Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Emotional Cathersis ❯ Confrontation ( Chapter 5 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Title: Emotional Catharsis
Author: Dubird
Pairings: HeeroXRelena, if you couldn't guess
Rating: PG for some swearing
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. This is just one of the many fan spawned writings of another crazy person. I also go to college and have lots of loans to pay off, so if you're looking for money, you've come to the wrong place!

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Melody, I know you'll enjoy this if no one else does! ^_^;;

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Chapter 5: Confrontation

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Relena sat down on her favorite bench, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She rarely got a moment alone, but through some odd twist of fate, she had the rest of the afternoon off. There were some personal things she wanted to catch up on, but for the moment, she just wanted to take in the peacefulness of her garden. She took off her shoes and wriggled her toes in the warm grass, the soft splash of the fountain soothing her nerves. She wondered what she was going to do about Heero. Two weeks, and she hadn't heard from him. Duo had called and told her he left in a big hurry that day, and she should keep her eyes open for him. He also suggested sending Roy off somewhere so that when Heero showed up, he wouldn't be around. Relena agreed, and Roy had gone off last week to take some personal time. But he was due back any day now, and she had no idea how much longer she could avoid talking to the press.

She suddenly heard soft foot falls behind her, and turned her head in startlement. Her eyes met two Prussian blue ones, and she smiled warmly. "Took you long enough to get here, Heero." She grinned at his look of surprise.

"How did you know I was coming?"

"Duo told me you left in a big hurry, right after you saw that first vidcast." She stood up and turned to face him, clasping her hands loosely behind her back.

"Oh." He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his long coat and looked around. "So where's your...bodyguard?"

"He's had the week off." Relena smiled patiently, knowing what was coming next.

"You mean you don't have a bodyguard with you? What if I had been some assassin?" Heero replied, surprising himself with his level of concern.

"Then you wouldn't have gotten this far."

"Huh?" he asked, clearly not expecting that answer.

Relena grinned. She loved surprising Heero, probably for the same reason she suspected that Duo goaded him. Contrary to what many people thought after she first met him, she never really wanted him to kill her. She just liked to surprise him, because as long as she kept him off guard, she could sometimes catch a glimpse of the real Heero, not the Perfect Soldier he showed to the world. "You were identified back at the edge of the woods. Anyone but you that tried to sneak up on the house would have been arrested the minute he made it over the fence. You didn't have to do all that, though," she said, crossing her arms over her chest with a rather impish grin on her face. "I left orders that you were to be let in no matter what I was doing."

"And what if I really was here to kill you?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at her.

"Would you have shown up earlier if I had asked you to?" she teased gently.

"This is not a laughing matter, Relena! You should always have a body guard around. I don't care how good your security is!" He had started pacing up and down, his eyes full of concern.

Relena let him rant, studying him closely. When he stopped for a breath, she asked him "Why?"

He stopped and looked at her. "Why what?"

"Why is it so important to you? You've always been adamant that I go everywhere protected, and you're the one who said I needed more security here. And don't give me that line about being an important public figure!" She gently laid her hand on his arm, and he started. 'Like a nervous colt,' she thought, looking up into his eyes. "I want to know the real reason this is so important to you."

Heero looked down into her soft eyes, his heart thumping in his chest. 'It's because I love you,' he thought to himself. The little voice answered him 'Now tell her that, you idiot! That's what you came here for!' He felt his cheeks growing warm as he looked down and said softy "Because I love you. If you died, so would I." He gave a soft sigh, relieved to finally say the words out loud. He looked into her face intently for a moment, as if to memorize her features, then gently took her hand off his arm. "But it's a moot point. I only came here to tell you that. I just wanted to at least say it before you got married."

Relena smiled warmly, the same smile she had given him in her picture. "But I'm not getting married," she said.

Heero felt his jaw drop. "What?" he asked, feeling a bit stupid.

Relena smiled gently, and reached up to put his jaw back into place. "The story goes like this. Roy actually did ask me to marry him, and I told him I would answer him later. I wanted to make sure I had time to let him down easy. I am fond of him, but only as a friend. Unfortunately, the reporters around us assumed I said yes, and that's the announcement they made the next morning. I hadn't realized it right away, not until I started getting congratulations from people and a rather amusing letter from my brother wanting to know why I hadn't told him first. By that time, everyone was assuming I actually was engaged, and since I didn't really know how to tell the reporters what really happened, I kept quiet. Roy did as well, because he had promised me quite a while ago that he wouldn't discuss anything that happened to me to reporters unless I had commented first. Besides, I knew you would be a mess and come here, and I hadn't seen you in a while. I apologize for letting this go on this long, but I honestly thought you would have been here sooner."

Heero glared down at her, starting to feel a bit angry. "If you wanted to see me, all you had to do was ask."

"I did ask, Heero." Relena shook her head gently. "Most of the time, you say you're too busy. You haven't even been to Earth for three years, and I'm not exactly free to take two weeks off to come see you anymore."

He opened his mouth to refute her claim, then shut it again. She was right, he realized. He had always been afraid of what he felt towards her, and the more time he had spent with her, the harder it was to hide his emotions. He sat down on the bench and folded his hands between his knees. "I guess I was afraid."

Relena sat down next to him. "Afraid of what?"

Heero shrugged. "I'm not really sure. Afraid of my feelings, I suppose. They're not required in the perfect soldier, so I wasn't allowed them. After a while, it was just safer to hide them." He winced slightly at an old, faded memory, and took a deep breath. Relena gently covered his hands in one of hers, but he didn't notice, intent on finishing what he wanted to say before the urge to put his mask back on caught him again. "Even just now, I had to argue with myself to tell you how I felt. Sally would say it's conditioning, and she's probably right. But when I grew up, emotions only got in my way of what I had to do. They did until just recently, as a matter of fact. I'm not allowed to feel my emotions, so I guess I don't know how. That's why they frighten me. Rather ironic, that." He noticed her hand covering his, and carefully took it into one of his. "I was also afraid for you. After all, I have made a lot of enemies that would see you as a target if they knew how I felt."

Relena gently squeezed his hand. "I'm not some porcelain doll you need to set up on the shelf."

"I know that." He turned his head suddenly to look at her. "But I swore I would protect you, Relena. I mean to do that."

"Well, I guess you'll have to be on your guard then," she replied. "I'm not letting you just leave this time."

"Huh?" he said, with that slightly startled look she enjoyed.

She laughed softly. "I love you, Heero Yuy. I've waited a long time to say that. But I knew I had to wait until you were ready." She smiled warmly at him again, watching the astonishment creep into his eyes.

"You...really do love me?" he asked her, hardly believing what he was hearing. She squeezed his hand and grinned, warming his heart. "Yes, I do love you. Do you need me to put it in writing?" Heero shook his head slowly, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. 'Well, don't just sit there, moron! Do something!' the little voice berated him. Acting on his emotions had gotten him this far, so he did the only thing he could think off. He leaned down and kissed her gently. It felt good, and it felt even better to admit that to himself.

After a few moments, she leaned back, feeling better than she had in a long time. That was even nicer than she had imagined it, not that she had allowed herself to think about it very often. She grinned at Heero, and pulled him up. "Why don't you come inside and get something to eat? I'm sure you haven't eaten in a while, you were so impatient to get here." Heero smiled back at her, the first real smile she had ever seen on him, touching his eyes as well as his face. "OK. I am a little bit hungry." Relena laughed, and bent down the pick up her shoes. Unfortunately, she forgot how slick the pavement stones were from the fountain spray, and slipped and fell into the fountain. She sat up with a disgruntled look on her face to see Heero holding out his hand with an odd expression. "Are you OK?" he asked, and she realized he was trying to keep from laughing. With a mischievous smile, she grabbed his hand and tugged him into the fountain with her.

Heero sat up, sputtering and raked his hair out of his eyes so he could glare at her. She only laughed and splashed him. "Now we're even!" she informed him, giggling uncontrollably. He couldn't stay mad at her, and laughed softly as they helped each other up. She wrapped her arm around his, and they headed into the mansion to dry off.