Hey, it's great to finally be back! My excuses for the hiatus are, well...stupid. I just want to make one thing clear before you read: I don't revise my stories. Ever. I don't even proofread chapters. I usually just write them on a whim and post them. However, I often sit at my computer for an entire day just to make sure the words come out in a somewhat appealing way. Anyways, I'm back! (Hopefully for good this time...) :(

Disclaimer: GW is not mine. 'Nuff said.

It didn't surprise Heero at all to see Relena on the other side of the door, although he was certain that she wasn't expecting him. Feeling that he had the upper hand, Heero stood calmly, with his eyes digging into hers. The look wasn't meant to be intimidating, but to help him focus on serving her in a proper, professional way. He was finding this duty to be particularly difficulty.

Finally, he dropped onto one knee, with his head hanging toward the ground. The words escaped him. "Ms Darlian, we're here on behalf of Lady Une to perform an annual security check on your estate." He found it proper to stand up after these words and, overtly focused his attention onto Trowa. "This is my commanding officer. He'll be overseeing the operation. If you must speak to anybody about your security or any other business while we're here, he's the one you need to talk to."

He stepped back. Success. Relena repressed her urge to giggle and opted for a warm smile instead. "Of course. I'm grateful for your generosity. Please, come in."

Heero knew the layout of Relena's estate, so he led the crew through it. It hadn't changed much since he and Quatre stayed there as undercover students. The place was still huge, regal, and shamelessly flaunted the riches of the royal family. Even though he didn't mind seeing Relena again, he wanted to finish this job as quickly as possible to avoid living there indefinitely.

When the team had a satisfactory tour of the place, Trowa corralled them into the banquet room. He handed all of them a folder. "Now that you've seen this place, you should all know the work that's ahead of us. However, unlike other security checks you may have performed in the past, this one's going to involve a lot more than just inspecting security units within the property. We're working with a woman that sincerely believes that she doesn't need security. She may need convincing if any servicing is required at all. That's why I'm allowing each of you to converse with Ms Darlian as you see fit. Don't abuse the privilege."

Nobody had anything to say. Izzy and Rashad were staring into space, and likely had no clue what Trowa had said. Millah was reading over the documents in the folder. Heero leaned against a wall nonchalantly. Trowa decided to finish his briefing. "If there are no questions, I would suggest starting in the north wing on the fifth floor. You can work your way downwards." The crew reluctantly nodded. "Now if you'll excuse us, Heero and I need to attend to some other business. I trust that you're capable of beginning without my supervision."

Izzy shot a disgusted look at Trowa. "What? Why doesn't Heero have to come with us? He should…." Before she could finish, Millah covered the girl's mouth and pushed her up the stairs. Rashad, trying desperately not to laugh, followed them. Trowa and Heero met eyes and took their leave in the opposite direction.

Trowa and Heero walked in silence down the corridors of the former Peacecraft Mansion. Not a word was spoken between the two until they reached the courtyard. As they stepped outside, the slight, summery breeze swept across their faces. The colorful array of flowers in the garden was almost enough to lift Trowa's neutral spirits. He'd never been particularly drawn to nature, but something about this post-war emphasis on preserving the planet's natural beauty had slowly drawn his attention to it. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Heero, kneeling down by the roses. He looked pensive. Trowa almost regretted the fact that he had to interrupt his moment in thought.

"Heero."

The younger man didn't move, and instead picked one of the red roses. He absent-mindedly stuck the rose in the back pocket of his jeans and continued to stare at the spot in the ground that the flower came from. His muscles were tense and his eyes were completely focused. His body remained in this position for another ten minutes, and Trowa continued to watch him, completely dumbfounded. What on earth could he be thinking? Trowa took a couple of steps away from the garden and positioned his body against a tree. When his back hit the trunk of the tree, the branches rattled and disturbed a nest. It was then that the younger man finally looked in his direction and cracked a smile. "Nice hat."

Trowa resisted the urge to laugh at his own expense, and it looked like Heero was doing the same. Trowa wouldn't immediately admit it, but he was thankful for that. "It's about time you responded to me. We have some important things to talk about."

"Fine," Heero stood up and faced Trowa. "but only if you take that nest off of your head. It's hard to take you seriously looking like that."

At the sound of Heero's husky voice, the birds jumped out of the nest and flew away. Trowa chose that moment to take it off of his head and place it on the ground. "This is going to seem like a stupid question, Heero…but do you know why we're here?"

Heero answered instantly, as if he had been expecting the question. "Not exactly, but I know it's not because of a simple security check. WuFei would've never wasted our time with something so trivial."

"That's the same conclusion I've reached." Trowa paused for a few seconds, choosing his next words wisely. Heero wouldn't appreciate the fact that there was no control over their current situation. However, that's all Trowa had to work with. He sighed. "Unfortunately, if something else is going on, WuFei isn't budging. He wouldn't deny the possibility of an exterior threat, but he refused to give me any further information. He said that it wasn't our job to worry about possible threats. That still doesn't override my concern, though."

Heero's eyes narrowed slightly. "In the event there is an unknown threat, we're going to have to find them as soon as possible. If they're anything like our previous adversaries, they'll know right where to find us."

"I agree. Until we can confirm our suspicions, we should try to lay low and come up with a preventative strategy. We don't want anyone getting hurt."

Heero folded his arms across his chest and scowled. WuFei, you've really screwed us over this time. If you were capable of actually doing your job, I could do mine without a problem. Or maybe you know everything, and just aren't telling us….Whichever it is, something's not right. I will get to the bottom of it, believe me.

"Heero?"

His head snapped back into reality, despite his recent suspicions of WuFei. His anger would have to linger a little longer. "I heard you. What did you have in mind?"

Trowa nodded his head slightly. "I think one of us needs to keep a watch on Relena and Ms Noin personally. The other one could…."

"That won't work."

Even though he didn't show it, Trowa was taken aback by the instant rejection. "Why not?"

"There's no way Relena would allow that. If we approached her with that idea, she would accuse us of being bodyguards."

"Which goes against her philosophy that the world is at peace. I understand. But what other options do we have?"

The two stood in silence for several long minutes. Neither had an immediate response for Trowa's question, and, as the question had recently unearthed, they were both aware that their greatest obstacle in this potential mission would be Relena herself. Even though she no longer held a political office, she had an enormous amount of influence, and both of them knew it. They also knew that there were likely people who wanted her dead, something that she would never be talked into believing. The situation was tense for both of them.

"You're right, we don't have a choice." The voice was Heero's. "However, I know for a fact that we won't be able to convince her of that. I see only one solution."

Trowa's ears perked up. "I don't follow."

A devilish grin formed on Heero's face. "We trick her."

Trowa almost smiled at the response. He already has an elaborate plan mapped out. I can't believe he beat me to it. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. "I didn't even consider that as an option, but I suppose it's the only choice we have. I don't think she's going to be fooled easily, though."

"Of course not, but two heads are better than one. It's especially true when the two heads are yours and mine. We just need some kind of excuse to have one of us following her during the day. We could even switch off roles and correspond on the information gathered. The both of us are more than capable of lying and acting it off."

"You don't have to tell me that. I'm just wondering how either of us will get close to her without her asking questions. Unless…." Trowa stopped, hoping that Heero would fill in the blank.

He didn't. "Trowa…."

Trowa had to think on his feet, something he usually wasn't good at. He much preferred to have a plan laid out in his head. Lucky for him, his first idea was the best. "Unless we can get Ms Noin involved. Even if Relena doesn't believe in security, Noin does. She can help us come up with a diversion."

"Sounds good to me."

Trowa was a little surprised that Heero had no comments on the plan. Usually he's poking holes in everyone's plans…why isn't he pointing out any weaknesses? Or does he actually think that this plan will work? Trowa dismissed that idea as an impossibility. Perhaps he's just humoring me.

Just as they had come out, the two young men walked back into the mansion silently, one behind the other. The younger man was walking in front, where Trowa could plainly see the red rose in his back pocket. He had almost forgotten that it was even there, and the emotions that it seemed to trigger in his comrade were still an intriguing mystery to him. He was even tempted to ask, but already knew that he wouldn't get a response. He'd have to do some prying if he ever wanted to know.

"Trowa?"

He hadn't even noticed that they were inside again, or that Heero had turned around. The lack of attentiveness disturbed him a little. "Is something wrong?"

Heero's shoulders sunk. "No, nothing's wrong. You looked a little concerned."

"Everything's fine. I was just thinking that I should check on the others. We were outside for over an hour. I want to make sure the official work is getting taken care of."

"Hn." Heero stared at nothing in particular. "If you don't mind, I don't think I'll be joining you."

"That's fine. I didn't expect you to. I'm only interested because it affects my job and my status within the organization. Do as you please."

"Good. I'll find Noin and explain our situation. If nothing else, we can get that taken care of. Just avoid Relena at all costs."

"Is that really necessary?"

Heero shrugged. "It's best to be safe. Noin might not cooperate, or provide us with little useful information. If we wait, we have more options."

"That makes sense. I'll leave the planning up to you." As the two men were about to part ways, Trowa quickly added, "Let's just hope that we're overreacting."

Heero was stopped in his tracks. "Trust me, we're not. Not a chance."

The uneasy words were the last as they parted ways.

For those of you who read this story last year, thank you for humoring me with your return. Hopefully I'm back for good.

comet01