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Being Human	By : greengal48 Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Het - Male/Female Views: 1025 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing. Nor am I making money from publishing this! It’s purely for fun. I do, however, own Lea Zikamo and all the other original characters. Enough said.

Chapter List
- 11
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- 13
Chapter 12: …It Pours

Lea stretched over the warm yet hard pillow to turn off the alarm. She laid her head on it and sighed. Every inch of her felt drained. Nightmares had plagued her for most of the night. They had stopped when she heard Heero’s voice. He was so soothing that Lea was able to relax some.

‘Amazing. Even in my dreams, he’s protecting me.’ She giggled, curling closer to the warm pillow. ‘He is like a knight. Dad always said I should look for a knight.’ Her smile faded. ‘But how can I do this to him? I watched Dad die. I don’t want to watch him die, too! This whole damn problem is my problem. And what the hell was I thinking last night? “I must have been standing on a four leaf clover…” God, was that stupid! I can’t let him…’

A strong heart beat was heard from the pillow. For the first time that morning, Lea opened her eyes and sat up. Her musings were completely forgotten. A bare chested Heero lay before her with a smug smile on his face. “Good morning, Ms. Lea.”

“Good morning…” She searched her memory for a reason why Heero was in bed with her and not on the couch. ‘Nothing happened last night. Of that I am sure! I must have been talking in my sleep. Then hearing his voice wasn’t a part of the dream… was it?’ Scratching her head, she asked, “I was talking in my sleep, huh?” Heero nodded. Lea’s shoulders dropped.

“It was more than just talking,” he explained with a yawn. He looked just as exhausted as she felt.

Guilt crept up on Lea. “I kept you up all night. I’m sorry.” ‘He’s willing to see this through. I should be grateful but…’ The memory of her father’s bloody body tied to the kitchen chair, lifeless and limp made her shudder.

“I’m not.” There was concern in his eyes. She could tell he wanted to ask about her nightmares but didn’t. “You’ve been handling all this by yourself for a long time.”

“When life hands you lemons…” Lea said, trying not to sound upset. She found wringing her hands very interesting. ‘Get a grip, Lea. You can do this. It’s going to be for the best…’ “I can’t bulk every time someone goes ‘boo,’ you know.”

Heero’s eyes narrowed. ‘Just as I thought. The tough-guy routine… When she does break, it’s going to be bad…’ “Being tough and defiant doesn’t mean it’s going go away because you want it to. They’re still holding some high powered cards but …”

“But what!” she snapped. Anger was blazing in her eyes. “Why are you still here?” The question made Heero scoot back from her with a quizzical look. “You say you love me and you want to help! But you’ve dragged your friends into this damn mess. Aren’t you afraid they’ll end up hurt or worse… DEAD! I don’t care what you say or who you are. No one who knows about my past, seen my body, and witnessed first hand just what sort of demons are haunting my family could ever love or care about me. NO one.”

‘That was a whole lot sooner than I thought!’ Heero eyed her for a second. Lea was waiting for him to respond, ready to shoot down any words of encouragement or love. ‘She’s not joking. Ah, kuso! She’s trying to push me away!’ Her determined glare seemed to rip right through him. It felt as if he had no lungs to breathe with. His brain was stuck in the confusion of emotions. All he could stammer out was, “What have I done wrong?”

~::*::~

Quatre froze. He was pulling his shirt over his chest when a wave of pain hit him. It wasn’t the kind of pain one would get from a wound or a punch. It felt like his heart was in a vice that was slowly tightening. He felt like crying, ripping the room apart and destroying anything that didn’t agree with his current outlook on life.

“Earth to Quatre,” Relena waved a hand in front of his face. When he focused on her, she gave him a worried smile. “Are you alright?”

“No,” he answered grimly. “I’m afraid we’ll have to rush to the fair grounds.”

“What for?” Relena was beginning to look really worried.

Quatre sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Something’s wrong with Heero. Terribly wrong.”

~::*::~

Lea heard her heart break. Heero’s whole body went blank except for his eyes. Confused sadness was in them. She wanted to leap into his arms and tell him, “April fools!” ‘A Zikamo never backs down. Or takes anyone down with them.’ Her resolve was set until something unexpected happened. A tear trailed down Heero’s face.

“You’ve done nothing wrong…” she admitted in a shaky whisper.

“Then why?” The question held so much pain and sadness. He couldn’t trust his voice with anymore of the questions gathering in his head.

Lea shook her head in disbelief. ‘Yes, why indeed!’ “It feels like I’m just using you now…” ‘Admitting that was beyond stupid! It’s true but stupid!’ She snapped her eyes shut and blurted out, “You’re trained for this level of danger. I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I take down someone else with me. It’s bad enough that Janis is F.U.B.A.R.-ed and all this is crashing down around my ears. I love you too much to see you and your friends get tangled into this any farther.”

Uncomfortable silence hung between them. To Lea, Heero’s eyes felt like they were burrowing a hole right through her. She couldn’t even look at him.

“Number one,” he said softly making Lea flinch. She wasn’t expecting him to say anything. “You are not “using” me. I am willingly helping you. As for my friends, they were assigned to this before I got here.”

Lea’s head popped up, “What?”

He continued without a hitch. Holding up two fingers, Heero said, “Number two: I don’t give my loyalties or my heart to just anyone. Seeing how you don’t believe me, ask Relena. I have met many strong women willing to put themselves to death for what they believe in, like you want to now. None of them saw me as a person before seeing the soldier. You did.”

“I was introduced to the person first,” she pointed out.

“And you didn’t like what you’ve seen?”

Lea gulped. ‘Of course I did but to say that…’ “That’s not the point.”

“Yes, it is,” Heero countered in a calm tone. “It’s number three.” Heero gently turned her face to him. “You say that no one can love you. What about Mitch, the Halstroms or Janis? Do they just tolerate you? And about your past…” Heero chuckled sadly, “You’re not the only one who’s had it bad. I was trained from the time I was a little kid to do one thing: fight OZ. A soldier’s life was all that I’ve known how to live.”

“And I’ve changed all that.” The sarcasm in her voice was forced. His words were getting through to her but she still didn’t want to give in.

“A good part of it, yes.” Heero opened his mouth to say more but the cell phone ringing cut him off.

Lea answered it, grateful for a distraction. “Hey, Mitch. No, just running late. Yeah, I’m fine.” Her eyes went big and a pink hue spread across her cheeks and nose. “No, we didn’t. Just open for me, ‘kay? I’ll be there as soon as possible. Thanks.”

Heero had rolled off the bed and had intended to head to the shower by the time Lea had hung up. Seeing her reaction to Mitch’s obvious question had only twisted the invisible knife in his heart. At the foot of the bed was where he had found himself listening in on the rest of the conversation. Presently, she sat on the bed with her back to him, shoulders slumped and head down.

There was a dogmatic part of him that wouldn’t let his last point go. “To me, Lea,” he said in a whisper making her listen to him, “your body is beautiful.” With that, he headed for the shower.

All Lea could do was gawk at Heero’s bare back as he disappeared into the shower. Once she heard the water running, she plopped her head into her hands. ‘That didn’t go as planned. Now he thinks I’m a complete bitch for leading him on like this.’ She tossed her hands into the air. ‘He’s right! I am. At least the result is what I wanted’ Glancing at the shower door, Lea sighed. ‘Did I really want this? Beelzebub, you had best have a devil set aside for me.’ Sighing once again, this time with doom and despair, Lea quickly dressed and slipped out of the camper before Heero returned.

~::*::~

“Oh, praise Allah!” Quatre exclaimed as he plopped down onto the bench beside Heero. “When you weren’t with Lea or at the camper, I panicked.” Heero didn’t respond. He continued to stair at the patch of grass his shoes were resting on. Quatre frowned, “Something happened.”

Without taking his eyes off the patch of grass, Heero grumbled, “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Trowa, who had walked up with Quatre, shot a glance at the blond Arabian. Quatre had informed him about what he felt earlier that morning. They had their theories but didn’t want to settle on anything yet. Instead of pressing the matter any farther, both men sat back and listened to the opening ceremonies for the day.

~::*::~

Lea had arrived at her booth with a fake smile and plenty of nervous energy. Her fight with Heero had left her empty. She didn’t want to break up with Heero or push him away but it would be better this way… right? Shoving all doubts to the back of her mind, she submerged herself into selling what was left of her balls of yarn and blankets.

Relena, Hana, and Mitch watched in fearful shock as Lea turned into the ‘I’m-so-sweet’ salesclerk. She was buzzing from customer to customer making deals that Mitch knew she wouldn’t make under any normal situation.

“That’s not my Lea!” Mitch announced to Hana and Relena. “It’s like ‘The Invasion of the Body Snatchers!’ Isn’t it?”

“It’s worse than he said…” Relena mumbled to herself. To Mitch and Hana, she said, “You two cover the store. I’ll have a talk with Lea.” She added quickly when Mitch glared at her, “You know how to run the booth better than I do. I mean, I help run a world and colonies. Not booths!”

“Promise us you’ll fill us in later?” Hana asked.

Relena held up her hand and placed the other over her heart, “I promise.”

Satisfied, Hana grabbed Mitch by the arm and hauled her over to the nearest customer. Then she tapped Lea on the shoulder and motioned her to follow Relena. The two of them stepped out into the worker’s alley.

“What’s up?” Lea asked sweetly.

“That’s what I would like to know. Don’t give me that innocent look.” Relena folded her arms and pinned Lea with a stern look. “I have on good authority that something happened this morning between you and Heero.”

Lea gasped, “How?” “If you don’t believe me, just ask Relena.” Swallowing hard, she asked, “He told you, huh?”

Thinking the “he” was Quatre, Relena nodded, “He and I are close. We can talk about anything.”

“Oh,” Lea kicked at a rock near her foot. ‘I didn’t think he would have called her. Could we ever…’ She covered her face with her hands. ‘That’s not an option any more!’

Relena placed a hand on Lea’s shoulder, “Don’t let his connection with Heero bug you. It goes no deeper than brothers. Besides, Quatre really can’t keep his feelings contained like Heero can.”

Lea slowly lowered her hands revealing a confused frown. “Sorry. You lost me.”

“Quatre has a bond with Heero. Didn’t he tell you?” When Lea answered with another quizzical look, Relena dismissed it with a wave of her hand, “I’ll explain the rest of it later. Sometimes it gets on my nerves but most of the time it’s just fine.” Beaming sympathetically, she added, “And I know that Heero can be a little pushy at times. When he has his mind set on something, there’s little to almost nothing you can do to change it.”

“If he’s already told you,” Lea grumbled, “then you know I’ve changed his mind. He’ll most likely leave when you and Quatre do. Or stay with Trowa. Either way he’s safe and away from me.”

“Is that what all this is about?” Relena grabbed Lea by the shoulders, “Do you realize what you have done?” The despair in her voice was totally unexpected by Lea. She nodded, none the less. Relena shook Lea, asking, “Why?”

Lea batted her hands away. “Why does everyone want to know ‘why?’ Can’t anyone tell I’m a walking magnate for death and destruction?”

“So is Heero but you don’t see him bothered by it!” Shaking her head, Relena added, “I had never seen him so happy like he was when you tied that ribbon on his arm.”

“I was happy, too,” Lea admitted sadly.

“Lea Zikamo!” a male voice called out from behind Lea. Turning around, she gasped and froze in horror. Thaddeus Tennessee, Kane Evans and Ian Whitney sneered at her. Everything in Lea was screaming to run but she couldn’t. Relena, however, was glancing at the men and Lea’s reaction baffled as to what she should do. Thaddeus walked up to Lea until his face was a breath’s away from hers. “It’s been a long time, puppet.”

~::*::~

Trowa’s competition was simple enough. For the Castle Wall and Traditional fields, the Zikamo Knights and the M.C.C. Archers had to flip for who went last in each round. Both times the Zikamo Knights were slotted last. Trowa had gauged his shots carefully so he wouldn’t let everyone look like a total looser. That is, until Robert started bragging how he was holding back. Trowa vented his anger by making perfect shots for the rest of the game insuring his crown.

Heero, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about hurting people’s feelings or even winning. The whole competition had become dull for him. He shot his arrows with each of them making its mark. Somehow he couldn’t bring himself to miss on purpose.

During his wait for the final round to began, Heero grumbled, “She wants me to leave.” He was sitting on the bench staring at the same patch of grass as before. He missed the looks of disbelieving shock on Quatre and Trowa’s face. “She says she doesn’t want to see me hurt because of all this.”

“Alright, people. Let’s get this show started. The first contestant in the final round…” None of them was paying attention as a nervous man made his way to the shooting range.

“You did tell her about your past?” Trowa asked. Heero nodded, eyes still focused on the grassy patch. “Is it because of that?”

Heero shook his head. “I don’t understand… I don’t know what I’ve done wrong.”

“Aw, better luck next time, Bubba. Ok. Next we have Damian McCart for the M.C.C. Archers!” Damian McCart stepped up to the marker with great fanfare. He waved his hands at the crowd before taking his stance. After waiting for nearly a minute, he let a shot fly. It hit near dead center. The crowd roared.

“Well, now! That’s gonna be tough to beat!” Without waiting for an introduction, Heero stood up and headed for the marker. Quatre and Trowa exchanged worried glances. “Here’s the last contestant in our final rounds of the Traditional, Heero Yuy of the Zikamo Knights.”

The crowd clapped and cheered. Heero didn’t hear any of it. He had tuned it all out as a natural reaction for when he was about to shoot. There wasn’t much of a pause between notching the arrow, taking aim, and letting it go. The arrow hit its mark: dead center. The crowd went mad.

“Who’d have thought…” the announcer mumbled into the mic, then cleared his throat. “It’s a clean sweep! The Zikamo Knights have won all three crowns!”

Turning to give a curt wave to the crowd, Heero felt something hit the side of his head. There had been the muffled sound of a gun shooting many times. People were screaming. He had no clue as to what happened or where the firing was coming from. The last thing he could remember was his body shutting down and the world going black.

~::*::~

AN: There’s a little nod to Queen in here. It’s not too hard to find. Thank you once again to all who have been reading and reviewing. Massive hugs to each of you. Well… I’m off to type chapter 13. Yes, folks. There is another chapter…
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Being Human