A Nameless Hope, Ch. 2 (PG-13)

[Aeris_Eithne]

A Nameless Hope
Chapter Two: Come Closer

Give me an invitation, more than a guess
Give me a sign with only one single breath
I?ll give you an empty page
This is the time and place
What kind of truth lives in the absence of trust?
What is the use of holding back on this much?
My eyes are open wide
Won?t you let me inside?
-Marit Larsen, Come Closer

The hotel suite was like all the other ones Relena usually procured on her travels: it had a large sitting room, kitchenette, spacious bathroom complete with a hot tub and, most importantly, two separate bedrooms. Relena was fond of keeping her bodyguard near her at all times, but was careful of keeping him too near. And Heero always respected her convictions, entering her room only to inspect for danger.

?Which one do you want?? he asked as they stood in the center of the suite.

Relena shrugged one shoulder. ?It doesn?t matter, really. You pick.?

Heero turned to the room nearest him and tossed his travel bag inside, then settled on the couch with his laptop. When staying with Relena, this was his standard operating procedure.

She was cocking her head and looking at him expectantly. He pretended he didn?t see her. But out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed her with hands on her hips and a familiar gaze in her eyes. A memory jarred his senses from seven years back, when he and Quatre went to the Sanc Kingdom for the first time. He remembered seeing Relena as soon as he exited his plane; she was standing at the bottom of the stairs, chin in her hand, gazing at him almost? dreamily. That was the same look she was giving him now. He pretended to be annoyed.

?What?? he huffed.

?There?s a nice hot tub,? she informed him.

Heero clicked open his internet browser. ?So??

?So? I?m going to check it out. Do you want to come??

His fingers stumbled as he typed; as a result, his browser took him to the wrong website. He growled in frustration. ?Look, Relena, I??

?You don?t have to if you don?t want to?? Her tone of voice revealed she was pouting. Heero still didn?t look.

?It?s not that I don?t want to,? he said, this time typing more slowly. ?But I?didn?t bring a bathing suit.?

Relena giggled. ?Neither did I.?

That did it. Heero?s fingers stumbled again; he gave up trying to type anything that made sense.

?Now who?s dangerous?? he muttered.

?Oh, please,? Relena said, waving a hand. ?You?re the dangerous one; I was only testing you.? She walked away, still giggling.

?That?s it?? Heero glowered. This was getting out of control. He was a soldier, yet he had no idea how to win the mind game she was playing. Taking a shot in the dark, he typed women into his favorite search engine, but all that came up were links to porn sites. With another growl, he snapped his laptop shut.

He needed some air.

Unfortunately, fresh air was an oxymoron for colonists. Heero stepped out onto their suite?s balcony and breathed in the precious imported oxygen. He also breathed in smog from the vehicles that littered the streets below him. A deeper inhalation, and he caught the moist, salty scent that revealed the weather system had just made it rain. He hoped for another downpour?he could use the cooling off.

He lost track of how long he stood outside, but Relena?s scream followed by a crash sent him running back into the suite. He halted outside the bathroom door.

?Relena?? he called. ?Are you all right??

He heard her moan in response. He waited, but she didn?t offer any more than that.

?Did you fall?? he prodded.

?Ohh?uh-huh,? was all he heard.

He frowned. For a blue-blood, Relena was hardly the epitome of grace. He was used to taking care of her accidents and usually strained himself to prevent them. This time, he hadn?t been as careful. He should have known the tub would be slippery and put towels on the floor before she got in, or something.

?Rel, I?m coming in,? he warned her. He put his hand on the doorknob and twisted it open. Just as he expected, it wasn?t locked; Relena never locked doors when he was around.

?No, wait!? she shrieked. ?I?m not dressed!?

Heero stepped back. ?Do you have a towel??

He heard her sniffle, then choke, ?Yes.?

?All right, then, put that on.?

She groaned. ?Don?t you think if I could, I would?ve done that by now? I can?t reach it.?

Heero felt his face grow hot. This was not good. He quickly calculated a new plan.

?Fine. I?ll keep my eyes closed. Just tell me where your towel is and I?ll grab it? Okay??

She sniffled again. ?Okay. It?s on the rack above the tub??

Heero entered the bathroom, careful to keep his eyes clamped shut. He walked forward tentatively, having never seen the room?s layout.

?Am I close??

?Just a few feet further? careful not to trip over me,? Relena instructed.

He felt his foot graze one of her legs and quickly sidestepped her. He thrust his hands forward and felt the warm terry material beneath his fingers. He grabbed it and held it down to where Relena was lying. He let go when he felt her take hold of it.

?Wow, you?re pretty good,? she said, straining to sound cheerful. ?But then, should I really be surprised by now??

All he said in response was, ?Are you decent yet??

?Mostly, yes.?

Heero opened his eyes.

Relena was lying on her right side, blanketed in the large white towel. Heero knelt beside her but didn?t inspect her injuries. Instead, he picked her up, towel and all, and carried her to the bed she?d be sleeping in. Once there, he laid her carefully on her left side. That she was in a great deal of pain was evident. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she clutched the towel tightly around her.

Once again, Heero was at a loss for what to say. Finally, he asked, ?Where does it hurt??

?Everywhere,? she groaned. ?I hit my whole right side when I fell.?

?I know,? he said, taking a seat beside her. ?Let me see.?

She opened only her right eye and peered at him. ?Are you serious??

?Yes,? he urged. ?Let me see.?

She didn?t respond, just closed her eye again, so Heero took that as consent. He lifted the towel where it rested over her right thigh. A large purple bruise was already forming on her reddened skin. He noticed that her shoulder, elbow and ankle were similarly marked.

?You bruise fast,? he remarked stupidly.

?You noticed?? she quipped.

He ran a hand through his hair, staring at her exposed legs. He forced himself to look away and spotted a bathrobe hanging on a wall hook. Heero practically launched himself off the bed and yanked the robe off its hook.

?Here?put this on,? he said, thrusting it at Relena. ?I? I?ll go get you some ice.? Then he bolted out of the room. He?d faced many perils as a Gundam pilot, but a barely clothed Relena? This was beyond dangerous.

Heero busied himself in the kitchen, filling a plastic bag with ice cubes and boiling water for tea. He retrieved a washcloth from the bathroom to wrap around his homemade ice pack. Then he located a bottle of extra-strength pain reliever in his travel bag. The kettle he?d put on the highest heat whistled, and Heero fixed a cup of Relena?s favorite white jasmine tea. At least he?d come prepared.

When he reentered the bedroom, he found Relena in the same position he?d left her in, except she was wearing the bathrobe. He settled next to her and placed the tea and pain relievers on the nightstand.

?Take some of that when you feel up to it,? he instructed. He then pulled her robe open, just enough to reveal the growing bruise on her side. He held the cold compress against her thigh, and she shivered.

?Ooh, that?s cold.?

Heero chuckled, thinking of all the times she?d responded the same way when he tended to her injuries. ?You always say that, but it doesn?t change anything,? he murmured.

Relena laughed. ?Well, that sounds a bit cryptic. What are you trying to say??

?Nothing. It?s just that we seem to end up in this position a lot.?

?You mean you always feel like you?re icing my injuries??

He was silent. There she goes with that mind-reading thing again, he thought.

?Well,? she continued playfully, ?whose fault is that? Maybe you should stay closer to me.?

?Hn,? he grunted. ?I thought you were strong enough to fend for yourself. How did you manage to survive while I was gone for three years??

Relena didn?t answer right away; she seemed to be mulling over his question thoughtfully. Heero hadn?t meant to evoke such a reaction. Once again, he had the urge to bolt, but she looked up at him with sad blue eyes and he felt stuck. She was so perfectly beautiful and, right now, so perfectly helpless?

?It was hard,? Relena finally admitted. She stretched her right hand toward his, but he was still pressing the icepack against her. She settled for tracing her fingers over his arm.

Her touch was agony. Heero bit his lip. He knew where this was going.

?I still don?t understand why you had to leave,? she murmured. He found himself gazing at her pink lips. ?You?ve never given me a sufficient answer.?

Her fingers trailed up to his shoulder, which they began to massage. Heero dropped the icepack.

?I already told you,? he said flatly, leaning over to pick up the compress.

?You don?t love me anymore,? she finished for him.

Heero winced. That was one of the excuses he had given her, back then. She hadn?t bought his wanting her to become more independent as a valid justification. He?d had no choice but to tell her the biggest lie he could craft; only then had she let him go.

But it was clear his words had hurt her more than he?d ever intended. Her eyes seemed to grow darker and even more sorrowful. She let her hand fall from his shoulder.

?So,? she whispered, ?is it true??

He kept his head down, not wanting to meet her eyes and be forced to answer.

?Heero,? she baited him. ?Do you still? are you sure you don?t love me??

He?d dreaded this conversation. It had been a year in the making, but he?d avoided it at all costs. Now his mouth was dry and she was waiting.

[Wingnut]

?What?? he huffed.

?There?s a nice hot tub,? she informed him.

Heero clicked open his internet browser. ?So??

?So? I?m going to check it out. Do you want to come??

His fingers stumbled as he typed; as a result, his browser took him to the wrong website. He growled in frustration. ?Look, Relena, I??

?You don?t have to if you don?t want to?? Her tone of voice revealed she was pouting. Heero still didn?t look.

?It?s not that I don?t want to,? he said, this time typing more slowly. ?But I?didn?t bring a bathing suit.?

Relena giggled. ?Neither did I.?

That did it. Heero?s fingers stumbled again; he gave up trying to type anything that made sense.

That was too good.
It is fortunate you are not giving up on this fic, otherwise I would have to kill you for the cliffhanger here in this part.

[HiFreak]

Noooooooooo! Cliffhanger. EVIL!

Anyway, I agree with Aeris_Eithne, the begining was priceless. I was cracking up at the whole porn site thing. LOL
Update soon.

[The Angry Angel]

The hot tub flubb rub-a-dub-dub was a hoot. Loved it!

I like all these different and adorable assets you keep accessorizing Relena with; it makes her so much more human and-- and-- and just great! Klutzoid indeed! oh--sorry, Rel. That really must have hurt. >.< Ouchies!

Poor thing, but it does get Heero up and movin ...>.> or is it just an act, Relena, to get Heero up and movin?

Keep 'em comin, Aeris keep 'em comin. I love it lots!

[Morrighan]

*makes note of the hot tub conversation for future personal reference*

*blink, blink* What? I'm not up to anything...promise...


...Heero needs to figure out his feelings. Or something. The urge to smack him is most tempting.

[PeaceWing]

The hot tub scene was priceless. I just couldn't stop giggling.
Ouch for Relena though!

[WingZero2118]

its not every day that heero is left speechless and the whole hot tub sceene was just priceless. just imagining relena leaning over the couch to whisper in his ear and watch him squirm as he trys to type had me roling. love it! on to the next chapter!