Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ For Eternity ❯ Wasted Years ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gundam Wing or any of the characters for that matter. I am just merely...er, borrowing them as my muses at the moment. However....I DO own Eve! If you wish to borrow her, PLEASE let me know! Thank you. The lyrics are from The Phantom of the Opera.

Series: Gundam Wing

Title:For Eternity

Chapter One: Wasted Years

Author: Tiasha

~

No more memories,

no more silent tears...

No more gazing across

the wasted years...

Help me say

Good-bye

~

She was a fool, she was a stupid fool, and she knew it. Here she was keeping her friend's wish and she still hadn't gotten her punctual update. She was now beginning to worry; what if her friend was hurt? What if she was kidnapped...again. She sighed; it wouldn't be the first time someone made an attempt on her life. She was about as daredevil now as they could come. Sure, she herself got into trouble often but at least *she* didn't go and practically flaunt in front of death like her friend did.

"Okay, I'm over-exaggerating her a bit," she admitted. "She does have someone to go back to and take care of." She sighed again and stared at her ceiling once more, praying that her friend was safe and sound.

She fell off her bed when a continuous beep sounded throughout the house. She quickly got up, shouting that she had it and locked the door to her room. She sat down, composed herself from her former surprise and opened the incoming message.

"Persephone [1]?" an inquisitive voice asked, referring to her by her codename.

She smiled at her friend, "It's all clear, don't worry Relena."

"Thanks Hilde, I really owe you for all this," the friend replied sincerely.

Hilde shook her head and brushed her bangs out of her face, "It's no problem, I mean we *are* partners as well as friends aren't we? What are friends for? And partners always cover for each other. Anyway, how have you been doing? How is Eve?"

Relena bent down and picked up a small child. "Konnichi wa oba-chan [2]!" the little girl said happily. Relena placed the child back on the floor and returned to the message.

Hilde studied Relena's appearance almost painfully, as she did every time they would meet after a long period of time. Relena's hair was dark brown and it had been cut to where it curled at her shoulders. Half was pulled back for once and Relena's once blue eyes were more green now. Her face was the same gentle and determined one she had seen when the two had first met on Libra but now it hid a deadly stare and frown. Her voice was the same, a little more mature with wisdom and age but it too hid a deadly tone and sharp tongue.

Shaking herself out of her stupor she smiled at Relena, "She has gotten so big! How old is she now? Three or four?"

"She's four now and yeah, she's grown but she's a bundle of energy!" Relena sighed, smiling. "But I would not give her up, not even for the world."

"So, are you ever going to come back? I know of a couple of people who really miss you and I won't name any names like oh, Noin, Zechs, Quatre...Heero," Hilde coaxed, hoping that the last name would change her friend's mind for sure. She grimaced as Relena brought out her cold stare and frown, fixating them on her. Perhaps, she had dealt the wrong card in this game.

"I have changed too much, besides, Heero threatened to kill me numerous times. I suspect that he is leaping for joy on the inside," she said distastefully. "I will not be coming back, nor do I even want you to inform them that I am alive. Zechs and Noin would have a conniption fit if they found out I was a Preventer, as would Duo with you."

"Okay! You win this round, just...put that look back where it was! I swear, it's almost as bad as Heero's!" Hilde teased, grinning as Relena stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Eww! Don't even joke about that!" Relena cried, shaking her head.

"So, when do I get to come and visit *you* since you obviously won't come here?" Hilde once again coaxed. She watched Relena consider this, a frown on her face as she weighed her options. Finally, after what seemed like hours but actually only minutes, she agreed, smiling as she told Hilde where she lived.

"Oh and Preventers Eriu [3] and Athene [4] are already here training. Eriu has an interesting proposal too, asking 'Spirit' if Midii is alive or not. So we will be doing that one night of this week," Relena informed. "Well, times are changing and I'll see you when you get here! Bye! Artemis [5] out!"

Hilde watched as the screen went blank, dully aware that her friend really had changed too much to come back. Why did she keep her a secret still? And why did she always feel guilty about not telling anyone, especially Heero Yuy, that she was alive? She had made a promise, that's why, and for the first time, she truly realized that Relena *had* changed too much.

After Relena had been kidnapped four years ago, she had been placed in a training compound...to be trained as a soldier. She had fought to not give up her ideals of pacifism and freedom but it was hard. Beating, after beating, after beating, after beating, finally made her realize that she would die achieving nothing. She said that she could now understand why soldiers fought, their motivations for fighting, and why some still felt empty after battle.

"I suppose that is the way some of the gundam pilots felt after the battle in AC 195 and 196," Relena had said. She had given up her ideals, dreams, hopes, and love for the public to survive in that compound. She did not lose her compassion, however, she would never allow that to be taken away from her; she took the punishment for others when she could, giving them a better chance at survival. Taking the punishment for others day after day, only made her will to obtain freedom from that place stronger; it made her stronger, both physically and mentally.

Hilde swallowed hard, remembering that Eve was not Relena's biological daughter, but adopted. The girl had been born while its mother was a prisoner in the compound with Relena, Alexandria and Midii. The mother died soon after giving birth and their captors were going to kill the baby. Relena would have none of it, convincing them that having the child live would prove more useful. The mother had asked Relena to 'free her child' and 'not have her become a mindless machine'. Relena had told the mother before death that the first gift she would give that child was the chance to live, then she would take it a step at a time.

Relena thought of Eve as her true daughter and Hilde could understand that. After all the hardships those two had gone through together, it would be hard to not think that. Eve also uncannily resembled the old version of Relena. Yes, Hilde could understand why Relena wanted to stay out of public and isolated but why would she not come back and reclaim her title as Vice-Foreign Minister? Relena had said that though she still believed in total pacifism, she felt that it was only habit that kept her believing; nothing more, nothing less.

"Humans cannot change their nature; it is against God's will for us to try and change what He has skillfully crafted and created. Some do not believe in total freedom and peace as do others and those who do not believe *will* retaliate. It is human nature for some individuals to have a hunger for power, and it is those who will forever support the 'endless waltz' of life. That is why mankind will most likely never gain total pacifism, at least not for years to come."

Hilde shivered slightly as she finally understood everything; Relena *had* changed too much to go back to her old life. This was her way of starting a new and who was she to stop her friend's happiness? No, she would not trample on her friend's life, she would not destory it.

She herself had started a new life, though when she had she'd been hoping that there would be a little more to her intimate life. However, she was now beginning to wonder if it was a lost cause. She had been living with the ex-gundam pilot, part-time Preventer Duo Maxwell for five years now and nothing had happened between them.

"After five years? There's no reason for me to stay...I'm wasting my time by staying. I'm out of here," she muttered to herself as she grabbed an already packed duffel bag. Past experiences had taught her to have a bag ready at all times and with her job as a secret organization of the Preventers, she was needed on last minute notices often enough.

She passed by her dresser mirror and paused to look at her reflection. How could Duo actually feel the same way she did? She saw a young, petite woman with her bluish-black hair in a pixie cut. Midii and Relena had encouraged her to wear her more flattering clothes out in public instead of when they were training but Hilde just did not see the point. Normally she would wear her deep navy, sleeveless-off the shoulder cat suit and black, mid-calf boots when they were training. Her usual baggy, two-tone green and blue pullover and black leggings were what she had on at the moment and Hilde had to agree...they did not flatter her figure at all. They made her look too skinny and helpless and she was far from it...at least the helpless part of it; she still was skinny but not anorexic skinny.

Shaking her head in disgust, she silently vowed to get herself an apartment and start wearing more attractive clothing. Perhaps then her two friends....no, friend would get off her case. Midii could not have survived the avalanche of rocks those six months earlier, there was no way she could have; but she was not called the Cat for nothing...Hilde could swear that Midii had nine lives.

Hearing a continuous thump from the direction of the garage, Hilde headed out that way. No doubt Duo was working on his old truck, attempting to get it to run. Opening the garage door, she found that her predictions were correct and he was leaning over the front with the hood right above his head. Smiling evilly, she took a deep breath and shouted his name over the music that was blasting from the stereo.

She watched as he jerked his head up and banged it on the hood. A triumphant smile graced her lips as he rubbed the sore, tender spot on his head; grease marred his handsome facial features and for a moment, Hilde was not sure if she could go through with leaving him behind. He waved at her and moved to turn the stereo down. When he had done this, Hilde squared her shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. She shouldered her duffel bag and took another deep breath, but this was from nervousness.

"I'm leaving," she stated bluntly, seeing him frown in confusion. "Good bye Duo."

With that she stepped off the steps and left Duo in a daze. She made it down the driveway before she heard a crash from behind her and she turned to see Duo stomp inside the house. Sighing, she raced to the bus and slumped down in a seat at the very back. She blinked furiously, trying not to shed any tears, but she failed and hot tears made wet trails down her cheeks.

"Good bye Duo," she whispered as the bus headed to the spaceport.

Terms:

[1] = Persephone: Greek Goddess who is the wife of Hades, Greek God of the Dead/Underworld, she spent winters with her husband and she spent the summers with her mother Demeter

[2] = oba-chan: Aunt

[3] = Eriu: Norse Goddess of Eire, Erin, Ireland

[4] = Athene: Greek Goddess of Wisdom and War Strategy

[5] = Artemis: Greek Goddess of the Hunt

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