Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Healing ❯ Bitter Reminders of the Past ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Three: Bitter Reminders of The Past

This was a Gundam Pilot? This? She watched as the man leading her fidgeted again, turning gracefully to lock is eyes on hers. "So you're the new Peacecraft, huh?"

She sighed, curbing the feeling that was growing within her that she was walking with a five year old. "Apparently."

Something seemed to flash past his eyes, was it sympathy, humor, both? Alexis couldn't tell. "Relena isn't all that bad, I mean, sure she's obnoxious, and she's got a thing for always having to be right, but hey, as long as Heero's around, she's pretty distracted." This time, the grin was decidedly malicious, but it seemed welcoming, as if Duo were trying to lure her into conversation. She decided to take the bait. If there was a way to get away from Relena, and what looked to be lots of lectures, she wanted to know.

"Heero?"

"Yeah, Relena has been following him around like a love-sick puppy since the war. I was a hundred percent sure he was gonna wind up gagging her, or finding more permanent ways to shut her up… Heero's not all that friendly a guy."

She nodded absently at the information. While it was hilarious thinking about how Miss Perfect Queen of the World was caught like a fifteen year old in the vicious maws of a crush, and it was true that Alexis had no strong feelings for the girl, she couldn't bring herself to use the information. Most of her comments and actions in the room had been born out of an itch that Alexis had grown - she wanted to go home, she hadn't really wanted to be rude to the girl. I feel guilty for my actions, my words. Her face crumpled into a frown. I wasn't Relena's fault they were related, that everything in her life had been a lie up until this point. She sighed softly and silently decided to be kinder to the girl.

A hand on her arm brought her out of her thoughts, and she found herself standing in front of a large door. She could feel Duo's eyes on her, but she was hesitant to meet their gaze. She'd acted like a child in the office. She'd thrown a temper tantrum and tried to stalk out when she didn't like how things were headed. "Hey, Earth to Alexis."

She turned surprised eyes to his jumping slightly at the name he'd called her, "How did you know…?"

He laughed then, a genuinely merry laugh, the likes of which Alexis had not heard for years, "Its not rocket science, I swear. It's just that you seem to know Quatre, and that's what he called you. You winced every time Relena called you Melina. I figured I'd rather be your friend than make you wince like that, is that ok?"

She smiled faintly at him, his kindness getting through to her. "Please, I want to be Alexis, still… it would make me happy to keep that name. And…" she thought long and hard about completing her sentence, but she found the courage and pressed on, "I would like to be your friend as well."

His smile seemed to deepen, his eyes danced in a joyful light, "Well then, now that that's settled, please feel free to relax in here." He swung the door open in a comical reproduction of a doorman. Bowing slightly, he winked at her and left her to her room. It's as if he can sense how much I need to be alone.

****

She found herself staring at the cracks in the ceiling, fighting the tears. What would he do if he could see me now? Long ago, she'd sworn to herself that she would bury thoughts of her brother, but after today, it seemed they were back with a vengeance.

`Please, Melina, tell me about your life!' Alexis stifled a dry laugh at that thought. Like she'd tell Relena Peacecraft who their darling parents decided to give her away to. She could just see it, politely informing the entire room that she was Treize Kushrenada's kid sister. Oh yeah, that's go over real well in a room filled with his enemies. Of course, maybe I should have told her. There's no way she'd want me to stay. A sad smile played at her lips.

She knew that a lot of people didn't have a very high opinion of her brother, but to her, he was her world. Their parents had been so very wrapped up in their own lives, that the existence of their children seemed to slip through the cracks. It was Trieze who had raised her. He was the one to teach her how to read, ride a bike, the one to comfort her after a nightmare. The world didn't know her Treize.

They only saw him as a monster… a man who started wars for his own glory and that of the Romefeller Foundation. When he'd died, it was celebrated. It didn't take long for attention to be shifted to her. People started treating her as if she were a criminal, a potential terrorist. It had been then that she'd gone into hiding.

Shame filled her, it was true. She was ashamed of being his sister, hurt by the horrible things that he had done. She was also ashamed of that shame. It was dishonoring him and the man she knew him to be. She'd been so conflicted for the past four years that it had seemed her soul was torn.

And now, I'm a Peacecraft.

Quatre had come to see her after Duo had departed, and it had been on his shoulder that she had let the tears go. Of course he'd known the truth about her parents, and he understood the pain that came with Lady Une's sudden announcement.

"Names are just names, Alexis," he'd said softly, "and you weren't the only person to know who your brother really was. Whether you are a Peacecraft or a Krushrenada, if you live your life to honor the memory of the man your brother truly was, you're doing no one a disservice."

"Do you suppose he ever looked at her face and saw mine?" She'd asked in a quiet voice.

He'd considered her question carefully, replying in a gentle voice, "Maybe, who's to say? But he loved you very much, no matter how much you resemble Relena. In his heart, you were his little sister."

And it was with those kind words playing in her mind that Alexis drifted into a gentle sleep.

Meanwhile, Heero turned from the observation monitors. Quatre and Alexis's conversation had been very intriguing to say the least, and it left him with a distinct interest in the strange girl. Trieze's sister… how like her brother is she? He had to admit, watching her like this, she seemed a sad, worn individual. He watched her until she fell asleep, unsure whether she was a threat, or just another war torn soul.