Disclaimer: Oh, the same old, same old.

Author's Notes: A short chapter, but I hope a good one. The response to the last chapter...woah. Wow. It really made me happy to see that yall are into the story...and really, really adament about certain things;) All I can say is, I hope you keep reading no matter what happens, 'cause I promise to do my best to make it worth your while. Thank you!!

Dedication: For Rose, another online friend come to life;)

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To Dance Beneath the Diamond Sky
by Kristen Elizabeth

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"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love." -Jane Austen

"You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart." -Unknown

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"I feel so silly."

"Don't you dare." Millardo reached into his pants pocket for the keys to his apartment. "The doctor said himself that we were totally right to come right to the emergency room."

As he opened the front door, Lucrezia sighed and caressed her flat belly. "Yes, but all that fuss and drama just for a little intestinal virus? I thought I was....miscarrying or something."

"I know," he replied, pausing. "I was so scared, Lu."

She wound her arms around one of his, clinging to his side. "I don't think I realized how much I want this baby until I thought I was going to lose it."

Millardo kissed the soft top of her head. "Come on. You need fluids and sleep to get rid of this thing."

They entered the apartment together. It was quiet, but then the sun hadn't even started to show over the shortest buildings in the skyline. Most of the household wouldn't be up for several hours. The door to his mother's room was open a crack; as they passed by, Millardo peeked in.

Helen was passed out on her bed, snoring lightly. An empty highball glass lay next to her on the expensive comforter. Shaking his head, Millardo reached out and shut the door all the way.

Relena's bedroom door was closed, but he decided against peeking inside to check on his sister. She had gone to bail Heero Yuy out of jail the night before and he hadn't heard from her since. As much as it pained him to admit it, she was probably spending the night with him.

Lucrezia smiled up at him. "She probably is with Heero," she said, reading his mind as only she could. "And if so, bless them both."

"She's only eighteen," he scowled.

"And she's in love," Lucrezia reminded him. "Don't worry about Relena." Reaching their own bedroom, she went ahead of Millardo, still holding his hand. "She's smart and she can take care of herself."

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A mere few blocks away, warm beams of morning sun streaming through his window roused Heero out of a dreamless sleep. Even before his eyes opened, he rolled to his right, fully expecting to come up against the warmth of Relena's body.

But all his face pressed into was empty space. His eyes opened. The other pillow on his bed bore the impression of her head as though she had slept there, but the cold temperature of the sheets told him that she had left a long time ago. Heero rolled back over and let out a sigh.

She had left in the middle of the night again. It being the morning of what would be the most important day of their careers thus far, he could understand her reasons for going. Hopefully in the near future, she would stay the whole night. He had rather been looking forward to kissing a sleepy, rumpled Relena awake.

With a groan, Heero rolled out of bed and flexed his right hand. It was still sore, but nothing appeared broken or bruised. A good thing, considering that in twelve hours he would have to carry Relena around over his head.

After a long visit to his bathroom to finally get rid of the ink stains on the tips of his fingers, Heero wandered into the kitchen in search of breakfast. There was no point in going to school; he'd never be able to concentrate with the workshop looming over him all day.

He dug up some leftover pizza and popped it into the microwave. While it was warming, Heero reached for the phone and dialed her number. If he couldn't wake her up with kisses, he could at least do it with a phone call.

"Hello?" a small voice answered.

"Relena? It's me. Heero."

"Oh...Heero." There was a pause. "Hi."

"Hi," he repeated. "You left last night."

"Yeah..." She coughed. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I just...I miss you." The microwave beeped and he pulled open the little door to retrieve his breakfast. "How did you sleep last night?"

"How did I...?" On the other end, Relena forced a chuckle. "As well as can be expected."

"Are you nervous?" He frowned at his pizza; the edges had turned out harder than rocks.

She hesitated. "A little. I'm not going to class today. Just to warn you."

"I'm not either. Probably no one is." Heero took a bite and chewed for a moment. "We could spend the day together. Warming up. Or whatever."

"That sounds...really nice." It might have been his imagination, but her voice wavered as though she were fighting back tears. "But I think I'm going to stay here. Get some more sleep and try to stay calm. You know."

"Oh. Actually...that's okay. I think I need to see about a lawyer today, anyway." Heero set down the pizza slice. "Relena, are you all right? You sound so...sad."

"I'm not sad, Heero. I'm just...it was a long day yesterday. I think I'm still taking it all in."

"It was a weird day. But the night made up for it."

There was a pause. "I love you, Heero."

He blinked. "I love you, too, Relena." His throat stuck for a moment. "You have no idea...how much you've changed my life. I didn't even realize it until I woke up this morning. And I *needed* to see you. Needed to hear your voice. I can't explain it and I might even be crazy, but I think I'm supposed to feel this way forever."

"You're not crazy," Relena whispered. "I feel the same way. No matter what happens at this workshop...who gets in the company or whatever...I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I mean, it might not work out that way, but that's what I want. I just wanted....wanted you to know that. Because..." For the first time since the conversation had begun, he could hear the usual joy creep back into her voice. "I think we can do it now. Nothing is standing in our way. I've made sure of that."

Her words were cryptic, but Heero didn't linger on them. "I want that, too," he replied, honestly. "The way I see it, we're going to do so well tonight, that we'll be able to hand-pick any company in the world. And we'll just pick one together." He shook his head. The words were from his mouth, but only six months earlier, he would have sworn they could never have come from him. She had rocked his world in more ways than one.

"So," he continued. "Rest up. I'll see you at six at the theatre?"

"I'll be there. The one in the white feathers." After a moment, Relena laughed softly. "I'm not even nervous anymore, Heero."

He smiled, tossing the hard part of his breakfast into the trash can. "Neither am I. Bye, Relena."

"Bye," she said, just before the line went silent. Heero hung up the phone and with the smile lingering on his face, went to take a quick shower.

But in her room, Relena still held the receiver to her ear. Her hand trembled slightly when she finally set it back into its cradle. It lingered on the phone for a minute before dropping down to the object lying next to it on the lace cover of the night stand.

She picked up the chopping knife and ran a sharp eye up the clean, silver edge. Light reflected off the very tip; Relena smiled to herself.

****

Although he would have liked to have ordered room service and spent the morning in bed with Quatre, feeding him benigets and cafe au lait, Trowa tried to match his lover's enthusiasm as they took the elevator down through the Plaza at the ungodly hour of seven a.m. After reading every travel book he could get his hands on back in Paris, Quatre had gotten it into his mind that he wanted an authentic New York breakfast at least one of their days in the city.

And according to his books, there was only one place for that. Zabar's.

While the idea of smoked fish and cream cheese for breakfast didn't appeal to Trowa, he wasn't about to let Quatre down. When they stepped off the elevator into the Plaza's grand lobby holding hands, they started for the street entrance where they could catch a cab. It wouldn't take much English to communicate the word "Zabar's," Trowa figured.

Quatre's fingers squeezed his. "Look, love." With his free hand, he pointed to a small cluster of chairs in the far corner. "Is that...?" His handsome features darkened. "It is. It is him."

"Who, Little One?" Trowa followed the other boy's gaze, eventually settling onto a man seated facing them, reading a newspaper. Several pieces of luggage rested around his feet; he appeared to be waiting for a room. "Is it..."

"Jean-Paul," Quatre spit the words out of his mouth. "What is he doing here?"

Trowa shook his head. "I do not know. Perhaps Relena's brother asked him to leave."

"That could mean that our Relena was able to tell the horrible thing that happened to her." His lover's eyes shone. "Finally."

The taller boy said nothing. He didn't want to upset his boyfriend, but he had the strangest feeling that something much darker had prompted Jean-Paul to pack his things and move out of Millardo Peacecraft's apartment. When the older man across the room looked up from his paper to check the ornate clock mounted onto one wall, Trowa caught a brief glimpse of his eyes. Even from so far away, the look sent a chill down his spine.

They were the eyes of an animal who had been wounded, but after his wounds were licked and healed, would be back with a vengeance.

Trowa just hoped that whoever had struck against him hadn't let their guard down yet.

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To Be Continued