disclaimer:: If I created Gundam Wing, Wufie would be
a womenizer and Duo would be a pagan.

"Playing House" -Chapter Two



"I can't believe you said yes. That's crazy. Completely crazy. And from him." I heard her huff on the other end of the phone. I knew if I could see her, her face would be between a smile and a frown. "I bet he's out to kill you."

"Hilde!"

"No really. I bet he's just waiting for the right moment. He did promise to kill you before didn't he?"

"Eight years ago."

"A promise is forever." She mimicked an monk with reverently in her voice. I rolled my eyes.

"He also promised to protect me."

"Oxymoron. That's what he is Relena. Hands off, he's a devil boy."

"We're leaving tomorrow morning." I winced at the scream on the other end of the phone as I rummed through my closet for possible selections. Dull colors or soft colors that would make me less noticeable.? Bright or colors that just say, leave me alone.

I tried to picture what Heero's mother would be like. But then a women with his glaring eyes popped up. I reached for soft colors. Being unnoticeable is all I needed.

"And you expect me to enjoy the weekend with that braided baka without you?" Hilde ranted on. I almost had completely forgot about her during my packing motives.

"You could always send him to Trowa's."

She did something like a sigh and a curse at once. I smirked. Leave it to Hilde to overact about nothing.

"Listen Relena," I felt a chill run up my spine at the level of intensity her voice dropped, and the softness of the pitch. "I know somewhere, deep down you, you remember what you felt for him as a girl. I know you were hurt, I was there."

I shifted on my bed, and locked the suitcase trying to listen to Hilde but trying to tell myself it was a lie. Hurt? No, perhaps disappointed.

"I don't want him to hurt you again. And if you ask me, this whole idea of meeting his parents seems really off base here. The details don't click. Heero, the man who didn't even have the word 'smile' in his vocabulary was laughing with you. laughing Relena. That doesn't just happen to anyone over seven years and Heero isn't a likely candidate. Relena, the pieces don't fit. Something is missing
here."

"This isn't a puzzle Hilde. Besides, I'd do it for anyone." I twirled the phone cord around my finger.

"That's our dear Relena for you." The smile was back into her voice but I could sense the worry as well. Hilde had always been a little over protective of me, and Duo, well he was out to kill anyone who dare as to look at me.

And still, I loved those two. But I envied them. They had something I wanted so bad. The looks, the gestures, the touch they shared. Something lovers have, not friends. I was without lover. I was without the special bond.

So I pretended with my bear. I had nicked name him Yuy. After the giver of course, and had a mad love affair with him.

Okay so no romance guaranteed (trust me, I checked the tag) but I kissed it's forehead every night, spoke about my day, vented on my brother, and most of all, asked if I was fat. The bear didn't respond, and I took that as "Don't want to hurt your feelings darling but you are showing a little in the hips."

That's when we broke up.

"I have to flee Relena, hun. Duo's back with dinner. You'll call us when you arrive there?" Hilde's voice brought me back to earth with a gentle snug. I sighed.

"Of course."

"Goodbye."

"Chao."

Setting the phone down I retraced. I was a logical woman after all.

"Now, it's seven o clock. Tomorrow Heero is taking me to his parents house to introduce me as his girlfriend and possible future wife."

I tilted my head slightly. "And what doesn't fit here? Heero's back. He has parents. He's normal. And I'm pretending to be his girlfriend with his request." I narrowed my eyes. "And it's seven o clock and I'm missing my favorite show."

Hell settled in when I couldn't find the remote.

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I guess you could say I felt like a foolish school girl again. He had told me to be ready to go at eight. So, seeing that I wouldn't have much time the next day I showered and finished packing the night before so I'd just get up and wait.

I woke up at five.

Now, mornings have always been a pass time for me, but I had to admit, sitting at my kitchen window waiting for a few hours while slightly shaking and drinking down the nerves with coffee felt rather foolish.

He showed up, just like he said he would, at eight sharp. He wasn't as pale as before, and he looked like he had slept. Perhaps the stress had left.

What shocked me the most was the smile that seemed to edge peace. We didn't speak much. He said good morning, I offered him coffee which he politely refused, and we left. I kept myself perfectly sharp and arrowed in the old truck next to him, careful to avoid
gazing at him in awe and dropping my jaw.

I am uncomfortable. But this feeling of excitement of seeing him normal was too much. Perhaps later, I could open up to him like I do to Hilde and Duo. Maybe.

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

I had dozed off but the deep hum on the motor kept my nap light. When I looked out my window the city had disappeared and I was met with far stretches of wheat. I blinked a couple of times and pulled my gray sweatshirt sleeves down around my wrist.

"Awake?"

"Something like that."

"We'll be there tomorrow afternoon."

I crossed my eyes and frowned. "Tomorrow?"

"Longer than I thought it would be. They live out country, we're only in the farm lands." I tried to read him. Read the way his eyes quirked below his eyebrows, read the way his lips thinned with each word, the way his voice hinted towards pitches and emotions.
Emotions. That was it. I tried to read the new emotions Heero was displaying. Something I've never seen him do much excluding our encounted the day before.

I was curious.

But then again. His life could be staged on the theater. The opening act, a young boy stolen from his parents, deprived of his youth. Forced to kill, alone, grief. Something that surely would make all the old women in the audience cry. The second act would be a
rulesh war. And the final act would end with the reunion with his family and I had front tickets.

In fact, I had a part in the play as well. I was the girlfriend. The pretend girlfriend. The fake girlfriend. Heero's fake girlfriend.

I scrunched my nose and laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, just how I was taking a weekend off work to be your fake girlfriend."  I blinked a couple times after I spoke and my smile faded. Yes, the words were harmless, but I spoke them with a hint of pain. And Heero caught on.

"Relena, you don't have any feelings..."

I shrunk back into the seat willing the door to fly open and let me tumble out into the tall golden wheat. "Oh no, no, no. You got it all wrong."

He didn't say anything, but he didn't frown. I stared into the fields and folded my hands into my lap. Somehow, the tone I used when I spoke to him denied my brain. Somewhere, my body still wanted him and my mind was confining into the drift. "I don't want you to get hurt." Hilde had said to me. And here I was, ready to take the downfall again.

Hopelessly, helplessly, and confused, I felt my eyes droop again and tuned my breathing to the soft hum of the motor once again.