Cynthia Monroe Price
The shrieking default ringtone of her new phone violently woke her up. She had been meaning to change it since she got it but kept forgetting. This time. She would definitely change it this time. She reached out and slapped her nightstand a couple of times, fumbling around until she finally managed to get hold of it.
"Hello?" Cindy answered, her voice barely audible.
She listened to the voice on the other side.
"Hello, Mr. Yuy!" Cindy said, her demeanour, voice, state of wakefulness changed all in an instance. "How nice to hear from you."
Cindy instantly sat up.
"Who's that?" A man's voice from beside her clumsily uttered.
Right. Right. She had forgotten. Or perhaps she was trying to forget.
"Shut up!" She hissed as she took her pillow and whacked the guy with it.
Fumbling around her messy bedroom for a moment, she found her fuzzy slippers and slipped them on and stumbled out into her equally messy living room to continue her conversation with Heero privately.
"I was wondering if you could do me a favour." Heero's voice came through her phone.
"Absolutely, anything!" Cindy answered instinctively. She didn't entirely mean to. Was this a good idea? But he's the Relena's man, we gotta keep him happy too, right?
"Valentine's Day is coming up and I was hoping you could make sure that Relena's schedule is open in the evening," Heero said, his voice calm and steady as if he was updating the team on Relena's morning itinerary. "I want to surprise her."
"Oh…" Cindy said. That's it? Oh thank god. "Sure, absolutely I can do that!"
"Thank you so much, Cindy."
"You're very welcome, Mr. Yuy," Cindy said.
"You can call me Heero." His voice finally giving a hint of familiarity.
"Okay… Heero," Cindy said awkwardly.
Daniel lumbered out of her bedroom into her small living room/kitchen/dining room. It was a small apartment. He was shirtless, his slight belly hanging out of the top of his boxer shorts. His dark blonde hair was a messy and his face carried to the same look of dehydration of a man who had too much to drink the night before. Cindy couldn't judge too harshly, she was probably, likewise obliterated.
"Who was that?" Daniel asked. His voice, carrying a distinct hint of mistrust. He was much less obscure with his emotions than Heero.
"Nobody," Cindy said as she grabbed her blouse from the night before and held it up to inspect it. "None of your business."
"Is it another guy?" Daniel asked accusingly. "Are you fucking someone else?"
"What? No!" Cindy's indignation was genuine, although she was sure Daniel couldn't discern it or worse, wouldn't care. "And again, none of your business. We're not together anymore!"
"Then what was last night." If it weren't so tragic, it would be comical how smug he sounded in that moment.
Did he know how ridiculous he looked like in that moment? How pathetic he was?
Cindy paused. But she had slept with him last night. There was no denying that. What does that make her?
"A mistake," Cindy finally answered.
The train from Lennik Station, on the outskirts of Anderlecht, to Brussels Central took around 40 minutes during peak hours. Today it was taking longer. Cindy mostly tried her best to beat the early crowd and get into the city before mass of government workers flooded in from the outer suburbs but her situation with Daniel had made her late.
As a result she was stuck on a rather packed train where the stops took longer than the usually 45 seconds she had grown accustom to. Her head was still ringing from the drinking from the night before. She carried a waterbottle with her but given the length of the trip, she refrained from taking in too much water lest she need to get off the train to relieve herself. Instead, she tried to distract herself by doing some work.
Her email inbox were filled as usual. She tried to sort between what was important, what wasn't, and what she wasn't sure about. Of that what she wasn't sure about pile, she further split into things she needed to forward to Dorothy, Augusta, and Relena herself. She hated sending stuff to Dorothy because it usually came with a prompt response, usually within 5 minutes, resolving it completely, or telling Cindy how to resolve it with some quippy comment that usually amounted some thinly-veiled jab as to how incompetent she was. As for Relena, she knew that the girl had her own mountain of emails to get through every morning and tried her best to keep what she forwarded to Relena to a minimum.
After sorting all of her emails but before replying to them, she got bored and her attention drifted towards her social media feed, as it often did. It was the usual stuff that made put her in a foul mood. Pictures of friends, aquaintances, and celebrities alike, always looking dazzlingly happy, at some party or some far off holiday destination. She sighed and switched to her own feed as if to compare. She knew she shouldn't do it but at this point, it felt like a compulsion. She had to admit, her feed was also filled with the very same types of photos. There were some occasional photos of parties and the like, in fact she did have a few with Relena in them, her crowning achievement, if she had any at all. But those moments were few and far between. A far cry from the reality of her daily grind. She didn't post regularly. In her estimation, there wasn't much to post about.
Brussels Metropolitan University
February 13th, AC199
Cindy frantically typed the notes on her laptop as the professor at the front of the lecture hall droned on and on. He was a particular fast lecturer.
Despite the fact that her job as Relena's assistant was a full time job, Cindy also attended university. She figured if Relena could do it, she could too. At least could try to attempt it. Afterall, they were roughly the same age. She however did not attend a prestigious school like Vustgaarde University but rather the much more mundane Brussels Metropolitan University. Still a respectable school, but its utilitarian minimalist complex of tightly packed, interconnected square boxes that took up half a city block was a far cry from the Gothic inspired sprawling campus out in the countryside that was Vustgaarde.
Cindy's concentration was violently broken by the sound of her phone going off. This fucking ringtone. She scrambled to decline the call. And she did so quite quickly but it was still too late.
"Excuse me, Excuse me…" The professor was looking directly at her.
"Price," Cindy said meekly.
"Ahh yes, Miss Price." He pretended to remember her name. "This is the third time, Miss Price. I should think that I wouldn't have to explicitly spell it out for a university student to have their phones off or, at the very least, on silent during a lecture."
"No, sir, I'm sorry."
Cindy felt the heat of her on her cheeks, her embarrassment having obvious physical effects. She wanted to melt into her chair. The professor sighed away as much of the frustration as he could before adjusting his glasses and returning to his lecture notes.
"Whatever, Professor Langevin is a douche!" Dottie proclaimed.
She might have been right. Dottie had taken Professor Langevin's class the previous semester. Still, that didn't mean that Cindy wasn't wrong. She didn't put her phone on silent.
"It was so embarrassing!" Cindy said as she curled up and dropped her face into her hands.
Cindy and her group of friends, Dottie, Soledad, and Francine sat at a round table at the food court in the main atrium of their university. She had met this group at orientation, during the first week of school back in the fall. It was Thursday and it was lunch time and as was their tradition; they met for lunch every Thursday. It was the only time during the week that all four of their schedules lined up.
"You're doing too much, girl!" Soledad said. "You need to chill out."
"I practically do nothing compared to her," Cindy said.
"Oh who cares about Relena Peacecraft?!" Francine proclaimed, waving her hands around. "Are we all supposed to live our lives comparing ourselves to the Princess? Give me a break, she sets such an unrealistic expectation for all of us!"
"She's my boss."
"Exactly!" Francine said as she pointed her fork at Cindy. "She's your employer. Not your master. Tell her to back the fuck off."
"I can't," Cindy protested. "You don't know how much she's got going on at any one time! I have to help her! Plus, she's really nice."
"Oh, she's nice!" Sarcasm oozed from Francine's words. "Not nice enough to cut you some slack?"
"Don't mind Francine," Dottie said as she took off her hoodie. "She doesn't get it."
"I think she means well," Cindy commented.
Dottie and Cindy were sitting in the back of a cab. They were both headed to the government sector after having finished their classes for the day. They would often split the cost of a ride in a taxi rather than wait for a crowded train. Today was no different. They were both entry workers for the government in one way or another. Cindy for Relena, the Vice-Foreign Minister and Dottie, a junior legal aid for a Councillor in the Assembly of Nations (the Lower House of Parliament).
"She's a slacker," Dottie continued. "She's only here because it's a condition for her to inherit her father's business."
"Wouldn't it be nice…" Cindy sighed as she stared longly into the distance.
The cabbie in the front kept looking in the rear view mirror as if pretending to be an attentive driver. But both Cindy and Dottie knew that the car was in autodrive mode and he was just trying to get a peak at the young brunette in a bra. They gave each other a knowing look before the cabbie snapped his gaze back towards the road. Whatever. They both collectively though to themselves.
"Yeah, but that's what makes us different," Dottie said. "We need these jobs. We don't have a family business to fall back onto."
"How's Francois?" Cindy asked.
"Same same," Dottie said as she put on her white dress shirt and began to button it. "Sexist pig. You are so lucky you got the Relena job. That's what Francine doesn't understand. You would be crazy to give up your job! Meanwhile, I'm out here waiting hand and foot on the Councillor with the cocaine problem."
"I don't know how he's gonna survive reelection," Cindy said.
"Who gives a shit," Dottie said as she fluffed her hair and pulled out her makeup kit. "I'm applying for that court internship. Screw it, can't be worse than being a junior staffer for these Parliamentary fuckheads."
There was a momentary silence between them. Cindy listened to the steady hum of the car in autodrive. She watched Dottie apply her lipstick.
"I slept with Daniel," Cindy blurted out. "Again."
Dottie snapped her attention towards Cindy. The compact mirror almost fell out of her hand.
"Don't give me that look, I know!" Cindy's defiant tone being belied by the way she slouched in her seat.
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Dottie said. "He's a loser!"
"It's just sex," Cindy said dismissively.
"It's not just sex and you know it," Dottie said. "You're just feeling lonely because it's Valentine's Day and you're freaking out."
"I'm not freaking out," Cindy said rather convincingly.
"Yeah fucking the ex that dumped you after having cheated on you, twice!" There was that familiar sarcasm again. Were all her friends like this? "Is the very picture of sanity."
Again they fell into a momentary silence.
"Oh my god! What's wrong with me?!" Cindy freaked out, as she was occasionally prone to do.
"Okay, I'm officially calling an emergency Galentine's Day!" Dottie said. "You can't be trusted."
"No, no, it's okay," Cindy said, having seemingly calmed down.
"You need something, my girl," Dottie said. "You are burning the candle at both ends."
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The lobby of the Extraplanetary Affairs building in the middle of the Foreign Ministry complex was a large grey mable box. It was about 80 metres across, 15 metres tall, and 35 metres from the front entrance to the inner security checkpoint. On one end, was the reception desk with a maximum of three clerks working at any given time. On the far wall was a large brass abstract wall sculpture, apparently symbolizing the unity of Earth and Space. Cindy could never make heads or tails of it. But it did give the new entrants and workers alike a sense of stateliness and pomp the otherwise utilitarian office building desperately needed.
Cindy was still dressed in her school clothes, a large brown jacket, jeans, and black ankle boots. At first glance, she would've looked completely out of place in the sea of gray and black business suits that roamed around the building but she had been around long enough that she was a fixture. All of the security guards and clerks at least knew her face. She waved at the on duty clerk and badged in at the security check before quickly running for the set of elevators just opposite the barrier.
The elevator pinged as the doors slid open. Before Cindy could even take a step, Augusta emerged from within.
"Cindy! Just the girl I wanted to see," Augusta said in her usual affected manner.
Great…
"There's a bunch of clothing for Relena from various brands in the back of my car, I need you to get it out. I have to go pick up some things from a couple of the Peacecraft estates and I need the space," Augusta said as she tossed her keys to Cindy.
"Where do I put them?" Cindy asked as she fumbled with keys, nearly dropping them.
"I don't know… anywhere," Augusta said, pretending to think about it for a second. "Figure it out."
It took Cindy another 20 minutes to unload all of the clothes from Augusta's car. She had to make several trips. Luckily, the receptionist was kind enough to watch the boxes and bags of clothing for her while she made her trips. Eventually, seeing her struggle, a security guard went and fetched a hand truck for her. This kind of thing wasn't usual for Cindy and the staff at the front desk had often seen Cindy carrying unwieldy boxes and large amounts of free stuff for Relena.
"What's all that?" Relena asked absently, as Cindy awkwardly opened the glassdoor of her office and began to pull the hand truck stacked with boxes in.
"The usual, free stuff from people trying to get your attention," Cindy said, sounding rather out of breath. "Do you want any of it?"
"What depends," Relena said, still staring at her monitor, reading through an email. "Is there anything interesting?"
Cindy took the boxes off of the hand truck and placed them in several rows between the couches and Relena's desk. She took her keys out and opened the boxes and began to sort them on the couches and the coffee table.
"Let's see here…" Cindy began to list off the items. "We've got some Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Helena Hart, Givenchy, Burberry, Vivienne Luxe—"
"Oooh!" Relena's attention was immediately drawn towards Cindy.
Relena jumped out of her seat and scurried over to the clothes laid out all over her office furniture. She immediately ran over to the Vivienne Luxe pile. It was also lingerie. Relena picked them up one by one and held the delicate fabrics (or lack thereof) between her fingers.
"Hot date?" Cindy commented.
"It is Valentine's Day tomorrow," Relena said admirably, gently rubbing a silk bralette between her fingers.
"Mr. Yuy is a lucky man."
"You don't know the half of it," Relena said as she chuckled to herself. "Not that he's making much of an effort. I have something very special planned for tomorrow night."
Relena sounded slightly annoyed. Cindy suddenly remembered Heero's call from the morning. Oh, she doesn't know. And she hadn't caught on because Cindy had already rearranged a giant block of nothing in Relena's calendar for Friday night.
"Oh… that reminds me!" Relena said excitedly. "What are you doing right now?"
"Sorting through clothes?" Cindy said apprehensively.
"Wanna go on an adventure?"
Cindy didn't understand quite what she was getting into. As soon as she said yes, Relena excitedly ducked into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later in a black baseball cap, Gucci sunglasses, black puffer coat, white leggings, and a pair of booties. Without saying a word, Relena grabbed Cindy by the arm and dragged her into the stairwell. They quickly descended the stairs into the underground parking garage. Relena made Cindy swipe them in.
Cindy found it all very disorienting. It was as though Relena had completely changed personalities at the drop of a hat. They made their way to Heero's car that they used to get to and from work everyday. Relena pulled out the keys and rummaged through the trunk for a moment. She pulled out what looked to be a spare license plate and a screwdriver. Alarms began to ring in Cindy's head. What the fuck is going on?
But it didn't seem to faze Relena at all. She slammed the trunk shut and made her way over to the another just a few parking spots over. It was a very similar looking vehicle. Although, instead of being a Rolls-Royce it was a standard government issue make.
"Hold this," Relena said as she tossed Cindy her purse and her phone. "Aim that light over here."
Cindy clumsily did as Relena asked. She turned on the flashlight on her phone and aimed it at what Relena was looking at. With a certain physical conviction that Cindy had never seen before, Relena knelt down and began to undo the screws on the license of the car. She then, without much fussing around, installed the spare plate she had grabbed from their car.
"Ummmm, what are we doing exactly?" Cindy asked nervously.
After Relena had finished installing the plate, Relena stood up and pulled a small device out of her pocket and held it close to the driver's door lock.
"We make a backup, then we enter the BIOS," Relena said in a muted chant as if reciting it out loud made the task easier. "Then we enter the OEM code that Heero totally didn't make us memorize. Then we reset to factory settings, we enter a new passcode, and… done!"
The car unlocked.
Amazing but still internally panicking, Cindy followed Relena into the car.
"How cool was that?" Relena yipped in giddy excitement.
"What the fuck did we just do?!" Cindy was decidedly less excited and more panicked.
"Relax, we'll be back within a couple of hours," Relena said as she fastened her seatbelt. "No one is even gonna notice."
That didn't exactly assuage Cindy's panic. Cindy didn't know what adventure entailed when she said yes, but it certainly wasn't this. "I'm so getting fired…"
"Who's firing you? I'm not firing you," Relena remarked as she fiddled around with the dashboard until she found the autodrive button and punched in an address.
"Dorothy will!"
"Don't worry about Dorothy. She can't fire you. I made sure of that," Relena said. Somehow that didn't lessen Cindy's anxiety a little bit.
Cindy let herself smile just a little bit in that moment.
"Why do you know how to boost cars?!"
"Heero taught me," Relena explained simply. "He said it would come in handy if I were ever kidnapped again."
The ride from the government quarter to the outskirts of town took half an hour. The onboard computer seemed to be taking them down a circuitous route even though they didn't appeared to have been followed by anyone. Whatever or wherever they were going, Relena seemed intent on not being followed.
Cindy supposed it was quite reasonable for Relena to not want to be followed but she had no idea of exactly how capable Relena was of it. She seemed so at ease breaking into the car. She wondered if in another, if things had gone differently for her, would Relena have picked up this skill by other means. Being the rebellious scion of a wealthy and prestigious family and all that.
When they finally reached the outskirts of the city, Relena took out an unmarked black baseball cap and a pair of Gucci sunglasses and put them on. They got out of the car and made their way to an unmarked door of one of the many buildings in the neighborhood.
Cindy's jaw fell open as soon as they were inside. That's why Relena was being all surreptitious about all of this. Inside was a giant room that if Cindy had not known any better resembled a dungeon. But she quickly picked out the whips along with the chains. The wall mounted display of masks. The leather body suits on mannequins. The display case, full of dildos and other such toys. It would be a scandal if anyone had caught Relena entering a store such as this.
"How did you find this place?" Cindy remarked as her eyes still darted around.
"Social media ad," Relena answered simply.
"I'd like to see your feed."
"There it is!" Relena said excitedly as she pointed at something around the corner.
"What the…" Before Cindy could even finish her thought Relena had run up to a freestanding dance pole setup.
Relena enthusiastically jumped on the pole and executed a pirouette into a dolphin spin and finally into an aerial invert until she glided down to the ground.
"Oh come on, act a little impressed!" Relena pouted.
"No I am… I'm just…" Cindy said dumbly. "I didn't know you could do that."
"I've been practicing," Relena said with a giggle.
Cindy thought about it for a second. When would she have the time to learn and practice any of this. Her calendar was perpetually booked. And then she remembered the blank spots after her classes that were ominously marked busy.
"Is this what you've been doing at that blank spot in your calendar?"
"I wanted to surprise Heero," Relena said as she uprighted herself.
"I'm sure he's gonna love it," Cindy said. "But why am I here?"
It took Cindy two hours to get the giant box full of heavy equipment back to her apartment. She was tasked with getting this thing setup at the Royal Windsor Penthouse suite, Relena and Heero's current residence, tomorrow while they were at work. Luckily, Relena insisted on Cindy using a delivery service and told her to expense it to the Peacecraft offices (and not the Foreign Ministry). Still, even with the help of the movers, it practically took all of Cindy's strength to get all of it inside her tiny little apartment.
The housing complexes of Lennik were superficially new, modern, and sleek. They were enclosed neighborhoods, with minimalist highrise apartments, walkable paths, and green areas for pets and families. They were part of the larger post-war reconstruction initiatives, jointly funded by the City of Brussels, the territorial government of the Lowlands, and United Earth Sphere Unified Nation. But in reality, they were hastily built shoeboxes with windows, to meet the housing demands of the influx of workers and refugees to the capital after the destruction caused by both the Eve War and the Mariemaia Insurrection. It was already to starting to fall apart.
Cindy, like most other students and junior government workers, naturally settled in this area. It was far from both school and work, but the rents were reasonable. And she didn't really have many other choices.
Despite how tired she was, Cindy was still curious by the contents of the box. She had seen an entirely new side of Relena today. A side that seemed more familiar and yet more daunting at the same time. She pulled out the base and one of the poles and set it up. Pole dancing wasn't new. Cindy had a few friends that did it and she could probably get into it herself if she weren't so busy. So to know that Relen had such common interests was really endearing.
Just as she was about to attempt one of the moves that Relena had so effortlessly demonstrated earlier, there was a knock on her door.
Cindy opened the door. She regretted it immediately.
"Hey," Daniel said. Standing there, leaning against the doorframe, as if he had been expected or something.
"What are you doing here?" Cindy asked as she folded her arms across her chest.
"I thought we could talk," Daniel said.
"I don't have anything to say to you."
"Come on, Cynthia…" His voice softened. He gently raised his hand to caress her face.
Cindy didn't like that. "Don't call me that. You don't get to call me that."
Just as he was about to try again, something caught his attention from inside her apartment. "Is that a pole…"
"Yeah…" Cindy froze. Her cheeks turned red as she remembered what she was doing prior to answering the door. "It's none of your business!"
"Are you becoming a—"
"Fuck off, Daniel!" Cindy yelled. "No. And you're a pig for assuming that!"
She slammed the door on his face and locked it.
She could still hear him banging on the door. But he didn't matter. For a moment, she came to the realization that she had so many times before; her life was a wreck. Some turd of an ex-boyfriend banging on her door, pretending like he wasn't the one that fucked up. She found herself in her small—and perhaps at first glance cute and modern but ultimately—cheap apartment. Then there was the pole in the middle of her living room. A frivolous expression of the multitudes within the radiant wunderkind that was her very capable boss. But her miserable responsibility to make a reality.
She jumped on the pole and tried to mimic the spin that Relena had done earlier. She crashed and fell on the floor.
Cindy checked her phone. It was Daniel. For the fourth time since she slammed the door on his face. He was persistent, Cindy had to admit. Although it didn't make him anymore endearing to her. In fact it was quite annoying. Her day wasn't over. After Daniel had left, Cindy quickly got dressed and headed downtown again. She was working a charity gala that Relena was attending.
At the beginning of her tenure with Relena, Cindy loved these types of occasions. Where else would she ever get to rub shoulders with Brussels and indeed the world's elite. Events were the most exclusive events, and being Relena's assistant was her ticket in. But she soon realized, you've been to one charity gala, you've been to them all. And if people couldn't use her to get a meeting with Relena, they quickly realized that Cindy was of no consequence and before long everyone knew better than to talk to her. Ironically, the more well known she had become in those circles, the less anyone gave a shit about her.
"Cindy!"
"Yes!" Cindy said, snapping out of her daze.
"Yes what?" Dorothy said viciously. "Where's the list of the guests of honor?"
"I've got it…" Cindy said as she frantically flipped through her binder.
Dorothy waited impatiently as she tapped her pen against her tablet. Finally, Cindy managed to produce the list and handed it to her.
"What's with you today?"
The charity gala ended around midnight. Cindy was the first outside making travel arrangements for both Relena. It was cold and despite having a thick winder jacket on, her strapless dress created a juicy target for the brisk February wind. She waited patiently, shivering as she finally received a text from Heero confirming that he would be there in a couple of minutes.
Cindy noticed as Relena exited the building, still saying her goodbyes to some people as she made her way out. Relena descended the steps gracefully. As gracefully as she had been on that pole earlier in the day. Her golden blonde hair, worn down with a half braid on this occasion, flowed in the cold winter air, her black dress rippled with rhythmic intention. She looked like she stepped out of a perfume commercial.
How was she so effortlessly perfect all the time?
"Look! I saved us some pastries," Relena said as she excitedly pulled out something wrapped in a napkin from her purse.
Relena carefully unwrapped it. There were a couple of macaroons, a napoleon, and an opera cake. Cindy took a macaroon.
"Thanks," Cindy said sounding rather tired as she took a bite.
"How did the thing go?" Relena asked.
"Don't worry, I've got it all set up for tomorrow, he's gonna love it!" Cindy said assuredly, noticing the fatigue in her voice and immediately correcting it.
"Maybe I shouldn't be stuffing myself with carbs the night before," Relena said as she took a bite out of her opera cake.
"You're gonna need the energy."
Just then, they heard a honk. A black Rolls-Royce came pulling up. It was Relena's father's car but Heero was driving.
"Ahh, there's the man of the hour," Relena said. "Do you need a ride? We're going back to Brussels. We can drop you off if you like."
Suddenly, Cindy felt a pang of panic. Relena, dropping her off at her small little apartment complex in the suburbs?! Ha! What a joke.
"Oh no, my friend is still in there," Cindy lied. She was just gonna take a taxi home. She wasn't even going to expense it. "I'm waiting for her."
"Okay. Well, then I'll see you tomorrow," Relena said.
Brussels Central Station, Brussels
February 14th, AC 199
Cindy checked were watched as she stepped off of the train. There had been a short delay on a platform a few stops ahead of her for 15 minutes, the nature of which was annoyingly vague. As a result, she dashed off from the train platform at a full sprint, weaving past an endless procession of commuters, no doubt many of whom, were in a similar predicament as her. It took Cindy around 10 minutes to get from the train station to Foreign Ministry. She figured maybe she had shaved off at least a few minutes.
She stepped into the elevator, breathless, and with a slight wheeze. Only few she had caught her breath did she realized, she was standing next to Heero, who was looking at her, with a cold expressionless stare. Immediately, she felt embarrassed. Perhaps, it was because she had seen him fight and subdue a dozen men without breaking a sweat just a few weeks ago.
"I managed to clear her calendar," Cindy said, breaking the silence.
"Thank you," Heero acknowledged.
They stood in silence, watching as the number on the elevator display slowly went up. Cindy peaked over at Heero. He looked very handsome in his black leather jacket that he wore over his inner Preventers blazer. He oozed a natural confidence that she wondered if he was even aware of. She could only wonder what kind of monster Relena was trying to coax about of his taciturn exterior.
"Just don't stay out too late," Cindy said cheekily as she leaned slightly towards him.
"Huh?"
He was genuinely confused. And for a moment Cindy felt a slightly twinge of panic. She had forgotten that while she did clear Relena's calendar, Heero was not aware of Relena's little surprise for him at the end of the night.
"Nevermind," Cindy said. "I shouldn't have said anything"
Despite her best efforts, Cindy yawned. Heero taking note of this, handed Cindy a coffee.
"What about Relena?" Cindy asked, looking a little shocked.
"You mean this one?" Heero said as he held up a second cup of coffee.
The door opened and they both stepped out of the elevator. They headed down the hall to Relena's office tucked away on the corner of the floor. Once they got close, they could already hear Relena's voice coming through the glass walls. They stopped right before the door. Relena was inside pacing around as she talked on the phone. Relena seemed rather impatient to Cindy but then she quickly remembered what day it was. And it seemed like Relena had dressed for the occasion.
Cindy heard Heero sigh. He then adjusted his tie. She gave him an incredulous look. He didn't seem to notice. Did he actually think Relena was annoyed at him? Even if he didn't know what he was in for at the end of the night, he couldn't possibly think that however Relena was acting, that it was his fault.
Cindy had considered Relena to be a mentor. Perhaps even like an older sister (despite being roughly the same age give a few months here or there). But the way these two acted towards each other was baffling. They seemed so wise and confident in all other aspects of their lives but they felt like pre-teen children when it came to being in a relationship.
"You know for a smart guy, you're kinda dumb sometimes," Cindy said.
She pushed on the metal handle and entered.
A few hours later, after a few hours of work, Cindy and Relena headed down to the canteen to grab a snack. It had recently become a ritual as a consequence of both the city lockdown and the fact that their increasingly busy schedules didn't permit them to even step outside to go around the corner to get something from one of their favourite coffee shops.
Cindy stared at her boss while Relena ordered for the both of them. Relena had certainly dressed for the occasion. She wore a maroon blazer and a matching mini skirt with a thin black belt with a small square golden buckle. Her beige blouse was unbuttoned lower than usual. Just enough that no one could've missed it, not enough that anyone dared say anything about it. Her hair was worn down, which was unusual, and it was slightly curled, which Cindy had never seen on Relena during office hours. If anyone was unfamiliar with who Relena was, they could be forgiven for assuming that she was someone's secretary. Luckily, everyone knew who she was.
Relena caught Cindy staring at her heels as she handed her her ice cream.
"What?" Relena asked.
"You seem taller to me today." Cindy smirked.
Relena looked down at her heels. Black, shiny, five inches, with rhinestones on the heels. Cindy was pretty sure they caught the eye of every girl they walked by, and some of the men.
"Oh these?" Relena said innocently as she kicked her foot back. "Yeah, I bought them when I was in Paris. What do you think?"
"Those are not work appropriate," Cindy said with a hint of a chuckle.
"Oh?" Relena leaned in towards Cindy and whispered: "Of course I know that. But who's gonna say anything? I'm the boss."
Cindy almost spat out her ice cream.
"What an abuse of power!" Cindy feigned shock.
"I know, I've gone power hungry," Relena played along.
They both giggled like school children for a moment.
"You are different though," Cindy said.
"What do you mean?"
"I dunno, you're like… bubblier, happier… wilder," Cindy said. "We stole a car yesterday!"
"We put it back!" Relena protested.
"Being in a relationship suits you," Cindy said.
"Being in the right relationship suits me."
"Mr. Yuy must be quite the guy," Cindy said with a smile.
"You don't know the half of it," Relena said absently as she took a bite of her ice cream. "You can call him Heero, you know."
Cindy smiled and nodded.
"So Heero is a heels man?"
"These are for me!" Relena said emphatically. "He's already getting the stripper experience! I got myself a Valentine's gift."
It had become an unofficial tradition that Relena ordered a big takeout delivery for the entire department on Fridays. Cindy was tasked with picking it up from the lobby. She was chatting with one of the receptionists in the lobby when the delivery guy showed up. Cindy helped him offload the stacks of large tin foil pans out of his delivery bag.
Just as Cindy turned around with her pile of takeout containers, her path was blocked by a large man standing in front of her. She nearly let the trays slip from her hands.
It was Daniel.
"Daniel, what are you doing here?!"
"You've been ignoring me," Daniel said.
"No, I've been busy," Cindy said as she regained her composure. "But even if I wasn't… Take a hint!"
"So you're just gonna sleep with me and ignore me?!"
"How's it feel?!" Cindy sneered.
"You're unbelievable!"
"Believe it!"
"Hey, hey, everyone!" Daniel started yelling at anyone and everyone in the lobby." Cindy here is a slut! A complete and absolute whore–"
She rammed her tower of trays into Daniel's sternum.
"Shut up! Leave me alone!" Cindy screamed at him.
"Did you just push me!" Daniel said indignantly." How dare you!"
Cindy dropped the trays filled with food as she braced herself. But the slap didn't come as she expected. She opened her eyes and saw Daniel frozen solid. His hand held aloft by Heero, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Is there a problem?" Heero asked calmly.
Daniel was frozen solid. Fear in his eyes. He didn't even try to hide it, or perhaps he had forgotten. A moment later a flood of security guards came rushing towards them. Heero simply held his hand out. The guards stopped.
"We were just talking…" Daniel said sheepishly.
Heero looked at the visitor's badge Daniel had clipped to his jacket's outer bread pocket. He studied at it for a moment. Daniel Hewitt. He then simply put it in his back pocket.
"I think you should leave," Heero said.
Everyone in the lobby was frozen solid staring at the them now. Cindy could feel their gaze. Daniel was at a loss for words. He slowly retracted his hand and adjusted his jacket. Cindy could tell he wanted to have the last word yet couldn't quite summon up the courage to do so against the mysterious man who had so ably stymied his outburst.
Life slowly returned to the lobby. The security guards dispersed. Cindy's grip on the trays loosen and the contents of which fell out of her hand. Cindy collapsed to the floor crying. Heero quickly rushed over to her. He signaled to one of the guards to get someone to help clean up the mess.
"I'm so sorry," Cindy whimpered.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Heero said as he helped up back up to her feet. "I'll order another more."
Heero escorted Cindy to a nearby bench and sat down beside her. He sat silently with her for a few minutes. That was a terrifying moment for Cindy. Somehow, he seemed to really understand that.
"So that's the famous Daniel is it?" Heero said.
"I'm fucking everything up," Cindy whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"I didn't realize you were so overworked," Heero said. "I'll talk to Relena—"
"No don't!" Cindy interjected. "I'm really not. Not compared to Relena. Dorothy's busy. Augusta's busy. Everyone's busy. Everyone's got a million and one different obligations."
Heero turned towards Cindy. His eyes softened and Cindy could've swore that there was a hint of smile there too. "Relena can only do it all because of you. She depends on you. We all do."
Radiant, Brussels
Later that night
Radiant was a nightclub at the heart of Brussels Entertainment District. It wasn't the largest or the most well known. But it was popular among the young professionals and the junior staffers of the World Government. The exterior was a nondescript door with a black on black sign with the words Radiant embossed in a simple san serif script. Inside, it was dark, moody, and the music was only obnoxiously loud rather than deafeningly loud. And even as early as 10pm, it was already packed.
After two years of simmering conflict and political turmoil, places like these were being popping up left in right as the old guard of aristocratic privilege had been so abruptly booted from the halls of power and a new generation of capable and ambitious young people filled their places. In some sense, these new venues were a manifestation of the new optimism of the era. Gone, were the stuffy balls and pageantry of the nobility, and in was the loud, bass-driven, music of the newly emancipated masses.
Dottie had reserved a booth for her and Cindy. Cindy had done her best to dress up and look like she wanted to be there despite having a rather stressful week. She had promised Dottie that she would come out and not to make another mistake with Daniel. Although after what had happened to her earlier, she was pretty sure whatever she found endearing or attractive about Daniel was completely gone.
"Do I look stronger?" Cindy asked as she flexed her biceps. "I feel stronger."
Dottie threw her head back with a hearty laugh. Cindy couldn't help but laugh along.
"So the Princess is a little freak is she?" Dottie took a sip of her vodka martini.
"What's the big deal?" Cindy said. "Soledad takes pole classes as well."
"Yeah but she's not the Last Princess of the Sanc Kingdom," Dottie replied taking another sip. "It's not ladylike."
"Relena Peacecraft can't have a normal life outside of her public persona?"
"You're such a kiss ass," Dottie teased. "She should give you a raise and a medal for your loyalty."
"Did I tell you, Daniel showed up today at the Foreign Ministry?" Cindy said as she picked up her Cosmopolitan and took a sip. "He made a big scene. It was such a disaster."
"Are you okay?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine, it was just embarrassing, luckily Heero showed up," Cindy said.
"What did he do to him?" Dottie asked, suddenly sounding very interested.
"Nothing," Cindy answered simply. "He just told him to leave."
"And?"
"And nothing… Daniel left,"
"Just like that?"
"Yeah." Cindy took another sip.
"What a boss. I guess everyone kinda knows what he's capable of now," Dottie said. "Speaking of, were you there for the big fight?"
"You mean in the one at the Regency Hotel in Elgin? Where he killed six people…" Cindy said. "No, I was in my room at the time."
"Yeah… I wouldn't fuck with him either."
Cindy wasn't sure how to respond to that. She had known about Heero ever since she started working for Relena. They were classmates after all. And they seemed to have some kind of connection prior to meeting at Vustgaarde as well. Then one thing led to another. They had that encounter at Matilda Winner's party. Then they ran off together at the end of that night. He mysteriously disappeared for a little more than a month and came back just before Christmas. Relena seemed pretty pissed about that but they seemed to have mended relationship during the winter holidays. Relena seemed smitten and Cindy could see why. But the fact that Dottie was so keen was quite a surprise.
"He's making waves you know?" Dottie said, snapping Cindy out of her thoughts. "He's all anyone can talk about among the Assembly staffers."
"Really? What are they saying?" Cindy asked.
"Mostly just gossip," Dottie said as she leaned in slightly. "He's so mysterious. No one knows where he came from. He carries himself like a soldier but none of the veterans in Parliament have ever seen or heard of him before. Now he's caught the attention of the Princess… much to the chagrin of half the single men in Parliament and some of the married men. Some say…"
"Some say what?" Cindy asked.
"He's a Gundam pilot." Dottie pinched her lips down. As if she didn't really believe what she was saying.
Cindy paused for a moment. Neither Relena nor Heero had ever mentioned such a thing before. But perhaps it didn't need to be said. Perhaps, they were keeping it a secret. But it sounded plausible.
"Well?" Dottie said.
"Why are you asking me?" Cindy replied. "I don't know."
"There's that loyalty again." Dotted leaned back into her seat.
"No seriously, I actually don't know!" Cindy protested.
"You like him?" Dottie asked as a devious grin appeared on her face.
"Relena's boyfriend?!"
Dottie merely shrugged. "He seems very swoon worthy if you ask me."
"He's just nice," Cindy said.
Dottie wasn't wrong. Heero did exude a kind of quiet confidence that was utterly unique among the men she had any close interaction with. Certainly, the ex-Alliance or OZ soldier that worked for the Preventers she had contact with carried themselves with a similar sort of bravado. The relationship between the Foreign Minister and the Intelligence Service meant that Cindy had semi-regular run ins. But Heero wasn't assuredness didn't come off as bluster as so many other Preventers agents and officers did. He just seemed to really know who he was.
"After this whole Daniel thing…" Cindy said. "I think the biggest lesson I'm taking away from all of that is that nice is just nice. And sometimes it's not even that. And you know what… I love them together."
"Ugh, you sound like one of those shippers," Dottie remarked.
Cindy held up her phone meekly and flashed the screen at Dottie.
"No…" Dottie's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"At first it was my job to keep an eye on these shipping accounts, make sure none of them get too stalkery," Cindy explained. "But then you know… you kinda get into it."
"Do you leak stuff?!"
"Of course not! Cindy replied sharply. "What happened to my loyalty cred?"
"Just checking," Dottie replied.
Cindy thought Dottie was about to say something else but she caught her friend's facial expression suddenly change. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly.
"Oh my god!" Dottie let out.
"What?" Cindy asked.
"It's her, it's her, it's her!"
Dottie immediately sat up and straightened her posture. She fluffed her hair slightly. Cindy turned around to see what she was talking about. It was Relena! Cindy picked her boss out of the crowd right away. She was wearing a sparkling pink dress with those ostentatious heels she had noticed earlier in the day. Certainly eye-catching in the office, but rather mundane in their current environment. Heero followed behind her. He was dressed in his black leather jacket he had on before. It seemed he didn't make much of an effort to dress up the way Relena had. They waded their way through the crowded dance floor towards Cindy and Dottie's booth.
"Be cool, be cool, be cool," Dottie said, sounding like an excited child.
"Yeah, it's me that needs to be cool," Cindy said rolling her eyes.
As they neared, both Cindy and Dottie stood up to great Relena and Heero.
"Oh my god! Hey girl!" Relena took the initiative and gave Cindy a big hug. "Fancy see you here!"
Cindy couldn't decide if Relena was a bit drunk or if she was being overly familiar as a way to rub some of her aura of careless royal majesty onto Cindy as a favour in front of her friend. Perhaps, both. Either way, Cindy greatly appreciated it.
"I could say the same thing!" Cindy said. "Didn't think this would be on your Valentine's Day itinerary."
"It wasn't," Heero said.
"Well you know, we get so few days off, I wanted to go dancing," Relena said, ignoring Heero's comment.
"And you?" Dottie asked, turning to Heero. "Do you like dancing?"
Relena let the question linger. Heero was visibly uncomfortable. Cindy wondered what had happened at dinner.
"I'll make him like it," Relena said swooping in, rescuing Heero from Dottie's question.
"Ooooh," Dottie said as she shimmied a little.
"What about you two? Where are your dates?" Relena asked.
"Galentine's Day," Cindy and Dottie answered in unison just as they clinked their drinks together.
"Awww fun!" Relena said. "I wanna do Galentine's Day too! But unfortunately, not this year."
"You two are soooo cute together!" Dottie said enthusiastically. "I'm a huge fan!"
Cindy immediately shot Dottie a nasty glare. Oh, now she was the fan. Who's a kiss ass now?
"Awww, you're so nice!" Relena said. "I'm sorry, so rude of me, I didn't get your name."
"Bernadetta. Bernadetta De Angelis," Dottie answered.
Cindy almost spit out her drink. Since when did we go by our government names, ever? Relena's not going to be impressed by your long name, girl!
"Hello Bernadetta," Relena said. "I'm Relena and this is Heero."
"Yes, yes, I know." Dottie had a permanent smile that she couldn't get rid of even if she tried. "I also work for the government."
"Oh, very cool," Relena said. "Anyone I know?"
"Francois Lantier, Septimania territorial representative, 5th district?" Dottie answered. "I'm one of his junior legal aids."
"Ahh yes I know Francois, he's retiring soon right?" Relena asked.
"Yes, retiring…" Dottie said as she tapped her nose.
"I heard," Relena said in a knowing voice. "We're not so much fun over at the Foreign Ministry, I'm afraid."
"Oh I don't know about that." Dottie took a sip of her drink.
Cindy shot Dottie a mean glare. She told her about Relena's pole dancing in confidence. Relena caught the exchange of glasses and perhaps would've put two and two together but her attention was pulled away by some ruckus that was happening behind her. They all turned to look at what was happening. Cindy was the first to comprehend and upon face morphed into an expression of utter dread.
"Cindy! Cindy Price!" It was Daniel, tearing his way through the dancefloor towards them.
"Oh my god, this can't be happening!" Cindy muttered as she shrank into her seat.
Relena stared curiously at the man barreling towards them. She didn't seem at all worried about it. Mostly, she was just confused.
"Don't worry, I got this," Heero said as he got up.
Without any hesitation, Heero moved out of their booth and headed towards Daniel. Perhaps Daniel thought he was prepared this time or perhaps he was just that drunk but he tried to raise a hand towards Heero. Heero merely slapped it away, grabbed him by the neck and dragged him away from Relena, Cindy, and Dottie and towards the bar at the other end of the club.
"Oh, that reminds me oddly," Relena said as she turned her attention back towards Cindy. "Look, in the next couple of weeks I'm going to be at my grandmother's in England. I know how hard you've been working—"
"Should we keep an eye on that?" Dottie interjected as her attention was still on Heero and Daniel who were now sitting at the bar. She apparently had half expected a fight to have broken out.
"Oh no, he's fine," Relena said. "Anyway, as I was saying. I know I don't say it enough but I appreciate you so much Cindy. My life would fall apart without you. So while I'm in England, I'm giving you some extra paid time off. You absolutely deserve it."
"But what about the economic integration proposals and the terraformation project quarterly meeting…"
"Don't worry about it!" Relena insistently assured her. "Don't worry about anything. Dorothy and I got it covered."
"Did Mr. Yuy put you up to this?" Cindy asked meekly.
"Yes," Relena said, looking a little embarrassed. "But he shouldn't have to. I should know better."
Relena reached over and pulled Cindy into a big hug.
"Thank you, so much Relena," Cindy said.
Relena released Cindy from the hug. Cindy smiled and let out a deep breath.
"I know this was part of the plan, to get him all riled up," Cindy said as she turned to look at the boys over at the bar. "But if you don't get him out of here now I think he might take his frustration out on Daniel. He looks like he's about the break every bone in his body."
"Oh right!" Relena said, her eyes widening.
Relena got up and signalled to Heero. Somehow, he got the message. He stood up and pulled Daniel to his feet.
"Have a good night, you two," Relena said once again. "Goodbye Bernadetta, it was nice to meet you. Take care of yourself, Cindy. I'll see you on Monday."
Cindy and Dottie silently sat in their booth as they watched Relena gracefully stroll off into the dancefloor. Heero dragged Daniel along with him as they met up with Relena near the exit. Cindy breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn't have to deal with Daniel again tonight.
"Okay, she's so fucking cool!" Dottie said, snapping Cindy's attention back to reality. "I'll do it, I'll trade jobs with you."
"Never," Cindy said with a contented smile on her face. "I'm never letting them go."
It wasn't the shrieking ringtone that woke her up this time. It was the weekend and Cindy was shrewd enough to not pretend like she was going to get up on at 6 in the morning on a weekend. Rather, it was her stinging headache that woke up. She reached over to her nightstand and clumsily patted around until she felt the shape of her waterbottle. She took a swig and felt a momentary sense of relief.
That relief did not last long. Her joints hurt, her head began to ring once again, and she felt like her organs were about to fall out of her. I'm never drinking again. She lied to herself.
She managed to drag herself out of a bed, slide into her fuzzy slippers, put on her glasses, throw her hair into a bun, throw on an old t-shirt, waddle her way into her bathroom, and brush her teeth, all without collapsing, but just barely. She made her way into the kitchen and started to brew some coffee. She set her phone on the counter and put on some music while she made herself some oatmeal. The only thing she trusted herself to eat after a long night of heavy drinking.
She sat at the little breakfast bar in her tiny kitchen, absently staring out the window at the overcast day and endless rows of apartment towers beyond, occasionally poking at her oatmeal and taking sips of her coffee. She was utterly exhausted.
Just then, she got a ping on her phone. She looked over at the notification on the screen. It was Relena.
Relena: Check your mail. I got you a little something.
Cindy headed downstairs to the communal mailboxes. She opened hers and found a single white envelope inside. She pulled it out. It was secured with red wax with the emblem of the Royal Seal of the House of Peacecraft. She opened it up right then and there. She pulled out the contents. Cindy's eyes widened. Inside was two round trip tickets to the Seychelles. Behind the tickets were two notes.
She read the first one:
Don't worry about Daniel. We had a talk. He won't be bothering you anymore.
Heero
Cindy smiled.
She then read the second one:
I couldn't be me without you being you. Thank you for all your hard work. Enjoy your trip. I want to hear all about it when you get back.
Relena