Picture you're the queen of everything
Far as the eye can see
Under your command
I will be your guardian
When all is crumbling
I'll steady your hand
"Never Say Never," The Fray
"Heero?" His name burst from her throat. Her eyes searched wildly around the room. "Heero?"
"Good, you're awake."
She was rewarded by the sound of the low baritone that could belong only to him, and sat upright to see him kneeling in front of the nearby fireplace, which was roaring to life. He was looking at her over his shoulder, his steely blue gaze a mixture of concern and reproach.
"Heero," she sighed in relief, smiling faintly in his direction. He did not return the smile.
"What the hell were you doing?"
Relena couldn't help but gasp, not at his cantankerous tone, but at the fact that he was only half-dressed. He was crouched in front of the fire, wearing nothing more than what appeared to be black biker shorts, the rest of his clothes in a heap next to him. Her cheeks burned as she spun her face away.
"Heero, I…"
"What were you thinking?" He continued his barrage as he finished spreading out his clothes in front of the fire, then stoked the flames with an iron poker. "You could have been killed."
Relena brought a hand to the side of her head, which was still spinning. "This is going to sound foolish, but… I lost my bracelet, and-"
"Your bracelet?" Heero interrupted, throwing her another look heavy with disapproval. "You risked your life for jewelry?" He made her sound even more idiotic than she already felt.
"I… it was a family heirloom." Relena kept her gaze trained to her lap, which was covered with blankets Heero had clearly flung over her. "I saw a herd of deer cross the pond, so I thought it was safe."
Heero just looked at her blankly and shook his head before turning back to the fireplace. "You should have thought harder before attempting something so reckless. While you were alone, nonetheless."
"Well, I wasn't alone, was I?" Relena tossed out defiantly. When he turned, again, and glared at her, she responded with an arch of her brows. He had been caught. His eyes widened at her before hardening again. "What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked. "I thought you were recovering, still."
"There was no need for me to stay in the hospital so long," Heero muttered. "I was fine."
"You're fine now, it seems," Relena observed. "But you needed the rest."
"Hm." Heero's frown deepened as he stared back at her. She opened her mouth to ask him, again, what he was doing in Sanc, of all places, but he spoke first. "Don't just sit there. Take off those clothes."
"Huh?" Those were quite possibly the last words Relena ever expected to hear from Heero Yuy, even in her wildest dreams. Her face immediately flamed.
"Your clothes are soaking wet; you need to get out of them and put on something warm." Heero gazed at her evenly. "I would have removed them myself, but didn't think you would appreciate me taking the liberty."
Relena's flush darkened. "No, ah, I'll go change."
"You should run a hot bath, while you're at it," Heero instructed from his place by the fire. Relena stood, shakily, keeping the thick blankets wrapped around her.
"You should, too. There are plenty of bathrooms in this place…"
"I'm fine," he objected. "I didn't get that wet."
"All right, if you say so," Relena sighed down at him. "But you're more than welcome-"
"I'll be fine," he snapped, more forcefully this time. Relena found herself taken aback by his harshness. Sure, he had dug her out of her own mess, quite literally, but did he have to be so… mean about it?
Relena didn't expect to be so easily affected by Heero's cold demeanor, but perhaps she was overly tired; they had certainly been through a lot over the past week. Her lower lip trembled and, before she could stop it, a sniffle escaped.
Heero shot another disapproving look in her direction. "Are you crying?"
"No," she lied as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. She quickly reached up to scrub them away, but Heero had already risen from his spot and was striding over to her.
"You're much stronger than that," he admonished, although his tone had softened. Relena looked at him questioningly as he lifted a hand to her face, and deftly thumbed at her tears. His eyes had softened, too, and he looked at her with grudging fondness. "This is nothing to cry about," he murmured.
"I know." Relena closed her eyes against his touch, which did nothing to calm the flush of her cheeks. He was, after all, standing there shirtless, mere inches from her. And his hand was so warm...
"Now if you were upset because I nearly killed you last week… that I would understand," he said slowly. Relena opened her eyes to see him grimacing, but this time he was clearly more upset with himself. She raised both her hands to his face, but he reached up and clasped them, bringing them down to his sides.
"Your hands are cold," he said simply. Relena couldn't help but smile.
"I don't blame you," she whispered. "For last week, or for any of the other times you pointed a weapon in my direction." Ignoring his complaint, she gave both of his hands a quick squeeze before dropping them.
Heero's eyes searched hers as he seemed to puzzle over her words. "Well," he said after a beat. "If it helps, I tried to miss."
"And you did." Relena tipped her head at him. "You ended the battle and kept everyone alive inside that bunker. That was quite a feat, Heero. I'm not sure anyone else could have accomplished something so-"
"Reckless?" He interrupted, smirking.
"Brash, risky," Relena supplied, her smile growing as she chanced a step toward him. "Brave."
"Relena." Heero held up his hands, halting her from coming any closer. "You need to go change, now. Unless you want to get hypothermia."
"All right," she sighed, turning away from him, toward the grand staircase leading to the main set of bedrooms. Now that she thought about it, her soggy clothes felt heavy and bothersome. "I'm going." To her surprise, he followed behind her, leaving his own clothes next to the fire. "You changed your mind?"
"I'm going to make sure you do as you're told," he said gruffly, although now Relena detected teasing in his tone.
"What, I can't be trusted in my own home?"
"Evidently not," Heero quipped as they climbed the stairs together. "Why did you come back here alone, anyway?"
"Clearly I didn't." Relena threw him a look over her shoulder. "Are you going to tell me why you followed me?"
"I have my own reasons for being here."
"Which are?"
"I'll get to that later," he barked. "For now, worry about yourself."
"But you know I love worrying about you, Heero," Relena teased as they reached the top of the stairs. "And on that note, I don't want you catching cold, either. I'm sure you remember where the dorms were from when you stayed here before? There should be some old uniforms around. Feel free to take whatever fits."
Heero nodded. "Thanks." His eyes drifted down the hallway before returning to her face. "Try not to drown in the bathtub."
"I will try my utmost not to." Relena pressed a hand to her chest while batting her eyes playfully.
"Good. I'll be in to check. Just in case." His face was serious. Relena gaped at him.
"No you will not, Heero Yuy!" she screeched. "I will not have you barging in on me in the bathroom!" She folded her blanket more tightly over her chest. "Just because you're comfortable, walking around like that-"
"I'll go get dressed." He shrugged impassively. "Though that's more for your modesty than mine. I have nothing to be ashamed of." He reached over and tugged at the ends of her hair. "Neither do you."
His words threw her, and a fresh blush fanned her cheeks. The look he was giving her was sharp and assessing, without being predatory or overtly sexual. Still, his steady gaze managed to sift her to the core. Relena wanted to shrink further into the folds of her blanket.
"Well, I'll leave you to it," he said simply, turning his heel and heading down the hall. Relena watched his retreat for a moment before turning and shuffling toward the master suite.
Much to Relena's relief, Heero did not follow up on his threat to check on her while she was in the tub. She knew her feelings for him were obvious, but that didn't mean she was ready to take things to next level. Not when she didn't even know what "level" they were on.
Instead of speculating on whatever might transpire between them, Relena forced herself to focus on the task at hand - finding out why, exactly, Heero had come to her castle in the first place. It was as if he had followed her straight from Brussels, which seemed silly; why hadn't he just coordinated with her once he was released from the hospital? They could have traveled together. But, then, she knew she shouldn't expect Heero Yuy to do things in a normal, sensible manner.
With a little huff of irritation at Heero and his "ways," Relena descended the main staircase leading down into the grand hall. She had changed into an oversized sweater, leggings and high, thick socks. Even though she felt woefully self-conscious, like any other sixteen-year-old girl around her "crush," Relena refrained from getting overly dressed up. Heero would only call her out on it, and she would rather avoid his scrutiny. Her attire made sense, given that it was just the two of them in the huge, drafty castle, with a snowstorm on the way. She hoped whatever Heero found to wear would be warm enough.
Relena found him standing and staring out the large picture windows, his back to her. He was wearing the white oxford shirt, gray pants and socks from the Sanc school uniforms, but had nixed the coordinating blazer. Light from the fireplace and chandelier overhead bathed the room in a soft glow, silhouetting Heero against the night. She halted her steps a few feet behind him, following his gaze outside.
"Did you know a storm was coming?" he asked before she had a chance to speak.
"I found out after I landed," she admitted. "I didn't think to check the weather." Heero frowned and turned to look at her.
"What do you have for provisions?"
"Um…" Relena glanced around the large room helplessly, her eyes falling on the fireplace. "Well, we seem to have plenty of firewood. I suppose we should look for flashlights and batteries, and candles, just in case..."
"I'll check the supply closet."
Heero took off with a stride that indicated he knew exactly where he was going. But, then, Relena shouldn't have been surprised in the least. In the meantime, she decided to check the kitchen and see if she could pull together something resembling dinner.
Someone had been there fairly recently - most likely the groundskeeper Relena had hired - if the basket full of mostly still-fresh apples was any indication. The refrigerator yielded a block of aged cheddar and butter, while the pantry was full of canned goods. Relena also found loaves of bread in the freezer. She selected a few items and set about her task.
A little while later, she had heated up canned soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. She had also turned up a few bottles of wine, but couldn't locate a corkscrew. At her age, she didn't do much drinking, and assumed Heero probably didn't, either, but there was nothing else to drink in the castle besides water. She figured a little wine with dinner wouldn't hurt; at the very least, the alcohol would help them keep warm.
Heero wandered into the kitchen and sniffed the air, giving Relena an approving nod. "Smells good."
"Here." She handed him a plate and bowl. "I thought we could eat in front of the fire..."
"Good idea." Heero took the items from her and tipped his head at the wine bottle. "You bringing that?"
"I can't get it open-" she started.
"I'll open it." His assurance caught her off guard, but she just shrugged nonchalantly. As if sharing a bottle of wine, nestled by a cozy fire was a common occurrence for them.
"Okay," she said breezily, tucking the bottle under her arm before picking up her own bowl and plate, and following after Heero.
The wine warmed Relena's insides, just as she thought it would, but she also felt other new, welcome sensations - she was floaty, fuzzy and giddy all at once. After they had finished their meal, she gave Heero a lopsided smile and curled up beside him, dropping her head against his shoulder. He allowed the contact but frowned all the while.
"Wine does not agree with you," he murmured, brushing strands of Relena's hair from her face. "Or maybe it does?"
"I think it does, just fine." She beamed up at him, and to her delight, his eyes sparked.
"You're trouble." Heero attempted to prop Relena up, but once he let go, she slumped back against him. "Time to get you to bed." His words had barely registered before he scooped her up and carried her toward the stairs, as if she weighed nothing at all.
"Heero!" Relena shrieked, now fully awake. "I'm not a child! Put me down!" She kicked her feet uselessly as he ignored her cries of protest and carried her all the way up to the master suite. Once there, he kicked the bedroom door open and brought her all the way inside, finally depositing her on top of the king-sized bed.
Relena bolted up incredulously. "I can put myself to bed when I want to, thank you very much." She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him.
"Go ahead, then." He turned and made for the door.
"Wait, Heero!" Relena clutched at her chest as she called after him. She couldn't let him leave; not just yet. "I haven't had a chance to interrogate you!" She didn't mean to say that last part out loud, but it succeeded in getting him to turn around.
"About what?" he asked, narrowing his brows.
"About why you're really here." Relena looked at him expectantly. Heero just stared back, but as usual, his expression gave nothing away.
"We'll talk in the morning."
"You mean you're not leaving?" She cast hopeful eyes on him.
"In a blizzard?" he grunted. "No."
Relena gripped her sweater tightly. "Then you can stay here. With me." She lowered her eyes, fully expecting him to reject her offer.
"Someone has to watch the flames. I'll be downstairs." With that, he turned to exit.
"But, I could stay up with you..." Relena tried again.
"You need rest," he said from the doorframe, casting a stern, final look over his shoulder. "See you in the morning."
"All right." Relena sighed and flopped back against the mattress, admitting defeat. She wasn't going to push Heero any further; a girl had to have some pride, after all.
It's not that she was trying to throw herself at him, anyway; she honestly just wanted his company, to soak it in, while she could. After all, she never could be sure when she would get to see him again.
She had hoped, after the Eve Wars ended, that she and Heero would keep in touch, somehow, but she hadn't dared to hope for too much. Her life had changed irrevocably from meeting him, and she couldn't help but think his had done the same, because of her. But would he ever admit that to her, out loud? He had yet to make any sort of declaration to her, and Relena wasn't exactly holding her breath.
And so their paths had crossed here and there over the past year, which was probably the way things had to be, the way they would continue to be. The two of them were, after all, from different worlds, even if she was traveling and trying to understand more about his and that of other colonists. Heero had his own work to do, although Relena wasn't sure, after this latest battle, what path he would choose.
Maybe, Relena thought as she pulled up the duvet and slipped underneath, he had come to tell her just that. If so, was he there to seek her advice, or merely relay information? She hoped, perhaps foolishly, that he would want her input, or at least give her some consideration, before doing whatever it was he planned to do.
She yawned and settled against her pillows, unable to keep her heavy lids from closing. One last hope filled her heart as she succumbed to sleep.
She hoped he wasn't there to say goodbye.
A/N: Happy Sunday Funday! Just throwing out a little good old-fashioned 1xR fluff for your weekend... I hope you enjoy! If you do, please let me know! After all, I am here to make you happy :D And if you follow me on A03 - under AerisEithne - I am also starting to post this and other fics there. One story is exclusive to A03 (so far, anyway), so go check it out, if that's your thing...
Hugs and Heero!
- RFP