Body ~ Hey everyone! I'm starting a new Gundam fic. I'm going to try my hand at some romance. Tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, and that's it.

Of Laptops & Love Letters

Prologue

By: Penybright

It had started out like any other ordinary day. Heero had woken up to the annoying buzz of the alarm clock, showered, dressed and scraped together a breakfast mostly consisting of coffee. The weather looked promising for a fall day. The air was crisp and cool, a soft breeze playing with the multicolored leaves scattering the ground. The sun peeked out from behind an occasional cloud, offering some warmth to the cool day.

Heero walked to work at a leisurely pace, enjoying the morning silence. Few people were up at this hour. Crossing the street, he pushed open the large glass doors to Preventer Headquarters. He turned right, walking down a small hallway to another set of doors. The doors opened with a small whoosh, and he began to climb the stairs before him. After climbing eight stories, Heero stopped, and pushed open another door to reveal a hallway similar to the one on the ground floor. He walked down that hallway to a set of metal doors with a keypad on the left.

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Heero withdrew a small card, swiping it through the slot on the keypad. The machine gave a small blip, and Heero effortlessly typed in his nine digit code. There was a click, and Heero pushed open the doors, stepping into another hallway. He walked five doors down, then stopped. Pulling out a key, he unlocked the door and stepped gratefully into his office. It was definitely a chore to get to work in the mornings, especially when your office was under heavy security.

Placing his jacket on a hook on the back of the door, Heero walked behind his desk. He picked up a leather bound book, flipping through it's pages till he reached the current day. Normally, he would have pulled his schedule up on his laptop, but that was currently in the possession of Duo Maxwell. Heero heaved a sigh looking at his duties for the day. One duty in particular made him groan. He had to deliver important sealed documents to the Vice Foreign Minister.

"Relena," Heero murmured out loud, a picture of the young woman surfacing in his mind.

He hadn't admitted the fact to anyone, not even her. He still tried to deny it himself, but he knew it was true. He loved her. The revelation would have been a godsend several years ago, when Relena was interested in him. The Minister had moved on with her life though. She had found someone else to love. Her current boyfriend was proof of that.

Every time he saw her, Heero struggled to keep his raging emotions under control. She was happy, and if her ignorance of his love kept her happy, then he would sacrifice his happiness. Still, he couldn't help but wish that she still held feelings for him. It was an odd twist of fate, really. It had always been Relena who pined after Heero. Now Heero knew how she felt all those years, and was still trying to find a way to apologize to her.

Shaking his head, Heero tried to clear his mind of Relena related things. He had work to do, and if he didn't get it done, he'd be pulling another late night. Lately, Heero had found himself increasingly submersing himself in his work. He was regressing into his old habits, and his friends had noted the change. The only problem was, they didn't know why. Duo thought he had found the answer, though, and along with the rest of the pilots, he was going to rectify the problem.

"Hey Heero!" Duo called jovially, sauntering into the somber man's office. "Lady Une said you had delivery duty today," Duo grinned, dropping the three inch stack of sealed envelopes onto his desk. Heero glared at the manila colored envelopes, before turning that glare on his friend.

"Hey," Duo protested, backing up a step. "I'm not the one who acquired the wrath of the boss!"

"Hn."

"Oh great," Duo said sarcastically. "Back to the monosyllable language."

Heero ignored Duo's comment, standing up and gathering the stack of documents. He paused at the door, waiting for Duo to exit his office. Duo scampered out quickly, not wishing to further his friend's bad mood. Once Heero turned his back to leave, a wide grin spread across Duo's face. He couldn't wait to see how his friend handled the situation he was about to encounter.

*_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_*

Heero trudged along the hallway to Relena's office. He wanted to see her, really. He just didn't feel like making an idiot of himself, which he generally did in her presence. Why she still tolerated him, was beyond Heero's comprehension. He would have either killed himself, or permanently maimed himself if he were in Relena's position. Lucky for him Relena was a pacifist... most of the time. She did have little bursts of temper...

Heero was announced by Relena's secretary before he turned the knob and entered her office. As soon as the door shut behind him, Heero paled considerably. Relena sat at her desk, an unreadable expression on her face. She carefully watched Heero's every move, and scrutinized him like a bug under a microscope.

"I brought the documents for you to review and sign," Heero began, but was cut off by Relena.

"Heero, since when have you become a poet?"

Heero looked at Relena in shock.

"A- a poet?" he asked, swallowing nervously. "I don't think I understand."

"Perhaps this will refresh your memory," Relena said, handing him a sheet of paper. Heero accepted the paper apprehensively, knowing that whatever was on it spelled his doom.

"Now, normally I would be very faltered that someone would send me poetry," Relena began as she watched Heero read what she had handed him. "But, from you, I just don't find it quite as romantic. What are you trying to pull Heero?"

"I- I... Relena, I don't know how you got this, but I didn't send it to you. I mean, I don't think I sent it to you. I'm sorry if I've offended you. I really am. I---"

"Heero, it's all right," Relena interrupted him. Not that she didn't mind watching him babble. It was kind of cute to see him so flustered.

"I don't care if you sent me the poem or not. I think it's sweet, and I'll treasure it."

Relena was rewarded by a very unexpected blush reddening Heero's face. Before Relena could ask further, Heero wrenched open her office door and fled down the hall. Relena's secretary looked at her curiously. Relena only smiled whimsically, shutting the door behind her softly. Could it be that Heero actually liked her?

~ Hm... why does Duo have Heero's laptop, and how did Relena get that poem? The answer will be revealed in chapter one!