A Wonderful Place: Part Two

[Lanna]

***Part Two of A Wonderful Place***

***Thanks so much to Pink Cloud for liking my work! Also, thanks to Black Rose for her explanation (on the bulletin board) of showing vs. telling. I feel like my writing is at a completely different level now. I?d say this site is really good for my development as a writer. ***




Three days after the incident in the garden, Duo finally got contact of Heero, calling from a hotel bathroom, which, Heero guessed, was the location because it was the quietest place he could find. His words were blocked out at certain intervals due to loud, sudden yells from Solo, whose sister, Vanessa, seemed to feel considerably threatened by her little brother?s presence. That was fine with Heero though, for he wasn?t in all that much of a mood for talk, Duo having caught him in the middle of writing a lengthy report in his apartment.

?Look, Heero, once again, I don?t think I?m going to get any peace here, and I don?t want any of the kids to hear this. Not Hilde either. I?m going to do some begging, and I think I can meet you at some diner tonight, all right? Know any good ones??

Heero considered this, taking a moment to add a couple written words about a slacking guard, and then returned, ?You?re at the HillBerry Inn?? He shifted in his seat, aware that both the chair and the desk were broken to some extent.

Duo nodded. ?Yeah, and this place doesn?t even have the decency to come up with a proper name. Howie has been calling it HillBilly all afternoon.?

?Right across from you is a place called Teresa?s Pizza.? Heero said, ignoring his comrade?s way of getting completely off track.

?Okay, that?ll work out just fine. Meet you there in?. wait.? On the screen, Heero saw Duo glance at his arm, expecting a watch there. Finding none, he asked, ? What time is it, Heero??

?I don?t have a watch, and my clock just broke today.?

?Oh, I see.? Duo leaned back against the toilet seat, rubbing his forehead. After a moment, he bellowed out:

?HILDE, WHAT TIME IS IT??

?IT?S 3: 21! SIT DOWN, HOWIE!?

?It?s 3: 21, Heero.?

?I heard.?




It was worked out that they would meet at exactly seven. Heero tiredly shut off the vid phone, and worked some more, wondering why he even bothered, since so very few actually read these things. The office that it would go to would probably glance at it, make no changes, and by the end of the day his literary gem would be in the trash.

Since his place was in such dire need of repairs, and he thusly had no way to tell the time, after quite some time had passed he got up from his seat, guessing it had been perhaps three hours or so. The lamp clicked off, and with a shake of his head, he deposited his written piece into the trashcan at the side of the desk. It would end up there; anyway, it might as well be close to home. He had just grabbed his jacket when the sudden ring of the doorbell surprised him. He had no friends, unless he considered tag-along Duo, which he didn?t.

?Look,? He said as he opened the door, ?I don?t want anything you?re selling, so go away.?

?That?s too bad,? Relena returned, ?Because it might be good.?

If Relena had expected a small smile, or at least a pleasant greeting, she was horribly disappointed.

?Relena. What the hell are you doing here?? He said, his words surprisingly sharp for the quiet tones in which he spoke.

She crossed her arms, biting her lip for a moment, and then said, ?The office was getting stuffy. I came out to the city for some air. You were nearby, so I thought?.?

Heero interrupted, looking over her shoulder. ?Where?s your bodyguard?? He asked, his hazel eyes searching the porch.

?I don?t have one.? Her reply was said in a careless manner, accompanied by a shrug. Uncomfortable, she began to lace a stand of her golden hair around her finger.

?You don?t have a bodyguard??

?That?s what I said.?

The meaning of this response seemed to progress slowly through Heero?s mind. His eyes, still looking over the porch, stopped centering on any one thing, wearing a faraway glint. In all honesty, he wasn?t really seeing at the moment.

Didn?t she realize, he wondered, didn?t she realize how dangerous it was for one of her stature to venture outside of security? Relena could be so careless sometimes, so uncaring about the efforts made to protect her, that he wondered why she even bothered to keep him on duty. Obviously, she cared nothing for the work he did.

After a pause, he asked, ?Why not??

No answer. Then:

?You?re so thick!?

?What??

?You heard me!?

Heero recognized the blazing fire in her eyes again, but this time it was not nearly as charming, instead filled with loathing, or was it despair? Shaking her head, she freed her lock of hair, turning her back on him, so that her voice, elevating now with a rich anger, seemed to be disembodied, to some extent at any rate. ?You?re so thick, Heero. I can?t just come out to the city and relax a little, like a normal human being? I?m so sick ? and tired ? sick and tired of this whole thing! I?? Her voice cracked, and she broke off.

?What are you talking about?? He asked, thoroughly confused.

Slowly, she turned back to him. ?That?s what I mean! I was so stupid to ever think that you could come out of those damn walls you?ve put up. The problem is that I have to be a machine, and I can?t, and that you have to be human, and you can?t. That?s the problem! Did it ever occur to you, Heero??

He blinked, and simply looked at her.

Shaking her head, she sighed, resting her head on her hand. ?You know what? Forget it. Just forget it.? She said, shaking her head once more. A brief silence followed.

He would never come to. He lived in a fantasy world, where the fact that human beings had feelings had been abolished long ago.

That conclusion in mind, she began to walk away.

She had more paperwork to do, didn?t she? There was probably that reporter craving for an interview waiting at the castle. And she had never put the finishing touches on the lecture she was to give tomorrow.

Heero, meanwhile, had a collage of various thoughts sprinting throughout his mind ? he searched for an emotion he understood in that mess, but finding none, settled on simply stopping her.

?Relena, wait.?

His voice slicing coldly through her thoughts, and her heart, she stopped, and was considering whether to turn around or not. At length, he made the decision for her by taking hold of her wrist and painfully turning her towards him.

?Let go of me, Heero!?

?Relena, just wait.?

She eyed him, her thoughts rushing through her head rapidly. Sullen as ever. The only hint of sincerity had been a minute ago, when he had called out for her to wait, and when he had grabbed her. She didn?t understand any of this. He blew hot and cold at the same time.

?Is this a game to you, Heero? Did you think it would be a big joke if you came back here, make poor little princess Relena think that there might be a chance? Is that what you thought??

?What? Relena.?

She continued, a blind fury taking hold of her normally sweet and tolerant nature. ?Well, I don?t think it?s a game! I?ve had enough of this! I?m weak, Heero! I?m a human being, and I?m weak!?

He looked away, cowering under her studying gaze.

?One with your duties can?t be human.? He said, his eyes watching the stormy sky.

Relena?s free hand pulled back and met Heero?s cheek in a sharp slap.




Heero finally reached Teresa?s Pizza, a full twenty minutes late, but as usual, not caring at all. He calmly walked into the place, scanning around for Duo. Once again, Duo came to Heero?s aide by loudly boasting of his existence.

?OVER HERE HEERO!?

Heero sighed inwardly, following the direction of the voice, and upon sighting Duo in a booth, took a seat across from him. His fellow pilot grinned and handed him a menu, cheerily launching into a description of how excellent the quality of this place was.

?The pizza is just amazing, you really ought to try it, Heero. But it might just be a little too greasy for your taste, so I suggest this right here. It?s a type of lasagna, I think?. wait, no, I?m wrong; I don?t know what the heck that is. Well, if you want to be healthy, you can try this salad. I love tomatoes, don?t you? Let me see, I haven?t even decided myself??

?Can I help you two?? Inquired a passing waitress, having finally detected a break in Duo?s talk.

?I?ll have some water.? Heero said, closing the menu decidedly and handing it to her.

She nodded, hurriedly scrawling the small order on her notepad. Turning to Duo, she asked, ?And you, sir??

Duo blinked, and said, after a long moment of gazing at the menu, ?Hmm. A nice medium size pepperoni pie sounds good to me.? He, too, turned over the menu. After a moment of hesitation, he added, ?And could you call me sir again??

She blinked. ?What??

?Call me sir again.?

?Yes, sir.?

?Oh, I don?t hear that enough. Here?s a tip.?

The waitress left them to their conversation after accepting the tip, her absence prompting Heero?s immediate question of, ?What?s this all about??

?Hmm.? Duo leaned back in his seat, gazing at the ceiling. ?Heero, how are you getting on with Relena??

?You came all this way to ask me about my relationship with a coworker??

Duo shook his head. ?Hey bud, listen to what I?m saying.?

?I am.?

?Fine then.? Leaning forward, and looking at Heero in a very serious manner, Duo clasped his hands and continued, ?Relena is taking a trip, isn?t she??

?A trip? Yes, she?s been talking about some mountain cabin Noin is sending her off to. How do you know about that??

Duo swatted away Heero?s last question like it was a fly. ?I asked you before how you and Relena were getting along.?

Heero looked out the window, taking a long pause before he even considered answering. Unusual for him, he thought up a rather cynical response: ?Relena and I have reached a whole new level of friendship, Duo. Just an hour ago we had a rather intelligent, heated debate, which ended very well.?

He was surprised, to say the least. Such thoughts were not like him.

?Heero??

?We?re okay. How is this important??

Again, Duo ignored Heero?s questioning last sentence. ?So you guys are doing okay. And she?s going on a trip.?

?Duo, you?re not making sense.?

?Heero, I want you to join Relena on this trip, okay??

Heero could not have been more shocked if Duo had told him to jump off a bridge. He would have enjoyed doing that more, in any case, what with the way Relena was treating him now and all. His mouth opened to respond, but before he could do so a cup of water was placed in front of him, while Duo received his steaming hot plate of pizza.

?There you go.? Said the waitress. ?Please enjoy!? Then she left, a rather rowdy booth commanding her attention.

Duo continued, ignoring his pizza for the moment. ?Heero, I think there might be something happening right now, that involves Relena. You would accompany her for protection reasons.?

?What is it?? Heero asked, still staring out the window.

?Heero, look at me.?

Heero looked. Very seldom had he seen Duo this intent on something. He was totally ignoring the fresh, zesty pizza in front of him, and his violet eyes were sparkling with some sort of fear. Fear? For Relena? He shook his head, wondering dimly why it suddenly hurt so much.

?Relena is in danger.?

Heero nodded. ?What is she in danger of, Duo??

?I?m not sure, but something is going on. Can you just accept that for now? And remember, don?t tell her. I?m not sure, and I don?t want her to panic or anything. ?

?Duo.?

?Tell me you?ll protect her.?

Heero hesitated before his answer, but eventually it came out, a tired sigh accompanying it:

?Fine.?




?And so forth I leave you, my audience, with one question: Is this really worth the trouble? It is my firm belief that we are completely capable, and I say we meaning the entire human race ? we are capable to freeing ourselves from the shackles of argument, and receiving the peace of solutions! Let us not argue over petty things.?

The auditorium let loose an enthusiastic roar of appreciation, clapping wildly for the stirring speech made by Relena Peacecraft. It was no surprise, actually, for it was a known fact that the princess was capable of beautifully crafted pieces, and there was no end to her brilliant stage presence. She bowed, and left the stage, confident that she had done one of her better jobs.

Once backstage, she went to a corner of the room and sat herself on a chair, gratefully receiving a handkerchief from Noin. Dabbing it over her sweat-plastered forehead, she was about to greet her dear friend cheerfully when she noticed the person at Noin?s side.

?Milliardo. Brother.?

Milliardo nodded solemnly. ?Your speech was impressive.? He said, after a pause.

?Thank you.?

Her brother coughed, his eyes darting around the backstage room. It was obvious that he was very uncomfortable, and Relena, for her part, said her words with a sort of disguised coldness.

Noin, smiling very cheerfully, interrupted, ?Relena, Milliardo and I have some news for you.?

?Oh?? She held out the handkerchief for Noin to take back.

Noin did so, continuing, her grin widening, ?We?re getting married.?

Milliardo nodded, as if to signal that what Noin was completely true, and that this was no joke. Now it was Relena?s turn to cough.

?You?re w-what??

Milliardo took his turn to answer, simultaneously taking hold of Noin?s hand and stroking it with his thumb. ?We?re getting married, Relena. In six months.?

Relena leaned back against her chair, thinking quickly. It seemed that recently everything would be going swimmingly ? her eloquent speech, her two-week vacation. But then she had the destroyers, more commonly known as males ? Heero and Milliardo. She should be happy, she knew, but after all that had happened with Milliardo the past two years, she couldn?t feel anything but an acute sort of envy. Milliardo was taking Noin away from her.

She was, however, a diplomat. It was her job to be calm and just when she really wanted to scream.

Smiling sweetly, she said, ?That?s wonderful. Oh, you two will be so happy together.?

But she was so tired!

Milliardo seemed to feel reassured by this, and was about to respond, his mouth even opening, when his eyes went wide and his mouth clamped shut. His eyes were focused on something behind her, and so she looked to see what it could be.

?I?m sorry if I?m interrupting something.? Heero apologized, stepping towards the three of them.

Noin continued to smile, greeting Heero with, ?Oh, Heero. We were just discussing the news.?

Heero nodded to show he was interested.

Both Relena and Milliardo were gazing at him with such an identical sullenness that he wondered if they could possibly comprehend how much alike they were.

Noin went on to explain the new developments that would be connecting her and Milliardo. Heero found himself even smiling a little bit too, feeling happy because of the joy in which Noin regarded the marriage.

Finally, Milliardo could take it no longer. ?Is there something you want, Heero??

Heero swallowed. ?I would like to attend the trip Miss Peacecraft will be taking soon.?

Milliardo nodded at this, as if he found it acceptable, but Heero knew better. The two had been enemies many years ago, but the hatred between them then was not of the sort that simply went away once circumstances were changed. Milliardo?s ice blue eyes, raging with the same mystical fire contained in Relena?s, were analyzing him, studying him.

He didn?t mind. That had been his entire youth.

Seeing that Heero had no intention of responding, Milliardo then asked, ?Does Miss Peacecraft agree to this??

Miss Peacecraft had spent the last few moments staring at her hands. Looking up now, she said firmly:

?No.?

Heero had expected this. ?Relena.?

?She said no, Heero.?

?I heard her. She doesn?t know what she?s saying.?

?You can?t understand English anymore, Yuy? She said no, goddamnit!?

Noin hissed through her teeth, shaking her head. ?Milliardo.?

Milliardo responded to his fianc? by holding up his free hand, as if to silence her. Relena blinked, not liking the interaction. Her brother was so controlling.

?It?s important that I go with her.?

Sensing Milliardo?s climbing rage, Noin tried once more, this time including Heero in her plea for peace. ?You two? try to calm down.?

Her words were said with a sort of urgency, for she had noted the small audience they were attracting. Several stagehands, even Relena?s debating partner, had stopped to watch with interest. Hushed whispers sped throughout the backstage area.

Milliardo let go of Noin?s hand, taking a step forward. His hands clenched as he advanced, finally stopping threateningly close to Heero, peering down at his enemy with familiar, passionate hatred. Heero, in turn, looked him right in the eye, not cowering the slightest under his strong gaze.

?I will not allow you to take my sister away for some sexual fantasy of yours, Yuy!?

?Milliardo!?

?Be quiet Noin!?

?WAIT!?

All eyes turned to Relena as she voiced this command. She mumbled something, and at Milliardo?s comment that she needed to speak louder, said, with more strength this time, although it was still very quiet:

?He can come.?

Under Milliardo?s sharp, questioning gaze, she added:

?I want him to.?

[Christine aka Pink Cloud]

Ooo..things are getting intersting! Thanx for the reply! *Gives Lanna a thousang hugs and thanxz* Hope i didn't hug u too hard! Anyway i can't wait to read more!

~C

[moonkitty]

This was HILARIOUS!!!! I just can't wait to see Heero suffer through Relena's cold shoulder!!! Beautiful writing too!!!!!