Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.
"Is it really even safe to let them remain in the same lodgings?" Trowa asked.
"This is one man," the Chief responded.
Heero watched Relena slip into her room with a nagging anxiety, but so many things had already gone so badly awry today that he lacked the energy and clarity to vet the emotion. He hoped Zechs had been right. Experience told him that Zechs was unlikely to overestimate Relena's security in any given situation, after all.
How smart could the guy be?
"Are you feeling okay?" Juliet asked, once again invading his space at the window.
He stared at her a long minute, realizing how foolish he was to even be tempted to answer the question truthfully.
Why did she make him want to answer truthfully?
"You don't look very good," she said.
Heero blinked slowly and looked back out at the stars. "Do you want your spot back?"
She smiled brightly and shook her head. "I was just worried about you," she explained. "Honest."
He sighed and looked back down at the girl. She had her mother's eyes, and he found it comforting. He'd been watching her over the recent hours — watching her talk with Lydia and read and take a moment to eat. Everything about her reminded him of her mother.
Lydia had taken a liking to her, as well, by the looks of it.
He was glad for Lydia's sake. The mocking she endured from Zechs was inexcusable, but he knew that the truth was that it was his fault. Zechs had said that he disliked Lydia, but Heero knew that what he disliked was Heero's relationship with her.
He hadn't realized until after news of the nature of said relationship made its way back to the former Lightning Count how much Zechs wanted Heero's relationship with Relena to be more than a friendly one. He had pressed Heero to confess to being intimate with his sister from the moment he arrived, often implying that he was the father of her daughter, but Heero held his ground, denying the girl's relation and refusing to confirm the romantic nature of his and Relena's past.
He was relieved that Lydia had followed the Chief's orders and gave him a wide berth. His relationship with her was as close as he'd been to anyone he'd met on Mars, but that didn't mean he needed to divulge his entire past. Vulnerability on that level was unnecessary, especially after last time.
He had miscalculated last time.
Relena.
He shook the memories loose, sizing Relena's daughter up again. Something about her made him feel at home, but he worried that it might just be Relena's likeness drawing him back to a sense of false security.
Heero frowned. "Don't you have school work or something to do?" Truthfully, he suspected that it was past bedtime for her. He knew it was getting late but he didn't want to say as much.
He was not her father.
He looked abruptly away.
She gave him an inquisitive smile. "Normally, yes. But you're here and I kind of like you."
"I'm not up for conversation," he said honestly.
The girl shrugged. "Do you want to help me with something, then?"
After a few seconds' resistance, Heero looked at her from the corner of his eyes.
She grinned and then became very serious. "I was watching a movie while I was waiting for Miss Lydia earlier, and the hero was able to get an armed gun out of the villain's hands. Can you do that?"
Heero sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's a simple thing, yes."
Juliet took a deep breath and said cheerily, "Would you teach me?"
He gave her a pointed stare. "Deescalation is better."
She closed her eyes and nodded. "That's what my mother always says. 'Convince them that they want to give up before any real fighting begins.'"
He gave her half of a chuckle under his breath. "Your mother is the best at that," he answered.
"I'm not," she said sadly as she met his gaze again. "Teach me?"
Heero looked her up and down, first. "How's your ankle?"
She shrugged and looked away. "Do I need it?"
"I suppose not." He dropped his shoulders and rolled his neck from side to side before lifting himself away from the window. He nodded slowly and lowered himself to her height. "First, you have to understand that the trick is not brute strength but technique. Even someone as small as you can disarm a grown man," he said.
Juliet folded her hands in front of her and nodded as she listened.
"You use your opponent's strength against them," he explained, having her push and extended fist toward him and turning her arm against its will at the elbow.
"So it's the mechanical application of the fulcrum?"
He blinked at her a second, then opened his mouth. "Exactly," he answered slowly, moving on with the lesson.
Nine, she may be, but the girl was as analytical and clever as any of the pilots he'd worked with. He wasn't sure if he was glad or disappointed for her sake that she was Relena's daughter and not Zechs's or his own. It was probably better for her sake that she was under Relena's care, he reminded himself. She would protect her daughter from violence.
He half-heartedly wondered how hypocritical it was to silently celebrate such a thing, even as he was teaching her self-defense. He reasoned that everyone ought to be able to defend themselves — least of all Relena Peacecraft's heir.
Lydia stood near the door watching the girl's obvious bonding strategy succeed. She lacked the emotional energy to smile but she truly was pleased to see him let his guard down. She always knew he would be good with children. Few could see it but Heero was terribly kind.
Perhaps too kind, she thought, but that didn't matter now.
She remembered she had seen Relena touch him and wondered how close a person had to be to feel comfortable crossing such a boundary with him. Had he been intimate with someone before her? Despite his stoicism, it seemed foolish to think otherwise, but he certainly never said as much. It had taken her so much effort to gain his attention, nevermind that hard-won affection. Had that aloof, self-important woman done the same?
And if so then when? She knew he had come to the colony ten years ago, now. So if he had been Relena's lover, it would have had to have been before then. But how long before?
She eyed Juliet suspiciously.
And when did it end?
Heero stood up abruptly and stepped away from the girl when Leland came out of the room he was shared with the Foreign Minister. He went to the fridge and grabbed a drink, eyeing the General as he moved back into the sitting area. By then Juliet had retrieved her large book and was trying (and failing) to look busy.
Leland gave her a long look before saying anything. "Isn't there something healthier you could be doing?"
Lydia knew by the inflection he used on the word "healthier" that he was referring to something specific, and probably not healthy.
Juliet glanced away, closing the book and squeezing it against her chest.
Visibly annoyed, Leland reached out to grab it from her, invading her personal space in one swift move. Just as quickly as he moved in, the girl used her "fulcrom principles" (as she called them) to twist away his hand and shove it back toward him.
There was a long second of silent surprise where each of them, especially Juliet, just gaped at Leland. He, too, looked shocked, but as the reality of the experience settled on him, shock turned to something dark and sinister.
Lydia was up from the wall as soon as she saw his body tense to move but Heero was closer and faster. Leland's arm tensed and raised his hand to gain some range of motion, but just as quickly as the reflex moved him, Heero had moved his chest and shoulders between the man and the girl. Leland froze, lowering his fist but glaring warningly into Heero's eyes.
"Perhaps your father's right," Heero said softly, setting the diplomat's daughter at ease. "You should go to your room now and rest. It's late."
Juliet closed her eyes and nodded, scurrying from behind him to the safety of her room.
Leland's jaw clinched as he fought yielding to Heero's warning glare, but he eventually caved. He stormed into his room in a huff and slammed the door.
Lydia looked to Heero, hoping he would give her a reassuring glance — a soft expression to ease the tention of the conflict — but he had turned his back to her and moved back to the window where he could be alone with his thoughts.
Her ears continued to ring.
She moved to the kitchen, attempting to busy her hands so she could distract herself from it, but inaudible voices rising in Relena's room stopped suddenly with an abrupt, familiar thud.
She looked back at Heero.
He was watching the door, listening. His body was tense and alert, but he did not move.
Several minutes passed before Relena emerged, staring straight ahead. She paused as though she felt their guardians' eyes upon her. When she moved, Lydia noticed that she moved forward fluidly and regally. Her hair was mussed, but it was evident that she'd tried to smooth it out before moving into the living area. She was still that queen — a battered queen.
For a fleeting moment, she felt compassion for the diplomat, and then she remember the fear and the child's eyes. What about the girl? Bitterness became the brunette.
Relena moved into the kitchen as though Lydia was not there. She looked into the freezer for a long moment. She appeared to have found what she was looking for and began to reach in, but then she stopped. She turned her eyes on the Colonel, who was openly watching her movements, and then back into the frozen compartment. She retracted her hand and sighed calmly, giving a forced smile to no one in particular. She then moved to the refrigerated section for a drink. She stood tall and straight and made her way back throught he living area, refusing to look in Heero's direction at all.
Relena quietly released a breath and took another light step. As her bare feet pressed into the carpet, she heard a familiar hollow click.
Her heart stopped short.
She finally looked to the Genereal, knowing it was too late. Heero leapt to his feet with his eyes on her. He'd heard it, also. As her protector's weight shifted to move to her, the roar of the detonation wracked her head.
Her frame slammed to the ground.
Somewhere in the rushing ringing and the blazing heat at her back, she felt Heero's own body land on top of her. The world was reduced to flashes of black and white. There was nothing but heat and pain and the throbbing of her concussed head.
She'd never been this close to an explosion. Her body was suffering its wrath.
The moments it took to sense the world, again, felt like an eternity, but she began to recognize his forearm pressed into her stomach as he dragged her through the wreckage.
Just beyond the ringing, a thought began to take shape.
Juliet.
The Foreign Minister gasped for air, but only filled her lungs with burning smoke. She hacked and squinted through tears. Everything was burning.
"Ju— Juli—" She tried desperately to call out, but her voice was blocked by the polluted air.
Relena shook her screaming muscles and tried to free herself, but Heero would not release her.
She had to get to her daughter.
She get to see her safely out.
The Minister pooled her energy for one last fight. Relying on the already active rush of adrenaline and the last of what had been her aerobic strength, she fought.
Juliet.
She pushed at him with all of her strength but he only tightened his grip. In desperation, she pulled, tearing into his arm with her nails.
Finally clearing the smoldering dwelling, the General dragged her back to the ground.
"Enough," he growled, twisting her arms in front of her and pinning them to her already tender ribs. He'd never had to physically scuffle with her and he was genuinely trying not to hurt her.
"My daughter," she tried to beg but there was no voice.
Without expression Heero seized her, again, and carried her away to the bunker. He had to get her to safety, and he knew he didn't have the answers she wanted.
