That evening Trowa's contemplations were interrupted by a quiet knock. He opened the door to find Heero Yuy standing there alone. This surprised him, though he was uncertain at first about the undercurrent that made him feel surprised. The dim yet warm light softened Heero's appearance, and Trowa stood aside silently as a welcome gesture. The other walked in, with sure and even soldier's steps, and Trowa understood that those steps were tempered with something else... something that made Heero seem like a caged tiger, something testy though he was not pacing or punchy. It's Duo, it must be Duo affecting him this way. Heero went directly to the window and looked out it with sharp eyes, a posture a little more loose than usual. It was impossible to guess whether or not he paid any attention the stained glass below the true window. Trowa studied the boy, Not just Duo... it's all setting in. The reality that war is over. That the Peacecrafts and their kind are spinning their silk of peace around the world. He did not speak to Heero, just shut the door, which was always oiled at the hinges, thus silent, and went directly to the tiny kitchen and put the kettle on. While it was heating up, he turned and leaned in the door frame, though there was no door, with his arms at his sides and his head slightly bowed, though he was watching Heero.
They stood across the room from one another in silence. These two, who had been accustomed to solitude, to the loneliness of having lived without any true companionship before the war, were not at a loss for words. What needed expression between the two of them? They had endured a nightmare of war where mortal danger was a forgone conclusion. This, they could manage, they were accustomed to it, could live with it. Such circumstances egged one on toward their purpose. They had no fear of death and death seemed to have no lingering taste for either of them. What they had found in peacetime was a far more personal, far more unfamiliar human battlefield--where emotions and relationships and words were at the forefront. This was life, humanity, something that both of them were initiated into during the war, and were still struggling their way through. Each one had, in his own way yielded some of the soldier's detachment to this new way of life. The silence between them was heightened with a new awareness because of this, and left a small buzzing charge in the air. Both vaguely recalled a time when Heero had proclaimed the importance of following one's emotions. After some long minutes of silent stillness, the kettle began its whistle and Trowa moved back into the kitchen. There he quietly prepared the tea.
