Disclaimer: All characters are property of Sunrise, Bandai, and a whole host of other people who I couldn't begin to name. This work of fiction is for entertainment purposes only, and not meant for sale or profit.
One
The mirror is useful. It hangs over the sink in the bathroom, and allows me to brush my teeth and wash my face in the morning with much increased efficiency. It is set in the door of the medicine cabinet which houses the majority of the medications that we keep in the house-gauze, bandages, and a variety of medications which range from simple antihistamines to extremely powerful painkillers.
In the mirror, I can see that my eyes are the same deep blue color as those of Relena Peacecraft. Prussian blue.
My vision is 20/20. So is Relena's. Same color, same strength. Our eyes are the same, but we see the world so differently. Strange.
I wonder what her bathroom looks like. Ours is more than adequate-Quatre was most generous in opening his home to us after the war. The sink and tub are thick black marble-the color serves quite well to camouflage the dull grey of the gun on the counter next to my toothbrush.
My toothbrush is blue. Duo picked it out. It matched my eyes, he said.
I gave Duo a toothbrush, too. I couldn't find any toothbrushes that matched his eyes, and the saleswoman flatly refused to special order one in crystalline indigo. So I chose a red one instead. A bright color, like Duo is bright. Shiny red plastic. I thought that it looked cheerful. Like cherries. Like the balloons that little kids tow around in the park.
"Perfect for Shinigami" Duo said when he saw it. "Just the color of blood".
Red. Blood. I hadn't thought of that.
I wish that Duo hadn't said it. Now whenever I look at his cheerful red toothbrush, all I can think of is blood.
The mirror is useful for another reason too. In it, I can see the doorknob behind me start to turn. If it is an attacker, I can dive into the thick black marble bathtub in order to fire on them. The sides are quite high.
It's not an attacker, it's Duo. He's not at his best in the morning-his eyes are half closed, and even his braid looks sleepy. He's not carrying a gun, I can tell. Careless Duo. What if someone attacked you?
But Duo doesn't want to fight anymore, doesn't want to kill. He wants peace, too.
It used to be that Duo was a kind of peace. Listening to him, I could forget about Oz and missions and all of the lives that hung so heavy around my neck. I could pretend that I was just a regular kid. The kind who went to school and did homework and kicked ass in basketball.
The kind who could "like" someone in the typical adolescent sense of the word.
Suki da. I like you; I want to be with you.
I want to tangle both my hands in your long hair and kiss you. I want to sink into your beautiful eyes and be lost. I want to religiously observe the stupid anniversaries of dating: first kiss, one week, one month…
I want to work my way up to an Aishiteru.
Wanted. I wanted that. I wanted that with you, Duo.
But now…
Duo stumbles past me bleary eyed, smears his red plastic toothbrush with toothpaste and shoves it into his mouth. He sees me in the mirror, and grins around a mouthful of foam.
He's still so beautiful. So bright and cheerful. Like the color red. Shiny and happy like red toy balloons and sweet red cherries and hot copper blood on the battlefield.
I stalk out of the bathroom before he has a chance to spit out his mouthful of toothpaste and talk to me. I have things to do today. I want to go to the store and get a present for Relena. I want to get her a toothbrush.
A blue one.
Like her eyes.