by the Black Rose</center>
AN: FFN took this down claiming it was over ratings for the site. I don't really see why. American Pie, in my opinion, is far more 'lewd' than this, and it's not rated NC-17. However, they did confirm that it was reported by a girl who holds a particular grudge against me. So there ya go. Thanks FFN for turning your "report this story" into a way for children to behave like jerks. In the meantime, this fic will not be posted again to FFN. Sorry if I sound like I'm riding the 'bitter bus', but I take my writing seriously, and some people just need to grow up.
Thanks to all those who are still reading. My apologies for the delay, as usual.
Love, Rose<b>Chapter 2</b>
The restaurant was crowded, but a nice tip to the hostess got them seated fairly quickly. She let him guide her through the buzzing maze of tables with a tentative touch. Heero's fingers started by brushing the small of her back, but soon migrated southward, keeping her body close to his as they made their way to a fairly private booth. Her skin was warm through the thin fabric of her blouse, and so was the blood in her cheeks by the light blush that colored them.
"Enjoy your dinner," the hostess said, and deposited menus on the table before walking away. Relena smiled at the woman?s retreating figure, and he felt a leg graze his, as she must have crossed hers under the table. Heero closed his eyes for a moment, and had to grit his teeth. He took a deep breath. His body was far too reactive to her touch.
<i>She trailed a shoeless foot up the length of his leg and into his lap.</i>
His eyes shot open. She was looking at him, that soft smile on her features? and both feet kept to herself. "This is nice. I've never been here."
Heero swallowed against a knot in his throat and managed a nod. He remembered the menus and grabbed one to distract him. He saw her hand dart out to do the same. But even still, a few laminated pieces of paper were an inneffective barrier and her voice found its way through it in no time.
"So, since this is my first time and all, what would you recommend?" His body heated in response to her words, and he had to bite his lip to keep from groaning against the images they conjured up.
His thoughts drifted to Maxwell?
Yes, Maxwell was going to pay for this.
****************************************************
<i> Duo burst through the door, looking far too chipper for a Thursday afternoon. Heero instantly knew whatever his friend was up to, it was no good trying to escape. He was totally and utterly trapped. With a sigh, the lawyer buried his nose quickly in some important-looking legal documents ? he wasn't going to give up without a fight.
"Okay, so here's the scoop," Maxwell sang out and planted his rear in the the nearest chair. Heero didn?t bother to look up. "She definitely doesn't hate you, so that's a plus."
"Hn."
"You're a hard ass, and anal retentive. But lucky for you, so's her brother, so she's used to it."
"Great."
The intruder leaned over and rested his elbows on Heero?s desk. "It took a huge amount of coaxing, and a bit of alcohol."
Heero glanced up from his paperwork. "She's not supposed to drink at lunch."
"I lied. I told her it was a virgin daiquiri. And speaking of virgins?" Duo smirked and gave his friend a sly look.
Heero's eyebrow lifted.
"Yep yep. She didn't come right out and say 'I'm a virgin', but trust me, she is."
He scowled and refused to give into temptation and ask how it was his friend knew this information. He was already cursing himself for even making eye contact; it was only encouraging him.
Duo grinned. Again. It was beginning to get on Heero's nerves. "I take it you want to hear more."
"No."
"You're not stopping me or telling me you have work to do."
Heero shot him a cold glare. Maxwell stretched and plopped his feet on the edge of the desk.
"So, she's not seeing anyone. Her last boyfriend was too goody-two-shoes. She doesn?t like them bad, but she wants him to have a bit of personality and a sense of humor. So, you're going to have to fake those."
"Ha." Heero ground his teeth. "Ha."
"You are paying attention.? Duo stood up, but didn?t make any effort to leave. ?So, basically, she's single, available, and just waiting for you to take her."
"I doubt that's what she said."
Duo shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor.
Heero's eyes widened. "Did she?"
A light chuckle escaped his friend's lips. "No. But she's interested. She thinks you're brilliant ? why, I'll never know ? and good-looking. She says you work too hard, but are kind-hearted towards others, so however she came to that ridiculous conclusion I?ll never know, but we'll just go with it."
Heero scowled. Duo didn?t seem to notice.
"All in all, if you asked her, I'd give it an eighty percent chance or better she'd accept ? if she didn't have other plans."
"Eighty percent?"
"Yeah. She's attracted, but since you're her boss, she's worked the whole summer to see you as her boss and not really a sex-driven male creature."
The paperwork dropped from his hands. "So, in her mind?"
Duo made a face and nodded. "You're a eunuch. Or a big-brother type figure. We're going to have to work on that. But, see, if you'd asked her out two months ago, you wouldn't even have this problem."
"Shut up, Maxwell."
"So, are you going to ask her out?"
?No." Heero?s eyes drifted back to his desk and came to rest on his stapler. He?d never noticed how aerodynamic his office supplies were, and he occupied himself trying to decide which one to toss at Maxwell?s head.
"What? But?"
"I'm her boss. I should stay that way and not complicate things."</i>
***************************************************
It was a nice sentiment, surely, but sitting across the table from her, now, all he could think about was how it would feel to run his tongue down her neck and his hands over her?
"Mr. Yuy?"
He glanced up and met her eyes. Eyes were safe. They were a very pretty shade of light blue. He cleared his throat and corrected her before going back to hide behind the menu. "Heero."
She smiled and pronounced it like it was the first time. "Heero."
"Yes?"
"Oh, it just seemed like you were somewhere else. If you didn't want to do this tonight?"
"No.? He set the list of entrees aside. ?My apologies. I've been a little distracted lately."
"I've noticed."
"You have."
She took a sip of her water. He tried not to let his gaze linger on the smudge of lipstick left on the glass. "Mm-hm. It's hard not to. You're usually very focused. I had wondered about it, but didn't feel?"
His eyes snapped back to hers. "Yes?"
Slender fingers threaded together and came to rest on the table. "Well, excuse me for saying so, but I didn't feel like it was something I could approach you about."
"My apologies again for making you uncomfortable."
She shook her head. "No, not at all. I'm very thankful for the opportunity you've given me this summer. I didn't know what I was going to do if I didn't get an internship."
"You've more than repaid any favor I did for your brother. It's been a pleasure." A light blush colored her cheeks. It only made her more attractive.
"Thank you."
He nodded and reached for his water, but it did little to douse the flame raging inside his veins. "So what sort of law are you specializing in?"
"Civil. I want to practice family law."
Heero frowned. "There's not a lot of money in that. Have you considered criminal or international law?"
A waitress arrived to deliver salads and take their orders. Relena unfolded her napkin and retrieved her silverware. "It's not about the money to me. Though criminal and international law are both fascinating."
He nodded. "I considered an international specialty."
"It seems strange to hear you say that. You're brilliant in your line of work."
"Thank you. I'm not brilliant. I just work hard."
"Except today." She grinned.
"Hn." He grimaced. "Yes, except today."
He started in on the salad, but her fork remained poised over the bowl. "Dare I even ask what you two boys were up to?"
"It's best you don't. Duo?He's just annoying."
Relena laughed. "Yes. Yes, he is."
Heero stared. "You know, you're the first person to agree with me on that. Most people find him funny."
"He groped me when he came flying out of the office. His boyish charm just isn't my type."
"What is your type?"
She blushed a deep pink tone. "Mr. Yuy, Heero, that sounds a bit? Are you hitting on me?"
He didn't respond. After a short moment, she raised her eyes from the table to meet his.
"Oh."
Heero sucked in a deep breath and pushed the table settings out of the way. "I don't beat around the bush, Miss Darlian. You've been a distraction lately. I don't like distractions."
"I'm sorry, I?"
"I'm attracted to you. If that makes you uncomfortable, I can have you transferred?"
She stood up from her seat. His heart fluttered for the moment he thought she was leaving. "You're my secretary, I don't intend to force my?"
Relena smiled again and slid into booth next to him. "And what if I don't want to be transferred?"
He swallowed. "If you're all right with my admission?"
"What if I'm attracted to you, too?"
***********************************************************
The night was clear, but dark; only a sliver of a moon peeked through the velvet night sky. Heero had insisted on taking his 'date' home, and so they walked, lazily, with Relena's hand tucked in the crook of his arm. He guided her up the sidewalk to the stairwell that led to her apartment. He climbed the stairs beside her, intent on making sure she safely made it inside. When they reached the door, the blonde girl looked up and smiled at him again.
"It was a lovely evening, Heero." She disentangled her arm from his as he nodded, feeling the warmth dissipate from where her fingers had recently gripped his elbow. He missed her already. She smiled and turned to unlock the door, but he caught her hand and pulled her close against him.
Her fingers rested against his cheek, searing his skin even in the chilly night air. He leaned in and brushed his lips against the softness of her mouth. The kiss was brief, but he knew it would be more than enough to further fuel his newfound imagination.
She broke away. "What about the partnership committee?"
He groaned and pressed his forehead against hers.
<i>
Relena slid into the seat and turned the top half of her body towards him. She pressed closer. "What if I'm attracted to you, too?"
Heero swallowed. "Then we have a problem."
"Oh? Is it fatal?" Her lips looked really inviting?
He shook his head. "No. Not fatal." She grew nearer, but he wasn't sure it was her that moved this time. "Just?Difficult."
"I see." Relena looked away and the spell was broken.
Heero cleared his throat. "You work for me."
"Yes, I know. And the firm doesn't approve of office romances."
So, she knew. "It used to be outright forbidden. They've loosened up in the past three years, but it's still frowned upon. And your step-brother--"
"Milliard?" She turned back to face him. " You think he'd have a problem with?us? Well, there being an 'us'?"
Heero nodded.
"But if I explained--"
"Relena, it's more than that. I'm sure you knew this already, but I'm a candidate for partner this year."
She gasped. "You are? But I didn't think they even considered anyone under thirty. Wait, or are you older?"
He smiled. "No. I'm twenty-eight. And you're right, they don't normally consider anyone my age."
Her eyes lit up. "But that's wonderful. It only goes to show how brilliant you are. So few people are as accomplished in the field of law at fifty, let alone twenty-eight?" Her face fell, and she glanced down at her hands. "I'm gushing, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry."
"I, but I understand"
?You do."
Relena looked up. Her expression was serene, but the happy spark had left her features. "Yes, this is too important to risk on?well, me."
He reached for her hand. "I didn't mean it like that."</i>
"I don't want to jeopardize your chances, Heero. Making partner will affect the rest of your life. I'll only be your secretary for a few more weeks."
His eyes opened. <i>Damn, that's right. Summer internship. Summer's almost over. </i> His pulse quickened. "How many?" He asked.
"Six I?"
Heero pulled out his Ipaq and switched it on. "Six weeks exactly?"
"Yeah."
He tapped the screen with the stylus to bring up a calendar. He counted out six weeks. "That puts it at August 17th."
She nodded. "That sounds right."
He hit the date square on the tiny screen to bring up an appointment box. "I'm taking you to dinner."
A small frown appeared on her forehead. "Were you going to ask me?"
"No."
"I see."
Heero continued tapping the lighted screen with the stylus. "We'll make it six thirty. There's a place a couple of hours from here. I think you'll like it."
"I'll have to take off early."
"Maybe your boss will let it slide this once. It is your last day."
She bit her lip. "I don't know. He's a bit of a slave driver."
He stopped 'typing' and shot her a dirty look.
"But I guess he won't really have a choice."
"Oh?"
"Mmm-hmm. If he gives me any grief, I'll quit at lunch time. I mean, what's he going to do? Fire me?" She giggled and shot Heero a look that could only be described as sexy. At least, that's what it made him think of - picking her up and taking her back to her room... He shook his head and returned to filling out the appointment on his Ipaq. He'd call the little bed and breakfast place on Monday and make reservations.
But, six weeks?.
Six weeks of having her near him, knowing he was attracted to her and her to him, and not being able to act on it for fear of retribution from her brother or accusations of improper behavior by the partnership committee. He was nine weeks away from being named the youngest partner ever in the firm. All he had to do was keep his hands, and erm...the rest of his body away from the only thing that could cause his downfall:
Relena.
*******************************************************
Five weeks and four days left. Heero didn't know if he was going to make it. He had dreamt about her that night, and the night after that?and the night after that. Handcuffs. Thigh highs, and no panties. When had he turned into a total lecher?
"Greetings Keemosabee."
Heero glanced up. "There's something so right about getting to call you Tonto.*"
Duo sent him a scathing look. "Soooooooooooooooooooooo?"
Heero turned back to his work and studied the paper in front of him much more closely.
Maxwell took a seat on the end of the desk. "Well, that's an 'I didn't sleep with her' look. So, barring that, she didn't quit, so you mustn't have behaved too badly."
Heero reread the first line of the brief for the fifth time. It still didn?t make any sense.
"Ah, come on,? Duo whined. ?I set you up. The least you can do is tell me how it went."
"You didn't set us up."
"Oooh, so it's 'us', is it? Perhaps it went better than I thought. So, when's your next date?"
"August 17th."
"Oh, cool?HEY!"
Heero shoved his friend off the desk and tersely flipped the page of report in his hand.
"August 17th?! What are you, crazy?"
"Yes. For not installing an electric fence around my office. Get out."
An anguished Duo pounded his fists on the desk and collapsed into the chair across from Heero. "No. No way. You think she's going to wait that long? I can't wait that long, and I'm not an interested party."
"I have work to do."
"Upside down?"
Heero looked down. The third page of the brief was facing Duo on the table. He scowled and righted it.
"Well, I do have to at least give you points for the flowers. The roses were really a?"
His whole body tensed. "What flowers?"
"The ones on her desk when I came in. Y-you didn't send them?"
"No. How would that look? If I'm not going to see her for six weeks because?"
"Oh, so that's it, huh? Afraid her step brother will accuse you of improper conduct and block your nomination to partner, huh?"
Heero shot upwards and stalked passed his friend. He ripped open the door. Sure enough, there on her desk was a dozen red roses set in a delicate arrangement. The attorney scowled. "Who are those from?"
Relena turned to greet him with a smile. "Oh, good morning. You?" Her face fell. "?don't look happy. What's wrong?"
"Who sent you the flowers?"
She blushed. She had the nerve to actually blush.
"Ummmm, Trowa did. Mr. Barton, I mean. He's a friend of yours?"
Heero snarled and grabbed the vase, then stomped off in the direction of Barton's office.
Heero stormed into the room, throwing the door aside as he went. He slammed the container down on Trowa's desk; the green-eyed man looked up at him, his lips curved into a small grin.
"Oh, Yuy. I didn't think you cared."
"Shut up, Barton. Leave my secretary alone."
Emerald eyes narrowed, but the curl of his lips remained unchanged. "I wasn't bothering her. If she took offense at my gift, she didn't show it."
Heero?s hand tightened around the vase. "She's too nice. I'm telling you to leave her alone."
"Hm. And so it seems my first observation was correct.? Trowa leaned back in his chair and sorted through a stack of files. Does the partnership committee know you're sleeping with your secretary?"
"I'm not sleeping with her," Heero growled. "I took her to dinner Friday to answer some questions on a case she studied in class last semester. That's all."
"Then why are you here?"
"She doesn't need to be bothered by the likes of you. She works here. This is the place she works. That doesn't give you free reign to hit on her." He accentuated each point by slamming the flowers on Barton?s desk. Water splashed out over the polished wood and splattered over the nearby files? And Heero.
"Is that advice you take yourself?"
Heero glowered at the other man and turned to leave.
"That's what I thought. If she's not interested, she can tell me herself. Or are you afraid she just might want to go out with me?"
********************************************
Heero came back looking grim? and a bit damp, carrying a rather abused version of the lovely flowers Trowa, aka Prince Charming, had delivered that morning. Her boss set them gently back down on her desk, but wouldn't look at her as he passed by without a word. She frowned. After their evening Friday night, she didn't know why she had hoped for something more.
He was back to his usual, focused, demanding self, only now he was irritated at something. She guessed he was upset about the flowers, but she wasn't quite sure why. They had agreed not to get involved, had no commitment, and other than a brief kiss, there was definitely nothing 'more' between them.
She was attracted to Heero, for more than just his physical looks ? which were definitely nothing to discount ? but from even before she ever met him. His arguments were nothing short of exceptional; he'd been the youngest attorney ever to go before the Supreme Court. He was handsome and smart, and she had counted herself so incredibly lucky that her brother had known this man and was able to get her an internship with him. Even being a secretary, an occupation she hated, had been well worth it. She had already learned so much about how a firm ran, how cases were handled to the most mundane level. But she had still hoped to spend time with him on a little more intellectual level.
Friday night had been?. Eye opening. He had proven to be just as single-minded about his personal life as he was about his professional one, though she completely understood his desire to place business over?erm, pleasure.
He was intriguing.
He was imperfect.
He spilled coffee as often on his desk as in his mouth. He often forgot to eat. He hated others being late, but would become so absorbed in something he was doing, he'd forget the time. He needed everything to be neat, orderly; he could take his fairly slow-burning, but rather nasty temper out on innocents. He was anti-social in general, and a hard man to please.
And when her ideal version of him had come crashing down two months ago, she had gradually replaced it with a more realistic image. And one, she soon realized, that seemed even better than the first.
He was real.
He was attracted to her.
And he was currently upset about flowers another man had given her. Relena blinked and stared at his closed door. She hated to be so vain as to think? But, could he be? Jealous?
The phone rang on her desk, and she nearly jumped right out of her chair. She put a calming hand over her heart, and glanced down at the blinking phone. It was an inside line.
"Mr. Yuy's office."
"Relena."
She smiled into the receiver. "Oh, Mr. Barton. Thank you again for the flowers. They really are lovely."
"You're supposed to call me Trowa."
She bit her lip and cringed. "I'm sorry, Trowa. It's just habit."
He chuckled into the phone. "I'm not offended."
"Oh, good. Did you need to speak to Mr. Yuy?"
"No, I called to talk to you."
Relena felt suddenly lightheaded. "Oh."
"I was wondering if you had plans for Friday night."
"Oh! Ahhhh, I don't?think so? Why?"
He laughed again. It was deep, throaty, sexy. She felt her knees weaken and was glad she was sitting down. "I was wondering if you had plans for Friday night because I want to take you to dinner. Unless you have an objection."
Relena cast a glance back at Heero's door. It was closed. Cold. Forbidding. She was sure a man like him, as confident as he was, wasn't jealous over her. His bad mood earlier was probably over how it looked for her to have flowers on her desk like that. Maybe he was angry at her, too.
"Relena?"
Trowa?s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Oh, sorry, I? Was just checking my calendar to be sure."
"I see."
The other attorney seemed nice enough. Certainly Trowa was handsome and had more charm than Heero did on the surface, but?
It was just a date.
Just one. Little. Date.
The line suddenly went dead, and she heard the sound of door opening and closing. When she looked up, the green-eyed man was smiling down at her.
?So, Relena. Are you free for dinner??
"Trowa, I?"
* * * * * *
*Tonto. I had always heard that Tonto means fool. I believe it does, in Spanish. I thought it was fairly common knowledge, that it was 'disrespectful' of television back in those days to call Tonto, the Native American in the Lone Ranger TV series, by that name. But when I read that line to, I think it was my husband, he had no idea what I was talking about. So?.
The joke here is, Tonto in the Lone Ranger TV series was the Indian sidekick for the Lone Ranger. His name means "fool", in Spanish. Tonto would call the Lone Ranger Keemosabee, which I think is supposed to mean something close to 'chief'. I could be wrong on that. In this instance, Duo calls Heero Keemosabee, and Heero remarks on how appropriate it is to call Duo "Tonto", or, a fool.
How's that for a long-winded explanation? Thanks for reading! Love, Rose
