~*~

Relena’s eyes widened.

Heero’s jaw slackened.

Hilde stared at Duo and Duo’s mouth fell open.

From the corner of her eyes, Relena saw Heero’s muscles bunch up together, very much like Wufei’s body language whenever he wants to knock Duo to another state, but before he could take a step forward she blocked him while Hilde went in front of Duo.

"Duo, it isn’t any of your concern if Heero and I sleep together."

That nearly made Heero’s jaw fall. He even forgot to kill Duo at the moment.

"Of course, it isn’t, is it Honey?" Hilde agreed, her voice edged sharply, almost like a knife.

"Heh, heh, heh… Of course not… Uhm… I was just joking." He cleared his throat nervously. "You know ‘Hah- hah- hah’…?" Duo couldn’t believe he said that! But the thing was… Heero was barely clothed and Relena was just in her… Heck! What’s a man to think?!

Heero and Relena saw Hilde smile at them and, at the same time, elbow Duo.

Duo cringed. He was going to get it from her later. Gads!

Slowly, Heero’s anger diminished. Hilde looked like someone who wouldn’t let Duo get away with anything- good!

Relena cheerfully grinned at Hilde, trying to forget what just happened. "I’m so glad you guys were able to make it. Why didn’t you call? We could have picked you up from your hotel."

"Oh, Duo didn’t want to disturb you guys. He also had fun dismantling some of the devices back there… took him nearly two hours though."

"No worries! I have them back on line!" Duo quipped from behind Hilde before Heero could glare at him.

"You mean to tell me you two have been out there since…!" Surprise showed in her blue green eyes then she shook her head. Duo and Hilde are… unique, especially if they could stand dismantling a mechanism for hours! "Well, how about we get you settled in the guest rooms?"

"Rooms? You mean to tell me that you’re gonna separate me and my sweetheart?!" Duo’s mocked hurt voice, coupled with his comical painful face, was enough to liven the mood.

Relena laughed gaily. It’s so wonderful to have them around! "Do you need help with the bags?" Relena offered as she glanced at the two carry on bags.

"No thanks, Relena. Duo’s got it." Hilde turned to Duo and smiled at him. "Don’t you, hun?"

Heero’s eyebrow shot up just as Relena’s grin widened.

Duo lovingly smiled at Hilde. "Anything for you, luv." He turned and instantly grabbed the two suitcases and five bags that lay on the ground. "Where to, former Queen of the world?"

"Just follow me." Relena turned and quickly smiled at Heero. "Don’t start… I don’t want any fighting." Relena whispered just for his ears to hear.

Heero didn’t answer, still a bit startled with what Relena had ‘hinted’ upon. Half of his brain was already picturing Relena snug in bed while the other half checked Duo and Hilde… He never truly saw them in action together, except once… He never really knew how Hilde felt about Duo but he had seen Duo’s feelings for Hilde. How those two got together? Well, whoever was watching a certain channel saw- and he was one of them.

"Duo, Hilde, Heero and I are going to the park later on today. Do you want to go with us?" Relena’s voice cut through his musings.

"Sure! I love parks!" Hilde cried out enthusiastically.

"Anywhere my Hilde goes, I go." Duo promptly answered.

Heero nearly gawked at Duo. It was corny but… dare he say it? Sweet… He caught sight of ‘the look’ that Hilde sent Duo and… was it envy when you want that same look directed to you so badly?

"I hope you’ll like this room, Hilde. Duo, yours is the one right behind us." Relena motioned to the other white door. She figured that she should put those two as near to each other’s bedroom as possible.

"Perfect!" Hilde gushed as she saw the beautiful room. It was the kind of room girls dreams were made of- plush sky blue carpeting with a canopy bed and classical white dressers strategically placed around the area. It was pure femininity.

"Alright with me!" Duo said at the same time. Relena must have hired a male interior designer, too, since his bedroom had a very subtle masculine trace. Dark mahogany bureaus along with a sturdy looking king bed with navy blue sheets. The room was wonderful, but his attention was too focused on his lovely wife. He’s not gonna be in the same room with his Hilde, but at least he’ll be near enough.

"I’ll arrange my stuff inside and then help make breakfast." Hilde announced as she pushed her suitcase inside.

"Oh, that’s all right." Relena shook her head. "I can do it myself."

Heero couldn’t believe his ears as he stared at Relena. ‘She? Do it herself?’ Heero thought, incredulously. Then again… he had thought that she always had servants around her, now he knows that she gives them Fridays to Sundays off… Hmmm… Time to observe how the real Relena operates…

"Nah, it’s okay, Relena. I want to." She turned to face a grinning Duo and gave him a knowing smile. "Don’t start the show without me."

"Of course not. I would never do it without you." Duo answered before he stepped in front of her and then quickly, but thoroughly, kissed Hilde right on the lips.

Relena looked away but Heero curiously observed the act. He could never really imagine why two people do such an unhygienic act. What could it accomplish?

"See yah in a bit, doll." Duo smiled down at Hilde’s face then forced his feet to take his aroused body into his room while his heart stayed with the woman he loved.

Hilde watched until his door closed then, with a funny smile directed towards Heero and Relena, she walked into her own room and finally closed the door.

"What was that about?" The question left his lips before he could stop it.

Relena sighed, a bit happy, a bit sad. "Love." She faced the stairs and started to walk to the kitchen while Heero followed right behind her. Duo and Hilde were her friends, but she couldn’t help but feel jealous right now. How horrid of her, but… who wouldn’t envy those two?

"Love isn’t real. It’s an illusion people make themselves believe. It is a means to an end." The words weren’t really his, but it became a part of his reasoning, his thoughts, ever since he could remember…

The words stopped Relena and she instantly turned to face him. Heero nearly plowed against her but he stopped in time and saw a pained look in her eyes.

"If you believe what you just told me, then… you… will never be able to feel the best emotion of all."

"Why, Relena?" Heero met her gaze. "Have you ever been in love? Was it that good?" He saw her eyes widen and then she looked down.

‘Yes… I’ve been…’ Unable to meet his eyes, lest he saw something, she answered. "Maybe." She turned away from him and continued towards the kitchen.

For a moment, Heero didn’t move. Maybe, she said… Why, then, does he have this twisting feeling at the pit of his stomach? He followed her. Emotions… such a waste of energy, and yet here he was, trying to understand. "Relena… tell me."

She knew… somehow, she knew that he was going to ask… How could she describe it? "Heero, when you fall in love, you’re hit with a multitude of feelings… There may be satisfaction, excitement, wild happiness, and eagerness, but there could also be anger, frustration, discontent, hesitancy, loneliness, jealousy, envy and more. Sometimes, it occurs all at once… sometimes, one at a time."

"So, it isn’t always happiness… It doesn’t give total satisfaction, but people still want it." Strange world… strange people.

Relena shook her head… He could be so innocently dumb for someone who was so smart. "Heero, it is being in love that they want. To feel all those things, I suppose… But sometimes, people don’t look for it. It just finds them. People adapts to these feelings just as they adapt to their surroundings, to the situation they’re facing, and their mates…"

"And what if they don’t adapt to the situation or their mates?" Heero prodded on. Their topic of conversation finally garnered his interest.

"Then they will be unhappy." Relena shrugged. ‘As I was before…’ She didn’t speak any more, and Heero, feeling her want for silence, kept silent… She purposely ignored him while she made scrambled eggs and bacon over the stove, and focused on Duo’s large appetite instead.

"Heeeeey! I smell bacon!" Duo excitedly ran into the kitchen. He was met with both a glare and a warm, friendly smile. Ignoring the glare, he walked to Relena and gave her a hug while she added a new batch of bacon into the pan.

"Oh! Duo!" Relena laughed as she hugged him back.

"I wasn’t able to give you my hello hug, gurl. So, how’s everything been?" Duo slyly looked at Heero from under his bangs and he saw his friend seethe. Score One!!!

"Doing fine as ever. Thanks. Heero’s been taking quite good care of me."

"Relena, sorry it took me so long." Hilde suddenly appeared from the other side of the kitchen. Duo instantly let go of Relena and went beside Hilde to wrap a possessive arm around her waist. "How can I help?"

"Keep your man away from the food. That’ll be all the help I’ll need." Relena teasingly pouted at Duo.

Hilde laughed. "Oh come on. You could have asked Heero to do that for you."

"What the-! Are you on my side or what? You want me to die?!" Duo protested as he saw Heero switch from ‘get away from her’ to a more dangerous glare.

Hilde and Relena just laughed.

"I’m always on your side. But you sit down while I help Relena over there." Hilde pushed Duo to the other side of the table, farthest from Heero, then walked to the stove. "Do you have any extra rice or something?"

Hilde found what she needed with Relena’s instructions and, in no time at all, a steaming plate of fried rice, bacon, and eggs sat in the middle of the table while Heero laid out the plates and Duo followed with the other kitchenwares. With a starting yell from Duo, the four started digging in.

"I think we picked a bad time." Heero glared at a couple on the grass, kissing as if there’s no tomorrow… That’s the sixth couple he had seen doing that so far, and he’s getting angrier by the minute.

"No. We picked a perfect time." Relena smiled at an old couple, holding hands. She longed for that scene but it will never be. With a sigh, she looked at him. "I want you to observe everyone around you. Look at what they are doing… their facial expressions… Just observe. It’s the best way to learn." She nodded to another couple who walked by them. "And Heero,"

Heero wondered why that smile made his heart beat questionably. He grunted his answer.

"Try not to look at it logically."

He felt his hands grow cold when Relena turned and walked away from him, leaving him. "Relena, where are you going?"

She turned her head to glance at him from over her shoulder and smiled encouragingly. "I’m going to sit on that bench. Don’t worry about me, I won’t be too far away."

He made sure that she reached the bench safely, that she was all by herself before he turned and started looking at the couples all around him, at the child playing with a balloon… at the seemingly brothers and sisters, playing tag. What was he looking for? Why was his heart pounding? Why was he sweating?

Relena watched him with a slight smile, legs crossed, elbows upon her leg, and chin cupped in her hands. For the first time, she was able to look at him, to observe him… How could she have missed such telltale signs of emotions on him? Probably because she used to only look at people’s faces for their reactions… Ah well, people learn… What had happened to him these past few years? Ten years is such a long time…

‘Oh Heero…’ She shook her head lightly. He thinks he doesn’t have any emotions… how wrong of him… But even so… ‘I love you just the way you are.’ She thought of what Wufei had told her about him, once… What Heero mentioned when they were fighting each other over the ocean so long ago... It makes a person wonder, and open one’s eyes to a different man-

A tug at her long skirt and a gurgle of giggles made Relena look down to a cherubim face.

Relena’s smile widened. "Hi there, darling."

"Kelsie! You disturbed the lady."

Relena looked up and saw the ‘mother’ reach her side to scoop ‘Kelsie’ from the grass. "Oh no… It’s all right."

"I’m sorry about that." The mother gave an apologetic smile. "I was looking after the other kids." She pointed to the three other children playing tag at the other side of the park.

Relena laughed, drawing Heero’s attention. "Really, it’s fine." She looked at the baby. "How old is she?"

"Sixteen months."

Relena saw pride in her face. "Would it be alright if I hold her for a few minutes?"

She must have seen something in her eyes because agreed to let her hold the baby. "Kelsie, be a good girl now…"

Heero watched as Relena cuddled the baby who seemed to laugh the moment she touched her. He watched as Relena kissed the baby, touch her nose with the baby’s button nose, and smile in a very different way…

"Excuse me, but… you look like someone…" The mother started to say as she stared at Relena.

Relena just smiled at her. "My name is Relena. A pleasure to meet you and your child."

Heero watched them, aware of the conversation and saw how the mother’s jaw slackened. Then, right at that moment, the baby started suckling at Relena’s chin! It was a funny, and at the same time, touching scene as Relena laughed and gently took her chin away while the mother fussed about, trying to bring a diaper to light.

Who wouldn’t smile at such a sight? Relena wiped her chin on her sleeve- so unladylike of her. People would have never thought she’d do that… at least, not him.

The mother brought out a rubber nipple and Relena gave it to the baby who instantly took her attention away from Relena’s blonde locks and focused on the new toy.

"Cute, huh?"

"I think Relena is going to be a wonderful mother someday…"

Heero nearly jolted at the sudden voices by his side. How did these two get near him without him seeing them?

Suddenly, Relena looked over to their side and waved. An idea popped in her head and she mouthed Heero’s name, knowing he could read her lips, then motioned for him to come over.

A frown appeared on his face and confusion churned in him, but he willingly complied and walked to the siren’s silent call.

Duo and Hilde watched from where they stood as Relena introduced the baby to Heero and then made him sit right beside her. Finally, to everyone’s surprise and delight, she gently gave the baby to Heero.

"Just hold her and try not to scowl." Relena whispered until she was sure that the baby was secure in Heero’s arms.

A look of confusion appeared on Kelsie’s cherubim face and then she reached out to hold on to Heero’s bangs with two-fisted hands. Relena laughed while Heero frowned.

"Hey, stop that."

Relena noticed that his voice was softer. The way he was holding the baby under the arms, away from his body- it was so adorable! "Heero, bring her to your chest."

"What?" Heero turned to her and she could see the plain look of confusion in his eyes. She stood up and walked behind him.

Heero’s frown became more pronounced while the baby seemed to enjoy the look on his face as another gurgle of squeals escaped her lips.

Oh, she shouldn’t have done it, but she couldn’t stop herself. If this was the only time she could hold his hands, then she would take her chance… She reached out and touched his hands, her arms over his shoulders, then guided his hands to his chest, to bring the baby to his shoulder… to secure the baby in his arms… and to embrace him at the same time.

A gentle, wonderful feeling he had never felt before enveloped Heero as he embraced the now still baby while Relena’s arms were around them, almost like hugging them both. Her breasts were like a pillow to his head and her soft hands, still over his own, like an anchor to this wonderful world he suddenly felt himself a part of.

Relena couldn’t help herself as she leaned her cheek against Heero’s hair while he leaned back to nestle in her embrace.

"They look like family…" Hilde whispered as she stared at the scene. Even with the mother beside Heero and Relena, they still looked like… family.

"I wonder when he’ll realize that they’re perfect for each other." Duo whispered along with her.

Hilde sighed as Relena closed her eyes, cheek still pressed against Heero’s hair. She could feel Relena’s ache... "I wish he would just take her in his arms and kiss her and never let her go."

A gleam appeared in Duo’s eyes. "Now there’s an idea…" He turned to Hilde just as she turned to him. "Like this?" Duo pounced at Hilde but she quickly stepped back, evading him.

"Gotta catch me first, slowpoke!" Hilde playfully yelled as she ran away.

"Slowpoke!? Who’s the slowpoke!?" Duo ran after her, laughing like there’s no trouble in the world, just like the couple with the baby on the bench, enjoying their short moment of intimacy…

{Heartfire's Note: Hello everyone! For those who wrote to me either through email and reviews, thank you so much for the compliments. They are wonderful. I know that my friends, Obsolete Love, Kit, and Phoenix are showing it to their ML groups, and I wanted to thank them too because they're advertising for my behalf. I hope you all are enjoying yourself. Remember, every week, 2 chapters are added because that is my quota ^^ Take care!}