Relena smiled contentedly as she watched her staff sing carols around the keyboard that Matilda had brought up for the informal Christmas Eve party at the Vice Foreign Minister's office in Brussels, giggling absentmindedly at their alcohol-influenced antics through the glass surrounding her personal cubicle.
She was, admittedly, still getting used to the new technology that ESUN had installed in all its parliamentary offices; now all cabinet ministers and vice ministers had the ability to make the glass walls surrounding their cubicles transparent or opaque and soundproof with the flick of a switch, thereby enabling them to both be more fully integrated into their workspace alongside their colleagues and allowing them privacy when needed.
On that particularly festive evening, she had purposely turned on the transparency feature of the walls so that she could still feel as if she were part of the group's activities (even while finishing up some last-minute committee work). She preferred it to the isolation of the other option, though she supposed that—in comparison to her old office space, which had afforded her little contact with her staff—the new setup was far more conducive to building relationships with her colleagues than the old one.
"Hot chocolate?"
She glanced to the side, her eyes meeting her faithful secretary's appreciatively as the girl quietly came in through the door.
"Thank you, Matilda," she said, gently taking hold of the mug from her hands. Her eyes travelled back to the others around the keyboard. "Is everyone enjoying themselves?"
Matilda giggled a little at the scene her co-workers were creating, her own cheeks lightly red from wine.
"I'm sure they are," she replied knowingly. Turning to Relena, she said in a quieter way: "We appreciate the fact that you decided to spend Christmas Eve with us; everyone knows that you usually attend the ESUN Ball, so we feel quite special to be able to have you all to ourselves." She looked contrite for a moment. "It must have been difficult to get out of the Ball."
Relena waved away the sentiment, though a broad smile played on her pink lips.
"Oh, it really wasn't so difficult," she reassured her. "I've been meaning to do something smaller and more intimate like this for a while now, anyway." Looking at Matilda fondly, she added: "Besides, for all the time I spend in this office, I feel as though I never get to know anyone as well as I would like to."
Her secretary gestured to the keyboard. "You should join them, then."
The young diplomat shook her head tiredly. "I'm afraid my singing voice is better confined to the shower at home," she joked. "Besides," she continued, glancing down at her desk again, "there's still so much to do."
Matilda frowned, raising her eyebrow sceptically at her boss.
"Really, Minister Darlian, you'll never get to know anyone this way! You really should get out of this stuffy little cubicle."
Relena pouted. "It's not so bad," she protested weakly at the characterisation of her workspace; however, seeing Matilda's frown widen, she relented. "All right, all right. Just give me a few more minutes, and then I promise I'll join you. Agreed?"
Matilda's frown dissolved slowly, betraying her suspicion; but, when Relena looked upon her with fake desperation, she finally smiled again, leaving the room with a look of warning in jest.
Relena felt slightly more at ease at being left alone again, and she sipped her hot chocolate slowly, allowing the warm liquid to course through her.
Soon enough, however, as she sat at her desk looking over the figures for next year's budget, her mind began to drift elsewhere.
He said he was too busy to come.
YOU ARE READING
Slow Burn
Fanfic[Gundam Wing A/C; a 1xR series of vignettes post-Endless Waltz.] He had always been conscious of the fact that she—Relena Darlian Peacecraft, Queen of the World—loved him, and him alone. And yet that was the problem, since he could never give her wh...
