Hiiro sat by her bedside while she slept. He had gone to show her the new papers he and the others had made for her and found her asleep on the other couch. After waking Trowa he had sent him to bed. It had been a long day for all of them. Then he had picked up Usagi and taken her to his room, the only place left for her to stay. Images of the past flashed through his mind. The one that came to him the most was the one in which he had self-destructed his mobile suit while standing on the hatch. She had been standing on the ground in front of him, tears streaming down her cheeks. She had begged him not to do it yet he had yelled at her and told her to leave him alone. He didn't believe she was real. At times he thought he was crazy, perhaps she had been a figment of his imagination.
But as he ran his fingers over the smooth skin of her face he knew she was real, knew that she had been all along. After what she had told him everything was now beginning to make sense. She truly had been there all along, standing side by side with each of them. But why had she taken the bullet for them? Relena's guards had caught the man and he had confessed to aiming at Hiiro, not Relena as they had thought. Had the tenshi known that or had she just taken it for all their sakes? Glancing at the digital clock on his nightstand he released a long breath of air. Getting down on the floor he placed his back against the edge of the bed and allowed his head to rest on the side of the mattress. He would shut his eyes for a little while, just to rest.
Usagi awoke to find herself in a room that wasn't hers. She'd never had a room before. Yet she felt safe in it. Every detail of the room was carved into her mind's eye, seeing as how it was Hiiro's. Stretching she sat up to see his unruly locks of chocolate hair poking up from the side of the bed. Slowly she leaned over to stare at him, as she had in the past. His features were always soft when he slept, like that of a child. Getting down next to him she brushed a lock of hair behind his ear. Getting the blanket off the bed she wrapped it around him gently, so as not to wake him. Smiling to herself she kissed his cheek, suppressing the shudder that ran through her body.
"Bit by bit my heart is charmed… Sleep tight my tenshi." Getting up she strode silently out of the room, shutting the door behind her noiselessly.
Hiiro opened his eyes a few minutes after she had left. The moment she had placed her lips on his cheek he had been awake, yet for some reason he hadn't moved. He hadn't allowed the mask that usually covered his features to rise and protect him. The words she had spoken startled him, he had no idea what to make of them. For what seemed to be hours he sat on the floor, thinking about the fallen tenshi. She was getting to him. No, correction, she had already gotten to him. Now it was a question of whether or not he could make her stay with them.
Quatre sat in the library on one of the plush couches. No matter how hard he tried to read into the files set before him he simply couldn't. Usagi was invading each of his senses. Her touches, her scent, the sight of her, her voice, all were intoxicating. Moaning in aggravation he allowed his head to hit the mahogany wood of the desk, ignoring the fact that he had mounds of paper work to finish. The sound of a chair being moved and the sight of a mug in his limited line of vision made him look up. Usagi had taken a seat across from him, a mug of tea in her hands as she pulled a folder into her lap and began to read after crossing her legs Indian style. There was a mug of coffee before him and without looking he could tell she had made it just right. He felt the blush rising in his cheeks as he watched her. Before he could say a word she looked up at him and smiled, throwing him off even more.
"I saw you working so diligently and decided to come keep you company." Her bright smile vanished as she looked down, her bangs hiding the expression in her eyes. "I don't want to be a burden to any of you but—I don't have anywhere else to go." Quatre reached across the desk, taking her hand in his.
"You're more than welcome to stay with us. You'll always have a place in my home." When she saw his smile she felt her heart jump. Never before had she felt these emotions. As an angel these thoughts had never crossed her before. The only love she had ever felt or known was for God and now it felt odd to have this alien feeling in her heart. What did it mean? Weakly she smiled in return.
"Thank you Quatre." Sighing she pushed off the feelings, deciding to ignore them for now. Taking a sip of her tea she began to read the document. It wasn't long before the duo was interrupted however.
"Usagi, we need to talk, now." In mild surprise Usagi turned to the intruder. "Please." The added comment caused even Quatre's jaw to drop. Smiling politely Usagi stood and walked over to the obviously stressed pilot. Looping her arm through his she missed the slight blush that crossed his face. Once they were out of the library and down one of the side halls he turned to face her. Gripping her arms he stared into her eyes.
"What is it?" She was so innocent it frightened him. Was she really the same girl who had come to him so long ago? Could it really be her? His breathing came short the longer he stared at her and he tried to force back his tears. Women were the weak ones, not him, never him. They were all weak fools, just like Meiran.
"Was it really you?" She had known this would happen. She was positive that sooner or later each one would confront her about their past, and how she had been there. She had just hoped it would be later. Nodding her head she felt his grip on her slacken as his arms dropped back to his side.
"Yes, Wufei. It was me." She smiled softly as he looked away, looking ass if he wanted to run. "I'm sorry Wufei, please know that. It wasn't my choice to make." She went to touch his arm and he pulled away. When he looked at her she saw the tears and the pain, something Wufei never let anyone see. And he seemed quite angry that she was seeing it.
"I loved her because you said I should. If you had known what was going to happen then why did you do that to me?" His voice cracked as he practically yelled at her.
"But I didn't know Wufei. All I knew was that you had to be happy, and she was the perfect person to make that happen." His expression turned to that of a hurt child's. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he clenched his fists in an attempt to stop the tears. Stepping forward Usagi tentatively hugged him, knowing that the action might cause him to become even angrier than he already was. To her surprise he held her in return, burying his face in her shoulder as he with held the rest of his tears.
"I miss her so much… Seeing you only makes it worse." Smiling to herself she pulled away, stroking his face.
"I'm sorry you lost her Wufei, but it's time to move on. She would want you to cherish her memory, not hate it. You can't hate her because she was killed Wufei, she couldn't do anything about it. I'm sure if she could have she would. She was just as hot headed as you, which I'm sure is why you loved her. (A/N: not sure if that's true, but I need her character to be altered slightly to fit the rest of the plot) Remember her with a smile, not a frown." Using her thumb she wiped a tear off his cheek.
"How long are you staying here?" Her smile brightened as she remembered Quatre's words.
"As long as you guys want me to." Wufei nodded his head and sniffed, wiping away all traces of his tears. Once he regained his composure he stared at her a moment longer.
"Not a word of this to anyone." Usagi couldn't suppress the giggle that escaped her. Saluting like a soldier she stood straight with a mocking stance.
"Yes sir!" Wufei smirked as he put his arm around her shoulder and led her back to the library. Of course there were still many questions to be asked and answered, but for now he was satisfied. Besides, seeing her again had damaged his heart more than he had intended it too and he needed to build up his strength for their next heart-to-heart.
As Usagi rejoined Quatre, Wufei noticed how his eyes lit up. Smirking to himself he walked off towards the training room on the second floor. Whether or not Quatre knew it himself it was obvious that he was falling in love with Usagi. At one time he had thought that he loved her as well. That was until he had followed her advice and given Meiran a chance. Maybe one day he'd be able to move on again, but for now he was satisfied being single.
Upon entering the training room he saw Duo on the floor, a ruined punching bag by his side. When he saw Wufei he scowled, something he rarely did. Wufei prepared himself for Duo's antics, the yelling, the screaming, and the high-pitched sounds. But he was shocked when the pilot stood and simply stormed out of the room, not even glancing back. Apparently there was more to him than they thought. Usagi was involved in all their lives, that he was sure of. Quatre, Trowa and Hiiro had already confessed it so it was more than likely that Duo knew her as well.
Sighing he began to practice his katas in order to relieve the stress. Soon he stopped, his mind wandering back to Quatre. Usagi was too innocent to see anything other than friendship from any of them; she had been when he had first met him. And it appeared she hadn't changed very much in the last six years. Sitting on the floor he put his head in his hands to think it over. He smiled as he thought of Quatre falling in love with her. Quatre had never loved anyone and even had a hard time admitting that the pilots were his friends, even more so than Hiiro. This was most certainly going to be an interesting relationship. But then there was Hiiro. Frowning Wufei lay on his back to stare at the ceiling. He was most certainly going to be a problem.