Christmas Time

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gundam Wing. This story is intended for non-profit use and for Gundam Wing lovers everywhere!

Christmas Time

Relena Dorlian gazed out her bedroom window. Snowflakes fell across the landscape of the Sank Kingdom causing a white blanket to cover everything. It was Christmas; Relena always loved this time of year. It had been exactly one year since the Mariemaya incident, one year since Heero had saved her life again, one year since she'd seen him.

Relena pulled her shawl up around her shoulders to keep herself warm and sighed softly. A knock on her door caught her attention, and her brother came into the room.

"Relena, everyone's here," Milliardo said with a smile. Relena returned her brother's smile.

"Thank you, I'll be right down," she replied. Milliardo let her be, and Relena went to her dresser. She gently brushed her hair as she gazed at herself in the mirror. All of their friends had been invited to a big Christmas party at their family mansion, and no one turned them down. That is, accept maybe one, Relena had tried to send Heero an invitation, but no one could find him.

Relena felt her eyes watering and quickly suppressed the tears that wanted to fall. No, she wouldn't cry- not when it was Christmas. She managed to pull herself together and put a smile on her face.

Relena came downstairs just as a familiar pair came in the front door.

"Hey Relena!" Duo said happily. Relena smiled at the former pilot of Deathscythe. Duo always could make her smile.

"Hello Duo," she said and gave him a hug. "Where's Hilde?" Relena asked, noting that Duo's wife was nowhere to be seen.

"Right here," a cheery voice said as she popped up behind Duo. "Sorry, he made me carry in the food for him!" she fumed.

"Hey babe, I asked you if you wanted some help, and you told me no," Duo said in his own defense.

"You two never change," Relena laughed. She left the squabbling pair and headed into the living room.

Quatre was sitting on the couch with Dorothy sitting next to him. She whispered something in his ear, and Quatre flushed slightly drawing a giggle from his fiancé.

Trowa was looking out the window at the snow falling, and Catherine was standing next to him with her head on his shoulder.

Next came Wu Fei and Sally who were standing at the buffet table arguing about absolutely nothing. Relena grinned at the couples; some things would never change!

Relena walked into the kitchen, wanting to help Noin with the food for the evening. She froze just as she entered the door.

"Stop it!" Noin squealed and slapped her husband's prying hands.

"What for? You like it when I do that," Milliardo teased. Noin was trying to fix dinner for everyone, but Milliardo had distracted her by wrapping his arms around her waist and gently nibbling on her earlobe. His hands gently moved around her body, and Noin could feels her cheeks flushing.

"Zechs, I swear, if you don't stop it this minute, I'll hmmph…" Noin was shut-up as Milliardo kissed her long and hard. He turned her around, and Noin wound her arms around his neck. It lasted for no less than two minutes, and Relena was worried that they'd need oxygen equipment for the two of them.

"There, that's Christmas present number one," Milliardo laughed as he released his breathless wife. Noin slapped him gently on the cheek.

"Milliardo, you're impossible!" she said with a playful smile. Milliardo decided to add another present to the last one.

"Ahem!" Relena said as she cleared her throat. She received two blushing faces, and a look from her brother that simply said, 'You couldn't have waited another five minutes'. Relena chuckled at the two of them, and Milliardo moved away from his wife.

"All right, go entertain the guests, and let us finish in here!" Noin ordered.

"Why?" Milliardo asked with a grin. Relena came up behind him.

"You heard her, big brother; now OUT!" she shouted and shoved her brother out the kitchen door.

Noin had turned out a feast for everyone. Two massive turkeys sat on each end of the long table, along with potatoes, every vegetable you could think of, and to top it all off, a massive dessert table. There was entirely too much food to feed this small of a group, but everyone knew how much Duo could eat, so Noin decided to be on the safe side.

Dinner was excellent, and everyone sat back full and content- even Duo.

"Now, that was good!" he said with a smile.

"Have room for dessert?" Hilde asked him. Duo perked up immediately.

"Always, babe, always," he said with a greedy look on his face. Hilde just rolled her eyes at him.

Relena excused herself as everyone dug into the vast arrays of cakes and pies.

Milliardo went to stand up, but Noin took his hand and shook her head. She gave him a look that simply said, 'Let her go'.

Relena walked out onto one of the balconies and gazed out over the night sky. Snowflakes fell around her while others caught in her hair, and the red, cashmere sweater she had on. She thought about her friends inside, and how happy they were together. Each of them had found someone. Despite all the battles, all the bloodshed, and all the pain, each of them had found someone to love- including herself. The only problem was that the person she wanted wasn't here with her now.

"Heero…" she murmured softly. He'd done so much for her, yet he wouldn't let her get close to him. It was like something was blocking his ability to be human. As Relena felt her eyes water, she silently asked herself if she was willing to wait him. Would she wait for him? Would she sacrifice her heart and soul on a chance that he 'might' come back to her? Would she turn down others for the simple hope that Heero might want her?

Relena let her mind drift back to that fateful moment before Heero had gone to fight Milliardo and the White Fang. He'd held her close to him, and for just a few seconds, let his humanity come back into his eyes. He'd looked at her with such gentleness and compassion…and dare she say it, love?

Relena contemplated the risks of waiting for Heero over letting him go forever. She answered her questions with a resounding 'yes'. Yes, she would wait for him as long as he needed; she would wait for him even if he never came back. She simply loved him too much to let him go; even if his chances of coming back were less than one percent, she would wait.

A single tear was forcing itself from her eyes…

Suddenly, she felt someone put a coat around her shoulders and assumed that it was Milliardo.

"Thank you," Relena said softly, hoping that her brother wouldn't see her tears.

A hand brushed across her cheek and wiped away her falling tear. Relena felt her heart stop. That touch, it felt so familiar…so warm; it was the touch that always made Relena tingle.

"You'll catch a cold if you stay out here," a deep voice bellowed. Relena spun around, and her eyes lit up with joy at the person behind her.

His wild hair fell over his face hiding it slightly from view, and his eyes were as intense as they'd ever been. His dark, blue sweater looked made for him, and Relena felt warmth rising in her chest. She couldn't help it and leaned against his strong frame, letting her head fall on his chest.

"Oh Heero…" she sighed happily.

Heero stiffened at her change of location, but he relaxed and let Relena snuggle against him. One of his arms wrapped around her back to keep her warm, while his other hand came up to gentle stroke her long, blond hair.

"Relena…" he said against her hair. There was something so beautiful about the way he said her name. She could hear the gentleness in his voice, and the kindness it held.

Relena lifted her head, and Heero lowered his hand to her cheek.

"I missed you," she said softly.

"I missed you too," he replied with a stroke of her cheek. Relena tingled as she felt Heero lay a single kiss on her forehead; his gentlest touch sent lightning through her body. Heero placed gentle kisses along her temple leading down the side of her face. He kissed her cheek, and Relena let out a soft moan.

"Heero, I…" she was cut off as his lips claimed hers in a sweet kiss. A moan of contentment escaped the back of her throat, and Relena threw her arms around his neck.

"I love you, Heero…I love you so much…" she said against his lips. Heero gave her a genuine smile.

"I know, Relena, I know you do," he replied just before his lips claimed hers again.

"Oh Heero…" Relena moaned softly as she felt his lips placed tender kisses on her cheeks and neck. Heero gently nuzzled her neck near her ear.

"Relena, never doubt that I care about you; you are the most important person in the world to me. Saying I love you isn't enough to say what you are to me," he whispered in her ear. Relena's heart nearly stopped. She pulled his face up until she was eye to eye with him.

"Heero, please, if you tell me, that's all I need to hear ever again," she said breathlessly. Heero cupped her face in his hands.

"I love you…I love you…I love you…I love you…" he accented each one with a kiss to her lips. After the fourth time, he didn't pull away, and Relena didn't mind one bit.

What seemed like hours later, Heero let her mouth leave his. His arms wrapped around her, and Relena purred at how warm she felt in his arms.

"I didn't think anything short of a miracle would bring you back to me," Relena said softly.

"Christmas is the time for miracles, my Relena," Heero replied. 'My Relena'. There was something so right about hearing him saying that to her.

"I love you, Heero Yuy," Relena said once again. She'd say it for the rest of her life.

"Merry Christmas, Relena," Heero said with a smile.

"Merry Christmas, my love," Relena replied with all her heart.

To everyone who reads this, a Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.