Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of it's characters, sad isn't it?

Of Guns and Roses
by Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)

Chapter One

"Ugh…" Relena groaned as the first rays that had managed to slip past her curtains hit her. She drew her arm over her face to hide the rays, which didn't work well at all. "Fine." She mumbled to the sun in defeat. "I'm getting up."

The light seemed to intensify and her eyes snapped open. She jerked upright and realized something; the clock said it was only one in the morning. She heard the whirling and the sounds of machinery and electronics and knew what it was; a mobile suit.

Jumping out of bed, she quickly threw on her robe before she had time to scream as the monitors on the suit outside picked up her movement. A fire was shot at her house and everything exploded and burst into flames in mere instants.

Thrown onto the ground, the last thing she felt was a trickle of something on the side of her head running down her heart shaped face. She coughed, ashes from the smoldering flames around her coming out of her lungs. She tried to breath, but couldn't. Then she fell onto the debris-covered ground, darkness covering her world.

Meanwhile, just as the explosion sounded, a guest at the palace awoke with a start, a hall away from the princess's room…

Heero's eyes snapped open and he heard the sounds of fire open upon the castle. How a mobile suit slipped past the defenses was beyond him. He threw off the covers of his makeshift bed and rushed out of the room, wearing only boxers. He saw the colors of flames in the hallway and placed his hand over his mouth, coughing slightly in the intense smoke.

Deciding in less than a millisecond, he dashed off into the burning hall. He stopped when he saw a broken door than had been smashed by the explosion and threw his bare body against the flasmes, feeling the blood now flow and burn to his skin in one deft motion. "Relena!" He screamed before coughing.

The room was engulfed in flames, the bed like a beacon in the night. He heard a moaning sound and looked up before dodging and falling to the ground as a piece of the collapsing ceiling. He opened his eyes as he found himself staring at a girl under a piece of ceiling.

"Relena." He managed to say as he crawled his way towards her, quickly trying to push the heavy piece of plaster and wood off her delicate body. "Relena, you have to hang on!" The world's peace depended on her; without her, everything that they worked for in the war would be for naught.

"Heero…" Relena moaned, now half-conscious in the inferno of flames. "Is that you?" She weakly coughed and the youth's first fear became internal bleeding.

He swept her up quickly in his arms and he looked around, everything was blocked, all exits were closed permanently and if he didn't think quickly, it would have two dead bodies in this room.

"Hold on Relena," He encouraged to the girl who had her aquamarine eyes half open. "I promise I'll get you out of here no matter what." He whispered to her and she let a small smile grace her lips, sinking into his arms. He looked at her and added silently to himself; 'Even if it costs me my own life.'

He embraced her close to his chest as he raised his head again, looking defiantly at the outer wall. He only wished that he could tell her how he really felt. He shook the feeling off, who said he was going to die here anyway?

A weak cough drew him from his thoughts and he looked down at Relena, whose eyes were now dazed. He clenched his teeth, pulling her closer to his body so he could shield her and rammed his right shoulder into the burning wall as he let a scream fill the room from pain.

Then, wind was rushing all around them. Clear and clean air floated to their lungs and Relena opened her eyes, the smoke fading from her mind as she thought clearly again. 'Heero!' She felt the weak embrace of arms. Struggling to get free, she realized he wasn't conscious and was falling so his body would shield hers.

Then the ground hit them like a bullet and both lay there, unconscious in each other's arms as a pool of blood formed around them from the wounds they collected from the explosion.

TBC