had and never always knew about. Or she had just simply forgotten it.

 

On the page opposite the wedding picture was a photo of Aunt Margaret standing between her twin brothers. They all had brown hair of varying shades and by comparing the Margaret in this picture to that of the other one, it was obvious that the shot was taken years before.

 

“Auntie says this was taken before Papa went to the colonies,” Kristoff said.

 

Catherine stared down at the picture, not able to fully grasp it. There was her father, standing and smiling the smile he'd kept even to his untimely death

 

again she swallowed down any sounds

 

and he looked like…She frowned at the thought. For some reason, this man in the picture who was really a young man looked like the Trowa she'd known years before. Not exact looks. Her father's hair and eyes were lighter and his face rounder, but there was an uncanny resemblance between the man who was her father and the man who she called brother.

 

She sighed and placed a hand over the plastic-covered picture. The twins stopped talking and looked up at her as she tried to regain composure. She took deep breaths and exhaled slowly, trying to keep the tears from slipping out. But as luck would not have it, a few tears escaped her eyelids and ran down her cheeks. The twins gasped and scurried to find tissues while Catherine put a hand to her cheek, feeling the warmth of the tears on her colder cheeks.

 

“Her Katerine,” Kristoff said in a small voice. He pressed a napkin, which he had saved after the in-flight snack, to her face and told her to blow her nose. Of course, she couldn't help but crack a smile and taking the napkin, she softly blew her nose to please her younger, worried cousins.

 

After a few minutes of tear wiping and nose rubbing, she let out a sigh and then settled deeply into her seat. “Alright, I'm done. Thank you for being so patient and for offering your napkin to me.”

 

The twins nodded. “If you don't want to look at the pictures anymore, it's ok. Auntie sometimes cries too when she looks at it.”

 

Catherine shook her head and replied, “I want to see the pictures. You did promise that you would show them all to me.”

 

With that said, the next page was flipped and Catherine's heart immediately stopped. She felt as if her stomach and heart switched places, one moving so low and the other so high up. The pictures on the right page weren't what caused the disturbance because they were pictures of her, from birth to age 3 or 4. It was the picture on the left, the one picture, which made her feel faint.

 

At the bottom of the small photo was a caption that read in the small writing of her aunt:

 

“Baby Triton Bloom. Six months.”

 

----------

 

End Chapter 3

 

----------

 

Preview for Chapter 4: As the twins and Catherine's time together comes to a close, Aunt Margaret sends her eldest niece an envelope filled with her last secret.

 

----------

 

A/N: WOW. I've been sitting here, waiting to type that last line for hours. Haha. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this one. Please review. ^_^ Hopefully Chapter Four will be up. Soon. Hah. Please correct me on anything that needs/should be corrected. Thanks again guys!