<b>Author:</b> Omnicat v''v
<b>Rating:</b> K+ / PG
<b>Genre:</b> General, with bits of Humor and a few slices of Angst
<b>Spoilers & Desirable Foreknowledge:</b> Up until episode ten, ?Heero, Distracted by Defeat?.
<b>Warnings:</b> None.
<b>Pairings:</b> None.
<b>Disclaimer:</b> You know the drill. No franchise or money for me, no lawsuit from you.
<b>Summary:</b> Sequel to ?Note Passing at St Gabriel?s?, set during episode nine. Now that Heero has changed schools, he and Relena switch from paper to phonemail to exchange messages. Poor, under?appreciated vocal chords.
<b>Author?s Note:</b> Lo and behold! Ohnoes, shockers! You?re kidding me! A sequel?! It really happened?! This is for everyone who kept planting the idea of a sequel to Note Passing at St Gabriel?s in my head! Enough with the exclamation marks already! Ahem. Okay, same old story: regularly formatted text is what happens in real life, plain font is Heero?s messages, italicized font Relena?s, every white line between messages denotes a new message. ?Phonemail? is the AC equivalent of text messaging: when <i>Gundam Wing</i> came out, cell phones hardly existed yet, so they were never featured in the series. So I took artistic license to make up my own version. Story is set between episode nine (?Portrait of a Ruined Country?) and the scene in episode ten (?Heero, Distracted by Defeat?) in which Relena arrives at the school Duo and Heero had been staying at, only to find them gone.
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<b>Phone Mails in Japan</b>
II-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-I-oOo-I-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-II</center>
Visits from Duo were never a good sign, in Heero?s opinion.
?Hey Heero, you?ve got a phonemail message from your girlfriend.?
This instance confirmed it.
The other gundam pilot (Heero?s professional pride bristled) leaned against the doorpost to Heero?s room, waving around a portable phone and wearing a grin that spelled even more trouble. When Heero turned in his chair, the phone came flying at him, giving him no choice but to catch it.
?What the heck?s this supposed to mean?? He turned it around in his hands. It was a modern, but cheap model. A disposable.
?That Relena chick gave it to me after school today. Said it was a gift and that we should keep it. I don?t know what the Hell?s going on between you two, but I?ve gotta hand it to her, she sure is persistent.? Duo put his hands in his sides and leaned forward. ?What I saw in the marina - was that a lover?s spat or something??
?Relena is not my girlfriend.? Heero snapped.
Duo?s eyebrows went up, and as he straightened he gave off the same vibe Relena had when he?d told her a thousand times over that he would kill her, in person as well as through illicitly exchanged notes. It gave Heero the feeling that Duo had just decided not to believe a word he said.
?She agrees!? Heero added more heatedly.
Duo chuckled and turned on his heel, his hands disappearing into his pockets. ?Whatever you say, buddy.?
Heero snorted, too annoyed and disgusted to be bothered with trying to change Duo?s mind. A girlfriend? Him? The idea was preposterous. He didn?t know what possessed Relena to try to even be nice to him, but her crazy belief that he was worth treating as well as any other human being, despite everything he?d done, sure wasn?t caused by anything <i>he</i> had <i>done</i>.
Either way, he was obviously slacking off on the job, he thought as he worked out the phone?s controls. He should be able to scare any and all civilians out of wanting to get involved with him, no matter how blindly <i>nice</i> they were.
Maybe wiping away her tears had been a bad idea after all. Well, that was the last time <i>he</i> would be nice to people...
<i>Dear Heero and Duo. I hope this message
reaches you in good health. You must be
wondering why I came after you. It?s simple:
to join your cause. It would be rather awkward to
discuss this in public, hence the cell phone. It?s
brand new, I?m the only one who knows the
number, and I?m pretty sure nobody has seen me
buy it, so it should be reasonably safe to use. If
there is anything I can do, please don?t hesitate
to call me or send me a message. My parents have
an extended system of social contacts in the
upper class of Earth society, colonial politicians,
as well as the military forces of both Earth and
the colonies. Then there are my own classmates
at St Gabriel: many of them are the children of
rich and powerful public figures. As long as it
poses no risks to innocent bystanders, I
could use these contacts to obtain useful
information for you. And on top of that there?s the
fact that I?m filthy rich and my name gets me
easy access to a lot of people and places.
These assets are all at your disposal, granted that you
keep me informed about what you?re doing to take
down OZ (no details, don?t worry, I won?t ask for
things that would make it too dangerous for you
to have me involved). If there is anything else I
can provide or assist you with, all you?d have to do
is ask. I want to make my own contribution in stopping
the people who killed my father, and assisting you
gundam pilots is the only way I know how. Approaching
my father?s allies openly would mean walking right into
OZ?s arms, and you two are the only other people I
know who could oppose OZ. So even though I am
inexperienced, please accept this offer.
Sincerely, Relena Darlian
PS: Though I say I will do anything in my power
to help you guys out, I <b>will</b> impose logical restrictions.
No funny stuff. I don?t really think you two would
try to get me to do something indecent, but my
experience with teenage boys says they can?t keep
their minds out of the gutter no matter what positions
they?re in. No offence.</i>
Heero glared at the doorway Duo had disappeared through, stood up, and slammed it closed. That bastard. Acting like Relena?s message was meant for him personally, getting him all worked up with that ?girlfriend? stuff, while the phonemail was practically a business proposal.
He typed out a curt response, aggravation seething under his skin.
Why are you following me?
The answer came quickly enough to suggest that Relena had been waiting for his message.
<i>I told you (at great length, too): I?m on your side now.
And to be on your side, it would come in handy to
stay <b>by</b> your side, don?t you think?
Will you accept my aid?</i>
I never asked for anyone to be ?on my side?.
<i>You wouldn?t. That?s why I offered.
</i>I could get a restraining order against you, you know.
<i>Or you could just come round to my hotel and kill me.
The silent treatment, huh? May I remind you that <b>you</b>
were the one who brought it up first, and then used it
like other people use the word ?hello?? I?m almost
disappointed that you?d come back on your word so
easily. Am I somehow no longer a threat now that I
know exactly what you?re up to, as opposed to when
I didn?t even know half of it?</i>
You?re not complaining, are you?
<i>Touch?.
But I told you as much of the truth about my motivations as I felt safe giving. I?m allowed to ask
the same thing in return, aren?t I?</i>
You?re never going to let me live this down, are you?
<i>Why didn?t you kill me? You said you would, and you
were so insistent that you meant it. Did something
change, or were you bluffing all along?</i>
Now you?re just gloating.
<i>Actually, that was a perfectly serious question. But the
way you?re avoiding the question does make it rather
tempting...
</i>Speaking of avoiding questions, you didn?t answer
mine. Does this mean I was right about you as well?
<i>I?m sorry, but you?ll have to refresh my memory.
Right about what? You told me I was a lot of things
throughout our ?conversation?.</i>
It took a while for Heero to compose his reply, because he wasn?t sure anymore of the things he had been so firmly convinced of back then - or had tried to convince himself of, at least. It was hard to tell the difference, in retrospect. The problem was that <i>Relena</i> had been proven right about <i>him</i>, against everything he had expected at the time. What was to say he hadn?t been off about her as much as he had been about himself?
Let me rephrase: why are you on my side?
<i>Because you?re a good person fighting for a good
cause. I was unsure of you before I met Doctor J,
but now I know what I have to do, and I won?t let
our past misunderstandings keep me from doing
that.</i>
Wait a minute... What did he tell you, exactly?
<i>That it?s your mission to take down OZ. And that
you?re actually a really nice guy when you?re not
trying to scare people away.
</i>And you <b>believed</b> him?! You just took <b>Doctor J?s</b>
word on it? The guy with the <b>mechanical</b> eyes and
the <b>leg racks</b> and the <b>metal claw for a hand?!</b> I?ve
worked and lived with him for years and he still freaks
me out!
<i>He also told me to stay away from you if I valued
my life, and made sure my father?s body was returned
to us. So yes, I trust him. Besides, it only confirmed what
I already suspected.</i>
Okay, this is where you keep losing me every time. I
threatened to <b>kill</b> you, Relena. I would have shot you.
I would have dropped a mobile suit on you. I have
done nothing, NOTHING, to make you see me as a
decent human being. Why do you keep insisting that I
am?
<i>To be honest with you, at first it was nothing more than
the benefit of the doubt, coupled with the hope that I
would be able to get answers by being nice to you. It
wasn?t until the marina that I finally saw what was
behind your act of the dangerous mystery man. (Not
that you were ever very good at the part, in retrospect.
I would have laughed in your face if it hadn?t been for
that incident with the ambulance. No offence, but you
might want to touch up on you acting skills.)</i>
But the marina is where I tried to kill you! (I am going to
ignore you ever wrote that part in brackets.)
<i>(Then I?ll just have to forego the brackets this time.
)Hate to break it to you, Heero, but that?s where you let
your guard down and your death threats lost all their
credibility. It was plain as day that you were either, A)
a sociopath collector of large explosive devices, about
to burst into tears because the torpedoes you were
preparing to launch were collectors items and the world
of large explosive device collectors would never be the
same again when they were destroyed... or B) a human being
just like me, forced to resort to inhuman measures in order
to bring down OZ, which has proven itself to be capable
of committing atrocities with none of the remorse you
yourself feel.
Give or take some artistic license. If I?m wrong, just say
so now. But please don?t lie to me. And don?t lie to yourself.</i>
Heero was unable to reply for the rest of the day: he was too busy muttering to himself, alternately trying to convince himself yes, Relena was right, he was a human being with feelings and emotions, he had every right and at least <i>some</i> of the reasons to get a little worked up about his job every now and then - and no!, he was big, bad and professional, he hadn?t trained so ridiculously hard and spent so much time trying to chase Relena away to do something stupid like develop a guilt complex and start relying on random passers by! Grumble grumble, dissing his infiltration skills, grumble grumble. The chemistry teacher almost gave him a detention because he thought the faces Heero was making were directed at him.
Eventually, in the middle of the night, he sent a message born from pure sleep deprivation.
I?m not worth it, Relena. Go back home to the people
who?ve earned this kind of devotion and forget about me.
When he read Relena?s reply early the next morning, he was tired and miserable and torn between wanting to walk up to her and shake her until she stopped being so infuriatingly, despairingly stubborn, and wanting to slit the mental throat producing the protests his brain kept clogging his ears with with a rusty butter knife.
<i>No. My family and friends will miss me, but they don?t
<b>need</b> me. I can?t make myself <b>useful</b> if I stay at home. I
want to help you, your cause. I want to see OZ go down
as much as you do. I want to be able to <b>do</b> something
about all the things that are wrong in the world.</i>
You can?t always get what you want, princess.
<i>Is that what you think this is about for me? Getting
my way? An eccentric whim from a spoiled little girl
who doesn?t know what it?s like to be opposed? Fine, go
ahead. I won?t deny that I <b>am</b> spoiled and <b>have</b> always
gotten what I wanted. I?m not ashamed of it. Because
you know what? I wish <b>everyone</b> was as fortunate and
privileged as I am. I wish we lived in a world in which
nobody had to suffer and fight and be depraved of the
things they need and the people they love. And I wish
more people like me, who have fortune to spare, and
people like you, who have the power to change things,
would stop hoarding what they have for fear of losing it,
and start using it to help others gain the same
happiness. What do you expect me to do, Heero? Cry and
slink back to my sheltered little ?perfect world? with my
tail between my legs and pretend nothing is wrong and
nothing ever happened? I can?t do that. I <b>refuse</b> to do
that. If you won?t let me help you, I?ll find some other
way. I?d prefer to work alongside you, but if you really
want to get me out of your hair, all I ask is for a way to
get in touch with Doctor J again. Maybe I?ve been barking
up the wrong tree this whole time, maybe I should just go
straight to the source.</i>
No. He?d do to you what he did to me. That?s something
<b>I</b> refuse to let happen. Go home, Relena. Take what you
have left away from the line of fire and keep your head
down until the coast has been cleared. Leave OZ to me.
After sending that message, Heero destroyed the phone and left for Siberia. He and Relena did not meet or speak again for some time, but not for lack of trying on Relena?s part. She visited the school Heero and Duo had been staying at, where she found what she had already expected.
<i>Off to fight again, Heero? Well I?m headed for my own battleground,</i> she decided. Even if he and Duo had no use for the things she had to offer, it didn?t mean she couldn?t put them to use herself. She would find a way to play her part, whether there were gundam pilots for her to look to for strength and directions or not.
Then she smiled crookedly. <i>And I?ll save all these messages we?ve sent, so that once I?ve done my share in the fighting - and preferably been victorious, for added effect -, I can gloat and say ?I told you so!?.</i>
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<b>PSAN:</b> Not as fun-filled as <u>Note Passing</u>, sorry. I blame the fact that Heero is fresh out of the New Edwards disaster around this time, and that they wouldn?t even have been able to have this conversation if Relena?s father hadn?t died. J?s revelations were the side-effects of a heavy loss, and... OKAY, THAT?S IT, THERE <i>WILL</i> BE A NEXT INSTALLMENT, AND IT WILL BE MORE HUMOROUS IF IT KILLS ME.