Notes: One-shots are easier to write than chapters. ::glares at Tabloid::
Disclaimer: I wanted to buy the whole thing and revise it, but the creators accused me of wanting the series only to get Heero and Relena to conceive 77 children. As if I'D DO THAT!!! The nerve... ::blinks innocently:: Then they said that I didn't have the money to buy the rights, which is true, so I still don't own Gundam Wing.
Clincher song: "I fell in love with the girl in the picture/ That I used to keep/ Carried her 'round in the back of my pocket/ She was always with me... The girl in the Life magazine..." - Girl in the Life Magazine, Boys II Men
"Move your head to this angle. Stay right there..." The lightings flashed and he looked up from his camera. He moved to switch his focus lenses. "Lighter make-up, Pierre. Clients won't be pleased." Satisfied with Pierre's soft "oui", the photographer left the set temporarily to retrieve new film.
The model sat still as a flurry of staff members at the photo shoot moved to get her ready for the next round. Her eyes were doing what her body was not: moving around, looking and darting to give her a better feel for the studio. "Okay, smack your lips together now," Pierre told her, his heavy French accent almost overriding the English words. She felt the whisper of silk against her skin and her arms were lifted by two assistants to put the white material on. "Ah! Magnifique! The robe compliments your beauty!"
She smiled softly. "Thank you, Pierre."
The crowd around her cleared when the photographer came back. A comfortable hush came over the set and once again, the model and the photographer were left alone. His eyes took her figure in; after all these years, seeing her was still like a breath of fresh air. "Breathtaking, Relena. You never cease to amaze me."
She allowed his words to wash over her. Any compliment from this man was like a sonnet written for her. "I aim to please," she said. "You should know that by now, Heero. We've been working together for a while."
"I was sort of expecting that you lost weight, with a busier schedule and all." He loaded the camera with his film. "Okay, we're set. Do your thing."
"What?" Relena asked, dumfounded. "Am I fat? Will it make the pictures look bad?" She lifted her legs and swung it over, positioning herself.
'Far from it...' He never replied, lest his mouth betray his thoughts. "You're fine." 'In more ways than one..' His finger pushed the button and the shutter's sound echoed in the room. "Bony models are hard to work with. Their ovulation imbalance makes them so cranky."
She laughed. "Don't claim to be so pleasant all the time, Heero."
He looked at her from above the rim of the camera, his eyes focusing on her. "Have I been too hard on you lately?" he asked, concerned.
The deep, smooth sound of his voice left goosebumps on her body. She rubbed her legs together. "No," Relena breathed. "Not at all." She sighed to herself as they resumed the take. Everytime she worked with Heero, there's always something there to remind her that their relationship will stay professional. But it was hard, especially when it seemed like he's the only photographer who saw her at her best. Relena, by standards, was a good model. But she's even better when Heero handled her shoots.
As she looked at the camera, she wondered how Heero saw her through the lens.
"Give me cheese, Relena," Heero said, giving the old clichè a humorous twist. As much of a humorous twist as he could, anyway. He was also referring to the humongous sum these pictures of hers would bring to his studio, and the additional boost to his already respectable reputation.
But that was just it. With her, the money didn't matter; it was only a side dish to the main course. And when the flashes illuminated her porcelain and flawless skin, Heero was again reminded that it was only being in Relena's presence that really mattered...
She chuckled when the double meaning of his request registered and give she did, expressing her clandestine passion for him through his camera. The camera that would always serve as the traitorous bridge that joined them and then separated them. A bridge that she would willingly keep on crossing as long as he was on the other side.
'Only for you, Heero. Always for you...'
As her assistants cleaned up, Relena walked around to warm her cool body. She didn't anticipate a good samaritan to drape his coat around her shoulders to speed up the process. "Thank you," she said, expressing her gratitude as she turned her head to look at the generous person.
Only to have her nose brush against Heero's nose.
"You're welcome." His hands came up to stroke her back, smoothing the material and just to feel her under his palms. "It wasn't really a good idea to use that flimsy thing, but they insisted. I wouldn't put you up to that."
Relena kept her eyes on his. 'Protective... He's being protective...' His earthy smell assaulted her, accompanied by the scent of the mint he was chewing on. "You know, I was thinking," she started to say. "Are we friends? I mean, we work together and we have a good working relationship. But in all these years I've worked with you, I haven't really gotten to know you."
"Must you?" Heero asked. "Maybe some things are just better off the way they are." He hoped that the tone of his voice will not betray what he really thought.
She closed her eyes, expecting something like that from him. Her heart constricted and she fought hard to keep her tears at bay. "I suppose so." Relena made a move to take the coat off, but he stopped her. "Heero..."
"Keep it. Then give it back to me the next time we meet." He closed his eyes when she pulled away from him and kept them closed even when she departed. Heero only opened his eyes when everyone left him in the set and he made his way to his office, taking his bag of films along the way.
"Good shoot today, sir!" an employee complimented him. With only an affirmative grunt, he continued walking until he reached the last door to his left. Heero took a deep breath and opened it.
It was a room awashed in soft white light. Various pictures of Relena were taped on all four walls. No one knew about the décor of his personal office, but it was the only way that Heero could be really close to her. She was alive in his photos. Even on sheets of glossy paper, she still filled him with life. He walked over to one of her close-ups and he followed the shape of her perfect lips with his finger; then the shape of her beautiful, beautiful eyes with his gaze. "No chance," he whispered. Heero tore his gaze away from Relena's picture and headed for the dark room.
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