Disclaimer: Don't own.

Warnings: Sap. Fluff. Angst. Love.

Chapter 13

The bars were intolerably cold, grasped tightly by her numb fingers. The simple sundress fluttered in the breath of a breeze around her as she kicked her bare feet, hanging below her, daringly.

The moon was already out, the stars vaguely perceptible; it was still winter and night still came early. Minako shivered, the dress of simplest cotton and boldest patterns rising and falling with the wind, her hair following, clothing her in a splendor of gold.

She didn't understand herself. She didn't understand why at seven in the evening, when any sane person would be inside, eating dinner with friends or family, she was sitting out on the rail of the hotel balcony, her legs dangling in thin air, above a breathless four-story drop to unforgiving concrete. She didn't understand why she was six inches from death, breathing quick and short, heart fluttering, and still enjoying it.

Minako allowed herself a quiet, private laugh and swung her legs some more as if challenging fate.

Ever since she turned ten, she had had the strangest way of looking at life. To be subtle and tactful, one would call her an enthusiast. To be blunt and harsh, one would call her a debaucher. She had always tended to favor the former for obvious reasons.

It was as if she lived for the adrenaline rush, the feel of oxygen rushing in and out of her lungs at an unhealthy speed, the passing moment when it seems as if her heart was about to burst with fear and pleasure.

She had never wanted to grow up. Childhood was the golden time of life, after all. Marriage? Who had time for marriage when there was so much out there to enjoy? Family? Children? They were simply links to a gilded chain that had imprisoned many before her.

She wanted to be rid of all restrictions, have every moment be hanging by the slightest thread. So it felt as if … the instant she grew up, life would be over. To her, even at age ten, thirty was the limit. Beyond thirty years of age was death.

Minako sighed and stared up at the sky, edging a little bit closer to the edge; the thin metal bar supporting her had never felt so fragile, so thin and solitary.

Of course she thought herself odd. She knew she was different and unusual in unlikable ways. But she had never found a solution. She read gargantuan philosophical works – A Man for All Seasons, The Republic, The Prince – but nothing. Nothing could curb her wild desire for risk. [1]

And though she cried over A Man for All Seasons and though she cried over A Tale of Two Cities and though she cried for every religious tale of suffering…!

But now … but now…

She leaned back and just breathed, enjoying the loud thumping of her heart, enjoying the searing tears under her icy eyelids.

But now…

Life was no longer half over at fifteen. She was not in her early twenties and over the hill. Time was no longer slipping out of her hands to oblivion like liquid gold.

Because now…

There was enchantment and exhilaration without the fear of death. There was Hiiro and Usagi and Relena. And there were stars and moonlight and God.

Because now…

She had tasted the rich wine of love. And for just tonight … when she can taste the moon and hear the stars, she'll exult in the feeling and forget the mask of hate. And for just tonight, when the wind sings and air whispers, she will allow herself to feel as Juliet did the night her palms met Romeo's. [2]

…………………

Usagi had no reason to lie. But, by the same token, he had no obligation to love.

That thought had run in circles in his head for the last two hours, ever since arriving in L2, registering in some middle class hotel, for sake of privacy, and unpacking.

The three of them were in adjacent rooms and had randomly picked keys. Minako was in the middle, between Usagi and him, and in the unpolluted night of the colony, her form and dress were startlingly lucid.

He stood silently, secretively, watching her, wondering if perhaps he should tell her to get off the balcony rail, to stop daring herself to let go.

But for the moment, he was silent.

Usagi had no reason to lie. But, by the same token…

Hiiro shook his head violently.

Minako loved him.

It seemed like a beautiful letdown. [3]

Relena loved him.

He had always dreamed of the day when he could admit those three words as truth. But Minako … It was such an unfamiliar name – an unfamiliar person, an unfamiliar reality. It was perjury and betrayal and hate … and yet it was beautiful.

…………………

"Hiiro?" she called, voice vaguely uneasy and timid as she stepped into the dark room. The sliding door to the balcony was open and the curtains were fluttering. "Hiiro?" she called again, a bit more insistently, as she reached the door and stared at him. He turned unperturbedly and raised an eyebrow.

"Are we going to be eating soon?" Usagi smiled. "I doubt I can survive the night without dinner."

He turned around silently and gazed back out.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" She was about to jab him on the shoulder angrily but then his quiet, deliberate voice registered.

"I'm going to have nightmares tonight."

She frowned to herself and in a softer tone asked, "About what?"

There was a pause, a startlingly perfect moment of silence. "About your words."

Usagi started and bit her lip uneasily as she studied his back. Minako … was telling him about Minako a bad decision? Shaking her head resolutely, she grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around.

"Look, Mister Hiiro, if you don't go get dinner right now, I'm going to make sure you have nightmares tonight."


He blinked blankly at her, vaguely startled and then let his tense shoulders fall.

"Now go!" She eyed him expectedly and pushed him toward the door of the room.

Usagi sighed softly after the door closed. It was forced humor but it was humor. And at the moment, there was nothing they needed more than humor.

Collecting herself, she stepped out onto the balcony curiously and gasped. "Minako! Get off right now!"

The blonde started and turned to her before breaking into a cheerful smile. "Usagi!" she called back and waved from her adjacent balcony.

Her eyes were wide and her breathing shallow. "M-Minako! That's dangerous! Please, get off."

"Don't take it the wrong way, Usagi," she continued to smile, "I would never be the suicidal type. This is just … fun."

Usagi felt close to tears and vaguely nauseous as Minako leaned her had back and stretched, only supported by one thin bar. "Minako, please … for my sake. Call it my whim. Please get off and come inside."

The blonde blinked but her face slowly relaxed into a smile and she nodded, scooting back on the bar and trying to get off.

Minako was almost back to safety, and Usagi closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. But when she opened them again…

Minako was dangling precariously from the bar, her arms twisted to keep her from falling to certain death. And then, eyes wide, she met Usagi's horrified face, saw Usagi's screaming "Minako" as if in slow motion.

And then she fell.

…………………

"Minako!" She was biting her lip and drawing blood. "Minako!" She closed her eyes tightly and prayed for a miracle. Five seconds passed. There was no scream. There was no thud. She listened but there was no sound.

Whirling around, Usagi sprinted out of the room and ran for the stairs.

…………………

For all of her life, she had wanted every moment to be hanging by the slightest thread, a thread as thin as angel hair. But this once … the thread had snapped.

No! she wanted to scream. I'm not done yet!

There was so much she still didn't understand! Love! And faith! And Aristotle!

But then…

There was no longer the whirling sensation of falling. She opened her eyes cautiously and hardly dared to move. Someone was holding her. Someone had caught her.

And in the dim starlight, she was just like a princess, an angel in her dress of flowers, with her golden hair hanging, tightly clinging to life, to her prince. She hardly dared to breathe, hardly dared to laugh.

"Hiiro?"

He was panting and his lips were pursed. His eyes, like cold, harsh, but gorgeous sapphires glared at her. Licking his lips slowly he swallowed and looked up at the sky, trying to control his breathing.

"Stupid," he uttered quietly and let her go, supporting her briefly just to be certain she was able to stand.

Minako lowered her eyes in silent apology. There was a protracted silence as his loud gasps for air faded to nothing and she collected her thoughts.

"I'm going out to get dinner. I'll be back in half an hour," he finally said and turned to leave, the unbuttoned white dress shirt over the stark back t-shirt fluttering as he walked away. She stared after him.

"Hiiro!"

He stopped and turned slightly. The extreme flutter of the shirt settled down a bit, stirring only slightly at the beck and call of the evening breeze.

"Hiiro … I … I love you. I love you so much that it's weighing on my chest and making it hard to breathe."

She waited, head bowed, hair covering her face, breathless for his response. Silence passed, the breeze still making her hair whisper around her. When she looked up again, he was still there, still not turned around to face her.

Finally, he shifted and let his shoulders fall. With one, unsmiling glance back at her, he shook his head and said, quietly, "Stupid."

She stared at his retreating form, her breath still rapid, her heart still thumping. She vaguely heard footsteps behind her.

"Minako."

She turned and smiled faintly. "Usagi. You heard everything?"

Her hands were on her knees and she was gasping for breath, but she smiled nevertheless. "Never give up, Minako."

She was silent for a moment, staring off into space as Usagi's breathing returned to normal. Finally, she laughed softly to herself and flashed a grin at Usagi. "No, I don't plan on giving up. And you know why?" She took a deep breath. "Because that moment, I could feel Hiiro's heart beating so quickly against my side. He was truly scared for me. And for that … that slight hint of concern … I will give everything I have ever known to be true."

…………………

He slowed his brisk pace to a relaxed stroll after walking for five minutes and then stopped altogether, hands in his jeans' pockets, white shirt still quivering in the breeze, head bowed in contemplation.

Usagi had been right. Minako was in love with him.

He thinned his lips and frowned to himself. Why do the most momentous things in life always come as a surprise?

He had uttered the word "stupid" twice that evening. The first was for Minako the second … he wondered if it was for himself.

Because Relena…Relena who was currently helpless. He could never forsake her.

He wanted to promise himself that he'll only love Relena. But what were the chances of Relena living? What were the chances of the Relena now becoming once again the Relena he had known two years ago?

Hiiro shook his head fiercely, trying to rid himself of his faithless thoughts.

He wanted to promise that he'll always protect Relena and Minako and Usagi. He wanted to promise that he'll always protect Quatre and Duo and Trowa and Wufei.

"I would promise to protect the whole world if I could," he whispered into the silent night air. The wind replied, murmuring comfort into his ears. But for the moment he was deaf.

And for the moment, the only thing on his mind was two years ago when he had told a laughing Relena with as much seriousness as he could muster that, no matter what, Hiiro Yui crossed his heart to always protect Relena Darlian.

And at that moment, she had smiled that deliriously beautiful smile at him and caught his heart in her hands.

…………………

Sort of a deviation from the main plot … --; Is it sappy or is it sappy? xD; Uncharacteristically, I thought it was sweet. :D [I'm usually allergic to romance ^^;] I think it's because I'm still high on Meteor Garden. xDxD;; That must be it. Urk … so! I haven't written romance in a long time. Wow. What a rush. …that was sarcasm. ^^; My typical trying to incorporate the title in the story. ^^; I dunno. Call it an obsession. xD I think it adds something to the story. O.o;; But … erm … yes … if you have the time at all, please skim my profile and give me your opinion on my "soul vacation" [LOL. Okay, not the right term but it was the sappiest thing I could think of right now. ^^;] Thank you for your time~ Yours, Angel.

Notes:

1. A Man for All Seasons, The Republic, The Prince: Ok. So I called them all "gargantuan philosophical works." Firstly … they're not all gargantuan. xD;; Secondly, A Man for All Seasons is a play and is much closer to fiction than it is to philosophy. But it's the dramatized version of Sir Thomas More's story and how he died because of his belief against King Henry VIII's decision to become head of the church of England and thus divorce Catherine and marry Anne. Yes. The ending's sad. ;-; And I was moved. So I mentioned it. ^^;

2. "As Juliet did the night her palms met Romeo's": If you would recall the first night that they met at the party. ^^;

3. "It seemed like a beautiful letdown": "The Beautiful Letdown" is a Dashboard Confessional song that I have never listened to in my life. ^^; I just thought it sounded good. xD;

KutieBunnie: Thank you! ^^; I am definitely considering changing it to angst/romance but … I'm lazy and don't want to until I absolutely have to. ^^;

Aphrodite's Scribe: Lol … Minako/Hiiro galore for you. ^^;

AznxAngel: Yay! You understand me and my strange whims! ^^; I was worried that nobody would quite understand it and that I was being strange and hallucinating. ;-; Lol.

Water Angel1: Thank you! :D

Jewels14: ^^; That's the problem with trying to maintain an equilibrium and not digressing from the main plot too much. xD; There will be blocks of chapters that are Usagi-oriented and blocks that are Minako-oriented simply because I am unwilling to sit down and write out twenty-page chapters just to have both U/H and M/H both in a chapter. ^^; Thank you. :D

Usagi Asia Maxwell: You've started! O.o;; Butbut…what are the chances of your finishing. ;-; Lol. No pressure. :D You don't have to write it if it gives you much grief. xD;; Thank you nevertheless though. :D

Confusedsoul: O.O;; You mean the past works that I want to burn? Lol. Thank you so much! I'm so flattered. :D

Ashika: If everybody love everybody else, life would be much easier. ^^; Then I won't have to worry about offending people because of who I've chosen to end with … and yes, "chosen." ^.~ ::cough:: Urm. We studied WW II a while ago actually. The Russia vs. Germany bit was just exceedingly clear in my mind because we had a project on it. ;

Queen luvBunny: Lol … no chaos yet. ^^; I'm sure there will be next chapter. ; Thank you~

Leeanna-Marie-Malfoy: Lol … have-st we another Hiiro/Minako lover here? xD;; Don't worry about not reviewing though and thank you. :D

Black Aura-Sama: I doubt Minako will die. xD;; And I say that with … 50% certainty. xDxD Yes … so …. Mmm … obsessed doesn't quite seem like the right word to describe Hiiro … xD;; When I think "obsessed", I think stalking and lust. --; I want to portray what Hiiro feels to be pure and genuine love, so powerful and deep that it hurts. Yes. Urm. Yes. xDxD;; Hiiro angst is good. xD;

Xixi: They say that a person can admire somebody and still hate that person's guts … well it's not true in Hiiro's case. xD;; I guess I mean to express that through Hiiro's admiration of Relena, through his constant interaction with her, and through his long-term observation of her, he has come to love her. I hope to clarify that more in later chapters. :D Thank you for the comment though. xD

Tenshi-Kaikou: Lol … I miss Easter. xD;; Good Friday was our school district's last holiday before summer. =.= I wonder if I can make it … x.x; Have fun with the play. :D

…Meteor Garden … I hatest thou and yet I lovest thou. --; Thank you again, everybody! 3