Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Ironic ❯ Incongruity ( Chapter 6 )

Ironic

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Chapter VI - Incongruity

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"Three weeks in Bermuda! Oh, how I envy you, Dorothy, darling," Dorothy rolled her eyes. She thought Lady Cambers could have gone on and on forever. She rolled her eyes at her statement.

It was a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon and Nicholas, Dorothy and Lady Cambers were all sitting in the Cambers' terrace having afternoon tea.

"I'm absolutely sure Bermuda will be wonderful, Lady Cambers. Since you envy us so much, maybe you should come with us?" she replied almost brusquely, but the Lady did not notice the tone in her voice, but Nicholas noticed and reacted by brushing the back of her hand with his thumb affectionately.

"...On your honeymoon, Dorothy darling? I don't intend to intrude."

"Of course you don't --" Her response was cut off by the house maid.

"Lady Cambers, Mrs. Stanpole is wishes to speak to you," a middle-aged maid of about forty-two said.

"Thank you, Stella. I will take the call in the study." Lady Cambers said with a sigh.

Dorothy glared at her back as she left to take her call. She then cast a hopeful look upon Nicholas' face.

"I have a plan...so we're out of this wedding and you can be with Natalia."

His face faltered.

"What do you mean, Dorothy? There is no-..." He began to uncoil and shift in his seat, his face showing signs of hesitation.

"You do want to be with her, don't you?" she asked, looking straight into his eyes.

He avoided eye contact, and pulled away from her gaze.

"Yes, of course I do but what about---"

"Everything is taken care of. Natalia will be on a midnight train to Luxemburg tonight and so will you. I've arranged for to wear the chauffeur's uniform, and since it will be dark, no one will ever notice a thing--"

"What about my mother? ...The wedding?"

"It's all taken care of. You will tell your mother that you wish to take me out to dinner tonight, I've already taken the chauffeur's uniform and placed it on the trunk of the green Porsche. Make sure you take the green Porsche. I've arranged to "wreck" the car I used to drive here, and I'm leaving it in your garage. I'll say that I'll leave it here and take care of it tomorrow. When I'm done dropping you off at the train station, I'll sneak in your garage to return your car and I will leave in mine. I will make sure that no one will know that you have gone...at least not until late morning tomorrow."

"But are you sure you want to do this? It all sounds quite complicated." Nicholas was still a bit hesitant about her plan.

Ignoring his question, she went on. "I have prearranged for money to be wired to you from anywhere you wish. All you've got to do is get on that train."

Nicholas seemed to place more confidence in her plan and nodded in reply.

"All right, Dorothy. I'll do it," he replied after a moment of silence.

"Good, this is the only chance we've got so we might as well take it," she said.

"You still love him...don't you?"

She said nothing, but only looked at him with empty, impassive eyes.

"You promise me that you'll tell him that you still do...promise me, Dorothy."

She laughed hoarsely.

"I'm much too arrogant to ask for his apology. I'm driven to tell the truth and I'm compelled to lie because of reasons that don't really matter. But Nicholas, that's not what matters at the moment. You have to--... "

"I apologize for the interruption. With the wedding drawing nearer and nearer, things are starting to get complicated," Lady Cambers said, interrupting Dorothy.

"I assure you that the wedding will go quite smoothly," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

It will go quite smoothly, indeed, she thought, smiling to herself.

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The rain poured out heavily, with the thunder and the lightning racking the whole place. Dorothy unlocked the car doors and paused. She cast her gaze upon Nicholas, and assumed that this will be their final farewell.

"I suppose that this is goodbye, Nicholas," covering his cold hand with hers.

"I suppose so, Dorothy," he replied, biting his lip.

"You look so nervous for a man who will reunite with the woman he loves," Dorothy said. She laughed hoarsely.

"That statement has justified my belief that you are a romantic at heart."

"Aren't we all? ...That subject is not for today, though. You must leave!"

"Dorothy, how did you ever come up with this?" he asked, trying to avoid their parting.

"…I love him still, Nicholas, and I know you love her, and not me…this marriage would have just sparked disaster." she replied quietly, chuckling.

"What will you say to my mother? How will we ever get away with it, Dorothy?" his face turned into a sour expression of worry and unease.

She covered her hand with his, giving it an assuring squeeze.

"Don't worry about it. I simply won't say anything. Now will you please get out of my car and get yourself on that train."

He kissed her hand.

"Thank you, dear Dorothy."

With those words, he let go of her hand and he opened the car door to leave. He walked away from the car and she could see his retreating figure slowly get smaller.

She looked at her left hand, and pulled the engagement ring that did not belong to her off of her finger.

She opened the car door, and ran out of the torrential rain.

"Nicholas! Wait!"

Nicholas looked at her expectantly, and the look of worry was perceptible through his eyes.

Holding the ring between her index finger and thumb, she offered it to him.

"Take it," her request seemed more like a demand.

"I don't want it, Dorothy," he stated blankly.

"What use am I to make of it now? Take it, please," she urged.

"I don't have a use for it either. I won't take it."

"No, Nicholas, I insist. Your heart belongs to her and so should this," she protested, placing the ring on his palm and closing it.

He nodded.

"Thank you, Dorothy, words cannot express the gratitude I owe you, now go to your car before you catch the flu," he replied.

He turned around before she could reply, and she only watched him leave her in vain. She never felt any romantic love for him, but now it felt like she had another cavity drilled in her heart. She has seen this familiar situation over and over again. She would watch in remorse as the men in her life slowly walk away from her, and the reason was always her.

She pushed all of them away.

Not concerned about the rain, she stayed to see Nicholas board the train. She saw him jubilantly reunite with Natalia. He placed a soft, but ardent kiss on her lips, and gave her a gaze that was reserved only for her.

She denied it with her cold demeanor, but in her heart of hearts, she would have given anything and everything to experience the same with him.

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Quatre shoved his car keys in his pocket, mentally humming a certain violin piece he can never, ever forget.

It was the song she asked him to play for her over and over again.

You pathetic fool. It's been ages since you played that piece for her...and yet you still think about piece as if you played it yesterday.

"Damn it, Dorothy, I can't go on without you," he muttered quietly. He wondered how he managed to live day by day not having her at his side.

How do you cope with pain and rejection?

"I can't cope with it," he admitted to himself. He remembered the time when she was his and his only...how it seemed like it happened been ages ago...

"Are you really sure you want this? I don't want you to hate me after this..." Although he was drunk in desire, and the aching pain to take her instantly, he was still concerned about what she felt. She was driving him insane with longing and even more as she began to nip at his neck, ignoring what he just said.

He realized then that he loved her and would wait forever for her if he had to.

But even he knew that from that point on, there was no turning back.

It all started at some ball they just both happened to attend. Somehow, they found each other in the dance floor, waltzing to an exquisite piece the orchestra was playing.

After the war, they've been distant friends because of her gratefulness of what he had done to change her life and because of another cause - Relena. They would see each other occasionally during her speeches, in lavish and boring balls, and of course, trying to get Heero to admit his true feelings.

...But never have they been this close. The thoughts of affection and feelings for each other were ignored or put aside, and both of them barely had any time to contemplate about love.

It's almost impossible for people who have been mangled and affected greatly by the war to see the beauty in love because they have been saturated in too much hate and cruelty to recognize it.

...Until now.

The music stopped and he had asked her to take a bit of fresh air with him, and he was surprised she didn't refuse his offer. They began to talk about simple things, and then the conversation grew deeper, with her even admitting that she was lonely, and before he knew it, he was already leaning in to kiss her.

He himself felt lonely.

Her lips traveled to his cheek and to his lips, hungrily probing her tongue inside his mouth.

He pulled away uneasily, "are you sure you want this?"

She touched her nose with his, "Of course I want this...and I want it to be you." She meant what she said, and she not only wanted him, but she realized she loved him as well.

...But of course she couldn't tell him that.

It was impossible for her to love.

He went through with it, trying his hardest to try to control himself. He felt the fragile barrier breaking, at the time he made contact with it. He didn't want to hurt her, and he was not sure if she was only using him or if she was just so caught up in the moment...But whatever she was feeling, he didn't want to scare her away by telling her he loved her.

He was frightened that she wasn't ready for that yet.

Despite the pain she was feeling, she kissed him passionately to try to overshadow the aching inside of her.

...But he did notice the hurting, and stopped abruptly.

"What are you doing Quatre?"

"I can't be the cause of this pain, Dorothy. As much as I want you so badly, I can't hurt you," he whispered gently, stroking her hair.

She kissed him.

"I can't hurt you, Dorothy," he repeated, and without thinking he said, "I love you. I'll wait forever for you if I have to."

"You...love me?"

A look of horror quickly registered in his face. He thought she couldn't possibly care...

"All along I was trying to save myself from shame...I loved you so...but I knew you always thought of me as just a charity case, and then tonight happened so suddenly...and I've wanted for it to happen for so long, that I just had to submit."

And with those words, he made love to her.

"I fulfilled my promise, Dorothy. I'll keep on waiting for you even if it takes forever."

He finally reached the doorstep, sighing as he knocked softly on the door.

A few moments later, Pagan attended to the door, greeting him.

"Good afternoon, Pagan, Relena is expecting me," he said, a meek smile forming around the corners of his mouth.

The elder gentleman nodded in reply, and let him in.

"Miss Relena is in the study, Mr. Winner," Pagan said.

"Thank you, Pagan."

Quatre walked briskly to her study, ignoring the other voice that Relena was talking to.

His footsteps became less brusque as he tried to identify that voice.

It seemed too familiar.

That shrill laugh...the eloquent language...

It was just his heart that was trying to protect him...

Was he imagining things?

He felt his feet lead him to the room even though his brain told him to stop and try to come up with the name.

The laughing and the talking stopped as he entered the room.

Long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, milky white skin...

Cornflower blue met azure blue as paths crossed once again.

She was the one who tore her gaze away from him. She had this feeling of wanting to dissipate away.

"Relena, it's getting awfully late, I really must-..."

"Dorothy..." he cried out like an abandoned child.

She ignored his plead for attention and raced to pick her handbag up.

He snapped out of his trance suddenly, telling himself not to let her go.

"...But Dorothy...we must talk about things."

"No, things would be better off if we didn't, Quatre," came her hasty reply to him and she went to look at Relena, "Call me if ever you need anything."

She tried to race to the doorway but he beat her to it, blocking her path.

"No wait," he replied out aloud sternly, "you stay here and discuss this with me."

She stopped in her tracks, turning around to look at him.

"I will be in the...kitchen if," Relena muttered out quietly, not bothering to finish her sentence. She quietly slipped out of the room.

Dorothy didn't even look or notice Relena slip away, because her gaze was so tightly fixed on Quatre. "What is it then? What is it that you want so badly that you have to be rude about it?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Did you really just use me for your own satisfaction...or for sport even? You knew I loved you and yet you led me on, letting me follow you like a lost little puppy!"

"Quatre, you know we have discussed this bef--..."

"Stop beating around the bush, Dorothy...just say yes or no and I'll get out of your life for good," he snapped at her.

She licked her lips nervously feeling goose bumps all around her body. No words could come out of her mouth.

"Quatre that's the problem with you... You tell me you love me despite the fact that I hurt you many times and then you complain about it."

She thought that was rather harsh and selfish of her to say to him.

He was too vulnerable. His eyes softened a bit, feeling hurt, but however, the tone in his voice did not change a bit.

"You said you loved me, but I can't accept the fact that you sacrificed me for some arranged marriage and your position in Romafellar, and I still can't," he replied.

She couldn't bring herself to tell him she gave up Nicholas and relinquished her position in Romafellar.

It was exceedingly difficult, but it just had to be done.

She believed that she had to protect him that way, but she did not know that she was actually causing more damage.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

"Don't even try to lie...you even said that you loved me but you had to sacrifice me for the sake of politics!"

"No, Relena said I did. I only said that there was no turning back."

"I know you...I know you so well that I refuse to accept these words that are coming out from your mouth!"

He was right. Only he could understand her.

But she knew of a way to convince him he was wrong.

It was going to hurt him.

"You didn't know the real Dorothy, did you, Quatre?"

His eyes grew wide at this.

"Damn it, Dorothy...you said yourself that I was the only one who could understand you and love you in spite of the truth! You even said that I was enough to keep you happy. And now you're marrying some guy just because he is richer than me?"

"It's not that he was richer than--..."

He looked to his side, puffing heavily, "well what is it then?" he nearly screamed, tears almost welling up in his eyes.

She never saw him that distraught before.

"It was the title, Quatre. The Cambers family has a very prominent position in the aristocracy. You must understand that I intend to remain as a part of the nobility. I could never have lived without a title, and I must keep the legacy. It is expected of me to fulfill my duty to my family. Do you think that I would accept just a man who would just offer me his money and -- his preposterous love?"

Her mockery of his undying love to her did it.

...It worked...

Perplexed and dazed, he grabbed her in desperation, clenching his teeth. "Damn it, I could kill you for this, Dorothy."

Dorothy was startled on the inside, but kept the cold demeanor on the outside, and only a smug sneer could come out from her lips.

"Oh Quatre, you must understand that I'm not worth killing. I tried to love you as much as I could love, but regrettably, people like me cannot do such a thing. You have to see reality for what it really is...being the only Catalonia remaining, it was expected of me to marry into a prosperous, noble family. After all, it only was a fling, wasn't it?"

Dorothy just plunged a second knife into his already bruised and bloody heart.

His grip on her softened, and he asked, "Only a fling?"

"Yes of course it just was a fling...we were so young, or did you think it was something more than that? Oh come on, we had our fun, and now we have grown up--..."

"I considered it more - valuable than that, Dorothy. I thought of you as the love of my life, Dorothy...didn't you see from the commitment that I was trying to make by proposing to you? I wanted to love you and only you for the rest of my life."

"Just as Relena said Quatre...we were young...and we do foolish things when we are young. We never did belong to one another...I considered it as a fling and you wanted to marry me...Quatre, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking through my heart...I loved you...and I still I love you. I told you I never let go and because of that I have to keep holding on to what we had."

She could just melt in his arms with those words.

I still love you too, Quatre.

She touched his face with her cold hands and eloquently she replied, "oh how adorable you are, Quatre, but next time, find the right girl to confess your love to. Find yourself a sweet young girl who will melt at your words."

...But what she told him was wrong.

He did find himself a girl who would melt in his arms.

He looked away, painfully forcing himself let her go, pain etched all over his face.

Quickly, she reached for her handbag, trying to prevent the tears.

Please don't look at me, Quatre. Please don't...it's for your own good.

She had to get out.

"I love you and I will never stop loving you, Dorothy, remember that. When another man professes his love to you, remember me and know that no man could love you more than I do. Years from now, when I'm gone, remember me and the love I felt for you. "

I will not only remember, Quatre, but I will keep on loving you too. I promise.

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