AN: What's up guys? Here's what I call... Chapter 12. Enjoy!

Chapter 12: Ice Cold Ice

The crew of three were walking their way through the city as the rain came falling. Duo, Wufei and Heero were heading for a place where they agreed to go eat. From there they would separate, each of them retreating to the next bus that brought them to the place where they rested their heads. The night began to cover the town, moonlight descending from the skies, signaling the end of the day.

Both Duo and Wufei marched on side by side, the two of them taking the occasional look back to check on the boy who made their trio. Heero continued to look like he was barely there and it seemed like it only got worse after he went to shakedown that guy for the money that he owed him. There was a look about him that seemed rather abnormal. Heero was very much alive but his eyes seemed almost completely devoid of life. Neither of them had ever seen their friend look so… pitiful.

The two of them found it a bit distressing. Heero said nothing and remained mute the entire time. Wufei shook his head at this behavior. "What's with him?" he addressed Duo.

"I don't know, man." Duo kept an eye over his shoulder at Heero. "He just seems… I don't know… Like nothings there." Heero was beginning to worry him.

"You have any idea what the deal could be?"

Duo shifted his eyes upward. "Should've really brought an umbrella, I'm such a dumbass." He shook some of the rain off his head and thought to himself for a second. "Hmm… I wonder if that girl has anything to do with it…"

"Girl?" Wufei did NOT expect to hear that.

"Oh yeah I never told you." Duo gave his companion a grin. "I guess he kind of got involved with this girl at school. She even surprised him at his house one day, I was there."

This shocked Wufei. He figured Heero to be the sanest out of everyone he knew. The last thing he expected was for Heero to be taken by some female. "Are you saying… this guy got himself a girl from that school? You have to be kidding."

Duo's grin remained plastered on his face. "Nah, it's no joke my guy. You should've seen them. There had to be something going on between those two at school."

"Hmm, maybe I gave Heero a little too much credit." Wufei thought Heero was going to school with a clear goal in mind that no human of the opposite sex could ever steer him away from. This disappointed him.

"Oh stop it, she's really cute actually!" Duo said as he defended Heero and Relena.

"Yeah, that's how they lure you in before ruining your life." Wufei waved Duo off.

"You would probably be a lot more relaxed if you had yourself a lady friend. Having one is amazing, take it from your man right here!"

Wufei gave Duo a quick up and down look before scoffing at him. "Please, I've seen you and Hilde go at it. No thank you."

"We do it out of love." Duo chuckled with a goofy smile.

"Yeah, whatever." Wufei wasn't convinced. "Besides, if it means I'll turn into… that…" Wufei nodded his head towards Heero's direction. "Then I really don't need a woman in my life."

"Yeah, he's not selling the idea to you very well, is he?" Duo sighed, looking at the sad sight that is Heero Yuy at this particular moment.

"Big time." Wufei responded.

"I kinda get the feeling they had a bit of a falling out." Duo recalled Heero being incredibly reluctant to talk about Relena. He figured Heero had done something to push that girl away, and it must have had something to do with his own personal demons.

"And that supposed to explain why he looks all screwed up?"

"Partly." Duo's eyes scanned over Heero. He looked like he was losing color in his eyes, his now wet head of hair trailing rain all over him as he slowly followed behind them, hands in his pockets and his face looking at the direction of his feet. "I think there's more to it than just girl problems."

They were now walking down an alleyway, a shortcut to where their destination lies. "You know what it could be?" Wufei ran a hand over his head to wipe off some of the rain. He also cursed not leaving without an umbrella, or at least a hoodie. "I hope it's a better excuse then just that woman."

"I'll have to find out myself. I'm not used to seeing Heero like this. It's kinda freakin' me out, honestly." Seeing his once strong friend in this state was not something Duo was used to. Heero always carried that quiet confidence about him; an intensity that few others possessed and got him the respect he had earned.

"I sure as hell ain't used to seeing him like this. It's off putting to tell you the truth."

The three walked on until they noticed something at the end of the alleyway. A car had pulled up at the end. More specifically, a cop car. They noticed two officers get out of the vehicle. Wufei and Duo had a feeling they were heading in their direction.

"Shit…" He moved over to Heero. "Toss the gun, I can already tell these guys are gonna pat us down." At first, Heero didn't move, he just stood there, not even looking at Duo. It wasn't until Duo grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "C'mon man! Toss it before they lock your ass up!"

"They're getting closer…" Wufei whispered back to them.

Duo's words were just starting to register when he shook his head and looked over to a dumpster that was right next to them. As discreetly as possible, he turned over and quickly threw it behind the huge garbage disposal unit with Duo and Wufei blocking the approaching police officer's vision.

The 3 of them continued onward before the cops got stopped right in front of them. There was an older cop, who appeared to be of middle age, and a much younger one who looked more like a rookie, but no one was sure. They both wore sinister smirks on their faces as they met the young group of three.

"Well, anything we can do for you officers?" Duo gave them a grin, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Oh yeah, there is." The older cop nodded with his arms crossed. "How about you three get your hands on the wall over there and spread your legs."

Wufei shook his head at this pathetic attempt at harassment. These cops really had nothing better to do. Justice really was dead, he thought.

"Do we gotta?" Duo whined before doing what he was told. "You guys have no reason to be bothering us." Wufei followed the officer's instructions, knowing resistance was futile.

"Shut up, do as you're told." The younger cop spoke. He watched as two of the three got in position, but then trained his eyes on the one that had yet to do so. "You too!" he spat him. "Move your ass."

Heero just stood there, lost in another world. The older cop with his arms crossed looked at Heero curiously. "Seems like this kid isn't trying to hear it. What're you gonna do?"

"Yeah you're right." The younger cop noticed. He thought for a quick second before suddenly pushing Heero by the head as hard as he could, sending him crashing into the brick wall Duo and Wufei shared. Heero stopped his face from smashing into it by holding his hands out. He most certainly would have been injured had he not done that.

"Was that really necessary?" Duo complained as he watched the officer viciously shove Heero.

"Again, I said shut up." The cop snarled at the boy with the braid.

Heero finally adjusted himself in the same position as his friends, yet to say anything.

"Pat them down, Kurt." The older of the two ordered, just watching them. The young cop named Kurt proceeded to shake down Wufei, hands crawling all over him from his ankles to his chest and arms. This always pissed off Wufei. It felt so violating. He wanted nothing more than to beat the hell out of one of these nasty cops whenever something like this happened.

He moved over to Duo, performing the same actions. Duo just shook his head at the whole process. "Man… some bullshit… Hey! Watch the hands, you gotta pay for dinner before I let you go that far!" Duo said, jumping as Officer Kurt's hands snaked through his crotch area. This stupid comment caused him to slap Duo behind the head. "Oww! The hell is wrong with you?"

"Shut it before I take the back of my gun to your head."

"Yeah, whatever…" These crooked ass cops really didn't have anything better to do thought Duo.

Officer Kurt moved on to the next one. Again, hands searching once more. Heero didn't move nor did he complain. His eyes just remained focused on brick wall in his vision. The cop searched every inch before coming to the conclusion that there was nothing to be found. He backed away and looked over at his partner. "I ain't got shit, Jay."

The older cop shrugged. "Guess you didn't. Got excited there for a second. Thought we'd catch them with something."

"Okay dipshits, keep it moving." The young officer commanded.

Wufei grunted as he pulled himself away from the wall. "Damn this guy slaps hard…" He heard Duo whine as he followed.

However, as the two young teens walked on, Heero remained, standing there, staring at the two officers who just randomly harassed them.

The pair looked at each other before looking back at Heero. "The hell is wrong with you?" Kurt asked, annoyed that this kid wasn't moving, just… looking at them.

"You guys… really are the worst." Heero spoke for the first time in what felt like forever. 'You're just as bad as me…' He mentally added. "You seriously don't have anything better to do? Is being pieces of shit what you both do to kill time? "

Duo and Wufei gave each other befuddled looks, both of them finding this to be a weird time for Heero to break his silence.

The two officers laughed at Heero's words. "You hear that? This kids got some fire in him." The older of the two noted.

Kurt nodded as he approached Heero. "Alright, alright… no need for all that, okay?" He placed a hand on Heero's shoulder, looking down at him with a wink of his eye. "So why don't you just go on and…" instead of finishing his sentence, Officer Kurt suddenly gave Heero an unexpected backhand that cracked Heero's chin, causing him to fall backwards.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Duo and Wufei moved back to check on their friend before the older cop shouted at the two.

"Back on the damn wall! Now!"

"Shit!" Duo cursed. He and Wufei wanted to ignore his orders but saw that the cop had his hand hovering over his gun. They reluctantly re-assumed the position. "Goddamnit, Heero…"

Officer Kurt stood over Heero, who just looked back up at him with a grin. That look was really pissing him off. "That it?" Heero taunted.

"Oh excuse me? You want more?" Kurt snickered at the kids statement. "Fine, no problem." He took his boot and swung it to the side of Heero's head. A loud thudding sound could be heard as he connected. Heero's eyes looked as if they were about to bulge out of his head. He fell to his side and kept a hand up where the officer's foot struck. From there the cop decided to rain down more stomps to his head and body. Heero curled up, trying his best to defend himself from the assault.

"Yo, enough! You tryin' to kill him or something!?" Duo was freaking out. His friend was out here getting the shit kicked out of him by cops and unfortunately they were in an area where no one could see them. Wufei's eyes darkened at the scene before him.

The officers ignored Duo. Instead, they just watched on as Kurt continued to go to work on Heero before he knelt down and picked Heero up from his shirt collar. Heero was breathing heavy, his head still ringing from the strikes. The officer's eyes piercing into his as they matched looks. "You done with the tough guy act?"

"Yeah, he's good. Y'all can stop now." Duo decided to answer for his friend, not wanting to see another moment of this.

"You… hit like… a… bitch." Heero snickered, the corner of his lips curving upwards.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me…" Duo's face fell, was Heero trying to get himself killed?

"Oh, okay then." The young cop nodded before his fist collided with Heero's face. Heero fell back, spitting up blood as he landed back on the ground. The cop struck him again. His face would be swollen after all of this, Heero knew. But that wasn't the point. He could tell this cop was a loose cannon. And he would use that for his own purposes.

Duo shook his head the entire time. This was just a horror show. His buddy was getting the hell beaten out of him. But the weird thing was that he got the feeling that Heero didn't mind this at all. Was Heero really losing his mind? "Chill already! Stop it!"

The older cop continued to watch on, not really caring about Duo pleas. Kurt continued his attack on Heero before pulling the kid up again. "Are you done now?"

"Yeah! Yeah! He's done." Duo was yelling. "Heero, you've proven you can take an ass whooping. No more okay?"

"Gonna listen to your friend here?" Kurt smiled at the bruised and bloodied Heero.

Heero was trying to keep himself from slumping over. He managed to whip his head back, throwing some of the rain from his hair at Kurt's face and looked right back at the cop. He shook his head. "They… really let weak people like you… join the force? You're… lucky you're a cop… because I would have beaten your ass a long time ago."

Duo wanted to bash his skull on the wall he had his hands on. "Heero!" Wufei looked flabbergasted. What was his friend trying to prove? This was stupid.

"What're you gonna do Kurt?" The older officer asked his younger partner, having a feeling of what he might try next.

"This kid is pretty tough, I'll admit." Kurt nodded. "But there's always a way…" He reached for his side and pulled out his firearm… sticking the barrel into Heero's neck.

"Oh, damn it... " Duo eyes widened, his face going white. Heero had gone crazy. He snapped. And now Duo was about to see his friend die right in front of him. "This isn't happening… no goddamn way." Wufei had the feeling that this cop was stupid enough to kill Heero right in front of them. Fine, but this wouldn't go down without any resistance. He readied himself, looking for the perfect time to jump at this cop. He might only make things worse, but better to go down fighting at this point he figured.

Heero laughed. 'I couldn't do it… but maybe… you could. C'mon, shoot.' The officer noted the lack of fear in Heero's eyes. It almost made him angrier. His finger wrapped around the trigger, Heero's expression almost daring him to kill. "Think it's funny? Hey, Jay, maybe I should blow his neck smooth off?" He looked at his partner.

Officer Jay looked around and then shrugged. "I'm sure we can get this swept under the rug."

"The fuck!?" Duo shouted. "You're really gonna 'okay' this? A murder!?"

"You hear that? You're about to die today." Kurt excitedly turned his head back at Heero. He pressed the gun harder into Heero's neck. "Any last words?"

"Heero! Shit! Let him go! He was just messing around! Stop it!" Duo was panicking. How the hell did they get to this point? His head was racing, what was he gonna do? He looked at Wufei. "I can't… this is too much, man. I'm gonna have nightmares!"

Wufei agreed, he tried to get into position to pounce. He was gonna do what he could to protect their dignity. It might end up in all of them dead, but he wouldn't care if that meant he left this world fighting back at this injustice.

"Yeah… I have some last words." Heero didn't have an ounce of fear in him. If he was serious about killing him, then that's fine. This guy would be doing him a favor. "I'll see you in hell. Now shoot."

Duo looked back and forth between the cops. "He's kidding! He's kidding! He's just trying to be a tough guy." Duo awkwardly laughed before bringing his attention to his crazy ass friend. "Heero. SHUT. THE FUCK. UP!"

"Well okay then, say goodbye." Officer Kurt shrugged. He dug his gun deeper into Heero's neck again, this time hard enough to get a grunt out of him.

Wufei had seen enough, he was ready to attack, he took his hands off the wall. The plan was to jump this insane, corrupt cop, hopefully before he shot.

And just as he was about to strike…

"Okay! Okay! I think we've had enough fun for today." Officer Jay spoke as he waved his arms in the air. "Put the gun away. Let's get out of here, I'm actually getting kind of bored."

"Yeah… not much fun killing a guy who actually looks like he wants it." He threw Heero down, putting his piece back in it's holster. "Alright, let's get out of here." The two police officers began walking away from the scene. "Hey, you crazy kids stay out of trouble okay?" He flashed them all a smirk and took off.

Duo took a deep breath and exhaled, happy this whole thing was finally over. "I think this weekend took a few years off of my life." He looked over at his man Heero, still lying on the ground. "That's it, you've officially lost it." With Wufei helping, he moved over to pick their friend up. "What is wrong with you, Heero?"

"I'm not sure what's gotten into you, but whatever it is you need to figure it out. This is too crazy." Wufei added. He had never seen Heero look so miserable before. He always had the highest opinion of Heero and the way he went about his business, regardless of his line of work. This just wasn't the Heero Yuy he was used to.

Heero stumbled and leaned his shoulder on the wall beside him, using it as support. He was beaten up and exhausted. His face would start swelling and his lips still had blood trickling out of them. "I'm going home…" His soaked bangs now covered his face. He started walking off, just wanting to be alone. The cop couldn't kill him, so he would continue living he guessed.

"This guy... " Duo watched him limp away into the rain. "Look dude, if you need anything let us know! Get yourself together, okay?" Of course Heero didn't respond, he proceeded out of the alleyway. Wanting to get out of here. Wanting to not exist.

"I honestly hope this wasn't brought upon by some girl." Wufei didn't like the idea of beating on a cop and getting killed because of it over Heero's inability to handle his girl troubles.

"Like I said." Duo shook his head. "I'm not sure it's all her. But I do get the feeling she could probably be of some help. Don't know if it's too late."

"I have no interest in this kind of thing." Wufei remarked, knowing women were not his forte. This whole Heero business only made him feel even more justified in his attitude towards women. "You can take care of him yourself if that's the case."

Duo chuckled at Wufei's predictable comments. "I need to help you, too. You gotta get laid."

"And I'm gonna kick your ass if you say that again." Wufei began making his own way out of the alley. "I think I've lost my appetite and this rain is only getting worse."

"Yeah, same." Duo followed. His thoughts went back to Heero, hoping that his friend could somehow get it together. He knew his boy was in a peculiar situation, but he didn't deserve to be going through this. At least he didn't think so. Heero seemed mentally broken. Maybe things were finally catching up to him?

'Hopefully you can give him another shot?' Duo's thoughts went to the girl he met at Heero's place. Heero is human, and he had a feeling that chick could help remind him of that.


Relena and Dorothy walked the hallways of St. Gabriel. Students walking here and there, meeting and talking with friends before heading towards their next class. It was almost the end of a rather uneventful day. There wasn't much out of the ordinary they noted.

Well, except for one thing.

Relena's thoughts, as much as she hated to admit, had focused on Heero Yuy… and the fact that he didn't show up for school today.

"I still think it's rather pathetic that he didn't bother showing. I mean, to not even come in. What, is he going to keep skipping school just to keep away from you?" Dorothy had said this after there was no sign of Heero after first period or gym. She obviously knew something happened between the two, but wasn't expecting Heero to be so cowardly about it.

"That's probably not the issue." Relena retorted. "I'm sure he has good reason for his absence."

"I'm astounded that you're even defending him." Dorothy gave her friend a curious look. "You know that's what he's doing."

"I don't think Heero operates that way." Relena sighed, she was spending way too much time talking about someone who didn't want anything to do with her.

"Well I guess if someone would know that, it would be you." Dorothy responded, though still not convinced.

As hard as it was to admit, Relena was thinking about Heero. She knew about the shooting in the North End. She figured he was alright, but now she wasn't so sure. She hoped that him being a no show today was just some weird coincidence. Her current standing with him was irrelevant. She still wanted him to be safe.

"Anyway, I have to take off. I'll see you out front as usual." Dorothy waved at her friend before taking her leave. Relena smiled and nodded and walked off to her last class of the day. She spoke to a few people on her way before entering the room, getting there a little early. She took her usual spot by the window where she decided to focus her attention. With her chin rested on the palm of her hand, she let her thoughts wander.

And yes, those thoughts included him as well.

She was left with an uneasy feeling when she thought back to how Trowa's touch just didn't have that same effect as Heero's. Perhaps she still wasn't over Heero and his bizarre way of rejecting her. The end of last week, when Heero met her in the hallways… It was supposed to be the end of whatever they had at that point. But something about the way the whole thing went down made her feel different about it. These past few days left her with some time to reflect. She still wasn't content.

There was still answers that needed to be given. However, at this point, it seemed unlikely that she would get any. Wasn't that the point of last week anyway? Relena asked herself. If she couldn't get any insight into Heero's decision then… well... there was no point in thinking she would get any now. She would forever be left in the dark.

"Get out of my head…" Relena mumbled to herself. Heero did nothing but frustrate her. But she did wish he would show up tomorrow, at least then she would know he was fine.

And she would find out the next day when she stepped into her first period class.

There he was, at his desk. Though… he seemed strange.

Relena noticed how he kept half of his face covered up with his hand. He had his head turned away, looking as if he was purposefully keeping people from looking at him. Whether this was primarily aimed at her, she wasn't one hundred percent positive. She took her seat, choosing not to say anything to him. Dorothy on the other hand, was convinced that Heero was continuing to act as a coward.

"He can't even look at you. He is much more pathetic than I thought!" She whispered over to her friend.

Relena watched as Heero moved to put his head on his desk, his hands roughly running through his hair. She thought she could see him shaking. The boy honestly seemed more troubled than anything. She was sure that he wasn't doing this solely to keep from engaging with her, Relena deduced.

There was something wrong with him. What that was, she had no idea. And she didn't think she was in any position to ask him about it. They were already too complicated as it was, bothering him might not help matters.

But still…

Their teacher stepped in and class began. She would have to think about this later.

As lunch time began, the students flooded the cafeteria. Relena and her crew ate and talked about the day and other events. She knew she would get some Heero related questions, primarily from Dorothy, but since she didn't know any more than she did last week, she didn't really care to answer such inquiries.

As they finished their food, they all decided to spend the rest of their given lunch time outside. The group moved to exit the cafeteria. Relena went to toss her tray before leaving when something caught the corner of her eye.

To her surprise, Heero had actually been in the cafeteria. Although it looked like he was walking out towards the hallways. Or more accurately, close to limping out of the cafeteria. He still kept a hand over his face. She noticed people around him giving the boy funny looks. He almost tripped over himself as he finally disappeared into the hallways.

There was something that wasn't right with him. She was sure of it. From when he told her that he had to take those days off due to stress and the incident in his part of town, something had to be wrong with him. Now, whether or not she should approach him and see what the problem was… well… could she? She knew that she shouldn't, but now she was getting worried. Heero was not well and it was clear as day.

"Relena, hurry up!" she heard Dorothy cry out for her. Trowa stood by the platinum blonde, noticing that something seemed to distress Relena. He looked around to see but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Right…" Relena looked at her friends before taking one more look at the cafeteria entrance where Heero had almost fallen through. 'Heero…'


He should've stayed at home.

He had no business being here today. Heero felt the most drained he had ever felt in his life. Since the shooting at Hilde's, he might have slept a total of four hours. He also ate and drank very little. He felt incredibly weak, tired and his body was ready to give up on him. He kept himself up by his hand, supporting himself on the school walls.

Luckily it seemed like everyone was outside. They couldn't see him look like such a mess and no one would bother him. He hoped anyway.

Again, he should've stayed home. Another bad decision.

It seemed like ever since the first day of school, he had done nothing but make one bad decision after the other. He had lost all logic since becoming a student at St. Gabriel. He almost wondered if coming here was a mistake, and he should've just taken his chances back in his old school. He would have been surrounded by the things that made him the way he was today, but at least he would know what to do there.

After all, it was her that made him lose his way. He shouldn't blame Relena, but meeting her made him rethink everything about himself. Heero became more aware of how evil he actually was due to Relena openly caring about him. In comparison to her, he felt like nothing. Being a criminal was one thing, but having someone show you your own shortcomings was something else. He wanted to return her feelings, but he didn't feel like he could. There was no way he would allow it. Even though he really wanted to. He had to get away from her. He couldn't let her see him, not like this. He needed to be as distant as he possibly could.

He knew that he felt different around her. She made him feel funny. It impacted Heero when she spoke to him, smiled at him. It felt… good when he touched her… when she touched him. His body would tense up, but some of that would be due to the swirl of emotions that consumed him like a tornado. And now he had chosen to deprive himself of that. It was the one right choice he made, but it hurt. He couldn't win no matter what, even when he thought he did something right.

He growled at himself, feeling a blanket of depression cover him. This weekend had been one straight out of hell. He took yesterday off of school hoping to get something of his old self back. But all it did was keep him from sleeping and his thoughts remained on his situation and where it would eventually lead him. He had become weak.

'Why couldn't that cop just kill me?' He thought back to that night in the alleyway with Wufei and Duo. It would have been over, just like that. No more drugs, no more guns, no more junkies, no more death to witness… No more Relena…

His heart felt like it was swelling up and he lost control of himself, falling to his knees. He began breathing hard. His body wanted to just stop moving, to sleep already.

There was no way he would be found passed out on some school floor. He had to keep himself up. He reached into his pockets to pull out his headphones. His shaking hand placed them in his ears and then pulled out his phone. He turned it on and chose to play some random music as loud as he could.

Maybe that could keep him awake.

He picked himself up and started moving again. The loud guitars rang in his ear. It surprised him at first but that's what he needed. He kept pressing onward.

Barren lands and barren minds

Ice Cold Ice

In another place and time

Ice Cold Ice

I feel I've never known myself

Ice Cold Ice

Heero stopped for a second, catching his breath. There was no time in his life when he felt this distressed and miserable. Someone help him, he was in hell.

See the blank expression, waiting for progression

They're standing still in place and time

And no ones moving

They're only standing still in Ice Cold Ice Cold Ice…

Only standing still in Ice Cold Ice…

He started moving again, the song continuing to pound in his head as he turned the corner, heading down another section of the hallway. Heero was sure he made for a terrible sight. All of these thoughts began piercing his brain like knives. If he could produce tears… then fuck it, Heero thought, he would let them out. He showed enough weakness already, why would he hold back now? At least, for himself. As long as no one else saw.

As long as she didn't see…

We'll stay together till the end

Ice Cold Ice

Thinking you might be a friend

Ice Cold Ice

We sit and pray together, that they might change the weather

My love for you will never die

If I sound distant thats because

You shouldn't see me crying in Ice Cold Ice...

Shouldn't see me crying in Ice Cold Ice…

Shouldn't see me crying in Ice Cold Ice…

No matter how loud the song was, it didn't help. No amount of music, sugar, coffee, whatever could keep him up. He senses were failing. His body couldn't go on anymore. His brain began to short circuit. Heero was about to collapse. First his legs quivered before he lost his foundation. His arm that supported him from the wall lost all strength and flopped by his side like a noodle.

Heero felt his body lurch forward, expecting his head to crash on the hard floor. 'Shit, maybe this can kill me.' That thought coming with a morbid sense of humor. His eyelids began to shut and his vision was getting blurry.

Though a funny thing happened: Just before his world went black and his headphones fell off, he could have sworn that he saw someone move in front of him and call out his name.

That would be his last thought.


"Oh!" Relena fell to the ground as Heero tumbled right into her arms. It stung as she landed but at least she wasn't hurt. "Okay…" Now she was stuck to the ground, she adjusted herself as much as she could with her back to the wall.

When she finally looked down at Heero she gasped, finally knowing why he kept his face covered all day. He had some bruising and swelling on the side of his face and his lips looked cut. It also looked like he hadn't slept in forever! The bags under his eyes were so visible. How did she not see this at all?

She never got a good look at him all day, to be honest. She had no idea he was hiding this. "Heero… what happened to you?" her voice filled with concern for the boy in her arms. She felt herself pull him closer, holding him tightly in an embrace. He was clearly out for the count, but she held him in a way that tried to tell him he was safe now. He wouldn't be hurt anymore. Not with her around, anyway.

She smiled down at him, brushing his bangs away, studying his face some more. It didn't matter how beat up he looked, Heero was still absurdly handsome. It took a lot of willpower to keep from planting a kiss on him somewhere on that gorgeous face of his.

Her ears picked up the sound of very light snoring coming from Heero. She chuckled. It was kind of cute to hear him snore. She wondered if he always did that when he slept. She scanned his face once more and noticed something. Under his eyes, it seemed like there was a trail of tears. 'Was Heero… crying?' She wondered. Relena ran a thumb down his cheeks, following the streams that stained his face.

She felt Heero nuzzle into her chest and she gave the sleeping boy a genuinely warm grin before tightening her hold on him some more. She hoped someone could come by and help her bring him to Nurse Sally's office.

Though that could wait for a little bit. Last week would be forgotten for now. She would enjoy her time with him here.

"You certainly choose interesting places to sleep." She glided her hand over his bangs once more as she closed her eyes, resting her head on the wall behind them.

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. All feedback is welcomed as usual.

Hüsker Dü - "Ice Cold Ice". Using a favorite song of mine from maybe my favorite group of all time (?) Idk... just hope you guys like the chapter. That's all.