By Lady Saffir
Rating:
DISCLAIMER: me no own...
Quote:
****************************************************
Staring at the calendar, Relena gave a small sigh. One week. One week,
an entire week, had passed since Heero had spelled out his feelings to her. And
contrary to what everyone kept telling her, the pain did NOT get any easier with
time...although Relena suspected they meant 'time' in terms of months or years,
not weeks.
As always, the continuous litany of 'why?', followed by the very lengthy
list of her faults, ran through the back of her mind. Giving up entirely on
trying to work, Relena allowed herself once more to focus on her mental list.
First and foremost - her looks. Granted, when she took the time to style
her hair, apply make-up, and try to dress decently, she knew that some would
consider her 'pretty'. However, when she simply threw her hair into a sloppy
ponytail and dressed in whatever has handy, her looks wouldn't quite warrant a
lot of male attention.
Stopping in mid-thought, Relena suddenly experienced a flash of insight.
The damn man had gotten tired of seeing her in whatever. True, after a day of
work, the only thing she wanted to do was crash, but still...the effort should
have been made to at least OCCASIONALLY surprise him. Well, she would show him
exactly what happened when Relena Darlian-Peacecraft was pissed off.
She made sure you regretted every moment of it.
That settled, Relena slammed the notebook containing grant proposals shut,
determined to have fun for once. Picking up the phone, she quickly punched
Noin's personal number, impatiently tapping her foot. When it was answered,
Relena came straight to the point.
"Noin? Remember how we were just going to have lunch? Well, cancel your
afternoon plans - we're going shopping."
Noin could only shake her head in amazement. After treating themselves to
an expensive lunch, the two women had proceeded to hit every major store and
shopping area within an hour's distance. Lunch had begun around 12:30. It was
now eleven o'clock at night.
"Relena? Have you found anything yet?"
A burst of muffled words were her only answer, as Relena struggled to pull
on the sweater that had caught her eye.
Shifting her weight to her other foot, Noin was about to bang on the door,
when it suddenly opened.
There, standing in tight black pants, a form-fitting dark silver sweater
clinging to her body, Relena stood, smirking at the expression on her friend's
face.
"Well? What do you think?"
Noin took a moment to take in the entire outfit. Along with the pants and
sweater, a pair of four-inch high boots added to the effect of Relena having
extremely long legs. The bright silver jewelry Relena had picked stood in sharp
contrast to the dark outfit, accenting her slim neck and wrists.
"All I can say is..wow. What prompted this sudden urge to dress
differently?"
Relena flashed a brilliant smile.
"Wow? Exactly the reaction I was looking for. What would Milliardo say?"
Noin didn't even have to think about that one.
"He would forbid you to wear that in public."
"Perfect."
************************************
It was a frantic Noin that contacted Duo two days later. Fumbling for the
phone, Duo tried to keep the incessant ringing from bothering Hilde. The only
reason he was still up was because he and Heero were kicking back, enjoying
their beers and a late night soccer game.
"Yeah?"
"Duo, have you seen Heero? We need to find him right away - Relena's
gone."
At that, Heero was up and out of his seat, shoving Duo away from the vid-
phone.
"What did you say?" he growled, the alcohol induced fog clearing from his
brain.
*************************************
With a screech, Heero's motorbike came to a stop before the main doors of
the Peacecraft mansion. Staggering away from the bike, Duo turned to glare at
Heero.
"Do you drive like that all the time? 'Cause man, if you do, you have the
biggest deathwish I've ever seen," Duo wheezed, trying to draw a deep breath.
He was pretty sure that he had been holding his breath since they left his
house. Rollercoasters he liked - riding behind a crazed Heero Yuy who didn't
understand the concept of a speed limit he didn't.
Heero simply glared as they entered the Peacecraft mansion.
Silently reading the note Relena left, Heero had to resist the urge to
strangle their wayward princess when they found her.
Milliardo,
I'm going out for the evening with two close friends. I'll be back
by morning.
Relena
PS - Do not even THINK about sending someone (read: Heero Yuy) looking for me.
I am perfectly capable of watching out for myself.
***************************************
Stepping inside the crowded room, Duo whistled appreciatively.
"Man, this is one awesome club - I didn't know Relena even knew this kind
of place existed."
Heero merely grunted, taking in their surroundings. The walls were done
in a thick material, that when touched, turned out to be vellum. Painted
haphazardly across the walls were large silver roses that caught and reflected
light. The few tables scattered about the room were draped with black crushed
velvet table clothes, a vase containing a single red rose adorning the tabletop.
Stepping onto the dance floor to look for Relena, Heero found the reason
the club was called the Black Rose. The floor design was a single black rose,
stretching from one end of the dance area to the other, trapped beneath a sheet
of glass. Large thorns branched off from the main stem, the bright green
leaves, full of life, contrasting with the death that was symbolized by the
unfurled bud.
The wild music was coming to a close when Duo suddenly pointed across the
room. Looking through the mass of people, Heero was able to see what had caught
his eye. A young woman, wearing clothes that clung to every curve like a second
skin, was dancing with abandon, her long, honeyed locks of hair twisting and
whirling about her face as she moved her head in time with the music.
Looking past her partner's shoulder, Relena froze for a moment, her eyes
widening in surprise, then narrowing to slits as she glared her displeasure.
Tapping the still dancing man on the shoulder, she whispered into his ear before
turning away.
Straining, Heero was barely able to make out that she was headed for the
DJ. The two heads bent in conference for a few minutes before the man behind
the table straightened, giving Relena a large smile and a pat on the shoulder.
Returning to her still unidentified partner, Relena took a moment to toss
a glare in Heero's direction. Flipping her hair behind her, she began to dance
in earnest when the new song began.
Hush, just stop
There's nothing you can do or say, baby
I've had enough
I'm not your property as from today, baby
You might think that I won't make it on my own
But now I'm
Stronger than yesterday
Now it's nothing but my way
My loneliness ain't killing me no more
I'm stronger
Duo grinned, talking loud enough to be heard over the blaring music.
"I think 'Jousan's trying to tell you something there, Heero," he teased,
earning him the patented 'Death Glare'.
That I ever thought that I could be, baby
I used to go with the flow
Didn't really care 'bout me
You might think that I can't take it, but you're wrong
'Cause now I'm
Stronger than yesterday
Now it's nothing but my way
My loneliness ain't killing me no more
I'm stronger
Come on, now
Oh, yeah
Here I go, on my own
I don't need nobody, better off alone
Here I go, on my own now
I don't need nobody, not anybody
Here I go, alright, here I go
Stronger than yesterday
Now it's nothing but my way
My loneliness ain't killing me no more
I'm stronger
As the song finished, Heero shoved his way through the twisting, sweating
mass of dancers. Relena belatedly noticing him right before he grabbed her
dancing partner, swinging the man around to face him.
"Hey, hey! - I'm tryin' to dance here with this vision of loveliness, if
you don't mind," the man said, holding his hands up in an effort to placate the
sudden disturbance.
"And now you're done. We need to talk."
About to pull the protesting man through the crowd, Heero Yuy found
himself face to face with an extremely ticked off Relena Peacecraft. The two
simply stared at each other, before Heero went to brush past her, ignoring her
silent protest.
At the same time that Relena went to pull Heero back, another person
interfered, causing Relena to turn. About to give the person a piece of her
mind, she stopped when her eyes met those of a grim Duo.
"Go wait at the bar for us, Relena. I'll make sure he doesn't pound the
guy into the pavement."
With that he gave her a little push in the direction of the bar, stalking
off to trail behind Heero.
Barely restraining her anger, Relena stalked off to the bar, plopping down
on a barstool next to her other companion. Silently he pushed a drink in her
direction, draining his beer as he waited for her to speak her mind.
"Thanks, Trowa. Glad to know SOMEONE around here understands the fact
that I'm human."
Signaling for another beer, Trowa favored her with a half smile, causing
her to look first to him, then down into the depths of her drink.
"You've been watering my drinks down again, haven't you?"
Trowa shrugged.
"I don't mind taking you out every now and then, and I don't mind buying
your drinks for you. You'll forgive me though if I keep in mind what happened
last time I let you get plastered."
Relena thought for a moment, tossing back the remains of her drink in the
process. Her own alcoholic fog had instantly disappeared at the sight of Heero
and Duo, leaving her in a bad mood.
"No, I guess I can't blame you. However," and here she slammed her glass
down to emphasize her point. "However, I CAN blame my brother for demanding
Heero to find me, and most certainly I can blame Heero for not telling my
brother what to do with his orders."
"Then tell him."
The simple suggestion stopped Relena in mid-thought.
"Tell him?"
Trowa nodded. "Go outside and give Heero a piece of your mind. You've
been bottling your emotions up these past few days - it's time to let them out."
The idea was so appealing, the more Relena considered, the stronger the
urge was to see the look on Heero Yuy's face when she told him off. Turning to
track Heero down, she stopped, then turned back, snaking an arm out to grab hold
of Trowa's wrist.
"You mind playing bodyguard for a bit?"
Her question prompted Trowa to giver her one of his rare smiles.
"Not at all," he replied, finishing off his drink in one long swallow,
"not at all."
***********************************
Meanwhile, Duo was having a hard time keeping Heero from hurting the poor
fool that had been dancing with Relena. His patience, never high to begin with,
was wearing dangerously low, the urge to ring both men's necks and leave them
there quite strong. About to insist that Heero just drop the questioning, the
man's next statement gained both their attentions.
"Look, all right, I know that she's really Relena Peacecraft. She calls
herself Lena when we go out though."
"What did you say?" Heero growled, pulling the man up by his collar.
Duo sighed, then forced Heero back a few steps. It wouldn't do for their
'friend' to get all mashed up over a trivial statement. He turned to frown at
the still un-named man.
"When you go out? How often have you been with Relena? And what's your
name, anyway? I'm getting tired of 'hey you'."
Taking a cautious step back, the young man in question ran a hand through
his hair, eyeing Heero warily as he spoke.
"My name's Evan, and I've only gone clubbing with her a coupla times. We
usually go out whenever she comes to visit Trowa." At the surprised looks on
the two Preventer's faces, he pressed forward.
"Yeah, you mean you didn't know? I work with Trowa in the circus -
sometimes Lena stops by, and we go out somewhere. This is her favorite place to
come. And since we're underage, Trowa buys our drinks for us...but he always
watches how much she drinks!" Evan added, sensing a blow was about to be
delivered, courtesy of Heero's fist.
Indeed, Heero was pulling back to deliver the first blow of the night when
someone grabbed his fist. Whirling, the sight of Trowa standing there upped the
anger level.
Taking a step forward, Heero suddenly found Relena in his path, a glare to
rival his own on her face.
"Move."
"No."
Surprised, Heero looked down, not expecting resistance.
"What did you say?" he asked incredulously.
Anger flared to life across Relena's features, her eyes narrowing with
displeasure.
"We are going to talk here and now, Heero, whether you like it or not.
It's about time someone brought you back down to earth."
Trowa, Evan, and Duo were promptly forgotten as Heero tried to figure out
what had Relena all riled up.
"I think I'm a pretty grounded person, Relena. I don't harbor any foolish
notions about life. I understand the fact that if I go somewhere, I need to let
people know in advance."
The implied insult that she did have foolish notions set Relena's blood to
boiling. In a move that surprised both of them, she grabbed the front of his
shirt, slamming him back against the brick wall of the building.
"Now you listen to me," she hissed, face inches away from his own. "I have
certain rights as a human being, one of which is the right to have friends that
YOU don't know about. I am also allowed to hang out with those friends whenever
I have time. And I most certainly do NOT have to report my every move and plan
as if I were an eleven year old child!"
Taken aback, Heero actually tried to hear the words she spoke, but the
anger in her voice was the only thing he could hear. Try as he might, his own
anger level rose another degree; Relena had always been able to get underneath
his skin and hit a nerve, especially now that he acted on those emotions.
"No, you listen to me!" he said, pushing back. "I understand that you
want to have something of a normal life, but you are the one that chose to
become Vice Foreign Minister, and with that job comes a lot of responsibility,
one of which letting the people that are supposed to protect you know when you
plan on doing something stupid like going to a club in the early hours of the
morning! How am I supposed to protect you if I don't know where you are?!
Damnit, it's my job to make sure you live from day to day! I'm sorry if you're
mad at me for leaving you, but that doesn't mean you have the right to cause
everyone around you unnecessary grief!"
Relena stepped back, looking as if Heero had just slapped her. Her anger
subsided, the heat that had been in her eyes fading away, leaving the once
bright and fiery eyes dull and lifeless. A fine trembling began in her limbs,
climbing to reach her face.
Taking another step back, the glow from a street light caught her face,
highlighting the unshed tears that sparkled in her eyes. Her mouth worked
soundlessly, her eyebrows knitting together in puzzlement.
Or perhaps her eyebrows were drawn together in anger, Duo mused, as he
watched Relena step forward, draw back her right fist, and let the best right
hook he'd ever seen fly straight for Heero's unsuspecting face.
Caught unawares, Heero's head snapped backward from the force of the blow,
the skin crimsoning as a bruise began to form immediately.
He looked at her in astonishment.
"What the hell was that for?!"
Relena stepped back, all of her anger and pent up frustration gone with
that question.
"Was that all I ever was to you, Heero? Another mission that hit too
close to home? Is that why you tossed me away, left me to wonder what went
wrong?" She continued, giving a hiccuping sob as her tears broke free. "Do you
know what the sad thing about this is? Even now, I would take you back, no
questions asked, because I love you and I want to be with you. I don't CARE
what the world thinks about who I date - that falls under the category of
'personal life', and if the world and the colonies can't handle the fact that I
need some privacy, then I don't want the job.
"I just want you, Heero," Relena finished, trying to stifle the sobs that
were threatening to erupt from her throat. With a cry she turned, fleeing down
the street. About to give chase, Heero paused when Trowa stopped him for the
second time that night.
"I'll get her. You go back and report to Zechs that everything's fine."
About to protest, the words died on Heero's lips as Duo spoke.
"He's right, Heero. Right now the two of you are wound so tight you're
more likely to snap than make up. Give both of you a couple of days, then talk.
Problems tend to unknot themselves if you give them time and patience."
Nodding in agreement, Heero turned and began walking away. Stopping next
to the gawking Evan, he held his hand out.
"Sorry about that. I flew off the handle, and I...apologize for it."
Evan stared, a smile breaking across his face.
"No problem man, I understand completely. If I had a girl like that, I'd
do crazy things too."
*********************************************
Trowa found Relena huddled next to his car, crouched as if she could hide
from the world. Squatting next to her, he put a hand under her chin, gently
raising her head to look at him. The tears had all ready made a mess of her
make-up, smearing eyeliner and mascara down the sides of her face and below her
eyes. Her nose was pink, her cheeks splotched from crying.
"What would you do if you were me, Trowa?" Relena asked quietly, trying to
find a way to work through her problems.
One eyebrow raised at the question, Trowa thought for a moment.
"If I were you? I'd go home and go to bed, because you are going to have
one major hang-over in the morning," he stated, a smile peeking through.
With a half sob, half laugh, Relena threw herself into his arms, enjoying
the simple luxury of having someone hold her again. Returning the hug, Trowa
missed part of her sentence.
"Hmm?"
"I said," and here she pulled back a bit, "that I'm glad I've got you for
a friend, Trowa."
He smiled at that, then pulled her to her feet.
"Come on, let's get you home."
**********************************************
By the time they arrived at the Peacecraft mansion, Relena had fallen
asleep, leaving Trowa with the options of either waking her up, or simply
carrying her into the house. Only a single light peeked through the drawn
curtains, but he knew that both Zechs and Noin had waited up.
Deciding to save Relena, at least for a few hours, from another argument,
Trowa opened the passenger side door, hoisting the sleeping woman into his arms.
He had barely passed under the portico when the front door opened, revealing a
tired Noin.
"Do you mind taking her up to her bedroom?" Noin whispered.
Shaking his head, Trowa quietly paced across the foyer, mounting the steps
that lead to the second floor. Minutes later found him trying to pry Relena's
hands from around his neck. Rolling his eyes, he simply placed her on the
waiting bed, slipping his head underneath her arms. As he covered her, a name
escaped from whatever dream world Morpheus had sent her to.
"Heero..."
Pausing, Trowa reached over to snag the worn teddy bear sitting on the
dresser, placing it in the waiting arms of the sleeping girl.
****************************************
Duo searched the grounds about his house, determined to find Heero and
make him talk. After the events of last night, Heero was going to face up to
his feelings and act on them, if Duo had to pull the strings himself.
His prey gave itself away, the sounds of muffled splashing filtering
through the trees. Clearing the edge of the forest, Duo found himself at the
pond, with Heero's back to him.
******************************
Relena stared at the figure that had materialized in front of her, unable
to believe that her imagination had not simply conjured this vision into being.
Her thoughts of the past three days haunted her, distracting her to the point of
insanity. She must stop thinking of him, she must. Moving to pass the vision
before her, her breath caught her arm brushed against his sleeve.
Stopping, Relena looked down at their touching arms, her head slowly
rising to lock gazes with his.
"You're real," she breathed.
Heero nodded, the unexpected lump in his throat constricting his
breathing. It had taken so much courage to scale the wall to her private
balcony, the memories of doing the exact same thing many times haunting him with
every handhold he found.
"Can we talk?" he asked gruffly, trying to disguise the tremor that
threatened to show in his voice.
Mute, Relena beckoned him to follow her, leading them through her bedroom
to her balcony. She moved to stand by the rail, leaning her elbows on the dark
metal, gazing at the night sky. Heero mimicked her, only the smallest of
distances separating them.
Breathing deeply, Heero noticed for the first time how the flowers in
underneath Relena's balcony lent a subtle scent to the air. It was...peaceful,
calming.
"The flowers," Heero mused aloud, "smell beautiful. I just noticed that."
Relena's eyes flickered to look at him, taking in the tense set of his
body, of the long fingers that reached out to caress a stray ivy leaf that had
crept unnoticed over the balcony railing.
Taking the simple phrase as a peace offering, Relena nodded in agreement.
"I know. That's why I planted them, sort of as a way to relax after a
stressful day."
Silence lasped between the couple once more, each lost to their own
private memories. The night began to wear on, fireflies rising from their
daytime slumber to illuminate the night sky.
"Relena."
For one moment, Relena had completely forgotten that anything was wrong
between them. Talking had never been necessary in their relationship. The
peaceful night had lulled her into feeling at ease with the world around her.
Heero's voice saying her name had bought that false security crashing down.
"...yes?"
As she turned towards him, Heero found himself unable to tear his gaze
away from her. The moon, almost full, had turned her eyes a silvery color,
giving her an inhuman appearance.
"Where did you learn to dance like that?"
The question was so unexpected Relena stuttered.
"I, wha...I...well, a bunch of people actually," she finally spat out,
going on to list her cohorts.
"Well, it all started with Duo and Hilde, then I kept tripping on Duo, so
he suggested Trowa, who had Catherine show me some other things, and then Evan
saw me dancing, and well..."
"You were having a rough day and decided to go out," Heero finished for
her.
"Yes, that's about it."
A lighter silence fell this time, especially to Relena. Milliardo had
finally calmed down and listened, and had actually taken the thought of future
trips quite well, as long as someone he 'trusted' went along. Heero was taking
this extremely well too...but then, it wasn't his concern anymore. Was it?
"Do you think I could go along next time?"
Relena's mouth almost fell open. Never in a million years had she
expected Heero to ask that question. Turning to look at him, she tried to catch
his eyes, but he refused to look at her, instead gazing at the stars.
"You're welcome to go with us anytime, Heero," she finally settled on,
still amazed at his request.
Relena glanced upwards in time to see a star streaking across the velvet
sky.
"Heero, look," she breathed, "a shooting star. Quick, make a wish."
Puzzled, Heero looked up as well, then frowned in concentration. Seconds
passed before he finally turned to look at the woman beside him.
"Did you wish?"
Relena nodded absently, staring into the night.
"Yes, I did. I have so many wishes though...I'm always afraid that I'll
wish for the wrong thing."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, should I wish for my stereotypical thing? Ask for a world peace
that will last? Should I wish for my friends to be healthy and happy and always
stay close? Or should I wish for myself? Except then I don't know what I
should wish for...it's complicated."
"How so?"
"I'm not sure what I want for myself. I mean, I want a family and friends
and a loved one, but then I have childish wishes too."
"Like?"
"Like having the other Ministers and diplomats function without me holding
their collective hands. Like going to college, or having a private life where I
am simply Relena Darlain," she cried vehemently, clenching the balcony railing.
Heero moved to cover her hands, gently prying them off. The desire in her
voice for all of those things moved him to envelope her in a tight embrace,
cradling her head with one gentle hand.
"Then do it, do all those things. Tell your aides and the other Ministers
that you're taking a sabbitical. If they push, tell them it's to better
understand the way the human race thinks. I'm sure you'll come up with some
flowery speech that will have them donating money to your cause," smiling down
at her, Heero tweaked her nose.
Relena couldn't help the smile that broke out.
"There it is. I knew it was hiding in there somewhere."
Relena shook her head, smiling even more at his teasing expression.
"Duo didn't get you drunk and put you up to this?"
Heero shook his head.
"No, he just knocked some sense into me."
"Really?"
"I finally broke down and actually listened to his ramblings.
Surprisingly, he has good points if you can stand the chatter."
"Ah."
Heero began to slowly play with individual strands of Relena's hair,
twisting and twining the honeyed locks about his fingers.
"Relena, I...well, I've been thinking about what I said several weeks ago.
I've always said to act on your emotions, and that's exactly what I did. That
isn't an excuse though," he interjected. "I was so AFRAID that what Zechs said
was true that I to push you away so that you could discover...so that I could
discover...if losing you would truly kill me.
"It did," Heero finished softly, bowing his head to rest against the crown
of Relena's head.
"You've always been in my life, so of course it killed me when you pushed
me away. Even when I couldn't see you, I FELT that you were there supporting
me. Then my support fell away, and I was so afraid that I'd never have that
feeling again," Relena sobbed, crushing the material of his shirt in a tight
fist.
"I...ah, Relena, no tears, please. The princesses are never supposed to
cry. Especially if they have a happy ending," Heero soothed, rubbing light
circles across her back.
Relena snuffled a bit, looking up at Heero with shimmering blue eyes.
"Happy ending? Where's the happy ending at?"
"That's what I came to talk about. I've been thinking about that, and
about our relationship. We just jumped into it. We knew each other before
that, but we didn't really KNOW each other. I've been thinking that perhaps we
should take the time to get to know each other better. Then perhaps give 'us'
another chance?"
Relena thought for a moment, nodding slowly in agreement.
"Yes, I think that would be a good idea."
Pulling back, she stuck out her hand.
"Hi, I'm Relena Darlian. Nice to meet you."
Heero smiled, the corner of his eyes crinkling with the motion. Sticking
out his hand, he firmly grasped hers, holding it tight as he spoke.
"Heero Yuy. It's a pleasure."