Disclaimer-Gundam Wing belongs to somebody NOT Funimation, thank God, and the song is Michelle Branch's. The other song belongs to Enya.
Good-Bye To You
Of all the things I believe in
I just wanna get it over with
"This is it, Mariemaia," Lady Une said.
Lady Une and Mariemaia stood in front of Treize's grave. Of course, there was only a tombstone. They hadn't recovered his body.
It had been three years before Mariemaia insisted on coming again. Lady Une hadn't wanted to go. She didn't want to be reminded of him or his death.
"I…I don't remember him," Mariemaia confessed. "What was he like?"
"He was…there are no words to describe him. He had this kind of serenity about him. He knew what he wanted and knew how to get it. He placed human life and honor above everything else. He hated those ridiculous Mobile Dolls."
"Were you two dating?"
"You…you could say that," Lady Une said. "We knew each other for a few years."
A few years. Make that half a decade. 5 years of a relationship that had seemed platonic to the outside world, but had really been so deep, it was hard for her to pull herself out of it.
Tears from behind my eyes
But I do not cry
Counting the days that pass me by
Mariemaia gave her stepmother a suspicious glance. She was now 8 years old, and she wanted to know more about her father and stepmother's relationship.
(A/N: Yeah, she seems older than that, doesn't she? But I'll tell you why she's 8. From my calculations, Zechs was 20 during Endless Waltz. Since he and Trieze were childhood friends, they had to have been about the same age. Now, given that Mariemaia was born when Trieze was 15, she would've been 5 during Endless Waltz. Add three years, and she's 8)
"Did you guys kiss a lot?" she asked, with a giggle.
"No, we did not," Lady Une said indignantly.
But they did kiss. Not often, because it was something special to them. They had been planning on being together forever and decided against being one of those couples who are in it for benefits and then break up after a month or two.
"Then what ha-app-ened-d?" Mariemaia wailed impatiently. Mariemaia could be a very good whiner. Anyone who can make a 2-syllable word into and 4-syllable word is good. Very good.
"Nothing that I'm going to tell you," Lady Une said.
In fact, it was nothing she was going to tell anyone. She firmly believed that if you give your memories away, they never come back.
Memories that were holding on after four years since his death had to be especially protected.
I've been searching deep down in my soul
Words that I'm hearing are starting to get old
Looks like I'm starting all over again
The last three years were just pretend
"Well, Mariemaia, do you want to head home?" Lady Une asked.
Mariemaia pouted. "All right," she said, with an air of tolerant indignance.
Lady Une smiled. Trieze made that face sometimes. Mariemaia had his facial features, if not his attitude.
Lady Une took Mariemaia's hand and led her away form the grave.
And I say good-bye to you
Good-bye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved, the one thing that I tried to hold on to
Lady Une collapsed into bed. Looking after Mariemaia was a Herculean task. As Dekim's puppet she had looked deceptively void of energy, but she was really a bundle of live wire. Set one to spark and it exploded.
'She's not much like you, Trieze,' Lady Une thought, as she stared up at the ceiling. 'She's too high-strung. She's not like Lisa, either.'
Lisa. Lady Une had met Lisa. She hated her within a few minutes. She was arrogant and uppity, and never really had any feelings for Trieze. She had used him spitefully for his money.
'Trieze, why'd you pick her? I know you were smarter than that. You should've come to me first. The only good thing that came out of it was Mariemaia.' (A/N: That's debatable ^_~)
She rolled over and stared at the floor. 'You'd love her, for all that she's so different from you. She has your passion. And she's an inquisitive little nuisance.' Lady Une had to smile lightly at that. 'She slips up and calls me "Mother" sometimes. It's nice. I always wanted to have your child.'
I still get lost in your eyes
And it seems like I can't live a day without you
Closing my eyes 'till you chase my thoughts away
To a place where I'm blinded by light
Her expressions changed, and abruptly she turned over again. She pulled the covers up to her face, only her nose, hair, and sad eyes showing.
But it's not right
Good-bye to you
Good-bye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved, the one thing that I tried to hold on to
She tossed and turned for a few hours. She'd given up on sleep and had taken to reading. But that grew boring soon, so she got out of bed and walked out to the living room.
"Mariemaia?" she said sleepily.
Mariemaia looked up at her from the couch. "I couldn't sleep. I had a dream about Father."
"What was it like?"
"He was standing in space and Earth was behind him. He looked over at me and smiled. Then the Earth blew up and he was gone."
Lady Une sat down on the couch and drew Mariemaia into her lap. Mariemaia cuddled into her chest and held onto the shoulder of her dark blue nightshirt.
"Did he say anything before he…?"
"He said 'Your mother'."
"Did he elaborate?"
"Huh?"
Lady Une had forgotten that the only big word Mariemaia knew was "victorious". "Did he say it was me or Lisa?"
Mariemaia shook her head. "But just before the earth blew up, he held out a rose. You like roses, right, Mother?" Mariemaia looked up at Lady Une with tired eyes.
Lady Une suddenly felt the blood drain from her face. She pulled Mariemaia closer to her. "They're my favorites, daughter."
Mariemaia smiled tiredly and nestled her head against Lady Une's collar bone, blinking sleepily. Lady Une started playing with Mariemaia's hair.
Oh, yeah, it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time
I want what's yours and I want what's mine
I want you, but I'm not giving in this time
"I think…" she said falteringly. "I think your father visited you in a dream and…and told you that this is your home now…and not to be sad over him."
"Umm," Mariemaia said.
Lady Une looked out the bay window that was right above the couch. The stars were shining like embers…wasn't that song? "Once as my heart remembers/All the stars were fallen embers/Once, when night seemed forever/I was with you…"
Yes, that was it. It was by someone called Enya. Lady Une made a mental note to pick up the song somewhere. It certainly reminded her of her and Trieze.
Good-bye to you
Good-bye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved, the one thing that I tried to hold on to
"Mariemaia, look," she said, in an urgent whisper. "A falling star."
Mariemaia looked out the bay window to see a streak of glittering white shooting across the night sky.
"Make a wish."
"I wish…" Mariemaia started.
"Only think it. If you tell a wish, it won't come true."
"Okay." 'I wish that Father would visit me in dreams more,' Mariemaia finished in her head. "Are you going to wish for anything, Mother?"
Lady Une shook her head. "I don't have anything to wish for."
The shooting star was an opportunity for a wish. It was an answer. It was Trieze's approval of her interpretation.
Lady Une stared into the sky as the shooting star faded.
'Thank you, Trieze,' she thought. 'I love you.'
As the stars fall, I lie awake
You're my shooting star
The other song listed here is called Fallen Embers, by Enya. It's on her CD, A Day Without Rain.
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