'Music to My Ears' is a sorta prequel to a fic called 'Meet Me Halfway' which is written by myself and Anita_Reality_Check under the account Ryu and Lali. However, it does just fine on its own!
This fic will likely be a max of 6 chapters long.
Pairings are: Duo/Hilde (engaged), Zechs/Noin (strained), Quatre/Noin (sorta one sided, at least at first), and Heero/Relena (really only implied).
There is no slash in this fic.
This is the revised version of this chapter. I will be revising chapters 2 and 3 as well.
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It had been three months since the Eve War, and two since Zechs and Noin had set off on their own for Mars. Lady Une had requested that they immediately travel and assist in the Mars Terriformation Project. Since Noin had been dead set on not letting Zechs out of her sight since his sudden shocking return, Une was forced to send her on assignment as well, even though Noin was her right hand man...woman... and she would have preferred her help back on home turf.
Zechs and Noin had both found the Mars project rather boring and uneventful, but if Une felt the need to have things supervised, there had to be something brewing up in space.
They now had far more free time than they had ever had to throw around before, which led them to acting much more like civilians than the soldiers they had been just months before. Mars was still trying to set up a stabilized colony, and air tight suits still had to be worn around the planet. But once back on ship, life was pretty much normal...and that was why things were odd. That was where things were strained.
Noin had practically grown up in the military. Her older siblings had become soldiers long before her, and in doing so, she had been admitted far younger than most soldiers could ever claim. She had only been in her early teens when she had met Treize...and Zechs.
Civilian life did NOT come naturally to either of them, and this, Noin had discovered, put a large rift in their relationship. Outside of the war zone, out of battle, they had nothing to talk about except the past, and neither of them could think of what to speak about in regards to their futures. Now, with all of their free time, they found themselves many days just sitting in silence, and she honestly wondered if things could ever change for either of them in the long run.
Today was just one of those days where Noin could no longer bear the silence, and as Zechs sat cross-legged in front of the monitor, reading one of the Earth newspapers on the screen, she could take it no more.
"Living with you is honestly like living with a statue!" She exploded, making Zechs startle, spilling his coffee across the television stand beside him.
Dribbles immediately began to drop to the floor, and the blonde stared at her with wide eyes.
"That was...uncalled for, Noin. Seriously, don't break the silence like that. I've lived through two wars, barely by the skin of my teeth, and don't feel much like dying of a heart attack." He sighed, turning towards the woman.
Noin slipped down into the seat beside him and hung her head.
"I'm sorry... really. I'm just going stir crazy out here. It's just the two of us out here, we're stuck in open space, and you're always so quiet that it's like being in solitary. It's getting to me..." She groaned.
He eyed her curiously.
"You ARE your own person Noin. You're free to go if you wish it. I've never been a talkative man, you should know this by now..." He managed a weak smile, and she caved, returning it.
"I promised myself, and you, that I wouldn't leave your side again. I feel as though if I leave, you'll suddenly disappear, and all of this will have been a dream."
Zechs gave a small huff before chuckling and shaking his head. Noin only frowned deeply.
"Now what the hell do you find so funny Milliardo!?" She hissed.
"Do you frequently dream of eight year old little girls, who are surprise daughters of deceased friends, taking over the galaxy? That's one hell of a war to have dreamt up." He grinned, bringing a smile to Noin's face as well. "Let me know what you've been taking at night, I've clearly got to have some for myself."
Noin couldn't help but giggle.
"You KNOW what I meant Zechs...honestly..." She shook her head chuckling. "But seriously, liven up a bit will you? Now, scoot on over. I've got to see if we've received any messages today. I hate being out of real time contact with everyone. Makes me nervous." She muttered, tapping at the controls. "I'd like to see someone from the outside world for a change. No one has contacted us in well over a week."
He sighed, and instead simply shifting to the side, he left his seat entirely and went in search of a towel to mop the coffee up with.
Noin gave a small sigh as she watched him go, and quickly accessed their inbox. She was immediately pleased to see that they had received at least one message, originating from the L4 colonies for a change. She smiled knowingly, and was pleased to see Quatre's face pop up on screen as she pulled up the recorded video feed.
"Hello Ms. Noin!" He said joyfully.
Noin smiled, and relaxed her muscles, getting comfortable in her seat.
"I sincerely hope that you and Zechs are doing all right out there. Things here on L4 have been quite boring now that things are starting to settle down. I've been swarmed with paperwork for weeks now, and with all the clients, assistants, and family running around over here, there has been no chance of me slipping away for now. I wonder...have you heard any news on Heero's whereabouts? The only glimpses of him we've seen over the past few months have been at Ms. Relena's meetings and speeches. He always disappears before we can say hi to him. Relena says that he's 'around' but she leaves him to his own devices. Wufei and Sally have been too busy with their assignments to spare a few moments to converse with me, but Duo and Hilde have visited me every other week, and they still hope that you can be back for their wedding, remember to keep that in mind! Just last weekend, Trowa's troop was in town, and we got to spend some quality time together. They have been getting plenty of bookings and customers over the last month or so. People are anxious to put the past behind them and bring back the good times."
He paused during his message briefly to take a large gulp of his tea that sat on the desk at his side. Zechs also returned at this time and began soaking up the spill from earlier, ignoring the vid screen.
"I really wish that everyone had more time to spend with each other, but it seems as though we are ALL pretty busy when there isn't a war going on right outside our doors. Well, as I am sure that you are lacking in simple pleasantries while up in space, cooped up in a ship most of the time, I thought that I would treat you to something you haven't had in a long time Ms. Noin!"
Zechs turned to the screen and his eyes narrowed curiously.
What was that boy rambling on about?
Noin blinked as Quatre stood up in front of the screen and bowed, before turning around and walking to the back of the room. Her eyes widened, and she grinned as he took seat on a long red cushioned bench in front of a beautiful grand piano, and he began to play.
The piece lasted several minutes, and Noin watched, and listened in silent admiration. She could not deny the boy's talent, and she had always loved it when she would happen upon him in his random moments of playing those times they had been stationed together.
Zechs had quickly gotten bored with the sudden melody, and had gone back to scrubbing the coffee off of the floor
"Honestly Zechs, have you no appreciation for any of the arts?" She sighed, shaking her head sadly at the man, and turned back to the screen.
This was one video message she was never going to delete.