November missed the memo that it was, in fact, November. The temperature had risen to over eighty degrees in some freak weather change as systems swirled out of control. Relena sat on the front terrace of the dormitory - hoping to catch a cool breeze; but, the harsh sun seemed determined to deprive everyone of enjoying what was otherwise a beautiful day. There was next to no wind but the leaves that did fall seemed to lazily float to the ground. The small, Midwestern college was abuzz in the unseasonable weather. Skateboarders and joggers consisting of shirtless men and women in their athletic wear made good use of the higher temperatures.

"What an afternoon!" Dorothy Catalonia groused as she fanned herself. "Someone please tell November that it's confused."

"Oh, Dorothy, you love it and you know it! You're getting another opportunity to see shirtless men outside of your bedroom." Hilde quipped.

"Indeed. And ogling my share of men is a better choice, by far, than the boring relationship you share with that braided dumbbell."

Relena sipped the cold iced tea and toyed with the charms on her necklace as she looked over her notes. She shook her head as her friends continued to exchange barbs. Dorothy could seem quite nasty at times to people who did not know her, but she and Hilde exchanged the occasional jab now and again as a weird sort of game Relena didn't fully understand. As their efforts to one-up one another continued, she turned her attention back to her book. She had to focus on her studies. Final exams were mere weeks away and with Thanksgiving coming up so quickly and there was so much to prepare for. She planned on visiting her brother and his family. Lucrezia made the best pumpkin pie and Milliard's Turkey couldn't be beat! However, if she didn't feel confident enough on the subject matter for her tests, then her only destination would be her desk...

"For example, that one over there."

"That's the one I was talking about. You can't tell me you just noticed him."

"Of course not. I just typically prefer to be more subtle about my admiration. But, if we want to make a big production out of it, how about this: Oh my!" Dorothy's voice escalated and broke through Relena's thoughts. "I don't know what he's fixing, but mine just broke!"

"What?" Relena followed her friend's gaze. He, the object of her friends' admiration, stood on a ladder across the street, shirtless and dripping in sweat. She blinked, and tilted her head to study the not at all unappealing sight.

The rippling muscles of his back contracted hypnotically with each move he made. There was something familiar about him, though…. Something that pulled her gaze and kept it there. He turned his head to look at something and she nearly dropped her tea, a gasp on her lips…

'Heero…?' She blinked once. Twice. Then studied him carefully to make sure she wasn't seeing things... It was him. Scars of various shapes and sizes marred the tanned flesh of his back and she wondered how… and when he received them… She expected him to be different; to have changed… What she hadn't expected... was to ever see him again...

"You don't understand, father! Heero loves me! And I love him!"

"For God's sake, Relena! You're eighteen! You don't even know what love is!"

She winced; the memory came flying back to her as she toyed once more with her necklace. One of the charms practically burned her fingers from its personal significance. It was a nervous habit she had developed. She had known Heero since they were children, grown up on the same block with him though their neighborhoods had been… different…

"Do you really think someone like that could really make you happy? Give you all the things you're accustomed to?"

They ran in different social circles: she of the social elite and he of the "everyday man" as her scholastic peers so rudely deemed it. Relena saw no difference. He was the boy who had always fascinated her… which was why forgetting him had been so hard.

Though they had lived on the same block; played at the same park, their primary schools were different. Her parents forced her into a private school for the gifted in the hopes that her knack for the arts would bear some professional success… Or that she would ultimately find a "suitable match" among the rich young men she went to school with.

Unfortunately for them, Relena only had eyes for the boy down the road with the unruly brown hair...

The dandelion wreath she made sat atop her golden hair as she danced along the sidewalk. Her brother, who was supposed to be watching her, had snuck off to hang out with an older boy. Relena didn't like Treize. He was mean to her and Milliard never did anything to stop him.

It wasn't really her intention to stray so far from the playground. She'd been dreaming that she was dancing with a handsome prince at a fairy ball. It had been a complete accident that she'd wandered into the tall grass… She hadn't meant to stumble onto Heero, but he was laying on his belly on the grass, a stick in one hand, squirt gun in the other and a strange hat on his head.

"Hello." She greeted. He said nothing. He continued to lie there…. "My name's Relena Darlian. What's yours?"

"Go away." He growled at her. "You'll show him where I am!"

"Who?" She asked, but the answer came rather quickly as a boy with a long brown braid jumped out of the bushes.

"Found you, Heero!" The braided boy yelled and aimed a large squirtgun in their direction.

"Dang!" Heero yelled as jumped up and ran behind a tree.

"Oh, hey! It's the little rich girl from down the street! Is she your new girlfriend, Yuy?" The braided boy teased.

"I don't even know her, Duo!" He called out. Relena stood stark still, completely confused. Was this boy his friend or…?

"Then you won't mind if I soak her!" The boy yelled and Relena felt her heart jump. If she got all wet, her mommy and daddy would be very angry. The last time she had gotten messy on the playground, her father had shown her his disappointment… Still, she couldn't let him get Heero. It was her fault he had been exposed!

"Go right ahead!" She dared him. "I'm not afraid of some water!"

"Ok, you asked for it!" She braced herself for the blast of cold water, staring the boy down as he opened fire.

Suddenly, Heero jumped out from behind the tree and leapt in front of her just as the boy fired. He protected her from the attack! His eyes locked with hers as the jets of water soaked his back…

"Ha! You lose!" The boy known as Duo taunted. "But at least you've got your girlfriend!" Duo laughed. "Kissy kissy!" The boy smacked his lips.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Heero roared and he charged, tackling the braided boy into the dirt...

Her cheeks still heated as she remembered how he'd looked: the intensity in his young blue eyes as he saved her… It was only water and yet…

"Relena!"

"What?" Relena's gaze snapped from him to her blonde friend.

"I see even Miss 'all work and no play' can appreciate a sexy, half-naked man." Dorothy laughed. Relena felt her cheeks heat.

"It isn't like that at all" She looked at her glass.

"Come on, Relena. We are being rewarded for our hard work with a perfect view of such an excellent specimen of masculinity."

"I know! Why don't you offer him a glass of iced tea? He's got to be thirsty!" Hilde suggested and Relena felt her blush deepen. She hadn't seen him in five years! How could she simply walk up to him and offer him a drink after he-

"Or I could do it." Dorothy nearly purred. The overly flirtatious woman was well known for her ability to charm her male targets. Relena felt her heart leap to her throat.

"N-no!" Relena nearly yelled. Her friends both raised curious brows, clearly shocked. "I… I can… do it…" She poured fresh tea into the empty glass on the table and stood, smoothing her skirt and counting to ten. In spite of her best efforts, her heart was racing; thundering in her ears as she reminded herself to breathe… And took her first step toward the man who haunted her memories…

Rain fell like bullets from the sky pelting her coat as she waited at the bus stop. He was supposed to be there... supposed to meet her. They were going to ride the bus to his uncle's farm in Idaho… Elope at a courthouse along the way… She checked her watch…

Minutes turned to hours… She was soaked, and cold… but still, she waited… She knew he would be there...

And here he was.

Her stomach flipped and her heart clenched with every step as the space between them closed… Until she was right behind him. A quick glance at the table showed her friends motioning for her to continue and offering encouragement in the form of 'thumbs up'.

What could she say? How could she just walk up to him after he… She mentally shook herself. None of that mattered anymore. Not at all. She just had to walk over to him, offer him the drink and...

"Excuse me?" She heard herself say but couldn't remember speaking. "Would you like a drink?" Upon hearing her voice, his muscles tensed and he froze mid-movement.

"Relena…?" She heard him whisper her name…

'So he does remember…'

He slowly stepped down from the ladder and she swore her heart beat and froze with each step. When his feet hit the ground, he turned, slowly… and her breath hitched in her throat. He had always been handsome, but his face was now that of a man: chiseled, hard jawline, stubble creating a rugged look… She felt her heart leap as his beautiful, deep blue eyes locked with hers for the first time in half a decade…

"Hello… Heero…" He didn't say anything, but rather stared at her; eyes taking a moment to study her. "It's… been a while…"

"Relena…" He said her name again and something flashed through his eyes before she found herself pulled into his arms. The glass of ice tea slipped from her hand and fell to the grass below as his lips claimed hers…

Fire spread through every nerve in her body and her stomach fluttered. As if on their own, her treacherous arms snaked around his neck. His lips were soft, but demanding as one of his hands found the small of her back and the other the back of her neck… She felt like she was floating… He still smelled the same; his body so familiar against hers just as it had been… before he…

She regained her senses and pulled away, her hand meeting his face in a resounding slap! He looked at her - eyes wide: surprise, guilt, flashing in the deep blue. All of the pain, the anguish from that day came slamming back into her heart.

"How dare you!" She uttered in a harsh whisper before she turned on her heel and headed back toward the dorms, ignoring the shocked and confused looks on her friends' faces as she stormed past.

It was hot. He was tired and working hard. On their own, such conditions never bothered him. Together, they were a bad combination. His head pounded almost in time with the hammer as he secured the cover over the gutter. A whole month with less than an hour of sleep a night while balancing a full-load of classes, sports, and a job left him little time to study for his coming finals. He wiped some sweat from his brow. Of all the days for November to be ungodly hot, it had to be the day where he had to weatherproof the windows and fix the gutters to keep the leaves out.

'So tired… when was the last time I had a drink?'

His water had fallen to the ground hours ago. It was a long way down to get it. He had too much to do to waste any time… How long he been working? It didn't really matter. In all his time in the Marines, he had been taught how to deal with the worst of circumstances… Maybe he should have listened to the doctor when he had that fever… He had been seeing things lately… having dreams… of his past… and of her…

The lights of the party danced on her dark, golden hair as they swayed in time with the music. He didn't belong there; it wasn't his school. This wasn't his dance… but there he was: in his rented suit, dancing with her in his arms… They hated it. Her father hated it. All of the boys in her class who had wanted to ask her hated it… but he didn't care… She looked beautiful in her blue party dress and - as a sentimental ballad played softly in the background - all he could see was her eyes, shining for him…

The sting of the hammer on his finger broke him out of his daydream and sent him spiraling back into reality. He needed to keep focused. He couldn't let himself get lost in thought… With his luck, he would end up flat on his back, unconscious, because he got distracted… His mind, however, refused to listen… HIs vision began to blur… he closed his eyes...

Heero waited outside for her after school. His class let out a half hour earlier than hers and he always walked her home. When he saw her walk out the door, he pushed off the tree he'd been leaning on and smiled at her - only to find her quite perturbed. A jock, one of the football players, had slung his arm over her shoulder only to have her forcibly wriggle free.

"Come on, Relena! Wear my jersey to the game this weekend."

"No, Todd." Relena answered. "I've already told you."

"What's the matter with you?" He nearly growled. "You should be my girl!"

"Todd, I've told you. I won't wear your jersey and I won't be your girl." She turned to walk away from the offending person.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot, you like slumming it with that gutter trash." She froze and glared at Todd before offering the jock a sickeningly sweet smile.

"I am well acquainted with trash, Todd. You hit on me every day." She stormed off and Heero couldn't help but grin. She was fiery and spirited… and for some reason, she had chosen him… Her eyes lit up when she saw him and she ran to his side. She kissed his cheek and he felt his heart race…

The hot metal of the gutter burned his hand and he swore under his breath. Why now were thoughts of her so prominent? He hadn't seen her in five years… and she had moved on… He clenched his fists… All that time… what she had to have thought of him… He had lost her; and she never knew…

"How many times do I have to tell you?!"

The solid kick landed in his gut. Pain surged through his body. He could barely think. He tried to get to his feet, but everything hurt... How many of them had jumped him?

"You will never be good enough for her. Never." The voice was cold and cruel. He just recognized the speaker before a blow to the head made his world go black...

"Excuse me?"

That voice…

"Would you like a drink?" There was no way she could be… He had to have imagined it… but…

"Relena?" It couldn't be; wasn't possible… He climbed down the ladder, nearly missing a rung as his mind refused to focus. He had to check. He had to see if he'd only… His feet touched the ground and he turned to face her. He couldn't breathe. HIs vision blurred again for a moment but when it cleared, he was certain. Standing there, just as beautiful as he remembered, was Relena: her golden hair shone in the late autumn sun, her skin flushed from the heat, eyes wide. Clearly, she was as shocked to see him… But, she couldn't be real…

"Hello, Heero," she said meekly. "It's been a long time…"

This had to be a trick that the exhaustion and heat were playing on his mind… Still… if it was a trick, it wouldn't hurt...

"Relena…" He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, crushing his lips to hers…. Her lips were so soft, supple, a drastic contrast to his dry, cracked lips... Electricity shot through his whole body! He needed to feel her against him, if only for a moment, even if she was a mirage… She kissed him back, arms winding around his neck as she pressed herself closer…

But it did not last. As abruptly as he had grabbed her, she pushed him away and he felt the pain of her hand slapping his face… She had been real?

"How dare you!" Her voice was low; tinged with disbelief… and pain… He could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes. He wanted to reach for her… to say something, but the words wouldn't come. She turned away and left him standing there, her handprint on his face and a renewed pain in his heart. The pounding in his head became worse; possibly from th force of her slap... As she stormed past her friends, they both rose to their feet, the tall blonde woman followed her while the dark haired one walked over to him.

"Heero?" The woman offered him a cold glass of tea. "Duo said you moved back to town but I had no idea you worked here."

"Hilde," Heero started, "Where is she going?" Though his question was at her, his eyes continued to stare in the direction of Relena's retreat.

"Back to our dorm most likely...why?"

"I need to... talk to her."

One dark eyebrow raised. "I don't think that would be a good idea. She just slapped you."

"I'm aware. Take me to her."

"Not until you explain." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's a long story."

"Well, we've got time."

"Hilde-"

"Heero, Relena has become my best friend. We've been rooming together since she first arrived here. I don't know what you did to hurt her, and I won't let you get near her until I do." Heero paused, the cold glass in his hand interrupting his thoughts. He gulped it down, gratefully. How much of the story could he tell? Should he tell? He ran a hand through his bangs. Had he stopped sweating?

"Did Duo ever tell you about my first girlfriend?" well, first and only. Hilde's blue eyes widened.

"Oh my god! That's her?!"

"Yeah." Heero looked down at the now empty glass, the cold fading from the surface into the heat of his skin.

"And that idiot never said anything."

"He only saw her a few times." A flash of the determination in her eyes that day with the water guns came to his mind... "We went to different schools. Met at a park…"

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain why she would-"

"I broke her heart, Hilde."

"What?" Her lips turned down into an angry frown.

"Like I said, it's a long story."

"Well, tell me." She poked his chest. "And if I like it, I might show you the way." Heero sighed.

"We planned to run away together…"