Ten Things
Chapter 1 – The Way You Talk To Me
By: Eternal Rose
The shuttle speeded swiftly towards its destination, rapidly descending through the clouds towards planet Earth. Its destination was the Sanq Kingdom. Most of the people on board the plane were happily chatting about their plans for vacations or work while in the Sanq Kingdom. However, there were a few notable exceptions…
"C'mon man, you know you wanna tell her! You know you do!" Said a man with a long braid running down his back. "I see it every time you're around her. And I'll tell you what, buddy – I'm not the only one. You're head over heels for her!"
"I'm afraid that I must agree with the baka." An Asian man across the aisle from the first remarked.
"Ah yes, justice in the world at last!" The braided man cried cheerfully. "I am the champion!"
"No." The second man replied. "I'm merely agreeing with you in this instance. You lack the requisite honor to be a champion."
"Hey!" The first said, offended. "You're questioning my honor? Listen, Wu-man, I may run. I may hide. But I Never tell a lie. Honesty is *the* requirement for honor. After all, don't all those officials at ESUN have to make that stupid speech… You know the one, "On my honor, I will try – "
"Actually, I think the Galaxy Scouts are the ones who recite that speech." Recalled a blond seated in front of the Asian man, also on the aisle. "They say it when they join the group, and then every time they move up a level."
"How do you know that?" Asked the braided one. "I could be right about this. In fact, I definitely think I could be right. Isn't it possible that you could be wrong?"
"Duo," said a man with large bangs, seated next to the Asian man, "Quatre has 29 sisters. If anyone knows the Galaxy Scout Promise, it'd be him."
"Trowa's right, Duo." Quatre replied with a laugh. "I could probably recite the entire thing from memory at this point. I must say, it really isn't all that difficult to recall. The ESUN has an equally idealistic view of itself, at least in its oath of office. In a lot of ways, that makes me really happy."
"Why?" Duo queried. "I mean, its not like they actually care through on any of their promises. Sometimes I really think they just do that oath of office thing as an excuse to get some good press, a moment in the spotlight, and a chance to hear themselves talk for a ridiculously long amount of time."
Wufei ("Wu-man") looked as though he were tempted to agree, but restrained himself in light of the fact that doing so would give Duo two points in one shuttle ride. He wisely chose to remain silent… It was a proven fact that Duo would never shut up if you gave him the chance to be right. Instead, it was the previously silent man seated next to Duo who spoke.
"You really aren't one to talk." The man stated evenly. His Prussian blue eyes flashed with the tiniest hint of amusement. Quatre laughed openly, and Wufei and Trowa each smirked slightly. Slightly flustered, Duo returned his attention to the man he had earlier been teasing. After all, one good jest just begs for another.
"Neither are you." Duo said. "I think that's the first time you've spoken so far this entire trip. Were you planning on just sitting there or something? Tell me, has the view from that window been very interesting? I can't say where your head's moved away from it even for a second."
"Duo." The word had a dangerous calm surrounding it, accompanied by an equally dangerous glance. Characteristically, Duo ignored both and resumed speaking in a loud, rapid voice.
"It's all right, Heero. Don't worry – we won't tell Relena that you were so busy thinking about her you wouldn't even talk to us. After all, I'm sure she wouldn't be interested in a little detail like that. Not like she cares for you or anything. It's not like the rest of us didn't want the pleasure of your usually riveting conversations, but hey – don't listen to me man, I'm – "
Two words. Gun. Silence.
"Well," Quatre said, breaking the quiet that had stretched so long it threatened all of their sanity. Heero slowly lowered his gun and turned to face Quatre. "It certainly was very kind of Miss Relena to invite us to visit her. We really haven't seen enough of her since –"
"Since the incident?" Trowa filled in when Quatre broke off. The incident had occurred several months ago. It was something that none of them ever dared to speak about – ever. Especially not while in the presence of either Heero or Duo. The tension created by even the vaguest reference to it was beyond compare.
"You guys, look. If we're going to be spending time with Miss Relena, this is bound to come up at some point." Quatre finally continued. Heero and the now sober faced Duo remained silent. "I really think it would help if we all just sat down together and talked about what went on that day."
"Sure, whatever you say, Quatre." Duo said quietly. Then his cheerful nature seemed to snap magically back into place, and he practically bounced as he smiled at them all. "Looks like we're beginning our final descent! Watch out, Sanq Kingdom – the God of Death returns at last!"
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The lovely pink limousine rolled to a graceful halt in front of an elegant white manor. Apparently being former Queen of the World had some perks, a beautiful estate among them. The doors of the car opened and the five pilots stood quickly. As if on cue, the front door of the manor exploded open towards them.
"Hello!" Relena called cheerfully. "How are all of you? Oh, it is so very good to have you all here again."
"Yep, you know you love us." Duo replied. He picked Relena up and swung her in a little circle. "How are you doing? Is partically ruling the planet all that its cracked up to be?"
"You never change, Duo." She said, giving him a quick hug. Quatre came forward then to embrace her, Relena speaking as he did so. "Quatre! How are you? How is everyone in your family? Your sisters?"
"Wonderful, Miss Relena." He replied joyously. "Thank you so very much for inviting us to join you. This place is beautiful. Earth is always beautiful in the springtime, but especially so in Sanq Kingdom. How are you?"
"I'm doing well, thank you." Relena laughed softly. "And how many times must I tell you that simply calling me Relena would be fine? Really, I would prefer it if you would speak more informally. Wufei, Trowa! It's good to see you again as well."
She turned slightly after greeting these last two, having released Quatre. Relena suddenly found herself face to face with the ever elusive Heero. Her face lit up like a child on Christmas morning as she moved quickly towards him, stopping just shy of his actual location.
"Heero…" She said softly. A quiet smile filled her face. Heero slowly raised his face so that his eyes were staring deeply into hers. His unfathomable Prussian blue eyes gazed into her crystallic pools of light, simply observing her in this manner for several moments. It seemed to the others that thousands of words were exchanged, without either one of them ever saying anything. Then, quickly, Heero looked away.
"Relena." He acknowledged her verbally with a single, calm word. To excuse himself from her company, Heero moved swiftly to the trunk of the car and began to help Pagan gather the bags that he and the others had brought with them. Anything to avoid the thoughts that came to him when he was looking at her.
Having grown accustomed to such behavior from Heero, Relena turned once more to her other four visitors. The months they had spent away from her had done them all some good, she felt. Avoiding any interaction that would have forced them to talk about the incident had, she decided, in some ways strengthened their relationships. It was a pleasure to be around them once more after so long a drought from their company.
"So," Relena began, "I hope you're all ready to have a good time. I have planned some rather enjoyable outings for all of us, if none of you wish to object. Naturally, you may each do whatever you prefer to do – it is, after all, your vacation time. However, I would appreciate it if we all spent some time together."
"Of course we will Relena!" Duo replied. He couldn't help but notice the way she glanced nervously towards Heero as she had spoken. Duo, for his part, couldn't believe her reaction to Heero's continued resistance to speaking to her. She was taking it rather well, he felt. Silently, he began to plan ways to get the two of them together… alone – so that they would be forced to speak. Naturally, he said none of this, merely began to smile cheerfully and joke with all of them.
Whether or not the trip would go well hadn't been decided yet, but all of them seemed to tacitly agree. This trip may be fun, but sooner or later, they would have to discuss the incident. Universally, they didn't want to, but recognized the necessity that would soon overwhelm them.
However, for the moment, each pilot was glad simply to move into his room in Relena's estate and peacefully unpack.
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End Chapter 1
Author's Notes:
OK, so this is definitely a departure for me from my usual style of writing. I'm not sure how this is gonna work out, so you all are going to need to be patient with me and here me out. *lol* I've never actually written a purely GW story yet, so we'll have to see, too.
Announcing a competition! Just because I want to keep myself amused, I've decided to offer the person who earns the most points in this competition either a story dedication or a write in. Points can be gained in the following ways: Reviewing – 1 Review = 2 points and Answering my Random Question of the Day / Story.
The Random Question for Ten Things is – What was the inspiration for this story? I'll give you all a hint – the chapter titles, and the title itself, are very significant.
The Random Question of the Day is – In what anime will you find the Universe of the Four Gods? Sorry, no hints here!
That's it for now!! All my love,
~Rose