Dark World
By: Lady Saffir
DISCLAIMER: I own no rights to the Gundam Wing universe (or any Gundam universe, for that matter). This story is mine, however.
Chapter 1
"I never knew so young a body with so old a head." – Shakespeare
We met in the grocery store, a normal, ordinary place. A place no one would consider to be a life altering place. I certainly didn't, which I suppose just shows how easy it is for life to fool a person.
I had noticed the dark haired man while picking out some fruit. His back was to me as he perused the apple section, and if the front matched the back, I couldn't wait for him to turn around. He stayed just ahead of me as we progressed through the store, giving only teasing glimpses of his profile. He managed to get ahead of me, and I'll admit to rushing to try to catch up.
It wasn't until we reached the third isle that I finally saw his face. My breath caught. His face was handsome, bordering on beautiful, his deep blue eyes framed by thick dark lashes. The rest of his features blurred as I became trapped in his gaze. There was something about the way he looked at me that sent a shiver down my spine.
"Hello." The simple word seemed to hold more meaning than others would put in it, and for some reason I felt a blush spread across my face.
"Hello," I returned, at a loss for words.
The rest of the trip was a blur, my attention focused solely on the man at my side. It wasn't until we were standing in the parking lot that I came back to myself.
"It was nice to meet you, Heero," I pulled his name somehow from my memory, unable to remember when we had exchanged names.
"The pleasure was all mine, Relena. I can't wait to have dinner with you tomorrow."
Dinner? I had agreed to dinner? I nodded dumbly, sliding into my car as Heero held the door for me, his eyes holding mine as he closed the door. I stared after him as he walked away, deciding to go home and call Quatre and run the encounter by him.
Quatre ended up coming over for dinner. We had met through our parents when I was in middle school and he was a sophomore in high school. When my parents had unexpectedly died a few years later, his parents had adopted me without hesitation. Our friendship had deepened over the years, so that even though I had several female friends, Quatre was almost always the first person I called with any news.
Over the course of our meal I rehashed my eventful trip. I had only gotten to Heero's name before I was interrupted.
"Heero? Heero Yuy? The man that owns Pilot Corp?"
The disbelief in his tone had me narrowing my eyes. "I don't know. We didn't get that far into our conversation. Shall I ask him at dinner if he's a rich man?"
"If he is the Heero that owns Pilot Corp he's more than a rich man. He's something of a recluse," Quatre mused. "And you met him in the produce section."
"It was the baking isle," I corrected.
Quatre frowned. "If it IS the same Heero, I don't know that going to dinner is such a good idea."
"And why not? Afraid we won't have anything to talk about? Or that he'll somehow take advantage of me?" I glared at the man across the table from me. "You'd be okay if it was some random guy but you find out his name and who he MIGHT be and now you're against it. Why?"
Quatre stared at me before sighing and running hand through his hair. "I don't want you hurt, is all. He's a powerful man, and powerful men have a way of not worrying about others being hurt. Just be careful," he asked, seeing the stubborn look on my face. "And call me if you need me to pick you up suddenly."
I pulled myself out of sleep the next morning, enjoying the fact that I could sleep in. Spring break had officially started yesterday, which meant I had an entire week of blissful freedom before me.
I puttered about my apartment kitchen for a few moments, waiting for the coffee to brew. The rich smell of freshly ground coffee beans drifted through the tiny space, waking me up slightly.
Once I had by cup of coffee ready, I padded over to the computer, intent on checking my e-mail. My advisor had promised to send several documents to me. I would be graduating in December, and the University required that the paper work be done in triplicate by June 30. At times I wondered if the majority of tuition went to cover the cost of paper.
I did have mail, but it wasn't from my advisor. The mail was from a ' .net'. My mind immediately jumped to Heero. Hadn't Quatre said his last name was Yuy? I didn't remember giving Heero my email, but I also didn't think anything of how Heero got hold of my e-mail. He seemed to be the type of person that made the impossible possible.
Relena,
I made reservations at Sonata at 8, if that's fine with you. Please call
and let me know if this is presents a problem.
Yours,
Heero
I did a quick search of the restaurant online, my eyebrows raising at the images the website provided. This would call for a new outfit. I typed a hasty email agreeing to the dinner time and location before running out the door to find the perfect dress for my date.
We had finished our evening meal, and had moved out onto the veranda for coffee. Throughout the evening, the conversation had flowed smoothly, shocking me at how easily Heero and I traded ideas and thoughts.
Heero was especially interested in the fact that I was about to graduate from college at the age of twenty, and that I planned to go on to law school.
"So, once you read something, you can recite it from memory?"
I nodded.
"Pretty much. I think that's the only reason I've been able to work ahead like I have."
Heero nodded thoughtfully.
"You should be a spy," he stated.
"I could never," I refuted. "I would imagine being a spy involves faking emotions or cutting emotions out of one's life almost entirely. I will only be myself and leave the lying to those that have no such scruples."
My words seemed to cause Heero some consternation.
We were walking through the park, enjoying the slight breeze that played underneath the shady boughs above our head. Heero had dominated the dinner conversation with questions about me and my past and I was determined to return the favor. I had only managed to find out that he was an engineer. Now to see if this was the Heero Quatre thought he was.
"You said you were an engineer. Where do you work?"
"I work for the Pilot Corporation."
"And what do you do?" I pressed, turning my head to gauge Heero's answer.
Heero hesitated, shooting me a look from under his eyelashes. "I'm the CEO."
"The CEO," I repeated, laughing to myself as I shook my head. "Quatre isn't going to believe this," I murmured.
"Who's Quatre?" Heero broke in, his eyes narrowed.
"My best friend. I told him I was going to dinner with one Heero Yuy and he didn't think it possible there were two men running around with the same name," I replied, tempted to stick my tongue out.
"Not an old boyfriend?"
I couldn't help the eye roll and the snort that escaped.
"No, not an old boyfriend. He's my closest friend in the world. Don't you have a close female figure in your life that is important to you but the thought of kissing her makes you sick to your stomach?"
"Hn." Heero nodded. "Yes, there is someone. I understand what you mean."
We were nearing the end of the trail when Heero suddenly glanced sharply to his left. I looked as well, trying to figure out what had caught his attention, when a man stepped out onto the path. He was as handsome as Heero was, with piercing green eyes and a headful of brown hair that was styled quite peculiarly, with half of his bangs falling over one eye. He was tall, standing several inches above Heero and towering over me.
Heero and this new man regarded each other in silence.
"Trowa."
"Heero."
I shifted slightly and that seemed to bring Heero back. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he introduced me.
"Trowa, this is Relena Peacecraft, my dinner date. Relena, this is Trowa Barton, my friend and fellow co-worker."
Trowa greeted me politely then turned back to Heero.
"We have some...business issues that need taken care of immediately. It seems that our pet project has several design flaws that need fixed."
Heero treated this news gravely, nodding thoughtfully. He turned to me and said regretfully, "I'm sorry, but I have to cut this short. Allow me to walk you to your car."
My heart fell slightly. I had been enjoying this easy companionship, and I think deep down I was afraid that I would never see him again.
"Perhaps we could meet tomorrow night?" Heero ventured.
I nodded, hoping I hadn't appeared as desperate as I felt.
We had just started to walk back to the parking lot, with Trowa joining us, when both men suddenly stopped. Their demeanor frightened me, as I could feel a certain hardness seeping into them.
They looked around carefully, each tense as if expecting an attack. When it came, it hit us from behind.
I heard a loud explosion and was turning to find the source, when Heero yelled to me.
"Get down!"
Too late I realized his words. Something struck the back of my head, knocking me to the ground. I could hear Trowa and Heero yelling to each other over the loud ringing sound, their voices growing indistinct. I had a vague worry as to what would happen to me, and then the world went black.
