Avery's Note: Thank you to your support! It really means a lot to me, believe it or not. Now for the next chapter, which I hope is keeping up to par. I'd like to mention that I'm not a fan of Relena Peacecraft, and this chapter belittles her just a tad. Sorry, Relena fans! Oh, and albeit I tried my best, I think Heero is OOC. Sorry about that, too.
Summary: "This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will simply try to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war." Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front
The story thus so far: Two days after the death of Rashid, Duo, a young American pilot comes to befriend the depressed Quatre. Between them, a unique bond of comradeship is formed that will outlast the war and possibly eternity itself.
A Passing Eternity
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Chapter 3:
With magnificent reflexes uncommon to a normal individual, at exactly 4:30, a pale hand extended out and clicked the alarm clock off before a single ring could reverberate off the metal countertops of the laboratory. The small clock, which should have been located atop a bedside desk, was actually buried beneath several layers of thin sketch paper. One glance at all the mathematical computations that were scribbled around precisely scaled geometric figures was enough to discourage several would-be engineers.
The young engineer, the producer of such magnificent work, frowned and crossed his arms across his chest as he sat up straight on his stool. He ran one of his hands through his dark brown hair and rolled his shoulders a few times absent mindedly. He blinked his dark sapphire eyes several times to clear his focus and rubbed them gently. He had pulled another all-nighter without intending to.
Under normal circumstances, going several long periods without sleep was not that much of a problem. However, the day had unfavorable plans in store for him. Being tired meant he wouldn't be able to function at the desired optimal level. He needed every ounce of strength he could muster to face up to the day's challenge.
There were several things the sapphire eyed, dark haired brunette did not care for. Most of them were uncorrelated items, ranging from things such as summer camps, coastal states, coffee beans, dance floors, and trampolines. Above all, he also didn't believe in having social contact unless it was absolutely necessary.
This was because the young man never was much of a social persona. He wasn't antisocial; it was simply the propensity to be solitary. He preferred to stand in the background, completely inconspicuous, gathering information without telling information. And for the most part, that particular philosophy served him and others well.
It also did not mean he disapproved of everyone. He was somewhat particularly fond of the company of Her Majesty, the Queen of England. But of everyone, there were three types of people that Heero Yuy absolutely detested.
1. Unintelligent politicians
2. Snotty French citizens
3. Ostentatious females
Of all the unintelligent politicians, snotty French citizens, and ostentatious females, there was one person whom he refused to meet with at all costs. Her golden hair fell straight down her shoulders; her blue eyes were always alight with a faraway hope; her mannerisms perfect and pristine of a diplomat. And her constant, overt ramblings about finding true peace and compassion was unbelievably annoying to him.
Relena Peacecraft.
Heero hated that name and what it represented. Unlike most individuals he came across during his international engineering design exhibitions, Relena Peacecraft was the epitome of all three categories of people Heero did not appreciate. And the fact that he had to attend a private luncheon with her later that afternoon at 11:30, as mandated by the Queen herself, did not help lighten his mood.
Pulling his thoughts away from the horrors of that woman, Heero refocused himself on the projects at hand. He had only a few months before he left Britain as her chief engineer and transferred his base of operations into another Allies country. As a good bye present for his home of five years, Heero wanted to leave Britain with a weapon design that would become a significant player in the war effort, and hopefully lead her into victory.
At 10:00, Heero found a stopping point in his work. He frowned at his progress in the development of the Infantry Tank Mk IV Churchill (A22). Although he had made significant improvements in the designs, he still felt dissatisfied with it. There was still much more work that had to be done before it could achieve the goals that Heero intended for it to accomplish.
He turned around on his seat and surveyed his other piece of work. Several hundreds of sheets of paper littered the table top, a massive pile of chaos. The drawings were all his reject ideas, which he carefully reviewed and slowly assembled into a new land system. It was going to be a wonderful welcoming gift to his new home.
Disgusted by the disarray, Heero took the various sheets and pinned them on his mapping board. Piece by piece, one could physically see what was the beginnings of a tank that would become the T-34 and the predecessor for its series of land systems. The powerful main gun that was to be installed had excellent range, which meant that the system would dominate engagements against German tanks.
Once done, and with a sigh, he stood up and stretched out all the muscles of his body. For someone who was as sedentary as him most of the time, he was in fantastic shape. It was due to years of personal discipline, and several more in the army as an infantry man. He had a small frame, with powerful and limber muscles. His pale skin made his dark hair and eyes seem to be even darker.
Heero returned to his residence, a section of the laboratory that had been converted into various parts of a house. Walking into the kitchen, he snatched an apple off the counter and bit into it. He rummaged about the cabinets, seeking something to satisfy his awkward feeling of hunger. Dissatisfied with everything, he finished his apple and ate the assortment of fruit on his counter.
He then showered, performed daily personal hygiene rituals, and dressed. The final product was quite the transformation from a scruffy tank top and spandex-wearing boy to a highly professional man. He wore a simple black suit, a flawlessly white shirt, a silk black tie, and polished black shoes.
Promptly at 11:00, he left his living quarters and drove towards the high end district on the other side of London. It wasn't too long of a drive, but it was long enough to give Heero sufficient time to reflect on his thoughts. He passed a park that was usually, if not always, lacking people. It had not occurred to him until now, that he was going to miss it. It was one of the few public places where he could be at peace and enjoy being outside.
He arrived at the determined location at 11:26 and entered the restaurant just as his wristwatch changed to read 11:30. The head waiter had retired to the kitchens for a brief time, leaving no one to receive Heero. Out of habit, Heero hastily scanned the lunch time gatherers, studying their features.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Yuy," a sweet, feminine voice called out to him from across the room.
"Good afternoon to you as well, Ms. Peacecraft." Heero turned to his right to find an elegantly dressed young woman sitting at a small table set for two. Her flowing blue dress accented her eyes and was snug in all the places to emphasize her shapely body. Her blonde hair was longer and was placed in a most stylish manner atop her head. Heero had not seen her for three months, and from an objective standpoint, Relena had become more beautiful.
She stood up and offered her hand to him in a manner which seemed as if she was the Queen of England herself. Heero, not wishing to be impolite, forced down his disdain for the woman and kissed her gloved hand gently. The customs were not required between them since they met long before the start of the war, but Heero still preferred the performance of formalities over the potential of becoming closer acquaintances. It would bring too much unwanted attention to him.
Relena smiled gently and daintily sat back down with all the grace in the world. She settled herself comfortably into her seat and took a sip of water. Her decorum was so perfect that if she had those skills transferred to that of engineer, she would have outranked Heero by several leagues. After Relena settled down in her seat, Heero walked over to the opposite side of the table and sat down as well. Unlike his counterpart, Heero did not touch anything on the table.
"Mr. Yuy, I am surprised that I have been able to lure you out of your operations."
Heero looked at directly at her with an impassive expression. Relena knew he was not going to speak unless the conversation required it of him to speak. Besides for his weapons, Heero was infamous as well to his taciturn nature. It was said to be a phenomenon if one could withdraw a full paragraph from him.
They sat quietly for several minutes and Relena felt like an entire eternity would pass between them before Heero would mutter a single word. She never enjoyed silence, and the stoic aura of Heero's silence was more uncomfortable than typical.
"Trust me; it was for good reason as well," she added apprehensively.
It was obvious that the young man had already lost total interest in whatever Relena Peacecraft had to articulate. Heero's eyes had begun to check around once more at the other restaurant goers. They had begun to whisper to one another at the sight of France's diplomat and Britain's chief engineer having a lunch date.
For a moment, Heero was concerned with the rumors that would spring up due to the events of the day. There probably wasn't a single individual in the entire European continent that wasn't aware of Relena's attempt to pursue him. If the topic was not about diplomacy, it was about Relena's intimate feelings for him.
He shortly then after discarded those minor worries for it did not matter to him what the public thought. The media would publish tabloids about the two to no avail. People would eventually lose interest. Everything would return to the homeostatic state Heero preferred.
"Knowing that you prefer direct conversation, I will get straight to the point," Relena continued, as if Heero were delighted to have the conversation.
Heero nodded very slightly, a subtle movement that signaled he was listening and paying attention although he was looking out the window and at the slightly cloudy sky. The gorgeous aquamarine shade it held that day made him think that it had decided to absorb the color of a boy's eyes, one who kept staring up into its depths. His mind wandering, Heero was curious as to what shade it would be in Russia.
"I am here to offer you a job as chief engineer of France. There is so much more that we can offer you than our British counterparts."
Heero raised an eyebrow. He wasn't surprised, but rather intrigued by her audacity. It had been made public that he will soon be retired from his position in Britain, and it was also made public that he already chose his new location, although undisclosed. The conversation was going to be a fruitless one for both parties, neither side giving in.
"We have more resources at your disposal. We are in a better financial state concerning the war. And being located closer to the battlefronts, you can have optimal field-testing. The members of the French delegation have all concluded that you would be a wonderful asset to our team. It's not me who wants you. We all do."
"I am sorry. My loyalties to Her Majesty of Britain are prioritized above your French delegation."
"I understand," Relena affirmed. "But you are resigning your post, are you not?"
He gave her the very slight nod once more. "Yes."
"Then why do you hesitate joining my colleagues and me?"
"I do not hesitate. I am decided in my actions already."
"When we heard of the news of your resignation, it was an automatic unanimous decision that it would a top objective to entice you to our delegation. I am here to take you back with me to France, regardless of whatever necessary measures are required. We would prefer you start designing for us, and do not start designing weapons and such for anyone else."
"Do you realize that you were redundant?"
Relena blushed. She was embarrassed at her incompetence in Heero's eyes. For her entire life she had men going through drastic measures in attempts to gain her hand in marriage. Heero Yuy was the only man that she was unable to decipher. She seemed to be worth to Heero less than the minute traces of lint in his pocket.
"That is beside the point. Are you willing to take my offer?" She asked.
Heero chose to ignore her inquiry and returned his thoughts to Russia. He was curious as to the reactions he would have when he saw old, familiar faces. What about the stories they were going to tell him? What about the ones concerning the times when he disappeared so many years ago?
Heero kept his facial expression entirely imperturbable, but he was internally frowning at the personal inquiries. He wasn't as eager to go back now, but he made his decision and was going to follow through with it. The gut-wrenching punches and face-reddening slaps he deserved were long overdue.
"No," Heero finally stated when Relena cleared her throat, demanding his attention in the most polite way she could think of. His voice was impassive, as much as his face was stoic.
"No other country in the world can compare to what France can deliver."
"There are two kinds of people in this world."
"Oh, really?"
"There are those who give everything they have, and there are those who take everything they can get."
Relena knit her brow at the truth of his scornful statement. She knew that he was referring to her as a spoiled child who had to have everything she wanted or would die trying to get what she wanted. Relena fidgeted in her seat, crossing and uncrossing her legs. She was not going let Heero Yuy slip through her fingers once again, even if it did cost her some dignity.
"Where do you plan on moving your base of operations then, Heero?"
"Home."
"Home?"
Heero didn't respond to the question presented to him. There was a reason behind why he chose not to disclose the location in the initial place.
" Where would that be?" Relena asked.
Heero didn't reply to her question for he felt it was obvious enough to everyone where his home was. It wasn't his state-of-the-art laboratory that the British government supplied him with, and that he spent the last five years living in. It was rather the place he was born and raised. It was the place he cherished. It was the place where he socialized with individuals who were not related to his work.
Since he was eight years of age, Heero had travelled several times around the world and was still yet to return. And he never stopped considering the entirety of the country, all that was good and bad, as his. The people were his to protect, his to love.
After sixteen years of circumventing the globe without ever setting foot on his beloved nation, Heero Yuy would finally be returning home. He finally gained the courage to go back and face up to the people he left behind.
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To be continued…
