Chords

by Dustin & Melissa

Meela glared at her reflection in the mirror. Arys came up beside her wearing a long silver dress.

“You look great. Come on, lets go.”

Meela stood still. Her dress was similar to Arys’. It was silver, but had a greenish tint to it. It was very beautiful, but Meela still glared at herself in the mirror.

She sighed. “Fine, lets go.” She went out the door followed by Arys.

They were going to the annual Christmas party that Miss Relena held. All the Preventer agents had been invited.

Meela took a deep breath before going out into the huge ball room. This was the first time that any of the pilots had seen her in a dress. And it had to be a strapless one to. She glared at Arys who smiled back at her.

The room looked beautiful. There was a huge Christmas tree in the middle, with presents all around it. There were candles everywhere and holly and mistletoe hung in the corners. Meela had to admit that Relena had outdone herself.

Relena came swooping up to them with a smile on her face.

“Hey! Both of you look great!” She was wearing a red dress.

“That's what I told Meela but she wouldn’t believe me.”

“Of course not. That's how she is.”

“Uh huh.” Meela said.

Relena smiled at them then went over to some other guests that had just arrived. Meela looked around for any familiar faces. She saw Quatre standing with Trowa and motioned to Arys. They moved towards the two boys. Quatre grinned broadly when he saw them.

“Arys! Meela! You guys look great!”

Trowa glanced up. His eyes traveled over Meela’s dress and his mouth opened slightly, but he didn’t say anything.

“Thanks. I’ve been trying to convince Meela she looks good, but she doesn’t believe anyone,” Arys replied.

Meela made a face. “I just don’t like dresses.”

“But she’s right. You do look good,” Trowa said.

Meela met his green eyes for a second then looked away. “Thanks.”

“No. Absolutely not. No way.” Duo stepped up beside Meela, his mouth hanging open. “I never thought I’d live to see the day you wore a dress. Hades has frozen over.”

“Tell me about it. But I felt like coming this time.”

Duo shook his head. “Miracles do happen. Lets see... Meela, would you dance with me?”

“No.”

He sighed. “I guess that was to much to hope for.” He stuck his arm out. “Arys?”

She smiled and took his arm. “Sure.” As she walked away she glanced behind her shoulder. “Just so you know Meela, you are going to dance with someone tonight.”

Meela sighed. “I had a feeling it’d be like that.”

She glanced around awkwardly waiting for someone Arys had put up to ask her. A few minutes later she glanced behind and realized Quatre had left and she was alone with Trowa. She grimaced and resisted the urge to move away. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him. She didn’t know why she was so anti-social. She been trying to do more things like this, but she had to force herself to try and enjoy them.

Trowa stepped up beside her and cleared his throat. He seemed unusually nervous. “How’s it going Trowa?” she asked.

“I’m good. You?”

“I’m pretty good. You know, for being in a dress.”

He smiled slightly and looked down at her. He seemed to have something on the tip of his tongue, but was hesitating to say it.

Please don’t ask me to dance, please don’t ask me to dance. But even as she thought this, she realized part of her wanted him to.

“So, um...” he coughed and looked away. When he looked back at her, he had a determined look in his eyes. “Do you want to dance?”

She squelched the panicky feeling she felt and forced herself to meet his gaze.

Smile.

“Sure,” she said with a smile, surprising herself.

They moved out onto the floor. Oh well, she thought. At least I can tell Arys I danced with someone. She felt herself almost instantly relax. A sigh escaped her lips without her thinking about it and she subconsciously pulled Trowa closer.

A few minutes later the song ended. They stood still for a few seconds, then separated. She looked into his eyes and smiled. “Thanks Trowa.”

“Your welcome,” he said.

Jeez, what am I doing? She quickly looked away. “I’ll um, see you around.”

“Okay.”

She walked quickly away and out the nearest exit. She walked aimlessly around the halls of the Cinq Kingdom before coming to the music room. She heard piano music coming from inside. Quietly she opened the door and stepped in, shutting it softly behind her. The person at the piano had his back turned away from the door. The song with soft, but intense. He struck the final chord and let the notes ring for a few seconds, then released the petal, silencing the instrument.

“How’s it going Meela?” he said, looking over his shoulder with the almost permanent sardonic smile on his face. She shook her head.

“Calder. You’re impossible to sneak up on. That really annoys me.”

“I know.”

She came up behind him. She’d know Calder since she was little, when she had lived on the streets. They had become ‘partners’ in the struggle to survive. “What was that song?”

“Altair and Vega. It was origanally written for a duet. That was the solo version.” He pulled some music from the bag leaning against the piano bench and grinned. “Care to give it a try? Its challenging.”

She smiled and sat down to his left. They played the song through, then sat in silence.

“I saw you and Trowa dancing,” Calder said after a moment. She scowled.

“Don’t even go there Calder.”

He pressed on. “Personally, I think you could use a little romance in your life.” He nudged her playfully. “And I know you like him, even though you don’t admit it to yourself.”

She just sighed and ran her hands over the keyboard. “You know, this reminds me of way the other Gundam pilots and I are.” She played seven notes in a chord that sounded beautiful. “Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, Arys, and Noin. They work beautifully together.” Then she played an off-note. “And there’s me.” She played the note again. “Alone, it sounds fine.” She played song with the first chord, then her note. “But together, it ruins the song.”

“Then maybe you just need to write a new song,” Calder said. He played a pretty scale with her note. “And eventually...” he continued playing, this time including the first seven notes. “...they’ll all come together.” He ended with her note. It echoed through the silent room. He stood up. “Merry Christmas,” he said, and was gone.

Hey all. This story was written by my brother and I. And I would like to tell everyone that he wrote the romantic parts, not me. Although they are kind of sweet. So Merry Christmas to everyone from Dustin and Melissa.