April 2, A.C. 210

L2 Colony

"She said she wants a diamond for her birthday."

Heero grumbled into his half-empty beer glass. How'd it get empty so fast? He couldn't remember.

Duo burst out laughing. "A diamond?!"

"As in an engagement ring."

"Well, what's the big deal? How long have you been banging her, now? Just man up already." Duo's goofy grin faded as he looked at Heero with what appeared to be pity. "You're gonna lose her, man…"

Heero just glared at his so-called friend. "Yeah, but… She basically asked me to ask her to marry me." He drained his beer. "Who does that?"

"A certain ex-queen of the world, apparently." Duo shrugged. "Can't knock a girl for asking for what she wants."

"It makes no sense," Heero glowered. "We're not even a couple."

"Then just be a couple. It's not that hard, dude. Unless you've been chasing skirts and haven't told me about it?" Duo waggled a brow.

"No," Heero mumbled, gripping his empty glass. "There's no one else."

"So, then, you're obviously stuck on her. You wanna keep her, just do what she wants." Duo spread his hands. "That's my sage relationship advice for ya, free of charge. Since I'm an old married fart, you know I know what I'm talking about." He peered at Heero more closely. "I mean, you love her, right?"

Heero's eyes widened, but he didn't answer. Duo sighed audibly and shook his head.

"Okay, fine, right, whatever. Heero Yuy, the perfect soldier, doesn't 'get' love." Duo made air quotes with his fingers. "But you keep sleeping with her, so..."

Heero was nonplussed. "Why shouldn't I sleep with her if she wants me to?"

"Well, with that attitude, how could she resist?" Duo groaned. "Dude, you're hopeless. I mean, I have an open mind and all, but Relena is my friend, too, not to mention my wife's friend. So if you keep dicking her around, we're gonna have a problem here. Do you comprendo, buddy?" His eyes tightened into a glare.

Heero just glared right back. Duo couldn't look threatening if he tried.

"Maybe," he seethed, "you should mind your own business."

Heero wasn't prepared for Duo's fist connecting with his jaw.

"What the hell?!" He swung angry eyes over to Duo as he pressed a hand to the newly-red mark on his face.

Duo spun away from Heero, waving the hand he'd just punched him with. "Damn. I forgot how much your face hurts. Think I broke my hand."

Heero shot up from his stool and got right in the other man's face. "How much have you had, asshole?"

"Enough," Duo spat.

"I ought to return the favor, but I know you can't handle it," Heero snarled.

"Try me," Duo leered, swaying slightly on his feet.

"Hey!" A male bartender appeared in between them. "Not in my bar. Take it outside."

Both men growled and grunted before slinking away.

"That was out of line," Heero muttered once they were both outside.

"Sorry man, but you pissed me off," Duo sighed, shuffling his feet. "Someone has to defend Relena's honor. Over the years she's become like a sister to me. And you know if her real brother were here, you'd have gotten ten times worse."

"True," Heero relented, raking a hand through his long bangs. "I shouldn't have brought this up. It's my problem. I need to deal with it."

"Yeah, well." Duo clapped his friend on the back. "How about doing the right thing?"

Heero nodded and looked past Duo, his eyes distant. "Yeah."

April 4, A.C. 210

Brussels, Belgium

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

Relena smiled at her dining companion. "Of course. I'm glad we could both fit this into our schedules." She took a sip of her wine for courage while he watched her closely.

"Look, I wanted to let you know that I've had a lot of time to think." She stretched her fingers and laced them together in front of her. "I've decided I want to go ahead with our agreement."

"You have?" Her companion's brows lifted in surprise. "You're sure?"

She nodded. "What about you? Any second thoughts?"

"No." He shook his head fervently. "I've had time to think, too, and I know this is what I want." He gave her a small smile. "I'm ready to commit, if you are."

Relena lowered her eyes before raising them again slowly. "Yes. I'm ready."

"Then we've agreed?"

She nodded one more time. He flashed her a grin.

"Then how about we make it official?" To her surprise, he rose from his chair, came over to the her side of the table, and dropped to one knee. Her eyes continued to widen as he pulled a small black box from his jacket pocket.

"Relena Darlian-Peacecraft… Will you marry me?"

A/N: Greetings, friends! I hope you're still enjoying this and wanted to give you a quick mid-week update. If you are enjoying this story, please leave a review! Happy hump day! Tee hee. ;)

I also wanted to share a status update on some other stories. Under the Roses will have at least one more installment. Both The Snow Queen and Civil War are moving along, full steam ahead, and I will be ready to start sharing both of those soon. I am still drafting Red Moon Rise, so thank you for your continued patience! If you like what you see from me, please follow and favorite and be my friend, and I will keep doing my best to bring you all the 1xR sappy goodness!

Hugs and Heero! Haha!

- RFP