Title: The Inner Child in Yuy
(23 January 2003)
Author: Sariyuki
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing and its cast. Rapunzel is a story by Jacob and Wilhem Grimm.
Warning: Children story, Clueless Relena, 1+2

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"Rapunzel, let down your golden hair
That I may climb it like a stair"

" ... said the Witch."

"Rapunzel had the most beautiful long hair, and when she heard the Witch called,
she let it hang over the window still right down to the ground,
allowing the Witch to gain access to the tower where Rapunzel was isolated from all the world."

Duo opened the next page of the storybook.
There's a drawing of a handsome prince on a white horse.
The prince was blonde, like Quatre but bigger and taller, although decidedly, not cuter.
And so the story began.

"One day, the King's son was passing the tower and heard Rapunzel singing.
Her voice was so beautiful that he longed to see her.
Everyday the prince came near to the tower just to listen to her singing.
One day, the prince watched how the Witch called out and climbed up Rapunzel's hair."

Heero listened as Duo continued reading.
The prince managed to get into the tower and met Rapunzel. Then they fell in love with each other.
Heero wondered if love at the first sight was intellectually possible. It seemed a bit dodgy to him.
But quickly Heero dismissed the thought. It's a fairy tale. Anything could happen in it.
The story went on.

"The Witch knew about the prince visit and she got so angry that she cut Rapunzel hair off
and dragged her to the loneliest place in the wood where nobody could find her."

Heero saw Duo's expression of distaste when he read the part where the witch cutting off Rapunzel's hair and smirked.
That witch wouldn't stand a chance when she met Duo.
She'd done one of the most unspeakable crimes, according to Duo's principle of life.
Cutting off someone's hair without consent was a crime, especially if the hair was long and didn't have split ends.
The story rolled on to a bit of action.

"The next day when the prince came, he was surprised to see the Witch instead of his beloved Rapunzel.
The Witch told him that he'd never see Rapunzel ever again. The prince was so angry and over come by grief
that he fell down from the tower and was blinded because of the thorn trees beneath."

Well, so much for an action.
Definitely not a gundam pilot material, this prince was, Heero thought. Way too easy to defeat.
Duo turned the page to the next one. He wet his lips before continued on reading in a clear voice.

"Day after day, the prince wandered to find his lost love.
The prince came at last to the lonely wood where the Witch had left Rapunzel.
When she saw that her prince had become blind because of her, she cried.
Two of her tears fell on his eyes and healed them.
Both were very happy and they travelled back to the prince's castle and got married."

Ah, Heero nodded mentally. Happy ending. Life's so simple in a story.
No difficult choices, no uncertainties, everything and everyone fitted in nicely. Just perfect.
There's a place for everyone and everyone's in the right place.

"And so ...," Duo yawned, "they lived happily ever after. The end."

Duo closed the storybook and switched off the bedside lamp.

"Enjoy the story?" He positioned himself comfortably on his bed.

Heero yawned before answering, "Hn. Thanks."

Duo smiled in the dark, "No problems. Anytime."

Heero rubbed his eyes and said, "No one's ever read me stories before bed."

"Poor old Heero," teased Duo, "Sister Helen used to read me wonderful stories every night."

"You're like Rapunzel," Heero mumbled. "You've got the longest hair I've ever seen."

"Me? Rapunzel?" Duo laughed, "And I suppose you're the prince?"

Heero smiled at that. He knew Duo couldn't see him in the dark.

"Goodnight, Duo."

"Nite, Heero."

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Meanwhile, piles of books were scattered covering the floor of Relena's bedroom...

Relena looked cute in her pink Hello Kitty pyjama. She had been busy all evening, sorting out a very long list.
She held an A4 paper on her left hand and a pen on her right.

"Hmm ... Beauty and The Beast, I've got that." She tossed away the book into a half full box beside her.

"Sleeping Beauty, got that one." Ticked off the list, tossed the book into the box.

"Red Riding Hood, got that." Ticked off the list, tossed the book into the box.

"Three Little Pigs, yup!" Ticked off the list, tossed the book into the box.

"The Adventure of Tom and Jerry, got that." Ticked off the list, tossed the book into the box.

"Pinky and The Brain, got that one too." Ticked off the list, tossed the book into the box.

"Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone?" Relena frowned, "Never heard of it."

"Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets?" Frowned again, "Hm, who's this Potter guy anyway?"

She crossed out those two titles on her list and yawned.
"I wonder what kind of research project Heero said he's doing with all this books..."


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