Blissful Ignorance

In the Silence 5


When a blur of energy and braid accosted her soon after entering the hotel, swung her around, and then held her at arm's length for examination, Relena wasn't certain whether to laugh or shove him away. No formalities for Duo Maxwell. She strongly suspected he knew all about the ways to behave in polite society and deliberately overlooked every one. The casual way he was dressed, in jeans and a black shirt, the tails of which hung to the tops of his thighs, spoke as much, and made him seem out of place in the elegance of the foyer. But his exuberance and easy manner were exactly what she needed after another shuttle ride with Wufei.

"Lookin' good, Miss. Relena," he teased, winking.

Shaking her head, unable to keep from smiling, she returned, "And you're a flirt, Duo Maxwell."

"Guilty," he admitted, raising his hand, and then turning to Wufei in an abrupt change of focus that nearly made her dizzy just watching him.

He made a half-hearted lunge, as if he intended to sweep Wufei up into an embrace similar to the one he greeted her with.

"Don't even think about it, Maxwell." He shifted the bags he was carrying. "What are you doing here?"

Rolling his eyes, Duo screwed his face up into a mockery of human expression. "Nice to see you too, Wufei."

Banking a sigh, Wufei reached for patience he was certain he did not possess. The shuttle ride had been long, strained, and silent. Relena had dug into her briefcase full of work and immersed herself in paper after paper, while he had taken up the place he left off in his book. The tension he thought would ease with sleep had not. He had wanted to watch her, trace her with his eyes, imagine what it would be like to touch her skin. The awareness made him angry, the anger made him irritable, and the irritation made him unfit for company.

Especially the company of Duo Maxwell.

They began walking, Duo leaving them with little choice but to follow. Wufei's preference would have been to leave him behind. They hadn't seen one another in little over a year, and it was apparent nothing about the undisciplined, obnoxiously loud ex-pilot had changed.

"You have yet to answer my question," he pointed out.

"Maybe I don't want to," Duo returned cheekily, deftly squiring Relena's bags away from her. Wufei had gotten ahead of them both.

Relena wanted to grab them back. It left her arms empty, with nothing to do, and her bereft of a shield. Attempting to pretend that nothing had happened between her and Wufei wasn't working. She kept remembering the way he had looked at her. He hadn't since. His eyes barely touched her now, and when they did, they were guarded again, as if he were certain she would make weapons of what she found beneath. She suddenly wished fervently that she had found herself attracted to someone with an easier personality, like Duo.

Looking at him, however, left her feeling nothing but sisterly affection. While Wufei... She watched him as he moved, with subtle grace and ease, a quiet strength that was simplistic and strangely beautiful. Different from any other man. But then, Wufei was.

"I have no use for your games," Wufei said curtly as Duo caught up with him. His tone more intolerant, he added, "Where are we going?"

"God, you're a sourpuss today," Duo imparted with a grin, as he sailed past Wufei.

Duo was running figurative circles around Wufei, and Relena was so amused by it that she let the evidence of her mirth slip between her fingers.

Wufei threw her an annoyed glance over his shoulder and then wished he hadn't. She was beautiful in her laughter, free. He didn't want, or need to notice that.

Since last night, however, he found himself noticing a great many things about her he hadn't bothered to before. Like the way her skin furrowed between her brows when she was working at something particularly difficult, or how she had a habit of tugging on her hair in absent thought.

It wasn't until the object of his thoughts walked by him, that Wufei realized he had completely stopped as he studied her.

Drawing Relena close as they halted in front of two massive, oak doors, Duo searched her face, his own suddenly serious. "Are you all right?"

Absorbing the sudden change, she nodded. "Thank you."

Wufei reached them.

Straightening, Duo said louder, "Are you sure? Because I mean, you spent an entire night in Wufei's company."

The comment did not have its desired effect. Both eyes riveted to each other as Wufei stiffened and Relena went still. Perplexed by the exchange, Duo shrugged carelessly and set Relena's bags down, throwing the doors open.

He ushered them both inside, and Wufei paused at what he found there. Sally Po, Lady Une, Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton and his sister... Even Lucrezia Noin and Zechs Merquise.

"What is this?" He demanded, gaze stabbing into Duo.

"Don't be so surly, Wufei." It was Sally Po, forcing him set the bags aside as she threaded her arm through his.

Relena watched them, biting back the sudden, unwelcome surge of dislike at the contact.

Wufei neatly disentangled himself. "Answer me, Po." A habit he had gotten into after countless missions where first names held no importance.

Sally snorted. "Maybe if you call me Sally, I'll consider it."

He stared at her.

"All right, all right. I should have known not even you would be grateful for a party thrown in your honor."

Startled, he frowned. "What are you talking about? My birthday-"

"It's not for your birthday. It's to celebrate seven years as a Preventer."

He was pleased, he realized. It was unwelcome attention, but that they would do this for him... Go to such elaborate lengths...

"I suppose this was your idea."

"Yes, so don't complain. I asked you to accompany Relena around too, so that we could get rid of you. I know you. You would have found out otherwise."

At the mention of Relena, Wufei looked back and found her flanked by her brother and Noin.

"So, aren't you going to thank me?" Sally wanted to know, as she shoved a glass of something in his hand.

"No. And I don't drink alcohol."

She rolled her eyes. "It's tea, you ungrateful bore. Ice tea."

Zechs was talking about something, but Relena found herself too distracted to listen completely. Her eyes kept wanting to stray to Wufei and Sally, taking in the easy camaraderie that existed between them. For all his denial, she could tell Wufei was pleased. If he wasn't, he would have walked away. As he had found it so easy to do to her.

He sipped cautiously at it.

"It won't poison you, though the temptation was nearly too much for me to handle," Sally quipped, half-turning when Lady Une approached.

"Wufei. I want to talk to you later."

He stiffened, expression glossing over, going smooth, his eyes twin reflections of opaque obsidian as he carefully lowered the glass and nodded once, hard. Satisfied, Lady Une moved on to greet Relena. He didn't watch her leave. He looked at Sally, waiting. But the woman only offered him a smile, told him to drink up, and turned her back to him.

The relief was so sharp, he felt ashamed and grateful for it all at once.

Duo managed to drag both Quatre and Trowa over, forcing him to converse with them for a time. He found it difficult to concentrate, however, when Relena was in his line of sight and the fact that Sally went out of her way for him wouldn't leave him alone. No on had ever done anything for him. His parents had forced a marriage on him he hadn't wanted, but had obeyed because of tradition. Fighting, the war, had been his path only because the wife he hadn't wanted had died in his arms.

Only Sally... His expression softened some when he looked to her. She had offered him a place here in the Preventers, given him a reason to be. So he had repaid her by earning it, giving every part of himself to the job, as he had done with the war, as he had done with his studies. It was the only way he knew to be. You earned what was yours, or there was no honor in having it.

Quatre laughed, an honest sound cutting into his thoughts. "You're distracted, Wufei." Then, his hand was on Wufei's arm as Duo wandered off and Trowa went to refill his glass. "Are you all right? You seem at war with yourself."

Wufei almost laughed at the choice of words, but there would have been no humor to the act.

"I'm fine, Quatre."

"I heard what happened. If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here all night."

Another night spent with Relena in close proximity. Surely, the Gods were having a laugh at his expense.

"No, I'm fine thank you," he repeated, unable to bring himself to brush Quatre off abruptly. But he saw David again, felt the unwanted burden of failure, of guilt.

Quatre smiled. "It's all right, Wufei."

Before Wufei could respond, Quatre was looking past his shoulder. "It seems you have someone else waiting," and he slipped away.

He knew who it was even before he turned. He could smell the faint scent of her perfume. Lilies, he thought. They clung to her skin as if they were meant to be there.

"Relena."

How he managed to say her name in a way that both thrilled and annoyed her, she couldn't figure out.

"You knew."

She nodded. "I wanted to help."

He made a vague sound, intent on his tea for a moment before his eyes came back to her.

"My brother and Lucrezia are getting married," she said suddenly, filling the silence.

She wasn't certain why she told him. He could probably care less. Maybe it was that she wanted an excuse to be here, near him.

He only stared at her.

Sighing, she gave up, turning away, and froze. There, in the doorway, was Heero. Seven years. She hadn't seen him for seven years. It was strange how little, and how much time changed a person. She would have known him had she seen him on the street, but there was something different in the way he carried himself. More confidence, she thought.

Duo nearly leapt on him. Heero gave him a few, brief words, before he left the doorway and his eyes cut to her. There was still that intensity. Not unlike the way Wufei looked at her. There was something, a small flutter in the pit of her stomach, and then it faded, bringing with it a clenching awareness. Wufei had stepped closer to her, and she could smell the scent that clung to his skin. That faint hint of cinnamon. Her body wanted to lean into his. She was beginning to get angry with herself.

The shortness must have been in her face, because Heero paused a few feet from reaching her.

It was ridiculous. Foolish. Idiotic. He no more owned Relena, than she did him. Yet he wanted to reach out, place his hand on her arm, inform Yuy in a way he was certain the man would understand that Relena was not his to look at the way he was now. The frustration ate at him, and he didn't understand it. He had comforted her, held her, wanted her, nothing more. So why was it he felt this way?

Forcing herself to relax, she schooled her face into a smile. Her difficulties with Wufei weren't going to make Heero feel unwelcome. She would see to that.

"What are you doing here?"

Appalled, Relena darted Wufei a quick glare. What was wrong with him?

Heero matched his gaze, impassive and unrevealing. "I was invited."

"It's good to see you, Heero," Relena greeted quickly, to cover for Wufei's rudeness.

Breathless. She sounded like a breathless schoolgirl. Disgusted, Wufei spun on his heel and stalked away. He wasn't going to stand around and watch her make a fool of herself over Yuy.

Grimacing, Relena murmured, her eyes trailing after Wufei," I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with him."

"Relena." His eyes searched her face as she turned back.

She inclined her head, forgetting Wufei for now. "I'm surprised to see you."

He nodded once. "I know."

She smiled. Heero hadn't changed that much. His replies were still to the point, with little to no elaboration.

"How have you been?" She asked, sipping on her iced tea.

"Good."

"I'm glad. It's nice to know you're getting on well. But this party isn't the only reason you're here, is it?"

There was a faint upturn to his lips before he answered. "No. I heard about the shooting and wanted to see if you were all right."

Relena was surprised to find she wasn't touched by that. "I don't need you to save me, Heero. I'm not that little girl anymore."

"No," and his eyes strayed to Wufei. "He's watching you."

Color flooded her cheeks. "I don't care."

Heero further stunned her by giving a short bark of laughter.

Wufei heard it. Everyone did. His hand tightening around the half-full glass of tea, Wufei forced himself to look away. He didn't give a damn why Yuy was here. It was none of his business.

"Enjoy yourself. You look too uptight."

"Go away, Maxwell."

"You know, Wufei, you're about as transparent as a sheet of glass. You keep looking at her like that, and everyone in the room is going to get the point."

Dark, displeased eyes snapped to an amused face. "I don't know what you mean."

He laughed. "The hell you don't. You could cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife."

"You go too far," Wufei ground out stiffly.

"You bet your ass I do," and without a further word, he sauntered away.

So now it was obvious to everyone else. Rubbing at the tension gathering in the back of his neck, Wufei held tightly to his glass. He wanted nothing more than to hurl it to the floor and stalk out of the room.

Relena wasn't certain whether she was relieved, or disappointed to find she felt nothing when Heero took her elbow and steered her in another direction. Loving him would be no more easier than loving Wufei. Why it was that she had to be attracted to difficult men, she couldn't say. Perhaps it was the challenge. In which case, she thought it was something she could now do without. Even as she told herself she needed to find a nice man like Quatre to settle down with, she knew it would never be enough.

"Where are we going?" She asked Heero, slightly alarmed at her proximity to Wufei.

"You're going to talk to Wufei."

"I have nothing to say to him," she countered, trying to twist away.

Heero only grunted, deposited her in front of the man she was now determined to avoid, and walked away.

"Well," Relena started, determined not to stand in infantile silence since Heero had left her little choice.

He looked to her, held her with his eyes. "How is Heero?"

"Fine." I don't care, all I can see is you, she wanted to add. Obstinate, thickheaded Wufei who wouldn't love her because he was afraid. And suddenly, she was fed up with the entire matter and thought the whole thing was ridiculous.

"You know Wufei," she leaned in, her expression cutting, her tone low and furious, "I think you're a coward. You're afraid to love me because you can't take being responsible for another person. That's a stupid reason not to care. And you're a stupid man," she added, spinning away from him before he could formulate a response.

He stared after her, stunned, hurt, angry. How dare she take something like this so lightly. But his fingers tightened on the glass again to the point he thought he could hear the protest, because that was exactly what she had accused him of doing. She called him a coward. She said he was afraid. She told him he was stupid. In that moment, with her face filled with temper and her words sparing him of nothing, she reminded him of Meiran. And somewhere, he felt a stab of pain.

Caring meant opening yourself up to loss. So he was a coward for being cautious. That changed nothing. He would be damned if he let her push him into anything simply because she had insulted him.

But it stung. And he found he couldn't look at her. Because he was afraid to feel.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The hall was dim when Wufei stepped out into it, intent on finding the pool and using it to swim laps until his muscles burned. He couldn't sleep, and he was damn tired of lying in his room staring at the ceiling.

Snapping the towel in his hand over his shoulder, he entered the elevator, expression uninviting as he slammed his thumb on the button marked for the pool room. Since it was late, the ride down was short enough. No one stopped him to get on, and he considered all others fortunate. He doubted he would have let them.

As promised, somewhere in the vicinity of midnight (when the party had finally died down, no thanks to Duo's enthusiasm), Wufei had met with Lady Une in the make-shift office of her hotel room and had gone over everything he told the authorities. He hadn't cared for the way she had looked at him while he was talking, but then he rarely did. At least he knew her to be fair enough to withhold judgment until he was finished.

As he had expected, she had both commended and condemned him. She had told him that while she admired his quick thinking, and cool-headed handling of the situation, he should have backed off and waited until someone better trained could take over. To which he had replied that the baby could have been dead by then, and possibly more people than just the man in the bathroom. He had gone on to say that he would have made the same decision given the same set of circumstances.

Lady Une had surprised him then by smiling. Since she didn't want to lose him from the team, she now intended to see that he got the necessary training that Sally Po had been put through. Apparently the fact that he saved the baby counted for something.

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Wufei all but slammed himself into the wall of the elevator. No one should have died. He didn't care how close to perfectionism that sounded. These were lives he was talking about. He understood well what it was to take lives.

The doors opened suddenly, directly into the pool room. He stepped onto the cement, mindful of the sharp tang of chlorine and the slight heat from the water. Indoor pools were a luxury few places could afford. His own apartment complex had an outdoor pool covered over for the duration of the winter. It had been a while since he had been swimming. He was looking forward to it, he realized, as he removed his robe and slippers, placing them along with his towel on a nearby chair.

When he reached the edge, he was brought up short. There was already someone in the pool. Irritated, because he wanted to be alone, he watched as the suit clad person swam laps with sure, careful strokes. Her hair was tucked up under a cap, and the suit was a functional piece of navy blue cloth. He only hoped she would be finished soon and go away.

So he moved back, settled into a chair and waited, eyes drawn to the form making perfect circles.

She was done some odd laps later. Climbing from the pool, she pulled the cap from her head and shook her hair out. Long, light brown hair framing a familiar face. He gripped the edges of the chair once, jaw tightening, before he was up and meeting her half-way.

Relena saw him. Her breath caught, and it was an effort to drag her eyes from his chest and meet his displeased gaze. Smooth, perfectly formed, darkly colored skin. He was beautiful, with his torso and arms that could have been sculpted from clay.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Swimming," she answered, trying not to take offense to his accusatory tone.

For someone so small, she had long legs. Lovely legs, smoothing into curved hips and a slim waist. Elegant arms, a graceful neck, and delicately rounded shoulders. The lights reflected from the drops of water clinging to her skin, and it was enough to make him forget his resentment over her being here. He only wanted to touch her now; his hands fairly shook with the need.

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself," he heard himself say.

"Oh yes, I'm in so much danger," she returned smartly. He was moving toward her. She could feel her pulse rising, the heat that started at the very center of her, leaving her limbs weak. He was looking at her like that again. As if she had nothing on at all.

It didn't take him but a moment. He reached her, pulled her into his arms, and groaned when their skin touched, both hot, hers slick. Her arms went around his neck and the last thing he saw before his lips were on hers, was her eyes, accepting, wanting.

Dragging her as close to him as he could, he splayed his hand at the small of her back and eased her bottom lip into his mouth, sucking at it, running his tongue along it, swallowing her soft moan of contentment when her own mouth opened and her tongue met his. His other hand slid into her hair, fingers slipping through the soft strands, winding them around him like silk.

Her skin was on fire, and her hips were cradling him, nothing but thin fabric separating them. She thought he tasted like the faint spice of tea, before his lips left hers and met the column of her throat where it connected to her shoulder.

Everything he did, everywhere he touched her left her wanting more. She couldn't get any closer to him, so she bent her head to give him more access, liking the shivers and the stabs of pleasure when he drew he tongue across her skin.

He didn't want to stop. He had known it would be like this. He took her lips again, unable to get enough of the feel, the taste of her. For once, he had forgotten where he was, and wasn't interested in remembering. Need was like a hard fisted knot in his stomach and he didn't think he could stand another night of being this aroused.

"More," she demanded, when he would have found some other place that needed kissing.

He thought he laughed. Or maybe it was her.

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