Disclaimer: Standard stuff.
Author's Notes: Thank you everyone who has reviewed. I appreciate it very much. But for the record, I have actually never seen Pearl Harbor. Several people have compared this story to it, so I'm just letting you know. I have a vague idea what it was about, but I never really wanted to see it. I had enough of overdramatized historical romance with Titanic; that was four years ago and I'm still recovering from it. This story is my story; any judgements on its resemblence to movies I've never seen should be reserved until it's done. I hope you keep reading, even though I just sounded like a pre-menstrual bitch from hell;) Thank you!
****
Some Kind of Wonderful
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse. When you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose. You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal. How does it feel? How does it feel? To be on your own, with no direction home, a complete unknown? Like a rolling stone." -Bob Dylan
****
Saigon
December 24, 1967
The roar of five thousand G.I.'s, Marines, pilots, and seabies was utterly overwhelming. Hilde ran off the stage when the lights went down on the third curtain call of the night, her heart racing so fast she was afraid it might explode.
"We were a hit!" one of her fellow chorus girls cried out, throwing her arms around Hilde's neck.
Hilde laughed. "I think it was all Mr. Hope." The legendary comedian was back on stage for his own, private encore, and already she could hear the troops laughing.
Her part of the show over, Hilde retreated to the makeshift girl's dressing room. Plopping down in a chair, she undid the buckles on her high-heeled, silver tap shoes and kicked them off. The other chorus girls milled around her, undressing, chatting and laughing, still on the euphoric high of the evening. Hilde wasn't immune to it, either; it was better than any drug in the world.
But she had found, when she was dancing out there, that it wasn't the mere act of performing that filled her with such sheer joy. They had done ten shows in and around Saigon since arriving two weeks earlier, and each time, she got more out of the appreciate response from the soldiers than she did from the actual performance.
She sat at one of the lighted mirrors and scrubbed at her thick, stage lipstick with a tissue. Her little bit of dancing had helped make so many lonely men happy for an evening. The next day they might have had to return to the jungle and face death, but for an hour, they had been able to put everything aside and simply enjoy the show. For Hilde, providing that opportunity, was the high of all time.
And it was why, after final show on New Year's Eve, she wouldn't be returning to America with the company.
****
Peacecraft
A single thought kept running through her mind. Over and over again...she couldn't shake it off. It festered inside her, growing more powerful every day, threatening to completely consume her. It made her cry, it made her pull her hair. She hated herself for it, the regret often driving her to the edge of insanity.
"If only I had gotten pregnant."
Curled up on her childhood bed, Relena chewed on a ragged thumbnail as she said the words out loud for the thousandth time. She stared at the bay window without blinking. How many hours had she spent sitting there, watching his house? Watching him mow the lawn without his shirt on, blushing when he would look up and smile at her?
She would never get to watch him again.
If she had gotten pregnant, she would still have a part of him with her, she told herself once again. There would still be a piece of him in the world. A perfect baby, created entirely from what they had shared, from their love.
If she had had Heero's baby, she wouldn't be utterly alone now.
There was a light knock on Relena's door. She jumped slightly, but didn't say anything. A moment later, the door opened.
"Relena?" It was her brother's fiancee, Lucrezia. "Relena, are you awake?"
Her only response was to pull her knees closer to her chest.
Lucrezia came in anyway. The sound of china clinking told Relena she had brought yet another tray of food in what would be a useless attempt to get her to eat. "Are you hungry today? It's Christmas Eve."
Relena blinked. Christmas Eve, two years ago, she had been in Heero's arms as they made love for the first time. He had been unbelievably gentle with her, although she could tell he had been straining to hold himself back. She loved him all the more for it.
"I made tomato soup," Lucrezia continued. "Your brother told me it's a Peacecraft holiday tradition." She set the tray down on Relena's night stand. "I have to learn all of these things for when I'm a member of the Peacecraft family."
Because she sounded so hopeful, Relena rolled over to watch the woman. She could see what her brother saw in Lucrezia Noin, but at that time, happiness for other people in love...she simply wasn't up to it.
Lucrezia picked up the bowl of soup and a spoon. "Will you eat, then?" Relena shook her head. The bowl lowered; disappointment and worry were evident in the other woman's eyes. "Maybe later." She set the food aside and sat on the edge of the bed. "Maybe you'd like to take a shower? Wash your hair?"
Relena's eyes closed. "No. Thank you," she finally said.
"Are you sure? Duo and Quatre said they were going to stop by in the next few days with presents. I'm sure you'll want to look your best for..."
The mere mention of Quatre's name sent waves of painful guilt crashing down upon her. "I don't want to see anyone."
Lucrezia sighed. "They're very worried about you, Relena. We all are." To this, the younger girl simply shrugged her shoulders as much as she could. "Relena," she started again, with more force in her tone. "I understand loss. It feels like your entire world has been ripped apart. But Relena..." She leaned forward. "It does get better. It won't seem like it for awhile, but I promise, it does. As long as you don't keep out the people who care about you."
After a moment, Relena opened her eyes. "I loved him so much," she whispered, choking on the words. Her eyes were dry. All her tears had been shed in the days after Millardo had broken the news about Heero's death. Now, it seemed as though she would never be able to cry again. "I didn't fix us..." She burrowed her face into her pillow. "He died...thinking I had forgotten him..."
"Shhh..." Lucrezia gently rubbed the girl's back. "From what Duo's told me, he never doubted you loved him, Relena." She paused, carefully phrasing her words. "But I don't think he would want you to be this miserable anymore."
Relena slowly lifted her head. "He'd want me to be strong?"
Lucrezia cupped her chin in one, soft hand. "You can better answer that than I."
"He would." Relena sat up for the first time all day. "Heero would want me to be strong." She met the older woman's eyes. "It's not too late to start, is it?"
"Of course not." Lucrezia smiled. Millardo would have reminded Relena that it been two months in coming, but she simply kissed the girl's forehead. "Now, will you eat and take a bath?"
Relena nodded and accepted the bowl from her brother's fiancee. After the first, comforting spoonful, she looked at Lucrezia again. "Can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
She swallowed a second mouthful. "If I had let myself have his baby, it would be fifteen months old now."
Lucrezia didn't seem particularly shocked by this revelation. "Can I tell you something?" Relena nodded. "If I hadn't lost your brother's baby, they'd be about the same age."
****
Saigon
December 31, 1967
Although the company was sad to leave her behind, Hilde didn't have to expend too much effort to convince the U.S.O. producers that she would be fine if they left without her. The fact that she had secured a job as a much-needed nurse-in-training at the Saigon base helped quite a bit.
Hilde was already looking forward to the new challenge. She didn't kid herself; it was going to be grisly and far more dangerous than traveling with the U.S.O. As long as she stayed in Saigon, though, her safety was fairly guaranteed.
After the final New Year's Eve show, Hilde found herself walking through downtown Saigon, well away from the nude bars and brothels that catered to the American soldiers and embassy personnel, but close enough to the base for her protection.
The truth was, she liked Saigon. It was dirty, yes, but not much more so than some of the places she had woken up to in Hollywood. It held an old-world charm, having only just caught up to the modern times. For every out-dated car that passed by her, she encountered a hand-pulled rickshaw.
Even the signs along the shop windows fascinated her. The Vietnamese language was completely beyond her grasp; ten natives speaking at once was like a hen full of chickens. Fast, loud, incomprehensible.
Worlds away from Peacecraft, which had held her down, and Hollywood that had nearly destroyed her, Hilde found a small bit of peace in the haphazard capital of South Vietnam.
Although there were dozens of people walking the same street, Hilde suddenly had the feeling she was being followed. She stopped, wishing she had worn a pair of slacks, rather than the comfortable hot pants.
When she started walking again, the feeling followed her. Not one to shriek and run away, Hilde took a huge breath and spun around very quickly to confront her stalker.
He was a Marine, tall with piercing green eyes. Handsome. Her eyes narrowed. "If I scream, a dozen people would be on you in a second."
The man's smile was haunting. "I'm afraid you have the wrong idea."
"So, you haven't been following me from the base?"
"Only because it takes either a huge fool or balls of steel to walk in this part of the city, alone, at night," he replied, cooly.
Hilde blinked. "I'm nowhere near the brothels."
He took a step towards her. "Miss...the red light district is the safest part of Saigon. Now, are you going to scream if I offer myself as an escort on the way back?"
She only hesitated a moment. Suddenly, the street which had seemed so charming minutes earlier, seemed threatening. "Fine." Ignoring the hand he held out, she walked past him, doubling back on her route.
When they reached the base, he stayed at her side until the barracks the U.S.O. members were staying in was visible. Hilde took a second look at the Marine. "Thank you," she said.
"It was my pleasure." Backing up a step, he started to leave.
"Wait...don't I at least get to know your name?"
"It's Trowa," he replied. "You'll only get my rank if you have lunch with me tomorrow."
"Deal." Hilde put her hands on her hips. "If I see you at the canteen at noon, I might even tell you *my* name."
Trowa shook his head. "One p.m. Hilde Schbeiker of the U.S.O."
****
Peacecraft
"Three...two...one...Happy New Year!!"
From her place on a comfortable love seat, Relena subtly watched her brother and Lucrezia share their first kiss of 1968. She glanced down at her lap when the kiss became more intimate. Her own lips ached to be kissed. To keep her mind off such thoughts, Relena turned her attention to the tiny television set. New York City's Times Square, exploding with the New Year.
Millardo and Lucrezia broke apart when the doorbell chimed. "Wonder who that could be?" Relena looked up to see her brother heading for the foyer.
A moment later, she heard two familiar voices cry, "Happy New Year!" She didn't breathe for a second. One of the voices belonged to Quatre. Although she had spent the past week pulling herself back together, making the first painful steps towards the acceptance of Heero's death, she wasn't quite sure was ready to confront the mixed emotions she experienced whenever Quatre Winner was around.
But it didn't seem like she had a choice. Within seconds, Duo and Quatre appeared in the living room, each carrying a party horn and wearing a ridiculous, glittered top hat. Duo raised his horn to his lips, but lowered it once he caught sight of the commotion on the television. "We missed it?!" he cried.
Relena stifled a small smile and nodded. "Only by a minute, too."
Quatre took off his hat and brushed glitter out of his hair. "I told him his watch was slow."
"I thought yours was just fast. Like your car, man." Duo looked at Relena. "Have you experienced the Alfa Romeo yet?" She shook her head. "It drives like a dream," Duo assured her, as he plopped onto the sofa next to her. "Happy New Year, princess."
Relena accepted his kiss to her cheek and returned it with one of her own. "Happy New Year, Duo."
"How are you feeling?" Quatre asked her.
She lowered her eyes to the plaid blanket tucked around her lap. "I'm...better. Thank you."
Duo smiled. "I have to say, I'm so glad to see you up, princess."
"Well..." Relena caught Lucrezia's eye. "I guess I just realized that I'm not the only person in the world who's suffered."
The older woman's eyes misted over. To avoid crying, she busied herself turning off the TV. "Why don't you drive me home, sweetie?"
Millardo nodded. "Relena, is there anything you need?"
She closed her eyes as her brother bent down to kiss her forehead. "I'm fine, Millardo. You just be careful on the roads."
"Lots of crazies out there," Duo added. "And the roads are slippery."
After Millardo and Lucrezia had donned their coats and scarves and left, Relena gestured to a chair. "Quatre, you can sit down if you like."
Duo had been fumbling around inside his long, wool coat. As soon as Quatre sat down, he pulled out a bottle of champagne. "I think we deserve a little bit of this. What do you say, princess? A real New Year's toast?"
"You know where the glasses are." She pointed to the kitchen. Duo was off and running, eager to break into the expensive bottle Quatre had provided.
With Duo gone, the atmosphere in the living room became still. Relena played with the edge of her blanket, while Quatre stared at the molded ceiling. Finally, after what seemed like years, he spoke. "Duo told me you've registered for spring classes."
"I need to do something," she replied. "Using school as a distraction...it should help."
"I think it's a good idea," Quatre agreed. "I know you'll probably not be coming to anymore SDS meetings, but..."
Relena frowned. "Why do you say that?"
"Well...after everything that happened to you because of your involvement..." He let the sentence trail off.
"I lost Heero to this war." Her fist curled up into a tight ball. "A little knock on the head isn't going to stop me from trying to spare some other girl the pain I've experienced."
Quatre shook his head, his eyes shining. "How can you be so brave, Relena? Me...I feel...so damn guilty..." He ran his fingers through his blond locks. "For what you had to go through..."
"Quatre, look at me." His eyes lifted to meet her soft gaze. "It's a new year. 1968. Can we just try to forget 1967 and move on with our lives? I can't...make peace with my loss if I'm still caught up in the past."
A moment passed. In the kitchen, they could hear a cork pop. Quatre stood up and walked over to the sofa. Kneeling in front of her, he took her hands. "I love you, Relena. No...please don't think you have to have any sort of response to that. I just wanted you to hear it. I have high expectations for 1968, but we'll go at your pace." He paused. "I know I can never replace Heero, nor would I ever try to. The most important thing to me is your happiness."
Twin tears slipped down her cheeks. Taking Quatre's chin in her hand, she guided his lips to hers for a soft, New Year's Eve kiss. Her heart still cried out for Heero, but her body was simply happy being kissed once again.
****
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: Thank you everyone who has reviewed. I appreciate it very much. But for the record, I have actually never seen Pearl Harbor. Several people have compared this story to it, so I'm just letting you know. I have a vague idea what it was about, but I never really wanted to see it. I had enough of overdramatized historical romance with Titanic; that was four years ago and I'm still recovering from it. This story is my story; any judgements on its resemblence to movies I've never seen should be reserved until it's done. I hope you keep reading, even though I just sounded like a pre-menstrual bitch from hell;) Thank you!
****
Some Kind of Wonderful
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse. When you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose. You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal. How does it feel? How does it feel? To be on your own, with no direction home, a complete unknown? Like a rolling stone." -Bob Dylan
****
Saigon
December 24, 1967
The roar of five thousand G.I.'s, Marines, pilots, and seabies was utterly overwhelming. Hilde ran off the stage when the lights went down on the third curtain call of the night, her heart racing so fast she was afraid it might explode.
"We were a hit!" one of her fellow chorus girls cried out, throwing her arms around Hilde's neck.
Hilde laughed. "I think it was all Mr. Hope." The legendary comedian was back on stage for his own, private encore, and already she could hear the troops laughing.
Her part of the show over, Hilde retreated to the makeshift girl's dressing room. Plopping down in a chair, she undid the buckles on her high-heeled, silver tap shoes and kicked them off. The other chorus girls milled around her, undressing, chatting and laughing, still on the euphoric high of the evening. Hilde wasn't immune to it, either; it was better than any drug in the world.
But she had found, when she was dancing out there, that it wasn't the mere act of performing that filled her with such sheer joy. They had done ten shows in and around Saigon since arriving two weeks earlier, and each time, she got more out of the appreciate response from the soldiers than she did from the actual performance.
She sat at one of the lighted mirrors and scrubbed at her thick, stage lipstick with a tissue. Her little bit of dancing had helped make so many lonely men happy for an evening. The next day they might have had to return to the jungle and face death, but for an hour, they had been able to put everything aside and simply enjoy the show. For Hilde, providing that opportunity, was the high of all time.
And it was why, after final show on New Year's Eve, she wouldn't be returning to America with the company.
****
Peacecraft
A single thought kept running through her mind. Over and over again...she couldn't shake it off. It festered inside her, growing more powerful every day, threatening to completely consume her. It made her cry, it made her pull her hair. She hated herself for it, the regret often driving her to the edge of insanity.
"If only I had gotten pregnant."
Curled up on her childhood bed, Relena chewed on a ragged thumbnail as she said the words out loud for the thousandth time. She stared at the bay window without blinking. How many hours had she spent sitting there, watching his house? Watching him mow the lawn without his shirt on, blushing when he would look up and smile at her?
She would never get to watch him again.
If she had gotten pregnant, she would still have a part of him with her, she told herself once again. There would still be a piece of him in the world. A perfect baby, created entirely from what they had shared, from their love.
If she had had Heero's baby, she wouldn't be utterly alone now.
There was a light knock on Relena's door. She jumped slightly, but didn't say anything. A moment later, the door opened.
"Relena?" It was her brother's fiancee, Lucrezia. "Relena, are you awake?"
Her only response was to pull her knees closer to her chest.
Lucrezia came in anyway. The sound of china clinking told Relena she had brought yet another tray of food in what would be a useless attempt to get her to eat. "Are you hungry today? It's Christmas Eve."
Relena blinked. Christmas Eve, two years ago, she had been in Heero's arms as they made love for the first time. He had been unbelievably gentle with her, although she could tell he had been straining to hold himself back. She loved him all the more for it.
"I made tomato soup," Lucrezia continued. "Your brother told me it's a Peacecraft holiday tradition." She set the tray down on Relena's night stand. "I have to learn all of these things for when I'm a member of the Peacecraft family."
Because she sounded so hopeful, Relena rolled over to watch the woman. She could see what her brother saw in Lucrezia Noin, but at that time, happiness for other people in love...she simply wasn't up to it.
Lucrezia picked up the bowl of soup and a spoon. "Will you eat, then?" Relena shook her head. The bowl lowered; disappointment and worry were evident in the other woman's eyes. "Maybe later." She set the food aside and sat on the edge of the bed. "Maybe you'd like to take a shower? Wash your hair?"
Relena's eyes closed. "No. Thank you," she finally said.
"Are you sure? Duo and Quatre said they were going to stop by in the next few days with presents. I'm sure you'll want to look your best for..."
The mere mention of Quatre's name sent waves of painful guilt crashing down upon her. "I don't want to see anyone."
Lucrezia sighed. "They're very worried about you, Relena. We all are." To this, the younger girl simply shrugged her shoulders as much as she could. "Relena," she started again, with more force in her tone. "I understand loss. It feels like your entire world has been ripped apart. But Relena..." She leaned forward. "It does get better. It won't seem like it for awhile, but I promise, it does. As long as you don't keep out the people who care about you."
After a moment, Relena opened her eyes. "I loved him so much," she whispered, choking on the words. Her eyes were dry. All her tears had been shed in the days after Millardo had broken the news about Heero's death. Now, it seemed as though she would never be able to cry again. "I didn't fix us..." She burrowed her face into her pillow. "He died...thinking I had forgotten him..."
"Shhh..." Lucrezia gently rubbed the girl's back. "From what Duo's told me, he never doubted you loved him, Relena." She paused, carefully phrasing her words. "But I don't think he would want you to be this miserable anymore."
Relena slowly lifted her head. "He'd want me to be strong?"
Lucrezia cupped her chin in one, soft hand. "You can better answer that than I."
"He would." Relena sat up for the first time all day. "Heero would want me to be strong." She met the older woman's eyes. "It's not too late to start, is it?"
"Of course not." Lucrezia smiled. Millardo would have reminded Relena that it been two months in coming, but she simply kissed the girl's forehead. "Now, will you eat and take a bath?"
Relena nodded and accepted the bowl from her brother's fiancee. After the first, comforting spoonful, she looked at Lucrezia again. "Can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
She swallowed a second mouthful. "If I had let myself have his baby, it would be fifteen months old now."
Lucrezia didn't seem particularly shocked by this revelation. "Can I tell you something?" Relena nodded. "If I hadn't lost your brother's baby, they'd be about the same age."
****
Saigon
December 31, 1967
Although the company was sad to leave her behind, Hilde didn't have to expend too much effort to convince the U.S.O. producers that she would be fine if they left without her. The fact that she had secured a job as a much-needed nurse-in-training at the Saigon base helped quite a bit.
Hilde was already looking forward to the new challenge. She didn't kid herself; it was going to be grisly and far more dangerous than traveling with the U.S.O. As long as she stayed in Saigon, though, her safety was fairly guaranteed.
After the final New Year's Eve show, Hilde found herself walking through downtown Saigon, well away from the nude bars and brothels that catered to the American soldiers and embassy personnel, but close enough to the base for her protection.
The truth was, she liked Saigon. It was dirty, yes, but not much more so than some of the places she had woken up to in Hollywood. It held an old-world charm, having only just caught up to the modern times. For every out-dated car that passed by her, she encountered a hand-pulled rickshaw.
Even the signs along the shop windows fascinated her. The Vietnamese language was completely beyond her grasp; ten natives speaking at once was like a hen full of chickens. Fast, loud, incomprehensible.
Worlds away from Peacecraft, which had held her down, and Hollywood that had nearly destroyed her, Hilde found a small bit of peace in the haphazard capital of South Vietnam.
Although there were dozens of people walking the same street, Hilde suddenly had the feeling she was being followed. She stopped, wishing she had worn a pair of slacks, rather than the comfortable hot pants.
When she started walking again, the feeling followed her. Not one to shriek and run away, Hilde took a huge breath and spun around very quickly to confront her stalker.
He was a Marine, tall with piercing green eyes. Handsome. Her eyes narrowed. "If I scream, a dozen people would be on you in a second."
The man's smile was haunting. "I'm afraid you have the wrong idea."
"So, you haven't been following me from the base?"
"Only because it takes either a huge fool or balls of steel to walk in this part of the city, alone, at night," he replied, cooly.
Hilde blinked. "I'm nowhere near the brothels."
He took a step towards her. "Miss...the red light district is the safest part of Saigon. Now, are you going to scream if I offer myself as an escort on the way back?"
She only hesitated a moment. Suddenly, the street which had seemed so charming minutes earlier, seemed threatening. "Fine." Ignoring the hand he held out, she walked past him, doubling back on her route.
When they reached the base, he stayed at her side until the barracks the U.S.O. members were staying in was visible. Hilde took a second look at the Marine. "Thank you," she said.
"It was my pleasure." Backing up a step, he started to leave.
"Wait...don't I at least get to know your name?"
"It's Trowa," he replied. "You'll only get my rank if you have lunch with me tomorrow."
"Deal." Hilde put her hands on her hips. "If I see you at the canteen at noon, I might even tell you *my* name."
Trowa shook his head. "One p.m. Hilde Schbeiker of the U.S.O."
****
Peacecraft
"Three...two...one...Happy New Year!!"
From her place on a comfortable love seat, Relena subtly watched her brother and Lucrezia share their first kiss of 1968. She glanced down at her lap when the kiss became more intimate. Her own lips ached to be kissed. To keep her mind off such thoughts, Relena turned her attention to the tiny television set. New York City's Times Square, exploding with the New Year.
Millardo and Lucrezia broke apart when the doorbell chimed. "Wonder who that could be?" Relena looked up to see her brother heading for the foyer.
A moment later, she heard two familiar voices cry, "Happy New Year!" She didn't breathe for a second. One of the voices belonged to Quatre. Although she had spent the past week pulling herself back together, making the first painful steps towards the acceptance of Heero's death, she wasn't quite sure was ready to confront the mixed emotions she experienced whenever Quatre Winner was around.
But it didn't seem like she had a choice. Within seconds, Duo and Quatre appeared in the living room, each carrying a party horn and wearing a ridiculous, glittered top hat. Duo raised his horn to his lips, but lowered it once he caught sight of the commotion on the television. "We missed it?!" he cried.
Relena stifled a small smile and nodded. "Only by a minute, too."
Quatre took off his hat and brushed glitter out of his hair. "I told him his watch was slow."
"I thought yours was just fast. Like your car, man." Duo looked at Relena. "Have you experienced the Alfa Romeo yet?" She shook her head. "It drives like a dream," Duo assured her, as he plopped onto the sofa next to her. "Happy New Year, princess."
Relena accepted his kiss to her cheek and returned it with one of her own. "Happy New Year, Duo."
"How are you feeling?" Quatre asked her.
She lowered her eyes to the plaid blanket tucked around her lap. "I'm...better. Thank you."
Duo smiled. "I have to say, I'm so glad to see you up, princess."
"Well..." Relena caught Lucrezia's eye. "I guess I just realized that I'm not the only person in the world who's suffered."
The older woman's eyes misted over. To avoid crying, she busied herself turning off the TV. "Why don't you drive me home, sweetie?"
Millardo nodded. "Relena, is there anything you need?"
She closed her eyes as her brother bent down to kiss her forehead. "I'm fine, Millardo. You just be careful on the roads."
"Lots of crazies out there," Duo added. "And the roads are slippery."
After Millardo and Lucrezia had donned their coats and scarves and left, Relena gestured to a chair. "Quatre, you can sit down if you like."
Duo had been fumbling around inside his long, wool coat. As soon as Quatre sat down, he pulled out a bottle of champagne. "I think we deserve a little bit of this. What do you say, princess? A real New Year's toast?"
"You know where the glasses are." She pointed to the kitchen. Duo was off and running, eager to break into the expensive bottle Quatre had provided.
With Duo gone, the atmosphere in the living room became still. Relena played with the edge of her blanket, while Quatre stared at the molded ceiling. Finally, after what seemed like years, he spoke. "Duo told me you've registered for spring classes."
"I need to do something," she replied. "Using school as a distraction...it should help."
"I think it's a good idea," Quatre agreed. "I know you'll probably not be coming to anymore SDS meetings, but..."
Relena frowned. "Why do you say that?"
"Well...after everything that happened to you because of your involvement..." He let the sentence trail off.
"I lost Heero to this war." Her fist curled up into a tight ball. "A little knock on the head isn't going to stop me from trying to spare some other girl the pain I've experienced."
Quatre shook his head, his eyes shining. "How can you be so brave, Relena? Me...I feel...so damn guilty..." He ran his fingers through his blond locks. "For what you had to go through..."
"Quatre, look at me." His eyes lifted to meet her soft gaze. "It's a new year. 1968. Can we just try to forget 1967 and move on with our lives? I can't...make peace with my loss if I'm still caught up in the past."
A moment passed. In the kitchen, they could hear a cork pop. Quatre stood up and walked over to the sofa. Kneeling in front of her, he took her hands. "I love you, Relena. No...please don't think you have to have any sort of response to that. I just wanted you to hear it. I have high expectations for 1968, but we'll go at your pace." He paused. "I know I can never replace Heero, nor would I ever try to. The most important thing to me is your happiness."
Twin tears slipped down her cheeks. Taking Quatre's chin in her hand, she guided his lips to hers for a soft, New Year's Eve kiss. Her heart still cried out for Heero, but her body was simply happy being kissed once again.
****
To Be Continued