WARNING: Mild Language

Heero walked quickly down the tiny corridor, he had to reach Relena before she left for home. There were some complications in the security plan for the World Conference, and he wanted to run his solutions by her. He’d been working for the Preventors for six years now, and he had never been happier. Things had been fairly quiet since Mariemaia’s uprising against the ESUN, and although some of the other agents complained about how boring life had become, Heero liked it. He didn’t want to kill anyone anymore, and because of Relena and the Preventors keeping the peace, he didn’t have to. His life had never been better. Steady job, nice house, beautiful –

“Relena!” he shouted when he saw the Vice Foreign Minister leaving her office. “Relena wait a second!” He walked quickly towards her, noting her haggard appearance, and the tired look she wore. “It will only take a moment,” he assured her, and handed her a short report on the security at the conference.

She skimmed it half-heartedly before handing it back to him. “Looks good,” she said, and he growled slightly. She hadn’t even read it. Relena started to walk away but he caught her arm.

“Relena,” he said softly, ignoring her attempts to escape. “What’s wrong?” she muttered incoherently, her eyes downcast. He gripped her chin, and forced her to look at him. “Why are you afraid to look at me?” He could see the hurt within her eyes. What had he done to hurt her? His heart ached whenever she hurt. Was he hurting her now? “Talk to me,” he ordered her gently. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Relena looked at her options and knew that she had to get away. She ruthlessly pushed away all the feelings that welled up in her whenever she looked at him, and smiled weakly. “Nothing’s wrong,” she repeated, as if she were trying to convince herself that it was the truth. “I’m just a little tired.”

“You’re lying,” Heero stated simply and let his hand drop, but continued to look into her eyes, trying to see what was the matter. She had changed since he had seen her last, he realised. She had become colder, more distant. Before, he only had to look into her eyes to know what she was feeling, but now… Now, he could see nothing… Her eyes were empty. Dead. He stared at her, desperately searching for some sign of emotion. He would even prefer the hurt he had seen earlier to this emptiness.

He scanned her face, and was shocked at what he saw. Hadn’t somebody noticed that something wasn’t right? She had lost weight, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. She looked like she had nothing to live for, like her drive for life was gone, and that scared him. She had always been so full of life… His hand seemingly moved of its own accord to touch her cheek, but she flinched away from his touch.

“I have to go,” she muttered and pulled away from him. “Goodbye Heero,” she whispered before running away down the hallway. She heard him calling her name, asking her to stop, but she ran on, she couldn’t face him any more. He made her feel warm, turbulent things that she couldn’t explain. She ran into the elevator at the end of the hall and watched his expression become stricken as the doors closed.

Heero cursed and opened the door to the stairwell, sprinting down the stairs at a break neck speed. Careful Yuy, he cautioned himself. You won’t help Relena if you kill yourself. But despite his own advice, he only ran faster. He couldn’t stop thinking about the hollowness in her eyes. ‘I have to find her. I have to help her,’ he told himself, and each thought made him run faster. ‘Relena!’

Duo could tell that Heero was worried. Outwardly Heero looked calm and composed, but if one knew what to look for, then they would see that he was far from it. His hands kept clenching into fists, and squeezing until his knuckles were white before relaxing, and his entire stance was rigid. “Calm down,” Duo placed a hand on Heero’s shoulder. “We’ll find her.” He watched as Heero relaxed, and gave a sad smile. “What happened?”

“I wanted to talk to her,” Heero said dully. “It was about the security for the conference, and she ran away from me.”

“What did you say to her this time?” Duo asked in a harsh tone. “What did you do that made her run away?” The last few words were gasped out, because Heero had him pinned against the wall. Duo smirked, knowing that he had hit a nerve. “C’mon,” he prodded. “Inquiring minds want to know.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Heero said, the frustration evident in his voice. “She looked so lost, Duo.” He collected himself before continuing. “So I asked her what was wrong, and she ran away. I tried to catch her, but by the time I got downstairs, she was gone. Duo…” He didn’t know how to express what he was feeling. “It hurts…”

Duo laugh was bitter. “Well now you know how she felt every time you ran away from her.” He felt no pity for the other pilot. He had seen how sad Relena had been when Heero left her, and now justice was being served. “You’ve left her alone more times than I can count, and she’s probably felt the same way you do, every single time.”

The information hit Heero hard. Every single time? He wanted to hurt himself for all the pain he must have caused her. He had thought that he was protecting her by keeping his distance. He thought that by keeping away from her, she would be able to go on with her life. But instead he had hurt her. Was he the reason that her eyes were listless and hollow? He shuddered slightly at the thought.

He tried to remember how she had been before. Exuberant, and happy with her life. She loved being the Vice Foreign Minister. She loved helping people, loved the peace that she had helped to create. She had smiled often when he had seen her months ago. So what had happened? He’d been nice to her, when he met her at the last conference, and had spoken politely to her. They had talked for over an hour and he would have stayed longer, but he’d had to meet someone. How could he have hurt her when he left?

Heero released Duo, and ran his hand through his unruly hair. He didn’t understand how he could’ve hurt her. He hadn’t stayed very long, but she knew that he was busy. Hell, she was busy, so it didn’t make sense that she would be hurt by him leaving because of a previous engagement. “I don’t understand,” he managed to say. “Are you saying that it’s my fault that she ran away?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Duo said angrily. “You did it! You finally carried out all you missions.” Heero looked uncomprehendingly at him. “You’ve killed Relena Darlian, but personally I think that it would’ve been more humane to just shoot her. Leading her on like that, promising to protect her, and then letting her see you, and that–” He struggled to find the right word. “That whore! That’s what killed her! She was never the same after she saw that. She tried to pass it off as tiredness, but she didn’t fool any of us.”

“I killed Relena,” Heero repeated . He’d kept his promise. He’d killed her… His hands were shaking now. He was the one who’d killed the expression in her eyes. He was the reason that her eyes were hollow. “What did she see?” he managed to ask.

Duo looked at him strangely. “You don’t know?” Heero shook his head. “Relena saw you sucking face with Sylvia Noventa…” He looked at the other pilot in frustration. “You always screw everything up!”

“It’s not a crime to kiss your girlfriend!” Heero protested. “Relena had no right to be so upset! It’s not like there was anything between us anyway.”

Duo’s jaw dropped. “Are you stupid or something?” He resisted the urge to punch Heero. “Do you know how Relena felt for you?”

“Of course.” Heero said angrily. “I’m not blind! But the feeling was never reciprocated. I told her that we were nothing more than friends!” He grabbed his coat, and stalked towards the door.

“Wait a sec!” Duo protested. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to find Relena.” Heero growled as he ran out of the door and into the stormy night.

Relena huddled miserably under a tree. She was soaked to the bone, and freezing, but she didn’t care. It was better this way. She wanted to die because life held no meaning for her anymore. How could it? She had loved Heero for eight years. Eight years, and he had proved to her that her love meant nothing to him. That she meant nothing to him.

To break her heart that way, and then act like he actually cared for her? It wasn’t really the fact that Heero had kissed another girl. That had hurt, but what had truly pained her was the fact that it was Sylvia Noventa. Relena had only met Sylvia once, but it had given her a few impressions about Sylvia’s character, and none of them were good.

Sylvia saw men as conquests, and she had wanted to get her hands on Heero Yuy ever since she had met him. Not because she felt anything for him, but she wanted to prove to herself that she could turn the head of one of the coldest men she had ever met. She knew about Relena’s feelings for Heero, and had flaunted her ambitions in Relena’s face. Just to scorn her. So why would Heero choose Sylvia over her?

‘Maybe,’ Relena thought bitterly, ‘I’m just being a sore loser because I wasn’t good enough for him. But I can’t stop loving him. I can’t stop feeling this way… Oh God! I feel so alone!’

She lost herself in the darkest recesses of her mind. Sinking deeper and deeper with each passing moment. Losing herself in memories. The day on the beach, her first dance, all the way to that day in her office, three months ago. He had kissed her. She didn’t know why, they had been talking about politics, when all of a sudden he had reached over and pulled her towards him.

She had lost herself in the moment, the feel of his lips against her. It had been heavenly, but then his eyes had snapped open, and when they focused on her, he seemed to be surprised. He pushed her away, and ran out of the door, leaving a very dumbfounded Relena standing in her office. She had decided that he wasn’t going to get away with it, not this time. He couldn’t just jerk her around, and then leave. So she ran after him, making it downstairs just in time to see him with Sylvia.

Relena wanted to scream. Had he ever loved her? Had he even liked her? Had she just wasted eight years of her life on someone who didn’t even care about her feelings? No, no, and yes. She didn’t want to see him anymore. She didn’t want to live anymore. She knew that she was taking the coward’s way out, but she couldn’t bear the pain any more. She had tried, damn it! She had tried to be strong, but she had always taken her strength from him.

Relena felt blackness enveloping her and suddenly she was afraid. She didn’t want to die, she wanted to get over Heero Yuy, and live. ‘It’s too late now’, a small voice inside her head whispered. ‘You did this to yourself, and there’s no turning back now.’

‘I don’t care’ she thought back. ‘Save me. Somebody please save me. I don’t want to die any more.’ Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to move, but her limbs felt heavy and her movements were clumsy. Oh God, she was going to die! She shivered violently; she was so cold.

“Relena?” His voice cut through the darkness and she wanted to scream with joy. He had come! She was going to live, and he was going to save her! Her elation faded as he walked right past the tree she was huddled under. “Relena!” he called again, further away this time.

“Heero,” she rasped, but her voice was drowned by the rain. “I’m here,” she said as loud as she could. He called her name again, and panic overtook her. He was going to leave! He wasn’t going to find her! She struggled to crawl towards him, to get as close to him as possible. “Heero,” she whispered again, and the darkness overtook her.

Relena was surprised beyond belief when she woke up in a warm comfortable bed. Where was she? She tried to sit up, and found that there was an arm draped over her. “Heero?” she said tentatively, and shook him gently. “Heero wake up.” She ran her fingers over his face, and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. “Wake up.”

His eyes snapped open, and he looked around bewilderedly before it all came back to him. How he’d found her, lying unconscious near a tree, her lips practically blue from the cold. “Are you feeling better?” he asked softly and she nodded.

“What am I doing in bed with you?” she asked, a blush spreading over her cheeks. “We didn’t do anything did we?” He looked at her questioningly. “You know, anything indecent?” Her blush deepened.

“No, nothing indecent happened,” he assured her. “I found you in the rain and when I brought you back, you were cold.” He looked into her eyes and saw that they were hollow still, that her expression was guarded. “I gave you blankets, but you were still freezing, so I lent you my warmth.” He reached up and touched her warm cheek. “It seems to have worked.”

“Where are my clothes?” Relena asked, pulling away from his hand. She wouldn’t let him get close to her again. She knew how much that would hurt her. She shivered. How could she be cold? She was bundled up, but for some reason she was still freezing. He noticed the shiver and frowned.

“Are you still cold?” She nodded and he reached out to touch her arm. “Relena you’re burning hot!” He cursed under his breath and after telling her to stay put, he ran out of the room., returning after a few minutes with cloths and cold water. He dipped one of the facecloths in the water, and then placed it on her head.

She whimpered slightly. “Cold,” she said softly, and tried to push it away, but he held it firm.

“It will bring down your fever,” Heero said gently. “You have to leave it there.”

“Can I at least get under the covers?” Relena asked timidly, and he smiled at her before slowly shaking his head. She groaned. “Come on! I’m freezing!”

“No,” he said firmly and removed the cloth from her head, replacing it with a colder one. “I know that you’re cold, but your fever will go down faster this way.” His tone left no room for argument. “Do you want to talk about something to take your mind off the cold?” She nodded slowly, and smirked slightly as an idea came into her mind. Now it was his turn to blush, she decided.

“How about the question I asked earlier? Where are my clothes? If she was hoping for a response from him, she was disappointed. His expression gave nothing away. She was starting to feel alive again, while teasing him.

“They were drenched,” Heero explained. “They’re drying right now.”

“And how did I get into your clothes?” She gestured at the baggy pants and shirt she wore.

“I changed you,” he replied in a confused tone. Why was she making such a big deal about this? “Does that bother you?” he asked her as he switched the cloths on her forehead. Relena blushed and looked at her hands. He supposed that it did then. “I had to do it,” he stated simply. “I had to get you out of your wet clothes, and I figured that you wouldn’t appreciate waking up na-”

“That’s alright,” she said quickly, stopping him from completing his sentence. “I understand.” She blushed again, and Heero smirked at her. She certainly was blushing a lot tonight.

“Go to sleep,” he advised her gently. “Hopefully, your fever will have broken by the time you wake up.” Relena nodded, drifting to sleep even before he had finished his sentence. Heero allowed himself a small smile as he gazed upon her sleeping form. He gently traced the lines of her face with a finger, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face. She was beautiful.

Heero pulled back violently from her. He shouldn’t think like that, he was with Sylvia. He loved her. ‘Do you?’ A traitorous though crept into his head. ‘You’re heart never lifts for Sylvia the way it did when Relena smiled at you. You’ve never lost yourself in Syliva’s eyes like you do in Relena’s.’ Heero glanced towards the sleeping figure on his bed. “I don’t love you,” he told her harshly. “I love Sylvia.” He grabbed the basin and stalked out of the room too quickly to notice the tears that were leaking out of Relena’s closed eyes.

When Relena awoke, she was pleased to find that her fever had broken. She scanned the room quickly, and smiled when she saw that Heero was sleeping in a chair beside her bed. Had he stayed by her side all night? He was still in the same clothes so he must have. Then, he must care about her! He wouldn’t spend this much time with someone he didn’t care about!

But then she remembered what he had said and realized the truth. He didn’t care for her, he only thought of her as a mission. He had sworn to protect her, and helping her break her fever was just his interpretation of the job description. He loved Sylvia. Relena flinched slightly at the thought. She wasn’t what he wanted, and she never would be.

With these thoughts in mind, she got out of the bed, and quietly walked past Heero into his bathroom. Her clothes were hanging in the shower, and when she reached out to touch them, she found that they were dry. She glanced back at Heero, smiling sadly at him, before closing the door. She kept her mind empty as she changed, and folded his clothes, placing them on the bed. She would thank him later.

She placed a kiss on his forehead, and was walking towards the door when his hand caught her wrist. “Where are you going?” he asked, and placed a hand on her forehead. “Your fever’s gone.”

Relena nodded. “I know. That’s why I’m leaving. You must have work to do, and I don’t want to bother you anymore.” She steeled herself for his response, but there was no need.

“You’re not a bother,” he whispered, and resisted the urge to touch her. He nearly flinched when she laughed harshly, the sound echoing from the walls.

“Don’t lie to me Heero,” she said after she had finished laughing. “I got lost in a storm, you had to go out and find me. Then you had to help me get over a fever. Don’t lie and say that I wasn’t a bother. I –”

She cut off abruptly as he reached out and cupped her chin, lifting her eyes to his. He frowned at what he saw there. “You shut me out,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You shut me out again.” Relena opened her mouth to protest, but he silenced her by putting a finger to her lips. “I want to see the old Relena again, I want to see you alive again.”

Relena wanted to punch him. Didn’t he realize that the only way for that to happen was for him to be with her? And she wasn’t going to ask him to sacrifice his happiness for hers. If he was happy with Sylvia, then she wouldn’t intrude. She really did love him. She loved him enough to let him go, even if it meant that she would be miserable.

“That Relena died a long time ago,” she told him harshly, and tried to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist again. “Let me go Heero!” she yelled at him. “I’m not your naïve idealistic Princess any more!” She gasped as he pressed her mouth to his. She felt like she was on fire, and for the first time in months, she didn’t feel dead. She didn’t feel like she was going through the motions. He was kissing her, and heaven help her, she wanted more.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her, and he tightened his grip around her waist. She felt like she was drowning, but this time, she didn’t want to surface. They finally broke apart, breathing heavily. “What have we done?” she asked him in despair. She wanted him so badly, but she had to stop herself, before they did something that they would both regret. ‘He loves Sylvia,’ she reminded herself. “You have a girlfriend.”

Heero blinked rapidly, at the mention of Sylvia. She was right, he did have a girlfriend. What had he done? Had he just used Relena as a way to release his pent up lust? The thought sickened him. That he would use her this way, but still… he had never felt this way before. When he had kissed her, he hadn’t been able to get enough of her, but… no. Like she said, he had a girlfriend. When he looked into her eyes, he noticed he could see her emotions in them, and for a moment, he could see the old Relena shining through. “You better go,” he told her gruffly, and watched as her expression became guarded once more.

“Thank you for taking care of me, Heero,” she said, but there was no trace of warmth in her voice. “Come to my office on Monday and I’ll look over the security plans.” He nodded, and she walked out of his apartment, her high heels making clicking noises as she walked down the hall.

“Damn it!” he yelled as soon as she was out of earshot, and punched the wall with all his might. He blinked in surprise as his fist went through it. He pulled out his now bloodied fist, and walked into the kitchen, and washed off the blood. “Damn it,” he repeated quietly. “I don’t love her. I love Sylvia,” he told himself over and over again, and by the time his hand had stopped bleeding, he could almost bring himself to believe it. “I love Sylvia.”

Heero looked up at his girlfriend of four months with a small smile on his face. ‘She’s beautiful,’ he thought to himself, ‘and she’s mine.’ He noted the frown on her face, and his smile fell. What had he done wrong? He would never understand women. “What’s wrong, love?” he asked quietly, and was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

“You slept with Relena,” she accused him angrily. “You slept with that whore!” She tried to slap him, but he caught her hand, and when she tried with the other, he caught that one too. “You played me! You just can’t use me and toss me aside like I’m nothing!”

“Sylvia.” His deep voice cut through hers, and she stopped struggling. “I didn’t sleep with Relena. Where did you get this from?” He was confused. How had Sylvia even known that Relena had been at his apartment? “Did Duo tell you this?” ‘Because if he did, I’m going to kill him.’

She shook her head, and he relaxed a little. “I saw her when I called you. Remember?” Heero nodded, she had called after he had brought Relena in. “She was sleeping on your bed, and in your clothes….”

“Sylvia,” Heero cut her off. “I found her outside in the rain. She was soaked to the bone, and tired so I let her sleep at my house, and I gave her some dry clothes.” He didn’t mention that he had changed Relena into those clothes. It had bothered Relena when he’d mentioned that, and he was sure that it would bother Sylvia. “Nothing indecent happened.” He smiled slightly at the familiar words. He had said them to Relena… ‘No! Stop thinking about her!’ he scolded himself. ‘You’ve got Sylvia.’

He reached for his girlfriend and pulled her into a hard, bruising kiss. Trying to stir up the same feelings that he had felt with Relena. But none of them came. He didn’t feel anything. He wanted to scream. He loved Sylvia! He did! He didn’t love Relena! But he knew now that he was deluding himself, and he knew now what he had to do.

He pushed her away, and stopped her when she tried to throw herself at him again. “What’s wrong honey?” she asked, confused. “Come on, you can tell me,” she prompted, and he gave her a glare that made her blood run cold.

“It’s not working out between us,” he said bluntly. “I need someone else. Someone with something you can’t give.” He saw her eyes narrow as she came to her conclusions.

“It’s Relena isn’t it?” she spat angrily. “I’m losing you to that stupid, ugly, self-centred bitch!” She gasped as he pushed her against the wall, pinning her body with his. She looked at him suggestively. “Did you change your mind?” she leered. “Not too late to reconsider.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Heero said harshly, and let her drop before walking towards the door, pausing in front of it. “By the way,” he said with a smirk. “Your description of Relena was wrong. She’s nothing like you.” He walked out of the door, not flinching when a glass figurine shattered against the wall where his head had been moments ago. He smiled slightly, suddenly feeling warm, and elated about life. He was going to see Relena. He didn’t love Sylvia. He loved Relena.

Relena sighed softly, as she looked at the huge pile of paperwork in front of her. She had been working on it for hours, but it didn’t seem to be getting any smaller. ‘Correction,’ she thought, ‘the reason it’s not getting any smaller is because you’ve been daydreaming about Heero and that kiss. It was only one kiss! Who cares if it was your first one? Who cares that it was wonderful?’

‘No one,’ she told herself firmly. ‘Especially not you because Heero Yuy’s a cold-hearted jerk who was cheating on his girlfriend by kissing you. Why would you want someone like that?’ She sighed again. For the life of her she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

She had never felt so alone before. She had never felt so cold, and lost. Not even when she was in the storm. She had felt so alive when she was in his apartment, but now, it was like she had died. Relena wanted to smack herself on the forehead. ‘Stop thinking about him!’ she scolded herself. ‘He doesn’t love you! He told you that he didn’t love you.’

She let out a small gasp as Heero burst into her office. “What are you doing here?” she asked him coldly. “I said that I would meet with you on Monday. And in case you haven’t noticed Mr. Yuy, today is Sunday.” She wanted him to get out of here. She needed to stop thinking about him, but she couldn’t do that if he kept intruding in her life. “So if you would please leave.”

Heero shook his head. He couldn’t leave, or at least he wouldn’t leave without her. He had been so stupid. He had felt this way for her for so long, but he had buried his feelings. Tried to hide them by telling himself that he didn’t feel anything for her. That the only reason he was so protective of her was because it was his mission.

And when that didn’t work, he had turned to Sylvia Noventa, told himself that he loved her, and for awhile he had fooled himself into believing that he loved her. But enough was enough. He loved Relena, and he knew she felt the same way for him. He was tired of running away from his feelings for her, and refused to run anymore

“Relena,” he said desperately. “Don’t shut me out.” He noticed that her eyes were devoid of emotions, and flinched. He had done that to her. He had killed her eyes. He knew that now, and what he wanted more than anything in the world was to bring them back to life. “Please don’t shut me out.”

Relena tried to shut him out of her mind. She was going to tell him to leave her alone, that she didn’t want to see him, but the words stuck in her throat. Then she looked into his eyes, and she saw love there. She also saw pain, and had to stop herself from reaching out to him. She felt like she had been trapped in a nightmare, that he had come to save her from the dark, and chase away all the bad dreams.

But then he’d leave again, she reminded herself. Just like he always did. He would save her from whatever danger there was, and when the danger past he would leave her again. Well she wouldn’t let him get close to her again. She didn’t want to be saved by him. “Why shouldn’t I?” she snapped at him, and for every step he took towards her, she took one away from him. “You always ran away. Why should I let you get close?”

“I don’t have a reason why,” Heero said, spreading his hands in supplication. “You just have to trust me. You told me once that you would believe in me. What happened?”

She laughed at him, and he wanted to cover his ears. Her laughter hurt him for some reason. The fact that she was laughing at him hurt. Much worse than any physical wound he’d ever had. “You’re an idiot,” she laughed. “I trusted you with my life, and with my heart. I believed in you more than anyone. I always stood by you, naively believing that you would come back to me.” The laughter faded and she glared at him.

“Do you know how much it hurt when I saw you with Sylvia?” she asked him, and he shook his head. “It hurt so much that I almost wished that you had killed me all those years ago. So I would never have to see that. But you’ve made your choice, and I won’t deny you any happiness you have with Sylvia.” She looked tired all of a sudden, like she hadn’t slept for days.

“I’m not going to chase you any more, Heero,” she said softly. “So stop chasing me. I don’t want you in my life any more.” She turned her back to him, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Goodbye Heero.” She shivered, she felt so cold.

“Are you cold?” he asked, and she nodded slightly. He walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her. She struggled wildly, but he was stronger than she was, and wouldn’t be able to escape until he let her. “I’m sorry,” he said and Relena froze. “I was the one who didn’t understand my feelings, and you suffered for it. You died, Relena, and it’s all my fault.” He broke down, and buried his face in her neck. “I killed the woman I loved.”

“You said that you loved Sylvia,” Relena reminded him gently. “What about her?”

“She wasn’t who I thought she was,” Heero said softly. “And she could never be you. No matter how much I wanted her to be, she wasn’t you. I’m sorry,” he said again, and released her, backing away. “I’ll leave.” He walked to towards the door, and opened it, prepared to walk out of her life forever.

“Heero.” Although her words were soft, they made him pause mid-stride, and turn back to her. “Are you going to run away again?” Her voice wavered, and it seemed like she was afraid of the answer. He crossed the room in quick strides, gathered her in his arms, and let her cry against his chest.

“No,” he answered her truthfully, and cupped her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. He almost shouted with joy when he saw her emotions in them. He felt whole again. Heero hugged her tighter, and lowered his mouth to her ear. “I’m done running,” he whispered.