Yep, it's another story. I enjoyed writing it even more than the first one, so it is probably not the last fic by Yours truly. This takes place some time after both the series and Endless Waltz, but it is irrelevant when exactly, so even I don't know how old they all are here.
The idea came again from a song - itis sang by Sting, and you may recall it from Leaving Las Vegas; I haven't seen the movie, so I hope no one will feel offended by my interpretation of the words.
Again, neither the characters, nor the song are mine. Though I wish they were. Anyway, on to the story!
My One and Only Love
From the Leaving Las Vegas soundtrack
Words by Robert Mellin, music by Guy Wood
Heero Yuy sat at the very end of an almost empty bus heading towards Newport City. He had his eyes closed, face turned towards the window, enjoying the last rays of sunlight. He sat almost sprawled on the seats, headphones in his ears, unaware of anything around him but the sun warming his face and soft, feminine voice flowing to his ears. The last year, void of wars, revolutions and fighting, made him more relaxed, inside him a feeling that truly Earth and colonies might have found a way for a peaceful existence. There still was some commotion, Preventers had their arms full, but nothing too serious. He could afford to lay back a bit, shake off some of the stress and bad memories, and take a deep breath of fresh, cool air. All that thanks to peace and – even more so – the owner of that sweet voice from his headphones.
The very thought of you makes my heart sing
Like an April breeze
On the wings of spring
"I would never see the end of it" - Heero said to himself – "if Duo knew that I keep listening to her speeches. My, it sounds like some kind of obsession" – one side of his lip twitched a bit, almost as if he was smiling. Almost.
He had found that her voice had a soothing effect on him – it could wash away his nightmares, drown his fears, so was it powerful. Her speeches had become his lullaby – maybe a strange one, but very efficient. He didn't pay attention to the meaning of her words – he wasn't interested in them. He knew the speeches from when he first heard them, now he just needed the melody of her voice. Another thing that made his journey so pleasant was the fact that he was coming back. To Relena.
The trees didn't throw their shadows on the bus any more, which meant they were coming closer to their destination. He opened his eyes and saw a familiar quay. Just a few years ago it was a location of the battle of the Sanq Kingdom, terminated by Relena. Right now it was the farthest thing from a battlefield he could imagine. A beach full of people, kids laughing and running around, carrying cotton candies, queuing for a merry-go-round, small fishing ships swaying on the waves. The harbor itself had been severely damaged during the fights and seeing it fully rebuilt and working made him feel so proud of Relena. It had been her priority to clean up this area, for she knew just how strongly the city was bonded with and depended on the sea. She was indeed a great ruler.
The bus finally stopped and all of the passengers, including Heero, left. He took the headphones off, put them in his bag, which he threw on his shoulder. He then started slowly walking towards the Peacecrafts' mansion, looking around him and taking in all that has changed since the last time he's been here. It was spring now, which meant the leaves were a very rich, vibrant green color, and the flowers were just beginning to bloom.
He was now climbing up the old streets of cobblestone, with well kept gardens on both sides of the road. He then turned left and entered the park surrounding the residence. "No need to go through the main entrance", he thought and headed towards the wall that went around the building. Heero jumped over it easily, landed on two feet, and then waved to the hidden security camera to greet Wufei he knew was looking. He was certain his fellow Gundam pilot was taking his job very seriously.
He looked up at her windows and saw a movement somewhere inside her bathroom. He weighed his options, finally deciding it would be wiser to wait for her in her room instead of risking seeing something that - not he didn't want to see, "You're just not that kind of person, Heero Yuy" he thought to himself. So he climbed up and entered Relena's bedroom through the window. As he was putting his legs over the sill, he stumbled and had to grasp the curtains to stop his fall. "I seriously need some training" he noted before catching a movement on the right. He was probably loud enough to alarm her, so she was now standing in the doorway, smiling slightly at him.
And you appear in all your splendor
- I thought that might be you – she casually said as if he used to enter a room through the window. Well, he didn't. She smiled and turned on her heel, walking back into the bathroom without a word. That surprised him – he expected some kind of welcoming. Any kind at all, including slapping and/or kissing (preferably the latter). Well, she knew he would soon follow her. Wherever she went.
My one and only love
He entered the bathroom soon after and saw the reason behind it all, behind her sitting in her bathroom, behind her almost ignoring him, and behind him and the rest of the gang coming to the mansion. Inside there sat a little baby girl, smiling and showing her still toothless, but quite food-smeared mouth. Relena stepped back a bit from her to let Heero have a good look on the baby. He noted that she had pale blue eyes – the eyes of her father, unfortunately. But her hair were jet black instead of platinum blonde. And that was a positive thing.
"What do you think of her?" Relena quietly asked
"It's a good thing she took more after Lucrezia than after him" he stated
"Heero! How could you!" – she pretended to be seriously offended by his words "He is my brother! Are you suggesting I am ugly?"
He just smirked
"Come on, Lily", she said to the baby, putting a small sweater on the girl and cleaning her face, then turning her back to Heero and stomping out of the room with Lily in her arms, but a smile in the corner of her lips "That man cannot appreciate true beauty!"
"True beauty", he thought, "that's exactly what she is" he thought walking after Relena.
They were walking now down the stairs in comfortable silence, broken from time to time by the baby's gurgling. She seemed to enjoy being carried in Relena's arms, and – what he noted just now – stuffing her mouth full of Relena's honey blonde hair. That baby must have a strange habit of putting everything inside her mouth, but then again, don't all of the babies do just that? And who was he to call someone's behavior strange?
Relena stopped in front of the French doors leading to the garden, where – as he could now see – the party actually took place. There were quite some people there, most of them he knew very well. Zechs and Lucrezia came back from Mars for some time and decided to show their first child to everyone, and so they invited all of their friends for a party. When Heero received a very formal invitation for it, he was afraid it would be very official and involving formal attires, but everyone was wearing quite casual clothes. Relena turned to him and gave him an encouraging smile. She knew he was quite uneasy – he didn't see the guys in a long time. He didn't see Relena for some time, either.
"Look who I've found!" – Relena shouted coming to the garden. Heero stepped out and soon saw Quattre running towards him.
"Heero, I haven't seen you for ages! Where were you hiding?" Quattre asked shaking Heero's hand and patting him on the back.
"Long time no see, friend" - Duo was now standing in front of him offering him a bottle of beer. He then saw Trowa nod towards him from where he sat on a wooden bench near the hedges. He nodded back, and then saw that the tall pilot sat on the same bench as Dorothy Catalonia. They were actually sitting at the very opposite ends of the bench, looking towards very opposite directions. Quattre, seeing his raised eyebrows, followed his gaze and sighed.
"Those two are even worse than you and Relena", the blonde sounded quite exasperated. Duo just laughed.
"Quattre's playing matchmaker while his own girl is surrounded by eager males" – they all looked at Catherine, who was standing in the middle of a bunch of boys and girls about 6 or 7 years old, all looking in awe at her as she threw another kitchen knife in the middle of a home-made aim. Sandrock's pilot excused and went to his girlfriend, now bowing to the clapping children. Heero then saw the other pilot quickly walk away from him to his girl, but he was thankful once he saw the reason. Relena gave the baby back to their parents, who were now discussing something at a table with Sally and Une, and was walking to him. He heard the music playing and as soon as she was in front of him, he asked:
"Shall we dance?"
She raised one eyebrow and inquired, looking at his hand still holding the bottle
"Aren't you drinking right now?"
He threw the bottle on the grass and grasped her hands
"No."
The shadows fall and spread their mystic charms
In the hush of night
While you're in my arms
So they danced slowly, soft music playing in the background, his left arm around her, her right on his shoulder, her left held tightly in his right. He looked down at her smiling face and saw that her eyes were tightly closed. He sighed, contentment filling his soul, and leaned his cheek against the top of her head. They danced, or rather swayed gently to the music for some more time, before something made him a bit uneasy. He hoped she wouldn't notice, but it wasn't possible, with the side of her face pressed against his chest. And when it came again, she stirred and looked up at his face with eyebrows drawn tightly together. And again it came, a loud rumble coming from his stomach. She just had to ask.
"Heero, are you hungry?" – It was a rhetorical question, after all, probably all of the people here heard the growling of his belly.
"No." – He tried to look convincing and stop his stomach from acting so strangely at this very moment, but she just smirked.
"Liar…" - she said and delicately pressed her lips to his, quickly drawing away and starting to walk away. Heero touched his lips, not quite sure whether that kiss actually happened or was it just his imagination…
"Are you coming or not?" – Relena was standing a few steps away, with her hand stretched towards him. Of course he followed.
I feel your lips so warm and tender
My one and only love
They were walking, hand in hand, towards one of the tables, where at the moment sat Zechs with his baby girl in his lap, Duo, Hilde, Wufei, which Heero didn't see coming to the garden, and Une. They were all eating and talking, well, it looked that Hilde was actually arguing quite fiercely with Wufei, to amusement of the others.
Relena sat down at the bench beside her brother, took a plate and started throwing huge amounts of food on it. It surprised Heero – he didn't think she could eat that much. It probably surprised the rest as well, for they had all gone silent and looked at Relena as if she grew a tail. Relena just smiled a bit wider, threw another spoonful of some salad on the plate, and then put it down in front of Heero, who was sitting on the other side of the table. He was quite surprised, and even more angry on the others, who were all smiling smugly and winking at him. It took a good round of his Death Glare™ to wipe off that grins from their faces. Then, as if nothing happened, Heero started eating all that she put on the plate for him. Duo just smacked his forehead
"He hasn't changed a bit" – he said with a sigh. The conversation went back to where it stopped, with Hilde feverishly trying to explain something to Wufei.
"Okay, I agree, children need discipline, but that's not the most important thing! First of all, they need love, and you cannot ruin anything by just loving a kid, whereas you can by only teaching a child wisdom and all!"
"That's my girl!" – Duo said, nudging Heero in his ribs. Heero just grunted. This stuff was really good…
"But when you teach a child history, ethics, your moral rules, the child will grow up to be a good person!" – Wufei argued
"Good, but lonely! Parents are not to teach kids, but to love them!" – Hilde exclaimed. She looked around the table – "Am I right?"
Everyone nodded their approval.
"So I am wrong?" – Wufei asked
Everyone unanimously shaked their heads. That made neither Hilde nor Wufei happy. Seeing this, Duo sighed
"Come on, people, Lily is still young!" – he exclaimed – "Why don't we just celebrate for now the fact that she wasn't born with a bird mask on?"
Zechs' mouth was hanging open, Heero snorted, suddenly feeling the juice he had been drinking in his nose, Hilde stared at her boyfriend in shock, but the rest of the gang just laughed.
Relena, seeing that Heero had already finished his meal, stood from her seat and held her hand to the boy. He grasped it and stood up, wondering where she wanted to take him. They were walking away from the mansion, into the gardens.
The group sitting at the table was silently watching them walking away, hand in hand.
"Do you think this time something will come out of it?" – Hilde asked Duo. Surprisingly, Zechs was the one to answer.
"It's about time."
The touch of your hand is like heaven
A heaven that I've never known
As they were walking, her hand in his, as he felt her heat coming from her hand and forearm that touched his, as her scent kept on coming to his nose in waves, he felt a sudden need just to wrap his arms around her and tell her. Tell her how much it annoyed him working so far away from her, how he struggled to keep his own company going, how he enjoyed seeing so many tiny signals that people in the colonies were feeling safer, how he didn't get any mission from the Preventers for the last month or so and how he actually enjoyed it, and just how proud of her he felt each time he saw her in the news, announcing another compromise between earth and the colonies… Instead he just squeezed her hand tighter, feeling that he could never find the words to say it all, especially right now, when all he could comprehend at the moment – was her.
She felt the squeeze and looked at him questioningly. He took a deep breath and wanted to say something, anything, but she just stopped walking and put a small finger to his mouth, silencing him.
"You don't have to say anything" – she whispered. He let go of her hand and cupped her face with both his hands. She blushed slightly at the touch. He couldn't help but trail his thumbs along her cheekbones.
"I missed you" – he finally said staring in her eyes. She blushed even more, and rested her forehead against his.
"I missed you, too" – her voice was so quiet that if he didn't feel on his face the warmth that came from her mouth with the words, he could swear that she didn't say a thing. They stood like that, feeling their breaths on their faces, the warmth coming from the earth, the smell of the sea brought by the breeze, the trees around them whispering stories as old as time, peace embracing the couple just as they stood.
The blush on your cheek whenever I speak
Tells me that you are my own
Who knows how long they might have stood there, the feeling of the other being so close all that they needed, if a strange sound didn't find his way to Heero-the-perfect-soldier's ear. His head immediately turned in the direction from where the sound came. Relena sighed heavily and dropped her head. "Here we go again" she thought. He put his hands on her arms, whispered "Wait here" and started sneaking towards the nearby bushes, then stopped, turned, looked around and came back to her.
"You cannot stay here" He stated, more to himself than to Relena, but she was glad he took her hand and dragged her along with him. She tried to act as quietly as him as they neared the bushes. The noise was definitely coming from behind the shrubs. Heero put his finger to his mouth, and then signaled he will check what it was while she should stay right there. She nodded, and so Heero walked away. He was back very soon, with his eyes opened wide. Relena was quite scared.
"Heero, what happened? Who is there? Do you hear me?" she touched his arm. He looked at her as if he saw her for the first time in his life. She waved her hand in front of his face
"Heero. Who. Is. There." she asked again, hoping it wasn't anything too bad. He didn't answer, just grabbed her hand and started walking. She kept looking around; Heero seemed quite shaken, so she was afraid that something bad might be going on, and she bumped into him when he finally stopped. He showed her to crouch and look behind the bushes, and so she did. She quickly stepped back and looked at Heero, searching a confirmation in his face that she wasn't hallucinating. When she saw him nod slightly, she peeked again. On a small clearing, in the middle of the forest, stood Dorothy Catalonia and Trowa Barton, kissing quite passionately. She sat down on her heels and shook her head, not quite sure what to think. Then she realized she was kneeling close to Heero. Very close, to be precise. She was actually almost sitting in his lap. Relena slowly turned her head around to look at Heero, and saw his face mere inches from hers. She was frozen in place, even her mind couldn't tell her what she should do now. She felt trapped, but not at all scared. She found her eyes were closing, as if they possessed a mind of their own, and she could only lean closer towards his lips.
You fill my eager heart with such desire
Every kiss you give sets my soul on fire
He didn't think it would take their lips so much time to meet after they've been separated for months. He also didn't think that he would want to tell her about every minute they didn't spend together, about every second he thought of her, and how much he wanted her to be by his side all this time. He knew that it was getting more difficult for him to live so far away from her and see her mainly on the TV screen. He knew he longed for her soft lips, her melodious voice, her strength and warmth. He knew that only his reason was trying to keep a safe distance, but he found that his heart and his body were betraying him. Just as they did a second ago, when their lips touched. But he didn't mind. He didn't mind at all.
I give myself in sweet surrender
My one and only love
Their lips parted and he found that somehow his hands had found their way around her body, while her fingers were now tangled in his hair. They breathed the same air, and he felt her presence encompass all his senses. God let him, he wanted to stay that way forever.
She opened her eyes, the blue-green orbs directed at him were contrasting with the blush on her cheeks, still visible in the moonlight. He found himself smiling a true smile, with both sides of his mouth involved in the action. She smiled too and tried to comb his hair delicately with her fingers.
"Do you think we should tell Quattre not to worry about the two out there?" – she whispered
"Let him worry" – he said, tightening his embrace and standing up slowly, bringing them both to an upright position. He didn't want to stop, but it was getting colder each minute now, he was certain they would meet someone sooner or later if they stayed here, and he didn't want any eavesdroppers while he was talking with Relena about his plans for the future – plans involving her, to be precise.
"We should get inside" he stated, turning in the direction of the mansion, still keeping one arm around her waist. She just nodded with a smile and took his hand from around her, entwining her fingers with his. He missed her so much, and he couldn't find any sensible reason to stay away for long any more. Before he came here, he already had a few signals that his life, the way he lived it was changing, and just a few hours with her reminded him that so many things might change for better if he only allowed it. And he wasn't going to interrupt his fate any more, he liked the picture it was painting for him. With her by his side.
The blush on your cheek whenever I speak
Tells me that you are my own
You fill my eagle heart with such desire
Every kiss you give sets my soul on fire
I give myself in sweet surrender
My one and only love
My one and only love