Warnings: A little swearing? Uh, I think that this is a very mild fic...
Disclaimers: Gundam Wing and all related characters do not belong
to me.
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No Title Yet - Chapter Two
I had a lot to think about that evening. My life, my marriage, Heero... What was I to do, now? I had never felt so alone, never this clueless. My life had always been a straight line - no crossings, just one single path I could take. But all of a sudden, the road stopped, leaving me stranded and lost. I couldn't turn back, and couldn't go forward.
Wandering the lone streets, I started to take in my surroundings. The dim street lamps were my only comfort and warmth out here, their soft light shimmering in the fallen water. The entire street seemed to glow within this golden light, and the refreshing scent of fallen rain helped calm my mind a bit. The moon overhead was blocked out by the rain clouds, but at least the rain seemed to grow tired, and slowly die down. A soft breeze rustled the red Autumn leaves of nearby trees, and ruffled my long, wet hair in wild directions. My suit was also drenched by now, but I didn't really care. All I cared about was a place for me to stay the night. I couldn't go back to our house, and my brother was out of town for the weekend. I had no real close friends nearby where I could stay the night, and no money to take me anywhere.
'Damn,' I thought. 'Shouldn't have left my purse at home.'
As I continued my little journey, I started to get into the busier part of town. Bright lights illuminated the dark night, and made it almost seem like it were day. Shops, bars, restaurants and other uninteresting stores covered each side of the road, and once again, everything was busy and alive. After all, it was only about eight in the evening.
Between a largely visited restaurant and an already closed flower shop, stood a bar. It was the brightest one of all, from which one could hear loud cheers and laughs. A busy little place; I guess that was why I decided to stay there for a while - to get my mind off of things. Unfortunately, I had no money, so my plan on passing out drunk had to be set aside for later, but at least this place would give me warmth.
I quickly entered the bar, where I was immediately met with bright lights and loud, tipsy people, not to mention the smell. In one little corner stood a pool table which was momentarily occupied, and in another, a huge table for the guests of honour, filled with loosely dressed men and woman, all laughing out loud almost in a rhythm. In the middle was the main bar, with a bar tender serving drinks and talking to some of the customers. Scattered all over the room were some more smaller, round tables, most of them already taken. And to top it all off, in two opposite corners were little TV sets screwed into the ceiling.
Warily, I stepped further in, letting the door behind me shut. I hadn't really been in a bar since the war - my duties hadn't allowed it. And after the Marimeia incident, I hadn't really found the time. Of course, there was also the problem of the Media. Some people did not really appreciate their politicians going out and getting drunk in their free time. Luckily enough, I think, I had forgotten my purse. Damn.
Slowly looking around the room, I found a lonely little table at the side. Perfect. I made my way up to it, and sat down. I just hoped the bar tender wouldn't notice me buying nothing, otherwise he'd probably throw me out. Yeah, that would be a great way to top off the day... Can you smell the sarcasm just reeking off that? Sorry, but evidently I wasn't really having a good day. Actually, I was, until I came home.
"Hey, pretty lady. Seat taken?"
My head snapped up as I was jogged out of my mind wanderings, "Say what?"
Above me stood a big, somewhat muscly man with a small moustache that graced his face. His other facial features were bold, his eyes a warm brown. He had a flop of hair on top of his head, which looked suspiciously like a comb-over. Smiling at me, he repeated, "May I sit here?"
I blinked, and looked around the room, then back at the man, "Aren't there any other spaces left?"
"Yeah, but you look kinda lonely," his voice was genuine, mixed in with a Scotish-like accent. 'He seems nice,' I thought to myself, although I knew he could be some weird psycho-killer looking for his next victim. But, to say the least, I couldn't care less.
I nodded and offered him the chair next to me.
After plumping his large frame on the chair, he grinned at me, "So, what does a girl like you do in a place like this?"
"How would you know what kind of girl I am?" I replied bored.
"Well, I might not look it, but I do watch the news. You're that Vice Foreign Minister... what was it again? ...Oh, yeah. Relena Dorlian-Yuy."
I sighed softly, "Please don't call me that."
"What?"
"Just Relena. Today, I'm like any other 23 year old girl - or rather, woman. So, please. Just Relena," I smiled weakly.
"Relena it is," he grinned. "So, Relena. Do 23 year old Vice Foreign Ministers have a drink or two? Well, what would you like?"
Normally, I wouldn't have taken this kind of charity, but tonight wasn't really a normal night, all things considered. He ordered two pints of beer, which were served quite quickly, and drunk empty just as fast - as least mine was.
My companion watched me wide-eyed as I finished my drink, and quirked an eyebrow at me once I set my glass down, "I was thirsty."
"So, anyway, what's your name?" I asked curiously.
"Bruno."
Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrow at him, "Bruno?"
He grinned sheepishly. "It ain't my real name - but it's what everyone calls me, anyway," he replied. "So, what's your story? What's got you so down in the dumps that you walk through the rain without a coat or an umbrella to end up here?"
"I'll tell ya for another drink," I offered. He agreed and ordered me a second pint, as I started telling him about how I found Heero in bed with - I still couldn't believe it - Duo, and how I ended up in this bar. I don't really know why I told this complete stranger, but I needed to get this out, before I burst. I had to stop myself from starting to cry again while I told Bruno, but when I was done, I felt better.
Bruno was great. He listened as if he actually cared, although I wouldn't be surprised if he was bored on his mind. He didn't interrupt, and only spoke once I had finally finished.
"I... " This large man seemed to be at loss of words, which surprised me. He seemed to think about what to say, then finally spoke, "That's a bugger. You seem like a great gal. Aren't you sure Heero isn't just gay?"
It had crossed my mind, but it was too impossible.
"If he were gay, then he would have lied to me all along... and... I don't want to think about that," I sighed. "Maybe... maybe it was me. You know, not good enough to fulfil his... err... needs. I was just so busy lately. Or maybe Duo, the bastard, seduced Heero 'cause he couldn't find anyone else or... something..." I knew Duo wouldn't do that, at least on purpose anyway. I was just so mad at him at the moment, that I would have loved to attack him with a chain sword and chopped off his annoying little braid and then his even more annoying head. Ok, ok. I was overreacting. I actually like his braid and head, and had often protected them both by a raging WuFei. Those two always fought - it was kinda like a love-hate relationship, but I knew that deep down, they respected each other.
I'm rambling again, aren't I?
Anyway, Bruno and I talked on into the night, about simply nothing. He told me that he works in a travelling circus, which has just come into town. Most of the people of the table of guests of honour were from that same circus. He was the guy who lifted all those weights and stuff, but also one of the clowns. He told me all about the acts and how he always has to practise them every morning, and then again, after lunch. He lived in a trailer, which I couldn't really see, since he was such a big man. Anyway, Bruno was very open to me, and I appreciated it, although I was really wondering how many glasses of beer he had had before he had come over to me. He ordered another couple of pints for the both of us, and I started to feel a bit tipsy.
When it finally passed eleven o'clock, he decided to leave, since he had to wake up early in the morning.
"Well, it's been nice talking to you, Bruno," I smiled up at him, when he stood up.
"Yeah, well. It was a pleasure." He was about to turn when, he asked, "Hey, since you don't really have anywhere to sleep, wanna stay at my place? It's not big or anything, but if I sleep on the floor, there'll be enough room for us both."
"Well," I put a finger to my chin, as if in deep thought, "I was going to try and just pass out on a table and spend the night here, but... yeah, ok." I grinned.
We left a tip for the bar tender, and exited the bar. Hit by a rush of cool air, I shivered slightly, and pulled my blazer close. The street had become quieter, but there were still al lot of people wandering the streets. All the shops had closed now, and the restaurants and bars alone took the spotlight. Bruno lead the way down this street, away from where I had come from. It only took about ten minutes, when we arrived at a nearby field, which was now covered by seemingly countless trailers and a huge tent. There were booths set up at the sides, as well as a few smaller tents for the animals and probably any other equipment that needed to be set up in the morning. We walked up to a series of trailers, most of them still lit up inside, and stopped in front of a darkly painted one. I couldn't identify the actual colour in the darkness, though.
Bruno pulled out a key and opened the lock for us. Stepping inside, he put on the light, giving way to the space inside. It was quite a small trailer, with one bed at the side, a small kitchen, seating area and a door leading to the toilet, I presume. Everything was decorated in subtle colours, creating a calm effect. There was a lot of junk scattered on the table, bed and floor, though. Apologizing for the mess, my comrade gave me the bed and a very large shirt for a nighty. He himself decided to sleep on the floor, and pulled out a mattress from underneath the bed. We each got ourselves ready for bed, and within ten minutes, the lights were out.
Lying on Bruno's bed, and staring at the blank ceiling above me, I spoke softly, "Thanks, Bruno. I never expected this from someone I hardly know. I owe you."
"You're welcome, Relena. After all, you saved all our lives in the war - this was the least I can do."
I smiled. It was the first time anyone had openly thanked me for what
I did during the wars. The Gundams and their pilots had done a lot, of
course, but I always seemed to be the one who 'asked' the Gundams to fight
for her, and never do anything herself, except say a lot of speeches. To
say the least, I appreciated it. And despite the events of that day, I
had found a friend.
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