Chapter Text
Wisps of hair flew across her face, tresses dancing in the breeze as her smile warmed the wind. She held out her hand to him, her palm cupping the air, and he found himself following, drawing her fingers between his larger ones. He pulled her into his embrace and watched her face huddle against his chest, her eyelashes falling upon her cheeks.
"It's going to rain."
She laughed softly at his statement, a melody bubbling through his shirt.
"You just have to ruin the moment, don't you?" She looked up at him, face upturned to meet his gaze,
"I suppose that's just how you are."
He kissed her then, meaning to be sweet but failing with broad sweeps of his tongue. She had moaned against his lips, her shoulders hunched to lend to the arms she had wrapped around his neck and shoulders, fingers tangled in his hair and the material of his shirt.
"Yes…I suppose…it will rain."
She had something to tell him.
"Heero—"
Her mouth curved over the word, the breath escaping her chest: he, and then ro.
"Heero…"
The sound was pleasing from her lips. He couldn't help but be entranced.
"HEERO."
Heero leapt from his desk—his fists flew from their clenched position and latched onto the first thing they found, every muscle squeezing to subdue.
"Heero!"
Wide, purple-blue eyes and a slack jaw came into focus, palms framing a chestnut-haired head.
"H-hey…yer…yer chokin'…me…"
Heero's grip slackened on the scruff of Duo's faded t-shirt, the cotton material slipping through his fingers as he lowered Duo back to solid ground. Heero's piercing blue eyes looked away from Duo's, and back at the mass of monitors he had been staring at when he…when he must have fallen asleep. Embarrassment fizzled under the skin across his face, but he refused to dwell on the emotion. He had shown enough weakness by falling asleep. Better now to adopt total indifference.
His eyes narrowed, his breath leaving his lungs in a steady stream as he tried to remember his dream. It was fading too quickly…only fragments and feelings came clearly, until the pink shade of her cheeks lingered, and that was all.
From the corner of his eye he could see Duo scratch at the scalp under the top of his braid, and Heero turned his back to him. Without even a full glimpse at his friend's expressive face, he could imagine Duo's thoughts. Previous arguments between them on this subject had heard the phrase It's been almost two whole years, Heero! And She's a big girl. It's over. Move on.
Twenty-two months and fifteen days.
For twenty-two months and fifteen days he'd looked for her, the guiding principle of his free time (or not free time) consumed by making contact, tracking her down, ensuring her livelihood. While so many others had given up on her ghost, Heero had remained haunted.
He checked over his shoulder, finding Duo just where he'd been before. He had the look of a mind-reader, who wasn't happy with what they knew.
Heero turned away.
"Uh…" Duo began, leaning to the side to try to catch Heero's eye. "Well, Zechs called. He wants us to meet him in his office; said it was pretty urgent…"
The last word seemed to jilt Heero out of his reverie, and in a half a second Heero was filling a nondescript manila folder with the contents previously scattered across his desk. He straightened his Preventer-issued jacket and flicked dust off the cuff.
But Heero's hand lingered for the briefest of moments as his eyes went dark… The image of her eyes came back to him all in a rush… They mirrored the pools of rain…rain that would soon be splashing over her hair, and her shoulders, down the length of her back…
He could…he could barely remember that day now.
Duo's whistle escaped between pinched lips as he and Heero traveled through the hallways, his tune sparing toothy grins for the cute interns and small nods for those peers he respected. They slid into an empty elevator together.
"So, what're the odds we're in there again for anything other than his sister?" Duo grinned wearily at his own cheek. "Because I swear, if you two spent half as much time to the scum of the Earths Sphere, crime would not exist. Like, period."
Duo emphasized this by cocking an imaginary gun and training it on the elevator doors in front of them.
Bam bam bam bam.
"It's not like she even wants to be found, anyway. I mean, you guys know she's alive, with the press releases and whatever…"
Heero spared a sidelong glance at his companion, inspecting the marks his imaginary bullets had made on the linoleum-plated doors.
"You might as well leave her alone, ya know?"
The muscles in Heero's jaws tightened. Duo's argument was tired. Heero tried to remember her clouded eyes.
"You look terrible, Yuy," Zechs mentioned without looking up. A dull roar hummed from the open space outside the commander's office.
Before Duo could close the door behind them, something small pushed past him, feet skipping over themselves on their way to their superior behind his desk. The young man spared a glance at the visitors before dipping down to whisper frantically to the Major. The cadet dropped a manila folder, and scampered out again. The thick noise from the adjoining room came to an abrupt halt when the door connected with its jamb.
Flexing his thumb, Zechs spewed the new manila's contents onto his desk.
The sound of the flimsy glossy paper touched the metallic finish, and the room allowed a collective pause. The sound of the wall-clock ticking the seconds sounded with dull, aching thuds, as if it were chopping wood.
It was Relena.
One of the three swallowed to relieve their dry throat.
"Have either of you ever been to a place formerly called 'Montana'?"
Duo was frowning deeply. His lips scrunched to the side, he turned his face from the photos to the ceiling, an irritated tick at his temple.
"That's in what, former Cana—?"
"United States," Zechs corrected curtly, having long since calmed the urge to throttle Duo at his attempts with geography. "Northern United States, West of the Great Lakes. Completely landlocked with one of the smallest populations by area, and yet with one of the largest territorial land masses. I want you two to leave imme—"
"Aw, come on man! Puh-lease not another wild goose chase!"
Two pairs of cold eyes pinned Duo into silence.
But Duo apparently didn't feel like responding to them right now. He flopped unceremoniously into one of the cheap chairs opposite of Zechs' desk.
"Remember L4, man? And fuckin' Mongolia? Jeezus Christ-o, man, when're you guys going to stop?"
Zechs and Heero's eyes met over the chestnut hair, both jaws locked with irritation.
"No way, man. If it is her, you both know she's probably somewhere else by now! And that's probably not even her!" He wasn't getting the response he wanted, and Duo was clearly getting frustrated at the stubbornness of his peers. He ran a hand violently through his hair. "You know what, you guys can go if you want to. I have better goddamn things to do than go chasing after this fuckin' wet dream."
"Shut the fuck up, Duo."
Heero wasn't sure he had spoken until he felt his friend's name leave his lips. He also realized the pain in his right hand was from strangling the butt of his gun, and that his pulse was throbbing at his temple.
Silence crept into the room. Duo shook off the stares of both men and turned his attention to his knee with a sardonic sneer, for a moment lost in thought. Heero's face was taut as he turned back to the older man, who caught Heero's gaze.
"Agent Barton knows it's her." Heero wanted to question when and why Trowa was brought in on this case, but what Zechs said next made him forget all about it:
"This picture was taken three hours ago."
The icy blue stare of the Lightning Count made its way to Heero Yuy, and there was victory in his eyes.
"We found her, Heero. We found her."
"It's just…Well jeezus." Duo let his gaze float out of focus as he stared past Heero's left shoulder, lost in his own thoughts amid the emptiness of the abandoned break room. Heero found himself directing himself and his companion there after they left Zechs' office. He still wasn't sure why, but his head was such a mess that he didn't question the need for caffeine.
"How long has it been?"
Heero rubbed his thumb over the base of his coffee mug, long since feeling warmth emanate from the ceramic.
"Two years."
"Jeezus."
There was silence.
"…I know."
"It's just—well, damn!" Heero felt the muscles of his jaw flex.
Duo fixed his old friend with a sudden glare.
"You know she doesn't want to be found, right. I've told you that enough times, right."
Heero felt the burn of shame rush through his system. Yes, he knew. And he knew the irony of his situation: him now the follower, just wanting to catch a glimpse of her or be near to her. But when she had disappeared…after everything…it's my fault…
I should have been watching you.
"Well, I know that you're going to go anyway. And hey, if you do find her, then that's just one less thing I have to worry about," Duo rationalized, taking a strong sip of his milky coffee. "When do you leave?"
Heero paused, irrationally taking a slow sip of his tepid coffee. "Tonight."
"Yeah, I suppose it'll take you a while to get there. I would ask if you had a plan, but I suppose again that you probably do and that it doesn't concern me."
Duo dropped his mug to the table and picked up the paperwork he had been walking with, touching two fingers to his temple in a small salute.
"Well good luck, I guess. Tell her I said hello."
Duo's steps carried his smiling visage outside of the small break room, until the door swung shut behind him. Immediately the smile dropped from his face, and a grim expression took hold. Heero was going to fuck this up.
And he couldn't help doubting if any of them would ever see the Princess again.
A slender woman dressed in jeans and a t-shirt pushed herself back against the fridge. An elderly woman bustled past, hefting a pot of chili so large it required two hands to carry. Bree gave an apologetic smile in thanks for the right of way, and two clear blue eyes crinkled at the corners as the younger woman smiled kindly in return.
As she watched Bree disappear through the swinging doors, her young, slim fingers plucked a thick woolen shawl off the worn chair by the telephone. She wrapped it quickly around her shoulders, and pushed the kitchen's back screen door open.
A strong, cool breeze rushed to meet her, tossing short wisps of hair around her face. Her chin tipped up to meet the gale with closed lips, though she tightened the dark brown wool around her shoulders.
The sounds of dinner faded behind her. Stars - millions of them - hung clearly in the crisp air, and a clean breath circulated through her system.
"Lena?"
The face whirled back to the crowded kitchen at the sound of the familiar voice. Her thoughts had run away with her again, as it was wont to do…looking at so many stars…
"Coming!" she called back briskly, and her feet stepped carefully over the creaking planks beneath her feet. She paused on the threshold.
A hand already resting on the door jamb, the young woman turned slowly on her heel, back out to the night sky beyond the back porch.
She reached out, a long, slender finger to single out one of the brightly winking stars beyond her reach.
"That one," she whispered to herself. Then slowly, as if she were afraid to break the heavens themselves, a small, hidden smile grew upon her face, before the lights and sounds of a warm house enveloped her.