Disclaimer: I do not own, and neither do I claim to own, Gundam Wing, any of its' characters or storylines. However, I do own any and all original characters and storylines, and I would appreciate it if you didn't use them without permission.
AN: This story is something I wrote at a specific point in my life, I've broken it into chapters, but I can't bring myself to read it, let alone add on to it. I might, at some point, but I don't promise it. Some things I'm sure I would change now, but I want to preserve it the way I had written it then. If angst, anger or disturbance is not up your alley, I don't recommend reading this.
xThe Vixen
He had been acting strange the night before, as soon as she had a moment to spare she came to check up on him; yet, he was nowhere in sight.
"Heero?"
She received no answer. Mentally, she recounted the days of the week. Thursday, which meant he wasn't working unless something urgent came up..
A crack of glass jerked her out of her thoughts and looking down; she found dozens of broken bits of what once had been a bottle, underneath her feet. Picking up a shard, and bringing it to her nose, she sniffed. Alcohol, no doubt. The whole place reeked of it.
"Heero?" she called out once more, but looking up, gasped in shock.
Her boyfriend, Heero Yuy, was slumped over the kitchen table - a bottle in hand; several others littered the kitchen area. Rushing over, she grasped his shoulder, beginning to shake him; all while praying that he wasn't too far gone. His free arm turned over from the force of her arms on his body, and a flash of crimson caught Aria's eye. She looked, and immediately wished she hadn't; panic beginning to rise within her. His entire inner arm was slashed with deep lacerations, with blood slowly seeping out of the partially hardened wounds. The next thing she saw, as it bumped against her foot, a bloody knife, laying discarded on the floor. Her eyes watered with hot tears, as she realized he had done this to himself. With horror, her hand dropped from his shoulder, as she spotted an empty syringe on the kitchen counter. Not believing what she saw, Aria stepped back, her lips parting in hysteria. Another crunch of glass echoed from beneath her feet, but she didn't dare to look down.
It was then, that the seemingly broken form of her boyfriend, stirred. His head turned, lifting only slightly. A sob escaped Aria's lips, not able to be held down any longer and alerted him of her presence.
He lifted his aching head further, vision distorted and unable to focus on the fuzzy form that was his girlfriend. "Oh, Heero, how could you..." Her teary voice shook him into consciousness and his blurry eyes focused on her shocked face, her shaky hand slowly coming up and clasping over her mouth in a futile attempt to prevent further weeping. A tear fell down her cheek, glistening in the semidarkness, and his body suddenly went rigidly cold with realization. It was the first time that he had ever seen Aria Svetlanovna cry.
Despite his body's protests, he pulled himself up into a sitting position. The bottle that was in his grasp all through the night, clattered to the floor, but he paid no attention.
"Ari.." he began weakly, voice hoarse. Her second hand joined the first, clutched tightly to her lips, yet more tears cascaded down her cheeks. It was as if all the tears she had ever held back were now released in anguish. Placing his hand firmly on the table's edge, he pushed himself up, determined to come to her. And still, his now weakened body couldn't stand against the gravity's pull, and he crashed to the tiled floor.
Unable to watch, she turned away, her body torn apart by violent sobs as tears fell uncontrollably.
"Ari-kun.." The nickname just made it worse, making the tears flow even more rapidly, filling her body with more pain.
Why? Why in the God's name? Why!? Her mind screamed, not able to come up with an explanation. This wasn't just any regular person. This was Heero Yuy, the infamous Wing Zero pilot, one of the greatest heroes of the Eve Wars – he was stronger that this. Much stronger. So then.. why? Or rather,.. when? When did she go wrong? When did she lose him? Was it her? Did he simply want to.. feel.....something? Anything? Did she not give him enough love?
It seemed as if the tears were going to rip her apart. Break her body and flesh, as her heart was already broken.
Back on the cold floor, Heero sighed helplessly, ending his fruitless attempts to stand. His head felt as if it was being crushed to pieces, and the rest of his body throbbed painfully. He knew it would bypass eventually, it always did. But it was not the pain that troubled him, this time was different - she knew. The only person he truly cared about and the only person he never wanted to find out about his addictions, now knew. He tried so hard to hide it, to act...normal. Nevertheless, he should've known he wouldn't be able to hide anything from her. Now he was probably going to lose her.
He sighed heavily, not even being able to look up at her.
"Please don't hate me, Ari-kun..."
Aria's eyes widened, as she spun around, her hands dropping from her face. Wet ebony orbs gaped at him. In just several shaky steps, she reached him, and dropping onto her knees enclosed his feverishly quivering body into her arms.
"I could never hate you, baby." She whispered as her tears continued to fall. "I love you."
His head dropped into her shoulder tiredly.
"That's good to know."
