Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing and I don't own grocery stores or feminine hygiene products, nor am I a love doctor, so just enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 21

"Heero, can I ask you a question?" Rachel spoke in the middle of their flight, breaking Heero's concentration. He glanced over and said, "Depends on what it is." Turning in her chair to look at him, she said, "Well, I've been wondering. . .you seem to be doing as much as you can for Relena."

"Get to the point." Heero said, sounding like he was getting annoyed.

"I just wanted to know if you. . .liked her. And don't give me that whole 'mission' comment, I don't wanna hear it. I want the truth, all honesty, no cover up because you wanna look tough." He pushed the auto pilot button and turned to her, saying in a calm voice, "Rachel, what does it matter? And why should I tell you how I feel about some girl that I'm protecting from harm?"

"Because, I think you need help." He blinked and said, "Help?"

"I've seen how you've been acting around her, you get a dorky look if she touches you or looks at you in anything other than a serious gaze. You can't seriously tell me you know exactly what to say and do around her, cause if you do you sure aren't trying very hard."

"Why do you care so much about it? Besides, who says I care about her like that. . ."

"You do." He furrowed his brow and said, "What?"

"Just by the way you act. Heero, I'm not trying to put you on the spot, I just want to help you so you don't make a complete idiot of yourself in front of her. Unlike my boyfriend, I won't tease you about it and make your life a living hell for liking her."

"So he is your boyfriend?"

"Well, as far as I'm concerned yes, but that's something I need to discuss with him privately. But we're not talking about my relationship right now. I honestly just want to help you, nothing more. . ."

"I don't understand, why would you want to help me after what I put you through and said to you?"

"Because I don't care about the past, you're a human being who needs to feel, I know you want to but all that training, all those torturous sessions in killing people really killed you. I see how your heart sits idle in you, a small part of you longing for it to beat in your chest for something worth losing your mind over. You need something that will bring your heart back to life, Heero, and. . .I think Relena is just the person to do that. I've watched you, how your eyes light up when you see her, how your skin gets Goosebumps when she touches you, how every time you try to tell her the deep nagging feeling inside you is really your heart yearning for her. . .you choke. I couldn't live with myself if I just let you suffer like that, I can't watch you die little by little when you lock away your feelings." Heero stared blankly at her, shocked by her passionate speech.

She cares so much about me. . .but, no one has ever cared that much about me before, I thought nobody would. . .or. . .could. . .Heero thought to himself. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach and he groaned, touching the knot forming inside him. She stood up and walked over to him, slowly kneeling in front of him and taking his hand, saying, "Heero, don't run away from her, you two belong together, it's destiny!"

"But. . .she deserves so much more than I could ever give her. I can't talk to her like it's nothing hard because it is, it's like getting teeth pulled just trying to get something to come out of my mouth. She gets so discouraged by me, I don't want to ruin her life just because of how she makes me feel."

"Have you ever asked her how she feels about you? Don't you think that maybe, just maybe, she feels the same?"

"How could she feel the same! She doesn't have any problem talking to me, the only problem is me!"

"Nobody's perfect, Heero. If she truly loves you, that won't matter to her."

"No, I don't have anything to offer, I'm nothing but a worthless, heartless soldier bent on accomplishing my missions."

"Then think of this as a mission. Heero Yuy, I assign you to sing 'If You're Not the One' and 'My Baby You' to Relena." Heero blinked and asked in confusion, "Why?"

"You'll understand, so will she. It'll work out, you'll see. Just do it, okay?" He looked thoughtfully at her determined face and finally let a soft smile cross his lips, whispering, "Mission: Accepted."

"Duo, where'd Heero and Rachel go?" Relena walked up to Duo, startling him out of his trance on the railing. He hopped off the edge and leaned back against the rail, saying, "They went to go get some food and check Rachel out at a hospital to make sure she's alright."

"Oh. How is she, by the way?"

"She seems to have gotten over the slight pneumonia she had but I think she has a cold now, that's why she went with him."

"Why didn't you go along?"

"Eh, no need for it. Besides, I can stay here and work on that backstabbing circus clown while Rachel's away." Duo glared at the last hut, trying to burn a hole through the wood walls right into Trowa's head.

"Take it easy, Duo. Yes, what he did was wrong but please, don't start a fight over this."

"Relena, you're too much of a pacifist." Duo turned away and walked to his hut, stepping in and closing the door behind him. She stared after him, thinking in surprise, Too much of a pacifist? What does he mean? Am I. . .a bother? Maybe that's why Heero doesn't like me. . .She sighed and looked out over the forest, saying, "Heero. . .do you truly dislike me?"

"Come on, I think I smell a market somewhere close!" Rachel said. She happily bounced through the crowd, making sure she didn't lose Heero in her rush to get something to eat. Heero scanned the place, doing his soldier impression subconsciously. Suddenly, Rachel grabbed his arm and he stared at her.

"What?" He said, a little startled.

"Stop that! This isn't a life or death mission, just a shopping trip! Now, help me find the market!" Rachel said, pulling Heero along by his arm. He obeyed and followed her. Soon, they came upon a grocery store, to Rachel's stomach's delight. With a grin, Rachel said, "Oh, my stooooomaaaach, let's go!"

"You're definitely the person for Duo, thinking with your stomach." Heero commented sarcastically, following her inside leisurely. She grabbed a cart, shoving it in Heero's direction.

"You push, I'll shop!" Rachel said with a wink. They walked through the store, gathering food supplies and other essential things that popped into mind. Rachel walked up to the cart and tossed in a pink box. Heero picked it up and looked at it, saying, "What are these for?"

"Unless you want to go shopping later for them when me or Relena get visited by Aunt Tilly, you better drop those back in the cart." Heero suddenly realized what they were and tossed them back with a disgusted look. Rachel laughed and thought, Yep, he's definitely a guy. . .

"Okay, are we done yet?" Heero asked, still a bit sickened from the last deposit in the cart.

"Yeppers, let's go check out now!" As Heero helped her unload the grocery cart, he asked in a low voice, "Who's paying for this?"

"I will, don't worry." He blinked blankly and thought, Gee, I usually just pull out my gun. . .it pays for itself. . . She pulled money out of her pocket and handed it to the cashier, surprising Heero. They gathered the bags and walked out, heading for the loading dock to load up their groceries. Rachel paused by a men's clothing store and a smile popped onto her face.

Gotta remember this place. . .Rachel thought to herself as she continued on. They dumped the bags into the hangar of their plane and closed it up, heading back out to swing by the hospital. She checked in with a doctor but only came out with some cold medicine.

"Well, at least you're not too sick." Heero commented as they strolled down the sidewalk back to the dock, looking casually around. Rachel spotted the clothing store again and grabbed Heero's arm, saying, "Come 'ere!"

"What! Hey, the docking bay's that way!" Heero complained as he was forced to follow her. She dragged him into the store and stopped in the middle of a suit corner.

"Hey, this would look so good on you. . ." Rachel started browsing. Heero stared wide-eyed at the clothing racks as he said quietly, "Why are we in here?"

"I thought you could use a change of clothing, seeing that you've been wearing that since the beginning of time it seems. Ooo, check this out. . ." Rachel pulled out a pair of slacks and said, "This would look nice on you!"

"Uh. . .I'm not a slack person. . ." Heero said, looking bored already. She tossed it back on the rack and said, "Okay, go look around for something, but don't get anything that's skin tight or stretchy! Now GO!" Rachel snapped Heero's spandex shorts and he glared wide-eyed at her. She giggled and ran off to do some searching of her own. Heero sighed and walked slowly around, looking briefly at the racks before glancing over at Rachel. She fluttered through the clothing racks, checking out different things and making quiet comments to herself about them before moving on.

I wonder why she wants me to get different clothes? What's wrong with what I'm wearing right now? Well. . .I guess the shorts are a bit tight. . .Heero thought looking down at his clothes, pulling at them slightly in embarrassment. He was embarrassed of how he was dressed? It surprised him and he felt suddenly stupid as he walked quickly over to Rachel, trying to stay out of sight. He tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Um, Rachel?"

"Yes? Did you find anything yet?" Rachel looked at him, some clothes over her arm already. He shook his head shyly and she smiled, handing him the pile she had. He stared down at them and said, "What do I do with these?"

"Try them on over there and tell me what you think!" Rachel said, pushing him in the direction of a changing room. A few minutes later, Heero popped his head out and hissed at Rachel. She came strolling over and said, "Yes? You hissed?" Heero blushed as he said, "Well, what do you think. . ." He opened the door and let her see his outfit. Her eyes widened in surprise. He wore a slightly tight navy blue muscle shirt and close fitting white cargo pants, not as tight as his spandex shorts were. She smiled and said, "Wow, you look great! And much older, too. . .it's perfect! Change back and give me the clothes, I'll buy them for you." He closed the door and said, "But why are you buying me clothes?"

"Because, I don't like your old ones, that's why! It's not very modest either, I mean, spandex? Honey, it's just not a good look for you. . ." He opened the door and stepped out, handing her the clothes.

"Do you really think I look that. . .tacky?" Heero asked, looking embarrassed.

"Well, if you don't want to impress anyone. . .no. . ." She dropped the pile of clothes on the register counter and paid the cashier, taking the bagged clothes. They left the store and walked down the sidewalk, heading straight for the dock.

"Rachel?" Heero whispered, almost inaudible.

"Yes?" Rachel looked over at him.

"Thank you. . .for helping me, even though I don't deserve this. . ." She smiled.

"Hey, they're back!" Quatre announced as he saw the incoming plane landing on the hidden runway. Relena's eyes lit up and she leaned over the railing, waiting for the group to come in sight. They finally strolled out of the trees with their load of bags in hand and over their arms. They dumped it in the elevator and came up. Quatre and Duo were waiting at the top when they stopped.

"Hey, what'd you get? Ooo, food. . ." Duo snatched some of the bags up, fake running toward his room when Rachel fused at him.

"Put those in my room, I don't trust any of you guys to keep your hands off the merchandise!" Rachel sternly and playfully commented as she grabbed a bunch of bags. Quatre grabbed some as well and headed into her hut to set them down. Relena walked up, wiping the joyful grin off her face and walking up to Rachel, not looking at Heero once.

"Let me help you with those, Rachel." Relena said, taking some of the groceries from Rachel. She turned away and walked briskly to the hut, not even noticing Heero who tried to say something to her. He looked up at Rachel with a puzzled look and she shrugged in equal confusion. They walked into the hut and set down the load, pushing them into a nice pile out of the way. Heero stood up and looked for Relena who was looking through some of the bags.

"So, what's planned for the meal tonight? Pop tarts?" Relena asked as she pulled out random things and examined them. A thought popped into Rachel's mind and she said, "Oh, Heero's making something! Yeah, who would have thought that he's a good cook! Isn't that right, Heero?" His eyes grew wide for a second but Rachel elbowed him.

"Right, I'm not that good, you're exaggerating." Heero commented, glaring at her in confusion.

"Have you decided on what it is?" Relena casually asked, not taking her eyes off the bags. Rachel gave Heero a look and he swallowed, saying, "What, um, did you have in mind?" Relena finally looked up, seeing that she was being spoken to. She shyly looked away again and said as she stood, "Oh, I don't have any preferences, anything eatable is fine. I'll just leave you to plan the meal. . ." She quickly scooted out of the room, closing the door behind her. Heero looked surprised as he turned to Rachel and said, "Did you buy those things in time or something cause she's acting weird. . ."

"I don't think she's PMSing, Heero. Something must be wrong, I'll go talk to her. Hey, why don't you head down to your hut and start your 'mission' while I talk to her." Rachel said with a wink. He nodded and walked toward the door. Rachel gasped and grabbed up a bag, saying, "Heero, heads up!" He quickly turned and caught the bag she tossed at him, "Your new look."

"Oh, yeah. . .thanks." He looked down at it for a moment and whispered, "Will this work. . ."

"It's worth a try, Heero. If she feels the way you do about her, then it should work. If not, your charm and good looks should do her in." Rachel said, trying to reassure him, "Oh, and here." She tossed him a small rectangle box and he caught it with one hand, looking at it.

"What's this?" He turned it over and starting reading the label.

"It's cologne, she'll like it a lot. Just. . .don't bathe in it, just put enough on to be able to smell it." Rachel warned him. He tucked the box in his bag and peeked out the door to see if the coast was clear before dashing out. He snuck down the walkway with the bag stuffed down his shirt and as soon as he reached his hut, quickly dashed inside and closed the door. He let out a sigh and looked into the room. Holding his breath again, he stared at Relena on his laptop.

"R-Relena! What are you doing?" He stammered, a little nervous about the whole situation. She looked up and said, sounding startled, "Heero! I didn't know you'd come back so soon! I. . .I was just looking something up about the news, that's all, honest!" She jumped up and ran for the door as he stepped out of the way.

"Wait, it's oka-" Heero tried to calm her but she said, "I'm sorry, I won't touch it again." She dashed out of the room and disappeared. His heart pounding, Heero sighed in frustration.

"It was fine, Relena. . ." Heero muttered to himself. He walked slowly over to his bed and plopped down, pulling out the bag and setting it next to him. He looked down at the computer to see what she was doing and found she was reading the research he was working on for her.

She must really be worried, she didn't even ask me how it was going. . .why is she avoiding me so much? Heero thought as he closed out the file and began his search for the songs.

"Relena, there you are! Hey, I was wonderi-" Rachel looked up as Relena flew into her bed, sobbing. Blinking in confusion, Rachel walked over to the bed. She sat down next to Relena's shaking body and rested a hand on her back, saying, "Relena, what's wrong? Why are you cr-"

"Heero hates me, I know it!" Relena sobbed out loud, grabbing her pillow and weeping into it. Rachel's eyes grew wide and she said, "W-why do you think that he hates you?"

"I was snooping in his computer when he caught me, and now he hates me!"

"Did he tell you that?"

"No, but he sounded angry."

"You sure?"

"Rachel, why are you being so obstinate!" Relena sat up and stared at her, tears running down her cheeks.

"Uh, I just think you're overreacting a little. . ."

"Am I? He hasn't talked to me at all and when I think he's going to say something, it turns out to be something about business. He doesn't care about me, I'm just part of his mission!" Rachel grabbed Relena by the shoulders and said, "Relena, stop! You don't know what you're talking about, okay? Look, he's just not the talkative type. He's probably just afraid of saying something and looking like an idiot."

"Ha, him! He's Mr. Soldier boy, he's not scared of anything."

More than you could ever imagine, Relena. . .Rachel thought, not wanting to spoil Heero's surprise.

"Please Relena, don't jump to conclusions. You two got off on the wrong foot, that's all."

"I don't think so, I think he doesn't like me." Relena looked sadly down at the bed, still crying. Rachel pulled Relena into a hug and said, "Oh, Relena. . ." She wrapped her arms tightly around Rachel as she cried more. Just then, Duo stepped in, saying, "Hey, what's. . .up?" He stared at the two girls and cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Rachel shook her head and nodded toward the door. He tried to say something but she gave him a death glare.

Yeek! She's too good at that. . .Duo thought as he quickly backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. Quatre came walking up and said, "What's wrong? Why the terrified look?"

"Don't go in there, dude. You'll get the death glare if you do." Duo said, shaking off the cold feeling he had left from "the look". Quatre looked confused and Duo put his arm around him, turning him around as they walked toward their hut.

"So, that's why Rachel wants me to sing this. . ." Heero thought as he read the lyrics to the songs.

I understand now. . .I just hope it's not too late. . .Heero thought, hoping Relena would understand too.

"Man, it's been almost an hour, how long till we can eat!" Duo complained as Rachel walked by him. She patted him on the stomach and said, "Don't worry, I'll whip something up for you guys." His face got serious as he said in a lower voice, "What was wrong with Relena?"

"Nothing, just forget it, okay? Don't talk to her right now, I got her calmed down enough to stop crying. I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." She walked away, heading for Heero's hut. She knocked and heard a grunt, opening the door and walking in.

I wonder what's going on? Everyone's acting so weird lately, I'm getting confused. . .Duo thought as he turned to lean on the railing, looking out over the forest at the setting sun. The hews of orange and pink mesmerized him as he sighed.