Get Rel

NOTE: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters.

Sorry about the late update folks but my internet decided to be stupid and have a weak signal. Anyways, that's all taken care of now and I give you the update.

Working late was never a walk in the park, nor was it ever exciting, unless you were working with Relena and had a bowl of popcorn or a bag of twizzlers to play with. Unfortunately, for Quatre, Relena was not there to make the night seem fun or seem to fly by and the work lighter, instead it was quite the opposite. The work load seemed heavier, time seemed to be moving slower than normal, and it was most certainly not fun.

Pacing back and forth about the room while reading a shuttle security proposal, which Quatre had expected to see six months ago, he chewed on the cap of his pen. Unlike some politicians, Quatre liked to read the proposals he was meant to sign rather than be briefed about them.

As he re-read the third paragraph, trying to decide whether or not a search of packages and suitcases was completely necessary, the phone rang. Without stopping his pacing Quatre threw a glare at the machine and continued to read. The second ring earned a brief halt in Quatre's pacing and another glare, but the third ring made Quatre toss down the proposal and pen on his desk. By the fourth ring Quatre had answered the phone.

"Hello?" he growled, if it was going to be that stupid reporter again then there were going to be cracked skulls.

"Wow, that was a rather warm greeting," teased the voice Quatre's ears were yearning to hear most during this long night.

Taken by surprise to actually have Relena call him, Quatre almost missed his chair when he sat down; he just barely made it onto the seat. "Um…yeah, sorry about that but it's been such a long day, four meetings with repeating the same thing and now I'm working late to correct and possibly sign this proposal," explained Quatre.

"Oh," Relena replied sounding sympathetic, but then why wouldn't she since she had to go through the exact same thing at one point. "I can always call you some other time when you're not busy or anything…"

No, he couldn't lose this chance to talk to her. He had to keep her on the phone for as long as possible, even if it meant putting in a few more minutes than he should.

"No, no, it's okay. I can handle the proposal, besides I'm almost done with it," he lied.

"If you insist…" Relena stated.

Without really meaning to, Quatre quickly assured her, "I do…insist that is." Was it him or did Quatre sound like a silly school boy that couldn't talk straight with the girl he had a crush on? He only could hope that she didn't notice it.

"Okay then," she agreed and Quatre could just feel her smile on the other line. "So, did you get any information, other than that lovely proposal that I'm sure is very interesting?"

Quatre couldn't help but smiling at the teasing, leave it to Relena to mock the work of a politician, she had done it sometimes but not often when she was Vice Foreign Minister.

"Quite a bit of news, which do you want first? The good news or the bad?" Quatre questioned as he shuffled through his desk draws for the printed information he had been barely able to access.

"Uh-oh, um…let's start off with the bad news first," she decided.

Finding the papers Quatre leaned back in his seat and began to relay his friend his discoveries. "Well, Heero, Duo, and Hilde had all quit their jobs as Preventers."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few moments; Quatre was even beginning to wonder if Relena had hung up on him. "Are you serious?" she muttered.

"Dead serious," confirmed Quatre, skimming the document. "Apparently, your case was put on the back burner and Heero was not down with that decision. Plus, Lady Une was getting a bit irritated with Heero's insubordination as far as letting your case drop."

On the other line Relena snorted in irony, she just figured that would be how Heero would react to such a discovery. It was not that far of a stretch to image Heero not letting that settle well with him, but to quit, that was what surprised Relena the most.

"So where's the so-called bad news in that?" Relena questioned after swallowing something.

"The bad thing is that I can't track his activities then. I have no idea where he is and knowing Heero, he's not using his name and he probably has been covering his tracks with his expert skill," Quatre told her.

"Shit!" cussed Relena as she sighed heavily.

Quatre was taken back just a bit, he had heard Relena swear a few times in the past but since it was such a rarity it shocked the young politician when she did swear. In a way it just seemed so unlike Relena to swear, but that might be why she cusses so seldom since it's not what people expect out of her.

"Though apparently, Zeches has been given your case," the blond told his friend and waited for the screaming he half expected to hear next.

Instead it was her asking, "I thought my case was put on the back burner. If it was put on the back burner than Milliardo can't have my case, and last time I checked he was on Mars, not Earth or the Colonies."

"Yeah well, it seems that Lady Une had contacted your brother and requested his immediate assistance if he wanted to keep your file open at all. And I said that your disappearance search was on the back burner for Heero, not for Zeches," corrected Quatre.

"Damn it, sorry for my language Quatre, this is just some really troublesome news," Relena explained.

"Not at all, but I should tell you, Une has erased all traces of Zeches' whereabouts after his landing in Japan," added the young man although he dreaded being the bringer of ill tidings.

Despite the phone, Quatre could tell that Relena was smiling reassuringly. "It's okay Quatre, I think I have a pretty good idea of where he is," she told him with a hint of irony in her tone. "Anyways, if that was all the bad news then I would like to hear what the good news is."

At this Quatre laughed heartily, "Zeches taking your case was the good news."

That stunned Relena into silence for a few moments before Quatre heard a small, "Oh."

"How's the weather wherever you are?" the politician inquired offhandedly. He just couldn't think of anything else to keep the conversation going but he didn't want to hang up either.

Much to Quatre's pleasure, Relena laughed, "Delightful! Now, you are not going to try to kidnap and drag me back to politics in Pittsburg, are you?"

He smiled at her teasing, "Never, you really don't belong in politics anymore; your time is over with."

There was that smile again, Quatre could just sense it on Relena's features. "Thank you Quatre, you're a true friend."

If that wasn't the best compliment ever then Quatre didn't know what was!

"Relena?"

"Yeah?"

"I…I…" Quatre began but paused. Say it! his mind urged. "I…hope that Zeches won't affect our meeting for the comic convention," he finished lamely. Stupid! Quatre scolded himself for chickening out on telling the girl his feelings.

"No, neither Milliardo nor Heero's presence will or could keep me from spending a day with you," she assured him in that honest way that only Relena could do.

"Good," smiled Quatre, pretending that he was relieved.

"I'll call you next week; I've got to get to bed for I have class tomorrow. Night," Relena yawned.

Chuckling a bit Quatre nodded, "Night."

Hanging up the phone Quatre buried his face in his hands and banged his forehead against his desk a few times. "I should have told her," he muttered before sitting back again, but this time twirling his pen between his fingers as he thought. "There's still time," he decided finally, "since I can always tell her at the convention."

Picking up the proposal Quatre sighed, "Yeah, there's time…" Glancing out of the corner of his eye Quatre stared at a picture of the group, he was right beside Relena, who seemed as though she were in another world entirely with that genuine 'Relena smile' on her face.

Relena set down the phone then fell back upon her bed only stare up at the ceiling while her hand grabbed a small plastic card from her nightstand. Starring at the card she turned it over and over again as she analyzed her actions and the actions of everyone else.

"They're here, I just know it," she mumbled as there was a knock on her door. "Coming!"

With some effort, Relena rolled off her bed and headed for the door, not before setting the card, which happened to have the label 'Preventer' on it and a serial number belonging to its owner. Although the card had no name on it, it was pretty obvious to Relena that some of the Preventers were not letting her go that easily.