Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Eternal Promises ❯ Part 12 ( Chapter 12 )

Disclaimer : I've never claimed to own Gundam Wing, or it's affiliated characters, so you can't sue me for that. I'm mearly borrowing them for my entertainment, and shall return them upon compleation of this fic, . . . perhaps ^_^. I do however stake claim to all original characters I happen to throw in here, and to this particular story.

Eternal Promises

By Eden

Part 12

She was alone in the darkness with no feeling except for the cold metal where she sat. There were no lights, no people, and no warmth. She was completely alone; it was just her and the faint but constant tapping nose coming from somewhere ahead of her. If she would've been anywhere else but here, she would've set our to look for the source of the tapping, but she knew better then to try.

While she might not have been there all that long, she knew the layout well. The grated metal floor, bolted metal walls, and un-breach able metal door were all too familiar to her. She also knew that while she was feeling cramped on the floor, it was useless to think she would be able to take a few good strides in any direction before she'd run out of room.

So instead of wasting the time and energy needed to try and get out of what she already knew to be a hopeless situation, she sat. Unmoving on the floor, leaning against the cold wall. She sat and thought about how much she would love to get out of this prison.

As she continued to sit, feeling as thought the unending silence was beginning to suffocate her, that faint tapping had begun to be a more predominate sound. She listened more carefully, and sure enough she could quite clearly hear the volume had increased, almost as if it was moving closer.

Her heart sped up it's pace as unanswered questions flooded her mind. Why was it coming closer, and more importantly, what was causing the tapping in the first place? There was no use denying it now, she was defiantly worried. She had no idea what to expect, and the continued progression of the tapping sound wasn't showing any signs of stopping.

She slowly pulled her legs up underneath of herself and stood up. During their brief contact with the cold floor, she felt the soft vibrations that the tapping was sending through the solid metal with her hands.

It progressed more and more, and got louder and louder until it was fairly booming through the echoing room. When the tapping was right outside the door, she pressed herself up against the back wall. Not having any idea what to expect, and not knowing what was causing the insanely loud tapping was making her decidedly nervous. This was not the kind of situation she liked to find herself in, unprepared and unaware what to expect.

She listened as the tapping continued directly outside the door for a whole minute, and then seemed to stretch into two. It kept going for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about five minutes, and then without warning, it suddenly stopped.

Her ears buzzed in the silence that followed. After the constant tapping that had boomed in it's intensity, and had all but shook the was down, the impenetrable silence was defining.

Before she was given a chance to revel in the lonely darkness again though, the latch one the outside of the heavy door was released with a click. As the door was slowly swung open on silent hinges, a triangle of light formed on the floor, which got larger the wider the door was opened. She could feel her muscles tightening up as the door was finally opened wide enough to see a darkened figure standing against the light.

It was impossible to make out any distinguishing features on the face, but she felt like she knew who it was. Just as her mind began to come up with answers and possible reasons for this, the light behind the figure began to fade until just a soft glow remained. It was amazing what her eyes were able to pick up with just that small change. Now she was able to make out a few distinct characteristics that only confirmed her earlier suspicions.

Coming out from darkened sockets was a pair of blue eyes she couldn't forget even if she tried. They could be the eyes she longed for or the eyes she feared. Right now she was very afraid of what was looking back at her through those eyes. There was deep-seated malice and hunger from within them, and it chilled her to the core.

The blue-eyed figure knew the effect it was having on her, and opened its mouth in a wide toothy smile as it began to move into the small room. It walked like a man, putting one foot in front of the other, but it wasn't normal walking. Nothing about this was normal, especially the tapping sound that came up every time it put its foot down on the grated metal floor.

Finally knowing the source of the tapping was enough to make her try and melt through the solid wall, but it wasn't what finally did it to her.

As though it could sense her fear, the toothy smile widened, and the jewel like eyes glittered an ever-brighter form of blue the closer it got to her. Suddenly the figure reached out and placed a cold clammy hand onto her upper arm. That act alone was enough to send her into hysterics, but it wasn't over there. As she stood against the metal wall, held in place by the surprisingly strong hold of that single hand, the figure leaned its head in towards her ear. Its voice was sultry and smooth and was almost a relaxing sound, if not for the words it spoke.

"I will destroy you and everything you hold dear."

She had heard threats like this before, and it had never bothered her. It was because all the times she had heard it before, she knew it was an impossible thing to do. Nothing short of an atomic bomb would be able to rid the world of all she held dear, and even then it would be no easy task. The difference about this time was that when she heard the words, she absolutely believed them. The mocking, mirth filled eyes, and smooth powerful voice left not a doubt in her mind that this figures plans would be carried out.

Without warning, the figure brought it's other hand to slide up her leg underneath her robe. "I will have you as my own, no matter what I have to do to get you."

Franticly trying to move from the invading hand, she let out an ear-piercing scream.

Relena woke herself up screaming, and sat up strait in her bed, the dream still fresh in her memory. Immediately she whipped her head around to search the room for any unknown people hovering over her or lurking in the shadows. As she did so, a hand came up and clutched at her chest. Her heart was pounding so hard that it felt like her chest was going to explode at any moment. She had also begun to fight for every breath of air.

Just as she was getting herself into a more hysterical frame of mind she was rescued. Strong comforting hands came up to stroke her upper arms, and a soothing voice whispered in her ear. "Your safe in your room, and theirs no way anyone could get in here." Heero's voice felt like a comforting blanket being spread over her shaking limbs.

Forgetting for a moment what had her so upset, she looked up at him. Even in the darkened room Relena could see his Prussian eyes glittering. The shadows played on his face exenterating his already sharp features, and his wild hair hung over his forehead making him look like he had just woken up as well. When her eyes met his she breathed a sigh of relief, and tried to force herself to calm down.

Once she had gotten herself under control, she looked back up at Heero's face. By now the bedside lamp had been turned on, and she was better able to survey his expression. His mouth was set in a hard line, and his eyes showed concern for what had happened. Instead of asking what had happened, he sat facing her not saying a word. She had stopped shaking at this point, so he was no longer holding on to her arms.

"It was just a dream." Relena said more to herself then anyone else as the memory came back to her.

"Yes."

She looked towards the balcony doors. It was still dark outside; morning was a few hours away yet. This was her way of hiding, of trying to forget all about the dream. Unfortunately, the images themselves were not about to leave her. They lingered in her mind, and replayed themselves again and again. Every time they did, she gave a little wince as they reached the ending right before she had woken herself up.

Suppressing the scream that bubbled up in her throat every time she was forced to relive the horrifying experience, Relena tried to look at this dream in a logical manner. While she was doing so, she began to tell Heero everything she could remember. While she did so, she didn't take her eyes off of the distant sky she could see right outside the balcony doors. For some reason, she didn't feel like she could face him while she told him her dream, she was afraid that if she looked at him she wouldn't be able to finish saying everything she wanted to say. Once she finished, she continued to stare absently at a winking star until she forced herself to turn her head.

Heero was looking at her still. The expression on his face was the same as it had been earlier, but his eyes told her what he was really feeling. He was quite disturbed by what she had told him, and even as she watched, his facial expression began to support what his eyes were showing her.

"Are you sure that they didn't do anything to you while you were being held captive?" His voice remained level and calm. He was most defiantly being careful to hide any other emotions he might have about the disturbing dream.

Relena nodded. "They didn't do anything to me that might've caused me harm, that's why the dream itself is so strange. Nothing really warrants this sort of reaction."

"Dreams always happen for a reason." With that statement, the tone of Heero's voice changed, she wasn't sure why. Relena turned to look at him, surprised at his words. A far away look had come over his face, as thought he was deep in thought.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

Her words seemed to snap him out of his thoughts suddenly. He turned his Prussian eyes on her again as he answered. "All that I'm saying is that dreams are sometimes your minds way of telling you something you might not have been aware of."

"My mind's telling me something?" Relena puzzled for a moment. What could her mind mean to tell her with that horrible dream? "Do you think you could be more specific?"

Heero didn't respond to her comment. Instead he took a glass of water that had been sitting on the nightstand, and handed it to her. She took it, grateful for the opportunity to take her mind off of the odd and scary dream.

"Thank you." She held the glass out to him after she had taken a long drink of the cold water.

"Do you feel any better now?" He asked, replacing the glass to its former position.

She smiled. "I do. Of course, it helps that you're here."

As he grunted and tried to turn away, Relena surprised herself and reached out an arm to stop him from leaving. Once he had turned his eyes back to meet hers, she saw that she had also surprised him with her action.

`Why am I doing this?' She asked herself in a fleeting moment of weakness. She looked up to face Prussian blue eyes that fairly burned into her own. There was such an intensity behind them that she almost felt like she should turn away, but she didn't. Relena sat looking up into his scrutinizing gaze, and the longer she did so, the more she began to enjoy her position.

"Please," Relena could feel herself trying to plead with her eyes as well as words, "Just stay here a little longer."

"You need to get some more rest." It hadn't taken him long to get his emotions in check. As he spoke there was no trace of the surprise she had caused him.

"I know that I should, but-"

"There are a lot of things that need to get done tomorrow," Heero cut her off in mid sentence, "And if you don't get all the rest you can now, it will only make it harder to get those things done."

"Don't you think I know that?" Relena replied feeling agitated. "I know better than anyone all the things that will need to be done, but good Lord Heero! Don't you know how long I've been waiting for this to happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"For you Heero. I've been waiting for two years for you to come back, and now that you're here in front of me, all you can say is that I need to rest?"

As she watched his face, Heero's expression didn't seem to change. It seemed as though he wasn't taking her seriously, and that thought threatened to spur her on more.

"Why did you come back Heero? Why did you come back if all your going to do is tell me what I should and shouldn't be doing?" As soon as she asked the question, the more she began to wonder.

It seemed as thought he wasn't going to make any moves to answer. All he did was sit unmoving on the bed, eyeing her carefully. When he did finally speak it was a surprise.

"I came back to protect you."

"But you knew that my brother was coming back when I was kidnapped. Don't you think that he would be able to protect me, and that the Preventers would work their hardest to get me back?

She felt the bed shift as he moved a bit uncomfortably. He really wasn't making any effort to answer her. In fact, he was doing everything he could to avoid answering her directly.

"This isn't a good time to be discussing this." Heero's voice was gruff. "You've been through a lot and you have so much on your mind. I don't think it would be a good idea to add more right now."

"But I need--," Relena stopped herself and re-worded what she was saying. "I want to know. I feel like it would make a world of difference if you could tell me why it took you so long to finally come back." She pleaded.

It was then that she saw it, the answer to her question clearly written on his face. His brow was knit, and his eyes were darkened with an emotion that looked like he was in pain. She knew the answer then, but she refused to acknowledge it. It was too perfect too be true, so it must not be. All she knew for sure was that he was holding something back from her. It seemed from his expression that he wanted to tell her, but that something important held him back.

"Heero," Relena started speaking softly. "You can trust me you know."

The pained expression got worse. "It's not that. This just isn't the time. You will know, I'll tell you everything once all of this is through."

He stood up and walked away from the bed. She didn't try to stop him this time. It wouldn't make any difference. Heero wouldn't tell her anything until he was good and ready. That was the way he had always been during the war and things obviously hadn't changed. Everything was on a need to know basis, and apparently at this moment, she didn't need to know.

As Relena watched him, he moved to stand in front of the balcony doors, and turned his eyes to the trees outside. His posture was ridged, and betrayed his nervous feelings about the present situation. As he stood there, she couldn't help but notice again how much he had matured over the last couple of years. The boy, who was determined to do anything to complete his missions, had turned into a young man, who hadn't lost his determination, but rather focused it on other endeavors. He didn't seem as though he would throw his life away as easily as before though, which set her mind at ease.

Something that she knew would never change was his quiet but strong presents. Their had been many times while they were both still going to school at the St. Gabriel Institute, and when he had come to the Sank Kingdome with Quatre that without having to turn and look, she knew he had entered the room. It was a second sense she had for his presents that she could never mistake, and never steered her wrong. It was that very same sense, among other things, that told her now how unlikely it was that Heero would tell her anything tonight.

Leaning back against her pillows, and sighing quietly, Relena took another look at Heero's statue like form. `Whatever you're hiding, I hope you tell me soon.' She thought, wishing he could hear her. `I think it would make things easier for both of us.'

When he didn't move, she slowly allowed her eyes to close and began to ward off the painful images remaining from her dream, and tried to fall asleep.

The remaining hours before sunrise went by excruciatingly slow. Heero spent the time switching between watching Relena sleep and pacing the floor between her bed and the balcony doors. The problem was that every time he watched her lips turn into a frown while she slept he had an urge to wake her up and tell her everything he hadn't told her about his reasons for coming back. Then reason would kick in and remind him why he hadn't just told her when she asked, and then he had to force himself to move away from her just to ensure he didn't do anything rash. It had been a long night indeed.

Of course, once the sun had risen, he had been able to stop his pacing and wait until she woke up. He didn't have to wait long. As the first rays of sunshine crept through the balcony doors, and through the cracks in the window blinds across the floor to shine on her face, Relena's violet eyes fluttered open.

Heero watched as she blinked a few times, and brought a hand up to rub away the traces of sleep. Using the same hand the push away some strands of honey hair from her forehead, Relena sighed and turned over onto her side to face him. Pink lips moved into a sleepy smile, and he listened as they spoke to him. "Good morning."

He didn't mean to stair at her so intently, this young woman who looked up at him now with dreamy eyes and an open smile. He didn't mean to, but it couldn't be helped. If he thought she was beautiful while she slept, she was simply gorgeous when she was awake.

`This is why,' Heero told himself sternly, `this is why I have to control my emotions around her. One slip could jeopardize her safety.' His eyes hadn't left her face, and watched as the gentle smile turned to one of amusement.

When she saw that he wasn't going to say anything, she nodded at him as though she understood, and slowly began to climb out of bed. She stood up and stretched out her arms above her head while looking out the window.

"It's such a beautiful day, don't you think?"

"Hn." He didn't trust himself to say more than that. The way she was gracefully gliding across the room to collect clothing from drawers and her closet was enough to make him swallow hard.

"I'll just be a second, and then we'll go downstairs, okay?" She called out as she closed herself inside of her bathroom to change.

"Alright."

True to her word, she was done shortly, and came out of the bathroom wearing a simple cream-colored pantsuit with a v-necked white blouse underneath. Her hair was done in a French twist with one strand hanging down in front of her eyes that she pushed out of the way with a sweep of her hand. He could tell she was wearing make up, but it was very basic. She had added color to just her cheeks and lips, leaving her own natural beauty to do the rest. She looked simple, professional, and ready to take on any task that may present itself during the day. He never paid much attention to any woman and was even surprised that he noticed as much about her appearance as he did. Of course, Relena wasn't like any other female he had ever met.

"So how do I look?" She asked abruptly snapping him out of his thoughts. For a moment he just stood their staring at her. "Well? Are you just going to stand there?" She asked again. When he looked at her he saw an amused smile gracing her lips.

"You look . . . Good." Heero answered, and then turned to move towards the door.

He heard her tinkling laughter come from behind him as she followed. "That's quite a complement coming from you!"

Heero didn't stop walking. He was out of the room and starting down the stairs when she came to walk beside him.

"Thank you." She spoke just loud enough for him to hear.

For a moment he stopped on the stairs and turned to regard Relena carefully. She stopped as well, violet eyes looking back at him openly revealing herself to him. He couldn't see anything on her face other than a genuine smile, and that was enough to satisfy him. Heero grunted a reply and continued to walk the rest of the way down the stairs.

When they made it to the dining room, they found that everyone was already seated and were consuming various breakfast items. While Heero stood in the doorway observing everyone, Relena stepped by him and took her place at the head of the table.

Heads turned towards her as she pulled out her chair and sat down. "Good morning everyone." She smiled.

There was a course of good mornings, and questions about how she was feeling. "I'm feeling much better, thank you."

"How did you sleep?" Zecks asked while taking a sip of his coffee. He was seated directly on her left wearing a pair of dark dress pants and dark dress shirt that he had the top couple of buttons left undone. Beside him Noin wore a standard dark green Preventers uniform. It was strange, why hadn't Zecks-

"I slept very well." Relena's response interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see her smiling warmly at her sibling as she continued. "To tell the truth, I don't think I've slept so well since before the rush for trade agreements started between the colonies and Earth." She laughed lightly; the weight of the room seemed to lift.

Her mask was flawless. No one in the room had any idea that her restful sleep had been disturbed by a horrible nightmare, that even now she was struggling to find meaning behind. All she needed to do was smile and say calm reassuring words to lift the spirits and hopes of all the people around her. No one knew that deep down in her heart Relena Darlian secretly doubted everything she had been told by the kidnappers about the reasons behind her abduction. No one that was, except for him.

The reason why he hadn't seen it earlier was because this mask of hers only had a purpose once she was questioned about her sleep. It was like she suddenly remembered all the fear and confusion she had last night while sleeping, and didn't want to recall it. If she didn't tell anyone about the dream and her feelings, then she wouldn't have to share them.

Heero had his head bent down as he leaned against the doorframe, but still watched everything in the room from behind veiled eyes. Relena was smiling while Sally commented on Relena's speedy recovery, and Duo continued to tell his animated story to the table. Once Relena began to listen, she chuckled at the inane way Duo gestured with his fork and toast to emphasize the important parts, never once giving any indication of the worry weighing on her mind.

It was almost surprising that no one else in the room was able to pick up on it, but he figured that no one else had as much experience as he did with masking their feelings. Another thing that was surprising to him was how Relena had gotten so good at it. He could remember her during the war, when her feelings had been as easy to read as looking at an open book. Truthfully, he shouldn't have been all that surprised, considering her profession, a skill like covering one's own feelings could be an asset. Of course, the extent to which she used it was completely unlike the girl he'd known two years ago. Instead of just using the skill to mask her personal feelings during political meetings and conferences, she was using it to hide herself from her friends and family, people she claimed to trust.

Duo's story had finished, and there were a variety of reactions going around the table that went from complete disgust to chuckling amusement.

While he was so engrossed with his own thoughts and with what was going on around the table, Heero almost missed the quiet footsteps coming up behind him. When he turned around to see who it was, he came face to face with Relena's elderly butler, Pagan.

"Good morning Mr. Yuy." The older man spoke in a slow, modulated way. "What can I get you for breakfast this morning?"

Heero was just about to answer when the whole table seemed to turn to face him.

"Hey Heero, I didn't even see you standing there!" Duo turned around in his chair and commented. "Why don't you come and sit down and have some of this great food!" The former Deathscythe pilot was grinning like a maniac, knowing how this situation must be irking him, while he pulled out a chair in open invitation. Any other time, Heero would've scoffed at the mockery and simply left the room without saying a word. Of course this wasn't like any other time, and he knew that the moment his eyes locked with Relena's. A smile, this time a real smile like when she had woken up, graced her features as she nodded at him. It was his answer to weather he should stay or not, and that she wanted him to.

Returning her nod, Heero made his way towards the chair Duo held out, and found himself seated to Relena's right, and directly across the table from Zecks. The older man had seemed fine from his position by the doorway, but upon closer inspection he saw the strain underneath his thoughtful expression. Was it possible that he was also able to see behind Relena's emotional mask, or was it something else?

Pagan had followed him to the table and was currently asking Relena what she wanted for breakfast.

"I'll have a bowl of oatmeal, like usual." She patted her butler affectionately on the arm. "No use changing routine, is there?"

The evidence of a smile was visible from behind the elderly man's rather large mustache. "Your absolutely right Ms. Relena." When he turned to ask him the same question, Heero was ready.

"I'll just have a cup of coffee."

"Certainly" Pagan answered. "I'll be back shortly."

"Man, your no fun." Duo grumbled before shoving a rather large piece of sausage and egg into his mouth. "All this great food here, and you ask for coffee! You are one of the strangest guys I know." Heero had to lean back a bit as Duo spoke around his mouthful of food.

While Duo was lamenting, Relena leaned her head towards him. "You really should eat something," Her voice was low. "You probably haven't eaten since early yesterday afternoon, you must be hungry."

Heero shook his head. "I never eat breakfast."

"Oh." She moved back in her chair.

He looked across the table to where Zecks was holding his own coffee cup up to his lips. The strained, thoughtful look had been replaced by a hard questioning expression. Instead of trying to explain himself, or give any indication what he was thinking, he crossed his arms over his chest and hardened his expression. If the platinum haired man knew that Heero was holding back on telling Relena his real feelings for her because of a theory they had for the basis of the kidnapping, it would mean far more than just a discussion. After a moment, Zecks shrugged his shoulders and look away. Heero knew well enough that this wasn't then end of the situation, that he would more then likely be approached later, but nothing else would be done at the present time.

Thankfully, before anything else unexpected could happen, a steaming cup of coffee was placed in front of him in a large mug. He could feel the exhaustion from not having slept come up suddenly as he took the hold of the handle and brought it near his mouth, but the feeling left once the bitter black liquid passed his lips.

He now turned his attention back to Relena. She had just finished sprinkling brown sugar on to her oatmeal, and was mixing it up when she suddenly spoke. "Would anyone be able to tell me what the agenda for the day is?"

Sally cleared her throat. "Well last night after you went to sleep, we had a vid-conference with Commander Une, and discussed that were of immediate importance. Firstly of course, it is important for us to know exactly what happened to you while you were being held by the kidnappers before we can plan any kind of strategy."

"I understand." Her voice had taken on a more professional tone. "What should I expect after that is done?"

"The next thing that should be looked at is the ESUN. Your kidnapping has thrown quite a lot of things out of whack, including the postponement of a new peace treaty between a number of colonies and countries from Earth. What they need is an address from you to assure them that your kidnapping was not politically related, and that you have come back unharmed."

The young politician had taken a spoonful of her oatmeal and chewed it thoughtfully before answering. "That would be of major importance, yes. I'm sure that any situations that may have aroused would be easier to control if the people and ESUN members knew that everything was under control."

"Just showing everyone that your alive and well will set them at ease, and show them the Preventers are working to wrap this situation up as quickly as possible." Quatre spoke up. "I know the ESUN members just as well as you do Ms. Relena, and just knowing that your out of harms way after only tow days will allow them to relax and continue on like normal."

"Your probably right." She seemed to be getting more accustomed to the idea the more she thought about it. "How long do you think the de-briefing will take?" Relena turned back to Sally.

The Preventer was thinking. "I'm not positive, it depends on how many times we have to go over your story to clarify details, but I wouldn't think that it would take more than an hour or so."

"That's fine. It won't take more than an hour for a press conference, but to avoid a bunch of unnecessary questions by the media, I think that it might be smarter if I just released a statement."

It was like the young politician never left her post. She was already back to thinking strategically, and with all the possible political upsets in mind while she planned.

"That could be easily arranged. The equipment is already here, and it wouldn't take long to set up." Sally folded her arms across her chest. "Is that how you want to do it?"

"Yes."

"Alright then," She uncrossed her arms and pushed her chair away from the table. "While I go and see that things are set up properly, could you start the debriefing once Ms. Relena is ready, Wufei?"

The Chinese Preventer snorted. "Don't try and give me orders, woman."

She smiled. "Thanks Wufei." Then turned and walked out of the room.

Heero watched as the red haired woman left and took another sip of his coffee. Once she was gone, he turned to the former Shenlong pilot. "Something that should be looked at before the debriefing is the security of the Preventers information system."

He met Wufei's gaze. "That was looked at as soon as the information about the kidnapping was leaked out. It seems that there was some temporary staff on at the time, and after they had been spoken to by the staff in charge of interviewing, they went and sold their story to the press." The Asian man lowered his head. "Pure incompetence was to blame, and the situation was rectified afterwards."

"Hum." Without meaning to he glanced back towards Relena. She was lifting her spoon to her mouth to take another bite of oatmeal when she suddenly paused and reversed her actions. Delicately she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin before clearing her throat to speak.

"I see no reason why we should delay this anymore than we already have." The rest of the table turned to face her. "Shall we move to the study to conduct the debriefing?"

"Are you sure your ready, Relena?" Noin leaned forward in her chair in order to make eye contact with the young woman.

Relena's face softened as she smiled. "Yes, I'm ready. Besides, the sooner I do this, the sooner everything will be over." She rose from her chair and began to move towards the door.

As if on cue, the rest of the room got out of their chairs and followed her out the door. Heero was just about to do the same when he felt a strong hand rest on his shoulder. "I would like to have a word with you."