Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai and Sunrise. Not me. Please don't sue.

Undercurrents

By Cinpii

Chapter Five: Pain

"Hey, Heero? Where are you? I was thinking about making some beef stew for dinner and WHOAAA– " Relena cried, her voice cutting off sharply. She tripped over something hard on her way down the porch steps. Instinctively, she shot out her hands and closed her eyes for the harsh impact with the ground.

She wasn't disappointed. Unforgiving in its magnitude, waves of pain washed over her, knocking her into a state of temporary shock. It wasn't until a moment later when her body roared in silent misery, the C fibers of her peripheral nerves firing off, diffusing her being with its unfortunate message. It didn't feel like she crashed onto the hard packed dirt, but more like solid rock. And it really, really hurt.

Relena hissed through clenched teeth, a grimace marring her pretty features. Her entire body was throbbing. She contented herself to just lie there until the pain went away and her bearings decided to come back.

That was until she heard a faint moan from under her.

Strange. That sound isn't coming from me, Relena thought a bit fuzzily.

And that's when it hit her that she didn't land on a rock, she landed on Heero.

She was sprawled over him, and for the life of her, she could not move. It hurt, damnit. Sure, her nerves were doing fine relaying the message of pain to her brain, but apparently, it wasn't doing such a good job reciprocating. Her mind was screaming for her to get off, but her body remained defiant and unresponsive. Limbs aching too much to obey, Relena remained, her tender body draped gracelessly upon her unsuspecting host.

In a rare moment of clarity, the dazed teen became aware of just how she was sprawled upon Heero. And because her body was registering each and every point of contact, her mind screamed louder, willing her body to movement. It was met with stubborn refusal, but she really wished otherwise, because she could feel the solid strength of the prone body beneath hers. It was doing things to her. To certain areas of her. Areas she'd rather not think about.

If only she could get off him, then she wouldn't feel the rise of his chest against her crushed breasts and his heated breath tickling her sensitized ear and his impossibly hard jean clad thigh nestled between her soft bared ones and...

Wait a minute.

If she could feel his body, then he could feel hers too.

Panic. Heart thumping furiously, adrenalin surged with a vengeance. Drawing upon newfound strength, she quickly relieved him of her weight, pushing up with her arms. She did not have enough energy to scramble off him, only enough to get on all fours.

Heero didn't know what happened. One minute he was approaching the garage by the side of the house, all intentions to return the axe. The next minute he heard Relena's voice. His eyes were adjusted to the dark but hers weren't, so she didn't see the obstruction at the steps of the porch. When he was about to shout out a warning, it was too late.

He was flat on his back and his head was reeling from the hard collision with the ground. Stars flashed from beneath his closed lids. It took a moment to breathe because all his air was knocked out. There was a sudden weight on him, and he was having the damnedest time getting his lungs to function. When his brain stopped ricocheting off the walls of his skull and started perceiving again, his dazed mind first registered pain. Not surprising, given the unceremonious crude shock to his system, but soon Heero sensed something else entirely. Unfamiliar softness was pressing against his body, and suddenly he didn't mind the pain.

Surprised, Heero was content to just lie there, enjoying the apple scented threads of silk that was softly tickling his nose and the firm, heated pressure that was making him one with the ground. Each inhale of breath drew an intoxicating, heady scent that his greedy olfactory receptors reveled in. Something warm and deliciously soft was pressing against his chest and stomach and making its presence known between his thighs and he wasn't minding one bit. All too soon, the very pleasant weight was shifting, and Heero frowned in disappointment when it vanished.

"Oh, oh God," she blushed madly, heat licking her cheeks becomingly. "Heero, are you ok?" She inquired, fear and concern lacing the dulcet notes of her voice. When he didn't move, instant remorse washed over her features. "I'm sorry," she whispered, regret wrinkling her brow as she peered into his grimacing visage. Her body was hovering over his, one knee wedged between his legs, her palms on either side of his head for support. Her lengthy blonde hair fell in a curtain past her cheeks and laid in swirls around his face. With a gentle hand, she delicately brushed thick, dark bangs off his clammy forehead. The soft tickle of her breath brushed against Heero's parted lips. With the intimate position of their bodies, their faces were mere inches apart.

"Heero?"

It hurt, it hurt so much. Without Relena pressing against him, there was nothing distracting Heero from the pain. It coursed through his body with revived fervor and he winced, trying to bare it. His features were tight and his body tensed.

And then he felt it. His muscles relaxed when he felt it again. The pain receded magically. He felt her warm breath tease his mouth. Damn. That– felt good. Really good.

He opened his lids and Prussian blue orbs locked onto aquamarine. She had the most mesmerizing eyes. They were large and generously framed with thick, dark lashes. Her irises were the most marvelous shade of blue. The pupils were dilated because of the darkness, and Heero found himself captivated.

A tiny pink tongue darted out from those lusciously full parted lips and Heero's eyes focused on the innocently erotic act as she unconsciously moistened them.

He had the compelling urge to claim that mouth with his, to mold those soft lips with his own, to draw that pink tongue into his mouth and–

"Heero? Say something," she begged, her eyes wide with worry. The hand that had smoothed away his bangs gently slapped his cheek, and that brought Heero out of his semi-hormonal trance. Too bad his body had already reacted to the stimulus. He was suddenly uncomfortably hard down there. With every tiny moment, her knee subtly rubbed against his awakened state, which did not help matters in the least. She was unaware of how her proximity was making him react, how the scent of her hair and the tickle of her breath and the press of her thigh was driving Heero crazy.

He grit his teeth and shuttered his eyes, hoping Relena would mistake it as pain from the fall, and not pain from rampant sexual frustration. He damned himself for reacting to her, and was disconcerted that he reacted at all. But there was something about her that would not go away.

Before, when his father had told him that they would have the daughter of his old college roommate stay with them for a year, Heero had expressed surprise, but not concern. When his father had left for Japan, Heero had not paused to think about how awkward it might be to be living with a girl alone. He had only thought of it as his duty to show her around and look after her as a good host ought. His dad was counting on him after all, and Heero was mature and responsible. He had only briefly wondered if she would turn out to be like all the other girls he knew, and what a nuisance it would be if she was attracted to him.

It did not occur to him that the roles might be reversed, that he, Heero Yuy, would be attracted to her.

Not two hours she was here and he already wanted to pin her down and kiss her senseless. Not two hours she was here and he wanted to touch her and see her tremble for more. Not two hours she was here and Heero wanted to see what kind of sounds she would make if he –

"I'm fine," he replied, ruthlessly grinding his urges to dust. There was no trace of strain in his face or voice, nothing to betray the images that had seduced his mind not moments ago. The only strain was the material that was stretched tightly across his lower body, the denim of his jeans pressing unsettling against him. Heero could control his face and his voice, but not that. He hoped Relena was too occupied to notice.

A cool breeze tingled her bared thighs, and Relena flushed with embarrassment, realization of their compromising position making her red. She scooted off him and hastily yanked her wayward skirt back down in the process.

That scooting did things to him, and his groin clenched reflexively. He gasped around his next words.

"My fault," Heero croaked, trying to quell his racing pulse. Then maybe all the blood would stop flowing to his pants and feed some much needed oxygen to his brain.

"Hmm?"

"My fault," he said louder, sitting up and shaking his head, as if to clear it. It was working. Talking about mundane things kept his mind from thinking about how nice it felt having her body pressing against his own.

"I was chopping wood to use in the fireplace and dumped the logs on the steps. There was still some daylight left so I figured I could get that chore out of the way. If I knew you'd unpack so quickly, I wouldn't have been so careless. Sorry about that," Heero apologized with a half smile. He stood up and extended his hand to help her stand. She smiled her gratitude as she reached for his offering.

His hand is so warm.

Relena flushed at the stray thought, and ducked her head down, pretending to be diligent about brushing herself off. Finished quickly, she looked up to note Heero's progress. What she saw made her giggle.

"What?" Heero asked, hands momentarily still from the act of dusting. Befuddled, he tipped his head to the side. Why is she laughing?

He's so cute when he does that, Relena thought, covering her mouth with a hand as she continued to be entertained by his appearance. Finally taking pity on him, she pointing to her own head. "You gotta leaf in your hair," Relena indicated, still giggling.

"Hmm?" Heero tried brushing it out, but to no avail. It seemed that the stubborn leaf wanted to stay.

"Here, let me help. It's right here," Relena said, smiling with mirth as she approached him. Heero was tall so she had to get on tiptoe to reach up. She placed one hand on his sleeve for stability while her other hand lightly brushed his thick hair, trying to fish out the offending leaf. He acquiesced by tilting his head down a bit, and their combination of movements placed their faces in sudden nearness. They were closer this time, and Heero could almost feel her lashes when she blinked. Their breaths intermingled intimately in an almost kiss before Relena, grinning, fished out the leaf and held it up in her hand, triumphant.

Damn, Heero thought. Just a little bit closer.

Fuck Yuy, what are you thinking? You did NOT want to kiss that girl again, Heero's brain shouted to him. Hell yeah, I did. His libido replied.

And that wasn't all I wanted to do.

His hands felt itchy. Heero shoved them into his pockets. These feelings Relena invoked in him were to be saved for future analysis.

Right now, they had dinner to make.