Green

Part I

"Don't look at me like condoms haven't been invented yet."

"I hate him", Noin grumbled and tried to stand up, but changed her mind.

"Now you do, huh?", using merciless gravity, Une teased her friend.

"I'll kill you if you continue with your snarky remarks.", she announced with gnashed teeth using the little energy she had left. The dizziness prevailed over her motor coordination forcing her to sit before the toilet for a bit.

"What did I do? Look at you… you are green as a Martian and can barely stay on your feet." Une laughed, little impressed by the threat.

Noin let a puff of exasperation go, lowering her head. Her forehead almost touched the toilet.

She never knew what feeling sick was. Even when sailing. She spent much of her childhood on yachts and boats, another fact that made her so keen on the Navy, and never felt any different from when she was on land. But now, every morning was an endless torture of nausea.

"I can't believe this is happening."

"Stop being sorry for yourself. Come on, I'll help you up.", Une stepped behind Noin and passed her arm on her shoulder. "One-two-three…"

Noin thought that was the deepest she ever got on her way down the proverbial rock bottom. But she would not let herself hit it.

"Thank you. I'm feeling better now." Noin dragged herself to the nearest bed. What slowed her wasn't the dizziness anymore, but the heavy realization of an undeniable fact - she was pregnant.

Une opened the small fridge and took a can of Limonata and poured the content into a glass. Accepting the glass held out for her, Noin took small sips and sighed in between.

"Weren't you on pills?"

"I had a patch… I don't know what happened to it."

"You are crazy, you know? I've never thought of you being this reckless.", Une sat beside her on the bed.

"Neither have I.", she smiled. Repentance didn't come to her mind for a minute. But she still hated him. Very much.

He hadn't called or sent her the shortest message. The fact that she had walked away from him was something to consider as an explanation of his lack of contact. But he was the one who said they couldn't ignore their connection and, if he meant it, her stormy reaction wasn't a sound reason for him to lose his interest in her.

The mere thought about what happened that afternoon made her blood boil of outrage again. She was still far from agreeing with his way of dealing with the deployment.

Silly as it sounded, she felt a little betrayed, or at least, left out. If only he had shared his plans and intentions, if only he had had the decency to tell her what he was up to. At that small and decisive instant, she felt she wasn't part of his life.

"You are going to tell him.", Une wasn't asking or contemplating an action, no, she was commanding. "You need his help."

"I'm not sure he will be interested."

"Don't tell me you are giving up on him because of a stupid argument."

"Actually, he was the one to give up."

"I'm blaming your annoying behavior on your hormones, ok?", Une joked, but her smile was supportive.

"He is God-knows-where in fucking Iraq and it's up to me to cope alone with all the consequences.", Noin kept complaining in a funny mixture of desolation and outrage.

"Somebody has to have some information about him. He's not doing anything classified…"

"What good would it do? I don't want to get in his way."

"What do you mean?"

"What if telling him makes him lose his focus? And he is so far away… I…"

"Yes?"

Watching Noin's face from up close, Une noticed a silent suffering restraining her friend's words.

"No, nothing."

"Tell me or I'll quit as your best friend.", Une tried the blackmail technique to urge Noin to continue.

First, they laughed together, Noin sensed the calmness coming back to her chest.

"Weren't you the one who didn't have any best friends, that said this was the Navy and not a sorority?", and jested, referencing their first interactions.

"People change…", Une's words came as soft whispers from her composed smile.

Noin knew Une had a point. After all they lived together, they changed from complete strangers to the closest friends at the Academy. Nothing Noin told Une would shock or offend her. So, she resumed:

"The thing is… I wanted to see his reaction and know what he truly felt about having a baby… with me…"

"You really are a hopeless romantic! Who knew?"

"No, don't force me to admit I love him."

"You just did.", Une pointed out and Noin rolled her eyes before Une's silliness.

However, they had more important questions to meet:

"What am I supposed to do about the graduation? Should I leave Navy after it?"

"You should talk to the chief about it. The worst that can happen is for you to be ordered to work at the barracks. I know it isn't your dream but…"

"I worry about the baby. Will I be able to be apart from it after birth?"

Une showed a tender smile and shook her head:

"Probably not."

The meeting with the chief was the most important item on her list. Only after it she could access special treatment for her condition. Despite all of her morning sickness, she sat before the man and unloaded the news up front:

"I'm pregnant, sir."

He wasn't at all pleased by the announcement, spending a full minute staring at her gaunt complexion. His mouth twitched to the side, shaking his full mustache.

"This is not the time.", he produced at last, monotonous.

"I understand, sir.", she had prepared a composed mindset to present him, choosing not to use any fiery display of emotion. However, such a frosty reaction made it difficult for her to control herself. She almost sighed in exasperation.

"Who's the father?", he returned with a question that, though natural, was pronounced in an inconvenient intonation more unbearable than the dizziness that took her there.

"Lieutenant Zechs Merquise, from EOD, sir.", her answer sounded cool and dignified, but it was the first time she talked about her connection to Zechs to a stranger. It broke her heart a little to think that their relationship was far from being conventional. Also, the Navy was such a priority in her life that she hadn't even told her parents about the baby.

"Why him, God?", Zechs' playboy's fame hadn't escaped the chief. "I'll send you to the clinic. For now, you can continue with your activities. I'll meet with the upper chain and decide what we can offer you."

As much as the meeting was quick, it drained all her energy. The tension and the crudeness of the chief's words threatened to ruin her day.

"I found out someone who can give us information about Zechs, maybe even contact him.", Une met her at the aisle to the locker room. "How was the meeting by the way?"

"The chief didn't like it, especially the part about Zechs being the father.", Noin had her necktie loose while walking.

"He never likes anything."

"He gave me this referral to the ob-gyn and I'll set the appointment at lunch."

"He is probably upset of losing you. You are a brilliant cadet, you know that?"

"Thanks, Une."

"The guy I was talking about is Commander Khushrenada. He is Zechs' best friend and they worked together in the same office. He sure knows something about him."

"Ok, let's talk to him after class."

"Noin, are you feeling well? You are turning green again…"

"No big deal.", she swallowed.

"Can you make it to the lockers?"

She simply nodded. Her feelings were more conflicted than her stomach, and she wondered whether her dizziness was coming from her nerves.

The talk to the chief put her in such an uncomfortable position she was now questioning everything, but especially her involvement with the lieutenant.

Une was right, how could she be so reckless? How could she fall for those eyes, for that smile, for that touch? But, on the other hand, how could she not fall?

If she believed in such a thing as destiny, this would be the right moment to make it responsible for her attraction to him. Because that would be the only plausible explanation for her easy surrender by simply deciding the future wasn't as important as living the moment. All that epicurean attitude suddenly looked bad on her, causing regret to pinch her spirit as ill fitted shoes flaying her heels.

"Who is looking for the commander?", a sergeant appeared with haughty eyebrows risen in contempt.

"We are.", but Une's posture matched his, not surpassing it out of respect to the hierarchy. "JGs Cordelia Une and Lucrezia Noin."

"Clark, I will handle this.", Treize appeared lured by the imperious voice and the mention of Zechs' girl's name. "Would you please follow me, soldiers?" he ushered them with a polite gesture to the empty office. Since the chief was having lunch, he wouldn't mind him using it for a while.

"Ah… New protégées?", the sergeant couldn't help but provoke.

Treize wasn't approving of that vulgar mentality Clark usually displayed. He inhaled, conjuring some tolerance and then replied the man:

"Clark, that's no way to address the ladies. Remember they are the future of our organization.", the commander never lacked poise and that was what turned his scolding the more humiliating. "Now, if you excuse us.", Treize closed the room's door.

The women didn't sit nor make themselves comfortable and as soon as they got Treize's attention, Une explained:

"We don't have much time and we wouldn't come looking for you if it weren't important, sir."

"I'm aware of that. How can I help you, my ladies?"

"I'd like to contact Lieutenant Merquise, if possible.", Noin informed

"He hasn't got in touch since his departure. But I encouraged him to call you, miss Noin. Are you telling me he didn't…?"

"No, he didn't.", Une spat, crossing her arms.

"Son of a bitch.", Noin muttered, somewhat assaulted by despair.

"Indeed."

Une tried not to show amusement when she heard him agree with Noin but ended up smiling a bit. That commander had something very interesting about him - maybe it was the hint of extravagance his voice and gaze strewed.

Noin wasn't paying attention, her mind flying to all the worst scenarios.

"Une, let's go. Sorry for bothering you, sir."

"What's the matter with you? You might never see him again, Noin… you have to contact him."

"Zechs is incommunicable. Or maybe he doesn't want to be disturbed. Thank you for your time, sir."

"But Miss Noin… don't you need to talk to Zechs?"

"It… doesn't matter now."

"Of course it does. Sir, Noin is…"

"No, Une, don't you see? It's over. It's been 2 months already… he's too busy for his old shore life."

She was giving in to fear, but she needed to protect her heart or what was left of it for she had more than herself to take care.

Very much patient and intrigued, Treize followed the conversation the two women had before him. He never thought of interrupting and took the time to draw his wise and sharp conclusions.

"You've got have some hope, Noin. Don't judge him that fast. He may be afraid to talk to you and be rejected again.", Une held Noin's arm with gentleness in a last attempt to convince her to use her senses.

"Please, Miss Noin, forgive me for meddling. I can see we are handling with a very delicate matter here, but I feel I can be of help in this dilemma ... as a friend of Zechs', I can assure you that you are very important to him, so please tell me what is happening."

This would be the second time she had to make that disclosure to a strange person that apparently had no right to the information. She took a deep breath and under Une's reassuring watch, she proceeded:

"I'm carrying Zechs' child."

Treize had almost the same reaction as her chief. He frowned and kept in silence for an instant, processing the information with dedicated care.

"Congratulations.", he opened a pleased smile then and made a bow with his head. "Miss Noin, count on me to put you two in touch as soon as possible."

"Thank you.", it was Une who said because the only thing Noin could do was nodding.

Why it all had to be so heavy? The hormones, like Une said, were implacable. The hormones were the perfect scapegoat for all the confusion she was going through.

She got a squeeze-in with the ob-gyn for the next morning. Une felt sorry she couldn't accompany her.

"Tell me everything later, ok? You are on your 8th week, the image will be pretty clear. Maybe you can even see who it took more after.", Une had googled everything to liven Noin up a little, trying to create positive outlooks.

Noin giggled at that nonsense joke, forced to admit that Une's excitement was a powerful influencer. She still would describe herself as a little undecided about how to feel. The ultrasound scan would be the final thermometer.

It took her a couple minutes for being called.

"I'm Doctor Sally Po. Since I have your form here with me, let's move to the scan at once.", the blonde woman had a tender and bright expression on her smiling eyes to welcome Noin on her office.

Noin silently obeyed, lying down and opening the front of her hospital gown.

"How are you feeling, mother? Too much morning sickness?"

"Too much is an understatement."

The doctor laughed a little, nodding head.

"We'll see about it later. We have a lot to talk about… diets, vitamins… By the conception date stated here, I can say you are entering your 9th week. Why did you take so long to come see me?"

"I waited all I could, to the point it was undeniable."

"You don't want the baby…?"

"I didn't want to… believe. I know this isn't the most responsible thing to say… But I have no problem with having this baby."

"Only that the moment is not right…?", Sally stopped the proceeding to investigate. By the looks of it, she had a complicated situation on her hands.

Noin's belly was cold from the gel, but the doctor's voice sounded so encouraging she didn't mind a little chat.

"That was precisely what my chief said back at the Academy."

"Graduation is in two months, right? Don't worry, your pregnancy won't present as an obstacle to it, I assure you. You won't even need to buy a new dress uniform…", Sally hoped her trivial jokes kept the atmosphere light. "But it's the things after grad that worry you, right?"

"I'm trying not to think too much into the future anymore. I'll make decisions as I go and see what works."

"Fair enough. And what about the father? Is he a soldier too?"

"Yes, a Looie."

"So how does he feel about this new rank of his?"

Noin suddenly couldn't notice her own apprehension anymore, laughing at the doctor's witticisms and laying back on the pillow.

"He doesn't know yet.", the information escaped easily.

"Ah, is he out on a mission?" Sally started to capture the images for the exam.

"Yes." But then Noin sounded more pensive. Zechs left in quite an abrupt way and she made herself the favor to close the communication channel between them. She hated how sometimes her bad temper worked against her. Zechs' innocent carelessness, his lack of practice, hurt her, but it was his absence that would bring her the true pain. She needed him, more than ever.

"I see." Sally's restrained response didn't come offset. There was no need to mention how stressful it was to have a loved one away on a mission. There was no such thing as safe missions. Now, add to that the concept of a pregnancy probably resulting from a one-night stand and you have a pretty explosive combination.

A short instant of silence elapsed between them.

"Now, I have something here you definitely need to see, mother." Sally's announcement cut the air, her voice soft and amazed.

Lifting from the pillow, Noin focused at the monitor Sally indicated. She didn't have the ability to interpret the shadows and spots on the screen but she didn't need any expertise to know she was meeting her child for the first time. And it felt amazing.

"You are expecting twins."


It took me too long to finish this. =_=

I need more chapters than I have color prompts, so I'll divide the next prompts into parts.

This battle may be over but a new has just started! Onto the next chapter!

I'd like to thank all the kudos, favs, comments and reviews! I'm so glad for each one! Those are my motivation to continue!

Please, I'd love feedback!

July 19th.