Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who PM'd me and reviewed (a random chapter lol) about the new art. Much appreciated. And for those who were asking, I drew it, which is why you can't reverse image search it lol.

Christmas Party

The Earth Sphere Unified Nation War Museum, Brussels

December 24th, AC 198

Situated in the heart of the Brussels, the Earth Sphere Unified Nation War Museum stands as a reminder of the failures and mistakes of the past era as well as a beacon of hope for the future. It was commissioned by the World Government and the City of Brussels six months after the end of the Eve Wars and has been one of the largest and most expensive postwar projects undertaken. The project was halted for a few months after Mariemaia's failed rebellion as public concerns over questions of historical perspective became more apparent. However, after much public debate and through an expensive public relations campaign, construction on the museum resumed in the summer of AC 197.

There was a minor political skirmish between Veterans Affairs and the Extraterrestrial Mining Lobby over where the ceremony was going to be held. In the end, Egert and Relena brokered a deal in which MO-II and the museum would host the ceremony on alternating years, in the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation.

Construction was far from complete but this was the first year enough of it was ready that the Armistice Ceremony could be held there. The museum complex was large and austere, reflecting the mood of the events it was meant to commemorate. It was made of mostly glass and concrete. Its architectural style was thoroughly modern, making use of minimalistic geometric shapes and crystalline structures in place of the more traditional decorative classical elements found throughout the rest of the city. The entire complex covered about a city block. The main building was a circular ring with a large garden in the center and a Great Hall in the south with smaller galleries and exhibits branching off of the circular corridor.

The main court in front of the Great Hall was a flat tiled plane, with repeating square infinity fountains that lined the approach to the main structure. Inside the Great Hall was the first and only completed exhibit featuring many artifacts and memorabilia from the war. Relena, Quatre, and Dorothy had all donated several pieces to the exhibition. The centrepiece and that which was displayed most prominently was the corpse of the Wing Zero which hung proudly and hauntingly over the Great Hall, with its wings outspread, almost touching the domed glass ceiling above, as if the maimed body of a guardian angel keeping an everwatchful eye over this new era of peace.

Heero had abandoned the Wing Zero after using its last shot to break through the shelter of the Presidential Palace. The Preventers had procured the remains immediately after the Battle of Brussels. It took a considerable amount of political pressure and horse-trading before Une finally allowed it to be brought out of storage and loaned to the museum.

"It's a little tight around the chest," Heero said as he effortlessly tied his bowtie.

"You're young, you can get away with it," Pagan said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "As long as it doesn't hug too tightly around your belly. And from the looks of it, you don't have much of a belly to hug."

Heero examined himself in the mirror as he tugged on his bowtie and smoothed out any stray wrinkles from the tuxedo. It had been years since he'd worn anything formal, longer since he last put on a tuxedo. He thought he looked odd, out of place, as if a commoner pretending to be a prince. His shoes were ridiculously shiny, but Pagan assured him that they looked fine.

Heero turned to the side and looked at his profile and shot his cuffs.

"See, you're a natural," Pagan said.

"My mentor taught me how to dress, eat, and speak… for the purposes of infiltration," Heero said, still transfixed by the reflection in front of him.

Pagan suppressed a chuckle. "Ever consider that maybe your mentor was preparing you for a life after the war?"

Heero turned to look at Pagan. He hadn't ever considered the possibility that there was even an after the war for him, let alone the possibility that Doctor J may have inadvertently given him the skills to live in it. It made him feel uncomfortable. So long as he was on a mission, so long as he had a purpose, he could play a role, don a mask, pretend to be someone else knowing that it was for a greater purpose. But to put those skills to use for his own ends felt strange to him.

Pagan stared at Heero for a moment, his hand stroking his mustache.

"Something is missing…" Pagan mused. "Come."

Heero followed as Pagan left the room and started down the hall.

"I didn't think you would care much if I left or stayed," Heero said.

"In the beginning, you would've been right, Master Yuy," Pagan said. "I thought you her obsession from the days of the war. Tying up loose ends, finding closure in that which was left unfinished for two years."

Heero winced at the mention of his disappearance from the hospital after the Battle of Brussels. He was a coward then. But perhaps, he was being a coward now.

"But in the brief time that you have been here, you have proven yourself to me," Pagan continued. "You are a kind man, far more than you know. You are afraid to let anyone see that side of you. But Relena saw it, she saw in that first day she found you on the beach, didn't she?"

Pagan stopped at a large double door at the end of the hallway. He leaned over and let the iris scanner scan his eyes and put his thumb on the fingerprint reader. He then pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket, found the golden key and inserted it into the lock. He pushed open the doors.

"You think she's a naïve girl don't you? That she doesn't know who you are and where you come from and that she would despise you if you stayed," Pagan said as they walked in. "Let me tell you something, Master Yuy. I've seen suitors by the dozen come and go. Do you really think there aren't those who desperately want her? They have all fallen short of her. Some think her their birthright as first born and beloved sons of the Aristocracy, others think her a good match for those with political ambitions, others still just want a beautiful woman."

The room was dusty and covered in cobwebs. There were tables on both sides with boxes both on top and underneath covered with white linens. Pagan stopped, knelt down and pulled a box out from underneath a table.

"None of them were worthy of her, not even close," Pagan said with a frustrated sigh. "But you, you who worry so much about her happiness and wellbeing… are the only man worthy of her love and devotion."

Pagan pulled an old watch and wiped off the layer of dust with his handkerchief. He gestured to Heero to pull back his left cuff.

"This belonged to King Marticus," Pagan said as he put the watch on Heero's wrist. "There, now you are complete."

The lights in the distance grew brighter as the limousine drew closer to the city border. Relena stared out the window, pressing her forehead against the cool glass trying to calm herself down. She had been in a state of frenzied unrest for the last couple of days. Ever since she, by some other worldly force, decided that she wanted to experience Heero Yuy, the object of her deepest desires and affections, in an entirely new and intimate way. Ever since she decided that the boundaries of their relationship were stupid and had been entirely of their own construction.

She could still taste him in her mouth. And it drove her mad. She oscillated between horror, that part of her mind that clung to the rituals and manners of her youth, and unbridled desire, that which Heero inexplicably inspired in her. She was a lady, a princess! How could debase herself like that? Had she no shame?! And yet, she longed to be debased, to be used by him and him alone. Her head spun as two disparate yet equally dominant aspects of their personality did battle within her.

"Relena, what's wrong?" Maxine asked.

"What? Nothing," Relena said as her attention returned.

"Isn't it obvious?" Dorothy said as she took a sip of her champagne. "Did none of you notice the man she had stashed away in the back of the palace?"

"Yeah, who was that?" Laurie asked.

"Oh my god! Is that motorcycle guy?!" Augusta asked in horror.

"He's pretty cute," Laurie commented as she took a sip of her drink.

"You, zip it!" Augusta snapped. "Relena, what are you doing?!"

"He was in the hospital," Relena tried to say calmly. "He put me as his emergency contact. What could I do?"

"Oh, he put you as his emergency contact," Augusta said in shock. "That explains everything!"

"Seriously Relena," Maxine asked. "Just exactly who is he to you?"

"I'd like to know too, because he sure as hell isn't anyone important," Augusta said. "You had well over a hundred invites to Christmas and New Years parties across the globe from nobles, colonial dignitaries, and celebrities alike. And so far the only one you're actually going to is your mother's in Paris. Presumably you've been spending all your time with him. So please, do enlighten us."

Relena was unsure as to how to answer. She had defied everyone and ignored all good advice when it came to Heero and while she had no right to disclose his secret to anyone, she felt like she owed those whose job was her wellbeing an explanation. She looked to Dorothy who stared back at her with her cold blue eyes.

"He's a soldier," Dorothy finally said. "He was part of the Sanc Kingdom's Imperial Guard. He fought to defend the nation when Romefeller invaded."

Dorothy's half-truths and obfuscations satisfied the curiosities of the girls enough for them to stop asking questions. When it was revealed that he wasn't just some guy from Vustgaarde, whom they all implicitly agreed wasn't good enough for the illustrious sole survivor of the Peacecraft Royal Family, and was in fact a noble warrior whom she had a deep and profound history with, they all became quiet. Afterall, they were heading to an event that was meant to commemorate the sacrifices of the brave soldiers who had fought in that conflict.

The limousine pulled up to the front of the war museum as ushers awaited them. There was no official red carpet and the event was technically closed off to the media but that didn't stop the paparazzi from camping out across the street and snapping pictures of the politicians, donors, celebrities, and veterans that were in attendance.

Relena herself, as usual, drew a huge response from the photographers. They shouted at her and begged for a few photos. She politely gave them a wave and a couple of quick poses before making her way towards the Great Hall. Upon entering she was taken aback by the Wing Zero that hung in the back of the hall, immediately reminding her of Heero.

"Come on, Relena," Augusta said tapping her on the shoulder. "Let's go make the rounds and say hello to the president and the rest of the big shots. Mustn't be rude."

Relena snapped out of her daze and nodded to Augusta. She was right. Heero wasn't there as much as she wished him to be. And as always, she had her duties and even if her heart wasn't in it, she performed them diligently. She made her way around the room, which was already quite full by the time she arrived. She shook hands and kissed cheeks with all the major players in Brussels, for they were all there that night. Finally, she made her way over to President Hoch, his wife, and their granddaughter and greeted them warmly.

"Queen Relena!" The little girl said as her eyes brightened at the sight of Relena in her majestic gold dress.

Relena knelt down and shook the girl's hand. "Hello, my dear. It's nice to meet you, but I'm not the queen anymore."

"Right, you're the Vice-Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation," she said, sounding rather proud of herself.

"Wow, you know your business," Relena said warmly. "Perhaps, a little better than your grandfather."

Duo, Sally, and Wufei arrived together. They came together as Preventers Agents rather than former veterans of the war. Duo even came wearing his Preventers jacket, dark jeans, and combat boots. Sally and Wufei came dressed more appropriately. Duo and Wufei clung to each other like scared children at their first dance. They scanned the room and found no one that they actually knew. They weren't politicians but they weren't exactly soldiers either. Or at least they didn't fight on behalf of the White Fang or Romefeller and thus didn't have official combatant status.

Duo fetched some drinks off of the waiter that swung past them and handed them to Sally and Wufei. None of them were used to this kind of environment.

"So, do we talk to people?" Duo asked.

"You can if you want," Sally said.

"I don't know any of these people," Wufei said.

"Why would you?" Sally asked as she eyed Wufei. "You haven't been to Brussels since the battle. You never come to the Preventers annual conference. You hate networking."

"It's meaningless, don't pretend like you enjoy it," Wufei said as he took a sip of his champagne.

"I didn't say I enjoyed it," Sally said. "But it's important to know people if you want to keep working."

"It's shit like this that got us into the war in the first place," Wufei said.

"I'll drink to that," Duo said, agreeing with Wufei.

"Oh please," Sally said with a roll of her eyes. "Don't make your anti-social behaviour some lost cause. You guys just suck at mingling."

Duo and Wufei cowed to Sally's incisive retort. But the cavalry arrived just in time. Quatre and Trowa appeared through the doors and waved to them. Duo, eager to escaped the current conversation enthusiastically waved back and ran towards them and greeted both of them each with a big welcoming hug.

"Boy am I glad to see you guys!" Duo said almost spilling his drink.

"Good to see you too, Duo," Quatre said.

"Likewise," Trowa added.

"Trowa, my man, haven't heard from you in ages," Duo said.

"I've been busy," Trowa answered.

"How's the circus," Duo asked.

"Great, we're currently planning a tour of Earth coming in the next few months," Trowa answered.

"Sounds exciting, maybe I'll come see the show," Duo said.

"You're living here now?" Trowa answered.

"For the time being," Duo answered, suddenly sounding a little unsure of himself.

"Sally, Wufei, it's so good to see you two again," Quatre said as he made his way over to them.

"It's good to see you too, Quatre," Sally said. "How are things?"

"Pretty good, I don't want to seem like we're profiting off the destruction caused by the war but…" Quatre said nervously.

"But you are," Wufei said.

"Yeah…" Quatre admitted.

"Wufei!" Sally whispered as she nudged him with her elbow.

"What?!" Wufei protested. "He knows it!"

"It's rude!" Sally said.

"No, it's okay," Quatre said. "We can't just hide from criticism."

"For the record, I wasn't criticizing you," Wufei said. "Just stating the obvious."

"Working with the Preventers these days?" Trowa asked as he focused his gaze on the patch on Duo's jacket.

"Oh yeah, well you know, gets you into parties like this," Duo said. "How bad can it be?"

"You can just admit it if you like the work," Trowa said.

"What do you mean?"

"I understand," Trowa said. "I feel it too, sometimes I wake up in the morning and miss the smell of gunpowder."

Just then as the four Gundam pilots and Sally were just starting to form their own little bubble within the mass of politicians, celebrities, and former soldiers, Relena, in all her glittering gold majesty made her way towards them with Dorothy in tow.

"Damn! Well look at you, gorgeous!" Duo said as Relena approached. "Well if Heero doesn't want you, I'll take ya!"

Relena laughed. "Duo, you're drunk!"

"Just a bit!" Duo readily admitted.

"Inappropriate comments aside, you do look amazing," Sally said.

"Thank you, Sally," Relena said warmly. "And thank you all for coming this year."

"We're happy to," Quatre said.

"It's about time," Trowa said.

"Sorry, we couldn't get your faces up there," Relena said as she pointed up at the large thin photographs of war heroes that lined the walls.

"Oh shit, I'm glad I'm not up there," Duo said.

"It's not really our thing," Wufei said.

They felt like a special club, alumni of a secret society of those who experienced the war through the prism of Gundamia. They were a subset of those in the room who had fought, but theirs was a secret war, a war set apart and fought underneath the main conflict that culminated between the titanic battle between Treize and Zechs. Theirs was the untold story, the last remaining mystery of that era. They were content to remain a mystery.

Relena clung to the group of nobodies for quite a while. Occasionally, some diplomat or politician would steal a moment of her time and she did not rebuff their attention, nor did their group feel the need to draw her back into their conversations. She was the only one of them of any status after all, in fact, she may have been the most important guest there, save the president and his family. Still, she always returned to her friends for despite the tragic circumstances of their bond, these were the people she was closest to in life and these days she had such few opportunities to commune with them.

"Hey," Quatre said as she tapped Dorothy on the shoulder.

Dorothy turned to look at him and said coldly, "hi."

"That's it? Just hi?" Quatre asked.

"What were you expecting?" Dorothy asked.

"I don't know, more than hi, I guess," Quatre answered.

"You don't write, you don't call," Dorothy said with a hint of frustration and disappointment in her voice. "Look Quatre… I know, I know I said that we should keep in touch after the Battle of Brussels. But two years is a long time, don't you think?"

"You're right, I'm sorry," Quatre said. "I've been busy…"

"So have I, Quatre," Dorothy said. "It's not like I haven't been doing anything."

"That's not what I was implying at all," Quatre said, immediately regretting his previous excuse.

"I know…" Dorothy said shifting into a more conciliatory tone. "It's just… you had your chance Quatre…"

Heero pulled back the sleeve of his leather jacket and checked his watch, or rather King Marticus' vintage Vacheron Constantin Patrimony that Pagan had lent to him. It was around 10 when he finally arrived. He parked his motorcycle a block away from the museum and managed to sneak past the paparazzi and the security that had been hired to keep them out. He managed to do so without any difficulty whatsoever. Compared to Lucio Internationale's headquarters, the security at the museum was amateur. Still, it was at least a little awkward as he didn't actually have an invitation to the ceremony and had no proof whatsoever that had been a combatant in the war.

His eyes took a few moments to adjust to the bright lights once he got in. He had been riding in the dark for at least an hour and a half to get from Peacecraft Palace to the war museum in Brussels. Taking off his jacket, and kicking the snow off of his dress shoes, he took a moment to smooth out his tuxedo before inserting himself discreetly into the building. He had to get in through a service door since, again, he had no invitation.

Once he was in the building proper, he was struck by the the height of the glass ceilings, the austere presence of the concrete walls, and the way his footsteps echoed off of both as he made his way through the empty corridors that surrounded the great hall. Strangely, he felt at peace in that empty and cold space. But he supposed, that was must have been the architect's intention; to inspire a feeling of emptiness and loneliness that had been fused into the core of his being through his countless battles.

He turned the corner and found a few people standing around in the lobby, making phone calls, or standing near the main entrance having a cigarette. No one took notice of him. Heero checked his jacket in at the coat check before he heard some call to him.

"Hey you! Idiot!" It was Mariemaia.

She was sitting on one of the benches in the lobby. She immediately jumped up and marched towards him.

"Yeah you!" Mariemaia shouted as she approached.

"What now?" Heero asked flatly.

"Don't play dumb," Mariemaia said. "I knew it was you, even before my mom came home in a mood. As soon as I saw that building on fire on the news! I knew it was you!"

"Hey, can you keep it down?" Heero asked viciously.

"Fuck you! You have no idea what you've done," Mariemaia said. "You know, I'm trying. I'm trying to be normal now. I'm trying to put the past behind me. But how am I supposed to do that if you keep fucking shit up like that?!"

"How did my mission fuck shit up for you?" Heero asked.

"God, you're dumb. Whenever there's bad news, whenever there's a terrorist incident, whenever anything bad happens to the world… what do you think happens at school for me? Who do you think they blame?" Mariemaia asked.

Heero didn't respond, he knew the answer.

"Yeah… exactly," Mariemaia said with a sigh of defeat.

There was a silence between the two. Heero didn't even think of the tertiary effects of his rash actions. He was different and things were different now. That may have been obvious to anyone else, but not him. And he was only then starting to realize how much he and his circumstance had changed. His life wasn't worthless anymore and he couldn't treat it as though it was worth nothing. He had people now, people who depended on him, people that cared about him, and despite his best and sincerest efforts, people that loved him. There were bonds that he had formed and oddly enough, the petulant little redhead was one of them.

"Why are you sitting out here?" Heero asked.

"You know it's pretty difficult to be in a room and face the people that you threatened with domination and enslavement just two years ago," Mariemaia said as she sat down on the ground and leaned against the wall. "Even if they say they forgive you, even if they say it's not your fault."

Mariemaia stopped for a moment and steadied herself.

"I did what I did…" Mariemaia said with a tremble in her voice.

Heero agreed silently. Mariemaia understood.

"So… do you want me to take care of the kids at your school?" Heero asked. "Just give me a list of names."

Mariemaia's eyes widened as they shot up to look at Heero. His expression was severe, he meant every word. She even considered his offer for a moment.

"God… you're so dumb," Mariemaia said as she snapped out of her momentary lust for vengeance. "Go in there and get Relena before you do anything else to fuck things up again."

"I heard you pulled off a miracle with your case," Relena said as she took a sip of her champagne.

"Where'd you hear that?" Sally asked.

"It's all over town," Relena answered. "I heard there was a knife involved. I have to tell you, you scared the crap out of the Justice Department."

"Yeah well, lawyers will be lawyers, Preventers need to get shit done," Sally said with a little satisfied grin.

"You know, not that I don't appreciate your can-do attitude, but sometimes you guys take things way too far," Relena said.

"Hey," Sally said as she held up her hands, pleading her innocence. "Blowing up a building… not my idea. I disapprove of such carnage and you can tell him I said so."

"But he did get us some valuable data," Duo cut in.

"Don't you start defending him again," Relena said as she turned to face him. "I've had it up to here with you. You two are a bad influence on each other."

Duo took a step back and was just about to defend himself once more before he noticed someone coming through the main doors of the Great Hall. "Speak of the devil…"

Relena could see it in Duo's eyes. The moment of shock, the glint of a excitement, she knew then before even turning to confirm with her own eyes, that he had come. And sure enough, when she finally did turn to look, he was there standing in the doorway. Dressed in a magnificent black tuxedo, with his perfectly messy hair, and his cute little bowtie, and those eyes that pierced her heart. Fuck, he was handsome.

He too saw her. For him, she was like a beacon of light, an angelic presence, in a sea of the mundane and unremarkable. She stood there in that crowd of familiars, in her gold dress, resplendent and perfect, staring back at him as if challenging him, right then and there, to end what they had started so long ago on that cold northern beach.

Kill her or love her forever, for there were no other choices.

He slowly made his way towards her. She waited. Their friends fell silent, feeling the gravity of the moment at least as much as they did. For they had seen their story unfold. They were the spectators, the witnesses to their epic love story, and they wanted it to happen as much as Heero and Relena wanted it themselves. No one dared speak a word.

He stopped right in front of her.

"Can we talk?" Heero said. "I have something to say."

The outer corridor of the museum was cold. Relena felt the brisk air kiss her bare shoulders. She could almost see her breath. But it was quiet and it was private. And if this was what Heero needed for whatever he needed to say, she could accord him that at least. He steadied his nerves and ran through the words over and over again in his mind, making last minute adjustments, all the while experiencing and suppressing pangs of panic as he tried to convince himself not to fuck this up.

"So…" Relena said, breaking their silence. "What do you have to say?"

"I love you." He was blunt. It was his way. It was now or never and this was him and there was no point in trying to be something or someone else. "I have loved you since the day you found me on that beach. I just didn't know it then because I thought I wasn't capable of love. But I know now. I know that I love you and that I will always love you. And I want us to be together. I'm ready to live a life with you."

Brave words. The bravest words he had ever spoken. He was taught to live by his emotions but he instead learned to die by his emotions. Relena heard him and stared at him silently. Her expression stoic, but vulnerable, held together by the most tenuous limits of her own resolve. She trembled as she opened her mouth and drew breath.

"Not good enough…" she whispered.

"What?" he asked.

"That's not good enough, Heero," Relena said as her voice broke.

Tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"Why?" he asked.

"I want to believe you… I really do," Relena said.

"What do you want me to say?" Heero asked.

"I need more…" Relena answered. "You need more…"

"What more is there?" Heero asked.

"I want you to to admit… that your life isn't worthless, that your life is worth living, regardless of me," Relena said. "I want you to admit that you helped create this peace! That it wasn't just me! We built this together! That's your goddamn mobile suit in there if you haven't noticed!"

"Relena…"

"I'm serious, Heero," Relena said as she wiped away her tears. "I need to know… that you know, that you are worth something… because to me… you're worth everything."

Heero leaned forward. Relena fell back against the wall. They stared at each other for a few moments, their breathing synchronized in the heightened emotions of that private moment.

"Say it…" she whispered.

"My…"

"Say it!"

"My life is worth living…"

He felt an unexpected, unrealized weight lift from him. He physically felt lighter, as if he could breathe easier. Had this weight been with him his whole life? Relena smiled through her tears.

"There, now was that so hard?" she whispered.

Heero smiled. "No, not at all."

"Well…" Relena said.

"Well what?" Heero asked.

"Kiss me you fool," Relena said.

Heero leaned in and touched his lips to hers. Her arms wrapped around his shoulder and drew him. The world faded away.

"You don't have to be modest," the elder woman said with a genuine smile. "You stood up to them and you made the world respect you. That's quite an accomplishment."

"That's very kind of you to say, Mrs. Hoch," Une replied.

"Quite right," President Hoch added. "You did well and I'm not just saying that because you kept my office out of your testimony. You represented the Preventers organization with honour, you've proven your vigilance and competence, and you embarrassed Councillor Diaz and that always counts for something in my book."

"Yes, I agree," Relena said as she approached the table where Une, President Hoch, and his wife were. "President Hoch, may I steal Director Une for a moment."

President Hoch's face turned red at the request and immediately grabbed his wife by the hand. "Of course, Vice-Foreign Minister, take as long as you need."

Without another word, the President and his wife disappeared into the crowd.

"He doesn't seem too keen to be stuck in the middle of our squabble," Une commented.

"Who could blame him," Relena said.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Une said as she steeled herself and turned to face Relena.

"Alright, I understand," Relena said as she backed up a little, conceding some of the conversational ground to Une. "You were right… I was being a bitch."

"I believe my words were harsher than that," Une said.

"Regardless," Relena said meekly. "I'm sorry. For the way I've been acting lately. I was just… going through a lot."

Une's expression softened. "You two work things out?"

Relena let out a cathartic laugh and took a deep breath. "Yeah… it's more of a… work in progress. But you know, with him it's always going to be baby steps."

"Well, I'm glad for you two," Une said. "Really, I mean that. You deserve it."

"Look, I didn't come over here just to apologize and gloat… or whatever," Relena said. "I wanted to let you know, if you ever need help. Diplomatic access or just need a bit of political weight, I'm here."

"Jeez," Une chuckled. "What did he do to you?"

"I'm serious," Relena said with a smile.

"Okay," Une said with a conciliatory smile. "I appreciate it."

He was still a little lightheaded from the experience. His current euphoria, a condition wholly unfamiliar to him, made his entire body feel lighter. His fingers still tingled. As did his lips. He checked his watch again. It read 11:35. Good. He had heard somewhere that the way to tell if he was dreaming was to check a clock to see if he could make out the time. If he could, it meant that he wasn't dreaming. He wasn't sure if it was true but he chose to believe that it was. If this was a dream, it was good dream and he never wanted to wake from it.

Relena said that she had to go talk to Une and promised that she would come right back. He hated the feeling of sharing her with anyone in that moment but he agreed anyway. They would have time and for the first time in his life, he wanted to savour every moment. He walked around the Great Hall by himself, opting not to go and talk to Duo or Sally or Wufei or Quatre or Trowa, whom would obviously and obnoxiously tease him and congratulate him with equal vigour. He wanted to bask in the joy of the moment by himself, until she returned. Then they could go and get hazed by their friends together.

Instead he chose to examine the artifacts in glass display cases that lined the perimeter of the Great Hall, the hardpoints of an Aries wing, the main camera of a Leo, fragments of the outer hull of Fortress Barge. He then looked up at the mobile suit that hung above it all. It was his. The remains of the Wing Zero, which he hadn't seen it since he abandoned it after breaking through the shield at the Presidential Palace two years ago. They had cosmetically restored portions of it. They rebuilt a portion of the head, and repainted sections of the wings. Suddenly, as he stared into the eyes of the machine that he had shared the war with, he remembered something.

Relena emerged through the crowd with a big grin on her face.

"Well, that went better than expected," Relena said.

"So Une accepted your apology," Heero said.

"She saw right through me," Relena said with a roll of her eyes.

Suddenly, Heero grabbed her hand. "Come with me, I have to show you something."

They made their way through the crowd and out into the corridor. Heero kept a brisk pace as he dragged Relena along until they found the stairs. They went up to the third floor and found themselves in an unfinished section of the museum, still covered in tarps, illuminated with work lights. They made their way through the space, carefully avoiding any tools or cables that were strewn on across the floor, until Heero found a door.

"Heero! Where are we going?!" Relena whispered viciously. "We're not supposed to be up here!"

"Over here," Heero said as he cracked open the door.

They walked out onto a catwork that hung over the Great Hall. They could see everyone down below but no one was paying attention to them. Heero, with his characteristic grace and balance, confidently stepped out onto the catwalk and began walking towards his old Gundam. Relena had a markedly harder time as her heels were not designed to traverse such terrain to say the least. Heero held out his hand and helped her balance until they reached the end of the catwalk.

The doors of the Wing Zero had been blown off when he exited the suit for the last time two years ago. There was just an wide open cavity to the cockpit now. He hopped in effortlessly, he held out his hand. With great trepidation, she reached out, took his hand, braced her other hand on a grove created either by a bullet or the impact from the Wing Zero's collision with the ground, and hoisted herself into the cockpit. Heero adjusted her slightly so that she was positioned in his lap. He manually folded the main console up, securing them inside of the cockpit. Even still, they could still plainly see everyone below.

"Okay, cool…" Relena said sounding less than impressed. "Yes, I haven't been in here in a while. What are we doing here exactly?"

"Give me a second," Heero said as he pulled out his phone from his pocket, opened a little hatch on the side of the main console, pulled out a power cable, and connected it to his phone. "Let's just hope my phone battery is powerful enough to power the BIOS for a few minutes."

A few moments later, the main console flickered a bit and a dim green glow came from the center circular display. Heero pulled up the fold out keyboard from his left side and started to navigate through the file system. Most of the records had been cleared out along with the OS by the Preventers when they took custody of the suit after the Battle of Brussels. But he stored the file away in a separate partition that was hidden from the main operating system. He didn't know why he stored the file that way back then.

He knew now.

A blurry image of a young Heero appeared on screen.

"Relena… You'll never see this so perhaps this is all for nothing but if I can't tell you how I feel about you now? When can I? The truth is, you have always scared me. I think you see something in me that I don't see and never have seen in myself. You see a better version of me. And somehow, I think, you're challenging me to live up to that person that you think I can be. And the reason I'm scared is because I don't think I can be that person. I don't think I'm half the man you think I am. And I don't want to disappoint you. Because the thing is Relena… I love you. And I don't want you to hate me."

The image faded. The power went out. Heero's phone died. They sat there in darkness, in silence, she in his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist, his chin resting gently against her shoulder.

It was quiet in there.

"Oh my god, Heero…" she whispered as her voice trembled.

"That was the first time I said I love you…" Heero whispered back, his breath brushing against her bare shoulder. "I guess I just wanted you to hear it."

Relena wiped away her tears. She hiked up her dress, turned, and straddled him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned her forehead against his. He looked up at her desperately, she stared back at him with pain in her eyes. Their heavy breaths intermingled.

"I love you," Relena said. "I loved you then, and I love you now. And I love you for every fucking time you told me without telling me!"

She pressed her lips against his. And she told him she loved him again, this time without words. She hiked her dress up even further and when it wouldn't go any further, she tore it away. Tens of thousands of dollars, instantly destroyed. She couldn't care less. She slid the dress down, revealing her breasts. She took his hands and made him touch her. Her lips wrestled his even harder. She needed him desperately.

"Wait.." Heero muttered through her kisses. "Here? Now?"

"Yes, Heero! Right here! Right now!"

She had been taken by frustration, desire, and love. It didn't matter anymore. It didn't matter that they were in a room of over 200 people. It didn't matter that there was no front hatch for privacy. It didn't matter that if anyone bothered to look, they would immediately be spotted. It didn't matter if the room was just a bit quieter they would undoubtedly be heard. They had waited far too long. They weren't going to wait any longer.

He entered her.

She arched her back and let out a purging moan.