Fire and Ice 5/?

[AngelOfDeath]

Five chapters? What?s going on, I thought you were only going to do four chapters, self. Oh well, I?m still having fun and that?s what?s important, ne? Though I have been dragging my heels a little on this. I have also increasingly been thinking about getting a beta to go over all my old fics since I am my own worst editor (as in I don?t do it). We?ll see. Correspondence with strangers scares me. Myeh. What?s even worse is the fact that my computer decided to blow up on me, (hence massive delays). Grrrr. Excuses excuses.

Disclaimer: Same as all previous chapters.

Chapter 5

He was still clutching the steering wheel as she ran up to the front window and tented her eyes with her hands as if she could make out something inside by doing so. She looked so terribly innocent standing there, her hair falling about her at her sides, leaning against the window. So eager. So happy. So not yet frightened of him. Forcing his hands free with a wrench, he climbed out of the car and joined Relena by the door. He wished he could just push a little too hard in the wrong way and break his key in the lock, but he knew that that would just be delaying the inevitable, (in an expensive and stupid way) so he refrained.

She practically skipped into the shop. The sparseness of it seemed a bit depressing: a counter, a cordless phone, an answering machine, glass cases empty and dusty inside, shelves across from the empty cases with various tools laid on them that needed to be fixed, mud tracks on the floor leading back into a doorway. She followed the tracks and came to a space that seemed to have been renovated with a door to the right and then a fair amount of empty space that simply had a tattered olive colored couch and a table and lamp. There was a notebook on the table, and an empty mug. At the far end of the room was a large metal door with coat hooks next to it that held various articles of warm weather clothing. More mud stains led back to the door. But what was the door to the right?

With a gesture she silently asked to open the door. Heero, pensive and unresponsive as ever, just shrugged. She took that as a yes. All that the door hid was a staircase leading up to the second floor. The owners of the butcher shop may or may not have lived up here before, but someone had because the layout was that of a home. She climbed the stairs, smiling at the creaking wood because it was the only noise that anything had made in this place so far. Heero?s rooms were furnished yet resembled the store below in sparse furnishings and an overall feeling of absence. Did someone live here? The proof was in front of her, yet it was still hard to believe. This didn?t just need a ?woman?s touch? in the stereotypical sense, it needed to be worn and used just to look human first. At least the couch downstairs was comfy looking.

"For an artist you sure don?t seem to grasp the idea of decorating." Nothing on the walls except for a poster of some exhibition for a sculptor she had never heard of. Other than that, stark white walls greeted her eyes. Living room was expensively furnished with black and green furniture, and expensive electronics systems (though not extravagant or overwhelming). The kitchen looked too clean, like no one ever cooked in there, and the dining room had a nice table set that similarly looked like not a chair had been pulled from it in weeks if not longer. Various sketches and drawing materials were spread out on the table and she assumed the papers were ideas for pieces. Just two more rooms in this flat of his: the bathroom and the bedroom. Heero stayed right behind her, waiting for something. He opened the door to his bedroom for her to look inside; it was neat, just as she had expected. There was a computer system in one side, and what looked to be a closet on another side. Also she noted a small bookshelf near the bed, loaded with books, another door (probably leading to the bathroom) next to that. She walked back into the living room, Heero trailing like her shadow. It was starting to get to that lovely time of day when everything goes all golden in the sunset. She sat down on the couch, and the cushion slowly gave to her weight.

"Well," she began. Heero stood in the doorway looking at her from across the room. "I think your apartment is lovely, but it is perfectly obvious to me that this isn?t where you live." He raised both eyebrows. "Show me your workshop. I have a feeling that that is where I?ll find you Heero." Oh boy she?d find something, but, ironically, not him. His eye twitched a bit at her request, the only show of his intense nervousness, and they went back downstairs this time with Heero in the lead.

Slowly, as if he could delay this course of events, he opened the door and flicked on the lights. They sputtered a moment and then blazed, filling the dark room with a surprising brightness as facets of ice reflected and refracted the rays. A rush of cold air greeted them as they stepped inside and he closed the door behind them. Some of the things around the room were almost finished, with a polished looking shine that made them brilliant, like crystal illuminated by the sun. Others looked like they had only just been started or only half done and had a rough almost grotesque surface that somehow had its own appeal, as if something living were crawling out of the ice. Many were set up on plastic constructs that looked like they could be lifted fairly easily with the right equipment. Looking at each in turn, they fascinated her as all his work did. A turn of the head, or a flex of a claw gave the impression of motion. Some were set up just so, so that the lines of the body had some balance, even if the position wasn?t entirely natural. Part of the luxury of sculpting included not having to deal with the physical limitations of the model, if need be. A buzzing in the corner, and a flash of light alerted her to a piece set off aside from the others.

Heero stared intently at the dragon he had been working on and tried to think of what he was going to do next with it. He thought as hard as he could and stared with great intensity at it, as if that would solve his impending dilemma. Seeing her move towards the statue out of the corner of his eye, his took a little breath and held it unconsciously. She walked around it, looked at it, touched it, and then withdrew to the side. After a few moments she joined him beside the dragon. He was breathing now, but with a little bit of difficulty.

"There?s no way you could have made that in just a couple weeks." It was a statement, yet it was also a question.

"You?re right."

"It?s rather, er, remarkably realistic. Although I don?t think I wear such clingy gowns."

Heero swallowed, and realized the thick feeling was because his throat was very dry. "There was one. . . it was a while ago. . . maybe I got it wrong, but I have a very good memory for details."

"Perhaps." Relena looked almost overly calm. Breath coming in short clouds, that disappeared as quickly as they formed. He waited for the storm to break. Maybe it would be best to move out of the room with delicate breakable things in it. She shifted her weight from side to side. Clapping her hands together all of a sudden, he felt his heart stop. "Well, what a pair we are. Secretly doing everything but stalking one another. And to think I was afraid to show you the album!" For the second time since he had known her (or even known of her) Heero saw Relena laugh. It many ways it did seem pretty ridiculous. Two people, each obsessed with one another, yet never meeting through either coincidence or some bizarre stubborn worry about what would happen. Even Heero found himself chuckling.

"What?s this?" Relena pointed at him through her mirth. "Is Heero laughing? Oh! Oh! I think he is!" She poked him in the shoulder. "Shall I see you again, or would you prefer to stalk me at your leisure?"

"I never stalked you!" he said though a toothy grin "But if you insist. . ."

"Don?t you dare, Mr. Yuy! Or else I will have to counter it by stalking you. Then everything would be a mess. We?d have to coordinate who follows who home." She tapped a finger against her lip. "And my days are already so busy, I just don?t know when I?ll have time to fit you in." With a shiver, she realized at once just how cold it was in here. What once was a nice change of pace from the outside was now unbearably cold. "Let?s get out of here before I become a twin for her." She gestured towards her frozen doppelganger. Heero nodded, and they went back out into what felt like a desert, but Relena felt the goosebumps begin to smooth out from her body, and her shivering began to cease and that was what was important.

Heero felt warmth pool in his stomach, like liquid bliss. She wasn?t going to leave him. He still had a chance. In some ways it was unfair how much he wanted her to be with him. Today was almost cruel for it gave him only a taste of her presence, and he wanted her to be with him more than just a day every week or so. She was a light that came into his life and now he saw many things that he couldn?t before, like the need for other people, the need for attention, the need to ease the emptiness. Maybe before he could ignore the void that he had placed himself in, but when she was there it had to struggle to overtake him. The hopelessness of giving up was no longer an option. She hadn?t caused his loneliness; she just made him aware it existed. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back, and the last of her shivers died away. Relena was plenty warm, but he didn?t let go, pressing his cheek against her hair.

"Why don?t you stay here tonight?" It was such a quiet question that she almost didn?t catch it.

Stepping out of his loose embrace Relena turned to face Heero. "I don?t know. . . I mean, I don?t think I?m quite ready to. . ."

At first confused, realization hit him. Of course. Obviously the question implied that, but he didn?t necessarily want that even if it would be nice. "We don?t have to do something you aren?t ready for. Just sleep here, only sleep, I promise I?m not asking anything else of you."

Honestly, she didn?t need much convincing for either thing, but it was nice to pretend that she could be in his presence all night without anything happening. Rationalization on both their parts ran rampant. "Well, I suppose this way I don?t have to drag myself home. Have any movies you want to watch?" Thinking back to how he had wanted to avoid watching movies, an ironic twist pulled at his mouth.

"There?s a video store a few blocks away."

"Then, I guess we?ll have ourselves a little marathon. Maybe some desert later too?" She found herself getting excited. It was like an old-fashioned middle school sleep over, at least in her mind, partly as a defense to make the concept of sleeping over more innocent. "Let?s get a move on! I?m sure we have very different taste in fine cinema, and so this could take a while." She was already heading for the front door.

In shock that she said yes, Heero lingered behind and wondered if he would be able to let her go tomorrow, or ever for that matter.

"You! The slow handsome one. C?mon!" Her cheerful voiced echoed in the empty front room. Finally, he moved in her direction.

*
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Once at the video store Relena had been shocked to find that although Heero was very knowledgeable about many movies in different genres, he had actually seen very few of them. So she picked out a few: Casablanca, The Seven Samurai, and Amalie (she didn?t tell him what that one was about). He fished about in his wallet for a much abused scrap of paper with his membership number on it and handed the money over as well. The fact that none of those movies could be short was possibly a good thing, but more likely a bad thing. There was no way to find out more about her if they were intent on a television screen.

The next stop was a corner drug store where Relena only hesitated a moment before choosing some chocolate ice cream that proclaimed itself on the packaging to be ?death by chocolate? as well as a package of microwave popcorn that had the horrific words ?extra buttery? on its front. Was she trying to kill him with cholesterol? She certainly looked very excited and her girlish squeal as they exited, clutching the calorie laden food, forced a feeling to the front of his mind that he had to swiftly put aside before it distracted him.

A bowl of ice cream and two packages of popcorn later, Heero watched a Frenchman and his American friend walk into the mist of an airport with Relena soundly asleep at his side. It was at the end of Amalie, (which Heero had poked Relena in the side, gently, from indignation at being tricked into watching anything romantic) and again during the beginning of Casablanca that he had put his arm around her. Her sigh as she had leaned into him smelled of chocolate, and suddenly it was ok that he had had to watch Amalie and in fact it rapidly gained a soft spot in his heart. Casablanca was much more interesting, but from the sound of Relena?s even breathing he knew she was asleep half way through. He watched the movie as to avoid staring at her constantly, as if she woke up and found him doing it, it might alarm her.

However, the movie was over, and to either put in The Seven Samurai, or to go to the bathroom (which he really needed to do) he would have to move her delightful mass. As luck would have it, she didn?t wake up when he moved. So, he visited the restroom, shut off all the equipment in the living room, and contemplated the next problem.

Leaving her on the couch was bad form, but the only other option was his bed.

A shiver ran up his back, and he knew it wasn?t from the cool because the evening was almost as warm as the day had been and since Heero had no air conditioning since he practically lived in a freezer. Relena in his bed. He wanted to say the words out loud, but resisted. Adding ?with him? was right there on the front of his mind, but he didn?t dare. He retreated to change for sleep and brush his teeth of the sticky sugar feeling as well as to consider what he was going to do.

When he returned she was sleeping just as angelically as before. Heero gathered her up and took her into his room, setting her down on his bed and smoothing back the hair from her face. He began to pull away when he felt a tug. She was holding onto his shirt, still asleep, but very clearly not about to let go. Pulling her hand in, she also reeled in Heero to his own bed and curled closely into his side once he had stretched himself out. This was worse than torture for Heero who now could not get away from the face he had tried to distract himself from before. Soft skin, a chocolate stain by the corner of her mouth, and thin pink lips that clenched briefly before her look of tension eased entirely. . . and she threw one leg over his middle. Now he couldn?t even hope to get away. Glancing down he saw that her skirt had ridden up showing quite a bit of thigh, and his hands itched to move the skirt up just a bit more. . . Concentrating ver hard on the ceiling, he tried to think of anything besides the supple, no bad word, besides the lithe, AUGH, just as bad?. Besides Relena beside him. There weren?t enough sheep on the planet to count for sleep to take hold of him, but eventually exhaustion won out and sweet oblivion relieved his tortured mind and even more tortured body.

*
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*

Relena experienced the usual temporal distortion upon waking. At first she tried to remember what day it was. That failed, so she simply tried to figure out where she was. That was a little more successful but only just, as it was not where she last remembered being and also was not her own bedroom. The only option that made sense was that she was in Heero?s bedroom, as memories of last night surfaced slowly in her hazy mind, but then the warm line of pillows at her side simply couldn?t be a warm line of pillows. Turning her head, she saw that the "pillows" were a very tired looking Heero who was still very asleep, and who had his arm thrown across her chest. She would forgive him this time as he was unaware of it, and all their clothes were still on. In fact, she felt terribly uncomfortable (especially as the bra was digging into her) and so she slid off the side of the bed and sought the bathroom to freshen up.

Rather than go back and wake her sleeping prince, she opted for scrounging up some breakfast. The kitchen offered slim possibilities and although the ice cream was tempting, her unwashed teeth seemed to protest further abuse. Besides, what she really wanted were some eggs. The store wasn?t too far away, and she knew where the house keys were. The chances of his waking up while she was gone were slim. It would be fun to surprise him, anyway. It was decided. She checked herself to make sure she didn?t looked to rumpled, as she had no other clothes to change into, and then started down the stairs with a spring in her step.

A voice echoed up at her.

"Heero, old pal, you better tell me every. . . hey! How are you?" Duo switched gears remarkably quickly, with only a slight pause and a startled glance betraying his absolute shock. He really must be a good businessman, she thought.

"Fine, thank you. Just going out to get some breakfast. Want to come?"

"Well, I am on my lunch break. . ." Duo grinned.

"But it?s 10 in the morning."

"So it?s an early lunch break." He shrugged and they set off to go find essential food items. Duo thought silently to himself that Hilde was not going to believe this. Maybe he should tell Hilde to get to know Relena a little better. At this rate she?d be part of the family soon, if he was allowed to call Heero family (though he would anyway, even without permission).

"What was Heero like when he was younger?" she found herself asking. They were going slowly, purposefully, as she really did want to find out some things, and Heero was not exactly forthcoming about his life (though she could tell he at least tried around her).

Duo?s expression clouded a moment. "Heero was never, well, easy. Even when things were going well he always managed to find someway to take himself out of it. He fought a lot, I recall. But after the first couple fights that he lost he got, er, determined." He put special emphasis on determined. Relena?s eyebrows lifted. "He refused to get help, but one day he just went psycho on the bullies that were after him. Apparently he had studied fighting and practiced punching for all that time, and once he knew he could beat them, he did. That?s who he was."

Relena was silent a moment and digested this information. "Why art?" Duo looked up at the sky as if an answer would come down from there. If it weren?t for the fact that this was the only girl who Heero had ever cracked his shell for, he didn?t think he?d be telling her any of this.

"I think it was better than the reality of things. He could create his own worlds, his own people. Life was hell for him, though he was partly responsible for that. At least this was how he could make life conform to his terms." Duo rubbed his chin reflectively. "But I didn?t say anything, got that?" Relena nodded. She felt honored to find out a little more about who Heero had been, and probably still was. They really knew so little about one another. She wondered if she should tell him. After refusing to speak to anyone about it for over a decade, Relena was unsure of why she wanted to talk to him now. Maybe it was because it haunted her life, forcing her to withdraw, making her feel more lonely than she should by all rights be. Knowing that her sadness was self indulgent did nothing to stop her in the past. Heero?s pain had to be just as deep. Maybe he could understand. Forced to come back to the present by sly questions from the braided man, Relena tried not to blush as she recounted yesterday?s events. She gave him a rough account of events, (leaving out waking up next to him in his bed).

"He wouldn?t have actually told me anything unless I threatened him. . ." Duo interjected as they entered the store. "You?re much nicer about this."

*
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*

Heero awoke silently and completely. Relena wasn?t there, he knew it before he opened his eyes. Woodenly he sat up and let the disappointment wash over him. Getting dressed, he walked into the bathroom and examined the dark smudges beneath his eyes. It was possible he got about three hours of sleep. Four at most. It wasn?t enough obviously, but he was awake now and it was no use trying to catch it up. Somehow he found himself too listless to even sleep.

She could have at least woken him to say goodbye.

His thoughts were petulant. A loud bang of a door slamming from below followed by the strains of rapid conversation seemed to be getting closer. Was she back? Who was she with? Why would she bring them here? He rushed over to the stairway, shaving cream still on his chin, and saw Duo, clutching many shopping bags, followed by Relena who almost ran into Duo as he stopped short at the top. Heero?s expression was set on stun and it had done its job.

"What is going on?" Seriously, Heero would never need air conditioning with moods like that.

"Don?t mind him, he?s not a morning person." Duo said over his shoulder.

"But it?s barely morning." Relena protested.

"That doesn?t answer my question." Heero looked confused and it softened his expression. "Why do you have grocery bags?"

"I?m going to make breakfast, well, more like brunch now." Relena chirped from behind.

"And I?m, heh heh, playing hooky from work." Duo gave his most devilish grin. "I?ll just tell them I came down with terrible cramps and couldn?t move from the house. I work twice as heard as anyone else, I can make it up easy." Heero hated Duo for being so sure of himself, but he did actually do work well when he put his mind to it.

Relena set the boys to work unwrapping things as she got busy making eggs, bacon, fruit salad, and pancakes. Anticipating the lack of all helpful kitchen implements, she had bought those at the store as well. Soon enough everyone was busy, cutting and mixing, but only Duo and Relena were talking. Heero envied Duo?s easy conversational abilities for the first time ever and suddenly had the urge to hit his long time friend. It was an unreasonable impulse so he pushed it aside. It couldn?t have anything to do with all of Relena?s attention being diverted away from him. Not at all. He attacked some green onions with renewed vigor, almost pulping them.

After a particularly large meal, everyone looked a little groggy from overeating, but terribly content. Suddenly, with a slight lurch as he sprang from the couch, Duo announced his departure. He intended to surprise Hilde at work, thus making his illicit day that much more fun and driving her out of her mind as she was probably in the midst of last minute details before the weekend. Hopefully, by catching her off guard, he could get some attention without being trapped into talking about the wedding. Both Heero and Relena thought he was being overly optimistic but neither one said it aloud. He extracted a promise from Relena to come have dinner with him and Hilde sometime soon, and of course to come to the wedding, and then disappeared leaving a gaping silence where once their constant chatter had existed. Heero felt more relieved, but at the same time uneasy.

Relena cleared her throat and began to clean up, and Heero followed suit. Once everything was cleaned and put away in what had before been almost entirely empty cupboards, both found themselves at a loss. They were both well aware that she needed to go home, but each wished to themselves that she didn?t have to. Clean clothes and a shower won out in the end, and Relena picked up her purse.

"I had a lovely time with you Heero." What was he supposed to say now? He chose his default: nothing.

Brave Relena spoke up again. "This Sunday, I mean if you?re busy that?s fine, but this Sunday I?d like to go driving in the country with you. I could show you the places I grew up around. It could be. . . fun." She finished lamely, her voice dying out as Heero walked up to her.

Grasping her chin, he tilted it up and brought his lips so close to hers that she could feel his shallow breathes slightly enter her partly open mouth. He made no move to close the gap, and she understood in a rush that this was his way of asking permission. Closing her eyes she moved forward the few centimeters to meet his lips, and was rewarded with a sweet kiss. Naturally they both tasted of egg and fruit salad, with the tang of the oranges being most distinctive, but that was merely an incidental thought that passed through each of their minds. Relena leaned into him and felt his arms go about her, tightening, just as his tongue pushed past her lips to enter her mouth. Even when the kiss broke he seemed unwilling to let go, head buried in her hair. Relena, self conscious about not having showered, pulled back and he reluctantly unwound.

"See you Sunday. I?ll be there at 11 am." Her heart almost skipped, and it could have without her noticing as it was pounding so quickly. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and started down the stairs, turning with a quick wave before disappearing from his view. Heero touched his lips a moment and smiled to himself. Shaking his head to clear it, he started downstairs and put on his coat. There was a lot of work he needed to get done before Sunday.

[melodrama]

Gosh AoD... this is such a gorgeous story. I'm really enjoying it.

Silly Heero, so worried she would be upset about his sculpture. But it all worked out great. I've really enjoyed your writing style and the way you've portrayed the characters here. Such a sweet, sweet fic.

Keep up the good work!!

Love Mel

[shadowcat]

Oh God, this ficcie blew me away!!! *shadow dangles from a tree*

-Shadow

[miyuchan]

This fic is GREAT! And going so well.... My favorite line has got to be:

"You! The slow handsome one. C’mon!" Her cheerful voiced echoed in the empty front room. Finally, he moved in her direction.

I have no idea why, but that had me in giggles. There is just so much romance in this particular part. And I can't wait to see where it may lead next!

[Eden]

Nice!! I've been waiting to see if you would write more of this one! Glad that you did, and that you deffinatly didn't dissapoint! Totally sweet and fluffy, a real feel good fic that I can't wait to see more of!

~Eden

[Beck]

I'm glad to see that Heero didn't shy too much away from allowing Rel to see all his sculptures including hers. But then again, it is only fair to allow her to see since she opened up to him about her pics.

*blissful sigh* I love little sweet moments when the guy takes care of the girl when they fall sound asleep and help them to bed. The breakfast part was a nice touch but made me full just reading it (also brings back memories myself when I was dating hubby and he would make breakfast every weekend when I woke up).

Now to see if Rel will open up to him anytime soon.

[Melville's Best Friend]

AoD, I am SO sorry I haven't read this before today...

I feel awful...

This is an AMAZING fic. You have done an outstanding job. I am in love with what you've done! You are a very talented writer, and have really amazed me.

I love this fic a lot, so please keep up the good work.

In other words, send me e-mails of updates. ^__^


Nicely done!!!!!!!!!!!!