Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Raptures of Paradise ❯ Relena and Milliardo ( Chapter 9 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Well, hope you like this, and this wets your appetite for the WHOLE story. Note,
I'm obviously a Non-Yaoi writer, and a person who tends to write sappy stories,
so if you don't like this kind of story, then GET OUT NOW!!! Please note that I
don't any of the characters except Nova. This does have a Sailor Moon crossover
in it. Now, enjoy.

Gundam Wing: Raptures of Paradise
Chapter 9----------Relena and Milliardo
By Sailor Celaeno

Relena arrived early in order to secure a table. After a few minutes of inspecting the specials of the day, she spotted her brother. More than a few waitresses sighed at his entrance into the cafe. They eyed Relena enviously until they noticed a resemblance between the two people in the booth. "Hey, Sophie."
"What? Ooh, who's that?"
"Don't know. But I know the girl. She's Miss Relena Darlian."
"She is? Who do you suppose he is?"
"Well, they kinda look like each other. I bet you she related to him."
"Hm. That means he's free game."

"Hello, Milliardo." She stood up to greet him.
"Relena." He lightly kissed her cheek and they sat. He opened his menu and examined the dishes they offered.
Relena drank from her glass of water. "How's Lucrezia?"
Milliardo looked up from the menu. "She's well. She's been going crazy over what patterns to use for the wedding." More than a few sighs of disappointment could be heard. He rolled his eyes. "What is with these women?" He stared intently at his sister for some answers.
"You have to ask me that?" Even Relena realized that she had a handsome brother and that more than a few women she was acquainted with agreed wholeheartedly about that. "Oh honestly Milliardo. If you haven't figured that out, then I wonder how you ever ended up with Noin." Relena shook her head.
"Whatever do you mean?" Relena wasn't quite sure if he was joking or not.
"As if you didn't know that you are handsome and eye candy for every female not related to you."
Milliardo had to smile at that. "I suppose so. I've never paid much attention to the mirror as of late."
Relena nodded her head. "I suppose you wouldn't after you hid your face in a mask for a while. I would have thought you did that so women wouldn't be ogling over you so much."
Milliardo smiled again. "Never thought I'd ever see the day that we would ever talk to each other like this."
"Neither have I."
"It reminds me of when we were younger."
"It does?" Relena became very interested. "Tell me about it."
"Hm. I was ten; you were four when the Sanc kingdom fell. Before that, everything was quiet and peaceful. Just as it should have been. I wasn't sure about having another baby around in the house. There were already our cousins, but they didn't live in the castle with us. Then you came along. I was a little jealous after all, you got all the attention. I despised you for a while. Then there was this one time that changed all that."

Little Milliardo was playing with his toys. He heard a crying coming from the nursery. "Oh it's HER again!"
"WAHHHHHH!!!!"
Milliardo tried to stuff his fingers into his ears, but to no avail. "Oooooohhhhhh! What does she want? He marched into his baby sister's room. "What do you want?" He surveyed the room. Relena was in her little playpen. She was standing and leaned onto the railing. She reached her arm out, but she couldn't reach a small toy that had fallen from her reach. Milliardo noticed it. He promptly took it and handed it back to her. She stopped crying and a tiny smile curled her face. "There, now I can go play."
He turned to leave. His sister began crying again. He turned around. He walked towards her. "What do you want?" She grabbed onto his hand. She held it tightly. "Do you want me to play with you?" He looked at her.
Relena smiled as if she understood. "Oh alright. Fine." He sighed. He managed to climb into her playpen. He moved some of her toys out of the way so he could sit. She stumbled awkwardly towards him. She lost her step and fell into his lap. He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. He pulled her closer to him until she sat on his lap. She looked up at him. "Here, why don't you relax?" He hugged her. She leaned her head against his chest.
After a little while, her eyelids grew heavy. She no longer focused on anything and she drifted into sleep. Milliardo looked down at her and found himself feeling a little groggy. He yawned as he shifted position. He managed to find a comfortable spot and pulled Relena close to him.
"I wonder why it's so quiet?" asked a young woman. She was the young servant in charge of the children. She peered into the nursery and smiled as she saw Prince Milliardo and his little sister curled up, asleep together.

"That happened?" Relena stared at her brother.
He nodded. The food they ordered had arrived. "I remember that I thought about how much I wished I had a comfy playpen like that," he started to laugh a little.
Relena was amazed that her brother was laughing as heartily as he was. "What ever happened to that?"
His laughter died down and he stared at her seriously. "I have been thinking about that for a long time. A lot has happened since those days. We are different people, Relena. I am a soldier in a new uniform, but a soldier just the same. My goal is to fight and destroy my enemies."
"I am a soldier too. My goal is to bring peace. We both want some peace in our lives. You fight for it with guns and mobile suits. I'm fighting the anger and violence of war with all my being. I don't have a gun, but I have a determined spirit that will strive hard until I die."
"Yes." Milliardo began eating his lemon chicken. After he swallowed he continued. "You are a soldier too. I see that now."

Heero was watching the two siblings at the cafe. He was in a car across the street observing them. He was suspicious of Nova and he was concerned that she would find a way to do something to Relena personally. "What could Nova possibly be after?"

Hilde and Duo were walking together. "Ah, a lovely day with a lovely girl," he said as he wrapped his right arm around Hilde.
"Oh Duo." She shook her head.
"Well, you are the best in the world."
Hilde blushed a little. "You're my number one guy." She kissed him.
"Hmmmm. You know what? I think you and I are going to have to work on this whole thing." He smiled devilishly.
"Work on what?" Hilde cocked an eyebrow suspiciously.
"On this." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her the most passionate kiss yet. She was practically swept off her feet in amazement.
When he finally let her go, she simply sighed, "Wow."
They kept walking until Duo spotted a car and the driver who looked familiar. "Ohmigod!"
"What Duo?"
"It's Heero!"
"What?" Hilde looked in the same direction as Duo. "You're right."
They promptly walked over and knocked at the car door. Heero turned quickly to spy on who was interfering with his surveillance. "Duo? Hilde?"
"Aha! I knew it was you!"
"SHHH!!!" commanded Heero.
Duo simply stared at him incredulously. Then he soon spoke. "Why?"
"I'm on a top secret mission."
Duo noticed that Heero was watching the cafe across the street. After a few more moments he soon saw the subject of this stakeout. "You're watching Relena and Zechs?"
Silence.
"If you don't tell her you're here then I will." Heero gave him the death glare. "Your stupid death glare won't make me back down this time."
"Fine."

It was five thirty when Relena left the building. She saw her limo waiting for her. She stepped inside when suddenly she could hear, "Hello Relena."
She looked up with a start and a look of surprise on her face. "Heero?"
He nodded at her. He reached to the seat next to him. He presented her with flowers. "I thought you might want these."
She readily accepted the bouquet and sniffed the lovely arrangement. "Thank you Heero." He nodded to her again. "I don't know what to say." She looked at him tenderly.
That look she gave him didn't escape his notice. "I just wanted to let you know that I've returned. To stay more permanently."
She was stunned beyond words. "You... you are?" She trembled a little. "Are you really certain you will stay?" She could barely look at him in order to hide her excitement.
"Yes."
Relena breathed a little more calmly. She was able to calm herself down. "I glad to see you again. It makes things easier for me."
"Easier?"
"Yes. I was hoping that I could find an escort to a private function tomorrow night. Dorothy and Quatre have asked me to meet them in a restaurant a few minutes away from my apartment. I was hoping I could find someone to go with me."
"Dorothy and Quatre?" Heero was astonished at the idea of Dorothy and Quatre together.
"I know. It was a shock to me. Quatre came by earlier last week. He was telling me how Dorothy had been meaning to treat me to dinner at Tavern in the Green. Quatre was eager to eat there as well." She smiled mirthfully at the meeting with him.
"Of course. I should say hello to the others since I'm back in town."
"Yes. You have been gone for three weeks."
"Three weeks? We haven't seen each other in four months," Heero replied with certain conviction.
"Perhaps I haven't seen YOU, but you have certainly seen ME." Heero gave her a look of complete puzzlement. Relena smiled. "Don't pretend. I know you've been following me for the longest time now. Only you left for three weeks and have finally returned. I have no clue why you decided to show yourself to me now."
"How'd you know?" Heero relented at last.
"Call it woman's intuition." She smiled.
A smiled crept on his face. "Yes. Woman's intuition." Like the other pilots, he was slightly more muscular because of the grueling work and training he underwent since Relena had last seen him. He was wearing a dark blue suit similar to the one he wore at the school he attended with Relena a year ago. "How have you managed yourself those three weeks I was gone?"
"Not much. Although, I've been very busy."
"Zechs and Noin are getting married. So I've heard."
Relena nodded the affirmative. "Five more days. Noin was hoping you'd go to the wedding. Milliardo wouldn't mind if you came as well." She paused a moment to observe his reaction. When he seemed to accept the invitation, she continued, "And of course I would like to see you there as well."
He looked at her intently. "If you wish, I'll escort you to the wedding. In fact, I think I will insist on it."
Relena was surprised at the last statement. "You do?" She was a little intrigued by his sudden insistence. "Why exactly?"
"I thought that is what you want." He continued to look at her intently.
"Yes," she blushed as she admitted it. "But I know you well enough to know that there is a hidden agenda to this." She waited him to answer. "Please Heero. I want to know. I thought that you could trust me. Why are you so determined to make sure that you can go with me to the wedding? Do you suspect something may happen?"
He remained silent. He began thinking to himself. 'I'm sorry Relena. But I can't tell you that someone may be after you again. Your interference in some unknown thing may cost you your life. I can't let it happen. The world needs you, and I...' He didn't dare to continue the train of thought.
"Heero. I know you are hiding something. I'm determined to find out the truth."
'Of course you will.' Heero thought again.

Heero arrived at her apartment the next evening. He had his car keys in his pocket, and was wearing a tuxedo this time. Relena had told him that Tavern on the Green at become an exclusive restaurant that required full evening ware. He managed to find a tux that he could rent and promptly arrived at 6:45pm. Peygan opened the door. "Good evening Mr. Yuy," the old butler said in the formal tone-of-voice.
"Good-evening, Peygan." Heero stepped inside. He had always seen her apartment from the outside, but never from the inside.
"Miss Relena will be ready in a few moments." Peygan left to return to changing the water for the flowers that Heero had bought yesterday.
The sounds of high heels on the wooden floors could be heard. Heero turned to see Relena appear. She was wearing a pink dress with a chiffon skirt and a matching colored shawl, even though it was an August evening. "Hello Heero."
Heero pretended not to be stunned at her in the dress. "Are you ready?"
"Yes." She walked over and took the arm he offered her. She quickly shouted, "I'll see you later Peygan."
"Yes, Miss Relena." The young couple left the penthouse.

Heero parked the car and opened the door for Relena. "Thank you Heero." She was amazed at how gentlemanly and attentive he was being this evening. They walked into the restaurant. They quickly saw Quatre waving his arm to catch their attention.
They walked over to the table. "Heero!" Quatre came out to greet his friend.
"Hello, Quatre." Heero had an amused smiled on his face. "Hello Dorothy."
They all sat down and caught up with each other. "So you're going to the wedding?" asked Quatre as he poured the sparkling apply cider they ordered.
"Yes. I agreed to take Relena."
Dorothy and Quatre smiled at each other. "Well, Trowa is bringing Catherine. And you know who Duo and Wufei are taking."
"Yes. I wondered when they would have ended up with each other." Heero enjoyed teasing the other two pilots when they weren't there.
"Is Lady Une coming?"
"I heard she's taking Mariemaya," replied Dorothy as she sipped the cider. They all stared at her.
"Are you serious?" Relena spoke first.
Dorothy nodded. "I was speaking to Lady Une the other day, and she informed me that she and Mariemaya were eager to attend on Saturday."
Heero still was wary of Mariemaya. Even though she was only a child, he wasn't sure if four months had successfully changed her. Even though Lady Une had tried whatever she could to care for the girl, there was no telling for certain whether the girl had improved in her attitude. A waltz sounded in the air. "Relena, would you like to dance?"
Relena had a look of surprise and found herself on the dance floor with the perfect soldier. "Heero?"
"Hm?"
"Is someone after me again?" Heero remained silent. "I knew it. Someone is after me."
"There's no proof of that Relena."
"I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't be doing any of this unless I was in danger." Heero gently spun her around and they were together again. "You don't have to hide that from me."
The waltz ended. "I'll never lie to you." That was all he said on the matter the rest of that evening.

"Milliardo Peacecraft?" asked Queen Lita.
"Yes. He and Miss Noin are finally getting married," continued Empress Nova.
"Incredible," smiled Queen Raye.
"That is beside the point. We must continue with business. There is a Negaverse being that has stolen the Persephone locket and has used it to transport itself into the Gundam Universe. With such power in its possession, who knows what could happen? It could destroy their universe. Since this being is from our universe it is our duty to apprehend and destroy it before it causes any damage."
"When are we going?" asked Queen Michelle.
"Very soon."
"You know when they will attack don't you?" asked Queen Amara.
"Of course."
"Then why are you waiting?" she asked.
"It is not the right time. I may have power to see the destinies of trillions of individuals, but I don't have the power to change it anyway I want just as Trista can't go back in time to prevent tragedies that have already happened. We simply can't do that. Interference may cause more damage than any good."
"She is right," replied Neo-Queen Serenity.
"But what about Serenity? She can't leave Crystal Tokyo. Without her and the Imperium Crystal, Crystal Tokyo will be weakened," added Queen Hotaru.
"I'll take her place." Princess Serena entered the council room dressed as Sailor Chibi Moon.
"Small Lady?" asked Luna, who also attended the meeting with her mate, Artemis.
"Yes."
"But Small Lady, you aren't ready to handle this enemy. It is more powerful than even Evil Sailor Galaxia. It wouldn't be safe," argued Luna.
"I'm supposed to be the next Sailor Moon soon. I should prove myself that I'm worthy to possess the power of Sailor Moon. The Sailor Senshi are going so I will have plenty of others to protect me if I need help. I know I could do it if you just give me a chance." Princess Serena pleaded.
"I think she should go," interjected Neo-Queen Serenity.
"As the leader of the Sailor Senshi, I simply can't allow any of the Crystal Tokyo Royal Family get into harm's way. It goes against my duty," replied Queen Mina. She stood up from her seat. "Besides this is a dangerous mission. It isn't the time for another training mission for Small Lady."
"I AM NOT SMALL LADY!" proclaimed Princess Serena. "I am Princess Serena. I'm not a small lady that has to be pampered. If I am to be the next queen, I can't just sit down and watch the ones that I love dearly get hurt. If you won't take me, then I'll find a way to go anyhow."
The queens began discussing what to do about Princess Serena. "Very well Sm... Princess Serena," began Queen Lita.
Princess Serena's face lit up. "Thank you!"
"But!" interjected Queen Mina.
"But?"
"There are to be two conditions."
Princess Serena sighed, but then remembered that she was trying to prove her maturity, so she stood up properly. "Yes?"
"One," said Queen Amy. "You must have Diana with you at all times. She is to guard you and keep an eye on you when one of us is not with you."
"And the other?"
"The other is that, I'm the leader of the scouts. Any orders I give are to be obeyed to the letter. Unless Pluto or Celaeno says otherwise, all orders from me or even the other Senshi are to be obeyed. Is that clear Princess?" asked Queen Mina.
"Yes, your majesty." Princess Serena curtseyed.
"Very well. The other queens have accepted your request to join them," said Neo-Queen Serenity.
"When are we going?" asked Princess Serena.
"When Pluto returns the next time, it means that you and the Sailor Senshi are needed. I shall return to the Gundam Universe. I have a wedding to attend." Empress Nova smiled as she stood up from her seat. The other queens nodded and they continued discussing important business.
Princess Serena followed the Silver Empress to the Royal Gardens where she would teleport into the other universe. "Empress?"
"Yes?"
"What will happen in the other universe? I mean... how will we be able to defeat an enemy there when there are those people there? Wouldn't we be interfering with their destinies?"
The Empress smiled. "Believe it or not, it is your destinies to interfere in their lives."
"It is?"
"Yes. Even though evil is not a pleasant thing, it is needed. Change and growth in Humanity needs the ugliness in life."
"Why? Why must people get hurt, and suffer in order to grow?" asked Princess Serena.
"Because my little lady, when you see the ugliness, you realize that you aren't perfect. You realize the world is not perfect, and then you will do whatever you can to change yourself to be better. Slowly when more people do the same, they will change the world and the rest of Humanity." They arrived at the gardens. "I must leave you for now."
Princess Serena hugged her godmother. "I'll see you soon."
"Of course. You can count on it." And in a flash, Empress Nova was gone.

"Relena?"
"Milliardo? I'm surprised you called me."
"I need you to come to the lobby right now."
"Alright." Relena quickly changed and was in the lobby within ten minutes. She saw her brother standing there waiting patiently for her. "You wanted to see me."
"I do. I need you to help me with something." He opened the door for her and they began walking on the sidewalk together.
"If I can help you, I will. You know that."
"That's exactly why I called you down." They began walking down the street towards a small park that was three blocks from her penthouse apartment. He saw a bench in an empty area of the park. He motioned for her to sit down. After she did, he sat next to her. "The doctor confirmed it. Lucrezia is expecting. It should arrive in April."
"I'm happy for you two. I'm sure you must be excited to become a father. I suppose a baby is different from war, but it'll be a struggle and just as stressful. Yet, in the end, it'll be worth it." Relena looked up at her brother. He was smiling at the idea of fatherhood.
"You have that perfect idealism of parenthood. Which is why I know you'll make a good mother someday."
"Do you think so?" She leaned her head against his shoulder.
Out of natural instinct, Milliardo wrapped his left arm around her shoulders. "Yes, I do think so. Which is exactly why I called you here."
Relena looked up and he moved his arm away as she sat up. "It is?"
"Lucrezia and I want you to be the baby's godmother."
Relena was very touched. "I'm honored."
"We took a lot of thought. It's not just because you're my sister. But the fact is... is that we know you'd raise the baby right if... if anything happened to us. You'd raise it to be a peacemaker. Someone who never has to see the blood on his or her hands. Someone who can fix the world's problems and not add to it."
"Oh Milliardo. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you or Lucrezia." She looked sadly at him.
"Relena. We don't know the path that life has in stored for any of us. We can't predict when we will have to get off to make way for someone else. All I want is to make sure that the baby will always have someone to lead its way. Whether it's Lucrezia and I, or you."
Relena bent her head down a little in thought. After a moment, she looked back up towards her brother. "Yes. I understand. Of course I'll be the godmother." She quickly hugged her brother tightly. She never did hug him since they were very young and she thought he should get one from her. He was a little surprised, but he smiled a little and hugged her back. Soon they let go of each other and sat back down again. "Are you ready for the bachelor/bachelorette party tomorrow night?"
"There's a bachelor party?" he was a little surprised. "Howard never said a word to me about that." Howard was chosen to be his best man since he wasn't particularly close to the other pilots. He did make them ushers for the wedding.
"Well after a little discussion between him and me, we decided that I'd give you a party. Howard can't come since he's busy with the last minute details for your reception. Everyone in the wedding is coming," replied Relena. She had a devious grin on her face.
Milliardo looked at her suspiciously. "What are you up to little sister?" The first time he ever called her that.
"Well Dorothy and I enjoyed this karaoke bar she took me to a couple of weeks ago. Well we thought you and everyone could loosen up a little before the big day."
"Karaoke?" He stared at her. "Oh alright. Only because you want to. Does Lucrezia know?"
"Yep. She loves the idea. She tells me you can sing..." smiled Relena.
"Ha! I can barely pick up a tune."
"Well, some of us can't sing. It'll be loads of fun!"

That Friday night everyone ate dinner at Laramie's and then drove over to Sister JoJo's Karaoke House. They went into a large room that Relena had reserved for them. "I already paid for an hour and a half, and I promised to pay extra if we get into overtime."
"Why in the world would we wanna stay here for more than an hour?" grumbled Wufei who didn't like the idea of being in a karaoke bar.
"Well, singing can be a lot of fun," replied Quatre, who not surprisingly had a nice voice according to Dorothy.
"Whatever!" sighed Wufei.
"Alright, who's going first?" asked Duo.
"How about you?" Wufei pointed at the first victim.

Author's note:
Want to know who Wufei challenged to be the first singer? Just wait for chapter 10.