Pas de Deux

He sat anxiously at the Italian café, twisting his brown hair between his fingers. Was this a good idea? He couldn't help but wonder. It had been ages since he'd seen the girl, and he didn't think she would want anything to do with him. This was the first time she had ever contacted him before, so he figured that, whatever the reason, it must be important. But if it's so important, he thought, why is she so late? He glanced athis watch—it was now thirty minutes past the time they'd agreed to meet here. "I knew this was a bad idea," he muttered to himself.

"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting," said a soft, sweet female voice from behind him. It made him instantly straighten his shoulders, and he nearly spilled the coffee he'd been sipping as he bolted up. Spinning around, he came face to face with an attractive blonde girl. He was surprised by what he saw—she was much prettier than he remembered her to be. Her figure, once petite and girlish, was now slightly taller and thinner. Her facial features had become more angular, and her sharp blue eyes assessed him astutely, yet with a glint of humor behind them. He knew she was barely a day over seventeen, but she possessed a maturity that was at once admirable and intimidating. After a beat he realized that he'd been staring at her, and could only flush and scratch the back of his head awkwardly. Then she laughed, her faint smile breaking into a wide grin.

"Duo," she said. "It's so good to see you."

He grinned back. "You too, Relena!" He couldn't help it—he took a step toward her and gathered her into his arms.

"Now I realize you're not the touchy-feely type," he teased, "but you looked like you could use a good hug."

To his surprise, she squeezed him back. "You're right; hugs are somewhat of a precious commodity to me."

Duo sighed and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Must you make everything sound so political?" He looked her in the eye so she could see that he was kidding; he knew the pacifist leader sometimes had trouble taking a joke. Releasing her from his embrace, he motioned to the small round table he'd procured. "Have a seat and order some food with me! You're in luck, because they're still serving breakfast for another twenty minutes."

"That sounds wonderful," she said, smiling demurely. He noticed that she smiled whenever she said… just about anything. That was perfect for him, but he wondered what a stoic guy like Heero would think.

A waiter appeared and refreshed Duo's coffee cup, then poured one for Relena. The two ordered their breakfasts and chatted amicably while they waited. Both knew that there was much to catch up on.

"So… Italy," Duo said, unsure how to begin. "I've never gotten to spend a lot of time here. I can't believe how beautiful it is… Almost untouched, unlike other countries I've been to on Earth."

"Yes, that's what I love about it, too," Relena sighed. "The old world charm. Sanc is like that, as well."

"Relena," Duo ventured, "if I may be so bold, why did you ask me to meet you here?"

She lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry if I seemed anxious in my message. It's just that when I found out we were both here at the same time, I wanted to make sure to catch you before you left for space again." She rested her chin in her hand, and Duo found himself in awe of the grace and fluidity of her movements. She wasn't at all like Hilde, who threw herself into everything with reckless abandon; it was as if Relena's every move, every gesture was precise and calculated. Just like Heero, Duo thought. Man, this is freaky!

"You see," Relena continued, "I don't have many friends, so I try to make time for them when I can." Her eyelashes fluttered delicately. "All this time, I've looked forward to renewing our acquaintance."

Duo grinned. "Same here. You must get awfully lonely with your demanding schedule, huh? And when you do get time, everyone you know from the war is up in space, pretty much."

"I'm afraid so. And we all have different lives and work schedules…" She let her voice trail off and sighed, gazing off into the distance. Then she looked pointedly at Duo with a teasing smile. "I suppose planning a dinner party would be impossible."

"I don't know, I think it'd be fun to try," Duo joked. "Hey, everybody, party at Relena's! Oh, and don't forget to bring a dish to pass!" He winked at her, causing her to dissolve into giggles.

When their laughter subsided, Duo took a more serious tone. "I hear Heero's pretty busy now, too."

Relena's face fell. "Yes, I know."

"Ah, so you two do keep in touch! I wondered about that." Duo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So, he must have told you that he started college classes already."

She nodded. "It's hard to believe his first term is almost over. I'm still hoping that I can find some time this summer to finish my high school classes."

"I'm not even going to bother with school. I've got my job in the scrap business, which is actually pretty fun. And every once and a while the Preventers call, so that keeps life interesting."

"I'm so grateful for all the work your group has been doing," Relena broke in. "We've had so many close calls since the war ended, but thanks to the Preventers we've been able to settle conflicts without bloodshed." Her eyes swam with emotion and unwavering conviction. "That's invaluable."

Duo raised his coffee mug. "I agree with you on that, little lady." He took a moment to sip his beverage, wondering how she had managed to change the subject on him. He really wanted to find out more about her and Heero, but mum seemed to be the word on that topic.

Relena, too, was sipping her coffee thoughtfully when her cell phone rang, completely catching her off guard. She fished around anxiously for it in her purse.

"You're falling back to me, the star that I can see," her phone sang, "I know you're out there, somewhere out there…"

It must be the ring tone of a certain someone, Duo mused with a smile.

Relena blushed and answered the phone. "Hi," she said softly to the person on the other end. Whoever it was, she was being very discreet. "Really? Oh, that's wonderful. All right. Thank you. I'll be seeing you, then." With that, she hung up, then tucked the small phone back into her handbag.

Duo smiled teasingly. "Do I even have to ask who that was?"

Relena was staring off into the distance again, lost in the stream of thoughts that had just hit her like a tidal wave.

"Relena? Yoo-hoo, Earth to Relena!" Duo waved his hand in front of her face impatiently.

"Oh," she gasped. "Sorry, Duo." She blushed as a small smile crept across her lips. "That was Heero."

"Ah, so that explains why you turned back into a schoolgirl with a crush for a minute there," Duo said with a grin. Relena's eyes widened. "And don't deny it, either—I knew you back when you were a schoolgirl with a crush on Heero, so I know exactly what I'm talking about."

Relena bit her lip to keep from laughing. "I'm sorry it's so painfully obvious. But he knows it, too. And…" She leaned across the table and whispered conspiratorially. "He doesn't mind."

Duo shook his head and chuckled. "I can't believe it. Are you telling me that the Perfect Soldier has finally acknowledged his true feelings for you? Eh?"

Relena didn't answer right away, enjoying the moment in which realization dawned on her friend. "I did hear a little rumor about you two, actually," he murmured.

"Really?" Relena's brows arched. "From where?"

Duo grinned sheepishly. "A very reliable source. Apparently this person witnessed a certain ex-Gundam pilot kiss a certain Vice Foreign Minister, on the lips and everything."

"And who might that be?" Relena asked coyly.

"Quatre, of course."

"You think Quatre is the one who kissed me?" Relena laughed.

Duo didn't seem to catch the fact that she was kidding. "No! I mean Quatre was there! Everyone knows it was Heero who kissed you."

"Everyone? Really?"

"Yeah… Turns out Quatre's quite the gossip."

"Oh, dear." Relena found herself blushing again. "I suppose that would be a hard thing to keep quiet… It was a pretty big deal, at least to me."

"What about Heero?" Duo pressed. "He was the one who initiated it, right? It must've been a pretty big deal to him, too."

Relena shrugged lightly. "I don't know, Duo…You'll just have to ask him yourself, now won't you?" She winked coquettishly.

"Aw, come on, Relena!" Duo pouted. "I haven't seen you in months, and you're not even gonna tell me about what's going on with you and Heero?!"

"You talk to him more often than you do to me," she pointed out gently. "Hasn't he told you anything?"

Duo blinked. "You think the guy ever talks, period?!"

"Of course. He talks to me."

"And that's exactly what I'm getting at! I wanna know when this whole cutesy personalized ring tone thing happened between you two!"

Relena covered her mouth as she laughed. "Oh, Duo, are you sure? It's quite the story. We could be here for a while."

Duo leaned forward eagerly. "For you, I have all the time in the world right now. And I'm dying to know what happened. I can't leave Earth until you give me all the details."

Relena's shoulders shook with laughter, but she calmed herself and sat up straighter in her seat. "All right, I'll tell you. But promise me you won't tell Quatre, okay?"

Duo held his hand out. "Deal." The two shook on it. They were interrupted by the arrival of their breakfast orders. Duo waited impatiently as the waiter poured them more coffee and Relena buttered a croissant. As soon as the waiter left, Duo practically pounced on her.

"Okay, he's gone! You can fill me in now!"

Relena gazed skyward, pensive. "Wow. Where do I begin?"

Duo thought for a second. "How 'bout you start with that kiss?"

Relena giggled. "No, you've already heard enough from Quatre. He had a bird's eye view, after all, so there's really nothing for me to add."

"Okaaay…" Duo thought again. "Then tell me what happened after the Christmas Eve battle. All Heero told me was that he attacked the base you were in, destroyed Wing Zero, pretended to shoot Mariemaia, collapsed, and woke up on Christmas day in the hospital, which he was extremely annoyed about."

"That's because I put him there," Relena giggled again. "Did he mention that?"

"Not really. I asked him if he saw you after the battle, and he said he did, but refused to go into any more detail. You've gotta fill in these gaps for me!"

"All right, Duo. I'll do my best." Relena scooted his chair a little closer to his and lowered her voice as she began, "Once upon a time, there lived a soldier and a princess…"

"Nooo, not like that!" Duo complained with an eye-roll. "Give me the real story, right where we left off!" He crossed his arms expectantly and pretended to glower angrily at her. Relena only laughed at his antics.

"Okay, I'll tell you, seriously," she said. Relena lightly cleared her throat. "Christmas day of A.C. 196 was one of the best days of my life…"

A/N: Happy birthday, Relena! Yup, it's today. Don't ask me how I know that; it's sad, really. Anyway, I unearthed this while going through some old file folders. I believe this was intended to be a one-shot, but you never know… ;) If you are following my current story, "A Nameless Hope," you can look forward to my posting of the "deleted scenes," which were written from Relena's perspective. And Christmas Day, A.C. 196 is where that story picks up. So… stay tuned!