Disclaimer – Don't own it. Wish I did, but I don't.

A/N: I think this is an interesting friendship. On their own, Wufei and Relena are very interesting characters. I never see fics where they're just friends, so I thought I'd write one.

Fire Escape

He found her on the fire escape staircase; she was hunched over, holding her knees close to her chest. She wore a blue skirt and blazer, both were ripped and dirty. The white shirt he'd seen her in this morning had turned a dirty shade of brown. Her hair was a mess in the ponytail. She was the opposite of the composed Vice Foreign Minister he had always seen. She didn't notice him when he walked towards her, or when he stood in front of her, tapping his foot.

Wufei Chang was an impatient man. He had things to do today, one of which was not to baby-sit the former Queen of the world.

"Vice Foreign Minister, you need to get up." he said, tone annoyed. This time she looked up. Her usually expressive blue eyes were blank. Her brow furrowed for a moment to register what he was saying. She licked her dry lips and bowed her head again. Some hair came loose from her matted ponytail and fell around her face.

"I can't leave."

"Vice Foreign Minister, we've been looking for you for at least twenty minutes. You need to get up and we need to get you to a hospital." He looked at her disheveled state. His gaze rested on a patch of blood in her head. "Do you know if that's your blood or not?"

She looked up and then looked at her clothes. "What blood?"

"The blood in your hair. On your head. There's some blood on your legs too."

She gently touched her legs where her stockings had ripped. Her hand came away with red smears on them. "My leg doesn't hurt. I don't think that's my blood." She reached up and touched her head lightly until she found the patch of blood in her hair. "That doesn't hurt either."

"Just because it doesn't hurt, doesn't mean it isn't yours. Your body is probably still running on adrenaline. That could have numbed some of your injuries." His voice was clipped. "Which is why we need to get you out of here. Not to mention the structural damage to the building. It's unsafe."

She looked at Wufei, her eyes were glossy with tears. "I c-can't leave. I should be here. When the families show up."

"Vice Foreign Minister," he started.

"No, I need to be here. I'm the reason that they're dead." With this sentence, tears finally fell from her eyes and landed on the pavement.

Wufei looked at the Vice Foreign Minister with disdain. "You're taking the blame for their deaths?"

"Who else is there to blame?" She asked softly, hand idly reaching up to touch the blood that stuck into her hair. "That bomb, it was meant for me. I wasn't meant for anyone else."

"Then you should console the families, not sit in the stairwell." Wufei's comment was harsh, but rang true to Relena. She bit her lip and nodded.

"Yes, you're right." Her lip quivered and tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Besides. We haven't heard from the hospital. I severely doubt that those Senators are actually dead. These terrorists were amateurs. I don't think anyone was critically injured." Wufei eyed her lazily. "So that means you need to get up and tell the press what's happened. They've started to congregate outside this building."

"The problem is that I can't seem to move."

Wufei surveyed her more critically, as if his eyes were x-rays. "Are your legs broken?"

"No, I don't believe so."

"Then get up."

"I can't. It's not that easy. I can't move from this spot. I just … can't."

Wufei rolled his eyes. This was crossing the line from dramatic to theatrical. He expected her to launch into a monologue. Wufei stood next to her and looked at the watch on his wrist. "Look, Vice Foreign Minister, I have a job to do. And that job, however pitiful it may be, is to get you out of this building, even if I have to carry you."

"You sound like Heero."

Wufei breathed a sigh of disgust. The last thing he wanted was to be compared to Heero Yuy. Wufei was obviously superior.

"He's the reason I'm alive, you know." As Relena spoke the words, she stared at a spot on the dingy wall in front of her.

"Yes, I know. We all know. The entire world knows. He said he'd kill you and then he didn't. It's the most romantic thing I've ever heard."

"No. Well, yes. But that's not what I meant. He's the reason I'm alive today."

"What, did his love save you?" Wufei asked sarcastically, arms folded, looking cross.

Relena tore her gaze away from the spot on the wall and glared at him. "I think you have this idea of me that is absolutely unlike me. You think I'm some spoiled princess who does nothing but sit in her office all day and fantasize about her boyfriend. You think that, don't you, Preventer Chang?"

Wufei was taken aback and showed it by backing up a step. He had never seen the Vice Foreign Minster so angry; He had never seen her angry at all. He looked her up and down and answered. "Yes, I do think that."

She scoffed and looked away from him. "I misjudged you."

"How so?"

"I thought you were capable of seeing past everything. I thought that the Preventers, at least you pilots … at least you would be able to see who I was. But you're just like everyone else."

Her words cut into him. A lifetime of isolation and his warrior-type personality meant that he was unlike anyone else. He solemnly believed that. He had comrades, yes, but he was so unlike them. Sitting in a room with the other pilots gave him a sense of friendship, but it was different. He was different than everyone. Being compared to the masses who bought gossip magazines about her love life… it was a cut that went too deep. He bristled and looked away from her.

It was a long moment before she spoke again. "I was late to the meeting today because of Heero."

Wufei was silent.

"We were having an argument. That's why I was late. We were arguing."

Wufei looked at her and nodded. "An argument."

"Yes."

"An argument with Heero Yuy saved your life?"

"I suppose it did."

Wufei held back a laugh. "How amusing."

Relena laughed for a moment. "Yes, I suppose in a way, it's very amusing."

She looked at him and he looked at her and they smiled at each other. Relena looked away and started to laugh. Quietly, at first, but it quickly consumed her. She laughed on the stairs of the fire escape, doubling over, clutching her stomach. Wufei chuckled quietly to himself, watching the young woman.

"I'm sorry, this is so unprofessional." She said through her laughing. "I just..." she couldn't finish her sentence.

Wufei's radio crackled and a voice seeped through it. "Preventer Chang, report." Heero Yuy's voice rand loud and clear through the laughter and effectively ended it.

Wufei held the radio to his mouth. "This is Chang. Target found."

"Is she safe?" Heero's question strayed from protocol, but his tone was harsh and demanding.

"Affirmative."

"Then get her down here. The press is starting to congregate." The radio went dead.

Relena looked at Wufei. "I have to go face them now, don't I?"

Wufei nodded. "Eventually."

Relena's eyes widened. "Eventually?"

"You might have injuries." Wufei said, offering his hand to help her up. "We should take you to the hospital. I don't think you're in any shape to talk to the press today."

Relena took his hand and wiped the mist from her eyes. "I don't have to talk to the press today?"

"The Preventers made the decision. I'm afraid there's no talking them out of it."

Relena threw her arms around Wufei. "Thank you." She whispered.

He let her hug him, and patted her on the back. "Yuy is worried. We have to get you to the ground floor. Do you think you can walk?"

"Yes, I think so." She started to walk, and faltered. She looked at her left leg. "On second thought, perhaps that is my blood."

Wufei walked behind her and scooped her in his arms.

"This isn't how you pictured your day, is it Preventer Chang?"

"No, Miss Darlian." He started to walk down the stairs, eyes straight ahead. "But I don't regret it."

Wufei carried her down seven flights of stairs and out the main entrance. A mass of reporters with the cameras behind them swarmed the entrance to see if their beloved Vice Foreign Minster had been badly hurt. They fired off questions, but Relena didn't answer them. Her eyes were closed, head of Wufei's shoulder.

The Preventers cleared a path through the reporters. Wufei sought out Heero and walked towards him. He was standing next to Relena's pink limousine. His harsh glare softened slightly when he saw Wufei walking towards him.

"She's alive?" Heero's tone didn't indicate anything had softened in him.

"Yes, but I recommend getting her to a hospital. She was having trouble walking."

Wufei transferred the woman in his arms into Heero's. She stirred and looked up. "Heero," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry we argued."

He nodded. "It's fine. Let's get you to a hospital."

She looked at Wufei. "Will I see you again, Preventer Chang?"

Wufei nodded and bowed slightly. "It would be an honor, Madam Vice Foreign Minister."

The press started to move towards the car, firing questions at Relena. Wufei stood near the car and watched Heero put her in it. He smirked. The reporters were all asking about the attack. As Wufei looked at the woman behind him, he gave a small smile. Heero was gingerly putting her in the car, careful not to hurt her.

Wufei watched him, wondering how after all of these years, he could let emotions filter through his façade. Heero brushed the hair out of her face, staring into it, trying to find injuries. She was smiling at him, eyes drooping, threatening to fall asleep. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he sat next to her.

As Wufei closed the door, he saw Heero kiss the top of her head. The car drove off and left Wufei with the reporters. They were asking questions about the building, about the damages. Wufei thought for a moment before answering some of questions. They were completely missing the point, he mused. The real story was Relena Darlian and her ability to change people's minds. And hearts.

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I'd never seen a story about Wufei and Relena's friendship and I think that if he got past his own attitude, they could be friends. I thought it would be interesting to write. I hope you all liked it!