Disclaimer: No, Gundam Wing does not belong to me and never will. I merely used the characters to create this.

Enjoy!

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Click. The sound of a key turning in a lock was heard. The front door opened; in stepped a slim girl in a business suit with a stack of folders in her arms. She sighed tiredly; the apartment was dark except for the bright shine of the streetlights. The girl walked into the kitchen where she set the folders down carefully. She let her jacket slip off and onto a chair; next to the chair she set her shoes. Her feet ached from walking for twelve hours in those things.

Relena stretched. She didn't turn on any lights or even pull the curtains open to see the buzz of nightly traffic. She was too tired. The silence was broken when a familiar bong was heard. Relena glanced at the clock across from the kitchen; it was 10 PM. She decided to go her room; a full day of work was waiting for her in the morning.

She padded through the hallway into her own room. Not a sound could be heard. She let her hair down from the ponytail. She took off her jewelry and tucked it into its box sitting on the armoire, a pretty, spacious thing she had gotten for her birthday. Next to the jewelry box were various pictures, trinkets and a large mirror. She gave a half-smile when she saw the photos; most of friends and family. There was one with Duo, his face covered in ice cream, grinning and hugging a laughing Hilde. The second picture was Quatra, Trowa and Wufei, just walking and talking, Quatra the only one really smiling. The last two were of Noine and Sequs and Lady Une, and the fourth was Heero and Relena dancing. Relena didn't notice the shadow behind her.

Relena just had a hold on her brush when a strong hand grabbed her wrist. Someone spun her around, making the brush in her hand fly far. Eyes wide with fright and surprise, she felt another hand wrap her around her other wrist, forcing them above her head. Her body went rigid against the hard wood of the armoire, her hands and arms pinned to its surface. Her back arched. She could just barely make out the person's features... she would have screamed or at least given a yelp had she not been so stunned when she finally found who the person holding her prisoner in her own apartment was...

"Heero??" She sputtered. Dark, cobalt eyes stared into hers. His face, mostly shadowed by his spiky bangs, slowly came closer. He didn't say anything. His grip on her wrists and arms remained.

Heero moved even closer to Relena so that their noses touched. Tentatively, he kissed her. A simple kiss on the lips, but it gave Relena more reason to remain silent.

She still had her wrists pinned to the armoire, her back and shoulder blades pressing against the wood. Head leaned against the armoire, she watched as Heero pulled back. He didn't seem to think that staring at her was unusual at all; on the contrary, he seemed to slightly enjoy watching the different expressions of shock and surprise change on his prisoner's face. Watching from close range seemed to amuse him even more.

His grip on her wrists didn't change. Relena found it unnerving the way he was boring into her eyes, as if trying to see the back of her mind. The curtains swayed, darkening the room even more. She couldn't make out his features anymore. All she saw was the outline of his face and bangs.

She could tell that he was wearing that green tank top, though. How old was it? Relena found herself wondering about that.

It was winter, so he was probably wearing jeans instead of biking shorts.

Relena bit her lip; her back hurt from being pressed into the uncomfortable position. She squirmed, twisting her shoulders so her upper back could lean against the armoire. Again she stared at Heero, who returned the stare willingly.

He bent forward till their noses touched. But he didn't move a single millimeter more. Relena felt his bangs brush up against her forehead. A puff of warm breath blew onto her cheeks.

"That tickled." She whispered. Heero withdrew himself a little. He even eased his hands' grip on her, and lowered her wrists till they were to the sides of her head.

"Now what?" It was the first thing he had said the whole time. Relena rolled her shoulders.

"Could you let go?" Her voice was small. It was a good thing Heero had been so close, or he wouldn't have heard it. But Relena's question seemed to highly amuse him.

"Why?" He asked in the same hushed tone Relena had used. Relena's face took on a perplexed expression.

"Please? " She asked, still very quietly. He lowered her hands even more. Now, they were parallel with her shoulders. He seemed to have forgotten how uncomfortable that position was, and Relena's shoulder joints began to hum with a tiny pain.

"I don't know if I should." He murmured.

"My wrists feel numb."

"I need a better reason."

"My back hurts."

"Really." Silence.

"Why won't you let go? Give me a reason." Relena asked quietly.

"Because."

"I need a solid reason."

"I don't want to." Relena raised her eyebrows at that remark.

"Oh really?" Heero, after a moment's consideration, freed her wrists from his fingers. At the same time, he pushed himself away. He stood only a few feet away from Relena, who didn't move.

"Heero..." She didn't know what to begin with. Heero moved away from her, toward the window. Standing so close to it that the curtains brushed his pant leg, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

Making sure not to make much noise, she crossed the room to where he was standing, near the window. Pushing the curtains back a little, she gazed outside at the bright light of the city.

"May I know how you got in?" The curtain fell back in place and Heero looked up at her.

"Through the door." He told her after a long pause. She nodded.

"I see." Heero turned from her, as much a shadow as before. "I'll be right back."

Relena turned to walk away, but looked over her shoulder at him just once. Why he came back was a question she would have to pursue, for curiosity's sake.

"Heero?" He didn't move but she knew he was listening. "Don't leave just yet. Please?" With that, she trotted to the bathroom, where she could change out of the stiff skirt and blouse into something less business-like.

Once the door was safely closed and locked behind her did Relena find how shaken she was by the unexpected visit. Not caring how long she took, she stripped out of her clothes, hung them on the doorknob and turned on the shower.

Stepping in, she hastily washed up. She scrubbed her hair thoroughly with shampoo while lukewarm water rained down, rinsed, and repeated the process. But no feeling of calm came, as the usual treatment of a shower did. Feeling suddenly unsafe, insecure, even vulnerable, Relena stepped out and took a towel down from the rack to dry herself off with.

About that time she realized that she hadn't brought any other clothes besides what she wore that day with her. Worry lines appeared in her forehead; she certainly couldn't go out naked, or even wrapped in a towel. It was bad enough that she felt the way she did at the moment. Of all people to feel anxious towards, Heero shouldn't have been one of them. He was the one person she trusted, a trust that had formed precariously through the many months she had, on and off, seen and been with him.

Opening the door a little, she made sure that no one could see any of her.

"Heero?" She called quietly. Something shifted out there; she sensed that he was a little uncomfortable. "Could you get me some clothes?." Pause, more shifting. Closing the door again, Relena knew he had done as she had asked him to.

She towel-dried her hair quickly, keeping near the door. Steam from the shower clouded the mirror and made the air heavier; in a way, not seeing anything but a vague shape in the mirror made her feel invisible. When the doorknob twisted she gave a start.

Calming down, she reached her hand through a crack of the door.

"Thank you." She murmured, shutting the door. Dropping the towel to the tiled floor, Relena sorted through what Heero had handed her. A deep blush grew on her face, reaching the roots of her bangs. She bit her lip, hard. He had found and given her underwear, as well. The feeling that it gave her was tingling, unnatural; it was embarrassment. Swallowing back any thoughts that might interfere with her getting out of the bathroom, she dressed herself.

Turning the light off from the bathroom, it took a few moments of blinking to get her eyes accustomed to the sudden darkness. By the window, in a chair, sat a huddled form; Heero. Why he had gathered himself into that chair, squeezed himself into it, made Relena curious. Even more than that, she felt a pang of worry. Feeling sure that he would've otherwise set himself against the wall, she hastily trotted to him.

Now that she could see better, she saw his head ducked, forehead leaning against his knees. He was wearing his jeans, she noticed absently. Stooping down to his height, eyes searching and puzzled, she reached out with a hand to touch his shoulder.

The lightest, most feathery touch and he jerked away. His head flew up, and Relena pulled her hand back a bit. But when he didn't move, Relena tried again, this time with some success. He let her hand stay on his shoulder.

"Heero...?" The tone in her voice was a pure feeling she could only present him with when no words were needed. She didn't know what to say, so she didn't. Telling wouldn't do, showing would have to.

Suddenly, he crumbled, shattered like glass, and fell from the chair against her. Surprise and wonder flew through her mind, and she dimly remembered the last time he had fallen like this. His head sought out her shoulder, and his whole weight leaned into her. Relena put an arm around his shoulders, hugging his body closer. Showing, not telling. The other hand went to his forehead. He sat huddled into her now, almost sitting in her lap.

Delicately, she pushed back his bangs, her cool fingers stroking his skin. No shuddering or quivering. Relena didn't feel the slightest tremor of movement. His arms, before lying on the floor, circled her waist. Another surprise for Relena, even though the hold of his arms was very loose. She hadn't thought he'd ever allow himself intimacy of any sort, but the weight against her shoulder pulled her lips into a small, wondering smile.

With one thought she realized why this wasn't alarming her more than if it had happened before. The feeling of someone accepting another, welcoming them with an embrace, this was what it was. Heero needed reassurance but didn't know how to get a hold of it. For some reason, he had come to her; she was giving him that. Knowing what had happened secured Relena's heart and mind and she gave herself over, continuously stroking his forehead and keeping her arm around his shoulder.

Even to her, it was soothing. She didn't know how much time passed before there was a little pull and the arms around her waist disappeared. Heero, his head still bowed, inched away from her, the shadows and lights playing over his features as he scootched past the window.

"I'm sorry." Relena's eyes widened.

"What for?" Heero's head bowed even further, his arms crossed over his stomach, his whole upper body bent over.

"I killed." He muttered hoaresly, deadpan, eyes staring at the floorboards. Relena's eyebrows pulled up slightly. "I broke a vow, and I killed."

A quick examination of his person made her think that he didn't have a gun with him, that he hadn't been close since there was no blood on him, that he hadn't gotten into a fight, and, most importantly, it may have been a complete accident. Heero didn't feel this strongly about things he committed purposefully; it was the things he did that caused others to occur that created such a disharmony in his mind. She put her arms around herself, waiting for more.

Heero sat up, raised his head. His eyes found hers, and held them there.

"Can you forgive me?" Relena found her breath, filled her lungs with air quietly. She thought this over, all the while trying to find out more information from Heero's expression. Pained, but still more than emotionless; not very helpful. Relena wondered how this could affect him so much; he had never needed someone's forgiveness before, in battle, fighting. Maybe this had to do with how much he had wanted to stop the killing, even if it meant the end of him. After, he had given an oath that he would never kill again.

Yet he had killed again, somehow, in some shape or form. This time, he couldn't forgive himself, almost as much as he could forgive himself for failing a mission. That hated word: 'mission.' This time, he needed someone to forgive him, to ensure his self. Someone who, in his mind, was able to forgive such horrid acts. Relena keenly sensed that this was it.

"Heero, I forgive you." She whispered, the silence pressing down on her, making her feel as if she couldn't say more. Asking about what had happened would only be prying, even tearing at him; she would never do that. But she meant what she said entirely, her sincerity shining through the words with the emotion in them.

Heero's expression didn't change except that the pain mellowed, becoming something else. She had hoped it was enough, her forgiving him. It was all she could give him at the moment.

With a nod, he stood up. Relena, startled by the sudden action, struggled onto her feet, too. He still held her eyes with his. Her arms settled against her sides as she waited.

With three quick steps he had reached her; another brought him much closer. Relena didn't mind the wait; she smiled a little. The dark blue of his eyes was visible again, now that he was so close to her.

Bringing a hand up to her face, he stroked her cheek. Relena, unknowingly, leaned into this little touch. It was soft and kind, something no one would have thought calloused hands could do. Another, even simpler touch that brought what she had given twice over.

Relena knew this was a thank you, and she gave him a small smile.

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Thank you so much, Sagittarius Girl, for 'beta reading this, I am ever thankful for that. Please review!!