Work Text:
Finding The Light
Lighting a cigarette, the flame from the match illuminated his face in the dark. His dark chocolate brown hair was a mess around his head. His bangs fell into his midnight blue eyes as he pulled the cigarette away from his mouth, blowing the smoke out from his lungs.
It was late evening, or early morning, depending on how someone perceived the time, two a.m. Heero Yuy was sitting outside a window on top of the roof that overhung a wrap-around porch. He had made his way to the edge, allowing his legs to hang over the side as he sat staring off into the distance of the night sky.
Taking another puff of his cigarette, Heero blew out the smoke before turning his head to look over his shoulder. The window that was still open led to a bedroom, the same bedroom he had snuck into only hours earlier. The blonde woman he had started seeing a little over three months ago was sleeping peacefully in her bed.
Heero had been quiet when he drove down her street, parking a few houses away before exiting his car and making his way towards the two-story home. The house was modest, with light gray siding, dark gray storm stutters, and white accents around the roofline and corners. It was picture perfect, set back from the road on a cul-de-sac. Heero questioned why someone like the Darlians owned such a home when they had the type of money that could afford them a much larger, grander residence. Then again, given how their daughter acted and presented herself, it was clear the Darlians weren't out to show just how wealthy they were.
When he approached the home, Heero avoided being caught on the security cameras as he made his way to the corner of the house. Slipping between two tall Nellie Stevens Holly bushes, Heero grabbed ahold of the downspout to the gutters. Using his hands and feet, Heero skillfully climbed up to the porch roof, completing the task as he pulled himself over the edge.
Quietly making his way toward his destination, Heero stuck close to the house while keeping his body crouched and softly stepping as he moved. While the roof wasn't overly slanted, he was more worried about being seen by someone in the neighborhood before he could complete his mission.
Reaching the window, Heero lightly knocked on it. While he could have opened it himself, for once, he decided to approach the situation differently. Heero had questioned his actions for only a brief moment before the white currents on the inside started to move. No light came on before the woman he had come to see stood, staring at him with wide eyes. Within seconds the window was open.
"Heero," her voice was soft, questioning. Her light blue eyes showed confusion as the moon peaked out from behind a cloud, lighting her heart-shaped face.
"Relena," his voice gruff but not threatening. No, he didn't want to sound intimidating to her.
They stared at each for a few more beats before Relena quickly started removing the screen to her window. Heero helped her once she had undone the pegs that held the screen in place from the inside. Once he pulled the screen out from the window, Heero pivoted the screen and guided it into Relena’s room. She disappeared with the screen behind the white drapes before returning.
Relena held out her hand, waiting for him to make a move. He flicked his eyes to it before bringing them back up to meet her soft smile and ocean blue eyes. Heero moved his body so he could climb through the window. Once he had one leg planted firmly on the floor of her room, Heero grasped her outstretched hand gently while bringing his head under the window.
When his body was inside her room, Heero pulled Relena to him, crushing his lips to hers. Relena's room fell into darkness as the couple moved away from the window, letting the currents fall back in front of the window. Heero guided them toward her bed while his hands moved of their own accord. His ambitions for the evening were coming to fruition as he laid Relena on her bed.
Heero turned his head away from the window, taking another long puff of his cigarette. He had waited patiently for her, something he had never done before or experienced. Heero wasn't foolish enough to force anything, but when a woman wasn't on the same page as him, mainly during a one-night stand, Heero wouldn't bother to pursue her afterward.
But Relena was different.
He had met her one night six months ago at one of the local bars. Heero had been with friends, and Relena had been with a few of hers. He had spotted her from across the room, sitting at a table laughing. Their eyes locked for a moment, and she smiled sweetly at him.
That's all it took. That one smile from Relena intrigued him.
His friends had informed him of who she was and warned him to stay away. But Heero didn't listen. He didn't care. Within those few seconds of making eye contact, Heero felt a strong pull to get to know her. A need, not a want to find out who Relena Darlian was. It didn't matter that they were from different social classes. Or rather two drastically different backgrounds.
Heero just needed her.
It had taken him a good month to find out where she went to school, where she worked, where Relena would visit on her days off, and most importantly, where she lived. While his ways weren't considered ethical, Heero had zero intention of using his skills to cause any harm to Relena or her parents.
He just needed her.
After that first month, Heero had conveniently made himself available, running into Relena at random places. At first, Relena had been polite, but she kept their interactions short. Heero wondered if it had anything to do with how he spoke to her. He knew how he sounded at times, but old habits die hard. It wasn't until one day they bumped into one another that physically altered their interactions from there on out.
Relena had left work, carrying multiple bags in her arms as she made her way to her car. But she hadn't been paying attention to where she was going while on her cellphone with someone. Relena had walked directly into Heero, causing her to drop everything in her arms.
She had been horrified and profusely apologized for running into him. Heero didn't say a word as he crouched down, helping Relena pick up her bags and cellphone. When he reached for her phone to hand it to her, Relena's hand got there first. Their hands touched, and slowly Relena lifted her head after she stopped speaking to stare at him.
Heero let the corners of his mouth tip up as he grasped her hand, lifting it along with the cellphone. He knew then that things would be different between them. It wasn't just how Relena was staring at him but what he felt at that moment.
"Heero."
"Relena."
They had spoken for a few minutes after their run-in. Heero asked her out on a date, something he had never done before, but Heero knew if he wanted to make things happen between them, he would have to change his ways. His friends had questioned why he would go to the lengths he was for a woman he shouldn't be involved with, to begin with.
But they didn't understand.
He just needed her.
They had gone on several dates since then. Heero had been half expecting Relena to turn him down, but she hadn't. On their first date, Heero assumed Relena had only agreed out of obligation for what had happened when they collided. But by the third, Heero sensed that Relena had felt something for him. Whether it be a crush or she had truly felt what he had felt the first time their hands touched.
It wasn't until that night, on the sixth date, that Heero got his answer.
He had been a gentleman, only kissing her on the cheek on the first several dates, and that was because Relena had done the same to him after hugging him. Heero wasn't a fan of hugging and had felt awkward when doing so, but the feel of Relena's body pressed against his made him rethink the notion he once held towards embracing someone.
On the night of their sixth date, Heero had walked Relena to her car, making sure she got there safely. While they weren't in a bad part of town, Heero knew because of how late in the evening it was that it would be wrong of him to let her wander around in a dimly lit parking lot. Relena leaned against the driverside door of her car, looking at him with an expression Heero knew all too well. Taking a step closer to her, Heero wrapped his arms around Relena, pulling her to his body as he dipped his head.
Relena responded immediately to his actions as she wrapped her arms around his neck, moving her mouth against his. Heero flicked his tongue against them, seeking permission. The heated kiss lasted only moments before Relena pulled away. Her cheeks flushed in a light shade of red.
From that night on, they started seeing each other more frequently. Along with those causal dates came more physical interaction. But Relena always held Heero at bay from the one thing he wanted. It wasn't that she didn't either, but Relena had informed him that she felt it was better to take things slow.
That was until earlier in the evening.
Relena had sent him a message. One Heero hadn't been expecting. He had been out with friends when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Taking his phone out, Heero read through the message. Making a decision, he left the bar he had been at with friends and headed to Relena's house. His friends had grumbled about him leaving, but like every other time the topic of Relena came up, they just didn't understand.
He just needed her.
Heero took one last puff before flicking his cigarette to the ground, reminding himself that he would need to pick it up once he left. Standing up, Heero turned to look back through the window. He questioned whether or not he had made the right decision. Relena was pure, full of light and love. And here he was, full of pain and sorrow. Would he taint her the way his life had corrupted him?
If circumstances had been different, had Heero grown up in a stable home with loving parents, would he have turned out differently? Possibly, but one thing Heero knew was one couldn't change the past no matter how hard they tried. The only thing someone could do was move forward in life and continue to do whatever was necessary to survive.
As Heero made his way back through the window into Relena's room, he stood staring at the sleeping woman. He reminded himself that he needed her because she would be the one to change him. While Heero had dated and slept with other women before Relena, he never wanted to be in any real relationship with them.
But Relena was different.
She was the first to show him there was more to life than bouncing around from home to home, job to job, and from one woman to another. Stability wasn't something Heero was familiar with, other than the small group of friends he kept around himself. While they all had their fair share of issues and rough patches in life, they were the only constant he had in his twenty-four years of being alive.
Maybe he shouldn't have still been alive, considering what he had gone through and done, but things were different now.
It had only been six months since they first locked eyes from across the room of that bar, four months since they first physically touched one another, and three months since they first kissed. In those three months, Heero's world had entirely changed, all because of her.
He had gotten a real job with a technology company. No more were the days of him using his skills for the gain of others. While those off-the-market jobs paid a pretty penny, the cost of getting caught and charged with a crime was much higher. Gone were the days of him couch surfing from one place to the next. Or sleeping in his car. While his living arrangements weren't ideal, Heero was working towards getting an apartment, but for the time being, he was fortunate enough to be renting a room from one of his good friends.
At least a friend who stayed out of the wrong lane.
It was what Heero wanted in the long run, with the new goals Heero had set forth for himself would never be accomplished if he continued down the same path he had been going down his whole life.
Heero wouldn't call it love because he didn't know what love was supposed to feel like, but Heero knew he cared deeply for Relena. Even with how short their relationship had been thus far. And slowly but surely, Relena would continue to change him, so long as she let him be in her life.
Because he just needed her.
Leaning down, Heero brushed a soft kiss against Relena's head. He knew he couldn't stay any longer. He didn't want to risk her parents waking up and finding out that their only daughter had a male companion staying in her room. Once Relena was finished with college that Spring, she planned on moving out, and hopefully, by then, she'd be moving in with him.
Heero wanted to be on good terms with the Darlains if his relationship with Relena was going to work and continue to progress. He knew the risks of him being there could jeopardize everything, but it was a risk he had been willing to take.
Pulling away, he watched as her eyes fluttered open. She smiled softly at him, knowing he was planning on leaving. He had told her so before she had fallen asleep on him. Reaching up, she gently brought his face back down to meet hers.
With one last kiss, she dropped her hands from his face. But the smile she held spoke volumes to him.
"Heero."
"Relena."
Maybe there was truth behind the words someone had once spoken to him.
"Find the one that will light your world and guide you through life."
The End