Engagement of Friendship
By, Mikia
Part One: The Witch Appears
Chapter 1: The Arrangements
The phone rang as the bright summer dawn appeared.
" Who the corny blasted chicken would be calling at this hour?" the young woman replied. She pushed off the bed covers revealing a young woman, around her twenties, with short dark raven hair. She gave the telephone a deathlook then tried to find her gun. She gave up the search and answered the phone.
" Hello?" she answered not in a good mood.
" Noin, is that you?" the other voice spoke.
" Zechs Marquise. You know better then to call me at this hour. Good thing I wasn't able to find my pistol you farthead." she scolded.
" Haha, very funny. Well, the reason I called is that I will be visiting you next week. Plus, I'm bringing the boys. So make sure you have plenty of food for Duo's sake." Zechs warned.
" No prob. It could be a reunion, since Relena and the other girls will be visiting."
" Okay, see ya' next week. Oh, and I'm bringing a special guest." he replied then he hung up.
Noin just sat on her bed for about two minutes. Then a smile crept on her face.
" Zechs Marquise. At my base. YES!!!!!!!" she screamed then raced to the bathroom.
One day before Zechs' arrival . . .
" Relena, can you check on the tea for me?" Noin asked sweetly.
" Sure thing"
The house was full of laughter and insanity. Dorothy, Sally, Hilde, Relena, and Cathy arrived two days before the arrival of Zechs and the boys. All the girls were questioning about this " special" guest that Zechs was bringing. Even the younger sister of Zechs had no clue about the mystery guest. So, all eyes were on Noin for she was the first person he called about the matter, but she had no clue as well.
" Do you think it's a old friend from Victoria?" Sally asked.
" I don't think so. Zechs and I were always hanging out with each other. We never had the same friends." Noin answered.
" I don't care that much about the mystery guest, I just want to see Duo." Hilde responded.
The room fell silent and eyes were on Hilde. Hilde just blinked and sipped some of her tea. Then Cathy let out a giggle, which lead the room to burst out laughing.
" Oh by the way Dorothy, I hid all the sharp objects so you won't get to them when Quatre comes." Noin joked.
" How did you know about that?"
" Um . . . Trowa told me and then I kinda gossiped," Cathy responded innocently.
Dorothy blushed and started to laugh.
" The things that darn zero system can do to you." Dorothy replied.
" Oh by the way, Noin, I saw that little something when I was looking in your Taurus suit." Sally teased.
" What something?" Noin answered while sipping her tea.
" The pictured of you and Zechs at Victoria"
At that moment Noin spitted out her tea back in her cup and blushed like mad.
" You have a picture of Mr. Milliardo?" Dorothy answered in shock.
" Yes." she answered silently.
" Pardon?" Cathy exclaimed.
" YES!"
The room fell silent again from Noins bellow. Noin then noticed what she did then started to blush again.
" Don't worry Noin, I have the same problem, only with Heero." Relena said in comfort. "Actually to be exact, I have over a million pictures of Heero thanks to the courtesy of a certain braided soldier." Relena finished eyeing Hilde.
" Don't look at me"
Noin just laughed along with the others. She then stared at the night sky thinking of Zechs.
" I can't wait till' tomorrow." she thought.
Chapter 2: In Shock
" Two more hours. Two more hours." Noin repeated.
The household was in rush to prepare the coming of Zechs and the young heroes. The insanity was mostly about the mystery guest. The girls were washing the dishes, folding the beds, checking every bathroom for extra towels and other bathroom supplies, and well, cleaning up every room. Dorothy and Cathy were preparing the dinner, Sally and Noin were checking the bedrooms, and well, Hilde and Relena were so giddy about seeing Duo and Heero. After the cleaning was done, the girls rushed up to their rooms to dress up, comb their hair, and well take a bath. So, the house was full of the smell of jasmine, blueberries, strawberries, and other scented soaps.
Noin was the one who took the longest because one, she was trying all of her dresses on including the extra old and small ones.
Sally put on a red sweater with black pants; Dorothy put white blouse, with a violet skirt, white knee socks, and braided her hair and put them in a bun. Hilde was really trying to get Duo's attention by slicking back her hair; black leather pants, and hot pink belly button shirt. Relena, was not being herself by showing all the skin she CAN show that Zechs would approve of. Which meant a really old, small skirt which was black, a belly button tank top shirt, no socks, sandals, and then she put half of her hair in a bun and let the rest fall out. Noin finally chose a navy blue tank top, black pants, and an elbow length white shirt. No socks, and saddles. Cathy, she put on a violet tank top with a white skirt with white high heels.
Then . . . the doorbell rang.
All the girls jumped up from surprise. Noin was too busy putting on her shoes, but when the doorbell rang, she tripped over her bath towel making her fall flat on her face. Dorothy, she slipped on some eyebrow liner that she spilled earlier making her fall on her butt. Cathy forgot to open her bedroom door so she slammed her face onto the door. Hilde forgot that her bed was there and the edge of the bed hit her stomach making her fall onto it. Relena really had a problem because she was putting on some pale violet lipstick so when she turned her head, the lipstick went straight across her cheek. Sally was the only one that acted NORMAL in this matter. She just opened her bedroom door trying not to laugh when she heard all the banging and screaming from her roommate's rooms.
Just when Sally opened the door, all the girls, except for Noin, came crashing down the steps. Noin just walked politely behind them and stood next to Sally.
Sally waited for the girls to straighten up before answering the door. Then when they finished she slowly turned the doorknob.
Surely enough, there was the braided soldier hunched over ready to ring the doorbell again. He looked up and gave Sally one of those most famous smiles of his and got up.
" Duo Maxwell." Sally said as she looked at him.
Duo just walked up to her and gave her a teddy bear hug. Then the hug broke and Duo entered the house. He saw Noin and gave him a hug, but when it came to Hilde, it was practically a tackle then a hug. Then he gave a teddy bear hug to the other girls.
" Where's the other's Duo?" Cathy asked.
" Oh, they're coming," Duo answered.
" When?" Dorothy questioned.
" Soon."
At that moment the doorbell rang again. This time it was Quatre.
" Girls! How are you?" Quatre exclaimed while giving his hugs.
" Fine."
" Good."
" Exhausted."
" Nervous."
Then the doorbell rang again for the third time. This time, it was Trowa. He entered in his usual state with nothing to say, but this time he actually had a smile on his face. Then Wufei came right behind him just letting himself in while the door was open.
" Doorbells are-"
" Weak," the others finished.
Wufei just let out a silent laugh and gave his hugs along with Trowa. Just when Sally was about to close the door there was a crack and Sally was staring at the barrel of a gun.
" Hello Heero," she said calmly.
Heero just rolled his eyes and smiled trying not to laugh. He lowered the gun and gave Sally and the other girls a hug.
" I'll go get some tea," Noin replied and left the room.
" Hey, where's Zechs?" Hilde questioned.
" Who knows," Duo answered.
Then the doorbell rang, but no one moved to answer it, until Relena got up and went to the door. It rang again. She slowly twisted the doorknob and opened it. Surely enough, there was Zechs and a young woman.
" Brother, it's good to see you again. And I see you brought your guest," Relena greeted.
Zechs and the young woman stepped in the house. The woman had blond, curly hair, white milky skin, and ugly brown eyes. She was beautiful, but the boys just looked with disgust, especially Duo and Quatre. The woman just gave a smirk and decided to play a little game. She grabbed Zechs's arm and just started hanging all over him. That really did it. Dorothy got up and went to the kitchen followed by Cathy.
In the kitchen . . .
" The nerve of that girl," Cathy shouted.
" What girl?" Noin asked as she started to put tea on the tray.
Dorothy and Cathy just looked away and went back to the living room.
" Teenagers," Noin mumbled and picked up the tray.
Back in the living room . . .
Zechs and the young woman seated themselves on the couch next to Duo and Hilde when Dorothy and Cathy finally came back.
" So Zechs . . . who's the girl?" Duo questioned trying to break the silence as usual.
" My name is Katsy," the girl replied in a very snotty way.
" I do not like this girl," mostly every person in the room thought at once.
Katsy just flinged up her hair and checked her nails. Zechs gave a pretend smile and relaxed while Duo and the others were exchanging looks.
" Katsy . . . where do you come from?" Relena asked.
" The Sank Kingdom," she answered as if she was trying to brag.
Relena just gave a sheepish smile and rolled her eyes.
" Um . . . I have an announcement," Zechs started up.
Everyone looked up and stared at him while he stood up.
" You see . . . Katsy is my . . ."
Noin appeared in the living room unnoticed and smiled when she saw Zechs. But then confusion appeared as she listened to what Zechs was saying.
" Katsy is my fiancé," Zechs announced while taking Katsy's hand.
Noin dropped the tray making a loud crash. Everyone looked to where the crash was and saw Noin standing there her eyes in shock. They all knew she heard and looked away. Duo, Quatre, Trowa, Heero, and Wufei got up and started to pick up the broken pieces of glass. Noin finally came to her senses and knelt down and helped as well. But it was hard for her trying to keep back the tears. Then her head became heavy and she fell backwards. The world going black as she hit the floor.
" This was not what I was expecting," she whispered and passed out.
Chapter 3: The Confession
Noin woke up in her bedroom was dawn appeared through the windows. She slowly got up and looked around her room. She smiled to see everyone in her room.
Duo was asleep on a chair next to her bed holding his cross. Quatre and Trowa had fallen asleep on the chessboard. Wufei was kneeling down next to her bed with his head on the covers and his knees on the ground, asleep. Heero had fallen asleep with his back against the wall, standing up.
Hilde had her back against the door and on the floor. Cathy and Dorothy were on the ground back to back, asleep of course. Relena was asleep standing next to Heero with her head on his shoulder, and Sally had fallen asleep on the floor near Quatre and Trowa. And Zechs was asleep on her worktable with an empty teacup in his hands.
The only person she didn't see was that girl. Then she heard the shower running. But then something caught her attention. She looked over to where Quatre was and she noticed that he was snoring. She laughed to herself.
" Off with her head," he mumbled.
Noin couldn't hold it and started to giggle until . . .
" Yes your highness," Dorothy answered.
Noin burst out laughing making everyone in the room wake up.
" Noin! You finally woke up!" Duo exclaimed.
" Duh. Well I did finally get back my sense of humor . . . thanks to Quatre and Dorothy," she teased.
" Huh? What did we say?" the two asked at the same time.
" Nothing."
Both Quatre and Dorothy gave her a death glance, but that only made Noin giggle some more. Zechs finally woke fully when all of the commotion started up. Then, Katsy entered the room, only in a towel. Noin just got out of bed and left her room. Katsy just gave one of her stupid smirks and looked at the others.
" What is everyone staring at? What? It's not like you ever saw that girl in a bath towel before," Katsy scolded.
" Actually, Noin always came out in a bathrobe which fully covered her body, unlike you, chicken legs," Duo informed.
Katsy just rolled her eyes and looked at the door.
" I think she's jealous," she bragged.
" About what?" Sally questioned.
" Couldn't you tell? She was totally acting ' I'm-little-miss-jealous-cause-the-much-prettier-girl-took-my-man'." she bragged.
Then Sally couldn't bear it any longer. She got up and looked at Katsy straight in the face.
" Listen little Miss priss. I don't know where you get off from, but, no one, I mean no one, talks like that about my friend," Sally growled sternly. Then . . . Katsy got a good slappin' on her cow lickin' face from the one and only Sally Po.
" YOU GO WOMAN!" Wufei shouted.
Katsy jaw dropped and she started to rub her cheek.
" ZECHS! ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LET THEM DO THIS TO ME?" Katsy complained.
" OH! SHUT UP!" Dorothy, Quatre, Trowa, Cathy, Duo, Relena, and Hilde screamed. And at that pleasurable moment, Katsy ran out of the room, to the guestroom where she was staying.
" Very nice you guys," Zechs responded sarcastically.
" We know," they all said.
Then Zechs left the room to where he was staying. The others just gave a proud smirk and left the room and down to the kitchen where Noin was.
In The Kitchen . . .
Noin heard some chatting coming towards the kitchen and smiled.
" Hey Noin!" Duo greeted as they entered.
" You should have stayed for the action. It was tight. Sally slapped Katsy in the face!" Relena shouted.
" Oh my . . ." Noin responded in shock.
" She deserved it. After all, she did call you names." Sally informed.
Noin just stayed silent and looked at her cup of coffee.
" Now Zechs is going to be mad at me," she mumbled
" Oh Noin! I'm sure Zechs wouldn't do a thing like being mad at you for something I did," Sally comforted. Zechs then entered the room with an angered look on his face.
" Good morning Zechs," Noin replied quietly.
" Bite me," Zechs growled.
Noin just shrugged her shoulders and started to head for the kitchen door. But on her way out she looked at Sally and gave her a sad face. Noin moved her lips to say something but nothing came out. Instead she mouthed, ' I tried ' and Sally understood. Noin left the kitchen then Sally and the others stood up and left. They found Noin in the living room watching TV with Wufei, Hilde, Quatre, and Dorothy.
" What are you guys watching"? Noin asked as she seated herself on the love seat.
" Um . . . what is it called . . . Quatre, what is this show called"? Dorothy asked and then punched Quatre in the arm but she was still mind warped in the program.
" I think it is called X-Men Evolution," Quatre informed in a daze.
" Whatever it is . . . there is a lot of action and I like it," Wufei replied.
" He's cute," Hilde said looking at Nightcrawler. Noin just laughed and sipped some of her coffee. The others soon came in the room without Zechs and seated themselves on the floor and sofas. Then the discussion started . . .
" So . . . opinions on the Katsy our little mystery guest"? Relena started.
All thumbs went down except for Noins.
" Miss. Noin? What is bothering you," Dorothy questioned.
" I don't know. Zechs is my best friend, and this is his chance to be happy. I can't just hate what makes him happy. And yet I-" Noin stopped.
" Go on," Cathy encouraged.
" I love him," Noin finished.
Everyone stared at Noin as she looked to the ground. Duo got up and sat next to her and put his arms around her shoulders giving her a hug.
" This really sucks," Noin replied.
" What does," Duo asked looking down at her.
" You boys got taller then me," Noin scolded.
The boys just laughed, and comments started going around the room.
" I think you should tell my brother how you feel. After all, that girl does not seem like his type. She's just too . . . too . . . bratty," Relena replied.
" Do tell us Relena, what is your brother's type of girl," Sally asked leaning back.
" Well . . . someone sweet, sincere, dedicated, and someone who could whip his butt in battle, well, at least have the same speed and power as him," Relena informed.
" Well, Noin is all of those things, plus they been best friends ever since the Academy. And how long has he known this girl, two months? I think he has a problem," Cathy replied. Everyone nodded from this statement.
" Plus, you kinda saved his life from all of the wars," Hilde pointed out.
" How is that?" Heero asked.
" Well, during the Eve Wars, Noin came to outer space so she could be near Zechs and that he won't make the wrong decisions. Even on opposite sides, she went to the hangar, got in her mobile suit, and flew off to Libra and stood by his side and watched him fight. Even though he nearly sliced her at one point, she saved his humanity," Hilde informed.
" That is true, cause I saw it happen, he pulled away at the last second," Quatre added.
" Plus when the Barton Foundation landed on earth and started to take over, there was Zechs and Noin fighting beside each other and not killing a single soldier. If Zechs was doing it alone, he'd be dead right now," Duo replied.
" And I can't believe it," Sally complained.
" Can't believe what?" Noin asked.
" That through all of that, he hasn't got the clue that you two are no longer more than friends, actually, Noin your emotions are beyond that. That dude is your heart and soul girl," Sally replied.
" Noin, how long have you loved my brother. I remember the day you told me, but that was 2 years ago in Antarctica," Relena replied
" Well, that was the first time I confessed it to anyone, actually I loved Zechs much longer then that," Noin informed.
" Well? For how long?" Duo asked.
" Ever since, I met him at Victoria, and that was when I was about 15 years old," Noin replied.
" And your age is?" Dorothy wondered.
" 21."
Everyone gasped in surprise from how much Noin was committed to Zechs. Then a familiar person walked in the room. It was Katsy.
" Well, well, the peanut gallery is here for party. How come I wasn't invited?" Katsy asked.
" It's none of your concern," Relena replied standing up.
" And who may I ask are you?" Katsy asked.
" Why, I'm Queen Relena Peacecraft, Zechs's younger sister. And to me, my brother will believe everything I tell him about you. So I think you'd better watch your mouth to who you're talking to," Relena spoke.
Katsy face went from mean to innocent. Then Zechs walked in the room. Noin just stayed seated on the floor next to Wufei and Sally and kept quiet. Relena quietly seated herself next to Heero on the love seat, her eyes keeping watch of Katsy.
' I have a bad feeling about this girl, and for some reason, I know it will probably involve Milliardo,' Relena thought and sipped her coffee quietly.