Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Road Not Taken ❯ Part XI ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
ROAD NOT TAKEN


Disclaimer: Gundam Wing, I don't own it!


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Once the door creaked open, light illuminating from the hall rushed into the tiny room, which caused her to blink several times to set her barriers clear.

Relena took one step into the sheltered interior of the cell and located a plain bed and chair to the side, all nailed to the floor. She waited patiently for her eyes to adjust to the darker lighting in the room. As her pupils became more aware of her surroundings, she noticed a muscular figure standing in front of her, facing the far-side wall. He back straightened, looking tensed from the additional member in the room. Unconsciously, she closed the door, which blocked most of the light from outside, and walked further into the room. No other sounds were heard aside from her heels clicking with the wooden surface. The silence was eating away at her; she couldn't form the words in her mouth and naturally, Heero would never initiate the conversation.

Finally she began, "Heero, it's me."

He remained motionless with his back facing her. Both could feel the tension rising as the seconds ticked-tocked in slow torture.

Relena tried reaching him again, "Heero, I..."

"Leave! You have no place here." He interrupted rudely.

She was flabbergasted and uncertain of how she should respond. Why did she even come? If she, herself, didn't possess the answer to such a simple question, what gives her the right to stay anyhow? Whether her stubborn pride was a sin or a blessing, she moved toward the bed and seated herself comfortably on the bedside.

"Tomorrow's the embassy ball." She announced softly, ignoring his last remark.

He replied more gently this time, "I know."

She chuckled, "Of course you know. You know everything, don't you Heero? However, the only piece of information that I want from you, I'll never be able to receive...Not in this life time anyway." Relena turned her gaze down to the ground.

Heero, too, tilted his head downward and remained soundless. The curiosity within him was growing astoundingly as he wondered what she was doing here. Nothing made sense anymore! Spending ten years erasing his past, his memories with her, and she still managed to sneak through his barriers and touch a part of him that has never been seen. Was this friendship? Companionship? Or love? Of all the missions that were assigned to Heero, protecting Relena was by far the most challenging and frightening. His home for the past decade had been lurking through shadows and complete darkness.

A few minutes passed and Relena have gone silent as well. He feared that she had not fully recovered from her head injury but then the slightest movement from the bed caught his eye and he relaxed somewhat.

Relena became uncomfortable from the quietness and began shifting her weight around the bed. She needed to direct her attention anywhere but there.

"I might not survive tomorrow night, Heero." She admitted softly. He did not reply.
"There's only one thing I need to know?" Pause. Relena took a small breath before finishing her sentence, "Were you there that night at the Peacecraft Mansion?" No response.

"Don't tell me you were the one who tried to kill me. You...You're not someone who would partake in such irrational action, are you?"

He began pacing around the room, still maintaining his distance and his face from her view. "Please answer me Heero." Strongly she asked him, holding her control in check.

"What difference does it make?" He finally answered quietly.

Relena was close to her breakdown point. How could he ask such an idiotic question? Despite how jumbled her thoughts, she refused to let him see how much she was hurting inside. After all, being the Vice Foreign Minister has unconsciously trained her to choose her words wisely when speaking to a difficult adversary.

"It makes all the differences in the world! You're in here because my brother's holding the assumption that you attempted to take my life!" She stood abruptly, nearly screaming every syllable. "How can you be so foolish? Why not tell them all the truth?"

He responded, "There is no truth to tell."

Relena was growing more frustrated with him than with their conversation. Every phrase coming out of his mouth was nothing more than riddles: riddles, which she couldn't decode.

"I don't understand." She admitted defeat.

Neither did he. Heero couldn't understand why he was unable to tell her the entirety of the situation. Why was he leaving her in the dark? Perhaps he wanted to protect her as much as possible and in order to do that, she needed to know as little as possible.

Relena couldn't stand the tension anymore. Tears were beginning to take form beneath her eyelids. She decided to run for the exit, hoping she could escape from his sight before her emotions overpowered her. Never again will she permit another tear to fall from her face, in front of Heero.

"I'm sorry. I have to go." She proclaimed, increasing her speed towards the door.

He immediately noticed her distress and her sudden movement away from him. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't want her to leave just yet. Unfortunately, he didn't possess the skills in speaking to women. Instead of expressing his thoughts with words, he discovered that his actions would speak much clearer for him than any other way.

She finally reached the door and pulled on the knob. The solid door creaked open just a few inches when Relena felt a great force exerted on the door, working against her pull. Heero stood right behind her with two hands placed chest level at her sides, pushing the door shut. He cornered her slim frame between the door and his muscular body. The minute she felt a warm presence behind her, she froze. Now, they were both breathing harder than before, feeling each other's heat although, they weren't touching each other. Her hand was still on the knob, unable to release her hold.

"Let me go, Heero." Relena pleaded, almost feeling her composure about to break.

"No." He whispered into her right ear.


TBC...