Disclaimer: I know, that you know, that I didn't create the Gundam Wing characters. I'm pretty sure that if you've read the story this far you've seen the disclaimer, but just in case, let's restate it: I did not create the Gundam Wing characters. Now that this is clear, let's get on with the story (the part that really matters).

Chapter 4

Alan's hand gradually made it's way to the front of Relena's dress where he started tugging at the buttons. Relena's heart was in her throat and she felt light headed. She knew what Alan was trying to do and just thinking about it made her sick. In one last attempt to get away she bit down hard on Alan's tongue. He immediately howled and jerked back. Relena drew back as he raised his hand to hit her. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the sting that was soon to follow, but it never came. She opened her eyes and saw Alan's arm still in the air, but someone was holding it. She heard an almost inhuman growl from behind Alan's body, but she couldn't see anything.

Heero gripped Alan's arm with every ounce of strength he had. He had no greater wish right now than to kill the man that stood before him. Out of all his years of fighting, he'd never felt the urge to kill so strongly.

Alan slowly released his grip on Relena and turned to see who was behind him, even though he already had a pretty good idea of whom it was. He came face to face with Heero Yuy.

Relena released the breath she'd been holding and looked around Alan to see Heero. She had never seen him look so angry before. If looks could kill, Alan would already be dead. Unfortunately looks don't kill and Alan was soon doing his best to get away.

Heero dodged a few punches and then gave one of his own that hit Alan right in the gut. Alan grabbed his stomach and took in many short-rasping breaths. Relena jumped out of the way and ran behind Heero. Within seconds Alan was up again and lunging at Heero. Heero dodged easily, but then realized his mistake. When he dodged, he left Relena standing alone. Alan noticed this and tried to take advantage of it, but Heero was too quick. He ran to Relena and spun her around behind him. By doing this he got right in the way of Alan's punch and was struck hard in the shoulder. He spun around the rest of the way to face Alan and got hit right across the face and fell to the ground. Relena watched as panic built up in her chest. As Alan leaned over towards Heero, Heero reached up and grabbed him by the collar. He jerked quickly and soon had Alan soaring head over heels through the air. Alan landed squarely on his back and Heero quickly ran and held him down. He got right down in his face.

"I told you to leave her alone. I told you not to touch her! I'm gonna make sure you never touch her again!" Heero drew back his fist and punched him in the face. Alan stared blankly for a moment and then his eyes rolled back and he fell unconscious.

Heero stood up quickly and ran to Relena. He was breathing heavily, but in between breaths he managed to ask if she was all right. She smiled warmly at him and said she was. Then before either of them knew what was happening she threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, thank you Heero! Thank you!"

Heero was a little shocked and didn't quite know what to say. He paused for a moment and then collected himself and put his arms around her waist. "You're welcome."

After Heero made sure Relena was all right, they ran back down stairs to find Duo and the others. "Hey Heero," Duo said when he first saw them. "Let's go man. I'm tired a this place!"

Heero and Relena ran out the door first and the other Gundam pilots watched their exit to make sure no one was following them. Heero spotted the car that they had ridden in to get here and grabbed Relena's hand. "Come on. We can use this car to get away." He jumped in and pulled out some wires.

Pretty soon he had the engine started and put the car into gear. As they began driving off, he looked in his rear view mirror and saw Blade and Alan running out of the house. Heero pushed the pedal to the floor and raced ahead of the others. He led them back down the dirt road. "Damn!" Heero shouted.

Relena jumped at his sudden shout. "What's wrong?"

Heero looked over at her quickly and then back at the road. "We have to get off these dirt roads. They can follow our tracks to easily."

Relena looked behind them and saw the other pilots following right behind them. Then she looked a little farther and noticed that Blade and Alan were closing in. "Heero, they're catching up fast!"

Heero cursed again. "We have to lose them somehow!" Then he noticed up ahead that there was a fork in the road. "If we can get down one of those roads and get out of sight, we might be able to lose them. The roads up there aren't dirt." Heero turned and yelled out the window to the others. "Go separate ways! If might confuse them!" Four heads nodded and as they reached the split they all went in different directions. Now once again, Heero and Relena were on their own.

Blade and Alan came to a stop right at the part in the road. "Which way do you think they went?" Alan asked.

Blade glared at him. "How the hell should I know!? Get the bike off the back of the truck and you take one road and I'll take another. If we're lucky one of us will find them."

After a few minutes Relena looked behind them. "I don't see anyone. I think it worked!"

Heero smiled at her. "Good. Now we just have to figure out how to get home."

Relena relaxed a little now that she couldn't see anyone behind them and she leaned back in her seat. She looked over at Heero and admired his strong features. He was so handsome. He had a firm jaw line, intense eyes, and muscular arms. "Those arms..." she thought to herself. "What would it be like held in those arms forever?" Suddenly she realized Heero was looking back at her and she smiled shyly. Heero turned his eyes back to the road trying to hide a blush that he could feel creeping into his cheeks.

After driving for about twenty more minutes Heero pulled off to the side of the road. Relena looked at him. "Why are we stopping?"

Heero sighed. "This may sound hard to believe, but I don't know where we are. It's going to get dark soon and I'd rather not try to figure out our location until it's light again. I think we're going to have to pull off somewhere and rest for the night."

Relena couldn't help filling a little bit of joy at the thought of spending the whole night with Heero. She tried to hide it and cleared her throat. "You're probably right. Should we pull farther off the road though to make sure that no one spots us?"

Heero nodded. "I think that would be best. I saw a cave a couple of minutes ago. It was back in the woods a little ways and with it getting dark it would be a lot harder to spot. If it's big enough we can hide the car in there too." Relena agreed. Heero checked behind them quickly and then, sure that no one was following them, he pulled off the road and headed for the cave.

As they approached the cave he eased the car slowly towards the opening. It was perfect. The car was going to fit! He pulled in slowly and then turned the car off. They both climbed out and went to sit on a small ledge. Heero dug into his pocket and pulled out some matches. "We need to start a fire before it gets too dark to see. Let's look around just outside the cave for some wood. I don't want to go to far or we might not find our way back."

They both walked out of the cave and began searching. Suddenly Relena screamed. Heero jerked his head towards her just as a huge raccoon jumped out of a bush and ran past Relena. He ran to her side. "Are you okay?"

Relena moved a little closer to him. "Yes, It just startled me."

Heero gently put his arm on her waist and motioned her to come with him. "I think it would be best if we looked together." Relena smiled and felt a little shiver of pleasure at his gentle touch.

Heero stayed right beside her until they had found enough wood. Then they went back to the cave and Heero sat to work building the fire. The fire started off small, but it soon grew warm and cozy.

Relena sat down against the wall of the cave and held out her hands to the fire. As soon as Heero made sure the fire was perfect he went and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry your birthday ended up this way. I wanted it to be special."

Relena smiled warmly. "It's okay. It's the thought that counts. And besides, it has still been a birthday I'll definitely never forget."

Heero smiled as her watched her delicate fingers rubbing the necklace that still hung from her neck. He could see the flames from the fire reflecting in her eyes. "She is so beautiful," He thought to himself. "Why didn't I notice before? Was I really that blind?"

Relena glanced over at him and thought. "He always looks so serious, yet some how he looks so kind. I could never see any emotions in him before, but now it seems so clear. I don't know how I ever missed it." Then she tried to hide a smile as she remembered the kiss that he'd given her.

Suddenly they both realized that they were staring at each other. They both looked down at the ground quickly. Relena tried to hide a yawn and stretched her arms. Heero looked at her. "Why don't you lie down and try to rest. I'll keep watch so you won't have to worry."

Relena smiled. "I never worry when I'm with you." Then she lay down on her side and closed her eyes. Heero just stared into the fire. He couldn't believe what had happened today. Everything hadn't gone exactly the way he planned, but somehow, he still felt very happy inside. He heard Relena stir and glanced over to make sure she was all right. She looked so peaceful and innocent. "How could I have been so stupid?" He mentally yelled at himself. "Why did I hide my feelings for so long? I've felt this way forever and it's taken me this long to show it! I've been such a coward! Well, I'm not going to be a coward anymore!" He turned towards Relena and leaned down towards her ear. He looked at her sleeping features and then whispered, "I love you."

Relena stirred a little in her sleep and even seemed to smile a bit. Heero wondered if she actually heard him. He gently lowered himself down next to her and before he knew it, he was asleep as well.

Meanwhile, Blade and Alan were still searching. Blade was tired and ready to give up. Alan was also about ready to give up, but before he turned around to head home he noticed a small flicker of light from in the woods. He squinted his eyes and tried to get a better look. "What the heck is that? I wonder if that could be them. I'll have to go on foot so they won't hear me." He jumped off his bike and started to make his way towards the cave. It was a slow process because of the many limbs and rocks that he tripped over on his way, but he finally made it. As he peered in all he could see was the car and the glow of the fire on the walls. He slowly crept forward and peered around the car. At first he didn't see anything, but then he noticed Relena lying on the ground asleep. He was just about to go and grab her when he realized that she wasn't alone. He saw a male figure sprawled out next to her and he knew if was Heero. Anger rose up inside him. Then his anger grew further when he realized that Heero had his arm around Relena's waist. "What does that guy think he's doing? She's mine! No one else can have her!"

Suddenly Relena stirred. She was beginning to wake up and Alan quickly ducked down behind the car. Her movements made Heero wake up as well. She realized that Heero's arm was around her and she slowly reached down and took his hand. Then she sighed and closed her eyes again. Heero grinned when he felt her take his hand and then he leaned up on his elbow. He got close to her ear and whispered, "Relena."

She turned towards him with concern on her face. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No. I just wanted to do this." With that he leaned down and kissed her. This time and he didn't pull back so fast though. He decided to linger on her lips.

Alan looked on as his anger grew more and more.

As their lips parted Relena looked deeply into Heero's eyes. They were still serious, but she could see the spark of romance as well. He looked into her eyes as well. He could see her searching his face and he spoke softly. "Relena, I'm sorry I've hidden my feelings for so long. I've loved you for such a long time. I...I just wasn't sure how to show it."

Relena grinned. "It's okay Heero. It's not your fault. What matters is that you're not hiding it anymore."

He grinned and leaned down and kissed her once more. She put her arms around his neck as he gently teased her lips with his tongue. She parted her lips and their tongues entwined. Her heart was pounding. She couldn't believe what was happening.

Alan clenched his fists. He couldn't stand here and watch anymore. He pulled out a gun and jumped out at the two who were still kissing. "Get away from her now or else!"

Heero and Relena instantly parted and Heero instinctively jumped up ready to defend. Alan glared at him. "Move it. Get over there at the wall." Alan motioned with the gun to the other side of the cave. Heero looked at Alan and he could see it in his eyes that he was serious. He reluctantly obeyed. Alan went and stood over Relena. "How are you my dear Relena?" He asked as he held out his hand to help her up. Relena looked at his hand and instantly began to back away, but she had to stop when she felt the cave wall behind her. Alan glared again. "Well, if that's the way you're gonna be," he leaned down to her, "then I'll just have to carry you out!" He reached down and grabbed her arm and threw her over his shoulder.

Relena screamed. "Heero!"

Heero started towards her, but stopped when Alan started waving the gun in the air. "If you know what's good for you," he paused and smiled evilly, "and for her, then you'll stay right here." He kept the gun pointed at Heero and slowly backed out of the cave.

Relena pounded on his back. "Let me go! Heero help me!"

Heero stood there. For the first time in his life he felt powerless. "What can I do? I can't do anything that would put her in danger. Especially not now!"

Heero waited and when he felt sure that Alan was away from the cave he slowly crept out. He could see a trail of footprints and he began to follow them. He had to get Relena back.