Author's Note: I have returned. Another songfic…another tale of Zechs and Noin…another disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Zechs and Noin, nor do I own the song "How you remind me." Don't sue for I have nothing that anyone would want…besides my jumbo Epyon model kit and my Nickelback CD, and you'd have to pry those out from my cold dead hands!
You Remind Me
By: rowan
Never made it as a wise man
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'
Preventer Wind sighed as he lowered himself from the cockpit of Tallgeese III. The cold night air caressed his over heated skin as his feet made contact with the soft ground. It was over, Barton's forces had been stopped and Relena was safe. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of his sister. She makes a far better diplomat that I. He chuckled a bit at the thought of his brief tenure as a diplomat of Sank to the colonies. I simply couldn't stay out of a mobile suit long enough to be an effective emissary of peace.
He leaned against the left leg of his mobile suit. He had had to come to terms with a great deal over the past year. The remaining guilt over the death of his parents, the fall of Sank for the second time, the lives he had taken as The Lightning Count, he had wrestled with each of these demons. He had fought so hard to be able to get back to Earth, only to have to fight harder still once he arrived. Things seemed to have worked out for the best regardless. Relena was growing into a strong young woman, and he had finally managed to atone for some of the past.
The sound of a mobile suit approaching broke him from his thoughts. A white Taurus came over a low rise and was heading towards his position. Another smile threatened to play on his lips.
Tired of livin' like a blind man
I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling
"Noin…" In truth, she was the reason that he had fought so hard to return here. Her name was the first on his lips, once he regained consciousness after Libra's explosion. He had spent so many years denying what she meant to him, yet once he had freed himself from the shackles of his past, he knew that she was everything, the only thing, that mattered. He had hoped that when he returned to Earth he would have been able to sweep her off her feet, to confess everything, to finally love her as she deserved to be loved. Unfortunately, Barton decided to attempt his little coup just as Wind planned his return. He looked up as the mobile suit came to a halt. It stood silently for a few moments, scrutinizing him perhaps, and then its hatch opened.
This is how you remind me
Noin sighed as she brought her mobile suit to a halt next to Tallgeese III. Am I ready for this? For the past year she told anyone who would listen that Zechs was still alive, and she had never been so happy in her entire life as when she was when she met Preventer Wind. They had fought side by side once again, and along with the Gundams had won the day. But now, looking down on him through her Taurus' screens… Sure, during the battle, he had seemed concerned for her. He had even used Tallgeese to shield her at one point. And it was Preventer Wind who had requested to work with her in the first place, but did all that mean what she hoped it did? She had loved him for so long. Even his attack on Earth and his resulting "death" had not weakened that love. He always seemed to bring out the best in her. At Victoria, competing with him helped her to advance in her studies. Later, when they were in the Specials together, they would fight side by side helping each other to become better solders. Noin found that she was afraid to go down there, afraid to face another rejection from him. She ran a shaky hand through her long bangs. You have to do this…you have to know where you stand with him once and for all if you're ever going to get on with your life. She opened the suit's hatch and began to lower herself to the ground.
This is how you remind me of what I really am
This is how you remind me of what I really am
Preventer Wind's jaw tightened uncontrollably as he watched Noin descend from her mobile suit. What does one say to the love of his life after being dead for a year? Her feet met the ground with a slight crunch from the dead leaves surrounding the Taurus' resting-place. She took a few steps toward him. His heart began to pound. She was just as beautiful as he had remembered. She stopped a little more than a yard away from him. Neither spoke. The silence between them seemed to thicken with each passing breath. Wind knew he should say something, anything, to break this damnable silence, yet no words would come. During the battle he had been able to speak to her with ease. What was holding him back now, he wondered. Say something damn it! His mind screamed. He cleared his throat willing words to come. "Noin…" he began, "I am sorry."
It's not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story
Noin's dark eyes widened in shock. Had Zechs just said that he was sorry? Sorry…Her Zechs? She shook her head in disbelief. She had expected him, at the most, to explain what had taken him so long to return, but to say that he was sorry… She didn't know how to reply.
This time I'm mistaken for handing you a heart worth breaking
I've been wrong, I've been down, been to the bottom of every bottle
These five words in my head scream "are we havin' fun yet?"
She had yet to say anything to his apology. Had he been wrong to assume that she would forgive him for his sins? Why hadn't she said anything? He half wanted her to rage, to scream her disgust with him. To stride over to him and slap his face, anything but to stand there and let this choking silence remain. He ran a shaky hand through his long hair. Should I say something more? Wind didn't know if he could conjure up the proper words to tell her just how deeply she affected him. It's not like you didn't know that
I said I love you and I swear I still do
She looked at him, still trying to recover from the shock of his apology. She didn't know why he did it. He should have known that it wasn't needed.
She should be angry. She should walk over, slap him in the face, and ask him what the hell he was thinking when he decided to allow the world to believe him dead for a year. To selfishly leave her like that to pick up the pieces left in his wake. She should have been furious, but she wasn't. In all honesty, she was just happy that he was here with her again.
In all honesty, she loved him far too much to waste time being angry with him…
And it must have been so bad
Cause livin' with me must have damn near killed you
She was staring at him. I have to say something to her. I have to make things right between us. How in all of Earth and Heaven could he atone for all he had put her through?
His mother always seemed to have an uncanny gift to say exactly what was needed when it was needed. He wished that he had the same gift. He wished that Noin could somehow see what was in his heart. He wished that there were someway for him to convey the purity of his feelings without having to taint them with profane speech.
But that was the wishful thinking of a drowning man.
This is how you remind me of what I really am
This is how you remind me of what I really am
She stood there waiting for him to say more. She could tell that he was struggling with one last demon. A part of her wanted to rush into his arms, screw the rest. Yet another, deeper, part of her knew that this was something that they had to play out if they were ever going to have a real chance at a life together. So she remained motionless, silent. Praying to whatever higher power that she was doing the right thing.
It's not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story
This time I'm mistaken for handing you a heart worth breaking
I've been wrong, I've been down, been to the bottom of every bottle
These five words in my head scream "are we havin' fun yet?"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If he wanted to make things right with Noin he had to regain control of himself. He clenched and unclenched his hands a few times. He could do this…he would do this.
Never made it as a wise man
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'
And this is how you remind me
This is how you remind me of what I really am
He opened his eyes and took a step towards her. "Noin, I know that I've hurt you. And I know that…" He faltered when he saw her dark eyes widen. "Damn, why is this so difficult?"
It's not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story
That was it. Noin couldn't let him suffer any longer. "Zechs…" she breathed.
This time I'm mistaken for handing you a heart worth breaking
And I've been wrong, I've been down, been to the bottom of every bottle
The way she said his name. It was the way it sounded in his dreams. Nothing else needed to be said. She had said it all. He had been granted his forgiveness. Suddenly, the silence became comforting to him and he smiled.
These five words in my head scream "are we havin' fun yet?"
She closed the rest of the distance between them once she noticed a small smile on his lips. More could be said later. But at that moment nothing else was needed.
"Are we havin' fun yet?"
She reached out and took his hand in hers…
"Are we havin' fun yet?"
…and at last there was peace.