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Warning: Unbeta'd; read at your own risk.

Chapter Nine

Relena sighed audibly as her friends stepped yet through another store. Normally she loved shopping, especially for clothes and trinkets, but Dorothy had been at it since the early morning trying to find the perfect outfit to wear for her and her boyfriend's special night. It was already two o'clock; it was getting ridiculous. She looked at Noin, who was the one who always complained about their shopping excursions uproariously, but as the entirely of the day, Noin remained quiet and withdrawn. Relena hadn't seen her like this since she had come back from Mars.

"Dot, I'm hungry," Relena whined, cursing her lack of sense when she chose to wear her strappy sandals with the killer heels. She wanted to rest her feet, get something to eat, and have a long talk with Noin.

"Just one more store."

"That's what you said before."

"Yes, but I was lying those other times. This time is for sure," Dorothy answered shamelessly before taking a glass of champagne from a passing store associate.

Noin rolled her eyes and sat down on a plush chair. Bored, something Relena didn't think would ever happen when shopping, she chose to follow Noin's example and sat next to her while Dorothy huffed and glared at them. She walked away shaking with one last contemptuous glance, muttering something about dull women who needed to get laid. Used to her acerbic personality, Noin and Relena didn't give another thought to her parting comments. "Tired?" she asked her companion in misery.

"Not really," Noin sighed, and gave her a strained smile. She ran her head trough her short hair.

"Are you alright?" Relena asked in concern.

"Yeah, just… I'm-"

Her response was interrupted by the arrival of Dorothy who was carrying two sets of outfits. "I found it! What do you think?"

Relena raised an eyebrow at the red lace teddy that left almost nothing to the imagination. "Isn't it a bit… much?"

"Nonsense, Fredrick will love it."

"What's the other one for?" Noin asked, Dorothy's enthusiasm bringing her around somewhat. She had never seem her so happy and in love before, it was heartening to see her acting so girlishly.

"This one is for Relena," she handed her the sheer silk gown to the Relena, smiling widely. "Wufei can send me a thank you note later," she laughed and winked at her.

"I don't think so," Relena said, fingering the beaded work on the gown. Beautiful, she thought, pink in color, with lovely beaded work. Quite sexy with it's opening down the front, but also soft and quietly seductive. "He and I are just dating."

"Pfft, so what? You have to look ahead."

There was nothing to look ahead to, nothing to look forward to, her dark side added, she and Wufei were going nowhere. In a short while they would part ways, and Wufei would avoid her the same way he'd had been for years. For some reason, she felt absolutely destitute. She couldn't tell Dorothy about the deal she had made with Wufei, Dot was a good friend, but very unpredictable. It wasn't that she didn't trust her, but she wasn't comfortable talking about it. It had been embarrassing enough to explain to Noin, and just the bare minimum. Noin had been patient and understanding, Dorothy would be demanding, wanting to hear every single detail, embarrassing Relena to no end.

"Leave her alone," Noin said, taking the gown from Relena and throwing at Dorothy's face.

Dorothy sputtered, "Hey, this is perfect for her. It will leave Wufei speechless," she said confidently, but she was starting to look suspiciously at Relena's dejected face and Noin's defensive stance. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Relena said, sounding a little too cheerful even to her own ears. "It is perfect for me. Come on, let's go pay for it and get something to eat."

At a restaurant, with her feet discreetly bared under the table, and with a full stomach Relena felt much better. Dorothy was on her cell, making cooing sounds to her boyfriend, laughing and giggling, Noin was staring moodily at her half-finished plate.

"I slept with Quatre."

The statement dropped like an atomic bomb.

"Oh my god. Baby, I'll call you back." Dorothy ended her call and stared avidly at Noin. "How good was he?"

"Dot!" Relena chastised. She wondered what had made Noin blurt out something so personal. She had expected to badger Noin until she finally admitted what was wrong. Relena had figured it had something to do with her brother. She wasn't even aware of Noin having any other lovers other than Milliardo. "What happened?"

"The Preveter Anniversary party… I had a little too much to drink."

"Was he that bad?" Dorothy joked instinctively, noticing her tear-filled eyes. She was getting worried now, if that little shit had done anything-

"The only person I've ever been with is Zechs… I…" Noin rubbed her temples wearily, glad that she had finally told someone about what had been eating at her all week but feeling horribly exposed and vulnerable. "I feel terrible."

Relena struggled with words, not knowing how to proceed. "Quatre, what did he have to say?"

"He apologized for taking advantage of me, looking sad, and those big eyes shameful and sad."

"He didn't, you know, at least make the effort and say that he would call you?" Dorothy inquired.

"I didn't give him a chance."

Relena stared at her best friend, her sister, and felt helpless. "Maybe this is a good thing, I mean, to get over Milliardo."

"Yeah, about time. Now is the time to make up for all your years of repressed sexual frustration. I mean you're what past thirty and you've only been with one man…"

Relena shot Dorothy a dirty look. "What I meant was, that Quatre is obviously into you… I think you should give him a shot."

"It was a one-night stand, Relena," Noin responded acidly.

"You just said that you didn't give him a chance to say anything," Dorothy pointed out.

They didn't understand she thought, didn't know what it was to love somebody so much for so long and then doing something so completely stupid for no reason at all other than out of spite and too much booze. Relena got the gist, because of Heero, but even she had moved on after a period of time. It was stupid but she felt like she had betrayed Zechs, even though he probably wouldn't even care whom she shared her bed with. The truth was she didn't want to let go, not yet. Pathetic, yes, but her heart broke into tiny little pieces by just thinking about erasing Zechs from her life and dreams.


Relena took a bite of her omelette and made a face. She was a capable and intelligent woman… why on earth couldn't she prepare a decent meal? She had dozens of cookbooks, from Mexican to French cuisine but none of the books had helped her in any way, shape, or form. Her food was edible, perhaps bland, over-seasoned, or slightly zinged but never just right. It irked her that she would forget to add a crucial ingredient, that she would let the stove or oven burn to high, or some such small thing like that. Sadly she knew what her problem was, she tended to get focused on one thing and forget the whole. She'd never been adequate at multi-tasking, preferring to finish something before she started another endeavor.

She was debating whether to chuck the omelette or not when she heard her doorbell ringing. Tulip was already wagging his tail at the door, ready to maul the unsuspecting victim. She looked through the peephole and immediately opened the door.

"Don't you dare," her brother addressed Tulip. Heedless of Milliardo's apparent foul mood, Tulip barked in greeting and launched himself at Milliardo. "Have you given any thought to obedience school?" He said trying to dislodge the giant dog from his shoulders.

"He's a graduate."

"Have you given any thought to drugs?"

Relena smiled and leaned up to kiss her brother on the cheek. "He wouldn't be Tulip if he was all doped up. And yes, I understand that's your point." They walked to the kitchen, with Relena leading the way, Tulip on her heels, and Milliardo following reluctantly behind them, fearing that she intended to feed him. Relena gave the remnants of her breakfast to Tulip and popped some l'eggos in the toaster. "What brings you here on a Sunday morning? Not that I mind, of course."

Milliardo took something out of his back trouser pocket and handed it to Relena. It was glossy magazine. "Look at it," he said huffily.

It was a glossy tabloid magazine and right there in bright bold print was: NAUGTHY OR NICE: Ms. Darlian Reveals all. Wufei was going to be pissed was the only thing she could think of when she came to the article that her brother was so upset about. They had taken pictures of her in the lingerie store with Noin and Dorothy, there was even a picture of the outfits that were bought. Worst of all there was a picture of her sitting practically on Wufei's lap, leaning down suggestively. Had she really looked that… sexy? There was something about Wufei that made her photograph well. She didn't look herself at all. She gave a small giggle and lifted her eyes to see her brother frowning and pointedly staring at her wall as if his life depended on it.

Her brother had seen this, read the raunchy article and seen the lingerie that Dot had picked out for her. Aw, shit. Her face heat it up, she knew she be blushing furiously. The toaster clicked and she busied herself preparing the waffles for a few minutes, trying to get her humiliation under control.

"You and Wufei should be more careful." Milliardo said to her back.

Relena turned and was going to assure her brother than this would not what he thought it was when she noticed that her brother was even more flushed that she was. His fair complexion was tomato red and he was still avoiding looking at her. Giggles bubbled out of her before she could stop her self. At the sound her brother turned his burning face toward her, frowning irritably. That only made her laugh harder. "We always are," she said winking, and delighting in Milliardo's uncomfortable fidgeting. "You're a prude."

"Am not," Milliardo said offended. "I just don't happen to enjoy the sight of my sister's… night clothes displayed for everyone to see."

"It's only a tabloid."

"So you didn't buy it," Milliardo said hopefully.

"Oh, no, I did. Wanna see it?" This was fun, Relena thought. It reminded her of how much fun she'd had when she told Milliardo that the rumors of Wufei and her were true. She handed him a plate with waffles covered in butter and syrup.

"No, that'll be fine. Thank you." He took a deep breath and sat down. "This is serious. Your reputation-"

"is perfectly fine. You don't have to worry about me." She sat down opposite to him and dug into her own breakfast. "Eat up, it's my specialty. I'm an Ace with frozen foods."

Milliardo chuckled and started eating.

"You think Wufei will like my new teddy?"

He almost choked. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Tremendously."

"Your waffles are soggy."

Relena puckered her lips into a pout. "Shall I tell you what Wufei and I did after you left?"

Her brother dutifully stuck a piece of waffle into his mouth.

"Orange juice?"

"Please."

The grinned at each other and finally Milliardo smiled and looked at her in the eye for the first time since he'd given her the magazine. They finished their breakfast in a friendly teasing mood. They cleared the table and loaded up the dishwater together. And then stood uncertainly staring at each other. She was enjoying it too much, teasing and joking with her brother, it felt nice. She didn't want to let go of the feeling just yet.

"Don't go yet," Relena said,"

"Relena, you don't have to do-"

"Come on, I won't cook. We'll order take out and do… stuff." Well that was lame.

"Thank you but I have things to do."


"Hey, Noin, how are you doing?" He walked passed her to enter her home, sank into her comfy sofa and grinned at her, that sexy grin that made butterflies flutter in her stomach.

"Busy," was her monosyllabic answer, hoping he'd take the hint and leave.

"You want to hit the bars? We can shoot some pool-"

"I slept with Quatre." What was up with her and those four little words?

"Um…congratulations? I didn't know you two were together…"

"We're not," she said, looking and hoping for any sing of jealousy or regret. She didn't find any and it angered her more than it hurt her. She had just told him, the person she had been with for over five years, loved for most of her life, that she had slept with someone else and the man hadn't even blinked. "You never loved me did you?"

"What?"

"I was just a convenience to you wasn't I? Only there to support you, to take care of your sister, to fuck…"

He was shocked at her temper, the words that were spilling out her mouth, the anger in her eyes. "I don't understand. I-"

"Get out. I don't want to be your ol' academy buddy, I don't want see you, I don't want to know anything about you."

"Noin-"

"Leave!"

Slowly, he stood up from his seat, the shock clear in his face. He wanted to hold her, comfort her in the same way she had comforted him throughout his life. Always there, she had always been there for him. His best friend, the only person that understood and accepted him as he was. He left, defeated, knowing he had lost something valuable and having no idea how that had occurred. He could hear her sobbing through the door and it tore him apart. He didn't know what to do, what to say, how to fix it. They had ended the relationship in good terms, deciding their relationship wasn't working, admitting that they had given it a good try and agreeing to remain friends.

Zechs hadn't known, had never imagined that she still felt something for him. She and Relena were the most important people in his life; he couldn't imagine it without Noin. She was a constant in his life, if Relena was his driving force then Noin was his sanity, his base…


She had thought the dinner with Wufei and Milliardo had been a success. She'd been wrong. They were all stuck in the same places they had been before. Wufei barely tolerated her and her brother… Zechs was uncomfortable with her. Relena wished she knew how to act around them. With her brother she felt unsure of the boundaries, how much to push, how much to reveal. She felt like she had let him down in someway by not continuing her political career to the degree he had planned. Her brother loved her she was sure, but more out of obligation than anything else and the insult of that was hard to swallow. Even more painful was when he refused her tentative steps to deepen their relationship.

Wufei was completely different. With him she felt self-conscious, too aware of the limitations around their relationship. She had taken advantage of him the night of the dinner, knowing full well that Wufei would later withdraw, but she had been intent on convincing her brother that she and Wufei were an item. As far was Wufei was concerned she was a little too good at pretending. Their last encounter had been cold and distant, Wufei not even bringing himself to touch her even in the most perfunctory of ways. It was kind of funny to see Wufei go to great lengths not to be in contact with her. Relena knew she had gone too far that night, sitting so close, her side pressed to his chest, invading his personal space, playing with his hair. But it was probably her only chance to do so. Could anyone really blame her?

"You should lock your doors, Ms. Darlian."

Relena lifted her eyes from her laptop and smiled at Wufei. "I had a feeling you'd be stopping by today." She closed her computer, got up from the floor and sat down properly on a sofa of her study room.

"You've seen the article."

"Yes. Please take a seat." He did so, taking the seat farthest away from her. Relena almost smiled at his behavior. "It's only a tabloid."

"That's my objection."

"No one takes it seriously, Wufei."

"I take it seriously, Ms. Darlian. And I want this finished."

"Not yet."

"In a month."

"Wufei-"

"In a month, Ms. Darlian," he stated, his face set, his tone definite.

Why was she even doing this, Relena asked herself. The purpose had been to convince her brother and that had been accomplished. "Okay," she said, feeling a twinge in the pit of her stomach as she said it.

Wufei was taken aback by her easy agreement. "Good."

"You have to admit, though, we photograph well," she joked.

Wufei scoffed. "How can you stand it?"

"What?"

"Living under a microscope."

"Only since you entered my life Wufei. I've been living in the dark for some years now. My life is too boring for tabloids to bother with me. Come to think about it, this is your fault."

"Don't remind me," he said derisively. "I know."

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked, hoping that he would stay with her.

"No, thank you. I'm leaving." He stood up.

"Would you have liked it, Wufei?" she asked when Wufei was almost out the door.

"What, Ms. Darlian?"

"The teddy," Relena replied softly, burning heat invading her cheeks.

He didn't dignify her question with an answer. He only stomped out of her study with a sneer on his face and a look of contempt. But she didn't regret the impulsive and inappropriate question that popped out of her lips before she could push the words back in. Before he'd turn away, Relena had seen a flash of heat in his eyes, a quick perusal of her body, a sharp breath taken at the notion. Relena placed her hand on her chest, on her ribcage and felt her heart pounding beneath her palm. Wow, Wufei… Wufei found her attractive? That deserved some looking into.

TBC

Wow, nine chapters, I can't believe this is turning out to be my longest fic yet! I'm guessing five more chapters, maybe six. Review please…soggy waffles for everyone that does.