For Rel

Note:  I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters.

People, I know that I haven't been giving out clues as to who Relena is recently, but understand that I'm also trying to show how her disappearance has been affecting the others (not just Heero).

Sitting in the meeting in New York, Quatre began to wonder, Is this what I really want to be doing?  The thought had occurred to him more than once over the years since he had taken his father's place, after all he was the only son of the family, but he did get advise from his older sisters, the ones that cared enough to see him from time to time.  It was a burden that he had to bear and used to not bear it alone, when she was around.

Can't even say her name in your own thoughts, how sad is that Quatre? he told himself restraining himself from chuckling out loud from how pathetic he was finding himself to be.  Glancing off to the empty seat across from him Quatre could almost imagine her sitting up straight near the edge of her chair watching Representative Wilson drawl on what former Untied States of America needed and what the other countries and colonist should do.  There she would be, listening attentively to every word he spoke until he finished and heard the other 12 representatives put in their thoughts and ideas until they came to an agreement, without her interjection.

Thinking back at the time when that would be true Quatre took note of something he had been ignoring for a long while, the change that had been occurring right under his nose, she was becoming useless.  In the meetings, such as the one he was in, she was bored out of her mind on the inside and was quite, reserved, never giving out her advises anymore.  It was like she was invisible to everyone else until she left, than the others would notice her for the first time.

How could I have missed that?  Here I am, one of her friends, and I ignored all the signs that she was getting bored with this way of life!  Perhaps I could have kept her from running away.  Oh why didn't I confront her or at the very least let Heero, Duo, or Hilde know? Quatre asked himself completely tuning out the speech as his eyes grew wide for an instant, just long enough for Trowa to take notice.

Throughout the entire meeting Trowa had kept both eyes on Quatre and everything else to his surroundings.  During that time, about two hours earlier, he had paid close attention to Quatre's actions which included glancing at the seat where Relena would be seated and go back to listening to the speech.  The process had been repeated numerous times throughout that time span and it was beginning to worry Trowa, Quatre was usually never like that, but than again it was his first time being Quatre's bodyguard.

At the very last minute Quatre's bodyguard had fallen ill with a fever of 103.1 and was placed in bed, and than all the other bodyguards were still back in the colonies, probably beating themselves up for allowing Quatre to come to Earth with only one bodyguard.  Out of 'kindness' Catherine volunteered Trowa, not that he minded, but the wink she gave him when she pushed him towards the gate at the airport got him a bit worried what her true agenda was.

Now when Quatre's eyes had widen in what appeared to be realization Trowa began to get rather nervous, something was going through his friend's head, and from the looks of it the thought wasn't a pleasant one.  Judging by the stares Quatre was getting from the other representatives had noticed too.

Representative Onizuka was the first one to speak up in broken down English, "Winner-san, you feel fine?"

Being jerked out of his thoughts Quatre turned his gaze from Relena's seat to the representative, his eyes blank until his brain processed what was spoken to him.  Clear his throat and blinking a few times to rid his eyes of the blank expression Quatre replied, "No, I'm afraid I feel quite ill.  If I may be excused from the remainder of this meeting I shall take my leave."

"Quite so," agreed Representative Wilson full-heartedly.  "Take your leave and we shall be certain to inform you of what has taken place during your absence."

"It is appreciated," nodded Quatre getting up from his chair than pushing it in before leaving the conference room with Trowa following closely behind.  It wasn't until they were in the elevator that Quatre even bothered to say a word again, "Was it really that noticeable this time?"

"I cannot account for previous occasions but it was obvious to everyone there," answered Trowa standing between the elevator doors and Quatre.  Deciding against his initial idea of asking Quatre where his thoughts had wandered off to, Trowa settled with waiting until Quatre was ready to tell him for it was not his affair.

"Can't believe that I had not taken action when I noticed," muttered Quatre putting a hand to his head like he had a headache or was about to collapse into tears.  All Trowa did in return was shoot a backwards glance at his blond friend and waited for him to continue with his scolding.  "I saw it in her almost everyday, at every meeting, during every convention and fundraiser, she was becoming bored and filled with feelings of uselessness."

"You cannot blame yourself for Relena running away, Quatre," stated Trowa with a bit of emotion in his words.  "She ran away on her own accord, not because of any of us."  The elevator door opened and Trowa was the first to step out and scan the area quickly for any suspicious person lingering around.  Seeing that there were none he motioned for Quatre to come out of the elevator and than began to lead him out to the front to the rented rebuilt and remodeled 1965 Pontiac LeMans Grand Touring.

Opening Quatre's side first, Trowa still kept an eagle eye out for anyone that may want to try an assassination on Quatre, no one.  Closing the door behind Quatre, Trowa went to the opposite side and got inside the classic car.

Though Trowa preferred a motorcycle or his truck to a car, he decided that driving around in a classic was better than renting a limo.  He just didn't trust other people's driving in cars.  That was why he preferred motorcycles to cars, than he knew that he was in control of the steering.

"You're wrong Trowa," piped up Quatre once Trowa started up the car, had shifted it correctly, and was pulling out into traffic.  "She did run away from one or all of us.  I really don't want to point the finger at anyone, but Heero seems to have been the one that may have pushed her over her boundaries of tolerance."

"Are you implying that she found out about Sylvia and Heero, the pain of heartbreak caused her to think that running away was the only way out?" questioned Trowa finding it a bit likely, he would never put it past Relena.

"Not at all, just that he was the straw that broke the camel's back," corrected Quatre.  "There were other reasons why she ran away, not just because of Heero."

"If that's true than why did she not tell one of you?" inquired Trowa.

With a small smile of irony Quatre turned to Trowa, "None of us were listening to her or any of the signs."  From than on the drive was quiet, without an exchange of words anymore.

*****

Three days later…

Adjusting the jacket of the tuxedo Heero began to ask himself for the millionth time that evening, Why am I stuck in a tuxedo, going to a fundraiser as Sylvia's date and bodyguard?  He had hated tuxedos every since the first fundraiser he went to with Relena as her bodyguard.  That evening he made the vow that he would kill the person who came up with the tuxedo, but than remembered that the person was most likely already dead.

He stood there for a few minutes before he saw Sylvia come out of the hotel in a ghost white dress that had short sleeves and hung off her shoulders but covered any area that eyes were not to travel to, and it flowed gently, only brushing against the ground.  In his eyes she was stunning, even with her hair pulled back into multiple braids and in a bun instead of it being down and having the hair in front of her ears pulled back.

Yes, in Heero's eyes she had done something that Relena could never do, grow up into a woman instead of a teenager under the delusion of having grown up.  It was how he had viewed Relena ever since he had met her, certainly she had grown stronger but she just never grew out of being a naïve, pampered teenager leaving in a world of wealth and poser friends.  Even Sylvia came from the same world, but she wasn't as naïve as Relena and she wasn't as apt to peace as Relena was, Sylvia knew when time came to fight or not.  He also knew that she spared him just so that he could live the rest of his life knowing that he had killed pacifists who could possibly have prevented the war from coming into existence.

"Didn't know if you remembered to come or not," smiled Sylvia floating down the stairs to him while his mask of no emotion maintained its presence on his face.

Offering his arm he waited for her to take it before answering, "The thought of leaving has crossed my mind but I decided to help you through this torturous evening."

Smiling up at Heero Sylvia bit back a laugh of amusement,  "I can't tell if you're attempting to be funny or if that's a fluke."  Not responding Heero opened the limo door for Sylvia and guided her inside it before going inside after her, he had at least learned some manners from being Relena's bodyguard.  "Ready for this evening?"

"Hn."

Who is Relena (updated) poll:

Draca:  3

Salimar:  3

Lynn:  2