Ok, the last installment to this songfic series. I'm sad to end it, but I think this song is so beautiful that I couldn't put it off. To all those who've asked about the next Heero's Peace Sequel chapter - some time in the next week, I promise! I wanted to work on it, but this was keeping me up nights, so I had to do it. This fic comes directly after "You Must Love Me," and I hope you all are happy with the ending, so here it goes!

Oh, yeah, disclaimer: I don't own the characters * pout* or the song (from Sarah Brightman's Eden CD)

The Last Words You Said

(Takes place right after Endless Waltz)

"I still need you." Her own voice echoed loudly in the dream. Again they stood in the dark sidestreet as rain drizzled down on them under the yellow glow of the lamps. Relena saw Heero turn around, but suddenly a shadow loomed over them, blacking out the light from the streetlamp.
"Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian?" A deep voice asked. Relena did not answer; she had no time. The shadow drew a gun, and shouted "For Miss Mariemaia!" The gunshot resonated in her mind as Relena woke with a start, trembling, to find herself in her own bed.

Four months ago. Her recovery had been a long one, as the bullet had damaged her shoulder along with all the surrounding muscles and tendons. But she was fortunate, she knew. If Heero hadn't been there, hadn't pushed her aside, the bullet would have hit her heart. Instead it had passed through Heero's forearm as he tried to shield her, and lodged itself painfully deep in her flesh as they fell to the ground. The gunman was subdued almost immediately, and claimed to be one of Mariemaia Kushranada's surviving henchmen. Now Relena was left with the knowledge that Heero had saved her yet again, but she never had the chance to thank him. He had disappeared after he allowed Sally to bandage his arm. Relena knew that he looked in on her before he left and she tried in vain to recall what had passed between them as she lay barely conscious in the hospital room.

Sitting up in her bed, still shaking from the dream, she glanced at the bear on her bedstand. Beside it was a dried rose, one that he had left on her pillow the night she nearly fell over the cliff. He always seemed to return when she needed him most. She had shed so many tears, wondering if she would ever see him again. Still, though the days passed so slowly, Relena never gave up hope.

Somewhere in time I know,
Darling you'll come back to me.
Roses will bloom again,
But spring feels like eternity.

Holding the bear, she closed her eyes and tried to remember. The vision of Heero peering down at her through his long disheveled bangs sprang forth in her memory. The hospital room had been dark, but she knew it was him. Relena always felt his presence more acutely than anything. The painkillers the doctors had prescribed left her barely coherent, but she had opened her eyes for a few minutes, long enough to see him there. The sensation of his fingers lightly touching her cheek - the heat of his breath as he leaned in to kiss her softly. "I love you," she had wanted to say. As if somehow sensing that she would try to talk, Heero silenced her with yet another touch of his lips.

In your kiss it wasn't goodbye.
You are still the reason why...

A tear slid down Relena's cheek as she lost herself in the last moment they had shared. She could not let go of him. She had committed the sound of his voice, the softness of his touch and the way he had looked to memory. Heero would always be near her.

I can hear you whispering in the silence of my room.

My heart still surrenders like the sun to the moon.

He had said something to her, before she had drifted back into unconsciousness that night. Some strange little phrase...

I can barely stand this aching, burning endlessly.
"Love me now, forever," were the last words you said to me.

Heero blinked as the light streamed in through the shuttle windows. It was done, all of it. He had gone back to L1 to make sure that all remnants of Dr. J's lab were destroyed, and all evidence and plans for the gundams completely deleted and gone. There would be no need for them any longer.

Today he had seen the secret barracks and hanger demolished and reduced to a pile of rubble. He had slept there, just one last time in the cold metal cell of a room that he had called home, losing himself in the past and the childhood that never was. Heero awakened from fitful sleep as day broke, and Relena had been his first thought, the only one that had brought him comfort.

And when the morning comes,
My hands still reach for you.

To Heero it was not a question of whether or not he loved Relena, but if he would allow her to love him, even if he had asked her to. Still battling from within to let himself accept the feelings that she held for him, and those he held for her, he kept up his cold emotionless facade.

Some things remain the same,
There is nothing I can do.

Relena sighed as she rose to face another day. Rubbing her ever-throbbing shoulder, she went through the motions of choosing a suit, fixing her hair. She made her way to the morning's first meeting, all the while thinking that she would have been content to stay in her room forever and just think of him.

I can barely get through the day
Ever since you went away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing shortly. Please be sure that your seatbelts are fastened securely. Welcome to Earth." The shuttle attendant's voice jolted him from a sleepy haze. 'The Earth,' he thought with a smile. "Relena..."

The last image of her was burned in his mind. The massive scar on his forearm was a testimony to the fact that it had not been a dream. Heero lay awake, unable to sleep or tear himself away from the sight of her lying peacefully in the hospital bed. He wondered what it would be like to wake up beside her every day; that she might smile and kiss him good morning. The sound of her voice...

I can hear you whispering in the silence of my room.
My heart still surrenders like the sun to the moon.

Before he left her that night, after he was sure that she would recover fully, Heero had sat at her bedside just watching her sleep. There were so many eloquent and poetic things that he would have liked to say to her, but instead a few clumsy words had tumbled out of his mouth. Relena, only half awake, had repeated the phrase back to him.

I can barely stand this aching, burning endlessly.
"Love me now, forever," were your last words to me.

Relena took the familiar spot on her balcony overlooking the ocean. Under the night sky with the deep blue water lolling in and out, or sometimes raging against the sandy beaches and cliffs. It was her favorite place to go and think of Heero. Out there she felt closer to the stars, closer to wherever he might be.

Heaven help us cross this endless sea
With starlight above to guide you to me
Waves crashing on some distant shores
They're calling our names forevermore.

Pulling the doors closed, Relena retreated across the darkened expanse of the room to the bed. She lay awake for a long while, and was on the verge of sleep when she heard a familiar voice say her name. 'Dreaming already,' she thought, smiling sadly.

And I still hear you whispering in the silence of my room.

"Heero," she said aloud to the dream, and to her surprise, a lone figure began to make its way towards her from the doorway. Relena held her breath to keep control of herself as a thousand emotions coursed through her all at once. Finally she felt herself fall limply back on the pillows as she tried to fight the urge to cry out.

My heart still surrenders like the sun to the moon

In an instant he was there by her side, gently pulling up to sit face to face with him as he seated himself on the edge of the bed. "You know I could never stay away - never for too long," he admitted, letting himself reach out to touch one of the loose strands of golden hair that floated around her face. "I go where I'm needed," Heero said, his face still a perfect mask as he toyed the lock he had claimed. "Am I needed here?"

Relena only nodded, still at a loss for words as Heero moved ever closer to her.

I can barely stand this aching, burning endlessly

"I'll always need you," Relena whispered softly, running her hands through his hair as he closed the final distance between them.

"Then I'll always stay," he replied, easing her back down onto the pillows and kissing her, to seal the pact. "Always..."

"Love me now, forever," were the last words you said to me.

THE END

Ok, so that's my (first) Heero & Relena songfic series done! I know, I know * starts scraping the sap from the walls * There were lots of votes for a happy ending, I hope this fulfilled all expectations. Thanks so so so much to all of you who faithfully read and reviewed. I really appreciate all of your comments and input, it really means a lot to me to know that you enjoyed these fics. Oh, I guess there's one more thing I wanted to add to the story before I end here. I feel it needs to be said, especially in regards to Heero & Relena: (ahem)

AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER! (at least in this story)

Love and hugs to all - Stella