New Year Magic

Her poise was elegant. Her white crystalline dress was even more so - modest but in a very subtle way. It reached down to her delicate pearl white and satin short heeled shoes so that only the very toe was peeping out from underneath as if they were playing some sort of childish game with the rest of the world. Every inch of her complemented the lady she had now become and at nineteen years of age a lady she was indeed. Her long honey blonde hair had been pinned onto the top of her head in a mass of folded pleats and it seemed to shine as brightly as the stars she could see in the night sky: it certainly was as captivating. On top of it sat a golden tiara which was speckled so discreetly with diamonds that the only way anyone could have guessed the rare jewels were even there was the way they sparkled and glistened in the brightly lit ball room. Her while image was a web which ensnared the eyes of men so they felt that they couldn't look elsewhere lest the subtle beauty before them should disappear forever.

It had been important, of course, that she'd been attired so extravagantly. Tonight was a celebration of the first year of official peace. In precisely an hour, those harmonious chimes would sound to announce the countdown to another new year. The guests at the Darlain mansion tonight would toast to the prospect of peace for their lifetime and also to the heroes that made this new world possible. And for some reason, she seemed to be among those celebrated. She, Relena Peacecraft, was apparently some sort of heroine. She adamantly denied such ridiculous beliefs and vehemently insisted – in a way that was foreign to even her- that the only saviours of this world were the five gundam pilots and the crew of the Peacemillion; not some silly little school girl who happened to take a fancy to politics. The 'Queen of the World' had done nothing spectacular to aid peace. Or so she thought. But no matter how strongly she insisted that she was merely an innocent bystander no one seemed to believe her. Admittedly, if it hadn't been for the discovery of her true heritage she would never have strived for peace in the first place and perhaps Heero Yuy would never have seen it fit that she should be protected and her ideals be achieved. Guiltily, she sometimes wondered that if, during the Mariemaia rebellion, she had never been kidnapped perhaps Heero would never have taken up arms again to rescue her and in turn conserved the peace.

Heero Yuy…

In over a year she had heard nothing from him except polite letters which were few and far between. No reply address had ever been provided for her to write back. The only piece of information she had heard about his whereabouts had been from Quatre Raberba Winner, who since the end of the war had become a dear friend of hers, and was that he was living on Earth and trying to build himself a new life. She sighed sadly and turned her baby blue eyes towards the sky as a cold wind blew around her, swirling frosty leaves around her feet in a lonely dance. Somewhere, in this world, the saviour of space was out there possibly even staring at the same star she was. At least she could take comfort in the knowledge that they were under the same vast sky. She sighed again. She knew that she could search the skies forever from this marbled balcony and never find what she was looking for. Especially if what she was looking for didn't want to be found.

"Miss Relena," She heard Quatre call from behind her in the same polite and formal greeting she was familiar with. Smiling warmly at him she allowed him to kiss her cheek in a friendly manner. "How are you?"

He had grown into the perfect gentleman since the end of the war and had busied himself in concentrating on acting as the colonies' spokesperson with the Maganac Corps faithfully by his side. At first, as with most of his comrades, he had tried as a preventer for some time but found that as peace went on there was less work for him and eventually they were all dismissed until an emergency cropped up. That had been seven months ago. Now, dressed in a tuxedo and looking remarkably handsome, he was attending the Darlain Peace Celebratory Ball as an esteemed leader and friend of the Earth and colonies alike.

"It's good to see you," She returned. "I've been good as always. I've heard you've been keeping well. Or," her smile turned mischievous, "some one's been keeping you well." She tilted her head in the direction of Dorothy Catalonia who was busy talking with some army officials – probably about war, Relena imagined.

Quatre's eyebrows raised a fraction of a millimetre and he laughed. "I see you've kept in touch with Duo."

Duo Maxwell had also become a friend of hers and she frequently conversed with him, and his fiancé, Hilde Scheikbeiker, via telephone. It had become his unofficial duty to inform her of any changes to the pilots' lives and he'd kept true to his word. Not long ago he had let her in on a little secret that Quatre and Dorothy had been seeing each other in 'ways that are more than business related', to use his exact words. As he'd said it she could almost picture his eyebrows waggling up and down to the receiver and Hilde rolling her eyes hopelessly at his implamentive tone. It had taken her all of her self control as she held in laughter. Strangely enough she never seemed to pick up much information about Heero from him…

She nodded her head. "Of course. I sent him an invitation too but he and Hilde don't seem to be here yet." She looked around the ballroom to reinforce her remark. "Wufie and Trowa have also been invited though I never received a reply from Wufie and Trowa said he'd be late…" Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Hilde and Duo at the food table looking around them obviously for her. "It seems two of our friends have arrived."

Quatre looked in the general direction of Relena's gaze and waved them over. Relena greeted both of them with affection in turn and spoke with admiration of Hilde's blue, silk and ruffled dress. It was elegantly plain and flattering to the girl's feminine but muscled figure. Her partner, still sporting his braid, had kitted out in clothes very similar to Quatre's. The only difference was that Quatre held himself as if he was at a very prestigious party yet Duo had his hands on his hips as if he was only waiting in line for a hotdog at a football game.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned round to find herself face to face with none other than Trowa Barton and behind him an uncomfortable looking Wufie Chang. Trowa's trademark fringe fell in front of his face as he was welcomed by Relena officially and said few words. Wufie's hair was slicked back into a tight ponytail and said even fewer words.

"I had to drag him here," Trowa explained once Relena's back was turned and earned himself a glare for his troubles courtesy of his Chinese friend.

"I hate these rich parties full of people celebrated a victory they have no right in claiming." Wufie retorted and folded his suited arms to emphasise his displeasure. "I'd have more pleasure scraping the skin from my fingers."

Duo grinned secretively and put his arms around both of their shoulders. "I don't know Wufie." He watched Relena carefully as she spoke with her brother, Milliardo Peacecraft, and his girlfriend Lucrezia Noin. Her innocent demeanour showed she was none the wiser to any occurrence that had been kept out of the reach of her knowledge. "It might not be as bad as you think."

Quatre wrinkled his nose humorously as he picked up on Duo's tone. "You'd better not do anything to ruin this night for her."

"Trust me," He winked at him. "Let's just say that a certain mutual friend of ours has promised to drop by."

"Duo…" Quatre groaned and raked a hand through his thick, blonde hair. "You're just going to get her heart broken again."

"He's got nothing holding him back anymore..." Trowa said almost inaudibly as if he was more talking to himself than anyone else. "He may actually have feelings for her..."

"Exactly," Duo nodded his agreement. "And you never know. For all we know it could be today. And look," He pointed up to the balcony door where a single branch of mistletoe hung, wrapped in a red satin ribbon. "you don't know what kind of magic mistletoe can work."

A crowd began to gather around the podium that had been placed meticulously in the very middle of the stage where a forty piece orchestra had been providing the night's jubilant music.

"She's going to make a speech." Quatre needlessly informed them and began to join in the applause as Relena was guided up to the microphone and adjusted it to fit her height.

"My friends," She began, "let us celebrate the joys of this year. Let us celebrate the peace that has grown around us in a ribbon that binds us all together in a common Earthsphere Alliance. But first, we mourn those who are not with us tonight for their lives were lost in the brave struggle to unite both the Earth and the colonies spawned from her in a great humanity." Her head bowed in reverence for a few seconds as she thought of the people she had known that had sacrificed their lives, be it willingly or forcefully. "Their loss was not in vain.

"Tonight, however, is not a night for sorrow but a night of joy, a night of cheer and a night of celebration for those of us alive today to enjoy the life we've achieved and the pacifism in which we live, day in and day out." She faltered for a moment as she caught sight of an unexpected yet familiar face standing out from the crowd and leaning against the very balcony she'd been occupying only ten minutes ago. Heero Yuy's prussian eyes watched her intently and when hers met them she could feel an inexplicable connection. It had always been that way. "The past year has been one of true peace and true happiness where we've lived in a world free from war and the pain it causes those who must suffer it. So we shall look onto the next year as a symbol of hope that our lives will continue to progress in this peace and that never again in our lifetime we shall have to witness the sorrow that is war again." Risking another glance up, she found, in distress, that Heero was no longer there nor anywhere else in her scope of sight for that matter. "My friends, I hope that tonight you shall enjoy yourselves and wish you all the very best in the year to come."

Despite her abrupt conclusion there was an uproar of applause and a crowd of about ten men and women gathered around her as she tried desperately to escape to the balcony. They smiled and offered their praise; apparently none-the-wiser that she'd cut her speech short by about five minutes. Their smiling and happy faces made the frustration inside of her swell up until it was ready to burst from her in an ugly explosion.

"Please excuse me," She waved her hand at her face dramatically. "I feel a little faint." She pretended to sway slightly so they would let her past with gestures of sympathy. Rather proud with her amateur dramatics, she rushed past everyone who wished to talk to her only to fall onto the cold marble of the balcony's barrier. Her eyes scanned the grounds of her mansion but she saw neither man nor footsteps to indicate that Heero had left. Out the front gate, that was. It was more than likely, she knew, that he'd left out the back. Such was Heero's way.

A cold wind caused her skin to pimple.

"Nice speech." A voice from behind her whispered. "Though it seemed a bit rushed."

Her breath caught in her throat and she felt the butterflies in her stomach perform a seasonal dance. She couldn't dare turn around in case he could see the effect he had on her: the desperation for just a few words; the want for a relationship that went further than an acquaintanceship; the need for something more. She didn't need to go to him, however. Heero walked over to her and folded his elbows underneath him on the ledge and leaned over it slightly.

"Heero…" She whispered like a little girl who'd found her missing doll. It made her sound young and naïve, just like she'd been when they'd first met. She gained her composure almost immediately. "I didn't think you were coming…?"

"I found time."

Short and simple. She was only too familiar with his methods of speech.

"That's good." Relena leaned over the balcony beside him. "I haven't been able to speak to you like this for so long. What have you been doing?"

He was silent. So silent, Relena wondered if he was going to answer her question at all. Eventually, he told her, "I've been studying law at university." He saw she was taken aback by this unfitting – to those who knew him - career choice. "It seemed a good choice."

She nodded. "I see. I never saw you as a lawyer."

Again there was silence. The jubilance from the hall was completely drowned out by the deafening quiet where Relena and Heero stood. Even the wind, which had begun to pick up again, didn't compete against the roaring noiselessness.

"What made you come?" Relena asked suddenly. To cover up her rationality, she quickly added, "And in a tuxedo, no less. That looks suits you some how."

Heero regarded her with some unknown emotion. "I wanted to." She nodded again. "I wanted to see you…Relena."

Those baby blue eyes widened in shock. "Me?"

"You find that surprising?" It was more a statement than a question, though Relena could see he wanted a reply.

"I suppose it's not something I expected Heero Yuy to say to me." A cheeky glint rose into her eye. "You did say you'd kill me." She placed a lacquered nail onto her chin and looked thoughtful. "And perhaps that's what you've came here for. To finish me off, as they say." She smiled impishly at him. "Am I right?"

Heero chuckled softly, completely against the normal stoic and emotionless nature Relena was used to. It suited him, she thought, that brief moment of glee that lit up his eyes. It made him seem friendlier, more approachable. She imagined that would not be his intention at all.

"No." He turned to face her. "The world would be better off if you're here to show it the way."

A rosy red flared up in her cheeks; at least she felt as if it did. "Well I'm glad to hear that." She paused. She knew she wanted to ask this question and to an extent she felt as if Heero wanted to hear it. "Why did you want to see me?"

Something in his facial expressions softened. "I've been thinking about us. Where we left off…"

"We never began. How can we leave something we haven't begun?"

She could see that she was making this increasingly difficult for him and she didn't mean to. However, all those times she had chased after him like he was some sort of buried treasure only to get neither response nor a return in feelings made her feel a little wary of letting her feelings which had previously been contained to the inner depths of her body resurface. There was just as big a chance, she knew, of him leaving without a trace and only leaving the occasional letter as a reminder to her that he was even still alive.

But Lord, how she wanted him.

"I do recall that you walked away from me after the Mariemaia incident without even a word when we thought we may 'work something out', to quote."

Heero, for once in his lifetime, looked flustered. This was obviously not going according to his critically calculated plan. "I had my reasons."

"Reasons I'll never be told, I'm sure." She smiled politely, very much in the same way she would a complete stranger who she was being introduced to for the first time. "I'm sorry, but I think I'll have to reject your offer Heero. There's only so much I can take before I move on with my life."

Smiling in that crude way again, she began to walk off but his arm caught her wrist. His touch was surprisingly warm; like the fire on the hearth when you come in on a cold day. It had the same soothing texture.

"I know you don't mean that." His voice had taken a sudden husky note to it that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. "You want this almost as much as I do."

"Almost?"

He didn't answer her question but instead looked up at the single branch of mistletoe that hung delicately above the doors. Relena followed his gaze.

"Do you know what people are supposed to do under mistletoe?" He asked innocently though he was sure that Relena could see his real intentions.

"I'm heard rumours," she said dismissively. Then she smiled seductively: a trait that even she didn't know she possessed. "But perhaps you'd like to show me?"

Her heart stopped beating the moment his lips met hers. Gently. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist in a strong yet soft hold. Her hands crept up his back until they rested just below the shoulder blades. Both their eyes closed as they enjoyed the moment that they both knew they'd never have again: that first kiss where they knew they belonged with each other. Her body pressed into his, she could feel his heart beating rapidly and wondered if hers was too, or were they both merely pulsating as one?

Inside, they heard the beating of a drum to signal the beginning of the countdown for another new year. The snow had also began to pick up again and Relena felt a few flakes fall onto her face.

Nine.

His arms wrapped round her waist tighter as if he was afraid any slack would take her from him and she did the same, mimicking his movements.

Eight.

Softly, she pulled away from his kiss and let her head fall against the warmth of his chest: an invisible barrier to the cold.

Seven.

His fingers sifted through the strands of her, skilfully enjoying the softness of the honey blonde luxury without destroying the delicate style that amassed at the stop.

Six.

Relena looked up at him and her baby blue eyes met his strong prussian ones. The emotions that spoke silently between them conveyed a thousand words that they both knew they could never say.

Five.

Goosebumps began to rise onto Relena's bare arms as snowflakes stole the remaining heat that had been insulated within but she didn't care, couldn't care. Heero was here with her and that was all that mattered. To her, anyway.

Four.

Noticing that Relena's sleeveless arms were showing obvious signs of being cold, Heero unwrapped them from his body and held her hands in his, giving her some heat.

Three.

Heero's gaze broke away to the star filled sky with seeming want. The dark veil was speckled by thousands upon thousands of glistening stars that were so beautiful to look at, though not as much as Relena.

Two.

Following on suite, Relena watched the night sky too, wondering what it was that had Heero so entranced. It was captivating, to be sure. She had never taken the time to fully admire its supreme beauty and the nobility of the stars and moon existing together with a regal air of importance.

One.

Fireworks began to light up the sky. Streams of bright blue, glittering green, resonating red and sparkling silver soared across the sky like birds who'd been set free after years of captivity. Relena felt Heero's hand rest against her waist once more. They looked at each other and they both smiled; one shyly and the other with feminine meekness.

"Happy New Year," he said and they kissed again.

jellybean-kitty xx