I'm happy to announce that at long last there will be a kiss!

Chapter 14

Looking back to it now, I must admit that forgetting to ask Heero for the key to the distillery really was a momentous mistake. Alas, my life was a series of momentous mistakes, beginning with the colossal mistakes my parents had made before I was even born (as you may remember, my dad was a pirate while my mum… was self-employed). It was no wonder then that I as their son made lots and lots of mistakes and one of them was not asking Heero for the key...

"About time," Relena complained when I finally reached her. "It's freezing!" After sunset the wind had picked up considerably and was now chasing rain clouds over the island.

"Sorry, Miss," I gasped out, a little out of breath from running. "Couldn't get away sooner. Heero's work ethic is—"

"Well, let's not waste time with idle chitchat. We have a business agreement I fully intend to honour."

"So do I, Miss Relena! I give you my word... um… as a pirate."

She rolled her eyes. "Wonderful. You don't expect me to undress here in the middle of the street, do you? Is there a reasonably warm place we can go to?"

"Oh, right. I guess we could use the distillery. Heero's already back at the Inn. Let's just get it over and done with, shall we?" Yep, that's as much enthusiasm as I could muster for the whole endeavour.

I led her up the stairs and reached for the door latch. That's when I remembered that I didn't ask Heero for the key to the heavy iron padlock that secured the distillery's sturdy, wooden door. On an island where the majority of the population suffered from alcoholism, rum was quite a valuable and sought-after commodity. The lock was one of the two reasons why the islanders hadn't raided the distillery. Heero was the second.

"Sorry, Miss, we'll have to climb through the window..."

Relena huffed indignantly, but thankfully for once kept silent.

As soon as we were safely inside, I lit a lamp and she shed her dress. Passing the light over her back, I searched her skin for the tattoo I'd only just glimpsed on that disastrous morning I'd woken up in her bed.

"Are you sure you don't want me to turn around," Relena asked hopefully after a short while.

"Oh yes! Quite sure. It'll be over in a minute." Or not…

It was just my luck that the shaky tattooed digits were far from easily readable. Whoever had done the tattoo must have been either very clumsy or dead drunk, quite possibly both.

"Let's see…forty-eight… no, forty-five…"

"What on *earth* are you doing?"

"I'm just… admiring your tattoo?"

"Oh *that*."

Thinking that I might get some useful information out of her, I asked as innocently as possible: "This tattoo here on your shoulder is quite… stunning, I mean… unusual. When did you have it done?"

"Good grief, I didn't! I'd never mar my skin with something hideous like that. My father had it done when I was little. I don't remember. I usually hide the ugly thing beneath my dress."

Well, Mr. Sawdown was cleverer than I thought! He'd kept the clues well-concealed in two separate places to make it impossible for even his wives and their respective children to find the treasure on their own. Suddenly, a thought struck me. For the first time and really rather belatedly I wondered if we were actually the only ones who knew about the gold and tried to get it. Did anyone else know about the map? The siblings' tattoos? Were we up against a whole host of treasure hunters without even realizing it? It certainly bore thinking about. Resolving to speak to Heero about it as soon as possible, I focused my attention on the task at hand…

"Miss, would you hold the lamp for a minute? Thanks. I really have to take a closer look…"

And just as I leaned down to take a very close look at the scrawly lines etched into Relena's skin— in fact, I was almost touching her shoulder with my nose; the tattoo was really almost illegible— there was a noise at the door.

A low and rather angry voice said: "You forgot the key."

Of course, it was Heero. Who else but him would have noticed such a minor yet still significant error. I slowly turned my head towards the door. Sure enough, there was Heero in all his scary glory, hair impossibly dishevelled by the wind, cheeks flushed pink from the cold night air, eyes clear and dark in the gloom. He looked cold and angry but for some completely inconceivable reason also very, very sad.

In a highly uncomfortable moment of perfect clarity, I suddenly realized what the whole situation must look like: I was leaning over a very naked Relena, nose all but touching her neck. It was well after midnight. We were all alone in a deserted area of the harbour. Hot embarrassment shot through me and I jerked away from Relena as if she were soap and clean water. Desperately trying to explain myself, I gasped out what everyone in my situation would have said:

"Ahaha. It's really not what it looks like!"

Unfortunately, Relena had also realized what was happening and started to scream: "Don't look! Don't look! I'm *completely* naked!" Which made the whole situation seem rather more scandalous than it was. While Relena abandoned herself to hysteria, I couldn't tear my eyes away from Heero. He now looked considerably more angry than sad. But just as I opened my mouth to explain everything, he turned and rushed outside.

"W-wait! Heero!" I stumbled after him, stubbing my toes on various tools and utensils littering the floor. "Ouch! Ouch! Damn those damn coordinates!"

Outside, cold winds swept howling in from the sea. The rain had turned into a downpour, drenching my hair and clothes in seconds, but I paid it no mind. The only thing I could think about was Heero and how seeing me with Relena had somehow hurt him. And though this seemed utterly impossible, his sadness was just as impossible to bear. Heero was smaller and faster than I and almost managed to vanish into an alley, but I got hold of his horrible, much-mended sweater and pulled him against me.

"Heero, wait a sec—"

"Let. Me. Go," he growled, but didn't really struggle.

"I want to explain—"

"I swear, I'll use force—" His eyes flashed dangerously and I believed every word of it. Never before had I seen him so agitated and discomposed. It was actually quite attractive.

"It's really not what it looked like! I—"

"Get off!"

"I don't even like her! In fact I—"

"I said get off—"

"I'm quite sure I lo—"

"Get. Off. Me. Now!"

"I love you!"

The rain kept pouring down on us.

The wind kept pulling at our clothes and whipping at our faces.

Heero and I stood in the downpour and let the rain soak us to the bone. For a long moment, we stared at each other, I embarrassed and slightly surprised by my own words, he confused and utterly bewildered. He was looking up at me with large, vulnerable eyes, brows drawn up in an endearingly helpless manner. His hair was a mess, drenched with rain and sea-spray. His lips were slowly turning blue. The poorly mended sweater he was doomed to wear was now completely soaked through and clung to him like seaweed to rock. Suddenly I was filled with a wild and reckless exhilaration. I leaned down, gathered him into my arms and kissed him for all he was worth.

I don't have to remind you that Heero could have easily, single-handedly, overpowered me; just as he'd defended himself against Zechs a few nights before. But I still hadn't been knocked down, strangled or seriously maimed, so he obviously wanted to be kissed. The thought was as surreal and inconceivable as everything else. But then there was additional evidence in the way his head tipped back, his mouth grew soft and unresisting and the rest of his body melted against me like an iceberg in the sun. Drunk on Heero's kisses, I barely noticed that his arms wound around my neck and then—

Crack!

Heero threw a right hook and hit me square on the chin.

"How dare you kiss me!"

"W-wait! Now, didn't you kiss me back?"

"No, I didn't!"

"Oh yes, I think you did."

"No, I didn't."

"But—"

"You kissed my sister!"

"Eh? N-no, I didn't!"

"I saw you."

"No, that is… I was—looking at her tattoo… um… *really* close."

Heero didn't look as if he believed me. Now why the devil had I learnt how to lie if people didn't even believe me when I was speaking the truth? I was seriously considering giving up on lying altogether. What a waste of time and energy!

"Heero, if you'd just let me explain," I tried again. "It's all because of—" I lowered my voice and cautiously glanced around the alley. This really wasn't the place to discuss treasures and mysterious coordinates. The harbour was infested with pirates, spies and adventurers. "—um, I can't tell you here, but you must believe me—"

But Heero had already regained his momentarily abandoned but easily recovered composure. He silenced me with a wave of his hand. "Your personal affairs don't concern me. I'm leaving."

"For someone who claims not to care you get kind of violent," I muttered, ruefully rubbing my chin.

Heero sent me a withering look. "I'm leaving. Now, if you would remove your hands…"

I looked down at my hands and sure enough they still were all over him.

"S-sorry," I muttered and stepped away.

Without further ado, Heero slipped out of my arms, turned and was off.