April 8, A.C. 210

Morning

Brussels, Belgium

Heero stepped outside of Preventer HQ and into the early morning sunshine. There was still a slight chill in the air characteristic of early spring, but the Preventers uniform he'd changed into earlier, after a much-needed hot shower, was enough to ward off the cold. Even though he was technically off-duty, he was grateful for the change of clothes; as he so often tended to do, he had traveled all the way from the colonies to the Sanc Kingdom without bothering to pack a bag. But, then, he'd planned on staying with Relena, after reaffirming their relationship, and he happened to keep some clothes and things at her place.

Once again, he was struck by the realization of how good he'd had it with her. And he'd blown it. He scowled to himself as he made his way down the crowded city street, teeming with people on their way to work in the tall office buildings surrounding them. Normal people, who likely accepted their ordinary lives with gratitude, in the peaceful world he and Relena had thrown away their youth to help create.

Bitterness and regret roiled together in his stomach. All Relena had wanted to do was share her life with him… to find some modicum of happiness, that they could share together. And he'd rejected her. No wonder she had instantly agreed to marry someone else - someone as kind and considerate as Quatre, no less - the moment she was asked.

Besides, Heero thought glumly as he walked, I don't deserve her. I never did.

His sullen thoughts carried him all the way to a local café. He wasn't planning to stop for breakfast, but he still had time to kill while waiting for the IT department to set up his new phone. And the strong, dark scent of espresso wafting in his direction proved too powerful to resist.

Heero pushed open the glass door of the café, which dinged as he stepped inside. The place was quaint with a decidedly bohemian sunflower theme that was the very opposite of Heero's mood. But it looked like the sort of place Relena would choose to frequent. The realization struck him hard, and made him miss her. Even though he had seen her just the other night, the way things were left between them made Heero fear that any hope of reconciliation was completely out of reach.

But he wouldn't know until he talked to her. Which Heero decided he still had to do, even if the thought made him uneasy. As soon as he got his new phone…

In the meantime, he ordered eggs and a croissant, and a black cup of coffee to wash it down. He found a small, round table and pulled up a metal chair, picking up a folded newspaper someone had left behind. It was in French, but Heero understood enough to skim through it. Relena had taught him some basics.

Relena. There she was again, at the forefront of his mind. But then he was in Brussels, where she lived half the time. There were bound to be reminders of her everywhere. She could still be there, somewhere, for all he knew. It dawned on Heero that, without a mobile or laptop on him, he had no way of hacking into her current schedule and knowing exactly where she was. Not that he did that, that often. Only when he couldn't get a hold of her himself and felt the need to offer his protection. She'd gotten lax about hiring security over the years, undoubtedly lulled into a sense of safety due to the lack of any serious threats or uprisings. That hadn't stopped Heero from protecting her from the shadows, though, as he had vowed to do years ago.

Now, Heero wished he'd anticipated that it was an altogether different set of vows that Relena cared about these days.

Heero frowned as he continued thumbing through the newspaper. It wasn't like him to regret past actions; he'd always lived in the moment, as he'd been taught. But as he sipped his hot coffee, savoring the bitter taste on his tongue, he had to wonder… if he had truly acted on his emotions in every instance, the way he wanted to, would he have still lost Relena?

His mind clicked over their long, tangled history. The first time he'd listened to that inner pull, the one that inexplicably drew him to her side, time and again, was when he reluctantly agreed to attend a dance with her at the St. Gabriel school, when he'd had every intention of killing her. After all, she knew his secret; therefore, according to his mission, he couldn't afford to let her live. He had killed plenty of others for lesser reasons. But something in her bravado - the way she'd strolled right up to him, staring up the barrel of his gun without so much as a flinch - at once thrilled and terrified him. She was fearless, perhaps even more than he was. She made him felt weak in comparison. Just who was this mere girl, who, for whatever reason, was not afraid to die?

Once he realized he couldn't kill her, he took pains to avoid her, in order to keep from hurting her or seeing her get hurt by someone else. But the more embedded she became in the war, eventually becoming a major player on the world stage, Heero's initial wariness morphed into a grudging respect, which grew into admiration. And from there, it became clear to him that what he felt for her was more than mere protectiveness.

It was... love.

I love her. Heero glowered into his empty coffee cup. Damn it.

And now, because it had taken him years to admit it, even to himself, she was marrying another man. If only Heero had allowed himself to act on his emotions more often with her. He'd had no trouble doing that when he'd kissed her for the first time, or when their intimacy progressed to sex. Those things - the physical things - had come somewhat easily to him. Perhaps because they were natural, chemical responses to outside stimulation... But still. He'd managed to lower his inhibitions just enough to give her a glimpse of his carefully-guarded world. But clearly he hadn't shown her - or told her - enough.

And if he bothered telling her now, would it even matter? Or was it already too late?

Heero could feel himself heading into a downward spiral of shame and self-reproach, and sitting alone in a cheery little café wasn't helping. He rose abruptly from his table for one, scraping the metal legs of his chair across the tiled floor. A few patrons looked up from their trendy espresso drinks and frowned in his direction. Heero was used to attracting dirty looks in public, perhaps because he always seemed to look out of place.

But if Relena were there, she would probably giggle and clutch his arm, and immediately set his warring mind at ease. The thought only made him angry that he was missing out on her company, due to his own foolishness; and judging from the way people were gaping at him, his negative feelings were showing up on his face.

Heero barreled out of the café and into the unfortunate sunshine. The day was warming up; he probably wouldn't need his jacket for much longer. This did nothing to ease his bitter thoughts.

He could have had a future with the woman he loved - who loved him - but he'd botched it. His most critical mission to date was nothing but a total failure, and it was all his fault. It was hard to keep from admitting defeat as he trudged back toward the Preventers offices. At least his phone would probably be ready by the time he got there, and he could call Relena and get the unfortunate conversation over with. He steeled himself for her rejection, which he knew he deserved. At least then he would know the truth, and he could figure out a way to move on with his life.

Perhaps this was why he'd tried to avoid a real relationship with her in the first place. There was always that tiny fear prickling the back of his mind that something or someone would take her from him. It didn't help that Relena had suggested, years ago, that they avoided defining things between them. At first he thought she had done that for his sake, to keep him from feeling trapped. But over time he began to wonder if, maybe, she'd never wanted to shackle herself to him in the first place. Not that he could blame her. But that was one reason why her asking him for an engagement ring, all of a sudden, had thrown him so off-balance.

Even after fifteen years, he still hadn't managed to decode Relena. Understanding her was proving to be more complicated than hacking the most advanced mobile suit circuitry. Maybe, Heero mused, that was the reason he had such a difficult time acting on his emotions around her - because he couldn't figure out hers, or whatever the hell it was that she wanted.

Sex was simple enough, once Heero figured out the semantics of it. It was everything else they struggled with, which struck him as odd, considering how advanced they were as teens in their ability to communicate with one another. He'd thought they'd cultivated a deep understanding, especially after all this time. Clearly, given the major misunderstanding that had cleaved them apart, he was wrong.

Heero continued to turn everything over in his mind, becoming lost in the haze of his thoughts as he walked. Normally he prided himself on his sharp attention to detail, but in the moment he was deeply distracted.

Which was why he failed to notice the well-manicured hand darting between the crowd and tugging on his jacket sleeve. Heero whirled around, jerking his clutched arm away while his free hand reached for his waistband, where he'd tucked his handgun. Just in case.

But the hand that had grabbed him belonged to a familiar face, accompanied by a curtain of long blond hair. Heero eased his combative stance, but glared stonily at his would-be assailant.

"Dorothy," he said in a dour greeting. "What do you want?"

"Well, hello to you too, Heero Yuy." Dorothy sighed and tossed her long hair over her shoulder. She was dressed immaculately, as usual, as if she were off to the office, or a charity luncheon, or wherever a woman of her wealth and influence might he slinking off to during the workday.

"You're as cordial as ever, I see," she purred, coolly arching a single brow. The look she gave him seemed to convey disdain and pity, all at once. Which did nothing to improve Heero's mood. "Rough night?"

"What do you want?" he repeated, his irritation mounting.

"Now, Heero." Dorothy splayed both her hands, which were covered in white gloves that were entirely unnecessary on such a warm day. "Is that any way to talk to an old friend? I believe we have quite a bit of catching up to do…"

Heero barely refrained from rolling his eyes, not caring the least about whatever it was Dorothy was up to. Probably hatching some scheme on the spot, which he frankly did not want to know about.

"Some other time," he growled. "I'm busy." With that, he turned his heel and strode back toward the Preventer building.

"Well, I saw Relena's rock last night," Dorothy said from behind him. Her words stopped Heero in his tracks. "I thought you might want to talk about that. But did you even know about it? Or was she hiding the engagement from you, too?"

Reluctantly, Heero turned around. "You saw Relena?" Dorothy's eyes flashed, and she nodded. "When?"

She gave a labored sigh. "I said last night. You must pay better attention," she scolded. Heero rolled his eyes freely this time.

"When last night?" he said through gritted teeth. "What time?"

"Evening. We had dinner. Well," Dorothy corrected herself, "just drinks. It was… rather unpleasant." She sighed again, tapping her foot on the pavement. "Well, do you want to go somewhere and talk about this, or not?"

Heero frowned at her. "Why? What is there to discuss?"

"Plenty." Dorothy swept an arm toward the street. Heero's eyes followed the motion to a waiting town car. "Come. We'll have brunch."

Heero's frown deepened. "I already ate."

Dorothy's eyes rolled. "Yes, but you haven't had brunch." She snapped her fingers and turned toward her waiting car. "Let's go."

Heero gaped after her. No one could just snap their fingers at him and expect him to respond. He let out a huff of irritation and stood perfectly still. He wasn't about to yield to the whims of some ridiculous, spoiled woman-

"Heero!" Dorothy called sharply to him as she stepped off the curb, and her driver moved to open the door to the backseat for her. "Are you coming or not?"

Cursing whichever deity was responsible for dropping him into this exasperating scenario, Heero decided he did want to hear what Dorothy had to say, since it concerned Relena. At the very least, she probably knew where Relena was, and Heero would find out faster from her than if he sat around Preventers HQ continuing to wait for his phone, or an open computer.

"Fine," he muttered before stepping off the curb and climbing into the backseat.

A/N: Hello, you lovelies! Thank you for your patience as I took a very long time to update this story! It got away from me and I blame plot bunnies for diverting me... they are adorable but evil little things, you know... However, whenever I step away from a story and come back to it, I'm usually way more excited to see where it's going, now that I'm approaching it with fresh eyes. I hope you will feel the same way as you read!

Also, in an attempt to keep up with our zombie fandom, I've made a new tumblr page under relenaforpresident (come find me!) and I've started posting fics to AO3 under my old FF pen name, AerisEithne. So, not to confuse anyone, but I'm doing this so that eventually I can have all of my fics in one place. It will take me a while to get everything posted there - I've been posting on here since 2001, y'all - but that is my goal!

As always, thank you for reading and following! I'm so curious to hear where you think this story is going... maybe not where you initially expected! What do you think is going to happen next now that Dorothy is more, er, involved? I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and really love hearing from those of you who reach out! Let's revel in our 1xR nerdom FOREVAH. :D

Anyway, hope you're having a great week! At least we've got Monday down, you guys... it can only get better from here on out. :)

Hugs & Heero!

- RFP