I do not own Gundam Wing.  This fan fiction has no commercial value and I am not making any kind of profit or income off of this.  

Chapter 11

            Duo and Brian entered the darkened room.  Wu-fei sat beside the bed, keeping watch over Relena.  Heero was still unconscious.  Brian glanced over at him worriedly.  “Is he going to be all right?”

            Wu-fei grunted.  Duo smiled.  “Yeah, he’s going to be ticked off at me, though.” He rubbed his ribs, imagining the beating he was going to get when his buddy woke up.  “Any change in her condition?”

            “No.”

            “Damn!  What did Quatre say?”

            “He’s sending a doctor, but the shuttle can’t get off the ground for another,” Wu-fei paused to look at his watch, “eighty-two minutes.”

            “Where did you tell it to land?”

            “I haven’t given the coordinates yet.  We are to transmit after the shuttle is already in flight.”

            “Oh.  So where did you have in mind?” Duo asked.

            “I don’t.  I was hoping you knew of someplace.”

            “Shit, the only hangar I know of isn’t online.  That’s why it’s safe.  One of us would have to go check it out and secure a landing pad in person.”

            Wu-fei rose from his chair.  “Fine, I’ll go.”

            Duo glanced nervously over at Heero’s sleeping body.  It had just emitted a loud groan.  “No way, man. I’ll go.  You stay here.”

            Wu-fei glared at him.  “I have a uniform and a badge.  They’ll be less likely to question a Preventer.  I just need transportation.”

            Duo slapped his head.  “My car!  It’s still at the restaurant.”  He looked at Brian and smiled.  “Hey, you got a car?”

            “Ummmm….” Brian said fearfully.

            “Give me the keys,” Wu-fei ordered.

            Brian fished the car keys out of his pocket and handed them to Wu-fei.  “Blue SUV at the back of the North parking lot.  License plate XGY-04.”

            “Thanks.”  Wu-fei said and left.

            At the sound of door shutting, Heero groaned again.  “Know what? I’m going, too.  I trust you to watch over her – you’ll have to answer to him, if you don’t.”  Duo said, jerking a thumb in Heero’s direction.  “Bye!”  He said and ran after Wu-fei.

            Brian sighed in relief.  He moved over to the chair Wu-fei had been sitting in at the side of Relena’s bed.  “What a day,” he thought, looking at the beautiful girl lying there.  “Relena Peacecraft is here in my room, and my roommate and his friends are the Gundam pilots she’s been protecting.  Great.  Just great.  No wonder Heero’s the way he is.”  He thought and leaned back in the chair.  It wasn't long before his eyelids began to feel heavy.

            Brian woke to what sounded like crying.  He shook his head, and looked at his watch.  It had been a little less than half an hour.  He turned his gaze to Heero’s bed, where Relena should have been lying, but it was empty.  He looked over to his bed, and saw Heero still resting peacefully.  There was a sound coming from the bathroom, and he went to investigate.

            He found her kneeling on the floor, crying.  Startled, he reached out to touch her shoulder.  “Relena?”

            Trembling, she looked up at the young man who called her name.  “Who are you?”

            “I’m Brian - Heero’s roommate.  You’re in our dorm room.  How are you feeling?”

            “I can’t get up.  I got this far, and then suddenly became really dizzy.  I fell.”  She said, looking down at the floor - ashamed of her weakness in front of a stranger.

            He offered her his hand, and she gratefully accepted it.  While she was getting up, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror.  “Oh, God.”  She whispered.

            He smiled with concern.  “I can get you something to wear if you want to get cleaned up.”

            She nodded, but then her knees almost gave out on her again.  Brian caught her as she started to fall. 

            While she was in the bathroom cleaning up, Brian tried to wake Heero, but he was still out cold.  He cursed his luck; the former princess made him nervous.  Actually, it wasn’t really the girl herself that made him anxious, but the thought of what those who protected her could do to him if something were to happen to her.

            She emerged a few minutes later, still ghostly pale, but looking better in Heero’s dark blue cable-knit sweater and a pair of jeans that were three sizes too big for her.  She seemed to be more clear-headed and steady on her feet.  Brian sighed, relief visible on his face.

            Relena walked out of the bathroom and looked over at Heero.  He appeared to be resting peacefully.  As usual, just the sight of him made her heart ache.  She kneeled by his side, and brushed a few strands of his always-unruly chestnut hair from his face. 

            Brian watched the tender way she regarded his roommate and smiled.  It was obvious that she felt the same way for Heero that he did about her.  The thought relieved a certain part of his mind that had previously held feelings of resentment towards the young woman that seemed to cause his friend such torment.  It made him wonder, however, that they weren’t ‘together’.  Then he remembered the argument earlier that evening, when Heero said he didn’t love her and that weird boy with the braid cursed at him for denying his feelings.  Brian suddenly got the sinking suspicion that his roommate was the cause of his own suffering, as well as the pained expression currently displayed on Relena’s face.

            She stood up slowly and her eyes darted nervously about the room before coming to rest on Brian.  She smiled slightly.

            “Are you hungry?” he asked after a slight pause - it had taken him a moment to find his voice. 

            She tried to nod her head, but it was pounding.  She spoke instead, “Yes.  Starved, actually.”  Relena glanced down at Heero again and she gave a wry smile.  “Someone once told me you can’t live on salad.”

            Brian grinned.  “Gee, I wonder who.  He’s always hated salad.  He won’t even eat it before a meal.”

            “You’ve roomed together for a while?”

            “Four years.  He briefly had a roommate before me, but it didn’t last a whole semester.  The kid said Heero was antisocial, and was apparently afraid of Mr. Congeniality over there,” Brian chuckled.  “People that know him either think I’m brave or really stupid.  Maybe more of the latter than the former.  But he’s really not that bad.  He has his good points - he’d just rather that you didn’t know it.”

            Relena smiled.  Brian couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she was.  “That picture doesn’t do her justice, Heero - she’s grown into quite a woman,” he thought, glancing over at his roommate.  “What would you like to eat?  I’ll be happy to get you anything you want.”

            “Oh,” Relena said, suddenly looking thoughtful.  Her eyes darted over to the window.  “Um, are you hungry?"

            “A little, I guess.  Actually, I can always eat something.”

            “Well just get me something from wherever you go to eat,” she said flashing him a dazzling smile.  They started to walk over to the door. 

            “Will you be all right, by yourself?” he asked, suddenly doubting whether or not he should leave her alone.

            “Fine.  I’m sure Heero will be waking up, soon, anyway,” she assured him.

            “Okay, I won’t be gone long.  You lay back down and rest, or something.”

            “Don’t worry.”

            Brian left and closed the door behind him.  He waited for a moment and heard her lock it from inside, then made his way down the hallway to the front entrance.

            Relena wasted no time in getting the window open.  She had been here before and knew her way around, somewhat - although it had been three years. 

            She sat on the window ledge and dangled her right leg out of the opening.  She went to duck her head under the window frame, but glanced over at Heero and stopped.  Relena stood up and crossed the room, once again kneeling at his side.  She pressed her lips gently to his forehead and indulged in feeling something in her heart for a moment.  It had been so long - even pain was welcome now as she silently wished for what could never be.  With one last look filled with longing, she padded over to the window and climbed out into darkness. 

            Heero felt something warm whisper against his cheek.  He opened his eyes and fought a thick white haze to sit up in bed.  In the corner of his eye, he caught movement - a quick flash of gold moving against the black backdrop of night just outside the window.  He frowned, but the shadow was gone as quickly as it came.  “Relena…” 

            He looked over at the empty, bloodstained bed and his pulse quickened with alarm.  Heero was on his feet in seconds.  He looked out the window, but saw nothing.  He retrieved his gun from the floor, heard the click of a key in the door lock, and turned in a quick movement to point it at the opening door.  For the second time that night, Brian found himself facing the wrong end of a pistol.  This time, it wasn’t for long.  Before he could blink, Heero had lunged across the room and pinned him against the wall.  “Where is she?” He demanded gruffly.

            “I…I don’t know.  She was here a second ago,” Brian gasped out.  For the first time, he truly feared his roommate - the wild look in his eyes and the instrument of death in his hand. 

            “Did they take her?”

            “Who?”

            “My friends,” Heero snarled the last word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. 

            “No, they went to go do something about a shuttle.  She woke up, and was hungry, so I was going to get her some food.  But then I realized I had given the keys to my car to…the Chinese guy with the ponytail.”

            “Wu-fei.”

            “Yeah, so I came back to get your keys, and here we are.”

            “How long were you gone?”

            “Maybe ten minutes.”

            Heero released Brian and tucked his gun away.  “She couldn’t have gotten far.  Let’s go.”

            Brian looked quizzically at Heero as he moved to the window after his last statement.

            “What? Can no one use the door anymore?”  Brian asked annoyed.

            Heero glared at him.  “Yes, but she left this way.  Grab my keys, though, just in case.”

            Brian picked up the keys from Heero’s top desk drawer, glancing briefly at the framed photograph his roommate hid away from the world.  He put the key chain in his pocket and followed Heero out the window.  They headed in the same direction as the golden haired shadow Heero had glimpsed briefly upon waking up.

            Relena ran on bare feet through the night.  She had to contact Quatre and get off this colony.  As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn’t stay.  She crossed a street, and left the campus grounds.  “Damn!  I don’t have any money,” she groaned as she watched a taxi go by. 

            There weren’t many people out at this time of night.  Relena didn’t have a watch but she knew it had to be late.  In the distance, she could still see smoke drifting in faint wisps above the remains of her motel. Determined, she pressed on.  She walked a few more blocks, when the weather system’s rain turned on.  Although the colonies stayed a comfortable seventy-five degrees year-round during the day, the nights could get as low as sixty, and with a solid rain coming down, Relena felt a chill pass through the thickness of her sweater, and numb the exposed flesh of her feet.  She stopped, pressing close to a building for shelter, and crossed her arms over herself for warmth.  It did little to relieve the tremors coursing through her body. 

            Relena darted across the street to seek shelter under a store awning, and tried to get her bearings.  Unfortunately, the rain obscured the street signs, preventing her from knowing how much further she had to go before turning West on Canal Street.  She turned the corner and saw a phone booth gleaming underneath a streetlight. 

            After a quick search of the area immediately surrounding Kendall Hall, Brian and Heero climbed into Heero’s black two-door BMW sport coupe to continue their pursuit.  Brian was surprised when Heero drove off as if he knew exactly where he was heading. 

            They took a right as they left the campus and continued passed several streets.  The quiet shush of the windshield wipers soothed Brian’s nerves as he tried to block out thoughts of Heero’s promises of death.

A few blocks North of Canal Street, Brian saw where they were headed.  A phone booth underneath a city street lamp seemed to have an occupant - a very blond, very female occupant.  It was closest public phone in the area – the others being located in the student center that was closed at this time of night.  He shook his head and smiled.  He wasn’t going to die tonight, after all.

            Heero passed the booth and made a U-turn to park on a street just south of Relena’s location.  He got out to go the rest of the short distance on foot.  He made his approach from the side her back was facing; as he got close, he could see who she was talking to.  Surprisingly, the site of Quatre on that small screen made Heero’s blood boil.  He tore open the doors to the phone booth and grabbed the girl by her slender waist, pulling her out onto the sidewalk.  Relena screamed as she was dragged from her temporary shelter.

            Heero hissed at her to be quiet, clamping his hand over her mouth before turning his death glare on Quatre.  “I’ll take care of her, you just find out who’s responsible,” Heero commanded, still holding a squirming Relena.

            “Heero, you know she can’t stay there.  Trowa’s on his way right now.  We’ll take care of her.  You needn’t concern yourself,” Quatre replied, his face set in a serious expression.

            Heero’s eyes narrowed.  Quatre felt his pulse quicken in fear at the undisguised hatred burning in those blue eyes.  “She is my responsibility.  I’m asking you to help by finding out what you can about this attack, but it’s my duty to protect her.”

            Quatre shook his head.  “Why don’t you ask her what she wants?”

            Suddenly a dark-colored Chevy Blazer pulled up next to the curb and Duo jumped out.  Heero took his left hand off Relena’s mouth and whipped out his gun.  He pointed it at the advancing figure, while maintaining a vice-like grip on Relena’s waist.  The artificial rain finally let up to a light mist.

            “Let me go, Heero.”

            “Not now, Relena,” he said flatly, while removing the safety from the pistol, and taking aim at Duo.  Duo stopped and put up his hands.  Wu-fei climbed down out of the truck and stopped in front of the hood, observing the situation.  “Damn you, Yuy.”

            Heero didn’t acknowledge the Preventer as he continued to train his gun on Duo. 

            “Heero, you have to let us take her.  We’ll get her medical attention and then accompany her to Mars.”

            “She’ll be safe with me.”

            “But Heero,” she breathed close to his ear.  His gun almost wavered for a second - almost.

            “Not now, Relena.”

            Duo looked over at Wu-fei.  Wu-fei shrugged and got back in the truck.  Heero looked over to his right at the image of Quatre still on the video-com screen.  “All I’m going to say, Heero, is that this ceased to be your problem two years ago.  We know what needs to be done and will take care of her.  However, it is her decision whether she stays or goes.  So ask her.”

            Heero lowered his weapon, and released Relena.  She took a couple of steps back from him.  He turned to face her, his eyes asking the question.  He could see the answer reflected in her own dark blue orbs.  “Relena, I promised to protect you.”

            Her smile was sad as she regarded him with undisguised pain, “Heero, I can’t stay here.  You know that.”

            He frowned.  “No, I don’t know that.”

            She reached out and touched his cheek.  “It is I who can destroy you, now.  Your future. Everything you’ve worked for.  I won’t do that.  I….I love you too much to stay and be forever your obligation.” 

            She wasn’t looking at him again.  Strange emotions swirled around him: hope, stemming from her declaration that she loved him still, heartache that she was leaving, shame at his own words a few moments before to Quatre, and an overwhelming sense of longing.  His hand moved with a mind of its own, tilting her chin up to force her to look at him.  Their eyes met just a moment before he covered her mouth with his own in a gentle kiss.  When they broke apart, he whispered a single word, “Stay.”

            She shut her eyes tightly.  A few tears escaped the prison of her thick black lashes and coursed down her cheeks.  “I can’t.” She said softly, and walked away from him, toward the vehicle Duo and Wu-fei had waiting for her.  Quatre disappeared, terminating the video-com transmission on the public phone.

            Duo helped her into the back seat, and closed the door.  Heero stared at her while Duo muttered something like an apology. 

            “Hn.”

            “Heero, we’ll see you in a few weeks, right?”

            His eyes were fixed on Relena, who had her head bowed in the back seat, using her wet hair to shield her from his intense gaze. 

            “Hn,” was the only reply Duo received.  Heero was fighting a different emotion clutching his heart - anger.  He felt an intense rage suddenly come over him as he watched the car drive away from the curb.  Before he even realized it, he had punched through the glass on the near side of the phone booth, shattering the entire pane into little sharp slivers of glass that bit the flesh of his knuckles and his lower arm.