Disclaimer: I disclaim all rights to Gundam Wing and any of its components.

A New Year

The maids bustled about the room, trying to ready the two occupants' for the New Year's Eve celebration. Despite her insistence that she was fully capable of dressing herself for the formal event, Relena allowed her brother to hire the make-up artists and hair stylists, although determined not to accept their aid. However, she failed to take into account her sister-in-law's presence, and so now, the former queen of the world sat in front of her full-length mirror, watching the reflections of the stylists pulling and twirling her dark blonde locks.

Sighing, the young representative glanced down at her attire, smiling in amusement. If it had been her choice, Relena would have opted for a much more conservative attire, one that would do well in the presently cold weather. Nevertheless, her brother's sense of fashion was, surprisingly, very tasteful, having selected a beautiful form fitting, but not too revealing, white gown. The gold-laced dress was a halter top with a bare back, hugging tightly to her upper body but loosening beyond her waist to flow gracefully onto the floor. Simple pure-gold loop earrings hung from her ears and a gold bracelet embedded with small diamonds adorned her left wrist, the latter a Christmas gift from her brother. The earrings, however, she found on her desk on her 17th birthday, with a simple "Happy Birthday, Relena" attached and no signature—but she recognized the handwriting.

Sighing wistfully, the young woman hoped to see him tonight. Relena had asked Lady Une to present him with an invitation to the dance, as she rarely saw him in person despite his frequent assignments as, surprisingly, supervisor of her security. If Sally hadn't accidentally divulged this small detail, Relena would have thought that he was still working at developing branches in the colonies, like the majority of the Gundam pilots.

"Relena, you still with us? You're daydreaming again," her sister-in-law teased. Milliardo and Noin had returned to earth a few months earlier, revealing their elopement while on Mars. Relena was very happy for them and understood perfectly well the reasons for their private engagement, but was hardly pleased to hear that they hadn't thought to at least inform her of the big news.

Relena blushed and shook her head. "I'm here. Just wondering why my older brother would allow me to go out in something so revealing, much less pick it out."

"You don't think he did all this, do you?" Noin smiled as she gestured around the room. "There are benefits to being his wife, you know." She winked, causing the younger woman to laugh and blush even more. "But he really does just want you to be happy. After all, you are 18 and deserve some fun once in awhile."

"I'm sure his idea of fun constitutes inviting all of the Earth and colony representatives and all their bachelor—and married—sons," Relena muttered.

Finally, the hair stylist stepped back, smiling in satisfaction at another masterpiece well done. Relena stared at the image of herself, surprised to see that her hair was simple yet stylish. She turned her head to the side, glancing out of the corners of her eyes. Half of her hair was up in a bun, held up by only a pair of crossing chopsticks, while the other half fell unconstrained down her back.

"So much for a backless," Noin commented. "But it still looks beautiful."

"Me or the dress?"

Noin laughed. "Both."

As the clock chimed 9, the two women finally made their way down to the ballroom, drawing the attention of the younger men. Seeking out a pale blonde head, Noin and Relena found Milliardo standing off to the side, engaged in a conversation with Sally and Wufei. As they neared the trio, they could hear Wufei's irritated voice expressing his clear disdain for the event.

"Does the Vice President of the ESUN care that the Preventers are forced to cram all the tedious paper work—which they, mind you, mandated—into such a small office that couldn't even fit their pint-sized brains? Of course not! They decided it was much more practical to fund this stupid mansion which they hardly ever use! Idiots! All of them!"

"Wufei giving you a hard time?" Noin asked her friend sympathetically as she appeared beside them, watching as the Chinese man rubbed his temples in irritation.

"He's just angry that I coerced him to come," Sally answered, grinning. "Relena, you look beautiful."

"As well she should," Wufei said. "That woman spent three hours up in that room."

Ignoring him, Milliardo glanced down at his younger sister, smiling as he observed how much she had grown in the last year. "I apologize if the arrangements were too much," he said, referring to the artists and stylists.

"Actually, they did a very good job," Relena replied. "Thank you."

"Whoa, who's the hot babe in the white dress?" The group turned to the voice, only to see Hilde pulling the ear of a certain ex-Gundam pilot nicknamed Death.

"Behave yourself, Duo," Hilde warned, pinching his ear harder.

"H-hey! That hurts! I was just complimenting her!"

"Relena! It's good to see you again! You look lovely!" Hilde exclaimed, releasing the red ear and hugging the vice foreign minister. "You'll have to excuse Duo, he doesn't know how to behave properly at such formal functions."

Duo huffed, nursing his reddened appendage. "Can you blame me for being bitter that they decided to build such a useless and expensive mansion rather than fund a prospectively effective anti-terrorist project? Honestly, all this political crap is pointless and stupid."

Wufei nodded his head fervently. "My thoughts precisely! Those ESUN idiots need to be taught a lesson!"

Sally lightly punched the Chinese Preventer on the shoulder. "Have you forgotten? Relena happens to be one of those ESUN 'idiots.'"

"Well, she's not the one in charge of distributing funding for projects," Duo interjected. "But enough political talk. I'm a little hungry. Where's all the food?"

"We'll show you," Sally offered, grabbing a disgruntled Wufei by the arm. "I could use something to drink. Arguing with this stubborn man here really parches the throat." The four moved off, Wufei muttering under his breath about a "stupid woman" and "idiotic delegates."

"Don't look now, but Howell's heading this way," Noin alerted, glancing beyond Relena.

"Oh no," Relena whispered, recalling the young colony representative's fervor in trying to win her favor. "I don't think I could take another hour of his ego talking."

Noin chuckled but nodded in understanding. "We'll hold him off so that you can escape," she said, pulling her male companion with her, ignoring her husband's protests of "prospective husbands for his baby sister." Relena looked at her sister-in-law gratefully, before spotting a familiar blonde head and striding in that direction.

"Quatre!" Relena called, smiling as she walked up to the young colony delegate.

"Miss Relena, it's great to see you!" Quatre replied, trying to juggle the two glasses of wine into one of his hands. "Sorry I can't shake your hand, but they're a little full right now."

Relena laughed. "We're not here on business, Quatre, so no need to be so formal."

The young man grinned sheepishly, before nodding and asking, "How have you been, Miss Relena?"

"A little tired, but I'll survive," she answered honestly. "I recall you said you had a date. Any chance that I'll get to meet her?"

Blushing, Quatre nodded and led her to a small table, where a young Chinese woman immediately stood up to greet them. The woman's short black hair fell across her shoulders as she bowed in respect.

"Miss Relena, this is Alice," Quatre introduced, placing the wine glasses on the table. "Alice, this is Vice Foreign Minister Relena Dorlain of the Earth Sphere United Nations."

"Quatre, no need for the big introduction," Relena said, offering a hand to the other woman. "It's very nice to meet you."

"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Relena," Alice replied, taking the offered hand. "You're quite a person."

Relena shook her head. "No, I am only trying to preserve what others fought so hard to protect," she explained, smiling at Quatre.

"Just like Quatre," Alice said, linking her fingers through his. "Kind and modest."

"Miss Relena," a deep voice called from behind her. "May I have the honor of asking you for the first dance?"

Relena turned to see the President of the ESUN offering her his hand. "I would be honored, Mr. Van Buren," Relena accepted, curtsying and excusing herself from Quatre and his date. She allowed the older man to lead her onto the dance floor.

"I saw Mr. Howell headed this way and thought to be a gentleman and rescue the would-be damsel in distress," Van Buren explained, grinning.

Relena released a small sigh. "I really don't wish to openly reject him, or he might hold a grudge when I present the new trade treaty."

"A young woman like yourself shouldn't have to worry about such things," Van Buren said. "I would not blame you if he did not accept the treaty."

"I'm afraid Vice President Chaney would not be so understanding," Relena answered, smiling dully. "He's still very much against a 'young woman' like myself taking up such a high position in the ESUN."

"It can't be helped, although he is very good at what he does—for the most part," Van Buren joked, eliciting a small giggle of agreement from his partner.

"Well, I must be off now to appease the colony delegates," he informed his dance partner as the song ended. Bowing, he left the young woman to talk and dance with the other guests.

Relena felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around, facing—to her disappointment—Jason Howell. "Mr. Howell, what a pleasant surprise."

"My dear Relena," Howell replied, lifting her hand up to his lips, causing her to grimace inwardly. "It's been quite a task to track you down."

Relena forced a smile onto her face. "There does seem to be more people this year. But now that you've found me, was there something in particular that you had wanted to discuss?"

"Actually, I was hoping to share this next dance with you," Howell said, flashing her a smile.

"Apologies, but this dance is already taken."

And before Relena even had time to look at the interruption, she was whisked away onto the dance floor. Stunned as her partner pulled her into the dance, she finally glanced up, gazing into the emotionless eyes of Trowa Barton.

"Trowa! This is a surprise!"

"I observed your discomfort with Representative Howell and Quatre mentioned your hopes to avoid him for the night," came the monotone reply.

"Well, thank you for saving me then," Relena said, smiling at his response. "I'd rather not have to go through his supposed cajoling, in which he relentlessly speaks of his political victories and personal success."

"Understandable."

"What about your date?" Relena looked around for the green-eyed blonde, finally spotting the young woman conversing with Quatre and Alice.

"Midii understands," Trowa said, following her gaze. "Lady Une is her aunt, after all."

Relena laughed softly. "Very true. I'm sure she's had enough similar experiences, and you as well."

Trowa glanced back down at the Vice Foreign Minister. "I simply stay close to her side and no one thinks of coming near her."

"What I wouldn't give to have someone like that," Relena sighed, turning her eyes downcast.

"He'll show," Trowa confidently assured the woman in his arms.

"Thanks," she replied, trying to show him a smile.

"Poor Relena," Hilde remarked, shaking her head. "Are you sure Heero said that he would come?"

"Not those words exactly," Duo mumbled, chewing on the assorted hors d'oeuvres thoughtfully.

"Then what did he say?" Sally asked, curious.

"Over my dead body?" Wufei suggested, which earned him another punch from Sally. "What the hell was that for, woman? If the man was smart, he wouldn't show up to this…stupid…thing."

"Great choice of words there, Wufei," Sally teased, grinning at the Chinese man's irritation.

"Well, he didn't say anything exactly," Duo interrupted, reaching for a truffle.

"What do you mean he didn't say anything?"

Duo glanced up at his girlfriend's outburst, then shrugged and stuffed the truffle into his mouth, mumbling "He's a man of few words."

"You took a 'hn' as acquiescence?"

"It is a sound of acquiescence, most of the time."

"Really?" Hilde retorted in disbelief.

"Or it just means he acknowledges my presence but chooses to ignore me."

Hilde rolled her eyes in exasperation. "And what makes you so sure it wasn't the latter?"

"Come now, why would Heero want to ignore me?"

"I can think of many reasons," Hilde mumbled.

"I can think of even more than you, woman," Wufei said, smirking.

"I bet he'll make it in time for the countdown," Duo continued, ignoring their jabs.

"I'll take you on that bet," Hilde said. "Loser pays for all expenses for our summer trip."

"Deal."

"I apologize for keeping Trowa for so long," Relena said as she returned him to Midii.

Midii shook her head, recalling her own experiences as a wealthy young woman among greedy old men. "I don't mind. I understand—we go through these formalities all the time."

"Only because your aunt coerces us into accompanying her," Trowa added, even though he was only half listening to their conversation. His attention was on something across the room, and a glare marred his usually stoic features.

"What are you looking at Trowa?" Quatre asked as they all followed his glare.

"Catherine," Midii answered knowingly, shaking her head. "And you say that she's protective of you."

Trowa acknowledged her with a growl and narrowing his eyes further. All those men were crowding much too close around his sister for comfort. In fact, one of them was placing a hand on her upper arm, and she was giggling and touching his arm right back. How dare he manipulate her, the perverted old b—

"Trowa? Maybe we should go sit down," Quatre suggested, catching the dangerous glint in his eye. "Miss Relena looks a little tired."

Midii nodded her agreement and all but dragged Trowa toward the table, pushing him roughly into the seat. But he continued to glare through the sea of bodies at the circus of greedy men gathering around his sister, so Midii stepped into his line of vision. Without missing a beat, Trowa simply tilted his upper body to reposition his head, maintaining his previous surveillance of his sister. Midii held back her frustrated groan, and simply lowered her head to his as a last resort. When they finally broke apart a minute later, Trowa's face flushed deeply and Midii sported a satisfied smirk as she sat down next to him.

"Whoa! It's getting hot in here!" Duo commented as he came up behind the couple. "Really, who would have thought you had it in you, buddy."

"Hardly! That woman was the one assaulting the poor man!" Wufei argued, followed by a laughing Sally.

"Oh, the powers that we wield," Sally replied. "I love being a woman."

"Don't be foolish, woman," Wufei retorted. "You females hold no power over us."

"Speak for yourself," Duo said as he placed an arm around his girlfriend. "I'd do anything for Hilde's home-cooked meals."

Relena smiled, albeit sadly, as she watched her friends bicker. They all had a special someone else to share their joys and sorrows with—even Wufei had Sally, although he might not openly admit it. Noting the time as just a few minutes before midnight, Relena slipped away from the group quietly, unwilling to drag their high spirits down with her self-pity. Besides, she did not want to be caught near some random guy—specifically Jason Howell—during the countdown.

As she crept through the bodies in the room and neared the balcony doors, someone suddenly caught her hand and pulled her back slightly. Mentally cursing her luck, she thought quickly as she turned around to face her captor. But all excuses flew out of her head as she found herself staring unexpectedly into a pair of deep Prussian blue eyes.

"He-Heero…" Relena breathed, staring up at the man in wonder. Perhaps she was just daydreaming again, or mistaking someone else with him. However the hand in hers felt very real, and the color of his eyes, the way his hair fell over his forehead, the slightly upturned nose—they very much resembled the real Heero Yuy.

"Relena," the man greeted her. "Would you like to dance?"

Relena nodded mutely and allowed him to guide her onto the dance floor, accepting that this was indeed the real Heero Yuy. She noticed that Heero threw a quick glare to her left, and she followed the gesture to see a hastily retreating Howell.

"So, what are you doing here?" Relena gazed up at him uncertainly as they swayed to the music.

"You invited me."

"Of course," Relena answered smoothly as she averted her eyes in embarrassment, mentally smacking herself for her stupidity. She glanced back to see his eyes staring down at her with such intensity that she was mesmerized, her head feeling a tad light. The sensation of having his arms around her was indescribable, even more thrilling than the first time they danced—but then he had just threatened to kill her that time.

Her thoughts were broken as the music suddenly stopped and the room darkened. The room sparked with intense excitement and unbridled energy as everyone focused their attention on the glass ball dangling from the ceiling.

"What's happening?" Heero asked as he pulled her closer to his body, bristling and glaring around confusedly but still with an air of suspicion.

"You don't know what happens at midnight of New Year's Eve?" At his shake of the head, the young woman could only stare at him in disbelief. "Weren't you here for last year's party?"

"I was in L1 on a mission."

"Oh. Well, first you countdown the last few seconds to the New Year…" Relena stopped, suddenly smiling innocently as she decided to give him a first-hand explanation of what happens.

"5."

"What follows the countdown?" Heero asked, a little wary of the too innocent smile on his companion's face.

"4."

"My favorite part," Relena replied, grinning widely.

"3."

Heero tried to take a step back from the devious-looking woman.

"2."

But found that she had snaked her arms up around his shoulders.

"1."

"I've always wanted to do this," she continued, pulling his head down.

"Happy New Year!"

Relena leaned up and pressed her lips against his. After a few seconds of no responses from her partner, she nearly regretted her bold move and started to pull back. Much to her surprise and delight, Heero placed a hand on her cheek, preventing her from moving away, and kissed her back.

Meanwhile, Duo and Hilde were competing with Trowa and Midii to see who could hold their breathes the longest. However, the winner came from the unexpected lip lock between Quatre and Alice, who had their faces so close together they looked as if they were trying to suffocate each other. Of course, Milliardo and Noin might very well have defeated all three of them if the older brother had not noticed his young, innocent sister in a passionate exchange—of saliva—with another man. Even Sally managed to catch Wufei with a kiss even though he had tried to sneak away from the fiasco once he realized that the woman had no kissing partner.

Heero and Relena finally broke apart from their kiss. Heero leaned his forehead against hers, breathing deeply as he gazed into her sparkling blue eyes.

"Happy new year," Relena whispered, smiling slightly as she gazed back into his dark blue eyes.

"Happy new year, dove," Heero replied softly.

"It would be," Relena began, looking at him hopefully, "if you were here with me."

Heero continued to stare down at her, his breath mingling with hers. "If it pleases you."

Relena's smile widened. "It would. Very much."

Heero responded with an honest smile, softly caressing her cheek. "Then I will stay with you, for as long as you want."

That sure took a lot of work! Finally decided to revise my poorly written first fanficafter more than four years! Actually, it was more like a rewriting than a revision. Of course, the important details—coughQuatreandAlicecough—are still there. After all, we couldn't leave out such a lovely dedication to such a lovely friend for inspiring such a lovely idea. And I know you love it, Alice—you're paired up with the love of your life! Of course, you just have that little hurdle called Henry.

As before, you'll have to excuse the lack of originality. But hey, if it works, it works—it got Heero and Relena together, right? And Quatre and Alice had their time too. But if you thought there was some bias or bashing directed toward any of the characters—(yes, I'm talking to you, Chris)—it wasn't intentional. I love all the characters in Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz (with the exception of the Doctors, Quinze, and Dekim), and sometimes, you just need to exaggerate things to add to the humor (I should know—I pick on my friends all the time).

As for outside dedications: Chris, you were so very helpful! What would I have done without you? (Note the sarcasm.)