Relena pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to suppress her headache. She shook her head and wandered into the living room, picking up her discarded clothes from earlier. She smoothed out the wrinkles, even though she probably wouldn't wear the outfit again without washing it. She glanced down the nearby hallway, where light spilled onto the floor. She frowned and followed it to find the door to her study open.

Relena entered the doorway, her eyes falling upon Trowa, who stood in front of her expansive bookshelf. He was wearing only his boxers, and her eyes were immediately drawn to his muscular form. She blinked at the torturous sight of the gorgeous half-dressed man standing before her, studying the back of one of her books.

"Have you read all of these?" Trowa addressed her without looking up. Of course, he would have sensed her presence in the doorway, if he hadn't been paying attention to her near-silent footfalls. He had been a Gundam pilot, after all.

"No, not even close," Relena answered him cautiously, hoping he wouldn't draw her into a long conversation. She strode over to his side. "I'm afraid I don't have much time for reading these days."

"Neither do I." He replaced the book he'd picked up and turned to her. "Although I don't have as good an excuse as you do. I could read more; I just don't."

"Mm-hmm." Relena pursed her lips. His eyes regarded her carefully, and she got the unpleasant feeling that he could see right through her. She wondered if he knew exactly what she wanted to say before she said it. She sighed and changed tack. "Well, you can borrow whatever you want, you know." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Really?" Trowa's eyes sparked. She wondered if he was on to her, but then his hands skimmed over a few of the book spines in front of him. "Hmm… I may have to take you up on that."

"That's fine," Relena said breezily, forcing cheeriness into her tone. "Honestly, I hardly even use this room any more, so I wouldn't notice if some of these went missing for months at a time…"

She realized too late that her words held a kind of promise. Trowa caught her eye and smiled.

"You know," he said wistfully, "if I ever have a place of my own, I'd like to have a room just like this."

Relena's heart leapt, then took a dive. Unbidden visions flooded her mind, too rapidly to force them away. Moving boxes and morning kisses. Beach vacations, autumn strolls with coffee. Birthdays. Christmases. Valentines. Wedding rings... Things she had never dared to hope for before. Things he had never promised her, and she had never expected him to. Those things were for other people; normal people, with typical jobs and families and lives. Not for people like her.

She stepped back and clutched at her chest. "Trowa…"

He seemed to sense the shift, but he turned toward her, not away. "What is it?" His eyes narrowed, as if he could see it coming.

"We need to talk." Relena reached for the familiar, soul-crushing phrase. But Trowa was nonplussed, folding his arms across his broad chest, looking steadily at her with unfettered confidence.

"Then let's talk."

Relena drew in a shaky breath and took another step back to create a safe distance between them. She didn't want him touching her, now.

"Trowa," she said firmly, matching her gaze to her tone with a tip of her chin. "This thing between us… whatever it is…" He startled her with his chuckle.

"Are you so eager to define things between us, already?" His eyes twinkled. Relena rolled hers in response.

"Me? Please. You're the one who keeps looking at me like you want to propose." To her annoyance, Trowa burst out laughing.

"Relena," he said once his laughter subsided, stepping forward to place a hand on her shoulder, which only irked her more. "I can assure you, I'm not."

"Then what are you doing?" she muttered, her frustration mounting. Trowa shrugged.

"I already told you; whatever you want," he said. His eyes turned serious. "You've already indicated to me that you don't want a relationship, and I'm fine with that."

Relena arched a brow skeptically. "Are you, though?" Trowa frowned.

"What makes you think I'm not?"

She thought his growing affection for her was obvious, but maybe she had misjudged him. Then again, maybe he was just toying with her. "You're okay with just sex, then?"

"Just sex." His words came out in a chuckle. "Just sex is fine, Relena." His lips curved upward. "'Just sex' is what I do."

Her skin prickled. "Uh-huh. Right."

Trowa took a step closer, towering over her. "If that's what you want," he said, his voice low and smooth. "I'm happy to accommodate."

He was too accommodating, too eager to please her, she decided. Something must be wrong with him. In the moment, though, she believed him - that he would do anything she wanted, if she asked. She recalled their conversation from the previous night, when she asked him if he would move to Mars, and his immediate response.

In a heartbeat.

Relena shivered as he grasped both her arms. And then, without further warning, he hoisted her and pressed her up against the bookshelf, his hands on either side of her, boxing her in place.

"How about now?" Trowa dragged his eyes from her face, down to the low-cut v-neck of her robe.

"Again?" she gasped as he started trailing kisses down her neck. "I can't. Not tonight."

"No?" he breathed against her skin. "Why not?"

"Too sore," she complained. Trowa laughed.

"Is it too much for you?" His green eyes glinted. "I'd hate to ask what you're used to, but…"

"I only have one basis for comparison," she admitted, her face turning pink.

"Right." Trowa's eyes clouded. "Then, is He-" He cleared his throat. "Never mind," he said quickly, his face darkening. "I don't want to know."

Relena frowned up at him. "Well, you already knew I was involved with him..."

"And I'm the only other man you've been with?"

"Yes," she said quietly, feeling a bit embarrassed by the admission, although she didn't know why. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No." Trowa laughed again, his eyes glimmering. "That's good. Very good."

Relena scoffed, forgetting her bashfulness. "You men and your egos… How many women have you been with, besides me?"

Trowa's laugh grew huskier. "You really want to know?" Relena's face burned. She was curious, but not that curious.

"No, not really," she muttered. He laughed again before returning his lips to her neck. She sighed and pressed her hands against his bare chest. "I mean, are we talking double digits, or…"

Trowa pulled back, his mirthful expression gone. "There's only one that matters."

Relena's breath caught. "Trowa…"

He beamed a smile at her before pressing his forehead to hers.

"You lied to me," Relena said testily. "You said you weren't falling in love with me."

His smile remained fixed. "I never said that."

"But… what about all that talk of just sex, and-"

"I said I would do this on your terms," Trowa said evenly, pulling back from her slightly. "I never said anything about my personal feelings on the matter."

Please. Relena squeezed her eyes shut. I can't do this…

Her head began to pulse.

"Get out," she said with a sudden forcefulness. Trowa blinked at her, but otherwise didn't move.

"What?"

"I said, get out!" She delivered a swift shove to his abdomen, but he maintained his stance.

"You're serious," Trowa remarked, his only movement coming from his arched brows.

"Don't make me repeat myself," she warned, her temper climbing. Trowa stepped back, raising both his hands in defense. He looked at her plaintively as she swept past him and out of the room.

"I don't understand." His calm voice followed behind her, adding to her irritation. Relena ignored him and busied herself picking up Trowa's clothes, which were strewn about the living room. She turned around and thrust them at him. He caught them deftly, continuing to stare her down. "What are you doing?"

"I'm too tired, angry and frustrated to argue right now," she muttered. Trowa folded his arms and glared down at her.

"Really," he said flatly. "Angry after all the attention I've lavished upon you? Frustrated because you didn't get enough of a release?"

Relena shot him a glare before looking away. "Trowa…"

"Look, Relena," he said sternly, taking a few steps toward her. "I understand if you need space; I'm happy to give you that. You have a lot of things to process and I get if this is all a little… much for you."

"Good," Relena quipped, crossing her own arms over her chest. "Then go already."

Trowa's jaw clenched. "Regardless of how you feel right now… it doesn't give you the right to treat me like some fuck boy." Relena felt her own jaw tense.

"Isn't that what you just said you wanted?!" she asked incredulously. "Make up your mind, Trowa. You can't have it both ways."

"You know, I didn't come here expecting anything," Trowa said tersely, his nostrils flaring as he spoke. Relena half-expected him to burst out yelling, but then that didn't seem like him. She braced herself for an outburst, just in case, and kept her arms folded tightly around herself as she matched his steely gaze. "Apparently I managed to fall into your trap, though. So, nice work."

Relena rolled her eyes as Trowa turned his back to her and started dressing, ignoring the sting of shame she felt at his words.

"You know," he said over his shoulder, "you have a hell of a way of treating people who care about you."

Relena's face burned, but she said nothing, staring at the floor, trying to pretend she was somewhere else. Trowa finished dressing and turned around to face her, staring straight into her eyes for an uncomfortable moment before shaking his head and looking away. Relena watched as he strode over to the couch and sat down, picked up his phone and started scrolling.

"What are you doing?" she asked sharply.

"Nothing," he said without looking up. Relena gaped down at him.

"I thought you were leaving."

He raised his head to look at her, his green eyes boring into hers. "I'm not going anywhere." Relena's jaw dropped.

"You can't just stay here, after I told you to leave my home," she said, aghast. "That's trespassing. And harassment."

"I have orders that supercede your request," he responded in a clipped, soldier's tone. Relena's eyes bulged at his revelation.

"What?!" she screeched, balling her fists at her sides. "What are you talking about?"

"I've been instructed to look after you," he said. Relena could almost feel her blood start to boil.

"Oh, is that right?!" she said hotly. "So that's what this is all about... "

Trowa shook his head. "Not quite. We were already involved when I was given my orders."

"Involved?!" Relena threw up her hands and started pacing. Outrage and disappointment rocked her insides, and she felt as if she were going to be sick. "You used this as excuse to get more involved, didn't you?" She stopped pacing abruptly and whirled on him. "I'm sure this was a difficult assignment for you to accept. But at least you managed to get off a few times."

Trowa's entire face tightened, his brow furrowing and eyes screwing up into narrow green slits. "What the hell, Relena?!" His voice rose as his words grew more heated. "You think that's all I care about? That must be why I spent so much time with my head between your legs, to ensure that I was getting off, multiple times." He laughed bitterly and shook his head, tearing his gaze from hers. "You're unbelievable."

"You are!" Relena retorted. "All you care about is sex!"

Trowa launched to his feet. "I care about you!" He jabbed his pointer finger at her. "That's why I'm here! That's all." He stopped yelling but his chest rose and fell as his breathing remained heavy, his eyes burning.

Relena kept her eyes locked on his. "I need you to leave." She raised a finger and pointed toward the door, her entire body shaking. "Now."

The passion and rage faded from Trowa's face, his eyes hollow. "I can't," he said simply, and for the first time, he looked helpless to her. His eyes were almost pleading. "Don't worry, I won't trouble you any further tonight." His gaze dropped to the floor. "I'll just be… here." He sank back down onto the couch, looking thoroughly defeated.

Relena clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides, her fury ebbing and flowing.

"I'm calling Une," she said at last, tipping her chin up as she looked down at him. "You'll be removed from this mission. Then you'll be free to go."

"Fine." Trowa didn't look back up as Relena spun out of the living room and made her way upstairs. She stomped up the steps, anger building once again, screaming inwardly. How could he?! As she entered her bedroom and stormed over to her bedside table, snatching up her phone, she couldn't even decide what she was most infuriated about, feeling deceived or used, or…

Everything racing through her mind came crashing to a halt as she looked down at her phone. The screen showed seventeen missed calls. Some from Wufei, some from Une. She was sure Faye's phone would display the same. Her stomach plummeted, knowing something had to be terribly wrong.

Her fingers moved of their own accord. Relena didn't even know who she was calling back as she pressed the phone to her ear, listening to the dial. Une answered, sounding panicked.

"Relena!" she bellowed, foregoing the formality of codenames. "Where are you?!"

"I-I'm home," Relena stammered, her entire body stiffening as she gripped the phone. "What's wrong?"

"He's escaped."

Relena's hand slipped and she started to drop the phone, but forced herself to hold on more tightly. "What?!"

Une's words sounded far away as she started to explain. "We don't know how, he just-"

"Where?!"

"The facility. We think he may still be on the grounds, somewhere..."

"I'm coming." Une gave her some vague instructions before hanging up, but Relena immediately forgot whatever it was the other woman said. She stood staring blankly into the darkness for a moment as her mind worked to process the impossible news. Her head swelled until it felt like it could explode. Relena's own voice sounded thin and far away as she screamed for Trowa.


A/N: Thank you to all of the readers and reviewers!

- RGS