Author's Note: I have been reading a lot of 1xR lately and I just haven't discovered the fic that embodies my idea of what 1xR should be. Relena gets too clingy sometimes, or Heero doesn't understand emotions, there's drama, there's crying, and then story's over or it's incomplete. So, in the end, I just decided to write my own to show my version of 1xR as well as explore these two characters.
Thanks to my pallies M.E. and Rapunzel!
By Blue Jeans
Chapter One: Plastic Mask
Relena Peacecraft Darlian was perfect.
For one thing, she was pretty: long golden hair, sweet cornflower blue eyes, pale complexion, hell, even her teeth were nice. Her height was a bit under average and her figure was slim, but her breasts were nice and plump, and her hands were always soft and smooth.
But aside from being pleasing to the eyes, she was shockingly intelligent and witty. Relena could make a whole room laugh without having to act stupid or crude, she wrote her own speeches, and could quickly point out flaws in various proposals and ideas without being cruel. Everyone loved Relena, worshiped the ground she walked on and saw her as the bringer of peace.
Heero Yuy was one of them. He also saw her as the savior of the new Earth Sphere Alliance and knew that she was probably the strongest person in the world. That's why he couldn't leave her after the Mariemaia Incident. Well, probably not the only reason. Heero knew that he loved her and that even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to stay away from her. After all, he followed his emotions and learned to rely on his feelings when facts proved to be useless.
He had never told her about his feelings but he always thought that she knew. He was there for her, wasn't he? In fact, after becoming her personal bodyguard, he was always with her. She asked for his opinion on certain matters, he gave them. He asked her if she was getting enough rest and she told him exactly how many hours, minutes and seconds of sleep she had gotten that night, always with the same elegant smile.
But lately, things have been different. Well, not really different, but it seemed strange to Heero that everything had fallen into routine. It felt to him that Relena had become very distant to him.
He picked her up from her house in his car and drove her to work, then sat with her in her office as she worked, went with her to meetings, ate with her at lunch, then sat more with her as she worked, often having dinner with her when there was too much work to do (and there often was) and then took her home. After checking the security parameters and swept over her modest three bedroom house. Then they said good night and he went home.
Routine. And, Heero suddenly realized, impersonal.
They didn't act like two old friends or two lovers. They worked like people who knew each other vaguely. Hell, they acted like people who didn't have a history together! As if they had never chased after each other, watched each other suffer, work, persevere, there was nothing between them.
Relena didn't touch him anymore either. She used to put a hand on his arm, rest herself against him when she was tired, or lightly brush her hand against his. But those moments that were already few and far between had stopped completely.
Heero didn't like it, how did things manage to become this way? When was the last time did he see Relena really smile? He knew the last time he saw Relena truly show emotion was at Pagan's funeral where she cried the entire time in Zechs's arms, but that was over a year ago. Since then, Relena put all of her effort and time into her job, probably to distract herself from the pain but it resulted in locking herself up.
This couldn't go on. Heero threw the book he was reading across the room and stormed over to the vid-phone.
"Chang-Maxwell residence- hey, Heero!" Duo greeted his best friend joyfully, "How you doing, man?"
"Duo," Heero nodded in acknowledgment. "I need some... advice. Is it okay if I come over?"
The braided Preventer's eyes widened, "Sure, no problem, buddy. Umm advice? About what?"
"Relena."
"Whoa man!" Duo jerked backwards, "I'm going to need back up if that's the case. I'll call up Quatre and Trowa, order a pizza and stuff so come over in an hour, okay?"
"Hn." Heero hung up.
/-/-/-/
"Wow... that... that SUCKS," Duo got up from the couch where he and Wufei had been cuddling on and went over to the floor to sling an arm around his friend's shoulders.
Quatre shook his head, "We should've known, at the very least we should've had an inkling-"
"But we didn't have an inkling, Quatre." Trowa's soft voice interrupted his lover, "Most likely because she didn't want us to know... or she didn't even know about it herself. Relena distracted herself from Pagan's death by throwing herself into her work, probably not even realizing she was slowly closing herself off."
"Pagan was the closest thing to a family that she had too," Duo added. "Her foster mother died years ago and Millardo and Noin are still on Mars. 'Lena doesn't have anyone else."
Heero looked at Duo with surprise and little bit of pain, "She has me."
Duo sputtered and was about to take it back when Wufei cut in, "To be honest, she doesn't mostly because you never really opened up to her. No, don't interrupt," Wufei said when the four other men in the room opened their mouths to protest.
"We're twenty-three years old and most of us have settled down with our lives. We made a present and a future for ourselves, but you, Heero, haven't. You work and live day to day protecting Relena, but you probably have never told her how you felt about her and she needs to hear that." The Chinese man's eyes softened as he fixed Heero with a steady gaze, "How intuitive she is isn't the matter, whatever feelings you have for her need to be vocalized."
Trowa looked at Heero curiously, "How do you feel about her anyway?"
"I love her. Simple as that," Heero answered as Quatre choked on his tea while Duo let out a loud, "HA!" Even Wufei had a hint of a smile on his face. "What!"
"Don't sound so irritated, buddy, we're trying to help you here!" the braided Preventer grinned. "You sure you love her? How well do you know her anyway? What's 'Lena's favorite book? Her favorite food? Her hobbies? Her career choice before the war? Her favorite color?"
Heero felt confident about his answer to the last question, "Pink."
"Actually, it's blue," Quatre answered and flushed when Heero stared at him incredulously. "She likes lavender a lot too."
"What DO you know about her!" Duo exclaimed, "You've spent nearly every day with her since the Mariemaia incident, which was when we were sixteen! SEVEN YEARS, HEERO! Seven years and you don't know a goddamn thing about her! Where have your eyes and ears been all these years, everywhere else but on her!"
"I had to protect her-"
"I understand that, but protecting her shouldn't mean ignoring her presence entirely!" the braided pilot threw his hands in the air, "Tell me, what do you love about her anyway if you don't know her at all? Why, after all these years do you love Relena? And if you say it's because she's the bringer of peace, so help me I'll break your legs and your arms so you can't set your bones yourself!"
Heero could feel his face heating up as his friends looked at him expectedly. He glared at them but they had long since gotten used to his glare so it was a useless tactic. Finally, he sighed and muttered, "Because she's strong and smart. Because she's so open. Because when she looks at you, she looks at everything about you and finds the good in you. In anyone. Because... because, dammit Duo, she's Relena! Are you satisfied now! Is that good enough for you!" Heero yelled.
Duo looked at Quatre, who looked at Wufei, who looked at Trowa, who looked back at Duo. They all turned to Heero who was taking deep breaths and was bright red in the face.
"That's a good start," the violet eyed Preventer grinned happily at his best friend.
"A good START!"
"A very good start," Quatre smiled. "But you need to learn more about her."
"Learn about her life, her likes, her dislikes," Trowa added. "The real Relena, not the one that's on the news every day or in the papers."
"Present to him like a mission," Wufei smirked. "That'll get him working."
Duo burst out laughing and stood over him, "Okay Heero, this is your mission." Heero scowled but felt himself straighten up unconsciously at the word "mission." The pilot continued, "For the next two weeks, you have to learn something about the Vice Foreign Minister, Relena Peacecraft Darlian, everyday. This may include certain personality quirks, her preferences, her opinions, etc. Also, you have to get her to show you her emotions, no more of that elegant smile that she shows the world. And finally," Duo paused dramatically, "Make sure you make her happy. Failure is not an option, your future happiness as well as hers is on the line. Do I make myself clear?"
Heero felt himself nod, "Mission accepted."