Relena's eyes went rounder than he'd ever seen them.

"Wh… what?" She blinked once, and her eyes somehow widened even more.

Heero was still trying to process what he'd said; he couldn't even believe that he'd said it. He'd never given any thought to marriage; he never even gave much thought to the future. He just knew that, for now, he needed to be by Relena's side, so he was. It was other people that always seemed to insist there was something more to Heero's devotion to Relena than mere protectiveness… Nosy people, like his so-called friend, Duo. He in particular had given Heero a hard time for joining Relena's detail, and taking things one step further by moving into her home.

"I should've known you'd be shacking up with the princess sooner or later." Duo had taunted him in a vid-call, mere weeks after Heero had begun to settle into his new reality. Heero was immediately defensive.

"We're not 'shacking up,'" he growled. "It's for her safety."

"Whatever, man. You're not foolin' me." Duo chuckled. "Anyway, who cares? No one expects you to be a virgin forever."

"It's not like that." Heero felt the need to defend Relena's virtue, for whatever reason. "I work for her."

"I bet you do," Duo said with a snort. Heero unleashed a series of curses at the former Deathscythe pilot, who only guffawed in response. "Come on, man seriously," Duo said after he'd finished laughing. "You've gotta learn to relax. Why fight the inevitable? Everyone knows you and Relena are end game."

"End game?" Heero echoed. "The hell does that mean?"

Duo sighed. "You are sad and pathetic, aren't you? Seriously, you'd be so lost without me-"

"What," Heero interrupted, "the hell are you talking about?"

"End game! Ya know?" Duo blurted. "It means you're soulmates, and you're gonna end up together. As long as you don't do somethin' to screw it up..."

Heero wondered, now, if he already had. He certainly hadn't planned to propose marriage to Relena; not when he'd never even told her how he really felt about her. He still wasn't sure how to put it into words; he hadn't given himself much time to think it through before opening his mouth. Now, all he could do was stand there stupidly, wishing he could take his brazen words back, all the while bracing for Relena's response. She could laugh, or call him crazy, or both; either of those things would have been a valid reaction, in his mind.

Instead, Relena went very still, keeping her hands on Heero's shoulders. A full minute passed, and Heero realized he was holding his breath. Finally, Relena tipped her head to the side.

"What do you mean by 'seclusion,' exactly?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips. "Do you mean like a deserted island, or…"

"Relena." Heero reached up and grasped her shoulders then. "Did you hear what I just said?"

She nodded. "I heard you. And I believe you would want to do something like that."

Heero felt his eyes widen. "You do?"

"Of course." Relena gave him an easy smile. "I'm not surprised that you would want to resort to extreme security measures. All I want to know is whether that's the only thing motivating you." Her smile wavered, ever so slightly. "Before I give you an answer, I need you to answer something for me."

"What is it?" Heero gripped her shoulders tightly, not even sure why he felt a surge of… something, just then. A rush of adrenaline, hurtling him into battle…

Her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. "Are you in love with me?"

It was impossible to miss the naked vulnerability there. He could see the girl who had flipped his whole world around, who faced down aristocratic militaries and dignitaries and terrorists with barely a blink, was as delicate as she was strong. His hands wrapped around her shoulders; he could feel her tremble. Relena's eyes were swimming, and suddenly whatever cord that had always seemed to link them, intrinsically, threatened to snap; or, at the very least, wear thin, if he were to answer her wrong.

"Relena, I-" Why were the words so hard to find? Why, after he'd said-

"Because I'm in love with you," she said, her voice finding its strength, the kind that could bend men, entire nations, to her will. "But, then, you know that." She smiled, and trailed her fingers from his shoulder to his shirt collar, meeting the flesh beneath the fabric. "You must know."

"Relena…" He bent his head to hers. He couldn't resist her touch, her warmth, which was why he usually took such pains to avoid it. They were always dancing around the flames. Relena tipped her face toward his, catching his lips with hers. Fire licked at his throat, and it felt like the room, the entire house, was about to burn down.

He placed a hand to the small of her back, pressing her closer to him, while his other hand tangled itself in her long hair. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling his head down to hers, deepening their contact. It didn't take long for Relena to shift her right leg to the side, ever so slightly, and Heero knew exactly what she wanted him to do. He hoisted her in the air, and she immediately coiled her legs around his middle. But instead of leaning her up against the counter, which was tempting, Heero turned and carried her out of the kitchen and into the adjacent living room, kissing her all the while.

He half-stumbled onto the couch, after setting Relena down as carefully as he could. But urgency was driving him as his need for her became all-consuming, and the flames burning within him rose higher and higher…

As he laid Relena down against the cushions and moved to straddle her, Heero knew he was probably going much faster than she normally liked, but she said nothing to indicate it was a problem. If anything, she seemed just as eager as he was to remove their clothing and eliminate any last barriers between them. But this time, Heero couldn't wait that long.

He hitched her skirt up just enough, and thankfully Relena had already started on his belt and zipper, as he pushed her panties to the side. Seconds later, he gently eased himself inside, remembering to go slowly at first. He waited until Relena gave him a silent nod, her signal to continue, before pushing his way in a little further. When she gasped sharply into his ear, he slowed down again. He was eager to speed up his pace, but he had learned it wouldn't work until she was comfortable. Much as he wanted to rush, he knew taking his time would be worth the effort.

The intimacy between them was still relatively new. It had happened over the course of the past year, and only a handful of times, usually when one or both of them needed a reprieve from the daily pressures that threatened to take a toll. Neither of them went out of their way to seek it out, though; Heero realized he didn't even know why Relena was sometimes more hesitant than he was, but then he'd never bothered to ask her. He only gave her what she wanted when she indicated to him that she wanted it, which was usually communicated by a certain wistful look, a signal Heero had come to recognize as her green light.

For his part, he tried his best to keep from jumping her every chance he had. He was far too principled to just take what he knew she was willing to give him, just because he felt like it. Every time, he approached her cautiously; a graze of his hand, a kiss on the neck, a massage of the shoulders. Relena's eyes would light up just about anytime he came close, and Heero knew it meant she was game for anything, but he was still fearful of pushing her too far. He knew how convenient their situation was - he had certainly come to benefit from it - and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize it.

He felt her fingers digging into his shoulder then, and she gave a tiny gasp, which dissipated into a breathy moan. Even if he didn't know, exactly, what he was doing, he paid close attention to her non-verbal cues to see if he was at least doing something right. She would rapidly tap him on the shoulder when she wanted him to slow down or stop, and press in closer when she wanted him to continue. Sometimes, he felt her center squeeze around him, too, and it drove him absolutely insane.

She was doing it now; that, and the feeling of her hips writing beneath his fingers was enough to send Heero over the edge. He grunted and buried his face in her shoulder as the force of his release overwhelmed him. The sensation that pulsed through him was nothing short of electric as the pressure that had been building inside of him finally emptied. And she took the burden from him, and kissed his forehead lightly as she stroked her fingers through his hair. It was in rare moments like these when Heero found himself feeling completely and utterly relaxed. It was a feeling he knew that only she was capable of giving him; he had first discovered it when he fell into her arms on Christmas Eve, over a year ago. He was battered and broken, but in her arms, he found a harbor, and could only hope that he provided the same for her. He had to believe she derived as much comfort from their encounters as he did.

This time, though, he sensed something was different between them. They stayed like that on the couch for a while, their clothes a rumpled mess, arms and legs still tangled together, Relena's head resting against Heero's chest. He threaded his fingers through her hair and allowed the weight of the day to lift off of him, until he was content enough to fall asleep. He could tell from the sound Relena's even breathing that she was nearly there, and then Heero couldn't fight it any longer, and allowed himself to drift.

But before he could slip into oblivion, the sound of Relena's voice, soft and sweet in his ear, called him back to Earth.

"Heero… Are we really getting married?"

End. Game.

A/N: Hello, lovelies! Happy belated New Year! Hope you're enjoying it so far! New year, new slate... As you know, I have a few fics to finish up here, so I decided to put this one to bed - teehee, LITERALLY - at least for now... I haven't decided if there's going to be a bonus chapter or not, although I have written some additional scenes. But me being me, I wrote some backstory stuff (because I'm crazy) that I may save for another story (because I can). Shall we continue to expand the Dex-verse into infinity?! What do you think?

Hope you're all having a great week! Please leave me a comment if you liked this story, want to see it continue, or simply want to see more like this! Or, ya know, if you didn't like it, that's perfectly OK, too. ;)

Hugs!

- RFP