The Most Eligible Bachelor

by Windsor Blue

Disclaimers - I don't own Gundam Wing, nor do I own any eligible bachelors. If you do, then be happy and well in the knowledge that you make more money in a week than I have in my entire working life, and that you have much better, bigger and more important things to do with your time than hassle me.

Genre: Romantic comedy, I hope...

Warnings - None for this chapter. Overall - some swearing, some innuendo, a few angsty moments...the usual stuff.

Rating - PG-13

Pairings - The principal pairing in this is 3x4, with references to a past 4x2, the set-up for a future 1x2 and an eventual 1x2x5. That said, there will be touches of 1+R and 2+H throughout, and they're there to make something of a point. See, the thing is, men and women can be friends. They can be really close friends. They can even flirt a little bit and not have it really mean anything, because they're just friends and it's all in good fun. That's how I see the relationships between Heero and Relena and Duo and Hilde, so that's how I'm trying to portray them.

Note - This is the first of a planned trilogy arc of multi-part romantic comedy-style fics. They're gonna be long, and they intersect with pretty much everything else I've ever written, so over the course of the arc characters and events from the "Letters to Quatre" and "Favorite Uncle" series will poke their noses in. Fair warning!

Special thanks to Anne and Maureen for judicious use of the nagging stick.

Feedback to: windsorblue17@yahoo.com

Prologue

"Good evening, and welcome to the 6:00 edition of Sphere News Network's Headline News Update. I'm Debra Parsons in London, and here are tonight's headlines:

"In Sphere news, members of the Earth Sphere Unified Nations Parliament are gathering in Sanq tonight in preparation for tomorrow's opening session. This will be Parliament's fourth year in session, and several representatives will be up for re-election in the fall, including Sanq's own representative, Relena Darlian Peacecraft. Seen here leaving the airport after a brief vacation in New York City, Representative Peacecraft is expected to open tomorrow's session by proposing legislation that will initialize plans to pay reparations for war crimes committed by the Alliance military to Colony War-era inhabitants of L2, L3 and L5. Arguably one of the hardest hit parts of the sphere during the Alliance era, the L2 cluster is still recovering from economic depression. The economy of L3 also suffered greatly during the war, as well as during the Mariemeia Incident. Some older colonies at the L5 cluster were completely destroyed by the Alliance, with casualties there numbering in the thousands.

"Addressing Parliament's opening session tomorrow will be the CEO of Winner Enterprises LTD., Quatre Raberba Winner. Winner Enterprises has made numerous charitable donations to colonial aid organizations, and is open in its support of Representative Peacecraft's legislation. Mr. Winner, seen here arriving in Sanq this afternoon with his personal advisor, Mr. Trowa Barton, has made no mystery of his position regarding this issue, and many Parliament watchers tonight are speculating that his speech tomorrow will be the turning point in the debate. Both Mr. Winner and Mr. Barton were Gundam pilots during the Colony War. The Gundam pilots are credited with helping to bring an end to the Colony War and with bringing a speedy resolution to the Mariemeia Incident.

"In colony news, groundbreaking began today on the Santa Monica section of Nuevo Los Angeles at L2 - the last remaining neighborhood to be built. The Nuevo Los Angeles project, being built and funded by Winner Enterprises LTD., is the first of several civic projects on the drawing boards at Winner designed to replicate the great cities of the North American continent. The Nuevo Los Angeles project is expected to be complete in AC 201, while construction on the second such project, New Chicago, will begin early next year.

"In sports news, the International Rugby League is still in negotiations to keep its players from going on strike at the end of the month. At issue are salary caps, percentages of merchandise sales, and free agency. If undertaken, the players' strike will disrupt the IRL's semi-final playoffs.

"In the world of entertainment, speculation is high as to who will be on Sphere Magazine's list of the Sphere's Fifty Most Eligible Bachelors. The list is kept a closely guarded secret until the day of its publication, but insiders tell us that you can expect to find actors Kirby Neil and S.M. Morrow and Japanese rugby player Seishiro Hirasagawa among this year's choices. Sphere Magazine publishes its Fifty Most Eligible Bachelors list once a year in conjunction with its annual charity gala, where dates with the bachelors are auctioned off to the highest bidder. The recipient of this year's donations will be the Colonial War Orphans Fund, and the list will hit the newsstands tomorrow morning.

"Thank you for joining us for SNN's Headline News Update. Be sure to catch our next update at 6:30. Until then, this is Debra Parsons in London, and on behalf of SNN, I wish you a pleasant evening."

*to be continued*