Heero's Girl: OH MY GOD!!!!! I'VE JUST FINISHED MY ENGLISH AP FINAL!!!! YYYYYAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE A SUDDEN URGE TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE THAT I WANT TO DO!!!!!

Duo: Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel!!

Heero's Girl: Silence Braided Paradox! You shall not spoil my good mood with your wise-cracks!! *cracks knuckles* I have work to do!!!!

Heero: yeah! Don't bother her so that she can quickly fix the dilemma that she put me in!!

Wufei: Now I have the urge to piss off the author so Heero will suffer.

Heero: *death glare* OMAE O KOROSU!!

Wufei: *rolls his eyes* come of it Yuy!! That catch phrase is dead for the next 5 lives!!

Heero: *narrows his eyes and fingers his gun*

Heero's Girl: *takes magical authoress staff from hammerspace and points it up to the sky* Onward!!!! To chapter 13!!!

Quatre: Chapter 13?! That's not good!!! 13 is an unlucky number!!!

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Chapter 13:

"I forgot my coat…" Blaze said as she entered. She looked up from the floor, and stopped in her tracks. Heero and Relena pulled away quickly, but it was too late. The damage was already done.

Heero stared at Blaze with wide eyes, but she averted her eyes away from him, and back to the floor. She turned on her heel and fled, coat forgotten, and the door wide open.

Heero was speechless, but his first instinct was to chase her down, to explain things. He turned to follow, but Relena's arm interlinked with his, staying his escape. "Heero!" Relena shouted, demanding an answer. This wasn't what she expected!

Heero turned to her and shook his arm free. "Don't, Relena! Don't touch me!!"

Tears started to fill her eyes. "Bu… wha…? But you said-"

"I misunderstood your meaning, and you misunderstood mine!" Heero said to her harshly. He turned his back on her to leave. Relena placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Heero…" Relena held back her tears.

Heero pulled his shoulder away. "Relena, I said don't touch me."

The small blonde coiled her hand away, and looked at the floor. "I… I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I never meant to cause this type of trouble. I honestly thought something was there, but it's not… and there's… nothing I can do about it…."

Relena ran past him, her hands covering her face. Heero had never seen her cry, and he felt a stab of pain in his gut. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he couldn't give here everything she wanted. This was something he couldn't help her on. Heero rubbed his face with his hands. How could it be that everything could get so screwed up in a matter of seconds?

Blaze ran quickly down the hall and out of the building, not caring about the people that looked at her with puzzled eyes. It didn't matter who saw her, just so long as it wasn't Heero. A sickness overcame her stomach, but she kept it down, pushing it away. Still, it came back up each time the picture of Relena and Heero kissing entered her mind. It seemed to be burned into her skull and she couldn't get it out.

She increased her speed, and ran blindly down the street, all of the anger, frustration, and sadness fueling her motive to… to what?? Where the hell was she going to go?? It didn't matter right now. She just needed to get away.

Then she crashed into someone tall, and a familiar hand steadied her by her shoulder. Blaze stared at Trowa's shirt, and didn't look up. Tears streaked her cheeks, and she didn't want him to see.

"Blaze??" Trowa asked in shock. He saw them anyway, and he was appalled. "Blaze, what's wrong? What happened??"

Blaze sniffed and then replied, "Nothing! Nothing, I don't want to talk about it. I need to go… away somewhere." She pushed away from him, and was about to keep running when she looked up at him.

She'd never seen Trowa look at her like that with so much concern, so much emotion. What did he think of her now that she was broken down? She didn't want to focus on it. She pried her eyes away from him, and left Trowa to stand there in a complete fog of confusion. Trowa furrowed his eyebrows, and then turned away to walk back to where they were staying. He had to talk to Yuy, see if he knew what was wrong.

Then at that moment, right when Trowa was starting to organize his thoughts into some ideas of Blaze's outburst, Relena ran by him in a state of tears. This left poor Trowa scatterbrained, causing all of his theories to be violently tossed out the window. Trowa now had a new idea to approach Heero with a new question: What the hell was going on??

Then, Trowa being the intelligent person that he is, made a note that Relena ran by crying, after seeing Blaze do the same just moments before. Well, if Trowa knew anything, he definitely knew that Relena was in love with Heero. So she was most likely crying over him, and it must have something to do with Blaze, since that would be too coincidental for their reasons to be separate. But why was Blaze crying?? If it had to do with Relena and Heero, then that means that Heero must have done something to hurt BOTH of them. What the hell did he do??

As if in automatic confirmation, Heero passed him. Then the usually not-so-lively pilot spun around and grabbed Trowa by his shoulders. "Trowa!! Have you seen Blaze?? Do you know where she went??"

Trowa demanded a question of his own before he let Heero have his answer. "What happened?"

Heero paused, unwilling to tell the incident. "There were some… misunderstandings. Now tell me where Blaze is!"

Trowa narrowed his eyes. This obviously made it clear that Heero did hurt Blaze, and Trowa had the innate urge to express his feelings towards that. But instead, being the reserved person that he was, he simply said, "She ran that way. I think she may be heading towards where you can go up and out onto the desert."

That was all the incentive that Heero needed. He ran off in Blaze's direction, yellow sneakers pounding the cobblestone street. He didn't bother to thank Trowa, he was in too much of a hurry. Still, Heero made a special mental note to express his gratitude later to the uni-banged pilot. As Heero ran, a sudden thought entered his head. Why was he in such a hurry? He could simply wait to see Blaze later, and explain it then. She would have to come back eventually, and it would be best to wait for her to cool off. But this time, Heero couldn't wait. Blaze's extreme reaction startled him, and though he hadn't quite thought through everything yet, he did know that he had to find her.

Blaze stumbled out of the underground trap door of the underground city. She ran a few paces forward, and then fell to her knees, her energy finally completely spent. A night breeze blew the sand past her, powdering her hair. The moon was out tonight, full and beautiful and still so lonely. The starlight hit the sand in her hair and on her skin, causing it to sparkle with a periwinkle color. If things did not fall apart, then it would have been a very enjoyable evening, with the desert night, and the sand still warm from the day's accumulated heat.

Blaze drew her knees to her chest, and placed her head in her arms, sitting next to the door that she had come out of. The sand covered it due to the winds, and it was hard for her to push it open to get out. If she strayed, then she wouldn't be able to find it again, and would have to go back in through the city nearby.

Blaze tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it didn't do any good. Her tears still fell, hot on her skin and salty to her lips. She pounded the ground with her fists. "This is so STUPID!!!!" she shouted. "Why the hell am I crying over him?? He's nothing but a pain in the ass anyway!!! If he wants to be with her, then fine! There's nothing I can do about it!!" Her body shook as a breeze passed, but it wasn't from the cold. Another sob was going to rack her body, and she tried to suppress it. Finally, she whispered to herself, "I can't make him care about me… I can't make his choices for him."

The truth was painful, and stabbed at her mercilessly.

She heard the creaking of rusty hinges and the movement of sand, and upon looking to her right, noticed that the trap door was opening. 'Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit!!!!" Blaze thought. She got up and ran over the small sand dune and skidded on the other side, sliding to a stop where she lay down quietly. She hoped it wasn't who her mind was relentlessly telling her it was. It couldn't be him. It wouldn't be him! Why the hell would he care??

Blaze stared up at the sparkling heavens, but listening intently for who it was. Her body was tense and sore, but she was on an automatic defense.

'It wouldn't be him. It wouldn't be him. It's probably Trowa!! Yeah, that's it!' Blaze thought to herself.

Then the object of affection himself appeared within her peripheral vision, and Blaze cursed outwardly. Heero stared her in the eyes, and then looked away in what Blaze couldn't help but label as a shameful manner. He shoved his hands in his jean pockets, and simply stood there, not saying anything. Exasperated, Blaze got up and walked away from him, unable to remain in his presence with memories and feelings so fresh and unhealed, like a fresh new cut on soft skin.

"Blaze!" Heero called out. She ignored him and kept walking, enlarging the gap between them. But he ran up to her, and grabbed her arm, spinning her to face him.

"Heero, leave me alone! I don't want to talk to you." Blaze yelled at him.

"Fine." Heero replied. "If you don't want to talk, then you don't have to. But I'm going to talk, and I want you to listen."

"What for??" Blaze shot at him. "What, are you going to say you're sorry? Don't be sorry! You're with Relena! Why the heck should I care?? I can't control who you care about, and if it's not me, then that's tough luck for me, now isn't it?"

Heero gaped at this. She really thought that? He stared at her, as he watched her usually lively pretty face fall with disappointment. She didn't hide her pain from him, and he wanted to hold her and make it all go away, to take it all into himself so she wouldn't have to hurt. Just as he was about to actually will himself to do this wishful action, Blaze turned her back on him and crossed her arms, looking down the way where the sand dune curved flat. Her light brown hair tossed in the breeze, still glittering from the grains of sand in it. The moonlight seemed to give her an aura all her own, and Heero gazed at her, feeling his own loneliness within him, something he had suppressed for a long time.

He heard Blaze let out a shaky breath, and then she whispered, "I'm not going to fight over you with her like you're some sort of material thing. If you're happy with her, then I'm not going to disrupt that." All she wanted was for him to be happy.

Heero balked at this. He stepped forward, coming up next to her on her right. "Is that what you think?" he demanded. How could she think that? Why the heck did she think he was out here with her?

Blaze glanced in his direction, but did not make eye contact with him. Still, even though she didn't look at him directly, he could see how hurt she really was. She turned her head away from him, and looked up at the stars.

Heero stepped in front of her then, and put his hands on her shoulders. She didn't look at him, but she could see him peering at her out of the corner of her eye, and it made her uncomfortable. She shifted under his touch, and crossed her arms.

Heero took a breath, and then said, "Nothing happened."

Blaze narrowed her eyes angrily. "What do you mean nothing happened? I saw you two kissing. I'd hardly call that nothing!!" She batted his hands away, but he grasped her shoulders again.

"No, Blaze. She kissed me, and I wasn't expecting it." Heero explained, his voice calm, willing her to understand. Inside he was worried. This was their only chance to mend things, and he wasn't very good with this type of confrontation. Blaze looked at her feet, and dug her toe into the sand. "I'm not with Relena. I don't care for her like that."

She looked up into his eyes then, and though they still glared at her like they always seemed to do, it wasn't as cold as before. 'So that was it…' Blaze thought. 'I end up spilling everything in front of him to see, and then it turns out that it wasn't even what I thought. He only came up here to tell me that I misunderstood. That's it.' Embarrassed, she looked away.

Then Heero took his hand and tilted her face to look at him. And for a moment, in the middle of the night under that desert sky, he admired her beauty: the glow of her skin in the moonlight, the sharp azure blue of her eyes. And he admired how much she had really grown since the first day, and how strong she was. Though Heero's feelings were still in a twist, he knew what he wanted, and he knew what she wanted. He could see it in her eyes.

Blaze was frozen in her stance, Heero's eyes keeping her still. The feel of his hand on her cheek filled her with warmth, but it still made her shiver. Then his hand moved down to her back, and his other arm wrapped around her. She felt herself being pulled close to him, and her breath caught in her throat. He brushed away a strand of hair that blew in her face, and his fingers paused on her lips, tracing them lightly. Then, ever so slightly, Heero brushed his lips against hers. The action was timid and yet bold for the usually stoic pilot. He'd never before encountered such powerful emotions, and gave into them with ease. It was as simple as settling into a comfortable bed. Blaze was frozen by shock, and yet had no urge to pull away and demand an explanation. The action was somewhat quick, and Heero pulled away a little.

They both stared into each other's eyes. Whatever needed to be said was shown. Heero blinked, as his feelings made a fool of him and Blaze's expression kept his eyes trained on her. Then, again with more resolve, he kissed her. This time she responded, and wrapped her arms around his neck, forever keeping in memory the feel of his lips on hers. His hands roamed her back and kept her pressed against him, as another desert breeze tossed sparkling sand around them.

Their lips parted finally, and Blaze smiled at him. It wasn't her usual mocking grin that she usually taunted him with. She'd never smiled at him like that before… and he liked it.

Finally after a moment of silence, Blaze asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Heero repeated back at her.

"Why should I when I had no notion that you felt the same?" she replied with a shrug. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm not use to dealing with such situations." Heero replied quietly.

Blaze gave him that smile again. Then she touched his cheek and kissed him again, and pulled away. "Do you think we should go back now?"

Heero took her hand and looked at their surroundings, and then looked up at the moon behind him. He wrapped his arms around her. "Lets not."

They sat down on the sand dune then, Blaze leaning back into Heero as she interlocked her fingers with his. Finally, Blaze truly had a reason to fight; an incentive. So did Heero.

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

Heero's Girl: YAY!!!! FINALLY!!!!! THE MUSH!!!!!!

*G-boyz are knee deep in MUSH*

Duo: eeeewwwwww…………..

Heero: This fanfic is becoming embarrassing for me…

Heero's Girl: mwahahahaha…….. *drums fingers together deviously*

Wufei: It took you forever to finish this!!! Whatever happened to that 'doing something productive'?

*WHACK*

Wufei: @_@

Heero's Girl: Silence village idiot!!! You're not suppose to follow on what I say!!!!

Quatre: I have sympathy for him. I really do.

Trowa: Yes… he does seem to get the least amount of respect around here…

Heero's Girl: ^________^ He knows I love him…

Heero: _