Fire and Ice 6/?
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 1:04 pm
Well, you can thank a very faulty internet connection in conjunction with MORE computer problems for the nature of this delay. Plus I have another idea trying to push its way outside of my skull featuring our favorite couple, so I really need to finish this so I can start on the next (shorter) piece. But there are at least two more chapters to go the way I have it thought out. . . all will make sense in time (I say this to comfort myself). And yes I know I'm rushing it a bit. Sorry sorry. I get impatient the further in I get, more often than not.
Oh, and I'm terribly unhappy with the way this is going, but I'm determined to finish anyway, so oh well.
Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing. Haven't ever said I did.
Chapter 6
It was an ominous day for an outing. The oppressively hot and dry weather had turned suddenly humid on Saturday, and this Sunday morning large, darkly rolling clouds seemed to swallow the sky. If Heero were the sort of person who believed in signs and portents then he might have been scared of what the day could hold, but all he could muster in his current state was restless impatience. He had been antsy ever since Relena had left his place and it had manifested in an intensive session of work which more than made up for any time he may have lost by seeing her. In fact, if anything else he had been more inspired by her than distracted. Were it not for the fact that he had a firm belief that nothing good could last, then he might have even classified himself as happy. Sentimentality was dangerous, in his perspective, so this was more than a little worrying.
He gave one last mental rundown to make sure all was accounted for before he stepped out of his car and up to her house: Casually but not messily dressed. Check. Prerequisite dessert item he was asked to bring, according to yesterday's phone message. Check. Floral gift recommended by stupid braided friend. Check. Topics of conversation. . . .
Suddenly at a loss he decided to stop clenching the steering wheel and just make his way up to her front door, pie in hand. Before getting out of the car her contemplated the flowers a little more, and then decided either Duo or he really ??? idiotic. Giving flowers to a florist? What was his problem? He should have seen right away that it was a braindead offering, but at the time it seemed to make sense when Duo was lecturing him about being good to Relena. Duo was mainly just on edge from the wedding planning as well as an increase in work (somewhat of a punishment for skipping out on a day) and so Heero tried to bear with his talkative friend as well as possible. It seemed to him as if there was something about his life that resembled a bowstring drawn taut. Something was going to happen. But who knows where the arrow would hit.
Or whom.
Damn it.
He sharply knocked on Relena's door, and she answered it with a smile. A little too quickly, really, making Heero wonder if she had been waiting for him to approach the house. Without a word he trust the pie from him as if it were something distasteful to hold, almost smashing it into Relena in his haste to divest himself of the pastry. A brief mix of confusion and amusement played over her face as she took the plastic container from him.
"What kind is it?"
"Cherry."
"Do you like that kind?" He shrugged as if to say that he neither liked nor disliked it. "Well, I like cherry pie, so I'm glad you brought it. It should go well enough with the lunch I dug up for us." She moved back into the house and gestured for him to follow. The semi familiar look and smell of the place made him feel like he was wrapped in Relena. Not an entirely unpleasant thought. The edge of his mouth quirked.
"Where are we going?" Heero called into the kitchen from the living room. Sounds of cracking plastic and drawers being open and shut coincided with Relena's words as she spoke.
"Well, I thought I would show you the house I grew up in. It isn't that far from here, and Milliardo sold it to someone who turned it into a bed and breakfast. They know me so it should be fine to go through and just look." She emerged from the kitchen clutching a basket. "Just humor me with all this." Heero nodded solemnly. They left the house and wandered over to her car. Once the food was stowed away in the trunk and the people in the car, they took off down the country road at a speed that Heero was surprised Relena was willing to go.
They passed fields and breezed through little towns for maybe twenty minutes, with Relena looking more tense and purposeful with each passing mile. Something was building, no less than parallel to the weather in its heavy feeling, and if a person as emotionally dense as he could pick up on it then it was probably very bad. He wondered if showing up today had been a good idea after all. However, as here was where he was, regretting anything seemed a waste of thought. Besides, even a stormy Relena was a beautiful Relena.
They slowed and pulled down a long paved road through a wrought iron gate. Heero felt internally very small as he surveyed the house where Relena grew up, or rather the mansion where she grew up. There was no comparison to his own humble and even sketchy origins. She really was a princess.
At the house itself they were greeted warmly by the people he could only assume were the owners, and all together they went on a tour of the house. More interested in Relena than a building she used to live in, he saw how she seemed surprised by many things. It implied to him that she had not been here in many years, but he kept his thoughts to himself and let others talk. It was a relief when they had finished going through all the public rooms and Relena and he were left to their own devices.
"You want to see the garden I started with? I'm pretty sure they didn't get rid of it." A peal of thunder in the distance as they took out the basket of food and made their way around back didn't bode well for any picnicking plans she may have had, but she was a surprisingly stubborn woman. There were metal tables set up in back and Relena deposited the basket on one of them and then dragged Heero by the hand out towards a copse of trees. They dove into the small forest and after maybe 50 feet it opened up into a small clearing. Roses in various colors, still well tended and in neat rows, met their eyes.
Relena's grip on his arm was very tight and shaking a bit. "This is where I planted my first roses. Then most of those died because I didn't know how to care for them. I got more the next year and fewer died until I finally got things right." Her laugh was short and sharp. "I thought it would be so easy. Just water every so often and everything would take care of itself. And I also refused to let anyone else touch them. I just had to do it myself. Mom never liked that about me." The shiver that ran through her didn't have anything to do with the wind that was picking up as they stood there.
"I suppose your mother was the same way." He couldn't help it. She had exposed the edge of what was troubling her and now he needed to unravel it. Maybe she wanted him to. What other reason would she bring him here for?
"Exactly the same." The fond smile became frozen on her face, robbing it of the gentle intent. "I hated her for it." She walked forward into the roses until she had gone into something approaching the middle of the rectangular patch of flowers, and Heero followed as best as he could though he snagged far more pieces of clothing on the way in. Once he was there, he saw that she was examining the leaves and stem of a yellow rose. "This was the first survivor. The only yellow one too. I thought it deserved to be special after all it went through."
Heero was out of his depth in more ways than one. "It's nice." It was a flower; all flowers seemed pretty much the same to him so far as his regard for them went.
"Mom said that if I played around in the dirt all the time then I'd just ruin my clothes. She also hated that I'd climb the trees around here with Trowa. She was a lady, but I couldn't swallow the etiquette with the same placid satisfaction. Dad always had to step in and moderate all our fights." The tears were starting. It looked as if the sky would not be far behind. "I haven't seen this place since I was 15 and went to boarding school." Her hand wrapped around a stem, clenching, heedless of the thorns. When Heero saw the blood dripping from the side, he interceded.
"Stop it Relena." He didn't know what to do with a crying woman. This was not something he had ever been prepared to face. He took her hand from the stem himself, but lacked anything to wrap it with. "Let's go back." She nodded and they moved through the trees. Before they reached the edge Relena stopped them both.
"I brought you here for a reason Heero." He had known this was coming. The sage-like nod he gave her only made her expression more enigmatic. "I have to tell you how I killed my parents. I like you, I may even love you, but I need you to know this before we go a step further." It felt as if something were strangling him. The surge of elation he felt at her declaration of fondness had been stuffed down so severely at her forbidding words that he was almost physically ill.
"You killed. . . ?" What does anyone say to a declaration like that?
Her shorts bunched around her thighs as she sat down on the ground, leaning against a tree. Heero stayed standing as they both looked at the house, anyone left on the back lawn now seeking shelter from the wind which was blowing much to hard to stay out comfortably.
"Dad had been gone on business, and mom and I were fighting again about what high school I was going to. Summer had just started and things still weren't settled. Well, they were settled if you were my mother. Mom wanted me to go to an all girls academy. Very prestigious. She had gone there and it had been the best time of her life, etc. with all that sort of unconvincing talk. I wanted to go to the coed private school that the rest of my friends were going to. I didn't want to have to start over again. We were screaming at each other when Dad called from the airport." She ripped up some grass from the base of the tree and let it fall through her fingers.
"Oh Heero, I was so angry I was crying while I screamed at her. When I took the call from Dad I pour out everything. My reactionary anger, all the stupid grievances I had been holding. I begged him to come home and talk to her that night. He said he was tired but he'd come home as soon as he finished dropping off some papers to the office. I gave the phone to mom and then went to my room and slammed the door. Even when Mom banged on my door, insisting that we had to talk, I refused to come out. When our butler came up a few hours later I finally came out." She drew her knees into her chest, almost in the fetal position.
"Pagan told me that Dad was rushing to get home and ran a stop sign. The truck that hit him was just so much larger and stopping so quickly in so large a vehicle was almost impossible. Mom had already gone down to identify the body at the hospital."
"Relena. . ." Heero started, but she held up her hand in a gesture to stop his words. Now she sounded choked, as her tears were giving her trouble speaking.
"When Mom got home I was waiting in the entrance hall. She looked like a ghost and ignored me entirely. I asked her questions, and followed down to her room, but she shut the door in my face. I pounded on it and yelled for a while, decided to just sit in front of it until she came out. A day later I had Pagan break down the door, after she wouldn't even come out to talk to Milliardo, who had quit his summer job in his college town to come home after he heard the news. She was in her nicest dress, laying in bed, a bottle of sleeping pills on her nightstand. At least no one had to be called to identify the body." Heero sat down by Relena and very carefully put his arms around her.
"I killed them. My hurried father and my emotionally strung out mother were no match for my selfish need to be petted and given what I wanted. I didn't cry until my acceptance letter came to the all girls school. My mom had secretly applied a long time ago. It was a week or two after the double funeral that the letter came. Milliardo became my guardian and quit school to take over the business and set everything in order. We sold the house that year too. The all girls school really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Her face looked up at his, and despite it's puffy and red look, he felt a surge of protective fondness. But there was something else in him besides empathy, and he realized it was frustration.
This was it? I mean, it was a terrible thing to have your parents wrenched from you, and he'd be the first to admit he didn't know how strong a bond it could be, but to cling to such an incident for well over a decade was almost willfully self destructive. His life had not been great, he had suffered, but he did not dwell on it. Relena had shut herself down to others, seeking an almost hermit-like existence among plants. She had everything in life out there for her, material comforts, friends in people like Trowa and Catherine, and a brother that wanted what was best for her (as much as he still objected to the man). So far as Heero was concerned she had everything and still was miserable. He wanted to be sensitive to her, but exasperation made him even less eloquent than usual.
"Stop crying Relena. You're living in the past." Expecting a comforting word and tight hug, but finding only one of the two, she looked up suddenly angry. She tried to pull away, but Heero was far stronger than she and prevented her from leaving. "Listen to me a minute." She kept struggling. "Listen!" It was the first time he had raised his voice in anger in a long time, but it startled both of them into stillness.
Heero let her go and pushed a hand through his hair with a sigh. "You blame yourself for things that you couldn't have foreseen or prevented. It should end now. Move on, like I did. If I had hated my mother for dying when she had me, or the father that wasn't there, then what would that have gotten me?" He stood up. "You're here, with me, but you ran away into your memories looking for pity, or something. I already love you. I couldn't care less what happened before you came into my life." Oh god. Had he just said that out loud? Judging from the fact that she hadn't slapped him for being his blunt and tactless self, he probably had indeed said that last part out loud. He didn't even know, really, until it had been put into verbal words. With a shock, he realized he meant it too.
"I shouldn't have said anything." This time Relena got up and Heero made no move to halt her progress. "I'm sorry I'm just a spoiled brat to you, living in my own world." She got up and marched quickly towards the house. Heero let her go with a feeling of inevitability. It was only when she disappeared from his sight that he remembered they drove here together. Well, he thought, at least things couldn't get much worse.
With an ironic crack of lightening the rain pelted down on him soaking his clothes instantly, even before the thunder pealed out.
Enough was enough; he wasn't going to leave things like this.
* * *
Relena was sulking in her house when she heard a pounding at her door. Not violent, but definitely insistent, it came in brief bursts of three. She could well guess who would be that persistent and patterned. Being a smart person, she was not blind enough to her own faults to actually think that Heero had been all that out of line. It was she who had invited him into her problems. What she was sulking about was how right he had been. Years of residual guilt, magnified by self-absorption, had only left her with a shy and sad nature. Having such an easy and fake public face had never made her feel better. Then she had seen Heero's art and it seemed so raw and connected to her angst and she had foolishly fallen into obsession.
Now having met the man she had felt she had known for years, obsession had mellowed to become something stronger and subtler. It scared her how much she wanted his approval, but this imagined betrayal should have been something she was ready for. Damn him for being right. Even if she could see his point she didn't have to like it. She got up and wandered over to the door. Her pouty expression turned into helpless mirth at the sight of a dripping, cross, and muddy Heero clutching a similarly muddy basket and some slightly wilted flowers.
"I didn't mean to make you mad at me." The flowers tried their best to hold themselves up. He was as serious and intent as ever.
"I know, Heero. I know." She pulled him inside despite the mud he tracked in. "I'm sorry I left you there. It was very childish of me. What happened to you?" She took the basket from him, lifting the lid and grimacing at what she saw. Nothing could be salvaged to eat.
"The basket started tumbling across the lawn so I ran after it. A gardener thought I was a trespasser and tackled me to the ground. When everything was sorted out, one of the maids gave me a ride back on her way home." The gritty feeling was everywhere, but he wasn't going to complain.
"I'm so sorry Heero." Now tears came to her eyes again, but not from anger or self-pity. "You must think I'm such a. . . there's no excuse for what I did to you. If you want to go, I'd understand." She turned her back to him, as if afraid to look in his face for the answer. His hand on her arm caused her to shift back to facing him and drops of water from his hair were hitting both of them, he was so close.
"Don't be sorry. Just feel better. Things like this happen right?" He said it in such a dismissive manner, as if she hadn't emotionally vomited all over him earlier. The weight of the day was lifted off of her, maybe more than just the day. Things were getting much clearer.
"Why don't you take a shower? I think Trowa's pants are still around here somewhere. Maybe. Or did I return them?" Heero would just as soon not wear those pants again, but a shower did seem like a good idea, as being cold and covered in dirt was not pleasant. "But I insist. I'll go get you a towel." Things seemed to be fine, and Heero was glad. All this emotional stuff was terribly exhausting for someone like him. It was like using a muscle that had atrophied. Relena handed Heero a large towel and ordered him into the bathroom in a commanding tone.
Helping herself to some pie in the kitchen, she was shocked beyond words when Heero walked in clean but wearing nothing but a towel and still dripping a bit.
"You didn't give me any clothes." Really? Had she forgotten? Oh dear. The small and insincere voice in her head mumbled a bit. The nearly naked man in front of her seemed to be waiting for something. Oh yeah. Clothes. Did he really need clothes? Couldn't he just stay like that? "Relena?" The sound of her name broke her random thought loops.
"Hmm?"
"Clothes."
"Oh. Yes. They're in the wash." She took a bite of her pie, thinking to herself that she wasn't very hungry for pie anymore.
"I need some clothes to put on." He was starting to feel like a broken record. Had she hit her head while he was showering or something? Just being around her in a towel was dangerous enough and it needed to end as soon as possible.
Her head shook a bit as if she were clearing it. "Follow me. I'm sure I have some sweatpants that might fit." Wishing belatedly that she had cleared off some of the clothes from the floor of her room, she rooted around while Heero sat down on her bed, back straight as a pole, and waited. He wanted to jump away from her when she sat next to him and rooted through a cloth bag full of clothes, her thigh pressed against his, and instead concentrated on his breathing (as in to keep doing it).
"I think I found some." But the words died to a whisper as she looked into his eyes. Hypnotized, like a small animal caught in a predator's gaze, she found it surprising when he closed the space between them entirely, as if it had been done by magic. Perhaps she had invited this ending through her actions, or maybe she had unconsciously engineered it. Whatever it was, she would certainly thank herself later.
His hand was moving up her shirt with dexterity. She took some initiative and straddled his lap, pushing him back to lie on the bed.
"You'll have to take another shower. . ." Relena wasn't trying to convince him to stop, it had simply occurred to her.
With a satisfied smile Heero felt Relena's bra came loose beneath her shirt. "Then we'll take one together."
* * *
Lying there next to her, a few hours later, Heero swore to himself that he would protect Relena. Whatever form a threat may be in, he would take it upon himself to identify and neutralize before it could get to her. There would be no repeat of the trauma of her childhood, if he could help it. With nothing to fear, maybe she'd let herself trust the world a little more. Duo could help him, and Hilde too. He was no expert about getting a person out of their proverbial shell, but he knew how to make a safety net if nothing else.
His Relena was strong, she probably wouldn't need his help, but she would have it anyway. There must be some way he could get her to let him have that kind of access to her life. This would require more thought. At the moment he was more interested in the blond bundle resting in the crook of his arm, a smug and blissful smile on her face.
"Temptress. . ." his voice softly mumbled.
"mmm?" came her distant reply.
"Nothing." Yes. To protect her happiness he was willing to do anything. It was strange and vaguely exhilarating to have new purpose in his life, like a mission. Maybe this is what commitment felt like, and if so then he was a fool to have avoided it so assiduously for so long. But far more likely this spontaneous new affection for being with another human being was inspired by Relena herself.
The quiet moment was interrupted by a loud grumble from his stomach. Relena sat up a bit and arched her eyebrows at him.
"Well. . . I haven't eaten yet today. Lunch did get rained out, if you recall." Relena conceded to his point with a regal nod and then got up from the bed, dragging the sheet with her and wrapping it around her body like a toga, leaving Heero much colder and more exposed then he generally liked to be. For all he knew his clothes were still in the washer. He grabbed the towel and followed her.
Standing in the kitchen, eating pie (and intensely glad he had bought something he was willing to eat) Heero ran through scenarios in his mind about what he could ask Relena. Moving in together might be too soon, as well as a little scary for him with his odd schedule and her need to be out here with her gardens. That was impractical. His brain had just started to work on some sort of middle ground when the front door burst open and Catherine strode into the living room, shedding her coat. Heero was more alarmed that Relena didn't lock her door than the fact that he was standing in her kitchen wearing nothing but a towel. However, his lack of clothing leapt to the top of Catherine's mind as she came to a full stop, mouth agape. It didn't close when Relena walked into the kitchen, sheet clad, and just about fell over in shock. Heero took another bite of pie and waited to see what happened next, amusement being the keyword of the moment.
"Er. I, um, I got Millardo's invitation and I, er, came to say. . . to say. . . oh damn" Catherine was fumbling with her words and seemed flustered for such a confident and forward woman. "Well, 'oh damn' is NOT what I wanted to say. I wanted to say: congratulations." She looked from Relena to Heero and then turned around left without another word. As soon as the door had closed Relena's legs gave way and she plopped down on the kitchen laughing so hard she was almost crying. When the storm of mirth ended, Heero helped her up again.
"Your clothes will be dry soon." Relena wiped some tears from the side of her eye away with the back of her hand. Her sheet had fallen away from her front a bit and Heero surreptitiously stole a glance while she was distracted while trying to look aloof and unconcerned at the same time.
"Why was Catherine congratulating you?"
"Oh, there is some merger happening. I don't keep up much with the family business, but this is supposed to be really big. We're going to become Peacecraft & Po Enterprises soon, apparently." The name sparked something in Heero's memory, but he pushed it aside. "I thought that, all things considered, you wouldn't want to be in the same room with my brother if you could help it, so I didn't tell you about the party to celebrate next week." Heero felt a slim push of annoyance at the back of his mind at the mention of her brother. Overprotective moron. He'd take care of Relena now.
"Ah." They just hung around and watched TV until Heero's clothes were ready and then he got up to dress and leave. It was getting a bit late and he had more work to complete before the end of tomorrow if he was going to meet his deadlines.
"Sorry about earlier today at the house. Seems like you have been using my washer and dryer more than I have recently." Heero continued to stare at her, as her words became more faint. "The pie was really very good. . ."
"Call me soon and tell me when we can meet again." After giving her a swift kiss goodbye, he walked through the mud and light rain to his car. He had a lot to think about.
* * *
The dragon was finished. It was absolutely exquisite, as were all of his works, and he gave it a cold glance to match its own before the crew hauled it away. Duo had told him that the person who had ordered it, a Mr. Barton, wanted to speak to him personally when he got there. This was unusual since often he was there just as garnish to add to the host's reputation. Inviting the artist to the party called attention to the fact that the person was wealthy enough to hire one. Duo loved it because it was great for business, but Heero hated it because it meant mixing with people. Normally he would just sit by himself and let Duo mix, but unfortunately Hilde absolutely had to have his presence for a dinner with her parents to discuss seating charts. At least Heero didn't have to go through that, (though he expected vicarious torture from Duo whining to him later).
The tuxedo itched and it was warm once again, as if the rain a few days ago had never been and would never come again. The evening sweltered in high humidity. Quick transport was the only thing on his mind, so that his many hours of work did not get ruined before anyone saw it. Belatedly he wondered if Relena wanted a picture of it and then dismissed it as nonsense. He could care less if the memory of his work was preserved. Right? Not one to be tentative about any sort of thought, it was highly alarming that the question had come into his mind. Now was not the time to ponder such things. What he needed to do was focus on the task ahead of him: talking with strangers. The horror of it all.
As soon as he entered the building downtown, he wished he had just made an excuse and called in sick. A familiar looking man with platinum blond hair was getting out of a car followed by a striking woman with short dark hair. In a rush of renewed irritation, Heero decided Duo should fill him in more about what sort of jobs he was getting into. Both men looked daggers at one another until Lu escorted Milliardo firmly into the elevator. A tightly controlled smile graced her classically beautiful face, giving it a strangely stubborn look. The fact that she got Milliardo past Heero without incident was a testament to her skill. Heero's piece had been transported upstairs a while back, and he felt no need to rush up now so he watched guests arrive instead. A few recognized him and gave strained smiles, while one man actually stopped and stood in front of him with a gleam of something in his eye.
"Trowa." It was a statement, and a flat one at that, but it would have to serve as a greeting.
"Heero." After a moment of just standing there watching people file into elevators Heero decided it would be helpful to ask the one person he knew here something he had been wondering since he saw Milliardo.
"Relena is coming, isn't she?" His voice was nervous, and Trowa looked very interested all of a sudden.
"Yes. With Catherine."
"Ah." Heero didn't want to be down here any more. He felt restless. "I'll wait for her upstairs. I need to find someone anyway."
Once he made it to the room that appeared to have been cleared out just for this occasion rather than constructed for it, he tried to mingle. This was a particularly interesting process for a few reasons. The first was that he had to be vigilant to keep Relena's brother as far away as possible. The second was to question people of the whereabouts of whoever this Barton person was without getting into something as messy and undesirable as conversation. The third was the way he obsessively checked the door for Relena's entrance. A sample of this strange mixture of goals ran like this:
"Excuse me." Heero comes up to a group of people laughing softly at some anecdote. They look at him expectantly.
"Do I know you? I swear I've seen you before." A woman comments, waving her glass at him.
"I'm sure you have. Do any of you know a Mr. Barton?" Heero looks over his shoulder in one direction and then another.
"I haven't seen him yet, but I was sure he'd be arriving with - " the woman never finishes her sentence as Heero sees something, and makes a hasty movement in another direction leaving a mass of confused people in his wake. Sometimes being known as a temperamental artist has its upside. If they find out who he is, he'll just be considered that much more interesting and eccentric.
When Relena walked in Heero felt relief and then extreme anxiety. There were so many people here and he didn't know them or her relation to them. If anyone was going to cause her trouble he should know who it was, isolate them, and eliminate the danger. That would mean more talking. Maybe he should enlist Duo's help in the future for reconaissance until he had more of a firm footing. Milliardo got to her first and after a few words from him and then Lu in turns he saw her crane her neck about as if looking for something.
When her eyes met his and she glided over to meet him, dodging the greetings of others to get to his side, he thought that he felt his chest swell with some nameless emotion so severely it must be visible to others. She stretched out her hands, which he took in his own.
"Trowa told me you were here. I should have guessed. You're everywhere these days." From the tone in her voice he could tell that this pleased her quite a bit. "These things are always so stuffy, even though it's a celebration. If you're here it should be more interesting, though I would like it if you could refrain from getting into a fist fight this time." Heero turned a little red in the cheeks at the memory.
"I'll spend the whole evening with you, if you'll let me," and avoid talking to anyone else, he added mentally "But I need to find someone named Barton first."
Relena looked highly confused. "But, erm, Heero, you already saw him." Then something seemed to occur to her and a sparkle lit her eyes. "Why don't you go ask Catherine. She's often very near him at things like these."
"Are they together?" he asked with limited interest. Relena looked more amused and a little disgusted as they searched the crowd.
"I certainly hope not."
"For one thing, I'm pretty sure its illegal." Catherine seemed to jump out of nowhere, followed by Trowa. "Is incest illegal, Trowa?" The silent man just smiled as he moved next to her. Heero, not one to be slow on the uptake, simply turned to Trowa with the usual steely look on his face.
"So why didn't you say anything before?" Heero didn't like people giving him the runaround. Trowa shrugged.
"It didn't really come up. I had assumed you knew I was a Barton." They studied one another for a moment. A mutual understanding seemed to be reached while the girls watched the silent exchange with increasing boredom.
"Ok, you two, before you stand there and stare one another into the ground - even if it is a friendly stare - the rest of us need a little vocalization to keep the night lively. Why don't you take us over to meet your boss, Trowa." Catherine broke the silence and maneuvered them all in the direction of the large windows overlooking the city where a crowd of people were gathered around an individual. They let Trowa through and the woman whom up until now appeared to have been doing something similar to holding court turned to smile at them.
"Trowa! Is this your sister?" The lady smiled while the man standing with his arms crossed beside her frowned.
"Catherine Bloom. Pleasure. And this is Relena Peacecraft and Heero Yuy." Catherine took over so that Trowa didn't have to.
"I'm Sally Po. I think I've met you before Relena, but maybe I just feel like I have. Your brother mentions you often." Relena seemed a little discomfited by that comment. "Oh, and this must be the renowned Mr. Yuy! I half didn't believe my eyes when Trowa asked for such an outrageous amount for a piece of ice, but once I saw that dragon I knew it was worth every penny." She had such a happy way about her. The man mumbled something behind her. "What's that Wufei? This is Wufei Chang. He didn't even want to have a party, but I told him it just had to be done. He's my VP, and I don't think I'd be more than a struggling business if not for him." Wufei looked flustered by her words.
"Quiet, woman." He gave a stern grimace at everyone.
"Don't mind him. I don't."
Catherine and Sally began to talk to one another in a rapid fashion and everyone else watched for a moment before Trowa began to talk to Wufei about some sort of legal issue. The two men looked relieved to be back in something for like their element and as Heero walked away with Relena on his arm he could have sworn he saw Trowa wink at him. He was grateful for any time he could have Relena to himself. The nervousness overtook him again. Was he making the right decision? It seemed to be the most logical one.
He ushered Relena over to the drapes at the edge of the window. Moving behind a table of food so that it was very difficult for others to approach he decided that now was as good as next Monday (when they had planned to meet next). Maybe this was better, in fact, because they were already dressed up and the mood in the room was very positive in general.
"Relena?"
"Yes?"
"Marry me."
___________________
Indeed, I'm a bad person. But I really needed to stop and that seemed to be the best point (and it really is! You'll see why when I finish the next part).
Oh, and I'm terribly unhappy with the way this is going, but I'm determined to finish anyway, so oh well.
Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing. Haven't ever said I did.
Chapter 6
It was an ominous day for an outing. The oppressively hot and dry weather had turned suddenly humid on Saturday, and this Sunday morning large, darkly rolling clouds seemed to swallow the sky. If Heero were the sort of person who believed in signs and portents then he might have been scared of what the day could hold, but all he could muster in his current state was restless impatience. He had been antsy ever since Relena had left his place and it had manifested in an intensive session of work which more than made up for any time he may have lost by seeing her. In fact, if anything else he had been more inspired by her than distracted. Were it not for the fact that he had a firm belief that nothing good could last, then he might have even classified himself as happy. Sentimentality was dangerous, in his perspective, so this was more than a little worrying.
He gave one last mental rundown to make sure all was accounted for before he stepped out of his car and up to her house: Casually but not messily dressed. Check. Prerequisite dessert item he was asked to bring, according to yesterday's phone message. Check. Floral gift recommended by stupid braided friend. Check. Topics of conversation. . . .
Suddenly at a loss he decided to stop clenching the steering wheel and just make his way up to her front door, pie in hand. Before getting out of the car her contemplated the flowers a little more, and then decided either Duo or he really ??? idiotic. Giving flowers to a florist? What was his problem? He should have seen right away that it was a braindead offering, but at the time it seemed to make sense when Duo was lecturing him about being good to Relena. Duo was mainly just on edge from the wedding planning as well as an increase in work (somewhat of a punishment for skipping out on a day) and so Heero tried to bear with his talkative friend as well as possible. It seemed to him as if there was something about his life that resembled a bowstring drawn taut. Something was going to happen. But who knows where the arrow would hit.
Or whom.
Damn it.
He sharply knocked on Relena's door, and she answered it with a smile. A little too quickly, really, making Heero wonder if she had been waiting for him to approach the house. Without a word he trust the pie from him as if it were something distasteful to hold, almost smashing it into Relena in his haste to divest himself of the pastry. A brief mix of confusion and amusement played over her face as she took the plastic container from him.
"What kind is it?"
"Cherry."
"Do you like that kind?" He shrugged as if to say that he neither liked nor disliked it. "Well, I like cherry pie, so I'm glad you brought it. It should go well enough with the lunch I dug up for us." She moved back into the house and gestured for him to follow. The semi familiar look and smell of the place made him feel like he was wrapped in Relena. Not an entirely unpleasant thought. The edge of his mouth quirked.
"Where are we going?" Heero called into the kitchen from the living room. Sounds of cracking plastic and drawers being open and shut coincided with Relena's words as she spoke.
"Well, I thought I would show you the house I grew up in. It isn't that far from here, and Milliardo sold it to someone who turned it into a bed and breakfast. They know me so it should be fine to go through and just look." She emerged from the kitchen clutching a basket. "Just humor me with all this." Heero nodded solemnly. They left the house and wandered over to her car. Once the food was stowed away in the trunk and the people in the car, they took off down the country road at a speed that Heero was surprised Relena was willing to go.
They passed fields and breezed through little towns for maybe twenty minutes, with Relena looking more tense and purposeful with each passing mile. Something was building, no less than parallel to the weather in its heavy feeling, and if a person as emotionally dense as he could pick up on it then it was probably very bad. He wondered if showing up today had been a good idea after all. However, as here was where he was, regretting anything seemed a waste of thought. Besides, even a stormy Relena was a beautiful Relena.
They slowed and pulled down a long paved road through a wrought iron gate. Heero felt internally very small as he surveyed the house where Relena grew up, or rather the mansion where she grew up. There was no comparison to his own humble and even sketchy origins. She really was a princess.
At the house itself they were greeted warmly by the people he could only assume were the owners, and all together they went on a tour of the house. More interested in Relena than a building she used to live in, he saw how she seemed surprised by many things. It implied to him that she had not been here in many years, but he kept his thoughts to himself and let others talk. It was a relief when they had finished going through all the public rooms and Relena and he were left to their own devices.
"You want to see the garden I started with? I'm pretty sure they didn't get rid of it." A peal of thunder in the distance as they took out the basket of food and made their way around back didn't bode well for any picnicking plans she may have had, but she was a surprisingly stubborn woman. There were metal tables set up in back and Relena deposited the basket on one of them and then dragged Heero by the hand out towards a copse of trees. They dove into the small forest and after maybe 50 feet it opened up into a small clearing. Roses in various colors, still well tended and in neat rows, met their eyes.
Relena's grip on his arm was very tight and shaking a bit. "This is where I planted my first roses. Then most of those died because I didn't know how to care for them. I got more the next year and fewer died until I finally got things right." Her laugh was short and sharp. "I thought it would be so easy. Just water every so often and everything would take care of itself. And I also refused to let anyone else touch them. I just had to do it myself. Mom never liked that about me." The shiver that ran through her didn't have anything to do with the wind that was picking up as they stood there.
"I suppose your mother was the same way." He couldn't help it. She had exposed the edge of what was troubling her and now he needed to unravel it. Maybe she wanted him to. What other reason would she bring him here for?
"Exactly the same." The fond smile became frozen on her face, robbing it of the gentle intent. "I hated her for it." She walked forward into the roses until she had gone into something approaching the middle of the rectangular patch of flowers, and Heero followed as best as he could though he snagged far more pieces of clothing on the way in. Once he was there, he saw that she was examining the leaves and stem of a yellow rose. "This was the first survivor. The only yellow one too. I thought it deserved to be special after all it went through."
Heero was out of his depth in more ways than one. "It's nice." It was a flower; all flowers seemed pretty much the same to him so far as his regard for them went.
"Mom said that if I played around in the dirt all the time then I'd just ruin my clothes. She also hated that I'd climb the trees around here with Trowa. She was a lady, but I couldn't swallow the etiquette with the same placid satisfaction. Dad always had to step in and moderate all our fights." The tears were starting. It looked as if the sky would not be far behind. "I haven't seen this place since I was 15 and went to boarding school." Her hand wrapped around a stem, clenching, heedless of the thorns. When Heero saw the blood dripping from the side, he interceded.
"Stop it Relena." He didn't know what to do with a crying woman. This was not something he had ever been prepared to face. He took her hand from the stem himself, but lacked anything to wrap it with. "Let's go back." She nodded and they moved through the trees. Before they reached the edge Relena stopped them both.
"I brought you here for a reason Heero." He had known this was coming. The sage-like nod he gave her only made her expression more enigmatic. "I have to tell you how I killed my parents. I like you, I may even love you, but I need you to know this before we go a step further." It felt as if something were strangling him. The surge of elation he felt at her declaration of fondness had been stuffed down so severely at her forbidding words that he was almost physically ill.
"You killed. . . ?" What does anyone say to a declaration like that?
Her shorts bunched around her thighs as she sat down on the ground, leaning against a tree. Heero stayed standing as they both looked at the house, anyone left on the back lawn now seeking shelter from the wind which was blowing much to hard to stay out comfortably.
"Dad had been gone on business, and mom and I were fighting again about what high school I was going to. Summer had just started and things still weren't settled. Well, they were settled if you were my mother. Mom wanted me to go to an all girls academy. Very prestigious. She had gone there and it had been the best time of her life, etc. with all that sort of unconvincing talk. I wanted to go to the coed private school that the rest of my friends were going to. I didn't want to have to start over again. We were screaming at each other when Dad called from the airport." She ripped up some grass from the base of the tree and let it fall through her fingers.
"Oh Heero, I was so angry I was crying while I screamed at her. When I took the call from Dad I pour out everything. My reactionary anger, all the stupid grievances I had been holding. I begged him to come home and talk to her that night. He said he was tired but he'd come home as soon as he finished dropping off some papers to the office. I gave the phone to mom and then went to my room and slammed the door. Even when Mom banged on my door, insisting that we had to talk, I refused to come out. When our butler came up a few hours later I finally came out." She drew her knees into her chest, almost in the fetal position.
"Pagan told me that Dad was rushing to get home and ran a stop sign. The truck that hit him was just so much larger and stopping so quickly in so large a vehicle was almost impossible. Mom had already gone down to identify the body at the hospital."
"Relena. . ." Heero started, but she held up her hand in a gesture to stop his words. Now she sounded choked, as her tears were giving her trouble speaking.
"When Mom got home I was waiting in the entrance hall. She looked like a ghost and ignored me entirely. I asked her questions, and followed down to her room, but she shut the door in my face. I pounded on it and yelled for a while, decided to just sit in front of it until she came out. A day later I had Pagan break down the door, after she wouldn't even come out to talk to Milliardo, who had quit his summer job in his college town to come home after he heard the news. She was in her nicest dress, laying in bed, a bottle of sleeping pills on her nightstand. At least no one had to be called to identify the body." Heero sat down by Relena and very carefully put his arms around her.
"I killed them. My hurried father and my emotionally strung out mother were no match for my selfish need to be petted and given what I wanted. I didn't cry until my acceptance letter came to the all girls school. My mom had secretly applied a long time ago. It was a week or two after the double funeral that the letter came. Milliardo became my guardian and quit school to take over the business and set everything in order. We sold the house that year too. The all girls school really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Her face looked up at his, and despite it's puffy and red look, he felt a surge of protective fondness. But there was something else in him besides empathy, and he realized it was frustration.
This was it? I mean, it was a terrible thing to have your parents wrenched from you, and he'd be the first to admit he didn't know how strong a bond it could be, but to cling to such an incident for well over a decade was almost willfully self destructive. His life had not been great, he had suffered, but he did not dwell on it. Relena had shut herself down to others, seeking an almost hermit-like existence among plants. She had everything in life out there for her, material comforts, friends in people like Trowa and Catherine, and a brother that wanted what was best for her (as much as he still objected to the man). So far as Heero was concerned she had everything and still was miserable. He wanted to be sensitive to her, but exasperation made him even less eloquent than usual.
"Stop crying Relena. You're living in the past." Expecting a comforting word and tight hug, but finding only one of the two, she looked up suddenly angry. She tried to pull away, but Heero was far stronger than she and prevented her from leaving. "Listen to me a minute." She kept struggling. "Listen!" It was the first time he had raised his voice in anger in a long time, but it startled both of them into stillness.
Heero let her go and pushed a hand through his hair with a sigh. "You blame yourself for things that you couldn't have foreseen or prevented. It should end now. Move on, like I did. If I had hated my mother for dying when she had me, or the father that wasn't there, then what would that have gotten me?" He stood up. "You're here, with me, but you ran away into your memories looking for pity, or something. I already love you. I couldn't care less what happened before you came into my life." Oh god. Had he just said that out loud? Judging from the fact that she hadn't slapped him for being his blunt and tactless self, he probably had indeed said that last part out loud. He didn't even know, really, until it had been put into verbal words. With a shock, he realized he meant it too.
"I shouldn't have said anything." This time Relena got up and Heero made no move to halt her progress. "I'm sorry I'm just a spoiled brat to you, living in my own world." She got up and marched quickly towards the house. Heero let her go with a feeling of inevitability. It was only when she disappeared from his sight that he remembered they drove here together. Well, he thought, at least things couldn't get much worse.
With an ironic crack of lightening the rain pelted down on him soaking his clothes instantly, even before the thunder pealed out.
Enough was enough; he wasn't going to leave things like this.
* * *
Relena was sulking in her house when she heard a pounding at her door. Not violent, but definitely insistent, it came in brief bursts of three. She could well guess who would be that persistent and patterned. Being a smart person, she was not blind enough to her own faults to actually think that Heero had been all that out of line. It was she who had invited him into her problems. What she was sulking about was how right he had been. Years of residual guilt, magnified by self-absorption, had only left her with a shy and sad nature. Having such an easy and fake public face had never made her feel better. Then she had seen Heero's art and it seemed so raw and connected to her angst and she had foolishly fallen into obsession.
Now having met the man she had felt she had known for years, obsession had mellowed to become something stronger and subtler. It scared her how much she wanted his approval, but this imagined betrayal should have been something she was ready for. Damn him for being right. Even if she could see his point she didn't have to like it. She got up and wandered over to the door. Her pouty expression turned into helpless mirth at the sight of a dripping, cross, and muddy Heero clutching a similarly muddy basket and some slightly wilted flowers.
"I didn't mean to make you mad at me." The flowers tried their best to hold themselves up. He was as serious and intent as ever.
"I know, Heero. I know." She pulled him inside despite the mud he tracked in. "I'm sorry I left you there. It was very childish of me. What happened to you?" She took the basket from him, lifting the lid and grimacing at what she saw. Nothing could be salvaged to eat.
"The basket started tumbling across the lawn so I ran after it. A gardener thought I was a trespasser and tackled me to the ground. When everything was sorted out, one of the maids gave me a ride back on her way home." The gritty feeling was everywhere, but he wasn't going to complain.
"I'm so sorry Heero." Now tears came to her eyes again, but not from anger or self-pity. "You must think I'm such a. . . there's no excuse for what I did to you. If you want to go, I'd understand." She turned her back to him, as if afraid to look in his face for the answer. His hand on her arm caused her to shift back to facing him and drops of water from his hair were hitting both of them, he was so close.
"Don't be sorry. Just feel better. Things like this happen right?" He said it in such a dismissive manner, as if she hadn't emotionally vomited all over him earlier. The weight of the day was lifted off of her, maybe more than just the day. Things were getting much clearer.
"Why don't you take a shower? I think Trowa's pants are still around here somewhere. Maybe. Or did I return them?" Heero would just as soon not wear those pants again, but a shower did seem like a good idea, as being cold and covered in dirt was not pleasant. "But I insist. I'll go get you a towel." Things seemed to be fine, and Heero was glad. All this emotional stuff was terribly exhausting for someone like him. It was like using a muscle that had atrophied. Relena handed Heero a large towel and ordered him into the bathroom in a commanding tone.
Helping herself to some pie in the kitchen, she was shocked beyond words when Heero walked in clean but wearing nothing but a towel and still dripping a bit.
"You didn't give me any clothes." Really? Had she forgotten? Oh dear. The small and insincere voice in her head mumbled a bit. The nearly naked man in front of her seemed to be waiting for something. Oh yeah. Clothes. Did he really need clothes? Couldn't he just stay like that? "Relena?" The sound of her name broke her random thought loops.
"Hmm?"
"Clothes."
"Oh. Yes. They're in the wash." She took a bite of her pie, thinking to herself that she wasn't very hungry for pie anymore.
"I need some clothes to put on." He was starting to feel like a broken record. Had she hit her head while he was showering or something? Just being around her in a towel was dangerous enough and it needed to end as soon as possible.
Her head shook a bit as if she were clearing it. "Follow me. I'm sure I have some sweatpants that might fit." Wishing belatedly that she had cleared off some of the clothes from the floor of her room, she rooted around while Heero sat down on her bed, back straight as a pole, and waited. He wanted to jump away from her when she sat next to him and rooted through a cloth bag full of clothes, her thigh pressed against his, and instead concentrated on his breathing (as in to keep doing it).
"I think I found some." But the words died to a whisper as she looked into his eyes. Hypnotized, like a small animal caught in a predator's gaze, she found it surprising when he closed the space between them entirely, as if it had been done by magic. Perhaps she had invited this ending through her actions, or maybe she had unconsciously engineered it. Whatever it was, she would certainly thank herself later.
His hand was moving up her shirt with dexterity. She took some initiative and straddled his lap, pushing him back to lie on the bed.
"You'll have to take another shower. . ." Relena wasn't trying to convince him to stop, it had simply occurred to her.
With a satisfied smile Heero felt Relena's bra came loose beneath her shirt. "Then we'll take one together."
* * *
Lying there next to her, a few hours later, Heero swore to himself that he would protect Relena. Whatever form a threat may be in, he would take it upon himself to identify and neutralize before it could get to her. There would be no repeat of the trauma of her childhood, if he could help it. With nothing to fear, maybe she'd let herself trust the world a little more. Duo could help him, and Hilde too. He was no expert about getting a person out of their proverbial shell, but he knew how to make a safety net if nothing else.
His Relena was strong, she probably wouldn't need his help, but she would have it anyway. There must be some way he could get her to let him have that kind of access to her life. This would require more thought. At the moment he was more interested in the blond bundle resting in the crook of his arm, a smug and blissful smile on her face.
"Temptress. . ." his voice softly mumbled.
"mmm?" came her distant reply.
"Nothing." Yes. To protect her happiness he was willing to do anything. It was strange and vaguely exhilarating to have new purpose in his life, like a mission. Maybe this is what commitment felt like, and if so then he was a fool to have avoided it so assiduously for so long. But far more likely this spontaneous new affection for being with another human being was inspired by Relena herself.
The quiet moment was interrupted by a loud grumble from his stomach. Relena sat up a bit and arched her eyebrows at him.
"Well. . . I haven't eaten yet today. Lunch did get rained out, if you recall." Relena conceded to his point with a regal nod and then got up from the bed, dragging the sheet with her and wrapping it around her body like a toga, leaving Heero much colder and more exposed then he generally liked to be. For all he knew his clothes were still in the washer. He grabbed the towel and followed her.
Standing in the kitchen, eating pie (and intensely glad he had bought something he was willing to eat) Heero ran through scenarios in his mind about what he could ask Relena. Moving in together might be too soon, as well as a little scary for him with his odd schedule and her need to be out here with her gardens. That was impractical. His brain had just started to work on some sort of middle ground when the front door burst open and Catherine strode into the living room, shedding her coat. Heero was more alarmed that Relena didn't lock her door than the fact that he was standing in her kitchen wearing nothing but a towel. However, his lack of clothing leapt to the top of Catherine's mind as she came to a full stop, mouth agape. It didn't close when Relena walked into the kitchen, sheet clad, and just about fell over in shock. Heero took another bite of pie and waited to see what happened next, amusement being the keyword of the moment.
"Er. I, um, I got Millardo's invitation and I, er, came to say. . . to say. . . oh damn" Catherine was fumbling with her words and seemed flustered for such a confident and forward woman. "Well, 'oh damn' is NOT what I wanted to say. I wanted to say: congratulations." She looked from Relena to Heero and then turned around left without another word. As soon as the door had closed Relena's legs gave way and she plopped down on the kitchen laughing so hard she was almost crying. When the storm of mirth ended, Heero helped her up again.
"Your clothes will be dry soon." Relena wiped some tears from the side of her eye away with the back of her hand. Her sheet had fallen away from her front a bit and Heero surreptitiously stole a glance while she was distracted while trying to look aloof and unconcerned at the same time.
"Why was Catherine congratulating you?"
"Oh, there is some merger happening. I don't keep up much with the family business, but this is supposed to be really big. We're going to become Peacecraft & Po Enterprises soon, apparently." The name sparked something in Heero's memory, but he pushed it aside. "I thought that, all things considered, you wouldn't want to be in the same room with my brother if you could help it, so I didn't tell you about the party to celebrate next week." Heero felt a slim push of annoyance at the back of his mind at the mention of her brother. Overprotective moron. He'd take care of Relena now.
"Ah." They just hung around and watched TV until Heero's clothes were ready and then he got up to dress and leave. It was getting a bit late and he had more work to complete before the end of tomorrow if he was going to meet his deadlines.
"Sorry about earlier today at the house. Seems like you have been using my washer and dryer more than I have recently." Heero continued to stare at her, as her words became more faint. "The pie was really very good. . ."
"Call me soon and tell me when we can meet again." After giving her a swift kiss goodbye, he walked through the mud and light rain to his car. He had a lot to think about.
* * *
The dragon was finished. It was absolutely exquisite, as were all of his works, and he gave it a cold glance to match its own before the crew hauled it away. Duo had told him that the person who had ordered it, a Mr. Barton, wanted to speak to him personally when he got there. This was unusual since often he was there just as garnish to add to the host's reputation. Inviting the artist to the party called attention to the fact that the person was wealthy enough to hire one. Duo loved it because it was great for business, but Heero hated it because it meant mixing with people. Normally he would just sit by himself and let Duo mix, but unfortunately Hilde absolutely had to have his presence for a dinner with her parents to discuss seating charts. At least Heero didn't have to go through that, (though he expected vicarious torture from Duo whining to him later).
The tuxedo itched and it was warm once again, as if the rain a few days ago had never been and would never come again. The evening sweltered in high humidity. Quick transport was the only thing on his mind, so that his many hours of work did not get ruined before anyone saw it. Belatedly he wondered if Relena wanted a picture of it and then dismissed it as nonsense. He could care less if the memory of his work was preserved. Right? Not one to be tentative about any sort of thought, it was highly alarming that the question had come into his mind. Now was not the time to ponder such things. What he needed to do was focus on the task ahead of him: talking with strangers. The horror of it all.
As soon as he entered the building downtown, he wished he had just made an excuse and called in sick. A familiar looking man with platinum blond hair was getting out of a car followed by a striking woman with short dark hair. In a rush of renewed irritation, Heero decided Duo should fill him in more about what sort of jobs he was getting into. Both men looked daggers at one another until Lu escorted Milliardo firmly into the elevator. A tightly controlled smile graced her classically beautiful face, giving it a strangely stubborn look. The fact that she got Milliardo past Heero without incident was a testament to her skill. Heero's piece had been transported upstairs a while back, and he felt no need to rush up now so he watched guests arrive instead. A few recognized him and gave strained smiles, while one man actually stopped and stood in front of him with a gleam of something in his eye.
"Trowa." It was a statement, and a flat one at that, but it would have to serve as a greeting.
"Heero." After a moment of just standing there watching people file into elevators Heero decided it would be helpful to ask the one person he knew here something he had been wondering since he saw Milliardo.
"Relena is coming, isn't she?" His voice was nervous, and Trowa looked very interested all of a sudden.
"Yes. With Catherine."
"Ah." Heero didn't want to be down here any more. He felt restless. "I'll wait for her upstairs. I need to find someone anyway."
Once he made it to the room that appeared to have been cleared out just for this occasion rather than constructed for it, he tried to mingle. This was a particularly interesting process for a few reasons. The first was that he had to be vigilant to keep Relena's brother as far away as possible. The second was to question people of the whereabouts of whoever this Barton person was without getting into something as messy and undesirable as conversation. The third was the way he obsessively checked the door for Relena's entrance. A sample of this strange mixture of goals ran like this:
"Excuse me." Heero comes up to a group of people laughing softly at some anecdote. They look at him expectantly.
"Do I know you? I swear I've seen you before." A woman comments, waving her glass at him.
"I'm sure you have. Do any of you know a Mr. Barton?" Heero looks over his shoulder in one direction and then another.
"I haven't seen him yet, but I was sure he'd be arriving with - " the woman never finishes her sentence as Heero sees something, and makes a hasty movement in another direction leaving a mass of confused people in his wake. Sometimes being known as a temperamental artist has its upside. If they find out who he is, he'll just be considered that much more interesting and eccentric.
When Relena walked in Heero felt relief and then extreme anxiety. There were so many people here and he didn't know them or her relation to them. If anyone was going to cause her trouble he should know who it was, isolate them, and eliminate the danger. That would mean more talking. Maybe he should enlist Duo's help in the future for reconaissance until he had more of a firm footing. Milliardo got to her first and after a few words from him and then Lu in turns he saw her crane her neck about as if looking for something.
When her eyes met his and she glided over to meet him, dodging the greetings of others to get to his side, he thought that he felt his chest swell with some nameless emotion so severely it must be visible to others. She stretched out her hands, which he took in his own.
"Trowa told me you were here. I should have guessed. You're everywhere these days." From the tone in her voice he could tell that this pleased her quite a bit. "These things are always so stuffy, even though it's a celebration. If you're here it should be more interesting, though I would like it if you could refrain from getting into a fist fight this time." Heero turned a little red in the cheeks at the memory.
"I'll spend the whole evening with you, if you'll let me," and avoid talking to anyone else, he added mentally "But I need to find someone named Barton first."
Relena looked highly confused. "But, erm, Heero, you already saw him." Then something seemed to occur to her and a sparkle lit her eyes. "Why don't you go ask Catherine. She's often very near him at things like these."
"Are they together?" he asked with limited interest. Relena looked more amused and a little disgusted as they searched the crowd.
"I certainly hope not."
"For one thing, I'm pretty sure its illegal." Catherine seemed to jump out of nowhere, followed by Trowa. "Is incest illegal, Trowa?" The silent man just smiled as he moved next to her. Heero, not one to be slow on the uptake, simply turned to Trowa with the usual steely look on his face.
"So why didn't you say anything before?" Heero didn't like people giving him the runaround. Trowa shrugged.
"It didn't really come up. I had assumed you knew I was a Barton." They studied one another for a moment. A mutual understanding seemed to be reached while the girls watched the silent exchange with increasing boredom.
"Ok, you two, before you stand there and stare one another into the ground - even if it is a friendly stare - the rest of us need a little vocalization to keep the night lively. Why don't you take us over to meet your boss, Trowa." Catherine broke the silence and maneuvered them all in the direction of the large windows overlooking the city where a crowd of people were gathered around an individual. They let Trowa through and the woman whom up until now appeared to have been doing something similar to holding court turned to smile at them.
"Trowa! Is this your sister?" The lady smiled while the man standing with his arms crossed beside her frowned.
"Catherine Bloom. Pleasure. And this is Relena Peacecraft and Heero Yuy." Catherine took over so that Trowa didn't have to.
"I'm Sally Po. I think I've met you before Relena, but maybe I just feel like I have. Your brother mentions you often." Relena seemed a little discomfited by that comment. "Oh, and this must be the renowned Mr. Yuy! I half didn't believe my eyes when Trowa asked for such an outrageous amount for a piece of ice, but once I saw that dragon I knew it was worth every penny." She had such a happy way about her. The man mumbled something behind her. "What's that Wufei? This is Wufei Chang. He didn't even want to have a party, but I told him it just had to be done. He's my VP, and I don't think I'd be more than a struggling business if not for him." Wufei looked flustered by her words.
"Quiet, woman." He gave a stern grimace at everyone.
"Don't mind him. I don't."
Catherine and Sally began to talk to one another in a rapid fashion and everyone else watched for a moment before Trowa began to talk to Wufei about some sort of legal issue. The two men looked relieved to be back in something for like their element and as Heero walked away with Relena on his arm he could have sworn he saw Trowa wink at him. He was grateful for any time he could have Relena to himself. The nervousness overtook him again. Was he making the right decision? It seemed to be the most logical one.
He ushered Relena over to the drapes at the edge of the window. Moving behind a table of food so that it was very difficult for others to approach he decided that now was as good as next Monday (when they had planned to meet next). Maybe this was better, in fact, because they were already dressed up and the mood in the room was very positive in general.
"Relena?"
"Yes?"
"Marry me."
___________________
Indeed, I'm a bad person. But I really needed to stop and that seemed to be the best point (and it really is! You'll see why when I finish the next part).
Heero in a towel heh? 
Well.....this is very good and I can't wait for the next chapter to get out!!
Oh my splee~~~~ Cathy just had perfect timing there in the kitchen *still hammering the floor while laughing besides herself*
I'll keep an eye on whatever is to come. Good luck in the next chapter