A/N: Due to demand this went from a one shot to a short story.

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Gundam Wing.

Valentine's Day Part 2

Heero woke up covered in cold sweat and as he tried to control his breathing, instinctually he glanced to his left. The familiar figure of his wife, blissfully asleep, partially mellowed his uneasiness. Her serene expression promised everything was alright. Still, as he got up from bed and opened the door to the adjacent room, the cold spike in him wouldn't go away. Not until he checked if they were all okay.

He made no noise as he entered the dimly lit room, intricate shapes danced on the walls as their night light spun slowly. Heero breathed in relief as he looked over the crib to see his daughter and son, breathing and warmly covered in their blanket. The anxiousness that constricted his chest loosened.

He thought back to the dream, nightmare, which had woken him. They snared him without warning, faces blurred or all too clear, and the smells so pungent. He could go months without these plaguing episodes, it was when he was at the deepest part of sleep that they somehow managed to escape. Nonetheless, he learned to cope.

The crib rustled as Helena shifted, her eyes wide awake starring right back at his. The darkened room did not do her justice as he knew how bright her eyes could be. She made no semblance of returning to sleep and even though he shouldn't he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. At the start he worried that he would not be able to hold her properly, that he would harm her in some way.

Relena had quelled his fears. The warmth in her eyes and the absence of doubt in her voice as she let him know that he would be a good father was all he needed. As humans, there is no outline how to be a great parent, only the advice and examples left behind from previous or present parents. Even now as he held Helena he was not sure if he would be good enough for her.

Yet he was filled with a familiar wonder, as her small hand touched his calloused one. She did not know how many had fallen by his hands, how each light scar was inflicted, all his little girl knew were that these were his hands.

"Heero?"

He looked up and saw Relena at the door, her robe covering her night gown. "Did they cry?"

"No, I just came to check on them."

A look of understanding crossed her face as she stepped up next to him and Helena shifted her gaze to her mother. "She's growing so fast."

He silently agreed, as small as she was, her growth almost frightened him. Prior to Relena's pregnancy with Helena his only exposure to children were Duo's, since Wufei's and Trowa's families had come about through special circumstances and he felt like giving them their space. The braided Preventer was more than happy to bring his children along whenever he was in town. He remembered when Duo's daughter Mathilde went from being swaddled in a blanket to running around his living room. And it made him wonder how long it would be until Helena would grow to run that fast.

With his gentle rocking and Relena's gentle humming, Helena soon fell back to sleep. Heero placed her back next to Odin and tucked them in again. Silently, he and Relena left and as he shut the door to their room Relena placed a hand to his cheek. "Are you sure you're alright?"

He sighed, there was no point in hiding anything from her. "It was just another bad dream. I'll be fine."

The worried crease on her forehead didn't fade. She never pestered him to tell her what exactly he dreamed about, but she knew enough about his life that she could narrow it down to the causes. She followed him as he went down to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. As he filled his cup he felt cool air pool beneath his feet and over his shoulder he saw Relena scavenging for something in the fridge.

"What are you looking for?" he rested his glass on the kitchen island.

"Your present."

"Present?" Had he forgotten about something? Not her birthday, he knew that one since they met. Was their another holiday similar to Valentine's that she wanted to celebrate? His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as a bouquet of roses was thrusted to his face. Behind the brown and white roses his wife's eyes were a mix of apprehension and determination.

"Relena?"

"I was going to save this till morning but now is as good as ever. I know this is super late but Happy Belated Valentine's Day Heero," her lip lifted tenderly to a half smile. "It took me a while to make them, but I was finally able to do them right, I hope."

On closer inspection he saw the brown roses were not dyed in any way, they were chocolate, so were the white ones surrounded by some strawberries on sticks. The way the rose petals were detailed showed her hours of study and hard work. Now it made since why she had come home later than normal and why Pagan had tried to keep him away from the fridge.

"There's strawberries in the center of each rose." She plucked one out of the bouquet and gave it to him. "Let me know if you like it or not, if anything the strawberries should still be good."

Heero bit into the rose before she finished speaking. "It's good." He finished the rest.

A soft pink spread to Relena's cheeks. "Are you sure it wasn't too sweet? Don't spare my feeling now."

"No, seriously they're good." He grabbed another rose and split in half to share with her. She took his offer and her face lit up as she ate it. He smiled in return.

The majority of times the world saw Relena as confident, reliable, and unwavering in her work. They needed to see her like that, even if those were only the few qualities that he admired his wife for. Heero saw Relena at her most vulnerable state, the dark circles under her exhausted eyes, or the insecurity when something no longer fit. That's why, at any opportunity he had, he loved showing her how great she was in anything she did. And she did the same for him.

They spent the next half hour eating some of the roses, enjoying the silence in between small conversation. Before it became any later they stashed the roses away to save for later. Relena had to be up early and he knew the babies might be up earlier than that. Walking up the steps, from the corner of his eye, he could tell Relena was thinking about something as she chewed on her bottom lip.

"Heero?"

"Hm?"

"What do you think about taking a vacation?" she stopped as they reached their floor.

It wasn't the first time that it had crossed his mind, but it was more for Relena's health that he would have wanted it for. "Sure, when?" Hopefully it would be a month or two from now so he had time to contact Une about work leave.

Relena's eyebrows sprung up. "I didn't expect you to agree that quickly."

He arched a brow. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because of the planning now with the kids," Worried creases faintly fanned her forehead. "I mean we'd have to check if it would be alright for them to travel, they're still so young, there some places that would be perfectly fine for us but they could catch a cold, or get a sunburn, or—"

"Relena," he grabbed her shoulders. "Helena was born on a plane and Odin is a year old. They should be alright to travel."

"Yes but they could still get sick."

"They can get sick here too."

She sighed, and seeing the look of anxiousness that remained Heero wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted a hand to her cheek so she would look at him. "I'm worried too. I'm always worried. But you need a break."

"With my luck they might get kidnapped." She mumbled.

"That's why I'm here for isn't it?" he smirked. She poked his side.

"Not funny, you need rest too." Sympathy swelled in her eyes, "I still wish I could be home more to help with them."

"You do plenty as it is." He rebuked.

"Yes but I mean that I would like to spend more time with all of you."

"Even more reason to go to that vacation then." A thought began to take root, "If it makes you more comfortable, I'll see about inviting some of the others."

"Others? You mean Duo and Hilde?"

"Last I checked Quatre should take a break too, and Trowa, and Chang." And where they went, so would their families.

Her eyes brightened rivaling the sun, "That sounds wonderful!"

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "I'll see to it in the morning. Now back to bed."

She caught him off guard as she gave him a quick kiss. "Are you really sleepy?"

Heero knew better than to look her in the eye at that moment, instead he lifted her and carried her back into the room. "The last thing we need is to add another member to the family."

Relena giggled, "Is what he says now," she kissed his cheek.

A/N: Forgive me for the delay! This one was a little longer than what I intended, and if I don't post it now I know I won't be able to on Fun Day Sunday because I'll be busy. Thank you for your continued support! I might post more one shots/short stories just to give more love to this lovely community!