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DISCLAIMER:
Gundam
Wing belongs to Sunrise and its affiliates, not the author. AUTHOR’S
NOTE:
Yay! The conference... dum dum da dum... EYES
By Relena
Darlian sighed in relief as she closed the doors to her
suite in the L1 conference building. The conference had gone
off without a hitch, and negotiations for total disarmament
were considerably underway. Several potential confrontations
had also been successfully simmered down. Now all that was
left was the reception that always seemed to follow the
conferences; these extravagant affairs were a show of
courtesy, a tip of the hat, so to speak, to all the
delegates who had traveled far or inconveniently to
participate in the conference and promote the peace. It was
a tiring, but obligatory aspect of the summits, and
sometimes a welcome change to the tense, debate-filled
meeting halls. At the receptions, politics would be
politics, but debates and discussions would be considerably
toned down, and everyone would be a bit more relaxed. As
well as dressed to impress, she thought with a sigh,
slipping on a simple evening dress she’d packed. The
receptions, were, indeed, akin to the grand old fashioned
dances held at the ancient French royal courts. I suppose
if we insist on Napoleonic fashions for government
officials, we must do as the French did. She sighed. At
least the worries of the Preventers and Lady Une seemed
unfounded. Straightening her shoulders, she swept
elegantly out of the room, pointedly ignoring the shadow
that followed her into the reception hall.
~*~
“Miss Relena Darlian.”
Catherine looked up as the Vice Foreign Minister’s
arrival was announced. She smiled. Just behind the
beautiful, black-clad minister was Trowa’s old friend from
the war, the young man named Heero Yuy, who briefly tugged
in annoyance at his dark blue necktie. As she gracefully
descended the staircase, he followed the minister closely,
his ever-present glare in place. Politely sipping her light
champagne, Catherine kept her eye on the pair as they
continued across the reception hall floor, Heero acting as
Relena’s silent shadow. Catherine found herself wondering
at how pointedly the minister ignored the young man. It’s
as if she’s angry with him...
“Oof!”
“Oh, hey, sorry lady.” Duo smiled apologetically
at the young woman whose hand he’d tipped in his attempt
to find a nice corner to watch the reception from. Taking a
second glance, he noted that the black-haired girl had very
attractive, but slightly queer, brilliant blue eyes.
Catherine shook her head and smiled. “It’s all
right. The champagne just hit the floor. Now, if you’d hit
my dress—“ She gestured at her long, elegant black
gown—“you’d be covering your precious ears to protect
them from the harangue I’d throw at you.” With a wink
and another smile, she handed Duo her now empty glass and
melted into the moving crowd, leaving him standing there
staring admiringly after her retreating figure. Duo quickly
shook his head, trying to clear it. Man, Hilde’d kill
me if she could read minds. Considerably cheered by
thoughts of the girl waiting for him on L2, Duo continued to
weave his way through the crowd. ~*~
“Quatre!” Relena rushed up to her old friend,
eager to escape the other politicians vying for her
attention.
“Miss Relena,” he greeted her, favoring her with
his smile. He nodded to Heero, who acknowledged him with a
slight inclination of his chin.
“It’s been too long since we last sat down for a
pleasant conversation between friends,” she smiled. Quatre
nodded.
“The next time I’m on earth, I’ll try to drop
by the Sinq Kingdom for a visit,” he promised. Just as he
opened his mouth to speak again, he felt a light tug on the
sleeve of his formal black, high collared jacket. Turning,
Quatre found himself facing a beautiful young woman with
cheerful blue eyes staring up at him.
“Would you like to dance, Mr. Winner? Won’t you
please?” Her eyes danced merrily, as if she had some
secret delight in her question. He turned back to Relena,
who nodded encouragingly at him.
“As long as Miss Relena doesn’t mind—“
“Of course not, Quatre! Go on.” She smiled,
though his eyes begged her to excuse him. Resigned, he
turned back to the girl, and, smiling, took her proffered
arm, leading her to the dance floor. Relena watched him go,
a sigh escaping her lips as her eyes studied the swirling
figures of couples before her. She turned when a light hand
rested on her arm. Colony X982610’s delegate was standing
beside her, but he looked wary. It took a moment for her to
notice Heero’s hovering arm, about to remove the young
man’s hand from hers. Frowning at Heero, she smiled at
James Peih, the delegate.
“Yes, Mr. Peih?” Without meeting his eyes, she
pushed Heero’s hand away.
He glanced at Heero again, and swallowed.
“Would—would you like to dance, Miss Darlian?” His
eyes continued to watch Heero cautiously.
“Yes, of—“
“No.” Heero glared at the delegate.
“Ignore Mr. Yuy, James. Of course I’ll—“
“No, Relena.” Heero’s voice was a bit gentler
as he spoke her name. Relena frowned.
“Excuse us, a moment, James. Promise you’ll save
a dance for me?” The nervous delegate nodded, backing
quickly away from the glaring bodyguard.
“Heero.” Relena said his name softly, but
sternly. “What were you doing?”
He hesitated a moment. “I—“
He paused again.
“You can’t dance with him.” Relena raised an
eyebrow at his declaration, a slight smile lifting the
corners of her mouth.
“Oh? Why is that? Would you care if I danced with
him, Heero?”
He turned his eyes away from her searching gaze.
“Heero, look at me.”
“I can’t protect you if you move around on the
dance floor. You’d be an easy target.” He said the words
clippedly, monotonously. Relena stood still for a moment.
Then, abruptly, she turned as if she’d been burned and
hurriedly headed toward the crowded center of the room.
Heero grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.
“I have to protect you, Relena.”
“Why?” she hissed at him. He stared at her a
moment.
“You maintain peace.”
“To maintain it, I must deal with these delegates.
To deal with them, I must show them common courtesy. Let go,
Heero.”
He hesitated. “Relena...”
“Let go, Heero.” She sounded angry. “I’m
keeping the peace, Heero, as you want me to.” Jerking her
hand out of his loosened grasp, she faded into the crowd,
leaving Heero standing at the edge.
“Relena.” ~*~
Quatre found himself smiling amusedly as he was led
around the dance floor by the young woman in his arms. “I
do believe the man is supposed to lead,
Miss...?"
“Call me Katia, Mr. Winner.” She smiled cheekily
at him.
“Have you been on L1 long, Miss Katia?”
“No, actually, I’m just a visitor.” She beamed
at him. “I really just wanted to see all these famous
faces in real life.” He found himself smiling, too; her
cheerfulness was contagious.
“I see. I’m glad to see that you are enjoying
yourself.”
“Immensely. I truly believe in the need for
peace.”
He laughed. “I should hope so, if you’re here.”
“Yes, I know. You’re a Winner, so you’re a
pacifist, right?”
He nodded. “I believe Miss Relena and these
conferences are the key to true peace, don’t you?”
“Yes, but the path to peace is never easy. Look at
the Preventers, for example. They aren’t exactly the type
of organization you’d expect from a peace-oriented
government, right? Sometimes, fighting is necessary.”
The dance ended and the two stood to the side,
continuing their conversation.
“Yes, but I don’t believe it is always
necessary. I fought during the war, and I believe that the
path Miss Relena has chosen is the best path to peace.”
The girl smiled impishly, tossing her ebony hair over
her shoulder. “You would NEVER engage in covert action to
accomplish anything, would you, Mr. Winner? You’re
certainly too honest for that. No ideal is worth it
for you, then?”
He stared at her, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“Sometimes, the end justifies the means, Mr.
Winner. Remember that, and don’t ever hesitate to protect
your dream of peace. It is a worthy dream to hold dear.”
With that, the girl vanished back among the moving
dancers. ~*~
Wufei shifted uncomfortably in his suit. Confounded
woman, making me wear this western suit... He stared out
across the room, his keen eyes searching for anything
unusual. Suddenly, he found his gaze focusing on the woman
who had just entered from the east side. Sally...
“Woman, where have you been?” He whispered
irritatedly into his hidden microphone.
“Checking the squads, Chang. Where are you?”
“Right across from you, woman.”
“Roger that.”
She moved through the crowd, carefully sweeping her
light skirt behind her. Her hair, thankfully, was pulled out
of her face in a knot at the base of her neck. Red hair
jewels accented her blond tresses, their brilliant color
matching the vibrant shade of her dress. Wufei watched her
as she ascended the stairs to where he stood on the west
side.
“How have things been in here, Wufei?”
“Fine, only I think Relena is dancing, so she’s
separated herself from Heero.”
Sally sighed. “I guess it can’t be helped. I
suppose someone needs to get on the dance floor to try and
follow Miss Relena about.”
“Quatre is—“
At that moment, Sally and Wufei observed the blond
billionaire stepping off to the side with his dark-haired
dance partner.
“Come, now, Wufei. It’s your turn to dance.”
She tugged at his arm.
“I think not, woman!” Sally sighed and turned to
him.
“Fine, then I’ll go.”
“By yourself, woman? No one can dance alone.”
“I’ll find someone, Chang.”
“Like who?” He scoffed. “I might as well dance
with you, I suppose,” he conceded grudgingly.
Sally grinned. “Whatever you say, Wufei.”
He grunted and then looked at her smirking smile.
“What’s with that smug look on your face,
woman?”
“Oh, nothing...”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.” She grinned again.
“There you go again, woman!”
“What?”
“Humph.” ~*~
Wufei soon found himself dancing with a simpering
twit. Evidently, the round of dances they had joined
required a lot of partner swapping, and he’d soon lost
sight of Sally and Miss Relena in the crowd of
dancers. A bit rudely, Wufei left his new partner on the
dance floor, moving back to the west side. Sally can
probably take care of Miss Relena. I’d be more effective
on the perimeter.
Leaning against one of the pillars that surrounded
the dance floor, Wufei watched as Sally moved quickly
through the crowd of dancers, a swirl of red meandering
about, switching partners repeatedly. Tearing his eyes away
from her, he then searched for any sign of Miss Relena. Too
many black-clad blonds, he thought to himself after a
moment. He raised his eyes to see Heero Yuy, watching the
dance floor intensely from the east side, where Sally had
earlier entered the room. ~*~
Sally passed Miss Relena again as she switched
partners for the last time—and found herself without a
partner. Frowning, she realized that she hadn’t seen Wufei
on the floor for quite some time. The dance had gone full
circle, and she should have been with her original partner,
but he’d evidently left her on the floor. Scanning the
room, she scowled to see him lounging along the west side of
the room. She moved to the edge of the dancing crowd and
found herself standing next to Heero Yuy. Nodding to him,
she whispered into her microphone, “You ditched me,
Chang.” Then, ignoring Wufei’s protests of that
statement, she turned to Heero.
“You are allowed to cut in, you know, Heero. Just
ask civilly and go dance with Miss Relena.”
He remained silent for a moment, as if he hadn’t
heard her.
“She wouldn’t want to dance with me, Sally.”
The words were spoken softly, almost whispered. Sally
glanced at him, startled.
“Why do you think that?”
He hesitated, considering his thoughts carefully.
“She has been angry with me recently.” He
shrugged.
“Do you know why?”
He didn’t acknowledge the question. Sally sighed.
“Heero, she’s just frustrated with you. You
shouldn’t try her patience the way you do. Drop the mask,
Yuy.” Sally started to leave.
Heero grabbed her wrist.
“What—“ he began.
Sally waited expectantly, and Yuy actually looked
flustered for a moment.
“I don’t know how—what she wants from me.”
“Acknowledge her, Yuy. She wants you to see HER.”
He shook his head, confused. Sally sighed again.
“She’s not just a figurehead you protect, Heero.
You KNOW that, deep down. You mustn’t treat her as if that
is all she means to you.”
Heero stood silently again. After a moment, Sally
turned to go once more.
“Major Po—“
He paused.
“How do I cut in on a dance?”
Sally grinned. “Just say...” ~*~
Wufei scowled in irritation as he watched Sally and
Heero converse. That woman has been ignoring me on
purpose, he thought darkly. He also couldn’t
appreciate how close she was to the pilot of 01, their heads
bent together as they whispered to each other. He felt
satisfied as he watched Yuy move toward the dancers, leaving
Sally standing where she was. I guess she just wants him
to watch Miss Relena... Suddenly, just as Heero had
begun to walk away from Sally, Wufei’s microphone crackled
to life.
“Sir, this is Bomb Squad 335. We may have a
situat—“
Wufei watched as Sally extended a hand to Heero,
calling out to him. Heero turned slightly to face her,
when...
BOOM!
And the panic began. |