April 7, A.C. 210

Morning

Newport City, Sanc Kingdom

Heero awoke with a stabbing pain in his head. He allowed himself a groan as he stretched and righted himself. He glanced around the dark room, slowly remembering his cab ride from the last bar he'd frequented, to a liquor store to make up for the fact that he'd been thrown out without finishing his beer, and then to a motel on the outskirts of the city.

And he'd made up for the earlier lack of alcohol, all right, polishing off a six-pack on his own. Heero didn't usually drink so much in one sitting, but he had ramped up his booze intake significantly over the past few weeks.

Angry as he was, Heero knew he couldn't blame Relena for her actions. Not fully. Duo had warned him, and even Heero knew deep down that he hadn't been a good boyfriend to her… he hadn't been a boyfriend at all. But then she had indicated that she hadn't wanted that from him. In fact, it had been her idea from the beginning that they maintain an open relationship. Heero still wasn't sure why she had insisted that he date other women. The truth was, he'd never wanted to; he'd only wished to appease Relena. He didn't understand relationships the way she seemed to, and so he'd been content to follow her lead. He didn't think she enjoyed dating other men, but she'd never told him much about that, either.

The whole thing was confusing, and Heero was left puzzling over why he'd ever agreed to such a ridiculous arrangement in the first place.

What was clear was his feelings for her. Although he still didn't think he understood love, how to give and receive it unreservedly, he knew that, based on evidence, he must love her. She consumed his thoughts in his waking hours and haunted his dreams. He yearned for her company; after all these years, he simply enjoyed being around her. More than that, he needed her. Going on intermittent dates with other people was one thing; he burned at the thought of her agreeing to marry another man. Especially one he'd thought of as his friend.

Heero wondered if Relena was even taking her engagement to Quatre seriously… how could she? As much as he'd been hurt by the revelation the night before, he needed to know whether her relationship with Quatre was legitimate or not. Part of him wanted to stay shut up in the motel room and drink the day away, but a stronger side of him needed to see Relena. And interrogate her.

Even if whatever he'd find out would be unpleasant, he had to know.

Heero reached over to the nightstand for his phone, but it wasn't there. He frowned and got up to search the room, then the bathroom, but the device was nowhere to be found. He scratched his head, wondering where he'd left it; he'd called himself a cab outside the bar the night before, so there was no way he'd left in there. He must have left it on the seat of the taxi. It wasn't like Heero to be forgetful, which only showed how the situation with Relena had disrupted his equilibrium.

Cursing his ineptitude, Heero used the room phone to call another cab. He had about twenty minutes to shower, dress and meet his taxi. Once in the car, he gave the driver Relena's address. The man turned in his seat and gave Heero a sharp look as his eyes flicked over his passenger.

"And why do you want to go there?" the older man barked. Heero met his eyes with a glare.

"None of your business."

The driver scoffed at Heero's brusque tone. "Well if you're trying to get in the castle, you won't get very far."

Heero rolled his eyes. He knew he should have just walked, but he was in a hurry. "I'll be fine," he said tersely. "Just drop me nearby."

The driver shook his head. "Not till I know what your business is. They don't just let common riffraff near the castle, you know."

Heero had nearly forgotten how protective the people of Sanc were over their erstwhile princess. "I have business with Miss Peacecraft," he said, knowing the locals still preferred to use Relena's royal surname. "It's personal," he added a little more gruffly.

The driver just scoffed again. "Good luck with that." Heero wasn't about to tell the man that he would have no trouble getting into the palace on his own. "She's not there anymore, you know," the driver added.

Heero frowned. "She was there last night." The driver's brows went up, as if he was surprised Heero had known that.

"Well, you won't find anyone at the castle now. Pointless errand, really. You'll have to take your 'personal business' elsewhere." There was no mistaking the sarcasm in his tone.

Heero frowned, not quite believing the man. He would have to investigate on his own. But in order to get moving, he gave the driver another address that wasn't far from the castle. The driver agreed reluctantly and turned around in his seat, putting the car in drive and pulling out of the motel parking lot and onto the main road that circled around the village. The man's eyes were hooded and suspicious as he watched Heero through the rearview mirror.

The driver dropped Heero on a side street about a mile from the castle. Heero paid him - thankfully he had lost only his phone, not his wallet - and watched the cab as it sped away. He half-expected the man to call the police. Heero knew that in his old beat-up jacket, tank top and jeans, he didn't look the part of someone who would have a daytime business appointment with the Foreign Minister, but he'd never given much thought to his appearance before. Relena had always accepted him, in whatever state he was in.

He realized more and more, as he trudged toward the castle, how much he'd mistreated her. And there he was, shuffling back to her with his proverbial tail between his legs hoping, once again, for another chance. He didn't want to admit it to even himself, but he feared all of his chances had run out.

Once he reached the palace, it didn't take Heero long to scale the tall, iron gates closing the looming structure off from the rest of the city, and make a stealthy retreat across the grounds. He knew the massive property like the back of his hand, and therefore knew of all the places where he could avoid being seen. Of course, he had set up the castle's security system himself and didn't need to break in; and although he'd considered climbing up to Relena's bedroom window again, he knew she wouldn't appreciate it. Instead, once he approached the castle's main entrance, he decided against slinking through the shadows and instead strolled up, entered his access code and strode right through the tall set of doors.

No one was there to meet him in the foyer, which Heero decided was a good thing. He ambled through the foyer to the grand ballroom, and found that empty, too. A thorough search of the first floor yielded nothing; no coffee was brewing in the kitchen, no signs of life indicating that anyone had even been dining there the night before. Satisfied but frustrated with his search, Heero headed up the main set of marble stairs, down the long hallway leading to Relena's bedroom. He was tempted to kick in all of the doors to all of the guest rooms but managed to refrain. Once he reached Relena's door, he simply knocked twice. And waited.

After several beats he pushed the door open. Sure enough, the room was immaculate, the bed made and curtains drawn. Heero's heart pounded, the galloping rhythm the only soundtrack to his defeat. He had missed her.

"Damn it!" He growled and spun away from her empty room.

His foolishness mocked him as he fled the rest of the castle. Now he didn't even have a phone to try to get a hold of her, and he wasn't about to use one of the phones in the palace, not wanting her to know he had gone looking for her. Of course, she had probably taken off with her new fiancé. Anger and frustration roiled inside him. Heero wasn't even sure he wanted to talk to her anymore.

All he could think to do was to head back to Brussels, where he could at least go to Preventers HQ and pick up a new phone. Then he could decide whether or not he was ready to contact Relena again.

His mission decided upon, Heero found a nearby café. After a breakfast of black coffee, bacon and eggs, he used the restaurant's phone to call a cab to take him to the airport.

April 7, A.C. 210

Evening

Brussels, Belgium

Heero arrived at the Preventers building in the heart of Brussels and barrelled straight into Une's office. She was sitting at her massive oak desk, typing away at her computer, her face illuminated by the blue screen in the otherwise dim room.

"I need a phone," he said without preamble. Une looked up and greeted him with a slight smile.

"And what did you do with your last one?"

"Never mind," Heero grumbled. Une sighed and massaged her temples.

"I suppose I can see if anyone is around in IT to set up a new one for you, but you may have to wait a while." Une regarded Heero with a cool gaze. "Why don't you stay here tonight and collect your phone in the morning; it should be ready by then."

Heero noted it was more of a command than a suggestion.

"You look terrible," Une added in a stern voice, her gaze returning to her monitor. She waved Heero off with a flick of her hand. "Go get some rest. See you in the morning."

Heero wasn't in the mood to argue and besides, Une was right; he was tired. The only thing he felt like doing besides sleeping was drinking, and that would only disrupt the sleep he knew he needed. His mind was pulling him in a million different directions, and he hoped to quiet it for the next several hours. He headed to one of the vacant dorm rooms in the Preventers compound and collapsed onto the twin-sized cot.

The day was nearly over and Heero realized, as he stared up at the ceiling, that he hadn't even wished Relena a happy birthday.