Only Time

By: Zarabeth McGregor

Chapter: 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon. I don't own the Hostess Company either. That quote at the end of the last chapter was from a G. Moore…

For once, I have nothing to say…shocking, isn't it…Yes, well, once again; I must thank you everyone for reading and those who reviewed. I still say I couldn't have asked for better reviewers. Oh, and this is really going to be my last chapter for a while.

Questions and comments!

Wicked Lady: Okay, you liked it. Yeah, I know your name, but not going to tell you how…what if I am an alien stalker from Mars and all that jazz? I'll just ruin the surprise…Okay, we have Duo who is so damn fine, funny, nice, all that…then we have Heero, who is…Heero. Sorry, right, but I've been having a love affair with Heero for the past two years now…oops, I said it…Don't kill me, Hee-chan!

IL195: Uh…well, we'll have to see about that, huh? *Wink*

Jessica: Who is it from indeed? I'm sweet and innocent, and that's that. Hmph! *Eyes start glowing red*

Minimerc: Yeah, my ex and I have had the strangest conversations…Duo and Ami's real cute, no? It's fun to write, I know that much. Heero doesn't have beautiful eyes…Heero has exquisite eyes…My God! Dark blue is now my fave color because of Heero! Pools of Prussian…I'm gonna make good use of this phrase…*winks* thanks!

Dragon Lady: I know, That's why I left it off like that…that and for the joy of being evil…uh…romantic, yeah, romantic.

Kaiya: You and me both, girl…you and me both! *Mental note to self, never abandon fic that Kaiya likes…she's a pretender* *smiles*

Amanda: *smile* Keep reading, and you'll see, hon.

Silver Star: Yeah, she's cool, isn't she? Ami's never been my fave scout, not even ranked as one of them, but during the course of this fic, I find I'm beginning to get attached to her.

Za Kaze no Nisou: Thank you! As a matter a fact, I'm thinking…maybe I'll do another one…I'm not sure.

Crystal Dragon: Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. I wanted it to seem like she was changing, but still maintaining her personality. It's sweet, isn't it? *Sigh* too bad I'm not writing from experience…guys down here are so not sweet…

~*~

                  I looked all over the card for a signature but I still couldn't find one. And I didn't know the handwriting. It was handwritten, in shiny black ink that sparkled in the sunlight. I read it again and felt a strange sensation come over me…something warm and…God help me…fuzzy. I was quite speechless.

"Stacey said you'd be in here," Relena stuck her head in from behind the door before walking in. She was back to her sophisticated way of dressing; today she was in a pale yellow pantsuit and her hair was tied into a neat bun.

You know how they say someone's eyes light up when they see or hear something they like or find beautiful? Like literally? I'd never seen that really happen, not even when Serena spied a piece of cheesecake. Well, I hadn't seen it before today, because when Relena's eyes rested on my white rose, her eyes seemed to suddenly illuminate from beneath their blue depths.

"Oh…my…GOD!" she squealed. I blushed.

"It came this morning," I said simply with a shrug. Relena was at my side in a flash. I handed it to her and she read the note.

"Aw…" she sighed and then giggled. "Who's it from?" I shrugged again.

"It doesn't say," Relena followed my earlier actions by searching for a name, all the while quite careful not to damage my precious gift. She too was unsuccessful. "I don't know the handwriting…" she muttered to herself. Then she looked up, smiling. "You don't know how enviable you are."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Relena gaped at me.

"Oh, what girl wouldn't want a white rose to be left on her desk with sweet poetry attached to it?" she sighed. "God, 'Other men said they have seen angels, but I have seen thee, and thou art enough.' Oh!" She sighed again. I saw her gaze longingly at it, lost in her own world. I then remembered a question that had been weighing on my mind since Friday night.

"Is Heero your boyfriend?" I asked before I could stop myself. Relena looked up quickly and stared at me with a slight frown. I mentally slapped myself for asking such a ridiculously personal question. "I'm sorry…" I started immediately, but I was cut off by a laugh. Relena threw back her head and started to chortle heavily as if I said the funniest thing ever. It sounded a bit hollow, if you want the truth.

"Oh, no, no, I wish!" she exclaimed, waving her hand. "Nah…" she stopped laughing and stared at the rose again, just for a few moments this time, because she suddenly gasped. She turned to me, her eyes gleaming.

"Do you know who it may be?" she asked rhetorically, her voice trembling with suppressed excitement. I shook my head, clueless. She giggled again.

"DUO!" she shouted gleefully. Relena started to pace. "The two of you got along quite well last Friday…he sounded happy when I last talked to him…" she stopped again and turned to me. "Did you talk to him for the weekend?" she asked quickly.

"No…" I said softly. Her eyes nearly bugged out.

"You didn't give him your number?" she asked, incredulous.

"No…"

"You didn't ask for his?"

"No…" Relena now looked around my desk before finding a piece of paper. She took out a silver pen and started to scribble furiously.

"This…is…his home…number," she told me while writing. "And…this is his…cellular…" she stood up and handed me the piece of paper. "Call him. Tonight. Your very job depends on it." I quirked a playful eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You better call him if you want a job tomorrow," she said, staring at me. I folded my arms across my chest.

"And if I don't, you'll fire me?" I asked. Relena smiled.

"Precisely," she responded. I raised both brows now.

"Wait until the union hears about this," I threatened.

"Try me," she replied calmly. We stared down each other for a few second before dissolving into giggles.

"But seriously, you should call him," she said when we stopped laughing.

"I guess I will," I said uncertainly.

"He really likes you," Relena said with a slight note of desperation in her voice. She handed me back my rose. "Real reason I came here now. I'm going to have a meeting with the Alliance on Thursday about this hotel dispute, so I need you to do some things for me…write them down, it's a lot." She waited until I got a pen and a sheet of legal pad paper. 

"Shoot," I said, giving her the OK. She started to pace.

"Alright, first I want you to pull up information on the economic growth of colony LXI314 for the past…ten years at least. Then I want you to do the same for WBX51, and arrange them into bar charts. Then I want you to get a map of all three colonies together, the smallest scale you can find. 1:50 will be nice…" she frowned slightly, as if she tried to remember something. Then she shrugged. "That's it for the time being." I nodded.

"I'll start right away," I assured her. She smiled at me.

"Thanks." And she went back to her office. Okay, I'll admit, all the while when she was dictating those notes to me, I wasn't really listening to her. Yes, I got the notes and I knew exactly what to do, but I wasn't concentrating on that at the moment. I had other things on my mind…the way she looked at that rose, it was so sad.

Well, hopefully, all of that will change. I made a phone call and arrangements, and then I went straight to do what Relena told me to do.

~*~

"Relena, I going to lunch," I stuck my head through her opened door as she had done earlier. She looked up from her computer, a slightly blank look on her face.

"Yeah, go ahead," she said absently and went back to typing away at her computer. I smiled and closed the door quietly. I caught a cab to Roxanne's and walked into the trendy coffee shop. I ordered a cappuccino and looked around. I smiled and walked to one of the tables.

"Hey babe," Duo greeted as I hugged him warmly. He pulled out a chair for me and then sat down. "What's up?" I grinned like a child who found out what her Christmas present was a day early.

"Oh, I'm so gonna need your help for this," I said with an excited sigh. He looked at me with anticipation.

"Well?" he asked when I was still grinning. "Are you going to tell me sometime this century, or do I have to guess?"

"Okay, you're Heero's best friend, right?" I asked softly, not trusting my voice at normal level. Yes, I was that excited. Duo scratched his head.

"More or less…why?" he asked.

"Okay, here goes," I said, still giddy. "I have an idea. I want to do something special for Relena; she's been nothing but nice to me since I got here."

"So what do you have in mind?" he asked. I could tell he was getting slightly tired of the waiting. I decided to cut it short.

"I need your help…to hook up Heero and Relena."

Oowie! Another cliffhanger!