Downfall
By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)

Chapter Two: Destiny Defies Fate (Problems Thus Ensue)

"Heero, it's best that he left you." Relena tried to reason, smiling sweetly as she entwined her hand with Heero's, gazing at the depressed and stoic former Gundam pilot. "We can have a happy ending—without him." She seethed violently inwardly, swearing to kill the braided pilot for hurting her Heero. Even saying that braided baka's name was a torture in her mind.

"Relena," Heero sighed, not bothering to look at her, "I just…I don't think that this is right…" He closed his eyes as he slowly untangled his hand from hers.

He turned away from her to look at the casting sunset.

Relena looked shocked before tears welled up in her eyes. She angrily wiped them away, a confused smile coming onto her face instead. She remembered what he had told her last time they had met and she found him crying; she needed to be strong—if not her him, then for herself.

"Heero," she laughed in a nervous tone, "W-what do you mean…?" she trailed off, hoping her voice hadn't hitched.

Heero didn't look at Relena. She gripped his sleeve, waiting for a reply.

"I just," he paused with a sigh before proceeding on, "somehow I still feel like he's there, looking over me."

"He's not, Heero." Relena assured, "If he ever comes near you again he'll have to get through me." She gently embraced him, holding him tighter when she didn't feel him pull away. He never did anything anymore. In fact, Relena was sure that if she weren't there for him he wouldn't even eat properly or continue living.

He rarely ate, and something was obviously bothering him. He didn't try and hide the dark circles under his eyes, thinking no one cared and Relena was always there to comfort him, day and night. She wished she could kill Duo Maxwell for doing this to him…and to thank him, for now Heero was hers, and hers alone.

"Come on, its lunch time. I'm sure Marie will make us something good." Relena pulled on his arm, smiling sweetly as she tossed her hair behind her. She grinned at him, getting nothing but stony blue eyes looking at her.

"I'm not really hungry…" He muttered under his breath, loud enough for her to hear.

Relena's smile faltered as she opened the door when she heard his words, "Silly!" She laughed with a frozen note hanging in them. "You said that and skipped breakfast also. You have to eat lunch, or else!" Heero flinched inwardly, knowing if he didn't, or did, then she would shower him with hugs and kissed.

He shivered.

"Are you cold?" Relena questioned, thinking it was a bit nippy out there.

"No." He replied mutely.

Marie, the cook of the Peacecraft estate sighed heavily, looking up to the sky and seeing the rain clouds coming in to dampen the already depressing mood lingering in the air. She looked at Heero and her eyes softened, wondering if the teen did know that he was heir to the Heavenly realm.

'God, will you help your son or let him suffer? He's withering away.' She prayed mentally, she herself, a cook also in the Heavenly realm sent to watch over the stoic teen. 'He's hurt again because you forced fate to part him from the one he's destined to be with.'

Long ago, a demon fell in love with an angel. Due to the demon's persistence, the angel began to look at life differently and, in time, also fell in love with the demon. Too bad the demon was prince of the Dark Realm and the angel prince of the Heavenly Realm.

When both ruling god's found out about the relationship, the God of the Heavenly Realm was furious, demanding the fates to change his son, and heir's fate to live with an angel and not that of a demon. Mixing of the pure blood was forbidden after all.

When fate was changed, destiny refused to meet demands, secretly tying together the two that were fated to never meet again. Slowly, the two boys withered away, forgetting smiles and slowly being broken forever by the fate the Heavenly God bestowed upon them.

As a last ditch effort, they sent them to the Human realm, giving them no memories and merely the marks of their race to live with. When old enough, somehow they would bring them back to their home, the place where they belonged.

Rumors were they were kidnapped, yet nothing was declared publicly and none of the realms forgot about their missing heirs. Many enemies to the crown, or nationalist that were fanatic about killing the opposite race, plotted to find the two and do what they could to bring about their idea's or wishes…

Marie shivered as she fingered the scar trailing down her upper arm to her elbow. She had been caught in the heavy crossfire between the two races. She had adamantly supported the relationship of the two. They did deserve something along the lines of normalcy.

"Marie!" Relena sat at her chair, leaning over the table to smile at Heero brightly. Heero had his head bowed, his long bangs shadowing his face and eyes. Tapping her foot on the carpeted floor in agitation at the delay, Relena opened her mouth to speak again.

Marie came huffing into the roof, a tray resting on her shoulder. She, with a ease experts had, laid the trays for their lunch out on the table. Relena nodded in thanks, waving her hand in dismissal.

"Thank you." Heero mumbled to Marie. She turned, expressionless for a moment before a smile crept onto her face.

"Your welcome, hun." She turned and bustled out the door. She smiled as she leaned against the wall, age on face looking older as she sagged into herself. 'He must have seen me glaring at her.' She chuckled.

"Honestly," she rolled up her sleeve, prepared to start on the dishes, "You would think that Pagan and her mother would raise her with more manners to treat everyone as an equal."

"Really, Heero, Marie doesn't mind at all. She's been in the business since my mother hired her for me." Relena babbled out in the dining room, waving a fork around as she passionately spoke. "She's just a servant…"

Heero numbly stared at his untouched food and ignored the chattering Relena sitting across from him. Standing from his chair, she ignored Relena and turned to walk out of the room.

He leaned heavily against the wall outside the dining area. Clutching his chest, Heero closed his eyes, "Duo… why does it hurt so much? Why can't you just leave me alone?" The hall remained silent to his questions.

Two red eyes watched him, watching his every movement and actions. A toothy smirk soon graced the face of the shadowed figure.

Why did he feel that, somehow, there was a whole piece missing from him—like an unfinished puzzle? Why did everything seem to be destined not to bring happiness for him?

He turned around and heard something move. He jerked to attention, pulling away from the wall to stand in one of the less shadowed corners. His eyes narrowed. "Who's there?" his voice was still cold as ever—the years not dimming the effects of the training beaten into him.

"Me."

Heero jumped at the voice coming from behind him.

An arm slithered across his chest from behind and he jerked to turn around, only to be held in place with an arm wrap tightly across his mouth.

He struggled to free himself, slamming his foot down on his captor and elbowing the shadowed person in his abdomen. Still, his captor wouldn't relent.

A strange smell filled the air, sweet like honey and he felt his eye lids droop. His body sagged against the lean body pressed against him.

He felt hot breath against his neck; "Soon everything will be alright as it was meant to be, mein Engel."

Then, his world was stolen away by darkness.

TBC