Adult-FanFiction.org : Gundam, Beyblade, DBZ, FMA

A Night at the Office	By : Amanda Category: Gundam Wing/AC > General Views: 593 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-A Night at the Office
- 1
A
Night at the Office

The chair hit the wall with a
frightening crash, shattering the glass on a framed reproduction print Lady had had always been fond of. She winced, closing her eyes tightly and ducked a
little even though she was on the other side of the room and in no danger of
being hit. The papers she held in her hand remained in her firm grasp, while
the man who had thrown open the door and flung the chair in anger began walking
to and fro in front of her. His gait was not quite balanced and not quite
wobbly as he paced like an enraged lion ready to attack. Slowly, Lady Une
opened her eyes and regarded him for less than two seconds. Then her eyes
turned to the window through which nothing but darkness came through. It was
night, after hours, and she was completely alone. Of course he would come after
hours. He knew she would be there. Where else could she possibly be?

He stopped. She felt him out of the
corner of her eye. His stillness was a bad sign that made the air vibrate a
little more with the danger of his anger. Any calm from him would indicate that
an explosion of violence was not far behind it. And still, Lady Une looked at
the night air that was hanging indifferently out the window, wishing she could
be so indifferent. She smelled the air, taking in a deep draft of it, catching
the scent and knew instantly. Lady Une raised her chin, trying to keep the
contempt from her face so as not to further antagonize him. He was just staring
at her with his lips parted as if he was seeing all one color and couldn�t
account for it.

�You are drunk again, Zechs� She
muttered, turning her back to him and walking around the mess of the chair and
picture to her desk. Her papers carried a little crinkled thumb print from
where she had held them so tightly.

�You firer!� r!� Zechs spat out
accusingly.

�Indeed.�

�Why?� Zechs advanced on her. He
walked to face her on the opposite side of the desk. Even as she sat down his
arms braced the sides of the desk.

�You know why, and so does Noin. I
need Preventers who are going to do their jobs. Not sneak off every chance they
get to please their paramours.�

�Paramour? Is that what you think I
am to her?�

Lady Une slumped in exasperation. Zechs was
always quick to frustrate her. �I could care less what you are to her, Zechs. I
have never cared and I have never understood why that infuriates you so much.� This
wasn�t the first time they had had this type of confrontation. Lady Une knew it
wouldn�t be the last one either. She was re-treading dangerous waters with
little fear. Zechs leaned in, hisath ath pungent with the spice of vodka, his
drink of choice when he was upset.

�I am not drunk.� He responded to
her statement of a few moments ago.

�Please, Zechs, when are you not
drunk?� Lady Une was no fool when it came to Milliardo Peacecraft and the
bottle. He was a man of infinite addictions. When war was not available to
answer his need, he turned to the drink. Zechs knew this too, but would never
admit it to her. Lady Une had always been the one to speak plainly about his
every flaw and he hated her for it. His hands sought the support of the desk a
little more as his balance began wavering again. She would not help him, they
both knew that. If he fell and couldn�t get back up, she would leave him there.
She had always just left him there>
>

Lady Une was not looking at him. Instead
she pretended to go through her papers. Zechs could sense her concentration deepening.
In a few minutes he would not even exist to her and she would carry on as if
there were no disturbance. He knew this tactic of hers well. They both were
well schooled in it. It was what allowed them to work side by side and not go
mad. At one time, he had perfected this strategy, and thus, he knew how to
counter it. As Zechs� balance returned so did his rage at the situation. He
wasn�t going to be ignored by her anymore. With a crisp swing he reached across
the desk. His open hand connected with the side of her face and she was knocked
right out of the chair. She made a muffled sound as she was struck and her head
hit the side of the desk in falling. An immense pleasure crested through Zechs
at seeing her go down. Her hand stopped her from completely collapsing on the
ground. Glass from the broken picture pierced her palm. There was silence for a
few seconds save for the sound of Zechs enflamed breathing and Lady Une�s
audible astonishment. But they didn�t say anything nor did they move. Finally,
Lady Une let whatever part of her body still remained in the chair slide off to
the ground and out of Zechs� immediate sight. He moved around the side of the
desk to see what he had wrought. She was sitting with her legs to the side.
There was blood on the bare legs that were uncovered by her skirt, nicked here
and there by little shards of glass. Her head was down and her face was hidden
by her brown hair, which was shorter now than he had ever known it to be. She
was still unmoving and Zechs� anger swelled again with the idea that she was
still trying to block him out and make him obsolete and invisible.

Again, Zechs moved forward, but she
moved before he could summon enough anger to accost her a second time. Slowly,
her hand came up and wiped the side of her face. She raised her hand and her
head to show the blood on both. Her fingers had a smattering of blood from
where the desk had cut her above the left eyebrow.

�You finally had the courage to hit
me. I never thought you would actually do it.� The blood did nothing to calm
him, but he didn�t move on her again.

p>

�Why do you make me do it?� He
said, almost shocked that such a question had come from his mouth.

�What do you want me to say, Zechs?
That I fired her because of you? That I could no longer stand the thought of
you and Noin? Damn it, Zechs, you know that�s not the reason. Noin has become
obsessed and her work has taken a back seat to pleasing you. Our work here is
important! I need dedication in this department. The fact that it is you she is
trying to please is irrelevant to me.
She could be obsessing over a dead man and I would still have had to
dismiss her.�

�Obsessed with ad mad man? Doesn�t
that sound familiar?� He said bitterly.

�Please, Zechs.� She replied with
equal bitterness, slowly rising. �Don�t flatter yourself by thinking you know
how I feel about things. The record between us shows you have long ignored any
clue I have given you about my feelings� Her good hand held the corner of the
desk that had wounded her and she pulled her body up with one smooth motion.
Once aloft, she wobbled and staggered forward slightly. Zechs shot out the
catch her, taking her body into his own uncertain balance. She grunted in
frustration at having to accept his help.

�Let go of me!� She whispered
harshly. There was a struggle for all of three seconds as she tried to flail
away from him. He caught her hand and only succeeded in pushing the glass
further into her palm. She yelped and he caught her around the neck with his
arm, holding her bloodied hand away from their bodies.

�You forget how this works. You are
the one who lets me fall, not the other way around. Remember?� he rasped out
next to her temple. With a quick movement he released her head and held her
wrist hard. Zechs dragged Lady Une over to the small couch on the far side of
the room where she had been when he first burst in. She fought him ever step of
the way but was thoroughly outmatched by Zechs� strength. He made her sit down
while he held her wrist tight enough to staunch the blood flow. It was hurting
her, but he knew she could take pain. Zechs sat down with her and held her firmly
enough that she couldn�t move or resist any further. Carefully, he plu a
a
few large glass shards from her palm and tossed them aside. She bit her lip as
he worked and gasped when he let go of her wrist and the blood came rushing
back out of the wound. Lady Une yanked her arm away from him and cradled her
wounded hand. Zechs turned to watch her and the way she recoiled from him. They
were both a wreck now. His coat was half hanging off of him, his hair rumpled
and he looked all around disheveled. The desire for another drink would beat
against his head when he sensed how much she wanted him gone. The flames in his
blood started to die down. An old hopelessness was dousing them. He let his
head hang back against the back of the couch and he closed his eyes, sighing.

�Why do you have to drink?� She
finally asked. He saw her holding her wounded hand, still breathing heavily,
with a pained brow and shut eyes.

�God, Zechs. You have to stop
this.� Her tone was pleading and she was shaking her head slowly. Zechs almost
expected her to begin weeping. He wasn�t going to address this, not with her.

�You shouldn�t have fired her,
Lady. I need her here.� He answered, rubbing his hands over his face and
leaning forward to brace his arms on his knees. Lady Une opened her eyes and
looked at him, pressing her thumb against her palm.

�It�s hard to explain. She just . .
. She needs to be away from me sometimes.�

�She loves you.�

He was silent for many moments, but
she knew it had not been the reply he wanted to hear. Noin�s love was like his alcoholism;
something Zechs� could not kick or rid himself of.

�Is it still bleeding?� he abruptly
asked. Lady Une lifted her thumb and
displayed her palm. The blood had clotted, making her life line thick and ruddy.

�I�m sorry� he murmured�

Lady Une almost chuckled. �No you
aren�t. The next time you have an excuse you�ll be back here and you�ll do this
all over again.�

Zechs� fury suddenly reappeared. He
was up and in front of her in a moment. He splayed his hands at his sides in a
gesture of enraged despair before her.

�I can�t help it!� or he just
wouldn�t help it.

�You need to stop this, Zechs. This
is just another one of your addictions. I can�t feed it anymore.� She raised
her eyes to his and she finally saw it there, that old hopelessness that seeped
into his face and made her spirit sink.

�There has to be something, Lady,
something that can keep me going. The war is over. There are no more fights to
be had. There is only Noin now and . . . What do you want me to do?� He became
eerily still as if remembering something that replayed frequently before his
mind�s eye. It seemed to always come down to that question that neither would
answer. What do you want me to do? �You are all but gone from as well, just like
the war. At least the vodka doesn�t pretend I don�t exist.� Sluggishly, he went
down on his knees to be level with her as she struggled to call up some
patience with him and with her own Zechs-inspired depression.

�Zechs, I understand escapes.� Lady
Une held his eyes for the time she spoke and he didn�t move to interrupt her.
The hopelessness in his eyes had moved her as it had always moved her. She
swallowed hard. �He was an escape for
me, Zechs. I had to get away and forget what happened with us. Treize allowed
me to do that. I found something with him that let me escape. I found with him
something to love and I clung to it. It dulled the memory.�

Zechs took up her hand. It was cold
and he rubbed gently to warm it again. He lifted it to his mouth and kissed the
knuckles. She didn�t pull away but neither did she seem to enjoy it. He kept it
up for several minutes, just brushing his lips up and down the back of her
fingers. He didn�t do it for her. It was purely for him, to feed another insistent
need. Lady Une stopped him by putting
her hands on the sides of his face and speaking emphatically.

�Zechs, promise me you will stop
drinking. It is going to end up killing you if you don�t stop. I�ve heard Noin
talking about it. I know it�s gotten worse and worse since . . .� she
hesitated.
- 1
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

A Night at the Office