Kiss from a Rose

By: Zarabeth McGregor

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing; this includes the characters, their histories and the basis of their personalities. Therefore, please don't sue. This fic is being written for no other reason, other than the need to express my creativity.

My GOD, it has been...what, nearly two years since y'all last heard from me. I'm so sorry about that, really I am, but exams got in the way until about June, then I went away during the summer and got totally obsessed with Harry Potter. I tried my hand at that for about a few months, but it just never worked out for me. Then for the rest of the time, I've been trying to overcome some really brutal writer's block. So, here I am...please don't kill me...

Yeah, I've looked over Only Time and I guarantee it will be up and running in a week or two at the most; I have to regroup and reorganize the ending I now have in mind and how to make it work. Doncha worry, though, I have a great team of friends who will coughs grind me into submission. So, yeah...that's how the cookie crumbles...

A little about this fic; it's slightly dark, centred around four to six characters; I'm not sure yet. I don't really know much about this fic actually; though I get the feeling it will definitely take a life of its own. All I know this came to me last night while watching a recording of 'The Grid'. Yeah, let me hush now...

BTW: this fic is dedicated to every single person who reviewed my fics (there were four at one time); Only Time, I Will Always Love You, In Love and War and Chaos, Anyone?

"Quatre?" came the tentative, hopeful question spoken in soft, light tones, her voice touched with a tinge of the seductive lisp of southern Europa.

"Reia..." he replied, yet it was not a reply, his voice suddenly breathless. It was a question in itself, disguised in his confident tone, begging for a confirmation, desperate not to be identified as doing such.

Here a smile touched her small, rouged lips, happy for the recognition in his voice, yet still uncertain, nervous.

"It's really nice to see you again Quatre..." she said with a slight curtsey, nothing more than the bending of her knees. He gave his own small smile and bowed his head at her, slight and informal, a smooth, nonchalant movement.

"Even more pleasing to see you, Reia," he replied, his tones strong and assured. Inside, he found himself so tormented as many unnamed emotions surged through him...

It had been only yesterday he had seen her. Yesterday had been the first in nearly ten years since he had seen his companion from so many years past. He had known her from the first moment he laid eyes upon her; yet he was so unsure. She had changed so greatly, yet somehow still remained the same.

He had been unsure as to what he was to call her, the name 'Rei' ready upon his lips, the name of childhood affection he had known and readily summoned her by, the name he whispered in his mind many times past, which brought instant comfort and relief. Back then, those days of guileless and wide-eyed innocence, Rei had been his only friend, but more than a friend. A healer, ministering to his broken and confused spirit with a carefree jaunt through the vineyards of the estate or an impromptu game created through pre-adolescent creativity, gone once one crossed that threshold. He could scarce believe that the woman who had stood before him not a full day ago had been his boisterous, impish comrade of youth, always in shorts and a vest, running and prancing barefoot with ease down the vast hallways and into the expansive gardens, her sable hair gathered into a long, single braid flowing down her back.

This young woman was the picture of Old World sophistication. Reia had grown in height and stature, her careless gait now replaced by a graceful, stately stride. Her skin had been bleached of the freckles which had been her trademark, as a result of many hours spent in the balmy sunshine, and now shone pale and smooth as ivory. Her untameable hair was now sleekly gathered into a deceiving simple chignon at the base of her neck, her lips coloured like one of the rich red grapes which grew not far from where they greeted each other, her eyes outlined with dark kohl. But yet, for all the changes, she was still there. Rei grinned at him from the dark violet depths of her eyes, her mischievous intentions shown by their slight slant, giving her a catlike gleam. She smiled at him, her playful nature visible here and there, teasing him as she used to do as they played their childish games. Can't catch me...

Quatre reflected on all of this as he leaned against the door of his silver Koenigsegg, parked atop a dune, just where the grass blended into the sand. The sun had begun its final decent of the day, and the breeze that blew up from the ocean was fresh and warm, almost inviting. So it was a pity he was still dressed in his suit of Egyptian silk, his shoes of Italian leather. No matter; he came here to think and collect his thoughts, not for a mid afternoon swim.

He absently watched the patrons as they walked the length of the beach or frolicked in the waves. Nearby he could hear the final strains of the electrical guitar riff of a popular rock song.

Reia was back...or rather Rei. He shook his head. What a sorry state he was in; he had no clue as to what he was to call her.

Quatre...the way his name rolled of her tongue, passed through those damned siren-red lips still left shudders coursing through his body every time he replayed it him his mind. The tones were no longer harsh and shrill, as many female children's voices were. Instead it was soft, almost sultry, her voice husky and deep as she pronounced the first syllable, rising only slightly at the last. Damned hypnotic. He vaguely noted the rock song in the distance had been replaced by a slow merengue-styled song, the singer undoubtedly crooning in the passionate words of the Spanish language about love lost or unrequitted.

Rei was back...

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Then he chuckled to himself. The return of a childhood friend, not even a sweetheart, had him so riled up. He barely got any sleep the night before; he was thinking about her, making comparisons between their more recent encounter and the last time he saw her. So many changes. In both of them actually. He was no longer the runty boy with the impossible head of blond hair that was so unnervingly quiet and silent, he made the adults wonder. Until she became his friend, of course, when he remembered how to be a child again. And yet things were still the same. He wasn't sure how or what, but he just knew.

"It's really nice to see you again, Quatre..." he remembered the way she wrung her hands when she said this; out of nerves maybe? It was not a grand, extra-noticeable motion. But he noticed. He always did. And she noticed things about him too, the subtle things that he himself was not even aware of. That's how things always were between them.

Just then, his cellular phone went off, a soft, classical medley composed by Mozart. A medley that could only mean one of two possibilities; the office calling to asking him something inconsequential, something they could figure out on their own if they really did try. Or his second order of business.

"Hello," he answered nonchalantly, still gazing off at the beach.

"I want you to do something for me, Quatre. Can you meet me in fifteen minutes, about?"

"I'll be there." He hung up immediately. A seven second phone call. Seven seconds that could alter so many lives greatly. His thoughts of Rei would have to wait until later on.

Okay, that's the prologue. I'm trying to overcome some massive Writer's Block, so please bear with me...Ja!