AN: I really hoped that you enjoyed the last chapter. So far, this has been probably my favorite story to write. I don't know why but I love the ideas that are coming into my head. Anyways, here's the next chapter please enjoy.

-

Hayden stood outside the estate, glaring at the enormous house. Preventers were surrounding the place in addition to the hundreds of video cameras that were probably watching him this very moment. It did not matter if they saw him. He could disappear quickly.

He had followed Heero and the young woman to this place. From what he understood, the girl was the Vice Foreign Minister of the ESUN. Hayden smirked in disgust. Where he came from, the ESUN was nothing but a complete failure, and its former members were hated by all in society.

To try and enter the house would prove to be foolish, thought Hayden. There would be another opportunity to kill Heero Yuy, but not tonight. Tonight he had to complete the first leg of his mission, Heero would be his second.

"Hayden?" asked the man on his communicator.

"Yes?" he replied curtly.

"Where are you?"

"Standing outside the home of the former Vice Foreign Minister," he replied.

"Is Yuy there?"

"Yes," said Hayden, "but I will never get in. The place is surrounded."

The old man grew angry, "You have been undergoing years of training to tell me that you cannot break into a simple home? Do not be weak Hayden. Weakness is for fools. I did not send you on this mission to screw around. I want those layout plans and I want them by tomorrow night! Do you understand?"

Hayden narrowed his eyes and answered coldly, "You'll get your plans, just let me do it my way."

"Your way?" inquired the man.

"You said you knew Yuy before the war, where did he live?"

Slowly the old man understood, "Of course! I will get you directions immediately."

Hayden ended the conversation there. He began to walk away from the mansion, blending in with the shadows as he went. He would give them what he wanted and at the same time he would get his own revenge.

-

Sunlight trickled into the room and danced on Heero's face. He opened his eyes. It was morning. Memories of the night before flooded back to him and Heero looked down to see a sleeping Relena nestled in his arms. Realization suddenly hit him. He had spent the night with her; it had not been a dream after all.

Moving ever so slightly so as not to disturb her, Heero sat up in bed. He watched her shallow breathing and wondered at her beauty. Rubbing his hands over his face, Heero wondered how they had finally gotten to that point last night. He had kissed her, then, an innocent kiss had turned into a passionate fire, and the fire into a burning love. Heero had taken Relena last night. He took her because he had no right to take her, and he took her because deep down, they both understood their true affection for each other. But the thought that puzzled Heero the most was that he did not regret it.

Relena moved slightly, causing Heero to look down. Slowly, very slowly, the girl fluttered her sleepy eyes open. She took a hand and brushed it over her face, blinking in the morning sun. Then, suddenly, as if she suddenly remembered she was not alone, she looked at Heero with shock. Pulling the sheet around her to cover up her exposed skin, Relena looked at him shyly.

"I was not dreaming last night?"

Heero shook his head. He smirked at her tentativeness. Relena smiled. Carefully, Heero drew her into his arms and kissed her gently. She let the sheet fall and placed her arms about his neck drawing him to her more deeply. Heero moved her light body underneath of him, pinning her to the bed. Relena sighed in content as he kissed her neck. He made his way back up to her lips and kissed her passionately before pulling away.

"Come on," he said as he rolled away from her. "You are late for the office as it is."

Relena sighed and sat up. Heero was already walking around, picking up his Preventers uniform that had been discarded on the floor. Relena blushed at the sight of his body. Trying to keep her eyes off him, Relena put on her robe and went to the bathroom for a shower.

Fifteen minutes later, she emerged, dripping wet and in nothing but a towel. Heero was nowhere to be found. Shrugging, Relena picked out a suit to wear for the day, dressed, dried her hair, and put on a little makeup. As she was putting on her earrings, she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called.

Heero entered and stood by the door.

"I am ready," she said as she picked up her purse. As she made her way over to him, the phone rang by her bed. Rolling her eyes, Relena ran over to answer it.

"Hello…Yes, Commander Une, he is here. I was just getting ready to leave for work… of course. Heero," she said holding out the receiver, "Commander Une wishes to speak with you."

Heero took the receiver and listened closely. He nodded and hung up the phone. Turning to Relena, he spoke, "I have to go; something urgent has come up. Wufei is on his way to escort you to work."

"Heero what is it?"

"I can't tell you, Relena, not now."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Relena," he said with slight agitation, "just let it alone, trust me. You do not need to get involved."

Relena nodded and Heero brushed past her to the door. He failed to see the hurt look on her face when he walked out.

-

Heero walked into his apartment to see a mess of Preventers. Duo marched up to Heero and began explaining.

"It looks like you had a burglary here last night, Heero."

His words spoke true. The entire place was a mess. His couch was flipped over, chairs were lying on their sides, and papers from his desk were everywhere. Heero shook his head. This was ridiculous. Something else was wrong though, or else Preventers would not have been called in.

Duo jerked his head, signaling for Heero to follow him into the bedroom. The first thing Heero saw was a message written across his wall in black marker. It read "I WILL KILL YOU." Breathing heavily, Heero walked out of the room with Duo at his heels.

"Any idea who did this?" asked the braided haired man.

"No," said Heero as he made his way over to his desk. "Did they take anything?" he asked.

"Not that we could tell…" began Duo as Heero walked over to his desk.

Duo watched as Heero stood, puzzled for moment. The man ducked and searched on the floor, then in frustration slammed his fist on the desk in anger.

"What is it?" asked Duo.

"My laptop is missing," growled Heero.

"Hey, no big deal, I'm sure that your homeowner's insurance can replace it."

Heero shook his head angrily. Just then, Commander Une entered the room. She quickly rushed everyone out except for Heero and Duo.

"Heero I'm sorry to have brought you this news this morning," she said. "Did they take anything terribly important?"

"My laptop is missing…" began Heero.

"Relax, Heero!" exclaimed Duo. "We'll buy you a new one."

"You don't understand," interrupted Heero. "It had the layout plans for the Gundams on it."

Duo's face fell. He looked at Commander Une in confusion. "But, we destroyed them. We destroyed the Gundams; all evidence of them. We agreed to…"

"I asked Heero to keep the layout plans for emergencies," cut in Commander Une. "I contacted Dr. J just after the Gundams were destroyed. He agreed to discard his blue prints on the condition that Heero keep one copy of them intact."

"They were downloaded onto my laptop," explained Heero. "I have them copied onto a disk, but whoever has taken the laptop still holds access to all the plans. It could prove to be catastrophic."

"Commander!" said a young Preventer as he marched into the room. He saluted and held out a file to her. "These are the results of the fingerprints test we ran."

"Thank you," said Une as she waved him off. But, the young man did not budge.

"Commander," he said. "They match those of the man who infiltrated Preventers base yesterday."

She looked at him sharply in surprise.

-

Relena walked alongside Wufei quietly. They were back at Preventers base. Only this time, Relena was sure that the trip would be shorter than her last meeting there. She had agreed to have a lunch date with Sally. But, with the busy doctor's schedule, the only place they could arrange to meet was at the mess hall; a factor that did not bother Relena in the least.

Sally greeted the Vice Foreign Minister warmly and the two made their way through the mess hall, trays in hand.

"You seem awfully quiet today, Relena," inquired Sally. "May I ask what makes you frown so much?"

Relena looked at her in surprise, "I am not frowning."

"Ah, that is when you know something is on your mind," smiled Sally. "What is going on?"

Relena sighed as she sat down at a table. It was hard not to notice the pairs of eyes that fixated on her every move. She was not oblivious to the numerous stares she was receiving at the moment. Did they all know? No, how could they it would be impossible.

"Relena?" asked Sally.

The young girl snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at the doctor.

"You really are upset," continued Sally as she took a bite of food. "Please tell me what's going on."

"I am really fine," said Relena as she shook her head. "I just feel a little stressed out right now that's all…nothing more," she added quickly.

"I can imagine what with work and all, if anything you should be on your deathbed by now… no offense."

"None taken," smiled Relena. The two women ate their meal for a little while. Relena looked up at Sally after some time though, "Sally, do you believe in love? I mean just the actual concept?"

Sally put her fork down, "Does this have anything to do with a certain bodyguard?"

Relena was so shocked by the statement that her eyes nearly fell out of her sockets. How could she know? She had never truly confessed her feelings towards Heero Yuy before. It had all just been an innocent infatuation, nothing more. But, what was it now?

Sally laughed at Relena's expression, "Oh Relena, please. We are not blind. You are clearly attracted to Heero, everyone can see that."

"Everyone?" muttered Relena.

"Everyone," reemphasized Sally.

Relena bowed her head slightly in embarrassment. If everyone saw her attraction to him, then what else did they know? Did they know that he had made love to her last night? Did they know that she thought about him everyday? Just how much did everyone know? Her mind raced with questions. Did they know if he felt the same way for her?

Sally continued, "Don't feel ridiculous Relena, it's fine really. I think it's really adorable that you like Heero."

"Sally this is not high school, we are all adults here," muttered Relena under her breath.

Sally smiled and laughed. "Fine, your secret is safe with me."

The doctor stood up and placed her tray near the trashcan.

"Pass me a note before gym class, will you?" laughed Sally as she walked off to get back to work.

Relena rolled her eyes and discarded of her only half-eaten meal. She had too much on her mind to think about eating.

As she walked out of the cafeteria, Relena suddenly felt more alone than she ever had in her life. What had she done last night? Yes, it had been beautiful and wonderful and everything she had ever wanted, but was it the right thing to do? What was the status and her and Heero's relationship now? They could certainly not go back to the way they once were. You can never go back again.

That morning Heero was still there and he had greeted her warmly with a kiss and gentle affection. But, she longed to speak with him and hear his thoughts on the matter. No, she wanted to know what he was feeling in his heart. Did he truly feel the same way she felt about him? Or was last night just a shadow of the past? He had left so abruptly that morning that she didn't know what to think.

Relena walked alone through the corridors of the base. Was this infatuation, or was this what they called love? She had been waiting for the moment when he would finally, kiss her and claim her as his own, but had it really happened after all. Heero Yuy had never been bound to one particular place before in his life. Yes, he had been working as her bodyguard for some time now, but work could not keep him caged up for too long. He was a free spirit, much like herself, and for that reason, Relena respected him deeply. It was not her say in whether or not he wished to move on; Heero Yuy alone could make that decision, just as only she could make the decisions that focused on her own life.

Relena sighed. She longed to speak with him. Would he stay with her again tonight? Would he even acknowledge her if she were to see him at that very moment? All these thoughts ran through her head just as Heero walked into the hallway she was in.

She hardly noticed him at first for she was so lost in his own thoughts. His pace was brisk and Duo struggled to keep up with him. It wasn't until he was nearly right before her that either of them took note of the other's presence.

Relena stopped and looked at him curiously. Though his face was made of stone, she could read the emotion in his eyes…something was wrong.

"Heero, what is it?" she asked worriedly.

"Not now, Relena," he replied coldly as he walked past her.

Duo looked at her reassuringly, "Don't worry, I will cool him off. He's had a rude awakening." With that the braided man jogged off to catch up with his stoic companion.

Despite Duo's casual reassurances, Relena suddenly felt herself falling. His words had been rude and hurtful, even if they were not intended for her. Tears threatened to spill from her sapphire eyes, but she held them back willingly, her pride not willing to let her give in.

What made her think that an actual relationship with Heero Yuy was possible? Just when she was getting close to him, something would come up and tear him away. The thought made her wonder. Perhaps fate had a different destiny in store for them; one that they could not share together. Relena bowed her head and continued to walk alone in her heartbreaking thoughts.

000

"Heero, what are you doing?" asked Duo.

The former Zero pilot was at his desk typing away furiously on his computer. His eyes were narrowed at the screen.

"I am searching for that man," he replied simply.

Duo rolled his eyes, "For the hundredth time, he doesn't exist! We've tried everything. There is no record of this guy anywhere! His fingerprints are off the charts. It's like he was never born!"

"Everyone has an identity," contorted Heero.

Duo sighed again. He sat back and watched as Heero continued to work. The minutes passed, and eventually so did the hours. Duo wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but it was Wufei who abruptly woke him up.

"Maxwell!" he barked, kicking the man sharply in the leg.

Duo yelped and fell out of his chair. He glared at Wufei with contempt. "What did you do that for?" he exclaimed.

Wufei rolled his eyes, "You are at work, and I don't think sleeping was in the job description."

Duo simply shrugged off the sly remark and looked back over to Heero, who was still typing away furiously.

"Yuy," remarked Wufei, "give it up. I have already tried every possible method of identification known to man. We have nothing on him."

Heero ignored him and continued to work.

Wufei shrugged and turned to Duo. "Une has you on guard duty tonight with Relena…"

Heero's head popped up, "For what? I was not notified…"

"I am notifying you now," interrupted Wufei. "Duo is on duty and so am I. I have been asked to escort you back to your home."

"What?" exclaimed Heero angrily. He stood from his seat and glared at the Chinese man.

"Like it or not, Yuy, you were issued a death threat. Une is taking no chances. You are going to be watched over like a hawk until we catch this guy."

"I can take care of myself," growled Heero.

"I do not doubt your abilities of self defense," continued Wufei, "but those are my orders, like it or not."

Duo placed a hand a Heero's shoulder, "Don't worry, buddy, I'll take good care of the princess for you."

Heero shrugged him away angrily and stormed out of the room. Wufei glanced over at Duo with a slight smirk and Duo grinned.

000

Relena was certainly surprised to see Duo awaiting her when she walked out of her office that afternoon. He smiled and held open the car door as she climbed in, then proceeded to follow suit.

"Hello, princess!" he greeted with a large smile. "Your usual guard detail could not be present today for reasons of which I am not at liberty to discuss. I will be on duty for the next couple of days."

Relena could immediately feel a sense of urgency take hold of her. "Is everything alright, Duo?"

"Don't worry," grinned Duo. "let's just say that Heero is finally getting to see what it's like to be a victim of one of his own threats." He winked at her.

Relena smiled, but was still puzzled by the sudden turn of events. Whatever it was, it had something to do with Heero's hasty retreat that morning. Relena sat back and sighed as she let her thoughts engulf her on the ride home.

"What's on your mind, Relena?" asked Duo cheerfully.

"Oh, nothing…"

"Now, princess, you know you can't hide anything from good ole Duo! You have to admit, I am one of your best pals."

Relena gave him a small smirk.

Duo grinned, "There's my girl. Now come on let me guess what it is…does it have to do with a certain Gundam Pilot?"

"Duo…" warned Relena.

"I knew it! You are in love with Heero Yuy!"

Relena looked at him baffled, "I am not in love with…"

"Denial! That's the first step to being in love!"

"And you would know this because…"

Duo held up a hand for her to be silent. He reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. Flipping it open, Duo pulled out a picture of a young woman with short blue hair.

"That's my Hilde," he said as he smiled.

Relena smiled, "You're in love wit her?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," smiled Duo as he put his wallet away. "It didn't happen all at once, Relena, it took some time. But, I see the way you look at him. I've never seen anyone care for him as much as you."

Relena bowed her head, "Duo I am so confused. So many things are happening so fast. I don't even know if it's possible anymore…"

Duo put a hand on her shoulder and turned her to look at him, "You know he is human, Relena, we have both seen it. He is capable of love."

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, "Oh Duo, it just doesn't makes sense anymore. We have known each other for so long and now this…"

Duo looked at her confused, "Now what?"

"Nothing," said Relena as she shook her head, wiping away the tears.

Duo looked at her with concerned eyes, "Relena, did something happen between you and Heero?"

Relena looked at him with eyes that told the whole story. Duo's face fell, and slowly he understood.

000

A few days later, and Heero was still under Wufei's protection. Much to the stoic pilot's dismay, Wufei remained with Heero day and night, following him around everywhere he went. At times when he was growing really agitated, Heero locked himself in his office before Wufei had the chance to follow him in and sit down.

After a week had passed, Heero felt himself going crazy. There was still no word on the man who had broken into his home and threatened him. Each day, Heero worked furiously to find anything on the man at all. Still the same result came about everyday…nothing.

One morning, Heero was watching the surveillance videos, on the day of the attack, over again. When a knock came to his door, Heero paused the video on the man's image and shouted for his visitor to enter. In strolled Duo with a unusually dull expression on his face. Heero looked at him quizzically.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Duo frowned, "Heero, how long has it been since you last spoke with Relena?"

Heero sighed. He had not forgotten about Relena or what happened the other night, but he had been so engrossed in his work that there was no time to think about it, "Not since last week, why?"

"She seems distressed and I figured you were the only one who could understand." Duo moved to sit down in a chair and propped his feet up on the desk.

Heero looked at him warily and glared, "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing, I told you she just seems upset that's all."

Heero sighed and sat down, turning the video back on. He watched as the young man moved across the camera. Excellent training, no doubt, one of the best assassins Heero had ever seen.

Duo rolled his eyes and switched the video off. Heero glared at him sharply, "Why did you do that?"

"Because we need to talk," demanded Duo as he stood on his feet.

"Duo, I really don't have time right now…"

"It won't take long," Duo retorted roughly.

"What's this about?" demanded Heero.

"You and Relena," said Duo sharply. "Why haven't you talked to her?"

"I have been temporarily off assignment, Duo."

"That's not what I mean."

"Then, what do you mean?"

"Heero, she told me what happened between you two."

Heero snapped his head up sharply. He glared at Duo, "It is none of your concern, Duo."

"Relena is my friend, Heero. When she is hurting it is my concern. Why haven't you talked to her?"

Heero sighed, running his fingers through his unruly hair, "There has been a lot on my mind with the break in the other day, Duo. I haven't forgotten about her, I just need to take care of things first before I can take care of Relena and I."

"Then you do care about her?" began Duo.

"Of course I care," said Heero. "I didn't mean for it to happen the other night, but it did. I can't take it back now."

"You regret it then…"

"No," said Heero, "well I don't know. I am just confused right now."

"Heero…"

"We are done discussing this," said the former Zero Pilot angrily as he sat down.

Duo felt his anger rising, "Don't be a fool, Heero Yuy. Anyone can see that the girl is in love with you!"

Heero slammed his fist on his desk and stood up, "Stay out of it Duo! I don't need to think about this right now!"

"You mean you don't want to think about it!" retorted Duo angrily. "Listen Heero, you took something away from Relena that can never be replaced. The least you can do is explain yourself. If you don't want to be with the girl, then tell her, don't make her wait and wonder. You've already done enough damage!"

Duo stormed out of the office. Heero angrily threw some papers onto the floor and sat down in a huff. What did Duo know about his feelings? What did anyone know at all?

000

AN: Okay that is it for this chapter. Hope that you enjoyed it all! Next up , chapter 4, the mystery will start to unravel more.

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