Heero's Angel

Ch. 5

By Nena Keller

He came to some time later, awakening to someone running their fingers along the underside of his wrist in that lazy way people do when they've done it so long, they don't realize they're doing it anymore. He forced himself to focus as he tried to recall what had happened, distorted images of Relena running away from him, hair flying wildly in the humid air, and then nothing but hot gravel between his teeth, shoved up his nose…everywhere. Reaching up, he touched his face, expecting to find gauze and tape. Instead he just felt skin.

"It's been two weeks."

He opened his eyes, blinking against the harsh white of the fluorescent lighting. Relena sat next to his bed, looking like she hadn't slept much. He pulled his hand away, taking in a deep breath and shuddering as he let it out.

"The doctors say you're fine now. You can leave anytime you want to. They don't feel there's any risk anymore."

"The grave is lazy. It takes our bodies slow." He said, a sardonic grin playing over his face, baring his teeth at her in a way that reminded her of a horse biting down on a bridle. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, then paused and took note of the fact that she didn't react to him, her arms crossed and a blank stare on her face. He shifted his legs to the side of his bed and began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Okay, Relena, what's wrong with y…"

The next thing he knew, his back was pressed against the wall and she was digging her fingers through his hair, crushing her lips against his. He looked up in shock and watched her as she kissed him, reaching down and ripping his buttons off.

"What…"

"I've decided it's not worth it." She breathed out as she pulled her mouth away from his, all the while working her way down his buttons.

"I've decided that living a life of sacrifice isn't worth it. What's the point of always praying and giving things up in your life if nothing ever changes."

She paused and looked at him, then slowly leaned over and pressed her lips along his bare shoulders, working her way up his neck. When she reached his ear and blew softly, he shuddered and gripped her arms.

"What are you trying to do to me?" he said softly, staring into her eyes. When she looked at him, her expression changed from one of desire to one of horror at her own actions. She jumped off of his hospital bed and backed up against the wall, running her hands through her hair nervously. He sat stunned on the hospital bed, staring her down. He refused to look away until she finally made eye contact.

As she opened her mouth to speak, the door opened and Duo walked in. He smiled as he saw Heero and walked up to him and slapped him on the back.

"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite hero. You finally woke up! Geez, man, you've been out of it for like…forever. You had everybody worried sick dude. We thought about pulling the plug and everything. Okay, so maybe you didn't need a plug, but we did think about taking all of your stuff. Like the friggin mansion you've got out by that lake. And your sniper rifle. We thought about burning your collection of green tank tops though. Seriously…"

All the while Duo was rambling, Heero's eyes were burning into Relena's. She had enticed him and he was wondering what it had all meant. And why in the world he had pushed her away. Duo followed Heero's gaze and turned to look. When he saw Relena, his expression darkened slightly.

"Hey, Rel. Didn't realize you were in here. Do you two want some time?"

"We don't need any time." Heero said, jumping off the bed and tossing his shirt to the side. "I'm leaving. I've been in this hospital for way too long, and I've been inactive for even longer. It's time for me to get back to work."

With that, he walked out the door, and didn't look back.

PREVENTER HEADQUARTERS

One Month Later

"Yuy. We need a status update on the Vice Foreign Minister. Is everything on schedule?"

Heero looked down at his watch and mumbled something into his earpiece, straightening his tie. He was dressed for a white tie event, uncomfortable with the amount of people crowded in the giant auditorium. Tonight was the anniversary of five years of peace, and Relena was the guest speaker. 2000 per plate, the banquet hall was to his left, and would be where he would retreat once Relena had finished her speech. Tonight was a big deal, and every Preventer in the building was checking and rechecking their every charge throughout the evening.

He hadn't spoken to Relena since the hospital, and she refused to make eye contact with him in the office. In fact, she had requested a new bodyguard. He hadn't minded at first, because being away from her kept his mind from jumping back to that moment he felt her hot breath against his ear, and having to immediately go take a cold shower. But then she started getting these death threats that began to worry him, and when he would try to get information from Une she would tell him to mind his own business, and then roughly remind him that Relena was no longer his responsibility. He had to practically beg Duo to take his position tonight just to be in the same room with her.

Something had taken hold of her that day in the hospital, some side of her that he knew was there but never quite experienced for himself. It was like a part of her had awakened, a part of her that she had saved just for him. Except he felt that she may have awakened it a little too early for both of them. Or maybe he had awakened it without realizing it.

He shook his head, and for probably the hundredth time that night, scanned the massive crowd that had filed in, glasses clinking together and women taking usher's arms as they were led down the red carpet to their designated seating. To the left side of the stage there was an assigned booth for the mass business conglomerates. Quatre was sitting there tonight, along with three others, two of whom were colonial activists, and the other an independent business owner who had made a fortune during the wars selling ammunition. His name was Duke Langston, and he was now one of the leading pacifists within the Earth Sphere Unified Nations. He sponsored free clinics within the colonies for children of war who were trained from birth to fight. Clinics that were used to help bring what they could of their humanity back.

"Yuy. It's time. Please escort."

He turned to the side and opened the golden-lined doors, awaiting a massive crowd of media and cameras to be on the other side. But it was only her. She was in a mint colored dress trimmed in some kind of ivory satin, her hair pulled back with ringlets of gold spiraling down her face onto her bare shoulders. She was looking down at her gloved hands, twisting her papers in a nervous habit, when she looked up at him. Her deep blue eyes sparkled up at him, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He held out his arm to her, and she took it shakily, walking through the double doors. A blinding flash of lights followed, and she gripped his arm, her hands shaking. He turned to her and gave her a questioning look, and they paused mid-stride.

"I've got a bad feeling."

He grinned at her and then squeezed her hand. To him, it felt like she was the only person in the room.

"You look lovely tonight," he said, turning her so that she could see the crowd, "and these people love and trust you. You can do anything. Don't believe any different."

She smiled up at him, white against the faint pink of her lips, and began to walk forward, but then paused again.

"Heero…about before. At the hospital…"

He tensed slightly, giving her a warning gaze.

"Just forget about it." He said, pulling her along with him towards the crowd. "That doesn't matter now." She paused and bit her lip, looking just as confused as ever. It was only when they had reached the podium and he was helping her up the stares that she realized he had let go of her hand, and as she reached the last step and he pulled away to disappear in the crowd, she caught the look of restrained desire in his eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, we have been called together to watch the last of the dying embers of war burn out. We have come together to open our mouths and breathe in deeply for the first time in a century full of pain and war and blood and shame, without fear of what the future may bring. We are strong. We are a people of determination, fervor, passion, and love. And yes, a people of war. A people of regret. I don't believe that anyone, myself included, can honestly answer that they don't regret things they've done in their past. These wars we bring on ourselves, the way we hate each other as if we have no choice…those of us who were forced into fighting from birth, not knowing anything else…this is your time. This is your redemption. Forget about your past. Forget about the things that you have done wrong. If there is one thing I've learned in my life, it's that everyone deserves second chances. Some of us will judge you. Some of us will judge ourselves. But remember, we are in this together. Work, strive, believe in peace. It has believed in you all this time. I believe in you. We can do this…"

Heero noted the way her mouth moved as she spoke. The way every person's attention was focused on her and the words falling from her mouth. No one else noticed the way her fingers tugged the glimmering bracelet on her wrist out of nervous habit, or how her legs shook slightly behind the podium. It wasn't like her to be so nervous.

He scanned the crowds once more and detected no threat, but as he turned to his left he stopped short in his tracks as he heard the slight click of the safety of a gun next to his ear.

"Mr. Yuy. Please do not attempt any attempt of escape at this point, because it will result in the immediate disposal of that darling young woman speaking a few feet from you. There are four sticks of dynamite beneath that podium along with 9 snipers in the audience. As for your fellow co-workers…well, they've been incapacitated for the moment."

He ground his teeth, but could only stand still as the person behind him jammed something metal into his hands.

"Cuff yourself."

As he began sliding the handcuffs up his wrists, he looked up at Relena. Sensing his gaze, she turned to him and smiled. He cursed under his breath that she couldn't see the man hidden behind him beneath the thick red curtain, and then glared at her. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion and she subconsciously took a step back toward him. The man behind him dug the gun into his back as she moved towards him, and growled underneath his breath. He turned back to Relena and shook his head at her, his eyes big as saucers. She paused and looked at him, then once again resumed her speech.

The man behind him pulled him back beneath the curtain, away from the light. He couldn't see anything as several hands roughly brought him down to his knees, shoes scraping against the floor and heavy breathing his only indication that he was, in fact, being apprehended. Pain shot through his abdomen as someone kicked him in the stomach, and he doubled over. At the same time two rough hands reached around his face and gagged him, the cloth dry in his throat. His head was pulled back roughly as someone grabbed his hair, and then a needle was jammed into his neck. All hands released him at that point and he fell to the ground. Angry, he hefted himself back up and made a run for the door, but only made it a couple of steps before he lost feeling. He fell to the floor numbly aware that he could no longer control his limbs. In the back of his mind, he heard the crowd outside roaring loudly. His eyelids fluttered as the same voice from outside curtain spoke into his ear, gripping his chin and forcing his face in the man's direction.

"Did you honestly think that everything that has happened to you over the past few months was just circumstance? That you could just end this war with no consequence for your actions, Mr. Yuy?"

The men began dragging him backwards outside the auditorium. The parking lot was empty in this area, save for a white catering van. The doors were slid open and Heero could see the men in position inside. He heard the auditorium doors opening with a slight creek, and the three men handling him suddenly dropped him two steps away from the van and jolted behind it. He fell to the ground and hit his head so hard on the pavement that his vision blurred, and he was left sprawled out. He turned on his side and brought his knees up.

Suddenly, he heard her frantic voice. His eyes shot open and he sat straight up. Relena was running towards him, her eyes wide open. He shook his head frantically at her, screaming at her beneath the gags. She ignored his protests and continued running. When she reached him, she moved to touch him, but he kicked her hands away. He made desperate noises to get her to go away, but it was too late. As the medicine coursed through his system, his vision clouded as he watched as the men jumped from behind the van and grabbed Relena and threw her into the van behind him, her screaming his name.