A Gundam Wing fanfic by Maria.
Of all the people in the world, I had to bump into Heero today. While it rains, nevertheless. Water pours from above, and here on the streets of Paris we're both drenched.
"I should've thought it'd rain today", he mumbles, his dark blue eyes quite somber as we walk down the city's streets. "The weather on Earth is rather unpredictable at times".
"Man, don't say so. Not even the Weather Channel is always right", I tell him cheerfully. He looks back at me, and smiles a little. I know he doesn't do it often, so - should I feel lucky that he smiled, and didn't shove me away with a dry remark like almost any other guy of our age would?
Well, he's neither Mr. Sunshine, nor a walking Jack Frost. So I suppose it's okay, and I merely wink in response.
We keep on walking under the rain, side by side. It's kinda like we have now a sort-of tacit agreement about not letting the other walk alone. We haven't seen each other in many months since the events in Brussels, so I'm surprised that we seemed to click in almost without words.
After all, in the surface, we can't be more different. Hair, attitude, voice, clothing... We're almost like Ying and Yang, like Hilde or Relena would say.
Heero suddenly stops, and this takes me so much by surprise that I almost miss the moment when he does so. I turn back, and I see him talking to a man who is selling stuff in a small shop. I can't exactly understand what he tells the guy, though; this is France, after all, and my French isn't exactly the best. I can barely make the people in the street understand what the Hell I'm saying whenever I try talking to them.
"Are you done, Yuy?", I ask him in English, rather impatiently. I'm not here to get even more drenched while you chitchat, Heero!
"Just give me two minutes, Maxwell". I can't help but notice the slight sarcasm in his voice.
The seller hands him a small plastic bag right then. Heero pays for whatever he has bought, and then turns to me.
"I'm done, Duo. Let's go".
He takes out something from the bag. I see now... a small black umbrella. Damn, that makes me again realize how careless I still am at times. I should've asked him to buy me one and pay him as soon as we reached a café where we could have something hot to pass the cold...
"Here".
Instead of opening it, he hands me the umbrella. I look at him, blinking.
"Huh? Heero... Is that one for me?".
"I bought two. One for me, the other is for you".
"Since when are you so generous?", I ask, thinking he has a sort of hidden intention. After all, this is the guy who two years ago repaired his Gundam using parts he stole from mine...
"You're drenched", he simply says. "I don't want to see you getting sick. That's all".
"You're so considerate...", and I raise an eyebrow. But I know he's pretty much right, so I accept the umbrella and open it, using it to protect myself from the rain that still falls. He does likewise with his own one, and then looks at me.
"What now?", I ask. Damn, it's like the guy is consciously pushing my buttons.
"No, Duo", he says, his voice slightly softer than before. "You don't need to pay me back. In fact, it's my payment".
... He's the one in debt with me? I can barely believe it. I look at him right in the eyes, but the glance he gives me says that he's neither kidding nor lying.
Heero Yuy, such a puzzling man. At times you don't know if he really means what he says, or if it's just a cover. He's the Perfect Soldier, after all, for some...
But here, under the rain, he looks just like a normal boy. No masks, no hidden meanings, nothing else. Someone just like me.
And maybe that's why he's thanking me... because I allowed him to show that side of him today.
I smile back, my heart feeling lighter. "Okay, Heero. Now, however, we shall keep on walking. If you ask me, I'm freezing, and some coffee or hot chocolate could be nice for both of us...".
Without waiting for his answer, I turn and start walking again...
And just like I expected, after two or three seconds, he's walking by my side again.