The pilot sighed releasing a humid puff of smoke into the air. It swirled a moment before vanishing. He walked briskly down the street, it was important that he reach his destination. His arm itched from the wound that was healing. He had to restrain himself from scratching it, but sometimes, at night he couldn't control his subconscious impulses. Once he had even woke to a bloody hand and further damaged injury.
Finally, he reached the building he had been looking for. It was the one place that he could find what he needed for his Gundam. An air freshener. After all this time Trowa finally decided that it was time to give his little home among the stars a smell that was more inviting than its current stench.
Trowa wasn't going to get an air freshener until Quatre had complained that his gundam smelled 'strangely like an old woman'. He wasn't about to ask Quatre what an old woman smelled like. Instead, he'd rather smell the inviting fragrance of...
"Pearberry?" Trowa wondered aloud. Why couldn't it just smell like pear, or berry? Why both? He rolled his eyes and set the air freshener back on the shelf. A few moments later he stumbled across another label, "Cucumbermelon?" He must have spoken loudly because a few girls that were looking at other things giggled. He blushed slightly and pretended to smell the scent. When he was sure the girls had gone on to other things, he continued down the aisle. Finally, he found one that only smelled like one thing. "Daffodil fields? I'll take it," he laughed grabbing the container.
"Will this be all?" The clerk asked as Trowa set the item on the counter.
"Yes...you see, my...house...yeah my house, smells like an old woman," Trowa blushed.
The clerk's eyes went wide for a moment but she smiled and handed him his receipt.
At the Winner mansion....
Duo's eye had healed nicely, it hadn't taken long. As for forgiving Trowa, his forgiveness came almost immediately. Duo had always been understanding in that way--besides, it had won him points with a girl that worked in a nearby area. The braided pilot now sat on the couch; he was stretched out in a lanky pose. His braid was a barely recognizable mess, but the pilot seemed undaunted by this as he wore an expression of satisfaction.
"Trowa! You're back!" Quatre called from a nearby room.
"Yeah," Trowa sighed.
"Look behind you...." Duo urged the characters on the television. Trowa guessed that Duo was watching some horror flick...it was the stereotypical ones Duo liked best. This puzzled Trowa, but he made no remarks. The character on the television seemed to obey Duo's command as she spun around to face the villain who's clothes and features were stained with blood.
It was a classic, Trowa could tell from the grain of the film and poorly done special effects. However, this never bothered Duo--and even if he never admitted it, the films even scared him a bit. Duo cringed behind a pillow now. His face was animated with hope and desperation. Of course, he knew no harm would come to the girl, she was, after all, the hero of the film.
Trowa headed out to the hangars where his gundam was. Hastily, he jumped inside and hung the air freshener in a safe area. From where it was, an all out attack couldn't shake it loose. Trowa was surprised at how long it took for the air freshener to work. It hadn't been in there but a minute and already he could smell it.
"Trowa?" Heero's voice echoed from the end of the hangar.
"In here," Trowa called back.
It wasn't long before the stoic pilot appeared at the gundam's entrance. His eyes brightened for a moment as the new fragrance greeted him. Immediately, Heero's suspicions arose and he cast dubious glances at Trowa and around the Gundam.
"Alright...where is she?" He asked.
"Who?" Trowa laughed.
"The girl...I smell her."
"You smell my air freshener," Trowa laughed.
"Oh..." Heero smiled briefly. "I didn't think you'd find one--"
"Hey! I do just fine with girls..."
"Oh?" Heero glared. "When was the last time you had a date?"
"Well...just because I am not, 'Mr. Prussian eyes'--"
"Hah. You can't hide behind the fact that I am better looking than you..."
"Pah..." Trowa protested but the partial scowl on his face faded into contagious laughter.
"You're lucky, you know?" Heero stated in a military tone.
"Why is that?" Trowa asked heading towards the door to exit.
"Where should I begin? Well, imagine never being allowed to forget a birthday, anniversary, or destination. Imagine, coming home from a long day of battle and being expected to be...loving."
Heero's eyes glinted as they returned to their normal scowl.
"Yes..." Trowa sighed. "But, imagine knowing that someone is worried about you. Imagine someone fussing about your scratches and scrapes...someone to think about and miss while you're gone..."
"Trowa, are you lonely?" Heero asked quizzically.
6.28.196
Now that I think about it, I really am all alone. I don't have anyone in the reality I know to call my own. I don't have someone special...someone to love. I have my comrades, and myself...maybe I need love too. Heero and the others with girlfriends complain about having to be on time someplace, or forgetting birthdays--but those are things I am sure they are happy to complain about. I know that they would miss the opportunity to complain...if the very things they complain about were stripped from them.
I wish I had someone to worry about me...someone to gaze up at the stars and wonder which one I was. But I don't...I wonder why this is bothering me so much now.
Granted, I have watched Heero...stoic Heero...be transformed into this laughing, fun loving, sensitive, and even poetic...gentlemen. I've seen Duo, with his now serious girlfriend, become thoughtful, charming, and even well dressed. Quatre...he always has been the sort of material a girl would go for. He's never needed any transformation--he has a heart of gold within him, and I don't think there is a girl alive who would want to change him. Unfortunately, Quatre is shy...and for now, he remains alone like me. Wufei seems hardened by war, but when you see him alone with the object of his affection...only kindness looms in those eyes. When he does not think anyone is watching, I've seen the tenderness he has for his girlfriend. I've watched him...and I've wondered what it feels like.
Heero amazes me the most I think. He seems so lifeless...so unaffected by it all. But I have watched him when he is alone with her...Mariah...and I see the way she is changing him. She's breathing life into him with every word. She stands there, brown eyes against his Prussian blues and looks at his soul. Heero is powerless against her, but somehow I don't think he'd ever want to fight her.
In a way, I wish I could be rendered helpless in that way...I wish I could look at someone and know that they were looking at my soul and still managing to love what they saw.
Catherine once told me that everyone has a perfect match...someone who can understand them in every way. She says that if you're lucky, you'll find that person and nothing can take you away from them...not even death. I wonder if Catherine had someone in mind when he said that to me. I wonder...
Trowa placed his book beneath his chair and stood up. Gracefully, he walked to his window and peered out. On the ground below him Wufei sat beside a girl. The wind blew softly and the girl's reddish hair blew in silky strands along the wind. Her laughter rang up to Trowa's window causing a small smile to traverse his lips.