Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, but I do own Selene. If you'd ever like to use her for anything, please ask first. Thanks! Anyways, this chapter is for Roni-chan, the girl who keeps pushing me to update.
Zechs sat down in his comfortable quarters; the coffee stains had been quite hard to take out and now he just wanted to rest. But it seemed tonight, that was easier said then done. A horrible feeling of failure churned within him, and threatened to eat him alive. He let out a long sigh; he also felt guilty for the way he had been treating Lieutenant Lunata even though he couldn't figure out why. He had never felt this way before, save for perhaps once but that had been earlier in life and he had strived to forget about that event. He eyes began to droop; however, he was unable to sleep due to the cauldron of thoughts encumbering his mind.
Selene entered her room exhausted from the day's events. The first thing she did, despite her desire to sleep was to check her computer to see whether any further instructions had been sent to her by the gundam pilots. To her surprise, there was only a single word on the screen- "bear". Selene rubbed her eyes in confusion and read it over again to make sure she had contemplated correctly.
"Bear?" she thought, "what in the world is that supposed to mean?!" She yawned and supposed that she would just have to wait and see. The tired Lieutenant quickly took a warm refreshing shower and curled up in her bed.
Selene jumped out of bed as she stared at her clock in disbelief; it seemed that she had overslept and missed breakfast. And if she prolonged getting ready, she knew she'd be late for practice, which would only make her superior less content with her.
"Then again," she thought as she mulled about how much Zechs would reprimand her if she failed to be punctual, "why should I even care? It shouldn't bother me if he's angry with me; soon I'll be out of this miserable place." With that, she quickly made herself more presentable and left her room. She jogged down the corridor at a steady rate, and soon reached her destination. Luckily for her, she arrived just barely on time so Zechs had no excuse to reprimand her. The soldiers were all assembled in a line, and awaiting to be inspected by their colonel. Selene silently walked to the end of the line and stood as well. Zechs paced from soldier to solder, inspecting their uniforms as well as their posture. Selene sighed quietly preparing herself for what callous comment he might throw at her today. Yet when he walked up to her; he just stood and stared. Zechs let out a small gasp that was hardly audible to any other soldier, not even Selene who stood right in front of him. He had seen something rather unexpected in those deep blue eyes.
"Something wrong sir?" one of his men questioned.
"No, not at all," he managed to answered, "everyone is dismissed." The soldiers, who were obviously not expecting a cancellation of training, were shocked, yet followed the orders in obedience. Selene trudged back to her room, relieved that the training session had been cancelled, but still baffled over the cause of Zechs's decision. Zechs, on the other hand, remained in the mobile suit hanger, trying to contemplate exactly what had just happened. When he went to inspect that girl, he had expected to see gleaming abhorrence within her eyes, but for a split second he saw past that and had witnessed something else. There was the look of eternal pain there mixed in with a sense of melancholy that was too strong to bear. It was the exact same emotions he had felt when his home had been left in ruins, and the life he had dreamed of had been shattered. He quickly understood then, why the young girl was unusually cold towards everyone. "She's trying to put a barrier around herself because she fears being hurt again," he thought, "and she is trying to escape pity by hiding her pain. Then again, aren't I doing the very same thing? No, I'm different, there are more reasons than that for why I must don this mask."
An odd package had arrived at the OZ base, with a card attached saying it was for Lieutenant Lunata. The gift was a giant brown fluffy teddy bear with a crimson bow tied around its neck. The unusual package was hesitantly delivered to the surprised recipient who accepted it with a puzzled look.
"What's this supposed to be?" Selene thought, as the young soldier who had made the delivery walked away from her room. She scrutinized the teddy bear, and found a small white card attached. She read the black ink writing aloud, "Remember, it's not important what is on the outside, but the inside that counts." She arched an eyebrow in confusion, "whoever sent this didn't even leave a name." Then she remembered her instructions from the Gundam pilots the night before. The single word "bear" that had been on the screen. "So *this* is the bear they were talking about," she smiled at her discovery. She looked over the small white card once more, and knew she had solved the riddle. Very gently she observed the teddy bear once more and found a small zipper in the back. She pulled down the zipper slowly, and then commenced to pull a bit of the stuffing out. She stopped when she reached a folded up piece of paper with more writing on it. Selene removed the paper with utmost care and then opened it to read her new instructions. She smiled maliciously as she read to herself.
Zechs sat down in his comfortable quarters; the coffee stains had been quite hard to take out and now he just wanted to rest. But it seemed tonight, that was easier said then done. A horrible feeling of failure churned within him, and threatened to eat him alive. He let out a long sigh; he also felt guilty for the way he had been treating Lieutenant Lunata even though he couldn't figure out why. He had never felt this way before, save for perhaps once but that had been earlier in life and he had strived to forget about that event. He eyes began to droop; however, he was unable to sleep due to the cauldron of thoughts encumbering his mind.
Selene entered her room exhausted from the day's events. The first thing she did, despite her desire to sleep was to check her computer to see whether any further instructions had been sent to her by the gundam pilots. To her surprise, there was only a single word on the screen- "bear". Selene rubbed her eyes in confusion and read it over again to make sure she had contemplated correctly.
"Bear?" she thought, "what in the world is that supposed to mean?!" She yawned and supposed that she would just have to wait and see. The tired Lieutenant quickly took a warm refreshing shower and curled up in her bed.
Selene jumped out of bed as she stared at her clock in disbelief; it seemed that she had overslept and missed breakfast. And if she prolonged getting ready, she knew she'd be late for practice, which would only make her superior less content with her.
"Then again," she thought as she mulled about how much Zechs would reprimand her if she failed to be punctual, "why should I even care? It shouldn't bother me if he's angry with me; soon I'll be out of this miserable place." With that, she quickly made herself more presentable and left her room. She jogged down the corridor at a steady rate, and soon reached her destination. Luckily for her, she arrived just barely on time so Zechs had no excuse to reprimand her. The soldiers were all assembled in a line, and awaiting to be inspected by their colonel. Selene silently walked to the end of the line and stood as well. Zechs paced from soldier to solder, inspecting their uniforms as well as their posture. Selene sighed quietly preparing herself for what callous comment he might throw at her today. Yet when he walked up to her; he just stood and stared. Zechs let out a small gasp that was hardly audible to any other soldier, not even Selene who stood right in front of him. He had seen something rather unexpected in those deep blue eyes.
"Something wrong sir?" one of his men questioned.
"No, not at all," he managed to answered, "everyone is dismissed." The soldiers, who were obviously not expecting a cancellation of training, were shocked, yet followed the orders in obedience. Selene trudged back to her room, relieved that the training session had been cancelled, but still baffled over the cause of Zechs's decision. Zechs, on the other hand, remained in the mobile suit hanger, trying to contemplate exactly what had just happened. When he went to inspect that girl, he had expected to see gleaming abhorrence within her eyes, but for a split second he saw past that and had witnessed something else. There was the look of eternal pain there mixed in with a sense of melancholy that was too strong to bear. It was the exact same emotions he had felt when his home had been left in ruins, and the life he had dreamed of had been shattered. He quickly understood then, why the young girl was unusually cold towards everyone. "She's trying to put a barrier around herself because she fears being hurt again," he thought, "and she is trying to escape pity by hiding her pain. Then again, aren't I doing the very same thing? No, I'm different, there are more reasons than that for why I must don this mask."
An odd package had arrived at the OZ base, with a card attached saying it was for Lieutenant Lunata. The gift was a giant brown fluffy teddy bear with a crimson bow tied around its neck. The unusual package was hesitantly delivered to the surprised recipient who accepted it with a puzzled look.
"What's this supposed to be?" Selene thought, as the young soldier who had made the delivery walked away from her room. She scrutinized the teddy bear, and found a small white card attached. She read the black ink writing aloud, "Remember, it's not important what is on the outside, but the inside that counts." She arched an eyebrow in confusion, "whoever sent this didn't even leave a name." Then she remembered her instructions from the Gundam pilots the night before. The single word "bear" that had been on the screen. "So *this* is the bear they were talking about," she smiled at her discovery. She looked over the small white card once more, and knew she had solved the riddle. Very gently she observed the teddy bear once more and found a small zipper in the back. She pulled down the zipper slowly, and then commenced to pull a bit of the stuffing out. She stopped when she reached a folded up piece of paper with more writing on it. Selene removed the paper with utmost care and then opened it to read her new instructions. She smiled maliciously as she read to herself.