Author's Note: I had two routes to go, and I turned the AU way. It's not that I couldn't make a few more chapters of Hilde angst, because I could, and quite easily at that, but let's face it, that would get old pretty fast. This way's more fun, and hopefully you all (or at least some of you out there) agree. Thanks to Dream Angel and Mama-sama again for leaving their thoughtful reviews. Also, I send my gratitude to b, The Gray Ghost, and NTess.

Disclaimer: This is basically a repeat of what I've been saying for the past three chapters. Let's just make it short and say that the same holds true for this chapter as well.

Chapter 4: The Unexpected Steps Forth

Relena came and went. Her shuttle touched down on L-2 the next afternoon; as always, she had insisted on catching the first flight. There was a peaceful reunion between her and Heero, but in the end the two decided it was best to part ways again and for her return to the Sanc Kingdom.

At least that was what we decided to tell everyone.

Relena came by "unannounced" and immediately asked for Heero's whereabouts, worry etched into her delicate features. I called up to him, and after a few moments of shuffling from above, he came strolling down the steps only to freeze when he saw Relena. His outward expression remained impassive, but within his eyes, I saw the obvious sheen of shock. Anger. Fear. But behind it all was a thick undulation of guilt - the one emotion I was not expecting from him. And in that moment, standing between two people whose lives I should not have interfered with, I began to feel the tug of guilt myself. I just hoped I was as good as masking it as Heero was.

She came in and I asked her if she wanted something to eat after her flight. She smiled softly and shook her head - still the polite woman everyone remembered her as - and promptly turned her attention back to Heero. Her bodyguard. Her friend. Her would-be husband had it not been for the fact that he had disappeared from everyone's sight one day. She knew that. And I believed deep down inside Heero knew that as well, though he would be the last to admit this fact.

"I had been waiting for you," she whispered, more wistful than delighted, like I had planned for her to be. "Every day, just waiting. And now..." She trailed off, moving her lips silently. Heero didn't look like he was willing to say anything, and Duo was nowhere in sight. So I dutifully stepped in.

"Perhaps the two of you would like a room? You can have some privacy there."

Heero nodded in agreement and Relena stopped to mouth 'thank you' before following him up the stairs. I waited for the clap of the door closing before breathing a sigh of relief. But the weight that had formed in my chest upon Relena's arrival was never alleviated. Rather, in the silence of the living room, it exacerbated, becoming bloated and threatening to burst. It only became worse when the arguing began.

It began as harsh murmuring through the door, a rapid exchange where neither side was waiting for a reply, just an outlet to state the pent up feelings that collected over the past couple months. The murmuring increased to shouting, then yelling, and before long I could hear Heero stomping around upstairs while Relena was screaming and - was that crying I heard? - as the walls shook down below.

Duo appeared at the top of the stairs and descended without so much as a gaze in my direction. He didn't have to. He understood what was happening and where to place the blame. He stood in the stairwell, crossed his arms, and leaned his back up against the wall, close enough to make his presence known, but far enough to not be friendly. He was far from his usual cheerful self, replaced with a pensive air. I softly chewed his bottom lip and Duo tapped his foot rhythmically, both of us waiting for the shouting to calm, even though both of us knew everything wasn't going to end that simply.

And then came the gunshot.

Everything slowed to a halt. Duo jerked up with such force, I at first thought that he had been hit. He snapped his head in the direction of Heero and Relena, and it was at that moment that the both of us knew what had happened. I felt the pressure gathering in me rupture and spill. We raced upstairs together, muttering a mantra of "Oh, no"'s in hopes that what happened had just been the stress of the past couple days beating down on our minds.

Duo grabbed the handle and swung open the door. Our worst qualms had become a reality. I was groping for words, but couldn't find any that could possibly reflect any one of the thousands of emotions running through my head. Duo stepped into the room, timidly, and was the first of us to find his voice.

"Oh shit, Heero," he said shakily. Thinking back, I had never, not even during the war, ever heard him so scared. "You didn't... did you?"

Heero was kneeling on the floor. Relena lay at his side, blood pouring from a hole in the side of her head. She was dead. A gun lay at his feet. He looked to us, horrified, before passing out beside her.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. But it all ties into the plot, which I promise to divulge come the next chapter. Until then, I'll leave you to wondering how our heroes are going to pull themselves out of this little predicament (and believe me, that's not going to be as easy as it sounds).

-Skye