Keiko gasped and jumped back, slamming the window shut. The panes rattled and she was quite surprised the glass hadn't shattered. Taking a deep breath, she glanced outside again. There was nothing there.
- - -
While silently trying to calm her pounding heart, she stepped down from the window seat. She hadn't been hallucinating. . . or had she? That wasn't the first time she'd felt that peculiar sensation of being watched. All those mornings out by the trees, the feeling had been there too.
I must be going insane, she thought. No one could possible get onto the grounds without anyone knowing. Besides, doesn't Quatre have a few security cameras installed? Well, his house is actually safe, so no worries. It was probably just some homeless person.
Nonetheless, she wasn't truly as reassured as she believed she was. Crawling into bed, she didn't notice the tightness of the muscles in her shoulders or thighs; however, she drifted into sleep easily.
-------
Heero gazed up at the ceiling, going over the day. So he and Keiko had made up . . . But he still felt as if a ribbon of tension were wrapped about his heart, restricting his emotions. He hoped it would disappear in a few days time; however, he didn't want to take the chance that it wouldn't.
"I'll take her into the mountains then," he murmured to himself and sat up. It wasn't that late, yet he was already tired even after his nap that afternoon. The day had nevertheless been emotionally draining. He struggled to his feet and kicked off his shoes by the couch since it irked Quatre whenever he saw them laying there.
He stole quietly up the stairs after turning off the lights and was softly gliding towards his room. As he passed Keiko's room he heard murmuring. Heero halted and strained his hearing; had she heard him come up and was speaking to him?
No, it didn't sound so. Her voice echoed distress so he pushed her door open a bit wider, poked his head in and whispered her name. Her silhouetted outline on the bed gave no reply but a whimper and she tossed herself over onto her side frantically.
"Keiko," Heero said, moving to her side. She shifted restlessly, her face contorting in confusion or fear, so he reached out and gently brushed back a lock of her golden hair.
"Wake up Keiko, it's only a dream. Come back."
She sighed and opened her heavy eyes when he gave her shoulder a little shake. Those green eyes stared back with a thoroughly dazed expression.
Heero smiled. "What were you dreaming about?"
She glanced away and blinked several times before replying softly, "Bad times. I'd rather not speak of them."
Heero reached for her hand and entwined his fingers with his. "Are you sure?" he asked and made no expression when she nodded silently. "Alright. I just wanted to make sure." He stood up to leave but Keiko held onto him.
"No," she whispered hurriedly, her eyes brimming with tears. "Please don't leave. I'm scared."
His expression softened and he once more knelt down next to her. "Tell me," he said simply, touching her cheek.
"I thought-It's stupid-But I thought I saw someone standing outside my window before I went to sleep. The person laughed, if someone was even there, and it frightened me. But I don't want to be alone."
"You're not. The guys are here and I'm just down the hall. Nothing can get you here anyways."
"Please. . . Stay with me, just until I fall asleep," she pleaded giving his hand a small tug towards her.
Heero knew he'd melted right then. However, he wasn't sure if this was a ploy to get him to couple with her or not. He wouldn't want to engage in the act anyway, not with her in this emotional state. He didn't want her to have any regrets in the morning. Besides, the time wasn't right, he could feel it in his gut.
"Heero?" Keiko whispered, jarring him from his thoughts.
"Ah? Oh, sure. I'll keep you safe," he returned, smiling slightly, pulling off his blue over-shirt and crawling into the bed next to her.
"Thank you," she said as Heero's arms encircled her waist from behind and he pulled himself closer to her.
"You're welcome," came the low reply right next to her ear.
His voice gave her chills- good chills.
-------
Heero's lips tickled and he was groggily aware of the soft fingertip gently tracing their outline. It was a pleasurable sensation and he was sure if he opened his eyes then Keiko would stop out of embarrassment, so he made no movement whatsoever.
". . . beautiful, even while you're sleeping," she was saying. "No wonder she liked you. . ."
"Isn't it usually the other way around?" Heero asked, startling Keiko as he spoke and opened his eyes. "The girl being the beautiful one, that is?"
She jerked her hand away and caught her breath. "I didn't know you were awake."
"Your fingers tickled."
"Oh. . . Sorry I woke you. I just wasn't expecting you to be in here in the morning."
"Neither was I," he said, catching her hand. "And by 'her' I suspect you meant Relena, right?"
Keiko nodded and said nothing for a moment, and then she hesitantly asked, "What, um, did you go over there for?" She sucked in her breath and waited for the backlash, but it didn't come.
"For advice," Heero replied. "She may act completely awful when she doesn't get her way, but if you talk to her one on one, she proves that she has a decent mind."
"I would hope so. . ."
Heero leaned forward unexpectedly and kissed Keiko's cheek. "I want to take you somewhere this weekend," he said softly. "I want to show you something."
"Where? What?"
"The remains of my gundam," Heero answered, and smiled at the surprised look on her face. "I read the last bit of your book, about how the soldier returned home when everyone thought he was dead. Well, in case you have any doubts as to if I might ever go away again. . .I know that you're harboring that fear within you. My gundam is totally destroyed; it fell apart during the coup that Mariemaya instigated. There's no possible way that I could even fight again if there was another war. So what do you think? Want to come away with me?"
Keiko beamed and buried her face in his chest. "Of course I'll want to go with you silly. Why wouldn't I? How long will we be gone?"
"We'll leave Friday-tomorrow- afternoon and get back on Sunday I guess, since I do actually have to work."
"That gives me today to pack so I guess that's alright. Wait, I didn't know you worked- where? Doing what?"
Heero laughed, "Did you just assume that I stayed here and lounged around all day?"
Keiko's face flushed. "Nooooo. I assumed you worked, I just didn't know what you did."
"Quatre employed me a few years ago. Technically, he's my boss, but he has so many other employees that I could just do nothing all day and still get paid."
"Lucky you," she muttered, snuggling against him.
Heero just held the petite woman in his arms for a moment, and then a thought struck him. "Hey, you made it through the night. No scary Boogeyman came after you."
She drew away. "That's not funny," she said. "I'm really starting to believe that I saw something."
He shook his head. " I think someone else would have seen this person, if they ran by. Myself for one; I was downstairs next to that huge window, and your room is nearly directly above the living room . . ."
"Does Quatre have a security camera? That would settle it, either way."
"I'm not trying to make a confrontation about this," Heero noted. " But I think he may have one. However, I think it observes the front gates, not the outside of the house. We can look though."
"'Kay," Keiko said quietly.
Heero then sat up, stretched and moved off the bed, leaving Keiko buried in the sheets. " I'll be downstairs looking for those tapes," he stated, picking his discarded shirt up off the floor. He turned back to her and put a hand through his hair, looking like he didn't quite know what to say next. " Do you want me to make you some breakfast or something. . .?"
Keiko rose up from the bed, still hugging the covers to her chest though. "You can cook?"
"Well, yeah." Heero glanced away, seeming to be slightly embarrassed, if the light rosy tint beneath his eyes was any indication. "It's not something I boast about. But when you're on your own and don't know when your next meal's gunna be. . . It's just easier to have someone else do it. So, um, do you want anything?"
"Sure," she replied, smiling. "What can you make?"
Heero shrugged. "What do you want?"
"Surprise me."
-------
"What's this?" Trowa asked when he walked into the sunlit dining room later that morning. Surrounding the couple were several empty, sticky dishes; the aroma of maple syrup clung heavily in the air.
"It was breakfast-French Toast," Heero said, turning to his friend with a smile.
"You're a bit too late though. Sorry dear," Keiko added, simultaneously giving him a small wave and a grin.
"Well damn," he muttered, his eyes shinning with the knowledge that the two had apparently made up. The man glanced around then brought his attention back to the people sitting before him. "Which of the cooks made it? I'll have to go and ask him to make a plate for me and Quatre."
Keiko caught Heero's eyes and they shared a hidden laugh. Heero got to his feet, swung around to Trowa and motioned for him to sit in his place.
"Go ahead, it won't take me long to make some more."
Trowa hid the surprise from his face quite well, but his eyes still widened. However, he said not one word in disbelief; he just smiled and nodded his thanks.
"I see what you mean," Keiko called to his retreating form. "I feel special now, since I was the first to know you're little secret." She heard him laugh before the door to the kitchen closed.
"So I guess then I should almost feel special for being the second to know?" Trowa asked.
"Almost, but not quite," she returned.
"Things are worked out then?" he asked after a moment's pause.
"I'm thinking that things will be running a bit more smoothly now. Not completely problem free, but a major step forward nonetheless."
"That's good."
"Yeah, it is," she replied absently, looking forward with glassy eyes.
Trowa leaned over in front of her and asked, "Something else on your mind?"
She smiled. "I just realized that I'm paranoid, that's all."
"What do you mean?"
Keiko sighed, tired of explaining it already, especially since Heero had shown her the only surveillance tape he could find of the house and there had been nothing on it to prove her experience true. "Talk to Heero about it," she said.
"I want to talk to you."
"There was something that tricked my eyes last night which made me believe I'd seen a non-existent person," Keiko stated. "And I stupidly got scared about it and made Heero sleep with me. I felt like a child. I don't know what to think about it; maybe it will be funny when I look back on it in a few years, but right now I'm so confused.
"Don't mention it to anyone else though, alright?" she added. "Particularly Wufei, I'd never hear the end of it if he heard."
"Mum's the word Keiko," he said, just as Heero appeared from the kitchen with two more laden plates.
-------
They arrived at the lodge late in the evening that weekend. Traffic had been terrible- even for a Friday afternoon- as everyone was trying to escape the city and venture forth into the country. Keiko had fallen asleep on the ride their and she looked so lovely in her slumber that Heero didn't dare wake her up when he went into the lobby to check in. However, when he'd come back out to the car with the room key, he found that she was awake, though slightly groggy. The cool night air woke her up a little as they walked back in and took the lift up to the third floor. By the time they outside their room, Keiko was fully awake.
Heero opened the door and followed Keiko inside, carrying their two duffel bags.
"It's cute!" she exclaimed when she'd turned on the lights.
Cute wouldn't have been Heero's word of choice, but he said nothing while he set the bags down. It was just the average, cheap hotel room. But the bed did look comfortable and it was stain free- which was saying something for a place this far out of the way.
So he'd settle for mediocre. It was certainly not a Hilton, but it wasn't a Motel 6 either.
Keiko was bustling around the room, flipping switches, exploring the bathroom and trying to turn on the television.
"You're like a little child you know?" Heero stated, putting things back into order as she went along.
"Yeah. I can't help it though." He just laughed at her, since she didn't even look up from whatever it was she was messing with.
"Hey," Keiko said. "This is me. I like me."
"I know. I like you too," Heero said, opening his arms in invitation.
She stepped into him and laid her head gently on his shoulder. "I love you," she murmured.
Heero felt every last molecule of air get sucked out of his lungs. Those three little words. . . They were so easy to say for most people, and even Keiko had said them before. But never had she spoken them with such simple, unselfish clarity. He vaguely remembered to breathe in.
His eyes were stinging, how curious, and he felt something slide down his skin.
Reply you idiot he thought Or else she'll think you're in a coma or something
"I. . .I love you too," he said in a soft croak.
Keiko drew away from him and looked up into his face inquisitively. "You're weeping," she stated, then smiled. "I've never seen you cry before."
"I can't even recall the last time I cried," Heero responded as Keiko leaned up on her tip-toes and gently kissed away the two tears he had shed.
"Recall now," Keiko said, moving to his lips and planting a light kiss there too.
Heero smiled and in an instant picked her up off her feet and swung her around in his arms. She squealed as he did so and laughed as he nuzzled her neck while moving to the bed of their rented room. He carefully sat down on its edge and laid Keiko's frame next to his own.
Silence enveloped them while Heero took Keiko's hand and stared down into her emerald eyes. She sighed contentedly and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Heero smiled and kissed her softly. He saw her visibly relax beneath him and he kissed her again, with more fervor. The next thing he knew, he lay over her, drowning in passion.
- - -
A/N: A BIG thank you to all who have reviewed thus far and also to you readers who have been so patient with me! I appreciate it so much! I'm very sorry for throwing the updating schedule off its rocker and for making you all probably thinking that I was dead or something. . .I'm hoping to be able to update more this more frequently in the coming months. For some reason the plot just completely escaped me when I finished the previous chapter, but I think I found it again. Only a few more chapters left anyways.
Once again a big Thank You with a cookie! Vela-chan
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