Love Beyond All Fear 1

[Gundam Girl]

Gundam Girl: Wow, so this first chapter arrives. Originally, this fic was going to be joint-written by Maxine and myself. Max has other obligations, though, so it seems I?m going solo on this one.

Lady Lye: Wonderful. . .

Gundam Girl: *pouts* I?m sorry if this disappoints you. Maxine is really sorry she can?t do this right now. I hope you still enjoy it as much as any of my or Max?s other fics.

Disclaimer: Heh, yeah. When I own it, I?ll tell you, and I?ll make a live-action version of GW fics, airing on Adult Swim!

Love Beyond All Fear ? Chapter One

The air was damp and the smell of nicotine collided with cheap perfume. It made one gag, one grin, and force one to roll his eyes and turn on his heel.

?Hell, no! You?re not chickenin? out on me now, Heero,? said Duo Maxwell, the United States? personal Death. ?If you leave me and Trowa to get slaughtered, we?ll come back and haunt you.?

Trowa Barton, usually silent, seized the opportunity to defend himself. ?I?m sure I could think of better things to do in the afterlife than haunt Yuy with you.?

Duo grinned. ?Sure.? He set a hand on the handle of the door in front of him. Squeezing his buddy?s shoulder, ?Jazz me with some jibberish, paly,? he let it swing open.

Heero Yuy could only think of one thing to say when they stepped inside. ?Baka,? he said bitterly.

?Now, now.? Winking, he led his two stoic companions to a table. ?I needed a guy who spoke the language of love.?

?French?? Trowa asked, an eyebrow raising.

Duo shook his head. ?Not here,? he said happily. So saying, he motioned to a passing waitress clad in a camisole, stockings, and some piece of cloth that didn?t really qualify as a skirt. ?Three beers, sweetheart.?

?Hai.?

Heero glanced around humorlessly. The ?restaurant? wasn?t titled Fair View for nothing. With the not-so-decently dressed women serving plates of food and most likely themselves, he got a fair view of entirely too much skin.

Or so the woman who?d run his orphanage would have insisted.

Trowa felt the same as Heero. Not once in his life had he ever pictured himself in a place like this. He?d been to call houses before, naturally, and he?d seen hundreds of bars, but this place. . . It had some kind of stir in the smoke-engulfing air that seemed entirely to fatalistic for his liking. And rarely was he wrong.

The waitress that Duo had called to returned with their drinks. Over the foam of his beer, Duo looked from her scalp to her ankles and smiled politely ? or as polite as one could seem when giving off an expression completely animalistic.

The woman was not offended, rather, she seemed quite pleased. ?Anything to eat for you, gentlemen?? she asked, taking a pad and pencil. A soft German accent flavored her voice, and for a moment, Duo remembered what he was supposed to be doing in Japan in the first place. He pushed it away.

?Nothing that?s on the menu, babe,? he murmured.

She leaned forward to absently pluck at a few flyaway strands of Duo?s braid. ?Lovely hair you have there, sir.? Her eyes skimmed over the other two for brief moments. ?Anything for you two?? she questioned Heero and Trowa.

Trowa gave her a negative look, Heero grunted.

Duo pulled out a ten. ?That?s for the beer. I?ll have a steak. . .? He touched a finger to her chin. ?And hopefully some dessert after that.?

?The name?s Hilde; remember that,? the little waitress said. Leaning to his ear, she whispered, ?Leave me a generous tip, my little American, and I?ll be just as kind.?

?Christ, she knows who we are,? muttered Duo as Hilde sauntered off. He couldn?t resist a look at her rocking hips.

?A woman like that doesn?t care as long as she?s paid. She has loyalties to none but herself,? Trowa said over his glass. ?How long do you expect to be here, Duo??

He shrugged. ?Hour and thirty minutes, at most.?

Heero grunted once more. ?It?ll take that long??

Duo smiled knowingly. ?I like to savor my meals.? He sighed as his friends failed to reply. ?Jeez, you two need to lighten up. Don?t tell me you only came for the alcohol.?

?I?ll have a whiskey before the night?s through,? Trowa confirmed. ?And Heero didn?t want to stay and have to listen to Wufei and that nurse ? Sally?s ? racket. They fight nonstop, and then they make up.?

?I was a little disappointed that Quatre didn?t come,? said Duo. ?But I guess I couldn?t really imagine him somewhere like this. Or Heero, either.? He grinned at the spy across from him who was still interested in his drink. ?Tell me you?ll at least have dessert,? he pleaded.

Heero grunted again.

?You are hopeless!? exclaimed Duo, smacking a hand to his forehead. ?That?s it, if you won?t buy something, I will.?

?Keep your money,? Yuy ground out, ?or use it on my beer.?

?There?s heat in this li?l town, Heero!? protested Duo. ?You?re gonna be real cold if you don?t get some of it.?

?I can take the cold,? he assured and sipped from his mug again.

***

Again, Hilde wiped sweat from her forehead. She?d given that man with the braid four glances in the past ten minutes, one of which he?d caught, and each time it left her with a burning sensation. As she finished serving some potatoes to a team of hungry locals, she turned to a girl working the bar and arguing with a balding man who wore American sunglasses, showing he owed the business.

?Can I have a word, Howard? With the newby?? asked Hilde.

Howard, who had changed his name from a traditional Japanese one just three months ago, nodded. ?Help her out, Hilde, for God?s sake. She?s still wet behind the ears.?

She nodded, and Howard moved away to tend to some already drunk customers requesting more wine. He was glad to provide for them.

?Relena, what was that about??

The girl serving at the bar cast her eyes downward, dark lashes brushing her cheeks. Her European hair, swept over one shoulder, glowed in the fluorescent light of Fair View.

?He was complaining,? she murmured. ?He said that I needed to go?.? She paused, searching for a delicate way of stating it. ?Display the merchandise,? she finished.

?Ah.?

?I?ve only been here two days!? she exclaimed suddenly. ?Yeah, I need the money, but I?m just not ready??

?With that attitude,? said Hilde, ?you?ll never be ready. Sex isn?t delicate, honey.? When Relena grimaced, Schbeiker wished she?d been a bit softer. She liked Relena. Because of that, she wanted to toughen her up for the profession she would have for most likely the next few years.

?Listen, I needed a favor,? Hilde told her, and Relena nodded. Gesturing to the table where Heero, Duo, and Trowa?s backs were, she smiled. ?Do you think you can handle that table if I man the bar for awhile? The guy with all the hair has me booked for later. He wants a steak, medium rare.?

Puzzled but willing to help, Relena smiled kindly. ?No problem.? Lifting the pass-through, she went out of the bar. After returning from the kitchen, her sheer stocking-clad legs headed to table forty-three.

?Medium rare steak,? she said, her voice coming out huskily from practice. ?Hilde will be back later,? she promised the braided man with a wink. ?Refills for you other gentlemen?? She turned up her eyes to look at Trowa, who smiled lightly and passed her his mug. When her eyes shifted to Heero, she paused, hand reaching for his glass as well.

They were blue, like hers, only darker. Like a storm nearly finished, but waiting for the finale of lighting to be cued for the final act. Relena blinked. Where had that come from?

Thankful for the dim lighting of the bar, she blushed and took his glass. What on Earth had just occurred? Was that a bit of infatuation for a Japanese man with American friends? How odd.

Heero eyed Relena slowly as she bustled away to get him more beer. For a moment, he?d been almost hypnotized by the innocence in her face, among the other temptresses laughing and coaxing throughout the restaurant.

Duo laughed and slapped his back. ?Grand ole? time! How ?bout it, buddy? I?ll pay fifty for you to just dance with that girl.?

?Don?t insult me,? he snarled, slightly disappointed that he didn?t have his beer to hide behind.

He only laughed again. ?Or you, Trowa? I?m sure you?d have fun with that little blond.?

Trowa sat back, and Heero didn?t notice his eyes had snapped to his until Trowa smiled once more. ?Perhaps.?

?Don?t even consider it.?

Interested, Trowa raised an eyebrow at Heero. ?Will you??

Growling again, Heero fell silent. When Relena returned five minutes later with the refilled beers, he didn?t look at her, and thankfully, she didn?t glance at him. Just when Duo was set on speaking, she hurried away as quickly as she had come.

?Well, she must be on a roll,? Duo commented.

?Or you frighten her,? said Trowa, swigging from his drink.

***

Howard gritted his teeth together and turned to his queen man magnet. ?Hilde, we?re not making what we should be.?

Hilde sighed, knowing what was coming.

?Fashion show,? he said simply, and moved away to elsewhere.

Hilde cursed under her breath, and went about the task of starting a whispered chain for the news. That done, she stood on the bar and called out.

?Gentlemen!? she yelled with practiced enthusiasm. ?For your entertainment, we have a presentation tonight.? Ignoring the oafs slapping at her ankles, she went on, ?Each girl here will show a little bit of skin. You decide what it is they present, and they throw off what they need to. One who calls out first also gets the girl fifty percent off for one night only.?

There was a riot. Those who had come enough to see this spectacular several times hooted and lifted their mugs.

Relena had heard about these ?fashion shows? but had not yet participated in them since she?d been employed. Feeling embarrassed and annoyed, she lined up on the bar-strip with six other girls.

Howard, emcee and owner, stood on a chair off to the side. ?You know the rules!? he shouted. ?One call per man. And let?s have some variety here, men.? Grinning, he turned to the first girl. ?Dorothy!?

The calls for a bare back was made, and the woman gifted with strange eyebrows turned away from them and lifted her shirt high. There were drunken catcalls.

Duo muttered to himself, his American heart straining. ?Didn?t know they do things like that here.?

?Perverted and often-drunk men think women can?t be beautiful unless they?re naked and under them,? Trowa said distantly, turning away from the girls.

Heero didn?t speak. He watched as one-by-one, the girls lifted of tossed aside whatever they needed to show what was wanted.

Something in him burst as Hilde, their waitress and the second to last one, rolled her stockings enough to show when her legs met her hips and smoothed down to her toes. And then?

?Relena!? called Howard.

Relena, whose cheeks were red, lifted one hand, preparing herself.

?Shoulders!? Heero heard himself calling.

Relena paused. There were groans of disappointment. Howard even seemed puzzled at the not-too-indecent request.

Obligingly, Relena pushed the sleeves of her shirt off her arms and swiveled, showing off the skin curving from her neck.

Heero?s chest heaved as though he?d just ran a mile. There had definitely been effort putting into the shout for the girl, Relena, to bare her shoulders to the ravenous-looking men at the bar.

Trowa and Duo turned to look at him as the girls came down from the bar and scattered to promise the men who had earned them an eleven o? clock appointment.

?Where?d that come from?? asked Duo, disbelievingly.

?I?.? Heero shook his head. ?I don?t have a damn clue.?

Trowa smirked and drained his glass swiftly. ?That was nice of you, Heero??

He blinked. ?What??

?To offer Relena a job.?

He froze. The rules to the game went ?if you shout, you get the girl for a lower price.? He groaned. That girl?.Relena.

Howard, leading Relena by the waist, came to Heero with a broad grin on his face. ?Congratulations, Sergeant Yuy.?

Suspicous, he paused. ?You know my name.?

?Sergeant and spy for the U.S., yes, I know.? Howard?s yellow teeth flashed. ?You should feel very fortunate. Winning Relena is quite the deal, and a special treat for you, as she was very expensive without the fashion show.?

?Why?s that?? asked Duo because he knew his friend wouldn?t. Relena stayed silent behind Howard.

?If you?ve been to places like this before,? he said casually, ?you?ll know virgins are very rare at places like this.?

Trowa efficiently tuned out. Heero felt stupid and risked a glance at Relena, who was staring at the floor, blushing.

?How much?? Duo questioned. ?I?m paying.?

?A hundred,? Howard replied.

?That?s no different!?

?She was two hundred, Duo-sama,? Howard informed briskly. ?I could change that price if I needed to. The money goes to her anyway.?

Duo out pulled some bills and gave them to Heero, but Yuy didn?t make a further move. ?Come on,? he said at last. ?Dance with her.?

?It?s a free dance, Mr. Yuy,? Howard assured him as a saxophone swung neatly into a ballad.

Because Relena knew it would please her boss, she stepped forward and took this Heero?s hand. ?One dance won?t hurt,? she said, allowing a smile to spread her lips.

Heero saw through the expression. Afraid, he thought. She was afraid. Slowly, he slid his chair back, stood, and let her lead him to the dance area of the bar.

She was nervous, this being her first time actually seducing anyone. Wasn?t it just her luck that she?d gotten a guy who was seemingly mute and dangerous-looking? Carefully, she slid her arms from Heero?s side, around his neck, and pulled herself up to him, like Hilde had advised.

Duo grinned from the table as he watched Relena slither up Heero?s chest. ?She?s good,? he commented.

Trowa shrugged. ?I?ve had better.?

?You know, I don?t think I really want to know about that. Ah, Hilde!?

?You have me only until eight-thirty,? she warned him, a coy smile playing on his lips. ?A half-hour, Mr. Maxwell.?

?That?s my cue.? He stood up. ?I?ll see you later, buddy.? Waving to Trowa, he quickly followed Hilde to the back of the room and up a case of stairs.

Trowa glanced from the stairs to Heero and Relena, considering. Deciding it wouldn?t be a problem, he pulled a piece of paper and a pen from his back pocket and started his crossword puzzle.

***

She was beautiful, as he?d noticed before. He?d been called blind to attractiveness before, and deaf to compliments as well, but he was no moron, and he realized that the girl currently clinging to his waist was afraid of him. Yes, she seemed brave, running her hands across his broad chest in ways that had his blood scrambling through his veins to his heart, - and other places ? but behind all of the boldness was a sensitivity that he knew he had to be careful with.

Why? He wished to God he knew. Relena was a bar girl, offering a lot, but not everything. And though he?d never been completely devoted to the concept of love, he didn?t doubt it existed. Hearing Sally talk about Wufei while they had worked together at the Osaka base and then seeing them together had proven that.

When she spoke, he blinked. ?What did you say??

Relena?s heart beat a little faster; it had taken enough courage to say it the first time. ?I asked if you wanted to go upstairs.?

Heero hesitated, then looked toward the stairs a couple yards away. Feeling his pulse rage with adrenaline and, he admitted with some shame, undeniable lust, he nodded.

Relena?s fingers danced down his arm to link with Heero?s. ?A half-hour then, Mr. Yuy.?

They started up the staircase.


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

Gundam Girl: Right. . . So, it seems I?ve left you all at a cliffhanger. I?ve been doing a lot of fic work lately, but God knows how fast these chapter will get out. *looks at pile of projects and sighs. She shouldn?t really be doing this.* I hope you guys liked this. Please hold it in your heart to review. Ja matta ne!

[Melville's Best Friend]

I want to know what happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppppppppppppppp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, goodness! Lena! A bar chick?!?!?!?!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I LOVE this!!!! Oh my goodness! How good is this, I ask you?
Very, I say. ^_^


Finish, missy. Please finish.


........now.


~MBF

[Eden]

Holy cow!!
If Heero does sleep with her, is he going to be able to leave her behind afterwards? Somehow I don't think so.
Well, eventhough you said you had alot of stuff to finish before you get back to this, I hope that you can squeeze out another chapter before too long!

~Eden

[Gundam Girl]

MBF and Eden,

Wow, I'm thrilled that you are so intrigued by this fic. Animechick - girl from my ML - had the same reaction. I'd doing my best to juggle fics, school, show choir, and my original stories. The next fic I work on will be Borrowed Love, but each of my fics take turns getting updated. This one may be a while, I'm afraid.

Did I say how much I appreciate your enthusiasm? I love it! Thank you guys for reading and reviewing.

-GG

[freelight01]

That is way too intersting to stop there!!! I mean how could you - that was plain evil - Get the next chapter out soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[suicide_baka]

Holy Mother of god! This is the best thing that I have read today. How could you leave me here wondering what's going to happen next! Ahhhhhhhh....calm down suicide_baka....remember patient is a virtue...I can't take it!!!

[shadowcat]

Please keep writtiing and keep me entertained!!

*cat

[Gundam Girl]

Wow, I am working on all of my fics. I'm thrilled that this is so well-received. Thanks you guys!

[Kiyoko]

Hm, I wonder whats going to happen? Heero seems to honourable to take advantage of Relena, but they again you never know. This is a great fic so far, and you set the mood well. Please keep going and I can't wait for the next chapter.

[lilac310]

AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Oh. C'mon..you're killing me!!!!! Don't leave us waiting!!!! Post the next chapter soon....I'm hoping for an INNOCENT limey scene......lol ....is there even such a thing? the word innocent and limey together???