Get Rel
NOTE: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters.
"Trowa," Catherine spoke up, disturbing the awkward silence that was between them.
The man at the driving wheel made a noise of acknowledgement as he drove. It was only the two of them in the trailer but that was never out of the ordinary, and it always provided them with some time to bond; if they ever bonded that is.
"Was there something wrong with Quatre when you last saw him? You haven't spoken about it since you got back," Catherine told him causing Trowa to stiffen. "What happened in Italy?"
Trowa sighed a little; he knew he could not avoid the questions forever. "Quatre was fine, even a bit…giddy," Trowa assured her.
He saw Catherine snap her head towards him in surprise, it made him want to half smile but he couldn't quite pull it off.
"Giddy? Really?" She sounded surprised, truly surprised. "Wow, I thought he would still be a bit saddened by Relena's disappearance. What do you think changed him all of a sudden?" she inquired.
Trowa thought back to the night of the Fundraiser when Quatre had began to act in his happy little manner. Who was it that he had spoken to? Draca? No, it was Lynn, wasn't it? he thought. "I do not know what exactly it was but it must have been whatever this girl from a band, whom we repeatedly crossed paths with, had said to Quatre that had changed him."
Catherine leaned on her arm, which was plopped on the window frame, and watched Trowa with a searching expression. It was something that Trowa had gotten used to long ago but now it was bothering him. Why did she feel the need to try and solve all mysteries about him?
"What about you?" she questioned meaningfully.
"What about me?" he shrugged.
"What has changed you?" she clarified.
"I haven't changed," he argued. He hadn't changed! At least he thought he hadn't changed since he had gotten back.
She smiled at him in the way that only Catherine could. "Sure you have, you are a little more open about your concerns for Quatre. You call him whenever you are able to get to a payphone and have time to talk to him, which is mostly at night. Then you stay on the phone chatting with him for two hours at the most and a half hour at the least," Catherine pointed out to him. "You never did that before, so why now?"
She is right, Trowa realized. I have been doing all that and more as of late. "Uh…" was all he could say. How was he supposed to explain this transformation?
"Oh this is a triumph, I have silenced you into a blush!" cheered Catherine gently, her voice quivered with a bit of laughter. "Wow. Who is this extraordinary person who has brought you a bit out of your protected sexuality shell? For I must know who to thank."
Trowa sighed, he had just heard the news from Quatre a few nights ago and he still was letting it all sink in. "It was Relena."
Now it was Catherine's turn to be silenced, but into a shocked silence.
"Oh," was all she said before they returned to their uncomfortable silence.
***
Heero would have smirked a bit and shook his head if he had been a normal guy, if. "How did you figure it out?" he questioned. If his memory served correctly he had orange hair now, not brown, and his eyes were now a dark brown instead of the persian blue, so how did Zeches figure it out?
Zeches laughed at his question in a manner that simply stated, 'it's so obvious'. "One, your personality," Zeches pointed out.
Mentally Heero kicked himself in the head, of course that would have been a tell-tale sign of who he was! I really need to work on that, he made a mental note of.
"Secondly, your hair," Zeches continued.
"My…hair?" Heero echoed slowly as he unconsciously ran a hand through his unruly mob. "What is wrong with my hair?" Why think that question when Heero could ask it?
"You are the only person I know, possibly in all the colonies and Earth, with such unruly hair," Zeches remarked.
Heero wasn't surprised by the explanation now; he knew that his hair was a mess. It wasn't because he didn't brush it, in fact he combed it every morning but it would never abide by his commands. Instead, it would always give Heero trouble and if he tried to gel it down it would pop right back up against the gel. Sometimes he felt as though it had a life of its own.
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes Heero just glared his trademark glare at Relena's brother. "What do you want with me, Zeches?" he demanded. In Heero's life he found that being straightforward was the best way to get answers.
"Well," began Zeches, plopping himself down beside Heero, trying to make the scene seem a bit more natural. "Since we're both here in the same town, after the same girl, I thought perhaps we could…help each other in this search."
Heero's glare intensified by ten fold, who was Zeches to presume that he would dare work with him?! Sure, Relena was Zeches' baby sister but she was also Heero's charge, not Zeches'.
"Negative," Heero refused.
Zeches was not surprised by the answer, but that didn't stop him from persisting. "Come on Heero, a soldier of you caliber should be able to see how working together would benefit the both of us."
"I work alone." It didn't fly past Heero that Zeches obviously did not know that Duo and Hilde were with him as well, and Heero planned on keeping it that way.
"You will need help on this…" Zeches searched his brain for the word, "self-named mission."
I have my help, Heero thought. "No, I won't," he lied.
Frowning at Heero's stubbornness the older man challenged, "What makes you think you'll be able to find Relena on your own?"
"I know her mind," the former Gundam pilot stated flatly. And she still holds some of those 'deep emotions' for me, which will be her downfall, Heero mentally vowed as he recalled the letter Relena had left him at the train station.
However, it appeared that Zeches begged to differ for he snorted, "No, you don't." It took Heero off guard just slightly, but that was all Zeches needed as he continued, "You have never known my sister's mind."
"Neither have you," retorted Heero with an edge to his voice that he didn't mean to put in.
The edge in the former Preventer's voice was not lost on Zeches, provoking him to snap, "I know you would like to think that I do not care for her anymore…"
"Not at all," Heero interrupted truthfully, "you visit her once a year, call four times a year, and send her cards at least three cards. That's affection in my eyes." That was the truth; Heero saw nothing wrong with that form of affection for he knew that Zeches was a busy man and his days off were spent doing more work.
"I was busy on Mars," Zeches carried on, ignoring what Heero had said. "What more do you expect from me?"
"It wasn't I who expected more out of you, it was Relena." Now it was Zeches' turn to be taken aback. "Relena was the one that wanted to talk with you, see you, do activities with, not I."
Interrupting their clarifying discussion was Salem, the college kid grabbed Heero and forced him to his feet then proceeded to hide behind the former Gundam pilot while pleading, "Protect me!"
Immediately Heero deducted that Salem had angered someone and that some was Joey since she was approaching them in the most innocent manner that could be.
"Hi Eiji, how are you tonight?" she greeted with a sinfully childlike expression and voice.
"Hn," he grunted as Salem was gripping the back of his shirt tightly.
"Really? That's what I figured," she smiled.
Heero wanted to hit his head against something! Apparently Robin had decided to tell everyone to take his 'hn's as a 'yes'. He would never be able to live without that being thrown at his face, would he?
"Hey," Joey cried, "we're going to start dancing soon, want to be my partner?"
He stiffened at the invite and just as equally stiffly replied, "No."
"Aw…why not?" pouted Joey.
"I don't dance," he answered, the last he danced it was with Sylvia and the last time he had danced that was for 'pleasure' was with Relena at the St. Gabriel Institution party.*
Instead of taking him seriously, Joey laughed at his lame excuse and grabbed his wrist. "Everyone dances!" she insisted. Spontaneously she launched her free hand over Heero's shoulder and striking Salem's arm.
"Ow! Chill Josephina, I was only kidding earlier!" Salem groaned.
"Are they always like this?" Zeches interrupted.
"Yes," sighed Heero.
"No!" the siblings corrected.
Joey returned her attention to her brother. "It wasn't very funny Salem," she hissed.
Salem stuck his tongue out at his sister in the belief that Heero would always be his protection from his twin. However, Heero proved him wrong when he stepped aside to give Joey the greatest access to her brother.
"Eiji!" Salem yelled in disbelief. He had been betrayed.
Instead of pounding her brother to the dirt, Joey just began to drag her claimed dance partner towards the cluster of people that had formed. Simultaneously Robin and Frankie flip two boom boxes on, playing the very familiar 'For Rel' songs.
Heero wanted to groan, the town obviously knew the band, at least by name and song, but that didn't help him with his search. It especially didn't help that he was in the center of a crowd of college kids who danced in a manner Heero was not used to.
After years of upper-class, ballroom dancing that was the only dance form Heero knew. So when he saw everyone around him twist their bodies, prance around, twirl, and just plainly move in unorthodox styles, it frightened Heero. He was wishing to be sitting off to the side with Robin, Warren, Frankie, Amy, and Jake but instead he was stuck in the thicket of people with no way out.
"Eiji, what's wrong?" Joey decided to finally ask. "Don't you know how to dance?"
Instead of giving the 'hn' response, Heero just shrugged. He knew how to ballroom dance but not this style of dance.
To his fortune, or perhaps misfortune, Hilde decided to come between Joey and him. "Sorry Joey but maybe I can help," Hilde apologized getting into the classic waltz position. "Come on Eiji, I'm not going to bite you know."
*From Episode six in the series in case you didn't remember.