Taking Steps

*Last Time: "What?" He croaked out in annoyance.

This Time:

Just hearing that word, any word, from his fallen friend was enough to send Quatre into a new set of tears, bright smile on his face. Heero was alive. He'd seen it before, of course, but it still hadn't seemed real. Hearing Heero speak was like watching a baby being born, you know it's going to happen but it doesn't seem real until it can somehow be confirmed, like speaking in Heero's case.

Duo was startled into tears by the tone of Heero's voice. This wasn't some strange, horrible trick put on by the woman in white. Only Heero could possibly produce the same emotions, or lack of, that made Heero the Perfect Soldier'. This was real, Heero was really, truly, absolutely alive.

Wufei stood silently, watching as Quatre, followed closely by Duo, ran to the fallen boy. He was contemplating how this could have happened. Why was it that Heero was dead one moment, and alive the next. Who felt it necessary to have him alive, when he probably would have done the world a hell of a lot more good gone. Not that he didn't love Heero as a friend and respect him as a man and comrade of war, it was just confusing and a bit disturbing. What, if anything, did this bode for the future?

Trowa looked on as Quatre and Duo checked out Heero and assured themselves he was there. As it appeared, Heero had not a scratch on him, just like the mysterious woman. There was no clue left, other than the destroyed building, to suggest that the two should be dead, or had died. Speaking of the woman, she just seemed to be watching the goings on of the two animated pilots with something akin to fondness.

"How do you feel?"

"What happened?"

"Does anything hurt?"

"What was it like?"

Questions upon questions were fired on the recently revived boy by the happy duo (AN: pair, not Duo). He took it all in with a slightly dazed, but exasperated look on his face, wondering when it would all stop. When they did finally pause to breath he took it as he opportunity to get some input in the basically one-sided conversation.

"I'm fine." He said in his world famous monotone. "What happened?"

Sadly, this launched Duo into a narrative about what went on after the base exploded. Quatre, on the other hand, decided that it was his duty to make absolute certain that Heero was as good as new. Wufei had finally decided to make his presence known as he walked up to the trio giving Heero a look of contemplation, which slowly changed into acceptance. Trowa, on the other hand, was keeping an eye on the woman who had saved' Heero. There was just something about her that seemed off, and he wasn't going to let her get away without some answers.

"And then, there was this really bright white light and you and that onna just kinda appeared in it and when it finally." Duo kept talking on, not noticing that Heero's attention was focused elsewhere.

The second Duo had mentioned a bright white light and an onna', Heero's head snapped up and he began to search for Cosmos. She was why he was alive again and he wouldn't let her get away another time. He saw her standing just slightly behind him, looking down at him with a soft, knowing smile.

Duo stopped talking. Somewhere along the way, Heero's attention had changed from him, to the woman behind him. As if in sudden recognition, all four of the remaining pilots focused their attention of the silver-haired woman and the stoic brown-haried pilot. The two were staring at each other, seemingly oblivious of the others.

Slowly, without breaking eye contact, Heero began to rise, against the pleadings and worries of Quatre and Duo. After a bit of trouble (after being dead for a little while, it's to be expected), he made it to his feet. Quatre and Duo had also returned to standing and began to back away from Heero as he began to move towards the silent woman.

About a step away from Cosmos, Heero's legs gave out and he collapsed to what would have been the ground, had Cosmos not caught the falling boy in her arms.*