Disclaimer: Standard. You know.
Author's Notes: Thanks for your continued support. I'm glad you like the story!
****
Some Kind of Wonderful
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"And it's one, two, three...what are we fighting for? Don't ask me; I don't give a damn. Next stop is Vietnam. Five, six, seven, open up the Pearly Gates...there ain't no time to wonder why. Whoopie! We're all gonna die." -Country Joe and the Fish
****
January 3, 1966
"Relena..." Millardo rapped gently on his sister's door. "Relena, are you up?"
Her voice was dull, but came through clearly. "Yes. Why?"
"Um...you have a visitor."
"I don't feel like seeing anyone, Millardo."
The visitor in question cleared his throat. "Hey...it's me, princess."
After a pause, Relena replied, "Come in, Duo."
He let himself into Relena's room, giving Millardo a weak smile. Relena sat across the room on her bay window seat, arms curled around an oversized throw pillow, staring through the lace curtains. "Can you close the door?"
Duo did as she asked. An awkward moment slipped by before he started to speak. "Princess, I gotta tell you something."
"All right."
He blinked. She was too calm, too subdued. It was almost frightening. Taking a breath, he continued. "This morning, princess...Heero...he left this morning."
"I know." Relena parted the lace with her hand. "I watched you pick him up from his house."
Duo shook his head, to straighten out the new information. "You didn't come down...to say goodbye?"
"I didn't think he wanted me to. Leaving in the middle of the night and all." She finally turned her head to look at him. "He didn't even glance over here, Duo. I watched until I couldn't see your car anymore...and he never once looked back."
"Princess...I'm sorry."
Relena leaned back against the floral print wallpaper. "It's all right. He did what he had to do." She wiped her eyes. "I'm so tired of crying, Duo."
"Yeah..." Duo sat on the edge of her bed. "I know the feeling."
"Life goes on. Or something like that."
He nodded. "Sure."
"Duo...why didn't you apply to college?"
The leap in subject was great, but it was a question he had asked himself many times. His shoulders lifted. "I didn't think I'd get in."
"If you don't mind me saying so, I think you sold yourself short." Relena gave him a weak smile. "It's not too late you know."
"Thanks, princess." Duo scratched the back of his head. "I guess I could go down to that fancy college of yours and at least dig around for some information."
She stood up and moved to sit down next to him. "Good. And I'll help as much as I can."
Duo took her hand. "I'd say Heero doesn't know what he left behind...but he does. Princess...you gotta know that the last thing Heero wanted was to hurt..."
Relena cut him off. "It's all right, Duo. Can we just...not talk about it anymore? Please?"
"Yeah." He stood up. "Get ready to go out. I bet you haven't been sledding since...um...last Christmas."
She smiled, and this time, it was genuine. "Sounds fabulous."
Duo stood up and started for the door. "I'll see you downstairs."
"Duo!" Relena walked back to him and pressed a kiss against his cheek. "Thank you."
He winked for the first time in months. "Anytime, princess."
****
Okinawa
January 30, 1966
"Welcome to Japan, boys!"
With his duffel bag slung over his back and army-green hat pulled down low on his forehead, Heero walked down the platform from the Navy carrier ship that had taken him and his platoon across the Pacific Ocean. He stepped onto the American base, but it was really on Japanese land that he now trod. His father's father had been Japanese, he had even been held in an American concentration camp during World War II.
Save for the minimal amount of the language he had picked up before his grandfather died, he was far more American than Japanese. But after several weeks at sea, Okinawa was the closest thing to home that Heero was going to find for a very long time.
Wufei was several steps ahead of him. "Hurry up, Yuy."
Ignoring his friend, Heero continued at his own pace. The feeling of solid ground beneath his feet was a luxury he would never again take for granted. Besides, he had no reason to hurry. They would get two days of rest in Okinawa before the huge choppers would carry them across the Sea of Japan and deposit them into the middle of a raging war zone.
"I need to find a place to mail a letter," he told Wufei when he finally caught up to the other soldier.
"It's going to cost a lot to get something to America." Wufei folded his arms. "It's for Relena?" Heero's lack of response indicated that it was. "Why didn't you just give it to her before you left?"
"I don't know," Heero replied, shortly. "But I need to get it to her."
Wufei glanced around. "Well, I guess you could mail it through the base, but they'll read it to check for security leaks, you realize."
"Then I'll send it by Japanese mail." Heero stopped the first non-Army personnel who passed by them. "Sumimasen. Posuto wa doko desu ka?" The Japanese man, clearly intimidated by Heero's uniform, pointed further down the street they were walking along. "Arigatou."
Wufei lifted an eyebrow. "Wonderful. Now you can keep up contact with Relena. Happy day."
"I wouldn't call it keeping in contact." Heero started walking towards the post office. "It's just something that has to be done."
****
North Carolina State University
"So...are you planning on going to class today at all?"
Relena rolled over on her bed and gave her roommate a withering look. "Why do you ask, Dorothy?"
The other girl tossed a long strand of bleach-blonde hair over her shoulder and pursed her lips. "I merely ask because it's threatening to snow and I can't find my umbrella. I was hoping if you were going to be lazy and not go out, that I might be able to..."
"Take it." Relena gestured to her closet. "I don't need an umbrella today. Just a hot pad."
Dorothy shook her head as she reached through Relena's clothes. "Please don't turn into one of those insane women who lie around for five days every month, whining about cramps."
Relena let the comment slide. She was so relieved to have her period at all, she had little motivation to argue with her roommate because of it. "Have a nice day, Dorothy."
With an extreme flounce of her hair, Dorothy left the room with Relena's umbrella. Once she was gone, Relena quickly sat up. She shouldn't be skipping Western Civ class, she told herself. But it was necessary. The SDS had a meeting scheduled during the lecture period that she was determined to attend. For Heero.
In lieu of an umbrella, she pulled the lined hood of her winter coat over her head when she set out from her dorm. It only took a few minutes to cross the wintery campus to the philosophy building where the meeting was being held.
There were several dozen people already there when she entered the hall. Removing her mittens, Relena took a seat towards the back. After only a minute, Quatre Winner walked to the podium at the front of the room.
"All right, everyone. We'll go ahead and get started." He smiled at his audience. "I'm Quatre, the president of this chapter of SDS. Those of you who don't want to make waves...I think the Young Republicans are meeting down the hall." There was light laughter. "Seriously though, we're here today to discuss things we, the students of NC State, can do to help stop the war in Vietnam. And if you're not on board with that, you should probably get out now."
His gaze, which had been roaming the crowd during his opening speech, now settled onto Relena. She blinked as she realized this. Quatre nodded his head, a motion meant only for her. "What some of you might not realize...and some of you might, unfortunately, realize all too well...is that our President is in the middle of deploying thousands of our soldiers to Southeast Asia."
Relena broke the eye contact they had been sharing. There was a dull ache in her chest as the memories of her last moments with Heero flooded over her.
Quatre cleared his throat. "So, you might be saying, what the hell can we do to stop it? And believe me...I'm open for suggestions. After my esteemed colleague....or partner in crime depending on how you look at it....David Reyes, of the PolySci department gives you some of his extensive knowledge, we'll be doing some brainstorming. I hope you all stick around for it." His gaze shifted back to Relena. "We can change the world, people."
Much later, after the long talk about America's policy towards Communism and after the open discussion on the possibility of a student protest on the front lawn of the Dean's house, Relena joined the stampede of students towards the coffee that had been thoughtfully provided.
She was just adding a liberal amount of sugar and cream to her cup when she felt someone come up behind her. "I was hoping you'd make it one of these times, Relena."
It was only by sheer luck that she managed to turn around and not spill coffee while doing so. Quatre smiled at her, his blond hair falling over one eye. She blushed unwittingly and took a tiny sip before replying, "You remember my name?"
"Only a truly foolish man would forget a woman as lovely as you." There were people pushing at either side of them; Quatre gently took her arm and led her to an open area. "So, what did you think about the meeting?"
"I learned a lot," she replied, honestly. "And I agree with so much of what was said." Relena took another sip. "My boyfriend is in Vietnam now."
"I'm very sorry, Relena."
She nodded. "It's just good to know that I can do something to bring him home."
"Relena..." Quatre took her coffee and set it down on a nearby table before taking her hands in his. "I won't lie to you. The plans we have, the things we can do....not all of them will be well-received. We're not doing anything illegal, but there's always a chance of being arrested or detained. There have already been protests where the police have injured students. Are you sure you want to be a part of this?"
She didn't have to contemplate this. "Heero is in the middle of the jungle, and he's in danger every minute of every day. I hardly think anything that could happen to me in trying to keep him alive could even compare to what he has to live through right now."
Quatre smiled sadly. "You obviously love him very much." Relena looked down at the tiled floor. "He's a lucky guy, this Heero of yours."
"I miss him," she whispered.
"I understand." His fingers brushed her cheek. "And I respect that. But since I'm not lying...I want you to know....I'm very attracted to you."
Relena's eyes lifted to stare into his. Before she could even fully comprehend his words, much less think of a reply, the sound of hands clapping together broke the moment.
"All right, everyone! Get back here and let's decide about the protest!" Quatre's colleague called out to the room of mingling students.
Quatre took a step back. "We can talk about this when you're ready. And if you're never ready, that's all right, too. I'll see you later, Relena."
Relena sank into a chair as Quatre started up the meeting again, but her mind was nowhere near NC State. Her thoughts were entirely on the other side of the planet, with the man she loved more than anyone else. To whatever god existed above, she offered up a simple prayer.
*Keep him safe.*
****
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: Thanks for your continued support. I'm glad you like the story!
****
Some Kind of Wonderful
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"And it's one, two, three...what are we fighting for? Don't ask me; I don't give a damn. Next stop is Vietnam. Five, six, seven, open up the Pearly Gates...there ain't no time to wonder why. Whoopie! We're all gonna die." -Country Joe and the Fish
****
January 3, 1966
"Relena..." Millardo rapped gently on his sister's door. "Relena, are you up?"
Her voice was dull, but came through clearly. "Yes. Why?"
"Um...you have a visitor."
"I don't feel like seeing anyone, Millardo."
The visitor in question cleared his throat. "Hey...it's me, princess."
After a pause, Relena replied, "Come in, Duo."
He let himself into Relena's room, giving Millardo a weak smile. Relena sat across the room on her bay window seat, arms curled around an oversized throw pillow, staring through the lace curtains. "Can you close the door?"
Duo did as she asked. An awkward moment slipped by before he started to speak. "Princess, I gotta tell you something."
"All right."
He blinked. She was too calm, too subdued. It was almost frightening. Taking a breath, he continued. "This morning, princess...Heero...he left this morning."
"I know." Relena parted the lace with her hand. "I watched you pick him up from his house."
Duo shook his head, to straighten out the new information. "You didn't come down...to say goodbye?"
"I didn't think he wanted me to. Leaving in the middle of the night and all." She finally turned her head to look at him. "He didn't even glance over here, Duo. I watched until I couldn't see your car anymore...and he never once looked back."
"Princess...I'm sorry."
Relena leaned back against the floral print wallpaper. "It's all right. He did what he had to do." She wiped her eyes. "I'm so tired of crying, Duo."
"Yeah..." Duo sat on the edge of her bed. "I know the feeling."
"Life goes on. Or something like that."
He nodded. "Sure."
"Duo...why didn't you apply to college?"
The leap in subject was great, but it was a question he had asked himself many times. His shoulders lifted. "I didn't think I'd get in."
"If you don't mind me saying so, I think you sold yourself short." Relena gave him a weak smile. "It's not too late you know."
"Thanks, princess." Duo scratched the back of his head. "I guess I could go down to that fancy college of yours and at least dig around for some information."
She stood up and moved to sit down next to him. "Good. And I'll help as much as I can."
Duo took her hand. "I'd say Heero doesn't know what he left behind...but he does. Princess...you gotta know that the last thing Heero wanted was to hurt..."
Relena cut him off. "It's all right, Duo. Can we just...not talk about it anymore? Please?"
"Yeah." He stood up. "Get ready to go out. I bet you haven't been sledding since...um...last Christmas."
She smiled, and this time, it was genuine. "Sounds fabulous."
Duo stood up and started for the door. "I'll see you downstairs."
"Duo!" Relena walked back to him and pressed a kiss against his cheek. "Thank you."
He winked for the first time in months. "Anytime, princess."
****
Okinawa
January 30, 1966
"Welcome to Japan, boys!"
With his duffel bag slung over his back and army-green hat pulled down low on his forehead, Heero walked down the platform from the Navy carrier ship that had taken him and his platoon across the Pacific Ocean. He stepped onto the American base, but it was really on Japanese land that he now trod. His father's father had been Japanese, he had even been held in an American concentration camp during World War II.
Save for the minimal amount of the language he had picked up before his grandfather died, he was far more American than Japanese. But after several weeks at sea, Okinawa was the closest thing to home that Heero was going to find for a very long time.
Wufei was several steps ahead of him. "Hurry up, Yuy."
Ignoring his friend, Heero continued at his own pace. The feeling of solid ground beneath his feet was a luxury he would never again take for granted. Besides, he had no reason to hurry. They would get two days of rest in Okinawa before the huge choppers would carry them across the Sea of Japan and deposit them into the middle of a raging war zone.
"I need to find a place to mail a letter," he told Wufei when he finally caught up to the other soldier.
"It's going to cost a lot to get something to America." Wufei folded his arms. "It's for Relena?" Heero's lack of response indicated that it was. "Why didn't you just give it to her before you left?"
"I don't know," Heero replied, shortly. "But I need to get it to her."
Wufei glanced around. "Well, I guess you could mail it through the base, but they'll read it to check for security leaks, you realize."
"Then I'll send it by Japanese mail." Heero stopped the first non-Army personnel who passed by them. "Sumimasen. Posuto wa doko desu ka?" The Japanese man, clearly intimidated by Heero's uniform, pointed further down the street they were walking along. "Arigatou."
Wufei lifted an eyebrow. "Wonderful. Now you can keep up contact with Relena. Happy day."
"I wouldn't call it keeping in contact." Heero started walking towards the post office. "It's just something that has to be done."
****
North Carolina State University
"So...are you planning on going to class today at all?"
Relena rolled over on her bed and gave her roommate a withering look. "Why do you ask, Dorothy?"
The other girl tossed a long strand of bleach-blonde hair over her shoulder and pursed her lips. "I merely ask because it's threatening to snow and I can't find my umbrella. I was hoping if you were going to be lazy and not go out, that I might be able to..."
"Take it." Relena gestured to her closet. "I don't need an umbrella today. Just a hot pad."
Dorothy shook her head as she reached through Relena's clothes. "Please don't turn into one of those insane women who lie around for five days every month, whining about cramps."
Relena let the comment slide. She was so relieved to have her period at all, she had little motivation to argue with her roommate because of it. "Have a nice day, Dorothy."
With an extreme flounce of her hair, Dorothy left the room with Relena's umbrella. Once she was gone, Relena quickly sat up. She shouldn't be skipping Western Civ class, she told herself. But it was necessary. The SDS had a meeting scheduled during the lecture period that she was determined to attend. For Heero.
In lieu of an umbrella, she pulled the lined hood of her winter coat over her head when she set out from her dorm. It only took a few minutes to cross the wintery campus to the philosophy building where the meeting was being held.
There were several dozen people already there when she entered the hall. Removing her mittens, Relena took a seat towards the back. After only a minute, Quatre Winner walked to the podium at the front of the room.
"All right, everyone. We'll go ahead and get started." He smiled at his audience. "I'm Quatre, the president of this chapter of SDS. Those of you who don't want to make waves...I think the Young Republicans are meeting down the hall." There was light laughter. "Seriously though, we're here today to discuss things we, the students of NC State, can do to help stop the war in Vietnam. And if you're not on board with that, you should probably get out now."
His gaze, which had been roaming the crowd during his opening speech, now settled onto Relena. She blinked as she realized this. Quatre nodded his head, a motion meant only for her. "What some of you might not realize...and some of you might, unfortunately, realize all too well...is that our President is in the middle of deploying thousands of our soldiers to Southeast Asia."
Relena broke the eye contact they had been sharing. There was a dull ache in her chest as the memories of her last moments with Heero flooded over her.
Quatre cleared his throat. "So, you might be saying, what the hell can we do to stop it? And believe me...I'm open for suggestions. After my esteemed colleague....or partner in crime depending on how you look at it....David Reyes, of the PolySci department gives you some of his extensive knowledge, we'll be doing some brainstorming. I hope you all stick around for it." His gaze shifted back to Relena. "We can change the world, people."
Much later, after the long talk about America's policy towards Communism and after the open discussion on the possibility of a student protest on the front lawn of the Dean's house, Relena joined the stampede of students towards the coffee that had been thoughtfully provided.
She was just adding a liberal amount of sugar and cream to her cup when she felt someone come up behind her. "I was hoping you'd make it one of these times, Relena."
It was only by sheer luck that she managed to turn around and not spill coffee while doing so. Quatre smiled at her, his blond hair falling over one eye. She blushed unwittingly and took a tiny sip before replying, "You remember my name?"
"Only a truly foolish man would forget a woman as lovely as you." There were people pushing at either side of them; Quatre gently took her arm and led her to an open area. "So, what did you think about the meeting?"
"I learned a lot," she replied, honestly. "And I agree with so much of what was said." Relena took another sip. "My boyfriend is in Vietnam now."
"I'm very sorry, Relena."
She nodded. "It's just good to know that I can do something to bring him home."
"Relena..." Quatre took her coffee and set it down on a nearby table before taking her hands in his. "I won't lie to you. The plans we have, the things we can do....not all of them will be well-received. We're not doing anything illegal, but there's always a chance of being arrested or detained. There have already been protests where the police have injured students. Are you sure you want to be a part of this?"
She didn't have to contemplate this. "Heero is in the middle of the jungle, and he's in danger every minute of every day. I hardly think anything that could happen to me in trying to keep him alive could even compare to what he has to live through right now."
Quatre smiled sadly. "You obviously love him very much." Relena looked down at the tiled floor. "He's a lucky guy, this Heero of yours."
"I miss him," she whispered.
"I understand." His fingers brushed her cheek. "And I respect that. But since I'm not lying...I want you to know....I'm very attracted to you."
Relena's eyes lifted to stare into his. Before she could even fully comprehend his words, much less think of a reply, the sound of hands clapping together broke the moment.
"All right, everyone! Get back here and let's decide about the protest!" Quatre's colleague called out to the room of mingling students.
Quatre took a step back. "We can talk about this when you're ready. And if you're never ready, that's all right, too. I'll see you later, Relena."
Relena sank into a chair as Quatre started up the meeting again, but her mind was nowhere near NC State. Her thoughts were entirely on the other side of the planet, with the man she loved more than anyone else. To whatever god existed above, she offered up a simple prayer.
*Keep him safe.*
****
To Be Continued