Disclaimer: do not own Gundam Wing or His Dark Materials, from which the concept of daemons came.
Summary: Oneshot. GW/HDM semi-crossover. His cobra and her butterfly made for a strange couple, yet what else were they expecting from the Perfect Soldier and the Dove of Peace? 1xR.
Shadows
Another day, another press conference. Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian gracefully ascended to the podium, and those gathered immediately immersed themselves in her words. Though she had renounced the title, the Dove of Peace, with her butterfly daemon of gold and ivory perched elegantly on her shoulder, was still the most beautiful queen that either the earth or the colonies had ever laid their eyes upon.
Later in the night, Relena retired to her hotel room. It was well past midnight, and yet security was still tight. She had declined the presence of armed guard—she always did—but her aides and other companions—who went armed, not knowing that she knew—roamed around the hallways. She was fairly certain that her brother had had a hand in the hiring of at least half of them. That would not be an obstacle for her shadows, though, she was sure of it.
She sat at the vanity, her head tilted to one side as she absently gazed at the reflections in the mirror. "Did you see him?" she whispered to her daemon as he settled on a comb.
"No," Eos whispered back. His wings quivered a little, though only Relena would notice. Eos was a master of composure, just as she was. How could it be any other way? That was why he had taken the form of a butterfly. It was naturally inexpressive shape, so it would be hard for the public in general to know their fear. Desperate people who looked to her for guidance saw intelligence, reason, compassion, and grace, and their daemons were unable to look behind Eos' calm posture and his simple yet regal form. So many people could not tell how they worried, how they doubted, how even they occasionally lost faith.
They were not able to tell how Eos was constantly on the lookout for cobalt eyes and crimson scales.
Relena sighed, and picked up the comb. Eos fluttered to the back of Relena's chair.
"It's getting late," he said as Relena brushed.
"And we have another conference tomorrow."
"Yes. We should probably—"
There was a swish of curtains, and the whole world went still as in that little room, the lights seemed to dim and everything got a little bit darker as their shadows pulled themselves from the dark to bask in their light.
Relena's hand froze in midair, the comb still tangled in her hair. She looked at the carpeted floor, hardly daring to look at him lest he slip away like a shadow, as he inevitably would. He, in turn, looked at her so intensely that if there were any observers, they would mistake it for a glare. But there were no observers, just him and her and their daemons.
His cobra daemon spilled to the floor, moving like liquid mercury. Nike reared up, her tongue flickering in and out. Her hood was flared slightly, but not extended all the way, as they had seen it before, sometimes before she struck out and delivered her deadly poison. In times long gone and long forgotten, her strike had been meant for Eos. The cobra's hood was now comparatively dormant.
Eos fluttered over to the cobra daemon, his flight haphazard and, for the first time in a long time, unrestrained and joyous as Relena gave a small, gentle smile. The cobra followed his movements, swaying as though being charmed, her unblinking obsidian eyes never leaving the butterfly. Her gaze was as intense as that of her human.
Eos landed on Nike's scales. Nike coiled some of her long body underneath herself, drawing the butterfly closer. Neither Relena or Heero moved, but their daemons were having the time of their lives. The cobra was gentle, slow in her movements as though she was afraid of scaring the butterfly away. The butterfly was fearless, fluttering around the cobra's dormant hood and bestowing butterfly kisses repeatedly on the cobra's neck.
Hero's gaze softened just a bit, and Relena's smile grew.
Eos was her daemon, her soul-mate. Heero was her shadow.
There was a soft knock at the door, and Relena's attention snapped to that for a moment, and Eos fluttered upward in surprise. In that moment, there was a soft swish of movement, and when their attention turned back to their shadows, they were gone. They saw a quick flick of a cobra's tail as the owner exited from the window, and they heard a soft crunch of boots as the owner impacted on the ground, and then nothing.
"Come in," Relena said softly, her gaze still pinned to the open window. Eos fluttered to her shoulder, soothingly running a limb through a strand of hair. She stroked him lightly with a finger.
The aide, Silva Johnson, came in. "Miss Relena?" she asked, as though surprised that Relena was still awake. She went over to the window, where the wind was coming in to bat at the curtains, and shut it. Her daemon, a spaniel, looked around the room, and leaned against Silva in satisfaction when he saw Eos fluttering to perch safely on Relena's outstretched hand.
"Yes, Silva?"
"Please get some sleep, Miss Darlian," the aide said in a hushed voice, as though she suspected Relena of being half asleep, "You have a long day tomorrow."
"Yes, thank-you Silva," Relena said, putting down the comb and getting up from her seat, smiling warmly at the woman. "I suppose it is getting quite late. Goodnight." Silva replied likewise, and went out into the hallway, shutting the door softly.
Eos fluttered from her shoulder to nestle on one of the pillows, where Relena joined him half a second later. Neither of them looked out the window. Relena could see in her mind's eye how their shadows moved swiftly through the foliage. He never said goodbye. There was no need.