April 7, A.C. 210

Evening

Brussels, Belgium

Relena was at a table for two in her favorite bistro in the city, but her dinner date was running late. She glanced down to check her wristwatch as she smoothed her skirt under the table. A bottle of champagne sat chilling in a bucket full of ice. So far, her thirtieth birthday was turning out to be a lonely one.

"Happy birthday, Relena!"

She jerked her head up at the sound of her name. Relena beamed a smile up at Dorothy and rose to give her a hug.

"Thanks again for meeting me tonight."

"Darling, of course!" Dorothy gave her a quick squeeze before releasing her. "You don't have to thank me; it's your birthday! We have to celebrate. I'm only sorry I couldn't make last night's dinner. I just have so much going on right now, I simply couldn't get away."

"Well, I appreciate your taking the time, anyway," Relena said as they both sat down.

"Oh, please; you know I wouldn't miss it," Dorothy trilled. "And you have to admit, my track record has been pretty good over the years."

It was true; Dorothy rarely missed an occasion. Her track record was certainly better than Heero's, Relena thought morosely.

"Now what's going on with this?" Relena's heart pounded. She realized with a start she was still wearing Quatre's ring, even though they had mutually agreed not to tell anyone anything yet. Not until after they decided if they were even going through with their engagement. But Dorothy was motioning to the bottle of champagne. "Is the waiter coming back or are we on are own here? Yoo-hoo, waiter!"

Dorothy waved in a suited youth's direction. The young man bounded over to their table and popped open the bottle at Dorothy's command. Relena rolled her eyes good naturedly as she and Dorothy held up their flutes and the waiter gave them each a generous pour.

It was then that Dorothy's gaze flicked down to Relena's left hand, which was resting on the table. She quickly dropped it to her lap, but it was clear she'd been caught.

"Not so fast!" Dorothy shrieked, her champagne forgotten. She set down her glass and leaned across the table. "Is that a rock or what?! Let me see." Her eyes glittered.

Relena's face burned. "I… it's nothing, just-"

"Come on, Relena. How long have we been waiting for this?" Dorothy held her hand out expectantly, her gaze unyielding. "Let me see it already!"

Relena knew Dorothy wasn't going to give up. Reluctantly she lifted her hand. Dorothy immediately snatched it and stared down at the sparkling stone.

"It's perfect," she breathed. "But how did he ever afford it? Unless the Preventers are getting big bonuses these days?" Dorothy arched a brow.

Of course she would think it was Heero. Relena drew in a shaky breath, trying to think of a way to explain to Dorothy, but her friend was prattling on.

"Well, I don't care if he had to sell a kidney to get it; all that matters is he did it, finally." Dorothy laughed airily as she picked up her glass and took a hearty sip. "You must be thrilled."

Relena couldn't keep the tears from prickling her eyes. Dorothy set her glass down and frowned.

"Oh no, don't tell me." She leaned forward and grasped Relena's forearm. "Is he chickening out already? Cold feet? Because if he is, I'll kill him." Her eyes flashed. "After all this time, he'd better be giving you what you want. You've been patient enough."

Relena shook her head wildly. "No, Dorothy, it's not that. I…" She hung her head, unable to look her longtime friend in the eye. "I… I'm not engaged to Heero."

"You're not?!" Both of Dorothy's angled brows shot up. "But then why the ring?" Her eyes seemed to hold a thousand more questions, all of which Relena knew were perfectly plausible, none of which she wanted to answer. To her dismay, Dorothy plowed ahead.

"So… Heero didn't propose?"

"No." Relena kept her eyes on her lap. There was a long pause before Dorothy launched her next question.

"Did someone else, then?"

"Yes." Again, Relena refused to look up. She wanted to be able to tell someone, but she was afraid of how Dorothy might take it. As a married woman herself, Dorothy would either find the whole situation unconscionable, or praise it as a genius scheme. Relena had a feeling her friend would not approve, though, and shame simmered in her stomach.

"Who?" Dorothy sounded more curious than anything, but Relena was still anxious over revealing the truth. Slowly she raised her head and met her friend's questioning eyes.

"A good friend," Relena said softly. "Someone I agreed to marry long ago, if neither of us found someone by the time we turned thirty…"

Dorothy's brows did another wild dance before settling down. "A good friend?" she echoed. "But who would-" Her words dropped as the color drained from her already pale face. "No," she said, her voice a harsh whisper.

"No?" Relena frowned at her. "I haven't even said who-"

"No," Dorothy said with more force, her eyes flashing. "Absolutely not. You have got to be joking." Relena gaped at her.

"But Dorothy-"

"But what?" Dorothy seethed, her eyes narrowing. "You can't expect me to believe this is serious. How could you do something like this?!"

Relena's face burned. "Because," she said hotly, "because this is something I've wanted for a long time now and I'm running out of options…"

"But Quatre?!" Dorothy screeched. "Don't tell me you're using him as a little pawn in some silly game to get back at Heero." She wagged a finger at Relena. "It's not fair and you know it. Frankly, I'm surprised you would stoop to this level, Relena. It's not like you."

Relena's mouth dropped open. "What do you mean?! I'm not using Quatre, if that's what you think; he asked me."

"Because he's just as desperate as you are? Please," Dorothy scoffed. Relena felt her indignation rising.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Dorothy said coolly, "that just because you've been unable to tame your man doesn't give you the right to trap someone else. Quatre has plenty of options. He must just feel sorry for you."

Relena's mounting anger threatened to boil over.

"How dare you," she gasped, clutching at her chest. She and Dorothy sat glaring at one another as the waiter came back to take their food order. When neither woman answered him, he wisely slunk away.

"For your information," Relena hissed, once they were alone again, "Quatre wants this. Even more than I do. I was hesitant to say yes when he asked me - which he has done repeatedly, by the way - but I did so only after I confirmed that things were never going anywhere with Heero." Relena picked up her champagne flute and took a long sip of bubbly, watching Dorothy's eyes as they continued to burn at her from across the table.

"You may be right about that," Dorothy conceded, her voice cooling slightly as the color returned to her cheeks. "But how could you be sure? You asked him?"

"I did," Relena said, laughing bitterly. "I asked him if he would ever propose. He said we weren't even in a relationship."

Dorothy frowned, seeming to process this. "I'm sorry," she said after a beat. "I didn't realize. How selfish of him."

Relena sighed, feeling a weight leaving her shoulders. She knew Dorothy was still upset, but at least she seemed to understand, somewhat.

"I still think this was a rash decision," Dorothy chided her. "I think you were right to dump Heero, but you should have left Quatre out of it. He shouldn't be dragged into this."

"Again," Relena said softly, "this was his idea. I finally agreed to it." She spread her hands helplessly. "He and I both want to be married and have children. I poured my heart out to Heero and he told me he couldn't give me these things." Of course, Relena had to leave out the part about Heero coming around after the fact. That wouldn't help Dorothy see her side of things.

Relena's voice shook as she relived the conservation she and Heero had in the hotel weeks ago. "I've waited so long for Heero to return my feelings." Her lower lip trembled. "I couldn't wait any more." To be fair, she still didn't know if Heero did feel the same way about her, especially after their blow-up the night before.

"I see." Dorothy's gaze left Relena's for a moment, as if searching the room, or searching her mind for something else to say. "I still don't like it," she said at last. "Marriage isn't a game."

Relena couldn't help but laugh. "Isn't that exactly what you always said it was? Or was it more like warfare?"

Dorothy's expression remained humorless. "Warfare is a closer approximation," she said. "The bottom line is, marriage is work. It's not something to be entered into lightly."

Relena frowned at her words. This coming from a woman who had bragged about marrying her husband for his wealth and looks. She knew she could throw that in Dorothy's face but managed to collect herself.

"And what made you decide to marry James?" she asked instead. Dorothy's face fell.

"It doesn't matter any more," she said flatly, lifting her glass to her lips and polishing off the rest of her drink. "We're getting a divorce."

"What?" Relena gasped, truly shocked at what she was hearing. Sure, she assumed her friend had gotten married for superficial reasons, but this news was still unexpected. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Dorothy stood abruptly and gathered up her purse. She withdrew a few bills and laid them on the table. "Listen, I'm sorry, but I've got to run. We'll have to catch up some other time."

Relena bolted up, and reached out a hand to halt her. "Dorothy, wait-"

Her friend gave her a thin smile. "I'm sorry your birthday turned out to be kind of a drag, but I've really got to go. Good luck to you and Quatre." With that, Dorothy turned and swept out of the room.

Relena remained at the table, watching her friend's retreating back. She wanted to call out to her again but realized it was fruitless. She sank back into her seat with a sigh. Dorothy had left more than enough cash to cover the cost of the champagne and the meal they had never gotten to order. Relena decided to leave the full amount on the table for the waiter as she grabbed her purse and made a hasty exit.

She stepped outside the cafe onto the slick concrete, a spring rain cooling the otherwise balmy night. It was warm for April, but the sudden change in weather left Relena with an unsettling chill. She reached for her phone and summoned a taxi. Quatre had sent a few texts checking in, letting her know he'd landed in Dubai, asking how she was doing. She was dismayed, but not surprised, that Heero had not returned any of her calls or texts.

Relena stayed under the restaurant's awning as the rain trickled down all around her, a few droplets fleeing the fabric above her and landing on her head. She reached up in vain to flick the moisture away.

"Some birthday," she lamented to herself. No one was around to hear her chuckle over her sorry state, alone, cold and soggy thanks to her self-made predicament. Thankfully her cab arrived to whisk her away from the lonely scene.

As her luck would have it, as the car pulled up next to the curb it sloshed into a massive puddle, sending a cascade of water onto Relena's silk dress. She shrieked and jumped back, but it was too late. She was soaked.

She wrung out her skirt as best she could and slid into the back of the cab. All she wanted to do was go home, open another bottle of wine, and slip into a bubble bath. But she knew it still wouldn't be enough to wash away this unfortunate day.

"So this is thirty," she muttered glumly as she gazed out the rain-streaked window, the streetlamps and building lights fleeting by in a mismatched blur.

Some birthday, indeed.

A/N: Is it just me or is this characteristic of most birthdays after 30? Poor Relena! I'm sure we have all been there, though. Personally I'm a fan of Thai takeout, wine and jammies on my birthdays nowadays, but then that's my preference most nights. Anyway, I'm sorry I've been absent for a while, so it was time for a double update! Don't worry, I will get to my other story sometime soon- promise! Things have been hectic because I recently got engaged and am planning my own wedding, so life is truly imitating art lately! So I've gone from having proposal brain to bridal brain, and I apologize! The good news for you is that it means more fluff ahead!

Thank you so much for following and reviewing my stories! Each one of you makes my day with your kind comments! I hope to be able to deliver more updates to you soon.

Hugs!

- RFP