Relena took a deep breath, enjoying the quiet of the night as she made her way to her parked car, more than a half a block away. Noin had deserted her for Quatre a while back. Not that she minded as she was glad her friend was moving on. It was her brother’s loss, and Relena sincerely hoped that Milliardo would not come to regret his behavior toward Noin. Oh, she knew her brother cared deeply for Noin, albeit not the way she desired, but she also knew that her brother was not all dense and knew perfectly well the nature of Noin’s feelings for him. The fact that her brother took for granted Noin’s presence in his life was something that had always irked Relena to no end. Quatre was a sweet, mild tempered man and a true gentleman who would no doubt treat Noin with the outmost respect and caring she deserved. If Quatre had possessed any male siblings, Relena would have been tempted to ask for an introduction.

Deep intense eyes flashed through her mind, but she pushed the image forcefully away, willing herself no to think of him. It was over. Done. It was quite a difficult task, however, because the more she didn’t want to think about him, the more she did.

She missed him.

It was such a ridiculous feeling to be missing him, not to mention illogical. Wufei was bad-tempered and often hostile, and yet she couldn’t stop the emotion from rising unexpectedly at the most inopportune of times. Like now. It had been a shock to see him as she had come deliberately late to the gathering, knowing Wufei was not one to spend his time in a bar. She knew she had taken the coward’s way out, as she had done the previous months, but better a coward than to fall into old habits. More than once since she had ended her agreement Relena had been tempted to chase after him, either by arranging an ‘accidental’ encounter or scheming a plan for him to come to her. Thankfully her good sense had prevailed and she had remained as far away from him as possible. She was finished with chasing men who didn’t want her. She had learned that particular lesson well.

Wufei had acted rather unlike himself tonight and a part of Relena, the silly romantic part, couldn’t help but sigh at recalling the way in which he’d taken her hand. It mattered little, as Relena had also learned not to place undue meaning onto simple gestures. She was not that same girl who had seen a declaration of love in a stuffed teddy bear. Stupid, how stupid she’d been, seeing love in Heero’s eyes, hearing longing in his voice, feeling passion in his touch. But that too, was over, and there was no point in dwelling upon it.

Wufei had probably indulged a little too much on the liquor. As unlikely as that was, it was a hell of a lot more probable than him developing some sort of affection toward her. Duo’s words had given her hope, until she realized that if Wufei had indeed had a ‘thing’ for, it was long gone now. She had always acted like a ninny in his presence, but the nail that had sealed that coffin was most assuredly the manner in which she had manipulated him into helping her.

What she wouldn’t she do to go back to that night at Quatre’s party all those years ago, to have the courage to take Wufei’s hand and dance with him. Perhaps they… no but there was no point to it, it was silly to even think about such things. Wufei had been wearing a uniform tonight, just like the first time she had seen him. What was it, Relena wondered, about a man in a uniform that made a woman’s mouth water? In this case it probably had more to do with the man than the uniform; as he caused this particular reaction in her with increasing regularity no matter what he was wearing.

A street light illuminated her car, the motorcycle in front of it, and the man sitting down on the curb. It was Wufei, watching her approach with shaded eyes. Relena’s breath caught, and she could hear her heart beating wildly, but she swallowed hard and continued walking as nonchalantly as she could.

“Hello,” she said when she reached him.

Wufei nodded.

Relena’s brain was working a mile a second, wondering what he wanted, if he had waited all this time, and what it could mean. Hope, unwanted, started flourishing. Relena squashed it down least she be disappointed. “There’s a café near here, would you like-”

Wufei nodded again and stood up. He knew were the café was located, preferring the quiet atmosphere of the establishment instead of the boisterous bar his colleagues liked to frequent.

They said nothing as they walked, the only sound breaking the silence was Relena’s heels clicking softly on the pavement. He had intended to go home, but he’d driven by her car and all manner of thoughts had assaulted him. Her reason for refusing to dance with him was that she had been intimidated by him. Well, he had been in absolute terror when he’d asked her to dance. His palms had been sweating, his heart thumping furiously, and his damn voice had actually cracked from nervousness. Absurd that a mere girl had caused such a reaction in him. Had she any idea how much damage she had done to his pride that evening?

And there it was, the underlying cause of his animosity for Relena. How juvenile. Everything had been tainted after that, everything she had said or done had been taken as offense, her smiles labeled fake, her politeness as hypocrisy. Wufei glanced at her from the corner of his eye, noting the stern set of her shoulders, the nervous expression on her face which she was desperately trying to hide. How obtuse he’d been for never reading her mannerisms correctly. Well, he had never been adept at dealing with women, he thought wryly. Not many could see pass his scowl, deadly bluntness, and quick temper.

He couldn’t remember what else was said between them that weekend of Quatre’s party, but he remembered her yellow dress, her long tanned legs, the way she hardly ever laughed but smiled often. He also remembered Yuy constantly standing by her side like a loyal guard dog. It had been clear to whom Relena’s affection belonged to, disgustingly so. He must have stared at her, glowered at her, bluntly questioned her; his manner had never been one of gentility and no doubt he had indeed intimidated her. While he normally didn’t care if people found him agreeable or not, the fact that Relena had not had been a thorn on his side for years. What a fool he had been. Still was.

Inside the café, they took a booth on the far corner, wanting to ensure privacy. A young man took their orders, tea for Wufei, and hot cocoa for Relena, and if he recognized either of them he didn’t show it. Jazz was playing softly, inviting the patrons to relax and enjoy the ambience, Relena could do no such thing, too aware of Wufei’s piercing eyes examining her as if she were a bug under a microscope.

“I’m a difficult man.”

Relena blinked. That she had had not been expecting. “Really?” She fluttered her lashes in puzzlement. “I haven’t noticed.”

Wufei’s response was halted by the arrival of the waiter with their drinks. His lips had twitched, Relena thought, some of the tension flowing out of her body at that telltale sign of his amusement. Surprising how well she had learned to discern some aspects of his personality.

“I’m not a romatic-”

“Nooo,” Relena interrupted with exaggerated disbelief.

Wufei leaned back into the booth and crossed his arms, an expression of mild amusement and exasperation on his face.

“My character is not altogether pleasing either-”

“Clearly.”

“- Hey, I’m only trying to save time here, because if this is going where I think,” she cleared her throat nervously. “Where I hope it’s going, then let me assure you that I can deal with your difficult unromantic personality if you can handle my frequent bouts of insanity and obsessiveness.”

“Not to mention your manipulative manner.”

“Right,” Relena said weakly.

Relena wasn’t what he had thought, what he had labeled her; shallow, petty, vindictive, etc. Neither was she the perfect lady people believed her to be. It matter not, he wanted the woman, flaws and all, and not the image. “I can handle it.”

A soft smiled bloomed on Relena’s face. It was surreal that this was happening, less than a hour ago she had been sure Wufei would never be interested in a relationship with her. He looked less than thrilled about it, but Relena knew that Wufei was the serious type who would hardly show being thrilled about anything. Relena was under no delusions regarding Wufei’s character and she didn’t intend to change him. They had seen the worst parts of each other because of her silly arrangement, she was looking forward not only to seeing Wufei’s better qualities but also displaying her own.

She reached across the table and took his hand, interlocking their fingers. He had beautiful hands, long fingered, callused and strong. They argued about holding hands when they had pretended to be together. Relena had been furious at Wufei for being so unwilling to compromise on such an insignificant matter. Now, however, the simple act of holding hands became ever more meaningful. She looked up from the sight of their joined hands to his face. His eyes seemed even darker and deeper. He pulled her closer so they were sitting next to each other rather than across. Relena shivered, wondering if he was going to kiss her. Instead of kissing her, he released her hand and ran his own along her arm. She shivered again.

“You make me feel like a teenager again,” she told him with a small laugh. “Clumsy and self-conscious...”

“Since when?”

“Always. Of course, before I use to attribute it to my great dislike for you.”

He smiled at her words, watching the gooseflesh rise on her arm as he gently rubbed the inside of her elbow with his thumb. “Have you never wondered what I was doing outside in the garden that night when they took the picture of us? Assumed that like you I had gone out for a bit of fresh air, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. I thought it an unfortunate coincidence.”

He chuckled in a self-deprecating manner. “It wasn’t. An hour or so before an event ends, you always escape outside. I knew you would be there,” he confessed.

It hadn’t been the first time either, Relena surmised. Throughout the years, for some reason or another they had found themselves alone. Such encounters had never been pleasant, and had usually ended with one or both feeling slighted by the other. She had dreaded meeting with him, hating the fact he threw her so off-balance and knowing that he would take whatever she said or did the wrong way. Relena never would have guessed he had purposely sought her out.

“I was going to mail you a check reimbursing your expenses. No no,” she said, smoothing the scowl that formed on his brow with her index finger. “I was only going to do it because I knew you’d be furious. Maybe furious enough to come to my house. I had no desire to have you yelling at me, but I did wish to see you, which was why I had to form a new plan. I was going to visit Noin and accidentally run into you.”

“Noin and I work in different floors.”

“Exactly. I had to devise a new plan again.”

He laughed softly, his face becoming less austere. “How many more schemes did you thought up?”

“A lot,” she said blushing, but smiling at him.

Although he was glad she hadn’t carried out her schemes, undoubtedly he would have reacted badly to them, he was nonetheless flattered. Wufei was also pleased she hadn’t played coy. He’d intended only to try mend things between them tonight; however, her surprising straight forwardness had expedited his true intentions. One might say that they were finally on the same page. He took his wallet out and placed several bills on the table, shooting Relena a meaningful glance which in turn had her rolling her eyes.

The trip back to her car was as silent as when they had been going to the café, but his time the silence was soothing and comfortable, her hand was safely ensconced in Wufei’s and her heels played a definite jaunty rhythm on the pavement. But all too soon, much to Relena’s disappointment, they reached her car.

They stopped in front of her car, Relena was smiling while Wufei looked slightly less stern than usual. Relena was all jitters and nerves, but strangely enough she no longer felt awkward with Wufei. She felt… giddy, yes, that was it, giddy.

“Goodnight, Relena.”

“Night,” she said expectantly, waiting for him to kiss her. Her smile promptly fell away when he only turned around to his motorbike. “Hey,” she exclaimed, taking his hand and pulling him back to face her again.

Wufei raised a questioning eyebrow.

Such a trademark Wufei expression made her smile, making her feel even lighter than before, without thinking she acted. She leaned forward and brushed her lips to his. Wufei reacted favorably, that is to say he did not pull away. She wanted him to kiss her back, to taste the cinnamon tea he’d drunk earlier. However, Relena settled only for another miniscule peck on the lips, not wanting to break whatever they had constructed tonight.

“Do you ever,” Wufei started, “let the man make the first move?” he whispered against her lips.

“Sometimes, but never when the man is tortuously slow in making the first move.”

“Tortuously slow?” He smirked. “You do have a flair for the dramatic.”

“I assure you, I am not exaggerating.”

“Well,” he said, ghosting his lips across her jaw, “there is something to be said” his lips traveled down to her neck, his breath prickling and tickling her skin, “about taking one’s time.” Then he skimmed his lips along the nape of her neck and made his way to her mouth with an agonizing slow speed. His kiss was luxuriously unhurried, leisurely intense, unlike anything Relena had expected from such an uptight man. “Don’t you agree?” he said, once he had broken away.

Relena nodded mutely and Wufei smirked, looking quite pleased with himself. It was heady, the knowledge that this woman, this powerful beautiful woman wanted him, that she trembled when he touched her, that she responded so eagerly to him… that she could cause the same affect on him.

“And the he kissed me…”

Noin had to laugh at Relena’s silly expression. She looked like a young girl on her first crush. In truth, she probably wore the same expression as Relena. The previous night had been quite eventful for the two of them. Quatre had already called her, wanting to know if she was free next weekend.

“It was… just… perfect.” Relena said, the silly smile still on her face as she threw a ball for Tulip to fetch.

“I know what you mean,” Noin said, matching Relena’s silly smile. Who would have ever thought that she, Lucretzia Noin, would be having girl talks? But here she was, having spent the past hour sharing details about what had occurred between Quatre and her and hearing about Relena and Wufei while sitting on the grass in Relena’s backyard. It was actually quite nice. She hated to ruin the relaxed mood and bring up Milliardo but… “When are you going to tell your brother?”

Relena wrinkled her nose, a move that Noin had seen plenty of times on Millardo’s face. Tulip came bounding to her to give her the ball and Relena promptly threw it for him again.

“You have to tell him before he finds out by other means.”

“I know.”

Noin was right, of course, but that was a conversation she did not look forward to. Just several months before she had told her brother about her ‘break up’ with Wufei and now she was supposed to tell him they were back together… Yeah that would fly so well with her overprotective brother. Milliardo hadn’t look at all surprised about her breakup, probably used to her romantic failings by now, but no doubt would be shocked to know that she and Wufei had reconciled. Maybe she could call him tomorrow…

“The sooner the better,” Noin said, giving her a knowing look.

Relena sighed and went inside her home and called his cell phone, hoping he wouldn’t pick up.

“Good morning, Relena,” he said, looking as elegant as always.

“Morning.”

“Is something the matter?”

“Well, I wanted to let you know that Wufei and I have decided to give it another go,” she said, cringing internally at the fib. Technically it wasn’t a lie. “I didn’t want you to see it on the papers or the news like last time.”

“I see,” he said slowly, his gaze penetrating. “Have you thought this thoroughly?”

“Yes,” she responded tightly. She hated it when he treated her like a child.

“Relena… I don’t wish to see you hurt. Wufei may not want the same things as you.”

She understood his meaning clearly: You’re going to get hurt because you’re chasing after him as you did Heero. And didn’t I tell you then? Didn’t I tell you Heero would never return your feelings?

“I appreciate your concern,” she said tightly. “However, you don’t need to feel obliged to look after me, I can handle myself.”

She hung up before he could respond, her giddiness from the night before considerably diminished.

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Next Chappie: Heero!

I'll try my best to update in about a month... but no promises. Thanks for the wonderful reveiws.