***Part 4***

Regal dancing music echoed from the main ballroom of the Peacecraft mansion. It was the night of Relena's birthday party and the palace was bustling with a sea of people, mostly diplomats and friends of the princess. The birthday girl was busy scurrying about, making sure to meet with every one of her guests so she could thank them for coming to the celebration.

The Gundam gang had established themselves at a table away from all of the chaos in the middle of the room surrounding Relena. All of the pilots and girls were looking at the scene before them with wonder. Lights danced about the enormous room and streamers and ribbons were hung from every-which-way along the stairs, chandelier and banquet tables. The constant buzz of conversation, along with the music of the orchestra, added to the excitement. Everyone sat just soaking it all in.

"Doesn't Miss Relena look just stunning tonight?" Dorothy commented. They all turned and looked at the princess. She was wearing a beautiful deep blue gown, which brought out her eyes, and her hair was curled and pinned in an up-do.

Duo let out an, "Oh yeah!"

"You all do," Quatre said politely to the girls.

"Yeah, that's right," Duo said quickly, then gave Hilde a quick peck on the cheek.

"But Relena...she's just absolutely gorgeous," sighed Catherine. Trowa only nodded.

"Yeah, whatever," said Wufei nonchalantly. He hated social events with a passion.

Heero glanced up at the princess, but refused to look any more than that. He might not be able to take his eyes off of her once he saw her. And seeing what a close watch Duo was keeping over him, Heero didn't want to give the American pilot any more reasons to suspect him of having feelings for Relena.

With the formalities over, Relena rushed over to join her friends.

"And here comes the birthday girl now!" Duo said. Quatre got up and clasped hands with Relena. She smiled at him and gave him a hug. "I hope you all are having a good time," she said to the group.

As everyone was asking her about the presents which she had received and about all of the different people that had come for her birthday, Heero still kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"And who is that?" Catherine asked Relena, pointing to a handsome young man around the princess' age, who was standing across from them on the other side of the dance floor.

"Oh, that's Andrew Carter, son of Foreign Minister Carter, representing one of the American territories. He's very nice," Relena told her.

"And he has been sneaking glances your way all of this evening, Miss Relena!" Dorothy added.

"Really?" Relena said blushing.

It was only then that Heero looked up at the girl. A rush of emotions swept over him, but he managed to keep them hidden. Somewhere from a far-off place, the echo of a seraphic voice drifted through his mind. A voice which spoke with no words, yet could be heard only by his heart. A voice that made him remember what it felt like to be whole, the feeling of completeness he had known before a robotic emptiness occupied his entire being when he was transformed into a Gundam pilot.

"Maybe you should go talk with Andrew again, Relena," said Hilde winking at her friend, breaking Heero's ethereal moment. The pilot scowled at the mention of the other man's name and again directed his attentions to the floor.

"Maybe," Relena said thoughtfully.

The orchestra was now beginning to play a slow piece as many couples moved out to the dance floor. Duo and Hilde, Quatre and Dorothy, Trowa and Catherine, Zechs and Noin, and Sally, dragging Wufei behind her, all left to step out on the ballroom floor. Heero and Relena seemed to be the only ones still at the table.

"Heero, would you like to dance?" Relena's voice broke through the silence that always seemed to surround the pair. The dark-haired pilot looked up at the girl, not knowing what to do or how to respond.

"Oh come on, it is my birthday," said the princess. Heero stood up and she took his hand and led him to where the other couples were dancing.

Heero acted like he was doing Relena a favor, tolerating her presence because it was her birthday request. In actually, underneath those layers of ice and steel, the young pilot was in ecstasy. Both Heero and Relena noticed that other couples were now staring at them, intrigued by graceful moments of the heavenly princess and the mysterious, handsome youth who held her in his arms. Throughout the whole dance, Relena didn't say a thing, which surprised Heero, as she usually always started a conversation when she was around him. He was thankful for the silence. As the dance was coming to a close, Relena thanked Heero for his patience with her, then proceeded to flutter off and mingle with her guests. "Yes, she has grown up," Heero thought to himself. During the whole rest of the party, Relena let Heero alone, as he isolated himself from people other than the pilots and could occasionally be seen keeping watch on everything from the shadows. No longer did Relena chase after hi! m or get in his way. Did he miss the attention? Heero wasn't quite sure. He was sure of one thing, though: Andrew had been making his way towards the princess all evening and was now finally standing right next to her.

Relena felt a light tap on her shoulder. "Oh, Andrew! Hello, again. Are you enjoying yourself this evening?"

"Yes, very much, thank you," the young man replied. "I didn't get a chance to mention this earlier, but I believe we've met before, before tonight, that is."

"Really?" questioned Relena.

"You probably never noticed me, but I went to the same school as you did when we were teenagers, the St. Gabriel Institute," Andrew told her.

"Now I remember," said Relena. "Your face does look familiar."

"Would...would you care to dance, Princess? Catch up on old times, perhaps?" Andrew asked her while his cheeks turned a bright red. Relena giggled at the sweetness and shyness of the man who stood before her.

"I would love to Andrew, thank you," Relena said.

While the two were dancing, they could be seen laughing and joking like the best of friends. "I'm actually having fun," thought Relena, "and with a nice guy, too." It was so easy being with Andrew. Relena gazed at his gorgeous smile, his muscular shoulders, his light brown hair and his deep hazel-brown eyes that looked as precious as a puppy's.

When the rest of the Gundam pilots and girls had stepped off the dance floor and gone back to their table, the princess and her partner were still dancing. Later in the night, the group noticed Relena and Andrew sneaking off to the gardens. Hilde, Dorothy and Catherine were smiling, relieved that the princess might have finally found her match. The pilots only gave each other questionable looks, most directed towards Heero, who was just sitting there, a hardness etched on his face, staring into oblivion.

"I hope they get together. They looked so cute out there dancing," said Catherine of Relena and Andrew.

"I know," agreed Hilde, "and that guy is such a good catch, too."

"I just hope she's doing what makes her happy," Quatre said, entering into the girls' conversation.

"She looked like she was having a good time to me. Right Heero?" said Duo slyly.

"I'm taking a walk," was all the pilot replied coldly, then got up and left.

Everyone glared at Duo for being so forward. "WHAT?" he asked.

"You have to be more understanding, Duo. You know Heero's having a hard time with all of this," Quatre explained to him.

"I just don't get him," Duo said loudly, holding his hands up to his head. "He doesn't like Relena, but then again he does. He ignores her when she pays attention to him, then gets mad when anyone else pays attention to her. What is wrong with this picture???"

"I think he's finally realizing that Miss Relena's not going to chase after him forever, and he doesn't know what to think about that," said Dorothy and everyone agreed.

Relena and Andrew sat on a bench out in the gardens. The sky was now dusted with the glitter of the stars as the princess and the diplomat's son were talking about nothing in particular. Relena's mind drifted as the young man was now telling her of his life in America. She then realized she was twenty years old and had never been kissed. "I'm pathetic!" she thought and then sighed to herself. "I just want to know what it feels like." Andrew stopped talking and looked at the girl next to him, who was deep in thought.

"What's on your mind?" he asked. He looked so adorable there, and before Relena could register what she was doing, the princess had leaned over and kissed Andrew on the lips.

"Oh my gosh," she said as she pulled away. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's really okay," said the surprised boy. "I didn't mind at all."

Hidden by the deep veil of the night, a figure had been watching the whole scene. After seeing the two kiss, the phantom turned away, walking into darkness. The silver moon caught a glimmer of two tortured eyes, from which an angry tear had fallen unnoticed, as Heero Yuy swiftly departed from the gardens.

"Look, a shooting star," said Andrew as he pointed to a faint fiery streak in a patch of sky above the couple.

That made Relena remember the last time she had seen a shooting star. Well, really, it hadn't been a shooting star at all, it had beenHeero, after he fell to earth for the first time in Wing Zero. When she thought of the Gundam pilot, she felt so many things that she couldn't quite explain. Relena looked at Andrew. "Heero" she thought. "What have I done?" The princess got up from the bench quickly and brought her fingertips to her lips.

"What's wrong?" asked Andrew as Relena was now slowly backing away from him, her eyes full of shock and remorse.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm so, so sorry," then ran back to the palace.

"You did WHAT?" Hilde gasped as the Relena told her what had happened with Andrew. The two girls were talking in an empty corridor of the mansion, the party having ended some time ago. "Wow, Relena, I'm impressed. I would have never thought you had the guts to initiate a kiss. So? What happened after that?"

"I ran away and left him there."

"Huh?"

"I thought of Heero, felt guilty and realized I'd made a huge mistake." Relena was now talking a mile-a-minute.

"Heero? Uh oh," said Hilde in a serious tone.

"What, what is it?" the princess asked her friend.

"Relena," Hilde took in a deep breath, "Heero probably saw everything."

"EVERYTHING???" Relena's jaw dropped.

"Everything," Hilde repeated. "After you and Andrew went out to the gardens, Heero left us to go for a walk. We could only guess where he was headed."

"This can't be happening," Relena wailed. "Just whenjust when I felt like I was getting somewhere with Heero, I have to go and mess it all up. If he saw me kiss Andrew, I don't know what he's going to think. I must have confused him so much, first asking him to dance, then going off and kissing another guy. I'm such a fool! I just wanted to know what it felt like. I had never had a kiss, Hilde. Never ever. I just wanted to know..." she trailed off in sobs.

"RELENA! Calm down." Hilde yelled at her, snapping the princess out of her tizzy.

"Where is he now?" Relena asked sadly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't know, but we'll find him, Relena. Don't worry, I'm sure one of the pilots will tell Heero what really happened and that you still care for him. It was a harmless kiss and there's nothing you can do about it now. Go and get some sleep," Hilde said gently as she walked Relena to her room.

Duo was listening to the girls the whole time, hiding behind a corner. He hated to see Relena in this state. She was no longer her strong, determined self, but rather a nervous wreck. He had noticed her weakening ever since Heero had arrived at the palace. "I've got to find Heero and help patch things up," thought Duo as he ran off to look for his troubled friend.