[A.N.] Hello all! Thank you all for staying with me this long and for all of your awesome reviews! I love them as much as I love you all! It is because of you that this story has continued! I hope you enjoy this chapter, the first of the final three! Yes we're down to the last few! Thank you again for everything! This one is for you!

What You Want Most Chapter 9

Donovan tossed his keys onto the counter and placed his hands down for support. He had done it. He had let her go. It had hurt him, but it had needed done. She was in love with someone else and it wouldn't have been right to continue on knowing that. He sighed. He had loved her, really loved her, which made it even harder to break off their engagement but he couldn't bear trying to live with the alternative. Relena would have tried to be a good wife. She would have been affectionate and would have made a caring wife as well as a loving mother. It would look like a picturesque family from every angle, the press would eat it up and life would be pleasant, but it wouldn't be satisfactory. She would always be wishing he were someone else and he'd be always wondering if she were thinking about that someone else.

No, it was better this way. He was a young, wealthy, and if tabloids were reliable, a handsome individual. It wouldn't be long before he would find someone new. He shook his head at the thought. It wouldn't be that simple and it would be far from easy but he knew, with time, he could do it. He reached over and grabbed a mug out of the cabinet. He lived alone in his penthouse apartment, so the simple tasks like making coffee were left completely to him; not that he minded. He liked his privacy. It was a good way to stay focused, but it did get lonely from time to time. Being who he was, however, he wasn't careless. His penthouse had been equipped with state-of-the-art security systems and precautionary measures to prevent him from coming to any harm. It was safe enough, but the sound of a gun cocking behind him told him that it was not impenetrable. He knew who it was without turning around.

"Lieutenant Yuy. I was just about to make some coffee, would you like some?"

"Why?"

"Why? Because I find it a pleasant beverage to enjoy in the evening." Heero didn't respond to his attempt at a joke. He shook his head. "No to the coffee then?" He sighed and turned around, meeting the dark-blue eyes of the other man. It was easy to see what Relena found attractive about him. He was just above average height and had a lean, toned frame that seemed ready for action at a moment's notice. He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. "I can probably guess why you're here."

"You broke it off with her." It seemed to be half a question and half a statement, his impassive voice making it almost impossible to tell which.

"Yes. I did. It seemed like the right thing to do."

"The right thing?"

"Yes. I see no point in marrying her when she is in love with someone else; with you, in fact." He leaned his back casually against the counter crossing his arms. He watched the other man visibly stiffen. "Don't tell me you didn't know because I know you did. Her friends warned me about how she's been stuck on you for years. I thought it might change over time but I was wrong."

"You hurt her." As the other man said these words, Donovan felt himself getting agitated. He stepped forward, squaring off with the former Gundam pilot.

"I hurt her? That's rich coming from you." Heero seemed to flinch slightly but in the dim light of the room it was hard to tell. "How long are you going to wait before coming back into her life? Are you planning to at all? Because she doesn't have forever." He took a step towards Heero and saw the other man clench shift as if to attack. "Are you just going to leave her without saying goodbye again?"

"I left to protect her."

"Bullshit. You left because you're a coward Yuy. It's as simple as that."

"What?" Heero's eyes widened slightly and Donovan knew he'd struck a nerve. Good.

"You heard me. It's kind of funny actually. A war hero, a Gundam pilot, one of the greatest warriors in the universe is afraid of love."

"You don't know anything about me."

"Maybe not, but I do know that Relena deserves to be happy."

"You're the only one who can ensure that."

"Man, Duo hinted that you were dense but I didn't believe him, now I know he spoke the truth."

"I cared enough to walk away."

"So did I! The difference is she didn't want you to."

"She's better off without me." That was it. Before he knew what happened, he threw a punch that connected squarely with the other man's face. Heero didn't move. He didn't flinch but neither did her retaliate. He just stood there, eyes on the ground.

"You're such a moron! Relena is an amazing woman! I would give anything to have her look at me just once the way she looks at you. You may have had a bad life, you may even have reasons to think you don't deserve happiness but she loves you. She loves you, and that is your redeeming factor. Accept it, treasure it and her. Please."

There was a long period of silence between them before Donovan turned back to the counter to continue making his coffee.

"Make her happy, Heero. For both of us." A moment of silence had passed and he didn't need to look to know that the other man was now gone. He turned on the coffee maker and walked to his living room taking a seat in his chair. Leaning back and closing his eyes he smiled sadly to himself wishing them both the best as well as himself.

Relena looked at the photo of her and Donovan, regret welling inside her. What she did to Donovan hadn't been right. He deserved so much better than that. She had loved Donovan, but knew she hadn't been in love with him, knew she probably never would be and carried on her little charade in spite of it all. She had hoped that by being involved with Donovan she could finally move on and burry her feelings for Heero, but that didn't make it right. She had already received her lecture, cementing her feelings of guilt into place. Noin, when she found out what Donovan said, had given her quite a stern reprimand. She recalled again the whole conversation.

"Relena, what happened? Why did he suddenly call it off? You were perfect for each other." She had merely closed her eyes, unable to look at her sister-in-law.

"He did what I should have done."

"I don't understand."

"I didn't love him, Noin; not like he loved me."

"Relena…" She sighed, trying to think of how to phrase her next words.

"He realized it. He knew I was in love already; that I have always loved someone else. He was right. We were only fooling ourselves." She shrugged helplessly, feeling defeated.

"You mean you agreed to marry him knowing full well you didn't feel as strongly for him, as he did for you? What were you thinking?"

"I don't know, Noin. I guess I just wanted to try and have a normal life, a normal relationship, where the man doesn't pop in and out of my life whenever her feels like it."

"That doesn't make it right."

"I know. Donovan deserves so much more, so much better than what I did. I hurt him, and that was the last thing I ever wanted to do." She sat down in one of the chairs in the living area, her sister-in-law close by.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I wish I knew. He still wants to be friends but I feel as though I need to give him his space. I know I would need some if the situation were reversed."

"I wasn't just talking about him." She stiffened, waiting for the older woman to continue that thought. "Heero showed up at your wedding shower with a gift for you. He must care. Are you going to confront him?"

"Confront him? Noin, I don't know where he is. He could be in another country by now. Besides, if he cared he never would have left in the first place. If he cared he would have fought for me that night. Why didn't he Noin? Why?" She hated herself for getting so emotional but it hadn't exactly been an easy day.

"I don't know Relena. Only one man can answer those questions and I know for a fact he's never far away. He'll show up. Trust me."

"How can you be sure?"

"Relena, I have watched the two of you for years. I know he can't stay away from you for long. Trust me, he'll be back, and when he is, you have to resolve this."

"Noin… I… thank you." The older woman merely smiled and hugged her before walking up the stairs to the room always kept for her and her husband.

She sighed heavily and set the picture down. It hardly seemed possible that that could have been just yesterday. She had been pulled back into work just as soon as the delegation found out that her matrimonial plans were canceled and her day had dragged on forever. Her secretary had misfiled her papers and the minister of the L4 colony cluster had demanded an immediate vid-conference to try and get her assistance on one of his newest colonial improvement projects; that was only the beginning. Between work issues and her own personal feelings she was exhausted.

She walked over to her bed and kicked off her heeled shoes, letting her bare feet sink into the soft carpet. She pulled off her blazer and tossed it onto the chair, then sat on the edge of the bed. This was the first moment she had to really reflect all day. The time she hadn't spent on work-related issues had been used to cancel the various celebratory companies that had been hired to help make her wedding as spectacular as any woman could ever hope. She sighed again and she let her hair down, as long as always, she shook free and let it tumble down her slender back. It was in that moment that she sensed he was there, watching her from the shadows, a habit she once found as creepy as it was endearing but now was merely a painful reminder of the way things used to be. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, adjusting to his once too familiar presence once again.

"Hello, Heero."

TBC…