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Chapter Eight
Circling Back
The Past: our cradle, not our prison. There is danger as well as appeal in its glamour. The past is for inspiration, not imitation, for continuation, not repetition. –Israel Zangwill
But the development of human society does not go straight forward, and the epic process will therefore be a recurring process, the series a recurring series – though not in exact repetition. –Lascelles Abercrombie
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Old habits die hard - Odin misses half the implications of exactly what he's doing but has fun anyway, while the Peacecraft siblings tear into each other and a new disaster looms. Everyone in Germany is lying about something that's bound to get them into trouble, and further south, Quatre and Odin rejoin forces.
Mariemaia and David are both honestly trying to be helpful, but really, they've had better days. At least they're making new friends.
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Edits:
Jake's scene has a minor expansion that gives more history and psychology.
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This just hops right back in where the last left off.
July 3rd 198 – Thursday – Munich, Germany – Sarracenia – 6:40am
Relena gestured at Jake that she was done, setting down her gun and wiping at the sweat that had built up on her brow. According to the clock, they'd been in the range for over an hour, which counted for something, seeing as her aim was still at least decent – if not good – but enough was enough. Her arms ached, but she went through the motions of ejecting the magazine and checking to be sure there wasn't another round chambered, despite the fact that she'd been counting. She was pleased with herself to see she'd been right, and turned to leave the range while Jake picked up the weapon.
She let out a sigh as she was able to finally pull off the protective glasses and earmuffs and picked up a hand towel left on the table next to the little indoor range to properly wipe the sweat off her face. The longer she let herself think about it, the more her arms felt like jelly… but it was a new record for endurance, at least. She smiled as she noticed that her water bottle was there too, with a sticky note on it from Mu, and reached for it thirstily. She'd stop in the kitchen to refill it on her way out to the yard where Mu had started running laps without her; Jake had already mentioned he was skipping the run today to work with some of the newer recruits.
"Morning, Lena," Vaughn chirped happily at her as he came down the stairs, Carlisle and Illian behind him. The other two men murmured similar greetings, and she waved, still drinking. Taking a break for air, she slung the towel around her neck and pushed her gear into a smaller pile to make room for theirs, then moved for the staircase herself as they finished coming down.
A run sounded good.
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Metz, France
Marlé ripped the tag off her pants and handed it to the cashier with a grin, tugging her sweater back down over her waistband with her other hand; there hadn't seemed to be any point in putting her old ones back on. She was supposed to meet up with Odin in under an hour, but she'd figured he'd rather she ran a few errands without him instead of trying to be early. He hadn't batted an eye about her running around on her own, but she really wanted to see his reaction when he saw her.
She was pretty sure she was almost as tall as he was, now. Not that Odin was tall, but still; five foot four was pretty awesome in her book. Her mom had said that she probably still had a ways more to grow, because she was five eight, and her dad had been pretty tall too.
Odin had sounded pretty excited when he called… She was kinda irked at how he'd put her off for a few days without any explanation then was suddenly trying to get her to rush, but he'd explain it as soon as they met up in person again. Her mom hadn't been as cool with the idea of her going around on her own, and she guessed she might have called Odin up to lecture him about it… but she really doubted that would bother her pseudo-brother. He'd probably just point out that Marlé could mostly keep up with him when he was running full bore, and that she'd gotten pretty good at defending herself when they sparred too.
And anyone looking for me now is probably looking for a girl way shorter.
She bounced on her toes a little as she finished paying for her stuff and jammed it all into the top of her pack before pulling her coat back on and heading out the door, being careful to make sure the fabric settled casually as she settled her grip on the baton in her sleeve.
Time to find out what Odin had been up to without her. She was getting sick of being left out.
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Munich, Germany – Sarracenia – 7:10am
"Such a good boy… yes you are!"
Relena looked towards her tub in dismay as she came up through the trapdoor to the bathroom, really hoping she wasn't hearing what she thought she was… and sighed. Sure enough, Mai had the giant tub half full of soapy water… with her giant white dog in the middle of it, covered in bubbles.
She didn't even want to think of the disaster that was going to be her office floor when her bodyguard tried to get the sopping wet creature out of the room.
"Good morning, Lena!" the woman greeted cheerfully, looking away from where she was cording soap through the dog's six-inch dreadlocks.
…It really wasn't worth the energy to get mad about until after the mess was there to be fussed over. "Good morning." She'd been planning on scrubbing down and using the onsen anyway. Checking the clock – she'd made decent time despite starting later than usual on her morning run – she went to turn on the water in the onsen then slipped into the normal shower stall and started the water there too before going to lock the door to her office. She'd just wash her hair really fast, and the tub would be full by then, and she'd have her normal amount of time in it despite her morning routine having taken longer than usual.
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Metz, France
"Odin!"
Odin blinked in surprise at the girl even as he half caught and hugged Marlé back, startled… her head settled on his shoulder, instead of against his chest.
…Did it hurt to grow so fast? He was going to have to make her test her limits again, so she knew how far her reach was…
"Not going to say anything?" she pouted as she pulled away.
He couldn't help but frown as the most immediate problem came to mind. "We need to test your tumbles and jumps before you take any heights again."
She rolled her eyes. "Ever practical, Odin. I haven't slacked off, I've been staying in practice. There's a cool little park near Amos' work that the local gang keeps trouble from starting in." She shrugged. "I figured I'd wait for you before I scaled any more buildings, though." She frowned and reached over to touch one finger to his cane, concern lighting up her eyes. "You doing okay?"
"I'm fine," he assured her, glad to know she had noticed the deficit and taken the initiative. "I overextended."
Marlé made a face. "Was it worth it, at least?"
He laughed, the memory alone making his pulse jump. "Yes." He shook his head a little and turned, gesturing for her to follow. "We're going to go meet an old friend, and he's a ways from here. I'll tell you about the past two weeks on the way."
She practically skipped after him. "Sounds good."
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Munich, Germany – Sarracenia – 7:30am
There was a sound of a fist tapping on wood. "Relena?"
"Mm?" Opening her eyes, Relena smiled; she could see curls of steam rising out of the water around her. "I didn't lose track of time, did I?"
"No, you've only been in there a few minutes," Mu noted, sounding apologetic. "But Hayden just took a call from the capital that your brother's on his way here."
Well, damn. Sighing, she unplugged the drain with her toes and stood, reaching for where she'd hung her towel. "I'm getting out. Is Jake busy?"
"He won't be for much longer," the American woman told her. "He set the boys he'd been working with to wash off the gunpowder and just about everyone else to clean up their personal areas and finish unpacking the Fonnes so they look less transient. He said chances were that Milliardo will want to wander a bit, and since we won't know where until he does…"
"Better safe than sorry," Relena agreed, unlatching the door to the onsen and stepping out. "Make sure the trap door is locked, would you?" Mai still had her dog in the tub, but she was scrubbing far more furiously now. Mu's hair was damp from her own shower, though she was fully dressed. Thinking a moment, she decided, "I'll see him in my study. I'm not sure if he's here on business or because he finally realized I moved out, but I might as well try to impress him in either case." Privately, she was glad that Dorothy was working out of her 'townhouse' today; she'd proven herself a powerful ally and good friend, but she wasn't exactly in Milliardo's good graces – she had, in fact, avoided him entirely since Christmas.
Quickly drying off, she strode over to the vanity to get ready. Hopefully, the boys downstairs had a more exact timeframe for her brother's arrival; Sebastian Dontelaine had an appointment in ninety minutes to discuss his workforce distribution. He seemed to think it needed adjustment, and he wanted her opinion on what might be most appropriate… and as it was her first time meeting the new Dontelaine Duke, she had no intention of putting him off because her brother didn't care about her schedule.
She rolled her eyes. The man had probably decided she didn't have one. After all, I'm only out here having tea parties, not saving his behind whenever he screws up…
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Tivoli, Italy
Lucrezia grinned into her scarf and took another deep breath of air, relishing the feeling of walking down the street of her hometown, even if this was an area she had never frequented. It was still too cold to really feel like home, but just seeing the skyline and familiar architecture sated some part of her longing… and it wasn't as cold as last July, at least, for all that it ought to have been sweltering. She was in leggings and jeans, a turtleneck, her scarf, and the light little leather that Heero… Odin had bought for her. The hat she was wearing probably fought off the cold too, but honestly, she was just wearing it with her hair down as a camouflage, the same as her brown contacts. With the front of her jacket left open and gloved hands tucked into its pockets, she was comfortable.
For what felt like the thousandth time now, she caught a glimmer of purple in the black leather and fell in love with it all over again. It was the kind of style she preferred, and it literally matched both her hair and eyes… and she wondered again how conscious of a choice that had been on Odin's part. She'd been grumbling to herself for poor operational security about her current jacket under her breath, she had thought, but then the next time she'd seen him, he'd handed her the new coat… with colony-manufactured chocolate stuffed in an inside pocket.
It would have struck her as a sweetheart gift, if he hadn't been so casual about it. But when she tried to dissect the logic on his shipment for Heavyarms – and the damn pink pony – she was fairly convinced that he just preferred that same sort of casual affection her father did. She had asked if he known about something, out on a limb, and he'd responded just by delivering.
With anyone else, she would have said he had pointedly given her more than she could have possibly imagined. With Odin… I shouldn't read too deeply into it.
Although he did have a tendency to just watch her with a focus she hadn't seen directed at anyone else.
She thought about it for a moment before pulling her phone out of her pocket. Sally had gotten her new information out of the Regime database after Odin had left Africa that she wanted to poke at him about; it probably wouldn't be too hard to meet up somewhere just to talk business. Spotting the bakery she had been looking for, she grinned and picked up her pace.
A little careless affection of her own probably wouldn't be remiss.
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Switzerland – In Transit
Odin stopped when his phone started to ring, then narrowed his eyes at her. Marlé, for her part, just tried to look pleased with herself. If he wanted to think she'd grabbed it and turned the ringer back on when he wasn't paying attention, all the better; it was so much more fun to do it remotely. He'd figure it out before long anyway, so she figured she'd get a kick out of tricking him while she had the chance. After a moment's glare, he just rolled his eyes and answered it. "Hello?"
She couldn't help it – when he smiled like that, her interest was peaked, and her attention was solely on him. "Good." He tilted his head as he listened. "A little." A pause. "Why?" He thought for a moment before, "I need to make it to Macedonia before tomorrow night. If it's en route, it shouldn't be a problem." Another pause where he seemed to think seriously, then, "The 2337 Continental."
Her jaw literally dropped. That was the train they were on! Odin didn't even give her mother their shuttle number, she was the only one he let know, and that was only because she was generally sitting next to him. With how paranoid her brother was, that amount of trust was huge.
This was big.
"Who was that?" she demanded as soon as he'd hung up.
He gave her a weird look, but he answered. "Lucrezia."
A few things clicked together. A few others didn't, even though they really obviously should. She stared at him, trying to decide how much of this was him being stubborn and how much was just him being Odin. He stared right back, looking a little disturbed… and definitely defensive.
Nope. She wanted to scream, but as frustrating as he could be, that would only make him more confused. He was just… Just Odin.
She glowered at him, annoyed that he didn't even get what he was doing.
Finally, "What?"
"You suck."
"…What?"
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Munich, Germany – Sarracenia
"Milliardo," Relena murmured pleasantly, reaching out to pull him into an embrace. "It's good to see you again, brother." He returned the hug before she gently pulled away and gripped both his hands in hers with a smile. "It's been too long." Breaking away completely, she gestured for him to follow her. "Come; I have a guest in my office, and it would be rude to keep him waiting."
"Of course."
He had had a speech – a lecture, all planned to the T before he had arrived. It had been carefully balanced to express how he was grateful for her help, but disappointed with her secrecy. He knew he had been busy lately, but she had stopped even giving him personal reports; and in the instances where her projects were strictly funded by RLTT, she didn't tell him of her progress at all. The militia, the hydroponics facilities, and now the entirety of the heat amplifier industry… she hadn't even told him she had left Brussels permanently. The notion of how much else she might be up to was… daunting. He needed to nip that in the bud – he couldn't afford to pull her out of trouble once she got in over her head. She had an uncanny ability for finding danger… even with Miller as her watchdog. Now, for better or worse, he needed her for relations with the Chinese, and any more mistakes on anyone's part could vary well have dire consequences. He had backed each of his points thoroughly, and rehearsed the phrasing in his head for over an hour.
When he had arrived, however…
Jake had met him by the car and walked him through the house security while Relena wrapped up a conference call, and he hadn't been able to help but be impressed. The men accompanying him had been politely relegated to the guardhouse with the quiet explanation that Miller would rather nonresidents didn't know the house layout. The tour had managed to extend beyond the security precautions to the courtyard and chicken coup before Relena had found them.
He almost hadn't recognized her.
All his intended words had simply died in his throat as he met the eyes of a woman he could have sworn was his mother. Instead of crafting his balance between censure and praise, he couldn't stop his whirling focus from desperately debating why it was that she was practically their mother's clone and he their father's, instead of some mix. The only clear differences he could discern were that of hair length and the knowledge that Katrina would never have willingly worn such sensible shoes as Relena's flats – it had always been either delicately spun high heels or nothing.
"Are you hungry?" Relena asked, flowing grey skirt swirling gently around her calves as they entered the kitchen. "We just finished lunch, but I could have something made for you."
"No, thank-you," he murmured, looking around the very… royally purple room. There was a blonde woman wearing an apron doing dishes at the sinks, singing under her breath in a duet with the radio next to her. A small child bounced idly in some sort of noisy chair contraption on the floor next to her, banging colorful toys together.
"Through here, then," his sister announced, leading him into what appeared to be a pantry of all places… and a staircase.
Jake caught his look and grinned. "Rather clandestine, isn't it?"
"I think the architect had a rather curious sense of humor," Relena noted, "but I won't deny how much personality it gives the house." She let out an ironically amused noise. "With a direct route like this, I certainly can't be waylaid by confused attackers while I'm off for a midnight snack."
Milliardo closed his eyes as her words burned in his chest like a brand. Of course, his enemies had hurt her that night because he had been too trusting a fool with his security… enemies who had chosen that night because she was supposed to have been out of country at the time.
Perhaps it is wise for us to live separately…
He glanced back at his friend and found the colonel watching him speculatively. The other man raised both brows in a too calm question when Milliardo met his gaze.
He had no idea what it was.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sebastian," Relena called out happily as she opened the door at the top of the three flights of stairs. "I'm afraid it couldn't be helped." Moving to the opposite end of the dark-paneled room, she palmed a keypad and opened a door into bright sunshine. As she led them into her atrium turned lounge, he didn't try to hide the delight that stole across his face. It was as though they had stepped outside, and he could see the picturesque grounds and town laid out around them, the blue skies above… except that unlike outside, it was warm. It took his breath away.
He loved it and felt his heart tear into smaller pieces at the same time.
An elegant hostess, Relena led them over to a set of couches facing each other with a coffee table between them. A delicately designed tea service rested on a tray. "Please, sit." She did so herself as she gestured for them both to take a seat across from her, and leaned forward to pour. "I'm sure the two of you have met, but for the sake of formality, Sebastian, I would like to introduce my brother, Milliardo Peacecraft." Handing him a cup of what smelled like jasmine tea, she continued with, "Milliardo, this is Sebastian Dontelaine. We were discussing what resources he might be able to reallocate for defense or reconstruction, should the violence continue to escalate."
He nodded, unable to bring himself to respond verbally. He was focused on trying to keep his hands from visibly shaking as he gazed at the china cup in his hand.
He hadn't been aware that his mother's tea set had survived the sacking of the palace.
Maintaining appearances, he brought it to his lips and took a sip to collect himself as he refused to allow his attention to fall back to the coffee table, instead busying himself with trying to determine the weave and fabric of Relena's white blouse… and listened.
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Berlin, Germany – Downtown
William Mehile blew into his coffee, cold hands wrapped around the cup. It was his day off, and it had been a good morning so far. His kids were keeping a phone now, and he had gotten to talk to Nolan before he headed to school, however briefly. Melissa seemed happier than ever…
He grinned. His son-in-law made a good husband, he gathered. Not that he'd ever doubted – his little girl had always had good taste.
He worked hard to keep his bills as low as he could, which meant the only electronics he kept besides the phone were his tablet, coffee pot, and the heater that came with his little one room cubbyhole. He hadn't felt like reading after this morning's call, so he had thought he'd wander down to the big screens for public use downtown. He'd catch up on the latest news… which was a lot of propaganda, but the freedom of press hadn't been too deeply subdued either. From what he knew through his connections, the news was still more accurate than it had been during the war. He point blank hadn't let his kids watch the crap, back then.
He had been there for maybe twenty minutes when they finally stopped harping about the danger posed by increasing gundam attacks and why it was so important to know your evacuation schedule, to focus on the chunk of L1 that had gone incommunicado. The claim was that it was due to old equipment and technological difficulties, and that teams were being sent up today to help put things back to rights.
William snorted, and he could hear from the crowd around him that he wasn't the only one thought that was a sack of shit. L1 was arguably the most technologically advanced country in existence, and sixteen clusters was… just huge. They varied in size, but the average urban colony was as big as a small city, though far more sparsely populated. Agricultural colonies were generally larger, as the hydroponics systems became far more complex. These days, the hybridized types were the most common, at least in the nicer areas, and a few of those had been included in the now silent ninety-six colonies. That was about a quarter of L1 altogether, and in terms of area lost, at least as big as Austria.
The biggest worry, probably, was that they had decided to recede from the planet's problems through isolation. It would hardly be a new tactic for the colonies… for all that, considering the fate of Dekim Barton's attempted secession, it was unlikely they thought they could get away with it. Even though he had decided to leave out the details after Mariemaia's disappearance, Marquise had squashed Barton's rebellion very publicly and, to the unseasoned eye, very thoroughly. That kind of thing discouraged repeat offenders. Dekim had gathered himself a nice little military force to pull it off, and the public had been told that. The fact, however, was that the dissolution of the group hadn't really had a chance to enter the battlefield; Treize had neatly pulled the entire organization apart at the seams before the Regime troops arrived. Only the Barton die-hards and the slow had still been there, and the fighting had been more token than anything.
If L1 was seceding, then they probably thought themselves plenty prepared. Will presumed that his Excellency either knew the truth or was at the core of it. However, he also point blank knew that he was very low on the totem pole; if he needed to know, he would be told, and not before. As it was, he couldn't say whatever was happening in space now had much to do with his life.
He shrugged deeper into his scarf and raised his mug for another sip, idly debating-
Heat. Darkness and a sudden feeling of being pushed, of weightlessness… Then the solid pressure of slamming into the ground.
He blinked in confusion, trying to clear his vision, but it stayed blurred, and the pavement was numbingly cool against his cheek. Why was-
His heart slammed as reality caught up with him and he shoved himself up off the ground, though he only made it partway to his knees before his back gave and he went back down. He managed to catch himself on his hands, at least. His chest heaved air in, and out… and he tried to just focus on his hands, trying to see the wrinkles of his knuckles. In, and out… There was something blue between his hands… he squinted hard… and closed his eyes as he realized what it was and an itching burn began to crawl across his back. He knew, intellectually, that he was in shock, but… He didn't care when the tears fogged his eyes back up.
Melinda had made that mug for him before Melissa was born.
He gasped out a sob as fire seared through his back and his arms shook until he fell down to his elbows. His hands were red with blood… the pavement glittered like a thousand diamonds. Glass… There was glass everywhere, falling off his hat and shoulders like crystal snow…
Dimly, he realized people were running all around him… and everything was too quiet. He could hear… probably screaming… he could see someone screaming… but… it was like it was from a block away, not next to him. He toppled to one side as his shoulder shuddered and gave out, then froze, staring up.
Fire.
The sky was on fire.
He gasped for more air, realizing he'd stopped for a bit there. In, out. In… Oh God. The sky couldn't be on fire… Look around… He let his head drop to the ground. God, it was so hot… the cold ground against his face was the kiss of an angel, even as the bite of the glass shards began to burn his cheek. Fighting to keep his eyes open, he tried to look around…
Oh God.
He wasn't the only one on the ground.
He didn't think they were moving.
…It was getting harder to breathe…
Panic is not going to help!
Focusing hard on the body nearest him, he willed it with all his being to move. Move. Breathe… In… Out. In…
It felt like an eternity. Hours, at least.
Someone shook his shoulder hard, and he felt his scream more than he heard it. His eyes flew open… Someone was in his face, yelling at him, gesturing…
What the hell?
He couldn't help but scream again as the man hefted him and literally threw him over his shoulders and started running. God… That made the edges of everything fade black… Everything else was grey and… fire.
The sky! Grey… Oh. The building had exploded, not the sky. That… that was good…
His back was still burning, but he started to shiver, hard, and it was just too damn hard to keep his eyes open…
God… What…?
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Munich, Germany – Sarracenia
"Here," Relena muttered, sliding a folder across the coffee table. "I was going to have a courier run this over to you today, but this works out better. If you can read through and sign, we can save everyone some trouble."
He seemed to hesitate a moment, but he pulled it to him and began to rifle through its contents without comment. That was something of a relief… yet also not. He had been considerate enough to follow her lead while they had had an audience, but now that Mu was leading Olivia's brother back to his car, she doubted he was going to be so pleasant.
She was sick and tired of playing meek and defensive with him, though. He had come to her. If he wanted to play games, he would realize she had the homeland advantage.
"Are you doing alright?" she asked after a moment. He looked perfectly normal, but she had learned some time ago how much some men could hide with formal posture, especially those so still and measured, deliberate, as Milliardo.
He gave her one of the smiles he seemed to save just for her. "I'm fine, Relena. I apologize for the spectacle the other day, but fortunately my pride took all the injury." Pausing, he seemed to debate with himself for a moment before setting her folder aside and crossing his legs. "Friday morning was actually one of the things I was hoping to discuss with you."
Relena raised her brows delicately and leaned back as though at lease, crossing her own legs smoothly. "As I have already explained, the amplifier contract was officially broken when you impugned Chinese territorial borders by means of MS without warning, let alone consent." Pursing her lips gently, she added, "I have also been informed that by the wording of your treaty with them, the exception your forces claimed to be following could only hold in the instance of violent pursuit. Instead, you instigated an attack on foreign ground, and now they want to boycott all friendly interests from us in that region as well."
"It's a pretty threat, Relena, but they cannot afford such action."
She let a degree of irritation show in her eyes. "Respectfully, big brother, we're talking about China, who has happily starved over half of her population for poor idealism on numerous occasions. Additionally, the pieces of Africa they claimed from you are nothing but claimed territories; recently claimed, at that. If there is benefit to them, I don't doubt that they will negotiate, but frankly," she leaned forward as far as she could, though she kept her muscles casually relaxed, "if you continue to piss them off, they will do it just to spite. They have little they truly value to lose, and you have already seen how fast the press will take an opportunity to smear you."
He didn't respond to that. After a moment, Relena relaxed back into the couch and waited for him to break his gaze. When it became clear that he had no intention of doing so, she gave him a subtly irritated look, uncrossed her legs, and went back to her paperwork. That only lasted a moment, however, as she had caught up on her more extraneous red tape last night, and everything she needed for the afternoon was packed in her case, as she was scheduled to head to Croatia in an hour. Lips quirking in spite of herself, she instead picked up the folder she had handed Milliardo and began displaying it for him according to topic and project. When she looked back up at him and found his eyes still on her, she lost her patience and threw out a challenging smile as she held out one of her better fountain pens.
"I thank you for the visit, Milliardo, but I have work to do." Pushing down another wave of irritation when he didn't take it, she set the pen down on his papers pointedly and stood. "Excuse me." She moved briskly for the bathroom door, entered smoothly, shut it gently, and fought the urge to scream. It would be therapeutic, but highly detrimental when she was still within his hearing. Looking up, an irritated thanks on her tongue for Mai's having waited and not brought a massive, dripping wet dog through her office in the middle of that, she froze and blinked.
There wasn't anyone else, canine or otherwise, in the bathroom.
Frowning, she strode over to the door that led to Dorothy's suite, but no…. the manual deadbolt on this side was still thrown, and Mai didn't have a key. Moving back to the center of the room, she realized there weren't any puddles either… though the trap door for the spiral staircase down into her closet was sitting open. Peering down, she reconsidered the rather narrow width of the thing… and lack of any dampness.
Smiling brightly to herself, she shut the hatch and set her hands on her hips, surveying her altogether spotless bathroom. Okay… Mai magicked the dog out. It was an amusing enough idea that she almost didn't want to know the truth. Looking over towards the vanity, she tossed her hair a little and smiled at her reflection.
I… really needed that little laugh, she decided.
Taking a fortifying breath, she walked back into her office. Milliardo had stood and was facing the door, eyes apologetic as he grimaced. She brushed past him to her computer – and rather conveniently, it chimed out a notice for her as she did so.
"Relena…"
"Yes, Milliardo?" She didn't turn, focusing instead on opening a browser on the news, more out of habit than anything else.
"…I'm going to space, this evening."
She hummed out a thoughtful noise. "I thought you might, soon." Stopping what she was doing, she turned and rested her weight on the edge of her desk. "I hope you have an outline for me on the immediate lines of authority, should you be unavailable."
"Yes." He gave her a tired smile. "I had been planning to bring it up over lunch, but I've assigned you the post of Foreign Affairs Minister."
She blinked in surprise before giving into a delighted smile, wondering if maybe now things would begin to change. "Thank-you."
His returning smile was more of a grimace. "The Chinese were very clear that you were the only acceptable option," he explained wryly.
Her gratitude wilted and died mere instants after its birth. "I see."
His mouth set in a firm line. "Relena, you need to realize how vital this position is. I know that you-"
"Learned the intricacies of handling foreign affairs at my father's knee?" she cut off sharply. Pushing away from the desk and advancing on him, she acidly corrected, "Oh, I'm sorry, at Vice Foreign Minister Darlian's knee. He couldn't have possibly been a workaholic who could only afford to spend quality time with his foster child if she was helping draft contracts and treaties."
"Relena-"
"And of course there isn't any reason I might recognize the dangers of such a post, seeing as I was with him when he was assassinated!" She glowered at him, knowing she ought to control her temper, but just beyond caring. It felt good to see him standing there stunned.
The acoustics in her antechamber chirped; they were about to have company.
Taking a deep breath, Relena collected and centered herself. Fixing him with a steady gaze, she quietly said, "Some days, Milliardo, you have the sheer nerve of ten men and the sensitivity of a raging bull."
She wasn't going to apologize.
Jake threw the door open, and both siblings turned to find his expression was grim. Her anger skyrocketed into alarm. "What's happened?" she demanded.
"Someone bombed the Regime Administration buildings in Berlin."
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Verona, Italy
"Hey, sweetie." Her mother sounded distracted. "What's up?"
"Odin ditched me again." She had no qualms about outright wailing pitifully at her mother if it helped, right now. She was feeling downright rejected, and the fact that that wasn't how Odin meant it wasn't making her feel any better. "I don't get why I'm not allowed to meet his friends."
Leia sighed. "They're really good at making trouble, honey, and I don't want to risk you getting mixed up with you brother's… more questionable hobbies, if we can help it."
Marlé rolled her eyes. "I get that, but he's being social with them too, you know."
"Did he say that?" her mother asked dryly.
She made an irritated noise. "I know him, Mom. And he trusts her!"
"Her?"
He talks to her! That wouldn't sound right, though. "He's either talking to her, or about her," she went on in a rush, feeling pent up about it all. "He gets her stuff just because he can." He had insisted on going to two separate colonies plus a resource satellite to put together the gundam care package he had sent down, and it turned out she hadn't actually asked for it. "When she calls, he just drops everything."
For Odin to smile like that whenever she came up… for him to stay a few days longer with her to make her feel better about him messing up his leg again? It meant that he was thinking about her all the time, including her like he really only did Marie, and…
And Odin only included, Marie. He went out of his way for this woman.
And Marie didn't even know who she was.
The rest of it didn't really bother her, she'd decided while sitting there refusing to talk to him on the train. It was the fact that she'd missed it, even if Odin hadn't figured out what he was doing yet. It was the fact that she was still missing it, because apparently she was the only one who'd realized how important it was. Odin just… didn't do things like anyone else, so… that meant this really meant something.
It was irritating that she had to keep separate from half of the stuff Odin did now, but she got why he and her mom were doing it, even if she thought it was stupid. She went along with it. This though… she needed to meet Lucrezia.
Her mother sighed. "Context is everything, Marlé."
"It's not just time-dependency," Marlé argued, because that had been what she thought at first too. "I checked." And Odin didn't procrastinate, but he wasn't one of those obsessive go-getter types either; he took care of stuff when it was convenient. The fact that he'd made her sprint with him to a toy store because he'd forgotten what time they closed was highly relevant to that argument. Not even getting into the fact that they hadn't actually had any time constraint or expectation about all that.
Her mother sighed again. "I'll talk to him about it-"
"Thank-you!"
"-if he brings it up."
…Yeah, that wasn't happening.
"But-"
"Dr. Keissler!" someone called in the background.
"I have to go," her mother muttered quickly. "Call me later tonight, okay?"
Click.
Marlé glowered at the phone as it registered the disconnection. Her mother worked in emergency medicine, and it was actually pretty normal for her to not be able to finish a conversation with her if she was on shift. It was 'emergency' medicine for a reason, after all. That didn't make it any less irritating when she hadn't gotten her point across, though. Sighing and tucking it into her pocket, she looked around, debating.
…Odin would so catch her if she tried to sneak up and spy on his little meeting.
Growling, she yanked her phone back out and plopped down on the curb, starting a half serious text to Amos.
'any idea how to make a voice changer?'
She really doubted she could pull it off, but trying to figure it out would make her feel better.
oOo
oOo
Pyrohy, Ukraine
It was a beautiful manor… The house itself was regal, and the grounds picturesque, massive lawns with a large pond. The gate was of an older style, meticulously crafted wrought iron, and everything looked well taken care of. There were a few pieces of playground equipment, and a large ball or two, littered across the grounds… at least one child lived there.
Cory shifted his weight, and finally spoke. "Are we going to go in?"
Quatre sighed. "No." He would love to, really, but there would hardly be a point. Certainly, he could meet his niece or nephew, and perhaps even his brother-in-law, but… He had no evidence of his identity, as he had never met them… and the silvery artemisia brush surrounding the gates spoke volumes. Even from this far back, he could see the bright red and yellow blooms along this side of the greenhouse, and he knew, with the fairly large bushes closer to him, that if he had a pair of binoculars, he would confirm that they were zinnias.
His sisters had a number of habits and codes they all used, and one of their favorites had always been flower language.
Wormwood for absence… the silvery white artemisia species for long-term intentions.
The yellow-flame zinnias confirmed the same, in a sort of 'I'm thinking of you, think of me' way.
She wasn't here, and from the look of the riotous population in the window boxes and the size of the artemisia bushes, she hadn't been for some time. He couldn't remember enough to know if any of the other plant species he could spy from the gate added more meanings, gave any more detail… but they all kept flowers corresponding to mood or ideals as well, so he could easily get lost in the muddle of that even if he was knowledgeable enough. They had only insisted he learn the dozen or so they signaled danger or status with.
"Let's go," he muttered, turning back towards the path. It was best to leave before the residents decided to make something of the stranger peering through the gate.
oOo
oOo
Berlin, Germany – Charité Hospital
"Hoi."
"Mm? Oh…" Brenda smiled brightly at the man who had just come up to the counter. She had had a constant line for hours earlier, but now, while it was still noisy, everyone was leaving her area of the hospital alone. After all, she was only administration. She still had an hour before she was off shift, though, however exhausting and awful today had been… and this guy didn't look upset, which was a nice change of pace.
The fact that he very much qualified as eye candy was nice too. Of a good height, with a decently filled out chest under a tight sweater, he looked lean but well built, with a sweet face and a thick, dark blonde ponytail falling over one shoulder and trailing over her countertop. He had the kind of deep blue eyes a girl could drown in and the smile of a charmer.
Leaning forward, willing to flirt a little on the job, she returned the greeting. "Hi."
Amusement glimmered in his eyes as he shifted his weight so he was resting on one arm, casually leaning half-sideways on the counter. "I don't suppose you could tell me if William Mehile is ready for release yet?"
Mm… his accent, and the greeting too, for that matter, were definitely Dutch. "Just a minute," she told him, turning to the computer. Seeing the patient's date of birth flash up as she confirmed what file she wanted, she asked, "Is he your father?" It was an easy way to break the ice.
That charming smile was a touch apologetic as he held up his left hand, exposing a simple steel band. "In-law."
Damn. Smiling apologetically herself, she focused on her screen. "It says he can leave now, yes." Checking the list of approved names, she asked, "Are you Kasey?" At his easy nod, she asked, "Can I see your ID really quick?"
"Not a problem." Pulling out his wallet, he asked, "Is the doc going to need to talk to me? The woman who called said Will was still pretty out of it."
"You're going to need to meet with Dr. Lera, yes. Mr. Mehile is stable, but has been slipping in and out of consciousness since coming in, so he needs someone to look after his treatment for at least a few days. Um…" She gestured ruefully towards the very full waiting room. "I'll call Dr. Lera and let him know you're here. We'll get to you as soon as we can."
Kasey nodded agreeably, turning to look over the crowd of anxious people. "That's fine… from what I've heard so far, Will was pretty lucky." He sighed and shifted his weight fully back onto his feet. "At least, luckier than a lot of other people." Waving a hand at her as he moved away, he added, "Thanks for the sweet attitude, honey, I'm sure you're helping all sorts of folk with just that smile. I'll wait my turn."
Brenda blinked, then smiled genuinely at the appreciation. "Your wife is lucky!" she called after him. "God bless!"
His answering chuckle sounded tired. "God bless."
oOo
oOo
Austria – In Transit
It takes nearly half an hour, but he's relieved it wasn't any longer before she sighs and leans into the man, going so far as to drop her head on his shoulder as she stares out the window into nothing. He responds with his predicable, precise care, resting one hand over hers where it's fallen on his lap, the other gently but firmly around her waist, exactly at the right height to be comfortable but innocent. He tilts the side of his head to the top of hers and hums out a soothing noise, eyes shut. They stay like that for nearly twenty minutes.
Lieutenant Lincoln Sobrie pretends to not think much of it. Technically speaking, it's normal behavior for them, and he knows for a fact that this morning was stressful on everyone. They had time before arriving at Relena's next engagement, and in the end of the day, the careful dance between the princess and her colonel was their business. If he were entirely honest, he wouldn't have thought anything of it if two months ago, when they had had the exact same gestures and patterns. He'd seen the two of them sleep settled against each other like this on at least two occasions.
But he hadn't needed Mai to point out to him how very controlled their commanding officer was becoming in Relena's presence; he knew the man well enough by this point to have noticed it himself. The carefree motions and habits were the same, he wasn't doing anything differently with the princess at all, down to the minutia… but… His movements never appeared to actually be careless, anymore.
He had a few theories. He wasn't about to broach them with anyone, however, because as far as he was concerned? Jake was omniscient of all words and actions within a hundred yard radius, and he didn't like the feeling of looking over his shoulder for an ambush he know he wasn't talented enough to notice before it was sprung. Mai could play daredevil with that one all she wanted; he enjoyed a sense of security when he laid down to sleep at night.
He glanced back towards them, and found that while the colonel's eyes were shut, Relena was watching him. He met her clear blue eyes with a concerned sort of smile and tilt of the head, asking if she was okay. She stared at him coolly for a moment before shifting her gaze down to Jake's hand over hers. Her focus stayed there for a long moment before she looked back to him, all without twitching any muscles in her face or body. She wasn't giving Jake any way to know that she was even conscious.
Sometimes, Lin wondered if the colonel realized just how well he had taught his charge. Technically, he ought to, but she seemed to know him as well as he knew her.
The implication in her steady, sober gaze made him nod ever so slightly in answer. Yes, I see it. It was good, on some level, to know that she hadn't missed Jake's increasing precision. It was upsetting, however, to realize that if she knew…
If she knew, then she was doing the exact same thing, maintaining the exact same comfort level artificially without a sign, even though she recognized the loss.
And Lin hadn't noticed her doing it.
He couldn't decide if his expectations and assumptions about the colonel had blinded him to that, or if she really superseded Miller's skill on that front – at least in this particular instance.
Her eyes shone darker as she looked down and away instead of out the window as she had been before. Pursing her lips, she squeezed her eyes shut before Jake shifted and opened his own. Seeming to realize her shift in mood, he twisted his head to press his lips to the top of her head. Lin made sure he was looking worriedly out the window when he felt dark blue eyes focus on him.
There was a whole ball of subtle insinuation there he had no intention of touching. For now, he could be happy that he didn't have a damn thing to do with it. If that changed, he'd figure it out later.
oOo
oOo
Italy – In Transit
"Here."
Marlé held out one hand expectantly without looking towards him, the other still busily tapping out a message on her phone. Irritation sparked in his chest, and he felt slighted in spite of the sheer inanity of the situation. He followed that she was upset with him, but he couldn't do anything to fix it if he didn't know what the problem was. She was… He narrowed his eyes.
She was acting like Dorothy.
Not a pleasant progression.
~~oOo~~
"An olive branch, then."
Odin frowned and inspected the object with disbelieving curiosity. "Olive?" He brought it closer to his face, but the only scents he could pick up were of sugar and lemon.
Lucrezia laughed, apparently delighted. "Forgive the metaphor, Odin. Consider it a peace offering."
He tilted his head and considered it again. The concept struck him as a little simplistic, but if it worked the way Lucrezia was suggesting, it was practically a new perspective on negotiating altogether… and it made a disconcerting amount of sense on a visceral level. It might even start to explain why he had never been exactly… good… with negotiations.
"Alright." He met her eyes and smiled. "Thank-you."
~~oOo~~
He dropped it very precisely into her hand, and felt a proud smirk tug at his lips as she automatically adjusted her fingers around it to firmly hold but not crush when she had been expecting to catch something far denser. Her mind was only a moment behind her body, and she spun her head around to focus on her hand in surprise. She seemed just as confused as he had been when Lucrezia had done the same to him.
It was oddly gratifying.
"What is it?" she asked, staring at it in seeming confusion.
He gave her an amused look. That much should have been obvious – the air smelled of sweet lemon for a good three-foot radius. The tiny cake had come with a label, however. "A Salivation Salutation."
The look she gave him was entirely incredulous… then exasperated as she dropped her phone in her lap and shot him a happy smile as she brought the treat to her mouth. Her eyes actually lit up as she chewed her first bite. "Oh, wow." She took more time than she usually did, but seemed extraordinarily happy to do so, and she focused back on him after she'd swallowed. "Okay… it deserves the dumb name."
"Does it?" he asked curiously. He'd readily agree it was good, probably one of the most enjoyable foods he had ever had, but he didn't have much of a frame of reference.
Marlé, knowing him as she did, slid into her normal way of conversation. "This is probably the best cupcake I've ever had, Odin." Taking a delicate nibble and making happy noises in the back of her throat, she asked, "Did you get cake when you were little?" A moment later, she froze and blinked over at him owlishly. "You already had one, right? We're not sharing?"
He almost laughed at her. Shaking his head, he waved a hand for her to go on as he settled back into his chair. "I think Odin preferred ice cream. That was probably more about convenience than anything, though; most places that sell food of any kind carry ice cream."
"You never really had an oven to bake stuff in either, huh?"
He frowned, "No, more than half of the places I remember had kitchens." His father had usually made food on the stove, or kept things in the fridge. "Odin just… I don't remember him ever using the oven." He probably just hadn't been inclined.
She frowned at him. "Not even pizza?"
He gave her a look. "You buy pizza."
She copied his expression right back at him. "Or you make it, in the oven."
Obviously, but it still seemed rather pointless when it was easier and cheap to just order it. "Why?"
"Because it tastes good." She pretended not to notice his stare as she took more tiny, delicate nibbles of her cupcake.
He watched her for another ten seconds before deciding to just let it drop and move on. "I had cake a few times as a child," he admitted. Once had been while he happened to be at a park at the same time another kid had been having a birthday party, and the boy's mother had insisted he have a piece. Odin had bought him a cupcake at random some time after that, but neither instance had been like this. "It was always chocolate, though."
"Mm, chocolate's pretty universal for sweets," Marlé noticed absently. "What got you to buy this, then?"
"I didn't." Shrugging to himself, he reached out and broke a piece off the top and popped it in his mouth. "Lucrezia brought them."
She gave him a dirty look before focusing back on the treat in her hands. "That was nice of her," the girl noted in a flat voice.
Odin frowned, leaning back as he watched her. Marlé… didn't use a monotone. Ever. Which meant… well, it meant something frustrating. However, before he could decide if her example of getting upset at him when he closed emotions out of his expression meant he could turn the same tactic on her, she spoke again. "Did she say why?"
~~oOo~~
"It's not quite on the same level of effort as a pink pony, but I thought you might appreciate the thought."
He smiled at that before considering the inconsistencies. "I didn't ask for it."
Lucrezia set her face in one hand and laughed softly at him. "I wasn't exactly in want of a pony, but I still appreciated the sentiment. Odin…" She pursed her lips and sat up straighter. "I honestly haven't asked for anything beyond your expertise – you've delivered excessive quality whenever a single insinuation is made. I haven't properly asked… and therefore I haven't properly returned the sentiment." Reaching forward, she nudged the bakery box closer to him with one finger. "So when I saw something I thought you might like, I decided the gesture was overdue." Sitting back again, she smiled. "I remembered you drinking lemonade in Sanc, so I assumed the flavor was a decently safe bet."
~~oOo~~
"It wasn't out of her way, and she wanted to."
Marlé looked up at him, her gaze searching. "Have you thought about this, Odin? Really honestly, thoroughly, thought about it yet?"
~~oOo~~
Her eyes, he realized at last, were what bothered him. They were wrong, and he knew it was because her natural color was unusual enough to attract attention, but despite knowing, be couldn't entirely suppress the discontent at the flat brown they currently appeared to be. It… wasn't her, which was entirely the point, but…
She chuckled softly and his attention shifted to her hand as she brush a piece of hair away from her face. "You're staring, you know."
"Sorry," he returned automatically, shifting his eyes instead down to his coffee. He was fixating on irrelevant details.
"Mm… are you actually?" Her tone was entirely curious.
"Somewhat."
"Hm." She leaned forward on the table and dropped her face in her upturned hand, far enough that her face was literally only inches from his own and he reflexively met her gaze as she seemed to search his own eyes for something. Considering how long he'd been doing just the same without objection, he allowed it. Emotions swirled through his chest, but he set them aside while she examined him, wondering what it was she was looking for… while at the same time he fought his pulse down from the racing thrill it wanted to start. He focused instead on reading her expression for a reaction, and found himself fixated on her lips as they curved back into her easy smile. A breeze caught her loose hair, and he fought down a shudder as a stray lock brushed against his hand.
Lucrezia's eyes were bright with amusement to match her smile as she breathed out another husky laugh and shook her head ever so slightly. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"
He lost control of his pulse and his heart pounded as a faint hint of something floral filtered through his senses. His mouth was too dry. In the back of his mind, he recalled a Russian woman's higher-pitched laughter as the redhead settled more firmly in his lap and declared, 'Oh, and you don't even know it, that just makes it better.'
But this wasn't the same as that had been.
Guided entirely by his heart, he moved forward as well so their noses nearly touched. Staring into her eyes again pointedly, he muttered, "I have a few."
~~oOo~~
"A little," he admitted to Marlé.
~~oOo~~
She relaxed her weight further and smiled more generously. "Oh?"
He licked his lips, head buzzing with sensations he had yet to organize. "I'm still working out the details."
She laughed softly in the back of her throat as she leaned back into her chair. "Let me know when you manage to sort them, mm?"
~~oOo~~
Marlé sighed and curled up in her chair, cupcake on her knees. "Whatever, then."
"What?" he asked incredulously. She was upset again. She'd been happy and helpful all of three seconds ago.
She glowered at her knees, entirely sullen. "Just whatever, Odin."
...What?
oOo
oOo
Near Osnabrück, Germany – In Transit
When the world faded back into view, all he could make out at first was blurry, red, and soft. He blinked, reached out an uncooperative hand to try and touch it, groaned at how much trying to move hurt… and realized it was his blanket. Actually, it was his pillow, and his bed.
He got a sudden sense of vertigo as the bed lurched and two bands of something felt tight around his waist and legs.
This was probably not his apartment.
"Will, you alive back there?"
William groaned again, trying to figure out what the hell hurt most. He recognized the voice, though, even if nothing else made sense. "What happened?"
"You got blown up," Duo noted dryly. "I hear that hurts like hell; what's your vote?"
Will just groaned again and tried to bury himself in the mattress. That wasn't worth an answer. "Where am I?" There was a weird…. vibration that was oddly familiar… But that answer wasn't coming to mind either.
Duo didn't answer for a long moment, and his stomach twisted like he was on some sort of carnival ride before the boy began to tiredly explain. "We're on our way to Amsterdam. I grabbed everything personal or useful out of your place before I picked you up – you're going to be staying with us for a while."
An alarm went off in his head at that idea, and everything… spun. "My job-"
"Will, your job got blown up," Duo cut off, voice tight.
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stop thinking about the way he felt like he was on a hell of a merry-go-round.
He really didn't want to throw up on his bed… wherever it was, it was still his bed…
Duo sighed loudly. "It's… it's a damn good thing it was your day off, buddy." He just sounded tired now, like he couldn't stay upset. "It was close enough as it was. When the docs first called, they weren't sure you were going to make it at all." There was a click, and then, very suddenly, Duo was squatting next to him, taking his wrist in a very medical way. "I've got some meds to give you, but it needs to wait another half hour or so, until after we've crossed the border; it's been long enough that the guys I met on the way here are probably off shift." Another hand cupped his forehead. "You okay?"
"No," William groused, still trying to fight his stomach back down. "Where are we?"
"…On second thought, those meds might need to wait longer than thirty minutes."
He groaned again, trying to curl around his stomach… and groaned more as his back lit on fire.
"Shit…"
"Why?" he demanded.
"Because some people have a warped idea of who does what?"
…What does that have to do with anything? "Why do I have to be awake right now?" he clarified.
"Because if I get ID'd, you're going to need to be able to call in a few favors with a dead friend for me."
"I thought no one was dead."
The other man's laugh sounded a little too hysterical for comfort. "Oh God… It's you that's not dead, Will, I didn't say anything about anybody else."
"Who's dead?"
"…You know, I'm not sure this was one of my better ideas."
"Who's dead?"
"Fuck, you're not even going to remember this conversation, calm down, nobody died."
He blinked his eyes open and squinted up at the man his daughter had married. It… was dark, but he could see okay. "Where are we?"
Dark blue eyes met his for a long moment before he let out another sigh. "We're on our way to Amsterdam. And God help me, but there should be a better term for this than 'disorientation.'"
The fact that he was avoiding the question entirely was almost terrifying. Duo hated lying – he tried to sidestep it entirely all the time. "But where are we?" he demanded.
His eyes were panicked. "This can't be happening…"
"Where is this?" He grabbed at the hand by his face, wishing he had the energy to shake the damn boy. Panic wasn't going to help anything!
Duo's mouth opened in a little oh of surprise, then suspicion. "Are you talking about the van?"
Will frowned, trying to look around without moving his head. "Van?"
Duo closed his eyes and covered them with the hand that Will wasn't holding onto. "We're in Father Espen's van. I borrowed it."
Oh. That… made sense. He started to let go of the sleeve in his hand, when a different sense of urgency hit him. "I'm going to puke."
"…Of course you are…"
oOo
oOo
Munich, Germany – Sarracenia – Late Afternoon
"Thank-you," Relena murmured tiredly as she took the hand offered to help her out of the car. She felt like a wrung out dish towel, just completely spent-
"You're always welcome," Mitchell returned cheerfully.
Relena gasped as she really saw who was in front of her. "David!" she cried, flinging her arms around his neck and dropping her weight onto him.
He obliged by pulling her off her feet and into a bear hug, laughing happily. "I missed you too, Princess."
"Is it just you?" she asked, pulling away and looking around the courtyard for more familiar faces.
"Cassidy went home," the colonel dismissed. "This is genuine time off, not a break between flights. Some true downtime was due in."
She sighed. "I certainly can't argue with that." Fighting a smile, she reached out and plucked at one sleeve of his overly colorful shirt. "Enjoying your time out of uniform?"
He grinned and tugged down on the ends of it to better show the printed picture. "I'm rockin' this tiger."
Relena broke out giggling, pulling him into a more normal hug, feeling the tension drain out of her body. "I missed you, Dave."
Jake chuckled from behind her. "I didn't think you still had that shirt."
"And that," Mitchell whispered conspiratorially in her ear, "proves that he does not, in fact, know everything." Relena laughed more and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Your stage whisper needs work," Jake noted dryly.
"Your ears need more wax in them," David returned happily.
Jake chuckled again. "I'd say you need less glitter on your shirt, but I think Lena's handling that."
"What?" the princess demanded, quickly pulling back and looking down at herself.
"That's why it's a vacation shirt," David argued easily, reaching out and pulling Relena back into his arms just as she registered that there were, in fact, golden glints on her blouse.
"David!" she squealed in protest.
He just laughed, holding onto her tighter.
Lin had apparently also made his way out of the car, and cackled as she tried to wiggle free without actually trying that hard, because all the ways she knew how were far less than polite and had decent chances of causing bodily harm, even when done half-heartedly. Feeling utterly childish – but really, he'd started it – she made a rather annoyed whining sound and fell limp against him, hoping he'd just give in if she did first.
"What's this, now?" Mai asked, sounding just as amused as the rest, and Relena closed her eyes, trying not to break out in giggles again at the sheer absurdity of her position.
"A menace by the name of Mitchell," Lin explained easily.
"Oh?"
"Terrifying," Lin assured her.
"He came bearing glitter, no less," Jake confirmed dryly.
"Ah," Mai returned as though this had, indeed, explained everything. "Are we waiting for reinforcements, then?"
Relena smiled into the damn stupid shirt, and mumbled, "My white knights are coming for me."
"Mm, could be tricky," he noted seriously.
"I don't know, Marakesh," Jake was debating. "It's a hostage situation, remember."
"Didn't you train her to give us an opening for that sort of thing, though?" Mai argued.
Relena sighed at the very not subtle hints and shifted her weight to move after all, only to have David giggle naughtily and dance away from her before she could try something.
She grinned. He was Jake's best friend, after all.
Shaking her head, she started towards the house. "You're here for a few days, right?"
oOo
oOo
Lisbon, Portugal
Mm… It was refreshingly good to be back in Europe.
Adam shifted the strap on his bag, considering which way he wanted to go next. Something about the abandoned shipyard appealed to him greatly, and for all that the weaponry in his sack was as comforting as usual – no less so because it was no longer a current necessary precaution – it wasn't the best idea to continue carrying all of it across borders. Security was bound to go up with recent events, and he wasn't so uncertain of his footing at the moment that he needed an entire duffle-full for a security blanket. A sixth of what he had now would do fine… perhaps even an eighth, depending.
He hummed to himself as he decided left felt right, and went with it.
Everything had been thoroughly busy while he was in America, to the point that he was somewhat disappointed he hadn't acted on the radioactive situation just a week earlier, and not missed it. He had a lot of ground to cover if he wanted to maintain the information network he'd been crafting over the past two years and keep pace with current events enough to stop another bombing.
He rather hoped he didn't know anyone in Berlin. A few memories had been fighting to surface when he'd seen the wreckage of that scene on the news, and while he had decided he wasn't entirely interested in dragging them fully up through his subconscious, that didn't make the whole thing not disquieting. Something about explosions made his skin crawl… and hopefully it was just that he had the burn scars if not the conscious memories that accompanied them.
Mm… He tilted his head appreciatively at the sight of the warehouse in front of him and made his way through the lot towards it.
Thankfully, Catherine was still up in the colonies, and decently far away from the cluster that had gone dark. The circus manager had been caught in wartime crossfire enough times that he did his best to avoid it, and he always took care of his people. If Adam provided information that said danger was coming to an area he had planned on touring, he knew the other man well enough by now to realize he'd change the schedule. It was hardly a guarantee of safety, but it was as good as anything was going to get in the current climate, and he was alright with that. If anything was ever too sure in life, it wouldn't really be life anymore.
The door was very obviously bolted and chained securely shut, but there was a window that was conveniently easy to unlock around the far side. It was small, but big enough to suit his purposes. Once inside, he began exploring, taking note of useful structures… plenty of things that would work well enough… but couldn't help a smile as he found a perfect opening upwards on the second floor that was such that it could only be seen from a few angles. Balancing his duffel on his palms, he lifted it up into the cavity and let it topple to one side of the impromptu entrance before coiling his muscles and leaping up after it. Shifting the bag further over, he moved to take his flashlight back off his belt before brushing his hand against something that made him frown.
After a moment's confusion, he hit the button to turn on the lantern-style flashlight sitting rather oddly in the middle of the floor.
Hm. This… was unexpected.
There was a rather decent assortment of bags, boxes, and trunks... some of which looked rather like ammo tins. Curious, he reached out and popped the latch on one, opening the lid to confirm that notion. Shrugging, he moved forward and yanked down the zipper on a soft suitcase and was greeted with the sight of several high-end machine rifles and at least eighteen full clips. He considered them for a moment before turning to consider the other various containers around the room, fairly certain that that case, in particular, had grenades in it… and that that one was familiar.
Reaching out, he undid the latches and almost instinctively grabbed the large combat knife out of the foam it rested in and settled into a fighting stance. The weight was comfortable, and he took a few practice swipes to assess its weight before deciding that it just felt right – better than anything else he'd picked up for close combat. There was an odd roughness at the handle near the base of the blade that intrigued him enough to bring it closer to the lamp… and after a long moment, he smiled. Etched carefully into the metal was one word.
Nanashi.
Looking around the room again, then back to the bag he'd brought in with him, he smirked.
Evidently, he'd had this thought before.
oOo
oOo
Munich, Germany – Sarracenia – Evening
"Am I going to continue doing any work with the Chinese?" Dorothy asked in a resigned tone.
Relena frowned, looking up from the magazine they had been pawing through. "So long as you don't mind," she appealed immediately. "I trust you, so I've been leaving it to you more, but if-"
"It's not the task," Dorothy interrupted, waving a hand in a dismissive gesture. "I find the change of scenery perfectly agreeable. Ooh!" She pointed to a picture. "That one."
Relena looked back down and made a considering noise. "Maybe. What is it about, then?"
The other woman made a face. "Mu."
Mm, I probably ought to have seen that coming. She smiled a little. "She's too mellow for you?" Their personalities weren't exactly compatible, Relena would admit. Mu… tolerated eccentricity and did her job. She was quiet, and kept to herself a lot of the time, though not in an offensive way. It wasn't exactly a surprise that she was clashing with Dorothy's outright flamboyance. The younger woman's immaturity probably didn't help the relationship either.
"She's a complete stick in the mud," Dorothy groused, dog-earing the page and flipping to the next. "And there's something else too, but I can't put my finger on it."
Relena sighed a little. Mu… was entirely functional, and calm enough, but it was wholly conceivable that the American woman was still in a stage of grief. Also… "Do you think she considers you partially responsible for Libra?"
"I only risked my life trying to stop Milliardo from firing on the planet by bodily flinging myself at him," she noted acidly.
"She's still American. It might not be rational." Mu made a point not to lash out at people, but Dorothy had a way of crawling under a person's skin when she wanted to.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head, flipping the page again. "Valid facts, but no. I considered that; it's something else."
A weight sunk deep into her stomach. Dorothy had good instincts, and however offbeat the woman could be, Relena had come to trust her completely on things like this. "How?"
Her friend pouted. "My reasons never make sense to anyone else."
No, but they were usually spot on anyway. "That's because you're a natural at this," she assured her quietly.
However highly analytical Dorothy was, she did it all subconsciously. Or, at the very least, it wasn't a thought process she could trace out for someone else. She saw details everyone else dismissed and painted them into a larger picture with a frightening accuracy, all without fully understanding what the details themselves had originally been. She didn't know how she knew, generally… she just did. It was why she could get to people as well as she did. She didn't seem to actively understand her own behavior enough to recognize how ridiculously petty it could be, but she knew the effect it would have, and she didn't cast impressions she didn't fully intend.
"She watches me. She watches everything, things that she shouldn't care about." The noblewoman looked up and they met eyes. "She forgets too much that she should have known, if she pays that much attention. She's cozy when it gets her attention, and annoying if it gets her more or less. She's…" The woman's eyes narrowed. "Something is wrong with her."
…It sounded catty and generally wretched and paranoid, but Dorothy wouldn't have said all this if that was all; she just would have happily done her best to make the other woman miserable. So, put through the filter, she found Lieutenant Ackroyd's behavior suspicious… and considering Dorothy's definition of 'suspicious' and her high tolerance to weird social quirks altogether, that was… very worrisome.
Relena looked back down to the magazine and flipped a page, considering the pictures absently, but with her mind focused on the problem before her. "If you're right," she noted after a moment, stilling her lips out of habit, "then what are the chances she's informing on us?"
Dorothy was silent for a long moment before deciding, "That depends on Jake."
Relena felt her stomach sink even deeper. "Jake didn't want to hire her," she admitted quietly.
Dorothy's lips pressed tight. "So he said."
Relena closed her eyes, considering the possibilities whirling before her. If Mu worked for someone else, the last person it would be was her brother; it would be a resistance group. If she was getting information out, it would have to slip through Jake's security measures. Though of course, with her access off the grounds, that wouldn't be as difficult as it might otherwise seem. It would depend on how often she reported… and how much of her seeming contentment was an act or real.
But if Jake did know about Treize's survival, then he had kept it to himself. And if he had kept it to himself, then he could either be protecting an old friend, or moving against others offensively. If he was working with Treize the way he had done over and over again in the past, then… The possibilities spiraled.
The way he looked at her now… They had both acknowledged it a handful of weeks ago, and yet not. His eyes sparked when he watched her and thought she couldn't see, and her heart sped up every time. He was so careful to stay on the same level of contact with her, like nothing had changed, but kept such a distance. She'd seen the request in his expression when it had first begun, and had matched it with her own control in response…
Things had changed, but neither of them wanted to allow the alteration. She had decided that if he wanted to keep his distance, then she would do the same, because if he thought that… that that lure was a bad idea, then frankly, it was. She didn't show that she noticed how he breathed more deeply than he needed to when she was in his personal space, and he didn't say anything if her own breath quickened. They would stay where they were, and just… wait for it to pass. She'd been attracted to him when they first met, after all, and it had faded out once before.
But then Engineer Kailì Lao had told her about Treize, and that cast a far darker light on all potential reasoning.
And yet, there was the fact that it really might not be more than it seemed.
Sighing, she looked out the window… and blinked at the sight of Jake standing outside with David. "Hm. Thea?"
The other woman looked up, and paused at the sight herself. "They look cold."
Relena had noticed the lack of coats herself, and considering the fact Jake, at least, despised the cold and generally refused to go outside without a scarf? That was odd. His arms were crossed, to add to the image… and then the full posturing of both men caught up to her and her breath caught in her throat.
"They're angry," Dorothy murmured, fascinated.
Relena could only nod. Despite the defensive posture, there was something downright aggressive about Jake's stance, and David was leaning forward as he gestured tightly… though he flinched back when the other colonel stepped forward. The next moment he was shaking his head the way he did when frustrated, not backing away, actually leaning more into the other man's space… and then Jake whirled and stormed away, taking a wide curve around his friend and heading back into the house. After another irritated toss of his head, Mitchell followed after him.
"Now what was that about?" Dorothy muttered, and Relena turned to see her staring off into the distance, lost in thought.
Relena felt her throat tighten. "This isn't the first time." She remembered Jake's voice snapping out a cold 'No' over and over again to Mitchell over the phone from the conversation she'd overhead a few weeks ago.
"Mitchell took the conversation outside so they wouldn't be overheard," Dorothy pointed out.
"Mailin is fluent," Relena agreed. "The jump to Japanese wouldn't have done its usual trick." And the body language, of course, would be a dead giveaway.
"Was that a camera blind spot?"
Relena had no idea, but the notion didn't seem too far out of hand. At the same time, however, if David had been the one to lead, he wouldn't be as familiar with the camera and mic angles. Considering that for a moment, she came to a decision. "I'll talk to Lin."
There was a chance that whatever they were fighting about lately would shine more light on her current dilemma. Jake and David teased and tussled, they disagreed and argued, but always in a friendly way; their body language read like annoyed brothers at their worst. The exceptions to that had only been when Dave had been trying to stop Jake's assault on his father, the argument she had overheard on the phone… and now. This was suspicious and worrisome in and of itself… and if it turned out to have nothing to do with her current worries, then she still wanted to know what was causing such severe friction between her friends.
Dorothy looked at her sidelong, obviously assessing, but in the end she nodded and looked back to the spot their two friends had been in without comment. "Best do it tonight – Jake already agreed to take Addie and I out."
She nodded. She could have a word with him while her colonel was getting ready, and handle the affair while Jake was out of the house entirely. Adelia hadn't had a chance to get out and do something fun since before her son was born, and Jake had suggested she join he and Dorothy on their next trip to the clubs. The timing had worked out badly for David's surprise visit, so Relena had decided to leave the boys to have some time to themselves before it was time for them to go, seeing as she would be able to spend the entirely of the evening with Dave.
"Don't approach David, Lena. See if he tries to draw you in first."
"I planned on it," Relena assured her firmly. It went without saying that Dorothy would keep a close eye on Jake too, tonight, and see how much this was bothering him. Saying it aloud would annoy her finicky friend – she would take it as an implication that Relena thought she was stupid.
Dorothy nodded firmly in turn.
oOo
oOo
Munich, Germany – City – Night
The doorman gave him a highly amused look when tonight he showed up with a woman on each arm instead of just one, and Jake winked at him as they passed. Addie and Dorothy were giggling uproariously about God only knew what.
He was glad that the two women had hit it off, for all that he hadn't expected it. Admittedly, he hadn't known Addie for several years now and didn't have as good of a grasp on her personality as he had before, but she had always been almost painfully practical – he doubted more responsibility would alter that. At the same time, however, Dorothy seemed to have gone out of her way to befriend his friend, and it was good for her to have something carefree to focus on too. Frivolity had a way of taking the edge off of a hard life.
It helped that she was also practically-minded enough to realize that he and Dorothy trying to dote on her had little to do with charity and everything with the joy of making someone happy… And, well, with Thea, she hadn't taken long to realize it might have just been something to do. Adelia didn't offend easily, and took things simply as they were… which was what had originally drawn him to her. She didn't analyze by her own standards; instead, she had a talent for instinctively knowing the standard of who she was dealing with, and using that exclusively.
The music was essentially deafening, and Dorothy pulled Addie away from him towards the crowded dance floor. For the moment, he decided to find somewhere to sit back and keep an eye on them. He would end up dancing eventually, but he liked at least some amount of time to acclimate. Once he'd been there a while the noise and crowd stopped bothering him so much, but at the moment, his senses were screaming danger.
It would wear down into easy anonymity soon enough. Until it did, he could calm the paranoia a bit by standing back and scoping out details of possible dangers.
This really wasn't his kind of thing… Well, mostly. His uncle had coached him endlessly on the dangers of people in general and loss of focus especially, but… life was hardly so cut and dry. The best part about understanding all the rules is knowing how to break them and get away with it.
His uncle had never faltered, never dropped his vigilance for a moment – but he'd also never stopped working, and never took time for himself. Everything was a lesson, all measures taken to the point of perfection more or less just for the sake of perfection, and he'd just… existed. He raised his children and he worked… and that was it.
That had been one of the first things he'd actually come to get about what was wrong with how he grew up – that being able to play was important too. That it could feel so good to do something entirely pointless, just for fun. Dancing or shopping – though Amarianna had originally couched those as lessons for required social functions. David was the one who introduced him to video games, though he'd still goaded him into it with comments about reflexes needing to be perfect, and then the competition without anything at stake…
That had been the closest he'd come to playing with Junior since Jack happened, and he'd been so homesick after that first night he'd refused to talk to any of them for a week… But then had Lu practically dragged him home for her dad's birthday to play absurd board games, going on about how it wasn't any fun without a third person and guilt tripping him about how they hadn't been able to play since her mom had died, and… and something had clicked. The Noins were picky about who they would let into their home… and so was Amarianna. It wasn't that they couldn't…
Life is supposed to be about choice. Not what you were good at, though that certainly weighed in, but… Life shouldn't just be about what you need – not if it's a good life. It was about what you wanted. And he hadn't understood what 'want' was when he was a kid, because his uncle hadn't ever given them options. He'd just… done the same things he always did, and he and Junior were along for the ride.
But he could choose who he did or didn't want to spend time with… and looking back, that was really the first decision he'd ever made in his life. He'd left Jack behind in favor of bantering with Treize again. For memories of dropping Junior on the library floor with a coloring book and some crayons so he could dig through the books for something interesting while the adults were busy. After the custody suit, the Khushrenadas were the only familiar people he could think of who weren't either under a label of suspicious or target…
Though whether Treize's mom had been the closest thing his uncle had to a friend or if she had been a frequent client, he'd never found out. Even if it was the former, it probably started as the latter, he mused, not for the first time. Amarianna Khushrenada née Catalonia was Dorothy's paternal aunt.
He chose to spend time with Treize's cousin, the woman who was practically Lena's little sister somehow, because he cared about her. He wanted her happy, and he wanted her safe, and the dancing was just another way to move – and he'd yet to find a single form of fluid motion that he didn't enjoy. He didn't usually like crowds, but the intent was different here… it half the reason Thea liked this place. You could feel the attention. Viscerally focused intent... There was energy here, a sort of reverberating joy of music and motion, exhibition and appreciation without a bar held for status quo…
He could appreciate that.
He might have a hard time trusting people around him, but these were happy people, and that made a world of difference… and there was something distinctly relaxing about the ambiguity of a crowd like this. He knew how to blend in, and he always felt good when he knew he was helping someone he cared about. He was confident enough in himself that he could handle a situation arising here even with his hearing compromised… and that was enough, once he settled the instincts he'd been instilled with so early on in childhood he couldn't remember.
That, and the place certainly had its charms – he was hardly immune to the ever tantalizing flashes of female skin on display. He had to spend in inordinate amount of time in the shower before he could go sleep just meters away from Relena on club nights.
It almost made him want to have a private room again – almost.
The whole room smelled like her, these days… It was intoxicatingly distracting, and he didn't want to lose it. Not yet. Not ever, really, but, well…
Stop. Be here, now. After all, this wasn't just Dorothy's escape, these days.
Clubs were always fantastic places to people watch. Eccentric behavior was the norm, not even getting into the clothing… and his own company was no exception. Dorothy had convinced Addie to let her spray pink temporary dye, of all things, in her hair, so she had streaks similar to Dorothy's bright green, and while the corset and pants Addie was wearing covered more than Dorothy's slinky green dress, neither ensemble left much to the imagination.
Shaking his head and laughing as Addie matched Dorothy's outlandish dancing move for move, he tried to sink his nerves deeper into the back of his brain and speed the process up. They could accept the attentions of anyone they wanted, but Dorothy only let it go so far, and Addie had made it clear that she didn't want to be touched by any stranger with intentions. With the kind of attention they were starting to attract, he needed to go be an intimidating male presence to maintain that boundary soo-
"Jake?! Oh my God, it is you!"
That doesn't bode well. So much for anonymity. Narrowing his eyes, he turned to see who the hell had recognized him… and fought the urge to swear.
She wasn't immediately recognizable in ridiculously short shorts and a billowing crop top that moved loosely enough to suggest she wore nothing beneath it – like someone might catch an interesting glimpse if they watched long enough. Her auburn hair was twisted up and spiked with something sparkly that matched the glitter painted around her eyes, but she was hardly disguised.
Apparently, Dorothy wasn't the only noblewoman who preferred this sort of entertainment.
He didn't bother to hide his irritation at finding her here; his evening was about to go to complete shit. "Olivia," he greeted evenly. "I wouldn't have expected to find you here."
She laughed and reached up to cover her mouth with one hand as she did so, her shirt twisting and the light catching on yet more shimmer in some pattern on the shirt as the bangles she wore on one arm jangled. He fought the urge to twitch as his ears began to ring. "And I you!" she returned easily. "You look good!"
As if he would wear something that wasn't sensually flattering to a place like this. "And you're all shiny," he noted dryly. He glanced back towards the girls; however impossibly long the Dontelaine woman made her legs look, he was here for a reason. She didn't need to get any more annoying ideas than she already had anyway.
Her eyes widened. "Is…?" She focused on the dance floor herself.
"No." The last thing he needed was for someone to say Relena's name here, in relation to him. It wasn't common enough to just brush off.
Her returning look was far more interested, heading in the direction of seductive. "Then you-"
"No."
She frowned, looking back out to the floor. "But then… Oh." Still frowning, she looked back to him, then Dorothy, seemingly incredulous. "You're not-"
"I'm not anything," he negated immediately, not really caring for any thoughts that might have occurred to her.
"Well, that's a start," she decided cheerfully.
"No, it's really not," he noted. "It makes for a pretty decent end, actually." Pushing away from the wall, he made his way down to the girls. I might as well make what I can of the evening before Dorothy sees her and starts raining down brimstone. Today had already shown a pattern for slipping from bad to worse – instead of proving himself wrong again by thinking it couldn't go any more downhill, he was just going to take what he could while it lasted.
Surprisingly, it actually lasted a good two hours, which had to count for some kind of success. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he heard a deadly hiss of "that bitch" that officially called the peacetime.
Not sure at the moment where the redhead was, he took the precaution of looping his arm around Dorothy's waist a bare moment before she tried to launch into the crowd – thereby preventing her from doing something he knew she wouldn't regret, but that everyone else who ever heard about it would.
"Calm down," he muttered in her ear as she tried to pull away.
"She can't be here!" she snarled.
He forcibly pulled her arms to her body and added them to his grip around her. Knowing it was futile, but trying all the same, he pointed out, "It's public property, Thea. The people who come through here are one of the reasons you like it."
She stopped fighting him, but was still furious enough that she visibly shook. "I don't want her here," she hissed, tone shifting.
…That's not anger anymore. Extremely glad that he'd had the foresight to have Vaughn come in after running into Olivia, he looked up to where the other man was sitting in a lounge with Addie and gestured before beginning to half lead, half carry Dorothy out of the crowd. "I know," he reassured her quietly.
"This ruins everything!" she wailed, practically dropping her weight on him.
A little melodramatic, but he followed the point. "I know," he repeated softly, taking on more of her weight and focusing on getting them to the back halls near the bathroom; she needed a little bit of privacy. When a bouncer frowned and moved to tell him he couldn't pass, he pulled a few hundreds out of one pocket and handed them to him without stopping; the man didn't try to press it.
Inwardly, Jake felt like rolling his eyes. That was the entire point of bribes, of course, but the pure ease of it always irritated him.
There didn't appear to be anyone nearby when she twisted to bury her face against his shoulder and start sobbing. Rubbing small circles over her back, he tapped at the back of her calf with one toe to get her take off the heels she was wearing. Dorothy was taller than him barefoot; she was going to get a crick in her neck at their current height differences. She shakily stepped out of them without looking up, and he focused on just being there for her.
The blonde in his arms had been getting more and more depressed over the past few weeks, and he hadn't been able to sort out what to do about it – not unless she brought up the problem. Guessing would not help with the volatile woman if he didn't get it right, and her mind just worked too differently to have any decent chance of success at the deeper issues. "Shh… It'll be alright." It couldn't be all that hard to sort out.
"She…" Her voice hitched and she tried again. "She's destroying my life!"
"She's nowhere near good enough to pull that off," he coaxed, running a hand over her hair.
"She's going to take Lena away from me!"
He snorted. Really? "Never."
"She's trying to sway her! And Lena likes her!"
"Lena is too steadfast for that, and the woman makes a good ally."
"I'm a better ally!" she snapped, sobbing harder.
"Exactly," he soothed. It helped – or didn't, in this case – that the girl was also amiable, had a similar personality to the princess, and could probably teach her a few things as well as offer up the power she had under her, but that didn't need to be said right now. It wasn't as though Dorothy's position would change with the princess, whoever else she managed to get under her influence – Relena was kind and fair and perceptive enough to not burn one bridge for another. She was compassionate enough to make sure everyone felt their value. Especially so when you consider how easily she's been tossed aside by those she respected in the past.
"Besides, you're not just better," he reminded her. "You're more than an ally. You're her friend, and Lena loves you." He tilted his head up and kissed her cheek before leaning back so she could meet his eyes if she wanted to. "No one's going to forget about you, so there's no need to worry that your best friend is going to up and replace you. That's not how she works, and you know it."
Instead of taking in the reassurance as he'd hoped, however, she just held onto him tighter and kept on sobbing. Sighing, he gave up for the time being and just held her. He'd long since gotten used to Dorothy's physical presence… and when she felt bad, she craved touch the same as a child. "Hey, hey, it's going to be okay… you'll be fine…" he soothed. Sighing a little, he suggested, "The bitch isn't worth crying over." He'd make a joke about all the glittery body paint if he wasn't worried that she secretly admired the sparkles.
The problem with Olivia was equal parts jealousy and fear of failure. It was preposterous, but… well, it probably had something to do with the redhead being both actively not snooty, the same way Relena was, and a lot closer to social norms than Dorothy was. The match-up was pretty fantastic, in terms of pure compatibility, and there was an implied threat there… but it could hardly erase the long history between Dorothy and Relena. Experience was a true bond forged that didn't break over any less than tragedy, and Relena had proven over and over again that even that didn't stop her from hanging on to everything she had with a death grip.
He sighed, closing his eyes and considering his own advice. Honestly, Relena's faithful nature…
Sometimes, these days, he was just so damned tired.
Dropping his forehead down to Dorothy's shoulder like she had hers to his, he breathed in the thick but delicate scent of her perfume, and murmured, "Don't cry, Thea…"
"I'm damned!" she cried instead, shoulder shaking enough that it was hard to lean back on her. "No matter what happens now, I'm damned! I can't…" Her voice rose in pitch with another sob.
"That's not true," he refuted quietly. After a long moment, he softly added, "I don't know what has been bothering you so much recently, but you're not damned to anything, Dorothy."
"I am!"
"If you're damned to anything, I'll save you back out of it," he promised.
"You can't!"
"You don't believe that," he ensured smoothly, rubbing at her back again. "I would fix it for you." Sometimes, with Dorothy, you just had to go back to the same absolutes you'd use for a child. It wasn't for any lack of intelligence that that might imply, though. Instead… it was that she recognized the safety of ultimatums. If there were no conditions in place, no complications for her to count, no loopholes that could be devised, it became a comfort. It was something about the way her head worked; sometimes, she just needed her intellect removed from the equation in order to cope with the real world.
She didn't answer for a long moment, and she stilled enough that he began to hope that it had worked. Finally, however, she whispered, "You're a liar."
He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall, as a lance of cold piercing through his chest… and tried to come up with an argument for that that wasn't a lie. She trembled again, but didn't resume crying, and didn't pull away… and after a long moment, he knew what to say.
"I could never stand by and just let you be hurt, Dorothy." She was his friend… she was practically Relena's sister. She drove him up the wall sometimes, but he didn't back down once he made a friend. He didn't desert anyone he truly attached himself to…
It had hurt to find out how much bad had come down on Adelia and Daniella. He had stayed up that night hunting down all the details he could on everyone he had come to love before and after them, to try to confirm that as many of them were okay as he possibly could… He'd reached out to a few that had fallen on hard times the next morning. But it tore at him, how many he couldn't find at all. There had been a reason he had avoided the idea.
Leia.
Mariemaia.
He needed to go see Des, quit avoiding him…
…Lucrezia.
He still couldn't decide if she had been real, in Amsterdam, or if he had just imagined her. He wanted so badly for it to be true, that she had been there, but he wanted it so damned bad… It was too good to have been real; to finally have proof.
The idea that she might not be… he couldn't let himself think about it.
"…I'm sorry," Dorothy whispered.
"…Don't be," he murmured after deciding he really meant it. He was a liar, and they both knew it. But some things counted no matter what, and she'd conceded that. Lies were to get out of corners that the truth painted you into… and it was a fell swoop, if the curtains you built all came crashing down. If you were willing to lie about anything to anyone, you had no limits, but…
A world without anyone to be your exception is worthless. He crushed her to his chest for a long moment, debating… and decided, frankly, Why the hell not?
"Can I ask you something?" he whispered reluctantly. "Just between us?"
He loved that she stopped to consider what that meant and debated before just agreeing, like so many others would. "Yes."
He licked his lips, closing his eyes again and trying to choose exactly what words… before deciding to stare up at the ceiling, not the friend in his arms. If you weren't willing to whitewash your way back out of a corner, you had to start making decisions that defied something… and if he was entirely honest, he had been doing the equivalent of splashing the white primer everywhere haphazardly already. He was running out of pride to sacrifice, and he knew it.
"How…" He'd done it before, but never so big as this, never so dire… and there were a few ways through it, David wouldn't stop harping…
But for maybe the fifth time in his life, he was terrified of what might come next. He… he didn't want to go back. He couldn't stand to lose it again… and he was running out of time. There was a small chance that Dorothy could help, for all that he couldn't possibly let her…
He smiled a little ruefully, closing his eyes again, the irony ringing through him. He couldn't handle the idea of maybe letting Dorothy just 'fix it'. Maybe because he didn't believe it would work… and maybe because there was no way he could surrender what little control he had, even as it slipped through his fingers like sand.
His own principles that he had crafted and stood by through everything were going to tear him to pieces before this was done.
"How?" Dorothy asked quietly.
Opening his eyes to stare back up at the ceiling, he faintly heard himself ask, "How can you betray one friend for another?"
"…Jake?" Her voice shook.
He closed his eyes again before he could start to cry too. "I just… I don't understand. How… could anyone bear it?" Beloved was without calculable value, but impossibly fragile. It could be gone in the blink of an eye, and you wouldn't even know until hours or weeks, months later…
And there was no way to come back from it. "I can't believe it's possible," he whispered after a moment, finally looking back at her, feeling the tears leak out of his eyes. More than aware that he was repeating her from before but knowing he couldn't come up with any better, he shook his head a little and shrugged. "I just can't."
oOo
oOo
July 4th 198 – Friday – Skopje, Macedonia – The Skyview
"Huh."
"Mm?" Odin shut the door, pocketing the card key they had picked up at the front desk.
She tossed him an irritated look as she crumbled the plastic backing in one hand, shifting her pack's weight and moving over to the table to set it down. "This is a lot nicer than we usually do," she explained.
He shrugged, moving further into the suite as well. "He's making a point." Given the large kitchen, leather couch, and obviously separate bedrooms, he wondered if they would be staying more than one night.
His answer seemed to amuse her, and she set her duffel down to dig through it. "Is it a 'because I can' sort of point?"
Odin frowned, resisting the urge to just walk away and stop talking to her. She'd been in this mood all day.
It didn't exactly do much for his mood.
Having pulled the PlayPaq out, she turned to face him fully and sighed, looking tired. "Okay… what?"
He carefully unclenched his jaw and focused on relaxing the muscles in his face for a few moments before answering. "The last time I was in this city, we slept in an abandoned tool shed." It had been cold enough that he'd actually gotten frostbite, and Quatre had caught a cough that quickly turned into pneumonia.
…It had been the last time, while that Regime tracker was still set on him, that he had been desperate enough to try hacking them funds. He had gotten them what they needed before getting caught out, but it hadn't exactly helped his friend recover when he had had to pick him up and literally run to avoid capture. They had managed to stow away on a train further south, where it was warmer, but in the end they had had to spend the majority of the money just putting themselves back together.
This town… had probably been one of their lowest points, after Libra fell. The aftermath of what had happened here had brought him closer to eating a bullet than any of the other times he had considered pulling the trigger.
Well, any of the times he had considered it after Antarctica, at least.
Setting his own bag down, he decided to see what the bathroom looked like.
"So…" Marlé trailed after him, sounding unsure of herself now. "It's for the contrast?"
He looked back at her, considering her expression, and nodded. Coming here, meeting like this, had been entirely Quatre's decision. The symbolism of it had appealed to his friend, and that could only mean one thing: he was confident. He wasn't frightened anymore. He didn't think he needed to hide. "It means he's done with running. He's ready to make his move." Opening the door and flicking on the light, he found himself staring.
The bathtub was somewhat reminiscent of the hot tub in Sudan.
Quickly, he considered. The messages he and Quatre had exchanged had set the meeting time for a few hours from now, and originally he hadn't intended to arrive this early; Marlé had been tired enough to start falling asleep leaning against his side, however. Looking back to her, he focused on the PlayPaq in her hand. "What are you doing?"
She rolled her eyes and turned to go. "Leaving you alone with the building's hot water supply."
He frowned, though a smile tugged at one side of his mouth at the same time. "But what are you doing?" he asked curiously.
"Stuff," she returned cheerfully, waving at him with the hand holding the Paq without looking back. "Exploring the room, gaming… maybe napping." Grinning over one shoulder, she noted, "Don't worry, if I can manage myself in Amsterdam, I don't think I'll get so lost you can't find me, no matter how big this room is."
He grinned back before ducking into the bathroom. At least she was acting like herself again.
oOo
oOo
Cory waited for the girl to go back out into the main room and he heard the water start to run before opening the wardrobe door and climbing out, checking the time on the bedside clock. Quatre hadn't said how long he was going to be out… but seeing as he'd only just left, and he had thought Heero would be late if anything, it probably wasn't going to be for a while. If he stayed hidden somewhere in the suite, it was a good chance he'd be found before Quatre came back… and this was Quatre's friend, anyway.
He hadn't said anything about a girl, though.
Shrugging – it wasn't as though there was any point in tiptoeing if he wasn't going to hide – he ambled out of the bedroom towards the kitchen and settled down on one of barstools set up against the breakfast bar, sprawling his arms out so it would be clear he was relaxed and unarmed, resting his chin on the tile of the counter and watching her put stuff in the fridge. He was wondering what she'd do when she saw him… but he didn't expect her to just glance over her shoulder, purse her lips, and turn back to bump the fridge further open while she reached down to dig deeper in her bag.
He blinked, trying to… decide how to take that.
She glanced back at him, as if to see if he was going to do anything interesting, and he sat up straighter almost in spite of himself. "Hi."
Her smile was kind of a smirk. "Hello." After a moment, she shrugged her right shoulder towards the inside of the fridge. "Are you hungry?"
He was always hungry. But… "Quatre said he was bringing food back."
"Mm, that sounds good," she decided, standing up and shutting the door. Picking up the bag, she set it on the counter and started pulling more stuff out of it. "Vinegar or original?"
What? "Vinegar?"
"Cool." She turned away from the counter, tugging at the sides of a plastic bag with both hands; he jumped at the loud 'pop' sound it made, then blinked as the tangy smell of vinegar flooded the room, making his mouth water. She dug a hand into it and pulled out a chip as she walked up to him, holding out the bag. "My mom got me hooked on these. You should try one." When he didn't make a move, she just shrugged again and dropped it between his hands before moving for the couch. "I have a PlayPaq. Do you want to play something? I can rig up a second controller."
He perked up at that, twisting to watch her sit down before staring back at the chips… "Okay!" Holding onto the bag, he jumped to his feet and followed her. "I haven't played anything in years."
"Mm." She frowned. "Is it okay that they're in English?"
He frowned back at her, wondering why not… and realized what she'd said.
"È va bene quello il giochi sei in Inglese?"
He hadn't even noticed.
Giggling, he dropped onto the couch next to her, feeling giddy. "English is good," he told her in the more common language. "I'm good at English."
She snickered, grabbing the cables she had left on the coffee table earlier and standing back up to mess with the TV. "If you say so."
oOo
oOo
Quatre jerked back as he unlocked the door and was practically hit in the face with a wall of noise.
"Ah, no! Left! Left, the pink one!"
The first thing he focused on, in spite of the sound barrage, was the pair was duffel bags leaning against the table that definitely hadn't been there earlier. Stepping in and shutting the door behind him with one toe, he slipped into the kitchen to set down the carryout… and considered the extra teenager sitting in his living room. Blonde hair hung loose past the shoulders, slender build, definitely female… he couldn't guess her age without seeing her face. She was comfortable, amused, and very focused on the bright colors lancing across the screen in abstract designs. Cory…
He didn't need to be an empath to see the kid was having the time of his life.
Leaning forward, he rested his arms on the counter by the sink and tried to work out the mechanics of the game, just basking in the happy tumult of excitement washing around him. If he moved any closer to them they would notice him and stop what they were doing, and this was nice, even if his eardrums protested. When he focused, he could feel another mind off to his left, though it was muted almost as much as Cory could be when he was quietly content…
He wondered if that might be why, before Libra, he had always found something about Heero genuinely calming. It had been Heero that had guided him back from the shores of insanity and suicide after everything with Zero. Heero, utterly unflappable in the face of failure and devastation and subjugation, who reminded him it was possible to come back from absolute despair…
Seeing Heero come apart at the seams bit by bit after the war had broken him far more than Libra's crash had.
"Ooh, bonus level," the girl crowed, then made a face, passing her controller – was that a cell phone? – over to Cory. "I don't like this song; you try." Then, as the boy fumbled with the machine so as to not miss the start of the level, she bounced up off the couch and met Quatre's eyes, heading right for him.
No fear, no confusion, no hostility… but an unbelievable level of pure self-assurance and strong but relaxed curiosity. Her eyes were one of the palest shades of blue he'd ever seen on a person, her gaze assessing… Seeing her face on, he'd probably gauge her at fourteen years.
She smiled and brushed past him to open the fridge and dig out three different flavors of soda in varying containers, which she then held out to him in a silent question. Amused, he took the lemon-lime and offered her a smile of his own, lifting the drink in a cheers. She winked at him and ducked back behind the fridge door to put the cola back; she kept the orange cream.
Quatre felt his focus fall back to the pair of duffels by the table as he unscrewed the cap, and thought he had an idea as to why Dr. Srona had been amused by Cory's presence. She reminds me of Duo.
Taking a sip, he grimaced, surprised – then annoyed that he was surprised. He'd forgotten how sweet this stuff was.
The girl sighed at him, though in a patient way. "You didn't have to take it if you don't like it, you know."
He debated telling her that it was polite, but that wasn't why he'd done it. "I honestly didn't think about it," he told her, taking another small sip, reacquainting himself with the flavor and remembering why he liked it, for all that it had been nearly two years. "I didn't remember how different it was from what I've had more recently." Taking more of a real swallow, letting the sweet fluid spark across his tongue, he sighed a little, happily in the middle of a simple pleasure had hadn't had access to for so long. "I do like it." She still hadn't opened hers, however, and he gestured at it. "Why aren't you drinking?"
She gave him an amused look. "It's not for me." Waving towards the suite's entrance, she noted, "You tripped the sensor I planted on the door. I made it clear I was still on the couch, so he knew you were here as soon as you walked in."
Alarm struck up in his brain at the announcement, and he felt his eyes widen in realization that her confidence might not be ill placed; if her comment was anything to go by, it was centered around Heero.
Shrugging carelessly, she added, "He's got to be finished getting dressed by now. So…" She grinned as a figure moved up the hall towards the main. "Hey."
He was taller than Quatre remembered, but then, he hadn't seen him stand up straight since they were on Peacemillion together, with how his leg had been. Dressed in dark jeans of what he could tell were a currently popular style and a black long-sleeved shirt with nondescript, faint blue patterning… he would effectively blend into any typical crowd of their age group. His face had matured and he'd definitely grown into his body better, but he was still very recognizably Heero Yuy, even if he was willingly decently dressed for once. He had a hand towel draped around his shoulders, and his hair was soaked, his skin flushed. He'd obviously just come out of the bathroom, especially with the girl's commentary about getting dressed.
Then he smiled ruefully and shook his head, reaching up to pull the towel back off his shoulders and rub at his head with it. "You've changed," he announced, and Quatre was all at once caught by how much more casual his movements were, compared to the old brusquely efficient motion he'd always associated him with.
Before he could say anything to that, however, the girl chipped in for him, bouncing up to her friend. "Everyone does, don't they? Here." She held out the soda to him.
"Thanks." He popped it open, glancing in Quatre's direction briefly before sweeping his gaze over the room and stopping on Cory. "Who's that?"
"Haven't gotten a name yet," the girl returned cheerfully.
"Why not?"
"I hypnotized him with my mad gaming skillz," she announced in a proud tone, before rolling her eyes. "He didn't offer or ask mine, so I figured I'd let it stand." She shrugged. "He's pretty cool. Seems he's attached to Quatre."
"Did you know that before you decided he was cool?" Heero asked in a wry tone.
"Yeah," she drawled in an annoyed way. "I had a gun in my hand until he mentioned Quatre was supposed to be bringing food back. And even after that, I always have my stunner on me." She rolled her eyes. "Just because I think someone's okay doesn't mean I'm going to be an idiot, Odin."
He gave her a very level, bland look that Quatre was all too familiar with, and she raised her brows, hands on her hips, stance very defiant… but there was a pent up excitement, a sort of anticipation radiating through her despite her smug appearance. He was trying to get a decent read on Heero and piece it together when the man moved forward in a lightning fast strike, only to have the girl move just as fast into a block and counterstrike – which was blocked just as efficiently – before giggling delightedly and bolting back to the couch. The fact that she just vaulted over the surrounding furniture in her path without a moment's hesitation or appearance of effort implied an ungodly amount of things… including the fact that perhaps he should judge the girl by what he knew he had been capable of at fourteen.
Or more accurately, he thought, focusing back on his old friend, on what Heero could do at that age. He had never possessed the insanely fast reflexes as the other pilots, probably due to the fact that his younger life had never demanded it; in the end, most of his ingrained physical responses to violence had been learned after he had met the Maguanacs in 193. After what fighting in the war had taught him – and after surviving in the Sahara – he was now firmly in the same class as the rest of them and imagined he could probably hold even with Duo's speed… but he had no particular urge to try against the other three.
Heero had always been the fastest of them in any case; New Edwards had proven that beyond a doubt.
Shaking his head, Heero relaxed his stance and turned back to face him, a broad smile stretching across his face as he tousled at his hair with the towel some more. "She's getting good."
His tone… That was the same tone his sisters used when they were unabashedly proud of him.
Quatre grinned, relishing in how different Heero had become. Still so calm and steady, like an anchor, but no longer so remote. "Talented," Quatre agreed, smiling and giving a tilt of the head to show everything was okay when Cory looked back over in their direction. "How long have you been teaching her?"
"Mm." He shrugged one shoulder as he moved around him towards the kitchen. "A year."
Quatre reconsidered the girl's physical prowess again and had to fight to shake his head. "Did she have any training before she met you?"
"No."
"That's amazing," Quatre muttered, looking back to the two teenagers on the couch. He'd taught Cory a lot, but… well, most of it was about stealth and hitting hard, not speed and maneuverability. The first two had had a greater chance of keeping him alive, and as far as he'd understood, it took a lot longer than a year of constant training to build up the latter two skills enough that they could have saved him in the desert.
Heero snorted as he deftly untied the knot on the bag of take-out. "You should see what she can do to a BIOS if you give her ten minutes. It took her a few weeks of playing with circuit boards to figure out she needed to just write her own operating system, but at this point she can work out all the kinks for multi-way communications, alarm triggers, and can tap most kinds of locator networks on cue." He started pulling out boxes of food and examining them.
That… A year. Looking back towards the living room, he found himself asking, "Does she sleep?" The kid had to be brilliant, no doubt, but still, to take in all that…
"A lot," Heero noted dryly. "I'm not entirely sure where all the food goes either." Pulling another container out of the bag and popping it open, he added, "Her mother says it's normal." He reached back into the bag, and opened the next container without taking it out, and blinked. "I'm eating this."
"That was actually the idea," Quatre noted wryly.
The other pilot plucked the box and a fork out with one hand, and turned to move back towards the inner suite. "I meant it possessively," he returned simply, picking his soda back up off the counter.
Quatre just laughed, feeling rather proud of the… very deeply cheerful emotions he was picking up from the other man. "That really was the idea," he insisted, grabbing a fork and carton out of the bunch at random and following. He'd gotten used to the noise level, and they had turned it down a little, but the idea of escaping it entirely had appeal. This was a throwback to when he had first started attempting to befriend the others during the war, trying to work out their habits, only it was so much easier when he could pick up mood this easily… And he didn't need a damn chisel to break through Heero's exterior, after all they'd been through together.
He blinked as something else occurred to him, and, amazed that he forgotten, watched how smoothly his friend moved. "You know," he muttered half-jokingly. "I really thought they were going to have to cut your leg off at one point."
"Not realistically," Heero answered readily, which was something of a wonder in and of itself.
Quatre laughed again, shaking his head. "No… I suppose not." Still, he'd been stunned when Dr. Srona told him he'd made a full recovery. Hesitating a moment, he admitted, "I… didn't mean to leave, when I did." He'd considered the idea a few times, but really, most of the plans had included the other man.
"You would have said good-bye, if you had," Heero agreed as he sat in a recliner. Setting his can down on the side table, he looked out the window and shook his head. "This place…"
He sighed, turning to look out at the view of the city himself. "Yeah. Everywhere we went, Heero… almost everywhere, practically, there was a place like this." The Winners were nothing if not far spread, and both convenience and privacy at any potential location – for either business or pleasure – was a must. If you dropped the right names and had the right proofs, you could live anonymously in the lap of luxury… or at least, that was how it had been designed to work.
"Your face was too well known," Heero concluded after a moment.
"It wouldn't have mattered," Quatre agreed. He hadn't been able to walk down the damn street without someone reporting a sighting of him, and he hadn't had access to any of the pseudonyms he would have needed… and he hadn't been convinced that the whole network wasn't compromised at that point in time, either. It hadn't been very clear just which of his sisters Marquise had gotten a hold of, and what information they might deem harmless to offer up willingly, let alone what he had uncovered on his own.
This wasn't an exclusive arrangement either… there would hardly be a point if it had been, because then everyone involved would be implicated. In the end, it had boiled down to the fact that his anonymity had been irreparably destroyed, and that he could find no way to secure access and get away with it for an hour, let alone a night they could actually sleep through.
And of course, if he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Zechs would have had the means to find more of his family. The network would have been exposed and therefore unusable in the future for any of them, for absolutely no gain. He had given up on the idea by New Year's – before the wounds Dorothy left him with had properly scabbed over, while he was still trying to figure out how Heero could continue losing so much blood and still be alive. Frankly, it had never been worth mentioning.
He stared into the glare of the glass, trying to make out the details of his silhouette. How much of his change in appearance had been things that would have happened anyway? How much of it was from things he'd gone out of his way to change? How much was from the desert itself, and the toll it had taken on him… on them all? He was never going to be able to pick apart the pieces and decipher which was which… and however upsetting that was, logically he knew full well that that was easily the definition of the fabric that made up life itself.
There were reasons he had been so disenchanted with his existence by the time he had met Rashid and the others, after all.
Strategy could only take you so far on the battlefield. As Heero had shown him time and again, sometimes it was the pure nerve to put one foot in front of the other that got you through to the end of the game. At a certain point, you just had to run with it… And if you planned with that resolve, then victory was sure.
"I'm heading back to space soon," he muttered as he dropped fluidly into the wing chair across from Heero. "I'll have more connections to work with there. I need to wrap up a few loose ends down here first, though, and learn everything that's happened. I've…" He stared down at one deeply calloused hand, then back out at the city. "…been out of the world a while." He focused back on Heero, who was watching him intently. "I need to know everything you know, before I can make a move."
Heero nodded, looking down and away, obviously thinking. He took a long minute to consider his words… and began to idly stir his food together, not seeming to actually see it. Finally, however…
"Relena's been busy."
Quatre nodded, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, trying to filter through the methodical maelstrom he was picking up from the other man. "I'd noticed that."
"Her financial backing, the R.L. Tomorrow Today Fund, worries me. They built Peacemillion… and I think they might have known about Operation M before even I did."
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oOo
Circling Back
oOo
I tried to get a lot of points covered and answer a few questions, but I have so little time at this point that it's frankly a relief to sleep. I won't bore you with the details, but I'm writing as much as fast as I can without my life falling to pieces around me completely. Feedback would be utterly fantastic… This chapter has really been in the works since before I posted the previous. It's been so long even I started thinking the first handful of scenes belonged to something I'd already put out there for you guys.
Considering the time lapses on updates, I figure I'll also point out that the majority of the information that Heero/Odin is inferring about RLTT his last comment are things he noted in the second scene of Chapter 31 "Kindle, Kindle…" of Survival. This being the plot point that it is, there's a lot more than that tucked around all over the place by most of the characters, but Odin's really only thought deeply on it once that was shown.
Really though, thoughts?
