Chapter 30 - The Perfect World

Relena POV

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Relena rapidly left the canteen building and headed forward. She actually had no idea where she was going, but that didn't bother her. She wanted to be alone for a moment; she couldn't control her anger anymore.

She turned into an alley full of workshops that were crafting various items, from ammunition and clothes to horseshoes. The lane was full of a cheerful, noisy buzz. Relena turned around to check if anybody was following her, then joined hands behind her back and continued walking, looking curiously all around her. Evergreen residents watched her even as much curiously, some whispered among themselves, pointing their fingers in her direction; it embarrassed her. Every time somebody pointed at her, she turned around, sending a shy smile and kept walking, speeding up her pace.

Eventually, at the end of the alley, she reached a place that looked like the other end of the settlement; there, just below the Evergreen wall, a few paddocks with horses were located. Relena passed the last buildings and entered a narrow, gritty path between the paddocks. The sun was already high in the sky, and horses were hiding in a shadow under the wall. Relena looked back once again - still, no one was following her. She walked over to the fence that was separating the paddocks and rested her hands on its top.

At that precise moment, when she stopped, she felt breathless… her knees were burning of stabbing pain, so were her feet. It shocked her. As if crossing those several hundred meters strained her body to its limits…

Feeling dizzy and catching her breath, she slumped against the fence, fixing her gaze on the horses grazing lazily on the paddock. They were beautiful; their well-groomed combed manes seemed to glisten in the sun. Behind the wall, the wind was buzzing in the branches of trees surrounding Evergreen. Somewhere from behind her came the sound of a cheerfully laughing child. It was so peaceful. It was a safe world, a world full of people trying so hard to live like before the outbreak. She had no idea that such a universe could still exist.

And yet it wasn't a perfect world.

Calming her breathing, Relena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply the smell of summer. When she exhaled, her breath trembled in her throat; she was stressed-out, on the verge of panic. Stressed-out of losing control over her life, her choices, her emotions… Why had she suddenly lost this sense of safeness, stabilization, which, paradoxically, had been accompanying her behind the gate, in places much more dangerous? What had changed?

Maybe she wasn't right? She had been acting like a spoiled kid: unable to appreciate the strict rules of this safe haven, and to recognize that a wall doesn't entirely solve the problem with infected… And that there is probably no need to worry about Heero.

And yet... she felt deep opposition. She was treated differently because she was that Relena Peacecraft. She had a privilege of staying here, behind the safe wall - in return, Heero had to go on a dangerous hunt, from which he could never return. And she was powerless about it.

Suddenly she heard footsteps on the graze behind her; she looked over her shoulder.

"How did you find me?" she gasped, a little bit startled. She wanted so much to sound angry. "I didn't notice you walking after me."

Heero was ambling toward her, his hands deeply pressed inside the pockets of light jeans, the penetrating gaze of his blue orbits fixed on her from behind his brown bangs, gently blown on the light breeze. There was neither anger nor reprimand in those eyes. When he walked closer, he stopped, resting his forearms on the fence, but kept being silent, turning his gaze away.

Relena squeezed her hands nervously, her eyes downcast.

"Everyone's mad at me, huh?" she began quietly.

"No, they were rather surprised," Heero replied blankly.

"Oh," Relena sighed, not slipping by the past tense in his words, realizing what they meant. She combed her hair back, but the wind kept tangling them again. She kept her gaze down, still unable to look at him. "This hunt… how long will it take?"

"Not less than two weeks."

Relena nodded.

"And.. when do they plan to go?"

"The day after tomorrow."

Relena took a deep breath, then bit her lip nervously. She knew this tone of his voice all too well.

"Let me guess. You've already told them that you're going, haven't you?"

When Heero didn't say anything in reply, that just made Relena's blood boil. Sticking her fingers into the sun-heated wood of the paddock's fence, she managed to gather strength to hide the trembling of her voice. Her heart was pounding aggressively; she felt furious, mad at him. Betrayed.

"Do you even care about what I think about it, or you're just gonna do what you want?" she muttered, abruptly clenching her fingers. Her nails, carving the dry wood, left thin, light brown streaks on its surface. "Tell me, Heero. Save me the effort."

Heero kept his gaze fixed somewhere ahead of him, then kicked his heels and leaned forward, leaning on the wooden fence with the weight of his body.

"Relena," he addressed her solemnly after a moment, staring at the herd of horses. "I hate to admit it, but we owe them a favor. If it weren't for them, the infected would have killed us just outside this gate. The sooner we pay them off, the better for us."

Relena bit her lip. She couldn't deny him, but it didn't soothe her fury and defiance. She couldn't just let the blind destiny throw them - throw Heero - in such great danger. This, in turn, meant that she had only one desire.

"Let's leave this place. Right now."

Saying those words, she didn't turn her head to look at Heero but heard the wood creak under the pressure of his strong hands as he clenched his fists on the wooden bar. She felt an involuntary, disturbing tingling on the back of her neck at this sound.

"If that's the price for their hospitality, then I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't agree-"

"You'll stay here," Heero interrupted her firmly, his voice cold as a polar wind.

Relena whipped around towards Heero, narrowing her eyes. He didn't look back at her, his gaze fixed somewhere ahead of him, but the muscles in his arms were so strained that they gently pulsed under his skin, lifting his shoulders up.

"You can't decide for me… All you want to do is to take that risk all by yourself! How can you expect me to agree on that?" she muttered angrily, narrowing her eyes and feeling her heart beating so hard as if it was soon about to stop. "And if I won't, what will you do? Will you take out your gun and aim it at me? Like then?"

Those words had to spark some flame inside him, as they made Heero turn his head to her. His eyes blazed with ominous blue fire from behind his bangs. Then he let go of the fence and made a step in her direction.

Relena swallowed but kept her composure, looking up at him.

"You can't lock me here," she declared, trying hard to hide the trembling in her voice, while Heero made another step closer. "I won't stay here… I won't let them send you into the wild, to those beasts that can tear you to pieces, and…"

Her voice suddenly broke when she realized, in the back of her conscience, how much she was afraid of him; of his glance. The strength of this look turned her numb. Heero's eyes darkened, and Relena felt that same feeling when they were in that dark, cramped underground corridor again... only once had she been so scared of him…

Relena made a step back, when Heero shot his hand at her at the speed of light, tightened his grip around her right wrist, and violently pulled. The movement was abrupt, sudden, and unexpected. Relena felt the ground slipping away from under her feet and flew towards him, still caught in his violent grip, but Heero simultaneously pushed her away, turning her around the axis.

The panicked breath left her lungs, and she shut her eyes closed as she stopped with her back on his hard chest, her knees buckled against her.

"Tear to pieces… you said?"

Her form and weight were propped almost entirely against his firm chest, her both arms immobilized, her spine bent backward unnaturally. Heero held her vertically only by using the strength of his firm grip. Relena felt hotness flowing through her brain and veins, futilely tried to stand confidently on both legs, but Heero didn't loosen his grasp.

"Heero…" she gasped. Although he didn't use a lot of strength against her, she couldn't resist him. "What…"

"Can't you see? I could do anything to you right now," she heard Heero's silent voice just next to her ear. Keeping her standing, he slid his other hand below her arm, raking his fingers up, over her bust and collarbone, to her neck. "Your body radiates with exhaustion. It's in your eyes, in your movements, in a way you're breathing. You're weak now as you have ever been, Relena. I could break your neck, and you wouldn't have any strength to fight me."

Feeling Heero's fingers on both sides of her neck and on her windpipe and hearing his voice, Relena subconsciously felt hot. Her instincts shouted at her to run away, lungs pumped air at a superhuman rate, and her heart was beating frantically. But although her body trembled with fear over his violent behavior, physiologically almost crumbling with terror under his touch, her consciousness stayed calm and controlled, overwhelmed by his presence; maybe just slightly surprised by the magnitude of her own weakness and exhaustion.

Am I indeed this weak…?

Taking a deep breath, not wanting to resist him, Relena let herself fall deep into the abyss of his embrace, while the iron grip of his weakened. She tilted her head back, resting it on his strong shoulder, sucking in his scent, revealing her neck trustingly.

"Don't go," she whispered, beggingly. "Don't go without me… Please, Heero."

He was silent for another moment before he spoke.

"You're deceiving yourself and your body… and that's a deadly game. I can't let you do that."

Relena held her breath as she felt his fingers gently brushing the side of her neck, just at the spot where she had been bitten.

"My life is forever bound with yours, Heero," she whispered, narrowing her eyes as she gazed at the cloudless sky above them. "You're exhausted too… You can't leave me here, while you can die out there…"

"My life," Heero suddenly interrupted her with a firm, grudgeful tone. She could feel his breath on the side of her neck, "…only makes sense if it serves to protect you. And just yesterday, you almost died on my hands. I was… almost too late to save you."

She felt an almost imperceptible shiver pass through her body as if she fell into the icy water. Heero had to notice this, as he let go of her wrist, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. As he held her close to him in a tight embrace, Relena let her body melt into him.

"That's not right…" she muttered with grief, lifting her hand and caressing his arm. She blinked her eyes that almost immediately filled with tears, blurring the view of the sun-scorched paddocks surrounding them.

Heero planted a gentle kiss to the back of her neck before he spoke.

"Listen to me. No matter if I come back or not, you'll be able to stay here… please do so. You're needed, Relena. You need to survive."

He was whispering those silent words right next to her ear, nuzzling his face into her hair. Something in a way he spoke made her heart stop. Relena grasped his arm and gently pried his arms off her. Heero let her, and Relena slowly stepped out of his embrace, turned around, looking up at him.

"And what… about Houston?" Relena asked, her voice shaky.

Heero gave her a stern look in return. His beautiful eyes were obscured by some inexplicable, distant fog that quickly disappeared, leaving him with his usual fierce and undoubtful stare.

"I'm sorry," he said.

It almost took her breath away. She felt her eyes burn, a bump clenched in her throat, and prevented her from taking a breath. She could feel conflicting emotions tugging at her. She couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and they dripped down her cheeks.

Standing inches away, Heero's eyes suddenly turned again so distant as if he was already beyond the confines of this world. This look scared her. Heero raised a hand and brushed the unruly strand of hair from her face. His warm fingers feathered her cheekbone as gently as the wings of a butterfly.

"Relena…" he whispered, brushing his thumb over the line of her jaw. The sunlight brushed his dark hair, buckled on the lines of his handsome features, reflected from the blue of his profound gaze. Relena had the same impression for the second time; something in this look was unearthly and distant as if he no longer belonged to the world of mortals.

As if he was trying to say goodbye.

Relena felt her mouth go dry, and her eyes sting. She looked away from those intense blue eyes and gazed at the horses in the distance, feeling his intense gaze still fixed on her.

It means that I may not be able to fulfill my promise too.

"I see…" she shuddered, surrendering. "So be it…"

Then, unable to keep her composure longer, she passed him by and ran towards the building of the settlement. She didn't expect any answer from him. She didn't say anything… but she was screaming from the inside, as she passed him by, begging him to stop her. Hoping that he would draw her to him and say that he would not leave her.

He didn't do it.

x

The more Relena got to know Evergreen over the next days, the more she was falling in love with this place. To any other place on Earth, its own name would match so perfectly. A place of eternal greenness, which symbolized hope. People living here seemed different - as if they had found the meaning of life. They struggled with many problems, but they had each other's support. Everyone cared about the good of the others.

Catherine introduced Relena to many, many people, including the Evergreen's medic - a tall, long-haired, handsome woman named Sally Po. Relena and Sally immediately felt the mint to each other, and Relena decided that during her stay in Evergreen, she would love to help Sally in her work.

"Thanks, I can really use some help," Sally sighed, tying a bandage on the injured shoulder of another patient. "I have the impression that minor misfortunes are happening here more often than on the outside. I have my hands full all day."

Relena truly felt that this was what she wanted to do: help others cure their wounds. She saw a picture of wounded Heero in the eyes of every sick or injured person; as he was lying injured in a garage in the suburbs of Atlanta. She still remembered that feeling of terror and helplessness because she didn't really know how to help him. She wanted to never have to feel this way again.

Meanwhile, the day, night and day had passed fast. Too fast.

During that time, Relena managed to see Heero only a few times, but they didn't speak to each other once.

He was preparing for the hunt with the other men. By the evening the day before their departure, everything was ready: weapons were allocated, backpacks were packed, and the continuous sound of horseshoeing was coming from the stables. It was easy to spot tension in the air, and anxiety and fear in the eyes of Evergreen residents, especially women who looked toward their loved ones. But men seemed to have built an invisible wall around them, separating themselves from that fear. Immunizing themselves.

Heero hid behind the same, invisible wall, too, seeming even more withdrawn than usual. Nevertheless, when Relena stumbled on him as if by chance, she always caught his gaze fixed solely on her. As if he had been watching her for a long time - she subconsciously felt his penetrating gaze all day. But, at the same time, she couldn't chase away the feeling that his look seemed so distant.

As if he already knew that he wouldn't survive.

When the night before the hunt fell, Relena retired with Catherine and Silvia to their room to rest. Silvia still frowned unfriendly at Relena but fell reasonably quickly asleep. Meanwhile, Catherine and Relena joined their beds at the tops and talked.

"Catherine," Relena whispered, "what was the previous hunt like?"

Catherine shifted her head on the pillow.

"Well, the usual. The last was probably half a year ago, the boys reportedly reached the Alabama River..."

"No," Relena interrupted her, then hung her voice for a moment. Words didn't come easily to her. "I mean... how many..."

Catherine's bright eyes reflected the moonlight like mirrors. She gazed at Relena with sadness and understanding when she realized what she wanted to ask.

"You're worried?"

Relena looked down, clenching her fingers on the material of her pillow. 'Fear' would be the better word to name the tension she felt in every millimeter of her body.

"Please, tell me."

Catherine was silent for a moment, then breathed out a sigh.

"Every time a part of the group doesn't come back," she said quietly, but firmly. Then she reached out and grasped Relena's hand. "But Relena. You can't allow yourself to think about this. He leaves, you stay here, but you must... you simply must!..." saying these words, Catherine squeezed Relena's hand tighter, "…believe with all your might that he will come back. You have to believe it so strongly that it will become certain for you."

Relena stared into Catherine's bright eyes and smiled slightly.

"Remember, Relena," Catherine whispered, releasing her hand and rolling on the other side. "You are the anchor that holds him by the shore and pulls him to the port. Draw him with your thoughts, and he will always come back to you."

Relena mulled her friend's words as she rolled onto her back in her comfortable bed. She could see the fragment of the night sky through their window right from her bed. This view reminded her of the nights she had spent in Charlotte with Heero. So much had changed since then. Between them, in them. Heero had become so close to her that the thought of losing him made her breathless.

Relena folded fingers of both hands together and pressed them to her chest. She felt that despite the warm night, her limbs were cold, and her heart was beating with a mourning note. As if it was fading out. For two days, she had suffered from a lack of conversation with him, feeling angry with him, keeping him at bay… to what he didn't oppose, getting out of her way, and only watching her in silence... Tomorrow he was about to leave...

She felt choking of her isolation from him. She couldn't stand this situation any longer… She craved his closeness like air. Right now.

Without thinking any longer, Relena abruptly rose from the pillow and quickly froze when the mattress creaked under her. She looked around; fortunately, Catherine and Silvia didn't move at the sound. Relena slowly slipped off the bed. Without wearing her shoes, she directed her steps towards the exit from their room and then from the building.

Closing the dormitory door quietly behind her, she moved to hide out of sight of the men on the night watch. She had the impression that she was walking on autopilot as if she had done it multiple times before. She ran barefoot on the cold ground until she reached the building on the other side of the road. To the men's dormitory.

She quietly opened the heavy door and slipped into the dark corridor. The wooden floor creaked softly under Relena's feet as she traversed the long hallway, with doors leading to several bedrooms. The male dormitory differed from the female in one particular thing: it was way much louder here because of the resounding, uneven chorus of snoring on various intonations. This gave Relena a lot of courage and confidence in moving; if these men were sleeping despite such noise, no one should hear her footsteps.

She peered successively into the rooms, but when she finally came across the right one, the joy of finding the familiar silhouette collided with disbelief… and rage. Relena entered the room after a second, with hesitation.

From her first day in Evergreen, she had slept on a decent, soft bed, with clean sheets, in an airy and spacious cell of three. The room she had just entered was occupied by three pairs of bunk beds - all of them were occupied. Bright moonlight fell inside through a small window, but it didn't illuminate the entire room.

Relena noticed Heero in a dark corner of the room, behind a wooden table that separated him from the rest of his sleeping companions. He, as the only one in the room, wasn't sleeping on one of the beds. He was lying on his left side, facing the wall, on a thin, padded mattress, covered with a light blanket, under a shabby wall. On the floor.

Witnessing this view, Relena reexperienced the anger she felt during their first breakfast in Evergreen, when she pounced on Quatre and Trowa for not treating her and Heero equally. How could she have slept on her comfortable bed while Heero had been sleeping almost on the bare floor? Why? The questions multiplied in her head, she just couldn't calm down the resentment burning her heart. The same moment she wanted to discard the name 'Peacecraft.'

Quietly, slowly, she approached the sleeping Heero and knelt next to him, leaning slightly over him. As her eyes got used to the dim light, she saw the calm and gentle expression on his face. She smiled to herself, realizing again that the bravest man she knew looked so vulnerable during sleep. Knowing how fleeting the view is, she enjoyed it for a moment, then slipped closer to his back, slowly lying next to him on the mattress.

Sensing the movement, Heero woke up almost immediately and looked over his shoulder. The moment he noticed her, his gaze instantly sharpened.

"Relena…"

Relena sent him a warm smile, hushed him by pressing her finger to her mouth. Then she bent down to plant a soft kiss on his right shoulder and back. When she slid her hand around his torso, Heero gripped her forearm and began to pull her toward him. She looked at his sharp, Prussian-blue eyes, filled with a confident look that petrified her. Unable to resist him, slowly, drawn by his hand, she moved over his body until he laid her down on the mattress between him and the wall.

Heero kicked the blanket up and held her close to him, then drowned his hand in her golden hair and brushed them away. Relena looked up at him, feeling his body radiating with the heat at the touch. His eyes were fixed on her. She cupped his face.

"I couldn't…" she whispered, shaking her head slightly, caressing the side of his face. It blurred as tears suddenly came to his eyes. "I can't… I'm sorry…"

He moved his thumb and brushed away a tear that escaped her eyes. There was something more in those eyes of his that she couldn't name yet; some kind of relief.

"Don't cry."

His voice was silent and comforting as he caressed the side of her neck. There was so much Relena wanted to tell him. But all these words were gone. She felt bare, all she had were her feelings. They overwhelmed her, and she had to obey them.

"Hold me…" she begged in a silent whisper.

Then she closed her eyes and kissed him fiercely, not leaving him any doubt about what she wanted.

Heero returned the kiss with unambiguous force, raking his hands down her spine and then over Relena's leg that she hooked around his hips. She shuddered at the cautious, warm touch of his fingers on her cooled skin. Relena's body acted on its own accord, like a magnet of the opposite pole. She wrapped her arms behind his neck and pulled him closer, rolling on her back so that he was hovering over her.

Suddenly, an unexpected, loud attack of coughing of one of the men sleeping in the room made them break the kiss. Relena froze motionlessly, breathless, while Heero shot his head up and looked toward the bunk beds. The coughing was followed by a rustling sound as if someone were turning from side to side. Heero kept inspecting the room for any motion for long seconds; his cautious eyes were reflecting the dim moonlight, appearing almost predatory. Lying still under him, Relena eventually took a deep, but silent breath, realizing at the same time, what a crazy thing they were actually doing. They were in a place full of sleeping people. Someone could have heard them… But this voice of reason, not very loud from the beginning, got drowned entirely out when Heero bent down again to her and kissed, then gently sucked on the skin of her neck, subjecting her body to a series of slow electroshocks. Relena bit her lip, refraining the loud moan of pleasure from going out through her mouth and arched her neck back, almost slipping from the mattress on the wooden floor.

Meanwhile, Heero's both hands wandered down her ribs and then quickly up, rolling her loose T-shirt up. Then he kissed his way down her chest and naked breasts, while Relena raked her hands in his thick brown hair, then slightly lifted her lower back up so that Heero could take off her pants. Although their movements were impatient and almost hectic, it was still way too slow to her... When Relena sensed Heero's breath over her belly, she tugged gently on his hair to get him back above her. Today, unlike the other nights, she didn't need any foreplay; she just needed him. Feverishly. Immediately.

Wholly.

She reached and pushed his pants to slide down his hips, her eyes never leaving his. Staying in his T-shirt, Heero pulled back from her, sitting on his heels, then grasped her by both thighs and abruptly dragged her body closer to him, making Relena gasp silently out of excitement over this show of dominance and manly strength.

He leaned forward again, covering them with a blanket and pushed her knees to the mattress, nestling himself between her legs. He locked eyes with her, and in one, confident move plunged inside her. They both couldn't stop the sigh that left their lungs as they became one; as if they had emerged from under the water at the last moment before drowning.

Relena realized her legs were already trembling. She placed her hands on Heero's biceps under the sleeves of his shirt, feeling his powerful muscles pulse under the surface of his hot skin. Heero froze inside her for a moment, his head rested close to her cheek, then started moving, repeating deliberately slow, but passionate thrusts inside her. It wasn't chaotic, and it allowed them to stay almost inaudible. With each move, Relena felt the tension rising in her so high that it almost became painful. Then Heero tilted up his head, his cautious eyes scanning their surrounding for any move, and Relena moved her hands under his shirt, raking them over his abdomen and chest.

They were breathing heavily and sweating, partly out of physical and psychical effort to restrain from moaning of pleasure. Relena clung with her fingers to Heero's back and lower back, trying with all her strength to increase the pace of his movements, then dug her nails into his flesh out of impatience and excitement, but it was in vain. Heero seemed to remain unperturbed by her actions, controlled as always. He bowed his head to her chest and nipped her breasts with his teeth.

She was utterly indifferent if anyone would hear them. Feeling her need and desperation reach its zenith, being kept on the verge, burning her alive, Relena wrapped her arms around his neck, nearing her mouth to his ear.

"Heero, please…" she whimpered pleadingly.

Heero stopped, his face hovered over hers, his penetrating blue eyes widened in the darkness. He kissed her passionately, then cupped her face with one hand in a tender, loving gesture, tracing his fingers along her cheek line.

Suddenly, he started drawing himself inside her more aggressively, more passionately. The difference struck Relena like lightning, and she hardly found enough self-control to hold back a high, sensual moan. Her bare nipples were stroked repeatedly by a material of his shirt. She strengthened her senses, desperately trying to keep in her chest a cry of pleasure. Heero let his head fall into a crook of her neck; she sensed his hot and quick breath on her skin. Relena squeezed her eyes and threw her head back in ecstasy, her whole body writhing out of pleasure. Heero held her tight as she started falling apart, her body burning, drops of sweat were dripping down her skin. The bliss of her climax almost blinded her. A warm wave flooded her body several times, sending shivers down her limbs and made her arc her spine upwards.

Heero followed her soon after, collapsing into her arms between her spread legs, breathing heavily. Catching her breath, Relena wrapped her arms around him, and so they rested in silence, one inside the other, absorbing their mutual closeness. The night air trembled around them, moved by their shallow breaths, and tense with the force of the bond that attracted them to each other. Slowly regaining her logical thinking and senses, Relena started again getting aware of their surroundings; they were still lying on the floor in a room full of sleeping men. And they had just made love.

"Heero…" she breathed his name when he was lying still in her arms. She could feel his heart, its beating pulsating rhythmically through his skin against the surface of her chest, just on the other side of her own heart; it was so strong that she felt as if she had two hearts... Relena raked her spread fingers through his thick hair over his scalp and held his head close to her heart, inhaling his scent.

"Why did you come here…?"

Relena held her breath at those words of his. Gently, slowly, she stroked his head, waiting for him to continue. There was no remorse in his voice.

It was despair.

"Why, Relena?" Heero whispered with a shaky voice, his hand slipping up her ribs and resting just below her breast. "You're hurting, you will be hurting, and it's because of me. I'm disgusted with myself…"

"Heero, no…," Relena gasped, stroking his head and caressing the back of his neck, hugging him closer to her heart. Why?

Don't you know 'why'?

"I would gladly give my life for you..." Heero sucked a breath through clenched teeth then tilted his head, pressing his forehead to her chest. His shoulders tensed in a soundless, painful struggle that started whipping inside him as he silently gasped, "you would be better off without me…"

"Heero, please… look at me."

Though with hesitation, Heero eventually braced himself on his elbows, lifting some of his weight off her. Once he hovered above her, he gazed expectantly and longingly at her from behind his unruly bangs.

"I didn't come here to say goodbye," she whispered, looking him straight into his steely eyes. "This is not goodbye."

A spark of emotion and unnamed longing flickered in his eyes at her words, then he made a surrendering sigh. Relena cupped his cheek until he caught her hand with his own.

"Relena, please… Let me go…," he breathed beggingly.

Relena sucked air in her lungs, feeling her tears welling up. Somewhere at the other end of the room, someone coughed loudly again. They froze for a moment, staring at each other, looking at every detail to remember each other.

What answer can you give when the person you love above all else in the world wants to be exposed to mortal danger? Relena asked herself in her mind, looking at Heero.

"You'll be safer here than in any zone. There are people here who will be good for you," Heero whispered, frowning intently at her. He suspended his voice for a moment to bring her hand to his lips and kiss it. "Please, stay. This is now the only thing I can do to protect you."

Though she couldn't hold back her tears any longer and they dripped down her cheeks, she frowned straight into his beautiful eyes.

I'm so powerless… I'm nothing without you.

Eventually, she managed to find what was left of her voice. And remember the decision she had made.

"You can't die yet," she whispered. "I'll stay, I'll take care of myself to become strong… I'll be waiting for you to come and take us to Houston. Just like you promised to Duo. Just like you promised me."

Heero looked at her with his inscrutable eyes without interrupting her, without any protest against her words.

"Relena…"

"You can't die… you can't leave me here…" Relena sobbed silently, hugging his hand to her cheek, already wet of tears. "I have to fulfill the promise I made to you."

Heero tilted his head and pressed their foreheads together, one of his hands caressing the side of her face, brushing away her tears. He remained silent, and Relena closed her eyes, inhaling slowly, then snaked her hands around his torso to keep him close.

.

.

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TBC

Hello again!

I hope you're doing well and staying safe during the coronavirus pandemic. I hope that wherever you are, you take care of yourself and your loved ones by staying at home, and if you have to go out, you're always very careful. I hope this nightmare will finish soon.

Some of you may ask: why Heero is so persistent? You'll find out the answer in the next chapters. Meanwhile, they both go through a hard time, as they need to part... The idea that they would make love such an unexpected place came to my mind for a long time, finally I was able to refine it in terms of language and literature. But when the whole world collapses, can you say that love is in any way wrong? I hope it warmed your hearts just a little, regardless of the circumstances.

Writing this story had become a kind of therapy to me - in these hard times.

~enelle