Chapter Seven: Christmas Eve

 

            *So warm. So good. So comfortable and safe. He never wanted to move. All he could remember was shivering ferociously while trying to sleep. He remembered his violent nightmares and the horrible wake up he had experienced. After that, he remembered being warm and safe, just like now. The bed was soft beneath his back and body, the pillow floated below his head. And next to him was the source of his warmth. The morning sun’s rays danced and reflected off the spun gold of her hair and light up her pale and peaceful face. He closed his eyes and buried his head in the back of her neck, never wanting to return to the hash and unforgiving real world he knew awaited him once awake.

            Her eyes fluttered and then squinted. The bright sun was waking her, calling to her. It was telling her today was a new day, full of fresh starts and hopes. Tomorrows always were. Hardly moving, she looked down to find a strong pair of arms encircled around her waist. A flashback to the night before made her blush. Their talks over the hot cocoa, then his nightmare. He had been screaming in his sleep, calling and begging to a little girl not to die. He woke and had a massive breakdown. Yet she stayed by him, bringing him to the bed and soothing his crying and aching heart. He was quiet now, asleep and safe within the word of dreams, not trapped in the nightmare. At least, for now he was not trapped within his nightmare.

            Serena hated the though of waking him; he had had a rough night. Instead she gently broke his grasp of her waist and slipped out. Standing and stretching, she yawned and blinked away the last bits of sleep from her eyes. Today was the day before Christmas, and tonight was Christmas Eve. There was a lot to do today. She had to wrap presents and Rini had mentioned something about a snowball fight… No, there would be no resting today! She smiled and gathered her clothes for a shower.

            Seeing Hiiro was still asleep after her shower, she covered him with an extra blanket, drew the curtains cutting the bright sunlight out, and checked him one last time. She brushed his bangs from his eyes gently, as if she were afraid to break him. With one last glance, she bent over and pecked his forehead. Then she closed the door and entrusted him to the sandman, pleading silently for his dreams to be pleasant.

            “Good morning Mrs. Yui!” Taliesin waved as she entered the dining room for breakfast.

            “Good morning Mr. Taliesin, Rini.” She kissed her daughter’s cheek. “How did you two sleep?” She asked smiling.

            “Great! Hey, Mom, may I play in the snow?” Rini asked politely.

            “Of course. Just remember to wear your warm coat and to…”

            “Check in ever hour. I know Mom, I know.” Rini giggled and ran off to find her coat. Serena simply smiled at her daughter’s antics and let her go.

            “Well Mr. Taliesin, it appears we dine alone for breakfast.” She announced as she served herself a bowl of cereal. She hated warm breakfasts.

            “Oh? And where is Mr. Yui may I ask?” Taliesin inquired. He knew perfectly well where Hiiro Yui was. He just wanted to hear it form her mouth.

            “Ro is resting.” Serena told him.

            “He didn’t rest enough last night?”

            “A soldier often has many things to worry about. Often they weigh heavily upon their minds, making a peaceful sleep impossible until nearly dawn.” She supplemented.

            “Yes, yes. A soldier often does. That, and your chat in the kitchen last night.” Taliesin dropped upon her. Serena’s face fell from the low-keyed and stoic expression she had been wearing to a shameful blush.

            “You were listening?”

            “I caught bits and pieces. I’m sorry my dear, I needed another blanket, but didn’t know of a place to find one save downstairs.”

            “Well.” Was all she could say.

            “ Don’t worry about it. I’ll avoid mentioning anything of the sort to Hiiro.” Taliesin winked and smiled at Serena. She already looked slightly better. Taliesin shook his head and inwardly sighed a sigh of relief. He was beginning to worry that his initial belief that Hiiro and Serena would hit it off was wrong. They had been holding each other at arm’s length before last night. Then, the break through came. He was nearly positive Serena would be the one to bring Hiiro out of his shell and back to a normal human lifestyle.

            “Thank you Taliesin. I think I’ll go see what Rini is up to.” She said as she stood and went to find her coat.

>>>)(<<<

            “Mom! That wasn’t very fair!” Rini pouted.

            “Life isn’t fair. Get used to it!” Her mother retorted, sticking her tongue out. Serena launched another snowball at her fuming, snow-covered daughter and laughed. It was so much fun having the advantage of age sometimes…

            “Not fair!” Rini cried again. Then she picked up a ball of snow and threw it at her mother. Serena, being fairly nimble, dodged it. Each snowball Rini threw missing its moving target. Serena was becoming fairly sure of herself now that she was sure Rini couldn’t hit her. She stopped to look around, and was suddenly being pelted and showered by snowballs.

            “Ahh!” She cried, looking for the culprit. There, standing and leaning against the wall was Hiiro. He had his arms crossed and eyes closed. A tune was whistled upon his lips. He wouldn’t. It had to have been Rini. Where had her daughter gone. Serena turned around again to search for Rini. Another snowball hit the back of her neck, and as it melted it dripped down her jacket and shirt. She shivered for the shock of the cold and flipped around. Hiiro was still stoic as ever. Who was throwing the snow at her? This happened several times before she got an idea. She turned around pretended to be looking for Rini again. Then she flipped around just in time to see Hiiro and Rini launching a snowball at her. It hit her in the shoulder.

            “Why you two sneaky little! You thought you could get away with it huh? And Ro! You! Aiding her! How could you?” She could see Hiiro’s smirk.

            “Hnn.”

            “Don’t make me get out that grunt/English dictionary …” She joked. His lips spread into a true smile, not the side smirk he often gave her.

            “You didn’t need any help, and you were teasing her about it. I was just making the teams even, that’s all.” He informed her.

            “That makes me feel much better.” She replied sarcastically.

            “I’m glad.” He retorted.

            “Oh! Take this!” She rolled up a snowball and threw it. But it wasn’t aimed for Hiiro. It hit Rini square in the back of the head. While Hiiro was watching Rini remove the snow, he neglected to watch Serena launch a second attack, this one aimed directly at him. Her snowball hit him good and hard right in the face. He stopped smiling and replaced it with his death glare.

            “You do realize I’m going to kill you now.” He told her objectively.

            “I realize you are going to try to kill me. And then fail of course.” She smirked. His eyes had a new gleam in them as he began to stalk his prey. Slowly at first, only a couple of steps. Gradually he got faster, until he was in a breakneck run. She, of course, had gotten a head start. It didn’t matter. As they went over a small hill and tumbled into a thin thicket of trees, he aught her waist and yanked her down into the snow. He had caught her, his prey.

            “I caught you.”

            “Going to kill me now?” She asked him breathlessly from beneath him.

            “No.”

            “Why not?”

            “I would fail my mission and Taliesin would suspect something.”

            “Would that really be so bad?” She asked him, reaching up with her ungloved hand and gently caressing his cheek. “Would it really be so bad if you failed a mission?”

            “Yes.” He answered.

            “Why?”

            “Because it would result in death. Mine or another’s. Mine usually.”

            “Not this mission. Taliesin’s only here for a week. And besides. What kind of a mission is it if you have to house sit a man?”

            “I don’t know. I don’t care. I don’t question the missions, I just do them.”

            “Well then. I suppose you really can’t kill me.”

            “I wouldn’t anyway.” He told her.

            “Why not?” There was a silent hesitation in the atmosphere.

            “I don’t know.” He finally responded.

            “We should get back, we’ve been out here in the snow for almost three and a half hours now.”

            “Hnn.” He helped her up and the two started the short trip back to the house.

>>>)(<<<

            “What did you three do out there for the last three hours?” Taliesin asked them as they all settled down before the crackling fire in the fireplace. Rini and Serena had their hot cocoa, and Hiiro and Taliesin were drinking something a little stronger. Dinner had been an hour ago, now they were killing time before ‘Santa’ arrived.

            “We were having a snowball fight!” Rini told him excitedly.

            “Oh?”

            “Yeah. Dad and I against my Mom. I would say we won, right Dad?” Hiiro nodded absently. He wasn’t really paying attention to Rini. His mind was wandering elsewhere. He kept thinking about Serena’s question.

Why wouldn’t he have killed her? It wasn’t the same as Relena Peacecraft, no, this was different. He left Relena alone because others needed her guidance. Maybe it was the same reason. He needed Serena’s guidance. Since when did he need another? He hadn’t needed Duo or Quatre, nor Trowa or Wufei. He had always be able to work alone when needed. Why now suddenly, was he dependent upon a woman for strength and guidance? Not that he minded. Uh. Confusion was not his favorite emotion. Hell, until four days ago he had left his emotions behind. Now he needed them. Damn, he was becoming weak. Depending upon a woman and needing emotions. But he felt better than he had ever felt before because of it. Maybe they weren’t making him weak…

“I’m sorry?” He said, realizing Serena had been speaking to him.

“I said Rini and Taliesin were going to head up to bed.

“Good night Mom.” Rini said as she hugged and kissed her mother. She turned to leave up the stairs, then stopped and came back. “Good night Dad.” She hugged and kissed Hiiro too. Then she ran up the stairs. Hiiro sat stunned. She had never done that before!

“Good night Hiiro, Serena. I will see you in the morning, and Merry Christmas.” Taliesin called from the bottom of the stairs as he walked up, leaving Serena and Hiiro alone.

“Rini’s taking a liking to you.” Serena told him quietly.

“Is that why she…?”

“Yes. Hiiro. Your not sticking around after this week, so don’t get too attached. Or I should say, don’t let her get too attached. I don’t want her getting hurt when you leave.”

“You mean you don’t want to get hurt when I leave.” Serena’s head shot up.

“I never said that!” She denied.

“Oh?”

“Oh indeed. I never stated I would miss you… not for one moment will I. You’re a pain and a nuisance and annoying and a crimp in my style and…” Hiiro stood and pulled her to her feet as well.

“I bother you do I?” He smirked and mocked her.

“Yes you do, and frankly I’m quite…” Her sentence never finished. Her breath caught in her throat as Hiiro captured her lips with his. Tenderly pecking her soft sweet lips, he tasted her, asking silently for more. Mouths crashed delicately against each other as the two became more caught up with in the bliss of the moment. Serena moaned as she allowed Hiiro more access. His tongue darted in between her lips, as did hers between his. After the rush of passion had subsided and they broke for air, eyes met and ragged breaths echoed through the empty room.

“I bother you?” He asked again huskily.

“More than ever.” She whispered.

“Then get used to it.” He smirked and kissed her again. This time it was softer, more of a gentle caress upon her tempting lips. Serena gave in instantly to his sweet and careful kisses. Then she broke away and kissed his cheek.

“I have to get the presents.”

“I’ll help you.”

“Hiiro?”

“Yes?” He answered.

“What made you kiss me like that?”

“Mistletoe.” She looked above them to find the mistletoe, but saw none.

“But there’s no mistletoe up there.” She replied indignantly.

“So? I needed an excuse. I blamed it on the mistletoe.” He smirked and she lightly pushed him.

“Some Gundam pilot. You’re really very quick, aren’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Wipe that smirk off you face and help me get those presents.”*