Chapter Twenty-Five
Late Night Coffee

Trowa had been working all morning on his computer, completing the reports he had yet to finish from the previous two weeks. Now that Serena was staying at his place, he was back to working full time in his office. He knew he'd be lying if he said that he was already starting to miss spending most of his work time with her. While he knew his work was important, two weeks of a semi break was nice. Not to mention he was getting to know Serena better.

Trowa was finishing up a report and was about to send it in when Heero barged into his office. A scowl etched on his face as he came to stand in front of his desk.

"What can I do for you, Heero?" he asked, moving his hands away from the keyboard.

"Has Serena checked in?" Trowa lifted a brow before checking his phone. It was 11:03. Three minutes past her check-in time.

"No, she hasn't but I'm sure there's a good explanation as to why."

"This is why I didn't want her-" Heero stopped when not only one phone went off but two. Trowa glanced down, looking at his screen as he unlocked his phone.

Checking in. Sorry for being late. Was making something to eat. Serena's text message read.

"She checked in," Trowa said as he held up his phone. Heero glared at him as he grabbed his phone. "It was three minutes, Heero. She's been checking in, and I've even checked in with her randomly. She's responded promptly every time."

Trowa frowned as Heero ignored him. Heero was doing something on his phone. Most likely looking through their chat history, which wasn't much. Besides her normal "checking in," there were a few small conversations between the two of them from the previous days. Mainly dinner discussions or how she was doing. Serena had only responded with short answers along with the few times she asked him if he could send her another round of files. Other than that, there wasn't much to their conversations. Trowa wasn't worried about Heero finding anything profound. Not until he saw Heero typing something.

Trowa stared at Heero as he muttered something under his breath before handing the phone back to him. Heero turned on his heel, storming out of his office. Looking down at the screen of his phone he saw that Serena had sent a photo of herself smiling brightly while she held up her middle finger. The text that followed read, Heero, I know it's you. Next time just text me from your phone.

Trowa scrolled up to see what Heero had said. You shouldn't have been three minutes late.

Trowa couldn't help himself as he began to laugh. He was almost in tears when he sent her a message of his own, you know that pissed him off right?

I wish I could've seen his face. She responded quickly.

He stormed out of my office. I'm sure you'll be hearing from him.

Haha! I'm sure. I'll see you later?

Trowa smiled as he typed out his last message. Yeah, I'll see you when I get home.

Serena smiled as set her phone back down after reading Trowa's text. Looking back up to the laptop screen, she saw a frown on the man's face she had been speaking with.

"Are you done playing games, Delta?"

"I told you that I have to check in every hour. I was late," Serena crossed her arms over her chest. Glaring at the screen.

"Ah yes, well we can't let that happen again. It wouldn't be wise for any of them to become suspicious. Especially Heero."

"Yeah," Serena said as she tightened her eyes. "Do I have new orders?" The man smiled again at her.

"That depends. Do you have any credible information we can use?" He asked. Serena turned her head away looking out one of the windows in the living room.

"You know I don't. I've told you everything that has happened so far," she said after a moment. When she turned her head back she saw that his brows were knitted together.

"That's disappointing," he paused for a moment, looking like he was deep in thought. "Then your orders are-"

Later that night Serena stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter with her hands in her hair as she waited for the coffee to finish brewing. Hoping it wouldn't wake Trowa up. It was already two in the morning and she still had another set of files to go over before sending in her latest report.

After the video call, she had all but completely given up on doing any more work for the rest of the day. She had paced the apartment trying to figure out what to do. It didn't help that around three in the afternoon Relena had called her. While she didn't mind talking to her and had been enjoying the conversations they had been having the last two days, she wasn't really in the mood to talk.

It didn't make things any better when she learned that Relena had heard about her little stunt earlier that morning. While Relena did admit to laughing, she had told her that it would be a good idea to stop doing such things, that it was only putting a strain on her and Heero's relationship. Serena had rolled her eyes and was grateful that Relena couldn't see her.

Heero and her didn't have a good standing relationship, to begin with. They didn't have any kind of relationship. While Serena knew she was probably doing more harm than good, it was hard at times to not poke some fun at Heero. As childish as it was, but then again, she never did have a childhood.

Serena had taken Relena's advice and during her next check-in, she apologized to Heero. He didn't say anything back other than a simple okay, before later sending her a longer message.

Heero had told her that she wasn't helping her case any by pulling 'shit like' that on him and that if she wanted 'this, whatever it was,' to work out, she needed to work harder on controlling herself. Serena had agreed and told him that she wouldn't do it anymore and went on to inform him of another finding. She knew it was going to take her some time to get through all the files but Serena hoped that the faster she got it done, the happier Heero would be with her.

Serena sighed when she heard her phone vibrate in the living room. After finishing pouring her coffee into a mug, she moved back to the couch. Looking down at her phone, she sighed again when she saw that it was a message from Heero.

Why are you still awake?

Serena frowned, looking at the laptop before looking at her phone.

I see you're checking in on me. She typed back.

Serena…

Heero, I know you're hacking into your laptop. You currently have the internet open. Serena watched as the internet page quickly disappeared off her screen. She waited for a response but after a minute of not receiving one, she typed out another message. Look, I'm trying to get through this last set of files before I get the next batch in.

You should get some sleep. It wouldn't be smart to try and look through everything half-awake. Heero finally responded. Serena had ideally wondered if she'd be having a one-sided conversation. Then again, how many times had that been the case for her in the early morning hours?

While I appreciate the concern, I'm almost done. I'll go to bed after, all right?

There was another pause before his next message came in.

"Fine. If you don't check-in at nine, I'll be calling."

Sure thing. Get some rest. You shouldn't be awake either.

Serena laid her phone back down next to her. Shaking her head she brought the laptop back into her lap. Sipping her coffee she started going through the rest of the files. Even if her mind was still stuck on the fact Heero had checked on her, or the fact that he had been nice to her for once. Maybe Relena said something to him? Serena highly doubted he was being cordial towards her for the sake of it, if anything, it was likely because of Relena. But she needed to stop her musings over what had happened. She had worked to do.

Serena didn't make it far before she was sighing to herself. She had glanced at the rest of the files she still needed to review, she knew she'd be pulling an all-nighter. Grabbing her phone she set an alarm for eight-fifty-five. Worse case, she could just wake up to check-in and then pass back out for a little. Though the more she thought about it. The more likely it wouldn't happen. Heero knew that she would be needing more personnel files sent to her in the morning.

It's not like you've never stayed up before. She said to herself before looking down at the mug of coffee she held in her hand. I'm going to have to order more coffee. Trowa's going to wonder why we went through the whole container in just a few days.

"Heero what are you doing?"

Heero snapped his head up to see Relena standing in the doorway to the office. He had been staring at his laptop screen. A list of clothing and miscellaneous websites was pulled up on the history tab. He had been so focused, trying to understand why Serena was visiting the websites he was currently viewing.

"What could you possibly be doing at this hour in the morning?" Relena asked as she moved to stand next to his desk.

"Relena, you should go back to bed," Heero saw her frown as she tightened her robe.

"You're avoiding my question. You're checking to see what Serena has been doing, aren't you?"

"I have to make sure she isn't doing anything that she's not supposed to be doing," Heero said before he turned his head away. His phone had alerted him to a new message.

"And I'm guessing you decided to send her a message?" Relena asked. Heero typed back his reply to Serena before answering Relena.

"Yeah, she's awake working on the remaining files Trowa sent her earlier."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, but she should be asleep. Like you," he looked pointedly at her. "That and I checked her internet history," Heero turned his attention back to his phone sending his final message to Serena.

"Oh, and what did you find exactly?" The sarcasm in her voice wasn't lost on him.

"She's been online shopping..." Heero's trailed off as he watched the screen of his laptop. "Why the hell is she ordering coffee at this hour?" Relena laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck when she came to stand next to him.

"If I had to guess, maybe they need more coffee?" Heero turned his head slightly to look at her. "As far as the shopping goes, she ordered new clothes for herself."

"How do you know that?"

"She told me so," Relena sighed, pulling away from him. Her hands came to rest on her hips. "Heero, you do know I talk to her at least once a day, right?" Heero frowned at Relena. He didn't like the fact that she had been talking to Serena behind his back. "Serena told me earlier that she would be returning my clothes once her order came in. I told her not to worry but I can understand her wanting her own things."

Heero could comprehend that part. Serena didn't have anything other than what Relena had given her. But what he wanted to know was how Relena was able to get her number.

"How did you get her number?" Heero asked cautiously.

"I asked for it."

"From who?"

"Duo," Relena smiled brightly at him. Heero cursed under his breath as he shut down his laptop. Of course, Duo would give Serena's number to Relena without a second thought.

"Let's go back to bed. You have a meeting tomorrow morning."

"Oh, do we have to?" Relena pouted at him. "We're both already awake."

Heero eyed her carefully. Her hands were still on her hips but the twinkle in her eyes gave her away. Smirking, he swiftly lifted her into his arms. Her arms came around his neck as she laughed. He kissed her soundly on the lips before heading out of the office and back to the bedroom. Another twenty minutes wouldn't hurt them. Plus they could just make sure to bring extra coffee to work that morning.

Trowa knew Serena had been up late the night before. He had heard the coffee machine but he hadn't bothered to get out of bed. She had told him before he headed into his room that she was going to finish the files she had before going to bed herself.

When he came out of his room he discovered her curled up on the couch with the laptop still on and her phone clutched in her hand. Serena didn't even have a blanket on herself and he knew she wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon. Walking quietly back into his room, he grabbed the extra blanket off his bed. Heading back into the living room he draped it over her body, hoping she'd sleep for another few hours.

Satisfied that she would be more comfortable, Trowa debated making more java. There was only a small amount left in the coffee pot, likely from the last time she had made some. Deciding not to make any noise that might wake Serena, he put on his boots, leaving the apartment. He planned on stopping somewhere on his way to work and being a little early wasn't a bad thing.

Heero had come in early to get a few things done before heading to Relena's office for the rest of the day. Duo was only able to work for a few hours before heading to the Spaceport to pick up Hilde. From his understanding, they were going to start looking for a place to live since Duo was staying longer to help work the Charity Ball. It didn't matter to Heero so long as someone he trusted was with Relena whenever he couldn't be. He may be head of her security but he also had other duties that required his skill set.

Which at the moment was helping the IT department with the new security software that he had been working on. With recent events, it was taking him longer to finish the program than it typically would have. At the last minute, he decided to change a few lines of code to make it harder for someone to try and access information within their systems. With the knowledge that there were spies within the agency, Heero needed to ensure no one could get in.

He was halfway through the coding when there was a knock on his door. Allowing the person entry, he was surprised to see Trowa. He stopped typing as Trowa took a seat in one of the chairs positioned in front of his desk.

"Something wrong, Barton?" Heero asked. Trowa shook his head.

"No, I figured I'd let you know that when I left this morning Serena was asleep on the couch."

"I told her to not stay up late," Heero frowned at the information. Trowa raised his one visible brow.

"You talked to her last night?"

"Yeah at two in the morning. She was still working," Heero crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess I'll be calling her in a few minutes then."

"That's why I came to see you," Trowa said as he leaned back in the chair. "Just let her sleep. I'm sure the minute she wakes up she'll be calling."

"I already told her I'd call at nine if she didn't check-in."

"Heero, she's working hard to help us. Just give her another hour before calling."

Heero was about to respond when his phone began to ring. Checking the caller ID, his brow lifted as he accepted the call.

"Serena?"

"I'm checking in," her muffled voice came through the other end.

"Are you even awake?" She mumbled something, sighing, Heero tried again. "Serena, how late were you up last night?"

"I don't know. Four, maybe five o'clock?" Heero sighed again as he brought a hand to his head.

"Alright just go back to sleep. I'll call you in two hours."

"Okay…" Serena's voice trailed off before hanging up. Heero looked at Trowa as he placed the phone back on his desk. Trowa had crossed his arms again.

"She said she didn't go to sleep till four or five this morning," Heero frowned.

"Thank you for giving her a break," Trowa said, nodding his head.

"Yeah," Heero wasn't thrilled but after talking to Serena, two hours wouldn't hurt, not to mention he needed her to be able to keep going through the personnel files. Which she had yet to send in her latest report. Which meant she didn't finish the files from the previous day. Trowa was starting to stand when a new email window popped up on Heero's screen.

"Hm?"

"What is it?" Trowa asked.

"She sent in her report from the last batch of files. Though I'm not sure what the end of her report says," Heero turned his screen for Trowa to view the jumbled mess of letters.

"I think it says 'please send more,' then her name." Trowa looked at Heero as he stood to his full height. "I'm guessing she tried to send it before falling asleep. She probably wanted to get it sent out to us so she just typed whatever at the end. Though, 'Erna Loll' is an interesting way to spell her name," Trowa chuckled. Heero nodded his head before turning his screen back around. "Wait to send her more. Let me know if she wakes up before eleven?" Trowa asked.

"Yeah, sure," Heero watched as Trowa left his office, shutting the door behind him. Heero sighed as he pulled the security program up again, wondering as he started to type again if he was being too lenient with Serena. Though she sounded like her face was buried in the couch cushion when he spoke to her. Serena did call to check in like she was instructed to, so Heero couldn't be that angry with her.

That and Trowa had a point. Serena had been working hard to help. Even with her last report, she managed to send it in. Still, Heero had reservations about putting too much trust in Serena. He still had his suspicions, and they served him well in the past. There was something more to Serena than she was letting on, and he was going to find out.

Serena closed the laptop screen with one eye open. She didn't even care if she spelled her name right or whatever she had tried to type at the end. She figured she could just call Trowa or Heero later once she was awake.

She rolled over on her side to face away from the windows where a small amount of light was seeping through the curtains. Pulling the blanket up to cover herself again, Serena wondered how she had obtained it in the first place. She didn't remember grabbing one before she passed out, but as she took a deep breath she smelled something familiar. It was a rich musky smell but warm with a hint of sweetness and spice. The smell was comforting to her in a way. Then it dawned on Serena.

It was Trowa's scent.

She had become very acquainted with it. Whenever Trowa was close to her she would be able to smell it. Serena had learned quickly that she liked the cologne on him. She wasn't entirely sure what notes were in it, but it didn't matter. As she snuggled herself into the couch more she wondered if Trowa had placed the blanket on her before he left for work. Serena let the thought linger for a moment as she smiled, taking another deep breath. His scent filled her lungs as she drifted back asleep.

A/N

Happy Friday!

Once again thank you to my wonderful friend who has now helped me with three chapters thus far. I can tell you that they were not expecting to be brought onto this, but I will say it's been nice having another set of eyes reading over each chapter with me because even I still miss things. Editing is hard and what's worse is when you stare at the same sentence for an hour and still have no clue what you're trying to say.

Monday, please be ready because I have fallen back into my old ways and chapter 26 is 5069 words of juicy goodness and I do not regret it being that long. There are still more chapters that are on the longer side, but this one so far is the longest. As far as this chapter, lots of different things going on. Serena is in contact with J and that can only mean one thing. Who's side is she really on? Is she the bad guy? You'll have to find out if this is your first time reading it. For now, I will leave you all. I hope you have a great weekend and I will see you all again on Monday with a long -oh-so-good chapter!

-MM

PS I couldn't stop thinking about this, but coffee is a very big deal in this story because coffee is life and I would personally die without it. Two, I need to make the java joke as much as I possibly can, and I'm not sorry. Also... did anyone notice that Trowa is a magician who pulls out random things from his jacket? Because that was always on my mind every time he did that while Serena was at HQ. Okay, I'm done. Bye!