Disclaimer: I obviously don't own GW or the characters. If I did, I wouldn't still be paying off student loans...

This is my first offering in a long series of one-shots. Foxxy challenged me to do a series based on a random list from my iTunes. She's doing this, too. So expect something from her on this matter at some point. I'll warn you, I have a VERY eclectic taste in music. So there may be some really random things thrown at you.

Here's the premise: We put our iTunes on random and came up with a playlist to work from. I'm not doing the songs in the order they are on the playlist, but rather whatever song inspires me next will be the one I work from. The rule: incorporate the song in some way into the fic. Not exactly a song fic. But use the lyrics or title or some theme from the song in the story. Mine may be loose at times, but I will do my best to incorporate things as best as possible. At the bottom of each chapter will the the song and artist that inspired that chapter. Titles for each chapter may or may not be the song title. It just depends.

Anyways, I'll try to update at least once a week, but no promises. It just depends on when inspiration strikes and how things flow from my mind through to the keyboard. Please read and review. And enjoy! =)

Hands gripped the cold metal, fingers flying briefly over a sequence of keys before pulling back on the throttle. His heart stuttered a moment as his soul tried to rip itself from his chest and take flight.

He always loved that sensation. It made him feel complete. For just a moment in time—a fraction of a second, really—he felt whole. Nothing else existed outside that small world of his.

Nothing but the stars as they raced by.

Blue eyes fluttered closed a moment as he felt momentum carry him forward. When he closed his eyes he could pretend that even the stars weren't there to remind him that he was still bound to that earthly body.

He was well and truly alone. Nothing outside him existed. He needed nothing else.

Only one other made him feel as whole as he did in that moment.

The sense of completeness he felt when he heard that one special voice was different than the way he felt now.

Now he was alone. Complete within himself. There was nothing outside himself.

But with her… With her, he felt more. More complete. More whole. Simply more.

Be it the way she said his name or the look in her eyes when she found him lurking in the shadows, something about her made him feel like more. He was still himself. Rather than alone in his existence, she was there to share it with him.

A small smile played on his lips as he thought of her. Thinking of her always made him smile.

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This was her favorite part of the garden, he knew. The roses were in full bloom and the breeze carried the fresh, floral scent. It was the same scent that was burned in his memory, forever associated with her in his mind. She always smelled of roses when she came in from the garden. In those rare moments he could stand beside her as she continued to fulfill her duty, he relished in that comforting smell. Knowing that whenever she smelled of roses she was at her happiest. And when she was happy, he was happy.

This was the only place she could go and not be in direct line of sight. He'd told her once that she shouldn't sneak off to be alone. It wasn't safe. But she brushed off his concern and continued to seek out the sense of seclusion this particular spot gave her. The path in the garden wound back on itself here, and the hedges created a natural wall. It gave the illusion of privacy, but was still close enough that should something happen…

He pushed that thought from his mind. The war was over and he could live in peace. After all, it was a peace he had helped to create and she was still working to maintain. He had earned the right to enjoy his peace. He simply couldn't help but observe potential threats or escape routes wherever he went. That bit of training and cautious nature would be with him for the rest of his life. Particularly around her. Call it instinct; call it human nature. Something in him pulled at his soul when he was around her. Beyond her role in the continuation of peace, he knew she had to stay safe. He felt driven to protect her.

But he wanted more. He needed more in his life than to simply protect her.

And it wasn't purely physical anymore. He needed more than anything to know that she was safe in mind, body and soul. She deserved the best. And he would give her his best.

Taking a deep breath he continued to watch her from where he stood on the path behind her. It didn't matter how often he saw her. Every time she took his breath away and he had to remind himself to continue breathing when he was around her. He relished moments like this. Observing her when she thought herself to be alone.

She leaned back and her hair shifted in the breeze. His heart skipped a beat as the light played over the cascade of silken honey that fell over the back of the bench.

He could be happy watching her like this for the rest of his existence. But not content. He wanted more and he needed more. He needed her.

His eyes glittered as he crept up behind her. While it sometimes rankled him how easy it was to sneak up on her, some small part of him found pleasure in the fact he could always catch her with her guard down.

"Hey, Pretty."

She spun and stood in one motion, unsteady on her feet for a moment. His hands caught her by the elbows, firmly but gently holding her stable until she regained her footing. Her eyes narrowed in irritation, but softened when the smile she'd been holding back finally broke its way through.

"You know I don't like it when you do that." Her words may have been meant to scold him, but there was no bite to them. There never was when she had that look in her eyes.

He smiled. She hadn't backed away from him this time. Absently, he wondered if she realized it and if not, would she when she did? Before she had the chance to do so, he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. He could swear he felt her heart beating through her chest. So brave in a room of diplomats. Or facing a full room of press hounds. But when he held her like this, she shook. His arms wrapped around her tighter.

When her arms wound around his waist, he relaxed. He had hoped she felt the same, he thought she did. But there had always been that inkling of doubt about it. Until now.

"Come with me."

She nodded.

-----------------------------

The beeping on the vidscreen pulled him from his reverie.

Reluctantly he opened his eyes and frowned at the blinking red light. "Hn." He opened the connection and waited for the signal to connect.

The crease between his brows softened and his frown curled up to a small smile. He should have known. She was the only one who could catch him when he guard was down like that.

Honey colored hair framed her face and her smile nearly sent him over the edge.

Now he was complete. No matter how hard he tried to trick himself. No matter how much he worked convince his mind that the empty solitude of space was all he needed, she proved all that wrong. He was never truly whole without her.

With one word she could shatter his illusion and throw him back to himself in an abrupt and jarring manner. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"Heero."

Song: Chad Kroeger -- Hero (from the Spiderman soundtrack)

Some inspiration came from one line of another song, but I'm saving that song for another story.