Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Stolen Memories ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two

Relena jumped up from her chair and dropped the glass on her wooden desk causing the contents to slosh over the glasses edge onto the glossy service of her table. She ignored the mess and threw her arms around Heero, hugging him tightly.

"Oh Heero" she smiled "Its so good to see you!" She felt his arms snake around her waist and hug her back, and she closed her eyes content with the sensation of being held. She pulled back to look up at his face and Heero released his hug, sliding his hands back to her arms, which he held gently.

Heero looked at her closely. He felt concerned at the pallor of her skin and the dark circles under her eyes. She always works too hard, he thought. Peace is something to be striven for, but this woman just gives and gives. He gave her a small lopsided smile.

"Oh, I have missed you!" Relena grinned back at him, and gave him another squeeze before pulling away completely. "Have you eaten? Is your assignment over? You look tired, when did you last get some decent sleep? Are you reassigned back to me?"

"Yes, yes, no I'm not, yes" Heero frowned "The assignment is over, and I have been reassigned back here. You look tired, when did you last get some rest? I hear the Martian talks have proven to be difficult"

Relena raised an eyebrow questioning how he knew. Heero smirked. "Wufei…." He had just come from relieving Wufei of his post. "He said that you had been suffering from headaches, and were not working out hard enough to rid yourself of them"

"Hhmmpf" Relena snorted in disdain "I have been working my butt off literally to satisfy him" She gestured at her trim bottom and grinned at Heero's eyes gliding down to regard that particular piece of her anatomy. She playfully slapped his arm to bring his attention back to her face. "Yes, these talks are difficult - but we are getting there. I hope to have general agreement by the end of the week. If these people can just stick to their resolve over the next couple of months and not find something else to argue about, we ought to have a working agreement signed." She picked up her glass and lifted it to her lips "And that would be something to drink to! Do you want something to drink, Heero?" she asked after she had had a sip.

Heero shook his head, and glanced at the clock on the wall. Gone 0100 hrs.. He took the glass out of her hand and put it back on the table. "No good for a nightcap, alcohol interferes with your natural pattern of sleep." he said, then took Relena's arm, and led her to the door of her office. "Bed" he said, leading her down the hall towards her living quarters.

Opening the door to her room, she noted how his training took over as he quickly scanned the room. Without hesitation he had motioned her to stay behind him, hand hovering near the gun that Relena knew him to carry under his jacket. He entered the room softly, head turning to check behind the door, eyes darting around the edges of the room. He pulled the curtains closed before turning on her bedside lamp, then motioned for her to enter the room.

"You need sleep, and you need it now" he said walking to and then opening the bathroom door, checking, then pushing Relena in. "We can catch up in the morning." He pulled the door to and waited as he listened to the sounds of her brushing her teeth and changing. The bathroom door opened once again, and she emerged in pyjamas and robe. She had taken her hair out of the bun, brushed it and was in the process of braiding it into a plait. She grinned at his expression. "Duo has started a fashion trend" she said.

The furthest thing from Heero's mind at that point was Duo. Relena looked beautiful dressed in simple blue satin pyjamas and matching robe - beautiful, vulnerable and more than a little sexy.

Relena walked to her bed, pulled off her robe and settled down between the cool linen sheets. She felt completely as ease with Heero in her room, and had long since forgotten the nervousness she had originally felt when Heero saw her in her bed or in her nightwear. For Heero it was the opposite. Initially Relena had been a mission and he had no qualms about seeing her in any situation or state of dress. Lately, however, Heero had been discovering that seeing Relena in her nightwear and in her bedroom lead to a significant lack of concentration on current mission parameters, and a good deal of imagining about things he ought not to.

"It really is so good to have you home" Relena said softly. She closed her eyes as Heero reached for the light switch on the lamp beside her bed "Will you stay until I sleep" she asked, opening one eye to watch him. Heero nodded and bent down and kissed her on her forehead. His mouth lingered there aching to slide down and kiss her mouth. He pulled away, getting himself under control. Relena has her own mission to work on, he thought, I cannot distract her with my own wants.

"Good night." he said and he switched out the light, settling into a chair near the window.

Relena screwed her eyes shut in frustration as Heero moved away, then sighed lightly as the throb of her headache eased away "Night…" she breathed, then was asleep.

Morning dawned, bright and cheerful. Relena stretched languidly in bed, slowly wakening from the first refreshing sleep she had had in months. She smiled and touched her forehead when Heero had kissed her, then seeing the time on her bedside clock cursed - she would be late for the talks. She leapt out of bed, had a shower in record time, was dressed and made up 20 minutes later.

Relena ran to the kitchen where Pagan was waiting with her morning coffee. Greeting him, she took the cup and tried to drink it quickly, burning her lips in the process.

"Relax, Relena" came a voice from behind her "They won't start the talks without you". Relena turned and saw Heero, dressed in his preventors uniform, leaning up against the kitchen doorframe, arms crossed and looking very relaxed "How is the head?" he asked.

"Morning Heero" Relena responded, waving away the toast that Paygan was trying to offer her "Headache is completely gone, thank you!"

Heero unfolded from the door, walked over to Paygan and took the toast from him. Turning to Relena he held the warm buttered toast up to her mouth "Eat" he ordered.

"Heero, I don't have time for -hmmp" Relena was cut off by Heero pushing the toast into her open mouth.

"I am sure you have heard it from Sally many times, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You are getting too thin" Heero glared at her until she started chewing. Relena glared back at him, but finished the toast. "Paygan, do you have tea?" Heero asked the butler.

"Of, course Sir." Paygan moved to pour a cup of English Breakfast tea, smiling as he had not been able to get Relena to have more than a cup of black coffee for breakfast in months.

"Pour two cups." Heero requested, pulling the coffee cup from Relena's hand and pouring the contents down the sink.

"Heero - my coffee!" Relena cried, "I hadn't finished it"

"Tea is much better for mornings" Heero replied "You shouldn't rely on stimulants."

Relena took the tea from Paygan, and again glared at Heero. Inside, she was smiling. It was wonderful to be looked after by him, she calculated that her inner serenity must be full to over flowing by now. Heero raised an eyebrow and Relena realised that she must have been staring at him. She took a sip of tea and grimaced, not the thing to wake her up in the morning. She glanced at the clock again, took another sip of tea then put the cup down.

"Time to make a move." She said.

"Fine." Heero agreed, picking up another piece of toast. "You can eat this in the car"

"Well, she certainly looks more cheerful today!" Sally studied Relena, who was busy negotiating with a delegate from L16. The old Relena seemed to be back as she deftly turned the argument around in such a charming, disarming way that the delegate could only nod his agreement and sit down slightly dazed as to how he had initially considered that Relena was wrong.

"Heero is the strength of that woman." Wufei nodded his agreement "It is good to see her looking strong once again."

Sally turned her attention to Heero, who was sitting next to Relena. He seemed to concentrate on his ever-present laptop, but Sally knew that his attention was really on surveying the room around the woman he was sworn to protect. He looked at Relena as she stood up.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Relena began "I believe that we have come to a satisfactory agreement here. We have made great progress towards true peace and understanding between our nations and I truly look forward to our next meeting when we will put our signatures on this very positive agreement." Relena looked at all the faces turned towards her "This conference has been an honour and a privilege to attend, I thank you." As she stood down from the podium, the delegates all stood up and started to applaud her.

"Ah, yes." Said Sally smiling "She certainly has the touch."

Sally and Wufei made their way past the exiting delegates to the podium, where Relena was packing papers away into her briefcase and Heero was closing his laptop and replacing it in his bag. Relena gave the two a big smile, looked around to make sure no one was within ear shot.

"Phew!" she whispered "I am so pleased that is finished with!" she stretched her arms above her head "I am so hungry - do you want to join us for some late lunch?"

"Er, more like early dinner." Sally grinned "Sounds good! What about you Wufei?"

"I have training I wish to perform" Wufei frowned at her "Onna, you should also be training, not eating - your desk job is making you fat!"

Relena looked at Wufei, stunned at his rudeness, even Heero looked a little taken aback, but Sally laughed. "Better fat than puny like you, Wufei" she said.

"Hmmmf" Wufei scowled "Injustice!".

Just then the digital tones of a phone ringing interrupted the conversation. All four of them pulled out phones to check if theirs was ringing. It was Sally's and she walked away from the other three to take the call.

"Come on Wufei" Relena coaxed him "Do come out, I very rarely get social time with Sally and you know that she wont come without you! And Heero will have to come with us and he would be completely bored in the company of two Onnas!".

Heero raised an eyebrow to this, but didn't argue. He knew Relena was expert at negotiating, and these were the sort of arguments that Wufei would agree to.

"Very well Minister" he conceded. "I will attend to save Heero from listening to women's chattering".

Relena smiled "Oh Wufei, you are too kind!"

Sally walked back over to them, tucking her phone away in her jacket. She looked pale and preoccupied, and Relena immediately looked concerned "What is wrong Sally?" she asked.

"I'm afraid it is bad news, Relena" Sally eyes were glassy with tears. "Mariemaia is dead."