He had to know. If what the article said was true then he needed to know. He had seen the tabloid in the general store. Usually he ignored gossip rags like that but the headline caught his eye:

"Former Alliance Socialite Finds Love With a Rumored War Hero?"

It could be anyone. The Alliance consisted of many of the rich aristocracy; many of whom had daughters. It could be anyone… but it could be her. He picked it up and immediately turned to the listed pages finding the article on page 26.

Heero nearly destroyed the paper.

"Hey buddy! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to kill him." Heero growled and blew past his partner. Preventer only had two private security consultants. According to the article, one of them was fooling around with the unnamed socialite referred to as Miss S. He had just finished up a mission in the L4 cluster. It could not have been him… That meant Relena had been seen with the other consultant. He could forgive her. He wanted her to be happy... even if it wasn't with him, but..

Trowa Barton was going to die.

And then he would walk out of Relena's life forever.

The shuttle ride to Earth was the longest he had ever endured. Each painful moment, memories of her; their first kiss, making love… the first time she told him she loved him. Each memory now slashed at his heart. He barely registered the shuttle docking; going through the motions with only one thought: getting to Relena. When he reached her mansion, his hand raised to the door knob. He should have checked in at Preventer first but didn't care.

'I plan on eating a bullet anyway.'

He let himself in and heard the chatter in the parlor. She stood there: honey gold hair shining, eyes sparkling with the smile on her lips. She was beautiful. It made his gut twist even harder.

His eyes landed on her companion and his blood boiled.

"Heero!" She called to him smiling. A smile meant for him…

"Heero, you weren't due back until tomorrow." Trowa greeted him.

Something inside him snapped. He charged the Preventer with all the pain and fury he possessed. Heero released a torrent of punches on his former friend, but Trowa kicked Heero in the gut - knocking the wind from his lungs. The acrobat rolled to his feet.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Trowa wiped blood from his lip; Heero prepared to attack again.

"Stop it right now, Heero Yuy!" Relena yelled. He knew that look in her eyes. He paused but remained intent on his goal.

"I'm going to kill him."

"What?"

"You should have told me, Relena!" The pressure in his chest built dangerously. His heart burned and he could barely breathe as his throat tightened.

"What are you talking about?!" Relena demanded.

"If you weren't happy, if you wanted Trowa all you had to do was-"

"What?" Her eyebrows pitched upward, eyes wide. "Trowa?" She reached for him but he pulled back. "Heero…? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I saw the article! I know about you and Trowa." His eyes burned as badly as his throat.

"Article?"

"What's going on here?"

Heero's attention whipped to the new figure in the door.

Sylvia Noventa entered the room, eyes wide with concern. "Trowa! You're bleeding!" She rushed to him and touched the acrobat's face tenderly.

"I'm fine." Trowa took her hand in his and smiled. "I think there's been a misunderstanding."

"Sylvia Noventa?" Heero looked at Relena in confusion.

"Yes."

"She is with Trowa?"

Relena nodded.

"But…" suddenly the article made sense. Relief washed over him. Relena wasn't Miss S. Miss S was similar to Relena: same basic description. If he had taken a moment to think about it… but, then, when did they make the connection? To his knowledge they had only met once when Trowa helped Heero search for the families of the Alliance officials.

"Sylvia knew that I was connected to you. It didn't take much for her to realize I could find Trowa for her." Heero paused. It seemed as though he and the other pilots were magnets for strange women. Not that he would complain.

"I know how crazy it sounds, but I also knew Relena would understand." Sylvia smiled. "I saw Trowa again when the circus performed at a gala I was at. I remembered him from your visit and now Trowa and I have been quietly involved for a little over a year."

Heero took in all of this information. He felt like a fool. How could he have doubted Relena? The woman literally chased him across the globe! She was his as he was hers.

"I'm sorry, Trowa." Heero started. "There was an article… It made me think that Relena and you-"

"Do you have it with you?" Relena asked. Heero nodded and reached into his jacket and pulled out the crumpled paper. Relena took it from him and read it slowly.

"A well-known blonde socialite who we will call Miss S, was seen in a rather compromising position with a dark-haired man whom we will call Mr. G. We have long suspected something going on behind closed doors but it is said Mr. G is a Private Security Consultant for Preventer. Miss S is rumored to have met Mr. G after the death of her very influential relative during the war..."

"Hm…" Relena paused, eyes going to him. "Could you two excuse us?" She asked. Trowa and Sylvia nodded and made their exit, talking softly to each other. Leaving him alone.

With his angry girlfriend.

"Relena-"

"You actually thought I would cheat on you?" Heero couldn't look at her. "How could you?" He stood silent, ready for the angry rant he knew he deserved. "Heero. I love you. You know that." He did. "Say something, please?"

"I'm sorry." He managed. "I should have trusted you."

"You're right. You should have."

"I don't deserve your forgiveness." Or you.

"Heero…" she reached out and touched his face. "I do forgive you," the love and understanding in her eyes floored him. "But," she continued and poked him. "You are going to make this up to me."

"How?"

"You'll find ways, I'm sure." She kissed his lips softly and turned away. His eyes watched her as she headed toward their room. He smiled and followed her up the stairs.