Scene Two: Thanks and Apologies
After Sally left, Meiran sat in Wufei's living room, scrolling through the news on her laptop, frowning. The world news was reporting that the Alps had been invaded by the ELF. Amateur photographs of the men in green uniforms were posted, along with the information about the battle a few days before.
Heero stood in the doorway, watching her. She look troubled. He did not want to burden her further by conjuring the subject of her missing husband, but he could not allow the opportunity to slip by.
"The news doesn't quite please me either," he said in perfect monotone, while moving from the doorway to the sofa.
She shot him a glower of cold hostility. He pretended not to notice.
"I need to speak with you," he said.
Meiran nodded.
"Honestly, I need to speak with Wufei," he corrected himself. "Though..."
"It's quite alright, Mr. Lowe, neither of us can say when he will be returned to us..." Meiran said.
Doing his best not to sigh, Heero continued, "I would like to apologize to you, in Wufei's place, for acting as I have for the past few weeks."
Meiran only looked confused.
"I man that I am no longer Odin Lowe. I have decided that Heero Yuy suits me much better."
Silence was followed by the wind rustling the spring leaves of the ancient tree outside the open window.
Meiran stirred little, only adjusting her bandages as she thought. After several minutes, she said, "I've known you only as Odin Lowe. I never met Heero Yuy before this day, but since you apologize to me in place of my husband, I feel I must accept and forgive. He, out of everyone here, would understand the most."
Heero nodded to himself in satisfaction, thankful for the acceptance, while Meiran returned her attention to her computer screen.
"There is only one more thing I have to say," he interrupted.
Meiran turned toward him once more, this time with a look of quiet resignation rather than dislike.
Hilde stopped on the third stair as she heard Heero begin to speak, not wanting to disturb their conversation.
"I want to thank you personally, and apologize. I am ashamed of the way I acted toward you during the battle."
Meiran's inner jaw dropped, though she took pains to keep her facial expression unchanging.
"I don't blame you for hitting me. I deserved it. That punch is what woke me up....I understand now why Wufei has always hailed you as Nataku."
Meiran bowed her head, taking the compliments humbly. "Thank you," she said. "I apologize as well."
Heero pretended that she hadn't apologized, nodded, and stood to leave. he brushed by Hilde as he climbed the stairs. She was forced to bite her lip and clench her fists to keep from giving him a hug. She made sure he had ascended all the stairs before revealing herself to Meiran with a passive, "I'm impressed..."
"Why is that?" Meiran said, her mood brightening.
"Because the only other person he's had a conversation like that with is Relena. That was ony after he fell in love with her..."
Scene Three: Damn Nerves
Heero grazed Hilde's shoulder as he passed her on the stairs. He was careful not to connect her eyes with his, knowing she'd heard what he said.
Apprehension rose in his throat as he stood in front of the half-open bedroom door. He knocked.
"C'mon in, Babe." Heero snorted and entered the room. Duo was standing in front of the closet door mirror, putting the finishing touches on his braid.
"Oh, hey Odin," Duo said, meeting Heero's gaze by way of the mirror. "What can I do fer ya?"
It took a moment for Heero to conjure the words. He cursed his untimely nerves.
"Duo, my name is Heero. Odin sounds ridiculous."
Duo fastened a rubber band around his braid and put an arm over Heero's shoulder's, smiling.
"Good to have ya back, buddy. Missed ya, y'know."
Heero gave a small wry smirk, wondering at why he was ever nervous.
Scene Four: Girl Talk
Meiran watched Hilde skeptically as the German girl joined her in the living room.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Hilde shook her head. "Nothing. It just meant that he holds you in high regard-- almost as high as Relena."
"What's going on between those two?" Meiran said, curious.
"Nobody knows, least of all them."
"He seems a little crazy to me..."
"Well, Hilde began," I know him mostly because he and Duo were friends, but I dn't think that's too far off. Of course, Duo isn't all that sane himself...But that's a different subject."
"Alright. I know how you know Heero. How do you know Relena?"
Hilde smiled. "I originally met onboard Libra when I went there to gather information. When I got injured in the battle she sent me a card saying that she hoped I got better and that she was very intrigued by me, and would like to get to know me better. She gave me all her contact information in that card. We kept in tough from there.
"You were the girl who pirated Libra's data?" Meiran said.
"Yeah. How'd you here about it? As far as I know, that's kind of been kept quiet."
"At the time of the Eve Wars, I found myself privy to information that has never been allowed to circulate. It was obvious the Gundams had some inside help...I wouldn't worry about it too much, since the White Fang is no longer."
"I don't, too much. I figure that if Duo can keep his identity hid, even after he was captured by Lady Une and shown on ALF vision all over the Global Sphere, I don't figure I have anything to worry about.*****
"Anyway, I gave Relena a buzz, and we would talk for hours. I even went to visit her once. It was the first time I ever went to Germany..."
Meiran smiled, she too cherished her first visit to Germany, terrible as it had been.
The door to Wufei's house swung open and Lady Une, followed by Pal Legion marched into the room. She had a thin manila folder in her hand.
"Meiran!" she said, spotting the young Chinese woman. "We've found Wufei!"
-------
Sally collapsed on the dark love seat in her sparse apartment. The nerve of that woman. Who did she think she was?
She was a deserter and a traitor. Sally could say no less of herself. In a way, that calmed her.
She had always felt sheepish about her feeling for Wufei. She was nearly twenty-three, waiting for a soon to be nineteen year-old to leave his dead wife for her.
What a soap opera.
Wufeia could be dead now--but he wasn't. She didn't think that the ELF had reason enough to kill. He was important to Meiran.
She was ultimately what the wanted, was she not?
A soft, but authoritative knock sounded at her door, breaking her thoughts. Reluctantly, Sally rose to answer it.
On the other side stood a pale, tired looking Lucrezia Noin-Peacecraft.
"Noin?" Sally said, opening the door enough to let the other woman in.
Noin strode inside, looking haggard and out of sorts. She fell onto the small sofa, much as Sally had a moment earlier.
Sally joined her. "Are you alright?"
"I am exhausted. After flying back from Sanc? We took the round about way back here. Once we got here, we were in constant meeting over at headquarters. I just left a few minutes ago. Une told me to come here to rest."
"You sound as if you could use a drink."
"That sounds great. Have any Apfelschorle?"
Sure. I was thinking more along the lines of a bottle of wheat beer myself, but whatever suits your fancy."
"Nothing alcoholic, thank you," Noin said as Sally exited to the kitchen. She returned after a moment with a bottle of beer and a glass of carbonated apple juice.
"Where'd you leave Zechs?"
"He's still at the headquarters, plotting out a mission with his new team."
"Back to work already, huh?" Noin nodded. "You helping?"
She snorted. "Are you kidding? I am under direct orders from Und and my husband to keep my stress down, and to rest."
"Why's that?" Sally asked.
Noin looked intently into her half-empty glass of popping amber liquid, not wanting to meet Sally's gaze.
"I'm pregnant..."
--------
Meiran's jaw opened slightly, but promptly shut as Pal Legion quickly corrected the Lady, saying that they had really only narrowed down the area in which they might have taken him.
"There has been a lot of activity in the Swiss Alps lately. There has been strings of robberies taking place all along the west coast of Lake Constance. The Swiss army is now on full alert...And," Lady Une pulled a photo out of her folder, "we have this."
The photo was an aerial shot of at least six hundred people near the base of a mountain. They all wore the same uniform, and it was not Preventor issue.
"We had that rock face in the upper right located to just on the other side of the Lake," Legion said. Une had a very satisfied smile lighting her face.
"I just wanted to let you know that we have a team right now, readying themselves to go find Chang and put a stop to this madness."
Meiran managed a small smile.
She was tired.
Thin.
****I subscribe to the theory that the Gundam Pilots identities were never discovered, even though a few of them were caught, and yes, with Duo all over the news for about a day. I owe this to the fact that Trowa was working on the inside, the pilots have awesome technological skizillz, and that Lady Une eventually turned to the light side of the force.
I'm sorry it took so long to get the rest of the chapter out. My Beta reader kind of quit on me I guess, she hasn't sent me anything back for a couple of weeks....it makes me sad. If anyone is interested in the job, contact me, and we'll talk about it.
After Sally left, Meiran sat in Wufei's living room, scrolling through the news on her laptop, frowning. The world news was reporting that the Alps had been invaded by the ELF. Amateur photographs of the men in green uniforms were posted, along with the information about the battle a few days before.
Heero stood in the doorway, watching her. She look troubled. He did not want to burden her further by conjuring the subject of her missing husband, but he could not allow the opportunity to slip by.
"The news doesn't quite please me either," he said in perfect monotone, while moving from the doorway to the sofa.
She shot him a glower of cold hostility. He pretended not to notice.
"I need to speak with you," he said.
Meiran nodded.
"Honestly, I need to speak with Wufei," he corrected himself. "Though..."
"It's quite alright, Mr. Lowe, neither of us can say when he will be returned to us..." Meiran said.
Doing his best not to sigh, Heero continued, "I would like to apologize to you, in Wufei's place, for acting as I have for the past few weeks."
Meiran only looked confused.
"I man that I am no longer Odin Lowe. I have decided that Heero Yuy suits me much better."
Silence was followed by the wind rustling the spring leaves of the ancient tree outside the open window.
Meiran stirred little, only adjusting her bandages as she thought. After several minutes, she said, "I've known you only as Odin Lowe. I never met Heero Yuy before this day, but since you apologize to me in place of my husband, I feel I must accept and forgive. He, out of everyone here, would understand the most."
Heero nodded to himself in satisfaction, thankful for the acceptance, while Meiran returned her attention to her computer screen.
"There is only one more thing I have to say," he interrupted.
Meiran turned toward him once more, this time with a look of quiet resignation rather than dislike.
Hilde stopped on the third stair as she heard Heero begin to speak, not wanting to disturb their conversation.
"I want to thank you personally, and apologize. I am ashamed of the way I acted toward you during the battle."
Meiran's inner jaw dropped, though she took pains to keep her facial expression unchanging.
"I don't blame you for hitting me. I deserved it. That punch is what woke me up....I understand now why Wufei has always hailed you as Nataku."
Meiran bowed her head, taking the compliments humbly. "Thank you," she said. "I apologize as well."
Heero pretended that she hadn't apologized, nodded, and stood to leave. he brushed by Hilde as he climbed the stairs. She was forced to bite her lip and clench her fists to keep from giving him a hug. She made sure he had ascended all the stairs before revealing herself to Meiran with a passive, "I'm impressed..."
"Why is that?" Meiran said, her mood brightening.
"Because the only other person he's had a conversation like that with is Relena. That was ony after he fell in love with her..."
Scene Three: Damn Nerves
Heero grazed Hilde's shoulder as he passed her on the stairs. He was careful not to connect her eyes with his, knowing she'd heard what he said.
Apprehension rose in his throat as he stood in front of the half-open bedroom door. He knocked.
"C'mon in, Babe." Heero snorted and entered the room. Duo was standing in front of the closet door mirror, putting the finishing touches on his braid.
"Oh, hey Odin," Duo said, meeting Heero's gaze by way of the mirror. "What can I do fer ya?"
It took a moment for Heero to conjure the words. He cursed his untimely nerves.
"Duo, my name is Heero. Odin sounds ridiculous."
Duo fastened a rubber band around his braid and put an arm over Heero's shoulder's, smiling.
"Good to have ya back, buddy. Missed ya, y'know."
Heero gave a small wry smirk, wondering at why he was ever nervous.
Scene Four: Girl Talk
Meiran watched Hilde skeptically as the German girl joined her in the living room.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Hilde shook her head. "Nothing. It just meant that he holds you in high regard-- almost as high as Relena."
"What's going on between those two?" Meiran said, curious.
"Nobody knows, least of all them."
"He seems a little crazy to me..."
"Well, Hilde began," I know him mostly because he and Duo were friends, but I dn't think that's too far off. Of course, Duo isn't all that sane himself...But that's a different subject."
"Alright. I know how you know Heero. How do you know Relena?"
Hilde smiled. "I originally met onboard Libra when I went there to gather information. When I got injured in the battle she sent me a card saying that she hoped I got better and that she was very intrigued by me, and would like to get to know me better. She gave me all her contact information in that card. We kept in tough from there.
"You were the girl who pirated Libra's data?" Meiran said.
"Yeah. How'd you here about it? As far as I know, that's kind of been kept quiet."
"At the time of the Eve Wars, I found myself privy to information that has never been allowed to circulate. It was obvious the Gundams had some inside help...I wouldn't worry about it too much, since the White Fang is no longer."
"I don't, too much. I figure that if Duo can keep his identity hid, even after he was captured by Lady Une and shown on ALF vision all over the Global Sphere, I don't figure I have anything to worry about.*****
"Anyway, I gave Relena a buzz, and we would talk for hours. I even went to visit her once. It was the first time I ever went to Germany..."
Meiran smiled, she too cherished her first visit to Germany, terrible as it had been.
The door to Wufei's house swung open and Lady Une, followed by Pal Legion marched into the room. She had a thin manila folder in her hand.
"Meiran!" she said, spotting the young Chinese woman. "We've found Wufei!"
-------
Sally collapsed on the dark love seat in her sparse apartment. The nerve of that woman. Who did she think she was?
She was a deserter and a traitor. Sally could say no less of herself. In a way, that calmed her.
She had always felt sheepish about her feeling for Wufei. She was nearly twenty-three, waiting for a soon to be nineteen year-old to leave his dead wife for her.
What a soap opera.
Wufeia could be dead now--but he wasn't. She didn't think that the ELF had reason enough to kill. He was important to Meiran.
She was ultimately what the wanted, was she not?
A soft, but authoritative knock sounded at her door, breaking her thoughts. Reluctantly, Sally rose to answer it.
On the other side stood a pale, tired looking Lucrezia Noin-Peacecraft.
"Noin?" Sally said, opening the door enough to let the other woman in.
Noin strode inside, looking haggard and out of sorts. She fell onto the small sofa, much as Sally had a moment earlier.
Sally joined her. "Are you alright?"
"I am exhausted. After flying back from Sanc? We took the round about way back here. Once we got here, we were in constant meeting over at headquarters. I just left a few minutes ago. Une told me to come here to rest."
"You sound as if you could use a drink."
"That sounds great. Have any Apfelschorle?"
Sure. I was thinking more along the lines of a bottle of wheat beer myself, but whatever suits your fancy."
"Nothing alcoholic, thank you," Noin said as Sally exited to the kitchen. She returned after a moment with a bottle of beer and a glass of carbonated apple juice.
"Where'd you leave Zechs?"
"He's still at the headquarters, plotting out a mission with his new team."
"Back to work already, huh?" Noin nodded. "You helping?"
She snorted. "Are you kidding? I am under direct orders from Und and my husband to keep my stress down, and to rest."
"Why's that?" Sally asked.
Noin looked intently into her half-empty glass of popping amber liquid, not wanting to meet Sally's gaze.
"I'm pregnant..."
--------
Meiran's jaw opened slightly, but promptly shut as Pal Legion quickly corrected the Lady, saying that they had really only narrowed down the area in which they might have taken him.
"There has been a lot of activity in the Swiss Alps lately. There has been strings of robberies taking place all along the west coast of Lake Constance. The Swiss army is now on full alert...And," Lady Une pulled a photo out of her folder, "we have this."
The photo was an aerial shot of at least six hundred people near the base of a mountain. They all wore the same uniform, and it was not Preventor issue.
"We had that rock face in the upper right located to just on the other side of the Lake," Legion said. Une had a very satisfied smile lighting her face.
"I just wanted to let you know that we have a team right now, readying themselves to go find Chang and put a stop to this madness."
Meiran managed a small smile.
She was tired.
Thin.
****I subscribe to the theory that the Gundam Pilots identities were never discovered, even though a few of them were caught, and yes, with Duo all over the news for about a day. I owe this to the fact that Trowa was working on the inside, the pilots have awesome technological skizillz, and that Lady Une eventually turned to the light side of the force.
I'm sorry it took so long to get the rest of the chapter out. My Beta reader kind of quit on me I guess, she hasn't sent me anything back for a couple of weeks....it makes me sad. If anyone is interested in the job, contact me, and we'll talk about it.