Here's the newest update and on a side note, I'm using a new format again, where words in italic are read as thoughts. All right then, standard disclaimers apply here and enjoy!


Rekindled Flames


Relena crept down to the kitchen right before the dawn's first light and grabbed a small biscuit that was kept in the pantry. She couldn't stand to be in the same house with her mother...the house of lies and secrets. Last night's incident still rang through her mind and she was still fuming about it. But, a sound above her brought her attention back to her present situation and she could already hear Trudy walking about...before long she disappeared into the backwoods of her home, heading towards the Maxwell residence. On her way there, various scenarios played through her head of how she could approach Heero with her requests. She didn't want to be too abrupt and rash, but at the same time she didn't want to sound shy about the issue. Well seeing her father act as a politician to her hometown of Newberry, she drew her inspirations from him. With that encouraging thought, she continued on her way before a black stallion came galloping out of nowhere and took her by surprise.

The nerve of that rider...she quickly dusted off her lower dress line. When she finally looked up, the only thing that was left of the careless rider was a path of dust that wisped about on the trail. Wait until I get my hands on whoever it is... She looked towards the east and figured now that it was only a quarter past sunrise...she would have arrived at the Maxwells earlier if it weren't for that minor collision in the middle of nowhere. Right ahead of her, she could see the house and it's small stable. Before long, she was at the steps and was about to knock, but saw a note attached on the door. The cursive penmanship was light and flowed endlessly on the small parchment. "Out for a stroll."

With nowhere to go, she decided to walk around on the property, seeing that it was a nice mild summer day. The stable then caught her eye. She could already hear the horses neighing for something and she looked around outside, hoping to find some hay or sugar cubes. To her luck, she found Duo's stash of sugar cubes in a small lean-to next to the stable, "Perfect."

She pulled one of the heavy doors aside and heard two of the horses neigh in curiosity. She patted the mares down their soft necks and gave them their well-deserved sugary treats. The back stable door creaked open and she saw someone leading a black stallion inside and she thought it was the one that nearly ran her over earlier. She jumped out and tried to frighten the rider, "You know you nearly killed me this morning with your horse."

The rider didn't know what she was talking about, "Excuse me..."

"You heard me," she still didn't see the rider's face and started kicking up dirt in the back of his boots.

"I think you were mistaken." He turned around and faced his unruly neighbor, knowing that it was Relena.

"Heero..." she paused for a minute and turned bright red. "I'm so sorry..." Sweat drops began to dot her forehead.

"You see I can't ride yet, but I need to exercise my horse." He walked it back to its stall and took the reins.

"I'm so sorry..." she twisted a lock of her hair in her hands. She remained quiet for awhile and allowed Heero to dry his horse off after its morning jaunt out on the fields. She stayed by a light brown mare and as if the mare could sense something troubling the dear girl, she gently nudged Relena towards Heero's direction.

"That horse is fond of you it seems."

She smiled contently and cleared her throat, "Look...I just came here to ask you something...something that you might know, since everyone around here seems to be keeping something away from me."

He knew what she was going to ask and braced himself for those questions. "Let me guess it's about the night of your accident."

"Precisely...how did you-"

He cut her off, "I figured sooner or later...you needed to know." He closed the stall's door, "You still can't remember him?" he asked.

"Who's [him] that everyone keeps referring to?"

He stared to the ground, "His name was William Bennett and was a suitor of yours earlier this summer." He looked towards her to see if any reaction came about, but there was none and so he continued on with William's physical description to the best of his knowledge. But still, there was no reaction from her.

"I don't care about his description...I just want to know what happened on that [night]."

He was unsure how far he needed to give the pertinent information out, but he didn't want to cause anymore harm that has already been done.

"Just tell me, Heero. Something tells me you were there that night." She looked into his deep Prussian eyes.

So she does remember something. "I don't know what happened between you two prior that night, but something triggered it. I found him on top of you," he paused...not wanting to draw up the details, but continued, "clawing at your dress...it looked like you hit your head on something. I wrapped you up in my shirt and the next thing I knew it, he pulled out his gun. I heard you scream out and you started to attack him, but he shot you too." He noticed that her arms were drawing tighter around her chest and her skin had become clammy. "Are you all right?" He looked worried.

"I'm fine," her breathing was shallow, "just go on."

"I think I should just stop right now."

"I need to know the truth, I can't stop running from it."

He realized that she wouldn't leave until the whole story was finished, "He dumped your body in the lake, Relena. He left the both of us to die right there."

The last sentence just punched her in the stomach and now the whole truth ached in her ears. She grabbed hold of one the stable's wooden posts and clung to it, trying to balance herself. Heero didn't know what else to do, but grabbed her in his arms and pulled her close to his chest. He felt her warm tears trickling down onto his white cotton shirt and he remained quiet, allowing Relena to come to grips with the truth. He heard her say something, "Thank you...my Pegasus," and she fell limp in his arms.

"Relena?" He figured that she fainted from the onslaught of information and gently laid her in a nearby haystack...Sally would have scorned at him for carrying her back to Duo's home. With that, he resumed his business of grooming the horses, while keeping an eye on his sleeping neighbor.


"What do you mean they haven't found him yet?" Milliardo banged his fists on the table and tried not to reveal his true identity to the sheriff.

"There are hardly any tracks left in the vicinity of where he bailed out." The sheriff lay back in his chair. "Even the hounds tried their best...that Bennett boy must have found some ravine and crossed it. The dogs could only track up to the edge of Winfield's borders, which suggests that he may have fled into Western Springs." He continued on with his slight southern accent, "But my friends there tell me, they saw Bennett awhile back at the local hotel there...it wouldn't make sense for him to go back."

"And why are you still on the job?" His eyes glared with fury.

"Look mister, I try to do my best to uphold the law around these neck of the woods. Looking for replacements is pretty hard to come by these days...since it seems no one wants to do the dirty work."

"I think this town overpays you too much." He left the small station in disgust that this "so-called" sheriff was still on the job and for these weeks, no one had the whereabouts of William Bennett. If I had my way, this wouldn't have happened in the first place...none of this would have-

"Pardon me, sir, sorry about that." A man in his early twenties walked right into Milliardo with a small bag of food.

"Here let me help you with those," he picked up some fruit and a small loaf of bread. He looked into the man's face and the eyes triggered something in his mind, but he brushed it off...seeing that he was paranoid of a killer-to-be was on the loose.

"Gladly appreciate it." The man tipped his hat and was off on his way towards his black stallion.

What an odd fellow...Milliardo continued on his train of thought and it was something about that man that still made alarms sound off in his mind. He saddled on his horse and rode home, trying to take his mind off of William Bennett. The stress of the past several weeks have been taking a toll on his mind and body, but he didn't want anyone to really know what was going on.

Lu could already see her husband coming off from the main road and she held their infant son closely to her. She bounced the baby in her arms and he smiled back right her. "Look Papa is coming home." She picked one of his small stubby arms and gently waved it towards Milliardo. The boy looked in the direction of his father and giggled out loud. "Any news from the town yet?"

"Nothing new...that sheriff back there is useless." He dismounted and walked over towards them, giving both of them a light kiss.

"You look like you could use some sleep."

"I'm fine."

"Tell me, Zechs, you can't fool me."

Whenever his wife used his alias, he knew she had picked something up and was going to press the matter until he caved in. "It's nothing, honestly."

She juggled the baby in her arms, "I know something is wrong. You can tell me anything, Zechs. After I rode all the way from Boston after just a week of giving birth, I think I can handle anything."

"All right...all right...you win." He ran his hand through his short hair, "I bumped into this man and he had the same eyes like William. The resemblance was uncanny...I might be just going crazy."

"You might...you might not be...but I don't want you to start accusing people of looking like William." She sat next to him on the porch steps and gave him their son, "Did you see anything else of his features?"

"No," he said at point-blank.

"Well maybe he's just a passerby."

"Maybe."

"But right now, I think both father and son should have a nap time." She noticed that both father and son yawned at the same time.


A knock was heard on the senior Yuy's office door. "Who is it?"

"Mr. Yuy, someone is looking for Heero." His secretary called from the other side of the door.

"Tell whomever it is, he's no longer working here." He continued to work on a stack of papers. Ever since his son left the firm, cases were starting to pile up nonstop. Why Heero did you have to ruin your life...by going to that [bar]...he looked at the clock and noticed it was already half past nine. And to have my rivals exploit the story...it makes me sick. He still remembered the day when Heero went to visit him in trying to clear up the mess, but only matters worsened due to his arrogance and violent temper. The words still stung in his conscience and now he wished he had taken those words back. What have I done...

The secretary returned to her main desk and politely told the woman about the news.

"Are you sure?" The lady looked like she was on pin and needles and yet, she concealed a false secret.

"I'm sure, if you would please excuse me, I need to continue on with my work." The secretary started to write out some letters in calligraphy and didn't pay anymore attention to the woman standing in the front entrance.

The woman left the office and walked out onto New York's streets. How dare she treat me like that as if I were some kind of trash. She went over to a local restaurant and ordered a cup of coffee. When the waiter had placed the cup in front of her, she paid him and minded her own business again. She stared into the brown liquid and saw her own reflection. She remembered the night that Heero had entered the local bar that she was working at. His shirt was raveled and he was tired from arguing over a four-hour case that he had lost to one of his father's rivals on a business merger. On that night, she served him some whiskey and before long, he was talking about the case he lost. She tried to follow through his slurred conversation, but kept nodding at various parts.

Unaware to the two of them, a photographer was in the bar just minding his own business until he caught Heero talking to her. He watched intently knowing that the son of a formidable attorney was at a bar, making a total fool out of himself. Right then, he saw Heero grab her and kissed her. Without a moment to lose, the photographer quickly took the picture and left the area. It was that flash that brought her out of their kiss and everyone quickly turned their heads, pretending as if nothing had happen. Heero avoided eye contact as he stumbled out onto the streets, but she just remained at the table, trying to ignore the whole incident. The next day later, everyone started to call her as Yuy's mistress and her world came crashing down. She even had to change her name of Sylvia to Cynthia several times. And now, she wanted compensation from him, figuring that he was too drunk to remember the incident, she would play the role of being pregnant and claim Heero as the father. Only problem now, she couldn't find him anywhere. Where can you be, Heero? She grasped the cup and pondered on his possible locations.

At a table ahead of her, she saw a man leave his newspaper and decided to read it for herself. It was the paper from Western Springs. She leafed through the pages quickly, the same boring news about country-life and various sales from shops. But then, there was a tiny article on the Peacecraft incident that caught her attention and she skimmed over the lines until one name popped up from it. So there you are, you've been hiding in Winfield all this time. An evil smile graced her soft facial features.


Relena started to scream out in her sleep, as events of her encounter with William started to filter in her dreams. She saw the menace in his green eyes and she fought him as long as she could. "Stop it...no!!!" All she heard were his laughs mocking at her weakness and then she heard Heero's voice in her dream. "Heero," she called out and she started to scream again as William kept taunting her mind.

"Get a hold of yourself, Relena." Heero came running towards her in the haystack, trying to calm her down. He saw one of her hands came flaying near him and caught it in midair before she had a chance to slap him, but in her dream, she was trying to slap William. He tried to shake her in hopes of waking her up. "It's me, Heero."

"Get away from me, William!" She started kicking at her supposed assailant and resumed her screaming.

Heero had no choice but to pin her down...he didn't know how long she would last like this in her dream. He screamed her name again, but then it didn't help at all. He took a couple of more kicks from her, "Snap out of it. You're safe!" His back started to ache and yet he kept a strong grip on her until she managed to wriggle one of her arms away from him. The slap landed on his left cheek and he keeled over on her. He tried to get up but his back wouldn't listen to his commands. This is just perfect... he grimaced.

Relena quieted down awhile and then her eyes opened, wondering who was on top of her, "Heero." She tried wriggling out from under his weight, but couldn't.

"Hn."

"What happened?"

"You were having a nightmare about William." He tried getting up again, but it was another unsuccessful attempt.

She shifted him off of her chest and he landed right next to her. Her face was red again, "How bad was I?"

"Very bad." He rubbed his back slightly. The lateral position of the past several minutes didn't do any justice to his wound.

She noticed that his left side of his cheek was a bright red hue itself, "Did I do that too?"

He nodded a yes in response.

"I'm so sorry." She slowly got up from the hay and helped Heero up too. She could tell that he was in pain still. "Here let me look at your back...I hope I didn't rupture anything." A worried look crept on her face.

"I'm fine."

"Oh stop putting up that strong front of yours and let me look...obviously it'll be hard for you to check on the wound without a mirror." She twirled him around and lifted the cotton shirt, a piece of cotton bandage was still there just in case anything happened. "It doesn't look like it ripped."

"You satisfied now." He pulled his shirt back down.

She could tell that he was still tense from the incident and she started to massage the area lightly. She felt the muscles beginning to relax a little and she thought she heard a soft moan come from him. "Why did you save me back then?"

Silence enveloped them, as he felt her hands still roaming on his back, "I'm not too sure..." He leaned his arms against the wooden post, but he knew the answer to her question. A funny feeling ran through his heart and it started to cloud his senses...it was love. "Relena...I..." The words just stuck to his tongue and he tried to say them, but he couldn't. All of his defenses of keeping her out had finally broke down and he was now out in the open. He remembered their first kiss by the lake...it was long yet there was something he had never felt before.

He turned around and grabbed her hands.

"Are you all right?" she whispered. She noticed that he kept moving closer to her. She could feel his breath on her face. She was about to say something, but he silenced her with his fingers. Her heart began to flutter and she could feel her face blushing again.

All of a sudden, she felt the assault on her lips and knew this was her answer to her question. Memories from before faded as new ones were created from this moment. She felt him lifting her up and before long, the feeling of soft hay surrounded her.

"Welcome back." He paused for a moment and looked down on her.

"It feels good to be back," she smiled and threw a fistful of hay at him. Right then, the two began a mini warfare of tossing hay at each other with laughs escaping from both of them. She never recalled him laugh before, but now she knew that there was a soft side to him after all. "I surrender...you win." She felt more hay being dumped over her. "Why did you do that for?" She knew Heero wouldn't say anything else, and she tried to pin him down. Inadvertently, he managed to pin her down. She didn't do anything else, but stare into his eyes. She then reached up to kiss him and he accepted.

Right then, he began to fumble with her summer dress. The faint green fabric was smooth under his hands and he found the row of buttons. Soon after, her lacy petticoat was revealed. But at the same time, she removed his shirt and kissed him under his chin. "Are you sure about this?" he asked and she nodded in return. She felt the straps loosen along with the fabric falling away from the top, where it eventually landed near her waistline. A light breeze swept against her, but Heero's warmth lessened the effect.

His caresses were gentle and it took her mind off of William for awhile. "Do you think he'll ever be found?" She pulled away from his hands and kiss.

He pulled her close to him and shielded her body, "Yes...it might just take some time." He played with a strand of her honey blonde hair, "We both survived, didn't we?"

She snuggled closer to him and felt his heartbeat against her cheek. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that her day would turn up like this, but she was glad it did. She sought her answers to her troubling questions; yet in turn, she found that love was still there for her and William's grasp in her mind was weakening.

The two remained there and listened to the horses in the background. All of a sudden, grumbles came from both of their stomachs. "It looks like you skipped breakfast, Heero."

"And so did you," he replied back.

"Not really, I had a little biscuit this morning."

"I'm sure Duo has something in the kitchen." He got up from the hay and buttoned his shirt. He helped Relena off the haystack and helped her with the straps of her petticoat, making sure he didn't tighten the straps too hard. After that, he helped her button her dress.

The two emerged from the stable, trying to act as if nothing had happened. They snuck through the back door, hoping to escape from Duo if he was home. "Come on," he signaled for her to follow him to the kitchen. He quickly went to the small icebox and to his amazement; a small portion of turkey still remained. "How does a turkey sandwich sound to you?"

"Sounds great," she smiled. She left him for a small time and ventured into the dining room that was decorated with the rice paper. She remembered seeing the room before and how she first met Heero. In the background, she heard him place the plates on the table and came to his side.

"Well here's lunch." He dressed the white porcelain plates with small slices of cantaloupe and honeydew melon to accommodate the sandwiches.

"It looks great." She took a small bite into the sandwich and the sweet meat just flooded her taste buds. She noticed that he watching her as she chewed and nearly choked on her food. "What?" She covered her mouth with her right hand.

"Nothing." He bit into his sandwich and chewed contently. Right then, he heard footsteps coming from the back door and not before long, Duo popped into the room.

"I see that we have a guest here." He walked over to Relena, "So how are you doing today?"

"Just terrific, Heero made lunch actually." She finished the last of the fruit pieces on her plate.

He looked towards the plates, "I see and it looks like he was occupied with something else," he pulled a piece of hay from Heero's shirt.

The two began to blush lightly in their faces and if anyone heard about their secret liaison, they would never hear the end of scorns coming from their neighbors.

"Well it's about time you two finally got together," he grinned and grabbed a piece of cantaloupe off from Heero's plate when he was leaving to the back door.


TBC

It looks like more trouble is brewing for our couple with Sylvia on her way and who is this mysterious guy that appears out of nowhere....hmmm. Could it be William? Special thanks goes out to my reviewers from last time: Ladybug, CrimsonDragon010, and Sakura123. Well thanks for reading and please review, I would appreciate the feedback. =)