Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own GW or the characters. Don't sue
Pink Petals and Crying Clowns
By: NemKess
The young woman walked quietly through the crowded streets, a knapsack on her back and tears in her eyes. For the first time in her life, she was just another face in the crowd; another runaway trying to make it on the streets. Cold eyes and cruel words had driven her to this. She wanted a real life where people loved her for herself and not what she represented. Pulling the battered jacket closer to her body, she shivered. Perhaps winter was not the best time of year to leave, she thought sleepily. Finding an empty corner in an ally crowded with other homeless people, she sat down, put her head on her knees and fell asleep.
3 days later
"I'm sorry, Heero. I haven't seen her." A pause. "Yes, I'll call you if I do." Another pause. "Ok. Goodbye." Catharine Bloom watched as her brother hung up the phone.
"Who's missing?" she asked.
"Relena Peacecraft walked out of her home a few days ago and no one's seen or heard from her since." His brow knitted with concern. The phone rang again. "Hello?" after a few moments silence, "It's Quatra." Unable to witness the happy glow on his sister's face, he stood up. "I'm going for a walk, sis." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and left.
It had begun to snow earlier that afternoon. Trowa walked a ways before stopping and lifting his face to the sky with his eyes closed.
It seemed that God had a twisted sense of humor. There were two people in this world that he loved; one as family and one as… more. It seemed cruel that they would fall in love with each other.
With a sigh, he started walking away from the circus and towards the city.
How can I be hot and cold at the same time? Everything is so fuzzy. Hee..
Trowa was walking through the poorer side of town when he noticed a commotion on the side of the street. A pair of old bag ladies were trying to get people to stop. As he drew nearer, one approached him.
"Please, she's very sick. She needs a doctor." Though a bit wary, he allowed himself to be pulled into the ally. There were a number of others gathered around a blanket covered form. The lady shooed them away and pushed Trowa towards the sick one.
As he pulled the blankets aside to reveal the girl's face, he felt his heart stop.
"Oh God!"
Relena opened feverish eyes when she felt herself being lifted. For a moment, cobalt blue eyes stared down at her filled with concern.
"Relena?" The voice was definitely not Heero's, but still, it was vaguely familiar. Slowly the blue faded into green. "Relena, it's Trowa. Do you remember me?" She tried to concentrate on what he was saying, Trowa? Yes, I think I remember a Trowa.
"Trowa?.." She was barely able to force the words from her swollen throat.
"Don't worry Relena, you'll be back home in no time at all." Though she knew he was trying to reassure her, she felt panic even stronger.
"No.. Please.. No.. Not back, anywhere.. but back" To her, it sounded like she was screaming, but in truth, Trowa had to lean his head closer to hear the words. "Not back." Relena once again fell into the blackness.
"Sweet Jesus!" Catharine cried as she spotted Trowa's burden. "What happened?"
"She's sick." He stated simply. Catharine growled in annoyance.
"Yes, well, I can see that. Where did you find her at?" She picked up the phone and began to dial the number Trowa had listed for Heero. She glanced up in surprise when her brother reached over her shoulder and hung the phone back up. "but you promised Heero?!"
Trowa just looked at her before going back to his bed, where he'd left Relena. "She doesn't want to go back." He could still remember the absolute anguish in her eyes.
Taking a bowl down and filling it with water, he began to bathe her, hoping to draw out some of the heat. Catharine moved him aside.
"If you're trying to help her, it might help if we took off these clothes, they're soaked and nearly frozen." She sighed in resignation. "I don't want to be the one to explain to your friend that we let her die of pneumonia." Trowa just smiled a small smile and helped her remove Relena's outer clothing. "All right, get out of here, I'll do the rest."
"Well, you'll live." Cathy pronounced. Relena smiled weakly up at her. They'd become friends during her illness. The older girl helped her sit up. Although much better, she was still very weak.
"Thank you for your trouble, Cathy."
"It's no trouble. I was glad to be of help. I'll go tell Trowa-"
At that moment, the person in question popped his head into the trailer. "Tell me what?" he asked coming all the way in once he was assured that both girls were decent.
"I was just going to go tell you that she's well. In a few days, she'll be able to get up and about again." She moved over to the table and was about pick her knitting back up when Trowa touched her arm.
"You have a visitor." A voice rang out from outside.
"Cathy!" She got a big grin and moved around her brother to go outside where Quatra was waiting for her. They hadn't seen each other since Trowa had brought Relena in.
"You don't have to stay with me, you know. You can go visit with Quatra if you like." Relena said as she noticed the sad look on his face.
"No," he replied without inflection. "They need time alone." He moved to sit next to the cot she was laying in. "Besides, you don't really want to be alone."
Though Relena didn't know what was going on exactly, she recognized the look in his eyes. It was the same look she saw whenever she looked in a mirror, thinking about Heero. Without a word, she reached out and took his hand in hers, squeezing gently. He looked up in surprise. After staring into her eyes for a moment, understanding dawned, and he squeezed back. They sat like that for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, with a new sympathy for the other.
"Trowa!" He looked up from feeding the lions to see Relena walking towards him. She'd been up and around for several days now. He smiled a bit as he thought of her demands that she was perfectly fine and able to get out of bed. It was the first time in the month that she'd been with them, that she actually sounded like the petulant princess everyone considered her. But he had to admit, even he would have gotten a little cranky doing nothing but sitting in bed all day for so long.
"What can I do for you, Lena?" he asked, using the nickname Cathy had given her.
"You can give me something to do!" she exclaimed. "I'm bored to death. Cathy won't let me touch anything in the house, she said to come find you. She said quote 'Trowa will put you to work' end quote." She gave him the biggest most mournful puppy dog eyes she could muster. "Pretty, pretty please?"
He chuckled lightly. "Come on, you can help me clean the grounds." In the circus, all the troupe took turns cleaning up the littered area so that no one person got stuck with it all the time. Though he half expected her to protest, the others had not exactly given him the best impression of the girl, her face brightened considerably.
"Great! Let's go." He couldn't help but laugh out loud when she grabbed his arm and began dragging him in the direction of the main big top tent.
From the trailer, Catherine heard the laugh and looked outside. She smiled happily at the sight. She knew very well that Trowa loved Quatra and given the choice, she certainly would never have hurt him, but as everyone knew (NK: except for maybe Heero) people had no control over who they loved and who they didn't. It was, however, a rare thing to have that person love you back.
The last time Quatra had been by, she'd asked him about Relena, doing her best to get information without revealing that she knew the girl's whereabouts.
'Quatra, when Heero called here looking for Relena, Trowa was puzzled as to why he would care. How come?'
'Well, the long and short of it is that even though everyone knows Miss Relena loves Heero, it's also a well known fact that he's almost killed her, intentionally, on a number of occasions.'
'So he doesn't love her back?'
'I think it's more complicated than that. She represents the peace that we all fought so hard for. I think he may love her for that, it's hard to really know what goes on in his head. He's as quiet as Trowa.'
Two people in love with someone who doesn't love them back, how sad, Cathy thought. At least they seemed to have found a friend in each other. I guess it takes one person in pain to understand another in the same position.
Heero Yuy sat quietly at his computer, still looking for a trace of Relena. Though there was no change in his expression from his normal 'I couldn't care less' face, inside he was in turmoil. She'd been missing for two months now and no one was any closer to finding her than they had been when she'd first left. Most people couldn't even understand why she'd left, but he knew.
"Relena," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
"Are you sure about this Relena? If you jerk, she'll cut you." They were getting ready to practice with Catherine (NK: take a wild guess as to WHAT they're practicing.) When Relena gave him a determined look, he sighed and started to back away.
"Don't worry Trowa," she said in a reassuring tone. "You have no idea how many times I've stared down the barrel of a gun at people who were actually TRYING to hurt me."
Catherine let the daggers fly, one by one. True to her word, Relena did not flinch. She did however close her eyes when one got particularly close to her face. "Not bad, Lena. Not bad at all."
"Yeah, but you got too close on that last one, Cathy." Cathy just stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Still, at least you didn't hit her, like you did me."
Relena just glanced back and forth between the siblings as they began a good natured argument, Cathy doing most of the talking. It was obvious to her that they loved one another very much. Does anyone love me like that?
Trowa and Relena were sitting side by side, backs against a large oak, staring out at a lake. Over the past several months, they'd become good friends, so the silence between them was not uncomfortable. The former princess now mucked animal cages for a living. She also stood in the center ring and let Cathy throw daggers at her so that Trowa could devote more of his time to the lion acts. The days were long and tiring; they moved from city to city, never staying in one spot for very long. Relena had never been happier in her life. She turned a questioning look at Trowa as he moved so that he could look at her.
"You know that if you ever want to talk about it, I will listen," he stated. When she nodded, he lapsed back into silence. She turned it all over in her head. Not once had he or his sister questioned her in all the time she'd been here. Both were always understanding when she went through short periods of retrospect and sadness. They never asked for more than she was willing to give. Even in this, the question that he had to have been pondering since he'd first received word of her disappearance, he just offered a shoulder if she needed it.
She decided to take advantage of that shoulder. She turned to look back out at the lake and sighed softly.
"Do you ever feel like there's no one in the universe who loves you?" she asked quietly.
A look of disbelief entered his eyes. "Relena, you are loved by most of the planet and the colonies."
"No I'm not. The Princess of Peace is loved by millions. It wouldn't matter who was in the position." Unbidden, those last words of Heero's, the ones that had convinced her to leave, came to her mind. You don't matter any more than I do Relena. Anyone could do your job and probably better. As long as the people have their Princess of Peace, everyone is happy. You are only a symbol to me. You will never be anything more.
"Where did you get that idea?"
"Heero told me." As the tears began to fall from her eyes, Trowa wrapped his arms around her and pressed her face to his chest. She sobbed roughly. "He.. said I'd never.. be anything but .. a symbol for peace."
Trowa closed his eyes and rubbed soothing circles on her trembling back. He silently berated Heero for his lack of tact. Though he doubted that the former wing zero pilot had meant it the way she had obviously taken it, Heero of all people should've known to be more gentle with her sensitive emotions. Women are so easily hurt, he remembered telling Wufei.
When her tears had slowed and she could speak clearly again, she told him of her life; years of being Darlian's daughter surrounded by shallow people who wanted to be able to say they were an acquaintance of someone so rich and prestigious. She told him of meeting Heero and the changes he'd brought into her life, not the least of which was someone who finally didn't care who she was. The details of her father's death and the utter chaos his revelations had turned her life to as well as the discovery that she had a brother poured out. It was like a dam had been broken inside her, she could hold nothing back, nor did she want to. It was a cleansing of her very soul. She told him of the painful decision to surrender her country and become Romerfeller's figurehead, the pain in her heart when her brother let Dorothy lock her up on Libra, the loneliness of being the vice-foreign minister, the anguish that Heero's insinuation had brought to her heart.
"But here," she began, arching her head back to look at him, smiling once again. "Here I feel needed. I feel loved. You and Cathy have both been very good to me."
He returned her smile. "I'm glad." He said simply.
Relena rested her head back on his chest. She knew that he, like her, needed the cleansing that unburdening oneself could bring, but didn't want to push for what he didn't want to share. "You know that the same offer is always open to you, right?"
He tightened his hold reflexively, but sighed and nodded his head. "Yes." He sighed again. "You've probably figured most of it out anyway." He paused, staring up at the sky briefly before resting his cheek on the top of her head. "I grew up lonely, like you, sort of. For as long as I could remember, I was just a nameless no account. It didn't exactly lead to very many meaningful relationships with other people." He was silent again, searching for the best way to continue with as few words as possible. "Then after we landed on Earth with the gundams, I met Catherine and Quatra. We didn't know of our relation then, but she always seemed special in some way, like I'd known her before, like she was important to me. With Quatra, I don't know. Maybe he was just the first person besides Cathy to show me kindness. Once I got to know him, I fell in love. He fell in love with Catherine. I know she tried to avoid him so that she wouldn't hurt me, but she couldn't ignore her feelings. I love them enough to want them to be happy."
His hand brushed against her cheek and he felt new dampness. He tilted her head up. The sorrow in her eyes was no longer for herself, but for him.
"Do you think you'll ever fall in love again?" she asked.
"I don't know. Anything is possible, I suppose. And you?"
"I don't think I like being in love very much."
The next day, Quatra came to visit Cathy. He was whistling happily, lightly tapping the flowers he held against his thigh, when he heard laughter ring out across the circus ground. Not just any laughter either- Trowa's laughter. It was coming from the direction of the lion cages. As he rounded the bend, he couldn't help gaping in surprise. There in a cleared area, not far from the cages, Trowa, Cathy, and Relena?!? were playing a spirited game of tag. He could only watch disbelievingly as the girls decided to gang up on Trowa. Cathy caught his legs, while Relena jumped at his chest. They fell in a mass of giggling bodies. As he drew closer, Cathy managed to detangle herself, but the missing princess just stayed sitting straddled over the fallen young man's chest.
"We won, We won, We won!!!" She chanted loudly waving her fists in the air, Cathy joining in. Her voice died when she spied Quatra approaching them. She paled and looked ready to either bolt or faint, he wasn't sure which. Trowa sat up, causing Relena to slip to a rather compromising looking position on his lap. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"Someone was bound to find out sooner or later, Lena." Quatra just grew more confused. Lena?!? Feeling as if he had just stepped into the Twilight Zone, he dropped down next to Cathy, hard, and winced at the pain.
Catherine just gestured for her brother to take Relena away. When Quatra made to get up and follow, she held him back.
"I'll explain what I know, sweetheart, but please, don't interrupt til I'm done."
"They'll take me back." Trowa just watched as Lena made another circuit around the cramped trailer. She'd been pacing for the last 15 minutes as they waited for Cathy and Quatra. When she got back around to where he was sitting, she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around his waist, her face against his side. "I don't want to go back. I won't. They can't make me." She was crying.
"It'll be ok. I'm sure Quatra will understand. At the very least, he'll listen to Cathy." He replied as he stroked her hair.
That's how the other two found them a half hour later. Trowa opened his eyes when they walked in. He nudged Relena awake. She blinked sleepily before her gaze settled on Quatra.
"Are you going to tell them where I am?"
"No. But-" he added when she smiled at him. "Under one condition. You call your brother and let him know you're alive. You don't have to tell him where you are, but he's been worrying himself sick." She squealed in delight, jumping up and giving him a hard hug. He sighed and shook his head. "I hope I don't regret this."
It was only as he situated himself for bed later that night, that Trowa realized that watching his sister and Quatra together hadn't bothered him at all. Maybe time really does heal all wounds.
Six months, she's been gone six months. Heero was working at his desk in the Preventer's headquarters when Zechs yelled at him from an inner office.
"Yuy, get in here. Now!" Obediently, he put away the stuff he was working on and went to the office. Zechs and Noin were talking excitedly. When they noticed his arrival, Noin motioned for him to sit.
"We just received this in today's mail." Using a remote, she turned on a view screen. Relena's face appeared. "We want you to help us use this to find her."
The screen came alive as she pressed play.
'Brother, I am sending you this message to let you know that I am alive and well. I'm sorry if I've caused you or the people any undue stress, but I truly feel that my leaving was for the best. I realize that I should have let you know I was ok earlier. The Princess of Peace is dead to the world. I suggest that instead, you, Milliardo, be their Prince of Peace. I love you, but I am happier now. Please just leave well enough alone. Rest assured that you will be notified if anything happens to me. Know that you are all always in my heart.' The message ended, but Noin left the final frame on the screen. Though his face revealed nothing, inside his heart sagged with relief. She's ok.
"Let me take this home with me tonight. I'll see what I can come up with."
"We're going on a picnic," Cathy announced. Relena and Trowa agreed. They'd been working hard all week for sold out audiences. There was only today to rest before they moved onto the next city.
The girls chatted excitedly as the trio made their way down to a river near the circus camp. They had been considering changing the act, making it a little more dangerous. Now was a good time to iron out details.
"There's always a chance I'll accidentally miss the actual target and hit you, you know." Catherine warned. "Hitting a moving target is always a little more difficult than hitting a stationary one.
Trowa spoke up. "If you hit anything vital, you have to be the one to tell her brother."
Cathy got a decidedly nauseous look on her face at that, but Relena just laughed.
"Don't worry, Cat. I trust you."
When they found a spot that looked comfortable, she spread out the blanket they'd brought. Trowa put down the basket of food that his sister had prepared. While Relena had certainly come a long way, she still wasn't much of a cook. They decided to go swimming before they ate. Watching her friends try to outdo each other in water acrobatics, Lena just paddled around a bit. She really wasn't much of a swimmer either, even though she loved the water. After several hours they decided to get out, mostly due to the fact that they were all starting to look like prunes.
They ate in companionable silence. When she was done eating, Cathy stretched out to take a nap. It wasn't long before Relena did the same. Trowa contented himself with leaning against a tree that was next to their blanket and watching them sleep. As it became obvious that the sleeping girl couldn't find a comfortable position, he gently pulled Lena over and let her rest her head on his thigh. She snuggled close, breathed a sigh of relief, and finally slipped into a deeper sleep.
Relena awoke slowly. For once, her dreams had been completely devoid of Heero Yuy. Instead, they'd been filled with visions of Trowa. She blushed lightly when she realized that she'd been sleeping with her head pillowed on his thigh. Turning a bit, she looked up into his face. His eyes were closed and his own breathing was deep and even.
He looks so precious in sleep, she thought. Slowly, not wanting to wake him, she lifted a hand to caress his cheek. She'd barely grazed him when his eyes opened. Embarrassed, she started to drop her hand. He caught it and turned his head to kiss the palm gently. Electricity sizzled down her arm causing her breath to catch.
"I'm not Heero Yuy," he stated quietly as he pulled her into a sitting position, her face inches from his own.
"I'm not Quatra Winner," she replied. With a nod of acceptance to this, he leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft kiss. He pulled back, looking into her eyes for, for what? For a hint that she was picturing someone else, he supposed. She noticed and sought to reassure him.
"I've never been kissed before." She paused briefly then smiled mischievously at him. "I liked it."
With an answering smile of his own, he pulled her closer and they kissed again, longer and with more fervor.
Cathy woke up and turned to ask Trowa what time it was but stopped at the sight she was greeted with. Not only were they locked in a rather passionate looking embrace, neither had noticed that she'd woken up. In fact, unless she missed her guess, nothing short of an explosion right next to them was going to get their attention. Smiling softly, she lay back down. I'll just wait for them to finish.
Over the next several weeks, their relationship progressed slowly. While neither could deny the feelings that drew them together, both were afraid to get too close, too fast and ruin the friendship that they had.
Still, it had become fairly common to see them walking around holding hands or cuddling near the lions.
Heero sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing the back of his neck. They'd picked the video apart and come up with nothing. The only thing he could figure out for sure was that she was somewhere on Earth. Considering its size, that really wasn't much help.
"Hey, Quatra," he called, spying the blonde Arabian walking towards Miss Noin's office. Rather than answer, the young man picked up his pace and disappeared through the door. Heero frowned. For some reason Quatra had been avoiding him for the last several weeks.
Quatra sagged with relief that he'd made to the office before the other man had caught him. It was all he could do to keep from blurting out the truth whenever they spoke to one another. The others might not notice the sadness in Heero's eyes, but he saw it. The promise he'd made Relena was getting harder and harder to keep. I knew I was going to regret it.
The circus arrived in New Port City in the Sanq Kingdom. Though supremely nervous due to the increased possibility of being recognized, Relena was determined not to let it prevent them from doing their act. Being tied to a rotating wooden wheel with Cathy throwing knives at her had become one of her favorite amusements, not to mention the fact that it was a big hit with audiences.
"Are you sure you don't want to go see your brother," Trowa asked as he slipped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him and rested her own hands atop of his.
"They would just try to make me stay." She sighed softly before turning in his arms so that she could look at him. He leaned down to kiss her lightly.
Duo, Hilde, Quatra, and Sally dragging a reluctant Wufei arrived at the circus to visit Cathy and Trowa. Quatra said a silent prayer that Relena would either be otherwise occupied or see them coming and stay out of sight. Though he hadn't intended to bring anyone, Duo had overheard him telling Miss Noin where he was going. The next thing he knew, the cheerful Preventer had gathered up the others and was announcing that they were coming with him. Once Duo was set on a course of action, little short of divine intervention could alter it.
Luckily, he found Cathy by herself sitting outside their trailer, sharpening her knives.
"Cathy!" he called. She looked up with a smile on her face. Though the smile never wavered, he caught the question in her eyes when she noticed his entourage. He gave a helpless shrug. I couldn't stop them, his eyes seemed to say.
"Yo, Catherine. Where's Tro-man?" Duo asked.
"Umm.. Well, he went to feed the lions." The words were hardly out of her mouth before he'd turned and led the others in that direction. She looked at Quatra. "We've got to try and get there before them. Lena's probably with him." They took a shortcut and began running.
In the end, both groups got to the pair at the same time. Duo and the others could only stare in shock. Not only was Relena with Trowa, they were definitely in one of their more compromising embraces. When Quatra cleared his throat discreetly, they broke apart slowly.
Turning to look and see who had caught them, Relena suddenly wished she could sink into the floor and disappear. Trowa was a bit more logical.
"Guess you'll be seeing your brother after all."
After a brief explanation, and Quatra's confession to having known where she was, the others departed. All but Duo had promised not to tell anyone. Duo's reply had been simple.
"I won't volunteer any information, but if someone asks me, I'm not gonna lie." Relena had to be content with that. Still, as she watched them leave, she had a very bad feeling in her stomach. Somehow, she just knew someone was going to ask Duo.
As it turned out, it wasn't Duo who spilled the beans. Heero had finally managed to corner Quatra. Faced with the most intimidating glare that had ever been turned in his direction, coupled with the ever-present sadness, he couldn't help himself. He told Heero where he could find the missing princess.
Heero couldn't understand it. It seemed that both Quatra and Trowa had blatantly lied to them all. And Relena? Living in a circus? First he had to tell Zechs that his sister was in town. Then I'll deal with you, Relena.
Trowa was the only one to notice Heero standing in the shadows, waiting for their performance to end. Not wanting to alarm Relena, he kept it to himself. After all, she'd find out soon enough. It had always been his belief that Heero truly loved the girl and just didn't know how to deal with it. He sighed to himself. There would be a reckoning but it was one that was needed. Despite the fact that neither had openly announced that they were in love, he was confident that that was exactly what it was. He was also aware of the fact that part of her would always belong to Heero, just as part of him would always remain Quatra's. First loves were never left behind. They did however, help you appreciate new ones.
The two of them could never move forward until they both confronted the past.
Relena curtsied on one side of Trowa, Cathy on the other. She felt a thrill go through her. There was nothing in the world that felt like this she decided. It was something of a rush to do dangerous acts in front of the large crowds. She chuckled softly. The only thing better was the feeling she got in Trowa's arms.
The trio made their way out of the ring, Trowa doing some flips and spins. One of the other clowns gave them bottles of water and high fives.
"Great job, guys."
"Relena." She stiffened at the sound of a voice that she hadn't heard in nearly a year. Though she wanted nothing more than to turn and run, she couldn't. Even if her own conscience wasn't enough to keep her there, Trowa's grasp on her elbow was.
"You have to face him sometime." He whispered in her ear. Heero's eyes narrowed at the implied intimacy. "You deal with him, I'll go settle things with Quatra. Then we'll go from there."
When she nodded her understanding, he let her go and gently pushed her in the other man's direction. With a last soft smile, he turned and went to finish his own business.
Relena watched him leave. Though she had misgivings, she knew he was right. It was unfair to him that they continue forging a relationship when the past remained unsettled. With a sigh she turned.
"Heero." Indicating that he should follow, she walked out of the tent, towards their trailer. The first thing she had to do was get out of this costume.
Quatra and Cathy turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. Trowa, still in his clown costume but without the mask, stepped from the shadows.
"Cathy, may I speak to Quatra for a moment?" she nodded and slipped away silently.
The two men stared at each other for a moment. Quatra broke the silence.
"You love her, don't you?" he asked. His companion didn't have to ask who he was referring to. He nodded his head. "I'm sorry I told Heero where she was. I just couldn't stand-"
"Don't worry about it Quatra." The blonde looked up in surprise. "She needs to come to terms with her feelings for him."
"Aren't you worried at all that she'll decide to go with him. I know he acts like he doesn't care, but I think he does, probably more than he realizes."
"We understand one another. I know that part of her will always love him and I accept that. On the other hand, she realizes that part of me will always love you." Quatra's eyes widened. Though he'd once suspected that Trowa had feelings for him, neither of them had ever spoken of it. "Despite that, I truly believe that we've both moved on. I don't think she really believes that."
They sat down to wait.
"What are you doing here?" Heero asked as soon as Relena came back in from the bedroom. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that proclaimed in big red letters HE WHO LAUGHS LAST, THINKS SLOWEST. She took a seat opposite him and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly.
"Being more than a symbol," she replied somewhat sullenly. He sighed in exasperation.
"Relena, please. People are worried about you. You don't just up and vanish without a trace. It's irresponsible."
"Maybe I was tired of being responsible. Maybe I was tired of being treated like a pariah." She paused. "Maybe I just wanted to find a place where people could look and see the real me, and still love me for it."
"Relena, people do love you. I didn't mean what I said. The things you make me feel sometimes cause me to say and do things that don't always reflect what I'm really thinking."
Relena blinked feeling a bit confused. "If you're trying to say you care for me, you're not doing a very good job."
He growled at her. "You know I love you. You've always known it."
Relena sighed and stood up. She walked over to a picture of Trowa, Cathy, and herself. Not to long ago, those words would have made her world turn and her heart soar. In a way they still did. She smiled softly at the faces in the portrait. Though part of her still loved him and probably always would, she knew something now. Her love for Trowa was stronger. Heero was the past, Trowa was the future.
"Heero, there was a time when I longed to hear you say that. I went to a lot of crazy extremes to be around you, sometimes just to hear your voice. You gave me strength and you taught me a lot about life." A feeling of icy dread wrapped around his heart. "You also taught me a lot about love. You taught me that when you find love, the worse possible thing you can do is nothing. Because when you do nothing, you lose everything."
She walked over and handed him the picture. "I have to go tell someone that he was right, because I don't want to lose him. I was wrong to ask of you more than you were willing to give. I hope that in time, we can at least be friends."
She was almost to the door when he caught her arm and turned her to face him.
"I'll always be your friend." He stated. Then he pushed her back out the door.
"Trowa!" The pair of young men looked up to see Relena running towards them. Trowa stood up and caught her as she launched herself into his arms and began covering his face with kisses. "I love you, I love you."
Quatra made a discreet exit to let them be alone.
Trowa chuckled. "I knew you did. You just had to realize it yourself." He kissed her. "I love you, too."
Later that night, while walking near the lion's cage, Trowa sensed a presence behind him.
"If you hurt her, I'll kill you." The voice came to him out of the darkness.
"If I hurt her, I'd expect you to." When he turned, his silent companion stared at him hard, then nodded. He turned and the darkness swallowed him. Trowa stood ther for a few moments before he too turned to go.