The Greatest of These

All previous disclaimers apply.

Heero Yuy watched silently as his wife slept on quietly by his side, oblivious to his study of her. She was absolutely the most beautiful creature in the world as she lay peacefully, lost in her dreams. She lay on her stomach, her face to him, her hair spread out like an elaborate headdress. She hugged the pillow close to her body and her head rested on the sheeted mattress. He personally didn’t see how she could possibly be comfortable as she was, but it seemed to be her favorite position in which to sleep. He had no complaints, however. The position allowed him to view the entire expanse of her bare backside, as the sheet rode dangerously low to reveal the small tribal tattoo on the small of her back he had been pleasantly surprised to discover their first intimate night together. The sunlight streaming in from the partially opened curtains hit the white of the sheets, seeming to cast an almost otherworldly glow about her, making her seem almost angelic in nature. He couldn’t help but lean down over and place a small kiss to her temple. She sighed in her sleep and wrinkled her nose. He couldn’t help but allow himself a small smile at the memories the action brought back.

The first night they’d been together . . . it had all seemed like a dream at the time. He’d been such a different person then. He knew that there was something about her that was different. Something that touched him in places he’d always though decimated by training. Just something about her -he couldn’t quite name it- that made him want things he had never wanted before. Made him want to be gentle. Made him want to be shy. Made him want her, period. The first night they’d been together hadn’t been planned. He had been close to her for nearly a year, watching over her, protecting her, never daring to touch her. The last two or three months he had seen that she was wearing herself ragged, not stopping for a rest, only getting two or three hours of sleep a night. He had seen it and had thought it not his place to question her about it, but had kept an ever watchful eye on her. She had managed to hide it from everyone else, even her closest friends with cleverly applied make-up, but he knew her better than anyone. He was not surprised when she had collapsed at a banquet, but he was ready, swooping her up in his arms before she could hit the ground and carrying her to her room.

“Hmm . . .” she had murmured, coming awake just after he had laid her down and was pressing a cool compress to her forehead and neck, “Where am I? What happened?”

“You collapsed,” he had murmured quietly, trying to infuse a gentleness he wasn’t sure he had into his voice, “I carried you up here to rest.”

“Oh,” she had began to sit up, “Oh, dear. I had better go make my apologies and finish the dinner.”

He had pushed her back down, a hand set to her upper chest to keep her there, “I said I carried you up here to rest. You do too much, Relena. You can’t carry the weight of the world on your shoulders all alone.”

“Heero, I have a duty . . .” He hadn’t known what had possessed him at that moment, but he leaned over and kissed her. When he had pulled back she had looked at him for a moment, shock on her face, then leaned closer to him and kissed him, pulling him onto the bed and on top of her. They had taken their time, learning about each other as they went. No words, just soft sighs and gentle looks. They had undressed each other slowly, savoring and worshiping each new thing they learned of each other’s bodies. His scars, her tattoo, the way a kiss to the sensitive area just behind his ear could make him moan, the small mole just on her inner left thigh. When they finally did make love, it was slow and easy and their tumble over the final precipice of pleasure together was long and lasting.

They had fallen asleep in each other’s arms, neither waking until the next morning when Kris had come in to check on Relena. Heero had woken as soon as she’d opened the door and peeked her head in the room. Her expression of surprise was quickly changed to one of delight when she saw who was in bed with Relena and the protective way his arms wrapped around her. She had smiled at him, nodded and whispered how she had cleared Relena’s schedule for the rest of the week before leaving them. Heero had looked down then, at the vision in his arms, sleeping quietly. She had wrinkled her nose and sighed when he had placed a kiss to her temple, then a deeper kiss to her lips to encourage her to wake. Her smile as she woke and saw him had been the greatest gift he could ever receive.

“Come shower with me,” he had invited.

“Yes,” she had murmured.

“Wash my back.”

“Yes.”

“Marry me.” The words had slipped out. He had been unable to stop them, as shocked by them as she looked. He had intended never to ask such a thing of her. He wasn’t worthy of her. She was so great and pure. He was tainted, soiled by battle. He was going to be content watching her and protecting her. Even if it killed him, he was going to give her a smile on her wedding day when she finally fell in love with someone more worthy of her. As long as she was with him, he knew as an absolute certainty that he would ruin her life. Then, her answer had made all of his worries pointless.

“Yes. Today.”

He couldn’t argue with her now. Couldn’t take it back. She looked so happy. And the fact that she looked so happy made him want to be with her. To do something that would, for once, make him happy as well. For a moment all he thought about was how he would feel after their marriage, not if he would end up hurting her or not. So, he had nodded, then stretched himself over her. They had made love with wild abandon, then again in the shower. Somewhere between the bed and leaving to find someone to marry them the twins had been conceived. She had put on a beautiful sun dress and they had sought out a preacher. They were married before the day was out and either one of them had any time to have any doubt at all. That was before it had all fallen apart.

Their marriage, as they expected, did not stay quiet for long. Just two hours after they had completed the ceremony Kris had called to tell them that reporters had flooded the hotel, waiting for them to return. He’d been more than a little nervous about facing it all, and had checked the gun tucked safely in the back of his pants more than once. A unplanned spur-of-the-moment press conference with a multitude of reporters pressing in all around them was almost a plea for an assassination attempt. Relena had kissed him, told him not to worry, that everything would be wonderful. In her happiness she had lost all fear, despite the fact that the attempts on her life had been increasing as of late. Even as they made love in the back of the limousine he couldn’t fight the feeling that something was terribly wrong. It had grown in him until he could hardly breathe.

When they had finally stepped out of the limo he had kept his arm, protectively around her waist, drawing her close so that he could swing her behind him at any moment. As soon as the reporters had flooded out of the hotel Relena had stepped into action doing what she did best, smiling and answering questions, never giving away more than she wanted to and making the reporters believe they had gotten exactly what they wanted from her. She didn’t notice the intense way her new husband surveyed the crowd, didn’t notice how worried he was, so delighted was she in the close manner he was holding her and the sharing of their marriage with the world.

Heero’s eyes darted back and forth, taking in all that surrounded them. The feeling had not left with the crowd and his beautiful wife’s answers to their questions. They had only increased. Somewhere . . . somewhere. He hoped he was just being paranoid as he pulled her even closer, but the feeling was rising again. His worst fears were realized when he saw a flash of black behind one of the cameras, the barrel of a gun.

“Gun!” he had called out, simultaneously pushing Relena behind him and pulling his gun. He lost sight of the shooter for a moment in the panic of the reporters dashing away from the sight. When he saw him again it was too late. Five shots rang out. The first shot hit him like a brick. Had Relena still been where she had been it would have gone straight through her heart. As he was now in front of her, it hit him just below his sternum. Heero felt the second tear into his shoulder as he pushed his wife to the ground. The third blasted heat and pain into his abdomen. Still, he remained cover for his love. The fourth embedded itself his right thigh and he was forced to kneel. He kelt in front of her to keep her safe. The fifth shot slammed into his chest, just next to the first. He could see the terror in the shooter’s eyes when he still had enough strength to hold his gun up and fire a single bullet that went right though the would be assassin\'s forehead.

“Heero?” Relena had whispered, looking up at him with horror. He managed to give her a small smile before losing all strength and falling backward onto the cement.

“No!” she had screamed, sitting up and taking him in her arms. He touched a hand to her face, trying to speak, but unable to get words out around his pain as his vision clouded and she rocked him. People had surrounded them, someone shouted for someone else to call an ambulance. He had only been able to concentrate on her face as she rocked him back and forth, back and forth, whispering again and again how much she loved him. He used all of his training for a situation in which you knew you were dying. How to slow it. Concentrate on one thing. He chose her voice. Assess your injuries. Heart, fine. Stomach and both lungs, hit. Muscle in shoulder and leg, not completely destroyed. Chance of survival, not good, even with all the training and close calls he’d had before. Nothing had ever hit him so directly before. Don’t let the clouds take you. He tried to shake them from his mind, but the sound of the ocean was starting to cover her voice and he couldn’t see her very well anymore.

“Please, hold on, my love. The ambulance will be here soon. Just hold on. You’re the strongest person I know, my love. Don’t give in now. I love you. I love you so much.”

He touched her lips with his fingertips. He had one thing to say to her before he knew the clouds would take his mind, “I . . . love . . . you . . .” he forced around the pain, then let the clouds cover his mind and drag him into darkness. Her scream of loss was the last thing he heard.

He shook the memories from his mind. It had taken months of physical therapy and her encouragement, but he had healed. A complete recovery in less than a year. The doctors had been astounded. Relena had never told them that he was a former Gundam pilot, even when they made comments on how hard he had fought to stay alive on the operating table, defying all odds. She had been able to take him home after three months and had taken a leave of absence from her position until he was fully back on his feet. By the time he was able to walk, with a painful limp, she was just beginning to show her pregnancy.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he had whispered, as he walked into the kitchen one morning to see her bathed in the early light, curled into a chair, her hand set to the growing within her body.

“I wanted to wait until you were better,” she murmured, looking at him from across the room, “You still have such horrible nightmares . . . I didn’t want to give you anything else to be worried about.”

He had limped to her, knelt painfully in front of her chair, kissed the life they had created together, and laid his head in her lap, “I love you, Relena Darlian-Yuy.”

“And I you, Heero Yuy. You’re not angry with me?”

“No. When?”

“Four months from now. Then, we’ll be able to hold them.”

“Them?”

“Twins.”

“I love you.” he had repeated, and she had laughed.

Three and a half months later at a gathering of all the pilots at his and Relena’s home, she had given birth to their children. He could still picture the day perfectly.