A Second Chance.11 R (2xR)

[Fate Lowe]

AN:Hey guys, told you I'd be back soon. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I have the next four days off of work so I will probably have at least one more chapter up by Wednesday night. Anyways, on with the story. Enjoy!

A Second Chance
Chapter 11
By:Fate Lowe


*****

Later that day, everyone gathered in the living room of Relena?s former home. Duo stood up and cleared his throat.

?I?m sure you?re all wondering why I asked you here today. First of all, Heero has left. There are reasons behind this but they will be explained in a minute. Before he left, Heero signed everything over to me. Now, I can?t take all this stuff. So, It has been decided that if there it will be split up between us all. After we are done getting everything that we want, I will be selling what remains. Now as for the reasons that Heero did this.?

Duo took a deep, calming breath before continuing.

?The morning before the accident, I learned that Heero had been physically abusing Relena for the past two years.?

He paused as there were cries of outrage from the entire group. When they had quieted down, he continued.

?The night before however, he did the unthinkable. While he was drunk, Heero Yuy forced himself on Relena as she yelled at him to stop.?

There was seething silence throughout the room.

?As soon as I found this out, I tried to go after him. That is until I realized just how scared Relena had become of Heero. So instead, I kept my mouth shut and planned Relena?s escape.?
?What are you saying, Maxwell?? Milliardo screamed.
?I?m saying that Relena is alive.?
?But the accident and all the proof?? Noin whispered, on the verge of tears.
?Completely fabricated.?
?Then where is my sister??
?She has been staying with me, but you all have seen her.?

Duo smiled happily as he saw Relena enter the room.

??Gomen. Boku-no sei. Kimi-no-koto wasure-nai. Itsumo suki-dayo.? I?m sorry. It?s my fault. I will never forget you. I?ll always love you. Those were the last words that Heero ever said to me.?

Everyone turned around to be greeted by a smiling red head. Duo walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

?Everyone, I?d like you to meet Miss Renee Young, formerly known as Relena Peacecraft-Darlian-Yuy.?

The next thing that Relena knew, she was in the strong embrace of her brother, with everyone else gathered around to welcome her back.

The rest of the afternoon went well. They sorted though the entire house and packed away everything to be sold. Afterwards they all had a late dinner at Relena?s favorite restaurant.

*****

One month later, found Relena and Duo on a snow covered mountain in Colorado. They had just arrived at the cozy, little log cabin that would be their home for the next two weeks.

?So, how ?bout we go check it out?? Duo said, jingling the keys.
?Sounds good.?

Duo unlocked the front door and allowed Relena to walk in ahead of him. He shut the door behind him, after putting his and Relena?s luggage down. They took of their shoes and looked around. They were in the living room which boasted floor to ceiling plate glass windows on three sides, hardwood floors and a stone fireplace in the other wall. They walked around the fireplace and found a small homey kitchen and dining nook. On the other side of the fireplace they found the bathroom and a flight of stairs. They walked up the stairs to the loft bedroom, which contained a king size sleigh bed covered in a fur blanket, a vanity dresser, and a seating area in the corner. Above the bed was a huge skylight, heated so that the snow melted right off. The bedroom, like the rest of the house was decorated in a rustic fashion, with dark colors and warm fabrics.

?Wow, this is really nice.?
?Yeah. Hey how bout, after we get unpacked, I go get some of the firewood off the front porch and get a fire going while you brew up some tea. We can just relax today. Then, tomorrow we can go explore the area some.?
?Sounds good.?

*****

They woke early the next morning and prepared for their long day outdoors. After a big breakfast, they dressed in thick ski pants, parkas, snow boots, and woolen caps. When they were ready, they set off toward the thick woods. They wanted to go ice skating so they had gotten directions to a secluded grove that held a frozen lake.

Two hours later, they were lost.

?I?m so sorry, Duo. I have no idea how I read those directions wrong.? Relena said, nearly in tears.
?It?s fine, we?ll just retrace our steps until we get on the right track again.?

Duo took hold of Relena?s hand and led her back the way they had come. Thirty minutes later, they had finally found the lake. They sat down at the edge of the lake and replaced their boots with ice skates. They stood up and stepped out onto the ice. Relena took off gracefully as Duo stood there watching. Relena stopped and turned towards him.

?What?s wrong Duo? Have you never done this before??
?Nope, this is my first time.?

Relena skated over to him and took hold of both of his hands.

?It?s easy. First get your balance on one foot, then step forward and push off. Come on we?ll try it slow and easy first.?

Duo did as he was told, Relena skating backwards in front of him.

?Ok, now try to push off a little harder this time.?

Duo did as told and toppled over backwards, bringing Relena down on top of him.

?Are you ok, Lena??
?Yeah, I?m fine. How ?bout you??
?My ass hurts.?

They both started laughing until they realized the position they were in. Relena scrambled off of him quickly, blushing like mad.

?Sorry about that.?
?That?s ok. I think I?ll just sit over there for a while.?
?Oh well than, I?ll join you.?
?No that?s ok. You go ahead and skate for a while. You look like you enjoy it.?
?I do, I took lessons before the war. It was one of the few things that I enjoyed about that life.?

Duo got up and slowly made his way to the edge of the lake to sit down and watch Relena. She skated fluidly, her body spinning and jumping in and out of the shadows cast by the trees, her eyes closed. Duo watched the winter sun shine through her hair and smooth over the planes of her up-turned, smiling face.

They stayed like that until the sun started its slow decent towards the horizon. Relena skated over to Duo and sat down beside him to remove her skates. Then they started the long trek back to the house.

When they arrived they changed and Relena started preparing dinner as Duo built a roaring fire. They ate a dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread. They settled on a pile of pillows on the floor in front of the fire with a couple glasses of red wine, before heading off to bed.

*****

AN:I'm sorry to anybody who ice skates if I got anything wrong. I live in Florida and have done so my whole life. So, I haven't had alot of opprotunities to go ice skating. The message at the end of the eulogy has finally been revealed. Please don't forget to let me know what you think. Anyways, 'til next time. Ja.