Party Night - Take 2
Chapter 1
by Scarlet Eve
January 1, A.C. 197
Relena woke up suddenly, her chin having slipped from her cupped hand, which was propped up on the side of a hospital bed. Her neck ached, and her arm and hand had fallen asleep. She shook her arm out, trying to get rid of the pins and needles prickling her skin. With her other hand, she rubbed her eyes. Lying in the bed that she'd fallen asleep on, was Heero Yuy, still unconscious from his efforts on the night of Christmas Eve. His heart rate monitor beeped steadily beside where Relena sat. The Preventer doctors were optimistic about his recovery, but repeatedly reminded Relena that he'd sustained a lot of damage in the fall from the sky with Zero. The scans of his head and brain showed activity, more than one might find in someone of his condition, and according to the doctors, that was always a good sign. Surely it meant that his body was healing.
Relena sighed and stood up to stretch out her back. She'd been stopping by the Preventer medical ward everyday after work since the incident, staying late and only returning home when she absolutely needed to. She'd hoped that she would be there when Heero decided to wake up, but so far, he'd not shown any signs of being ready.
Of course, Relena didn't know what she would say to him upon waking up; she supposed she'd stumble out a thank you, and desperately will him to stay, but of course, she'd keep her mouth shut about that.
She checked her phone, and realized it was already after midnight. Quickly, she gathered up her things and for a moment, stood beside the bed, staring down at Heero's form. With a twitch of a smile, she leaned down and placed a light kiss on his forehead, brushing aside his unruly bangs. She gave him one last glance, then left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
At her home, a penthouse apartment at the top of one of the tallest buildings in Brussels, she parked in the underground garage and took the elevator to her floor. Sometimes she felt like she over-indulged herself with her living space, but then reminded herself that every other place she'd lived had been attacked or destroyed, from the Sanq Kingdom to her schools, and the Sanq Kingdom again. Plus, with the height of her penthouse, she felt like she was midway between Earth and Space, a suitable location for the Vice Foreign Minister.
She arrived home to find Milliardo and Noin still awake, sitting at the bar counter in the kitchen, drinking tea. They shifted their gaze towards her when she entered the room.
"You're late tonight," Milliardo commented, lifting an eyebrow. Relena grinned.
"I fell asleep at the ward," Relena confessed. She slipped off her shoes and crossed the kitchen to pour herself a cup of tea. She leaned against the counter and cupped the delicate china between her hands. Noin smiled sadly at Relena for a moment.
"We've been discussing our plans," she said. Relena looked between the two.
"What plans?"
"I'm technically dead," Milliardo said. "Death certificate and everything."
"Yes, I know," Relena said, glaring at him. "You could at least have given me a heads up that you were still alive." Milliardo waved a hand, though he was unable to stop from grinning at her.
"You can have your revenge some other time," he said, and Relena rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we were thinking of helping out your little project."
"Mars?" Relena's eyes widened in surprise.
"Exactly," Noin chimed in.
"But, if you both go…" Relena said, her voice low. She took a sip of her tea.
"You're not alone here," Milliardo said, trying to sound reassuring. Relena didn't buy it. "What about your foster mother?"
"She's busy running St. Gabriel's," Relena said, propping her chin up in her hand. Noin and Milliardo glanced at each other, smiling sadly.
"We're not abandoning you," Noin said gently.
"I know. I guess it has just been stressful this last week," Relena said, spreading out her arms. "In about twenty-four hours, Mariemaia managed to mess up a lot of my work and progress." She paused. "Or, I suppose it was Dekim, but either way, I have a lot of cleaning up to do."
Silence fell as Relena retreated into her own mind. Her eyes took on that far away look, whenever she was intensely concentrating on a problem. Milliardo and Noin waited patiently, sipping at their tea.
"I shouldn't be selfish," Relena finally said after several minutes of silence. "I do need your help on Mars, I think. It would save me a lot of potential trips back and forth if I had someone I trusted there." She looked up at the two across the counter from her. "Though I'd miss you both, terribly," she added. Noin smiled and rose from her stool and stepped around the counter. She pulled Relena into a hug.
"We'd be able to talk and come back to visit sometimes," she said, tightening her hold on the younger girl.
"And it is progress," Milliardo added. Relena nodded, having already made up her mind to let them go.
"When do you think you'd leave?" she asked.
"In a few weeks. We will book a shuttle out there, and take whatever we need to take up there with us. Perhaps a few more workers as well." Relena nodded in agreement.
"Let's go over the particulars tomorrow," she said with a yawn. "I'm exhausted."
January 7, A.C. 197
A week passed, and Relena barely had time to herself to think, which meant she certainly had no time to visit Heero in the hospital. Once the planning stages for Milliardo and Noin to travel to Mars began, things began to move quickly and fall into place. Relena was surprised at how easily things were moving, yet most of the planning, budgeting, and ordering of supplies was tedious. She, her brother, and Noin spent many long nights discussing plans for the Mars project, and setting up communication schedules. She became exhausted quickly, but the motivation of her project kept her moving forward.
When the call came to her from a Preventer doctor that Heero had left the hospital, Relena was surprised. It had only been a week since she'd last seen him, and he was still showing no signs of waking. But the doctor said he woke up and was out the door in only a few hours, and with no idea where he was heading.
Relena felt like she should be worried, but she knew Heero, and knew his habits. She assumed that he would jet off somewhere, and perhaps return in a year or two, maybe to at least stop in and say hello.
To Relena's surprise, she heard from Heero much sooner than she ever imagined.
Returning from lunch that afternoon, Relena passed by the lobby receptionist in the ESUN building, flashing her a smile before approaching the elevators.
"Wait! Minister Darlian!" the young woman called. Relena turned. "Someone left you a note!" The receptionist was waving a white envelope in the air over her head. Relena tilted her head.
"Oh, thank you," she replied, crossing the tiled lobby to the desk and took the envelope. Relena didn't recognize the handwriting, where her name was scrawled in blue ink. She pressed it to her chest, bowed slightly to the receptionist, then hurried back to the elevator, so she wouldn't have to wait for the next one. Once inside, she tore open the envelope. A single piece of paper was inside, folded neatly and written in the same blue ink.
Relena-
I have some loose ends to tie up. Try to stay out of trouble until I return.
-Heero
Relena's eyes went wide. Her mind whirled as she contemplated the meaning of the letter. Tying up loose ends? Returning? Relena scanned the note over and over again, until the elevator bell chimed to notify her of her floor. She stepped off the elevator and hurried to her office, where she ducked into hiding.
Spreading the note out on her desk, Relena ran her fingers over the imprint of the words in the paper. Many questions whirled through her mind, all the things she wanted to know, like where he was going, and how long, and what did he mean by returning? Was he returning to Brussels?
She wanted to remain distracted by the note for the rest of the day, but there were too many things to work on. The shuttle trip for Noin and Milliardo had been moved up to the weekend, and there was still so much to finish. She was forced to tuck the note away in her purse and focus on the background checks that had just come through for several more Mars volunteers.
A/N: :-D