In Death

By: Aeris

The war was over. Peace had finally settled upon the earthsphere, all the colonies were independent once again. Lucrezia Noin stood at the window of her apartment, watching a pair of ivory-winged doves take flight from a nearby tree, heading towards the sunset. 'How long will this peace last?' She mused silently, before hearing a knock at her door. Grinning at the thought of who it probably was, she turned and walked toward the door, unlocking and opening it.

"Hello, Noin."

Zechs Merquise stood in the doorway, holding a bouquet of fresh, crimson roses. Noin smiled and motioned for him to come inside. She hugged him tight, barely giving Zechs enough time to move the roses out of the way. He hugged her back with his free arm, before kissing her softly. She pulled away, and Zechs handed her the roses. "To celebrate. The peace, I mean. I've also made reservations at the new restaurant downtown."

Noin set the roses on the nearby table, and pecked him on the cheek, "Looks like someone's in a good mood today."

Zechs held her close, "That seems to be the case." He smiled down at her, "Get ready, the reservations I made are for 8:00."

Noin nodded, taking a look at a clock from the corner of her eye. 6:20. 'That gives me plenty of time.' She thought, but was snapped back into the present when Zechs gently released her.

"I need to run a few errands. Shall I pick you up around 7:30?"

Noin nodded, "Whenever you're ready to pick me up."

Zechs kissed her once more before opening the door. "Until then, my love."

Noin watched as he left, and didn't turn until the door had shut behind him. A dozen roses and reservations at a fancy restaurant? What was he up to? Noin thought again for a moment, picking the roses up and breathing in their scent. 'I wonder…'

*

Zechs closed the small burgundy box, "Perfect. I hope she accepts…" He looked at the clock. '7:19… well if I leave now I'll get to her by 7:30.' He took a last look in the mirror, "Well, here goes…" He sighed, straightening his tie and smoothing his wild hair back, before heading out the door.

*

Noin stared into the mirror, locking her earrings into place. She glanced at the clock, "Well, he should be here any second." She went to get her purse when she heard a knock at the door. "There he is…" She opened the door, "On time as a—" Noin was interrupted when a rough hand covered her mouth. She tried to scream as the figure began pushing her inside and kicking the door with its foot. 'Oh, God…' Noin mentally slapped herself for not looking first. Dammit, Noin! Her thoughts stopped when she felt cold steel on her brow. She attempted to knock the figure's arm away, but she found herself falling. In what seemed like an eternity, she heard the shot, felt the bullet rip through her skin, skull, felt the sticky hot blood pour down her face. Noin felt herself hit the floor before the darkness seized her.

'I'm so sorry, Milliardo…'

*

Zechs approached the apartment door, knocking softly. He immediately felt a sense of worry, as the door creaked open after he knocked. Furrowing his brow, he stepped inside. "Noin?" he called, his eyes searching around the small apartment.

He felt his heart screech to a painful halt, as his eyes settled on a bloody form, sprawled across the floor.

"Lucrezia!!!" He yelled, not caring who heard. Zechs ran to her, dropping to his knees and gathering her body in his arms. "Lu, wake up!!" He shook her gently, desperately. But, he felt all hope leave him, and the salty sting of tears, when he saw a hole settled in her pale forehead. Zechs let the tears fall, hugging her lifeless body close, not caring if her blood got on his suit. Not caring if anyone heard, if anyone saw, the great Milliardo Peacecraft crying his eyes out. The only thing on his mind right now was that she was gone. His best friend, his love, the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, was dead. 'Why…her…'

*

Zechs stood against the wall of Noin's apartment, watching the paramedics load her body onto the cart. Watched as they pulled a sheet over her body, her face. He followed them out in silence, sat in the ambulance, staring at her form. Zechs attempted to pull the broken pieces of his heart back together, but found that he was too shaken up to keep them still. Dammit, if he had left five minutes earlier, if he had gotten there sooner, to protect her, to take that goddamned bullet for her… she'd still be here. Before he knew it, they were at the hospital. A paramedic directed him to a desk to fill out forms, while they brought Noin's body to the morgue.

It didn't take long for Zechs to fill out the forms. Soon he found himself sitting in a waiting room, waiting. Waiting… for what?

'For her to come back…'

Zechs sat in total silence, taking no notice of anyone, ignoring even the Chaplain that came to 'comfort' him. He didn't speak, until Relena showed up.

"Milliardo…" Relena Peacecraft embraced her brother, offering console. Zechs hugged her in return, still in a half-catatonic state. "I'm so sorry, Milliardo. I heard it all…"

"… thank you, Relena." Was all he could choke out. His sister sat next to him, holding him when he cried and doing all she could to calm him.

"Mr.… Merquise?"

Zechs looked up at a nurse, and walked towards her. "I understand you were closest to Miss Noin. We have a few…"

Zechs merely nodded every few seconds, signing this and initialing that. He blocked out the nurse's middle-aged voice. The only thing he heard was Noin… her laughter, her voice. He saw her beautiful face, her body… his mind jumped to that same face, bloodied, and her body, lying on the floor, stained crimson. The way her eyes clenched shut. That same thought remained in his head, in his heart. Even after he was gone from the hospital, after Relena had given him a ride home, after he was in bed trying to put his thoughts to rest for the evening, he still thought of that same sight. His restless mind kept his body awake as well, all night long.

The next day he went to her wake.

He stayed the entire time. Until they had closed the casket, he knelt before it, brushing hair back and kissing her cheek every so often. Nobody dared to disturb him. Zechs reached inside his coat and pulled out a small burgundy box. He opened it, removing a golden ring, with several diamonds. He slipped it on her finger, and kissed her lips gently. 'I love you, Lu…' He lifted his head up, and mused on how they had 'fixed her up,' she had a beautiful white gown on, that contrasted with the raven-black hue of her hair. They also had gotten the blood off her face and neck, to expose her deathly pale skin. However, his eyes fell upon the one thing that remained. The one thing that stood out most, taunting him of his loss. The small, fatal hole in the center of her brow. He kissed it, with the childish hope that he could kiss it all better.

'Who am I fooling? There's no more hope. She's gone. What reason do I have to go on?'

It had been two days since her wake. Zechs found himself standing in pouring rain at her newly dug grave, then kneeling by the colorless gravestone that bore her name. It also held a phrase, right below her name. It read:

Lucrezia Noin

AC 172-196

Rest in eternal serenity, beloved soul

God holds thy spirit in His everlasting peace