I do not own Gundam Wing. This fan fiction has no commercial value and I am not making any kind of profit or income off of this. 

Chapter 14

Relena sat in her office, busily going through her paperwork. Though still unhappy, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The colonies had taken to her suggestion of appointing delegates to meet with her to decide on the terms of the treaty. She was to meet with them on the L1 colony next month. Ambassador Quincy was chosen to host the event. She smiled thinking of the Ambassador. She really liked the old man.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *          *          *         *

After dinner, Heero sat with his grandfather in the study. “What were they like?” he asked quietly.

The Ambassador smiled at him sadly. “They were, well, happy, I think. My son, your father, was the Ambassador for our cluster of the L1 colony before I ever entered the political arena. I only took it over after he died. Your mother was beautiful. She really was too good for him,” he laughed. “It was the smartest thing he ever did – marrying your mom. They loved you very much.”

“What happened to them? I mean, what caused the shuttle to go down?”

“It was never confirmed, but it was thought, by some, to be an assassination attempt on your father’s life. There were no known survivors, until now, that is.”

“Do you have any pictures of them?” he asked softly.

The Ambassador went over to one of the bookshelves and pulled out a couple of photo albums. “Here. This is their wedding album,” he said handing him a large white album. “And this one has pictures of the three of you,” he handed him a smaller tan album. “They’re yours. Keep them, look through them as you like.”

Heero nodded. “Thank you. You have been too kind to me.”

“No, you’re my family. There’s no such thing as too kind. Trente, I would like you to consider taking over my post as Ambassador. I’ve wanted to retire now for years, but I haven’t trusted anyone enough to take my place.” When he saw Heero’s face, he quickly added, “It wouldn’t be right away, of course. But I could start teaching you, now, and then in a year or two, I could retire and leave the post to you. What do you think?”

“It would be what my father wanted?” Heero asked blankly.

His grandfather smiled, “Yes, actually, I believe it would be.”

Heero nodded his acceptance.

“Wonderful! Then you can help me host the conference coming up next month. I will introduce you to everyone there, and we’ll begin your education,” the Ambassador said cheerfully. “Oh, and Miss Relena will be there. I’ve been meaning to ask you about her.”

“Ask me what?” Heero asked apprehensively.  He didn't want to think about her....

“You seem to know each other pretty well….”

“Hn…” He said with a scowl.

Not getting any answer, the old man switched to a more direct tactic, “Her brother says she’s in love with you. Is that true?”

Heero shrugged; he wished it were true, but he doubted she would ever forgive him for hurting her the last time they had met.

Frowning slightly, his grandfather asked, “How do you feel about her?”

Heero turned away; he was not ready to face those emotions.

“You care about her a lot, don’t you?”

There was no response.

“It’s obvious. You went through a lot of trouble to protect her.”

Finally, trying to avoid further discussion, Heero spoke. “She brought peace. I’m grateful to her…”

“Rubbish! Don’t waste your time and mine on such lies. It’s not gratitude that keeps you up at night pacing that floor,” he suddenly laughed. “Taking the ambassadorship means you will be in close contact with her. You should probably decide what you want.”

“What should I want?” Heero asked blandly.

His grandfather laughed again. “Have you never been in love before?”

“No. I think I’ve been in love with her since I met her. Before that, there was no such thing as love.”

The old man’s amusement went away with his grandson’s words. “Have you ever told her that?”

“No,” Heero said, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Then you should do that first. Everything else will fall into place. I promise.”

Heero nodded, he had that familiar pain in his chest again. Anytime her name was mentioned, that feeling would grab hold of him. He picked up the photo albums and wished his grandfather a good night before retiring to his room.

*             *             *             *             *             *          *          *         *          *

He looked through the wedding album first. Pictures of a man with platinum blond hair and the vivid green eyes that seemed to run in the family, with a strikingly beautiful woman leapt out of the pages at him and tore his heart. His grandfather was right, he did look like her. Her hair fell in long waves of chocolate brown. Her eyes were the same color as his own, that dark cobalt blue. He wished he could remember them.

The next album held pictures of the three of them. They looked happy, and even he was smiling in the photographs. Finally, he came across an image of his mom holding him, her eyes shining with love as she looked at the camera. It spoke to him, to his heart. He gazed at that picture for several minutes before he closed the book to go to sleep. He would show that picture to Relena someday, he decided.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *             *          *

Heero looked through the photo album again the next morning. Again, the same picture captivated him. He had never thought that his parents loved him. He had always thought they had given him up. But now, today, everything was different. He was the son and grandson of a diplomat. He had a name, and a family. There was peace; no one needed soldiers. Yet, he still felt that everyday was an uphill battle. Unnamed emotions swirled around, threatening to overwhelm him. He had to do something, had to gain control – no, he needed to understand them. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do. He got dressed and went to find his grandfather.

Heero found the elderly gentleman in his office. He went in and sat down, trying to find the right words. “Grandfather, I…I’ve been a soldier for so long, that I don’t understand myself, or these feelings I have. It’s confusing, and frightening…”

His grandfather looked thoughtful for a moment before responding, “The only thing I know to recommend is a psychiatrist. I don’t understand all that you’ve been through, but one might be able to help. I can arrange for the appointments to be here, if you would feel more comfortable.”

Heero closed his eyes, “A shrink,” he said. Abruptly an image of Relena came to mind. He opened his eyes and nodded. “When would it start?”

The Ambassador smiled at his grandson. “I bet I can have one over by the end of the day.”

*             *          *          *             *             *             *          *          *             *

Heero eyed the man warily, and wondered if this was a good idea after all. They had talked about Odin; they had talked about Dr. J and his training; then they had talked about the war, which inevitably led to discussions about Relena. It all brought back bad memories, and after three hours, he felt drained. The man kept asking how he felt when they trained him, when Odin died, and when Relena was kidnapped. He really couldn’t take much more of this.

Robert could tell the young man was tired. He was amazed he had lasted this long. He decided to end the session. Then, he left the room to talk to his old friend the Ambassador.

“He’s exceptionally bright. And he has the capacity to care very deeply for people. But it is his training by this Dr. J person that has left him unable to act on these emotions. He built up emotional walls to prevent feeling anything while he was a soldier. That was the only way he knew how to deal with the guilt and the pain that threatened his effectiveness as a soldier. Now, he’s trying to take down those walls, but the force of these emotions scares him. It takes some getting used to. The best way would be to gradually lower these so-called ‘walls’, but he’s incapable of doing that on his own. The only way is for him to talk to someone who can progressively take him through his emotions. Daily sessions would be a good start, but in time, he’ll need someone closer to him. Are you two very close?”

“Sadly, no. In time, I hope we will become closer. For now, there is only one person that is close to him.”

“Relena.” It was a statement, not a question.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             * *             *

Milliardo sat in his office, the contents of the package he received from the Ambassador spilled over his desk. “This is unbelievable!” he said to himself for the hundredth time that morning. If he hadn’t talked to the Ambassador himself, he might still think it was a joke. He sighed and wondered again how he was going to tell his sister. Deciding on the indirect approach, he called Pagan to deliver the envelope addressed to Relena to her room. Then he sat back and waited.

*          *          *         *          *         *          *         *          *         *

Relena was standing in her room gazing out the window, when Pagan entered carrying a cream-colored envelope. It was addressed to her, and inside was a beautiful engraved invitation to the Colonial Convention’s opening night ball. She opened the invitation, and was surprised to find a hand-written note:

Dear Relena,

I would be deeply honored if you would allow me the privilege of escorting  you to the dance.

Sincerely,

Trente Quincy

“Who on earth?” Relena thought to herself. “It must be another of the Ambassador’s relatives.” She laughed. “Why doesn’t the old man just ask me out, if he’s so fond of me?” She made her way to Milliardo’s office to find out just who was inviting her to this party.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

Relena entered, and before she could speak, Milliardo handed her the file marked ‘Confidential.’ “What’s this?” She asked.

“Read.”

“But who is this Trente person? And why do you two insist on trying to fix me up?” she asked with a smile.

“We’re not trying to fix you up. Trente is the Ambassador’s real grandson. Jacob was the son of his niece.”

Relena frowned. “But…what are you trying to say? Why hasn’t he been around before?”

“Because he was thought to have died with his parents in a shuttle accident fifteen years ago.”

Relena looked suspicious. “How does he know it’s really his grandson? He should be more cautious, this person could be trying to take advantage of a grieving, rich old man.”

Milliardo laughed. “The Ambassador found him; the young man had no idea.”

Unconvinced, Relena asked, “And just where did he ‘find’ him?”

“Right here in the Cinq Kingdom,” he replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

“When did he have time to do that?”

“While you were ill.”

“But he wasn’t here very long. I don’t understand this at all! How do you just FIND your long-lost grandson? It’s unbelievable! What, did he just look at him and know?” Her voice rose in indignation.

“He said he had his mother’s eyes. So, on a hunch, he went and pulled the young man’s recent medical records from the hospital. After bribing the staff, he found out all the information he needed. The DNA was closely matched.”

“The hospital? He found this guy at the hospital?”

“No, actually he found him right here.”

He handed her the photo that came in the package he received. It was of a young man with bright blue eyes and chocolate brown hair that hung down in his face. He wore an expensively-tailored suit, and posed casually for the camera with one hand in his pocket. She gasped when she saw that Heero was smiling.