(99 Ways Entry) Birthday Wishes

[Tomorrow]

AN: This is my little contribution to the 99 Ways Challenge, and, surprisingly enough, has a touch of humor in it. I had actually begun this as a revamp of ?The Bonny Swan,? but as I rewrote it, it just wrote itself into this with its tone and brevity (please don?t anyone get any ideas and go read ?The Bonny Swan"? my older fics embarrass me). Thanks everyone.

Word Count: 1618


Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing.





"Well that was intelligent of you, wasn't it Relena?" the young woman seethed as she bit the top of her pen in disgust at herself and that conveniently elusive short-term memory of hers, tapping her manicured nail on the desk in an involuntary nervous tick.

How irresponsible she could be at times? scatterbrained more like it. And for some reason - perhaps the meager one hour of sleep she had gotten the night before, leaving her somewhat giddy that morning - the irony of that former concept suddenly amused her, an absent chuckle as she let her mind wander with it...

She had 5000 year-old aristocrats wheezing down her neck, basically hanging on her every breath - the young woman nearly shuttering at the literalness of that thought, as the memory of their gazes leering a little too low for her liking flashed into her mind for a brief second - unemployed veterans from the Eve War pounding down her door; and plenty of other worldly and colonial crises to solve with the jotting of her signature and hint of her famous smile for the cameras. All that responsibility was hers and hers alone to deal with, and she did it day in and day out without ever missing a single council meeting or luncheon. Never late? but usually staying late to discuss proposals privately with a few lingering politicians. And still she never complained, always putting on a cheerful front for the public. Weary, but covering the circles and redness with well-applied make-up.

Well? perhaps noticeable to one.

And yet when it came to remembering where she set her briefcase that morning, her mind drew a total blank. And that?s apparently what happened when she took out her planner just five minutes ago and found the date circled in red - just then reminded that today was Heero Yuy?s birthday.

He always remembered her birthday: Chocolate Soldier (otherwise known as Little Heero when no one else was around), that cuddly little brown bear on her sixteenth birthday; Vanilla Soldier (also called Little Heero II), the squishy white bunny she received from him the night of her seventeenth; and Strawberry Soldier (dubbed Little Heero III), a floppy pink puppy he gave her just this year.

How could she let his birthday pass by, after they?d been through such a resilient yet rather? tumultuous courtship for nearly the passed two years? Especially now that she?d obtained the date - with some very *ahem* clever negotiations on her part, for which Heero would probably kill the other party if he ever got wind of them? even if her cunning could only be described as flirtatious - from Dr. Jay? When even earlier in the week she told him that he was getting a special birthday surprise, his first birthday present ever? The answer: she couldn?t. And therefore she would have to find someway to rectify this situation - namely finding the perfect gift for him in the next two hours so it could be shipped to his apartment before his shift ended today. Piece of cake.

She felt a migraine coming on.

Right.

"Girls are so much easier to shop for than boys," Relena childishly whined as she took her attention from the planner, only to replace it on the catalogue that had just arrived on her desk that morning with the mail. She intended to find the perfect gift--

With less than one hour and fifty minutes to go.

She snorted. "If you get a girl a stuffed animal or some flowers, she'll be completely smitten. But with men? Oh I can just see it now," The Vice Foreign Minister said with a coquettish pout on her face, extending her palm as if she were handing someone a gift. "I walk in with a little stuffed kitten and a daffodil and say: ?Happy birthday, Heero. Won?t this kitten make a nice bedmate for that dinosaur I supposedly - in this fantasy anyway - got you last year?? I bet he'd love that. Yeah, that would certainly get him in the mood for romance," she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the thought.

And the fact that she?d just wasted another seven minutes making up hypothetical possibilities - implausible ones at that.

?Okay. Focus, Relena. You only have one hour and forty-three more minutes until the deadline.? Her eyes narrowed. ?And you have to make them count.?

Blink.

?And talking to myself is getting a whole lot done??


******************************************************


That was it. She merely had to accept her fate. She?d been searching through that catalogue for over ninety minutes now, and she had? nothing. Zilch. Zip. Zero. No gift for Heero this birthday. If they were still on speaking terms (which, with him, it was always difficult to tell anyway), maybe she could make up for it the next time his special day came around.

But even more than that? she had originally planned for this to be a day they celebrate together, as simply a couple in love. A day when she would be able to prove to him how thankful she was that he was born, came into her life, and loved her. The true worth of his existence. For him to see just how much she really loved him and the appreciation of his past and present sacrifices for her and the peace they created together, without having to worry about public images or their titles? more than she could capture in any verbose speeches. She wanted this day? to show him.

And now she didn?t even have a card.

She held her head in her hands in a mock semblance of defeat, swallowing hard to suppress the ache in her chest and the onslaught of tears that gathered at the corners of her eyes. If she thought she hated herself this morning, then she must have loathed herself now for being so selfish. Completely repulsed by her self-absorbency and this subconscious sabotage of their relationship, pressing her nails fiercely into her palms as she heard a brief knock on her office door before it opened.

?Relena??

Oh no?

?What?s wrong?? the figure questioned her as he walked over to the desk, somewhat stiffly, she noted.

She could feel her legs get heavy and mouth suddenly parch at his concern, not wanting to erase that reciprocated perception of herself in his own mind, of mutual concern and selflessness. But she knew she?d have to tell him eventually. If not now, then later tonight.

Here goes.

?Heero? it?s just that?? and then she noticed how fidgety he was as he waited for her answer. His eyes were partially glazed over and his fists clenched and unclenched? Nervously? He was looking at her, but not seeming to really pay attention. Although, per his credit, he seemed to be trying. She could tell.

Heero Yuy was apprehensive about something.

??well, are you alright? You look a little nervous yourself.?

?Relena?? He scraped a hand through his wild mane in one last futile attempt to calm himself and brought his other hand from behind his back, holding a sparsely decorated cupcake - one that, she assumed, he baked himself from the way that the top was puffed out or sunken in at various, inconsistent locations? pretty sad looking, actually - with a single candle embedded in its center. ?I blow out the candle, and I make a wish.? It was more of a statement than a question, just reaffirming that he was following the tradition correctly. It wasn't made out of stupidity or ignorance-- He knew what birthdays entail. But Heero Yuy had never experienced one himself. The concept just seemed so foreign to him... like he shouldn't know these simple pleasures because of what he's capable of. Like he didn't deserve to be acknowledged the same way as others, to perform rituals of normalcy.

She nodded.

Wetting his lips with his tongue, he took a quick breath and smothered the flame, intently watching the remaining smoke drift from the wick - making haphazard ringlets in its ascent. Noticing how they curled around Relena?s face, as if caressing her with his wish, whispering it through hazy touches.

?So, Heero, what did you??

He put his finger to his lips to quiet her, wordlessly taking hold of her hand and placing a black box within it, cupping her fingers over the velvet lid. His eyes locked with hers, steeled as he watched her open the box and gasp when she tore her gaze from him to look at the ring inside. Her hand trembled slightly.

?Marry me.?

She said nothing. Merely continued to stare at the diamond, glittering as she removed it from the case.

Then taking his hand, she placed it over her heart, letting him feel its steady beats for a moment before she finally looked up to him, smiling a soft, genuine smile.

And he knew her answer.

With a quiet sigh, he pulled her into his arms and pressed her cheek against his chest, setting his chin on top of her honey-gold strands as they remained in that embrace. Both silent? but romantically content. Reveling in the warmth of each other?s presence and the quiet syncopation of their heartbeats. Just lost in their stolen moment from an expectant world. Until Heero broke their intimate reticence with a whisper.

?I got my wish.?

That?s when she realized: she had just given him the perfect gift.

[Ame-san]

This is sooooooooo cute! Love it! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

[Wingnut]

At first I thought this was is another person's POV, like Dorothy or Relena's nameless secretary. Thus the person who sent Heero the cupcake. That angle would've worked well too, if not better. (CC there)
I liked it nonetheless. So it seems that contrary to some other fics, Heero can bake afterall.

[Mizaya]

This was fluffy and sweet! Aw, I can just imagine Heero fretting over his cupcake wearing a pink frilly apron and... O_o Yeah, never mind about that, lol. I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was definitely an intimate and romantic way to propose. Yay for 1xR sap!

[Shooting Gundam Star]

Fluff binnes! That was very sweet. Now all full of warm fuzzies.....

[Morrighan]

Yay!! So cute!! I loved the names she gave her stuffies.... SOOO adorable!! If only Heero knew...wouldn't he be flattered??

Great job, Tomorrow!

[Kari]

Cute and beautiful!!!

[sitboy007]

I am now officially happy for life.

[Angel Yuy]

Oh yay! that was great!! I'm so happy now!

[Fate Lowe]

Adorable!!! That's the only word that I have to descibe this fic. I loved it!!!