[Fic: GW] Naive
Title: Naive
Fandom: GW
Rating: PG
Characters: Dorothy, Relena, Quatre/Trowa
Notes: sequel to Wary.
***
“This wasn’t in the brochure,” Dorothy said.
“Wasn’t it? Oh, but I think that’s what makes it such a welcome surprise! You have to embrace the unexpected, yes?” The girl smiled and looked appraisingly around the room. “I hope you don’t mind…”
“Go on,” Dorothy said, who was feeling quite gracious. Being greatly inebriated tended to do that to her. Luckily she was rarely drunk. It would ruin her reputation if people found out she could be pleasant and tolerable.
“Where are we? I mean, I know we’re somewhere with running water, which does point to civilisation, but what civilisation?” The girl shook her head. “I never know how what to expect, what with cultures copying each other and taking from one another without even asking!”
“We’re in Istanbul,” Dorothy said slowly, suddenly feeling a lot more sober. The fuzzy edges around the girl were straightening. Dorothy squinted, she was more a woman than a girl, despite the childish wonder she took in her surroundings.
“Istanbul,” the woman repeated. “The name is familiar,” she admitted. “But I hate it when cities change names and cities move and countries merge and places that once were are now just part of a mighty empire only to be washed away in bloodshed.” The woman sighed. “Oh! I’m Relena, by the way,” she said, beaming at Dorothy.
“This place,” Dorothy said the cleared her throat. “Used to be called Constantinople, before that Byzantine - ”
“That’s how I knew it,” Relena murmured. “I spent several hundred years here, kept by a family, who savoured the wish and I was thought to be a good luck charm. I was happy. Then, then, a terrible wish was made and I. I had no choice,” she said, looking beseechingly at Dorothy. “I haven’t told you yet, I’m a genie.”
“A genie,” Dorothy repeated. “That makes perfect sense.”
“It does!” Relena said happily. “Sometimes I have to go through this long and convoluted discussion and well, it does get rather boring after the fiftieth time.”
“If you don’t mind,” Dorothy asked, “I’d like you to tell me this.”
Relena sighed, “Very well. But only because you asked nicely. I’m a genie, officially under the Genie Union. No, you don’t get three wishes, only one. Long story short, it gets too complicated when there are three. There is only one thing you can’t wish for, to have someone rise from the dead!”
“Hmm,” Dorothy hummed thoughtfully. “So theoretically, I could wish or someone to come back as a zombie?”
“Oh!” Relena started. “I hadn’t thought of that,” Relena pursed her lips and furrowed her forehead in concentration. “I’m not sure,” she said slowly. “It could be considered cheating. And anyway, who would want to wish for that when zombies are so easy to raise by yourself!” Relena finished, smiling brightly at Dorothy.
“Of course,” Dorothy said, staring at Relena with some surprise. Usually people were afraid of her, or threatened, by this stage of the conversation. But Relena just continued to stare at her environs with open curiosity.
***
“A flying machine!” Relena exclaimed, clutching at Dorothy’s arm as they made their way through the airport. “I saw one of these, once, a long time ago… it crashed and burned and three people died,” she finished. “We’re not going on one, are we?”
“It’s the only way home,” Dorothy said, looking a Relena with bemusement. “Planes are safer than cars, and look how much you enjoyed the ride over here,” she cajoled.
“But we’ll be in the air, suspended above land and sea with nothing holding us there and keeping us safe!” Relena said urgently. “Cars are one thing, they may go far too fast but at least they’re connected to the road!”
“It’ll be fine,” Dorothy assured. “You have to go with me, don’t you?”
“I wish I hadn’t told you that,” Relena grumbled. “Are you sure you don’t want to go by boat? I tend to get a little sea sick but you look very strong, Dorothy! I’m sure you would be fine.”
“That would take weeks and I have to be in America in less than three days, I have a lunch with a friend and a meeting with my financial advisors, which I want to ignore but really can’t,” Dorothy murmured. “I nearly said wish, then, but didn’t. I don’t want to waste a wish on something like that.” Dorothy frowned. “Yes, I really must speak to Quatre.”
“Four? You must speak with Four? What odd names you people of this time have,” Relena said then sighed. “Fine, I’ll go!”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Dorothy mused, “And considering he’s the thirtieth child, it really doesn’t make much sense at all.”
“Names tend not to,” Relena murmured, staring as a plane took off the runaway and flew into the blue sky.
Relena became quite nervous when they took off but by the time they were flying along the Mediterranean coast, she was glued to the window.
“I think we should change seats,” Dorothy said, who was pressed to the back of her seat as Relena leaned over her. Without taking her gaze from the window, Relena got up and changed seats, not saying even a murmur. “See? Flying is interesting, at least the first time you do it.”
“Yes,” Relena gushed, “I can’t see how someone couldn’t find this so incredibly beautiful and enchanting! Look, the sky seems so close up here, as if I could reach up and touch it. The sea is so rich and blue and everything looks so small from up here, so small.”
Dorothy smiled.
***
“This is Relena, I met her on my trip to Turkey and we bonded,” Dorothy murmured. “She’s rather charming. And this is Quatre… and his companion, Trowa. They’re lovers if I’m not mistaken.”
“Oh I already know Trowa,” Relena said quite cheerfully. “We’re both part of the Genie Union. I’m his superior by three hundred years!”
“Hello, Relena,” Trowa murmured. “I see you haven’t changed since we last me. Was it France?”
“It was! You were with this weird wax lady who had a thing for death and I was the personal genie of Napoleon! Viva la revolution!” She cried out, pumping her fist in the air joyfully. “Real pity what happened afterwards of course,” Relena said regretfully. “But,” Relena stared very closely at Trowa. “You look very human. It’s a good look for you! Is a face cream? A perfume?”
“It’s real,” Trowa said. “I am human.”
“Ohhh! I get in now,” Relena said, nodding her head. “Isn’t that kind of gross, ingesting human blood? Terribly vampire-esque and they are so fifteenth century.”
“No, Relena, I’m a hundred percent human. I’m no longer a genie,” Trowa said quietly. “And you know I was always opposed to blood drinking. The blood stains got everywhere.”
“True,” Relena said. “But I think we should probably stop talking now. My mistress isn’t looking quite well! Dorothy,” Relena said, turning to Dorothy urgently, “Are you well? Do you need smelling salts? Blast. I don’t think I have any one me. This world is so uncivilised without smelling salts!”
“I’m just surprised,” Dorothy said, staring at Quatre who looked utterly bewildered. “The conversation went in some interesting places.”
Relena’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. It’s just. I was in my lamp for nearly one hundred years and it gets so lonely there. And I guess I’ve tried to be over cheerful because everything has changed so much and I want to experience it all before I have to go in again. You’ve been so wonderful to me, Dorothy, and for that I am truly grateful.”
“She’s not normally like this,” Trowa said, “But you do get rather hyper in there after spending in there for so long. There are only so many times you can read the collected works of Pliny the Younger before it becomes tiresome.”
“I’ll be more me, now,” Relena promised, smiling at Dorothy. “I’ve just been over compensating because of how different everything is to me. I never thought I would fly and now I have,” she finished simply and placed her hand on top of Dorothy’s and squeezed.
“Interesting,” Quatre commented, when he and Dorothy were alone. “You’re falling in love.”
“I am not!” Dorothy snapped.
“Then explain that love struck look you had on when Relena was holding your hand,” Quatre pointed out. “Be careful. She is a genie after all.”
“That must have been indigestion,” Dorothy muttered, running a hand through her long hair. “Nothing else.”
“We hadn’t even started eating yet,” Quatre said, smiling.
“Jet lag!” Dorothy insisted.
“Which you don’t get. Dorothy, you’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel. You had better just admit that you’re terribly, tragically in love with Relena,” Quatre advised.
Dorothy walked away.
***
“I rather like your company,” Dorothy commented.
“Is this where you declare your undying love and make me human with your one wish?” Relena asked, tilting her head to one side quizzically. “Because I don’t think we know each other that well. I had this one love, Heero, and I fell for him like a stack of bricks and well. Gay. It ended badly and there was this curse,” Relena shrugged. “The best said is the least said.”
“No,” Dorothy said, looking amused. “I haven’t made up my mind what to wish for.”
“Oh,” Relena said, her shoulders slumping. “It’s just that Quatre wished Trowa to be free and a human and now he is. Very romantic!” Relena sighed. “It would have been nice if someone had fallen in love with me and wished for me to stay with them forever. Inconvenient. But very romantic. Until you died and that would be rather unpleasant, sharing a grave with someone.”
“I think I’ll hire you as my companion,” Dorothy said.
“I’m your genie, you don’t need to pay me!” Relena insisted.
“You’ll be able to buy what you need,” Dorothy continued.
“But I’ll accept your generosity as it is the proper thing to do,” Relena said, nodding in agreement.
Dorothy and Relena shared a smile.
Fandom: GW
Rating: PG
Characters: Dorothy, Relena, Quatre/Trowa
Notes: sequel to Wary.
***
“This wasn’t in the brochure,” Dorothy said.
“Wasn’t it? Oh, but I think that’s what makes it such a welcome surprise! You have to embrace the unexpected, yes?” The girl smiled and looked appraisingly around the room. “I hope you don’t mind…”
“Go on,” Dorothy said, who was feeling quite gracious. Being greatly inebriated tended to do that to her. Luckily she was rarely drunk. It would ruin her reputation if people found out she could be pleasant and tolerable.
“Where are we? I mean, I know we’re somewhere with running water, which does point to civilisation, but what civilisation?” The girl shook her head. “I never know how what to expect, what with cultures copying each other and taking from one another without even asking!”
“We’re in Istanbul,” Dorothy said slowly, suddenly feeling a lot more sober. The fuzzy edges around the girl were straightening. Dorothy squinted, she was more a woman than a girl, despite the childish wonder she took in her surroundings.
“Istanbul,” the woman repeated. “The name is familiar,” she admitted. “But I hate it when cities change names and cities move and countries merge and places that once were are now just part of a mighty empire only to be washed away in bloodshed.” The woman sighed. “Oh! I’m Relena, by the way,” she said, beaming at Dorothy.
“This place,” Dorothy said the cleared her throat. “Used to be called Constantinople, before that Byzantine - ”
“That’s how I knew it,” Relena murmured. “I spent several hundred years here, kept by a family, who savoured the wish and I was thought to be a good luck charm. I was happy. Then, then, a terrible wish was made and I. I had no choice,” she said, looking beseechingly at Dorothy. “I haven’t told you yet, I’m a genie.”
“A genie,” Dorothy repeated. “That makes perfect sense.”
“It does!” Relena said happily. “Sometimes I have to go through this long and convoluted discussion and well, it does get rather boring after the fiftieth time.”
“If you don’t mind,” Dorothy asked, “I’d like you to tell me this.”
Relena sighed, “Very well. But only because you asked nicely. I’m a genie, officially under the Genie Union. No, you don’t get three wishes, only one. Long story short, it gets too complicated when there are three. There is only one thing you can’t wish for, to have someone rise from the dead!”
“Hmm,” Dorothy hummed thoughtfully. “So theoretically, I could wish or someone to come back as a zombie?”
“Oh!” Relena started. “I hadn’t thought of that,” Relena pursed her lips and furrowed her forehead in concentration. “I’m not sure,” she said slowly. “It could be considered cheating. And anyway, who would want to wish for that when zombies are so easy to raise by yourself!” Relena finished, smiling brightly at Dorothy.
“Of course,” Dorothy said, staring at Relena with some surprise. Usually people were afraid of her, or threatened, by this stage of the conversation. But Relena just continued to stare at her environs with open curiosity.
***
“A flying machine!” Relena exclaimed, clutching at Dorothy’s arm as they made their way through the airport. “I saw one of these, once, a long time ago… it crashed and burned and three people died,” she finished. “We’re not going on one, are we?”
“It’s the only way home,” Dorothy said, looking a Relena with bemusement. “Planes are safer than cars, and look how much you enjoyed the ride over here,” she cajoled.
“But we’ll be in the air, suspended above land and sea with nothing holding us there and keeping us safe!” Relena said urgently. “Cars are one thing, they may go far too fast but at least they’re connected to the road!”
“It’ll be fine,” Dorothy assured. “You have to go with me, don’t you?”
“I wish I hadn’t told you that,” Relena grumbled. “Are you sure you don’t want to go by boat? I tend to get a little sea sick but you look very strong, Dorothy! I’m sure you would be fine.”
“That would take weeks and I have to be in America in less than three days, I have a lunch with a friend and a meeting with my financial advisors, which I want to ignore but really can’t,” Dorothy murmured. “I nearly said wish, then, but didn’t. I don’t want to waste a wish on something like that.” Dorothy frowned. “Yes, I really must speak to Quatre.”
“Four? You must speak with Four? What odd names you people of this time have,” Relena said then sighed. “Fine, I’ll go!”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Dorothy mused, “And considering he’s the thirtieth child, it really doesn’t make much sense at all.”
“Names tend not to,” Relena murmured, staring as a plane took off the runaway and flew into the blue sky.
Relena became quite nervous when they took off but by the time they were flying along the Mediterranean coast, she was glued to the window.
“I think we should change seats,” Dorothy said, who was pressed to the back of her seat as Relena leaned over her. Without taking her gaze from the window, Relena got up and changed seats, not saying even a murmur. “See? Flying is interesting, at least the first time you do it.”
“Yes,” Relena gushed, “I can’t see how someone couldn’t find this so incredibly beautiful and enchanting! Look, the sky seems so close up here, as if I could reach up and touch it. The sea is so rich and blue and everything looks so small from up here, so small.”
Dorothy smiled.
***
“This is Relena, I met her on my trip to Turkey and we bonded,” Dorothy murmured. “She’s rather charming. And this is Quatre… and his companion, Trowa. They’re lovers if I’m not mistaken.”
“Oh I already know Trowa,” Relena said quite cheerfully. “We’re both part of the Genie Union. I’m his superior by three hundred years!”
“Hello, Relena,” Trowa murmured. “I see you haven’t changed since we last me. Was it France?”
“It was! You were with this weird wax lady who had a thing for death and I was the personal genie of Napoleon! Viva la revolution!” She cried out, pumping her fist in the air joyfully. “Real pity what happened afterwards of course,” Relena said regretfully. “But,” Relena stared very closely at Trowa. “You look very human. It’s a good look for you! Is a face cream? A perfume?”
“It’s real,” Trowa said. “I am human.”
“Ohhh! I get in now,” Relena said, nodding her head. “Isn’t that kind of gross, ingesting human blood? Terribly vampire-esque and they are so fifteenth century.”
“No, Relena, I’m a hundred percent human. I’m no longer a genie,” Trowa said quietly. “And you know I was always opposed to blood drinking. The blood stains got everywhere.”
“True,” Relena said. “But I think we should probably stop talking now. My mistress isn’t looking quite well! Dorothy,” Relena said, turning to Dorothy urgently, “Are you well? Do you need smelling salts? Blast. I don’t think I have any one me. This world is so uncivilised without smelling salts!”
“I’m just surprised,” Dorothy said, staring at Quatre who looked utterly bewildered. “The conversation went in some interesting places.”
Relena’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. It’s just. I was in my lamp for nearly one hundred years and it gets so lonely there. And I guess I’ve tried to be over cheerful because everything has changed so much and I want to experience it all before I have to go in again. You’ve been so wonderful to me, Dorothy, and for that I am truly grateful.”
“She’s not normally like this,” Trowa said, “But you do get rather hyper in there after spending in there for so long. There are only so many times you can read the collected works of Pliny the Younger before it becomes tiresome.”
“I’ll be more me, now,” Relena promised, smiling at Dorothy. “I’ve just been over compensating because of how different everything is to me. I never thought I would fly and now I have,” she finished simply and placed her hand on top of Dorothy’s and squeezed.
“Interesting,” Quatre commented, when he and Dorothy were alone. “You’re falling in love.”
“I am not!” Dorothy snapped.
“Then explain that love struck look you had on when Relena was holding your hand,” Quatre pointed out. “Be careful. She is a genie after all.”
“That must have been indigestion,” Dorothy muttered, running a hand through her long hair. “Nothing else.”
“We hadn’t even started eating yet,” Quatre said, smiling.
“Jet lag!” Dorothy insisted.
“Which you don’t get. Dorothy, you’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel. You had better just admit that you’re terribly, tragically in love with Relena,” Quatre advised.
Dorothy walked away.
***
“I rather like your company,” Dorothy commented.
“Is this where you declare your undying love and make me human with your one wish?” Relena asked, tilting her head to one side quizzically. “Because I don’t think we know each other that well. I had this one love, Heero, and I fell for him like a stack of bricks and well. Gay. It ended badly and there was this curse,” Relena shrugged. “The best said is the least said.”
“No,” Dorothy said, looking amused. “I haven’t made up my mind what to wish for.”
“Oh,” Relena said, her shoulders slumping. “It’s just that Quatre wished Trowa to be free and a human and now he is. Very romantic!” Relena sighed. “It would have been nice if someone had fallen in love with me and wished for me to stay with them forever. Inconvenient. But very romantic. Until you died and that would be rather unpleasant, sharing a grave with someone.”
“I think I’ll hire you as my companion,” Dorothy said.
“I’m your genie, you don’t need to pay me!” Relena insisted.
“You’ll be able to buy what you need,” Dorothy continued.
“But I’ll accept your generosity as it is the proper thing to do,” Relena said, nodding in agreement.
Dorothy and Relena shared a smile.