A Reason To Change Chapter Two: Let the Heartache Begin

It was a gloriously rainless night. The stars seem to shine just a little bit brighter. The air, sweeter than usual. The moon a vivid and dazzling silver.

Relena came down the steps to the first floor of her home wearing a beautiful silk gown. It was a creamy butterscotch color designed to accentuate her golden-brown hair, with sleeves that fell of the shoulders to reveal her smooth neck and the flawless skin of her shoulders. The bodice was form fitting, but not scandalously so, though the deep scoop neck was a little low for Relena's taste. She was thankful that her personal maid had picked out a dress with a full- length skirt; she hadn't felt like applying tanning lotion to her legs tonight.

Plucking at the short sleeves, Relena carefully made her way down the white-marble steps in her new heels and hoped her feet wouldn't be falling off by the end of the night.

"Your gloves, madam," said the new butler Henry. Relena had employed the Frenchman after the death of faithful servant and family friend Pagan, who had passed away in his sleep six months ago. Blinking back sudden tears, Relena accepted the silky white gloves that went up to her elbow and murmured her thank you.

"Ready?" Heero's voice startled Relena, who had forgotten him, and she jumped, catching her toe on the velvet carpet and falling.

"Oh!" Relena gasped, but her trip to meeting the floor face-first was brought to an abrupt end by the perfect soldier's perfect reflexes. Blinking rapidly, she opened her aquamarine eyes to find herself looking at a stretch of black and white-Heero's shirt and formal tux- as Henry exclaimed loudly somewhere behind her.

Heero straightened her up and she got a better look at him--he looked good!--but he was frowning slightly under his still wild chocolate brown bangs.

"Uh...mm, th-thank you," she stammered.

"No problem," Heero said and walked past her towards the door.

For the zillionth time that evening it seemed, Relena felt her face burn because of Heero or something he did as she reassured Henry she was fine and grabbed her purse. But this time she wasn't embarrassed, she was angry. He didn't have to be so impersonal and rude.

'And to think you're in love with him,' the Little Voice said. Relena ignored it and stalked out to her limo where Heero held the door open and then climbed in himself without a word to her. He sat staring straight ahead as if he was enduring a nightmare, which made Relena even madder. Was her company that bad?

Fuming, she told herself that this was the only was she should feel about him-angry. He was cold and uncaring and a jerk and-and--

Had her heart in his hand. She couldn't stay angry with him for acting the way he had been raised to. All she could think of as she sat in silence was how much she loved him because of who he was underneath that stony shell and wished that he loved her too. Or at least would be her friend, if nothing else. She had so few she could really trust. None she'd been through war with from beginning to end like she had with Heero.

'And we're back to being hopeless,' the Little Voice said as Relena smoothed the skirt of her dress and spared a quick longing glance at him. He has his usual unreadable expression.

'Does she wish I wasn't here?' Heero wondered. He didn't think so, even though she was being unusually quiet. She had always welcomed his presence before. Maybe something was wrong. Maybe he should ask-but then she'd know he cared and it already took all of his willpower not to reach out and touch her or smile gently at her. He couldn't risk it; he could lose control and end up hurting her. He didn't want that, ever. So he decided to take the perfect soldier's advice and just stay as far away from her as he could.

'It's really helping too,' Truth said sarcastically, 'See? You never once acted like the human you want to be in this whole two and a half-hours so far in her presence. How nice. A real step forward.'

'Shut up!' he screamed in his own mind. 'I don't want to hurt her! What if I start to love her and I can't take it and go crazy? I'll end up leaving and she'll be heartbroken.'

'You mean like she is now?'

Heero's fist clenched at his side and he fought to maintain his blank expression. He wanted to clutch his head and scream, but not in front of Relena.

'Maybe you should let her heal you.' The voice in his head he privately called The Truth was being gentle now. 'She wants to, and you want her to.'

Heero stared at Relena's reflection in the window. You could hardly see the glass separating him from the rest of the world right now, but it was there.

Just like the invisible wall he had set up between him and Relena to protect his heart.

Alex Grahandi waited patiently for the vice-foreign minister to arrive and brighten his evening.

He had gone to the will reading and found he was to inherit Annie's huge house, the twenty-nine acres it was on, and two beautiful thoroughbred racers; one a chestnut filly and the other a bay stallion, both doing extremely well at the tracks. Not that he knew much about horses. He wondered if Relena did.

But Alex wasn't thinking of his inheritance, he was thinking of the slim beauty that had occupied his thoughts all day, and how he wanted to sweep her into his arms for a dance the first chance he got.

Of course, being of royal blood, Alex had attended these sorts of balls and parties since he was a boy of ten, trying to remember his manners. But it was only in the last three years that he had actually begun to enjoy them--that was when Relena had begun to attend them.

Naturally, all the older politicians would get a dance with "Miss Relena" first, but that didn't Alex wouldn't have his chance. He would make sure that he did--Perfect Soldier being there or not. Relena would surely see him here tonight and notice he was not the gangly fourteen year-old she had first met.

And then he saw her.