Heero sat in the cockpit of Wing Zero, legs crossed and arms folded over his chest. He had just finished a battle with a detachment of Oz mobile suits. The mission was only supposed to last a few weeks. As it happened, he had been away for three months now. The normally emotionless pilot sighed. He missed his love, Thea, whom he still hoped was waiting for him back home. Her smiling face was at the forefront of his mind as Duo’s came onto the screen in front of him.
“Hey Heero.” The God of Death called to his companion. “What’ca ya doing?”
Heero responded with a customary “hn.”
“Thinking about Thea again?”
“Sometimes you amaze me with your powers of deduction Duo.” Heero retorted in a flat monotone.
“Fine. You don’t wanna talk about it. I understand. But you aren’t the only one pinning for somebody back home.” Duo was obviously referring to Blitz.
Heero was about to refrain from responding when the alarms in his cockpit sounded their high pitched wail. He slipped once again into battle mode and terminated the transmission between Zero and D-Hell Custom. Practiced fingers flew across the key pad, piloting and eliminating mobile suits.
He spun left, and then banked right, and two more suits were reduced to floating debris. Heero’s actions were mechanical, so his mind was free to be elsewhere. And it was. A memory of a picnic he and his lover had shared under the moonlit sky played before his eyes like a nostalgic home movie.
It was more than an hour later when his surroundings began to take solid shape again. He became aware that all the mobile suits had been transformed into waste and the four Gundams involved in the battle, Sandrock, Epyon, D-Hell Custom and his, were floating in the same general vicinity. The movie had ended, and Zechs’ voice came over the intercom. “That was the last of them. Let’s go home.”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Thea Inazuma sat in her room, staring out the open window into the black abyss more commonly known as outer space. A heavy sigh was issued from her spot. ‘Are you ever coming back?’ She thought to herself. Shaking her head and scolding herself for thinking Heero might have left her, she rose and headed towards the bathroom. A long hot bubble bath was calling her name.
She undressed and sank slowly into the steamy water. ‘Three weeks he said. Three weeks. Here it’s been three months and still no word. Have you forgotten me Heero?’ But she couldn’t believe that he had. After all Zechs, Duo, and Quatre had been gone the same amount of time. The others certainly shared her feelings.
Another thought came to her then and she quickly put it out of mind. ‘If he were dead, I would know it. I just would. He’s not dead. Now enough of that.’
~ Meanwhile ~
Ara sat in front of the vid-phone. “You’re really coming home Zechs?”
“We’re on our way. It will probably take a few hours, God willing.” She smiled at the thought of the tall blonde’s arms around her.
“Is everyone still alive and well?”
A slight smirk curved his lips. “Alive and well. For the most part. Nothing a little time at home wont fix.” His smile broadened. “And there? Everything still intact I hope.”
“Intact, yes. But not the same. Hanna has become increasingly silent. Blitz is growing more violent and restless by the hour. And Thea,” she sighed, “It’s hard to tell. One day she seems fine, the next she’s on the verge of a break down. She needs Heero to come home.” She had an air of motherly concern in her voice.
“Well put her at ease. He’ll be home soon. And you? How are you holding up?” Zechs’ voice masked the concern he felt.
Ara smiled softly, easing that concern. “I’m fine. You promised me you’d be home. You know I would wait a thousand years with your promise to come home.”
“There will be no need.” The mutual love between them was written on the screen.
“Hurry back love.” Zechs’ nodded and ended transmission. Ara inhaled deeply. Looking up at the ceiling, she silently told Thea ‘He’s coming home. Hold on for a little while longer.’
~ Back to Thea ~
She was humming to herself, lost deeply in thought, not really noticing the water turning cold. Thea wore a smile, thinking about a day at the beach she and Heero had shared. (AN: Bare with me, I’m gonna go into some back round.) For whatever reason, their first date had come flying back to her memory. He had been so romantic. So much so that it seemed to amaze even him.
They had gone to a small café near the beach. The night was starlit and clear. After eating a lovely dinner, the pair had sat for what must have been hours talking. Simply talking, about nearly everything they could come up with. When the café finally closed Heero had proposed that they walk down the beach, enjoying the night sky. More hours were spent on an aimless meandering across wet sand. She remembered how he had taken her hand and pulled her close. She remembered being startled, yet interested in what he had in mind. She remembered how he had began to sing. She’d never heard of the song, most likely because it was in Japanese. And they danced. Danced! Right there on the beach! In the middle of the night, to top it off. She remembered feeling precisely ridiculous, and not caring at all. And best of all, she remembered the sunrise. The beautiful, glorious sunrise coming over the waters of the Pacific.
He had been a gentlemen that night, as he had been every day there after. Thea sighed, deciding it was time to get out of the tub before she turned into a walking prune. She rose and wrapped a towel around her, and then went into her bedroom to brush out her hair.
After drying off, she sat at her vanity and picked up her brush to begin the task of detangeling the mass of hair. As she was absorbed in her thoughts, a figure slipped silently in through the door. The figure stopped for a long moment, staring at Thea. Then, just as silently as he had entered, Heero came up behind her.
Thea was so caught up in another day dream that she didn’t even notice his reflection in the mirror. Heero knelt behind her chair and bent to kiss her shoulder softly. The distance in her eyes immediately disappeared and her vision focused onto Heero’s reflection.
For a moment she thought it was all a vivid dream. She hardly dared breath for fear that he would vanish and she would be alone again. But, then he spoke.
“I’ve missed you.” His husky voice sent shocks down her spine.
“Oh Heero.” Thea breathed, turning in the chair and pulling him into her arms. They embraced deeply, clutching each other in hopes that this was real, and not another dream.
They pulled out of the embrace to stare into each other’s eyes. “I’ve missed you.” Thea whispered against his lips. “Promise me Heero. If you ever leave for that amount of time again…” She trailed off with tears of relief welling in her eyes.
“I promise. Never again will I be away so long. I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t ever be so long without you again. Ever.” His thumb came across her check, wiping a stray tear away.
“Heero I-“ He pressed his lips to hers, gently silencing her. The moments stretched by as the sat where they were, locked in a slow, passionate kiss. Heero got to his feet, pulling Thea out of her chair along with him. Arms wrapped around each other and feet shuffled in the direction of the bed. Heero slipped the towel from Thea’s body, exposing her to his view. He drank in he form, enjoying every curve and tattooing the image onto his brain. A smile crossed Thea’s face seeing his reaction. (AN: *cough cough* use shameful imagination. ^_~) Reaching for him, she pulled his shirt off his body and playfully pushed him backwards onto the bed.
From there, it took precious little time for Heero to match Thea’s state of undress. She crawled over him in a catlike way and kissed him with enough force to take his breath away.
Not to be out done, Heero flipped her, putting her underneath him. His callused hands roamed her body, touching every part of her. Thea’s soft hands were similarly occupied. They spent several endless moments becoming familiar with each other’s bodies.
“Heero.” Thea whispered after she could stand being teased no longer. “Heero. Please,” her deep blue eyes penetrated his, “make love to me.”
“I’d be honored.” He whispered in response.
Gently, he shifted his weight and slowly entered her. Moans, unmatched in pleasure, and unchecked in volume reverberated off the walls of the room. Her nails dug into his back as they began an ancient dance of lovers, deeply surrendered to passion. Time had stopped, the outside world had disappeared, and for a moment in time, they were the only two people in existence.
They climbed higher and moved faster until the proverbial precipice was reached and the universe came crashing down on top of the two lovers. Sweat beaded, but went unnoticed as they lay kissing in the afterglow.
Thea managed to gain her wits enough to speak. “Heero.”
“hum?”
“Welcome home.”
A genuine smile touched his lips, softening the normally rigid lines of his face. “It’s good to be back.” Chuckling, they kissed deeply again and comfortably drifted into a contented sleep.