Disclaimers: The song is Fiona's, the boys belong to some production company somewhere, not making any money from this, you know the routine.
Spoilers: none (I hope!)
Notes: Once again, my characters have made certain decisions without checking with my plans first. I didn't plan this, but sometimes that's the way it goes... thank you all, as always for all the kind words and feedback, and enjoy the last three chapters of Never Let You Go.
Feedback: Pretty please? With little chibis on top? (You pick which ones ~_^) Post here, or you can e-mail me at insanewritinggirl@yahoo.com.
Never Let You Go
Chapter 21
by quelirain
| And I suddenly feel like a different person
From the roots of my soul comes a gentle coercion --Fiona Apple, "The Child is Gone" |
Duo and Relena stepped out of the apartment, heading for the stairwell. Duo tucked his weapon back into wherever it had come from. As they turned a corner near the end of the hall, the stairwell door began to open.
"Doesn't look like that's an option," Duo whispered. "Just trust me." He used his body to press her against a wall and began kissing her deeply, his elbows braced on either side of her head. Instinctively, her hands found his back, drawing him closer, letting the heat build between them.
A uniformed officer passed, but Duo didn't let up, and Relena found herself responding as she always had to his nearness and his passion. She arched against him, wanting more, pushing further, letting his warm skin draw her hands underneath his shirt.
It was Duo who broke this kiss.
His face hung millimeters from hers, his face flushed and his eyes clouded with an honest passion. "Relena... what you said about Heero... was it true?"
Relena nodded.
Duo captured her lips again and probed beyond them with his tongue. He released her only to nuzzle the skin between her neck and ear, sucking lightly as Relena responded by pressing against him, her hands moving against his skin. It took too much concentration to pay attention, but she could hear the noises of feet and elevators heading for the apartment around the corner.
"Duo," she whispered. "We need to--"
"Shhh..." He pulled back from the earlobe he'd been exploring and kissed her mouth again and again, tenderly. "I'm really a fool, aren't I?"
She shook her head. "You're not a fool at all, Duo."
He drew back from her entirely, turning to face the other wall. Cold swooped in the replace the heat that had been so close to her. "So you've made your choice, then," he said.
Relena pushed away from the wall, reaching to touch Duo's shoulder. "I do love you, Duo... but I owe it to Heero to try and work things out, if that's what he wants."
"I figured you'd say that after Wufei through with you." He faced her, raising his hand to trace lightly across her jaw. She tipped her head to lean into the touch. Duo pulled his hand away sharply. She reached for him, but he stepped back. "If you touch me again, I'm not sure I'll be able to let you go. I know this is right, Relena." His hand clenched, and he said quietly, "But still... that doesn't make it any easier."
He jammed his hands in his pockets and headed down the hall toward the stairwell without looking back. She followed, subdued.
***
The windshield wipers swicked back and forth, leaving trails of smeared water on the glass. Considering that Trowa had hotwired the car, Relena didn't feel right mentioning that the owner was obviously neglectful by not having replaced them in a city where it rained nearly 300 days out of the year. Trowa was in the backseat of the car with Quatre. Duo drove them back to the estate.
Duo seemed eager to take her home, and she hadn't resisted or really said much at all since their conversation. Duo's echoing of Heero's words had disturbed her.
"Don't brood."
The voice came from the backseat. She turned to see Trowa looking at her, Quatre half-asleep and leaning on Trowa's shoulder. She shook her head. "I'm not brooding."
"You are." He glanced at Quatre as the blond shifted. "Quatre's already pardoned you." At the mention of his name, Quatre's eyes blinked open for a moment, then closed as he snuggled back into Trowa, who smiled and shifted to accommodate.
"How is he?" Relena asked.
"I'm fine," Quatre answered, turning his head without opening his eyes. "I'm just tired. And sore. Stop worrying, Relena. I can't sleep when you're brooding. We don't hate you. We aren't even angry at you. Not any of us."
"I'm not sure why you aren't," she answered slowly. "I haven't been the most responsible or considerate person. I've hurt all of you."
Trowa lifted his head, allowing Relena to see his full face clearly. His eyes were surprisingly clear and untroubled. "You've screwed up. Fine. We've all screwed up. We've all hurt people. But feeling guilty isn't going to make living through it any easier. Make your amends. Offer your apologies."
"Then go and sin no more," Duo intoned quietly. Quatre snorted.
"Quatre has already pardoned you," Trowa continued. "Quatre is fine. I'm satisfied with that."
"Heero's hurt and confused, but not angry," Quatre added. "And Duo, although he'd never admit it, is just hurting right now. He's lost you, he knows it, and that's hard for him.".
Relena blinked at that and looked at Duo, who kept his face blank and his eyes on the road.
"Sorry, Duo," Quatre sighed. "But no one is angry at you, Relena. True, you've got some fences to mend, but that will come with time. Now will you stop fretting so I can go back to sleep?"
Relena turned back to the front of the car, staring at the road ahead.
"I mean that, Relena, or I'm going to have to knock you out or something."
With a sigh, Duo took his right hand off the wheel and felt Relena's neck. She felt a slight pressure, then her world went dark.
***
When Relena came around, she was back in her bedroom at the estate.
//Guess Quatre wasn't joking about that,// she thought. //I've got to learn that one.//
Sitting up, she swung her legs to the floor. Whoever had brought her in here had also taken off her shoes, so she padded out into the hall in her socks, listening for voices and hearing none.
//Where is everybody?//
Her mind began to supply her with answers. //Heero shot... Duo probably gone...// She sagged against the wall, pressing a hand to her stomach. //But they don't hate me, so Quatre says. So there's hope.//
The hand that was on her stomach rumbled. It took her a second to realize that she was hungry. She shook her head, chuckling.
//And after all this drama, it's true... life does go on.//
Her giggles turned into fullblown laughter, loud enough that someone must have heard her, because she soon heard a worried Quatre calling, "Relena? Are you all right?"
She tipped her head back against the wall, halting her laughter long enough to call back, "I hope so!" She took a deep breath and headed downstairs. Quatre was waiting at the base of the stairs, looking at her with a bemused smile. He looked her up and down, then nodded.
"Hungry?"
"Sure."
Trowa was sitting at the kitchen table when they entered, his feet propped up on another chair, which he promptly removed upon seeing Relena. A steaming cup of tea was on the table in front of him; another cup was across from him, in front of an empty chair, which Quatre slid into. Relena headed for the refrigerator, browsing through its contents, and eventually came up with prepackaged salad mix.
"Where's everybody?" she asked as she prepared the salad.
"Um... well... I'm not sure where Milliardo went," Quatre answered.
Relena brought the salad to the table, grabbing a fork on her way. She ate silently while wondering who to ask about first, eventually deciding on, "What about the others?"
Quatre glanced at Trowa.
"What is this?" Relena looked from one to the other. "What's going on?"
"Heero's been arrested," Trowa said flatly. "Wufei is with him now, working with the local police to get him released."
"Arrested?! On what charges?"
"Disturbing the peace, carrying a concealed weapon without a license, that kind of thing. They're stalling until they can figure out what really happened, or so Wufei said," Quatre explained. "I've offered my full support, legal services, whatever they need."
Relena stared at Quatre. "But why can't Wufei just wave his Preventer's badge around and take Heero?"
"We're trying to do this quietly. The locals haven't figured out who Heero is, and we're trying to keep it that way. Drawing attention now would be problematic." Quatre sipped his coffee.
Deliberately, Relena set down her fork, pushed back from the table, and stood.
"I won't stop you from going to the station, but I wouldn't recommend it," Quatre said quietly. "There's nothing you can do. Your presence would create more problems than it would solve. It will be easier on Wufei and Heero if you remain here."
Relena's normally placid gaze evolved into a glare. "I have spent this past week hiding and generally acting irresponsibly. It's time for me to step forward and take care of the problems I've caused."
Quatre set down his cup, not acknowledging Relena's glare. "We both have played politics since we were children, Relena. You know that your actions will impact more than your immediate circle of influence. What you do shakes the entire Earth Sphere. If you walk out there and try to do what would be right if you were an average citizen, the public will never have faith in you again. They will believe that you have abused your power. They will believe that you are corrupt. And when you fall, you will take the Earth Sphere with you."
"Are you suggesting that war will break out again? I doubt that, Quatre. I think the Mariemeia incident took care of that," Relena replied.
"Ten years of peace is not enough to make the Earth Sphere stable. It will probably take most of our lifetimes before that truly happens." Quatre did look up then, meeting her eyes. "The world needs you, but they will reject you if you do what is right on the individual level. You have to think larger here."
Relena considered that. "So what do I do, then? Just sit here and wait?"
"Waiting is an action that is key in any battle. Striking at a key moment can make all the difference in the final outcome of the war," Quatre answered.
Relena opened her mouth to speak, but Trowa spoke up instead. "Milliardo went to help Wufei clear things up."
"That's almost as bad as Relena going down there herself," Quatre said darkly, staring into his cooling coffee. His eyes flicked up suddenly, toward Relena, then clouded over and returned to his cup.
"What is it, Quatre?" Relena demanded.
"Hey guys!" Duo shouted from the hallway. "I think you'd better see this! Milliardo's holding a press conference!"
"If my hunch is correct, Relena, you're about to get your answer." Quatre downed the rest of his coffee then headed over to the coffeemaker for a refill. Relena stared at him, incredulous, before stalking to the media room.
~owari chapter 21~