This story somewhat follows the Gundam Wing plot line...
However, the characters are older [and not all the same
age and Relena isn't so 'clingy' to Heero. In this story,
she is a stressed, mature young woman. . .

As it is with all the fanfiction I wirte, I've bent the laws
of the Gundam universe. The pilots aren't all the same ages...
Heero, Duo, and Wufei are in their early 20's, and Trowa, Quatre,
and Relena are in their late teens. Also, Final Waltz
didn't even happen here...

Other Notes: This story contains no yaoi!
Angst-laddened waters ahead!


I'm Only Heero Yuy [Pt. 1]
By: Mirakuru Romansu
Disclaimer: You know the drill

"Miss Peacecraft, my sincerest congratulations on your
latest endeavor." Ambassador Rona, a lanky man in
his early 60's bowed his head respectfully as Relena wove
through the dense crowd of party goers.

"Thank you, Ambassador. I hope you are enjoying the
evening and are considering becoming part of the pacifistic
World Nation." Relena replied serenely.

"After the fine speech you gave, how can I say no?
This event marks a significant step in the path to peace.
Your father would have been proud." The Ambassador
commented, smiling.

"Hey, Relena, nice party! The food's delicious!" Duo
pounced from behind like a panther stalking its prey. In one
hand he clutched a napkin stacked high with lucious creme
puffs, and the other hand was wrapped around a crystal
glass Relena suspected was filled with champagne. He
skillfully tossed two of the flaky pasteries into his mouth.
Relena, the girl who rarely smiled, grinned.

"Try the tira misu. It's divine." Composed, Relena
turned to mingle amongst the other guests. The string quartet
anchored near the front of the ballroon caught Relena's
attention, as did the youngest Gundam pilot--Quatre
Raberba Winner. Whispy blonde bangs framed the face of angelic
innocence. Relena waved to Quatre, the concertmaster, as
inconspicously as possible. He returned her gesture with
an exaggerated sweep of his violin bow.

"MmmmmMmm. You're right. This is to die for.." Duo spoke
between bites, making his presence known once again. Relena
nodded shyly. Duo was as outgoing as she was timid, but
as energetic as he was, Duo behaved in public. Usually.
"Yep, time to sit back and soak up the lime light. Eh, Relena?"
Duo winked, rubbing the napkin across his mouth. He held
his chamagne glass out in a mock toast.

"Actually--" The loud explosion of gunfire cut her
sentence short. In a ripple of motion, the crowd erupted
into screams and chaos at the sound of the first bullet
fired. The second bullet struck Duo's glass, throwing
sharp shards of glass into the air in a sparkling trail.
Shielding her face with her slim arms, Relena heard another
shot but felt no pain.

"Duo?!" Mortified, Relena glanced from the crimson
blood trickling in rivulets down the strong bends in Duo's
hand to his startled violet eyes. "What...?" Her own azure
eyes flew to the balchony encircling the ballroom. A
dark-clothed figure blended ino the shadows, but Relena
recognized him instantly. "Heero..." She croaked, close
to fainting. Heero Yuy--the cold mercenary, superior pilot,
and emotionless assassin. Relena trembled violently. Would
he shoot again? No, he lost his chance... "Duo, don't move."
Relena commanded, ripping the royal scarlet sash from her
navy blue gown. Small gloved fingers shaking, Relena
gingerly wrapped Duo's injured hand. Guards poured into the
ballroom, surrounding Relena and scouring the area for the
attempted assassin. Had only a few seconds passed?

"Miss Relena, are you harmed?" Quatre held her elbow
in support, ever the gentleman. Numbly, Relena's gaze
flickered to the spackling of crimson soiling her pure white
gloves. *This could have been mine...I..*. The concerned
voices arround her echoed in her ears, but she only heard a
muffled tidepool of noise. The room spun as if in a musicbox,
summoning a darkness which swallowed her whole.

Relena languidly stretched an arm over her face,
reveling in the warmth the blankets provided.

"Look! She's awake!" Quatre's melodic voice called
out softly from the dimness beyond Relena's bed, startling
her. "Ms. Relena, how are you feeling?" The angelic
young man set his teacup and saucer on the large silver
teacart at his side. Four anxious Gundam pilots sat at
the foot of Relena's bed on fold-away chairs.

"Surprise!" Duo chuckled, smiling. "We're here to
make sure you aren't bothered." He explained.

"Then shoudn't you leave?" Wufei cast a slitted
glance at Duo.

"Hey!" Duo sputtered.

"I feel better." Relena sat up, tucking the edges
of the blankets under her elbows. "Duo, your hand..."

"It looks worse than it feels. Honest. I'm just
a bleeder." Duo winked, his friendly temperment returning.
"The guests went hysterical after you fainted. It was a
mass of necklace-clutching, shreiking, wailing ladies...
And Quatre almost dropped his violin. In fact--"

"Sssscccct!" Quatre hissed between clenched teeth,
silencing Duo's babble. "Miss Relena, would you like a cup
of tea?"

"No thank you."

"The attempted assassin is dead, the guards found
him." Trowa stated bluntly. Relena couldn't decide if she
was more shocked by Trowa's words, or the fact that she
rarely heard the silent pilot speak.

"Trowa!" Quatre wailed in distress. "We were building
up to saying that, remember? You don't just come out and
*say* these things as if your chatting about the weather.
You have to talk gradually to lessen the shock." Quatre
snatched his cup and saucer from the teatray, tipping
the gold-rimmed porcelain to his lips. After taking
a dignified sip, Quatre apologized, "I'm sorry, Miss Relena,
you've already dealt with so many...problems..today."

"It comes with the job." Relena replied, wordlessly
accepting his unessecary apology. "Not everyone wants peace."

"Where's Heero?" Her pulse pounded like a blacksmith's
hammer against an anvil.

"He's practicing his...fencing in his room.
You know, perfecting his parry." Duo shrugged slightly.

"We'll leave you now," Quatre sheparded the other
pilots from their seats, "Goodnight." He inclined his fair
head.

"Night." Wufei offered.

"Bye." Trowa mumbled.

"See ya, Reelee." Duo waved.

"Duo, wait. Can I speak to you for a moment?"
Duo nodded, motioning for the others to leave without
him. "It was Heero. I know it, I saw him. He..He had
a gun and was in the balchony when I was shot at." Relena's
voice was meekly desperate.

"Heero? Relena, I think your imagination is
filling in missing gaps. Empty spaces. It happened so fast,
how can you be sure it was Heero? I'm sure not every
psychopaths look like Heero..only about 95% or so."
Duo joked.

"Oh." Relena replied, defeated.

"G'night." Duo waved his injured hand which was
freshly wrapped in a clean white bandage cloth.

"Night." She echoed, falling back against the
pillows as the door clicked shut. "Heero..." A wisful
sigh escaped her tired lungs. Was Heero who she saw?
Duo didn't have a reason to lie, but unease nibbled
at her thoughts. Her mind drifted to four years ago;
to a boy who came closer to killing her than any other
professional assassin. Heero Yuy... Relena oftened
wondered why he didn't pull the trigger, why he didn't
finish the mission. Tonight, Heero was the sniper again.
Was he completing the mission now? Soldiers weren't
trained to value loce or friendship. Loyalty and a dull
sense of apathy were the only traits of a perfect soldier,
especially Heero. When she was younger and naive, Relena
fell in love with Heero. Heero wasn't capable of of feeling
emotions. Four years ago she set her heart and mind to
helping Heero become more 'human'. Tears, ridicule, and
a thicker mystery built around the enigma were the
results of simply trying to be his friend.

Relena admitted she had been a spoiled child,
her father shielded her from the harsh realities of the
world. Following his death, Relena struggled to firmly
establish her position as Vice Foreign Minister.
It was a title that made her virtually Queen of Earth
and the surrounding colonies. Queen? Relena believed
she was an average 19-yar old girl, but other people
placed her in a category above themselves. To Relena,
she was no better or worse that most 'average' people.
In fact, she envied them. They could marry, have children,
and take vacations...The things that were impossible in
her soverign life. Without her shoulders to support
the heavy burden, the Alliance wouldcrumble to the
ground. Long months of working from dawn until dusk--later
if social gathering were scheduled--left little to
no time for a normal life.

Kicking her feet under the covers and onto the floor,
Relena gently brushed aside a gossamer curtain. She
studied the thousands of luminous stars which glimmered
and sparkled across a mournful ebony sky. A lonely, cresent
moon smiled sadly but , its golden glow was
subtly calming. Relena unlocked the windowed door to her
private balchony. The outside breeze cooled her
skin. Her fingertips touched the cold metal railing,
tracing the whitewashed, curling pattern of iron ivy.
Dizzy, she realized she stood a great distance from the
ground. Relena's arms stretched outward from her sides,
forming a pair of make-believe wings. "Would you catch me
if I fell?" She whispered to the wind, to Heero Yuy. A
single tear slid from the corner of her eye, catching silver
in the moonlight as it dropped into the dark oblivion
below. The dry scratching of bushes rustling broke the
silence, and interupted Relena's sacred, private moment
of weakness. Her voice caught in her throat. "Heero..."
Lurking in the shadows, the figure of Heero Yuy vanished
as Relena took another breath. Like a hunted prey, she
fled to the sanctuary of her room, locking the doors
and reseting the alarm for safe measures. "I don't love
you, Heero. I fear you. More than anything..."




"Heero! Where ya been? Relena saw you...She
saw you in up the balchony when bullets rained from
the sky. She pegs you as the would-be assassin for
some....uh...reason. Maybe it's because you're
prowling around in the middle of the night," Duo
snorted," What? out funeral hopping, or queen-watching?"
Heero, dressed entirely in black, leaned against the
doorframe of his dormroom. "Heero, you saved her life.
I damn nearly had my hand blown off, but without you
Relena would be a goner. The girl you saved blames you
for trying to hurt her. What are you going to do?"

"Get you a smaller glass next time." The soldier
replied dryly.

"Geez, someone has too much innertermoil cooking
on the backburner." Duo coughed sarcastically. "You're
just jealous Relena was bandaging *my* wounds.
She even fainted in my arms." He purposely baited Heero's
temper.

"Goodnight, Duo." Heero replied, disappearing into
his room. Duo shrugged, stretching his feet over the
end of the sitting room sofa. The small, quaintly decorated
room connected to all five of the pilots quarters.

"Heh." Duo grabbed another handful of creme puffs
from the stack on the coffeetable. "Nummy..."


"Ugh, Milliardo, can't you attend this...this...
What is is again?" Relena propped her elbows on the top
of her cheerywood desk, carefully avoiding crinkling any
important documents.

"You are far more charming and patient than I am.
This conference will be a piece of cake. Relena, if you
don't think you can handle it--"

"No! Of course I can do it." Relena grinned at
her older brother. "I'm also sure you have good reasons
for wanting to help Lt. Noin investigate your latest
military assignment. I wonder about you and Noin--"

"Strictly business. Lt. Noin is the only
person qualified to be my second in command..."
Milliardo drummed gloved fingers on the desktop as he
leaned closer to Relena. "Okay?"

"Sir!" Relena saluted, watching Milliardo's
glacier blue eyes narrow in half-hearted sterness.

"I'm fine. Don't apologize again for not
being there to dive in front of the bullets!
It's not everyday there is so mych excitment in the
mansion."

"I hope not!" Milliardo grimaced, straightening
the cuffs of his crisp uniform. "Relena, I should be
the one watching out for your love life, not the other
way around." The 27 year-old General shook his head.

"Love life?! Is that scheduled somewhere between
breakfast and ruling over 85% of the colonies?" Relena
shuffled the stacks of papers cluttering her desk.

"Smoothe move, Sis. I forgot you are act about
30 years older than me..."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Relena muttered.
"Tell the driver I'll be ready to leave in half a hour.
Thanks."



Raindrops pattered against the coal-black limo,
streaking watery trails down the tinted windows. Relena
stared blankly at the blurred scenery passing by.
The engine hummed softly as the driver skillfully guided
the limo on the evenly paved road. Her usual driver
wasn't seated behing the steering wheel. Instead, a
younger man hunched his shoulders and his cap tilted
nearly over his eyes which hid his face.

*He must be shy* Relena smiled to his back. A
thick, soundproof window seperated them, making
conversation possible only through an intercom.
I won't bother him. Some people prefer to be left alone*
Indigo eyes snuck a glimps at her in the rearview mirror.
The tires gritted over the loose stone sideroad leading to
the Peacecraft family runway. A pristine white plane
awaited her arrival. Thr driver pulled to a halt in the
violet and buttercup filled meadow alongside the bland
strip of grey concrete. He unbuckled his seatbelt and
strode fot the trunk of the limo where Relena's luggage
was stored.

Relena unlatched the car door. Tiny droplets of
rain clung to her prim green dress and dampened her
bun of tightly clasped blond hair. The air smelled sweetly
of freshness only found in nature.

"This way." The driver clipped the command.

*You know, there is a thin line between shyness
and plain rudeness.* She made a wry face as he turned his
back to her and started walking toward the plane.
*He's even carrying all of my luggage. I bet it will
offend him if I offered to help* Torn in pondering, Relena
decided to follow wordlessly behind. "Thank you very
much. Such a gloomy morning. Do you think the rain will
clear up?" Comfortably seated, Relena chatted amiably
as the drivr tossed her suitcases into the overhead
compartment. He took the seat beside her.

"It's not a day for sunshine." The deep, husky
voice was unmistakable.

"Heero! What are you doing?!"

"Kidnapping you." His haunting indigo eyes met
her wide azure eyes. As if caught in a trance, neither
person looked away.

"Why? What's your plan? Surely you don't expect
peace to be forgotten if I don't go to this conference.
I'm expected to attend People will notice my absence!"
She stated rationally. "Are you trying to draw attention
to yourself?! Beside, the pilot of the plane--"

"Is working for me. I won't harm you, Relena.
That is all you need to know." Heero replied vaguely.
The plane roared to life, ending the brief conversation.
At his vacantly cool tone, Relena jerked her head so
she faced the windows instead of Heero.

*Still the same Heero. Never cruel, but always
ruthless.* "What do you want with me? Do you want to
toy with me? To play cat and mouse games? Games are for
children, Heero. And we aren't children!" Relena raged,
pounding clenched fists againsts the padded armrests.

"I know." He replied softly. A strong hand capable
of pulling a gun trigger, pioting a gundam, and pressing
a self-destruct button gently traced the outline of her
cheek. His fingers did not move from Relena's flushed
face as she jerked as if he physically struck her.
"This isn't a game, Relena. But you are a toy...A porcelain
doll on a shelf lined by tin soldiers making sure you don't
fall." The phrase held a double meaning. So Heero *was*
outside her window last night.

"Heero...Stop." Relena pushed his hand until the
contace broke. "I don't trust you. In the past you've
threatened to harm me. You couldn't kill me then.
What about now?" Bravely Relena met his intense
speculation. "If you kill me, part of yourself will die
as well. The kind-hearted person you once were is hidden
beneath layers of pain, and anguished memories. You're
afraid of losing the one part of yourself years of battles
and military training couldn't fully erase. This scares
you more than death because your life is empty without
experiencing the sensations mormal people do." Relena
breathed shallow breaths, her heart thudding eratically.

"Don't confuse me with yourself." Heero pursed his
lips.




Meloncholy strains of lamenting violin music filled
the confined space of the dorms and drifted like a ghost
beyond the hallway.

"Good one, Kitty! What is it called?" Duo reclined on
the couch, clasping his good hand behind his head.

"Tempo di Notte... Night Time. I'm almost finished
writing it. " Quatre replied proudly. He plucked the violin
from beneath his chin and tucked the bow under his elbow.
"Did it sound a little offkey to you?" He asked worriedly.

"It was awesome! Sheesh, chill out." Duo yawned.
Nodding, Quatre placed the violin and bow into the black,
red velvet-lined case.

"Perhaps I am a bit apprehensive from last evening's
events." Quatre sighed. Duo understood Quatre's sensitivity
to violence and how the young Arab valued his friends and
family. Duo jumped to his feet.

"How 'bout we pay Relena a visit at her office?
You can apologizea million times, then maybe you'll feel
better. C'mon don't be such a fraidy-Quat."



"Mr. Maxwell, you can't... No! Don't go in there!
Relena-" Ms. Opalin, Relena's secretary, persued Duo and
Quatre. In high heeled shoes, she skitted like a nervous
stork after the pair of pilots.

"Will be *thirlled* to see us!" Duo barged through
the brass nobbed oak doors of Relena's office. "General
Milliardo?!"

"Where is Miss Relena?" Quatre stepped forward.
Milliardo, occupying Relena's chair, was also surprised at
the sudden intrustion.

"Gentlemen, Relena is on vacation is Sweden. She left
early this morning." Milliardo informed.

"Vacation?! She'd better have bodyguards tagging
along...I thought that since we pilots are sort of her
watchers you would've invited us along. Wufei especiallY!
He'll be screaming injustices for a week!" Duo tossed his arms
wildly in the air, imitating the wrath of Wufei. Quatre
stood politely in the wings, waiting for Duo's tantrum to
run out of steam.

"Heero volunteered...Actually, I orderded him to accompany
Relena. It was a brilliant plan. Not even Relena knew about
the trip. I hope she enjoys the change in scenery!" Milliardo
chuckled, grinning smugly.

"What!? Quatre and Duo exclaimed simultaniously.

"Are you COMPLETELY BRAINDEAD!" Dup slammed his palms
dramatically onto the desktop. "Uh..Sir?" He added, respecting
the high-ranking General.

"I was weary that whoever was behind last night's
surprise guest might try something again. Relena is struggling
to make leaps and bounds in bringing peace to the Colonies and
to outerspace. Weapon manufacturers don't like the idea that
they could lose business because people decide to stop fighting.
But don't panic, Duo. Trowa and Wufei went with Relena and Heero.
*Somebody* had to fly the plane..."

Geez. And *nobody* told me! Comforting to know.." Duo
snapped in agitation which protected a wounded ego.

"If all the Gundam pilots left at the same time, it
would have been suspicious. You can-"

"Kitty, we're Sweden bound! Be sure to bring your skis!"
Bouncing enthusiastically, Duo patted an ambushed Quatre on the
back.



"Heero, what is that place?" Relena shivered as a silvery
whisp of frigid wind curled across the snow-covered ground. Heero
draped a thick wool coat over her shoulders as she surveyed the
cinnamon colored chateau nestled snugly on the mountainside.

"Chateau Glace, private winter home to Marquis
Charmichael."

"Of course, he's been kind enough to lend it out for a
holiday."

"Trowa? Wufei? What are you doing here?" Relena blinked.

"Someone had to fly the plane." Suitcase stacked
precariously in his arms, Wufei trudged on the freshly swept
stone path to the chateau.

"Wait a minute, Heero. You kidnapped me to take me on a
vacation? I bet Milliardo is behind this..." Relena fumed.
"Take me home! I don't want to be here."

"Request denied." Heero deadpanned.

"This isn't one of your flyboy missions, Heero." She
jammed a hand on her hip defensively.

"March!" Heero growled fiercely, pointing up the path
to the castle-like chateau.




"Heero kidnapped Relena and I wasn't there to see it.
Urgh! How those two can be in love and not realize it...I swear,
some people are so blind." Duo stewed as he lugged his suitcase
down the hangar corridor.

"Duo, where ya goin?" Black grease smudged Hilde's mechanic
overalls, face, and hands. She plucked a socket wrench from her
toolbelt as she stoped tinkering with a mecha to watch Duo's
amusing struggle with an over-sized, over-stuffed suitcase.

"Top secret info, Hilde. Go fix somethin', will ya?
Don't smile at me like that either." He grunted. *Blind!*

"I'm praying the chateau isn't a smoldering mess of
flaming debris when we get there. You know Heero's knack for
destruction." Quatre slid leather flight goggles over his nose
and adjusted them to his liking. "Flying a plane is almost
the same as piloting a Gundam...Are you listening, Duo?"
He piped.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Do they serve snacks on this
flight?"



Relena cautiously sipped the steaming hot chocolate,
delighting in the the sweet fluffs of mashmallow bobbing on
the surface. Relaxing wasn't so bad, especially when Relena
sank into a comfy reclining chair. He hadn't said a single
word the entire evening. Heero sat on the couch across the
salon; his mug of hot chocolate rested on the endtable, and
his laptop computer stationed on the coffeetable. Whatever he
was working on absorbed his attention, causing him to ignore
Relena's existence. The only light in the cozy room came
from a monsterous fireplace. The fire crackled and hisses as
yellow and orange flames licked the stack of heavy logs in
the hearth. Relena tucked her barefeet under her in a catlike
gesture. Her eyes took in the shadowed corners of the ceiling,
and fell to the eclipsed Heero Yuy. Hunched in front of
the laptop screen, a luminous blue glow tinted his face and
hair. She found his presence almost comforting, but mostly
unsettling.

A loud boom reverberated through the silence of the
chateau. Heero snapped to attention. Wufei and Trowa were
asleep in their respective rooms, so what or who was making
so much noise?

"Stay here..." Heero instructed, closing the laptop.
He rose and stalked to the door. "Please." He added akwardly as
he shut the door behind him. Relena was afraid. But she knew
Heero was able to take care of himself. He didn't run into
trouble, he charged head on!

Small, numerous light fixtures attached lavishly to the
walls, cooridor walls were the only guiding beacons through the
chateau's cloaked, nocturnal dimness. Even as a child Heero
felt no fear of the dark or imaginary creepy cralwies scampering
in the night. Darkness didn't numb his senses, it enhanced them.
He saw with his ears and nose, calling upon an instinctive
intuition to lead him forward like a moth to a flame. Gun poised
to fire, Heero wrapped one arm suffocatingly aroung the intruder's
neck, and he prodded the gunbarrel brusquely against the intruder's
head. The inrtuder yelped like a startled kitten.

"Who are you...what do you want? Tell me, or I'll kill
you right now."

"It's Duo! Let go!" Duo choked, elbowing Heero in the ribs.

"The girlish scream gave you away." Heero smirked at Duo's
snort of annoyance. "I expected you two to show up a long time
ago. Just had to be sure you weren't another bumbling assassin
trying to come for Relena."

"Bumbing is a word for it...Duo knocked over a plaster
statuette after he tripped over a footstool. Oh dear, did we
frighten Miss Relena? Duo suggested that we surprise you."
Quatre shook his head, oblivious to the narrowed glare from Duo.

"Hey! Stop ganging up on me!" Duo shrieked in indignation.

"Shh!" Quatre hissed.

"Heero, bring Quatre and Duo into the salon for some hot
chocolate and cookies." Relena said in a stage whisper, peeping
her head out of the salon and down the hall.


"I told you to stay there, Relena." Heero grated.

"Did you say cookies? I'm simply famished!" Duo beamed.

It was going to be a long night...