TITLE: Returning (6/?)
AUTHOR: Tari Gwaemir
PAIRINGS: 1+6; implied 6+13/13+6, 5+13, 3+4/4+3, 2+1
ARCHIVE: Email me at tarigwaemir@hotmail.com first, but I always say yes.
DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me, but is owned by Bandai, Sotsu, Sunrise and other big companies, whose names I do not remember. I make no money from this piece of fanfiction, nor do I intend to.
SUMMARY: A Gundam Wing tribute to the narrative style of The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
COMMENTS: Suddenly the so-called "flashback" chapters have gotten much longer. O_O
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Chapter 6: A Handshake
They say that once, a boy looked into a still mere and saw, for the first time, his own reflection. Obsessed, he leaned forward to kiss it--or was it to embrace it?--only to watch it disappear with the first ripple of the water's surface. He pined away day and night by the mere, staring at his elusive love, trying to grasp it and hold it firmly in his arms.
Once, Zechs Marquise looked into the face of his enemy and saw, for the first time, his own reflection. He reached out to touch the boy who had suddenly appeared before him, only to watch him shatter into a thousand fragments, as if a finger's touch had broken the surface of the water into ripples. Obsessed, he did not pine away, but took what fragments he could find and glued them back together again into a facsimile of his enemy.
But he could not find the heart, and so the reflection was not yet complete.
"There have been rumors about you, Zechs," murmured Treize, in his fluid voice, turning his reproach into a song.
"Sir?"
"At ease, Colonel, at ease. After all, you outrank me in reality, my prince."
"Treize," Zechs began uncomfortably.
"Now, I ask you to be honest with me. Why are you rebuilding that gundam?"
"Is it wrong to study one's enemies?"
Treize laughed and flicked his wrist in an elegant dismissive gesture. "The Lightning Count does not need to study his enemies. He crushes them in the whirlwind of his passing."
"Treize--"
"Zechs, I am not going to pry into your private affairs. But rest forewarned that Romefeller might not share my discretion."
"I understand, sir."
Treize shook his head. "What did I say, my prince?"
"I am at ease, Treize. No matter what you may say, I always recognize you as my superior."
"Oh? Always, is it? I thought you were loyal to the Sank kingdom, not to me or my ambition."
Zechs bent to one knee, his long hair swooping down one shoulder to trail over his thigh. "Milliardo Peacecraft is dead. There is only Zechs Marquise, now."
Treize smiled mysteriously, his eyes narrowing gracefully. He murmured, "We shall see."
As Zechs came out of the office, he nearly collided with Noin, who had rushed toward him as soon as she saw him. She apologized and looked questioningly up at his masked face. "Nothing happened," he said and walked forward quickly. She had to run, undignified, after him to catch up with his long strides.
"Does he suspect?"
"Probably. Noin?"
"Yes?"
"Find Heero Yuy for me, please? He's still alive."
"That's...that's impossible!"
"Take my word for it."
"Of course, Zechs," she replied sharply and saluted, clicking her heels in place. Zechs did not look back and continued walking.
"Isn't there something you're forgetting to tell Colonel Zechs?" Noin asked disapprovingly.
"I'll thank Zechs in my own way, by killing him tomorrow," Heero replied, without hesitating. He stared curiously at Zechs' outstretched hand, glancing up at the taller man, before gripping it firmly.
The hand felt small and bony in Zechs' long fingers. He really is...only a boy, Zechs thought disbelievingly.
"I've never shaken hands with my enemy before," Heero said, his eyes a little wide, with one of his almost-smiles on his face, though it disappeared before anyone else noticed.
Zechs kept his eyes fixed on Heero, afraid that the boy was simply an apparition who'd disappear at the lightest touch, like Narcissus' reflection. He watched the boy speak to his friend as the two small figures climbed around the gundam, checking it over carefully. They had demanded that all the mechanics be cleared from the deck, and even Zechs was watching from the safety of a hidden window, as the two boys pored over the delicate machinery. Heero soon decided to move to his fellow pilot's gundam and Trowa left him alone to get accustomed to the suit. He walked back up the deck--and much to Zechs' surprise--to where Zechs had stationed himself.
"A word with you, Colonel," the boy said tonelessly, although for some reason, his voice sounded sarcastic.
"How did you figure out--"
"Where you were spying on us? Oh, Heero noticed you pass behind a wall that wasn't really a wall. He's seen these types of screens before. He was brought up as an assassin, did you know?"
"An assassin? But--"
"Most assassins--in fact, most professionals--are brought up with strict codes of honor that are far more complex than any unspoken laws that govern soldiers in battle. Similarly, Heero is...an extremely complicated person. It's difficult to understand why or how he does something."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I'm a professional myself, and although I didn't grow up under such a rigid ethos as Heero did, I know that one thing is universal."
"Please get to the point, 03, before you make me lose my patience."
"A handshake is a symbol of agreement, which binds the professional in loyalty and obedience to his employer. It is more important than any written contract--a professional never really agrees to a job until the handshake. That's why Heero has never shaken hands before with his enemy. I just thought you needed to know what you agreed to."
Zechs stared at Trowa, uncomprehending. "What did I agree to?"
"You've agreed to hire him in his full capacities as a professional, which also means that he will carry out whatever you ask him to do, with complete loyalty. In other words, you've just ordered him to kill you."
"I...see."
"You must realize, Colonel, the quandary you've just posed to Heero. Since you are his employer, he must follow your orders to the letter. Yet he has also pledged his allegiance to you, which means he must protect you at all costs. You've forced him to consider which is more important: obedience or loyalty."
Zechs blinked. He said quietly, "I never intended for that to happen. I only offered him my hand as a gesture of good will."
"There is no good will in war. This duel of yours is utterly meaningless, and by bringing him here, Heero's priorities have become even more confused."
"I will not distract him from his cause any longer than I have to."
Trowa nodded and turned to go. He hesitated and looked back over his shoulder at Zechs. He suddenly asked, with a hint of contempt in his voice, "Don't you think it's a little ridiculous for you to demand time and energy from a gundam pilot just so that you can figure out what to do with yourself?"
"Perhaps. But what else can I do?"
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NOTES: Narcissus myth at the beginning of the chapter. Um, I know it sounds contrived, but Heero's quandary is sort of like Zechs, being caught between loyalty and obedience.