Disclaimer: I still don't own Gundam Wing but I live in hope….

Note: Many thanks to Kaeru Shisho and Snowdragonct for their help, and to everyone who has been kind enough to comment.

The Second Lightning Strike:

'Hey there.' One large mocha, as requested. I got you a snack as well,' Trowa handed me a cup, and a paper bag. 'Is 'Fei still in with Zechs? I thought that doctor wanted him to try to get some rest.'

'I had a word with her.' I gulped a mouthful of hot liquid, waiting for the sugar-and-caffeine rush to zing down into my bloodstream and confer a much-needed energy boost.

It was nearly thirty hours since Zechs had been admitted and none of us had slept much since then. My brief sleep on Steph's shuttle, curled against Heero, was nothing more than a sweet, distant memory. Wufei had stayed at Zechs' side ever since he'd come out of surgery, except for a couple of brief periods to eat and shower, while I'd spelled him.

Tro and I had taken turns standing guard outside Zech's ward, trying to convince Wufei to take the occasional break and keeping in touch with the Preventers' investigation. It had been a little awkward at first, spending so much time with him, but we'd kept any conversation strictly non-personal, and I was slowly starting to relax in his company.

'I told her there's no way anyone's going to persuade Wu to rest 'til Zechs wakes up, and I wouldn't recommend trying to pressure him.'

'Definitely not.' Trowa grinned at the very idea. 'Noin called while I was downstairs; they've traced the manufacturer of that bullet that hit Zechs. Guess where?'

'Um, blind guess; L3?' I suggested, and he nodded.

'Was that a just guess or something else?'

'Everything seems to lead back there, doesn't it? An arms company manufacturing highly illegal weapons and ammo; that property company the Preventers are still looking into; Heero said that when he went to see Quat in the hospital, Quat was talking about L3 but not making any sense.' I yawned suddenly; one of those big yawns that threatens jaw-dislocation somewhere along the line. Damn, it was taking a while for the caffeine rush to start rushing.

'You could take a few hours off, you know,' Trowa suggested. 'Zechs' sedative won't wear off for a while, will it? You could go and lie down for a bit. Isn't there some sort of accommodation here for family members?'

'So Noor said.' I opened the bag he'd given me, and took out a Cherry Danish, absurdly touched that Trowa had remembered my favourite pastry, and bit into it. 'Dr. al-Hamid, I mean. She offered to reserve us some rooms if we wanted.' I devoured the pastry in two bites and stood, stretching.

'I don't think I'll be able to sleep after all this sugar. Would you mind if I just went for a walk? I won't be long. Oh, Heero called just before you got back; Relena's shuttle's landed and the Preventers have organised a chopper to the hospital. They seem to think it's less of a security risk. She should be here any minute.'

Trowa gave me a look that signified he knew just what my sudden desire for exercise was all about; my lack of inclination to be part of Her Highness's welcoming committee. 'Heero met her off the shuttle?'

'Yeah.' I crumpled up the bakery bag and tossed it into a handy trash can. 'He's coming on the heli with her.'

'Do you mind?'

I shrugged; it was something I'd been trying very hard not to think about. 'He was the obvious choice, really. The one with all the Relena-guarding experience. Anyway, it's not like they're going to be alone; she's probably got half the Sanque Palace Guard with her.'

No opportunities for the two of them to be alone together.

'I'll see you in a bit,' I stood up, thinking about going outside. I wasn't sure if Heero planned to despatch Relena and leave straightaway, or if I'd maybe get to see him for a few minutes.

Still trying to make up my mind, I wandered over to the security desk, now manned by a uniformed Preventer.

'Hey, Ryan. Everything hunky-dory?'

'Hey, Duo. Sure. The Princess's chopper just landed on the roof,' he gestured to one of the monitors in front of him. 'She should be here in a few minutes.'

Ryan's eyes widened as the first figure jumped out, extending a hand to Relena. Well, that was OK. He was just helping her, right? He didn't have to let her hang on to his hand, or both an arm briefly around her shoulder.

'That's Heero Yuy, right?' Ryan asked. 'I didn't think those two were still together.'

'They're not,' I said shortly.

OK, I knew it was probably just a friendly gesture, to a girl who was worried about her only brother, but it still hurt, watching the two of them together like that.

'Tell Trowa I'm going outside for a bit,' I told Ryan suddenly. 'I've got my 'phone if he needs me.'

I took the back stairs to the ground floor, crossing the shopping courtyard, and picking up a little map of the hospital grounds on my way out. Noor had mentioned a lake in the gardens, somewhere among the golf course and riding trails and swimming pool. Luxury hospital life for the elite and their families.

I skirted elaborate flower displays, manicured lawns and a couple of sheltered little arbours before getting to the ornamental lake. There were some ducks paddling around, a small flock of geese picking at the grass, and two black swans gliding across the surface of the water, necks arched elegantly. They mate for life, swans.

It was a nice little spot, screened from the hospital buildings by pine trees on one side, and with a convenient little bench overlooking the pond, and the green expanse of the golf links beyond.

A notice to the one side identified the different species of birds, and declared the pond to be a carefully-designed, temperature-controlled replica of a lake in Canada. This is what always gets me about L4; you've got people living without access to fresh water in their homes, and a couple of miles away, there's this obscenely lush garden and an artificially-created habitat laid out specially for a few birds.

Damn, though.

Heero and Relena.

Sure, the rational part of me was saying that they were close friends, that she was upset about her brother and he'd been comforting her. That he'd said he loved me.

The not so rational part, on the other hand was busily pointing out all of 'Lena's many perfections, and my lack thereof. And the fact that he'd gone off with her before. Screw it anyway.

I'd had far too much time to think, over the past twenty-four hours. Too much time sitting outside Zechs' room; way too many time to mull over old memories of what had happened between me and Heero. Sure, it was nice to think that maybe we could get past all that history, but realistically, I had to face the possibility that it mightn't happen.

'Duo? Is everything all right?'

I'd been thinking so hard about him that it was a bit of a shock to realise the original was standing in front of me.

'How did you know where I was?'

Heero shrugged. 'Trowa said you'd gone for a walk; I know you and I knew there was a lake here somewhere. Here you go.' He handed me one of those snazzy insulated cups you get in expensive coffeehouses and I didn't need to look or smell or taste to know it would be hot chocolate, just as I knew that his cup would hold some sort of a herbal tea. 'I would have come after you sooner if they hadn't needed to whip the cream.'

It had been one of our rituals, making hot drinks for each other. Even it had just been boiling - or sometimes even tepid - water, he'd always had a square of chocolate hidden away, and I'd always managed to find some sort of herby thing for him. I'd once made him tea with just a few blades of grass floating on top of the water. In retrospect, it was lucky I'd never poisoned him.

'D you remember that cafe in Vienna? The one with tables out on the square? You said it was the best hot chocolate you'd ever had…'

'Yeah.'

Oh, I remembered. It had been one of my brightest, sweetest memories for a long time - two teenagers hanging out in a sunlit square, for once not concerned with planning or implementing anything connected to obscenely large-scale death and destruction. Sometimes, I could still taste the chocolate - thick and warm and bittersweet.

One of those gleaming memories I'd had to put away somewhere once it all got tarnished, and I'd started doubting everything he'd ever said or done; wondering if he'd ever really wanted to be with me.

I took a sip of my drink an got a mouthful of whipped cream instead. 'This is nice too. Thank you very much.'

'We could go back there, someday. If you wanted,' he offered tentatively. We'd spoken less than an hour before and I'd blown kisses down the 'phone; he'd been calling me regularly and he obviously had no idea how to deal with the fact that I was basically treating him with all the friendliness I would accord a total stranger who'd chosen to sit down and make random conversation.

'If you're quite sure you wouldn't prefer to take Relena?'

'What exactly is that supposed to mean?'

'I'm sure you can work it out. Your ex-girlfriend, remember? You were cuddling up to her a few minutes ago; I saw it on the security monitor.'

'I was helping her out of the helicopter. Duo…what in God's name do I have to do to convince you that I'm not interested in Relena? Kill her?'

Well, that would do, actually.

'The fact that she's all over you like a rash, every time I see the two of you together doesn't damn well help,' I snapped back.

'Why can't you believe a single thing I say?' he demanded stiffly. 'I've told you, you're the one I want, not Relena. It's always been you. She's my friend.'

'She's also your ex,' I pointed out. 'But I assume you won't mind me snuggling up to Trowa the next time I see him, then. You'll be perfectly OK with that?'

'Point taken. What is it you want; for me never to see her again?'

Yeah, that'd work.

'No,' I muttered. 'I'd just prefer you two didn't get touchy-feely all the time.'

'Agreed.' He offered me an uncertain little smile. 'Duo, do you think we could talk about us? Please?' He ran one hand through his hair. 'Every time I think things are going well, I do something wrong and we go straight back to square one.'

Damn. I supposed we had to do it sooner or later, after all, but later would definitely be better.

'Not now, OK?' I jumped up from the bench. 'I need to get back; I told Trowa I wouldn't be gone long.'

'He knows I came looking for you; he'll call if he needs either of us. Duo, please, stay and talk to me. Don't you think we need to try to sort this out?'

'Yeah, and I should have some say in when we do it. And this isn't a good time for me.'

'It never is, is it? God, Duo, there's always going to be something more important for you, isn't there? Some excuse to justify your walking away from me?'

'I don't actually think that one of my best friends being in the ICU is just an excuse, actually,' I said, hearing my voice shake. 'And why can't I just walk away if it's what I want? Or is that your personal privilege? You left me before, remember?' I picked a bit of bark off the tree trunk with my thumb nail. 'You said you loved me and you still left.'

'Because you told me to. You made me, Duo. You never gave me a chance to explain.'

'Explain what? As far as I knew, I'd been unconscious for months and you'd never once bothered to come and see me. You were too busy off being photographed with Relena. It was like you'd made your choice and I wasn't it.'

'That's not how it was. I swear. You know how Quatre is; he was so upset about you and Trowa and I thought the best thing was for him not to see me at the hospital. Trowa was the only one who'd talk to me after what happened, apart from Relena. She was - she was the only person I could talk to; she was always there when I needed someone. It seemed the least I could do was attend a few parties with her, and of course the press assumed we were a couple.'

'But…you were together? I know you were a couple.'

'Later,' he hesitated. 'You know, that - that night when you saw us together, I 've wanted to explain that for years and you wouldn't listen.'

I shrugged. 'Didn't want to hear whatever excuses you were going to come up with. And you don't need to explain. She told me, a few years ago.'

It had been a recurring nightmare for years; the two of them locked in that endless embrace. I looked fixedly at some sort of little water-hen picking its way past our feet, totally ignoring us.

'She said she'd been terrified, that she'd just flung herself at you, and ..it had all been her fault.' She'd managed to tell me that before I could stop her, because it hadn't made any difference at that point. We'd both moved on. It wasn't like I was going to ring him up out of the blue and bring up his old teenage romance, after all.

'I'm sorry. It should never have happened.'

'Yeah. I'm sorry too. I guess I sort of over-reacted. I should have talked to you, yelled blue murder, anything except just run off. It was just - like seeing all my nightmares come true, you know. The two of you together. I should've let you explain, though, shouldn' t I?'

'I spent months trying to contact you and you never replied. I tried to visit you in Switzerland, and Quatre threatened me with a law suit for stalking you.'

'I never knew that.' I'd had all his letters returned unopened; I'd refused to take the calls.

He shrugged. 'What was I supposed to do, love? I didn't want you to feel I was harassing you, so I gave up. Lena invited me to spend some time in Sanque. She even persuaded me to see a therapist,' he snorted. 'That was atotal waste of time, anyway. I was consulting the man for his professional expertise, and he insisted I should be the one to talk during our sessions, while he sat back and asked ridiculous questions.'

'That is pretty much how they operate,' I grinned at the affronted look on his face. 'They like to hear all the facts.'

'Quite ridiculous,' he repeated. 'I had already emailed the pertinent information; quite sufficient for him to reach a diagnosis and recommend a solution. After three sessions, I decided I could more ably conduct my own research.'

'Right,' I said, trying no to laugh. It was all so typically Heero. 'Didn't 'Lena mind? If she'd been the one who wanted you to see him the therapist in the first place?'

He shrugged. 'She never said. Duo, I swear, nothing happened between us for months. Not until you'd made it abundantly clear, many times, that you wanted nothing more to do with me. I just - needed someone.'

Shit. There wasn't a lot I could say to that. I knew all too well how he'd felt.

'We were friends,' he said tentatively. 'We both needed someone; we had similar interests, shared ambitions. I thought it might be enough to sustain a relationship, that

I could try to make her happy.'

'And did you?'

'Of course not. She didn't know me. She knew the person she thought I was, She knew the sort of person she wanted for a boyfriend. I didn't come close to being either of them. It was never going to work, love. I only wanted to be with you, and she wanted a dream she had. Can you tell me, please, why you told me to leave that day?'

'Because I know you.' I twiddled the end of my braid between finger and thumb. 'The thing is, I saw all those photos, you know. Of you with 'Lena. And it just seemed that - well, it had to be what you wanted, or you wouldn't be with her. It was - not the best time for me, back then, OK? I was medicated up to the eyeballs, I was seriously depressed and I didn't know if I'd even walk again. I knew you'd want to take responsibility for all that; that if you knew what was wrong with me you'd probably dump her and look after me.'

'Duo,' he stared at me. 'I knew exactly what was wrong with you. And of course I would have been there for you if you'd let me.'

'I know,' I snapped. 'And that's what I didn't damn well want; for you to pick me out of some sense of guilt or pity or obligation or your bloody concept of honour, and end up hating me for ruining your life. End up with us both being miserable. Come on, 'Ro, you were seventeen; would you really have wanted to take on caring for a damn cripple when you had your whole life ahead of you?'

'Of course I would. I loved you. I love you. God, Duo. If I'd been the one in hospital, would you have walked away? Or stayed with me?'

'That's different,' I mumbled. 'It just is.'

'It's the same, you fool,' he yelled at me. 'It's exactly the same, except you can't get your stupid head around the fact that I love you and you're the most amazing person I've ever met, and it drives me insane that you can't see that.'

There was nothing remotely gentle about his kiss; he did his best to tangle his tongue around my oesophagus. I was probably starting to turn blue from lack of air when he finally let me go.

'I want to be with you; not Relena or any other person in the damn universe. Got that?'

I nodded, a bit shakily.

'Good. I'm going to get that into your thick skull if it takes me the rest of my damn life. Now, anything else we need to talk about?'

God, it was so damn tempting to shake my head and just melt into his arms. But he'd been right; there was stuff we needed to bring out into the open.'

'You resigned from Preventers. For her.' That was something that had always hurt; he'd joined the damn Preventers because she'd talked him into it, without even discussing it with me, and he'd presumably left when she wanted him to. I'd spent months tormented by that photo of her giving him a medal at his resignation ceremony.

'No, I didn't. I never resigned. I was …told to leave. Quite forcibly.'

'You've got to be joking! You were fired! Why?'

'Because I almost killed a suspect, and assaulted two other agents who tried to stop me. It was after the attack on Relena's party. Une didn't want me involved with the investigation. She said I was far too closely involved, but I insisted. I thought if I could only find out who'd been behind it, it would somehow help you to get better. I know it doesn't make any sense, but it was the only thing I could do.'

'They'd pulled in a guy for interrogation. No one seriously thought he'd been involved, but he had a record and we'd heard his name a few times from other possible suspects. I sat in on the interrogation. He made … a comment. About you. That it was a shame you hadn't been killed but maybe it was better for you to have to spend the rest of your life as some sort of vegetable, and I lost it. The two agents in the room tried to stop me and….well, you can imagine.'

Oh, I could imagine it...all too easily, actually . He's never been very good at accepting criticism of me from anyone.

'It was …all covered up?' I asked slowly.

'Of course. Une didn't want her top agent to face criminal charges. Relena was trying to have Milliardo released from prison, and it was felt, in the circumstances, that it would be …undesirable to have a former suit pilot prosecuted for assault. I didn't care at that stage what happened to me. After I'd spoken to you, in the hospital, I just - had nothing left. God, Duo, I'd assumed that I could somehow I could fix us if only you survived, that I could make it work, and you told me to get out of your life. I'd tried to contact you for months, while you were in Switzerland and you wouldn't speak to me.'

'I wanted to,' I whispered. 'But…what was the point? I thought you were just trying to salve your conscience or something; to keep in touch because of what we'd gone through in the war. Like Wufei; he used to come and visit me in hospital just because he thought it was his duty or some shit like that. God, I dialled your number so many times and hung up; I wrote a bunch of letters and tore them all up. It was just - there were months when it all seemed like some awful nightmare, 'Ro.'

'Oh, my love.' He reached out for me, and I nearly gave into temptation, just to let him comfort me. Instead, I actually edged a couple of inches away from him.

'Just ….let me say this, OK? Please. I did some really stupid shit, after I went to live with 'Fei, you know?'

Stupid bloody question, really; of course he knew. Everyone knew since a couple of my little…indiscretions had been splashed all over the world media. Nothing the public likes better than a fallen hero, apparently, so I'd had the whole of my sordid past laid out in black and white for people to exclaim over at the breakfast table, or on the way to work. Lovely.

'I know, sweetheart,' he tugged me into his arms, holding me so close breathing was a bit of a problem. 'It broke my heart, seeing you like that, and not being able to do anything. I wish you could have talked to me.'

'I did,' I muttered defensively, pulling free and standing up. It was true enough; I'd finally given and taken a couple of his calls, but it had been a mistake. We'd spoken three times that first year; each call had lasted a couple of minutes and had been pure weakness of my part. I'd wanted to hear his voice so badly, and then hated myself for being so stupid. I'd answered his inquiries about my health, and I'd asked about his college course, and that was it.

He gave me a glare. 'They don't count. You know that. Whenever I tried to talk about anything - anything important, you just hung up,' he shrugged. 'I got the message eventually that you didn't want to have anything more to do with me. I couldn't blame you, really. And then it looked like you and Chang had got together; you seemed to be making a good life for yourself. I thought you and he were happy; that you must have fallen in love with him.'

'Nothing ever happened between us, 'Ro. He's never so much as looked at anyone else since he met Zechs.'

'I'm sorry.' I wandered off to the lake edge, picking my way carefully over wet grass and slimy goose turds, bending down to dabble my fingers in the water and withdrawing them straightaway. It was bloody freezing. 'It was just - easier, somehow, to believe that you'd never really cared about me, that you were just another person who'd lied to me and never really wanted me, that it had all been about sex and escape and nothing more.' I straightened up, wiping my wet fingers on my pants, and then leaning back down to pick up a perfect swan's feather. 'Because then I could force myself to believe that that was how it had been for me too, and that I hadn't lost another damn person who I'd actually cared about.'

'Oh, God, Duo. I always wanted you.' Heero stood up, one hand held out to me; I took a step toward him, the ground slipped away under me, and I was suddenly sliding backward into the icy water. I had just time to register the cold; a million tiny icicle cuts before my head banged into something immovable, and then Heero was hauling me out.

He was holding me tightly, murmuring that it was all right, that he had me safe. 'It's OK, love. You're not hurt, are you? Can you walk? God, you're freezing. Come on, we need to get you inside and warmed up.'

'No! I have to go back up to 'Fei and Zechs.' I muttered, trying to stop my teeth chattering. Heero had draped his sweater over my shoulders, and I was hugging it tightly around me, desperately trying to stop shaking.

'Sweetheart, they wouldn't let you in like that. You're a walking health hazard; you've got gooseshit in your hair, as well as all sorts of water plants and you're soaking wet.'

'Thanks a lot.' The asshole's mouth actually twitched looking at me. Charming. 'It's not bloody funny.'

'I know it's not,' he said soothingly. 'Look, I'll get us a room and you can get cleaned up, all right? It won't take long; then, I'll bring you straight over to see Zechs.'

'I suppose.'

He ended up half carrying me the couple of hundred meters up to the hotel; I don't think the smartly-uniformed doormen wanted to let me in, but a megawatt Yuy glare managed to convince them.

Heero left me on a couch inside the door and stalked off to the reception desk, looking as if he was wearing pondweed on his jeans as a conscious fashion choice. I was trying to look invisible, and not drip too much gloop on to the oriental carpets. I'd actually lost most of the feeling in my limbs at that stage, and was starting to worry about frostbite or gangrene or whatever you get from falling into icy waters. My head was throbbing away merrily as well; not exactly Duo's best day.

When he came back from reception, Heero took one look at my sopping, shivering self and simply swung me into his arms. I couldn't even be bothered to protest by then; to be honest, I wasn't totally sure I was capable of movement. The wonder was that he'd actually let me walk up from the lake, but he'd probably wanted to get my circulation going.

Once we'd got up to the room, Heero dashed around simultaneously managing to rinse the gunk out of my hair, swathe in warm towels, turn off the room's air-conditioning, run a bath, and produce a steaming mug of tea from God knows where.

'Drink this. It should warm you up. Now, do you need a hand to get into the bath?'

'I can manage, I think. I'm just cold, not totally incapable,' I took a sip of tea and nearly spat it out. 'You put whiskey in this, 'Ro. You know I hate that stuff.'

'I don't care. It's the best thing to warm you up fast. Duo, can you, for once, just do one thing I tell you to?'

'Why should I?' I glared up at him, well aware it probably just stupid, given that I was dripping water and small water plants on to the fancy marble floor. I only hoped to God that there weren't little fishies caught up in my hair as well.

He grinned. 'Because if you catch pneumonia, Chang will come after me with his katana and slice me into little pieces. Please, love? Just drink it. And get in the bath while the water's warm.'

After a few agonising minutes while the blood rushed around my body, it was bliss. He'd added some sort of bubble bath to the water so it was basically scented foam. Between the heat of the water, and the alcohol, my brain just switched off, vaguely registering my skin turning the shade of a boiled lobster, decorated with little lacy bubbles. I think I drifted off at one point, because I woke to find Heero standing in the doorway, calling my name.

He was wearing a silk robe the exact colour of his eyes, and I couldn't help wondering if that was just a happy coincidence, or if some zealous receptionist had rushed up to room bearing a co-ordinating robe for each of us.

'I'm sorry, Duo. I did knock and when you didn't answer, I was worried you'd fallen asleep.'

'Nope. Not quite anyway.'

'So I see.' He smiled over at me. Damn, he looked good. The robe was belted just loosely enough to show a fair expanse of chest, and I could tell that he'd been making good use of the gym membership card I'd seen in his wallet. 'I called the hospital. Milliardo is still sedated, but his doctor says all the signs are positive so far.'

He stepped a bit closer, placing a glass of water and a couple of pills on the edge of the tub. 'These are for you. I rang the doctor on call, and told him what had happened. He said you should be fine once you keep warm, and he sent up these for your head.'

'How the hell did you know it was sore?' I stared up at him, wondering if he'd somehow acquired the gift of empathy.

He smiled faintly. 'Well, you did use it to attack a submerged tree trunk.'

'Was that what I hit? It felt like solid Gundanium.' I reached over for the pills and tossed them back, hoping they wouldn't take too long to kick in.

'Can I get you something else to drink? Or I can order us something to eat.'

'You can come here. Please.' I extended one arm, beckoning him closer, and he crouched down beside the tub, not looking at me.

'Hey, Blue.' It was an old nickname I hadn't used for years. Pretty stupid, really; he'd had all these ridiculously romantic nicknames for me, and the best I'd been able to come up with was a colour. 'What's wrong?'

'It's stupid,' he muttered, dipping his head.

'Just tell me, OK?' I tilted his chin up, making me meet my eyes. 'I've just missed you so much, and I just - I saw you going under the water, and I thought…I thought…'

'Oh, Heero. Even I can't drown in a duck-pond. Come here.' I slid over to the side of the tub, and slid my arms around him, getting him nicely damp in the process. 'It's OK. I promise. I'm here now. I'm fine.'

I let him tuck his face into my shoulder, and just held on, wondering if he'd ever let Relena see him like this, if he'd ever let her comfort his nightmares, or if he'd always had to be the strong one. I'd been so damn lucky, in some ways; I'd had the most supportive group of friends in the universe. He'd had 'Lena; it was no wonder, in some ways, that they'd ended up together.

'I've been so stupid,' he said finally, tightly.

'Baka,' I teased gently. 'I'm the stupid one. At least you tried. I didn't; I just gave up. I should have…' My voice trailed off, thinking off all the things I should have done.

'Don't love. Don't. you're here now. We've found each other. I just want you to believe I'll never leave you. God, Duo, I'd do anything for you; you know that.'

'D'you know what you could do for me right now?' I suggested, offering him the most therapeutic thing I could think of. 'My hair could really do with a wash.'

My hair, in fact, was a sodden, tangled mass that didn't smell particularly pleasant, but I just hadn't been able to summon the energy to deal with it.

From the look on his face, I could have offered him something magical.

He started off by combing through the worst of the knots with his fingers, which meant I got to feel his touch on my head and shoulders and back as well.

'You've still got that particular fetish, then?' I asked, smiling. 'I always knew you'd fallen in love with my hair first, and then had to accept that the rest of me came as part of the package.'

'Baka,' he murmured. 'Keep your eyes closed for a minute, will you?' The shampoo he selected smelled deliciously of spices, with a faint hint of something citric, and his fingers swirling through my hair felt unimaginably good. 'I fell in love with all of you, as you very well know. Your hair and your incredible eyes, and your gorgeous body.'

'Yeah,' I teased, not entirely at ease with all the flattery. 'And the constant sarcasm, and the attitude, and the total unprofessionalism…'

'Everything.' He told me firmly. 'Absolutely everything.'

'Some way you had of showing it,' I sighed, bending forward as he began to rinse the lather out. 'You basically told me I was a crap pilot, and then you nicked all those parts out of 'Scythe.'

He snorted. 'You can't talk, love. The only reason you bothered to salvage Wing was for spare parts. Do you want conditioner?'

'Please. And that was before I'd actually met you.' I grinned; it was one of those old memories that we used to joke about. 'I wouldn't have dared after that in case you gave me one of those killer glares.'

He snorted, tugging lightly on the section of hair he was working conditioner into. 'You're the one who terrified me, as you know perfectly well.'

'Do I still make you feel that way?'

'Absolutely.' He let me turn in his arms, and we slid seamlessly into the kiss.

'How's your head feeling? Any better?'

'The kiss helped,' I admitted, which made him smile. In fact, it had pretty much receded to a dull throb; bearable if I had something else to distract me.

'Let's see if I can help some more. Just let me rinse this out and then lean back for me, will you? How's that?'

'Heaven,' I sighed, doing exactly as I was told and feeling his fingertips massage my temples gently. He's always had a major talent for this; if he hadn't taken the assassin/terrorist career route, he would have been one hell of a hairdresser. Or a masseur. 'I could fall asleep right now.'

'I must be doing something wrong, then,' he remarked wryly, and then dropped a kiss on the top of my head. 'Don't mind me, sweetheart. You're exhausted. How about taking a nap for a couple of hours?'

'Both of us?'

'If you like,' he kissed my forehead. 'Anything you like, love. Just tell me.'