Disclaimer: Is this really even necessary anymore? I mean, I'm just saying....

Author's Notes: Dude...I have been literally *dying* to put this next chapter up. WARNING: Major lemon straight ahead. Steer for cleaner waters if that sort of thing turns your stomach.

Dedication: To Katie, one of the sweetest witches I know, for reading this entire story and laughing uproariously. Not to mention smacking the hell out of her boyfriend, Eric, for not being more like Heero and only just looking like him. You're the greatest, Katie.

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Two Can Play
by Kristen Elizabeth

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She stood on the snow lined steps of his apartment. Her shoulders shook, but she wasn't sure if it was anticipation or the weather. Mustering all her courage, she knocked.

A minute passed. For the entire sixty seconds, Relena held her breath. Towards the time her supply of oxygen began to run out, she became convinced that either she had made a huge mistake or Duo's sense of humor was beginning to border on cruel.

And then the door opened. The warmth from his apartment hit her, reminding her how cold she was. Her teeth chattered as she opened her mouth to speak. "You're here." She shuddered to think how fast he must have driven to arrive here before them.

"You're freezing." Heero's fingers were so hot against her cold, bare shoulder. "Where is your coat?"

"I didn't really have time to grab it." She crossed her arms over her chest.

Without another word, Heero pulled her inside. As he closed the door, Relena could hear Duo screech off down the street. She took a tentative step further into the hallway. Heero's apartment was like Wufei's inner feelings. She knew he had one, but she rarely saw it. Most of their time together was spent at the mansion or the limousine or the office. As she glanced around, she remembered that she really liked coming here.

But she was still freezing. Heero noticed and reached to embrace her. Instinctively, she pulled back. "Relena..." He let his arms drop. With nothing else to do with them, he stuck his hands in the pockets of his tuxedo pants. "Have I done something to frighten you?" She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Then, can I at least touch you?" She nodded.

Nothing felt more right than the starched cotton of Heero's shirt pressed against her cheek. Underneath it, she could hear his heart beat. A single tear danced down her nose. It felt as though it had been years since she had been in his arms.

He lost his fingers in the gold curls tumbling around her bare shoulders. Her perfume fogged his brain. It was all he could do to keep from crushing her lips to his. "So...", he began. "Where have you been for the past few days?"

Her eyes opened and she realized what she was doing. It took all her willpower to pull away from him. "I've been....busy."

Heero nodded. "Avoiding me."

"I was not avoiding you...much." Determined not to smile, she broke completely away from him and wandered into the living room. A small gasp of surprise escaped her lips.

The rooms Heero called home were small and clutter-free. The walls were white-washed with next to nothing adorning them. In fact, the only picture in the entire living room was a small, framed one of the two of them, taken the previous summer. She was reclining against his chest; his chin rested on her shoulder. Duo had snapped the picture when they weren't looking. Heero had seemed upset at the time, but judging by its prime spot in his living room, he hadn't been *that* upset.

But the picture wasn't what shocked Relena. In the corner of Heero's very minimalistic apartment was a very minimalistic Christmas tree. Clearly chosen by a man not used to picking out Christmas trees, it was on the scraggly side. Still, it filled the room with a lovely pine scent, as any good tree should. Heero had obviously taken pains to decorate it. Strings of colored lights were draped across the struggling branches; store bought ornaments dotted the tree in a haphazard pattern.

It was like finding a water fountain in the middle of the desert. Relena could feel the tears rising up behind her eyes. "It's...wonderful, Heero", she whispered.

"Well, I've had a lot of free time lately." He dug his hands deeper into his pockets. "I've never had a tree before."

She turned around to see him. With his hands in his pants and his hair flopping over his brow, he looked very much like a child. But the pent-up emotion in his eyes, not to mention the smooth muscles exposed by the extra undone button on his shirt, were anything but childish.

Relena took a breath. "We're long overdue for a talk, aren't we?"

He lifted his shoulders. "I wish I knew. Ever since the ballroom, I've been on a need-to-know basis with you...only apparently I haven't needed to know anything."

"I never meant to hurt you." She touched the heart hanging at her throat. "I just needed some time to think. About you and me and...you know."

"Sex?", he guessed. Relena nodded. "Has something changed? Do you not want to be with me anymore?" She opened her mouth to reply, but he kept talking. "Because if that's the case, I'd like to know now before I do something that will push you even further away."

She clutched her throat. "I'm just so confused, Heero. I don't know what I want anymore."

"It's not that hard a decision to make, Relena. You either want to be with me or not. Simple as that."

Her eyes grew stormy. "Maybe it's easy for Heero Yuy to put labels and expiration dates on his emotions, but I'm very different. It's not so simple for me to make this choice. So don't try to make me, all right?"

There was a minute of silence. "Tell me what you're thinking", he asked, quietly. "Tell me what's changed."

"I don't know!" She brushed away tears. "You say that you want me....and I know that I love you..." Relena covered her eyes with her hand. "But I want us to make love for the same reasons....because our feelings for each other have grown too great for a hug and a kiss at the end of the night. Not because we're both twenty years old and everyone around us has found someone to share a bed with at night."

"Do you think that's why I want to be with you?"

Relena's watery gaze met his steady one. "You're the one who couldn't distinguish between love and lust."

"Only because I feel them both when I'm around you." He took one hand out of his pocket and reached out to touch her wet cheek. "I want you because I love you. I don't love you just because I want you. Can't you see that?" She nodded again. "Then tell me...what's this all really about?"

She looked up at the ceiling. "I'm scared", she whispered.

"So am I." He stepped towards her. "I'd like to confront that fear. With you."

Her chin lowered. "And when you've had me...?"

Heero cupped her face with his perfectly rough hands. "I'll never let you go."

As she stared into his unblinking eyes, everything suddenly made sense. Her hands covered his on either side of her face. "Heero...please make love to me."

He continued to gaze down at her. "You're sure?"

Relena brushed her lips across his. "I'm sure. No interruptions, no hesitations. Just you..." Her tongue flicked out to lick his lower lip. "...and me."

The sensation of her tongue sliding across his lips was too much for any normal man to take. He pulled her closer, kissing her deeply. She whimpered in surprised pleasure.

"Bedroom?", she asked between kisses.

Heero broke the kiss and shook his head. Leaving her side for a moment, he flipped the living room lights off...every light except the Christmas tree. The colored lights cast a rainbow warmth across the room. It was more sensual than candlelight and more special than a blazing fire. He didn't need to say anything and she knew...they would be making love by the light of the Christmas tree.

She kissed him again, slowly and sweetly. "I always imagined I'd be wearing something white and satiny..." Stepping back, she turned around and lifted her hair off her back. "Could you?"

He fit his chest against her back, burying his face in the crook of her neck as his fingers found the zipper holding her dress together. Kissing her neck, he pulled the zipper down; his fingers dipped between the velvet of her gown and the even softer velvet of her lower back.

The straps of her dress were falling down. "Let me get those", he said, huskily. She nodded, mindless when his mouth was doing such amazing things to her throat. Her eyes closed as he pushed one strap off her shoulder. The other fell in the same manner. With her dress loose around her torso, it was very easy for Heero to slide his hands around her chest, underneath the bodice. Suddenly, he held a breast in each palm.

"Oh god...", she breathed when his fingers found the tight centers of each breast and gently rolled them. His tongue laved up and down her neck, just below her ear. It was all she could do to keep standing. "Heero...." Her arms lifted over her head to wrap around his neck. "I want...to touch you..."

Her innocent request hit him like a shockwave. His rapidly hardening groin was keenly aware of her soft backside pressed up against it. Gently, he pushed his hips into her, letting her feel his arousal. She gasped and pressed back.

He needed to taste her. Pulling his hands out of her dress, he turned her around to face him. The dress fell, pooling around her feet, leaving her in nothing but a tiny pair of black satin thong panties and silk stockings, supported by a garter belt. He gently pulled her back to his body; his hands slid from her waist down over her bare bottom. Heero had to smile; he was the only person in the world who knew that the Vice Foriegn Minister wore this sort of undergarment.

Relena sought his mouth again. His tongue was hot against hers. Her nipples rubbed against his starched shirt, illicting exquisite agony. As much as she loved it, she wanted to feel his bare skin against her breasts, like the day in the ballroom. Her fingers fumbled for his shirt's buttons.

He looked down and watched her rip his shirt apart, eager to get at his chest. "And here I thought you were innocent", he teased.

She kissed him again as she pulled the tails of his shirt out of his tuxedo pants. Pushing the shirt off his corded arms, she pressed her chest to his. It was even better than she remembered. Flesh to flesh. If she still had any doubts, they disappeared in that second.

Heero's arms wrapped around her as they kissed. The need to taste her had turned into an all-consuming passion. He walked her back to the couch. Rather than push her onto her back, he scooped her up into his arms and laid her down. Heero stood for a second, memorizing the lucious picture she made on his leather couch.

Relena reached for him, begging for his touch. Something caught in the back of his throat. This amazing creature actually wanted him. Wanted his kisses and caresses as much as she wanted his love. He set a knee on one side of her body and laid down, careful not to crush her. She could have it all. His every touch, every kiss...

His heart and soul.

She ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed a path down between her breasts. His head turned and his tongue flicked out, teasing one nipple. A tug on his hair told him the time for teasing was over. Relena moaned when he took the hard tip of her breast into his mouth, suckling it with slow determination.

One arm slid under her body to lift her back up, giving him even more access to her breasts. He nibbled around the aureola, pushing the boundary between pain and pleasure. Then he softly licked, soothing away any hurt.

Relena felt herself being driven mad with the pleasure. The center of her body was hot and wet. Quite unaware, her hand slid between their bodies and down her flat tummy, into the triangle of black satin.

Heero looked down and then back up at her. Rather than insulting, it was the most erotic thing he had ever seen. After all, he reasoned, how could one get pleasure from another person if they weren't even in touch with their own body?

Her eyes opened upon feeling his lips on hers. She made a move to draw her hand away from herself, but he gripped her wrist and held it in place. His hand joined hers between her thighs. To accomodate him, she spread her legs a bit wider. Her flesh was warm and slippery with desire. "Show me where to touch you", Heero breathed into her ear.

She guided his fingers, sliding them up and down the edge of her body. Her head fell back when they hit a particular spot. "Oh god..", she moaned. "Right there..."

He doubled his effort on the sweet spot. The nails on her free hand dug into his back; she whispered his name several times. The intense warmth in her lower body was spreading; the stars Hilde had spoken of were dancing in front of her eyes.

Then, everything stopped. Heero pulled his hand away and took hers with it. Her forehead crinkled. "Heero?" She watched as he kissed her hand; their entwined fingers glistened in the warm light. Before she could protest, he slid her finger into his mouth and gently licked it clean.

Sugar and salt. He greedily took another finger into his mouth, watching her innocent shock with passion-lidded eyes. When their fingers were clean, he found himself craving more. Addicted from the moment he tasted her. She had always been his weakness. Or maybe his weakness was his strength.

Relena kissed him, eager to taste his mouth. Licking his lips, she squirmed underneath him, struggling for a more comfortable position. They both realized, in that moment, that the couch was not going to work. Heero thought quickly. He lifted himself off of her and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

He touched her cheek adoringly. "I'll be right back."

When he returned from his bedroom a moment later with his comforter and pillows, she was standing by the Christmas tree, naked except for those scandalous panties. Her hair was tousled from the couch; it hung in messy curls around her bare shoulders. She turned when she sensed him enter; her smile was bright. He nearly dropped the things in his arms.

"Come here", she beckoned, crooking a finger at him. She giggled as he struggled with the bedding. "I'm surprised that you didn't think of this before, Heero."

"There were too many other things to..." He stopped before he could say 'plan'. "...think about."

Relena took a step towards him, her hands propped on her perfectly flared hips. "Someday...when we're old and settled...you'll have to tell me about the plan I was subjected to tonight."

His expression was so thoroughly confused that Relena knew she had hit upon the truth. Other women might have been mad or felt played with, but she simply reached for him again. Any plan that brought them together like this was just fine with her.

Together, they spread out the blankets and pillows. "It's like an Arabian harem", Relena laughed. Her amusement melted into desire as he knelt in front of her. She looked down and watched him kiss her bare belly; his tongue darted briefly into her navel.

Heero glanced up; her eyes were glazed over with need. His thumbs hooked under the tiny black strips of satin around her hips. Slowly, he tugged, pulling them down her legs. He took his time with her stockings, rolling them down ever so carefully until she could step out of them.

As much as she wanted him to continue what it seemed like he was getting ready to do, Relena found herself slightly upset that there she was, naked and exposed, yet he was only bare from the waist up. Kicking her underwear away, she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Stand up", she whispered. Puzzled, he did as she asked. Her hand innocently brushed over the front of his pants as she leaned in for a kiss. .

"Relena." His fingers circled her wrist. "Don't worry about me....I want this to be good for you." He closed his eyes when he felt her lips working over his collarbone. "Relena..."

She silenced his protests completely when she licked down to his nipple. Her mouth was doing incredible things to an area of his body that had never thought could be manipulated this way. To his utter surprise, she didn't stop at his chest. Slipping to her knees in front of him, she kissed each ridged muscle of his toned stomach.

Heero's hands were in her hair. He whispered her name as she reached for the top of his pants. She frowned; he was still protesting her explorations. "Heero..." She undid the fastener and began to pull the zipper down. "*I* want *this* to be good...." She spread the fly of his pants open, fighting back a blush when she realized he had nothing on underneath them. "...for you."

Truth be told, she was doing it for him, but also for herself. Everything she knew about sex was either clinical from her adopted mother or girlish gossip passed on in the halls of her school. She had no real perspective on male anatomy, despite having felt Heero's substantial bulge against her lower back. She was determined to aquaint herself with his sex before things went any further.

The mere fact that she wanted to do something so intimate blew Heero away. He had expected to do this to her; biology almost demanded it. But only in his greatest fantasies had she ever returned the favor. He almost seemed to grow harder as she tentatively tugged his clothes down. But it was nothing compared to the pure feeling that shot through him when her tongue delicately licked over the head of his arousal.

Heero's fingers tightened in her hair. "Damn", she thought she heard him mutter. Deciding there was nothing to be frightened of, she enveloped the head of his shaft into her mouth. He groaned loudly. A thought occured to Relena. This was a treat, like an ice cream cone or a popsicle. She should give it the same sort of attention. With virginal eagerness, she did just that.

His head spun. His knees weakened. She was very happily driving him crazy. He could barely think, but the one thought that managed to get through compelled him to gently tug her mouth away from his length.

"Relena", he said, raggedly. She looked up with a soft smile, slyly licking the corner of her lip. He took a breath. "This has got to stop."

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