Get Rel
NOTE: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters.
It was a beautiful day indeed on June 20, AC 199, to be strolling leisurely along the sidewalks of Italy while the clouds were infrequent and the sun beaming its rays. The perfect day to be tending to the gardens, which was exactly what Heero saw the girl doing as he approached the back garden beds of the Noventa household.
About three weeks ago two things happened: one, the Preventers had announced the dismissal of all searches for Relena Darlian and swore not to interfere with her life ever again. Two, Duo, Hilde, and Heero each got reinstated as Preventers, but were being carefully watched by Lady Une, especially Heero.
Then about two weeks ago another event took place, Frankie had sent Heero a flyer with the words 'For Rel Performs at Giorgio's Avvocati'. The band had reunited and returned to Italy apparently, and, Heero discovered later, Relena and her band mates had returned to their rooms at the Noventa household.
There was only one real reason why Heero hadn't gone to see Relena earlier, he had to wait to request a day off, that day happened to be a month since the last time he spoke to Relena, when she snuck out of the convention pretending to be Joey-supposedly.
Now, after all this time, Heero now saw Relena-no longer using the names Salimar Reigns or Robin Shelly-weeding the gardens in a pair of blue jean overalls and a tank top. She looked more youthful with her hair pulled back into a small ponytail and a content smile gracing her lips as she pulled out each weed.
"Happy late birthday Relena," Heero spoke up, startling Relena from her work.
"So, you found me. No wonder why Adam and Lynn were so insistent upon bringing the band back together and returning to this place," Relena sighed, standing up, brushing her soil covered hands on her overalls. "Well, you've found me, now what?"
There were so many questions that Heero wanted answered but all of those could be set aside for later, right now he wanted to finish his statement from the comic convention.
"I…I wanted to talk with you," replied Heero seeing the suspicion in Relena's eyes. Before this whole runaway incident Heero was positive he would never have seen a hint of suspicion or doubt in her sapphire eyes, but now things had changed.
Tucking a bit of hair behind her ear, Relena had returned to her natural hair color and now Heero saw for the first time that she had cut her hair, also that she wore glasses.
"Well," Relena started, licking her lips out of nervousness, "then you better get started talking because I'm sure you have a flight to catch later on today."
Nodding his acknowledgement of the truth, he did have a plane to catch later that day, Heero gestured for Relena to follow him.
She did so, walking beside Heero as he led her over to a bench and motioned for her to take a seat; Relena just stood there waiting patiently for Heero to start talking.
Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants Heero had to keep himself from pacing, he most certainly didn't wish to make a fool out of himself before Relena.
"I see you have got your hair cut," Heero commented, pointing at her hair, wanting so much to touch it but felt that he was not permitted to do so. With an awkward smile, Relena nodded and Heero immediately felt that he needed to somehow compliment on her hair. "It…it looks good on you."
"Thanks," Relena smiled, hiding her hands behind her back. "Yeah, Draca suggested it a while ago. In fact, it was before that day at Giorgio's bar when you met me as Salimar. Draca cut my hair in some sort of upward diagonal, going from front to back. Quatre liked it too."
Inside, Heero felt a pang of jealous toward the young representative, especially since he had been able to be in Relena's company not just once but twice without anyone knowing it. Quatre had been the first person to really see Relena without her wearing a disguise and it angered Heero.
"Why did you contact Quatre?" Heero voiced.
Relena shrugged, "Lynn had talked to him at the fundraiser and he had said how he would like to see me even if it meant having to let me go again. So, I called him up that night then I called him another time and we arranged to meet at Six Flags Amusement Park." Taking a seat, Relena stared up at Heero meaningfully. "He was at least willing to let me go which is something I doubt you would have done at that time."
Knowing how correct Relena's assumption was, Heero nodded as he ran a hand through his hair. "Relena, may I ask you something?" Heero inquired, sitting down beside her.
"Go ahead; no one's stopping you but yourself."
"Are you in love with Quatre?" The question had been plaguing Heero for a while after Zeches had told him that he had seen Relena and Quatre kissing at the convention; then, when confronted by intimidating Heero, Quatre had refused to confirm or deny Relena's affections.
Suddenly, Relena's countenance gave Heero the impression that she wanted nothing more than to become one with the bench to avoid the question, but she couldn't. No, Relena had to answer the question.
"Why are you so curious, Heero? It is not as though you actually feel a thing for me beyond obligations toward your vows to kill and protect me," retorted Relena, her voice becoming cold and hard.
Heero's eyes hardened to match her voice. "Did you not understand what I was trying to tell you last month? I love you Relena, I was not lying when I was saying that."
A softened yet perplexed expression crossed Relena's face as she searched Heero's eyes for the sincerity. It was no secret to Heero that his eyes reflected his thoughts and emotions most of the time when his face and words did not. Sometimes it was easy to read Heero's eyes, depending on the person, and other times it was difficult, but with Relena it was always easy.
Her mouth opened to say something but then closed as she shook her head, turning to look at the ground.
"There is truth to your words Heero," Relena stated quietly, "but tell me this, how can I trust you with my heart again? You've hurt me several times in the past Heero, so what's to say that you won't do it again?"
"I vow to…"
Relena interjected, "Don't vow anything Heero! I know you're a man of honor but your vows are easily…adjustable to suit your needs. At one time that would have been enough for me to trust you but not now."
"Then time and a second chance," Heero declared, causing Relena to raise an inquiring eyebrow at him.
"Second chance? Are you even certain that I'm willing to give you even that?" she challenged him.
Heero groaned inwardly; she just had to say that, didn't she? Had to go and crash his high hopes!
"I was kind of…hoping that you would be willing to give me a second chance with you, that is if you haven't found someone, like Quatre," Heero muttered, trying not to fidget with his hands. So instead, he crossed his legs.
Shaking her head, Relena began to laugh gently with amusement. However, Heero didn't see what she found so amusing about what he had said, so he began to take offense to being laughed at.
Wiping her eyes, Relena giggled, "You're still stuck onto that Quatre question, aren't you?" Not waiting for a reply Relena continued, "Well, if you must know, I do not love Quatre in that way, I love him as a friend. He knows that my heart belongs to you."
He couldn't help it, a victorious grin spread across Heero's face. She didn't love Quatre! Instead, Relena was in love with him still, that meant that Heero still had some sort of a chance with her.
Before Heero could say another thing however, Relena rose to her feet and wiped her hands on her overalls again. "I'll be hosting a Christmas party this year Heero for all my friends, past and present. If you come to it then we can talk about second chances, okay?"
Heero lifted an eyebrow. "We're negotiating on this?" he asked. She knows that I don't take off for Christmas, Heero thought, silently cursing himself.
"Indeed, for a relationship is not just founded on emotions but on giving and taking, much like when riding a horse," Relena told him with a wink. She still remembered how one of the girls at the St. Gabriel Institution had said that Heero didn't need any lessons in horsemanship.
Blinking several times, Heero didn't realize that Relena had returned to her weeding until he was left all alone on the bench.
Shaking his head, Heero stood up and watched Relena as she began to weed again. "Mission accepted."
December 24, AC 199, Duo and Hilde pulled up in front of the Darlian household still a bit unsure as to why Mrs. Darlian had invited them and other preventers to a Christmas party, and wondered, even more so, why Heero urged them to go. It was all very unusual.
"What is wrong with my dress!" Hilde demanded as she got out of the car.
"It shows off too much…" Duo gestured with his hands over his chest.
"Cleavage?" offered Hilde, rolling her eyes.
"Exactly!" Duo nodded, locking the car before escorting his girlfriend to the door. "I don't need some jerk to be checking you out in front of me."
Ringing the doorbell, Hilde replied, "Then I'll be sure that you're not there."
Before Duo could reply the door was opened and the couple immediately exclaimed "Merry Christmas" in cheery voices, completely unaware of who had answered the door.
"Merry Christmas to you two as well," returned an all too familiar voice, causing both Duo's and Hilde's jaws to drop. "Well, don't just stand there, come on inside, it must be cold out there."
"R…Relena?" Hilde muttered in disbelief.
"Yeah, now get in-" Relena couldn't finish her sentence before Hilde pounced upon her, hugging the former Vice Foreign Minister tightly, only to be joined by Duo in a matter of seconds.
"Oh my God!" Hilde cried out, pulling away for a moment then hugging Relena again. "It's really you."
Chuckling a bit, Relena returned the embraces of both her friends. "I should think so considering the fact that this is my Christmas party."
Backing away, Duo closed the door behind him and removed his coat. "Really? You're the one who sent out the invites? No wonder why Heero had threatened us into coming here."
Relena's eyes narrowed a bit as she cried, "He didn't, did he?"
Hilde shook her head while removing her coat, "No, he just urged us to come here, saying that there was supposed to be a surprise here for us."
"So, where's the surprise?" asked Duo playfully.
"Under the tree," Relena winked, playing along with Duo as she began leading the couple to the ballroom. "Now come, the rest of the guests are already here, and I want to introduce you to my cousin Francis, aka Frankie, Shelly."
Duo and Hilde stopped dead in their tracks. "She's your cousin!" they cried out.
"Yeah," confirmed Relena, "her father is my mother's brother, as my Grandfather, Marquis Weridge, was kind enough to inform me. Do not ask me why it isn't on my record, for you searched hard enough you probably would have found that information."
Upon entering the ballroom, Hilde and Duo found it filled with man familiar faces from the other gundam pilots to the 'For Rel' band to Relena's friends from Sheboygan. It was just jammed with people and in the corner the band had its instruments all set up for a performance.
"Lena," Adam called out as he rushed up to meet the hostess, "we're ready to start playing whenever you're ready."
Glancing at her friends, Relena turned back to Adam saying, "Then let's start the carols right now before the gift exchange."
Glowing with delight, Adam took off leaping and skipping over to the other band members while Relena turned to Hilde and Duo.
"I hope you two know some Christmas songs because we're all going to be singing along with the band," she told the couple.
Duo laughed as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and Hilde looked down at her shoes awkwardly. Obviously they didn't know Christmas Carols, but thankfully Relena came prepared for that.
"Don't worry about it, most people here don't the carols either, so I took the liberty of making these lyric sheets for you guys. You two can share this copy," Relena smiled, handing Hilde a packet of lyrics before running off to the piano as the other band members set up.
He was late, Heero knew that, but the fault didn't belong just to Heero but also to the stores that were closed as it was Christmas Eve. Unnaturally, Heero had gone out at the last moment to get a gift for Relena. It had taken him a good hour and a half to find a store that was open; then it took him another half hour to get the present ready.
Sitting in his car outside the Darlian house, Heero tightened his tie and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked like an old man.
Loosening the tie, Heero unbuttoned one the top button of his shirt and did a once over with his hair using his hands despite how futile it was. Why was his hair so untamable?
"Forget it," Heero grunted, opening up his door and grabbing a colorfully wrapped box.
Coming up to the door, Heero saw that it was left jarred just a little bit. Obviously Duo's handiwork as the braided man never could close the door all the way.
Shaking his head, Heero stealthily snuck through the door and closed the door, all the way, then proceeded to follow the noise of music down a hall to a huge room filled with lots of people.
Nearing the doorway, Heero almost turned around. People, he scoffed, I hate having to socialize.
"I'll be home for Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree,"
Heero heard Relena's voice singing from the room, causing Heero to continue making his way to the ballroom.
"Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams."
Her voice was pleasant, no way near professional, but pleasant to the ears especially when accompanied by piano, bass, and some soft drums.
As though in a trance, Heero entered the room, standing behind Hilde and Duo, who turned around to him in surprise.
"Hey, Heero, I almost thought you wouldn't make it to the party. Did you find a gift for her?" Duo grinned and was silenced when Heero held up the present. "I see that you did."
Heero hadn't noticed the music had stopped until Relena approached them with joyous smile.
Heero noted how Relena was not dressed in some fancy dress or high heels that killed her feet, but rather in a black pants and a lavender sweater that fit her snugly. As beautiful as Heero thought Relena was in allthose lovely dresses that she used to wear to fundraisers and other dances, Heero believed her to be even more beautiful in the simple pants and sweater.
"Heero," she greeted, maintaining eye contact with the 'Perfect Soldier', "I'm glad to see that you made it to the party. Could I speak to you, privately?"
Duo and Hilde exchanged glances before moving away from their friends. Not satisfied with Hilde and Duo moving away from them, Relena led Heero to a corner of the room, far from the rest of the party.
"Thank you for taking off for Christmas Eve, for once," Relena told Heero with a genuine smile. She was truly happy to see him at the party. "You can put the present under the tree if you would like."
Glancing down at the box he was still holding, Heero shook his head. "Actually, since it's just you and I right now, I was hoping you would open it now."
Intrigued, Relena quirked an eyebrow as she took the box from Heero and gently tore at the tape and peeled back the folds of wrapping paper until the box was no longer covered.
Not knowing where to put the wrapping paper, Relena handed it to Heero and proceeded to open the box, unable to hold back her excitement.
The last time Relena had received a gift from Heero was for her 16th birthday with the teddy bear and 'Happy Birthday' note. So, for Relena to finally be given a present from Heero was quite a shock.
Opening the box, Relena found three small teddy bears resting inside; each of them had a bracelet around their necks. Those weren't ordinary bracelets though, they were her ID bracelets! One bear bore the name 'Relena', the next had 'Salimar', and the last had 'Darlian'.
In a state of complete astonishment, Relena took out the bear that had 'Relena' written on it and looked up at Heero with wide eyes.
"I thought they should be returned to their rightful owner," Heero explained with shrug.
Arms were flung about Heero's neck, but he didn't realize thatuntil he felt Relena's chin rest in the crook of his neck.
"Thank you so much Heero," she whispered in his ear, giving him a light kiss on the cheek as a light was flashed at the two.
Looking up, Heero and Relena saw the entire room watching them in awe and Adam standing there with a camera ready in hand. On his face he wore a big cheesy grin as his finger pointed up to the ceiling.
Confused, the two turned their heads to the ceiling to find a piece of mistletoe hanging above their heads.
"Adam," Relena growled playfully.
"Come on Lena, one kiss," Adam pouted, holding up his camera.
Shaking her head, Relena returned her attention to Heero with questioning eyes. There was no way she was going to force him into doing something he didn't wish to do.
"Tradition," Heero suggested.
"That's true," agreed Relena.
Tentatively, Heero leaned down to kiss her but was met half way as Relena stood up on her tip-toes. It was a kiss unlike those Heero had ever shared with Sylvia for this one was not one of lust or longing but rather one of deep felt emotions and love.
Kissing Relena gently, Heero kept himself from pushing it further for he did not wish to scare Relena away in anyway or get into a compromising situation with so many present. Thus, Heero was the person to push away a couple of seconds after the third click of the camera.
Gazing into Relena's eyes, Heero found exactly what he was searching for; love. It was plainly written in her eyes as she stared up at him, a bit dazed from the kiss.
"Does this mean I get a second chance?" he inquired softly.
With gentle smile, Relena gave Heero a quick kiss on the lips before saying, "Yes, and it is well deserved."
"Awe…" sighed the audience, causing Heero and Relena blush a bit as they looked away.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" one person began to chant then the entire room joined in, especially Duo, who was the loudest voice of them all.
Laughing a bit, Relena didn't expect Heero to kiss her again until she felt his lips on hers.
"Whoa!" Adam cheered. "Merry Christmas everybody!"
I had planned to thank everyone separately but it's late, my mom is likely to wake up soon and yell at me. Since I can't thank you guys for your support separately but naming everyone, I'll have to thank you all collectively. THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND FEEDBACK, IT WAS/IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! YOU GUYS ARE ALL GREAT!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!