Whoops! I've been terribly naughty and forgot to put up a disclaimer! *slaps her wrist* Well, if I did own Gundam Wing than I wouldn't be posting my little stories on fanfic archives. Oh well, for legal purposes I do not own anything but the plot! ;p

* = reference notes will be at the end of the story

No One Has To Know
by: Lady Eclipse

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~I never cared for any of the games that politicians played. The blood lust of the media never concerned me; I am but a shadow on the wall invisible to all. There has been only one person who has ever tried to seek me, who has seen me slipping by in the blackness of necessity. She and she alone sees me and that is all that I care for. Spotlights only make shadows disappear or fragment grotesquely in a careless toss of pitch. I will hide in my darkness watching her for all time. In oblivion I will protect her; without the sheltering darkness she will be left blind and alone in the bright light of society. Our love is my secret, my 'sub-rosa.'* I will eternally guard it from the distorted perceptions of those who could never appreciate it for what it is. It is for this precious secret that I will suffer in silence, die in her arms, and hide from the light.~

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Relena stood silently at the window with a hand delicately touching the cool glass. A slight headache throbbed behind her forehead as the tensions of the day played out within her mind. Behind her sat her mahogany desk covered with random documents and treaties. Only half of which had she gone over and signed. Already the sun had slipped away and even the faint blush it had left upon the sky and land was fading as well. The patient moon hovered uncertainty upon the horizon still questioning if its presence was needed. 'Why must they all obsess over such foolish details?' She mused to herself in growing frustration. She could no longer pretend to ignore the fact that the media and several politicians had pointed out critically her lack of relationships. She was getting pressured at so many ends to at least try to date some of the many young suitors thrust upon her continuously. There was the inevitable talk of scandal and affairs, all of which were thourally dull and unimportant to Relena. 'Isn't it enough that I've dedicated my life to them? Why do they care whether I date or not?' She had stubbornly refused to even look at any young man presented to her past what formality dictated. Little did those busybodies know that she was already involved and there was no way she would transgress even if they didn't know about it. Heero was never one for the spotlight and Relena never asked more of him then he was ready to give. So, she would suffer all of the incessant pestering to continue to hold on to her secret treasure.

Relena reluctantly returned to the ever increasing mountain of paperwork that she had to attend to. To be honest, none of those documents had any life threatening importance attached to them. In fact, they mostly entailed mediocre details and projects that could wait another day. Yet, Relena hated to leave any work undone, any document unread just in case there was something important that she might have missed. Relena was distracted from her work by a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." She called out before letting her eyes drop back down to the fresh document before her. The door opened and a man with platinum blonde hair silently slipped into the room. At first Relena was not even aware that he had entered for she was busy scanning the document and eventually signing it. With a sigh she tossed it into her outbox and snatched up another one of the countless papers that rested in her inbox. Milliardo cleared his throat rather loudly to gain the attention of his sister. Relena looked up immediately and smiled helplessly at her lack of focus on the world around her. He raised an eyebrow, then pointedly looked down at his watch.

"You are the only person left in the building. What good could staying here a few extra hours do when there are no people to process that paperwork?"

Relena shrugged, "It has to be done sometime."

"You work far harder than anyone else's expectations could ever imagine. Go home and enjoy your weekend or I'm going to have to interfere on your behalf again."

Relena snorted, "You got lucky that time. I was just surprised, you won't be as fortunate the next time."

"Are you so sure?" Milliardo said with a laugh. "I hired Heero because he is the best. I'm sure that you won't be able to evade him like your other bodyguards."

"Is that a challenge?"'

Milliardo sighed, "No, it's a plea from your worried brother. I don't want to see you get burned out."

"Well I won't." Relena said stubbornly. Relena turned her attention back to the document. 'If I don't see his concerned expression then I won't be guilted into leaving before I'm done.' She thought to herself, although there was really no hope of that. Milliardo snatched the document from her desk that she had been reading causing her to look up. Milliardo fixed her with a determined stare that had a touch of of weariness. Relena held her hands up in defeat, "Alright, alright! I'll go." Milliardo smiled in triumph as he watched her tidy up her desk in preparation to leave.

"I'll take care of this, you go give your bodyguard and Pagan a break by letting them get home at a decent hour." Relena chuckled,

"You asked for it." She collected up her things, gave him an appreciative kiss on the cheek, then exited the room eagerly. Milliardo shook his head with a small smile as he watched the young vice foreign minister depart.

As Relena hastily exited her office her ever present bodyguard slipped in step behind her without a word. Relena inadvertently smiled at Milliardo's words about her being unable to evade the infamous Heero Yuy. 'If only he knew..' It had turned out to be quite a game between the two. Relena entered the waiting limousine outside and gratefully sank into the soft leather of the seat.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting so long, Pagen. Things just got a little busy today." She said to the elderly man sitting in the driver's seat revving up the engine. "That's fine, Miss Relena. I understand." He replied in his usual patient, kind tone of voice. In the meantime Heero had entered the vehicle as well and was sitting next to her; his eyes were roaming busily for any possible threat. Relena eyed her briefcase with mischief; she had managed to sneak some of the documents in there. Poising her face in a mask of bored curiosity she asked with an incidental tone; "So, does my bodyguard get the weekend off or does he have to suffer me indefinitely?"

Heero kept his face straight although his eyes glittered. "I haven't requested weekends off."

"To think Milliardo is worried about me getting burnt out. Even I take weekends off."

"Only when we force you to." He replied.

"Does this mean I need to force you to take some time off?" Relena asked in mock innocence.

"No."

"I didn't get a choice, why should you?"

Heero turned toward her, a predatorial gleam in his eye, "What do you think your odds are that you can force me to do anything?" A faint smiled graced her lips but before she could reply the limo had pulled to a smooth stop in front of her apartment. Relena climbed out with a polite thank you to her tireless chauffer and retreated to the comfortable confines of her apartment followed by her ever present shadow. Relena casually tossed her briefcase onto the couch and headed for the kitchen to make something for dinner.

"Any last minute instructions from Milliardo to keep his baby sister in line?" She threw over her shoulder.

"I'm not at liberty to say." Was his cool response.

"Really? So what was it this time? Don't let her leave the building, no take home work?" Relena couldn't quite keep out the irritation in her voice. Heero remained silent staring thoughtfully at her from where he stood. Relena snatched a water bottle from the refrigerator and took a lengthy sip while leaning back on the counter. "Hmm?" She asked catching Heero's stare. Heero walked into the kitchen and leaned up against the counter next to her.

"There have been reports of increased terrorist activity in the L4 sector. They have been recorded numerous times to have shown great resentment and hostility towards you for undefined reasons. It probably would be better if you disappeared for a week or so until the Preventor's can quell the threat." Relena sighed wearily, "Is that so? Maybe I should try talking to them to find out what is wrong..." She mumbled to no one in particular.

"They don't want to talk. We've been trying contact them for quite some time now to find out their intentions."

"It's always something.....I don't think it would be best for me to hide." She replied thoughtfully.

"That's my orders." Surprisingly Relena laughed,

"So everyone left the burden of convincing the troublesome, if not overly stubborn, vice foreign minister to do what's best for her. I don't think my brother likes you very much." Heero turned slightly and caught her teasing smile. "No one has said a word to me about this and I even saw Milliardo not an hour ago. Poor Heero, how will you manage to get me to do as you say?" Relena said trying to keep her tone serious.

"Like I always do."

"And how's that?" Heero moved in front of her resting his hands on the counter either side of her; trapping her with his body.

"The hard way." His face, centimeters away, was deadpan but his eyes were dancing.

Relena chuckled softly, "I always like to keep my suitors on their toes. Anyone who gets involved with me has to be stubborn and tireless." Heero raised his eyebrows at the word 'suitor.' Relena, noticing his reaction, only smiled with a shrug doing her best to keep the frustrations of everyone else's hounding out of her eyes. Heero raised a hand to gently stroke her cheek as his eyes investigated hers.

"Do they bother you that much?" He said, his monotone voice was laced with amused curiosity. Relena released an exasperated sigh, 'Sometimes he can read me TOO well!'

"No, it's fine. I can handle them, I just wish some of those young politicians would keep their hands to themselves."

"Hn." His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"It's nothing I can't handle." She continued, her smile widening mischievously.

"It's very inappropriate for a person to show such a lack of regard for personal space. As your bodyguard I will have to give them a security briefing."

"Oh no, not again!" Relena said with a laugh, "The last 'security briefing' you gave nearly gave the poor guy a heart attack and to this day he's afraid to even talk to me!"

"It worked though." Heero maintained a serious tone but his eyes glittered with unspoken mirth.

"Too well." Relena paused thoughtfully as she considered his earlier request. "No matter how appealing the thought of having you to myself for an entire week is, I simply can't abandon my work. Even you have to admit that a lot of things can go wrong in a single week. Maybe that's what that group wants. Perhaps they are planning for me to go hide and then they can cause chaos in my absence. I have to stay here where I'm needed."

"And if you die?"

"Then I die. I've never been afraid of death." She reached up a hand to affectionately brush away the bangs from his forehead. "I have no regrets and am content. I have no reason to fear death."

"Don't talk like that." Heero's voice was gruff with emotion. "You are NOT going to die. I won't let you." Relena smiled softly and closed her eyes, "I know." The hand that had been caressing her cheek moved to her chin to tilt her head up to meet his lips in a sweet kiss. His arms pulled her tight against him. 'No one will take away my In Rose.**'

*- The term 'sub-rosa' is from episode four of the Ground Zero manga. It roughly means a well kept secret.

**- The term 'In Rose' is again from episode four of the Ground Zero manga and it means/ or is a symbol of happiness.

I'll spare you guys my interpretation of the manga but highly recommend that you read it so that you can get a feel for what Heero was trying to say.

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That's it for this part, chapter four is on the way! I know my story seems to lack a set plot or heart racing excitement to accompany it but that is the way I've engineered it. The point of this set story is to merely follow their relationship and feelings toward each other and watch how it evolves. I'm just kind of sappy that way! ;p

Comments and criticism are welcome but please be prepared to back yourself up if you are in a flame mentality. I appreciate honesty and am looking to improve my story if needed. Please don't abuse the privilege! nightcloud8@hotmail.com Thanks for reading and stay tuned for "The Secret Evolves."