Last Resistance to Peace
Chapter 2

by Scarlet Eve

A.C. 204

Early April

Noin paced back and forth across the carpet in Milliardo's office within the Peacecraft Manor. Milliardo, looking composed and amused, sat sprawled in an arm chair, watching Noin's progress across the floor.

"It's a terrible idea, Zechs," Noin said, using his old school nickname. She stopped pacing and stared at him. Milliardo smiled.

"I know it's a terrible idea, but it's the only thing that can be done. If I know Treize, and you do too, then you know he's up to something. Something big," Milliardo said.

"You'll get caught," Noin protested.

"Nearly half the world is invited to Relena's twenty-fourth birthday party. I'll make the appearance at the beginning, and once the drinking begins, I'll be able to slip away."

"Then let me go with you," Noin cried. Milliardo shook his head.

"No, Noin," he said, rising up from his chair. He slipped his arms around her waist and hugged her against his chest. "This is a one person job. I'm just going to sneak in, see what information I can find, and get out." Noin stared at him with an annoyed expression on her face.

"It's a bad idea. I can feel it," Noin protested, looking up into Milliardo's fiercely blue eyes. He smiled that ridiculously dazzling smile and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"I promise that I'll be fine," he assured her. The expression on her face made it obvious that she didn't believe him, but he would go on with his plan anyway. "Besides, I need you at the party, making sure no one notices I'm gone. I already promised that we'd be linked together with communicators." Noin sighed.

"Alright, alright," she said, stepping away from his grasp. Her arms crossed over her chest. "Relena will not be happy if she finds out.

"Then she can't find out, can she?"

Milliardo found his sister lurking in the gardens, reading something on a tablet that she held in one hand, while drinking coffee from a mug in the other.

"Why are you outside in the cold? And why are you drinking coffee so late?" Milliardo asked as he approached her on the brick pathway. Relena looked up from her tablet.

"The answer to both is stress," Relena said, smiling slightly. Milliardo lifted an eyebrow, then threw his arm over her shoulders and walked with her. He glanced at her tablet and saw a document. The name Treize stood out to him.

"What are you reading?"

"I've been trying to get some intelligence on this OZ organization," Relena said. "So far, we haven't been able to find out much. I already know all the information in this dossier about Treize." Milliardo plucked the tablet from her hand and skimmed the document.

"Hmm, you're right. All common knowledge," Milliardo said.

"Haven't you talked to him?" Relena asked, for about the fourth or fifth time since the announcement was made. Milliardo shook his head, and repeated what he'd already told her.

"He dropped off the planet, it seemed, and that announcement was the first time I saw his face in about two years."

"He must have been up to something in those two years," Relena said.

"I agree."

"You do?"

"Of course. Treize puts up a charming front, but he can scheme with the best of them," Milliardo said. "Who do you think was the ringleader of all our shenanigans?" Relena flapped her hand at him.

"Yes, yes. I've heard the stories." Milliardo handed the tablet back to her, and they continued to walk in silence for several minutes. Before long, the roses would begin to bloom, filling the gardens with a beautiful scent. "Brother…"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure about this arrangement?" she asked. Milliardo heaved a sigh. Again. He stopped and grabbed Relena's shoulders, forcing her to face him.

"You know how I feel about it," he said. "I can't lead a pacifist country with bloody hands. Father would roll in his grave." Relena opened her mouth, but Milliardo stopped her. "You are the one for this country. I promise you can do it."

"It doesn't feel like that, most days," she protested. Milliardo shook his head.

"That's why I'm here to support you," he said. Relena frowned.

"You were only protecting me-"

"But he didn't have to die." That was the conversation ender. Relena glanced away, a worry line forming between her eyebrows. Milliardo rested his hand on the top of her head, something he'd done since she was a child. "Whatever is going on with Romefeller, and this OZ business, we'll get through it. Everything will be fine."

"If you say so."

"I do. I am your big brother, after all."

-SE