Soldier's Return
"And I've heard rumors that you are married to a beautiful actress, but that doesn't make it true."
"What?! You dare insult me?"
This was pointless. The meeting was going nowhere. Relena covered her mouth to hide a yawn as the two delegates at the far end of the table continued their argument. They had been snapping at each other on and off for the past hour and a half, but now they seemed to be past the breaking point of their patience with the other. The verbal skirmish might have continued indefinitely had the Deputy Trade Advisor not intervened.
"Gentlemen, please. Let's keep to the matter at hand."
"Fine. But my narrow-minded colleague here doesn't seem to think it is possible that Heero Yuy could be a part of this new threat. That boy has been nothing but trouble since-"
At the mention of Heero Yuy, Relena saw her brother's face twitch. He was already angry and this just seemed to push him over the edge. She knew what was coming and lifted her coffee off the table just before Zechs stood and pounded his fist into the long, oak table.
"Boy?! You would call Heero Yuy a boy? He is the most accomplished person I have ever met. He is young; I will concede that to you. But while you were sitting here on your ass complaining that something needed to be done to stop the war, he was out there sacrificing his humanity and risking his life to make the dream of peace a reality. How dare you call him a boy? Heero Yuy is more of a man than you or I could ever hope to be. Don't you ever call him a boy."
The delegate was shocked, but not enough to keep him from making the mistake of trying to continue.
"But what about-"
"Myself and the other Preventers will look into the matter. It is no longer your concern. You just worry about covering your own ass, Michaelson. Now get out of my sight. All of you."
"But-"
"It wasn't a suggestion! Leave!"
The delegates and representatives quickly packed their things and scurried out the door, leaving Zechs and Relena alone in the large conference room. Relena stood behind her brother and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You did it again, Miliardo."
"Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I just can't stand that man and his constant arguing."
Relena chuckled at her brother's statement. It was true that Arthur Michaelson wasn't a favorite among many people. He was constantly picking fights and she suspected he had a drinking problem. She wasn't even sure what he did exactly. All she knew was that he was some kind of official for the Preventers. Wisely, she avoided thinking or talking about him further.
"I never thought the say would come when you would defend Heero like that."
Zechs smiled and looked out the tall windows at the cloudless afternoon sky.
"Heero Yuy. He wasno, is a good man. The best mobile suit pilot I have ever met, even if he was lacking in people skills. He will always have my respect and admiration."
"Then these rumors about him leading an uprising?"
Zechs shook his head.
"Not his style. He fought too hard and lost too much to gain this peace. He wouldn't just throw that away and start fighting again. Still, I'm not completely certain. I can't rule it out."
Relena frowned and stared out the window. She knew that Heero would never do the things people were saying he did. She knew him too well to believe the rumors. But then, deep in a corner of her mind, she too had her share of doubts. After all, he was trained to be a soldier. And a perfect soldier at that. Fighting was all he knew and it would be very difficult to change that. She shook her head to clear her mind of the thought and turned to her brother.
"Well, now that our day has ended early, why don't we go get something to eat?"
"That sounds like a great idea."
Just then, an announcement was made over the public address system.
"Colonels Zechs and Une, please report to the situation room. Colonels Zechs and Une to the situation room."
Zechs looked up at the offending speaker in the ceiling. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Looks like lunch will have to wait."
"Mind if I tag along?"
"Sure. Why not? It's probably nothing anyway. We'll get some food afterward."
Zechs put his arm around his sister's shoulders and the pair walked to the situation room.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing. It is copyrighted by people who have a lot more money than I do. This was written for fun and for the fans of the series. All ideas concerning the storyline and new characters are mine.
NOTES: If you've read Protector already, you've heard the name Michaelson before. This is the same guy. Kind of a jerk, huh? Well, he's supposed to be.
Comments and criticisms are welcome. Please send them to HeeroWZero@hotmail.com and be sure to include your name so I can get back to you. Thanks for reading!