As Relena turned the shower faucet and waited for the water to warm up, just a little, she surveyed the garments she'd grabbed. To her dismay, all she had was a white slip and a pair of nylons. She couldn't exactly wear those without underwear, could she? And now that's all she had to put on; she would have to go back to her suitcase and root around for something more suitable. With Heero Yuy sitting right there, waiting. She blushed.

Of course, she could go back out there in her stained dress, but Heero had already threatened to destroy it once. And unlike previous threats of his, she knew he had every intention of following through on this one.

As Relena stepped into the still-cold shower, she wondered what she was so afraid of, anyway. This was Heero. All she'd ever wanted was to deepen her relationship with him; now that it was happening, all she was doing was cowering, shrinking back from his touch. She knew he would never hurt her; he'd made that clear by devoting himself to her, staying by her side but never asking her for more than a kiss. Now those kisses had grown a little more passionate, and for some reason, it shook her to the core.

I'll have to get over it, she thought as she scrubbed herself with a rose-scented body wash. This isn't supposed to be scary; it's supposed to be fun.

Maybe once they were back home, like he'd said… Relena's nose wrinkled. No. She didn't like the idea of losing her virginity in the ancient Peacecraft estate, either. Why, her bedroom was the master suite, the one her birth parents had occupied. Even if she hardly remembered them, the idea of doing it in that bed disturbed her. Even if, on many nights in the past, she had fantasized about Heero bursting through those doors and ravishing her right there. Why, oh why, was it so much easier to imagine being that way with him than to just let herself go and enjoy it?

Relena realized that the shower had stopped; it was on an eco-timer to save water, a precious resource on both Earth and in the colonies. She'd freeze if she stood there naked for too long. But she did just that for a moment, examining herself in the bathroom mirror, which hadn't fogged up at all since the shower hadn't let off any steam.

Her hands ran over her belly, trying to push down the little paunch that was showing. Maybe she was still a little puffy from the long shuttle ride. She frowned. She knew she was thin, but that didn't mean she had a good figure. She turned to the side, examining her breasts. She'd always wished they were just a little larger and rounder; they certainly didn't seem all that impressive. She wondered what Heero would think. She knew from catching glimpses of him shirtless that his body was something to marvel at; when he wasn't working on his computer or following her around, he was usually working out. He seemed to have muscles in places that she didn't even realize existed, even though he appeared to be rather slim. Would he think that she needed to get in better shape? She frowned at herself in the mirror as a rap sounded on the bathroom door.

"Relena… Everything ok in there?"

"Fine!" She forced cheeriness into her voice. "I'm fine."

"Well, I don't know if you're planning to go back to work today, but if so, you have a meeting in fifteen minutes."

Her face drained. She had completely lost track of the time. She wrapped a big, fluffy towel around herself and began to dry off. The hotel didn't offer any bathrobes, but at least the towels weren't too bad. She'd still have to get "dressed" in her little slip and face Heero. She couldn't hide in there stalling all day.

"I'll be right there," she called.

"You sure you don't want to skip?"

She smiled as she tugged the slip over her head. "Tempting. But I can't have everyone thinking that I'd play hooky for the rest of the day just because I spilled a little wine on my dress. Can you imagine? I'd never live it down."

"It was my fault…"

"I know." She quickly brushed through her hair, taking one more glance at the mirror before reaching for the door. The thin slip didn't leave much to the imagination, but maybe if she walked quickly enough, she could bypass Heero without incident.

"Anyway…" she continued as she swung the door open and beheld him standing there. "I am the girl who attended a dance in her school uniform, remember."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, scanning her up and down appreciatively. "No kidding."

She smiled and glided past him toward her suitcase, feeling his eyes on her back the entire way.

"You're not going out like that, are you?"

"Be serious, Heero." Relena quickly picked through the contents of her suitcase, searching for something that wasn't too wrinkled; there was no time to press anything. She settled on a black and white polka-dotted a-line dress that wouldn't clash too badly with the cream-colored crepe blazer she'd worn over her other dress earlier. She already had her slip and nylons, so she grabbed panties and a bra. She wouldn't forget those this time.

Relena strode past Heero, back to the bathroom, catching his eye and looking away shyly. His eyes held an amused glint.

"You have five minutes," he warned.

"Well, I'm hurrying, but they'll survive if I'm a few minutes late." In the bathroom she quickly pulled on the bra and panties, maneuvering around her slip, then added the nylons. Finally she yanked the new dress over her head and zipped it up before topping it off with her blazer, which she'd hung on the door's hook. Her makeup bag was already on the sink, so she freshened up her powder, added another coat of mascara and slicked on some berry-tinted lip gloss.

Much better, she thought. At least she looked ready to face her colleagues once more.

"Ok, I'm ready." She exited the bathroom and found her black patent pumps and briefcase. She glanced up at Heero as she slipped on her shoes. "And no more wine for you." She gave him a wink.

"Hn." Heero grabbed his laptop bag and followed her out the door, locking it behind them. "Something tells me I'm going to need it."

Heero seemed to be rather distracted during an afternoon presentation by the colony's economic development board. Relena noticed him fidgeting throughout the meeting; tapping his pen loudly on the table in front of them, squirming around in his seat, his legs shaking the whole time. At one point Relena reached under the desk and placed her hand on his knee, hoping to help calm him down. He caught her eye for a moment and glowered at her as if she had broken his train of thought. She wondered what on earth could be bothering him; Heero normally wasn't one to fidget.

It was becoming increasingly difficult for Relena to focus on what the committee members were saying. And since she didn't have an assistant with her, she was stuck taking her own notes. She looked down at her tablet and realized that she'd been scrawling gibberish. She sighed and gave up, trying to pay sharper attention and take mental notes instead.

A few hours later, Relena and the other officials shuffled out of the conference room, many heading back to the banquet hall for cocktail hour. Once again, she felt Heero steering her aside. Not eager to stand around making small talk with a wineglass in hand, Relena turned and followed Heero silently. He was leading her to the elevator.

He pressed the buttons and then guided her inside, his hand lingering on the small of her back as the elevator doors closed behind them. Relena thought, just for a second, that his hand dipped lower than usual. She looked up at him, her lower lip quivering. The look he returned was dark and intense, as if he were in the middle of plotting something. She almost felt like she was bothering him.

"What are you doing?" she asked softly, hoping she hadn't caught him in another one of his moods.

"What?" Her voice had apparently shaken him out of his private reverie. "Nothing." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared straight ahead.

"Well, where are we going?"

"Back to the room." He shrugged. "Figured you'd want to rest after that long meeting. What a bore."

She chuckled and started massaging the back of her neck, which was stiff from sitting in a hard backed chair for far too long. "Rest wouldn't be a bad idea, but…" She glanced back over at him. "Why do I have a feeling that you have something else in mind?"

His lips twitched in response. Relena got the sense that he was holding back from her.

As soon as they were back in the hotel room, she got her answer. He grabbed hold of her waist and pressed her tight against him.

"You're driving me crazy," he murmured, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. She started to say his name but he was kissing her before she could get the word out.

"Heero!" She gasped when she finally managed to wriggle away. "What did we discuss earlier?" Her tone was only mildly scolding, the flush on her face giving her feelings away. Of course she didn't mind him kissing her. It troubled her, how much she didn't mind.

"I know you don't want to stay here," he added as he started kissing down her neck. "So pick someplace else. I want to stay with you. Tonight."

Her eyes widened, panic seizing her body. "Tonight?"

"Uh-huh." His lips were still against her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut, her mind whirring frantically. She knew it was what she wanted, too, but so soon? And yet how could she talk him out of it?

Or talk herself out of it?

"I don't know where else to go," she said helplessly. "Everyone else is staying here. I don't even know what else is opened yet…"

"So you weren't paying any attention during that meeting, either." He smirked.

"I knew you weren't." She swatted his arm. "And you were making me crazy, all that fidgeting around."

"My thoughts were elsewhere," Heero growled, leading Relena toward the bed. "You shouldn't have let me see you wearing so little earlier." He paused to kiss her lips again. "Big mistake."

"It couldn't be helped…" Relena gave up trying to explain it to him, rapidly wondering how she was going to get his mind off sex. If that were even possible - Heero Yuy was known for his single-minded determination. He rarely, if ever, left things unfinished. His hands were already fumbling for the zipper on her dress.

She tried to take hold of his hands, attempting one last time to reason with him. Relena had talked Heero out of shooting her before, after all.

"We can go somewhere else," she breathed into his ear. "All right?"

"Now." His tone was commanding. Relena sighed, pretending to be cross with him, when truthfully she didn't mind one bit.

"We'll have to pack first…"

"Roger." But he was still kissing her, his lips hovering dangerously close to her cleavage. She chided herself for wearing a dress that was even remotely low-cut.

"And you'll have to book us another room."

"Consider it done." His hands had come up to join his lips, and he was tugging at the collar of the dress, trying to expose more of her skin. Relena felt herself weakening.

"Heero…"

"All right." He stopped fondling her abruptly and stood, stomping over to the door, where he'd dropped his laptop bag in a hurry. "I'll see what else I can find." He looked up at her, frowning. "Doesn't have to be on this colony, does it?"

Relena sat up on the bed, straightening her dress and smoothing out her now-mussed hair. "It does if I'm going to attend the rest of this conference…" Heero grunted. He didn't seem pleased with that notion and frankly, neither was she. She tapped her fingers on the bedside table next to her.

"Maybe I could invent some type of emergency…" She watched the slow smile forming on Heero's face.

"I don't see why you need to stay the rest of the week, anyway." He sat down on the couch, perching his laptop on his knees. "I think it's time you take a vacation."

"Vacation?" Relena spoke it as though it was a foreign word. She couldn't recall the last time she'd gone on holiday; probably not since her adopted father was still alive. "Well…" She smiled wryly, standing up and striding over to Heero. She leaned over the back of the sofa and watched as he started scrolling through vacation packages on a travel website. "You're one to talk. You never use any of your accrued time off, either."

"There's a first time for everything." He turned his head to look at her and gave her a tiny smirk. "And I mean everything."

"Uh-huh, I get it." Relena rolled her eyes playfully. "I understand what this whole 'vacation' thing is about."

"Well, you want to go somewhere romantic, apparently." Heero returned his attention to the computer screen. "I'm no good at that stuff, so you'll just have to pick something."

"Ok…" Relena beamed, thinking of the possibilities. So Heero wanted to run away someplace with her, and she got to pick where? She could go with that.

She looped her arms around his neck as he clicked through several options.

"Ooh, Italy would be nice." Relena pointed to a link. "Or the South of France…"

"Those aren't exactly far-off locations. I figured you'd want something more exotic. We could do a weekend in Paris or Venice anytime."

"Then how come we never have?"

Heero paused his typing. "We, uh, weren't doing this before."

"Oh." Relena pressed her cheek against his face, her heart doing flips. Weekends in Paris, with Heero? Was this what her future held? She could hardly stand it. She gave him another affectionate squeeze.

"What about this place?" Heero opened a page on Bora Bora. "Looks nice. Relaxing."

Relena just gasped, taking in the images of palm trees and sparkling turquoise water. "You want to take me all the way to Tahiti?"

"Bora Bora or Tahiti. Whatever. They look the same." Heero's tone was flat, but Relena wondered if deep down, he was just as excited as she was. Her heart began to thump wildly when she watched him scroll over a honeymoon package. Did he even know what that was?

"But Heero." She cleared her throat. "This trip is really expensive…"

"Don't worry about it." She watched as he opened another tab and started looking up airfare.

"Well, I don't want you paying for this whole thing yourself…" She frowned.

"I haven't been working for free all these years, you know." Relena detected an edge to his tone. "It's fine."

She sighed, always hating the topic of finances. Yes, she had plenty of money, but discussing it made her uncomfortable. And the thought of Heero spending his hard-earned salary on her was equally uncomfortable.

"But Heero…"

"I'm not exactly a spendthrift, Relena," he joked, looking up at her and giving a small smile. "I have plenty in savings. You could let me pay for something for once." He turned his head back to the computer. "Besides pizza."

She relaxed, his joke putting her more at ease. "All right, but just this once. This is going to cost a small fortune, flying all the way there. Not to mention, that's going to be a really long flight. And I thought you wanted to get away tonight?"

"I do." Relena watched as Heero started purchasing various tickets. "It's going to take a few connecting flights, but it'll be worth it."

"You think so?" Talk about a long wait, she thought.

"Yeah. I know you'll make it up to me." He chuckled.

"Hmm. No pressure." Relena loosened her grip on Heero's shoulders, standing up. She didn't want to watch him enter his credit card information.

"No pressure," he murmured. "I haven't pressured you in the past, have I?"

"No," she replied softly, thinking of the years that had passed between them, the subtle touches and brief kisses that, before this week, she could nearly count on one hand.

"So. This doesn't have to be a big deal. We'll do whatever you want. Understood?" He looked over at her for an answer. Relena wondered if he could make any sense out of her anxiety. Maybe during their next few flights, she'd confide in him a little. They would have plenty of time to talk then. For now, she nodded her consent, and he gave her a nod back.

"Good. We're almost all set…"

She listened to him typing for a few minutes and started packing her things up once more. She'd have to think of an excuse to tell ESUN why she had to bolt in the middle of the conference, but would anyone truly mind? She hoped not. Her presentations were finished and she could always follow up on the rest by watching the meeting videos during her flights.

Relena finished packing up her clothes and went to the bathroom to retrieve her makeup and other toiletries. Heero was still working on his laptop. She returned to the bed, where she'd placed her suitcase, and packed up her last few items. She thought about changing into something more casual for the flight, but their getaway would look less planned if she stayed in her work clothes, she decided.

Oh, dear. Work clothes. Relena realized that was all she'd packed; not exactly suitable for vacationing on a tropical island.

"Did you book us a flight back to Brussels?" She called to Heero. "We should stop home first so we can pack different things…"

"If we go home first, it'll take longer," came his response.

"But I packed for a business trip, not vacation." She frowned, looking at her neatly folded clothes. She did not want to wear skirts and blazers on the beach.

"You can just shop for new stuff when we get there." Heero obviously didn't understand the female plight.

"Well, that's wasteful," Relena pouted.

She saw him shrug from the couch. "Anything you wear around me is going to get destroyed, anyway."

"Oh, we'll see about that." She stuck her tongue out as she finished the last of her packing.

As she zipped her suitcase shut, she felt Heero come up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her back against his chest. She shut her eyes lazily, just for a moment. It felt good, having him so close. She felt more secure than ever. She placed her hands on top of his and squeezed.

"You ready?" he murmured against her hair.

"Mm-hm." She turned, still in his arms, and laced hers around his neck. She couldn't help but grin up at him. "So we're finally going to have some fun, you and I?"

"Yeah. Guess so." He squeezed her waist. "Are you happy?"

"Very." She tipped her chin up, parting her lips, demonstrating to him that she was ready and willing to accept his kiss. "Very happy…"

She felt a zing of heat as his mouth met hers. Relena realized, as the kiss deepened, that she was ready to take this next step with Heero, and whatever else might be coming next.

But Relena should have realized that "happy," in her case, was becoming an unlucky term.

Just as she and Heero were heading for the door, they heard a crash coming from another corner of the room. The pair whirled around simultaneously.

"Heero!"

"Get down!" He was pushing her to the floor before she could even lower herself.

The crash had come from a closet on the other side of the room. Heero drew and aimed his gun, waiting for whoever was inside to reveal himself.