Adagio
Adagio – musical marking, slow and stately (literally, "at ease")
A/N: As the year draws to a close I want to take the opportunity to say thank you. I'd like to pay homage to fellow fanfic writers, old and new. I can't list every name without rambling* (and inadvertently revealing my age) but allow me to say this. If words are music, I went to sleep to music, and woke up from hibernation to music. For us who aren't ready to stop dancing, you are extending the waltz. This story, big or small, is inspired by you. I'd also like to say thanks to all readers, for dancing together with me. Thanks for bearing with the slow pace, for noticing the small details, for smiling, frowning, and guessing (which is often on the mark). Thanks to those who took the time to send something back. I am grateful for each of you. Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! May your dreams stay big, your worries stay small, and that life becomes all that you want it to. See you in the new year.
*) See credits roll at the end
Chapter 9: Invitation (Shōtai 招待)
Invitation refers to 'a request to participate or be present', 'a tempting allurement', 'a situation or action that drives someone to do something or makes a particular outcome likely'.
The Japanese word shōtai is written in two kanji which means 'to invite' and 'to wait'.
Be who you are and say what you feel. Because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. – Bernard Brauch
AC 197 December
All over, travellers were being warned to prepare for a major winter storm. It was set to hit most of the continent, along with much of Belgium and the Flemish Region. That included the capital of ESUN, Brussels.
The storm, which could include blizzard conditions for some areas, would arrive later that day, with the most wintry conditions expected from midday Friday into Saturday, just in time for one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
The weather forecast went out days before the Christmas weekend, before the celebration of the Foundation Day. The combination of the end of war memorial, Christmas day, and the New Year were commonly called the golden week. For most people, it meant holiday season. Long vacation, time to be spent with loved ones. For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it translated to a lot of events to plan for, to coordinate, to attend. Delegations from all over the sphere would be coming to Earth, to the capital, listening and making speeches, attending press conferences and formal banquets.
Her housekeeper knocked on the door, "Miss Relena."
"Hello Anne. Breakfast?" Her smile turned into a grimace, "Or the news?"
Just finished dressing up to go to work, she tilted her head towards the screen. She pressed the volume button louder.
"The winds will get incredibly strong Friday afternoon, evening, and overnight, and that will likely create snow storm conditions that will only gradually abate on Saturday," the meteorologist on the screen said. "If you have any travel plans between mid-morning Friday and midday Saturday, I implore you to adjust them to avoid that stretch. It is not going to be the most snow – we are not in the sweet spot for snow – but even five to ten centimeters with wind gusts at 90 kilometres per hour is going to be ridiculously treacherous out there on the road."
Her housekeeper put a hand on her hearty bosom, "Oh dear."
It was just one of the things one have to accept when living on the Earth. There was just no fighting the nature.
But yes, Relena sighed. She thought of the amount of work to postpone, cancel and/or readjust the various arrangements. It had taken a lot of work to get everything ready. She predicted it would take twice, at least, the amount of effort to get everything reorganized. If it was even possible to be done. Oh dear indeed.
"Understood. Yes we heard," he replied. "Commander Une is also informed."
He listened to her voice over the e-link. "Yes, the security arrangements are being reviewed."
"Thank you Heero," she said. "Our department is trying to get a more accurate weather forecast. We still need to contact the attendees to figure out the best way to proceed..."
"We know the options. The team is also checking things from our end." All those speeches, conferences, and parties needed security coverage. It was Preventers' job to ensure they all went smoothly. There were a lot more eyes on this year's celebration due to the debacle of the last Christmas Eve. A repeat attack to one of the attendees would be the last thing they wanted.
Her sigh was heavy, "I know many people are taking time off. If we are short on personnel..."
"We will find out." His tone softened, "We will manage, Relena. Don't worry."
Her thanks was distracted, but grateful. They said goodbye before disconnecting.
There was truly a mountain of work waiting for the Preventer overall. For the Security Division, it would be sizable.
A potential change of venues would require another rounds of location screenings and installments of monitoring equipment. There was a high possibility for change of staffs and servers for the events, which also require screenings. The actual event date was likely to move, which would shift the timing of the attendees coming in and out, necessitating reschedule of escorts and guards. Then there were potential changes for the hotels and accommodations. More screenings, more security rework. With so many changes it would be all too easy to be sloppy, to make mistakes. If there was a good time for insurgents to slip in, this would be the most opportune period. If he was still a vigilante, he would likely choose to strike now, when the target was the most vulnerable. A gap in the security would be fatal.
Contacting Preventer officers and figuring out who could be called in were one thing. Due to the short time constraint, even with all hands on deck it would likely not be enough. There was also an ongoing conversation with the local police department. Major blizzard like this would be a hazard. Its impact would be felt days after the storm itself already passed. Loss of power, interruptions in public transportation, more accidents in general. The local police department would be hard pressed for resources. The original plan to have the police's involvement for escort duties, like for the motorcades, might have to be cancelled. There were talks of mobilizing Preventer reserves, civilian agents, and/or older cadets. Those with lesser field experience would need briefings, instructions.
He looked up from his office desk. Right after he saw the forecast, he had logged into the Preventer's network. Although it was still very early the morning, the officers on the night shift already caught the news and relayed it to others. He had purposely got ready to go to work early. With the weather expected to worsen throughout the day, the chance of Relena coming to the office was 50/50. Although she did end up working from home for the day, he headed out to work anyway, figuring being in the office would be easier to get updates, to coordinate with the other Preventers. The office, as he predicted, was half empty. It was the calm before the storm.
Underneath the calm surface, messages were being sent, options were discussed, inventories and resources were being rechecked, reconfirmed. Most divisions, like his Security Division, were instructed to be on standby. A few divisions, like the Intelligence Division, Cyber Crime Division, and Counter Terrorism Division for example, were buzzing like bee nests. The Foundation Day's events in the capital were the highlight, sure, and the most stringent measures would be applied to secure them. But there were other celebrations across the sphere, big and small. If the terrorist groups were not picky, it would serve as good a target as any. It was near impossible to prevent every single possibility, but they would be damned not to try.
He figured he should start with something he could actually do. He had contacted his away team and confirmed their availability. He had contacted Relena's home security team and left several instructions.
He thought of Relena. He imagined there would be a lot of things to take care of from her end. Communications, negotiations, organizing everything... She really shouldn't have to worry about things on their end.
From what he gathered so far, it would likely take half a day for a clearer plan to emerge. In the meantime... He headed out to the door, towards the other teams. Weighing between Intelligence Division and Counter Terrorism Division, the former seemed in more desperate need for extra hands. All right, he thought. Time to make himself useful.
This was a result of doing things in a grand scale. When it backfired, everything caught flames.
The ministry was in fire fighting mode the whole morning and afternoon. They put together three broad stroke options, one 'best case scenario' assuming the condition improved enough to continue hosting the ceremonies, one 'worst case scenario' assuming they had to cancel and switch to fully online events, one 'most likely scenario' assuming some of the events could still be hosted and some had to be cancelled.
In the end they went with the third option. And that option itself had at least three different variations. Which ones to cancel, which ones to postpone, which ones to be kept as per original schedules. And all things attached to it, like transportation for the guests, accommodations, event venues, had to move as well. It was the busiest time of the year, commonly called the 'high season'. Finding and negotiating new arrangements were like pulling teeth. Like finding a needle in a haystack, in the middle of the night, with no lights, on a frozen field, during a snow storm. Which probably was an apt description considering the blizzard was the one derailing all the carefully put together plans.
She was told the weather might be finicky as well. It meant the final plan would still be a work-in-progress, with heavens knew how many more revisions it needed.
There was also keeping contact with the speakers, the delegations, the representatives. A certain percentage of them would wind up cancelling their RSVP. If they lost big enough audience, there would be no point of hosting the events. Another musical chair game of picking the best possible date and time slots. And sweet talking – ahem – convincing some guests not to pull out, to be more accommodating.
Last but not least, there was contact with the press. The ESUN public relations team was doing an admirable job keeping the things afloat, with all the uncertainties. But they needed to share a more coherent plan soon. The public was already antsy, doomsayers had been wagering on another unrest erupting this Christmas, another proof that peace wouldn't last. The government as a whole had to present a confident, united front, to calm the mass. She knew there was no way to have zero incident, but she had hoped for minimal problems.
...and only several weeks ago all she worried about was her dress. She must have jinxed herself.
She shook her head. Even her inner voice had turned sarcastic.
She straightened on her seat and took a breath. Reaching out to her glass of water, she found it was empty. Looking up, she realized the bottle of water her housekeeper left for her was empty as well. It was already dark outside the window. The day was almost gone.
She looked at the plate of sandwiches guiltily. She had promised Anne to eat them, sending her a tight smile when the housekeeper stepped in with the tray, mouthing 'thanks' and 'later'. She glanced at the antique analog clock on the wall of her home office, it was almost dinnertime already.
She should check in with Anne, she thought, rising from her seat.
Looking outside the window, there was already a thin layer of white. Belatedly, she realized that her attention was on the days ahead. She had forgotten about their current situation. With the sleet and snow, they might end up getting snowed in. Did they have enough food?
Heero turned on the radio as he drove, checking the weather updates.
The radio host was reporting the current temperature -4 C which apparently was expected to plummet to -10 C overnight. The temperature was expected to remain below the freezing mark all the way to the weekend. With freezing rain and sleets, the road would become a lot more tricky, and the under zero condition meant it wouldn't let up even after the actual winter storm passed.
When he left for the day, there were still several people in the office. Some would continue to work from home, some resting, taking shifts.
Technically until the plan was firmed up, the Security Division was still on standby order. They had a general plan ready. In the afternoon after the options were narrowed down, they worked out a high level plan for personnel coverage and equipment. There was not much use to steal a head start on the execution now. With things as they were, there was a high chance it would end up being changed again.
Not one to remain idle, he had gone to find other departments who could use extra manpower, spending the rest of the afternoon with the Counter Terrorism Division.
He had been checking with his team throughout the day, both his away team and her home security personnel. He had received status updates and reports, on the instructions he had given in the morning. No problem so far, all within expectations.
He had been checking on her too. Her online status had remained red throughout the day, alternating between 'busy', to 'in meeting', to 'on a call', to 'do not disturb'. He had seen it flashed green a few times, but it never stayed long enough. Clearly she was busier than he anticipated.
The radio host continued with traffic updates for the evening. The peak rush hour had passed. Most of the major series highways were clear. One of the major Express Highway transfer lane was blocked by a broken down vehicle. There was a collision in the right hand lane on the eastbound lake shore boulevard. Not very surprising, considering the driving conditions. The snow and the wind already started to pick up as predicted in the morning news.
The host wrapped up by wishing everyone a good evening, wishing everyone a safe drive. The male announcer commented that yes it was too bad that many of them had to cancel their holiday plans, Christmas get together, family gatherings. He reminded them that the weather would worsen overnight, it would be very dangerous to drive tomorrow. He mentioned that now would be the last opportunity to be on the move, that the window was closing fast.
If it was not necessary to drive they shouldn't do so. If it is not important...
At the intersection, he realized he just missed a turn. He didn't bother to correct it, driving past his apartment block.
Commander Une ordered them to be on standby, so he would. But she didn't specify where.
Picking up the sound of the doorbell, Relena veered from the direction of the kitchen to the closest control panel.
She pressed the button to answer, turning on the video. A dark figure appeared on the small display, jacket flapping in the wind, hair wet from snow.
"Heero!"
"Can I park the car inside? It is hailing."
Relena made him sit in the living room. With a towel wrapped around his shoulders and slippers on his feet, he felt more like her guest. Less like her security commander.
"Did you message me? Sorry I haven't been checking my link," she said. "Why are you here?"
"To see you."
Her mouth opened. Before she could say anything her housekeeper came in through the doorway, carrying a steaming hot drink on a tray.
Placing it on the table, the older lady gestured him to pick it up, saying, "Oh Agent Yuy, the officers came here this afternoon. Thank you for sending them over."
Relena's eyes shifted from him to the housekeeper.
"Would you like a drink as well, Miss?"
Relena shook her head no.
"Should I get the dinner started?"
"Please do," she smiled to the older woman, inclining her head towards him. "Thank you Anne."
It wasn't until the housekeeper left the room that she turned back to face him. He could tell she had questions.
Continuing where they left off, he added, "And to check a few things."
"...such as?"
"Storm preparation. The pipes may freeze. Power may go out."
She hadn't thought about that. "Right."
"Your housekeeper shared a list. Water, food, other provisions."
He still hadn't touched the drink. Relena made a mental note to ask him to join her for supper. After she finished interrogating him.
"I was about to call you to ask what to do with the house security staffs."
"We had an early shift change. More personnel in the house tonight, for rotation. The next shift change will be after the plows clear some of the roads." He checked his wearable link. "In 24 to 48 hours."
"...I thought you were in the office. Working on the Foundation Day arrangements."
He nodded. "We have a rough plan. It may need modifications. How is the RSVP list?"
She looked at him, floored. She knew he was capable, but how many things could a person do in half a day?
Then she remembered that he had that trait, of overcoming the direst situation imaginable. It apparently applied not only to a literal battlefield, but also a figurative one. To say that he was handy to have around would be the understatement of the century.
She shook her head at him, grinning from ear to ear. "What would I do without you?"
AC 198 January
"Bonne année," came the friendly greeting. "Happy New Year, Miss Relena."
"Happy New Year, Quatre." There was a bit of a pause. Then she replied in slow, careful Arabic, "كُلّ عام وَأَنْتُم بِخَيْ (kull 3ām waĀantum biḰayr)." [It means: may you be well with each passing year. It is an useful phrase, suitable for any festive occasion including birthdays and New Year.]
That made Quatre smile. He returned the well wishes before continued to ask, "Is this a good time to talk?"
"Of course," she replied, turning the video on.
Instead of her usual office background, Quatre saw the view of her living room. Relena was still in her work clothes.
"Sorry for calling you in the evening," he said.
"Not at all," she replied, smiling. "Is it morning up there?"
"Yes it is," he smiled back. "Are you back at the office already?"
"Yes. We were only off the first week of January." Some of them worked during Christmas and New year, only getting time-in-lieu after the celebrations. Considering the overtime spent to deal with the aftermath of the snow storm, it was a well deserved break.
She shifted, placing the e-link down on the table. He saw more of the background, catching the medicine chest on the sofa. Was it a roll of bandages on her lap?
Instantly alarmed, he asked, "Are you hurt Miss Relena?"
She picked it up, tucking in the loose end of the bandage, placing it into the box. "Not me. Don't worry Quatre."
He watched her in concern. Her eyes moved to the side, pausing briefly, before moving back to the screen. He knew then.
He heard a rustle. Relena shifted on her seat, as if making room for someone else on the sofa. Glancing at the clock, he did a quick calculation. It was around 8 PM on Friday evening, way past the regular office hours. He wondered what Heero was doing at her house.
The bandages worried him a little. "Is it all right now?"
She smiled and gave him a slow nod, assuring him. He didn't pry further.
"How are you doing Quatre? Is everyone well?"
"As well as I can be, Miss Relena. Yes everyone is doing great."
"I should call you more often," she said conversationally. "We haven't really talked since last year."
He chuckled, agreeing. "Since the colony unveiling."
"Right. When was that again? July? August? I only remember it was in the summer."
"July," he supplied. "August was the official unveiling." Theirs was a private viewing, she was absent from the actual ceremony.
She paused, "Half a year then. Has it really been that long?"
"Time flies. You have been busy."
"As you have," she smiled. "How was year-end?"
"Same as yours," he sent her a commiserating smile. Parties, events. "Didn't really feel like holidays."
That made her laugh, "We should get a real vacation."
"Actually," he took the opening. "That's why I am calling."
She tilted her head, waiting.
"Miss Relena, have you ever been to a circus?"
Quatre shared more details. Apparently a big circus was doing a grand tour of the sphere. It was scheduled to perform in L4 colony in a couple months' time.
The name of the circus was Cirque du Soleil. In English it means 'circus of the sun'. Even she knew the name, it was one of the largest contemporary circus producers of their time.
The show in L4 would be sponsored. The circus was known to funnel a significant portion of their takings to various charities, especially the ones that focused on children. The Winner enterprises struck a new partnership with the circus, as part of their AC 198 corporate social responsibility program. The plan was to open the upcoming show to as wide an audience as possible, with pay-as-you-can model. The corporation would foot the rest of the bill.
Relena was interested. She had been to circus when she was younger, but it was a long time ago. It was definitely not as grand or modern as Cirque du Soleil. She had heard stories about their residency shows in New Vegas.
And this one was for charity.
"Are donations accepted?" she asked him.
"Yes," Quatre smiled, as if expecting the question. The Winner corporation would match up the donations, up to a certain maximum limit. The circus will turn all profits from the show to the charities, such as Sick Kids or The Children's Aid Society.
"I do still want to invite you to come visit though. Real vacation?" She must have made a face, since Quatre laughed. "One weekend. I don't think I can take that many days off either."
She looked at Heero. He nodded.
"Count me in Quatre," she grinned. "I'll need to get back to you on the exact dates though. Did you say the show will be held for one month?"
"Four weeks," Quatre confirmed. "End of February to mid-March."
"Wonderful." Plenty of time.
She was more intrigued about how Quatre personally knew someone working in the circus. From the way Heero perked up beside her, she deducted it was a mutual friend.
Mutual friend meant another former pilot. Weren't there five gundams?
She had known four of the pilots and their current occupations. This would be a chance to meet the last one then.
"This is exciting. I've never been to the backstage." There was a sparkle in her eyes. "Thanks for inviting me Quatre."
"My pleasure, Miss Relena."
"Please send me your availability," she reminded him.
"Will do. Send me yours." Quatre pointedly looked to her left. Heero was coming, surely?
Relena read his implicit question. He knew Heero overheard the whole conversation, and she knew that he knew. She openly tilted her head as if asking if he wanted to be on camera.
Eyes crinkling, Relena shifted. The camera went out of focus for a split second, before she reappeared on the screen. With an addition.
"I'll contact Trowa," Heero said.
Quatre smiled, nodded.
He saw Relena turned to face Heero, looking surprised at the name reference. He could almost hear her unvoiced question. Quatre had avoided anything too revealing, not mentioning any names, just in case. Miss Relena knew enough to catch on regardless...
He could see Heero nodded at her.
...and clearly, was trusted enough to be told the rest.
They said goodbyes and disconnected.
Quatre settled back on his chair, smiling to himself. That reunion in colony 06E-3? He had a strong feeling that it wouldn't be needed.
Yet the deepest truths are best read between the lines, and, for the most part, refuse to be written. — Amos Bronson Alcott
*) Credits roll for gratitude: 1xR elements are inspired by prominent writers like Isis cw and the Black Rose. Also inspired by many, many other writers like Omnicat, Tynan, Miaka Mouse, bbbear85 from the same fandom and Ashbear, Startide Risen, Airplane, GirlquinndreameR from different fandoms. Links to their wonderful works are in my FF profile favs.
Since we are on this topic... if you like slice-of-life genre highly recommend to check other mangas. You will notice echoes from [March Comes Like a Lion], [Akaku Saku Koe, by the same author as Natsume Yuujinchou], [Dear Mine], [Oli Oli Soup], [Toorigakari ni One Point Advice], [Akagami no Shirayukihime]. As with many writers, nothing is ever truly mine. I'm just borrowing. If you see anything beautiful in my story, then we may have similar taste so check their marvelous works out there :)