Eve

[Psyche]

A fic about Meilan.

Title: Eve
Author: Psyche (L2Psyche00@aol.com)
Archive: http://www.gwaddiction.com
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Besides, haven't you heard? Property is theft.
Category: um... drama
Rating: PG
Warnings: mild to moderate angst
Pairings: very mild 5+Mei hints, open to interpretation
Spoilers: spoilers for Wufei's episode Zero.
Notes: Set during Wufei's episode Zero. If you haven't read it already, you should probably do so before reading this. I suggest going here: http://www.angelfire.com/rant/madmiewth/
Feedback: All comments welcome, including criticisms.

Many thanks to Akai, who did an excellent job beta reading this for me, as always. ^_^

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Notes:

1. Zhang/Chang Fei was a Chinese god, one of the 24 heroes deserving gratitude for service
to their country, often referred to as one of the Three Musketeers of China. One meaning of 'Wu' has
militaristic implications.
2. Meilan means beautiful orchid
3. Liu xing: shooting star, considered unlucky in Chinese folklore
4. Long means dragon

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Eve


Meilan blocked blow after blow, as artificial rain splashed against her skull, running down into her eyes and mouth and soaking her clothes so that they clung to her flesh. Her head throbbed slightly as the temperature dropped--the day was almost over now--and she had to struggle to keep her body under control as the fight drew on. The earth, which had been firm and tight-packed when they began, was now churned to a muddy mess. As she dodged a kick, Meilan slipped and almost fell. Her opponent raised an eyebrow, a faint smirk on his face. She set her jaw and went on the offensive.

A well-placed kick had the young man stumbling. Another and he dropped to the soil. He tried to get up, only to be knocked back down.

"I am Nataku, the strongest."

The first real words Meilan had spoken all day, forced through her gasps and the droplets of water trickling down her throat.

The young man lay still on the ground, looking up at her with dull brown eyes. Meilan glowered.

"Go back to your home."

He scrambled to his feet, dirty, damp and defeated, and left.

A moment passed.

A figure approached from behind, sheltered under an umbrella.

"You're not the strongest... And you're not Nataku."

Meilan spun around, snarling.

"Hoarded strength is meaningless!"

"And so is your justice, as you have admitted many times." Wufei said, his expression dark.

"Why do you fight, Meilan?"

"This again? Don't you tire of your questions, scholar boy?"

"No."

"Well I do! I'll play these games no longer!"

She would have left, but for a soft "Meilan," that somehow induced her to stay.

"_What_?"

His body tensed at the abrasive tone, and he opened his mouth to say something harsh. The image of the bedraggled creature before him panting and struggling to hold on to her anger made him stop, however, and he half smiled instead.

"I need to know."

"_Why_ must there always be a _reason_, Wufei? Why can't I fight because I _have_ to, because without it there's nothing left? _Why_ must you always be _asking_ when you could be _acting_? You say I'm not strong, but at least I'm no _coward_, sitting and making excuses so I can keep my hands clean!"

She spat and tried to laugh as dirty tears ran down her cheeks from her eyes. Wufei moved towards her, and Meilan stepped back, swaying slightly. Within seconds, he was by her side, but she shoved him away with a scowl.

"You're my husband on paper only, Chang Wufei!"

And then she was gone.


~


Wufei awoke the following morning to find Meilan watching over him.

"You named it," she said, slowly.

"Hunh? Named what?"

"The gundam... you named it Shenlong. Why?"

Wufei got out of bed and gave the girl a meaningful look. After it became clear that she had no intention of leaving, he picked up some clothes and moved to the bathroom to change.

"Well?" she called through the door.

"Why are names so important to you?"

"Because your name is what you have to live up to! It should be the best thing you can become, otherwise it's pointless!"

There was a pause, and then Wufei reemerged fully clothed, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Excatly."

"You only say that because you have the name of a warrior and are too scared to become one!" (1)

"And you have the name of a beautiful flower (2) and insist upon throwing your life away! Perhaps you should have been born Liu Xing (3) instead!"

Meilan's breathing harshened, and her body began to shake.

"I'd--I would rather burn up than spend my life as just another ornament--I won't help people forget an ugly world!"

"Then you're foolish! Do really want to die before you can even know what it is you're dying for?"

"Of course! What other way _is_ there?"

"What other way to do what? To follow your fake justice? Or simply to be an idiot?"

"To live with _honour_!" The last word was more rasped than spoken, as Meilan sank heavily to the ground, ferociously swallowing her sobs.

Wufei reached out gingerly to touch her, but when she raised her head her eyes were full of such anguish that he drew back involuntarily.

Meilan gulped down air, and tried to calm herself enough for speech.

"W--why a dragon? (4) What is a d--dragon to you?"

"It doesn't matter," Wufei said.

"N--no?"

Silence, but for the sound of heavy breathing.

Meilan smashed a fist into the wall.

"WHY did someone like YOU have to be strongest?

"_WHY_?"

Silence.


~


The colony shook. Mobile suits swept in, firing upon everything in sight. A building collapsed. Another began to burn. A child died.

The rattles and screeches of destruction grew louder.

Long Zi-ling watched as her granddaughter came to an abrupt halt in her training exercises and turned towards the source of the noise.

"You are going to fight, aren't you?"

For a second, Meilan stood absolutely still. Then, her expression hardened and her fists clenched.

"Yes."

Zi-ling nodded. "Good."

There was a pause, and then, "You realise, Meilan--"

"I realise."

And then she was gone.


End.


Thank-you for reading.

Agape

Psyche