Chapter Three

She looked surprised when he said those words to her. It took her a few seconds to realize that what he said was the truth. He knew she didn't want to marry that politically correct conformist Tony Samoz. He could see it in her eyes on the television. She was bored and Tony must have been the only one there for her when he left. Tony picked up the pieces for Heero. Although, Heero had no intention of staying away for so long, he found out that trying to live in peace was harder than anticipated. He wanted to come back within a year, but finding his place amongst the civilians was tedious. He enrolled in college and graduated within a year and a half. He found several jobs that entertained him, but none of them knowing that he was a former Gundam pilot. He had taken the names of his friends and comrades during these jobs. He was known as Trowa while he attended school.

However, for the past five years, his end goal was to return to Relena as a whole person capable of fitting into her life. Now, he had competition. Now, he had to persuade her to change her mind. They had a history and he wasn't going to lose it all because of Chief of the Council Anthony Samoz.

Did anyone know of his true intentions? No. Did anyone know that he broke his TV when he heard the rumors of Relena and Tony? No. He was actually on his way back to Earth when he decided to visit Duo. It was there, sitting in Duo's living room with the TV on as background noise when the broadcaster announced that Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian was about to make a personal announcement. He hadn't lied when he told her that he wasn't following up on her anymore. He decided that when he left Earth, he had to leave all of it behind too. If she got into trouble, the Preventers would handle it. He had to be selfish for once and focus on him. If he caught her speech or snippets of a story involving her, he paid attention, but he didn't go out of his way to find out what she was doing.

But, when she walked up to the podium and blatantly told the ESUN about her engagement, he took interest again. He and Duo stopped their conversation halfway and gaped at the screen. Tony was a red haired, pretentious man. When Relena stood next to him, he seemed like a puppet. He smiled and waved mechanically. There was something that was off about him. It made Heero wince. Duo immediately concocted a plan to get rid of the fake politician once she stepped off of the podium.

Now, he was sitting in front of Relena and had, unceremoniously asked for her hand in marriage. He braced himself for her rejection. He knew she would be angry with him for leaving for five years without a word. He could wait though. He was only twenty-six. He watched as she lifted her head, readying herself for a debate about emotions and all things he was still unclear about…expect that he wanted her.

"And why should I marry you? You leave me constantly. You never speak to me unless its work related. I've known you for eleven years and not once have I actually known that you cared for me in any way other than work."

"Libra…" he said, waiting for her retaliation to continue.

"It's always Libra. What happened on Libra, Heero? Did I miss something because I was sure that you came to get me on Noin's orders? Our conversation about my brother and the war was secretly an underlying declaration of love? We were fifteen. We didn't know anything about love. By the end of it, you pushed me away and told me to believe in you. I do. I always will, but that doesn't mean you can come waltzing into my life whenever you feel like it."

He blinked slowly, absorbing her words. "I understand," he said eventually.

He let his head hang, giving her the false pretense that he was giving up. He wasn't though. He was planning, waiting. Should he break the news to her that he was being reassigned as her personal bodyguard?

"I think you should go home, Heero. You are invited to the wedding because you were once a dear friend of mine, but no other reason."

"I won't be going," He said, looking up to her now with steely eyes, "Because there won't be a wedding."

She huffed, "Of course there will be. Stop trying to interfere."

He stood swiftly, startling her. He didn't care. He crossed the room to the couch and leaned into her, "I will not stop. It's taken me five years to realize that your feelings for me have in fact been reciprocated and now you're trying to push me away. I won't. Marry me, Relena because eleven years of some form of friendship is worth more than two years of a business relationship."

She gawked, her pale blue eyes swimming. He took his chance, leaning in further and closing his lips over hers. It took her a second to respond, stiffening and attempting to turn away from him, but he cupped her face with his hand, strands of her golden hair tangled in his fingers. She gave in to him. He didn't pull away or push her any more than a gentle kiss. He tried to convey all of the passion he had been denying himself for the past eleven years. He had tried to find a way to let her know how he felt without actually speaking. Trowa's words rang loudest in his mind.

He went to see the clown a year ago. The circus came to L1 and Heero knew that Trowa wasn't full time with Preventers, like Duo. He decided to see his old comrade. Sitting impassively in the front row, Heero was amazed at how they all moved and did their tricks. He knew how they did it, but they did it with more grace that he ever thought capable of. After the show, Trowa met him on stage, still donning his clown attire. He had removed the half mask and smiled kindly to him.

"I thought I might see you here," he had said.

Heero nodded, stuffing his hands into his denim pockets and looked at the painted set.

"It's been a long time. What have you been up to?"

"Getting on with life," Heero answered brusquely.

"What is that, exactly?"

Heero didn't answer, deciding to walk slowly around the stage.

"Relena was here a couple months ago… did you see her at all?" Trowa continued the conversation.

Heero shook his head, "I listened to the speech, but didn't stay afterward. She was busy."

Trowa shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest and started pacing with Heero. "No, she wasn't. I was her bodyguard for that trip. After the speech, she sat in her dressing room for an hour. No one came to talk to her. I knew what she was doing, but she never said anything."

"What was she doing?"

"Waiting for you."

At that time, Heero couldn't explain the emotions he felt from the clown's words. Now, he realized that he felt guilt and disappointment. He felt pride and urgency rush through him. He even felt love. It took him a long time to realize that strange feeling, but it hit him.

A conversation with Quatre had given that one mysterious emotion a name.

"I just had tea with Miss Relena the other day. I'm glad to see she's happy again."

"Again? Isn't she always happy?"

The blonde man shook his head, smiling meekly to his friend. "It's been hard for her these past few years, Heero. I've seen her crumble a few times during meetings." He took a sip of his coffee, looking Heero squarely in the face. "It's almost like she had lost her inner strength."

Inside, Heero winced. He knew what Quatre referred to. She had always told him that his presence made her stronger, almost like she could take on the world when he was near her. He was her hope.

"I assume she found it again, though?" Heero asked, trying to work on his conversational skill that he'd worked so hard on.

Quatre shook his head again, "Not the kind of strength that you gave her, but something like it. His name is Tony Samoz. I know it sounds like Relena only needs a man to keep her going, but its more than that. She needs emotional support and since you left, she hasn't really had anyone there to help carry the world's burden with her. Tony knows what she goes through, though so I guess I'm glad she's got him."

"Hn."

"Heero, I know it's hard for you to understand that Relena loves you, but you can't keep running away from her. She needs you even if you don't think you need her."

"Loves me?"

This time, Quatre nodded, "Yeah, she has always loved you. I think it was a crush at first and then turned into some kind of war filled hope. But, now that the world is peaceful, I think her feelings may have matured into something…more like love. I think she had thought about being with you forever; that kind of love."

Heero scowled, "Did she say this to you, Quatre? Did she tell you that she loved me in that kind of way, or is that you assuming?"

He didn't mean for his words to sound rude or brash, but he was confused. He spent a year sorting through their words and those emotions. Now, he was trying to get everything out in a kiss and hoping that she understood. He didn't know if he was quite ready to say the words out loud.

Eventually, they parted, breathing heavily. He watched as she turned away, trying to hide her rosy cheeks. For the first time in his life, he felt smug about his decision. He knew he was doing the right thing.

Okay! I got another chapter up pretty quickly because I won't be able to post again for about a week. I'm going on vacation and also to get more details about the real life situation that inspired this story.

Thanks for all of the reviews! You guys rock!