A/N: This is a pretty old piece that I decided to dust off, clean up a little, and offer it up out here.
Noin knocked quietly on his door. She didn't know why; they had simply walked into each other's quarters for years. She let herself smile at the memory of their time back in basic training when they had teased, annoyed and flirted with each other as subtly as humanly possible.
Her smile died as she suddenly realized why she knocked. After what happened the a few days before, she needed to assure herself that he was all right before she saw him. The thought of seeing him dead…she let the thought fade as the door opened to reveal the Lighting Baron standing there in his trousers, boots, and a simple red t-shirt. It was rather late and it shouldn't have surprised her to see him out of uniform.
"Noin, it's good to see you. Come in." He held the door open for her to walk in. Once she was inside, he quietly closed and locked it behind her before returning to the living area of his quarters. "To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
She laughed lightly. "Since when do I need a reason to come see you? We practically lived in each other's quarters back in the day."
Zechs gave her one of his rare smiles. Even with his mask on the movement seemed to relax his entire demeanor. "So we did. I miss those days."
"So do I." She said honestly. After a pause she took a breath to speak again. "Zechs, are you sure you are all right? It's not common for a nineteen year old to have a heart attack."
He had his back to her, and said nothing for a moment. A long stretch of silence filled the room and Noin began to wonder if she had said something wrong.
He reached up and slowly pulled his mask off. Turning to her, the sadness in his eyes shocked her. "Perhaps, but at least I'm still alive. I'll be alright."
Noin looked at him for a moment, just taking in everything he was telling her with the pain in his eyes. Finally she closed the distance between them and hugged him tightly. Without hesitation, he wrapped his strong arms around her, and held her close.
"I know you will be alright, but I want to know if you are alright now." She said quietly into his chest.
He rested his head on top of hers, letting the waterfall of his platinum blonde hair sweep around the smaller woman like a curtain. "Thank you Lucrezia. You have always been so kind to me."
She relaxed into his chest, listening to his beating heart. She was just glad it was beating so steadily. "You scared me. I thought I was going to loose you."
He pulled back enough to look at her, a kind smile gracing his features. "I swear to you that you will never loose me. I will always find my way back to you, my Lucrezia, my love."
"Always?" She asked, a smile slowly crossing her lips.
He held her by her shoulders and stared intently into her eyes. "I will always be with you." He kissed her, as if by their lips meeting, the promise would be sealed.
When Zechs pulled back Noin had a full smile across her face. "I will hold you to that Colonel Merquise."
"I would expect nothing less from you Commander Noin." He still had the smile on his face as he settled on the bed and looked up at her. "Stay here a while. We haven't had time to really catch our breath in some time."
She sat beside him and let out a gentle sigh. "That it has. So much has happened in the last few weeks, I never even got to tell you about the soldier I had to slap on the landing strip before your visit at Lake Victoria."
They laid back together and Zechs closed his eyes. "You never will change, will you Noin?"
"Never."
"Good. I wouldn't want you to." He pulled her close and after a while of talking about recent events and old times alike, they both slipped into a peaceful sleep and dreamt of the future that awaited them.