Standard disclaimers: See first chapter.
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The most noble of weaknesses
By Darkwing
Chapter two
She had openly challenged him. Quatre could perfectly understand this even if, for a strange reason, he had never completely understood Dorothy. Was this exception what teased him?
He held his breath and plunged again into the limpid water, hoping to clear up his mind. Why, if he had always been so good at understanding the other people's feelings, couldn't he do that now, when he needed it the most?
'Damn!' With an angry gesture, he vented his frustration on the waves, assaulting them with his vigorous strokes. He let himself sink into the effort to clear his mind; he stopped only when his tired muscles protested for the lack of oxygen. Rejuvenated by the physical effort, he decided that it was time to come back onto the seashore.
He climbed on the rocks and rubbed his fair hair with the towel. Then he carefully folded it and finally sat down, strangely relaxed.
Only a short time passed before his rebel thoughts proposed him again the slender silhouette of Dorothy, as she emerged from the water, where he had climbed up only a few minutes before. God, she was beautiful! She was even more beautiful then he remembered. She had grown up of course...Well, to be honest she hadn't really grown up, it was more like she now was a real woman. During the past two years something changed inside of her, yet she was still the same: the same charm, the same mystery. It was as if a wet blanket held her captive...
Quatre closed his eyes for a moment. The memory of that duel that she forced him into was still sharp. But what he kept impressed in his mind weren't the gestures and the movements, nor the succession of the events, he rather had been branded by the emotions that exploded in the moment. He was aware that the vigor, the energy and the passions of the few minutes spent crossing their blades, would haunt his memory for the living years. How could he forget the single instant when, under the ruthless and bare influence of the Zero System, Dorothy let slightly surface the part of her nature that she always hid? He just had needed an instant to see how her inner splendor exceeded her physical beauty; a split second, to cross the freezing walls that she erected around her soul and that kept her far from real life, far from any chance of happiness...from the world.
'She's like a mermaid that can?t love the sea.' He bitterly thought. 'Who knows if she now learned to cry...?'
Still deep in thought, Quatre got up to come back to his guesthouse and headed along the path, a veiled melancholy feeling took advantage of him. He had always wondered if Dorothy had finally stopped to walk on the edge and had decided to live a real life, instead of letting her inner self die. The war had gifted with bad scars them all. He'd have paid for anything to know if she had allowed to her wounds to heal or if, like himself, she was at least trying.
He needed to meet her again. He needed to talk to her. He wanted to know about her, how was she doing, which kind of life she was having...and above all, he needed to find out which was the nature of the challenge that she wanted to win against him.
Personally he always believed that she was the one that, on the Libra space station, abandoned him while holding a trophy in her hand. She challenged him and she almost killed him. What else did she need more to proclaim herself the winner? Did she want to complete that work? But why? Now there weren't factions to die for. He couldn't see a good reason to be on opposite sides. He was fed up with fighting, why did she still crave to face him?
Completely lost in his thoughts, he crossed the porch entrance without looking around. His appearance didn't go unnoticed though. Little Ivana run to him with her radiant face and took his hand, greeting him with a joyful stream of incomprehensible words.
"It looks like you made a hit with her, lad." The jovial voice of Dinko reached him from a dimly lit corner, under the vine bower.
Quatre rubbed the nape of his neck, ruffling his still wet hair. "Uh! I believe so. Even if I don't exactly know how I achieved that."
The old man revealed the simple truth, winking. "I think that she considers you a sort of Prince Charming."
"Oh, in this case, I can't delude such a pretty princess." The young man joked, letting the child lead him to the table where her grandfather was resting together with a man that looked like his son.
Dinko offered him a chair and made the proper introductions. "My son-in-law, Tomislav." He said.
"Nice to meet you." Quatre shook the strong hand of his host, returning the welcome with sincerity. He must have been Ivana's father, since the resemblance was evident. The same fair hair, the same eyes, the same clearness in their gaze.
"Have a sip with us." Dinko proposed. I'll ask my daughter to bring another glass." He didn't listen to Quatre's protests and called the woman, that was working in the not too far kitchen.
A voice said something, but nobody came out.
"She's still busy with the little one, but she's going to be here soon." Tomislav translated, with his strong Slavic accent.
"So Ivana has a little sister." Quatre smiled, caressing the soft head of the child, that had climbed on his lap.
"She's six months old." The proud father stated. "Her name's Tonka."
Quatre softly smiled. "A family...It?s a wonderful thing."
Dinko and Tomislav shared a quizzical look as they saw the suddenly melancholic gaze of their young guest, but they didn't ask questions that could be embarrassing. "What do you think about this place, kid?" Dinko asked instead.
Quatre's azure-green eyes smiled again. "Enchanting. You're lucky that you can live here."
A string pride was evident in the old man's smile but, despite his love for his native country, he appeased Quatre's enthusiasm. "Don't be deceived by the appearance. It's beautiful, but it hides it's dangers. We're well aware of this, right Tome?"
The other man nodded, with the self-confidence of who has his reasons to claim an opinion. Then, noticing the quizzical look on his guest's face, he explained what his father-in-law meant. "The sea here is good for fishing, even if during the summer we must go far from the coast, but it's unpredictable for those that don't know it well. A strong wind can rise in a moment and the sea can pass from force zero to force eight in less then three hours."
Quatre was amazed. "I didn't believe possible that a such close sea could suffer these phenomena."
Tomislav nodded. "During the winter the wind can blow to more than nineteen knots. But even in summer windy days can happen. It can be really dangerous if you're caught off guard by a storm."
Quatre was sincerely amazed. "And how do you deal with this?"
Tomislav smiled. "I guess that for us sailing is like flying in space for you. I live in this way since the day I was born. Now I'd also like to increase my sphere of activity by buying a new and bigger fishing-boat, equipped for the deep-sea."
"Have luck, then."
Tomislav nodded. "Thanks. I'll need it. I still have to find the money and I must also find a way to sell the one that I already have or I won't make it."
Quatre politely nodded, as Dinko cut off the conversation in his cheerful way. "Here is my daughter! Angela!" He exclaimed, pointing at somebody behind Quatre's back.
The young man stood up to greet the woman, letting Ivana run to her father. The lady of the house was tall and long-limbed and her gentle, hazel gaze hid a strong personality. Before shaking Quatre's hand she put on the table a tray with three more glasses.
'Three? Who's the third?' Then, following Angela, another person appeared, holding a baby in her arms. Even in the semi-darkness, the ethereal brightness of the newcomer was unmistakable. "Dorothy?"
The girl smiled, arching her eyebrows. "So they're right when they say that the world is a small place." She said, as the little one was fiddling with one of her liquid, golden locks.
"I know nothing about the world, but Jezera is very, very small." The old Dinko laughed. "Do you know each other?"
"Yes." Quatre said, not really sure about the authenticity of his statement. Could one really say to know Dorothy?
He offered his chair to the girl and searched for another one that he settled by her side.
"We are long time friends." The young woman revealed. "But it was a surprise for the both of us, when we met here this evening."
Was an impression of Quatre or she underlined the word 'friends' in an odd way? He had to make a real effort to don't draw a rushed conclusion. He shifted the thread of his thoughts. "And so this little missy is Tonka!" He said. He caressed her chubby cheek with a finger that the baby promptly grabbed, sucking it as a dummy. "Hey, what a grip! She's strong!"
"Would you like to hold her?"
Dorothy's proposal froze him right there. "Well, I'm not sure. I know nothing about children..."
"Oh, come on. Besides you need to make some experience, lad. One of these days your turn will come, right?" Old Dinko innocently teased him, but and made him turn his color without any real effort.
Defeated, Quatre couldn't do anything but smile shyly. "What must I do?"
"Have a seat." Dorothy ordered. "I'll put her down."
The young woman stood up and approached him, laying the little one onto his lap. Tonka frowned perplexed, as the stronger arms replaced the soft and comfortable ones that belonged to the girl.
"Don't be so stiff." Dorothy reproached.
"I don't want to hurt her." Quatre confessed, in total disease. He was sweating. Everybody laughed, except for him and the baby that by now was on the verge of tears.
"Look, keep this hand like this and relax." Dorothy instructed. "She isn't a nitroglycerine bottle, she's a baby. You can't hurt her only by holding her, but if you don't make her feel safe, she doesn't like it." She took his hand and guided it under the tiny body, making Tonka happy and increasing Quatre's heart beat.
The young man took a deep breath, trying to avoid the electrifying feeling that the touch had on him, but he reached the opposite goal. The sweet and sour fruity scent exhaling from Dorothy's hair was intoxicating. She was close...Too close, damnit! And that light flowered dress that she was wore! It gave her such an innocent look...He couldn't believe that she was whetting him on purpose, but her catlike eyes drove him crazy!
"See," she explained, gazing him in the eyes. "You need kindness and firmness...and they both are virtues that you possess..." She concluded, letting her sentence hang as if the meaning should be obvious. Quatre couldn't understand.
Dorothy finally moved away and came back to her chair. "What a sweet scene!" She joked.
Quatre raised a skeptical look.
"Have you ever thought about having a family of your own, lad?" Dinko asked in a careless tone.
Quatre blinked in surprise. "I well...Actually?I couldn't think of it, until now. And besides, as they say, I still have to find the 'right' one."
Angela looked slyly at him. "What? Such a handsome guy? I'm sure you've plenty of admirers."
Quatre sighed, of course he had occasions, but he wasn?t too enthusiast about his acquaintances. He sighed. Now in the words of his hosts he could hear again Mrs. Bates and Rashid. While Mrs. Bates was craving for a little one to spoil, Rashid claimed that a man of his social level had the duty to marry 'at least' a wife. Personally he didn't feel at all inclined to polygamy and besides, he didn't meet even a single girl! How could he think to fall in love with a multitude? And as if this wasn't enough, he had episodes in his past that were difficult to share.
He frowned. Thinking better, the problem could be that. Could it be possible that the sense of guilt for destroying thousand families during the war made him unable to live the kind of joy that he stole from other human beings?
He looked at Tonka. A such bright smile that could have melt a gundanium block lit up her cheeks. He couldn't help but return that smile, but he felt a drop of that fused metal burn his deep soul. How many fathers and mothers lost their children because of him? And how many innocent children would have never seen their parents again? How many Heero, Duo and Trowa did he create?
He bit his lip and the baby turned serious. Trying to not pour his bad mood on the little one, he got up to commit her to her mother. She didn't protest, until she realized that she was going to be dropped into a new pair of arms. She instinctively searched for a hold and, with her tiny fingers, she grabbed the light down on the still naked Quatre's chest pulling hard and recalling all her strength.
"Ouch!" Quatre exclaimed. "What is this? A sort of revenge because I can't hold you well?" In front of the surprised face of the young man, the baby lost herself in a joyful laugh, alternated with hearty gurglings, before letting her mother to embrace her.
"I don't believe this is a revenge." The woman explained in amusement. "I rather believe that she likes you. She never smiles to those that can?t understand her." She caressed her daugher's back, noticing his perplexed look. "Children's eyes can't lie. I'm sure that she saw something in your heart that not everybody has."
Quatre found himself holding his breath, shocked. If there was something that he didn't want Tonka to see was exactly what he banished into the deepest corner of his soul. He could never forgive himself if the baby suffered for the bad influence of his faults. He politely smiled and addressed to everybody. "I truly hope you could forgive me, but I had a very tiring trip. I believe I need some rest."
"Of course! No need to apologize!" Dinko waved his hand.
Everybody wished him a good night, even Dorothy. Quatre said goodbye and turned away, heading upstairs.
He couldn't see the pair of gray and curios eyes that followed him.
TBC...
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AN: If you survived also this chapter, please let me know what you think of it. Your opinions are really worthy for me. But you already know this, so...Thank you in advance for your attention and time. See you soon!
Kisses,
Darkwing
[4xD] 3/7 "The most noble of weaknesses" Chapter 2
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