Snow Angel

Before he met her, Heero had been indifferent to the snow. It was a normal seasonal happenstance that had to be cleared off of cars and shoveled out of the way. The frozen, crystallized, precipitation was slick and cold. At the best of times, a light dusting caused possible slick conditions; on the worst, poor visibility, dangerous roads, unsafe conditions for transporting her to and from the office. It put her at risk. He didn't like it.

His fiancé, however, did.

Relena loved the snow and so, Heero found himself standing ankle deep in it… She had shown enthusiasm for this sort of weather in the past and had, on occasion, tried to persuade him to enjoy it as well, but he never quite could...

"Isn't it wonderful, Heero?! And it's just in time for Christmas!" Christmas was at least two weeks away, but the weather report showed another several inches on the way. Apparently snow at Christmas was another popular idea.

Christmas was another thing she had brought to his attention in a new way. Christmas-or rather- holidays in general, like the aforementioned snow, used to mean nothing to him; just another day in another month in another year. Days held only the simple significance of marking the passage of time, and time had never been on his side. He hadn't expected to live beyond the war and so spending time; days, months, learning to live as something other than a soldier had been a chore… one made easier every day after her...

Heero found himself decorating her office with her on her lunch break; putting up a small tree in the corner of the room and stringing garland and lights around the walls and door.

"It looks so festive! Thank you so much for helping!" She gave his cheek a quick peck. Public displays of affection we prohibited at Preventer and in her office, but behind a closed door… The corners of his lips lifted slightly. He was pretty pleased with their handiwork as well.

"Here." She held out a star with a conical fixture on the bottom.

"Hn?" He looked at her, unsure what she wanted.

"Will you put it on top of the tree?" He stepped forward and took hold of the top bow, stuffing it inside the conical end of the star.

"Perfect!" The warmth of her smile lit up the room better than all the lights put together as he crossed the small distance between them. After all, she still had fifteen minutes...

This was their first Christmas together since becoming a couple. It had been a strange experience, trying to decide how to take the next step. Odin once told him that the only way to live a good life was to act on his emotions. Having been trained as he had, such advice was hard to heed. Still, with a persistent, precocious woman like Relena in his life he had somehow found a way…

"How dare you embarrass me! How could you do that, Heero?"

"Relena-" he followed her down the hall, surprised at her ability to move so quickly in her three-inch heels. When she reached the door, she opened it and stepped in.

"I'm disappointed in you."

The door slammed in his face as Relena entered her room. He knew why she was angry; understood her right to be. He had acted rashly and caused quite a stir because of it. There had been a charity auction that she had to attend. It went surprisingly well, taking in millions of dollars for the relief efforts for the colonies and the families most affected by the War.

He had only been looking out for her, trying to protect her from what he perceived as a threat. That man was taking liberties… hands roaming far too low, arms pulling her far too close… When Heero saw the man reach into his breast pocket of his tuxedo, Heero felt his breath catch. The man could have been reaching for anything. A gun. A Knife. Heero acted quickly. So what if it had only been a cigarette lighter. Smoking was bad anyway…

But Relena had been furious.

"Open the door, Relena."

"No."

"We need to talk."

"No."

"Relena."

"I have nothing to say to you!"

"Open the door!" She threw the door open then, her dress was undone, her silken under slip left nothing to the imagination… The nylons snaked up her long legs like a second skin… Her breasts heaved with her angered breathing… A hunger grew in his stomach but none that any food could satisfy. Fueled by the adrenaline from the earlier event, he felt something come over him. He hadn't just been worried about her. He could have lost her had the man been an assassin but it went beyond that. The handsome diplomat had been charming and charismatic… everything Heero wasn't… The thought came to him. A realization. He could lose her to another man and that hurt him more than the thought of death…

"Heero, I said that I-"

Before she could say another word, he pulled her to him, pressing his lips against hers. At first, she seemed mad, pushed against him… then she relaxed, returned the kiss… deepened it… she felt right pressed against him... Her lips were so soft… and she tasted of strawberries and champagne...

When the kiss broke, she stared at him, lips swollen as they both gasped for air. After a small eternity, she looked him in the eyes, brows raised and knit together, aqua eyes swirling with passion… and confusion.

"Heero… what-?"

"I'm sorry." He uttered. "I didn't like him touching you… and then when I thought… that he might hurt you…" her eyes widened, a surprised smile formed on her tempting lips.

"You were jealous?" He nearly winced at her usage of the word, but nodded, unable to meet her eyes. "Heero…" He still couldn't look at her. "What does this mean?"

What did it mean? He wasn't sure. He'd been jealous. He wanted to be the one holding her, dancing with her. He didn't want them to. Not at all. He wanted her to himself. It was selfish; foolish even for someone like him to want it but… he did… he wanted…

"I don't know." He answered and finally met her eyes. "All I know… is that I don't want anyone else touching you… holding you… ever."

"Heero…" she shook her head and smiled.

"I want you Relena. For me. Only." Her smile widened.

"That sounds an awful lot like you saying you want me to be your girlfriend."

Girlfriend? It didn't seem an adequate term. Still, it would have to do.

"Yeah." He smirked. Her expression softened, brows relaxing, a smile on her lips.

"That's all you ever needed to say." She leaned forward and he met her halfway, capturing her lips again...

There was nothing he wouldn't do for her; nowhere he would rather be than with her, keeping her safe. And so, Heero Yuy found himself standing outside, in the cold, ankle-deep in the snow as his fiancé danced around in the newly fallen powder. From the moment they left the office, Relena had barely been able to contain her excitement.

All the way home she fidgeted, eyes watching out the window, wide with wonder at the wintry white surroundings. As soon as they had arrived, she had all but jumped out of the car and ran into the snow. Which brought him to his current position in the aforementioned snowbank.

"Isn't it so beautiful?" She spoke, voice soft with awe. "Like a blanket of diamond dust covering the Earth!" The corners of his lips curved up into a small smile. He grudgingly admitted there was something hypnotic about it: the way the bows of the trees glistened under their frozen coating drew the eyes with a mild sense of… wonder?

She tipped her head back, stuck out her tongue and stood in the snowbank of the mansion's driveway.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue!" He shook his head. Precipitation was hardly sanitary enough to be consumed in large quantities, but the few she would be able to catch would be harmless enough.

"Come on! Try it!"

"No." She frowned, her lips curving down into an irresistible pout. "And you need to get inside. You're not dressed for this." Her mid-thigh pencil skirt and business suit jacket provided little protection, though the navy blue peacoat and gloves would provide temporary aid against the chill. It did, however, give her a tantalizing silhouette; standing there, snowflakes in her hair like tiny gems, she looked…

"Oh, I'll be fine! This is the perfect time to make a snowman!" She walked over, grabbed his hand and tugged him with her. "Come on!"

"What if you get sick?" She paused and stared down at their hands. Aqua eyes locked with his and slowly, her expression softened.

"Okay." She smiled. "But we're coming right back out!" He followed her inside and up to their room where he watched her strip off her skirt and blouse in favor of a pair of jeans and a sweater regretting the sight of her creamy skin disappearing into the dark denim and thick pink fleece. Heavy winter gear was not part of her usual attire so jeans and her peacoat would have to do. He pulled out two pairs of his socks for her to double layer with and a pair of his boots that were far too big for her. He stuffed the toe and handed them to her. Again, his line of sight went to her slender legs… Heero grabbed her sky blue scarf and gently wrapped it around her head, over her ears and around her neck.

"To keep warm." He told her and she smiled. She gave him a quick, sweet kiss.

"We have to stop in the kitchen."

"Kitchen?" She nodded.

"We need a carrot."

"What for?"

"You'll see." She smiled and he followed as she made her way through the mansion hall, down the stairs and into the marble and mahogany kitchen. She stopped at the fridge and pulled out the aforementioned carrot before closing the door. Again he followed her out into the cold.

He allowed himself to be led into the snowy yard as her laughter filled the air. She bent down and he was rewarded with the ability to appreciate the perfect curves of her backside as she began to gather a small amount of snow.

"Aren't you going to help me?" She looked over her shoulder at him. There were a few things he would like to help her with… getting back to their room… taking off those clothes… warming her up on their bed… He grinned. There would be time for that later. She wanted to build a snowman. A simple task… but one he had never personally accomplished.

"Show me how." He stated. She stood up, eyes widened briefly, lips parted in a soft gasp as she stated at him.

"What?"

"I'm sorry…" she looked down, hands knitting together. "It never occurred to me… that this is something you've never done…" Her voice held sorrow… for him… He walked forward, lifted her chin and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face.

"Relena," He caressed her cheek. "Don't try to bear guilt for a past you didn't cause." Her aqua eyes locked with his.

"But you missed out on so much…"

"And now I have you." Her eyes widened in surprise. "Because of that past." He offered a small smile.

"Heero…" he placed a soft kiss on her lips… she leaned into his, deepening it for just a moment before pulling back, a slight haze over her aqua eyes… "Mmm.. what were we doing?"

"Snowman." He reminded her and she smiled as she led him over to the pile.

"Right!" She grinned, cheeks heating in a fiery blush. "Now, what we need to do is roll three large snowballs, one bigger than the next and stack them on top of eachother with the largest on the bottom…" she showed him the best way to pack the snow and roll it until each intended section reached the necessary sizes. Watching her enjoy the process was almost more fun than helping with it… With ease granted him by his strength from training, he hefted the frozen spheres up where they belonged and turned to her for approval; her smile warmed him like a personal fire and she nodded.

"Now, we have our nose," she held up the carrot triumphantly. "But we still need eyes, a mouth, and arms!" Heero glanced around. "Traditionally, coal buttons are used for the eyes and mouth but we can use whatever we find…" Heero went to the driveway and kicked aside some snow to access the beautiful, dark stones of onyx and limestone that had been used in landscaping. Upon further perusal of the layout, he found two large sticks about the same size.

Relena smiled at his acquisitions. He handed her the stones: two, round onyx that she placed for the eyes. The grey limestone she used for the mouth. Heero wasted no time in shoving one stick on either side for the arms. Stepping back, he stared at their results of their efforts with pride. Being a bit of a perfectionist, each section of the snowman's body was carefully rounded with a nearly perfect ratio between sizes of the segments.

Just as he began to turn to see her reaction, something hard and cold hit the back of his neck, exploding into frozen dust around his face. Uncontrollable giggles echoed out behind him ending in a bit of a snort.

She had hit him with a snowball.

Heero turned to look at her and grinned. He picked up a handful of snow as he has for the snowman and packed it firmly into a ball.

"You want to start a fight with a soldier?"

"What's the matter? Afraid you'll lose?" That taunting smirk… the ornery glint in her eyes… Heero threw the snowball and it landed with a satisfying 'thunk' on her chest.

She looked down at the spot where it struck her and her own grin widened. The war was on. Snowball after snowball projected through the air at their intended targets. Some, he purposefully missed. Some, he allowed to hit him; there would be less fun for her if he dodged every throw. With each toss, he closed the distance between them. She took shelter behind bushes and trees and ducked behind the decorative statues but to no avail. In spite of the slick conditions, he was faster. He made his way around her, sneaked up behind her, and latched his arms around her to pull her close.

With a shriek of delight, she threw her hands in the air, twisting to grab him as well. Her action, mixed with the slick surface beneath them sent them falling back into the snow! As always, he protected her, pulling her on top of him to take the brunt of the fall. In a fit of giggles, she lay on his chest, his breathing deep but ragged as he made sure she was, in fact, okay.

"You caught me."

"Hn." He gripped her tighter.

"My hero." She grinned and leaned down, her frosty lips meeting his in an innocent kiss. Even laying in the snow, her kiss was enough to light his entire body on fire. The kiss deepened into a series of heated kisses as her tongue melded with his… Her hands began to caress his sides... He wished, not for the first time that day, that they were in their room… on their bed… where he could allow that fire to blaze out of control.

She broke the kiss and caressed his cheek before another curious smile curved onto her lips. She rolled off of him as he released her and she landed in the snow next to him. He sat up and watched as his fiance spread her arms and legs wide over and over, giggling again like the school girl she hardly got to be. It was as amusing as it was strange… Finally, she stopped and stood up.

"Your turn!" She stated. He stared up at her, confused. She shook her head. "Lay back down in the snow and do what I did."

"I'm not flapping my arms and legs in a snowbank, Relena." She frowned.

"Just humor me? Trust me. You'll understand in a minute." Those eyes: soft, aqua pleasing with him. He sighed in defeat, flopped back and did as she asked. When he finished, he stood beside her and looked down.

"See?" In the snow were two large imprints of their bodies but conical shapes protruded where the legs and arms had been. "They're called 'snow angles'. It's a popular snowy weather practice." He studied the two imprints. They did look like the sort of angel one saw on generic Christmas cards… but for some reason… they impressed him. He looked at her then. The scarf had come off, there was snow in her hair, her cheeks and nose were red from the cold and her smile shone through the steam of her breath… She was beautiful. The closest thing to an angel he had ever really known. His snow angel…

"What's wrong?" He shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of that cheesy thought. 'Too many hours spent with Duo…'

"Nothing." He walked to her and brushed some snow from her hair, caressing her cheek. She shivered, but the heat in her eyes relit his fire. He took her in his arms and kissed her, one hand on the small of her back, the other on the back of her neck. She moaned and it stoked his fire.

"We should get you inside… to warm up…" She nodded and let him lead her inside the mansion and up the stairs to their room… he closed the door behind them. She began to remove her jacket, but he caught her hands to stop her.

"Heero…?" She raised an eyebrow, eyes studying him carefully. He smiled and reached out to caress her cheek.

"Let me warm you up…" She shivered, eyes clouding over with passion… She nodded. He picked her up and carried her over to the bed. He set her down on her feet at the foot of the bed. She was still shivering… He held her in his arms a moment longer before stepping back. She allowed him to take off her coat for her. He unbutton it, pulled it from her shoulders and hung it neatly on the vanity chair.

"Raise your arms." She complied and he pulled the sweater and t-shirt over her head at the same time leaving her in her bra. She shivered and he rubbed her arms… then her sides… After all of the times he had seen her like this she was still modest and blushed under his hungry gaze.

He reached down and unfastened the jeans, leaning in to place feather-light kisses on her neck… She sighed and he smirked. He pulled down her pants, soaked from the melted snow. Her skin was pinkish from the chill. His lips barely grazed the toned skin of her abdomen, not quite touching… His hands, however, followed the path, eliciting a moan from her as the skin pebbled with goosebumps from the sudden heat... The pants slid off her hips and down her slender legs… He left her in her underwear, smiling up at her as he stood to his feet.

"Sit down on the bed." She did as he asked and the tightness in his pants became worse… seeing her, on the bed, nearly naked…

He knelt down and pulled off her boot and socks off of one foot, taking time to massage and warm the pinkened, cold flesh. She moaned and he repeated the treatment to her other foot.

"Heero…" her voice was a breathy whisper as she reached for him. He chuckled, stood up and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him in to deepen the kiss. He smiled into her lips and pulled back.

"Take a hot shower." He whispered, voice husky and low.

"But you're still in your wet clothes… Don't you want me to warm you up?"

"Later." He smiled at her pout as he pulled back. "I'll make some cocoa."

"Heero."

"Go. Get warm." He began to walk to the door.

"Okay…" the tone of her voice made him stop in his tracks… He turned and watched as she peeled off her bra and dropped it with one hand to the floor. "If that's really…" the way she swiveled her hips as she made her way to the bathroom. "What you want." She slid her underwear down her long, slender legs slowly, swiveling her hips again. That did it. There was only so much a man could take!

He closed the distance between them, ripping off his clothes: jacket and shirt flying to random spots in the room before he scooped her up into his arms, lips seizing hers in a fiery kiss. Her naked breasts pressing against his chest stirred his desire. Her hands ran up his arms and wound around his neck, lips opening to welcome his tongue with hers. When they reached the bed, she broke the kiss and undid his belt and his pants, wiggling her way down his front. She knew exactly what she was doing to him… He stepped out of the pants and helped her to her feet, crushing his lips to hers as they fell on the bed. She laughed as he purposefully tickled her neck with his chin.

"I feel warmer already." She whispered. He grinned and nipped the tender skin of her neck.

"Me too." Her kissed her passionately before their bodies became one; gently, slow, and full of all the love he held for her. Finally, they cried out eachother's names and he collapsed on top of her, gently, kissing her neck and her lips, reveling in the moment of just being with her.

"I love you." She whispered, caressing his back. She meant it. He knew she meant it and it never ceased to amaze him how someone like her could ever find value in someone like him. He smiled into the skin of her neck, placed another gentle kiss before raising his head to look into her eyes. Words were never easy for him; least of all words of the heart. But now, in this moment, with her, all that mattered was the two of them. He caressed her cheek and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face.

"I love you too." He answered and tears formed in the eyes of his snow angel as he dipped down to claim her lips in another deep, sweet kiss.