Mission Accepted: Love in the Dark
Relative disclaimers apply.

Heero was still muttering under his breath as he closed the door behind himself.

Relena barely noticed. The were a lot of shadows in the room, but she could see that they hadn't been given a lot of seating options, just as the front-counter man had said.

There's the bed...and the chair and table over there...and the chair in front of the dresser...and the bed...

It made her extremely nervous. She'd been alone with Heero before, but never like this.

Maybe if we'd come in the daytime. But he's just a friend, and it's just for one night. We can handle this.

She sneered.

Yeah right.

She decided to take a deep breath and found it difficult to do so. She was breathing erratically and couldn't seem to control it.

"...the floor," Heero said.

She whirled to face him.

"H-Huh?"

He looked at her with a blank face and annoyed eyes.

She knew he wasn't annoyed with her — not as much as he was with the others anyhow — but that look was still unnerving, and she was afraid that she would faint from the added pressure on her heart.

"I said, I'll sleep on the floor. It's going to be a little colder tonight but—"

"No!" she said before she had thought of what to say, and blushed.

He cleared his throat.

"There's no other way."

She glared at him, although her blush was deepening.

"I will not have you sleep on a possibly contaminated floor."

"We can't."

"We are. That is, you are."

His eyes narrowed. How dare she even think of arguing with him about this? Really, about anything?

"I'm sleeping on the floor and that is that. End of subject."

She sighed but didn't answer that. Instead, she turned and walked over to one of the three windows, pushing the thin curtains apart to try to get a good view past the bars.

He muttered a curse and walked over to her.

"Now what?" she complained.

"Don't get too close. They may be out there, with guns."

Her lip curled.

"You worry too much."

She turned to look at him.

"And besides—" she pointed all around both of them — "we're in shadow. See? I have learned something from you guys."

Her statement about them being in shadow was true, but one couldn't be too careful when one was on the run.

Still...it was a beautiful evening. Stars dotted the sky...the moon was high and the clouds, in varying shades of dark blue, seemed to frame it all.

But of course, the young woman in his company was a heavenly body herself.

He swallowed.

"There's not much to see," he said without much conviction.

Being alone with her was making him feel all kinds of things, and not all of them were bad or uncomfortable.

She lightly tsked him.

"As long as I can see the sky, I'm fine."

"Hmph."

He turned away, glad for an excuse to not keep looking at her and thus intensify what she was doing to him.

"You deserve better than this."

And the next time I see the guys...I just might kill them for doing this to me.

"Heero." Her voice was a bit sharp. "I'm fine."

He looked at her and felt a renewed admiration for her.

Her eyes are reminding me that she's Princess Relena Peacecraft, known to many as Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian. She can bring entire worlds down with her voice and those damned pacificist convictions. But under it all, she's just a girl. She's one hell of a girl, though: She left her new world to come with me, with us, on a mission we only hope will end successfully.

She sensed his mood and tension but could only look at him.

I'm not as much of a burden to you as I once was, am I? Why? And why are you so concerned about me? I'm fine, Heero. I can take care of myself.

He thought: She is...so much. And I am nothing.

Their gazes locked and everything else seemed to fade away.

Heero.

Relena.

He winced and looked away.

What's going on here?

But he knew. He'd known forever, it seemed. And maybe it had only been sneaking up to him before, but now it slammed into him and —

He roughly grabbed her shoulders and yanked her closer to him.

"They really might be out there."

"Heero! What are you doing—"

"This should ward them off."

Her eyes all but fell out of her head as he touched his mouth to hers, first hesitantly and then suddenly both pleading for and demanding a response.

She was taken completely off guard.

Why, Heero? Are they out there? Is this a game? Or is this real?

Her eyes narrowed.

Come on, Relena. Ask questions later.

She wrapped her arms around his middle and matched what he was giving her.

On a balcony in front of a similar room diagonally across from and one floor above that room, Duo and Wufei fought each other over a pair of binoculars.

"Let me see!" Duo cried.

"Let me see!" Wufei insisted.

Trowa came out of the room and onto the balcony.

"What do you see?"

Duo grinned wickedly.

"And two became one," he intoned.

Trowa gasped.

"What!"

Wufei shook his head slowly.

"Two of the shadows in their room moved closer together."

Quatre stuck his head out of a window.

"Will you guys just leave them alone please?"

All right Heero!

Duo won the fight.

"Let's see if they're horizontal—"

"Duo! Dammit, man..."

"That's it, braid-boy. The show's over."

Wufei and Trowa grabbed him and began to drag him back inside the room.

"What?" Duo demanded. "I want to know! Oh come on, guys. We don't have to go back to our room yet, do we? I'll put the binocs away, I swear! Oh come on..."

An unmarked helicopter equipped with a high-beam searchlight entered the hotel area and swept the searchlight around it.

"See anything?" asked a male voice inside the 'copter.

"No, sir," answered another male voice. "Nothing but couples makin' out all over the place."

"Damn. Abort the search, then. We'll try again in an hour, then we'll come back sometime in the morning."

"Yes, sir."

Relena gently broke the kiss, then opened her eyes.

"They're gone. Thank goodness."

Her eyes widened as she saw the unreadable expression in his.

And they were still holding each other.

What was going on here?

"Heero...?"

That had been more than a game, huh, Heero?

His eyes half-closed.

"Relena, I..."

He closed his eyes and scowled.

If I don't say it I'll never find peace within myself. But how do I know? Dammit...I just know.

He opened his eyes and she knew.

"Heero," she whispered, wondering if her own eyes looked as his did.

He exhaled.

"Relena..."

Suddenly his grip on her tightened and his eyes blazed.

She gasped.

"The game's over, Relena."

His tone scared her. She shuddered and felt a secret little joy in feeling his grip tighten a little bit more.

"What game?" she nearly demanded, surprising both of them.

"We both know what's going on here," he said dead-seriously...but his voice wavered a little.

He's psyching himself up. Poor Heero! He's never gone through this with any girl before.

"You wouldn't have kissed me back if...you would have slapped me."

"Heero..."

He blinked and exhaled, then gave her a smile that made her feel feather-light and absolutely, wonderfully, spin-around-until-I-get-dizzy-and-hit-the-ground silly.

All of the pain in her heart and soul, all of the burdens she carried on her shoulders...were nothing.

"Relena...You know...dammit...I love you."

I said it! Damn. But why do I feel so relieved? As though there are no more battles to fight?

She burst into tears.

"H-heero...."

The eternity of wondering was over. And now...nothing would ever be the same again.

It wasn't going to be easy. Love wasn't a simple journey, and it wasn't always fifty-fifty. Especially not with him.

But she wouldn't have it any other way.

Take me with you wherever you go. I'll stay by your side forever. Please, Heero. Let me.

He raised his hands to bath his thumbs in her tears before tenderly wiping them away.

"And I know that you love me. I don't know why...dammit. I didn't want you to. I don't need to tell you why. But you deserve better, Relena. You need someone who will give you a better li—"

She tried to speak, coughed violently, tried again.

"I don't care about my life!" she flung at him, still sniffling and coughing. "The life I live now—it can go to hell! I'm not needed, I'm wanted. Do you see the universe going crazy or falling apart because I'm not behind my desk?"

"Relena—"

She put her hands flat on his back.

"All I need and want is right here."

He sighed.

"Relena..."

She didn't answer him. But he felt her love for him surround him and then fill him, inspiring a new, deeper strength in him, making him feel as though he could crush any obstacle to dust.

If a hug from her alone could do this...

How can I thank her for everything she's done for me?

Was loving her enough? It was all he could give her.

"Relena..."

He gently removed her hands and placed them on his chest.

She got control over her coughing and stopped sniffling.

"Yes...?"

He brought her closer to his body. Much closer.

Relena...I need you. I always have.

She gasped.

He's squeezing the air between us!

He didn't give her time to recover. He kissed her again, showing her no mercy this time. If she wanted to love him, he wanted her to know that it wasn't going to be easy.

But you belong to me.

Heero....I...

She took a deep breath, somehow managed to free her hands, tangled her fingers in his hair, and kept up with him.

Their bodies molded together. Their hearts became one.

Relena...

No. Don't say anything.

But I...I have to tell you.

Suddenly, unable to think straight, knowing only that he wanted and needed her more than he had anything, ever, he scooped her up, walked over to the bed and gently placed her upon it, all without interrupting the kiss.

You're my life...

He broke the kiss to lock his gaze with hers, and placed his hands flat on either side of her.

She stroked his face.

I'm here. Always...

"Stay," she whispered.

He nodded and set his mouth to hers again.

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