Butterflies

This was annoying. There was an unexpected variable to his mission. An unexpected, and highly unpredictable variable. Heero did not like variables very much. They made his missions harder, made him have to memorize more backup plans.

He had just arrived on earth, and had been trying to destroy his Gundam before it could fall into OZ hands. Then the variable showed up, and shot him. Twice. And then the stupid girl that had seen his face � he still needed to kill her � had tried to �rescue� him, landing him in the hospital. Then the variable had rescued him.

So now, here he was on a Sweeper ship with the variable known as �Duo Maxwell�. While the boy could plan a halfway decent escape plan � one that Heero didn�t need, mind you � Heero wasn�t too sure this Duo person was good for the mission. After all, hair like that had to get in the way when you were trying to pilot, didn�t it? Or worse yet, it was something for someone to grab onto and catch you with.

Heero mentally scratched out that last one. There was nothing intriguing about a braid. It was a simple weaving of hair. Nothing more. There was nothing remotely attractive about that damn thing. Which had a tendency of trying to slap him in the face whenever Duo walked past him.

So why was it, then, that Heero found himself staring at that braid now, and it�s owner?

Duo was crouched down near one of the many small gardens scattered about the ship � Heero still hadn�t figured out what they were for � and staring intently at a flower, as if it were somehow mysterious. Had the boy never seen a flower before?

Heero frowned, stepping closer to try and see what was so interesting to Duo. When he saw the plant, he blinked. Crouching down next to Duo, he leaned in to examine the flower�s strange, twitching attachment. He didn�t think it was normal for flowers to have wings...

�What is it?� Heero frowned as the wings opened, revealing a slender body between their vibrant colors.

�I don�t know, but it�s pretty, isn�t it?� Duo grinned, carefully moving his hand away, not wanting to disturb the strange creature that had chosen to rest on one of the tulips.

�Pretty? What�s pretty?� Heero blinked. He didn�t remember what the word meant. He�d heard it, he knew, especially when there were females around, but he couldn�t remember the definition. It couldn�t be important, he decided, if J hadn�t taught him about it.

�You know. Pretty. It looks nice. It�s something people like to look at. Beautiful.� Duo grinned at Heero.

�I suppose.� Heero frowned softly at the winged creature. �It�s awfully small.�

�Yeah. I wonder what they�re called. We didn�t have these on L2.� Duo chuckled softly. �I guess they didn�t have these where you came from, either, huh?�

�I... Wouldn�t know.� Heero replied, frowning softly as he shifted his gaze to Duo. �I wasn�t outside except for missions and training.� Almost as an afterthought, he scolded himself for telling Duo something about his life.

�Hey, at least you had a place to stay.� Duo shrugged, turning his attention back to the creature.

After several more minutes had passed in silence, the two crouching Gundam Pilots attracted the attention of one of the mechanics.

�Something up, Duo?� The man asked, stepping up to the pair, and peering down at the tulips.

Glancing up, Duo flashed a grin. �Hey. You know what this is?� He asked, pointing to the small creature that was sunbathing on the flower.

The man blinked once, then burst out laughing. �It�s a butterfly, kid! I guess they don�t have too many of those out in space, do they?� He grinned. �It�s rare, to get one out here, even when we�re this close to the mainland. They must be migrating.�

�Butterfly.� Heero muttered softly, watching it close and open its wings once more. Well, now he had put a name to the creature. That was what had mattered, right? Then why didn�t he want to leave it? Why did he want to sit there, and watch the tiny thing flutter its wings all day long? Was this what �pretty� meant? Did that make Duo�s braid pretty, too? He liked looking at the braid as much as he liked looking at the butterfly.

Frowning, Heero thought that over. After a few moments, he decided he liked butterflies. He decided they were pretty, and he decided that Duo�s braid was pretty, too. He also came to the conclusions that pretty variables were better than regular ones.

Three years after the incident with the butterfly, Heero was out on L2 for a Preventers mission and staying with Duo and Hilde at the junkyard. Since he�d known he was going to be staying with Duo two days before departure, he�d had a chance to pack, and to buy something.

Now, sitting in Duo�s living room, Heero felt distinctly nervous. He�d handed Duo the envelope with his gift in it, and was busy concentrating on staying still. Gundam Pilots did not fidget.

Apparently, ex-Gundam Pilots did fidget, because Heero was picking at a loose thread in the knee of his pants.

Smiling as he looked at the front of the card, several butterflies and tulips, Duo slowly opened it. Inside, in Heero�s neat, efficient writing, was a simple phrase.

Heero felt his cheeks heating unreasonably as Duo gave him a wide grin. Having experienced it before, he was fairly sure his cheeks had taken on a pinkish tint.

Slowly, Duo reached over, brushing Heero�s hair away from his face. �Your eyes are pretty like the butterfly.�

Hilde, passing by the room on her way to the kitchen, paused in the doorway, and snorted. �Will you two just kiss already? You are so obvious it�s more sickening than a soap opera!� She huffed, and walked on.

Cheeks flushing dark, Duo gave Heero an apologetic grin. �You�ll have to forgive her, she�� He never finished his sentence, though, because Heero had taken Hilde�s advice.

In the kitchen, Hilde eyed the butterfly d�cor for a long moment, before digging around in the fridge for a snack. �Men simply shouldn�t be that obsessed with butterflies.� Shaking her head, she set to making herself a sandwich.

When Hilde passed by again only to see Duo had Heero pressed against the back of the couch, she decided that if any strange thumps came from the living room, she was never going to sit on that couch again.

Even though she never heard any strange thumps, she never sat on that couch again, anyway.