..................Chp 4 ....................

Heero looked at the owner of the footsteps.

Relena.

Of all the people in the world he had least expected her. 'I guess we have the same taste' he thought sardonically. 'I wonder why she's out so late. It's almost midnight. She should be more careful.'

But as he looked at her some other emotion clouded over his concern. He gazed at her thinking how lovely her eyes were. They were all sparkly like the time when he had ripped up her invitation.

That made him stop. She had been crying then. Which means.... He glanced over at her again. He was just in time to see two silvery streams slid down her cheeks only to be wiped away in a jerky angry movement. Something was very wrong here. Relena never cried unless she was seriously hurting.

He almost gasped out loud when he saw her climb onto the rail. What the hell does she think she's doing! What if she fell!! He caught a glimpse of her face. He knew desperation when he saw it. 'Holy shit!' he thought. Everything made sense now. He ran towards her to stop what she was trying to accomplish. He'd be damned before he'd let her commit suicide.

****************

'Well I guess this is goodbye.'

No one would mourn, so she didn't worry about leaving anyone behind. The two blue-eyed men in her life, one prussian , one aquamarine like herself, had made it quite clear that they were not interested in becoming part of her life. It's not like she really blamed them. They weren't responsible for her. They weren't obligated to care. She just wish they had.

"Goodbye Millardo" She whispered, "Goodbye......Heero."

And with that she jumped.

************

He heard her whisper as he approached.

"Goodbye Millardo…Goodbye...Heero"

And then he saw her body disappear over the railing. A cry of pure anguish was ripped from his throat as he leapt off the side of the bridge after her. He was falling falling falling.

SPLASH! The cold water was like a slap in the face to him. He was just glad that the fall alone didn't kill him. He looked for her under the water. There was high visibility and for that he was thankful. He surfaced for air and dove under again.

There! A flash of blonde. He kicked his legs over to her, grabbed her, and then began to swim upward. He gasped for air as he broke the surface. Fighting hard against the current Heero made it to the shoreline. He lay her on the ground.

'Oh my god' he thought 'she's not breathing.'

He immediately began administer CPR.

'Please breathe please breathe. Please don't take her now.' This was the closest he ever got to praying in his life. One two three. Breath. One two three. Breath. All of a sudden she began to cough up water. Heero's knees felt weak with relief. He patted her back gently as she expelled all the water in her lungs.

Her eyes widened in shock when she saw who her rescuer was. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly before she launched into a tirade.

"Why did you save me?!" She demanded. " I wanted to die! And, if I'm under the right impression you wouldn't mind it so much either."

Heero was not expecting this reaction. Plus now that he was over his initial relief he had some yelling of his own to do.

"What the hell were you thinking!! Did you think that it would make things better if you jumped!? Did you think that no one would care!? That no one would CRY!?"



Relena gasped. His words rung far more true than she wanted to admit. Heero knew that he had a struck a chord. He knew because he had been down that road, he knew what it felt like to want to die. Or to cease caring if you did.

"Heero I don't want to be here. There are other foreign ministers out there, with much more expertise than me. My only family left alive hasn't bothered to show his face in four months, my dearest friend in the world passed away two months ago....... and ........you....Well you ignore me. There is no one for me to love and no one who loves me. When that happens a person dies inside! A life is meaningless and miserable without people." Her voice was full of emotion the tears streaming down her cheeks, her face mirroring the infinite sadness in her soul.

So this was one of the true faces of Relena Peacecraft. Heero felt a ache slowly build in his chest with each drop that fell from her beautiful eyes. He wanted to see those eyes shimmer with laughter not tears.

"Don't do that Relena" He murmured wiping them away.

The only thing his command did was bring more. The force of her sobs made her body shake. He wanted to do something but he was at a loss as to what. All of a sudden, as if some instinct long dormant awoke, Heero gathered her into his arms. He was hugging her. This was something totally alien to him but it felt right. He stroked her wet hair awkwardly making crooning noises in his throat.

"Please " He whispered "Don't cry. I hate it when you cry."

Heero couldn't understand what was coming over him. This is not good, the rational side said. This is going beyond protection. The irrational side said, you almost lost her. Hold her while you still can. And he felt another tightening in his chest but this one didn't feel bad. No it felt...he didn't know how it felt. It scared the hell out of him.

As Relena calmed down it registered in her mind that Heero was holding her and trying to comfort her. Trying was the keyword here. The embrace was awkward, as were his movements. She guessed he hadn't done this before. And for some reason or another, the fact that he was so awkward endeared him to her. Maybe, the voice of Relena's hope whispered, maybe he does care about you. The thought was staggering. But she had to know.

"Why did you save me?"Her voice was tiny and muffled against his chest. But it was insistent.

"I don't know" That was the truth. Well not entirely. He was beginning to get a clue. But he didn't feel like sharing his theories with her.

"Heero...." Relena said trying to form a good question in her mind... "What do you want from me!" She jerked her head up to look at him. That had been a mistake...or a blessing. Their eyes locked.

'I'm going to drown' he thought. 'I'm going to drown in those endless blue eyes.'

He realized she had asked him a question. 'What do you want from me!'



"I want this" He answered before lowering his mouth to hers.

Her mind raced, thoughts jumbled up like pieces to a puzzle. But one thought stood out crystal clear in her mind. He's kissing me. So kiss him back you twit! Suddenly the voice of Relena Peacecraft's hope was no longer a whisper. So she did what it suggested.

'Oh my god' he thought 'what am I doing! Oh my god what is SHE doing!?'

But as the surprise melted away he relaxed as he let the comfort and sweetness of the kiss wash over him. Enveloped in a wake of touch and warmth, both savored the long awaited contact until they had to break off for air, each breathing heavily.

Relena liked the way she felt. It was all warm and tingly despite the fact that her clothes were wet.

Heero liked the way he felt. 'I should kiss Relena more often.' The irrational side whispered, how about now. To his surprise the rational side was in full agreement. Damn hormones. 'Well' he thought looking over at her wistfully 'As much as I would like to pursue this it would not be a good idea. Near death experiences and passion are not a good mix.'

Fatigue and the power of her kiss with Heero had left Relena emotionally drained. She wanted to sleep.

"I better be going" She said rather lamely. Heero nodded gently.

"Relena" He said, "Don't try anything like that again. If you feel like that again.....well......just know that I'm still here."

A tiny smile lit up her features.

"I'll keep that in mind. Goodbye. Heero." She began to walk up the incline back to the street where she hailed a cab.

His eyes followed her the whole way before he started to walk back to his place. Despite the fact that he was wet, and his shoes sloshed, colors seemed more vibrant, lights shone brighter, and all of a sudden, tomorrow was exciting.

*********

AN: Some more reiteration. One of my oldest stories, but I kinda like it. Hope you do to. That is all!