Chapter Text
Relena was quiet tonight. The elevator was quiet. Heero was. . . You get the picture. Her outfit was uncomfortable, her skin was near crawling, and it was a terribly warm day in the L3 colony. It was a rough, albeit rare, weekend of meetings and she was leaving in eight hours. Usually her meetings were during the week, but this last week hadn't ended until near eight nights later. She undid her cuff links but kept them attached to her sleeves.
The pins went next, and she removed them one by one with her eyes closed for concentration. There were close to sixteen to fish out and her memory wasn't really at its' peak when sleep- and relief-deprived. She managed to find six right away, and Heero's hand had appeared in front of her, offering to hold her bobby-pins. A small but frustrated smile crossed her face as she took advantage of the assistance.
All she wanted was a hot shower, her pajamas, and six hours of sleep. With a sidelong glance to her bodyguard in the crisp suit and damnably touchable hair, she decided she'd trade six hours for four if he made the first move. She'd fished out few more and Heero began to look amused. He'd been able to take the pins out in less time with minimal effort, even with barely knowing how many and where they were placed.
Oh how she wanted his hands in her hair. Part of her wanted to trade responsibilities, but part of her didn't want to lose any sleep. Relena wasn't sure she needed sleep tonight if she was traveling tomorrow anyways.
And he was standing next to her in a manner which made her very fluttery.
Two more came out. She was mindful of where her elbows went, and the suit she wore made her movements harder to accomplish her goal. There were supposed to be four more, but they were hiding, and there wasn't a reflective surface in the elevator to check. She was tired enough to voluntarily lose count. Piercing her lips out of frustration, she let out a sigh and dropped her shoulders. Looking over to Heero, her eyes met his and he lowered his hand with the pins. Dropping her facade was time-consuming and exhausting, and she was sure this elevator was the slowest elevator in the ESUN. Seriously, who needed an elevator that went slower than one would walk going up the stairs? This whole building was unreliably tall.
The elevator was at level four of twenty. She wasn't even sure they needed a building this tall.
“Heero can you find the last four, please?”
“Sure.” The pins slipped into her pocket, Heero placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her away from him. His fingers spread into her scalp, feeling for the last four.
On her list of needs and wants, she wanted twenty minutes alone without camera and audio surveillance. She was warm in more ways than one. Relena tried to think of policies and lobbyists and the media, but the man standing next to her within dermal warmth radius was distracting her. It was a busy day and unwinding took precedence.
Heero wasn't one to leave her alone, especially when he hadn't checked her room yet. The too large room was ornate, but she still felt the walls closing in on her. The constant moving around, the threat of being attacked almost a daily occurrence, and her workload never seemed to diminish. Her mind was racing. There'd be no sleep tonight.
Because, geez, his fingers were amazing.
At least Heero was able to refrain from sleeping for extended periods of time so even if she couldn't sleep, at least she'd have company. Honestly, that was the most innocent backpedaling for a train of thought she could muster. “Tired?” Relena only nodded, her head falling back slowly. Once upon a time, Heero wouldn't've asked. More often than not, he'd give a grunt of confirmation or denial. Since the strings of moves she'd gone through, the mild innuendo on occasion, they'd been getting more talkative. “You'll have time to sleep on the shuttle.” She nodded noncommittally, his fingers following her movements; she didn't hear him through the haze of his proximity. They both acknowledged the hints of cliche that was the romance between bodyguard and charge, no matter how small. A few chuckles and smiles later, they were attached. She noticed, a few others noticed, and most importantly some of his liaisons noticed when he opened up to her.
On occasion he'd tell her ahead of time when something was planning on being thwarted, for lack of a better term. That was shop talk, which was fine, but she played caretaker to the rest of the ESUN and already worried about the health and risk imposed on the rest of the Earth and Colonies. Most of Une's plans revolved around the Vice Foreign Minister's protective circle. She'd be informed eventually of the situation but to find out about it ahead of time, even in passing, was something she used to appreciate.
Once Heero found out it was a burden to her, he stopped. She couldn't focus on her work when he told her Une was planning on moving her the first time and mentioned it might be one of a few. If she learned about a move, she would immediately want to stop it in any way possible, which meant she risked getting Heero into trouble. She didn't want him to stop trusting her. That meant she had to be okay with not knowing. At times it kept her up at night, and more than once it cost her a deal of emotional taxation.
So Heero was present at this conference. He was present at every event she attended now, at Commander Une's request. He was the most capable bodyguard she'd ever had the honor of knowing. The shadow to her symbol, Heero never hesitated when she was threatened.
Fiercely protective of her before, Heero was even more adamant of her detail now that they were speaking to each other. It was amazing how many small options and decisions she had over once Heero trusted her with information. Turns out, they had similar interests as far as her safety was concerned. That trust they had for each other was paramount, and defined their attraction further.
She nodded again, the near exhaustion causing her shoulders to slump. Rolling her shoulders, she straightened her back once more and stretched her feet one at a time. Her sciatic nerve was giving her trouble today, after having moved around enough on the colony that they were familiar with most of the workings. She'd had tours of most of the structural and imperative buildings of the area, and had made note of the more needed improvements by taking a side route on purpose to see their less prosperous neighborhoods.
She was warm, oh so warm.
Heero's hands left her hair, and her tresses were straightened out as though she'd never been touched or altered her appearance. His hands could sculpt masterpieces. Relena couldn't count how often people gave them side glances and then wondered if she was untouchable or if they were just very good at hiding whatever relationship they'd developed. The press would have a field day if she acted on her impulses, which entertained her in some parts of the boring meetings. She didn't allow a high amount of mental leniency as far as those days came around, but oh how wonderful they were when she let herself relax.
Every representative had an opinion of what should happen despite her observances, which meant each representative was like a small child, shouting their opinions to the wind. She had written their names down, those who were open to working with new policies and those who'd been less excited about changes which would help the less fortunate neighborhoods. It'd be nice to not hear their shrill voices in her sleep as they had the last two restless nights. Heero had been watching over her, but he was on detail those nights. Now he was on personal assignment, which suited them both just fine. “Une wanted to go over two proposals in the morning en route, and the communication is at ten.”
“That should give you time to catch a few hours.” Relena sighed and finally--flipping Finally--the elevator opened and she let Heero step out ahead of her as he usually did, proceeding to clear her exit. There was another Preventer there and they nodded to each other. Relena stepped out when his shoulders fell an inch, his sign for the all-clear. The serious look on his face never really seemed to leave unless people had spent a lot of time with him. Time with him was most of her time, and there was no way she could even fathom sleep with as much tension as she'd been harboring for the last couple of days.
Did she even want to get into how much she enjoyed watching Heero walk around in a suit? She'd never say unless they took that next step, but damn that man grew even more into his handsome self once the war was over. Relena fell into step with him, his hand on her back, and she followed in suit. They were at the suite then, just a few doors down, and he pulled the room key from his pocket. There was no instance where she needed access to her rooms without his accompaniment. It wasn't out of vanity or desperation for which she allowed him access to every part of her life, but out of respect. He required total cooperation and trust in his work.
Work, that was a funny word for them. Yes, there were days when one or both of them were tired of the doublespeak; she recalled on more than one occasion where he'd make a funny face during one of her sit-downs because of something someone said. By funny face, she meant menacing glare. She'd been scrutinized by politicians several times by the company she kept, and their manners in the presence of high-ranking officials. Relena had bitten her cheek to keep from speaking of what she considered to be high-ranking official.
Heero unlocked and opened the door, beginning his sweep, starting with the bathroom to the left. She waited in the small foyer, hand on the lavatory door just in case Heero told her to move. It wasn't the first and it certainly wouldn't be the last time he told her to bolt into the bathroom and lock herself in until he neutralized a threat. He even had her using code words with him in case of danger; they found themselves eventually using them in social situations.
So if Relena tugged her ear, she knew Heero would come to her and whisper for her to step aside for an important phone call and excused her to the hallway for a breather. A clearing of her throat meant Heero needed to calm his cool exterior because he was scaring people who hadn't worked with or near him. The two of them were quite an intimidating team, the once Queen and the Perfect Soldier, so much so that meetings went a little more tense than usual.
Heero followed code words better than she. So if he wanted her to run away, he usually said, 'run,' loud enough for her to hear and follow. He didn't waste a lot of time with words.
“Coast is clear.” Her hand fell limp and secured the lock latch on the main door, and she stepped into the main room. Her hands went to her overcoat and began undoing the buttons, stripping off a layer slowly to reveal a second layer. The buttons got harder to manage, but the dress code of the noble and political [one wasn't synonymous to the other] was stringent. The layout of the large apartment-sized suite made her uncomfortable, so she made a point to put all of her effects in the same place. This place was as temporary as her home life. She was a mobile unit, excuse the pun.
She walked through the suite, paying no mind to Heero who was walking about in silence. If he was in the mood to speak or communicate with her he would make himself known. He'd sometimes fell onto the couch and waited for her to fall asleep. What she wanted she'd not been able to really have; it was her wish that he stayed closer. At this point they were friends, and they were not friends. They were more, but they were less. She didn't live for Heero Yuy; she lived for Heero Yuy. The man spent so much time protecting her that she owed him her life and her work.
And she'd be damned if she didn't rise to meet his expectations. She really wanted him in her bed, though. It sounded very sexist. It also sounded very desperate. Tonight was a good night, if any, because the signs were there. He touched her more, even kissed her hand today, and stayed closer than usual. All the words were there, hanging between them.
A light turned on to her right, the kitchenette. “Water?” His voice was sure, but she could hear the strained tone.
“Please.” Her voice cracked. Damn. Heero pulled two bottles from the mini-fridge as she turned into the bedroom. He followed her as she laid her overcoat over a chair and began working on the buttons of her vest, then sitting down on the bed. She took the offered water bottle and took a thirsty sip. It was refreshing after all the tea she'd consumed today [all ahead of time due to past indiscretions], drinking plain old non-monitored water.
Heero sat down next to her. That was new. Normally he set foot in the bedroom to check the closet for assailants, but something today must have made him comfortable on another level. She wanted this closeness, having been untouched for her entire life. The only man who ever stood a chance in such a place in her life was sitting next to her.
Her heartbeat thudded in her chest. It was a steady thump of excitement. “I was wondering about the last proposal--”
“You think about work too much.” She laughed low and took another drink. The bottle went onto the bedside table and turned back to him.
“That's funny coming from you.” A smile, one saved for only close friends and possibly more, pulled at his lips. The humor was in his eyes, fading darker in the light.
“Hn, I suppose it is.” Relena leaned into his smile, and their lips touched. It wasn't their first kiss, but they were rare right now. Secret kisses and the rare rendezvous were more the norm for them. Seeing as they were finally alone and safe, Relena wasn't going to waste an opportunity to spend time in the refuge of Heero's embrace. This was the right time. She backed up further on the bed and smiled wide when a predatory look hinted in his eyes. Heero followed her.
They'd worry about sleep later.