Intermission
I realized from reading a couple of recent reviews, which were almost downright vicious, that I should make a few. . . *ahem* "clarifications" on this story.
First of all, I was told that I "killed off Relena to get her out of the way so Heero could 'comfort' Duo." That is not true at all. In fact, in the original draft of the story, Heero didn't even like Duo 'in that way.' But I couldn't just let Duo die, I wanted him to get on with life. As I have previously stated, I am *not* a Relena-hater/basher/etc., and I would not simply use her as an excuse for Duo and Heero to hook up. I am a big fan of romance, and the best way I saw for Duo to realize that Relena was not the only one who cared for him, was for him to find that someone else had feelings for him. I'm sorry if that seems a bit shallow or 'unoriginal.'
As for Relena being strong enough to not kill herself over a man, I would generally tend to agree. But you have to also think about her bad luck with important men in her life. Her father turned out to not be her real father, her brother was an enemy, and Heero never seemed, to her, to really be there for her. Everyone has moments of weakness, unfortunately hers just came at a very bad time.
Another comment I got was about how fast Heero "just moves right in" on Duo after his failed attempt at suicide. Okay, first of all, it wasn't quite that simple. Heero didn't make Duo forget about Relena, as I said earlier here, he made him realize that other people cared about Duo, and that his life was actually worth something to them. And as Duo himself stated when Heero asked if he was ready to date someone else, "No. But I might as well try, it'll keep my mind off of her." He knows he can't dwell on her, it will only make him more depressed. So he struggles to move on with his life, without losing the memory of her.
As for Heero telling Relena he wouldn't be far behind her if she died in the Endless Waltz manga, I haven't read it, so that one is pure coincidence.
Well, I really hope this clears some things up for you. . . I am not one to shun constructive criticism, but I don't think anyone enjoys incriminating reviews. I've tried my best to explain here what seems to me must have been unclear, and I hope it did some good.
Also, I know a lot of people don't read the author's notes, and I'll admit most of mine are just jabbering anyway, but I make some important points in them at times, so please go back and read them. I did at one point try to explain exactly why I killed Relena, and it certainly wasn't for Heero's sake.