Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

It had to rain.

At least she was wearing a lot of layers, the cold wasn't going to bother her.

The lights from the paper lantern and the wire strings around the stands looked lovely. Relena couldn't remember a time when she had this much fun. Not since she found out her brother was still alive and she had seen him for the first time in so long. He was slotted to leave on the next ship for Mars, but they had sat and talked for hours.

This was just as wonderful.

Heero had been dancing with her. Of course, people gawked at them, since it looked strange that Monsieur Comte had to dance with His Majesty Treize. Quite odd, even considering everything that Relena had seen in her life. But Heero was a great dancer, and she loved it. They had then broken off to chat with other people. Relena ended up dancing with a lot of girls, which seemed to amuse everyone. It even worked out that she was slightly tall for a young woman.

She wondered what had been going through his mind back at the house when she kissed him. His face always looked so blank, but there were hints here and there of what he was thinking. She had seen shock, frustration, and complete enjoyment. Other people wouldn't have seen it, but she did. She had known him for so long.

She wanted him to stop pussyfooting around her.

She wanted him to make some sort of move. Clearly, he wanted too. Maybe he held himself back because of their position, her injury, she had no idea. All she knew was that it was starting to tick her off. He wanted her, and she wanted him just as badly.

The rain started towards the end. Bidding good-bye to everyone, they started back up the hill towards the house. Relena was still grinning through the water soaking her face, not caring in the least about the cold. The breeze felt good.

Heero was rushing slightly, and she had to shuffle her feet to keep up. "Heero?"

Nothing.

A little seed of panic touched her. Was he angry about something? Whenever Heero was angry, he got really quiet. Of course, he was always determined, and irritated, or annoyed...but never angry. There was an odd furrow to his brow, and he seemed to be on a straight bee-line for the house. Maybe he was unhappy with her for dragging him to the masquerade, and then getting them caught in the rain. But that didn't really feel like it either.

Pulling out the key for the house, Heero unlocked the door. He held it open for her, and she stepped ahead of him.

"Heero?"

He looked away from her as he slid the cape from his shoulders, setting it on the hook by the closet. There was silence, and all she could hear was the ticking of the clock.

"I had a good time."

She gasped at his comment, "Really?"

He paused a moment to gather his own thoughts, "I'm not used to this sort of life. People like me...we're trained to only be one thing. Weapons. I am a weapon, and I will always be one."

"That's not true."

He glared at her.

"That's not true," she said, "You're a wonderful person, Heero. You're capable of so much more than you give yourself credit. I've seen you settle into living here with such ease that sometimes I wish this was our life."

He opened his mouth to say something, and then appeared to change his mind, "You don't understand."

"I understand better than you think!" she roared.

His eyes fixed on her.

"You think this is easy for me?" Relena snapped at him, "Living in this wonderful place, away from all the demands of being president? This is hard for me, knowing that my life could have been this way. I could have been born some normal girl, gone to some normal school, and met some normal guy," she looked at the floor a moment, "Married some normal guy."

He still didn't say a word.

"But, you know what? I don't have a normal life. Sometimes, I don't want a normal life. These people," she motioned towards the window, "Those people live like they do because people like you and me fight for them. We give up our chance to have a normal life so they can be safe and happy. Coming to places like this, seeing them laughing and being safe, makes everything worth it. It makes me be okay with the fact that soon I will have to go back to being president, and we'll have to give up this house," she sighed, her voice slightly breaking, "And this life we have, and the fact that I get to be with you. I have to give this up, and I'm okay with that because they are happy.

You say that I don't understand. I do understand, Heero. This is the way I am, and the only what I know how to be. I am a world leader, and I belong to the people. I don't know how to have my own life, and I will never have my own life. So, yes, I understand about not knowing another way to live, about not having control over your own life."

The rain poured down the window. Her clothes and hair were soaked. She looked so sad for a moment as she looked at the floor, not wanting to see his face when she spoke to him.

"I wish I could have lived here with you forever. That's not going to happen, but I still wish it with all my heart. I...have been so happy these last few days. Like my heart was going to soar out of my chest at any moment. Getting to live my days with you at the this place," she was whispering now, "It only reminds me the fact of how much I love you. That I love you now, and I will always love you. It also reminds me of the fact that someday we will have to leave this place, and a part of me will be heartbroken."

Silence.

"Damn speeches," she said, turning towards the stairs, "Good night, Heero."

It was the sound of the rain that caused her to miss his footsteps as she opened her door. Arms latched around her and pushed them inside her room, slamming the door behind them with his foot.

"Don't think you can say all those things to me and get away with it, Relena."

They stumbled forward, and fell onto her bed. She heard a familiar crack, and looking up from her place on the bed, she saw the nasty Glock pointed at her face. Heero kept it with him at all times, she knew, because he was always her bodyguard.

At the end of the days, that's what he always was.

There was a look on his face that was something like rage, his blue eyes sliced at her, and the gun was aimed straight at the center of her forehead.

"You know," he told her, "I could kill you now. I could kill you, and no one would ever know it was me, or be able to link it to me."

"I know."

"I don't need a reason, I could just do it. I don't care about killing anymore," he said, "It doesn't matter to me. You're not any more important that anyone else. I could shoot you in the head and be done with this whole charade."

"Fine then."

She stared at him, no fear in her eyes. Guns didn't bother her. Death threats didn't bother her.

This he knew.

"Damn you," he gritted his teeth, "Damn you and your naive bullshit."

"I'm naive about a lot of things," she said, "The fact that I love you is not one of them."

Heero grabbed her arms and stretched them over her head, still holding the Glock, "You're supposed to be afraid of me."

"I'm not, Heero," she sighed, "And I never will be. No matter what."

Damn it, he couldn't take it anymore.

He kissed her.