Trowa isn't there the next day, which isn't unusual in and of itself. Her pool days are hit-and-miss on which Gundam pilot will be presiding. Heero runs her through the usual dryland exercises and then has her swimming laps while he periodically fires the pistol. By the end of the practice session she's exhausted and aching.
"Not bad," he says as they part at the locker rooms. She realizes it's the first non-instructional thing he's said to her all day.
Trowa isn't waiting for her outside the locker rooms on Friday either. She goes in and changes into the loose clothing she's started keeping in her Preventer's locker and then hangs around at the base of the stairs, trying to look like she isn't waiting for someone. After fifteen minutes she gives up the pretense and goes upstairs. She takes the stairs to the tenth floor, ignoring the ache in her right leg, and wanders down to the unofficial Gundam Office.
Wufei is the first to acknowledge her standing in the doorway, though she isn't foolish enough to think Heero hadn't noticed her immediately. "You have company," Wufei states without looking up from the file in front of him.
Heero pauses in his typing and looks over at her. She tries not to look self-conscious. She has every right to be here. More, she thinks, he isn't even an official Preventer. Wufei mutters to himself as he flips a page.
"Anders is an idiot. Who hired him?" he grumbles, circling something in the report in red ink. He looks up and frowns at Heero. "Either deal with her or send her away, she's interfering with my concentration."
"I have a name," she snaps automatically. Wufei's ignoring her again though, her words rolling over him like ocean breakers. She turns her attention to Heero who is watching her expectantly. "I was looking for…" she trails off and Heero's eyebrows rise. She tugs at a loose strand of hair. "Never mind."
Heero catches up to her when she's stomping down the stairs, mentally planning on changing and calling Henri for a ride home. He falls in step with her easily and she focuses on ignoring him instead. "Trowa isn't here today, he didn't tell you on Wednesday?"
"Whatever," she replies. She stops on the seventh floor landing and spins around to face him. "Is he upset with me?"
"Should he be?" Heero asks. He crosses his arms and studies her.
She's quiet, mulling it over. Heero waits her out silently and she finally sighs. "Maybe. I was rude." She unties her ponytail before tying her hair back again almost immediately, making sure the loose strand is tucked securely away. "He didn't seem upset, but he's hard to read. And he hasn't been here in two days."
Heero studies her for another moment before he starts descending again. She follows, listening to her shoes thunk on the concrete steps. Heero's footsteps are silent. "I don't think he's upset," he says finally. "He seemed more concerned when he mentioned Wednesday. But he had something else to do. He should be back Tuesday."
"Oh," she replies.
He looks at her from the corner of his eye and she ducks her head, redoes her ponytail again. "You want to talk about what was wrong Wednesday?"
"It was nothing, just stupid school stuff. I overreacted."
"You tell Une about it?"
"No! She'd just get involved and it would be worse or I'd have to go to another new school and this one's better than the last one." She glares at Heero's head. "Don't you dare tell her."
"You know, that meditation stuff Trowa has you doing does help with anger. Wufei does it too, maybe not as much as he should," he says when he sees her expression. "You should try it outside of practice."
"What about you? What do you do to help with anger?" she asks.
He shrugs. "Shooting range." Her laughter carries through the stairwell and she catches him smiling as well.
. . ... . .
On Monday Coach Maes informs her that he's putting her in the 100m breaststroke and the 100m freestyle relay for their next meet. She keeps her chin up, smiling triumphantly, as Minerva and Larissa stare at her back.
"When is this meet?" Heero questions when she tells him after school.
"Next Friday. I guess you two know what you're doing after all." She stands on the starting block, wiggles her toes and tries not to shiver.
"I guess so," Heero replies before he pulls the trigger. She dives in, still slow but she's getting faster in the water. She can make up for it.
. . ... . .
Trowa is there on Tuesday, waiting outside the locker rooms for her, speaking quietly with Heero. She can't make out the words, but there's a tension there that she isn't used to. "Do you mind yoga today?" Trowa asks as she approaches. "I doubt Heero or you did any while I was away." Heero crosses his arms, leans against the wall and remains silent. She can't quite name the expression on the shorter pilot's face. It isn't quite a scowl, but it's definitely hovering somewhere in that vicinity.
"Yoga's fine," she replies.
She changes quickly and they make their way to the usual room. The strangeness doesn't wear off. Heero has never accompanied them to the yoga room before, usually preferring to show up mid-way and loiter by the door like a gargoyle, but today he trails them to the small studio room. Mariemaia can sense him not-scowling behind her.
She and Trowa take their seats on the mats while Heero does whatever it is he usually does when he observes their sessions. The air feels tight though, not the usual relaxing atmosphere she's come to associate with the yoga session and she frowns at Trowa. His shoulders are stiff and he doesn't look comfortable. She shifts on her mat and lets out a long breath.
"I'm sorry," she tells him. He looks at her curiously. "About last time. I was rude. I didn't mean to upset you, if I did."
Trowa stares at her for a few more seconds before he smiles and gives a small shake of his head. "It's fine, Mariemaia."
"Then why do you look like you want to be anywhere but here?" she demands.
"Because he shouldn't be here." She jumps, looking up. Heero raises his eyes from where he'd been scrolling on his phone. She frowns at him, but he ignores her, watching Trowa critically. "You're sure you're up to this?"
Trowa gives a small shrug. "It's just a knife wound, nothing I haven't had before," he replies. "Since you insist on being here, you might as well spot her so she doesn't injure herself."
"A knife wound?" Mariemaia demands as Heero walks over to stand near them.
"Hazard of the job," Trowa replies. "Now, let's start with a sun salutation."
Trowa runs her through the different poses and she follows along the best she can. Heero pushes and pulls her into different positions, though he isn't as gentle as Trowa is when he corrects her posture or positioning. Trowa frowns, wincing when he tries to demonstrate the extended triangle pose.
"Stop it before you tear your stitches again," Heero tells him, his hands are light on Trowa's shoulders as he guides him back into more of a lunge. Trowa narrows his eyes at Heero but remains silent, idly rubbing at his shoulder while Heero prods Mariemaia into the new position. She holds it while Trowa counts before reversing it for the other side.
"How did you get injured?" she asks.
"You're supposed to be focusing on relaxing, not asking questions," Trowa replies.
"It's hard to relax when you have someone poking you every few minutes."
"Then stay in position," Heero replies. He follows this up by adjusting her shoulders and hips roughly.
"Was it at the circus?" she presses.
Trowa ignores her, moving onto chair pose and she grudgingly gets into the position. Her legs tremble at the prolonged hold as she balances, trying to steady her breathing. Her right leg throbs and she can feel it in her spine, twinging around the surgical scar from where they'd removed the bullet all those years ago. Heero catches her when her legs give out on the third breath.
"I'm fine," she snaps, pulling at her arm. He lets go and she stumbles before regaining her balance. "I'm fine," she repeats, quieter. She gets back into the pose, ignoring the throb in her leg and the two pairs of eyes studying her. Trowa resumes his quiet, slow count after a moment. At five, she exhales gratefully and sinks to the floor in child pose.
"I think that's enough for today," Heero states, voice quiet but firm.