Oh my gosh! I actually got a review! LOL. I didn't think there were any more Gundam Wing fans out there! Right on!

Gundam Wing was the precursor for my bishonen obsession. I wrote this after watching Endless Waltz for the first time, back in 1996. It stemmed from some of the closing shots, I think at the end titles. Heero was walking in a faceless crowd. In one of my Gundam Wing art books, there's this charming pic of Heero walking past Relena and it gave me an idea for a story. Being the savior of the world must be tiring for both of them. Why shouldn't they find rest in one another? This is my first try at "Heero worship," and I know that Gundam Wing isn't meant to be overly romantic, but I can't help myself. This is probably the source of my Full Metal Panic! fascination as well, which to me is a cross between Gundam Wing and Nadesico. But Heero and Relena were meant to be; my apologies to the Heero-Duo fans out there.

Heero watched the crowds of people below as they went about their ordinary lives from his window seat. The RTS slid by above them and no one seemed to notice it. Heero was used to no one noticing him. Up until a few years ago, he had been a Gundam pilot, playing a vital role in the overthrowing warlords in shirts and ruffled cuffs, as wing leader to his squad of five. He wondered how they were all doing. Last he heard Trowa and Catherine were coming to perform on Earth soon. Wu Fei had married Sally a year earlier, and Heero even kept the post card. Wu Fei and Duo were on the Preventer's payroll now, as high ranking officers working alongside Noin. Quatre, who was wealthy as a prince, is a well-known philanthropist and businessman. He usually traveled in circles well known to Princess Relena, or, Foreign Peace Minister Peacecraft, as she was known nowadays. Heero was almost certain that they were all here in the Sanc Kingdom at this very moment in time, as he rode the monorail to the main station. Their paths would cross again, and their destinies would keep touching as Fate would have it, like leaves floating on the surface of a stream, whether it was Fate's will or their own.

Heero had floated like a ghost among the people living in this new future he helped create, barely noticed by those around him. They would never have guessed who he was. He had stayed in his own colony L1 for a time, and worked as an agricultural laborer at times, or an engineer. It was a quiet existence, and Heero almost found himself enjoying making things grow and building things up, instead of destroying life or turning things to rubble, which was his mission for as long as he could remember. But there were moments of silence that he kept avoiding because of the revelations they brought. He was a bloodstained soldier in a peaceful world, and he wondered if there was really any place for him in times like these. In these moments of silence, Heero realized that he could allow his heart to rest now, with no war pending on the horizon, and in his heart grew an unfamiliar thing called "humanity." Though he was still often stony faced and silent, there was something in his soul that had blossomed like the flowers in a cherry orchard he once worked at. He often wondered how it was planted there. Heero looked at his expressionless face staring back at him in the window, overlapping the afternoon scenery. His face faded as another replaced it. He stared a moment at the violet eyes of a young woman with honey gold hair and a smile that could stop a man's heart. She had planted it there. There was something missing in the quiet existence Heero was currently in. He came here, to the Sanc Kingdom to see whether or not he would find it, and if he found it, whether or not he could keep it.

She had tossed her minister's uniform in the trunk of her limousine, to her body guard and driver's ardent lament, and exchanged them for a pair of jeans, an old t-shirt, loafers and a cap. The young woman smiled secretly to herself as she passed anonymously through the people on the streets in the center of the square where the capitol of the old Sanc Kingdom used to be. Two years into the Restoration the capitol of the Sanc Kingdom had been rebuilt into a large park and square, with museums and galleries surrounding the courtyard where a large fountain danced. It was based on architectural design modeled after Ancient Roman design. She passed hurriedly by the high columns of the RTS Union Station to cross the street over to the park. Turning to see the direction from which she came, Relena Peacecraft smiled.

The tower and roof of the Foreign Ministry Building, remodeled after the Parthenon, could still be seen from where she was. Friday afternoon was her time off from work, away from the speeches and diplomacy and paperwork her job required. Relena pulled the visor of her cap closer over her eyes and donned a pair of sunglasses as she walked over to the snack cart by the fountain.

"Konnichiwa," said the old man manning the cart.

"Konnichiwa, Ojii-sama," replied Relena. "Could I have a single scoop of butter pecan ice cream, with fudge that is, and a bag of popcorn?"

"Certainly," replied the old man. "That's quite an appetite, Ojou-san, as usual," he smiled.

"Well, lunch was not all that appetizing," she smiled. "Compared to the stuff you make, the cafeteria of the Ministry building is never appetizing." Relena took the cone and the bag, paid the old man and sat on the rim of the fountain to enjoy her snack.

"Are you never busy on Friday afternoons, Ojou-san?"

"Well," said Relena, trying to conceal a grin, "I'm… playing hooky." She put a finger to her lips as a request for his silence. The old man laughed aloud.

"This park is really nice, since they rebuilt it," she continued. I work…um… at the Ministry, in the foreign diplomat department, and I can see the park from my window. Here, I can forget all the workings of diplomacy at its best, shed that mold, and simply be. I envy you on Friday's, Ojii-sama, because you get to drink in all of this everyday."

"A sweet girl like you shouldn't be here by herself, with no one to share this moment," chuckled the old man. "Where is your yuushi?"

She smiled and replied, "Far away from here," she said wistfully. Relena tossed her napkin in the trash bin and brushed off her jeans. "Arigatou, Ojii-sama, I'll see you again on Friday."

"I look forward to it, Ojou-san," he smiled. With that, she picked up her bag of popcorn and headed for the duck pond.

Heero leaned against the trunk of the tall willow tree near the fountain as he watched her walk barefoot across the grass to the duck pond. She did not look regal at all now, but somehow, that made her more beautiful. Relena looked older than when he saw her last, and she fit better into the role of young woman now. There was something about her that was different, and Heero guessed that it was the grace of self-sufficiency. She had been raised like a princess, and dependent on others to do things for her and protect her. In that stifling background Heero wondered how she ever grew up to be such a determined and strong-willed young woman, with such farsighted vision. On the inside, she was not at all what Heero expected her to be. Though they both came from different backgrounds, they were made of the same stubborn mettle. Both of them offered up everything they were, at the risk of their lives and others, to an ideal they believed in: existence without tyranny.

He watched as Relena took off her cap and hung it on a low branch. She lay on the stone bench with her head resting on her small backpack, and tossed pieces of popcorn for the ducks. As they quacked about her, Heero mused that she did not look like a princess at all, and he recalled the words she said to the old man at the fountain, "This is a place where I can simply be."

"A place where I can simply be," repeated Heero. And I am looking for a place where I can simply belong. "We are not so different you and I, Relena." He walked away without disturbing her afternoon solace and retreated back into the crowd of strangers.

Relena turned her head instinctively and looked behind her. She had a strange feeling pulling at the edges of her consciousness as she fed the ducks, which made her turn around. Was she being watched? Relena tossed the empty bag of popcorn in the trash bin and got up from the bench. She put her cap on and started to walk back towards the fountain when she noticed a balloon being blown by the wind, blow right past her. Little balloon, where are you going, free floating like that? Carried by the winds of Fate, and never resting…? she thought to herself. A little ways from her a little girl looked as if she was going to burst into tears as she watched helplessly as the floating oval drifted higher and farther away than her little legs could follow. Relena had the sudden urge to save it from the branches it would soon fly into.

"Matte," she called out to no one in particular as she started for the balloon. She dodged surprised onlookers in the crowd and leaped over stone benches trying not to stumble on the uneven grass as she dashed for it. The wind picked up again, threatening an almost certain end for the balloon, but someone else saved it. Relena stared at him in shock as he gripped the loose string and pulled it away from the tree branches.

"Heero…" she said in an almost-whisper.

"Relena," he said, almost as shocked that she should be there as she was to see him in front of her.

"Heero," was all she could say to him.

"Is this yours?" he asked, handing the balloon over to her. She took the string and grasped it firmly.

"No, I just wanted to save it," she replied. The little girl finally caught up with her and tugged her pant leg.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" smiled Relena. "This is yours, isn't it?"

"Arigatou, Onee-san."

"It was really his handiwork," she said, glancing in Heero's direction.

"Arigatou, Onii-san," giggled the little girl. She trotted back to the place where she and her balloon had originally parted ways. Relena watched the little girl return to her grandmother's side and suddenly realized that she was alone with Heero again. She shuffled her feet and could not look into his eyes. Those eyes she had taken nearly two years to put in the back of her consciousness beckoned her full attention once again. She looked up and smiled a diplomatic smile.

"What are you doing here, Heero? I never thought I would see you again."

"I came to look for something," he said.

"Can I help you find it?" she asked thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure it can be found," he replied with slight amusement. There was something on his face that resembled a smile. She knew it was not the first time she had seen it. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than a photograph of it to keep in her pocket always.

"Ojou-san," said the old cart pusher.

"Ojii-san," said Relena, surprised. He was on his way out of the park when he chanced across the pair. He pulled out a small helium tank from his cart and filled an orange balloon, tying a string to it.

"This is your lucky day. I'm selling balloons today too. I saw how you were chasing after that balloon in the park. Had I known you wanted one so badly, I would have given this to you earlier," he smiled.

"Thank you," smiled Relena in return, a little embarrassed. She was certain that her body guard was going to be livid with her for leaving his sight so suddenly and making a spectacle of herself.

"Next Friday, then?" asked the old man.

"Yes, until then," she replied. The old man winked at Heero and then pushed his squeaky cart out of the park.

As they walked across the park side by side, Relena hoped it was not a dream. The balloon ribbon was twisted around her fingers and she played with it absently. She listened intently as Heero spoke of what he had been doing since last they saw one another in slow, halting but thoughtful sentences. She felt like a pauper and his words were like coins in the street. Relena smiled as she pictured Heero planting squash and picking cherry blossoms. In her mind, she saw a silhouette of Heero amid a strawberry patch with the sun setting in the background. She wished she could have seen it with her own eyes. She came away from her musings and looked at him, looking back at her. She realized he had asked her how she was doing.

"I have been fine Heero. My work is often tiring, and takes me to and from Earth and the Colonies. I still find it fulfilling, though. It's something my father would have been proud of me for. But Friday afternoon I think, is still my favorite. Especially today," she smiled and looked away. "I do not know how long you're staying, but you are welcome to stay with me, if you like. Quatre is there. He just came back with me from the Colonies. I could ask Noin and she would locate Duo and Wu Fei for you. A sort of reunion…" she said lamely as an afterthought. In truth she really wanted to be with him…alone.

"Thanks," he replied. Relena's heart brimmed with joy as the expression on Heero's face turned into half a smile. She unintentionally let her grip on the balloon string loose, and it slipped from her fingers.

"Oh," said Relena as she and Heero looked up at the balloon, flying higher into the sky, now that the wind stopped. The little girl from before was passing the couple nearby as she and her grandmother were about to leave the park. The girl looked at her own balloon, and let go of the string. Relena watched as the other balloon joined the first and then looked questioningly at the little girl.

"Now yours won't be lonely," smiled the little girl. "Ja ne!" Relena smiled back with glistening eyes.

When they both drove back from the Ministry, and everyone was relieved that the "lost" princess was found again, Relena was scheduled to eat with other ministers at her family mansion and Heero went off with Noin to see his Quatre and his old comrades in arms. There was a lingering fear in her heart that he would disappear without saying goodbye to her again, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. If he did, then that was Heero's way. There was nothing she could do about that. As the ministers ate and chatted and then left, Relena found herself alone again. After changing into a simple but comfortable dress when they had all said their polite goodbyes and adieus and more than one of them kissed her hand, and one even kissed both, she wandered out onto the patio outside of the dining hall overlooking the gardens. Her mansion was still a school for the daughters of peace loving ministers and officials, and she could hear their talk and laughter on the other side of the far garden wall. She liked the company, but they were also a constant reminder of a life she left behind. At eighteen, she was the head Foreign Minister to the colonies, and an important diplomat who a lot of people looked to for inspiration. She told her beliefs to them and they hung onto every word. She wondered if her message was really working, but apparently her speeches had the power to turn even an entire crowd of Romefeller Foundation followers to follow her instead. She knew though, that a longing for peace was within everyone's heart to begin with, and she was merely a voice that echoed their unified wish. Being an heir to the Peacecraft name made her a sort of figure head before, and now it turned her into an ambassador. It seemed her destiny was planned out long before she had any say in the matter.

Relena hugged her arms close to her white dress, not because it was cold, but because she suddenly felt like a small white speck in comparison to the full moon in front of her. She remembered the words that the little girl in the park had said, "So yours won't be lonely." It made her smile wistfully. She heard footsteps behind her but she didn't have to look to know whose they were.

"Relena," said Heero from behind.

"Yes, Heero?" she said without turning around. She felt a little stunned when she felt him put his jacket on her shoulders. Relena turned around.

"Heero…"

"In case you were cold."

"Thank you." A long silence fell between them as they both gazed up at the moon. He was never one for many words but his presence was enough for her.

"Will you be leaving soon?" asked Relena after a while.

"Ah," replied Heero in the affirmative. "The harvest season begins soon. They'll need more workers back on L1."

"Ah, sou," replied Relena quietly. "I'm glad you found something you enjoy doing, besides being a soldier. Every soldier needs a home to go back to."

"I thought of you while I was working," he said, not meeting her eyes. The outburst was rather sudden and it caught Relena quite by surprise. "Especially when the snowy plum blossoms began to bloom. They reminded me of you, somehow, as harbingers of renewal and rebirth." A soldier and a poet…who knew? smiled Relena.

"Thank you Heero. But I do not deserve such—" began Relena. Heero put a hand to her lips and studied her eyes.

"It was you who put humanity into me. It took me a while to realize it. I think I first realized it when I asked you to leave your brother's ship, plummeting into the Earth. I realized it again when I awoke in the hospital after your kidnapping incident. Nothing I did after that could make me stay in one place. There was something else I wanted to say to you, but I didn't know how. I made this trip to find you. I wanted to thank you." Relena could not help the tears that came to her eyes. After all this time, she had managed on her own, and now he comes back to say these things to her. If he left her again after this, it was too cruel of a trick, even for Heero. If he thinks he can waltz back into my life and do what he wants…

"Relena," whispered Heero as he bent his head down. She mouthed his name but no sound came from her throat before he kissed her. Relena lost herself in that kiss, and did not bother to put up a fight. She had never known him to be so tender; she often wondered if he was capable of it. Now she knew.

…he's right…

Relena sat at the desk in her room, dressed in her freshly pressed Minister attire, flipping through the stack of papers on her desk. She found a pen and started make comments and changes on some documents. She looked over to her bed, where Heero still lay sleeping. If she did not see him with her own eyes, she would hardly have believed it. She knew the maids would be shocked to see him there. She and Heero had spent the night in each other's embrace, resting quietly, each comforting the other in a world they inadvertently created for themselves. As she sat looking at his sleeping face, she realized they had both built this world together, with their own determination, and still… Relena understood now what she had been missing. A world without Heero is incomplete. The princess continued going through her papers, wondering where she would be able to find a pair of hand-cuffs. A laugh escaped her lips, followed by a whimsical smile. Heero would not enjoy being restrained to her bed, although it could be interesting… Relena got up and tied a sateen blue ribbon to her hair. If Heero should leave me now, I should have nothing to regret. He has shared more of himself to me than I would have ever guessed him capable of, she thought silently. If he wanted to go back to his cherry blossoms, she would let him. If she were not the Minister of Peace, she would follow him. Whatever you choose, Heero.

As if in response to her thoughts, Heero opened his eyes a thought a moment about where he was. Then he remembered a quiet, peaceful night with Relena. He had never felt like that in his life. But he did not belong here, in her world. Heero watched quietly as Relena sat in a large, cushioned chair, and listened to her pen scratch the surface of the papers on her mahogany desk. She looked up from what she was doing and smiled at him.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Heero."

"Ohayou, Relena." She stacked the papers on the desk again and got up and walked over to him.

"I know you do not plan on staying, Heero. You didn't need to tell me last night for me to know it. But before I go to my meeting, I just wanted to say something." Heero sat up on the bed and looked at her curiously.

"I want to thank you for your effort and determination that saved the earth my kingdom rests upon. You stained your hands with blood, and because of it, I did not have to. Yours was the strength that paved the way for my voice to be heard." Relena looked at him directly and memorized his face. She wanted to remember him like this forever. "I want you to know that this woman before you loves you, Heero, with all her heart and soul." The expression on his face showed he was a bit taken aback by her words, as if he had heard them said to him for the first time.

"You may feel a little out of place, as a bloodstained soldier in a peaceful world, but no matter how far you travel away from here, from me, and no matter what you do, there will always be a place for you in this heart." Relena placed his hand over her heart and looked down. The warmth he shared with her the night before was still there. She would not forget that. "Aishiteru, Heero. Sayonara." Relena turned and left the room. With a semi-heavy heart, she walked down the staircase to her aides who were waiting to have breakfast with her. It was uplifting being able to tell him what she felt—what she had been feeling all this time. But in that very instant she just wanted to get away and be alone. She wished it were Friday again.

Heero waited in the gardens for Relena to come back. Noin had said that Relena took a walk after dinner every night, and since she dined with the Ministers again today at the Foreign Ministry, she would take her walk as soon as she returned. Her words echoed through his mind like a clear bell. Aishiteru, Heero. This is what he came for. He finally had what he was looking for. As a bloodstained soldier, he needed her permission, she who was once called Queen of the World, to simply belong.

She came into the garden as soon as the moon came out, still dressed in her evening gown. Peeling off her gloves and tossing them aside, she ran a hand through a tangle in her hair and sat down at the edge of the small fountain. Relena listened to the quiet, calming message the trickling water relayed to her and lost herself in its song.

"You told me last night, that every soldier needed a home to go back to," said Heero from behind. Relena was shocked to hear his voice again. She was surprised that he was not gone.

"Heero." She turned saw him there, staring back at her. It wasn't an illusion. "But I thought—"

He walked up to her and cupped her chin in his hand. There was a gentle expression on his face again, like the one from the night before, but gentler, and more confident. She was amazed that his face continued to show more of its talent for expression.

"My home is wherever you are, Relena." He bent down to kiss her lips. Proud as she was, Relena, for the third time in her life, could not resist the tears that fell from her eyes. Heero, my beloved Heero… He brushed the tear from her cheek with his thumb.

"Tadaima," he said gently.

"Okaiirinasai," smiled Relena.

Finis.

Glossary

RTS: Rapid Transport System

Preventers: newly created anti-terrorist task force, funded by the Earth Federation and the Colonies with chairs sitting in the government legislature

Sanc: French for "Fifth" and Relena's birthplace and birthright; destroyed by warring factions opposed to peace, preceding the Gundam Wing series

The Restoration: After the Gundam Wing OVA "Endless Waltz"

Konnichiwa: good afternoon

Arigatou: thanks

Ojii-san: uncle/old man, old one (respectful)

Ojou-san: young miss, miss

Yuushi: distinguished soldier/knight in shining armor

Ja ne: see you

Ah sou: Oh, I see

Ohaiyougozaimasu: good morning (polite)

Aishiteru: I love you

Sayonara: Good Bye (final)

Tadaima: I'm home

Okairinasai: welcome back