"Manifestations"
By Isis cw
Chapter 16
Quatre let the group run ahead of him as he fought to keep up with Duo's stride. Rasid, Abdul, Ahmed and Auda kept pace between the two of them. Part of him didn't want to leave Miss Relena alone. But she had her own security, and he knew instinctually that she would rather have them on their way towards Heero and Milliardo than by her side.
And the other part of him wondered if he should be joining this group at all.
They raced down the corridors towards the access hatch, their suits having never been removed since they left the Fuga. But Quatre found himself blinking to keep the spots out of his vision as his heart rate accelerated again. He wouldn't do anyone any good if he blacked out in a fight but….
He had friends in trouble. Instincts had kicked in as soon as the fireballs showed up outside and had overridden his own physical condition. But he felt no pain for them. Nothing ached at his heart. But he also didn't know what to feel through the overwhelming ache already established.
That was the only thought that kept his legs pounding the decking and something besides the sound of his racing blood in his ears.
They turned the corner and Quatre fought to keep from running straight up Auda's back as the group halted. Finding a vantage point through the taller men in front of him, he found the hallway blocked off with a collection of bodies, half conscious, half not, and a littering of medical workers.
"There couldn't possibly be injured back here already. What happened?" Quatre pushed through to Duo's side.
The other young man knelt to one side of the hallway and pulled a half-conscious man to a fully seated position. "Are you from the Romulus?" he questioned him bluntly. The man nodded weakly. "How did you get back here? Who found you?"
Quatre watched as the man tried to speak through severely cracked and bleeding lips, and then pointed down the hallway towards the outer hatch to a figure in a purple spacesuit, her helmet still on. Duo almost literally climbed the wall and pushed himself off over the heads of the gathered assembly towards the figure indicated.
Meeting her, he grabbed onto her shoulder, both to stop himself and to turn her around. Quatre braced himself, fearing that the woman behind the helmet was actually the one that put these people in harm's way to begin with. But as she composed herself again the helmet was stripped off, revealing a friendly familiar face.
"Miss Noin!" he half called, half sighed.
She looked back at him and then turned back to Duo beside her. "What happened?"
"Explosion. That way," Duo tossed his head in the direction of the bulkhead. "Where're Heero and Zechs?"
"Heero?" she asked, confused. "I don't know. Zechs went back into the colony to…" she trailed off, fighting for words. "Doesn't matter," she stated instead, moving to put the helmet back on.
"Noin?" Quatre and the others were headed cautiously over the groupings of people in the corridor when Sally walked out of a side room that was apparently filled with other injured people as well. "Finally! Where have you been?"
"Sally?"
She threw a look over the area and threw her hands up. "Will someone tell me what is going on?"
"Agent!" an officer stuck her head out of the same doorway. "We have a call from the Timor, our group just took Ferra Delmare into custody as she tried to board."
"Fantastic," she sighed. "Now where's Heero to tell me why?"
"Keep her there," Quatre stated, coming up alongside Sally. "We need to find out if she's hiding anything else."
"Quatre?" Duo asked, impatiently yanking a thumb back towards the door.
"Go on; I'll take care of this."
Apparently somewhere in all of this, Relena had established herself as someone that the others were more likely to follow than to try to stop. Which was fine with her. Except that while they were by her side, their questions came freely.
Heero was going to have to come up with an awful lot of answers very quickly.
Forcing down the mild terror that built in her with the thought of him, she continued down the hallway and into the thick of a mass of piled bodies.
Sally's call for all available medical personnel had forced her away from the command center and the Captain's insistence on an explanation that she didn't have. Assessing the situation, she was utterly baffled with the injuries that were presented to her. The vast need of the crowd of people was IV drips to start re-hydration, as well as combating nutrient depletion.
These people weren't in the blast at all. They were being starved to death.
She worked through the room, doing what she could to get them out of their suits and checking any physical wounds, which were obviously suffered days ago. There were mostly mild injuries: a few with broken bones that she didn't dare attempt to move without an x-ray, some obvious internal bleeding, and a lot of bruising and swelling.
Identifying a few concussions, she placed people accordingly with the medical workers in the area. She worked without thinking as she fought to remove the suits and various degrees of clothing in order to correctly identify the extent of damage.
A blood-freezing scream came from the side room that was being used for the more dangerously impaired individuals. Relena snapped around towards the door but froze, her hands still gripping fiercely onto a patient's spacesuit sleeve.
Sally's voice barked out orders over the din of on-rushing personnel, calling for enough medication that Relena knew that if the man went under, he was never going to wake up again.
She let out a staggered breath and then clenched her jaw shut, forcing her stomach down and her eyes back on the woman in front of her. Getting the sleeve off, she literally ripped the underlying shirtsleeve apart, sheer adrenaline callusing her movements.
Slowly, all noise bled out of the room down the hall, but Relena kept moving, kept working, kept her eyes down and her ears off. "Tunnel Vision" was how her instructors had put it once. It was her only friend in these cases. Injuries only, deal with them first. Leave the emotional attachment for the recovery….
No matter how much training she had, or how well she had passed her courses, this was still the first real encounter she'd had. And she was struggling to try to feel prepared for it.
She made her way down the rows, prepping each for IV insertion and applying makeshift antiseptic to any exposed injuries. She left the real work to those who had more than a field certification. She saw no one in particular, just kept moving.
It wasn't until the bulkhead hatch opened again that most of the room looked up at the entrants. Two spacesuits staggered in, one supporting the other. Both men stripped off their helmets, the injured gasping for good air.
Relena started, her blood freezing as she stared at the two dearest men in her life, crossing the room to them without thinking.
Heero all but carried Zechs' shaking body into the hallway. The man probably should have passed out ten minutes ago, but he was too stubborn to give in. A fact Heero noted, with some sadistic humor, that was probably due to who was supporting him.
He moved him forward and gave him a glance when he forcefully bit back a yelp of pain. The trembling increased in the arm that was thrown over his shoulders.
"Milliardo!"
Heero looked up to find Relena gasping the name as she dodged bodies in the hallway towards them. For just a second his heart stopped as she moved forward, her yellow sweater and the borrowed charcoal slacks were smudged with blood, her hands covered with surgical gloves that she ripped off as she got to them.
Blinking finally, he figured out that the blood wasn't hers, and forced down the panic.
Her eyes found his as she reached out for her brother's body. Zechs, for the moment, was fighting with his breathing and didn't responding to her touch immediately. The fear was evident in her as he slowly worked both of them down to the patch of floor available. Relena sank first, all but catching Zechs' body as they moved, already working at the top closure of the suit.
"Milliardo?" she asked again, as the two flipped him over, his left side being favored extensively.
"I'll be all right," he breathed, tilting his head back in her arms as she ended up with his back in her lap.
Heero knelt to one knee, as he handed him over. "Left side. Internal bleeding, broken and probable bone splinters."
Zechs gasped out an annoyed sound. "Always the worst case scenario," he muttered, breathing easier now that he was stationary.
"I'd say that a man that's broken everything before should have a pretty good medical opinion." Sally made her way over, her uniform T-shirt and pants spattered with blood as well. "X-ray!" she called back over her shoulder.
Relena brushed his sweat-matted bangs back out of his face as the man finally let himself lose consciousness. "Milliardo?" she started.
"He'll be fine," Heero reassured her.
She looked up at him again, a stormy mixture behind her eyes. She searched his for a moment; adamantly trying to keep her trembling lips firmly together. She swallowed, forcing a breath, and nodded.
Giving her another look over, he eased his concern. "You're not supposed to be here."
She sighed, her eyes settling quickly on one look of genuine determination. "I can hide later," she stated.
He didn't bother arguing with that as he rose back to his feet. Sally came up beside them and took his place, starting into Zechs' suit with a pair of sheers. "You're going to want to be on the Timor," she stated, not turning away from the patient. "We found Ferra. Quatre's on his way. Duo, Noin and the others are out looking for you guys."
He blinked at her back, surprised and not completely understanding that, but following directions. Giving one last look over the group, Relena met his eyes again. "Be careful," she mouthed quietly, worry etched in with the rest of her emotions.
For all her bloodstained, disheveled appearance, and her brother's unconscious form slumped in her arms… she was all right. The strength in her eyes stared back at him, along with that dearly affectionate expression that he now seemed to warrant from her somehow.
But this wasn't over. He gave her a quick nod and then took a cursory glance around the hall, finding all three of his officers watching them as they assisted the injured as best they could. That was all he needed as he passed back into the airlock, ensuring his helmet sealed tight before closing it down and then opening the outer hatch.
Quatre entered the makeshift holding cell with a Preventers Major next to him. "They should be back in a minute. She suffered some physical injuries and they took her to the medical area to get checked."
He nodded, a growing lump forming in his stomach. Her capture of his group had been too easy, her involvement in ensuring they didn't get out of their holding room had been thorough; her knowledge of the explosives and the drugs she'd fed him was extensive….
Underestimating her would be costly.
"If I may ask," the man started, obviously bent on killing time. "Why did Agent Po send you?"
Psychiatrist. Quatre held back the grimace he felt come to his lips. "I've had a couple dealings with Miss Ferra, and Agent Po trusts my recommendations."
The man nodded passively as the door opened and two guards escorted Ferra into the room. Her hands were handcuffed and were currently laced behind her head. Her walk was slow, a limp to her left leg. Her dishwater-blond tresses hung in sweat-dampened layers, brushing her shoulders.
But her eyes were unclouded… calculated.
She still wore the sleeveless brown shirt and a pair of tight, black pants that rode a little low over her hips. With her arms up, the short shirt exposed about an inch of skin around her waist, revealing a set of abs that some men he knew would envy over. Her hazel eyes casually searched the room as she entered. Finding him, she blinked, humored surprise evident in them. "Mr. Winner," she smiled. "I'm happy to see you… alive."
Quatre studied her movements. The comment paused the group in the doorway, exactly where he didn't want her to be. "Come in, Miss Ferra, and please have a seat."
The two guards got the drift and nudged her forward until she walked again, coming fully into the room.
"Thank you," the Major nodded to the two officers and they moved to close the door behind her.
That wasn't smart. "If we could have them stay…" Quatre added quietly to the man beside him.
The other gave him an odd look but made no move to relay that request. "I see no reason to make Mrs. Delmare uncomfortable."
Quatre narrowed his eyes at the man. "Then at least have the door guarded."
He blinked, but by then the door had slid shut behind the two.
Casually he switched tactics. "For her protection, there could be others who do not want to be pointed out as accomplices." It was half true; he took some small comfort in that.
The other seemed to agree as he watched her come to stand behind the provided chair in the center of the room. "One moment then." The Major walked back behind her to the door and opened it, peeking his head around the corner and called back to the officers.
Quatre stared at Ferra, who apparently found the whole situation amusing. She chuckled lightly to herself, shaking her head. "I figured you to be a bit more upstanding than that," she sighed. "Why don't you ditch the stripes and we'll have real chat."
"I can't do that," he stated simply as the Major stood at the doorway still.
She met his eyes, smiling tightly. "This is a fun switch, isn't it?"
"Nothing like that happens here," he stated quietly, reassuring her that he meant her no physical harm. But he almost doubted that she had been concerned over such things.
He was doing well enough at keeping the tremble out of his hands, and without over doing it, should appear to be perfectly fine. She didn't need to know he was still feeling the effects.
The Major turned back into the room and closed the door once more. "Now then. Mrs. Delmare, would you like a seat?"
He saw her eyes flicker with annoyance as she glanced back to follow his pace as the other rounded again in front of her. "No, thank you," she said politely. "I'm getting sorer by the minute and my knee isn't especially inclined to being bent right now."
"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that."
Quatre took the initiative and strode forward to remove the chair from within kicking range of her, placing it back against the wall.
"You're sure that you're a businessman, Mr. Winner?" she asked accusingly, the sarcastic smile aimed directly at him. By now, she had come to find out as much of what he was capable of as he knew of her.
"Of course, Miss Ferra."
"Mrs. Delmare," the Major started, clasping his hands behind his back. "Can you tell me what brought you to Mars?" He began to pace quietly along the side wall, and when he wasn't watching, she gave him an annoyed look and rolled her eyes.
Turning back to Quatre, she shook her head and chuckled. "What are your real questions? You're not keeping me here because you want to know how my dog died when I was three."
The other man stopped, turning back to her from the front corner of the room. "Excuse me?"
Quatre stepped in, fighting his impulse to kick the man out with the other officers. "We want to know if there are any other explosives set around the fleet."
She sighed quietly. "I have made quite the mess, haven't I?"
"Miss Ferra, please cooperate with me," he asked earnestly. "I don't think you really want to get anyone else hurt, especially now."
She found his eyes again. "Now? What's to stop me now? How much do I have left to worry about?"
She wasn't kidding. "Your husband." She blinked, her eyes hardening just slightly, but it was enough. "You know that if I'm standing here, he failed in his task."
She remained absolutely still, not even a flinch.
"He'll be all right, but we are holding him. If you don't tell me if there are other explosives set to go off, you run the risk that he will be in the line of fire."
She blinked, her expression softening, and a smile slowly sliding onto her face. "You're very, very good at this, Mr. Winner."
He took one step forward in good faith, still remaining outside of her reach. "Please tell me, Ferra," he stated quietly, locking his eyes to hers.
Her smile widened, going genuine as she closed her eyes on his look. "I knew I liked you."
He waited, trying to stay steady.
"No, Mr. Winner, there are no other bombs set to detonate on their own. There are, however, several more mines that could be used by the handful of people who know where they are."
"In the locker on the Fuga?" he asked, knowing Duo had taken care of anyone trying to get into that room for the time being.
She still didn't open her eyes. "Very, very good at this," she mused. Softly, she opened her eyes again, her chin dipped low, veiling their expression slightly. "Where is my husband?" It was a whisper, heartfelt and nearly fearful sounding.
He didn't buy it. "He's safe."
She turned her head away, looking down across her shoulder. "Did you hurt him?"
Concern, not anger…. Quatre's instincts kicked in full force with the mood change. He paced another step in, prepared if she tried something.
"Mrs. Delmare, I assure you that your husband is being looked after," the Major finally interrupted.
Quatre got it too late.
The psychiatrist, taken in by the sad plea of a young woman for her husband, had stepped up beside her, and moved to face her. His training taught him to always be a comforting force in the room, to search for the buried emotions.
Quatre's training taught him to never get too close to a dangerous person, even when they appear docile.
Reflectively Quatre moved. He crossed the gap between them just as the Major found Ferra's hands come over her head and clamp onto his shoulders. Using him as a level she heaved herself off the floor, bending her body to bring her "supposedly" stiff knees up and kicked the man full force. Releasing her hands from him at the same moment, she sent them both backwards in the counter balance of low gravity.
Quatre's momentum wasn't fast enough, and dodging only managed to get him clipped by the man's flailing body as the officer attempted to use him for a stopping block. The stupidity of the action cost him as Ferra moved, unobstructed, towards the door.
He dislodged the grip and swiped the man away, focusing on Ferra's retreating form as she suddenly split her hands apart; picking the handcuffs had obviously not been a challenge to her. She reached the door and smacked it open, wasting time as he closed in on her.
But as the door moved aside, she reached out beside it in the hallway and viciously grabbed the officer standing there, catching him completely off guard from an attack coming from within. Pivoting him around the doorway with herself, she flung the screaming officer into the room, forcing him in Quatre's direction.
He was ready for that, ducking out of the way of the falling body. But it took him time as she rounded the corner and he lost her from sight for a few precious split seconds. There was a grunt from the hallway as Quatre made it around the door, and then ducked back in as two rapid gunshots staccatoed through the corridor.
The second officer must have drawn her sidearm when her partner suddenly disappeared, but she obviously wasn't prepared for the force that assaulted her either.
The shots had been wide, un-aimed; they were meant to keep him at bay long enough for an escape plan to come to mind. He gave her a few seconds to turn and make her way down the hallway before he tried again to move after her. Entering the corridor, he saw her reach the end and then drop her feet to push herself off in a change of direction.
He could see her injured knee buckle under the momentum that she was putting on it in her flight as she managed the corner. The blatant display of injury from before had obviously been a ruse designed specifically to throw them off guard, but she was hurting and her diminished abilities were slowing her down.
That didn't change the fact that she was now armed, and had absolutely nothing left to lose.
The sound of gunfire echoed down the metal corridor, forcing the group to a sudden stop. Heero unzipped the spacesuit as they moved out at dead sprint in the direction of the sound. Pulling his gun from underneath the suit, he clicked the safety off.
Duo, Noin and a group of Maguanacs found him as soon as he left the supply ship, carrying with them four crewmembers who had apparently tried to stop them from entering the colony side in search of Zechs. The Mags had taken the Delmare's lackeys aboard and were currently letting them wake up.
Noin had surprised him when she joined the group headed for the Timor instead of back to Zechs, who he told her was in Relena's care. The woman seemed to be concentrating elsewhere, which he found odd.
Duo was just along for the ride, and was filling in some of the gaps of what he'd missed and why Quatre, of all people, was the one with Ferra.
Quatre….
Coming to an intersection near the command center the three stalled. The sound had been distant and there was no way to correctly identify which direction it had come from.
"Split up," he ordered, taking off immediately down the left adjoining hallway.
"Wait! There!" Duo and Noin were still standing in the intersection when he whipped back around, only a few feet into the run. Down the opposite row, Ferra came into view bouncing painfully off the connecting wall as she failed to make the corner correctly. Her left knee twisted badly under her as she fought for balance, but instead rebounded with a cry of pain.
"Stop right there!" Noin shouted from in front of him.
It was the wrong thing to do to give away their position.
Heero started in motion as soon as he saw the gun swivel in their direction. Duo tracked it too, his instincts kicking in hard as he shoved Noin forcefully out of the clearing of the intersection. Dropping low, he made a dash for the protection of the nearest wall on the opposite side; knowing the only armed member of the group was behind him.
Heero took aim over Duo's head before the woman had a chance to pull off even a blind shot. The trigger was halfway back before the sight of a familiar blond came into view from the corridor she had just left, unknowingly planting himself directly behind her.
Heero yanked the gun up as it fired, easily missing both of them, but leaving him open for her still tracking weapon.
He jumped aside as three rounds came flying in their direction, implanting themselves in the hallway walls as he dipped himself to roll to a stop against Duo's crouched form. Springing to his knees, he leveled his aim around the corner and into the hall again, carefully conscious this time.
He was met with the sight of a disarmed woman, slouched back against Quatre, who had both of her arms painfully pinched behind her.
Dropping his aim, he re-engaged the safety. Giving him a glance, Duo returned a confused expression and then poked his head around the corner as well. The two rose, finding a collection of Preventers and crewmembers hurriedly coming up on them, clinging to the walls of the adjoining corridors.
Noin had regained her feet and was now stalking towards the pair as Ferra continued to try to struggle in Quatre's unrelenting grip. Heero was about to designate three officers to take her back to a holding room when he noticed Noin ball her hand into a fist—before viciously punching Ferra in the face.
Ferra's head snapped backwards at the force, Quatre's grip the only thing that kept the woman upright. "Miss Noin!" he gasped. His startled expression cleared almost instantly as he moved Ferra sideways, half protecting her in case the woman decided to go for two.
"Whoa," Duo mumbled from beside him. "Someone's got issues."
Heero didn't do so well at keeping the smirk off his face.
The Preventers crews had officially put the fleet on lockdown. Restricting movement was the best defense they had at the moment, and it gave the crews time to finally rest and collect themselves. Straggling accomplices to the Delmares' plans were slowly being rounded up, conveniently thanks to the groupings of financial reports and "payroll" lists Zechs had pilfered out of Marcus' offices over a week ago.
Heero and Duo had removed the remaining explosives, disarmed them and sent their scrap parts to the meltdown bins. Quatre and the Maguanacs had returned to the Star Grazer, seeing to their own security of the ship and their hosted crews, leaving the Preventers to the other areas.
Sally, Relena and the others had gotten the rescued crewmembers of the Romulus stabilized. The medical teams had turned to shifts; keeping pace with the amount of needed attention the men and women required. This finally relieved Sally long enough to get a message back to Mars Command, and through them, Commander Une.
Duo hopped up to sit on top of the communication's console next to her as she disconnected, finally noticing their approach. She turned a tired smile to them as Heero crossed his arms and leaned a hip against the station beside him.
"Well, we've been officially commended for our actions," she sighed, chuckling lightly. "There's going to be a good deal of things coming down in the next couple days. Une wants a standing Preventers force out here just in case someone else gets this idea again. As soon as Relena gets back to work, guess what her first legislative push is going to be?"
"Mars gets to be the next 'foreign' district?" Duo suggested with a smile.
Sally nodded. "The girl's going to have her work cut out for her with this mess."
Heero nodded in silent agreement as she looked up at him. Mars had already shown it was capable of the same ignorant and selfish demands that humanity had come to expect. It wouldn't be long before something else crept up out here.
And Relena had already unknowingly planted herself in the thick of it.
"You know, she's a handy person to have around," Duo mumbled. The two turned odd expressions to him until he shrugged. "What? She's is. She gets all… fiery and determined," he smiled before winking at Heero. "I think I finally get it."
Heero's look didn't faze him a bit.
Sally chuckled, rubbing at her eyes. "Yeah, I know that look."
Duo shook his head, "But you're gonna have to watch that girl. One of these days her idea of the sideline is going to be half court."
Heero inwardly sighed, agreeing completely with that statement.
"Well, what else are you good for?" Sally smiled at him and the two chuckled at his expense.
"Anything else?" he asked instead.
"Yeah," she brushed it off. "It seems that my dear partner wasn't all that bored without me." Sally leaned her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes. "They tracked down an accounting firm that was laundering money through the Mars Project's 'accidental death' insurance policy. All hundred and twelve million dollars worth of it."
Duo whistled. "These guys don't kid around do they?"
Glancing up, she gave Heero a smile. "We were on to something with those encoded financial reports. We just didn't know what. And apparently, after Relena's announcement, our nameless informant got suspicious."
"Nameless" was an obvious pun as she smiled to herself. Duo glanced between the two looking confused before it clicked. "Trowa?"
"Apparently he learned enough from Quatre's little building project to know those numbers didn't match a typical colony fabrication. He and Wufei managed to do a very nice job of 'gathering' the information needed on them."
"We need to start getting paid for this," Duo muttered to himself.
Sally chuckled at him. "Well, you know…."
He snapped both hands up defensively. "Nope, sorry. Brown's just not my color."
She sighed to herself and leaned forward to prop her face up with both hands. "I don't know about everyone else, but I'm wiped out."
"Hey, you had a long day," Duo comforted, standing up and patting her on the shoulder.
She nodded and looked past him to Heero again. "We'll debrief tomorrow morning instead."
"Hn. Where are the others?"
"Med deck," she smiled. "I left Noin and Relena with specific instructions."
Making his way down the corridor to the actual medical deck, it wasn't hard to determine which room Zechs was being treated in. Across the hall, his three subordinates lounged against the wall, quietly chatting as he approached.
"Agent Yuy," Delano noticed him.
The other two turned to track his movements, looking tired and worn by the events.
"We have a debriefing in the observation room tomorrow morning," he stated quietly, not exactly pausing his pace as he turned quietly into the room they were guarding. "Get some rest."
He didn't leave them the chance to ask the questions he knew were coming, and instead slipped into the tiny med-bay. The sight that he was presented with was about as humorous as it was disturbing.
Zechs lay flat on his back, heart, blood pressure and breathing monitors wiring him into position. The man stared passively straight up at the ceiling, looking nearly sedated. Although Heero figured that it wasn't chemically induced. The two women around him seemed far more bent on holding him down, than he seemed intent on getting up.
On the far side of the small bed, Noin sat near his shoulder; one arm propping herself up against his chest. Relena, however, was using a bit more of a direct approach as she actually sat perched on top of his chest, her legs neatly crossed at the ankles as they draped over the side of the bed, very careful to avoid coming too close to his hip area.
Heero stopped short as the two women continued to giggle over something, both facing away from the doorway. Pity wasn't exactly a reaction he typically had for anyone, especially this particular man, but he was sure he felt it mildly as he once again stepped forward, fighting gallantly to keep from chuckling.
The two women finally noticed him as he came in and paced up in front of Relena. She gave him a smile and seemed genuinely relieved with the situation as a whole.
"Wait a minute…" Noin stared at him incoherently a moment. Zechs still didn't move. "When did this happen?"
Heero blinked, glancing down at himself, fully attired in his uniform again, jacket and all. He looked up to find Relena wide-eyed in front of him, her back all but facing Noin on the other side of the bed. "Oh… that would be my fault," she mumbled.
Noin turned from him to her as Relena twisted back to make eye contact.
"I may have forgotten to call recently," she added.
Zechs finally quirked an eyebrow at the two, before rolling his head over to look at him. A mild surprise lifted his head from the pillow a moment, but then dropped it back down, returning his stare to the ceiling tiles. "Didn't see that one coming."
Noin was oblivious. "Forgotten to call?"
Relena giggled nervously at the incredulous look on the older woman. "Well…."
Finding this extremely ironic, Heero inwardly smirked. "That's not the only thing you missed out on." The two turned to regard him. "Unless I'm the only one who didn't get an invitation."
The reaction he was waiting for came as both Noin and Zechs paled before staring at him a moment and then turning back to Relena. For her part, Relena gave him an odd look and then noticed the guilty expressions the other two had. "What?"
It was Noin's turn to chuckle nervously as she slunk a little farther away from her. "Okay, I can forgive not calling."
Zechs looked up between the two of them, carefully staying very quiet.
Relena looked confused. "What are you…?" Her expression dropped slowly away as she stared at Noin, who was obviously fighting to keep from laughing. "No." Snapping down to her brother, he sheepishly met her eyes and blinked. "You didn't."
Relena, not so gently, jumped off and landed on the floor, whirling back on the two, her hair whipping around quick enough to almost catch Heero in the face.
"What do you mean 'call' me?" she cried. "I have to come all the way out here, thinking the two of you have been blown to tiny bits, only to find out that, not only are you fine, but you got married! …Without me!"
Heero was thankful he was now mostly hidden behind her as his smile refused back down.
"It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing," Noin offered quietly.
Relena smacked her hands on the bed in front of her, leaning over her brother's body as she stared at her newly found sister-in-law. "And you didn't think that was important enough to tell me? Or were you busy honeymooning on Deimos?"
Noin grimaced and then looked down at her husband for help. Zechs simply lay there, calmly staring upwards. "Yuy, I should still kill you," came the monotone reply.
Shaking his head, Heero decided that the man would probably make good on that if this continued much longer. Stepping away, he took Relena by the elbow and began tugging her from the room. "Sally's waiting for you."
"Coward," Zechs passively muttered.
"No, wait! Heero, let go of me! Lucrezia…." Slowly he felt her anger die out of her, and he released her again as they met the doorway. "Oh…." Turning back in, she jogged back around the bed and grabbed her sister in a tight hug.
"I am happy for you," she whispered.
Noin hugged her back, smiling into her hair.
Releasing her, Relena gave Zechs a makeshift hug and pecked a kiss on his check. "Stay in bed, or you'll be making a very young widow."
Heero waited for her in the hallway as she made her way out, a happy smile to her lips, which didn't fade as he walked with her.
They were around two corners and starting up the stairway when she suddenly stopped beside him. Heero turned back to her as she pinned him with a curious stare. "How did you know?"
He blinked but then continued on their way. "I overheard something."
He felt her continue after him, silently mulling that over. "Too much alike for your own good," she muttered.
Heero silently refuted that.
Crossing the corridor by the command center, Duo and Sally met them in the hallway, apparently having just finished informing the Captain of his routine for the downtime.
"Hey there, Princess," Duo called. Meeting them, he slung an arm over her shoulders and gave a look over the vastly oversized T-shirt she now wore, replacing the blood-smeared sweater. "You holding up?"
She gave him a confident nod. "How's Quatre?"
"Looked a little woozy, but he'll be fine. Went back to check on the others and get some sleep, I think."
Sally stifled a yawn from behind them as they moved along. "That sounds nice."
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." - Helen Keller
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