Friction Chapter 7
Relena closed the distance between them. Her lips exploring his in an intense attraction she no longer wanted to deny. The seats squeaked as they maneuvered and twisted to get closer to each other and she was warmed by Trowa's moan of pleasure. He grabbed her by the waist and guided her onto his lap. Her body cooperated without hesitation and even as they continued to kiss her hips bucked against him eliciting a deeper more visceral moan from him. One of his hands pressed firmly on firmly against her ass gluing her pelvis to his while the other caressed the nape of her neck. Their position gave him easy access to her neck which he took willingly, almost hungrily. She never realised her neck was such an erogenous zone but she was shivering from the warmth of his lips mixed with the wetness of his tongue as he sucked and licked just beneath her earlobe.
Relena's head rolled to the side, she was more than ready to see where the night would take them and she was going to follow where ever he led.
She was settling into the rhythm they had set, it was shared control, not overpowering or a fight for dominance. Her mind was blank and her body completely languid against him. His touch was confident but gentle with just the right amount of controlled aggression.
Which is why she was so startled when he smacked her hard on her hip. Admittedly, after the initial shock had worn off, it had been a slight turn on. That was until he did it again and then again. Then it was just plain irritating.
"Relena. Wake up."
Another slap.
Trowa's face faded and Hilde's voice became the dominant presence in her mind.
"Wake up."
Relena yanked the covers off her head. Sleep had left her quickly when she realised that she was not only dreaming but being rudely interrupted. "What?"
"You told me to wake you remember. Said you wanted to go jogging." Hilde stood to the side of Relena's bed dressed in a headache-inducing green sports tank and long black tights, a small towel in hand, no doubt what she had used to assault her.
Relena just stared at her then pulled the covers back over her head. She didn't want to remember. She wanted to go back to sleep. She wanted to dream. But Hilde wasn't going to leave her alone, that much she knew. So, she grumbled and swore as she sluggishly slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
Hilde spun to follow Relena with an obvious look of confusion on her face. "Are you seriously going to shower before we go running?"
"Yes." Relena snapped and slammed the door. She needed a shower. It seemed ever since she got back from the mountains she needed more showers than usual.
After her shower, Relena dressed quickly now eager to run off this feeling buzzing through her body. She crossed the living room and sat on the sofa to lace up her running shoes. An easy enough task since she had been doing it since she was five but oddly more difficult with Hilde's eyes glued to her head. "What?"
"Told you."
Relena shook her head and stood. "Excuse me?"
"Should've slept with him."
Running was exercise.
Running and talking was exhausting.
It felt like she could never catch a breath and Relena really wondered if she had gotten this much out of shape or if this burning feeling of her lungs collapsing was normal. She decided it had to be the former since Hilde didn't seem to be affected and as it was, she was the one doing most of the talking. If she was suffering it wasn't obvious but then Relena was having a tough time looking at Hilde for any extended period of time. She had even gone as far as wearing all black in an attempt to offset the colour Hilde was wearing.
It was bright out, the air was still cool since it was just after seven but it was littered with wisps of warm air as the sun rose higher in the sky. It was always a toss-up when the best time to run was, she was torn between running at this hour for the cool and running later in the morning or even afternoon since she could work up more of a sweat with much less effort.
They took the same route whenever they went out for a run. It was familiar and easy to get to since it was a trail just a block from home. Not that they ran often. It was more a stress reliever used only when someone was upset or if they binged something unhealthy and felt guilty.
Despite the energy she was dispelling, Relena couldn't stop her mind from drifting to thoughts of Trowa. It had been three days since she'd seen him or to be more precise three days since he left her. Not that she was bitter about it.
Who was she kidding, of-course she was bitter.
Not that he didn't say goodbye to her because from what she had learned about him he was far too much a gentleman no to. On the contrary, he said it then kissed her like he was never going to see her again. A needle in a haystack was how Hilde had described it and she had the sinking feeling that's what she was dealing with. And it was a little more painful than she felt was necessary considering she'd known him for all of two weeks.
"I don't really feel like going but he's so cute when he pouts."
"Yea." Relena responded absentmindedly to the one part of Hilde's rambling she'd heard.
"Uh huh. You haven't heard a word I said."
Relena stopped running, leaned on her knees and tried to catch her breath. "Is it wrong for me to feel this way for someone I hardly know?"
Hilde laughed. "You wouldn't be feeling this way if you'd done what I told you. It's not you that's mourning it's her." Hilde pointed south of Relena's stomach.
"Just stop." Relena gave Hilde a gentle nudge. "Catch me."
"How much time do you have left." Hilde uncorked a bottle of water. Their session now over they had decided to rest in a nearby park.
"Guess that depends on my meeting tomorrow." Relena admitted almost bitterly. It would be the first meeting with her doctor since she got back.
"Looking forward to it?"
"Nop."
No one liked doctors and Relena was sure that even fewer people liked shrinks. It was hard having your life and decisions picked apart by anyone even someone you were paying. But she had added reasons to be nervous. She always felt like it was a test that she didn't want to fail. Everything she said or didn't say was scrutinised for hints and signs of instability. Sometimes she wondered if the entire exercise wasn't just a way to stop her from going back to work instead of helping her to return to duty.
"You'll be fine, you seem pretty fine to me." Hilde gave her hand a soft squeeze of reassurance.
"Thank you Dr. Schbeiker."
"Relena. Tell me, how was the trip?"
Relena's eyes wandered about the office as they usually did on these visits. Why she didn't know, nothing changed. Maybe she just enjoyed the décor. On her first meeting, Relena had been pleasantly surprised by the bright colours. A vibrant blue sofa instead of the brown or beige, a bright red chair sat facing it and it hadn't been too hard to guess it was Dr. Allison's chair. The room itself was white with dark hardwoods and a white very fluffy and very soft, she'd checked, area rug in the middle of it all. Rounded all out with a splash of green in the form of two palms which stood erect in the corners.
Relena examined the face of the older woman in front of her. Her smile seemed genuine but Relena knew she hid a lot behind those eyes.
"As expected. Quiet and relaxing."
"Silence tends to elicit reflection and introspection."
Relena smiled and nodded. This was true. Very true.
"What did you learn about yourself amid all that silence."
A simple enough question but filled with so much meaning from the lips of the skilled psychiatrist. Relena understood that the road to recovery started with being honest about where she was and how she felt about life and her problems but it was always a struggle when her first instinct was to be elusive. She was never big on emotional deluge even with close friends. Add the fact that her career was resting on the outcome of these conversations, she couldn't help but be guarded.
Maybe the reason she found it difficult was less about being scrutinised and more about the fact that she didn't know what she learned about herself. The time that she should have been working on her she had spent laughing and talking with a man that was now absent.
Suddenly she felt like the entire trip was a huge waste of time.
"Something the matter?"
Relena should know better than to hesitate in this office. "No, I was just gathering my thoughts."
Dr. Allison just waited. She put her pen and pad down and gave Relena her full attention. Relena, despite hating the situation did actually like and admire the woman, once she removed her title and job description. She was mature, dark blonde hair with patches of grey at the temple and one grey coif at the front of her head which the good doctor had divulged was a fashion statement. A revelation which must have endeared her to many a patient, herself included.
"My first few nights there I dreamt about her." This was no revelation since Relena had called her the morning after the first night it happened, and they had talked extensively. Apparently being alone and secluded while dreaming about deceased friends was a cause for concern for doctors. She didn't see the humour in it at the time but afterward, she did have a laugh or two at the idea that her doctor had maybe believed she would harm herself.
"I- need to offer myself forgiveness. I think I'm haunted by my own guilt more than anything."
"That's quite the observation."
Relena always knew when she had said something profound. Dr. Allison would get just a bit more perky and excited.
"Do you think you should have been able to save her?"
"I think that's the logical assumption by anyone in that position."
"We aren't talking about anyone, we're talking about you."
Relena wanted to roll her eyes but rule number one that had been laid down when she had first started was that generalisations were a no-no. Something about them not allowing for people to take responsibility and providing a way for people to hide amongst the crowd.
"I do- wonder- if there was something that we could have done differently. Something- I could've done to change the outcome. But I realize the outcome can't change now no matter how I try to rewrite it."
"What are you doing?"
Relena didn't need to be able to see behind Milliardo's dark sunglasses to know he was scowling at her. He hated his music changed, and she hated his music which always created a special dynamic whenever they drove together in his car.
"Your music is garbage."
"Then you should have driven yourself."
Relena ignored her brother easily. She'd had years of practice after all, and focused solely on the act of skipping through his tracks.
They were going home for their Sunday brunch ritual. Their family was close-knit, a blessing and a curse in its own right. She loved the togetherness and happiness they brought but that usually came accompanied by nagging and overbearing tendencies which as her brother told her was her birth rite as the youngest. His? To be devilishly handsome and wealthy. His words.
Contented with the new music blaring through the speakers Relena settled back into the beige leather seat, smoothing a few wrinkles from her white linen dress as she did. As if linen could help but be wrinkled. It was an exercise in futility. "When are you going to invite Lu to brunch?"
Though she would never admit it Milliardo was devilishly handsome. His hair hand to be a gift from some Greek god what with its colour and length. He too was wearing white, long-sleeved dress shirt with white dress pants. Seriously, she had tried to run back into the house to change when she realised their faux pas but Zechs, a name bestowed upon him during his jock days, and a name that she affectionately called him, to his utter annoyance, wasn't having it. The only hint of colour on him was the black sunglasses he wore to add what she could only assume was a hint of mystery.
"When you outgrow your annoying little sister phase."
"Scared I'd embarrass you?"
Milliardo tipped his glasses to his nose and glared at her, a look that clearly said yes before he righted them and returned his attention to the road.
They arrived just after eleven am and as usual Katrina Peacecraft stood in the doorway. It was a mystery just how long she would stand there in order to greet them. No way she just had such good timing and the house was too large to assume she heard the engine on its way up the driveway. However she did it, she was always there and Relena was always glad to see her.
Her mother rushed to greet them, beaming like she hadn't seen them in years even though it had only been a few days.
With a squeal, her mother enveloped her in a vice grip and kissed her forehead. She pulled back and held Relena at arm's length for a bit and it was all Relena could do not to squirm. Satisfied, her mother then turned to Milliardo though it was much more difficult to envelop him. That minor detail did not deter her in the slightest. She gave both of them a quick once over, her hands on her hips while she examined her handy work.
"What did I do to deserve such beautiful children?"
"Do you really need us to answer that?"
Katrina gave a strained gasp at her son's none to subtle remark and she swatted his shoulder though it was clear that she had found his question more amusing than offensive.
She led them into the house with light small talk and animated gestures which continued while she poured them drinks and served finger foods. Ever the society hostess. It was no use telling her they lived there and knew where everything was.
Relena dared not interrupt she was glad that conversation was happening around her that had nothing to do with her and she would remain mute all evening if just to avoid it. Wishful thinking at its best, she knew it was only a matter of time before they would steer the conversation back to her until then she would enjoy peace.
Max Peacecraft entered minutes later dressed as casually as one would expect from his highness. He was the king of their little castle with the presence to match. At home, he was bubbly and funny but outside of these four walls, he was a force that none reckoned with.
With everyone present, they sat down to enjoy their meal and their family.
Lunch with her family had been nice. So nice she'd felt guilty for ever being apprehensive. She had expected to be bombarded with questions and suggestions well-intended but nonetheless upsetting but that fear had never materialised. The conversation remained light and jovial and she couldn't have been more grateful.
"How many more days are we going to do this?" Relena huffed out as they ran along the trail for the second time in a week. This time though it wasn't early morning. It was hot and sticky and closer to lunch.
"We are doing this to release that pent-up tension you created in the mountains."
Relena gave Hilde a small push. It should have been harmless but at their speed, it was more effective, and Hilde stumbled slightly.
There was only one look shared between them, a look of friends who knew each other well with no explanation or words needed. Relena took off in a sprint with Hilde on her heels. Any and all exhaustion was forgotten as they indulged in childlike pursuit, laughing giggling and gasping for breath.
Relena kept up as long as possible bobbing and weaving through objects and people to avoid the intermittent lunges from Hilde but the burn in her chest was getting unbearable.
Relena spun around and raised her hands. "Truce."
Hilde grabbed Relena by the arm. "No way."
"Say you're sorry." Hilde wrapped a hand around Relena's waist, so her fingers could perform a dastardly dance on her ribs.
"Stop!" Relena squirmed and struggled to get free.
"Say it."
"Alright, I'm sorry."
With her surrender, Hilde released her and Relena fell to the ground taking deep breaths in an attempt to recover. Just behind her, she heard Hilde's footsteps followed by a breathy be right back and she desperately hoped that her friend would return with water.
Relena laid back on the grass with her arms outstretched, eyes closed and the sun beating down on her skin. At that moment she was happy or maybe it was just the release of some happy chemical which was the product of being tickled whatever it was, she enjoyed it.
It was comparable to that feeling which lingered after sex. Funny, she laughed at herself. She was surprised she even remembered what that feeling was like but if the closest she had gotten to it was having her best friend tickle her in the park she was pathetic and she sorely regretted both figuratively and literally not taking Hilde's advice.
A cloud passed overhead partially blocking her warm sunlight and casting a shadow over her body. She didn't know whether to be grateful for the respite or annoyed by the shade. God knows the tan might do her good she probably lost some color in those few weeks away.
The park made for the perfect backdrop for her little euphoria. Birds chirping, people chatting, children playing, bicycle bells and dogs. It was a symphony of life happening all around her and she relished in it. What better way to combat the sadness of death than to appreciate the beauty that was life.
A soft rustle of grass underfoot alerted her to Hilde's return.
"About time."
"Waiting for me?"
Relena didn't move despite the overwhelming urge to do so. She stayed still totally and completely afraid to move, to look, to hope. If she didn't move she wouldn't have to face the disappointment of looking up to empty space. She strained her ears, listening and waiting for a confirmation that she had either imagined it or that she had actually heard it.
"Why is it every time we meet you're on the ground."
At that, Relena's eye flew open. Auburn hair and green eyes were stooped directly next to her.
"Trowa."
