Love’s Choice 3

Katana Force

The next morning found everyone gathered in the breakfast room. The servants had prepared a buffet style breakfast that filled the whole room with pleasant aromas, but those delicate scents were lost on the group.

With the guys at one end of the table and the girls at the other, Heero and Relena ended up sitting in the middle. No one talked. They avoided eye contact with each other.

Relena, not able to take anymore, spoke up. "Um, people, I believe that I failed to mention that Lady Une said to keep you here until you all at least get along." The guys moaned.

Last night had not gone well. Relena had tired to lighten the mood around the campfire, but the guys refused to cooperate. So the night became a rather strenuous event leading to a rather strenuous morning.

Relena gave a grim smile. ‘I really am going to dread lunch.’

An hour after lunch, the guys had wordlessly gathered in Duo’s room. Duo flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Guys, if you haven’t noticed, things aren’t going so well."

"When did you decide to become so perceptive?" Wufei mocked.

"Wu-man, I have more important things to deal with than you and your insults."

"Maxwell, I am going to kick your butt."

Trowa reached out and put a restraining hand on the raging Chinese. "Wufei, we are all tense and on the edge. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you when you need to keep it cool."

Wufei’s shoulders sagged and he resumed his seat.

Heero watched this all from the corner in silent amusement.

Milliardo took charge. "Duo and Trowa are right. We need to do something here, but what?"

Silence fell as the pilots thought of their options. It was a few minutes before Duo looked over at Heero.

"Heero, why is that you aren’t saying or doing anything?"

Heero smiled and took out his gun, watching their eyes grow wide.

"But how did you...." Duo’s voice faded away.

Examining the black instrument of death, Heero smirked. "I am here to make sure you guys don’t try anything stupid."

Milliardo stood up straight and confronted his longtime enemy. "Heero, what do you mean by that? What exactly is your position in all this?"

"Relena asked me to keep an eye on all of you. She thought I would make a good spy for her."

Wufei rose out of his seat, eyes blazing. "So it’s you that is partially to blame for this injustice!"

"No, I had nothing to do with it. I was a victim as much as you were. However, I was given a way out considering there is nothing going on between Relena and myself."

Duo’s eyes grew wide. "That’s not fair!"

Quatre turned from the window to face the group. "It doesn’t matter how we got here or who’s involved! We have got five very beautiful, but very mad girls sitting on the dock out there waiting for us to come to a decision."

Trowa looked over at the blond man. "What decision is that, Quatre?"

"Are we going to prove we love them for who they are, or are we going to become mild friends with them?"

Again, they fell silent until someone knocked on the door. Heero, being the closest, opened it to reveal a distraught Relena.

"Hey, Jousan! What’s wrong?"

Relena walked in and sat in the chair Trowa offered. "I came to see how you guys were doing."

Milliardo came to kneel in front of his sister. "Relena, we are stuck. We don’t know what to do."

"Well, I heard the question Quatre asked of all of you. Do you have an answer?" Relena watched as the others looked straight at her.

"I chose to do my best to win Lucrezia Noin’s heart."

"I love Hilde and I will prove it to her."

"I don’t want to loose Dorothy."
"Midii and I belong together."

All eyes turned to a hesitant Wufei. ‘Enough of this, I won’t be weak before them!’ "I’m going to marry that woman."

"Well, there you go. Now all you have to do is show them your hearts."

" ‘Show them out hearts’, Jousan?"

"Yeah, open yourselves up and let them in."

Some eyes grew wide with puzzlement. Relena let out a disgusted sound. "Let me put it in words you will ALL understand. Show them your inner squishy."

The guys sweatdropped while Duo spoke what was on their minds. "Oh, boy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As lunch had come and gone, the guys had all gathered in Duo’s room, and the girls were sitting on the dock.

Relena watched the girls faces and decided to see what the guys were up too. The others barely acknowledge her exit.

Sally was the first to speak. "Guys, are we sure we did the right thing?"

"Yeah, I’m sure we DID do the right thing. The question is, will it work?"

"Miss Relena seems to think so, Noin."

"I know, Dorothy, but the waiting is killing me. I want him NOW."

The girls sighed and stared off into the distance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later, tension was still felt throughout the entire household. Claiming a pounding headache, Relena excused herself from lunch and headed to her room. Throwing herself on the bed, she shut her eyes for a good nap, but a knock at the door stopped her.

"Come in." The door opened and shut, but no other noise was heard.

Relena opened her eyes and looked over to see Wufei standing in front of her door. "Wufei, please, sit down. What can I do for you?" For the first time in her life, Relena saw that Wufei was extremely nervous.

Silently, Wufei took his seat. ‘I will not be weak. I will get through this.’ "You said that if we ever had any questions, we could come to you." Relena nodded her head. "I need to know what makes that woman tick."

Relena, guessing he meant Sally, sat back and thought of what to say. "Wufei, I think you already know the answer to that question."

"It’s hopeless! I can’t even get near her without-" Wufei shut his mouth before the truth came out, but Relena knew what he was speaking of.

"Wufei, just tell her how you feel. Help her understand. Teach her." Wufei’s eyes lit up at the advice. Getting out of his seat, he gave a brief nod to Relena and almost made it out the door, but Relena’s voice stopped him.

"Wufei, I think a nice dinner by a fire in the woods would be a nice touch." Wufei snorted and shut the door, but ideas where beginning to form.

Relena smiled. By letting Wufei think that he was teaching, or taking the higher position, Sally about him and what he felt, putting her in a lower position, it would effectively let them communicate without any arguments. Hopefully.

Sighing, Relena again laid down to catch a nap, but again a knock was heard. "This can’t be happening." Talking louder. "Come in."

Relena watched as Quatre entered the room. "Hello, Relena. I hope I am not disturbing you."

"No, Quatre. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I saw Wufei come out of here so I thought it would be okay if we talked."

"Sure. What would you like to talk about?" Quatre sighed and took the empty chair next to her bed. Relena sat up and dangled her feet over the edge of her bed, facing Quatre.

"Well, it’s about Dorothy. I really do love her, Relena, but...." Quatre sighed again and buried his face in his hands. It disturbed Relena to see her good friend like this, but he had brought it upon himself. "I-I don’t know, I don’t know what is holding me back."

"Perhaps you never really forgave her for what she did to you?"

Quatre raised his head and studied Relena. "It’s hard to believe, but I think you’re right. What should I do?"

"Talk to her. Find out how she feels. Tell her how you feel. Open yourself to her."

"But I am afraid I will get hurt."

"Yes, you might, but ask yourself this, ‘Is she worth it?’" Relena watched Quatre ponder her words.

"You’re right. Thank you, Relena."

"Hey, Quatre, I hear the moonlight is really nice down at the pier." Smiling, Quatre thanked her again and left.

"Okay, this time I get a nap." Five minutes later, a knock sounded.

"Come in." Relena turned her head to see Trowa enter.

"Hello, Trowa, what can I do for you?"

"Quatre said you gave him some good advice."

"Oh, well, please, have a seat." Relena indicated to the chair Quatre had vacated as she again sat on the edge of her bed. "What’s troubling you?"

"I guess it’s Midii." Relena nodded. Trowa’s situation was unique with Midii supposedly being dead. Relena was actually who brought the two together at a ball last year.

"Well, what’s wrong?"

"I lost her once, and with that loss came a lot of pain. I don’t think I could go through that again."

"Well, why don’t you talk to her about it. Tell her how you feel. You know she won’t hurt you. She’ll only try to understand."

"Thanks."

"Your welcome. Oh, Trowa!" Trowa turned to face Relena.

"Yes?"

"It’s a lot of fun to walk in the sand with the moon shinning above." Relena sighed as Trowa walked out and shut the door. ‘I hope those two work it out.’ "Okay, now I can get some sleep." Again there was a knock. Relena growled and sat up. ‘Whoever is on the other side of that door wants to die.’ Out loud she said, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal a hesitant Duo.

"Duo, please, come in and sit."

"Thanks, Jousan." Doing as he was told, he plopped down and put his bare feet on her bed.

"What can I do for you?"

"Well, I’ve watched the others come out of here, so I thought now would be a good time."

"A good time for what?"

Duo put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. "To ask you how I should ask Hilde to marry me."

Relena sputtered. "Marry you?"

Duo laughed. "Yeah, isn’t that what people do when their in love?"

"Yeah, but, are you sure?"

"Of course I’m sure. I’ve never been so sure about something in all my life." Duo looked back down at Relena. "So, how do I ask her?"

"Well, Wufei and Sally are going on a dinner picnic in the woods. Trowa and Midii are going for a walk on the beach. Quatre and Dorothy will be on the pier. So, what does that leave you two?" They sat in silence for a time.

"I got it!" Duo jumped up and ran out the door, leaving it wide open. "Thanks, Jousan!"

Relena laughed. "You’re welcome, Duo."

A shadow passed in front of her door, then stopped.

"Relena?"

"Come in, Milliardo."

"What was Duo so excited about?" Milliardo settled into the vacant chair and studied his sister.

"He’s got something big planned. Said he needed my help with an idea, but he apparently figured it out for himself."

"Hm, you look a little annoyed. Any reason in particular?"

Relena laughed. "Yeah, I’ve been trying to get a nap for the past hour, but every single one of you guys has come in here looking for advice."

"I’ll leave if you want me too."

"No, stay. I don’t mind your company."

"Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, ask anything you wish."

Relena watched her brother’s face turn serious. "Has Noin said anything to you about me? About us?"

"Yes, why?"

Milliardo’s faced brightened. "What did she say?"

Relena sat back and wondered how to word this without betraying Noin’s trust. "Why don’t you ask her for yourself? I couldn’t begin to tell you anything."

"That bad, huh?"

"No, I believe you might find yourself happy in the end."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Milliardo got up and gave his sister a hug before leaving. He stopped at the door and turned to face her. "Where do you think would be a nice romantic place to go?"

Smiling, Relena thought to herself. ‘What place is left? Where could they go? I got it!’

"Brother, there is a path behind the house, take it for a mile, then you will come to a fork. Take the right one. It will lead you onto a bluff over looking the ocean."

"Thanks, for everything." Milliardo turned and shut the door behind him.

Relena attempted to get some sleep once more, but a few minutes later, she felt a pair of eyes on her. Without opening her eyes to identify the source, she knew who it was. "What is it, Heero?"

"Why is it that I can’t help but feel that those words of wisdom were partially directed at me?" Relena rolled onto her side and watch Heero take ‘the chair’. "Do you have a guilty conscience?"

"Possibly." Relena smiled and laid on her back, picking out patterns in the ceiling.

"Do you think the guys will be able to complete their ‘missions’?"

"I think so, but will the girls listen?"

Relena laughed. "Heero, you have no idea. Those girls would jump in bed with those guys right now, if they could."

"Then why don’t they?"

"Because they want something more than that. They want commitment. They want true love, not just passion."

The two sat in pained silence for a time, until Heero got up and walked to the window. "You do realize that we have the house to ourselves tonight?"

"Yeah."

"So what will it be? ‘Gladiator’ or ‘Red Planet’?"

"I think ‘Red Planet’."

Heero nodded in agreement. A scream was heard. Relena rushed to the window where Heero stood and smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, I am going to kill you guys!" The now sopping wet Noin and Dorothy screamed.

Duo, Milliardo, and Quatre laughed at the sight before them. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Before the girls could answer, the guys yelled and spun around to see who their attackers where. They found Sally, Hilde, and Midii smiling wickedly from behind fully loaded super soakers.

Quatre and Milliardo surrendered their guns, and Hilde was about to order Duo to stand down when Trowa and Wufei got the three girls from behind.

They turned to chase their attackers while Milliardo and Noin wrestled over the water gun.

Duo was tickling Hilde until she gave hers up, and Quatre was chasing after Dorothy with the same intent. They all eventually ended up in the ocean, splashing and dunking each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Relena turned and smiled at Heero. "Yup, I think they’ll all work it out in time." Relena stepped back and returned to her bed.

"I hope they do." Heero followed and sat back down in the chair.

"Why’s that?"

"Duo seems to love Hilde a lot more than he wants to admit. He’s been driving me up the side of my Gundam with his chatter."

"At least you have only one person bugging you. I’ve had five love sick girls bugging me."

The two friends continued their conversation of who was worse to be around. Both becoming more and more relaxed.

This was a pattern they had picked up over the years. Although some tension was still felt, the respect they had for each other had grown, but the memory of that one night still lingered on their minds.

Often, Relena would bounce her ideas for the Earth Sphere off Heero, and Heero would counter her, training her to stand up to the toughest opposition. Eventually, they became friends. Nothing more; nothing less.

"Hey, ‘Jousan!" Duo appeared in Relena’s doorway, soaked.

"What do you want you wet rat?"

Duo gave her a big grin before giving Heero a quick hello. "Jousan, can you make a snack for me and Hilde to enjoy tonight?"

"Yeah, what do you want?"

"Um, sparkling wine, egg salad sandwiches, something sweet, a salad perhaps, and a candle." Relena’s eyes grew wide. "Thanks, Jousan!" Heero suppressed a smile as Duo left.

"Can you believe that?!? A little snack he says!"

"You got yourself into this."

"Shut up."

A tall form filled the doorway. "Relena?"

"Yes, Trowa?"

"Would you put together a small snack for Midii and I to take with us tonight?"

"Sure, what do you want?"

"Wine, egg salad sandwichs, Caesar salad, some chocolate, and a candle. If you don’t mind, that is."

Relena sighed. "No, Trowa, I’ll take care of it."

"Thanks." Trowa glanced at Heero and walked out.

"I give up, Heero."

Another form appeared at her door. "Miss. Relena?"

"Yes, Quatre?"

"Can I ask you a small favor?" Relena studied the blond man and nodded. "Can you fix a small snack for Dorothy and me?"

"How small?"

"Well, sparkling grape juice, egg salad sandwichs, a green salad, something delightfully sweet, and a candle." Relena was about to say no, but Quatre’s pleading eyes held her back.

"Okay, I’ll take care of it."

"Thanks! I owe you one!" Quatre turned and walked away.

"There’s a conspiracy going on, Heero, and I intend to get to the bottom of it!"

Heero just sat a gave a faint smile.

"Relena?"

Relena let out a sigh. "What is it, Milliardo?"

"I was wondering if you could prepare a small snack for Noin and me?"

"Let me guess, you want wine, a green salad, egg salad sandwiches, something sweet, and a candle?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Never mind, I’ll take care of it."

"Thanks!" With a glance at Heero, Milliardo disappeared.

Relena glanced over to find Heero sitting straight up. A slightly innocent look was resting on his tan features. "I hate you."

Heero’s eyes grew wide as he seemed to ask "Who? Me?".

"Peacecraft." Relena looked up to see Wufei standing in her doorway.

"Yes, Wufei, I’ll take care of it."

Wufei looked mildly surprised. "But, how did-"

"Don’t you dare ask." Wufei glanced from the fuming Relena to the passive Heero. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned and left.

Relena fell backwards on her bed and stared at Heero. "You do realize that you are going shopping with me?"

Heero opened his mouth in protest, but Relena’s icy glare silenced him. ‘Wow, she’s getting that glare down good.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Relena plopped down on a kitchen chair and surveyed her handiwork. Five picnic baskets stood at the ready on the counter. Each one had a note on it, identifying who’s was who’s. Glancing at the clock, Relena realized that it was almost time for the guys to swing by and get there stuff.

"Wow! Jousan! You did a great job! Which one’s mine?" Relena looked up to see the five guys enter.

"Look for the one with your name on it." Duo and Quatre rushed forward and grabbed theirs. They both dropped a kiss on Relena’s cheek before running out. Trowa and Wufei took their respective baskets, nodded to Relena and followed the other two out.

"Relena, I am not to happy about you and Heero being home alone." Both Peacecrafts eyed each other.

"Why’s that? You know I will be protected. He can’t hurt me."

"Yes, he can."

"No, you aren’t listening. He has the ability to kill me, but he won’t."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

Relena smiled. "Because, if he does, you’ll kill him."

Milliardo smiled and shook his head. "All right, you’ve got me convinced."

"Good, now why don’t you and Noin get going?"

Relena laughed as her brother threw her a mock salute. "Yes, ma’am!

Heero walked in a few minutes later. "What’s for dinner?"

Making a disgusted sound, Relena opened up the frigerator and threw some leftovers in front of Heero. "You get the same thing everyone else is getting." Turning, Relena started to walk out of the kitchen, but a strong arm caught her around her waist.

Relena didn’t dare move. There were to many feelings and emotions running through her for her to comprehend what she was doing. ‘Please, don’t.’

Heero felt Relena tense against his arm. He was also having trouble with his emotions, but he suppressed them. ‘This is more important.’

Heero turned Relena to face him. "Look, you and I need to talk. There is too much that has been left unsaid between us." He watched as Relena’s face went through a change of emotions.

"All right, let’s talk."

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I lay any claim, to Gundam Wing or anything pertaining to it.