Title: The Children of War and Peace* Chapter 4
Author: Quality Paiges (aka Sailor Air)
Ratng: PG-13 (For Swears & Sexual Reference)
Genre: Romance/Drama
Wow! I got another snow day so you guys get another chapter! Hehe I think your gonna hurt me after chapter 7 cause after that one I won't be able to get them out as fast cause these chapters are already written the others ones aren't yet. Well this is actually the first part of the chapter, this chapter is so long that I couldn't fit it all into one part, gomen! Well just as another reminder, this chapter is in an entirely flashback mode. So none of it takes place in the present but don't worry, I tell ya how far back we're going okies? Well onto the part you actually want to read!
Chapter 6
*Ten Months Earlier*
Heero and Relena were sitting in a coffee shop in a very small rural town. Somplace few people knew about and less peoplewent to. Basically the only customers were themselves aside from a few espresso drinking beatnicks reading bad poetry they had written themselves. Relena was stirring her coffee with a spoon, the spoon making a clink-clank sound as it was slowly swirled around the cup. Heero gulping his, the coffee not affecting him as it was only lukewarm anyway. The two sat in a comfortable silence. One not really speaking to the other. Not that they didn't want to speak but they didn't know what to say. Idle chitchat was useless. They knew what they were all about. After a half an hour of silence and a few sidelong glances at each other on both of their parts, Relena broke the silence.
"It's nice to see you Heero, It has been awhile."
"Yeah." He responded.
"You're doing well." It more of a statement than a question. Relena always knew he was at least alive anyway if she couldn't get any other information. Paegan had always been oblidgeing in looking for information on Heero and now she did herself as Paegan had retired to the country of his birth, the former Sanq Kingdom.
"You've been checking up on me."
"Yes, but you already know that since you've been checking up on me as well."
Heero blushed ever so slightly. He had known Relena would figure out he was keeping an eye out for her. But he hadn't counted her on saying so. He nodded to confirm her statement. They lapsed into silence again. The meeting had been intentional of course, they hadn't randomly met on the street and decided to have coffee together in this hick town, the chances were too slim that they'd ever meet again by chance but odder things were known to happen if a Gundam pilot hung out with you for too long.
Relena sipped her coffee and Heero took another gulp making a slightly disgusted face at the taste of cold coffee. Relena smiled looking at him. She often thought of Heero in a spare moment and many times in some conference with the colonies speaking of peace as if it were something to be compromised at the slightest disagreement between rulers and the ruled. Even a democratic government had its stations set up. There would always be rulers and followers but working together they could create a tranquil environment for both. Heero was always willing to give his life to war so others could live their lives in peace. But no one was ever satisfied for peace, they wanted more. Heero always kept working for it. That is what made her love him. Yes, she loved him, she couldn't deny it and it was obvious to everyone else perhaps including Heero. Of course she had been intrigued by him from the moment she met him and she wanted to know what made him tick. What made him say he'd kill her, what stopped him? Why did he fight and how come he left without saying goodbye. Now she knew at least sometimes what he was thinking, maybe just a little bit but now he puzzled her. He had agreed to meeting with her and now he confused her by his silence. He never said much, not if it wasn't important. But why was heso silent. Why couldn't she get out the words she wanted to say so badly? Words.... the words she had spoken so often about peace, about life ,about anything seemed so important to her when she said them, saying them had always been so easy, the words were what she'd been thinking, exactly what was in her heart. She had hated herself at times for only being able to talk and never to do. She couldn't do what Heero did. She couldn't fight but only tell others why the gundams fought and why they needed to stop. Her words failed her now but her actions couldn't. If she never went through with why she invited him here, she would regret it forever and who knows if this would be her last chance.
"Heero." Relena said slapping a few dollars on the table. "Let's go for a walk." She got up out of her chair and didn't bother to wait for him as she walked out the door. He got up and followed her not trying to catch up with her, but he wasn't taking his time.
They walked together off the porch of the caféé. Outside there was a manmade lake, mainly used by children trying to catch fish but it was deserted now late at night. The sand along the edge, not there by nature, was crushed beneath their feet walking along the edge as the lake was still.
Relena stopped halfway going around the lake. She just stopped and looked up at the moon sighing as if remembering something that seemed so long ago. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail it had been in shakeing her hiar and kicked off her shoes plopping down. After a minute of standing Heero sat down beside her and after taking a sidelong glance at her he stared up where she was looking.
"Heero." She suddenly spoke. "Do you remember when we first met?"
"Yeah." He replied, things like that were hard to forget.
Relena stared straight up at the stars speaking all that was in her heart. "I was thinking about that recently. I first saw your Gundam rather. You looked like a shooting star. Even though I didn't make a wish. I saw you. Then I was walking by a sandy beach looking out at the water. I was thinking of my father. I loved him dearly and I admired him so much. He worked so hard for peace, he never wanted anything else. But he never had anytime left for me. Even though now he worked for peace because of who I am, because of the family I was born to. I was upset though. He didn't even seem care about my birthday but now it seems so trivial. Then I saw you on the beach but you ran when I tried to help. I was confused, I felt like I almost knew you right away. I was so intrigued I wanted to know you better at any cost. You seemed sure of yourself and what you were about. When I saw you again I was so happy but then when you ripped up my birthday invitation and said you'd kill me. It hurt like hell inside but I still wanted to know you. I believed in you. That's why I couldn't stop wanting to see you. I believed that if you thought something was right then that was how it should be. If I died that's what would be right. I knew you were working for something higher than me or you or anything I knew or could possibly understand. When you went off to fight my brother, you asked me if I believed in you. I was so close to you right then I didn't want to lose you. I couldn't answer, I didn't want you to fight even if it was the right thing to do. So I didn't answer you and you fought anyway but when you weren't listening I admitted it to myself. I do believe in you Heero, I do with all my heart and so if you don't think this is right I will never ever ask to see you again."
Relena was close to tears. It was do or die. She wanted to laugh at her seriousness but forgot and began to cry. Just a few tears falling down her cheeks as she turned to look at him.
Heero had turned staring at her as she spoke. When she turned her face towards him they were only inches away from each other. The tears fell off her cheeks, she hadn't bothered to wipe them away. She was baring her soul to him. He saw this and he reached out to wipe the tears off her cheeks, because angels shouldn't cry. Relena siezed Heero's hand and pressed it to her face touching his hand with her own. She took her other hand placeing it on the back of Heero's neck she pulled his face towards her own. Their faces so close together, Heero felt Relena's eyelashes graze his face when she blinked.
"I love you Heero. I always have and I always will but I'll give up if you don't stop me." Relena pulled Herro towards her and kissed him like she had nothing else left to lose. His lips found hers and he couldn't tear himself away. She was so soft, he couldn't believe her, she was amazing. He couldn't figure out why she had fallen for him. She had brought up her own kingdom and even after she was manipulated by the Romafeller Foundation she had begun to bring peace from the inside. He never knew her feelings ran so deep.
He pulled himself away from her. Relena turned her face away from him. Had she been too aggressive? Had she fooled herself into thinking he could possibly have feelings for her? That he could possibly love her. He had never been overly affectionate or even affectionate at all, but she thought they shared something. A bond of sorts, or was that just what she wanted to see?
"Relena." Heero spoke. This was a moment of truth for each of them. "When I first saw you I was too startled to think much of any thing, my mission was the only thing on my mind. My life seemed pointless outside of it. All I ever did was what I felt like doing, never anything else."
Relena couldn't believe what she was hearing. For Heero to admit his emotions so openly was so totally unlike him. It was obvious to her this was extremely difficult for him so she didn't say anything more and simply waited for him to speak.
"When you invited me to your birthday party, I thought you'd be a threat to my mission. You already knew more than you should have known. So I told you I'd kill you. I thought you would back off but you didn't. You just kept coming back and then I found out you were fighting for the same thing as me, only in a different way. What you accomplished amazed me. I know without you preaching total pacifism to a people who were sick of the war that others loved the battle would never be over. I couldn't agree with your methods still, I needed to fight so I could make sure the war ended."
"Heero don't you realize you made the war end, it was your fight with my brother that ended the war when colonies and the Earth saw you two fighting they saw the true pity in war. Without out you and the other pilots I was nothing."
"Damn it, Relena." Heero said furiously. Then softening. "Don't you realize you played such an important part in the war? When I knew others were fighting for peace. I didn't feel alone and that kept me alive."
"Heero." Relena said blinking away tears looking at him, she wondered what this meant.
Heero leaned his face in towards hers. "Even when I didn't realize it I loved you." He said and then he kissed her.
*************************************
12 Years Ago (A.C. 193)
Millicent was backed into a corner now. She knew OZ would be tough be she hadn't counted on sexual assult being part of the picture. Stupid! She told herself. She should have known. No matter how many years went by guys were still pigs and not many women would join the army unless forced. Being a sixteen year old female with a bunch of guys in the army, it wasn't the smartest thing in the world to walk around in the middle of the night. She couldn't help it the only thing that kept her sane was being able to walk free at night. Now three dofuses wanted to rape her and nobody was going to bother stopping them in the middle of an OZ warehouse on the Victoria base. She'd kept mostly to herself working her way to get promoted. There was a double standard on women here. Work twice as hard and get half the recognition, it was no wonder a woman didn't get to hold many positions here. Now this. One of them she was sure she could handle easily, you didn't get into OZ being weak. Two would have been a challenge but bearable. Three just outnumbered her. Figures they weren't the type to fight fair. She didn't have any other choice, now she would have to resist, you can't run away in a corner.
"You've gotta be pretty desperate to be in this position. But I can see why no one would want to be with you guys."
"Shut up." The largest one said.
He brought up his hand and swung it towards her face. She caught it just before he was about to knock her jaw off. Holding his fist tightly in her hand she brought her self forward and swung his body up and over her shoulder with a simple self-defense move. She ran she wasn't about to stick around and fight them all while they were mad. The other two followed her, the first one had been swung harder than Millicent had thought. He was now unconscious on the floor but worry for their friend wasn't enough to stop the other two.
"Bitch get back here and we won't have to hurt you."
"Never." Millicent yelled.
Even for their size the guys were fast and were quickly gaining on her. One of them sped ahead of the other and dove at her. He grabbed at her waist causing them both to fall to the floor and roll around. Each were bruised and scraped from fall but Millicent was the worst off, as she fell face first into the concrete barely missing breaking her nose by rolling at just the right time. Both of them each scrambled to get up and the second guy had caught up by now. Millicent realized she was in a pretty bad situation. Two against one when she was injured was no better than before with three against one unharmed. Besides that fact that now they were looking to kill her for the trouble she had caused them. Only one thing left to do and that was hit below the belt, literally. She lunged for the larger of the two guys knocking him to the ground basically unharmed. This distracted both of them. The second one went at her, Millicent kicked out her leg kicking him so that he wouldn't be raping anyone anytime soon. But the third got up quicker than expected and grabbed her from behind. What's this? Millicent thought. Her whole body slammed up against a wall crushing a rib or two. Her wrist were grabbed and shoved up against her head held by only one of the large hands of the bastard that trapped her now.
"This isn't gonna be fun for you anymore, bitch." He spat out at her.
Millicent spat at him. Struggle as she may she couldn't shake the guy's grasp. "If you were involved it wouldn't be fun for anyone." She said back at him.
"You'll pay fo....owwww." The man released his grasp and fell to his knees then his head fell to the floor. Blood leaked from the side of his body as he muttered out his last words "Bitch...."
Millicent was horrified, she looked at the dead body realizing she was safe, but wondering how that was possible. She looked around. Right in front of her was a boy her age.
He held a gun in his hand. He must have been the one that fired the shot. A silencer was on the tip of his gun. He unscrewed it as he place the gun back at his side.
"Men like that don't deserve to live. What were you doing so late around here anyway?"
"I was just out walking."
"You must like violence then. Why else would you walk around a military training academy at such a risk?"
"Not I hate violence. I hate war. I fight because I want the peace that comes after war. I want to end the war that tore my family apart."
The boy looked at her for a moment. He noticed the initials M.S. on her uniform. "I see. I call myself Zechs Marquise. What's your name?"
"I've long abandoned my name. I hate my family. My name no longer means anything to me."
"You say you hate war, you should then let your anger go. Simply allow yourself to live you life the way you want to shape the world. Pick a new name."
"Then you pick my name. If not for you I would have been dead tonight."
"You want a name then. From now on you'll be.... Noin.. Lucretzia Noin."
"Yes. I was always Lucretzia Noin. I just hadn't realized it yet."
The new Lucretzia swore to herself that she would pay back Zechs no matter how long it took or what she had to do. She owed her life to him. Not just because he killed some guy that would have killed her, but because he had given her the realization that she had to give up her anger to have a world the way she wanted it, he'd given her a new name.
"Hey Zechs, is that your real name too? Or just you hadn't realized your name yet?"
"Huh?" He thought. She's quick. He really looked at her for the first time and felt he could trust her.
"That's a long story. Here take these goggles. Tell the leader of your barrick that you were retrieveing these for Treize Kushrenanda. He'll excuse you if I ask him for a favor." He said as he ran off in the other direction.
I will find out about you Zechs. I swear it. Lucretzia said to herself as she ran off to her the barricks, holding the goggles close to her heart.
*********************
So what did you think? Please let me know. I was hoping you guys would like this chapter 'cause it's my favorite though I have to get part 2 out so tell me what ya think. I'll try to get the other part of the chapter out soon!