Chapter 18

"Actually." The honeyed voice cut through the rooms tension like a knife through butter. "It was extremely painful. Remind me to thank you for that sometime." Suddenly, the girls were on their feet, and Heero's date had a knife pressed against Du Lac's throat. "Release them." She ordered. Du Lac sneered, and she pressed her blade slightly against him. He swallowed, then hissed as a trickle of blood ran down his throat.

"Do it." He commanded hoarsely. The other girls advanced on the guards, guns drawn, and watched while the pilots tied them up.

"Very good. Now then. Turn around monkey boy." Du Lac growled , his eyes cold and hard.

"Fine." She smirked, and knocked him out. "I did warn you." She said to his unconscious form. Deftly she tied him up, and turned to face the others, then dialled a number.

"Commander. Mission successful. Extraction team can move in." She paused as she received more orders. "Yes ma'am." Hanging up the phone, she turned to the pilots. Duo grinned.

"Well that was fun."

"Shall we return to the party?" Trowa asked, offering his arm to his date.

"Orders are to make sure that nothing seems out of place." She replied, taking Heero's arm.

"Back to the party then." Quatre smiled.

*****

It had been remarkably easy to circulate the rumour that Du Lac had disappeared with twins on his arm, and Heero was satisfied with the success of the mission. He listened to the conversation he was part of with half an ear, his attention drawn to the five girls in the middle of the dance floor. Moving in perfect sync, their hips moved in time with the music and they laughed as they turned and twisted together. Tearing his eyes away, he watched as the other pilots converged on him and nodded imperceptibly.

He made his way across the milling dance floor and gently took the elbow of his date, leaning down slightly to murmur in her ear. She stilled instantly and leaned back, giving him her full attention instantly.

"Time to go." He murmured. He stiffened slightly as she turned around and snaked her arms around his neck.

"It's almost midnight. The best part of a masque takes place at midnight. Can we not stay?"

"What happens at midnight?" Heero looked into her eyes, trying to fathom her. She pulled a face of mock surprise.

"The perfect soldier doesn't know what happens at a masque?"

"Basic training didn't cover the rules of a party." Heero countered, putting his arms around her waist and trying to convince himself that it was because people were watching. Truth was, he liked feeling her there, and he didn't know why.

"Well allow me to be your education." She smiled softly. "As midnight draws near, they play a slow song, and everyone dances with a partner. At the last stroke of midnight, everyone removes their masks, and finds out who they have been dancing with all night. It's the reason why men and women arrive separately to a masque."

"I see."

"So bearing that in mind, can we at least stay until after that dance?" The girl pressed closer to him, and Heero felt his resolve crumbling.

"Fine, but we leave straight after."

"Deal." She smiled, then nodded to the other girls, who retrieved their dates and brought them to the floor just in time for the midnight dance. Gracefully, the pilots assumed the waltz position and began gently turning their dates around the dance floor. Heero watched the scene over his partners head, checking for trouble, but was distracted when she sighed contentedly and rested her head on his shoulder as they danced. Slowing his steps, Heero swayed them gently in time with the music as the clock began to strike midnight.

Slowly they let go of one hand, and Heero reached for his mask. Around them, the other pilots were doing the same. The girl caught hold of his hand before he reached his mask and pressed a kiss to it, her eyes closing briefly. When they reopened, they locked onto his, and Heero felt his heart stop as he looked into eyes that were as familiar to him as his own. Quickly, she put a finger to his lips.

"You'll spoil the surprise." She whispered, but Heero heard it as loud as if she had been shouting it. She watched as he slowly removed his mask, sighing when his naked face looked back at her. As the tenth stroke sounded, she raised a hand to her own face.

Dong.

Her fingers slowly began to peel off the mask around her eyes.

Dong.

Her head ducked as she removed the last traces of her cover.

Dong.

The last stroke of midnight sounded, and Relena Peacecraft Darlian looked back at Heero, her clear blue eyes sparkling, taking Heero's breath away. He stared at her for a moment, speechless.

"Didn't I tell you I would come back?" Relena murmured, drawing his face to her slowly. Their lips met in a gentle kiss that sparked through them like lightning and woke Heero from his dazed state. Grabbing her roughly, he crushed her to him, his lips desperately seeking entrance to her mouth. Relena moaned and sighed as he plundered her mouth, their tongues entwining frantically. White hot heat spread through her body, and she grabbed onto his shoulders for support as her knees buckled beneath her. Heero's hand found the back of her head and his fingers threaded through her hair as his lips ravaged hers in a bruising kiss. Her head spun as passion flooded through her, and her head arched back as Heero began to kiss his way down her neck. Abruptly, Heero stopped, leaving her gasping for breath. Leaning his forehead against hers, Heero breathed heavily. Relena opened her eyes, and stared into Heero's deep Prussian blue pools. Without warning, he grabbed her hand and led her out of the room, her feet flying across the marble floor. She laughed to herself as he slammed out of the front doors and into their waiting car, almost flinging her into a seat. She quickly caught a glance through the open door of the other pilots more tenderly taking their partners to their own cars, before Heero angrily slammed into their own car.

"Base." Heero ordered the driver tersely, before winding up the partition. Relena felt a flicker of fear as he turned to look at her, anger sparking from his eyes. She almost shrank from him as he glared at her furiously. The silence in the car was so thick, she felt she could cut it with a knife, but when Heero spoke, the perfect soldier was calm, collected, and totally cold.

"You were dead." He said in a monotone. Relena took a deep breath.

"Une had you believe it so that you would focus on the missions instead of on us."

"How?"

"An injection made of an extract of deadly nightshade and chloroform. Forces the body to shut down and assume death for a short period of time. Provided the heart is re-started within five minutes, the death is reversed."

"How long."

"It took us a month to even open our eyes. Two more with intensive physio and treatments to get us moving again. When we heard that Une had a way to Du Lac, we doubled our efforts. We wanted to be there when you brought him down."

"The masque."

"Du Lac's idea, we just went with it. It was Hilde's idea to hide from you until the traditional time. We wanted to surprise you. And Une agreed that to keep our identities a secret was a good idea. That way, you wouldn't be distracted until after the mission was completed."

"The meeting."

"We were not to interfere unless it was called for. We were there strictly as spectators, our orders were to follow your instructions to the letter. When you seemed in trouble, we stepped in."

"You disobeyed an order." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes." Relena answered simply. "It won't happen again." Heero raised an eyebrow. "I promise." Relena continued. "I'm out. I wanted to see Du Lac fall, and I did. Now I am leaving."

"What are you going to do?"

"I shall return to my field – politics. I am finished with fighting. For now." Relena smiled slightly as the car pulled to a stop. She leant forward and opened the door, then paused on the way out. "Goodbye Heero." She whispered, and stepped out of the car to face Une. "Thankyou Commander. Time for me to return to my life." She smiled, and Une saluted her.

"Thankyou Miss Relena for your help. The Preventors are forever in your debt. We shall always be here, should you need us."

"Thankyou." Relena turned to face the other couples that were getting out of their vehicles behind them. "I hope I shall see you again. Take care of each other."

"Miss Relena!" The soft voice called on the air.

"I'm coming Pagan!" Relena called back. The pilots and their partners watched her as she turned back to them. She looked at them all softly for a moment, then nodded, a tear glistening on her cheek and began to walk away, but pulled up short at a small pressure on her arm.

"Stop." A gentle voice commanded, and warm fingers encircled her wrist. She turned back to see Heero leaning against the car, his arm outstretched and holding onto hers. His head was down, his eyes fixed on the floor. "Don't go." Relena smiled indulgently and stood in front of him. Tucking her fingers under his chin, she raised his chin slightly, and looked into his eyes.

"If you're ever in the neighbourhood, don't be a stranger." She murmured, and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Heero felt her warm body mould to his briefly, but before he could hold her and keep her there, she was gone. The tyres crunched on the gravel, and Relena was borne away to her life once more.