By: Sissi
Disclaimer: GW is not mine. Or is it? ^^;;
A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who has taken their time to read this story. Special thanks to the ones who have reviewed the last part: stormwind16, Tobo Castit, Kanya Barton and Cleo. Tobo Castit, I'm really sorry you had to resort to reviewing twice to make me work on this again, but it worked. It was a retarded effect but it did work in the end.
Cleo, your comment is so right, I think we are both full-time dreamers who can't help wanting their wings back. 
Let's fly together, shall we? Next installment won't be up for some time. I'm truly sorry. Oh, has anyone noticed that I have changed my mind and this story won't have four parts? Yes, I have decided that I want to develop even further Relena and Trowa relationship. Wooohoo.
Part Three : I will make life worth it
Time froze as her voice finished her plea, and she locked her eyes with his. No words were spoken after her voicing her no longer secret desire, her wish which had been caged for so long. She lowered her eyes, unable to keep the fa?ade of a strong woman, for she was not one. What would happen now?
“Excuse me?” Trowa said. Relena flushed, somewhat disappointed. She bit her lower lip and smiled nervously, though sorrow contaminated her heart. No, he had not understood her, had he? She smiled sadly to herself; she was still alone. Her soul was still alone amongst the sadness of the world. She almost lifted her hand to disperse the thought, a thought as insignificant as a common fly flying around a meal.
“I’m sorry, I... dinner’s ready, right?” She asked quickly. She turned her face towards the kitchen door, not feeling like gazing at his honest and confused face. After spotting Catherine’s form moving around the table, setting down plates, spoons and forks, she walked to the other girl’s side, still trembling from head to toe. She exhaled the breath she had been keeping, placing a trembling hand over her left breast. She would maintain her composure, she told herself. She bit her lower lip when she noticed her high body temperature and the way her heart bit rapidly in her chest.
“Relena? Is something wrong?” Catherine asked, offering a chair near her. Relena sat slowly, staring at the ground in deep concentration, or so Catherine thought. Catherine placed a cool hand on Relena’s forehead, suspiscious as to the other girl’s strange behaviour. She frowned.
“Would you like some tea? Maybe some pills?”
Relena lifted her face and met the older girl with a bright smile. A fake yet bright smile.
“I’m fine, really.” Relena furrowed her brows, trying to find the right words to say. “Hmm, what’s this? It smells good,” Relena finally said, licking her lips and opening her napkin and placing it on her lap. Her fingers trembled as she touched the fabric, but it went unnoticed by her.
“It’s my special fish ? la casa, I hope you’ll like it,” the red-haired girl whispered. She grinned when she saw her brother near the door, resting his back against the wall. She frowned as she noticed his dirty shirt and his disheveled hair.
“Trowa! Where’ve you been?” she asked, concerned. She prodded his arms and then his chest, looking for any possible wound. She shook her head in defeat. Sometimes, her brother could be quite a careless fool.
His hands moved until they rested on her arms and then, her wrists. With a firm grip, he stopped her.
“I’m fine, Catherine,” he responded, patting her hands affectionately and walked to the other side of the table, taking a seat in front of Relena, who lowered her face.
“Are you truly well? You are a little pale, ” Trowa commented. Relena pursed her lips together, and after some moments, replied that she was feeling well. She was only feeling hot due to the fireplace in the living-room. Trowa nodded his head and the conversation stopped there.
He opened his mouth, but stopped. She lifted her eyes to him, curious.
“Would you like some juice? It will refresh you,” he offered, seizing the jar which contained orange juice. Relena nodded her head, and offered him her glass. The tip of the jar touched the glass and the juice flowed from one container to the smaller one. When he was done, he placed the object exactly at its previous spot. He grasped the glass now full and offered it to Relena. She accepted the kind gesture, and their fingers touched briefly.
She closed her eyes as her flesh touched his. She felt another wave of electricity seep through her body. She smiled shily at him and sipped the liquid. It was cool and she felt much better. She thanked him and he told her it were nothing.
The two went silent again, each not knowing what to do. It was a very awkward moment for both of them.
Catherine shook her head, not believing Relena and her brother were interacting in such a way. It was a very amusing sight, she thought. She rubbed her hands in anticipation, for she would try to make things more lively. Perhaps add a little bit of romance, who knows?
“What’s so funny?” Relena asked, deeply confused as she heard a chuckle beside her. She was afraid the other girl suspected her jaded disposition and the way she could not make eye contact with Catherine’s brother.
“Oh, nothing dear, it’s nothing.” Catherine took a seat beside Relena and started putting bits of food on Relena’s plate. Relena accepted the kind gesture and waited until Catherine was satisfied with the quatity of food. It seemed that the other girl thought she was too skinny to her liking. She almost smiled due to the memory of her agent telling her that she should lose weight. She shook her head. Well, she mused, life could very contradictory if one cared to notice.
“Thank you,” Relena murmured when the plate was placed in front of her. She ate some of the fish and could not help widening her eyes as the wonderful taste was registered in her brain. She had never tasted something as delicious as that fish. It was sweet and salty, and somewhat spicy as well, due to the oregano and some other oriental spicies. Was it possible to taste so many things with only a dish?
“This is delicious, Catherine!” she exclaimed in awe, watching the other girl smile and blush at the compliment.
“Thank you, Relena. I have a secret to tell you: there’s a secret ingredient that makes this dish taste so wonderful, but I am not telling you”, Catherine finished, chuckling as the other girl widened her eyes in curiosity.
“What’s the secret ingredient? Please, tell me,” Relena pleaded. She hadn’t even noticed that she had taken the bait and now, she no longer remembered Trowa, her sudden outburst, the strange dialogue some minutes ago, nor the sadness in her heart. They have been caged inside a small compartiment in her pulsing organ, now forgotten for the moment. She was starting to enjoy her dinner, she truly was. She smiled as the other girl kept talking about the food.
“Oh, I do have one, but I won’t tell you,” Catherine stated again The game had begun and she was having fun. As the two females chatted and teased each other – Relena being a little stiff with her retorts in the beginning, until she got the flow of it, Trowa ate his food quietly, listening to their voices. It had been some time since he had heard cheerful voices during the dinner, and he had missed it.
Relena had missed these talks as well. It was also very good to talk about mundane things, Relena found out. She didn’t have to watch out her feelings, she could say whatever she had in her mind. She chuckled when Catherine made an ugly face when the subject moved to stinking cheese. Relena blinked twice when she learned how wine was produced in the old times, with people extracting the juice by stepping on grapes with bare feet. She smiled when she remembered the sweet flavour of apples in autumn and how her mother would prepare apple pies, her favourites.
“Trowa? What do you think? Who’s right here? Me or Relena?” Catherine asked Trowa, who had been staring at Relena all the while with glassy eyes. He had also returned to the past, remembering the happy times when his parents were alive as well. He eyed the two girls and then ate some more of the fish. He would not answer them.
Catherine lifted one eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, making the blonde laugh and move her eyes from the sister to the brother. They did look related, with their brown hair and long and delicate features. They had different eye colour though, but Relena decided that it was because of their parents’ heritage. After all, she had her father’s blue eyes and her mother’s darker blonde hair, so different from her father’s light one which, under the sun, could almost make one believe that it was silvery.
“You won’t help your sister in distress? Well, thank you Trowa, I feel touched,” Catherine murmured, winking at Relena and continuing with her farse. The irony in her voice was present, along with the false sarcasm she tried to convey.
“Did you like the dinner, Relena?” Catherine asked, standing up and collecting the dishes. Relena nodded and stood up as well, taking her plate and her glass with her to the kitchen. She would not let the other girl do the whole work alone.
Small hands were placed over her busy ones, making her lift her eyes and see her new friend shaking her head. Relena frowned and placed her hands over her hips, but Catherine’s smiling face made her yield.
“I’m going to bed. Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Catherine. Good night,” she said, and left the dinner room in silence.
She walked upstairs and found Catherine’s nightgown placed neatly on the bed. She caressed the thin fabric with her fingers, and taking off her clothes, she wore it and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked beautiful, even though she was wearing a simple piece of clothes, not the glamorous dresses she used to wear for work which were fancy with layers and layers of silk, hugging her body or being as translucent as glass. They were beautiful dresses, she had to admit, but they did not suit her, and they never would.
She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the night. It was already pitch dark, with only a few stars shining in the sky. Differently from the other night, the moon had disappeared, hidden by gray clouds formed during the day and which had not faded as the night had approached. She walked to the window and opened it. She could not stand sleeping with the windows closed, as if she were confined in the room. She closed her eyes as the soft breeze kissed her pale cheeks. It was suave and soothing, even though the night air was somewhat humid, yet not so she could feel sick.
Her golden tresses flew around her head and soon settled down. She touched her face and noticed that her cheeks were dry. She smiled.
*
His hands kept working diligently with the fibres. It was probably near midnight, but his mind was too much in a turmoil to be able to sleep. Besides, he reasoned, he needed the new net, and he could not wait any longer.
He lifted his face when the sound of small feet touching the wooden floor reached his ears. His gaze settled on the hem of a white nightgown with light pink frames and laces, and slowly, as it reached upwards, he watched as the clothes did not hide the womanly curves of a fine female body. Thin and fragile arms with uncertain hands were crossed over her chest, and her eyes were downcast.
Her hair was slightly messed, with some golden strands marring her face. Her lips were oddly red, and her cheeks were flushed.
“What are you doing?” she asked. He returned to his work, not answering her question. She did not seem disturbed, though, for she walked to his side and sat down, turning her gaze to his hands. She watched quietly as they moved and formed knots, as if they were as fascinating as an action movie itself.
“Do you need any help?” she tried again. He shook his head. She sighed and hugged her knees, bringing her legs to her chest. Time passed and they stayed there in comfortable silence.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Trowa asked, placing his work down and turning to face the young girl. Relena bit her lower lip, fiddling with her hands.
“Yes, I did.”
Trowa nodded and remained silent. Suddenly, his voice asked her another question, breaking the comfortable silence that had been settled some time ago.
“Would you like some warm milk?”
She widened her eyes but smiled at his offer. He stood up and headed to the kitchen. She stayed right in her place, still smiling at his nice behaviour. She clapped her hands together, massaging her cold limbs once in a while. She should have brought a shawl with her, she berated herself. She sighed. It was too late now.
He returned seconds later, though they seemed like eternity to Relena. Staying alone was not her cup of tea, and as she had waited for his return, she had tried to help Trowa with the net, even though he had not given her his consent. She shrugged at the thought.
“Thank you,” she whispered as he offered her the glass containing the white liquid. She let the warm liquid touch and slip through her throat. It felt nice, she decided. And refreshing. Yes, definitely refreshing.
“Go to bed,” he ordered some time later. She raised an eyebrow, eyeing him questioningly. She drank some more of the milk.
“It’s getting late,” he said, and started working again.
“What about you?”
“Once this is finished, I’ll go to bed.”
She nodded yet did not move from her spot. She bit her lower lip thoughtfully, watching her companion work quietly beside her. He looked so serene and happy...
“Don’t you ever feel tired of life?” she asked him some time later. His hands stopped for milliseconds, until they started moving again, as if nothing had happened at all. Relena’s eyes, though, were not trained to notice such subtleness, and the fact passed unnoticed by her.
“No,” he answered with a calm voice, avoiding her serious gaze. He sighed when she kept staring at him, almost demanding a different answer. “Maybe I do, but rarely,” he added.
“What do you do when you feel like it?”
“I stop whatever I am doing and think about Catherine.”
She blinked at his answer and could feel her eyes irritated as a warm liquid forced its way to escape the confines that were her eyes. She averted her gaze and stared at her feet. She noticed sadly that her nails still had some nail polish, which reminded her of her old life, the one she had tried escaping from, without success. Her supposed happy and perfect life, when in reality, it was far from it. She sighed in defeat.
“And what if you didn’t even have family to fall back on?” Her voice was threateningly low, on the edge of crying. He placed the incomplete net on his lap and turned to her with serious eyes. He placed a hand under her chin and lifted her face so he could see her blue eyes. With the other hand, he started to dry her face with kind fingers.
“One is never alone. Your family may be gone, but you still have friends to resort to. And, if you don’t have real friends,” he faltered for a moment, not able to continue his sentence for he felt his cheeks burn with a fire he had not known existed inside of him. He avoided Relena’s eyes and continued, “Catherine and I are willing to be,” he told her, embracing her with hesitant arms when she broke down and started crying. He made soothing movements on her back, and tried his best to calm the girl, who had a firm grip on his shirt, hanging onto him as if he were the only thing she could grasp and make her feel safe when everything seemed dark and dangerous.
Between desperate sobs, she managed to stare at him with sad eyes. He opened his mouth to complement his previous words, but she silenced him by placing trembling fingers over his lips.
“Stay with me?”
He stared at her with silent eyes, and when she trembled beneath his seemingly cold stare, he kissed her forehead and murmured a yes to her. She sniffled and clung to him even more. She was truly afraid of being alone. She had been alone most of her life, she pondered then. Even with her family and friends.
Her sobs and cries died down some minutes later, and when he lifted her face to check on her, she had already fallen asleep. Her breathing was even, and her heart speed was normal. He smiled quietly to the night, hugging her closer to him, afraid she could get a cold if she stayed without too long away from her warm bed. It wouldn’t help if she were sick physically as well.
He sighed tiredly as he enveloped her lithe form with his strong arms and lifted her up. He took her to her bedroom silently, opening the door slowly with the tip of his toes and tucked her under the warm blankets, rearranging them so they would cover her completely and keep her safe for the time being. He pried her hands open when he noticed she would not release him too soon, and with another small smile, he closed the door and headed to the room where Catherine was sleeping in. He opened the door soundlessly and watched his sister’s chest rise and lower rhythmically. He touched her cheek and whispered sweet words in her ear. Relena would need his sister the next morning.
It has been some time since he ever thought about his fortune, how miserable his life would be had he not have Catherine in his life. He caressed her forehead and watched her mouth part into a sweet smile. The angels were with her tonight, he thought. He only hoped they were with Relena as well. She needed comfort, and he was not sure he could offer it to her. He could only try and make her see that life was still something marvelous and worth it.
He kissed her forehead and promised her he would always be there for her. He would make life always worth it, he told himself. To himself, to Catherine, and... to Relena.
TBC
worked. I really was eager to see another installment in this fic. It really is very good, but I don't have the eloquence to describe it. Keep it up! And don't wait too long with this next chapter! By the way, while this chapter was not as good as the previous one it was by no means a- what did you call it? A "
