Surely as the Sun
Chapter Three
AN: I don?t own Gundam Wing. This is rated PG-13.
Her fingers flailed across the ivory keys of the sleek black grand piano, some resemblance of a symphony she was concocting in her mind the only evidence that the piece was not something she had been working on for a while. It was, quite simply, raw emotion. She was playing what she felt and there was no other way to describe it. It did not matter, as no one else was in the room at the moment, and her rather simple regard for the way she allowed herself to indulge in music could not be hindered by the judgments and calculations of anyone else.
On the right side of the piano she hit two notes steadily while allowing the base of her left hand fingers to play intricately along the lower notes, not once pausing while a medley of power and strength and war within itself was being dispersed all along the vibrating chords from deep within the wooden and metal workings of the monstrous instrument. She did not sway and roll about as most accomplished musicians did. The only movements were within her arms and hands themselves, the pads of her fingertips grasping diligently along the many glossy keys that gave slightly under light pressure and banged harshly when she chose to play loudly or during a crescendo.
The back and forth motions of her hands continued in this rhythm for several minutes. As time wore on, so did she, grimacing and biting her lower lip as the tiring motions of playing the piece took effect on the over-exerted muscles in her arms and the joints in fingers. Sweat formed on her brow, and as her pulse rate sped up, so did the rhythm of her music. She quickly grew frustrated with herself and slowed the music as she caught her breath, staring absentmindedly through the glass windows inside her grand ballroom to the dark blue night sky.
A quick knock on the door followed by quiet footsteps made her pause only for a moment, and during this short refrain she switched her method of playing to quietly fiddling with the keys. She played softly and sweetly while seemingly not paying attention to what she was doing as she looked up at Wufei and Sally entering through the columns of the doorway. She smiled genuinely at them, and Wufei nodded in return while Sally looked precariously at her slightly trembling hands.
Relena followed her gaze and abruptly stopped playing, gently shutting the black cover of the piano and shifting so that she faced them directly, folding her hands in her lap. The eerie sound of her last diminished chord still hung in the air. She hadn?t planned on it to sound like that. It just ended up that way.
?Hello Relena. What have you been up to??
Relena looked at Sally and took a deep breath, blushing slightly at being caught over-exerting herself. She had been given strict orders to not, under any circumstances, do any kind of activity that would cause any kind of strain to her respiratory system. But she just couldn?t stand being cooped up all day!
?Just practicing.?
Sally lifted an eyebrow and Wufei coughed before practically shoving a brown folder into her hand.
?This is our report. Apparently Elliot Benja has been attempting to undermine your credibility among other discussions of the delegate conferences. I guess that shuttle carrying enough seed to feed an entire colony losing power in mid space-travel wasn?t a big enough issue. He?s been having trouble with Representative Whitney.?
Relena smiled, knowing that Tyler Whitney had been a dear friend to her during her years as Vice Foreign Minister. He had been one of her lead supporters of the Terra-Formation project and one of the lasting associates to complete Pacifism.
?We?ve also noted that the research portion of the site has been ordering prescription doses of Cannabis and Ketamine, among other drugs. Now, what exactly those have to do with Ethanol from corn crops is beyond me, but it?s a highly confidential project. Sally happened upon it when she was running a scan of the budget branch and spent three hours cracking the system to open it. We?ve finally got a lead on something, but we can?t jump on this. We need to get in ? we need to get them to trust us. There?s no reason for them to now. We?re just a couple of factory workers to them.?
She nodded and looked down at the report. Pictures of the base were scattered throughout, along with blueprints and random captures. She sifted through them sporadically. The cafeteria, the chemical room where the Ethanol was extracted, the corn crops being cultivated, and a lounge area were all pictured at different angles. She reached the medical lab and paused, noting a doctor who looked vaguely familiar. Sally was pictured carrying test tubes to the tall man with a lab coat on who held his clipboard in one hand at his side.
?Sally, who is this??
Sally leaned over the report and quirked an eyebrow.
?Alexei Patrenko. You should know him. You hired him when you inherited PD Enterprises. He?s one of the less involved researchers ? he stays holed up in the medical lab for most of the day.?
?You don?t think he has anything to do - ?
?I?ll look into it.? Wufei cut her off, gathering his black messenger bag and several large brown folders. ?I?ve been wary of him since I ran into him one day blasting through the medical doors with a stretcher. He had all kinds of surgical tools on it, but what caught my attention were the leather restraints. They had been ripped in half. I had expected to see medical supplies because the workers are constantly getting hurt around the machinery, but that made me wonder. He was sweating like crazy and when I asked him if he needed any help he told me to get out of his way and stay in my own department.?
?We need to find a way to get you into that department.? She mumbled. ?Any news on Heero??
Sally?s gaze softened and she stared sympathetically. She hated that look.
?No. Not yet. How is your recovery??
She let out a shaky breath, absentmindedly rubbing the brunt of her hand just below the left of her collarbone. She had somehow through the process of her breakdown developed a case of asthma. It wasn?t particularly bad, except when she thought of Heero. It was strange the effect he still had on her after all this time, in all of their silent and dangerous pasts. He was more her friend than anything. After he had declared he would never kill again and recovered in the hospital, Heero had offered his assistance to Commander Une in Preventors, which he was immediately hired into. He was assigned to Relena?s protection, but not specifically. There were times he would be gone for months, but she was never briefed on what for. She could not attempt to hold him down when his guilt condemned him to an existence built on making up for the lives he?d taken. Well, he called it guilt. She called it redemption.
?Relena??
Relena shook her head. Sally smiled awkwardly, her eyes searching. Relena knew what that meant.
?I?m not crazy Sally. I saw him.?
Wufei snorted behind her. Sally stood up to leave, glaring at Wufei who muttered something under his breath.
?I?ll let you know if we find anything else out. Une told us to report back to her once we told you what we knew to discuss our next course of action. Apparently, she?s volunteered Mariemeia into the camp on X18997. They?re shutting the entire colony power down in an attempt to disperse the already contaminated oxygen and reinserting filtered air when they?re ready. Take care of yourself.?
When they left she waited and listened to them argue in fierce whispers, smiling to herself. When she heard them drive off the lot she turned to the piano once more and lifted the hood, pondering whether or not she had seen Heero, or wanted to see him bad enough that she made herself see him.
She liked to think that if she had just been imagining it, she wouldn?t have dreamed him looking at her as if he were looking at her for the first time.
---
Despite his ever-growing need to placate people, Quatre Winner was tempted to strangle every last one of the oh-so-painfully researched and scrutinized ?qualified? council members. The Winner heir had been one of the lead players in the council decisions up until this point and he would see himself stabbed again before he let them veto the vote to allow Relena Dorlian entrance back into Parliament. She was clearly on the way to recovery, and based on the way the general public was reacting to Elliot Benja?s Fertility Camp idea, it wouldn?t be a long shot in guessing who they would vote for. Even if some of the public still believed Relena had a hand in the release of the chemical, no one could undermine her aptitude in politics. There was no one to compare her to in ideas of pacifism alone, let alone in politics. Well, maybe in politics, but she would never go back?
?Quatre Winner.?
The glass of water he had held to his lips swirled and spilled down the side of his hand as he choked on a big gulp, spinning around with wide eyes and facing the absolute last person he expected to see right then.
Dorothy Catalonia.
She had her mouth pursed and let a small grin escape, revealing dimples and a fiery look in her eyes. She stood in the doorway of his office in a black pencil skirt and white silk shirt, pearl earrings adorning her face as her bright blue eyes stared at him in a way that made him take another swallow of his water. Even though he was still slightly choking. He wiped his mouth and made his way over to her, reaching for her hand. He left it open there for her to shake and her eyes darted to it for a moment before she chuckled.
?Come now, Quatre, no need for such formalities when we go?so far back.? She purred, walking past him and letting her side slightly graze his, her long blonde hair whipping across his chest. The touch stunned him for a moment and he stared straight ahead before taking a deep breath and turning around to once again face her. She had made her way over to the glass windows, which pretty much made up what could be called the walls of his office. Below them showed the expanse of upper Manhattan, the business portion of the city not much to look at. The impoverished had taken to living out in the streets since the economic crash, and along with that came dirt and trash and grime. Before, it was normal to see one or two drunken bums living on a sidewalk. It wasn?t normal to see 3 or 4 families huddled around trash cans.
He walked to her side and started to say something but paused when he saw the look on her face. Slightly angry, she stared at the streets below and the smoky, clouded air of Manhattan that was so thick it was almost tangible. Her brow was knitted, but Quatre didn?t need any more expression than the one she bore in her eyes: fury. Not the kind she was so prone to before the Eve Wars, but one born out of pain for others. She tapped her manicured fingernails against the glass and pressed her forehead to it, closing her angry eyes. After a moment, he reached and lay his hand upon the small of her back.
?Dorothy??
She opened her eyes and smiled, still staring out the window.
?Do you believe in God, Quatre??
He paused, confused by the turn in their conversation. She was the weirdest woman?
?I like to.? He said, dropping his hand as she turned to face him. He noted for the first time that she held a manila file with FOUO* printed plainly in red across the tab.
?Hmm?? she cocked her head towards the window. ??do you think those people down there do??
?I don?t know?Dorothy, what is this about??
She ?tsked? and placed her hands on her narrow hips, obviously enjoying the impression it made on him. Trying to force information by prodding her was something he knew would be futile to even attempt, so he resigned himself to sitting at his desk and waiting on her to say whatever it was she was trying to. She noted his expression quietly and pushed the file across the desktop towards him, perching herself quickly on the edge. She crossed her long, slender legs and opened the file, revealing several military-style blueprints and receipts, along with a few scattered pictures and letters. She pulled out a small memory disk from the side flap and handed it to him. When he had inserted the disk into his computer and brought the video sequence up, she grabbed his mouse and started fast forwarding the footage.
?Do you think Heero Yuy believed in God??
?Uh?? He mumbled under his breath as he stared at the video. There were several hours of what was obviously a street camera videotaping near a liquor store and a red light. When it reached nightfall she began to fast forward more slowly. ??I?doubt it?why?? When it reached 3:26AM she stopped forwarding the video and let it play. There was a storm, and it was pitch black so he couldn?t see anything except for the bright glow of the green to yellow to red of the red light. Lightning struck once and she stopped the video. She looked down at him and smiled as he looked at her in confusion. She hit rewind for a second then played the video once again. As the lightning struck she hit pause and pointed at a shadow in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
?Look closely.?
His eyes narrowed as he focused on that one point and blew up the picture. His eyes widened as he took in the silhouette of brown unruly hair, a long and lean frame moving so quickly that he hadn?t even caught that there was something there the first time. But he knew that fighting style. He knew those tactics.
?Heero??
Dorothy cupped his chin in her hand and turned his face to look at her, grinning madly.
?I have a proposal.?
---
The barely audible thud awoke her before they had ever reached her room. Before they ever twisted the doorknob, or slowly shut the door behind them, or made their way to her bed. The moment her eyes opened she knew someone had managed to climb through the vent shaft in her hallway and come out right overhead, and she had been ready.
Oh, had she been ready.
She gripped the hatchet tighter in her right hand, her bare feet freezing in the chill night air. She had rolled off and under her bed in one fluid motion, and as she sprawled herself out onto her belly, she cursed herself for having to choose a thin gown to wear to bed tonight. And for ever thinking that marble would look ?pretty and sophisticated? as her bedroom flooring.
Two slender legs padded their way across the floor and paused right in front of her vision. She heard a masculine snarl, almost vindictive, as her would-be kidnapper picked up the photos on her bedside table.
?She?s not here.?
Relena slid as quietly as she could to the edge of the bed, grimacing as the chill marble burned through her gown into her skin.
?I said she?s not here, Zechs. She must have ? sweet Lord!?
Relena didn?t have time to process what exactly he said as she whipped the hatchet around, aimed at the man?s calf. He jumped, but the sound of metal slicing flesh was still heard, along with a spray of blood. He started howling the moment it happened, and she grinned with unaccustomed satisfaction. He had saved himself from losing his foot, but he would have a gash there. Hopefully deep enough that he couldn?t stand. Pacifism be danged.
She quickly shimmied her way from underneath the bed and violently jerked the hatchet free from where it had embedded itself into the wall. She whirled around and made a bee line for him, but promptly let the hatchet fall from her hands as he started screaming like a little girl.
?You didn?t say she had a hatchet, ya friggin idiot! She almost made me a midget!?
??Duo??
He snapped to attention, his eyes slitting as pure venom seethed from his mouth. She took a step back as a crooked finger pointed in her direction, condemnation she was certainly not used to.
?You.?
Forgetting that Duo had just attempted to kidnap her, she ran to his side and reached for his leg. At which point he promptly slapped her hand away and scooted in the other direction.
?Don?t touch me!?
?Oh come on Duo, don?t be such a baby. I just want to look ? ?
?I?m panicking. This is me. Panicking. Relena, don?t touch. I?m so freaking serious??
?I just want to see how deep it went. Now MOVE.?
?I don?t want your help. I said?no. No-o-o?? He mouthed slowly. Relena ignored him, but as she began to pull his pant leg up she was suddenly hefted up and layed flat on her back, Duo pinning her arms against the floor by her wrists and strattling her with his lower half.
They heard a cough in the doorway and both eyes shot up at the same time. Zechs stood in the entrance with his hand holding the doorknob in a death grip, while Trowa leaned against the panel with one arched eyebrow.
?I sent you in here to do a simple trial run, and you end up doing?whatever it is you?re doing?on the bedroom floor with my sister!?
Duo jumped up and stumbled backwards, scratching his head.
?No, Zechs, listen??
?A trial run? Milliardo, what is going on??
?We were just trying to see how you could handle yourself, Relena??
??so I reach over to pull back the sheets and there?s a hatchet. A hatchet, Zechs??
?A trial run? A trial run?!??
?HATCH-ET??
Trowa quietly slipped from his space in the doorway and grabbed Duo by the shoulder, guiding him towards the door.
?We should probably get going, Zechs. Duo needs to get this stitched up.? He glanced back at Relena. ?Good job. You passed.?
---
Hilde twirled her spoon around in her hot chocolate, staring blindly at the clock in the kitchen. It read 12:45AM, and she couldn?t sleep. Duo wasn?t home, and she wondered out loud why she ever bothered thinking about why anymore. She couldn?t remember the feel of his skin under her fingertips, or the way he tasted when he kissed her. They had not slept together since the miscarriage, and she was inclined to think that that was the reason in the beginning. But she only used that as an excuse for herself. Did she love him anymore? She couldn?t remember why she began to in the first place.
He made her smile. She knew that much. Or, at least, he used to.
The sound of keys jingling in the doorway brought her out of her silent reverie, and Duo came gliding quietly into the house. His trained eyes caught her at once, and he stared at her curiously for a moment before making his way to stand in front of her at the kitchen table. It was only when he walked over to her that she noticed the slight hitch he had in his step.
?What happened??
?What? Oh?? he pulled his black pant leg up, revealing white bandages with a small red stain in the center. ??I was doing a trial run in Relena?s bedroom and things got kind of out of control.?
?Is that what you?re calling it now? A trial run?? She said sarcastically, picking up her half-empty cup and tossing it into the sink.
?What? No, Hilde, listen??
?I don?t care. It doesn?t matter now, anyway. You don?t want me anymore, you?ve made that obvious??
?I don?t want you? Hilde, what are you talking about? You?re the only one that I want. Why can?t you see that? You?re the one who?s been pushing??
?Don?t lie to me!? She spat out, wrenching out a cabinet drawer and roughly pulling out a stack of papers. She slammed them down on the table in front of him and he glared at her beneath his dark eyelashes, quelled anger slowly rising beneath the violet depths. ?This is what you want. I know it is. Leave me alone and find someone who can?? her voice broke. He stared down at the papers, the legality not capturing his attention. The only word on the page that he could stare at was ?divorce?.
??find someone who can give you what you wanted??
He suddenly grabbed the side of the table and sent it crashing across the kitchen, the papers flying everywhere. She jumped slightly but began backing away as he came stomping toward her, his hands clenched at his sides. When her back met the wall and she could move no further, a fleeting thought came into her mind that she had just sentenced herself to this sort of punishment before his hands dug into the back of her hair and he jerked her body suffocatingly close to his.
?You were what I wanted.? He said between clenched teeth, staring down at her face with pain in his eyes. ?You are still everything I?ve ever wanted?? He ground out, before crushing his mouth against hers. A cry started in her throat but only made it halfway before she gave in, sinking into his arms. He fell to the floor with her and she landed on top of him. She reached under his shirt and slowly spread her hands across the expanse of his stomach and chest. He shuddered quietly underneath her, running his hands through her dark hair as their breathing quickened. She whispered sweet things into his ear, and a low growl issued deep within his throat before he pulled her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.
---
* For Official Use Only
Surely as the Sun - Chapter Three (PG-13)
Nice...i like what you're doing with this story. Typical zechs...not so much as a "how are you sis?". the part with duo and hilde was so sweet. I think you're doing an excellent job of capturing these caracters and how they'd react to this senario. I'm eager to see where this goes. Please keep up the good work.
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DogDemonK9
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