Well, I took a break to try and finish my other projects... One of them is ahead of schedule and the other is nearly done so... I'm finally returning to this. Hopefully, I haven't lost my touch. Hahaha

CHAPTER 10

As he watched her pull the cat out of the pet carrier and into her arms, Trowa realised Relena had decided for him. She would be quitting her political career and – even though she would never cease to be an important and influential person – she would no longer need bodyguards. She barely needed them as it was. It would be time then for him to return to the circus and his adoptive family. A smile twisted his lips then, she would be free to pursue the career of her dreams and marry Heero, and as much as it hurt him, he wanted to see her happy. She giggled when the tabby stretched her neck to rub her furry head against the underside of her jaw and turned to him with a smile that had him sighing. It should be illegal for a woman to be so absolutely perfect.

A loud whistle attracted their attention to the other side of the lobby and Trowa was mortified to see Duo waving none too discreetly at them. "Could he possibly attract any more attention?" he wondered to himself, but not nearly low enough. Relena chuckled at his embarrassment. "Leave the bags to me." He mumbled.

"Thank you, Trowa." She said, voice warm and soft.

He sighed again as he watched her walk away. What a fool he was… So soon after Kate and he was already hoping for the impossible. Sighing did not help, he realised as he did it a third time while he picked up their two small bags and the stuff they had bought for the cat. Sighing only made his chest feel more constricted. He suddenly wished they were back on Earth… It would be nice to take a stroll in the park and draw in a deep breath of fresh air while admiring the blooming trees. They were breath-taking at this time of the year. Or maybe it might not be such a good idea after all… Relena had taken away enough of his breath as it was.

"This is Hope." she introduced the feline to their friend as soon as he caught up.

"Eh?" Duo leaned forward so he could eye the cat from up close, his hands remained in his pockets though. Then he met their eyes. "Quatre's gonna kill you."

"My words exactly." Trowa commented fighting back yet another sigh of frustration.

Relena chuckled. "It will be fine." She assured them.

"Yeah. I'm sure Trowa – being the gentleman that he is – will die twice for you, princess." They glared at him, and Duo laughed. "Maybe you should just take the car and run for it? I'll tell the others I couldn't find ya'."

"Quatre's not that scary." The young woman informed him as she started making her way to the exit.

"Oh, but he is! You should have seen the glare he gave me this morning when he ordered me to come pick ya' up." The braided man picked up his pace until he had overcome his friends and was walking backwards in front of them. "That was a glare worthy of the Heero Yuy seal of approval. If he could sustain it for more than 2 seconds it would be really scary."

"He ordered you to pick us up?" Trowa asked with a frown as they crossed the automatic doors. Duo had to apologize to a woman he bumped into in his backwards stroll.

"Yes…" his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "He had to pick Khadija up at the hospital."

"Oh, my..." Relena turned wide-eyes to him, and Trowa nearly ran into her when she froze in the middle of the parking lot. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." The braided man waved a hand dismissively. "It was just some minor thing. She only stayed the night because it was Quatre's sister who examined her and she wanted to be extra cautious."

"Thank, God."

As they resumed walking, Duo turned around, but not before Trowa noticed the devilish smirk that twisted his lips. "Well… I thought this was a work better fit for Heero, but he couldn't come because he had exhausted himself cooking us breakfast."

"Heero made breakfast?" Relena nearly halted again, her face betraying her incredulity. Trowa was unamused, he had lived with the former pilot 01 for some time now and had seen him do quite a lot of everyday mundane things. It was nothing new to him, but apparently it made him 'fall off the pedestal' where Maxwell was concerned.

"And Wufei was doing the dishes. Or at least I hope he was… He's really scary when he wakes up so I just shouted at him to do it… from the door…as I left." He gave a nervous laugh and climbed into the car. Relena gave Trowa a knowing smile as he opened the backseat door for her. They seemed to have reached a silent understanding that there was more going on between their two seemingly incompatible friends than they let on. It felt like it was their little secret… It made Trowa feel almost giddy. He could have laughed at how ridiculous he had become.

"It seems only fair for tasks to be distributed." He commented as he climbed into the seat beside Duo's.

"Now with 'Dija back and Hope, there will be even more tasks to do." He gave them a look that said 'it's-all-your-fault' as they pulled out of the parking lot and into the street. "Look at you, guys. Alone for two days and you've already got a kid."

The green eyed man knew it was a joke, but he could not help the horrid feeling that took over him, draining all colour from his face. Through the mirror, he could see Relena sitting behind him, her face as red as a ripe tomato as she tried to busy herself by petting the cat. Duo gave them both a concerned glance as he drove through the streets of L4. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it." He amended sheepishly. "Tough crowd."

Trowa would have been grateful for the shortness of the ride were it not for the fact that they would be facing Quatre when they arrived. Though he did not really think the blonde would harm them – be it physically or emotionally – he was not prepared for the upcoming confrontation. There would also be Relena's reunion with Heero, which he was none too eager to witness, and the realisation that was slowly settling in… That his short time alone with the Foreign Minister was over. He already missed the weight of her head on his shoulder, the feeling of her hands in his hair and the smell of soap on her skin after her shower. Soon he would be missing the very sight of her and her beautiful smiles, when he moved back to L3 while she remained on Earth.

"Oh, no, you didn't." their host's carefully measured words pulled him out of his thoughts as they stepped out of the elevator and crossed the hall. Quatre's eyes were wide and he was gaping, unsure of how to react. Trowa did not blame him, he had no idea what to do himself. Thankfully, he had Relena – master of eloquence – on his side for this battle, whereas the blonde man only had Heero and Wufei whose only ability in this case would be to bore one to death with their silence.

"Quatre, meet Hope. She stole our hearts so we had to bring her along." Even the young politician sounded a little insecure in the face of their enemy. What would she do if Quatre refused to let the cat stay with them? He hoped she would get angry and drag him and the feline with her to a hotel. Yes, that would definitely make him happy, except Heero would probably be tagging along as well… No, it was better to stay at Winner's. It was awkward enough with the three of them back on Earth and, back then, he had not even realised he had fallen in love with Relena.

"I guess I have no choice but to welcome her then." He said with a resigned smile.

"Come on, Quat'." Duo patted him on the shoulder. "It's not as if you couldn't buy new furniture if she ruins these."

"She won't ruin anything." Trowa informed, placing their luggage on the floor so he could pull out the litter box and plastic bowls they had purchased. He paused for a moment, when their host stepped away so Heero and Relena could greet each other. As hard as he tried, he could not avert his eyes and was more than grateful when, instead of kissing, they merely exchanged smiles. The atmosphere had a sudden awkwardness to it, he frowned as he turned back to the task at hand, wondering what it meant.

"Let's find a good place for these." Quatre crouched by his side and picked up one of the bowls. Trowa watched him quietly, he seemed different than when they had left. There was a gentle lifting of the corner of his lips and a cheerful gleam in his eyes. He looked as if he had finally found true peace. Maybe he would be willing to share his secret…

"Thank you." He said suddenly, forcing the blonde man's eyes to meet his. "For letting Hope stay."

"I couldn't just throw her into the street, could I? Unless I wanted to get rid of you as well." He chuckled.

"I heard about Khadija… How is she doing?"

"She's doing much better! Thank, Allah. Come, I want you to take a look at her."

He could not find the strength to protest at Quatre's sudden enthusiasm. A part of him did feel rather proud at the fact that his friend saw him as a doctor, even though he had given that up, and he did enjoy discussing sickness and treatments and drugs… During the war he would have never thought of himself as a scholar, but then he had not even thought of himself as his own person.

"Duo said your sister examined her… What was the diagnosis?" for once he found it easy to start a conversation.

As they made their way to the nursery though, he met Relena's eyes for a moment and nearly missed what Quatre was saying. She had this strange look on her face as if she meant to tell him something, but couldn't. Heero had relieved her of the not so heavy burden of Hope and Duo and Wufei had ganged up on him to tug at the cat's ears and frown at her, respectively. The scene in front of her had the young woman smiling and, relieved to see the troubled look disappear from her face, Trowa could only smile back.

"Trowa?" his host called from the corridor.

"UTI, you said?" he resumed their conversation once he had caught up, but his friend had this knowing look in his eyes that made a bell ring inside Trowa's head. If he wanted to run, now was as good a time as any.

"Surely this is not what you really wanna talk about."

"Huh?" was all he came up with as he watched the nursery door close, forever divorcing him from his one chance of escape. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me." Quatre frowned and sent him a look that was almost a glare. Well, that was interesting. "How was your trip?"

"It was all right."

"How's Catherine?"

"Fine." He did not want to think about her. Not yet. The things she had proposed…or suggested rather… He would discuss those with Heero. He needed a logic based opinion not an emotional based one. Logic was solid, it made sense and that was something he felt he needed rather desperately at the moment.

"What about Relena?"

"What about her?"

The blonde gave him the 'don't-play-dumb-with-me' look yet again, but instead of calling him on his pretence, he turned to Khadija who lied inside her crib mumbling and waving her arms and legs. Trowa could see she was quite recovered already. The infection must be indeed mild. Not to mention that modern drugs were very efficient and she had spent a night at the hospital under special care... Quatre gave her a bright smile, but the green eyed man knew better than to think he was off the hook. No, his friend was still waiting… For a real answer, that is.

"You were right. I'm in love with her." He blurted out, finally, wishing the conversation would end there even though he already knew it wouldn't.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"What am I going to… I thought we had been over this. What happened to 'they are our friends so we must help them, not mess it up'?"

"I told you. She's not happy."

"Which does not mean she doesn't love him. Come on, Quatre. Do you seriously think I could compete with Heero?"

The idea was absolutely ridiculous. Heero was a war hero, always in control of himself and his surroundings, nothing ever fazed him and he always got what he wanted. But that was only the start… His 'nickname' – for the lack of a better word – had a 'perfect' in it and he was indeed in perfect shape whereas Trowa was had become nearly flesh and bones. No, he could never compete with Heero, he was far too tired to even try. Besides only a fool would engage in a battle he was so sure to lose. No, Relena would never love him because she already loved a much worthier man.

"He's your friend, Trowa. You think far too highly of him." Quatre said suddenly serious, almost grave. "Heero is but a man. It doesn't do us or, especially, him any good to forget that."

He frowned at those cryptic words. What else could he do? Something seemed to have happened while he was gone. Something major. The blonde turned back to Khadija then and their conversation strayed to safer topics like antibiotics and the story behind Hope's adoption. Trowa was thankful for the respite.

OxOxO

"Does it bother you that you have to hide your relationship because of Relena's position?"

Heero lifted his eyes off the screen of his laptop to find Trowa staring at him from the other side of the dinner table. He was leaning back in his chair, his pen completely abandoned on top of the countless books he had sprawled over the table. Anatomy of domestic animals, veterinary physiology, diseases of cattle… Heero read the titles as he searched for an answer. One of the books was open, preventing him from seeing either its cover or its spine. They were all fat, very fat.

"No." he said, finally, because he had never really thought about it and if it had not been amongst his mind's trended topics then it surely didn't matter.

"Don't you think about…getting married?" he must have glared for his friend quickly amended. "Not now! I mean…someday."

"No."

He did not think about getting married, in fact, he did not think about the future at all. That was why he worked, wasn't it? So he would occupy his mind with more…concrete things instead of that which he had no control over.

"But…do you want to?"

For the third time in as many minutes, he lifted his eyes from the screen, irritation building behind his eyelids. Trowa was staring at the ceiling with the most awkward expression Heero had ever seen. It looked like a mix of childish confusion and painful curiosity. He was suddenly uneasy. "Why do you ask?"

"What?" he straightened himself as if his soul had fallen from the ceiling back into his body.

"Trowa…" Heero met his friend's eyes seriously, looking for signs of sickness or anything of the sort. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. I was just…" Trowa frowned confused. "I don't know. I don't know what I was thinking." The frown turned into a grimace as if he were displeased with himself for voicing his thoughts.

"I don't know."

"What?"

"I don't know if I want to get married." Heero answered the question if only to ease the other man's embarrassment. "Is this about her?" Trowa had been having a hard time getting over Kate. Relena seemed to be helping him a lot, dragging him with her here or there to make sure he wasn't left alone with his traitorous thoughts, but that particular day she had gone shopping with her mother.

The former pilot 03 seemed strangely unsettled at that. He cleared his throat and looked away, avoiding Heero's eyes while he thought up an answer. His cheeks even looked a little… rosier than usual. It was embarrassing…for both of them.

"I was actually thinking about Relena…and you."

Heero frowned. He did not know why, but it sounded like Trowa hadn't been thinking of him at all. Why he would need to hide such a fact though was beyond him… Did his friend think he would be jealous? The young politician was Trowa's friend and boss, it was impossible for him not to think about her from time to time. In fact, he had the right to think about whatever he wanted. There were no laws dictating such things. Now, though – with some foresight – Heero was starting to see the logic behind his friend's fear. Yes, it fit perfectly in with his earlier realisation that the Heavyarms' pilot wouldn't have refused escorting Relena to one of those boring parties.

"Omoshiroi…" he whispered to himself. (A.N.: Interesting…)

"What d'you say?!" Duo's angry voice cut through his thoughts and he was more than a little relieved when he raised his head to find the braided man staring at Wufei and not at himself. Something important seemed to have happened while he was lost in thought. Relena was bouncing Khadija and singing a very annoying lullaby, trying to distract the baby from the argument going on. Quatre stood with hands raised in a placating gesture while Duo – salt all over his hair – glared daggers at a smirking Wufei. Trowa met Heero's eyes in a silent proposition of escape.

"I said it suits you. Makes you a little less insipid."

"Insipid?!" he grabbed a spoon from the dining table. Heero wondered if he even knew what the word meant, but he guessed Wufei's tone alone was enough to offend. "I'll show you insipid. Just let me shove this spoon down your throat."

The Chinese man clicked his tongue. "Self-control would go nice with that salt, Maxwell."

"Well, so sorry if I do not live up to your standards, but I thought you would have been intelligent enough to know the hair," he pointed at it with the spoon as he spoke. "is completely out of bounds. So I guess we're even."

Quatre, whose gentle soothing words were being completely ignored, finally stomped his foot on the floor and marched into the kitchen, dragging Relena with him. "Let them kill each other." Heero heard him tell her, glaring at his friends over his shoulder. "I no longer care."

"Do you know how long it is going to take me to rinse this salt off my hair?" former pilot 02 was saying now.

"The exact same amount of time it takes you to rinse anything off your hair." Wufei replied matter-of-factly.

"Exactly!"

"Do I wish to know how this started?" Heero asked Trowa when the man had inched close enough for them to whisper.

"Some nonsense about Duo's food being boring and Wufei having bad taste."

"No then."

"You were going to wash your hair today anyway." The argument continued.

"That's not the point."

"Terrace?" Trowa proposed, giving their ignited friends sideway glances. Heero nodded. "Think we can slip out unnoticed?"

He remembered what he had told Quatre about their friends' bickering and analysed the look on their faces. "Definitely." He answered and the two stood up and left as if they had all the right in the world to do so.

Heero wondered if he had ever been turned on by an argument or a staged fight like the one that seemed to be going on in the room they had just left, but then he realised his arguments with Relena were nothing but frustrating, extremely so. He did have a very good reason to argue with Qutare though… Maxwell had spread the news about his cooking rampage and turned his life into a living hell. It was only a strike of luck that had spared him from having to make dinner too. Duo had been appointed instead – he had drawn the shortest straw – and had taken his time shoving the lasagnes he had bought at the supermarket into the microwave. No wonder Wufei had questioned his cooking skills.

"Heero?"

He snapped out of his reverie to find Trowa leaning against the railing, staring at him. "What?"

"Cigarette?"

He frowned, brain still foggy. "No, thanks." He watched as his friend lit one for himself and noticed – for the first time since Trowa's arrival – how troubled he looked. Hope, who had been following the green eyed man around, chose that moment to join them. She zig-zagged around their ankles before sitting beside his friend and staring up at him with wide pleading eyes. "What's troubling you?" Heero decided to ask as Trowa tried unsuccessfully not to melt at the sight of the cat.

"I've been meaning to talk to you." His friend sighed, smoke curling out of his mouth and up into the night air. "I'm glad you asked."

It wasn't usual for the private man to want to discuss something so eagerly… Heero assumed it must have been troubling him a lot. He left his spot by the railing to fetch their improvised ashtray on the little table between the lounge chairs while Trowa picked through his words.

"Catherine wants me to move back in." he spat after a long time. Apparently, he could not find a better way to phrase it so he went straight to the point.

"It makes sense." Heero shrugged as the green eyed man snubbed out the cigarette in the bowl he still held.

"I know." He conceded and his lips turned downwards.

"What are you going to do?"

"It's only logical for me to move back here."

"Is it? What about Relena?" his tone was nonchalant. He was a master at betraying nothing, especially because – until recently – he had believed he felt nothing, but Trowa tensed anyway. His friend had squatted and was on his way to picking up Hope, hands under her furry armpits when he froze, paled and swallowed. And Heero smiled inwardly. He must have been blind not to have seen it before, but now that he saw it he realised it made no difference. Not to him at least.

"You mean…my job?" the green eyed man finally stood up. The cat stretched her body upwards, rubbing her head against his jaw. He did not seem to notice. "I don't…" Trowa cleared his throat, petting Hope absentmindedly until she settled happily in his arms. "I don't think she needs me. I mean… She has you and the threat is no longer as present as it used to be, back when we started."

Heero frowned, laying the ashtray on the ground between them. For some reason he had the feeling his adult friend had suddenly turned into a foolish teenager and he was left with the role of the reasonable parent figure. He hated that feeling with a passion, but figured – since he had been the one to start that doomed conversation – that it would be impolite to quit now. "Is that what you want?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"What do you mean?" Trowa stared at him as if he had gone mad. And here he was trying to be helpful, he had to fight back a sigh.

"I mean… Do you want to quit your job and move back to L3 or are you considering it simply because it is the logical thing to do?"

"I…" his friend shook his head confused. "I don't know. I just… I… I shouldn't have mentioned it at all." This time the head shaking betrayed frustration and regret. "I don't know why I did it. The choice is clearly already made."

"Yes…" Heero agreed doubtfully, watching as the other man put Hope down and lit another cigarette. Yes, he was definitely not at odds with himself. No, not at all.

Thnakfully, or not, Wufei chose that moment to barge in. He looked pleased, Heero did not have to wonder why. He did wonder why the man would choose to join them though, but he supposed the answer was quite obvious… They were the quieter ones. "Where's Maxwell?" Trowa asked when the Chinese man took a seat on one of the lounge chairs.

"Showering. Didn't know you smoked."

"It's a rather recent fancy."

"You should quit. It's a disgusting, unhealthy habit. Unbecoming of a former gundam pilot."

Heero's eyes narrowed when he saw his friend's expression harden. It must have been Wufei's haughty tone or the bossiness within it, whatever it was though, it seemed to tug on the usually calm green eyed man's already dangerously taut strings. They snapped.

"And you should stop trying to fool us." He said, his tone so cold and smooth, Heero felt his hackles rise in preparation for battle. "You and Maxwell both. Though I would have never expected something like this from someone as honest as him. Surely it was your idea. Well, look who's laughing now."

Hand blindly searching for a gun that wasn't there, he watched his friends – two of the most dangerous men in the entire galaxy – glare at each other in a silent contest. Then, to his surprise, Wufei folded, snorting and looking away.

"Yes, it was my idea. And Duo is having a hard enough time 'lying by omission' so spare him."

It was the first time they had heard him call the braided man by his first name, but awkwardness it was the fact that he was defending him that was the most surprising.

"You are together then…" Trowa seemed slightly unsettled as if he had been merely gambling when he accused his comrade. "How… How did that happen?"

"And that's exactly why I did not want to tell you. Especially Winner… If you are asking questions, imagine the inquisition he will put us through."

"Let Maxwell handle him." Heero suggested with a cross-armed shrug. It made so much sense. He wondered why Chang seemed distressed about it. Quatre and Duo were close, it would be a conversation like any other for the two of them.

"I do not feel comfortable throwing him to the dogs."

"But you feel comfortable making him lie?" he raised an eyebrow sceptically. Beside him, Trowa nodded probably wondering the same thing.

"Not outright lie, but keep quiet. You know him, Yuy, so you must admit it is a skill he must hone. Besides, I wanted to be sure I could trust him when it came to keeping secrets, especially from you, his friends. He has always been quite transparent, but I value my privacy."

"And…?" former pilot 03 goaded him on, looking sceptical. "Do you trust him now?"

"Yes. I'm quite pleased with him. I did not really expect to be otherwise." Wufei smiled proudly and crossed his arms. He did look 'quite pleased'.

Heero frowned. "And you were never going to tell us."

"I knew you would find out eventually, so… Why bother? I do not care to answer a bunch of silly questions just to quell your childish curiosity. As long as you thought it was some sort of taboo topic, I would be safe." The Chinese man explained, eyes closed, looking as peaceful and as satisfied with his master plan as a criminal mastermind ready to take over the world.

It was ridiculous, Heero thought, but opted for a snort instead of voicing his opinion. If he did not want questions he need only say so, though now that he had said so… Why did he not want questions? Were the circumstances that had driven them together embarrassing? Yes, Wufei was probably right. He had been less curious when the whole thing had been a pretended secret. Apparently, he had just received an unlikely lesson from an unlikelier source.

"Wasn't there something you wanted to share too, Yuy?"

He turned back only to find the Chinese man smirking evilly at him. It seemed he had lost his leverage. Eyes narrowing dangerously, he mentally threatened his friend into silence. Trowa frowned suspiciously, but noticing the look on Heero's face refrained from asking. Thankfully, Hope was also there to distract him, trying to scale his leg.

"I think I'll accept that cigarette after all." He said, rubbing at his temples. He needed to talk to Relena soon and come clean before Chang's forked tongue slipped. What a troubling turn of events…