Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own any part of Gundam Wing. The show respectfully belongs to its creators.
A.N. – (Please Read) I know it has been long time since I posted anything in relation to this story, three and a half years actually. I apologize profusely for my neglect, but it could not be helped. For those of you who read my bio on FFN, you know that I have been in graduate school for the last three years and that I had to make school a priority over fanfiction. I wanted to update my stories and I had ideas swimming around in my head for them during that time, but I could hardly find the time to write them down. If something really inspirational hit me, I made notes, but I could not take the time to write any chapters or complete any stories.
Now, that I have finally graduated. Yay! I am able to continue everything I started before entering graduate school. I have been trying to get back into the swing of writing for fun once again, but that is not as easy as it sounds. For one thing, after going back and reading my previous work, I have come to the realization that my writing style has matured. Some of the things I wrote in the first chapters of A Weekend to Remember make me cringe.
I have, therefore, decided to revise A Weekend to Remember. I am doing this for two reasons.
1) To eliminate some of the errors I've found. I find some of my sentences in the beginning chapters too short and choppy. They are not as descriptive as I would like them to be, and I don't feel like they give my readers a good enough visual of everything that is going on in the scene. Of course there are a few grammatical errors that I missed the first time around as well. When everything is finished, the story should flow more smoothly.
2) Since I have not written or watched Gundam Wing in almost three years, I have forgotten some of the major subplots to the series as well as to my writing. I am re-watching the entire series to reacquaint myself with Gundam Wing. I'm happy to say that I got the box set last Christmas. Yay, Santa! J And, re-reading and revising A Weekend to Remember should lessen the possibility of plot holes. To make a long explanation short, I've forgotten some of things I wrote three years ago. L Trust me, you would too, if you had read as many books or written as many papers as I have in the past few years. It all starts running together after a while. In other words, I still feel like my brain is mush.
All this being said you should know that I'm still not completely free to devote all my spare time to fanfiction. I am currently on the market for a job in my profession since I am finished with school. However, I will devote the time I can spare to writing. Now that I am no longer concentrating on school, I can awaken my fanfiction muses.
Also, as you continue reading down the page, you will notice what I have posted is relatively short. I know these few pages cannot compensate for over three years of neglect. Actually, this is only the first scene of chapter 14. The other scenes will come later, once they are completed. This is my peace offering to show that I have not forgotten about this story. I also felt like it has been way too long since I updated, and I needed to give you something in return for your patience.
Everyone supported and understood my decision to concentrate on school, which means a lot to me. No one flamed me or fussed at me for taking so long to update. Of course, I think I got a few 'Are you still alive?' comments, but those are understandable since it took me forever to get even part of chapter 14 posted.
In thanks, I have decided to post chapter 14 earlier than I originally anticipated. As I said, it is incomplete. The complete version will be posted at a later date. I don't know when that will be, but when it is posted this note will disappear. Revised versions of previous chapters will also start appearing, so look for them as well.
I hope you enjoy this installment of A Weekend to Remember even though it is in its work-in-progress stage.
A Weekend to Remember
Chapter Fourteen: The End Is Nigh
He could hardly wait until this night from hell was over, and it would not be too much longer before they could leave. Heero knew he could survive the next few minutes. He did not suffer through the hard training regime of his childhood just to baulk under the pressure of a few frilly-faced morons, who by the way would be loosing their hands come morning.
Heero smirked at his little comical reverie, enjoying thoughts of poetic justice. The idiots had no idea what was going to happen to them once he was back in his rightful body.
Yes, thoughts of revenge were very sweet.
"Uh. Oh."
No, he did not just hear those words come out of her mouth. He had suffered enough for one night, damnit. He had done his duty by her, so it was time for everyone to just leave him the hell alone. He did not even want to know what was about to happen, and he certainly did not want to look in Relena's direction to find out what caused her to utter the two most disastrous words in any language he knew.
Relena saw Ambassador Cleveland walking towards them out the corner of her eye. This meant it was time to leave. On the plus side, it was well past midnight, so the Vice Foreign Minister could not be expected to stay any longer. Now, all they had to do was make a strategic exit without looking rude.
Relena quickly announced their departure into her wrist communicator. Her fellow bodyguards nodded their agreement. In the next moment, Trowa and Wufei were flanking the 'Vice Foreign Minister,' and Brian was clearing their way towards the back exit. She vaguely heard Wufei speaking into his communicator to bring the limo around back.
She sighed. It looked like they would get to leave without any further complications.
"Miss. Vice Foreign Minister, it is so good to see you again. I'm glad you could make it, especially with all the sudden changes. How have you enjoyed the evening so far?"
She really needed to stop being so damn optimist. This weekend was not going to get any better. At least not until everything returned to normal. She needed to accept that fact. But no, she continued to have this naïve notion that everything was going to get easier as the weekend progressed, and once again she is proven wrong. When would she learn? 'Obviously not anytime soon,' she grumbled to herself.
Relena hoped to avoid this conversation, but she had known it was a foolish hope. Ambassador Cleveland was after all the host of the party, and the Vice Foreign Minister was expected to acknowledge the host of every function she attended. But, damn him for waiting until the last minute to acknowledge her, and damn her for foolishly thinking they could avoid him for the entire evening.
The main problem in this whole glorious scenario was that the role of Vice Foreign Minister was currently being played by a gruff anti-social soldier who would much rather strike first and then be cordial later.
Oh, this was so not going to be pleasant.
Relena may not have felt anything personal against the man. Ambassador Cleveland was actually one of the more refined delegates she associated with over the years. The problem was the people he associated himself with, one individual in particular. It was irrelevant whether or not their host knew of the kind of company he kept. What mattered was that her chief bodyguard knew, and he was considerably less agreeable in these types of circumstances than she was.
"Miss? Are you okay?"
Relena suddenly jerked out of her thoughts at the ambassador's inquiry. 'Now what,' she turned to see Heero starring across the room with a far-off look in his eye. She frowned. 'Heero, snap out of it!' It was time to end this entire evening, but they could not do that until Heero opened his mouth to acknowledge the ambassador.
Heero slightly flinched when Relena lightly pinched his side. She then gave him an expectant look. He sighed. Why must he constantly find himself in these kinds of situations? In one weekend, he had been reprimanded by Une, had his nose smashed, his toes squashed, and his male pride tucked, ruffled, and sequined. But, these insults were only the tip of the iceberg because now he was expected to make 'small talk' with the best friend of his enemy, which by association also makes the ambassador an adversary.
"Miss?"
Heero turned to face his rival. Ambassador Cleveland was a tall gentleman who looked to be in about his mid-fifties.
Getting his head in order, Heero resumed his newfound role. "Oh, I'm fine. Just a little tired this evening. Thank you for your concern." Of course his words contradicted his thoughts. 'Your party was the worst experience of my life, and you have approximately three seconds to get out of my way.'
Relena almost sagged in relief at Heero's words. In another life, Heero could have made a great actor. She suddenly pictured her perfect soldier playing the part of a debonair hero. 'He would make a great Dread Pirate Roberts.' Visions of Heero speaking words like, 'As you wish,' were a welcome distraction, but Relena knew it was best to keep such thoughts locked away in her own mind.
Heero did his best to smile politely at the gentleman in front of him. Ambassador Cleveland did not seem so bad, but looks were deceiving. Plus, he was more than ready to leave, so it was necessary to handle this new situation quickly and efficiently.
"I hope you remember me, Miss Dorlain. I'm Ambassador Cleveland. We meet last year at the March Banquet."
'Well, no shit Sherlock.' The words were on the tip of Heero's tongue, but he decided it was best, for Relena's sake at least, to hold back any and all sarcastic comments. "Yes, I never forget a face." The extent of the truth behind that statement was of course lost to the ambassador. "How have you been?"
"I've been well, thank you." He paused. "However, I was wondering if I might have a minute of your time."
Heero wanted to growl. The idiot was doing well, but he just had to go and screw it up. Who doesn't want a minute of the Vice Foreign Minister's time? This had better not be a waste of his time. "Of course, how may a help you?"
"Well, it is just that since so many changes were made to this evening, I feel that the event did not go as well as I hoped. So, I was thinking of having another fund raiser in the next few months. I was hoping you would be able to attend it as well as help us by showing the general public your support towards our cause. It is my firm belief that your espousal will enable us to do more good in the future."
The ambassador sounded more than sincere. So, Heero was finding it hard to find fault in his request, especially since just about everyone standing around him, including himself, were in fact war orphans. For a moment, Heero could not help wondering how each of their lives could have been different had there been charities like Ambassador Cleveland's when they were orphaned. Heero knew that this was Relena's favorite charity, since it speaks for her own past as well as that of her closest friends. He also knew that Relena would not hesitate to do what she could to help out.
"I would love to do as you ask. Just inform me of the details at a later date."
"Thank you." Ambassador Cleveland bowed in gratitude. "Your generosity is greatly appreciated."
"It is not a problem." Heero looked beside him to see Relena wanting to smile. The pride and happiness in her eyes was enough to let him know that he had said the right thing. Her look, however, only lasted a moment and had he not been more conscious of her as of late he would have missed it.
Relena was trying to let Heero's conversation with the ambassador wear itself out on its own, but they really needed to leave. They did not need to push their current luck any further, so she tried discreetly signaling him.
Heero fought back a smile. It was a kind of humorous watching her attempt at being inconspicuous. If anyone else had been paying attention, they would have thought she was rolling her eyes in the back of her head. Actually they would think it was him, but for once he could see some humor in the situation. Heero lightly coughed, hoping Relena would get the message that he understood what she was trying to tell him.
"Well Ambassador Cleveland I hate to cut this short, but we really need to be going."
"Oh! Please, don't let me hold you up. I will keep in touch." He smiled and stepped aside.
"Thank you."
Heero contained his enthusiasm as they approached the exit. It looked like they were getting to leave without a hitch. After everything else that happened over the weekend, this evening almost seemed anticlimactic. He may have had to dance with every frilly moron in the place in order to keep appearances, but he was able to avoid that ancient delegate who always 'harmlessly' flirted with Relena. It was almost a shame, however, that he never ran into that other delegate who shall remain nameless. That delegate was just lucky that they did not encounter one another this evening. Proposing to Relena, whoever heard of such?
Relena wanted to celebrate. They were walking through the back door and the limo was directly in front of them. It was almost too good to be true. This hellish night was coming to an end. Now if they could only make it inside the limo without any further incident.
She looked around to make sure nothing was lurking around the corner, both literally and figuratively speaking. It was just that if something was going to happen, it should happen right about now. Right when the limo was ten feet in front of them. Well, it was not going to happen again.
Relena straightened her spine as she straightened her resolve. She could hope for the best, but this time she was going to make sure nothing untoward happened. No more embarrassing secrets to be revealed, no more surprise kisses from annoying stalkers, no more anything.
Only a few more steps, then they could relax.
To Be Continued
As I said, it's short, but be sure to look for the revised version of chapter one, which should be coming out soon. It's finished, but I need to do a final check on it in a couple days. I think it came out a lot better than the original version. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter and for the semi-cliffhanger as well, but I wanted to finally post something.
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading.