I do not own Gundam Wing. This fan fiction has no commercial value and I am not making any kind of profit or income off of this. I also do not own the quote below…and don't know who to contribute it to - other than perhaps the creators of Xena (don't ask).

You could miss your true path by the width of a hair, but that is the same thing as missing by a mile.

Chapter 1

"Heero, you can't go with me. It's a public ladies room – what would people say?" Relena tossed her blond hair over her shoulder and scowled at the stubborn guard blocking her path.

Heero narrowed his cobalt eyes to mere slits. "Hn." He replied, then reluctantly moved aside and took up a post outside the Women's restroom in the City Conference Hall. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at her out of the corner of his eye as she opened the door and disappeared from view.

Relena let out a small sigh as the door drifted shut behind her. She quickly scanned the room before locating the small window at the end of the row of stalls. She smiled.

After opening the latch on the window, the twenty-three year old ESUN Vice Foreign Minister didn't dare climb out that way. She knew it led to the back of the building and would take too long to get to her pre-arranged escape vehicle – she would be missed before she could leave the grounds. Instead, she went into the nearest stall and climbed atop the toilet seat. From that position, she was just tall enough to remove one of the cardboard-like, spider web infested ceiling tiles. 'Yech, when was the last time someone cleaned these things?' Pieces of dingy gray insulation showered down from the gaping hole she made, lodging in her hair and dusting the floor. She sighed and cleaned up the telltale mess.

With strong hands and arms from months of weight training for 'stress relief', Relena hoisted herself through the opening. She struggled a bit as her upper body rested on a solid beam and her legs dangled - very unladylike, and clad only in a short summer skirt without stockings - into the cool room below. Her sandaled foot found the top of the stall and pushed down. The effort propelled her into the dank attic. She replaced the tile and began to crawl along the rafter as she tried to avoid skin contact with the itchy insulation.

The determined young woman didn't have far to go. The men's restroom was only a few feet away, but it was located near the side exit, and its entrance was around the corner from where her diligent bodyguard stood watch. She smirked as she thought of the look on Heero's face when he discovered she was missing. He thought he was so unbeatable.

Relena reached her destination and leaned down, pressing her ear to the floor. She strained to detect any noises that would indicate the possibility of occupants in the room below. Silence greeted her ears, barely audible over the blood pounding in her head. She peeled up one corner of the ceiling tile and peeked through the tiny crack. Nothing. She hadn't expected any trouble with her plan – it was the right time of day. Most of her colleagues had gone home, leaving only the evening cleaning crew busying about. She let out a sigh of relief, pulled up the tile; the ESUN minister backed through the opening, gradually lowering herself into the room below.

Blond strands wafted into her eyes as she gripped the tiny ledge with her fingertips. A wave of warm air jetted through the gaping hole in the ceiling, sinking into her skin, and causing her to glance up. "Damn it!" She cursed and dropped to the floor. "You're getting sloppy, Relena," she scolded herself with a slight shake of the head, noting with irritation that the tile was still in the attic and she not in any position to replace it. Heero was sure to find it and discover how she escaped. "I'll just have to think of a new plan," she sighed.

Relena crept to the door and listened for signs of life - or her guard. Hearing nothing, she poked her head out the door, glancing in every direction at once. Seeing no one about, she gathered her courage and slipped out of the Men's restroom flying towards the side exit and the taxi that should be waiting outside. She could just make out its dim outline in the cool mist of a summer's evening, the sunlight just behind it – lending a gleam to its golden color.

She looked down at her watch, "Right on time."

Relena hustled down the walk and slid into the back of the cab; she gave directions to the driver before settling into her seat. As the Conference Hall and all her troubles melted into the distance, the adrenaline in her blood cooled, giving rise to unwanted thoughts.

'My brother will be disappointed in me.' She shook her head and switched off her cellphone. The cab fare had been prearranged using a prepaid debit card. All-in-all, the attempt to enjoy an evening out, completely anonymous, felt thrilling!

'Heero will be...' Relena sighed. She didn't know what Heero would 'feel'. If he would feel anything at all. He'd be annoyed. She knew he was more than capable of that emotion. And she could picture the dangerous scowl on Heero's handsome face - while he put the pieces together about how she escaped.

She tried to smile at the image in her mind, but that nagging feeling began to creep into her skin and churn her stomach. Guilt grabbed at her heart, held it a moment, then subsided. Relena shook her head, "I won't feel guilty. He deserves it." Then she added for good measure: "And I don't love him anymore."

An unwelcome voice from deep inside answered back: 'Yeah. Right.'

The taxi crawled through the heavy Newport City traffic before eventually stopping in front of a large, brightly-colored movie house. She tipped the driver and politely declined his offer to set-up a return time.

"They'll have found me by then," she let the strange statement slip out. The cab driver raised his eyebrows, took a breath and shook his head. She cringed. 'And he thinks I'm crazy.'

Relena sighed as she turned and made her way to the box office; she paid cash for a ticket to the recently released zany comedy Sound Devotion. She hadn't been dying to see it, but it sounded fun and had one of her favorite actors. Her job made it hard to just make the time to go; finding someone to accompany her was another story altogether...

The ESUN Minister made her way to the appropriate theater, stopping briefly to pick up a soda, small popcorn, and chocolate-covered caramels at the concession stand. Once inside the darkened auditorium, Relena chose a seat in the back and sat by herself. A pang of loneliness resonated through her chest at not having someone to share her popcorn with, or gab about the movie with later. But the feeling dissipated in the blissful darkness.

The projector whirred to life above her, and she found herself staring up with child-like enthusiasm at the images flitting across the large, white screen.

For the next two hours, she would escape….