Last Exit to Eden


Chapter 1

By Jenevieve

Approximately 5 years have passed since the end of Endless Waltz and the Gundam pilots are now in their early 20s. They have all been scattered about settling into their new lives since their last meeting (at the end of Endless Waltz), but are re-united with news of a wedding.
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Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Gundam Wing characters or rites to the story (though I wish I did ^_^). Only Christian Mallory and his family are my own crazy creations. I wrote this story for pure enjoyment, and not for any sale purposes. I also don’t own rites to Amanda Marshall’s songs “Beautiful Goodbye” and “Last Exit to Eden”: She is just a brilliant lyricist and singer who I greatly admire, and inspired this story! The picture attached was with permission of the website owner. I also apologize to those who are not fans of Relena-Heero or Duo-Hilde pairings but I am. Feedback is always accepted just please no negative comments based solely on the pairing…this is my first fanfic so please don’t hesitate to send me any constructive comments! Enjoy! And if you do like it, please let me know! ^_^ (hershekis2@aol.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fed up with my destiny
And this place of no return
I think I'll take another day
And slowly watch it burn.
Doesn't really matter
How the time goes by
Cause I still remember you and I
And that beautiful goodbye...

- Amanda Marshall, Beautiful Goodbye

Vice Minister Dorlain rested her forehead against the cool glass of the large office window before her, her fists systematically clenching and unclenching in frustration. How long had they been debating for? It felt like forever. Sighing she stepped back, resting herself against the corner of a large mahogany desk, and closed her eyes concentrating on her breathing in attempt to calm herself. Behind her the gentle hiss of the automatic door opening reminded her that the respite was only momentary.
“Vice Minister, they’re ready for you again,” a male voice called to her gently from behind. She smiled as she recognized the voice.
“Are they actually ready to come to an agreement?” she replied, her eyes still closed.
“Well Representative Winner has been talking with them, and you know that that always seems to do the trick.”
“Representative Winner,” Relena smiled again. “Christian, you’re always so formal!”
Christian Mallory grinned as he moved forward towards Relena, giving her a gentle squeeze on the right shoulder. “Shall we?”
Sighing heavily to show her irritation, Relena opened her eyes and patted him on the arm, allowing him to lead her back into the main conference room. Since the war had ended and Marimaia defeated, a lot had changed and the steps towards uniting the Earth and the colonies had moved forward faster than expected, and Christian Mallory was proof of that. Chris was the first freely elected representative entrusted with the power to speak for all of the colonies. He was only a few years older than Relena and royalty by blood like her. His family traced their roots back to the Mediterranean kingdom of Naples but Chris had been born and raised on the colonies. His past and charismatic personality had made him an ideal link between Earth and the colonies and he had become a good friend and confidant of Relena’s, causing more than one tabloid to hint at something more going on between them. In reality though, they were just close friends.
Relena took her seat at the head of the table and waited for the others to take their seats, including Quatre. With the destruction of the gundams, Quatre had turned his attention to his family and helping Relena to re-unit the Earth and the colonies. He had taken over his father’s business and become a prominent and influential businessman, causing him to be a continual presence at all colony-Earth related peace talks and negotiations. He had grown quite a bit in the last few years, his body filling out, but despite his new physique he was still the same gentle patient Quatre. Always the peacemaker, Quatre helped to maintain an air of diplomacy at otherwise heated meetings and acted as mediator, much to Relena’s relief, especially when she herself would lose patience with fellow politicians.
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“Beep beep beep…” the gentle pinging of the computer monitor roused the young dark-haired man from his sleep. Rolling over he pulled the small laptop computer close to his face and squinted at the screen. He had a new email. Yawning he sat up, the sheets falling around his waist, the green light of the computer screen illuminating his bare muscular chest and arms. Placing the laptop in his lap he opened the email. Duo Maxwell’s smiling face appeared on the screen. It was a video email. He casually turned the volume up and leaned back against the cheap wooden bed frame, his arms folded behind his head
. “Hey Heero! Man you’re a ghost! Took me forever to track you down. Anyway, guess who’s getting hitched? That’s right man! I asked Hilde to marry me and the crazy girl said yes! Can you believe it? Threw me for a loop, I gotta tell you. So anyway we’d like you to come to the wedding. We’ve booked a little out-of- the way spa resort by Lake Ichiro on the L3 Colony, a treat from the Protector Agency for all our help during the war, and everyone is coming, so you have to show. Besides, I kinda need a best man and dude I figured you need a little romance in your life, even if you have to experience it vicariously through me. ((Duo grinned like the Cheshire Cat.)) I included the directions and a free shuttle ticket courtesy of one Vice Minister Dorlain.” The image of Duo broke into an even bigger grin at the mention of Relena and he winked at Heero. “So see you in 3 days.”
Heero stared at the computer screen for a few more seconds before closing it and rolling back over in bed. But he couldn’t sleep. He stared for a long time at the far wall, memories and feeling stirring deep within him.
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“Hilde!” Catherine squealed, throwing her arms around the dark-haired girl. The two young women embraced tightly, enjoying their reunion. Behind them, Trowa Barton emerged from the taxi toting several small pieces of luggage behind him.
“Hey Trowa,” Duo called as he made his way over towards the taxi. “What’s with all the equipment?” He gestured towards the luggage.
“Sister,” Trowa nodded towards Catherine, who released Hilde just enough to glare back at Trowa. “Women,” Duo sighed, scratching the back of his head.
“Watch yourself mister!” Hilde sauntered over. “I have 3 more days of freedom and I can still drop your sorry ass.” “Still being pushed around by women, are we?” Sally Po’s voice teased from behind.
“Sally!” Hilde grinned. “You made it!”
“Yep, the agency granted all of us a 3 day stay,” she pointed behind her to the large black town car that was being unloaded. Zechs Marquise (also known as Millardo Peacecraft), Lucrezia Noin, and Chang Wufei swarmed around the car, unloading luggage in a bustle of semi-chaos. The four veterans had become members of the Preventor Agency after the war. Sally and Wufei teamed up as the agency’s elite parole unit, spending most of their time on the far outskirts of the colonies as the first line of defense and warning against any emanate dangers that reared up. Zechs and Noin on the other hand had set out on a new terriforming project for the Earth Sphere Alliance. It was ideal for Zechs who was nothing more than a ghost, having officially been killed by Heero Yuy at the end of the war, and Noin thoroughly enjoyed that she had her best friend and confidant all to herself.
“Well it looks like the gang is almost all here,” Quatre called from the porch in front of the hotel. Behind him Relena and a blond-haired handsome young man stepped onto the porch.

Catherine’s eyebrows rose as her eyes took in the young blonde man. “Nice, very nice,” she muttered to herself, moving forward to embrace her friend. Zechs shot his sister a sinister look, giving the young man beside her a questionable glance.
“Wait, who are we still missing?” Hilde snuggled against Duo. “Dorothy isn’t arriving until tomorrow.”
“Heero,” Duo smiled down at her.
“I told you not to get your hopes up,” Hilde began, pushing slightly away from Duo to get a better
look at his face. “You know how he is…”
“Yep, and here he is,” Duo winked at her pointing at an approaching taxi. Turning their heads in unison, the group watched a small faded taxi slowly pull up.
“Thanks man,” the driver called, dollar bills in hand, as Heero Yuy stepped out of the taxi and into the dust of the dirt driveway.
“Hey, Heero! Good to see you! I knew my best man wouldn’t let me down,” Duo tapped the roof of Heero’s taxi, signaling the driver to take off.
Heero just nodded, turning instead to Hilde as she reached out to embrace him.
“It’s good to see you,” she said softly against his hair.
“You too,” he smiled, a break in his normal shielded demeanor. “Congratulations, both of you.”
From her position on the porch Relena had a full view of Heero’s arrival and her breath caught in her throat, memories and emotions so carefully locked away began to seep to the surface. ‘Breath, Relena, you have to remember to breath’ she thought to herself. Her heart began to beat a little faster as her eyes slowly wandered up his body. He had grown a little since she saw him last, the remaining traces of gawky adolescence replaced by the smooth, muscular vitality of adulthood. He looked amazing, the slightest hint of the muscular chest and arms that lay hidden just beneath the surface of his white T-shirt and leather jacket. Heero felt eyes on him, piercing him. Looking up his eyes met Relena’s gaze and he felt his chest tighten. As his eyes locked onto hers Relena’s body went rigid, and she fought to swallow.
“Relena, are you alright?” Christian gently placed his hand on her arm, noticing the change in her body posture.
“What..oh Christian,” she tore her eyes from Heero, and turning to face Christian smiled. “Yes, I’m, I’m fine.”
Heero noticed the intimate way Christian touched Relena’s arm and he felt heat grow inside his chest. What was wrong with him? He knew he’d wanted to see her, but why was he getting so worked up over something as little as a touch from another man? Quickly he re-adjusted the hold he had on the small duffle bag slug over his shoulder, diverting his attention from his own thoughts and allowing his stoic mask to slip back into place. He'd get to talk to her later.
“Well looks like we’ve got everyone now,” Hilde began to lead the way into the hotel, scooping up one of Catherine’s bags on the way. “Nothing’s planned until later tonight so you can all get situated and have some quality relaxation time this afternoon.”
“Relena, you have to join me in the hot springs,” Catherine winked, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the lobby with her. “They feel absolutely amazing!”
As the others moved into the building, Heero and Zechs held back, each lost in his own thoughts.
“Zechs, are you coming?” Noin called, snapping him back to reality.
“Be there in a minute,” he waved, turning to look at Heero. “She looks happy,” he said to no one in particular.
“Yeah she does,” Heero shrugged, starting to move forward.
“She looks good too,” Zechs kept pace with the younger boy. “It’s been so long for all of us to be re-united like this, for a reason born of love instead of one born of hate. Ironic. I guess everything comes full circle and you cant’ escape your destiny no matter how hard you try.” The two pilots had stopped walking now, Zechs leaning against the door frame of the hotel, Heero staring off at the mountains that lined the dirt road in front of the hotel. “It’s good to see her again.” Zechs turned and slipped into the hotel.
Heero let out a heavy sigh. It was good to see her, and she certainly did look good, much better than he remembered, much better than in his dreams. But what did it matter? His mind settled on the image of the young man touching her arm. Flashing images of the war exploded and faded before his mind’s eye. What use was he to her anymore? No war to protect her from. What could he possibly offer her? Despite his insecurities he couldn’t deny that it was good to see her, and with a slight smile tugging ever so gently at the corners of his lips, Heero turned and headed into the hotel.

Last Exit to Eden Chaptor 2