By: Bama's Belle
Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
Author's Note: About a year and a half ago I had this story up under another name, Brat Princess. That account was lost so now I'm getting a fresh start. I hope you all enjoy. Please review...Love, Belle.
When It Starts to Fade
By: Bama's Belle
1
Lady Une heard the echoing tap of Relena's heels before she ever entered the main hall at Preventer's Head Quarters. The older woman had learned the younger one's habits, and every little quirk she showed when she was mad, impatient or exasperated. The Foreign Minister usually walked with grace, taking soft, careful steps that made a slight click against the concrete when she walked. This was the sound of long, heavy strides, made by high heels, by a very agitated young woman.
Contrary to former belief, Relena had Zechs's temperament, and was impatient, and was likely to be thrown into an adult temper tantrum when she was bent to her limit. Lady Une was understanding to this only because she knew what Foreign Minister Darlian had to go through day after day. The same routine could become exhausting and strenuous, and sometimes it got to the point where Relena simply didn't want to deal with it, whether it was beneficial or not.
The young woman entered the large office without informing the secretary, and came to a stop in the middle of the room. Her golden tresses, which had been tightly bound into a bun were escaping, and several strands brushed against her face. She obviously hadn't had time for make-up that morning, for she was wearing any, and the dark, stressful circles beneath her eyes were more visible than ever.
"You wanted to see me, Miss Une?" Relena asked, in her professional, calm manner, despite her flustered appearance.
Lady Une cleared her throat, and glanced away from the disheveled appearance of the ESUN leader, "Yes, ma'am, I just wanted to inform you that as of tomorrow morning, your escort team of Preventers will be changed to accommodate our newest trainees and officers."
Relena's eyes widened, and she could almost predict what Lady Une would say next.
"Your new team will consist of six of the more adequate Preventers, including Chang Wufei, Sally Po, Lance Porter, Jerome Jackson, assistant head bodyguard Lucrezia Noin, and your new head bodyguard..."
"Oh, no, please..."
"Heero Yuy. I'm sorry if you're disappointed Miss Foreign Minister, but they are the best of the best. This is all for your protection."
Relena disregarded her political stature, and slumped slightly, and crossed her arms over her wrinkled, gray three-piece suit, "This day has gone from bad to worse," she muttered.
Lady Une cleared her throat again, "I had the assumption you'd be pleased to have Yuy as one of your protectors, especially as your head bodyguard."
Relena glanced up at the commander of the Preventers wryly, and shook her head, "Is Duo Maxwell not skilled enough to continue on as my head bodyguard?"
Lady Une gave the younger woman a very sheepish look, "The last time someone came around that actually posed a threat, Maxwell panicked and ended up shooting Chang in the ass. That's not very adequate, Miss Relena."
Relena covered a smirk behind her hand, "I suppose not, but it was quite amusing, Miss Une."
"Well, that is all, Miss Relena. That is, unless you have any other questions about the adjustment to your security?" and at this statement,Une raised her eyebrows as if in challenge to say anything against her new team.
"No, I understand clearly," Relena said, slightly coldly, "I'll excuse myself now, so I'm not anymore of a burden," and with this said, Relena turned on her heel, clack-clacking out of the office, her girlie, feminine way of stomping in high heels.
Lady Une sighed heavily when she heard the sound of the heels growing farther away, "She'll be the death of me," she mumbled, flopping back into her chair, "Mr. Treize, you're very lucky for not having to deal with that hellion."
"Heero's my new head bodyguard," Relena grumbled to the person on the other end of the video-phone.
"What's wrong, Miss Relena? I thought you'd be pleased to have him so close now," Quatre, her best friend, was understandably curious. After all, how many times had she called him in the middle of the night, whining about how much she missed the Wing pilot?
"Oh, Quatre, it's more complicated than that. I was starting to slowly...recover, I think. Now, here he is, my new bodyguard. He'll be sleeping in the room right next to mine. How do I deal with that?!" she set off her question with a groan, "This is pathetic! I'm pathetic!"
Quatre smiled through the screen, "Miss Relena, it's been eight years since you've met Heero Yuy, and it's been over a year since you saw him last, and you think you're just now getting over an adolescent crush?" Quatre shook his head, "You know as well as I know that it's always been more than that. You've been fairly open about your feelings for him, maybe someone above is giving him one more opportunity to return those feelings.
"It sounds bad of me as a friend to say give him another chance when he's had so many, and though that would unfortunately be my advice, I think only you can decide what's best for you. It's obvious you still care for him."
Relena nodded, and a tear escaped her eye from out of nowhere, "I do, Quatre, very much. But what if he really doesn't feel that way for me, and never has? I can't waste my life pining after someone who has never felt enough for me to give me a side ward glance."
"Miss Relena, you know that isn't the case," Quatre scolded, sternly, "There's been plenty of times Heero has displayed emotions, and he has a very gentle-natured way of doing it. Heero really is a good person. You were the first to see it in him, and you know it's true, so don't doubt your own judgment just because you get your heart broken. Even if he doesn't love you, you know that at least on some level, he cares. So dry your eyes, and get some sleep so you'll look healthy enough to keep him from nagging at you."
This made Relena laugh, "You know him better than I thought."
"Yeah, I've pretty much dissected his personality," Quatre joked.
"Must be scary."
"Terrifying."
The two friends laughed at this, then Quatre said, "I hope you feel better. I'll try to talk to you later this week. Go to bed, and get some rest."
"I will, Quatre, thank you."
"You're welcome. Good night."
"Good night, Quatre," Relena terminated the link, and even after several minutes, was still smiling at the thought of kind-hearted Quatre knowing what the indestructible Heero Yuy was all about.
The next morning, after waking early from a pleasant dream that had ended to soon, Relena rolled out of bed feeling better than she had in weeks.
She showered, and chose a pale pink suit to wear for the only two things she had on her schedule that day: a meeting with the Preventers, and a lunch date with some politician from a newer colony.
She applied light make-up to her face, and as she always did, wore very little jewelry. She wore on her left ring finger, the sapphire she'd received from her mother on her twenty-first birthday, and around her neck, the very expensive sterling silver, diamond cross necklace that Heero had given her for the same occasion.
Relena remember the events very clearly. She'd been with Hilde, shopping for a gown for a political event, when she spotted the necklace on display in a jewelry store. She and Hilde both had gone ecstatic over the beautiful piece of jewelry, and Heero, being their escort, had witnessed this.
Two weeks later, coming home from work on her uneventful birthday, she'd entered her home to find some twenty close friends popping out from hiding places yelling, 'surprise'.
Noin and Hilde had organized the party, and gotten together all her close friends. With her brother gone on a business trip, he hadn't been there to insist on having a public party with the usual five hundred guests as he'd done on her eighteenth birthday. And her mother was there, which would've been the greatest gift of all, had Heero not topped it.
He surprised her just by being there, and she was so happy she could cry. They'd danced, chatted, and acted like regular twenty-one year olds for once.
Then after the party, a very tired Relena had moved sluggishly to her room, and found on her dresser, a small, golden box.
The contents of the box took her breath away when she'd finally got the courage to open it. (For all she knew, it could've been a bomb.) It was the very necklace she'd seen some two weeks before with only two witnesses. Hilde and Duo had gotten her gold earrings, and they didn't really have a lot of money to put toward such a thoughtful gift.
Relena, however, would've never suspected Heero had been that thoughtful, had she not found the small note beneath the golden box.
You certainly carried on about it like it was meant for only you to wear. And in my opinion, it wouldn't look exactly right on any other woman. Plus, it's sure a hell of a lot better gift than an old bear, don't you agree? Happy Birthday.
-Heero
Relena sighed happily at the memory, and recalled that it'd actually made her cry. Maybe he did care for her more than she would admit herself. He certainly wouldn't have done a stupid thing like buy a two-hundred dollar necklace for someone he didn't care for.
Unfortunately, before Relena had got to thank him properly like she planned, her brother had requested that he be moved to a different area because he felt the former pilot was getting too friendly with his sister.
Since then, Relena had seen him once at a Spring Ball that Quatre had thrown for the simple purpose to get them together.
Someone knocked on her door, disturbing Relena's thoughts.
"Who is it?" Relena called, slightly frustrated.
There was silence for a moment before someone answered, "I'm your escort, Miss Darlian. Preventer Jerome Jackson."
Relena stayed still for a moment. She'd never heard of him, and how was she to know that this really was the guy who was to escort her? It could be anyone; a terrorist, murderer, rapist. Relena began to panic.
"All right then, if you are a Preventer, you should've been given a password."
"Your password is Wing 01."
Relena opened the door to a uniform clad Preventer, who was tall, dark- skinned, brown-eyed and all gorgeousness.
She raised an eyebrow slightly as her eyes swept over him in admiration. He was the second most gorgeous guy she'd ever seen. Right below Heero Yuy.
The man smiled a charming, pearly white smile, "Miss Foreign Minister Darlian, I'll be your escort for this morning due to the fact that your scheduled escort is uh...currently in a very heated disagreement with Lieutenant Maxwell."
Relena smiled happily, "Heero..." she murmured softly.
The Preventer raised his brow in curiosity, "That sounded awfully sweet. Are you actually allowed to date Preventers?"
Relena's jaw dropped, "You are...rude and nosy, and that is none of your business. Yes, I am allowed to date whomever I please."
"Sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean to offend you. Major Yuy spoke of you as being very down-to-earth. Just...the way both of you act when the other is mentioned..." Jerome trailed off, and smiled politely, "I'm sorry Miss Darlian, it won't happen again. Shall we go?"
His brown eyes twinkled with what Relena distinguished as amusement, but she took his offered arm and let him lead her down to the conference room.
The first and only thing Relena saw when she entered the conference room was Heero Yuy.
A year and a half was way too long to go without seeing him, in Relena's opinion. She resisted the urge to go fling herself into his strong arms, and instead let her eyes take in the beautiful man. Even in two years, his face hadn't changed much from the fifteen year old boy, other than more maturity and wisdom. His body though, just continued to look better and better. Relena had been attracted to him long before, when he was an underweight teen, and even then, he'd had an attractive body.
Attractive was, of course, a major understatement in current circumstances. The black tee shirt under the Preventer's jacket stretched across well- toned, built up stomach and chest muscles. Though she couldn't see them, she was sure his arms were in much the same state. He seemed even taller, and must've been around 6'2" by now, taller than Quatre and Wufei, but not quite as tall as Duo and Trowa.
Two things that were unchangeable, one of these things being painfully familiar, were his unruly hair and his deep, Prussian blue eyes, the color of the ocean.
When she found her voice, she smiled, and greeted him, "Hello, Heero."
Though his face didn't change, Relena seen the amused twinkle in his eye.
He nodded to her, "Relena."
There was silence for a moment where neither of them hardly breathed.
Then Relena turned quickly, inhaling deeply, and strolled to the table and took a seat.
Lady Une was already seated at the other end, and was giving her a questioning look.
As the six Preventers took their seats, Relena cleared her throat and stood:
"I would like to thank you all for coming here today, and I want to say I'm honored to be guarded by the Preventers Special Security Agents. I hope you all are comfortable in the position you have been assigned to. As you've probably heard, I've been known to be difficult, annoying, stubborn and I'm all-in-all a handful. That is why you were appointed to this position, I suppose. Let me apologize beforehand for if I ever become too much to handle, I will most likely blame it on that I feel you all are more baby-sitters than anything. I do not want any of you to feel this, for that's degrading to what your job really is. I'm proud to have all six of you as my personal bodyguards, and I hope the feeling is mutual. Thank you."
Relena sat down, and glanced over the faces of her protectors. Five familiar faces: Lance Porter, the macho man who'd been after Hilde for as long as Relena had known him; Sally Po, the doctor and Preventer whom she'd entrusted her life with during the war; Chang Wufei, who had become a close and well-respected comrade; Lucrezia Noin, her 'adopted' big sister who loved her brother with all her heart, and who was still battling the knuckle-head for his heart; Heero Yuy, the love of her life, her strength, hope and her number one protector.
Then of course, there was the new guy. This Jerome Jackson guy who appeared to be nosy and rude.
Her special security.
After the conference, Relena walked slowly out of the room. Through the entire meeting, which most of the time had been filled by Lady Une's lecturing, Heero and Relena had had something of a staring contest.
He wasn't scared of anything apparently, and didn't care what anyone thought. Really, Relena couldn't call what Heero had been doing staring. It was such a calm, subdued, even innocent look that Relena simply couldn't refer to it as a stare. To stare, in her opinion, one would have to be either nervous, jealous, disgusting, or emotionally out of control. That was her situation. He was simply looking at her without tearing his eyes away for a second, Relena was staring, showing every emotion she had but not backing down.
As she exited, she felt someone lightly touch her arm to get her attention. Relena turned to see Heero coming out behind her.
"Relena," he said, simply. It was the second word he'd spoken to her since he'd been back, but just the way he said it sent chills up her spine. No one could say her name like Heero could.
"Heero," she said back softly, "How have you been?" she absently fingered the diamond cross around her neck. Her personal treasure until she could have him.
"I'm fine. How...are you?" Heero wasn't the type that asked these questions often because there was more emotion behind them when he asked them compared to most people. He didn't talk to be talking, therefore he hardly ever just carried on a casual conversation. He talked when he had something to say, and Relena admired this.
"I'm doing well, Heero. It's good to see you after so long," Relena admitted truthfully, happily.
Heero simply nodded, and tilted his head to the side, studying her.
Relena breathed unevenly. She swore she felt like he could undress her with those eyes that saw everything.
Unexpectedly, he reached out and brushed his fingertips against the end of Relena's hair where it curled outward.
"You cut your hair," he said, almost in amazement.
Relena nodded. She had cut off fourteen inches to begin with, and then to get it cut in a style, had had four more inches cut off. It'd recently grown back, and now barely touched her shoulders.
"Looks...good," Heero said.
Relena smiled, "Thank you."
It was out of character for Heero to be remotely nice to her, but hints of sweetness had always been welcome.
Heero cleared his throat, "Relena, there's something I think you should know..."
Relena swallowed heavily, "Yes?"
"I'll tell you tonight at the party."
"Party?"
"Sally and Wufei's engagement announcement."
"Oh!...Hey, why didn't I hear about that?"
"We sent you an invitation," Sally said from across the hall, "Surely you got it."
"Ugh, sometimes my secretary isn't very reliable," Relena muttered.
"You'll be there though, right?"
Relena smiled, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
She looked back to Heero, "So...I guess I'll see you tonight."
It sounded so much like a date.
"Well, you'll see me before that because I'm your escort to your lunch date with the old windbag, politician Senator Brackin."
"Oh....well, I guess," Relena checked her clock, "I guess after I take a potty break, go reapply my lipstick and perfume, then I'll meet you back down here?" she glanced up at him, "Sound good?"
Heero arched a brow at her, "It hasn't been that long, Relena. I'll escort you to your room, check it, then I'll meet you outside your door when you're done. Better?"
Relena smiled slightly, "Yeah, or that would be nice, I suppose....you really haven't changed. Still overprotective, eh?"
Heero's lips curved slightly in amusement, "Only with you."
He was there before lunch, after lunch, after dinner, and he was waiting for her in all his glory in a tuxedo when she emerged from her room dressed in a pale blue party dress that brushed the tops of her knees. At the top, it was rather low-cut, and exposed some of her cleavage.
Heero gave her an interested once-over that made her blush slightly, then he scowled.
"Don't you consider this skirt too be a little skimpier than it should be? It's kind of short," he complained, wearing that adorable scowl.
"So? I'm twenty-three years old. I'm a woman now, Heero."
"Indecent eyes of some these men out here might be looking at what they don't deserve to see," Heero reasoned.
Relena bravely remarked, "You were looking."
Heero met her gaze with all the honestly he was known for, and not a bit of shame, and said flatly, "That's my point exactly."
"Well, you appeared to like it," Relena continued to argue, showing what she was known for, which was being difficult.
His hand encircled her wrist and he pulled her in front of him, eyes narrowing, "Believe me, I did. Which is the very reason I don't want anyone else to see you in it."
Relena straightened up, but didn't pull her hand away, "Well, you're the one person I really wanted to notice it. I don't care about the others," she was being deadly serious now, almost desperate, "No other men have ever looked upon me with interest."
"Yeah, they do," Heero said, releasing her, "Many do. You should look around more often."
Relena glanced at him over her shoulder, "The only thing I find around me to look at and admire is you."
They made it to the top of the staircase, and descended into the main hall.
Five other Preventers of her security team were waiting at the door to escort her to the limousine.
Two of the team were fill-ins for Wufei and Sally, seeing that they were most likely already at head quarters, greeting guests.
"I presume Heero will be riding in the limo with you, Miss Relena?" Noin asked, a slight twinkle in her eye.
Relena flushed, and nodded, "Yes, being that he is head bodyguard, I suppose it's only natural," she said, trying to sound professional.
The limo ride was relatively silent, and Relena was glad when they finally reached head quarters, which was no more than a ten minute ride from her house.
Relena had to smile when she seen Duo's new blue Corvette parked to the side. He was so proud that he'd finally made enough money to buy the thing. It was the most expensive thing he'd ever had, he claimed, other than Hilde.
Heero exited the limo before her, and turned to help her out. She took his hand, and slid out of the car, only to be blinded by the flash of around twenty cameras.
"Well, I suppose I'll be all over tabloids in the morning. I can see it now. 'Foreign Minister dresses the part of a skank, while escorted by her secret lover, Gundam Pilot 01'," she muttered.
" 'Former Gundam Pilot 01'," Heero amended.
It was good that they could joke like that, otherwise Relena was sure she'd have passed out if he had happened to say anything awkward.
She was surrounded immediately by her security team as she and Heero entered the banquet hall of the Preventer head quarters.
Sally was in the center of a bunch of women dressed in evening gowns. She looked stunning in a simple, short, black, silk dress. A string of pearls encircled her graceful neck, and the engagement ring Wufei had presented to her less than two weeks before glittered in the light on her left hand.
Still on Heero's arm, Relena let him guide her over to their friends.
Sally smiled when she saw her, and Relena returned a brilliant smile to her friend. Pulling away from Heero, Relena embraced Sally.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank you," Sally said, wiping a tear from her eye, "I didn't think I'd ever civilize him," she said quietly, grinning behind her hand.
Relena giggled and nodded her head in agreement, also brushing away a stray tear.
Wufei grumbled a bit, and shook his head, "Silly women."
Relena turned to acknowledge Wufei, and got wicked idea in her head. Looking so innocent that it should've been caught on camera, Relena approached him slowly.
It was as if the former Gundam pilot could tell something was going on in the mind of the Foreign Minister.
He took a step back, "Oh, no. Don't even...woman, I'm warning you..."
All of a sudden, Relena sprang at him, throwing her arms around his neck, "Oh, Wufei! I'm so happy for you...."
The Chinese man was left speechless.
A flash went off, and Relena let go of him, and burst into giggles, glancing over at Duo.
"Smile for the camera, Wuffy!" Duo sang cheerfully as he snapped another picture.
"Maxwell, put the damned camera away! This is not a photo session, this is...."
"Oh, but you're so photogenic!" Duo said, snapping several more pictures.
"Maxwell, if you value your braid, put the camera away...Now!"
Duo immediately lowered the camera, and fear embedded itself in his features, "Sorry, man, I was just kidding. Just...don't hurt my braid. It's my best friend...."
The rest of the conversation was drained out as Relena attempted to find Heero in the crowd. There must've been three to four hundred people there, and they were all Preventers. She'd lost Heero in a mere matter of seconds.
She pushed through the crowd, searched upstairs, and walked the hallways for twenty minutes trying to find him. This only made her more anxious to find out what it was he wanted to tell her.
"Where could he have gone?" she wondered, aloud.
Then, almost as if in answer, she heard the familiar, quiet monotone.
Following the voice, Relena found herself near what looked to be a library.
"It's sure good to see you again, little Noin."
That was Duo's voice. So he was now in there as well. Why the hell was he calling Noin little? And hadn't he seen her earlier that day, just after lunch?
A soft, slightly accented voice replied, "It is good to see you too, Maxwell."
"Has Mr. Dark and Silent been treating you good?"
"Maxwell..." Heero's voice growled in that warning tone.
"What?! I'm just making sure a lady is being treated like she should."
"Heero treats me very good, Duo," said the soft voice.
Relena crept up to the cracked door, and peered into the study.
Heero, Duo and an ebony-haired, ivory-skinned beauty was what she was met with.
"Surely, you wouldn't expect any less," the woman said smiling.
She walked over to Heero, and wrapped her arms around his torso.
What shocked Relena most though, was that Heero returned the embrace!
"So, when ya planning the big day?" Relena could almost sense Duo raising his eyebrows.
What did he mean by that?
Then it caught her eye, because it nearly blinded her when the light caught it.
A huge, diamond ring sparkled on her delicate finger. Relena could only assume....
"This fall, around November, hopefully," the woman answered.
No way, it couldn't be...
Duo could be seen grinning as he halfway faced the door, "Well, I guess it won't be long until you love birds will be announcing your engagement too, huh?"
To Be Continued.....
Don't ya love it when an author springs Cliff Hangers on ya? Please Review! This is my first published fanfic, and I might loose confidence if I get no feedback, and may never write again. You don't want to stunt the growth of an author, do you? grins evilly
Also, I'd really love to get to know other aspiring authors out there, so if I have any readers laughs at this idiotic idea that would like to get to know me, I'd really love to hear from you. I like making new friends. You can never have too many!
-Bama's Belle
Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
Author's Note: About a year and a half ago I had this story up under another name, Brat Princess. That account was lost so now I'm getting a fresh start. I hope you all enjoy. Please review...Love, Belle.
When It Starts to Fade
By: Bama's Belle
1
Lady Une heard the echoing tap of Relena's heels before she ever entered the main hall at Preventer's Head Quarters. The older woman had learned the younger one's habits, and every little quirk she showed when she was mad, impatient or exasperated. The Foreign Minister usually walked with grace, taking soft, careful steps that made a slight click against the concrete when she walked. This was the sound of long, heavy strides, made by high heels, by a very agitated young woman.
Contrary to former belief, Relena had Zechs's temperament, and was impatient, and was likely to be thrown into an adult temper tantrum when she was bent to her limit. Lady Une was understanding to this only because she knew what Foreign Minister Darlian had to go through day after day. The same routine could become exhausting and strenuous, and sometimes it got to the point where Relena simply didn't want to deal with it, whether it was beneficial or not.
The young woman entered the large office without informing the secretary, and came to a stop in the middle of the room. Her golden tresses, which had been tightly bound into a bun were escaping, and several strands brushed against her face. She obviously hadn't had time for make-up that morning, for she was wearing any, and the dark, stressful circles beneath her eyes were more visible than ever.
"You wanted to see me, Miss Une?" Relena asked, in her professional, calm manner, despite her flustered appearance.
Lady Une cleared her throat, and glanced away from the disheveled appearance of the ESUN leader, "Yes, ma'am, I just wanted to inform you that as of tomorrow morning, your escort team of Preventers will be changed to accommodate our newest trainees and officers."
Relena's eyes widened, and she could almost predict what Lady Une would say next.
"Your new team will consist of six of the more adequate Preventers, including Chang Wufei, Sally Po, Lance Porter, Jerome Jackson, assistant head bodyguard Lucrezia Noin, and your new head bodyguard..."
"Oh, no, please..."
"Heero Yuy. I'm sorry if you're disappointed Miss Foreign Minister, but they are the best of the best. This is all for your protection."
Relena disregarded her political stature, and slumped slightly, and crossed her arms over her wrinkled, gray three-piece suit, "This day has gone from bad to worse," she muttered.
Lady Une cleared her throat again, "I had the assumption you'd be pleased to have Yuy as one of your protectors, especially as your head bodyguard."
Relena glanced up at the commander of the Preventers wryly, and shook her head, "Is Duo Maxwell not skilled enough to continue on as my head bodyguard?"
Lady Une gave the younger woman a very sheepish look, "The last time someone came around that actually posed a threat, Maxwell panicked and ended up shooting Chang in the ass. That's not very adequate, Miss Relena."
Relena covered a smirk behind her hand, "I suppose not, but it was quite amusing, Miss Une."
"Well, that is all, Miss Relena. That is, unless you have any other questions about the adjustment to your security?" and at this statement,Une raised her eyebrows as if in challenge to say anything against her new team.
"No, I understand clearly," Relena said, slightly coldly, "I'll excuse myself now, so I'm not anymore of a burden," and with this said, Relena turned on her heel, clack-clacking out of the office, her girlie, feminine way of stomping in high heels.
Lady Une sighed heavily when she heard the sound of the heels growing farther away, "She'll be the death of me," she mumbled, flopping back into her chair, "Mr. Treize, you're very lucky for not having to deal with that hellion."
"Heero's my new head bodyguard," Relena grumbled to the person on the other end of the video-phone.
"What's wrong, Miss Relena? I thought you'd be pleased to have him so close now," Quatre, her best friend, was understandably curious. After all, how many times had she called him in the middle of the night, whining about how much she missed the Wing pilot?
"Oh, Quatre, it's more complicated than that. I was starting to slowly...recover, I think. Now, here he is, my new bodyguard. He'll be sleeping in the room right next to mine. How do I deal with that?!" she set off her question with a groan, "This is pathetic! I'm pathetic!"
Quatre smiled through the screen, "Miss Relena, it's been eight years since you've met Heero Yuy, and it's been over a year since you saw him last, and you think you're just now getting over an adolescent crush?" Quatre shook his head, "You know as well as I know that it's always been more than that. You've been fairly open about your feelings for him, maybe someone above is giving him one more opportunity to return those feelings.
"It sounds bad of me as a friend to say give him another chance when he's had so many, and though that would unfortunately be my advice, I think only you can decide what's best for you. It's obvious you still care for him."
Relena nodded, and a tear escaped her eye from out of nowhere, "I do, Quatre, very much. But what if he really doesn't feel that way for me, and never has? I can't waste my life pining after someone who has never felt enough for me to give me a side ward glance."
"Miss Relena, you know that isn't the case," Quatre scolded, sternly, "There's been plenty of times Heero has displayed emotions, and he has a very gentle-natured way of doing it. Heero really is a good person. You were the first to see it in him, and you know it's true, so don't doubt your own judgment just because you get your heart broken. Even if he doesn't love you, you know that at least on some level, he cares. So dry your eyes, and get some sleep so you'll look healthy enough to keep him from nagging at you."
This made Relena laugh, "You know him better than I thought."
"Yeah, I've pretty much dissected his personality," Quatre joked.
"Must be scary."
"Terrifying."
The two friends laughed at this, then Quatre said, "I hope you feel better. I'll try to talk to you later this week. Go to bed, and get some rest."
"I will, Quatre, thank you."
"You're welcome. Good night."
"Good night, Quatre," Relena terminated the link, and even after several minutes, was still smiling at the thought of kind-hearted Quatre knowing what the indestructible Heero Yuy was all about.
The next morning, after waking early from a pleasant dream that had ended to soon, Relena rolled out of bed feeling better than she had in weeks.
She showered, and chose a pale pink suit to wear for the only two things she had on her schedule that day: a meeting with the Preventers, and a lunch date with some politician from a newer colony.
She applied light make-up to her face, and as she always did, wore very little jewelry. She wore on her left ring finger, the sapphire she'd received from her mother on her twenty-first birthday, and around her neck, the very expensive sterling silver, diamond cross necklace that Heero had given her for the same occasion.
Relena remember the events very clearly. She'd been with Hilde, shopping for a gown for a political event, when she spotted the necklace on display in a jewelry store. She and Hilde both had gone ecstatic over the beautiful piece of jewelry, and Heero, being their escort, had witnessed this.
Two weeks later, coming home from work on her uneventful birthday, she'd entered her home to find some twenty close friends popping out from hiding places yelling, 'surprise'.
Noin and Hilde had organized the party, and gotten together all her close friends. With her brother gone on a business trip, he hadn't been there to insist on having a public party with the usual five hundred guests as he'd done on her eighteenth birthday. And her mother was there, which would've been the greatest gift of all, had Heero not topped it.
He surprised her just by being there, and she was so happy she could cry. They'd danced, chatted, and acted like regular twenty-one year olds for once.
Then after the party, a very tired Relena had moved sluggishly to her room, and found on her dresser, a small, golden box.
The contents of the box took her breath away when she'd finally got the courage to open it. (For all she knew, it could've been a bomb.) It was the very necklace she'd seen some two weeks before with only two witnesses. Hilde and Duo had gotten her gold earrings, and they didn't really have a lot of money to put toward such a thoughtful gift.
Relena, however, would've never suspected Heero had been that thoughtful, had she not found the small note beneath the golden box.
You certainly carried on about it like it was meant for only you to wear. And in my opinion, it wouldn't look exactly right on any other woman. Plus, it's sure a hell of a lot better gift than an old bear, don't you agree? Happy Birthday.
-Heero
Relena sighed happily at the memory, and recalled that it'd actually made her cry. Maybe he did care for her more than she would admit herself. He certainly wouldn't have done a stupid thing like buy a two-hundred dollar necklace for someone he didn't care for.
Unfortunately, before Relena had got to thank him properly like she planned, her brother had requested that he be moved to a different area because he felt the former pilot was getting too friendly with his sister.
Since then, Relena had seen him once at a Spring Ball that Quatre had thrown for the simple purpose to get them together.
Someone knocked on her door, disturbing Relena's thoughts.
"Who is it?" Relena called, slightly frustrated.
There was silence for a moment before someone answered, "I'm your escort, Miss Darlian. Preventer Jerome Jackson."
Relena stayed still for a moment. She'd never heard of him, and how was she to know that this really was the guy who was to escort her? It could be anyone; a terrorist, murderer, rapist. Relena began to panic.
"All right then, if you are a Preventer, you should've been given a password."
"Your password is Wing 01."
Relena opened the door to a uniform clad Preventer, who was tall, dark- skinned, brown-eyed and all gorgeousness.
She raised an eyebrow slightly as her eyes swept over him in admiration. He was the second most gorgeous guy she'd ever seen. Right below Heero Yuy.
The man smiled a charming, pearly white smile, "Miss Foreign Minister Darlian, I'll be your escort for this morning due to the fact that your scheduled escort is uh...currently in a very heated disagreement with Lieutenant Maxwell."
Relena smiled happily, "Heero..." she murmured softly.
The Preventer raised his brow in curiosity, "That sounded awfully sweet. Are you actually allowed to date Preventers?"
Relena's jaw dropped, "You are...rude and nosy, and that is none of your business. Yes, I am allowed to date whomever I please."
"Sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean to offend you. Major Yuy spoke of you as being very down-to-earth. Just...the way both of you act when the other is mentioned..." Jerome trailed off, and smiled politely, "I'm sorry Miss Darlian, it won't happen again. Shall we go?"
His brown eyes twinkled with what Relena distinguished as amusement, but she took his offered arm and let him lead her down to the conference room.
The first and only thing Relena saw when she entered the conference room was Heero Yuy.
A year and a half was way too long to go without seeing him, in Relena's opinion. She resisted the urge to go fling herself into his strong arms, and instead let her eyes take in the beautiful man. Even in two years, his face hadn't changed much from the fifteen year old boy, other than more maturity and wisdom. His body though, just continued to look better and better. Relena had been attracted to him long before, when he was an underweight teen, and even then, he'd had an attractive body.
Attractive was, of course, a major understatement in current circumstances. The black tee shirt under the Preventer's jacket stretched across well- toned, built up stomach and chest muscles. Though she couldn't see them, she was sure his arms were in much the same state. He seemed even taller, and must've been around 6'2" by now, taller than Quatre and Wufei, but not quite as tall as Duo and Trowa.
Two things that were unchangeable, one of these things being painfully familiar, were his unruly hair and his deep, Prussian blue eyes, the color of the ocean.
When she found her voice, she smiled, and greeted him, "Hello, Heero."
Though his face didn't change, Relena seen the amused twinkle in his eye.
He nodded to her, "Relena."
There was silence for a moment where neither of them hardly breathed.
Then Relena turned quickly, inhaling deeply, and strolled to the table and took a seat.
Lady Une was already seated at the other end, and was giving her a questioning look.
As the six Preventers took their seats, Relena cleared her throat and stood:
"I would like to thank you all for coming here today, and I want to say I'm honored to be guarded by the Preventers Special Security Agents. I hope you all are comfortable in the position you have been assigned to. As you've probably heard, I've been known to be difficult, annoying, stubborn and I'm all-in-all a handful. That is why you were appointed to this position, I suppose. Let me apologize beforehand for if I ever become too much to handle, I will most likely blame it on that I feel you all are more baby-sitters than anything. I do not want any of you to feel this, for that's degrading to what your job really is. I'm proud to have all six of you as my personal bodyguards, and I hope the feeling is mutual. Thank you."
Relena sat down, and glanced over the faces of her protectors. Five familiar faces: Lance Porter, the macho man who'd been after Hilde for as long as Relena had known him; Sally Po, the doctor and Preventer whom she'd entrusted her life with during the war; Chang Wufei, who had become a close and well-respected comrade; Lucrezia Noin, her 'adopted' big sister who loved her brother with all her heart, and who was still battling the knuckle-head for his heart; Heero Yuy, the love of her life, her strength, hope and her number one protector.
Then of course, there was the new guy. This Jerome Jackson guy who appeared to be nosy and rude.
Her special security.
After the conference, Relena walked slowly out of the room. Through the entire meeting, which most of the time had been filled by Lady Une's lecturing, Heero and Relena had had something of a staring contest.
He wasn't scared of anything apparently, and didn't care what anyone thought. Really, Relena couldn't call what Heero had been doing staring. It was such a calm, subdued, even innocent look that Relena simply couldn't refer to it as a stare. To stare, in her opinion, one would have to be either nervous, jealous, disgusting, or emotionally out of control. That was her situation. He was simply looking at her without tearing his eyes away for a second, Relena was staring, showing every emotion she had but not backing down.
As she exited, she felt someone lightly touch her arm to get her attention. Relena turned to see Heero coming out behind her.
"Relena," he said, simply. It was the second word he'd spoken to her since he'd been back, but just the way he said it sent chills up her spine. No one could say her name like Heero could.
"Heero," she said back softly, "How have you been?" she absently fingered the diamond cross around her neck. Her personal treasure until she could have him.
"I'm fine. How...are you?" Heero wasn't the type that asked these questions often because there was more emotion behind them when he asked them compared to most people. He didn't talk to be talking, therefore he hardly ever just carried on a casual conversation. He talked when he had something to say, and Relena admired this.
"I'm doing well, Heero. It's good to see you after so long," Relena admitted truthfully, happily.
Heero simply nodded, and tilted his head to the side, studying her.
Relena breathed unevenly. She swore she felt like he could undress her with those eyes that saw everything.
Unexpectedly, he reached out and brushed his fingertips against the end of Relena's hair where it curled outward.
"You cut your hair," he said, almost in amazement.
Relena nodded. She had cut off fourteen inches to begin with, and then to get it cut in a style, had had four more inches cut off. It'd recently grown back, and now barely touched her shoulders.
"Looks...good," Heero said.
Relena smiled, "Thank you."
It was out of character for Heero to be remotely nice to her, but hints of sweetness had always been welcome.
Heero cleared his throat, "Relena, there's something I think you should know..."
Relena swallowed heavily, "Yes?"
"I'll tell you tonight at the party."
"Party?"
"Sally and Wufei's engagement announcement."
"Oh!...Hey, why didn't I hear about that?"
"We sent you an invitation," Sally said from across the hall, "Surely you got it."
"Ugh, sometimes my secretary isn't very reliable," Relena muttered.
"You'll be there though, right?"
Relena smiled, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
She looked back to Heero, "So...I guess I'll see you tonight."
It sounded so much like a date.
"Well, you'll see me before that because I'm your escort to your lunch date with the old windbag, politician Senator Brackin."
"Oh....well, I guess," Relena checked her clock, "I guess after I take a potty break, go reapply my lipstick and perfume, then I'll meet you back down here?" she glanced up at him, "Sound good?"
Heero arched a brow at her, "It hasn't been that long, Relena. I'll escort you to your room, check it, then I'll meet you outside your door when you're done. Better?"
Relena smiled slightly, "Yeah, or that would be nice, I suppose....you really haven't changed. Still overprotective, eh?"
Heero's lips curved slightly in amusement, "Only with you."
He was there before lunch, after lunch, after dinner, and he was waiting for her in all his glory in a tuxedo when she emerged from her room dressed in a pale blue party dress that brushed the tops of her knees. At the top, it was rather low-cut, and exposed some of her cleavage.
Heero gave her an interested once-over that made her blush slightly, then he scowled.
"Don't you consider this skirt too be a little skimpier than it should be? It's kind of short," he complained, wearing that adorable scowl.
"So? I'm twenty-three years old. I'm a woman now, Heero."
"Indecent eyes of some these men out here might be looking at what they don't deserve to see," Heero reasoned.
Relena bravely remarked, "You were looking."
Heero met her gaze with all the honestly he was known for, and not a bit of shame, and said flatly, "That's my point exactly."
"Well, you appeared to like it," Relena continued to argue, showing what she was known for, which was being difficult.
His hand encircled her wrist and he pulled her in front of him, eyes narrowing, "Believe me, I did. Which is the very reason I don't want anyone else to see you in it."
Relena straightened up, but didn't pull her hand away, "Well, you're the one person I really wanted to notice it. I don't care about the others," she was being deadly serious now, almost desperate, "No other men have ever looked upon me with interest."
"Yeah, they do," Heero said, releasing her, "Many do. You should look around more often."
Relena glanced at him over her shoulder, "The only thing I find around me to look at and admire is you."
They made it to the top of the staircase, and descended into the main hall.
Five other Preventers of her security team were waiting at the door to escort her to the limousine.
Two of the team were fill-ins for Wufei and Sally, seeing that they were most likely already at head quarters, greeting guests.
"I presume Heero will be riding in the limo with you, Miss Relena?" Noin asked, a slight twinkle in her eye.
Relena flushed, and nodded, "Yes, being that he is head bodyguard, I suppose it's only natural," she said, trying to sound professional.
The limo ride was relatively silent, and Relena was glad when they finally reached head quarters, which was no more than a ten minute ride from her house.
Relena had to smile when she seen Duo's new blue Corvette parked to the side. He was so proud that he'd finally made enough money to buy the thing. It was the most expensive thing he'd ever had, he claimed, other than Hilde.
Heero exited the limo before her, and turned to help her out. She took his hand, and slid out of the car, only to be blinded by the flash of around twenty cameras.
"Well, I suppose I'll be all over tabloids in the morning. I can see it now. 'Foreign Minister dresses the part of a skank, while escorted by her secret lover, Gundam Pilot 01'," she muttered.
" 'Former Gundam Pilot 01'," Heero amended.
It was good that they could joke like that, otherwise Relena was sure she'd have passed out if he had happened to say anything awkward.
She was surrounded immediately by her security team as she and Heero entered the banquet hall of the Preventer head quarters.
Sally was in the center of a bunch of women dressed in evening gowns. She looked stunning in a simple, short, black, silk dress. A string of pearls encircled her graceful neck, and the engagement ring Wufei had presented to her less than two weeks before glittered in the light on her left hand.
Still on Heero's arm, Relena let him guide her over to their friends.
Sally smiled when she saw her, and Relena returned a brilliant smile to her friend. Pulling away from Heero, Relena embraced Sally.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank you," Sally said, wiping a tear from her eye, "I didn't think I'd ever civilize him," she said quietly, grinning behind her hand.
Relena giggled and nodded her head in agreement, also brushing away a stray tear.
Wufei grumbled a bit, and shook his head, "Silly women."
Relena turned to acknowledge Wufei, and got wicked idea in her head. Looking so innocent that it should've been caught on camera, Relena approached him slowly.
It was as if the former Gundam pilot could tell something was going on in the mind of the Foreign Minister.
He took a step back, "Oh, no. Don't even...woman, I'm warning you..."
All of a sudden, Relena sprang at him, throwing her arms around his neck, "Oh, Wufei! I'm so happy for you...."
The Chinese man was left speechless.
A flash went off, and Relena let go of him, and burst into giggles, glancing over at Duo.
"Smile for the camera, Wuffy!" Duo sang cheerfully as he snapped another picture.
"Maxwell, put the damned camera away! This is not a photo session, this is...."
"Oh, but you're so photogenic!" Duo said, snapping several more pictures.
"Maxwell, if you value your braid, put the camera away...Now!"
Duo immediately lowered the camera, and fear embedded itself in his features, "Sorry, man, I was just kidding. Just...don't hurt my braid. It's my best friend...."
The rest of the conversation was drained out as Relena attempted to find Heero in the crowd. There must've been three to four hundred people there, and they were all Preventers. She'd lost Heero in a mere matter of seconds.
She pushed through the crowd, searched upstairs, and walked the hallways for twenty minutes trying to find him. This only made her more anxious to find out what it was he wanted to tell her.
"Where could he have gone?" she wondered, aloud.
Then, almost as if in answer, she heard the familiar, quiet monotone.
Following the voice, Relena found herself near what looked to be a library.
"It's sure good to see you again, little Noin."
That was Duo's voice. So he was now in there as well. Why the hell was he calling Noin little? And hadn't he seen her earlier that day, just after lunch?
A soft, slightly accented voice replied, "It is good to see you too, Maxwell."
"Has Mr. Dark and Silent been treating you good?"
"Maxwell..." Heero's voice growled in that warning tone.
"What?! I'm just making sure a lady is being treated like she should."
"Heero treats me very good, Duo," said the soft voice.
Relena crept up to the cracked door, and peered into the study.
Heero, Duo and an ebony-haired, ivory-skinned beauty was what she was met with.
"Surely, you wouldn't expect any less," the woman said smiling.
She walked over to Heero, and wrapped her arms around his torso.
What shocked Relena most though, was that Heero returned the embrace!
"So, when ya planning the big day?" Relena could almost sense Duo raising his eyebrows.
What did he mean by that?
Then it caught her eye, because it nearly blinded her when the light caught it.
A huge, diamond ring sparkled on her delicate finger. Relena could only assume....
"This fall, around November, hopefully," the woman answered.
No way, it couldn't be...
Duo could be seen grinning as he halfway faced the door, "Well, I guess it won't be long until you love birds will be announcing your engagement too, huh?"
To Be Continued.....
Don't ya love it when an author springs Cliff Hangers on ya? Please Review! This is my first published fanfic, and I might loose confidence if I get no feedback, and may never write again. You don't want to stunt the growth of an author, do you? grins evilly
Also, I'd really love to get to know other aspiring authors out there, so if I have any readers laughs at this idiotic idea that would like to get to know me, I'd really love to hear from you. I like making new friends. You can never have too many!
-Bama's Belle