WHY..........(Noin's POV)
Posted: Thu May 08, 2003 4:28 pm
It was a warm day.Not the kind one would think for a visit to here.But I got down to one knee looking at the simple plaque he'd designed for her.It had been her wish,he'd said,to be buried beneath the small flowerbed she'd so carefully tended to during the brief moments she had completely to herself.Unfortunately,word had leaked out,and soon the simple home they'd constructed together became a monument.A Monument,they'd called it,to a woman who gave her all to the cherished dream of total peace.The Perfect Soldier could take only so much so,not willing to stain the grave of the woman he loved with blood,he'd packed away the twins and disappeared.Trowa,Duo,even Wufei scoured the Earth and colonies searching for their missing friend.Quatre backed them with considerable funding from his Corporation on the L4 colony,but to no avail.In the end,it came to pure luck,and being in the right place at the wrong time.
*****
Noin ran the short distance to the small twenty-four hour grocery she'd spotted travelling here.Pushing open the door she paused for a moment to shake out her,now shoulder length,hair.L1 hadn't changed much she decided.The oldest colony suffered from occasional glitches that altered the colony's environmental systems.Selecting a small carriage she moved through the lanes selecting what she needed,and almost guiltily slipping in a few candy bars followed by a small container of chocolate frosting.It was during this time that she realised that she was under the scrutiny of a pair of deep blue eyes.Two pairs of deep blue eyes.The girls were obviously twins,no more than three years old and the inensity of their scrutiny made her blush.There was a poise that the twins carried that rang bells in Noins' memory
"Aya....Kaori."
The voice carried a note of command and both girls turned and trotted off in it's direction.Curious now,Noin followed,reasoning that they were heading in the direction of the checkout counter.She'd spare a glance then be on her way.However,she stiffened in shock as she recognised the tall young man whose legs they hid behind.
"HEERO!!!!"
*****
(Present)
"Funny,isn't it?"she said."Eveyone was searching for him for two years.And instead he was hiding out in plain sight.He knew they would expect him to take step to conceal himself,and instead all he did was change his name."
She paused for a moment as if listening,"No,he was still as blunt as ever.Wanted nothing to do with me,actually.He was quite adamant about not needing any help raising the twins."Noin's voice softened."I think they inherited the best of both of you,Lena.Heero would die for them,and they worship him.I went back for a visit,perhaps six months after.He asked a question I'd been dreading for years.
*****
She'd met them at the L1 Children's Zoo.They'd placed the twins in the goat pen,while they lean't on the railing.Heero's eyes followed them eveywhere,missing little.The question took her by surprise,"So what's the story between you and Zechs?"
She hesitated,not knowing what to say,then opted for the truth.
"There's nothing between me and Zechs.....except maybe friendship."
"Is that how you want it?"He asked pointedly."Or is that how he wants it!"
<Ouch.>she mentally winced,before giving him a look."I think you're the last person qualified to be giving this kind of advice."
"Quite the opposite,actually,"Heero replied,in an infuriatingly superior tone."I used to be just like Zechs.Unable to give up the fight,and live a normal life.Relena showed me that I didn't need to punish myself to make amends for deeds that no one blamed me for in the first place."
"So you're saying Milliardo is punishing himself for what happened with White Fang,"she asked skeptically."But that happened over eight years ago Heero."
He shrugged,"How long....(Aya don't pull the horns,honey)...did it take Duo to propose to Hilde.How long have Wufei and Sally been living together.And Une.How long has she been moping over Treize.Some wounds never completely heal.Perhaps it's something completely different from the White Fang."
*****
"I returned to Mars for another year.During that time Heero and I started exchanging voice mail.During that single year many things happened.Heero made the first move and reopened lines with his old comrades."Noin glanced skyward."Milliardo and I made the long trip to L4 where everyone was meeting."
She cocked her head again as if listening.
"No,he behaved himself.Milliardo along,with everyone else,was pretty much charmed by the nieces they hadn't seen in almost three years.It was pretty tense for a while,though.Aya and Kaori don't seem to have Heero's distaste for crowded spaces and were the centre of attention.But some things were said that put many things into perspective whether I wanted to hear them or not............"
*****
She trembled as he held her in a loose embrace,"But.......why.....??"
"Noin,how old are you,now?"Milliardo asked patiently."Your twenty-nine,Noin.And I cannot change who I am.That's why you will not be returning with me to Mars."
"But I still don't understand Milliardo.Why........."
"It's Zechs."
"What?"
"Milliardo Peacecraft died years ago.Just Relena Peacecraft died and Was reborn Relena Dorlain.And I cannot answer you Noin.It's something that I'll have to deal with on my own."
"That's no answer,"she flared,angry now."Your worse than Heero ever was."
He looked amused as he turned away,and walked out the door,but a whisper reached her,"That's right.Much,much worse."
*****
"Well as you could guess,I was a wreck,but strangely it didn't hurt as badly as I expected it too.I approached Lady Une and was reactivated as Preventor Fire.My work kept me busy.Thusly,I rarely dated.At first it was because behind every face I saw Zechs' face and his long silver hair,that I'd loved so much.But later it became a pair of deep,what was it you used to call them,Prussian blue eyes,"she paused."It wasn't dating,at least not at first,I think.It was usually just lunch,during his sporadic visits to Earth with him and the twins.Then lunch became dinner,first casual..then formal.It was strange.I kept thinking of him as the cold young boy who helped defend the Sanq Kingdom,but instead it was a tall,and strangely caring and gentle young man who I saw.
A light rumble drew her attention to the road.Heero's cycle sputtered to a stop at the front,and she rose to meet him.He still almost never smiled,but now she could see his emotions in his eyes.He held her tightly for a moment his hands passing gently over her stomach.Moving to the small grave he glanced over his shoulder with a silent plea in his eyes.Nodding she crossed over to the cycle leaning there.He would share the rest of the story with her,Noin knew.But for Heero it would also be an act of moving on,and he couldn't do that without first saying what needed to be said to the first woman who held his heart,and would always hold a piece even she would never be able to touch.
________________________
Next comes Heero's POV
This is a much shorter version of the story I'd planned.I kept on running into plot holes and redundancies.So I decided to have all the players present their views on what happened after the war,Relena's death(I just couldn't bash her...so killing her seemed the lesser of two evils
)and Heero's disappearance.
*****
Noin ran the short distance to the small twenty-four hour grocery she'd spotted travelling here.Pushing open the door she paused for a moment to shake out her,now shoulder length,hair.L1 hadn't changed much she decided.The oldest colony suffered from occasional glitches that altered the colony's environmental systems.Selecting a small carriage she moved through the lanes selecting what she needed,and almost guiltily slipping in a few candy bars followed by a small container of chocolate frosting.It was during this time that she realised that she was under the scrutiny of a pair of deep blue eyes.Two pairs of deep blue eyes.The girls were obviously twins,no more than three years old and the inensity of their scrutiny made her blush.There was a poise that the twins carried that rang bells in Noins' memory
"Aya....Kaori."
The voice carried a note of command and both girls turned and trotted off in it's direction.Curious now,Noin followed,reasoning that they were heading in the direction of the checkout counter.She'd spare a glance then be on her way.However,she stiffened in shock as she recognised the tall young man whose legs they hid behind.
"HEERO!!!!"
*****
(Present)
"Funny,isn't it?"she said."Eveyone was searching for him for two years.And instead he was hiding out in plain sight.He knew they would expect him to take step to conceal himself,and instead all he did was change his name."
She paused for a moment as if listening,"No,he was still as blunt as ever.Wanted nothing to do with me,actually.He was quite adamant about not needing any help raising the twins."Noin's voice softened."I think they inherited the best of both of you,Lena.Heero would die for them,and they worship him.I went back for a visit,perhaps six months after.He asked a question I'd been dreading for years.
*****
She'd met them at the L1 Children's Zoo.They'd placed the twins in the goat pen,while they lean't on the railing.Heero's eyes followed them eveywhere,missing little.The question took her by surprise,"So what's the story between you and Zechs?"
She hesitated,not knowing what to say,then opted for the truth.
"There's nothing between me and Zechs.....except maybe friendship."
"Is that how you want it?"He asked pointedly."Or is that how he wants it!"
<Ouch.>she mentally winced,before giving him a look."I think you're the last person qualified to be giving this kind of advice."
"Quite the opposite,actually,"Heero replied,in an infuriatingly superior tone."I used to be just like Zechs.Unable to give up the fight,and live a normal life.Relena showed me that I didn't need to punish myself to make amends for deeds that no one blamed me for in the first place."
"So you're saying Milliardo is punishing himself for what happened with White Fang,"she asked skeptically."But that happened over eight years ago Heero."
He shrugged,"How long....(Aya don't pull the horns,honey)...did it take Duo to propose to Hilde.How long have Wufei and Sally been living together.And Une.How long has she been moping over Treize.Some wounds never completely heal.Perhaps it's something completely different from the White Fang."
*****
"I returned to Mars for another year.During that time Heero and I started exchanging voice mail.During that single year many things happened.Heero made the first move and reopened lines with his old comrades."Noin glanced skyward."Milliardo and I made the long trip to L4 where everyone was meeting."
She cocked her head again as if listening.
"No,he behaved himself.Milliardo along,with everyone else,was pretty much charmed by the nieces they hadn't seen in almost three years.It was pretty tense for a while,though.Aya and Kaori don't seem to have Heero's distaste for crowded spaces and were the centre of attention.But some things were said that put many things into perspective whether I wanted to hear them or not............"
*****
She trembled as he held her in a loose embrace,"But.......why.....??"
"Noin,how old are you,now?"Milliardo asked patiently."Your twenty-nine,Noin.And I cannot change who I am.That's why you will not be returning with me to Mars."
"But I still don't understand Milliardo.Why........."
"It's Zechs."
"What?"
"Milliardo Peacecraft died years ago.Just Relena Peacecraft died and Was reborn Relena Dorlain.And I cannot answer you Noin.It's something that I'll have to deal with on my own."
"That's no answer,"she flared,angry now."Your worse than Heero ever was."
He looked amused as he turned away,and walked out the door,but a whisper reached her,"That's right.Much,much worse."
*****
"Well as you could guess,I was a wreck,but strangely it didn't hurt as badly as I expected it too.I approached Lady Une and was reactivated as Preventor Fire.My work kept me busy.Thusly,I rarely dated.At first it was because behind every face I saw Zechs' face and his long silver hair,that I'd loved so much.But later it became a pair of deep,what was it you used to call them,Prussian blue eyes,"she paused."It wasn't dating,at least not at first,I think.It was usually just lunch,during his sporadic visits to Earth with him and the twins.Then lunch became dinner,first casual..then formal.It was strange.I kept thinking of him as the cold young boy who helped defend the Sanq Kingdom,but instead it was a tall,and strangely caring and gentle young man who I saw.
A light rumble drew her attention to the road.Heero's cycle sputtered to a stop at the front,and she rose to meet him.He still almost never smiled,but now she could see his emotions in his eyes.He held her tightly for a moment his hands passing gently over her stomach.Moving to the small grave he glanced over his shoulder with a silent plea in his eyes.Nodding she crossed over to the cycle leaning there.He would share the rest of the story with her,Noin knew.But for Heero it would also be an act of moving on,and he couldn't do that without first saying what needed to be said to the first woman who held his heart,and would always hold a piece even she would never be able to touch.
________________________
Next comes Heero's POV
This is a much shorter version of the story I'd planned.I kept on running into plot holes and redundancies.So I decided to have all the players present their views on what happened after the war,Relena's death(I just couldn't bash her...so killing her seemed the lesser of two evils
)and Heero's disappearance.