Never, Ever, After

By: Prinder

Warnings: Slight swearing, nothing serious.

Rating: PG-13 just to be safe.

Summery: Relena really should be more careful about what she wishes for…

Disclaimer: *Grumble, grumble* *sigh* …I do not own Gundam Wing, nor will I ever own it. I am just a poor, pitiful wannabe-author that isn't worth suing, so, if you please, just don't.

"Denotes speech."
'Denotes thought.'

Denotes writing.

"Denotes over a phone or any other form of com-system"

(Denotes my interruptions.)

Chapter two

"Attention passengers, we will be entering the Earth's atmosphere in a few moments. Please return your tables and seats to their full upright positions and fasten your seatbelts. We of Comet Shuttle lines thank you." the feminine, computerized, voice said over the communication system as Jessie McCall, Also known as Heero Yuy, shut down his state-of-the-art laptop computer and returned it to it's carrying case and put the slide-out-and-down "Table" back into its original position. After buckling his seatbelt he proceeded to run his fingers through his matted, unruly, dark green hair and bit back a yawn as he stretched himself out in his seat; the three-hour shuttle-trip wasn't what anyone would have called "first class" by any length, apparently, when Duo hacked into the Comet and company, he didn't think that the infamous zero-one Gundam pilot would have cared about being stuck in a slow ship with very uncomfortable seats for three hours non-stop. Heero made a quick mental note to return the favor someday as the shuttle came to a controlled stop and Heero grabbed his things and made way for the exit as quickly as possible; he wanted to put the flying nightmare behind him as soon as possible.

"Fancy meeting you here, how have you been, Heero?" a voice said behind him as he rushed out of the automatic sliding metal door and into the spaceport waiting room.

Heero froze, his back tense at someone calling him by that name, he turned around and came face-to-face with Sally Po and Chang Wufei and mentally sighed in relief; thankful that it wasn't Duo, or worse, Relena, who had recognized him. "Preventer Water, Preventer Five." He said, nodding to each in turn before stating in a the usual gruff manner, "And it's Jessie."

"Duo didn't tell us that you changed your codename, again." Sally said, snickering at the thought of how Heero goes through codenames like most people go through Pez Candies.

"I needed a fresh start." Was all he gave for a reply as they went to collect the rest of his baggage at the drop-off point.

"Who doesn't?" Wufei said, half jokingly.

"So, Jessie," Sally began, needlessly emphasizing the name, "What brings to down to Earth?"

He wouldn't even dignify that with an answer. "Where is the car?" He asked, deciding to dodge the useless small talk as he grabbed his suitcase from the slowly moving rows of others on the conveyor-belt.

"This way." Wufei said, motioning the other two to follow.

"Oh, Jessie… here, you might want to look at this…" Sally said, handing him a lightweight, cream colored, folder.

He merely raised an eyebrow at her before opening it and looking to the pages held within.

"It's all of the information we could find. I know it's not much, but it was the best we could do on such short notice." Sally explained as Heero looked at pictures of faces of the arrested diplomats.

'Arnold Sullivan, Tracy Tenor, Wilson Price, Madeline Bush…' he read to himself as he looked at the pages each picture was paper clipped to in turn.

"As you can see, with exception of them all being 'Pacifists', they really have nothing in common." Sally said.

"That and the fact and all of them were in on an undercover sting operation with a black-market group known as the Titans." Wufei added as they climbed into the army-green jeep and left the spaceport parking lot.

"And what is it that you need me to do?" Heero asked calmly as he leaned back in the rear passenger seat and shut his eyes, letting the cool night air wash over him, allowing himself to go numb for a moment at he let Wufei's way-over-the-speed-limit driving wipe any thought of the ride in disappear on the empty highways and byways of Cinq.

Sally smiled at the young man in the back seat as she said, "I was wondering when you were going to ask that…"

*****

"Ah, there you are Relena!" Joshua sighed as he saw her come strolling up the red-carpet walkway into the formal dinning hall of the President of the ESUN, Earth-Sphere United Nation.

"Thank you Josh." she said softly, folding her hands in front of herself delicately. The gold-sequin dress that she wore dripped her in all of the right places; every curve beautifully shown-off, her hair worn up in a simple yet exquisite bun on top of her head with a few locks escaping the knot to fame her heart-shaped face.

"Oh, why did you have to put your hair up? You know how much I prefer it down, Relena; it's easier to play with that way." Josh whimpered teasingly.

"I forgot." Relena said absentmindedly, softly batting him away when he started to playfully nuzzle her neck.

"Well, we'll just have to fix that, now won't we?" Joshua said as he reached up and removed the two gold and diamond studded chopsticks that held the mound in place, letting the silky strands come tumbling down her back, making her gasp in surprise and reach back to grasp light wheat colored tresses.

"Josh!" she cried; she loved wearing her hair that way. "Why did you have to do that? And give me those back!" she said as she snatched the chopsticks out from his grip as he dangled them over her head. "It took me forever to get my hair to stay like that," she grumbled.

"What a waste of time! Now, now, darling, we don't want to cause a scene do we?" He asked coyly as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Humph!" she huffed, turning away from him, her arms crossed over her chest saying, "I'm not talking to you right now. I have things to do, unlike somebody, I have work to do!" and with that she marched off, being mindful not to trip over her high heel, toeless, gold shoes.

"Relena! Aw, Relena!" Josh cried as he chased after her, catching her by the wrist and turning her to face him again.

"Let. Me. Go." she commended sternly, her eyes glaring up at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to made you upset… Can you ever forgive me, Sweetheart?" he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her in a protective embrace.

Relena, finding herself cheek-first into his chest, found it hard not to feel sorry for being cross, she did, after all, have quite a nasty temper when she was under a lot of stress and Josh was very good at playing the poor, innocent, victim and knew which buttons to press to get what he wants. 'Well, not this time…' she thought. "No." she said as she pushed him away, surprising them both so much so that he tripped over his own two feet and landed on his rear-end right in the middle of the dinning room and she froze out of shock, her eyes wide.

"P- wh- Re-Relena, what on Earth has gotten into you? This isn't like you at all!" He sputtered.

"I-I- I uh… Excuse me for a moment everyone. I'm sorry!" She said as she regained the ability to move and made a mad dash for the woman's restroom where she splashed her face with water from one of the three sinks in the room and stared blankly at her reflection. 'What's going on with me…?'

Meanwhile, back in the dinning room, Joshua was starting to wish he had thought about running also as people were starting to swarm and were beginning to ask questions that he didn't want to give the truthful answers to. 'Where the hell is she? Why isn't she back yet?' he thought as he swore under his breath before saying with a chuckle, "Pardon me, if you please, everyone; I think it's time I check on Relena to see if she's alright, apparently she's not used to pushing people around." and with that he made a beeline for the ladies' bathroom door, "Relena?" He asked, knocking on it loudly, "Are you alright in there?"

"Go away Joshua!" she yelled as she quickly began reapplying her makeup, attempting to hide the telltale signs that she had been crying again and then wrinkling her nose up at her red, puffy, eyes; she couldn't hide those so easily and, besides the fact that she didn't have any on her, sunglasses would have looked stupid in the middle of a formal ball.

"Relena Dorlain, open this door right now!" he yelled back.

"No!"

"Stop being such a three-year-old and grow up for a minute here!"

"Three-year-old? Look who's talking, three-year-old… if anybody is acting childish around here it's you, Josh!"

"Don't get snippy with me--"

"I am NOT getting snippy!"

"Relena, I'm warning you…"

"Warn all you like, I'm not coming out!"

"Relena. Get. Out. Of. There. Right. This. INSTANT!" he screamed.

"No." came her calm reply as she stood facing the door, waiting for the worst.

"Relena, if you don't come out… so help me, I'm going in!"

"Go right ahead, I dare you." She seethed.

"UGH!" He growled and with that he flung open the door, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out.

"…So, now that you have me out, what are you going to do with me now?" Relena asked coolly glaring at him as she yanked her arm free.

"NOTHING!" He snapped, making her shrink back slightly in fear as he added in a more controlled tone, "Nothing… nothing except ask you to tell me what's been with you lately. Something hasn't been right Relena, and you know it well. Now tell me, what's the matter?" he asked his eyes watered up, a sign that he was worried, as he steered her towards their table to sit down.

"I- I don't know Joshua, I just don't know; everything has been so crazy lately at the office, I haven't been sleeping well, the dome Milliardo and Noin are stationed at was attacked, then there was the diplomats that were arrested and the bodyguards thing and I don't know what's going on anymore!" she sighed as she dropped her head on the white-cloth-covered table.

"Hush, it's alright Darling, it's alright… Look at you! You're an absolute wreck!" Joshua exclaimed.

"Gee, thanks…" Relena muttered tonelessly.

"No, I mean it! You're hair is a rat's nest, your eyes are puffy, your nose is red, I think I bruised your arm when I pulled you out of there so roughly, the heel to one of your shoes snapped off during the struggle, your beautiful dress it all askew… face it, Sweetheart, this isn't your day it seems." He said sadly as he gently stroked her matted hair.

"You're right," she said, laughing as she lifted her head up, "It isn't, is it?"

"No, not at all! Tell you what; how about I drive you home so you can hit the sack early. I think that you've had enough for one day," he said soothingly.

"Thank you." she said as she slipped off her high heels, reached into her purse, and pulled out a simple pair of black flats and said, when Josh eyed them curiously, "I keep them with me incase something happens and I need to be able to run."

"Ah, I see… it make sense, in an odd way. Well, come now dear, let's get you back home!" he said as he stood up and fished his car keys out of his suit jacket.

"Yes, oh, and Josh?"

"Hum? Yes, Relena?"

"I'm sorry."

*****

"…Last night, in President Nicholas Powel's dinning room, Miss Relena Dorlain and her long-time boyfriend, Joshua Muller, had a fight, but no worries! The couple made up not long after and Joshua, after insisting that Relena go home and get some long over-due sleep, drove her back to the Peacecraft estate and left her in the good care of Pagan Fuller, the family butler for over twenty-five years, Mr. Pagan ensures us that Miss Relena was just overstressed because of the extra workload she has had to face as of late, due to the arrested and charged diplomats just a day ago… Now on with the weather--" Heero shut off the TV and turned to Duo, who was standing behind the couch that he was currently sitting on.

"Ya know I've met that Joshua guy before. Real nice fellow… yeah, real nice and sneaky is more like it! I didn't trust him very much, but Relena assured me that he was on the up-and-up." Duo commented as he took a swig of the Mountain Dew in his hand before taking a seat next to his wartime buddy and adding with a sigh, "Too bad that Une thinks that Relena's losing it. Totally crackers, that's what she said, though, not in in that exact wording."

"You think he has something to do with it." Heero more stated then asked.

"No… I didn't say that, but I don't think he's helping very much either…" Duo replied before eyeing the greenish-brown mop on the top of his friend's head. "Say, uh, Heero… How long did you say that takes for it to wash out? 'Cause I gotta tell, man, it doesn't look all that great on you."

"It's already almost gone."

"You don't say? Jeez, to heck if I can tell!" Duo laughed as he drained the last of his drink and stood back up. "Well, come on man, we gotta get you down to the Preventer base here, and soon, otherwise Une will have my head!"

"Why the rush?" Heero asked as he stood up and followed Duo out of the hotel room door.

"You'd be in a rush too if you had kept within the loop instead of just up and going poof on us two months back!" Duo snapped and then adding with another sigh, "I'll fill you in on the car ride there…"

"What all has happened with the others while I was gone?" Heero questioned as they entered the elevator and took it to the ground floor.

"Who, the guys? Oh their doing great, Trowa's still on the move; he's in the Circus with his 'sister' ya know! Quatre's always busy, but he, at least, still finds time to give all of us a ring every month or so. You know all about what Wufei has been up to, though, I don't think he's told ya yet but, he's gonna be the best man in Sally's wedding in a few months, she met this guy, Luke, I think his name was, a week or so back when he joined Preventer, love at first sight! I'll telling you, I thought that Wufei was gonna bite that guy's head off; he's always been protective of Sally, kind of like a brother is to a sister, but, back then, it almost looked like something more… heck, there actually still might be more to it then that but, you know, it's kind of hard to explain. Hilde sold-out her scrap-shop; it just wasn't making as much money as it used to, and so she's now working part-time at IBM and part-time at Preventer… undercover work, you have to understand; she's just keeping an eye out for dirty dealings within the company but so far it seems to be pretty clean. And that's about it." Duo said, pausing every now and then to take a breath as they arrived at his black Sports Utility Vehicle and climbed inside to start the engine.

"What can to tell me about the Titans?" Heero asked.

"That they're mythological beings that were believed to be more powerful then the god--"

"No. I mean the black-market group." Heero interrupted.

"I know I was just playing you!" Duo laughed before getting serious and saying, "They're like the Sweepers, only these guys deal with goods so hot that you could fry an egg on them. They used to be just your average back-ally gang but with money there comes power and with power comes control. My guess is that they were planning a slow takeover, you know? Get their men into the political ring and then slowly take command of it all. Funny thing is, they didn't use to care so much about that, up until just a few years ago, they were more interested in just getting parts from A to B so, what I'm wondering is, why the sudden change? It just doesn't make much sense, you see what I mean?"

"How did they get so far without being caught onto for so long?"

"Information is a fickle thing, Heero; some people have it, some people don't and some people, just a few really, want it. The thing is, what with the wars and all that, everybody was too busy looking behind their own backs, covering their own trails, to even notice them moving in. It's purely an act of good, or poor, all depends on who you're cheering for in this case, timing. Just count yourself lucky that we caught it when we did; otherwise the preverbal shit would be hitting the fan." Duo explained.

"I'm supposed to act as a bodyguard to Relena, any suggestions on how to do it without her knowing? I hear she's getting better at detecting our movements."

"I'll say! Just a few days ago she busted Wufei in the background behind Sally during a call, from what Sally told me later, turns out that Relena really blew Wufei outta the water on that one; he was literally in the way back corner of their office, you know, where that one light never works? Anyway, he was all in the shadows and everything, Sally herself didn't even realize he was there until Relena pointed him out, though; Wufei said that Sally hid that little fact well. As for how to avoid her… truth be told, I just don't know! I never had to try to sneak around her before so I just can't say what'll work, though… I would suggest using the air vents as much as possible if you really want to avoid her that much, though I can't understand why, she doesn't bite Heero!" He laughed, "Air vents work well for getting from one place to another without being seen and, usually, it's the one opening that people forget to make secure; I mean, no way in genially also means no air in either!"

"Thanks for the tip; that's the first place that I'm going to be putting laser-detection grids in." Heero said with a smirk.

"HEY! You tricked me!" Duo exclaimed as he pulled into the Preventer parking lot.

"Yeah." Heero said in reply as he got out of Duo's S.U.V. and walked up the large front steps and over to the bulletproof glass doors of the building, mildly noting on how ridiculous it looked compared to the solid steel of the rest of the base as he opened one of the doors and walked inside with Duo right behind him.

"This, my friend, is the most advanced Preventer facility to date! It has the best, top of the line, computer and tracking systems around. If you can't find it, and you need to find it within twenty-four hours, this place here can do it." Duo said as he patted his comrade's shoulder proudly.

"You sound like a Preventer Ad…" Heero said in monotone, smirking when he saw Duo's smug face drop and his puffed up chest deflate.

"Har-de-har-har, you've changed Heero, you actually got a sense of humor now!" Duo said sarcastically as they walked up the receptionist's desk.

"May I help you?" the blonde receptionist asked as she played with the wad of gum in her mouth, looking extremely bored.

"Yeah, we're here to see Preventer Earth." Duo replied.

"Names?" she asked.

"Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy."

The Blonde rolled her eyes with annoyance as she said, "Codenames?"

"Preventer One and Two." Heero replied, sending a glare at her, a silent message telling her to hurry up and let them through.

"Go down the hall, it's the third office on the left." She said after pausing to check for their appointment in the computer.

"Thanks Babe!" Duo said as waved his hand over his shoulder and he and Heero walked on. "You know, you could smile a bit; you're gonna be a soldier again!" Duo commented, mentally counting doors as they went.

"I didn't want to be a soldier again, Duo, I just wanted to forget all of this and move on with the life that, for a long time, I was sure that any of us would not have." Heero replied as he opened the door and walked inside, Duo right at his heels.

"What in the hell did you do to your hair?" Une asked in mild shock when she saw the brown-green tresses on top of Heero's head.

"Preventer Earth, may I present, Jessie McCall." Duo said with a laugh; that wasn't the kind of reaction that he was expecting from the lady and it caught all of them off guard.

"Jessie McCall why that name?" Une asked as she relaxed back into her seat.

Heero just shrugged for reply.

"Well," Duo began, "It doesn't matter why, what matters is what we're going to do about the situation at hand."

"Right, as you both know, we made several arrests yesterday, all of which were people posing as pacifistic diplomats. After speaking with Relena Dorlain for a few moments, she demanded to know their names and to assist us in anyway, the repercussions of this action has put her into jeopardy and, with her insistent refusal for more armed protection, we have come to you, Heero. Your job, though not requiring your presence to be unknown to the Vice-foreign Minister, is to be executed however you see fit, be it in the shadows or out in the open, I don't care which you chose, just as long as she survives long enough to see her next birthday, if you understand what I mean. You will not be working alone, the other members of your team will be assisting you wherever they can, I trust that Sally filled you in on the essentials?" Une asked, pausing for Heero to nod in reply before continuing with, "Good, you will stay here in one of the cadet sleeping quarters when not on duty and Preventer Two will be staying with you until the end of the week when he must go back to his colony, Preventer Three will then take his place and, after him, Preventer Four and Five. Do you have any questions?"

"No ma'am."

"Very well, you are dismissed." she said as they both saluted and turned to leave the office. "Oh and Heero… May I call you Heero?" After receiving a nod she continued with, "I would just like to say, on a more personal level, that it's good to have to back.

"Thanks." and with that, he closed the door and left.

'This had better work, or I'll strangle Quatre for putting me up to this…' Une thought as she glared into nothingness for a moment before returning to the paperwork on her desk.

Meanwhile, in the hallway, Heero and Duo were talking about their assignment as Duo lead Heero to the Cadets' sleeping dormitory within the base.

"So, you planning on paying her a visit tonight?" Duo asked as he looked through his key chain for the key to the lock to the room that they were going to be staying in.

"As soon as the guards switch shifts. Is this it?" Heero questioned as Duo opened the door and walked into the cramped dorm-room.

"Yeah, it's not much, but, in a pinch, it works. Which bunk do you want?" Duo asking, jutting his thumb out that the bunk-bed that took up the whole left wall of the room with exception of the door that was that the foot of it that led into what Duo not-so-fondly dubbed: "the postage stamp".

Heero, having decided on the bottom bunk, as he figured that he would be too tired after the long days and nights of work to have the willpower nor the strength left in him to vault himself up onto the top one, he set himself to work with unpacking his things which, apparently, someone had picked up from the hotel and dropped off here for him.

"I asked Sally if she could run them over for ya while you were watching TV. I don't know about you pal, I think you're starting to slip." Duo said as he eyed his friend carefully.

"I wasn't working then, I didn't need to pay attention to everything." Heero replied as he tucked the last of his things into one of the two dressers on the right hand side of the room while Duo grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-refrigerator that sat on the floor, next to a desk, and the only window, on the far side of the room.

"Yeah sure, excuses, excuses!" Duo remarked as he tilted his head back to take a sip and nearly gagged on it when Heero reached out and squeezed the bottle, making the water come shooting out faster then Duo could drink. "Hey! What are ya doin'? Are you trying to kill me or something?" Duo sputtered as water sprayed all over the room.

Heero could only smirk as he said, snickering, "Just proving a point."

________________________________________________________________________ Uh, wow, finished that it what, two days? Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? I can't really tell! Thank you everyone for all EIGHT reviews that you gave me for the first chapter! Oh, and, for those of you who have no idea what Heero means by that last line there, he means that Duo can't always know everything that goes on either… does that make sense? Oh well… for those of you who can't remember what other Fanfic idea's I have, I have them all now listed in my Profile on FF.net and in, I believe, chapter 19 of "What if:Myth" Anyways, later!