AN: sap. Well, at the end anyway...it's been SOOO long since I've written some honest to goodness sap and damn if it doesn't feel good. After that stupid depression/angst period where my muse flew away into the great beyond...gah, I swear, I need a replacement! *evil glare* she takes way too many vacations, stupid thing. N'wayz, read and enjoy!! (hopefully)

A shaft of sunlight lanced through the heavy satin and silk drapes, illuminating the pale beige walls with their printed leaf and flower motif. Bookshelves lined the side of the room like silent sentinels, and on their dusty shelves, old parchments and leather bound books released an almost comforting smell of wood and ink. The only sound was the light crackling of a dancing fire and the noise of a pen making soft shrr-shrrs against a notepad.

Relena sighed, massaging an ache in her hand as she sat back and surveyed her handiwork with a critical eye. Or she tried to. The page blurred in front of her eyes, the words dancing incomprehensibly through her exhausted mind. With a muttered oath, she sat back into the comforting embrace of the worn plushy couch, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes lightly with the heel of her palm.

 It's strange that I feel so old. Relena thought ruefully, and brushed back a few loose tendrils that had escaped from her chignon. I'm only twenty-five for God's sake! She chuckled quietly to herself, wrapping her shoulders loosely in a shawl before bending back to her work, but the papers that she was writing were suddenly slipped from the desk. Startled, she looked up and almost drowned in the whirlpool of his familiar Prussian eyes...or perhaps not so familiar. She hadn't seen him in over three years and the last time, it was only for a few seconds when he had saved her from yet another assassination attempt.

A faint preoccupied smile drifted across her face and she stood up, holding out her hand. "Heero." When he made no move to touch her, merely watched her movements with analytical objectivity, she let her hand drop gracefully down to her side. "You look well."

He looked much better than well actually...time had been kind to him. His body was as lean and spare as ever, all sinew and slender muscles, although he had gained a few inches in height. His face still looked as if it were chiseled from fine marble by an artist that had blessed him with prominent cheekbones and a stubborn chin...and eyelashes a girl would die for. Relena bit back a wayward smile at that thought and tipped her head to the side, staring curiously up at him.

"Relena."

"Yes, that is my name, Heero." Relena replied, almost cheerfully, "I like it very much too, thank you."

She watched him narrow his eyes and sighed, thinking, Well, he certainly never found his sense of humor. But the papers in his hand diverted his attention and briefly, he riffled through them and then glared down at her in an accusatory way. "You haven't been sleeping; there are circles under your eyes. You could have asked your secretary to find you the necessary sources and type up a speech for you."

Relena smiled, her azure eyes twinkling behind her thin gold-rimmed glasses as she countered lightly, "It's my job, Heero. I do it my way."

The slight reprimand in her voice made him narrow his eyes then abruptly grab her arm, pulling her to her feet. Without another word, he strode from the room, her wrist still clasped in the circle of his fingers and Relena had to half run to keep up with the ex-Zero pilot.

"Where are we going?" She asked, and smiled in apology at several interns that flattened themselves to the walls as Heero brushed past. They nodded back, trying not to gape as their employer was forcibly dragged through the narrow hall of the Resource Wing. "Heero, stop! My work-"

"Will wait." There was an implacability in his voice that reminded her too much of his single-minded obsession with a mission and perversely, that annoyed her. But before she could say another word, he raised his hand arm and spoke into a small communicator at his wrist, "The Foreign Minister is secure; the guards have been diverted. Bring the car around at once."

The man on the other end of the speaker chuckled, replying cheerfully, "Yeah yeah, buddy, whatever you say. Meet'cha at the front gate. See ya there 'jousan!"

Relena swallowed an irate laugh as she recognized the owner of that particular devilish voice and her eyes swung to the man in front of her that was navigating the labyrinth of halls, pulling her down this shaft or up this way. Why was Duo here? And what could he possibly mean by the guards having been-oh no. He couldn't...he wasn't actually-

"Heero," Relena glared at him, equal parts of amusement and ire sending a flush up her face. "Are you kidnapping me??"

He glanced back at her, and for a second, she thought she saw a glimmer humor steal through his face, but the corridor was dark and musty and she couldn't see his face very well. For a moment, he seemed to think about the appropriate response, weighing his words deliberately and carefully. Finally, he said tonelessly, "Yes."

Relena's mouth dropped open and an expression of comical shock crossed her face. "You-"

But before she could finish the thought, they had already reached the front of the building and Relena squinted as golden sunlight poured over her, blinding her tired eyes. In the courtyard, roses were blooming enthusiastically, throwing out riots of carmine reds and delicate whites and Relena realized suddenly that in the world outside, spring had replaced cold winter. Heero on the other hand, didn't notice, tapping his foot impatiently as he glared at the empty driveway.

Relena smiled hesitantly, trying subtly to pry his fingers from her wrist. In her best politician-losing-her-patience tone, Relena tried to coax some sense into Heero as she said, "Heero. Tomorrow, I have a meeting on L3 in order to explore the expansion of inter-colonial trade relations. I really must finish researching-" But a loud screech of wheels made her head snap up, her eyes widening in disbelief as a large black van came squealing around the corner, tearing up half the grass in its way. "Dear God in Heaven-"

"Hey Jousan!!" A familiar braid flapped from behind the driver as he stuck his head out the window, waving enthusiastically. His distinctive violet eyes were hidden behind black shades but nothing could hide his cocky devil-may-care grin. Dumbly, she half-raised her hand in greeting, or half in prayer, she didn't know. Wordlessly, she managed to return his wave before putting the same hand over her eyes, as if trying to wake up from a nightmare.

Heero merely glared at his exuberant partner, patented Death Glare painted across his face as his lips twisted into a cold glare. "You're late." He said succinctly, and with oiled grace, he swung himself neatly into the back of the van, nodding quietly at a person that was hidden in the shadows. Duo shrugged unrepentantly, slouching in his seat as he returned Heero's scowl with a grin of his own.

"So sue me," he shot back, tipping up his sunglasses. "A few of the gate guards wouldn't let me through."

"You didn't..." Relena began weakly, but Duo's sheepish grin told the whole story.

"Yeah, well...don't worry, 'jousan. I phoned Preventer's office and told Fei-baby to untie 'em in a couple of hours. But hurry up, we gotta go before our indomitable Lady catches on to us."

"Where...where are we going?" Relena asked, almost dreading the answer.

"The beach!" The back door was yanked open and Hilde jumped out to give Relena a warm hug. "Hey Rel, long time since Libra, eh? You look...?" Her voice trailed off into uncertainty as she took in the gold-rimmed glasses, the frayed cashmere shawl, and the wispy bun at the nape of her neck. Looking as if she were groping around for the right word without being offensive, Hilde repeated, "You look..."

Duo had no such compulsions.

"Older," He leaned out farther to gaze at Relena knowledgeably, eyes going over her with the critical judgement of a connoisseur. "Have you lost weight?" Hilde glared at him, then grabbed his braid and yanked it down, causing him to yelp. "Babe, not the hair!!"

Ignoring Duo, Hilde turned back to Relena and smiled apologetically, "Don't mind the idiot, Rel...but...well, you do look a bit more..."

"Worn out." Duo tucked his braided hair into the collar of his jacket away from Hilde's grasp, and then shied away from her threatening fist. "Tired, stressed, exhausted, gra-"

"Thank you Duo, I get the point," Relena replied a bit defensively. So she was working a bit hard but she had vacations! She did know when to stop and take a break. The last time was when...she thought, counting backwards from this morning, then finally gave up when she hit the summer of her twenty-third year. "Okay..." she repeated. Her lips twisted in a rueful smile. "I get the point. But at least let me work it into my schedule at a later date and-"

"Nope!" Duo smiled cheerfully then started up the engine again.

"But-"

"For once, I'll be perverse and agree with the baka." Hilde glared at her, tugging her towards the van, "No."

"The trade meeting tomorrow-"

"Miss Relena." She glanced up distractedly and even in the long shadows of the van, she recognized the cropped, platinum blonde hair, warm, sincere smile, and wide, guileless azure eyes so like her own. She sighed, closing her eyes in defeat.

"Et tu, Quatre?" She asked almost plaintively, and her fellow councilor member winced as he gallantly extended a hand to help lift her into the van, handing her over into Heero's dubious care.

"I am sorry," He offered hesitantly, "but whenever we talked during Council meetings, I kept on sensing that something was burdening you and you just bore it with a tired patience...especially when you were at meetings. At first it was only a little, but as the years passed, the sensation of a lead weight around your heart disturbed me, more so since you never quite realized it yourself. You seemed to have convinced yourself that you're happy as you are...always immured in a Library with your books." He glanced over at Heero meaningfully and lowered his voice a little, "and always alone."

"I do come out sometime." Relena said softly, but she couldn't quite seem to meet Quatre's eyes. "And I always have an escort for court functions...I've...I enjoy myself immensely at those occasions."

"When our fellow politicians aren't playing their court games, you mean?" There was a dryness in Quatre's voice that was so unlike him that Relena had to smile, "Or maybe we're going to different court functions because the kind I remember includes political maneuvering and..."

"Okay, okay, I'm going, Quatre...don't nag." Impulsively, Relena grasped his arm, looking worriedly at him. "You are getting enough sleep and vacation, aren't you? I'm not imposing on your free time?"

He reassured her with an easy smile tinged with exasperation. "Miss Relena, I have a household containing twenty eight sisters and forty Magunacs that jump down my throat every time I even cough. My secretaries think that it is beneath my station to do any paperwork and every time I even enter a council room, my speeches are pre-prepared by a virtual army of speech-writers that believe that, former Gundam pilot as I am, I don't know the least thing about politics and policy, only destroying mobile suits. I assure you, the only way I can be any more underworked is if I hire someone to go to the meetings for me, think for me, and feed me with a spoon!"

A real smile touched her lips, making her look eighteen again and she laughed, removing her reading glasses. "Maybe I suggest an excellent nursemaid to Rashid..."

"Don't you dare!" Quatre looked horrified at the thought, then hugged her briefly around the shoulders before looking over her shoulder at the silent guardian that sat at her back. "Take care of her, Heero." But his gaze said eloquently what he did not say out loud.

Heero remained silent, before replying monotonously, "Always, Quatre." But beneath that simple word, there was an underlying fierceness, "Always."

 ***

"Re-le-na!" Hilde's effervescent trill caught Relena's attention and she smiled back, raising a hand towards the other woman as she ran up to the shaded beach towel, rivulets of water sliding down her smooth, tanned shoulders. She grinned impishly, taking both of Relena's hand and tugging her up imperiously, "Why haven't you gotten changed yet? I mean, your dress is nice, I guess..." There was a hint of doubt in Hilde's voice before she continued firmly, "but you can't go swimming wearing your granny clothes!"

"Thanks ever so," Relena replied dryly, but she allowed herself to be led to the changing room. As she walked across the beach, fine grains of sand filled the insteps of her toes, radiating comfort and warmth that just seemed to wrap around the rest of her. The sun coaxed a light peach glow from her too-pale face and throwing honey-brown highlights in her bleached and lank hair. The enforced relaxation soothed away some of the worry lines that had settled in the corners of her eyes and around her mouth and Relena sighed, feeling some of the tense muscles in her back loosen. She tipped her head up slightly to feel the play of warmth dance across her face, for a brief moment entertaining the illusion of being free...

"Hurry up, Rel!!"

Relena smiled wryly. Very free indeed when your friends kidnapped you, she thought, absently shaking out the borrowed swimsuit...then immediately choked when she saw the skimpy piece of silk. It was a one piece, but of what, she could hardly say. The low sweep of the bodice tapered off at her waist, the back and sides sheared off neatly to expose what was in her opinion, way too much skin. The beige tone of the material would mold her body like a second skin exposing the slight curve of her breast and the flat planes of her stomach...

"Oh no...I really can't..." Relena said lamely, and tried to push the suit back at her friend but Hilde's grin grew even more devious as she shook her head.

"Come on Rel," Hilde said teasingly, "We're all friends here. It's not like Heero's going to take one look at you and start tearing your clothes off...or is that what you want?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively and Relena blushed even harder, shaking her head.

"D-don't be ridiculous, Hilde. The man didn't even bother to call for the last few years," She smiled a little wistfully, her eyes getting that far-away look. Then she shrugged, reverting back to her usual prosaic self as she added, "Besides, that was a girlish infatuation. There's no way that I could have possibly fallen in love with the man, could I?"

Hilde snickered. "Don't ask me; I have a long-term boyfriend who tried to blow me to smithereens in a mobile suit battle, then did a 180-degree turnabout and saved me instead. But that's beside the point, dear. The point is that you're stressed with more than just work and actually Heero-" she hesitated, then shook her head. "well...let's just say that we all think he cares for you..."

"In his 'omae o kuruso' kind of way?" Relena asked, then grimaced at her bathing suit again, holding it up by the straps in a distasteful manner. "And this is the only thing you have?"

"Yep." Relena eyed her friend suspiciously, azure eyes narrowed, but Hilde just grinned in a too-innocent way, widening her own eyes in a gesture of sincerity. When the glare had yet to abate, Hilde laughed and held up her hands in a gesture of appeal. "Really, Rel, would I lie to you?"

"You would be the first." Relena shot back then sighed before walking behind a shower curtain, muttering to herself, "I can't believe I'm doing this...Foreign Prime Ministers don't go parading around in skimpy little swimsuits...it's...it's just not done." Hilde muffled a grin and said nothing as she waited for Relena to come out of her hiding place, listening as Relena kept up a running monologue on the impracticality of the clothing and the scandals that she would have to weather if this ever came out. When the speech finally ended, there was a long period of silence and Hilde shifted, beginning to get impatient.

"Rel, are you finished in there?"

Silence.

Curious, Hilde jumped to her feet and peeked around the opaque film of the curtain, then shrieked with laughter at what she saw. Relena, former Queen of the World and all around composed and competent world leader was staring in the somewhat dirty mirror, an expression of fascinated horror chasing a pale flag of pink across her face. Her arms were crossed protectively against the less-than-modest cleavage that the suit flaunted but she was simultaneously trying to find a way to cover the wide expanse of skin across her back.

"Wow Rel..." Hilde couldn't control the rippling giggles that squeaked past her clamped lips, "Who ever knew you had such a great body? If Duo weren't completely faithful, I know I'd be jealous! But..." Reaching out nimbly, she quickly undid Relena's no nonsense bun and unclasped the reading glasses that were still perched on her nose, "Okay, that's better. Now I don't have the feeling I'm talking to my seventh grade teacher...it was getting a little disturbing you know." She looked scrutinizingly at Relena's windblown hair, and the glow against her cheek, then nodded in a satisfied way, "Okay, that's more like the girl I used to know! Now come on!"

Feeling foolishly vulnerable, Relena let herself be led back into the sun, keeping her eyes glued to the sand at her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the way men stopped in their tracks, staring with unhidden admiration (rather crude admiration, to be sure) at the two women that walked along the beach paths, as unlike as night and day. Hilde, as per her vivacious personality, laughed at whistling catcalls, posing and tossing her short sable locks with cheerful flirtatiousness. Relena on the other hand, felt her cheeks heat with warmth that had nothing to do with the scorching atmosphere and for a second, she had the inane urge to put her hands against her cheeks and hide her face in her tumbledown honey-gold hair.

Oh dear...if the Council hears about this...

 "Hey Duo!" Hilde stood on her tiptoes, peering at the multi-colored beach umbrellas that had blossomed around them, then gave an enthusiastic wave as she caught sight of Duo and Heero lounging in one of the fold up chairs. Or rather, Duo was lounging. Heero, fully dressed in his moss-green tank top and jeans, had his omnipresent laptop out and, ignoring the cries of the gulls and especially the nonsensical chatter of his 'best friend', he glared at the screen as if by will alone, the mission parameters of whatever he was doing next would immediately fit in with his preconceived plan. Before Relena could say anything, Hilde took off at a run, almost tumbling the God of Death from his pedestal as she pounced on him playfully, throwing sand into his braided hair.

With a half-hearted scowl, Duo brushed the offending beige and gold grains from his black-clad shoulders, complaining, "Geez Hilde, do you know how long it takes to wash this thing?" His eyes wandered past her shoulder and his jaws dropped with an audible clank. "'Jousan???"

His incredulous expulsion had Heero immediately snapping up his head, hand going instinctively for his hidden gun...until he got a good look at her. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he took in her long legs, the risqué cut of the suit, then settled finally on the uncomfortable, semi-miserable expression on her face. Turning turbid Prussian eyes on Duo and Hilde, who were trying their damnedest not to carol out in laughter, Heero growled his three famous words, "Omae o kuruso."

"And, that would be our signal to vamoose, lover!" Duo replied cheerfully to his girlfriend. Picking up Hilde up as if he were a bridegroom about to carry her across the nonexistent threshold, he ran nimbly away, braid and black cloak flapping behind him like a waving banner. "Ta ta lovebirds! See you later!" He yelled wickedly, but Heero had already forgotten him, turning his infamous Deathglare on any male in the two hundred meter radius, even a poor eleven year old boy that immediately burst out into a loud bawl.

Reaching for Relena's hand, he brusquely yanked her down into the relative obscurity of the umbrella's shadow. Then, as if still unsatisfied with her inconspicuousness, he proceeded to shove a pair of rather large shades over her pert nose, yanked a straw hat over her head, and covered the rest of her in an oversized Preventor's coat before, finally mollified, he sat back down beside her, scowling at his laptop.

Relena tipped down the huge sunglasses, asking mildly, "Care to explain?"

He glanced at her, and Relena hid a smile as she realized that the indomitable Perfect Soldier was flushing slightly beneath his tan. His eyes were cold and inscrutable however as he said immediately, "No."

"I thought not," Relena said dryly, but made no move to take off her impromptu disguise, too relieved not to be seen prancing around in a veritable piece of nothing. For a few minutes, she said nothing, watching him as he pretended to be absorbed with the data on his computer screen, then, hesitantly, she moved closer so that she could rest her head against his shoulder. "Thank you Heero." She closed her eyes, trying to absorb some of his stalwart strength, his determination.

"Hn." He didn't say anything but nor did he push her away, allowing her to use him as a pillow. Carefully, he set his laptop aside before turning to give her a better cushion against his chest, half cradling her in his arms. Relena sighed, feeling his warmth steal around her and instinctively she snuggled against him, not bothering to open her eyes. Her long, golden hair, slightly waved from being held in a chignon too long, fell across his shoulders in a luxuriant mass and the hat fell across her arms.

"Heero?"

"Hn?"

"Where have you been all these years?" A thread of nostalgia came into her voice and unconsciously, a wistful smile traced across her lips, making her look sixteen again. "Not that I have a death wish but...I missed you."

His arms tightened around her, then gentled and he raised a hand to comb his fingers through her flaxen locks with tenderness that surprised both of them. "Mission." He replied gruffly and Relena's smile wavered slightly, although her eyes remained closed.

"Oh. When...when will you be finished with this one?" Relena asked and unknown to her, a small smile drifted across Heero's normally impassive face.

"Don't know. Maybe never."

"Oh." She repeated, and this time there was a small catch of disappointment in her voice. Relena turned her face into his chest, her voice muffled against the cotton of his shirt. "So it's really important? I can understand that...Can...can you tell me what it is?"

"Classified." Heero said softly, and watched as she battled the fatigue that had been wearing on her all these years. Struggling, and in the face of relaxation, losing that battle. "But yes...she's very important." In her state of semi-somnolence, Relena didn't hear the emphasis he put on that statement and she sighed, her whole body finally relaxing against his as she drifted off to sleep, jacket slipping to her waist. Gently, Heero covered her back up, tucking her legs around so that she was lying across his lap, head pillowed against the crook of his neck.

Emotion flitted across his face as he traced his fingers lightly across her cheekbones and delicate eyelids, stopping to touch the purplish circles around her eyes. Then softly, knowing she was asleep and wouldn't hear, he said, "I'll protect you Relena, even from yourself. You are the greatest and most challenging mission of my life...one that I choose to carry out."

A crunch of sand under soft footsteps caused him to look up into understanding pairs of eyes, one blue, one amethyst. Duo crouched by his side, protesting lightly so as not to wake her, "Man, we went through all this trouble to get her to the beach, steal the van, get together everyone, disobey the Lady...and here she is, snoozing in the first fifteen minutes of fun. What a waste...we shoulda just given her knockout pills."

Hilde ignored him, and asked, "She's really asleep though? Seriously, she looked like hell warmed over...that girl hasn't slept for at least a few days. Sheesh, she'll always tell you when to stop, but she doesn't know how to take care of herself."

Heero nodded then continued monotonously, "I've changed her schedule for tomorrow and cancelled her meeting with the delegation from L3. Quatre's going instead and I contacted Lady Une. Relena's taking a vacation."

Duo chuckled, "Ojousan isn't gonna like that..."

"She has no choice." Heero said flatly, and Relena sighed in her sleep, as if in agreement, a hand coming up to rest between her cheek and Heero's chest. He shifted her a little closer and the Hilde and Duo glanced at each other, tiptoeing off yet again. Patiently, Heero sat on the beach blanket, ignoring the raucous laughter around him as he held the woman in his arms, letting her sleep.

I've never told you...and perhaps I never will. Maybe someday...someday, when the world is older...when there is true peace, I can tell you how I feel. But in the meantime, I'll always be there watching you. Waiting for the day you understand.