Author: Zazu
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Une's POV
Pairings: none
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, nor do I own the characters. I have borrowed them here for some fun and creativity, and this is not for profit. I do, however, own the plot mentioned here, and any instances that you may find similar to real life events are purely a coincidence.
Notes: Not beta-read. It's my very first time writing in Une's POV. This was for Sharon's prompt "Relena giving Une the best Christmas gift -- forgiveness".
Relena's Gift
My feet already hurt from wearing these heels to the cocktail party that had taken place for an hour and a half. The tights I wore were of a nice material, but for some reason, it wasn't very comfortable. The business skirt I wore demanded I sit in a careful manner. The blouse I had tucked into the skirt was bunched up; I wanted to go fix it but hadn't yet found a chance. And for some reason, the room was a little chilly, and my suit jacket didn't provide too much warmth.
Despite all of that, I stood still in front of the stage, waiting for the speech that was planned. Glancing around, I could see my agents, alert and ready for any threats.
It was Christmas Eve, but terrorist took no holidays into regard, so agents had to be on duty, especially in a banquet hall where many important politicians, diplomats and other important people had gathered for a Christmas ball.
I watched as Relena Peacecraft, dressed in an elegant blue dress, made her way on stage and stood at the podium, adjusting the microphone so that she could be heard.
Seeing her look out at the audience, I could still feel a ball of shame coiled in my belly. This was the young woman who united us, the Earth Sphere and the Colonies. This was the young woman who had guided us well over the last year, who had overseen rebuilding efforts and tried to build better relations between countries.
This was the young woman who would have had less to deal with, had I not aided Mariemeia in kidnapping her.
Dekim Barton had convinced me to help him in his coup by informing me that Mariemeia was Treize's daughter.
She was all that was left of Treize in this world.
So I had gone along with the plans, telling myself that I was doing what Treize would have wanted, telling myself that I was watching over Mariemeia as he would have.
I had been blinded by her existence, had let her make mistakes and had been a part of what almost cost us the peace we'd had for a year. Now, a year later, I had become the top commander in the Preventers organization, directing the peacekeeping organization that was dedicated to maintaining our precious peace. I had taken Mariemeia under my wing, telling her of her father's honor and trying to teach her things that Treize would have wanted her to know; things that Trieze had taught me.
And yet, something was still missing within me.
Relena Peacecraft's speech was about the difficulties they had faced in a year that had carried seemingly little progress, but she spoke to encourage everyone to take part and be involved in maintaining the peace and in rebuilding the war torn places. She reminded those who were present that a year was a very short time and that they were slowly, but surely, moving towards the goals they had outlined in extensive planning. She thanked everyone for their hard work, and led a moment of silence to remember those whom had died a year ago in trying to prevent war.
Then, I realized that she was looking right at me.
"There's one more person I would like to thank," she said to the audience. "And that is Lady Une. Without her guidance, Preventers would not have become the efficient peacekeeping organization it is now. Thank you, Lady Une." She began to clap, and the audience followed.
I remembered that Relena still believed in pacifism but also realized the need to have these agents, and military, to protect the innocents when others who believed in war threatened them. She was a strong supporter of the Preventers as a result.
I couldn't remember the rest of the speech, and was still standing there as people began to mingle and talk when Relena had finished.
It wasn't until she was standing in front of me that my memories released me.
"I truly am thankful for all that you have done," she said softly.
I shook my head. "It's the least I could do for the part I had in the war and the coup," I replied.
She reached out, taking my hand with a small smile. "You have done a lot for our people," she said. "Don't belittle it. Without you, I'm sure more terrorists would have tried to follow through with their ideas of war. Without you, more innocents would have been harmed. Lady Une, it is exactly because of the part you took in the war that lets you understand what would discourage the rebels. What you were, or had done in the past, may not have been right, but everyone makes mistakes. I made mistakes by not accepting anything but pacifism. Mariemeia made a mistake when she believed that war was the answer." She looked away, making eye contact with someone else and smiling before she continued.
"It is not about how many mistakes you have made, Lady Une, nor how large your mistake was. What I'm trying to say is...what is most important is that one tries to learn from their mistakes and to take the lessons to heart, and that is exactly what you have done and exactly what you are teaching those under your command by setting an example. You have shown the soldiers of the war that they are not useless, that they are not expendable, but that they have a chance to live and to use their skills to protect those whom are important to them. Thank you, because without you, I'm sure our peace would not be as stable as it is now."
My eyes filled with tears as she spoke and she gave me a brief hug, whispering a 'Merry Christmas' before walking away to speak to someone else.
As I watched her fade into the crowd, I blinked the tears from my eyes and looked at the large Christmas tree standing in the middle of the large room.
"Thank you," I whispered. The discomfort I had felt earlier had faded and I smiled at the politician who was approaching me.
Not so long ago, Mariemeia had asked me what I wanted for Christmas. The answer I had given her was not what I had wanted the most...
But somehow I had received it all the same.
OWARI
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