Note from a happy author:

Hi, kids! Sorry this took so long, but I'd like to say that I am officially back in the fanfic business. Since college has not killed me, I now have time to write! Hurrah! As my first sign of love, here is the next chapter. Trowa becomes a man! Yeah! Wooooo! (but I end up thinking, "Too bad it's with a girl.")

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Heero was changing, slowly but surely.

Quatre's sisters and Sally decided to celebrate Heero's new found figure with a shopping trip. Of course, Quatre decided that all of us had to join in on the festivities.

As if fate (or Quatre or Sally, for that matter) were playing a cruel joke, Heero and I were stuck in a car together, alone.

"I wanted to apologize," I stammered, attempting to break the more than awkward silence between us.

"You don't need to." She smiled softly, staring at her hands.

"But, I…"

"You followed your emotions, that's all." She had said that to me, once, to follow your emotions. My mind reached back to that time, when Heero was still… Heero. Lost in my memories, I had not noticed her leaning in. It was not until her lips were pressed so perfectly against mine that I snapped out of it. The kiss was chaste, and painfully short.

Heero sat back, close enough now that her leg was touching mine. I could not bring myself to say a word, but instead, just grasped onto her hand, cradling it in mine. We stayed like that until arrival, when Quatre's sisters and Sally stole her away, leaving us men to fend for ourselves.

Eventually, Quatre, Wu Fei, and Duo ended up abandoning me, complaining that I was acting "too spacey" (as Duo so eloquently put it). Alone, confused, but happy, I walked aimlessly around the mall. I was hoping desperately that I would find Heero, see her at some point in my wandering, but Heero failed to appear. I contented myself, instead, to finding a gift for her.

I was a mess with finding Heero something, but ended up with a box in my pocket nonetheless. As I was walking back to the car, hoping that someone would be there, I heard a shout.

"Heero!"

Immediately, I turned to the voice… Relena. I saw her standing there, Heero in front of her. I ran for the two of them, but it was too late and Relena slapped Heero across the face. I grabbed Heero, holding her in my arms.

"For once, Relena, could you think of someone other than yourself?" I looked down at Heero who was staring silently into my chest, her cheek bright red. "Can't you see she's having a hard enough time without you screaming at her?"

"What?"

I don't think Relena was used to being questions, especially not by me. "Just leave her alone." I moved my attention back to Heero. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, arigato." She smiled softly.

"Tro! Stop taking advantage of Hee-chan!" Duo's face appeared behind Heero's, causing me to jump back from her. "Aw, look, he's blushing!"

--

I snuck quietly into Heero's room, praying that she would still be in the shower. I found her room empty, thankfully, and began to coax the small box out of my pocket. As I placed it on her desk, the door clicked.

"Trowa?"

I turned around quickly, blocking the box with my body. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" She was clutching a yellow towel around her body, her hair dripping and messy.

"I… uh… um…" I could feel the burning rising in my cheeks and my brain failing on all levels.

She walked up to me, so close that I could see the droplets of water still stuck to her skin. "Arigato, for today."

"Huh?" My brain was still not in full function.

"With Relena." Her face fell slightly. "She was yelling about how I had led her on and… I just didn't know what to do."

"It's alright." I wrapped my arms around her, feeling the cool dampness of her skin and the sweet smell of her hair. I kissed her shoulder softly, smiling as she gasped slightly.

"Trowa!" She pulled away from me, her face bright red.

"Heero, I have something for you." I reached behind my back and produced the box.

Heero tucked her towel and took the box from my hands, opening it slowly. "Trowa!" she gasped. She took the necklace out and I took the box, placing it back on the desk. As I looked back at Heero, she was just clasping the silver chain around her neck, the small blue-stoned star sitting right about her breasts. Her breasts! I didn't even notice! She's standing in front of me in nothing but a towel!

"Arigato, Trowa…" Heero pushed herself onto her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Arigato…" Her lips crushed into mine, here while body pressed against me. I reached my arms around her back… just in time to feel her towel slip past my fingers.

I pulled away slowly and my eyes were drawn down. Wow. My head was spinning and I could feel my pants becoming too tight for my liking.

"Do you… do you like how it looks?"

I looked back at her face and saw the embarrassment in her eyes. "You're beautiful." I let go of her and reached down, bringing the towel back up around her body. "But that's not why I want you."

"What?"

"Before…" I sighed. This was tough. "I've felt something for you since I helped you after you self destructed. I thought I was crazy."

"But I was a boy."

"I told myself that a lot. But in the end… I decided it wasn't the boy part of you, or now the girl part of you, but it was just you… your drive, your bravery, your beauty." I smiled and ran my hand down her side, resting it on her newly formed hip. "This is just an added plus."

She smiled widely, surprising me. "Then, Trowa," she dropped the towel purposefully this time, "Why don't you take advantage of this gift?"