Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ When the Heart Overrules... ❯ Pretenses and Betrayal ( Chapter 4 )

When the Heart Overrules…

By Tygerlilee

Chapter Four

Pretenses and Betrayal

*Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing and never will. I don't pretend to and I can't afford to defend myself in court, so don't sue. It's not nice.

/ denotes thought

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Heero woke up to begin his now well-established routine. He had been living in this hotel room for two weeks now. Get up, get dressed, get breakfast, go to the airfield, ignore the stares and glares, glean as much information off of the workers as possible, have lunch, go back to the field, go to his hotel room, get changed for dinner with Relena, investigate on his own with what he had found, and repeat the process again. That was life.

Heero and Relena were now seeing each other as much as possible. He had always respected her. As a teenager, he had been very uncertain if what he felt for her was puppy dog love, a need to protect something, or the real thing. Now, he was pretty sure that it was real.

To most people, such as those at the Marseille Regional Airport, he appeared calm, cool, and in control. He kept his facade blank to protect himself. Very few people ever penetrated into his heart. Very few ever saw the sad look in his eyes as he watched young children playing. However, he was not mourning a lost childhood, but rather remembering the father figure long dead. Odin Lowe may have been an assassin, but he had also been a kind man. Yes, he had trained him to be a killer, but he had also loved him and taught him the lessons of life. The most important thing that Heero learned from him though, was to act on his emotions. That was the only way to live and not regret anything, Odin had told him.

When Heero was eight, Odin was murdered. Heero never found out who the culprit was. All Heero could remember of that time was the pain he felt, the emptiness inside--and his aimless wondering. At eight years old, where did he have to go? What did he have to do? He was merely a child with no past, present, or future. Odin had been his father and family and guide, and he had gone.

That was when Dr. J had found him, or rather, Heero had stumbled upon Dr. J, and he had been offered a Gundam. Heero acted on his emotions, and said yes. He was lost, and piloting a Gundam gave him a purpose and a place.

Everyone makes at least one life changing decision--for Heero, it was that one simple 'yes.' From that point on, he regained a purpose and a reason to live. Lives were saved because of that decision, but many were lost, too.

/How many times must I kill that girl and her dog, / Heero wondered so many times. His mind would wander aimlessly round and round in circles. He was lost and floundering. His one decision had meant so much to so many people.

Not many understood that he had a quiet, meek, almost pliable nature underlying his cold, experience beaten callused exterior. As a child he had gleaned as much knowledge as he possibly could from those around him, and he still did. He was a virtual sponge, absorbing everything. Now, he was a man and had his own opinions--that was the only difference between his childhood self and his adult self. Heero was strong and firm now.

Duo understood him fairly well. He was his closest friend. But Relena understood him best having made similar decisions in her own life. He loved her for that, and she understood his love.

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When Heero entered the airfield that morning, he stopped just outside the break room to take several reports out of their plastic hanger, only to over hear several mechanics talking in rapid French-French that Heero could understand.

"That Jap's got the bosses nervous. They say he may just may figure this out," one man spewed excitedly.

"Ya right," said another in brisk slurred words. "There are three teams working on this--and the builders. Everyone has stopped their personal projects to work on this mess, especially to keep the press out. All are absolutely clueless. And they're purposely hiding their results and dodging his questions. No way is HE gonna' figure this one out."

"No kidding. It's one gigantic game of dodge ball from hell, and there is no way that one space college preppy boy is going to figure this one out all by his dear little lonesome self," a husky girl's voice joined in.

"Hey, get back to work!" the supervisor called. The three who had been previously talking, grumbled under their breath as they sauntered back to the aircraft.

Heero allowed himself a rare smile in the privacy of the back hallways.

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"Heero," Relena cheerfully greeted him at their usual lunch spot. "How's the detective business going?"

Heero glanced at her and grunted.

"I see," Relena smiled to herself. "I thought that you said you had it figured out?"

"I did, but I came across something that didn't fit," Heero told her.

"Well, don't break any laws, Heero. It's not that important." Heero had told Relena about how he had been hired, regardless of his shaky background. Any wrong move could finish his quiet, hard-earned life. He was walking on a thin line.

Relena jumped as two strong hands pressed down on her shoulders. "Relena, I heard you were here and was hoping I'd see you!" Dominique D'Adamo said cheerfully, shooting a suspicious look at Heero.

Relena turned to greet him. "Dominique! How wonderful to see you!" she said nervously as he kissed her cheek. "Heero, I want you to meet my fiancé..." her voice trailed off as she looked at Heero's stony expression and remembered their nights out and friendly lunches, including the one they WERE having now.

"Don't bother introducing us, honey. Heero and I already know each other, don't we?" Dominique quickly filled in.

"You know..." Relena looked startled as she looked from face to face, expression to expression. She compared Heero's blank, stoic one to Dominique's overly friendly, plastered smile. She looked acutely uncomfortable.

"Oh, yes. We're working together on the NT-67 case," Dominique cheerfully clarified.

"Speaking of which, I better get back," Heero said quietly.

Relena looked confused and scared, like a frightened little girl caught with one hand in the cookie-jar and the other reaching for cake. "Heero! Wait! I..."

Heero interrupted her, "You probably want to be left with your fiancé, so I will leave quickly."

"Heero, I need to explain," Relena pleaded.

"We have nothing to talk about right here and now," Heero emphasized the words 'here and now' slightly, and walked off.

Dominique stood quietly by Relena, a smirk firmly in place.

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In the hangar, Heero was working with the mechanics. One thing everyone learned quickly about Heero was that he had no fear of getting dirty and he never showed any class or educational distinction in relations with others. He treated everyone the same way and never gave orders. He got in and did things himself, and he never relied on anyone else, nor anything. If he needed a tool or some such thing, and it was not available, he improvised-sometimes in very ingenious ways. And everyone respected him for that.

Dominique D'Adamo stood on the floor below all the workers who were dismantling a wing. "Mr. Yuy," he called up overpleasently, "I was wondering if we could have a word?"

Heero carefully put down the power screwdriver in his hand and jumped down. The two men walked into the break room just as several mechanics exited, leaving them alone.

"I want to get one thing straight, Mr. Yuy," he spat, all pretenses of friendship gone. "Relena and I are engaged. She is my girl and will be my wife. You," he paused for a moment, "stay away from her. You got that." M. D'Adamo glared down at Heero.

"I will do whatever makes her happiest, whatever is best for her," Heero told him. "Nothing else. I won't imprison her in any way and will not attempt to sway her in any way."

M. D'Adamo's eyes narrowed as he grabbed Heero's collar, picking up off the floor, and dragging him close. "You will keep away from her!" he gritted through clenched teeth.

Heero grabbed M. D'Adamo's fist and squeezed.

M. D'Adamo's eyes widened slightly and he quickly dropped Heero, who stayed on his feet. But Heero didn't let go of M. D'Adamo's fist. The man dropped to one knee, trying not to cry out in pain.

Heero finally let go.

M. D'Adamo fell on his rear end and cradled his fist, sucking back the pain for a moment. Then he looked up at Heero's emotionless face. "What..."

Heero just looked at him and left to work on the plane.

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A/N: Is it getting better and more focused?

Then glances downward to a little box at the bottom of the page and then grins as widely as she can. You know what to do...PLEASE!!!!!!