Only Time

By: Zarabeth McGregor

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing, their universes or their characters. However, I do own Destiny, Gretchen and Stacey. I claim Stacey and Gretchen because I've used them in more than one chapter. Destiny…I have plans for her in other fics…

You know what my favorite shape is? A triangle. I don't know why, but I just love them. There are so many different types of triangles. Large triangles, small triangles, love triangles, musical triangles, colorful triangles…the list just goes on and on.

Questions!

Megami*Silence: *sobbing* I'm not evil! Everyone tells me I'm evil but I'm not! I'm a nice little innocent girl! So what if I love to torture people? I'm still innocent…*sniff* Hey, what's up, girl? Imagine if he did smile…let's just say wait for me.

Kaiya: I'll accept the glomp, thank you very much. Yes, I enjoy writing this playful side to Relena…it's gets even better in this chapter *wink*

Minimerc: Well, it's true! I love Wuffie, I really do, it's just that he's so uptight…of course that's good for demented fanfic author like me… *remembers Megami's message*…I mean good little girls like me…yeah…

Dragon Lady: Well, you obviously won't have to wait long

Za Kaze no Nisou: Yeah…it gives a feeling of suspense, huh? This is how I think Relena would act, so that's how I'm portraying her.

Jessica: Well, it's true, people just don't see it that way for whatever reason…so, you think you know, huh? *Giggles*

DigitalAngel4U: I don't dig the Relena bashing bit, so I don't write it. Quite interested to see whom I'll pair Ami with, huh?

Mercury Ice Storm: Cause I love torturing you people! Uh, I mean…I felt like it…yeah…Oh, I started the first chapter of your story, but I had to get off the computer, then I couldn't find it again…what's the name of it again? So far so good, by the way.

Amanda: Well, it kept you coming back for more…so that works for me *winks* Thanks for the compliment.

Julie: Thank you, I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, but I think you'll love this one even more…you're in for a real treat.

Wicked Lady: Hehe! I was actually considering not posting this chapter until you reviewed…*laughs* I'm sending you insane…er? Aw, thanks for telling me…*remembers*…Uh, I mean not that I'm getting actual pleasure out of this…*curses Megami and her evilness*…Well, dear, I think you'll actually love this chapter…*wink*

 ~*~

"Introduce me?" I asked, still shell-shocked. We were walking over to the five pilots at full pace, meandering through groups of people. Relena nodded, her large silver hoops dancing crazily.

"Uh huh," she said, smiling mysteriously. "That's why I brought you here in the first place, to hook you up with someone." If it was possible, this little revelation shocked me even more. Relena, my boss for…little over a month, was trying to play matchmaker for me. You could've knocked me over with a feather.

"Um, it's quite alright, Relena, really," I tried to get myself out of this potentially embarrassing situation, but her grip was vise-like around my wrist. Swinging her hips to the hip-hop music blasting through the speakers, Relena led me over to Quatre. He was still on his celly, and not looking particularly happy. She stood in front of him and waited for Quatre to notice her.

"What's up?" she asked him when he excused himself from his phone call. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Damned people can't do a single thing right," he replied. Relena laughed.

"I understand. Quatre, this is my new personal assistant, Ami Mizuno. Ami, this is Quatre." Relena said innocently enough, yet I could hear her voice laced with hopefulness. Quatre looked over in my direction and smiled.

"Hey, Ami, what's up?" he asked me and held out a hand. I took it. His hand was soft and warm and his grip was gentle.

"Fine," I answered. He smiled at me again and turned to Relena.

"Sorry, Relena, I have to take this call…" he said apologetically. Relena shook her head nonchalantly.

"It's okay, do what you have to do," she answered. He nodded at me before going back to his call. I could hear him mention some not-so-nice Arabic words to the person on the other end of the line as we walked away. I felt my heart flutter. So…Relena was now leading me to the Shenlong pilot. My heart fluttered even more, just not in an excited sort of way.

"Wufei," she said in a sugary-sweet voice. She had an iceberg-melting smile on. However, this didn't lessen Wufei's glower as he turned to face us. "How's life?" he grunted.

"It would've been a lot better if you didn't drag me to this Kami-forsaken place," he muttered angrily. Relena still smiled and I fought to suppress a laugh.

"Well, I want you to meet someone," she continued in her persuasive voice. "Wufei, this is Ami. Ami, meet Wufei." Relena pulled me from behind up next to her. "She's my new personal assistant." He looked me over in a scrutinizing way.

"Hi," I managed to choke out with a half-hearted wave. Wufei rolled his eyes and looked away from us. Relena rolled her own eyes and led me away.

"Oh, don't worry," she told me when we were out of earshot. "We caught him in a good mood." Why wasn't I surprised? We now walked over to Trowa and Gretchen. Gretchen, dressed in a beautiful green, linen dress looked utterly frustrated at Trowa's unwillingness to participate in a conversation. I think she was scanning the crowd to see if there was anyone else she could talk to. She smiled when she saw us approaching.

"Hi!" she waved at us madly, her bracelets jangling. If I didn't know any better, I would say Trowa gave Relena an almost grateful glance. Relena smiled at the two of them.

"Good night," she said. "How are you enjoying it?" Gretchen forced a smile.

"Just lovely," she replied. Relena looked over at Trowa.

"I haven't seen you in a while." Trowa just shrugged coolly.

"Been busy," he said quietly. He didn't elaborate. Relena really wasn't kidding.

"Well, Trowa, I want you to meet my personal assistant, Ami Mizuno. Ami, this is Trowa," she introduced us. Trowa gave me the slightest of nods; if it weren't for my heightened eyesight, I doubt I would've seen it. I gave a smile.

"Well, enjoy it," Relena said, and with a wave, we left them. We were now heading over to the two brown haired guys by the window going by the names Heero and Duo. Duo was the first to notice us. He nudged Heero and smiled.

"Night, you two!" Relena said cheerfully. She walked up to Duo and the two shared a warm embrace. Then Duo pulled away and held Relena away from him. He looked her up and down, before spinning her around to get another view.

"Looking real nice, aren't we," he complimented with a smile. Relena laughed back.

"I try," she said with mock-modesty. She then looked over at Heero and their gazes locked for a few moments before he shifted his eyes slightly. It was so inconspicuous; I doubt even Duo noticed it. She smiled again and looked back at me. "I have a new friend I want the two of you to meet."

"Night," I said and fluttered my fingers at them slightly.

"Guys, this is Ami, my new personal assistant," she said for the…umpteenth time that night. Duo stuck out his hand immediately.

"Any friend of 'Lena's is a friend of mine," he told me as I shook it. I looked up into his violet eyes and they seemed to smile at me.

"Charmed," I replied. I then looked over at Heero. I don't know, but I just felt his eyes on me. Sure enough, when I glanced his way, they were focused on yours truly. His face was still stony yet there was something there…I couldn't put my finger on it. Anyway, it disappeared from his face almost immediately. I was intrigued, determined to find out what this emotion was. I looked into his eyes.

            My breath caught in my throat. If his eyes were intense from all the way over by the stairs, they were absolutely powerful now. His eyes reminded me of the ocean, not only in color, but also in their turbulence and shiftiness. I felt myself slowly drowning in them, yet I couldn't tear my gaze away. I could feel them melting my own azure orbs, and it was the singularly most extreme feeling I can ever remember experiencing. As I kept my eyes on him, I also noticed they held another characteristic with the ocean: beneath their deep blue depths, there were secrets, things buried below. I wondered what they were while we had this little staring competition.

"Isn't that right, Ami?" Once again, Relena's voice dragged me reluctantly back to reality.

"Huh?" I asked, totally bemused. Relena frowned slightly.

"I was telling Duo that he's probably the most gorgeous guy here tonight. Am I not telling the truth?" She looked at me. I looked back at her and saw her smug, self-satisfied smile. In my mind I called her something I wouldn't have said to her face. She was really serious about this matchmaker job, huh?

"Well," I said, putting on a purposely coy voice. "I haven't really looked around that much, so I couldn't really say; it wouldn't be a fair judgment." I smiled at Relena's defeated expression. She gave me a 'you win this time' look. Duo, on the other hand, was impressed.

"Thought you had her there, huh, Relena?" he asked with mirth in his voice. Relena gave a fake pout. I realized someone wasn't participating in the conversation. I turned to where Heero was standing.

He was gone. I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

"Shall I get you ladies something to drink?" Duo asked and I turned back to him.

"Yes, please," Relena and I both answered. "Make mine a coke." Relena said. I nodded in agreement.

"Don't move, I'll be right back," Duo said and walked off in the direction of the bar—not before throwing a wink in my direction, though.

~*~

An hour after meeting Heero and Duo, I was outside, alone. I leaned on the balcony's cool, marble wall and sipped my coke. Relena and Duo were inside talking and Heero hadn't returned. The atmosphere inside was kind of overwhelming, so I decided to take a breather.

It was full moon that night.

I found my mind going back to my other four friends and I wondered what they were doing. I missed them sorely, I honestly did. I could only imagine what they would be doing if they were here. I sipped my coke again and watched the moon rise slowly. It was a clear, cloudless night so I could watch its progress uninterrupted. I thought back to the Moon Kingdom and the happy times before it's destruction. There were dances like this, where all the Lunarians, as well as people from the other planets would attend. Michiru and Haruka would be playing, no doubt, taking us away to another universe as we danced. I could almost hear the melodious strains from her violin and the gentle tinkling from Haruka's piano.

We would be on the dance floor of course. Or more accurately, the other scouts would be. I would be sitting at a table, watching them as they danced. They were so light, so graceful, almost like feathers. They had a dance they would perform and everyone would stop dancing to watch.

They held hands high in the air and danced in a slowly rotating motion. They would then part and perform a series of twirls that were further accentuated by the swishing and twirling of their skirts they held while dancing. And then she would step into the middle of their little ring. Serena was the best dancer in the Moon Kingdom. When she danced, it was like watching an angel floating by. She was dressed in pure white, her hair cascading around her and she moved elegantly in time with the music. The other girls would still be dancing around her, moving their skirts as they were before, but Serena was the most beautiful, going on her toes, spinning and twirling. And as they danced, you could feel a wave of happiness and love wash over you gently.

They always begged me to join, but I never would. I never felt I could move as gracefully and as poised as they could. Yet, I never tried it. I took another sip of my coke and sighed. I really did miss them. 

"Hey Ames," I cheerful and surprisingly familiar voice called out to me. "What's a beautiful girl like you doing out here all alone?" I knew who it was, so I didn't turn. I did, however, blush and lower my head at his comment. Duo came up next to me and leaned his back against the marble wall. "Well?" I shrugged.

"The moon out here is so beautiful, I just had to come and see it," I answered. Duo turned so he was facing the object of my attention.

"It is, isn't it?" he sighed. We stood like that for a while and I was very aware of him there; his cologne smelt so musky and sweet, his eyes so focused and bright. A few thin strands of his hair blew in the gentle breeze and I watched them quietly. He turned suddenly to me, a smile on his face.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked. I laughed and shook my head.

"No, heavens no," I said. "I can't dance." Duo gave me a mischievous, lopsided grin.

"I'll be the judge of that," he winked at me again, and took my hand. For the second time tonight, I was being led. This time, however, I was protesting all the way.

"No, Duo, I'll step on your feet…I can't dance to save my life…please let me make you remember me as Relena's personal assistant and not the girl you regret dancing with…" Oh, well, at least I tried. We were now in the middle of the dance floor. Duo's eyes were gleaming. "I can't dance." I repeated with slight exasperation. He just shrugged.

"Go where the music takes you," that was all he said. At first it was awkward; this was my first time dancing and all, but I slowly got into it. Soon, I was enjoying myself immensely; a few times, Duo and I joined hands and he spun me out and back in before dipping me. We were both laughing hard. This was the most fun I'd had since I went to university.

Then, that fragile confidence which took about five songs to build up now came crashing. I heard the first strains of a slow but Latin-tuned song playing. I knew this would require some actual dancing skills.

"Duo," I stood on my toes and whispered into his ear. "I don't know how to dance to this." He looked down on me and smiled.

"Just let me lead you and listen to what I tell you," he whispered back. My eyes widened. What? Was he going to teach me how to dance on the actual dance floor? That seemed to be the case, because he slid a hand around my waist and turned my back to him. Then he pulled me so close to him, we were touching. My breathing was becoming erratic. This was the first time I had been so close to a guy.

"Okay, just move with me," he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling the side of my neck. This, of course, caused my heart rate to quicken. But guess what? I listened to him. He was moving his hips in a slow, circular motion, and I followed. I was very aware of his arm around my waist and his other hand gently holding mine. So, here I was trying to regulate my breathing, when he whispered to me again.

"I'm going to spin you out, then back in. When you come back in, stay facing me," I nodded and he did exactly what he said he would do. I said a silent prayer of thank you, grateful that I didn't wear my long, loose skirt. I don't want to know where that would've been right now. I felt myself being spun back in. I would've crashed into him if Duo didn't catch my waist in time. We were touching once again. By instinct, I put my hand on his shoulder. He held my other hand out a la waltz style.

"Listen, carefully," he now advised. "take two steps back and then two forward. Keep doing that." I did as I was told, a first moving stiffly like I was really stepping backwards, but I soon fell into rhythm with Duo. I realized I was getting the hang of this. I gave a small, shaky smile.

"You're doing well," he assured me. My confidence was building back up. I also took this opportunity to look around. Relena was standing by Heero at the foot of the stairs. She whispered something to him. Heero looked down at her and gave a response. Relena looked back up at him with a frown. She said something, but Heero didn't answer this time. Instead he went back to what he was doing before she told him whatever. Looking at me and Duo dance.

By now, I was swinging my hips to the music, feeling quite relaxed. I looked up and Duo and looked back at me. We shared a smile.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance," he whispered. I laughed.

"Well, you just exposed me for the fraud I am," I replied. He laughed. We were now taking three steps forward, three steps back, as the music's tempo had sped up. Both of my hands were on his shoulders while Duo's hands were now on my hips, but I didn't feel uncomfortable about it. It felt…natural. I didn't need him to tell me what to do now, I was just following him. It also seemed like I knew what he wanted to do before he told me; that was why he stopped giving instructions. He spun me out again and we resumed our two/three-step.

"I want to spin you out again, but this time, keep spinning around and around me. I'll hold you," he reassured me. I smiled, all too happy to oblige. I was spun out, and I kept up the pace. Around, around, around I went. I could feel my hair flying against my face. And Duo held my hand firmly enough to stop me from spinning out of control, but gently enough to allow me flexibility. As I heard the song slowly stop, I stopped spinning. Big mistake. I hadn't realized it, but I was wonderfully and incredibly dizzy now. With a little squeal I felt myself going down as soon as I stopped.

Luckily, Duo caught me just in time. I was falling backwards into him at the time, so he kind of side-stepped and caught me around the waist, so it looked like we were doing a dip as our finale. I heard laughter and realized it was mine mixed with his. He pulled me upright.

"Enjoying yourself, dancing queen?" he asked through his laughter. His blue dress shirt was opened slightly at the collar and I could see the perspiration running down his neck. I guess I was sweating too, because everywhere felt damp. I giggled.

"Uh-huh," I looked up into his violet eyes and felt almost lost for a second. They were beautiful. I found myself thinking of Hotaru's amethyst necklace as I gazed into their depths.

"Your eyes are quite beautiful themselves," He said suddenly. He realized what I had been doing. Duo smiled at what I guessed to be my famous blush. "Don't worry, you're not the first girl to fall prey to their sparkling charm," he said in mock-haughtiness. I laughed and elbowed him playfully.

"Do you want to dance some more?" I heard myself asking. I was surprised at my boldness. Duo's grin grew even wider.

"Of course," he agreed and took my hand.

I had a very good mind to leave this chapter off at the balcony scene, before Duo came to her, but I decided to be nice…for once. Sorry, but it's like two in the morning and sleep is killing me. Thanks for reading!