Ordinary People

Chapter One: Of Farces and Coming Undone

Tilting her head back, she looked up at the gigantic clock mounted high upon the wall of the ballroom. The many others gathered on the dance floor around her soon did the same, watching the second hand trek up the left side of the face. Relena clutched her glass of champagne a bit closer to her as everyone began counting the hand's last ten jerky movements, and smiled faintly when everyone cheered as it reached the top. She politely accepted hugs from those around her, and used them to move through the crowd until she reached its edge.

Still clutching her half- full glass of champagne, she walked to the bar area at the left side of the hall—clicking in her spiked heels all the way. Away from the bar itself and the stools that surrounded it, there were a few small tables and short chairs for those who wanted to socialize a little more personally than the larger tables around the dance floor would allow. At one of the tables was Quatre Winner, surrounded by a small gaggle of chatting, laughing women. To anyone else at this party, the young businessman would appear to be enjoying his new year's celebration as a playboy. Relena, however, knew every member of his harem to be one of his many sisters. That's a clever cover, she thought as they exchanged nearly imperceptible nods. Relena presumed one of them to be slightly drunk, as she was still wearing her midnight party hat with the numbers '202' in glittering gold print. She didn't head toward him, though. She made her way to the bar, where a dark- haired man sat alone on a stool.

She didn't sit on the stool next to him, as it would have been something of a feat in the shoes she was wearing. Even if she could have managed to step up on to the stool's rungs, she doubted the tight fit of her dress would have allowed her to maneuver onto the seat. Instead, she stood in the space between two barstools, so she was very near him. The proximity this arrangement allowed was more convenient for her purposes than a seat at the adjacent stool would have allowed, anyway. Placing her glass on the bar, she turned toward him.

"Hello, Heero."

"Happy new year." He didn't turn to look at her, and instead kept his eyes trained on his drink.

"I have a problem," she whispered. This got his attention. He turned toward her, but looked unconcerned. Whispering even softer, she leaned in closer. "I think it's coming loose." Heero stared. "Well, I can't see it, and I can't very well check for myself!"

Heero turned his head back toward his drink and relaxed his shoulders a bit more. Turning his body to face Relena, he said, "Talk to me."

"What?"

"We need a conversation. Talk to me normally."

Signaling to the bartender for his attention, she raised her voice: "Bartender, I'll have exactly what he's having, but with a straw, please." She turned back to Heero, who had his left arm resting casually on the bar, and his right resting on his right thigh. He was looking at her expectantly. She searched quickly for something to say. She looked him up and down, and knew exactly what to do.

"I must say, Heero, you've certainly cleaned up nicely for the evening." She laid her hand on the collar of his shirt. It was maroon, and closed at the neck with a plain black tie. Still, even with his jacket unbuttoned he managed to look as polished as any of the other young men in attendance. Their conversation may have been a ruse, but she hadn't lied when she complimented him.

"Thank you, Miss Relena."

"I almost wouldn't know you in this color. Did you pick it yourself?"

"I did."

Her hand was still on his collar. "Well, I love it."

"I could say the same for your dress, Miss Relena." He looked her up and down, looking interested. As his gaze returned to her face, his eyes darted very quickly to something behind her, but quickly returned to address her. "I don't think I've ever seen you in red, either." He moved his hand to the middle of her back. Relena could hear voices behind her; there must have been another man and woman a few stools away, by the sound of it. "Of course, I don't have to ask whether you choose it." He made a small smile.

Relena laughed politely. She knew Heero well enough to realize he was just playing along, and that his words and actions were all part of the show they were putting on now. It was true that they weren't in front of many people, but there was always the chance that they would be watched; Relena's behavior at parties—especially her behavior around the male guests—was always carefully monitored by the elders and gossips in her social circle, superficial though it may be. Certainly they would talk about the attention she was paying to Heero tonight, but there wasn't much they could say against a respectable, high- ranking Preventer officer.

The bartender set a glass identical to Heero's in front of her. It had a bit of ice in the top and was a sort of light brown color. There was a pink straw sticking out of it. "Thank you," she said dryly to the bartender. He left to assist the people behind Relena.

"What's this you're drinking, Heero?"

"Long Island Iced Tea." He watched her pick the glass up and take a sip.

"Urgh! Don't smile like that, Heero, this is disgusting!" She added in a whisper, "What is this, really?"

The amused grin didn't disappear. But he whispered back, "Tonic water with a splash of coke." He thought for a moment. "I actually don't mind the taste, Miss Relena."

"I'm sorry I can't share the sentiment."

"I don't drink on the job, Relena," he said under his breath, his tone of voice and relaxed expression mismatched completely. "You shouldn't be tonight either."

"I'm haven't!" Relena whispered back indignantly. She felt the hand Heero still had on the middle of her back pressing against her.

"Don't worry, I'm just seeing if it's still in place. Stay still. Keep going."

"It certainly has been a while, Heero. What brings you to this party of all places this evening?"

"I'm a guest of Commander Une's tonight. She didn't need an escort to the party, but offered me the extra invitation anyway. I'm glad I took it; who knows when we would have run into each other again?"

"Indeed. The terraforming plans are taking up most of my attentions these days. What's been keeping you busy lately?"

He looked at her reproachfully. "Miss Relena, you know I can't discuss the finer points of my work with civilians."

"Well, I'm not exactly civilian, am I?" she replied playfully.

His hand moved a little lower down her back. "I suppose not, Vice Foreign Minister."

Relena did her best to remain steady as Heero moved his hand around slowly on her lower back. She knew what he was feeling for, and thought he should have already been able to tell whether the damned thing had come loose or not. Was she being had?

She picked up the glass, and—just before putting the straw to her lips—muttered: "Well?"

"Miss Relena," Heero began genially, removing his hand from her back, "would you care to dance with me?"

"Certainly, Heero." She thought she caught his drift; her suspicions about the wire becoming displaced were correct, and it would have to be replaced as soon as possible.

He stepped off the stool and fastened the top button of his jacket. He looked at Relena, still standing in between the stools, and held out his arm for her. "Shall we?"

"Thank you," she said, looping her arm through his. As they began to walk out of the lounge area, she thought to herself that Heero was extremely good at playing the gentleman. It was almost jarring to be around him while he acted like this, as she was so accustomed to his usual quiet, stony manner. Perhaps it was because he was so unlike the polished gentleman he was pretending to be tonight in reality that enabled him to act as if he were one so superbly; with him it was obvious as to what gaps needed to be filled.

"Relena, the microphone has fallen off," he said, turning his face to hers as they walked.

"Are the plans ruined then?"

"No. I have a replacement in my jacket pocket. We'll need to find a place where I can put it on you."

"But that's—"

"Just a quick dance, to look natural, then we'll go outside for a walk. There'll be somewhere convenient out there, I'm sure."

They had reached the edge of the dance floor now. The string quartet had started up again, and the floor was crowded with waltzers young and old. Heero wasted no time; he released her arm, exchanging it for her hand, and immediately took the first opening he saw. He moved so effortlessly once they began to step to the music, Relena was once again surprised at his unforeseen talent.

She had only danced with him once before, and they had been fifteen. She had been mildly surprised that he had known how to waltz then too, but her mind was on so many other things that night that she hadn't really put to much thought into the ease with witch they had moved around the floor.

Thinking back to that night, Relena reflected on how he'd grown. She'd always thought him handsome, but age had made him striking. He wore his hair the same, and his face had only thinned out from his stretch in height; even with her heels, Heero still looked down at Relena as they danced. He'd remained muscular, as his job probably demanded it of him, and that only added to the new sort of darkness about him he had acquired in the seven years since their first dance.

"You know, I thought it was I who was going to have to ask you for a dance."

"It's necessary now."

"I would've convinced you."

His eyes met hers with an expression that could have been genuine amusement.

"I'm impressed with your farce, Agent Yuy."

"Farce?"

"Yes. You fit in with all the other men here tonight perfectly. I couldn't have imagined it if I weren't seeing it for myself."

"It's part of my job tonight."

"Yes—well—you do it well."

"Thank you."

Relena was used to conversing with her partners while dancing, so she pressed on.

"I confess I'm nervous about later. I don't know if I—"

Heero looked at her with an expression that silenced her, almost as well as if he had interrupted her with words. "You know, someone else could have been planted at the party to do what you're going to do. You were chosen deliberately, not because there were no other options." He paused to take quick glances at their sides. "You're trusted for this. You're depended on. Do you understand?"

"I thought I was just convenient."

"You are." Relena narrowed her eyes.

"I suppose I'll do my part well enough, then."

"You'll do it well." Relena looked up at him, surprised at the encouragement that was coming from his real side, not the playacting gentleman. Before she could respond, the music stopped, and everyone on the floor turned to clap for the quartet. Heero released Relena and they followed suit.

Relena looked around to see whether she was on very familiar terms with anyone in the vicinity. Quatre and one of his sober sisters stood together a few feet to their left, but it was better not to make too much contact with tonight's support man. She was told she needed to be seen doing normal things throughout the evening, and the couple to her direct right would provide just such an opportunity.

She touched the shoulder of the woman next to her. "Clarisse?" The woman turned and smiled widely in immediate recognition. She was the Foreign Minister's oldest daughter—the same age as Relena—and was standing hand- in- hand with her fiancé.

"Miss Relena? I was wondering if you would be coming tonight! You look amazing!"

"Thank you, Clarisse. You do as well. We'll have to talk about those shoes—"

"And who's your friend?" Her eyes had found Heero and widened.

"Oh, this is Agent Heero Yuy. Heero, this is Clarisse, the Foreign Minister's daughter."

Heero placed his hand on the small of Relena's back as he reached across to take Clarisse's hand as he greeted her.

"Would you care to take a walk outside, Miss Relena? Dancing has made the room seem stuffy."

"I couldn't agree more." He took her arm once again and immediately led the way to the wide, open doors on the right side of the hall, and she struggled to exchange proper goodbyes with Clarisse over her shoulder.

It was only slightly chilly outside, but there was a breeze. She turned to look at Heero for what they would do next. He was looking around the small courtyard and garden, scanning it for other party guests. There were only a few, and they seemed too absorbed in their own affairs to take much notice of Heero and Relena's arrival. They looked at each other at the same time. The slight breeze was lifting Heero's hair with every gentle gust, while Relena's loosely curled hair stirred about her shoulders and face ceaselessly.

"Shall we walk in the rose garden?"

"That sounds lovely."

The rose bushes were high, and eventually gave way to a sort of bush maze. The walls were taller than Heero, and were no longer just rose bushes. Heero led them for a few minutes through the maze, during which time neither of them spoke. Both were listening for sounds of others who may be in the maze with them. Relena shivered, her bare shoulders starting to feel the increasing cold.

"It's colder out here than it was in the courtyard."

"The stones of the courtyard are heated from beneath." Relena was not surprised by his informative reply; he had probably studied the whole place's floorplan in preparation for the night. "I just need to find a dead end for us."

"Try that way," Relena said, pointing left.

"Why that way?"

"Well, I've never had much luck when following my gut in mazes, and my gut says to go left." He gave her a look. "Don't worry, we'll find one that way."

Heero steered them left with an exasperated sigh, and—sure enough—after a few minutes of letting Relena lead, they reached their dead end.

"See, I told you I'd find the dead end, Heero!"

"I don't know if I would be so proud." He released her arm and unbuttoned his jacket. "Now, I have a replacement for the microphone and some more adhesive. You were right, it did come loose."

"Well—"

"Now turn around and unzip your dress."

"Unzip my—? No, Heero! It's indecent; I'm not unzipping my dress in front of you!"

"You can't very well do it yourself, remember?" Heero was taking a bit of enjoyment in her discomfort. The places he found humor in life were outrageous. "Even if I let you put the microphone on the wire yourself, there's a good chance you'll fasten it incorrectly, and that would ruin everything. I'm not willing to take that risk. Now turn around and unzip your dress."

"I can't."

Heero ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily.

"No—I mean, I can't unzip it myself. You'll have to do it for me."

Heero nodded, and moved his index finger in a circle, signaling her to turn around.

"There're little hooks every few inches. You've got to undo them before you do the zipper."

"Understood."

She could feel Heero's fingers fumbling around at the small of her back. His progression upwards was rather slow.

"How's it coming?"

"They're very small." He continued his work for what seemed like minutes to Relena. She stood staring at the bush in front of her with her arms crossed over her stomach.

"Can you move your hair?"

She gathered it over her right shoulder so that he could unclasp the hooks at the top of her dress. Suddenly, she felt her dress loosening; he had finally reached the zipper. She grabbed the top of her dress from the front to keep it from falling. The wire had been stuck to the middle and small of Relena's back, so it was necessary for Heero to bring the zipper all the way down to completely expose the wire.

"This is very awkward, Heero," Relena said quietly, shivering and clutching the front of her dress to her.

"Don't worry, I'm not looking anywhere I shouldn't be. I'll repair this as quickly as I can." He was being honest when he told Relena that he was being respectful, but she didn't see the sweat appear on his brow as he touched her skin in his effort to unstick the wire's adhesive. The wire was nothing more than just that, as all the device consisted of was a microphone and an antenna to directly relay the sound to a Preventer affiliate just outside the property. The microphone that was supposed to be stuck to Relena's back was missing, though. Heero pulled a replacement from his inner jacket pocket and replaced it on the appropriate end of the wire with only a little difficulty, considering the poor lighting. He then re- applied adhesive to her back, and gently pressed the wire into place.

"Alright, I'm done. But I want to give it some time to dry up. We can't afford to have it move again."

"Alright."

Heero got to his feet from the kneeling position he had taken behind Relena. "You can turn around for now. She did so quickly, facing Heero so that her back couldn't be seen at all. She still clutched at her dress, and shivered a bit more.

Heero took note of her shivering, and began to remove his jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"You're cold, aren't you?"

"I'm fine."

"You're shivering. Take it."

"We're not at the party anymore, Heero. You don't need to act—"

"I'm not, Relena." Heero was only mildly offended that she thought him that coarse. "You're cold, so you can have my jacket while we wait."

Relena looked at the ground. "Thank you." Heero took this as her permission and draped the jacket over her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Heero."

He looked at her for only a second before crossing his arms and looking at the ground. He was likely trying to listen for any intruders. Relena took the opportunity to survey his changed appearance. The moonlight played a wonderful trick on his face: it was bright, but his bangs caused his eyes to fall into complete shadow, making him look rather inhuman. Few things about Heero Yuy could scare Relana, though. Looking at his shirt again, she noticed he was wearing black suspenders. Confused, she looked at his waist, but found a belt there where she thought there would be none.

"Heero?" He grunted some sort of acknowledgement back to her. "Why are you wearing suspenders and a belt? Does having one or the other just not do the trick?"

Heero moved his face out of its downward tilt, causing moonlight to fall on his eyes, which had widened a bit. He was clearly taken aback at the query.

"I always wear a belt. But—" he looked around uncomfortably—"I just like the way suspenders look."

Relena only laughed a little. Upon examining them again, she found that they did, in fact, flatter his appearance. They were snug over his shoulders, as well as over his firm chest. Yes, there was something attractive in suspenders, now that she had an example before her.

Heero looked like he was about to add something more in his defense, but he stopped just before he spoke. His face set in urgent concern, and his eyes locked with Relena's. She didn't need him to say anything, though. She could also hear the laughing woman, the man's soft voice, and the footsteps drawing nearer and nearer. Before she could move, Heero had already silently sprung on her; he flung the coat from her shoulders to the ground, and took a knee to get a hold of the zipper.

He had to get Relena done up before their guests arrived. If they were discovered, it would look like something it was definitely not, and Relena's reputation would be compromised. If they stayed to inspect further, they would see the wire, and the whole night's operation would be spoiled. He had to get Relena done up—but the hooks were just so damn small….

A/N: This was really just a spur of the moment, just for fun kind of thing. I really enjoyed writing it, though, and I'll post the next chapter soon. Tell me, are you enthralled? Or no?

--The Penguinator 1/11/07 4:18 AM