Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

I will stop grousing about reviews now and just let people do as they please. Thanks to everyone who did respond, individual replies have been sent, and to the three who put this on their favorites.

I will be out of town over New Years. Updates will therefore be delayed as the computer will be in one state while I'm in another. I will post a chunk of what's ready before I go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.


Adrian set the glass down carefully. His mother didn't ask him over to dinner on casual whim these days. She very seriously disapproved of his choice to enter the active military. As the only surviving son of a Junius Seven family, he'd had the option to elect to serve in any of the vital defense industries instead. That he'd chosen the risks of combat over the security of his family name had not sat well with Mother.

Privately, he was of the opinion that Mother was more concerned with keeping the family going than she was with his happiness. He hadn't chosen mobile suits over a defense job solely out of some misplaced sense of idiot heroism as she seemed to think. No, mobile suits kept Helen Rince off his neck and that was worth the risks of combat any time.

It might have been different if there had been more than one choice available. But the genetic matching for reproduction the government did had only found him one acceptable partner in the whole of the Plants. This was an uncommon but growing problem; the one Grandfather's work was supposed to cure eventually.

However, it was not a cure available for him at present. And he really didn't like the artificial little fool. The thought of being stuck with her for the rest of his life made him sick to his stomach. Between mobile suits and Helen Rince, the GINN won every time. He just wished Mother would try and understand. She was a psychologist, there was absolutely no reason she couldn't see that he couldn't stand Helen!

"Did you enjoy the soup?"

He looked up, not sure what she'd just asked him. "Sorry, Mother, my mind was elsewhere."

"Yes, I noticed." She smiled gently at him. "I asked if you liked the soup. It is one of Jenna's newest recipes."

He looked down at the empty bowl. He didn't really remember what it tasted like, it had made that little impression on him. The few bits and pieces still clinging to the sides of the dish gave him some idea of what kind of soup it had been, something with too many onions in it again, but not what the flavor was.

"I see that this is another complete miss for you." She chuckled quietly. "I should know better than use you as a taste tester."

He tried to find a polite way to say it but when no idea would come, chose direct instead. "Mother, Jenna has no idea what to do with any food item that isn't an onion. And even with onions, the only flavor she can think to put with them is more onion."

She giggled, her soft green eyes alight with mischief. "Oh, Adrian, that was not kind of you! Honest, yes, honest to a fault, but not kind. Whatever am I to do with you?"

"Not make a lab rat of my taste buds? That way I won't have to think of polite ways to say it wasn't great?"

She laughed. "Very well. I promise I will not inflict any more experimental dishes on you tonight."

"What about tomorrow?"

"Oh, I will not make any promises about the future. Those might be too hard to keep."

He nodded glumly, taking what tiny victories he could get when dining with his mother.

"You might be interested to know I heard from Arno Rince the other day."

Helen's father? No, he didn't care if anyone ever heard from that pompous old windbag ever again. But at least she'd let them get most of the way through the start of the meal before she ruined the rest of the food with the latest on the Rince saga.

"Was it worth the conversation?" He asked neutrally.

She frowned slightly at him. "Actually, from your standpoint, it was. I am quite aware you are not enamored with Helen. So perhaps it will please you to hear her father is requesting I withdraw your name as a candidate for her. It seems he favors another of her possible matches more highly now than he does a mobile suit pilot."

There was too a God and He had finally taken pity on one Adrian Ito! He was aware of the broad smile of delight that plastered itself across his face. He was also aware of the look of irritation on his mother's. Unfortunate, but his face was out of his control at this moment. He hadn't been this happy to hear someone didn't want him in years.

"You agreed, didn't you?" He asked eagerly.

"Yes," she sighed, "I agreed. There was no point in trying to hold him to the tentative proposal with you so set against it if he wanted out as well."

"Yes!" Adrian shouted happily, tossing his napkin in the air.

A hand slammed hard onto the table, cutting off his brief celebration. There was real anger in his mother's eyes now and in the tension-laden way she leaned toward him. All right, that napkin toss had been a big mistake on his part.

"Adrian, just what are you so happy about? She was the only girl in the Plants you could marry! Where are you going to find a wife? How had you planned to have any children?"

"I'll try Aube after this war is over." He told her soberly. "There are a lot of Coordinator families living there. I have a much higher chance of finding a good match if I look for a first or second generation girl anyway and they're rare here in the Plants."

"The Earth Alliance just invaded Aube." His mother pointed out coldly. "There may well not be any Coordinators left there when they're done. The invasion was directed by Azriel of Blue Cosmos himself. You know what that will mean for any of our kind he finds."

Yes, he knew that all too well. But he hadn't known that the Blue Cosmos monstrosity was leading the invasion of that neutral nation himself. He could only pity any Aube Coordinator that thing's beasts got hold of.

"Then I'll keep looking." He finally replied. "Because until I find someone I'm compatible with, there aren't going to be any children anyway. I won't bring them into this life if there is no love for them to find and share."

He looked up at his mother. "I won't accept less than what you and Father had."

She nodded, looking somewhat stricken at his blunt mention of his father. Yes, he'd done a perfect job of hurting her here tonight. But it was true. He wanted the kind of partnership his parents had had. Why should he have to accept anything less? Yes, and why when he said that in his mind did the keen-eyed face of Kayla Grayhawk suddenly appear? Was Grandfather right with his talk about pheromones? No matter, he was not going to mention a Natural, Earth Forces officer to his mother as any kind of possibility. Any more than he planned to tell her where he was going after dinner.


The click of the dinner tray being placed on the table woke her. Kayla didn't move or open her eyes more than the tiny slit necessary to identify which of the women had brought the meal. Nor did her guardian seem to feel she had to wake her prisoner to eat. There were warmer units in the base of the tray; the food would keep for some time. Still, it did smell good and she was aware of being hungry. So very shortly after the woman left, Kayla sat up, swung her feet out, and slid off the bed.

One thing she did have to say for the Ito Project, it fed its subjects well. Kayla wasn't sure just what the meat was but it was tender and flavorful. The vegetables were fresh, beautifully presented and also very savory. The bread tasted like it had just come out of the oven. They even included butterscotch pudding for desert today. It was as good as the rest of the meal. If she wasn't putting all that effort into the GINN simulator, she'd likely gain weight here eating like this.

She was sitting back, watching the now empty lake drift into dusk when she heard footsteps coming down the hall. She sat up immediately. These were not the footsteps of any of the three of her regular guardians. These had the distinct click of military issue boots. The pace was a military one too. Whoever it was, they appeared to be alone.

Kayla stepped away from the table, taking the spoon and the glass with the last inch or so of water in it with her. This could be nothing or it could be serious trouble. She set herself in place four feet in from the doorway but well to the right. One would expect trouble from the left, the side one could not see on approach.

"Lieutenant Grayhawk?"

Oh, Ito. Her heart missed a beat. She weighed tossing the water on him just for spite and decided against it. He was not only fast, he knew her well enough to maybe expect it and evade it. Missing would not only take all the fun out of it, it would leave her open to retaliation.

"Is this a social call or do you have something else in mind?" She asked as she stepped forward, flipping the spoon in one hand to suggest to him that she was not happy to see him. A damn lie that, she was appalled to realize just how happy she actually was to see him again.

"Social, just social." He replied calmly. "I thought you might appreciate an opportunity to walk in the gardens. They are not open to you unescorted according to Grandfather. And somehow, I do not think you are one to enjoy being shut up inside."

She was thinking of a retort when she stopped to actually look at him. And blinked. There had been a decided change of wardrobe here.

Kayla grabbed the chance to openly stare him up and down. Damn! Who would have thought it would have gone with that hair? But remarkably, the two reds didn't clash at all. And Ito was exactly the kind of man the ZAFT Elite uniform had been designed to flatter. It emphasized his shoulders and narrow waist. Seen slightly from the side like this, it was obvious he had good chest development and no ass at all. He'd been a luscious eyeful in the standard green; he was one fine prize ram indeed in that red. Really, that outfit made her want to peal him out of it and . . . . . . .

She stopped as she realized just where her mind had gone again. What the hell was the matter with her? Couldn't she keep her brain out of the gutter for five minutes in this man's company? Maybe she could do something with her brain, eventually, but her body definitely regretted knowing there wasn't supposed to be any sex involved here. Ahhhhhh! He was going to drive her nuts just standing there!

She hoped desperately none of her thoughts were showing on her face as she raised one eyebrow and managed to ask coolly. "Something you did recently?"

"The official documents note it as 'maturing into the responsibility'. I'm hardly the only one either. The losses we've taken have required replacements. I knew I was close to qualifying, I hadn't thought I'd made it though."

"Uhm." Kayla muttered, then spoke a bit more clearly. "So, do you feel it earned or was it handed out as political candy?"

The amber eyes went flat for a second before he acknowledged the legitimacy of the question. "No, I've worked for this. And as I said, I knew I was close. I doubt this is 'political candy' as you call it. I scored far too well when I took the test four months ago."

"A walk in the gardens, eh?"

"Yes. They are actually quite beautiful right now."

There was something more here. He wanted to tell her something, she could see it. Perhaps the walls in here had ears? That wouldn't be surprising.

"Fresh air would be a nice change." She agreed, stepping over to put the glass and spoon on the counter in the bath before joining Adrian in the hall.

He led her through a set of familiar halls to a door she'd always found locked. He had a passkey. So the door directly opposite the game room led to the outside. That might be useful to know sometime.

It was dusk; the gardens should have been dim and grayed out. To her amazement, they were nothing of the sort. Perhaps half the growth here literally glowed in the dark in a glittering array of jewel colors. Small lights outlined the paths. Night flying pollinators were already out among the blooms. Some were quite large and beautiful themselves.

"Oh, . . . . . . , my!" Kayla breathed softly.

"Come, I'll show you all of it." Adrian said quietly.

"Yes, I'd love to see it."

He kept his word. They wandered the carefully laid out paths slowly as he pointed out the various plants and some of the insects. He answered as many of her questions as he could; admitting readily when he didn't know something. She learned this was an experimental site, carefully controlled to prevent contamination leaking out to the rest of the Plant. It really didn't have to be anymore, all of the plants and insects here were now approved for distribution, but the habit of control for any experimental site died hard in an ecology as delicately balanced as a Plant's was.

Eventually, they reached the bottom of the gardens. There was a very high wall that appeared to be built of stone, several trees of a scale to match the wall, and two small but comfortable looking benches with deeply carved backs. She could not make out the designs well in the poor light.

"Please, sit." Ito waved to the closer of the benches. "We need to talk."

"Ah, I was wondering when you were going to get around to that."

"Yes, well, sorry. I don't know where or even if there are pick-ups in the building but it would be reasonable to expect them."

"I simply assumed they were there." Kayla noted as she sat.

The bench was as comfortable as it looked. And as small. When Ito sat beside her, there was no room between them. For a few seconds they tried sitting with both hands in their laps, then Ito simply accepted the reality of the situation and put his arm behind her back.

Kayla considered shifting to the other bench but it was too far away. Still, she was acutely aware of that arm. She remembered watching moths kill themselves flying into the flame of a candle in her Grandmother's summer cabin once as a child. Now why the hell was she so damn sure Ito was a candle and she a moth? Maybe because he was one for her and she was one around him?

"And the subject is?" She prodded. The sooner this was over, the sooner that very disturbing arm would go away; the less likely she was to betray herself to him.

"The Ito Project." He replied.

"Oh, yeah, I've been wanting to ask someone where everyone else was."

He gave an oddly bitter snort. "At the moment, you're the whole Project."

Kayla stared at him. "You wanna run that one by me again?"

"You are the entire Project at the moment." Adrian repeated. "There are no other women being held here at this time."

She chewed on that datum for a few seconds, decided it was too lonely to do her any good and turned back to him. "You want to start at the beginning here and make some sense?"

He sighed. "It's very simple really. Grandfather's idea is perfect genetically. It should be, he's a genius in the field. But he's something of a disaster at interpersonal relationships or at judging how people will react to any given situation. To make a long story short, he was forced to abandon much of his plan. Psychological testing proved no Natural he selected as a genetic source was going to tolerate being pregnant with a Coordinator baby. They would have chosen suicide before they delivered any 'space monsters'. He has continued to seek out good candidates and to collect genetic material. But he has no means of getting the resulting embryo's implanted anywhere to grow into babies. He has close to four hundred that need host mothers."

Kayla winced at the way he spit out 'space monsters' but knew he was right. There was just too much misunderstanding and outright lies standing between Naturals and Coordinators right now for there to be any other reaction from most people. She was very much aware how rare her own outlook on his people was back home. Nor was it all the fault of Blue Cosmos. No, the arrogant boasting of the Coordinators themselves played a big part in this attitude too. The misapprehensions on both sides were there because some on both sides wanted them; felt they needed them to defend their own outlook. What was that line from the old play that applied here? Ah, yeah, 'a plague on both your houses!' That about summed the whole attitude thing up right there.

The Project was a failure then? Or was it? Maybe it was more on hold than anything else. At least she knew why the place has such a deserted feeling to it now.

"And what about me, eh?"

"The genetic material has been collected." Ito looked at her briefly, then turned away. "You weren't awake for that I'm told. Grandfather had you down at the clinic for the last three nights searching for eggs. Apparently your ovulation came a day earlier than he expected. Anyway, he was very happy about it. He recovered eight. Said that was more than he'd been expecting. Found them the first night. So now he's sure he has them all."

She tried to decide what she thought about that but couldn't make her mind give her an answer. "So what's next?"

"Nothing." He ran his free hand through his hair before he balled it into a fist on his left knee. "He isn't going to do anything to you. Don't you understand? There aren't any pregnancies happening."

"So, where does that leave you?"

"Me?" He looked confused.

"Yeah, you. I got the impression the kid was something important to you."

For a very long moment, he said nothing, then replied so softly she almost couldn't hear, "Priorities change. Some risks really are unacceptable."

There was nothing she could say to that. They sat in silence until the evening chill settled in enough to set her shivering. Ito noticed that. They walked back up to the Project dorm wordlessly. He escorted her all the way to her room, bowed politely at the door and left. Kayla stood there, balanced on a knife edge between a genuine fear of what might happen and serious lust. The balance held her immobile long enough for Ito to leave the area. She was able to move again only when she heard the far door close firmly behind him. Not until then was she able to step back and close her own door.

She went to bed but got little sleep. Her nightly fantasies came to haunt her with a new strength. Then too, something was gnawing at her. He'd said something, something she knew was wrong somehow. But damned if she could tease out what it was. Even when she did drop off, her dreams were strange. They woke her early, unable to remember them.

She was shoving breakfast around the plate when at least part of the problem fell into place. As she considered the idea from as many directions as she could, she began to wonder what that old man used his head for besides growing hair. No, maybe that wasn't fair. Adrian had said he was pretty hopeless at judging people's reactions to situations.

Kayla inhaled the rest of the meal and went looking for her guardians, any of them. She found Anya in the video room. She would have preferred Serin but beggars couldn't be choosers. Besides, Anya had a surprisingly limited imagination and so was the least likely to quibble about being asked to take a message to the boss.

"Hello Anya, would you consider doing me a favor?" Kayla asked as politely as she possibly could. "Elite Ito was discussing some things with me yesterday and I may have a solution to a problem he mentioned. Would you inform him of this and perhaps mention this to Dr. Ito as well?"

The Coordinator woman looked at her with neutral eyes. Kayla looked back in a manner she hoped was polite but not pushy. She'd never sought any of these three out to ask them for anything. She was hoping the sheer novelty of the situation might work in her favor.

"The Elite is still here." The woman finally replied. "I see no harm in telling him this."

"Thank you. I appreciate your help." Kayla told her sincerely.

"And where will you be should he chose to respond?"

"Game room."

"Ah," Anya then confirmed Kayla's suspicions by adding, "you waste your time, you know this?"

The mobile armor pilot grinned, a bit razor edged. "Someone put the challenge where I could find it. I'm not going to disappoint them by giving up this quickly."

The Coordinator shrugged. "As you wish."

Kayla merely smiled wolfishly and headed for the game room. She honestly didn't expect Anya to get word to either Ito for a while yet. It would be passed when it was convenient and not ahead of time. There should be time for a full 'class' before anyone came looking for her.