Disclaimer: I lay claim only to my family, cat, house and car.

It was a weird split, I know, but this way evened out the pages 6 and 6 instead of 4 and 8. I'm weird that way. Well, I'm off to watch a new episode of Avatar with my daughter and eat dark chocolate M&Ms.

Rascal

Chapter 13

Heero heard the small gurgling sound in the quiet car and looked to Milliardo who seemed oblivious. Heero let it go until thirty seconds later the sound could be heard again.

"Is that….your stomach?"

"Sorry. I'm hungry."

Heero just scoffed.

"Didn't you eat beforehand?"

"Not really. No time."

Milliardo had been too nervous to eat before the show so he'd opted for a stiff drink instead, which seemed to have been the better idea up until about ten minutes ago when his stomach felt like it was caving in on itself. At least it waited to make noise after we left the theater.

As if to make its point, Milliardo's stomach spoke up again and the blonde growled as he pulled onto Heero's street.

"Stop here."

"What?"

Milliardo looked to Heero, confused, but stern blue eyes glinted in the harsh streetlight illuminating the interior of the car and Milliardo did as he was told, pulling up to the curb.

"Come on."

Milliardo was too confused at Heero's behavior to do anything other than follow. But when he realized Heero's face was suddenly glowing orange he regained himself and looked at where they were. Stromboli's. I didn't even notice where we were.

"Are you sure?"

"We're not eating here. We'll take it back to my place. Now hurry. They close in half an hour."

Milliardo just smiled as he entered the open door Heero was holding.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Milliardo followed Heero silently to the apartment door, carrying three bags of food. He tried to keep the look of satisfaction off his face when Heero ordered a rather sizable amount of food for himself. Maybe I wasn't the only one not up to eating before the show.

They entered the apartment and Heero tossed his keys on a side table, along with his jacket and then turned to take the bags from Milliardo, flicking a few switches as he went along, illuminating the apartment throughout.

"Make yourself at home."

Milliardo stopped at the precipice of the living room for a moment and surveyed Heero's apartment. It was smaller than his own but with a similar open floor plan. There was no bar dividing the kitchen from the living room so everything just kind of flowed together. And as he expected of Heero, the apartment was Spartan, complete with the white walls and beige carpeting it undoubtedly came with, nothing on the walls, and the only item sitting out on the kitchen counter was a coffee pot.

The deep burgundy sofa looked a little worn for only supporting a single, reclusive man so Milliardo assumed it was bought used, along with the large square-shaped coffee table which had various nicks, a few visible coffee ring stains, and now their late night dinner.

There was a TV and DVD combo sitting against the wall and a long, low bookcase which contained books and piles of magazines. That was pretty much the sum of Heero's possessions with the exception of his bedroom which Milliardo assumed was equally utilitarian.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought Milliardo from his observations to see Heero standing in the kitchen entranceway, plates and cups and silverware in hand.

"Something wrong?"

"No."

Milliardo quickly deposited his coat on top of Heero's and joined the man to eat at the coffee table.

For the first five minutes or so, neither man spoke as he filled the gaping hole in his stomach. Finally, after a big drink from his soda, Heero reached out for the remote. Milliardo just watched the shows skip by, not really caring what they watched. Suddenly a familiar voice spoke out loudly and Milliardo looked up to see Relena on the TV screen, giving a speech. Uh oh.

Heero read the colored bar at the bottom of the screen and then turned to Milliardo who was very interested in eating his meal.

"You said you'd go with Relena if I didn't go. How was she supposed to attend the theater here when she was scheduled to give a speech on L7?"

Think fast, Peacecraft!

Milliardo finished chewing the mouthful of food, took a sip of his soda and then cleared his throat as he faced Heero, his face perfectly casual, showing no signs of his inner anxiety.

"Actually, I may have misspoken. I said if you didn't go, I would be forced to go with Relena. However, what I meant was, if you didn't go to the theater with me, I'd have no excuse but to accompany her to L7."

Milliardo bravely met the sharp blue gaze aimed at him, confident in his lie.

"Why would she force you to accompany her?"

For this, Milliardo did not have to lie.

"She's been on my case about not spending time together. I personally think she needs a husband."

Despite himself Heero smirked and looked to the blonde woman, wondering if she'd ever find a man willing to put up with her and her crusade.

Milliardo was relieved to see Heero relax and so he resumed his dinner, listening to Relena while making a mental note to call her soon. I really am a terrible brother I suppose.

"You should call her."

Milliardo's head whipped to the side and he stared at Heero wide-eyed. Heero just calmly looked at Milliardo. He wasn't smiling, but his face had a softer look to it.

"She's your family."

Milliardo didn't think Heero was really thinking about his relationship with his sister. He doesn't really have a family, does he? He's already admitted to being lonely. And even though he accepts my companionship, he really needs his family back. Those pilots are his family.

"You miss them, don't you?"

Heero started at Milliardo's soft words and turned back to his food, taking a big bite, glaring at the TV. That's none of his business. He's completely out of line.

Heero swallowed hard and winced before answering Milliardo, his attention still forward on the TV.

"That's none of your business."

Milliardo sighed at the hard tone in Heero's voice. I thought we were getting somewhere.

"I was just worried about you."

Heero wanted to turn to Milliardo, yell at him, and ask him why he would say such a thing. I didn't ask for him to be my friend! He invaded my life! I was doing just fine by my---

Heero slouched against the sofa and closed his eyes. I was by myself. Alone. And now….there's Milliardo. Heero sat there, considering what his life was like now and deciding it was better than he thought. And Milliardo was a friend that he wanted to keep.

"Sorry. But….you're right….I do."

Milliardo slowly turned to see Heero slumped against the front of the sofa, his eyes staring at his food, unseeing.

"Are you scared?"

Heero just scoffed and kept staring forward. Of course he was scared. Terrified even. What if, after finally gaining the courage to contact his friends again, they said "go to hell"? They'd have every right. He'd purposefully hidden his existence from them for several years.

"Maybe."

Milliardo could see Heero was becoming uncomfortable with the topic so he turned his attention back to his food, trying to sound casual as he ate and watched the TV.

"You shouldn't be. They're your family. They'll understand."

Heero looked to Milliardo who was sucking soda through a straw, watching TV. He's trying to look casual but I know better. I just don't know if he's tense because of me, or if he's thinking about his own family. Relena is all he has as far as I know. Although I seem to recall him being close with that woman pilot. Nora was it?

Milliardo could feel Heero's eyes on him and so he turned, his eyebrows raised in a silent question. Heero just smirked and turned back to his dinner. We're both a couple of fools.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Milliardo drove home, he couldn't keep the smile from his face. The night had been a complete success. Heero not only went to the theater with him, but they had dinner at Heero's apartment and shared a nice moment.

He accepts me enough to discuss personal matters. Sort of. But the point is we talked. Not about work or generic crap. We spoke about our families, or lack thereof.

Suddenly Milliardo found the car to be too quiet so he turned on the radio. He pressed the search button repeatedly looking for something to tempt his mood. Suddenly the sound of brass instruments and violins sounded and he stopped.

Classical music. Who would have thought?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Heero lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. He was tired and the full stomach would help him fall right to sleep, but for now his mind was still active.

Tonight wasn't what I planned at all. I just wanted to go to the theater, get it over with, and come home. End of story. But Milliardo's stupid stomach…..

His brows knit as he realized that having Milliardo over to eat was all his own doing. Milliardo didn't prompt him to go out for anything.

I invited him to my apartment for dinner on my own. Huh.

Heero's features smoothed, accepting his role in the evening's turn of events rather easily, and then rolled over, snuggling into the pillow.

I guess….tonight was nice. It wasn't a date. But….it was nice.

To be continued….