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Dark World
Chapter 16
by: Lady Saffir
Rating:R
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any rights to any character associated with Gundam Wing.
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Tuesday evening found me once more shopping with Cathy, but this time Heero and Trowa were tagging along. I hated trying to shop with a guy. I always felt like I should just grab the first thing that fit and be done with it. Though to their credit, they didn't complain at all as Cathy dragged me from one dress shop to the next.
The current shop we were in had such a discreet little sign announcing their name that I knew this store was way out of my budget. Perhaps I could find something I liked, then try and find something similiar else where? I trailed after Cathy, barely paying attention to what she was piling in her arms. I had to admit, her fashion sense was impeccable, and she had a fairly good idea as to what I would and wouldn't like.
/You don't look like you're having a good time/
Heero's comment had me turning to look at where he and Trowa were busy holding up a wall.
/I'm not a designer dress sort of girl, Heero. These are outrageous/
Heero pushed off from the wall, his gaze pinning me in place. The feeling of his fingers gently brushing my hair away from my face had me sighing, smiling up at him.
/I love you/
I melted into a pile of goo right there. Before I could respond, Cathy was there, clearing her throat loudly and grabbing my elbow.
"You can seduce her later, Heero. Right now we're on a mission."
~~~~~~~~~~
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled on a dress and knew it was THE ONE. It fit perfectly, hugging my curves before falling with a slight swirl to the ground. The sleeves were capped, little flutters of fabric that for some reason made me feel quite feminine. The fabric was a deep blue that had a hint of a silvery sheen to it.
Cathy nodded, a pleased smile on her face. "It's perfect. That's the dress."
I shimmied out of it, handing it to Cathy as I donned my street clothes. She, in turn, tossed it over the top of the dressing room door.
"Heero! Mission for you - jewelry to match that," she instructed, not waiting to hear his reply.
"Cathy!" I hissed.
"What?"
"I can't expect Heero to buy the dress AND jewelry to go with it," I protested.
"Relena, the man has more money than god. It would be like giving someone a dollar when they asked for it. Trust me, his bank account won't even blink at this little amount," Cathy assured me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was six fifty Thursday evening, and Heero and I stood outside of the room where my Business 317 test was supposed to take place.
"It should take less than an hour," I assured Heero, touching his arm briefly before turning to enter the room. All three of Professor Kusenagi's classes combined to take the test, and we were in one of the auditoriums with stadium seating. I was about to take a seat when I realized that Heero had followed me in, and appeared to be planning to sit next to me.
"Heero, you can't be in here," I stated, earning a frown Heero.
"Why not?"
"Because," I sputtered, then groaned when a voice behind me spoke.
"Now who are you bringing to class, Miss Peacecraft?"
I winced, then turned to face Professor Kusenagi, a weak smile plastered on my face.
"Professor Kusenagi, this is - "
"Heero Yuy. A pleasure," Heero said, stepping forward and offering his hand.
Professor Kusenagi took in my nervous smile and Heero's firm stance next to me. "And I suppose you would like to stay here while Miss Peacecraft takes her exam, I presume? Very well, then, please sit up front next to the desk. Miss Peacecraft, I do believe your friends are trying to get your attention."
The professor's words had me looking up to where my friends Sara and Abby were seated, trying frantically to get my attention. I sighed, then made my way to my seat.
"Relena, who is that?" Sara hissed, leaning over to talk while the tests were being passed out.
"That's Heero," I said, hoping to cut short the questions I knew were coming.
"Who? Oh, nevermind. We're all going to Crazy Joe's after this," Abby said, then fell silent as we received our tests.
I was able to block out Heero's presence, for the most part, but once or twice I could feel his gaze on me, and I was helpless to resist looking up. A small smile curled on his lips, and I blushed, dropping my gaze down to my paper. I stared blankly, not seeing the words to the question.
/Would you like some help?/
I frowned, not looking up.
/No, I would not like some help. I'm perfectly capable of taking this test on my own, thanks/
/Let me help. Then we can go home and..../
Heero's whispered suggestion of what, exactly, we could do at home had my head whipping up and a blush burning my cheeks. I stared down at Heero, feeling the slow burn of lust start to heat up. A shadow fell over my desk, and Professor Kusenagi's voice boomed throughout the room.
"Miss Peacecraft, you are here to take a test, not plan your wedding. May I suggest finishing the test, so you can then go home and stare at your fiancee to your heart's content?"
My face reddened even more as I dropped my gaze back to my papers as giggles echoed through the room. To my left, Sara and Abby fidgeted, and began to answer questions at a quicker pace.
~~~~~~~~~~
I was dreading walking out of the exam room. Sara had finished before me, and I just knew she was waiting to ambush me out in the hall. Sure enough, as soon as Heero and I exited the room, Sara was there, pouncing like a starved lion.
"Relena! Finally! Could you have taken that test any slower? Yeesh...hi, I'm Sara Davies, nice to meet you," Sara bubbled, thrusting her hand out for Heero to take.
"Heero Yuy - Relena's fiancee."
Sara grinned, nudging me in the ribs. "And here I was all set to tell you about MY wild spring break," she teased, turning when the exam room door opened to show Abby.
"Abby! Great! Meet Heero - Relena's fiancee! Now you have to go to Crazy Joe's, Relena. Please? Heero, you two have to come to Crazy Joe's with us - it's tradition after every test," Sara pleaded, turning to give Heero her patented Puppy Dog look.
"Of course. Traditions must be upheld," Heero stated, pulling me along. We exited the building, and Abby looked around for my car.
"Relena, where's your car?" she asked. "It's alright, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's fine," I spoke for the first time in several minutes. "We, er...used Heero's bike tonight."
"Bike? As in bicycle?" Sara wrinkled her nose, looking at the rack of bikes to our left.
"No...that kind of bike," I pointed to where Heero's motorcycle sat under a few yards away. The look on my friend's faces was priceless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crazy Joe's is a bar/restaurant, that actually serves very good food, in addition to a bar area complete with pool tables. The patrons are usually other college students, and the atmosphere relaxed. In addition to myself and Heero, Sara and Abby's boyfriends had joined us, as well as a few other students from our class. We were loud, and for a few minutes I managed to forget the strange circumstances surrounding myself and Heero. We were simply another young couple enjoying an evening with friends.
Heero was getting along well with everyone, discussing sports with the other guys, but when I saw the tension in his shoulders ease ever so slightly as the door opened, I looked over, wondering what was going on.
In walked the whole gang, led by Quatre. I groaned, and shoved more french fries in my mouth. Sara had already spotted Quatre, and was standing up, waving excitedly.
"Quatre! Yo! We're over here!"
A round of introductions followed, as we added more tables and crammed even more closely together. Quatre was already known to most of the group, having accompanied me on several visits, so it was him that Sara teased.
"Quatre, honestly. I can't believe you let Relena get away," she teased, turning to address Heero. "We've thought for years those two would end up together," she explained, totally missing the change in Heero's expression. Jon, Sara's boyfriend, did not miss the look on Heero's face, and hastily broke in.
"So, Heero, what do you do for a living?"
"I own my own business."
Heero's short reply had Jon swallowing, but pressing on gamely.
"Oh? What's it called? Is it harder, do you think, than actually just working for a company?"
"I don't take orders well, so no, I find it much easier to be the boss. And it's called the Pilot Corporation."
Heero's declaration had me wincing and most of the table falling silent. The quiet was broken as Sara and Abby both stood, and pulled me to my feet.
"Relena has to use the bathroom, please excuse us," Sara explained, tugging my left arm.
"What? No I don't," I sputtered, trying to pull free without hurting her.
"Yes, she does. Bladder the size of a walnut," Abby confided, taking charge of my right arm as I blushed. As I was marched towards the bathroom I looked back to see Heero raising his glass in salute before turning to talk once more with Jon.
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"Alright, Relena, you're going to start at the beginning and tell us EVERYTHING," Sara demanded as Abby locked the door behind us. Looking back and forth between my two friends, I could only throw my hands up in the air and give in.
"Fine, what do you want to know?"
"When did you meet? Where did you meet? Are you really engaged? Does he really own Pilot Corporation? Does he have a brother/uncle/father/cousin who looks just as good and is just as rich?"
The questions came rapid fire, and had me laughing, sinking into a chair.
"We met the Friday spring break started, at the grocery store. Yes, we're really engaged, yes, he really does own Pilot Corporation, and no, he doesn't have any male relatives."
Abby grabbed my hand, looking at my ring. "The man has EXCELLENT taste," she commented, then shot a wicked look at me. "But the real question is, how does he kiss?"
My blush had my two friends squealing like little school girls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I sighed, leaning in to Heero as he took another curve on the way home. It had been wonderful to spend time with my friends, and with a wince I realized how easily I had forgotten about them during the past two weeks.
/You had a lot to deal with/
/That isn't an excuse. They're my friends/
/They're friends who aren't part of our world. It's okay to have friends outside, but it would be better in the long run to have your close friends be other Companions and vampires/
Heero's words were true, but I refused to acknowledge that fact, and we were both silent the rest of the ride home.
~~~~~~~~~~
Cathy, Duo, Hilde and myself were having dinner Friday night prior to going out, for what Duo termed, 'the fun party, not the boring one where we have to behave' night. We were going clubbing, along with Quatre and several other local Companions - 'no vamps allowed' had been Duo's pointed remark, earning a frown from Heero.
I had a sneaking suspicion he might show up anyway. And where Heero went, Trowa went...as did Wufei, which meant Sally...do you see where I'm going with this? If we went an hour before everyone else showed up, I'd be amazed.
"...serious, you need to read those essays. It's a little hard to fill out the check if I don't know who's receiving it," Cathy was chiding Trowa.
"Wait - what? What essays?" I asked.
"My 'normal' job is chairperson of the company's scholarship and grant foundation. And my job would be easier if these two could be bothered to pick the winners in a timely fashion," Cathy groused.
"Errrr....two of your scholarships wouldn't happen to be named the 'Leaders of Tomorrow' and 'Future Business Leaders', would they?" I questioned, earning odd looks from everyone at the table.
"Yes. Though I hate to claim those pathetically titled awards," Cathy snipped. "Honestly, how many thousands of years of life between the two of you, and that's the best you can come up with?"
"Relena?"
I couldn't help it, I had to laugh. "I should be thanking both of you, then," I explained, "for putting me through school."
Heero snorted and went back to his paper.
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The club was loud, with flashing stobe lights going off everywhere, the bass of the music so heavy it felt as if I shook as I walked. I was sitting at a table as Duo and Quatre went to get drinks, feeling self-conscious. Cathy had walked into my room as I was getting ready, brandishing a pair of leather pants and a tight, blood red tee. My ensemble was complete with ass-kicking boots, and with my hair pulled up and back and heavy eye make-up, I almost didn't recognize myself.
"Here ya go, princess. Long Island Iced Tea," Duo shouted, settling a large glass down in front of me.
I eyed my drink dubiously.
/Duo, just smelling this will get me drunk, let alone actually drinking it/ I protested, not even attempting to yell over the noise.
"See, that's the great thing about being a Companion. You get drunk, need to be sober, just give Heero a yell, he'll zap the alcohol out," Duo explained, leaning over to talk in my ear.
I shrugged, and started on my drink, looking around at the people on the dance floor. Cathy had pulled Quatre out the minute he'd returned, and now Hilde was doing the same to Duo. That left me to screw my courage to the sticking place (what did that mean?) and get out there to find someone to dance with.
~~~~~~~~
An hour later I was having the time of my life. I loved to dance but felt self-conscious, but in a crowd this size, no one cared. Quatre was my current dance partner, and familiarity had me dancing a bit more daringly than I would with a stranger. I felt a strange tingle go down my spine, and I stopped dancing, looking around with wide eyes.
"Heero?"
"What?" Quatre yelled. "Relena, what's wrong?"
Ignoring him, I turned to find Duo looking at me intently. I smiled, and began to walk towards the table he were he was seated.
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Heero was seated at his desk, attempting paperwork and failing miserably. He didn't like Relena being away while this business with Hugh was unfinished. She was well protected, he knew, but still....
/Hey, buddy boy. Your lady sure can dance/ Duo said, laughing. /You ever get in the dog house, just take her dancing and you'll be back in her good graces in no time/
/Let me See/ Heero demanded, closing his eyes.
When he re-opened them, he didn't see his study, but the wildly pulsing dance floor, the faint distortion of using his Companion's eyes to see his surroundings fading after a moment. Relena was dancing with Quatre, and appeared to be having the time of her life. Relena's wardrobe finally registered, and Heero felt his eyes go wide as she swung around and he caught a glimpse of her face.
Then she stilled, and he could feel her searching for him. He was about to close the link down between himself and Duo when she turned, and the smile that curled on her lips had him unable to think. He could only watch as she walked towards Duo.
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I leaned down and stared intently into Duo's eyes, taking in the wild look in them. Duo had never looked at me like that, so that meant....
"Hello, Heero," I murmured. "Why don't you come play?"
Duo closed his eyes and shook his head, and when he opened them again I knew Heero was gone.
"Damn, Relena, how'd you know?" Duo joked, running a nervous hand through his bangs.
"Duo, I think I could strip naked and you'd never look at me like that," I replied, earning a laugh and nod of agreement.
"Right you are. Of course, now you know someone won't be able to resist crashing our party," Duo stated.
"I'm counting on it," I answered, then turned back to the dance floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been forty minutes since I'd issued my invite to Heero, so when the hand landed on my shoulder, I swung around with a smile, expecting to see him standing there. I was surprised then, when a stranger was standing there, acting for all the world like he had a right to touch me.
"Hey, babe. Saw you dancing, and you're hot. Why don't you come party with me?"
I shrugged his hand off, turning away. "No thanks."
"Look, I think you'd have more fun with me and my friends," Mr. Persistant followed me, dancing in front to stop my move away from him.
"No, thank you. Now leave me alone." I turned once more, trying to get Duo or Quatre's attention.
"Listen, bitch, all I want is to talk - and dance. So dance with me," Mr. Obnoxious made the mistake of touching me again, this time running his hand down my arm and dangerously close to my chest.
My temper exploded, and my right arm swung up of its own volition. I felt Heero give me a surge of energy, so when my fist connected with the jerk's face, he went flying. I stood there, shaking my fist, aware of the silence that had fallen. By this time Duo and Quatre were at my side, frantic to make sure I was fine.
My eyes were all for the man that had stepped forward and was now picking the jerk off the floor. My eyes slid up legs encased in tight black leather, up a waist that was perfectly flat, to arms that bulged with muscle, the black tee doing absolutely nothing to hide the fact that this man took very good care of his body. My gaze met Heero's intense stare, and I couldn't help the little shiver that went through me.
"You alright?" Heero asked, giving the man in his grip a little shake. Mute, I simply nodded, and Heero turned back to his target.
"When a lady tells you not once but twice she wants to be left alone, you should listen," Heero said conversationally, hauling the man off his feet. "What's your name?"
"Fuck you," came the reply. "why do you care?"
"I care because that's my fiancee you were pawing. Now...." Heero trailed off, eyes narrowing. He pulled the helpless man closer, and gave a quick sniff. "Who's Companion are you?" he growled.
"Dude, I don't know what you're talking about," came the wheezing protest, making Heero shake the man once more.
"Fine, then let me introduces my friends. This is Hilde Schbeiker, Quatre Winner, Catherine Bloom, Duo Maxwell...." with Duo's name the man jerked, startled. "Ah, I see you recognize him, at least. It would be bad manners though not to finish the introductions," Heero growled, turning the man so he could see me. "as I said, that's my fiancee, Relena Peacecraft. Which makes me...." Heero trailed off, and the man who was now a shade of white, completed the sentence.
"Heero Yuy."
"That's right. So I ask again - who's Companion are you?"
"I, Isabelle White's," came the stuttered reply.
"I expect you both to be on your best behavior tomorrow night. Otherwise...." leaving the threat hanging, Heero dropped the man, and was at my side before he hit the ground.
"You alright?" Heero asked, picking up my right hand and placing a gentle kiss on my knuckles.
"Yes, thank you," I replied, the world around me falling away as I looked into Heero's eyes. "And thanks for the extra oomph."
"My pleasure."
The deep timbre of his voice had me wishing desperately we were alone. Heero picked up on my thoughts, and pulling my hand in to his, turned to inform Duo we were leaving.
We were out and speeding away on Heero's bike before I could form a sentence.
/Where are we going/
/I want to show you something I think you'll enjoy/
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Heero shut the bike off, and the silence of the forest rushed in to surround us. It was quiet, peaceful...and rather cold. I couldn't contain the occasional shiver as Heero led me through the underbrush. Heero looked back questioningly, and I only smiled. After all, what could he do to remedy the situation.
A good deal, as it turned out. A flash of heat ripped through me, then settled to a comfortable level, making my eyes go wide as I stared at Heero's back. We at last came to a clearing on the edge of the woods, and to my astonishment I saw that we were on the edge of the ocean. The view was absolutely gorgeous, with the moon hanging high in the sky to illuminate everything.
"Heero, this is wonderful," I breathed, taking a step forward to look at the rocks below. The view was dizzing, and I stepped back, feeling Heero's arms encircle me, keeping me safe.
"What else can you do?" I asked, turning in his arms to smile up at him. "And what exactly was that thing you did with Duo tonight?"
"This?" Heero asked, and suddenly I could feel him looking out through my eyes, the sensation disconcerting, to say the least. I jerked back and the feeling was gone, replaced by Heero's lips on my own. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his mouth moving on my own.
"Look down," Heero mururmed a moment later, and confused, I did...only to see the ground many feet below me. I gasped, my arms tighening about Heero to the point I could squeeze him in two.
"Fly? You can fly?" I asked. Heero nodded and without warning shot up straight up.
I'll admit, I gave a short little scream, but once we levelled out I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, Heero, this is amazing!"
"Hold on tight."
"Wha....aaaiiieeee!" Another scream, as this time we were plummeting to the ocean, skimming the surface. Heero flipped onto his back, and in his arms I could look down and see the dark water moving below him. This time when we shot up into the air I laughed, Heero doing several corkscrews and sharp dives and climbs in succession.
Finally he halted, and we remained suspended above the waves. We kissed again, and I poured everything I was feeling into it.
/Was this what you wanted to show me?/
/Yes. Whenever something's bothering me, I come out here and do this for a while/
/Thank you for showing me, Heero. It's wonderful/
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I have to agree with HiFreak, I just fell in love with Heero all over again, too ^^ The tight, leather pants... mmm... him getting rid of creepy evil face. Ahhh, this was a stinking good chapter 
Loved the Heero Relena fluff 
mmuuuuaaaaahhhhhhh 
Let me stop I'm scaring myself.......