Story Notes:
I don't know if anyone's ever done a "5 Things that Never Happened" for this fandom before. Basically, the meme is that you write five ficlets about things that never happened- it could be something that's completely implausible, or something that's just not explicit in canon. They could be connected or have a common theme, but it's not necessary. Most of mine could be things that happened behind the scenes that we just don't see, except for the last one. I think it'd be great if other people tried their hand at it for Gundam 00.
1.
Allelujah rummaged through Sumeragi's stores of alcohol, trying anything that looked strong enough. All those years of super soldier training came to good use, and besides, she wasn't very good at hiding them.
No matter how much he drank, it couldn't silence the screams.
"This is stupid. You're just going to make yourself sick." Hallelujah crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
Allelujah ignored him.
"Reasons you don't want to be an alcoholic," Hallelujah began. "Number one, being drunk impairs your ability to pilot a Gundam. I feel that this should be the most obvious reason to not get drunk."
"Only if I'm actually drunk when I need to pilot it."
"Number two," Hallelujah continued, tapping his fingers as he listed them. "You'll damage your liver. In case you hadn't noticed, you kind of need your liver."
"What about Sumeragi?" Allelujah asked.
"I expect that woman will fall over and die any day now," Hallelujah said.
"That's morbid!"
"She's none of my concern. Number three, alcoholism can cause sexual dysfunction."
"Oh, I'm really worried about that one."
"You know, I worry about you. You don't seem to have a healthy interest in women."
"Why would I possibly get involved with a woman when I know that you could turn up anytime for a surprise threesome? Why would I put anyone through that?"
"You know, now that I think about it," Hallelujah said, not listening. "Sumeragi doesn't seem to be having any sex. Which is only bizarre because she's really, really hot."
"Please don't talk about her that way," Allelujah said, irritated.
"I'm just saying. And number four, and this is the one that especially concerns me, you could accidentally give yourself alcohol poisoning and die."
"You're really only worried about yourself."
"At least eat something."
"I'm not hungry."
"Drink some water?"
"Just leave me alone!" he screamed into the empty room. For a while, there was silence.
"Face it, this is who you are. You pulled the trigger and killed them all."
"You did that!"
"No, it was you."
"You made me do it!"
"I didn't make you do anything. But don't be so hard on yourself. You brought them mercy."
"That Tieren pilot. Does she want mercy, too? They didn't ask for it, they could have been happy..."
"How do you know that she's happy?"
He threw the bottle in the direction he imagined Hallelujah's head to be. It smashed against the wall, it's contents scattering in globules floating through the air.
The door opened, and Sumeragi took in the scene. "Allelujah..." She rushed over to help him up off the floor. "What were you doing?"
"I'm sorry."
She smiled sympathetically. "Let's get you back to your room."
"Way to prove yourself," Hallelujah said as Sumeragi was leaving. "Even that Setsuna kid acts more responsible than you."
Allelujah curled up in a fetal position on the bed. "Yeah, well, she drinks all the time."
"She can hold her liquor. You can't. You never drank in your life until last night. That woman has a liver made of steel." Hallelujah flopped next to him on the bed. "Don't come crying to me tomorrow morning. I get the feeling it tastes even worse coming back up."
"Why won't you just go away?" Allelujah glared at him.
"Hey, I'm trying to help you out here. Or at least, I was. It's a little late now. Look on the bright side- I won't even try to fight you for control in the morning."
Allelujah's lips turned up slightly at the corners.
"Tomorrow," Hallelujah said cheerfully, "you get to discover the merits of throwing up in partial gravity."
2.
Marina turned the tv off.
"Have I done the right thing, Shirin? Is anything I'm doing making a difference?" She turned to the other woman, crestfallen. "I'm afraid. I'm afraid this country can never change, and it's all my fault. I don't-"
Her sentence was cut off by a sharp slap across the face.
"Stop whining. If you really want to make a difference, you can start by standing on your own two feet and doing it yourself." Shirin glared down at her.
"Shirin..." Marina brought a hand to her reddening cheek, the eye on that side welling with tears.
"You have groveled at the feet of anyone who will listen, and in doing so, have embarassed the entire nation."
"I..."
Shirin placed a finger over her lips before she could go on. She sat down next to Marina on the divan.
"But it's not your fault," she continued, playing at a strand of Marina's hair. Her voice was soft. "You haven't been corrupted by greed and politics. You're a pure soul, untainted by the horrors you've witnessed." She cupped her hand around Marina's jaw, stroking the pale cheekbone with her thumb. "You still believe that people are good, that war is just a misunderstanding, that the hope in your heart can change the state of the nation."
Abruptly, Shirin withdrew her hand. She stood and crossed the room. As she opened the door to leave, she turned and spoke to Marina over her shoulder.
"But also, it's because you have no spine."
3.
Gary Biaggi. She wasn't sure where he was from, but his skin and voice were certainly exotic. He complimented her, and she blushed like a schoolgirl. She knew it was unprofessional, she knew she shouldn't let it get to her, but it was nice to be told she was pretty after spending years with men who barely give her a second look. To them, she's just Kinue- they see her so often, they don't really see her as a woman anymore. No one notices when she's had her hair cut, no one notices when she wears her makeup differently or when she wears a low-cut top. She's just plain old Kinue.
"I work in distribution," he was saying, in that outlandish drawl. She knew that, considering the nature of the Linear Train Industry and the state of Gary's suit, he probably just oversaw the transfer of supplies (or some other high-salary, low-labour role), but she couldn't help but think of him as a distributor in a more antiquated, nautical sense. Something about him reminded her of childhood stories of Sinbad the sailor. Maybe he's a pirate, she thought, supressing a highly inappropriate smirk.
"I have someone else I need to meet with- no one as important as the president, just a delivery driver, but if you don't mind waiting, I'd like to treat you to dinner and we can talk more."
Is he asking me on a date? She thought. No, it's just because you were so insistent about interviewing him in the first place. You got into the car with him, that's crazy! He's only trying to help, because he realises how badly you wanted to talk to him.
"That's... kind of you. Thank you." She really hoped she wasn't blushing.
Dinner turned out to be at his place, and not at a restaurant like she expected. He was staying in a condo that overlooked the beach.
"It belongs to the company. They lend it to me when I'm in the area," he had said when she asked about it.
"I see," she said. She cleared her throat nervously. "You cook?" She hadn't meant for it to sound like a question. Oh yeah, Kinue, you're doing a great job at this.
"Yes." He pulled out a bottle of red wine, popping the cork and filling two glasses placed on the counter. Stepping back out into the living area, he offered her a glass. The wine was the same colour as his hair.
"Thank you," she said, accepting the glass. This is totally a date! No, it's not, it's a glass of wine. You've had wine in professional situations before.
Striding into the kitchenette, he set his glass on the counter and began rolling up his sleeves. "You don't have any food allergies, do you?"
Kinue smirked. "Why, are you going to poison me?"
He looked at her, stock still for a moment, before grinning reassuringly. "Only if you don't like my cooking."
"Thank you for dinner, it was delicious," she said.
"You're welcome. It was my pleasure to have such lovely company," he replied, taking the dishes to the sink before scooping up their wine glasses. "Now, please join me in here." He gestured to the sofa. Kinue sat down and accepted her glass from him.
"You had some questions to ask me?" he said, lounging back, the hand holding his wine glass draped over the arm of the sofa.
"Yes. You said you worked in distribution?"
"Yes."
"But you were in a meeting with the president of the company. It must have been terribly important."
"I was confirming a delivery of goods." He sipped at his wine.
"With the president of the company?"
"Yes."
"A delivery... for private use?" She didn't meet his eyes.
"Yes, for private use."
"I see. Uhm... if you don't mind my asking, could you tell me what the goods were?" She looked over at him, uncertain.
"GN drives." He kept his gaze on her steady, a confident smile across his face.
GN drives? What the hell are GN drives? Obviously, he thinks I know what they are. Should I ask? No, what if he thinks you're stupid?! But he told you what you wanted to know. You can look it up later, find out what they are. He doesn't have to know that you don't know what he's talking about.
"Ah."
He set his wine glass on the table and began leaning towards her, watching her reaction carefully.
He's not going to- Oh my god, he is. Kinue remained still as his lips met hers softly.
After a long moment he sat back. "Did I go too far?" he asked.
Kinue considered this. You want him to kiss you again. Don't lie. But you're supposed to be interviewing him! So? Hasn't he already told you everything you wanted to know? Who says you can't have the interview and dinner and wherever this is going? You like him, he likes you, you're both adults, and you've already got your information. Why not enjoy this while you can? Seriously, how often is your subject this hot? And how often is he this interested in you?
"No."
He reached over and gently took the wine glass from her hand, placing it on the table next to his. This time, when he leaned in to kiss her, she met him halfway.
Kinue woke to a steady bzz bzz coming from her purse. She rolled over, snatched her purse off the bedside table, and pulled out her mobile. The word ALARM flashed red on the tiny screen. She hit a button and turned it off, dropping it back in her purse and placing it back on the bedside table.
"Someone calling you?" Gary asked, his voice rough with sleep.
"Uh, no. It's just my alarm." She rolled onto her back, the sheet pulled up to her chest self-consciously.
"Is there somewhere you need to be?"
"No. It's set to go off every morning at 6:30. I usually have to be at work at 7:30."
"But not today?"
She hesitated before answering. She didn't want to mention her field assignment, in case he thought she was only here because she wanted information. "They can make do without me."
"Nonsense. If you have to be at work, I'll take you to work." He leaned over her, propped on one arm. "Your job is obviously very important to you." He dipped his head down until he was kissing her.
"Gary," she said when their lips parted. "That's not why I'm here."
He smiled, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and standing up. "Do one-night stands drive their dates to work the next morning?" he asked, walking backwards towards the closet. He winked at her before turning to the closet and pulling on some drawers. The tattoo across his shoulder reminded her even more of a pirate.
Kinue smiled to herself as she got out of bed and started putting her clothes back on.
Kinue stared out the window at the city slowly coming to life in the dark light of the early morning. What little sunlight was beginning to colour the sky was obscured by dark stormclouds.
"Last night, you said you were confirming the delivery of GN drives. What are GN drives? Are they linear train components?"
A grin spread across Gary's face. "No. They're engines that move mobile suits."
"Mobile suits?" Kinue turned to face him. Rain began to spatter across the windshield.
"Gundams."
Kinue gasped.
"You know about them, don't you? The ones that Celestial Being have, the one that the Kurdish boy pilots... Those Gundams." The grin never wavered.
"Kurdish boy?" She felt a chill like an icy ghost crawl over her skin. Suddenly, the man beside her no longer looked so dashing, so handsome... he looked like a predator, an animal. When he spoke, his teeth were like shark fangs, waiting to tear her apart. Who is this man?!
"And the one who kidnapped, brainwashed, and trained him in combat... was me."
Well, she was pretty, thought Ali. Even if she was a bit plain. He glanced at the crumpled pieces of paper in the passenger seat. He'd made sure to tear them out of her notepad before tossing her purse onto the wet concrete.
"It's me." His comm crackled to life.
"I took care of a rat that was scurrying around."
And now she can leave a pretty corpse.
4.
"I told you to go to your room, not mine," Lockon said with an amused smile.
Tieria squirmed nervously in the hallway outside Lockon's room. "There's something I need to tell you."
"Come on in." Lockon let him in, closing the door.
Tieria stood in the center of the floor, carefully avoiding eye contact. "About... what you said earlier. There's something you should know."
Lockon waited. Tieria took a deep breath and continued. "What you said, about us all being human and making mistakes..."
"Out with it," Lockon encouraged.
Tieria finally looked up and met Lockon's gaze. "I'm... not exactly human."
"I know."
"You do?"
"Well, I guessed as much." Lockon smiled. "And your connection to Veda aside... you have a tendency to mutter to yourself."
"... Oh."
"It's okay."
"Okay that I mutter to myself?"
"Well, as cute as it is, you might want to watch it," Lockon said. "Don't want you muttering the wrong things around the wrong person. But it's okay that you're not human."
"How can it be?"
Lockon strode over and placed both hands on Tieria's shoulders. "You seem human enough to me. You were chosen by Veda for a reason, and I believe Veda chose right by you. I trust you, piloting a Gundam and watching my back."
"Even though I'm the reason you got hurt? You could have been-" killed. Tieria bit his lip. He didn't want to say it.
"I'm alive. So are you. Didn't I tell you humans make mistakes? You're nearly human already. You'll learn from it, I promise."
"How can you be so nice to me? After I-" Tieria's eyes filled with tears.
"Do you want me to be mad at you?" Lockon asked. "You want me to yell at you? Hit you?"
Tieria was silent.
"Fine," Lockon said, taking his hands off Tieria's shoulders. "You know what would make me angry? If you didn't get right back in that Gundam and continue fighting. If you gave up right now. If you considered yourself so much of a liability that you never even tried to make something of yourself. Because I really, really don't see the point in saving your life if you don't make something of it."
"I will." Tieria's hands clenched into fists. "I will continue fighting."
Lockon tilted Tieria's face up by the chin. "Is that a promise?"
Tieria gave a tiny nod. "Yes."
"Good."
He moved his hand away, but Tieria reached up and placed his hands on either side of Lockon's face, filling the gap. Tilting his face up, Tieria kissed the eyepatch over Lockon's right eye. His lips lingered briefly over the fabric. Lockon froze in surprise; it wasn't like Tieria to be so affectionate.
When Tieria turned to leave, Lockon placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him back around.
"Wait." Wrapping his other arm around Tieria's slender waist, he leaned in close till their lips almost met. His depth perception was still distorted, causing them to bump noses a little aggressively, but he managed to turn it into an affectionate nuzzle before kissing him.
"Stay," he said, and he could feel Tieria's breath against his lips, hands balled into the fabric of his t-shirt.
Tieria nodded.
5. "It's a shame. The Trinity's work was impressive. They managed to accomplish in a matter of days what the Gundam Meisters could not achieve in months." Wang Liu-Min sipped tea from her delicate pink china.
"What about the third one?" asked Hong Long, standing obediently at her shoulder.
"She may not be as useful alone as she was with her brothers," Wang spoke about Nena as if she were an object. She set the teacup in it's saucer on the table. "But perhaps without them around to hold her back, she may become an even greater asset." She stood and turned to exit the room. "Please inform me when you have news from Ptolemaios."
She didn't make it far before her head jerked backward and she was brought to a halt. Hong Long's fingers twisted in her hair, holding her in place.
"Hong Long," she said in a sickeningly saccharine tone. "Is this a game?"
"I cannot allow you to work for Aeolia Schenberg's ideals."
"You would rather do it yourself? How selfless."
"You don't know anything about the suffering he tried to eradicate."
"Are you turning against me, Hong Long?" Wang tried to break free of his grasp, but he tightened his grip and jerked her head to the side.
"You see me as a servant. I'm here because of you, because you can't take care of yourself. Because you've been pampered all your life. You watch the war from your ivory tower, but you've never been a part of it. You've never been a part of anything. You never mattered. And now you think you're important, that the world continues to turn and function because somehow you're moving a gear. You forget that I work for Celestial Being, not for you."
"You traitor!" She reached up with both hands, wrapping them around his arm and wrist, trying to claw at his skin. "Let me go!"
A knife appeared in his free hand from the recesses of his clothing. "You are the traitor," he said levelly. He plunged the knife into her back, holding it steady as she gasped and twisted and writhed. Warm blood washed over his hand, dripping onto the carpeted interior of the transport. It ran down his wrist, staining the edges of his sleeve. As he felt her struggling slow, he drove the knife in deeper, one hand still tangled in her hair.
"I promise you, the world will change," he whispered in her ear. "But it will change without you in it."