Hammer To The Heart
Chapter 3
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He had ordered a coke and salad then watched in awe as everything she ordered came and went in under ten minutes. She had ordered a coke, cherry shake, peanut butter sandwich, chips, and a double vanilla, chocolate with fudge split. 'She eats like Duo.' He thought in amazement as she finished up her split. "Umm... was it good?" he asked not really knowing what to say now.

Usagi looked up smiling brightly and nodded fastly. "Oh hai very much so! Arigatou Heero-kun that was great!"

He just nodded. "Your welcome" he stood up, she following his moves and both walked to the doors and towards the park where they originally came from. "I had a good time today Bunny, arigatou." He looked down at her, his eyes shining with something new... emotion.

She looked up at him and could see the happiness and thanks in his eyes; he didn't have to tell her. She was good at reading people like that. It was a gift her mother had said. "Oi! You're welcome anytime! Wanna do that again tomorrow after school? You could meet me at the arcade and we'll play some different games!" she said cheerfully thinking of everything they could do together.

She wanted to bring some happiness in his lonely life and today was a good start in her book, she even made him *smile* for Selene's sake! In all the pictures that people had been able to get of the Gundam Pilots, none ever had a smiling Heero in them, not that blowing up MS and MD's was anything to smile about, but bring about the peace was, and still he didn't smile. So yes, in her book this was a great step for him.

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There was no attraction,
But boy was I wrong,
My favorite line from my favorite song,
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Heero looked down at her while she had turned and watched the ducks swim across the lake's reflective surface. Sure, he had had fun today, for the first time in his life, he had fun; and had smiled at that. He didn't know what was coming over him or what she was doing to him. She... to him she seemed to have the ability to spread her happiness and joy to everyone around her and it seemed that he wasn't immune to it. He could probably care less at the moment, watching her face that held joy of today's fun and joy of watching the ducks; such small things captured her and amazed her.

He had noticed this as he watched her the whole time they were in the arcade, she had commented several times on little things of others and that she saw out the windows that he would have never given thought to before. And still wouldn't, but for the fact that she had pointed them out to him.

Usagi looked back to him when he hadn't answered her after awhile. "Heero-kun, would you like to meet tomorrow and play some more? Come on... it'll be fun you know that! You'll like it, maybe we can go somewhere else too..." she got a thoughtful look in her eyes as she turned back to the lake.

'Do I want to?' he thought, the question still remaining unanswered. He had fun, she was right there. But what about, if a war broke out again? It wasn't *not* possible that one wouldn't, she could be used a leverage against him if they ever found out about her. 'Stop it! Damn it, you've had enough war, stop thinking like that and just go!' his humanity shot back at the thinking of the Soldier part of him. Heero shook his head. 'I'm arguing with myself... Kami-sama I'm going nuts...' he thought. 'Nope your just human.' His humanity answered back.

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You and your persistence,
Blew up my resistance,
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"Hai." He answered her after that little mental debate.

She looked up at him. "Really!? You'll meet me? ARIGATOU HEERO!" she jumped up and hugged him tightly.

Heero, not really knowing what to do, gently placed his arms around her, in a gentle hug, like he was worried of breaking her seemingly fragile frame or scaring her off, though she didn't seem one to be scared off by a simple hug... that he wasn't at all used to giving.

Usagi smiled into his chest as she felt his arms gently wrap around her. She pulled back a minute later and smiled up at him. She knew why he was hesitant to do so.

He looked down at her and gave a small smile of his own. "But I think the guys wanted to do something tomorrow. I'm not sure." He watched as her face saddened a bit. "You could some with us if you like. I'm sure that they wouldn't mind." He said trying to cheer her up. Her being down, just didn't suit her.

"Yea, I would love to! I'm not doing anything... I'll have homework... but I can do that when I get home..." she thought a minute about something before looked back up. "Say Heero... you any good in school?" he nodded not really sure where this was going. "Would you... would you mind tutoring me then? I'm not really great at it..." she smiled goofily and laughed, "Okay, so I really suck at it. Do you think you could help me out? Everyone else tries and Okasan just yells at me 'cause I get bad grades... I can't do anything right, I even get to school late, ya know."

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Boom Boom Boom,
Like a hammer to the heart,
Just one look at you and baby I was blown apart
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He had to laugh, she sounded like Duo, ate like Duo and yet they were totally different. If she were like Duo he would have pulled his gun out and threatened her already, but he hadn't, this was a good thing. "Sure Bunny I can do that. I'll meet you at the school gates and we'll go back to Quatre's mansion to study before going out with the guys." he watched as her eyes shown with joy, then added. "Just a warning though, I have no clue where we're going. This is one of Duo's little adventures that he pulls us out on." Mumbling, "And I don't at all enjoy them."

Usagi laughed. 'Perfect!' she thought looking at his 'not wanting to go' face. She took hold of his shirtsleeve. "Oh it'll be fun! I know it! I'll meet you at the gates after school then! I gotta get home and get Luna to help me with the homework I have for tonight... Boy, won't she be shocked that I'm asking for help." She wondered before hugging him more on habit then thinking of doing it. "I gotta go now. See ya tomorrow Heero-kun!! Ja ne!" she waved as she turned and quickly dashed off.

"She's fast..." He commented watching her run home dodging and jumping outta the way of all things, living or not. Shaking his head at the bubbly blonde he turned and headed home.

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He walked in the door and was immediately bombarded with questions from a braided brown haired boy about the same age. "So where ya been buddy!? Your late."

He didn't answer him, he never did.

"OH that's where you were huh? Well why couldn't I have come. Did you have fun? Did you see Relena?" At that question Heero stopped walking up the stairs and glared at the braided one. "Omae o korosu." that effectively made the braided boy give an "EEEPPP!" before turning tail and running the opposite direction then the one that of Heero.

Up in his room home work being done, his mind kept lingering back to the blonde that had drug him around the arcade and park pointing out things that he would rarely have seen if he'd just been walking around himself. Like the little patch of roses on the path he usual took to school or the ducks on the pond and the large Oak tree that she had assured him was great to climb around in, as she'd done it many times herself and she told him, "The great thing about it is it's not in plain sight you've gotta walk through some brush to get to it you know, so no one knows it's really there or that you'd be in it... Me? I'm a explorer so I found it, you can go there if you want to." She smiled brightly and skipped off to show him more things.

True the war had been over for going on three years now they hadn't had a mission in all that time, the Preventers had taken care of the flames that would start every now and then and put them out before they became full blown fires and a real problem.

He was glad there wasn't war but he didn't know what to do with him self now that it was. Usagi, as happy and hyper as she was, might find something for him to do. "Why am I even thinking this?" he asked aloud. 'Cause it's true and she just might, you like her, admit it.' Came the voice of humanity. "I don't know... she's something else though." And with that he went back to his work. After it was done he had dinner with the others, shocking them by actually talking... a little. Anything from him was something to be shocked at, then a shower and to bed, thinking of what tomorrow would bring.

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Usagi burst through the front door kicking off her shoes. "Okasan! I'm HOOOME!!" she yelled shaking the house with her sonic voice as she started for the kitchen where her mother was working on dinner.

"Hello Usagi, and where have you been your late you know." Ikuko turned welding a spatula.

Usagi eyed the spatula wirily. "Ummm... well you see-"

"Don't give me that 'well you see' stuff Usagi, now where were you?" Ikuko asked thinking she was once again going to blame it on something else.

"Naw mom I'm being serious!" she muttered "For once." Before going back to her happy normal voice. "I am really, see after school, I went to Rei's, then came home changed and went looking for someone, cause he needed a friend, at least I think so, and so once I found him I took him to the arcade and we played games for a while, and then he ordered us a snack, which I was gonna do since I was showing him around and stuff, but he did, and then we went walking in the park." She paused for breath looking at her mom who nodded for her to go on, lightly tapping the spatula on her arms that were crossed.

"And while we were there we talked a little, well I mostly did the talking 'cause he's kinda quiet you know? And well I asked him if he wanted to meet me there again tomorrow and I'd show him around and stuff and then I asked him - Now don't freak out mom - I asked him if he was any good at school work 'cause you know... well you know that I... suck at it..." her mom nodded making Usagi pout a little, she didn't want her mom agreeing with her, but still she was right. "ANYHOW!!" she playfully glared at her mom causing her to smile kindly at her. "He nodded that he was and I asked him if he'd tutor me 'cause I sucked at it and you know what!?"

"What?" Ikuko asked amazed at how fast her daughter could talk and how long without taking but one breath then continue.

"He said YES!! And for me to meet him at the school gates for him then we'd go to his friends house to study before we all go out." Her mom gave her a confused 'What do you mean 'we'?' look.

Usagi sighed, she didn't wanna explain all this she just wanted to go to her room, get Luna to help her with her homework, eat, shower and go to bed so she could go to school, actually TRY and pay attention then spend the day with Heero.

"Yes, there's others, see he stays at his friends house with three other guys, kinda like rooming together, it's a big house from what Heero-kun says and they won't be home to distract us, which is good 'cause you KNOW I get distracted easily. So that's what we're gonna do, meet at the gates..." she was counting it on her fingers, "then go to their house, do homework, or well try to in my case, then after the others get home his friend, Duo, well he's one of them, is 'dragging' them somewhere, it's one of his 'surprises'. Heero-kun said that Duo does that to him and he doesn't really like it from what I can tell. Mama he's really quiet and doesn't really show any emotion, even Motoki -oniisan says that about him, he never does mom." She pouted a little.

"Well darling, some people are just like that, and need something to brake them outta their shell. Some people just don't know how to show emotion and never had anyone to love them." Ikuko said smiling lovingly at her daughter that cared so much about others before herself.

Usagi was stumped; she didn't know how that could be. "But mama, how could someone never be loved like that, isn't that bad? They can't really be kids out there like that could there? Why wouldn't their parents not love them huh?" she asked turning eyes of total confusion and innocence to her mother questioningly.

Ikuko could of almost laughed or cried at that moment. 'She so full of love and hope... caring and kind, it's sad she doesn't know.' She thought before gesturing to the couch. "Darlin', some people don't have parents to love them, so they can't be loved, and can't know love. Some kids have parents that maybe as a child they weren't loved, so as parents they're not sure how to show love to their child.

"It's hard to know really hun; it's sad but true that some don't know love. But maybe if what you say about this *Heero-kun*..." she said 'Heero-kun' just to watch her daughters reaction, which was her cheeks turning a nice shade of light pink, she chuckled quietly before going on, "Maybe if what you say is true on how he acts, that he wasn't loved as a child, maybe he doesn't know how to show emotions, and maybe, just maybe, you can teach him."

Usagi smiled and nearly jumped off the couch. "OH MOM!! That reminds me!! GUESS WHAT!" she jumped off the couch and anxiously waited for her mom to ask 'what?'.

Ikuko laughed. "What Usa?"

"I GOT HIM TO LAUGH... a little... BUT HE DID!! And... and he SMILED! WOW! Can he smile... Maw, you have GOT to see his smile, it's like... wow..." Usagi smiled before pecking her mom on the cheek grabbing her forgotten backpack at the door before starting to run up the stairs. "HEY I'M GONNA DO MY HOMEWORK NOW!! CALL ME FOR DINNER 'KAY!??" was heard before the slamming of her bedroom door.

"That girl..." Ikuko shook her head laughing softly to herself. "She'll never change... hmm wonder if she'll bring him over for dinner anytime soon? And doing homework for a change... Oh my..." she silently mused going back to cooking.

"She's not dating 'til she's twenty-three." Kenji said from his spot at the table, having heard most of what was said, being focused on his paper he didn't really pay attention.

"Oh you just hush Mr. 'got married when we were twenty-two'." She gave him a stern look only a mother could. "She can date whenever she wants to Kenji she's sixteen now, she's old enough to do so." She said turning around to finish up dinner.

"She's not dating 'til she's twenty-five then..." Kenji muttered lowly but Ikuko's motherly hearing picked up on that and the next thing Kenji knew was that he was hit in the head with a UFKU. {1} "OOWWWWWWW!" he yelled rubbing his head and glaring at his giggling wife.

And all was silent, 'til dinner and then as Usagi had planned, she showered and went to bed, laughing as she remembered how Luna almost fainted when she asked for help on her homework and was dead serious about it this time. Luna had started feeling for her temperature and telling her she needed to lie down.

Usagi pouted getting upset and gave her paw a swat, grabbed her books and sat out on the balcony trying to, on her own, do the work. Wasn't easy, but she managed to get some done before dinner. And now, the sweet arms of sleep were pulling her in for the night, they were going to make sure she got lots of rest, got up on time and off to school on time. Well alright at least they'd make sure she got lots of sleep. "Night Luna..." she murmured falling fast into sleeps embrace.

"Night Usagi-hime..." was the slightly mumbled English accented reply. As the moon and stars burned bright in the night's sky, the moons soft light shown into the room on the two sleeping forms.

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1. UFKU = Unidentified Flying Kitchen Utensil. ::laughs:: ^__^

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