It's My Life
Okay, as promised, here's Lena's side of 'For Rel' and 'Get Rel'.
Okay, I'm starting to notice that I have some reviewers who have obviously not read my other fics, "For Rel" and "It's My Life," which are basically Heero's side of this story. No one has to read the other two stories but it's kind of helpful, despite my horrible grammar and spelling (my writing has done much growing since I finished the other stories).
From the fitful plane rides from Italy to New York, from New York to Tennessee, and from Tennessee to O'Hara Airport, Relena hurriedly hitched a pre-ordered taxi to Six Flags Great America. In short, she was beat. Thankfully she had found time to change her clothes and get to the amusement park at one o'clock, the agreed time. Moving as quickly as she could to the entrance, Relena got her pre-paid ticket scanned; her bag searched, and passed the metal detector. Now, she was officially in the park at 1: 06 pm, six minutes late.
Standing at the foot of a man-made wishing-pond, Relena stared out at the vastness of the park while her bag began to slip off her shoulder. "Wow…" she breathed, mouth gaping open.
Six Flags Illinois was one of the few amusement parks still operating from generations that had long since turned to dust and blown away. There had been some debate in the recent past on whether the remaining amusement parks should be torn down or not, so Relena had decided to take advantage of visiting the Six Flags while it was still standing. So, when Quatre wanted to see her and she found that Six Flags was open during this time of year, she jumped at the opportunity to see the park.
The weather was warm for the time of year and the sun was shining brightly over Relena's head. Global warming over the last hundred plus years had done wonders to the seasons; late winders in the upper former United States were more like mid spring and late summer like mid autumn. Winters were relatively shorter and it was a rarity for snow to fall in large quantities or at all, plenty of rain but not much snow. Thus, amusement parks like Six Flags opened in early March rather than in May.
Snapping from her daze, Relena made her way to the far side of the carousel where she was to meet up with Quatre. She was nervous, if her visibly trembling hands suggested anything.
It was not long before she caught sight of Quatre, his blond hair and simple designer clothes stood out amongst the shorts, sandals, blacks, and pastel colors. She could remember a time not too long ago when he favored pastel colors as well, before the homosexual cracks had gone too far in the media. Now, he resisted the pastel purples and pinks for bold blues and reds.
Hanging back for a moment, the former Vice Foreign Minister surveyed her friend's attire; it was a red t-shirt with a navy vest over it, and khaki pants to conclude the ensemble. I suppose I'll have to do some persuading to get him to go on a water ride, she decided, approaching the politician from behind with a mischievous smile growing on her features.
"Where could she be?" she heard him wonder aloud, straightening his shirt and vest. Now was her chance.
Relena pounced, covering Quatre's eyes with her hands. "Guess who?" she whispered tauntingly in his ear in lower voice.
"R…Relena?" he muttered, a smile spread across his features causing Relena to remove her hands and pout.
"You're no fun; you didn't even guess anyone else's name." She glanced at Quatre only to see that he had fallen into some trance as he took in her new look. Patiently she waited for him to snap back to reality.
"Oh well, I'm glad you could come. Especially since I know it probably took you forever to convince your bodyguards to let you come alone," smiled Relena, regaining Quatre's focus. She knew how protective the Maganac Corps members were of Quatre and how reluctant they were to even let the young politician do go out to do anything alone.
"Yeah, a four and a half hour long debate, but I finally talked them into letting me come," shrugged Quatre cheerfully. The response was just as Relena had suspected. Then Quatre's mood switched to one of relief. "It's good to see you again, Relena."
Quatre approached Relena obviously with the intent of giving her a hug, a form of affection she was more than willing to receive. So, she practically leapt at him, arms linking around his neck and his arms about her waist. She heard him expel a soft 'oof' upon impact. This she took as a good sign rather than him going 'ow.'
She was ecstatic to see her friend in public without a disguise and before his eyes. She felt she could be her naturally affectionate self with Quatre, without Heero sending exasperated glares her way or some paparazzi snapping photographs for a tabloid story. No, this was perfect. It was just her and him. God, she had missed Quatre so much.
"I've missed you too, Quatre," she murmured into his shoulder, then it suddenly dawned on her that he had grown a few inches compared to what she remembered of him. "You've grown a bit, haven't you?"
"A few inches," he granted her with a chuckle, releasing his hold. "Well, what would you like to do first?"
Relena pondered this, running through a list of rides she knew were there while a finger tapped unconsciously against her chin. Looking about her, Relena saw the carousel horses glistening over her shoulder. That was it!
"Well, since we're already by the carousel let's go on this one first." She grabbed Quatre's hand, dragging him into the line for the upper level of the carousel. Holding hands was second nature to Relena, like making an impromptu speech for any given subject. Apparently it was a family trait as she could remember Milliardo's White Fang speech from the war, very well spoken and made her proud except for the fact that he had been initiating war on the Earth.
It did not take long before they were sitting on two large horses on the upper level. Quatre was mounted on a white horse with false ruby gems while Relena was on a brown horse with false emerald studs, Relena's choice. It was her first time on a carousel, she did not know quite to expect from the ride.
"Aren't we a little old for these kinds of things?" Quatre inquired. Turning to her friend with false reigns in hand, Relena could sense her companion felt uncomfortable with being on a "children's ride."
"At heart I'm not, but if you want we can get off," offered Relena ready to dismount, she would not let him suffer discomfort on her account.
"No!" he assured quickly. "No, it's fine. I just haven't been on one of these in such a long time," he was saying while she stared dubiously at him for a moment before the ride began to spin.
"Really? How long ago was it?" asked Relena as her horse went up and Quatre's went down.
"It has been nearly ten years since I last rode on one of these," snorted Quatre noticing the children in front of him wave below to their parents.
"Quatre?" The young politician wore the reminiscent expression that Relena could familiarly identify with since she was certain people could see it in her eyes from time to time, especially when she thought of her father, Mr. Darlian. "Are you okay there, Quatre?" Relena called her voice full of concern since he did not reply to her first attention-getting attempt.
The representative nodded, "Of course, so when was your last time on one of these?"
A heat built in her cheeks, Relena was positive that she was visibly blushing. "Actually this is my first time."
Quatre's jaw dropped, literally, to Relena's surprise. Was it that odd that she had never been on a carousel before that day? She decided that perhaps she ought to explain her situation.
"Father was often busy or elsewhere in the colonies or Earth, mother was not interested in carnivals plus she had back problems, and then Pagan has a history of a heart attack so he was not fit for the rides. So, instead of deciding to be a burden-as I thought of it as-I just choked up my tears and never went to the carnivals."
"Wow," was all Quatre said as the ride stopped.
"Oh well, at least now I get to have all these new experiences with one of my friends," she said off-handedly as Quatre helped her off the fake horse like the gentleman his sisters taught him to be.
"But you wish Heero was here instead of myself," pointed out Quatre.
Heero…that name caused an instant reaction and Relena knew it, and she knew Quatre probably had felt her reaction too. Heero, a simple, common name that had so much internal pain associated with it that Relena could not hear the name and not think of her once bodyguard now pursuer. Ironically, she had gotten what she wanted, for Heero to pursue her, but instead of the figurative action she got the literal action. Heero…
No, she scolded herself, no more pain. I'm with a dear friend who cares. I do not need Heero to enjoy this.
"Heero gets to have all these experiences with Vice Foreign Minister Sylvia Noventa. If I remember correctly, they are still an item," claimed Relena, grabbing Quatre's hand. "Besides, you are the one that wanted to see me even if it meant having to let me go again, and for that I am grateful for."
This seemed to almost crush Quatre and Relena visibly saw the look in his eyes for a second, instantly she felt the need to make amends or find a diversion to get away from the subject name "Heero Yuy" before she made an ass of herself any further. "Come on, you choose a ride," she suggested, leading the way off the carousel, down the stairs, and back into the crowds.
In the crowds, Quatre pulled out a map of the amusement park which Relena had neglected to pick-up in her lateness. At least one of us is thinking ahead, she mentally berated.
"How about the Fun Machine?" he suggested.
Having no idea what the ride was or what it did, Relena nodded, "Sounds good to me." She allowed Quatre to lead the way to the mystery ride that was meant to be "fun," or so the title suggested.
Quatre led her underneath a bridge and went through a mist of water before finding the ride tucked away in a corner and got into line. The line was relatively short but Relena estimated that she and Quatre were not going to be getting on the next time around.
"So what have you been doing the last five months?" asked Quatre, afterwards he wanted to kick himself, again, for that.
Momentarily taken aback by the question, Relena could see how Quatre was already giving himself a mental reprieve. She supposed he thought that he had somehow offended her. So, to desist the guilt trip she gave informed him of her actions during the past five months.
"Well, I have been going to college, working, and generally having a good time while enjoying every minute of my freedom." He seemed stunned that she had even told him exactly what she had been doing, honestly too. "It's okay to ask me that Quatre, I just won't go into too many details, but don't ask where I have been."
Relief washed over Quatre as he let out a sigh and brushed a hand over her hair. "I see that you cut your hair," he stated.
"Yeah, I wanted a change to go with my change of life." A blush was creeping to her cheeks again. "What do you think of the outfit? A bit radical?" she inquired spinning around. Please say it's 'okay.'
"It is a bit radical compared to what you used to wear, but it suits you," complimented the representative, making Relena's spirits rise. "What do you want to do after college?"
This was a topic Relena had been mulling over for a while, since she started filling out her college application to be precise. "Well, as a child I did want to be a doctor, then in fifth grade I wanted to be teacher, in seventh grade I wanted to be an archaeologist, and then in ninth grade, the last year I was in school, I wanted to be a trainer for horses. Now, I'm finding a passion for music, business, and literature, so I don't know," shrugged Relena moving with the line until the gate closed in front of her.
"You are lucky to have had such goals," commented Quatre.
"Aw, come on Quatre you have a goal too, to keep wars away from the colonies," Relena reassured, although she did not consider her indecisions as goals.
"And you had the goal of putting a stop to all wars between Earth and the colonies, which you succeeded at," he pointed out.
Relena winced, that was not correct. "That I didn't, that was all you gundam pilots, you guys put a stop to the war all I had been doing is keep any more wars from happening. Of course that led to almost all representatives looking to me for counsel, it was like they could not make a decision without me." The conversation was starting to become an argument of who was the cause behind ceasing further wars between Earth and the colonies. Thankfully, the ride had come to a stop and the operator opened the gate.
"Come on," urged Relena, running to a nearby car and then climbed inside, followed by Quatre who pulled down the bar and locked it.
"I guess this is a first for both of us," remarked Quatre, the topic of goals had seemingly vanished.
"That'll make this even more fun then," smirked Relena as the operator checked their car and then went back over to his control panel.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the fun machine, please keep your arms and legs inside the cars at all times and secure any personal items. Enjoy the ride," announced the operator as three honks were heard and then hissing from the center piece of the machine.
They spun clockwise slower for a bit as the three divisions of cars also were rotating. Soon the speed grew and Relena was slipping towards Quatre, until finally she slammed into him. Worried that she might be squishing him or making him uncomfortable, Relena tried to move back to her original spot. "Sorry," she apologized as the gravitational pull kept her flushed against Quatre's side.
"May as well stay here with me," grinned Quatre.
It was a simple, reasonable statement yet it seemed to have an underlining implication tagging along. Was there a second motive to Quatre's willingness to stay close? No, Relena decided, he thinks of me only as a friend. I've just been around Draca and the others long enough that I've picked up their double-guessing traits. She silently laughed at her rash interpretation. Quatre and I are just friends.
It had been a great day, the weather remained warm, the rides had been exciting, and the companion had been very agreeable. The only unfortunate thing to occur was near four o'clock when Relena had decided that she wanted to go on a water ride, at least once. She ignored the fact that she was wearing a white tank top, Quatre was wearing khaki pants, and the weather was gradually growing cooler. Now, at six o'clock at night, she and Quatre were suffering the consequences while walking to the exit damp and shivering.
Rubbing her arms, Relena apologized superfluously through chattering teeth. "S-sor-ry about th-this K-K-Quatre, I-I didn't th-think-k it would g-get this c-c-cold." She felt Quatre's hands join her hands in creating friction on her arms.
"Don't worry about it, I should have said something," Quatre shrugged, feeling the warmth he provided in Relena's arms slowly cease the chattering. Like a gentleman, Quatre had given Relena his vest to cover her modesty the moment they had departed the ride.
"Thanks for such a great day Quatre, but I am afraid that it is time we part," she stated, feeling apologetic for having to leave her friend when the night was still young the park very much alive with bright colors alighting the rides. However, she had to catch a flight back to Italy to pick up her bag and return to the former United States to stay with her cousin.
"Yeah," nodded Quatre, pulling Relena into a final hug. "You will call me again, won't you?" It sounded like a breathless plea.
"Of course I will," giggled Relena, drawing out of the embrace wondering why she would not call him. "I will definitively be giving you a call soon. Maybe we'll do this again sometime." That was a promise more than a suggestion.
The idea seemed to meet the young politician's approval. "I would like that," he grinned widely. "You take care, Lena."
For the second time that day, Relena was taken back but this time it was because of a question but the endearment coming from her friend. It took her a moment to reply, "You too, Quatre, you too." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before going off towards the exit.
"Relena," Quatre called, causing her to spin around to him with a smile, "Heero really doesn't deserve Sylvia but he doesn't deserve you either!"
Relena's smile grew. Quatre was such a sweetheart at times and he had a talent for saying things that might have been painful coming from anyone else but coming from him it was a comfort. "Thanks Quatre, I'll keep that in mind."
With that she disappeared among the many people leaving the amusement park and she jumped into a taxi she had pre-ordered to pick her up at when Quatre and her had decided to take a lunch break. Well, she thought, watching the world outside the taxi pass her by, I came, I saw Quatre, and I had a blast. Now, I must return to this game I am playing with Heero.
Thank you to: Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, Pureevil230, AirStriker, and Inda for your support on chapter 18. Also, since I didn't do this for the previous chapter, thank you to: angel of darkness 507, PunkednDangerous, Lynn-Minmay, and Morrighan of Crimson and Sable (again). I'm sorry that I have not been updating for nearly a year but I'm updating now and I have the "For Rel" part of this fic almost finished. One more chapter than I will be into the "It's My Life" portion. Just stay with me and this fic will be concluded, hopefully before I graduation from high school in June.