April 17, 202 ACDevozione Bella Banquet Hall
"Of course I love you. Wouldn't it be stupid to marry someone you didn't love?"
If only she knew. But she never would – at least, not until it was far too late. But it wasn't like he could back out just now. He had obligations – people who were depending on him. He'd always worked so well under pressure, but this was crazy. Every word he said had to be thought out for a good five minutes, just to make sure it didn't contain any hidden innuendos.
He hated doing this to her. It hurt him nearly as much as it would hurt her – maybe even more. But his Cause was more than worth the price. He was doing the right thing, wasn't he?
"I don't know."
"Well, it'd be pretty silly. Anyways, Heero, we've been standing right here for nearly an hour and we haven't been doing anything. I think there are a few hundred people waiting." She said, smiling up at her new husband. It had finally sunk into her head – she was married. And to her childhood sweetheart, no doubt.
But something inside her gut just didn't sit right. She would have blamed it on wedding nerves if it hadn't been for the fact that she was already married. Something's wrong about today.
Brushing away any absurd feelings she had left inside her heart, she tugged on Heero's tuxedo sleeve. After finally emerging from the small room adjacent to the hall, they were greeted with an umpteen number of smiles, fawning women, and grinning men.
That was when Relena realized that if felt good to be married. It felt like a blanket had been wrapped around her for the rest of her life. No one could harm her with Heero around – he was her impenetrable defense and her strength. She did love him.
{...}
February 27, 201 AC
Office Of Foreign Minister, Washington DC
"If I were kidnapped, why would the abductor kill me? I'm of more use to everyone alive. Besides, I'm sure Milliardo would pay anything they asked for."
"It's not a matter of your actual livelihood, but of the things that terrorists could do with your kind of power. You were there during the Mariemaia incident. We can't negotiate for your safety." Replied Heero with evident spite. Even though he'd been working for Relena nearly four months, things hadn't been going all that well. In fact, they'd been positively horrible.
It seemed that, though he may not have appeared that inviting, Relena never seemed to show any signs of relevant affection for him. His handler had told him that something like this would happen. After all, the second he'd been well enough to walk after the Eve Wars, he'd left.
All Relena had ever known about love was Heero – the only man who didn't want her. It may have seemed that the "challenge" was what she loved about him most. And some could say that wasn't reasonable grounds for a relationship – but she had to wonder, then what are reasonable grounds for a relationship? If she loved Heero, then that was all that should matter, right?
"Excuse me, could you give us the room?" Heero asked the myriad of staff members and interns. They all nodded and filed out of the room. There had been rumors of a past between the two, but there had also been no evidence to support it…but now…
"I'm sorr-"
"What is wrong with you?"
The hardness of his question stung her heart, causing all her deep seeded emotions to burst back to life. He was asking what was wrong with her?
"I could ask you the same thing, Heero." She stated, equaling his insensitivity. It seemed almost yesterday that he'd been getting her coffee and filing her papers. Now he was running around telling her that people were going to kill her. I guess it takes a killer to know a killer. But Relena immediately took back her thoughts. It was never Heero's fault that he'd had to live the life of a murderer.
"You daze off during briefings, you sleep while reading anything half important, and you can't focus. Tell me what the distraction is and I'll eliminate it."
Smiling in her own sorrowful way, she looked up at him and said, "Couldn't you guess, Heero? The only distraction I've ever had… is you." How many years had she pursued him? And he still didn't realize her vast feelings for him?
"Then I will just have to eliminate myself." He said, his jaw suddenly setting into a straight, stubborn position. Heero stood up from his chair and simultaneously took out his gun.
"Heero? Heero, what are you doing?" hard
But he didn't respond. Instead, he took a step towards the window and prepared to pull the trigger. His midnight eyes hardened and his body went rigid as if it were bracing for pain.
"Heero? Stop this, Heero, you're scaring me."
{...}
April 17, 202 AC
Devozione Bella Banquet Hall
The Japanese youth stepped into the limelight with great care. He was tired of the annoying soprano voices of multi-million dollar women. Relena always had an odd choice in friends.
Not that he could say that he had any. Well, he had a few. None of them in attendance, however. Duo was expecting his first child in a matter of minutes, and loving Relena had granted him dispensation after making him promise to call the second the baby was born. Mentally, Heero chuckled – he never really thought of Maxwell as the fatherly type. Poor Hilde.
Wufei Chang had dropped off the face of the Earth along with a Ms. Sally Po only two years after they'd become partners. Strangely enough, Heero kept close contact with both of them, and the mysterious brown package on his doorstep had turned out to be a toaster from the couple as a wedding present. At least they were happy together.
As for the renowned Quatre Winner, he was busy running his own company, which was thriving. The blond Arabian had actually promised to attend, but was taken half-way through the ceremony when he got word from Trowa Barton that one of the Winner Corp. mines had accidentally caved in. Heero was pretty sure that Quatre was on his hands and knees, risking his life for people he only knew through the money he gave them once a month.
Milliardo Peacecraft had obviously attended his only sister's wedding and had been honored to know that he would be the one walking her down the aisle in the place of her dead fathers. Where he was now, Heero didn't know.
"Mr. Lowe, Ms. Peace-- I mean, Mrs. Lowe needs to speak with you. Urgently."
It was that faithful secretary of Relena's, Lily. He couldn't imagine what his wife needed now, but he was easy to submit to her womanly requests. Anything to get away from those giggling twits.
"Heero!" she cried the second he entered the woman's washroom.
"I'm not supposed to be in here." He remarked, raising a scrupulous eyebrow in questioning. What new grand scheme had she gotten herself into?
Relena burst into a river of tears, simultaneously letting her body fall to the ground. Something was seriously wrong.
"Relena?" he asked, "What's happened?"
{...}
February 27, 201 AC
Office of Foreign Minister, Washington DC
"You try something stupid like that again and I'll fire you. I mean it." She exclaimed, running over to the young man as an agent took Heero's gun for confiscation. Relena's eyes were alight with fire, burning with a strange passion he had only seen when she was making one of her grand speeches.
One problem, he couldn't be fired. Well, technically, he could, but if he did, a lot of people would become very unhappy. And when the Cause is unhappy – everyone's unhappy. That was just the way things worked.
"You could have killed yourself!" she nearly screamed, shifting through the crowd of security agents that had come running at her call. "Do you know that you can go to jail for attempting suicide?"
"If I'd succeeded, they really couldn't lock me up, could they?"
"Well… no. But that's not the point! You violated the laws we're trying to build!"
"Correction – you're trying to build." He retorted tersely.
"Then why are you even here if you don't want to help the world, Heero? Why are you wasting your time?" she demanded, her voice steadily increasing until she practically bellowed the words.
Agent Michaels signaled for his team to leave the couple alone in the peace of the meeting room. Because of Ms. Peacecraft's begging, he'd decided not to press any charges on the bickering couple. He'd seen their type before – passionate, unrelenting people that just couldn't say three simple words. And these were the ones leading his country.
"I don't know." Heero answered slowly. Though he knew perfectly well why. All for his Cause. Everything he did – every move he made. It was all for something he probably wouldn't live to see.
But at the same time, he felt a strange energy force pulling him towards her. It had to be gravity – there was no way to explain it. However, it was not gravity that made him lean in and kiss her -- it was love.
A/N- thank you all so much for your generous reviews -- I sincerely appreciate them. My beta got her bottom in gear and finally looked at this chapter, so I hope its okay. Umm...the next chapter of 'Damn Love' is going up soon, so look out for that. And other than a lovely Calc quix, tomorrow, nothing's really up! So, be happy and I hope you enjoyed!
How is it? Something I should change? A suggestion perhaps? Then review and let me know!