Ice Hot 4/?
Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 4:42 pm
Thanks all for the wonderful reviews; keep them coming! Let me know if I can make this story better.
~ Ice Hot ~ Chapter 4
By Gundam Girl
?Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!? came the enthusiastic half-greeting from the one who had just burst through Heero?s apartment door.
Heero didn?t spare a glance over his shoulder, but replied with ?Who told you I was home, Maxwell??
?Don?t give me that. I?m here on business. Some average Joe wants a new bumper for his car. I delivered it today. The guy was all up on how the new head honcho lived on this Colony.? Duo Maxwell scratched the back of his head at the top of his long braid. He had resigned from Preventers three years ago and was now a full-time parts dealer. ?Man, I?ve never seen a piece of crap like that! This place is bad, Heero, why do you still live here? I mean, you could get a better place, now that you?re technically L1?s rep and all.?
Heero nearly sighed. Some things never changed. Duo?s inability to keep his mouth closed for five seconds was a prime example. ?I don?t mind it here.?
?You?d be the one. I mean, yeah, I grew up in a place like this, but really. I don?t think I could live there or anywhere like it again. Do you even have hot water?? Duo looked through the doorway of the room Heero was in and saw his friend washing dishes in the kitchen sink. ?Seriously, is that cold, or what??
In answer, Heero cupped a handful of water and flicked it at the 02 pilot.
?Shit!? Duo cursed, jumping as the scalding water splashed all over him. ?Yup. Pretty damn hot. Jesus, are you in a bad mood.?
?You?re observant today,? Heero muttered darkly.
?No kidding, which is why I know for a fact you went to Earth today, Mr. L1 rep.? Duo pulled out a kitchen chair and straddled it backwards. ?Sank Kingdom, in fact. Let me ask you, did President Relena fly into your arms or just kind of jump??
?Neither.?
?Ha! I knew it, she was probably ecstatic, took it to the fl... what?? the American asked in disbelief as Heero?s reply hit him. ?Neither? What the hell? You?re lying.?
?She stayed right behind her desk, Maxwell,? Heero told him impatiently. ?And glared at me like I was the goddamned leader of some terrorist organization.?
?You?re full of it. You must be. Aren?t you?? Duo queried lamely, blinking with obvious surprise. ?Well. . . wow. I thought she?d be happy to see you. I mean, she?s always been worried about us. . . fighters for peace and all.?
Heero wanted badly to tell him that she seemed have stopped caring about any of the Gundam pilots six years ago. Quatre, with whom she had always sought support from since he?d been in the political arena with her, had said that the communication between them had ceased quite a long time ago. Duo would only make a big deal of it. But he did deserve some warning of her new personality. ?She?s different, Duo. Outrageously different.?
?As in how?? Duo asked skeptically. ?Physically? I?ve seen her on the news a bit, when I have time, but she?s always behind those podiums, you can?t see anything.?
?Physically,? Heero muttered and did his best to keep his mind off the fullness of Relena?s chest, ?and her deliverance is less than pleasant.?
?Please, you were dillusional. She?s been nothing but kind to anybody,? Duo scoffed. ?Didn?t you hear about the orphanage chain she did back in November? A hell of a lot of money went into that.?
She?d signed a paper, Yuy thought with narrowed brows. She hadn?t spoken a word about the orphanage chain, but had taken all of three seconds to scribble a few cursive letters beside her title. ?She?s cold as ice,? he hissed, drying his hands and throwing the towel into the drainer with temper.
Duo opened his mouth to protest, certain that the Japanese man was wrong. But then he saw the muscle in his temple twitch, and Heero?s cloudy, furious eyes.
And the strangest touch of regret in the center of his pupils.
He set his chin on the top of the chair?s back. ?Really? Whoa... weird,? he murmured. ?But come on, Heero. It?s not like she doesn?t care about nothing. Not her. She?s the president, for God?s sake, I mean... She has a have a heart somewhere down the line.?
?Could?ve fooled me.?
?Jeez, man. It?s been six years, you should try to cut her some slack. People change, ya can?t stop that. I mean, hey. I cut three inches off my ?do last month. Used to never touch a pair of scissors. Quatre has a nice set of guts, Trowa says more words in a day now, and Wufei got a bit of that stick out of his ass.? He shrugged and grinned a bit. ?And look at you! You?ve probably changed the most, pal. I?ve seen you smile, laugh. . .guzzle beer like no tomorrow. And don?t think I didn?t catch the looks you were tossing at that long-legged blond that was at that bar we went to last year, you remember her??
?She was pressed up against my side, Duo, mentioning cash. She was looking for more than a couple of drinks.? Heero pulled a beer from the fridge now and offered him one. Duo held up his hands.
?No, thanks, buddy. Gave it up for Lent. Anyway.? Duo crossed his arms and was frowning again. ?Relena an ice princess, huh? Doesn?t suit her. Not a bit.?
?It looked surprisingly natural,? Heero said with the hint of a tone to his voice. He remembered the cool way she?d addressed him by his last name and business title only. ?I wouldn?t recommend stopping by.?
?Nah, wasn?t thinking about it. We?re not exactly friends, but I do like to keep tabs on her.?
Heero raised a brow, and Duo grinned.
?She stepped in front of my gun. To protect you, if my memory is doing its job.? He shrugged. ?That?s why I can?t get over her snapping at you, it just seems messed up.?
?Let?s not turn back the clock,? Heero suggested tightly, raising the beer to his lips and gulping. ?I?m sure she?d shove me at your gun this time around.?
?What a switch.? Maxwell shook his head. ?Got any idea why she changed? Do you even know if it?s just you she wants to take out??
?More than me,? Heero affirmed, chugging the rest of his drink and tossing the bottle in a garbage can nearby. ?She was ready to bite off her secretary?s head.? He didn?t bother to mention that she?d cut back on lunches, and probably some other key meals as well.
He sighed. ?I?ve gotta get going. My shuttle home leaves in an hour. Damn, Yuy.? Duo stood and pushed the chair back in at the table. He walked out to the door, and Heero followed. ?This wouldn?t have anything to do with the scary permanent leave you took at Preventers, would it??
Heero scowled and leaned against the wall, locking his gaze on the hallway beyond Duo instead on the parts dealer himself as he opened the door.
?Not a thing.?
Duo shook his head and stepped out. ?Later then.? He shut the door behind him, and the sound of the latch locking seemed somehow crestfallen.
The truth, Heero thought bitterly as he walked back to the kitchen and violently pulled open the refrigerator door. The contents rattled with the force. The truth was that Relena?s sudden personality change most likely had *everything* to do with his departure from Preventers. He?d stopped being her guard; she?d stopped giving a damn.
An image of her in that ridiculously seductive purple suit flashed in his mind, and his body heat sky-rocketed.
He yanked out another beer.
***
Relena slammed the door to her suite closed once she?d made it home for the night. She was absolutely furious. Just thinking about it made her blood boil.
Heero Yuy, of all people, had had the audacity to come into her office, impersonating the L1 Colony Sector Representative! That *poser*, that fraud...that bastard!
Her fist clenched as she recalled the very real contract on her desk that bared Yuy?s, Quatre Winner?s, and Representative Fogner?s signatures.
And her pulse skipped horribly as she remembered the way he had *looked*. He?d stopped growing, most definitely, but he hadn?t yet started to go at all downhill. He?d reminded her of some wild mustang, untamed, with barely enough civility to indicate any kind of sensitivity, as though it didn?t truly exist. But she had seen it in his eyes.
Just like she?d seen the carnality in his gaze. And that *did* exist. And horrifyingly, she was feeling something not very different.
She moaned and sank into the chair closest to the door. Why would Quatre *do* this? He knew, was the only one who knew? And Quatre, being logical, would not have sent Yuy to Earth, to the Sank Kingdom ? to *her* ? without a justified and most-likely unavoidable reason.
Relena unzipped her purse and took out the paper on L1 8794, Representative Yuy?s current place of residence. The document had said he?d lived there for the past five years, the longest he?d stayed in one place at a time. And Yuy had been correct; the Colony *was* a mess. God-forsaken and falling apart, Relena wasn?t sure if the photograph of Fourth Street had been taken at one in the afternoon or one in the morning; the information didn?t specify. The artificial sky was purple-pink, the color of dawn or sunset, when it should have been either completely dark or extremely bright.
What confused her, Relena decided as she tossed the papers on the coffee table in front of her, was that she could have found Heero, quite easily, if she had so desired. He was in the back of L1, which was a far cry from being in the back of L6, the place where, had she looked, she would never have been able to locate him.
But she hadn?t looked. And Heero, apparently, hadn?t bothered to hide himself. What did that mean? Had he been expecting her to go after him? She?d chased him around in A.C. 195, so what difference would 200 make? Relena hadn?t really grown up that much after all, so she?d come crawling?
Or was it that if she did come, he?d blow her off without a second thought and that would be that?
Relena reached up and impatiently yanked out the tie holding her hair up in hopes of stalling the pending migraine.
He?d certainly caused a racket for her emotions; or what was left of them. A woman didn?t feel too much when a guy practically ruined your first try at sex and then took off without a note to anyone. It was rattling when he returned.
But, she reasoned, he must have talked to Quatre at some point in the last six years. Quatre wouldn?t ever have let him on the Colony Representative chain if he?d played civilian for so long. They may have fought a war together, but times were of peace and Winner understood the fine line between the past and the present. Yuy would have had to have done something important to earn a place with L1. It was true that Matthias Fogner worshipped the Gundam pilots like he did God Almighty, as a Christian man, but Quatre had the final say over who represented and who didn?t in situations such as reign-handlings when an election could not be arranged. And it was important to Quatre above all else that the Colonies were given the same esteem of political charge as Earth.
The man would have to be suitable.
She herself wasn?t sure if Yuy was suitable or not, but Quatre apparently thought so.
She only hoped that the suitableness extended no further than politically.
Relena was lost in these troubling thoughts that more confused her than angered her, so much that she didn?t hear the phone crying until its third ring. She leapt from the chair and raced for the receiver, snatching it off the hook and speaking tartly.
?President Relena Darlian.?
?Madam President.?
She stiffened; it may have been six years, but she knew his voice. Her fury knew it. And what the hell was he doing calling her at seven-thirty? It would have to be midnight there.
?I?m glad I caught you. I understand you?ve had a busy schedule these days, with these odd threats.? He sounded relaxed, strangely. As though all the tension he?d held this afternoon had just slipped grandly away.
Ridiculous. Heero Yuy was never relaxed, and he didn?t feel gladness. He didn?t feel at all. ?Representative,? she muttered sharply. ?I?m sure you understand that my work hours are over??
?I have doubt that the president ever stops serving the public. I certainly hope that by now, you?re a bit more accepting of my position,? Heero said casually. Relena could picture him wrapping the phone cord around his fingers as though he was idly chatting with a new girlfriend, though ludicrous the image was.
She set a hand on the nearby table?s top and drummed her fingernails on its surface, most definitely irked. ?Acceptance or not, Yuy, you?ve a contract with signatures that I don?t have the luxury of ignoring. Unless you prefer to be humiliated when I call my security and charge you with phone hazing, you had better have a reason for calling me.?
Relena knew she sounded childish, and she could practically hear the former Gundam pilot smirking with that unnerving expression of amusement. Her resent for him doubled.
?Yes, Madam President, I *do* have a reason.? He was taunting her with the title. ?I was sincerely hoping you would come to the Colony I live on tomorrow afternoon, and see for yourself the absolute grunge more than half Colonists live in.?
The statement was meant to guilt her, Relena knew, and probably to also goad her on. If telephones also picked up on brainwaves, she was positive that Heero?s would be telling her to try another nifty insult.
?There is a procedure, Mr. Yuy, that I would have to follow. As you must know, Lady Une would have to be contacted, and Trowa Barton for that matter. I would need clearance to??
?Why would Barton come??
She blinked rapidly a few times. ?Excuse me? He is my afternoon security guard, he has been since I took up office.? Her fist clenched on the table. ?You must know that as well.?
?I remember,? his voice acknowledged, with possible?jealousy?
She damned herself. No! Heero Yuy would *not* be jealous of her guard! No doubt he had some pretty little thing on L1 that answered to any request or demand he made.
She was not pleased that the thought made her mouth tighten at the corners reflexively.
?So, you will come?? Heero asked a moment later. He?d seemed hesitant in speaking, but then again, so had she.
?I have a meeting,? she began.
?Come after.?
Argh! She fought the urge to hang up on him so she could have a fit. It wasn?t as though he was calling her to *him*, just the Colony on which he lived. The ?grunge,? as he?d called it.
In irritation, she dug into her purse again and fished out her leather-bound planner. Leafing through it until she found tomorrow?s date, she scrutinized the agenda for that day. ?It lasts until five, so with good luck, I can book a shuttle for five-thirty,? she said icily. ?And then I?d prefer to be home by eleven, if you don?t mind.?
?That?s a shame, President Darlian,? came the sarcastic reply. ?I was hoping you?d considering staying the??
He cut himself with a silence so thick with tension she could have sliced it with her fingernail.
Relena?s blood went cold and completely drained from her face. Yuy had been about to joke in her presence for the first time, and the crack he would have made insinuated that they ? they, of all people! ? would spend a night together.
?Representative Yuy,? she grated.
?Relena,? he began, ?I think we both know??
?Mr. Yuy!? Relena interposed, louder and more forcefully than what was professional. ?I will assure you, sir, that I will be accompanied by Preventer Barton at all times. Any situation where I would have to release the escort of Preventer Barton is prohibited. Do I make myself clear??
There was a pause, and for a moment, all she could hear was the pounding her ears. She was half-certain that Yuy could hear it through the phone and would realize her sudden agonizing discomfort. But then she heard him take a breath.
?As you wish, Madam President.? His tone was hard and relentless, like a man that had failed his goal in life.
She nodded as though he could see her. ?Thank you for your cooperation. My staff will notify you of my exact arrival time tomorrow. The Earth Sphere Unified Nation appreciates you bringing this matter of Colony repair to our attention.?
?...Thank you as well.? There was something like an annoyed sigh. ?Relena, please. Listen, I didn?t??
?Hee? Mr. Yuy,? Relena said tightly, catching her mistake and hating herself for the near slipup, ?good evening. Until tomorrow.?
She hung up with a clatter that she was certain could be heard out in the hall. Just in case, Relena walked to the door and pulled it open.
Wufei Chang and Trowa Barton flanked the door, leaning on the walls on either side of it, pretending well to look bored. Relena was quite certain they?d heard a great deal of the conversation.
?Did you get all that, Barton?? she asked coldly, turning her nose up in the taller man?s direction.
Trowa?s visible green eye flicked her for a split-second before returning to its original spot, planted straight across from him. ?I go where you go,? he said dutifully. He pushed away from the wall. ?My shift is over, Madam President. I?ll see you in the morning.?
He strode away with a straight back and a long gait, betraying no hint of curiosity.
Wufei, who had just exchanged guard duty with Barton, was more blunt. His black, left eyebrow was arched in obvious interest.
?So he?s representing L1 now.?
Relena bent her head, her eyes half-squinted, her fists tight. ?Yes.?
Wufei shrugged and cast his gaze up at the ceiling as though he wanted to roll his eyes. ?That job doesn?t suit him too poorly, considering.?
Her heard rose to look at his profile. ?Considering what, Mr. Chang??
The Chinese man turned his head just the slightest bit to meet her eyes. It was a temporary competition of frigid black and blue. ?Just keep in mind that it has been six years, Darlian. We?ve all changed, a bit for the better and a bit for the worse. Yuy?s changed, too. And I have no doubt that you?ll see just how much tomorrow.?
Relena met his glare of begrudging respect head on. ?Have a good night, Mr. Chang.?
Wufei nodded. ?I?ll be right out here, Madam President.? He saluted.
Relena bowed her head and stepped back. Closing the door, she turned and slumped against it with a long, unbecoming sigh. She frankly didn?t give a damn if Wufei heard it or not; nor if he thought her weak for emitting such a lowly sound.
She didn?t understand Heero Yuy, she thought again. And Relena was just starting to dread the trip to L1 tomorrow.
************************************************************
REVIEW!
-GG
~ Ice Hot ~ Chapter 4
By Gundam Girl
?Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!? came the enthusiastic half-greeting from the one who had just burst through Heero?s apartment door.
Heero didn?t spare a glance over his shoulder, but replied with ?Who told you I was home, Maxwell??
?Don?t give me that. I?m here on business. Some average Joe wants a new bumper for his car. I delivered it today. The guy was all up on how the new head honcho lived on this Colony.? Duo Maxwell scratched the back of his head at the top of his long braid. He had resigned from Preventers three years ago and was now a full-time parts dealer. ?Man, I?ve never seen a piece of crap like that! This place is bad, Heero, why do you still live here? I mean, you could get a better place, now that you?re technically L1?s rep and all.?
Heero nearly sighed. Some things never changed. Duo?s inability to keep his mouth closed for five seconds was a prime example. ?I don?t mind it here.?
?You?d be the one. I mean, yeah, I grew up in a place like this, but really. I don?t think I could live there or anywhere like it again. Do you even have hot water?? Duo looked through the doorway of the room Heero was in and saw his friend washing dishes in the kitchen sink. ?Seriously, is that cold, or what??
In answer, Heero cupped a handful of water and flicked it at the 02 pilot.
?Shit!? Duo cursed, jumping as the scalding water splashed all over him. ?Yup. Pretty damn hot. Jesus, are you in a bad mood.?
?You?re observant today,? Heero muttered darkly.
?No kidding, which is why I know for a fact you went to Earth today, Mr. L1 rep.? Duo pulled out a kitchen chair and straddled it backwards. ?Sank Kingdom, in fact. Let me ask you, did President Relena fly into your arms or just kind of jump??
?Neither.?
?Ha! I knew it, she was probably ecstatic, took it to the fl... what?? the American asked in disbelief as Heero?s reply hit him. ?Neither? What the hell? You?re lying.?
?She stayed right behind her desk, Maxwell,? Heero told him impatiently. ?And glared at me like I was the goddamned leader of some terrorist organization.?
?You?re full of it. You must be. Aren?t you?? Duo queried lamely, blinking with obvious surprise. ?Well. . . wow. I thought she?d be happy to see you. I mean, she?s always been worried about us. . . fighters for peace and all.?
Heero wanted badly to tell him that she seemed have stopped caring about any of the Gundam pilots six years ago. Quatre, with whom she had always sought support from since he?d been in the political arena with her, had said that the communication between them had ceased quite a long time ago. Duo would only make a big deal of it. But he did deserve some warning of her new personality. ?She?s different, Duo. Outrageously different.?
?As in how?? Duo asked skeptically. ?Physically? I?ve seen her on the news a bit, when I have time, but she?s always behind those podiums, you can?t see anything.?
?Physically,? Heero muttered and did his best to keep his mind off the fullness of Relena?s chest, ?and her deliverance is less than pleasant.?
?Please, you were dillusional. She?s been nothing but kind to anybody,? Duo scoffed. ?Didn?t you hear about the orphanage chain she did back in November? A hell of a lot of money went into that.?
She?d signed a paper, Yuy thought with narrowed brows. She hadn?t spoken a word about the orphanage chain, but had taken all of three seconds to scribble a few cursive letters beside her title. ?She?s cold as ice,? he hissed, drying his hands and throwing the towel into the drainer with temper.
Duo opened his mouth to protest, certain that the Japanese man was wrong. But then he saw the muscle in his temple twitch, and Heero?s cloudy, furious eyes.
And the strangest touch of regret in the center of his pupils.
He set his chin on the top of the chair?s back. ?Really? Whoa... weird,? he murmured. ?But come on, Heero. It?s not like she doesn?t care about nothing. Not her. She?s the president, for God?s sake, I mean... She has a have a heart somewhere down the line.?
?Could?ve fooled me.?
?Jeez, man. It?s been six years, you should try to cut her some slack. People change, ya can?t stop that. I mean, hey. I cut three inches off my ?do last month. Used to never touch a pair of scissors. Quatre has a nice set of guts, Trowa says more words in a day now, and Wufei got a bit of that stick out of his ass.? He shrugged and grinned a bit. ?And look at you! You?ve probably changed the most, pal. I?ve seen you smile, laugh. . .guzzle beer like no tomorrow. And don?t think I didn?t catch the looks you were tossing at that long-legged blond that was at that bar we went to last year, you remember her??
?She was pressed up against my side, Duo, mentioning cash. She was looking for more than a couple of drinks.? Heero pulled a beer from the fridge now and offered him one. Duo held up his hands.
?No, thanks, buddy. Gave it up for Lent. Anyway.? Duo crossed his arms and was frowning again. ?Relena an ice princess, huh? Doesn?t suit her. Not a bit.?
?It looked surprisingly natural,? Heero said with the hint of a tone to his voice. He remembered the cool way she?d addressed him by his last name and business title only. ?I wouldn?t recommend stopping by.?
?Nah, wasn?t thinking about it. We?re not exactly friends, but I do like to keep tabs on her.?
Heero raised a brow, and Duo grinned.
?She stepped in front of my gun. To protect you, if my memory is doing its job.? He shrugged. ?That?s why I can?t get over her snapping at you, it just seems messed up.?
?Let?s not turn back the clock,? Heero suggested tightly, raising the beer to his lips and gulping. ?I?m sure she?d shove me at your gun this time around.?
?What a switch.? Maxwell shook his head. ?Got any idea why she changed? Do you even know if it?s just you she wants to take out??
?More than me,? Heero affirmed, chugging the rest of his drink and tossing the bottle in a garbage can nearby. ?She was ready to bite off her secretary?s head.? He didn?t bother to mention that she?d cut back on lunches, and probably some other key meals as well.
He sighed. ?I?ve gotta get going. My shuttle home leaves in an hour. Damn, Yuy.? Duo stood and pushed the chair back in at the table. He walked out to the door, and Heero followed. ?This wouldn?t have anything to do with the scary permanent leave you took at Preventers, would it??
Heero scowled and leaned against the wall, locking his gaze on the hallway beyond Duo instead on the parts dealer himself as he opened the door.
?Not a thing.?
Duo shook his head and stepped out. ?Later then.? He shut the door behind him, and the sound of the latch locking seemed somehow crestfallen.
The truth, Heero thought bitterly as he walked back to the kitchen and violently pulled open the refrigerator door. The contents rattled with the force. The truth was that Relena?s sudden personality change most likely had *everything* to do with his departure from Preventers. He?d stopped being her guard; she?d stopped giving a damn.
An image of her in that ridiculously seductive purple suit flashed in his mind, and his body heat sky-rocketed.
He yanked out another beer.
***
Relena slammed the door to her suite closed once she?d made it home for the night. She was absolutely furious. Just thinking about it made her blood boil.
Heero Yuy, of all people, had had the audacity to come into her office, impersonating the L1 Colony Sector Representative! That *poser*, that fraud...that bastard!
Her fist clenched as she recalled the very real contract on her desk that bared Yuy?s, Quatre Winner?s, and Representative Fogner?s signatures.
And her pulse skipped horribly as she remembered the way he had *looked*. He?d stopped growing, most definitely, but he hadn?t yet started to go at all downhill. He?d reminded her of some wild mustang, untamed, with barely enough civility to indicate any kind of sensitivity, as though it didn?t truly exist. But she had seen it in his eyes.
Just like she?d seen the carnality in his gaze. And that *did* exist. And horrifyingly, she was feeling something not very different.
She moaned and sank into the chair closest to the door. Why would Quatre *do* this? He knew, was the only one who knew? And Quatre, being logical, would not have sent Yuy to Earth, to the Sank Kingdom ? to *her* ? without a justified and most-likely unavoidable reason.
Relena unzipped her purse and took out the paper on L1 8794, Representative Yuy?s current place of residence. The document had said he?d lived there for the past five years, the longest he?d stayed in one place at a time. And Yuy had been correct; the Colony *was* a mess. God-forsaken and falling apart, Relena wasn?t sure if the photograph of Fourth Street had been taken at one in the afternoon or one in the morning; the information didn?t specify. The artificial sky was purple-pink, the color of dawn or sunset, when it should have been either completely dark or extremely bright.
What confused her, Relena decided as she tossed the papers on the coffee table in front of her, was that she could have found Heero, quite easily, if she had so desired. He was in the back of L1, which was a far cry from being in the back of L6, the place where, had she looked, she would never have been able to locate him.
But she hadn?t looked. And Heero, apparently, hadn?t bothered to hide himself. What did that mean? Had he been expecting her to go after him? She?d chased him around in A.C. 195, so what difference would 200 make? Relena hadn?t really grown up that much after all, so she?d come crawling?
Or was it that if she did come, he?d blow her off without a second thought and that would be that?
Relena reached up and impatiently yanked out the tie holding her hair up in hopes of stalling the pending migraine.
He?d certainly caused a racket for her emotions; or what was left of them. A woman didn?t feel too much when a guy practically ruined your first try at sex and then took off without a note to anyone. It was rattling when he returned.
But, she reasoned, he must have talked to Quatre at some point in the last six years. Quatre wouldn?t ever have let him on the Colony Representative chain if he?d played civilian for so long. They may have fought a war together, but times were of peace and Winner understood the fine line between the past and the present. Yuy would have had to have done something important to earn a place with L1. It was true that Matthias Fogner worshipped the Gundam pilots like he did God Almighty, as a Christian man, but Quatre had the final say over who represented and who didn?t in situations such as reign-handlings when an election could not be arranged. And it was important to Quatre above all else that the Colonies were given the same esteem of political charge as Earth.
The man would have to be suitable.
She herself wasn?t sure if Yuy was suitable or not, but Quatre apparently thought so.
She only hoped that the suitableness extended no further than politically.
Relena was lost in these troubling thoughts that more confused her than angered her, so much that she didn?t hear the phone crying until its third ring. She leapt from the chair and raced for the receiver, snatching it off the hook and speaking tartly.
?President Relena Darlian.?
?Madam President.?
She stiffened; it may have been six years, but she knew his voice. Her fury knew it. And what the hell was he doing calling her at seven-thirty? It would have to be midnight there.
?I?m glad I caught you. I understand you?ve had a busy schedule these days, with these odd threats.? He sounded relaxed, strangely. As though all the tension he?d held this afternoon had just slipped grandly away.
Ridiculous. Heero Yuy was never relaxed, and he didn?t feel gladness. He didn?t feel at all. ?Representative,? she muttered sharply. ?I?m sure you understand that my work hours are over??
?I have doubt that the president ever stops serving the public. I certainly hope that by now, you?re a bit more accepting of my position,? Heero said casually. Relena could picture him wrapping the phone cord around his fingers as though he was idly chatting with a new girlfriend, though ludicrous the image was.
She set a hand on the nearby table?s top and drummed her fingernails on its surface, most definitely irked. ?Acceptance or not, Yuy, you?ve a contract with signatures that I don?t have the luxury of ignoring. Unless you prefer to be humiliated when I call my security and charge you with phone hazing, you had better have a reason for calling me.?
Relena knew she sounded childish, and she could practically hear the former Gundam pilot smirking with that unnerving expression of amusement. Her resent for him doubled.
?Yes, Madam President, I *do* have a reason.? He was taunting her with the title. ?I was sincerely hoping you would come to the Colony I live on tomorrow afternoon, and see for yourself the absolute grunge more than half Colonists live in.?
The statement was meant to guilt her, Relena knew, and probably to also goad her on. If telephones also picked up on brainwaves, she was positive that Heero?s would be telling her to try another nifty insult.
?There is a procedure, Mr. Yuy, that I would have to follow. As you must know, Lady Une would have to be contacted, and Trowa Barton for that matter. I would need clearance to??
?Why would Barton come??
She blinked rapidly a few times. ?Excuse me? He is my afternoon security guard, he has been since I took up office.? Her fist clenched on the table. ?You must know that as well.?
?I remember,? his voice acknowledged, with possible?jealousy?
She damned herself. No! Heero Yuy would *not* be jealous of her guard! No doubt he had some pretty little thing on L1 that answered to any request or demand he made.
She was not pleased that the thought made her mouth tighten at the corners reflexively.
?So, you will come?? Heero asked a moment later. He?d seemed hesitant in speaking, but then again, so had she.
?I have a meeting,? she began.
?Come after.?
Argh! She fought the urge to hang up on him so she could have a fit. It wasn?t as though he was calling her to *him*, just the Colony on which he lived. The ?grunge,? as he?d called it.
In irritation, she dug into her purse again and fished out her leather-bound planner. Leafing through it until she found tomorrow?s date, she scrutinized the agenda for that day. ?It lasts until five, so with good luck, I can book a shuttle for five-thirty,? she said icily. ?And then I?d prefer to be home by eleven, if you don?t mind.?
?That?s a shame, President Darlian,? came the sarcastic reply. ?I was hoping you?d considering staying the??
He cut himself with a silence so thick with tension she could have sliced it with her fingernail.
Relena?s blood went cold and completely drained from her face. Yuy had been about to joke in her presence for the first time, and the crack he would have made insinuated that they ? they, of all people! ? would spend a night together.
?Representative Yuy,? she grated.
?Relena,? he began, ?I think we both know??
?Mr. Yuy!? Relena interposed, louder and more forcefully than what was professional. ?I will assure you, sir, that I will be accompanied by Preventer Barton at all times. Any situation where I would have to release the escort of Preventer Barton is prohibited. Do I make myself clear??
There was a pause, and for a moment, all she could hear was the pounding her ears. She was half-certain that Yuy could hear it through the phone and would realize her sudden agonizing discomfort. But then she heard him take a breath.
?As you wish, Madam President.? His tone was hard and relentless, like a man that had failed his goal in life.
She nodded as though he could see her. ?Thank you for your cooperation. My staff will notify you of my exact arrival time tomorrow. The Earth Sphere Unified Nation appreciates you bringing this matter of Colony repair to our attention.?
?...Thank you as well.? There was something like an annoyed sigh. ?Relena, please. Listen, I didn?t??
?Hee? Mr. Yuy,? Relena said tightly, catching her mistake and hating herself for the near slipup, ?good evening. Until tomorrow.?
She hung up with a clatter that she was certain could be heard out in the hall. Just in case, Relena walked to the door and pulled it open.
Wufei Chang and Trowa Barton flanked the door, leaning on the walls on either side of it, pretending well to look bored. Relena was quite certain they?d heard a great deal of the conversation.
?Did you get all that, Barton?? she asked coldly, turning her nose up in the taller man?s direction.
Trowa?s visible green eye flicked her for a split-second before returning to its original spot, planted straight across from him. ?I go where you go,? he said dutifully. He pushed away from the wall. ?My shift is over, Madam President. I?ll see you in the morning.?
He strode away with a straight back and a long gait, betraying no hint of curiosity.
Wufei, who had just exchanged guard duty with Barton, was more blunt. His black, left eyebrow was arched in obvious interest.
?So he?s representing L1 now.?
Relena bent her head, her eyes half-squinted, her fists tight. ?Yes.?
Wufei shrugged and cast his gaze up at the ceiling as though he wanted to roll his eyes. ?That job doesn?t suit him too poorly, considering.?
Her heard rose to look at his profile. ?Considering what, Mr. Chang??
The Chinese man turned his head just the slightest bit to meet her eyes. It was a temporary competition of frigid black and blue. ?Just keep in mind that it has been six years, Darlian. We?ve all changed, a bit for the better and a bit for the worse. Yuy?s changed, too. And I have no doubt that you?ll see just how much tomorrow.?
Relena met his glare of begrudging respect head on. ?Have a good night, Mr. Chang.?
Wufei nodded. ?I?ll be right out here, Madam President.? He saluted.
Relena bowed her head and stepped back. Closing the door, she turned and slumped against it with a long, unbecoming sigh. She frankly didn?t give a damn if Wufei heard it or not; nor if he thought her weak for emitting such a lowly sound.
She didn?t understand Heero Yuy, she thought again. And Relena was just starting to dread the trip to L1 tomorrow.
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Will she change her mind 'bout him???OH NEXT CHAPTER PLEASE!