Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mistaken Words ❯ A Final Moment of Peace ( Chapter 64 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Mistaken Words

AN: I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter sorry it was a little shorter than usual, but here's some Heero and Relena for you all to enjoy!

Thanks to my editors!

Disclaimer: I don't own

A Final Moment of Peace

Heero stood in front of his window. It was early evening, and the snow was falling in huge slow moving flakes. It was nearing the end of December and Christmas had passed without incident for him. He had thought Relena had wanted to spend it with him, but parties and other such obligations had kept her away. He had hardly noticed the change in time as he continued to train, the sole goal in his mind to be ready to take on the Inner Circle. Could they really risk leaving them for too much longer? If they wanted to maintain the element of surprise Heero knew it was going to have to happen soon.

Plans were in the making, agents were being gathered and strategically placed for when the time finally came. Heero half expected to see Une come walking through his door asking him if he were ready. How long would she be willing to wait? He twisted where he stood when he heard someone knock on the door, actually glad for the interruption. He was incredibly bored if he wasn't training. The door slide aside and Wufei walked in followed immediately by Trowa. Both were formally dressed for a party and Trowa carried another tux in his left hand and a pair of polished black shoes in the other. The sight raised an eyebrow on Heero's face.

“Evening,” Wufei greeted with a nod of his head, coming to a stop at the couch and taking a seat.

“This ought to fit you,” Trowa said, laying it across the end of Heero's bed, “It was in your closet.”

“Just what would I be wearing it for?” he asked, curious.

“I was told to tell you, `It's a surprise'” Trowa responded, leaning calmly against the walls.

Heero looked between the two of them, not leaving his spot by the window. No doubt this was Relena's idea.

“Oh, it might interest you to know Une's given us unlimited access to the Warehouse,” the Chinese man informed him.

“They're coordinating missions involving high class parties now?” Heero's eyebrow had remained raised since they walked into the room.

“Actually, yes,” Trowa replied deadpan.

“But our use won't start until next month,” Wufei explained before pointing at his still untouched suit, “If you don't start changing we're going to be late.”

Heero stepped away from the window, willing to go along with this little game of Relena's. The knowledge that he was going to have access to the Warehouse was enough for him to deal with almost anything. The Warehouse was a part of agency training of new recruits and the continued teaching of their agents. It was a literal warehouse within Sank, where the agency could create missions. They could change and control just about every aspect of the scenario, making it the most realistic form of training outside of the actual field. It surprised Heero—as he began to take the tux apart so he could change into it—that he hadn't thought of the Warehouse yet.

The thought of honing his skills in missions was a great deal more appealing than the training he had been doing for the last few weeks. Besides that, it meant they thought he was ready for actual missions, and that the mission to bring down the Inner Circle was closer at hand than he had first thought.

“It's a good thing you didn't grow while you were gone,” Trowa commented breaking through Heero's thoughts. The smaller man leveled a glare his friend's way and continued to dress.

“Is a little loose on him though…” Wufei directed his own comments towards Trowa completely ignoring the glares sent his way.

It was true though, but Heero doubted it would be all that noticeable. It wasn't nearly as bad as when he had first come back to earth. He sat down on the edge of his bed to pull on his shoes. “How long has she been planning this?” he asked, a little surprised it wasn't Relena herself who had come to get him.

Neither Wufei nor Trowa moved to answer his question, obviously determined to keep to their promise of keeping this a surprise, “Ready?” Wufei asked coming to the edge of his seat.

Straightening his sleeves beneath the formal black coat Heero stood up and nodded his head, “Just how are we leaving the agency?” None of them could have forgotten that he was supposed to be dead. Something told him dressed as he was they weren't going to be leaving the way he had earlier that month.

“It's the holidays,” Trowa began, “Most of the staff is off.”

“We've also looped the cameras. No one's going to see you,” Wufei assured, motioning with one hand for Heero to go before him.

Walking out into the hall Heero strode between Trowa and Wufei over to the elevator, quietly getting on and leaning against the back wall. They road in silence, Heero knowing that there wasn't much to be said that would get a clear answer from his friends. The halls they walked through were empty and Heero felt confident that they wouldn't come across anyone. He hadn't been the least bit concerned when he had been out on the streets, but then he hadn't been standing among such familiar faces as Relena's bodyguards. Trowa led them to a small side door, which he held open as they walked out into the snow covered evening. Just outside a car waited, and Wufei made his way towards the far side.

Heero climbed in to the back of the car, and within seconds they were pulling away from the agency. Watching the streets Heero noted few people were out, but those he did see looked dressed for parties. And he remembered Ash coming to his apartment during this time of year, never so formally dressed but always off to one function or another, either with Dante or without, always attempting to get Heero to come too. They had been futile efforts nearly all the time, and here he was without a word of protest heading off to something planned without his knowledge. Immediately he knew the difference. It was Relena. He couldn't think of anything he'd ever refuse her, so long as it would bring a smile to her face.

With traffic so quiet it didn't take them more than ten minutes to pull up to Relena's house. Heero wondered briefly; if this was a party, what had Relena done with all the people usually there working tirelessly in the background. They weren't often taken note of, but if one of them should see him or over hear his name being spoken…He shook his head. There was no way any of them wouldn't have thought of that already. He had to trust in them, and so he climbed from the black car and followed his friends into Relena's house lit up with holiday lights which reflected off the new fallen snow.

Walking inside the house, Heero could hear faint music and soft voices coming from the main room. Trowa and Wufei strode towards it without hesitation as Heero knocked the last of the snow from his shoes. “You're late,” he heard a familiar voice chide his friends.

“You can blame Heero for that,” Wufei commented as Heero left the door behind and saw Relena standing with the pilots.

She wore a rich blue ball gown trimmed in silver, her hair drawn up simply and held with silvery clips which sparkled with the lights. Her eyes found Heero and the small smile on her face blossomed, lighting up her features. She came over to meet him as Trowa and Wufei disappeared into the main room where Heero could hear Duo's laughter. “You didn't want to go out tonight?” she asked, a joking pout pulling down her lips.

“Never said that.” He gently took hold of her hand and pulled her to him, her head automatically tipping up to receive his kiss.

“I thought it might be nice for you to be able to celebrate the end of the war…even if it's a little late.” She slipped her arms beneath his and hugged him tightly. “So many parties, and this is the only one I've wanted to attend.”

Heero offered her a faint smile as she looked up at him. He knew his friends were waiting inside the main room, though clearly not just waiting, as their voices still floated out. But Heero wasn't particularly in a rush to go in there. He knew that when they did he wouldn't be as comfortable expressing himself to Relena. He just felt so awkward under the watchful eyes of his friends, no matter how discreet they tried to be.

“Did you know Quatre's here?” she asked, him suddenly not releasing her hold of him but stepping back a fraction so she could better see his face.

“Trowa mentioned something about him coming down,” Heero nodded, unconsciously twisting some of her hair between his fingers.

“He'll be staying until early next month. That mean's he'll be able to go to the Warehouse with you,” she kissed him.

Heero pulled back after a second, “Was I the last to find out about that?” he asked, an eyebrow rising slowly. He wondered when they had all come to this decision.

“Sorry,” she straightened the lapels of his coat, “I'm not sure when Une decided on this and told the others. But it's good news, right? And I'll be able to watch too, since all my bodyguards have to be there.” He leaned in, kissing her soundly on the mouth. She ran her fingers through his hair before parting. “How's your head?”

He wasn't surprised to be asked that question. If anything he was a little surprised it hadn't been the first thing out of her mouth. She, like John and Sally, had oddly enough been giving him some space on the matter. She often asked him how his head was, but it always seemed that her intention was just to offer a massage if he needed it. “It's alright,” he replied, eyes searching out the door to the ballroom, wondering just how long they'd be able to stay out here before the others got tired of waiting.

Looking back over her shoulder a sigh escaped her lips, “I supposed we should join the party…”

Heero slipped Relena's arm beneath his, giving her a moment to gather the skirt of her dress before he stepped towards the opened doorway. Part of him didn't want to cross that threshold, didn't want to become the center of attention. Rounding the corner Heero's cobalt eyes saw the assembly in the ballroom for the first time. It was a small, pseudo-formal affair. The large room, which could easily accommodate fifty, held only eleven. His presence at this party meant everything had to be kept low key, so the tables where the chiefs usually stood preparing and serving delicacies held pre-made foods. And the small stage at the other end of the room where a live band could play held a small CD player hooked up to the speaker, a stack of CDs resting beside it.

He was grateful for the fact that everyone didn't stop what they were doing the moment he and Relena entered the room. Duo danced with his wife, his movements fluid as he spun her, a smile on his face. Trowa and Quatre stood watching and talking both with drinks in their hands. Not far away, Wufei spoke with Zechs and Une. John, Sally and Noin completed the attendees, and the only ones who turned at his entrance. This was the first time he had seen Noin since returning to the agency, and she eagerly strode towards him.

“Been a while,” she greeted, sounding as though it had only been a few months and not four years.

“Noin.” he nodded his head in greeting.

“Just as chatty as ever I see,” she laughed, as always a friendly presence. He had spent a lot of time around her during the war. She was an open woman, he had realised quickly, and brave. He respected her for both. “We had a hell of a time convincing Relena she couldn't be the one to go get you,” Noin continued to laugh as Relena blushed, “I didn't think I'd get to see you if that happened.”

Relena's hand tightened subtly on his as she continued to blush. “That's not what would have happened,” she defended.

Noin laughed, shaking her head. “You're so easy to tease.” She laid a hand on her sister-in-law's shoulder before looking more critically at Heero, her expression sobering a little too. She took a step closer, rather pointedly looking down at him. “Good thing you didn't grow while you were gone,” Noin commented, never afraid to make jabs at his height, “Else you wouldn't have had anything to wear.”

Heero was a little surprised at his own reaction to that sudden jab. He wasn't bothered in the least, actually a little pleased. This was the first time Noin had seen him, and she was willing to pick up right where they had left off, no signs of guilt no awkwardness. Though he would never admit it out loud, “Hn…” was as much of a response as he was willing to give, looking Noin in eyes.

“Do you want a drink Heero?” Relena asked him suddenly.

“Sure,” he nodded, taking his eyes off Noin for an instant, watching as she stepped over to the table to get them each a drink.

“So, other than a few new scars you look just the way I remember you,” Noin commented, her eyes sweeping over him.

His shoulders tensed for a brief second thinking of the brand, but of course that wasn't what she had been referring too. “You were expecting changes?” he asked back.

“Maybe a little height. In heels Relena could almost be taller than you,” she chuckled.

“Good thing Relena doesn't choose to wear the really high ones,” Relena said laughing, as she passed Heero his drink.

“Heero!” Duo's voice broke through, “Took you long enough to get here.” He came over with Hilde on his arm.

Heero took a step over to them, taking a sip of the drink Relena had brought him. Through the corner of his eye he saw Relena and Noin move off a little, talking and laughing. “When did this start?” It hadn't occurred to him before now to ask.

The braided man glanced down at his wrist watch, “'Bout an hour ago. We had to set up of course. You being dead means more work for us.” “Which believe me, he didn't mind at all,” Hilde cut in, hugging her husband's arm, a bright smile on her face as her eyes flickered from Duo to Heero. “It's good to see you again. Duo told me about your gift, I have to thank you! It was amazing.”

“No problem…” he replied, feeling a little awkward. It seemed strange to be thanked for something so long after.

“Not just for the resort, but our son as well.” She smiled suggestively Duo's way, “Speaking of, have you shown Heero pictures?”

“What sort of father would I be if I hadn't?” Duo returned with a laugh, the name father sounding strange to Heero's ears.

“A forgetful one,” Heero answered for him, having no memory of Duo showing him any pictures.

“Huh…” Duo reached for his back pocket, “Could have sworn…”

“I hacked into your computer,” Heero admitted, unabashed. There had been a lot of pictures there.

“Perfect,” Duo beamed, “Why didn't you say something sooner?”

Heero raised an eyebrow, “Like what?”

“Maybe, `He's cute!' or `He looks just like you.' Hell, even just `Duo I hacked into your computer one afternoon when I was totally bored' you know, just so I'd know?” Hilde was laughing outrageously at that, and Heero just stared.

“You must be very proud…” he said after a few moments.

“Yep!” Duo chirped, “That'll do! And yes I am!”

“Will you boys excuse me?” Hilde asked then, eyes looking off towards Relena and Noin, now talking with Sally and Une.

“Sure babe,” Duo released her arm, and watched her go. “So they told you about the Warehouse,” the former pilot commented, turning back towards Heero.

“Last to find out,” he nodded, taking another sip of his drink, eyes scanning over the room.

“Been a while since I've been there. I'm looking forward to it,” he rubbed his hands together eagerly, “Going to be a little different with just Sally running it though…” Duo stroked his jaw, rubbing his hand along the edge. “Should turn out alright.”

The warehouse required many techs under normal circumstances but with pre-programmed scenarios one person could handle it. There were always variables that could be changed to make it as real as possible. “What about the Inner Circle?” Heero was curious to find out how in `the loop' he was.

“Une wants everyone in place and ready by the end of January, early February at the very latest,” Zechs supplied for Duo as he came to a stop beside them. “We don't want to alert the Inner Circle, so the largest gathering of agents won't be deployed until the mission is actually underway.”

Heero drew in a breath. In less than a month he could have this mission finally put behind him. It seemed impossible to believe after so long, but he was no less eager to get back out there. “What of Dante and Ash?” he asked then.

“Dante's planning on locking down the colony. No one in or out. They also want to pull in the men from the list we compiled and see if they can't get any direct information from them.” Zechs folded his arms across his chest and settled his weight back.

“I wouldn't count on anything from them…” Heero cautioned, knowing just how close-mouthed these men could be. “Wouldn't hurt to round up as many as we can, though.”

“Since it's probably going to boil down to a house by house search…” Duo didn't sound the least bit pleased about that, and for good reason. That was the most dangerous situation the agents could enter into, but they all knew the Inner Circle wasn't about to simply lay down arms and surrender. They were going to have to be hunted down every last one of them.

“Do we have enough agents for this?” There were a lot of agents in the Earth Defence Corp, but not all were field ready, and they'd have to be for this.

“We'll have enough,” a female voice replied, dropping in on the conversation. Une folded her arms across her chest. “But what are you doing discussing this? You're at a party; you're supposed to be having fun.”

“We are,” Duo quipped, “Our own special brand, wouldn't expect you to understand or appreciate.”

“Right.” She didn't sound convinced.

“Duo,” Hilde called, coming back over, “I love this song.” That was all she had to say; her husband automatically extended a hand to her and led her a few paces away.

Zechs moved off to where Noin was standing, and soon they too were dancing. Heero moved away, finishing the last of his drink before he placed it down on the table. It was then that he felt Relena's presence behind him as she reached out to take his arm, leaning herself lightly against him, “It's been a long time…” she whispered and he looked over his shoulder too see that her eyes were watching the two couples dancing. It was a quiet hint. Heero had danced with her before on many occasions, so why should he choose to hesitate now?

He didn't have an answer to that question. His cobalt eyes flickering around the room to see Trowa watching him for a brief moment before stepping over to where Une stood watching the dance floor. He offered his hand to her rather formally and quietly lead her out. A moment later Quatre did the same with Sally. With only Wufei and John watching it felt a little different for Heero, and he turned, taking Relena's hand to lead her away from the table to where they could dance. The movements felt odd to Heero. Confident, fluid, but odd.

Heero's movements stopped when the camera flash went off to his left. He turned in time to see John's hand slip out of view, a not so innocent smile on his old face. “Don't mind me,” he motioned—with his left hand, his empty left hand—for them to continue dancing.

Relena laughed softly, “Don't want proof that you were here?” she asked, laying her head on his shoulder as he slowly began dancing again.

“Hn…”

She smiled at him, her hand on the back of his neck pulling his lips to hers. Though he didn't see the flash Heero was convinced he caught the click of a camera gong off. “You're not shy are you?” she joked, kissing him again.

Shy? he wondered silently. “No,” he replied after a second.

“No?” Her fingers played in his hair, gently massaging the nape of his neck. “Excellent,” and she pulled him in for another kiss, longer this time. Deeper. They had all but stopped dancing now, Relena's attention too focused on her hands and his face to care what her feet were doing.

As the song finally came to a close Heero ended the kiss only to be met by a pout from Relena. Glancing up he saw Wufei leaning over John's shoulder, looking at the screen of the digital camera the old doctor had been attempting to hide. “Looks like you win the pot,” the Chinese pilot commented, onyx eyes flickering up to Heero and Relena, “You did put in, didn't you?”

“No, but if I hand you the money now I'll willingly accept whatever was in this pot,” John smiled, looking up from the camera.

“The hell?” Heero mumbled glaring darkly, hands itching to get a hold of that camera if they hadn't been holding Relena.

“Do you really want to know?” she chuckled softly, pulling him away.

“You wouldn't?” He was a little surprised by that.

Relena smiled, waving her hand dismissively. “People are always trying to take my picture. Do you have any idea what one of me can go for? And if I was caught kissing you? Believe me, John's probably not getting that much.”

The pilot's eyes narrowed. “That's not the point.”

“No? Well, would you be more willing to deal with it if you knew the picture was one I wanted too?” she asked sweetly.

He thought about that for a moment, cobalt eyes flickering over to where John continued to show off the picture and gain praise for his efforts. His eyes came back to rest on Relena, who was still patiently waiting for his answer. He knew he couldn't deny her anything she really wanted, but did that mean he wanted people documenting every part of his life? Especially those with Relena, not really…

“You're torn aren't you?” Relena asked as though reading his mind as she hugged him a little tighter. “I'm sure John will be happy with what he has right now, and no doubt won't feel the least bit relaxed until he has a dozen hardcopies of those hidden away where you can't find them.”

Heero's eyes narrowed a fraction. “He can't develop them while I'm still dead…”

She laughed, “Please let him be,” she pleaded, pouting a little as she turned him away from John and the others, “I want my copy, which a private printer can easily make.”

Repressing a sigh Heero's eyes searched the room for a quiet place they could slip off too while John continued to distract the others. He didn't know how many pictures the old doctor had taken, but so long as he wasn't taking any more, Heero didn't care. Taking Relena by the hand he walked towards a small side door, not caring where it lead so long as it could block out the eyes and camera flashes that this open room held. He felt Relena's hand tighten on his as she more than willingly followed behind him. She might have been more accustomed to being the center of attention, but she had never begrudged Heero his need for privacy. Heero doubted their absence would go unnoticed, but he also didn't expect anyone to follow.

Thanks for Reading

Are You Ready?:

Heero pressed his back tightly to the wall glancing around the corner without exposing himself, the dimly lit hallway was empty. With his gun in front of him he rounded the corner, he and Quatre slowly closing the distance on their target. The minute his entire body was around the bend a blinding light lit up before him. Pain ignited in his head at the sudden change and Heero immediately ducked back around the corner, biting back on the pain. “Fuck!” he cursed, mentally directing the word Sally's way, he knew it had been her.

“Not a problem for you?” her voice spoke softly into his ear, “I believe that's what you said…”

He glared daggers at the nearest camera, “It's not,” he hissed “Anyone would have pulled back from that.” There was a slight chance that sudden light had alerted one of the pilots, he couldn't stay here for long.

“Perhaps,” Sally returned “So what now?”

Heero sighed he was going to have to find another way around. His lips twitched up slightly as he moved towards one of the air ducts, if it did attract a pilot, it might just have made his job a little easier. “Quatre, what's your status?” he asked quietly.

“I'm in the northeast stairwell, what's happened?”

“Sally's been playing games,” he answered pulling himself into the air duct hearing a disconcerted snort from Sally. “We're going to have to make a slight change,” he pulled himself down the air duct his small former fitting easily within, he moved into a different cross section hiding himself away in case someone were to glance through the grating.

“What did you have in mind?” Quatre asked softly, he had come up wit the plan originally and if it hadn't been for Sally's games, it'd have worked too.

Heero pulled out his PDA, drawing up a schematic of the base again, “I'm just south of our target, this duct leads right into the room.”

“You want to hit it from there?”

“I have to do a little rewiring first,” his eyes sought out Quatre's location on the layout.

“Alright I'll pull back for now, let me know when you're ready,” he was too easily cornered in the stairwell.

“Understood,” Heero slipped the PDA away, knowing where he was headed. He moved back into the main part of the air duct making as little noise as possible.

Morganeth Taren'drel