Heero's Angel

Ch. 4

By Nena Keller

"What's happening? I don't understand…" Relena lifted her kerchief up to her mouth as tears rolled down her face, red and blue lights and the sound of a siren sending her into a mini-shock. Three paramedics wheeled a very pale and unconscious Heero Yuy by on a stretcher, while people crowded around the scene with worried expressions on there faces. This could not be happening.

Everything had been so perfect. They had spent the last week together tending to her garden, taking walks on the beach, watching late night movies eating popcorn mixed with milk duds, and it had all ended with this. Someone grabbed her arm and gently tugged her towards the ambulance, her vision blurry and her body feeling numb.

It had been unmistakable. They were meant to be together. He loved her with all of his heart and she hers.

People kept yelling her name at her, but she couldn't seem to focus, couldn't seem to understand the situation. Someone hefted her up and carried her over to the ambulance, and there she sat, staring at Heero. He was lying on the stretcher, his skin blue, his face expressionless. He couldn't feel anything. She reached over and ran her fingers along his face, trailing along his eyelashes, lips, nose, when suddenly his blood-sprinkled eyes shot open and he gasped and sat straight up. His arms and legs flailed in every direction, slapping her in the midst while the paramedics attempted to hold down his strong body. He looked directly at her for a moment, then his eyes flickered to somewhere else, and she understood then - he was blind. She couldn't remember much after that. She woke up in the hospital, once again.

It had seemed like such a normal day. They had gone jogging down by the terrace, and Heero had been cracking jokes about his own predicament. The night he had told her he loved her, they both knew it was sisterly. Neither of them were ready to admit that they were in love. But their affections were definite and they had both grown accustomed to the other being around. They thought he was getting better.

Heero had said a particularly raw comment about her old pink limo so she playfully ran faster than him, knowing he couldn't catch up because he'd get too dizzy, and turned a corner. When she reached the end she turned to find that he had not yet reached her.

"C'mone Heero! You're getting rusty." She said, giggling like a little school girl.

She almost threw up. How could she have been so careless? She was supposed to be taking care of him! Not pushing him!

"Relena, wait…"

"Heero Yuy! I do believe I have beaten you yet again."

"Uunnhh…"

"Heero?"

"Relena! Relena, are you al - Relena!"

She leaned over and threw up on the hospital floor, tears rolling down her face.

"It was all my fault…all…"

"Come on, babe, don't talk like that…"

She looked up and recognized his kind eyes, long braid, tall frame, and pushed herself away.

"How can you stand to look at me, Duo! What's the point! What's the whole stupid point! I have nothing now! Nothing! He'll never trust me again. He'll never be able to see me again…he'll never want to even if he could! God! What have I done to deserve this? What kind of God lets this happen, Duo? Is all I've ever believed in…is it…is it all a lie?"

He grabbed her face forcefully, staring down into her miserable eyes with his own hardened, angry ones.

"Don't ever think that you will ever be able to understand the mind of God. He loves you more than you will ever know, even if you hate yourself."

"Mrs. Vice Foreign Minister?"

She sat up quickly and brushed away her tears. Duo melted away into the shadows.

"Yes?"

"You may see Mr. Yuy now."

She followed the nurse down the long, white hallways, trailing her fingers along the tile in the walls. She must have turned 15 corners before she got to the room, but time seemed to fly by. She felt hollow. Empty. Heero was kept in a private security-detained hospital room with vaulted doors that let out air pressure as they were opened. She looked down at her jogging suit. Once again, she was covered in his blood.

"Heero! Where are you at, Heero?"

"Re..le..na…"

"Heero! Please keep calling me!"

Oh God, please don't be dead when I find you…I can't lose you now…

When she found him he was face down on the concrete, sprawled out as if someone had hit him from behind. When she reached him she turned him over, only to find it looked like something had started to chew his face off. Besides major scrapes, she could find no other evidence that this was caused by another person. So he fell. Trying to catch up with her.

He was lying on top of another stretcher, this time his entire head covered in bandages. They had put some sort of liquid-blamer onto his face to decrease the swelling. His eyes were closed. He looked pale. He looked gone.

What's the use of trying to reach someone only to have them taken away again?

I don't know.

Oh, I think you do. I think you know exactly what this all means.

What?

Every part of it…every single minute detail has been of your doing. Not some God holding the world on a yo-yo. Or an angel on a stone. This has all happened because of you

I don't believe it.

You don't have to. It doesn't change the fact that it's still truth. This entire time you've gone on some adventure, trying to help Heero find himself, when the truth was that you were trying to suck him dry of every possible salvation he had.

That's not true!

It is, Relena. It is the truth. And the truth…shall set you free.

That is NOT truth!

Then what is truth, Relena?

I would never hurt Heero.

Of course you wouldn't. Not on purpose, anyways. You relied completely on God to help guide your hands. Tch.

Heero let out a quiet moan.

Some God.