Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. Never have and never will, but I will always be grateful for its creator and fan base!

FOR THE ENDLESS REFLECTION CHALLENGE

Broken Together

by

Meli J Nightly

Life changing moments, altering the way we feel, the way we think and the way we live, you can't stop them and you can't ignore them, they just happen...

He closes his eyes as he whispers, "I want to see her..." and finally he lets himself go.

"And so you shall," a raspy yet sympathetic voice echoes through his mind and soul.

5...4...3...2...

AFTER COLONY 205

The ocean waves made for a lovely melody that accompanied his fears and a symphony of love and loss but also of fight. Heero wasn't always one to doubt his actions, he always had a plan, an objective. This time he knew his objective but he had no plan. He felt completely defenseless.

"I'm really happy to see you, Heero," she smiles at him. She always did that, her smile was always genuine towards him, it was never a sympathetic smile, it took him a while differentiate it but he knew now, she never felt ashamed or sorry for him. "What did you want to talk to me about at this hour?"

*This hour?* Heero thinks to himself as he looks at his watch, that's right... he didn't even calculate the time correctly. It was already midnight and here he was interrupting her much needed sleep. But it was now or never... and there she remain smiling until...

"Don't get married, Relena."

Relena's smile disappears the waves sounding louder and louder each time. There she stood oddly enough in the same spot where he first met her, the brave girl who feared nothing and no one. He can tell she's dumbfounded by the words that had just left his lips. Even though he had practiced this whole speech and made it his mission to let her know how he finally felt, the only words that he could think of at that time were…

"Don't get married?" Relena whispers and releases a sigh almost as if she were out of breath. "Heero, I'm getting married tomorrow, why would you say something like that? Is this a joke?"

The question was almost hurtful to Heero, she knew him better than anyone, even better than Duo at some point. He would not joke about things like this, he would rarely joke for that matter. His eyes wandered to the floor and then back to her confused yet beautiful face. He knew he shouldn't be upset, he had no right to be upset, but he was battling with many feelings, feelings he thought he had under control a long time ago.

"I know I have no right to ask you this, not after all we have been through… but…" Everything Heero had in his mind vanished. Was this a sign? A sign that he should have let her go.

"Wha- Heero you were the one who told me we were never meant to be. You told me I was naive to keep believing that we would one day be …" Relena's eyes begin to well up with tears.

"I know what I said," Heero's eyes are filled with determination, "I always believed… I still believe that I'm not good enough for you. But, I… I only feel complete when I'm with you. I'm just a broken soldier, a broken person… my life was cheap… but you made it worth something," Heero takes a hold of her hand. He can feel her shiver at his touch and it becomes exhilarating. He had never understood how she made him feel so many emotions at once.

Her face was downcast; Heero catches a few of the crystalline tears that trickle down her cheek. He didn't mean to hurt her, but it seemed he was always hurting her no matter what he did. When he was near and even when he stayed away, he was always hurting her.

"Do you know…" a soft hiccup escapes her as she sobbed, "Do you know how long I waited for you to say those words? How long I've been waiting and yearning to know how you truly felt about me?" Relena removes her hand from his.

"Relena," he whispers her name. The pain he feels is evident in his tone and he had never felt this fragile in his life before. He had never felt this kind of fear before. He had come close to losing his life many times, yet he was never once scared for the outcome. This was far beyond more painful and scary than anything he had ever experienced.

"You wait ten years to tell me this on the eve of my wedding…" Relena scoffs turning his back to him. He longs to embrace her but he stands his ground, suppressing the urge.

Her words sting him; he's surprised at the wet sand below his feet and soon realizes his face is wet from the escaped tears. He ups his courage once more understanding that what he asked of her was the most selfish thing he could ask, "I'm sorry for being selfish, for never understanding how you felt and for ignoring what you wanted. But I swear to you, that everything I did, I did because… I love you. I love you Relena and I always will love you. No matter where you go or who you decide to be with, my love for you will not die." He was satisfied that he at least tried, "You will make a beautiful bride… goodbye Relena."

Heero turns to leave but stops when he hears her cracked voice echo the empty beach, "I'm broken too-"

"What?" Heero asks as he turns around to face her. She walks over to him closing the gap, a gap that had been between them since they met on that very beach.

"I'm broken too, Heero," her hands find their way to Heero's neck. Before reaching his lips she murmurs, "let's be broken together."

x.O.x

AFTER COLONY 210

The ocean had remained part of his dreams ever since his Gundam landed there, which led to his fateful meeting with Relena. They had seen many oceans, beautiful and pristine ones at that after being boyfriend and girlfriend for five years, but they still came back for their Anniversary every year to that same beach.

"I really love this beach," Relena says as she plays with the sand.

"Hn," Heero replies.

There were clear skies and sun rays play with Relena's honey blond hair, her skin shines ever so slightly. The day picture perfect. The five years had gone by as if in a dream, Relena was able to gain peace. Heero protected her from all harm and as she requested never left her side. Everything by her side was easy, even the most difficult problems seemed to pass. War was becoming a nightmare that no one discussed anymore little by little and he was happy.

"What is Quinto doing?" Relena places her hand over her forehead like a visor, their dog was happily digging something in the sand. The dog that Heero actually picked out himself, an old English Sheepdog. Relena was surprised when he brought him home, but she fell in love with him immediately.

"I think he might have found a treasure," Heero chuckled.

"I think he's going to end up digging a hole to China if we don't stop him," Relena gets up from her spot, she dusts the sand off and makes her way to their playful dog.

Heero smiles mischiveously as he watches her get close to scold their dog.

"What do you have there Quinto?" Relena says as she tries to remove something from her dog's mouth.

Heero takes this as his cue, Relena continues to struggle with the grey furry ball of fluff until finally he lets go making her fall backwards. Heero lets out a laugh as he watches his precious Relena bewildered face. "What is this?" She laughs too. Her laugh soon dies down as she realizes what she is hold in her hand, a velvet black box. "Is this…" Heero offers her his hand and she timidly accepts it. As she gets up Heero takes the box from her...

"Relena, I never cared what your last name was. All I cared about was killing you at first, but that didn't work out so well. So then all I cared about was protecting you, but that didn't work out well either, because I fell in love with you. Now all I care about is spending the rest of my life with you…"

Relena's covers her mouth with her hands as she gasps at the beautiful words he has said. In her expression was evidence that she was not expecting such a dream like gesture.

Heero gets down on one knee and opens the black velvet box which revealed the most gorgeous diamond ring, "Will you marry me?"

Relena doesn't wait and throws himself at him, making them both stumble on the sand. "Yes! Yes I'll marry you Heero." Their lips meet over and over as their dog barks with happiness.

x.O.x

AFTER COLONY 250

Heero could have never imagined such a blissful and happy life next to his wife. All this time they both had fought for justice and peace. He had always thought he was nothing but a tool, a soldier, someone with no purpose other than to kill. Relena had proven to him that he was more than that. Heero had proven to Relena she was more than just a peace symbol.

As they stood in the beach where they had met 55 years ago, he realized his dreams had come true. There was no more war. He had lived a plentiful and happy life alongside his one and true love. He met people in his lifetime that he could actually call his friends.

"After all these years, I'm glad there is no need for a perfect soldier any longer…" Heero says. His wife balances herself as she wraps her arm around his. Heero kisses her forehead lovingly. "All my dreams came true. I have no regrets in my life now Relena. None… I can die happily knowing that I told you how I felt. You have made me the happiest man… a man that can dream of happiness, I will always love you Relena."

"Dreams are beautiful Heero… but so is real life… you need to live, Heero, live without regrets." Relena unlocks her arm from his. She turns to face him and Heero gasps. Relena's wrinkles begin to disappear and she soon becomes the fifteen year old girl he first met. "Relena?" His hands begin to shake and he doesn't understand what is happening.

"You're right there is no need for a perfect soldier… but there will always be a need for Heero Yuy. It's time for you to wake up, Heero…" Her voice begins to sound more distorted each time.

"Relena, what's going on…" his voice changes to that of a younger version of him. "Relena?"

"Come back to me, Heero… remember that I will always love you. Even if you never tell me how you truly feel. My love for you will never change." Somehow he remembered those words. They were the last words she said to him before he had left on a mission, a mission that had no purpose yet.

"Relena don't go!" Heero screamed, but she began to fade and so did everything around him. The feeling of loneliness was beginning to creep and soon the realization. "What is going on?! Come back to me, Relena… Relena…"

x.O.x

5...4...3...2...1

MARS COLONY 022

"Awaken Princess Aurora," said Master Chang as he touched the control panel.

The wings of the capsule open magically to reveal a cryogenic capsule that extends with a hiss.

"Commence defrosting."

"He looks so peaceful," Duo says as he sees Heero Yuy in the capsule, frozen in time. "I wonder if he had a nice dream."

"Does it matter?" Wufei Chang says coldly. "After what he is being woken up to do, don't you think it's cruel to wish he had 'nice' dreams?"

"You're so dark sometimes, Wufei."

"I beg to differ, father Maxwell," Wufei retorts as he looks back at Heero, "Especially since you will be letting him know about his new mission..."

Duo growls angrily, "So I will be the one who has the pleasure of telling him he need to kill Relena? Well...that sucks."

It was a cruel world indeed, a cruel world that still needed Heero Yuy, the perfect soldier.

Author's Notes: Happy late anniversary Gundam Wing! I was really busy with work and school still, but I had to show my respects to the fandom that gave me so much happiness! This is my "Ode to Gundam Wing" so to speak. I was happy that I could get it done before June 1st, woohoo! It was my goal and now I feel accomplished. I would like to thank Lady-Rinoa and Gray02 for inviting me to this challenge and for putting such a wonderful tribute together.

A little explanation, I used the Mars Colony as a reference to the novel Frozen Teardrop where Herein is frozen to be awoken 30 years later.

Gundam Wing has been a part of my life since I was thirteen years old and helped me get into writing. I will be forever thankful to this beautiful anime and wonderful fan base. I hope I did it justice even if it was with such a short story.