Fire and Ice 3/?

[AngelOfDeath]

On I plug. . . . yes. I just love Heero and Relena. They’re both such sweet people. ::sigh:: Where’s a Heero for me that’s what I want to know. Yar. Puh-leez comment because I never know what people think of this stuff and I am eternally insecure.

Disclaimer: Gee. I still don’t own Gundam Wing. Big surprise there I’m sure.


Chapter 3

Heero stared in the mirror at himself and searched his eyes for answers he knew they didn’t hold. In fact the only comfort he received from them was the knowledge that they were not her eyes. She just seemed to draw the pain right out of him, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to give it to her. It was a burden enough for him. Why did she think she could take it on within hours of their acquaintance? It was scary. She was laying waste to carefully constructed defenses decades in the making. Normally this would be the point where he would run away from the possibility of getting close to someone, but inside he knew he didn’t want to get away from her. This was already getting too damn complex. He ran the faucet a bit and splashed some water on his face, even trying to tame his hair a bit and failing. ::Best not prolong things::, he thought, ::I need to go back out there at some point.:: Steeling himself for the worst, he put on his best jaded expression and sat down again across from Relena. Her back straightened involuntarily – a sign of her increased attention – and he swallowed hard. This was going to be an interesting dinner.

Relena looked at the man across from her. How could someone be so predictable yet so hard to read? His actions were fairly standard based on his personality. The years and years of being fed to the dogs of society had made her a keen judge of character, especially since she liked to observe people, and she got the feeling from Heero that he was a good person. Not that he would let himself give it away, on the surface there was a brick wall stopping anyone from getting close. She had hit it a few times tonight, but she thought that, like the Berlin wall, it just couldn’t stand up to the pressure if she worked on it enough. Though she shouldn’t expect orgasmic rejoicing. His curt sentences and steady glare were intimidating, too, and all together she wasn’t really sure why she agreed to meet him. Her own life was one she led alone, and she had chosen that path for herself, or so she often said to herself. Maybe she wanted to be with him because she knew he too was alone in the world. They could be alone together. But she was moving too quickly, even by her own standards, and she had to take things down a notch so as not to disturb him too much. His escape to the restroom moments ago showed that she was pushing buttons.

“I think that’s our food.” Relena pointed to the steaming plates of noodles and exotic sauces that reached the table. “That was amazingly fast.” She secretly thought maybe the waiter put their orders ahead of other people’s just so he could hurry them out, or rather hurry Heero out, that much faster.

“Hm. Yes.” Heero regarded his food with skepticism that he carefully hid from Relena. He hadn’t had exotic food in a while. Most microwave meals were not terribly exciting at the best of times, and when it wasn’t them it was instant rice and some fish. He was rather fond of sushi, but that was about as adventurous as he got with his meals. This practically screamed an upset stomach later. Maybe he’d buy some tums at the corner store when he got home tonight. “What?” Relena had said something. He was spacing out already, what an awful date this must be for her.

“I asked if there was something wrong with your food. You just keep staring at it.” Heero shook his head and picked up the chopsticks that, predictably, broke in uneven pieces as he split them. Forging ahead, he started to eat. It tasted well enough, but then the burning began. Whatever he had gotten was death by spice. Choking down the urge to start coughing, he began to sweat a little instead. Surreptitiously, he drank his water and motioned for the waiter to bring more. When the man looked like he was going to ignore Heero, he simply gave his special glare and the man immediately served him. Relena watched this little farce with a great deal of humor. Poor Heero. He was trying so hard to be human for her, but he was out of practice and it was tearing him apart. He didn’t need to be talkative or sensitive, he just needed to be him. That’s what she loved. The color drained from her face. Did she actually just absently use the L word? She looked to the side, not wanting to meet his eyes and absently took a bite of food.

“Relena.” He loved saying her name, although now was not the time to ruminate such things. “Relena.” He tried once more, as she seemed to be lost in thought just as he had been earlier. When she finally looked over, Heero hesitantly pointed at her chest. It was somewhat of a difficulty, really, for by pointing out the fact that a peanut sauce laden noodle had landed on her chest proved that he had been staring at her chest at some point. Maybe because she was wearing white she wouldn’t connect that fact. On her behalf, she was mortified.

With a sigh, she picked up a napkin and dabbed uselessly at the stained top. She had to pick white, all white, to go out in. Maybe this was inevitable. “You want to get this to go? There’s still some light out and I can show you the greenhouses where I work. I can change there too.” To invite him over to her house when she barely knew him? The policewoman in her head smacked her really hard. Why had she said that? Oh well, can’t take it back now.

“O..K” Heero sounded as if he were really very confused by the offer. Well, that made two of them. The waiter almost cried for joy when Heero motioned for the check. Heero got out a credit card and handed it to the teary eyed man. “I’m sorry about dinner already.”

“That’s fine. My fault for choosing a white outfit. I don’t know what came over me, not that the things I own are very dark. I hate to admit it but I’m rather fond of pastels. Peanut sauce would look just as striking on pink or cream as white.” Her grimace was comical. “Clumsy clumsy me.” Heero didn’t want her to look so sad, but he didn’t know how to make her feel better. The waiter returned with the receipt for Heero to sign as well as some boxes to take the food home in. He reached down to take up the plate, but Heero intercepted him partway.

“I can do it.” But the waiter seemed determined to do it more efficiently and didn’t let go of the plate. In the ensuing tug of war, the plate happened to tip, spilling its wet and noodly contents all over Heero’s lap. Closing his eyes, in his attempt to get control over his urge to kill, he heard the waiter tear up the check and walk away with a sigh. Picking up the main mass of it with the cloth napkin, he placed it on the table and got up to escort Relena out as soon as he put his credit card back in his wallet. When they got out onto the street Relena looked down at herself, and then at Heero and a miraculous thing happened. Relena began to laugh. To Heero this was just another piece of evidence as to how bad the date was going. To Relena, this was the first time she had honestly laughed out loud in over a year. It was unexpected, but so pleasing that her mood lifted out of the semi-depression she had been wallowing in for lord knows how long.

“Let’s go get cleaned off. I don’t think I have any pants you can fit, but I know someone who does who lives close by my house. Still up for seeing my greenhouses?” Her eyebrow arched as she threw her head back. It was like something had been freed in her soul, but she didn’t yet want to tell Heero that. He would probably just run away again.

“Of course.” Those two words filled both of them with an obscure happiness. Maybe it wasn’t a bad date after all.

*
*
*

Heero felt like an alien environment surrounded him. Maybe it was the strange fragrances, or the way the light was fading turning everything a strange dark green color, but regardless of the origin if the feelings they all connected back to Relena somehow. This was the center of her world and he could feel her touch all around him, in the placement of flowers or even the neat arrangement of tools near the door. Her green house, (or rather houses as she had several for different purposes) was to Relena what that colorless meat freezer was to Heero. Again he felt the hopelessness of relating to a woman who spent her time in the sun among green and living things while he shut himself away in a tomblike freezer. What was he thinking? He stood a moment longer as the desire to leave resolved itself even more in his mind. It would have been easier if it wasn’t for the field in between him and the road, which would make his retreating form very easy to catch. Then again, he could run faster than she could, as he always made sure to keep himself in shape with various forms of exercise. Running was good therapy, and you preferably didn’t have people around when you did it. His kind of hobby. As Heero continued to work out the semantics of his possible escape, the lights propped around the greenhouse flickered into life.

“Sorry to keep you so long.” Relena was changed into a pink color that retained charm even under the harsh false daylight the lamps created. “It got dark faster than I thought it would.” Heero’s eyes flickered over to the forms behind her. “I was also waiting for them.” Moving aside she motioned to a smiling woman who was tall and had short auburn hair. Standing next to her, and who caught his attention more, was the man about his own age with a blank expression in both his eyes and face. Immediately Heero felt himself go on his guard around the man.

“I’m Catherine Bloom. Nice to meet you.” Catherine moved forward to shake Heero’s hand. After staring for just a moment at the proffered hand, he took it. Catherine didn’t look very daunted by his behavior. “You and my brother must be two of a kind. Trowa, don’t be so rude. That’s my brother, Trowa, we live just down the road. Relena is our only neighbor for miles. If we weren’t only twenty minutes away from the city I’m sure I’d go mad, but the quiet out here is nice.” She talked like someone who couldn’t stand there to be silence in a conversation. Heero continued to be impassive. Catherine sighed.

“Trowa, would you kindly lend Heero some pants? Just for a couple hours while I put his in the wash.” Her grin became lopsided. “We had a little trouble at dinner with keeping the food on our plates.”

Trowa’s expression didn’t change, and all this time his eyes had not left Heero. Heero had kept him in his peripheral vision as well and wondered if the man had even blinked once all this time. “. . .sure. . .” After the quiet word of assent he began to walk away from the greenhouse and Heero followed. They got into a small car that Catherine and he had presumably arrived in, and the men drove in silence a little way down the road before pulling into the driveway. The large, obviously renovated, family farm that they lived in seemed elegant and maybe even a little old. Heero wondered briefly if they were from money as well, though a commute would not be too bad considering. When the car stopped, Trowa didn’t get out. For a moment both men sat there in silence.

“What are your intentions towards Relena?” The question was soft. Looking over at Trowa directly for the first time since they got in the car, Heero noted how his eyes were obscured by long bangs. This man was extremely hard to read and that was somewhat upsetting. He also had to stifle some anger at the nature of the question. That wasn’t anyone else’s business but his and Relena’s. It seemed as if Trowa was ready to wait all night for an answer, hands frozen on the steering wheel, looking as much like a statue as anything Heero had created.

“If you want to hear that my intentions are entirely honorable, that would be a trite and silly way to resolve this.” Heero made his voice even and steady to hide the anger behind his words. “I like her, and I want to be around her. I’m not out to hurt or use her if that’s what you are worried about. I don’t see how it is any of your business.”

“I wasn’t trying to insult you.” Trowa didn’t look aggravated by Heero’s words. “Relena is like my little sister. She has had enough pain in her life, and if you cause her any more I may do something drastic. It isn’t a threat, it’s simply the truth.” This man was frightening and cold. Oddly enough, Heero respected him for his protective instinct. That was something he understood, or at least he was starting to. Relena seemed to bring it out in him, and apparently he was not the only one who wished to protect her. It should come as no surprise to him that more than just he thought of her happiness as a precious commodity.

“Do what you wish. I believe in following your emotions.” Heero said his bit and then turned to look out the window with great disinterest. Trowa looked over at him finally, with a speculative glint in his eyes.

“I’ll get the pants.” Heero was pretty sure that was as close to a blessing as he would get from this protective friend of Relena’s. He wondered if she even knew she commanded such loyalty. Probably not, as this Trowa character didn’t seem to be very talkative. Very like him in that regard. Communication was largely superfluous anyway. It became so dark that he could see his reflection in the window of the car. In the reflection he saw Trowa open the car and put some pants in the back seat before starting the car and driving back. Neither man spoke once again, though the silence seemed less tense somehow. When they arrived back at the greenhouse, pants in tow, Relena and Catherine looked like they had been having a good conversation. Catherine especially had looked very animated as they approached, judging by the hand gestures she was making as she talked. Relena blushed when the men approached them, and Heero arched an eyebrow at her. What had they been talking about anyway?

“Thanks so much Trowa. I’ll find a way to repay you someday.” Relena stood and brushed some dirt from her hands, as the benches they had been sitting on were a little dusty.

Catherine, as she probably often had to do, spoke for Trowa. “It was no trouble at all. We were just about to go into the city to visit a friend and making a detour to see you is always a pleasure. See you soon. We need to be going. Nice to meet you Mr. Yuy.” Trowa looked over at Heero with an arched eyebrow. Evidently, the last name rang a bell, and the knowledge surprised him. Heero nodded to confirm the unspoken question. It was too bad he wasn’t the type to talk to others because he thought that Trowa was one of the few people that didn’t irritate him. Then again, having friends was just a liability to getting his work done. Catherine and her brother faded from view, and then the sound of their car fading into the night was all that was left. In the meantime, the two that were left in the greenhouse walked around while Relena named the various plants she had put in and why.

There was a little path through the middle, and grass all over the place. This particular greenhouse was her conservatory, she explained, and it was reserved as her own little sanctuary away from work. Whereas the other things she grew in the other two greenhouses she had were destined to be picked, the flowers and bushes in here was only here to be admired where they were. Heero had been right. This was as personal an internal view of herself as she probably gave anyone. That she had shared it with him gave him a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. Maybe his dinner wasn’t agreeing with him already. After a moment Relena herded Heero into the house so that he could change into the pants and she could put his own stained ones into her washer. As he zipped up the jeans, he couldn’t help grimace. These jeans were almost indecently tight, though they fit. Trowa had not looked any smaller than he, so these must really be what he wore casually. What an odd sense of style, and right now it made him increasingly want to hide in the bathroom for the rest of the night.

“Hello?” Relena knocked once more. “You done changing?” The dirty pants destined to be washed were thrust out by a solitary arm, and as she took them and walked away Heero finally got up the nerve to leave the bathroom. He walked a little funny to compensate for the way the jeans were pushing everything so closely to him like a second skin. Perhaps this had been a joke on Trowa’s part, but he couldn’t see that humorless man doing something like this to a person he didn’t know. When Relena returned he saw her stifle a smile, and though it had only been a fraction of a second, it was enough to send him heading straight back towards the bathroom again. “No you don’t,” Relena grabbed his arm lightly and he halted midstride.

“I look ridiculous.”

“I think Trowa needs to buy himself some new pants.” Relena regarded Heero’s odd look. She walked around him and he tried to follow her with his eyes, waiting for further mocking to ensue. “Though, you still look very nice, so far as I’m concerned. I’d offer you one of my skirts but somehow I think that would only be worse.” She motioned for him to follow, and once she had him safely seated in what must have been her living room, she went into the nearby kitchen and he heard various clinking noises that signaled the preparation of some sort of liquid. Coming out with some tang and lumpy cookies, there was an apologetic look on her face. “I haven’t been shopping in a while. This is all I can offer in the way of dessert.” It didn’t matter to him; he wasn’t much on dessert in the first place. The fact that this woman who previously was the very picture of poise was now almost twittering when faced with him invading her home seemed very charming.

Relena looked around while at the same time trying not to move her head. Was everything clean? Were there dirty dishes, old laundry, or dirt smudges over things and she had just overlooked it? She almost never had company and inviting Heero had been a spontaneous decision. ::Was it really? You know that ever since you met him you’ve been curious about him. That’s why you have the pictures. . .:: Firmly shushing the voice in her brain, she tried to focus in on the present again as Heero seemed to not be looking at anything but her. His stare was a little unsettling actually. There needed to be some sort of distraction.

“Would you object to some music? I always listen to music while I work. It may be silly, but I think it actually does good for the plants as well. Far more likely it just improves the mood of the person caring for the plant and hence they do a better job, but it can’t hurt anything right?” Your babbling Relena! Just put on some music and start some conversation. ::But he just answers with one sentence and then it ends.:: She quieted her sigh as she sifted through CDs. “What would you like to hear?”

“. . . Anything is fine.” Should she have expected anything else from him? Maybe the mysterious Heero Yuy was nervous too. The thought hadn’t occurred to her. Putting in some old jazz, she tried to gauge if maybe he was nervous. The way his posture was so stiff could imply that, but then he always looked like that when she saw him at events too so that didn’t say anything. What right did he have to be so neutral? It angered her a little, and the devil in her egged her on to maybe rattle him a bit. There was no men’s room to escape to here.

Heero felt a change in atmosphere. It might have been the music, but he felt that it had been carefully selected by Relena to be primarily ambient noise. His instincts could be wrong, but he trusted them more than most things. What was different? There was a peculiar glint in Relena’s eye, he thought, as she moved towards him with a flick of her hips and then plunked down right next to him on the couch. Leaning in, he caught a faint floral scent that he hadn’t noticed before. She was a lot closer than she had been previously this evening and his eye twitched a little.

“So tell me what you are making. I know you must have some beautiful pieces in the work.” Her mouth was parted just a little and as she crossed her legs her foot brushed his calf briefly. Some of her hair brushed his arm as she leaned forward to grab a glass of tang. Twitch.

“There’s a cupid for a wedding. I suppose you’re invited to that as well. You society types seem to all know one another at these things.” Oh no you don’t Heero, she thought to herself, don’t you try to put mental distance between us just because I closed the physical distance.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you do a cupid before, expect for that one a while ago.” He looked at her with narrowed eyes and she realized her mistake too late.

“That was a child’s birthday party. There were hardly any people there, except mothers and squalling kids.” He had a perfect memory for all his statues and what they were for. Why would she know about that one? Something felt odd about this. Relena looked to the side and put her glass down. Standing, she took out a book from the shelf next to the stereo. Sitting back down again she opened up the book to a random page. A horse of ice was on one page and a flock of birds of a similar medium was on the other. His work. Flipping through he saw what could only be his work. Why did she have a photo album of all this stuff? Even he didn’t keep records of any of it. Maybe Duo did for publicity, but Heero could care less. He wasn’t sure what this meant. Was Relena more aware of him than he ever was of her all this time?

“I told you I liked the angel you did. But I didn’t get a picture and I regretted that. At the next function that I saw a piece of yours at I made sure to have the photographer take a picture, and since then it’s been a hobby of mine. I always thought it was a shame all of your work disappeared so quickly, so I thought I could preserve it like this.” She blushed. “I wasn’t stalking you, I promise. I only took the pictures at the events I attended. The birthday party for Dorothy’s son was only different because she knew that I collected these pictures and she. . . I’m just putting my foot in my mouth aren’t I?” Heero wondered if his heart would burst where he sat. He couldn’t care less if she were obsessed with him or not. If he was honest with himself he could say that he might be just as bad. Hell, she didn’t have a lifesized statue of him in her basement.

Following the impulse he had been fighting ever since she had stepped into his life, he leaned over and kissed her. It was tentative, as though seeking her approval after the fact, but when she didn’t pull away he became bolder. Finally getting to put a hand in that glorious hair of hers, he held her lips to his and ran his tongue along her teeth until her mouth opened up for him. She tasted like tang, and the thought made him smile. Her arms went around him as she pressed against him and not for the first time that night he cursed the tightness of the jeans, though now the reason for his displeasure was a little different. He wasn’t sure how long they were there, just kissing and touching one another but when a loud buzzer broke them from their embrace he was sure he had heard this song on the CD already. How time flies.

“I’ll go get you your pants.” Relena looked breathless. She stumbled a little as she made her way towards the laundry room. He would certainly be a lot happier in his own pants. Adjusting himself as best he could was difficult when there was no room to actually do so. Regardless of what pants he wore, his state was fairly obvious. Even though his body was screaming for her, (an unusual enough feeling for his naturally stoic self) he had already decided that he wouldn’t press the issue with her or even ask. The best thing to do would be to leave right now and never look back. It would only get more complex from here on out and if he left now it would always be a beautiful memory, preserved like his sculptures in the freezer of his memory. That was how it should be, and he knew that was how he had always lived, but when Relena walked in with his pants clutched to her and smiling at him in such a warm way he knew that he couldn’t do it.

“I always love warm laundry, even if it is summery out. There’s just something so wholesome about it.” She gave him a little push in the direction of the bathroom as she went to clear off the table of the ignored dessert stuffs.

*
*
*

“So, what happened then?” Duo looked expectantly at Heero, who was looking back with a cross expression. Duo was unfazed. It had taken blackmail to even get Heero to talk about the date, (any hopes of no one noticing his Relena statue had apparently been overly optimistic).

“I put on my pants and then she took me home. What did you expect to happen? Now I have work to do, so leave me alone. This may be a hobby for you, but it is MY life.” Heero tugged on a glove with an air of finality. Duo followed him into the freezer, braid swinging.

“I can’t believe you didn’t try anything other than kissing her! She sounds like she’s totally into you. I mean the pictures and everything. . .”

“I told you that that doesn’t mean anything. She could just like my art. It could mean any number of other things besides wanting me madly, as you so indelicately put it.” Heero pushed his friend out of the freezer and grabbed the door handle. “This subject is closed!” He slammed the door shut, and for a moment Duo pounded on the door and asked muffled questions before giving up and (presumably) going to tell Hilde all about it. Maybe she would get Duo to leave him alone, since it was easy enough to get that logical and compassionate girl to side with him for nothing else except to annoy Duo.

Duo’s questions had struck a nerve though, and that’s why he had gotten angry and let it show.

Why hadn’t he wanted to do more with her? How exactly did she feel about him? More importantly, should he see her again?

He shook his head to clear it; there was work to be done. But first he had to finish something very important. He could add the mouth to her statue now, once he also added a few lines on her face.

The way she looked when she laughed had imprinted on his mind and he knew that’s how he always wanted her look.

If that was true, then he was already in trouble. There was no walking away from this now.

[Eden]

Amazing!! I loved this chapter to no end! Heero actually made a move on our girl Relena! Yeh! And I thought he was such an ice king, . . . Now Relena having a photo album of all his sculptures just makes things all the better!

Well the next chapter is sure to be just as good as this one I'm sure, so don't give it up!! I can't wait to see more!

~Eden

[RyanEX2000]

Hmmaahh.
Looks like it's time for me to do a little backtracking

[miyuchan]

This was the best part yet! Heero finally made his move! WOOHOO! And I was pleasantly surprised by the collection of photos Relena had of his work. The addition of Trowa and Catherine was also a nice touch. And I agree with Heero, Relena does tend to instill some sort of loyalty in everyone she meets. She's just that way!

Please keep the chapters coming!

[Cleo]

there's something... I don't know what, but I loved it!!!! It was really beautiful! I'm sure you're an artist , you couldn't write this or else. Yes, it's definitely beautiful (I cannot pay you better compliment)
Heero and Relena are very OC, so it's really good, and, yes, it was beautiful...

[Beck]

Poor Heero during the date at the restaraunt but at least they got a free meal out of it *snickers*

I liked the into to Trowa and Cathy and the small moment between Trowa evaluating Heero.

I guess I'm the only one that really got a giggle over Heero and Trowa's tight pants. Made me think back on my friend who cosplays as Trowa and he too can't stand wearing tight pants. At least Heero and Rel are comfortable enough to make the move with kissing. Plus with her having that photobook of his ice works was pretty cute.

Off to read the rest to see what all you have in store.