a miracle has occured!!!!
Sep. 4th, 2006 12:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavandarlizard2Holy shit and praise the Big Green Lizard of the Latitudes!
FIC!!! O.O FIIIIIIIIC!!!!!
I have finally finished the recalcitrant Relena fic! I have hamsters and plot bunnies dancing on the furniture, tossing streamers and blowing little new years horns. My cats are Not Amused and Not Speaking to me. ^__^ *sigh* I just needed some time to unwind enough from work and... stuff.
Anyway, here is the last part of my personal Fic From the Underworld. ^__^ *bad demon! no cookie for you!*
Duo blinked into the subdued light. He felt like he'd been tap-danced upon by a whole herd of mobile suits. And... he stank. Oh, yeah...
Heero...?
He turned his head, expecting to find his partner and found instead...
"Relena?!" he gasped and tried to sit up. That didn't work too well and he flopped back down again, even as the pink harpy loomed over him.
Shit! Is she gonna kill me?!
"Duo! Do you hurt? Do you need a pain pill?" she asked anxiously. She patted awkwardly at his pillow, even as he tried to scoot away.
"Where's Heero?" he croaked. "What's going on?!"
"Um... Heero and Quatre are talking to Quatre's men and..." She hesitated before continuing. "That other pilot... Zero three?" Her face colored slightly. "Heero called it a 'debriefing'..."
Slowly, Duo relaxed, as much as he could with his knee throbbing angrily. She didn't sound the way she usually did... She didn't even look the way she usually did... Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and she had on sweat pants and a t-shirt. What were the odds that he was dreaming, seeing Relena Peacecraft in sweats? Even the looks she was giving him – hesitant, embarrassed, even ashamed – were not something he'd ever seen on the girl's face before.
And he was pretty sure she'd never heard the word 'debriefing' before, the way she blushed when she said it. Pretty sure also, that she wasn't thinking of the transfer of knowledge.
"Trowa's back? What time is it?" It looked light out, still; there was no lamp on in their little space.
"It's..." She glanced at her watch, then frowned. "I don't know what time zone we're in. It can't be this late." She looked up and essayed a small smile. "It feels like dinnertime..."
Whoa. Relena "I'd like to disembowel you and feed you to Trowa's lions" Peacecraft *smiled* at him. And it wasn't a polite, nasty, drop-dead-and-go-to-hell smile either. Apparently, Heero really had managed to talk to her... Wow.
"Do you need a pain pill?" she asked again. "Quatre left some; he said you'd probably still be in a lot of pain." She picked up a triangle-folded bit of paper and offered it. "He said to tell you it won't make you sleepy this time."
He took the packet and the water bottle she opened for him. Checked the two pills; yep, they were the usual painkillers they all used when they couldn't quite emulate Heero. He popped the pills and washed them down with half the bottle of water. They would start to work in about five minutes. In the meantime, though...
He needed to not be lying flat on his back with Relena Peacecraft sitting within striking distance, regardless of the new and hopefully improved attitude she was sporting at the moment. He wadded up the pillow and shoved it behind him and then tried to drag himself a bit more upright. The pillow un-wadded itself and flopped on the ground. He growled, and reached for it, but Relena beat him to it, holding the pillow up as if she planned to try smothering him with it.
"I can help," she said quickly, but trailed off doubtfully, looking at the pillow as if expecting to find instructions written on it somewhere. Shinigami's scythe... The girl didn't even know how to fluff a pillow?! He closed his eyes and counted to ten, slowly. When he opened them again, Relena was watching him warily, still trying to knead the pillow into some usable form.
"It's okay, Relena," he said gently. "If you could just stick it behind my back... Yeah, that's good. Is there another pillow around? I don't think just one will work."
Geez, how can you grow up and not know how to fluff a pillow or how to fold it to make a support? He knew that even before he ever saw a real pillow...
She found a second pillow in an open footlocker and brought it to stack on the first, giving him enough support to quiet his paranoia.
"Thanks, Relena," he said nicely. Damned if anyone was going to accuse him of being nasty to her now.
"You're welcome," she said in a small voice. "It's the least I can do," she continued hesitantly. "After I caused you so much trouble." She was looking down at her clasped hands as they worried a tissue and didn't see his jaw drop.
An... apology?! From Relena Peacecraft?! To *him*?! Holy shit! The world is coming to an end!
"Trouble?" The word came out rather strangled, but then he hadn't intended it to come out at all.
"All these months," she whispered. "All the times I've interfered and gotten in your way and caused you problems. All the terrible thoughts I've had about you... the awful way I talked to you... I'm so sorry for all of that. For... for being so stupid and so... so... childish. I'm sorry for being so rude and so mean to you... when all you've ever done is help me. I'm sorry for acting like such a... a... princess!" She sniffed and blew her nose softly, not looking at him.
She's not going to cry...?! Oh, please, no! Oh, shit...!
He couldn't deal with crying females; could not handle the watery, reddened eyes and the sad, disappointed looks...
"Uh... Relena... don't cry... C'mon, it's okay; I'm not... I'm not mad at you." Okay, that was a lie, but he suspected that neither Father Maxwell nor Sister Helen would fault him for that one; not when the alternative was to agree with Relena that yes, indeed; she had been a perfect pink princess bitch to him. Nope, didn't think *that* would earn him any points.
Obviously, *someone*, probably Heero had had a very enlightening talk with her. And this time, he'd gotten through to her, so even though Duo was stuck on the cot with his knee wrapped and immobile, he managed to dredge up enough compassion to feel sorry for her, at least a little bit.
Maybe he would feel a little less compassion once he put some weight on his leg, but for now he could enjoy occupying the moral high ground. It wasn't a place he was very familiar with, what with the Shinigami thing and all.
She rubbed at her already-reddened eyes with another tissue – gotta love Quatre's quartermaster instincts – and managed not to leak all over the place.
"That's... that's very generous of you," she stammered. "I don't deserve it... I think my father would be very disappointed in me... In my behavior since his death," she clarified. "I'm going to try to be a better person, though, so that Heero and you and Quatre and everyone else will want to be friends with me."
Duo blinked at her. Hm. O~kay... Somehow, this apologetic, real-human-being Relena was almost scarier than stalker Relena. But it was a kind of improvement; mustn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and all that crap.
"Um... I think that's really great, Relena." What else could he say? "It would be safer if you stay away from us... You know; find your own way of helping?"
"Quatre says I should study history and then work out solutions to our problems," she offered hesitantly.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea; Quatre's pretty smart about that kind of thing."
Wow, he thought; I'm having a civilized conversation with Relena Darlian-Peacecraft. What a hoot!
He covered a sudden yawn and Relena jumped up to pull the blanket up. "Oh! You're tired! Here, you should rest some more."
Well, at least she knew how to do the blanket thing....
"Not really sleepy," he protested, but yeah, resting did sound like a good thing. "Would you mind telling Heero that I'm awake, please?"
She lit up like she was thrilled to have something to do. "Oh! Oh, of course! I'll go tell him right now!" She scampered out under the 'door' flap.
Duo glanced around the cloth-enclosed space. Shouldn't there be a camera somewhere? And some garishly dressed 'host' jumping out to yell 'Surprise!' about now? Nothing unusual or out of place, though. Maybe he wasn't dreaming after all.
He sat up enough to feel around his knee. Still swollen, but that was to be expected. It'd be a couple of days before it was back to normal, and then he'd have to be careful for a while. No wall jumping for at least two weeks. And from now on, he was checking what was on the other side, no matter who was shooting at him. Concertina wire just plain sucked.
Relena popped back in then, startling him. She was talking almost before she was in the room.
"Heero says he'll be here in a few minutes; they're almost done. He also said it's about 2000, whatever that means, and I smelled food, so someone must be making dinner," she said eagerly. "Are you hungry?"
Duo blinked. He supposed he was, although he tended to lose his appetite when he was injured or stressed.
"Um... I guess so..."
"I can go find something for you to eat."
No, this was too much. Relena Peacecraft offering to serve *him*? This was just making his head hurt.
"No, that's okay. I'd rather wait for Heero." He rubbed at his face. He felt so... grubby. He needed to get cleaned up, get the smell of garbage off of him and out of his hair.
Relena sat down again with a thoughtful expression and looked down at her hands.
"Do you love him?" she asked softly.
Huh? WTF?! His eyes popped open and he bolted upright, oblivious to the protests of his knee. Where the hell had *that* come from?!
"What?!"
"Do you love Heero?" she asked again.
Duo opened his mouth, shut it; opened it again, shut it again. Relena wasn't looking at him; rather she seemed intensely interested in her clasped hands.
Holy shit...!
He stared at her for a long moment, then threw away all caution with a mental toss of his hands. "Yes," he said firmly. "Yes, I love him. He is the best thing that's happened to me, at least since I was a kid; maybe ever."
Okay; let the hysterics begin.
But to his surprise, Relena merely nodded. A tear fell onto her hands.
"He loves you, too," she murmured. "I didn't understand... before. I'm not sure I really do now... but... I'm not going to act like a fool anymore." She looked up and wiped at the tear track on her cheek. "Heero and Quatre explained... things to me... And this time I listened... I'm not going to be a shrieking harpy anymore. I'm... I'm going to... fix things. I'm going to learn to solve problems."
She held out her hand; after a brief hesitation, Duo took it.
"Hello," said Relena brightly, with a brave smile. "My name is Relena Peacecraft; I'd like get to know you. What's your name?"
Duo blinked. "Uh... I'm Duo Maxwell; pleased to meet you, Miss Peacecraft."
"Please; call me Relena. I just know we're going to be great friends."
He nodded faintly, a smile creeping up on him. What the hell; might as well go with it. "I'd like that, Relena."
~*~
"Thank you offering to return Relena to her home, Wufei," said Quatre warmly.
The Chinese youth lifted a negligent hand. "It is only reasonable; it is on my way." He slapped the magazine home and set his hand weapon aside while he put away his cleaning kit. "I am still in your debt for the repairs to Shenlong."
"Oh, no; Wufei! We help each other; it's the only way we can succeed."
Wufei smiled faintly. "And I am helping you by returning this young woman to her proper environment."
Quatre grinned at him. "Indeed you are! You can extend the favor just a bit, if you don't mind...?"
"Oh? And that would entail...?"
"I know you were a student of history, before... all this."
"Yes; I have a certain interest in the history of our world, warts and all."
"Relena needs to learn more about our history. She wants to become a force for peace in this time of trouble, and I've explained that nothing occurs in a vacuum; that she must study the history of this conflict as well as the history of previous conflicts. I hoped that you might be able to offer her some suggestions of where to start."
Wufei considered the request carefully. "I can do that. I have seen what passes for history in the schools here; Alliance propaganda and sheer unadulterated drivel," he sneered. "I will give her some proper references."
Quatre bowed. "Thank you, Wufei. She really is a good person; just terribly naive."
"As were we all, once upon a time," Wufei murmured.
~*~
Heero carried Duo in his arms this time. He was adamant that the injured youth was not going to over-stress that injury, and for a wonder, Duo had agreed. Once again dawn was sidling over the mountains to the east. The morning fog was thick, though and would make an excellent camouflage for Wufei's departure, even though there wasn't a human habitation for miles.
"Hi, Wufei!" Duo called brightly as the pilot and Gundam came into view. "How's your lady doin'?"
The Chinese youth raised one eyebrow in amusement. Maxwell personified everything he got near, although Wufei couldn't argue with the perception of his Gundam as having a female spirit.
"Nataku is ready for whatever the mission demands," he replied serenely.
"Did the guys get that hydraulic thing fixed? Because, if they didn't I have some suggestions for working around it..."
"The hydraulics are now in excellent working order; the Maguanacs very generously worked through the night."
"Ah, they're a great bunch of guys, aren't they?" Duo grinned. Heero just rolled his eyes; the Maguanacs seemed to dote on Duo as much as on Quatre, and Duo soaked it up.
"I understand you have agreed to return Relena; thank you for accepting that task." Heero tilted his head in gratitude; strictly speaking, the girl was his problem and his responsibility, but as she made him crazy, he was happy to be able to off-load that responsibility for once.
"Winner has requested that I offer her some suggestions for her study of history; I am happy to do so. One should always know one's history," he replied with a tiny smirk.
"Even if it is written by the winners?" asked Duo slyly.
"There are always traces of the other side to be found. Nothing is ever completely eradicated, regardless of how hard the victors may try. It is human nature to talk, after all." A raised eyebrow; Duo and Quatre were good proof of that.
Duo cocked his head, listening. "I think I hear Quatre and Relena coming. Man, that guy is so good with females; all those sisters." He glanced at Wufei, but decided to keep his question to himself. "Hey, Wufei, did Quatre tell you that she's a princess? You know, royalty?"
"He may have mentioned that." He gave Duo a tiny indulgent smirk. He had read that the inhabitants of the former United States, and their subsequent colonies, had a particular fascination for royalty, having none of their own. Amusing to see that L2 Duo had absorbed some tiny bit of that fascination. "I believe I know how to conduct myself in the company of royalty."
"That'll be a change for her, since I sure don't!" Duo laughed.
Quatre and Relena appeared a moment later out of the fog; Quatre his usual perfectly-groomed self and Relena wearing a pair of snug-across-the-butt jeans and a white sweatshirt. Her hair was still in a ponytail, pulled up high this time, the way Duo had arranged it for their attempted escape. On her feet, a pair of neon pink sneakers. Duo knew damn well no one in their little band wore neon pink anything; he suspected that a Maguanac had been dispatched with the proper shoe size to acquire the proper footwear. He wondered if the shoes and clothing would go into the trash as soon as Relena arrived home.
Quatre went to speak to Wufei, while Relena stopped to say goodbye to Duo and Heero.
She swallowed and blinked a couple of times, then held out her hand. "Thank you again, Duo, for rescuing me from my own stupidity. I will try to make this the last time you need to worry about me."
He took her hand, grinning. "Nah; we'll all worry about you. You're the girl; we have to worry about the girl. It's in the heroes' handbook. Just... you know... Try to keep a low profile. If you can; okay?"
She nodded. "I really will try." She touched Heero's hand where it curled around Duo's legs. "I should have listened to you sooner, Heero. I really am sorry to have been such an idiot. Thank you for all the times you didn't kill me..." She bounced up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "You take care of Duo and yourself," she whispered quickly.
Heero looked at her, somewhat nonplussed. "You are welcome," he said slowly. "Chang will give you the means to begin your studies," he added, at a loss for anything else to say.
Relena smiled at him and nodded, then turned away and went to join Quatre.
"You think this will last?" whispered Duo.
Heero shrugged. "I hope so, but..."
"Yeah. Girls are kind of... mercurial," he agreed.
Quatre took Relena's hand and drew her closer for introductions. "Relena, this is Chang Wufei, of the Clan Dragon of L5. He has agreed to both return you to your home and to give you a reading list of histories that should be helpful to you. Wufei, this is Miss Relena Darlian-Peacecraft, heiress to the throne of the Sanq Kingdom."
Relena stared as Wufei took her hand and lifted it as if to kiss, but didn't. He inclined his head in a tiny bow. "Miss Darlian-Peacecraft. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, and an honor to be able to offer my assistance at this time," he murmured smoothly.
Lost in the depths of those ebony-dark eyes, Relena almost failed to respond. Quatre's discreet nudge saved her just before her silence would have become rude.
"Oh!" she squeaked, and blushed brightly, dropping her eyes for a moment. "I am delighted to meet you, Mr... Chang." Surely that was the correct title; she had learned these things in school, hadn't she? "Forgive my... startlement; I've never heard myself described as the heiress to Sanq before. The whole concept is rather..." She found herself at a loss once again, gazing into those intense eyes.
"Daunting?" supplied Wufei with an arched brow and a tiny smile. "I can imagine it so. I am aware of your father's passing; my sincerest condolences, Miss Darlian-Peacecraft. He was by all accounts a good and able man; he will be missed." He released her hand at last and her fingers felt oddly... bereft.
"Thank you," she replied faintly. Was it getting... warm all of a sudden... or was it just... her...?
"It is time we were away," Wufei said then, all crisp business once again. "I thank you again, Winner, for your assistance and that of the Maguanacs; I *am* in your debt." Quatre shook his head with a deprecating smile, but didn't argue.
"Miss Darlian-Peacecraft," Wufei began, holding onto the zip line. "If you would be so good as to put your foot here... please excuse my proximity," he murmured as she took her position and he moved close to ride the line up with her.
Yes, it was definitely getting warmer....
"Please Mr Chang; do call me Relena," she begged breathlessly as the line whipped them up to the open hatch of his Gundam. "Darlian-Peacecraft is rather unwieldy in conversation."
"As you wish, Miss... Relena."
How interesting her name sounded coming from those lips....
"Goodbye, Relena!" called Quatre, waving.
Oh my! She'd almost forgotten! "Goodbye Quatre! Thank you so much for all you've done! Goodbye Duo! Goodbye Heero! I'll do my best to... to..." Be a good, grown-up girl.
The men on the ground waved back at her and then moved off to be out of the launch area. Relena followed Wufei inside the cockpit, wondering if she was going to be perching on a tool chest again. She was rather startled to find a jumpseat waiting for her behind the command chair.
"Winner's people were kind enough to arrange the proper seating," he murmured as she was settled in and the harness fastened. "I have no wish to return you to your family with fresh bruises."
"Thank you..." she said faintly, wishing she could take the sweatshirt off; it was really getting warm.
He then placed a book into her hands with a printed list on top. "I will not be able to follow a direct route due to OZ activity, so this will be a good start to your new studies." She blinked up at him. "I was a student of history, before. I shall not lead you astray."
What a kind young man.... How dignified... how... courtly he was...
"Thank you," she said again, with more conviction, and opened the book.
Wufei settled into his seat, buckled in, and began the start sequence. An interesting female... Brave enough to trail Yuy all over the world, intelligent enough to change... Interesting.
Duo, Heero and Quatre watched as Shenlong moved out of the camouflaging trees and into a clearing for launch.
"Think she'll be okay?" Duo asked at large.
"I'm sure she will be," Quatre replied. "She's a bright girl; she just needed some direction."
"And something other than me to occupy her fantasies," Heero snorted.
Quatre shot them a sidelong glance. "Oh, I think that's been taken care of."
A rising rumble and a wash of heat signified Shenlong's liftoff.
"Duo, I believe you were grumbling about wanting a shower?"
"Oh yeah! I need to get this smell off me, Quat! Those wipie things are okay for spot cleaning, but..."
Heero stuck his nose into Duo's still-nasty hair. "I say you need a bath and a shower. Maybe two."
Duo laughed. "You offering to help, big guy?"
"You would prefer me to Rashid?" he teased.
"Rashid?!" Duo yelped. "Crap no! He'd use that big damn scrub brush on me and scrub me right down the drain!" He poked Heero in the sternum. "Nope; your girlfriend caused this, so you get to clean me up."
Heero leaned in to catch his lips briefly. "I think I can handle that. Ninmu ryokai," he smiled. He followed Quatre back to the camp and the eagerly-awaited mission of Clean the Shinigami. To be followed shortly by the Tease the Shinigami mission and then the Make the Shinigami Scream mission... His absolute favorite.
Um... Any typos, spelling or grammatical errors are the result of trying to get this thing out of my hands just as soon as damn possible. ^.o
As I believe I mentioned somewhere near the beginning of this, I really appreciate the help and head-smacking of Sunhawk and Jei, the Adorable Turnip; good sports and reluctant hamster-wranglers. ^__^ *runs off to open another bottle of champagne for the hamsters*
FIC!!! O.O FIIIIIIIIC!!!!!
I have finally finished the recalcitrant Relena fic! I have hamsters and plot bunnies dancing on the furniture, tossing streamers and blowing little new years horns. My cats are Not Amused and Not Speaking to me. ^__^ *sigh* I just needed some time to unwind enough from work and... stuff.
Anyway, here is the last part of my personal Fic From the Underworld. ^__^ *bad demon! no cookie for you!*
Duo blinked into the subdued light. He felt like he'd been tap-danced upon by a whole herd of mobile suits. And... he stank. Oh, yeah...
Heero...?
He turned his head, expecting to find his partner and found instead...
"Relena?!" he gasped and tried to sit up. That didn't work too well and he flopped back down again, even as the pink harpy loomed over him.
Shit! Is she gonna kill me?!
"Duo! Do you hurt? Do you need a pain pill?" she asked anxiously. She patted awkwardly at his pillow, even as he tried to scoot away.
"Where's Heero?" he croaked. "What's going on?!"
"Um... Heero and Quatre are talking to Quatre's men and..." She hesitated before continuing. "That other pilot... Zero three?" Her face colored slightly. "Heero called it a 'debriefing'..."
Slowly, Duo relaxed, as much as he could with his knee throbbing angrily. She didn't sound the way she usually did... She didn't even look the way she usually did... Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and she had on sweat pants and a t-shirt. What were the odds that he was dreaming, seeing Relena Peacecraft in sweats? Even the looks she was giving him – hesitant, embarrassed, even ashamed – were not something he'd ever seen on the girl's face before.
And he was pretty sure she'd never heard the word 'debriefing' before, the way she blushed when she said it. Pretty sure also, that she wasn't thinking of the transfer of knowledge.
"Trowa's back? What time is it?" It looked light out, still; there was no lamp on in their little space.
"It's..." She glanced at her watch, then frowned. "I don't know what time zone we're in. It can't be this late." She looked up and essayed a small smile. "It feels like dinnertime..."
Whoa. Relena "I'd like to disembowel you and feed you to Trowa's lions" Peacecraft *smiled* at him. And it wasn't a polite, nasty, drop-dead-and-go-to-hell smile either. Apparently, Heero really had managed to talk to her... Wow.
"Do you need a pain pill?" she asked again. "Quatre left some; he said you'd probably still be in a lot of pain." She picked up a triangle-folded bit of paper and offered it. "He said to tell you it won't make you sleepy this time."
He took the packet and the water bottle she opened for him. Checked the two pills; yep, they were the usual painkillers they all used when they couldn't quite emulate Heero. He popped the pills and washed them down with half the bottle of water. They would start to work in about five minutes. In the meantime, though...
He needed to not be lying flat on his back with Relena Peacecraft sitting within striking distance, regardless of the new and hopefully improved attitude she was sporting at the moment. He wadded up the pillow and shoved it behind him and then tried to drag himself a bit more upright. The pillow un-wadded itself and flopped on the ground. He growled, and reached for it, but Relena beat him to it, holding the pillow up as if she planned to try smothering him with it.
"I can help," she said quickly, but trailed off doubtfully, looking at the pillow as if expecting to find instructions written on it somewhere. Shinigami's scythe... The girl didn't even know how to fluff a pillow?! He closed his eyes and counted to ten, slowly. When he opened them again, Relena was watching him warily, still trying to knead the pillow into some usable form.
"It's okay, Relena," he said gently. "If you could just stick it behind my back... Yeah, that's good. Is there another pillow around? I don't think just one will work."
Geez, how can you grow up and not know how to fluff a pillow or how to fold it to make a support? He knew that even before he ever saw a real pillow...
She found a second pillow in an open footlocker and brought it to stack on the first, giving him enough support to quiet his paranoia.
"Thanks, Relena," he said nicely. Damned if anyone was going to accuse him of being nasty to her now.
"You're welcome," she said in a small voice. "It's the least I can do," she continued hesitantly. "After I caused you so much trouble." She was looking down at her clasped hands as they worried a tissue and didn't see his jaw drop.
An... apology?! From Relena Peacecraft?! To *him*?! Holy shit! The world is coming to an end!
"Trouble?" The word came out rather strangled, but then he hadn't intended it to come out at all.
"All these months," she whispered. "All the times I've interfered and gotten in your way and caused you problems. All the terrible thoughts I've had about you... the awful way I talked to you... I'm so sorry for all of that. For... for being so stupid and so... so... childish. I'm sorry for being so rude and so mean to you... when all you've ever done is help me. I'm sorry for acting like such a... a... princess!" She sniffed and blew her nose softly, not looking at him.
She's not going to cry...?! Oh, please, no! Oh, shit...!
He couldn't deal with crying females; could not handle the watery, reddened eyes and the sad, disappointed looks...
"Uh... Relena... don't cry... C'mon, it's okay; I'm not... I'm not mad at you." Okay, that was a lie, but he suspected that neither Father Maxwell nor Sister Helen would fault him for that one; not when the alternative was to agree with Relena that yes, indeed; she had been a perfect pink princess bitch to him. Nope, didn't think *that* would earn him any points.
Obviously, *someone*, probably Heero had had a very enlightening talk with her. And this time, he'd gotten through to her, so even though Duo was stuck on the cot with his knee wrapped and immobile, he managed to dredge up enough compassion to feel sorry for her, at least a little bit.
Maybe he would feel a little less compassion once he put some weight on his leg, but for now he could enjoy occupying the moral high ground. It wasn't a place he was very familiar with, what with the Shinigami thing and all.
She rubbed at her already-reddened eyes with another tissue – gotta love Quatre's quartermaster instincts – and managed not to leak all over the place.
"That's... that's very generous of you," she stammered. "I don't deserve it... I think my father would be very disappointed in me... In my behavior since his death," she clarified. "I'm going to try to be a better person, though, so that Heero and you and Quatre and everyone else will want to be friends with me."
Duo blinked at her. Hm. O~kay... Somehow, this apologetic, real-human-being Relena was almost scarier than stalker Relena. But it was a kind of improvement; mustn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and all that crap.
"Um... I think that's really great, Relena." What else could he say? "It would be safer if you stay away from us... You know; find your own way of helping?"
"Quatre says I should study history and then work out solutions to our problems," she offered hesitantly.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea; Quatre's pretty smart about that kind of thing."
Wow, he thought; I'm having a civilized conversation with Relena Darlian-Peacecraft. What a hoot!
He covered a sudden yawn and Relena jumped up to pull the blanket up. "Oh! You're tired! Here, you should rest some more."
Well, at least she knew how to do the blanket thing....
"Not really sleepy," he protested, but yeah, resting did sound like a good thing. "Would you mind telling Heero that I'm awake, please?"
She lit up like she was thrilled to have something to do. "Oh! Oh, of course! I'll go tell him right now!" She scampered out under the 'door' flap.
Duo glanced around the cloth-enclosed space. Shouldn't there be a camera somewhere? And some garishly dressed 'host' jumping out to yell 'Surprise!' about now? Nothing unusual or out of place, though. Maybe he wasn't dreaming after all.
He sat up enough to feel around his knee. Still swollen, but that was to be expected. It'd be a couple of days before it was back to normal, and then he'd have to be careful for a while. No wall jumping for at least two weeks. And from now on, he was checking what was on the other side, no matter who was shooting at him. Concertina wire just plain sucked.
Relena popped back in then, startling him. She was talking almost before she was in the room.
"Heero says he'll be here in a few minutes; they're almost done. He also said it's about 2000, whatever that means, and I smelled food, so someone must be making dinner," she said eagerly. "Are you hungry?"
Duo blinked. He supposed he was, although he tended to lose his appetite when he was injured or stressed.
"Um... I guess so..."
"I can go find something for you to eat."
No, this was too much. Relena Peacecraft offering to serve *him*? This was just making his head hurt.
"No, that's okay. I'd rather wait for Heero." He rubbed at his face. He felt so... grubby. He needed to get cleaned up, get the smell of garbage off of him and out of his hair.
Relena sat down again with a thoughtful expression and looked down at her hands.
"Do you love him?" she asked softly.
Huh? WTF?! His eyes popped open and he bolted upright, oblivious to the protests of his knee. Where the hell had *that* come from?!
"What?!"
"Do you love Heero?" she asked again.
Duo opened his mouth, shut it; opened it again, shut it again. Relena wasn't looking at him; rather she seemed intensely interested in her clasped hands.
Holy shit...!
He stared at her for a long moment, then threw away all caution with a mental toss of his hands. "Yes," he said firmly. "Yes, I love him. He is the best thing that's happened to me, at least since I was a kid; maybe ever."
Okay; let the hysterics begin.
But to his surprise, Relena merely nodded. A tear fell onto her hands.
"He loves you, too," she murmured. "I didn't understand... before. I'm not sure I really do now... but... I'm not going to act like a fool anymore." She looked up and wiped at the tear track on her cheek. "Heero and Quatre explained... things to me... And this time I listened... I'm not going to be a shrieking harpy anymore. I'm... I'm going to... fix things. I'm going to learn to solve problems."
She held out her hand; after a brief hesitation, Duo took it.
"Hello," said Relena brightly, with a brave smile. "My name is Relena Peacecraft; I'd like get to know you. What's your name?"
Duo blinked. "Uh... I'm Duo Maxwell; pleased to meet you, Miss Peacecraft."
"Please; call me Relena. I just know we're going to be great friends."
He nodded faintly, a smile creeping up on him. What the hell; might as well go with it. "I'd like that, Relena."
~*~
"Thank you offering to return Relena to her home, Wufei," said Quatre warmly.
The Chinese youth lifted a negligent hand. "It is only reasonable; it is on my way." He slapped the magazine home and set his hand weapon aside while he put away his cleaning kit. "I am still in your debt for the repairs to Shenlong."
"Oh, no; Wufei! We help each other; it's the only way we can succeed."
Wufei smiled faintly. "And I am helping you by returning this young woman to her proper environment."
Quatre grinned at him. "Indeed you are! You can extend the favor just a bit, if you don't mind...?"
"Oh? And that would entail...?"
"I know you were a student of history, before... all this."
"Yes; I have a certain interest in the history of our world, warts and all."
"Relena needs to learn more about our history. She wants to become a force for peace in this time of trouble, and I've explained that nothing occurs in a vacuum; that she must study the history of this conflict as well as the history of previous conflicts. I hoped that you might be able to offer her some suggestions of where to start."
Wufei considered the request carefully. "I can do that. I have seen what passes for history in the schools here; Alliance propaganda and sheer unadulterated drivel," he sneered. "I will give her some proper references."
Quatre bowed. "Thank you, Wufei. She really is a good person; just terribly naive."
"As were we all, once upon a time," Wufei murmured.
~*~
Heero carried Duo in his arms this time. He was adamant that the injured youth was not going to over-stress that injury, and for a wonder, Duo had agreed. Once again dawn was sidling over the mountains to the east. The morning fog was thick, though and would make an excellent camouflage for Wufei's departure, even though there wasn't a human habitation for miles.
"Hi, Wufei!" Duo called brightly as the pilot and Gundam came into view. "How's your lady doin'?"
The Chinese youth raised one eyebrow in amusement. Maxwell personified everything he got near, although Wufei couldn't argue with the perception of his Gundam as having a female spirit.
"Nataku is ready for whatever the mission demands," he replied serenely.
"Did the guys get that hydraulic thing fixed? Because, if they didn't I have some suggestions for working around it..."
"The hydraulics are now in excellent working order; the Maguanacs very generously worked through the night."
"Ah, they're a great bunch of guys, aren't they?" Duo grinned. Heero just rolled his eyes; the Maguanacs seemed to dote on Duo as much as on Quatre, and Duo soaked it up.
"I understand you have agreed to return Relena; thank you for accepting that task." Heero tilted his head in gratitude; strictly speaking, the girl was his problem and his responsibility, but as she made him crazy, he was happy to be able to off-load that responsibility for once.
"Winner has requested that I offer her some suggestions for her study of history; I am happy to do so. One should always know one's history," he replied with a tiny smirk.
"Even if it is written by the winners?" asked Duo slyly.
"There are always traces of the other side to be found. Nothing is ever completely eradicated, regardless of how hard the victors may try. It is human nature to talk, after all." A raised eyebrow; Duo and Quatre were good proof of that.
Duo cocked his head, listening. "I think I hear Quatre and Relena coming. Man, that guy is so good with females; all those sisters." He glanced at Wufei, but decided to keep his question to himself. "Hey, Wufei, did Quatre tell you that she's a princess? You know, royalty?"
"He may have mentioned that." He gave Duo a tiny indulgent smirk. He had read that the inhabitants of the former United States, and their subsequent colonies, had a particular fascination for royalty, having none of their own. Amusing to see that L2 Duo had absorbed some tiny bit of that fascination. "I believe I know how to conduct myself in the company of royalty."
"That'll be a change for her, since I sure don't!" Duo laughed.
Quatre and Relena appeared a moment later out of the fog; Quatre his usual perfectly-groomed self and Relena wearing a pair of snug-across-the-butt jeans and a white sweatshirt. Her hair was still in a ponytail, pulled up high this time, the way Duo had arranged it for their attempted escape. On her feet, a pair of neon pink sneakers. Duo knew damn well no one in their little band wore neon pink anything; he suspected that a Maguanac had been dispatched with the proper shoe size to acquire the proper footwear. He wondered if the shoes and clothing would go into the trash as soon as Relena arrived home.
Quatre went to speak to Wufei, while Relena stopped to say goodbye to Duo and Heero.
She swallowed and blinked a couple of times, then held out her hand. "Thank you again, Duo, for rescuing me from my own stupidity. I will try to make this the last time you need to worry about me."
He took her hand, grinning. "Nah; we'll all worry about you. You're the girl; we have to worry about the girl. It's in the heroes' handbook. Just... you know... Try to keep a low profile. If you can; okay?"
She nodded. "I really will try." She touched Heero's hand where it curled around Duo's legs. "I should have listened to you sooner, Heero. I really am sorry to have been such an idiot. Thank you for all the times you didn't kill me..." She bounced up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "You take care of Duo and yourself," she whispered quickly.
Heero looked at her, somewhat nonplussed. "You are welcome," he said slowly. "Chang will give you the means to begin your studies," he added, at a loss for anything else to say.
Relena smiled at him and nodded, then turned away and went to join Quatre.
"You think this will last?" whispered Duo.
Heero shrugged. "I hope so, but..."
"Yeah. Girls are kind of... mercurial," he agreed.
Quatre took Relena's hand and drew her closer for introductions. "Relena, this is Chang Wufei, of the Clan Dragon of L5. He has agreed to both return you to your home and to give you a reading list of histories that should be helpful to you. Wufei, this is Miss Relena Darlian-Peacecraft, heiress to the throne of the Sanq Kingdom."
Relena stared as Wufei took her hand and lifted it as if to kiss, but didn't. He inclined his head in a tiny bow. "Miss Darlian-Peacecraft. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, and an honor to be able to offer my assistance at this time," he murmured smoothly.
Lost in the depths of those ebony-dark eyes, Relena almost failed to respond. Quatre's discreet nudge saved her just before her silence would have become rude.
"Oh!" she squeaked, and blushed brightly, dropping her eyes for a moment. "I am delighted to meet you, Mr... Chang." Surely that was the correct title; she had learned these things in school, hadn't she? "Forgive my... startlement; I've never heard myself described as the heiress to Sanq before. The whole concept is rather..." She found herself at a loss once again, gazing into those intense eyes.
"Daunting?" supplied Wufei with an arched brow and a tiny smile. "I can imagine it so. I am aware of your father's passing; my sincerest condolences, Miss Darlian-Peacecraft. He was by all accounts a good and able man; he will be missed." He released her hand at last and her fingers felt oddly... bereft.
"Thank you," she replied faintly. Was it getting... warm all of a sudden... or was it just... her...?
"It is time we were away," Wufei said then, all crisp business once again. "I thank you again, Winner, for your assistance and that of the Maguanacs; I *am* in your debt." Quatre shook his head with a deprecating smile, but didn't argue.
"Miss Darlian-Peacecraft," Wufei began, holding onto the zip line. "If you would be so good as to put your foot here... please excuse my proximity," he murmured as she took her position and he moved close to ride the line up with her.
Yes, it was definitely getting warmer....
"Please Mr Chang; do call me Relena," she begged breathlessly as the line whipped them up to the open hatch of his Gundam. "Darlian-Peacecraft is rather unwieldy in conversation."
"As you wish, Miss... Relena."
How interesting her name sounded coming from those lips....
"Goodbye, Relena!" called Quatre, waving.
Oh my! She'd almost forgotten! "Goodbye Quatre! Thank you so much for all you've done! Goodbye Duo! Goodbye Heero! I'll do my best to... to..." Be a good, grown-up girl.
The men on the ground waved back at her and then moved off to be out of the launch area. Relena followed Wufei inside the cockpit, wondering if she was going to be perching on a tool chest again. She was rather startled to find a jumpseat waiting for her behind the command chair.
"Winner's people were kind enough to arrange the proper seating," he murmured as she was settled in and the harness fastened. "I have no wish to return you to your family with fresh bruises."
"Thank you..." she said faintly, wishing she could take the sweatshirt off; it was really getting warm.
He then placed a book into her hands with a printed list on top. "I will not be able to follow a direct route due to OZ activity, so this will be a good start to your new studies." She blinked up at him. "I was a student of history, before. I shall not lead you astray."
What a kind young man.... How dignified... how... courtly he was...
"Thank you," she said again, with more conviction, and opened the book.
Wufei settled into his seat, buckled in, and began the start sequence. An interesting female... Brave enough to trail Yuy all over the world, intelligent enough to change... Interesting.
Duo, Heero and Quatre watched as Shenlong moved out of the camouflaging trees and into a clearing for launch.
"Think she'll be okay?" Duo asked at large.
"I'm sure she will be," Quatre replied. "She's a bright girl; she just needed some direction."
"And something other than me to occupy her fantasies," Heero snorted.
Quatre shot them a sidelong glance. "Oh, I think that's been taken care of."
A rising rumble and a wash of heat signified Shenlong's liftoff.
"Duo, I believe you were grumbling about wanting a shower?"
"Oh yeah! I need to get this smell off me, Quat! Those wipie things are okay for spot cleaning, but..."
Heero stuck his nose into Duo's still-nasty hair. "I say you need a bath and a shower. Maybe two."
Duo laughed. "You offering to help, big guy?"
"You would prefer me to Rashid?" he teased.
"Rashid?!" Duo yelped. "Crap no! He'd use that big damn scrub brush on me and scrub me right down the drain!" He poked Heero in the sternum. "Nope; your girlfriend caused this, so you get to clean me up."
Heero leaned in to catch his lips briefly. "I think I can handle that. Ninmu ryokai," he smiled. He followed Quatre back to the camp and the eagerly-awaited mission of Clean the Shinigami. To be followed shortly by the Tease the Shinigami mission and then the Make the Shinigami Scream mission... His absolute favorite.
Um... Any typos, spelling or grammatical errors are the result of trying to get this thing out of my hands just as soon as damn possible. ^.o
As I believe I mentioned somewhere near the beginning of this, I really appreciate the help and head-smacking of Sunhawk and Jei, the Adorable Turnip; good sports and reluctant hamster-wranglers. ^__^ *runs off to open another bottle of champagne for the hamsters*
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Date: 2006-09-04 08:06 pm (UTC)I love this. And Relena getting all flustered over Wufei makes me giggle, because I can actually see them making a fairly good couple. Especially if she gets herself in gear and actually does something with herself, like she is here.
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Date: 2006-09-05 01:25 am (UTC)You know, that particular cat icon always makes me think of Sally Po... ^__^
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Date: 2006-09-05 04:17 am (UTC)*blinkblinks and regards the icon* Y'know, it does...
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Date: 2006-09-04 08:37 pm (UTC)I hope Heero enjoys his missions- Duo deserves a good time after all of his efforts!
*is happy fangirl*
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Date: 2006-09-05 01:30 am (UTC)I sure there will be much cleaning, teasing and screaming. ^__^ No wonder Wufei was in such a hurry to get away. ^.O
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Date: 2006-09-04 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 01:33 am (UTC)Hamsters
Date: 2006-09-05 12:50 am (UTC)Re: Hamsters
Date: 2006-09-05 01:36 am (UTC)Re: Hamsters
Date: 2006-09-05 11:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 04:09 pm (UTC)I have reached the point of simply hoping it doesn't suck. ^__^
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Date: 2006-09-05 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 04:11 pm (UTC)I still love Duo's total inability to completely believe the transformation in Relena. Looking for the hidden cameras. *snicker*
Such god little hamsters...
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Date: 2006-09-05 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 11:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 04:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 05:12 am (UTC)*snork!*
*pets the ruffled greens*
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Date: 2006-09-07 02:57 am (UTC)Enjoyed your depiction of suave Wufei and suddenly-smitten flustered Relena. *grin*
Had to laugh at Heero's upcoming mission list; such a hard-working, dutiful guy. I'm sure Duo feels better already. :-)
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Date: 2006-09-09 03:55 pm (UTC)And I'm sure the twilight zone is kind of lonely without Rod Serling... O.o
I think Relena just has a thing for hot Asian guys. ^__^ Oh. I wonder if that would make her a "rice princess" or if she's the wrong gender...? Hmmm... O.O