AN: OMGZ… scary! This is my THIRD update in the SAME month! dies Hell has frozen over. It's UNHEARD OF for this to happen with me! I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, faved, and placed my story on their alerts list. My last chapter received 24 reviews, which makes it my most reviewed chapter which just makes my DAY! Thank you EVERYONE for your love and dedication! I have… counts three chapters left after this one, plus an epilogue… so… YAY! We're almost there! Or… not yay… cuz it'd be the end… but… yeah. Anyway… I have tons of twists and turns coming up from the point on, so… I hope you all enjoy the ride! (wink wink nudge nudge)
Chapter 21: Party Time!
The next couple of weeks came and went in a flash. I had somehow managed to get all of my Christmas shopping done, and I had them wrapped and ready. Then there was the uber-fun adventure of getting a Christmas tree, which Duo helped me with. It was a huge Douglas fir sitting in the corner of the living room, wonderfully decorated in multicolored and white lights, and colorful ornaments.
The process of decoration was an event in itself. I made up a new rule that everyone in the house must participate in it, which required Trowa and Heero to help. Trowa didn't really seem to mind, but Heero did. He would give the usual, "It's pointless" or "I have work to do." So I left him alone… with a plan in mind, of course. Once we had gotten everything decorated, all that was needed was the angel on top of the tree.
"Okay, Heero… time to put the angel on the tree." I said.
He lay on the couch, reading a book and watching our antics as the rest of us decked out the house in the Holiday spirit. "Hn." he replied.
"C'mon, Heero. It's one measly little thing." Duo prodded.
"We DID do everything else…" Quatre commented, as Trowa nodded beside him.
He ignored us, and I put my hands on my hips, glaring at him. "Don't make me tickle you." I threatened.
"EH?" Duo exclaimed looking shocked. "Heero's ticklish?"
"Who would've thought?" Trowa commented.
"I'm not ticklish." Heero said defensively as he lowered his book. "She's bluffing."
Quatre shook his head. "Heero, Heero… you have no idea how a woman works. You've just totally challenged her."
I cracked my knuckles in front of him. He raised his book back up to his face.
Oh, no he didn't.
I shared a glance with Duo, who gave me a wink in agreement. I then literally hopped onto Heero who was still reclining on the length of the couch, and snatched his book out of his hands. "Hey!" he protested. Duo came up behind him and pinned his arms back, so he couldn't fight me.
And I started tickling his ribs. At first I didn't get a thing from him. Nothing. But his body kept… twitching. The way a body twitches when it's being tickled, and I knew… I didn't think it was possible… but Heero really WAS ticklish! Oh, the GLORY! A chorus of angels sang out victory in my head.
"Hey…" he protested, as he tried to writhe his body out from under me. He tried to use his legs to get me off, but then Quatre came up behind me and held his feet down for me, while Trowa watched in amusement. "Hey, hey!" He strained against Duo's iron hold, but it was to no avail.
"I'll give you a choice, Heero!" I said, as I continued to tickle him. "Either you have to finally start laughing, or you have to put the angel on the tree! Take your pick!"
I heard Trowa comment to the giggling Quatre, "She's good."
"Okay, okay!" he finally shouted. "I'll put the damn angel on the tree!"
"Damn straight…" I replied. I got off of him to let him do his job, and Quatre and Duo let him go.
He didn't go for the tree. Instead, he came after me. I leaped away from him, just barely escaping his grasping fingers. "You dirty liar!" I shouted.
"Omae o korosu!" he shouted, as he chased me around the couch. He started to climb over the couch to cut me off, but Duo caught him and pulled him to the ground. I watched in fascination as they wrestled each other, while Quatre and Trowa stood off to the side, smirking and laughing. "I'm going to kill both of you!" Heero threatened.
Meanwhile, Quatre was laughing so hard his face was turning pink. "I can't believe Heero's ticklish! Who would have known!"
"Yes." Trowa agreed. "You would think that with his training, that they would have had him get past that."
"Well it's not like when you're fighting an enemy, you have to worry about being tickled…" Quatre replied.
…Needless to say, it took a long while to finally get that angel on the tree, and in the end Heero wasn't even the one who did it. Sometimes Trowa is too sweet for his own good.
It was now Christmas Eve, the night of the party, and I stood in front of my mirror in my room, staring at my reflection. I had a towel wrapped around my damp body, and my hair was wet and framing my face. The contrast made my cheeks seem rosier than they actually were, and my hazel eyes stood out in the dim lighting of my room. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as my mind recapped on yesterday's events.
"It doesn't have to be perfect." Heero explained, as I walked myself through the steps for the fifth time that day. "I want it to be." I replied. "That's how I am. I want to be able to do it with my eyes closed." He gave a brief, curt nod. "Then let's do it one more time." Oh, yes. Let's. Sometimes I think my level of hentai thoughts would make even Duo blush."What are you smirking at?" he demanded as we both stepped up to the plate and positioned our arms, our new waltzing music in the background of the living room. Damn. "Nothing…" I replied. Lie. Make something up. "I'm just excited about the party tomorrow." He pierced me with his icy eyes. Damn it. He didn't buy it. He probably thought I was still snickering over the Christmas tree incident. It had already taken me much apologizing to get him to not stop giving me dance lessons, just because I had tickled him. We started dancing, and I watched our feet to make sure neither of us would be losing any toes. Then I felt Heero's hand on my chin, and he tilted my head up to look at him. My breath caught in my throat. My body continued the dance steps, but my mind was somewhere else. "Don't look at your feet." He ordered. I couldn't bear to look him in the face any longer, so I looked just past his shoulder, staring at the surroundings of the living room that seemed to turn with us. In the meantime, my thoughts were going haywire, bouncing off the walls like a small rubber ball. Is he going to dance with me at the party? Maybe I should ask him… no. That'd be silly. I would like to reserve the last dance with him though… but he wouldn't want to. Yes, I was definitely in trouble. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't have had a problem asking them things like that. But… because it's Heero… and I've got this… this… thing for him… I can't bring myself to open my mouth. To make the long story short, I was shy. The waltz ended a little too soon for my taste, and as Heero stepped away to end our last dance lesson, my heart took over before my brain could stop it. "Heero…!" I started. He paused from his usual process of moving the furniture back, and looked up at me. "Hn?" Just say it, Lynn… 'Will you dance the last dance with me?' c'mon! Just SAY it! "Um… I just wanted to thank you for doing this for me. You know… teaching me how to dance." I replied.
He
gave a curt, professional nod. "You're welcome." I'm
such a c
I
could feel the knot in my stomach, and I braced my hands on my small
dresser. I looked at the dress laid out on my bed in the
reflection of the mirror. I might as well do my hair first, and
then get dressed. Making sure the towel was tied securely
around my chest; I stepped into the bathroom to tackle the sopping
mess that was on my head.
I could hear Duo's voice in the hall, muffled through the door. "I need to fix my hair real quick, okay Q?" There was an indistinguishable muffled response from Quatre on the other end of the house, and before I could either leap to the lock or leap back into my room, the God of Death himself stepped into the bathroom where I just happened to be.
Our eyes locked, and then his eyes traveled down the length of my body, finally landing on my legs… or my butt… I wasn't sure which. "Holy…"
"Duo!" I shouted, clutching my towel.
His eyes shot back up to my face. "Um…. BRUSH!" he shouted in response. A low menacing growl escaped my throat. I grabbed his brush from the drawer, and chucked at his head with as much force as possible, without my towel falling off in the process.
"OW!" He stumbled back into the hall, and I slammed the bathroom door, locking it.
Why me? I know it was my fault for not locking the door (again)… and I had walked in on Duo a long time ago… but still… that's totally beside the point.
By the time I was ready to go, Quatre was the only one still left in the house. "Where is everyone?" I asked, as I slung my small black evening purse over my shoulder, and tucking a loose strand of my hair behind my ears. I had somehow miraculously managed to get my hair up into a French Twist, and I could only pray it would stay together during the party.
"They're already there." Quatre replied, as he adjusted his white tie. "They were called in a little early to help pull everything together for Relena, and to make sure the security is up to par. Are you ready to go?"
"Indeed, I am." Quatre offered me his arm, which I took with a silly smirk and he led me to the car.
The party was being held in a reserved section of the Sanq Palace. As Quatre and I entered, the full-blast of the holiday season washed over me. Christmas lights coiled around the banister of the stairs, leading down to where the majority of the party was being held. It was a huge ballroom, with a beautiful marble dance floor. There were round decorated tables off to the side against the walls, with a buffet line on one end, and an orchestra set up on the other end. It was beautiful. There was an archway that opened up to a small balcony, which overlooked the beautiful view of the Kingdom.
"Wow…" I whispered.
I glanced at Quatre to smile at him, but I noticed he was frozen to the ground, his blue eyes wide open, staring at someone down below amongst the guests. His mouth was open slightly, clearly in shock. What the…? I followed his gaze down below, and realized with great relish, just who he was staring at.
Hilde Schbieker stood down below, talking merrily with a black-clad Duo, dressed in a long simple black dress that tied up behind her neck exposing her back. I glanced back at Quatre, who was now turning a nice shade of pink in the cheeks and ears, and I grinned.
"Why, Quatre…" I commented. "What seems to be the problem?"
He wasn't even paying attention to me. A moment went by, and then he tore his eyes away from the woman below him, and looked at me. "Huh?"
"You're blushing."
Vengeance is sweet. Sweet like sugar. Sugar kisses.
Okay. That's enough 80's music references for tonight.
A strangled choke (which I'm assuming was meant to be a scoff) escaped his throat, and he looked away, the color in his face increasing. He started walking me down the wide steps, and as we did, I noticed that our closest friends noticed our arrival. Duo and Hilde stopped talking and looked up. A huge smile lit up Hilde's face when she saw Quatre, and waved at him amiably. Meanwhile the blonde next to me gave a sheepish smile, and a little wave back, his hand not even halfway up. Oh my God… how cute. I had to bite my lower lip to keep from laughing. It would be just plain cruel to embarrass him in front of his object of affection.
I looked at Duo to see his equally smirking reaction, but he wasn't paying any attention to them. Instead, his eyes were riveted on me, his mouth slightly open… in fact I was feeling a little bit of déjà vu. Didn't Quatre just have this same expression? However… the blush was missing. I figure I've just wowed him with my feminine wiles (a.k.a.: the dress of awesomeness). I looked away to quickly spot out everyone else that I knew.
Heero was by the archway to the balcony with Noin and Zechs, his eyes uncomfortably keen on mine and Quatre's entrance. I eyed the couple next to him, acknowledging Zech's slick grey suit that he wore, with Noin standing next to him in a taupe colored dress with red rose embroidery coiling across her body. I found Trowa sitting by the buffet at a small table with Wufei having a quiet conversation, both in simple black and white tuxedos. He glanced in my direction, and I could tell that the conversation stopped, because he didn't look away. Wufei… who looked mildly irritated, turned to see what the fuss was about, which… apparently… happened to be me and Quatre. I also spotted all the other familiar faces. Sally, Catherine, Une, and even Dorothy was there, talking to some random good-looking man (who didn't look the slightest bit intimidated by her pointy eyebrows of Doom, with a capital 'D'.)
I'm not sure which one everyone is gawking at. The exchange between Quatre and Hilde, or me and my dress. Or maybe even the way Duo was staring at me. Whatever the reason, it made me want to go find a nice comfy spot by the buffet. Just me and a butter roll, please.
As we reached the bottom of the stairs, Hilde went up to Quatre to give him a friendly hug hello, and Duo gave a low whistle, giving me a very obvious once-over. "Very nice," he stated with a grin.
"Don't you start with me…" I warned teasingly.
"Hey, you should have locked the door!" Duo said defensively. "Besides, I'm not the ONLY one who made that mistake…"
"Um… excuse me?" Hilde commented, looking quite confused.
"Uh… it's nothin'…" Duo said, throwing in a light-hearted laugh.
"Duo, with you, it's never 'nothing.'" Hilde shot back.
"Aye, aye…" I commented.
Quatre took this opportunity to speak. "Oh! Um… Lynn, this is Hilde Schbieker… and Hilde, this is Lynn Tinsley. She's my relative."
"Why thank you for introducing us, Quatre! That's so sweet of you!" Hilde commented as she patted him on the shoulder. Meanwhile she shot Duo an icy look.
The braided man caught it immediately. He put up his hands in defense. "Hey, I was gonna!"
"Sure you were…" I teased, nudging him in the ribs with my elbow. I turned back to Hilde. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise!" she smiled as we shook hands. "I like your dress, by the way."
"Oh thanks! Yours is great too!"
"Oh no… they're bonding…" Duo muttered. Quatre nodded his agreement.
"They're such gentleman…" I commented sardonically.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Hilde replied.
An applaud started to erupt from the crowd, and Hilde said, "Look! There's Relena!"
I turned my eyes to the stage where the orchestra sat, and finally saw the Vice Foreign Minister herself (my least favorite character in the series, apart from Treize). She was decked out in a long ivory and pink gown, which seemed a little too poofy for my taste. Her hair was brought up into the most picture-perfect bun I had ever seen, while pearls shone off of her neck and ears. If I didn't remember how crazy she was during the series, then I could say that she's actually quite an attractive person. But I felt the old feelings creeping back up, and it made my skin crawl.
And really, I shouldn't have this sort of biased reaction. It was a long time ago, and she even seemed more grown up in Endless Waltz, much to my chagrin. Still, old habits are hard to break, and getting over my disdain for the ex-Queen-of-the-World would be easier said than done.
As if on instinct, I glanced over at Heero, who was still leaning casually against they archway, his arms crossed over his black tux and blue shirt, looking as cool as ever as he watched her. I was too far away to see the look in his eyes that would give away the deciding factor if I should consider Miss Peacecraft a rival or not. I looked back at the stage, before Heero (or anyone else) could notice that I was staring at him. I glanced at my friends, to see their eyes fixated on the woman standing before them, while she gave one of her hefty speeches, which was only meant to be an introductory 'thank you for coming tonight.'
After she was done and had stepped down from the small stage, a group of people flocked to her side, every one of them trying to get the first word in. The orchestra struck up a polite, classical background melody to help ease the mood. I noticed old familiar faces, like her old friends from the early episodes. And somewhere amongst the heads, I could have sworn I saw her mother (who happened to fall off of the face of the Earth during the series.) There were a number of older people there… I'm guessing politicians and representatives of this-and-that corporation. I didn't realize how out of it I was, until I felt Duo's hand on my lower back, the warmth sending shivers up my spine. "Let's get a table." He suggested, his voice oddly close to my ear. I nodded, and we both started to walk towards the buffet, with Quatre and Hilde following us. We snatched a table right next to Wufei and Trowa.
"Hey, guys!" Duo said. "What'd you think of the speech?"
"Predictable." Wufei commented.
"Basic." Trowa added.
"Yeah, she did look a bit tired." Quatre commented, as he took off his white coat and draped it over his chair. He pulled out a chair for Hilde, who took it gratefully, pushing it in for her slightly as she sat down. It was then that I noticed Duo was holding a chair out for me, waiting for me to take my seat. So he can be a gentleman…. when he wants to be. Interesting. I immediately began to tune out the conversation going on around me. I don't usually do the whole "social" thing. So whenever there comes a time that I'm in this sort of an environment, I end up having nothing interesting to say. I hate small talk. And that's the foundation of these sorts of parties. Instead, I kept watching everyone. Relena had finally been able to pry herself away from her 'devoted fans,' and found Heero standing by himself, off in the shadows. I watched as they talked, curious as to what they were saying. My mind started to make up dialogue for them, and with my mind being the way it was, it started popping out some random funny stuff. I had to stifle my giggles to myself. I watched as Relena said something to Heero, smiling. My mind improvised. 'So what have you been up to?' she would say… I watched as Heero gave her a brief response. 'Masturbating.' Hahaha… wow. I need to get a life.
I looked back at my friends, listening to their conversation. It wasn't too long before Heero and Relena showed up and took a couple of the seats at Wufei and Trowa's table, with Relena already attached to Heero's arm. What was worse was that he didn't really seem to mind. I could feel a heat wave of jealously wash over me. Heero made eye contact with me as they sat down, and I looked away, afraid that the agitation in my face would show.
"I'm hungry…" I finally commented out of the blue. And I was, too. This dress may be a bit snug, but I could feel the hunger pains starting. And it was a little bonus that going to the buffet would get me away from the Heero and Relena proximity. I could almost see the dreamy rose stamps and sparkles around them. Okay. Maybe a slight exaggeration. But I'm entitled.
"Me too," Duo commented. "Let's get some food. How about you guys?"
"I can definitely eat," Hilde said. "That flight in was long and boring, and their food was terrible."
"I'll eat too." Quatre said, as he stood up.
Our table walked to the buffet together while our friends at the table next to us talked a little bit more. I grabbed a plate and filled it with a baked potato, a bread roll, and a few nice slices of ham. I watched Duo in front of me as he piled one thing after another onto his plate, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. "You eat like my brother." I commented.
"I'm a growing man, what I can say?" he replied, as we walked back to our table, while Quatre and Hilde still picked out a few more things to eat.
"Yeah… growing sideways…" I teased. His only response was to take a vicious bite out of his roll, his cheeks puffed out from so much food. "You look like a chipmunk." I teased.
He swallowed his bite, and pouted. "Man. That's so not what I was going for. I was thinking something along the lines of… vicious caveman."
"That was next on my list." I replied with a smirk.
As we sat down at our table, I noticed Relena and Heero stand up. They walked the few short steps to us, and Heero motioned to me with his hand. "Relena, this is Lynn Tinsley, Quatre's second cousin. Lynn, this is Relena Peacecraft, Vice Foreign Minister of ESUN."
My stomach turned itself inside out, and I no longer felt very hungry, as Relena smiled kindly to me and offered her hand. I took it and shook it, slightly surprised at how delicate it felt. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said.
"Likewise," I replied, as I secretly assessed her.
"Are you enjoying the party so far?" she asked politely.
I nodded. "The decorations are beautiful, the music is good, and best of all I am in the company of my friends." I glanced at my table for emphasis. "Thank you for letting me come along."
"The pleasure is mine! Any friend of Heero's is a friend of mine." she explained.
At this point, Duo intervened. "Yo! Relena! How have you been?"
Relena smiled at him. "Very well, thank you."
"How're the higher-ups treating you? Have you been getting your vacations like I keep telling you, you should have?"
Relena chuckled at him. "You haven't changed at all, have you Duo?"
Duo playfully scoffed at her. "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult!"
"To answer your question Miss Peacecraft, no he hasn't." Hilde said with a smile, as her and Quatre sat down.
"Hilde to my rescue, as always…" Duo commented wryly.
Relena didn't stay very long. She caught sight of her brother with Noin, and went to go say hello to them. Heero stayed behind and went back to the table with Wufei and Trowa. I watched carefully as his eyes lingered on her retreating form before sitting down.
Damn it.
We sat and ate, laughing and talking, all the while my attention constantly being riveted back to the Heero and Relena issue at-hand. My brain has a tendency to over-analyze every little detail. Like that lingering look. Was that a look of simple caring friendship? Or was it soldier-protectiveness? Or was it something more? It made my insides squirm and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I had a strong feeling I wouldn't be dancing with Heero tonight.
And on top of that, Relena actually seemed like a decent person, as much as I would hate to admit that, although she did still clearly have a one-track mind when it came to Heero.
Double damn it.
My ears picked up on the orchestra playing a waltz, and I watched as a number of couples entered the open dance floor. I watched as Relena danced the first dance with her brother, while Noin stayed off to the side, watching the sibling bonding with a twinkle of affection in her eyes.
I looked back at our table and watched Quatre shift uncomfortably in his seat, sneaking glances at Hilde. I knew what this meant. I nudged him with my foot under the table. He turned and looked at me. I gave a small motion with my head towards Hilde, which clearly stated 'go for it!' He visibly paled a feat I didn't think was possible, and gave the very faintest shake of his head. Meanwhile, Hilde made comments of her own.
"Look at how well everyone dances!" she said, her face practically glowing with excitement.
Oh, come on… what more of an incentive does the blonde need? I gave him a harsher kick under the table, and a look that clearly stated, 'if you don't go, then I'll keep kicking you.'
I watched as he held his breath for a moment, and then stood up from his seat, offering his hand to Hilde. "Would you care to dance, Miss Hilde?"
"Why Quatre, I would love to!" she beamed, taking his hand. I watched with pride as they both went out onto the dance floor.
"Good job," Duo commented. "I've been trying to get those two together for ages."
I laughed at him. "Really?"
He nodded. "Oh, yeah… he's liked her ever since he first met her."
"What about her?" I asked, as I watched them glide across the floor.
"She likes him too… although she'll never admit it to me…" Duo replied. "What's even worse is that she knows he likes her."
"Then why don't they just hook up already?" I asked.
"Quatre's too shy… and a little clueless. And as for her, she's not used to men like Quatre…" Duo explained. "He's attractive, charming, rich… and at the same time a rebel, what with the whole gundam pilot thing. She's only had to deal with soldiers, you know? Not gentleman."
"He's a soldier, too…" I pointed out.
"Well, 'terrorist' would be a more correct label for us… we were never part of an army. But he's a bit of a unique case, if you haven't noticed…" he chuckled. "So how about it?"
I took my eyes away from them, as a new waltz number started up. "huh?"
"Are you ready to go out there?" he motioned with his head towards the dance floor.
I could feel the blush creeping up onto my skin. "Um… I dunno…"
"I'll take that as a yes! C'mon!" And before I could protest, Duo had pulled me out onto the floor.
"Duo! Do you even know how to waltz?" I demanded, as he found an open spot in the middle of the dance floor.
"What! Of course I do! I had to do tons of undercover operations that required some dancing!" he shot back.
He put his arm around my waist and held my right hand in his left, and began to lead me through the steps, my body automatically responding, my steps lining up with his.
He was a damn good dancer. I had no idea. His hold was strong… Heero's was strong too, but it was different. Duo's seemed more… personal, I suppose. The way he danced was a little different. It had just a little bit more attitude in it, a little bit more flourish. Heero was all about technique and getting the steps down to perfection, whereas Duo threw in a little bit of enjoyment to go with it.
"Heero's been teaching you how to dance, hasn't he?" Duo commented with a grin.
"What!" I shot back. "How did you know!"
"You dance like him!" he chuckled.
I started laughing. "Why, Duo… you've danced with Heero? Had I known you were the type…"
"Ha, ha…" Duo shot back. "Ever heard of observational learning?"
"Don't worry I won't tell anyone…" I continued to tease.
The music picked up and Duo, without warning, quickened his pace. "Hey!" I protested, as he moved me across the dance floor.
"If you learned from Heero, then you should be able to keep up…" Duo challenged.
I glowered at him playfully, and watched over his shoulder as our surroundings flew by us. I caught a number of our friends on the dance floor. Quatre and Hilde were still dancing, and I saw Zechs and Noin dancing as well… And… Trowa and… Sally? Dancing together? Who would've guessed! Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught Heero and Relena dancing. In that instant, I caught it… the look in Heero's eyes, the light inside them as he looked at her. He wasn't smiling, but I could tell that he wanted to.
I don't know to what extent he cares for her… but the fact couldn't be denied. He felt something. I felt my heart plummet. Talk about a mood killer.
I no longer felt like dancing. I was about to tell Duo that, when a jazzy Christmas melody rang up.
"Can you swing dance?" Duo asked me. I stared at him, shocked.
"Um… no?" I replied.
"Great! I get to teach you!" he exclaimed, his violet eyes displaying his excitement. "Just try and follow my lead."
He wasn't REALLY teaching me. It was more like 'learn from imitation and try to guess what the next move is.' Still, it was a LOT of fun. Like I said… I love jazz, and I love dancing. Take those two and mix in a little bit of Duo, and you've got one heck of an experience. So even though the pain of my realization was eating away at me, I still managed to enjoy myself.
And like I said… Duo is a great dancer.
The party continued on into the night, everyone dancing with everyone. I got to dance with Quatre while Hilde and Duo danced together, and I watched as Trowa danced with Relena, while Heero danced with Dorothy, and Wufei danced with Sally. At one point I even got to dance with Sexy Zechsy (compliments of Duo intentionally dancing with Noin, therefore handing me over to the Sex-God in the process.) Now how's that for a damn good evening? However, through most of the night, Duo was my dance partner… my psuedo-date for the evening, and I always seemed to have the most fun when I was spending time with him. There was something about the way he looked, the way he laughed and the way he danced that just made me feel relaxed.
And still, I never danced with Heero. Not once. I could just feel the minutes ticking by, counting the songs that had come and gone, every time thinking, 'That's one more song that I haven't danced with him, and one more song that brings us closer to the end of the evening.' In the meantime, Relena got to spend a lot of her dancing time with my object of affection, which was just sooo aggravating.
I was beginning to feel very depressed the closer we got to the end of the evening. Another jazz song began to play, and I recognized it immediately. It was nie to hear something so familiar, so… timeless. It was truly a classic. Sinatra's 'Christmas Waltz' began to play, and I smiled as I began to dance the slow waltz with Duo. I began to sing along. "It's the time of year when the world falls in love, every song you hear seems to say… Merry Christmas, may your new years dreams come true…"
"And this song of mine in three quarter time wishes you and yours the same thing too…" Duo sang along.
I grinned. "You know this song?"
"Howard likes all the old stuff." Duo explained. "So I know a few songs. I'm surprised they're playing it, actually."
"You and me both…" I replied.
He continued to sing, his voice washing over me. Wow. And I do mean WOW. "You have a great voice…" I complimented. He held me closer and grinned as we danced through the song.
Finally, when the song ended, I decided to sit down and rest my feet which happened to be screaming in my open-toed heels. Duo sat down with me, but was then consequently pulled up by Sally to go dance, while Wufei sat at the table. I watched as they danced for a little bit, and then my eyes betrayingly sought out Heero, who… go figure… was dancing with Relena. Again. It was a slow song, and as they danced, I watched as she flirted with him. I could tell she was talking professionally, but her actions gave her away. She had her hands around his neck while she talked with her fingers in his hair. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but did not make any attempt to put more distance between them, and kept looking over her shoulder instead of into her eyes while he responded to her. It was the final twist, and I needed to leave before I let my emotions show.
I stood up and walked outside to the balcony where Quatre and Hilde were standing, leaning over the banister and talking. I hadn't even noticed they were gone. They turned around at my entrance, and I paused in my steps, the echo of my heels on the stone bouncing off into the night. "Sorry," I said immediately. "I'll come back later." I turned to leave, but Hilde's voice stopped me.
"Don't worry about it! We were about to go in anyway." she exclaimed, took the blonde by the hand, and began to walk back.
As soon as they reached the archway, Duo's distinct voice shouted, "Mistletoe!"
I turned and looked at him, confused, and noticed him pointing above the archway. I looked up, and sure enough, there was a hanging mistletoe, cleverly disguised by its fellow holiday decorations.
"You guys have to kiss!" Duo announced, his finger now pointed at the stunned couple.
"W-what!" Quatre protested.
"He's right… it's tradition…" Trowa said, as he paused in his dancing with Catherine, a unique smirk on his lips.
Quatre stared at them, appalled. 'Tomboy' Hilde was blushing crimson next to him. Finally she spoke just loud enough for my ears to catch, "Well… might as well. Otherwise Duo will NEVER leave us alone."
"What!" Quatre started. "He wouldn't leave us alone anyway!"
"Don't you find her attractive enough to kiss her, Q-man?" Duo prodded. Oh, what a dirty trick!
Quatre glared at him. "Don't you even start that."
"How about Hilde kisses Quatre on the cheek?" Catherine offered, trying to come to their rescue.
"I can do that…" Hilde said, as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. She turned to Quatre, who turned a deep shade of crimson. "It'll be really fast, I promise!"
Hilde closed her eyes to prepare herself for the event, and started to lean in. Quatre glanced at me for help, as I watched the whole spectacle. I grinned and mouthed to him, 'go for it!'
He went for it, alright. He turned back to look at her as she was leaning in, glanced up at the ceiling as if briefly cursing the fates. Then he grabbed her by her shoulders and kissed her square on the mouth. In front of everyone. A great gasp came from everyone, and all of our friends stopped in their tracks as the music played on.
Her eyes flew open in shock, and Quatre pulled away, looking terrified. I could see the look on his face. It clearly stated, 'what have I done!' But before he could make the decision to go run off and hide in a corner, Hilde grabbed his face in her hands and planted the second kiss of the evening right onto his shocked lips. I watched, feeling overwhelming happiness for them and envy at the same time, as Quatre put his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
A great unwavering cheer erupted, Duo's being the loudest. "It's about DAMN time!" he added. The two pulled away from their embrace, blushing profusely.
"Not bad…" I heard Hilde say, earning a few good laughs from the audience, and a nervous laugh from Quatre himself.
While everyone else talked, I watched in bemusement as Wufei pulled over a chair and managed to take the mistletoe down.
"Hey!" Duo protested.
"There's no way in hell I'm going to get caught underneath this thing." Wufei stated.
"Scrooge!" Sally called out accusingly.
I watched as they walked away and everyone else either returned to dancing or flocked around them to talk to them. Once I was sure no one was paying attention to me, I turned around and peered out across the cityscape. The city lights sparkled, as if they were in contest with the stars above, bright and truly beautiful. There were a couple of empty chairs near me on the balcony, so I sat in one, and just stared out into the night as the evening wore on. The cold helped calm my nerves a little bit, although I couldn't help but dwell on the desires I had in me that wouldn't leave me alone. I wish I could kiss Heero the way that Quatre had kissed Hilde. And it wasn't until I witnessed that, along with Heero's interactions with Relena, that I've realized how lonely I really am here. It was Christmas Eve, and I didn't have anyone special. Yes, I had friends, and I love them dearly… but it's not the same. On top of that, this is my first Christmas without my family. And it's not by choice. I stared up into the night sky and wished them a silent merry Christmas, as I felt my heartstrings tie themselves into a painful knot that seemed to lodge itself in my throat.
I don't know how long I sat there, as the music played on, and the people danced. It was a little while later when I heard footsteps come out onto the balcony. I turned to see who it was, only to see that it was Heero of all people. He walked all the way to the banister and stared out over the balcony for a moment before turning to me.
"Have you been out here the whole time?" He asked.
I nodded, and looked back out at the city. "Where's Relena?" I asked casually.
"She had to leave. She has a lot of work to do tomorrow, so she needs to rest." he explained.
"Work? It's Christmas tomorrow. You'd think she'd get the day off."
"She does have the day off. But she's still using it to get work done." he explained. "She's very diligent."
"Apparently." I replied. "Is the party over then?"
"Almost…" he replied. "A lot of people have gone home. They're mostly sitting around talking now."
"Did you have fun tonight?" I asked.
"Hn…" was his response, and I took it as a yes.
I could feel that knot in my throat again, and I cleared my throat to try and rid myself of it. After sitting out here for a while in my own self-pity, the idea of being near him right now just hurt way too much. I stood. "I'm going to go inside."
I began to walk back towards the archway, when Heero's voice stopped me. "What were you really going to ask me yesterday?"
I turned to look at him, as he leaned against the banister, his back to me, still looking out across the night. I was shocked. How did he know? I turned back towards the archway so he wouldn't see my reaction. I watched my friends sit around and talk, Hilde and Quatre sitting awfully close together since the events of the evening. Duo had somehow managed to get the mistletoe that Wufei had removed, and had it tied to a long stick that he must have found outside. I watched from a distance as he made it dance over people's heads, until Wufei got fed up and managed to snatch it from his hands. The words fell from my mouth before I could stop them. Again. "I was going to ask to dance the last dance with you." Then I added on quickly with a laugh, "But don't worry. The party's almost over anyway, and I was just being silly."
I began to walk back inside, when his hand caught my arm. I turned and looked at him, surprised. "All you had to do was ask." he stated.
He led me back out to the middle of the balcony and began to slow dance with me as a slow jazzy version of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' began to play. Talk about timing.
I couldn't formulate a response. I just let him dance with me, a simple slow dance. Not a waltz or anything amazing. A slow dance. And while we slow danced, I held my breath… I felt like I couldn't breathe, and I was afraid my heart was going to shoot out of my chest and into the stars. He held my hand in his and had his other around my waist as we swayed to the music, and after a little bit the tension melted away, and I realized how tired I was from the night's events.
And so we just danced… like two normal people at a Christmas party, with the winter breeze ruffling our hair, while our friends laughed inside, and the smell of chimney smoke drifted over from the city below us.
Once the song ended, his voice brought me back to reality. "We should go home." he stated.
I opened my eyes (when did I close them?), and realized that we were much closer now, with my head resting on his shoulder. I pulled away immediately, while at the same time trying not to look nervous. "Okay…" I replied.
As we went inside to collect our friends, one single phrase went through my head, circling my brain like dizzy swirls.
All I had to do was ask…