Don't Push Me Away

by Neon Fantasy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Gundam Wing which are used in this story, they rightfully belong to Sunrise, Bandai and Sotsu Agency. This was only written for entertainment purposes. This is a 4R story.

Chapter 14

" --- " - Speaking

' --- ' - Thinking

"LOOK OUT BELOW!!!" Duo called while huddling into a ball. He crashed into the pool water with a big splash resulting in water going everywhere, even on those who weren't even in the pool. Mariemaia and Hilde were getting a suntan beside the pool, but when water got dumped on them all hell broke loose. Hilde removed her sunglasses and growled at Duo for what he did. Duo just laughed and rubbed the back of his head but before he could say anything, Hilde dived into the pool and started swimming towards him. He knew he was in trouble now and started swimming as far away as he could from her. He reached the ladder and was about to climb out but Hilde grabbed him by the braide and pulled him back.

"You will be sorry now!!" Hilde threatened as she started to dunk him repeatedly in the water. Mariemaia simply remained where she was while drying herself down with a towel. She watched the two in the pool and couldn't help but smile. They acted like a married couple from time to time, it was a surprise that they weren't a couple. But she wondered at times why they never considered it, they got along so well and have known each other for years. Or would that be the reason why? Perhaps their friendship was too precious to have gambled on in a relationship? She remembered asking Hilde about this a few times but she always dodged the question so she never found out. It wasn't really her business anyway but when watching them like this, it made her wonder why they never took it a step further.

"AHHH okay okay I give up!!" Duo yelled as he held his arms up, "I'm sorry I'm sorry, please forgive me oh great goddess."

"Oh shut up Duo!" Hilde said as she shoved his head back under the water again, "Geez you are always such a moron!" Duo swam down to the bottom of the pool and swam towards the ladder. Once he reached the surface he simply laughed a little before getting out. He had fun teasing Hilde all the time since she always had a short fuse, but he never tried crossing the line to where she would hate him. It was good like that, how they could muckaround and never take it seriously. Of course Hilde got annoyed at it from time to time but she never took it to heart which was good. It was nice having her so understanding like that. It helped when he needed to get his mind off of things as well. 'Well, time to get some breakfast I think,' Duo thought to himself as he waved to Hilde before heading to the house.

Hilde watched him go for a moment and went into deep thought. Was it just her or did it seem as though something was wrong with Duo? When they would fight like that he would usually put more enthusiasm into it or try getting her angrier than she already would be. Today he didn't do either of those things so something had to be troubling him. Mariemaia walked up to the edge of the pool to see what was wrong with Hilde. Seeing her just staring into space like that had her worried. Although she did look to be staring in the direction of where Duo walked off to. 'Hmmm... I wonder...'

"Duo seems to be getting a bit of a build on himself now huh?" Mariemaia said out of the blue, "More so than he was last year anyway."

Hilde nodded at that, "Yeah true, he's getting cuter by the year hehe.." After a few moments of saying that, Hilde only then realsed what she said and looked straight to Mariemaia. Seeing the red head grinning widely at her she quickly shook her head and said, "MARIE!! I didn't mean it like that!! He seriously is getting cuter but it doesn't mean I like him or anything!!"

Mariemaia simply rolled her eyes and mentioned, "Well, I wasn't as observant as you to notice he was getting more attractive." Noticing Hilde's red face with her glaring eyes, she couldn't help but laugh at the sight. It made her wonder if she really did like Duo, even though she appeared to like Trowa. She made it obvious that she had a thing for Trowa, with the way she would try getting his attention at ice hockey games and practices. But with Duo she seemed to just watch him from a distance, kind of hiding the fact that she really cared for him. Of course Mariemaia could be completely wrong about this but with that red face of Hilde's, she was beginning to wonder if she was right.

"I've known Duo for years. He's like a brother to me Marie so it's expected of me to be observant of these things." With that said, Hilde dived into the water before anything else could be questioned. Mariemaia simply shrugged and went back to her chair to sunbake. Hilde couldn't fool her, unlike Relena she wasn't the naive type who couldn't see what was right infront of her. Something was going on with Hilde and she wasn't about to let it slip. Still, she had no idea about Duo since he seemed to have a thing for someone else. She couldn't actually deside if whether or not it was disturbing or just plain weird. Then again love works in mysterious ways.

While drying himself with a towel, Duo walked towards the kitchen to get himself something to eat. He hadn't had breakfast yet and it was getting close to lunch time so he figured now would be a good time to have both. Brunch annoyed him since that consisted of only one meal. Why combine meals of the day together like that? After all you wouldn't be taking in the normal intake of food which you should be receiving. But this could just be him being majorly obsessed with food but hey, who's complaining right? As Duo neared the kitchen, he started to smell food being cooked. This was making him hungrier by the second, he could almost feel his mouth watering since it smelt so good.

Once he entered the kitchen, Duo felt as though he was in heaven. He allowed himself to slowly drift towards the food and took a deep breath. He found lots of food being made, looked as though lunch and breakfast was being made at the same time. Lucky for him, more food to consume. As Duo went to pick up some bacon, he quickly pulled away when he felt a wooden spoon slap his hand. Shaking it a little while rubbing it with his other hand, Duo looked and noticed it was Relena, "Ah ah, wait till it's done Duo."

"Awww," Duo whined while putting on his most innocent face, "But I'm hungry Rellie, can I have just a little piece?"

"No, it's not fair on everyone else." Relena answered while flipping some pancakes.

Duo sighed with disappointment but decided to obay since it looked as though she was putting a lot of effort into this. He knew that a fair bit of food had to be made to feed all of them but with the amount Relena was making it looked as though she was feeding a whole neighbourhood. "Duo, if you are going to stand there you might as well help out." With those words, Duo quickly backed away while rubbing the back of his head, "Oh come on Rel, you are doing such a good job on your own. You don't need me to come along and mess it all up hehe." Relena merely raised an eyebrow at him but simply smiled and went back to cooking. Duo smiled back and started watching her for a bit. She seemed to be getting better by the looks of things, a little more cheerful and energetic than she used to be.

With the way things were going he thought she would never change, but remain as the silent yet gloomy girl she made herself to be. But now she was actually making an effort to be happy. She talked a lot more with them. Not to mention they wouldn't have to force her to be part of them, she was more than willing to now. Like a true friend should. It was times like this that he regreted hating her like he did back then because really, she was a very nice girl. When Quatre would tell him that he would remember laughing in his face about it but now after getting to know her properly, he could see it very clearly. In ways he was seeing her as a different person. He wasn't used to seeing Relena like this. Not in a bad way of course but still, this was a nice change and one which Duo wouldn't mind getting used to. Maybe now he could joke around without her taking it offensively.

"Hey Duo, try some of this," Relena said as she held out a spoon full of soup. Without a moments hesitation, Duo opened his mouth widely and allowed Relena to put the spoon in his mouth. Taking it's contents and savouring the taste before swallowing, Duo thought about it for a moment while Relena waited to hear what he thought. "Hmm, might need to taste some more before I could make a proper comment."

"Oh really?" Relena said unconvinced, "Or maybe you just want to have some more."

"Aw you know me, just want to help you out."

"Yeah I know you, all the more reason why I'm not giving you any more." With that said, Relena went back to cooking with Duo just staring at her wide eyed. He can't believe it, did she just pay him out? Him!? When it was his goal to have some fun first!? And to think he was only going to joke with her, being payed out like this was not cool. Well, two can play at that game, "Heh, if you knew me that well then you should have known better than to give me any in the first place."

"Perhaps, but now you just have the urge to want more don't you?" Duo remained silent at that. "Hmm, thought so hehe." Now that was just cruel, what did he ever do to her? What was worse was that she was getting the upper hand over him when really that was usually HIS position. So unfair, he almost felt like weeping since it hurt so much. Then again he was more impressed than hurt. She was the last person he would expect to beat at his own game. More surprises just seem to keep appearing with her, and he was liking it as well. It gave him a chance to learn more about her since in the beginning she was like an enigma. She still is to some extent but at least things are coming out to the open slowly so that's all that matters.

But he was still hungry, after tasting Relena's food he had an urge for more. While she had her back to him, Duo took that moment to grab the spoon she previously fed him with and went to raid the pot of more soup. Relena was putting some pancakes onto a plate at this time, so when she turned back to the stove to make some more she was shocked to see Duo eating from her cooking. "Hey Duo! I said wait!" With that, Relena quickly went up to him and went to grab the spoon but Duo moved it out of the way before she could do so.

"Too slow Rellie, would have to do better than that hehe." Relena tried reaching it again but Duo once again dodged her approach and held the spoon up high so she couldn't reach. He was fully taking advantage of his height here but it was funny seeing Relena trying to get the spoon. There was no way Relena would be able to reach the spoon like this, so to help her, she pulled on his arm and lowered it enough for her to grab the spoon. This surprised Duo but he wasn't about to let go. Relena started using both her hands then. She was determined to get that spoon from him so he wouldn't think about touching her food again without her noticing.

Duo could feel his grip weakening against the force of both Relena's hands so he tried pulling it away from her. It didn't seem to work since she had a good hold of the handle, but he wasn't about to give up that easily. He began moving back a little so that he could have more space but as he was doing so he was pulling Relena along with him. It wasn't long until Relena tripped on one of Duo's feet, causing her to fall on top of him. They were both sent to the ground with Duo whincing a little at Relena's unexpected weight, she wasn't heavy or anything but he wasn't ready for it. Relena was shocked in a different way, she couldn't believe this just happened. Not to mention Duo was wearing nothing but the shorts he was wearing in the pool. So she couldn't help but blush a little at this.

Duo didn't know how to react either. She was just staring at him blankly so all he could do was stare back. What was he supposed to say or do in a situation like this? Well, any normal person would actually get up but he couldn't without Relena moving first. Still, he seemed to have lost his ability to speak as well. He wanted to ask if she was alright or if she could get off or if anything was wrong. But instead nothing. Duo had to admit she had very beautiful eyes, he had never noticed them as much as he currently did. Probably because he was never this close to observe. Now thinking about it, she was quite a beautiful girl as well. Why is it that he had never noticed these things until now? Why was his heat rate starting to increase along with his body temperature...? 'Oh god... Duo... GET HER OFF YOU!!' His mind screamed while at the same time nothing seemed to happen, he was simply frozen under Relena's presence.

Quatre walked into the kitchen then, yawning a little with how sleepy he still felt. Duo and Relena noticed him and quickly got off the ground while backing away from each other. Duo was slightly blushing, feeling somewhat embarrassed and uncomfortable with Quatre walking in on them like that, "I-It's not what you think Quatre! I mean, it just happened. Not saying it was on purpose! We were just mucking around... Not in that way either! And err, yeah and um..." After processing what he just said, Duo started wondering why he was stuttering like that. He never usually stutters. Quatre on the other hand was just staring at Duo sleepily, he heard Duo talk but he had no idea what he said. Duo was thinking he was perhaps angry or something and quickly clapped his hands together, "It was accidental Quatre I swear! It's not like I... I..." Why couldn't he finish that sentence? He was suppose to say that he didn't like Relena in that way but, why weren't the words coming out?

"Duo...?" Relena asked as she went to approach him, "Are you alr-" Before she could finish she watched Duo suddenly make his way out the kitchen quickly, not having any idea why he was in such a hurry. Was he upset or something? Did she perhaps hurt him when she fell on top of him like that? And why was his face red? Quatre came back to reality then, having himself snap out of his sleepy daze. He looked to Relena and smiled sweetly at her, "Morning Miss Relena, did you sleep well?" Relena smiled slightly and nodded in response, although her face seemed to be getting redder in the process. Quickly turning her back on him she faced her cooking and said, "U-Um... Are you... Hungry at all?"

"Yes I am a little thanks." Relena simply nodded and went back to cooking. Quatre was stunned, he never knew Relena could cook and by the smell of things, she seemed like a very experienced cook too. While walking up beside her, Quatre took the time to look over the different meals she was preparing. They all looked very good, and he could feel himself getting hungrier just by the look of it. "Wow Miss Relena, this looks great. I can't wait to try some." Relena blushed more under Quatre's compliment while stirring at some sauce she was boiling. Although unknown to her she was stirring it a little too fast and was causing it to almost fly out the pot. Quatre noticed this and quickly went behind her to rest his hands over hers, "Don't stir too fast Miss Relena, you might spill it." With that he started motioning her right hand to stir a little slower while helping her hold the pot with the left. Relena didn't know how to react, just feeling his warm hands over hers made her heart race. She almost felt bout ready to faint for some odd reason, Quatre always had this affect on her yet she had no idea why. Even last night was another one of those situations where she had no idea what was happening.

Flashback

Relena slowly opened her eyes for a moment, just barely so she could see what Quatre was doing. Was she in a way expecting something from him? The way he was staring at her with those soft, gentle eyes and the way he slowly stroked his fingers through her hair was giving her signals as to what he wanted. But what about her? Of course Relena couldn't deny she was enjoying this, he was being so gentle so why wouldn't she? Although Relena knew she was in a dangerous position, so what should she do?

She froze instantly when Quatre's hand brushed against her cheek, his fingers gliding over her soft creamy skin and eventually resting his palm there as well. His hands were so warm, yet very comforting at the same time. Being here with Quatre like this, was it a good thing? She was still confused about so many other things to even consider what might be happening between herself and Quatre.

However, Relena still remained a little uneasy, wondering if now was the best time to speak up. Quatre was a nice guy, a great guy. One who she felt she could trust more than anyone. He was caring, understanding, generous, honest, and so many other things which even she couldn't express in words. But what did he feel for her? Was he merely too drunk to even see who sat beside him here? Was he merely doing this because she looked similar to Sylvia?

Quatre started leanning towards her now, although he was doing it very slowly so if Relena wanted to back off then she had the chance to. All Relena was thinking though was how tempting Quatre's lips looked and knowing she might have the chance taste them for herself. She couldn't be bothered thinking anymore, in a way she needed Quatre. It was with him that she felt any kind of happiness at all and she owed him so much. So this could be a way to show her appreciation.

He was very close now, and Relena could feel her cheeks burning in the process. Her body temperature was rising, and rising fast, while at the same time her heart was beating rapidly. There as no turning back now, not that she even had the will to turn away anymore. So she took this chance to close her eyes, which she did, and started waiting for the moment where Quatre's lips would gently carress against hers... Which didn't happen.

Instead, when she felt him about ready to kiss her, she gave a little yelp when she slipped off the bed and landed back first into the carpet. She must have been inching away from him as he drew closer without realising it, which was probably the reason how she fell of the bed in the first place. Still, if there ever was a moment between then and now that she wanted to just die, it would have to be now.

Quatre on the other hand blinked a few times, wondering what it was that just happened. Or then again, what was going to happen. With logic now set to mind once more, he looked over the side of the bed and noticed Relena on the ground. He reached his hand out to her and asked, "Miss Relena, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

If anything, Relena was expecting Quatre to laugh at her for this clumsy display. She felt like such a clutz and deserved to be laughed at because of it. Still, without saying a word she brought her hand up to Quatre's and felt his hand gently clasp hers. He slowly helped her off the ground and went to help her back onto the bed until Relena's foot got caught in some of the blankets and resulted in her falling forward into Quatre's body.

Quatre blushed a little at this since it totally caught him off guard but he wasn't the only one blushing either. Relena slowly raised her head away from Quatre's chest but now found his face about an inch or so away from hers. She went totally still, waiting for a second to see if whether or not Quatre will touch her like he did a few moments ago. Instead he merely said, good night and slowly got back under his covers to get some sleep, facing his back to her in the process while Relena sat there for a moment, being more confused than sleepy.

End of Flashback

She didn't get much sleep last night, it felt so weird sleeping in the same bed with a guy who wasn't even your boyfriend. Not saying that she wanted Quatre to be her boyfriend but it was just an experience she wasn't very comfortable with. But she wasn't trying to say that his company wasn't welcome, hell she would love to sleep with Quatre more since he was such a nice and attractive looking guy but... 'Okay.... That thought didn't come out right...' Mental images of Quatre started coming to mind then, him cuddling up to her in bed while feeling his soft yet smooth bare skin rub against her own.

Relena's breath was taken away by the things she was imagining. She wanted to try and get these images out of her head but Quatre was just too irresistable for her to brush off. While she remained in wonderland, Quatre started wondering why Relena wasn't stirring anymore. She seemed to freeze under his hold and this has been going on for a few minutes now. Being concerned with this, Quatre turned the stove off so nothing would burn and turned Relena around to face him. The minute he faced her, Quatre noticed her face slightly pink while she seemed to be staring into space. Her eyes looked so full of emotion, the aquamarine colour just seemed to glow like jewels. He didn't know what else to do but stare. He had never seen Relena like this before, it's as though she had suddenly transformed or bloomed like a flower would when it would sprout from a bud.

"Quatre..." Relena sighed quietly, causing Quatre to look at her in question. "Yes? What is it?" He asked, waiting for her to reply. Although nothing happened, she still had that dazed look in her eyes. He was beginning to wonder if she actually did want to ask him something. 'With that look... Did she...?' He began blushing a little then, was she daydreaming? About him? He shouldn't keep his hopes up like that but there was a possibility right? He watched her eyes slowly close then, causing Quatre's throat to dry up all of a sudden. He wasn't sure why she was doing that but he felt almost tempted to ask. That was until he noticed her head slowly moving towards his. What was she doing? She wasn't really going to kiss him... Was she? This almost seemed too good to be true. Quatre was beginning to wonder if whether or not he was awake himself.

Although he had a feeling Relena didn't know what she was doing right now. Should he try snapping her back to reality so he could see if whether or not she wanted this? As much as he wanted it, he didn't want to make it seem he was taking advantage of her. That was the last thing he would want. So, why wasn't he speaking up when he should? Part of him wanted to say something but most of him wanted this. God he hated it when his emotions always got the better of him. Still, it wouldn't hurt. She did make the first move after all. Not saying he will blame this on her if she complained but still, how could he refuse?

Being caught up in the moment, Quatre slowly started lowering his head towards Relena's as well. He brought his hands up to her arms and held them gently while moving closer and closer to her. Being in the kitchen like this with her cooking, it almost seemed like they were in their own home. As though they were together and this was how life was, with no problems. That would be nice, too bad it was just a fantasy but it was nice to dream every now and then. The moment between them now was all that mattered and hopefully no one will come and-

"AHHHH WOOOOOW!!!!" Mariemaia shrieked with excitement as she ran up to the stove, hardly noticing Quatre and Relena. Relena's eyes flashed open, totally lots and confused with what was happening around her. Quatre only the other hand simply sighed and lowered his hands from Relena, he couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. Why is it that everytime he was about to kiss her, someone always happens to come and spoil the mood? He almost wanted to just kidnap Relena and take her to a deserted island where NO ONE could bother them and that way, they would get their privacy. That is if she wouldn't mind but at moments like this, he would like to do it either way.

"Rellie!! You are amazing!! This looks great!! You gotta teach me how to cook food like this!!" Mariemaia said as she smiled and turned to Relena. Relena simply smiled back and walked up beside her while telling her about each seperate dish. Quatre stood there in complete silence, he was still frustrated in some ways about them being interupted like that so he took this moment to leave. A shower would be a nice idea, that way it will cool him off a bit. He wasn't one to get annoyed so easily but this time he couldn't help it. These feelings for Relena, what was he going to do with them? In ways he didn't want to say anything to her since she had too much going on with her life as it is. She didn't need him making matters worse. But what should he do? He can't seem to hide them no matter how hard he tries. Everytime he is in the presence of Relena he would fall under some sort of spell and find his world revolving around her like she was a goddess.

While pacing around the room, Duo tried thinking through the matters of the kitchen incident with Relena. Everytime he tried thinking up some sort of reason or excuse for what happened, he would find himself at a loss. "Okay calm down Duo, deep breath. You have been attracted to many girls before and Relena is no different so relax. You will be over it within a day." As much as he tried telling himself this, the words would seem to go out one ear and out the other. There was other moments with her which got him feeling fuzzy inside as well. Teaching her how to ice skate, going shopping with her, even when they got the chance to talk he felt as though they had a close bond. Even if they grew up differently they were the same in so many ways, it was hard to believe. But now he didn't know what to do, he thinks of her a close friend but was it perhaps developing into something more? 'God this is giving me a headache.'

The door bell rang at that moment, causing Duo to snap out of his thoughts. Duo had no idea who it could be, unless if it was some relative of Marie's but she didn't mention anyone being over besides her birthday. When he reached the door, Duo unlocked it and turned the knob in order to answer it and to his surprise, he found it being Trowa. "Well hey, this is a surprise hehe. Came to see Marie?" Trowa merely nodded and watched Duo open the door wider for him to enter. When Trowa walked inside, Duo looked to his right arm and found him holding some sort of parcel. Trowa noticed him staring at it so he decided to explain, "Late birthday present."

"Oh right hehe. No worries then. Marie was outside the last time I noticed but if she's not there then she's somewhere around the house." Duo let out a few chuckles then while Trowa just stood there watching him. Duo stopped after a few moments when he noticed Trowa wasn't finding any of this funny but when he noticed him staring Duo raised and eyebrow and asked, "What's your problem?"

"That should be my line," Trowa answered, causing Duo's eyes to widden with surprise. Trowa hadn't even been here for five minutes and he could already tell something was wrong with him. God it was bad enough that Quatre had that type of ability but he didn't think Trowa did as well. But even if there was something wrong, there was no way he was going to tell anything to him. Sure he knew Trowa wasn't a bad guy since he was very close to Marie but he was still one of the guys who Heero and Wufei were close with. Trowa could tell he was getting negative vibes from Duo by the way he stared at him so he figured he better stop there. Duo's problems were none of his business so with that, Trowa started walking down the hallway to find Mariemaia. Duo on the other hand just stood there, thinking back at this dilemma with Relena again.

"There we go, it's all done." Relena said with relief with Mariemaia jumping up and down beside her, "YES! We rock Relena!" When Mariemaia had walked in on Relena cooking, she decided to help the girl out so that she could learn more about cooking. Her grandma was always the one who cooked for her family so Mariemaia never got to learn. When ever she would ask to help her grandma would just wave her off and say she was fine. Her grandpa would merely tell her that it's because her grandma didn't want her straining herself, just focus on your studies while we focus on you. They were such generous people, Mariemaia always loved being in their company but she always felt guilty when she couldn't do anything for them. Still, they probably had their reasons and she could probably guess what they were but it didn't matter.

"Well, let's set the table and get everyone here!" Mariemaia announced as she got out a large pile of plates from the cupboard, "Rellie, why don't you go tell everyone brunchfast is ready!?" Relena watched Mariemaia slightly struggle with the amount of plates she was carrying and said, "Why don't I help you set up first? It will be easier that way."

"Nonsense Rel. You had already cooked all this food for us, the least I could do is help set the table."

"But-"

"Please just let me do it." Mariemaia said in a serious tone, taking Relena a little off guard. "Sorry Relena, I just... I just want to help okay? That's not such a bad thing is it?" Mariemaia felt a little upset with snapping at Relena like that but she couldn't help it. It just seemed to come out without thinking. Relena noticed Mariemaia looked a little troubled and figured the best thing she could do is let her have her way. She didn't want to make it seem like she didn't appreciate her help, she just didn't like asking people to do things which she could easily do herself. Still, Relena smiled and said, "Alright, I'll go get everyone. I'm counting on you Marie!"

Mariemaia was relieved that Relena didn't take her outburst to heart and smiled back while walking over to the dinning room. It felt nice actually doing something for someone else this way. Since all of them were going to eat it was always more rewarding knowing you put something into what you were eating instead of making it seem like you were intruding. That's how she felt with her grand parents at times. She felt like she was taking advantage of them since they never got her doing anything. When eating she felt like she was stealing from them and even when she would sleep in their house she felt like she was some street kid who came creeping in to have a place to rest. Hilde and everyone else thought her place was great. Good that she could just focus on her own life while at the same time receiving a lot of support and love from family as well. But how could you consider yourself part of family if you never give or do anything in return for what you receive?

Relena started scouting the house for all her friends, wondering where all of them had disappeared off to but when she walked around a corner to enter the hallway she felt herself bump into someone. Quickly backing away from them she went to apologise but noticed it being Trowa. 'When did he get here?' She thought while staring at him for a moment. Trowa merely stared back at her, wondering why she looked so shock at seeing him. Relena quickly snapped out of her thoughts and bowed her head a little, "Hello Trowa, sorry for bumping into you like that. I really do need to watch where I am going don't I?" Relena raised her head and laughed a little then, feeling a little clutzy right now. Trowa on the other hand remained completely silent. Nothing but his mouth parting a little was all he could show for Relena's actions.

Relena stopped and looked at Trowa blankly for a moment, wondering if something was wrong. He looked somewhat surprised about something but she wasn't sure what. Trowa walked closer to her then, causing Relena's heart to race in the process. He raised his hand and rested it by Relena's cheek, feeling it's warm and softness before whispering, "It's been a while since I've seen you laugh like that. I'm happy for you." Relena's cheek went red then while Trowa gave a slight smile. He removed his hand slowly as he then looked around to see where they were. "Do you know where Mariemaia is?" He asked when looking back at her. Relena almost lost her ability to speak just now. For some odd reason Trowa seemed to have taken her breath away yet he hardly did anything besides touch her. Touch her in such a tender, loving way...

"O-OH!" Relena suddenly gasped, realising he had asked her a question, "S-She is um.., She's... She is..." Relena in the end decided to point while Trowa just looked in that direction and found it being the kitchen. He nodded his thanks and started walking in that direction, leaving Relena to breath in Trowa's scent as he walked off. She loved the cologne men wore, especially his. Infact Quatre, Heero, Wufei and Duo all had good taste in cologne as well. While most guys would all smell the same they all had their own distinct fragrances which seperated them from others. Not that Relena had a habit of smelling every guy she met but she always favored their scent.

'Well, better get back to finding everyone now.' As Relena walked down the hallway she found herself at the living room where Duo seemed to be. She smiled and started walking up to him. He of all people will be happy to hear that they could eat now since he seemed to be desperate to before. When walking up closer to him, she noticed he seemed to be in deep thought and didn't seem to have noticed her yet. To get his attention, Relena walked up behind him and brought her hands up over his eyes, "Guess who?" Relena said, trying to mimic Hilde's voice. Duo merely smiled, knowing that it was Relena but decided to play along. "Hmmm... Is it... Mariemaia?"

"No it's not," Relena said in her normal tone.

"How about... Our lovely principal Ms. Une?" Relena couldn't help but laugh at that since Duo thought nothing but negative things about her. "Okay okay, Marie's grandma. I'm sure of it."

"My god do I really sound that old to you?"

"Ah that angelic voice... I have a feeling I know it from somewhere..." Duo brought his hands up over Relena's then and began removing them from his eyes. "... Actually... Who could forget such a beautiful voice... Huh Relena?"

Relena blinked at that and merely shook her head, "Hardly hehe, my voice is terrible."

"No, it's beautiful and very harmonic especially when you sing."

"R-Really? I... I didn't think so..." Then it hit her, "Hang on, you've heard me sing?"

Duo nodded as he turned to face her, "Of course, remember when you were in a school band with Marie, Mueller and Alex? I was still friends with them at that time so naturally I went to watch them play while I got to hear you sing."

"Yes but... I would have thought that back then, you would have hated the sight of me."

"Maybe, but that was over the past. I still couldn't hide the fact that it was nice listening to you... And seeing you..." Relena blushed at little at that, not really understanding what Duo meant but it was nice all the same. Duo blushed a little as well, wondering why he was even saying all this stuff. It was all true but she didn't need to hear it. He didn't even notice that he was still holding her hands as well. Relena did but she didn't know what to say, in ways she was taken by surprise with Duo's kind words. She had never heard him compliment her like that before so she didn't know how to act.

"I... I never knew you thought that..." Relena said in a soft voice while Duo continued watching her, "In ways... I don't know how to take it since... I'm so used to you... You know... Hating me..." Duo felt as though someone punched him right in the gut then. The memories of him hating her came to mind again, those times when he judged her because of her parents. It wasn't fair on her, nor was it right. Now, he wished he could take it all back but since he couldn't, all he could do was atone. He brought his hands up to Relena's cheeks then, having her face him so he could look within her eyes. "Relena, I would do anything to change the bad past between us. I can't make up for all the things I said and did to you back then, but let me say now that I will do everything I can to make up for it and more. You didn't deserve it and I will always feel guilty about it. But, it depends if whether or not you will forgive me. You accepted my apology before but I'm not sure if you really have forgiven me yet."

Relena went into deep thought over that. It was true that at the time, when he came over her house that day because of English, he apologised for everything that had happened once they talked but, how did she react? All she did was listen and accept what Duo had to say. She never said anything back mainly because it took her by surprise but also, she had no idea what to feel. It was nice being forgiven, to be able to forget everything and start anew. So really, Duo deserved it as well. He had done so much for her ever since they became friends so this was the least she could do for him.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Relena nodded and said, "I have forgiven you... If anything there was nothing to forgive. I was the one in the wrong anyway so you had every right to hate me s-" Relena's eyes widdened when she felt herself within Duo's embrace then, it was so sudden she didn't know how to react. While holding one arm around her back, Duo brought the other one up behind her head and started stroking her long honey blonde hair. While breathing in it's strawberry scent Duo said, "No Relena, you did nothing wrong. Nothing what so ever so please don't say that okay...? It actually makes me feel more guilty hehe..." Backing away from her a little so he could look at her face again, he looked down at her seriously and begged, "Please... Please just say that you forgive me... That way, I won't keep having the past holding me back whenever I see you. I want to have that burden cleared so I can just carry the good memories not any old ones... Please Relena..."

She still wanted to debate with him about that. Because back then, she did do things to him which were not forgiveable. That was when she used to be friends with Sylvia and the others. To fit in she used to put herself above others while treating people like shit if they weren't as popular as she was. She used to think she was some sort of queen amoung other people at school and it wasn't right. And she did indeed give Duo crap about him being poor which definately wasn't fair considering it was her family who made him like that. Not saying that he was poor, since he wasn't but he definately wasn't rich so really, she didn't deserve his friendship. But Duo really seemed to need her forgiveness. Just looking at him she could see he was dead serious about what he said and he was staring at her, waiting for her to answer him. 'Forgive and forget... I should do that too...'

"Duo... if you can forgive me than of course I can forgive you. We can forget what happened and start again from scratch hehe." Relena smiled then while Duo smiled back as well.

"Well, I don't want to start again from scratch because...," Bringing his hands to her waist, Duo suddenly lifted her off the ground much to Relena's surprise and finished, "... We have come so far already haha." Duo felt so much weight come off his shoulders then, he couldn't help but feel so excited that now he can move forward with everything. He didn't have to worry about the past anymore, just the present and future. Right now he couldn't help but feel so happy about getting this sorted out. He started chuckling while spinning her around in a circle. Relena had her hands rested on his shoulders for support, feeling a little surprised at first but couldn't help but smile and laugh along with him.

Hilde walked into the room then, still in her bathing suit since she was wondering where everyone was. When she looked at Duo and Relena she went wide eyed at the sight before her. Why was Duo swinging her around like that, and what were they so happy about. If she didn't know better they almost looked like, a couple. When Duo placed Relena back on the ground, he gave her another big hug and noticed Hilde standing by the doorway. "Ah Hilde!" Duo said as he released his hold on Relena, "Where have you been all this time?" Hilde remained silent, not really knowing what to say. She was over Duo wasn't she? She liked Trowa right? Duo's smile started fading a little with the look on Hilde's face, she looked troubled over something. Before he could ask she had already left the room without another word.

When Mariemaia had finished preparing the table, she began wondering why everyone wasn't here yet. She knew they were all hungry so why haven't they all come yet? Just as she was about to leave the kitchen, she stopped when she noticed Trowa walk in. "Oh my god! Trowa!? Is that really you!?" Mariemaia ran up to him then and gave him a big hug, causing Trowa to cough slightly at the tightness of it. She saw him a couple of days ago so he didn't understand why she was so excited. "Ah, it's rare to have you visit me a second time with the first being so recent! Is it because you can't keep me off your mind?" She winked then, causing Trowa to pale in colour slightly. He knew she was joking but jokes like that still freaked him out no matter how many times she would use it. It was until she noticed the parcel in his hand that her cheery face vanished instantly.

"Is... Is that...?"

"Yes," Trowa merely said as he held it out to her, "It's a bit late bu-"

"No," Mariemaia said as she backed away from him, "I don't want it..."

"Perhaps, but you still want to see what's inside."

Mariemaia stared at it for a while before sighing in defeat. As much as she didn't want it, she still wanted to see what it was since it has been a whole year. Bringing her hand up, Mariemaia couldn't help but hesitate a bit as she tried reaching out for the parcel. Her hand was beginning to shake as her hand got closer and closer, she didn't know why she was getting so scared over a little package but it was who the senders were which got her feeling so nervous. Trowa stood by and watched as she tried reaching out the parcel, he continued holding it out to her patiently since he knew this was hard for her. She was actually a lot stronger than he would be in this position. If he was her, he would want to have it burnt the moment he sees it.

Mariemaia did eventually grasp the parcel within her grasp and slowly tightened her hold on it as she brought it into her arms. She took a few deep breaths and looked down at it for a moment, almost wondering what to do next. Trowa just stood there in complete silence, not really knowing what else he could say or do for her. In the end he decided to leave the room so she could have this time to herself. He wasn't Quatre so he wasn't going to help carry this burden she has but even so, he will wait here so that if she did want to talk, he would listen.

Quatre walked out of the bathroom then, feeling refreshed and a lot calmer. He didn't realise how much he really needed that. The minute he went into the shower he felt all his problems wash own the drain without any hesitation. But he still couldn't get Relena out of his mind, nothing could really, she was always there. When walking over to his bag for some clothes, Quatre began wondering what to wear until he heard his cell phone ring. He almost felt tempted to let it ring out but the longer he left it, the longer it continued to ring. Sighing in defeat, Quatre got up and walked over to it. He pressed the receive button and went to answer when suddenly he heard, "Quatre, where are you?"

"F-Father...?" Quatre stuttered, totally caught off guard with him receiving a call from his dad but with his father's next words, Quatre went completely blank.

As Relena walked into the kitchen, she noticed Mariemaia was still here but noticed she seemed very quiet about something. When she walked up to the red haired girl, Relena looked down in her arms and found it being a book with a blank silver cover. The book looked simple but quite nice, was it another present for her? She noticed the wrappings of the parcel on the floor and noticed it was the parcel Trowa was carrying earlier. "Why..." Mariemaia softly said, causing Relena to look up at her in question. "Why do they do this to me...?"

Relena had no idea what she was talking about, but grew very concerned with the way Mariemaia was behaving. She noticed tears were beginning to form in her eyes and before she knew it, one after another they began dropping from her face until the red head couldn't take it any longer. She threw the book towards a wall and ran straight up to Relena to cry her heart out. Relena was shocked but brought her arms around the girl for comfort, wondering what caused her to cry like this. She wasn't used to seeing Mariemaia so upset since she hardly ever was. She was the cheerful type who always had a smile on her face and never let herself get down no matter how bad things got. But this time it seemed something very serious got her reacting this way. Relena looked to the book on the ground and noticed it had writing in it. Was it perhaps a journal?

"Every year..." Mariemaia said between sobs as she tried calming herself down, "I get the same thing every year... Without fail..." Relena continued holding her friend close while listening to her words carefully. "I... I always receive a journal... From my parents... It tells me what they have been up to the year they are away..." Rubbing one of her eyes free of tears Mariemaia continued, "They left me when I was about three since they wanted to travel the world. I remember it perfectly clear... My mum smiling at me with her biggest smile saying 'Don't worry we won't be gone for long! We will miss you very much so keep strong until we return!' Yeah... Although it has been fifteen years since tht day. Like hell they would be back soon..." Unwrapping her arms from Relena, Mariemaia backed away from her and turned to look at the book on the ground.

"This... This 'thing' is supposed to show how much they care about me. Yet whenever I do decide to read it, I never see any, 'We miss you Marie!', 'Wish you were here!' or more importantly, 'We will be back soon!' I feel... As though they have forgotten about me, like I was a mistake or something. My grand parents have been the ones raising me up to this point and while I do appreciate it, I feel like I don't belong. Since they aren't supposed to be my parents... What's worse to is that they treat me like I'm a princess while they are my servants. They never like me doing anything. They are always so polite and nice, always wanting nothing but the best for me... But really... It's all fake. I think, they just do it in hopes to make up for my parents absence, and to make sure I grow up being the happiest I can be. But how can I... When I feel like I hardly have a family..."

Walking up to the journal on the ground, Mariemaia picked it up and started turning through the pages before continuing, "Uncle Treize is the only one who really feels like family to me. He is the younger brother of my mother. When my parents went travelling, he always came over as much as he could so he could hang out with me. It was nice since he gave me the chance to cry in his arms, allowing me to get everything out of my system then help me get better by going out and having some fun. But that has become less and less frequent since he is with Cathrine. Since he needs to focus on his life he doesn't really have much room for me anymore... This is why I'm always so active you know? To help keep my mind off of things like this. Music helps get everything out as well which is why I take it so seriously. But at times, I get ashamed of my weakness."

Folding the book over so it was closed she said, "I still get upset when this moment happens on my birthday every year... I wish that I didn't have to cry everytime this happened to me... I guess, it shows I still care. But I don't want it ruling my life, I have other things I need to focus on. But I admit, I'm getting better... I used to cry for days over this. Wishing and hoping that my mum and dad would come back... But this year, seems I only needed to cry for a few minutes hehe." Turning to look at Relena, Mariemaia gave a slight smile and apologised, "Sorry for crying on you like that. It just seemed to come out without me being ready for it."

Relena shook her head head and smiled a little, "It's fine, you don't need to apologise... I just wish I could help you..." It was odd, she never knew Mariemaia suffered from something like this. With her bubbly personality she expected her life to be full of laughter and joy as though nothing was going wrong in her life. Relena had to admire this, why Mariemaia suffered much like her, she at least tried fighting it and wouldn't let her life revolve around it. She would put on her bravest smile and face each day as it came, no matter how tough it would get. Relena on the other hand kept thinking about her problems and never did a thing to fix them, just keep crying over them hoping they would go away eventually. But they never did. That was until Quatre came along to help her. She really needed to repay him for this, she felt a lot happier now because of him.

"Thanks for listening to me... That's all I ever really need... Just so long as I can get it out I'm happy hehe." Observing the book for a moment, Mariemaia held it close to her chest and added, "One day, I will be able to face this with a smile. I will one day be able to be happy that at least my parents are having a good time. They wouldn't keep sending me these journals if they didn't care at all. Even if this wasn't the type of relationship I wanted with my parents, I will embrace it with both arms and accept it for how it is. Not wishing for anything more..."

While Trowa was leanning against a wall along the hallway, he heard the front door knock a few times. Turning his head in that direction, he wondered why they weren't using the door bell. After all not everyone would be close enough to the door to hear that someone was there. Since he figured no one else could hear it he decided to go answer it himself, he might as well make himself useful while he was here. As he opened the door, he was surprised to see it was Heero. Wearing a long black jacket with a grey button up shirt and jeans, Heero removed the black sunglasses, revealing a black bruise over his right eye and stared critically at Trowa asking, "What are you doing here?"

That black eyes was either from Wufei or himself, Trowa couldn't remember but it was one of them that's for sure. At least Heero didn't have anything broken from that fight at the party. But even so, why was he here? "I should be the one asking." Heero didn't have the time nor the patience for this. He pushed Trowa aside while entering the house. He looked around frantically and started jogging down the hallway. If Trowa didn't know any better he figured Heero was looking for Relena, but why so urgently?

Heero continued looking through every room in hopes to find her but he was getting more and more frustrated with the seconds he was wasting in searching. He should have asked Trowa when he had the chance. As he came to the kitchen, he noticed Relena and Mariemaia laughing about something. This was a shock, he was actually seeing Relena happy for once. When was the last time he saw her smile or even laugh like that? God now he wished he didn't have to do this to her...

Relena turned to look at the doorway and couldn't believe Heero was here. Mariemaia was shocked as well, not to mention she couldn't help but giggle a little, "Nice eye Heero." The japanese boy merely glared at the red head but turned his gaze to Relena as he held his hand out. Relena looked at it for a moment before looking to Heero with confusion written all over he features. "Come with me," Heero merely said as he continued holding his hand out.

"Huh? Why?" Relena questioned, feeling a little worried about all of this. Heero wasn't going to wait for her to answer. Instead he reached out for her hand and started dragging her out the room behind him. Mariemaia went wide eyed when she saw this and went chasing after them. "Hey! Let her go you bastard! You have no right to just waltz in here barking orders and just do whatever you damn well please! This is my home so explain yourself!" Heero didn't answer, he just continued dragging Relena along with him until he got to the front door. Trowa was still there and noticed what was going on, although he did nothing to stop it. He merely left the door open for Heero and Relena before closing it behind them. Leaving Mariemaia steaming at Trowa for this. Trowa turned his emerald eyed to Mariemaia and shook his head saying, "Leave them be... This is something important..."

"Huh!?" Mariemaia said, "How do you know that!?"

"I don't... I just get a feeling it is..." He merely said as he leanned against the door while folding his arms. At least this way Mariemaia couldn't try chasing after them.

"Heero!" Relena yelled as she got forced into Heero's car. When Heero got into the drivers seat, he went to start the ignition when he heard, "Heero please tell me what's going on! You're scaring me!" With that being said, Heero stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. Relena stared at him for a moment, wondering what all of this could possibly be about. But with the expression on his face, she could tell this wasn't going to be good. Heero took a hold of one of her hands and held it tightly for support before saying, "I really wish I didn't have to tell you this. Seeing you so happy, for the first time in years has got me wishing this hadn't happened... But it has... And so I need to tell you..."

As Heero said his next sentence, Relena felt as though time had just stopped around her. She was stunned by what she just heard and didn't want to believe it but at the same time she knew Heero wouldn't joke around with something like that. Her heart started to beat slower and slower while she had lost the ability to breath. Everything around her just went black as Heero's words echoed through her head.

"Relena... Mr. Darlian... Is dead..."

Author's Note: OMG OMG OMG! Have my eyes deceived me!? I've actually finished this chapter! dances Very sorry I didn't have it done sooner. When I posted my Author's Note up I said I would have this up in a couple of days. And I would have, if I was satisfied with the chapter>.> So yes, I started again from scratch which is why it took longer to wait.. again. claps hands together and bows head So very very sorry. Since it's the Christmas holidays I had the time to work on this and I decided to dedicate my whole day to get it finished. And I did so I'm proud of myself right now Yay yay hehe.

I still feel so bad though. I hope it's not too late for all of you to come back to read this. It's kind of hard really since I started this when I was under deep depression. Now that I'm content with things, it's hard to understand what I was trying to bring out from this fanfic. At the time I started, this helped me express the pain I was feeling from some things which I was going through. And sadly I have forgotten most of the things I had planned for this story lol. :P

Ah well it is not the end, getting all the depressing stuff out of the way is going to start changing a little so I can actually get into the groove of writing again The reason why this took me so long was because it was all sad but now that I'm trying to make things a little more easy going I'm writing more and more without realising it hehe. Anyways, hope I will be getting some reviews for this, that way I will know if anyone is still reading lol. And if you like, you can try contacting me on MSN messenger sometime If you have it that is hehe :P

My MSN email is the current email I'm using here on FF. net. Simply check my profile lol. And my AIM one is: Neon Fantasy DM but I don't go on AIM much compared to MSN. So yeah, contact me sometime ;) You can talk to me about the fanfic with some suggestions you may have, any questions, comments or simply to hail me for my lovely story thus far ................ LOL, ah just kidding hehe, sorry I hardly class myself as a good writer but yeah, if you would like to say hi don't hesitate to contact me. This way if I take too long bringing out Chapter 15 you can personally message me and say, "GET THE NEXT CHAPTER OUT ALREADY!!!!" But yeah I shall try getting the next chapter out ASAP .

Merry Christmas to you all!! hugs and kisses This is my present to you all hehe. Love ya, bye bye!! .