Chapter 8

It takes a few days for Relena to remember to contact her brother and tell him about the recent changes in her life, and if that doesn't say everything about their relationship, she doesn't know what would. She does remember eventually, though, and so Relena schedules some time for a call. Not a hard task to accomplish now that she has plenty of leisure time.

To her pleasure (and hidden relief), it's Noin who answers the vid call. The older woman smiles when she sees her. "Relena! What a surprise."

Relena knows that Noin doesn't mean her statement in a negative way, but a flicker of guilt still runs through her. Relena should keep in mind that contacting Mars doesn't mean just speaking to her brother, but also to a woman whose faith in her has never wavered, and who protected and counseled Relena when she was in great need of both.

Relena owes Noin a lot, even though the other woman would disagree, and a simple call on a regular basis shouldn't be too much to ask of her.

"Noin," Relena greets warmly, happy to see her. "How are you?"

She looks well, which is a relief to Relena. Life on Mars clearly hasn't drained Noin of her enthusiasm or kindness, and Relena is happy to see her healthy and happy. Of course, the fact that Noin's happily married to Relena's older brother might have something to do with that.

"I'm fine," Noin reassures her. "There's been some minor issues with the new atmospheric satellites, but we're handling it." Relena's heart clenches with worry, even though she knows that Noin and her brother are more than capable of handling any problems that come up. "And you?"

Right. Relena needs to tell her now. Noin will be concerned, but better that than ignorant about current changes within the ESUN. Relena takes a deep breath, and starts with the easy part. "Actually, I resigned my post as Vice Foreign Minister recently."

Noin takes her time with that, but she doesn't look disappointed, and Relena relaxes. It's silly to worry about Noin's approval after everything's already done and over with, but Noin had been so very proud of Relena for taking up that position all those years ago.

"I see," she says eventually. "Was this truly your decision, Relena?"

Relena smiles. Of course Noin's worried about her instead of being upset. "Yes," she affirms. "It was time for me to do something different." What that something is, she doesn't know for sure yet, but what Relena does know is that she isn't going to figure it out while staying at her previous job.

Noin smiles again, looking relieved. "That's good, then. You look much better than the last time we talked."

That was a few years ago, Relena's sure. Yes, she probably does look better now. More rested, anyways. "There's more," she says, only a little reluctantly. "I was-"

Although Noin says nothing to interrupt her, Relena stops talking when Noin's attention is suddenly diverted. Relena's brother must have walked into the room. He's the only one who can always capture Noin's attention so effortlessly. Noin leaves the screen for a moment, and Relena can hear soft muttering in the background.

This means that she's prepared when the next face she sees is her brother's instead. "Relena," he greets her. He looks as unreadable to her as ever, but she's long since stopped letting that bother her.

She nods in return. "Milliardo." It's the name she always uses to his face, since that's what he prefers, even though she knows that Noin still refers to him as Zechs. Not to mention Heero. Relena wonders at herself and Milliardo, the two siblings with their multiple identities and destinies. In a way, they're two peas in a pod sometimes, even though they barely know each other.

Still, Relena is glad to see for herself that he's alright, and she watches his eyes roam over her face in return, checking that she's okay. His gaze is fond when he looks into her eyes. "You're well?" he asks.

Relena nods again. "Yes, but there was an incident a few days ago," she admits. At this announcement, Noin's face appears suddenly beside Milliardo's, looking very concerned. "What happened?" she asks.

Relena doesn't know a softer way to break the news. "A few members of the ESUN parliament attempted to kidnap me. They wanted tax concessions from Mars."

As she expected, Relena watches her brother's face suddenly go blank. His eyes narrow. "Who, exactly?" he demands.

Relena wonders what he's planning to do to those men, and how. She shakes those unpleasant thoughts from her head. "They're already in Preventers custody," she informs them both. Then, when her brother's expression still doesn't change, she reluctantly gives him their names. "They didn't succeed," she points out then.

Noin looks guilty, as though she still thinks that she should have been present in order to personally stop them. Milliardo looks grim, as though he's preparing for war all over again.

She's not going to let that happen. If nothing else, Relena will not allow herself to be the catalyst of another war.

"Let me handle this," is what she ends up saying. It's not actually a plea, for all that it's phrased like one. Her voice is firm and steady. "Please, Milliardo."

He plainly assesses the stubborn look on Relena's face, and to her surprise, something like contentment flashes across his features. He nods at her. "If that's what you want," he agrees. He pauses then, before saying, "You've grown up well, Relena."

Oh. She's wasn't expecting her brother's approval, and she's not sure how to react now that she has it. Noin's look of pride, and her soft smile, also warms Relena's heart. She blinks back the tears that have suddenly appeared, and smiles genuinely at them both. "I'll take care of it," she promises again. "I'm going to fix everything."

Noin laughs. "I'm looking forward to seeing that," she says.

They all chat together for a few more minutes, her brother reluctantly leaving sooner than Noin due to some obligation, and when Relena signs off, she finds that she's very glad she made this call. Her family and friends are all behind her, supporting her, and knowing this, Relena finally feels ready to start changing her life for the better.