Author's note: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters; I'm just a teenager. Lawyers, leave me alone.
Following Her Heart
Noin sat in the immaculate bedroom. Her eyes were dry; she had no tears left. She had a choice now to accept her fate or do something to change it. Only problem she had was there wasn't much she could do.
Her family had made these demands before, but this time the would force her to comply.
"I should have never left base. I should have gone with the others. Oh why was I so stupid?" she thought.
She was a flight instructor and one of the top pilots in the Navy. Her best friend, Zechs, was probably the top pilot in the Navy. He was currently out on carrier deployment; he'd be back in five days. She'd probably never see him again.
This time her family would not let her escape. There was one window to the room too small for her to climb out. One door, it was locked from the outside. She could not leave the house without being accompanied by at least two family members.
They had decided she would marry her cousin Marco. He was actually her fourth cousin twice removed. The little Noin remembered of him wasn't good; if memory served, he was a sadistic bully, or he had been when she was nine and he was eleven. He might have changed since then, but she didn't think so.
Not that she remembered much about her family from when she was a child. From age two to eight, she'd lived with a foster family; her family had been too busy to take care of her. But her foster family had been killed, and she'd returned to her birth family until they sent her to military boarding school. That's where she met Zechs.
They'd been the only two students who'd stayed at the school over all the holidays. Zechs was an orphan. His parents had been murdered when he was ten. Only he and his little sister had survived. Relena had been adopted, and Zechs had been sent to military school.
Noin sighed; they'd had so much fun together. He'd stuck with her through thick and thin, and Noin had fallen in love with him. She had never told him mainly because she was afraid of rejection and losing his friendship.
One of her hands crept up to touch the locket she wore. It was an old, antique sliver thing; it had been a gift from Zechs. It had been his mother's. One side held a picture of the two of them when they were teenagers; the other was from their graduation at the Academy.
He'd given it to her after graduation. They were being split up and were trading mementoes. She'd given him her class ring; there had been a mistake when she'd ordered it, and it fit Zechs' fingers, not her own.
They'd kept in touch by letters, email, and phone. It had been very rarely that they were in the same place at the same time and were able to get together. That was military life.
That was going to change. He would be stationed in Norfolk after this deployment, and they would be able to get together in their free time. Their last few letters had been full of plans and ideas that would now never see the light of day.
Her days passed slowly here. There was nothing to do. Noin felt numb. She wanted to be outside; she hated being cooped up. No one came to talk to her, and she was beginning to truly contemplate suicide.
Finally her mother came.
"Lucrezia, go take a bath, wash your hair, and shave. When you are done, there will be suitable clothing waiting for you," Catia Noin ordered.
Noin's mid screamed at her to defy her mother, to talk back, to do something besides comply, but she didn't. She was past caring about things now. She wordlessly followed the instructions she was given.
The hot water felt good. Noin ran the water as hot as she could stand. She found lavender shampoo, conditioner, and soap; it was more likely they had been chosen because the matched the room's decor than because they were her favorites, but she still appreciated them. It didn't take her long to deal with her short hair.
She wrapped one of the large, fluffy towels around her body and dealt with combing her hair. When Noin exited the bathroom, she found clothes laying on the bed. She had to admit her family did have good taste. There was a dark blue broomstick skirt and a cream colored short sleeved blouse. Noin found a pair of leather sandals to wear, and for jewelry she made do with the locket and the star earrings he wore. The woman put on a little eyeshadow and blush, but that was all the makeup she wore.
Catia returned and pronounced her suitable. Noin was then escorted to the car.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Marco's deployment ends today, and you're going to give him the best welcome home he's ever had," her brother, Paolo, replied.
Noin mentally added up the days. Zechs' deployment also ended today which meant that both he and Marco were stationed on the same ship. Soon she, Catia, and Paolo had joined the throngs of people waiting for their loved ones.
The U.S.S. Enterprise pulled into port. Noin watched as sailors began to disembark. She felt someone tug on her skirt. She looked down to see a little girl who held a bouquet of wildflowers.
"Hey," Noin said.
"Are you waiting for someone too? My daddy's come back just in time to see my new sister. Her name is Aiko. I made gifts for Daddy and his friends. You can have one too."
She pressed something into Noin's hand.
"Ariko!"
"Coming Auntie Stassja. Bye."
She ran off. Noin opened her hand to see a ceramic heart with the words follow your heart carefully printed on it. She looked back up at the sailors. A familiar face caught her eye, and it wasn't Marco's. In a split second she made her decision.
"Zechs!" she screamed.
Noin launched herself at him becoming a living missile. He caught her, picked her up, and whirled her around holding her tightly. Zechs kept his tight grip on her even when he put her down. Taking a chance, she reached up and pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.
He was startled, she could tell that, but then he returned the kiss with equal fervor. She didn't know how long that kiss lasted, but she was breathless when they broke apart.
His sky blue eyes sparkled with mischief and something else she couldn't quite identify.
"That's some welcome home."
"Zechs!"
She felt him slide something onto her finger. She looked up at him startled.
"I've been trying to muster up the courage to give that to you for a while now."
Noin looked down at her hand to see a silver claddagh ring with a sapphire heart. It symbolized loyalty, friendship, and love, and it was on her left hand.
"Zechs?"
His eyes seemed to become even more intense, and his hands cupped her face.
"Noin, I truly, deeply love you."
She blinked, "You do?" Before he could speak, she continued, "Oh Zechs, I love you too."
This led to another kiss.
"Finally," they were interrupted.
Noin turned to see her long time friend Sally Po. Sally was a doctor, and her appearance reflected her personality. Her uniform was neat, and her blond hair was confined to two neat twists. As serious and professional as she looked, Sally's bright blue eyes danced with mischief and good humor.
"It's about time you two got together if you ask me."
"Who did ask you?" Noin shot back.
Whatever reply Sally would have made was stopped by Marco who came pounding up to them.
"What the hell are you doing with my fiancee?"
His demand caused raised eyebrows on Zechs and Sally. And it broke Noin out of the numb state of shock she'd been falling into whenever her family was around.
"I am not your fiancee. That was the family's idea, and I am not going along with them. Not this time. They drugged me, kidnaped me, held me against my will, and were going to force me to marry someone I don't love."
Zechs' arm tightened around her, and both he and Sally were glaring at Marco.
"She's made her decision," there was steel in Zechs' voice. "You'll just have to deal with it."
Marco looked like he was going to start a fight for a moment then stalked off. Noin heaved a sigh of relief. Zechs looked down at her worry evident in his eyes.
"I'm okay," she reassured him.
"What was that about?" he asked quietly.
"It's a long story; I'll tell you later."
"Much as I'd love to catch up," Sally broke in, "I've got a date with a bubble bath and feather pillow. I'll see you later."
"Bye Sal."
Noin noticed Marco as well as her mother and brother were making their way over to them. Just as they entered earshot, the captain appeared at Zechs' side.
"Lieutenant Marquise, I didn't get a chance to inform you earlier, but you've been promoted to lieutenant commander." He smiled at Noin, "Who would this lady be?"
"Captain Hart, this is Lieutenant Noin."
He shook her hand, "Our nuggets speak highly of you."
She blushed slightly, "Thank you sir."
"I'll leave the two of you to celebrate."
After he was gone, Zechs said, "Why don't we go out to dinner, and you can fill me in on what I've missed?"
"Sounds good to me."
They were leaving when her family blocked her path.
"Lucrezia, what are you doing?" her mother demanded.
"I'm following my dreams. I'm sick of giving into the family; you never really cared." A mischievous spirit took hold of her, "I'm also changing my legal name to Noin O'Malley. I hate the name Lucrezia, and some of my friends in Chicago decided to adopt me into their family. That was planned before all this happened," she added as an afterthought.
Zechs guided her around her shocked family.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Yes. I should have done that a long time ago. I've known since they tried to get me married instead of going to the Academy, that they would never support my dreams; I just didn't want to believe it."
It was okay. Her real family was her friends; it had just taken her awhile to realize it.
"So how does Shoji's sound for dinner?"
"Great. Noin, I have a question for you."
She looked into his eyes for a moment then grinned, "Yes Zechs, I'll be your girl."
"How..."
"I'm your best friend; I can read your mind."
Laughing, he opened the car door for her, "You know, I think Sally was right. It is about time we did this."
"You do realize that this is going to change things?"
"For the better. Let's see where this adventure will take us."
Noin slid her hand into his, "It won't be boring that's for sure."
"You and me; no one's ever been able to beat us before. We can do anything together."
Together, she liked the sound of that.
Owari (the end)