Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.
Authors Note: It's been awhile since I came out with any new Gundam Wing. I'm not sure where this is going but I'd really like to know what people think about it.
Intimate Wars
"You're being foolish!" Relena Dorlian Peacecraft yelled to the committee before her. Nearly endless rows of fat old men with stone like faces stared back at her, scowling, undaunted by her scolding.
"Miss Peacecraft," a man named Raymond Trowel said as he stood, his greasy red hair flat against his head. "why are you protecting them? They are criminals, hooligans, and murderers of the worst sort with no sort of emotion either way. They are dangerous and shouldn't be allowed to live." At this point he turned to look at the other delegates in the room. "Forget these useless talks of imprisonment, it will do no good. They don't have the mental capacity to learn from their mistakes, to feel remorse, they aren't even human. We need to capture them, and we need to reinstate the death penalty for war crimes."
A few people agreed heartily while some looked unsure. Relena felt fresh tears come to her eyes and glanced momentarily at the many cameras around the room. This was broadcasting live. They were watching this.
"Sir," she said, trying to remember herself, "these men are not some gang of hooligans. They are people, humans, with feelings and emotions. They were fighting for a cause the same as any other soldier would."
He sneered, "Miss Peacecraft I thought you of all people would be able to tell the difference between truth and the romantic view of the world. What kinds of men fight like they did, huh? So ruthlessly, savagely, and with no respect for even their own lives. Didn't one of them commit suicide?" He laughed mirthlessly.
Relena wanted to reply but could think of nothing that would keep her from showing exactly what she truly felt. She wanted to yell at him, tell him how human they were, how much she loved him… She sat down, defeated in this battle but not in this war. How ironic that the terms she used to describe politics where the same to describe war. These men were the threats. But she knew she was fighting a losing war. Not just a battle, but a war. They were turning into the Alliance, and soon they would be using the Preventers as pawns to keep people, "in line". She shook her head in disgust. She knew why he wanted the Gundam Pilots dead, because they knew what they were becoming, and they didn't want to meet the same fate as the Alliance. She hated the saying, "History repeats itself" and Mariemaia's words echoed in her mind. An Endless Waltz to be sure. She wished he were here now. She had felt stronger, more secure when she knew he was around. But it was dangerous now, and she hadn't seen the man she loved in seven years. She tried to picture him in her mind but couldn't see him older than 16. Older than he was when he had sworn off killing because he didn't have to anymore. She sighed as the meeting slowed down. She would not gain ground today, but she would not fall back. Tomorrow was another day with a whole new set of possibilities.
~*~*~*~*~
"We'll go over it at lunch Sam, together. Don't feel pressured." Relena talked quickly to her secretary as she stepped into her limo. Samantha Kenton stepped into the limo and sat next to her without a word, then squealed. Relena's eyes snapped up from her briefcase to the men sitting opposite her.
She smiled. "Hey!"
Trowa shook his head with a smile as Duo all but screamed when the secretary made her noise of alarm. Duo looked to be attempting to regain his composure. They didn't look too different from the last time she had seen them. Duo was the same, only taller and with a more defined jaw structure. Trowa had cut off the sweeping hair in front of his eye and now had neatly kept short hair parted to the side. He was easily Milliardo's height or higher.
"Hey Lena!" Duo said back, after recovering.
Samantha had a hand on her chest but was calming down now that she knew they weren't being kidnapped or something. Relena looked closely at them, smile quickly fading.
"What are you two doing here? Do you know how dangerous it is for you to be so close to your enemy?"
Trowa and Duo exchanged a look. "Relena are you okay?" Trowa asked, very serious. "You sound like we're at war here. We're not you know. I'm not afraid of those imbecilic politicians who want to sentence us to death so don't worry. We're here because of you, to protect you."
Relena looked confused but Sam spoke before she could. "You two are Gundam Pilots?" She looked very nervous again, and was beginning to panic.
"Sam, you don't have to worry about these two, or the other three Gundam Pilots if you ever meet them. They would sooner die than hurt innocent people intentionally." Relena soothed. Duo seemed to flinch at her words, but didn't argue. "Now," Relena said turning back to them, "protect me from what?"
"The question is more whom." Trowa said calmly.
"You're opposing some powerful and bloodthirsty guys Relena. We're here because we were both told how in danger you were right now." Duo finished when Trowa stopped.
Relena looked confused. "Who told you?"
Duo looked suddenly like he had given away more than he meant to but Trowa's calming hand on his should held his immediate denials at bay.
"Heero called us." He stated simply. Looking very closely at her, gauging her reaction.
Her breath caught in her throat at his name and instantly his face filled her vision. Sam squealed happily. "Relena, I didn't know you were in love with someone!"
Duo burst into laughter then and Trowa looked as if he were trying not to do the same. Relena's eyes had widened and she looked at Sam, scandalized.
"Oh, come on Relena. Like we didn't know anyway." Duo said in a playful tone at her expression of horror and embarrassment.
Relena used all her diplomatic resources to pull herself together. "Where is he?"
"I'm not really sure." Trowa replied calmly, as though unfazed by her sudden change in persona. "He called me and told me he had gotten a call from an old friend warning him. He said he couldn't protect you himself because he had to take care of something before he could come to Earth. But he's definitely coming, I just don't know when."
"Knowing him he'll be here days before we ever know about it. But anyway, Une agreed to give us Preventer badges and let us follow you around, if you're okay with that."
Relena could do nothing but nod. Heero was coming to Earth, he was coming here where the danger was, where the war was. They didn't understand, she was a soldier too. And she smelled the bloodthirsty nature of her opponents, just as they did. The only difference was, she wasn't concerned for her own safety, only theirs, and they were just the opposite, only caring for hers.
~*~*~*~*~
Trowa had been following Relena all week and had already stopped three assassination attempts. This was getting serious. And there was no sign of Heero.
Wufei had shown up the day before. He had gotten the same call they had. At that moment all three Gundam Pilots were in the limo with Relena and Samantha. Wufei sat next to Pagan in the front but other than that the arrangement was the same as the first day they had arrived. Relena had been arguing very strongly in the Gundam Pilots' defense but was failing. The committee of ESUN members had reinstated the death penalty and where now searching for the five Gundam Pilots. Thankfully with no leads.
Trowa's cell phone rang, catching him off guard. But then again he had been expecting Cathy to call him soon.
"Hello?" he said calmly into the phone, then smiled. "Why Heero I have been waiting quite impatiently for an update." All eyes were on him in an instant and Relena looked ready to tare the phone from his hands. She was desperately in love with Heero and so lonely…
"Where?" he asked, having been half distracted. "Are you sure?" Trowa didn't sound sure and the rest of the limo sat on the edges of their seats with bated breath.
"We weren't going to go. To many against us to be safe, it's like walking into a trap." Trowa laughed and rolled his eyes. "I didn't say that Heero."
Trowa sighed deeply. "You aren't making this easy, you know that right? Stop trying to talk me out of it now Yuy. I'll see you there." He hung up the phone and then shifted uncomfortably as all eyes rested on him. He stuttered for a moment.
"Pagan, if everyone in the car's alright with it we're going to the rally scheduled for half an hour form now at the harbor."
Relena's eyes widened suddenly in understanding. If she said yes she would see Heero in half an hour. She nodded her head furiously, but stopped when she realized she was the only one.
"What's Yuy got up his sleeve?" Wufei asked incredulously from the front of the limo, half turned and looking at the back of Trowa's head.
Trowa smiled almost sadly. "All I know is this, he's not going to remain anonymous and none of this has to do with Relena, just us guys." He made eye contact with Duo but it was Sam who spoke.
She had gotten used to having the Gundam Pilots around and even had a crush on Trowa. "He's turning himself in… Why?"
Relena couldn't speak she just stared in shock. "Believe me Sam, you can put your money on Heero that he has more up his sleeve than putting out his hands so they can cuff him." Duo said with no amusement shown on his features.
~*~*~*~*~
The rally was packed with people. Relena stood between Trowa and Sam in the middle of the mob of people. Trowel was on stage, speaking very pointedly about the savage nature of the Gundam Pilot. How none of our children would be safe while they lived.
Relena was angry with him. The fool! Her eyes scanned the crowd. Hoping, preying, for the mop of brown hair. Trowa was looking too. But suddenly all was quiet. Relena looked forward again. Trowel was talking, but no sound was coming out.
The microphone had been turned off. Trowel looked around himself for someone to yell at as a man approached him on the stage. He wore charcoal colored pants and a white T-shirt with a black leather jacket. He was tall, thin, yet muscular, and the mop of chocolate brown hair upon his head gave him away instantly as Heero Yuy.
Relena's breath caught in her throat. But as Heero spoke quietly to Trowel it was Duo whom she heard speak.
"I wonder how long Quatre's been here."
Relena followed his gaze and sure enough Quatre Winner stood to the right of the stage. But she didn't care. Trowel was leaving the stage and Heero was scanning the crowd. His eyes met hers for the briefest moment and he smiled reassuringly before looking to his left and nodding.
An electrical buzz told them that the microphone had been turned back on. And with a deep breath, Heero spoke.
"Do you know who I am? I am the one they call the perfect soldier." He paused and waited while the crowd settled again. "I was taken from my family and trained to be a killer. I fought in a war. People died, that happens. I killed people. I am a soldier." He once again paused, but this time no sound came from the audience. They were either too scared, or too mesmerized by his smooth, deep voice, to care. "Did I do it for fun? Do I look back at my 'glory days' and smile? If anyone out here thinks the answers to those questions are yes come up here now and let me put a gun in your hand. Then shoot someone. Then try and sleep, try to live the rest of your life with that knowledge… I don't sleep. I suffer from an acute form of insomnia. I take medication that allows me dreamless slumber, that fulfills nothing for my mind, simply replenishes my body. Do you want to know why?" She saw it now, that haunted gleam covering his clear eyes. He didn't look tired physically, but his eyes… "I can name every name, I can see every face, and I can here every scream. I feel my hand tighten involuntarily, almost unconsciously, around a trigger in my mind. I can tell you the first, middle, and last names of every man, women or child I've ever killed. I can tell you where, when, and what time of day it was. I remember everything. And believe me, I pay. My burden, my internal imprisonment, is my memories… but if you aren't satisfied with that than fine. I won't struggle and I won't fight. It has been seven years since I have killed. I will never put myself through the pain of killing again, but if that doesn't satisfy you, if that doesn't ease your pain. Here I am. I'm not running, and I refuse to hide."
At this point he took a small step back and movement began in the crowd. But not the kind you expected. The other four Gundam Pilots were moving toward the stage. Quatre stood at Heero's immediate left with Wufei beside him, and Trowa stood to Heero's immediate right and Duo beside him.
"My name is Wufei Chang, I am the Gundam Pilot Zero-Five and a Preventer Agent."
"My name is Quatre Winner, I am the Gundam Pilot Zero-Four and a colony diplomat."
"My name is Trowa Barton, I am the Gundam Pilot Zero-Three and a computer analyst."
"My name is Duo Maxwell, I am the Gundam Pilot Zero-Two and an auto mechanic."
"And my name is Seth Morrow, I am the Gundam Pilot Zero-One and a pediatrician at Holy Cross Medical Hospital."
And they stood there, unmoving. Relena couldn't tare her eyes from his face. The name echoed in her mind. Seth Morrow. And a pediatrician? She looked out over the crowd. Many had been holding signs with derogatory comments on them about the Gundam Pilots but they had fallen. The faces looked up at them now like they should have been long ago. Like the heroes they were.
~*~*~*~*~
They had in fact been arrested that day. The crowd had nearly rioted, but in the end they were taken in. Relena and Sam had watched the news with bated breath for the next few hours. Seth's speech was shown over and over again and public opinion of the Gundam Pilots had risen from nothing to everything. How he could change the tide so easily was beyond her. She couldn't help the smile then.
~*~*~*~*~
"So what happens now?" Duo asked as he looked up at the clear blue sky and stretched his back.
"We go home." Seth said calmly as he exited the building behind the shorter man. "We have no reason to stay any longer."
Trowa moved in front of him then. They were equal in height now, a painful reminder of how much time had past and the rift that existed between them. "I don't agree."
Seth looked generally curious but before he could ask a limo pulled up and two women got out. One was fairly tall and smiled politely at them. She had light auburn hair and deep brown eyes. The other stood taller. Relena. The name echoed in Seth's mind.
"Would you gentlemen care for a lift?" she asked, a triumphant smile on her face.
He didn't need to respond, everyone just started packing into the limo. There was more than though room and Seth sat quietly.
"Can I ask you something Seth?" Relena's quiet voice asked from somewhere to his left. A small noise escaped his lips in affirmation but he didn't look up. "Why pediatrics?"
Seth smiled at that and turned suddenly toward her. "You know, none of these, so called, brave soldiers over here had the guts to ask that." He sat back and let a deep chuckle escape him. All the Gundam Pilots were smiling now. "Well," he continued, "I suppose children keep me sane. In a way it's all that keeps me from being consumed in memories. Their untamable innocents. It's like fresh air in stale lungs." He looked away then, deep in thought.
"I thought I understood you before man, but now I'm clueless." Duo said with a hearty smile.
Seth smiled despite himself, "Just keeping you guessing Maxwell."
Relena's melodic laughter filled the limo then and Seth felt his heart stop. He had never made her laugh before and he looked at her like some odd creature he had never seen before. She looked back undaunted by his gaze and stifled little giggles for awhile.
"So Seth eh? Is that your real name this time? Or another alias?" it was again Duo who spoke.
"Nope, this one's real." He said simply, apparently not in the mood to elaborate, but they wouldn't leave him be, not yet.
"Do you live alone? Do you have a girlfriend? Spill man." Duo was starting to get on his nerves. But he got past it and replied in a neutral tone.
"Alone and single." He paused and glanced sideways at Duo. "And you Maxwell?"
Duo laughed as the tide was turned. "I live with Hilde and we're engaged."
The noise level in the limo grew substantially then. Seth didn't participate. He had known that Duo was engaged, that's why he'd asked.
Relena stared at him the whole time. As he settled into the seat and closed his eyes gently. She knew the war wasn't over. But she felt so confident with him here. She almost wanted him to stay. But it was too dangerous. She couldn't pull him into this war. She wouldn't.
((A/N: Please Review!))