Previously on Dossier: Heero let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.
Another Clark?
Dossier Ch. 10
Heero rubbed the note between his thumb and forefinger, relishing the smooth feeling of the high quality paper.
Although the message was handwritten, in pencil, it was written on paper one would find in an office copy machine. It was thin, but smooth.
Could Siet Clark have sent it from his office? Perhaps the other Clark had, and was in the building right now. Perhaps Heero had seen this person on the way into the building.
Heero wracked his brain to remember everyone, anyone, Relena had come in contact with recently. But he was coming up short- no 'other' Clarks rang a bell. The only one he knew of for sure was Siet.
Can you share what she knows with me? Come alone. Same place as before.
Heero assumed this other Clark meant same time as well. Would Boom be the meeting place from now on?
He bit his thumb as he sat back into his desk chair.
This seemed frivolous enough...just wanting to know about Mars...
Could it be harmless?
Was anything ever truly harmless when it came to him...
Maybe he would try his luck tomorrow morning...
A knock at the door shook him from his consideration. He folded the note, trying to pass it off as any other ordinary piece of paper.
"Hey..." Relena smiled. Her cheeks flushed as she pulled a lock of hair behind her ear. He couldn't help but bring his own hand up to scratch his head. She was nervous about something, and he could feel it. They had plenty to be nervous about these days.
"Are you busy?" She whispered, pointing to his desk while holding the same cup of coffee she had with her earlier.
Heero nodded his head, gesturing to the open seat in front of his desk. Suddenly feeling naked, he pulled his cup of coffee into his hands and rubbed his thumb against the cardboard cup sleeve.
"So..." She began. Here it comes...that talk. Duo had filled him in years ago, on the meeting of the minds that usually came after you 'did things' with a girl.
"So." He smiled, as neutral as he often appeared, he was trying hard to keep her at ease. Or rather, he was trying to keep himself calm.
It had been easier for him to recognize what she was feeling after living with her for the past year. Her body language, facial expressions; as a politician she usually gave away nothing.
She crossed her legs in the seat, resting her elbow on her knee. She was guarding herself.
His heart began to beat faster and faster.
He knew what was beneath her clothes. He had seen her without them.
The innocent debutante that had followed him to hell and back. She had shown her true self to him.
After all these years, he was finally beginning to understand her.
"How are you? Last night...Last night was...nice." She looked down at her coffee cup. Heero could almost hear the steam rising from the lid.
"Hn. I'm good...yes...last night was...it...I'm..." He mumbled, watching the steam rise up against her lips. Her lips were bare, save for a slightly pink balm she must have put on before coming to see him. Her makeup, although he preferred her natural look, was flawless. Everything about her, screamed pristine. Delicate. Delicacy.
He couldn't help but lick his lips then.
He must have looked like a complete idiot.
But then again, he didn't mind being a fool for her.
"Heero..." she laughed. "You're staring..." She looked down at her lap, face red.
He bit his lip, looking once behind her at the door, and then to the cup of coffee in front of him. Anywhere but her perfect face. That was attached to her perfect head. That was attached to her soft neck...that sported several purple marks haphazardly covered with makeup, peaking from beneath her v-neck white blouse.
"I am staring...aren't I..." He chuckled.
"Yeah..." she flashed him a smile. The corner of her lip swept up in a devilish smirk. She leaned back into her seat. He felt the weight of her eyes measuring him where he sat.
"You're checking me out." Heero observed. He savored a sip from his cup. Her blush deepened.
"...Maybe..." She smiled, taking a sip of her coffee.
What were they doing?
"What...um..." Heero mumbled. The folded note from the other Clark felt like a lead weight in his hand. Between that note and Relena catching him off guard, Heero felt like he was already losing control of his day.
What was he doing?
He slipped the note into his pocket, instantly feeling guilty. Someday, he would tell her.
He couldn't do it now.
"What's wrong Heero?" She leaned in towards his desk.
"Nothing..." He mumbled, clamoring for his poker face. He probably let it slip.
"I don't regret last night. Not at all. In fact, I wanted to thank you." She smiled, the sight putting him at ease. Did she think he regretted what they did?
How could he explain to her how much he wanted to do it again?
"Oh yeah? It was okay?"
"Definitely. I'd love to do it again. Anytime." That devilish look flashed once more.
Immediately, memories of her writhing beneath his mouth came to mind.
"Roger that." He smiled wide that time. That confidence he felt earlier, building once again.
Relena didn't have to know about the Clarks yet. He'd tell her, someday soon.
For now, he viewed her as a refreshing distraction. He was finding that he enjoyed this awkward exchange. His fumbling for words was worth seeing her adorable and embarrassed in his office.
They made a bit of small talk, every now and then pausing to stare at their work phones, making sure they hadn't missed anything.
But then Heero's desk phone rang, breaking the spell.
Une was calling.
"Hey there Alpha. Glad to catch you in your office...Please clear your schedule for this afternoon...Gamma has an update for us. All five of you are to meet for a debriefing at fourteen hundred. Delta has already touched Earth. He arrives at HQ in twenty."
Gamma and Delta...Trowa and Quatre's codenames. It must be important if Une were to use their formal agent names...and for Trowa to request that Quatre come to Earth. Heero once again felt the weight of the note in his pocket. Could he...should he reveal it to the rest of them?
"Roger Gold. See you at two." Heero acknowledged, hanging up with Une.
"Big meeting it sounds like..." Relena smiled from her seat. Heero took a deep breath. He didn't want to ask her, and he wasn't sure he'd go through with it...but...
"Maybe...hey...can I..." He trailed off. His tongue fighting him.
"Yes?" She leaned forward, palms resting on his desk. She tilted her head in an adorable display of precocious covertness.
"Can I...borrow your current Mars files? I've got a meeting with the techs tomorrow...I want to make sure they are following your orders on the life support systems."
"Oh wow that's tomorrow? I thought it was Friday...If I can clear my schedule I can probably..."
"No the meeting with you is still Friday..." Heero caught himself. He paused for a moment, walking his response around his tongue before deciding it could work.
"I have a preliminary meeting to discuss schematics with the engineers, so that they are prepped for Friday. I just want to make sure I didn't miss anything...you know...I haven't hacked your computer in years, so I don't have anything for them..." He tried to smirk, hoping she'd be satisfied with his answer.
"Oh! Heero..." she chuckled, the humor working. "Sure thing, I'll have my assistant drop them off over lunch, I'll get back to my office now and collect them for you. They're confidential...so they aren't allowed to leave the building. They can't even be photocopied."
He felt his eye twitch slightly, and brought his hand up over it to his hair, hoping to cover it. He didn't like this, deceiving her. Her of all people.
But he needed to know what they were up to, what they knew.
"Of course. I'll work late to review them here. The files won't leave my office."
a/n lol its been forever since I updated this story! (or at least compared to how often I usually update this story) I felt like I needed to include that little blurb at the beginning so that we all know where things left off. I had to work a 10 day shift at my job, and then I had midterms at school (my last three weeks of undergrad just started :D ) so after all that I got a little under the weather- which totally set me back on Dossier AND Mountebank. I hope you guys are okay with this chapter. Things heat up again NEXT chapter so thanks for your continued support!
~murshmallow