Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Deconstruction ❯ Prologue

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Pale blonde hair hung loosely over a set of hunched shoulders, creating lines of color across
Relena's white tunic. For the past three weeks, the girl-wonder had been slaving over what she
thought to be the best budget-proposition she had ever penned. Actually, it was the first she'd
had to assemble for both the colonies and Earth. At the start of the task, she'd anticipated a
challenging project worthy of her managerial skills. What she got was a migraine multiplied by
infinity. The act of balancing resources between the space-bound and the Earth-bound was truely
monumental, and after about a day, Relenna was *sure* she wasn't up to it. However, the
Peacecrafts were a tinacious breed, and possesed too much pride to simply *quit* something one
of them had started. So she worked, and angsted, and hit her head against mathamatical walls
until they shattered under her fearsome willpower. Yes, those past three weeks had really been
*something*.

So there she sat, just completing the final equation necessary to tie the entire production
together. A kind of intese satisfaction crept into her psyche, and Relenna suddenly felt tempted
to jump on top of her desk and dance a jig. Of course, she didn't. It was a matter of pride.
Instead, she contented herelf to an energetic sigh and a decidedly feline stretch across her
tidy desk. Out of habit, she quickly thrust her arms back to her sides in a defensive motion;
all too often, she'd recieved a sharp blow from a snickering Dorothy before her exercise had
been completed.

But Dorothy wasn't there. Not yet, anyway. She'd been gone for the past month on an excursion
in central Africa with Sally and Noin, and wasn't due back until the 5th. All three women had
pleaded with Relena to join them, but she had to deny the trio the joy of her company. And now
she was glad she had. Relena considered it a major accomplishment to have finished the
Inter-Planetary Budget in three weeks, and could now (in good conscience) throw a celebratory
party. Okay, maybe not a -party-, but certainly a gathering. And... Dorothy. Though life without
the curious blonde bishojou had been peaceful, Relena couldn't help but long for the girl's
shimmering eyes and flaxen hair. She and Dorothy would have to have a *personal* celebration the
night she returned.

In a classic demonstration of Relena's natural grace, she rose from her large mahogany desk and
padded lightly towards the doorway (she never could do algebra with shoes on). Just as her
alabaster hand was about to close on the knob, the door burst open with a flourish that nearly
toppled the dainty ruler.

"I'm home, Leene!!" Dorothy's cheerfull voice was explosive in nature and very possibly *more*
startling than the surprising set of doors. Before 'Leene' could sputter a response, or even a
delighted squeal, Dorothy began to speak again. "I know I said I'd be back on the fifth, but
Noin had a Malaria scare and insisted we return forth-right. Isn't it wonderful, Leene?" Relena
blinked, and stumbled into the conversation.

"Yes! I think it's wonderful!" A shade of quizical concern lighted on her features. "Noin *is*
okay, right?" Dorothy smiled in an aggressive manner as she brushed past her lover, collapsing
into a leather-on-wood armchair.

"Oh, she's fine. It's *you* I'm worried about, love."

"How come?" Dorothy continued to smile, making it clear that an answer wouldn't be forthcomming.
Instead, she lifted the top sheet from the mahogany desk and eyed it casually.

"What's this? Your 'Anti-Safari Project?" At that, a broad unabashed smile graced Leene's lips.
That, her pride and joy; Finally it would have its opportunity to be gushed over!

Smiling as only *she* could, Relena responded. "Kind of; I've spent the last three weeks penning
the first-ever Terra/Colony budget! Isn't it grand?"

Dorothy picked up a few more papers from the stack, eyeing them a bit more seriously this time.
The girl's expression should have worried Relena just a little, for what was to come next seemed
all too familiar.

"It's *okay*, Leene, but not the kind of work that warrents skipping out on *my* vacation. Are
you sure this is all you did while I was gone?"

Though floored by Dorothy's indifference to her budget, Relena wasn't convinced that her lover
understood the weight of her project. "I'm sure... But I think you should read it over a bit
more carefully, Doro-chan! [1] I really think this is a land-mark document!"

Dorothy, still grinning, conceded to Leene's wishes and began to re-read the papers.
Several minutes later, Dorothy let the weighty documents flutter back onto the neighboring
desk and eyed Leene with something akin to an amused sneer. When she didn't say anything, Leene
felt the need to move the conversation along.

"So? Have you changed your mind, Doro-chan?"

"In a word... It's worse than I had previously thought. Your logic is utterly baseless, my dear!
I'm afraid that this will never fly!"

*shock*

That was the last thing Relena wanted to hear at the moment. So much time had been invested in
the budget that she almost felt as though it was an extension of her being. And, taking the
latter into consideration, Relena had just suffered a major personal offense.

"What do you mean, Dorothy? The allocations are nearly perfect! I don't see how you can
criticize my work so..."

The forked-one shrugged, showing signs that she had tired of the topic. That was the way most
discussions went with them, in that Dorothy usually dictated when a topic was concluded. This
time, though, it seemed that Relena was directing the conversation.

"I'm surprised at you, Relena! Such an intelligent girl shouldn't have missed so many holes!"

"Such as??"

The angst was evident on Relena's face, and apparently Dorothy picked up on it; her smug grin
had wilted several shades and now consisted of a mixture of consternation and annoyance.

"Well, first of all, the notion that share-croppers will be willing to offer an equal price for
Earth and the colonies is laughable. Secondly, the Parliment will have a collective coronary
when they see how much tax revenue you plan to invest in colony up-keep. Shall I continue?"

Relena's heart fell as she felt holes being torn into her soul. This girl, her critic, her
lover, her best friend... It was too much to bear. Didn't Dorothy realize how important this was
to her? Didn't she see that, in destroying her accomplishment, she also destroys Relena?
Apparently not. Relena's patience for Dorothy's casual nit-picking had just expired, and there
would be hell to pay.

"No, don't bother yourself, *Catalonia-san*. After all, you've spent *so much* time in the past
destroying me, it's only right that you should take a breather!" Relena's voice dripped with
sarcasm that even Dorothy couldn't ignore, and her icy eyes burned with a conviction that was
more commonly observed in Heero Yuy.

"Relena... I don't know *why* you're so upset with me. You -did- ask to have your errors
illuminated."

"That's not the point!! Don't you have any concept of tact??!?" Dorothy shrugged again, and rose
to meet her accuser on a more level field of judgement.

"Quite the contrary, my dear... If I hadn't exercised tact, I imagine you would have felt much
more affronted right now."

Relena was pacing now, hands affixed to her pale hair as though it was necessary to maintain
balance; She didn't appear to be listening to Dorothy's explenation.

"I can't believe this... I can't believe how *stupid* I've been..."

"Leene... The mistakes you made weren't *that* catastrophic..." Relena whirled to face the other
blonde, glaring like a demon stung with a crucifix.

"SHUT UP!! *you're* the stupid one here!! You were stupid to criticize something I *obviously*
put my heart into, you were stupid to think yourself above me, and you're stupid to think I'd be
eternally forgiving!! I can only take so much from one person..." Relena's frustrated eyes
glistened with tears as she awaited the fall-out of her passionate words. This outburst had been
long in coming, and deserved an adiquate response.

What felt like Aeons passed before Dorothy broke the strained silence. "...I'm sorry you feel
that way, Relena, but I can't apologize for something I don't feel is wrong." As much as she
hated it, this was exactly what Relena had expected to hear. Not once in their entire
relationship (both as friends and as lovers) had Relena expected Dorothy to change for her. Not
once. Compromises had been a rarity, so how could she ever expect an unconditional concession?
She couldn't, but the *hope* had still been there, hidden away in a corner of Relena's idealistic
heart. Through a mist of anguished tears, Relena concluded the longest relationship she had yet
known.

"I never expected you to love me, Dorothy... But I still loved *you*... I held onto the idea
that these holes you've been poking into my soul were your way of strengthening me, but I was
wrong... I think you should leave now." The silence that followed was so all-inclusive that
nothing would ever dare break it. Two souls united under a strained sense of hope had just
broken free, and there was nothing in Heaven or on Earth that could repair that bond.

~EL END-o~