March 31, A.C. 210

Brussels, Belgium

"Wow, I can't believe you're turning thirty in a matter of days." Relena's date gave her a wolfish grin as he eyed her up and down. "Age before beauty, right?"

Relena arched a brow in question. "What does that even mean?"

"It means you look good for your age, I think." The man had to be at least five years older than her, although she wasn't sure. His hairline was starting to recede, though.

"You're one to talk," she muttered into her wine glass before taking a sip.

"Huh?" he asked, frowning.

Relena sighed and set her glass back on the table. "Listen, Steve-"

"Stephan," he corrected, his frown deepening.

"Stephan." Relena cleared her throat. "Right. Look, I've had a lovely time, but I have a bunch of meetings first thing in the morning, and I've simply got to get some rest." She stood unceremoniously and pushed in her chair. "Have a good night."

"But we haven't even gotten our main course yet!" Stephan protested, his features screwing up in anger. "You can't just walk out now."

"Oh, but I must." Relena smiled and tipped her head before striding out of the hotel restaurant. She strutted into the lobby, hoping she wasn't making too much of a scene, but also not really caring.

"Bad day, or bad date?"

Relena was halfway to the elevators when the deep voice stopped her in her tracks. She swiveled to see none other than Heero Yuy. He looked sexy as ever, his wavy hair slightly disheveled as though he had raced to find her, although he managed to appear cool and collected in his Preventers jacket, work shirt and jeans.

She smirked at him before turning back to face the elevators. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

She could feel him standing right behind her, and she did her best not to visibly shiver. After all these years, he still had that effect on her.

"I was going to walk you home," he said simply.

"Well, home is this hotel, for the night. I've had meetings here all day today, and have more tomorrow, so I just booked a room."

The elevator dinged and opened, and they both stepped inside.

"I'll walk you to your room, then," he continued unabashedly. "Although I'm sure your date is disappointed he won't be joining you for a nightcap." His lips twitched.

"Well, even if I'd let him, that wouldn't be your concern," she said coolly, keeping her gaze trained straight ahead. She could still see their reflection in the elevator doors. Heero's jaw tightened.

"I'm well aware of our agreement."

"Well, all right, then."

They said nothing until they reached Relena's hotel room. She kept her back to Heero as she swiped her key card and entered the suite. He remained at the door. Relena tossed a look at him over her shoulder.

"What are you, a vampire? Do I have to invite you in?"

Heero's gaze remained impassive. "I wasn't sure you wanted company."

"Well, I plan to take a shower and have a glass or two of wine while watching some television." Relena arched her back as she reached her arms over her head and stretched. "I'm exhausted, and I have an even longer day tomorrow. I'm not up for much more than that."

"No more dates?" Heero quirked a brow.

"Nope." Relena reached down and yanked off her heels before letting them drop to the floor.

Heero shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"Then what are you still standing there for?" She smiled and tipped her head to the side.

Heero nodded, shut the door and stepped into the suite. "You walked out of your dinner, though. How about some room service?" He picked up the menu next to the phone.

"That's all right, I'm still full from the appetizers." She wrinkled her nose. "How about you? Are you hungry? You can order whatever you want…"

He shook his head. "No, I ate earlier."

"Well, then…" Relena turned away from Heero as she began unbuttoning the top few buttons of her blouse. "I'll be in the shower." With that, she swept out of the sitting room and into the nearby bathroom. Heero noticed she left the door open.

He loosened his collar and followed after her.

"What do you want for your birthday?"

"Hmm…" Relena pursed her lips thoughtfully, smiling as she nestled against Heero's shoulder. "You mean this wasn't my present?"

He chuckled, his chest rumbling. "Not this year."

"Well, in that case…" They had shared two bottles of wine, and Relena felt emboldened. "I want a diamond."

"A diamond?" he echoed in the darkness. He sounded slightly confused. "Just a diamond."

"No… an engagement ring," she clarified. Her heart thrummed in her ears as they laid in silence for several minutes.

"Are you asking me?" Relena could hear the frown in his tone.

She tiptoed around his question, tossing one of her own out instead. "Is that such a crazy idea?"

"Depends," he said flatly. "Do you actually want to marry me, or do you want to marry someone because you're about to turn thirty?"

She bolted upright, severing their contact. "Why would you even say something like that?"

"You've said you wanted to be married by thirty before." He shrugged. "You never said anything about marrying me, though. Not to mention, it wouldn't make any sense."

"Why not?" She looked over at him, exasperated.

"We're not even in a relationship," he said flatly.

"Then what are we doing?" Relena asked grumpily.

"I thought this was how you wanted things." Heero sat up, resting a hand against Relena's back. "We both travel for work. We get together when we can. I thought that was our agreement."

"Our agreement." Relena sighed. "Right. Well, I'm getting tired of not being anything. I want... something more."

Heero frowned as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Relena… You know this is hard for me."

"I know." She looked at him sadly over her shoulder. "And it's partially my fault for not being clear about what I wanted."

His eyes narrowed. "What you wanted?"

"Would you mind… giving me some time, Heero? I'm not really in the mood for company, after all." Relena laid back down, keeping her back to him as she pressed her face into her pillow.

"Relena…" He was still next to her, but she refused to turn and look at him.

"Please, just go. Knowing you, you already have somewhere else to be, anyway."

He said nothing else, but Relena could hear him rustling around in the room. She allowed only a few tears to slip onto her pillow after she'd heard him walk out and shut the door.

A/N: Happy Sunday Funday! Thank you for reading and reviewing! :)

- RFP