Soldier's Return
"Heero!"
Relena's legs carried her as fast as they could toward the strange mobile suit when she saw the pilot step out and ride a cable down from the cockpit. Heero's feet had barely touched the ground when Relena barreled into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground. She held him firmly, as if he was going to vanish into thin air.
"I knew you would come back! I just knew you would."
She squeezed him so tightly that Heero thought she was going to crack his ribs.
"Would you mind letting me breathe?"
"I'm sorry, Heero. I'm just so happy to see you, that's all."
Relena sat up and smiled down at him and Heero actually smiled back, as faint as it was. Zechs gave them a hand in getting up and Heero brushed at his still dusty clothes. Meanwhile, the other Gundam pilots had come by to see what all the excitement was about.
"Heero!"
Duo rushed at him sending him back to the floor.
"Not you too...get off me you braided idiot!"
Duo stood up and held out his hand to help Heero up. Heero took it, pulled himself up, and pushed Duo back to the ground with a sly grin on his face.
"Heero, it's good to see you again."
He shook Quatre's hand while Trowa offered a rare smile and a nod. Wufei gave him a hard pat on the back.
"I'll never figure out how or why you keep coming back, Yuy."
"Neither will I."
After exchanging a few more greetings, Heero finally noticed the Gundams.
"Wait a minute. I thought..."
Lady Une stood at his shoulder and explained.
"Zechs and I thought it might be a good idea to reconstruct them, in secret of course. That way nobody knows they exist, but they are around should another...incident...occur. Howard helped us salvage the remains and also installed a system similar to the Deathscythe's hyper jammers and active cloak on all of them. That way if we ever do need to use them..."
"That was a wise decision. I see you didn't bother to rebuild Wing Zero. Can't say I blame you."
Behind him, Zechs chuckled softly.
"Maiser, hit the switch, would you?"
"My pleasure, sir!"
The young mechanic walked to a control panel and pressed one of the buttons. Heero watched as the lights in one of the dark corners flickered on, shining down on a blue cover, which dropped away to reveal his Gundam.
"Zero."
Heero smiled ever so slightly and walked slowly forward. He reached out and pressed his hand to the cold metal in much the same manner as Relena had earlier. Someone put a hand on his shoulder and her turned to face Zechs.
"You look tired. Why don't you get some rest?"
"There's too much I need to tell you about-"
Zechs put his hand up to stop him.
"You can tell us later. I'm sure whatever it is can wait until you've had at least a few hours of sleep."
Heero looked Zechs straight in the eye. What he saw was sincerity, as if the man actually cared about his well-being. He suddenly found himself overcome with exhaustion and decided that Zechs' idea wasn't so bad after all. The other Gundam pilots went back to their work while Heero, Relena, Lady Une, and Zechs got into the elevator, heading for the third floor where there were a few residential suites. Normally they were used for visiting dignitaries and some were actually occupied for that purpose, but there were a few empty rooms left. Coming down the hall they spotted Noin, who had been visiting one of the delegates who was an old friend of hers. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she saw Heero.
"Heero? Is that...is it...really you?"
She stepped closer and a broad smile appeared on her face when she saw that it was indeed him.
"How did..when did you...are you going to..."
Noin trailed off, her voice badly betraying her surprise. Zechs stopped her from making a complete fool of herself.
"Now, Lu...don't go bombarding him with questions. He just got here and needs to rest. Let's leave him be for now, alright hon?"
Heero looked at Zechs, showing a small of amount of his surprise and confusion on his visage.
*Lu? Hon? That's not like him. What am I missing?*
Then he looked at Noin. More specifically, at her hands. He saw something there he hadn't seen before and something in his mind clicked on like a switch.
*I see. An engagement ring. Guess it makes sense now.*
Noin looked at Heero, a bit puzzled by his comment. Zechs just smiled and turned to his sister.
"Do you think you can handle finding a room for Heero, Relena?"
"Of course I can, Miliardo."
Though she did not show it, Relena's eyes glowed as if to say a silent thank you to her older brother.
"Well then, we'll see you in a few hours, Heero. For now, just get some rest. You sure look like you need it."
Zechs paused and smiled.
"It's nice to have you around again."
"Thank you."
Heero and Relena continued down the hall while Zechs, Noin, and Lady Une waited until they turned the corner.
"What did he mean by 'congratulations'?"
"You mean you don't get it?"
Noin turned to Lady Une and shrugged her shoulders. Zechs shook his head in disappointment and grabbed her arm, holding her hand in front of her face. She grinned sheepishly.
"Oh. Hmmm, seems you were right. Nothing escapes him. Well, other than Relena it would seem."
Zechs grinned and turned back to look at the hall where his sister and probably the greatest mobile suit pilot to ever live and breathe had disappeared. The smile on his lips took a downward turn.
"Now that he's here, Relena will certainly be much happier. I'm grateful for that...it's one less thing for me to worry about. However, the reason for his being here is not sitting well with me at all."
The two women standing to his left nodded in silent agreement and turned to walk with him back to the elevators.
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: That was interesting, huh? What do you mean 'no'? Hmmm....looks like things are getting more complex.
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!