"Did you hear?" the blonde demanded excitedly. "We're getting a new member on the team today!"

One of the two brunets also disrobing in the room raised an eyebrow, a silent question. Of the four men in the tiny locker room, the final two exchanged uncertain glances.

The blonde, apparently the most talkative of the four, continued on, "Apparently he's really good at his work, and he's really gorgeous!" One of the brunets draped his arms around the blonde's waist possessively, but the smaller boy kept on blithely, leaning back on the strong support of the brunet at his back. "He's supposed to arrive this evening, after supper. Dunno where they're gonna put him, though." He shot a glance at the remaining brunet and the slender Chinese man. "You two have your own doubles, and me and Trowa share, but there aren't any empties between the four of us. Wonder where he'll go. Usually it depends on skills—like rooming with like."

A quiet moment passed as they all sorted through their respective lockers for something relatively clean to pull on over their nude bodies. Finally, when it appeared the blonde had finished his ramblings, the short-haired brunet grunted, "What's his?"

"His?" The blonde turned confused green eyes upon the speaker as he echoed the word. Trowa, the long-haired brunet, dropped a t-shirt over the blonde's wavy locks, temporarily blocking his view. The younger boy grinned and pulled the shirt on correctly.

"Skills," the Chinese man answered for the brunet. "What are his?"

"Whose?" The blonde blinked blankly at him while fending off playful attacks from the Trowa.

"The new guy."

"Oh." He brightened, turning to face the other two while still defending himself. "He's the new medic. Wonder where they'll put him?" His piece said, the cheery blonde bounced out of the locker room, rubbing a towel against his still-damp locks, clean from the showers.

The other three men exchanged glances and slammed the metal doors closed, following him cautiously.

-----

"Going somewhere?" Chang Wufei raised an eyebrow and glanced pointedly at the full-to-overflowing plastic crate in the arms of his teammate Yuy Heero.

Heero nodded. "5D."

The Chinese man stiffened, the only indication of his annoyance. His voice betrayed no change of emotion. "That's my room. And that's your stuff."

"Hn." Heero brushed past him and stalked darkly into the indicated room. Unceremoniously he dropped the crate onto the mattress of the newly-made bed on the unoccupied side of the room. His mouth tightened when the springs in the mattress upset the carefully packed crate. An inaudible sigh escaped his lips as he bent to retrieve the scattered books.

He sensed more than saw the person standing in the doorway behind him. Years of training together, working together, risking their lives for one another had helped to develop a bond between the two men. Heero answered the unasked question without thinking. "Medic."

Wufei stormed out of the room in a movement that was so dignified and graceful it could barely be called storming. While he wasn't one to complain or whine, he had ways of making his displeasure known.

Early afternoon sunshine streamed in through the open curtains. Heero abandoned unpacking and putting away his belongings to move to the window. The lovebirds of the group, Quatre and Trowa, lay sprawled beneath the single sakura tree on the lawn, Quatre happily stretched out in Trowa's lap as the latter played with the blonde's hair and read a book. It had seemed only natural that two of the four had become so close; Heero's only problem with it was that nearly everyone else on this base seemed to think that he and Wufei needed the same kind of companionship—in each other. This roommate situation appeared to be nothing more than their latest not-so-subtle plot to set the two up, with the poor new medic being used as a convenient excuse to take away Heero's room. Heero envied the happiness Quatre and Trowa shared: he just didn't think he could find that happiness with Wufei. He liked the other man well enough, but not romantically.

Quatre's bombshell of the new member after morning workout had made him think, and the scenario of him and Wufei becoming roommates hadn't gone un-thought-of, but he hadn't particularly wanted to pursue it, either.

Why do we need another member, anyway? he thought moodily. We all have medical training, and we only have four Gundams. Unless Wufei and I are to time-share that, too, I don't see why. Heero wasn't usually one to question orders, but this one particularly annoyed him.

The rest of the afternoon was spent moving his belongings into the other half of Wufei's room. Organizing them into some semblance of order kept him locked in the small room until well after dark. When he finally sat back on his haunches on the bedspread, his books satisfactorily arranged by topic, and glanced at his watch, he was startled to note that it was well after midnight. Where was his new roommate, and why hadn't he noticed the time elapsing? The aching in his knees from sitting in such an uncomfortable position for hours on end attested to the time. The only way to soothe the pain was to walk it off, he supposed, so he stood and stretched, then left the room.

The hallways were uncharacteristically empty and hushed. The pure stillness of the air was unnerving, and the pain in his knees was soon forgotten. The base was silent. His stomach twisted with unease. Unconsciously his footsteps lengthened and his pulse quickened. His eyes darted here and there, into offices and training rooms, hoping to catch a glimpse of somebody, anybody, but all were empty. His soldier training held his panic at bay, but how could hundreds of people just up and disappear?

Suddenly the silence was broken by a raucous laughter. Cool relief flushed through his veins and he stepped towards the cafeteria. As the door swung open the earsplitting ruckus nearly bowled him over. After the deafening silence, the pure noise was a welcome relief. His eyes swept over the people crowded into the cafeteria. His three partners stood out immediately, even in the sea of soldiers. They were huddled around a fourth, a smaller boy. His friends were laughing, but even from this distance Heero could see that the new boy's face was a bright red. The new boy turned away from the three of them and signaled to one of the wait staff for another drink.

Heero made his way to the small group. Wufei caught his glance and nodded at the new guy, but Quatre and Trowa didn't even see him come in. They glanced up, startled, when he spoke.

"What, a party and I wasn't even invited?"

Quatre grinned and took another drink of his soda. "We didn't even notice you weren't here!" He handed his mug to Trowa, then jumped up and attacked Heero with a bear hug. "I missed you!"

Heero patted his head and glanced over his head at Trowa with a raised eyebrow. "What did you guys put in his drink?"

Trowa shrugged. "Nothing much. The Docs gave us tomorrow off on account of the celebration."

"Celebration?"

Wufei pointed at the fourth still leaning at the bar. "Medic."

Heero looked at the new guy. A long, chocolate braid hung down his back, peeking out from under his cap. He was dressed all in black, with a silver chain around his neck. The boy leaned on the counter, his head down. His chest expanded and contrasted slowly, suggesting sleep.

"Is he drunk?" Heero asked.

Trowa shrugged. "I wouldn't think so, he hasn't been drinking."

Quatre sprang away from Heero and launched himself at the new guy. Trowa caught him halfway there and wrapped him in his arms. The blond wiggled a bit until he pushed Trowa's arms around his waist rather than his arms, then leaned over and nudged the new guy's shoulder. In the noise of the party going on around them, he had to yell to be heard. "Oy! New-guy-chan, wake up!"

The boy lying draped across the bar stiffened, stretching, then slowly pulled himself up, turning around at the same time. "Hn?" His eyes scanned the faces of the three he knew, but when he came to Heero, he stopped.

Heero sucked in a quick, quiet breath. The boy's eyes were the clearest, most beautiful shade of violet he'd ever seen. Wide and innocent looking, they dominated his round face. Soft chocolate hair framed his face, pressed down by his hat. When he stood, Heero's eyes traveled the length of his body, from his shoulders to his toes. The boy's waist was narrow, his hips slender. He seemed small and frail. When the boy spoke, Heero was startled by the strength in his voice, so uncharacteristic with his body type.

"Howdy. You must be Heero, right?"

"Hn."

"I'm Maxwell Duo. I guess I'm the new member on the team, ne?"

Something about the new member annoyed Heero. At the same time he found the boy entrancing, he also found him frustrating. Exactly what irritated him he couldn't place his finger on, but there was something there… He stared coolly at him.

"Just because the Docs assigned you to our group does not make you a member of the team. We can do fine without you." His piece said, he nodded at his other teammates and stalked away from the party.