How Do I Get You Alone?
by Midii Une
Disclaimer: Lyrics to the song “Alone” by B. Steinberg and T. Kelly, Performed
by Heart
Gundam Wing and its characters are the property of Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu
Agency, song and characters used
without permission!
(I hear the ticking of the clock
I’m lying here with rooms pitch dark)
Lucrezia Noin lay on the narrow cot in her dark room in the barracks at the Lake
Victoria Base. The ticking of the
clock sounded through the silent blackness.
“Another second, it’s ticking away another second that I’m apart from Zechs,”
the 17-year-old OZ Specials
candidate thought to herself.
Ever since the moment she had set eyes on her tall blonde classmate her heart
was no longer her own. It did not
beat to pump blood through her body and keep her alive. It beat only for Zechs.
And now she was excruciatingly
aware of every second, every minute, every hour that he wasn’t beside her, close
enough to touch.
She stared into the darkness of the room. She liked it dark, it was similar to
the black velvety darkness of outer
space. Lucrezia had intense feelings and once they had burgeoned within her they
were there to stay. That was
how she felt about Zechs Marquise, and about outer space. Someday perhaps she
would have them both . . . the
girl, already an experienced soldier and mobile suit pilot lay on the hard
mattress, her glossy violet-black hair dark
against the crisp white pillowcase. Training here to be an officer was the
quickest way to make it to space and it
had brought her to Zechs.
(I wonder where you are tonight
No answer on the telephone)
He was off on a training mission, she had already completed a similar one and
since it had not been difficult for
her, Noin was positive that Zechs would master the skills easily and return to
the base safely.
Still she hadn’t been able to keep herself from phoning his room several times
that evening to see if he had
returned yet. Despite herself a twinge of fear twisted her heart and an
unfamiliar nervousness lurked at the edges
of her mind. Suppose something happened to him? Perhaps not tonight, but ever,
if ever something happened to
Zechs how would she live?
(And the night goes by so very slow
I hope that it won’t end though -- Alone)
She looked at the clock, the numbers glowing dimly in the darkness. It wasn’t as
late as she had previously
thought. Time went by so slowly when he was away and during the brief off-duty
times they shared together the
minutes flew by like nothing. He would still be back tonight and maybe she could
casually drop by his quarters to
share a glass of wine and discuss the training mission. She loved to hear his
astute, ascerbic wit as he shared the
exploits of the other trainees. All of them were inferior to the two of them.
The top two students in the class. It
made Noin tingle when Zechs would look at her with admiration in those ice-blue
eyes of his when she mastered a
technique as quickly as he did or pulled off a difficult maneuver with her own
graceful style. She was a soldier, but
still very much a woman . . .
(Till now I’ve always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you Alone?
How do I get you Alone?)
She had met Zechs Marquise soon after enrolling at Lake Victoria. Noin had been
doing something in dangerous
disregard of the Academy’s regulations, dangerous because it could get her
expelled. The 15-year-old cadet had
snuck into the zero-gravity chamber after hours and turned off all the lights.
As she floated there in the darkness
she imagined she was in outer space, velvety black and quiet and so peaceful.
There were no wars up there, no
battles amidst the stars. She would fight to keep it that way, she vowed that to
herself. Ever since she had been
a little girl lying in the grass near her family’s home looking up at the
brilliantly-starred darkness she had loved
outer space.
The tall blonde soldier with the shadow over his life was seeking the same
thing. Peace. He had pulled this off
before and considered himself lucky that the zero-gravity chamber was still up
and running. Some supervisor had
forgotten to shut it down he imagined, so much the better for him. He longed for
the tranquility of the darkness
and the weightlessness of the chamber. Longed to float in the black nothingness
and forget it all, his past, his
future, his murdered family.
She wasn’t afraid, even though she was in a half-sleeping, dreamy state, when
she bumped into something solid in
the darkness. Neither was he. Anyone who would be here like this would have to
be a kindred spirit. Someone with
a beautiful soul and a mind full of imagination, someone unlike the rest of the
students at the Lake Victoria Base.
They floated together there in companionable silence not speaking a word, a
feeling growing between them, not
knowing if the other was man or woman, only knowing that the other understood.
“Who are you,” he asked when they finally stepped out of the chamber, the first
time she heard his voice,
silky-smooth running through her senses, turning her heart soft and her deep
blue eyes liquid.
“Lucrezia Noin,” she answered, holding out a slender hand automatically,
gracious manners bred in her as they
were in him. Her eyes studied him as if he were a work of art and he was. The
face of an angel, long flowing hair
the color of sunlight in winter touching the tops of his shoulders and eyes of
blue ice that glittered at her as he
studied her as well. From that moment she ached for Zechs.
“Ahh, Noin,” he said, a memory stirring. “His Excellency Treize told me about
you. He recommended me as a
student here as well. He told me you would be the only cadet worth knowing,
worth competing with in this place.
He was right. As always.”
A tender smile spread over her face. They might be in competition but he would
always come first to her, she
would take care to never eclipse him as strong as the desire was in her to be
first, the desire to see him succeed
in anything he might do was already growing stronger than even that.
“I am Zechs Marquise,” he finally said, taking her proffered hand and holding it
lightly in his with a touch that
lingered on her skin long after they parted.
(You don’t know how long I have wanted
To touch your lips and hold you tight)
Their relationship was friendly and Noin was positive that no one at the Academy
or perhaps anywhere meant
more to Zechs than she did. There was something dark in his past that seemed to
block anything more. He always
wore huge sunglasses that hid his eyes and face from her and the world. He
talked about getting a mask to hide
himself even more thoroughly and though he tone was light and sarcastic as he
talked Noin knew that he was
seriously considering such a thing.
She wanted so much more than friendship with him. Her nights and dreams were
full of thoughts of him. When her
eyes were closed and she lay quiet in her bunk, Noin imagined touching his lips
gently, reverently with her
fingertips, her breath catching in her throat. She would smooth back his soft
fair hair and take off the glasses he
wore to hide himself, he would never have need to hide from her. She would
always love him worshipfully with her
whole self. With an ecstatic sigh she would hold on tightly and never, ever let
go.
(You don’t know how long I have waited
And I was going to tell you tonight
But the secret is still my own
And my love for you is still unknown
Alone)
And now here it was, two years later and she still hadn’t told him how she
really felt. She remained his best friend,
a good companion and nothing more. In that two years were 730 days, 17,520 hours
and 1,051,200 seconds and
still she kept her secret. Perhaps tonight she would have told if he had
returned.
Suddenly there was the soft sound of footsteps in the hall and she bounded off
the narrow bed and flew to the
door, cracking it open. He was walking wearily down the dim corridor, seeming to
her to glow with the radiance of
an angel.
“Zechs,” she called softly, peeking around the doorframe at him. “How did it
go?”
A smile touched his lips at the sight of her, the tall graceful woman who was so
kind to be his friend. “Tiresome
and useless of course, as always,” he reported. “Perhaps a few of the others
learned something. To me it was
just a waste of time, as you said it would be. Goodnight Noin.”
He continued down the hall and she shut her door again, leaning against the
wood, wishing she had invited him in,
told him how she really felt.
“I’m such a coward,” she berated herself. But she felt that he might reject
romantic overtures from her at this
point, he didn’t seem to believe himself worthy of love. She sighed, someday,
but for now she would be his friend.
She would always be his friend and stay by his side no matter what the cost.
(Till now I’ve always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you Alone?
How do I get you Alone?)
Although he could hardly believe it she had waited for him, through everything a
woman could suffer and somehow
she had been strong enough. She had been strong enough to see through his
desperate attempt to gain peace for
Earth and Space the only way he could, she had been strong enough to believe in
him even though he had spent
a year assuming the masquerade of death.
“Am I strong enough now,” Zechs wondered. “Strong enough to ask her to live this
life with me.”
He knew she wouldn’t go away, no matter what. The certainty was the only
comfort, the only pure thing in his
tragic life. And now with the final threat to peace halted he was at last free,
free to live his life, free to love . . .
love Noin. He loved her and he needed her as a balance in his life she was so
loyal and straightforward and sure of
herself while he struggled under the burden of all that life had done to him.
For so long his life had been ruled by his past that Zechs felt like now he
didn’t know where to begin to live again.
A glance at the dark-haired woman sitting beside him on the shuttle gave him an
idea where to start. The look on
her face one of contentment and peace and he knew the look was there because he
was beside her.
(How do I get you Alone?
How do I get you Alone?
Alone
Alone)
They were alone at last. They looked at each other unable to even remember the
last time they had touched, the
last accidental brush of the fingertips, the last time he had leaned close over
her shoulder to exam a set of
orders.
Zechs reached out his hand to help her from the shuttle. Her breath almost
stopped as she felt the firm clasp of
his fingers on hers as he assisted her the low-gravity atmosphere on the Mars
colony made her feel like she was
floating into his arms.
He lowered his head to hers.
“Zechs,” she whispered, her lids fluttering, her heart beating wildly. “Alone at
last.”
His arms tightened around her, crushing her against him and his lips sought
hers. Delicious sensations flowing
through both of them, a combination of electricity and elation.
She had waited so long for her prince, but he was worth it all. Her proud and
sorrowful prince, she would ease the
pain of the world on his shoulders.
As he held the woman in his arms Zechs thought again what it would mean to her
to be here on this remote place.
It would be a hard life for both of them. He loved her so much, did he really
think he could bring himself to ask her
to stay with him forever. Away from the Earth, away from everyone she cared
about.
She saw the question in his eyes and her smile was warm and tender and patient.
“I want to be with you,” she answered his unspoken question. “Forever.”
His fingers caressed the satin skin of her cheek.
“Noin,” he said. “I love you.”
THE END
