Petra: We all knew it was too good to be true...
Kati: We all knew it had to end eventually...
Petra: We knew the peace couldn't last...
Kati: *cries* She had to be in here somewhere...

DEDICATED: For the gundam pilots; I would set them free of their memories and guilt if I could.
WARNING: Slight angst... but I don't think you'll care when you see who's doing the cryin'.
DISCLAIMER: Nothin' fancy, just a simple, I don't own the Pilots... See... slavery is illegal... (Kati: Not that you haven't tried!)

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If You Could: Next Time We Meet

"True love never dies. It only fades into nothing, like a shadow under a slowly brightening morning light." -0083; Evergreen (GW)

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Heero opened the door to his apartment and listened, smiling, as he heard no American voice. Tonight was the night. Tonight was the night when anything and everything could happen. He placed the two bags of groceries on the counter and then began to take out the items that, tonight, would create a delicious pasta dinner.

He was just putting the tomatoes in the fridge when a knock sounded at the door. He stood back up, shutting the fridge, as a confused look appeared on his face. Quatre was keeping Duo out of the apartment until he could get it ready. Trowa and Wufei were out on a mission…so, who could be at the door?

'It can't be Artemis or her friends, they never knock and are always just… there… So, that must mean, it has to be…' The thought came too late as he opened the door to greet… 'Relena.'

"HEERO-KUN!!" She screeched, making him wince slightly as she immediately 'glomped' on the harassed boy. "Heero-kun, I went back to find you and you weren't there and I was so sure that you'd disappeared again or that maybe you were on a mission-"

With strong, not so gentle hands, he pulled her away from him and asked, "Relena-sama, what is it? If you have nothing useful to say to me I would like you to leave. I have things I need to do."

Relena blinked at him in surprise, staring at him before replying, "Why, Heero-kun, I came because I love you and you want me to chase you…"

Heero shook his head as Relena trailed off, a smile quirking his lips. "Relena-sama, I do not want you to chase me. I never did and I never will. I don't know why you don't understand."

Relena, surprised at the smile, knew that she must be getting through to him if she had made him display emotion. (For, dearest readers, you must remember that the Her Pinkness doesn't know Heero lost his memory.) "But, Heero-kun, I know you love me."

A sharp bark of laughter cut her off and she stared, slightly hurt, mostly in awe, at the way his voice sounded. "Relena-sama, yes, I do love someone, but that person is not you… in fact, you're complete opposites."

For a moment, the memory of Iris saying that he was in love with someone else tormented her mind but she pushed it back, determined that he was pretending for some reason or other. "Heero-kun, you don't have to keep playing this game. I-"

This time, she was cut off by an angry growl and she looked up to find that Heero was staring at her with annoyance and anger. "Listen, Relena-sama, I appreciate that you like me, hell, maybe even love me, but I can't say the same. I am *not* playing hard to get and I am *not* doing it for the mission! Do you want to know who I love? Do you want to know who I think about every spare minute? Do you want to know who I ate breakfast in bed with this morning? DO YOU?!" Relena, took a step back, and couldn't help but feel a little frightened at the anger he was displaying.

"First off, it's not a she, it's a he. If that's not enough of a hint for you, I don't know what it. I don't like females. I find *males* more attractive then *females*! I am gay, a homosexual, and it's not because of how I grew up and yes, whatever higher beings still cares for me and no, I will never like women! I find your *brother* more attractive than you!" She stared at him and she couldn't keep back the tears that began to fill her eyes. "In particular, I like one boy. He's got beautiful violet eyes and waist-length golden-brown hair that I would give almost anything to touch. He always wears a smile and, almost ninety-nine percent of the time, it's real. I was horrible to him before, I don't deserve him, but I plan on spending the rest of my life trying to make it up to him. His name is *Duo* *Maxwell* and I would give my life for him." Now the tears were freely pouring down Relena's face as she listened to something she never thought she'd hear.

"He grew up on the street, you grew up like a princess; he was so malnourished when he was child that he will never grow to be as tall as he could have been; you will grow to be as tall as you possibly can. More importantly, he's male, you're not. He's the one I love, the one I want to SLEEP with, not you." Then, so gently she felt new tears start, he cupped her face in his hands and made her look at him. His eyes held love but, she realized with the deepest sort of pain, that look wasn't for her but, instead, a young man with an always cheerful grin. "Relena-sama, I respect you for what you're trying to do and I believe, with all my heart, that you are one of the only few people who can do it. Now, you need to stand tall and get over me. Then, maybe when you do, we can meet again, and maybe we can become friends because that is all I can offer."

As he wiped the tears away from her cheeks she asked, in a voice barely above a whisper, "Are you so sure you can't love me?"

Heero stared at her, sorrow reflecting in his eyes for her, as he answered, "Not the way you want me to. Perhaps as a brother, definitely as a friend… but, never as you want me to."

Relena looked back at the ground and, as her heart shattered, she also felt it begin to heal. "I... understand. I wish with all my heart it could have been different but, as long as you're happy, I'll accept it. If you ever need anything, though, call me." Gently, she turned her face so that she could kiss his palm before turning and walking out the door. As she walked into the elevator, she turned around and said, "And next time we meet, let's pretend it's the first time." And then she was gone, disappearing in a whirl of pink and blonde.

Heero stood for a while at the door, before turning back inside with a smile, knowing in his heart that Relena would be fine. As he turned back in his started as he saw Artemis, Iris, Hebe, Aphrodite, and Athena standing a few steps away from him. Then, all together, they said, "We're here to help you get ready!" Then, looking at each other, they yelled, "MISSION LOVE, IT'S BLAST OFF TIME!" Heero knew that if he were an anime character, at that moment he would have sweat-dropped.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you that wish it, DUE TO MY SPORADIC postings, I am offering you, the readers, A MAILING LIST to sign up to. When I finally UPDATE, I will SEND OUT AN EMAIL informing those of you that are on the list that I have finally updated. I need you to EMAIL me, telling that you wish to sign up, and whether it's for ORIGINAL FICTION or FANFICTION. I WILL NOT accept those people that ask to be up on it in a review because I can't be sure that email is real. The mailing list will ALSO OFFER the TITLES of those works that I am posting, the COUPLES (if any) that are in it, which FANDOM it is from, and whether it is a SEQUEL to anything.

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Petra: Yes, the goddesses are being dorky; they're doing so on purpose. 'Ro needs to be a little cheered up after that...
Kati: Poor, 'Ro... *sighs* I wouldn't wish Relena one my dearest enemy...
Petra: Kati... that's because your dearest enemy could be a Relena-wanna-be, if she only knew who Relena was...
Kati: Point. Anyways, sorry that was so short...
Petra: And, as always, thanks to those readers who were kind and good enough to review, such as:

GHOST WHISPER: I am not selling naked bisie pictures! Really... I just took some... and gave the rest back to the people in the pictures... at a price... Yeah! I'm glad someone figured it out! Yes, the last line in the last chapter was from one of Heero-kun's image songs... I thought it fit so...
DRAGEN EYES: I... don't know... -_-; Sorry, about it not being finished but, despite what it may look like, I am trying to get it finished. Don't worry, long reviews don't annoy me at all, I feel extremely privileged that you would like my story enough to put so much time into writing a review. After this chapter, Relena is definately out of the picture now, wouldn't you say? I know, but Duo angst is the best! That was one of the reasons that I had to write this story, because I needed to see Heero-kun happy but I didn't know how to do so without making him totally out of character. Then, I read a story where Duo-kun lost his memory and I thought... why not Heero-kun? I don't know... I don't really see Duo as a guitar player... I don't really know, I guess, I just think Duo-kun would be a singer. Trust me, you'll be seeing more goddesses, though I'll admit most people don't really care for them, which makes me a little sad. I'm really glad that you like them so much. Y'know what I just noticed... you call Duo-kun by his name, but you called "Heero-kun" just plain Yuy... why is that? Sorry, got a little off track... Anways... Yes, I'm feeling a lot better now, better than I've felt since third grade. Happy ending? ^_- Mebbe... mebbe not... I hope you slept well!

"I dream of a day when I can open my eyes, and my dreams won't disappear."
-Rose Marie Ledam

~Petra Megami Assari~
*The Gentle Tiger Goddess*