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Comments:  la di da di da...  I'm not sure yet, as usual...  heh heh...  
j/k.  The Vice Foreign Minister is missing as usual but this time it is 
on her own accord.  Where she goes is a place where someone would never 
had guess.  Well...except for Heero but that's to be expected.  The 
story is separated into two parts and watch out for a little OOCness on 
Heero's part towards the end.  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  err...don't sue me.  ^^  
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One Fine Day...
By Ali (minakoali@yahoo.com)

Part One:

Relena Dorlian never led an easy life.  It was said that on many 
occasions that she had forgotten to celebrate her own birthday and was 
only reminded by the bags upon bags of birthday cards she received at 
the end of the day.  She was one of the most recognised political 
figures in history and unarguably the hardest working.  With these facts 
in mind, it was hardly a surprise that when the currenct Vice Foreign 
Minister and former Queen requested a day off, the entire world was, to 
say the least, curious.  Everyone wanted to wonder what she was up to.  
Could it be a secret rendezvous with one of the infamous Gundam pilots?  
A short vacation to a secluded and exotic location, perhaps.  No one 
knew the absolute truth save a few individuals.  (This did not include 
her estranged brother or former teen obsession.)  

The public was interested because of one reason alone.  Relena was part 
of a selected few that were plagued with the same traits.  One, Relena 
was famous and two, she was beautiful.  On many social gatherings in the 
past, most of the pictures taken were of the young politician and former 
aristocrat.  It was a deadly combination and the mere mention of the 
selected individuals with these traits would, most likely, cause 
immediate attention.  Already, the press of many newspapers made plans 
to have their top investigators follow her and try to be the first to 
reveal the Minister's plans.  

However, at the stroke of midnight on the day of Relena's short leave, 
Relena disappeared...not a single clue to her disappearance was left 
behind.  

					  ****

Noin watched Zechs pace up and down their small office from her little 
spot leaning against the wall.  The older brother is panicking, she 
mused.  He had been pacing since he had heard the news.  He wouldn't 
mention why he was pacing but it was obvious.  

"You're going to wear a small hole in here," she said half-amused.  

The platinum-blonde spun around.  "And you don't seem to be the least 
bit concerned."  

Noin smiled.  "You're doing enough for the both of us," she said, 
walking over to his desk, "And besides, Relena gave this not to Sally to 
specifically give to us."  

Noin picked up the neatly-written note with the elegant, gold-lettered 
heading.  She sat down in Zechs' chair and planted her feet on the 
table.  

She cleared her throat as a hint of teasing before she began to read the 
note.  "And I repeat:  

Dear Noin and Milliardo, 

	I'll be taking a small vacation as you probably have heard and I 
	just wanted to tell you not to worry.  I am alright, so please do 
	not look for me.  This is a deeply personal matter that I have to
	attend to.  I hope that the Terraforming project is going well and 
	that both of you are doing fine.  
					
							Love, 
								Relena

and oh!" Noin said, raising her finger in the air, "P.S. Noin, please 
keep my brother from having a heart attack.  I suggest some chains shall 
do the trick."  

Noin put the note down and grinned goofily at the Vice Foreign 
Minister's older sibling.  He, however, had now stopped pacing and was 
glaring back at her in response.  He glared at her for a good minute or 
two and finally, Noin threw her hands up in the air.  

"Fine, fine..." she said, a little exasperated, "I'll get Duo to look 
around and see what he can find out.  Are you happy?"  

Zechs looked back at Noin almost contemplating but at least, he was no 
longer glaring.  She could even see him slightly chew at the inside of 
his mouth, which only meant that he was only having a small internal 
debate.  

"Fine," he replied and turned to walk out of the office to retrieve some 
reports from one of the engineers.  

The exasperated look disappeared from Noin's face and she grinned a 
little.  Slowly, she reached over to the small computer on the table.  

"And Noin..."  

She sat up, a little surprised that Zechs hadn't quite left yet.  

"Get your feet off my desk."  

Noin laughed and threw her pen at the direction of the voice.  

					  ****

An hour later...

"Gee Noin," the braided, Gundam pilot replied to his moniter, "I have no 
idea where Relena is."  

Noin sighed in response, "Well, can't say I didn't try."  

Gundam pilots were very hard to find and though, Duo was one of the few 
that had settled down, it had taken a long time to finally reach him.  
According to Hilde, she had sent him on an errand but that meant that, 
in Hilde's words, he was "goofing off" somewhere after easily finding 
the mechanical parts.  She had left a message with her and when Duo 
called her back, Noin felt that all her effort still left her in the 
same position that she was this morning.  Then, something dawned upon 
her.  

"Wait...do you think Heero might know?"  

Duo leaned back on his chair and threw his hands behind his head in 
thought.  "Maybe...but I'm not sure, last time I heard, Heero was on 
some sort of mission.  He's been gone for about two weeks now and it 
wasn't announced that Relena was leaving until a week ago."  

Noin couldn't help but look a little disappointed.  

"But," Duo continued, "With Heero...you never know.  I'll go talk to him 
and see what he knows...that is, if he talks at all and I can comprehend 
what vague little tidbits he _does_ decide to say."  

Noin laughed a little.  "Thanks, Duo." she said and turned off the 
communication between them.   

Duo turned off the computer and walked out of his basement to see what 
Hilde whipped up for lunch.  As soon as he entered the kitchen, Duo 
stopped.  

"Son of a bitch!" Duo yelled, almost jumping back.  

"Duo!," Hilde scolded.  

Quickly, she glanced at Heero to see his reaction at Duo's sudden 
appearance.  Heero had not reacted to say the least.  In fact, he had 
simply continued to drink his tea.  

Duo rushed over to his small, oak dining table.  He turned one of the 
chair around 180 degrees and sat in front of Heero.  

"Where have you been, Heero?" Duo said, "What are you doing here?"  

Heero didn't bother to answer the first question.  "I returned the 
transmitter you leant me."  

Duo looked to where he had indicated and let a big sweatdrop appear on 
the back of his head.  What he saw was a black, unrecognizeable, blown-
up mass of charred metal and he no longer wanted to know where his young 
comrade had been.  Duo turned back to remark about the "transmitter" but 
it was then that Hilde decided to place Duo's long awaited sandwich in 
front of him.  The mere appearance of the sandwich was enough to remind 
him of his hunger.  In the infamous Son Goku style, he engulfed half of 
it immediately.  Complaints would have to wait.  

"So, Heero," Duo said, chewing a tad bit too obnoxiously for Heero's 
liking, "Do you know Relena's gone missing?"  

Heero looked at Duo for a moment and simply said, "No."  He sipped some 
more of his tea.  

"No?!" Duo said, leaving a spray of crumbs on the table, "Damn!  I 
thought you knew, too!  You really can surprise me sometimes."  

Heero finished his tea and walked towards the basement door.  

"Hey!  Where are you going?"  

"To borrow your computer."  Heero didn't turn around when he replied and 
he walked down the steps out of sight.  

Duo stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and gulped down the 
glass of milk.  Jumping out of his chair, he ran after Heero.  

"My computer better not end up the same way as my transmitter, buddy!"  

Hilde just sat at the table alone.  To think, she thought, I've been 
living with this guy for two years and I still can't figure out how he 
can eat like that.  

					  ****

When Duo got down to the basement, Heero was already madly typing with 
one hand as he flipped through Duo's agenda.  The screen seemed to be a 
continuous stream of data flowing from the top and disappearing at the 
bottom a la matrix style.  Even if someone was looking over his 
shoulder, it would be hard for anybody to catch up.  

"What are you doing?"  Duo asked.  

Heero paused.  "Finding where Relena is."  

"Ha!" Duo cried, jumping up and clapping his hands together once.  "I 
knew it!  I had a feeling you'd...hey!  Where are you going?"

"To go get her."  

Duo's eyes widened a little.  "Then, you know where she is."  

Heero took his jacket off the back of the chair and slipped it on.  He 
began to walk up the stairs and Duo's eyes followed him.  

"Maybe.  And tell Noin that she's alright."  

With that, he walked out.  
	




	
Part Two:

She stood there, silently watching.  Her long, flowing dress flew with 
the wind and her long, though not as long as it once was, blonde hair 
moved freely and loosely about her shoulders.  It was quiet.  It had 
been quiet for a long time now.  Her mother had left earlier to give her 
some time alone.  She needed it, though, she doubt she'd ever admit it 
but she did need it.  Slipping away from the press and the world was one 
of the weirdest things she had ever done.  She and Pagan had arranged 
for a double of her to take her place a couple of days before anybody 
even knew she was gone.  The day she had announced for a short leave was 
the day she left for home.  

It was hard for her to not tell anybody where she was going.  There 
were, of course, complications.  She didn't want her brother to worry 
and so she sent him that note.  Deep down inside, she knew he would 
never be satisfied with it but it would just have to do.  She just 
didn't want to give anybody her whereabouts.  The other complication 
was, of course, Heero.  There was no way she could slip away without 
Heero knowing.  That was the hardest part but when she made an innocent 
call to Hilde and Duo, she found out that Heero was on an important 
mission and wasn't due back for another week.  It seemed that everything 
had been settled for her and so she left.  

Unfortunately, she knew when she got back that rumours would fly 
everywhere.  The one that was most likely is that the Vice Foreign 
Minister, who is just a child after all, was a little stressed under the 
overwhelming responsibility and took a small vacation.  Oh, how she 
wished it was that.  Just simply that but it wasn't.  She wasn't one who 
ran away from responsibility and stress was something that she had been 
through and survived, but the press would never understand that.  She 
was just a child, 17 years old.  The reasons to why she left could never 
be as simple as they would think.

"Relena..."  

Her eyes widened a little.  She should have never suspected that he 
couldn't find her.  

"Heero?" she asked, knowing full well that it was him.  

He was there, standing behind her and she wondered how long he had stood 
there.  At times, she could sense him from a far distance but at other 
times, he could simply just walk up to her, whether she was in a crowded 
street or surrounded by flimsy twigs, without making a sound.  The sight 
of him was unusual, however.  He was well-dressed, not in the more 
practical casual clothing that he's usually seen in and in his hands 
were a small bouquet of flowers.  Similar to the one in her hands.  

"What are you doing here?"  

He didn't answer and Relena guessed that he wouldn't.  She sighed a 
little.  

"Fine, how did you find me?"  

He didn't answer again, she never expected any, but this time, he walked 
up and placed the flowers in front of the object she was silently 
watching.  A small, marbel stone by a wise, old, oak tree.  Her father's 
grave.  

Not King Peacecraft, the believer in peace, a true pacifist, deceased 
king of a kingdom lost long ago but her other father.  The one who took 
care of her, bought her her first ice cream cone, the man who took her 
in when she was a small child when her "kingdom" was nothing but a 
smoldering pile of ash.  

Emotion slowly began to build up within her.  It was on this fine day 
that her father had died.  Assassinated by her friend, Lady Une...

"You know, I almost forgot last year and that's what horrified me."  Her 
vision began to blur a little and she wish she had the power to will the 
impending tears away.  "I love him and I almost forgot.  It was then 
that I resolved that I would never forget again." 

"You've had a hectic year," Heero pointed out as he stood beside her.

"That's no excuse," she said, saddened.    

"I miss him so much," she managed to whisper out, "I wish he were here."

There was a slight pause but Relena kept on talking.  "He used to read 
to me, you know.  Sometimes, he wouldn't be home for weeks upon weeks 
but whenever he was, he'd read to me.  At first, to put me to sleep or 
when I hadn't learned how to read and then, it was just to spend some 
time together.  A lot of the times were at this tree."  

A small breeze in the seemingly sunny day blew past her and it tossled 
both of their hair a little.  There was a deep silence after that and 
despite it all, she found it comforting that he was just there, his 
presence.  She continued to watch the gravestone that was marked with 
her father's name and suddenly she felt another hand grab her hand.  

Heero's hand, Relena thought, closing her eyes.  It was rough, 
especially compared to her own delicate hand but it was still strong and 
comforting, just like his presence.  

She squeezed his hand in response and then finally, took her hand out of 
his own.  She knelt down and placed her own flowers on the grave.  
Reaching out, her fingers fluttered over the central image.  Silently, 
she gave her father her message.  

I love you, father.  I hope that you're doing alright in heaven and I 
want to tell you that I miss you so much.  So...very much.  

Her throat felt suddenly heavy and it was hard for her to swallow.  

I wanted to tell you something ever since you told me that you weren't 
my real father.  I wanted to tell you that you're wrong.  You _are_ my 
real father just as mother is my real mother.  You were there when I 
took my first steps and my many stumbles before that.  You took me out 
when it snowed for the first time to show me and there are so many 
special moments in my life that you shared with me.  

She paused a little.

I think that I led a good life .  You and mother did that.  Having two 
wonderful people love me was enough for me.  Not friends who idolized me 
or relatives that praised me...  Just you...  You two were the best 
father and mother...

She sobbed a little.  A few tears had managed to spill and she hadn't 
even noticed.  She didn't care.  

I wish you were here.  I wish you could see what this world has become 
and I wish you were with mother and I.  

She paused and looked at the other object in her hands.  It was the 
picture that he had always kept at his desk.  Most of the pictures of 
them were very formal but this one wasn't.  Her mother was standing by 
him and he was sitting in his favourite leather chair.  She was sitting 
on his lap in her, ugh, pink pajamas and her mother and her were all 
laughing.  The expression on his face was one of a little surprise and 
despite the goofy face on his part, it was her father's favourite 
picture.  

Until then, though, she thought to him, you can have this.  I hope 
you're watching over the world and smiling father.  

Silently, she touched her fingers to her lips and then touched the 
forehead of the small picture.  

"I love you." she said one last time and stood up.  

Heero was still there, watching her...waiting for her and they slowly 
walked towards the mansion.  

"He would be proud of you, you know," he said, not quite looking at her.  

Relena smiled a little.  "Yeah..." she whispered and looked back towards 
the grave.  A small weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she 
felt a little happier.  Quietly, she wrapped one of her arms around 
Heero's waist and leaned on his shoulder.  

He had allowed her to do this.  Heero wasn't one of the types to express 
himself but he always let Relena lean on his shoulder when she had the 
opportunity to.  Slowly, he placed his hand on her other shoulder and 
drew her in slightly.  

It was quiet and peaceful and both of them walked towards Relena's old 
mansion never quiet breaking the peace.  The sun was out, the cool 
breeze prevented the warmth from being unbearable and the two were 
finally allowed to enjoy this one fine day.  

					  ****

Another small breeze blew by the oak tree away from the couple, slowly 
swaying some of its branches and then seemed to circle the gravestone.  
A young gardener's son of the estate, that day, could have sworn that he 
saw a man standing at the grave looking at the picture tenderly.  He had 
never met the former Vice Foreign Minister but for some reason, the 
young boy knew.  Quietly standing up, the man watched the young couple 
walk away and smiled.  Noticing that the boy had seen him, the man 
smiled at him as well, a jubilant happiness present on his face... but 
when another breeze blew by the wise, old, oak tree, the man was gone.  
Quickly as he disappeared.  

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Alright, anyway, here it is.  The first draft.  Someday, I will look at 
this fic and think, "What the hell was I thinking?!" so if you'd like, 
please feel free to eml me with some nice constructive criticism...I may 
cry but that's all.  j/k.  ^^  No flames, tho...b/c I already know I 
suck and I don't plan on being a professional so it's all good.  ^^