By Evil Bunny
The battle had been quick and simple. Unprepared for attack, and near destroyed by the interior sabotage, the castle's defenses had easily fallen, and the destruction of the few enemies that had engaged Heero in battle was not nearly enough draw his attention. Uncooperatively simple, as Heero found that each spare moment sent his thoughts back to a pair of haunted hazel eyes and unexplainable jealousy of Duo.
Still, Heero avoided return to the base; after all he wanted to be sure that no one from the castle escaped. They'd never hurt her again. Heero blinked; never hurt anyone again. That was, after all, his mission objective. Nothing to do with the girl from the garden, nothing to do with the way she'd felt in his arms, the smoothness of her skin, or the way he reached for her without thinking. Nothing to do with the way the wind of the helicopter had danced her feathers around him like a caress. Nor was he avoiding the base because he wasn't sure exactly how he kept finding her in his arms. The mission was all that counted. Still, the dancing sunlight among the treetops made him think of her hair, and the silence of his mecha seemed filled with her soft voice, asking for his return. When a slight puff of air made him think of warm breath against his cheek, he finally gave in and turned like a compass toward the one direction he hadn't allowed himself to take: back towards base, and her.
-------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
It'd taken Heero longer than he'd thought to find where Duo had put her. Neither of the two aides he'd asked had even heard of Releena, and he'd be damned if he'd describe her as 'a girl with wings'. By the time he'd finally tracked down Duo, snacking away at the canteen, he temper had completely disintegrated and he merely grabbed a fistful of material, slammed him against a wall and snarled
"Where is she?"
Duo'd put her in one of the unused wings, away from the controlled chaos of a military and then hadn't bothered to inform anyone one of her location yet. He'd left her completely alone, and suddenly Heero wasn't sure if he was furious that they'd neglected her, guilty that he'd abandoned her, or relieved that no one else had been allowed near her.
Heero's angry marching finally brought him to the dusty hall Duo'd rapidly described to him between gasps for breath. At least Duo had known exactly who Heero was asking for, and hadn't wasted any time with excuses. Turning the last corner, Heero's battle charged nerves screamed back into full alert when he noticed the door standing open, and the rest of the area deserted. His eyes immediately began scanning for unnoticed dangers, and he cursed Duo again for leaving her alone. On silent feet he inched down the hall, finally coming level to the oaken door, and cautiously entering. Something inside him chilled when he saw the cluttered room was deserted, and every muscle, usually so fluid in any emergency, clenched in something he slowly recognized as fear.
They'd gotten her somehow. He hadn't been quick enough, hadn't gotten them all. While he'd been out fighting their distractions, they'd come in through the rear and stolen her back. And Heero knew just how much they'd hurt her. Anger uncurled from his frozen heart, and the his fist unconsciously clenched. He'd need Duo's help to find her, but he'd never forgive him.
But how had they snuck in? Gratefully Heero sunk back into battle trained instincts and calm, scanning the area now for clues instead of the girl he'd hoped to find. The only movement came from the wind playing with the window curtains, and he moved forwards on feet he could no longer feel towards that half hidden breeze, his whole being concentrated on what quickly showed itself as a balcony door.
As he walked past the last pile of discarded furniture, his breath caught in his throat, and he stood still, as if his movement might startle her away. There she was. She sat nearly all in shadow, only the top of her head burnished gold by the sun that had nearly set. From the doorway he could see the vulnerable curve of her back amidst the feathers that pooled around her, the horror's she'd seen painted there, contrasted with the smooth arch of her neck and her face pillowed in her arms. She was safe.
Heero had to reach out a hand to the door frame to catch himself as his balance deserted him, followed by his worry of the past minute and the tension he hadn't known he'd carried since he'd let her out of his sight. The slight rattle of his hand as it brushed the latch startled her around, and for a moment she sat staring up at him, almost as if she couldn't believe he'd come. Two thin tacks ran down her cheeks, and with a jolt Heero realized she'd been crying. Before he could move, she let out a chocked noise, scrambled to her feet and launched herself at him, burrowing into his chest with enough force to rock him back onto his heels, her wings trailing backwards and finally engulfing them both. He wrapped her arms around her, holding tightly as she began to shake, and trying to see the through the cloud of white, to find what had hurt her. A frantic recall disproved any physical harm, he'd have noticed any new bruises instantly, so that ruled out the more obvious cause for her tears. What did that leave? Within seconds Heero realizied he had no idea what that left. Other than some danger, what other cause could there be? She'd finally stopped shaking, and as small sniffling sounds began to emanate from the curtain of hair, he rested his cheek briefly against her head, amazed at the texture while still puzzling out the source of her distress. Her wings draped over his arms in distracting mounds, fistfuls of feathers that danced along his skin with any breath of wind or slightest motion.
He felt her brush closed fists against cheeks, rubbing away the salty residue, before settling back against him, hands once again tightly wound in the fabric of his shirt.
"I'm sorry" she sighed, the words muffled by her continued refusal to look at him. Sorry for what? For the second time in as many minutes Heero found himself scrambling for answers to questions he'd never though existed, the distracting smell of honeysuckle throwing most of his thoughts into disarray.
Gently she pushed away, and Heero reluctantly let her go, not knowing how to keep her, or even if he could. With a nervous gesture she ran her fingers through her hair, the motion stopped halfway through when she tangled herself in a snarl, her eyes traveling out past him to the old walls around her.
"There's just so much stone." She whispered, finally bringing her eyes to Heero's. The tears still caught in her lashes trapped and reflected the dying blue of the sky, "But I'm alright now, its just so…" she trailed off and gave him a brave smile, and Heero realized he'd been doubly wrong to leave her alone in this new place, as fragile as she seemed, and that he always wanted to be there to sooth her tears, just to see that smile in return.
The soft sound of footsteps in the room broke the moment and reawoke all his fears of attack. Surely Duo would know better than to come looking for him. Heero immediately turned to meet the attack, unconsciously placing himself in from of Releena, shielding her from whoever might be coming.
Notes: I'll warn you now, it will probably be awhile until another update: at the least two weeks, but possibly much longer than that. But to hurry me along, please feel free to review, they really are wonderful motivation. (no, not mean ones, those are just discouraging.)
