Thank you kindly to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far! ^_^
Two Princes
A pseudo-songfic, loosely based upon the song "Two Princes" by the Spin Doctors
by Sara
Pairings: 1 _or_ 2 xR...but how much longer will it remain a mystery?
Chapter 5
~If you want to call me baby
Just go ahead now
And if you'd like to tell me maybe
Just go ahead now~
It was well after midnight when Relena finally returned home. Heero was waiting for her. He was slightly disconcerted that she hadn't been home earlier. Certainly if things had gone badly, she would've been home far earlier.
For the first time that night, his guilt began to have a more refined focus to it. Up until then it had been a raw energy lingering at the edge of his conscious. Knowing that she had not come home before midnight, however, led him to believe that things had gone better on their date than he had hoped. It also, he thought ruefully, increases the odds that one of them realized that there was a purpose behind his restaurant suggestion.
He sat at the small butcher-block table in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee that had long grown cold. He had deliberately left the kitchen lights on and the door ajar, because he knew she would notice that when she came home. His ears finally picked up the faint clicking of the tumblers in the door-lock turning, and a slight whumping sound of disrupted air-pressure as she gently closed the door behind her.
Heero involuntarily swallowed as his stomach turned somersaults and his heart pounded desperately against his ribcage. Was he--nervous? He had never been nervous about anything in his life. It was a new experience to him.
Sure enough, as he had expected, he heard the click of her heels on the parquet flooring in the hallway, the sound growing louder as she neared the kitchen. He heard the kitchen door creak faintly--must remember to remind staff to oil that hinge, he thought--as she poked her head around the door.
"Heero?" Her voice sounded tired, and Heero's hopes increased somewhat. Perhaps he had worried over nothing. He looked up and grunted slightly, gesturing with his head to the empty chair next to his. Relena took it gratefully, kicking her shoes off under the table.
She seemed lost in thought for an eternity, or perhaps it was only a minute or two. Inwardly cursing, Heero broke the silence.
"How...was your date?" he asked cautiously. Relena looked up and smiled slightly.
"That interested, are you?" She chuckled. "It was...interesting, I'll say that much."
"You didn't have a good time." Was she imagining things, or was there a slightly gloating quality to Heero's words? She shook her head, almost imperceptively, and spoke again.
"No, it's not that at all. In fact, I had a lovely time...after we left Le Chanson." She froze Heero with a calculating look. "In retrospect, I probably should have stuck with my initial intention that Le Chanson wasn't the best choice of locations, even if only because of the expense of the meals."
"The gift certificates were insufficient."
She shook her head again. "No, Heero. You and I both know that those gift certificates could easily throw a lavish feast for a party of ten people, including wine and dessert." She raised her eyebrows significantly. "No, it was not the expense that was the problem."
"Duo didn't behave himself, did he." It was not a question.
Relena fixed Heero with another one of her calculating stares. "Now, that's the interesting thing. I'll admit it, I was half-afraid he would not fit in very well at Le Chanson. But I will commend the boy. He tried his hardest. But even his hardest can fall short of the mark, sometimes."
Heero tried his hardest to sit still and not squirm uncomfortably. He now knew what insects displayed in an entomologist's collection felt like.
"And that brings up an interesting question, for me. You see, though Duo tried his hardest, he did stick out. Half of the problem was that Duo is just Duo, and nothing can change that. The other half of the problem was that the staff was seemingly expecting me to be on someone else's arm at that restaurant tonight. My question? Duo knew he probably wouldn't fit in, but he tried his very best to do that. He said as much, later on. I myself had my reservations about bringing him there.
"And then it occurred to me, Heero. That particular suggestion of where to go on our date was not my idea. In fact, if memory serves, it was your suggestion, Heero."
Heero suddenly became fascinated with the dredges of coffee in the bottom of his mug.
For a time, the kitchen was wrapped in silence, save the steady tick-tick of the clock in the hall. Heero continued to peer into his coffee cup, as if attempting to divine an answer to get himself out of this mess.
"Heero, look at me."
He looked up reluctantly. Surprisingly enough, Relena's face was not a thundercloud of accusations. She was gazing at him earnestly.
"Heero, I honestly want to believe that you didn't suggest that restaurant to us with malicious intent, but I need to hear it from you. Please tell me that."
Heero opened his mouth, but found he did not have the strength to speak. He took a deep breath. "Relena...I..." He blinked, and swallowed again. "I...'m sorry your date didn't go well," he finished lamely. He cast his eyes downward, and waited for the explosion.
It never came. He glanced back up curiously. Relena let out a huge sigh, and seemed to deflate in front of his eyes. She studied the pattern of the woodwork on the table for a length of time. When she finally looked up, there were the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "Why, Heero? Why did you do this?"
"I..." There's no sense in lying now, Yuy. She knows you did this on purpose. "...don't know...I don't know why..."
Relena seemed to be crumbling before his eyes. "I trusted you, Heero," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I've trusted you with my life for more years than I care to count, and I probably will continue to do so. But...why? Why is it I can't trust you with my heart?" Two tears tracked down her face, leaving damp patterns across her cheeks.
Heero did not answer. Relena propped one elbow on the table and covered her face with that hand. The table shook gently with her silent sobs, the other hand clutching convulsively at the tabletop.
Before he realized what he was doing, Heero was kneeling in front of her, taking her free hand and covering it with both of his own. He rubbed her knuckles along his cheek, mumbling words of apology in every language he knew, kissing her fingers and stroking her soft skin.
Relena looked up from her weeping, and stared incredulously at her bodyguard. "H-heero...what...what are you doing?" She tugged feebly at her hand, too shocked to put more force behind it.
"I'm sorry, Relena," he said, his voice thick with emotion. His eyes were dry, but his soul was being wrung of more emotions than he thought himself capable of having. He cupped her hand against his cheek and nuzzled against her palm softly. "I...cannot give you a reason I'm satisifed with. But I am sorry."
Relena watched him for a moment. "Oh, Heero," she whispered softly. She disentangled her hand from his and stood up. He looked up at her, slightly surprised.
"I can't say that I don't understand your motives tonight, Heero," she said, running her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes.
Relena moved her hand away from his head and wrapped her arms around her torso, regarding him with a mixture of affection and betrayal. "But I cannot forgive you...not yet. That was a very cruel thing to do, and you hurt both Duo and myself by doing such a thing."
Heero looked down. He could have expected no better than this, he mused pragmatically. "I suppose then that I must leave." He stood up, mentally planning what he would need to take with him, half-wondering if she really would ask him to leave.
Relena snorted with disgust. "Heero Yuy. Whatever gave you that idea?" She smirked, a bit of her old humor returning. "I'm merely angry with you. I don't hate you." She sobered again. Her expression turned earnest. "Please...don't leave me, Heero."
He shook his head. "If you still require my services as a guard, then I will stay," he said, secretly very glad that he hadn't been banished on the spot.
Relena toed at her shoes halfheartedly, slipping them back on her feet. "I don't want you to leave," she said, turning back toward the door. "I...just have a lot of things to think about."
Heero nodded, and said nothing.
"It's been a long night, for both of us, I think." She walked to the door, and leaned against it slightly. "You'd best turn in, too." She turned her back to him and stood facing the door for a moment, then looked at him over her shoulder. "Oh, and Heero?" He looked up and met her eyes. Her expression softened slightly.
"Thanks...for waiting up for me..." She stepped out of the kitchen, the door clicking shut behind her.
Heero stood in the emptied kitchen for a few moments, and wondered at what had just happened before leaving the kitchen himself.
. . . .
The weekend passed slowly for Heero. Relena did not outright avoid him, and was cordially polite to him, but he felt as though a wall had been raised between them. It made him curse his own bad judgment, as well as Duo.
On Monday, Dorothy found him.
"Poor, poor Heero," she intoned sympathetically, "it seems as though you have fallen out of favor with your lady."
Heero gritted his teeth and controlled his temper. "I doubt that it's any of your business, Dorothy."
"Oh, but it is, it is," she purred sweetly. "You see, Miss Relena already told me everything about your little...trick of the previous week." She smirked slightly. "I am impressed, Mr. Heero. Setting up Mr. Maxwell for humiliation like that. Not many people would think to do it in such a spectacular way. He won't be able to show his face at Le Chanson for a very, very long time."
Heero looked at her, slightly puzzled. "Dorothy, I don't think that's an issue with Duo. From what Relena told me, he hated it there."
"Mmm," Dorothy nodded her head sagely. "But, you know, if things go the way Miss Relena had planned, he may have to make some concessions for future dates to Le Chanson, if you know what I mean."
Heero studiously avoided her gaze, and carefully controlled his body language to show bland disinterest in her words, but his mind was roiling with wild thoughts.
Dorothy sighed melodramatically. "I can tell when I'm not welcome here," She stood up to leave. "So I'll be frank. If you want to win Relena's hand, you'd best do something about it, and fast. If you don't..." She raised her eyebrows significantly, allowing her words to trail off.
Heero glared at her. "You've made your point, Dorothy. Don't you have other things you should be doing?"
Dorothy laughed, almost delightedly. "Why Heero! Here I thought I was supposed to be the catty one." She smirked and opened the door to leave. "Just remember what I told you, Mr. Heero..." She let the door click silently shut as she left the room, leaving him to his thoughts.
. . . .
As much as he tried to deny it, Dorothy's words stuck with him for the majority of the day. At 4:00, he abruptly came to a decision. He stood up, snapping his laptop closed, and began packing up to leave.
He left a note with Relena's secretary, not wanting to disturb Relena herself, and walked out of the building. He had a vague idea of what to do, but he figured that if he actually went through the motions of preparing his plan, then the other details would fall into place.
He got into his car, and drove toward the grocery store.
--
Heero stared, completely puzzled. He had decided that the best way to make up for his actions to Relena would be to treat her to dinner. Having decided that, he realized that taking her out to a restaurant probably wouldn't be the best course of action, considering the recent turn of events. Therefore, he had decided to cook her dinner.
The cooking of the dinner was not the part that worried Heero. Cooking, after all, was simply another form of chemistry, and he was good at figuring out analytical processes. Not only that, but his initial training had included a few culinary classes. One must be prepared for all eventualities, including being able to sustain oneself through nutrition.
The part that was puzzling Heero was deciding what to make for dinner.
He realized that, although he had spent a great deal of time as her personal bodyguard, he hadn't really taken much time to really know her. He pondered this as he stared at different cuts of meat. Would she like steak? No, she rarely ate anything that heavy. Besides, it would take too long to prepare, at this point in time. What about pork? He shook his head slightly. He knew Relena didn't care for it. Perhaps chicken....
"Hi, Heero! What are you doing here?"
Heero started as a familiar voice shocked him out of his contemplation. He turned, and found himself facing Hilde, a shopping basket cradled in the crook of one elbow. He nodded in greeting.
"Hello, Hilde. I'm...trying to decide what to make for dinner."
Hilde nodded sagely. "I know the feeling," she sympathized. "I never know what to make! And then there's Duo to contend with..." She shook her head in good humor.
"Duo..." he said, almost thoughtfully.
A troubled look crossed Hilde's face. "What do you think of...I mean, how are you taking it that...he and Relena...are an item?" She tried to choose her words carefully, but they still had impact. His reaction was almost comical.
"An...item?" he said guardedly. He hadn't realized their relationship had progressed that far. He had thought that Dorothy was embellishing upon the story to get a rise out of him. "What about you?"
Hilde brightened immediately. "I think it's great! Duo is so happy, especially whenever he gets to talk to her. I'm so happy for the both of them," she beamed.
Heero carefully noted her expression. No pretense, no hidden spite...Hilde was being truthful. She really was happy for Duo.
"Aren't you a bit...I mean, I always thought that you and Duo..."
"Would eventually become an item?" Hilde shook her head. "Nope. We've talked about it quite a bit, actually. The problem is, we're too similar to get along well, romantically. You know the old saying, 'opposites attract'?" She giggled. "He's definitely cute, and he does make me laugh...but honestly, he's more like a big brother to me than anything else. I couldn't even see myself with him as anything other than a friend!"
She assumed a thoughtful expression. "In fact, I'm glad he's found Relena," she said. "I always feel so guilty, going out on dates, while he sits at home. Not too many people can handle him in a committed relationship, you know. He can be quite a handful."
Heero nodded dumbly. Hilde scrutinized his face, then drew back.
"Oh dear...don't tell me...you and Relena..."
"Don't worry about it," he said, more gruffly than he had meant.
Hilde folded her arms across her chest. "Aha! I knew it! You have feelings for her, don't you?"
Heero was silent.
"You do..." She sighed. "You haven't said anything to her about it, have you?"
For some reason, with Hilde, Heero felt inclined to tell her things he'd hidden even from himself. "I haven't," he confessed. "I was going to tell her tonight, I think. That's why I'm here...I was going to cook dinner for her."
Hilde's expression softened immediately. "Oh...that's so sweet!" she exclaimed, then immediately sobered. "But...if you don't mind my asking...why? Won't that make things difficult for Relena?"
Heero hadn't thought about that. He had assumed that, if he did this, Relena would forgive him for his actions of the previous night. If he was lucky, she might even welcome him with open arms, and turn away from Duo. He had not considered that she might not want to turn away....
"I have to try," he finally said, his voice quiet. "It's the only thing I can do."
Hilde shook her head. "I never claimed to understand men," she muttered, then started rummaging around in her purse. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, and scribbled a number down on it. "Here," she said, thrusting the paper into his hands. "I know you won't call, because men don't talk out their problems, but I want you to know you can call, if you need someone to talk to."
Heero took the piece of paper, a puzzled expression on his face. He carefully folded it in two and shoved it in his pocket, nodding his understanding and thanks.
Hilde started to walk off. "Sorry to cut this short, but I have to finish up my shopping. Oh, and Heero?" She turned to look at him over her shoulder. "I'd make something simple, like pasta. You don't want to go too overboard, with a meal like this." With that, she trotted cheerfully back toward the produce section.
Heero watched her departing figure thoughtfully.
. . . .
Relena sighed heavily, and pressed a hand to the back of her neck. She could tell that she had been at work for far too long. Her body was sending her unmistakable signals. Idly, she glanced at her watch, then did a double-take when she realized how late it was.
"What on earth..." she muttered to herself. It was nearly 6:30. How could she have gotten caught working so late? Heero usually was in her office before 5:15, pestering her to finish up what she was doing and go home....
She stood up in one fluid motion and started pacing around her office. Surely he hadn't taken her distance as an indication that he should leave, had he? Anxious fear gnawed at her.
She crossed the room and opened her office door. Surprisingly, her secretary was also still there.
"Susan? Why are you still here?"
The young woman looked up sheepishly. "I...have a message from you from Mr. Yuy," she said hesitantly. "I didn't know if you wanted to be disturbed, so I waited for you to come out of your office to get it." She handed a folded piece of paper to Relena.
Relena smiled slightly. "You could have interrupted me, Susan," she said soothingly. "I wasn't working on anything that couldn't have been disturbed." She took the paper from her secretary. "Besides, you can always interrupt my work when the message involves Heero. Now, go home," she said with good humor.
The young woman nodded and giggled, and started to pack up her things to leave. Relena wandered back into her office, and unfolded the paper.
In Heero's bold scrawl, it read:
Relena,
Have some errands to take care of. Am leaving work early. Will see you this evening. Don't work too late. --HY
She smiled slightly, and folded the note back up. "I wonder what you have planned now, Heero," she mused to herself, and began packing up her things to leave.
. . . .
Though Heero had quarters assigned to him at Relena's estate, and he usually stayed there, he did have his own apartment, away from the estate, that he kept up in case he needed to stay elsewhere. He rarely visited there more than once a month.
He had decided that, if he were to make dinner for Relena at her house, there would be someone about to interfere. So he had left another note for her at the estate, which she found upon returning home.
By this point in time, Relena was beginning to become irritated with Heero. Just what did he have planned? Now he's leading me around with silly little notes?
The only reason why she didn't crumple up the note and disregard his request that she meet him in town at his apartment was because he had never, in all the time she had known him, invited her to his apartment for anything. So she changed out of her work clothes, and called for her chauffeur to bring the car.
On the drive into town, Relena thought about the meeting with Heero. It's only fair, she thought ruefully. I really should tell him about Duo and myself. He deserves to know, even if it probably won't make that much of a difference.
A small voice in the back of her head piped up then, reminding her of his behavior after she returned from her date with Friday night. Friends don't behave like that around people they aren't attracted to, the voice insisted. But she quickly quashed it.
She peered out the window, lost in thought. If Heero was even remotely interested, he would have given her some sign long ago. Wouldn't he?
The slowly deepening dusk had no answers for her.
. . . .
Heero was just lighting the candles on the small table in his kitchen when he heard the knock at the door. Right on schedule, he thought to himself with satisfaction.
He went to open the door, and Relena stepped inside. "Heero, what exactly is going on? First you leave early without me, and then you--"
She stopped dead in her tracks when she walked into the kitchen, and caught sight of the set table. She sniffed the air, and smelled the delightful smells of something cooking. She turned to Heero, an incredulous look on her face.
"You cooked dinner for me?"
Heero nodded, and scratched at the back of his head. "I made spaghetti," he said, almost sheepishly. "I...wasn't sure what you would like. I didn't have enough time to properly research what you would like for dinner, but I figured this would be suitable." He tried smiling. Relena was still staring at him, jaw agape.
"You cooked dinner for me," she said, hints of denial creeping into her voice. She shook her head. "Heero, in the entire time I've known you, you've never done anything like this. What's going on?"
Heero shifted uncomfortably. "I wanted to apologize for the other night," he said quietly. "I thought this would be a good way to make it up to you."
A part of Relena's mind was screaming at her to leave, to stomp out the door and leave Heero to his blasted spaghetti. But another part of her melted at the thought that Heero had done this for her. She shrugged out of her jacket, hanging it on a hook near the door.
She knew that now was not the time to tell Heero about Duo. She could see it in Heero's eyes, that he was telling her so much more with his actions than he ever had with his words. She smiled as she sat down in the chair Heero offered to her, and a part of her suddenly realized that part of the reason she couldn't tell Heero about her relationship with Duo was because she wasn't certain herself of what there was to tell him.
~*~
TBC
As always, C&C is greatly loved and appreciated. ^_^
--Sara
I hope the next chapter is put up soon. I'm very anxious to find out who Relena winds up with.
I'm going to be posting the next chapter soon. Thanks for reading! ^__^