Hi everyone, here's the long awaited update...two months in the making! Thanks for hanging in there and I appreciate your loyalty. I would like to a give a special thanks to my reviewers from the last chapter: Sakura123, CrimsonDragon010, Wing, Ladybug, Bulma BriefsYue Lover, Nubia, and Sarah. Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Anyhow, enjoy the chapter!


Summer's End


"You look different today..." he looked towards his sister and saw a glow around her.

"What makes you think that?" She tried to dance around the subject of Heero, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"It's just something about you...that's all." He handled Liam with great care and bounced the boy off his knee. "How's Heero doing anyway? It seems like he triggered your memory back."

She blushed at the sound of his name, "He's doing fine actually...I see him from time to time training his horse."

"I see," there was something in her voice that didn't sit too well with him. "Would you like to hold Liam now? I think he wants his aunt."

Relena cradled the boy in her arms and the two became silent until Lu came out with small glasses of ice tea. "Ah look at that, it looks like Liam has a liking for you...he's never that quiet around us."

The aunt smiled modestly and continued to look into her nephew's eyes. The boy giggled as she lifted him up to the sky and brought him back down. She wondered what her family would be like in the future, even though she might be a few years away from giving birth to children of her own.

"Well I'm heading into town for some supplies...the stable needs some fixing up." Milliardo got up from his seat, "I'll be back soon."

"All right dear, I'll see you later." With her husband gone, Lu honed her attention on her sister-in-law, "So what have you been up to lately?"

"Nothing at all, just letting the summer days pass," she continued to hold Liam in her arms. He was nestled against her chest. "I think he's ready for a nap."

"And I think so, myself." She went back into the house and pulled the bassinet into the shady corner of the porch. She carefully lifted her sleepy son from Relena's arms and placed him in his tiny bed.

"He's getting heavy."

"He's a good eater...I guess he takes after Milliardo," a small laugh escaped from her lips. "So what have you really been up to?" She veered their discussion back to Relena again, after noticing the girl was trying to avoid the subject.

"Nothing really," she felt her face flush and the warm summer heat didn't do any justice. "Just trying to catch up here and there." She looked out into the pasture, "It just seems odd how my life has turned in these past few weeks."

"You've been seeing him, haven't you?"

"Excuse me?" Her eyes felt like they were going to fall out of their sockets...she didn't think that Lu could pick up on it so soon.

"Well do tell...I practically have all day," she reached over for a cold glass of ice tea. "I'm very sure Liam won't stir yet."

"You wouldn't tell mother, would you?" She was apprehensive in giving the details out, not knowing how Lu would react.

"You know I wouldn't at the track record from the two of you. And from my point of view, she drew Milliardo almost to the breaking point."

She took a deep breathe in and all of a sudden, a torrent of words burst outward from her lungs, "I've been seeing, Heero." The last syllables of her sentence lingered on her tongue for awhile, but she finally felt relieved that it was out in the open...the secret that she was hiding from everyone for the past week.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" She continued to hold her glass in one hand. "Love can make your mind go delusional at times...I'll attest to that fact, but it's worth it." She looked over to her sleeping boy and noticed a soft angelic look on his face.

"I guess you're right," and yet, she still held part of her secret from Lu...not wanting to spoil the warm tingling feeling that was resonating in her heart. "Well, I must be on my way now...thanks for everything Lu."

"All right then, take care now and stop by whenever you want."

With that, Relena walked back onto the familiar road and decided to make a short errand to Duo's home hoping to see Heero there. On her way there, she remembered some of their midnight rendezvous after their first reunion back in Duo's stable. During those "dangerous" escapes from the house, she never felt so alive before and that breaking every rule in the book was self-rewarding...she didn't care what her mother would have thought...this was her own life. It was as if the accident had unsealed her inner self and her true feelings for her mysterious neighbor. There were still some things she didn't know about him personally, but she felt the tidbits of information would reveal themselves to her one day.

She could still feel his arms around her and his gentleness made her yearn for more. She didn't know how long she could keep her feelings bottled up and at times, she felt like she would blow the whole secret out to everyone that she knew. She glanced up ahead and noticed the familiar surroundings and before long, she spotted Duo reading the morning newspaper. Without looking up from the article, "He's out in the stable again...as usual."

"Thanks, Duo." She headed off into the direction of the stable and before long, she saw him working in the back. "Hi there," she pushed one of the stable doors aside. "You seem to work in here nonstop."

"Hn." He continued to pound on a wooden crate of some sort with a hammer. The sweat glistened in the soft light that filtered through the wooden boards. "Duo ordered something from the general store and it finally came this morning."

"Why isn't he opening it?" She tried to hold the box in the place, while he tried to open it by jarring a nail at the corner.

"You know how he is..." The sounds of wood splintering interrupted his sentence, "...Hilde should be here any moment now."

"Ahh that's right," she smiled. "How long have those two been together?"

"Pretty much the whole summer." He dug into the crate and pulled out the polished black leather saddle. "What was he thinking?"

"Are you going to ride again?" She fingered the material in her hand.

"Not too sure...I just train Duo's horses that's all." He placed the object right onto a vacant stall's ledge, where Duo would find it.

"You're afraid to go back on a horse, aren't you?" She stepped closer to him.

"No I'm not," he moved away from her. The two heard sounds of laughter already coming from the front of the stable, "It looks like Hilde is here now."

"Don't you dare change the subject." She stepped even closer to him, "You're really afraid, aren't you?"

"As I said before, I'm not." He went over to his horse that Duo supposedly gave to him.

Relena started to do the math in her head and came up that it was nearly four weeks since everything had happened. "Prove it." She went over to the rear of the stable and grabbed some stirrups along with a decent comfortable saddle.

He roughly grabbed the objects from her hands and prepared his horse for his first test run...or rather ride. "This isn't going to be pretty."

"I don't care...you've been avoiding to ride all this time and here you were being mister tough." She watched him lead his horse out into the pasture. "Well go on..." she nudged him further.

He dreaded the thought of making a total fool out of himself and with a grunt as a reply, he clamored onto his horse's back. The height from the ground didn't faze him, but the fact that his legs might not be in good working condition concerned him. He didn't know how bad that gunshot wound was, even though Sally made sure that his senses in his legs were intact. He made a light cluck sound with the roof of his mouth and urged his horse to move forward. The initial steps jarred his back slightly, but he held the pain in. He wanted to prove Relena wrong and tighten his handle on the reins. He gently nudged his horse to a canter and that was a big mistake. He forgot how fast his horse was and before long, he was bouncing up and down in his saddle.

Relena noticed that he was in trouble and ran over to the renegade black stallion, hoping to slow it down somehow. "Easy boy...easy now." She raised her hands slightly and before long, the horse obeyed her and tossed the rider out of his saddle onto the barren pasture.

"Thanks partner, for your help." He looked at his horse and noticed it laughed at him with a cheesy grin. He rubbed his tailbone area and regretted the ride.

"Are you all right, Heero?" She looked cautiously over him to make sure there weren't any cuts or minor injuries.

"I'm fine...and see...I told you I could ride still." He continued to rub his tailbone.

"I think your riding skills could use a little more work." She pulled him off from the ground.

"Hn." He dusted off his pants and walked with an odd gait.

"Do you need some ice?" She noticed that Heero was in some discomfort.

"I can manage." He stared straight ahead and eyed the stable. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his horse was moving along with them...maybe hoping that he would receive some type of treat for his morning jaunt. He's not getting a sugar cube from me. The trio finally arrived in the hay-strewn stable and Heero led his horse inside to its small stall. It quickly noticed that Heero left him without his treat and stuck his head onto the side hoping to get some attention.

Relena noticed his little temper and snuck in the sweet treat into his lips. She gently patted his forehead and rubbed part of his neck, "Good boy."

"Traitor." He could have sworn the horse teased him again.

"I think he's a well-natured horse." She continued to run her hands through his mane. She said her good-byes to the gentle creature and went out the stable. She heard footsteps behind her and felt his arms wrapped around her petite waist. "You should treat your horse more kindly you know. He might listen to you one of these days." She clasped her hands over his hold and leaned into his chest.

"He's just jealous." He took her scent of roses in.

"What makes you think that?"

"All of Duo's horses rejected him."

"Oh really?" She looked into his eyes. "Maybe I should bring in my mare then...she's been restless as long as I can remember."

"Maybe." He shifted the conversation to something else, "Why don't we take an afternoon dip?"

"Now..." she looked at him with a queer eye, "I still have errands to run and my mother will think I ditched her again. I have to meet with Martha in the late afternoon."

"The errands can wait, you still have some time left." He looked up in the mid-summer sky and noticed that the season was going to end soon. "You're going back to Newberry in another month."

The time frame hadn't hit her yet and now it finally did. She didn't realize how fast the time passed and once the summer was finished, she knew her monotonous life back in Newberry would begin again. And besides from that, her father's term would be up for anyone's taking in the coming fall. "I guess you're right...I haven't really given any thought to it."

Without saying a word, he led her to the familiar path. Throughout their walk, the two remained quiet, but he kept a strong hold in her hand and tried to reassure her that everything was okay. He knew he was leading her to the spot where everything had occurred, but in Winfield, this was only the largest body of water, where they could get some privacy. In no time, they were finally there.

"It looks so different now," she felt the goose bumps pierce her skin and a slight shudder vibrated throughout her body.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" He looked directly into her eyes and gauged her reaction.

"No...it's fine. I need to face my fears and not run away. I don't want him to win still," her voice didn't quaver one bit. Before Heero had any say to the matter again, she discarded her summer dress and plunged into the cool water.

Panic struck through each muscle fiber in his body when she hadn't resurfaced in the minutes that passed and he looked toward the area where she went in. The area didn't look too shallow enough to hit her head or any of the sort. Where is she? Various scenarios played throughout his mind, and without anymore hesitation, he dove in himself in hopes of finding her. He felt the minutes pass quickly by him and he still couldn't find her. He resurfaced and looked in the surrounding vicinity and didn't find anything except for weeds and floating leaf matter here and there. "Relena!"

"I'm right here, Heero." She tapped him on his shoulders.

"Don't you ever do that again," he wiped some water from his eyes. "I thought you drowned in the murky waters."

"I just dove down by a weed bed," she treaded the water to the best of her ability.

"Don't ever scare me again." He bobbed down into the water to clear his thoughts. He could have sworn that the accident had made her more spontaneous now. Before the accident, she seemed quiet and reserved. When he went back for air, he found her still treading water and to get a little payback from his earlier scare, he grabbed her and pulled her down into the murky water. The two remained there just peering at each other knowing they had seen more before. He paddled his way towards her and embraced her in the water. Before they knew it, they were both kissing each other and sharing their breaths together. The urge for air finally brought the couple back to the surface.

"That was amazing," she still tried to control her breathing. She could still see Heero conveying a slight sparkle in his eyes...the desire of lust. Her emotions started to boil over, but she had to stop them before anything else happened like before, "I have to be going now, I can't let my mother wait on me all afternoon...it would just set a bad precedence if my mother has guests over at this very moment." She quickly made an attempt to head towards the shore, but she heard Heero coming after her.

"Just stay a little more."

She immediately changed the subject, "It sure seems like your injury has healed from this morning."

Her statement caught him off guard, "It hurts here," and pointed to his lower back. "And here," he then pointed to his biceps.

"The oldest trick in the book. And when did you start showing your pains?" She was placing her dress on when she felt his hands stop her. "I need to leave now," but in her heart, she wanted to stay with him forever in his arms. A soft moan escape from her lips, as she felt his hands caressing over her wet shoulders. She spun around and looked into his rejuvenated eyes...there was a softness she hadn't seen before and it brought out the Prussian hue within them. "I promise I'll be back soon," she could feel the straps of her corset falling from her shoulders and she quickly readjusted them.

A look of defeat shown in his eyes, but he didn't dare complain. He helped her tie her corset, "You know where I'll be."

"I know," she leaned up towards his forehead and kissed him.

Before she was out of his grasp, he stole one more kiss from her and let her go.


She ran as fast as she could in hopes of not angering her mother for her tardiness. She hadn't told Heero that there was going to be another ball...thanks to the courtesy of Trudy of overhearing her mother's conversation with Martha. "I wonder what's she up to now...I swear if she's going to plan something, she won't hear the end of it from me." The front porch was in her sight and she raced up the steps. Without knocking, she quickly stepped in, hoping that her mother and her guests wouldn't be in the nearby living room or foyer.

"There you are, Relena," her mother's voice rang through the quietness of the house. "Martha's here at this moment. Why don't come in and sit with us for awhile? We're in the midst of planning the last summer ball."

Relena rolled her eyes and smoothed out her dress, "Hello Mrs. Adams," she said curtly.

"And a good day to you, child. My...did we just have a brief summer storm? You're soaking wet right down to your skin." The old woman looked shock and confused in the moment.

"No...I just decided to go for a quick dip in the lake." She seated herself at a chair far away from the two of them as possible.

"Well dear, you should have known we were going to have some guests over." The matriarch sipped from a cup of rose tea. "Anyhow, how does this coming Saturday at seven sound to you? I figure some of the families will be leaving soon for the fall season. I've already taken the liberty of calling come of our closet neighbors already."

She figured that her mother was already in the post-planning stages of their ball, "It sounds wonderful. Would you mind if I invite Heero to the ball?"

Her mother pondered on that request for a couple of minutes, "Well...whatever you want my dear." She knew she couldn't deny her only daughter's request, since he was the one that regained her memories.

"It looks like I finally get to meet this Heero of yours," a sparkle of gossip flashed in Martha's eyes. "I never really did have a chance to introduce myself to him and I'm sure the other ladies would be glad to meet him too." The old woman shuffled from her seat and headed for the door. "I'll see you Saturday night then dear at seven."

Relena nodded from the living room's entrance after seeing Martha to the door. She looked towards her mother afterwards and the two remained quiet from one another. She finally broke the silence, "Well, I'm going to let Heero know he's invited for the final summer ball."

Her mother broke out of her contemplation, "Won't you be staying for dinner? Trudy said it would be served soon."

"No...I'll just grab something at Duo's." With that said, she escaped from her home once more.

"Hello, Relena, where are you going at this hour?" Her father looked at his watch, as he called out to her.

"I'm just heading towards the Maxwells," she yelled back.

"I see...well then take care yourself." He walked towards the front of his summer home and saw his wife staring out the window. "Why do you look so blue?"

"Hmm," she was brought out of her reminiscing. "I think our daughter's in love actually." She was thinking about the times when Relena needed her as a child and the mini tea parties she held in the dining room with her dolls. "I'm losing her slowly."

"We have to let go eventually, my dear," he hugged his wife by her side and peered out to the disappearing image of their daughter beyond the forest tree line. "It looks like we have the whole house to ourselves...well almost."

"What are you insinuating now?" She looked up into her husband's crystal blue eyes and how she fell in love with him for the first time.

"How about this proposal...a dinner under the stars tonight? The weather seems it will cooperate for the time being and I'll send the maids home early." His eyes held an inquisitive look in them and showed his inner youth was still vibrant.

"It sound like a plan," she clung to him tighter.


Relena arrived by sunset and watched the summer sparrows flock to one of their spring nesting sites with their chirps echoing everywhere. Almost there...what do I say to him? I don't know if he wants to go this ball. The chirps interrupted her thoughts for awhile...think. She started to talk to herself aloud, "Hi Heero...guess what...you're invited to my mother's ball!" No no...too outgoing...it makes me sound like an idiot that desperately needs an escort. "Hi Heero...would you be interested in attending my mother's ball? If not, I understand." That sounds better though, but something's missing from it. She kept talking to herself and was unaware that someone was watching her. Of all possible times, why do I have to become speechless now? Her pulse quickened as the house came closer and that she could almost walk onto the front porch. Here goes nothing...she knocked firmly on the door hoping someone would answer. Two minutes passed by and no one answered the door yet. Guess I'll try another time. She looked down at her feet and started to head away from the door when she bumped into someone. The scent from the shirt made her look up. "Heero," she was speechless at that very moment.

"What brings you here?"

"Um um," she began to fidget with the corner of her dress. Then in rapid fire succession she blurted the words out, "Would come to the my mother's dance this Saturday around seven?" She felt like her heart was going to explode any minute.

Heero's ears tried to register what she blurted out, "Let me get this straight...you're inviting me to your mother's dance."

She nodded curtly as her mind tried to catch up to speed on the current situation. But then, she started to ramble, "If you don't want to come that's fine with me and I know you don't like these social events in the first place. And if you do want to come, that's great too and I know you have a couple of intrigued socialites waiting to meet you."

"I'm in," he whispered, but he knew she didn't hear him at all during her mini rampage of possible scenarios that could happen. He knew one thing that could bring her down to earth...he reached over to her and kissed her on her lips. He held her face in his hands, "I'll go with you."

She felt like an idiot at that moment and her face flushed even redder. She smiled sheepishly, "Thank you."

"Will this be one of those white-gloved dances again?" He tried to strike up a conversation again.

"Of course," she teased him with a kiss, "why wouldn't it be?"


TBC

How will the summer season end...will it end in tears or joys? Stay tuned. Please review, I would love any type of feedback and thank you.