Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

Chapter 11

"Master Heero, are you all right in there?" Gregory asked, knocking on Heero's door. He frowned. It had been too quiet for too long. Something could be wrong. So he steeled his nerves, closed his eyes, and opened the door. No sudden shouting. Gregory looked around and saw Heero sitting on the window with the window open. Heero was leaning back and looking out with a distant look in his eyes.

"Master Heero, are you all right?" Gregory repeated, cautiously moving to Heero's side.

"Didn't I say I wanted no interruptions when I'm resting?" Heero said in a deadly tone, turning an equally deadly glare at the elder man.

"You did, sir, but it was so quiet that I became concerned," Gregory stuttered awkwardly. A look of panic crossed his wrinkled face, and his brow started to sweat.

Heero chuckled softly and turned his gaze back to the open window. "No need to panic, Gregory. I'm too worn out to do anything. Those men gave me quite a workout. See to them later."

"Yes, sir, but are you sure you're okay? I do have to report to Dr. J if anything is wrong," Gregory declared again cautiously.

"Drop the excuse, Gregory. I'm fine. I swear, you're like a mother hen sometimes," Heero said with a sigh.

"Well, Master Heero, I did promise your mother to look after you," Gregory reminded him. "God rests her soul."

Heero didn't reply. He continued to gaze out the window with the same distant look in his eyes. Silence settled between them with Gregory standing patiently near Heero. Then Heero sighed and pulled out a photograph from his pocket. He gazed at it for several moments before a small smile touched his face.

"Thinking about Miss Relena again, Master Heero?" Gregory asked all of a sudden. Heero's eyes darted quickly at the man before returning back to the photograph. "How is everything?"

"What makes you think I was thinking about her?" Heero questioned, brushing his fingers over the photo.

"Well, first of all the photo. You carry it everywhere you go. Second the look in your eyes. Mine may be worn out from age, but they know that look in yours. Seen it a million times," Gregory explained. "Need any advice from and I quote 'a mother hen'?"

Heero smiled and brushed his fingers over the photo again. At the dance, Hilde had taken a picture of him and Relena when they were sitting together outside on the bench. Relena had laid her head on his shoulders, and her eyes were closed with a contented smile on her face. He was surprised when Hilde handed him the photo. She had just smiled and left. He had been carrying it with him since that day.

"Is it possible to care for someone that you've known for only three months?" Heero asked softly. "Is it possible to...to love that person?"

"First things first, sir. You've know Miss Relena for eleven years not three months," Gregory said. "You must take that into consideration."

"I only followed her life for eleven years. I've known her for three months. So answer the question, Gregory," Heero demanded. "Or do you not have an answer for me?"

Gregory sighed heavily and thought for a while. He wondered which answer he should give. Then he decided and replied, "The two are possible, sir."

Heero frowned at him. "Anything else?"

"Sir, what were your feelings for Miss Relena before you met her and got to know her again?" questioned Gregory.

Heero thought about for a minute before he answered. "When we were young, I admired her determination to reclaim the Sank Kingdom. She was incredibly focused even if she didn't really have to do anything. I respected that about her. Then as we grew older, I continued to admire and respect her. I was surprised about the changes I saw in her. The shift in personality. She became so cold, so unfeeling, but somehow I knew that it was just a cover like mine's. Before we met again, I became determined to uncover the Relena that I knew was underneath that cold persona. I wanted her to the Relena that I had met so many years ago. Happy, smiling, carefree. The Relena that I was so fond of when I was young."

"You just answered your own question, Master Heero. You do care for her," Gregory declared with a bright smile.

"But do I love her? Everything has to work out as planned, or else I won't have a future. None of us will," Heero said fiercely.

"The answer to that question is in your heart, Master Heero. I can't answer it for you," Gregory replied this time with a sad smile.

Heero sighed heavily. "More importantly, Gregory is whether or not she will love me." He gazed at the photo again with sad eyes filled with a certain longing.

"That answer, sir, will be in her heart," Gregory answered softly.

A hour later, Heero was downstairs practicing in his private shooting range. Sounds of gunfire filled the air as Heero concentrated on the markers in front of him. With deadly accuracy, he hit each marker dead center. After using up quite a number of rounds, he took off the protective headgear and handed it along with his empty gun to his attendant. He picked up a towel and wiped his forehead when he saw Gregory coming.

"Excuse me, Master Heero. There is a phone call for you," Gregory declared and walked up to Heero with a vid-phone on a tray in one hand.

"Who is it?" asked Heero softly.

"Judging by the braid, I believe it's Mr. Maxwell," replied Gregory. "Will you be taking the call, sir?"

"Put him on."

Gregory switched on the vid-phone, and Duo's usual cheerful face appeared. "Hey, Heero, what's up?" he asked.

"The last time I checked it was the sun," Heero said dryly. "What do you want, Duo?"

"Well, we're going to have a little picnic at the park. Sort of a celebration for Trowa and his first place victory last night. You missed a great performance," Duo explained with a crooked grin. "Anyway we were hoping that you could join us. Maybe bring Relena along."

"I'll see what I can do. No guarantees though," Heero replied with a smirk.

"Hey, no problem. Join us if you can. It's at three by the pond," Duo smiled and hung up.

"Will you be joining them, sir?" Gregory asked, turning off the phone.

"I think I will, Gregory," Heero replied. He handed the towel to the attendant and started to walk back inside.

Later on he arrived at Relena's and was greeted by Pagan at the door. Then Pagan told him that Relena was in the music room. Heero made his way there and soon heard bars of music floating in the air. He quietly pushed open the door and gazed around. Sunlight filtered in through the large, curtained window, and in front of it was Relena playing on a piano. Her head was bow, and her fingers moved gracefully over the ivory keys. Heero leaned against the doorjamb and watched her play. After a few minutes she finished and looked up at him. There was a small smile on her face. Heero smiled back and moved to her side.

"Did you like it?" she asked, putting her hands in her lap.

Heero nodded. "It was beautiful. Want to hear something?"

Relena scooted over on the long bench. Heero sat down and brushed his fingers over the keys. He closed his eyes and then remembered a song he played a long time ago. He opened his eyes, and almost immediately, a soft melody filled the air. Relena closed her eyes, too and listened carefully.

As he played, a comfortable silence settled between them, and the soft music relaxed them. The song was soothing and yet haunting to Relena. There was something about it. Relena felt as if she heard it before. Somewhere a long time ago. She tried to remember as the music continued. An image started to form in her mind.

*Flashback*

Relena was standing with her parents and her brother with a big crowd surrounding them, smiling and laughing. Relena was holding onto her brother's hand. He was looking down at her with a soft smile on his face. He led her to a table where there were many beautifully wrapped presents and a cake with six candles on it. He lifted her up and placed onto a chair. She stared at the cake in front of her and blew out the candles. Everyone started clapping. Her parents came up behind her and gave her a kiss on both cheeks. Relena laughed, and then she heard the music in the background. It was so beautiful and calming, and she turned to see who was playing. She looked over at the piano and saw a boy about her age playing. She couldn't see who it was, but he had dark brown hair. Relena couldn't help but stared at him. He continued to play and then he slowly looked at her, but before she could see his face, the music stopped.

*End Flashback*

The music stopped, and Relena snapped back to the present. She stared straight ahead with wide eyes. Where did that image come from? "That song. Where did you learn it?" she asked softly.

Heero didn't look at her. He kept his eyes down and gently lowered the cover over the keys. It closed with a soft click. Then he replied, "I learned it when I was a boy. My mother taught me."

"Your mother? Where is she now?" asked Relena. She turned to look at him and thought for a moment she saw sadness in his eyes.

"All will be revealed in time. Until then you have trust me," Heero declared. Without looking up at her, he placed a hand over hers and gave it a little squeeze.

Relena smiled and sighed silently. "Of course. So, why are you here?" She stood up, breaking his hold on her.

"We've been invited to a little celebration courtesy of my friends. Trowa took first place at his competition yesterday, and they're throwing him a little party," Heero explained, following her out.

"I see," Relena said. She walked into the living room where she found Noin sitting among piles of papers. "Noin?"

Noin looked up with a bewildered appearance and saw Relena in the doorway. Her mouth curved into a smile. "Hello, Relena. Finished already?" Then she noticed Heero behind Relena, and her smile widened. "Well, hello to you, too, Heero. What brings you here today?"

Relena took a seat while Heero remained standing. "I was wondering if Relena could join me for the day," he said.

"May I ask where?" Noin questioned. Her gaze never faltered from his.

"A small party and perhaps a...movie later on," he replied, giving Relena a quick glance.

"So basically you want to take Relena on a date," Noin said with a smirk.

Heero looked at Relena and nodded. He watched in fascination as a blush slowly crept up onto her cheeks. Relena wasn't looking at him. Instead, she stared at her hands with a small smile on her face.

Noin also saw the blush. She smiled to herself. She was so happy for Relena. It was about time she went on a date. No matter what Zechs said it wasn't healthy for Relena to be cooped up all the time. "Well, I have no problem with it, but Zechs is another matter."

"I haven't seen him all morning. Where is he anyway?" Relena asked.

"He went in this morning and left me to do all this work by myself," Noin replied with a frown. But she replaced with the frown with a smile as she glanced at Heero. He was waiting patiently for an answer. "Now about your date. Why don't you two go ahead as long as you promise me you'll be extremely careful?"

"But what about Milliardo? I don't want you to get into trouble, Noin," Relena said with concern in her voice.

"Oh, don't worry about your brother. I can handle him. Now go on and get dressed and have some fun," Noin stated. "Just be careful. The Alliance can have surprise searches anytime."

Relena went over to Noin and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Noin." She smiled at her and quickly went upstairs.

Heero also thanked her, but then Noin turned a serious gaze at him. "I mean it, Heero. You have to be careful. We've gone too far to mess up now. Zechs expects to be home by the tenth anniversary. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Miss Noin," Heero said softly. She didn't say anything else and returned to her work. Heero understood all right. Everything had to work out.

Later on, Heero and Relena arrived at the park. The others were there already. Duo smiled to himself when he saw them. Somehow he knew they would come. The girls waved and greeted them with smiles. With Relena on his arm, Heero led them over to the picnic table.

"Hi, Relena! We're so happy that you could join us. I'm sure you have better things to do than hang out with us," Hilde said with a big smile.

"Not really," Relena replied, shaking her head.

Dorothy tugged Relena down next to her and Midii. "So Relena how is everything?"

"All right, I suppose," she said. She noticed Trowa sitting across from her. "Congratulations on your victory."

Trowa was startled by her voice. He wasn't expecting that. He blinked a few times before he answered. "Thank you."

"Okay, sandwiches anyone?" Hilde asked. She pulled out a few sandwiches out of the basket.

Duo immediately rushed to her side. "I'll take three." Then he yelped when Hilde yanked his braid. "What was that for?"

"I was talking to Relena. She is the guest," Hilde explained. She ignored Duo's puppy dog eyes and handed three sandwiches to Relena.

Everyone burst out laughing except Heero, Duo and Relena. She didn't understand why they were laughing. After they stopped, Hilde explained to Relena about Duo's huge appetite. She smiled then and glanced at Duo. He was looking forlorn even if he was pretending. Relena didn't know that, so she handed him two of her sandwiches.

"You can have these. I can't eat that much anyway," Relena said with a small smile.

Duo gave her a big smile. "You're an angel, Relena. Thank you." Then he stuck his tongue at the others. They started laughing again.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. Duo had challenged Heero to a basketball game, and Wufei and Quatre had joined in. Trowa stayed out. Duo had said that his height gave him an extra advantage. Trowa was taller than the rest of them. So the four of them played until the score was tied. Relena watched in fascination as they played. She had never seen a basketball game before.

It was six by the time the little party ended. Everyone left but Heero and Relena. They didn't ask why, but Duo did grin at them before he and Hilde left. However, that earned him another yank of his braid. Relena smiled after them as Duo cradled his poor braid in his hands. Heero and Relena slowly walked back to his car.

"They're very amusing your friends," Relena said when they were inside the car.

"A little too amusing sometimes," muttered Heero under his breath.

"Are we still going to a movie?" she asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Do you want to?" he asked back.

Relena didn't answer right away. She stared out of the window for a few moments before looking back at him. She smiled and nodded. Heero smiled back and headed for the movie theater.

* * * * * *

It was already eight by the time Zechs returned home, and he wasn't in a happy mood. In fact, he was infuriated. He stormed into his office where he surprised Noin. She jumped up from her seat when he came barging in.

"Zechs, don't do that! You scared the daylights out of me!" exclaimed Noin, placing a hand over her racing heart.

"Where are they?" he ground out. He slammed his hands onto the desk and glared at her.

Noin thought nervously on how he found out. Pagan! That worrywart! "Zechs, calm down. They'll be back soon. Heero will take care of her."

"He may be good, but not good enough when there is hundreds of Alliance soldiers searching for my sister right now," he growled.

"What?!"

Zechs threw a folder onto the desk. Several sheets of papers came out. One of them was a sketch of a girl. Noin picked it up and looked at it carefully. Suddenly she gasped! It was a computer drawing of Relena! It wasn't an exact likeness, but it was incredibly similar.

"Oh, no," Noin whispered with horror in her eyes.

"Where are they?" Zechs asked again this time a bit calmer.

"Heero said he was going to take Relena to a movie after they went to a party with friends," Noin replied. She sat back down with a big THUMP! "Oh, no, what I have done? I was so happy that Relena was finally having some fun in her life that I forgot to consider all the consequences." Normally, she was a calm person, but this time Noin started to cry.

Zechs moved to her side and wrapped his arms her. He didn't mean to upset her. He rocked her back and forth a little to soothe her. "It's going to be all right, Noin. I didn't mean to yell at you. I wasn't thinking straight. It's not your fault. You didn't know."

"What are you going to do?" Noin sniffed, pulling back to look up at him.

"I've already sent out my men to look for them, but the city is so big that it's going to take awhile before they find them," Zechs explained. He sighed heavily. "For now we just have to pray my men find them before they run into any soldiers."

Noin felt like crying again. She burrowed into his arms as a sob choked its way up her throat. It was her fault. She should have knew better than to let Relena go into the city for such a long period of time even if she was with Heero. Oh, she prayed they didn't run into any soldiers.

* * * * * *

The movie ended, and the people started leaving the theater. Alliance soldiers were already there, handing out the picture of Relena to them as they came out. Heero and Relena were among the last to come out. Many people ignored the drawing and threw it to the ground. One of them landed on Heero's feet. He picked it up, and his eyes widened. It couldn't be! Relena looked at the drawing and gasped. It was her face!

Heero crumbled the picture up and grabbed Relena's hand. He could see Alliance soldiers everywhere. "We have to get out here." He quickly searched around for another exit. He spotted one on the side. Still holding onto Relena, he weaved his way through the crowd to the exit. He pushed open the metal door.

"Heero, how did they get that?" Relena asked quietly. They were in the alley next to theater.

"I don't know." Heero looked down both ends of the alley and quickly headed toward one of them, pulling Relena with him. He stopped when he heard shouting.

"Hey, Marty, check that alley!" shouted a soldier.

"Sure," Marty shouted back.

Relena gasped out loud. Heero heard her and clasped a hand over her mouth. He pushed her up against the brick wall. Relena's eyes widened at the sudden movement. Heero placed a finger against his lips, telling her to be silent. He released his hand after she nodded. He thought frantically on how to get out this situation. They couldn't run to the other end of the alley. Heero knew that there would be soldiers there, too. He couldn't fight their way out. He knew Relena could, too, but they couldn't fight that many soldiers. Besides, there were also civilians everywhere. Heavy footsteps continued their way.

Relena could tell that Heero was thinking madly on a way to escape. She didn't show it, but she was incredibly frightened. She had never been this close to being caught. She looked up at him. He was staring down at her. What was he thinking? Relena closed her eyes and waited for him to tell her what to do.

Heero looked down at her. He could hear the footsteps drawing closer. He was running out of ideas and time. Suddenly he cupped her face in his hands, closed his eyes, and brought his lips down onto hers.

Relena's eyes shot opened at the sudden pressure on her lips, and she felt her whole body become rigid. It took a few seconds before it registered in her brain that Heero was kissing her. Then she felt her body relaxing as she wrapped her around his neck and kissed him back.

'So this is what heaven feels like,' Heero thought as he continued to kiss her. His heart was racing as he slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss. He heard Relena sigh against his mouth. Heero forgot all about the soldier as he slid his hands down to her waist and pulled her closer to him. Her arms tightened around his neck at the movement.

Marty stopped in front of the alley and looked around. All he saw was a boy and girl, making out. He shook his head and muttered, "Teenagers." He turned around and left, shouting that he didn't find anything.

Relena heard the soldier leaving and reluctantly pulled back. Her breathing was ragged as if she had just run up a hill. She rested her forehead against his shoulder as she tried to catch her breath. She couldn't believe what just happened. They stood there for a few minutes in silence.

Heero relaxed his hold on her. What the hell did he just do? He kissed her! What was he going to say? He tried to calm his racing heart. When he felt that he had his control back, he pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were trembling. Shoot, he must have scared her. "Relena..." he said hoarsely. She finally looked up at him, and his breath caught. She was beautiful!

"Heero, I think we should go back now," she whispered, her voice shaking.

He nodded in agreement. He released her and walked to the end of the alley. He looked around to make sure no one was there and then motioned to Relena. He felt a hand grabbed onto his, and he looked back in surprise. Relena was still shaking a little, but she smiled at him. He had to smile back. Together they went back to his car, making sure to avoid any soldiers. Luckily there weren't any, so Heero quickly drove them back to her house. He knew that he was in for it when they get back. Zechs wasn't going to be happy about this.

* * * * * *

Zechs wasn't happy all right. He was downright furious. Before he started shouting, he sent Relena to her room. She had started to protest, but the look on her brother's face made her stop. He wasn't about to let her have her way this time. She didn't want to leave Heero to face her brother's wrath by himself. Noin gently pulled her out of the office before the interrogation started.

"Did you get into trouble?" Relena asked quietly when they were in her room.

Noin shook her head. "Not much as Heero is going to be, I'm afraid." She hoped that Zechs won't be too hard on Heero.

Relena let out a choked cry and threw herself onto her bed. She burrowed her head in her pillow as the tears fell. She didn't know why she was crying. She couldn't even remember the last time she cried. "It's not fair, Noin. Milliardo is going to put all the blame on Heero even if it was partially my fault that we almost got caught."

"It's not your fault, Relena. It's mine. I shouldn't have let you go in the first place, but don't worry," Noin said. She sat down next to Relena and smoothed back her hair. "Your brother...well, I don't know what he'll do, but everything will be all right. You'll see."

"Milliardo won't forgive Heero for this. Nothing will be all right again," Relena said against her pillow, remembering the kiss. She continued to cry, still not knowing why she was.

Noin stayed by her side until Relena fell asleep. Then she went downstairs to find Zechs. The house was deadly silent and completely dark except for a light coming from his office. She quietly pushed opened the door and saw Zechs laying on the couch. His eyes were closed, but they opened when she came in.

"Zechs, is everything all right?" she asked cautiously. She slowly made her way to his side. He abruptly sat up and stared at her. "Zechs, you didn't do anything that you'll regret, did you? Like send Heero away? It'll break Relena's heart if you did."

"Is she asleep?" he asked quietly.

Noin nodded. "She cried, Zechs. In the five years that I've known her she never cried before until now. I didn't even know she could."

Zechs sighed. "Don't worry. I didn't send him away. I have other plans for him." Noin sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Did she really cry?" He felt her nod and sighed again sadly. "She really cares about him, doesn't she?" Noin nodded again. Zechs shook his head. How could he have let this happen? What was he going to do now? He was stuck between two options: break his promise to his father or break his sister's heart. How could he chose?

Relena woke up to a light tapping at her balcony doors. She got up and pushed aside the curtains. Standing on the balcony was Heero. She quickly opened the doors, but Heero didn't come in. She saw the serious look on his face and felt like crying again.

"Heero, what happened?" she asked quietly.

He stared at her and noticed her tear stained cheeks. Had she been crying? For him? He reached out and touched her cheek. His thumb brushed over her lips, and he remembered how it felt to kiss her.

"Heero..."

"Your brother gave me a mission," he finally said and dropped his hand.

"A mission? What is it?" she questioned.

"I can't tell you."

"Damn it, Heero! You will tell me. I'm tired of being left in the dark while you and Milliardo can parade around knowing everything," Relena exclaimed.

Heero smiled at her outburst. She certainly surprised him with that. "All I can tell you is that Zechs' plan is going to begin, and I have in a part in it. I was expecting it anyway. It's going to start at the end of May when we're done with school."

Relena sighed when he stopped. She wanted to know more, but she knew that Heero won't tell her. She didn't know what to do, so she moved closer to him and looked up. She felt something in her that she had never felt before until now. Relena leaned up and gently kissed him. She started to pulled back, but Heero cupped her face again and pulled her back. Something new emerged inside him, and he loved the feeling it gave him

So, they stood there kissing underneath the moonlight. Little did they know that someone was watching them, and when he couldn't stand it anymore, he left the room.

"Spying again, my love?" Noin asked with a small smirk when Zechs quietly closed the door.

"Just making sure nothing happens," he replied.

"Nothing's going to happen," said Noin.

Zechs couldn't help but let out a worried sigh. "I was also trying to decide something."

"Have you decided?"

Zechs shook his head. "I can't...yet."