Chapter one:

The First Meeting

"What are you going to do now, boy," he'd asked him after the end of the war. "What are you going to do, now that you are no longer needed?"

Heero kicked a loose pebble with the toe of his foot. He'd had no answer for the question, Dr. J had given him. It had never crossed his mind before. That one day he would no longer be needed. He was of no use in a peace filled community.

Lifting his head, Heero paused on the bridge that crossed a small stream that split the park into two parts. The stream led down to a lake where couples rowed their boats across it. It seemed like it would have been a nice experience, but Heero wouldn't know. He'd never done it before.

Continuing on, he went back to wandering again. He couldn't say he had ever been to Japan before, his home origins. That is until, now. That was where he had gone to, after the destruction of the Gundams. He'd given the others no address, he had none to give, and had given no number in which to reach him either. He'd given his up.

He was alone, there was no Dr. J to give him missions, no Relena Peacecraft to demand his attention, and no Gundam Pilots to worry over him. It was just him and his thoughts. It was perfect, he concluded, finally understanding why he had stayed here longer than he had planned on to. It was because he could hear children laughing and playing, he could smell the blooming flowers, before the fall that was quickly approaching, and would inevitably ended their life, and he felt no obligation to do anything, at any given time.

These days were so much different from when there had been a war. He could only watch transfixed by it all. He'd never seen anything like it. There was no fear here, just joy.

Heero paused again. He'd stepped off the paved walkway and now stood in freshly cut grass, looking out over the lake that glistened in the sun's rays. It was glorious, the sky was not covered in smog, the air here was fresh and clear. The sun was warm against the backs of his arms. Not only was it sunny out today, it was comfortably warm out as well.

Holding his jacket with a crook of his index finger, he tossed it over his shoulder and lifted his head, his eyes closing to bask in the warmth. It was like being suspended, floating in an endless nothingness. Like floating out in space.

The ground beneath his feet vanished, he felt light, weightless. The sounds of birds chirping and children laughing faded to silence. It was peaceful, enticing, he felt like he could just fade away, disappear like heated water lifting up into the atmosphere.

"Sir," a voice shattered the silence, bringing him back to the ground. Opening his eyes, he looked over at where the voice had come from.

She stood slightly on the pathway behind him, and her face was lit with a bright smile. He was several feet away from her, from where he stood near the lake's shoreline, and he had to wonder why he had thought she was talking to him. No one had ever noticed him before. "I'm sorry to bother you sir," she continued and he could tell now that she was indeed talking to him.

Turning to face her, he regarded the young woman carefully. Most people tended to ignore him when he came here. "I was wondering, would u mind me sitting there next to you," she inquired further. Heero looked to where she pointed and noticed for the first time that there was a bench next to him. He shook his head, since he did not plan to stay in the one spot for too much longer.

She smiled gratefully now, and with a sigh of great relief, wheeled what he could now see was a stroller to the bench next to him. "Thank you so much," she replied. "My feet are just killing me." She fell into the seat and with a newspaper she had brought with her, began to fan her face with it. "I really didn't mean to intrude," she said to him. "You can just pretend we're not even here."

Heero looked to the stroller and saw a small child snuggled in a mass of pink blankets inside. Standing very still, he watched the two from the corner of his eyes. He was curious he had to admit, about how a mother and child interacted.

"What a good girl, you've been Chibi Usa," she crooned, her features softening as she pulled back the blankets. The child was actually a baby he realized. She couldn't have been any older than a few months. "Look at our little girl, Mamoru."

Heero glanced around, wondering who she was speaking to, but saw no one nearby. "She's beautiful," the woman continued to say, lifting the baby up from beneath the arms. She held the baby out towards the lake as if to offer her as a gift. Then gently, she cradled the baby in her arms and rocked her back and forth. "He died you know," she started speaking too him again. "In a car crash, two months after we'd been married."

He knew now that she was speaking to him, but Heero did not acknowledge her in the slightest. Instead he continued to stare out at the lake. "I was barely a month pregnant with Chibi Usa, when it happened, he's been driving home, after a long day at work." she sighed with what he knew to be sadness, but there was still a smile on her face as she looked down at her daughter.

From the corner of his eye, he watched her closely, trying to figure out why she continued to speak to him, despite the fact that he was out right ignoring her. She lifted her head then and looked at him. For some strange reason, he felt his face burn, when her eyes locked with his. He felt as if he's been just caught spying on her.

"I'm Tsukino-Chiba Usagi," she said, her smile soft, but inviting. "This is my daughter, Chiba, Chibi Usagi."

The young woman caught her lip between her teeth, when it started to quiver. "Mamoru, he was my husband, he thought we should name her after me, since she looks so much like me."

Usagi lifted the baby, so that he could see the tiny face. "She doesn't seem to mind it much," she continued to say.

Before he realized what he was doing, Heero found himself sitting down on the bench next to her. In doing so, he brought another smile to her face. "I try to come here as often as possible. Especially in the summer time," she went on saying. "They've really made this place beautiful."

Heero looked around them, but made no comment of agreement. "My parents are letting me stay with them, you know, being a single mom and all," she said, changing the subject suddenly. "But I'm saving up to buy my own place. I think I need to."

"A girl needs some freedom, even one with a baby," she added as an afterthought. "But my friends are always calling and checking-" she sighed, and a frown suddenly formed on her lovely face. "Would you," she started to say as something began to ring. He looked at the baby she had thrust at him. "Please before the phone wakes her."

Heero took the baby and held her awkwardly, as Usagi fished out a cell phone. "Yes Rei," she said as a greeting. "I'm at the park, yes again for the third time this week."

Heero frowned when the baby, who'd been asleep up until now, opened her eyes. A pair of cinnamon red eyes looked up at him with an innocent gaze. He'd never held a baby before now. The only thing he felt though, was worry. She felt so fragile in his arm, he was scared he might break her with just the slightest grip.

She made a slight noise and bubbles formed from her lips. "I think she likes you," Usagi suddenly said. Looking over, he found that she'd moved closer to him and was looking at Chibi Usa. "Thank you," she added and took the baby from his arms. "I think you'll make a great father some day."

Heero was startled by the comment. "You don't believe me," she asked, mistaking his surprised expression for one of disbelief. "Well I'm right, you know. You'll see, once you find the right girl for you, and you two have a kid." She was nodding her head at him as she said this. Then reluctantly she placed the baby back into the stroller.

"Well I must go," she said sadly. "It was nice meeting you." Usagi stood and pushed the stroller forward. "Maybe, I'll see you around. Take care of yourself."

And then she left him alone.

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All my life I've been looking for a rainbow
I was starting to think that I was color blind
You walked in the room and there's my pot of gold
And I can just leave everything behind
All this time I've been running round in circles
I was starting to think that I would lose my mind
but you came along and pulled me from the danger
Its a merry go round and I don't want to get off this ride.

You got to me without a warning
You got to me when I had nowhere to go
Now I see the color in the night
In black and white
I can't remember how I used to be
And I can't get outta bed but I can dream
You got to me
You got to me

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This is my little Christmas romance I thought I would put up. Its not very long, only three chapters. I will update again Saturday and then Monday.

I hope this story is to your liking, it was an idea I had been tossing around and finally decided to write it.

LP