[THREAD] Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch

[deaths_pilot]

Characters: OU!Duo, OU!Relena
Where: Cafe
When: Day after this
Summary: Deciding they actually should sit down and spend some real time together, Duo and Relena meet at the cafe.
Warnings: Mm... probably spoilers via reminiscing... possible whatever else... we'll see where it goes. Tho', Duo will probably be on his best behavior around, "the

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[cinqtioned]

Relena hadn't spent as much time as she should have with the people from her world that were here. She'd spent some time around Heero when she'd first arrived, but had developed somewhat of an independent nature back home that had come with her to this place. It wasn't that any of them made her feel smothered or suffocated in any way, it was that she realized how much she had relied on other people in her youth and was determined not to step back into those shoes. She didn't want to be the spoiled little Darlian girl that people at her school had seen her as or some princess in distress that forever relied on Heero Yuy to keep an eye out for her. Relena was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and she liked to think that her time in Econtra thus far had proved that.

She arrived bundled up considerable less than the rest of the compound's population, being used to the extreme temperatures that Northern Europe experienced during this time of year. Such weather was not out of the ordinary for her, but merely part of the yearly cycle of seasons. Her hair was held back in a ponytail at the back of her head, reflecting more her position as Vice Foreign Minister more than the young girl who'd inadvertently got in the way of more things than she'd like to admit.

Stepping into the café, she unzipped her jacket and looked around for Duo.

[deaths_pilot]

Seeing the familiar color of the Minister's hair as she entered, Duo was a bit curious as to why she wasn't nearly as bundled up as he thought she should be. Then again, she'd grown up with weather changes being on Earth. A colony brat himself, he wasn't used to the extremes. Plus, he just disliked being cold and wet in general because it tended to remind him of times getting stuck without shelter when the weather control fritzed out. On the rundown colony he'd grown up on, that happened surprisingly often.

He waved at her to get her attention, derailing his train of thought about weather related memories before it got too dark.

[cinqtioned]

Catching the waving motion out of the corner of her eye, Relena turned and saw Duo, smiling and making her way over to him. She laid her coat on the back of her chair and sat down, folding her arms neatly on the table before her. The cold really didn't bother her all that much. As long as she was indoors and away from the brunt of the wind and other harsh elements of the season that plagued the winter months.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, Duo."

[deaths_pilot]

"Nope," Duo said. "Got here only moments before you." He smiled at her. His face was still a bit pink from the cold. He rubbed his arms a bit against the chill breeze that came with her across the room from the now closed door.

"So, what'll ya have?" he asked, referring to lunch. Might as well get all that out of the way and then they could sit and talk for a bit.

[cinqtioned]

Relena noticed the way he rubbed at his skin, a little surprised to see that he wasn't used to the cold. It was quite chilly in space, but she supposed the calm of that cold paled in comparison to the winds, ice, and snow that came with colder weather conditions on a planet. That, and there were usually heating systems put into place in shuttles and other space-fairing crafts that prevented one from freezing to death when met with the sort of temperatures that were normal in space. Interestingly enough, she found herself suddenly missing being able to go into space and to the colonies whenever she felt the need to. As much as she loved the Earth and preferred to be on it, being forcefully grounded was...surprisingly stifling.

"Just a salad and some warm tea," she said, not needing to look at any sort of menu. "You?"

(( ooc: sorry for the omg!late tag. finals were eating away at my brain. ))

[deaths_pilot]

"I'm thinkin' a burger and a soda," he said. He leaned on the table. "So... you're not bothered by the cold much, huh?" he asked with a small chuckle.

[cinqtioned]

Relena smiled at his answer and stifled a chuckle. Despite the fact that she didn't really know either Duo all that well, something about his answer was very fitting, given the person who'd provided it.

"Not too badly," she said with a nod. "I grew up in Northern Europe. It always gets like this in the winter. Sometimes worse."

[deaths_pilot]

"I've never really been a fan of the cold," he said. "The control systems on my colony kept it pretty warm, actually." Could have been a malfunction, for all he knew, but he supposed it didn't matter anymore. He shrugged.

"So, how've you been holding up here?" he then asked her. He'd been trying to keep an eye on things with her over the PDAs, but it was hard with her not being on the same floor as them to make sure she was protected.

[cinqtioned]

"I suppose that's one of the many differences between growing up on Earth and growing up on one of the colonies," she said in a neutral tone, not at all implying that one way was better than the other. "The cold isn't so bad as long as you keep bundled up. Personally, I think having to endure the winter months make the summer ones all the more enjoyable." Or, as enjoyable as they could get in a place like this.

"Well," she answered simply with a small sort of shrug. "I've been doing my part to help where I'm able to. How about you, Duo?"

[deaths_pilot]

Duo chuckled slightly. Made sense, he supposed. He nodded. "Yeah... I guess so," he said.

"Things here an' there," he said. "Tryin' ta stay busy and outta trouble." He shrugged slightly. "You spend any time with Heero lately?"

[cinqtioned]

The question, while one she should have been expecting, caught her a bit off guard and for a moment, all she did was stare blankly at the braided pilot before snapping out of it and shaking her head in a nonchalant manner. "No," she said and admitted, "But I make a point to stay out of his way."

[deaths_pilot]

Duo gave her a somewhat understanding look. After all, Heero had ended up in a relationship with the other Relena. It had to be awkward for this one. He nodded.

"Yeah, makes sense," he said. He'd noticed her hesitation, but it's not like she'd tried to hide it. For that same moment, he regretted asking her. "There's been a lot of talk about that council thing going on again," he then said, changing the topic. "Have you thought about trying to get involved with it?" He knew the Quatre's, whether one or both, had been interested.

[cinqtioned]

It had indeed been awkward at first, having someone she once cared about in the fondest of ways in a relationship with someone who wore the same face as she did. She often thought having him be with someone else would have been easier to digest at first if looking at his significant other wasn't like gazing into a mirror. The only comfort in that had been their polar opposite personalities. She and the other Relena were nothing alike, minus their appearance. That fact, along with time to think, help from the elder Quatre, and a strict resolve she made herself follow, helped her get over Heero. And she was happy to say that she had been completely over him for a few months now.

"Actually," she said with a genuine smile and a nod, "I've been involved with it from the start."

[deaths_pilot]

"You have?" Duo smiled at that. Whether she liked being involved in those things are not, it was definitely a strength of hers, and Duo was glad she had the ability to exercise her abilities here for a good purpose. For one thing, she'd never be bored with the way things worked in this place. "How's that going?" he asked her, genuinely interested. He'd never actually get involved, since that just wasn't his thing, but it didn't hurt to stay updated on the latest news about it.

[cinqtioned]

Relena nodded again, "Yes. It's going smoothly. There are a lot of able and brilliant people working within the Alliance. We're getting more done than the compound realizes, I think, and I like to believe that what we're doing is beneficial to the people living here."

[deaths_pilot]

"I certainly hope so," he said. "The Quatre's are involved, too, right? Or, at least, one of them?" He was curious now, and leaned forward with his arms crossed on the table as he listened in earnest.