Dark World

Chapter 1

By Lady Saffir

DISCLAIMER:if you know'em, I don't own'em...

Here's another lil' AU story I've had in my head for quite some

time. It's actually based off a dream of mine, so be prepared for

anything to happen.

"I never knew so young a body with so old a head." - Shakespeare

************************************

I didn't meet him as he heroically saved my life from disaster.

Instead, I met him one night in the grocery store as I stared at

the vast array of fruits on sale.

"If you stare any harder, I think the fruit may start to wilt," a

voice quipped, causing me to jump.

Startled, I whirled to face the voice, and I think it was then that I

fell in love. And no, it wasn't lust, it was love. I wanted to wake

up to this man every morning. I wanted to curl up next to him in

front of a roaring fireplace and watch sappy movies. The feeling

left me flustered and babbling.

The man smiled another easy, relaxed smile, reaching out to pluck the

orange I held from my grasp.

"This brand rots quickly," he gave by way of explanation, replacing

the offending fruit.

He stayed by my side the rest of my shopping trip, giving funny

comments and insights about different brands. He had introduced

himself simply as Heero, and we became fast friends during the

longest grocery trip I have ever been on.

Heero even helped me load my groceries into my car, after laughing at

the fact we were parked next to each other. We were standing between

our cars, having one of those awkward good-bye moments.

"Have dinner with me tomorrow evening?" Heero asked suddenly.

It only took me a moment to think about it.

"Sure," I replied, glad to have something to look forward to. Quatre, my best

friend, was going out of town for a week, and the thought of spending

my free time alone was depressing.

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

So I went home and unpacked my groceries, talking to Quatre all the

while on the telephone. He was actually pleased that I would have

someone to talk to while he was out of town.

"Come over for dinner?" I asked. "I want to see you one last time

before you leave."

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

Over dinner I recounted my run in with Heero to Quatre.

"Heero? As in the man that runs the Pilot Corporation?"

Something about his tone of voice caused me to wake up a bit,

twisting to face him.

"I'm not entirely sure," I answered. "Do you know what he looks

like?"

Before I go any further, I should mention that Quatre's in the merger

business. He's the guy everyone calls when they have questions about

potential take-overs. Even though he's fairly young in the business

world, being twenty-eight, his higher-ups love him. I think it's the

fact that he looks so angelic yet plays hardball with the best of

them.

Quatre shook his head. "No, I don't, and neither do a lot of

people. His lawyer witnesses any business arrangements in his name.

It's speculated that he has something to do with the government,

because no public files can be found ANYWHERE. He is the biggest,

most successful mystery in the business world today.

"And you're having dinner with him tomorrow. I almost don't believe

it," Quatre muttered.

"Mmph. I'll ask what he does for a living tomorrow. Then if he is, I'll

ask him to marry me so I can live in the style I so richly deserve,"

I teased, eliciting a snort from Quatre.

***************************

I pulled myself out of sleep the next morning, enjoying the fact that

I could sleep in. Spring break had officially started yesterday,

which meant I had an entire week of blissful freedom before me.

I puttered about my apartment kitchen for a few moments, waiting for

the coffee to brew. The rich smell of freshly ground Amaretto coffee

beans drifted through the tiny space, waking me up slightly.

Once I had by cup of coffee ready, I padded over to the computer,

intent on checking my e-mail. My advisor had promised to send

several papers to me. I would be graduating next December, and the

University required that the paper work be done in triplicate by June

30. At times I wondered if the administration was on crack or

something.

I did have mail, but it wasn't from my advisor. The mail was from

a 'Yuypilot.co.net', whoever that was. Imagine my surprise then when

I read the e-mail and found out it was from Heero.

I didn't think anything of how Heero got hold of my e-mail. He

seemed to be the type of person that can magic their heart's desire

from thin air. Actually, the contents are what made me forgot.

Relena,

I forgot to tell you where dinner was going to be. I made

reservations at Sonata at 5, if that's fine with you. Please call me

and let me know if this is presents a problem.

Yours,

Heero

I had a moment's panic after I dialed the number he'd given me. What

would I say if someone other than Heero answered? I had almost

convinced myself to hang up when a deep voice came over the line.

"Yes?"

"H...Heero?"

"Yes?"

"Ah...this is Relena, we met..."

"At the store, I remember. Please forgive my rudeness; it's been a

busy day."

Relief flooded through me at his warm tone.

"It's okay, I understand. I just need to know where the Sonata is,

so I can meet you there."

Heero began to give detailed road directions, and had me confused

within a minute. Can I help it that I'm horrible with street names?

We finally decided that he would meet me at a nearby park, and we

would drive together from there.

*******************

The Sonata Cafe was absolutely breath taking. The front entrance is

a tile mosaic, depicting a crescent moon with stars scattered

throughout the dark blue of space. The interior has celestial

objects scattered about the walls and floor, and even the bathroom

matches the restaurant's theme.

The prices were sky-high, but I managed to restrict myself to a

raised eyebrow and not say something stupid, like 'Golly gee whiz'.

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

We had finished our evening meal, and had moved out onto the veranda

for coffee. Throughout the meal, the conversation had flowed

smoothly, shocking me at how easily Heero and I traded ideas and

thoughts.

Heero was especially interested in the fact that I was about to

graduate from college at the age of twenty, and that I planned to go

on to med. school.

"So, once you read something, you can recite it from memory?"

I nodded.

"Pretty much. I think that's the only reason I've been able to work

ahead like I have."

Heero nodded thoughtfully, then turned one of his devastating grins

on me.

"You should be a spy," he teased.

"Nah...too much back stabbing for me," I proclaimed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I hate it when people act like they're one thing, and turn out

to be something totally different. If people would stop doing that,

I'm sure the world would get along much better."

My words seemed to cause Heero some consternation.

**********************

We were walking through the park, enjoying the slight breeze that

played underneath the shady boughs above our head. Our conversation

continued to flow freely, and I was finally able to find out what

Heero did for a living, when he made a comment about having a heavy

workload.

"So, what exactly do you do?" I tried for the innocent tone, turning

my head to look at some flowers so he wouldn't see my face. I've

been told I'm a horrible liar, since my face gives away everything.

"Several friends and I run an engineering firm," was all that he

would say.

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

We were nearing the end of the trail when Heero suddenly glanced

sharply to his left. I looked as well, trying to figure out what had

caught his attention, when a man stepped out onto the path.

He was as handsome as Heero was, with piercing green eyes and a

headful of brown hair that was styled quite peculiarly, with half of

his bangs falling over one eye. He was tall, standing several inches

above Heero and towering over me.

Heero and this new man regarded each other in silence.

"Trowa."

"Heero."

I shifted slightly and that seemed to bring Heero back. Placing a

hand on my shoulder, he introduced me.

"Trowa, this is Relena Peacecraft, my dinner date. Relena, this is

Trowa Barton, my friend and fellow co-worker."

Trowa greeted me politely then turned back to Heero.

"We have some...business issues that need taken care of immediately.

It seems that our pet project has several design flaws that need

fixed."

Heero treated this news gravely, nodding thoughtfully. He turned to

me and said regretfully, "I'm sorry, but I have to cut this short.

Allow me to walk you to your car."

My heart fell slightly. I had been enjoying this easy companionship,

and I think deep down I was afraid that I would never see him again.

We had just started to walk back to the parking lot, with Trowa

joining us, when both men suddenly stopped. Their demeanor

frightened me, as I could feel a certain hardness seeping into them.

They looked around carefully, each tense as if expecting an attack.

When it came, it hit us from behind.

I heard a loud explosion and was turning to find the source, when

Heero yelled to me.

"Get down!"

Too late I realized his words. Something struck the back of my head,

knocking me to the ground. I could hear Trowa and Heero yelling to

each other over the loud ringing sound, their voices growing

indistinct. I had a vague worry as to what would happen to me, and

then the world went black.