That evening, Trowa accompanied Relena to a committee meeting while Duo left to pick up Hilde and Dylan from the spaceport.

Later, the group agreed to meet downtown for dinner. Relena and Trowa arrived first and secured a table in her favorite bistro, making awkward small talk while they waited for the others to arrive (Relena never had had much luck conversing with Trowa). When she saw the family of three walk up, she broke into a grin and rose to greet them.

Hilde wrapped Relena in a bear hug. "It's so good to see you!" the petite black-haired woman cried.

"You, too. It's been far too long." Relena beamed at Hilde, then bent down toward the youngest Maxwell. "Hello, Dylan. It's good to see you as well."

The eight-year-old, whose hair was almost as long as his father's, was absorbed with his mini tablet. Duo clapped him on the back.

"Dylan, manners!" he scolded. The boy's head snapped up, his long hair swishing, brown eyes blinking up at her. "Hi, Miss Relena," he mumbled.

Relena smiled and extended her hand, which Dylan gave a tentative shake. Then he went right back to his game.

"Boys." Hilde rolled her eyes. "Sorry about that. We tried for a girl for a while, but…" She smiled wistfully. "Anyway. What's good here?"

Soon the conversation was flowing as easily as the wine, and Relena had forgotten all about her situation with Heero. Almost.

Until Hilde leaned over at one point and, gesturing to Dylan said, "Ok, I know little pictures have big ears and all, but spill: did you and Heero play 'hide the kielbasa' last night, or what?"

"What?!" Relena screeched.

Dylan looked up from his tablet. "What's that?" Hilde's attempts at subtlety had clearly backfired.

Hilde patted his head. "It's a game grownups play, honey."

He frowned. "Why can't I play?"

Trowa was suppressing a laugh. His efforts were mostly unsuccessful.

"You can play when you're older," Hilde murmured.

"No fair!" Dylan protested.

"It requires... special equipment." Duo grinned devilishly.

"Oh, please..." Relena picked up her wine glass and drained it.

"Duo, stop," Hilde lectured her husband. She rolled her eyes for Relena's benefit. "Never mind. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. We can talk in private later." She winked.

"Bad, bad, bad, bad boy…" Duo started singing into his glass. "You make me feel so good!"

"Oh my god…" Hilde touched her hand to her temple. "I can't take him anywhere."

Relena scanned the room for their waiter. Perhaps it was time for the check.

Later that night, Relena was enjoying a silent ride home, courtesy of Trowa. As much as she liked working with Duo and wanted to catch up with Hilde, it was nice to have a break from their incessant questions and teasing. She knew the married couple meant well, but the last thing Relena wanted to talk about was her situation with Heero. Whatever it was. She was determined not to stress about it.

After all, it certainly wasn't the first time he'd left under similar circumstances, and Relena knew it wouldn't be the last. What was different, this time, was how Heero had acted post-departure, checking in on her before he was in some remote location and truly couldn't talk. The flowers were a nice touch, too. Relena couldn't help but wonder what had changed. Maybe her words had finally gotten through to him?

So what was the problem, then? Relena couldn't quite pinpoint the uneasy feeling in her stomach. Was she worried about his undisclosed mission? Heero had assured her many times in the past that most of the Preventer missions he accepted were "routine" and research-oriented, such as scouting potential locations for hidden bases, checking up on old satellites or other equipment floating around in space, even recovering debris from the war years ago. Heero told her these things, but Relena knew he had to be lying at least half the time, especially when news would break that a quasi-upbringing had been squelched.

But if this mission truly was routine, that could mean that her situation was more urgent than his - after all, she had not one, but two Gundam pilots looking after her safety now. If Heero were heading into something dangerous, surely one of the others would have gone with him.

"Right?"

"Hm?"

Relena's head snapped up when she heard Trowa's voice. She hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud. Also, his low tone reminded her of Heero's.

"Sorry." She tried to cover her fumble. "Just thinking out loud."

Trowa's green eyes darted over to her, then back to the road. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, thank you. I... just have a lot on my mind this evening." Relena looked down and smoothed the skirt of her yellow dress, which was now stained with the tiniest flecks of red wine. She made a mental note to ask Trowa to drive her by the dry cleaner's on the way to work tomorrow morning.

"Your friends were pretty nosy earlier," Trowa observed.

"My friends, huh?" Relena had to laugh at his indifference. "Well, inquiring minds want to know, I suppose. It's fine, really; I'm used to it."

"This sort of thing happens with Heero a lot, then?" Trowa's face colored instantly. "Sorry. It's none of my business."

Relena was surprised he'd asked. She wasn't used to discussing Heero with Trowa; but, then, she wasn't used to discussing much of anything with Trowa.

"It's all right." Relena waved a hand. "It does, and it's hard, but I accept that it's just part of his chosen vocation. It's always been this way, for both of us." She tilted her head to the side. "Do you have a girlfriend, Trowa?"

"Not at the moment," he answered with no trace of emotion. "Kind of difficult, with all the travel."

"Exactly." Relena nodded.

"That and… no offense, but I find that most women are rather… challenging." Both his gaze and tone of voice remained impassive.

That caught Relena off-guard, and she laughed. "You and Wufei both, huh?" Trowa chuckled at that.

"Maybe you just haven't found the right one," she mused, tapping a finger to her chin.

"Definitely not," he agreed. "But I'm not in any hurry to commit, to be honest. The nomadic life suits me."

"I understand. Frankly, I'd be surprised to see any of the former Gundam pilots settle down. Other than Duo and my brother, of course."

"I'm sure Heero will. Eventually."

Relena peered at Trowa to see if he might be kidding, but she couldn't detect any humor in his expression.

"You really think so?"

"Why not? He's already got the right girl."

Relena's eyes flashed. "Oh, is that so? Do I know her? She must be some superwoman with the power of infinite patience. They should erect a monument in her honor."

"Funny…"

"She could be downing a martini glass. Or, better yet, a bottle of gin…"

Trowa shook his head. "Just have faith in him, Relena. He takes his time; that's just how he is. Heero has to be methodical about everything. He'll probably marry you once he's ensured that he's eradicated every known threat in the universe."

"Well, guess I won't start picking out any place settings any time soon," Relena quipped. "Good thing I have plenty of other things to keep me busy."

"You know," Trowa pointed out, "you don't have to wait for Heero. If he gets the sense that you're moving on without him, I'm sure that would propel him into action a little ahead of his schedule."

Relena laughed weakly. "I'm afraid that's not true. See, whenever we agree to 'see other people,' I try in vain to enjoy the bland company of a fellow diplomat for as many months as I can stand, while Heero turns into an angry recluse. And then it usually takes several months to coax him out of hermitdom so that he's even remotely pleasant to me again." She rolled her eyes. "And on and on it goes.,."

Trowa frowned. "Hmm… Well, maybe you should just be honest with him. Tell him exactly what your expectations are. If you laid it all on the line, I doubt Heero would say no."

"And you think women are challenging?" Relena winked.

"Not all women, clearly." Trowa tipped his head as he glanced at her. "Heero's a lucky guy."

"Thanks." Relena flushed.

After what was possibly the longest conversation they'd ever had, Trowa dropped Relena off at her apartment. He offered to walk her up to her door, but Heero only ever came in with her when he was staying the night. She felt quite safe in her building. Even so, she noticed that Trowa didn't pull away until she had gone inside her apartment, locked up and turned on some lights. She stood watching the black SUV slip away into the night before drawing her curtains.

Then she looked around her one bedroom loft and sighed. In the silence, it felt truly empty. Even though she only stayed here a few months out of the year, she'd tried to make the place cozy, with the worn leather sofa she'd sourced from an antique furniture shop, fuzzy knit throw pillows, and faux-fur throw blankets to match. The overall palette was neutral, with dove gray walls that reminded Relena of the early morning fog rolling over the sea in the Sanc Kingdom. She'd even added a few nautical touches here and there, including seashells she'd collected from the beach back home, a lantern candle holder and paintings featuring lighthouses and other seaside motifs.

But this would never be home to her, much as she tried; it was a slightly more personal version of a hotel room. Just a place to lay her head when she wasn't at work.

But, then, nothing truly felt like "home" to Relena, not even the Sanc Kingdom. She didn't remember enough of her childhood there to feel a great sense of attachment. And when she visited, the Peacecraft estate felt even more empty than this apartment.

What she wanted was to move someplace new, she decided. Maybe, just maybe, if she and Heero could keep it together long enough, they could start over somewhere, together.

"Don't be silly," she scolded herself. How could she even pretend to know what Heero wanted, anyway? They had just reconnected yesterday, after several months. There was no way they were ready to even begin that conversation.

Relena tried to reroute her thought pattern for the rest of the night with a cup of chamomile tea and lavender bubble bath. After an hour or so, she felt relaxed enough to drift off to sleep.

Yet as soon as she slipped under the covers, she was hit with an even more intense wave of loneliness. Especially when she could smell Heero's distinct scent on her pillowcase.

She pulled the pillows from "his" side of the bed against her and hugged tightly. She'd have to resort to pretending he was there, for now. This got old quickly, and she found herself reaching for her phone. Against her better judgment, she dialed the number Heero had called her from that morning.

She was greeted with an automated voice.

"This number has been taken out of service. Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and try your call again. Goodbye."

"Your imaginary boyfriend is distant and unreliable. You are a pathetic loser," Relena sighed into the phone. "Please get a life and do not attempt this call again."