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"Alternative Directions: Options "Written By: Karina Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the lovely
boys and their girls in the series. Wish I did. Please don't sue me.
I haven't even got a brass razoo to give you. Rating: Deffinately PG in Australia, at the moment,
but probably safer to say R for later chapters. Not sure about international
ratings Warnings: It will be 6x2, even though it does
not start out that way. After all, Zechs and Duo never met in Gundam
Wing and only spoke briefly over a com line in Endless Waltz. I've
tried to keep them in character as I saw them in the series. A bit
of language creeping in under stressful conditions. Pairings: eventual 6x2, past 2xH, 2+H,6x9, 1+R
Summary: Directions is set post Endless Waltz
and roughly 2 years have passed. Zechs and Noin are on Mars and Duo,
after spending some time with Hilde in a relationship leaves L2 to
join Preventers. Hilde was not happy about his decision. I guess enough
said. Here t'is, and I hope you like it. This is also AU for the standard
setting, as well as the series and Endless Waltz. Spoilers: Gundam Wing Series and Endless Waltz Many thanks to Dulin for volunteering to beta this. //... // thoughts
"Alternative Directions: Options"
Chapter 11
New Port Sanc Palace Date 27th February AC 198 Time: 23:45 Heero The last of the delegates cars drove away and I supervised the sealing of the main doors. The night guards nodded briefly in passing, both having known me for some time. They had been with Relena's security staff for more than a year now, and I was confident enough in them. I had, after all, run enough checks on their backgrounds and that of their families, to probably know more about them than they themselves did. It had been a long few days. I was beginning to think that this week was cursed never to end. I was confident I had been right to tell Duo about Hilde and his son. Of course, I knew why Hilde had acted as she had. Why she had taken the actions she had. I also thought she was dead wrong, but since I'm not a pregnant woman with mixed up hormones, who has just split up with her lover, who am I to say? I do think that Duo had a right to know. She should have told him. Admittedly she had not known when they had split. I checked her medical records to see when she had seen the doctor. It was more than a month after Duo left. I so don't want to be around when Duo goes to L2. That could get very vocal and a glimpse of Shinigami might again be seen. Not that he would be violent with her. No, but Shinigami is his dark side and he's a war orphan. He lost family young, twice. No, more than that. His real parents. The street gang headed by Solo. The priest and nun at that orphanage. I'm sure of one thing. I do know he'll treasure having a real family. How much more real can you get than your son? The caterers would arrive in the morning to clear away the trappings of the dinner party. Relena had given the kitchen staff the night off and brought in outside caterers for this dinner. Not in itself unusual, but I had noticed something odd in this pattern. Its always one of three catering companies who get the call, but no matter which company get the contract, there is one particular waitress who always arrives early to help setup. I've seen her too many times to mistake her, and I intend to find out who she really is, and who she really works for. She's no waitress. Servants from catering companies do not talk to the Vice Foreign Minister in her private salon, on every occasion they come to serve at a dinner party. The caterers are always chosen with at least two days notice. There is really something odd going on here. I will get to the bottom of it. Someone is having sometimes lengthy discussions in secret with the Vice Foreign Minister. Someone who thinks they can bypass appropriate security measures. Did they honestly think I would not notice? I suspect her to be an agent for the world government, passing on classified documents. I caught the signal that went direct to Relena's private study this time. It was two days ago and lo and behold, the kitchen and serving staff are given the day off and caterers brought in within two days. It's a pattern. Someone should change their style. They're becoming predictable. I really need to talk to Relena. About a number of things, not the least of which is what she is doing to that old man. I saw him this afternoon. He knows what she and that agent were discussing and it upset him. He's been nothing but loyal to her and I hate to see him hurt by her. Sometimes she can be so naïve. Sometimes she has no idea what her actions can mean to others. Spoilt little rich girl, I've heard Duo call her. He's right. I can't deny it, nor can I deny that I feel something for her. I was taught to hide my emotions and that personal relationships can weaken you. Drag you down. So what do I do about this? I don't know how to talk to her. I don't even know if I want to remain Heero Yuy, or if I want to be Shuichi. Shuichi is-no-one. Shuichi is ... I can't even explain to myself what I think. How did Romefeller find out all of this? If I wanted to do something about the way I am starting to feel about her, do I do it as Heero Yuy, or do I do it as Shuichi? "Ice." Duo's unmistakable voice intruded into my consciousness. "On line, Reaper. Problem?" I adjusted the ear piece a little, settling it more comfortably. "Relena has taken off into the maze. She looks pretty upset. Something happen at the dinner that I missed?" "Dinner was without incident ...or resolution, I might add. I'll follow her. Keep an eye on her until I get there." She had seemed alright during the dinner. Perhaps a little more tense than usual? A reaction to the news she received today, from that agent? Or was it whatever had happened between her and Pagan? I had to find her and learn what was going on. I did not like the idea of Relena hurting. Odd. Once that would not have bothered me at all. Likely I would be the one who was doing the hurting, thinking that I was doing her a favor. She never listened to me, though, just continued on her way, doing as she originally intended. It amazes me that she is still alive. Some days she does not seem to care whose toes she steps on. "Roger that, Ice. Reaper on standby." "Hn" There was practically no moon tonight and the east garden where the maze was located was in deep shadow, the usual decorative lights turned down to a dim glow colouring the snow where it had not been shoveled aside from the paths and patios. Not that I needed the lights to find my way. I have very good night vision. I know why now. When Duo told me about Romefeller and I hacked into their file on the Gundam Pilots, I never expected to find so detailed a report. I had expected a file with scanty personal details and references to each of the missions they could definitely tag us as having participated in. Yet the files had contained information on who we actually were, not on what we were doing, but on who we had been, before we had become trainees for the Gundams. Long before. Where had Romefeller found this information? After the war I had looked for my identity. I had failed. At least I now know why. My gene sequencing had never been taken for the public offices information database. Dr J had hinted that there might have been genetic enhancement carried out on me at some time, but stressed that he had not done so. He had taken what was there and trained it. The old bastard. I would sooner have led an entirely different life to the one I had been forced into. Who was I? Did I have a right to still call myself Heero Yuy? I need time to consider all the alternatives. I have the information now. I just need the time to study it and to decide what I am to do about it. Shuichi had been designed for space exploration. I read enough to know that before Duo had joined me. Shuichi was to be a space explorer and became Heero Yuy, assassin, terrorist and ultimately Gundam Pilot. I have so much more to learn. About myself as Shuichi and as Heero Yuy. "Hn." Yes. Duo Maxwell. On L2 just about now there was probably one very upset young lady. Yes, it would be about now that she would have received the court application on Duo's behalf. Une took it quite well. In fact, a lot better than I thought she would have. She had glared at me when she had attended the dinner last evening, but that could have been over anything, not necessarily that I had told Duo what I had found out. She knows that I was the one who told him, but as yet she has said nothing about it to me. She knew already, I am certain of that. Yes, she had to know that Hilde was pregnant. That would have been blatantly obvious to anyone when she applied to Preventers, but she must have honored Schbeikers wishes that Duo not be told. The hedge reared as a deeper darkness in the night. I paused at the gate, glancing around the garden, but it was all quiet. A white shape ghosted over the snow covered lawn, the white owl hunting for any food it could find. It was a relatively warm night, for the season. There would be rain before dawn, I knew. I listened to the silence and the distant call of an owl, not the one that dived into a snow bank and emerged with something that struggled briefly and then was still. No, the night was quiet, peaceful. The natural night creatures were the best clue as to something being wrong near me. No danger here. "Reaper, come in." I adjusted the com microphone, turning up my collar a little. It was getting cool in the garden and in the maze it always seemed colder. At least there was no wind blowing tonight. "Reading you, Ice. Got you on the monitor. She's in the center of the maze. Looks like she's crying." Oh, god help me, not that. I don't know how to handle tears. She lately seems to be able to wrap me around her little finger when she cries, and I find myself doing the strangest things. All because she wants me to. All because of the damn tears. She had better have stopped crying by the time I get through this thing. I so can not deal with tears. I have no training on how to deal with crying women. Why was it during the One Year War even tears had no effect on me? The mission was all I needed concern myself with. Her crying meant nothing to me then. I am going to have to decide what to do about the feelings I am having for her. I'm only seventeen ...no. I now know when I was born. I am actually eighteen. Not all that far from being nineteen. I have a real birthday. I might just have the inclination to celebrate a birthday, too. Shuichi. I have a name. A real name, and a birthday. Maybe even relatives somewhere. My parents could have had family. Shuichi Lee Song. Odin Lowe. Heero Yuy. Who was I? Which was I? Why did finding that file and digging into it have to change so much of my outlook? Heero Yuy was an unknown nobody. No family. No home. No prospects to offer anyone, not even a real name. Odin Lowe Jr. was an assassin. End of story. Shuichi however, had a past. A family, though they were now dead. Shuichi could have any future he wanted, because he had a past and a family that could be related to. He had a past that was official. "Hn." Turn left here, pass three intersections and turn right here. Life was rather like this maze. Where did that crock of bull come from? I was once Shuichi Lee Song. Once. Yes. Better. I had a family. I know their names and in time I might find out I still had relations out in the colony. Some where. Maybe. I needed time to investigate. Time to decide what to do about that information. What did it mean now? Well, it meant little, if anything at all, accept it gave me more of a sense of self. If you have a past you have a future ahead of you. In your future you might dare to have something of a normal life. Like a partner. A life mate. A wife? Maybe. No, off that now. Not the time or the place for that. Last three turns. Please don't be crying. Please don't be crying. Please don't be...ah, shit. That is not good for my sanity. Crying females leave me feeling sick. What do I do? "Duo?" I whisper, activating the link. "Yeah, Hee-chan?" "Don't call me that, Reaper." Damn. How does he do that to me all the time? How does he manage to deviate my attention so often? "Duo, she's crying." "Weell. No shit Sherlock? I'd never have guessed." he drawled. "That is not helping, Duo." //Braided baka!// "Well, what do you want me to do about it, Hee-chan?" I so do not want to admit this, but I can't avoid it. I am not prepared for this situation. "Help me. And don't call me that." //Don't you dare laugh, Maxwell.// "Yeesh. What do you do when you see a young lady crying, Heero?" //"Run away?"// No, I could not say that. He'd probably fall off his chair laughing at me. I was so hopeful he would say yes, if I dared just say it, but I knew he wouldn't. "Come back when she stops?" I did expect him to laugh. I did not expect to hear him go into hysterics, though, nor to hear Pagans deep voice come over the line. "Run away? Heero Yuy wants to run away from a girl?" I had said that aloud? Noooo. Oh, no I can not have done that. Someone tell me I can not have given that much ammunition to Maxwell to later be used against me. "Mr. Maxwell, that is not nice. Mr. Yuy the appropriate behavior is to quietly approach the young lady, though not too quietly, mind, and offer your shoulder or knee for her to cry on." Why did I want to whine `do I have to?` and bolt out of the maze? I need to be somewhere else. Far away from mazes and weeping females and hysterical idiots who don't know when to shut up! What was Pagan doing in the control room? "Be brave, Hee-chan." I could hear Duo cackling like a lunatic in the background. "Master Duo if you do not get control of yourself I will personally inform the chef that hamburgers are off the menu for the next month." "Pagan! You wouldn't?" I sniggered and turned the volume down as Pagan began to inform Duo of just what he was capable of doing if pushed to it. Oh, yeah. That's right. I forgot Pagan was actually palace security for a while during the old Kings time. I found myself listening in a detached sort of awe to the graphic description Pagan began to tell Duo on the uses for ... could you really do all of that with a pizza? Eeewww. Mental note to self, be careful of that old man. He could be down right dangerous. Right, now then. Chin up. Can't be hard. She's just a girl and it's just salty water. Yeah, right. The just-a-girl is Relena and I don't know what she means to me yet and she's sobbing. Gaah. The things I have to do. I wish Duo and Pagan would shut up in the background, but I don't dare turn off the com. I might need Pagan's advice. "Mr. Yuy, just walk up to her, sit down and ask her if its alright if you join her, and can you be of any assistance. One word out of you Master Duo and I will take appropriate measures." "Your no fun, Pagan." Duo almost sounded sulky. "So I have been told on innumerable occasions. NOW, Mr Yuy, not this time next week. I am sure she will have finished crying by then." //Oh, good. I'll come back then.// I do not want to be here. She's half stretched out over the marble bench, sitting on the snow covered paving, sobbing into her arms. I so do not want to do this. I'd rather be back in Wing facing a hundred OZ Aries, than go through with this. "NOW, Mr. Yuy!" Ome o - no without doubt Pagan could understand Japanese and he would probably turn out to be a mind reader. I have already decided I do not want to piss off that old man. I took a deep breath and walked out into the center of the maze. As per Pagan's instructions I made certain to scuff the paving stones once or twice and then sat on the bench. "Mind if I join you, Relena?" //Please stop crying . Please stop crying. Please stop crying.// "He-Heero. What are you doing here?" She sat up quickly, wiping her eyes and cheeks and turned away so I couldn't see her face. "Offering you a knee or shoulder to cry on?" I ventured. At least the tears had lessened. Why do females do that? They know you know they've been crying but they pretend otherwise and hide from you. I don't understand women. "Mr. Maxwell, shut up or I will order you to take Mr. Yuy's place!" Duo became conspicuous by his silence from then on, and I suddenly had an arm full of sobbing young woman. Yes, young woman. This was no girl's body I was holding. Funny, how I had not noticed how Relena was nicely curved in what felt like all the right places. She wasn't heavy either as she practically crawled onto my lap. I sat there with her while she started crying on my shoulder, thinking how nice she smelled when Pagan suggested I gently pat her on the back or rub her back. He whispered that I should be able to take it from there, but he was available if I should feel stranded and in desperate need of help, and that about then I should offer her a handkerchief and ask her what was the problem. Oh. Yes. I should do that. "Can I help, Relena? Tell me the problem." "I can't." Why did I just know she would say that? "Of course you can. I might be able to help." Snuffles, not sobs now. That was progress. "No one can help." A series of sobs followed and as I thought no one could possibly talk let alone breathe while all of that was going on I just sat there, rubbing her back. Waiting, while the chill from the marble bench numbed my backside. I thought I had been making headway. Apparently not. The water works were in full flow. It's cold and my collar is getting wet and starting to freeze. What gem could I offer to get her to open up? "If you don't tell me what the problem is, I'll kill you." "Mr. YUY!" Pagan practically roared in my ear and I could hear Duo howling with laughter in the background. What mattered, though, was that Relena gave a little laugh and cuddled closer to me. The tears noticeably lessened too. She felt nicely warm and comfortable on my knee, almost as though she belonged there. I think I could get to like cuddling. "Pagan hates me." she said in a small voice. "I said some truly horrible things I didn't mean, and now he hates me." What? I never expected that and from the silence in my earphone, neither did Pagan. What had I missed today? Had I been on another planet entirely to have missed this? They had had some sort of disagreement, that had been obvious, but for her to be so-so... Where do I go from here? "Pagan doesn't hate you. It would take more than a few words spoken in anger or haste to turn him against you, Relena." "No. It only takes Milliardo." a hitch in her breath at the name. "What's Zechs got to do with this?" Did she know where he had vanished to? "Everything. It was the only thing I could do, Heero. I had no other option and now they'll go in and take even this away from him, and he'll fight and I know he no longer wants to fight, but he will. They can't expect him not to." Yeah. Someone get the number of that bus? Why did I have no idea what she was talking about? "Ah, Relena, your not making any sense." "Oh, I know. Sorry." I offered her the handkerchief and she wiped her eyes and then blew her nose. "Thank you. Would you mind dreadfully if I told you what is going on? I can't deal with it myself any more, and I've been too afraid to tell Lady Une. She'd do something that would bring it all to a head and Brother would get hurt." "I think you had better tell me what is going on. I'll help if I can." //Please, please tell me what is happening. I feel that I will burst if I don't start making sense of things soon. Romefeller. Stud books. Genetic manipulation. Past history so suddenly coming to light. Pagan and his Torturers Guide to Using Pizza. I feel so small. So insignificant.// Her eyes are so blue. I've only had occasion to be this close to her once or twice. I keep forgetting just how blue they can be. "It started after the Barton Invasion. I should not have spoken to Brother that way. I was strung out. Exhausted and stressed and-oh, Heero, I have made such a mess out of everything. I didn't understand why he joined White Fang. I still don't, but he is my brother, and I want to get to know him and try to understand. To at least ask him why and this time actually get an answer out of him." "Do you know where Zechs is?" I felt like holding my breath. An answer in the affirmative would be a start to the larger mystery here. "Of course I do." she sniffed a little, nuzzling against my neck. "He's on Mars, with Noin. They've had twins, you know? A boy and a girl. I'd like to see them, but it looks like I never will. They'll take them away from Brother and hide them." I am more confused than ever now and from the silence I'd say Duo and Pagan are too. That truck keeps going around the block and running me down. I have to make sense of this. "Why are Zechs and Noin on Mars, Lena?" Silence. Then "You've never called me that before, Heero." Damn. I hadn't and I didn't know where it came from either. It just came. Damn. I shouldn't be this close to her. It's causing strange things to happen. She's so nicely curved and warm and ... "Sorry. I won't do that again." "Oh no, I rather liked it." she smiled at me. A soft smile I am sure I never saw from her before. "Oh. Ahm. Mars, Relena. You were telling me about Zechs." I'm dying here. Help? Someone? Can't I go and blow something up? That would be easier. "Oh, yes. I was stressed. I said some things I really had no right to say to him that day. I even shocked Lady Une. Sally Po took Zechs away, saying I was overwrought after all that had happened and I really didn't know what I was saying. She was right, you know. I slept for more than twenty four hours and I was horrified when I woke up, about what I had done. I asked to see Brother again, to apologize. Before I saw him I was visited by a representation of the ESUN government. Security section. Heero, they had an arrest warrant for Milliardo for war crimes. I said there had been a general amnesty but they said it never applied to Brother. They wanted to know where he was, so that he could be arrested and taken into custody. That there would be riots from frightened citizens if he was seen." "What did you do?" So that caterer was ESUN Security. Had to be. Relena was quiet for a while and finally bowed her head and whispered. "I lied. I said I did not know where he was. Which was sort of the truth because I didn't know where Sally Po had taken him, or if he was even still at Preventer Headquarters. I doubted he was there though. When I said I had an appointment at Preventers they came, too, and informed Lady Une that they had the warrant and they were there to arrest Milliardo. She ordered them out of the building when they demanded to search for him. It was horrible. I was desperate to come up with a solution to the problem. When we thought it was safe Lady Une took me to see Brother. We talked and in the end he agreed with an idea I had, only Noin would not allow him to go alone and insisted that she go too. She's so in love with him." //Oh, oh. That has to be the starry eyed look I hear other agents talking about. It means trouble. Have to get her back on subject.// "To Mars?" "Yes. To the terra forming project on Mars. I was going to hire lawyers and work on that arrest warrant but they tied my hands. They know where he is and have him watched. If I make one wrong move they will kill him, Heero. Noin thinks I don't want Brother back on Earth; that I am not working to get him pardoned. Now he has babies to think of, too. They told me about the twins just today, and they want me to sign an authorization for them to take the twins into `protective custody'. They are to be raised in a protected environment on Earth, far away from any influence Brother may have on them. If I don't sign the agreement, they will kill Milliardo and Noin, too. I just don't know what to do, Heero." "Does Zechs know he's watched?" I was sure I knew the answer to that, but while she was talking she could not cry. That man was no one's fool. "I presume so. Brother is not an idiot." "Do you know if he knows for certain that they know where he is? Did they reveal their knowledge before he left for Mars?" "No. No, I don't know if he... oh, Heero, I just don't know for sure. Lady Une had a supply transport almost ready to go at the time. Two days after our talk Milliardo and Noin left. I promised I would push through the paperwork to make the colony on Mars a reality as quickly as possible, so that they would not have just the bare basics any longer than necessary, and more people than just the exploration party as company." "They are soldiers, Relena. Hard conditions would not have bothered them at all." "That's what Noin said." Relena whispered. "What can I do, Heero? Its just too cruel if they take the babies away. I don't even know how they discovered so quickly where Brother went. So few were told." "Marquis Wayridge." Pagan's voice over the ear piece startled me. He whispered the name, repeating it quietly but firmly. "Talk to Marquis Wayridge. He is their grandfather and on the Council. He has considerable influence in many circles of power. He may be able to have the arrest warrant and this idiocy squashed." Time to put myself back in charge of this situation. Much as it was nice to cuddle Relena we can't sit here, in the middle of a maze, freezing while we talked. If we need to go to Luxembourg tomorrow, then I have to get her in out of the cold. I'll have to change her agenda for tomorrow. "Well, first your going to wash your face and have a good nights sleep. Then, tomorrow-later today, I mean," I said after a quick glance at my watch. "if we can rearrange your appointments, you and I will fly to Luxembourg and you can tell all of this to Marquis Wayridge. We shall see what he has to say about this. Oh, and tomorrow morning, first thing before breakfast, you will see Pagan and tell him what you have told me." "He will hate me." a whisper. "No, Relena, he will not." I set her on her feet and stood. "Come on. I will escort you to your suite." I now had a lot to do tonight, before I could even consider getting sleep. Her schedule was going to need major rearrangement and I would need to have a shuttle readied. First, though, I had to get her safely to her rooms. t.b.c.
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