Rain poured from the dreary grey sky as people huddled under umbrellas, papers, or hopped beneath awning to awning, doing whatever necessary to avoid getting wet as they hurried along as quick as they could to their destination. In the midst of all the rushed chaos five young men strolled along under the security of their umbrellas, minding their own as one of them animatedly spoke to the rest of the group.

"And then all the sudden she came swooping down out of nowhere! Whoosh, bam!" Duo shouted, swinging his umbrella down like a sword. "And then her boomerang went flying!" He flung his umbrella in a random direction to emphasize what he was describing, but failed to notice the handle was now slick from rain. Slipping from his fingers, it whacked Wufei in the face.

"Maxwell," he growled through grit teeth, eye twitching with irritation as he glared at the long haired brunette who fumbled to gather his belonging.

"Sorry…?" He nervously laughed as he quickly held it over his head once more to block the rain.

"There was no harm done Wufei, I doubt an umbrella could really be your undoing." Quatre laughed, quickly interjecting before their enraged comrad could respond to their lively friend.

"I think the bigger concern would be if it was." Trowa chuckled softly in an attempt to try and ease the tension. Wufei scoffed at his words. There was no way such a flimsy item would be the end of him, even if in the hands of another former gundam pilot like Duo Maxwell.

"Are you saying I would be find my end by such a pathetic item such as that idiot's umbrella Barton?" He narrowed his eyes at the taller brunette who gave a small smile and shook his head.

"Not at all." He simply replied, looking up to see the crossing sign change to a stop. Placing his arm out, he stopped a backwards walking Duo from carelessly walking out onto the street.

"Oh woah, thanks man!" Duo quickly turned about to look where he was going. Wufei rolled his eyes, muttering something about stupidity which only led them down yet another rabbit hole of trouble.

As this went on, Heero glanced down at his wristwatch. It looked like he would be a little late returning to his apartment. Adjusting to regular civilian life was certainly a challenge. A far tougher one that he had originally anticipated, but he was managing well in his opinion. In the beginning it was very annoying, mundane yet hectic in its own respect but that was how he had come around to meeting her.
"Yo, Heero are you listening?" Duo waved his hand in front of the stoic brunettes face effectively snapping him out of his thoughts, but also triggering his trained response to react. Heero grabbed the hand tight and was about to twist it behind the assailant but was quick to recognize it was his friend and simply released it. Duo barely flinched at the response, fully understanding of it since he too would have done the same.

"Yes…?"

"Are you answering or are you asking me if you're listening?" Duo pouted at the lackluster response.

"You're spacing out again. That's been happening quite a lot lately," Quatre noted with a frown. "Are you sure nothing is bothering you?" He asked, the other pilots slowing to a stop to give their attention to Heero incase he needed it.
"Yeah, it's nothing." He ran his fingers through his hair, casually looking up at the sky from the edge of his umbrella. He knew they were watching him, so he carefully picked his next words. "I'm just tired from today." This was an answer he had given many times before to which they usually left him be after.

"How are you tired? We barely do anything anymore!" Duo scowled, not about to let him slide this time. "Yeah, we help people and that, but like clients are boring as hell in comparison to what we used to do…." His voice trailed off as as he adjusted his umbrella. Heero knew he was right. They all knew he was right. They were soldiers trying to play house until they were able to do it without thought.

"Not the tired I'm talking about," he lightly shook his head and fell silent once more as he tried to carefully pick his next words. He was not really sure how to explain it to them. "I'm tired in a different sense." He sighed, unable to really come up with anything more. Now that he was thinking about it, he was not as tired as usual even though he was still clocking in and out of a boring morning to night job that has done nothing for him. He went from a trigger pulling rebel soldier to a sedentary pencil pusher. The only thing that differed from before and now was his tenant: Raina Sanverse.
She had come into his life when Duo and him shared an apartment. The rent had gone up again and they needed some money to help cover the additional cost. They were not due for a raise any time soon either and the salary they made was almost laughable in comparison for the simple two bedroom place they had. She had come not too long after the ad was placed. She was very different in comparison to the women they came to know. She was not a soldier and was always ready to help out and give in extra if needed, a habit Duo used to take advantage of whenever could though it was hardly out of malice.
Heero, on the other hand, ignored her and everything about her existence at first. It was not hard to pick up on her daily routine, but there was no need for him to know anymore. She was a temporary tennant and would be gone sooner or later. He had thought sooner being that she was living with them, but she had become someone permanent when Duo and Hilde finally decided they wanted to live together.

Her actions were confusing, her reactions questionable and all of which was uncommon or lacked any sense of 'normal' to the average person. He was able to understand the action for face value, the why was what always eluded him. There were many different paths she could have taken, possibly should have taken; in many situations with benefits outweighing the costs and yet she hardly ever gave it any thought. In the end, he left her to her own devices. He was never going to interact with her anymore than necessary even after Duo. Or so he thought, until one day he was left in the apartment alone with this girl. Duo and Hilde had some appointment to look at places, and neither he nor she had any plans. It was that day he had realized he not given much thought to her, so much so that he had not even remembered her name.

She was lying on the couch upside down reading a book listening to music from her phone. It was an odd sight, but he had grown accustomed to it after living with her for so long. The why began to nag at the back of his mind and he finally decided to confront her. He caught her attention by standing in front of her and she looked up from her book. From there, the entire day was spent talking. How or why, he was not sure. He was not exactly all that talkative and yet it just did. He found out alot about her and even shared a little about his own private world. He even laughed at some jokes and overall enjoyed the time with her. After that, they spent the days together-either alone or with Duo if he was around. From casually shopping or going around town to just lazing about doing nothing, they enjoyed the time together even on days they barely interacted with one another. He would be on his laptop or something while she either drew or read.

The company of the other was all that truly mattered and hers was refreshing and different. She had become someone important to his life, slowly and steadily making each day a little more worthwhile even after Duo had moved out.

"Ah, I see! Feeling lonely are we?" Duo nudged him lightly. "Cause you know, since Raleena and you aren't really going anywhere and all Hilde actually knows-." He was cut off by a silent hand raised telling him to stop.

"I'm not looking Duo, so stop pushing it." He flatly stated and walked ahead. The others looked amongst each other and shrugged knowing that once he ended the topic there was no way of getting him to talk.

One by one they turn towards their own residences, bidding their friends goodnight until finally Heero was left alone at his door. A small smile curled on his lips at the thought of relaxing and just being with someone else. He loved hanging with the boys though he would never really say it but, being with them all day almost every day was a bit annoying too.

Letting himself in with his key, Heero was greeted by the usual sight of Rain upside down reading on the couch. He silently watched her for a moment, closing the door quietly behind him as he let himself enjoy the moment.
"Hey Raina,"

"Oh, hey Heero…!" She quickly rolled upright, pulling out her earbuds as she shut off her music. "Sadly I lost the groceries on the way home…instant noodles okay with you?" She grinned nervously, scratching her head. He raised a brow in question at how and she instantly dove into an epic description of her fight in the market to get the ingredients, losses and victories that led to her torture in the sluggish lanes. She then described her great feeling of freedom and pride but that all came crashing down like a wave as she was shoved by someone and the food was either spilled out and drowned in a dirty watery puddle grave or crushed by a car leaving the parking lot. He silently stood there as Raina tried her best to figure out what lay behind his perfect poker face. He was amused by the variety of emotions she was able to show and before he knew it he was cracking up in laughter. Only she seemed to have this luck and only she was able make it sound so grand. Raina was a bit surprised by the sudden laughter, having thought he was upset from how stone faced he was. She had thought she finally put the straw that broke the camel's back but his laughter clearly assured otherwise. She soon was laughing as well, relieved he was not upset.
"Yeah, instant noodles is fine." He finally replied after calming down and she happily start to boil some water. Yeah…this is why I put up with my job. He smiled as he watched her for a little as she earnestly try and make the best instant noodles possible before heading into the kitchen to help her.