By Ai
Chapter 11"Hey Relena!"
Relena turned around at the familiar voice.
"Hey Duo, long time no see." She greeted the cheerful boy.
"Nice to see you cheerful again, babe." He winked at her.
"So, how are you doing?" Relena asked.
"Great. And how are YOU doing?" He echoed her question.
"Good."
"Good. Oh yeah, I had a purpose coming here." Duo started.
"And that is…"
"Would you like to go snowboarding with the gang during the Christmas break?"
"Christmas? Where?"
"Uh…up in the mountains. You know, where we used to go?"
"Well…I don't think I can make it. I planned to go home for Christmas."
"Home? Isn't this your…oh, home. I understand. I hope Heero is still going after you rejected."
"What does this have to do with him?" Relena questioned suspiciously.
"Nothing! Just joking like I always do." Duo laughed.
"Okay, well you guys enjoy yourselves there."
"Sure will princess, see you around."
"Bye, Duo." Relena waved him off with a smile.
Finally, a week before Christmas break began. She couldn't wait to have a chance to take her mind of school and to see her family again. A whole two weeks away from all her problems, to somewhere where she would always feel comfortable and welcome. She continued to head towards her car. She finally had some time to do some Christmas shopping at the local mega-shopping center. She had never had a chance to visit the place since she had come back to town. It had been one of their favourite hangouts and she was looking forward to the walk down memory lane.
* * * * *
Balancing the bags on her arm and hip, she crossed off another name off her list. There was only one name left…and she looked to see who it was.
"Oh." She almost dropped the list in her hand. She didn't know what that person was doing on her list.
But it's always better to be prepared, Relena, she told herself. She decided to take a break before proceeding to get the last gift of the day. She found herself a free bench and placed her bags on the floor beside her. Sighing as she looked up and around, she took in a deep breath and smiled. Christmas was absolutely her favourite holiday. She couldn't help but be in good spirits with all that Christmas cheer floating around in the air. She saw little children all around her with their parents…shopping for toys and taking pictures with Santa Claus. She remembered when she was small and she was here with her parents and her brother. Now, she was alone, but that thought didn't dampen her spirits.
"There will be a day when you will be able to spread your wings and fly away from us, Relena." Her mother always told her.
I guess this is it. She smiled and got back to her feet, determined to make it back to campus before 6:30, in time for dinner in the mess hall.
She had no idea what to get for her last purchase. Perhaps a CD? Or cologne? Or maybe a chain? Something related to surfing? A new accessory for the car? There were so many options and yet none of them seemed to be right.
Suddenly something caught her eye as she walked past. She stopped to look at it through the glass window. It was in the middle of the display, and it was so shiny.
Perfect. She thought. Then she rethought it…
Perfect?! It's so girly but it's not so bad but…oh what the heck, I can have it if I decide not to give it to him. And so she made up her mind about it.
* * * * *
Heero was exasperated. After all the shopping that he hated to do, he had two presents left on his list, two that were undetermined.
"What should I get Angel?" He didn't want to get her something too romantic…it wasn't as if it was Valentine's Day. But he didn't want to get her something too cheap because the girls he knew were known to compare their gifts with one another and he had some girl buds on his list too.
After walking around all afternoon, he decided on a red Bowler bag, which left one present on his list…and he was totally clueless about that one. And that was when he walked by that store and saw it.
"Awesome." He said to himself. He wouldn't mind getting one for himself but it was an awesome gift to give to her. It wasn't a sweetheart gift and it wasn't too expensive. It was suggestive or anything…just a simple gift.
"Perfect." And in the store he went.
* * * * *
"What?!? You can't do this to me, not right now!"
It was last period Friday and all the students were bustling about, getting ready to go home. The gang, which consisted of Heero, Duo, Relena, Jackie, Andy and Dave, were sitting in the quad. Some of the others still had class they had to attend.
Furious, Duo slammed his cell phone shut and shoved it in his pocket.
"What's up with that dude?" Andy asked.
"That stupid a-hole up in the mountains said that they mistakenly overbooked all the cabins and we are left without one even though we made reservations really early in the year."
"No way." Jackie exclaimed. "I was looking forward to getting away, and I've got all my things packed."
"I already told my parents not to expect me home until New Years." Dave mumbled.
"I've already got all these new kick-ass snowboarding equipment." Andy fumed.
"Me too. This sucks!" Duo sighed. "Say something, Heero."
"Well what can I say?" Heero said, not looking the least disturbed.
"So you guys don't have a cabin to go to anymore?" Relena asked.
Receiving no reply, she continued.
"Well, the slopes are great where I live. Why don't you spend Christmas up at my place? I'm sure my brother won't mind." Relena offered.
"Are you sure?" Heero asked.
"Sure, you guys have been there a few years back." Relena assured them.
"There's only one word to describe the slopes in Whistle's Bay, and that is: Sweet. I still remember them from my first visit." Duo chattered with excitement.
"Well, thanks Relena." Jackie said with a smile.
"We better get going to the train station to be sure all of us can get tickets." Relena said so they all headed off to their dorms to get their luggage after deciding to meet in the parking lot in 20 minutes.
Relena decided to use this time to phone her brother about the extra company and to phone Hilde to see if she'd be available during Christmas.
"Hello, Peacecraft residence."
"Lu?"
"Relena? How's everything?"
"Good, um, I was wondering if a few of my friends could come over for Christmas?" Relena asked after slight hesitation.
"Of course Relena! We've got plenty of room here."
"Are you sure Milliardo won't mind?"
"Zechs? Nah, he wouldn't. He's going to be glad to see that you're not lonely over there. We don't have any important guests staying over anyway."
"That's great Lu! You can probably expect us at around 8:30." Relena said.
"Okay, well why don't I get Pagan to send someone over to pick you guys up?"
"That'd be great Lu. Thanks! I'll see you in a while, bye!"
"Bye!"
Then Relena was on to her next call.
"Hello, may I speak to Hilde?"
"Sure thing. Hold on……………Hillldddeeeee! Phone!!"
"Hello?"
"Hilde? This is Relena."
"Hey Relena, what's up?"
"I'm coming home for Christmas."
"Oh."
"What's up?"
"Are you here yet?"
"Oh no, I'm going to arrive around 8:30 this evening."
"…."
"Hilde?"
"I'm just disappointed that I won't be able to see you this holiday…I'm off to the tropics in two hours."
"No way! I was looking forward to seeing you after all this time." Relena pouted.
"Well, we could wait for Spring Break?"
"Sure. Have fun, okay?"
"You too."
"Oh, do you think I can come by anytime and drop off your present in your mailbox or something?"
"Of course, I already dropped off yours. Okay, Merry Christmas!" Hilde exclaimed.
"Merry Christmas, bye."
* * * * *
Finally, the cars were pulling up into the driveway of the estate. It was quite a large house, not as large as the previous mansion they had lived in but it was more than anyone could ask for. Relena had spent her childhood winters here as well as the occasional summer. Now, she lived here, and had lived here for almost three years. A light veneer of snow covered the serene grounds and it sparkled under the silver moonlight. She and Jackie were in this car while the boys were in the other. Relena was the first one to get out and breathe in the chilly air when the cars pulled to a stop. The front door opened seconds later and Milliardo and Noin rushed out to greet them.
"Relena, it's so nice to have you home!" Noin gave her a warm hug.
Milliardo rumpled her hair.
"Nice to see you smiling, kiddo." He grinned.
"I'm not kid anymore." Relena exclaimed as she wrinkled her nose.
But she turned dead serious when she saw the Milliardo's smile fade. She directed her gaze to where he was glaring.
Heero had just gotten out of the car and was helping the servants with the luggage. It felt weird to be here again after all these years and he couldn't help feeling uneasy. But being the "new" Heero, he continued as if nothing was amiss.
"Milliardo…." Relena started before Milliardo pulled her away to one side.
"What is he doing here?" He demanded.
"Well, he's my friend…"
"You never said he was included. He's not welcome."
"But you never disapproved of him before!" Relena was aware that her whisper came out more loud and harsh than she meant for it to be.
"That was before he started treating you like something he could call on when he needed you and tell off when he didn't." Milliardo hissed.
"That's not how things were! He never treated me any less than he was supposed to...It was a mutual thing." Relena argued back, careful to keep her voice low.
"Well, I don't like him."
"He's going to stay whether you like it or not. What am I supposed to do, kick him out?"
"Fine, but I want you to stay away from him."
Relena didn't respond, but Milliardo took it that she understood and walked away.
When Relena rejoined the group, her good mood was spoiled. Everyone was too excited to notice this, except for Heero.
"Am I causing you trouble, Relena?" Heero asked.
"No, of course not. Don't be silly." Relena replied with a grin.
Heero took the hint that she didn't want to discuss this any further.
"Well, then why are you acting like someone just shoved a stick up your ass?" Heero said mischievously with a smirk.
"Heero Yuy!" She exclaimed in shock. Quickly, she caught him off guard and whipped a snowball smack in his face.
And that was how a snowball fight ensued.
Zechs and Noin watched while the whole gang threw snowballs at each other.
"And to think they were grown adults." Zechs said shaking his head. The he caught sight of Relena bombarding Heero with snowballs, making him fall over and then saw them laughing at one another. His steel blue eyes narrowed.
"Too close for comfort." He muttered.
"Zechs, look at Relena. She's happy. Look at her smile." Noin said, seeing the expression on his face.
What she said was true. Milliardo hadn't seen her smile like that ever since they moved here. Her smile was worth a million dollars and shone brighter than the sun.
"But still, she's with Yuy." He spat.
"You know Heero is not a bad person. Isn't it great that they were able to patch things well enough to become friends?"
"No. He's just a player. A rich snobby player."
"You're wealthy too, in many ways, you're similar to him. You should know how long it took us to finally overcome our differences and be together. Remember how we broke up right when you were about to move and we didn't talk to one another until I moved up here after finding a job here?"
"Well, that's different. He didn't bother to apologize or even call her for that matter. Actually, he didn't even bother to say goodbye."
"Maybe she told him not too."
"If he was man enough, he would try no matter what. He's just a coward. He should have seen her the first few months after coming here. He should have realized that she didn't mean what she said. He broke her heart."
"I believe that Heero has good intentions. Relena is eighteen for crying out loud. Let her make her own decisions because I'm certain that she knows what she's doing." Noin stated firmly. Milliardo didn't reply. He only continued to look out the window.
Not long after, they could hear the door open and shut. Everyone who came in was soaking wet.
Heero looked at Relena. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold and a big smile lit up her face. One could almost be blinded by its brilliance and he couldn't help but smile too. A small smile but nonetheless, a smile. He hadn't felt so alive for so long…he couldn't even remember how good it felt…and he knew that Relena was to thank for it. He thanked her silently before turning back to what Duo was chattering about…
Relena looked over at Heero. He had a small smile plastered on his lips. Today, it was the first time she had heard Heero laugh since her return. It seemed as though out there in the yard, he became the Heero she had once loved, back to his old self. It was such a wonderful moment; she didn't want it to end. But it ended soon enough. Taking off her boots, she smiled at her guests.
"I guess I should show you guys to your rooms…and tomorrow, we can check out the mountains."
There was a cheer from the tired group. It was a nice start to a nice holiday.
A.N.: Woohoo, done another chapter. I can't say that I'm exactly pleased with the flow of this chapter. It seems a little choppy in some parts but I really love the content in this! Yea! Heero and Relena moments! Well, a little tidbit but I promise that more is on its way! As we go along, more walks down memory lane. So what did everyone think? Please review! And until next time, ja ne!
Disclaimer: I don't intend to even lie about owning Gundam Wing. I don't. So there.