It's My Life
Okay, as promised, here's Lena's side of 'For Rel' and 'Get Rel'.
Adam had taken off at record speed and he cussed a bit each time the shots from Heero's firearm rang. "Your guard dog there had better not have hit my car, that's the last thing I need when selling this piece of junk," Adam joked, laughing a bit.
As Adam drove towards the Euro shuttle train, Relena had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to turn around, honestly.
"Hey," Adam nudged her shoulder, "are you okay? Or are you having second thoughts about this?" Relena knew that if she just said that she wanted to turn around Adam would and she would return to a life of hectic schedules and having to keep repeating herself to representatives all the time.
That wasn't what she wanted, she still had another year before she could officially retire and by that time she would have nothing to do. By doing this she could make a living for herself with the help of her friends and without-hopefully-interfering with their lives.
"No," she smiled, "no second thoughts whatsoever."
Grabbing hold of Relena's hand, Adam gave it a comforting squeeze. "Okay, cause I don't want to make you feel as though you feel obligated to do any of this," he assured her. "So if you want to me turn around and take you back, I will. Just give me the word."
Relena half wished that Adam hadn't said that but he wouldn't have been the Adam she knew and loved if he hadn't. It was tempting, it really was, but…Do I really want this opportunity to slip through my fingers? If I go back I'll probably never have another chance to live my life the way I feel I should, Relena thought.
Squeezing Adam's hand a bit, she smiled, "No, I don't want to go back. I want to do this more than anything else."
There was Adam's trademark grin, that one that made everything seem alright, as though there was no wrong in the world. "Good," he nodded, kissing Relena's hand. "It's good to see you again girl, we've missed you."
"We? What do you mean by 'we'?"
The question was soon answered as Adam pulled along side the curb outside the Euro shuttle station.
In the past, the Euro shuttle would only run from London to France in the morning as a one day field trip then come back in the evening. Over the last nearly two hundred years though, that has changed. The Euro shuttle now runs like any other subway-type transportation, every day from five in the morning to ten o'clock at night, sometimes later if there was a situation that called for it.
Standing outside the door was a girl who anyone could almost mistake for Relena's twin sister, if they had been related. The only difference between the girls was their dress; the other girl was shorts that went to her knees and a plaid shirt while Relena was in dress pants and blouse that she had worn to the conference she had the day before.
"Lynn!" Relena cried out in excitement as she jumped out of the car and at her friend. The girl welcomed Relena's embrace and pecked the Vice Foreign Minister on the cheek.
"Long time no see girl," smiled Lynn, taking a step back to look her friend over. "So it is true, you do dress as though your some kind of high up, yuppie business woman with a sign over her head that says, "Kidnap or assassinate me if you dare". Wow, I never thought that would have been you."
Relena took no offense to Lynn's remark only because she knew that her friend was teasing her and was making a rather true remark. Her dress, looks, and just her status made Relena a target for kidnappings and assassinations.
"Uh, why are we here?" Relena inquired as she reached inside the Chevy for her duffle bag.
Throwing Adam a glare, Lynn turned back to Relena and put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze.
"Well, genius over there calls me up about twenty minutes ago to tell me that you were running, so Sage and I had to come up with a plan," Lynn told Relena, giving her the long explanation. "You're here to go with Sage to Paris and meet up with Draca. From there you guys will be traveling to Italy after we return from dropping of the car at a dealership."
It was amazing the time it took for Relena's expression of excitement turn to one of bewilderment then to one of fear.
"Oh no," she muttered, "I can't use my identity, Heero well surely trace anything that has any variant of 'Relena Darlian-Peacecraft' on it. He could find me." At that moment that was the last thing she wanted, to be found.
"Don't worry about that Lena," Adam assured with that large grin of his. "That's why she's here," he pointed at Lynn, who stuck her tongue out in response, obviously offended at not having any other 'purpose'.
"Uh?" Relena was a bit confused at what her friends were trying to tell her, that was until Lynn handed her a shuttle ticket, pass port, and license, something Relena didn't have.
"You're taking my place with Sage on that shuttle," Lynn stated.
Immediately, Relena opened her mouth to protest but just as quickly, Lynn held up her hand to silence the Vice Foreign Minister.
"Don't worry about the ID, I have a spare. I lost that one and found again, but by the time I found it I had already bought a new one. So you get to keep that one," assured Relena's 'twin'. "Now you get to play Lynn Voc, I hope you haven't lost your acting skills."
An uncommon smirk of confidence crossed Relena Darlain-Peacecraft's features; of course, she could still act just as well as she had back in school. Every year she would try out for a role in the school play. As usual she would receive the part, though she suspected that it was because of her family, but she was still a fair actress. If she ever felt the need to, she could lie to a person's face and no one would know unless she was attached to a lie detector.
"That's what I told her," Adam agreed, glancing at his watch. "Okay Lynn, we got to run and you, Relena, have to go meet up with Sage inside and put on a great act until you get to Paris. When we meet up with you guys there we'll decide what to do from here on out."
It sounded perfect to Relena. She was getting out of London without having any identification that the preventers could trace to her or anyone associated with her.
Trading spots with Relena, Lynn was about to enter the car when she told Relena, "I left my luggage with Sage, you can wear any of my clothes that you want, if they fit you that is."
Relena smiled nervously; hers and Lynn's styles were very different, where Lynn could wear hip-huggers and shorts Relena wore dress pants and long skirts. The hip-huggers in her duffle bag were some clothes she bought in case she ever got the day off and went out with her friends, for real, which was a rarity.
"We'll see you in a couple of days Lena," Adam stated as he climbed into his car with Lynn.
"Can't wait!" Relena grinned, but there was an uncertainty in her grin that most people would not have recognized.
As the car drove away, Relena stood at the curb feeling utterly alone although she knew she had a friend waiting for her on the inside. Still, that didn't keep her from thinking that maybe this plan was not such a great idea.
Well too late now Relena, your only mode of transportation just left and you missed out on your chance to go back, she chided herself while adjusting the bag on her shoulder. Now you'll have to deal with the consequences that come your way.
Taking a deep breath, Relena went into the shuttle station and went passed security, where, on the other side, stood a tall dark man with dread locks in his hair. The moment Relena made it past security the man came running up to her and gave her a hug, one that soon turned into her being swung around in a circle.
"Put me down, Sage!" she cried out, tightening her grip around the man's neck.
He slowed to a stop and set Relena down on the ground in front of him.
Sage was identical to his brother in every way but in hair style, the only other difference between the brothers was that Sage was ten minutes older than Adam. Both brothers had that huge, dimple grin, like the one Sage was giving Relena at that moment.
"Sorry Relena, I just got carried away at the sight of you," he apologized to her, blushing a bit as he bowed his head a bit. "Wow, you look great…"
Never being one to handle compliments about her 'beauty'-something Relena did not see-she blushed and turned away. How could anyone just so easily compliment someone else's appearance and just turn them to mush?
"It's great to see you, sweetie. How long has it been, five years?" Sage inquired, taking Relena's duffle bag and handing her a roller suit case.
"Five years that we've known each other and three years since we last saw each other," corrected Relena, feeling a smile growing on her face. This was just what she needed, something to make her feel comfortable and normal again.
"Well, we have a half an hour to wait, so let's sit down and you can tell me what made you finally accept our offer to steal you away," Sage invited as he directed her to a bench to sit down and wait for the shuttle.
"Well…" Relena began her narrative to her long-time friend, the entire tale of woe, starting with her feels and reasons for not wanting to be a politician then gradually going into her thoughts of what her life lacks.
Her tale had continued even as they entered the train and found their seats.
"He what?!" Sage cried out in disbelief. By this time Relena had reached the portion of her narrative that concerned Heero and his little kiss.
"I saw him kiss this girl, passionately," Relena repeated, as much as she loathed saying those words a second time. There was just something in those words that made Relena sad and yet bitter at the same time.
A look of sympathy crossed Sage's face. "I am so sorry girl," he muttered.
For another time that very early morning, Relena felt tears start to well up in her eyes. Why do people feel the urge to stare and send condolences to someone who says something life-changing or slightly depressing? Most of the time that urging or condolences make it more depressing.
Sage must have noticed Relena's watered eyes because he leaned over to her from his seat and hugged her.
"Oh you poor girl, giving your love to some emotionless bastard who tosses it away for some other woman and leaves you to find out the hard way," Sage whispered in her ear.
"It's okay, Sage," Relena assured, pulling away a bit and leaning her head against the window. "It's not Heero's fault, I should have prepared myself for something like that. So, it's just my own folly really."
Even though he wasn't buying it, Sage could sense that his friend didn't wish to discuss the subject further so he decided to change it.
"Say," he began, clearing his throat, "do you still, by some perchance, play piano at all?"
Shifting her eyes from the window to her friend, Relena raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I can still play the piano. That's the one talent I've maintained over the years," she nodded. "May I ask why?"
Shrugging, Sage leaned forward and told her in a low voice, "Well, everyone else has learned an instrument and can play decently."
"So…?" urged Relena, interested.
"So, Adam and I were thinking that maybe we'd put together a band of some sort. We could make our own music, write our own lyrics, look up some archaic songs and play those. And, who knows, maybe we could go around and do little shows to make some money while at school," answered Sage.
Relena bit her lower lip in thought. It had been a while since she last did any improvising on a piano, much less write an entire song.
"Think about Lena, you don't have to give me an answer right away. Besides, we have time," Sage reassured her with a pat on the hand then leaned back in his seat.
Turning her attention back to the window, Relena mused, We have time, eh? Well, now we do. Now we have all the time in the world…