~ Bound~

Chapter Five

“Cause your kisses lift me higher
Like the sweet song of a choir
You light my morning sky
With burning love”

-Elvis “Burning Love”

(Long live the King!)

Women were impossible to understand. Heero had once thought himself capable, logical- reasonably sound in his mental facilities. That was before the President of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation had collapsed on him in a heap of tears. Now he was fairly certain he was on the brink of insanity.

He regarded the weeping woman on him with an almost detached concern, as if he wasn’t actually the one who she was crying all over; instead, he was just an innocent bystander watching the poor tortured man on the floor and shaking his head in pity. But he wasn’t just some random bystander- he was the individual responsible for dealing with this situation. He would have to approach it calmly and rationally, voicing reason and benevolent comfort.

He opened his mouth to inform her that her tears were ridiculous and that they were to cease immediately when she suddenly stopped. She sat there for a few minutes breathing heavily, as if fighting for control. Just as it seemed she had finally reigned in her emotions, she hiccupped- the soft jerk enough to break the fragile bond holding her together. She collapsed against him again, broken sobs echoing in the cold, industrial room. Heero wondered why he bothered opening his mouth to begin with.

Casting his glance upwards, he silently pleaded with the ceiling to help him, to- just once- give him some answers he desperately needed. For instance, what he should do. Minutes ticked by, every agonizing second noted by the utterly bewildered male. Concluding that the dull surface of metal would provide him with about as many answers as God did- that grand total being none- he resolved to calm Relena; how, he wasn’t quite sure yet. Hopefully improvising worked as well with women as it did with losing battles.

Cursing divinity, mute sheets of steel, and women who were entirely too soft for their own good, he placed an unsure hand on her back.

“Relena.” He winced at his stern tone. Didn’t comforting people require a certain amount of gentleness? He was careful to make sure the bite had been taken out of his next question. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong!?” Relena sobbed, “What’s WRONG!?”

She reared up, planting her hands on either side of his ribcage, glaring at him with tear stained cheeks. Heero’s breath caught as her body pressed against his, a new wave of heated impulse spiraling through his veins. His hands clenched at his sides, as he resisted the need to pull her closer, to feel more of her.

“You want to know what’s wrong. Let me count the ways! ,” Relena almost hissed, “I’ve been drugged, handcuffed to my bodyguard and dragged all over L2. I’ve had strange, greasy men leering at me because all I can do it wear stupid TUBE TOPS…”

Heero’s eyes were unwillingly drawn to the view the low-cut shirts provided.

“I’ve just found out that Howard has actually *reproduced*-“

Heero briefly- okay, not so briefly- wondered what it would be like to “reproduce” with Relena.

“-that in itself is enough to ruin my week. And you…” She trailed off.

“And you…” She tried again, but her voice broke under the strain of her emotion. She bit her lip as tears welled up once again.

Heero felt his heart clench as her voice caught- she sounded so…hurt.

“I what, Relena?” Heero asked, a hint of huskiness coloring his softly spoken inquiry. He tried out a smile, hoping it would encourage her. Her eyes seemed to warm for a moment, but it was gone in the next, her expression more bleak than before.

“You…” Relena trailed off, angered guilt assailing her. Here she was razing Heero for her frustrations when it was her own careless words that had sealed her fate. “This is all my fault. You hadn’t spoken to me since the election. You wouldn’t even look me in the eye. I was getting desperate.”

All traces of Heero’s smile fading into oblivion. He pressed his lips together, slightly chagrined. He *had* been avoiding Relena since her inauguration. He *had* to keep his relationship with her on a purely professional level. And the longer he guarded her, the more difficult it was becoming. It was a necessity to keep his distance- or so he had told himself.

“So, I called Hilde. I don’t even remember how it happened but, we got to talking and…I said that I’d have to handcuff you to me to get you to talk to me now.” Relena confessed miserably.

Heero stared at her blankly.

“Don’t you get it!?” the petite blonde exclaimed. “This is all my fault. If I had just kept my mouth closed, Hilde would have never concocted this stupid idea. *That’s* why they chose this method to test the new alloy.”

Heero was speechless.

“I’m sorry I lied, Heero. But I…I couldn’t help it. You were so withdrawn from me and I knew you’d just be even angrier once you found out.”

“I’m angry?”

“Heero, why don’t you like me?”

At one point in his life Heero had thought applications of the chaos theory was one of the most difficult things to comprehend. Now he found himself mistaken- it was Relena’s train of thought. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. At first, I thought maybe I was just overreacting- maybe you had other reasons for severing ties with me. But ever since we’ve been handcuffed you’ve acted like you can barely stand me. You hardly talk to me. You brush me off all the time. You won’t even walk beside me. I’ve never seen anyone be so blunt in their avoidance…so I’m asking you…what did I do to make you hate me so much? And…and why did you become my bodyguard if you can’t stand me?” She tensed, obviously waiting for his answer.

Disbelief filtered through him, as he squinted at her, carefully studying her face for any signs of joking or amusement. Her expression was dead serious as she stared back at him. She thought he didn’t like her? But what else could she have reasoned? If he had been in her position, he would have come to the same conclusion.

The day Heero Yuy woke up to the totally unwelcome sight of a pretty girl with blue eyes, clasping his flight helmet and staring down at him in concern was one that had been forever marked as “important” in his mind. He doubted even Relena, with all her infinite wisdom, could have foreseen the tumultuous relationship that would unfold between them from that moment on. He knew *he* had been completely clueless as to where he and Relena would eventually end up. Never in his all his years of training did he believe he had a place in the world he would help create; that he would find someone he cared for and wanted.

But it had happened, and because of his annoying lack of psychic powers, Heero was totally unprepared for it when it did. Heero was a man that did not enjoy being unprepared.

When he woke up next to Relena, wearing a pair of new metal bracelets- to say he hadn’t been prepared for that would have been an understatement.

When Relena’s closeness began to effect his judgment and actions- he hadn’t been prepared for that either.

And just now when she had tearfully accused him of hating her- he *definitely* hadn’t been prepared. He was like a fish out of water- disconcerted, unsettled. But as much as he hated feeling like bumbling idiot, he hated the fact that he had hurt Relena more. Especially when he hadn’t even realized he was doing it.

He looked into her eyes, pushed past their beauty and confidence, and finally understood what it was those fronts were hiding- her insecurity. She averted her gaze and started to rise.

“I get it. Don’t worry Heero, once these cuffs are off-“

“No!” Heero shouted, pulling her back towards him. She landed on him with a small cry. He tried to look at her directly, but she pulled away. “Relena…I don’t hate you.”

Her eyes snapped back to his face. “I don’t understand. You always act like I’ve done something wrong…”

“It’s not you…it’s just because…”

He was fighting something. Heero could feel the battle of wills, clashing relentlessly, but what was he struggling against? He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut and ignore the deep tugging he felt acutely whenever she was near, and whenever she was gone. It called to him, made him want to surrender to it; an unnamed ache that hadn’t left him alone since he met Relena. He didn’t understand it- and he didn’t want to.

These emotions Relena evoked- that’s what he was avoiding. Sentiments someone like him couldn’t feel. Shouldn’t feel. Could not be permitted to feel. But the old arguments were cold and lifeless when compared to the radiance of the woman hovering over him. He’d been resisting her for so long. What would it be like…to give in? He felt like a stripped wire- volatile, electric, bare of the casings that held it all in.

“It’s just because…” He whispered hoarsely, breaking off before he finished. One hand slide over her hip, the other tangled in her hair, fabricated motions carved long ago in his imagination becoming shaky, new realities.

Without warning he crushed his mouth to hers, a surging heat skipping over frayed nerve endings. He felt Relena stiffen above him before relaxing, her delicate curves melting into his in a tempting mix of pressure and texture. Coaxing her mouth open, he swept his tongue in, eager to plunder what she offered. She responded tentatively, confused by the sudden onslaught. Heero needed more.

Breaking off their kiss he trailed his mouth along her jaw line, tasting the softness of her skin, before he turned his attention to her ear. She gasped with the sensations and instinctively pressed closer, her hands sliding up to tangle in his damp locks. In one deft motion he flipped her on her back and settled on top, his lips blazing a path down her throat to nip at her collarbones. It was frantic and primitive, the passion flaring between them almost visible. Relena moaned as she felt a hungry lust suddenly take her captive. Utterly swept away by the impulses Heero was summoning, she parted her legs to hug his hips, cradling the insistent push of his arousal.

Heero’s breath left him in a great ‘whoosh’ as he found himself pressed intimately to Relena. He could feel her heat even through the thick material of the jeans. She was responding to him- she wanted him. He looked up and saw blue flames dancing in her eyes, his own naked need mirrored in her face. Suddenly his mouth was back on hers, hot and demanding, slanting over hers in a total abandon.

He felt himself losing control, his attempts to tame his impulses completely in vain. Was this what he craved? It excited and scared him at the same time.

Hands were everywhere; her shoulders, his back, her breasts. He wanted to see every last inch of her, to touch her. He slipped questing fingers under the bottom of the tube top and encountered the flat planes of her stomach. He glided his palm upward, over her ribs, reveling in the silk of her skin. He groaned as she pressed a wet kiss to his throat, his desire pushed to new planes.

Someone other than the two lovers on the floor cleared their throat loudly.

Relena tensed so fast Heero thought she would break in half.

Jerking around, he opened his mouth, intending to tell Howard to butt out and go get a hobby *other* than his sex life.

Jerking around, he donned his best death glare (not that it was difficult), intending to tell Howard to butt out and go get a hobby *other* than his sex life.

The person giving Heero a slightly surprised, if somewhat smug, look was *not* Howard.

Trowa raised an eyebrow at the sight of his naked friend in such an intimate position with his employer. He gave a little smirk before commenting. “It appears I’ve arrived at an inopportune moment.”

Heero’s glower spoke volumes.

“So sorry to interrupt. I was on an errand, but it appears Duo’s intuition has proven to be more accurate than I expected. Since this is the case, my services will no longer be needed.”

Heero jerked upright as Trowa said Duo’s name, all previous thoughts flying out his head at the mention of the braided pilot. “What do you mean ‘Duo’s intuition’? Trowa, why are you here?”

Trowa shrugged. “I just thought you might be in need of *this*.”

A small silver key dangled from Trowa’s pointer finger.

Heero knew it was hopeless for *him* to use the key- but Relena’s lock. Relena’s lock wasn’t jammed. They could be free.

He dove for it, but came up short. Trowa looked down at him, slightly amused.

“Give me that key.” Heero hissed, locking eyes with the taller man.

The biggest smile Heero had ever seen the on the face of the former pilot of 03 beamed down at him.

“No way in hell.”

And with that Trowa walked right out the door, slamming it in Heero’s face.

“Shit!” Heero swore, racing back to the bathroom to retrieve his pants.

“Heero what are you doing?” Relena asked, following him blindly, her dazed voice not even registering in his frenzied mind.

Then they were flying down the halls, looking desperately for Trowa and that little silver key. He pulled up short at the hall leading to the shuttle bay, his eyes catching on a discarded piece of paper, an address to a hotel room hastily scrawled on it.

Heero stooped down and picked it up, Relena oddly silent behind him. He smirked as he scanned the information. “So that’s where that green-eyed bastard is headed.”

He intercepted him by his craft, as Trowa was preparing to board. Moving with a stealth that was impressive, despite the girl cuffed to him, he caught Trowa with a right hook across the jaw. Trowa, startled by the unseen attack, stumbled backwards, opening another gap in his defenses for Heero to take advantage of. The uptake was too slow, however, and Trowa was waiting for his next advance.

Delivering a solid knee to Heero’s gut he watched as The Perfect Soldier fell to his knees in front of him.

“Give me the key.” Heero gasped, arms clamped around his abused abdomen.

Trowa sighed. “Heero, this is one of the best things that has ever happened to you. And I’m not going to let *anyone* spoil it. Even if that person is you. You deserve this happiness, my friend. It’s your own reservations that are keeping you from having it.”

“Happiness?!” Heero shouted, clearly exasperated. He tried to move forward but Relena was rooted to her spot. “You call this happiness?! Even the most essential of privacies violated? Hunting tirelessly for a way to remove these cuffs? Not having even an instant’s peace?! You have no idea what you’re talking about. This isn’t one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. It’s one of the *worst*. Give me the key so we can end this.”

Trowa held up the object in question and shook his head sadly. The key shone in the artificial light, just beyond Heero’s reach. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

“Trowa, don’t make me ta-“

Suddenly, out of no where, Relena’s small hand swooped in, snatching it from Trowa’s grasp. Trowa jerked his head up in amazement as she stood trembling, grasping the key in her tightly clenched fist. She looked down at Heero and gave a sharp tug on the handcuffs.

“Get up.” She ordered. A deadly calm chilled her voice, the air suddenly crackling with hostility.

Heero felt the pit of his stomach drop. He had completely forgotten Relena was right there. What had he been saying? “Relena, are you-?”

“GET UP!” Relena almost screamed, her eyes clouded with rage.

Heero was quick to obey, even backing up a few steps. With enough slack to be able to reach the lock on her cuff, she stuck the little key in the keyhole and turned. The chain suddenly went lax as the binding clicked off and dropped from her delicate wrist. Heero stared blankly at the chain and empty cuff now hanging at his side- he *should* be happy- he was free. It’s what he had wanted from the beginning. Then why did he feel such a keen sense of loss? He met Relena’s eyes.

She was giving him a look of such disgust it made him flinch. When she spoke, her voice hummed with outrage. “I could accept your detest, but your blatant exploitation of my weakness is …beyond forgivable. Don’t bother coming in to work Monday. I will see that you are re-assigned to a different branch- you shouldn’t have any objections about that.” She turned her back on him, and walked over to the lockers. She pulled her flight suit out of one and began to angrily shove herself into it, refusing to spare Heero another look.

“Trowa, I’m going with you. I’ll be waiting in the shuttle.”

And with those last words she disappeared into the shuttle.

Heero gawked at the place she had been standing, in a state of complete shock. There was a surreal-ness about the situation that made him tempted to pinch himself. It had to be a dream. Relena didn’t just tell him she never wanted to see him again. He didn’t just make the biggest mistake of his life.

Biggest mistake of his life? Yes, Heero realized, it was. Because the undeniable feelings that were gripping his heart in a vice were impossible to ignore, no matter how hard he tried. The dread he felt seeping into his bones wasn’t just a consequence of some protective affection. He knew in the moment of her rejection what it was he had been denying since day one- he was in love with her.

And she had just told him she wanted nothing to do with him.

Heero stood stalk still, overcome in the wake of his loss.

Trowa walked over, his usual blank expression in place. “Well Yuy, you really fucked that one up.”

Trowa always did have a tendency for understatement.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Soundtrack:

This Kiss by Faith Hill

Mamboleo by Elissa

My Friends Over You by New Found Glory

She Moves in Mysterious Ways by U2

Desire by U2

Dolphins Cry by Live

Crash by Dave Matthews Band

Burnin’ Love by Elvis (I am thinking that it’s incredibly wrong that I got my lime theme song from the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack...yeah...yeah it really is…)