Chapter 4:

Heero was more than a bit confused. His logical warrior's instincts told him to get away, to escape the danger that this newly aggressive Relena presented. But at the same time a different instinct, one that had rarely made itself known but was quickly drowning out the warrior, told Heero that there was no danger, and that this situation had the potential to be, in fact, quite pleasant.

If Heero had grown up under more traditional circumstances, had progressed from a boy to a man with the experiences other men his age had encountered through a lifetime of dealing with the fairer sex, he would have recognized that instinct as the fundamental male animal in him identifying a potential mate. A female was present and expressing interest. A mating dance had begun.

But he had been trained from childhood to be a perfect soldier, and all he knew was that an illogical part of himself was telling him that having Relena smile in that way was a good thing. Her body language and expressions instilled in him a type of fear he had never experienced before. It was not the fear of bodily harm or mission failure, but of unworthiness, of being seen as lacking in her eyes in a fundamental way that was now making itself known to his consciousness.

In one of the few spontaneous acts of his life, Heero allowed that primitive side of himself to take control of the situation, to set aside his fear and continue on with the dance that Relena had started.

Guided only by instinct, he drew himself up to his full height and leaned his weight towards her. His chest brushed against her breasts but he didn't notice, instead marveling at how the teasing smile had vanished from Relena's face and had been replaced by wide eyes and slightly accelerated breathing.

Victory burned throughout his body. The tables had turned, the shoe was now on the other foot, etc. etc. The challenge issued by the female had been met, and it was now the male's turn to pursue.

Keeping his own face and voice as deadpan as possible, Heero said, "I am not a prude."

She swallowed. Heero thought he had never seen skin so wonderful as that on her neck. He wondered what it would smell like. The warrior in him announced that she probably didn't smell so good because of her run, and Heero promptly expelled that voice, deciding that now was not the time for logic.

They stood there with Heero feeling smug until the deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression on her face slowly changed into a self-deprecating grin. The aggressiveness that was previously on display was gone, leaving behind a young woman with a touch of sadness in her eyes.

Heero took a slight step back until they were no longer chest-to-chest and stared down at her. Their previous game of one-upsmanship abandoned, he was reminded of just whose company he was in. This young woman, pretty but not beautiful, smart but not brilliant, charming but not enchanting, and ordinary in so many ways, was the most important person in the known universe.

She held the heart of humanity in the palm of her hand, bridging a gap between the people of the Earth and colonies that had formed long before her birth. Had she chosen to do so, she could have retaken the throne as Queen of the World and been welcomed by those billions of people who to this day referred to her as "Queen Relena". But instead she had taken a position as a mid-level bureaucrat, seemingly content to leave the limelight to the elected officials who nonetheless resented the hold she had over the populace.

Heero's hand came up and lightly brushed against the hair above her temple. She was so much more than he could ever be. So much more than he deserved.

After a moment of silence, with Heero's hand still stroking her hair, Relena spoke with her trademark calmness.

"We've been through too much to play games with each other, haven't we Heero?" She continued when he did not respond. "I don't want to flirt with you. We can try to play the roles of real people, but that's not who we are." She gave a soft laugh. "Normal people don't literally save the world before their eighteenth birthdays."

Heero was at a loss. He didn't know what to say to this. The conversation had gone from teasing to sexual to serious in an alarmingly short span of time.

"We've always done what we've thought was best, Heero. Society's conventions have never held us back. If that were true then I'd still be living my old life as the ambassador's daughter, and you'd probably be dead." She spoke in a matter of fact manner and Heero could not disagree with her. Her will and his single mindedness had allowed them to achieve great things, greater than should have been possible.

"So in keeping with our tendency of saying 'screw you' to basically everyone, I hereby decree," here she smiled at the joke referencing her royal background, "that there will be no more games between us. We will do what we want, just like we always have, in the straightforward manner that has served us so well in the past."

Heero had to admit to himself that it sounded like a good idea. He started to bend his head down to her, intent on finally sharing a kiss, when she began to back up and further away from him.

"Let's go swimming Heero." And with those words she turned and ran to the lake, and she didn't stop until she was treading water.

In the spirit of no more games Heero called out to her. "I don't want to swim. I want to kiss!"

Seemingly not surprised by his uncharacteristic declaration, Relena responded with a shout of her own. "Swim now, kiss later!"

With that encouragement Heero toed off his shoes, removed his shirt, and followed after her, eager to see just where all of this was going.