Superposition (by Beer and Ryan) - Chapter Two
Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2004 5:41 pm
Disclaimer: Sod it! :evil: It's mine all mine MWA HA HA HA HA. *men in white coats come and drag him out kicking and screaming* MINE ALL MINE
Ryan: Um no it's not. We wrote this together so we hope you enjoy it.
Beer: MIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!
Ryan: I hope he's sane for the next chapter :-?
Superposition
By Beer-monster and RyanEX2000
Chapter Two: Cadit quaestio.
Truth and tears clear the way to a deep and lasting friendship.
~Unknown
?.errors of the past.?
I feel proud of what we have achieved the years since the wars. Like a phoenix from the ashes we have rebuilt...No, not just rebuilt improved; evolved our society, our way of life and all of humanity. Not just on Earth, but for everyone even in the depths of space.?
?What was the key to our success? Many people have asked, politicians and historians have answered. But in my opinion, it comes down to one word.
?Co-operation.?
?Such a short word, and such a simple concept, but that is what has brought us all here today. All of the people of Earth?s nations and the Colonies decided that it was time for peace, for something better, and together they worked for it.
?And here it is, the first step of a modern Utopia. A time when all mankind can?.?
*****
As the camera panned around for another sweep the woman's fingers danced across the console, thumb grinding upon a small touch pad. The camera swept across the still crowd, mesmerised by the young woman on stage. Tapping on a small button the woman zoomed in on a figure in the background, watching a short man dip a hand in to the pockets of a dark overcoat. She tensed, reaching for a large red button on her console and the loaded gun that sat beside it. With a sigh she relaxed as the man drew out a small touch-pad computer. She started to zoom out and then froze as her eyes caught something.
A glitter of silver...
No?another false alarm. It was just a woman adjusting her broach. Noin rubbed her eyes as she leaned back, then a flash of platinum hair and azure eyes.
A hollow swelled in her chest, she fought it furiously but it still grew. The man still haunted her, a handsome spectre in her life. No matter how she tried to exorcise herself of her feelings, she was tortured by the memory of his voice, his smile and his beautiful eyes.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head forcefully, as if trying to dislodge the man?s presence from her brain.
Stop it, she told herself harshly. That way madness lies.
She inhaled deeply and forced her face to granite, focusing her attention back to the screens in before her.
Noin's head jerked up from her console at the sudden tap on her shoulder. Her hand jerked for her gun before the mug of coffee crossed her line of sight, the Starbuck?s logo taunting her as steam wafted from the dark liquid.
"How many times have I asked you not to do that?" she grunted, snatching the coffee from his hand and suppressing a wince as the hot fluid sloshed over her hand.
"Forty-seven times," Heero replied with a shrug taking a sip from his own cup. "Give or take one or two."
Noin considered glaring at her new partner, but knew that she could not win that contest and so settled for grumbling obscenities. She wondered if she has noticed her lapse, if he thought she was weak. She jerked her head back to the monitors, hiding her face in her task.
?Shouldn't you be out there skulking in the shadows or something?" she asked dryly.
"Too clich?'," was the reply. "I've shot so many would be assassins and whatnot that the dark is usually the first place they look. Besides...habits are a bad thing in our line of business."
?You mean Relena, ordered you not to skulk??
Heero?s eyes fell to floor and Noin thought she saw him fidget slightly, ?Same difference,? he grunted sourly and dropped into the chair besides her. Then he glanced ate her from the corner of his eyes, and the corner of his lips curled into a smile.
Before she knew it and without really knowing why, she found herself smiling back.
*****
?But it would be wrong for any of us to rest on our laurels. There is still much to be done. We must continue to work towards a better and brighter future, healing the sick, feeding the hungry and making every single human on earth and in space feel that they are part of something greater. Something more than there own towns, cities colonies. That they are part of a family, a fellowship, and to be a reminded that each and every one of them is an integral part of the ever evolving progression of the human race.
*****
"Just look at them," Noin said as several cameras panned over the crowd, all silent and leaning forwards in their seats and in the stands, hanging on the Minister?s every word. "It's like she weaves a spell over them. Why would anyone want to hurt her?"
"Power..."Heero replied shortly. "She has it...regardless of how ignorant she is to just how much she has. And they fear her because of it."
Noin glanced sidelong at the Japanese man, quirking an eyebrow, "Experience?"
The dark-haired Preventer frowned and leant over to adjust a few buttons on the console, the movement hiding his face behind his dark bangs. ?No comment,? he grunted.
Noin fought a smirk that threatened to creep on to her lips and glanced at the screens.
?I think you need to see to our charge," Noin said, flicking her thumb towards the monitors that showed roaring crowd rising to their feet and applauding. Heero nodded, swiftly moving for the door.
"Two hundred and forty seconds, Heero," she called as the door slammed shut.
One point to me.
Noin smirked as she watched the Japanese man run across the monitor that gave a view of the entrance to the auditorium. Rising from her seat she grabbed the jacket of her uniform, her other hand pushing a button on her cell phone.
?Paygan? Three minutes.? Short, and sharp, but that was all that was needed. Shrugging into her coat she reached for the door handle yet paused as her eyes made a final sweep across the monitor. Heero had reached the Princess, appearing behind the women and holding open her jacket. Relena smiled warmly at him and slipped into the proffered item. The act brought them close together, his arms on her shoulders protectively, tenderly. She twisted and shared and locked eyes with him over his shoulder. Her lips moved as she spoke and a wry smile found its way on to Heero?s face. It was a perfect picture, and it made her heart ache for what she had lost.
I wonder why they broke up? she quickly thought to herself as she hopped out of the van and slammed the door closed. Then she shook her head and frowned. It probably was none of her business. Heero most definitely wasn't going to volunteer any info, and she certainly wasn't going to ask Relena...
She shrugged to herself. When in doubt, ask Duo.
*****
"Madam Foreign Minister, do you have anything to say on..."
"A brief statement on..."
"Miss Relena is it true that..."
Outside the convention centre snow continued to fall in swift spirals, covering everything in an almost blinding sheen of white. Arm around Relena, almost possessively, Heero glared at the reporters in turn, frosted eyes launching daggers at the swarming journalists. The message was old, and understood as the cluster of reporters slipped back just enough to allow them through.
"I feel like a piece of meat," Relena muttered as Trowa emerged from the building and joined Heero, hustling her from the building to her black limo.
"I?m sorry Commander Une had to ruin your weekend plans Trowa," Relena said to the tall soldier with a small smile.
The green-eyed man shook his head, ?Don?t worry about it,? then a smile broke onto his face. "I feel sorry for Une when Sylvia gets her hands on her. Her response was quite um?colourful."
?That bad?? Heero asked raising one eyebrow.
?I never imagined she new such words,? Trowa admitted his grin growing slightly. ?I had to ask Duo the meaning of a couple of them.?
Relena chuckled and Heero smirked opening the door for the politician while Trowa stepped forwards, his spread arms like a barrier to the paparazzi, whose cameras created a storm of white flashes like lightning while there shouts and questions created the rumble of thunder.
"Sure you don't need a lift?" Heero asked poised with one hand on the doorframe.
"No thanks," Trowa replied. "If I'm lucky maybe I can catch the evening flight back to Europe. Tell Une I'll have my report faxed by Monday."
Giving his friend his brief nod Heero turned and slipped into his seat beside Relena, Noin waited across from them, arms and legs crossed and that mask of stone on her face again. "Let's go," he muttered
Peygan, seemingly untouched by the passing years, gave the young man a tight frown and a mocking salute, before moving the vehicle into the flow of traffic. Heero sighed and leant back in the plush leather upholstery. Noin turned around to face Relena.
"That makes twelve conferences in less than two weeks. Where to next?" she asked. "Paris? London? Washington...?"
"Sanq," Relena cut in simply.
"What??" Noin cried, Heero simply turned towards the young woman, looking at her with his head slightly tilted to the left, brows lowered.
"It's simple," Relena said. "I simply want a little personal time."
Heero grunted, it almost sounded like a laugh. "Your birthday is coming up soon," he said after a moment.
Noin's eyes widened slightly, ?I?m sorry Relena.? She said softly. ?I forgot."
"It's okay Lu," the blonde woman said with a warm grin, that dropped from her face suddenly leaving a scowl and a hard gaze. "Unfortunately the press will be bound to remember...so this one will be just like all the others."
"Politics," Heero supplied, seeing the query in the Noin?s blank expression." This is the annual chance for the sycophants and arse-kissers to try and cheat, compliment and flatter some popular and political support.? His Prussian blue eyes turned glacially as he frowned. ?Also Relena gets her choice in this years ?eligible bachelors?,? he said harshly.
"Eligible bachelors?" Relena gave an unladylike snort." You're being too polite Heero. I could think of far more appropriate descriptions. Jackassess..."
The driver?s sharp ears heard and the creases at the corners of his lips deepened as he frowned, keeping his eyes on the turn leading to the highway he still managed a sharp, "Miss Relena!"
"Sorry Peygan," Relena muttered in a small voice with a pout, like a child chastised by her parent.
The old butler turned his attention back to the road. Relena stretched and lounged back in her chair, her head lolled and came to rest on Heero's shoulder and her eyes drooped. Within moments she was asleep, her breathing soft and regular. His harsh blue eyes softening Heero's hand moved to gently tuck a stray strand of honey blonde hair behind her hair, and lingers. His expression went strictly neutral as he locked gazes with Noin in the chair opposite, her face was unreadable but the pain in her eyes was clear. For a long minute neither deigned to break the stare. Noin broke the gaze and turned gaze back to the highway that stretched behind them through the tinted glass windows. Heero jerked his hand back from the sleeping girl as if electrocuted and cleared his throat. He glanced quickly at the raven-haired woman and noticed the scarlet flush tinting her cheeks.
That mask isn?t as hard as she thinks, he thought. Good!
There?s still hope.
For her at least.
*****
The air aboard the shuttle was cold and dense, the dark haired woman seemed determined to radiate an aura of ice as she sat behind the politician and soldier. Her eyes stared out into the cloud filled blue sky with her chin propped on her fist. The others were forced to twist in their seat to look at her, and were plainly ignored every time they did.
Heero frowned, had no explanation for her sudden shift in behaviour and he could see the Relena?s eyes grow tense each time she looked at her long time friend. He knew she felt serious fear for her friend, but felt helpless to assist her without embarrassing her. The young leader continued to turn, staring at the other woman through the gap between hers and Heero?s seat, and each time she turned back she shared her gaze with the Japanese, her violet irises screaming at him.
There was a flurry of movement punctuated by a sigh as Noin scrambled haughtily from her seat and strode to the rear of the plane, her heels thumping loudly as she stalked along the isle. Relena turned to Heero, her composure crumpling, she opened her mouth to speak but he was already in motion following Noin to the VIP rec room at the back of the shuttle.
***
Noin glowered at the dark haired man as he stepped through the door, her teeth grinding. He met her glare evenly seemingly unaffected by the fire in her stare, his face like a granite carving as he walked in to the room without a word, his gaze locked with hers. Again she was unable to content with his falcon-like stare, his eyes like frozen steel seemed to bore into her, and she turned to the walls with a snort folding her arms across her chest.
Yet her gaze were drawn back to him, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes as if her pupils were drawn shy some magnetic attraction to the cold blue metal of his irises. He never looked away from her; he seemed to lock on to her face like she was his target. He moved to the pool table, grabbing the triangle and racking the balls into the frame with mechanical movements, all the while his glare never wavered.
"Do you have something to say?" she asked after a while shattering the silence, the hum of the shuttles engines had grown deafening.
"We have to talk," was all he said, thumping his stick on the carpeted floor, before stroking the tip with a cube of blue chalk. ?I thought some pool might be?fun.? He grabbed the other cue and held it out before him, it wasn?t a gauntlet nor was it thrown, but the message was clear.
Noin felt a smirk crawl on the her face, she yanked the cue from his hand and bent over the table, the wood in her hands shot forwards like a cannon and with a thunderous clack the triangle of balls exploded apart, two striped spheres ricocheting into the corner and side pocket. The corner of her lips raised higher as she quirked an eyebrow, chalking her cue tip.
?Want to make it interesting??
Heero?s face never so much as twitched, his expression still cold and blank. "What are we playing for?"
"Answers."
?Fine,? he grunted and pulled the two potted balls from the pockets and began replacing them in the frame. ?But lets start properly.?
?Scared you can?t recover Yuy?? Noin said in an acidic tone.
?Not at all,? he grunted. ?Just didn?t want your pretty break to be ruined by a foul.? He finished racking up the triangle and leant over absently, pulling the white from the corner pocket behind the older woman. Her eyes widened.
?How the??
?You knocked it when you came over to gloat,? he said with a small, smug grin that made the blood boil in her veins. ?A soldier should know not to declare victory until the battle is won.?
Noin?s throat worked as she suppressed a growl. She lifted her hand to him, palm upwards, but he pushed past her roughly and placed the cue ball back on the table, lining it up to his liking.
"A gentleman would have allowed the lady to shoot first," Noin remarked sourly as she leant against the wall, watching him line up his shot with a keen eye.
The crack of the white ball striking the triangle was loud. The fifteen balls scattered around the table in a chaotic series of rebounds and collisions, but a singled coloured orb, found its way into the centre left pocket. Heero rose and eyes her, blue eyes shining like polished sapphires through his heavy oak-coloured bangs.
"I'm no gentleman," he said flatly, striding around the table. "How long do you plan on walking around feeling sorry for yourself?"
Noin jerked upright as if slapped, blood rushing to her face and making the night black of her hair seem even darker. How DARE he...?
"I don't see how that concerns you," she snapped harshly, hands balling into fists as the young soldier aimed his next shot. "And besides,? she said with venom. ?What the hell would you know about it?"
"You'll get your chance to ask me when your turn comes around," he replied punctuating his words with a stroke of his cue and cracking another ball into a pocket.
?You still haven?t answered.?
?I?m not feeling sorry for myself,? she declared firmly.
?Would you rather I call it sulking??
?Watch it, Yuy!? she growled jabbing him with a stiff finger.
?Then what would you call it?? Heero asked, raising his voice sharply. ?You sigh and waver on the edge breaking down every time you think no one?s looking, and when they are you try to cover it with some sort of emotionless fa?ade.?
Noin snorted, flinging her hands in the air she spun on her heel, striding away from the former pilot as she addressed the walls. ?I must have hit rock bottom if Mr Ice himself thinks he can lecture me on covering my emotions.? She whirled on Heero with a snarl. ?That?s such a hypocritical crock of bullshit!? she yelled. ?I doubt you ever let a single feeling slip past that glacier you call a face.?
Heero simply listened to her accusations and then nodded, his expression never shifting. ?Exactly, and that?s why I know what I?m talking about.? His shoulders slumped for a brief moment and he exhaled softly, in what Noin suspected may have been a near silent sigh. His eyes grew distant as if he were staring at something in the distance, the past. Then he stiffened and his face hardened into rough ice once again. ?You?re fooling nobody, Noin, we all see your pain. You?re making people worry.? He named no names, but it was clear whom he spoke of.
?I don?t need their pity,? she said bitterly, ?and I never asked for it.?
?It?s not pity, Noin, its concern, it?s care.? Heero sighed, and bent for another shot. ?We?re you?re friends, and our concern for you is something you?ll always get whether you ask for it or not,? he said softly as he knocked the cure ball across the table. He caught the target on the edge and sent in sliding towards the side pocket as a steep angle, but it rebounded off the rim and rolled away.
?We, Heero?? Noin asked slowly ?You?re concerned for me too??
The young man?s lips twisted slightly and he glanced sidelong at her as he moved back from the table. ?Is that you?re official question,? he grunted, returning his attention to the table as he missed ball came to rest across the table against the side cushion.
?Why not,? she shrugged. ?I?ll have many more chances.? She launched the white ball across the green felt, making a smooth long shot into the bottom right corner.
?Yes, Noin, I?m worried as well.? He said raising his eyes from the tip of he freshly chalked cue. ?I believe you are my friend and I am concerned for you. That?s why I am here, now.?
?You?re not just Heero because Relena said jump?? she asked dryly, knocking another pall into a pocket.
Heero grunted. ?That woman does not have the total control over me that everyone seems to think,? there was a small waver in the flat tone; Noin wondered just who he was trying to convince.
?Do you love her, Heero?? Noin asked in a rush, deciding to get to the heart of her curiosity about the mysterious soldier.
Heero frowned and stared at the table, she could see his eyes flickers as he counted the balls remaining on the table. His shoulders slumped for a brief and his mouth worked for a moment before his posture and eyes returned to stone.
?I was,? he in a blunt tone.
?And now?? Noin pressed on, knowing that she had made the rights shots; there was nowhere for the stolid man to retreat to.
His brows furrowed as his lips drew into a frown. ?I?m no longer sure,? he said. She glared at him, leaning on her cue and tapping her booted foot rapidly against the deck. He shrugged, ?I can?t really say any more, it is hard to describe.?
?Try!? she barked.
?We?re close, there?s no other word for it. It?s not a romantic closeness, nor is it sexual. We just fit.? His eyes stared into the beyond from above his cue tip, the blue of his eyes almost sparkled, like the light that played across the waves of a distant sea. ?It is as if she were a missing piece, and that when she?s there the puzzle is so complete that when that it is harder to see where on piece ends and one begins.?
He chuckled suddenly, softly. Noin found herself listening carefully to the unfamiliar sound, it was husky and low with a dry rhythm to it like the music of a low instrument, imposing yet comforting.
?Duo would laugh his ass of he heard me talk like this,? he muttered, but Noin did not hear him.
That feeling he had described, that closeness is what she had once shared with Zechs. As they rose through the ranks of Oz they were inseparable. They were always together. Trieze had made them his hand men, with the Lightning Count?s battle skill and her cool head. Their duties had brought them together and they had just grown closer, talking constantly, sharing everything. Laughing, crying, all by each other?s side. The two of them shared everything, he had told her his real name and the pain of his family?s death, and she had tried to help him heal those wounds.
But the good things in life change in an instant, and in that second all is lost. For her that instant came the day she had convinced him to take his mask off, to reveal the face of her truest friend. When her eyes beheld that beautiful visage, with those crystal blue eyes framed by a veil of silvery hair, her soul wept. In that one frantic beat of her heart, she fell in love, and nothing could be the same in the wake of Cupid?s arrow.
The change had not come for him, nor would it ever. To Zechs Marquise and to Milliardo Peacecraft, she was just a friend, the first person he went to with a near giddy smile to announce his engagement to one of her dearest friends.
Tears threatened to cloud her eyes, the balls on the table became blurs of colour and the green felt seemed to warp and writhe. She forced the sensation back, gritting her teeth as she fought against the surging tide. She lashed out with cue; striking the white ball above the centre and making it follow the purple striped orb into the side pocket.
?Your shots,? she grunted, turning from the table quickly and facing the wall. Her hands trembled in tight fists as she tried to bring her emotions under control.
?You still love him,? she heard Heero?s flat voice declare from behind her, causing her to whirl on him with a snarl.
He stood at the bottom of the table, leaning against the side with his cue cradled in his arm, bouncing the recovered white ball in his palm. His stone face held no expression, but his eyes pierced through her like the gaze of a hawk.
?You?ve not potted any thing yet,? she humphed.
?It was not a question,? he replied.
She glared at him; his face was stolid yet at that moment seemed so unbearably arrogant. Her nails dug into her palms so hard that she feared she would bleed. Heero met here eyes evenly, still toying with the ball. Her breath rushed out of her in a loud sigh and she seemed to deflate, her posture crumbling as she slumped forwards bracing her hands against the table.
?I don?t know Heero,? she said. ?Love is supposed to be a joyful sensation.? A single tear trickled from her face and fell onto her knuckles. ?Can it be called love when it hurts this much??
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, when she turned she found herself staring into Heero?s deep blue eyes. The walls of blue ice and melted and his gaze was gentle like the soft falling of winter snow. His lips held a small but warm curve.
?I think that proves that it was love,? he said softly. ?The hurt that does not kill us, makes us stronger. And a woman as admirable and with such heart as you have, Noin, I can?t imagine you not growing stronger than all of us.?
Noin could not stop the smile that broke out across her face, with she brushed the tears from her face and held her cue close to her chest. ?Thank you, Heero.?
?It?s what friends are for,? he shrugged. ?Or so Duo keeps telling me.?
A chuckle spouted past her lips before she knew it and laughter bubbled and rose from her chest. Heero smirked and leant over the table rebounded a green ball of the cushion and into the side pocket. Noin had watched the sphere roll into the hole and her laughter faded, she glanced at the young soldier from the corner of her eye, trying to read the question in his face. He had not moved yet, remaining bent with his cue gripped in his fists, mahogany hair falling over his eyes.
?So?? he said slowly. Noin bit her lips. ?What?s your favourite food??
?Linguini,? she said, feeling a wide grin split her face.
To be continued.
Ryan: Um no it's not. We wrote this together so we hope you enjoy it.
Beer: MIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!!
Ryan: I hope he's sane for the next chapter :-?
Superposition
By Beer-monster and RyanEX2000
Chapter Two: Cadit quaestio.
Truth and tears clear the way to a deep and lasting friendship.
~Unknown
?.errors of the past.?
I feel proud of what we have achieved the years since the wars. Like a phoenix from the ashes we have rebuilt...No, not just rebuilt improved; evolved our society, our way of life and all of humanity. Not just on Earth, but for everyone even in the depths of space.?
?What was the key to our success? Many people have asked, politicians and historians have answered. But in my opinion, it comes down to one word.
?Co-operation.?
?Such a short word, and such a simple concept, but that is what has brought us all here today. All of the people of Earth?s nations and the Colonies decided that it was time for peace, for something better, and together they worked for it.
?And here it is, the first step of a modern Utopia. A time when all mankind can?.?
*****
As the camera panned around for another sweep the woman's fingers danced across the console, thumb grinding upon a small touch pad. The camera swept across the still crowd, mesmerised by the young woman on stage. Tapping on a small button the woman zoomed in on a figure in the background, watching a short man dip a hand in to the pockets of a dark overcoat. She tensed, reaching for a large red button on her console and the loaded gun that sat beside it. With a sigh she relaxed as the man drew out a small touch-pad computer. She started to zoom out and then froze as her eyes caught something.
A glitter of silver...
No?another false alarm. It was just a woman adjusting her broach. Noin rubbed her eyes as she leaned back, then a flash of platinum hair and azure eyes.
A hollow swelled in her chest, she fought it furiously but it still grew. The man still haunted her, a handsome spectre in her life. No matter how she tried to exorcise herself of her feelings, she was tortured by the memory of his voice, his smile and his beautiful eyes.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head forcefully, as if trying to dislodge the man?s presence from her brain.
Stop it, she told herself harshly. That way madness lies.
She inhaled deeply and forced her face to granite, focusing her attention back to the screens in before her.
Noin's head jerked up from her console at the sudden tap on her shoulder. Her hand jerked for her gun before the mug of coffee crossed her line of sight, the Starbuck?s logo taunting her as steam wafted from the dark liquid.
"How many times have I asked you not to do that?" she grunted, snatching the coffee from his hand and suppressing a wince as the hot fluid sloshed over her hand.
"Forty-seven times," Heero replied with a shrug taking a sip from his own cup. "Give or take one or two."
Noin considered glaring at her new partner, but knew that she could not win that contest and so settled for grumbling obscenities. She wondered if she has noticed her lapse, if he thought she was weak. She jerked her head back to the monitors, hiding her face in her task.
?Shouldn't you be out there skulking in the shadows or something?" she asked dryly.
"Too clich?'," was the reply. "I've shot so many would be assassins and whatnot that the dark is usually the first place they look. Besides...habits are a bad thing in our line of business."
?You mean Relena, ordered you not to skulk??
Heero?s eyes fell to floor and Noin thought she saw him fidget slightly, ?Same difference,? he grunted sourly and dropped into the chair besides her. Then he glanced ate her from the corner of his eyes, and the corner of his lips curled into a smile.
Before she knew it and without really knowing why, she found herself smiling back.
*****
?But it would be wrong for any of us to rest on our laurels. There is still much to be done. We must continue to work towards a better and brighter future, healing the sick, feeding the hungry and making every single human on earth and in space feel that they are part of something greater. Something more than there own towns, cities colonies. That they are part of a family, a fellowship, and to be a reminded that each and every one of them is an integral part of the ever evolving progression of the human race.
*****
"Just look at them," Noin said as several cameras panned over the crowd, all silent and leaning forwards in their seats and in the stands, hanging on the Minister?s every word. "It's like she weaves a spell over them. Why would anyone want to hurt her?"
"Power..."Heero replied shortly. "She has it...regardless of how ignorant she is to just how much she has. And they fear her because of it."
Noin glanced sidelong at the Japanese man, quirking an eyebrow, "Experience?"
The dark-haired Preventer frowned and leant over to adjust a few buttons on the console, the movement hiding his face behind his dark bangs. ?No comment,? he grunted.
Noin fought a smirk that threatened to creep on to her lips and glanced at the screens.
?I think you need to see to our charge," Noin said, flicking her thumb towards the monitors that showed roaring crowd rising to their feet and applauding. Heero nodded, swiftly moving for the door.
"Two hundred and forty seconds, Heero," she called as the door slammed shut.
One point to me.
Noin smirked as she watched the Japanese man run across the monitor that gave a view of the entrance to the auditorium. Rising from her seat she grabbed the jacket of her uniform, her other hand pushing a button on her cell phone.
?Paygan? Three minutes.? Short, and sharp, but that was all that was needed. Shrugging into her coat she reached for the door handle yet paused as her eyes made a final sweep across the monitor. Heero had reached the Princess, appearing behind the women and holding open her jacket. Relena smiled warmly at him and slipped into the proffered item. The act brought them close together, his arms on her shoulders protectively, tenderly. She twisted and shared and locked eyes with him over his shoulder. Her lips moved as she spoke and a wry smile found its way on to Heero?s face. It was a perfect picture, and it made her heart ache for what she had lost.
I wonder why they broke up? she quickly thought to herself as she hopped out of the van and slammed the door closed. Then she shook her head and frowned. It probably was none of her business. Heero most definitely wasn't going to volunteer any info, and she certainly wasn't going to ask Relena...
She shrugged to herself. When in doubt, ask Duo.
*****
"Madam Foreign Minister, do you have anything to say on..."
"A brief statement on..."
"Miss Relena is it true that..."
Outside the convention centre snow continued to fall in swift spirals, covering everything in an almost blinding sheen of white. Arm around Relena, almost possessively, Heero glared at the reporters in turn, frosted eyes launching daggers at the swarming journalists. The message was old, and understood as the cluster of reporters slipped back just enough to allow them through.
"I feel like a piece of meat," Relena muttered as Trowa emerged from the building and joined Heero, hustling her from the building to her black limo.
"I?m sorry Commander Une had to ruin your weekend plans Trowa," Relena said to the tall soldier with a small smile.
The green-eyed man shook his head, ?Don?t worry about it,? then a smile broke onto his face. "I feel sorry for Une when Sylvia gets her hands on her. Her response was quite um?colourful."
?That bad?? Heero asked raising one eyebrow.
?I never imagined she new such words,? Trowa admitted his grin growing slightly. ?I had to ask Duo the meaning of a couple of them.?
Relena chuckled and Heero smirked opening the door for the politician while Trowa stepped forwards, his spread arms like a barrier to the paparazzi, whose cameras created a storm of white flashes like lightning while there shouts and questions created the rumble of thunder.
"Sure you don't need a lift?" Heero asked poised with one hand on the doorframe.
"No thanks," Trowa replied. "If I'm lucky maybe I can catch the evening flight back to Europe. Tell Une I'll have my report faxed by Monday."
Giving his friend his brief nod Heero turned and slipped into his seat beside Relena, Noin waited across from them, arms and legs crossed and that mask of stone on her face again. "Let's go," he muttered
Peygan, seemingly untouched by the passing years, gave the young man a tight frown and a mocking salute, before moving the vehicle into the flow of traffic. Heero sighed and leant back in the plush leather upholstery. Noin turned around to face Relena.
"That makes twelve conferences in less than two weeks. Where to next?" she asked. "Paris? London? Washington...?"
"Sanq," Relena cut in simply.
"What??" Noin cried, Heero simply turned towards the young woman, looking at her with his head slightly tilted to the left, brows lowered.
"It's simple," Relena said. "I simply want a little personal time."
Heero grunted, it almost sounded like a laugh. "Your birthday is coming up soon," he said after a moment.
Noin's eyes widened slightly, ?I?m sorry Relena.? She said softly. ?I forgot."
"It's okay Lu," the blonde woman said with a warm grin, that dropped from her face suddenly leaving a scowl and a hard gaze. "Unfortunately the press will be bound to remember...so this one will be just like all the others."
"Politics," Heero supplied, seeing the query in the Noin?s blank expression." This is the annual chance for the sycophants and arse-kissers to try and cheat, compliment and flatter some popular and political support.? His Prussian blue eyes turned glacially as he frowned. ?Also Relena gets her choice in this years ?eligible bachelors?,? he said harshly.
"Eligible bachelors?" Relena gave an unladylike snort." You're being too polite Heero. I could think of far more appropriate descriptions. Jackassess..."
The driver?s sharp ears heard and the creases at the corners of his lips deepened as he frowned, keeping his eyes on the turn leading to the highway he still managed a sharp, "Miss Relena!"
"Sorry Peygan," Relena muttered in a small voice with a pout, like a child chastised by her parent.
The old butler turned his attention back to the road. Relena stretched and lounged back in her chair, her head lolled and came to rest on Heero's shoulder and her eyes drooped. Within moments she was asleep, her breathing soft and regular. His harsh blue eyes softening Heero's hand moved to gently tuck a stray strand of honey blonde hair behind her hair, and lingers. His expression went strictly neutral as he locked gazes with Noin in the chair opposite, her face was unreadable but the pain in her eyes was clear. For a long minute neither deigned to break the stare. Noin broke the gaze and turned gaze back to the highway that stretched behind them through the tinted glass windows. Heero jerked his hand back from the sleeping girl as if electrocuted and cleared his throat. He glanced quickly at the raven-haired woman and noticed the scarlet flush tinting her cheeks.
That mask isn?t as hard as she thinks, he thought. Good!
There?s still hope.
For her at least.
*****
The air aboard the shuttle was cold and dense, the dark haired woman seemed determined to radiate an aura of ice as she sat behind the politician and soldier. Her eyes stared out into the cloud filled blue sky with her chin propped on her fist. The others were forced to twist in their seat to look at her, and were plainly ignored every time they did.
Heero frowned, had no explanation for her sudden shift in behaviour and he could see the Relena?s eyes grow tense each time she looked at her long time friend. He knew she felt serious fear for her friend, but felt helpless to assist her without embarrassing her. The young leader continued to turn, staring at the other woman through the gap between hers and Heero?s seat, and each time she turned back she shared her gaze with the Japanese, her violet irises screaming at him.
There was a flurry of movement punctuated by a sigh as Noin scrambled haughtily from her seat and strode to the rear of the plane, her heels thumping loudly as she stalked along the isle. Relena turned to Heero, her composure crumpling, she opened her mouth to speak but he was already in motion following Noin to the VIP rec room at the back of the shuttle.
***
Noin glowered at the dark haired man as he stepped through the door, her teeth grinding. He met her glare evenly seemingly unaffected by the fire in her stare, his face like a granite carving as he walked in to the room without a word, his gaze locked with hers. Again she was unable to content with his falcon-like stare, his eyes like frozen steel seemed to bore into her, and she turned to the walls with a snort folding her arms across her chest.
Yet her gaze were drawn back to him, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes as if her pupils were drawn shy some magnetic attraction to the cold blue metal of his irises. He never looked away from her; he seemed to lock on to her face like she was his target. He moved to the pool table, grabbing the triangle and racking the balls into the frame with mechanical movements, all the while his glare never wavered.
"Do you have something to say?" she asked after a while shattering the silence, the hum of the shuttles engines had grown deafening.
"We have to talk," was all he said, thumping his stick on the carpeted floor, before stroking the tip with a cube of blue chalk. ?I thought some pool might be?fun.? He grabbed the other cue and held it out before him, it wasn?t a gauntlet nor was it thrown, but the message was clear.
Noin felt a smirk crawl on the her face, she yanked the cue from his hand and bent over the table, the wood in her hands shot forwards like a cannon and with a thunderous clack the triangle of balls exploded apart, two striped spheres ricocheting into the corner and side pocket. The corner of her lips raised higher as she quirked an eyebrow, chalking her cue tip.
?Want to make it interesting??
Heero?s face never so much as twitched, his expression still cold and blank. "What are we playing for?"
"Answers."
?Fine,? he grunted and pulled the two potted balls from the pockets and began replacing them in the frame. ?But lets start properly.?
?Scared you can?t recover Yuy?? Noin said in an acidic tone.
?Not at all,? he grunted. ?Just didn?t want your pretty break to be ruined by a foul.? He finished racking up the triangle and leant over absently, pulling the white from the corner pocket behind the older woman. Her eyes widened.
?How the??
?You knocked it when you came over to gloat,? he said with a small, smug grin that made the blood boil in her veins. ?A soldier should know not to declare victory until the battle is won.?
Noin?s throat worked as she suppressed a growl. She lifted her hand to him, palm upwards, but he pushed past her roughly and placed the cue ball back on the table, lining it up to his liking.
"A gentleman would have allowed the lady to shoot first," Noin remarked sourly as she leant against the wall, watching him line up his shot with a keen eye.
The crack of the white ball striking the triangle was loud. The fifteen balls scattered around the table in a chaotic series of rebounds and collisions, but a singled coloured orb, found its way into the centre left pocket. Heero rose and eyes her, blue eyes shining like polished sapphires through his heavy oak-coloured bangs.
"I'm no gentleman," he said flatly, striding around the table. "How long do you plan on walking around feeling sorry for yourself?"
Noin jerked upright as if slapped, blood rushing to her face and making the night black of her hair seem even darker. How DARE he...?
"I don't see how that concerns you," she snapped harshly, hands balling into fists as the young soldier aimed his next shot. "And besides,? she said with venom. ?What the hell would you know about it?"
"You'll get your chance to ask me when your turn comes around," he replied punctuating his words with a stroke of his cue and cracking another ball into a pocket.
?You still haven?t answered.?
?I?m not feeling sorry for myself,? she declared firmly.
?Would you rather I call it sulking??
?Watch it, Yuy!? she growled jabbing him with a stiff finger.
?Then what would you call it?? Heero asked, raising his voice sharply. ?You sigh and waver on the edge breaking down every time you think no one?s looking, and when they are you try to cover it with some sort of emotionless fa?ade.?
Noin snorted, flinging her hands in the air she spun on her heel, striding away from the former pilot as she addressed the walls. ?I must have hit rock bottom if Mr Ice himself thinks he can lecture me on covering my emotions.? She whirled on Heero with a snarl. ?That?s such a hypocritical crock of bullshit!? she yelled. ?I doubt you ever let a single feeling slip past that glacier you call a face.?
Heero simply listened to her accusations and then nodded, his expression never shifting. ?Exactly, and that?s why I know what I?m talking about.? His shoulders slumped for a brief moment and he exhaled softly, in what Noin suspected may have been a near silent sigh. His eyes grew distant as if he were staring at something in the distance, the past. Then he stiffened and his face hardened into rough ice once again. ?You?re fooling nobody, Noin, we all see your pain. You?re making people worry.? He named no names, but it was clear whom he spoke of.
?I don?t need their pity,? she said bitterly, ?and I never asked for it.?
?It?s not pity, Noin, its concern, it?s care.? Heero sighed, and bent for another shot. ?We?re you?re friends, and our concern for you is something you?ll always get whether you ask for it or not,? he said softly as he knocked the cure ball across the table. He caught the target on the edge and sent in sliding towards the side pocket as a steep angle, but it rebounded off the rim and rolled away.
?We, Heero?? Noin asked slowly ?You?re concerned for me too??
The young man?s lips twisted slightly and he glanced sidelong at her as he moved back from the table. ?Is that you?re official question,? he grunted, returning his attention to the table as he missed ball came to rest across the table against the side cushion.
?Why not,? she shrugged. ?I?ll have many more chances.? She launched the white ball across the green felt, making a smooth long shot into the bottom right corner.
?Yes, Noin, I?m worried as well.? He said raising his eyes from the tip of he freshly chalked cue. ?I believe you are my friend and I am concerned for you. That?s why I am here, now.?
?You?re not just Heero because Relena said jump?? she asked dryly, knocking another pall into a pocket.
Heero grunted. ?That woman does not have the total control over me that everyone seems to think,? there was a small waver in the flat tone; Noin wondered just who he was trying to convince.
?Do you love her, Heero?? Noin asked in a rush, deciding to get to the heart of her curiosity about the mysterious soldier.
Heero frowned and stared at the table, she could see his eyes flickers as he counted the balls remaining on the table. His shoulders slumped for a brief and his mouth worked for a moment before his posture and eyes returned to stone.
?I was,? he in a blunt tone.
?And now?? Noin pressed on, knowing that she had made the rights shots; there was nowhere for the stolid man to retreat to.
His brows furrowed as his lips drew into a frown. ?I?m no longer sure,? he said. She glared at him, leaning on her cue and tapping her booted foot rapidly against the deck. He shrugged, ?I can?t really say any more, it is hard to describe.?
?Try!? she barked.
?We?re close, there?s no other word for it. It?s not a romantic closeness, nor is it sexual. We just fit.? His eyes stared into the beyond from above his cue tip, the blue of his eyes almost sparkled, like the light that played across the waves of a distant sea. ?It is as if she were a missing piece, and that when she?s there the puzzle is so complete that when that it is harder to see where on piece ends and one begins.?
He chuckled suddenly, softly. Noin found herself listening carefully to the unfamiliar sound, it was husky and low with a dry rhythm to it like the music of a low instrument, imposing yet comforting.
?Duo would laugh his ass of he heard me talk like this,? he muttered, but Noin did not hear him.
That feeling he had described, that closeness is what she had once shared with Zechs. As they rose through the ranks of Oz they were inseparable. They were always together. Trieze had made them his hand men, with the Lightning Count?s battle skill and her cool head. Their duties had brought them together and they had just grown closer, talking constantly, sharing everything. Laughing, crying, all by each other?s side. The two of them shared everything, he had told her his real name and the pain of his family?s death, and she had tried to help him heal those wounds.
But the good things in life change in an instant, and in that second all is lost. For her that instant came the day she had convinced him to take his mask off, to reveal the face of her truest friend. When her eyes beheld that beautiful visage, with those crystal blue eyes framed by a veil of silvery hair, her soul wept. In that one frantic beat of her heart, she fell in love, and nothing could be the same in the wake of Cupid?s arrow.
The change had not come for him, nor would it ever. To Zechs Marquise and to Milliardo Peacecraft, she was just a friend, the first person he went to with a near giddy smile to announce his engagement to one of her dearest friends.
Tears threatened to cloud her eyes, the balls on the table became blurs of colour and the green felt seemed to warp and writhe. She forced the sensation back, gritting her teeth as she fought against the surging tide. She lashed out with cue; striking the white ball above the centre and making it follow the purple striped orb into the side pocket.
?Your shots,? she grunted, turning from the table quickly and facing the wall. Her hands trembled in tight fists as she tried to bring her emotions under control.
?You still love him,? she heard Heero?s flat voice declare from behind her, causing her to whirl on him with a snarl.
He stood at the bottom of the table, leaning against the side with his cue cradled in his arm, bouncing the recovered white ball in his palm. His stone face held no expression, but his eyes pierced through her like the gaze of a hawk.
?You?ve not potted any thing yet,? she humphed.
?It was not a question,? he replied.
She glared at him; his face was stolid yet at that moment seemed so unbearably arrogant. Her nails dug into her palms so hard that she feared she would bleed. Heero met here eyes evenly, still toying with the ball. Her breath rushed out of her in a loud sigh and she seemed to deflate, her posture crumbling as she slumped forwards bracing her hands against the table.
?I don?t know Heero,? she said. ?Love is supposed to be a joyful sensation.? A single tear trickled from her face and fell onto her knuckles. ?Can it be called love when it hurts this much??
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, when she turned she found herself staring into Heero?s deep blue eyes. The walls of blue ice and melted and his gaze was gentle like the soft falling of winter snow. His lips held a small but warm curve.
?I think that proves that it was love,? he said softly. ?The hurt that does not kill us, makes us stronger. And a woman as admirable and with such heart as you have, Noin, I can?t imagine you not growing stronger than all of us.?
Noin could not stop the smile that broke out across her face, with she brushed the tears from her face and held her cue close to her chest. ?Thank you, Heero.?
?It?s what friends are for,? he shrugged. ?Or so Duo keeps telling me.?
A chuckle spouted past her lips before she knew it and laughter bubbled and rose from her chest. Heero smirked and leant over the table rebounded a green ball of the cushion and into the side pocket. Noin had watched the sphere roll into the hole and her laughter faded, she glanced at the young soldier from the corner of her eye, trying to read the question in his face. He had not moved yet, remaining bent with his cue gripped in his fists, mahogany hair falling over his eyes.
?So?? he said slowly. Noin bit her lips. ?What?s your favourite food??
?Linguini,? she said, feeling a wide grin split her face.
To be continued.
