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Chapter Four
"How is it I can see you?" Heero wore a black leather jacket and denim jeans. It was the exact same outfit from the last time she saw him from the night of her eighth birthday. "You left without saying goodbye." Her hand throbbed from her unexpected punch, but she neglected the nagging feeling and focused on her uninvited guest. "You're still in your mid-20s."
"I can't explain this…not just yet," his voice was steady with the same familiarity and tone.
"I'm imagining this, you can't be real," she shook her head and continued to walk down the sidewalk. "You're just a figment of my imagination…that's right." She ignored her former imaginary friend as she tried to reason with herself.
His voice pierced the distance between them, "Relena stop."
"I'm not stopping," she didn't turn around to look at him, "you're not real." She rubbed her temple, as she picked up the pace with her heels clicking loudly against the beige concrete.
"Give me a second." The scent of cucumber and floral trailed ahead of him, as he tried to catch up to her.
"Fine then," she continued to walk away from him. "Go ahead and explain."
He let out a sigh, wondering on earth how he's going to explain this one. Normally, they forget, but not her. Was it the teddy bear that he left behind on her birthday? No it couldn't be it, as he ran his hand through his chocolate hair.
He finally drew those words under his breath. "I don't have answers and…I'm sorry."
She paused in her steps and looked back towards him. His eyes caught a single glimpse of a tear that brimmed in the corner of her eye. "Of all this time, why come back now?"
His back stiffened slightly, "I don't know."
"As you can see, I grew up and I'm just fine." She stood firm in her words, "I'm going home, and don't you dare follow me, Yuy." She picked up her pace as she cut through the park.
The last sentence stunned him to say the least, and he followed her orders. He stuffed his hands into his denim jeans and walked the rest of the way back to his apartment that he frequently visited in between his cases. He logged onto to his computer and viewed his case files. He found the file he was looking for and pulled up the record. A picture of a young Relena with two missing front teeth popped up on the blue screen.
Relena Peacecraft, daughter of American Ambassador. Age five. The bold letters were sprawled out on the digitized file.
He let out a sigh of frustration. Was he becoming careless after all? He went over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of beer that someone left behind. Hoping to drown today's weird mysterious event in the cold yellow liquid.
At that moment, the door to the apartment opened and an all too familiar face popped in.
"You're back!" He headed to the kitchen to drop off a bag of groceries, "When did you come in?"
"And it's nice to see you too," he scoffed. He shut his laptop down and walked over to see his longtime friend. "Just about now actually."
"Where did you run off to now?" He called out from the refrigerator's shelves as he unloaded a package of hot dogs and sausages. "It seems like you disappear whenever you want."
"Hn…you can say that," he drank another gulp of his beverage. "Kalamazoo, MI."
"Is there such a town called that," the violet eyed musician looked up.
"Yes there is," his monotone voice didn't show a hint of amusement, "For about a year."
"Ouch, that sounded like pure torture." He grabbed another bottle from one of the shelves. "Cheers."
The two bottles clinked, and the pair caught up on the random news of their lives. To Heero, he didn't remember how he met Duo in the first place. The only thing he could recall was looking up ads one day and caught Duo's number about having his apartment subleased, since he was out of town for half of the year due to his random guitar gigs.
"You look like you're having some issues," the musician took another swig at his bottle.
He moaned at the response, "What made you think of that?"
"Just this vibe," he scratched at the back of his head.
"Hn."
"Ah-ha!" The braided guitarist beamed, "Lady troubles, I presume," as his eyes wandered over to a faint bruise on his roommate's chin.
"Hn."
"Good luck with that," he made his way back to his kitchen. "I'm not doing well in that department either at the moment. My girlfriend streak is 0-3."
He let out a small smile, "It might be from your guitar lifestyle."
"Ouch." He began to rummage through his refrigerator, "For a roommate that I see for less than half a year that's just cold."
Heero looked out the window, "I just tell like it is."
"Speak for yourself."
…
She slammed the door with a force that shook its hinges. She continued to walk down the hallway and chucked her keys into the small cerulean dish that was on top of her mahogany table in the foyer. She let out a soft sigh and rubbed her temples again. Needle pricks radiated from the sides of her head, as she mulled over the day's events. If it was going to rain, it better start soon or else, she could feel a migraine brewing behind the back of her eyes.
"Of all the nerve, why does he have to show up now?" she gritted her teeth, as she paced in her bathroom back and forth. "Ugh." In her short burst of anger, she started drawing water in her small bathtub. The steam collected on her mirrors as she continued to pace back and forth, and slowly the sound of the water began to calm her down to some degree.
She dipped her right foot in the rejuvenating liquid and felt it to be the right temperature. In minutes, she slipped in the tub and closed her eyes. The smell of water lily and Asian pear drops diffused throughout the small bathroom.
She went over the day's events and still couldn't believe her memories. He was right there in the flesh. She sank lower in the tub and let the water overcome her senses, and when she came back up for air, she still was confused as ever. "It's just not possible," she softly spoke and closed her eyes again until a voice drifted over to her.
"You're a sight for sore eyes." Dave had managed to leave the clinic on time and now he stood in the doorway.
She let out a small laugh, and tried to hide from him under the pile of bubbles. "I didn't even hear you come in."
"Didn't I tell you to take the day off?" He looked at her as he walked across their bathroom, and somehow knew his girlfriend had a bad day.
"You were right after all." She grabbed the black tie and pulled him closer to her, and teased him with a kiss. He grabbed a towel off the rack and gave it to her. "It's not like you haven't seen me in my birthday suit before," she winked at him.
"That is true," as he picked her up from the tub and carefully placed her on their bed.
She felt his feather light kisses on the base of her neck, as she wrapped her own arms around his neck. "I love you," she whispered as she temporarily forgot today's events.
"Same here," he continued his soft caresses as he removed his shirt and tie. Before long, she felt the cold air hit her body, but she felt him continue his soft kisses.
"So this is what you had in mind after all?"
"I'm improvising as I go," he laughed as he continued his soft caresses. "And how about this?"