Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Extreme Home Makeover - Gundam Edition ❯ Day 7 - Pre-Dawn ( Chapter 11 )

Day Seven - Pre-dawn

 

“Wow, what a dream!” Zechs sat up on the narrow bed and raised his hand to his head, noting with mild surprise that he no longer seemed to be wearing a mask. “Whoa - déjà vu…” He stood a little stiffly, then realized he hadn't been on a bed but had apparently been sleeping stretched out across several bags of mulch.

 

Noin hurried to his side. “Don't, Zechs! Just stay down. You're going to be all right.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Concerned, Zechs gripped her firmly and shook. “Don't tell me you've been drinking too much coffee and hallucinating again!”

 

“You don't have to pretend with me,” Noin whispered. “I know, it's okay. You're going to be just fine.”

 

“…Right. Noin, what's going on here?”

 

“You mean you don't remember?”

 

“Remember what?”

 

“Excuse me,” Relena said with a curtsey before grabbing Noin by the scruff of her neck. “We need to talk.” She frog-marched the taller woman away, leaving Zechs alone with his own confusion.

 

What had happened last night? Noin seemed quite upset, and apparently she wasn't the only one. Zechs struggled to remember.

 

As he paced around the yard, an unexpected sensation made itself known to him. Not unfamiliar, just unexpected in this context. His ass hurt. Not badly, but there was a distinct and singular soreness that made him oddly reminiscent of bygone days. Carefree days, with the other boys at the Academy. Or those kinky sleepovers with Treize…

 

A vague memory surfaced, of Treize in green bondage ropes.

 

Zechs frowned. The last thing he really remembered about the previous night was standing outside, listening to the odd sounds coming through the bathroom wall.

 

And Howard.

 

Howard, with his funny cigarette and his come-hither dialogue.

 

Zechs paled. “No wonder Noin freaked! My god, I've lost all sense of reason!”

 

Just then Howard walked by, flashing a crooked grin as he passed.

 

He wasn't walking as though his ass were sore.

 

Zechs wandered across the yard to a comfortable looking tussock. He sat down quite gingerly. The grass seemed to grow cushier to accommodate him. What should he do? Should he talk to Howard, admit that he didn't remember a thing? Should he take advantage of his memory block and just ignore it? Should he ask Noin?

 

“No, I definitely don't want to hear what she might tell me,” he grumbled to himself. Zechs leaned back against the mossy fence and sighed. This was almost as comfortable as a lounge chair…

 

Something vaguely conical lay on the ground nearby, underneath what seemed to be a large green hammock. Zechs reluctantly vacated his lounger and checked it out.

 

“Duo's bullhorn…what's it doing way over here? And where is that weird music coming from?” Zechs tilted his head, trying to hear better. Sure enough, there seemed to be music somewhere nearby, muffled but distinct. Not trusting his own reactions at the moment, he set off in search of someone to tell this to.

 

As he strode around the house, he noted that half the kitchen seemed to be missing. He frowned, not understanding why this should concern him so.

 

In the front yard, Relena was addressing the troops. “Okay, listen, everybody,” Relena hollered. “We need to - oh, piddle! No one's listening to me!”

 

“Try this, Princess.” Zechs handed her Duo's bullhorn.

 

“Oh, thank you - THANK YOU! NOW, EVERYBODY, LISTEN UP!”

 

Zechs grabbed the bullhorn back. “Not that loud! I think it might have worked, though.”

 

The volunteers stood doubled over, clutching at their ears.

 

“I'm so sorry,” Relena said fairly loudly even without the mechanical help. “Now, everybody - Heero will be home in only a few hours, and this place is a mess!”

 

“Princess, isn't that a bit of an understatement?” Zechs stage-whispered.

 

Relena ignored him, choosing instead to pontificate grandly. She gestured at the house, spoke encouraging words, and generally strove to raise morale, totally oblivious to the fact that everyone within a ten-yard radius was temporarily but thoroughly deaf.

 

Zechs scanned the crowd, then tried again, more slowly this time. No, he hadn't been mistaken: not only were Trowa, Quatre, the Maguanacs, and Duo missing, now there was no sign of Wufei either. Zechs spotted Noin hiding out at the back of the assembled workers. Abandoning his gesticulating sister, Zechs strode around the throng toward his female best friend and groupie.

 

“Damn, I think that thing blew out my eardrum!” Noin snarled, shaking her head as if to knock something back into place.

 

“How's the work going?” Zechs asked casually.

 

“Well, it's going,” Noin replied, seeming a bit embarrassed for some reason. “Shouldn't you be resting?”

 

“Why?”

 

Noin blushed. “No reason.” She looked away, admiring what was left of the front half of the house. “So, you're really, you know…”

 

“…Tired? I think that speaks for everyone here, Noin.”

 

“No, I mean, you know.”

 

“Know what?”

 

“That I don't have a chance in hell!” Noin blurted, then turned an abrupt shade of crimson.

 

Zechs gaped at her. “Noin, I'm not the one who started it. Frankly, I'm surprised that you'd even suspect such a thing!”

 

Noin stared at him. “You mean you're not -?”

 

“Oh, come here, you!” Zechs gathered her into his arms for a brotherly hug. “I actually put money on you and Sally getting an apartment and a cat together.”

 

“WHAT??” Noin bristled, but Zechs had a pretty good grip on her, which meant her nose was right under his armpit.

 

Zechs laughed brightly. “I might not make book on my best friend, but I'm not above cashing in on a sure thing. You. Sally. Apartment. Cat. $500 at 12-to-1. I figure I'm about set for life now. Not like I wasn't before…”

 

As Noin's temper hit the red mark, Sally intervened. “Mind if I borrow her for a while?”

 

“Knock yourself out. She's all yours!”