A/N: 31 reviews?!? Seeing so much feedback on my story is wonderful! I can't express how great I feel to see that so many people have been reading and enjoying my story. Thank you all so very much!

This chapter is fairly angst-y, seeing how it is about Milliardo and Lucrezia. The mood re-lightens itself in the next chapter. I dedicate this chapter to Muse, one member of my duo of muses. She deserves congratulations; this was likely her best work *Muse purrs*. Maybe I should stop ordering hell.cad to annihilate her…Nah… (J/k Muse, I only loathe you)

Anyhow…

~*~*~*~

Time: earlier that night…

Place: A park in the city

Italics = thoughts

~*~*~*~

The sky above was grey and dull, giving off waves of lethargy to anyone who dared gaze at it too long. Lucrezia Noin sat alone on the park bench, watching as pedestrians hurried through the softly falling rain. She held her umbrella above her head, listening to the rain patter against it, careful to keep it just high enough so that she could the people walking around her. She was looking for someone in particular. She sighed, glancing at her wristwatch for the third time in a minute. He should be here by now…

As if on cue, the man in question arrived, tapping her gently on her shoulder. "Missed me? I would have been here sooner, but Midii held me up. She wanted to go over a couple of files in the Preventers office." Milliardo Peacecraft moved around the bench and sat beside her, careful not to sit in the large puddle forming on the seat.

"Really, Milliardo? Are you sure she wasn't just looking for an excuse to be alone with you?" Lucrezia asked playfully, giving Milliardo a small kiss on the cheek.

"Funny, Lu. I didn't know you had a sense of humor."

They sat in silence, listening to the rainfall, watching the people as they scurried on in their lives. Lucrezia moved in closer to Milliardo, resting her head on his shoulder. "I've missed you," she said, sighing contentedly, as if caught up in a soothing dream. Her voice held the genuine note of yearning in it, and she continued, "We've hardly seen each other at all since work at the Preventers office picked up. Do they really believe someone is plotting against the peace we've kept for four years?" She closed her eyes, momentarily giving in to the exhaustion that has been creeping up on her for the past month. Late-night training with Hilde was beginning to take its toll on her, and the extra work at the office wasn't helping. The grey sky and relaxing sound of light rain was almost enough to carry her off to sleep, held in Milliardo's arms.

"We aren't exactly sure, but Midii seems to believe that someone is organizing a revolt of some kind. She said there have been more and more former pilots disappearing in the past few months," he replied slowly, carrying the same note of exhaustion in his voice as Noin. "Midii thinks someone may be collecting the best mobile suit pilots together into one force; if this person, whoever they may be, has this large force of pilots, they may have the ability to stir up a lot of chaos for us Preventers. They wouldn't have enough strength to overthrow the world, but Midii believes we shouldn't underestimate them."

"Well, we shouldn't. Just look at Mariemaia; no one would have believed she nearly overthrew the world."

"It was Dekim in control, not Mariemaia."

"You're missing the point."

"Sorry. But I know what you mean." Milliardo tilted Lucrezia's upward, and she slowly opened her eyes. "So much for a date. We're both ready to fall asleep."

She laughed lightly, repositioning her umbrella. She had almost forgotten she was holding it, and rain descended on her head where the umbrella no longer was. "Come on, you promised me a night on the town, and I make sure you keep your promises. You need to start making up for all the nights you've left me alone."

Pulling him to his feet, Lucrezia and Milliardo set off across the park, Milliardo taking the umbrella from her and holding it above their heads. By now most of the park was empty of people, so they had privacy alone together. It felt as though the entire square belonged to them, at least for a short while.

But Lucrezia seemed to sense that there was more Milliardo wanted to speak about. It was if he was holding something back, waiting to bring it up at the right moment. "Is something wrong, love?" she asked him, lifting her head to meet his eyes.

He shied from her gaze, but answered, "Actually, yes." He shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to begin. "I wanted to ask you about why you are training Hilde."

Lucrezia looked at him in surprise. "How did you know I was teaching her to pilot her suit?"

"Relena is my sister, remember? I overheard her speaking on the phone last night. She mentioned that you were helping Hilde." Milliardo paused for a moment, then continued, "Why, Lu? Don't you realize how dangerous the RMSTC really is?"

"They have plenty of safety regulations," she replied, frowning slightly, "I don't see why she couldn't participate. Is this about the fact she is a woman? Because there are two other female pilots competing besides her -"

"It has nothing to do with that," he responded quickly. They stopped walking, now that they had reached the edge of the park. Lucrezia could see her vehicle parked a couple spots away. Milliardo let out a soft, frustrated sigh. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but I don't believe the RMSTC has as many safety regulations in place as they say they do."

"What do you mean?"

"You know the fights today? Four people were injured in three separate battles. One boy, Richard Prixton, is suffering from a concussion and a broken arm." Milliardo paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. "Hilde is a novice compared to half the pilots participating; she could be seriously injured fighting against them."

"She can take care of herself," Lucrezia responded defensively, beginning to get angry at Milliardo's dismissive tone towards Hilde. She has worked to hard and become to good to be considered a 'novice', Milliardo.

"I'm not saying that she can't, Lu, but I don't want her running the risk of injury! You must talk her out of competing; she will be seriously hurt if she continues on against better and stronger pilots!" Milliardo replied, a definite tone of fury appearing in his voice. His normally handsome face was contorted by anger. "Why can't you understand that I'm only looking out for her, for what's best for her; do you want her to be hurt badly, just for the thrill of battle?!"

"You cannot expect her to give up her dreams for that reason! She knew the risks when she entered the contest! Have some faith in her skills, and I guarantee she will do excellently!" Lucrezia retorted, allowing herself to reveal her fury as well. Milliardo turned away from her, obviously not wanting to continue their argument any further. "Don't walk away when we're talking, Milliardo!" she said, reaching out and grabbing his arm.

She was answered with a smack across the face.

Her eyes wide with horror, her expression that of shock and surprise, Lucrezia turned slowly back to face her lover. Tears were welling in her eyes, and she fought to control a sob rising up within her throat. She managed to choke out one word; "Milliardo…"

Milliardo dawned an expression similar to her own; he seemed as surprised by his actions as she. Seeing Lucrezia so close to tears was enough to make him realize the gravity of what he had done. Milliardo began replying to her, stumbling over the words, "Lu, Lu – please, don't leave – Lucrezia, listen; I – I didn't mean to… Lu!"

But she would hear no more of it; Lucrezia Noin was running to her car, tears streaming down her bruised cheek, unable to hold back her sorrow. Without a backward glance, she was inside her car, driving away from her love.

~*~*~*~

Milliardo stood alone in the rain outside his apartment, still clutching to the umbrella Lucrezia had left behind. He did not bother to hold it above his head, blocking out the rain; it hung limply beside him, gathering a small puddle inside. A half hour had past from the incident in the park, but still he did not dare look back on it. He wanted the event to stay indistinct, hazy; as undefined as the intermingling rain clouds above. But he knew he couldn't do that. He had to know why.

Why had I hit her?

He closed his eyes in shame, clenching his fists, angered with himself. He did not know why he had done it; he couldn't recall ever thinking of doing such a thing. And yet, it happened. Why?

Instantly he had regretted what he had done; of course, he did. He loved her. He would never hurt her.

But he did hurt her. Deeply, and he knew it. The overwhelming guilt and shame of what he had done washed overtop of him, drumming into his brain as harshly as the large, soaking raindrops splattering atop his head, drenching him to the bone. Never had he felt such inner turmoil. Even as Zechs, his actions never brought on such moral consequences. He didn't believe in ever hitting a woman, under any circumstances, and yet, it was exactly what he had done.

I'm horrible; I didn't deserve Lu in the first place.

What had brought him to do it? The thought plagued his mind, and he was unable to push it away. It haunted him, as most dire recollections do. He had no choice but watch it repeatedly, the shock dawning across her face, the tears welling in Lucrezia's pale blue eyes. And how he pleaded with her, begged her to listen, to understand he had not meant to hurt her.

She'll never forgive me; I'll never be able to tell her…

He reminisced at all the times she had waited for him, so patiently while he placed his work before her. The Preventers office had taken on heavier loads in the past month, and so he never got to be with her as much as he wanted to. The frustration of the constant workload was overbearing and increasingly stressful. A thought dawned across his mind, breaking upon him like the surf of the sea. He had taken his frustration and tension out on her. He had used her as a medium to release his frustration.

The realization of why he had done it caused him to well up with even more guilt. What kind of person does that to their lover? What is wrong with me?

"Milliardo? What are you doing out here, standing in the rain?"

The voice instantly snapped him back to reality, and he looked up quickly in surprise, greeted by none other than Midii. She stood in front of him, holding her own umbrella above her. "Thank God I ran into you; some news about our case just came up."

Shaking his head, trying to focus his thoughts, Milliardo replied, "You mean about the instigator gathering pilots?"

Nodding, Midii replied, "One in the same. Apparently, one of our sources claims that the ringleader of this group may be competing in the RMSTC. They're using it to scout out new recruits, seeing whose the best." She paused for a moment, eyeing Milliardo suspiciously. "Are you all right? I thought you had a date with Lucrezia tonight."

"It was discontinued until further notice."

Midii chuckled lightly, replying, "You must be working too hard, referring to it so formally. Anyway, back on subject. What do you think of the new information?"

Milliardo contemplated for a moment, reassembling his thoughts. Finally, he responded, "It does seem to make sense. The best pilots will be contending in the RMSTC, besides the Gundam pilots and me. It would be a good source to find skilled pilots interested in world domination."

"That's what I thought. But I'm still not sure what this guy is after, or why he is trying to disrupt the peace. We still haven't found any clues to a motive, or even who it is for that matter." Glancing at her watch, Midii sighed and said, "It's getting late; do you want to continue this discussion tomorrow at the office?"

Nodding slowly, Milliardo replied, "That would probably be best. I should go inside anyway; I've been out here too long as it is."

"Well I'm glad I ran into you; see you tomorrow," Midii responded, walking away. Suddenly she paused. "Oh, and Milliardo - get some rest. You look like shit."

Without so much as a backward glance, Milliardo continued on his way to the apartment door, his thoughts revolving around what Midii had said, while thoughts of Lucrezia drifted far away in the dark recesses of his mind.

~*~*~*~

It was over an hour before Lucrezia could bring herself to look into a mirror. She did not want to see the broken woman she had become. She sat alone, tears streaming silently down her face, inside her bedroom bathroom, wrapped, still fully clothed, in a towel to soak up the rain, ignoring the mournful woman gazing back at her from the glass across the room.

Looking back on their relationship, she had come to realize that she and Zechs (she would not refer to him as Milliardo, he was no longer the decent man she knew) had always had a barrier in between them; something holding them back from ever becoming truly emotionally attached to one another. Even today, all they really spoke about was work. Focusing her mind onto finding the barrier - not wanting to recall earlier, at the park - she spent most of that hour searching for why they were so distant from one another.

She had decided upon what it was. Perhaps because of what Zechs had done to her that night, but Lucrezia suddenly had such a fierce hatred for men that she had never noticed before. The reason they never became close to one another was the fact she was so independent from him. She didn't need his constant acceptance, his approval of her actions and beliefs. She didn't need him. And so, Zech was angry with her, just for the fact Lucrezia was her own person. He wanted a woman dependant on him, someone like that slut, Midii.

No longer thinking rationally, Lucrezia focused her anger onto Midii. I've seen her flirting with him, always asking for a private word with him. He never tried to stop her, never disagreed to go with her. He would leave me all alone, drop me in a second, just to go see her and look over a couple files Midii could have taken care of herself. I hate them both. I hate him.

Suddenly Lucrezia wiped the tears from her face, gingerly touching her calming bruise on her face. I'm thinking crazily; Midii wouldn't do that to me. I'm sorry, Midii; I'm being so stupid right now. I can't think clearly. Suddenly taking on an expression of set determination, Lucrezia stood up from atop the closed toilet and walked over to the mirror on the wall. Lu, don't worry about him. Don't even think about him. He's dead to you, from now on. No decent man would ever hit a woman.

Nodding in agreement with herself, trying to convince herself she was right, Lucrezia then moved deftly to her makeup bag, reaching inside and pulling out her concealer. It wouldn't be a pretty sight, but it would be better than letting everyone see a fresh bruise on her face. She still had her pride to keep.

I refuse to be anyone's pity case. I don't need anyone.

At that moment, her telephone rang abruptly, bringing Lucrezia's thoughts back to the present world. Finishing haphazardly, she put her make up bag away and rushed to answer the phone. The voice on the other end surprised her; an old friend was calling, by the name of Deidre Keeri.

"Some friends of mine want me to D.D.? All right, I'll be there quickly, Dee. No, it's no problem. Yeah, I know your place. Bye." She was surprised at how cold she had sounded, speaking to a friend. I must act normally; they'll suspect something otherwise.

Grabbing her raincoat, she threw it on for the second time that night. Looking back across her room, she saw a photograph taken of she and Zechs last summer. They were both smiling slightly, glancing at the camera and not at each other. Bastard. She walked across the room, picked the picture off the walk, and placed it inside her desk drawer. She didn't need him anymore.

~*~*~*~