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Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing and am making no money off of this fic.
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Permission by luvsanime02
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Dorothy’s got more of a sweet tooth than she usually lets on. Nothing too sweet, though, which is why the cocktail that she orders has both honey and lemon juice in it. The overall taste is a little tart, with the hint of sweetness from the honey lingering on her tongue after she takes a sip.
“What did you want to see me about?” she finally asks, once she’s set her drink back down on the table.
Chang Wufei isn’t someone who Dorothy has ever interacted with personally before, which is why she’s here now. Dorothy’s beyond curious what this could be about.
From what little that Dorothy has seen so far since they’ve sat down, Wufei is well-bred and calm and a little arrogant, but very sharp. He’s probably an excellent chess player but not at all fun to tease. Therefore, she’s decided to just cut to the chase.
Wufei sets his own drink down, a nonalcoholic cup of tea, and Dorothy doesn’t know if he chose that drink to mess with her head, or if she chose hers to mess with his, or both. Probably both.
Either way, he’s very forthcoming and blunt, looking directly into her eyes. “I want you to run Preventers.”
Dorothy’s very glad that she has nothing in her hands at the moment, because she’s sure that she would have dropped it, and that would have been embarrassing. As it is, it takes all of her willpower to keep her mouth from gaping open.
She does stare at Wufei in shocked silence for several minutes, but Dorothy’s only human.
“Why?” she asks. Almost, she asks Wufei to repeat himself, but really, Dorothy heard him well enough the first time. She just can’t believe it.
“They wanted Une in charge for her connection to Treize,” he says, “but they’re not letting her do anything. The budget keeps decreasing every quarter, and Preventers jurisdiction is fractured, differing from one region to the next, which creates endless issues for us.”
Dorothy has always wondered what Wufei’s connection to her cousin had been, before Wufei killed him. Not that Dorothy hates Wufei for giving Treize the death that he wanted, but it does make this conversation somewhat awkward.
Well, if Wufei can ignore that, so can Dorothy. Besides, she has something more important to focus on at the moment.
“They want Une in charge as a figurehead, but they’re not prepared to listen to her requests,” Dorothy summarizes, and Wufei nods in agreement. He’s still carefully watching her face. “And you think they’ll listen to my requests,” she says, not sure why he would think that.
Wufei raises an eyebrow and smirks, just a little. It’s unfairly attractive on the man. “I don’t think you’ll make requests,” he explains.
Almost, Dorothy lets herself smile. He must have talked to Relena and Quatre Winner, to know so much about her personality. Instead, Dorothy takes another sip of her cocktail, thinking the proposal over. It’s true that Preventers has been politically stymied lately, now that it’s been a few years since the war. Dorothy also agrees with Wufei’s unspoken concerns - that they can’t afford to have the Preventers blocked. The whole point of the organization is supposed to be to keep incidents like Mariemaia’s little uprising from happening in the first place. It’s hard for Preventers to do that if none of the politicians will let them maneuver at all.
“I do have a business, you know,” Dorothy says after another few minutes of silence, Wufei sitting across from her while drinking his tea. Maybe they both ordered the drinks that they did because that’s who they are and neither of them were trying to play a game at all.
Wufei nods at her statement. “It’s mostly autonomous,” he counters, and he’s not wrong. Dorothy doesn’t have to oversee the day-to-day proceedings anymore.
“What does Une think about this?” Dorothy asks. Not that Une’s opinion would sway Dorothy’s one way or the other, but she’d like to know the score anyway.
“She’s frustrated but has agreed to step down if you’ll take her place,” Wufei replies.
Frustrated is probably too polite a word for how Une really feels, but Dorothy nods, understanding what Wufei’s really saying, which is that Une wouldn’t oppose her. Pity. That almost would have been fun.
Dorothy’s been very bored lately, she realizes. It’s why she came to this meeting in the first place, and why she’s considering accepting the offer.
“And Relena?” Dorothy asks. She refuses to show how much Relena’s opinion matters to her, more than anyone else’s, but she still has to ask.
Wufei’s smile this time is smaller but much more genuine, and oh, Relena clearly has some gossip to spill. Interesting.
“She said, ‘If those bastards aren’t going to do their jobs, then Dorothy will make them’,” Wufei answers, amusement lacing his words.
Dorothy can’t stop the pleased laugh from escaping her, and she doesn’t really want to. Dorothy loves when Relena gets annoyed enough to curse, and clearly, this whole situation has her plenty annoyed.
In that case. Dorothy smiles sharply at Wufei. “Well, with an endorsement like that, how can I refuse?” she says casually.
Wufei nods approvingly, and it’s not like Dorothy asked for his approval, but it’s nice to have all the same. The two of them then settle back down and start hashing out the particulars, and all in all, Dorothy rates her first meeting with Wufei as a rounding success. As far as things go, being asked to head an international peace-keeping organization is quite the vote of confidence, and Dorothy makes a mental vow to herself. She’s going to be worthy of this, of all of their support.
Yes, she’s very happy with how things have turned out.