Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Moments ❯ A Knight And A Prince ( Chapter 9 )

DISCLAIMER: I Don't own GW!!!!!!!!!!!! But, and that's a BIG but, I do feel like I have the right to make Kid's and Odin's personality mine. Though technically it's Bandai and Sunrise that made them up (Heero Yuy and Odin Lowe), I think I gave them something they didn't and so this thing belongs to me. If you disagree, then sue me! I don't care; I don't have any money anyway... BWAHHAHAHA!!!

WARNING: PG-13.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Kay, this is the deal: I couldn't sleep late at night, I was bored, time seemed to stop moving and all I could do was toss and turn in bed. Then, I started thinking that I haven't wrote a GW fic in a long time... especially the ones I love writing, these annoying (oh God - I hope not!) fill-ins. And this is what came to my head. It seems pretty unlikely, but I said to myself- what the heck, I'll write it anyway. If you accepted "Kid's Friend", be kind and accept this one. Thanks! ^o^

Naomi

A PRINCE AND A KNIGHT

* * *

AC 188.

Kid leaned closer to the window, big blue eyes peering outside, watching as the sea of stars streaked by. He was sitting in the window-seat, on the longest shuttle flight of his young life. Out of all the times he's been on a shuttle, this time HAD to be the worst! A thirty-six hour flight from the Lunar Colony to the L3, with a quick stop at L1 for refueling. For nearly fourteen hours he had been sitting like this, feeling as if he was suffocating in the cramp and stuffy shuttle, suffocating from boredom!

And for the last few hours he had been busying himself with one thing- his endless hunt. Again he peered out the window, now positive that he had spotted one. He quickly jumped to sit on his knees, leaning two hands at each side of the window, pressing his face against the clear material. His eyes widened in anticipation as he saw the quick flash of light reflect upon the shuttle's wing. He drew in a quick breath, rising up a little, this time sure that he had managed to find one.

But it was only a shooting star.

"Chikashou..." He muttered as he was faced with nothingness yet again, and he slumped back to his seat. "Oof... they always run before I can catch them..."

He sighed, crossing his small arms over his chest, and just glared at the seat ahead of him. But as usual, the seat was stubborn, offering little entertainment to the seven-year-old boy. Kid sighed heavily, looking away. A small frown appeared on his young face as he turned his head up to look at the figure sitting to his left, deep asleep. His frown deepened as he heard the blond man snore softly, then turn in his seat, snuggling deeper into the wool covers, hands under his cheek as he leaned on the back of his seat, facing Kid. Well, at least the over-grown-baka was busying himself, wandering in his little Dreamland. He, on the other hand, always found it difficult to fall asleep while flying.

Kid turned away, sighing for the who-knows-how-many time. He rose to sit up on his knees, turning to place two hands on the back of his seat, looking down the dark aisle, at all the boring people around, most of them sleeping, some reading under the dim lights over their seats. He paid them little mind, then reached a hand into his pocket, and pulled out a little plastic horse with a noble and grand knight riding on it, sword stretched forward, helmet down. He began playing with his little white Lego® horse, making him ride over the 'great planes' of the seats in front of him.

After a while of playing, he got bored and decided to take a trip around the shuttle. Climbing over Odin's sleeping form, Kid jumped down into the aisle, and looked around. Left or right... left or right...? Well, the cockpit was to the right, so he better go there, because that's where all the cool stuff happened!

He began walking down the aisle, all the while playing with his knight, making him jump off seats as if they were tall cliffs, bouncing up and down from the armrests, flying way up the air, across the blinding lights of the night lamps, like the silhouette of a great hero, riding his horse against the sun...

He was so caught up in his little game, that he had missed it when he reached the front of the shuttle. He also missed the stewardess walking his way, carrying a tray with empty drinks, and so he gasped, surprised as he collided with her, dropping his toy.

"Oh! Sorry sweetheart!" The lady called apologetically. "Are you okay?" She asked, voice faltering a little as she was suddenly faced with the two most expressive and penetrating blue eyes she had ever seen.

The little boy nodded slightly, looking a little irradiated.

"Well then, be careful next time, sweetie..." She mumbled and carried on walking, in the direction he had come from.

Kid stuck his tongue out at her retreating form. "Sweetie..." He repeated mockingly. "Hn!" NO ONE was allowed to call him 'sweetie'. No one! Only Linda, and she's dead, so no one else was allowed!

He sighed sadly, dropping his gaze down to the floor. "Great, now I lost him!" He called quietly, voice angry. "Ano... uh... knight-san... doko ne arimas ka..? Oi- knight-san!" The child called, settling down on his hands and knees, crawling down the aisle, searching beneath the seats. "Oi... doko desu ka? Knight... kniiiiight..." He called quietly, not wanting to intrude. He bent down in front of every chair as he kept on crawling on the floor, rummaging around for his toy.

"Oi... this isn't good..." He mumbled, now sitting down in the middle of the aisle. "He was my favorite..." He mumbled miserably, scratching his head in thought. "Maybe he flew somewhere..." He sighed heavily, turning his head up, looking around.

Unknowingly, he had stumbled into the First Class section, where the seats were MUCH larger, there was more room, private TV sets, a small table in front of each two seats, bigger windows, and so on and so on. Needless to say, the place looked extremely posh, unlike anything the seven-year-old had ever seen, outside the TV screen, that is.

"Oh... suggi..." He mumbled, smiling. "I bet there are lots of knight and himes here..." He blew air out of his lungs irritably, pushing a few messy bangs out of his eyes. "But where is my knight?!"

"Excuse me, but are you looking for this?"

Kid whirled around again, still sitting on the floor, and turned his head up and up and up, looking at the man who had spoke to him. It was a young man, barely out of his teens, he assumed. He had reddish brown hair, tied back in a short ponytail, but it didn't look messy or anything, on the contrary, combined with his noble face, the man had the look of a prince, body radiating nothing but nobility. Kid thought that he could be a prince or something, for his whole demeanor demonstrated graciousness. He smiled a little as he saw the young man was offering him his little toy, reaching his hand down to him.

"Hai. Thank you mister!" Kid chipped, jumping up to his feet. "Arigatou!" He called again, taking his knight back.

"You are very welcomed, little one." The man replied smoothly, his rich voice full of amusement. His eyes widened a little and he gasped quietly as the boy first turned his head up and looked at him. He was amazed by how intense and full of fire his lively blue eyes were. It was something he had never encountered in the eyes of someone so young. He had to admit to himself that he was curious about the blue-eyed boy. Now he examined the little boy, wearing a small gray suit, with long sleeves but yet short trousers, a white shirt and a matching vest. His socks were pulled up his little ankles, giving him the look of any other little rich boy he had met in his life. But as he looked down at the boy's shoes, he could see that they were very warned out and dirty, implying that he had been playing outside a lot, and didn't spend his life in some mansion.

"What's your name, little boy?" He asked kindly.

"Oh, I'm Kid." The boy answered quickly, still looking down at his toy, making sure it is okay. "And this is Saiha. He's my favorite knight." He hurried to explain.

The man smiled down at the boy. "Do you like knights?"

Kid quickly nodded.

"Have you ever seen a real one?"

"Um hmm..." The boy answered, shaking his head. "Have you?"

The young man chuckled. "Come on, let me show you something."

* * *

He followed the man down towards his seat, still in the First Class area. He marveled at the aristocratic look of everything around him, and was even more astonished as the man finally revealed to him what he had wanted to show him. Kid's eyes grew wide and the little one gasped in awe as he saw the young man pull out a sword out of his suitcase.

"Suggiiii..." The boy mumbled, eyed filled with wonder. "Is it a real one?" He asked carefully, stepping closer to the man, forgetting all about his usual shyness when it came to strangers.

The man nodded, pulling the sword out of its girdle. The silvery metal glittered under the orange dim lights of the shuttle, which gave it a magical look in Kid's opinion.

"May I hold it?" The boy asked hesitantly, reaching up two hands, looking at the man kneeling before him.

"Of course." He let out, slightly amused by the boy's reaction. He carefully handed the sword to the boy. "Be careful, though, it is quite heavy."

Kid wrapped his small fingers around the handle, already feeling the weight of the sword as he gently pulled it out of the man's grasp. When the man finally let go, the sword fell to the ground with a light clatter; it's tip touching the carpeted floor, while Kid struggled to fix his hold on it.

The man chuckled with his pleasant rich voice. He watched with a little admiration as the little one did not give up, and, despite the sword's weight, he lifted it up and waved it in the air, all the while his eyes looking up at it, the sword reflecting in his young eyes as he played around with it, enjoying the way the light reflected on its surface.

* * *

After the boy had finished admiring the sword, and prepared to leave, the man had offered him to stay. He was pretty amused by the adorable little boy, and since he too was a bit bored from the long flight, he wanted him to keep him company. And so, he invited Kid to sit with him, and the two began talking. To the man's big surprise, the boy was quite an intersting little person to speak with. Although he had been shy at first, and offered little words, slowly he had opened up and began talking. He was also surprised by how knowledgeable and clever the little boy was, and the two exchanged their views about life, the war, the movie that played on the screen... just about anything, really. He had found Kid was more like a little adult than a mere child. Sure, he was still very innocent and naïve, but he could tell that the boy had lived a very abnormal life, and so he was able to express his thoughts and feelings about a lot of mature matters.

"So, I understand that you like horses." The man began again when the boy had suddenly fell silent after their last conversation.

"Hai." The boy answered, moving in his seat a little, trying to peek through the window, beyond the man.

"Have you ever ridden one?"

The boy shook his head. "I saw one once, in the fair, but I didn't ride it. When I'll grow up I'm gonna go to Earth and I'm gonna have a white horse, and I'll ride it all the time!"

The man chuckled again. "Are you going to be a knight?"

The boy nodded, grinning, settling up on his knees. "And I'm gonna have a sword! Just like yours!"

Again the man could to nothing but smile down at the laughing blue eyes that looked up at him. "And what will your horse be named like?"

"Huh?" Kid slumped back into his seat. "A name..? Why does it have to have a name?"

"Isn't it acceptable for a knight to name his horse?" The man could feel that he had struck a nerve there, for the child's eyes were suddenly sad and bitter, not shinning with laughter anymore.

Kid shrugged, looking away sadly. "Nah... a name isn't that important for a knight..."

"Oh... I see." The man replied solemnly, reaching one white-gloved hand to his glass of red wine, brining it slowly to his full lips, seeping it little by little. He turned back to Kid. "But you know, if you intend to be a knight, you must have a Lady."

"A Lady? Why does a knight need a Lady?"

The man smiled a little, playing with his glass of wine, spinning it slightly with his long elegant fingers, watching the thick red liquid as it stirred. "So he will have someone to protect."

"Oh..." The boy let out thoughtfully, placing a finger on his bottom lip. "Well then, um, my Lady's gonna have long LONG blond hair, and, um, a long LONG braid..." Just like Linda's...

The man chuckled.

"Do you have a Lady, mister?" Kid suddenly asked, again rising to sit on his knees, turning to face the man. He watched him, puzzled, as the young man kept playing with his half empty glass of wine. "Why do you ask?" He finally let out, sounding sad in Kid's opinion.

"Well, ano... aren't you a knight?"

The man chuckled bitterly. "A knight... a knight for peace..."

Kid frowned. "Well, are you?"

His question remained unanswered as the strange young man kept looking at his drink, eyes fixed on the thick red liquid.

* * *

After that part of the conversation, both Kid and the man remained silent for a long while. The man was just looking out the window, and Kid was looking at him, deep in thought. He wondered what the man was looking for out there. He too turned his eyes to watch the stars fly by, sometimes a colony or another shuttle would appear. But other than that, there was only blackness outside the window.

"What are you looking for?" Kid finally dared to ask. "Are you looking for Them too?"

The man slowly turned to face him, his features baffled. "Them? Who do you mean, boy?"

"Space horses. I always look for them when we fly."

"Oh? And who are 'we'?" The man inquired curiously.

"Oh, just me and Odin. We fly a lot, and I have nothing to do so I look for the horses. Have you ever seen any, mister?"

The man shook his head, smiling weakly. "No, I can't believe I have."

Kid pouted, unhappy. "I only saw them once, they're good at hiding. I think maybe they like being near Earth, not up in the colonies. It must be nicer there."

The man raised one red eyebrow. "Oh? Why do you suppose that? Have you ever been to Earth?"

The boy shook his head. "No, but I know it's nice there. I heard it's beautiful."

"It is... it is..." The man mumbled, again turning to look out the window.

"It's your home, isn't it?" Kid dared to speculate.

He saw the man nod.

"Then why are you up here, in the colonies?"

The man still would not face him, and Kid could see the sad reflection of his face in the window. "I'm trying to make it better..."

Kid frowned, scratching his head in thought. "Wakaranai..."

The man chuckled, then turned to face the little boy, a small smile playing on his lips. "Me neither, little one."

Kid sent him a wide grin, wanting to make him feel better. He was looking pretty sad...

For a long while all that the two did was look at each other's eyes, sharing some small understanding between them.

"Um, excuse me," The stewardess's voice, the same one Kid bumped into earlier, came to their ears. The man looked up and Kid turned to look at her as well. The lady smiled down at the two, gesturing at the cart she was standing by, full of food trays and drinks. "Would you like your meal now, sir?"

"No thank you." The man replied politely, shaking his head.

"And you, sweetheart, you're not supposed to be here." She sent down a rebuking look at the little boy.

"Oh..." Kid let out, now feeling uncomfortable under everyone's gaze. "O--okay... I'll go now..." He prepared to jump off the seat and leave, when all of a sudden he felt the man's long fingers close gently around his wrist. "No, it is all right. He is my guest." The man explained calmly.

Kid whirled around to face him, shock written all over his face. He's never been called 'my guest' before... it felt kinda nice.

The man smiled down at the little boy. "Are you hungry, Kid?"

Speechless, the boy only nodded.

The man turned to look up at the stewardess, wordlessly ordering her to give Kid a meal. The lady hurried to comply, then walked away.

"Arigatou mister!" Kid called happily, looking down at the large meal in front of him.

"You are very welcomed, Kid." The man replied, watching with mild amusement as the little boy began eating his meal hungrily, placing his small knight by the tray, feet dangling down the seat, swinging back and forth while the boy hummed to himself, spreading butter on his bread.

The boy turned to face him, and again the young man had to smile at those firing blue eyes. The boy handed him the bread. "You sure you don't want any? It's not fun to eat alone."

The man smiled kindly, shaking his head. He watched as the little one shrugged, then continued eating. He then bent down and pulled something out of his handbag, placing it on the table in front of the two. He opened the small case he had pulled out, and began to arrange the small pieces it held inside.

Kid watched him curiously, then, finally, asked: "Ano, mister, what is this?"

The man smiled a little, still arranging the pieces. "It is called a chess game." He turned to the blue-eyed boy. "Are you familiar with the game?"

Kid shook his head, messy bangs swinging from side to side. "It reminds me of my knights." He said shyly, hoping not to sound too stupid.

But the man only chuckled briefly. "You are correct. Kings and queens used to play this game, a long time ago, on Earth."

"Back in the time when there were knights?"

The man nodded, setting the finale chess pieces into place. "Would you like me to teach you how to play?"

Kid hurried to nod his head, swallowing the food he had been chewing. He rushed to finish his meal, already wanting to play.

* * *

And so, as Kid was eating his meal, the benevolent young man taught the boy how to play the Game of Kings, and was very impressed as to how fast the boy had managed to learn the rules of the game and eat at the same time...

He was even more amazed when the two started playing and Kid turned up to be quite a challenge for him. Although he was young and had just learned the game, the boy was a little genius who presented quite a challenge to him. He had caught up with different strategies, some he wasn't even taught, and soon the game he had thought would be nothing but a little mean of entertainment, turned up to be a testing battle.

"It's your turn." Kid stated after moving his piece. He leaned back in his seat, a satisfied look on his face as he saw the man lean down towards the board, one hand going up to brush away the two strands of red hair that fell over his pale brow, fingers moving elegantly through his hair, and he sighed, deep in thought.

"I don't see why you have moved your horseman there..." He mumbled musingly. "There was no way you could have..." He continued and Kid chuckled, amused by the way the man was still shocked that he had removed his white queen. He brought his drink to his mouth, drinking it through a straw, and giggled again as he saw the man sigh in frustration, blowing the two strings of reddish hair up from his brow as he breathed.

Suddenly, the shuttle shook and Kid gasped, looking around frightened. The shuttle quaked once again, and Kid gasped, dropping his drink, hands clutching to the edge of his seat.

Again the shuttle shook, like a car going too fast on a bumpy road, and Kid whirled his head around, blue eyes wide in fear as he heard a few confused mumbles around, and he could hear someone whisper the word 'Federation' in his sentence. He whirled around to look at the young man; suddenly sorry that he had left Odin's side. He really wanted him close now...

"Ah!" He called out, closing his eyes tightly as the shuttle shook again.

"Do not worry." He heard the man's rich voice speak up gently, and he half opened his eyes, only to see the man still lean in front of the board game, continuing to play as if nothing was wrong. Kid forced himself to calm down and released his hold of the seat, partly wondering how come the man was so relaxed, even though they might be under attack or something.

"Do not be frightened." The man spoke again, looking up at the small boy. He smiled a little. "It's your turn."

Kid just gaped at him, unable to conceive how come he was so calm.

"We apologize for the inconvenience," The Captain's voice came over the speakers. "The shuttle had run into a small asteroid field. Please remain calm, we will be out of it momentarily."

Sighs of relief went through the shuttle and Kid sighed as well. He looked over his shoulder, seeing everyone relax back into his or hers seats. He turned to the man again, seeing him smile a little.

"What is so funny?" He asked, a bit angered, feeling as if mocked for his fears.

"They are all so stressed, don't you agree?"

Kid chuckled slightly, again turning to look over his shoulder, seeing a mother cradle her child protectively, kissing him and hugging his like they were just saved from a horrible death. "Hai." He nodded, turning back to the man. "Everybody worry too much."

This time it was the man's turn to smile. "Well put, Kid. Well put..."

* * *

Because of the shaking, a few pieces of the chess game fell to the ground. After crawling around a little, Kid had managed to find most of them, except for the man's horseman. He was very sorry for losing the piece, even though it wasn't really his fault. Not wanting to stop the game, Kid offered his own little white horse as a substitute for the fallen cavalier. The man had accepted his kind offer with a smile, and the two continued playing.

About two hours of a difficult game, and the man began noticing that the boy was tired. He offered they have a break, and five minutes later, when he was half way through his wine, the boy had fallen asleep, lying cuddled into himself on the seat next to him. The man smiled down at the little one, and placed a cushion under his head, earning a little soft moan from the child's lips. He smiled again, looking down adoringly at the boy as he covered him with a soft blanket.

He then returned to sip his wine, his other white-gloved hand playfully spinning a rose from side to side, rolling it over the table in front of him, as he looked thoughtfully at his glass.

Another few hours passed and the shuttle landed for refueling at the L4 colony. Just as a few people departed the shuttle to stretch their legs, a man came running into the First Class area, following the stewardess from before. The stewardess stopped by the door leading into the department and turned to the worried looking blond. She then pointed in the direction of the young red headed man, whispering a few words to the blond. The man thanked her and rushed towards the chair she had pointed at.

Two graceful fingers placed the wine glass down and the owner of the hand turned to look up at the tall blond who stood by his seat, looking down at him apologetically.

"There is no need to worry," He let out calmly, looking up at the man with his piercing eyes. "He is asleep."

The man smiled nervously, not missing the badge that stood out on the man's jacket, a Specials rank. Nevertheless, once he saw Kid was okay, he sighed in relief. "I'm sorry if the Kid bothered you, he usually doesn't run off like that." The man let out, talking like he was out of breath, as he obviously had been worried.

"There is no need to apologize. I've enjoyed his company."

Odin smiled at the man, his eyes telling that he knew exactly what the man was talking about. Kid was quite a kid to be around with...

"Well then, thank you for watching over him." He said, bending down to pick up the sleeping child.

"It was my pleasure."

Again the blond smiled weakly, brining the boy close to him, cradling him as one would cradle a baby. He looked down at the slumbering angel as the boy stirred a little, inching closer to him, one hand clutching to his shirt, face buried in his chest.

He turned back to the young man. "Well, thank you again, mister. Have a good flight."

The man nodded his goodbye, hand still playing around with the rose. "All the best." He wished the two and watched them disappear behind the door, back into the Tourist Class.

He turned back to face the table, where his half empty glass of wine rested, along with their unfinished game. He smiled slightly, picking up his little white 'cavalier'. He brought the little Lego® toy to his face, examining the knight and his horse from all directions.

"Farewell, my little knight. We shall finish this, another time..."

OWARI (or is it..?)

Well, minna? What do you think?! WHAT!!!?? You don't think it is possible for the two to meet in the past?!!!!? I see no reason why not! Episode Zero, remember? Heero DID influence Treize-sama's life there, now didn't he? Resulting in the birth of one Marimaia Khushrenada... Anyways, tell me what you think, kay?

Naomi

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