Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ She Remembers Love ❯ She Remembers Love ( One-Shot )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

She Remembers Love
By Angel Love

Author's Notes: This is based many years after the end of Gundam Wing.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Gundam Wing or 'She Remembers Love' by Lila McCann. However the granddaughter Briona is mine. If you wish to use her, just ask.



~ When her grandkids come to visit her
Sometimes she forgets their names ~

An old woman with soft white hair and sky-blue eyes stared unseeingly out the window, rocking silently in her chair. Her long white dress covered over her body and the rocking chair, speaking of her nobility.

"Grandma," a soft voice filled the room.

The old woman turned and stared vacantly at the young woman standing there. She looked familiar to her. But she couldn't place a name to the young, smiling face in front of her.

Surprisingly the young woman looked remarkably like the old woman when she was her age. Her soft, honey-colored hair was pulled back with two braids, but the eyes were different. They were deep Prussian blue.

~ Her memory is selective now
Small details just fade away ~

"Grandma?" the girl said softly. But when the stare remained vacant, the girl smiled sadly. "I'm your granddaughter, Briona."

The old woman smiled slightly, a vague memory pulling at her brain, but she was too tired to grasp at it and turned back to staring unseeingly out the window, her fingers folding themselves together in her lap.

~ She looks out the window with a vacant stare
She can't remember what she's doing there ~

The young girl smiled sadly again, brushing the single tear that slipped down her face. She could remember as a child the way this woman would rock her and speak to her softly. She was always so full of life and love, and now she can't even remember when the last time she heard that soft voice or her melodic laugh. She doubted that her grandmother even knew what was going on around her. She seemed so locked up within herself.

~ But she remembers love
The blue in his eyes ~

The old woman turned to look at the woman, just coming into her adulthood. She was too young to handle the responsibility of her ailing grandmother. The young girl seemed to carry on a lot of the same characteristics of her grandmother at that age.

As she looked at Briona, who was looking at a picture on the nightstand, the Prussian blue eyes stood out at her. And a soft feeling surrounded her at the thought of another that had those eyes.

"Heero," she sighed, a tear falling down her cheek.

~ Hot summer nights
It's like she's memorized his every touch ~

Her weary, old face relaxed as she closed her eyes. She could feel his feather-light kiss against her lips and the way he held her in his arms. His soft words in her ears. It was almost as if he were in the room with her now.

~ And how he swept her heart away
Like it was yesterday
She remembers love ~

She could recall everything about the man, then a boy, who stole her heart. From the moment they met when they were 15, to the last day they were together.

She opened her eyes at the sound of Briona's concern-filled voice. "Don't worry, child," her voice a little raspy since it had been such a long time since she had used it.

Briona stared at her for a moment. Hope and joy filling her at the sound of her beloved grandma's voice. Maybe, just maybe her grandmother would return to the wonderful woman that she remembered.

~ On her dresser there's a special box
Where she keeps a faded flower ~

"Would you like to hear about your grandfather," the old woman asked.

"Oh, yes, Grandma, I would like that." Briona felt as giddy as a five-year old. She could remember the stories her grandmother had told her from when the couple first met. It always amazed her that they had ended up together. In fact, it was hard to imagine the loving, gentle man that her grandfather was as the same hard, emotionless gundam pilot that her grandmother often talked about.

"Hand me that box," the old woman requested, pointing to a large box on her dresser. It was covered in red velvet and lace.

Briona held it in her hands for a moment, staring at it. She saw it often when she was a child. But she never opened it, because her grandmother had once told her that it was special. She handed it over to her grandmother, eager to see what was inside.

The woman opened the box, lifting up a small brown bear, and smiled slightly. But it was the item right next to the bear that she wanted to see. It was an old faded and dried wild flower. "I got this the day, Heero and I first declared our love to each other, well I declared my love for him and he accepted me into his life."

~ From a wild field where they made love
And woke each other's first desire ~

~ Flashback

Relena was running, she was tired of being guarded all the time. She needed a moment of freedom. Suddenly she came across a field of wild flowers and stopped short. The simple beauty that it held awed her. Then she felt it. The presence of the one man who could send shivers down her back. The boy who took her breath away without ever realizing it. She loved him more than she could ever show him. And he didn't return it. He was her guard, nothing more, nothing less.

"Heero," she spoke softly, not turning around.

"You have quite a few people upset, Relena." His voice was in its usual monotone, hiding his concern. It was unusual for the former princess to leave her duties. She took her job seriously, so he knew something must be terribly upsetting her for her to just take off.

"How did you find me?" she asked, still not turning around.

"I saw you leave," he smirked. Her escaping skills were good, but not good enough to outsmart him.

Relena turned slowly, keeping her eyes on the ground. "I suppose that you are going to take me back now."

"No."

"What?" Her eyes flew up to met his, surprised. She was sure that Heero was only here because it was his duty.

"I want to know why you ran." Heero's eyes held hers with his intense gaze. His mask firmly over his face, hiding any trace of emotion from the common observer.

"Why do you care?" she asked softly. His mask never hid anything from her; she saw his concern shining through it.

Heero shrugged, not dropping his mask. "Just tell me why you ran."

Relena sighed. "Walk with me." At his nod, they moved through the field of flowers, she picked one and began to remove its petals as she listed what was wrong.

"I'm tired, Heero. I am tired of being guarded from all of humanity. I am tired of working every day late into the night and never seeing any of my friends. I'm tired of feeling as if I am only a symbol of peace. I want so much more." She stopped walking and looked down at her tennis shoes. "I must sound so foolish to you."

Heero stared at her for a moment, before he tucked a finger under her chin and pulled her head up to make her eyes met his. "No you don't."

Relena stared at him in awe; for once Heero had let his mask fall. She could see every emotion clearly, including the love he had for her. "Heero?"

He didn't bother to answer her he just kissed her.

End of Flashback ~

~ The passion never died for sixty years
And since she's lost him, some things haven't been so clear ~

"That day marked a first of many kisses between us," Relena spoke quietly. "And the first time we ever made love."

Briona smiled. She could remember all of the kisses that her grandparents had stolen when they thought that no one was looking. She could also remember the devastated look on her grandmother's face when she said her last goodbye to her lover when he took his final breath after a heart attack. That was the last day anyone had heard her grandmother speak of him, and very little of anything else. That was six months ago, six very long months ago.

~ But she remembers love
The blue in his eyes ~

"You have his eyes," she said, focusing on the teary gaze of her granddaughter. She reached out and smoothed a stray honey lock. "But his was more intense. He was always so intense about everything."

~ Hot summer nights
It's like she's memorized his every touch ~

"He could just as gentle as he was fierce," she spoke softly, lost in the memory of his touch. "He didn't get that way immediately. It was a long road before he even told me that he loved me. The words were so hard for him to say. But I never needed to hear the words from him, I just needed him."

~ And how he swept her heart away
Like it was yesterday ~

A tear fell down her wrinkled face. "I miss him. I just wish I was with him."

Briona knelt down and laid her head on Relena's legs like she did as a child, savoring the feel of her grandmother for the brief moment. Something told her that she would never hear her sweet voice talk about her grandfather like this again. Part of her was happy and another wanted to hold on as long as she could.

~ She remembers love ~

Relena sat there absently stroking her granddaughter's hair, slowly pulling back inside of herself. The pain of losing Heero too much for her to bear. She wanted to be with him, she needed to be with him again. But no one could bring him back. And there was no way that she could feel his touch again. So she had to wait until God decided that it was her time to join him.

~ Now she comes and goes ~

That day when Briona left her grandma, she knew that she had a few phone calls to make. Her grandmother had been almost completely unresponsive when she walked out of the room.

So she went to the videophone on her desk and called the only others that understood why Relena was the way she was. She called Relena's brother and the four remaining gundam pilots.

~ And doesn't always know ~

The five elderly men met in front of the room where Briona was waiting. She greeted them all with ease. For she had seen them all visit several times. Each man still held himself with pride, even though they were all in their seventies and Milliardo just turning eighty.

They all entered the room silently. Each, but Briona, was surprised to see the former Queen of the World lying unresponsive in the bed. At each visit they made, she was always sitting in her chair by the window.

~ What day it is, what year it is ~

"Relena," Milliardo stepped forward to take his sister's hand in his own. She turned a vacant star towards him. A tear slipped down his face when she didn't recognize him. But he also saw the desperation in her eyes. He knew that it was time to let go.

~ Or who somebody was, but... ~

Each pilot took a turn to speak with her privately, none getting much response from her. All the while Briona and Milliardo sat quietly at the back of the room.

Finally Milliardo stepped forward and took his sister's hand again, sitting himself on the edge of the bed. "It's okay, Rele," he whispered, the tears clogging his voice. "I know you want to be with him."

Relena turned her sky blue eyes and looked straight into his own icy blue. For the first time since anyone had entered, she showed signs of fully understanding what was going on. "I need him, Milli," she whispered. "I feel so lost without him. He was always my strength."

Milliardo nodded, a tear slipping down his face. He had always known the former pilot of Wing Zero had on his little sister. And he knew that she affected him in the same way. It was one of the reasons why he realized the mistake he was making before it was late during the final battle of the Eve War.

He reached forward and smoothed her white hair from her face. "Then go. I will be with you soon enough, we will all join you soon enough," he whispered through his tears. "I love you, Rele. I want you to be happy."

Relena smiled, a tear falling down the side of her face. "I love you too. I love all of you." She squeezed his hand with hers, looking at each person in the room for a moment, saying a silent goodbye. "Thank you."

Briona sobbed loudly as her grandmother closed her eyes and gave her last breath. She felt the warm embrace from Duo, the self-proclaimed God of Death.

"She is with him now," he whispered.

"Rest in peace, Relena, Heero," Quatre added.

"Thank you for letting us say goodbye," Wufei added.

"May we all find each other again," Trowa added.

Milliardo leaned forward and kissed his sister's forehead, the tears falling freely down his face. "Be happy. Find your strength again and be happy."

~ But she remembers love
The blue in his eyes ~

Relena watched the scene, tears falling down her face. She moved a hand to wipe them away, and was stunned to see that she was once again the young girl she had been when she and Heero first got together. Her loose white gown now fit snugly to her curves enhancing them in a way that they hadn't been in years.

"Relena," a soft voice spoke from behind her.

She turned around slowly to see the greatest sight she could ever wish for. The Prussian blue eyes of her lover and husband of sixty years. He too was once again the young boy that he had been, except his eyes didn't hold the pain she had seen there so long ago. And he wasn't wearing any masks.

~ Hot summer nights
It's like she memorized his every touch ~

"Heero!" she cried out, running into his open arms. Tears still fell down her cheeks unchecked, but this time they were tears of joy.

Heero smoothed the honey-gold locks, and savored the smell and feel of the woman he had missed so much. He pulled her face from the place it found in his shoulder and wiped away the traces of tears.

She closed her eyes at the familiar touch that was somehow still so new and exciting. "Oh, Heero."

~ And how he swept her heart away
Like it was yesterday ~

"I've missed you, Relena."

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. Burying her hands in his unruly brown hair, she pulled his face into a kiss much like the first they shared. It held a promise, a promise of loving each other forever and always to be with each other.

~ She remembers love ~

When the kiss ended, she looked at him a little sadly. "I thought that I would lose my mind when you left me."

"I know," he whispered, still running his hands through her hair. Even though he was gone from the mortal plane he stood by her side and watched as she collapsed in on herself. His heart ached with every tear and soft sigh that came from her lips. "I'm sorry."

"I wanted to forget everything and everyone." She smiled at him. "But I couldn't forget you."

"You remembered love."

Relena looked at his smiling face and nodded. "Yes, I remembered love, our love."

~ She remembers love ~