a/n: I do not own Gundam Wing.

Heero drove the speed boat away from the commercial freighter. It was his two-week leave that he took from time to time, he liked to get away and clear his head. Plus, he had a report due. Probably the most important report that he had to make all year.

There was a small dock on the northern tip of Greenland. He made sure to tie the boat tightly, and zipped up his coat and he walked towards the airport hanger. It was an old base left over from wars long past, and Relena had told him to have it for his own use.

She had left it at that.

The Wing Zero was there. Security around the base was tighter than even the president's palace, and nothing happened on that base without Heero knowing. No one even got without a hundred miles within Greenland without Heero knowing. Inputing the codes, and scanning his hand print, the janitor's door unlocked and Heero let himself inside.

Wing Zero was strapped to the maintenance scaffolding and everything was quiet. Heero slipped his messenger bag off his shoulders, and took out his laptop to hook up to the main system. When he opened his bag, he blinked in surprise.

There was a wrapped lunch and a thermos in his bag.

He noticed that the handkerchief around the lunch was made of antique lace, and there was a 'RD' embroidered on the edge. Relena had made him a lunch and snuck it in his bag. How she managed to without him knowing, he had no idea, but it was a pleasant surprise. Normally, he would just eat rations in whatever stores were left on the base, but this would be a great improvement to that.

Heero set up his computer to the control panel, and then climbed the ladder to Zero's cockpit.

The gundam was dusty. As it should have been.

He lowered himself into the seat, and powered up the system. Pulling the keyboard forward, he typed furiously, setting up the connection for updates. He set up a link through the Earth Sphere communication system, and rerouted the call towards Mars.

The line blinked. It would take a minute to establish a link.

In the meantime, his mind wandered. Involuntarily, he went to the kiss with Relena. It had been floating in his thoughts for a while, and he didn't welcome the distraction. When the weight of the protection of the world president was on his shoulders, he needed his mind to be focused.

"God damn you, Heero, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"On Mars?" Heero replied, continuing with his adjustments. The angry voice of Millardo Peacecraft drifted over the intercom. They had exactly a half an hour to speak before the connection would wear out. He also didn't want to run the risk of someone intercepting the line. In order to have enough strength to maintain contact with Mars, the connection had to be open and not encrypted. "Four am."

There was a sigh, "Alright, I'm awake."

"The AEC has stepped up their attacks," Heero told him, "I'm updating Wing Zero, but I'm hoping I won't need it."

"There's no way Noin and I can get back in time to help. Even with the advanced technology used to get us here, it still took a month. We're scheduled to return in another six months, and it would be hard to change that."

"The Preventors have been enough so far, but it won't last," Heero replied, "I'll send a message to the others and see what I can do."

"Promise me you'll protect Relena."

That wasn't something that Zechs needed to ask. As far as Heero was concerned, protecting Relena was non-negotiable.

"I will protect her with my life, " there was an odd silence on the other end, and then Heero frowned, "What?"

"Did you have sex with my sister?"

If Heero had been drinking his coffee, he would have spit it over the controls. He swore loudly, "What the hell kind of a question is that?"

There was a chuckle over the radio, and it only served to piss Heero off more. He had every mind to shut the connection down then, but it wouldn't do any good. Zechs would just gloat about it next time Heero saw him.

"I guess not," Zechs sighed, "Listen here. I love my sister, and when I do comeback, I better not find out that you've screwed around with her. Otherwise, you'd better get in Wing Zero and consider our duel resumed."

Heero could honestly not believe that he was having this discussion with Zechs. "It's none of your damn business what Relena does in her personal life."

"As her elder brother, it is my business."

"You are a pain in the ass, Zechs," he pounded his fingers on the controls a little harder than necessary, "Relena is a grown woman capable of making her own decisions. But beside that, the whole situation is moot. Relena has enough on her plate, and there is no way that it would be possible to begin with."

The following silence was unnerving. Zechs was thinking something and not saying it out loud, but Heero was patient. The man would say it when the time was right.

"I left her to your charge because I trusted you to protect her," Zechs replied, "I also trusted her to you because I know that she's in love with you."

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it? You've also gone out of your way for her, Heero. Is it possible that you-"

"Nonsense."

"Huh," Zechs sighed, "Well, I'm coming back in six months and we'll have a full research report for the Mars Project. Epyon is here with me, and I'll start making appropriate adjustments in case it's needed on our return. I'm assuming this will be over by the time I get back. These rebels are not just a threat to Relena, they want to be in control and they don't care who they have to hurt in order to have with they want. Take caution, Heero."

"No need to tell me that."

"Fine. Noin says hi and sends her greetings. I expect another update in another few months."

"Roger that."

Heero cut the connection and leaned against the chair in the cockpit. What the heck had Zechs been thinking? There was no way that Heero would pursue that sort of relationship with Relena. She had too much stress already and Heero knew that he was unsuitable.

She's in love with you.

Someday, she would get over her infatuation with him and find another guy. Some upper-crust, high society, wealthy man who looked nice standing next to her in front of the press. Not someone with a non-existent reputation, or someone who hated being the center of the attention. Heero never cared about what people thought, and he always lived better in the shadows. That was not what Relena needed. She would find someone who fit her position and that would be it.

The lunch sat on the console to his left. He spotted a piece of paper sticking out from between the folds of the handkerchief. Heero pulled it away, and glanced at it.

Now, you owe me.

I find that I rather like strawberry muffins.

- R

Heero stared at it a moment and then set the note down.

Why did the thought of her ending up with some other man make him feel completely, and utterly, murderously angry?

Turning back to work, he resigned himself to the fact that Relena plagued every inch of his thoughts.