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;)
****
To Dance Beneath the Diamond Sky
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"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
****
"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."
****
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.
****
To Be Continued