Wufei: Only the weak quit.
::ignores him:: Anywho, I'd like to say thanks to my latest reviewers, Alana and Wing! ::waves:: Thanks guys! Reviews make me glad I started posting! As for your reviews, sorry 'bout the cliffhangers, I don't do it intentionally. I guess I'm just naturally twisted like that. ::Wufei opens his mouth to speak:: Not a word! And as for Heero confiding in Zechs, I can sorta see it happening. After all, they do have a lot in common. They both love Relena. =) But enough rambling, onto the story.
Disclaimer: C'mon... do we really need to say it at this point?
Heart of Space, Dove of Peace
"What does that one look like?"
Relena squinted her eyes as she stared up at the clouds floating by above them. "Um… I would have to say…" She gave the cloud one last look before turning to Heero, who was lying in the grass beside her. "A wiener dog."
Heero raised and eyebrow and propped himself up on his elbows to get a good look ather. "A 'wiener dog'?"
Relena giggled shyly. "Yes, you know, a Dachshund. The little dogs with the long bodies." She pointed up into the sky. "You see, that part is his body, there's the head and ears, his tail, and his little short legs."
"Oh." Heero said, lying back down. "I've never done this before."
"Done what?" Relena asked.
"Looked for shapes in the clouds." Heero said.
"It's fun, isn't it?" Heero nodded his head. Relena looked back up the sky wistfully. "I remember I used to do this all the time when I was little." She closed her eyes. "When my father wasn't busy, he'd take my mother and I out to the park… we'd find a little cozy spot on a hill… just like this… and we'd gaze at the clouds all day until it got dark."
"What'd you do when it got dark?"
Relena opened her eyes again and sat up, hugging her knees. "When it got dark, we'd wait for the stars to come out. My father told me, that first star you see is good luck. When you see it, you're supposed to make a wish."
"What kind of wish?" Heero asked.
Relena smiled. "Any kind you'd like." she answered. "I'd always wish that the day would start over again, so I could spend it with my family."
Heero wanted to ask what happened to Relena's family, but seeing since they were not around, he figured it was best not to ask. He did not want to upset Relena. (AN: Yeah... what did happen to Relena's mom anyway?)
"Heero?"
Heero turned and looked at her. "Hn?"
Relena's expression was serious now. "If you could wish for one thing," she said slowly. "What would it be? To get your memories back?"
"No." Relena blinked at this. Heero's expression softened. "I would like this moment to start over…" He spoke softly, almost to the point where Relena could not hear him. "So that I could spend it with you…"
"Oi, you there!" Heero and Relena looked up to a figure coming towards them. By the way he walked, Relena could tell he was not asking for the time. As he got closer, the two could see he was dressed in some military uniform. The letters 'DC' was printed on the sleeve of his jacket along with a black claw.
"Heero," Relena whispered softly, "stay behind me." The man, who was a soldier of the Dark Claw organization stopped in front of them, a sneer clearly evident on his face. "Can I help you?"
"You can die!" the soldier spat bitterly.
Relena remained calm, her politician mask already in place. "Surely you did not come into this pacifist nation to start a fight."
"Don't give me that pacifist crap, Miss I Think I'm So High and Mighty!" the soldiers napped. He pointed his rifle at her head.
At the sight of the weapon pointed at Relena's head, something inside of Heero snapped, causing him to step forward quickly. The sudden movement from him startled the soldier, causing him to cock his rifle.
Relena placed a hand on Heero's arm, preventing him from going any further. "It's all right." she spoke softly. Heero calmed down somewhat; something within him told him that he had seen her in this situation before. However, that did not make him feel any better.
"For now it is." the soldier snarled. "I'd kill you right now in the name of the Dark Claw, but I have explicit orders not to."
"Then what is it you want?" A large envelope was shoved into Relena's face.
"From the Leader of our organization." the soldier said proudly. "It's the terms for Cinq's unconditional surrender."
Relena held out the envelope towards the soldier. "Take it back."
"Huh?"
"I said, take it back." Relena repeated. "I don't have to read your organization's terms. I can tell you now that the Cinq Kingdom will not surrender."
The soldier smacked Relena's hand away, causing Heero to move forward even more. The look in Heero's eyes scared the soldier, but he held his gun in place. Afterall, what was some bandaged-up punk compared to a couple rounds of bullets? (AN: We all know the answer to that one, don't we?) The soldier turned his attention back to Relena, who had calmly set the envelope in her lap. "Fine, if you refuse to surrender, then this kingdom will be burned to the ground – again." With that, he took off running glad to get from under Heero's scrutinizing gaze.
Relena let a weary sigh and stood up, turning to Heero, who was already on his feet. "I suppose we should head back, ne?" she asked, starting to walk.
Heero lagged behind a bit, watching the soldier's retreating form. He felt very angry and thought he should do something, but didn't know what. That fact alone made him even angrier.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A week after that incident, everyone had come together in Cinq to look over the Dark Claw's terms. 'Just for laughs' as Duo had put it. Everyone had been up into the wee hours of the morning trying to come up with a plan of action, but after coming up with no non-violent solutions, they decided to take a break for breakfast.
After finishing eating, Relena got up from her seat and walked over to the window. "Oh my," she said, admiring the view. "We certainly are having wonderful weather today."
"I must admit, I do enjoy the weather in Cinq Kingdom during this time of the year." Quatre smiled. "It's really nice."
"Especially for going on walks." Relena agreed. "Asa matter of fact, I think I'll go take one. Heero, would you like to join me?"
Startled out of his own thoughts, Heero nodded absently. "Sure."
Stepping into over-protective big brother mode, Milliardo got out of his seat. "Hang on a second, Relena," he said. "It's not safe for you to go outside the palace alone. Especially after what just happened."
"Nothing happened, Milliardo." she protested. "Besides, I won't be alone. Heero will be with me."
"Now, Relena…"
"Milli-Zechs,you worry too much." Duo replied, patting his stomach in satisfaction. "If it makes you feel any better, Hilde an' I will tag along, won't we, Hild'?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Somehow, I don't feel any more reassured." Milliardo muttered.
"Oh, Zechs, let them be." Noin smiled.
Milliardo sighed. "Very well then, go ahead. But, be careful."
"We will, onii-sama." Relena smiled, hugging her older brother.
"Whaddya think of that, Heero?" Duo grinned, patting him on the shoulder. "Feel like goin' on a double date?"
"Duo…" Relena blushed.
"A double…date…?"
"O'course! You do know what that is, right?"
"Speaking of dates, Duo… when's the next time you're going to take me on one?" Hilde asked, eyeing Duo.
A sweatdrop appeared on the back of Duo's head. "Well, will ya' look at the time! Better get going before it gets too dark." With that, he darted out of the room.
"What…?" Hilde blinked. "Not so fast, Maxwell, you're not getting off that easily! It's only 10 a.m.! Get back here!" She then took off after him.
Quatre and Sally laughed. Wufei 'hmphed'.
"Come on, Heero," Relena laughed, taking him by the hand and leading him towards the door. "Let's catch up with them."
"Okay." Heero said as he followed after her.
Milliardo and Noin both smiled.
~End of Chapter