Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. I also do not claim that events or feelings or statements made in this chapter are true. . .actually, pretty much all of it isn't true because it's just a story I'm writing about a TV show. . .oh nevermind, it's too deep to go into. . .

Chapter 30

"Ra Ra Re, kick 'em in the knee; Ra Ra Rass, kick 'em in the OTHER KNEE!" the cheerleaders shouted, jumping up and down doing their best airhead impressions. Duo set the ball on the ground while Quatre backed up, saying, "So I just have to kick the ball?"

"As hard as you can, go!" Duo said. Quatre nodded and ran forward, slamming his foot into the ball. It went flying thirty feet into the air and the girls Oooed and Aahed in amazement, watching it soar down the field. The opposite team ran for it, Zechs hurtling in front of the group and catching the ball, quickly running for the opposite side of the field with the ball.

"I hate to see when they try to tackle him, he's not that easy to take down." Noin whispered to the girls. They nodded and watched in anticipation of some brutal clashing. Suddenly, Duo ran up to block Zechs. Cringing, the girls looked away as Duo went flying.

"Ouchy. . ." They all said in unison, shielding their eyes from the horrid sight. As they watched Duo stagger to his feet, he gave them a thumbs up and then put a hand on his hip, limping over to the teams waiting for him to come after Zechs had made the touchdown. The girls cheered them on, jumping up and down and doing cheer moves. As the guys continued in their game, parts of their clothes slowly came off until they were all playing in their pants, sweaty and catching the eyes of the drooling girls.

"Oh my gosh, he's even hotter than on the show!" Rachel gasped, staring at Zechs as he ran down the field, tackling the unaware Quatre into the ground.

"What?" Noin looked over in confusion.

"Uh, nothing. GO DUO!" Rachel screamed, covering up what she said. Heero slowly walked across the field, getting exhausted after only 20 minutes of playing.

"Hey, Heero, you gonna play or would you rather cheer on the sidelines with the girls!" Duo yelled over his shoulder. At that, Heero stared him down and said, "Duo, you're going down." They lined up and Trowa bent down with the ball.

"22, 16, 34, HIKE!" Duo yelled. Trowa tossed him the ball and Duo backed up, ready to throw to Quatre running out to catch. He was about to throw it when the world began to spin, along with the rest of him as he flew through the air. He tumbled across the grass and looked dizzily up at the canopy overhead, not quite sure what happened other than having the feeling of running into a wall, or a wall running into him. He saw Heero tower over him and say, "Next time, keep your guard up, baka." Trowa walked slowly over to Duo and said, "Need help up?"

"Yes." Duo squeaked, his crumpled body laying in a pile on the ground. Trowa pulled him to his wobbly feet and Duo limped over to the group, deciding not to do the throwing this time. Trowa stood behind Duo as he said, "28, 37, 63. . .what's the point of saying a bunch of numbers before saying 'hike'? I never quite understood that part." They all looked puzzled and Quatre said, "Don't look at me, I've never played before!"

"Maybe it's the numbers of the opposite players you want your team to cover or something, just my guess." Zechs said.

"But we don't have numbers." Trowa said, blinking.

"Then just say 'ready, set, hike' and get on with the beatings!" Chang said, getting impatient.

"Don't you mean the game?" Quatre asked.

"Same thing."

"Okay. . ." Trowa got ready again and said, "Ready, set, HIKE!" Duo tossed him the ball and Quatre went long again. Quickly, Trowa threw the ball before Chang, who was still peeved from the interruption, attacked him. Quatre caught the ball and ran for his life to the goal, which they marked to be by Sandrock's foot. Heero was too slow to catch up to him and Zechs took the lead, coming close to catching Quatre. But Quatre was small and quick, and outran Zechs by ten feet as he crossed the goal line.

"TOUCHDOWN!" The girls shouted together, cheering happily. Quatre jumped up and down joyfully just before Zechs body slammed him to the ground, shortly followed by Heero and then Chang, then Duo just for good measure sat on the top of the dog pile and grinned.

"Yay, we win!" Duo cheered. The pile shifted and Duo tipped back and fell head over heels to the ground with a thud. The guys slowly crawled off and walked away, leaving a crippled Quatre lying on the ground, twitching every so often.

"Owe. . ." Quatre croaked, staring blankly at the canopy like Duo had earlier. Duo, now very much bruised and battered, said, "Geez, I thought you were tired, Heero! Your elbow in my side said otherwise! And the tackle you gave me earlier and the surprise wedgy I got when I intercepted that pass to you!" He tugged at his pants just remembering the discomfort as Heero yelled back, "Your idiocy fueled my rampage."

"Heero, I think you've played enough, maybe you should go to bed." Relena called out. Heero started walking toward her when Duo shouted, and possibly for the last time, "Do you always do what your GIRLFRIEND tells you to!" Heero's head whipped around, giving Duo the worst imaginable death glare as he screamed across the field, tearing up the dirt and leaves as he sprinted toward Duo. Eyes wide, Duo screamed and turned, running for his life and stumbling half the time.

"Man, this reminds me of something on the Nature channel. You know, sort of like a lion chasing down an injured antelope. . ." Trowa commented. Quatre shook his head as Trowa watched on in interest of what would happen next. His eyes sparkling, Trowa said, "Fascinating. . .isn't it?"

"We need to have a talk later." Chang said as he walked up, giving Trowa a look of shame. Still chasing Duo, Heero began to tire, slowing down until his foot caught on a stick and he tumbled to the ground, sprawling out in the decaying leaves. Everyone cringed and Duo laughed at him, then ran for his life again before Heero got the chance to get up. Relena dashed out across the field to Heero's side, kneeling down to help him up. They walked slowly back to the elevator, Heero looking miserable and humiliated as he leaned on Relena to stay upright.

"Poor Heero, he pushed himself way too much. I hope he'll be okay." Rachel said sadly as she watched them board their ride up. Duo ran up behind Rachel and hugged her, saying, "Oh, he's fine, he's a tough cookie."

"Well, it's your fault he's so exhausted. And that fall! Duo, you embarrassed him!" Rachel scolded.

"Why are you always fussing at me like I'm a five year old?" Duo complained.

"Maybe because you act like one?"

"Do you like picking fights or am I just your punching bag to get anger out on?" Rachel turned to Duo and said, "No, I'm sorry. But I really wish you'd stop picking on Heero."

"Hey, it's in mere self defense! He teases me all the time too, it's our thing, ya know?"

"And you enjoy being picked on?"

"Well. . .no. But I get to pick on him back so it's all good." Duo winked. Rachel rolled her eyes and said, "You're hopeless. UTTERLY hopeless. . ."

"But that's just one of my many quarks that you find irresistibly charming about me!" Duo wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she sighed, saying, "Irresistible? Try 'incorrigible'. . ."

"What's that mean?"

"She's calling you hopeless, and I think she could just very well be right." Zechs said as he walked by with Noin, heading for the elevator. Duo pulled down his eyelid and stuck his tongue out at the back of Zechs' head. Rachel elbowed him and he frowned, saying, "Hey, he insulted me! I thought you said something about him being nice. . ."

"He is, maybe he's just grown accustomed to you!" Rachel winked. She wrapped her arms around Duo and they walked toward the elevator, finding it to be very dark. Duo yawned as he said, "Man, I didn't realize it had gotten so late. . .I'm so tired."

"Me too, let's head to bed." Duo gave her a raised eyebrow look and she frowned, growling, "In our separate rooms. . ."

"I know, I was just kidding." Duo said, hugging her and leaning his head against hers.

"You know, you're getting taller again, I do believe we're the same height. . ."

"Really? Maybe I'm just growing on your love. . ." Duo purred, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. She smiled and said, "Maybe. . .or maybe you've just been eating a lot more than usual. . ." She poked his belly and he laughed, poking her back and starting to tickle her. She ran quickly to the elevator and jumped in, trying to leave without Duo. But he jumped on and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close and smiling at her.

"Don't, that's my job. . ." Duo cooed, smiling as he released her and reached for the pulley rope. She backed away and relaxed as Duo pulled them up to the huts.

"Relena, I think I'll be fine, you don't have to tuck me in. . ." Heero complained as Relena helped him sit down on his bed.

"I just want to make sure you make it just fine." Relena said back.

"I'm fine, let go." Heero struggled to get free of her grip.

"But I want to help, please?" Relena tried to hold on. They struggled a bit and Relena tripped, falling on Heero as he fell back against the bed. She pushed herself up a bit, Heero holding onto her arms as she stared into his eyes.

"Okay, so. . .now what?" Heero said, not caring that Relena was lying on top of him.

"Uh. . .I. . .um. . .go to. . .uh. . ." Relena stuttered.

"Bed?" Heero finished her sentence.

"Yeah, that's it. Heh, you're so smart, Heero, I don't know what I'd do without-" Relena laughed nervously. Heero suddenly slipped his hand behind her head and pulled her head closer to his, his lips meeting hers in a passionate and deep kiss. She started to melt into his embrace as his other hand slipped over her back and pulled her closer to him, his feet kicking off his shoes quietly. Her hands eased up to his head and she ran her fingers through his hair, getting into the long, breathless kiss. Finally they broke for air, gasping and taking in oxygen, looking deep into each other's eyes passionately.

"Relena. . ." Heero panted, scanning over her face to capture and remember the adoring expression on her face.

"Heero. . .I. . .I should go to. . .bed. . ." Relena said slowly, out of breath as well. Heero ran his hand down farther as he said, "Please. . .stay with me. . ."

"Heero, I can't. . ."

"Why. . ." Heero gently caressed her neck with kisses as her mind ran wild, trying desperately to remember the reason she had for not staying.

"I. . .I can't. . .do this. . ." Relena said quietly, trying to refuse but longing for him to continue.

"You don't. . .seem to be. . .hating it. . ." Heero said between kisses, starting to move up to suck on her ear. Her eyes widened and she said, "Please, Heero, stop!" He leaned back and stared into her eyes, saying, "If you don't want to do this, then leave now. Go, just get up and walk out the door." Relena looked sad as she said, "I can't, Heero. . .my body wants this. . ."

"Then what's the problem. . ." Heero moved in to start again.

"I don't want this." In confusion, Heero sighed and leaned back again, saying, "Wait, you don't want this but your body does. Relena, you have control over your body, that's what your brain's for."

"But that's the thing, Heero, I'm trying to convince myself to leave but I can't move. Every time I try to focus on pushing away, you kiss me and my mind goes in a million directions; I can't concentrate."

"Relena, just relax, it's just feelings, not a commitment or anything. . ." Heero said exhaustedly.

"Heero, what do you think your kissing is leading to? Your hand under my blouse? My blouse on the floor with your pants? Nothing on our bodies but each other's skin. . ."

"Stop, you're turning me on. . ." Heero said, starting toward her again. Finally, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him back, saying, "No, this isn't right."

"What's not right? As long as it makes us feel good it's right, so what's the big deal, it's just sex. . ."

"You say that so casually, Heero! It's not just sex, it's not just some great feeling you get, it's important!"

"Important?" Heero blinked blankly.

"Yes, it's the reason people get married, it's how people end up having children, it's how husband and wife share their eternal bond and love each other with no boundaries. . ."

"One time can't get you pregnant, Relena, don't worry."

"Yes it can, Heero, don't be so naïve. I don't care if you've slept with other more than willing women and had no problems but I will get pregnant and what then? We're too young to be getting married and I will not except just being together when I have a child, I want to be married."

"Relena. . ."

"I don't care if you're experienced, I'm still a virgin and intend to stay that way until my wedding night when I share that special moment with my husband. Sex is not just something you do when you feel horny or you just feel like you need a quick fix of a good feeling, it's not a drug."

"Relena. . ."

"And I don't care how much you beg me or try to seduce me I will not have sex with you until I see a gold band on my finger!"

"RELENA!" Heero shouted, sounding aggravated.

"What!"

"I've never had sex. . .I'm still a virgin." Relena stared blankly at him and said, "You. . .are?"

"Do you honestly think I would have time to do that? Relena, you're the first woman I have fallen in love with and felt this way about, and you'll probably be the last one too. . ."

"Heero. . .then can't you wait? Don't you love me enough to honor how I feel about this?" Heero sighed and said, "If you really want to wait, fine, I will too." Relena smiled and kissed him, saying, "Thank you, Heero, you won't regret this."

"I'm sure. . ." Heero groaned. She sat up and he grabbed her waist again, saying, "But. . .can't you stay here. . .tonight?"

"Heero. . .it would leave too much temptation. . ."

"I guess you're right. . ." Heero sighed and leaned his head against her chest, saying, "This isn't easy. . ."

"I know. . ." She stroked his hair as he let her go, leaning back and resting against his elbows sadly. She stepped away from the bed, her hands clutched to her pounding chest as she stared into his eyes distantly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight, Relena." Heero said dully, pulling his feet up into the bed as he stretched out and sighed again. Relena backed up to the door, leaning her hand against the doorframe.

"I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me, I'm just not ready for this. . ." Relena said, looking down in shame. He looked over at her, saying in a gentle voice, "Don't be sorry, I was forcing something on you that you weren't prepared for, I should be the one apologizing. I don't want to mess up our relationship just because of my overpowering desires."

"I wish I could do something, really I do but. . .I'm afraid if I let you go too far. . ."

"I know. Let's just. . .forget about it, okay?"

"Okay. . .good night, Heero."

"Sweet dreams, Relena." Heero whispered. She smiled and stepped out the door, slowly closing it behind her.

Oh Heero, I want to give you what you want but I can't. . .it's just not how I am. . .Relena thought as she looked up and sighed, finally stepping away from the hut.