Chapter 2

by KastyKat


Relena looked up from her paperwork to the clock on the wall for what seemed like the hundredth time. She knew something was wrong – she just knew it. There was a pulling of her heart whenever she thought of him. She hadn't felt this way since the war she realized and quickly shut her mind to the thought before it could blossom into paranoia. She would not become frantic over this… would NOT.

After all, even the great Heero Yuy could be late one time …

She glanced down at her calendar for the umpteenth time, as if to assure herself that it was indeed Monday morning and her mind was not playing tricks on her. Then against her will, it seemed, her eyes strayed back to the wall clock – glaring as if her gaze alone could turn back the hands. Or, better yet, tell her when Heero would arrive.

She had been fairly surprised when Heero made his request for time off. Was that only 4 days ago? It seemed so much longer. Why was it that every moment spent away from him felt like twice as many? Was it simply that the hours seemed to race by when he was at her side?

Relena frowned. What a silly romantic sediment. She was certain she'd gotten over those kinds of thoughts in school. Then again, there was always something that was different about Heero.

For once, the great Relena Peacecraft was at a complete loss for what to do. Who should she call to notify Heero's tardiness? Was it even necessary at this point? How long should she wait?

How long COULD she wait, she corrected herself.

She hated this feeling of paranoia, but something had struck her odd the moment Heero had informed her of his upcoming absence.

They were in her limousine on their way to a conference…


"Oh – I can't believe this at all!" Relena's voice resonated off the posh leather interior, shattering the companionable silence. "I don't know who this prime minister thinks he is – or rather who he thinks he is fooling, but there is no way this act will pass! It is in complete disregard of not only article 14 but also article 15 of the 9th Amendment in the colonies Equal Recognition Declaration!" She frowned as she continued reading the local paper, biting her bottom lip in concentration as she plunged deeper into the article.

Heero sat silently, knowing that he needn't respond. Relena had a habit of speaking out loud, or in this case shouting, when she was reading. Heero had come to the understanding that it was her way of affirming her own ideals against those of the author. He looked down from her eyes, quickly darting across each line of text, to the set in her jaw that further went to prove that no matter who was suffering, to her, "the people" were her responsibility to protect… and through her – his'. He waited a moment for her to finish the reading before he spoke.

"Relena?" His baritone voice questioned from the limo seat, startling Relena out of her musings.

Relena looked up from her newspaper and closed it neatly, laying it next to her as she smiled; her eyes lighting up as she gratefully turned her attentions from the world and all its hypocrisies to the handsome man sitting across from her.

"Yes, Heero?" she questioned.

"I will be leaving town this weekend." Heero stated gruffly, quickly averting her eyes as if knowing that the statement came as a blow.

Relena opened her mouth and then closed it again. Heero was asking for time off? She corrected herself; he was telling her he was leaving.

Why?

Heero had never taken a day off in the three years he had been part of her guard detail. Not to say Relena hadn't found that odd and TRIED to get him to take some time for himself, but he always insisted that he would have nothing to do that was as important as keeping her safe.

While, she was initially flattered by his answer, she had become progressively more concerned as time passed. It seemed to her that instead of opening up to the peaceful times and enjoying his life; he was burying himself deeper in her shadow waiting for the worst possible situation to bring the world crashing into chaos once more.

Taking this into consideration, logically, she surmised she should have been happy that he was taking her advice to get away from everything for a few days… but something felt wrong. Heero did many things, but one thing he did not do was spontaneity. He was the epitome of organization and dependability.

She tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the constricting of her throat and struggled to come up with an appropriate response to Heero's declaration.

"Is everything alright?" Relena asked, surprising herself by using such an even voice. It had taken so much to push aside the desire to demand an explanation that she thought the effort might have made her sound strained, and she didn't want him to worry about her when he left.

Heero hesitated, watching the emotions flicker across Relena's face. If only she knew how easy she was to read at times… He frowned, fighting the sudden inexplicable desire to tell her everything. He thought he'd gotten over that fantasy; where no matter what he told her she would still accept him.

On one hand, he knew that it would be pertinent for her to know why he was leaving. However, he also knew that she would instantly worry more if she knew that Doctor J was involved. He, himself, knew little about the reason his presence was requested. The fact that he was asked at all and not ordered made him all the more curious about his upcoming meeting.

"Everything is fine." Heero heard himself say. "I just… need to take some time off."

The words sounded hollow to his own ears, and Relena's expression wavered. He could tell she had just stifled a question and he quickly amended his approach to prevent any further inquiries. "Isn't that what you've been trying to get me to do?"

He paused briefly, taking in her confused reaction and elaborated, "Take some time off, I mean?"

Relena gave a small smile, still feeling uneasy, but unable to voice her concerns in a way Heero would understand. She could not logically explain the unease to her bodyguard and thus resigned herself to accept the inevitable.

"Well of course it is!" Her eyes flashed as if she recognized the ploy by the former Gundam pilot, but her expression quickly softened as she struggled to curtail her curiosity. "And, of course, you should have some time to yourself! It all just seems rather sudden is all." She looked down quickly to her manicured nails, waiting with baited breath to see if he'd comment on the falsity of her tone or if he would divulge any further details.

A few moments of silence passed.

Relena used the chance to steal a glance at Heero's chiseled face. He was looking pointedly out the window, a sure sign that he considered the matter closed.

The past three years had only helped Heero's handsome features to become more prominent. His profile was striking against the tinted window separating the rear compartment to the driver. The set in his jaw becoming to his face and his eyes…

As if her thoughts had been spoken aloud – Heero chose that moment to turn his attention towards her. His intense cobalt eyes bore into hers for a few seconds. Blushing lightly, as if caught saying aloud what she'd been thinking, Relena looked away.

She knew that she was more likely to persuade every aristocrat on the earth and colonies to agree to rule under one government, than she was to wrestle any more information from Heero regarding his upcoming absence. She gave a small sigh of resignation and decided to change the subject rather than force a line of questioning on top of Heero's unusually distracted mind.

"I'm sure that Agent LaVigne will appreciate the opportunity oversee security for a few days." She said pleasantly.

LaVigne was Heero's second-in-command. He was, in fact, 5 years Heero's senior and liked to point that fact out to Relena at least once a month. Especially when he was following one of Heero's… more eccentric orders. However, he was fiercely loyal to Relena and on his worst day was still a much better conversationalist than Heero was.

"I'm sure he would." Heero replied, a slight frown and brief darkening of his eyes lost on Relena, who was turning her hands over to inspect the perfect crescents of her fingertips. "Unfortunately, he will have to wait for another opportunity." He added firmly.

Relena frowned, looking sharply at Heero. She was about to speak when Heero continued.

"I've already contacted Wufei." He stated matter-of-factly. "He'll be here before I leave this evening to be briefed."

Relena's lips thinned. Wufei would never have volunteered for such a mission, given his current status in Preventors. He had his choice of dangerous assignments and was known for accomplishing even the direst, keeping Sally as far as he could (which often wasn't very) from danger.

Just a few months ago Relena caught wind that he had fought with a cadet after hearing an obscene comment regarding Sally Poe. Despite his reputation of fierce protection of the doctor, be it from mortal danger in the field – or even the rumor mill; Wufei still seemed to have little respect for any woman that wasn't his female partner.

Relena shook herself and rather than voice her opinion of the highly insulting former Gundam pilot, she said simply, "Surely Agent Chang has missions of greater importance than babysitting the Vice-Foreign Minister."

Heero was slightly taken aback by her curt tone. Relena rarely disagreed with his decisions regarding her safely, and her reaction resembled barely concealed… disgust? Since when did Relena have a problem with Wufei?

He made a mental note to check into it, quickly turning his attention back to the conversation.

"I'm not leaving LaVigne in charge of your security." He said finally, "Wufei is a much better choice, given his experience."

"It will only be for three days!" Relena cried. "Knowing you, you already have the security specs outlined to the minute that LaVigne can follow! I only have a conference and a few meetings… it's not like my schedule is packed! It's not even an election year!"

Heero frowned. He hadn't expected the issue of his replacement to become an argument. In fact, if he were honest he would have expected her to be more alarmed when he refused to disclose his intentions for his 'time off' than of his choice for her security than who was in charge of her detail while he was away. To him it was cut and dry: if he was gone there needed to be a person of competence guarding Relena. Wufei was the most logical choice, being the only other Gundam pilot within the Preventers organization.

He decided to resort to hard evidence.

"Your schedule doesn't have to be packed to invite some psycho to take a shot at you. Remember the trip to Italy?" He ignored Relena's pained expression and barreled on knowing that human suffering was her greatest weakness. "You did not have a very busy schedule then either. In fact, no one was supposed to know you hadn't already gone back to the Sinq Kingdom. We sent the double ahead and everything. And that guy still got into the hotel lobby, with a gun..."

"Yes, I don't believe it was so long ago that you must remind me of every sordid detail." Her speech was clipped and she pressed her lips together as if steeling herself against something painful.

Heero frowned at her sudden mood change. He had decided to let the matter drop when she picked up again.

"If memory serves me, Mr. LiBurdi was quite distressed over the loss of his father and 2 brothers, who died in an accident on the Mars Project. He said he wanted to show the world that an "Unavoidable Accident" could happen do anybody."

Heero frowned. He was unaware she even knew the name of the man who was taken into custody only minutes before the vice-foreign minister was due to walk unescorted from the elevator to the foyer where her guard detail awaited.

Relena picked up on his look of confusion. "You know it was pure chance he targeted me anyway. His home was a few blocks from the hotel and he saw us the first night we got there."

Heero's frowned deepened. "I didn't realize you went through the file."

Relena pursed her lips. Debating telling him… but succumbed to the proud voice that wanted to prove to Heero she didn't always sit back and allow him to handle all of her problems.

"I went to visit him."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt his stare pierce her.

"I didn't authorize that." He said.

"It was my decision to go – you had nothing to authorize." Relena pressed.

"I'm in charge of your…"

"Security." Finished Relena. "Not my personal matters."

Heero frowned. That was not what he was going to say… but wasn't it the truth? Why was it he felt so hollow when she said it like that.

"I'm responsible for keeping you alive and safe from all the dangerous creeps like him. Not let you go walking into danger."

"The meeting was arranged by the head of the prison, I was escorted by three armed guards and there was a 3" plate of bullet proof glass between us, it doesn't get much more safe than that."

"I still don't see why you needed to,"

"Because it was important to me to understand why he tried to do… what he tried to do." She answered softly, searching his impassive face for some glimmer of understanding. "I don't expect you to understand." She finally added.

"But why wasn't I informed?" Heero ground out in an even tone, the clenching of his jaw the only sign something had bothered him.

"Because you didn't need to be." Relena spoke as she turned sharply away from Heero and purposefully returned her eyes to the paper at her side.

Heero scowled as he watched her pick the paper up and resume her reading. Suddenly he didn't feel so bad about not telling her where he was going.


Relena shook herself from her musings as her intercom rang through. I surge of hope ran through her that the secretary had some news from Heero as she accepted the call.

"Miss Relena, your limo driver, Mr. Lount, informed me that he is ready for departure, however your head of security has not made his rounds. Your agenda shows less than an hour until you have to leave." Relena could hear the hesitation in the woman's voice. "Would you like send Mr. Yuy or a representative down so there is no delay?"

Relena bit her bottom lip, glancing over the day's schedule. She had a few meetings and a speech she was to give early this afternoon.

"Actually, please inform Mr. Lount that we will be leaving much earlier. I trust his preparations are sufficient. I will be down in about 10 minutes and our destination has changed to the Preventors Headquarters. Also, would you be so kind and to clear my schedule for the day?"

Disconnecting the phone before her secretary had a chance to reply, Relena turned to the window,

"Heero." She whispered as she looked over the sunny landscape of the Sinq Kingdom and wondered where he could be.


End Chapter 2. I realize it's been a coons age since I touched this, but my main objective is to get it out there and see if there's any interest in this story and find out of it's worth working on. I – personally – am enjoying dabbling into the idea of this story because while I have my ideas about plot points and character interaction – in all honestly I have no clue where I want it end it, just an idea of what I want it to be. And partially because of that – I would love to get some feedback to work with.

Comments are appreciated – but most of all THANKS for reading!

KatsyKat