Happy Birthday, Heero
By: Axisor
Dedicated to Izzy, who I never would have written this if it
weren't for her (so if it sucks-it's her fault-- LOL-- J/K Iz!). I apologize for any OOC moments right now. Please
enjoy reading and write up some reviews (I really love them and they'll show my
friends who was right in out bet). :þ
Disclaimer: I do not own anything mentioned in the story including
characters and music.
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Heero came
home-- completely exhausted. He
had left home earlier just needing to get away and be by himself since everyone
was acting out of sorts. So, he had
left to relax and got caught up in three hours of rush hour, bumper-to-bumper highway
traffic-- one of the most stressful activities known to mankind. To make matters worse, the neighbors were
having a party, if you were to judge by the number of cars on the street, and
that just pushed the pilot past his limit. "If this party ends up like last time, I'll do more than call the
police--I don't care if Duo is over there."
He opened
the door to utter blackness. Then there
was a bright flash of light and "SURPRISE!!!" His right hand reached back for his gun...
and found a hand? The hand
slipped into his, squeezed, and Relena moved in front to give a smiling,
"Happy Birthday, Heero."
"Birthday?"
"Well,
yeah, birthday-boy," Duo said laughingly. "We figured you had to have one... although I still have my doubts
that you're human sometimes."
"Since
we didn't know when it really was, Miss Relena chose a day." Quatre inputted politely.
Heero put
on an "Oh, Really" face which made Relena shyly say, "I figured
the day your... uh... shuttle first landed on Earth was a good day."
"Shuttle?" Trowa nodded his head away from the group
and stepped back to reveal a whole group of people that Heero definitely didn't
know. "Who--?
"We
each invited friends to make this a REAL party," Duo said, turning to
mingle in the crowd already turning back to the fun.
Relena
gently tugged Heero's hand and said, "Come on, Heero, I'll introduce you
to everyone." By the end of his
'tour of duty', his head was almost literally spinning from all those
introductions. He only remembered two new people by the end of the night and
only because they stayed near him most of the night while he sat with the other
pilots-- minus Duo who was off being a 'lady's man,' though mainly with Hilde.
One was a
black haired, green-eyed girl who spent most of the evening on the couch
talking with Quatre; her name was Izzy. The other was a dark-brown haired girl with green-brown eyes who
literally pulled him away from Relena and forced him to sit on the other couch
saying, "Relax, birthday boy. If
you get any more stressed, you'll do yourself major damage," then
proceeded to administer a back rub to him.
"Injustice,
Heero. Injustice," Wufei said
shaking his head and crossing his arms. "A great fighter like you listening to a weak woman like her."
"Who are
you calling weak... buddy?" The
girl said as her thumbs and palms pressed firmly into the shoulders of a
bewildered Heero. He knew that she was
right-- he was likely to hurt himself by pulling something, but it was more
than likely that he'd hurt someone else if he became anymore stressed.
"Axisor--"
Izzy said sharply. "No fighting...
remember?" The only verbal
response she received was a low, quiet, short growl from deep in the girl's
throat. Heero could tell how angry or
upset... or at least annoyed, this girl was at being reminded of that
fact. He not only heard the response up
close and personal, though, but felt it as well. Her aggression was being taken out on his stress with her palms
and fingers pressing deeper into his tense muscles forcing them to relax. As much as he probably hated to admit it,
the back rub did feel good-- which is why he leaned back into it even more--
but something just didn't feel quite right about the whole situation.
Relena saw
Heero lean back into this stranger-girl's hands and just about screamed. How dare she try and take her guy! Relena was about to go up and slap Izzy's
friend just like she had Treize's daughter, but Izzy got up off the couch--
smiling politely at Quatre-- and asked Relena to help her with something. Relena went with her since her sudden flare
of jealousy clouded her mind from coming up with a halfway decent diplomatic
excuse to stay.
When they
arrived in the kitchen, Izzy turned to her friend and said, "Hey-- what's
wrong?"
"What? Nothing," Relena said, making herself
busy with making a sandwich.
"Something's
bugging you," Izzy said stopping her. "And it has something to do
with Axisor and your boy Heero."
"He's
not mine." She replied quickly--
almost too quickly.
Izzy let
out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I just wanted to
tell you that you don't have to worry about my friend. Axisor doesn't have eyes on the birthday
boy-- someone kind of similar, but different too."
"OH?"
Relena said perking up and all ready for a good line of gossip. "Who then?"
"If I
had to guess... I'd say it was the quiet boy hiding behind those
gravity-defying bangs."
"Trowa?" Relena cried in disbelief as she led the way
out of the kitchen and back to the group. "Wow... that's different."
Izzy sat
down next to Quatre and whispered something into his ear. His eyes just about bugged out of his head
at what he heard. Then for the next few
moments in time the only thing he could seem to do was look around at everyone
then whisper 'secretly,' or so he thought, to Izzy "Are you sure?"
who would nod in reply. Finally after
doing this four or five times and when everyone was at the point where they
were going to yell, "YES, SHE'S SURE!" Quatre turned to Trowa and asked him to
talk with him off to the side.
When the
two returned, a nervous-- because he had never done anything like this before--
Trowa asked Axisor to dance. As the two
of them went off, Relena was getting ready to slip into Axisor's vacated back
rubbing spot. Just as she was about to
take that vital first step forward, her target was intercepted by a girl with
roughly the same objective-- Heero Yuy. The girl told him, "Come on b-day boy-- it's your obligation as the
party's subject to dance with anyone who asks." Then she proceeded to drag a very confused Heero off to the dance
floor.
Relena
watched furiously as girl after girl dance with Heero. She couldn't believe it. Some of those girls were her friends,
too. She just couldn't believe it. She felt betrayed. Surely they had to know that he was hers. How could they not? Except... hadn't she just told Izzy,
"He's not mine"? How many
times had she said those words, and words along those very same lines, to her
friends? How many? She couldn't even begin to count the number
of times, but she only said that because they weren't "going out" or
an "item" per say, but he had to have some feelings for her... right?
He was
always protecting and rescuing her. He
also had stopped threatening to kill her... but he also said he wasn't going to
kill anymore... and he could have just saved her because she was a politician
on "his side." He had to know
she needed... cared for... loved him. She had followed him around the world after all, right? But then again, that was over two years
ago... and people's feeling can change over time-- but she couldn't remember
ever doing anything that would tell... or show him that they had. But she also hadn't really done much to show
him that they hadn't. That could
be why he might have thought her feelings had changed.
She was
sure he wasn't a mind reader, although that would explain a few things if he
was, so he couldn't know how she felt. She didn't remember ever coming out and saying how she felt about him...
at least not to his face... and definitely not recently, she was reasonably
sure of that. He should have figured
that out on his own, anyway; he's really smart, after all. Besides, if he felt the same way about her
then she didn't have to tell him, and if he didn't then there was no reason for
her to embarrass herself by telling him. Except... he's not used to emotions. Oh, he said that there was nothing wrong with following your emotions,
but he seemed to have the emotions of a stone most of the time. Heero probably wouldn't know what to do with
a real strong pure emotion like love. That would be one emotion he probably wouldn't know how to act on. "Which is why I need to do it,"
she resolved, whispering to herself.
She looked
right at Heero, who was surrounded by girls out on the dance floor and didn't
even seem to notice her standing there. Relena took two steps out on the floor, stopped, turned around, and
began to walk back to the couches. "But not tonight," she muttered weakening her resolve. "There's too many people and I'd be too
embarrassed if I was wrong. I don't
need to be embarrassed tonight... not with that meeting tomorrow."
She
stopped at a mirror as she passed it to examine her reflection. There was something different which had
caught her eye. What Relena saw was an
overstressed girl on the verge of tears instead of her usual confident
self. She looked very confused and
helpless... but in such a way that if she received even the smallest of signs
she'd be herself again. "Or just
some quiet time to think alone," Relena sighed and continued with her path
to the couches.
When she
arrived, pangs of envy and sorrow hit her like arrows through her heart. The sight was just too much for her. Her friends Izzy and Quatre were cuddled
together on a couch listening to Trowa play his flute. Even Trowa, for whom it took a lot to be
emotional, had slight curves at the corners of his lips as he played. The eye his bangs weren't covering was a
fountain of love as he looked into the joyous eyes of Axisor. Relena could tell those two really hit it
off as Axisor laid on the floor at his feet listening the melody. The wonderfully complex but somehow simple
tune brought Relena to the threshold of tears from all the love it
contained. The song, though, only
reflected the atmosphere of the room.
As Relena
looked around, she felt like an invader. She was the only unpaired person present. Wufei had left sometime while Relena was watching Heero only to
be replaced by Duo and Hilde, as well as some other couples who had found their
way to the room. Relena quietly crept
over to the couch and crouched to whisper quickly, "I have to go. Tell everyone goodnight and wish Heero
'Happy Birthday' for me."
"Relena--
you're leaving?" Izzy asked
startled. "You can't stay?"
"Yes--no. I- I have a meeting-- a video conference...
with... the L-1 colony in the morning." She then turned and practically fled the room. As soon as she arrived outside, Pagan went to get the car. Relena stood outside in the dewy grass, becoming
very annoyed with her brother Millardo who had insisted on her being driven to
and from the party. What Relena didn't
realize, and Millardo probably never would have suspected was that if he hadn't
insisted so hard that Relena agreed, a crucial pivotal moment in time might
never have occurred. It's amazing how
that one little detail was a starting link in a chain of events that could
change the world forever, and they probably never realized that fact. See, if Relena had driven herself, she wouldn't
have been there when Heero came out too say goodnight and thank her so the
following scene never would have occurred.
Heero came
out and saw Relena standing in the wet grass. He came up behind her, stealthily out of habit, and saw a lone tear
trail down her face and heard her give a slight sniff. His hand reached out to use the second and
third knuckles to gently removed the tear and cooed, "Oh, Relena... What's
wrong?"
"Heero!" She said with her shock clear in her voice. She quickly collected herself to add, "What are you doing
out here? Why aren't you inside
enjoying the party?"
"I
heard you were leaving. I wanted to say
goodnight," he replied seriously as Pagan pulled up with the limo.
"Oh...
Goodnight then... Wait! I almost forgot
completely." She ran to the door
Pagan held open and grabbed something off the seat. "You can get in, Pagan. I can let myself in." He
said something in reply and left. Once
he was back inside the vehicle, she turned around and keeping her hands where
he couldn't see them, Relena said, "Here's your present, Heero." Next she held out her hands, which contained
a small decorative box.
"Present? I've never received a-- a birthday present
before," he said softly as he took the box and slowly opened the lid, reminding
Relena of a bomb-squad member opening a bomb's casing. Heero put the lid on the bottom of the box
and slowly-- carefully removed the contents, just adding to the image-- then
furthering it by thoroughly examining the machine.
When he
didn't say anything right away, Relena's eyes dropped to her shoes. "It's a PalmPilot(r)... so you don't
always have to carry around your laptop... I even had extra memory put in it
for you."
"I
can see that. Thank you,
Relena." Heero said in the usual
monotone voice. Relena was sure that he
would love the gift, but he certainly didn't sound as if he had, though. Her surprise caused her to look up and
search his face to find nothing different-- except there was something in his
eyes, which caused her to examine them, closer.
Upon
further examination, Relena did find something-- the very something that she
was looking for-- and whispered so softly that even Heero couldn't hear her,
"The sign." She breathed in a
deep breath and stepped forward, closer to Heero. "I have-- I've something else to give you, Heero-- but it's
not a birthday present... not really. I've been meaning to give it to you since-- for awhile now and... and I--
this is the best time I've found so far."
Before he
had a chance to say or do anything, Relena swiftly closed the gap between them
and her arms seemed to instantaneously wrap around his neck. With skill she didn't know she possessed,
Relena tilted her head and deftly made contact between their lips. She tightened her arms, bringing them even
closer.
Relena was
trying to relay to her Heero her feelings for him. She conveyed her anger at the other girls for trying to have his
affection. She passed on her
thankfulness for all he's done for her. She tried to even put in how much she worries about him. Most of all, though, Relena expressed her
jealous love for him in that kiss, which led to a series of kisses on her part
with almost the same degree of emotional fervor.
She knew
she had found the right moment-- the perfect moment-- to tell... well, express,
to her feeling for this young man. What
she had found in his eyes on her first look were respect and appreciation,
which was expected. There was also a
sign of genuine care. That was what she
examined further and found to be the true seed of love. The first kiss was to nurture that seed, and
the rest were for those that she couldn't see but still knew were there. The eyes are only the windows to the soul,
after all, and windows don't let you see every inch of the room on the other side. Besides, knowing Heero like she did,
he probably had the shade pulled partially down, but where you can see part of
a plant through a window, you know that the rest of it is there wanting someone
to help it grow. You also know the
plant wants the same someone to chase away the shadows of doubt blocking its
sunlight for growth. It was those
shadows that convinced her she needed to step in-- to step in before the
shadows killed the plant and seeds.
Finally,
she let him go, though. He needed time
to think now, and she did have an important meeting the following day. Very softly, the young woman said,
"Goodnight Heero. I hope you had a
happy birthday," and kissed him gently on his cheek. Then the Vice-Foreign Minister of Earth got
into her limo and off it drove, leaving a very surprised Gundam pilot
standing in the grass.
His right
hand came up to his lips and gently touched them. He was having trouble believing what just happened had happened,
but his lips told him otherwise as they still felt some last lingering traces
of Relena's and tingled all over. She
had caught him completely off guard, one of the few times in his life
that had ever happened before.
He was
also caught completely unprepared. He
was pretty sure he hadn't been kissed before-- and most definitely never like
that before. When Aden Lowe had
assassin-trained him as he grew up, Aden certainly never kissed him goodnight
and Dr. J didn't have kissing on his list of thing that a soldier needed to
know. It wasn't dire in either profession,
so he never was or taught how.
Heero
hoped that Relena wouldn't hold the fact that he hadn't kissed back against
him. He had been caught up in the
wonder of the whole thing. There was
the natural wonder that came along with a first kiss. There was also the wonder of how she started the kiss, how she
deepened it, how she gave it more meaning than a kiss had a right to have, how
sensual she had made it, and how completely honest she was being with him. There was the wonder of how suddenly with
that one simple act everything clicked and made sense, too. Heero finally understood why he had saved
her, protected her, and watched over her, why he had put up with her and her
ideas that directly opposed his at times, and why he could never pull the trigger. He loved her.
Relena had
pulled away and said goodnight just as he built up the courage to respond; he
just over came his fear of shattering the moment forever by responding. As he watched the limo's taillights
disappear in the darkness, the spell Relena had spun on him finally broke
completely and he was able to move again. He ran after the limo in a futile attempt to catch it, stopping under a
streetlight to yell, "Relena!" then softly utter, "Aishiteru."
Who knows
how long he stood there before Duo came outside and saw Heero in the middle of
the street. He came up and clapped
Heero hard on the shoulder receiving a dark scowl in reply. "Come on in. Your party is still going strong." Silently Heero followed his friend inside. Just before they entered, Duo asked,
"Heero, I found this in the grass... is it yours?"
In his
hand was the box with the PalmPilot(r), a present from Relena. Heero looked at the party inside, another
present from Relena. He then realized
that his birthday, too, was a present from Relena because he really didn't know
when his was. All those had been fully
planned out beforehand-- before he received them-- but the gift he would truly
treasure forever was the one she had decided spontaneously to give him. "Yeah, Duo. It's mine. Let's go
inside."
As they
entered, the lyrics "and she was able... to move the immovable... Oh
yeah... and she was able to make the impossible... to make the impossible--
possible..." floated out onto the street.
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So how did I do? This was
my first romance (and maybe my last since I know it can't possibly stack up
against other stuff out there), which I'm sure you can tell. Please tell me how I did. My e-mail address is:
Thanx! Axisor :þ
P.S. I never could understand why Trowa and Heero (or at least
Heero) are usually written as experts on relationships when they probably never
had a real one. They were training to
kill and fight before the war so there wasn't much time FOR dating, and we do
know they didn't date DURING the course of the show. Quatre might know something about dating from his sisters. Duo definitely does, just by judging the way
he talks (and the fact that he's American!) I hope there is someone who can clear this up for me. I just thought I'd explain why I took the
stand (the untraditional stand) that I took in this fanfiction.
And that song is
by The Urge and it's called "Four Letters and Two Words" and it's on their "Too
Much Stereo" CD