I'm French. My English isn't perfect, but I work on this !
I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. They belong to their appropriate owners.

It contains or will contain yaoi, strong language and more. Heero's POV (trying hard to be in character).


Rediscovered
by solange channonix

Chapter I





Blindingly light, deep red sphere of the setting sun covered half-way by the horizon was reflecting in the metallic surface of the Palace of the Human Laws, caught between two cylindrical towers, making them both burn with intense red. Red - the color of fire and the color of blood, two things my life had taught me to hate the most.

I rested more comfortably on the dining room's wall, next to the door and opposite large window giving spectacular view of an immense garden and the Palace on the other side. My hand reached to check all the holsters I had on me before I picked a bowl of highly-energetic nutritional substance, may as well call this food, and began eating it while still standing.

It was my normal way of eating lunch. The green, tasteless mass was my usual meal. Everything was normal, like it had been for almost a year, ever since the end of the second war.

I was in Peacecraft's estate in Strasbourg, returned to them with proper honor after the war and getting the OZ siege for Western Europe out of it. Over ten acres of grounds in the residential part of the city, not more than fifteen minutes by car to the center, prize of every acre including many zeros. I didn't like this particular estate, with windows large enough to get through driving a tank, so the safety once one had gotten on the grounds was none.

Relena loved it, she loved the view of the Palace. She didn't consider her safety her thing, but mine. Even now, she was sitting at the table, poking in her food and every once in a while casting a glance out of the window, while still pretending to be participating in the talk Zechs and Noin were having beside her. They were planning on her wedding with an aristocrat from the South America, practically reigning in Uruguay, great pacifist and friend of Peacecraft family. A blind old man, at least four times her age she hadn't seen as far else than on a photograph. In a day or two she would be leaving to Montevideo to become his wife. She didn't seem happy.

After the sun disappeared taking the view with itself, she turned around, but not to face her brother who was efficiently forcing her into that marriage, but to look at me with sorrowful eyes. What did she except me to do ? Kidnap her, take her somewhere far away from here and marry her myself ? I didn't meet her gaze looking past her instead. That on one part I respected her as a politic and a pacifist and on the other slept with her as a woman didn't mean I was ready to do this for her. Marriage on the social level I represented wasn't a thing to get yourself stuck into out of respect and lust. I didn't love her.

Anger flashed in her blue eyes at my lack of response. I wasn't going to ruin both our lives for something I was supposed to feel, but didn't, simple as that. I gave the half-full bowl to the servant passing by. I wasn't hungry tonight.

Noin grasped Relena's hand and began to whisper something frantically in her ear, just when I got a connection at my cell vidphone. I picked it up, gate guard's face appearing on the minuscule screen.

" What is it ?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

" Nothing grave, just that... possibly someone got in the estate."

" How ?" I asked dryly. Nothing grave...

The guard laughed nervously.

" That's the matter. I came on duty half an hour ago, at 3 p.m. My precedent and I are on duty together for about ten minutes while exchanging, so it was today. Then there appeared a guy, more like a boy, around your age, and began, well, flirting with Jean, I mean, my precedent. He's gay."

" And ?" I asked when he wasn't talking for a good minute.

" They went to the rest room at the gatehouse, with an unguarded entrance to the estate, to... have sex. They didn't come out."

" You've checked on them ?"

" No." The guard blushed. " What if they're doing this..."

" What if that boy stunned him and went inside ? I'll tell you what, that Jean is out of work and will have a talk with me, else he's just out of work. Repeat it to him. Go check the waiting-room and inform me about results." I terminated the connection and put the vidphone back into the pocket.

The lunch hadn't ended yet but Zechs stood up and approached me.

" What was it ?"

" Nothing grave, as for now."

I had to excuse him because the vidphone began ringing again. The guard had had to check the waiting-room already.

Zechs touched my shoulder to get my attention so I looked up at him.

" We need to talk then."

I nodded, answering the call.

Zechs went back to sit at the table.

" Jean lies there out cold. The boy is gone."

Just great.

" You saw him ?"

" Of course, I was there whole the time they were having foreplay."

" How does he look ? Anything characteristic ?"

" Braid long below waist, huge violet eyes, dressed all in black, teenager."

Duo Maxwell. What the fuck was he looking for here ?

" I'll be seeing Jean as soon as possible, tell him that when he'll wake up. Stay where you are and keep your duty, we'll take care of that guy. Out." I terminated the connection and put the vidphone back to the pocket, checking both holsters on my hips on the way.

How many teenage boys could happen to have that long braid, violet eyes, all black clothing and ability to get inside one of the best guarded houses of the world like he had ? I bet not that many, if not only one. But what Duo was looking for here ? Trying to put Relena down ? I bet not, then he wouldn't have left any witnesses alive.

We needed to find him, though it wasn't urgent until we weren't sure he was armed. I gave according orders to begin the search and by the time the lunch ended. Zechs made no move to talk with me just yet while Relena called for me to escort her back to her chambers.

I waited at the door for her and followed her when she passed through. We reached her rooms in silence, only her high heels knocking loudly on the marble floor, the sound echoing in the long corridor, trapped between lightly decorated walls. She was sad, as whole the time these days and wasn't giving out much more. I didn't know if she really angry with me. She motioned for me to come inside and closed the door behind us and locked it. Golden age of our relationship when we had been kissing in almost public places, like the staircase of the World Parliament, photographed by a bunch of paparazzi, was over. It had resulted in an immense affair, getting TV and cheap journals busy for a few weeks. Then it all had began to silence, especially after the public declaration that she would be getting married with a proper man in weeks. Then what was known about what we had had gotten considered the last youthful crush of miss Foreign Minister, like if the said world had realized only then she was an eighteen years old girl.

She approached until she was inches apart and clung tightly to me. I made no move to embrace her but that didn't seem to bother her.

" Get me out of here." She whispered in my ear, before leaning to kiss it.

" Out of where ?"

" I don't want to get married with that old man."

She was desperate...

I gripped her shoulders and put her aside to be able to look in her eyes.

" You don't want to repair the world anymore ? If I'll take you out of here and away from him you won't come back, you'll lose everything."

" I'll have you." She whispered, her eyes bearing into mine.

" I am no one. I'm not worth it. Too many people trust in you for you to leave them like that."

" If you'll take me away from here just for a while and marry me then they won't be able to..."

" Do you really want your brother to snap my neck in half ? Or do you prefer me snapping his ?"

" So... You're going to leave me, just like that, after all we had together ?" Tears began forming under her eyelids, not flowing yet but covering her eyes with a layer of shining wetness.

We were not meant to be together, why couldn't she see that ?

" Yes."

I wasn't going to lie to her, if it was what I was going to do in the end. If she would have been just an ordinary girl then maybe I would have taken her from here indeed, but she was so much more and I couldn't deprive people of their Queen.

She slapped me on the cheek, probably the hardest she could, startled my head didn't snap aside at all.

" I loved you, Heero. I was as stupid as to love you ! Leave !" She screamed, breaking into tears, flowing down her cheeks, colored black by her mascara, while she was trembling viciously.

I caught her elbow, pulled her towards me and caressed her moist cheek with my thumb, working on taking those black smears away. She handed me a handkerchief and slowly began to calm down. After a while, she clung to me again, wrapping her arms tightly around me, making the holsters push painfully down on my bones.

" But, Heero, promise me you'll be there for me, even after the wedding, will you ?"

" I can't."

Slowly, she took her head up from my shoulder and looked up at me, expression in her eyes flashing between between hurt, sorrow and anger. Then she pulled out of my embrace and stormed inside the further chambers, slamming the door shut behind her, leaving me alone in the room. I turned to leave. I really couldn't have promised her that, I knew well enough what Zechs was going to talk with me about. I was half-way out of that job. Beside that, I knew she wanted more from me than just being her bodyguard and I wasn't sure if I would have felt able to warm her bed behind her husband's back, no matter who he was.

I left, getting two guards instead of one to guard the door to her chambers since we had an intruder in the estate. Then I went to the gatehouse to talk with Jean and coming back, met Zechs on the porch, leaving to the airport. But first, he stopped to talk with me.

" You talked with Relena ?"

" Yes."

" What did she tell you ?"

" It was a private talk out of the matter of duty, I don't have to relieve it."

He tried to smile, failing.

" But I don't consider her more than a friend anymore, if that's the matter."

" Good. But you know there is still public opinion. For the sake of it it would be a lot better if you'll leave that post and won't be seen anywhere near her after the wedding. I have a new job for you. What do you think about joining Preventers ?"

" I'll consider that. When I'm supposed to leave ?"

" Tonight. Noin will take your place for a while, before we'll find someone suitable."

I nodded. He smiled then for real.

" You'll get a vacation. After all how long even you can work 24/7."

I nodded again before excusing him and getting inside.

" Heero, you're out of duty. Noin's already taking care of everything." He shouted after me.

So I needed to find her to tell her there was Duo wandering around the estate. Out of duty... I hadn't been out of duty for a year and before neither, because it had been war. And so all of a sudden I had gotten Christmas holidays. What was I supposed to do with it ? I had nowhere to go, I had been living in guest rooms of estates or hotels Relena had been staying at, I had my own apartment here at Strasbourg, but I hadn't even been there more than once or twice. It wasn't a home and it was empty. Guess I would buy some good food, watch TV, hack and get drunk, and then join Preventers and have my routine back, my life going as it had always had, pushing myself to the limits and beyond every single day, out of a habit, knowing no other way to live.

For the rest of the day we were trying with Noin to find Duo, with no effects. Maybe he had already gotten what he wanted and had left. Then we ate dinner together since Relena didn't come to the dining room at all demanding to get the food to her chambers and Zechs had left. Since it was my least meal here I got real food, not that green something. Not that they had been forcing me to eat that, just it had been the faster and most efficient way to get fed, not requiring sitting. After the dinner I went to my room to collect my belongings as I was supposed to leave that evening and spend my first night in my apartment. Too bad it wasn't furnished, but I could sleep on the floor. One thing that bothered me was Duo. What had he come for ? And where had he gone ? I realized I should have found him before living, or at least check if Noin had managed to do this, so after packing everything that could be ever useful up, I went to look for her again.

Instead of her, I met Relena, walking down the corridor with her eyes puffy and red. She tried to just walk past me, but I caught her and held tightly close to me.

" What do you want ? You're leaving, aren't you ?"

" Yes."

" Let me go."

" Blame me only for what really is my fault." I said softly. " I want you to know that I'll be there for you, to fight for you. If nothing more, I am your soldier."

She smiled blankly up at me, while her eyes filled with tears again, before leaning to kiss me lightly on the lips, not closing her eyes, then she pulled away viscously and ran away down the corridor. I looked after her, but then soft chuckle coming from some dark corner of the corridor caused me to turn around.

" If nothing more I am your soldier... God, Heero... Tell this to me too, you don't even have to kiss me, just tell."

Only then I noticed him, standing in the shadows, with his back resting against the wall, violet eyes sparkling in the darkness like if he was a cat. He moved to approach me, his braid following him in a swirling motion.

" I am your soldier, Shinigami." I said.

Contented grin appeared on his face.

" Now, how much did you do with that guy at the gate ?" I asked noticing he was dressed in black leather, from head to toe.

" Not much, I smacked him up his head. It doesn't get much for such a pretty boy like me to get a man to take me to some empty, quiet place."

" You want something in particular ? Beside proving yourself you can wander around the house where I'm the chief of guards."

" I wanted to see you. A year is a lot of time for one to get missing his friend."

" You could call me."

" You don't answer private calls on duty. For a year, you weren't off duty. How was I supposed to do this ? Threaten I'll kill Relena Peacecraft and between verses set an appointment with you ? You wouldn't have come to because you work ?"

" Not anymore."

He looked at me, startled.

" What: not anymore ?"

" Work. Zechs fired me today."

" Don't tell me because of me. I wouldn't have forgiven myself... or maybe, after all even you can't work without stop forever..."

" Not you. Relena and me."

" Ah, Relena and you. You mean that whole the world knows you slept with her, ah... She's getting married, isn't she ? Is he nice ?"

" I don't know him. He's a bit old for her."

" Like what: thirty ?"

" Seventy two."

" What ?!" He spilled.

" He's a pacifist, family's friend. She was promised to him even before her parents' death."

" Something like Wu. But he wasn't promised. They got him to marry."

" Yes. " I nodded.

" What are you going to do ?" Duo asked, for once being serious.

" I have to leave. I have an apartment here, I'll go there. Too bad there is no furniture at all, but I can sleep on the floor."

" I know. You even have to enjoy it somehow. At least more than sharing bed with me. Every time we were supposed to do this you laid down on the floor."

" You look like one to kick in your sleep and one can get strangled with your hair."

He shoved his tongue at me.

" You're being mean to me already and I thought I wanted to help you..."

" I don't need your help."

" Sure, but I need yours. I'll tell you everything on the way to your apartment. You have a car, don't you ?"

" No."

" Too bad, you're going to ride on a motorcycle with me."

" Who told you were going to my apartment ?"

" I did. Come on." He grasped my hand and began to drag me to the entrance.

" I need to go for my things to my room."

He sighed heavily.

" So go do this. I'm waiting at the gate. Don't try anything."

" Don't get caught by Noin. She's a new guard chief here."

" Yeah, yeah, when we'll get there I'll call to tell her I'm out of here, so she won't look for me anymore." He said before speeding down the corridor, moving against the wall, thanks to his black clothing disappearing completely in the shadows caused by the dimness of the lights almost completely turned off for the night. But how had he managed to sneak during the day, and through the garden ? He was still good. I wondered if I would have managed to do this, I knew one thing for sure, I wouldn't have gotten here the way he had. Maybe it was good I had met him, he was a very efficient filler of an empty space, in mental meaning, that's for sure, and quite nice too.

I came inside my room and reflecting on how Duo had said I would ride a motorcycle with him changed from the suit to a green tank top, jeans and matching jacket before taking my bag and turning to leave, forever, casting one last glance at the two cylindrical towers of the Palace, reflecting nothing but city lights...

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Kinda 1 x R at the beginning, wasn't it ? Don't worry, shounen-ai kicks in next chapter.