Title: The Man Formerly Known as Milli
Theme + Number: #81/Code Name
Genre: General/Humor
Warnings: None
Character/Pairing: Zechs/Noin
Word Count: 716
Rating: PG-13
Summary: What's in a name?
Notes: This thing is chock full of jokes relating to the various masked men of gundam shows and a few VA references. Props to anyone that gets them all.
It seemed nothing more than a peaceful day on the outside, but inside- there was a crisis at hand. A very important matter was being debated between the former Peacecraft heir and a loyal companion of his. This was a matter of dire necessity to the rest of their lives, to the rest of OZ's plans, to everything.
The man, formerly known as Milliardo Peacecraft, needed a code name. An alias, something people could call him when he was working. It was getting a bit awkward to have people skirting around addressing him just because he didn't have an addressable name.
Noin, one of the few and only people who knew him for who he really was, shook her head as she watched the man lament over it.
"I understand that if you have to go down in history with some name, you'd want it to have a nice, memorable ring to it- but Milliardo, you've been working on this for hours."
And indeed, that was true. The platinum-blonde man had gone through name books, through famous historic figures, and had scribbled down several possibilities that now littered the floor in wads of paper.
Hoping that perhaps she could pinpoint a name he'd yet to look at, Noin began to flip through the books once more.
"Schwarz?"
"Too German."
"Touga?"
"Too Greek."
"Rezo?"
"Where'd you pull that one from?" He asked.
Noin pointed to the page in the "Powerful Names for Powerful People" book. Milliardo sighed.
"A name is something so important- it's very hard to chose."
Noin paused for a moment, her face lighting up as something dawned on her.
"An idea?"
"No...I think I now understand why my two Grandmothers stop talking to each other."
Milliardo blinked, "What do you mean?"
"I was named Lucrezia at my Mother's Mother's suggestion. My Father's Mother wanted me to be named Lalah."
"Lalah?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Ridiculous name, isn't it?"
"Sounds like a petname one comes up with during sex."
The room fell quiet, as Noin eyed the man beside her.
"Is there anything you haven't told me beside this whole 'secretly the missing heir of the Sanc Kingdom' thing?"
Clearing his throat, Milliardo shifted his gaze, "No. Not that I can think of."
Sifting through the remaining papers on the desk, Milliardo looked at the three remaining combinations: "Ginias Merquise," "Raww Aznable," and "Zechs Lorrnoke."
"These have some quality to them. But they just don't have the right... sound to it."
Patting him on the shoulder, Noin peered at the slips of paper.
"Hmm... what about mixing them up?"
She reached down, ripping the pieces of paper in half and placed them side by side on the table.
"Ginias Aznable?" Noin suggested.
He shook his head, trying the other, "Raww Lorrnoke?"
The two paused, thinking that over for awhile. As they pondered, Milliardo took two pills for his growing headache.
"That one sounds a little crazy," Noin remarked, "So all that's left is..."
Their eyes fell on the last combination: Zechs, like the german word for six and Merquise, which was an alternate on the spelling of "marquis"- a noble ranking man in France (well, and it was also the name of a fetish magazine- but Noin didn't need to know that...).
"Zechs... Merquise," The man said slowly, then he started to smile, "I like the sound of that."
"So... Zechs?"
He thought it over a bit more, then nodded.
"Zechs it shall be. Now, I just need a fighting alias."
Noin sighed, slumping back down into a chair. After a moment, the man now known as Zechs, made a suggestion.
"What about Lalah?"
A pillow flew across the room from Noin's direction and Zechs turned towards her with an amused smirk.
"Oh, I forgot. That's a bedroom-only name, right?" He pulled his mask over his face just in time; one of the books clanking against the back of it.
"Milli-" She stopped, fully intending to adjust to saying Zechs at first, but she got a better idea mid-thought.
"So...Milli, would you like to go out to dinner tonight?"
Even with the mask on, Noin had a feeling his eyes were wide with shock at her little counter-attack. He snorted lightly as he stood, sweeping his cape over his shoulder.
"Only if Lalah is treating."