AN: To gundamgirl818, I'd like to say thank you for giving me my first review ever. And to all my other reviewers, CrimsonDragon010, Inda, MoonGun, Rin Amaru, and Pilot Zero, thank you so much for taking the time to review chapter one. Your encouragements are so heartening, they got me all excited to write more!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

It was a bright and beautiful morning. Clean, white clouds drifted softly in the sky, the sun smiled graciously down at the world, and Relena's beloved rose garden was in full bloom. She had opened the windows at dawn, and the sweet fragrance of the prized flowers quickly drifted in to hang in the air. By the windows, Relena sat ensconced in an enormous, plush, and extremely comfortable armchair. She was very much looking forward to her friends' arrival, but they were not due for another 47 minutes. To pass the time, she had spread out several last minute decoration plans for her party on the table before her and was currently perusing them, trying to come to a definitive selection. It seemed like everything needed her personal consideration and approval, but she was happy that the matter at hand this morning was only party themes and not colony funding.

Noin would usually be there to help her make decisions, but she had left some time ago to run some errands. Milliardo, too, was out and about.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. She jumped and, glancing at the clock perched on the mantlepiece, noted the time remaining: 39 minutes. Chastising herself for getting so worked up, just because old friends would be gathering, Relena muttered to herself, "It's probably Noin... or maybe Milliardo." She moved toward to entrance to admit her family and intercepted Pagan along the way. "It's just Milliardo," she smiled at him, "I'll get the door."

"Of course, Miss," he replied with his own smile of endearment, and returned to his duties.

Relena made to take the remaining few steps to the door, when the doorbell sounded again – and again, and again, and again in supremely annoying rapid succession.

"What...?" Relena paused midstep, severely confused, "That's not something Milliardo or Noin would do..." Hesitantly, she reached out, turned the doorknob, and cautiously pulled the door open.

"JOUSAN!" she heard a familiar voice yell loudly as a blurry, braided form tackled her in a bear hug. The next thing she knew she was spinning in the air, supported only by a pair of strong arms at her waist. She had an inkling, but she needed to know for certain who to chastise for this blatant display of childish enthusiasm, so she forced open eyes that had reflexively clamped shut. She saw the blurred, smiling faces of Quatre, Trowa, Sally, Hilde, and Dorothy, and – yes, Wufei too, as well as a long, brown braid swinging out below her. Duo.

"Duo! Put me down!" she laughed, before the spinning slowed to a stop and her feet touched solid ground again. She paused to catch her breath and put a hand to her right temple, willing for her head to clear, and a moment later when the room had righted itself she turned to smile at everyone in the group. Then, remembering her manners, "Please! Come in, all of you! I'm sorry for my shock, I wasn't expecting you for at least another half hour."

"Well, you see– " Quatre began.

"That," interrupted Duo with a proud grin on his face, "would be my doing."

And before he could elaborate, Wufei cut in, "Stupid baka harassed the driver to no end, kept yelling at him to 'take us to the Princess, chop chop!' It's a miracle we didn't crash into a ditch and explode in flames on our way over."

Everyone laughed at Wufei's excellent imitation of Duo. Wufei, slightly mortified that he had let himself go so much, muttered a dignified "Idiot..." under his breath, crossed his arms over his chest, scowled, and was done speaking for the time being.

"And good thing, too. God I've missed you, Princess!" said Duo as he draped an arm over Wufei's shoulders, "Right, Wu-man? Ol' buddy, ol' pal?" Wufei pushed him away.

Relena giggled happily, feeling that her heart was brimming with happiness at the presence of her dear friends. The girls immediately elbowed their way past the boys and hugged Relena.

"Hi girls," she greeted them warmly.

"Don't pay them any mind, Relena," smiled Sally.

"Yeah, Duo and Wufei are always at each other's throats," Hilde piped in, at the same time turning to shoot her boyfriend a glare. Duo caught her look and shrugged.

"We're all going to have fun together," said Dorothy, "It is, after all, your birthday!"

At the mention of the joyous occasion, everybody joined their voices for a heartfelt "Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you everyone," Relena smiled, "but it's not a big deal. I'm just happy I get to see all of you." She moved to hug the rest of her guests.

"But it is a big deal. And we're all here to blow it completely out of proportion," declared Quatre as he wrapped his arms around her back.

"Don't be so modest. It's not everyday you turn 21," encouraged Trowa when she put her arms around him.

Wufei said nothing to Relena, but he smiled down at the top of her head as he returned her hug. Everyone gaped at the uncharacteristic expression on his face, and at the fact that he held her in a hug at all. She had missed his smile, but she felt him squeeze her affectionately and knew he was just as happy as Duo was to be here.

Relena released the Chinese man and turned another circle to make one last sweep of her guests. It was then that she saw him.

He stood a little apart from the rest of the group, but he had been watching her intently since she opened the door. He had grown very tall, and his build was significantly sturdier and more muscular. He wore blue jeans and a black shirt underneath his brown Preventers jacket, and his hair was still in the same messy, sexy state.

Some things never change, she thought to herself, before she realized her thoughts and reprimanded her mind. Stop that! Remember your vow! She gave him a the same bright smile she gave everybody else. That's right, no special treatment for you. You're just another one of the group, no one special at all.

"Heero," Relena greeted him, looking into his unforgettable Prussian blue eyes, "How are you?" She didn't think she should hug him. Everyone else watched them intently; they all felt the sudden tension in the air.

"Hn." Things really don't change. A long pause. "Happy birthday."

Relena blinked her eyes in surprise. Never mind, she noted, and smiled. "Thank you. And thank you also for coming." He nodded once. It was the signal that broke the spell of tension.

Relena turned her back to the former pilot of Wing Zero. "Please, come with me, everyone," she made a sweeping gesture with her hand that incorporated all eight people into her request, "and I'll show you your rooms. After you get settled in, we'll have breakfast."

The five young men all picked up their duffel bags, but Duo, Quatre, and Wufei each stooped to take up another set of luggage.

"You know, I'm perfectly capable of carrying my own luggage," began Sally, who was always one for male-female equality, but Wufei cut her off with some mumbling about "men's honor."

Dorothy, thinking along the same lines as Sally, politely requested to carry her own luggage, whereupon Quatre, ever the gentleman, politely refused.

Duo, on the other hand, was currently making a big show of hoisting Hilde's suitcase onto his back. Puffing and blowing, he buckled his knees dramatically and made as if he would collapse from its weight. But at a dirty look from his girlfriend, Duo grinned broadly and swung the bulging cargo around to lift it effortlessly with one arm.

"Baka," Hilde muttered.

"I heard that!" Duo yelled over his shoulder. Relena laughed.

AN: The beginning of this story is quite lighthearted. It'll change, though, as the plot progresses, and the Heero/Relena focus will come in heavily later. From here, it looks to be somewhere around 10 chapters long. To my reviewers, who have been so kind and encouraging, I am so very grateful. As sort of a gift, but more just because I don't want to disappoint them, I promise to update this story with a new chapter routinely and rapidly. My goal is every three days, and although I may get busy, rest assured you will never have to wait longer than a week. That said, check back for chapter 3 in a few days!