reunion3.html Author's Notes: Ahh...sorry this took so long. I fell asleep for longer than I expected. ^_^;; All right, um, thanx to all that reviewed. This is the most amount of reviews I've ever gotten on a story..(yeah I know, it's sad) and I'm just glad that I can finally write something you people want to read. Once again, I apologize for any errors in the fic. My spell-checker is really stupid.. Sometimes these eyes don't catch things. Mmmkay, I talk too much.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, if I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this.

The Reunion
-Chapter Three

Everything about the first dinner of the reunion was wonderful, that is, the food of course. The people, well, that was a completely different story. There was pretty much a little bit of everything on the dinner table that night. Zechs's barbecued chicken had been a hit, even he had admitted it worth standing outside all day getting a sunburn. When Heero, who hadn't eaten all day, reached for the last piece of chicken, Zechs simply swatted his hand away and grabbed the piece for himself. Relena's eyes had met Heero's in an apologetic look. Noin had noticed that Zechs was being utterly rude, and decided to have a talk with him before they went to bed. Not being very hungry herself, she offered Heero the last piece of chicken on her own plate, yet Heero had refused. The offer itself was enough to send Zechs over the edge, but he seemed to trying to control himself, and settled for giving Noin a mean look.

Other than the chicken incident, and being sat as far away from Relena as possible, Heero enjoyed the dinner. Duo was constantly talking to him, but Heero would just ignore him and concentrate on his food until Duo asked any questions that seemed relatively important, which there weren't many. Duo three servings of nearly everything, stuffing his face full. It did manage to muffle his talking for a while, though. Heero had one or two servings of the things he picked out, mostly nutritious things with not a lot of fat, like the gigantic red Jell-O with whipped cream and sliced nuts on the top. Duo had *four* helpings of that. Well, he was a growing boy.

Quatre had somehow managed to get himself in trouble, by sitting in the middle of Catherine and Dorothy. They were talking to him nonstop, each one offering him some of their Jell-O every five minutes. Quatre politely refused both girls every time they did it. He could tell there was a lot of tension between the young women, he wasn't quite sure why. Every once in a while his arm would brush p against that sensitive spot on his stomach, where Dorothy had well....sliced a hole in him. Every time he did he would feel slightly uncomfortable around Dorothy, although she seemed to be a nice woman now that the war was over. Catherine seemed very nice as well, and Quatre was fond of the lady because she had helped Trowa when he was really in need. They both shared a common fondness for Trowa.

Every once in a while Quatre would catch Dorothy giving Catherine a mean glare, or try to get his attention while he was discussing something with the older woman. He had a feeling that Dorothy had a bit of a crush on him, yet, Quatre felt nothing for Dorothy in that way, he just thought of her as a kind girl he helped out. He hadn't expected her to tag along when he left her. Catherine, on the other hand, despite their first meeting, seemed to be getting kinder and more beautiful every time Quatre saw her. He was spending most of his time with the woman, and their rooms were right next to each other, with Dorothy on the other side of Catherine, which meant they shared a bathroom. Quatre just hoped they weren't up to any midnight visits to his room...

Trowa seemed to be having a nice evening, he had even cracked a smile once or twice, which was rare in Trowa's case. He mostly discussed things with Une, along with Sophia, who was glad to reveal why she was here with her son and Trowa, since many were interested. Kai sat in between his mother and Trowa, picking at his food once in a while, but was mostly paying attention to Marimeia on the other side of table, making weird faces at her mom when she wasn't looking. Kai would laugh and Trowa would look at him and ask what was so funny, and Kai would shrug and continue eating. The bedrooms that Marimeia and Kai were in shared a bathroom, so Une and Trowa had feeling that the two would be up all night playing in one of the rooms. Une wasn't upset about it, she was actually pleased that Marimeia had made a friend. Since the child was more intelligent than any of her age group, she had been moved up two grades, and children were much older than her, thus she had not made any friends.

Even Wufei and Sally seemed to be getting along nicely. It was a rare occasion that those two could sit through an entire meal without turning the dinner table upside down. They even seemed to be having a nice conversation, like the whole bathroom incident hadn't even occurred. It could have been because they were both tired from the day, and just weren't in the mood for arguing. During the end of the meal, Sally looked as though she had a bit too much wine, and was swaying from side to side of her chair. Once in a while she would bump into Wufei and nearly knock him off his seat. It was going to be a long night for her..

Noin had tried to get Zechs to drink so his mind would be off of Heero and Relena at least for the night. A couple drinks would calm his nerves a bit. However, the blonde man refused to drink. Actually, he rarely spoke to Noin during dinner, he just ate and watched his sister, making sure she was mingling with the right people. When Heero had asked Relena to pass the gravy boat, Zechs had given him a glare that could surpass even Heero's most deadly glare.

***

After the dinner table had finally been cleared, the anti-socials returned to their rooms for the night while the rest stayed and offered to help Noin and Une with the dishes. Yet, the two ladies had refused, since they were managing the whole reunion, they should be the ones to make sure that everyone else had a good time. So Quatre, Dorothy, and Catherine went to their rooms, hesitating outside the doors when saying goodnight, and Trowa and Sophia managed to get Kai to go to bed. Wufei and Sally headed towards their rooms, and Zechs followed Relena and Heero up to their room, keeping a close eye on them as they walked into the room. He frowned when Relena closed the door in his face. Duo and Hilde had went to their room, after Duo had had a *little* two much to drink.

Noin and Une were finishing up the dishes, hoping nobody would be down for a midnight snack and give them more dishes to wash. Not that it was likely that anybody would be hungry after that meal. Une sighed and placed the last clean dish on top of the stack.

"All right, we're finished here. I better go check on Marimeia to see if she's asleep." Noin nodded, wiping her hands off on a dish towel.

"I better go see if Zechs is eavesdropping on Heero and Relena." She laughed. Une laughed as well, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"I feel sorry for those two. They can't even get a minute of privacy..that is assuming if there really is something going on between them." Une said. She hadn't known Heero and Relena long, but she did know that Relena had feelings for Heero, just not if Heero had those same feelings. It was really hard to tell what was going on in Heero's head. Well, he *had* agreed to sharing a room with Relena. Une guessed that it could be some sort of sign.

"Knowing Heero," Noin started, "I don't really think he'll be ready for a relationship until long after the war, if *ever*. There's something about that boy that tells me he'll be solo for a very long time." Une nodded in agreement, unrolling her sleeves that she had rolled up to do the dishes.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long day." She announced. Noin could only mumble an agreement and two ladies left the kitchen, Une clicking off the kitchen light on their way out.

Noin yawned as she walked upstairs, hearing nothing but her own footsteps on the carpet. Everything seemed to be quiet, and it sounded like everyone had gone to bed. Well, it had been a long day for everyone. Zechs, however, had been worked up almost the entire time. Noin could tell he was going to be in pain tomorrow from the sunburn he had gained from staying outside all day. He kept arguing that he did not have a sunburn, even though he would wince in pain at every movement he made. All Noin could do was stand there and shake her head at her very *red* fiance.

Noin reached the door to the bedroom that she and Zechs were sharing. Stifling a yawn with her hand, she reached out and grabbed the doorknob, pushing it open as silently as she possibly could. As she stepped into the room she was greeted with the site a dim lighted room, a candle on the night stand. The woman raised her eyebrow when she saw Zechs lying the bed, in some sort of silk robe she guessed he had borrowed from someone because it certainly didn't belong to either of them, and was calmly reading a novel. He turned his head at the sound of the door creaking open and saw Noin, standing there looking tired and smelling like dish soap. He sighed.

"You're tired?" He guessed, when he saw Noin's expression of embarrassment. She smiled weakly and went to sit next to him on the bed. Zechs sighed and placed his book down, then brought himself into a sitting position with mild wincing. Noin chuckled lightly, only to be assaulted by one of Zechs's glares.

"I'm going to blow out the candle, if you don't mind.." Zechs snarled. Noin just shrugged and watched as the blond man struggled into a standing position. Her eyes fluttered closed as the last remaining light of the room vanished, and settled back onto the comfortable bed, not bothering to take off her make-up or changed into her nightgown. On a night like this, she was just too exhausted. Zechs watched his future wife, future *everything* crawl under the covers and fall asleep, the peaceful sound of her breathing soon to be lulling Zechs into slumber. The thought of sleeping made Zechs yawn himself, and headed back towards the bed.

As he crawled into the welcoming arms of his fiance, all thoughts and worries of his sister and Heero vanished for the night.

***

Sally frowned into the bathroom mirror which currently had a display of herself looking less than her expectations. There was an odd shaped sunburn on her cheeks, curving up and circling her eyes where her sunglasses had ended. Her nose was beet red, as was her forehead. Her hair had turned stiff and stringy from the beach air and salt water, and would be nearly impossible to braid for the night unless she took shower. She certainly did not feel like doing that. It was late, and she felt dizzy and tired, afraid of faint. She *needed* sleep. Yet, her hair did not agree with her there. Sighing, the woman turned to turn on the shower when she heard a pounding on the bathroom door opposite from her own.

"Onna, are you *done* in there?!" Sally rolled her eyes at Wufei's irritated tone. He had just been in there for five minutes. How much time did a man need in bathroom? It wasn't like he had any make-up to remove. There's a scary thought...

"I was *going* to take a shower but if you *insist* on having the bathroom right at this moment, I guess I can let you have it, being the generous person that I am!" Sally shouted back. She heard a slight snort on the other side of the door, and allowed a tiny smirk to grace her features. Then, gathering her supplies, she excited the bathroom. Hearing the click of the door on the other side, Wufei pushed open *his* bathroom door and went inside. Sally heard a slam on the other side. 'What is *with* that man?' She thought to herself as she dumped her bathroom supplies on the dresser closest to her. Reaching into the same dresser, she pulled out her flannel nightgown, hoping it wouldn't be to hot, because it was the only one she had.

As soon as Sally was done changing, her thoughts wandered back to Wufei and what he had come into to room earlier for. That was certainly odd of him to be acting so strangely. He almost seemed nervous. The strangest thing was, Sally could have sworn she saw Wufei carrying his hairbrush into the bathroom earlier. If he hadn't been looking for a hairbrush when he snuck into Sally's room, then why go in? Sally suddenly remembered the paper Wufei had thrown in the waist basket. She had been too exhausted to really put thought into it before, but now that she was relaxed she was curious. Sally rose from her sitting position on the be and walked over to waist basket, looking inside.

Sure enough, there was the object of her attention; the crumbled piece of paper that Wufei had disposed of for some unknown reason. Sally kneeled down by the wastebasket and dug the paper out, then quickly tried to UN-crumple it as best as she could. Her tired eyes then read over the smeared ink that had been applied to it.

"Dear Onna." The word "Onna" had then been crossed out and written next to it was, "Sallie." Sally laughed as she read this. Apparently Wufei needed some spelling lessons. She read on.

"Dear Sallie, I am sorry for the way I acted earlier. I acted in an unjust manner. I thank you for attempting to remove the sand grains from my rear. Also, I would like to behave in a just manner from this day on. With your help of course, I think we can gain some form of friendship between us. I am sorry for not approaching you in person, but I am apparently..a bit shy. And, as you know, I have a bit too much pride. That I am ashamed of. I wish to act in a proper manner on later dates. By dates, I mean, the days of the month... Thank you for taking to time out of your busy schedule to read this notice.

Sincerely, Chang Wufei (Wufei Chang)

Sally had to cover her hand with her mouth to muffle her laughing as she finished reading the letter. She could hardly believe that Wufei had written a letter of apology. Perhaps there was a way they could achieve friendship after all. Briefly Sally's mind wandered to what Noin had said earlier. She had mentioned Sally having some sort of feelings for Wufei. She was almost afraid to admit to herself that there might be some sort of hint of a clue that she *was* developing feelings for Wufei. 'Don't I realize how wrong that would be?' Sally asked herself. Yet, another side of her was saying, 'Why would it be wrong? You two are made for one another. They always say that couples who fight end up being the most loving of all.' Sally frowned. 'Who says *that?!' 'I don't know..I guess you could just..give it a try though.' Eventually that side of her had more influence than the other side. However, Sally didn't how what exactly she was going to do about that.

***

Quatre sighed as he reached for his tea that was perched on his night stand, hearing whispering outside his bedroom door. He was hoping he wouldn't have any midnight visitors, but apparently his wish had not come true...and it wasn't even midnight yet. It wasn't that he didn't like to have a friendly conversation with the girls, it was just that any conversation between Catherine and Dorothy wasn't likely to be friendly.

"Quatre? It's Catherine. Can I come in?" Was the voice that finally came from behind the door after a while of whispering? 'Just Catherine?' Quatre thought. Then what in the world was all of that whispering about. Maybe Dorothy had gone back to her room. He hoped that was the case. Placing his tea back on the night stand, Quatre called back to her,

"Sure, come on in." After a moment of fumbling with the doorknob, the wooden door slowly opened just enough so Catherine could step in, then she closed it behind her, leaning against it once it was closed. She was looking at the floor, a hint of a blush on her face, curly brown hair framing her shy features. She briefly wondered why she had to be so shy around Quatre, she wasn't around anyone else. Maybe it was because of the way she had yelled at him back when he had come to get Trowa had to circus. Or maybe it was simply the feelings she had for him. Whatever it was, the shyness was a UN-welcomed guest as far as she was concerned.

She brought her head up to meet Quatre's gaze, one hand tugging on the sleeve of her pajama shirt. She looked over the blond boy. He appeared to be very comfortable with the situation. Was that a bad sign? No, maybe he just wasn't shy like she was. He was lying on his bed, one hand holding the remote to the television that was on the cooking channel on a low volume. Catherine had always figured Quatre to be the kind of guy to wear pajamas, but she was proven wrong when she looked over him. He was dressed his casual night clothes, a white T-shirt and gray sweat pants, and bare feet instead of slippers or socks.

"I- I'm just having trouble sleeping in a strange place. I'm used to my trailer and this is so..different. I just thought I'd come and talk to you. But, you know, if you're tired that's understandable." Catherine explained, never moving from her place by the door.

"No, no, it's fine. Come on in. I'm not very tired anyway." Quatre said. It was partially a lie. He was a bit tired, but wasn't going to send Catherine away if she was uncomfortable. After all, it was always nice to talk to her. Catherine smiled faintly and walked slowly towards the large bed, sitting on the edge of it. She hoped Dorothy didn't decide to take a little stroll down to Quatre's room as well. Ever since they had all gotten on that jet, Catherine had noticed the way that Dorothy was looking at him. She looked almost..guilty. but she saw love for Quatre there just the same.

Not knowing what to say, Quatre reached for his tea cup on the night stand once again. Suddenly, he cried out in pain, grasping the front of his shirt and rolling back on the back. Catherine gasped, looking at where Quatre was holding his shirt. It was a spot on his lower stomach, and the T-shirt had ridden up to expose a tiny bit of a bandage wrapped around his back and stomach. Slowly, a small bit of blood began to stain his T-shirt.

"Quatre, are you all right?" Catherine asked, biting her lower lip with worry. Quatre nodded, but his face was still twisted in pain and he was biting *his* lower lip to keep from crying out. Catherine hesitantly reached out her hand and pulled his T-shirt up so she could see the entire bandage. Apparently when he leaned over to get his tea cup he had irritated the wound under the bandage. No wonder he seemed to be so careful when he walked. Catherine hadn't really noticed it until now. She was afraid to ask him what had happened. Maybe it was a personal situation, something that happened during the war.

"Do you want me to go and get Sally? Maybe she can take a look at it." Catherine offered. Quatre shook his head while struggling into a sitting position After a moment he seemed to calm down and was able to move freely again. He tugged his T-shirt back down to cover the bandage. Catherine winced inwardly at his action. He was hiding something.

"That looks like it's pretty bad.." She said, not quite asking him what had happened but hinting. Quatre seemed to catch the hint, because of all the sudden he looked very uneasy. He took another look at Catherine, who looked to be worried, but curious. Quatre slowly reached behind him and touched a certain spot on his back, then brought his hand back, holding it out for Catherine to see. She gasped when she saw the bit of blood that had stained Quatre's fingers.

"All- All the way through?" She asked nervously. Quatre could only nod, seeing the look of pure shock and confusion on her face. He decided it couldn't do much harm to tell her what had happened. He'd just calmly explain to her the situation, and that Dorothy didn't just stab him out of pure ignorance. Catherine could tell by the look on his face he was ready to tell her what had happened. Quatre sat up straight, trying to regain his composure from the sudden burst of pain on his stomach.

"It was during the end of the war that this happened. After I had had come to your colony, of course. I was on Libra, since the four of us were trying to stop the ship from the inside. Heero and Miss Relena were no where to be found. So, instead of finding them, I found Dorothy by mistake. Little did I know she would have a gun pointed at me the moment I walked into the room too." Catherine frowned a bit at the mention of Dorothy's name, and Quatre flinched. "But that was reasonable because I had gun pointed at her as well." Catherine didn't seem to bothered by that comment.

"Anyway," Quatre continued, "it seemed that Dorothy was a bit confused about her place in that war. All I tried to do was convince her that mankind wasn't all about hatred and war. We are both such different people though, yet we did have the same views when we looked at certain things. She..was..just confused. That was all, that's why she did it. I've found it within myself to forgive her." He finished, brushing his fingers against his stomach so Catherine would understand what exactly he was talking about. She finally realized what Quatre was saying and gasped, hatred for Dorothy once again pulsing through her veins.

"I don't understand ow you can even *look* at that woman after what she's done." Catherine protested, crossing her arms over her chest. Quatre smiled slightly at the woman's act of protectiveness.

"I told you, she was just confused because of war. War can do all sorts of things to people. It can change people's lives and the way they look at things forever. You just have to understand that." Catherine's eyes narrowed at that last statement.

"You think I don't know? You don't think I knew when I lost my parents and was forced to live with a traveling circus that took me in? You don't think I knew when I lost Trowa for the second time and then he comes back to me with no memories of the past, just to leave me again?" Her voice was risen quite a bit and Quatre shook his head and involuntarily grasped her hand. She gasped and immediately the anger fled from her. She looked down at her hand clasped inside of his.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you didn't understand." Quatre said, never letting go of her trembling hand. Catherine looked up from their locked hands to meet his eyes. Quatre forced himself not to look away, but found he didn't have to when as he began to drown in her gaze. Nervously, he held her hand tighter and slowly pulled her towards him. Catherine hesitated but allowed herself to be pulled towards Quatre, closing her eyes as he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. That simple touch sent waves through Catherine's body as she leaned in as well to deepen the kiss.

Quatre was the first to pull away, leaning back and letting their hands unclasp. Catherine leaned back from him as well, gripping the wrist of the hand he had held. She looked down at the bed, blushing deeply. It was the first time she had ever been kissed, despite the many men she had met doing her performance at the circus. She was saving that first kiss for someone..someone like Quatre. She had glad it was him. Unfortunately, she now felt incredibly uneasy and light headed.

"Well, good night Quatre. I think our little talk relaxed me." Catherine said it so quickly, she wasn't sure if Quatre even knew what she had said. He offered her a smile anyway, and she smiled back as she backed up towards the door. Unfortunately, she didn't make it to door first. Her back bumped the wall clumsily and she blushed even redder and turned, opening the door and exciting quickly. Quatre laughed softly and laid back on the bed, the smile never leaving his face.

***

It was nearly ten-o-clock when Relena came out of the bathroom. She had offered Heero the bathroom first, since she knew she'd take a longer time than he would. Heero took a five minute shower, changed and brushed his teeth in less time than Relena could get ready for her shower. Relena would often insist on looking her best, especially when she was around Heero. Even though she had taken a shower earlier, she always had one before she went to bed, otherwise she would feel dirty went she went to sleep. Her showers were about three times the length of Heero's plus she had to do her hair just right or it would look awful in the morning. She didn't need to explain all of this Heero, because he offered her all the bathroom time she needed without objection.

When the young woman finally came out of the bathroom, she was wearing her robe over a light blue silk nightgown that dragged across the floor as she walked. Her hair had been blow-dried and pinned up on her head, her bangs pinned to the sides so her hair could go nowhere during the night. She found Heero sitting on his bed, watching a random channel on the television. He seemed to be wide awake, which wasn't surprising since he'd slept all day. Relena sighed to herself and walked over to her bed, sitting down and glancing over at Heero again.

"I'm sorry for the way my brother acted at dinner." She said softly. There was no reply for a moment, while Heero flipped the channel once.

"You don't need to apologize for his actions." Heero said, not turning his head to look at her as he spoke. Relena frowned. Somehow, he always found a way to make a point when he spoke to her. He always avoided the actual subject. That guy could talk his way out of anything. If Heero didn't want to talk about it, he didn't. So, Relena tried to put it as bluntly as she could.

"Heero, do you hate me?" She asked softly. There was no way the perfect soldier could talk his way out of this one. The question was plain and simple, and all Relena really wanted was a simply yes or no. Heero actually turned his head at the question, which was rare, because he almost never turned his head to look at the person he was talking to. His eyebrows her raised slightly, giving him the "somewhat confused" look.

"Of course I don't hate you. Why in the world would you think I hated you?" He asked. Relena's mouth dropped slightly. She had been expected him to just say, "No." and end the entire conversation at that, but to actually continue the conversation, that was so unlike Heero. She felt something flutter inside of her. Well, Heero didn't hate her, but did he like her?

"I don't know. It just seems like you want nothing to do with me. It's like I'm always in your way." She explained; and that was usually the case. Heero would do what he was obliged to do, and that would be the end of it. He would go as far he needed to go for her, and nothing more. It was only a matter of keeping her safe. Nothing more. As far as she was concerned, Heero had no feelings for her, and she would just try to be friendly with him until he opened up a little. Maybe, possibly, she had been wrong about him.

"You are a necessary obstacle, Relena." At that, Heero turned back to TV and watched it as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Relena's brow furrowed as she laid back on her bed, pondering what Heero had actually meant by that. Being an obstacle wasn't exactly good, but a necessary one? Heero had his own language, and it was taking much more than simple logic to figure it out. She had to find a way to figure out if Heero had feeling for her or not.

"Heero?" She said quietly, twisting her face into a serious expression. She heard a slight grunt coming from him in reply. Relena sat up and studied him, a small smile teasing her lips.

"I've been taking classes lately to become a massage therapist. I thought it would be good for me to find something I enjoy doing for a while rather than just politics." She explained, watching his face for anything unusual. Finding none, she continued, "My instructors tell me it would be a good idea to start small, like practicing massage on some of the people I know. So far I haven't gotten much people to them on." She was hoping he would catch the hint as she went on, and he seemed to because he finally turned his head to look at her. He looked questionably at her.

"I was just wondering if you would allow me to practice on you. It would be completely free of charge, of course." A tinge of redness swept over her cheeks, but she wasn't sure Heero could see it because of the dark room, only lighted by the screen of the television. He hesitated for a moment.

"I guess that could be nice." He finally told her. Relena's eyes widened. Was this possible? Was Heero Yuy actually going to let her massage him? She nodded slowly, not trusting her voice at the moment. Immediately Relena got up and headed towards her suitcase she had lied next to her bed. She kneeled down and opened it, fishing out the things she needed in order to do her massage. She always came prepared, and she was almost sure Noin or Sally would want one, and maybe even convince her brother, but *Heero*? Sure, the thought had crossed her mind, but she was practically in awe that she would be able to do it.

Once she had gathered her supplies, she walked over to Heero's bed, studying it, then wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"I think it would be better if we did it on my bed. There will be more...um..room." Her blush got deeper as she realized what she had just implied. Heero didn't seem to notice though, he just got up and followed Relena to her bed. She studied the bed, debating whether to take the comforter off or not. She decided not to and just lay a towel down. She took a quick trip to the bathroom and returned with a towel, seeing Heero observing her oils she used for massage. Once the towel had been laid down on the bed, Relena set her oils on the night stand and gave Heero the instructions.

"All right, I'm going to need you to take off your shirt and lie face down on the towel." She ordered. Heero nodded once and pulled his tank top over his head, then folding it neatly and placing it on the night stand next to Relena's oils. Relena was very glad it was dark in the room, because Heero couldn't see her beet red face as she admired his upper body. He didn't give her much chance to because he lied down on the towel mere seconds after the shirt was removed. Relena could feel herself trembling. She was very experienced at the entire massage deal, and she certainly didn't want to hurt him. He muscles were probably really tense.

"Ok, Heero. Try to relax and don't talk too much." Relena instructed. Well, that last part shouldn't be too hard for Heero, since he rarely ever talked anyway. Heero nodded anyway and Relena got to work. She started at the lower back, kneading the muscles there were her thumbs, then working her way to the sides and up. She came across a few knots, but was able to work them out of his back, just loving the feeling of his hard muscles and soft skin beneath her fingertips. She came across a few scars, then tried to avoid them, especially the painful looking ones. Heero didn't say anything when her fingers accidentally brushed against one, nor did he wince.

It took longer than she expected to finish up his back, then moved down to the back of his legs since he was wearing shorts anyway. There were knots there too, and she worked each one out carefully so there would be no pain. After that she did his neck, which almost had him moaning in pleasure as she worked out the knots there. She smiled, happy to know she could make a soldier feel just a little better, that was enough for her.

It was almost midnight when Relena finished up. She wasn't surprised to see that Heero had fallen into slumber, breathing softly, comfortably. All the massaging had left her exhausted as well. Lazily pushing her supplies off the bed, she lied down next to Heero to take a quick rest before going over to sleep in his bed. She didn't want to wake him, and sleeping in his bed would be all right for one night. So she rested her head down on the pillow, yawning. It felt good to lay down again, but just a little *too* good, because before she knew it, she was in dreamland.

***

"Noin, I'm going to check on Relena!" Zechs called, tightening his robe as he walked down the hall towards where he had been told Relena's room was. He heard an incoherent response, but simply rolled his eyes as he approached his sister's room. Not even bothering to knock, the blond man swung the door open and marched inside, quickly looking to Heero's bed first. It was empty. His eyes widened as his gaze traveled to Relena's bed. There he found them both sleeping, Relena in her nightgown and Heero shirtless.

Zechs literally fainted.

To be continued...

AN - Well, if you've made it this far, thank you for reading. ^_^ How bout telling me what you think?