I don't own Gundam Wing.
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Three Emotions
Heero glared into Zechs's eyes across the beach. "Zechs, I will kill you."
"It'll be a sad day when you do," the other replied coldly, matching the gaze of the pale blue eyes. "Shall we continue?" he asked, gesturing toward the gundams.
"OZ will have picked up the energy signal," Heero pointed out, watching the horizon. The lights of an army of mobile dolls began to glow. "Take Epyon, I'll go in Zero," he ordered, heading for the gundam.
"We have yet to have finished a battle," Zechs said. "I look forward to the outcome." Heero nodded and vanished from sight.
"That is one weird kid," the Lightning Count muttered under his breath as he boarded Epyon.
* * * *
Zechs was torn between admiring, fearing, and hating Heero Yuy. The kid was probably the greatest warrior who had ever lived, which both scared and awed the Lightning Count. And Heero was also Zechs's greatest enemy. It was a paradox of the three greatest emotions.
"I have to be ready if he challenges me again," Zechs said to Epyon. "How am I possibly going to beat him?"
* * * *
Heero hated Zechs. Absolutely loathed him. He had sworn that he would destroy the Lightning Count, and he had yet to fullfil his mission.
"Why can't I kill him?" he asked Zero. "He lets his emotions get in the way of his fighting, so why can't I kill him?" He sighed. It's almost as if something inside of me is begging not to kill Zechs, he thought. But it's probably from spending too much time around Relena; I'm forgetting my training.
"Next time we're in battle," Heero swore. "I will kill Zechs Merquise."
* * * *
Zechs narrowed his eyes at the old man who had called himself Quinz. "I'll think about it," he said, standing up.
"We'd like your decision soon, Milliardo Peacecraft," Quinz answered, eyes boring into Zechs, who nodded and brushed past the White Fang members.
The cold wind bit into Zechs's face as he stepped outside. For some reason, it reminded him of Heero Yuy, cool and disconnected from the rest of the world. He suddenly realized that he was only a few years older than the gundam pilot, four or five at most.
A weird sense washed over him, a strange hunger. He set out toward his hiding place for Epyon.
* * * *
Heero knew he had to kill Relena. Her death would mean the collapse of Oz, the thing that would win the war for the colonies. Still, something was begging him not to. Something with Zechs's face.
"I'll kill him soon enough," he muttered, adjusting the Oz uniform and heading for the balcony. "As soon as I take of Relena."
Relena was delivering her speech on peace and the values of the World Nation. The applause when she finished was deafening, so no one noticed Heero slide into place on the balcony and aim his gun. Except for Relena.
The two locked eyes. "Kill me, Heero," she mouthed, watching him. The breath drew short in his chest as Zechs almost materialized in his mind.
Relena glanced back out toward the audience. Heero vanished, headed back outside. As he was passing a computer, a transmission rang, and Zechs's face appeared on the screen.
"I, Milliardo Peacecraft, will bring upon the Earth the colonies' true feelings and lead the White Fang to victory," he said, eyes unblinking.
"Is this the path Epyon showed you, Zechs?" Heero asked, watching the screen. He watched the other's eyes, half expecting an answer. "I will take the path Zero showed me," he said, pointing his finger and cocking it like a gun. He turned and headed out the exit.
* * * *
The cold eyes of Quinz drilled into Zechs's head as the transmission closed. "Wonderful, Mr. Milliardo," the former leader of the White Fang drawled. Zechs nodded and stood up. "Where are you going, Mr. Milliardo?" Quinz asked, glaring at him.
"Just around Libra," Zechs replied, turning and heading for his chambers. As he passed the briefing room for new soldiers, he noticed wanted posters of the gundam pilots. Staring hard at the picture of Heero, he couldn't help thinking that it was a horrible image. He quickly hurried down toward his quarters and flopped onto the bed. Hyperventilating, Zechs stared at the ceiling. His eyes grew heavy, and as he drifted off, he imagined strong arms around him.
* * * *
Heero sank into the seat on the bridge of Peacemillion, sighing. They wouldn't send anyone but him to fight Zechs, would they?
"You okay, Heero?" Noin asked, watching the screens.
"Hn," he replied, and glanced up at her. "You want me to head out now?"
"Wait a minute, while the others keep the mobile dolls busy. Then attack," she answered, sitting down in the seat next to him. Damn, he thought, face expressionless. Now she thinks she needs to be a "big sister" or something. Doesn't she have anything better to do?
I must show no weakness, he ordered himself, standing up and heading for the docking bay before Noin could say anything.
"Poor kid," she whispered to herself. Heero could still hear her over the noise on the bridge, and quickened his pace slightly. Suddenly, the anticipation of the fight began to creep through him. He couldn't wait to get out there and prove that he was the Perfect Soldier, despite whatever the doctors had said about the gundams showing weakness.
Zechs, today will be a sad day, just like you said it would, he thought, grinning for a second, then hardening. Heero climbed up into the cockpit of Zero. "You will die today, Zechs," he whispered as Zero lifted out of the docking bay.
* * * *
"Mr. Milliardo, why do you insist on fighting?" Quinz asked as Epyon hurtled into the battle.
"Because I know that he will be here," Zechs replied, waiting for Wing Zero to appear. "He wants to finish what we started."
As if on cue, Wing Zero materialized among the fray, approaching quickly. Drawing their beam swords, Heero and Zechs circled each other. Zechs lunged forward, taking a swing at the cockpit, trying to slice through the pilot himself. Heero brought the arm of his gundam crashing down on Epyon's back. The two entered into a whirlwind of moves, beam crashing against each other.
"You will die, Zechs!" Heero screamed, ducking a blow from the other and delivering one of his own.
"Not before you!" Zechs answered, slamming into his opponent and slicing half of Zero's arm off. Howling like a banshee, Heero drove his whole arm right to where Zechs's cockpit was. The older pilot leaned out of the way as the front screen cracked and almost shattered, then twisted out of Zero's grip and dealt a back-handed blow with his sword. Heero flew backwards, landing close to Libra.
"Bring the gundam into Libra," Zechs ordered.
"Yes, Mr. Milliardo. Shall we kill the pilot?" Dorothy asked.
"No," Zechs said sternly. "Just put him in the cells, and prepare to send a message to Peacemillion."
"Yes, Mr. Milliardo," Quinz saluted, joining Dorothy. The transmission ended.
"Why don't you just kill me now?" Heero asked, glaring at Zechs as he tried to move. Zero was totaled.
"Because you can be useful to the White Fang," his enemy answered, drifting closer. "Very useful," he murmured, matching Heero's glare and cut of communications. The younger bowed his head in defeat as he was dragged into Libra.
* * * *
Heero struggled to remain expressionless as he was lead to the cells of Libra, but his mind and heart were racing. If the White Fang were planning on using him to bargain some way with Peacemillion...the rest of the pilots wouldn't surrender, even to save one of their number. Noin might really want to, to save him, but even Quatre would agree that they couldn't surrender. He didn't resist as the guards threw him into the cell and slammed the door. Leaning against the back wall, he sighed. If Zechs couldn't use him, he would kill him. For the first time, Heero realized that he didn't want to die.
Resting his head on his shoulder, Heero sighed again. He still hated Zechs, but he feared him more than anything. Zechs's triumphant face was his last thought as he drifted into unconsciousness.
* * * *
Noin stared in horror at Zechs. "We'll never surrender!" Sally half-screamed, slamming her fist onto the table. The four gundam pilots were in the back corner, quietly discussing what the leader of the White Fang had demanded: For them to back off on the fighting, or Heero would die.
"I'm not asking you to surrender," Zechs said calmly. "If you would stop fighting us, the our prisoner will live."
"You can't do that, Zechs!" Noin cried.
"Those weaklings will not have things on anyone's terms but their own," Wufei stated. "Yet we cannot agree to their terms."
Quatre nodded. "If we stop fighting, the White Fang will destroy the entire Earth. We can't sacrifice the Earth to save one person." He pretended to become suddenly interested in the side wall, his eyes filling with tears. Trowa walked over and stood behind him, gently clasping the blond boy's shoulder.
"You have our answer, Zechs," Noin announced. The leader of the White Fang nodded and blanked the screen.
A silence filled the entire bridge. "We'll..." Sally paused. "We'll have to fight harder than ever, with one fewer gundam pilot on our side." This was punctuated with the sound of footsteps on steel.
Duo charged down to the docking bay. If he knew one thing about Heero, it was that he wouldn't want to be executed by his worst enemy. Duo would spare him that, and would send Zechs down with him.
* * * *
Zechs had hoped against hope that the crew of Peacemillion would take his offer. Even though the blood of so many stained his hands, he didn't want Heero's to join the rest. But he couldn't back down now.
"There's no other choice," he whispered to himself, staring at his hands, then automatically shoving them into his pockets. "They had their chance."
He paused in front of the cell, staring at the door. There hadn't been a need to have guards at the cells, since they were in such a remote part that only a few of the soldiers knew where they were, anyway. The door unlocked with a soft click, and Zechs entered.
Heero stood up, his eyes glazed. This is it, he thought as Zechs drew his gun. I should have killed him, back at our first battle! The two locked eyes, and for a long moment neither moved. Zechs finally broke the stare and aimed. "Mission: Failed," Heero whispered, barely moving his lips and speaking so softly that he could barely hear himself.
At the exact same time that Zechs fired, the entire battleship Libra shuddered. The bullet from Zechs's gun entered the metal just to the right of where Heero was standing. With another, more violent, shake, the walls smashed into each other, throwing Heero into Zechs's arms.
"You okay?" Zechs asked. Heero noticed that neither was shoving the other away.
"I guess," he replied. Zechs pulled him a bit closer, and Heero didn't resist.
"Should we try and get out somehow? Whatever's shaking the ship will probably kill us next time around," Zechs suggested. Heero nodded, but neither moved, their eyes locked.
Heero couldn't remember who had moved first. All he knew was that suddenly Zechs's lips were gently pressed against his, and that he was kissing back. He went limp against the older's chest and let out a low moan.
Zechs gently ran his fingers through Heero's hair and pulled him to the steel floor. Breaking contact for a second, they stared at each other, then Zechs gently removed Heero's tank top, and Heero began to unbutton the stiff White Fang uniform.
One more kiss, and the two were swirling down into oblivion.
* * * *
Duo had been going nuts, searching for any possible way into Libra. The mobile dolls swarmed around him, hampering his progress. Noin's repeated orders to get back to the ship were also distracting him.
"Duo, please!" Noin cried, realizing that orders wouldn't do anything. "You'll get killed, and you can't do it alone!"
"Ms. Noin, I could..." Quatre began.
"We've lost one gundam pilot already, and it looks like we're about to lose two," Sally snapped. "We need you guys!"
Wufei glared at the crazed image of Duo. "You are being foolish. You must understand your weakness," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"This really sucks," Noin muttered so that no one could hear her. "Two pilots in one day, that has to be a record."
* * * *
Heero lay curled up against Zechs's chest, gently stroking the silky, platinum blond hair. Zechs gently caressed Heero's cheek and brought his lips back down. Sweat poured down both of their faces as they pulled closer to each other, eyes closed.
"I will still destroy you," Heero murmured, hands pressed against Zechs's chest.
"I'd like to see you try," the older replied, arms wrapped tightly around Heero.
Breaking the kiss gently, Heero rested his head on Zechs's shoulder. Neither moved for a long time, they just sat there and held each other.
"I wish we could never leave," Zechs whispered finally, stroking Heero's back.
"Me too," was the answer.
Three floors above them, Duo finally broke onto the bridge. Leaping out of Deathscythe, he started the self-destruct countdown. Cackling insanely, he screamed, "The God of Death shall win!"
Zechs stared into those pure blue eyes as the numbers counted down outside. "Aishiteru," he whispered, taking one last kiss.
"Aishiteru," Heero replied, staring back. He was telling the truth, but still felt the memories of the hate and fear that he had held of the man now in his arms. The three emotions that everything was birthed of, that was what bonded them together.
And Libra exploded.
*~Owari~*
Well? What do you think? Some people, when I told them I was writing a Heero/Zechs lemon, just stared at me. But, I think the pairing's kind of cute! I'll try writing a bit more.