A New Ally(1) Chapter 9: Clothes Bring People Together
Artificial sunlight streamed in through the opened blinds of Heero Yuy's bedroom window. The teenaged Aly Tayeari blinked her eyes open. She squinted and frowned at the mid-day light.
Flipping the covers back, she sat up and rotated her body, setting her feet gently on the floor. With a split-second pause to acknowledge Heero's absence, Aly laid her chin on the heels on her palms and stared out the window.
The scene before her was not of any interest. Cars were moving steadily on the street below and people were bustling down the sidewalks as though they had no care in the world. Not that they should have had any worries. After all, the war was over and peace was slowly ascending throughout the colonies and earth.
Aly was not really looking at anything outside the window. Her entire field of vision was blurry and unfocused as her thoughts drifted elsewhere.
She frowned again at the outside light. The artificial sunlight seemed too bright for her numb feeling mind and energy-drained body.
The girl finally gave up on trying to think. Her brain felt far too fogged and her stomach complained noisily from lack of nourishment. She opted to venture outside of the bedroom in search of food.
Dropping her hands to her sides, she stood slowly and stretched. As she made her way to the door, she rolled her head around to try to pop a few kinks out of her neck.
Out of habit, Aly closed the bedroom door behind her before walking down the short hallway and into the living room. She felt slightly more alert after moving that short distance and took the opportunity to quickly observe the room before her.
There was only three pieces of furniture in the entire room. A black couch, that appeared to be made out of leather or a good imitation of leather, sat against the back wall. In front of the couch was an oak colored coffee table with a glass top that had Heero's laptop closed up and stationed on top of it. Against the wall opposite the couch stood a short, oak armoire that was opened to reveal a blank, medium-sized, flat-screen television.
Everything was clean and free from dust. The living room did not seem very cozy with its bare furnishings and the same dull, gray carpeting that was placed throughout the apartment.
Turning to her left, Aly saw the attached kitchen. There was a tall bar top that separated the kitchen from the living room. The bar had only three stools; all that would fit with the short length of it. Behind the bar, she could see into the small kitchen where Heero had been standing with his back to her, pulling a teakettle off of the stove.
Without turning around, Heero spoke briefly to Aly. She wondered how he had known she was there. Her footsteps were always silent, even in her drowsy state after waking.
"Would you like some tea?" Heero asked.
"Yes, please." Aly said as she stared curiously at his backside. Heero poured some hot water from the teakettle into two small teacups with tea leafs already in the bottom of each. He set the teakettle back on the stove before returning his attention to the teacups and stirring the contents of both.
Satisfied, Heero set the spoon in the sink then walked over to the bar, setting both cups down on top of it. He turned around again and pulled a plate and a small stack of napkins off of the counter. Aly pulled out one of the barstools and sat down.
With the plate in one hand Heero walked around the bar and sat down on the stool beside Aly. He set the plate down in front of himself, then spread out two napkins. On each one, he placed two pieces of wheat toast from the plate.
Pushing the plate away, Heero slid one teacup and one toast topped napkin towards Aly. She had watched the whole process with curiosity. It seemed that everything Heero ever did was careful and calculated. It fascinated her.
"Thanks." Aly took both the cup and napkin from him gratefully. Heero just glanced at her emotionlessly and nodded once before concentrating on his own food.
Aly looked away from him and back to the food before her. She blew on the cup before bringing it to her lips and taking a tentative sip.
With a slow sense of familiarity, Aly recognized the hot liquid as kochya, the traditional Japanese tea. She recalled that Kenichi had often made it for her before he had died.
The memory sent a pang of remorse through her stomach. She set the teacup down and frowned at it.
"You don't like kochya?" Heero asked, glancing at her when he noticed she was frowning at the teacup.
"No...suki desu." Aly mumbled. She looked up and met his gaze, wondering if she had offended Heero after he had fixed the tea and toast for her.
"Suki desu? I did not know you understood Japanese." Heero said. He seemed more like he was commenting to himself than to her.
"Not well. I learned a bit from a friend who also made me kochya." Aly stated. She took another drink of tea. Heero did not respond, and Aly did not speak further. The rest of their little meal was spent in silence.
When they both were finished, Heero gathered up the teacups, plate, and napkins. He threw away the napkins, then proceeded to rinse the dishes in the sink.
"I should be doing that." Aly spoke her thoughts out loud.
"Don't worry about it." Heero stated plainly. He rinsed the dishes before gently placing them into the dishwasher.
"Well, I should be doing something to help out. I stole your bed and then you made me lunch." Aly said, a thoughtful expression on her face.
Heero dried his hands on a dishtowel and leaned against the kitchen counter with his arms folded across his chest. He studied the sincere expression on Aly's face before lowering his head in thought.
"You will probably be here a while before the media finds someone else to hound...If you really want to help, we can work out a system." Heero said, clearly thinking things over inside his head.
"Whatever you think would be best. It's your home." Aly shrugged. Heero did not acknowledge her comment. He remained silent with downcast eyes.
"How about each week, one of us cleans and the other cooks. Then, we will switch off every week." Heero said finally, looking up to meet Aly's gaze.
"Sounds fair enough. Who does which first?" Aly asked.
"Since I bought the groceries this morning, I will cook first." Heero replied.
"Fine." Aly gave a nod to show her agreement.
Heero sat down on the couch and turned on his laptop. Aly raked her hand through her hair. She frowned at how greasy it felt.
"Mind if I take a shower?"
"Go ahead. I got you a toothbrush at the store. It's on the counter in the bathroom." Heero said, typing swiftly, without looking up.
"Mind if I borrow some clothes?" Aly asked. Heero looked up then and eyed Aly's clothes. It was the same outfit she had been wearing the day before and had slept in the previous night.
"There may be something in my closet. Feel free to look." Heero went back to his laptop.
"Thanks." Aly said. When Heero did not reply she turned away and left to search for some clothes in his room.
August 8th, A.C. 196:
Aly grunted as she struggled to open the front door to Heero's apartment. She had one laundry basket balanced against her hip and the other one on the floor as she opened the door with one hand and tried to hold it open by leaning against it.
Holding the one basket in both hands again, she shifted her weight away from the door and tried to push the other basket outside with her foot. The door started to close behind her so she moved quickly to stop it with one hand. In the process, she tipped the basket in her arms too far, causing half of its contents to spill onto the floor.
With a frustrated sigh, Aly let go of the door, allowing it to close itself, then bent down to pick up the clothes she had dropped. Lifting the basket once again, Aly opened the door, trying to successfully maneuver both baskets outside the way she had intended to before. Once again, Aly started to feel the door close before she could scoot the second basket out the door.
A hand grabbed the door before it could close. Aly glanced over her shoulder to see Heero holding it for her. He pulled the door open and held it while she stepped outside. Closing the door behind himself, Heero grabbed the basket Aly had been sliding along the floor and picked it up.
"Thought you could use some help." Heero said in response to Aly's curious stare. Without another word, he started off in the direction of the elevator. Aly shrugged to herself and followed.
In the laundry room of Heero's apartment building, on the ground floor, Heero and Aly sorted through the dirty laundry, making different loads. The pair did not speak as they worked together to start the laundry.
Once all of the washers were running, Aly hopped on top of an empty one across from the three they were using. She pulled her legs up and sat in the lotus position while she looked around the room.
The laundry room was about the size of a small laundry mat. It was open twenty-four hours to residents of the apartment building. Aly and Heero were the only ones there at the time. It was silent except for the noise produced by the washers.
Aly was starting to get used to silence. She had been staying with Heero for seven days, and they had not spoken much in all of that time. Her first day there, Heero had taken Aly to a small clothing shop to buy new clothes, but that was the only time she had left the apartment. The only reason she had gone at all was because Heero had not wanted to have to buy her underwear for her, or so Aly assumed.
They had not spoken except out of necessity. It was very awkward for Aly to have stayed with a stranger for an entire week and not been able to speak to them about much of anything. But, Aly knew it must have been awkward for Heero too. So, she had accepted the silence and tied to get used to it.
A noise to Aly's left caught her attention. She looked over to see Heero sitting on one of the empty washers beside their three. He was diagonally across from her and seemed to be staring out at nothing.
"Thanks...for helping me with the laundry." Aly spoke up.
"Hn." Heero answered without looking at her. Aly looked away from him and laid her chin in her palms as she watched the laundry swishing past the front window of the washer in stormy sea of soapy water.
"Do you miss him?"
"Hm?" Aly was surprised to hear Heero had spoken to her.
"Do you miss your father?" Heero reiterated. Aly looked over to see he was looking at her. It was strange that he was suddenly speaking to her about something personal. They had not really talked about anything remotely personal since their conversation on the PeaceMillion.
The IceAngel pilot wondered if she had been correct in assuming Heero was so detached because of his soldier's instincts. And, after the war had ended, he was trying to show more emotion. She frowned thoughtfully, considering his question.
"Yes. He was the only family I had left." Aly answered honestly. Heero looked down; he appeared to be thinking.
"Is that why you said you were alone?" Again, Aly had been caught off guard. She really was unsure where Heero was going with his questions, but she hoped that by answering them, there would be less silence between the two in the future.
"Yes." Aly said after several seconds. She looked down, lost in her own memories of that day.
Heero was lost in his own thoughts as well. He had to admit he was still curious about how Aly felt towards the idea of being alone. Heero had been alone for so long, he had trouble picturing what it was like not to be.
In a way, he had not been completely alone. He had had his fellow pilots with him throughout most of the war. However, deep down, Heero knew it was not quite the same as what Aly had had. Aly had a family to go back to and she had close friends to turn to. Heero on the other hand, was only a brother-in-arms. He did not have those same connections that Aly did.
It struck Heero as odd, that Aly said she was alone. She still had Quatre, Duo, and Trowa. They would always be there for her if she needed someone to turn to. Heero had seen that in Quatre's eyes the day Aly's father had died. If Quatre were not so important in the public eye, he would have been more than willing to take Aly in the way Heero had.
The WingZero pilot concluded that it must have all tied in to Aly's innocence. She felt alone because she had never been without her father; she had always had a home and a family. It was a bond that Heero would never really understand. He would never understand what it was like to have a family, a home, and close friends who all looked after you.
For the first time, Heero realized that he was not only curious about Aly's relationships with his fellow pilots and her father, but he was also a bit jealous. He wanted to know more, in hopes that he would understand it better.
"Will you tell me about him?" Heero finally asked.
"What do you want to know?" The IceAngel pilot looked up at him, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"I want to know what it's like to have a father. To know you're not alone." Heero said. The dark haired boy felt angry with himself for asking those questions. It should not have mattered to him. He should not felt the need to talk to the girl or find out about her family life.
Heero was the perfect soldier, he was alone, and being alone was what he knew best. But, Aly was changing everything. There was someone depending on him, someone living with him. He was in a situation he had never been trained for. Never had he expected to be stuck living with an innocent.
Aly studied Heero closely. She was intrigued by his questions. Never had she really discussed her family life with anyone, not even Quatre. But, she saw no harm in talking to Heero about it. She hoped it would even help him come out of his shell a little bit.
"My father and I were not very close. We had a somewhat strange relationship really..." Aly began. She was having a hard time explaining what she meant.
"How so?"
"Well...Based on what I have seen, with other families, we were not that close. We talked to each other in more of a business like fashion. And...he was not a very hands-on parent."
"Not hands-on?" Heero looked a bit curious about that. He wondered if she'd meant he never hit her.
"I had two friends. They had a daughter. And, there were always hugs and kisses...and just, more friendliness about their relationship with her. My father and I were not like that." The IceAngel pilot shrugged at Heero.
"Hn." Heero replied. He looked down again in thought.
"Then why do you miss him so much?" Heero looked up at Aly again, trying to read her expressions.
"Well I..." Aly trailed off. She had never really thought about why, she had just felt that way. "Maybe it was this obligatory thing. Where...you have to love your parents, in spite of how awkward your relationship may be. And...he really is all the family I have." The young girl tried to explain how she felt without confusing the both of them.
"Were you jealous of your friends?"
"Sometimes... I had never really known that kind of relationship. So, it was strange to miss something I had never experienced."
The WingZero pilot did not ask anymore questions about Aly's family. For the time being, he felt content with her answers.
"Were you always alone?" Aly asked in a careful voice. She noticed a strange expression cross Heero's face. It was gone almost as fast as it had appeared. She pondered what it had meant. Had it been sadness, surprise? Or perhaps somewhere in between? Her thoughts were halted when Heero spoke.
"For a while I thought I had someone." The WingZero pilot responded once he got over his shock. He looked like he was trying to bore holes into the floor tiles by glaring at them.
"I'm sorry. I was just curious..." Aly said, feeling guilty for upsetting him. Heero's expression went blank. He looked back up at Aly with an emotionless face.
"It's fine." Heero said.
"OK." Aly studied Heero's face. It was the same expression she had seen when she met him. His face looked emotionless, except for his eyes. His eyes had a haunted look. Their intensity unnerved her.
Looking away from him, Aly noticed that the washers had stopped. She slid from her seat and opened the first one, pulling its contents into the empty laundry basket. Heero walked over and did the same for the other two washers.
Together, they put the wet laundry into the dryers and started them up. As the laundry tumbled slowly in the large dryers, Heero and Aly returned to their seats and sat in silence.
The pair of gundam pilots did not speak to each other at all while the clothes dried. Neither of them was really feeling talkative anymore. And, neither of them would have known what to say in the first place.
The Laundry mat was silent again. Aly looked over to see that the dryers had stopped. She walked over to the first one and emptied its contents into an empty laundry basket. With little effort, she carried the basket over to a folding counter and dumped the clean laundry on top, setting the basket back down on the floor beside herself.
Across from her, she could see Heero had done the same. She picked through the clothing and began to fold, watching Heero out of the corner of her eye. Her lips twitched from trying not to smile as she watched Heero attempt to fold up one of her bras with an odd expression on his face.
With all of the laundry folded and placed back into the baskets, the pair of gundam pilots wordlessly headed back to Heero's apartment.
In the bedroom, Heero emptied his basket on the bed and began sorting through it, separating everything into two piles. Aly followed his example and began sorting though what was hers and what was his.
"Do you have enough tank tops?" Aly smirked at Heero as she added two more tank tops to his pile of clothing. The WingZero pilot glanced at her briefly before he went back to his task of sorting.
Aly frowned. It was not the first time she recalled trying to joke with Heero and he had not responded.
'Perhaps it was too much to assume he'd come out of his shell when the war ended.' Aly thought.
"Do you have anything that isn't blue?" Heero asked without looking up. That got Aly's attention. She looked at Heero with a surprised, yet amused look on her face. Heero met her gaze and a slight smirk twitched at his lips.
"I like blue." Aly smirked right back at him.
"Well I like tank tops." Heero said coolly in return. Shaking her head and smiling, Aly went back to her sorting.
That day, the pair had made a silent agreement to do the laundry together from then on.
September 3rd, A.C. 196:
Curled up against one arm of the couch, Aly sat watching the news on the flat-screened television in the living room of Heero's apartment. Heero was sitting on the other side of the couch, checking his e-mail on his laptop.
"You have a letter from Quatre." Heero said without looking up. Aly turned away from the news story about construction on the X-18999 colony and looked at Heero's laptop. He handed the small computer over to her.
Setting it on her lap, Aly clicked on the letter addressed to her. She skimmed it carefully; curious about what Quatre wanted. She had been at Heero's apartment for over a month, and had only been able to contact Quatre through an untraceable e-mail account of Heero's.
They had just recently installed a new phone line that had a blocked number, but neither Aly nor Heero had been able to give the number out to any of the other former pilots.
"Anything interesting?" Heero asked, watching Aly read.
"He saw Trowa yesterday...the circus will be on L4 for the next two months, then on L3 for the following two months...and Trowa sends greetings to both of us..." Aly skimmed through the e-mail again.
"Anything else?" Heero inquired, looking up at the news when the vice foreign minister, Relena Dorlain came on screen.
Aly had already started swiftly typing a reply when Heero had spoken.
"He wants to know if I will stay with him when it's safe." Aly said quickly, without looking up. Heero glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Were you two together before...?" Heero continued to look at the screen, focusing on the press conference with the vice-foreign minister.
Aly deleted the e-mail from Quatre and sent off her reply. She looked down at the keyboard and frowned.
"Yeah...I guess."
"So what did you tell him?"
"Maybe." Aly set the laptop down on the coffee table and walked into the kitchen. She fixed herself a glass of ice water and leaned against the kitchen counter while she gulped half of it down.
"They're talking about you on the news." Heero called from the couch. Curious, Aly walked back out into the living room. She stood beside the couch and focused on what Relena was saying.
"So far, no one has stepped up to replace the foreign minister. I know a lot of people have assumed his daughter would take his place, but at this time, no one knows if that will happen." Relena said clearly into the microphone.
"Do you know where the foreign minister's daughter is?" A reporter from the crowd asked.
"No, I have not been in contact with her for some time. I am as in the dark about her whereabouts as all of you are." Relena replied.
A news reporter came back onto the screen in Relena's place and began speaking.
"That footage was of the press conference held yesterday afternoon on the L1 colony. The vice-foreign minister left shortly there after for her home on Earth.
In other news..." The reporter began. Aly set her ice water down on the coffee table and walked away from the living room.
"Where are you going?" Heero asked, turning to watch Aly walk down the hallway.
"I'm going to call Relena."
Five minutes later, Aly watched as an image of Relena Peacecraft Dorlain appeared on the vid-phone screen in front of her.
"Natalya?" Relena asked, seeming surprised to see Aly.
"When they told me it was a business call, I expected to see some old diplomat. I am glad to see you are alive and well." Relena said with a warm smile. In spite of her cheerful attitude, Aly could see that Relena was exhausted.
"Yes, I'm fine." Aly said. She wanted to keep the conversation as short as possible.
"What would you like me to tell the public?" Relena asked, recognizing Aly's serious tone.
"Tell them that I have been grieving and have been staying with a friend in an undisclosed location." Aly said.
"OK...what about the diplomatic position? Have you considered taking your father's place?" Relena asked.
Aly ran a hand though her hair to calm her nerves. It was a big question that she had thought about a lot in the previous month.
"If you need me to I will. But, you have to understand I will need a lot of help. I have never personally handled many foreign affairs." Aly replied.
"I would like all the help I can get. It's hard to take care of everything myself. Your father really was a big help." Relena sighed, her cheerful mask finally slipping.
"I'm not sure I'd be the best person for the job." Aly said with a frown.
"Believe me, I did not think I would be either. But, in the end, you're really the best one for it. If it were an older person, new to the job, everything would be a lot different. It seems the older people are, the more stubborn they are too. I need someone like you who would have a fresh, open mind." Relena smiled weakly at Aly.
"Fine." Aly said, dropping her hand to her side.
"And, you would not have to start right away. The position does not technically have to be filled until next year...in July. The position must be filled within a year before the second in rank moves up to take their place." Relena explained.
Aly nodded, remembering something her father had said about that after Relena's adopted father had died. He had been worried that some lowly Cinq Kingdom official would be hired to replace Mr. Dorlain.
"I have to deal with a lot of legal stuff over the next few months. I will contact you again after the first of next year." Aly said, scanning Relena's expression to see if she accepted it.
"All right. I will talk to you in a few months then." Relena said.
Aly nodded once, unsure what else to say. She started to close the line when Relena stopped her.
"Oh and Natalya?" Relena said
"Yes?"
"Thanks." Relena smiled warmly before she cut the connection.
The IceAngel pilot turned off the vid-phone and stared at the blank screen for several long seconds.
'What have I gotten myself in to?' She thought.
"You feel like Chinese tonight?"
Aly turned around to see Heero leaning against the wall behind her. She shrugged to show that she had no complaints about the idea.
"Good. I don't feel like cooking tonight. There's a good place down the street." Heero said.
"You think it's OK for me to venture out now?" Aly was a bit doubtful. The only time she had left the apartment was to buy clothes her first day there. Other than that, she had not left the building. She had even resorted to doing laps up and down the buildings six flights of stairs to burn off her cabin fever and get exercise.
"Should be. You said you wanted to get a bathing suit now that pool is open. I think you need to go pick it out."
"OK. When do you want to go?" Aly glanced at her watch, seeing that it as nearly seven o'clock standard time.
"Now if you want." Heero stepped away from the wall and walked back into the living room.
"Let me grab a hat just in case." Aly disappeared into the bedroom and returned wearing a baseball cap with a popular L1 team logo on the front. Her hair was up in a ponytail, sticking through the back.
Heero had turned off the TV and all of the lights except one lamp in the living room. He held the door open and the pair walked out in silence.
It was a short walk to the same clothing store Heero had taken Aly to before, less than five minutes away. The store was a small, one story shop with various brands of both popular and off-brand clothes.
Once inside, Heero sat down on a chair outside the dressing rooms and waited patiently while Aly searched through the racks of swimsuits. She did not take long to find three different one-piece suits she deemed wearable.
Without even acknowledging Heero, she ducked into one of the dressing stalls to try them on. The woman at the front desk smiled at Heero. She was an old Chinese woman dressed in comfortable looking, white cotton pants and a matching, tunic style shirt.
Heero lived in the Chinatown part of L1. It suited his needs all right. It was the closest thing he could find to a Japanese style of living. And, not a lot of media people lived or wandered around in that area.
"Girlfriend and you go to vacation?" The old woman asked in broken English.
"No." Heero said simply. The old woman's eyes crinkled as she smiled.
"No vacation or no girlfriend?"
"No to both." Heero gave the woman a glare in hopes that she would leave him alone. The first time he and Aly had been there, she had not spoken. He wondered if the store got much business. He had never seen any other customers there before. The old lady must have felt lonely in order to talk to him.
The woman continued to smile at him, her eyes twinkling. She did not seem to even care that he was glaring at her or did not want to speak to her.
Heero was grateful that Aly did not take long to shop. The last time they were there, it had taken her less than half an hour to pick out two weeks worth of clothes. He had sat in the same chair as before and waited patiently, expecting her to take much longer than she had.
"Your find everything well?" The woman asked when Aly stepped out of the dressing room and walked up to the counter.
"Yes. Thank you." Aly pulled some money out of her back pocket and paid for her swimsuits.
The old woman folded the bathing suits and placed them in a bag along with a small package. She handed both to Aly.
"What's this?" Aly inquired, pulling the small package from her bag.
"Herbal tea. It is gift for your friend. He seem not happy." The old woman smiled secretively at Aly. The IceAngel pilot glanced at Heero who was standing in the open doorway.
"Oh. He is always that way. But, thank you." Aly smiled and bowed at the old woman before walking outside with Heero.
While the pair of gundam pilots walked in silence to the small restaurant on the corner, the IceAngel pilot thought back to what the old woman in the shop had said. She had referred to Heero as Aly's friend.
Glancing out of the corner of her eye at him, she pondered over that. She had not known Heero very long. And, they did not really communicate much. However, when she thought about it, she was used to Heero after living with him for a month. Perhaps, given time, he would become more of a friend.
"What?" Heero asked, noticing Aly's stare.
"The old lady thinks your mean." She said with a teasing smile.
"Hn." Was Heero's only reply, but Aly could tell he was amused.
-End of Chapter 9-
Authors Notes:
Hey Minna-san!
Sorry for taking so long to update. I got some serious writer's block. But, I am back, and in a great mood to write! I am finally getting to the less AU, more original part of the story and it is becoming much easier to write. I will probly start up the next chapter tonight even.
Hope you liked this chapter. I know it was kinda pointless, but I am trying to keep Heero in character and still show how he would react to having a girl living with him. Hope it turned out OK... ();
Please don't forget to review! It means a lot to me! Thanks!
-AlyRain
January 2004.