20 Dec 2000
Next chapter - Relena reconsiders.
DISCLAIMER: All Gundam Wing characters are property of Sunrise, Bandai Visuals, Sotsu Agency, and Asahi TV. This work is not written for profit, but for entertainment purposes only.
PAIRINGS: 6X9 AND 13X6
WARNING: very brief, very mild lime; Relena again ^_~
Noin didn't sleep well that night. She knew the next day would be a hard one for her - perhaps the hardest day she had ever faced in her life. And there were so many plans to make and she knew, without a doubt, that she wouldn't have the motivation to carry them out when the time came.
So, at 5am she got up, took a long, long bath, dressed slowly in her jeans, a suede shirt, and some boots, and left her room. The house was quiet, no one up yet and her gaze flickered briefly to the closed door of Zechs's suite. /Better not... it might not be the view you want to see.../
She walked slowly down the main staircase of the palace and stopped on the landing, midway down. Standing at the bannister, the air around her seemed to hum softly, as if there were music playing somewhere that was almost too faint to hear. She could imagine the balls that used to be given, the women crusted with jewels and their men in Sank finery, waltzing in the ballroom, there through the pillars, or strolling through the drawing rooms and talking of pacifism.
Then, she looked down the stairs and imagined a small boy with pale gold hair and a serious face. He would be wearing a little suit with short pants and a heavily embroidered Sank style jacket. little white knee socks and polished black shoes. She saw him heading downstairs so as not to be late when his parents introduced him. He was so vivid in her mind that he was almost real - real enough to turn back and look up at her with a sad, almost apologetic face. A spasm of grief went through her as she "saw" another little boy walk down the stairs past her and take the blond boy's hand. He had nearly the same face. Only his coloring was different, with purplish-black hair and deep violet eyes. He smiled at her, the way little boys sometimes do when they see a pretty woman, and she nearly let out a sob.
As she watched, the boys walked off down the hall and turned in at the ballroom, the dark one giving her one more backwards glance as they disappeared around the door.
She felt a wave of fatigue wash over her and she sank to her knees on the landing and stayed there, staring at the ballroom door, for a very, very long time.
"Four days... *four* days, that's all he's giving me." Relena was fighting off a very bad mood and staring out of the window of the dining room at the misty gardens beyond. "If he does what he should and goes ahead with the wedding to Noin, there's no problem, but if he *doesn't*..." She put a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. "Oh dear, if he *doesn't*..."
"Stop doing thing to yourself, Princess," came a softly drawling voice from the table behind her. Howard was helping himself to toast and ham and coffee and giving the young woman sidelong glances, a mixture of sympathy and irritation. "Look, there's nothing you can do about what Zechs decides. It's completely up to him, so just let it go." He punctuated this by taking a mouthful of toast and leaning back in his chair with his coffee cup.
"Let it *go*? Howard, you don't understand. Not only would there be nearly 200 guests to contact, the florist and the photographer and the priest..." She held a hand to her head, indicating the dizzying number of things that would require canceling. "Then there's the small fact that I think he would be making a very serious mistake... and crushing Noin's heart as well. And for what? For a man who was his enemy in Eve War. For the man whose *child* was manipulated into starting a coup - oh, it's too ridiculous! Or would be, if it wouldn't hurt Noin so much."
Howard eyed her thoughtfully, one arm slung over the back of his chair. "I want you to think about something for a moment, Miss Relena. I want you to think back to the time your father was assassinated."
Relena turned to face him. "You want me to *what*?"
"Well, *think* about that time," Howard said steadily. "You came back to Earth and you saw your mother briefly, and then you left again. You wanted to find Heero. Now, I'm betting that you knew at the time it wouldn't make your mother happy for you to leave like that. I'm sure she didn't think that what you were doing was the best thing you could have done. Am I right about that?" Gray eyebrows raised as Howard waited for her answer.
Relena hesitated for a moment, looking out at the mist again. "Yes... you're right. We talked about if for a long, long time, and she told me she didn't want me to go." She turned slowly back to Howard. "But I *had* to! There was something inside of me that... that just made it *necessary* that I find Heero! She didn't like the idea, it's true, but she did try to understand how important it was to me."
"Okay then," Howard replied, "now think about your brother right now. You don't want him to stop the wedding. You want him to marry Noin - to be the brother that *you* envision him to be. Just like your mother wanted you to stay home with her. Now, don't you think there just might be a little something inside of Zechs that's telling him he *has* to do it his own way? Isn't it possible that choosing the right person, and making it his *own* choice, is just as important to him as finding Heero was to you?"
Relena was staring at the old engineer, a sad but thoughtful look on her face. "I suppose that *is* possible..."
"You needed your mother to be understanding when something told you to go against her wishes. Perhaps you could show a little of that same understanding to Zechs right now - no matter what choice he makes."
Sighing, Relena looked down at the floor. "But how do I do that? It seems like I'm letting him think I approve."
"Did your mother approve of you leaving to cha - go after Heero?" Howard asked.
Relena shook her head.
"Then why did she let you go?" he murmured.
There was a long pause as Relena thought about it. Then she came to the table and sat down across from Howard. "I suppose she... she trusted me."
"Bingo," Howard said softly, smiling at her. "She showed a lot of trust in you. Now maybe it's time to give some of that back to someone else."
Lifting her gaze to the weather-beaten face across the table, Relena rested her chin in her hand. "This is going to be hard," she said to him.
"Always is," he answered, nodding. "But then I think you know about how hard doing the right thing can be at times. Right?"
She smiled, a little sadly. "Right."
Upstairs, Treize and Zechs were hiding under the covers of Treize's bed, having a conference.
"So, you're telling Noin first I suspect?" Treize asked, nuzzling against the warm skin of his lover's neck.
"Yes... that's the least I can do. I hate the thought of it..."
"Nothing like that can ever be easy, dear friend. I'd offer to be there with you, but..."
"No. No thank you," Zechs said frowning playfully at Treize. "But you can be there, of course, when we tell the others..." He trailed off and wriggled closer to Treize. Letting one finger trace the older man's profile, he added, "My sister is going to be so upset with me..."
"We'll send her a lovely fruit basket - she'll understand," murmured Treize lazily.
This was followed by a somewhat painful punch in the arm from his companion.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You're not taking anything seriously," Zechs scolded. "Remember, she's going to be your *sister-in-law.*"
Treize pondered for a moment. "All right then, will throw in some opera tickets."
"Aaaargh!!" Zechs let out a soft battle cry and pounced the man, ending up squarely atop him. "You are being absolutely impossible this morning!" he said sternly, staring down into disturbingly beautiful eyes.
"Well then, by all means, you really should punish me..." the older man said, smirking faintly.
Zechs's voice was sultry and threatening. "I do believe you're right, Treize. Now - not another word..." So saying, he slid down Treize's body and breathed heavily on the lovely erection he found. His lips were nearly touching it, eyes closed as butterfly kisses covered the thick shaft.
Treize closed his eyes and moaned, lifting his hips to find that warm, wet mouth. Then, with one, smooth move, Zechs rolled out of bed and grabbed his clothing. At the door, he turned to look at Treize's bewildered face. "Excuse me, I have to find Noin. Maybe later, perhaps?" Then he was gone.
"Cruel and Unusual!" Treize yelled, as he threw a pillow at the now-closed door.
Noin was in the chapel, sitting in the front pew, staring up at the ornate stained glass window behind the altar. /I'll tell him today. I'll tell him and things will be different. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before - things might have been a lot easier. I know that lots of women have done this, so how bad can it be? I want him... I've always wanted him, from the time we met at the academy and we were both eleven years old. Early bloomer, Lucrezia... you, not him./
She closed her eyes for a moment, and thought about the night before, in Zechs's bath. /Like catching a god asleep on his altar and taking him unawares... so good... so intense, and didn't he feel like heaven inside me? So deep inside.../
Looking over the one of the stained glass windows that lined the church itself, she saw a depiction of the holy family and smiled softly. She was glad she'd had to do it the earthly way, because wasn't sex a wonderful thing? So much pleasure it gave both the man and the woman, and from it, this bond was created - this new life - that would tie them together forever.
/It's for the best, really... maybe even meant to be.../
"Noin?" a deep voice came from the back of the church. "I need to talk with you."
She sat up suddenly and saw Zechs coming towards her. He was as beautiful as ever and something inside of her sang at the very sight of him. /What we've made together, Zechs... if you only knew.../
"Yes," she said aloud. "I need to talk with you, too."
End of Part 18
(:./kumiko/rosen18)
