Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing
Relena had just finished getting ready for bed when there was a knock at the door. Pagan was waiting on the other side with a large box.
"It's been scanned for explosives, Madam. It's perfectly safe," he said, handing it to her. With a nod, he was gone.
Relena sat on her bed and examined the package. There was no return address. Immediately she was suspicious, but Pagan had assured her that there was no immediate threat, so she indulged her curiosity. Within, she found a small, remote access monitor and a two way radio. She stared at the blank screen puzzled for several minutes, until it flickered to life of its own accord. To her horror, she was looking at grainy image of herself.
Relena spun around, searching for the hidden camera. It must have been secretly lodged in an air vent over her door. As panic set in, her heart started pounding.
Suddenly the radio sprung to life. "Vice Foreign Minister Darlian," an unfamiliar voice spit out. "So nice to be seeing you, like this."
Relena had trouble finding her voice in the moment. She was scared to death, but she reached deep inside herself to find her resolve. "What do you want?" She straightened herself and looked down at the communicator as she addressed the unidentified man.
"Before we give you our demands, we'll show you what is at stake."
"You have me—" she started, until the image on the screen in front of her faded to static, then filtered to a small, messy living room. The apartment in front of her appeared to be someone's bachelor pad, unkempt, without a woman's touch. It was empty, but the clothing and books scattered about seemed familiar. Something pulled at her heart as she tried to remember where she'd seen that stuff before.
She didn't have to wonder, long. Heero Yuy came into view, exiting what appeared to be his bedroom, clad only in a pair of boxers, with a book in hand. Relena couldn't help but admire his black and white features as he settled himself on the couch, engrossed in the words of the author.
She jumped at the sound of her phone ringing. "Answer that," the man said.
Relena picked up her phone, ready for another, uncomfortable surprise. "Hel—?"
At the ear piece of her own phone, she only heard more ringing, in the distance. Relena looked back at the screen confused, to find Heero eying his own phone curiously. She was calling him.
"Relena?" She watched his puzzled face as he answered.
"Heero," she said, stalling.
"Do not tell him, or we'll just kill the Gundam pilot, now. After all, we're holding all the cards."
Relena took an unsteady breath, trying to arrange her thoughts.
"Relena? Is everything okay?"
She sighed, heavily, deciding on her words. "What are you doing?"
The image on the screen looked down at his book, then around his room, as if searching for an answer. "I was just reading. Why?"
"Um," she swallowed. "Can I come over? Later?"
The video of Heero straightened, looking around his apartment, again, focused on the mess. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"No, no," she lied with a weak laugh. "I just want to—talk to someone. You know. In person."
His brow wrinkled. "Okay," he answered hesitantly. "But do you even know where I live?"
Relena stifled a laugh at the image of him immediately picking up the clothes he'd left lying around his barely-livable quarters. "I have the address," she answered, remembering the invasiveness and threat of the enemy camera. "It'll probably be later."
"Okay," he responded, glancing down at the phone in his hand. "I'll see you then?"
"Yeah," she answered quietly, hanging up the phone. She looked down at the relay of a very confused Heero Yuy with tension and concern written all over her features. "Heero," she said to herself.
"Now," the voice return, startling her. "For our demands. It's simple, really."
:::
Relena stood outside his door for what felt like an eternity, trying to regroup. She couldn't let him in on her secret, but she didn't want to go without saying goodbye, either. She sighed, one last time, dropping her head and shaking off the visible anxiety. With a deep breath, she straightened, composing herself. She was a politician. She could bluff. Even to him.
She raised her hand to knock, but the door opened before she made contact. When her light blue eyes met his dark ones, she blushed. "Heero," she said, smiling endearingly.
"Hn," he answered, stepping aside to allow her past.
Relena looked around, amused, at how clean the place had become in only an hour. He really didn't want to her to see it a mess. Remembering the images on the vid screen, she let her eyes wander his furniture and his walls, searching for the hidden camera. She knew the angle, but she couldn't find even a hint of something hidden, here.
Heero was watching her very closely. He couldn't help but notice her overcoat, which didn't reach her fingertip length on her slender thighs, riding up as she lowered herself onto his couch. Before he could yank his eyes away from the smooth, porcelain skin, she was looking back at him.
He fought to steady his breathing as he met her gaze. "Would you like something to drink?"
Relena's face lit up whenever she smiled at him. She gave him a soft, demure nod. "Would you happen to have wine?"
Heero gave her a crooked grin. "No," he answered. "But I have beer." He ended the sentence with an inflection that almost made it sound like a question.
Relena giggled lightly. Beer was not her drink of choice, but she'd accept anything, at a time like this. "That will do," she said.
Heero started to relax as he leaned into the fridge to grab two beers. "Won't you take off your coat?" He asked, before thinking. Almost immediately, he pictured her bare legs, again. He wasn't sure she was wearing anything under it. Heero cleared his throat to cover his mistake, as he stumbled back over the question, in his mind.
When Heero turned to face her, Relena was beet red, and looking panicked. "You know," she laughed. "I was so preoccupied when I came here, I kind of forgot to change into—appropriate clothes." She studied him. He'd trained his face in indifference, but she'd swear she saw his eyes widen, slightly. "I'm not naked," she assured him. "I'm just wearing—a nighty." Her blush deepened, still more.
Heero stood there looking at her with as blank an expression as he could muster, before he released an anxious smile. With her almost naked on his couch, and no one to distract him from his baser instincts, he didn't know how much longer he could pretend he wasn't attracted to her. At least she won't profess her undying love to me, he thought, to alleviate his own tension.
"Well," he said, observing how uncomfortable the heavy coat looked. "You can wrap in that throw, if it makes you more comfortable."
Relena nodded, biting her lip. She stood and turned her back to him, breathing deeply as she removed her coat, one button at a time.
Heero tried desperately to look away, but watching the beige cloth drop away from her body, sliding slowly down her buttocks, thighs and calves, proved too magnetic a sight. His breathing became heavy, against his will, while his eyes focused themselves on the shape of her nearly naked form, under the crimson satin of her outfit. Heero swallowed, forcing himself to physically turn away from her. When she called him, she was sitting on the sofa, with the fleece blanket draped around her waist, covering the soft skin of her long legs, but still revealing the low cut of the lacey top stitching, decorating her cleavage. The satin left little to the imagination, revealing the shape and size of her breasts, as well as her body's natural reaction to the cool parlor air. He may not need a profession of love to give in to his desires, at this rate.
Heero handed her a bottle, setting himself down, opposite her and adjusting and readjusting his position as inconspicuously as possible. "So," he said, swallowing back his reaction to her proximity with a full gulp of the dark, carbonated liquid. "Rough week?"
Relena's eyes seemed to glaze over as her thoughts went somewhere, far away. "You could say so," she answered softly and sadly.
Heero responded to his immediate concern for her, touching her face to bring her back to him. She jumped, nearly as surprised at his affectionate touch as he was.
"Heero, I—" Relena began to stutter. "I—um—I came here for—to tell you—" She bit her lip, visibly angry at herself for stumbling through the conversation. She tried breathing deep to steady herself. "I needed—um—wanted to—uh—tell you—" Relena sighed and looked at her hands in her lap. She was shaking, and there were never going to be enough verbal pauses in the English language to get her through this simple confession.
"Relena," he said, touching her face, again, to reassure her. His voice was deep and Earthy. "You can tell me anything."
Relene looked into his eyes. They were soft, tonight, with a reserved vulnerability he saved only for her. The Prussian blue pools pulled at something deep inside her. He could feel her trembling, but he didn't turn away. Whatever she was afraid of, he would not be.
Her heart screamed for her to tell him the truth, but she couldn't risk it. They had Heero Yuy where they wanted him. They were not bluffing. And she was not risking his life for her own.
"I can't do this, anymore," she spit out, looking down, again. "I—Heero, I—I love you." She looked back up at him, searching his response the confession.
Heero's back stiffened slightly, then relaxed as he assumed she just needed her friend's assurance of loyalty. "I love you, too. You know that."
She shook her head. "Not like that, Heero," she answered with force. "I mean it," she said, looking down to gain momentum. "I love you. I'm in love with you." She swallowed, afraid to see his face. When she turned to him, again, her eyes were filled with tears. "I always have been."
Heero was surprised at the confession. He knew that she cared for him, but this? Now? He suddenly had the sense that he was floating, watching himself respond from a distance. He watched his hands take either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. His thumbs brushed away the tears that had escaped, down her cheeks. He could feel himself shaking, deep inside, but the only outward sign was an intensely perplexed look in his eyes.
"Relena," he whispered. "I—" His eyes dropped behind her, trying to think. He shook his head automatically.
Relena flinched at the vague sign.
It brought his eyes back to her. "Don't be afraid," he finally answered in a hushed tone. Without another thought, his mouth captured hers, his arms reaching around and pulling her into an embrace. "I won't hurt you," he whispered against her lips.
Relena's hot breath came at him, heavy and desperate as she deepened the kiss. She pushed her body against his, shoving him back, against the arm of the couch as she climbed on top of him. His hands moved on their own, gripping the back of her knees helping her straddle him, and ran up the bare skin she was now exposing to the night air. In a sudden rush, Heero realized that this was going to be a long night.
"I love you," he confessed as all other thoughts fled his mind. Now all he had left was their bodies and the pent up passion they'd been denying each other. And a deep appreciation for the half naked woman on top of him.