Author: Fallen Angel

Email: fallen_angel_2012@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. Don't sue.

Chapter 3

After the sun had set, Heero had suggested they stop and set up camp for the night. He couldn't help but noticed how tired Relena looked - though she was trying hard to hide it. He supposed she'd never walked so far in her life. Still, she'd done well and they'd covered a great deal of ground.

When a fire had been lit and Relena had gathered a few large palm trees for something to sit on, Heero had offered to go get some food once again. Relena murmured consent and he left, soon finding himself back at the river he'd found earlier that day where he'd noticed, when he was filling his water canister, that there were a few fish swimming about.

Swiftly, he pulled off his shirt and boots and - using what materials he could find around - fashioned a spear of sorts. Wading into the water, he closed his eyes and waited for the brush of a fish swimming past him. That would be the moment to strike.

Suddenly, his muscles tensed as something brushed past him. He brought down the spear with all his might but, to his horror, saw that it was no fish.

Back at their campsite, Relena heard the sound of Heero's cry and stood up, startled. He had sounded in serious trouble and for the first time, she considered that there might be god knows what in these jungles. But her fear for her own life seemed dim and meaningless in the light of her fear for Heero.

Lifting up her skirts, she ran towards the sound of his cry. "Heero!"

There was no reply, but it didn't matter. She soon found him, lying on a river bank, his hand clutching his side and his face contorted in agony.

"Oh god, Heero," she said, kneeling beside him on the moist ground. "What happened?"

"Snake bite," he told her between closed teeth. "Poisonous."

Panic filled Relena but her mind remained focused. "We have to get the poison out then." Gently she moved his hand away and bent over the bite: two neat red marks on his smooth stomach. She leaned over, bringing her lips to the wound but when Heero saw what she was about to do he stopped her.

"No, you can't," he gasped out. "Too dangerous."

"No time to argue," she replied and quickly sucked at the bite, sucking up the poison and spitting it out with each mouthful. Heero's eyes widened in surprise and fear for her but she paid him no heed. Instead, she did it again and again until she was sure the poison must be out of his system. Then she moved to the water and rinsed out any that might be left in her own mouth.

When she returned to Heero, he was sitting up, glaring at her.

"What?" she said. "I would have thought you'd be happy that I saved your life."

"Not if you could've gotten killed in the process," he reprimanded her. "Where on earth did you learn to do that, anyway?"

"You think my father would've brought us all the way out here if I didn't know the first thing about taking care of myself in strange countries?" She smiled with pride. "A good education isn't only about reading, writing and arithmetic."

"It's no substitute for common sense," Heero said, pulling on his shirt but not doing up the buttons. "If you'd been killed too, it would've wasted all the effort I'd made in saving your life."

He regretted his words the moment Relena's eyes closed slightly, glimmering with tears. "I'm sorry, then, that I was such a fool," she said. "I didn't realise I would be wasting your time by dying. Next time, I will be more careful." She stood up to storm past him, but he reached out and grabbed her ankle: all he could reach from his position on the ground.

"Let go, Mr Yuy," she said sternly.

"No. Not until you let me speak."

"Oh, I think you've said more than enough for tonight, Mr Yuy."

"No," he pushed himself to his feet and Relena couldn't help but admire that he was doing so, even when the bite must still be hurting him.

"You're only going to hurt yourself if you don't take it easy," she found herself saying.

"Then wait while I say something," he said as he met her gaze. "I'm sorry, Relena. I'm sorry I've been so hard on you - you've done well today and saved my life on top of that. I'm sorry that the people who brought me up taught me to be mistrusting of those in positions of power. And I'm sorry I'm too foolish to see past those things."

Relena's face softened. "I'm sorry too, Heero. It was my foolishness that got us into this."

His lips tugged at the corners in what was nearly a smile. "Then let's agree that we're both fools and be done with it." He moved to step forward but cursed as a pain shot through his side from the bite. Relena caught him in her arms immediately, concern written on her soft features.

"You shouldn't be moving about. A small amount of the poison may still be in your system, making you weak."

At least, that's what she was going to say. But when her eyes met Heero's, she was so taken aback by the wild passion she saw there that she forgot what she was going to say. She forgot even why she was here and who she was. All she knew was that he was staring at her as if he wanted to devour her, his eyes pleading with her to give in. Yet his eyes were also challenging her, daring her to deny that she felt something for this man and make the first move.

Well, she thought, I always did love a challenge.

As her arms pulled Heero closer and her hands brushed against the silk of his shirt, she smiled at him, staring at his mouth as if she wanted to kiss him. But she did no more than that and she could tell that Heero's resolve to hold back was melting like snow in the spring.

Finally, with a half-growl that was animalistic it thrilled her, Heero kissed her. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Feeling his lips tease hers, his mouth against hers with just the right pressure, she couldn't believe that such a thing would share the same name as those chaste things one got on the cheeks. This was no kiss. This was fate, need, fire and passion.

Yes, Relena thought as he gently parted her lips with his own and tentatively entered her mouth with his tongue, this was heaven.

He moved his hands up her back and to her face, where he cupped her face and stroked her hair gently. He then pulled away briefly and, tilting her head back, placed tiny kisses on her neck and jaw line.

Later, Relena would have sworn blind that it was only his arms and hands holding her that stopped her passing out from the blissful shock of it all. Sure, she had known what a kiss was from stories she'd read. But they had never mentioned anything like this, never mentioned the teasing little kisses that had pleasure shooting down from her neck to as far down as her knees and back up again.

"Heero," she whispered, clinging to his shirt collar for support. "Heero, please…" her voice trailed off as she realised she didn't know what it was that she was asking for, but that he was the only one who could give it to her.

Heero knew this too. He could hear it in her voice and feel it in the way she trembled in his arms. She was pure, untouched…

Knowing this made him want her even more, want her until it hurt. And knowing this made him pull away.

"Relena." He stepped out of the warm circle of her arms and noticed, for the first time, how cold the night air really was. "Relena, we can't do this."

She blinked in surprise. "Wha-what? Why?"

"Relena," he growled out. Her innocence and trust was making this even more difficult. "I wish you could understand."

"If you're talking about what happens between a man and woman in the bedchambers, I already know. I'm young but I'm not that naïve. What I don't understand is why we can't."

Heero shook his head. "There are consequences we must pay for each of our actions. Here we seem away from the outside world but we will have to return to it one day. And I don't want to ruin your life there with what happens here. Relena I…I care about you too much to ruin your reputation."

"Very well," she agreed. "And I care about you too, Heero. I care about you enough to wait for a time when you feel we are both ready."

He nodded but said nothing. He didn't want to tell her that that time may never come. There would probably never be another place or time for them like this again.

"Good," was all he said. "Perhaps for now we should eat. We're both in need of it."

"Alright," agreed Relena. She smiled wickedly. "But maybe this time, you should consider using a net."

16th November, 1805

Dearest Log,

Last night was the last night we would spend alone. I think if we had known that, we wouldn't have slept so far apart, on either side of the fire.

For earlier today, we reached the civilisation Heero had been sure we would find on the island. But while I was expecting a tribe of native people or perhaps even a pirate's hideout, what we found was neither. At first, it seemed a mirage…it was so out of place, a neat little cottage in the middle of the jungle, perched on the edge of the river, a small garden at its back.

We did not rush towards it, though. Heero suggested that, since we had no idea what would be inside, we should wait near the jungle's edge and keep watch. Presently, though, a priest appeared: I recognised him straightaway from his black clothing and the white collar, though I had never seen a priest with a long braid before. He was singing - in English, I was glad to discover - as he collected water from the river.

I made to move forward but Heero stopped me. He suggested we wait longer but I told him that if we could not trust a priest, who could we trust?

The poor priest was so surprised to see two people in full English clothing to walk out of the jungle that he dropped his bucket. "Holy Mother of Christ," he whispered and again I wondered what type of priest we'd found. Heero quickly told him our story, and I got a shock as he introduced me as his wife, Relena Yuy. I gave him a look at this but then I was reminded of the women on the ship and how they had been safer if they were married and I remembered what he said about my reputation and silently accepted his lie.

The priest introduced himself as Duo Maxwell. When I asked whether he was 'father' or 'brother' he laughed merrily and said neither. "I was raised by priests, I work for them here and dress like one, but I'm no priest," he explained. He then told us that there was a small tribe of Maori who lived nearby who he visited regularly to teach about Catholicism, which he enjoyed immensely. He also told us that he could never be a proper priest though, for one very important reason.

At this he called out a name, 'Hilde', and a woman appeared from the house. She was small in stature, but had a radiant inner strength. Her hair was so dark black it seemed almost blue and though her hair was long, it was braided and wrapped close about her head. She showed the same surprise her husband did - she introduced herself as Mrs Maxwell - but after she'd heard our story, she was more concerned with being a good hostess, showing pity for our ordeal.

We were given food and drink as we sat at their table and after, we helped them move furniture around in the study so that we would have somewhere to sleep. We were even given fresh clothes and shown where we could bathe. I offered, in exchange, to help Mrs Maxwell with the chores, since it gave me time to talk with her. I was glad of this since she was not much older than I and the first woman I'd truly spoken to since we'd left England, really. She was a great conversationalist and I was fascinated by her story - a love so strong that she followed her husband across the oceans to the middle of nowhere so that he could fulfil his duty. And I understood, too, Mr. Maxwell's choice in remaining a lay person. I was also able to learn many things about the island from Mrs. Maxwell, like about the Maori tribe and where one could find fresh food and water.

"Usually the weather here is fine, but storms are common offshore. We see the remains of many shipwrecks," she said, "but hardly any survivors. God must truly be with you."

I didn't know how to explain that if anything had saved me from death, it was a man named Heero Yuy.