I do not own Gundam Wing.  This fan fiction has no commercial value and I am not making any kind of profit or income off of this.  

Chapter 7

“All right, now, pretend I’m Relena, Heero, and ask me out on a date,” Dorothy said, squaring her shoulders to face the sullen young man. He glared at her from across the room. “Ah, come on, from what Hilde told me, you need the practice,” she said with amusement dancing in her light blue eyes.

Heero crossed his arms, and just continued to glare. “I don’t want to take Relena on a date,” he said flatly.

“Well, let me explain something to you – women do not marry men without dating them first, unless it’s an arranged marriage, which this is not. So, you’re going to have to take her out on not one date, but several dates. And she’s got to have a good time and see that you care for her before she’ll even think about marrying you,” Dorothy said firmly. “And that came directly from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.”

“Can’t we just get her drunk and send her off to Las Vegas with Captain Romance over here? It would save us all a lot of time and heartbreak, I think,” Duo suggested from the corner of the room.

Heero turned his infamous glare of death upon the former Deathscythe pilot, but Duo wasn’t fazed in the slightest. He just waited for Heero to turn back to Dorothy and stuck his tongue out at his friend.

“That might not be a bad idea,” Quatre agreed, then paled under the withering glance his wife leveled in his direction.

“It may work, but I thought that Heero actually cared for her, or am I missing something?” Dorothy asked her husband, confusion showing on her face for a moment.

“He does!” Duo and Quatre answered quickly in unison, while Heero stayed silent. Dorothy glared at the former Zero pilot.

“Then why doesn’t he say so?” Dorothy challenged, her eyes narrowing as she stared into his angry blue orbs.

Quatre and Duo looked at their friend expectantly. Heero’s expression didn’t change.

"Of course I care for her," he hissed through clenched teeth.

Dorothy gave him the Pepto-Bismol smile. "You're going to have to work on your delivery. Women like to hear those things, and they don't want it to sound like their man is being forced to walk on hot coals while he's saying it. So, let's try this again. Say, 'I love you, Relena'."

Quatre and Duo cowered in the corner as Dorothy pressed her luck with a caged animal. Heero clenched his jaw and pressed his lips into a thin line, then abruptly spun on his heel and walked toward the door.

"Heero, buddy, where ya goin?" Duo called out, running after his friend.

"A liquor store. We're going to try your idea, Duo," Heero said flatly, without missing a step or turning around.

The former Deathscythe pilot stopped and looked wide-eyed over at Quatre, "Oh, shit! That was supposed to be a joke!"

Heero stood outside of Quatre's mansion and glanced at his watch. A few seconds later, Duo came barreling out of the house with an expression of pure panic on his face. "Heero, you..you…can't…" he panted, gasping for air as much from exertion as alarm.

Heero just smirked. "I'm not really going to get her drunk and elope to Las Vegas, Duo. It was a joke."

Duo just blinked, dumbfounded. "You should warn me when you do these kinds of things, Heero. One of these days I might die of heart failure from these little surprises of yours."

Heero shrugged and started walking to his car.

"So what’s our plan?" Duo asked, falling in step with him as they made their way down the long driveway.

"I'm going to ask her to dinner. Do you think she'll say yes?" Heero said in his usual monotone.

Duo blanched, he remembered the call he got from Hilde but chose not to say anything. "Um, I don't know. You got me."

"Hn."

* * * * * *

There was a sound like humming being emitted from her room as Heero approached the door at the end of the hallway. He ran over his mission checklist: flowers - check, candy - check, ring just in case - check. He smirked and knocked on the door.

"Just a minute!" A feminine voice floated out into the hallway.

"Irritating," he thought, "how she always sounds so happy."

Relena opened the door and almost fell over from shock. There, in the hallway, was Heero - the very same Heero she had always known and loved - holding a bouquet of red roses and a small box of chocolates.

"Here," he said unceremoniously shoving the gifts toward her. Speechless, she took them in her arms, ignoring his gruff manner.

"Thank you," she breathed softly, her heart pounding in her chest. He wouldn't meet her gaze, keeping the beautiful blue eyes that she could always read so well focused on the floor. "Was there something else?"

"Yes. I thought you might like to go to dinner with me." He said brusquely.

She appeared thoughtful for a moment. The extended silence caused him to look up and meet her eyes. "Tonight?" She asked him, disappointment settling in her chest.

"Yes," he answered with a touch of annoyance.

"I can't, tonight," she said softly and looked down at the gifts she held in her arms. She was avoiding his gaze, and tried to mask it by smelling the roses he had just given her.

He frowned. "Why not?"

"I have plans already," she said vaguely, inhaling deeply at the flowers she held up to her nose.

"With whom?" He asked, blinking in irritation at the brush-off he was receiving. He didn’t intend to take no for an answer so easily.

"With Duo and Hilde…"

"Fine, they can come along," Heero said, cutting her off rudely, and starting to leave.

"and a friend of Hilde's," she practically whispered.

Heero stopped in his tracks. "Who?" He asked, turning back around to face her.

"Just a friend of hers that I've never met," she said quietly, her hands fidgeting around the bouquet and gift box she held nestled against her chest, against her heart.

"Gender of said friend?" He inquired while trying to quash the feeling of anger that bubbled up into his chest.

"Male," she said staring at the floor.

"You have a date," he said darkly.

"Yes," she answered, reluctantly meeting his gaze.

His eyes narrowed at her. "You're not going."

"Excuse me?" Relena blinked, unable to believe what she just heard.

"You're not going," he repeated in the same monotone, but he was somewhat pleased with himself for thinking quickly in order to ‘lay down the law’. He smirked and waited for her acquiescence.

"And since when do you get to make my decisions for me?" Her voice rose in indignation at the arrogant look displayed on his face.

"Since I became your bodyguard for the evenings. I have to scope out the restaurant beforehand and conduct a thorough background check complete with all necessary blood work before the man is even allowed in the same building with you," he explained. His voice was still calm, but he was surprised she questioned his authority. “This is exactly the problem I intend to fix when she is my wife,” he thought with vexation.

"Do you have to check him for laser pointers, too?" She shouted at the stubborn man in front of her.

He glared at her, recognizing the intended insult. "You're not going, and that's final," he roared, at last raising his voice to match his own temper.

"We'll see about that!" She yelled and shoved the gifts that she had been sure just moments before she would cherish back at him and slammed the door.

Heero cursed and threw the flowers on the floor outside her room, and hurled the box of chocolates against the opposite wall. "Dammit Yuy, why do you always have to screw this up?" He growled and ran both hands through his unruly mane.

He whirled around when he heard someone clear his or her throat - and found himself face to face with Noin. "I think I can help you," she said with a kind smile, and just a hint of amusement in her voice and glinting in her eyes.

"I just happen to be an expert on stubborn members of the Peacecraft family."