AN: My longest chapter yet! Let's see how it goes. Any feedback is good feedback.
Chapter 7: Into The Unknown
"Yeah… alright, I get it… sure… yeah, I remember." This conversation had been going on for far too long, Heero thought. "Okay, fine. Just make sure you have everything." Otto kept chirping in Heero's ear. He had more 'product' to pick up and Otto was his number one supplier. He always took his cut from Heero before giving him more contraband to get rid of and they always met at the same spot. Why Otto always felt the need to go over every little detail, Heero never knew. Though he had to admit that, with the streets getting more heat than usual, he was justified in being this meticulous with their business meeting.
Can't afford to be caught slipping.
"I'll be there in about 40 to 45 minutes." Heero looked up at the night sky as he spoke, getting bored of hearing the other man's voice. "Hn… yeah well I'm farther out than I thought I would be." Otto did not like waiting long, but he needed his cut so he would have to be patient and Heero knew he would wait. "Calm down, you'll be fine. See you later… whatever, bye." A sigh escaped him as he hung up. He needed to get out of here already. He accomplished what he needed to do here and he kept his driver waiting long enough.
Maybe now these odd feelings he had been developing during this past week would start to dissipate, Heero hoped. It still felt funny that he came all the way out here to do this. That girl really made him feel out of character and that didn't sit well with him. It just got too strange… too different than what he was used to. Even though they didn't speak much after their visit to the nurse's office, just looking at her smile at him caused his body to react. It shocked him to experience something so weird. What the hell was the deal with that?
Heero shook off these bizarre thoughts and started to head for his ride. He needed to get back to his side of town, handle his work and then maybe catch the rest of the party at Hilde's building. He would be busy and the less he could think about Relena the better.
Good thing he was able to get the present in there without being seen. Mission Complete, Heero triumphantly thought.
"Heero!"
'Shit' Just the sound of her voice caused his body to lock up. 'C'mon… move!' Heero angrily thought to himself. His body refused to listen and he knew that turning around would be his doom. The best course of action would be to ignore her and just jump in his ride and take off. He would be acting like a dick to her again, but he already did that before, what's the problem in doing it one more time?
Unfortunately, his body didn't agree. And the more her voice penetrated his ears, the less he could defend against his body's betrayal.
"Heero, wait!" She sprinted closer to him and Heero could do nothing else but face her.
He turned his head to see her quickly approach and his breath cut off on him as his eyes analyzed her. Her blue dress looked hung well on her figure and complimented her fair skin. That trademark honey blonde hair gilded elegantly as the night time air ran through it. It was stylized with these two unique braids that wrapped around her and hung along with her aforementioned blonde locks. She also had a bit more height on her as he noticed her running up to him in heels. He still had no idea how women moved fast in those. A mystery never to be solved, he figured.
She finally caught up to him and slowed down to a halt a mere two feet away. She wore a huge smile that topped off her get up and made Heero think of a word that he never used in his daily life.
'Beautiful.'
He swallowed hard and tried to recover as she stood before him… holding that damn bear.
"I'm glad I got to you before you left." Relena began, gracious blue eyes focused on him. "I… didn't expect this. It was a great surprise, I love it." She held the bear tight to her chest. "Thank you, Heero."
Looking at her standing there, in that dress, looking that striking, holding his gift to her like that… It was making Heero lose his focus. He didn't want to match looks, fearing he would lose himself in those wide blue orbs of hers, so he kept his own eyes observing the ground between them.
"It's nothing." he began. "I owe you."
"Owe me?" Relena wasn't sure what he was talking about.
He nodded, eyebrows furrowed. "Just paying back my debt." he explained.
"Um, Heero, you don't owe me anything."
Heero disagreed with a head shake. "I do."
"What do you mean?" Relena wanted him to look at her. She needed him to see her.
"Treating my wound." Heero answered her. "I needed to repay you for that."
"Oh, Heero, there was no need for you to feel in debt to me for that." Relena chuckled. "But at the same time, I'm kind of glad you did. Otherwise I wouldn't of gotten this cute little bear."
That got him and he looked up to see her smiling round face, arms secured around that furry toy that now belonged to her. His chest ached at her sight. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to recover himself.
Relena never saw him in anything other than school related attire and he looked much different in casual wear. He still carried that wild aura about him and that untamed head of hair, but now he was draped in a bomber jacket, black v-neck shirt that allowed more view of his chest than she had seen before, causing a bit of heat to rush to her cheeks. A simple pair of jeans and some golden colored waterproof boots. School uniform or not, he was gorgeous.
Heero wasn't sure how to answer that. However, there was a weird sense of pride that he got all of a sudden when he heard her compliment the stuffed animal. He didn't want her to know that though. "Hn." was all he could muster for a response.
"Well, do you still plan on leaving? You know you could always stay if you want." Relena offered, hoping he would take her up on it.
He saw the hope in her eyes, not knowing why she would want him to stay. "I can't." Heero shook his head. "I'm expected to be somewhere. I'm sorry."
Relena's face fell a little, but a part of her knew he wouldn't accept. It wasn't so bad though, she figured. Getting a gift from Heero was more than she could have ever expected.
"It's okay. It's not like you even accepted my invitation the first time around anyway." Relena let out a slight laugh, recalling their first meeting. Heero flinched, the guilt from that day returning to him. Relena noticed it and felt a little bad for bringing that up to him. "But it all worked out. I ended up with this here teddy and, well, hopefully a new friend?" Those hopeful eyes returned to Relena's face as she graced him with that look.
Heero tried his best to remain who he always was, but she was tearing him down. How she did it, he had no idea. She had something over him, he thought, he couldn't explain it for the life of him. The boy adjusted himself to turn away from her. "If… that's what you want, sure." Heero said through gritted teeth.
Relena produced the widest smile that she had ever given in some time. "Promise?" she said with a slight teasing tone.
Heero kept his eyes away from her, annoyed at her sudden playfulness. He didn't want to repeat himself, but found himself confirming it anyway. "Yeah…"
"Good." Relena grinned, watching him as he tried to straighten himself out. "So, guess I'll see you at school?"
He nodded. "See you then. I have to go." Heero took a few steps before feeling a couple arms wrap around his waist. His Prussian eyes widened and he quickly whipped his head to look back, seeing that the girl had stopped him by pulling him into an embrace.
Relena could feel Heero's body stiffen at the contact. She hoped that she hadn't crossed a line or turned him off. She was probably pushing her luck, but much like Heero was having a hard time telling his body what to do, Relena also felt herself react without thinking. She swallowed hard and kept her cheek pressed on his back.
"Relena…" Heero spoke, unsure of what to do next. He remained frozen in place.
"Sorry…" Relena's figure shook at their contact as she held him, now thinking that this may have been a regrettable action. "It's another way of me thanking you… as friends." she tried to reason, crossing her fingers that he would understand and not reject her.
Heero was not used to these kinds of encounters. At least not like this… and from a person like Relena no less. This was an act of kindness that felt alien to him. It wasn't something he ever thought he would experience but here he was now, and once again this girl kept with the surprises. He remained still for a few seconds more before realizing she was shaking. He could sense her doubt. All of a sudden he felt the need to keep her from trembling.
He adjusted himself in her hold, turning around to face her. She looked up wondering what he would do next. His eyes were narrowed and gave no indication about what he was currently feeling. "Heero?" she tried, before it would be his turn to surprise her.
Heero wasn't convinced that embracing her back would be the right move… no, actually he knew it wasn't the right move, but he did it anyway. He knew he would be kicking himself for this later on down the line, but it was the only thing his arms allowed him to do.
Relena felt a firm hold wrap around her. She did not expect Heero's actions but was definitely not against them. His hug felt secure, she was feeling an overwhelming sense of safety. She relaxed in his hold and the pair stood there in in each other's arms. His usual intense glare shone down on her while her pleasantly surprised face continued to look up at him. They were in their own world in that moment. Neither of them sure how to continue, but both finding a level of comfort. Relena more than Heero, but he was figuring it out. Why he bothered, he did not know, but here he was, returning Relena's hug. Not what he had planned for tonight.
A few seconds that felt more like an eternity passed before Heero swallowed hard and spoke.
"I… have to go. I have people waiting on me."
Relena sighed contently and nodded. "That's right. You were leaving, sorry about that."
Heero shrugged. "It's fine." His voice low and rumbling. Neither of them wanted to be the first to break the embrace, but knew someone had to eventually. It was Heero who pulled away before slowly backing up. They looked at each other while Heero stuffed a hand into his pocket.
"Thank you for coming, Heero. Please, have a good night." Relena said with a genuinely happy smile.
Heero nodded before doing a 180, showing her his back, readying himself to take off. He gave her one more look, taking in her wonderful sight before walking away. "Happy birthday." he said in that same rumbling tone.
"Thank you." Relena watched as he entered his ride. The car took off and disappeared into the night time streets.
The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had no idea how she was supposed to go back in that country club and act normal again. Not after something like that. She felt her body tremble again and she had to take a few more deep breaths to settle herself once more. "Wow…" she said to herself. "I don't even know where to go from here." Relena snickered to no one. "Heero…" She looked towards the streets where he left in his ride for a little longer, the events of everything that just happened played back. From the surprise present that she still had in her grasp right now, to seeing Heero stand here before her, to hear him promise to be more friend-like with her, to the… hug. It was a lot to take in.
A lot can happen in a week, Relena thought.
Once she felt composed enough to move, she turned to head back towards her party. Where she saw Dorothy standing at the entrance with her arms crossed, mouth in the widest grin possible.
She was gonna have a lot of explaining to do. Relena sighed, a smile still plastered on her face.
Heero rested his head on the window of the car. He looked out into the landmarks and streetlights passing him by. He had no idea what made him do what he did. Why did he return her hug? He should have left as soon as he could. It was a mistake.
Heero Yuy, a money making drug dealer who did what he could to survive his unforgiving environment had absolutely no right to hold someone like her. They were from different planets, and Heero came from one that did not deserve the good of others. Especially someone like Relena Darlian.
The boy with the unruly brown hair felt like he had dirtied her by holding the girl like he did. He didn't mean to, but he did what he thought was right. He didn't know if he was even doing it correctly, but he would grudgingly admit to himself that it felt… nice? Heero shook his head.
Again, he did not deserve to hold Relena. But, he would allow himself to be content with it. At least for right now.
The car drove on, to where he could revert back to the Heero Yuy he always, the one Relena did not know about. The Heero that he knew she would have to find out about one day.
Heero closed his eyes, emotionally exhausted, and napped as he waited for his next stop.
A few weeks passed.
Things had gone on as usual. The streets kept it going and Heero was feeling more comfortable in this new arena of high class schooling. He still felt out of place, but he was better at waving that feeling away now. He just concentrated on finishing up his classes and handling his work. He did enjoy Physical Education. He was able to play ball and get time in the weight room they had set up there.
He worked on keeping himself in shape. He needed to remain strong. His neighborhood demanded that. Heero still mostly kept to himself. He wasn't progressing much when it came to making friends. And that was all right by him. There was no need for any added distractions. He kept his signature stoicism up to repel anyone from any unnecessary encounters. It worked almost all the time.
Almost because there was one person who he could not keep away. He had promised not to, he remembered.
And since the night of her birthday party, he had kept that promise.
Relena was the only person in the entire school who had any access to Heero. Unlike before, she was actually able to talk to him in school. She would stop him in the hallways if she could, doing small things like asking how his day was going. Offering her help if he needed anything, to which he never took her up on but she knew he wouldn't. She just liked that he even bothered to stop and reply to her. In her small talks with Heero, she never got the feeling that she was annoying him, which she was trying to be conscience of.
She could almost tell that his features softened when she approached her. It was subtle, but she was sure it was there. People wondered what was going on with them, especially after they saw that teddy bear he had gotten her. Were they an item? They sure didn't seem that way, but everyone noticed that she was the only person to have to have any meaningful contact with him.
Relena heard the chatter and while she assured those who asked that they were merely friends, she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pride at being the only one who could get Heero's attention. Of course, Dorothy would bug her to no end about it.
Oh god, Relena remembered having to explain the whole scene outside of the club the night of her birthday to her friend. She would not stop asking and teasing. Relena could only groan and continually tell Dorothy that nothing was going on. She didn't believe her and relentlessly tormented her about it, and being the only girl, let alone person, in the entire school to be allowed to speak with him did not help Relena against Miss Catalonia's gossip. She just did her best to push those things aside.
Her growing affection for the lone wolf student who joined her school almost a month ago was something she would deal with herself.
Then one day came. She noticed that she had not seen Heero all day. Not in the one class they shared and not in gym class either. He had been absent, for what reason she did not know, but she knew better than to worry about him. He was clearly a strong guy. She was sure he would be back tomorrow.
The end of the day came. All of her friends had taken their leave and she was left finishing up some things for last period. She texted Pagan to give her a couple minutes, she would be down soon. As she wrapped up, she headed through the hallways before getting stopped by her first period teacher.
"Hey, Relena." The older woman stopped her.
"Yes, Miss Adams?" Relena turned to look at her, holding a folder in her arms.
"Mind if I ask you for a favor? You can decline if you want, it's fine either way." Miss Adams started.
Relena was curious now. "Sure, what is it?"
"Well, we got a call from the office. It seems like Heero Yuy is going to be absent for the next couple of days." Relena's eyebrows raised. 'Was everything okay with Heero?' she wondered, suddenly feeling her stomach turn with worry.
"Is Heero okay?" Relena said a little too quickly. Getting an amused smirk from her teacher.
"Well we didn't get much in the way of details, but from what I heard, things are fine. Something family related came up and he needed some time off. They said he would be back in school with no issue at all."
"Oh, okay." Relena sighed, feeling relieved. "So then, what's the favor your asking me?"
"Well, since he'll be gone for a couple days, I fear he might miss out on some things for class. You know I don't like seeing people fall back too much. And from what I've heard, your the only real friend he has here." The teacher noted. "So, I have this folder of assignments here that I want you to deliver to him if you can. You don't have to accept, but it was just an idea of mine. I could always mail this but I figured he would like to see a good friend of his bring it to him instead."
Her teacher wanted her to deliver this… to Heero's home. Relena wasn't sure that she wanted to accept. Would Heero even like the idea of seeing her pop up out of nowhere at his home? She wasn't sure. But at the same time, it was an extra view into Heero's world. That was just too tempting of an offer to pass up. "Sure, I'll make sure to bring this to him. No problem at all, Miss Adams." The teacher smiled down at her student.
"Thank you, his address is on the folder." She handed it to Relena. "I appreciate it."
Relena nodded and took out her phone. She texted Pagan. There was somewhere they had to go before she went home.
As they got closer to Heero's address, Pagan felt incredibly uneasy about all of this. She had told him that she was delivering something to a friend of hers for school, but… that they ended up here of all places? Was this a joke, the elderly man wondered. Did a student she know actually live around here?
Relena almost felt the same way. Culture shock had hit her hard. Is this… really where Heero was from? This was a part of the city that she knew next to nothing about. Of course she had heard about how there were poverty stricken places in this city, where crime ran amok, but she could never have imagined that a classmate of hers would be from this kind of neighborhood. She watched as houses looked like they could cave on themselves at the weak foundation. Shady characters roamed the streets, it felt very much like they were uninvited and of course, a luxury pink colored car was attracting more attention that they wanted.
Pagan looked around, hoping something wouldn't happen to them while they were here. There was no explaining this to her family if a terrible event took place in an area like this. They did not belong and Pagan knew it. "Are you sure you want to do this Miss Relena? It doesn't feel particularly safe around here…"
She knew he was right. These streets were loud and crowded. It looked like the neighborhood was deteriorating. This was a forgotten part of town, Relena thought. She saw the eyes scan her ride as she passed by. It started to bother her, but she knew it wasn't in her character to be judgemental. She assumed that people were living like this because there was no choice. That had to be it, and it made her wonder just what Heero's situation really was. "You're right… but we came all the way here, we can't turn back. Besides, Heero's home is about to show up right now."
'Heero?' Miss Relena was dropping off something for a male classmate of hers?
"Here, that's the building." Relena pointed it out. Luckily there was a place to park right in front of his home. The building looked no different than any of the other places on the block. The building looked defeated and filled with cracked concrete. It was clearly one of those multi family apartment buildings. She didn't know what floor he lived on, so she had to hope there was something that could point her in the right direction. "Okay, Pagan. I'm going in." Pagan heard the determination in her voice. He wasn't sure if he should let her in by herself, but once Relena was convinced about something, there was no turning her back. He saw that his entire time serving her family.
"Please be safe, Miss Relena, let me know if anything happens, please!" Pagan hoped she would listen to him.
"I'm sure it will be fine." Relena nodded. 'Here it goes…' Relena thought before finally stepping out. She approached the building which she noticed had the front door already cracked open. Should she knock, Relena wondered. She took some more cautious steps before reaching the front door. She was about to lightly knock on the rotting wood door before someone pulled the door open. It was a couple of middle aged men who looked shocked to see someone like her, dressed like that.
"Oh, damn. Uh, you lost little girl?" The one with the baseball hat asked her.
"Yeah, you ain't look from round here." The other chubbier one said.
"Uh… I'm not. I, um…" Relena tried her best not to look too off guard, but that didn't help as she was clearly out of her element. "I'm… do you know where Heero Yuy lives?"
The two men were surprised to hear her say that guy's name. They both looked at each other and then back at her. "Oh, okay, damn. Heero really is moving on up." The other man nodded with a smirk.
"Not bad Heero. Do your thing man." They both chuckled at that.
Pagan looked on and wondered if he should get her back in the car and take off. He was starting to think this was a big mistake.
Relena wasn't sure what they were talking about, but had to get to Heero's apartment. "So you know Heero?"
They both nodded. "Yeah, lives with crazy ass uncle J. Third door on the left right here on the first floor. I don't know if he's home, but I know uncle J is, that dude never goes outside." the baseball hat wearing man replied.
Relena smiled and nodded. "Thank you, I just have something I need to give him from school. I appreciate your help, gentleman." The two made way for her to enter the building and they both watched her head for Heero's.
"I don't remember seeing girls look like that when I was younger. All classy and shit." The hat wearing man noted.
"That's cause nobody ever wanted your busted looking ass."
"The hell did you say to me?" The two argued as they walked off. Leaving Relena standing in front of the door she was told Heero was possibly behind. She took a deep breath as she knocked on the door. She got nothing.
She tried again. Still, nothing. Had she missed Heero? Didn't they say that his Uncle was always home? She tried once more, waited, and still nothing.
She wondered if she should give up. Maybe this was the one time his uncle wasn't home. She shook her head and tried one more time.
"Who in the world keeps knocking?" Relena finally heard something from behind the door. 'Finally' she thought. She heard the fiddling with the locks and prepared to see the door open. Once it did, it revealed and old and haggard looking man with glasses and long white hair. "Excuse me, and just who are you?"
She was surprised to see such a man answer the door but shook it off as she tried to progress. "Um, hello. Are you the Uncle J i've heard about?"
The older man smirked. "That's me. And you are, Miss?"
"My name is Relena. I'm a classmate of Heero's." Relena put on her best smile.
"Is that so?" Uncle J was now even more amused. "Well ain't that something, heh heh. Please, come in." Uncle J turned to walk back into his home. Relena wasn't sure she should go in, but he still didn't know if Heero was even home. So, she followed him in. The apartment was small. Obviously there was no need to compare to places she frequanted. There wasn't much in the way of personality in the home. She figured they were both practical men. They only needed the essentials, she guessed. "Please, take a seat." Uncle J took his regular spot on his recliner. While Relena took a spot on the small couch next to it. The living room had a gray colored carpet, there was a TV and a bookshelf. Not much else.
"So, um, is Heero home?" Relena asked as she got as comfortable as she could.
"I'm sorry, it seems like you came at the wrong time. He's been out. Not sure when he'll be back." Uncle J looked at the girl in the fancy school uniform.
"Oh… well that's a shame." Relena looked downward.
"How's that little rascal been at school anyway?" Uncle J grinned, curious to hear about his 'nephew's' time at St. Gabriel.
"I guess he's been doing good. We only share one class. Well, two with gym. But he seems like a really smart person."
Uncle J nodded. "That he is."
"Are you Heero's only family?" Relena didn't know if that was too personal a question, but she had to ask. She wanted to know more.
Uncle J nodded. "Yes, I am. Though, I wouldn't even call us family."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not biologically related to Heero. I'm just his legal guardian, you see. His mother and father died when he was very young. I was close to them so I promised to look after him once Odin and Aoi had passed. His father and mother, obviously." Uncle J explained, remembering that he hadn't said those names in a while.
"That's so sad…" It must have been a difficult life for Heero, she thought. To grow up around here with no family. "But at least he has you, right?"
Uncle J shrugged. "I could never be family to him. I'm just holding my end of the bargain. I wasn't meant to raise kids. So all I could do was teach him to survive. As I'm sure you can already tell, Miss, these are far from the ideal living situations. This run down home in this dying neighborhood. Not something you're used to, is it?"
Relena shook her head. "No."
"It's okay, in a perfect world, no one would ever grow up in a place like this." Uncle J told the young girl. "Heero is just a product of his environment, and I could do nothing to keep him from being that. Perhaps I only made him worse…" Uncle J left that thought out, thinking it over as he said it.
Relena watched him, seeing the old man thinking to himself. "Well, I think Heero has done quite well for himself. He seems strong and determined. He had to be in order to come from here and make it to St. Gabriel. From what I can tell, he is someone to be proud of." Uncle J turned to look at Relena with a scrutinizing look. Seeing something striking in her eyes as she said that.
"You're quite fond of Heero, aren't you?"
Relena felt her face warm up as he said that to him. She smiled to herself. "I guess so…"
Uncle J chuckled. 'How cruel.' he thought. "Well, I'll say this, Miss Relena. Heero is, at his heart, a kind boy."
The honey blonde nodded in agreement. "I'm beginning to see that."
"Don't be too hard on Heero, he's trying his best. He did not choose to be from here. He only does what he needs to do to live. He wants to be free of all of this, believe that." Uncle J said with absolute sincerity.
Relena nodded, not sure exactly what he meant. "Is there something I should know about Heero?"
Uncle J looked up, thinking that question over. "Hmm, well, if there is anything you should know about him, it's best you hear it from the horse's mouth. I have no right to speak on his behalf. All I can say is try to understand the boy as best as you can, and take care of him for me. I failed at that a long time ago."
"So like, bullets were flying by me, I could feel them go, man. It was crazy. It was like it was whistling by my ear. Can't believe that was two years ago… man time flies huh?" Duo said as he recalled his brush with the God of Death. He and Heero were walking back to the latter's home, a long day of hustling and money making. Heero was going to be busy these next two days, he had to have Uncle J call him out of school for it. He felt low, missing school time for dirty money, but he knew what he had to do.
"Yo, what's that fancy ass looking car doing in front of your place?" Duo pointed. "Pink too? That's not a color you see around here on a vehicle."
Heero seemed confused and looked to see the car Duo was talking about. At first he had no idea who this could be, a car like that risked getting jacked, sticking out like that too much. But why was it in front of his… then the gears in his head started to turn. And he remembered when Relena pulled up to him at the bus stop those many weeks ago.
"Damn!" Heero sped up and Duo followed.
"Wait, what's up? You know that ride?" Duo continued, not getting any answers from his friend. The both of them jumped up the concrete steps and pushed the door open with Heero leading the charge. As soon as he entered the lobby of the building, he saw her. Relena, in her school uniform, exiting his apartment.
"What are you doing here?" Relena jumped when she heard Heero's cold monotone voice break through her thoughts as she closed the door.
"H-Heero!" Her eyes displayed the obvious shock of seeing him, with a braided hair boy come standing confused behind him. "I just came to dr-"
"You have no business being here." Heero approached her. Relena saw the anger in his eyes and she shook at his tone. But stood her ground. Heero was tough. Where he was from made him that way. And she would have to be tough as well.
"I came here to drop off some school work for you. I know you won't be in school the next couple of days. Why that is, I don't know. They said family issues but your Uncle J didn't mention anything about that." Relena explained, matching his gaze.
"What did he tell you?" Heero got worried all of a sudden. He knew Uncle J wouldn't say anything to incriminate him, but there was always a chance of a slip.
"Just a little about you, nothing crazy." Relena shrugged.
"That was too much for me, I'm sure." Heero grunted. "So, are you done here?"
Relena sighed. "Well, I guess I am. Look, I'm sorry if this makes you upset with me, but as your friend I just wanted to make sure you were caught up."
"With school work? I'll be fine, believe me." Heero rolled his eyes.
"I don't doubt that for a second." Relena nodded.
"Then… why come?" This was too crazy of a surprise, to see her image here in this decrepit building. She didn't need to be somewhere like this.
Relena shrugged and smiled. "Maybe… I just wanted to see you?"
Heero took a step back as she said that. He swallowed hard and shook his head. "That's silly."
Relena chuckled. "I figured you would think that."
"C'mon. I'll walk you to your car." Heero turned, getting ready to leave with Relena.
"It's not that far from the door, I'm sure I'll be okay." Relena said as she followed.
Heero disagreed. "You don't know this area."
"I suppose I don't…" Relena shrugged. As they were making their way to the door, Duo looked on completely speechless. He had no idea what was going on. But he had to find out. They were already ignoring his presence and that annoyed him.
Duo shut the door, causing Heero and Relena to look at him confused. "No… No, no, no, no, no. We are not doing this."
"Duo?" Heero began.
Duo made his way between them. "I come here walking with my boy, thinking we're just gonna hang at his house, then all of a sudden this 10 out of 10, classy as hell looking chick comes out of his apartment, y'all start arguing, then you're gonna walk her out of here without even filling your man in? All this time I'm thinking, you know, maybe Heero just hasn't found the one, maybe he don't even like girls, maybe he's asexual. I don't know! And then I find out you're hiding this?" Duo looked dismayed at Heero.
Heero was starting to get irritated. Relena decided to surprise him with the wrong guy at his side. Duo would never shut up about this.
He looked over at the girl and gave her his best smile. "Oh, the name's Duo Maxwell, by the way. Heero's right hand. And you are?"
"Um…" Relena was taken aback by this Duo character's rant. So, this was a friend of Heero's? She wasn't the only one, huh? "My name is Relena Darlian. Pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure is all mine, beautiful." Duo threw an arm around her shoulders. Relena tensed up, not expecting that kind of contact.
"Uh… okay." She chuckled, feeling a little awkward, but felt that this boy meant no harm.
"So, like, are you my man's lady?" Duo smiled down at her, hoping that she would confirm his suspicions.
"What?" Relena looked up at the braided boy with a flushed face and let out a dry laugh. "Uh, I'm a friend of his."
"Yeah, that's how it starts." Duo nodded with a hand on his chin. "Good to know Hilde won't be a third wheel. Oh you're gonna love her, Hilde is a sweetheart. She's real cool, she's always there for me, she likes to-"
"Duo…"
Heero's voice became ice cold and it sent a shiver down Duo spine. Yeah, he tested Heero just a little too much and he was giving off that glare that could kill a man. Duo backed off and laughed nervously. "Well, nice to meet you, Relena."
Relena nodded at the boy with a lopsided smile. He was quite the character. Not what she expected from a friend of Heero. "Look after the kid." Duo whispered slyly in the girls ear. "Thought I saw some jealousy in those eyes of his." He winked at her as he headed for the door, to Heero's place.
"I'll be in your room. Take all the time you need, buddy." Duo smirked and exited the scene.
Heero's killer glare softened as he looked back at Relena. "Sorry about him…"
Relena shook her head. "It's fine, he seems like a really good friend."
"I wonder…" Heero sighed, not looking forward to explaining all of this. "You really shouldn't have come. I didn't want you to see this."
"See what?" she asked.
"This place… there's nothing here but misery. I don't need you to see where I come from."
"Are you ashamed?" Relena pressed on.
Heero shrugged. "Maybe."
"No need to be." she reassured him. "I don't care where you're from. My opinion of you wont change because of where you live. That would be terrible of me and completely shallow. That's not who I am or ever want to be."
Heero looked at her, looking too out of place in this home. Though no matter where she was, she kept her kindness and elegance alongside her. Heero just looked away from her, narrowed eyes filled with frustration. Relena saw this and wanted him to relax.
"Are you okay?" Relena reached out and took a firm grasp of his hand. Heero tensed up again, but didn't pull back, allowing her soft flesh to hold him firmly. Relena did it without even thinking. But she hoped it would settle him down.
"I'm fine, really." Heero kept his head away. "You don't need to worry about me."
"Can you let me, anyway?" Relena's voice softened.
Heero's eyes narrowed even more, confounded by her actions and words. "Why would you want to?"
"Because, I care about you."
Heero took a sharp breath hearing that. He shook his head. "I… don't understand why."
Relena smiled and pressed harder on his tense hand. "It's okay, we're friends. And that's what friends do." Relena told him. Though it was starting to feel like if they progressed from friendship, than maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing… Though she wouldn't force it. Not with someone like Heero. "They care about each other."
"Relena…"
"Hmm?"
Heero swallowed and felt his free hand move on it's own. He reached out and held a strand of her perfect, golden locks. Relena held her breath and watched him move, his fingers sliding around her perfectly straightened blonde hair. She closed her eyes and smiled, letting herself get lost in this moment.
'Friends… huh.' Heero thought. "You're an odd girl." came his response.
Relena laughed.
AN: Hope you had fun reading it as I did writing it.
