Don't own….sigh

Poison Apples

Chapter 4

"Where are they, Maxwell? The flight from Colorado came in hours ago, and it doesn't take that long to get from the airport to here," Zechs growled.

"They're probably stuck in traffic, Honey," Lu soothed.

The back door creaked open and they all looked to each other. Duo and Zechs instantly reached for the two shot guns that they kept in what ever room they were in. They motioned for the girls to stay and went towards the kitchen.

They paused at the open doorway to hear whispered voices; they nodded to each other and jumped out cocking their rifles. What they found was a semi-automatic Magnum and a third rifle aimed at them.

"Shit, you guys scared the hell out of us," Duo ranted as he lowered his shot gun along with Zechs, Relena, and Heero.

"Feelings mutual," Relena sighed and then grinned and ran to give each a fierce hug.

"Where's Lu and Hilde,"

"They're in the din huddled in a corner with their own artillery," Duo stated.

"Alright, oh I missed you guys," she left through the house towards her friends.

Duo looked back to the man that he hadn't seen in close to five years. He glanced over his well worn leather jacket, jeans, and boots. He spotted the scars that marked his face and one that ringed his throat. He gave a soft sigh then grinned.

"Son of a bitch, it's been a long time, Buddy,"

"Yeah, it has," they came together in a manly sort of put on the back hug. Heero then looked to the older brother that had left long before he had.

"Zechs," he nodded.

"What took so long?"

"We had to wait until nightfall to get here. It's not safe for her to walk around in broad daylight with Vipers after her,"

"Why are they after her?" Zechs asked.

"Because she won't be complacent with the lie that they are feeding everybody. She won't sit back and watch as they take over the town. They're out to kill her, she knows it,"

"Maxwell?"

"I knew that they had made threats, everyone kept a close eye on her. Everyone knew that she didn't want them here and she did something to try and dare them away. Nothing major but just small things; like stand up in front of them if they were beating on innocents, kids and older people. She's tried multiple times to get a trial over her parents' murders. I'm surprised they haven't done anything to her before she left to find him," Duo explained. He watched as Heero slipped his gun around his back and into the waist band of his jeans.

"They have, she told me about a time when they had kidnapped her from her room and taken her to their lair and burnt her badly on her left side and half of her stomach. I've seen a few other places on her body where they attacked her,"

"She never told us this," Duo stated.

"You haven't seen it, and she hasn't had to explain it. Don't confront her with it, Duo. It's a sensitive topic for her,"

"I won't bring it up, but I'm a little hurt. Why'd she tell you about it when she didn't tell me?"

"I told you, Maxwell, I saw it and I didn't leave her alone about it until she told me,"

"But how'd you see it?"

"Don't worry about it. Let's go see how the girls are," he stated brushing past them.

"Hilde, Lu, are you in here? It's me Relena," she cautiously entered the room. Two heads popped up from behind the love seat.

"Relena, you're here!" they jeered.

They ran up to her and gave her a huge hug that nearly squeezed the life out of her.

"We were so worried about you when we came home and you weren't here. Zechs nearly tore the town apart looking for you. We came to know that you were all alone. I think I've cried everyday since then,"

"That's not like you, Lu,"

"I know, and I haven't felt like myself for awhile now," she mentioned. Relena and Hilde glanced to each other and nodded.

"Have you had any nausea of the morning, any odd cravings? Have you missed?" Relena asked.

"Oh my goodness,"

"You have, haven't you?" the girls squealed and they were instantly in a group hug and jumping up and down laughing with joy.

The guys looked to each other then back to the three girls as if they had finally lost their nminds.

"Should I be worried on whether you have lost your minds?" Duo asked with an arched eyebrow.

"We're fine; in fact we're perfect," Relena stated. She went over to Heero and wrapped her arms around him with her own smile to her face.

She looked up into his eyes to see him watching Duo and Hilde together. She slid her hand around between his coat and jeans to slid it into his back pocket; she grinned impishly when he looked down to her. She caught only a slight glimpse of his own smirk before he closed the distance between them with a deep kiss. She was oblivious to the rest of the group within seconds of the embrace, even when her brother started to sputter and curse at the same time.

Lu slapped her hand to the back of his white blond head and he glared at his wife.

"What is wrong with you? You've been acting as odd as a fish walking out of a lake," he asked just as Duo wistled at the younger couple.

"It's about time you two got together again. It was kind of lonely being the only one who had a girlfriend to smooch with," the braided teen stated as Heero pulled himself from Relena.

"Yeah, together," he muttered not taking his eyes away from hers. She gave him her own small yet sad grin.

"Come on, you can tell us everything that happened to you tomorrow, but right now we all need our sleep. It's late and you've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow," Lu stated watching the new couple gaze at one another sending each other silent messages. She pulled her husband's arm towards the narrow staircase to their left. She looked over to Hilde who was doing the same thing with Duo; they nodded to each other.

"Heero, I believe the room that you used to stay in when we were younger is still in decent cleaniness, and I think its right across the hall from Relena's room," Hilde stated.

"Alright, thanks Hilde," Heero absently said to the black haired pixie.

"Now wait just a minute, my sister isn't going to,"

"Hush, Zechs, she'll be fine. We're all on the same floor even the same hall. The house isn't huge so there won't be any worries. We're all light sleepers," Lu interrupted with a smirk gracing her lips.

"Well, you, Zechs, Heero, and me are light sleepers, but Duo's a whole other matter," Hilde stated with a impish grin all her own. She twirled a finger in a loch of her boyfriend's loose chestnut brown hair that dangled in front of his violet eyes. Duo ignored the remark about his sleeping state at the prospect of the night's occasion. He smirked.

"Good night, everyone, I will see you all in the morning," With that he lead Hilde up the stairs; the group shook their heads at the sound of the pixie's giggles. Zechs looked over to his sister and the young man that he thought was dead.

"Why did everyone assume you were dead?"

Heero looked over to the white blond man to see only a slight resemblance to the blond woman in his arms.

"I thought it better for everyone to think of me being dead instead of alive and in the line of work that everyone knew that would persue,"

"Oh, Heero, is it true?" Lu asked.

"What's true?" the younger asked.

"Nevermind," she stated a gleam in her eyes. She held Zechs' hand and led him upstairs to their own room; she listened to them whisper.

"Don't leave me alone tonight. I heard Wufei and the others fuss about my nightmares and I don't want the others to know. You can help keep me at least a little quieter,"

"I'll do whatever you want me too," he answered. He leaned over and laid his lips to hers in a slow and tender kiss that left him aching and wanting so much more from her.

She felt the desire exploide from deep inside her, and she longed for more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to his warmth. Her fingers wound up into the short black hairs at the nape of his neck. She let a soft moan escape from her throat as he deepened the kiss once she opened up to it. Heero pulled back from her to spot the confusion spark in her aquamarine eyes.

"I've done so much, Lena. How can you stand to be near me?"

"I know who you are, Heero, and I know that you aren't what every one else says about you. You are Heero Yuy, and you are a good man," she stated framing his face in her hands. She gazed into his eyes that were filled uncertainty.

"But how do you know this? I've been gone for nearly five years. We were seventeen years old when I had to leave this town,"

"You're standing right in front of me, and I can still see the little boy that kept me out of trouble. I can still see the little boy that I came to love with all my heart; I can still see the young man who I gave myself to when I was sixteen years old," she stated with a small smile that lifted her lips.

"Lena,"

Relena interrupted him with a finger placed on his mouth.

"Shush, there's nothing to worry about now. It's in the past and right now the thing that we need to worry about is Vipers and this poor town," she said with a sad smile on her face. Heero nodded his head slowly and then lifted her hand up to his lips where he kissed her soft knuckles.

(end chapter)