No matter how hard he had tried, the dream just would not let him sleep. He tossed and turned in bed until he could finally stand it no more, and decided to go for a walk in hopes that the exercise would make him drowsy. During the 2 hour of his walk, he met up with his Gundam, Wing Zero, who listened to his story and generously offered to carry him around for a while to let him rest a bit.

The Gundam carried him through the vast forest, to the boundaries, where he had never been before. He fell to awe, but still, the dream remained in his mind, refusing to release him from it's grasp, and ruined what would've been a peaceful moment.

Lost in a world of sadness, the 17-year-old sat alone on the machine's shoulder. Here, he sat looking out from his vantage point over the vast valley of forest and field that stretched out as far as the eye could see some 5 stories below him, and the breath-taking sky filled with the astounding full moon, shining in all it's glory, and white and asorted shades of blue stars that dotted the jet black sky high above. His short, dark brown hair waved softly in the gentle breeze. His eyes, a beautiful deep blue, reflected his inner sorrow, and glistened in the bright white moonlight. The thin olive green shirt he wore did little to protect him from the slight chill of the winds, and his navy blue spandex shorts did even less to prevent it, but it didn't bother him anyway.

Deep in meditation, the boy had long since lost track of time as he pondered the dream again. It had come to him again last night, and this was not the first time either. No, it had happened several times before, more times than he cared to count.

There her face again, on the face of his enemy...and he watched in terror as the beam saber sliced right through the image of the terrified little girl. And here, he woke up screaming. Never had he finished that particular dream, as he always awoke at this very point.

The Gundam's eyes suddenly glowed a pale green, indicating the telepathic message it created for it's pilot was being sent. Heero received it and nodded in agreement. He sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. "Alright, Wing Zero...Take us home."

The huge machine lifted it's leg and brought it forward, stepping down and shaking the ground beneath it almost violently. Silently, it began on it's journey back to the huge, mansion-like estate known as 'Villa Winner', carrying it's depressed pilot along.

******

The room was dark, the moonbeams doing little to illuminate the contents, but Heero could still see the small bookshelf in the southeastern corner, the chest of drawers against the right side of the bookshelf and the sleeping form of his sister, curled up on her right side under the soft sheets of white on her bed in front of the center of the window, located in the center of the north wall. Though she was only 2 years younger than he was, she looked a lot younger from this view point, he decided. Her side rose and fell slightly with each and every breath she took.

Silently, so as not to wake his little sister, Heero crept over to her bedside and knelt beside her. His hand moved to brush a lock of dark brown hair, almost identical in color to his, out of her face. At this, she stirred a little, moaning softly, almost pitifully as she did, but did not open her eyes.

Heero could not supress a smile when he saw this--no matter how cold and cruel he could make himself appear in front of his allies or his enemies, his sister could always bring out his softer, more compassionate side. She was the only thing of value to him, the only thing he held dear, solely because she was bound to him by blood, and the only one who truely understood him...even though her fear of him still remained, if only a little of it. Also, she had cared for him when he was sick and injured, tending his wounds and fever. It was humiliating at first, but over time (3 weeks and 4 days, to be exact), he had learned to trust her without a doubt, and had managed to win her trust as well.

Just as silently as before, Heero rose and left the room to let his little sister sleep peacefully. He was sure to close the door behind him before proceeding down the dimly lit hallway and down the stairwell. In the living room at the bottom of the stairs, a bright stream of moonlight bathed him in it's soothing rays as it poured through the window of the front door. He regarded it briefly, then turned away, only to find himself turning back around to the door and exiting the villa quietly moments later with nothing better to do.

The moon's rays engulfed him then, as they had no obstruction from the huge front porch of the villa. Once again, the gentle winds came just as he made his entrance to the outside world, but only briefly this time. They lightly caressed his skin only once, then left him silently in the light of the moon. Now, completely alone and in a deep depression, Heero plopped down in one of the two deeply cushioned comforter couches on the hard wooden surface. He was mentally and physically exhausted, and in his right mind, he would have simply flopped over and tried to sleep, even if he only got a cat nap instead, but he was too upset to sleep. His conscious would never let him rest anyhow, he was sure.

He felt weak and drained of all his energy. Fatigue was beginning to take him over, slowly. His senses were blurring as well. Now he only saw a big dark green blur where there should've been a forest; there was a black blob where there should've been a sky, filled with beautiful stars. He could hear the winds coursing through the trees, but it was merely a soft ruffle to his ears. He could smell nothing, and normally he would've smelled the relaxing fragrance of grass and pine in the air. His touch was not so bad, however. The cool air of the night was still fresh on his skin.

Then, the soft opening and closing of the front foor brought all of his senses back to their fullest abilities. Heero wearily turned his head to the source of the noise, prepared with a cold glare for one of the other four Gundam pilots, but he immediately softened it, recognizing his sister watching him in obvious concern and maybe even a little shock.

"Heero?" she asked softly. "Was that you a moment ago, up in my bedroom?"

"Yeah..." he yawned. "I was just checking on you, that's all."

"Oh...okay."

She figited nervously for a moment before finally deciding to sit beside her brother. Her wary eyes never left him for a moment. Heero immediately felt her tension, and it hurt him to know his own sister, the only one who ever had value to him, feared him still, even if it was only a little.

"Zavier, it's okay," he assured her softly. "I won't hurt you...Please, I'm just really tired and I can't sleep."

The girl's tension was completely removed as that last statement registered, and she found herself feeling a little embarrassed to be nervous around her only brother. "I'm sorry." She hung her head.

Heero suddenly turned to face her fully and, for the first time in his entire life, he gently hugged her, breathing in the pleasant scent of her long, dark chocolate-colored hair. Zavier was, of course, a little shocked, but she soon relaxed in his hold, feeling his slight tremble. This was not like her brother at all. He was upset, and she knew the feeling all too well. Realizing for the first time that her brother COULD be hurt, she felt any remaining fear she had of Heero disappear--he wasn't all the 'Perfect Soldier" the others had dubbed him, and he did have weaknesses. With this, her arms encircled his neck in return for his hug. Their first ever embrace lasted a long time--nearly 15 minutes, if Heero was correct. He was the one to break it, and he did so by removing his arms from her waist and leaning back into the couch's fluffy cushioning, not even hinting that the experience was the best he'd ever had, second only to saving the world and completing a mission he'd never forget.

Even with his eyes closed, he knew Zavier was watching him. He could feel her deep blue eyes, ones whose color matched his own perfectly, watching him silently. She seemed hurt that he said nothing to her, but he did nothing to acknowledge it...at least not until he felt her soft fingers gently touch and run down his cheek, and then he only opened his eyes and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and began taking deep breaths. But he was not trying to rid himself of his sister's touch, ohh no. He only wanted to put himself in a better position to allow his lungs to take in as much oxygen as they could, in effect relaxing his body physically, if anything--he wanted to enjoy this gesture of comfort as much as he could.

Zavier did nothing to stop her strokes despite her hurt over Heero's silence after their first hug--she sensed an unusual amount of pain in her older sibling. It was not like him to be so quiet around her, as he'd often ask her questions about her day and what she planned to do that night, and he never returned so late at night without first calling to let her know that he would be home late. She had known something was wrong since she came out on the porch with him. Thus, she continued her fingers' motions over his soft, lightly-tanned skin, and even ventured to lengthen them, beginning at his forehead and ending at the tip of his chin.

With every gentle stroke, Heero found himself more and more tempted to fall asleep. The urge intensified until he could fight it no more, and he lifted his weary face to see his sister.

"Zavier, will you let me sleep out here for tonight?" he asked in a weak tone, almost pleading.

She smiled lovingly, and nodded her approval. Heero sighed in relief, finally feeling the pain from his tormented mind taking leave at the sight of her smile, and waited patiently as she went inside for a blanket and returned with a thick, beautifully embroidered quilt to sit beside him once again. He gladly laid down, pressing his back as far into the cushion as he could to allow Zavier more room so she could lay beside him if she wanted and gestured for her to lie down as well, which she often felt obligated to do, due to a lack of beds in the villa. Only, he hoped she would without regret this time--he did not want to be left alone tonight, but he did not want to make her any more uncomfortable than he already had. Much to his pleasure, she accepted his offer and lay down in front of him on the couch with her back pressed firmly to his chest.

Heero then helped his little sister lay the quilt over their bodies, in effect creating a shield from the cool night air. He then placed his arm over her waist to hold her securely in front of him so that she would not fall off during her sleep and the other behind his head as a sort of pillow. Zavier simply stretched out and nestled against him even more, her mouth curved in a soft smile, feeling the security she'd always wanted from her brother--she'd only been held once like this before. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep once again, just as peacefully as before.

Still awake, Heero focused on his sister's rhythmic breathing as her side lifted his arm up and down with every breath. She was so warm and small. Why hadn't he ever noticed these things before? He had lived around her for the past 2 years, and he was just now seeing this? He knew a lot about her, sure, and he even knew, thanks to their semi-telepathic link, that she now fully trusted him, but why didn't he...?

Frustrated, he shut out those thoughts. Now was not the time, nor the place for such things. But he did make a mental note to pay more attention to her in the future. He smiled once again, rested his head on his arm and closed his eyes, warm and comfortable and relaxed as he lay beside his little sister on that oh-so-comfortable couch's cushions.

It must've taken a while, but Heero eventually fell asleep that beautiful starry night.