Belongings

Relena : Regrets

A Gundam Wing Fan fiction by Louise Tjandrasjahan

Part 03

Relena narrowed her eyes as the fierce rays of the afternoon sun burning

her eyes, and donned her black baseball cap as she rummaged her white

plastic bag for a pair of sunglasses. Her lips twitched in satisfaction

when her hand finally found what she was looking for. However, her smile

turned into frown, when she finally took a good look at the sunglasses.

It was Quatre's sunglasses. Turning the object in her hand, she

mused inwardly, wondering how it ended up in her bag. She eyed the

glinting wire rim and the blue lenses disinterestedly. Hers and Quatre's

style sure differed. Personally she preferred her plastic red framed and

yellow tinted sunglasses, but anything would do for her as long as they

served their purpose. In this case, she needed the sunglasses to protect

her identity and shield her eyes from the scorching sun.

Shrugging carelessly, Relena she donned the sunglasses. She lifted

an eyebrow as she caught her reflection on a display window by her side,

biting her lower lip as she brushed her bangs aside and scrutinised her

own reflection. The wire-framed sunglasses actually suited her look

albeit a little bit old fashioned.



Hefting her bag high below her arm, she smiled at her reflection

one more time before skipping to another direction. However, her feet

were frozen to the ground the moment she spotted a distinct reflection

of a man. Relena gasped involuntarily; her hands flew to cover her mouth.

Heero Yui. He was in town? Shopping alone? Unbelievable.

She could never believe her ill luck.

Quickly she turned her back on the reflection on the display window

and lowered her sunglasses before double-checking the figure standing

across the road. Her hands were shaking from both panic and excitement.

The man was definitely Heero Yui, although he seemed to be much

more at ease than the Heero she had encountered in the headquarters

every day, with one hand leaning casually against the traffic light and

the other holding several plastic bags. Silver plastic sunglasses

perched on the bridge of his nose, and he was out of his usual Preventer

uniform.



It was common knowledge that Heero was her old time flame, but –

God forgives her – she was engaged to Quatre Raberba Winner! Still, she

couldn't resist ogling Heero Yui. He reminded her of the past as she saw

him raking his windblown dark mousy hair; his lean figure looked

irresistible in the high-necked black sleeveless shirt and khakis. It

wasn't exactly his old dress code, but the image he produced brought her

back to last time they had spent together in the abandoned hangar.

Relena could feel a smile forming slowly on her mouth as she craned

her neck to get a better view of Heero. Relena could only sense aura of

relaxation from him, a trait that rarely appeared. Gone was the stealth

he applied on his every movement. He almost looked like an ordinary man.

A beautiful man, Heero Yui was.

He was also the same man who had refused her a few months ago,

claiming he loved and hated her at the same time. The same man who had

kissed her passionately, and yet leaving her empty and dissatisfied

after. The same man who had been her sole obsession since she was

fifteen, young and full of dreams, but lonely.

And the bastard, he was also the first to break his heart.

Relena stiffened at her own thought. She knew she would never

dismiss the memory completely, but she just never expected it to affect

her so strongly. Usually she managed to maintain civil if not friendly

atmosphere during the time they had to work together. So, why now?



"Aw, let's go!" she groaned. She was just being sentimental. Sure

the strange emotion would fade in a minute.



Relena commanded herself to move, but her legs wouldn't follow her

order. She placed the sunglasses back before her eyes, but they couldn't

stop spying on Heero. At least the young Preventer member was totally

oblivious of Relena's existence.



Or may be he wasn't.



After all, acute senses had always been in his nature, the perfect

soldier.



Relena gasped, cursing her own stupidity. She should have run when

she had the chance. Heero eventually looked up, a frown between his

brows, his strong hand lifting the sunglasses so they rested on top of

his head. A shudder ran through Relena's spine the moment his cobalt

blue eyes bored into her own baby blue ones. Heero's cold and steely

glare was not a new experience for her, but it still pierced her heart.



Relena narrowed her eyes in silent scrutiny. The muscles of his

face were hardened as recognition flashed in his eyes, but the display

of emotions ended there. Relena thought she had no reason to fear Heero,

but, as seconds were ticking by, she finally realised she did fear him

for his unpredictability.



Shaking her head ruefully, Relena let out a dry chuckle and threw

one arm in defeat. Heero Yui was definitely a hopeless case. She knew

what she would do. She would just have to play it cool, crossed the road

in a stride (where she supposed to be heading, anyway), greeted Heero

bravely and went her merry way. Yes, she would just do that.



Yet, she wouldn't budge from her spot although the crossing light

turned green, and then turned back into red. And neither did Heero.



She could see his fists tightened around the handles of his

shopping bags as he continued staring into the blueness of Relena's

crystal clear orbs. Relena stepped aback, her heart pumped wildly as she

became self-consciousness. She, Relena Peacecraft, who had hypnotised

her audience whenever she spoke, was frozen by a mere glance of a man.



It took her several seconds to calm her heart. By the time she

managed ignoring Heero's penetrating gaze, she was all teary and

exhausted…too drained to flee from him. She was a fool for believing

herself to be immune to his frightening gaze. Heero's gaze stripped her

soul barriers, leaving her with nothing to cover her most intimate

emotions.



Blinking away her tears, Relena clutched her bag close to her heart

and scuttled away to escape the vision of Heero Yui. She would not cross

the road. It was too risky for her sanity. Heero was still looking at

her – she realised this as she felt the hair on her nape pricked. It was

strange, but she thought she sensed thousands of undefined emotions she

had never witnessed before in Heero. She stopped on her track in a

moment of impetuosity, curiosity finally winning over as she whirled her

head to face him once again.



She never understood him. She thought he wanted her to go away; she

really thought he did. But when she looked into his eyes, there would

always be this naked, undefined emotion – one that finally forced her to

stay. It was always like that. And when she stayed, he refused. When she

left, he pleaded…silently. She didn't know anymore what he wanted of her.



She needed him to tell her.



------------------------------------------------



Heero's heart skipped a beat the moment he saw the lovely vision

before his eyes, suppressing the urge to chuckle at Relena's attempt to

hide her identity with a pair of sunglasses and a black baseball cap. It

would never work for him; he recognised her too well. Those slender

limbs, slim waist, beautiful golden tresses and the cherry red lips…the

way her hips swayed…everything about her screamed Relena Peacecraft to

him. She wasn't totally uncreative though. At least she managed to

deceive most of the civilians around her.



Heero was unable to take his eyes from her even as he was adjusting

the balance of his shopping bags and leant on his left hip, searching

for the most comfortable stance to continue his watching. The barest tug

at the corners of his lips formed a ghostly little smile as he regarded

her with hooded eyes. The smile became ironic when he saw Relena shifted

from foot to foot in discomfort.



She was marrying one of his comrades in a few months. Should he

feel regret, perhaps sadness? Or should he be happy? He had no idea. In

fact, he didn't have the slightest clue about what he was feeling inside.

He had driven Relena away from him, and yet he couldn't bring himself to

congratulate the brilliance of his own action and continue as if nothing

had happened in the past few months. After all, he believed he had

removed the obstacle of in his life.



Relena became extremely polite to him, and never again regarded him

with the warmth she reserved only for her close friends and relatives.

She never bothered him anymore, not even for a friendly chitchat. She

avoided him like a plague, only talking to him when necessary, and with,

he should say, much professionalism.



He supposed to be happy, but a pang of 'something' drove him insane

instead. It was an uncomfortable twinge at first, but it grew bigger and

bigger and sometimes it would distract him from work. Even worse, he

started making mistakes in his missions, which caused his reputation as

a perfect soldier to suffer.



He thought he was over with the love thing. He thought by

eliminating their relationship, he could set his life back on the right

track. He told the woman he had loved her, but also hated her to get rid

of everything that he believed bringing nothing but commotions.



Her face haunted him even in his waking hours. He swore she had had

him poisoned, and the poison lingered, refusing to leave his mind. He

changed; he was not his normal self anymore. But what was normal? He

never dared asking anybody and kept the secret to himself.



He tried sleeping pills, and yet Relena's face would always float

into his dreams. In the dream he was always mesmerised and reduced into

a dysfunctional person, unable to resist her charms. He always woke up

with sweat drenching his body, shaking with silent longing and those

undefined emotions. Guilt? Love? Again, he had no clue.



Against all odds, he started stealing glances at the beautiful

diplomat the moment he was sure she wasn't looking his way, even at work.

No matter how many times he looked at her, she was always bold and

strong and beautiful, her blue eyes blazing and sparkling with vivacity

as she impressed the older diplomats around her while getting her job

done efficiently at the same time.



However, at the moment he was looking at a different Relena – the

Relena outside their working environment. No designer suit, no make-up,

no intricately braided hair. Just Relena and plain Relena – a beautiful

and young single woman in the sky blue spaghetti strapped top and

bootleg jeans, her hair high in a ponytail.



He surprised himself when a genuine smile spread on his face. Not

quite a smirk, but a gentle one. Relena looked just like an ordinary

woman, and for a moment he could forget who and where he was. At that

moment he was just an ordinary man admiring an ordinary girl on an

uneventful day. May be he could forgo all restrictions and spoke to her

in a more civilised manner for today. Besides, Relena would soon marry

Quatre. A simple greeting wouldn't hurt.



The light finally turned green again, and he took a deep breath,

strengthening his resolution as he crossed the street purposely. His

hands were cold and clammy as he shifted his loads from hand to hand,

his heart hammering against his ribcage. All this excitement was new to

him, and he was giddy because of it. He was aware of the implications of

allowing his emotions to rule over his head, but he was willing to take

the risk.



He quickened his pace as he sensed her speeding away from him, her

nervous aura penetrating his senses. He pushed the milling people out of

his way, sending glares potent with his usual steel determination that

caused people to part voluntarily. He only had one mission in his head:

to catch up with Relena, whom he realised was just as afraid as him to

face each other. Nevertheless, he couldn't let her go because he must,

at all cost, clear up everything with Relena and at least settled on a

mutual understanding.



Today, just today, perhaps he was able to figure out what he

actually desired.