Aftermath (In-series 1xR)

[Gundam Girl]

Author?s Notes: This is my 100th listed fic on Fanfiction.Net. I wanted to celebrate by going back to my original OTP of my very first fandom. 1xR still captivates me after seven years. This story is not intended to have a plot so much as be my take on a not-shown scene in the anime. It takes place directly after the Gundam pilots return from preventing the fall of Libra on Earth.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing and am making no profit from this fan fiction.

Aftermath

By Nessie

The hangar where MO-II stored mobile suits was eerily empty with the exception of five superior models that would be remembered as the tools of peace. The alloy on each was battered, scarred by beam weapons and the pressures of outer space, but they stood majestically straight, as though they were aware of what had transpired in the last hour and knew that they were part of the reason for it.

Relena Darlian-Peacecraft could not help but look at the Gundams and be reminded that, in spite of everything, she was still a girl of fifteen, and the pilots of these weapons ? because she still thought of them as such, her respect for them new ? were no older. They might as well have been. Age was forgotten, overshadowed by deeds and ability.

At least she supposed that was true. Her only reason for being in the hangar was to see off the Colony delegates who were leaving on their shuttle in order to prepare a conference which she had helped organize. She had one hour before she had to be on L1, where all global and Colonial boundaries would be eliminated as she had once requested, where the world leaders would establish a new order for a new day.

?The Earth Sphere Unified Nation,? one suit-clad representative said, and Relena tore her eyes from the Gundams to the small group of diplomats. All men, she noted, all over twenty-five. ?It has a nice ring to it, don?t you agree, Miss Relena??

?You will consider our request, Miss Darlian?? another man asked as she nodded with a smile. ?Now that peace has finally been attained, the people will be expecting you, as a leading advocate, to take a high position.?

Relena inclined her head and gave the appropriate response, only half-attentive of the exiting group of men. She had stepped down as Queen of the World, and this seemed to lift hundreds of pounds from her chest. She was no longer a monarch of any kingdom, though she thought of her burned home and ached inside. Soon enough there would be reconstruction of both politics and architecture, and she would be in the center of it all.

Someone had to, she supposed. Peace was here, though she could hardly believe it. However, she still fostered her idea of total pacifism; it was much like a child too young to take care of itself, and although Relena was not yet an adult either, she felt up to the task.

A glass partition lowered to shut her into an airtight room while the representatives? shuttle took off. Relena?s hands came up to cross over her arms while her eyes dropped to her shoes. She had to change more quickly than the times, or else she would be too late to make a difference.

?Merry Christmas.?

Surprised, her gaze darted up to the glass in front of her. Prussian blue eyes reflected in it banked her political concern for the moment while relief surged up in its place. Turning, she gave Heero her first genuine smile of the day.

She had not seen him since he had pushed her out of Wing Zero?s cockpit on Libra, had not spoken to him since Sally Po had patched a line to him mid-battle. Now, after all that had happened, the tears she had shed for him then seemed foolish. He was Heero Yuy, Pilot 01, and he was alive. He stood in his black pilot suit, and with a torn sleeve and a bruise on his neck from the seat harness, he seemed a bit ragged but otherwise fine.

His greeting caught up with her, and Relena exhaled somewhat shakily. ?Is it Christmas?? she asked softly, fearing she sounded as exhausted as she felt. ?I have no idea what time it is.?

Naturally, he did. ?One thirty-four a.m. in the first Lagrange Point, where MO-II is now.?

Heero spoke so prosaically that Relena was astonished. He acted as though nothing of vast import had occurred and instead watched her in a way that made her feel defenseless. ?Heero, don?t you feel it?? she inquired before she truly knew what she was asking.

?What??

?You?ve?you did it. You saved the entire planet Earth.? She could not keep the wonder from her voice, though she wished she could. Relena felt painfully much like the girl she had been before the war had begun, who had found a boy on a beach. ?Don?t you think there?s a reason to feel pride in yourself for that??

His face was so solemn that for a second she thought she had said something wrong. Presently he replied, ?I didn?t expect to still be living this Christmas, Relena.?

She inhaled sharply, and knives sliced through her chest. ?But you are,? she told him optimistically, taking a step toward him. ?And thanks to you and the other Gundam pilots, there?s peace on the way. In fact, there?s a conference about to??

?They want you to lead.? He interrupted her tersely and, rather than finding him rude, Relena wasn?t caught off-guard. She was at least accustomed to Heero?s sudden astute observations.

Brushing her fingers over the wrist of the opposite arm, Relena nodded once. ?I?m going to tell them no, Heero. I may be a symbol, but I won?t be a powerless leader. The world isn?t going to follow a fifteen-year-old. I mean to take my father?s place ? my adoptive father. If I do anything, I?ll be the Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation.?

His brows drew together as he considered it. ?They?ll want you to do it one day, Relena. You?ll be chosen to guide the whole world.?

?Maybe,? she allowed quietly, averting her eyes because his were too intense, ?but until then, I?m a Darlian.?

He said nothing then but did not move. Somehow, she had always known that Heero, if no one else, understood the difference between her two names. This was surprising for someone who had no true identity of his own, yet Relena had always taken comfort in his comprehension of her. They had not always agreed, but she had given him all of her support constantly through the war.

I?m nothing compared to you.

And she knew that he gave her his support now.

?Zechs,? he said suddenly, his voice low. ?Out there, he?? He looked strained, as though he wasn?t sure of which words to choose. ?Relena, I didn?t??

?I know what he did, Heero,? she murmured before he could say it. ?Noin explained it to me. I know you didn?t kill my brother.? She had felt an initial sorrow when Gundam Epyon?s destruction had been reported on the bridge, but in the very end the man had been Zechs Merquise, not Milliardo Peacecraft. And that made things easier to accept?that she was once again without family.

He angled his face downward, not relaxing, and Relena wondered if he was feeling the guilt of all the lives he had taken in battle in this one moment with her. She did not know that, to him, her presence was cleansing rather than accusing. But he did not feel deserving of forgiveness, just as she did not feel worthy of the expectations being thrust upon her.

The silence stretching, Relena walked forward until she could see his eyes beneath the heavy fringe of dark brown bangs. ?Heero,? she murmured gently, ?I also know that the people you did kill?whether they were good or bad?you did it for reasons you thought were right. And that?s all any of us can do. Don?t you think so? Isn?t that why you fought this war in the first place, why you saved everyone??

?Stop saying that!? he exclaimed, his head shooting up to look her squarely in the face. Hers was serious, but his eyes flashed with unanticipated energy. ?I?m no rescuer, Relena! We all would have??

?I know.? She found it odd that she could predict him and that he could guess at her. When she had first met him, he had been much like the mystery novels she had favored at the time, and she had longed to solve him. ?But you wouldn?t have lived until you chose to, Heero.?

His shoulders lowered. Some of the tension seemed to slide away from his muscles, but it was his turn to appear astonished. There were questions in his eyes, many of them, but of course?

?You should hurry,? he told her, voice uninflected now. ?Quatre?s leaving for the conference soon. It would be safest for you to go there with him.?

He would not ask a single one.

Relena brought a hand up to rest just beneath the collar of her white shirt, a habit she could not quite rid herself of when she felt worried. Sometimes she really did feel like a child. ?I won?t see you again, will I?? She cast her gaze on the Gundams again; Wing Zero stared lifelessly back.

?Your birthday?s in April.? He sounded more pensive than factual.

She blinked at his reflection in the glass but didn?t turn around. ?What has that to do with??

?Four months.? For the shortest of seconds, Relena thought she saw him give a faint smile, but when she turned to study the real Yuy, he was as stoic-looking as ever.

Deciding not to question him as doing so would most likely only leave her more confused, Relena simply allowed her own lips to curve. ?Merry Christmas.? Starting past him, she headed for the door to get ready.

His arm shot out and blocked her path. Sending him a puzzled glance, her eyes widened when his hand rose to the back of her head in exactly the same way he had touched her on Libra. A space helmet had separated them then. Now she could feel his warmth through her hair.

Again he seemed to not know what to say. After several moments in which her pulse thrummed erratically, his eyes softened ? just a bit. ?Thank you.?

She exhaled in a rush. If she had expected something else, that was not it, and she felt relieved for a reason she wasn?t sure of. ?Thank you too, Heero.?

His hand fell away from her hair, and her heartbeat regained a normal pace. She continued on, feeling him watching her as she went through the door without looking back.

Relena was now certain that there was no need for a last look. He would return as he wished, and she?she could only wait and protect peace as he protected her.

The End

[Aristale Wolf]

Dooohhhh.......that's so cute... I love it, here again i had never thought of that twist of fate to happen and i like it very much when someone comes up with an ultra original idea for us humble people to read......

i'm simply exstatic!! cant wait to read more of ur stuff; i always enjoy it... cya soon!!!

[Gundam Girl]

Thanks dear!

[HiFreak]

Wow. I can really see this fitting into the actuall story, kind of whished it had ended like that. Also love the descriptions of the Gundams, very moving them standing there battered but straight.

[Morrighan]

*SQUEE*

1xR = OTP

*glomps* Awesome job, imouto-chan!

[Lady Saffir]

I second everything Morrighan said. Wonderful!

[Queen Scorpio]

Amazing fic! Yay Nessie!