The cold breath of winter caressed his cheek dispassionately, sending tendrils of chill down his spine. It was barren and white as far as his eyes could see, broken only by the foreboding sight of chain-link and razor wire. This was to be his life now. He was a traitor, a wartime criminal, and perhaps worst of all in the minds of the earth-sphere, a Gundam pilot. A loose strand of hair came free from his ponytail and blew across his face. With a casual brush of his hand he tucked it back behind his ear, but it refused to be contained. Wufei sighed again and left it to twist and dance rebelliously in front of his face. What did he care, there was no one here to see it's rebellion anyways. Not any more.
Meiran, Wufei sighed inwardly, look where your stubborn husband is now. He was alone now. His clan was gone, and now the comrades he had fought side by side with during the First Eve War viewed him as a traitor for siding with Mariamaia during the Second Eve War. They did not understand; he owed Mariamaia a debt of honor, his life for the life he took, her father's. A debt of honor doesn't pick sides, doesn't know right from wrong, and any man of honor knows this debt must be paid, regardless of cost. Wufei herd the sound of a door close a small distance behind him, and the crunch of snow as someone approached him from behind.
"Chang." Came a familiar voice from behind him.
"Yuy," he replied without turning, "the others have been searching for you."
It was silent for a moment, as the other seemed to contemplate that statement before replying.
"I know."
The silence seemed to deepen then, and Wufei felt a chill creep down his spine. Had Heero - the perfect soldier – come here to kill him on some mission of vengeance? If that were the case he would face death like man. He turned and looked at the youth who stood behind him. Heero was staring off at the frozen tundra, much like he had been doing just minutes before. He was dressed in a white snowsuit with the unruly mop of black hair being lightly tussled in the breeze.
"Why are you here, Yuy?"
Heero said nothing, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.
"Why are you here, Chang?" Heero replied, bringing to bear the stern weight of his cobalt blue eyes. "The Preventers said you had asked for this weekend off. It seemed logical that you would come here. It was your favorite safe-house after all."
"Do you know what today is?"
"Of course, it's the anniversary of end of the first eve war. Why?" Heero queried.
It was Wife's turn to be silent.
"Why did you come here Yuy?" Wufei asked again, a note of sadness in his tone. "The others want to see you."
"They want to see you too Chang, yet here you are."
"If the others wanted to see me, they could have stopped by to see me at Preventers HQ any time."
"I doubt that very highly Chang," Heero said. "You know better then all of us how jittery the earth-sphere governments get when even two ex-Gundam pilots get together. They make it difficult for us to gather in one place for any reason, you know that."
"I know what you are trying to do Heero, but it's too late. I'm nothing more then a traitor to all of you. I made my choice and I would do it again. It was the right thing for me to do."
"Who are you trying to convince Chang, me, or you?"
Wufei Scowled at Heero, "I did what I felt was right, and I do not regret anything I did."
Heero shrugged a non-committal shrug, "What ever you say. I've never been an expert on reading peoples feelings. I just thought you were more like me then the others, and perhaps you were feeling a bit guilty about going against the Gundam clan, even if you had good reasons. I know I would feel guilty about it."
"Humph," Wufei Snorted, "and what would you about it if you were feeling guilty."
"The same thing I did after I destroyed the Oz shuttle full of diplomats." Heero said flatly.
"Oh, and what was that?" Wufei sneered
"I went to each of the victims families and offered them my apology, and then I offered them my gun if they wanted to take revenge."
"You did what?" Wufei exclaimed.
"I offered them each my apology and a chance to get revenge," Heero replied. "No one did though, but it made me feel better."
"So you want me to throw my self on the mercy of the other pilots and beg for their forgiveness?" Wufei snorted in disbelief. "For what, doing what I thought was right?"
"No, all I said is that I would go and apologize if I felt guilty," Heero scolded lightly like he would a young child. "But since you do not seem to feel any remorse for your actions during the Second Eve War – or Mariamaia incident as it has come to be known – then there is really no need to do anything."
Wufei stood silent in the snow.
"But you think I should feel remorse for my actions," Wufei stated flatly.
"Nope, I said I would feel remorse. Only you can say what you should feel."
Wufei looked at the perfect soldier, standing relaxed in the snow as if it was a warm balmy day in the tropics. The intensity of his eyes spoke volumes of his concern, and held no malice for the one who had taken up arms against his brothers. He turned and looked once more at the barren white landscape. He missed the companionship and comradely of his band of fellow pilots, he realized that more then ever now. Maybe Heero was right. Perhaps it was time to admit that he had wronged his friends and do the right thing by admitting it.
"It's cold out here Heero, lets go inside."
Heero nodded with a smile, "I was hoping you would say that. We can call the others from there."
"Now lets not get ahead of ourselves here," Wufei said defensively. "I never said I was going to call to offer anyone an apology."
"Who said anything about that? I was just going to call the guys and tell them I was all right. But, since you are on the topic of apologies, I guess I owe one to Duo for that sucker punch I gave him."
Wufei laughed, "Are you going to hand him your gun and allow him to take his revenge to?"
"Hand my gun to Shinagomi," Heero smirked, "what, do you think I have a death wish or something?"