Leaves of Autumn

by Furor Scribiendi

3/5 - "The life of a soldier is the worst I can think of. Be glad for whatever is bothering you; it pales so much in a much larger scope of things."

A/N: The third one, finally! I am on a roll here!! Considering the hellishness of school and my little sister and her freaky doll *my theory is that it will kill me in my sleep à la Chucky* I think I'm doing pretty well. And yes, I am working on other chapters. ^^

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Leaves of Autumn

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Trinity walked into the crowded cafeteria, searching for Morgan's striking red head. 'Where could she be?' She frowned as she continued on, seeing the usual black, brown and blond heads; it was bad enough that she was stuck with teachers that let her out later than everyone else. Finally hearing Amber's loud indignated voice, she made her way over, finding her seated with her current annoyance.

"Look Wufei, must you make this more difficult? Just do what I said. I can't do it; I'd only screw it up!"

"There's something that's not a stretch for you onna." the jet haired boy snorted.

"Hey, there you are Amber, aren't you gonna eat lunch with me today?" Trinity said as she intervened as Amber's face started to flush red.

"Fine." Amber scooped up all her books and dumped them into her bag. "I'm done with this jackass anyways."

Trinity repressed her smile of amusement as she stalked away from the table. "So wanna go out for lunch today? Maybe go for take out?"

"Fine." Amber said in a curt voice. "Come on."

"You really shouldn't let him rile you, you know." Trinity said in a doctor-like, and in a jokingly bossy, tone. "Anger is detrimental to your health."

"Yes doctor."

She smiled as they headed out for the parking lot. "Hey, so you know where Morgan is today?"

"At my place; we were up late studying for that test and I didn't want to wake her up this morning."

"That sucks. I have to give her back the Coles Notes for that English book."

"Just swing by later and give it to her."

"Yeah." she replied somewhat absently as she got into Amber's car. "Look Amber; remember when I first moved here?"

"Yup; you said that you weren't sure how long you were staying in the area. Why?"

"Well...ah..." Trinity paused as she turned the words over in her head; each version sounded horrible. "My dad got a transfer."

"Oh." Amber was silent for a few minutes. "Where to?"

"Um...Singapore."

"Singapore?!" Amber looked over at her in shock. "Jesus, have you seen the price to call Singapore?!"

"Look, don't be mad, please-"

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad because the phone company already sucks away a good chunk of my money every month, the damn vultures, and I have the basic package. Yeesh..."

"You mean you'd call me?"

"What? And leave you all isolated and alienated like that? Of course not." Amber paused as she tapped the steering wheel with her fingers, waiting for the light. "Have you told the others yet?"

"No; you're the first one." Trinity paused as she watched the buildings go flying past when the light turned green. "Don't tell the others yet. I still want to see if I can work something out with my parents that would let me stay here."

"All right. When do you leave anyways?"

"In a few weeks, four to six I think."

"Does that mean you might not be coming to the grad formal?"

"Idiot," Trinity shook her head. "I swear, I still can't figure out how you can be so smart and so dumb at the same time. You're like a little kid, you know that?"

"It's a family trait." she said in light voice. "Ah, here we go. Old Man Wong's place."

"Here? That guy doesn't like us you know. He's so cantankerous." she looked out and through the window to see the immaculately clean windows and tables.

"But he likes us; gives us special discounts when we come for lunch. We can't disappoint him." Amber said as she got out. "Shall we?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trinity glanced up at the bright blue sky as she walked along the sidewalk. 'These autumn days get cold so fast.' She pulled her jacket closer around her. The clear October sky was beguiling with its clarity. There was a definite bite to the wind. 'I should have let Amber drop me off at home. But no, I had to walk and stretch my muscles.' She turned down the street, taking out her gloves and putting them on before she shoved her hands in her pocket. 'It was so warm yesterday, what happened?'

She lapsed into complete silence as she walked own the street, the buildings thinning out as they gave way to a large bare field enclosed by a somewhat derelict fence, the sparse clumps of grass evident against the brown of the ground. She paused looking at the fence before she walked up to it and crawled over it. The field was never used whatever it was for; plus taking this route would shave about fifteen minutes off.

"Why don't they ever use it? It's a good piece of land. They could start to build something and get the economy going; they're always complaining about that."

Shaking her head, she continued on, sometimes, some people didn't know what they wanted. She watched her feet kick up little clouds of dust and they settled back down. 'It's a nice day despite the coldness.' She paused as an almost eerie sort of silence wrapped around the field. Looking around she could see nothing out of place.

"Freaky." she pulled her jacket closer and started walking out from the field quickly.

As if in an answering response, the sound of tires came from over the distance a plume of dust rising up. Swearing to herself, she started running; the last thing she wanted was to be charged with trespassing. Glancing back, she saw the vehicle coming out of the corner of her eye. She redoubled her efforts, the fence drawing closer. Suddenly the Jeep gave a loud squeal, cutting her off as it slid in front of her. She put a hand to her mouth as thick clouds of dust drifted past her.

"Yeesh." she coughed through the clouds. "Ever heard of 'Freeze' or 'Stop'?"

"Have you heard the term 'No trespassing'?"

She paused at the sound of the cultured voice as the final thick clouds blew away. "You could have hit me you know."

"I knew what I was doing. I wouldn't have hit you Miss."

She frowned slightly at the sight of the black calf boots and the tailored white pants. The bright red of his coat came next, the gold epaulettes gleaming in the sunlight. What didn't complete the picture was the silver mask that sat on his head, covering his upper face, with a long length of platinum blond hair resting on his shoulder and on his back. She scuffed her foot as a tense silence descended; she felt sure those eyes behind the mask were analyzing her, seeing what kind of threat she posed.

"Well then," her eyes swept across his chest, taking in the badges. "Lieutenant, I shall not keep you from your duties any longer than necessary."

Stepping to the side, she made her way to the fence; the sooner she was gone the better. She had just taken off her backpack and was about to sling it over when the man spoke again.

"Perhaps you would like a drive?"

She paused, looking back at him slowly with a somewhat wary sort of caution.

"It's the least I can do after interrupting your walk."

"You're telling me this? After I interrupted you?" she asked, seeing his lips turn up in a slightly amused smile. "I'm sure you have other things to be doing. Perhaps finding new ways to kill more soldiers?"

He shrugged, leaning back against the Jeep. "Or perhaps you should get home to do your homework."

"Of which I have none." she looked down at her watch; almost three. "But I will take you up on your offer."

She shouldered her bag, sliding into the passenger side as the lieutenant got into the driver's side and started put the vehicle in motion. The Jeep jounced along the rough ground before it pulled out onto the road, speeding away.

"Heh." she couldn't stop the sound from coming from her throat. "You drive just like my friend." she explained catching his glance. "There is a brake pedal for a reason you know."

"Duly noted." he replied. "Where are you heading?"

"Down the end of this street then make a right until you come to a stop sign then turn right again to the end of the street. My house is the large one near the end."

He nodded. "May I ask why you were trespassing?"

"I was taking a shortcut home Lieutenant..."

"Merquise."

"Lieutenant Merquise, when everything went silent so I decided to get out of there."

"A wise idea; we were about to set off the land mines. However I decided to make sure that the field was clear before we started."

"Lucky for me then." she said. Even now, she could see the stop sign coming up. 'Already? I didn't think the Grand Prix was in town.' "Maybe I should drop my habit of cutting across there then."

"It would be a wise idea. Oz has just bought it so it will be brought up to code."

"Really? Just what do you-" she paused, feeling her bag vibrate suddenly. "I'm sorry. One moment please." she rummaged around until she dragged up her cell phone. "Hello? Yes Morgan, what do you want?"

She sighed, shaking her head as she listened to Morgan prattle on about what the homework was and that their English teacher was only 'slightly' messed up. The car came to a halt, and she got out quickly, waving her thanks to him before running up to the porch.

"Listen Morgan, just come over later and we'll work this all out. All right?" she dug around for her keys and unlocked the door. "Alright then, I'll see you in a few. Bye."

She took her key out the door and opened the door. The sound of a car driving away made her turn to see Jeep finally heading back down the street. 'Hm. Back off to war and death.' Brushing it aside, she walked in and locked the door; it was none of her business anyways.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The shrill ring of the phone dragged Trinity from the warm comfortable haven of sleep. She pushed the blankets down to give the machine an evil look before she looked at the clock. 'It's six in the goddamn morning! Who gets up this early?' Groaning, she reached over and placed the earpiece to her head.

"Hello?" she said, not bothering to hide the displeasure in her voice.

"Morning Trinity!"

"Morgan," she held the phone and gave it a weird look before she placed back to her ear. "Why are you calling me this early in the morning?"

"I dunno. But I wanted to talk to someone."

She paused; it seemed that Morgan was talking unusually fast. "If you ate breakfast, what did you eat?"

"I had pancakes and waffles and Poptarts and-"

Trinity hung up the phone and buried herself back beneath the blankets; at least her bed couldn't pull any crap with her. It could only be nice, warm, soothing and oh so-

"For Pete's sake." she grumbled as the phone rang once more. "What is it?" she couldn't be bothered with 'Hello?'

"Hey Trinity!"

She immediately hung up the phone; Amber's voice had the same tone that said she only had sugar to eat. When the phone rang for a third time, she stuffed her face into the pillow wanting to scream with rage before she grabbed it.

"Look, you people need help! It's fucking six o'clock in the Goddamn morning! Is there a particular reason why you can't you let me sleep until I have to go to school at eight like a normal person?! I swear to God, if you do this ever again, I'll flay you alive and set you on fire; then you can run around screaming for the rest of your miserable pathetic existence!"

"Good morning to you as well Miss Baldassare. I trust you are up at this time?"

Trinity froze as all the blood drained from her face rapidly." Lieutenant Merquise," she managed, surprised that he was on the phone. "May I ask how you got my number and why you have called me at such an early hour?"

"I got your number from your purse; it fell out into the Jeep when you got your cell phone. I am calling now because I'll have no other opportunity to return it in the day."

"Oh." she cringed at how lame she sounded. "Well, you may as well come by now and drop it off. Since I'm up and all."

"I gathered as much." she could have sworn the Lieutenant's voice was amused. "Then I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Trinity started at the phone as the line went dead before she swallowed and hung the phone back up. She fell back into her bed, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before she got up, shrugged into her robe and slippers before heading downstairs to make herself a cup of tea. 'Just my luck, as if I didn't have enough to worry about at the moment.' She was waiting for the kettle to boil when the front door bell rang.

"How nice to see you again."

"Likewise." she replied as she opened the door.

"Your purse." he held out the small back square by its handle.

"Thank you." she said quietly taking it. "You didn't have to drive all the way here to give it back. I could have come by the base."

"It was no trouble. I hope you have a pleasant day."

She watched as he bowed slightly and started to make his way down from the porch. "Would you like a cup of tea?" she shifted slightly as he looked back at her, those blue eyes cautious. "I mean you came all this way and I doubt you had something to eat, perhaps besides army rations."

"I wouldn't want to indispose you." "No trouble. Besides," she smiled slightly as the kettle whistled loudly from the kitchen. "The water's done boiling."

"I think I shall take you up on your offer." he said coming back up the steps. "After you Miss."

Her smile grew a bit more as she walked in, locking the door after him before leading the way to the kitchen. "Make yourself comfortable. Would you like anything with your tea?"

"No thank you." he said as he seated himself at the kitchen table. "You have a very lovely home."

"Yes, it is lovely isn't it?" she looked at the room somewhat wistfully before she whisked the kettle off the stove and took out two mugs. She looked back at him questioningly.

"Two sugars, with milk."

"All right." she made the tea quickly before coming over to the table, mugs in hand with a box of cookies. "I hope you don't mind. If I don't eat sugar now, I'll never stay awake for the rest of the day."

"I don't. Thank you." he said taking his mug and taking a small sip. "Perfect."

"Thanks I guess." she said, as she promptly took a sip of hers.

A somewhat tense silence descended as they drank, somewhat unsure of what to say. Trinity took a cookie and took a bite before she sighed heavily. She looked up at the Lieutenant as he gave her a questioning look.

"I didn't make the best impression did I?" she said with a laugh. "Trespassing and then uttering death threats over the phone; you don't normally meet such "interesting" people, do you?"

"I'll have to admit, that's the first interesting death threat I've ever heard." he reached over and took a cookie. "Perhaps you are just stressed?"

"That's probably it, don't mind me. I've got a lot going on now." she said before finishing off her cookie. "As do you I suppose."

"This is a war we are in after all." he said as he took another sip. "One can't worry about what one would like to."

Trinity coughed slightly in the middle of her drink; she still did have to tell the others that she might be leaving. "People sacrifice much for war and peace."

"For war and peace?"

"They're both cyclic; one lasts longer than the other, that's all. It's somewhat useless to talk only of peace when peace comes from war and war comes from peace."

She could have sworn there was an appreciative light in his eyes. "Aren't most girls your age worried about university acceptances and what to wear for prom?"

"I suppose." she said demurely. "But if that is the case, then I know some very mature girls. Albeit weird, they are mature...in their own way. Maturity depends on the mindset, with age being a factor."

"I see."

Trinity watched the Lieutenant take a drink. "I should introduce myself more properly. My name is Trinity Baldassare." she offered her hand.

"Lieutenant Zechs Merquise." he said taking it and bringing it to his lips lightly.

She smiled as she took her hand back. "Am I to gather that I have erased my horrible first impression Lieutenant?"

"I should say so." he said with something of a smirk as he placed down his mug. "Thank you for the tea."

"Not a problem." she said walking him to the door. "And thank you for returning my purse. It would be very hard to borrow library books without my student card."

"My pleasure, Miss Baldassare."

"Just call me Trinity. I'm not one for the receiving end of formalities." she paused at the door for a minute. "I hope you have a good day."

"Likewise." he said with a small bow. "Goodbye."

She watched as he bowed and walked down the steps to the Jeep that sat by the curb. As it drove away, she shut the door with a faint smile on her face and glad for the fact that her father slept like the dead.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sunlight filtered in through the window, illuminating the pencil that was moving languidly across the page, drawing out a mindless doodle. Trinity couldn't stop her mind from playing out the conversation she had this morning, however one sided it seemed. She had felt so-

"Trinity, pay attention!" Amber's hiss was followed by a nudging elbow. "He's actually teaching today."

"What about?" she asked absently.

"Elasticity. You may want to pay attention."

"Learned it last year." she said as she continued on, absorbed in her little mental dissertation.

"Are you all right?" Amber asked as she shifted her chair imperceptibly closer. "You seem distracted."

"Just a bit. Remember when I walked home yesterday after we ate at the restaurant?" she leaned in closer as Amber nodded. "I took a shortcut through the old field and got caught."

"Why did you do that? Oz bought it and is using it for God knows what."

"You knew and didn't tell me?!"

"Well, you said that you never really take the shortcut home so I thought it of little consequence. Did you get caught?" Amber's eyes held a truly regretful expression.

"Kinda. I was escorted off the property by a Lieutenant Merquise. He didn't press charges."

"Lucky. Trinity's had a brush with the law; what would your father say?" Amber shook her head in mock drama.

"Oh don't you start with me. Just how did you know that Oz bought that land? It's not public knowledge you know, from the way they were keeping it under wraps."

"Um...ah...well...you see -"

"Come on Amber, spit it out!" she hissed fiercely, with a faint tone of triumph.

"Fine, fine. I know you'll hound me until I do. I kinda dabble in hacking and I managed to hack into the Oz system." Amber's voice was so low that Trinity had to lean in closely to hear. "That's how."

"And you wanna talk about me." Trinity said smugly. "Since I have discovered your little skeleton, do me a favour."

"Ever the opportunist aren't you? What do you want?"

"I want you to do a little research project for me. Concerning a Lieutenant Merquise."

"Really?" Amber stroked her chin thoughtfully. "All right; that I can swing."

"Is your conversation that interesting ladies?"

Trinity looked up to find the teacher standing before their desks. "Ah..."

"Yes it is actually. Trinity here was just explaining about opportunity cost to me; we read the section on elasticity already and pretty much figured it out, so we're discussing finer details to ourselves."

The teacher simply shrugged before moving back to the board and continuing on. Trinity glanced over at Amber who had a huge grin on her face before turning back to her doodles with something akin to content patience.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With a heavy sigh, Trinity scuffed her feet as she waited at the front of the school building. She couldn't help but feel sad as she watched other people mill around waiting for their friends before they went off and did something, most likely go to the mall; that's where almost everybody went when school was dismissed.

'Just why am I waiting here?' She pushed off from the brick wall and weaved her way through the crowds, sadness welling up more bitter and harsh. She had lived here for ten years, always hoping that the next day wouldn't be the one that ended it all. She knew it wasn't any good; her father had flat out refused to let her stay, and come December, she would be gone. 'Life is unfair. No, people and their interacting rationale is what makes life unfair. And it's autumn...'

"Trinity! Wait up!"

She turned around, seeing Amber and Morgan come running up to her. She looked away quickly, but didn't leave, schooling her face into a more pleasant expression; she didn't want to dump her growing anxiety on them.

"Were you gonna leave without us?" Morgan asked as she fell in step beside her.

"No; didn't you see me wait for you?" she said, managing a smile. "Or have been so blinded by a certain person?"

"You know." Amber said as she started walking down the pathway. "Cupid didn't spare her. I think he went a bit nuts with those arrows."

"I heard that." Morgan whapped Amber on the arm as she cleared her throat. "And Cupid didn't hit me with that many arrows."

"Sure Morgan," Trinity teased. "We believe you."

"Lucky for you I'm taking the bus home today."

"You aren't walking?" Amber asked, stopping.

"Nope. I feel lazy today. I'll let four wheels and a tank of gas do the work for me."

"But-" Amber said.

"It's all right. Besides, I have to talk to you in private Amber. About the thing I asked you to find for me."

"Right. All right then, later Morgan!"

Trinity and Amber continued on in silence after saying their goodbyes to Morgan. Only when they had rounded the corner did Trinity decide to speak.

"I wasn't really expecting you to have it done so soon you know; I asked you in first period class."

"But I do have it done." Amber gave her a smirk. "Still don't wanna know? Or should I simply skip the threats and tell?"

"That would be a good idea." Trinity murmured.

"All right, all right. Someone's Miss Moody today." Amber said as she shifted her backpack so it rested more comfortably on her shoulders. "Zechs Merquise is a lieutenant in the Oz organization and is due to be promoted to Lieutenant-General in a few days. He was transferred here from an L2 space colony. In terms of piloting skills, I think his title of The Lightning Count says everything you need to know. That's pretty much your Lieutenant in a nutshell. Oh, and he's nineteen."

"Nineteen?!" that made her stop, surprise clearly written on her face. "Are you sure about that?" she couldn't stop the doubtful tone that crept into her voice; Zechs had a serious air about him that spoke of a worldly man.

"Nineteen; trust me on this one." Amber said. "Look, you obviously want to be alone today, so I'm going to take off and head over to the library. Call me if you wanna talk."

Trinity simply nodded her head as she continued on down the street.

"Hey Trinity."

She looked back at Amber's voice.

"Would you have a problem if I used a pirated line to call you in Singapore?"

Trinity looked at her for a few minutes before she shook her head; count on Amber to say something utterly ridiculous and cheering at the same time. "Sure, just cover your tracks and don't get my ass busted."

"Can do! Later!"

She continued on down the street, before she paused at the corner. Why was she heading to her house? It wouldn't even be her house in a few weeks time. She changed her direction slowly, heading for the park instead; that house was the last place she wanted to see at the moment. She didn't even notice when she had entered the park, almost dumbly sitting on the bench. Why did her father have to be transferred again? They were so happy here, just him and her. Birthdays, a childhood, parties and arguments, many things had passed in the house that she now proudly called her home.

She sat there, the sun sinking down below the horizon. Gradually, the sky went from light blue to a deep blackish indigo. She looked up startled by the sudden change before she looked at her watch. 'Almost eight. Shit, Dad's gonna kill me for being out and he has no clue where I am.' She rose and started walking out of the park; there was no point in hurrying.

Stepping down onto the road, she started across; Avalgreen Road was always deserted at this time of night. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she had forgotten to look before crossing. There had to be a solution, a way to stay here where she felt as if she finally belonged. The town of Avalgreen was home to her, not all the other places she had been in different countries. The sudden flash of blinding light from the corner of her eye made her look up. All she saw was a white blur that was barrelling towards her; it glued her to the spot, leaving her defenceless.

Suddenly the light was gone, and she found herself lying on the ground with the wind slightly knocked out of her. She sat up, looking around warily; there at the end of the street, she saw the red taillights glow before they turned the corner and disappeared from sight. She looked back around in the dark to see a massive spill of platinum blond hair.

"Lieutenant?" she asked, leaning forward to see if it was him; Zechs was the only one she knew with hair like that. "Is that you?"

Bright ice blue eyes flickered up and met hers. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed."

She didn't reply at his words, simply looking at him. "Your mask..."

Looking around, she finally spied the sliver mask lying a few feet away on the grass. She reached over and touched it gently. The metal's warmth was fading away, as was her doubt. She looked back at him before she looked over at the mask. With trembling fingers almost, she picked it up and held it in her hands, smoothing her fingers along the surface.

"Trinity..."

She looked at Zechs before she held out the metal object. He watched as it hovered between them before he reached out and took it. It slid back on easily enough before he looked at her again.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah," she said uncertainly. "I'm fine. I'm just going to head home now."

She stood up and started off as if she was in a dream. When she felt a hand take hers, she looked back to see Zechs holding it.

"You're still in shock. Come and sit on the bench before you go walking off to who knows where."

She didn't protest as he led her to a bench and sat down, Zechs' weight making the bench creak slightly. Her hands curled around her knees as everything started to sink in; she was almost hit, she could have died and never gotten this weight off her chest. Tears started to blur her eyes, making her bend her head. She didn't want him to see how insecure she was being.

"Trinity?"

"Leave me alone." she said before she turned her face from his, resting on the edge of the bench. "Just go away, I'm fine now Lieutenant, you don't have to hover around anymore."

"You don't sound fine." his voice was soft but sounded adamant.

"How would you know? Everything's fine for you. You're-" Trinity paused, as tears started to slide down her face. "You're going to go back to that base and find some new way to drag this disgusting war on for longer than it should be. That's your life; the life of a soldier who follows orders." the words sounded almost bitter and twisted; as much as she disliked war, she envied him for not having her frustrating dilemma.

"Is that what you think? That the life of a soldier is easier than most?"

She turned and looked at him, forgetting about the tears that ran down her face. A glimmer of pain showed in his eyes before he reached out and brushed away her tears.

"The life of a soldier is the worst I can think of. Be glad for whatever is bothering you; it pales so much in a much larger scope of things."

"I don't think it does." she whispered as she turned back; no one knew that her father was the one developing the mobile suits for Oz; no one but her. "It could spell more death than you could imagine."

A silence descended as she stared stonily at the trash bin just ahead of her. She hated this war that was forcing her on the first of many moves. First it was Singapore, but what then? Moscow? Tokyo? Brisbane? New Delhi? Baghdad? New tears started to stream down as she muttered curses. When a hand rested on her shoulder, she didn't try to brush it off. She felt weary suddenly, tired of trying to fight for something that she knew was right but was being taken away from her anyways.

"What's been bothering you Trinity?"

"Nothing." she whispered, feeling somewhat drained. "It's nothing. There's nothing I can do to change it, even though I tried. Do you know what it's like to be taken from the one place you ever called home Lieutenant?"

"Yes, I do."

She turned back around slowly, unsure of what to say next. "Then you know what I am feeling." she wiped away her tears hastily. "I've taken enough of your time Lieutenant and I'm feeling better now." "Trinity-"

"Good night." she said as she rose and walked away rapidly.

She didn't look back to see what Zechs was doing. She felt bad enough for leaving him sitting there like that as well as leaving so abruptly. When she reached the park entrance, she paused before she looked back; the bench was empty, nothing was there to indicate her presence or his. She looked away before she started down the street towards her house.

"I'm sorry Zechs."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The curtains closed with a snap of Trinity's wrist. She certainly didn't feel very cheery for this Friday afternoon. She crossed her arms, trying to keep warm in the house. Her father had been gone when she woke up at nine, with the note that he wouldn't be back until late. She had taken one look at the piece of paper before she ripped it up and threw it in the trash; it hadn't made her feel any better.

"You think this damn sweater would keep me warm." she muttered as she slid into her old sneakers and walked out into the backyard. "But I have to rake the damn leaves."

She headed for the shed and grabbed the worn old rake by its wooden handle before looking over the backyard; it was a bright sea of orange, red and yellow. She gave a sigh and found herself thankful that she had worn her old long jeans. She paused to pull her gloves from her pocket and put her hands in them; there was a hard bite to the air

"For this I didn't go to school today." she muttered as she started. "But at least I told everyone."

Even now, she could still see the looks on their faces when she had broken the news during lunch yesterday. All but Amber had remained silent then started to protest intensely, as if their words and disappointment could make her stay. She had still felt bad from the night before when she had talked to Zechs, and it had only gotten worse as they sat there coming up with crazy schemes to get her to stay; like Hoshi's idea to chain herself to the backyard porch and protest until she won.

"Thou art a harsh teacher..." she murmured to herself, as she paused in her raking. "Unyielding and unforgiving, I toast my cup to thee life."

Shaking off her momentary philosophic inflection, she continued, trying to take some pleasure in the bright vibrant colours that lay around her. And she was even failing at that. She looked up a few minutes later, hearing the doorbell ringing in the front. 'Go away.' she continued raking as if she didn't hear it. 'I don't want whatever damn newspaper or crap you're selling.'

As if in response, the ringing stopped. But a few minutes later, a knock came from the gate to the backyard. With a disgusted sigh, she threw the rake down into the pile of leaves before her and stalked off to yell at the insistent person. For the most part, she just wanted to be alone today and undisturbed by anything.

"Oh, it's you Zechs. What do you want?" she asked, seeing him standing on the other side of the gate.

"I thought you could use some company today." he said. "You seemed rather depressed Wednesday."

"Well, it's not getting any better. Come on in." she said as she opened the gate and started back towards her work. "I'm kinda busy at the moment; I'll be with you in a second."

She picked up the rake and went back to what she was doing. She would look up every once in awhile to see Zechs standing by the wall, watching as she worked; she had to admit, he looked a lot better when dressed casually rather than in that uniform; not that he was really complaining with the uniform. When she finally raked the last few errant leaves into the pile, she laid the rake down and seated herself on the top.

"So why did you come to visit?" she asked, looking up at him.

He came over and sat beside her. "I thought you could use the company. I was thinking over what you said that night."

"Hm." Trinity plucked a leaf from the pile and started to twirl it around in her fingertips. "Have you been reflecting as well?"

"In a manner." Zechs said with a shrug. "That night was not about you almost getting hit."

"I know, and I apologize; I almost dumped my problems on you."

Zechs didn't say anything for a few minutes. "Sometimes, it's something you have to go through. I never wanted to leave mine."

"Did your parents make you leave?"

"No. There were other circumstances that made me."

Trinity watched as a sad tragic quality came to his eyes before she felt some of her guilt evaporate. "And you tried to fight it but got almost nowhere?"

"Yes." he paused before he reached up and took off his mask. "Much better," he said with a deep breath. "That thing gets damn hot."

She couldn't help but giggle. "Then why wear it so much?"

"Those other circumstances." he rested the metal object at his feet. "You don't want to leave Avalgreen do you?"

"No. I grew up here since I was five. It means so much to me. I guess I just find myself being somewhat selfish." she paused as she gazed at the leaf in her hand. "That and I don't want anyone else living in the house, I suppose."

"Something concrete that you can depend on; that can be the rarest thing in the world."

"Tell me about it." she said in a light tone. "Sometimes, I think that all of this," she waved her hands around the area. "It can be and is everything and nothing. I don't mean to sound egotistical, but the one thing that you know for sure, in physicality, is yourself. You know when you're hurt, when you're hungry and so on."

"Interesting; then what happens when you come to know someone else?"

Pausing, Trinity regarded Zechs for a minute; it looked as if he already knew what she was going to say. "Well, that depends how well I suppose. But to know them intimately," she paused for a moment. "I suppose you could call that love; but even that can be unsure. And that's on a much deeper mental level as well."

"Hm; the ever wonderful human interaction." he mused as he looked up at the sky.

She watched his expression for a minute before she looked away, a sudden blush coming over her face. "I suppose." she said in a quiet voice. "But that's what makes life, well. . .life."

"You raise a very good point." he said, looking at her warmly. "You look flustered. Are you cold?"

"No, I am not." she said, catching a knowing look in his eye. "I am perfectly fine. You, on the other hand, have redder cheeks than me."

"Really?" he feigned a look of puzzlement. "Odd, I don't feel cold."

"Funny Zechs!" she said as she threw the leaf at him playfully. "You must be colder than me, look at your face; you look almost like a cherry!"

"A cherry? Should I take that in a good way?"

"Take it however you wish." she said, unable to resist giving him a cocky smirk.

"Fine; but I do believe that you shouldn't be so cocky."

"And why not?"

She gave a loud shriek as he stuffed some leaves down the back of her shirt. Shooting up, she managed to yank them all out before she threw him a look as he stepped back warily, with a smile. They remained still for a few minutes before they dove for the pile, trying to stop the other from attacking again. Trinity found herself lost in a sea of warm colours, bits of Zechs' hair peeping through. After what seemed like forever, she stopped, finding herself pinning Zechs down with her body.

"It would appear that you have lost." she said breathlessly. "And you have leaves in your hair. Almost a whole tree's worth I'd imagine."

Zechs gave her a smile. "Did I lose?"

She chewed her lip thoughtfully even though she knew what he was getting at. She plucked the bits of foliage from his hair as she feigned thought. Finally, she simply watched him for a few minutes, before she rested on her elbows. She was starting to remember why autumn was her favorite season.

"You tell me." she said finally.