DISCLAIMER – I do not own Gundam Wing
Chapter Fourteen
"Hey, Jinx," Heero said, jarring her concentration from what he'd just told her about the operating system to his dark blue eyes. "Can I ask you something?"
Jinx swallowed hard. She hoped he wasn't going to ask what she had nightmares about last night. "Sure, Heero, What?"
Heero put his elbows on her thighs and looked up into her face. She was in the pilot's chair and Heero had made himself comfortable on the floor in front of her and between her legs. He sighed, a little angry at himself for not having the courage to speak out loud anymore. I was just wondering what went wrong last night. Is there something you want to talk about?
I don't really want to talk about it, Heero. I just can't. Jinx closed her eyes, unable to look at him because of the shame she felt inside. She felt the sharp hurt that Heero let slip before he effectively concealed his emotions from her.
He was nervous, she felt. Do you like Duo? His voice sounded small and unsure in her mind.
She couldn't help but smile at him reassuringly. Not as much as I like you, she said smoothly, leaning down to kiss him lightly. And I'm not too thrilled with this whole sharing thing, she kidded.
Heero laughed, breaking the harsh silence of before. "Don't worry about that. Relena's the only one who took that seriously." He smiled widely at her.
If she had met Heero Yuy five years ago when she still worked with OZ and before Operation Meteor, Jinx would have left Specials to be with him. She understood why Relena chased him around all the time when they were fifteen. He had a kind of indescribable magnetism that made her want nothing but to be near him, and be loved by him. Her heart fluttered when she thought of it. Heero Yuy did love her. He'd said so.
Do you love me? she asked on a whim.
Of course, he answered without hesitation. You're the reason I'm in such a good mood today. I'm overjoyed that we're all alive and well, considering our recent scrapes with death.
We have been close to dying a few times this week, she agreed. And every time I wake up, you're there.
Heero smiled playfully at her as he tugged on the end of her braid. Now, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
"Definitely good," she said, capturing his mouth with hers.
*
Gathered around the dinner table, only two people were missing.
"So when do you think Heero and Jinx will come back inside?" Duo asked, striking up a dinner conversation.
"Leave them alone, Maxwell," Wufei warned. "Let them be as they wish to be."
"Hey, I'm just wondering. They've been out in that cockpit since this morning. And now they're missing dinner? Maybe something's wrong. Heero never misses a meal."
*
Heero's back was against the base of the pilot's chair, with Jinx's legs on either side of his shoulders. He pointed to a mass of a control pad on the right side of the main monitor. "That's the programming shelf for the operating system. You shouldn't have to worry about using that during battle…"
His voice continued, but Jinx wasn't listening. Heero had tirelessly pointed out all the fine details of the cockpit, and now he was even describing things she wouldn't need. She desperately needed this refresher course, but damn it was boring. To break the monotony, she let her fingers roam through Heero's hair, for his head was positioned conveniently close to her lap.
"…and…" Heero's voice trailed off as he became more and more distracted by the fingertips massaging through his hair. It felt too good for him to concentrate on giving his lessons. Succumbing to the quiet pleasure of the massage, he laid his head back on the seat, feeling Jinx's thighs on the outsides of his ears.
She leaned forward, after being cut off from the majority of his hair when his head came back into her lap. Jinx ran her hands down his neck and over his chest, bending delicately over the handsome face with closed eyes. Leaning back against the chair, she let her fingertips glide over the sides of his face, since that was all she could reach.
Heero's hands started at her ankles, then ran up the outside of her legs to her upper thighs. Jinx suppressed a shudder. Heero felt it.
What's wrong? He asked her, taking his hands away from her. He was used to this behavior from her. Every time he touched her in any way close to intimately, she freaked out and told him to stop. Heero wanted to get to the bottom of this.
I…I can't…Jinx, his voice was soothing and sweet as it hummed in her head, I would never do anything to hurt you.
She opened her eyes to look at him, noticing that he'd turned around to face her and his eyes glowed with concern as he gazed up at her. I believe you.
Heero rose up onto his knees to be eye-level with Jinx. Reaching up slowly, he brushed some of her loose bangs to the side of her face, letting his fingers trace down the sides of her face and along her jawline. Tenderly, he leaned in close to her and kissed her mouth.
*
Jinx watched Heero as he walked through the garden, disappearing in to the dark gloom of the night. She sighed, her head resting back against the support of the pilot's chair. His long strides carried him away from her and into the undamaged portion of Relena's palace.
She saw him turn at the doorway, looking back to where he knew she was sitting even though he probably couldn't see her. Peering at the monitor, Jinx had the advantage of enhanced lighting and a telescopic view. She saw the wistful look in his eyes before he turned back around and walked steadily through the doorway.
He'd told her that he would never hurt her. And she trusted him completely. But no matter how she tried to tell herself that Heero's hands touched her body with nothing but love and gentleness, she couldn't make her mind forget Sterling's hatred-filled and lustful groping hands. Heero had smiled at her after she told him why she was scared of him. He'd smiled and run his through her hair, bringing her close to hug him. Tears still stained Jinx's cheeks from when he'd held her weeping in his arms, her body shaking violently with remembered terror.
And then, the Gundam pilot 01 who was renowned for wanting to kill everyone, including himself, gingerly wiped the wetness from her face and under her eyes. He gave her a tender kiss on her lips, whispering that he understood why she was so upset. He said understood why she felt the way she did, and he never wanted her to do something she wasn't completely ready for.
He wrapped his arms tightly around her in an embrace, talking softly into her hair. Heero told her that he would never leave her.
Jinx had looked up and smiled at him then. How ironic, she'd said, I was just going to ask you to leave. I need think a while, alone.
His laughter sounded odd echoing in the cockpit. But it warmed her in a way that she couldn't explain or understand. I'll leave you alone, he said to her still chuckling. I'm sure you've had enough of me for one day, he teased as he kissed her goodbye.
Now, here she was. Her skin tingled from where Heero's embrace kept her warm only moments ago.
She smiled to herself, overjoyed that the sphere's most ruthless assassin and most cunning and perfect soldier had found emotion together.
*
"Hey buddy," Duo's voice called out over the game conversation as Heero walked into the billiards room with a plate of cold food in his hand. "Where've you been all night?"
Heero ignored the question and looked at Trowa. "What happened to my bedroom?"
"Hope you don't mind," Duo answered for the silent giant. "We pushed your and Jinx's beds out of the way so we could have access to the pool table. Care to join in a game?"
"Let me eat first," Heero said, settling down on the couch next to Catherine. Quatre was currently playing with Duo. And Quatre was currently getting his Arabian ass kicked in 9-ball.
"How do you feel, Heero?" Catherine asked, concerned for Quatre's friend.
Heero swallowed before answering, "Better, thank you. Back's still a little sore to the touch, but it's healing quickly."
"And how's Jinx doing?" Heero smiled to himself. Catherine was genuinely concerned about everyone, just like Quatre would be if he weren't so concerned about his pool game right now.
"She's feeling much better. Only had a few burns and she has the ability to heal much faster than I do." Heero glanced around what his makeshift bedroom and was pleased to find that only Trowa, Duo, Quatre, and Catherine were there. He didn't feel like fighting Relena right now. He had too much on his mind with what Jinx had just told him.
"Damn you! Damn you all to hell!" Quatre screamed at Duo, throwing his cue on the ground. He stomped around the table and sat heavily on the other side of Catherine. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he adorned a frightful pout.
Catherine scooted closer to him, rubbing the top of his head. "Aw, did wittle Quatre-pooh get his wittle butt beat by meanie Duo?" she teased.
Everyone stifled laughter, even Quatre.
"Yeah," he admitted, leaning his head over to rest on her shoulder. "Make it feel better?" he asked in his best childlike voice.
"Sure sweetie," she answered, kissing the top of his head.
"Such public romantic display is disgusting," a voice from the doorway spoke. Wufei entered the room, shaking his head at the cuddling couple on the couch. "How can you stand sitting next to them?" he asked Heero. "And how can you stand seeing your sister behave in such a manner?" he asked, directing his attention to Trowa.
"She's a big girl," Trowa said evenly, masking the smile that threatened to curl his lips. "Cathy can do what she wants."
Catherine's eyes lit up. "Oh, can I?" she asked with a mischievous tone of voice.
Trowa nodded, smiling knowingly.
"In that case," she said, standing and grabbing Quatre by the hand. "I'll just go and do what I want." Dragging him off the couch, Catherine led Quatre out of the room to a more private area of the palace.
"Disgusting," Wufei said, plopping down on the couch next to Heero.
"What's so disgusting about it? A couple expressing their feelings for one another is completely natural, Wufei," Trowa said to him, racking the pool balls.
"But publicly?" Wufei questioned.
"Things are little more free around the circus," Duo piped up from the other side of the pool table. "Besides, what have you and Sally been 'expressing' the last hour?"
Wufei blushed.
Heero started chuckling, setting his plate aside and getting up to play Trowa in a classic bout of billiards. He meticulously coated the tip of his cue with chalk.
"What are you laughing about, Yuy? You're just as guilty as I am," Wufei said, trying to shift the attention to anyone but himself.
"Not true. Don't mention it again," Heero said, breaking the friendly atmosphere with his most menacing voice.
"Whoa, Heero," Duo said, trying to soothe the now angered pilot. "Wufei didn't know, so you can't blame him for assuming."
Heero's stern look faded, and he smiled apologetically at Wufei. "Sorry, Wu, I shouldn't have snapped like that. Its just…just a sensitive subject right now."
"No harm done, Heero. I wasn't aware of any problems between you two. Sorry for jumping to conclusions," Wufei answered, scooting over so Duo could sit on the couch next to him.
Heero thrust hard, breaking the neatly packed triangle of pool balls and sending them scattering over the green felt. A few balls fell into various pockets around the table. He walked around the table, peering into the pockets to see which balls had fallen. "Problem's mainly with me," he said softly, initiating a group counseling session.
"What about you?" Trowa asked, watching Heero take aim for his second shot. Another ball fell with a click into a pocket. Getting Heero to talk was tricky business, and right now the best strategy was to give him time to come up with exactly what he wanted to say.
Heero took aim again, bending low over the table to perfect the position of the cue before he struck. "I'm just too eager, I guess," he said, reaching back to let loose on the cue ball again. More clicks resounded from the table, louder than Heero's voice had been.
"Too eager? You mean you want to and she doesn't?" Duo asked, unashamed of talking so freely about sex with his friends.
Heero nodded slightly, stepping back to let Trowa take aim for his first shot. Heero hadn't made any stripes into the pocket last shot.
"Just give her time," Trowa said, with Wufei nodding from the couch. Trowa missed downing any solid balls and took three steps back. It was Heero's turn again. He stalked around the table, trying to see his next possible shot from every angle. Satisfied with his approach, Heero took aim again.
"And learn to be patient," Wufei said, surprising everyone by contributing to the discussion of Heero's 'weakness'.
Heero nodded at Wufei's comment, sending his intended stripe across the table and into a side pocket. He stalked the table again, silently frustrated that Trowa's solid balls were scattered all over the felt, blocking his balls from the pockets.
"Yea, man," Duo said, watching the game intently. "Try 13," he suggested before continuing with his earlier train of thought, "you need to just give her some time. She'll get used to you and then what happens will happen. You have to take it slow. I know it's hard to keep your hands off a beautiful woman, but you don't have a choice. How does that saying go?" Duo looked at Wufei, as if the Chinaman could give any clue as to what Duo was trying to think of. "Taste blood and you want more? Whatever it is, I'm trying to say this: since you've had sex with girls before, now that you deeply care about someone, it only feels natural and right to want that kind of special physical relationship with her too."
Heero leaned down, lining his cue with the cue ball with the thirteen. "Haven't tasted anything," he mumbled, sending the cue across the table to click against the thirteen. It didn't make the pocket.
He looked up. Trowa was leaning against the wall with cue in hand, staring unblinkingly at him. Wufei had a startled look on his face, very uncharacteristic for his "I'm strong and I know it" attitude. Duo's mouth was practically on the floor. He leaned forward on the couch.
"You mean to tell us that you…you're a virgin?" Duo asked.
"Well, yeah. Is that a problem?" He asked defensively, wondering what the big deal about his sexual status was.
Duo burst into laughter, holding the arm of the couch to steady himself. Wufei even chuckled, not believing that the great Heero Yuy was still an innocent little virgin.
Trowa glared at the laughing pair on the couch. "Nothing's wrong with it, Heero," he said. "Its just that…well…even Quatre's gotten laid."
Heero scowled, but in a good-natured way. He knew the guys were just having fun. "Trowa," he said, calling his attention, "what's with all your solids being on the table?"
"That's my strategy," Trowa said with a prideful smile. "Leave all my balls on the table to block your shots to the pockets."