Disclaimer: I got some pyrite (fool's gold) right here, right now, if you don't take this, I'm out of ideas.

AN: okay… my little musical thing is really taking some of my time… and I just found an oekaki board that has been amusing me for the last… two days. I still have to get my lazy butt up and try to do something on my website. *sigh* I'm having the time of my life. Also, thanks to everyone that gave me suggestions in my writing! And it's good to see I'm still getting new readers here! Arigatou! Oi, I'm having a bad typing day today… volleyball is not good for the writer's wrist.

To Hououza: Birthday wishes; no problem! The hint thing; your age. Now, about the whole Aki thing, instead of a sequel, I was thinking maybe a prequel, showing Aki's life before Relena came, with Arika and the gang. Though, if I do, you may have to wait a while for it because I try not to have more than two projects at a time, and I already know what I'm going to do for my next stories (I have a whole list waiting to be done ^-^).
      The Fic Critic: Umm… *looks away innocently*
      Queen of Shadows: Brave or stupid. J And Relena and Aki weren't there the whole time. When Aki left the room, Relena was probably still getting to the restaurant.
Lastly, I just realized how much alike the first sentence in the last chapter and this one are. Never even planned that.


Black Hair and Gray Eyes

Chapter 16

 Everything was black, so very black. But, in no time at all, the scenery began to change and Heero was looking up at Odin… the man that had started it all. He was saying something, but the Prussian-eyed boy couldn't understand what. It didn't seem like he needed to, though, because he started to walk away, the side of a big gun could be seen at his side. Men appeared out of nowhere, and there was a bang. They fell, motionless, and Heero jolted in surprise. But his body seemed unfazed, what was going on?

 Suddenly, he was watching himself shoot everyone. Heero was watching a seven-year-old version of him walk around killing everyone in his path emotionlessly. He stepped back, startled, and realized how much he had changed over the years. Something inside of him had changed, and it now frightened him that anyone, nevertheless a young child, could be like that.

 The scenery went black, then another picture appeared. This time, the walls were cement, and dirty. Strapped against a bed was him, yet a few years older than the last scene, eyes darting fearfully, though no other part of his body showed it. Sound came on, but Heero could not make out the words, but he could see the younger version of him struggling to push the voice out of his mind. 'Dr. J's training.' Heero realized glumly. His memories had mostly been erased, but he could still remember the fear of this place.

 Then, he was inside the Gundam again, with the enemy approaching fast. This time, Heero wasn't watching himself, he was the person in the memory. A cold, empty feeling started to fill him, making him struggle. For a moment, it seemed like he was going to be okay, but something began to pin him down. He could hear yelling, but it faded at an explosion happened right in front of him.

 When Heero realized the cold, empty feeling was getting stronger, he struggled even more, nearly breaking free. He heard words, and tried to make them out, with much difficulty.

 "Wake up!" One voice yelled, and confused Heero. Was he asleep? If so… that meant he could wake up. He tried to wake himself up, but to no avail, something was keeping him in this unconscious state.

 He looked in front of him and saw his Gundam hitting several suits, destroying them. Heero flung something, or at least tried to. He was becoming a killer again… but he didn't want that. He wanted to be at peace! The cold feeling was taking over, and nearly filled him, but at that moment, everything bounding him broke free. He tried to move, but it felt as if he was lying down…

 Warmth came, and a soothing voice. Heero whirled, and the scenery became black once more. The voice was coming from somewhere, though he could not tell where. Warmth surrounded his head, something cupping his face, and he let himself fall to his knees, though why he didn't know. The tone of the voice was familiar, but it was hard to figure it out. The warmth was familiar too… and the peaceful feeling taking over.

 What was this? Another trick? Could he let himself succumb into the temptation of just falling down? It didn't seem like he had any choice anyways, for his mind was ordering for him to relax. So, he let himself rest and fall, down and down, into the eternal blackness…

*~*~*~*~*

 "Well Sally? Did you manage to find anything?" Relena asked timidly from her place as Heero's pillow. She hadn't dared move, and kept to her spot, trying to get comfortable. Nothing helped, though, when you were anxious. Aki had also shown up, and was now asleep in a chair nearby.

 "Yes, we've found the source. Heero has trace amounts of valium in his blood. This stuff has sedatives in it, and can be fatal if taken with certain things. Relena, has Heero taken anything since he got here?"

 Relena thought for a moment, before frowning and shaking her head. "No, not that I've known of. But, he has had a bit of water a couple of hours back…" Sally nodded curtly.

 "Yes, that must be it. People check the water to make sure it is water, but valium is hard to detect. Especially with only trace amounts. Who gave you the water, Relena?" Relena thought back again.

 "Aki did, though she might not have come straight here, or stopped somewhere. Actually, I do remember her cursing on the way in because she bumped into somebody." Relena looked up at Sally, hoping that she would have some idea. But, to Relena's dismay, the older woman shook her head sadly.

 "I'm sorry Relena, but we can't catch the person. If they were the people Aki bumped into, she will not of had seen the person. And, it was quite a few hours ago, and this is a very public place. Video cameras catch a lot, but not everything. Though, if they are looking for something international, they will make themselves known." Her shoulders slumped. "The drug will be wearing off soon, so you can go within about an hour. I'm sorry Relena, but there is nothing we can do for now."

 Relena nodded, looking worriedly down at Heero. "I understand. Thank you, Sally, for everything." As the doctor made her out, Relena thought of another question. "Wait." The Chinese doctor turned, eyes questioning. "What could've been their motive? Why would they drug him if it only made him sleep?"

 "I honestly don't know, but my guess is they were going to try and poison him as soon as they could. For all I know, they could still be in the building, of left to not get caught. I'll send out people at once." With a slight thank you from Relena, the older woman left.

 A few hours later, as Sally had said, Heero awoke to a slight pain in his neck. He rubbed it, but then realized there was something holding his head up. Craning his brown head, he saw Relena, sleeping in a rather awkward position. Following her body down, he realized that it was Relena's legs holding his head up, which meant… that his head was in her lap.

 Moving quickly, (though that didn't help the wound on his shoulder) Heero jolted up and woke Relena too. They stared at each other, for a while, before a slight blush graced both of their faces.

 "R-Relena?" Heero, moved back a bit, to give her room to breath, though there wasn't much to move around in on a hospital bed. Relena's head slumped back, hitting the wall slightly, and she sighed.

 "Oh god, Heero, you scared me!" She laughed slightly, ignoring the matter at hand. Then, she looked at Heero's shoulder, and reached forward quickly. "Heero! What are you doing? You're supposed to stay in bed, relaxing as your wound heals." She maneuvered him back into her lap, where his previous conversation with Aki.

 "If you went into a relationship with her…"

 She had actually said that. Had it been what she had been aiming for the entire time? That sneaky little… Relena's scent made Heero's thoughts disappear as he breathed in the lavender. Had she always smelled this nice?

 "Relena…" Heero's eyes snapped opened when he realized he had said it aloud. Relena's golden head bowed over his, and, awkwardly, he sat up. Turning to look at her directly, he was surprised to see her back away a bit.

 "Heero? What's wrong?" Absently, his hand went up to caress her face, something he had been wanting to do, shocking her. His thumb ran over her cheek bone, and then he let his entire hand delve into her hair. He leaned in slightly.

 "Relena… I…" His face closed in on hers, but Relena pushed him slightly, enough to keep their faces from meeting.

 "Heero… stop this, you're sick. The fever… I don't thin-" She had been interrupted by Heero pushing against her hands, surprising, her, and their faces meeting in a searing kiss. With a clouded head, Relena kissed him back, concentrating only on his warm, chapped lips against her own. The kiss wasn't forceful, nor rough, but passionate nonetheless.

 When Heero pulled away, he had no regrets or doubts on what he had just done. Follow your emotions…Odin had said that, and he had been right. Heero had followed his emotions and it had felt right, natural.

 He looked into her confused eyes and smiled, just for her. His hand cupped her face again, caressing it slightly. Relena's flushing face gradually lessened, and she turned her head into his rough hand. It felt like a burden had been lifted from him as he watched this innocent gesture, and moved to lead against the wall, holding her in his arms.

 "I know exactly what I'm doing, Relena." He wanted to say more, but he didn't know what he could've said to tell her what he wanted. Words weren't exactly his forte. Instead, Heero simply held her in his arms, caressing her shoulders. Somehow, he couldn't seem to stop holding her.

 "Heero… but, what-?" Her hands went up to holding his, and she leaned on him, wary of his shoulder.

 "Not important." His head swooped down to nuzzle her neck, making her giggle a bit. A hand went to hold his head, another still holding his other hand. Never before had Heero felt more at peace, even though an attempt on his life had just been made. Nothing else really seemed to matter, not right then anyways.

 "Does that mean I can start calling you Father?" The couple looked over to see Aki, awake in the armchair, with a bemused smile on her face. A slight blush crawled up to their faces, but to their surprise, Aki crawled onto the bed with them, and curled up at their laps like a cat. "I knew I could leave it up to you He- Father." And with that, she fell asleep.

 "So she has been trying to do this the whole time." Heero gave a playful snarl, only to be reprimanded by Relena. He smirked and held Relena closer.

*~*~*~*~*

 Aki left the room a while later, after waking up to see her adoptive parents asleep. She had carefully situated them into a better position, and left quietly. Brushing her fingers through her hair, she turned; thinking to leave to go for a meal, but nearly ran into two people. Looking up, Aki was slightly surprised to see who they were.

 "Lee… and Dawn?" They looked at her blankly before Dawn ran to her, arms ready to hug someone. Eh, who was she, Aki, to dodge this one?

 "Oh Aki, I'm so sorry I couldn't get here earlier. We had so much to do! Are you okay? Not hurt are you?" Questions kept pouring out of her mouth even as she let the smaller, black-haired girl go. Aki had to raised a finger, indicating that Dawn should be quiet, before she actually was.

 "I'm alright. Nothing's wrong, I'll be just fine." Dawn bit her lip slightly before letting out a relieved breath. Lee only sighed in relief, making Aki notice how worried she had made everyone.

 "And your bodyguard?" Lee stepped forward slightly, intimidating Aki a bit. But, the thought of Heero made Aki smile as she thought of her life, from now on. She hugged him, still smiling.

 "My dad's going to be alright." Dawn smiled too, knowing exactly what this meant. Her friend, who had been through so much, was finally getting what she deserved: a good life, a family, and someone she could rely on.

 Between Aki and Lee, a golden locket glinted, even though there was no light.

*~*~*~*~*
 Umm… this is actually the end for some. From here on out, you have a choice: whether or not to continue reading. Take this warning seriously, because you'll hurt me for some of the things that I've planned. This is the happy ending for all of you who like that kind of thing, but if you like something with a bit more 1) action 2) supernatural 3) full of surprises and 4) angst, I suggest you keep reading. Things will take a dark twist now. If you don't like more than two of those things… Thank you for reading! I know I also left a few unexplained things here, but that'll be needed for the last few chapters… Once again, thank you for everyone for Reviewing! I never believed I would get so much!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you! I have of currently 75 reviews right now!! Yay!