|Chapter Five|
Heero had lain awake most of the morning watching Makoto sleep peacefully; her long curls surrounding her like a beautiful halo as the sun kisses brought the natural highlights of red, brown, and blond out. He couldn't help but stare, wondering what his true feelings were. A few weeks never made a difference, but to his feelings they did. It was hard to look at her as a business proposition as he remembered their closeness the prior evening. His urges couldn't hold back from the weeks of teasing in her lingerie and then needing to help. Unable to lift her arm, Heero tried to make things as comfortable as possible. Taking their first shower together had led to him seeing a beautiful, shy, embarrassed glow in her cheeks. Heero didn't think he would lose control, but helping her dry with a towel lead one thing to another.
But why had she accepted his advances? Brushing it aside, Heero assured himself the feelings were basic human need. Deciding to let her sleep in and check on her at a later time, Heero moved from the sheets and dressed rather quickly before making it down to the parlor where the guests gathered.
"How is she?" asked a concerned Wufei, still feeling a slight amount of guilt only for Duo to let out a slight grumble.
"You wouldn't need to ask if your room was next to theirs," commented Duo, looking a bit tired but managed to keep a solemn face as he stared at Heero. Deciding to play it off, Heero produced a grin as he took a seat, grabbing the newspaper.
"The best medicine a woman could ask for," replied Heero, checking out the large article spanning the front page of a royal engagement soon to be announced by the Sanq Kingdom. Duo gave a laugh, pulling Heero's attention away.
"I hope you're not planning on any little ones soon, it would disrupt your medicine," suggested Duo only for Heero to give a nod. He had never thought about children before but found himself wondering what type of mother Makoto would make.
Not the direction to be thinking in, thought Heero, pulling his thoughts away as he shuffled through the paper. Quatre seemed rather silent, which seemed to bother Heero for a moment as he stared at the kind man looking out the window. Feeling the eyes, Quatre turned to give Heero a small smile but the look in his eye showed suspicion.
"What is it?" asked Heero suddenly, jolting the silence in the room.
"It may be nothing, but did you notice her shoulder x-ray?" asked Quatre, a bit concerned. Heero had thought it strange, but didn't give much more thought when they returned home. Although he had felt it was broken while popping her arm back in place, there seemed to have been no concern over damages by the doctors. If her shoulder was broken, the doctors would have done more than given her a sling to heal the muscles. Before the conversation could pick up into a full discussion, a maid moved into the room to whisper in Heero's ear before leaving. Tossing the paper down, Heero sent a grin to Duo.
"The lady awaits more medicine," announced Duo, filling the room with chuckles as Heero left. He was becoming concerned but felt it disappear when he viewed a very nude Makoto laying lazily on the bed. Trying to hold back his grin, Heero noticed an awaiting outfit hung at the end of the bed.
"No encore?" teased Makoto, lifting her head to gaze at his enjoyable expression. Watching his eyes move to her lightly bruised shoulder, Makoto knew she needed to formulate a story quickly. Heero made his way over, taking a sit on the bed as he lead Makoto into a sitting position. Touching over the once injured shoulder, Heero was unsure what to think when the appearance of being broke was gone. Catching her intent stare, Heero raised a brow as Makoto used her mouth to blow some hair away from her face in an irritated manner.
"Should I torture you for answers?" asked Heero curiously, only for Makoto send him a seductive grin.
"Yes please, Mr. Yuy and don't be gentle," replied a sultry voice. Heero wished he was an untrained man to have fallen for such tricks but instead felt his eyes harden. Moving off the bed, Makoto started to dress herself in an irritated fashion.
"I guess telling you I'm a super hero is out of the question?" she asked, making sure to keep her shoulder down but rotate it a bit to work the muscles. Seeing as how she received no reply, Makoto continued getting ready. "It's part of being an experiment at Sapphire Tower. Wanting to advance healing, I let the scientists mess around with my genetics a bit. I'm a chef, I can't afford to be sick."
Heero seemed to buy it as he helped her with a few over arm needed dressing.
"How long do you need the sling?" asked Heero curiously.
"Today is the last time I'll need it. My muscles are still repairing from the damage and it's a bit sore. I'll be restored to perfect health by tomorrow, but what about your friends?" asked Makoto as Heero helped place her arm neatly in the sling.
"They will know the truth sooner or later," answered Heero
Still believing to be in the clear, Makoto relaxed as they waited for the last companion of the party to join. Makoto had yet to hear of who he was, but learned he was a find man that was a bit misunderstood. Scanning the restaurant, Makoto felt a prickling sensation take over as her eyes landed on a man across the room. Keeping her mind calm, she wondered if he would recognize her dressed in this attire but decided to evade direct eye contact. Watching him come their way, she had no other choice but to act like she never saw him as her fingers touched Heero's hand and leaned into his ear like she was going to whisper something. For some reason, Heero watched as Trowa Barton came to the table while studying Makoto's movements. A sense of jealousy surged through him as Trowa's forest eyes scanned over Makoto for more than a moment before taking a seat.
"Ah Trowa," said Wufei, happy to see the man. "Glad you managed to get away from the palace job for a while to join us."
Trowa produced a grin while looking at Wufei before flicking his eyes over to Makoto once more. Heero knew there had to be something up between the two, and wondered if they had met while in Crystal Tokyo.
"I have been working hard on an upcoming agreement with Crystal Tokyo," replied Trowa, seeing Duo brighten up at the mention of the city.
"Wow, what a convience. Makoto here is from Crystal Tokyo as well," commented Duo, sending the attention of the entire time over to the pair while Heero's arm stayed wrapped around her shoulder. "Could you two have met before?"
Heero watched Trowa continuously stare a Makoto while some sort of silent conversation passed between them.
"I believe I may have made a slight acquaintance around the Palace," answered Trowa, picking up a glass of wine to sip it as a break. Watching Heero's movements made Trowa decided to see where their standing way. "Ms. Kino, was it?"
"I'm sorry for the late introduction," interjected Heero, beating Makoto to speaking as he gave her a cold/lovingly gaze. "This is my wife, Mrs. Yuy now."
Trowa put on a fake smile as he gazed at the couple.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, this time as Mrs. Yuy," replied Trowa. Lunch continued, rather uncomfortably for Makoto while she felt the heat in his eyes during all conversations that ranged from their accident the prior day, and even to describing how the two met.
"Will you be staying at the manor for a while?" asked Quatre, already having a room prepare for Trowa.
"I will this evening, and join you for an escort to the ball tomorrow evening," came his reply, his gaze somewhat turning a bit slightly toward Makoto. "It was decided to be a masquerade, as luck has it."
Quatre felt it was his duty to spoil his friends with picking out attire for the ball the following evening, seeing as how they weren't all together prepared. Heero enjoyed watching Makoto look through the racks as she seemed relaxed, joking with Duo on his long braid and how he would look better in a dress than her. Wanting to get the joke out of the way, the two had picked the worst dress they could find and quickly snuck into the changing room. Wufei had been a bit surprised Duo would allow such a thing and took this time to sit back and relax awaiting the show. Finding time to catch Trowa a bit alone, Heero pretended to follow at a distance while they looked at different dress racks.
"What's on your mind Heero?" asked Trowa suddenly, closing the distance as they both pretended to look through the same rack.
"I can see your hiding something," replied Heero, seeing Trowa keep his face emotionless like the maks he always wore. "For now, I'm trying to figure out what but I know it involved my wife."
"That is something she should tell you herself," replied Trowa and then moved toward another rack where he pulled out a strapless black mermaid gown with a slit on one side. An emerald embroidered design curved over the fabric elegantly. "This will suit her taste and style."
Catching the tossed garment, Heero began to feel heated and wondered what he could have missed in her background check. Chuckling at the dressed up Duo and after the jokes were finished being made, Heero took his time to slip next to Makoto while requesting her to try on the picked gown. Slipping into the dressing room, Heero was amazed at the taste Trowa showed while the gown merged against her natural curves.
"Nice pick, and you managed to get my size," said Makoto, looking in the mirror while wondering what else she could add to make it pop even more.
"I didn't pick it out, Trowa did," answered Heero, close to her ear. Makoto felt a chill with his cool words before she was suddenly turned around and pressed against the wall. Blocked in, Makoto was able to see a bit of a frightening side to Heero. His once captivating Pursian's turn to ice while his grip was rough, keeping her locked into a corner. "He seems to know you rather well, how is that?"
Makoto swallowed, wondering where she should begin. Putting on a pained emotion, she looked away and let herself relax against his grip. Beginning to calm with the silence, Heero took a step back and examined what he was doing. It was strange how his emotions were taking over, so very much unlike him.
"I'm sorry, it's not my business," replied Heero and left the dressing room. Makoto felt confused, wondering why she felt compelled to explain as she started to undress.
"Come on out and show us babe," called Duo, opening the curtain suddenly. A hush came over the room as Makoto slammed the curtain shut quickly at a wide-eyed blushing Duo.
"You better run Maxwell," commented Wufei at the eye-glazed Heero targeting in. Duo ran for covered from Heero's glare who quickly took a stance guarding the curtain.
Makoto felt so much emotion push through her from that day, feeling tired but awake at the unresolved situation with Heero. The rest of the evening, she could feel his stand-off approach while she avoided contact with Trowa. Excusing herself early to bed, Makoto knew no rest would come to her as she worried of the approaching day. Although they were in masks, Makoto wondered how hard it would be to know she was in his presence while being with another. Pretending to be asleep when the door opened, Makoto listened to Heero undress before getting into bed. Smelling the alcohol as Heero pressed a soft kiss to her lips, Makoto wondered why the urge to kiss him back plagued her.
What's wrong with me? She asked, ignoring him as she felt him touch her cheek softly before moving to sleep on his side. Waiting what seemed like hours until she heard Heero's breathing steady off in a slow pace, Makoto slipped from the bed and grabbed her robe before exiting quietly. Taking a leisure walk around the grounds, she began to calm her mind amidst the fragrant floral smell of the gardens. Lying in the shadows of a large tree, Makoto closed her eyes for a moment to take in the sounds.
"It is rather strange to meet you in these circumstances, your highness." Makoto's eyes popped open to see she was not the only one in the shadows that evening. Trowa leaned against the tree oddly as he gazed down at her silhouetted form. "Would you care to explain the reasoning for this current situation?"
Makoto was silent as she sat up slowly.
"You mean, before you consider reporting this incident to my fiancé?" asked Makoto a bit coldly, seeing as how her words never phased his composed mask. "I decided to play along with your friend wanting to impress everyone by bringing a wife to this meeting. Once this gathering is finished and everyone parts ways, our contract will end and we will go our separate ways."
Trowa listened, unsure if he should believe her story but held concern for his friend. If he did report this, then it would put a lot of pressure on which side he should be on.
"Mr. Peacecraft is worried by your decline to the ball tomorrow, believing you may be backing down from your part of the agreement," explained Trowa only for Makoto to give an irritated sigh.
"I have no intention of placing both of our kingdoms in a bind, Mr. Barton, and I am very aware of the responsibilities I have undertaken when I agreed to this private engagement. There is no need to be concerned with this small, romantic liaison," remarked Makoto coldly, feeling a slight pain in her chest at the cruel words.
"I best you watch your step, your highness. Mr. Yuy never wavers when he has his eye set on a specific prize," warned Trowa, making his move to leave.
"Mr. Barton, what will I tell his suspecting thoughts about our prior acquaintance?" questioned Makoto, feeling fear move through her at his previous words. Trowa paused under the moonlight before turning a bit slightly to Makoto.
"Tell him we used to be romantically involved while in Tokyo, a part of your past you kept concealed. I assure you this story will help in the time of need for a speedy divorce," answered Trowa before leaving Makoto alone under the tree's dark eaves.