Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, and am making no money off of this fic.
AN: Written for the Cocktail Party prompt found here: gwcocktailfriday . tumblr .com (/)post/174336123962/acocktailmoment-the-heartwarmer-cocktail. (Without the spaces and parentheses.)
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A Lesson to Learn by luvsanime02
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Relena doesn't want to be here. She absolutely doesn't want to be here, listening to the whispers and condolences of everyone around her. She's the center of attention, even though this isn't her party.
She's stuck here, though, for now, so Relena might as well enjoy the lovely champagne that's present for everyone. She has no idea what they've added to the champagne, but it was definitely a stroke of genius.
Perhaps, Relena shouldn't be on her third one already, and thinking about a fourth, but she has to get through this gathering somehow. Poor Relena, she can hear them saying softly to each other. Her engagement fell through last month, and now she's all alone.
Never mind that Relena broke off the engagement because he was cheating on her. Never mind that she came home one night and found him in bed with her maid. Never mind that she tossed him out on his ass, and threw his belongings out a window, uncaring of where they landed.
No, Relena is to be pitied. Not because she was cheated on, which would at least be understandable, but because she's all alone now, and isn't that awful?
It takes sincere effort on Relena's part not to snap at any of the women who walk up to her and utter how sorry they are for her unfortunate circumstances. They tell Relena how brave she is, coming to an acquaintance's bachelorette party when her own love life is in shambles. They pat her hand and smile sympathetically, and meanwhile, Relena wants to scream.
She's not sorry. Oh, Relena wishes that she'd known beforehand what a bastard her ex-fiance clearly is. She wishes that she hadn't been so blind, so taken with his charms. She feels foolish. She doesn't regret finding out about the affair, though, and especially not before the wedding. That's the only part of this whole fiasco that's come as a relief.
At least she hadn't married him yet. At least they didn't have any children to disappoint. Relena's grateful for that much.
The other women all around her, though, can't seem to see the positive side at all. To them, Relena has lost something, not thrown it away, and according to them, it's all just such a shame that she's alone now.
Relena's been betrayed. She's been hurt deeply. They could be talking about that, but no, her single status is what's scandalous instead.
The bachelorette party is in full swing, which means that everyone's sitting around talking quietly and eating finger sandwiches and sipping champagne much more slowly than Relena is consuming hers. It's boring, it's annoying, and there's not a single stripper in sight. What a waste.
She takes the fourth glass of champagne, after all, and ignores the sad and knowing looks she receives from everyone nearby when she does. She doesn't care. Relena only has to play nice for another hour or so, and then she can leave. She can go home and paint her toenails, and drink a bottle of wine, and reassure herself that at least she's not so naive as everyone else here. At least she understands, truly, that this whole experience is something to learn from, in the long run.
Meanwhile, there's more champagne to drink and more smiles to fake, and a lot of meaningless small talk to participate in. Relena sighs, but turns to the next young woman who sits beside her and leans close, ready to offer words of wisdom and condolences, and she forces herself to focus on the moment in front of her.
She's here, she's fine. She'll be fine. Maybe if Relena keeps on repeating this to herself enough times, she'll believe it eventually. Maybe she'll feel whole again, after a while. If not, though, there's always more champagne, and with that in mind, Relena drains the flute in her hand, already reaching for another.