Protector
Heero's eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the brightness that filled the room. He held his arm in front of his face to read his watch.
*Eight in the morning. Guess it's about time I got up.*
He sat up groggily, rubbed at his eyes, and looked down beside him. Relena was not there. He looked around the room, but could find no trace of her.
His voice had a hint of worry in it. He was relieved when she popped her head out of the bathroom, though he made no indication of it.
Morning, Heero. Just hanging up my bathrobe.
Her head disappeared again. A moment later she came out of the bathroom, already dressed in her uniform, and bounced down on the bed next to him. She smiled and cocked her head to one side.
Sleep well?
He nodded.
You're awfully cheery this morning.
Well, I have you to thank for it. You were right. I do feel much better. Thanks for, umsleeping with me last night.
Heero raised his eyebrows and started laughing.
Don't let Duo hear you say that. He'll take it out of context and we'll never get him to shut up!
The two laughed until there was a knock on the door. Instinctively, Heero leaned toward the dresser and put a hand on his gun.
Who is it?
Dorothy's voice answered.
It's just me. Pagan is busy so I thought I would come tell you that breakfast is almost ready, if you two would care to join us this morning.
Heero quickly looked over at Relena, who stared right back at him.
*Could Dorothy know about what happened last night? No way. I'm just making it sound that way.*
Relena answered for both of them.
Thank you, Dorothy. We'll be right there.
When Dorothy left, she looked down at Heero, who had sprawled himself out on the bed again.
You need to get out of bed, mister.
She punctuated each of her words by jabbing him in the ribs with her finger. He grabbed her wrist to stop her. The contact made him feel a bit uneasy, but he ignored it.
Alright already! I'll get up. You go on downstairs. I'm gonna take a quick shower. If her highness doesn't mind, that is.
*He's so much cuter when he smiles.*
That's fine. I'll see you downstairs in a few minutes then.
She got up and walked out of the room. Heero pushed himself out of bed and walked toward the bathroom, rubbing at his neck.
*That was a bit awkward. I hope she doesn't expect a whole lot more of our relationship now. Maybe what I did last night wasn't such a good idea. Ah, forget about it. I'll deal with it when I have to.*
He quickly stripped and stepped under the warm stream of water. He put his hands on the wall and let the water cascade down his back, taking some of the tension out of his muscles. He looked around and found a bar of soap and two bottles of shampoo.
*Hmmm. This is a problem. Berry field and herbal relaxation. Oh well. Lesser of the two evils I guess.*
He poured some of the herbal shampoo in his hand and started
scrubbing at his hair.
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Downstairs, Relena had joined everyone in the dining room for breakfast. Duo had a large stack of pancakes and waffles on his plate and was drowning them in syrup. He welcomed her, despite his full mouth.
Hoy, Welena! Habe a woffoh.
Good morning, Duo.
The God of Death swallowed before speaking again.
Hey, what did you do with the perfect soldier? Isn't he supposed to be watching out for you?
Relena giggled.
The perfect soldier is taking a shower. He'll be down in a minute.
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Heero stepped out of the shower, toweled himself dry, and put his clothes back on. As he stepped out of the bathroom drying his hair, something white caught his eye. He looked out from under the towel to see the blazer Relena normally wore with her Vice Foreign Minister attire hanging on the closet door.
*Guess she forgot it.*
He finished drying his hair, grabbed the blazer, and started for the
dining room.
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Relena sat down as Noin came out of the kitchen with a pitcher of orange juice.
Found it! Now who wants some? Oh, morning Miss Relena. UmI think you forgot something.
Noin tugged at the collar of her own uniform. Relena reached down to do the same, but quickly found that it wasn't there.
Oh! My blazer. Excuse me, I'll be right back.
Relena quickly stood, wheeled around, and ran right into Heero. She stepped back a little dazed and Heero held out her blazer.
You forgot this.
Oh, thank you.
She shrugged the jacket on as Heero took a seat next to Duo.
Mornin' Heero. Hey, whoa! You smell like a girl!
Heero slugged him in the shoulder.
Ow! Hey, I'm serious. You smell kinda like Hilde's hair.
Heero gave Relena a sideways glance. He could see her stifling a laugh.
It's the shampoo. Never mind that. Did you check the back last night?
Duo got a bit more serious.
Yeah, we did. Nothing, nada, zippo. Like you said, it was probably a squirrel or something trying to get out of the rain.
Heero gave an affirming grunt and looked around.
Where's Zechs?
Lady Une called this morning. Some kinda thing goin' on at headquarters this morning. He said he'll meet us outside the conference room this afternoon.
By the time they finished with breakfast it was time to get moving. Relena would be tied up in meetings for most of the day. They broke into two groups. Half piled into Catherine's circus trailer and the rest went with Quatre. Pagan watched and waved from the door as the two vehicles sped away.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing or Perfect Dark (it came in earlier...don't worry about it now). They are copyrighted by people who have a lot more money than I do. This was written for fun and for the fans of the series. All ideas concerning the storyline are mine.
NOTES: Thought I have some fun at Heero's expense there. Seems funny to me anyway. And for some reason I can just picture the God of Death talking with his mouth full. I doubt something like that would stop him from talking!
Comments and criticisms are welcome. Please send them to HeeroWZero@hotmail.com and be sure to include your name so I can get back to you. Thanks for reading!