Chapter 28 - The Childhood Friend
Relena POV
Seeing Quatre Raberba Winner for the first time in ages, Relena's childhood memories became so bright that they seemed six-dimensional. She almost could smell the spring garden in which they had played, she could hear the barking of a dog which had been running after them, the warm wind that had brushed her braided hair. She couldn't believe that after twenty years, she met her most significant childhood friend again. Though their childhood was brutally interrupted and taken away from them once and forever, it seemed that they both still cherished those beautiful memories.
Quatre looked at her, his eyes glistering as if he had a revelation.
"So the rumors were true!" he laughed, then approached Relena and held her wounded, tired hands, still wet with water. "Relena! You're alive! And you're here! Is your family...?"
Relena shook her head with sadness.
"Father is dead. I don't know what happened to my mother and Milliardo. And you…?"
Quatre frowned at her with a similar, sad look, then cheered up again, as if chasing away negative thoughts.
"Of the whole Winner family, only I survived."
"I see," Relena whispered, then smiled back sadly, squeezing his hands back. "I'm so glad to see you again!"
She truly was.
The Winner family, from which many ministers and statesmen derived, had always supported the Peacecrafts in their peace policy. They firmly believed that the military scientific institutions' research of the on Cordyceps Brain Infection virus should be suspended immediately, or should be subjected to the supervision of public authority, or at least, that the research for the cure should be held simultaneously. Their voice, though significant, was silenced by the army, which sought to continue working on this biological weapon until it got out of hand. This eventually led to an outbreak.
Relena remembered Quatre's parents very well: the handsome, tall father and the beautiful, always tastefully dressed mother. They visited the Peacecrafts' residence in Washington every weekend for the afternoon tea, and during that time, Relena was playing with Quatre in the gardens. She liked this blond-haired boy. He was an excellent companion of all their childhood games, and she also confided in him everything. From what Relena remembered, Quatre had a large family, including many sisters, so he had natural ease of contact with girls. They quickly had become friends. Then the outbreak destroyed this untroubled childhood world.
Right then, when they were still by the Evergreen gates, Relena realized that the people of Evergreen that were standing around them started pointing their fingers at her and shake their heads in amazement. What's more, they were repeating the name "Peacecraft" from mouth to mouth with undisguised surprise and excitement.
Subconsciously, she didn't feel the hostility in their behavior, but simultaneously, she didn't fully understand why her presence in Evergreen had caused such a flurry. She was also amazed by the number of people who gathered around them. It seemed that a large group of people found shelter here.
In the meantime, Quatre looked questioningly at Heero, then again at Relena.
"So, you're traveling together?"
Relena glanced back at Heero, who was kneeling on the ground beside her, not saying a single word for the whole time. He watched the blonde man with his sharp, observant, impenetrable eyes from behind his brown bangs, sipping a handful of water from the bucket from time to time.
She reached and rested her hand on top of Heero's shoulder.
"Heero, Quatre is my childhood friend, mine, and the Peacecrafts'. Quatre, this is Heero Yuy," she introduced him, feeling her cheeks blush a bit. Her voice died for a second while she wondered how she could express in just a few words how much this man meant to her. "He saved my life countless times, last time only a few minutes ago... He accompanies me on my way south from Philadelphia."
Quatre grinned merrily at Heero and courtly held out his hand to him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Heero."
Heero sent the blonde man a suspicious look in return; he didn't shake his hand, limiting himself to a slight tilt of his head. Quatre's hand hung in the air for an uncomfortably long moment before Quatre laughed nervously and withdrew it, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, I think I have yet to deserve your sympathy..."
Watching this scene, Relena chuckled softly, as she realized that the Quatre she remembered from her childhood - everlastingly cheerful and amicable - hadn't changed at all. Except that he was now a grown-up man, wispy and slender, his face with a disarming smile reflecting his good-tempered attitude.
"Quatre...?" Trowa suddenly interrupted them and walked over from behind, still holding his gun. His attitude and expression made it clear that he didn't fully understand what the whole confusion was all about.
"We're so lucky," Quatre announced, loud enough for other people of Evergreen gathered on the square to hear him, then he rose from his knees, helping Relena to stand up. He also reached out his hand to Heero, who, however, didn't take it and stood up on his own. "For the first time in a long time, no beasts or hunters came to our gates, but friends. Long-lost friends. I hope you'll all welcome them here."
Relena looked around uncertainly, realizing that wherever she looked, she saw only happy faces, and the name "Peacecraft" rang above the heads of the residents of Evergreen with a distinct hint of hope, like good news. Then Quatre turned to face Heero and Relena again.
"You're probably exhausted. We invite you to stay here, in Evergreen. You can stay here as long as you want- "
"Not so fast, Quatre," Trowa whispered nervously to the blonde, then pulled him aside a little bit, "we still don't know yet if they're not infected."
That very moment Relena felt the bite on her neck begin to pinch her, and she barely fought the urge to reach and scratch this place.
Obviously, she had no mirror, that's why she wasn't sure what the wound looked like now. The last time she had touched it, all she had felt had been a distinct thickening at the place where the infected's teeth had pierced her skin - as if a scar had begun to form. She wasn't sure of it, though; it might as well have been still red and congested. Since they had been wandering in the wastes for weeks and Heero had been the only person who could have seen the injury, she hadn't pay attention to it.
One thing was obvious, though. The wound certainly didn't disappear without a trace. What's more, it was easy to find.
And once it is found, assumptions will be easy to make. And Relena honestly didn't want a repetition of Dorothy's scenario from Atlanta…
"Right," Quatre sighed with distraction at Trowa's words and addressed Heero and Relena again. "Please understand. It's a matter of our security. We can't let you come between us if we aren't sure you don't have bites."
Relena felt panic squeeze her heart. What should they do? Once Quatre turned his gaze away from her, Relena caught Heero's glance and sent him a frightened look. Heero narrowed his eyes at her; he must have understood what she meant.
"Close the gate. Send a few men outside to burn the corpses," Quatre ordered to his comrades, and a few men briskly walked to the gate and started closing it. "Please go to this gatehouse," Quatre said to Heero and Relena, turning around and pointing to a small wooden building next to the stairs leading to the fortification. "You'll be thoroughly checked there."
"Relena- "
Suddenly Relena felt Heero's hand gripping her own as he dragged her toward the already closing gate, behind which the outside world was slowly disappearing - a world burned by the sun, with no water and safe shelter. Deadly dangerous world. But with the road leading them each day closer to Houston.
In the blink of an eye, Relena understood what he wanted to do. Going back on the road, leaving Evergreen as soon as possible, seemed a lesser evil: better than staying here and letting them discover the wound and try to kill them or harm in any way. But Relena realized that right now, as they were both exhausted, a further journey meant death.
At that very same moment, she felt that it was her turn to trust her intuition and save them. An idea sprouted in her mind, and she decided that she needed to take that risk. So she jerked her hand from Heero's grip and whipped around.
"Quatre," she called, stopping her friend. "We need to talk to you..." she suspended her voice significantly. "In private."
Quatre looked back at her with an unchanged, gentle expression in his eyes and smiled comfortingly.
"Sure, right after you're checked, we'll talk."
"No, wait," Relena insisted with a pleading voice. She heard the mute bang of the closing gate behind her back. There was no turning back now. "We need to talk now."
Quatre glanced at Trowa, then at Relena and eventually Heero, clearly surprised of her unexpected behavior. Trowa eyed the newcomers distrustfully, casually grasping his weapon with his other hand. Fortunately, the other residents were focused on closing the big gate and caused enough confusion to keep the trio from attracting attention to themselves.
"What's going on?" Quatre asked, his voice apparently concerned.
Relena gave him a pleading look.
"Quatre, I'm begging you."
The blond man seemed confused. He exchanged glances with Trowa. Relena was sure that the tall, green-eyed man shook his head slightly as if he was trying to say 'no'; however, eventually, Quatre shrugged.
"Well... all right. Come on."
He headed in the direction of a wooden building just by the wall that looked like a kind of gatehouse. Relena with Heero followed Quatre together, and Trowa followed them all, never leaving his sight off them, clutching the weapon in his hands. Relena looked surreptitiously at Heero, seeing the consternation painting on his face. For a moment, she almost lost confidence that she had done the right thing.
Upon opening the door, Quatre led all of them inside a dark, quite low room, with a small window overlooking the square, crammed with various boxes. There were stairs in the corner, leading probably to the upper floor of the wall. There was also a pleasant coolness here, despite the heat outside.
When they entered the building, Quatre leaned on the wall next to the window, Relena and Heero stood in front of him, while Trowa closed, then guarded the door.
"Well," Quatre started, "now tell me what's the matter."
Relena turned her eyes to Heero, hesitantly. He watched her with a slightly worried look in his eyes, his both fists clenched. She knew he had already guessed what she was about to do; he didn't do anything to stop her.
She took a deep breath, then brushed her hair back and exposed the side of her neck.
Quatre and Trowa watched her for a moment, their faces painted with surprise. Then, after a few seconds, Quatre's face distorted in terror.
"Is this...?" he eventually sighed, his voice dying in his throat.
Trowa kept his poker face, then drew his weapon in a flash and aimed at Relena's head.
"You know what that means."
Even before Relena could take a breath, almost the same second, without a shadow of hesitation, Heero walked and stood between her and Trowa, the form of his slender body shielding her from Trowa's gun.
"Should I understand that you don't need to be checked at all?" Trowa asked mockingly, but with a deathly-icy tone, switching the safety off his gun.
"Just wait till I hunt you down in hell," Heero drawled in response; his voice sounded cold and terrifying, like an icy gust of wind.
"Quatre…," Relena began pleadingly. "Please, you must hear me out…"
From behind Heero's shoulder, she saw the embarrassed face of a confused friend, who clearly didn't understand what was going on. In her heart, she wasn't surprised by this. She would surely behave similarly in those circumstances.
"Relena, you got bitten, right?" he asked. "Do you know what that means?"
"I had been bitten over a month ago, Quatre."
Quatre and Trowa gave Relena a shocked look as if they were processing what she had just said. Her words, loud and clear, rang in the room, and they were followed by a long, disturbing silence. The air in the room swelled with tension that grew stronger with each passing second.
"That's impossible," Trowa suddenly muttered angrily.
"That's true," Relena continued, almost breathlessly, slowly stepping from behind Heero's back and standing right next to him, unafraid of Trowa's gun still aimed at her and shrugging off Heero's hand that wanted to stop her. "It happened at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's been a month, and I haven't turned."
She eyed Quatre, who stood silently gazing back at her, then found enough courage in herself to scowl at Trowa, right over the barrel of his gun.
"That time, Heero was aiming at me too, just like you are now, Trowa. For the rest of my life, I'll be thankful that he didn't shoot."
Trowa narrowed his eyes at her, then he shifted his green eyes at Heero.
"She had been bitten by the infected, and you didn't polish her off?!" he ground out to Heero in a mocking tone, then looked at Relena again. "You really want us to believe this bullshit? Just because you're a Peacecraft doesn't make you an exceptional human being. Nobody lived being bitten by the infected."
Relena's heart shuddered.
Why you didn't kill me, Heero?
Trowa's words sounded way too familiar to her. They triggered the echoes of the memory of that fateful, starry night, and a question that she asked Heero so many times since then, yet which was still left without his answer.
She glanced tentatively at Heero, suddenly hoping that he'd actually say something that would answer her question. His eyes were heating with blue fire; if sight could kill, it would surely take him only a mere second to murder Trowa in a million various, highly-drastic ways.
"She's not lying," Heero muttered, his eyes never leaving Trowa. His fists were clenched so hard that the whiteness of his knuckles' bones was piercing through his skin. "The Runner attacked her right before my eyes. Since then, I didn't leave her side. She didn't develop any of the symptoms."
Though he avoided Trowa's question, his eyes remained sharp and menacing, impenetrable.
"Why should we believe any word you say?" Trowa barked. "Just give us one reason why."
Heero closed his eyes for a moment, as if he tried to regain control of his anger and ignore the aggressive Trowa, then shifted his gaze to Quatre.
"Quatre," Heero called out to him, "come closer to her. Look and see for yourself. This wound heals."
The blond man glanced at Heero as if he had just ordered him to insert his hand in the fire, while Trowa snorted in disbelief.
"That's crazy!"
"Quatre, I can't do you any harm," Relena continued unflinchingly. "If I could and wanted to infect you, I would have done it five minutes ago. When you were holding my hands."
She looked confrontationally at Quatre, trying to read his emotions. She knew he indeed feared her; he was giving the impression as if even staying with her in one room was slowly filtering spores into his body. It hurt her, seeing the way her beloved friend looked at her. Relena bypassed Heero, ignoring Trowa, who was still holding her at gunpoint and made two steps in Quatre's direction. She looked Quatre straight in the eye, lowering her hands to her sides.
"Please… Quatre."
She realized that she could do nothing more. Either Quatre believes her, or Trowa will kill them both.
Finally, something in Quatre's green eyes twitched. After another moment of hesitation, he slowly passed Trowa and headed towards Relena.
"Quatre," Trowa gasped uneasily, making a step as if he wanted to stop him. "Don't do this-"
The blond-haired man raised his hand reassuringly at his friend, then slowly approached Relena. She instinctively stiffened as he lifted a hand to the level of her collarbone but stopped it abruptly in the air.
"May I...?" he asked for permission.
Relena smiled with relief and in agreement, then Quatre gently, but with perceptible uncertainty, brought his hand nearer to Relena's neck, pushing back the unruly strands of hair. His bright eyes were focusing on her as he studied the wound carefully. Relena stood utterly still and quiet, her own heartbeat thundering in her ears in anticipation. Right next to her, Heero was also standing still, cautiously watching Quatre's moves as he grazed his fingers over Relena's neck, while Trowa was holding her still at his gunpoint.
In this perfect silence that fell in the room, although Relena didn't see Heero face, she thought she had sensed something predatory in the sound of Heero's breathing as he watched her, being touched by another man; this realization made her feel goosebumps.
"That..." Quatre suddenly whispered, without looking away from her neck, "that's impossible, but…"
Relena nodded.
"Yes, that's impossible."
Quatre looked up at her with a sincere gaze, letting his hand fall to his side.
"I do know what a bite wound looks like," he said quietly, "how it changes, how it begins to widen, how it sips blood of a strange, almost dark color. How blisters appear on the skin. And finally... when a person loses control over his body."
Quatre hung his voice, and Relena noticed a distant reflection of pain in his eyes, that Quatre tried desperately to chase away, deep within his soul.
"Do you believe me now…?" she whispered, searching his face.
"I believe you," Quatre declared, a warm smile appearing on his face, "and I'm genuinely happy at the same time because it means that you're immune to the virus, Relena. You are the first person I know who survived the virus infection," he suspended his voice significantly, "and at the same time, the last living Peacecraft. It's an amazing twist of fate."
Relena felt a prick in her heart when he mentioned her family. So he probably didn't have any information either whether any of her family was behind the laboratories. When she opened her mouth to tell Quatre about Houston, and the vaccine that she was still hidden inside Heero's backpack, Heero interrupted her, stepping closer to her.
"You've got your proof," he said dryly, looking confidently at Quatre and Trowa, who slowly lowered his gun. "You can help us. We have suffered from a shortage of food and water for many days. We don't have any more ammo. But above all, Relena needs a good rest. She's exhausted because of the road."
Relena looked up at him, realizing that it wasn't probably the best moment to tell Quatre about all their plans. Heero's face betrayed that he was exhausted too, and could barely stand on his own feet either.
She grabbed his hand and addressed Quatre with a smile.
"Will you accept us, Quatre? Only for a few days."
"Are you kidding me?" Quatre smiled widely, "of course you can stay here. You will rest today, and tomorrow I will show you around Evergreen and tell you everything."
Relena's heart was flooded with relief that almost knocked her off her feet, but Heero's confident grip on her hand kept her still standing.
Finally, after all these months, they were safe. At least for some time.
"Thank you, Quatre…" Relena sighed, her voice visibly breathless, as she leaned on Heero.
"You truly are exhausted," Quatre summed, then turned to face Trowa. "Trowa, please, ask Catherine to look after Relena."
"And… what about Heero?" Relena asked anxiously, still grasping Heero's hand, while Trowa hesitantly looked out of the room they were in and called for someone to call 'Catherine.'
"So you've called it… It's one of the rules in Evergreen," Quatre explained, "men and women generally occupy separate buildings. If you're not a family, you should adapt to this."
Relena raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Why does it matter?" she gasped, shooting a sideways glance at Heero.
"That's our rules. We all agreed that they are necessary for such a big community to prosper properly. So that everyone concentrated on the wellness of the commonalty, not only their own," Quatre explained, crossing his arms on his chest. "But you don't have to worry, Relena. You'll just sleep separately and perform some community responsibilities. Except that, you can be inseparable."
Relena turned to Heero, clenching her hand to her chest. Heero, however, stood still, not looking at her or objecting Trowa and Quatre in any way. The thought of them being separated disturbed Relena, even frightened her. They had been inseparable for months, and though they had gone through so many dangers, it was this moment that worried her the most.
Her anxiety must have quickly and bluntly reflected on her face.
"You'll be fine here, believe me," Quatre smiled at Relena. "You just shouldn't tell anyone about what happened to you. A piece of news like that shouldn't be revealed."
At that very moment, the door to the building opened, and a tall, slim girl entered. Her thick, luxuriant auburn hair reached her shoulders. She was wearing denim shorts and a tank top, and she had the brightest eyes Relena had ever seen in a human being.
"What is it, guys?" she asked cheerfully, then wiped her sweaty forehead. "Gosh, it's so hot today."
"Catherine, those are our new residents, Relena and Heero," Quatre introduced them. "Could you take care of Relena? She's tired after the journey, let her wash and go to sleep."
The girl named Catherine grinned widely and amicably, then ran over to Relena.
"Don't worry now, you are safe here," she said, as she grabbed Relena's hands. "Come with me, we'll share the room."
Relena returned the smile uncertainly. Catherine seemed utterly different from all the girls she knew so far. She was beautiful, relaxed, cheerful, tanned... she denied with her whole being the destruction and plague that lasted at the gates of Evergreen. Nevertheless, when Catherine jerked her hands, Relena didn't move.
"All right, I'm coming. But I would like to talk to Heero first."
Quatre, Trowa, and Catherine looked at themselves knowingly but then nodded.
"Sure. I'll wait for you," Catherine announced and left, while Quatre and Trowa stood at the door, with their backs to them, leaving them free space.
Relena slowly turned to face Heero again and stepped over to him. She gently nestled up to him, breathing in his comforting scent as he slowly snaked his right arm around her shoulders. Right now, the thought of separation caused her to feel a sense of panic that was hard to describe.
"Heero- " Relena whispered as she pressed her cheek to his chest. She wanted to say something, but her voice hung in her throat. Maybe because of fatigue.
"Don't worry. Everything's all right," Heero said, his thumb brushing her shoulder, while he pressed a kiss on the top of her head, "go with that girl, lie down, regain your strength. I'll be around you all the time."
Relena drew back and looked up at him with worried eyes.
"How?"
"Trust me," he whispered, his Prussian blue eyes fixed on her, then grabbed her both hands and gently pulled them away from him. "Go."
But Relena didn't want to let go of him so quickly. Although he was pushing her gently away from him towards the door, she approached him and kissed his cheek. Then she released his hand and walked toward Catherine, who was waiting for her just outside the building door. She gave her a cheerful smile.
"All right, so, this is what we'll do. We'll bathe you first," Catherine said, grabbing Relena by the hand, "and then you will eat something and go to sleep."
Relena felt mesmerized by all these things that Catherine was describing to her, but looked back over her shoulder again; inside the dark building Quatre, Trowa and Heero remained. Her eyes locked at Heero; his gaze was calm, and he nodded slightly in her direction.
"Come on, Relena," Catherine hurried her, "let the boys talk."
x x x
Heero POV
When the girls left, Trowa closed the door behind them without saying a word, then returned to his spot next to Quatre. Silence fell in the room anew, interrupted only by muffled sounds from outside. As if from the touch of a magic wand, the facial expressions and behavior of both men changed radically, and Heero sensed it immediately, as he scowled at them.
Apparently, Relena Peacecraft deserved special treatment; he did not.
"Who the fuck are you exactly?" Trowa asked in a slightly irritated voice, placing his hands in a confrontational way on his hips. "Why are you here with her?"
Heero stood still, clenching his both fists, staring at both men with indifferent, cold eyes, but he didn't say anything.
Quatre frowned patiently at Heero with his arms folded over his chest while Trowa began to stroll around the room, watching Heero closely, clearly incapable of hiding his irritation.
"Answer me. Are you a Firefly?" Trowa asked aggressively, and when he again didn't get an immediate response, he began to approach dangerously close towards Heero, sending him an unwelcome gaze. "Or maybe you're from the Military? What are you planning? Start talking or get the fuck out of here."
"Trowa, stop," Quatre interrupted, his voice firm but calm, then he addressed to Heero personally. "You asked us for our help, and we gave it to you. Don't be surprised that we ask questions in return."
He made a pause, and Heero fixed his eyes on Quatre. His gaze must have evoked a slight smirk on Quatre's lips.
"You seem an intelligent man. I'm sure you realized how much we risk by being kind to you. Being kind doesn't pay, not these days."
Heero faced both men with a deathly stare.
"I'm not a Firefly. Nor I am from the Military. I'm a smuggler," he said as calmly as he could. "And as long as Relena is safe here, you don't have to be afraid of me. That's all."
Trowa spat out at those words.
"How come you're not dead already? With that arrogant attitude…"
But Quatre smiled at Heero with some weary sympathy. His smile was as warm as the one Relena shared.
"You are clearly not our enemy, and Relena's benefit is of the utmost importance to you. That is enough for me," he stated, then unfolded his hands and headed towards the exit. "You must be exhausted, Heero Yuy. I will show you a place where you can rest. And tomorrow, we will try to shape your and Relena's life here in Evergreen."
"Quatre," Trowa interrupted the blonde man, "and the check?"
"Please, Trowa, make it quick," Quatre sighed, walking away, "I'll wait outside."
When Quatre left, Heero locked his eyes with Trowa.
"Quatre is how he is," Trowa muttered silently, then started to check Heero's body thoroughly for any signs of bites, beginning from his neck and arms, "but I still don't trust you. Don't feel too comfortable here. I will keep an eye at you."
Heero gave him an unfriendly, though the somewhat bored look in return, but stood still and silent while Trowa carried his thorough, obviously over-detailed and lengthy check.
.
TBC
Hello, my Dear Readers!
I'm glad that you have survived up until this moment of the story. Heero and Relena have gone through a lot, will they finally be able to rest? You may be surprised that Heero sometimes behaves like a savage - he doesn't speak, doesn't shake hands, and responds meanly. Well, I think it's probably because of his highly defensive attitude. Quatre is kind-hearted, as always, while Trowa is much more distrustful. I hope I didn't make the characters much OOC.
In the next chapter, you'll find out more about Evergreen. It was inspired by the town in Wyoming where Ellie and Joel from 'The Last of Us' PS4 game (Sony, Naughty Dog, etc.) landed at some point in their journey.
See you in the next chapter!