Relena sat in the living room of the Winner Mansion and stared out the window. How could this have happened?

"Relena? They're going to be here any minute," said Quatre gently.

She tried to smile, "I know. I'm ready."

Almost as if on cue, the doorbell rang. They could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. A servant knocked once, then opened the door.

"Trowa! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Quatre, a slight blush rising on his face.

"Relena called me and said that… that you needed to talk to me. I came as soon as I could. Didn't you…" Trowa looked confusedly from one to the other.

Quatre turned to Relena, "What did you do that for?"

She smiled. "After what you told me last night, I thought that maybe I could help you. I hope you aren't mad," she looked sadly at Quatre.

"No," he assured her, "It's just… I wasn't expecting…" Quatre trailed off, glancing nervously from one to the other.

He was saved by the bell. Once again, the sounds of footsteps preceded them. The knock was again followed by the opening of the door. Relena stood to greet them.

Heero looked at her with sad blue eyes, "I'm sorry Relena." Tears ran silently down her cheeks, but she bravely tried to smile.

"Why Heero? Was it me? Why couldn't you tell me about this?" The forced smile was gone.

He shook his head "It wasn't you Relena."

An awkward silence filled the den. Duo couldn't stand it anymore.

"It's my fault," said Duo, finally making his way in the room. "I… I knew that you two were having problems. Hell, we both knew," said Duo, nodding towards Quatre. "We kept hoping that you two would…" Duo ran his hands through his bangs, trying to figure out what he wanted to say.

"I love him Relena. I have for a long time. I thought that it was just some adolescent attraction, but its more than that. I guess I… hoped… that that was causing some of the problems. I know, I know, it was a terrible thing to do, but I'm sure that you realize what it's like to love someone. And that sometimes you'll try anything just to see if that love is real." Duo was now standing by her side.

"Heero… do you really love him?" she asked, turning to her ex-boyfriend.

Heero nodded, "Yes Relena. I do."

She didn't want to believe it. But the way that he looked at Duo, and now with Heero's own admittion, she had to. She wished that this nightmare was just a dream. Relena shook her head. "But I love you too Heero."

"I know Relena. But I can't love you back, not how you want me to." He looked thoughtfully at her, "I was told that a person has to live by their emotions. It was the last piece of advice that my… that I was given. I have to live by it."

"I know your wisdom," she spat back at him, "And I hope that this… this choice suits you!" In tears she left the room.

Heero started after her. A hand on his shoulder stopped him. "I'll go," said Quatre, "She doesn't want to listen to you, or even see you right now. Not with…" Quatre hung his head, "Besides, I think I can help her."

Heero nodded. "I hope you're right," he said as Quatre left the room.

Duo sat down in one of the large leather chairs Quatre had in his den. He put his head in his hands. "What did I do?" he whispered.

"You followed your emotions," replied Heero.

"No, I…I… what have I done?" he looked up through the tears in his large violet eyes. "I knew that she… but I didn't…." He hung his head again. He had really messed up this time. Duo had known in his head that this would hurt Relena, but he hadn't realized it in his heart. And now his heart was breaking.

Heero sat on the arm of Duo's chair and carefully put his arm around Duo's shoulders. "Duo, it's okay."

"No Heero, no it's not. And I didn't realize until now just how wrong it really was." There were tears in his eyes.

Heero looked to Trowa who was standing by the window. How could he just stand there?

As if he heard Heero's thoughts, Trowa came over to the pair. He squatted down in front of Duo before he spoke. "Duo, you did what you thought was right at the time. It's too late to change what you did. Relena won't stay mad at you forever, and with time she'll realize that you two were meant for each other. You can't wallow in misery because of this, you have to forgive yourself."

Duo looked up again, a slight smile brightened his features. "Thanks Trowa."

Silently, Heero wished that he could have thought of those words-- any words to make Duo feel better. But he couldn't, instead he had to be content that his newfound lover had someone to talk to him.

Heero was happy now-- happy and peaceful. Last night just felt right. He didn't want to loose Duo-- his Duo-- to feelings of regret. Heero knew that Relena would be fine. She was strong. Very strong. And she would see that this was what was best for him, and her. She would see it in time. He could only hope that it wouldn't take her too long. Heero looked back down to see those violet eyes staring at him. Heero gave him a smile-- a genuine smile-- and pulled him in for a hug. Duo gratefully hugged him back.

Trowa felt a slight pang of sadness at the sight of those two. Even after the heartache and pain that this was-- and would-- cause, they still had each other. And Trowa had… well, he had the Maison Barton, his cooking… but he wanted more, he wanted…

Quatre caught up with Relena down the hall. He gently took her arm and walked her to his study. She followed him in a daze. She didn't want to think anymore-- not if it meant having to think about them. He closed the door behind them and sat Relena down on a large couch. He took her hands in his, "Relena?"

She looked at him-- he was such a kind and caring person, she thought, why couldn't he love her… but their talks from last night came rushing back to her. He loved Trowa. After their date, after seeing him again, he knew it was true. The thought of Quatre as gay brought a fresh wave of tears to Relena's eyes. .

He gently wiped her tears away and held her close as she cried. "Relena, it will be okay. It is going to take time." He stroked her hair as he continued, "You told me that you were afraid that Heero loved someone else. Now you know. Isn't it better to know for a fact than to live with the uncertainty?"

Relena's sobs quieted and she let go of Quatre's shirt front.

"What am I going to do now?" she asked.

He tilted her head so she could look into his eyes before he answered her, "Whatever you want."

For the first time after the show, Relena thought that things might turn out okay.

"If you want, you can spend some time here," Quatre offered.

"Really? It wouldn't be too much of an imposition would it?"

"No, not at all."

"Thank you," she said, grateful to not have to go home-- to their home, full of Heero's belongings, the belongings that he would be taking with him when he left.

"What are you going to do Quatre?" Relena asked, looking at the blonde with tear-stained eyes.

Quatre gave her a questioning look, "What do you mean?"

"With Trowa."

Quatre looked down, "I'm not sure."

"Tell him."

"Do you think that is a good idea?" No matter how much he wanted to, Quatre was still plagued by doubts.

"Yes. Go and talk to him now," she assured him. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Could you please tell Heero that… that I will be staying here for a few days and hope that he will not mind if he packs without me."

Quatre nodded and stood to leave. "I'll do that Relena," he said.

"Oh and Quatre!"

He looked back from the doorway.

"Please tell Duo… that I understand."

Again, he nodded before he vanished from her sight.

Her eyes filled with tears, but the hate and anger had left her. These were cleansing tears-- the tears that would start her new life.

As Quatre re-entered the den, his eyes immediately fell upon the new couple. They stood by the window. Heero's arms encirled Duo's waist. Both seemed to be paying more attention to each other than to the sunset painting the sky outside.

Quatre glanced around the room. Where was Trowa? Had he left? Quatre quelled the panic that threatened him. He wanted to find Trowa, but good manners would not allow him that luxury.

He cleared his throat, tactfully letting the couple know that he was there. Reluctantly, the others turned his direction.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, noticing Duo's puffy eyes.

Heero smiled, Duo's face echoed. "Yes," said Duo, "everything will be fine." His face sobered, "How's Relena?"

"Right now, not so good. But in time, she'll be okay too." Quatre smiled as Duo's face flooded with relief. "She asked me to tell you, Heero, to pack without her. I offered her a room here-- so she can have someplace to be while she deals with this."

Heero nodded.

"And Duo--"

The braided youth looked up sharply.

"-- she wanted me to tell you that she understands."

A small smile played on Duo's face. "Could you thank her for me?"

"Yes," said Quatre, happy that his friends were, at the least, not enemies. "Um, did Trowa leave already?" he asked.

"Trowa? No. He said something about heading out to the garden to watch the sunset though," answered Duo, giving Quatre an odd look.

"Thank you. If it's all right with you, I'll leave you both now. Feel free to stay as long as you like," Quatre said, ever the gracious host.

"That's fine Quatre. We should be going now. There are some things that we need to talk about, and Heero here has to get busy packing. We'll find our own way out," Duo said, taking Heero's hand and practically dragging him to the door, "Good luck!"

Heero gave Duo an odd look-- much like the one Duo had flashed at Quatre a moment ago-- but said nothing. There would be time enough later to find out why Duo was practically kicking them out of Quatre's mansion.

Quatre found Trowa sitting on one of the stone benches in the garden. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked, getting Trowa's attention.

"Yes, very much. Would you care to join me?" Trowa asked patting the bench beside him.

"I'd love to," Quatre replied, sitting down beside him. After a few moments, Quatre took a sidelong glance at Trowa. Taking a deep breath Quatre decided that it was now or never-- never not actually being a viable option. "Trowa-- there's something that I have to tell you. I--"

Trowa smiled shyly, his finger on Quatre's lips. "I know, I think I've always known," he said.

Quatre's mind raced, he hadn't expected this… what in the world was he supposed to do now?

"It's really quite beautiful, isn't is?" Trowa said, gazing at the sky. He reached over and took Quatre's small hand in his.

"Yes Trowa, it is beautiful," Quatre replied smiling, never taking his eyes off Trowa.