The Seed  (Part 1)

Standard disclaimer apply

Author's Note : This is my first fanfic. I haven't watched any Gundam W anime or read any of its manga. A few of the characters are a bit OOC but what the heck! I have only fanfics to refer to get an idea of the characteristics of each pilot. (One reason why Wufei is hardly mentioned at all.) The reason why I started on this hobby is because I am 'corrupted' by my friend, Wing. ^_^

Two figures were seen standing in a leaf-carpeted forest clearing. From their stance, a casual observer would have thought that they were having a duel that could leave only one standing.

"You know how I feel about you." There was a slight quiver in her voice, as if the words were forced out with tremendous will-power.

The sentence hung in the silent air. The person to whom the words were addressed to merely looked impassively at the person who uttered the words. Under his cold and unreadable eyes, Relena shifted uneasily and finally dropped her eyes. Her rapidly beating heart was threatening to burst out of her ribcage. She tried her best to still the pounding in her ears lest she miss hearing Heero's reply. Clammy hands clasped together to stop them from shaking, Relena continued to study the black leather shoes of the boy in front of her.

Stop acting like some feather-brained, secondary school girl baring her heart to some Y-chromosome carrier whom she has a crush on. A voice at the back of her brain admonished her. Although her brain wished otherwise, her body still reacted every bit like the average feather-brained, secondary school girl. Her face felt as hot as a furnace and she bowed her head even more to study her own shoes, so that the boy she desperately wanted to impress did not become unimpressed. She felt like a pig waiting for slaughter.

The bloody boy! Why is he taking so long to come up with a reply? Maybe he just enjoys watching me getting consumed by my own shame and embarrassment here. Maybe.... Relena stopped her train of thoughts abruptly. Heero had started to open his mouth.

"No I don't, Relena. You tell me." His voice was icy and dead-pan. And she thought his eyes were cold. But then she didn't have time to contemplate on the matter as a million other thoughts flooded her brain at that moment.

The bloody, bloody boy! What does he mean he doesn't know?! Urgh! How can it be any more obvious than it already is?! Does he have to scrape up every last shred of dignity I have and stomp it underfoot? Sadist! One part of Relena wanted to throttle the granite-faced boy in front of her while the other threw pride and dignity to the four winds. The latter won.

"I... I like you...." her soft voice faltered a bit before continuing in a strained tone "... a lot." Her heart gave up trying to escape though the ribcage and decided to climb upwards instead. Relena could feel her heart beating in the vicinity of her throat.

"But I don't like you... a lot." The last two words were added on as if to mock her.

Mock her! Relena's eyes flashed and before she could stop herself, the slap was delivered and the forest clearing rang with the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

* * * * * *

"Ouch! That gotta hurt."

Unknown to the two figures in the forest clearing, three other figures crouched inconspicuously behind a mass of thick undergrowth, witnessing the whole episode.

"Duo, keep your voice down!" Quatre's fierce whisper reminded his friend that they were still in the danger of being caught eavesdropping. He shuddered at the thought of what Heero would do to them if he found out. It wasn't their intention to eavesdrop on so private a conversation. Honest! He was having his usual morning jog through the forest with Trowa and Duo when the trio stumbled upon Heero and Relena. Before he could greet them good morning, Duo and Trowa had grabbed him from behind and dragged him to their present hiding place, all the while shushing him to silence. Duo, he understood -- jests, pranks and the sheer act of making other people uncomfortable were as normal as breathing to him. Nothing in the world would make Duo miss this opportunity to collect insult materials to be flung at Heero's face -- just to see to what extent that granite face of his could distort itself. But Trowa.... he had stared daggers at him but the boy with the ridiculously long forelock avoided his accusatory gaze with annoying ease. This was a side of Trowa that he had just begun to discover and dislike.

"Ooh... I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Duo's excited voice broke him out of his reverie. He started to visualize the act of cutting off Duo's braid.... followed by Trowa's forelock.

* * * * * *

Tears were warming up her already too-warm cheeks and Relena detested this portrayal of weakness in front of him. At least she managed to breathe normally instead of sobbing and choking like a regular, crying, heartbroken idiot.

"You're angry."

Relena kept silent. She did not trust her voice not to stutter or crack at that moment.

Heero's flat voice continued emotionlessly. "Why? Because I don't feel about you the same was you feel about me?" The wet-cheeked girl in front of him still said nothing, trying to appear calm and composed.

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Loving someone doesn't earn you the right to be loved in return. Just like the fact that loving a person doesn't qualify you as that person's lover. Love has to be mutual to bloom, Relena, think about that for a while." He turned and strode off as silently as he came, leaving behind a forlorn Relena in the middle of the forest clearing.

* * * * * *

"I'm going after him."

Quatre seemed relieved. "Yes, I agree we should all go back to the base before..." The sight of Duo scuttling after Heero's rapidly disappearing figure made him realize that he had misheard Duo.

"Duo! Come back!" Quatre was still whispering as Relena still stood fifteen metres away. "That idi...."

"I agree we should go." Trowa's voice cut in and he was tugging at Quatre's hand.

"But...."

"Leave them. What follows no longer concerns us." Trowa's tone was final and Quatre allowed himself to be pulled along without further protest.

* * * * * *

Heero continued striding down the well-trodden path leading away from the forest clearing, his mind still replaying the incident that just happened.

Something hard struck him from behind without warning. He had only nanoseconds to recover from his surprise -- surprise that anyone could have sneaked up on him without him realizing it -- and switch to combat mode, his body reacting faster than his brain. He turned his body with lightning speed, a fist already launched to crush the windpipe of his assailant who dared to....

Duo! The fist was flying straight towards the grinning boy's face and could not be recalled in time. Duo parried the blow with a speed equally his own and proceeded to trip him off his feet with a foot-sweep.

As Heero was falling down onto the soft turf, he had time to think: I didn't know that Duo took judo lessons.... before murderous thoughts like: The bastard! This joke has gone far enough! He'll learn to regret this for the rest of his miserable life! crowded his brain.

Heero got up quickly, violent fury burning in his cold, blue eyes.

"Hey! Chill out, man. I was only trying to cheer you up." Duo's bubbly voice interceded before Heero decided to beat him up into one unrecognizable pulp. Duo was fully aware that he had the upper hand a moment ago only because he had the element of surprise to his advantage.

"Cheer me up? For what?" Heero's voice sounded ominous. Duo started to fidget and look a bit guilty..... Guilty? Then Heero knew.

"You! You were there at the clearing!!"

"Wait a sec! I can explain...." As the words left his mouth, Duo discovered to his chagrin that he could not explain his actions at all.

"Explain what? That you are a sly, sneaky, eavesdropping son of a ..." Heero paused, took a deep breath and kneed Duo's stomach, sending him doubling up in pain. While Duo was busy wheezing and catching his breath, he followed up his attack with a tackle and after a few moments, Heero had Duo pinned to the ground. He didn't even need to breathe heavily to recover his breath. Duo was forced to confront eyes that were as hard and cold as steel.

"Jeez ... Heero! You don't have to ..." Flames started to flare up in one of Heero's pupils. "Okay, fine. I'm a sly, sneaky, eavesdropping son of a female canine. I shouldn't have done what I did. Now, are you happy?" Heero remained motionless, clearly a sign of unhappiness and displeasure.

"I thought you don't feel anything for Relena. So why should you get so depressed over her slapping you?" Duo hastily decided to change the subject after realizing that an apology, however sincere, would not satisfy Heero.

"How do you know whether I'm depressed or not?" His grip on Duo's wrist did not ease a hair.

"Oh, puh-leeze! Anyone who knows you well enough can see that! That block of granite you call a face managed to take on an expression that is neither blank nor sardonic when she slapped you."

Heero began to feel unsure about himself. Was his emotions printed so obviously on his face? Could Duo read his face like a book all the time? Some emotion bordering on panic began to well up inside him.

"Look, past training only made you learn how to conceal your emotions, not lose them completely! When will you realize that you're made of flesh and blood, not gears and oil!" Now it was Duo's turn to look angry.

Heero released him without another word, his expression slightly troubled. Duo sat up and proceeded to dust off the sand on his clothes and hair that had gathered during their tussle. "Since you're still so spirited, I suppose my help was redundant after all. Guess I guessed wrongly about you this time."

Heero still looked silently at him, his face showing..... Relief? Duo could never tell what goes on in that granite head of his.

"Well, I'll be back at the base if you need me." Duo walked a few steps down the path and shouted into the woods "If anybody needs me!" before disappearing into the foliage.

Love has to be mutual to bloom. The thought whispered softly in Heero's mind as he got up and followed Duo.

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