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Behind the Eight Ball (Heero x Relena, Gundam Wing, #14)
Title: Behind the Eight Ball
Author: The Black Rose
Pairing: Heero x Relena
Fandom: Gundam Wing
Theme: #14, Radio Cassette Player
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. This fanfiction has no commercial value and I am not making any kind of profit or income off of this story, or the use of characters owned by Sunrise and Bandai.

Warnings: AU. Rated R for some adult situations (references to sex).


Behind the Eight Ball
By the Black Rose

"Eight ball. Corner pocket." Heero chomped down on the end of his cigar and leaned over the pool table.

He rested his left hand on the felt and steadied the pool cue on the top of his thumb. Everything lined up. It was an easy shot straight to the pocket – and making it meant beating Duo Maxwell for the fifth game in a row. And some extra cash…

He slid the cue stick back, and--

"THWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!" A loud whistle overrode the music playing on the old time radio cassette player in the corner. Followed by a spirited round of cat calls.

"Hey, baby! Oh yeaaaaah."

"Do you have a license for those legs? Cuz I swear, they're killing me."

Heero shook it off and returned focus to his target. Duo had raked it in at poker night last Friday, and this was Heero's way of getting at least his portion back. Whether he won or lost boys' poker night, rent still came due on Monday…

And being late again meant sleeping on Maxwell's couch. Permanently.

Heero drove the cue stick forward. It kissed the cue ball and sent it flying across the green felt tabletop. Clink! The white ball tapped the eight ball and deflected. It sped silently towards the opposite edge of the table, hit and bounced back into the center of the felt. Meanwhile, the black ball took its time rolling towards the pocket….

It seemed to cling to the felt for a last fraction of a second.

Ca-clink! The eight ball joined its brothers in the netted cup.

Heero smirked and stood up. "You owe me," he said and turned around to locate his…missing opponent. The former Navy Seal turned mechanic blinked and dropped the cue stick, base down, to the floor. He stubbed his cigar into the ashtray.

When he turned to his left, he located his friend. Duo was standing at the block wood rail separating the bar from the pool tables, his left hand raised to his forehead like he was trying to spot something in the distance – or in the thick, smoky soup that hung down a full two feet from the ceiling.

Heero picked up the cue stick in his right hand and placed it on the rack. He moved around the pool table towards his friend. "Hey."

The fool placed both hands on the railing and lifted himself on top. His right hand steadied his weight by grabbing hold of the rough, wooden bars that spanned floor to ceiling.

"Idiot."

"Heero." He glanced back over his left shoulder and grinned. Somehow, Duo still managed to look like he was twelve when he smiled. "Buddy, hey check this out."

Heero shook his head. Some girl not wearing overalls had found her way into this working-class bar downtown. And was no doubt regretting it by now.

"You want to play again or not?"

"How many is that? Four times you beat me?"

"Five. Today."

"Yeah. I lost count of all the other days. Woah! She's coming this way."

"I'll rack." Heero turned back to the pool table; he began collecting the stripes and solids from the webbed pockets on the near side. He rolled the balls towards the other end of the table.

A new round of whistles sounded closer this time. And several more shouts.

"Heya honey. Are you a tour guide? Cuz you look like you could show me a good time."

Heero moved around to the end of the table and pulled the rack. He lined the point of the triangle up with the dot and plunked ball after ball in formation. Stripe, solid, stripe--

"SHIT!" Duo hopped down from the rail. His long braid whipped around his shoulder as he somehow managed to jump and turn in one motion. Heero felt something like needles pricking the back of his neck. He whirled around!

And saw what all the cat-calling must have been about. He shook his head, but the needles must have found the nerve that ran to his stomach - and pulled.

She wasn't very tall, about five foot four, with long, dark blond hair. She also wasn't very old. The makeup she wore was an obvious attempt to hide that fact, but if she happened to be old enough to order a drink at a bar, then it wasn't by much. Not that anyone in this place would care.

Her long legs looked even longer in a pleasantly short skirt. But the neat, button down blouse and low heeled shoes screamed that she didn't belong here.

And though he couldn't tell from this distance, he knew her eyes were blue…

"Somethin' we can do for you?" Duo's voice pulled her gaze in his direction.

"I-I hit something. I don't think it was my fault, but I…I have to get it fixed."

She glanced from Duo back to Heero. His mouth went dry. The senator's daughter took a step forward. Her chin tilted up a fraction before her cherry colored lips dared to speak.

"I'm looking for Heero Yuy."
*******************************************************************

Heero turned back to the pool table to finish racking.

'If I ignore her she'll go away.' He plunked the eight ball in the center of the triangle.

"I really need your help." Her low voice trembled as it echoed against the cinder block walls of the garage.

He shifted his weight on the dolly and rolled back under the Camaro. He hooked the ratchet onto the drain plug to screw it into place, but the tap-tap-tap of her heels caught his attention. He rolled out from under the car in order to watch her leave.

"I thought you were ignoring me," she said from her position in front of the bumper.

He gritted his teeth and rolled under the car again. Heero attacked the drain plug with the ratchet—

Her dark blond head peered under the bumper. "Hey."

The wrench slipped from his hand and clattered against the cement floor.

He moved the rack back and forth and then lined up a different corner with the dot. Heero pulled the triangular piece of plastic off the table and shoved it back in place. He paced to the rack of cue sticks, retrieving a stick and a small square of blue chalk. Heero kept his back towards her as he chalked the end of his cue stick.

"Heero, I—" She addressed him directly this time. And her voice—

"Go away," he said without turning around.

"No."

Heero growled and lined up to break.

"You've changed. You look—" Her voice sounded nearer this time. He focused on the felt table in front of him.

"Whatcha need, girlie?" Duo spoke for the first time in at least a minute – possibly a new record for him.

"Girlie?"

"I could call you somethin' else."

The former Navy Seal tried not to imagine his friend's arm around her shoulders—

"Relena would be fine."

"My name is Relena. Relena Darlian." She stretched a hand in his direction. He didn't take it. "I'm…sorry for interrupting your work. When will you be able to schedule—"

"You ripped the underside of the bumper and dented the grill. That isn't a one-day fix." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"I see." She bit down on her bottom lip with her two front teeth – and seemed to chew over this new information.

Heero dropped his arms and started back towards the Camaro on the lift. "Good. So, suck it up and tell 'daddy' you dented his car. I'm sure he'll get over it."

"It's my brother's car.

Heero slid the cue stick back and slammed it forward. Stripes and solids scattered in fear.

But she didn't budge.

The mechanic straightened up and started around the table. He caught a glimpse of her, again, out of the corner of his eye. Duo stood barely a breath away from the girl. "I thought I told you to go away."

She stepped towards him. "I need your help."

"No." Heero moved to line up with his cue ball.

"What kind of help?"

He growled at his friend. "Duo." The former Navy Seal bent over the table again. He had a clear shot to the left corner pocket. And if he hit it just right…

She moved in his peripheral vision. "I need to disappear."

Heero shoved the cue stick forward. The end struck the cue ball and sent it spiraling to the left of his target. The mechanic chucked the cue stick at the table. "I ain't a fuckin magician." He turned to face her. "Go look up Penn and Teller and get lost."

"You know her?"

"No."

"Yes." She lowered her gaze towards the floor. "Well, once."

He hissed. "Never."

"Heero…"

Duo chuckled and took two large steps away from the girl. "This is gettin' good. Heero, you never told me you had a rich girlfriend."

"Fuck off." He spun on his left foot. Heero marched back to the felt table and retrieved his cue stick.

"It's not like that. At least…not anymore." Her voice, soft despite the raucous in the pool hall managed to cut in.

"Thank you for your help." She grinned and her entire face lit up. She held out her hand. "You really are amazing."

Heero glanced down at her perfectly manicured nails and then surveyed his own hands – covered in sweat, oil, and grease. He turned away. "Just something I picked up in the Navy."

"Maybe… But… I wasn't talking about fixing the car."

'Right.' He stopped and turned to shoot her a look over his shoulder. "You got what you wanted, flirting is only going to get you in trouble."

"Well…"She cocked her head to one side – like she was seriously considering what he said. "You said yourself that I liked getting into trouble."

"You don't want this kind."

One of them moved towards the other. "Maybe that's for me to decide…"

"Aw. You sound kinda sad. Don't tell me he broke your heart."

"Do I? Ha. Not likely. Who needs a quitter in their life? Someone who runs away when things get difficult?"

Heero gritted his teeth. The mechanic picked up the blue cube of chalk and raked it over the end of his stick.

"Who needs a coward who can't face up to his mistakes?"

Heero dropped the pool cue again and whirled around. He stomped towards her, somewhat mollified when her eyes widened and she took a few steps back. In a flash, he had her pinned against the wall.

"We didn't work. We never worked."

Heero pulled his blue 1969 GTO Judge to a stop next to the curb across the street from her house. The card and flowers in the seat next to him weren't his idea, and yet…he knew they were perfect for her.

It was her birthday…

The twenty-four year old mechanic got out and moved around to the passenger side door to retrieve his gifts. He grabbed the small bouquet of flowers, hit the lock, and slammed the door shut. He started across the residential street, but had to halt for the car that swung around the corner and inched along the pavement in front of the Darlian estate. Long, sleek, black and chrome with chrome rims that caught the light even when in the dark. 'A Bentley. Nice car."

As he waited for the car to crawl by, the windows so black he couldn't see inside, Heero surveyed the cars surrounding the Darlian mansion – Mercedes, Porsches… He leaned back against the door of his GTO. 'What am I doing here?'

The Bentley paused. A car door slammed. Peals of laughter filled the night air as two giggling girls 'ran' – more like shuffled quickly – in tall heels and tiny skirts up the walk.

"Oh-mi-god! We're so late!"

Heero ran a hand through his hair and stared at the door. A few seconds ticked by, and a woman emerged… Hair pulled up in some professional-looking style; the porch lights flicked on and illuminated her face. She smiled.

"Relena…"

Her fingers grazed the skin of his arm; she brought her hands up to push against his chest. Heero growled. He caught the scent of her perfume. His pulse quickened.

"Only because you never tried." Her eyes met his. They flashed steel grey in the light.

"Why are you here?"

"I told you." She looked down in the direction of her hands on his sternum – where she continued to apply pressure like she really wanted him to move. "I need to disappear. Go somewhere else to start a new life."

"So what." He dropped his hands from the wall. "Did daddy ground you? Or just take away your allowance?"

She didn't flinch. Instead, she stared him right in the eye. Heero pushed away from the wall and turned his back to her again. "Go home."

"I can pay you." Her voice rose.
Heero stopped.

"It's my brother's car." She raised her chin and he saw her jaw tighten. All the emotion in her eyes disappeared. Her expression turned cold. "I'm not trying to get out of telling him I injured it. I just know I need to take care of—".

"Yeah, right." Heero rolled his eyes as he turned away to finally go back to work. "That's why you're practically begging me, because you plan to tell him—"

Her heels tapped on the concrete as she moved closer. "I can pay you."

He exhaled a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Does your brother know you're here?"

"M-my brother's missing." Her voice lowered again. Heero spun back to face her – but she was staring at the floor. "My father was killed two days ago," she continued in a voice just above a whisper. "I thought you would have heard, but that's only if you read the paper or listen to the news."

A cold, heavy wave tugged his body under its swell. "How long?"

"What?" She glanced up and for the first time, Heero allowed himself to look at her. Really see…

Her blue eyes watered; her normally proud chin wobbled. Relena's hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. And yet…she didn't avoid his eyes. She wasn't hiding. She wasn't afraid.
He wasn't the only one who had changed.

"How long has your brother been missing?"

"I didn't think I'd like you." A deep voice sounded to his right. The mechanic had to steel his nerves – after four years in the Seals, his senses were always on alert, and large groups of people left him irritated and off-kilter.

Heero eyed the man with longish blond hair a shade lighter than Relena's.

"I worried about her being spoiled and bringing home one of those pricks – frat boys that hover around her looking for a jumpstart to their career. But I like you – but just on principle. Ex-Navy Seal she said."

"Hn. And I guess you're making up for lost time in the Marines?"

"Four months next Tuesday."

Heero frowned and moved back towards the pool table. 'Zechs wouldn't disappear without good reason.'

"Lost time?" Zechs's blond eyebrows knit together in the center of his forehead for just an instant before a lopsided grin appeared on his lips. "Yeah, you could say that. I'm a detective on the force. I get to wear my hair how I want."

The mechanic leaned over the table and mapped mental pathways for the different stripes to end up in various pockets.

'If he was in trouble…It'd have to be something big.'
The red-striped eleven sat just to the right of one of the center pockets, and if he could nudge it just right, he could send it towards the corner pocket in almost a straight line.

'How does his disappearance tie in with his step-father's death?'

"I'm in danger, Heero."

Heero ran his hand down her side to her hip. His fingers slipped under her skirt and moved to brush against her inner thigh. He moved his right knee in between her legs and leaned his full weight on top of her body at the same time he renewed the intensity of his kiss.

"Mmm." Her leg jumped as his fingers found the hem of her underwear.

"Uhn!" Relena pushed him away and wriggled out from under him. Heero groaned but relented. He sat back and tried to get his breathing under control. She gasped for air and he got to watch her breasts rise and fall with the effort – since her blouse was unbuttoned down to her waist.

"N-not yet. Heero, I-I'm not ready, yet."

"I need to get away from this place and leave no traces." Her voice sounded just behind him. She must have moved—

He nearly jumped out of his skin when her hand touched his left shoulder. Her fingers slid down his arm. Heero didn't move. Her forehead leaned into the back of his shoulder. He felt hot tears hit the skin of his arm.

How many times had he told himself to forget her?

How many times had he already tried?

"I don't belong here, Relena. Not with these people. Not with you." Heero tore at the knot in his tie. He wrestled with it for a second before it finally gave. He pried it off his neck.

"I-I don't understand." She looked away from him… He felt his anger move from a low heat to a rolling boil.

"Did something happen? Did someone—"

He chucked the tie at the ground. "Call it mental clarity."

Her fists clenched at her sides. Something crumpled in her hand. He couldn't be sure it wasn't—

"I realized…things wouldn't be…easy. Maybe. Maybe I've been naïve…thinking I had anything to offer someone like you. But I—I can't explain it. I've tried to tell myself that…" Her chin rose and she got that cold look on her face.

His rage turned to ice in his veins.

"I guess it just doesn't matter."

"Relena…"

"If you can let go so easily. If you can turn away…" She focused on something in the distance he couldn't see. "Then nothing I have to say will matter—"

He growled. "It matters."

"Not enough, Heero."

He reached back with his left arm, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her forward – in front of him. She stumbled, caught herself, and turned around to face him.

"I-I don't know what to do…" Relena said in a low, strained voice. Tears trickled down her cheeks. He brushed them away with his thumbs.

"What do you want from me?" Heero heard his voice echo like a short bark in the otherwise silent garage – she always managed to show up after hours when no one else was around.

"I…I want you to stop hiding away in this garage. You have so much to offer the world, and yet you hide here - away from everything and everyone – like you're sulking. Have you been hurt that deeply?"

He snarled at the stubborn bolt on the front brake caliper. "Go away. I told you—"

"You can't make me stop caring about you."

"When did you start?"

"Heero…" His name hung in the stale, smoky air, clogging his lungs and robbing his brain cells of needed oxygen. She stood between him and the pool table…long legs brushing against the fabric of his jeans. Her hands rested on his forearms. His pool cue long since discarded.

She held his gaze and this time…

There was no doubt.

"I can't keep this up."

Relena struggled beneath him – this was the part where she always pushed him away and left him…. He couldn't decide if it was worse to be so close to taking her or if he'd rather be given the cold shoulder up front.

"Heero, n—"

He cut her off with a demanding kiss. She squirmed against his grip and turned her head to break the connection. "Heero, I don't—"

His fingers found the junction between her legs. Her eyes grew wide and her whole body went taught beneath him – like he'd found the knot that tied all her muscles together and pulled.

She let out a strangled cry as she gripped his shoulders.

"Relena…"

"I…think I…" Her lips moved, quivered. And he knew what they tasted like…"I didn't realize…Heero?"

"Relena..." Her mouth grew closer, whispering its own, unspoken invitation. "I'll…" His lips touched hers. Heat flashed through his system, boiling that cold, heavy feeling away. Her mouth felt soft, and so did her body where it fit against him. He swept his tongue between her teeth to deepen the kiss…

The boiling wave swept over him completely.

"I'll protect you."