*The Price of Compromise*
Disclaimer: Yeah, everyone already knows I don't own these characters. Wishful thinking. The only people I own on this story are the nameless bad guys. Basically I didn't want to give them lamo names so you just don't know who they are.
It was the year After Colony 195 when their worlds came together. Things hadn't started out the best way but gradually it became better. At first glance they were from completely different worlds and could never have any understanding of the other. But now things had changed. They now had a similar goal, to maintain peace in this world. Even if they had their own ways of accomplishing that and didn't always agree in their differences, they still cared for each other in some way.
She knew it long before he did, but over the years their feelings were made clear. Since the day they met, they felt that they had some special bond. He knew he had to protect her because she was a key to peace becoming a reality. She always wanted to be closer to him, always wanting to be stronger like him. Sometimes it was the other way around and he wanted to be stronger like her and she would worry about his safety. After all they had been through, all the hard times that war brings with it, they managed to grow closer. They realized that they really did have something in common all along. It was the same goal. They had help build a world of peace and now had the chance to truly enjoy it.
**@--**
"Are you serious?" Sally asked, standing up from her chair. A silent nod was the response from across the desk. A wide smile crossed her face at the news she had just heard.
"Well have they decided on the date yet or anything else?" She inquired.
"Not that I know of yet. It just happened less then ten minutes ago." Trowa explained, standing up from the chair infront of her. Sally straightened up.
"Guess news travels fast around here." She admitted still smiling. He headed for the doorway.
"Well I've got to get back to work, just thought you'd like to know about that." He finished their conversation quickly. Sally continued to stand there thinking about this new development.
"Talk about making hasty decisions." She thought outloud, looking back down at the papers on her desk. She was following up on this recent Splinter group problem. Heero claimed that they weren't going to be a problem anymore, however they had already underestimated them. She decided to send Wufei back to the area, they had just come from, to investigate. He wasn't very happy about that but she really didn't care. By the time she finished typing up her report, he had returned. He walked in and took a seat. Duo came in shortly after him, holding the file she needed for her report.
"You back already?" He noticed Wufei sitting there.
"I didn't waste any time while I was there." He said curtly.
"So what did you find? Are they still a threat?" Sally asked, interrupting their conversation. Wufei turned his attention back to her.
"Considering that there wasn't anybody there, I'd have to say that they aren't much of anything now." He informed her. She sat back, satisfied with his answer.
"Was there anything there? Any equipment?" She asked.
"They left the computers but that might have to do with the fact that someone deleted all their information." He added, glancing back at Duo. He just shrugged and leaned forward to hand Sally her file.
"Yeah, they really don't like you now." Wufei mentioned to him.
"Oh well, I didn't think they would. But it's not like I care what they think about me." Duo remarked and left the room. Sally grinned slightly to herself. She placed her report inside the folder and stood to leave as well.
"So long as they are no longer a problem for us." She ended the meeting.
(Two months later)
Relena sat at the kitchen table in the small apartment, looking over the magazine infront of her. It was one of those bridal magazines. She casually flipped from page to page, eyeing each one. Next to the stove, Hilde was preparing them some tea. Once she was finished, she headed over to the table, a mug in each hand. She sat down next to Relena and looked along side her at the pictures. Relena stopped flipping the pages suddenly and pointed at one particular dress.
"I like that one." She declared proudly. Hilde leaned in farther and nodded her approval. She pointed to a bridesmaid dress and smiled.
"That's pretty." She pointed out and Relena smiled back. Relena had decided that since Noin and Hilde were both married, she was just going to have two matrons of honor. Her other two bridesmaids were Dorothy and Catherine. She asked Sally if she wanted to be part of the ceremony but she had declined. She knew she'd be too busy to worry about all the details anyway. But she would definitely be at the wedding.
As far as ushers and the best man, she decided to let Heero handle that part. The only competition seemed to be between Quatre and Duo for the best man position. Trowa didn't seem to care so much whether he was in it or not. He had heard enough about the excitement from Catherine. He also wasn't going to 'kiss up' to Heero for a spot in the ceremony. He didn't want to get much attention anyway. Zechs had mentioned something about wanting to be the best man, however Relena wanted him to walk her down the aisle. There wasn't anyone else she could think of anyway. Once he knew that's what she wanted he dropped the best man idea. He seemed happy to have the responsibility. They had had a strange relationship and weren't very close. Noin told her later that he did appreciate it. The two girls continued to laugh and talk cheerfully as they perused the rest of the magazine. The front door opened, causing them to peer out into the living room.
"Well you do remember he did try to shoot you when you first met. Twice." Quatre was telling Heero as they walked in. Duo shut the door behind him and rolled his eyes.
"Oh sure bring that up. If you're gonna go that far then I guess it's safe to say you tried to kill him with Wing Zero." He mentioned. Heero looked irritated by the conversation. Relena couldn't help but smile at the glance he shot her way.
"Are you two still at it?" Hilde asked as they headed into the kitchen. Duo bent over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he looked over at Quatre.
"He started it." He remarked.
"I'm just concerned about what's best here. I mean Duo could lose the ring or something bad like that." Quatre defended himself. Duo glared in his direction.
"Yah know, Wing Zero's more threatening than one guy with a gun." He brought back the conversation from before.
"Grrr." Heero finally let everyone know he was getting tired of this. They all looked at him, waiting for some kind of explanation.
"And I tried to kill both of you as well as Relena at one point, so everyone here is even. Find another topic." He decided, heading over to sit next to Relena.
"Well actually we're not all even, I never tried to kill anyone." Hilde reminded them. Duo let out a laugh and tried desperately to contain it. She looked over at him.
"Hey I didn't say anything, did I?" He smiled even more.
There was a brief moment of silence, which Relena quickly broke.
"Heero? What do you think of this dress?" She asked showing him the page from before. He looked it over and nodded.
"I'm not sure why you want my opinion on it though. Anything you wear is okay." He told her. He didn't really mean it in as a compliment but didn't bother to explain, considering it seemed to make her smile. He was trying that alot lately; trying to determine what made her happy.
"That's so sweet." She leaned against his shoulder, still holding the magazine. He just closed his eyes and didn't say anything back. Suddenly the phone rang and Hilde got up to answer it. She wasn't on long. She turned to Heero and Relena.
"That was something about your invitations? They're apparently done so you can go pick them up." She informed them.
"I guess I can go pick them up." Relena offered, closing her magazine and placing it
on the table. Before she even took a step towards the door, Heero stopped her.
"We can go get them. It's okay." He decided, implying the other two former Gundam pilots also in the room.
"Are you sure? You just got back." She reminded him. He shook his head.
"I've got some other places to go anyway, so it's not a problem." He explained, heading for the door. The other two followed.
"Guess we'll see you around dinner." Duo mentioned. The two girls heard the front door close and went back to what they were doing before.
"So have the both of you decided where you're going for your honeymoon?" Hilde asked, holding her mug with both hands. Relena shook her head, causing her hair to fall over her shoulders.
"He won't tell me where we're going. I guess he wants it to be a surprise." She replied. Hilde shrugged and smiled back.
"Nothing wrong with surprises I guess. So long as it's not somewhere boring. But I'm sure he'll take you somewhere nice. Away from work." She sat back in her chair.
"Oh, it'd better be far away from work." Relena answered, placing her elbows on the table. There was the sound at the front door that caught both of their attention. Hilde stood up first, poking her head out the kitchen door.
"There's no way they're back already." She mentioned. A sudden slamming at the door caused Hilde to jump. It was followed by another one. Hilde's eyes grew wider. Relena leaned forward in her chair.
"What's going on?" She asked, trying to get Hilde's attention. Hilde finally turned to her and she realized how worried Hilde looked. The door was thrown off its hinges and several men came into the living room, all of them armed. Hilde ran back into the kitchen.
"We have to get out of here." She said a little above a whisper to Relena. They decided to hide under the table. They could hear the men going upstairs. Hilde was trying to figure where the closest gun would be available. Hers was upstairs though, in her nightstand. She looked out to see if the coast was clear for them to get out the front door. Suddenly she was pulled up.
"Found her!" The soldier yelled. She tried to pull away but couldn't. Relena let out a small gasp when she realized what happened. She quickly covered her mouth, hoping she wasn't heard. More soldiers came downstairs, loudly. The soldier who caught Hilde, grinned maliciously.
"We said we wouldn't leave you alone." He mentioned. She realized this was the Splinter Group from before. The same one who had stolen files from the Preventers on Wing Zero and who had taken Heero when they didn't have the information on the Zero system. Why hadn't the Preventer's done a better job tying up this loose end? They had been so wrong about this group. She tried to kick at the soldier but he just tightened his grip around her arms. She knocked over a light as she desperately fought against him. She stopped when someone else came into the room. An older man, that she didn't recognize came in, his expression stern.
"Well done. I'm getting tired of having to deal with the former Gundam Pilots so this seems the only way to get what I want." He said to the soldier. Hilde felt something hit the back of her head. She didn't have time to react. The soldier let her fall to the floor. He looked back toward the kitchen.
"Oh and one more thing." He said to the older man, causing him to turn back. Relena remained where she was, quietly. She held her breath and stayed as still as possible. There was no sound of anyone coming her way. The silence continued for what seemed like several minutes. She started to become on edge. Suddenly she heard them coming closer to her. Their black boots appeared next to the table. She gripped harder on her skirt. The soldier finally bent down and pulled her out from under the table. She grabbed onto the table causing the cups on it to spill over and the magazine to slide off. She made him angry and he roughly took hold of her. He forced her out into the living room, where everyone else was.
"Well isn't this an added bonus." The older man observed, a grim smile spread across his face. "This will definitely end in a most interesting way now won't it?" The soldier was about to hit her as well but the older man shot him such a look that stopped him.
"Now, now. That's no way to treat the Vice Foreign Minister of the Sanq Kingdom. She's a very influential person." He explained. Relena stopped struggling against the soldier when she heard that.
"He's not going to stand for this. You do understand that." She said boldly. The older man just smiled even more. "That will make things all the more interesting. I know exactly how he'll react. We have a history afterall." He explained, causing her to stare at him in shock. He turned away from her.
"We better get going. Wouldn't want any unexpected visitors to show up while we're still here." He told the others. One soldier picked Hilde up and they left the house. The older man placed a note on the kitchen table.
Disclaimer: Yeah, everyone already knows I don't own these characters. Wishful thinking. The only people I own on this story are the nameless bad guys. Basically I didn't want to give them lamo names so you just don't know who they are.
It was the year After Colony 195 when their worlds came together. Things hadn't started out the best way but gradually it became better. At first glance they were from completely different worlds and could never have any understanding of the other. But now things had changed. They now had a similar goal, to maintain peace in this world. Even if they had their own ways of accomplishing that and didn't always agree in their differences, they still cared for each other in some way.
She knew it long before he did, but over the years their feelings were made clear. Since the day they met, they felt that they had some special bond. He knew he had to protect her because she was a key to peace becoming a reality. She always wanted to be closer to him, always wanting to be stronger like him. Sometimes it was the other way around and he wanted to be stronger like her and she would worry about his safety. After all they had been through, all the hard times that war brings with it, they managed to grow closer. They realized that they really did have something in common all along. It was the same goal. They had help build a world of peace and now had the chance to truly enjoy it.
**@--**
"Are you serious?" Sally asked, standing up from her chair. A silent nod was the response from across the desk. A wide smile crossed her face at the news she had just heard.
"Well have they decided on the date yet or anything else?" She inquired.
"Not that I know of yet. It just happened less then ten minutes ago." Trowa explained, standing up from the chair infront of her. Sally straightened up.
"Guess news travels fast around here." She admitted still smiling. He headed for the doorway.
"Well I've got to get back to work, just thought you'd like to know about that." He finished their conversation quickly. Sally continued to stand there thinking about this new development.
"Talk about making hasty decisions." She thought outloud, looking back down at the papers on her desk. She was following up on this recent Splinter group problem. Heero claimed that they weren't going to be a problem anymore, however they had already underestimated them. She decided to send Wufei back to the area, they had just come from, to investigate. He wasn't very happy about that but she really didn't care. By the time she finished typing up her report, he had returned. He walked in and took a seat. Duo came in shortly after him, holding the file she needed for her report.
"You back already?" He noticed Wufei sitting there.
"I didn't waste any time while I was there." He said curtly.
"So what did you find? Are they still a threat?" Sally asked, interrupting their conversation. Wufei turned his attention back to her.
"Considering that there wasn't anybody there, I'd have to say that they aren't much of anything now." He informed her. She sat back, satisfied with his answer.
"Was there anything there? Any equipment?" She asked.
"They left the computers but that might have to do with the fact that someone deleted all their information." He added, glancing back at Duo. He just shrugged and leaned forward to hand Sally her file.
"Yeah, they really don't like you now." Wufei mentioned to him.
"Oh well, I didn't think they would. But it's not like I care what they think about me." Duo remarked and left the room. Sally grinned slightly to herself. She placed her report inside the folder and stood to leave as well.
"So long as they are no longer a problem for us." She ended the meeting.
(Two months later)
Relena sat at the kitchen table in the small apartment, looking over the magazine infront of her. It was one of those bridal magazines. She casually flipped from page to page, eyeing each one. Next to the stove, Hilde was preparing them some tea. Once she was finished, she headed over to the table, a mug in each hand. She sat down next to Relena and looked along side her at the pictures. Relena stopped flipping the pages suddenly and pointed at one particular dress.
"I like that one." She declared proudly. Hilde leaned in farther and nodded her approval. She pointed to a bridesmaid dress and smiled.
"That's pretty." She pointed out and Relena smiled back. Relena had decided that since Noin and Hilde were both married, she was just going to have two matrons of honor. Her other two bridesmaids were Dorothy and Catherine. She asked Sally if she wanted to be part of the ceremony but she had declined. She knew she'd be too busy to worry about all the details anyway. But she would definitely be at the wedding.
As far as ushers and the best man, she decided to let Heero handle that part. The only competition seemed to be between Quatre and Duo for the best man position. Trowa didn't seem to care so much whether he was in it or not. He had heard enough about the excitement from Catherine. He also wasn't going to 'kiss up' to Heero for a spot in the ceremony. He didn't want to get much attention anyway. Zechs had mentioned something about wanting to be the best man, however Relena wanted him to walk her down the aisle. There wasn't anyone else she could think of anyway. Once he knew that's what she wanted he dropped the best man idea. He seemed happy to have the responsibility. They had had a strange relationship and weren't very close. Noin told her later that he did appreciate it. The two girls continued to laugh and talk cheerfully as they perused the rest of the magazine. The front door opened, causing them to peer out into the living room.
"Well you do remember he did try to shoot you when you first met. Twice." Quatre was telling Heero as they walked in. Duo shut the door behind him and rolled his eyes.
"Oh sure bring that up. If you're gonna go that far then I guess it's safe to say you tried to kill him with Wing Zero." He mentioned. Heero looked irritated by the conversation. Relena couldn't help but smile at the glance he shot her way.
"Are you two still at it?" Hilde asked as they headed into the kitchen. Duo bent over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he looked over at Quatre.
"He started it." He remarked.
"I'm just concerned about what's best here. I mean Duo could lose the ring or something bad like that." Quatre defended himself. Duo glared in his direction.
"Yah know, Wing Zero's more threatening than one guy with a gun." He brought back the conversation from before.
"Grrr." Heero finally let everyone know he was getting tired of this. They all looked at him, waiting for some kind of explanation.
"And I tried to kill both of you as well as Relena at one point, so everyone here is even. Find another topic." He decided, heading over to sit next to Relena.
"Well actually we're not all even, I never tried to kill anyone." Hilde reminded them. Duo let out a laugh and tried desperately to contain it. She looked over at him.
"Hey I didn't say anything, did I?" He smiled even more.
There was a brief moment of silence, which Relena quickly broke.
"Heero? What do you think of this dress?" She asked showing him the page from before. He looked it over and nodded.
"I'm not sure why you want my opinion on it though. Anything you wear is okay." He told her. He didn't really mean it in as a compliment but didn't bother to explain, considering it seemed to make her smile. He was trying that alot lately; trying to determine what made her happy.
"That's so sweet." She leaned against his shoulder, still holding the magazine. He just closed his eyes and didn't say anything back. Suddenly the phone rang and Hilde got up to answer it. She wasn't on long. She turned to Heero and Relena.
"That was something about your invitations? They're apparently done so you can go pick them up." She informed them.
"I guess I can go pick them up." Relena offered, closing her magazine and placing it
on the table. Before she even took a step towards the door, Heero stopped her.
"We can go get them. It's okay." He decided, implying the other two former Gundam pilots also in the room.
"Are you sure? You just got back." She reminded him. He shook his head.
"I've got some other places to go anyway, so it's not a problem." He explained, heading for the door. The other two followed.
"Guess we'll see you around dinner." Duo mentioned. The two girls heard the front door close and went back to what they were doing before.
"So have the both of you decided where you're going for your honeymoon?" Hilde asked, holding her mug with both hands. Relena shook her head, causing her hair to fall over her shoulders.
"He won't tell me where we're going. I guess he wants it to be a surprise." She replied. Hilde shrugged and smiled back.
"Nothing wrong with surprises I guess. So long as it's not somewhere boring. But I'm sure he'll take you somewhere nice. Away from work." She sat back in her chair.
"Oh, it'd better be far away from work." Relena answered, placing her elbows on the table. There was the sound at the front door that caught both of their attention. Hilde stood up first, poking her head out the kitchen door.
"There's no way they're back already." She mentioned. A sudden slamming at the door caused Hilde to jump. It was followed by another one. Hilde's eyes grew wider. Relena leaned forward in her chair.
"What's going on?" She asked, trying to get Hilde's attention. Hilde finally turned to her and she realized how worried Hilde looked. The door was thrown off its hinges and several men came into the living room, all of them armed. Hilde ran back into the kitchen.
"We have to get out of here." She said a little above a whisper to Relena. They decided to hide under the table. They could hear the men going upstairs. Hilde was trying to figure where the closest gun would be available. Hers was upstairs though, in her nightstand. She looked out to see if the coast was clear for them to get out the front door. Suddenly she was pulled up.
"Found her!" The soldier yelled. She tried to pull away but couldn't. Relena let out a small gasp when she realized what happened. She quickly covered her mouth, hoping she wasn't heard. More soldiers came downstairs, loudly. The soldier who caught Hilde, grinned maliciously.
"We said we wouldn't leave you alone." He mentioned. She realized this was the Splinter Group from before. The same one who had stolen files from the Preventers on Wing Zero and who had taken Heero when they didn't have the information on the Zero system. Why hadn't the Preventer's done a better job tying up this loose end? They had been so wrong about this group. She tried to kick at the soldier but he just tightened his grip around her arms. She knocked over a light as she desperately fought against him. She stopped when someone else came into the room. An older man, that she didn't recognize came in, his expression stern.
"Well done. I'm getting tired of having to deal with the former Gundam Pilots so this seems the only way to get what I want." He said to the soldier. Hilde felt something hit the back of her head. She didn't have time to react. The soldier let her fall to the floor. He looked back toward the kitchen.
"Oh and one more thing." He said to the older man, causing him to turn back. Relena remained where she was, quietly. She held her breath and stayed as still as possible. There was no sound of anyone coming her way. The silence continued for what seemed like several minutes. She started to become on edge. Suddenly she heard them coming closer to her. Their black boots appeared next to the table. She gripped harder on her skirt. The soldier finally bent down and pulled her out from under the table. She grabbed onto the table causing the cups on it to spill over and the magazine to slide off. She made him angry and he roughly took hold of her. He forced her out into the living room, where everyone else was.
"Well isn't this an added bonus." The older man observed, a grim smile spread across his face. "This will definitely end in a most interesting way now won't it?" The soldier was about to hit her as well but the older man shot him such a look that stopped him.
"Now, now. That's no way to treat the Vice Foreign Minister of the Sanq Kingdom. She's a very influential person." He explained. Relena stopped struggling against the soldier when she heard that.
"He's not going to stand for this. You do understand that." She said boldly. The older man just smiled even more. "That will make things all the more interesting. I know exactly how he'll react. We have a history afterall." He explained, causing her to stare at him in shock. He turned away from her.
"We better get going. Wouldn't want any unexpected visitors to show up while we're still here." He told the others. One soldier picked Hilde up and they left the house. The older man placed a note on the kitchen table.
