Title: An Unexpected Gift
Author: CleverYoungThief
Rating: R
Warnings: Implied sex, OOC Heero, sap to the point of drowning in sugary fluff, this fic is NOT for Relena-haters or people who don't like 1xR. This fic (a birthday gift-fic for an anonymous friend of mine who is not a yaoi fan) was written with 1xR fans in mind. Although I'm not really big into this pairing, this "blushing virgin" dollop of smothering sweetness was not written for me. So if you're not into 1xR, go read one of my bazillion 1x2 fics. Thanks.
Pairing: 1xR
Genre: Romance/Fluff/Sap
Archive: Ask. (duffsbrandy@yahoo.com)
Author's Note: I don't prefer 1+R, actually. I posted this to show that I am flexible and can write about almost anything. (Except something like Heero+Dr.J, which I've actually seen. *gags*) This fic was written for a buddy of mine awhile back, because she's a hopeless 1+R romantic. She begged me to post this, and she can be very kawaii when she wants to get something out of someone. So this is for her. Now I can't say I haven't done 1+R. I don't like this fic, not because it's a 1+R, but because it's a major cliche among 1+R fics. Read: Climbing the balcony, confessions of love (kinda) and all that sugary stuff that usually grosses me out. But it's a rule of mine: Don't knock it unless you've tried it. So this is for the Relena-lovers out there, because I believe that everybody should have their fanfics, whether you're on Duo's side of the yaoi controversy or Relena's. And just because I support one side doesn't mean I can't write for the other. Thanks again.
"I forget. What *are* we doing here, Duo?" Heero said sulkily, dragging his feet as he followed his braided partner through the crowded corridors of the mall.
Duo rolled his eyes. "Buddy, I told you before we left, we're here to get a present for Relena's birthday!" Heero froze. He had totally forgotten. Then he remembered what *he* had been planning for Relena's sweet sixteen, and smiled. The true smile lighted up his entire face, making his eyes sparkle. That's right . . .
"*Heero!*" Duo called from way up the hall. "Right," he called back, catching up.
They went to the food court after Duo had picked out his present, a sparkly gold T-shirt that said "SPOIL ME, I'M ROYALTY"(1).
"By the way, Heero," Duo mumbled around a mouthful of burrito, "what did you get Relena for her birthday?"
Heero hesitated, then told him.
Duo choked violently, and Heero had to slap him on the back. "Heero! You can't do that! Millardo will kill you!"
Heero smiled dangerously. "What Zechs doesn't know won't hurt *me*."
Duo shook his head. "Man, you are pussy-whipped! I can't see what Relena sees in a guy that tried to kill her."
Heero scowled. "And I can't see what *you* see in a girl that tried to kill *you*."
"Hey, the situation with Hilde was a lot different than the one with Relena!"
They got up to leave, still arguing. Suddenly, before they got into the car, Heero grabbed Duo's arm.
"Duo, I swear, if you tell Relena about this, I'll kill you."
Duo gulped. "Sure, Heero. No problem."
"Where is he?" Relena whispered to herself, scanning the room.
The soiree was beautiful. The first part was a banquet, an elegant dinner with gleaming silver amid tapestried walls peopled by knights and ladies and unicorns in a fairy forest. Seeing the knights reminded her of her own knight, and she sighed unhappily.
Now everyone was dancing, and the one person Relena wanted to dance with was nowhere to be found.
Quatre was in the center of the room, surrounded by noblemen and ladies, talking quietly, compliments whispered and received with mysterious smiles. He was a born aristocrat.
Wufei and Trowa shared a table in the far, darkened corner of the room, a bottle of sparkling cider between them, drinking it silently, comfortable in the quiet tranquility of each other's company. After a few minutes, Sally and Catherine invited them to dance, and they did, albeit a little hesitantly.
Trowa braced his feet under the table as Catherine grabbed him by the crook of the arm. "I can't dance, Katherine. I can't waltz!" he cried softly.
"Sure you can, brother! And if you can't, I'm going to teach you!" Katherine said with her usual enthusiasm. She pulled him out and dragged him onto the dance floor before Trowa could do much more than let out a yelp of disapproval. Wufei sneered at him, until Sally came up, grabbing him. "You too, Wufei Chang. I can't let you sit here at this table all alone."
He grabbed the table, glaring at her. "I don't *need* this, woman!"
He clamped his hands on the edge of the table, making it generally be known that he had no intention of going anywhere. All, however, was to no avail. Wufei Chang ended up on the dance floor next to Trowa.
Duo was involved in a sordid food fight with about four or five of the male students from the St. Gabriel Academy, and even some girls were getting into it. An Imperial guard started to go over there and break it up, but Relena intervened with a subtle gesture, allowing the play to go on uninterrupted, at least for a few minutes.
Noin presided over the event as commander of the Imperial Guard, but when Milliardo came down from his chambers, she went over to talk to him. The room veritably stilled when he limped down the wide marble stairs. People had still not gotten used to seeing the infamous leader of White Fang alive. Even though he was a hero, he was the one who had threatened to destroy the Earth in the first place.
After the War, Milliardo had been listed MIA for an entire week, until finally a salvage team cleaning up after the Last Dance found the torso of Epyon floating through space. Milliardo was still inside, barely alive, somewhere between life and death. He was on the last few breaths of his life support. Relena had come to see him in the hospital after he was recovered, and she thought he had looked more like a corpse than a living person.
His face had been pale as his platinum hair, his lips tinged with blue like a child who had stayed too long in icy water. He was in coma from lack of oxygen, and stayed that way for another four days. His right leg had been mangled in the explosion, and the nerves were severed, making the leg useless.
He didn't let it get him down, though. He had a custom crutch made, a silver crutch with a wide, suede-padded zenith and ornate engravings. In fact, dressed in his best white military regalia and a flowing cape, a white rose pinned to his collar, Milliardo looked more a patrician than ever, despite his disability.
He made it to the last step, walking out onto the floor. The dead foot made a scuffing sound as he dragged it off the last step. He looked up from the stairs to the staring faces around him, and laughed. It was a short, barking sound, soft for all its harshness, breaking the ice of tension that had formed over the room.
"Is this a party or a wake?" he asked jokingly, returning the room to normal. Noin sauntered over to him immediately, Relena noticed with amusement.
/ She believed he was alive the entire time, even after they began making his funeral arrangements. /
She sighed, politely turning down any offers to dance. Duo noticed that she was dispirited and ran over, throwing himself across her table. "Wassup, Relena? Why're ya looking so glum?! It's *your* birthday party, isn't it!?"
"Oh, it's nothing, Duo . . ."
He grinned in sudden understanding. "Oohhh . . . I know what this is about! Don't worry, you'll get your present from him *later*. . ."
He slapped his hand over his mouth at the same time Relena's head jerked up.
"What was that, Duo?"
"Oh, nothin', nothin', Relena, I was just mouthing off again--"
Relena grabbed him by the collar of his tux, pulling his face so close to hers that they could have kissed. "Tell me what you *meant*, Duo!"
Duo smirked. "Ohhh, no, you're not getting it out of me *that* easy. I'm a special forces soldier. I've been conditioned against torture."
She shoved his chin up. "Look at me, Duo."
He shut his eyes tight, shaking his head. "I won't do it I won't do it I won't do it--"
He turned his head away, but she forced him to look into her eyes. "Duo..."
"Okay, okay! Heero has a surprise for you tonight after the party, but he told me not to say anything." He sighed in exasperation. "How do you do that!? Oh, Relena, I'm so sorry. He threatened me with my life, Relena! *Please* don't tell him I told you! *Pleeease* act surprised, Relena!"
She laughed, letting him go. "Okay, okay, Duo! I'll act surprised, I promise."
He wiped his brow with exaggerated relief. "Thanks. 'Omae u koroso' are some pretty scary words, 'lena baby!" He ran off.
"Earth to Relena!" shouted Adair and Roxanne in unison, her old best friends from St. Gabriel. Relena blushed, wondering how many times they had called her.
"We're bringing out the presents and cake, Relena. Seeing as it's *your* birthday, we'd like to issue an invitation for you to blow out the candles and open your gifts."
She blushed so hotly she had to put her hands over her cheeks.
"Don't do that," said Trowa, smiling with a rare joke, "you're cute when your face turns that color."
Immediately, the back row of boys, led by Duo, went into barbershop quartet singing, hands on hearts, invisible straw hats flung into the air. "Once in love with Relena..." they sang loudly.
Relena had never had a boyfriend. She was always asked to dances, always with a crowd--but no one boy had actually said "I want to be with you . . . and you alone."
Heero climbed the lattice carefully of Relena's bedroom in the mansion carefully, being sure not to attract the attention of any guards. His Mission was complex, and more difficult than any other Mission he had ever accomplished before. More importantly, this mission didn't involve killing anyone or blowing anything up. He shifted his pack and climbed higher.
This mission was just for Relena.
He climbed onto the balcony, checking the situation. Her window was open, the drapes billowing. This made his job a whole lot easier. He didn't have to break into the chateau.
He crept in, looking to make sure that no one was in there. It was the middle of the night, so the chances were slim, but he had to make sure.
Relena had thrown her covers off, but her room was warm from the radiant heat of a well-tended hearth behind a sturdy safety screen. Heero had the strange urge to just tuck her in and go back out the way he came, but he hadn't come to tuck her in. He had come to wake her up and give her her birthday present.
Fast asleep, she was so beautiful his heart ached. He hated to wake her up, but he was sure that what he planned to do would make up for it.
He had two plans; one, if she resisted, he would bound off the balcony and be gone before she knew what had happened. And two, the course that he was sure she would take, she would accept her birthday present and give herself to him.
"Gently, Relena."
With the words came a warm exhalation in the hollow of her throat.
A hand stroked Relena from crown to nape with slow, tender motions, reassuring her. Sighing raggedly, she turned toward the source of comfort. Her lips skimmed across something both hard and warm, slightly rough and wonderfully reassuring at the same time. At a distance she realized it was a hand.
A male hand.
Relena tried to stiffen and pull away, but her body simply refused to obey the alarms of her awakening mind. The hand came down over her mouth, and she felt a warm breath next to her ear.
"I'll remove my hand if you promise not to cry out."
Relena nodded sleepily, waking up a little more, and the hand came away. She still had not opened her eyes.
"Softly, Relena. You're safe. Look at me."
She opened her eyes slowly, to find Heero leaning over her. He was beautiful, but his eyes made a shiver run down her back, even in the pleasantly warm room. They were intense and feral, and gazing into them was like diving into icy arctic waters, but loving the thrill and danger of it anyway.
"He...Heero?"
She was dazed. Her face was pale. Her mouth was soft and slack from sleep, and her honey brown hair glinted in the firelight. She was a vision in her cornflower blue silk pajamas. He smiled softly. "I brought you your birthday present, Relena." He reached into his pack and brought out a blindfold.
She was confused. "What is that for, He--"
He put a finger to her lips, and shook his head with a smile. "Do you trust me, Relena?" he whispered seriously. She gave him an intent, believing gaze. "I trust you, Heero. More than anyone."
"It's a surprise, your present," he said. "I know Duo told you about it, the fact I was coming tonight."
Relena was stunned. "How'd you know?"
Heero laughed. "Relena, that American pilot Duo Maxwell has the biggest mouth I've ever seen. I knew he couldn't get through the night without telling you, and that's why I told him about it. I knew he was reliable enough to tell you. I didn't want to frighten you when I came tonight." He smiled, and put the blindfold on her, sitting her on the edge of the bed. "Don't move," he instructed. He reached into the pack he had brought and pulled out her present.
Relena was shocked when something cold and wet nuzzled her ear.
He took the blindfold off. She opened her eyes to find a shiny black nose, liquid ebony eyes, and a wagging tail. The black puppy in her lap whimpered and reached up to lick at her face. It had a big blue silk ribbon around its neck.
"Happy birthday, Relena."
She held the puppy up to her face and allowing it to lick the tip of her nose. Wrinkling her nose, she giggled, then looked back at Heero. "Well done, Heero." Relena tossed her head back and laughed. "But now I know you for what you are--a faker."
"Faker" echoed in Heero's ears. Guiltily, he tensed and forced himself to look at her as nonchalantly as he could.
"What do you mean?"
Relena smiled at him, rubbing the round tummy of the puppy in her lap, her blue eyes soft and shining. "You are a faker. Behind that stoic face of yours lurks a kind heart."
Relief washed over Heero--along with a foolish lightheartedness. Still, he was smiling gently as he took the puppy from her lap, taking a quilt from the end of her kingsize bed and making a nest for it in the corner of the room. The puppy was tired from the rough ride in Heero's pack up the side of the house, and curled up immediately, falling asleep.
He turned back to Relena, stepping back over to the bed and sitting down. "I'm sorry I didn't come to your birthday party," he said.
"It's all right," she replied, then shook her head, smiling. "Oh my gosh, I haven't even thanked you for the puppy..."
"Thank me now with this," he whispered into the cup of her ear, his warm breath tickling her cheek. "Do you trust me, Relena? If you don't want this, I'll be gone before you can take another breath." "No . . . don't leave me again."
"All right."
She was ready for this.
So was he. Ready to try to begin to tell her the things he felt for her. How much he really admired her sensitivity and compassion, her sense of justice and reconciliation. How much he adored her inner strength and fearlessness. How much he even cherished her stubbornness and obstinacy, especially when it came to her beliefs on war and peace.
On the other hand, *his* attitude to aristocracy and a life of pampered ease had intrigued her earlier, during his first trip to the Earth. So she'd tried to draw him out, driven by a compulsive need to know more about him, so she could interpret him more sensibly. Instead, what she'd learned had made her try even harder--how could she give up on a distrustful boy even though he secretly sought companionship, a home and family of his own, simply because he shunned people who cared about him?
Yet the rest--all she'd learned since she'd found him on the beach--had inwardly frightened her. His facade at school had slipped on the balcony just long enough to confirm her inner view of him--to confirm his emotional motivation. At first she had mistaken it for hatred. He was, indeed, a soldier without personal motive, the proverbial "rebel without a cause"--but the cause he searched for, yearned for, was someone to defend and protect.
Which was all very well, but warriors, especially the detached sort, did not put away their guns and mobile suits and fit right into any kind of family. Far from it. They remained Soldiers still, to the heart, to the soul.
So she trembled in his presence.
"You're still scared of me?" he asked, opening his eyes and holding her closer.
She looked up at him, at the dark, angelic face, at eyes bright with the intensity that burned inside him.
"N-n-no," she exhaled.
He stroked her face, his eyes softening. "I don't want to hurt you, Relena. Or trick you into doing something you'll be sorry for later."
She thought about this, thought about it with a real and deep seriousness. "I trust you," she said, and drew him closer, her shivers subsiding. "I love you, Heero. I always have."
He closed his arms around her bare shoulders like bands of steel. Now was the time to say it. "Relena...I...I..." He couldn't finish.
"Love me....oh, love me," she whispered.
He shook his head silently. He still couldn't bring himself to return that simple phrase, and it killed him.
"Hai," he murmured back, his lips grazing the soft part where her jaw met her neck.
"Is this what you want?" he asked.
"Yes. Please."
He kissed her deeply, gathering her closer to him.
She whimpered again, her face lit only by the firelight; Heero checked it to make sure he would find no fear there. He didn't want her to be afraid of him. He didn't want anyone to be afraid of him ever again...
"Sshhh." He held her against him, and pressed his face into her hair. "I've always held back because nothing in my life ever came with a guarantee. It was so hard to get close to people--"
"And then have them die," Relena finished, kissing his forehead beneath his mussed, choppy bangs. "But it's different now, Heero. The war is over. You don't have to be afraid of caring anymore."
"I know," he said, and lowered her gently to the bed.
// Mission accomplished. //
"Are you all right?" He felt the nod of her head against his chest where she lay cradled against him. His lips grazed the top of her head. "I know it can't be very pleasurable for you, at least not the first time. You're certain I didn't hurt you too badly?"
"No," she whispered, tickling his soft, sparse chest hair.
"I must have."
"A lot at first, but what happened afterward made up for it." She cuddled closer. Relena was asleep before Heero could ask her anything else. He laid there, watching her sleep; he was content to lie beside her while he attempted to come to grips with what had just happened between them. No other person in the entire world--or in the colonies, for that matter--had ever made him feel the way he felt with Relena. It was frightening, to know that someone had so much influence over his life.
He tucked Relena along his side and surrendered himself to sleep as completely as he had given himself to what had just happened between them.
Hours later, before dawn, Relena woke up with a start. Then, finding herself in Heero's arms, strong even in his repose, she relaxed into his chest, mumbled something and slipped back into sleep.
Relena stirred awake at the whimpering of her puppy sitting at the side of the bed. She picked it up and took the ribbon off of it, cuddling with it in the crook of her arm. Heero, who had fallen asleep with his hand cupped on her breast and his body curved around hers, his arms holding her through the night, was starting to stir a little when she lifted from him.
Relena paused her quiet play with the puppy, watching her companion of the night as he slowly woke up, like a diver swimming to the surface. He slept sprawled on his stomach, the arms that had been thrown around her now relaxed on the bed. She studied his face, what she could see of it. The harsh planes had eased, but still retained their hardness, the promise of strength; his lashes lay, black crescents on his cheekbones, his eyelids fluttering slightly; his lips still firm, purposeful. Even sleeping, his face told her little besides the fact that though she had managed to crack the ice on the surface of his personality; she still had a lot of work to do.
Heero awoke, disoriented, not entirely sure he *was* awake. A sweet peace he had never felt before held him; warmth surrounded him--he didn't want to move, to break the spell of serenity that he so seldom felt. He thought it *might* be a dream, but most of his dreams were nightmares filled with explosions and blood and fire; this was too peaceful to be a dream.
But presentiment nagged him--reluctantly, he lifted his lids. And looked through blurred vision at the darkness; it was not yet dawn, the sun hadn't risen yet. Blinking rapidly improved his vision marginally, enough to realize where he still was--where he shouldn't be. In Relena's bed.
But he felt wonderful. He sat up next to her, scratching behind the ear of the labrador puppy in her lap.
"Well," he murmured, reaching back and kissing the nape of her neck, "what do you think?" She muttered back something unintelligable, burying her head into his shoulder. She ran her hand over his chest. "You're in good shape," she said off-handedly.
"Well, I was always taught that if you take care of your body it'll take care of you," he said in a serious tone.
"It took very nice care of me," Relena whispered. "Thank you, Heero. That's the best birthday present I've ever gotten. It was really special for me."
He smiled gently. "I'm glad, Relena."
They laid still for a few more minutes, watching the sun rise as the puppy chewed on Relena's fingers. She looked at Heero.
"You better go, Heero. If Milliardo catches you here, he'll kill you, handicapped or not." She snuggled up closer to him. "But I wish you didn't have to go."
He smiled. "I have to go. At least for now."
She sighed. "I changed my mind. You can't leave yet, Heero." He stood up, getting dressed slowly.
Before he jumped back out the window, he smiled at her again. "Duo has taught me one thing. Whether you leave or stay, live or die, it's never goodbye. It's always 'see you later.' That way, you're never really gone."
And then he was.
~Owari
(1) Could this be read as a cheap shot? *grin* Only if you want it to be.
(:./cyt/unexpected)
