Title: Moon Song
Author: tkmaxwell777
Category: Songfic
Pairings: R+1, 1x2 implied
Rating: PG
Warnings: Angst
Archived: Yep! Thanks Lev :) www.gwaddiction.com/levlair
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters. I just fly them to the moon and back :)
Dedication: This is for Tyr -- I saw a post on the GW-Fan ML regarding this and couldn't get the idea out of my head. This is also my entry for the 2003 Gundam Wing Addiction Angst Fic Contest. "To The Moon And Back" is by Savage Garden.
"My name is Relena Darlian," she said, extending her hand towards the ambulance speeding away in the distance, "What's yours?"
//She's taking her time making up the reasons
To justify all the hurt inside
Guess she knows from the smiles and the looks in their eyes
Everyone's got a theory about the bitter one
They're saying, "Mamma never loved her much"
And "Daddy never keeps in touch.
That's why she shies away from human affection."//
"Why?" she asked, tears filling her eyes as she watched the torn up party invitation float away on the wind. A gentle hand wiped the escaping signs of distress, and for a moment her heart hoped, but then cold words caused her breath to catch in a moment of pure disbelief.
"I will kill you."
She watched him walk away, not understanding why she wasn't completely appalled by the evident malice that had belied the gently spoken threat. "What... What kind of person are you?"
//But somewhere in a private place
She packs her bags for outer space
And now she's waiting for the right kind of pilot to come
And she'll say to him,
"I would fly to the moon and back if you'll be
If you'll be my baby
Got a ticket for a world where we belong
So would you be my baby?"//
His gaze softened as he looked at her one more time before his ship took off out of the cargo bay. Relena watched as he flew away, feeling her heart take wings and join him in his battle. He had asked to fight for her, but she couldn't let him. Not for her. For peace, but never for her. She remembered when she'd told him that she was on his side. They had been dancing at that school function the night when he had left for another mission. He hadn't believed her then, but she thought that he did now. It warmed her and made her want to weep at the same time.
"Maybe this is what you really meant by 'Omae o korosu'," she whispered into the emptiness.
//She can't remember a time when she felt needed
If love was red then she was colorblind
All her friends they've been tried for treason
And crimes that were never defined
She's saying, "Love is like a barren place
And reaching out for human faith is
Is like a journey I just don't have a map for."//
Relena stood looking out of the window, watching the landing strip lights leading the shuttle. It was just another trip, another speech -- another group of people who didn't even understand the concept of peace.
"Heero understood," she whispered to the blackness of space. "Heero always understood."
Sighing, she undid her seatbelt, trying to keep her thoughts from digressing to the Japanese boy once again. The Wing pilot had disappeared after the war had ended, but a few months later had begun sending her emails regularly, asking if she was all right, telling her in turn that he was well. Each time, she would invite him to meet her at her next destination.
Each time, he declined.
//So baby's gonna take a dive and
Push the shift to overdrive
Send a signal that she's hanging
All her hopes on the stars
What a pleasant dream//
"Heero..." she said firmly, knowing that he could hear her over the comm; knowing he would understand that she wasn't asking for him to spare her, but to fight for peace like he had so many times before. His face on the screen was determined and she knew that he would do what was needed to protect what they had both worked so hard for and to keep it from being destroyed. She'd never doubted that he would.
Heero was always there for peace when it needed him the most.
The pilot's fierce beliefs gave her strength in times when she didn't think she could go on. Even though she hadn't seen him in over a year now, she still knew that he would give his life if necessary to end the war. She watched as Wing fired, the beam hitting them one last time, barriers disintegrating at the impact. As the screen went black, the last image was of the Gundam falling to the ground. Relena did the only thing she could as she was suddenly knocked out of harm's way by a familiar female figure.
She prayed Heero would survive -- if not for her, then for peace.
//She's saying, "I would fly to the moon and back if you'll be
If you'll be my baby
Got a ticket for a world where we belong
So would you be my baby?"//
"So, the position is yours if you would want to take over my security team. I would make sure you would have anything you needed -- the latest technology, the best men that can be trained, and complete control as my security chief. What do you think?"
"Relena... I just... can't."
Relena looked at the boy lying in the hospital bed and sighed. She'd told herself that this would be the last time. She'd make the offer, and if he refused, she would let him go. It was the perfect opportunity for him to be able to be with her if he was interested at all. She turned towards the door as she heard it open.
"Hey, Heero. Good to see you're finally awake, buddy."
Relena looked at the other boy standing there and saw something she recognized immediately in the violet eyes regarding the Wing pilot. As her eyes went back to the figure in the bed, she saw an answering need in dark blue. Inside, she was screaming, desperately clinging to the dream she'd created as she watched it slipping away. Outside, she smiled warmly at the other pilot before turning back at Heero.
"I understand," she said softly as she leaned over and placed a tender kiss on the Japanese boy's cheek. "Goodbye, Heero... and be happy."
//Hold on... 5... 4... hold on... 3... 2... 1//
Relena placed her hand over Heero's as he sat in the emergency room. "It's going to be all right, Heero."
"I never even told him how I felt," the Japanese boy said, his voice broken. "I thought I had time. We've been partners for three years now, and I never told him that I love him, and now it may be too late."
Relena felt her heart clench in her chest but she pushed it aside. "It won't be. You have to believe that, Heero. Duo is strong, and even though you've never told him, I think he knows, and he will fight to stay with you."
Heero looked at her with grief-filled blue eyes. "Do you really think so?"
Relena nodded, brushing the hair away from his forehead in a soothing motion.
"Family for Maxwell?" came the voice of the doctor.
Relena squeezed Heero's hand before letting go as he stood and walked over to find out how his partner was doing. She listened as the man told Heero that Duo had made it through the operation and that he was in stable condition. The bullet had missed all of the American's vital organs. When Heero walked back over to her, embracing her while he tried to hold back tears of joy, Relena let hers fall freely. That was one thing she could do for him without regret.
She could cry for him.
//"Mamma never loved her much."
And "Daddy never keeps in touch.
That's why she shies away from human affection."
But somewhere in a private place
She packs her bags for outer space//
Relena closed the suitcase, sighing heavily. She looked out the window at the falling snow. It was only three days until Christmas and she was going on another space itinerary. Sometimes she thought she was becoming a workaholic. Of course, being the Vice-Foreign Minister wasn't something she could put aside when she felt like it. It was a serious position that required her to ignore her personal feelings sometimes, placing her own wants and desires as secondary for the good of the cause. The past six years had been difficult at times, but she was satisfied with what she had been able to accomplish. Only when she lay in her lonely bed at night did she wonder if she was using her job as an excuse for living in the past.
"The car is ready, Miss Relena," Pargan announced from the doorway.
Relena nodded, gazing back at the snow once more before turning to go. She paused at the little table in the entry hall when she saw a package sitting there addressed to her. She recognized the writing on it and opened the brown-paper-wrapped box quickly. Inside she found two teddy bears; one was dark brown, the other a rich tan. They were both wearing matching snow hats and gloves with little boxes of chocolates shaped like Christmas trees. She found the card nestled between them and pulled it out to read it.
"Rel,
Hope this holiday season finds you taking time to enjoy being with your loved ones instead of working all the time. We'll be going to Quatre and Trowa's this year, so if you get a chance, please stop by for a while to visit. We haven't seen you in a long time, and Heero especially would like to spend time with you if you can make it. Take care... and enjoy the chocolate!
Love,
Duo and Heero
P.S. Heero picked the bears out to send because he said that if you couldn't be with us, we could at least be there with you in spirit through them. Merry Christmas, Sweetheart. We love you."
Relena smiled a real smile for the first time in months in spite of the tears in her eyes.
//And now she's waiting for the right kind of pilot to come
And she'll say to him,
"I would fly to the moon and back if you'll be
If you'll be my baby
Got a ticket for a world where we belong
So would you be my baby?//
"Surprise!" came the loud cheer as Relena flicked on the light. She laughed in delight as she realized all of her friends were gathered to celebrate her special day. She had been so tired from the conference, but just seeing such warm familiar faces brightened her mood immediately.
"Happy birthday, Rel," Duo said as he hugged her tightly.
Relena returned the embrace with equal force. The braided man had become one of her closest friends over the years, giving her comfort, protecting her in times of need, and even sharing his lover's time with her when she needed the Japanese man's friendship and presence.
Relena pulled away to see Heero step forward, enveloping her in his arms. "Happy thirty-one, Lena."
She let herself enjoy the contact, burying her face in his shoulder, breathing in his unique scent. Even though she was a long way from fifteen now, she felt her heart ache a little when he let her go. Her arms fell away from him, but she smiled, letting him know that she appreciated him being there.
"Cake!" Duo called to everyone, and Relena laughed. He was still just as exuberant as he'd always been, the years of peace only seeming to make him more alive. She looked over at Heero to see him shaking his head at his partner. She could see the love on his face for the other man, and she knew Duo had been good for Heero, giving him what he had always needed.
Heero no longer looked like he was lost.
"Shall we, Miss Peacecraft?"
Relena smiled at him as he reached out and took her hand. She brought roughened knuckles up to her lips and kissed them lovingly. "To the moon, Mr. Yuy."
His blue eyes filled with understanding and deep emotion as he returned the gesture, bringing her delicate hand up to his mouth to brush soft lips against her skin. "I will always be your pilot for that."
Relena closed her eyes for a moment and felt her heart take flight at those words.
//"I would fly to the moon and back if you'll be
If you'll be my baby
Got a ticket for a world where we belong
So would you be my baby?" Yeah//
She would worry about getting back to Earth on her own tomorrow.
The End
(:./tk/moonsong)
