Take My Breath Away

As far as days went, it just another Saturday night.

Daniella “Danie” Thomas’s hands shook in nervousness. She almost didn’t know why she was doing this. It felt insane. It felt sick. Hell, it even felt stupid. But he wanted it, so she was going to do it…

Why am I feeling this way? she asked herself while arranging her couch pillows idly for the millionth time. It was Saturday night, and if it had been a normal Saturday night, she would have been out on the town, dancing at Soul Love Live with her cousins and sisters until dawn. She looked down at her outfit. She was dressed right for the occasion, wearing black pants with a lavender top. Well, not quite. It would have been quite hot in the blouse she was wearing…

Brrrrring! Brrring!

Danie sighed. She knew without a doubt who it was without glancing at the caller ID. Injecting some enthusiasm into her voice, she picked up the phone and tried not to drop it in her nervousness.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Is he there yet?”

Danie sighed again. That was the fifth time today… “No, Miranda, he’s not here yet.”

Miranda Willard sighed too on the other side of the conversation. “Well, good. Because I would have felt stupid if he had been.” Danie rolled her eyes, glad that her best friend couldn’t see her expression. “Look, I gotta go. Good luck with him and all that.”

Danie had to smile. “It’s not like he’s gonna kill me or something!”

“Hmm…I don’t know about that…”

“Bye Miranda,” Danie said, anxious to end the convo. “I’ll give you all the gory details.”

Miranda laughed. “Well, let’s hope they’re not gory…”

“For his sake and mine…”

“Whatever, kid. See ya later—hopefully…” Click. Miranda was gone, at least for that conversation.

Knock knock…

Danie’s heart palpitated. He’s here! She seemed to go through a million different emotions all at the same time. The rush to her brain made her dizzy and she paused. To calm herself, she took a breath and walked slowly to her door, making sure that she looked relaxed and Danie-like.

She placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it. The door swung open.

He was standing there in jeans and a blue shirt that brought out his Prussian eyes. He peered into her eyes a long time, making her already racing heart skip and go on faster. It was almost very feminine those feelings that were giving her butterflies in her stomach.

“Heero…” she whispered, breathless. “Hi.”

Heero Yuy stood there a moment before doing anything. He seemed to be trying to figure her out. One moment she was relaxed and in control…the next minute…she was shaking in her Doc Martens from nervousness.

Danie Thomas was a weird, weird girl, that she was.

“Hello Danie.” The perfect monotone. Oh, it did wonders on her insides! She wanted to hug him from her girlish giddiness but pasted a Danie-smile on her face.

“Well, come in!” She stepped aside and let him walk past her. “I’m sure it’s not fun standing there on the doorstep like that…”

“It’s alright,” Heero assured her.

“Well, it’s not Soul Love Live, I’m sure.”

Heero walked past her and into her living room. She sighed softly, bringing herself back to Earth. She followed behind, playing the role of the beautiful, charming hostess.

“Would you like something to drink, Heero?” she inquired.

“No thank you. I’m fine.” He looked up to stare at her. “Come here and sit down.”

You don’t have to tell me twice… Danie walked over as calmly and as elegantly as her nerves would allow. She took a seat on her couch beside him, feeling the heat from his body and smelling the scent from his musky, masculine cologne. It was then, while she sat beside him, that she felt something else in her heart, something that she wasn’t sure she had the heart to tell him.

If I told you how I feel about you
Would you say the same?

 “Is there something wrong, Danie?” Heero asked.

Danie shook her head and called up a smile. “No, I’m fine. I just feel…” Weird, crazy, head-over-heels in love with you!

“Overwhelmed?” Heero offered.

“Well..”

“Sick? Tired?”

“Wired, actually. But that’s not what I meant.”

 And if I wrote it in a letter
Would you keep it or throw it away?

 “Then what’s wrong?”

Danie turned to him. “I…I wanna talk about what happened last night.”

Heero looked as if he wanted to blush. Given the way he was, he didn’t. Instead, he shifted on the couch so he was closer to her. Oh, you shouldn’t have done that, Heero Yuy…

 I’d never thought I’d feel the way I’m feeling lately
When every thing you seem to do just drives me crazy

“I, uh…” Gosh I can’t even talk to him… He’s so close to me… “I just wanted to say that I’ve been thinking about things, about you being…” Heero’s eyes caught hers. She lost her train of thought and trailed off a bit. “…who you are, and I wanted to tell you about it.”

“What did you come up with?”

Danie bit her lip. “Well, it’s gonna sound kinda demanding…but I’ll go ahead anyway. I think we should just try to go on with our lives normally—as if you weren’t going away—at least for a while.”

“What do you mean? As friends?”

Danie’s lips parted as if she was going to say something, but she couldn’t get it out. Something about the way he said ‘As friends?’ disconcerted her. She couldn’t quite place it; it was ambiguous in its manner of sounding.

“I mean, if you want to be friends…” She trailed off, not even able to imagine it.

 Every waking day
You take my breath away
With every word you say
You take my breath away

 Suddenly, as if to torment her hormones, Heero leaned in closer to her. Next thing she knew, she was sharing a kiss with him that was very much like the one last night …

 You look at me that way
Baby come what may
I hope you’ll always know
How to take my breath away
How to take my breath away

 

“Danie…”

The torment of her heart and soul came rushing back again. She found herself staring lovingly into his eyes, seeing his loneliness, hidden pain, longing, and love. She almost couldn’t believe these things she was feeling. It didn’t seem real. Here she was, sitting with Heero Yuy on her own couch and…

“We can’t be friends,” he said in a husky voice. “If we were just friends, it would break me.”

 You told me how you feel about me
This I did not know

 Danie sighed. “Oh Heero… I didn’t know you cared for me that much…”

“I don’t mean to be sappy, but I do,” he admitted. “Listen I know you’re wary about me being away for ten years but… Right now, I want to be with you. There’s nothing that will ever change that.”

 If you said you’d fill my heart
with all your lovin’ till it overflowed

 Danie backed away a little so she could see his face. “You would risk heartbreak while opening yourself up to new emotions and becoming lonely again just to be…with me?”

Heero didn’t flinch, nor did he seem to care about all of those things that Danie listed. “Yes. I would do anything. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met before. You touched all of my hidden emotions with one word, with one glance. You went against everything I ever believed in. You made me feel like I was worthy of a woman’s love…” He sighed. “It was a wonder that I stayed away from you.”

Danie laughed. “I’m a hard person to resist, aren’t I?”

“More than you know.”

“Oh yeah? Tell me then. How did you keep away from me for this long?”

Heero raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think you want to hear that.”

Danie chuckled. “I can guess. You don’t have to say.”

“Good. I don’t think I would have. At least not now.”

“I’ll bet you’re wondering the same about me.”

“What? How you kept away from me?”

“Well, yeah. Isn’t that what we’re talking about?”

“Yes…and just how did you manage to keep your feelings from me?”

 I don’t know the way you feel but boy I’m hoping
I always used to hide away but now I’m open

 Danie beamed mischievously. “Well…” It was her turn to move in toward him. “I just kept telling myself”—she put her hand on his jawbone—”that Heero Yuy was a selfish”—her finger traced his jawline—”inconsiderate”—her finger traced his chin—”and emotionless”—her finger traced his lips—”bastard.”

Heero smirked. A similar smile appeared on Danie’s face. Then she made a very bold move—she kissed him passionately.

 Every waking day
You take my breath away
With every word you say
You take my breath away
You look at me that way
Baby come what may
I hope you’ll always know
How to take my breath away
How to take my breath away

 

“You’re terrible, Danie Thomas.”

 Take my breath away
Take my breath away
Take my breath away

 

“More than you’ll ever know, Heero Yuy.”

Suddenly, they were in that same familiar embrace again, the one where he told her he loved her and that he would never stop. This time he spoke again.

“Danie…you’ve made me lose my mind…”

 “You’re not bad, Yuy. Kinda stole my breath there….”

“Thanks…That was my intention…Now how the hell do we get outta here so I can go kick a few people’s asses?”

 “I think that was my intention in the first place.” Her smirk seemed to ooze with impish overtones. “Heero…”

“Yes?”

Danie made sure that her eyes were open for this one. “I love you.”

Heero cradled her cheek in his hand. “I love you, too, Danie Thomas. I always will…”

With that, there were no more words, only the blissful silence of the nightlife of Gracia. Their embrace came again, and it was comforting and fulfilling as always. But this time, Danie sensed a bit more hungriness in Heero’s kiss, like he wanted her in ways he himself couldn’t explain or even fathom.

And this realization stole her breath away.

 Every waking day
You take my breath away
With every word you say
You take my breath away
You look at me that way
Baby come what may
I hope you’ll always know
How to take my breath away

 She knew, even if something had happened between them, that they would always be in love with each other…

And he would always take her breath away.