Disclaimers: The song is Fiona's, the boys belong to some production company somewhere, not making any money from this, you know the routine.
Spoilers: one little reference to the events at the South Pole, but nothing that would majorly spoil the series.
Notes:
Feedback: Pretty please? With little chibis on top? (You pick which ones ~_^) Post here, or you can e-mail me at insanewritinggirl@yahoo.com.
Never Let You Go
Chapter 23
by quelirain
| The child is gone.
--Fiona Apple, "The Child is Gone" |
Every coif and cuff was in place as Relena strode down the hallways of the Ministry a few hours later, greeting people, but not stopping to address inquisitive looks. Quatre, although in casual clothes, still was recognized by the majority of people, which kept them from being more persistent about getting answers to their questions--though the staff was comfortable with Relena herself, Quatre Winner was an unknown entity who did not spend much time playing politics. He didn't need to, as he was head of one of the largest non-government entities in the Sphere.
They reached the press room, where Milliardo, per instructions, was waiting. The tall man stood as they walked in the door and headed toward them. "Relena, are you sure you want to do this? It's only been a few hours since I addressed the press--"
"Something which will cease immediately," Relena interjected.
"You're being promoted, Milliardo," Quatre added. "You'll be personal assistant to the Vice Foreign Minister, until you decide in six months that you have found another opportunity that interests you more and removes you from the daily business and operations of the Ministry."
"We're announcing the promotion immediately," Relena said, sitting daintily and looking up at the two men. "In fact, we'll be issuing a formal statement in about an hour. I was wondering if you would be interested in making your own statement at that time. No questions, of course, but if you have something you'd like to say, you've got half an hour to run it by me."
Feeling behind him for a chair, Milliardo sat slowly. "What brought on this... promotion?"
"I want you closer to me, big brother," Relena answered, tucking an errant strand of blond hair behind her brother's ear. "I want to make spend as much time around you as possible, and this seemed like an effective way to do it."
"The people will be upset; they never liked that you had me working in the Ministry--"
"They'll tolerate it when they discover that my current assistant needed to take personal leave, and of course, who was I to deny him that? So, of course, with you being the person that knows what I do best, you are the ideal choice for the interim position. Of course, we'll have to hire someone to handle the media while you're busy with this; it really is a full time job, you know," she added breezily, glancing at the clock at the back of the room. "However, Quatre has been kind enough to recommend some people to me; interviews will commence immediately. Your shoes will be hard to fill, but we'll find someone."
"What exactly are you trying to do here?" he asked quietly.
She turned back to him, letting her calm expression slide slightly. "Milliardo, you seem to always have my best interests in mind. Since I seem to be losing Heero, why should it surprise you that I want family close by during this trying time?"
Milliardo paled. "I'm being removed from the Ministry because I did what I thought was best for you?"
"You have quite a history of doing what you think is best for me, Milliardo," Relena replied. "I would hope that was truly your intention, as the difference between protecting my interests and taking advantage of a situation is very, very little." She stood. "Quatre will help you with your acceptance statement; I expect to see it within the half hour." Relena smiled brilliantly. Milliardo seemed to wilt under the radiant expression.
***
"Ladies and gentlemen of the press..."
Relena scanned the crowd for Roshelle O'Connor as her brother announced his promotion. Roshelle had a better-than-average handle on how to get a story and which questions to ask. She'd have to ask the new press liaison to set something up with Roshelle. It wouldn't be an easy interview, but Relena knew it would be a fair one. And if the public thought that the exclusive had more to do with making amends that distributing news, all the better. After all, in a few months she would need Roshelle when she announced her departure from the Ministry.
Both Milliardo and Quatre had tried to convince her that she was making a mistake in stepping down, but she had a few months to consider it, and even if she did decide to stay, she would need to groom a successor. Someone, of course, would tie her stepping down back to these incidents, and she would provide a wonderfully neutral answer.
//"I feel my presence reminds people of the war and all that it entailed... although I have enjoyed my time in this position, I did not ask for this job, and the people did not ask for me to be in this position. I feel that the representative of the Ministry should be someone of the people's choosing." Insert charming smile. "And it also means that I can stop putting off writing my memoirs."//
Roshelle would know it for what it was--a polite stonewall that Roshelle couldn't question without looking like a boor.
"...and so, is with great pleasure I step into my new role at the Ministry." Ignoring the reporters' questions, Milliardo stepped back from the podium. Relena took his place, and the room fell silent.
"Members of the press, I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that I will be returning to full duties, effective immediately. Milliardo, in his new role, will be most useful in bringing me up to date. I am looking forward to picking up some ongoing projects..."
Relena spoke briefly about several ongoing issues, but the message was clear: The Vice Foreign Minister would not be addressing questions regarding her disappearance and reappearance, nor the issue of Security Chief Yuy, at this time. It was business as usual, and Relena was taking no questions.
After leaving the reporters to stew in what she had and hadn't said, Relena left Milliardo in the capable hands of Trowa, who would escort Milliardo back to the estate. Relena herself headed to her office, where Quatre was waiting, sitting quietly behind her desk.
"I spoke with Wufei and Lady Une," Quatre reported as soon as Relena had closed the office door and locked it. "Heero has been released into the custody of the Preventers, under the justification that he has known special talents that make trying to keep him in a traditional facility pointless. He's confessed, so once he gets in front of a judge, he'll be remanded to Preventers custody--namely, Lady Une, who will, I suspect, convince Heero to join the Preventers as some sort of specialist until his sentence is up. Then he'll be free to leave, but by then I suspect he'll be fully integrated into the Preventers."
"What? Why can't they just drop the charges?" Relena sputtered. "There must be another way."
Quatre shook his head. "If Milliardo hadn't spoken to the press, perhaps; but everyone is calling for blood. There's no way to get out of this without damaging your already shaky credibility, and you know what that would mean."
"Damn my credibility, Quatre!" She clenched her hands together in front of her, letting her eyes close and her head drop. "Heero should be cleared. He was drugged. Milliardo admitted it."
"Most people wouldn't react like that to tranquilizers."
"Then villify Milliardo! Say he laced them with something. Say we didn't find out until after he was promoted. Figure out something." Hot tears began to slide down her cheeks as she strode to the desk and slammed her hands down on the surface.
"Would you destroy your brother?"
The simple words caused her to slide to her knees in front of the desk, falling back into memories of a brash fifteen-year-old girl with nothing more than a plane and a strong will, and a voice she'd long forgotten rising up from the radio telling her not to order the death of her brother.
"Let me be blunt, Relena. Someone has to get screwed here. This time, it's Heero, true. But we both know he couldn't work within the Preventers as Heero Yuy anyway. Une probably has a new identity waiting for him right now." He came around the desk and crouched in front of her. "He'll be fine."
"But..." She felt herself tremble. "I want to work things out with him."
Settling on the floor, Quatre reached out to bring Relena into his arms. "Relena... I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but going to him now would undo everything we've done."
Relena pushed back from Quatre and stared at him. His eyes were full of sympathy, but held no compromise. Relena stared at him for another second before heading for the door. Quatre was off the floor and in her way instantly. "Relena--"
"This is not what I proposed, nor what I agreed to. Move." She moved to step around him, but he followed her, grabbing her wrist and twisting her around so he held her arms behind her. She went very still. "Let me go, Quatre."
"No," he said simply. "You--"
All she needed was the first syllable. Relena pushed back against Quatre with her full weight, like Heero had taught her, throwing both of them to the ground. Her attempts at gaining release were countered smoothly, but with her weight on him and the angle, Quatre was having difficulty regaining the upper hand.
Finally, Relena yelped. Quatre immediately eased his hold. "Are you all--"
She was at the door before he finished the sentence, flinging it open and charging out into a solid chest and stomach. Arms came up to grasp her upper arms. She looked up.
"Princess," Wufei said calmly, "haven't we discussed what happens when you act rashly?"
Firmly, but not without care, he brought her back into the room, where Quatre was sitting up from the floor. Wufei released Relena in time for her to see the half-amused eyebrow arch over one eye.
"Wonder if I can get Heero to teach me that move," Quatre explained ruefully, coming to his feet.
"You let your guard down," Wufei replied flatly. He turned to Relena without waiting for comment from Quatre. "Winner is right, however. No contact with Yuy is possible. It may be sometime in the future, but now it is not."
Relena glared at Wufei. "You've been telling me to wait and wait and make a plan, and when I actually follow your advice, you get Heero thrown into prision?"
Wufei shook his head. "Although I do not entirely agree with his rationale, this was Yuy's will."
"How do you know?" she spat back.
Silently, Wufei's hand slid into his pocket. Grasping Relena's wrist, he pressed something warm into her hand.
She brought her hand into her line of vision to see what Wufei had placed there and went cold when she saw the glittering cross and broken chain. "What is this, Wufei?"
"He wants you to return this to Maxwell for him."
Realization slid down her back like a snowball, leaving trails of icy water in its wake. "He didn't know what I decided to do. There wasn't time to tell him that I wanted to work things out. There wasn't time..."
It was Quatre who moved to hold her, and Wufei who closed the door, as she closed her eyes and dropped to the floor.
~owari Chapter 23~