KINDRED: SIX AND THE PRINCESS
I WISH…
Heero Yuy watched her from the shadows near the double glass doors that led out to the veranda. She was tired; no one else would be able to see it, but he'd been with her now for eight years as the head of her personal safety team. Reaching up, he tapped the miniscule earpiece.
"It's time."
"South entrance secured." No surprise there – Chang had been itching to go for the last hour.
"The car is waiting." Now that was some foresight on Barton's part. He wasn't in the giant ballroom; he'd been guarding their charge from the foyer, watching each guest with hawk eyes. But Trowa had been with her just as long as he had, and being more of a surrogate older brother than a bodyguard, he knew her almost as well as Heero did.
Sliding out of the shadows, Heero made his way to her side. Relena seemed to sense him coming and glanced his way. His eyes narrowed a titch. She was exhausted. He stopped next to her and the man talking to her, some diplomat from some country Heero could care less about, frowned and started to say something.
Relena smiled and made her excuses. It helped that Heero's gaze was stern and he'd put a possessive hand at her waist. The man nodded and turned away, but not before Heero got the distinct impression the guy was calling him every name in the book. Good. He led her from the room, glaring at anyone who even looked like they might try to stop her. He'd let this go on too long already.
Trowa helped her slip her coat on and Wufei was at the door. He offered Relena his arm and walked her down the wide stairs to the gleaming black BMW. They'd had a row over this car; Heero and Trowa had felt a Mercedes offered better protection, but as the driver, Wufei wanted the speed and style. Relena had settled it by smiling at Chang.
That smile could change the world.
Wufei held her door as she got in. Heero took the other back seat and Trowa rode shotgun. Wufei pulled the car smoothly into traffic and for the first time all night, Relena Peacecraft relaxed.
She put her head back against the seat and sighed. That soft sound was enough to draw Wufei's dark eyes in the rearview and Trowa's green ones over his left shoulder. They knew she was fine, just like Heero did. But knowing and seeing were two different things. They wanted to see.
"Thank you," she murmured. It was meant for all three of them. She straightened and turned her gaze out the window. Her honey-blonde hair was up in a graceful chignon; Heero knew she hated it. She was beginning to hate all of it: the parties, the politics, the way everyone wanted something from her.
If I could take it all away, I would.
The drive to the hotel was short. Duo was waiting on the sidewalk when Wufei pulled up. He came around the car and opened Relena's door, helping her out and then tucking her hand into the crook of his arm. Maxwell was all charm and chuckles tonight; he'd just arrived home from a honeymoon with Hilde the night before. He led her up the sweeping steps and into the Brass Lily Hotel while the other three flanked them.
The hotel was one of Relena's favorites. It was not with Team Six – her team. Built a millennia ago, it was a virtual nightmare of safety hazards, but Heero could forgive it just a bit for the labyrinth of tunnels below it that had served him well the time she'd been kidnapped and held here as a hostage by some nut job.
Relena was starting to let down more; she tipped her head and rested it against Duo's shoulder as they walked. Trowa would speak later with Heero about it, letting him know it was not okay that she'd been at the party so long that she was dead on her feet. Heero would take the scolding with his customary blank face, letting Barton get it all out. He didn't mean anything by it, anyway – it was just his way of caring.
Duo unlocked her door and stood to the side with her while Heero and Trowa swept the suite and Wufei guarded from the hallway. Once they were certain there were no threats, Trowa waved them in. Duo said goodnight, kissed her cheek and stepped from the room. Trowa hugged her tight, murmuring something no one else but her was meant to hear, kissed the top of her head, and left the room.
"Sleep tight, princess. I'll be right outside," Wufei assured her before he shut the door. The nickname had started out a veiled insult, but over the years had transformed into a term of endearment – one that he allowed no one else to call her.
She turned her back to Heero and he unzipped the back of her dress. She went into the other room and shut the door. Heero sat down in one of the plump chairs and turned the TV on, jacking up the volume a little. He found a baseball game and left it on.
Ten minutes later she rejoined him. Her hair was down, a loose shimmer of honey falling across her back. She was wearing blue leggings and her Sanc Kingdom Knights sweatshirt. It had seen better days; Heero had tried to replace it a year ago but she'd refused. He understood. There were a lot of memories worn into it.
She sprawled at his feet on her stomach. "Knights winning?"
He nudged her side with a steel-toed boot. "Don't get comfortable. You've got a schedule to go over."
She groaned. "Slave driver. I've already been over it three times with Trowa. I know the schedule."
"Good. Then this won't take long." He picked up a piece of paper from the small table next to his chair. "Go."
"Ugh." Relena rolled up into a sitting position, her back to him. "Plane leaves at nine. We land in New York City," and at his grunt she added, "JFK at one. Then I meet with chairperson so-and-so at three. Dinner at six, hopefully," here he chuckled, "and then I'm back on the plane, this time at LaGuardia, at ten." She heaved a dramatic sigh. "Happy?"
"Where are you going next?"
She leaned back against his chair and said nothing.
"Relena," he prompted. When she didn't acknowledge him, he said, "I know you hate it, but there it is. Where?" When she still said nothing, he gave her another nudge.
"Fine, fine. I'm going to visit my beloved older brother for a lovely time at his country house in England. Happy?" There was a growl in her tone that made him frown. She really did hate having to visit Zechs, but if she didn't, her older brother would personally hunt her down, and Heero did not want that. "I don't know why he bothers. Trowa is the only brother I need." Her tone was quieter now, sadness laced through it.
Heero sat forward and placed his hand gently on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "I know."
She sighed and turning sideways, laid her head on his knee. "Are all of you going with me?"
"Just Trowa and me." Zechs would have a fit if she walked in with all four of them. He disliked Duo and found Wufei unsettling. He barely tolerated Heero and Trowa, but they were part of the deal.
"Okay."
He tangled his fingers in her hair, massaging her scalp as she ran a hand up and down his leg. "We'll make it as painless as we can for you," he said.
"I know. I wouldn't go without you."
He knew she meant him. No matter how much she trusted the other three, Heero was her rock, her protector. He always had been, even when it wasn't his job, even when he hadn't wanted to be. Now, it was the only thing he could think of doing.
She sat up and he gave a strand of her hair a gentle tug and let go. "I'm tired of it, Heero."
"I know." But she would go, even though she hated every moment of it, even though Zechs was merciless about her staying the media darling, the spearhead of the peace movement. Heero wished he could just remove the older man from her life. If only.
She turned her head to face him, and he almost winced at the ghosts in her eyes. So much had happened between them. So much had happened since that first chance meeting on a beach. If he could hunt them all down, he would. He traced her cheekbone with his finger, watching the slow roll of desire chase the specters from her eyes.
"Heero, I…I wish," she said.
"Yeah. Me too," he told her.
But it couldn't work like this. Not when she was still in the public eye. Not when he was responsible for her safety. She reached out and touched his hand, and he felt the charge like he always did, that spark between them that nothing could extinguish.
Yeah….I wish too.
She got to her feet and retired to the other room with no goodbye, and he waited until he heard the door shut before he turned the TV off and got up. No matter how they wished, it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He stepped out into the hall and nodded to Wufei. Chang dipped his head once, but that was all the acknowledgement Heero would get. As he made his way next door to his room, he took a deep breath and let that cold determination roll over him that had made him the consummate soldier and Gundam pilot. There was no room for pining over a woman who was likely never to be completely his.
Goodnight, Relena, he thought as he closed his door.
