Warnings: Not yuri yet, but it will be within the next chapter or two, and it will only get yuri-er from there.
Relena: That's not a word.
Cutter: They know what I mean.
Relena Peacecraft never says anything. She's been all mopey the entire plane ride to Minneapolis, USA, and I'm running out of conversation. I want to tell her that this isn't easy for me either, but I don't even think she's listening. Even now, stepping out of the jet with our bags, she just stares off into the distance. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
Noin said that she was under a lot of stress, but that there was another reason she was getting spacey lately. I may not be the brightest colony in the cluster, but I knew that other reason's name right away. Heero.
I hate Heero. He took Duo away.
So when Noin told me about it, I understood. I'd only met Relena once in my life before, but God help me, I understood. And I thought maybe her problem was her pride, that it wouldn't let her confide in anyone. That if she took some time to deal with it with someone else who'd been through it, she could let her barriers down and just get it out. Now, I guess I have to admit that I wanted that for myself. As weird as it may seem, Relena may be the only person in the world who knows exactly what I'm feeling every time I hear the word "Gundam." I thought maybe she could keep me company. Help me get through it.
Lord knows I can't stay on L2. Everything there reminds me of him.
My thoughts are interrupted by what sounds like a fire alarm going off right next to my ear. No, wait, I can make out words: "No! I'm not having servants and bodyguards and chaperones shadowing my every move while I'm on vacation! Vacation! V-A-C--"
Woah. /I guess I always knew Relena had a little piss and vinegar in her somewhere, but this is a little weird,/ I think as I snap out of my reverie. She is ranting to a bunch of dressed-up yes- men that she "absolutely will not stand" for any company on our retreat.
"Demo, Relena-sama--"
Definitely, this wasn't a good idea.
"Ok, Relena, ok. Let me handle this," I say.
She looks at me like I have suddenly sprung a new head. Looking around, I realize her little entourage is staring the same way, like I'm some little upstart girl who's too weak to be efficient at anything and too impertinent ("Just Relena! No titles, the wench says "Relena," like they were sisters! The nerve!") to be borne. Dammit, I can't help it if I'm short! I decide I don't like these people any more than she does.
"Ok, everybody, listen up!" I holler. I have a very loud voice when I want to. And I can pitch it so that most people are willing to do just about anything to make me stop. As I watch all of the guards, aides, and miscellaneous staff silence instantly, I reflect that it's a useful talent.
"Relena doesn't want a lot of bodyguards. Therefore, she'll only have one. Because we did not tell anyone where we were going, that should be sufficient, and--"
"Hirde." Relena looks angrier than I've seen anyone in a while. Her face is flushed and her cheeks are stained with red. Her chest is heaving with barely-controlled breaths-- /Hirde! Focus!/
Momentarily confused, I lose track of what she's saying for a minute. " ...you, but I don't require your assistance, and I don't want a *single* person with us." Under her breath, she mutters, "I'm sick of it and I haven't been alone for months. I hate all of them and their obsequiousness and I am going to lose it any minute now."
Suddenly, I understand. She's just reacting to fact that she's fifteen years old, she didn't get the boy she wanted, she's got too much responsibility and now to top it all off the Establishment won't leave her alone. She looks close to tears. "Shh, Relena, I've got it covered," I say soothingly. "But honestly, do you really want to go totally without? I'm sure not gonna cook, and I bet you won't, either. We gotta take at least one person." She gives me a Look.
"Now," I continue to the small crowd in my former loud voice, "we need a cook. That is all. Whichever of you is here to cook for us, that's fine; the rest of you can go. Whoever doesn't like that can take it up with Lucrezia Noin later." I may not be a great politician, but I have my priorities. Food comes first.
"Just who are you to order us around, anyway? You've got no rank and no authority. And what about the bodyguard you mentioned? Are you going back on that?" the man I have dubbed 'the suit in charge' asks me.
"I never go back on what I say," I grit out. God, I wish I was taller. Only the fact that I'm still standing on the third step of the portable stairs keeps me at eye level with him. "The protection I mentioned is already here. And, Mr. I-Wear-Sunglasses- When-It's-Dark, I am addressing you in my new rank as Vice-Minister Peacecraft's new personal bodyguard."
With that, I move my gun from my purse to the waistband of my pants, collect the cook, and drag Relena off towards the waiting car. I don't turn around as I say, "If you don't put your jaw back, Sunglass-boy, you're going to catch flies. See you in two weeks!"
End Part 2
(:./cutter/fire2)
