Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Relena awoke to the sensation of lips and teeth nibbling at the tender skin behind her ear. His breath was slow, but controlled. There was no question of the consciousness of the aggressor. Now and then his sigh would come out with a slight underlying growl, heating up her belly, again. Before she could piece together her late night memories or open her eyes to search her surroundings, she knew.

"Heero," she breathed.

He growled more openly in response to her voice.

Her body responded to his perfectly, starting with a warm squirming against his naked frame and ending with an explosive orgasm in his protective embrace.

Drenched in sweat and other, less familiar, juices, she turned in his arms, laying her head on his chest. As her eyes refocused after the morning activities, she found herself smiling up at him, studying how much more vulnerable he looked in the early morning light than she had ever seen, before. He was almost smiling, his eyes glassed over as he looked at nothing. Perhaps he was even deep in thought, or perhaps he was just catching his breath and thinking about nothing at all.

"Why now?"

He blinked several times before he looked down at her. His brows furrowed slightly, hinting at a frown. "Because the longer you wait to get treated, the more it will progress. Every day is an added risk," he answered.

Relena still did not want to talk about the disease, but she couldn't help burying her face under his arm and laughing. "No," she shook her head. Her eyes sparkled with amusement when she met his gaze, again. "I mean—us. Why now?"

He blinked at her, registering the change in subject.

"Surely you didn't just realize you were attracted to me, last night."

"I'm not attracted to you," he answered sternly, looking back up at the ceiling. "That's a gross understatement."

Relena rolled her eyes. "I love you, too," she mumbled, dropping her head back onto the crux of his shoulder.

There were several moments of silence before he spoke, again. "I'm not your type."

Relena gave the far wall a puzzled look and a sigh. "My type? The type that comes after me? Or the type I'm looking for?"

He gave no response.

Relena inhaled deeply, pulling herself up, onto her elbows, so she could look down at him.

He rolled his eyes to stare into hers.

Relena took her time explaining her perspective, to see that he understood. "You are brave. Kind. Quiet. Stoic, even. You're strong, but gentle. You have integrity. You honor me, and respect me. You are my hero. My champion." She smiled at the silliness of the ancient phrase on her lips. "You're the person I trust most, and the only one I'm attracted to." She finally looked away, thoughtfully with another, much less melancholy sigh. "You're the only one who's my type."

He answered her with silence, never shifting or looking away.

"If I accepted anything less, last night would have hurt a lot less," Relena jabbed, as an afterthought.

Heero grinned ever so slightly at the rush of male pride that ran through him, again. He'd been first at many things, but he'd gladly have given them up for a chance to be hers. A sudden wave of anxiety hit him, as he sank into a pensive frown. "I didn't want to let you down. I didn't want to risk failing your—expectations."

She looked into his eyes, her own emitting untarnished love. As she ran her fingers through his unruly hair, she smiled softly, shaking her head. "I only expect you to be you."

He blinked, looking away.

After a moment of heavy quiet she asked, "Why did you change your mind?"

He took another several seconds to answer her. "You're worth the risk. I know that, now."

She could feel his emotions, like a rock falling hard in the pit of her stomach. The disease—the helplessness—scared him. He didn't want to lose her—but if he had to, he was damn well going to try to make her happy, first. With another tired sigh, she slowly relaxed on top of him. She felt his arms tighten around her, but he said nothing. He found enough comfort in just the touch.

They both drank in the safe and intimate time—finally alone and unguarded, together.

:::

"Where are you two going?" Iria demanded, as she caught sight of the twins hurrying down the east wing toward Relena's quarters.

"Relena didn't make it to breakfast," Adriana pointed out as they turned to face her.

"We just wanted to check on her," Ariel added.

Iria stopped and crossed her arms, studying them. Clearly they were up to mischief, though probably nothing more than a few harassing jokes. "Maybe she needs her rest," she said.

"She didn't seem terribly happy when she left," Ariel pointed out.

"Yeah. She'd stopped smiling and gotten so quiet. We're just concerned," Adriana said.

Before Iria could answer, Ariel made a B-line for Relena's door. "Relena?" She called as she tapped on it. Without waiting for a response, she swung the door open and stared into the room, bewildered.

Adriana caught up, looking over her twin's shoulder.

The bed was empty. The layers of covers were twisted and tumbling off the far side, but no one could be seen. They heard Relena breathing unevenly and coughing lightly, but they couldn't tell if she was trying to suppress laughter or if she was in pain.

"Are you alright?" Adriana asked, starting toward where their friend was.

"I'm fine!" Relena shouted, suddenly, throwing a hand up as a sign for the intruders to stop.

Adriana and Ariel both froze on command as Iria came to the doorway behind them.

"I'm fine," Relena repeated. "I just—fell off the bed."

"Are you okay?" Iria asked in a concerned voice, starting into the room.

"Yeah," Relena answered. She fluffed her tangled hair with one hand, hugging a sheet to her naked body with the other as she sat erect, facing the nightstand. "I slept naked," she admitted, turning her face to them with a blush.

The girls eyed the unclothed skin of her shoulders and smiled. "Oh," Adriana said, taking one step back to communicate retreat. "You slept on the floor—face down?"

"It's feasible," Relena responded, shakily.

Ariel slowly began backing out of the room, while changing the subject. "Hey. Did you hear Heero leave, this morning?"

Relena felt her ears heating up. She cleared her throat. "Was he not at breakfast?"

Heero narrowed his eyes, looking up at her in amusement.

"No. Brother was asking if we'd seen him, and we thought we'd ask you," Adriana said.

"After all," Ariel called from just inside the door, now. "He took off after you, last night. We were sure you two were going to kill each other."

Iria shook her head. "Ladies," she whispered, reminding them of their manners.

Relena blushed still more. "We didn't fight," she answered.

"Did he say anything about his plans for today?" Adriana pressed.

Relena shook her head, desperately fighting the urge to look down at the bronze skin beneath her. She could feel him watching her—memorizing her responses. "Is he not in his room?"

Ariel crossed the hall, knocking loudly on the door before opening it. "Nothing," she pouted.

"Ariel!" Iria scolded her. "What if he was in there?"

"I suppose he would have been annoyed," Ariel smirked.

"What if he was naked?" Adriana clarified for their older sister.

"Lucky me," Ariel mumbled, allowing herself a lecherous, toothy grin.

Relena hid her face in her free hand, afraid to look at anyone, now.

Iria's eyes nonchalantly wandered the room, noting a piece of clothing that seemed out of place. As she studied it, through her sisters' fiendish conversation she realized that the most out of place thing about it was that it wasn't Relena's at all, but a man's shirt. The shirt Heero had on the night before. Her eyes widened when she made the connection to the naked, blushing girl, politely riding out the incredibly awkward conversation.

"Ladies," Iria announced, loudly, silencing both of her sisters midsentence. "Why don't we all step out of the room and give Miss Relena some privacy to get dressed. Quatre is looking forward to spending the day with her, after all, and that will never happen if you two never leave."

The girls bowed their heads in compliance, tossing small waves back to the guest as they disappeared down the hall.

"Thank you, Iria," Relena said softly. "You have no idea how much it means to me."

Iria's eyes narrowed in a mischievous smile. "Oh—I can imagine," she answered. She turned her back, glancing over her shoulder at Relena, with one hand on the doorknob. "And, by the way, if you should happen to run into Mr. Yuy, today—" She indicated the clothing pile with her eyes, allowing Relena to follow. Relena grew pale, looking back up at the elder woman. "—Do tell him that Quatre's invitation is for him, as well. I do hope we will see him, also."

Relena nodded, too embarrassed to speak.

Iria sighed. "I'll hold both of you to that," she said softly, closing the door behind her.

Relena dropped her head, finally looking at Heero.

He pulled her to him, chuckling softly at her expense. "You are an amazing liar," he accused.

"I didn't lie. I simply distracted from the truth."

"Semantics," he whispered in his deep, dark tone, as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Iria knows."

"Hn."

"Do you think she'll say anything?"

He was quiet another moment. "Is this a secret?"

Relena took a few seconds to make out how she felt about the ordeal. "I guess I just thought—" She sighed. "I don't want it to be," she confessed. "I have too many of those, already."

He nodded.

"I'm not ready to talk about losing my virginity, though," she admitted.

He smiled, tightening his embrace, again. "You're the boss," he said quietly.

Relena nuzzled her face into his neck, taking in his scent.

"There's just one problem," she whispered.

"Hn?"

She laughed weakly, mumbling, "I don't think I can walk straight."

Heero looked into her eyes, smiling proudly, just for her, before she melted back into him.