Leave Me Breathless     by Hikari-chan

Disclaimer: I can draw basic geometric shapes, and my last attempt at drawing a person had people asking me whether it was a potato. Deduce from there.

AN: I´m spoiling you all. >.< When I go back to my normal writing speed, I´m going to be yelled at. Anyways, this chapter is 17 pages long, because I didn´t want to break up the ball scenes. I apologize ahead of time for the chunky chapter.

Chibi Shamps: It is a record! It´s been so long since I´ve written close to this speed.

Serena Yuy: Well, I always believe that people can see romance everywhere except right under their nose. Ha ha ha, you gave me a funny mental picture of Heero with a turtle shell. ^^

fireangel: I´m not that mean to Duo. . . .

the Desert Fox: No, I actually have a good place for Setsuna. It´s a minor role though, but perfect for her. Just depends when I´m actually going to put it in.

Angelight: *laughs* If Heero gave up, we´d have no story. XD He´s stubborn, what else can I say?

Celestial Dreamblaze: I loved your summary of the Heero/Usa situation. ^^ Heero will realize that there´s more than just physical attraction very soon.

siren: I´m not sure whether that´s a good thing or a bad thing. ^^;;;

Vixen: I don´t mind food analogies. I´ve a food freak. XD The one thing I´d never ever be is anorexic. LOL.

Mingming: Most anime characters are immune to diseases, but I think Heero proved himself more so. How many times in the anime should he have died? A few, if not a lot. And yes, I think fireworks is just you being odd. XD Then again, I´m rather odd too.

Minna-san: You know what else I love about this story? The fact that no one can guess what I´m going to throw in next. XD Yep, that´s right. This chapter´s not like anything anyone (at least those that reviewed) expected, and believe me when I say I didn´t do that on purpose. It just came out that way. Again, thanks so much for your kind words. I hope you enjoy this chapter. ^^

Warnings: AU, OOC-ness galore (as per usual, if not even more), Relena-bashing.

Notes: Lune Argent is French for "Silver Moon", in case anyone´s wondering. Also, Medusa refers to a Greek mythology creature. She has snakes in her hair, and she´s so ugly that when people look at her, they turn to stone.

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Chapter 10 – Dance the Night Away

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"Are you done, Ames?" Usagi asked, exasperated as she tried not to fidget under Ami´s skilled fingers, which were currently doing up her hair.

"Hmmm. . ." the dark haired woman murmured to herself as she pinned up a little more of Usagi´s silky blond hair.

Usagi sighed, and when Ami finally walked around to the front to see her work, the blonde couldn´t help but breathe a sigh of relief. She prayed to whatever god was up there to let Ami find her appearance satisfying.

Ami tilted her head from side to side, as though examining her work from all angles. Even after all these years, she was still very much a perfectionist. The shopping trip had taken a little longer than expected, but they had finally agreed on a dress. Then, for the next few hours, Ami had fussed and done all kinds of things with her vast array of make-up and hairstyling equipment, which had left Usagi gaping.

She had been sure that some alien had taken over her best friend, but Ami had merely laughed and said that ever since she had become one of Tokyo´s most well-known doctors, she had been required to attend more formal parties than she really wanted to. At first, she had been reluctant and unhappy about it, but after meeting Wufei at one of these events, she had started to like dressing up. This was something Usagi teased her mercilessly about, but Ami had merely blushed prettily and continued to play with her friend´s tresses.

"Would you be insulted if I told you this is worse than being dressed up by Minako?" Usagi teased, standing up.

"That bad?" Ami laughed, pushing her back into the chair. "Hold on, I have to fix something."

"Ames, at this point, I couldn´t care less if I look like Medusa," Usagi stated dryly, standing up again. "I´m sore from sitting, if that can happen."

"Technically speaking," Ami began, tapping her chin with her finger, "Your bottom is a muscle too, and sitting on it for too long could be classified as working that muscle for too long, which means. . . ."

Usagi laughed out loud. "I rest my case," she teased the now blushing woman. "Old habits die hard?"

"Something like that," Ami giggled. "Anyways, let´s get you into the dress, then I have to get ready too."

After much shuffling and sighing and muttering and groaning, with Ami running back and forth from the dresser to the chair to get accessories and refusing to let Usagi look into the mirror before the full effect was complete, the petite blonde was finally dressed and ready for the ball.

Ami pushed her towards the full-length mirror. One look left Usagi gaping for the second time that day.

Half of her blonde hair was pulled up into a complicated twists of braids and twirls while the other fell around her shoulders and down her back in soft waves. A couple of ringlets framed her heart-shaped face. She had never liked make-up, but Ami had convinced her to put on some lipstick and a little bit of mascara. A gold, star earring adorned her left ear while a crescent moon hung from her right. She wore a white satin gown with spaghetti straps. Gold embroidery of suns, moons, and stars went across the neckline and around to the back, as well as along the top, translucent layer of the hem. The neckline itself was just low enough to tease the male senses, but not enough to be indecent. The satiny material came together at the waist, emphasizing the smallness of it, before flowing out softly. Long, white gloves covered her forearms and simple gold jewelry that Ami lent her adorned her wrists and neck.

"Ames," Usagi breathed, "have you ever thought of giving up medicine and becoming a fairy godmother instead?"

Ami looked so horrified at the thought of giving up her career that Usagi burst out laughing. "Never mind, just lend me you magic wand sometime," she finished wryly.

For the next half an hour, Usagi watched with mild amusement as Ami hurried about the room, slipping on a gorgeous sky blue, spaghetti-strapped gown that had embroidery of flowers diagonally across the front, brushing her hair until it literally shone, and putting on matching sapphire jewelry and gloves.

"Call the Guinness Book of World Records. I think we have a new time for the fastest female to get ready for a formal event," Usagi joked when Ami´s bustling came to a stop, leaving the dark-haired woman slightly breathless.

Ami glared at her best friend. "It´s not funny, Usagi," she scolded.

The blonde just smiled innocently. Then, seeing the flicker of worry in Ami´s eyes, she added, "Relax, Ames. It´s going to be just fine. Your house is gorgeous; the ballroom´s ready; you´re ready and Mr. Chang took care of the details."

"It´s not my house," Ami corrected. "And anyone about to host such a big ball would be just a little nervous."

"Not your house?" Usagi echoed. "Then whose house is it? Your next-door neighbor´s?"

"Heero´s," Ami replied with a shrug. "Ours is big, but not this big, and it wouldn´t be so far away from the city with my and Wufei´s job."

Usagi almost choked on her own saliva. "He lives here?!" she practically shrieked, jumping out of the chair as though it had burnt her.

"No," Ami answered. "He just owns the estate. It´s been in his family for years. He lives in the office building."

"And Minako lives in the mall," Usagi responded sarcastically.

Ami sighed. Usagi seemed especially agitated whenever Heero came up in their conversation, and she was beginning to wonder whether more had happened between them than either her or her husband knew. Shaking her head, she pulled Usagi out of the room and down the stairs to the front hall, where Wufei was talking amicably to Trowa.

"You´re early, Trowa," Ami remarked, smiling at the man. She found him easier to get along with than Heero, even if he did give off a quiet and unapproachable vibe from time to time. Besides that, she had spent more time in his company than Heero´s.

Trowa nodded in her direction and gave them a small smile. He didn´t seem surprised that Usagi was also present. He merely exchanged a look with Wufei that clearly meant, "this will be an interesting evening".

~*~*~*~*~

"No," Rei refused flatly at what Minako was suggesting. "If you´re telling me I´m being escorted by him, I´m not going."

"We´re both being accompanied by Duo," Minako defended. "Besides, he´s a nice guy. I don´t see why you and Usagi both have problems with him."

"I don´t have a problem with him," Rei practically yelled. "I have a problem with looking as though I´m dating him!"

Minako winced. "Hey, is something the matter?" she asked. "It´s not like you just met him yesterday. Why are you making such a big deal?"

Rei gritted her teeth. The matter was that Mr. Winner had talked to her earlier in the day. Their conversation had brought up the ball, and he had joked that if Makoto hadn´t come back, he probably would have ended up going with someone from the office. Rei didn´t know why that irritated her so, but since the end of their discussion, she had been agitated. But she wasn´t going to tell Minako this. She wouldn´t tell anyone else this. They´d think she was insane.

"Fine," she finally relented with a sigh. "I´ll go, but you´re his date. As soon as we´re in there, I´m pretending I´ve never met him in my life."

"I still don´t see why you and Usagi have a problem with Duo," Minako whined. "He´s such a sweet guy!"

"Not to mention that half the female population of Tokyo would give their right arm to date him, right?" Rei finished for her friend.

"Exactly!" Minako cheered.

A knock on their apartment door made both of them turn towards the source. Minako jumped up from the couch and made a mad dash for her bedroom. Rei sighed out loud and went to open the door. On the other side, Mr. Maxwell was standing there in a black shirt, tuxedo, and white bowtie. His hair was pulled back in his trademark braid, and he was carrying three bouquets of white roses. He smiled a little nervously at Rei.

"Hi," he greeted uncertainly.

"Good evening," Rei replied, letting him into the apartment. "You might as well make yourself comfortable. Minako´s not done with her hair yet."

Duo grinned, knowing how long Minako took with her appearance from many experiences in the dressing rooms at photo shoots. "These are for you, Minako, and Usagi," he stated, glancing around. "Um. . .is Usagi here?"

Rei sighed mentally. She actually did feel bad for the braided man in front of her. "She´s not coming with us. She had plans with her best friend," Rei answered, getting a vase from the kitchen for the flowers. "But we could give them to her if you want."

Duo blinked in surprise at the sudden kindness from the woman he had done nothing but piss off before. "Sure," he said. "That´d be really nice. Thanks."

Rei and Duo made a bit of pointless small talk for the next half an hour as they waited for Minako. Rei managed to discover a few things that would be good to know in her new line of work, and Duo found that Rei was nice enough when she wasn´t angry, though he had decided long ago that she wasn´t his type. She didn´t seem to enjoy having fun as much as he did.

When Minako finally emerged from her room, her hair up in a pile of ringlets and wearing a gold, strapless ball gown that had patterns of flowers studded with sequins across it, Duo´s jaw almost hit the floor.

"You look beautiful, Minako," he complimented, grinning at her.

Minako smiled brightly. "Thanks Duo! You don´t look too bad yourself either," she replied. Then catching sight of the roses on the table, she let out a happy exclamation. "These are so pretty!"

Duo scratched his head. "I couldn´t find Eden," he said a little sadly. "But the saleswoman was impressed when I asked for it."

Rei blinked, a little confused while Minako´s smile faded a bit.

"Oh, these are all for Usagi?" Minako asked, suddenly a little jealous of her baby sister. She wasn´t even here, and Duo had gone out of his way to get all these roses for her. Why couldn´t a man do that for Minako herself?

"Nah, she´d be buried beneath them," Duo joked. "Miss Hino just put all three bouquets together in the vase."

The fact that Duo had brought flowers for her too made feel better for some reason. She gave another dazzling smile, and explained apologetically that Usagi wouldn´t be going with them.

Duo smiled and offered Minako one arm and Rei the other. "That´s alright. I had a feeling that she was busy anyway," he admitted. "Shall we go?"

Minako took up his offer enthusiastically and Rei did the same, albeit a little less happily. The threesome headed for the limousine Duo had gotten for the evening. As Minako and Duo talked away, Rei couldn´t help but stare out the window aimlessly. She felt like a third wheel, and she wouldn´t know very many of the people there. The evening seemed to stretch out endlessly in front of her, taunting her loneliness.

~*~*~*~*~

Usagi was bored out of her mind. Since people had started coming in, Ami and Wufei had been greeting new arrivals endlessly. Trowa had walked off pretty early, saying that he wasn´t a "people person" and wasn´t up to greeting the guests. Usagi, not knowing anyone else, had stuck to Ami´s side like glue. She had smiled and shook hands with more people in the past twenty minutes than her twenty-three years of life.

As some of the other department heads from Aegis came in, Wufei had politely introduced her to them, something that Usagi appreciated greatly. She also recognized some actresses and musicians, and Ami had taken the time to introduce her coworkers to her best friend as well. But there was still a sense of unfamiliarity between Usagi and the other guests, so she hadn´t wanted to move. The ball was important to Ami, and she didn´t want to accidentally offend one of the many guests with some of her biting remarks. She had a feeling that she had probably insulted a couple of men who had expressed interest in her as they walked by.

At this time, she found that she actually missed the people who could take her sarcastic replies: Hotaru, Mamoru, Minako, Rei, Mr. Maxwell. . .Mr. Yuy.

 "Usagi," Ami´s soft voice broke through her thoughts. Usagi turned to smile again at the people she knew she was about to be introduced to. "This is Mr. Quatre Winner, the owner of Winner Studios, and his date, Miss Makoto Kino. Mr. Winner, Miss Kino, this is my friend, Miss Usagi Aino."

Usagi smiled and shook the woman´s hand, who smiled brightly in return. Her hair was piled elegantly on top of her head and her high-necked, dark violet gown hugged her curves tightly. The bodice had tiny pearls sewn onto it, and the skirt had a long slit up one side of her leg. With her height and figure, Usagi was sure that the woman in front of her could get away with wearing all kinds of clothes.

When the blond man shook her hand, he also examined her thoughtfully. "Tell me something," he started with a sweet smile. "You wouldn´t happen to be related to Minako Aino, would you?"

"She´s my sister," Usagi replied with a bit of surprise. "Do you know her, Mr. Winner?"

Quatre laughed and shook her hand again with more enthusiasm. "I would be her manager," he responded.

"I think my sister needs someone to manage more than just her career," Usagi joked. "I suppose you haven´t seen the state of her room."

"You shouldn´t talk about someone behind their back, Usa!" came a horrified voice.

Usagi whirled around to come face to face with none other than Minako, Rei and Duo. She grinned. "I wasn´t behind your back," she pointed out. "You were behind mine."

Ami caught Usagi´s eye and smiled, doing a couple of hand gestures to indicate that they were blocking up the doorway. Usagi smiled at her best friend and lead the whole group away. Introductions were made before Minako blurted out, "Didn´t you already have plans?"

"Does it look like I´m sitting around twiddling my thumbs?" Usagi returned, raising an eyebrow.

"But you said you were meeting with Ami," Minako continued.

"Minako," Rei interrupted, "Ami is the name of the woman that greeted us when we walked in."

Minako stared at her sister with wide eyes as Usagi resisted the urge to laugh. "That was Ami Mizuno? The class valedictorian, the school nerd? You didn´t tell me she was a doctor and married to the Mr. Chang in Aegis!" she exclaimed.

"You never asked," Usagi pointed out.

Quatre chuckled at the sisterly exchange between them, and Minako had the decency to attempt to include the others in the conversation. With four out of six of them working in the entertainment industry, the topic inevitably turned to that, and Usagi found that despite Mr. Maxwell´s silliness, he was serious about his work and actually had intelligent things to say. Besides that, now that she was with people she knew, she could speak whatever was on her mind.

No one noticed Makoto slipping away from the group as she wandered about the beautifully decorated ballroom. She wasn´t into the conversation. She didn´t know enough about her boyfriend´s work, and wasn´t well acquainted with anyone else. Even though they all seemed nice, she wanted to take a breath and look around. As she watched other people interact with each other, it dawned on her that this was a regular occurrence for Quatre. He was at ease in his white suit and dark purple shirt and white bowtie, wandering amidst these finely dressed gentlemen and ladies, carrying on conversations. She, on the other hand, was feeling suffocated. She wasn´t claustrophobic, just not used to such loud, crowded, and fancy surroundings.

Spotting a set of French doors that led out to a balcony, Makoto took the chance to leave the room. She was surprised to find someone already there, wearing a classic black and white tuxedo, his deep green eyes settling on her when she joined him.

"Good evening," she greeted him softly.

He gave a slight nod in acknowledgement, and Makoto wondered who he was. Why wasn´t he inside like everyone else?

"I didn´t think anyone else would be here," she continued. "Everyone seems to enjoy the ball."

"I don´t like crowds," he replied shortly. The woman in front of him was beautiful by all standards. Tall, an athletic figure, with soft brown tresses and jade green eyes, he wondered why she wasn´t inside, flirting with the men if not talking with the women.

"Neither do I," Makoto answered, much to his surprise. "I´m not used to it. It´s my first formal event since I-don´t-even-remember-when."

He raised an eyebrow at her, obviously not believing her words. He studied her quietly, then noted that she was looking back at him levelly, not like some of the women he´s met, blushing and fluttering their eyelashes. "I´ve never seen you before," he admitted, realizing that despite the number of social events he had been forced to attend as the head of Aegis´ research department, he really had never seen her before. If he had, he was sure he would remember.

"I´m Makoto Kino, owner of the new restaurant Lune Argent," she introduced herself.

"Trowa Barton," he responded shortly, kissing her gloved hand as he knew was appropriate.

"Do you have a job, Mr. Barton?" Makoto proceeded to ask.

"I work for Aegis," he answered, not liking to give too much information away to strangers.

"Funny, the majority of the people here seems to work for Aegis," she muttered to herself.

He looked at her questioningly, and she answered his unasked question. "The host, Mr. Chang, works at Aegis. My boyfriend told me. Then I met one of his model´s sister, and she works at Aegis too."

"Why are you out here and not with your boyfriend?" Trowa questioned. So she was already taken. No surprise there though. He should have guessed. He was tempted to ask who the man was, but he refrained himself.

Makoto shrugged. "He´s at ease in these surroundings, and he talks to his clients and friends. I don´t have too many of those, and I don´t like loud, crowded places, " she explained.

He gave a nod of acceptance for her answer, and stared out into the sky. Following his gaze, she could see nothing but pitch black, with the random star here and there, nothing spectacular.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, confused as to why he could observe nothingness.

"The stars," Trowa replied. "You don´t see them too much in the city."

With a start, Makoto realized that he was right. She had been too busy to notice that the skies of Tokyo seemed very far away, and the stars never twinkled in the busy city. But out here, further away, they danced the night away in the midnight sky. She snuck a glance at the man beside her. There was something about him, but she couldn´t quite put her finger on it. There was more to him than he was allowing her to see, a deeper side beneath the cool demeanor. It was the side that would converse freely with those close to him, the side that enjoyed stargazing and looked at life for a meaning beyond getting up everyday to earn money. And Makoto suddenly realized that she wanted to know that side of this mysterious man.

~*~*~*~*~

"Where is he?" It was a demand, not a question, and the laughter previously generated by one of Duo´s many jokes was silenced abruptly by this new arrival to the group.

"Good evening, Relena," Quatre greeted politely.

Relena smiled sweetly at him, obviously confident and comfortable in her low-cut, strapless lemon-yellow chiffon dress that showed more skin than what was considered decent. It hugged her figure tightly, showing off her every curve on her body. The chiffon fell softly around her hips and legs, highlighting her height. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders, and the obviously expensive jewelry sparkled and shimmered every time the light caught it.

"Good evening, Quatre," she replied. "Have you seen Heero?"

"No, I haven´t," Quatre answered. "I thought he would be with you."

At this, Relena turned angrily at the petite blonde in front of her. "What did you do to him?"

"I stuck him in a caldron and boiled him while chanting magical spells," Usagi answered dryly, rolling her eyes. "How would I know where your boyfriend is?"

"That´s right," Relena bit out. "As long as you remember that he´s my boyfriend!"

"Is he?" Minako couldn´t help but add fuel to the fire. "Mr. Yuy looked pretty comfortable with my sister last time at the Stone party."

"She also looked pretty comfortable with him," Relena jabbed a finger at Duo, "the time he went out with me and we happened to see them just before he walked out!"

"So he walked out on you when you were on a date?" Usagi asked, amused, though it sounded like something Mr. Yuy would do.

"NO!" Relena denied, glaring at her. "It´s all your fault! I know he wants to sleep with you, even if I don´t know why. You´re a child with no breasts, no hips, and you´re probably a virgin too."

Minako saw red at Relena´s outburst. It was one thing for her to disagree and argue with her sister on multiple occasions, but deep down, she knew Usagi loved her, and vice versa. No one insulted her sister like that.

"If it´s worth anything to you, Miss Peacecraft," Minako began coldly, "at least Mr. Yuy appears to disagree with you. Even if you´re right about my sister, which you aren´t, then you must be worse, because he doesn´t want you. He walked out on your date after he saw Usagi with Duo. That sounds to me like a break-up."

"What do you know?" Relena taunted with a smirk. "It´s not like he´s interested in you. You don´t even have a boyfriend. I´ll bet you can´t even get one."

That stung. Minako clenched her teeth. She knew that she didn´t have a love life. It wasn´t that she didn´t want one. She had dated many guys, but she had found that a lot of them liked Minako Aino, the supermodel, not Minako Aino, the woman. She was supposed to be perfect in their eyes, but she wasn´t, and she could never pretend to be. The "right guy" had yet to come along.

"That´s not true," Duo spoke up, frowning at Relena. "I know lots of guys who would date Minako. Not everyone needs to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. If Yuy didn´t show up with you, then you´re dateless tonight too."

Relena fumed silently, glaring at the man who defended her strongest competition, but it was Usagi´s quiet comment that made her stomp off, deciding that they weren´t worth her precious time at all.

"Would you agree with me, Miss Peacecraft," Usagi started softly behind a mask of quiet fury, "that being a virgin privately would be better than being a slut publicly?"

As soon as Relena was out of earshot, Duo turned to Minako and noticed tears glittering in the corner of her eyes. "Hey," he began, "I was being honest. I do know lots of men who would date you. You´re a much better person than Relena Peacecraft."

"Thanks Duo," Minako replied with a sigh. "I really appreciated that."

The first bars of music started, interrupting conversations and indicating that the dancing had officially started. Quatre looked around with a confused frown.

"Has anyone seen Makoto?" he asked. Seeing his companions shake their heads and not spotting his girlfriend anywhere in sight, he let out a sigh, wondering where she might have gone.

"Would you care for a dance, Usagi?" Duo asked hopefully, looking at the petite blonde.

Usagi agreed, deciding that she could at least grant Duo that. He really wasn´t a bad guy, and he had stuck up for her sister, something she was grateful for. She was mildly amused to see his indigo eyes light up with happiness as he led her out to the dance floor.

"Thank you for defending my sister, Mr. Maxwell," Usagi began the conversation.

"Hey, I was only telling the truth," Duo admitted. "I´ve wondered why she didn´t have a boyfriend before, but she told me that the right person hasn´t come along."

Usagi laughed. "The right person came along and hit her in the face," she remarked.

Duo looked at her, confusion clear on his face. Usagi merely shook her head. She couldn´t just tell him that he was right for her sister, especially when neither of them realized it. This was another reason she kept turning Duo down. Somehow, someway, he had to see that the two of them would be good friends, but that was all. As a couple, there was a high probability that they would drive each other insane, in a really bad way.

Looking around the ballroom, Usagi noticed that Ami and Wufei were half dancing near the entrance, just in case any late arrivals showed up. Quatre appeared to have asked Rei to dance instead. The raven-haired woman´s face was lit up brightly with a smile, the skirt of her red, sleeveless dress swaying around her as they danced and chatted amicably about something. Meanwhile, Minako was looking at her and Duo with a small smile on her face. Her eyes didn´t seem as bright as usual, as though she was torn between being happy for her sister, or sad about something else.

Grinning internally, Usagi decided that the matchmaking streak had to run in the family. If Minako won´t see that Duo was right for her, and vice versa, then Usagi herself would just have to step in with a plan of some sort. The first two steps formulated in her mind just as the song ended.

"How about another dance, Usagi?" Duo asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Actually, I was hoping for a favour from you, Mr. Maxwell," she stated, smiling brilliantly at him.

Bedazzled by the enchanting smile that flashed his way, Duo nodded, ready to agree to acting like a camel for the rest of his life if that was what she wanted.

"Do you think you can act like my sister´s date for the rest of the night?" she asked hopefully, much to Duo´s obvious surprise. "You see, I think she´s really hurt after what Miss Peacecraft said, and if you can make her feel better, I´d be eternally grateful."

"But wouldn´t that be like deceiving her?" Duo stammered a little, not quite sure what to say to the unusual request. It wasn´t everyday that the woman you liked asked you to pretend to like her sister.

Instead of answering the question, Usagi said, "I´ll go out on a lunch date with you, but just once." Anything to get the two of them to spend some time together, acknowledging what they could have as a couple. Besides, she was hoping that by the time Duo had finished his favour to her, he would realize that her sister was perfect for him.

Duo brightened instantly at her suggestion. After spending so much time and effort on trying to get her to agree on a date, he would be an idiot to turn down her offer. He nodded in agreement. "Deal," he said.

"Then I suggest you start by asking her to dance the next dance while I run off for some punch," Usagi replied.

Gracefully, she made her way off the dance floor and towards the punch bowl, where she helped herself to some of the drink. It was very. . .fruity, but it wasn´t bad. She helped herself to another cup while she watched Duo and Minako interact. They appeared to be having fun, laughing and talking together. They had been friends for so long that it never occurred to them that they could be a couple, but Usagi decided that she had to change that, before those two drove her insane with their not-quite-oblivious matchmaking schemes. She helped herself to more punch; it was really good.

~*~*~*~*~

He turned off the laptop sitting on the solid oak desk before glancing at the clock. The ball had been going for an hour and a half now, but he wasn´t exactly excited to attend. Still, as a favour for a friend if nothing else, he should make an appearance.

He walked through the empty halls to his room, where he put on a white silk shirt, a black tuxedo and a matching bowtie. Then he made his way downstairs. He had been in the house since late in the afternoon, but thanks to the size of the estate, no one knew that, not even Wufei. He had just wanted to get some work done.

Following the sound of the music, he made his way to the ballroom, and spotted Ami and Wufei still in the entranceway.

"What took you so long, Yuy?" Wufei asked him as soon as he spotted his friend. "We were just about to come to the conclusion that you died halfway here."

"I´ve been here since about five," he answered flatly.

"Good evening, Heero," Ami greeted with a smile. "Thanks again for letting me use your house."

He shrugged. "It´ll just sit around and collect dust if no one uses it anyway," he replied.

"So everyone´s here, sir?" one of the nearby maids questioned.

Heero glanced at Ami, who nodded. "You can serve dinner at nine-thirty," he told the maid, who bowed and scampered off to the kitchen.

"I suppose we don´t have to make you feel welcome," Wufei stated dryly to Heero.

Heero rolled his eyes as they made their way down the stairs into the ballroom. "Yes, show me the way to the bathroom," he muttered sarcastically, much to Wufei´s irritation.

His eyes scanned the room quickly, searching for something. Eyes from the female occupants of the room looked back, staring at him or looking him up and down the way you would a piece of jewelry before you bought it. It was as though they were assessing him for how much he was worth and what their chances are now that Relena Peacecraft was out of the picture.

"Do you ever feel like a piece of meat when they eye you like that?" Wufei asked him over Ami´s head. Her arm was tucked in his and she looked up at Heero to hear the answer.

"No," Heero replied, a sardonic smirk crossing his face. "I feel like a blank cheque."

Ami giggled softly and Wufei silently agreed, watching him walk off. "Who do you think he´s looking for?" Wufei asked his wife quietly.

Ami smiled knowingly. "We´ll see, won´t we?" she answered.

~*~*~*~*~

Heero slipped between the shadows that the Roman style pillars created around the ballroom, avoiding all possible contact with other people as he let his eyes wander carefully through the crowds. He had already said some short greetings to the clients he saw, but he didn´t want to make any more small talk. He didn´t see her, and he was starting to wonder if she was here at all. Suddenly, a figure bumped into him from behind.

"Ouch," the soft female voice muttered, "someone get the license plate of that truck."

He recognized that voice. Slowly, he turned around, his breath catching in his throat when he saw her. She looked like an angel from heaven, the white of her dress projecting her aura of innocence, those curls and ringlets making her look younger than she already did. She blinked a few times before meeting his eyes.

She smiled. "I was starting to think you weren´t going to come," she admitted.

Gently, he took both of her hands in his and gave her his usual smirk. "That sounds like you´ve been waiting for me, chibi-chan," he replied.

"Maybe I have," she giggled giddily. "I missed your company."

"Then I shall make sure never to come late for a formal event again," he promised. Even though his tone of voice was solemn, his eyes laughed at her. Something very strange must have happened to her. Last he remembered, the two of them hadn´t parted on good terms, and from what he knew of Usagi Aino, she would rather stab her eyes out and wander around a desert for the rest of her life before admitting something like that, especially to him.

Soft music started up in the background, and he graciously asked her to dance with him. As they swayed slowly in the dimness of the shadows, she gently rested her head on his shoulder, making him very aware of their closeness as well as the smell of fresh strawberries in her hair. Somewhere in the middle of the song, she tilted her head up to him.

"What would you do if I kissed you?" she asked, almost innocently. He could, however, swear that he heard the laughter in the question.

"Why don´t you try and we´ll see?" he teased her. He should have known just from the question that there was something really wrong with her, but she was flirting with him, and he decided that he could figure out what had happened to her later.

Usagi stood on her tiptoes and timidly touched her lips to his, and suddenly found herself locked in his arms, his mouth moving hungrily over hers. She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing herself closer to him.

Heero groaned mentally. She was trying to kill him. Not only could he now feel every curve on her body against the length of his own, but her fingers were playing with his hair, and she was kissing him. Her lips tasted like vanilla, fruits, and. . .alcohol.

Abruptly, he pulled away and studied her completion carefully. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes dazed, but a little confused and a little blank. That was what was wrong. "You´re drunk," he stated monotonously.

He wasn´t sure if it was a relief or not. On one hand, he was glad that there was nothing seriously wrong with her, except maybe the fact that she was going to have a migraine the next morning. She hadn´t changed overnight. She was still the woman he had taken a sudden, unexplainable interest in. She wasn´t sucking up to him to get his money, and her wits were still about her. But he was also disappointed. She didn´t like him. She didn´t really miss him. And she kissed him because she was drunk and didn´t know what she was doing. That bothered him a great deal more than he wanted to admit. What if the man she had happened to bump into wasn´t him? Would she still have done the same thing?

"And you´re stoned," she replied airily. "I only had the punch. It was good."

"Chibi-chan," Heero answered flatly, "your ‘punch´ is a mixture of citrus fruits and vodka."

"But it didn´t hurt," she pointed out.

Heero gave her a mocking smirk and started to lead her out of the ballroom. "Wait until the morning," he advised. "Now I think you should get some sleep. You can stay here for the night, since Ami and Wufei will. Trowa might too. Ami can just tell your sister you went home early."

As he led her down the hall to one of the guest rooms upstairs, she giggled and half tripped, half walked trying to keep up with him, almost falling a few times. They were almost in the guest wing when Usagi swayed uncertainly, her vision blurring.

"The house looks like it´s going through a time vortex," she muttered, gingerly touching her temple.

"How do you manage to sound intelligent even when you´re drunk?" he asked, chuckling to himself as he swept her up into his arms, princess style. It was just easier this way rather than wait for her to catch up to him. He walked into one of the many guest rooms, closing the door behind him.

"Kiss me?" she whispered softly when he put her down on the queen-sized bed.

"I think," Heero murmured, "that you´ve had enough for tonight. Go to sleep."

Much as he wanted to do as she asked, he knew she wasn´t aware of what she was doing. He had taken advantage of her before, and he had regretted it immensely. He didn´t want to feel that gnawing pain that came with the knowledge of having hurt her again. He was suddenly puzzled at his train of thought. Since when did he feel anything for other people?

"I´ll go to sleep if you kiss me," she continued, smiling at him.

He smiled back a bit and shook his head in disbelief. If only she acted like this on a regular basis. No, he didn´t really want her to be any different. He liked his chibi-chan the way she was. Life would be boring now without her constant sarcasm and those flashing sapphire eyes. Still, it was hard to resist her when she was asking for something as simple as a kiss and doing it so innocently. That was another bizarre thing. When other women did it, he would purposely not kiss them because he found it distasteful to ask. When she did it, it was just endearing, and he would bet the whole estate that if she tried, it could be seductive.

Heero sat down on the bed and pulled her into his arms. "You promise, child?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"Pinky swear," she giggled.

The sound of her laughter was cut off by his lips. He had meant for it to be a peck, but he found himself being pulled onto the bed on top of her, and she wasn´t letting go. If he wasn´t sure before that she wanted to kill him, now he was. All his senses flared to life at the feeling of her soft, alluring body pressed between him and the bed. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, and he was well aware of every womanly curve on her body. She was anything but a child, and now, he darn well knew it. He silently made the revelation that the past few minutes have been very unhealthy for his state of mind, especially when he had been well aware that he wanted her and she was drunk. He let his hand wander down her body, stroking each hollow and curve. She whimpered and moaned softly under his experienced hands.

The foreign taste of alcohol in her normally sweet mouth broke the spell around them for the second time in the past half an hour. He stopped the kiss and removed himself from his position on top on her.

He looked down at her with eyes darkened by passion. She was staring back with confusion in her misty eyes. Her hair was swept out around her, framing her angelic face. It would be so easy to just forget that she was drunk and do what she was silently asking him to do with that pleading, innocent look. But that would give her a reason to hate him for the rest of her life when she woke up the next morning.

Much to his desire´s annoyance, he found a strong surge of protectiveness welling up from somewhere in his frozen heart. He didn´t want her to hate him. He didn´t want to hurt her. But most of all, he didn´t want to take her under these circumstances. Maybe he would regret it later for giving up such an opportunity, but right now, he knew he didn´t want to take advantage of her drunken state.

"Go to sleep," he managed to say calmly despite the unquenchable yearning he was feeling.

"Why did you stop?" she asked, her voice holding a curious and confused tone.

He wondered briefly if she knew what she was saying. "I´ll be happy to show you why," he murmured huskily, stroking her soft cheek, "if you´re still curious in the morning."

She blinked at him, and he chuckled lowly. Standing up, he headed for the door. "Go to sleep before I change my mind," he stated, glancing at her one last time before he left the room.

Much to his surprise, even though he should have expected it, he found Ami standing about three feet away from the guest room door.

He raised his eyebrows in question, and she stared back unblinkingly. "Is she okay?" she asked.

The way the question was worded made him smirk at the doctor. "She´s drunk and will probably have a headache in the morning," he replied.

She waited for him to say more, but he didn´t, so she dropped the tactful act, "You didn´t . . . ."

"No, I didn´t take advantage of her current lack of judgment," he answered, leaning back against the wall.

Ami visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "I should have warned her about the punch," she muttered to herself.

"You´ve been there all along?" Heero asked quietly.

Ami nodded. "I saw her looking a bit unusual, but she bumped into you before I got to her. I was worried about her, so I followed you." She blushed a bit. "I´m sorry, but I was afraid you might. . . ."

He gave a brief nod in response to her explanation. It wasn´t something he could fault Wufei´s wife for. She was merely looking out for a friend, which was perfectly reasonable, especially with his reputation.

"Why didn´t you?" she questioned out of curiosity. A brief pause followed, and she quickly retracted her comment. "Ah, that´s nosy of me. I shouldn´t have asked something like that."

Heero shrugged. Anyone else would have wanted an answer, but it was an answer that even he couldn´t give. "She would hate me in the morning," he responded simply.

He pushed himself off the wall and offered Ami his arm. "We should go back. They´re going to wonder what happened to the hostess and the blank cheque," he remarked, a little sarcastically.

Ami laughed softly and took his arm. "With all due respect, Heero, I don´t think every woman at the ball look at you like a blank cheque," she quipped, walking beside him down the halls and back to the ballroom.

"No, some see me as a credit card with no limit, and yet more see a bank account," he responded flatly.

Ami smiled as they reached the ballroom. There had been a change in Heero Yuy, one that she believed would be associated with her best friend. The Heero Yuy she knew before these past few hours was a man with a cool demeanor and an even colder personality. He didn´t care about other people´s feelings, especially not women´s, and he cared even less about the way people viewed him. But in a very short week, something had changed. He didn´t want Usagi to hate him. That was a pretty good sign that he cared about her, in the very least, as a friend. And if her hunch was right, even more than a friend.

**********************************************

End of Chapter 10.

AN: Look! No cliffhanger! Unless you´re wondering what´s going to happen when Usa wakes up. XD Anyways, reviews are nice, and they encourage me to write faster. ^^