Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters from it.
Twisted
By Symee-Sama
WARNING: HARSH LANGUAGE.
Relena tensed, competently scanning the area for intruders. He's good. She thought, irritated that she couldn't pinpoint his location. She knew he was there. He was always there, but she could never seem to find him until he chose to show himself.
With surprising speed, she spun, catching the punch that was aimed at her delicate seeming face and throwing one of her own. She sized up her opponent, silently thanking Heero for the long hours of training her had forced her to endure, while silently cursing him for not appearing to help her.
Shrugging off her annoyance, she moved in a circular pattern, still searching for weaknesses or anything that might help her win this fight. Even though she wasn't necessarily going to be an easy target, her opponent was bigger, faster, and moved with a cat-like grace, that Relena could only dream of. She knew that she wouldn't be able to beat this masked entity without a hell of a lot of luck.
Look on the bright side, Relena thought wryly as she dodged their second punch. Few months ago, you would've been unconscious by now. She attempted a kick of her own, only to have the assassin catch it, twisting her foot so that she was thrown to the floor.
The world seemed to be spinning as Relena was lifted to her feet, and the masked assassin pushed her against the wall, pinning her easily as his hand circled her throat. Relena struggled mindlessly, panic snaring her as her oxygen supply dwindled. It couldn't end like this!
Anger pushed away fear, clearing her mind as she thought of her only course of action. She brought her hands down as hard as she could on the sides of the assassin's throat, shocking them into releasing her before channelling all her anger into a kick that sent them stumbling to the floor.
"Good," a familiar voice, slightly winded, stopped her from running away. With shaky stunned movements, she knelt beside the fallen figure, pulling away the black cloth that obscured his face.
"Heero?" She smiled slightly, shaking her head. "Why don't you ever introduce yourself normally? There's no need to be afraid of Pagan, you know. You can come through the door. It's allowed."
He hesitated only a moment before returning her smile; a soft, unsure smile that was reserved for her and her only. "I had to test you somehow, and this way seemed reasonable at the time." He stood up, and extended his hand to her. "Where did you learn that move?" He asked as he helped her to her feet. "I've never seen that used before."
"Hilde," Relena replied offhandedly as she dusted off her pants. "She figured that it would be a good thing for me to know." She moved away from him, needing to increase the distance between them. "And why did you choose today of all days to test me?" She asked softly, her arms crossed over her chest. "You know that it's my day off."
"I…" Heero looked past her, to the footsteps that approached them at a steady pace.
"Miss Relena," Pagan's voice rang against the grand hall, unperturbed by the fact that Heero was standing beside her. "Your brother is on the phone for you."
"Thank you, Pagan," Relena replied absentmindedly. "Please tell them that I will be with him in a moment." She stole a glance at Heero, searching his face for a clue to what he was thinking. She heard Pagan's retreating footsteps, and looked expectantly at Heero. "You never answered my question."
"I just wanted to see if you had been practicing," he said flatly, ruthlessly destroying the fanciful lines that had been running through her mind.
"Practicing," she repeated slowly before turning away from him. "I need to talk to my brother. Please feel free to have the run of the house." She smiled slightly. "I dare say that you know your way around.
Heero nodded, watching as she walked away from him, and cursing himself for not being able to tell her the truth. Why couldn't he bring himself to tell her that he had come to see her? He shook his head ruefully. He had saved the world twice over, but was deathly afraid to tell a girl that he liked her.
He could already hear Duo laughing at him.
&8&8&8&8&
Milliardo, I can assure you that I have no problem with Heero as my body guard." A rare smile graced Relena's tone as she argued good naturedly with her older brother. "He has been every bit the gentleman and I've been much safer since he took the position."
Zechs frowned, but decided to leave it as it was. He wasn't able to protect Relena from here, and the next best person for the job was Heero, despite any personal feelings that were shared between the pilot and his little sister. "Did you get our last report on the status here on Mars?" He changed the subject and Relena accepted it as the peace offering that it was.
"Yes, I did. Has something changed?"
"Nothing other than that there have been more mysterious absences among the Preventors and citizens here." He pressed a button, and the fax machine beside Relena began to hum, and spit out papers. "These are the people who are missing. We have no leads, no motive, there is no conceivable connection between any of them other than that they're part of the Mars terraformation project."
"And that connection must be dismissed because of the numerous disappearances in other colonies," Relena pressed a hand to her temple, frustrated that she could do nothing for the situation. "Do you know how many people are missing in total, Milliardo?"
Zechs shook his head slightly. "We're at around sixteen here.'
"In total, there are approximately three hundred people who have disappeared under the same circumstances within the last month." Her mouth hardened into a thin line. "That's too many people for coincidence, but we've had no ransom demands, nothing like that."
"We'll figure this out," Zechs promised, not wanting her to worry. "You have bigger things to worry about right now. Like that trade delegation ball that you're going to be late for. You should probably get going."
"I would much rather be talking to you," Relena replied curtly, annoyed that he would scold her even now. "Those balls are so stuffy, and the only one who's even close to my age there is Heero. What if I told them I was sick and continued to talk to you?"
"We both have our responsibilities, Relena." Zechs sighed, not wanting to leave either. "But if you go to the ball there's a chance that you might hear more about these disappearances. Whether you want to or not, you need to go."
"Fine," she relented, and smiled at him. "Give my best to Noin, and take care of yourself, Milliardo."
"I will," he smiled back at her, the hard lines of his face softening for a brief instant. "You take care of yourself too." She nodded, and terminated the call, her shoulders slumping as she walked from her communications room.
She really didn't want to go to the ball, but she pulled herself up the stairs, still hurting slightly from her bout with Heero, and started dressing in the decadent gown that she'd bought only yesterday. Relena had thought that the price was too high for something so frivolous, but Dorothy had insisted that she get it.
It did suit her wonderfully, Relena thought smugly as she twirled in front of the mirror. With its tiny straps that criss-crossed across her naked back, and the bodice showed her figure without actually being lewd. Exactly what a princess would wear.
That thought made her frown, and she examined herself in the mirror once more before deciding that there was nothing to be done for it. She would never escape her former titles of Princess and Queen. Everyone who looked at her tonight would be reminded of the strong minded Princess who'd actually turned the heads of the council in Romefeller.
Maybe it was better that way, Relena thought with a sigh. At least if she looked like a Princess, no one would be pestering her about the Mars Terraformation Project. If she was lucky, they'd be much too distracted by her drastic change in appearance.
She pulled on her high heels, cursing whoever invented them, and hurried out her door. Her brother had been right, she was late, and Heero was waiting for her in the front hall, glancing at his watch and scowling.
"I'm sorry," she called as she rushed down the stairs. "I was day dreaming, and completely lost track of the time." She noted expression, and looked at him curiously. "Is something wrong Heero?"
Was something wrong? Heero thought inanely as he fought to suppress the attraction that hit him like a fist in the gut. "No, nothing." He said, recovering his composure. "It's just that you don't usually dress like that. I was surprised."
"Do you like it?" Relena asked him, and watched as a shadow flickered across his eyes.
He didn't answer her, simply glared at her as if she had picked out the dress merely to try his patience, and then stormed out the door. "Yes," Relena muttered under her breath, as she followed him out. "I like the damn dress too."
&8&8&8&8&
The silence in the car was so thick that Relena felt that if she reached out, she would be able to catch some of it in her fingers, and as she glanced over at Heero, she couldn't help letting out a sigh. "What's wrong?" He asked, his voice sharper than normal.
"It's nothing," she assured him, and pressed two fingers to her forehead, urging the headache that was forming there to go away. The silence was beginning to get unbearable, and she decided to break it. "Milliardo is worried about the disappearances."
"How many on Mars?" Heero asked as they turned onto the main highway.
"Sixteen," she frowned, trying to figure out what anyone could want with sixteen people, never mind three hundred. "I don't understand it at all. There have been no ransom demands, there have been no threats of any kind, and no bodies have turned up. What on earth are they doing with all those people?" A thought occurred to her, and she turned to face him for the first time since she'd gotten into the car. "What if they want them for hostages?"
"There would still be some sort of demand," Heero dismissed her idea with a wave of his hand, "and it wouldn't be efficient to pick three hundred random people off the street. Hostages are only useful when someone knows that you have them, and what you want in exchange for them. Hostage takers would let the world know what they wanted in exchange for the lives that they held in their hand."
"It just doesn't make sense," Relena sighed, twisting her ring in frustration, "all those people can't just disappear!" When Heero remained silent, she continued. "Milliardo thinks that we might learn something at this ball. Do you have any idea why he would think that?"
Heero shrugged. "I suppose he wants you listen for any rumours about the people disappearing. There may be things that we haven't heard." He looked to his left as he pulled into the mansion where the ball was being held. "I doubt it though. The Preventors Intelligence Unit is very good at what they do."
There was silence for a moment as Relena looked out the window, the comfortable realm of impersonal business conversation had been exhausted, and after a few seconds of enduring the uncomfortable silence, she decided to bring it to a personal level. "Heero," Relena began nervously, twisting the straps of her purse together. "Would you dance with me tonight?"
He looked at her, blinking for a few moments before making the shift from political to personal. "I don't see what the point would be." He answered shortly, trying his hardest to ignore the hurt that crept into her eyes.
"You're right," Relena said softly, and anyone else would have been fooled by the brilliant smile she shot at him. "What would be the point?" Heero watched as she opened the door, and walked away from him, her back straight and proud.
How did he always manage to fuck things up?
&8&8&8&8&8&
The ball was everything that Relena expected, stilted and boring. She found a brief reprieve when she was joined by Duo and Hilde, and the braided man swept her into a waltz, but she was only allowed to dance with him before she was taken away by yet another diplomat wanting to dance with the Vice Foreign Minister.
She managed to escape for a few moments with Duo and Hilde, grateful for their bubbly company. She learned that they had joined with the Preventors, and although their commitment to the organization was unofficial, she could be expecting to see them more often.
"We're mostly into gathering information for the Preventors," Duo said with a smile, his arm resting comfortably around Hilde's waist. "So we're trying to keep a low profile."
Relena nodded, returning his smile with one of her own, but her insides were screaming. She envied them their casual embraces, their informal affection that was obvious to anyone who looked at them. This was love, she realized suddenly, and it was something that she had never known, and most likely never would know.
That hurt. The thought that she might never find someone whom she could be herself with. She loved Heero. She knew that now, but what was the point of loving someone if they didn't return the feelings? Heero always wanted to make her something more than what she was. He wanted to put her on a pedestal, something to look at and admire, but never to touch.
Despite, or maybe because of her dark thoughts, her gaze kept being drawn over the corner where Heero stood. If she hadn't known better, she would have said that when he looked at her, his gaze turned into one of longing, but she pushed that thought away. He didn't feel anything for her, and even if he did, what good would it be?
He would never act on those feelings, never touch her because he saw her as something more than she was. He saw her as an icon of peace, and he would never do anything to spoil that. Frustrated, Relena turned from him, finding herself face to face with yet another diplomat.
He caught her eye at once. He had the face of an angel, yet there was humour glinting behind his eyes that told her that if nothing else, she wasn't going to be bored this dance. She watched as he made his way towards her, his lithe, graceful body moving easily through the crowd. His jet black hair was trimmed at a fashionable length that hung loosely around his face, but couldn't be called shaggy, and as he bowed slightly, holding out his hand to her, she decided in an instant to accept it, letting him pull her out on to the dance floor.
"You look beautiful tonight," he smiled as he pulled her close, and although she had heard that same line dozens of times tonight, with him it seemed fresh. He pulled her closer to him, and moved her gracefully around the dance floor, challenging her with his every movement.
Every molecule in Relena's body felt energized, and as she looked into his eyes, she felt her heart skip a beat. The only other time she had felt this was around Heero. She shook her head slightly and tried to push the stoic pilot from her mind. She didn't want to think of him tonight, she focused instead on the man she was dancing with, loving the sensations that spread across her body from where his hand was on her back.
They talked as they waltzed around the floor, and Relena learned that he too had an avid interest in Mars, and the terraformation project that was taking place there. Unlike the other diplomats whom she had dance with, however, he never pressed for details, simply let the conversation flow.
He had a sister, she learned, and it was obvious that he loved her as much as she loved Milliardo, and as they talked, waltzing their way through one dance, and then another, she started to feel a connection with him. A connection that she had never felt with anyone before.
The second dance ended, and they stood awkwardly for a moment, reluctant to part. He offered his hand to her again. "Would you mind talking with me for a bit longer?" He asked her almost shyly, and she nodded, grateful to him for coming up with a way for her to not leave him.
"My name is Talyn by the way," he grinned at her, and led her out onto the balcony. "And you're... much more fun than I thought you'd be Miss Peacecraft."
Relena nodded again, having trouble ordering her thoughts around him, she had finally worked out what she was going to say, when she noticed Heero looking over at them with veiled interest. "I hope you're background checks out," she laughed.
"I don't understand," Talyn didn't seem particularly alarmed as he leaned against the railing, his arm brushing hers and sending shocks through both of their systems.
"My bodyguard is watching you," Relena explained, her laughter melting into a sigh. "I wish I didn't need so many of them."
"If they're keeping you safe..." He blushed slightly and grinned to cover his embarrassment, "then it's worth it. Besides, there aren't that many are there? Just the broody looking one."
"He's the only real official one. There are numerous Preventors spread around the area both in uniform, and ballroom attire that also watch over me. I know that they're here for my protection, but it kind of makes me feel like I'm under a microscope."
"Then you should give them something to talk about," Talyn suggested. "Go nuts sometime."
Relena saw Heero out of the corner of her eye, and made her decision in a second. "Go nuts?" Her lips curved in amusement as she turned from him to look at the brilliant night sky. "There's not much room for craziness in my life. There is unfortunately a reputation that I have to maintain."
"Don't you ever wish that you could just slip away? Not be an important figure who's always in the public's eye?" Talyn also turned his gaze to the sky, pointing out a constellation for her, knowing that it would make her smile.
"I love my work," Relena answered, reaching out to trace the outline of Orion's belt with her finger. "It may be tiring at times, but I know that I would miss it if I left, would miss being able to make a difference. People look up to me, and I would hate to let them down."
"I'm not saying leave it forever," Talynexplained as he moved behind her, and guided her hand with his as she traced another constellation. "I mean leave it behind for a day or two. We could escape one day, and just act like normal people." His breath tickled the nape of her neck. "When was the last time you went to a movie theatre?"
Relena laughed, and moved out of his arms so she could face him. "I've never been to one."
"Never?" Talyn shook his head incredulously. "You haven't lived until you've gone to see a movie on the big screen. I'll take you one day, and we'll buy popcorn for outrageous prices."
"Why wouldn't we just watch it at home?" Relena laughed again, and suddenly froze, realising how close they had become. She looked past him, noticing that Heero was still staring, and then returned her gaze to Talyn, her eyes wide.
"It's all part of the experience," Talynjerked slightlyas he realised how close they were,their lips were only inches apart. "And outrageous prices or not, it's a lot of fun."
She knew Talyn wouldn't make the first move, he was too afraid to jeopardise what they might have. Feeling bold, she moved a bit closer to him, and brushed her lips over his. She had only meant to do it for a moment. Partly because she wanted it, and partly to hurt Heero like he had hurt her, but then Talyn's arms came around her, pulling her closer and she was lost.
She had never, ever believed that it could be like this. This was what the romance novels crowed about and that women dreamed about. She was drowning in his touch. His hands whispered over her back, and she pulled back from him, her eyes open in wonder.
"I…" She looked at the ground unsure what to say. "I apologise."
"For what?" Talyn cupped her chin, raising her eyes to meet his, and even though his breath quickened, he chuckled. "I didn't mind."
She took a step backwards, feeling the blush spread down her back, and even more shocked at the realisation that she felt the same way about him. "I…" She glanced over at where Heero had been, and saw that he was gone. Inanely, the loss of his presence hit her like a slap. She had wanted to hurt him, and now that she had, she wished to God she could take it back. "I don't know what to say." She said finally.
Talyn followed her gaze to where Heero had once stood. "There's someone else." He said slowly, his eyes shadowed as he took a careful step back. "I understand."
"Yes… No…" Relena watched amusement and disappointment war in his eyes. "It's complicated… But I would like to see you again." She finished lamely.
"I would like that too." Talyn replied, still keeping a wary distance. "I'll be here for a couple weeks on business. Perhaps you'd take me up on that movie night?"
Relena nodded. "I'd like that." She glanced wistfully at the ballroom again. "I'm afraid that there will be many gentlemen wanting a dance with me." She said, edging away from him, and making her way to the door. "It was nice meeting you, Talyn."
Catching up to her, he gently took her hand, escorting her through the doors and towards the dance floor. "Could they wait a bit longer?"
&8&8&8&8&8&
Heero was furious. The nerve of her, letting that jerk all but swallow her. He nodded curtly to the young Preventor who was standing guard outside the ballroom doors. And what was worse, she seemed to be enjoying herself.
He grimaced, as he found himself in a dead end, and slumped against the wall. It was his fault. He had made her angry, denied and hidden his feelings from her. He had driven her to kiss the young diplomat. His stomach twisted as the scene replayed in his head.
How many times had he imagined doing that to her? Just sweeping her up in his arms as if they were a normal couple without a care in the world. He nearly sighed as the answer came to him. Too many to count. He wished…
He wished for a lot of things, but at the moment, he wished that he had danced with her. Just once,
Maybe if he had danced with her she wouldn't have turned to another man to comfort her. Maybe he would have finally worked up the nerve to tell her how he felt. Maybe…
He straightened quickly as he heard footsteps approaching, and nodded once again to the Preventor who had been detailed to the ballroom doors. "Why aren't you at your post?" He asked gruffly, and barely moved in time to dodge the fist that was aimed at his stomach. "What the hell's wrong with you?"
He dodged another punch, only to find himself with his back to the wall, and his shoulders pinned by two other Preventors who had come out of nowhere. "What the hell is going on?"
"I'm sorry, Major Yuy," the young Preventor said, and held up a small spray can. "I'm afraid your services are required on Mars." He pressed the button, and a fine mist filled the air in front of Heero.
"What?" Heero blinked drowsily, falling to the ground as his arms were released. "What… is this?" The world was fading fast, and in some conscious part of his mind, he knew that he had been taken prisoner. But as blackness formed around the edges of his vision, there was only thing on his mind. He had to warn her. To let her know that the Preventors, the Preventors were….
"Relena," he whispered, mere moments before the darkness claimed him.
Author's Note: This is a fic that I worked on with my friend Anna. She doesn't like her writing, but liked this plot that she came up with, so she gave it to me, and I'm writing it out as best I can. So this fic is dedicated to her, and her imagination. :p This chapter however is for Ben, who gave me a kick in my lazy ass, and got me to post after 5 months of inactivity. A big thanks to Purdy, who helped me with writing Talyn. Without your help, we would've had a womanizing James Bond wannabe on our hands. I had a lot of fun writing this... so let me know what you think.