"She went upstairs, Heero. She probably needed some fresh air."

Heero nodded. "Thanks, Quatre." He headed for the stairwell, excusing himself past a few couples deep in conversation, and quickly walked upstairs.

As he walked down the long hallway, Heero fingered a circular object in one of his pockets. He had been planning this evening for weeks. Once he found Arys, he would take her out to the gardens for a moonlit walk. He discreetly peeked into various rooms until he found the object of his search. She stood on the balcony of the library. The open French doors framed her slim silver-gowned figure. She had her face tilted up into a beam of moonlight that made her dress shimmer like gossamer. Heero leaned against the doorjamb, just to admire the picture she made against the dense black backdrop of a starry sky.

His mind went back to the night he had first gotten to talk to her at the Cinq Kingdom Institution. She never had gotten him back for that flying tackle he had done to her. He chuckled softly.

The low sound startled Arys and she turned around to face him, a slender hand held to her throat. When she saw that it was him, she lowered her hand and smiled. That smile always made Heero's heart skip a beat. It was the one she always saved for him only.

"It's cold out here, Arys." Heero walked across the library to meet her in the balcony doorway. He took her hands and rubbed them between his gently. Her hands were cold, but she seemed to be ignoring them as her gray eyes swept his face.

Arys gripped his hands in hers and pulled him out onto the balcony, right into the chill wind blowing in from the ocean. Her long hair blew back from her face and she pointed to the full moon rising above the horizon of the nearby ocean.

"The moonrise is beautiful, Heero. I had to see it."

Heero knew better though. Arys was romantic, but she was not a hopeless one. He tucked an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. He bent down until his lips were close to her ear.

"You're lying."

Arys laughed and turned toward him, placing her arms around his neck. She looked up at him earnestly. He had grown quite a bit in the past few years and he found himself looking down into her moonlit eyes. She reached up to his face and brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen across his forehead.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd come."

"I need to ask you something, Arys."

An expectant look came to her face, and Heero took her arms from around his neck and placed one of her hands in the crook of his arm. "Can we go for a walk?"

Arys turned her face away to glance at the beach. She gave Heero a pleading look. "Can we walk along the shoreline?"

Heero winced inwardly. He had never liked the sea. It had almost taken his life as well as the life of the girl who stood in front of him. And he could not imagine life without her. But Heero nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Let's go."

Soon, the couple walked barefoot in the sand along the shoreline, their shoes left on the lawn of the house. Arys leaned against Heero's shoulder, her eyes closed as they walked, trusting Heero to keep her from falling. The sound of the gently lapping waves seemed to have their own music, a melody that drowned out the sounds of violin music coming from the house nearby. Arys stirred slightly, and Heero stopped in his tracks.

"Dance with me, Heero." She had heard the music.

"Here?" Heero glanced around at their surroundings.

Arys stepped away from him and whirled around playfully. "Can't you hear it, Heero? The sea has its own music. We can waltz to it."

Heero sighed at her antics and then obediently stepped forward to take her in his arms. Waltzing on a beach. He could not believe he was doing this! He looked down at the girl whose head was pillowed against his chest. But if it made her happy, he was willing to do it. Heero loved having her in his arms though, so his hesitation quickly disappeared. Slowly they maneuvered themselves closer to the waves and then farther away, keeping time to the waves coming in. Then, came that perfect moment.

Heero reached into his pocket and pulled out a diamond ring. Gently, he pressed it into Arys' right hand. She stopped dancing, startled at the touch of cold metal against her skin.

"Marry me," Heero whispered against her ear. He had been waiting three long years to ask this question. He hoped he already knew her answer.

Arys pulled back enough to look at him in surprise. Then, she smiled. She touched a finger to his lips, whispering back, "Yes."

She held her hand out to him, and he took the ring from her, only to take her left hand in his and place the ring on her finger. She sighed contentedly and let him take her in his arms again.

"When do you want to get married?" She asked softly.

"Now." Heero's voice was low with barely contained emotion.

Arys pulled back again and grinned up at him. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. I like the way you think, Heero Yuy. Do you want to elope?"

Heero gave her a rare smile. "I'd say that you're thinking like me now."

"Should we tell them?" She said, nodding toward the house standing on the hill behind them. Classical music still poured from its lit windows.

Heero pulled her back toward him. "Not yet. I want you to myself for a little bit longer."

With that statement, he lowered his head and kissed her. His kiss was gentle. He wanted to give in to the feelings whirling within him, but he was afraid.

Arys broke off the kiss for a few seconds to whisper, "You're holding back, Heero. Let it go."

Her words stirred him. How had she known? He had been holding back for the past few years, afraid that he would hurt her, afraid that he would lose her somehow because of the intensity of his feelings for her. Afraid that she would break his heart. A heart that had been broken too many times. But with those words, she broke down all the barriers.

Heero whispered huskily, "I love you."

Then, he kissed her again, but there was something different about his kiss this time. It was possessive, and he felt her respond in kind. He finally gave in to his emotions and crushed her against himself. She clung to him as he drank of her essence, unable to get enough of the girl in his arms. Heero's heart leaped when he realized that he would have this girl for the rest of his life.

When the kiss finally ended, Arys sounded ready to cry. She leaned weakly against him, hugging him against her, and she sniffled a bit. He kept his arms around her, settling his chin on top of her head. He lovingly ran a hand over her dark hair.

"Ai shiteru, Heero," She said in his native language. The words sounded like music to Heero's ears. "Can we just stand here like this for a few minutes? I want to remember this moment."

"For as long as you like, Arys...."

"For the rest of our lives...?"

"We still have to get married, remember?"

Arys chuckled softly and raised gray eyes to gaze into his twilit blue ones. "That's right."

Heero smiled at her and lowered his head to kiss her again.

The couple swayed together slightly to the music of the ocean. A blond-haired observer stood on the hill above them, unseen. He smiled to himself, knowing he should not have worried about them even though the rest of the visitors had already left. He turned away and headed back to the house, leaving Arys and Heero standing in the moonlight.