The following afternoon, the silencer found the lettuce gone. He wrote this on the list as well and left it off his dwindling lunch. It was recorded in Amber�s notebook. The next day, it was the bread that went missing, Trowa spread mayonnaise on his ham, much to Amber�s disgust, and left.
All items were returned by next lunch, but the huntress herself blocked the fridge. Trowa looked at her momentarily before turning to the pantry, Amber followed him, �You�d rather find yourself something else to eat then to make human contact, is that it? I�ve been watching you for a while, you come down at the same time everyday and make the same sandwich. Doesn�t that get boring?� He glanced at her, �You know, that�s a little creepy, do you watch people often?� She made a face as the well-built teenager picked up a protein bar, �I�m the one asking the questions and you haven�t answered mine so I won�t answer yours.� He moved to walk past her but she stepped in his way, �Not until you talk to me.� There was a silence before Trowa threw up his hands, �What do you want? No, I like my sandwiches and I only eat something until we run out of it. When Quatre buys turkey, I eat turkey on my sandwich, is that what you wanted to know? As for avoiding contact, I just don�t really like talking to people, alright?� Gray-green eyes dancing, Amber still didn�t move, �Ok, now, I need a hand with my Gundam. Will you give it to me?�
P.C. had quite a bit of damage from its last encounter with Oz; entire pieces of Gundanium seemed to need replacing. Trowa groaned as he read over the printout Amber had just made, �Your suit�s a mess, with any luck we might have it done a few hours after dinner, if not later. I guess we should get started now, otherwise we�ll be up all night.� As they began work, the only topic of conversation was on the mechanics of Gundams; Amber quickly bored of it, �Trowa, don�t you know anything other than Gundams and guns?� No answer came for a minute as he considered his response, �Not unless it consists of working out, fighting, being in the circus or playing chess, no, not really.� Amber shook her head, �You�re hopeless, you know that? �So, you work out. Where at?� He proceeded to begin tightening the oil valve he�d just cleaned, �It�s a small little place off of highway twenty called the Iron Horse. Not to many people go there so it helps me keep a low profile. That and they don�t hang wanted posters in their gym. I�ve had that happen before, I�m working out and some guy walks up to me and asks me my name�� Pilot six bit her lip fretfully as she watched him continue to tighten the same valve, �Trowa?� He paused in heart of his story, �What?� �You�re making that too tight.� The emerald eyed boy chuckled faintly, �Amber, please, I know what I�m doing. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, so he hit me in the gut, which really didn�t hurt to much mind you, and�� The gray cap exploded in a waterfall of thick black oil, covering Trowa�s upper half generously. Uncontrolled laughter burst from Amber as it did so, �I told you!� She continued to giggle as he wiped the machine�s blood from his face, �Very funny.� Pilot three stripped off his turtleneck to reveal a well-toned set of abdominal muscles and pecs, cutting Amber�s laughter short. She blushed faintly as she examined him for a moment before turning away.
Trowa cleared the access oil from himself with the green shirt and tossed it over the side of the catwalk they were perched upon; it made a dull sound in the silence. �What? You thought something was so humorous a minute ago, did it just wear out or what?� Amber shrugged, but refused to look at him, her interests seemed to be entirely focused on a circuit board that didn�t need to be fixed. The tall young man returned her shrug and turned to continue his own work. As he slid underneath a piece of P.C., his dog tags slipped from their place on his chest, clanking softly against the metal walkway. Amber peered curiously, her mind on things other than that sound; I didn�t have the faintest idea his body was that nice! Oh man, what I would give for�No! You have Daniel! You can�t cheat on him, not even for someone as hot as Trowa, but one can always dream� She got up with a smile and strolled to where pilot three lay half under the heavy equipment that would one-day end the war, a set of three military dog tags caught her gaze. Stooping to read them, Amber�s expression softened, �Trowa, why do your tags say �no name�? Why don�t they say Trowa?� He crawled from his workspace, his expression becoming unreadable, �Because when these were made, I had no name.� She frowned deeply, confusion creasing her forehead, �What do you mean? You�re name is Trowa. Didn�t they know that?� The youth sighed miserably, �I am not Trowa Barton, the military found me wandering when I was very young. I didn�t know my name then; I�d never learned it before my parents were killed�That I couldn�t even remember. They trained me in combat and I fought with them, but I always remained nameless. When I was around fifteen, I met the man called Trowa Barton. He was going to pilot Heavy Arms into operation meteor, but he was corrupt. He wanted only to beat the earth into submission to the colonies, that was what got him killed. Someone who displeased his ideals shot him; I was the only other whiteness. I took Trowa�s name, suit and place in operation meteor, the Barton foundation never figured it out. That�s how I got here�Now you know.�
The huntress let the tags fall back against his chest, �I�m sorry to hear that. Do you know your real name or is it still just Trowa?� He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, leaving a thin trail of oil across it, �My real name is Triton Bloom, but I still prefer Trowa. It�s what I�ve gone by for longer.� She nodded wordlessly and both continued to repair the humanoid machine. Long hours passed as did little discussion, what little that did cross the gap between them told Amber all she needed to know. This guy needs to get out more.
However, exhaustion claimed her before the suit�s repairs were complete. Trowa sighed as he watched her slide oh so slowly off the Gundanium she was leaning on, putting down his wrench, he picked her up before she fell to the catwalk. Seeing that she was safely tucked away for the night, the silencer continued repairs, his mind anywhere but his work, she�s just some girl. I don�t have to think about it, I already decided that I would take no more chances. Besides, everyone knows that that soul mate stuff is a load of horse crap, but then� Why do I feel like�? He pushed the thought away before it reopened a festering wound over his heart, enough!
Early the next morning, the huntress met Trowa downstairs; he was wearing the same outfit as the day before, grease and all, �You need a better variety of clothing, so, we�ll go to the mall!� Pilot three stared at her, hoping desperately that it was a joke, �The�The mall?� The brunette nodded happily, �Yep, the mall. I�ll tell Jess, she might want to come.�
Twenty minutes later, all five male pilots sat on the couch, waiting for Relena as the girls� reinforcements. Quatre was the only cheerful face in the crowd, �I was just thinking I needed to go shopping, this will be fun!� Duo seemed on the verge of tears, �But I don�t want to go! Jess, don�t make me go!� The small girl pulled him to her, �Hush Duo.� His cobalt eyes grew wide, but pleased. This action drew Amber�s immediate attention, �Jess� what are you doing?� She continued to stroke his long hair softly, �Giving him a hug, why?� �That�s not a hug, that�s �I�m trying to drown him in my bra!�� As this argument continued, Heero vaulted himself towards the closest door. It opened when he neared it and he plowed headlong into Relena. Both hit the floor as Duo laughed.
Heero sighed heavily as Relena held up yet another pair of jeans; �These are cute!� He took them from her and made his way to the dressing room with grumbles, she hadn�t made Wufei try on anything, though that was probably a plus considering the ruckus he�d make. Heero came back out to show her how they fit when he realized the berserker�s absence, he cursed his lack of attention as he ran out of the department store, the un-purchased jeans still on his body. The berserk angel couldn�t be seen in the crowd outside the store, pitching Heero into a panic, I took my eyes off him for a few seconds, how far could he have gone?! He calmed himself as Relena ran out after him, �Heero, you didn�t pay!� �Relena, if I were a berserk, where�s the first place I would go?� She cocked her head to one side with curiosity, �What are you talking about?� Struck with inspiration, he dashed into the mall isle, �I would go to a place of interest to me! What else does Wufei have all over his walls other than swords?!� He skidded to a stop before the knife shop, inside, Wufei had an oriental style sword to the shopkeeper�s neck, �Wufei, no!� He looked at him like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar before dinner, �But, Helios, please! I was only having a bit of fun!� The golden arch snatched the blade from his hand, �No! Shame on you! Now let�s go.�
Amber�s only burden was the ever-silent pilot three, �Do you like this shirt?� A slight shrug was his wordless response. She sighed, �You�re a difficult man to shop with, you know that?� His answer was another shrug, frustrating her, �You pick out something and I�ll give my approval, how�s that?� Picking up a tee shirt that was approximately two sizes too small for him, Trowa attempted to make his way to try it on. Pilot six struck her forehead wit her palm, �Alright, I�m going to go pick up Fang from the vet. By the time I get back, I want you to have picked out at least three sets off clothing. Decent clothing mind you! You think you can handle that?� He shrugged, �I suppose.� She tossed her hands in the air in defeat, �Never mind! I�ll be back in a little while.� With that, Amber left the tall youth to try his own hand at choosing his clothes. Trowa found himself done and with nothing to do within minutes.
Elsewhere in the mall, pilot seven loaded Duo�s arms with yet another bag, �Now, all that leaves is underwear for the both of you.� Quatre shifted one of the boxes he carried to his other arm do to numbness, �Then that�s it? Alright, let�s go!� Shinigami whined quietly, it had been a while since his last open complaint; he�d found them to be useless, �I think we can shop for our own boxers Jess! Can�t you leave this one to us?� She looked at him suspiciously, � How can I be sure that you�ll get what you need?� The dark boy grinned, �Don�t worry, Quatre will make sure, besides, you can always check the bags!� Reluctantly, she agreed but only after charging Quatre with responsibility first.
After leaving the company of the boys, Jess wandered aimlessly about the mall. Getting bored, she went outside only to find a game of street basketball. She laced slender fingers into the chain link fence that ringed a quarter of the court, walls were the other boundaries. Well-muscled bodies danced across the floor in an attempt to get the ball into a basket. There were a total of eight bodies in the game, one other was sitting on a small riser of bleachers on the outside of the fence, he had a dirty rag pressed against a nasty tear on his cheek. Jess could still see small pieces of gravel in the wound; she could tell it was definitely a game of street ball by the rules they seemed to be playing by. They were playing ruthlessly. The opposite team snatched the ball, its travel was reversed. The shot was made, it hit the rim and bounced away. Jess scoffed, �I could have made that shot with my eyes closed and tossing with my bad hand!�
Every eye turned to her, they were of many colors and sizes, all cold. A teenager a few years older than herself approached the fence, �You say you can do better?� A blue bandana held back his curly brown locks, Jess grinned, �I can do better easily. I could beat any of you.� The youth looked over his shoulder at the group of players, �What do you say guys, should we give her a chance?� Receiving several rounds of laughter and nods, he turned back to the hot-tempered redhead, �Get yourself a team and we�ll play you, nine on nine.�
One by one, Jess tracked her comrades down, gathering them before informing them of the reason, �We�re going to play some basketball! All of you are coming, end of discussion.� Many complaints followed her sudden order, but all straggled after her. The players she�d talked to previously seemed shocked by her quick return, �Back already? I guess you just couldn�t wait to get your ass whooped�Hey, where�s your ninth player?� Jess looked down at Fang with appreciation, �Puppy is.� They burst into laughter, causing Amber to growl under her breath. A few of the pilots edged towards her in case she should decide to use her gun. Jess stepped forward, �Lend me your ball, I�ll prove he can play.� He tossed it to her with a look of caution and watched as she passed it to the dog, who, in turn, knocked it into the basket. The group of boys stood, staring in shock. Amber laughed, �Let�s get this game going!�
The jump was between one of their tallest players and Trowa, who towered over him. Pilot three easily swiped the ball from the air, but turned to find himself surrounded by more than half of the other team. He shot it over their heads to one of the only open players, Jess. Dribbling quickly and extremely close to the ground, she dashed to shoot a perfect swish. The kid with the bandana stepped up to put the ball into play, Heero snatched his pass from the air. Another basket was made. Their opponents began to whisper among themselves, plots forming behind their eyes. Quatre smirked, �My turn.� As they attempted different plays, pilot four shouted out the counter, �Trowa, veer left! Shoot it to Relena!� With his mind tap, the game turned even more steadily to their favor. Then the violence began.
Relena clutched the ball with slender hands, trying to decide whom to throw it to as one of the opposite team body-checked her into the nearest wall. She slammed into it fiercely, blood flowed from the back of her head. The perfect soldier, shortly after, broke his nose with a well-laid punch. Jess scooped up the ball and headed towards the basket, an elbow in her back forced an encounter with the ground. In the same instant, Duo and Amber hit the perpetrator from opposite sides, he fell to the floor. Pausing, pilot two held up his hand and, caught up in the moment, Amber gave him a high five. The huntress helped Jess up from the cement and whistled for her dog, �Be merciless!� The great hound wagged his tail and charged the nearest player, teeth bared. Wufei managed, somehow, to get hold of the ball. From mid-court, he put it into the basket. Amber cheered and promptly got shoved into the fence. The boy turned, chuckling, and practically ran into Trowa. The tall Latino uppercut him in the jaw, causing him to fly over the eight-foot fence. He landed with a sickening crunch on the bleachers, his head hung at an odd angle. Trowa�s eyes cleared of their blinding fury and he realized what he�d done. Amber got to her feet with the help of his hand, she glanced at him curiously, �What�s the matter?� He shook his head faintly, his emerald gaze cold again, �He�ll never get up again.� Amber nodded as she realized what he meant, �Trowa, you didn�t mean to. Don�t let it bother you.� The other players had stopped where they stood, several decided that it wasn�t worth it anymore and ran out the gate. The bandana supporting youth stopped and shook his friend�s shoulder, his head lolled from side to side. The boy stepped back, �He killed him!� With his statement in mind, the few who remained fled as well, fear in them. Wufei jumped into the air; �We won! They were weak!� Several of the pilots glanced at him questioningly, but none asked.
