A.C. 201

They walked on a narrow pedestrian path that ran alongside the fully rebuilt harbours, as she filled him in on the nitty gritty details of running her small country. He listened intently and inclined slightly towards her when she spoke, as if to scoop up her every word with his ears. Relena had become a much more relaxed woman in his absence, there was a warmth to her that contrasted greatly with the chill of early winter.

The Sanc Kingdom had officially ceased to exist for almost two decades, the Alliance did such a thorough job eradicating any loyalist groups left in the country, the capital and surrounding towns were all but empty. Residents sought refuge in neighboring countries rather than suffer under the boot of the Alliance.

When Relena first decided to reclaim her heritage, she found her kingdom to be not much more than a ghost town. Much of the infrastructure was damaged, and there was no one to repair the deep dents left in the streets by the invading mobile suits.

She stood for a long time in front of what used to be the Alliance military base.

"Do you remember that giant imprint of the Tallgeese in the shape of the rubble?" She shook her head in disbelief. "The operation logs were made available to me through Lady Une, the pilot was not Milliardo."

Her brother had abdicated his birthright and his responsibilities, insisting that his hands have spilt too much blood. It took the death of a good friend to shake him out of his vengeful rapture.

"A good man died in my place that day, dear sister." Milliardo told her over a rare video call.

"There remain many like him who are still loyal to the Peacecraft family, they are scattered and waiting." There was a crease between her brother's brows that reminded her painfully of their father's portrait. "Gather your people and lead them home Relena."

And so she did. Heartened by the return of their once lost princess, many who fled during the war have started to come back to their homeland. Typically, the men would arrive first to make their home habitable again, then their families would follow.

One of her first act as the reigning monarch was to set up the "Peacetime Resettlement Program for Ex-Combatants". For she knew that not all who fled would return, and not all who wished to do so had the means. There were many ex-soldiers looking for a purpose, she was happy to provide that for them. Not to mention, her country could use the extra able bodies.

Next, she hammered out a treaty with the Winner Corporation. In exchange for helping to fund the reconstruction efforts, Winner Corp would control one of the three major commercial harbours of New Port City, for one hundred years. In addition, the free movement of persons between the L4 colonies and the Sanc Kingdom was to be guaranteed.

"And, " Quatre tagged on the document in a way only he could get away with, "the promise of eternal friendship between the Peacecraft and Winner families."

Even Heero huffed at that.

From these efforts, the Sanc region was experiencing a cultural renaissance. The local economy boomed with the rising population, though the density was still a far cry from historically desirable levels. Never the less, the Kingdom was once again recognized as a sovereign nation. Neighbouring countries made no attempts to annex the territories of the former Sanc Kingdom during the years of unrest, the global politics leaning heavily away from national independence. When the war was over in A.C. 196, with the popularity of Relena as an international figure, it would've been bad optics to make a move on her unclaimed inheritance.

Presently, she led Heero to the western most end of the city via a board walk, where a huge lighthouse marked the boundary between bay and ocean. They stopped at the foot of the lighthouse and leaned on the railing at the edge of the water, the sleeves of their winter jackets touching lightly.

The salt water bay was navigable even in winter, which meant that New Port City was kept busy year round. Ships heavy with cargo departed from the ports daily, carrying goods from many of the surrounding countries out to the Atlantic.

"I've never been away from you for this long." He spoke against the wind and the waves.

"Two years." She nodded.

Back when the reconstruction was still in its early stages, they had often strolled on the pebbled beach of New Port. Relena had reveled in her new found freedom to just be outside. She expected him to drop off the map as soon as she retired from the ESUN that spring, but to her continued surprise, he stayed on as her security and even followed her to the Sanc Kingdom. It took a while for him to accept that she no longer needed his protection, the path to stabilization after the Preventers coup was so intensely tumultuous that he was still reluctant to let her out of his sight a year later.

It was early autumn when they last walked here, where she sent him away. He had become so restless then that she took pity on him.

"Was I really that miserable?"

"Mhm, like a penned up workhorse." She paused and waited for a fog horn to pass, "I could practically see you stomping and snorting."

She leaned into his arm playfully, but he stared straight ahead, his jaw clenched and unclenched as he chewed on his next words.

"I didn't want to go, you know." He almost whispered, she had to strain to hear him. "But you didn't need me anymore, and there was no reason for me to stay."

"Why are you here now Heero?"

He looked at her with a small, secret smile, his expression amplified by the contour of his beard. She was really beginning to like that beard.

"I realized I don't need an excuse to be near you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Time markers have been added at the beginning of each chapter to help with continuity.