The Great Yuy 3/?

[J Alberghini]

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment. I am making no profit off of this fic.

The Great Yuy- Chapter 3

"They were so engrossed in each other that she didn't see me until I was five feet away."
- Jordan Baker, about her first meeting with Jay Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

4 June AC 202
1700 hours
Counter: 02:30

Heero didn't show his face for the rest of the afternoon, and Relena was surprised at how relieved she felt that she wouldn't have to deal with him until dinner. Now, after she had changed from her travel clothes into a pale blue sundress and taken a brief nap, she had her an hour more of freedom, as the entire Winner family and its guests ate promptly at six o'clock. According to Quatre, the aforementioned former soldier was locked away in his room, so she deemed it safe to explore the extensive and exquisite (for all that they were planted in artificial soil) gardens. Needless to say, Relena was surprised when, upon going to examine the rose bushes, she found Heero Yuy himself, comfortably casual (in his mind, perhaps too casual) in jeans and his tank top, perched on a white marble bench in the midst of the flowers, his nose buried in a book. He acknowledged her with a wave of his hand, before he did a double take and tossed his book into the bushes in surprise.
"Relena! Er, hi." Heero suddenly felt uncomfortably warm, despite the fact that the colony temperature was regulated for comfort more than season.
"Can I sit here?" The question brought to mind another similar incident, and she giggled nervously.
"Go ahead, it isn't my colony either," he replied without emotion, though he did understand the joke. He ducked behind the bushes for a moment, retrieving his book, as she sat while briefly admiring a certain part of his backside-, which Relena immediately chided herself for looking at.
You're taken, she reminded herself, forgetting all about women's rights for a moment with that rather un-politically correct thought. Still, it was all that could get through to her. But on the other hand, the phrase "No harm in looking" drifted into her mind. She shook it off quickly. "What are you reading?" she asked, willing herself to focus her vision on the book he was holding.
"Hmm? Oh, The Great Gatsby," he replied, using as few syllables as he possibly could.
"Really? That's my favorite book!" She exclaimed, anxiety making her sound a little too enthusiastic, even though it was the truth. "I've read it at least three times already, I think."
"Three? This is my fifth," he boasted.
"Yeah, right," Relena said incredulously. "I'm surprised you've even read it once."
Heero eyed her curiously. "Hm? What makes you say that?"
The politician shrugged. "I don't know. It's sort of- well there are a few romantic elements, and you- I mean, guys aren't exactly into that. I mean, it's not exactly a "chick book" like people might consider Pride and Prejudice for instance, but?"
Heero shook his head disapprovingly. "Why do people seem to make the misconception that men always balk at romances, unless they're gay? It's like saying shoujo manga isn't read by older men or shonen is only action. It's just not true. What's the reason for that? This book was written by a man, its main character is a man, what shouldn't a guy like? Even I, with my reputation for being a heartless bastard, enjoy it. I'm not saying you're to blame, but why?"
Relena studied him for a moment, surprised by this sudden display of feeling, if not downright emotion. "I don't know. I'm sorry if I misjudged you." She frowned deeply. "I didn't mean it that way, I was just teasing."
Heero nodded. "I know," he said apologetically. He felt bad for jumping on her like that, but the thought that not just most people, but she thought he was a "heartless bastard" as he had said. Man or not, he wasn't a robot, and he had to make that clear to Relena, at least, if no one else. "I?m not blaming you," he continued. "It's just?" he stopped, suddenly afraid to vocalize his thoughts.
"What?" she encouraged. She put her hand on his in an intimate gesture that disturbed him as much as it elated him. "You can tell me. I won't say anything."
"All right." He turned away from her, pulling his hand away so that he retained some mental control over himself. Now was the perfect time to tell her how he felt. His sensibility was screaming at him not to mess up this opportunity. Taking a deep breath, he began," It's just? the reason I like the book so much is, well, I can relate to Gatsby. I know how it feels, wanting something, someone, so out of your reach." He turned to her suddenly, grasping her hand. "Relena, I-"
For a moment, the girl leaned towards him with what could only be described as eagerness. Then, a second later, she jumped away, the moment gone.
"Now, that was deep," she giggled nervously. Oh great, I probably sound like such an air head now, she thought. "How can you read?" she continued, trying to sound as light as possible, "with your hair in your eyes like that?" Something silly was all she could come up with at that moment to give her an excuse, any excuse, to leave. She grinned mischievously. "Be right back."
"Um, sure." He watched her go, unable to see the look of panic that had replaced the smile on her face.

* * * * * *

Relena dove into her suitcase, scattering once neatly packed articles of clothing all over the floor. "Where is it, damn it?" She opened her purse and shook it upside down until the object in question fell to the floor: a handy little device, which since a completely different era had been referred to as a cell phone. Of course, it had no picture, like a normal vidphone did, but at least she had free long distance on Saturdays and Sundays. Not that she couldn't afford it, of course, even at this long distance. But on this, no one else could eavesdrop.
She punched in the number and it crackled more than rang. Finally, she heard a click, and a muffled, but familiar voice saying, "Hello, Drake residence. Who's calling please?"
Relena grinned; feeling suddenly relieved when she heard the voice of her ever-faithful butler. "Pagan, is that you?"
"Miss Relena! I, er, I can explain, that is to say, um?" She giggled. Since she first knew Jonathan, back in the days of crayons and pigtails, Pagan had been quite taken with the Drakes' housekeeper. It only took years and the slight interference of their charges to finally get them together. It didn't surprise her that he was there, and it more than pleased her. "It's okay, Pagan. I'll be a good girl and I won't tease you about it. At least, not until I see you in person anyway. Is Jon there?"
"Master Jonathan is in his study," was his reply. "I'll fetch him." There was an abrupt clunk, and Relena fancied that he'd be bright red when Jon saw him.
"Caught him red-handed, huh?" Relena started when she heard the voice of her lover on the other line.
"Oh, uh, yeah," she replied, feeling somewhat shaky, and awfully guilty for something she hadn't done (at least, not yet anyway). Fortunately, he couldn't sense her discomfort. Relena wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Didn't think the old guy had it in him," he continued, and she could hear the smirk in his voice, though she couldn't see it. "How ya doing, sweetheart?" About a month into their relationship (Yes, it took that long.) Jon had finally started calling her by her name without any suffixes attached, and recently had made another switch to more affectionate nicknames, including sweetheart, honey, and (Relena had a feeling Duo was to blame) babe. Though annoying to most people around them, Relena thought it was sweet. But she refused to do it herself- Jon was as far as she would go.
"Good," she said lightly, twirling her hair around her finger, a bad habit she'd developed over the years. Though she'd expected his voice to ground her somewhat, it only seemed to make the ache in her stomach grow worse. But again, he didn't seem to notice.
"That's nice. Anyway, I'm glad you called. I just sent a surprise for you, you should get it tomorrow."
"Really, what?" she asked, trying to sound enthusiastic as she rummaged through her accessories, searching for something to bring back, anything that would work.
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," he said, sounding fully confident that she would like it, perhaps a bit too confident. Not that Relena noticed this, of course. Even if she weren't preoccupied, she wouldn't have. "Look for the best in people" was one of her favorite sayings, and it explained something about her list of old boyfriends/crushes. This was also why she let him drone on about something, a new car or boat, or whatever it was, for the next fifteen minutes.
Heero's probably wondering what happened to me, she thought to herself. Once that name came up, her blood pressure automatically rose and she was hard pressed to push it out of her mind, and she wasn't really listening anyway to begin with. Before she knew it, she had said "Goodbye" and turned off the phone. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she found the very object she needed, and feeling only slightly more composed, she returned to the gardens, muttering "I have a boyfriend" under her breath. She was determined to resist Heero Yuy's charms (if he had any) if it was the last thing she did.

* * * * * *

"I'm back," she sung, smiling wickedly.
Heero looked up from his book. "I see. Well?"
"Close your eyes," she ordered mysteriously, holding both of her hands behind her back, though he had no idea what she could be hiding.
He eyed her curiously for a moment, arching one thick brown eyebrow. Then his shoulders kicked in and he obeyed the command, all the while wondering what on earth had possessed her. Or him, for that matter, for listening to her. Eh, who am I kidding? I'd jump off a bridge if she asked me to, he thought, sighing inwardly.
Heero nearly jumped, startled, as she began to gently run her fingers through his bangs. "Relena," he started to say, but a small moan escaped him instead. Enjoying the feeling, he relaxed more, forgetting to be wary of what she was planning until he felt something clamp against his scalp.
"What the-?" He reached up and pulled the foreign object out of his hair to inspect it. It was a large black clip, which he'd seen in a lot of women's hair on TV and in magazines. Fine for them, he supposed, but he imagined that it'd be mortifying for a guy to be seen wearing it in public. Judging by his companion's giggles, which bubbled up from with in her like water in a fountain, despite her best efforts to damn them, Heero figured he'd been right. Yet, instead of feeling embarrassed, as he should have been, he chuckled softly as he got to his feet, moving as slowly as the old lady he'd seen crossing the street that morning. Relena studied him with apprehension.
He put down his things, stood, took a step and she fled, prepared for whatever punishment he might choose to inflict upon her. They wound through various bushes, trampling on the newly cut artificial grass and unleashing the scent of fresh herbs under their feet. They were now quite far away from the main house and Relena's legs (not to mention her shoes) felt like they would buckle and give way at any moment, taking away the advantage her head start had given her. She darted behind a tree, Heero still quite a bit away, and pressed her back to it, the bark scratching her skin through her thin (and expensive) summer clothes. She gasped for breath and peaked around the trunk to see if her pursuer was nearby. But no one was there. Fearing that he was also hiding, she ducked back, only to be met by laughing blue eyes and a triumphant smile. Taken aback, she froze in her tracks.
"Gotcha." He dove for her and she regained her senses just in time to dodge, but she was no more than a match for his superhuman speed; he had just been playing with her until then. Relena braced her chest, her chest swelling with fear and an odd hope as she wondered what on earth he was going to do now that he had her.

* * * * * *

Heero watched Relena calmly as she dashed behind a tree, letting her think she was safe. He slowed down, half-laughing, half-panting. He felt strangely exhilarated from the exercise, which was really quite slow compared to the speed of his daily five-mile run. Nonchalantly, he strolled down the path, as if he were merely admiring the flowers. He stopped at her tree, listening to her gasping for breath. Then she moved, probably to see where he was. Instead of following her there, he went the other direction. When she returned, he met her smirking. No, not smirking, SMILING. Yes, it was a smile. If it were someone else, it might have been a laugh, but a smile on Heero Yuy?
Relena stared, as if she were seeing him for the first time. She felt as if she was. Heero was an entirely different person when he smiled. It was enough to make any girl melt- or forget what she was supposed to be doing. Not that it was a distraction technique, mind you, he wasn't thinking that rationally at the moment. How could he; he was actually having fun for one of the first times of his life. It was an odd sort of game, and it could have been dangerous for her if he were any other sort of man. Grabbing her by the wrists, he pinned her to the tree, which could be considered a very compromising position. He was so close, Relena felt suffocated; but she couldn't push him away, even if she wanted to. Though pretty strong for her size, not even the Hulk could push off Heero Yuy.
"So, you think I?m funny, do you?" he whispered. His breath tickled her neck, and she felt her face grow hot.
"Yes, she answered, knowing she might have just signed her death warrant (figuratively speaking, of course- she hoped). He dropped her arms, putting his hands on the bark on both sides of her head instead, trapping her even more.
"Is that so? Well, I don't like that." There was a note of teasing in his voice, making her feel more at ease and more daring.
"So what are you going to do about it?" she challenged. Her voice sounded like it belonged to someone else to her ears, suddenly deeper and husky. If she'd witnessed the scene in a movie, she'd say the aim of seduction was clear. But Relena wouldn't do that, would she?
"Hmm, good question," he murmured. Relena's honey blonde locks had fallen in to her eyes, sticking to her skin. Heero moved one hand to move them, brushing against her forehead as he did so. His fingertips were cold, a relief from the heat, which suddenly had become unbearable to her.
"Your hands feel so cool," she murmured. She remembered, one springtime long ago, that a different but slightly similar gesture had brought about the same remark, if only in her head. "You always feel so cool."
Heero mumbled something, she wasn't even sure if it was real words, but as she tilted her head to hear him better, her eyes drifted to an unwelcome sight. For who should she see but Quatre, all the Gundam pilots and their female companions, including her relatives, and a few random Winner sisters and Maguanacs standing about five feet away. They had come to fetch their guests for dinner, and had been there for quite a long time now, watching them with confused expressions. Relena gasped softly, making Heero turn as well.
"Ahem." Quatre was the first to speak. He looked perplexed, and, though they couldn't tell, a bit amused, which he felt wasn't appropriate to show at that time. "Here you are."
"Um, we were just-" Relena attempted to explain, but her oratory skills failed her at the moment, as did most of her brain. Heero didn't even try. There was a stormy expression on his face as he stomped out of the garden. Relena had the odd feeling that she'd almost grasped something, but lost it at once. Dazed and trying to figure out what that thing was, she took the arm Quatre offered her and they went in to dine.