“It
was too quiet. Just checking.”
“I’m
fine.”
“You’re
beaming.”
“Well,
Quatre put me in a good mood. Come to think of it, he usually does.” She
smiled a secretive side smile. Hiiro just stared a little while longer.
“Go
to sleep Relena. You need to be up early.”
“Don’t
order me what to do Hiiro.” She slammed the door in his face. Women! He
would never understand them!
>>>)(<<<
Hiiro
walked into his apartment around six the next day. Slipping out of his tennis
shoes, he dropped his gun on the coffee table and collapsed onto his sofa,
ready to sleep. He was really getting out of shape. But for some reason, he
didn’t mind. He liked himself the way he was.
Finally,
after three years, he had been able to put his past ghosts to rest and get on
with the rest of his life. He had tried to not forget about all of the lives he
had taken, instead to give back and live life to the fullest. That way he would
make his own life worth living. The men would not have died in vain.
That
was where his ‘list’ had come into idea. One night, after his first
revelation of humanity, he had been sitting in the rain, still thinking. And he
had been compelled to write. It was the strangest urge he had ever had, but one
that he for once, did not try to fight. He had gone to a diner and asked for a
pen and piece of paper. They had been happy to provide, as soon as he had ordered
a cup of coffee as well. And then he had sat, in his wet clothes, in the middle
of the night, in a diner, writing a list of everything he wanted to do to live
life to the fullest.
Since
then, he had tried to become optimistic. It probably wasn’t too much of a
good thing in his new line of work, but in the long run and in life; it was
better and healthier for him. He liked himself. But lord was he tired! And, of
course, a knock happened to drift to his ears just as he had closed his heavy
eyelids.
“Go
away!” He said, just loud enough for the person on the other side of the
door to huff. Rolling off the couch and standing, Hiiro made his way to his
door and opened it.
“I
thought I was to go away?”
“Hello
Serena.”
“Aren’t
you going to invite me in?”
“I’m
tired.”
“I
don’t mind.” And she barged her way into the apartment. Looking
around, she sighed. “You need to work on your cleaning skills.”
“Duo
was here.”
“I
found him to have a wonderful sense of humor. But I didn’t think he
capable of being such a slob.”
“You
have no idea.” He ran his hand through his hair. Then he looked at her.
She was such a vision. After the horrible sights in Neo-North Switzerland, her
beauty blinded him beyond belief.
Lovely,
golden strands of hair were woven into two thick braids. They dripped to her
waist, and the ends were adorned with pink ribbon. Her eyes were bluer than he
remembered- now their color reminded him of the sky of the clearest days. Pink
tainted lips were slightly parted as she breathed lightly through her mouth,
and he had such an urge to touch those lips… sweet torture to look
without being able to touch. Her expressive hands with shockingly pink nails
were at her hips, and her stance commanded respect. The rest of her was robed
in pink as well. A light pink shirt with a darker pink skirt… pink was
his new favorite color. The innocence of the whole scene drove his senses to
the brink, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her.
But
Serena was not his. She might be his by engagement, by marriage, but she was
not his by heart. Yet. But he was the Perfect Soldier. He had never failed a
mission. And his newest mission was to make Serena, the feisty woman he had
fallen in love with, return the feelings he felt so deeply.
“How
was your trip?” Serena pursed her lips, slightly annoyed, but more
curious than anything else. He was acting odd. Usually by now he would have
come up with a blatant remark on her clothing, or her close-mindedness, or her
work ethic… something. But he hadn’t. In fact, she could feel his
eyes traveling around, searching her. What was he looking for? An invitation to
begin hunting? It was quite unnerving, to say the least.
Her
hands, which had been perched on her hips, moved to cross her chest
protectively as she shivered involuntarily. How could he do this? Each and
every time he looked at her like this, or for that matter, he even looked at
her, she shivered. It didn’t matter where they were or what was going on.
He caused her stomach to flip and a funny ache in her breastbone she didn’t
quite understand. She would get hot and bothered simply by his eyes when they
met hers, or when he lay his hand anywhere upon her skin.
How
could this be? No, she wouldn’t let her body react. She would stop it-
somehow. It had to be the fact that his bloody past bothered her. That was what
it was. He didn’t deserve to have anyone like herself. No. No one
deserved her. She hated it. Hated herself. No one deserved her. She laughed coldly on the inside as tears welled up
behind her eyes. Still, she managed to refocus on him and think on his words.
“Fine.”
“Any
unrest?”
“Protests,
talks were ineffective. No violence.”
“Well.
At least humanity is learning.” She nodded to herself. “Still.
Those talks should have helped. Relena is going to be so stressed
tomorrow… I really should call her and see how she’s
doing…”
“She
isn’t home.”
“Oh?
How would you know that?”
“I’m
her bodyguard. I need to know that.”
“Very
well then.” Serena glared at his arrogance. “Where is she?”
“Quatre’s.
She said he had some suggestions on the situation she wanted to hear.”
“Quatre?
Quatre.” Serena repeated. But she said nothing more. Hiiro wondered what
she was thinking. What about Quatre? Why did she care? Did she like Quatre? Did
she think Quatre was better than him? That the blonde was better off? Had
better manners? What? Jealously stabbed at his heart like a knife cutting
through air. It physically ached to have this new feeling within him. He had to
know.
“What
about Quatre?”
“What about him?” Serena asked,
blinking. Hiiro blinked. She didn’t look as if she had been daydreaming of the blonde man. She had no funny
smile or far away look when he mentioned his name… perhaps he had been
over-reacting?
“Why
did you repeat Quatre’s name?”
“I
think he’s nice. He did, after all, think to give me a wedding gift. He
and the others did anyway. I thought it was sweet of them. None of them are
like you. They have manners.” So it was his manners!
“
He’s nicer than me?” His prussian blue eyes glowed an eerie color
in the dim apartment. Serena gasped noticeably and felt the blood drain from
her face. He looked so… jealous? He was jealous of Quatre? No, she had to
be reading him wrong. Why would a killer like him want something like her?
“No…
I just thought it was cute. Don’t you?”
“Think
what is cute?”
“Quatre
and Relena.” Serena informed him quietly. “They both always have
that distant look in their eye- when they think about peace, and when they
think about love. They deserve to find love, they are such good hearted
people.”
“And
people like me, people like me who fought to free the colonies, and then fought
to stop any sort of oppression anywhere, we don’t deserve love?”
“You
killed…”
“So
did Quatre! And ask Relena. She knows how to use a gun- in fact; she’s as
good a shot as anyone. We all had parts in the war, whether we killed or not.
Everyone did, because in wartime, you have to fight to stop the fighting! That’s how life is. So
we all fought. We all killed. It was mankind that slaughtered, not just man on
man. Does it still make me worse than everyone else?”
“No…”
Serena whispered.
“Then
why do you hate me?”
“Good
night Hiiro.” Serena said, her voice barely higher than a hoarse whisper.
Then, without giving him time to say much else, she turned and fled the
apartment, leaving the door open as she went. Hiiro watched her back as she
turned and fled.
“What?”
He asked his empty apartment. Had he really upset her that much? Never before
had she run out on him without having the last say in everything. She always
had to be the last one to make the snide remark, or the last to be right, but
she never ran from their verbal spars.
Sighing, he walked to the door and closed it. Too much for his overused brain to think on tonight. He needed a decent sleep, and some time to contemplate her actions. And her words… “Relena and Quatre”… was she right about the two? Rubbing his tired eyes, he padding gently to his bed, where he fell into it and was asleep not a moment later. *
~~~ANNOUNCEMENT: The next chapter I go back to Vixen. PEN NAME CHANGES! Look for me as plain Vixen, not RixiVixi aka Vixen! Yey! PLEASE REVIEW! Much love, Vixen