Ninmu Kanryou
Heero walked up the two short steps to Trowa's trailer, holding the bouquet of white roses before him, almost like a shield.
'Concentrate on the mission. The mission is the only thing that matters.'
He raised his hand and knocked firmly three times on the door. He hoped Catherine wasn't there.
'Only the mission.'
There was movement in the trailer and Heero took a deep breath.
'The mission.'
Trowa opened the door and looked at him.
'Mission.'
Heero held up the bouquet like a sacrificial offering, straining to keep his face blank. 'If he refuses . . .' Heero shoved those thoughts away as Trowa looked down at the roses, then back up at him. Without a word he took the bouquet, nodded, turned around and closed the door.
Heero walked slowly down the steps and back to the car he'd 'borrowed' from someone. Once inside, he breathed a sigh of relief.
'Ninmu kanyrou.'
* * *
Two days later Heero walked into he and Duo's room. Duo was on his bed, reading a manga and listening to music on headphones. He glanced up at Heero.
"You got a present!" he half-shouted.
'His music is on too high,' Heero thought, 'hn'ing and setting his bag on his bed. He turned to go to his computer and paused, then turned back to the bed. Sitting on his pillow was a large black teddy bear, the tips of its fur and silk bottoms of its paws red. Under it was a golden heart-shaped box. Heero cautiously picked up the bear and examined the box. There was a card on it, and Heero picked it up and read it:
'To: Heero
From: T'
Heero opened the box. It was full of bite-sized chocolates. He held the bear to his chest, a small, barely perceptible smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Whatcha get? Who's it from?" Duo leaned over the side of the bunk bed, grinning.
"Nothing. No one."
Duo rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. A teddy bear and a box of chocolates is hardly 'nothing,' and someone had to have sent them to you." A Look crossed Duo's face. "It wasn't Relena, was it?"
Heero shook his head, sitting on his bed and burying his face in the bear's soft fur. It even smelled like Trowa.
"Oh, good." Duo breathed a sigh of relief. "Who was it? Tell me tell me tell me!" He looked at Heero upside down, face reddening as the blood rushed to his head. "Pleeeeeaaaaase?"
Heero pet the bear gently and shook his head.
"Aw, damn." Duo sat up and put his headphones back on.
* * *
The next day the pilots met at one of Quatre's estates to discuss their next mission. Duo and Heero were late, due to Duo having to fix his hair and choose an outfit. They were shown to the grand living room, where the other three pilots were either sitting or standing around the room.
Heero's gaze automatically found Trowa and he gave a slight nod to the taller pilot. Trowa nodded slightly in return, making room on the couch for Heero, while Duo poked around the room. Quatre followed, taking expensive items out of Duo's hands and placing them carefully back as Duo chatted about the upcoming dance. Heero sat next to Trowa, holding a small daisy he'd picked carefully in his hand. Trowa looked at him out of the corner of his eye, faintly curious.
"Oh, wow! Is this real crystal? Can I hold it? What does it do?"
"Yes, Duo, now please put it down. It's very expensive. It doesn't do anything." Quatre tried to take the crystal sculpture from Duo, but he turned away.
"Is it edible?"
"No." Quatre glared at Duo.
"Everything's edible!" Duo winked at Quatre.
"Not this."
"Oh, sure it is!"
Quatre tried a different approach. His large eyes widened, filling with tears as his lower lip trembled. "Duo, it's really important to me and," Quatre sniffed, "and I'd be really sad if you broke it, even on accident, so could you please put it down?" He moved close to Duo and touched the brown-haired boy's arm lightly, giving Duo his best pity-me-I'm-cute-and-defenseless look.
Heero turned partly to Trowa and placed the daisy on the taller boy's leg. Trowa picked it up gently and nodded, hand softly touching Heero's.
"Ack! Not fair! Not the Cute Attack!" Duo scowled and put the sculpture back.
Quatre gave Duo a brilliant smile. "Thank you, Duo! Now, Heero has the orders, so . . ."
Heero unrolled a map and placed it on the coffee table as the pilots crowded around him. Trowa sat forward, leg pressed firmly against Heero's as Heero began to outline the mission.
* * *
Heero narrowed his eyes and jerked Wing to the left, bringing his beam gun up and blasting the enemy Leo. "Duo, watch your back!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Deathscythe took out three fighters. "Are they done yet?"
As if in reply, the OZ base they'd been attacking blew up, the Quatre's voice came on line.
"We have it. Let's go!"
Duo war-whooped. "Yeah! Go Quatre! Score one for the Arabians! That's --- HEERO, WATCH YOUR BACK!!!!"
Heero was already bringing Wing into a steep dive to avoid the Aires attacking him, but he was a fraction of a second too late. The mobile suit crashed into him at full speed, pushing him down to the earth as it pinned Wing's arms to the side. Heero cursed, looking at his screens. The other three were too far away to help, but where was Heavyarms?
One hundred feet from the ground the Aires jerked, the let go of Wing as it was sliced in half. Heavyarms caught Wing in its arms, slowing Heero's descent.
"Are all systems operational?" Trowa's voice held a vague hint of emotion as Heero checked his Gundam over.
"Yes. Thank you."
Trowa let Wing go --- a bit reluctantly, Heero thought --- as they rejoined the others.
"Thanks for saving Heero, Trowa! Can't have the Perfect Soldier dead, now, can we?" Duo's voice was cheerful as ever. "Can we go home now?"
Heero looked over at Heavyarms and smiled faintly. "Yes, Duo. Ninmu kanryou."
* * *
"What do you want?"
Heero looked at the array of prizes, standing close to Trowa. " . . . I don't care." He watched Trowa pay for the game, leaning against the stall as Trowa threw the darts. Every one of the balloons popped, and Heero smiled faintly.
Trowa looked over at him. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
Heero nodded. "Yes. The circus is . . . fun." He pointed to a large penguin. "That one."
Trowa smiled faintly and nodded to the woman managing the stall. She got the penguin down and handed it to Trowa, who turned and gave it to Heero. The two boys wandered around the circus for a while before they decided to get some dinner. They found a food stall and ordered, sitting at one of the outside tables.
Heero propped his head in his hands and watched Trowa eat, a feeling of possessiveness washing over him. 'Trowa really is beautiful,' he thought to himself. 'And he's, almost, mine.' That made Heero smile as Trowa looked up.
"What is it?"
Heero shook his head, reaching hesitantly across the table and taking Trowa's hand. "Nothing."
Trowa smiled a bit and grasped Heero's hand firmly. "Well, I hope you keep thinking nothing, then. It makes you smile, and you have a beautiful smile."
Heero felt an unfamiliar flush creep up his neck and looked down at the table. "You have a wonderful smile, too," he mumbled. "You should laugh more, too."
That earned him a soft chuckle and he looked back up. Trowa's smile had widened a bit. "You think so?" Trowa's cheeks were a little red, too.
Heero nodded, squeezing Trowa's hand softly. "I know so."
Trowa nodded. "I'll work on it."
* * *
"What's this?" Trowa looked around the room, a bit bewildered.
Heero bit the inside of his lip nervously. "I didn't know when your birthday was, so I asked Cathrine. She gave me an approximate date. Do you . . . like it?" 'Please like it,' he begged silently.
Trowa walked around, looking at the small cake and few presents Heero had barely managed to buy, then turned back to Heero and smiled.
"I like it. Thank you."
* * *
"You've never been kissed?"
Trowa shook his head.
"Would you like to try?"
Heero's heart skipped a beat or two as Trowa nodded, leaning forward slightly.
Heero leaned forward as well and pressed his lips softly to Trowa's. They stayed that way for a minute or so, then the two pilots sat back. They both smiled slightly, looking into each other's eyes, then they curled up on the couch with their arms around each other as the television announced the end of the war.
"Ninmu kanryou," Heero whispered.