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Comments: la di da di da... I'm not sure yet, as usual... heh heh...
j/k. The Vice Foreign Minister is missing as usual but this time it is
on her own accord. Where she goes is a place where someone would never
had guess. Well...except for Heero but that's to be expected. The
story is separated into two parts and watch out for a little OOCness on
Heero's part towards the end.
Standard Disclaimer: err...don't sue me. ^^
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One Fine Day...
By Ali (minakoali@yahoo.com)
Part One:
Relena Dorlian never led an easy life. It was said that on many
occasions that she had forgotten to celebrate her own birthday and was
only reminded by the bags upon bags of birthday cards she received at
the end of the day. She was one of the most recognised political
figures in history and unarguably the hardest working. With these facts
in mind, it was hardly a surprise that when the currenct Vice Foreign
Minister and former Queen requested a day off, the entire world was, to
say the least, curious. Everyone wanted to wonder what she was up to.
Could it be a secret rendezvous with one of the infamous Gundam pilots?
A short vacation to a secluded and exotic location, perhaps. No one
knew the absolute truth save a few individuals. (This did not include
her estranged brother or former teen obsession.)
The public was interested because of one reason alone. Relena was part
of a selected few that were plagued with the same traits. One, Relena
was famous and two, she was beautiful. On many social gatherings in the
past, most of the pictures taken were of the young politician and former
aristocrat. It was a deadly combination and the mere mention of the
selected individuals with these traits would, most likely, cause
immediate attention. Already, the press of many newspapers made plans
to have their top investigators follow her and try to be the first to
reveal the Minister's plans.
However, at the stroke of midnight on the day of Relena's short leave,
Relena disappeared...not a single clue to her disappearance was left
behind.
****
Noin watched Zechs pace up and down their small office from her little
spot leaning against the wall. The older brother is panicking, she
mused. He had been pacing since he had heard the news. He wouldn't
mention why he was pacing but it was obvious.
"You're going to wear a small hole in here," she said half-amused.
The platinum-blonde spun around. "And you don't seem to be the least
bit concerned."
Noin smiled. "You're doing enough for the both of us," she said,
walking over to his desk, "And besides, Relena gave this not to Sally to
specifically give to us."
Noin picked up the neatly-written note with the elegant, gold-lettered
heading. She sat down in Zechs' chair and planted her feet on the
table.
She cleared her throat as a hint of teasing before she began to read the
note. "And I repeat:
Dear Noin and Milliardo,
I'll be taking a small vacation as you probably have heard and I
just wanted to tell you not to worry. I am alright, so please do
not look for me. This is a deeply personal matter that I have to
attend to. I hope that the Terraforming project is going well and
that both of you are doing fine.
Love,
Relena
and oh!" Noin said, raising her finger in the air, "P.S. Noin, please
keep my brother from having a heart attack. I suggest some chains shall
do the trick."
Noin put the note down and grinned goofily at the Vice Foreign
Minister's older sibling. He, however, had now stopped pacing and was
glaring back at her in response. He glared at her for a good minute or
two and finally, Noin threw her hands up in the air.
"Fine, fine..." she said, a little exasperated, "I'll get Duo to look
around and see what he can find out. Are you happy?"
Zechs looked back at Noin almost contemplating but at least, he was no
longer glaring. She could even see him slightly chew at the inside of
his mouth, which only meant that he was only having a small internal
debate.
"Fine," he replied and turned to walk out of the office to retrieve some
reports from one of the engineers.
The exasperated look disappeared from Noin's face and she grinned a
little. Slowly, she reached over to the small computer on the table.
"And Noin..."
She sat up, a little surprised that Zechs hadn't quite left yet.
"Get your feet off my desk."
Noin laughed and threw her pen at the direction of the voice.
****
An hour later...
"Gee Noin," the braided, Gundam pilot replied to his moniter, "I have no
idea where Relena is."
Noin sighed in response, "Well, can't say I didn't try."
Gundam pilots were very hard to find and though, Duo was one of the few
that had settled down, it had taken a long time to finally reach him.
According to Hilde, she had sent him on an errand but that meant that,
in Hilde's words, he was "goofing off" somewhere after easily finding
the mechanical parts. She had left a message with her and when Duo
called her back, Noin felt that all her effort still left her in the
same position that she was this morning. Then, something dawned upon
her.
"Wait...do you think Heero might know?"
Duo leaned back on his chair and threw his hands behind his head in
thought. "Maybe...but I'm not sure, last time I heard, Heero was on
some sort of mission. He's been gone for about two weeks now and it
wasn't announced that Relena was leaving until a week ago."
Noin couldn't help but look a little disappointed.
"But," Duo continued, "With Heero...you never know. I'll go talk to him
and see what he knows...that is, if he talks at all and I can comprehend
what vague little tidbits he _does_ decide to say."
Noin laughed a little. "Thanks, Duo." she said and turned off the
communication between them.
Duo turned off the computer and walked out of his basement to see what
Hilde whipped up for lunch. As soon as he entered the kitchen, Duo
stopped.
"Son of a bitch!" Duo yelled, almost jumping back.
"Duo!," Hilde scolded.
Quickly, she glanced at Heero to see his reaction at Duo's sudden
appearance. Heero had not reacted to say the least. In fact, he had
simply continued to drink his tea.
Duo rushed over to his small, oak dining table. He turned one of the
chair around 180 degrees and sat in front of Heero.
"Where have you been, Heero?" Duo said, "What are you doing here?"
Heero didn't bother to answer the first question. "I returned the
transmitter you leant me."
Duo looked to where he had indicated and let a big sweatdrop appear on
the back of his head. What he saw was a black, unrecognizeable, blown-
up mass of charred metal and he no longer wanted to know where his young
comrade had been. Duo turned back to remark about the "transmitter" but
it was then that Hilde decided to place Duo's long awaited sandwich in
front of him. The mere appearance of the sandwich was enough to remind
him of his hunger. In the infamous Son Goku style, he engulfed half of
it immediately. Complaints would have to wait.
"So, Heero," Duo said, chewing a tad bit too obnoxiously for Heero's
liking, "Do you know Relena's gone missing?"
Heero looked at Duo for a moment and simply said, "No." He sipped some
more of his tea.
"No?!" Duo said, leaving a spray of crumbs on the table, "Damn! I
thought you knew, too! You really can surprise me sometimes."
Heero finished his tea and walked towards the basement door.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
"To borrow your computer." Heero didn't turn around when he replied and
he walked down the steps out of sight.
Duo stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and gulped down the
glass of milk. Jumping out of his chair, he ran after Heero.
"My computer better not end up the same way as my transmitter, buddy!"
Hilde just sat at the table alone. To think, she thought, I've been
living with this guy for two years and I still can't figure out how he
can eat like that.
****
When Duo got down to the basement, Heero was already madly typing with
one hand as he flipped through Duo's agenda. The screen seemed to be a
continuous stream of data flowing from the top and disappearing at the
bottom a la matrix style. Even if someone was looking over his
shoulder, it would be hard for anybody to catch up.
"What are you doing?" Duo asked.
Heero paused. "Finding where Relena is."
"Ha!" Duo cried, jumping up and clapping his hands together once. "I
knew it! I had a feeling you'd...hey! Where are you going?"
"To go get her."
Duo's eyes widened a little. "Then, you know where she is."
Heero took his jacket off the back of the chair and slipped it on. He
began to walk up the stairs and Duo's eyes followed him.
"Maybe. And tell Noin that she's alright."
With that, he walked out.
Part Two:
She stood there, silently watching. Her long, flowing dress flew with
the wind and her long, though not as long as it once was, blonde hair
moved freely and loosely about her shoulders. It was quiet. It had
been quiet for a long time now. Her mother had left earlier to give her
some time alone. She needed it, though, she doubt she'd ever admit it
but she did need it. Slipping away from the press and the world was one
of the weirdest things she had ever done. She and Pagan had arranged
for a double of her to take her place a couple of days before anybody
even knew she was gone. The day she had announced for a short leave was
the day she left for home.
It was hard for her to not tell anybody where she was going. There
were, of course, complications. She didn't want her brother to worry
and so she sent him that note. Deep down inside, she knew he would
never be satisfied with it but it would just have to do. She just
didn't want to give anybody her whereabouts. The other complication
was, of course, Heero. There was no way she could slip away without
Heero knowing. That was the hardest part but when she made an innocent
call to Hilde and Duo, she found out that Heero was on an important
mission and wasn't due back for another week. It seemed that everything
had been settled for her and so she left.
Unfortunately, she knew when she got back that rumours would fly
everywhere. The one that was most likely is that the Vice Foreign
Minister, who is just a child after all, was a little stressed under the
overwhelming responsibility and took a small vacation. Oh, how she
wished it was that. Just simply that but it wasn't. She wasn't one who
ran away from responsibility and stress was something that she had been
through and survived, but the press would never understand that. She
was just a child, 17 years old. The reasons to why she left could never
be as simple as they would think.
"Relena..."
Her eyes widened a little. She should have never suspected that he
couldn't find her.
"Heero?" she asked, knowing full well that it was him.
He was there, standing behind her and she wondered how long he had stood
there. At times, she could sense him from a far distance but at other
times, he could simply just walk up to her, whether she was in a crowded
street or surrounded by flimsy twigs, without making a sound. The sight
of him was unusual, however. He was well-dressed, not in the more
practical casual clothing that he's usually seen in and in his hands
were a small bouquet of flowers. Similar to the one in her hands.
"What are you doing here?"
He didn't answer and Relena guessed that he wouldn't. She sighed a
little.
"Fine, how did you find me?"
He didn't answer again, she never expected any, but this time, he walked
up and placed the flowers in front of the object she was silently
watching. A small, marbel stone by a wise, old, oak tree. Her father's
grave.
Not King Peacecraft, the believer in peace, a true pacifist, deceased
king of a kingdom lost long ago but her other father. The one who took
care of her, bought her her first ice cream cone, the man who took her
in when she was a small child when her "kingdom" was nothing but a
smoldering pile of ash.
Emotion slowly began to build up within her. It was on this fine day
that her father had died. Assassinated by her friend, Lady Une...
"You know, I almost forgot last year and that's what horrified me." Her
vision began to blur a little and she wish she had the power to will the
impending tears away. "I love him and I almost forgot. It was then
that I resolved that I would never forget again."
"You've had a hectic year," Heero pointed out as he stood beside her.
"That's no excuse," she said, saddened.
"I miss him so much," she managed to whisper out, "I wish he were here."
There was a slight pause but Relena kept on talking. "He used to read
to me, you know. Sometimes, he wouldn't be home for weeks upon weeks
but whenever he was, he'd read to me. At first, to put me to sleep or
when I hadn't learned how to read and then, it was just to spend some
time together. A lot of the times were at this tree."
A small breeze in the seemingly sunny day blew past her and it tossled
both of their hair a little. There was a deep silence after that and
despite it all, she found it comforting that he was just there, his
presence. She continued to watch the gravestone that was marked with
her father's name and suddenly she felt another hand grab her hand.
Heero's hand, Relena thought, closing her eyes. It was rough,
especially compared to her own delicate hand but it was still strong and
comforting, just like his presence.
She squeezed his hand in response and then finally, took her hand out of
his own. She knelt down and placed her own flowers on the grave.
Reaching out, her fingers fluttered over the central image. Silently,
she gave her father her message.
I love you, father. I hope that you're doing alright in heaven and I
want to tell you that I miss you so much. So...very much.
Her throat felt suddenly heavy and it was hard for her to swallow.
I wanted to tell you something ever since you told me that you weren't
my real father. I wanted to tell you that you're wrong. You _are_ my
real father just as mother is my real mother. You were there when I
took my first steps and my many stumbles before that. You took me out
when it snowed for the first time to show me and there are so many
special moments in my life that you shared with me.
She paused a little.
I think that I led a good life . You and mother did that. Having two
wonderful people love me was enough for me. Not friends who idolized me
or relatives that praised me... Just you... You two were the best
father and mother...
She sobbed a little. A few tears had managed to spill and she hadn't
even noticed. She didn't care.
I wish you were here. I wish you could see what this world has become
and I wish you were with mother and I.
She paused and looked at the other object in her hands. It was the
picture that he had always kept at his desk. Most of the pictures of
them were very formal but this one wasn't. Her mother was standing by
him and he was sitting in his favourite leather chair. She was sitting
on his lap in her, ugh, pink pajamas and her mother and her were all
laughing. The expression on his face was one of a little surprise and
despite the goofy face on his part, it was her father's favourite
picture.
Until then, though, she thought to him, you can have this. I hope
you're watching over the world and smiling father.
Silently, she touched her fingers to her lips and then touched the
forehead of the small picture.
"I love you." she said one last time and stood up.
Heero was still there, watching her...waiting for her and they slowly
walked towards the mansion.
"He would be proud of you, you know," he said, not quite looking at her.
Relena smiled a little. "Yeah..." she whispered and looked back towards
the grave. A small weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she
felt a little happier. Quietly, she wrapped one of her arms around
Heero's waist and leaned on his shoulder.
He had allowed her to do this. Heero wasn't one of the types to express
himself but he always let Relena lean on his shoulder when she had the
opportunity to. Slowly, he placed his hand on her other shoulder and
drew her in slightly.
It was quiet and peaceful and both of them walked towards Relena's old
mansion never quiet breaking the peace. The sun was out, the cool
breeze prevented the warmth from being unbearable and the two were
finally allowed to enjoy this one fine day.
****
Another small breeze blew by the oak tree away from the couple, slowly
swaying some of its branches and then seemed to circle the gravestone.
A young gardener's son of the estate, that day, could have sworn that he
saw a man standing at the grave looking at the picture tenderly. He had
never met the former Vice Foreign Minister but for some reason, the
young boy knew. Quietly standing up, the man watched the young couple
walk away and smiled. Noticing that the boy had seen him, the man
smiled at him as well, a jubilant happiness present on his face... but
when another breeze blew by the wise, old, oak tree, the man was gone.
Quickly as he disappeared.
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Alright, anyway, here it is. The first draft. Someday, I will look at
this fic and think, "What the hell was I thinking?!" so if you'd like,
please feel free to eml me with some nice constructive criticism...I may
cry but that's all. j/k. ^^ No flames, tho...b/c I already know I
suck and I don't plan on being a professional so it's all good. ^^
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