The new building had a similar floor plan to their old place, she thought to herself, but it certainly felt different. For starters, they could go no further up than the second floor; after that, the stairs, well, didn't exist. There were four rooms and a common area again, but the walls between the rooms were much less intact. One room was missing about half of the outside wall and nearly the same amount of ceiling, giving a very clear view of the floor above them. They didn't have to even say anything out loud in order to agree that that one wasn't going to be anyone's bedroom; it would be Trunks-kun's training room, if he still wanted to train indoors at any point.
Without any words being exchanged, Heero-kun headed to one bedroom, setting his laptop down far more cautiously than he had before this afternoon's adventure. So obviously that was going to be his and Duo-kun's room. It made sense.
In turn, she headed into the bedroom closest to the stairs. That would be the one Trunks-kun would want, she figured, so she might as well start getting comfortable here. It was going to take some clearing out and cleaning up, but it was at least workable.
The last habitable room bridged the area between the two occupied rooms. It was a lot smaller than either of them. If she had to hazard a guess, she would think that perhaps it had started off life as an office break room or a meeting room perhaps. All of this area was clearly not originally intended of living quarters, and all over again, she found herself wondering about the original inhabitants of this world and what had happened to them: the Reapers, the Carrions, or just time itself.
The whole place just had a desolate feel to it, but maybe that was because they were just coming into it. Maybe once they had been here a day or two that feeling might dissipate some.
"Duo and Trunks are on their way up." Heero-kun's voice came from right behind her.
To her own private surprise, she didn't even jump. Maybe she had been expecting to hear something said from someone soon, but she rather suspected it had more to do with her nerves being stretched a bit beyond their limits for the day--and it was barely midday yet. With some rest and quiet, she would probably be good for another shock or two yet today.
"Good," she finally responded. It wasn't really an answer, but it was the best she was going to manage right now.
"I don't think they met any of the Carrions on their way in. I don't know about Trunks, but there isn't a lot that Duo can do quietly."
Oh, now that she was interested to know a bit more about. "You think?" And yeah, that sounded a bit more like her usual self. "Because that bears possibilities."
"Usagi..." She glanced over at him, and there was that overwhelming look of loneliness and solitude to him again. She frowned; she really didn't like that look on him. "I thought you were with Trunks."
She smiled. "I am, yeah."
"Then why are you...?" He stopped in the middle of his sentence, obviously too frustrated to finish what he had been going to say.
That much was pretty easy to guess, though. "Because Duo-kun asked. Because I can appreciate what I can see of Duo-kun. But I guess mostly, it's because Duo-kun seems so very lonely." She leaned a bit closer, ducking her head slightly to try to meet his eyes under his bangs. "Like you're lonely, Heero-kun."
"No, I'm not." The denial seemed very firm, at least on the surface, but she was willing to bet she could chip away at that certainty very quickly.
"Heero-kun, you are the loneliest person I think I have ever met. I've been able to see that from the first moment I met you. Don't bother denying it please." He shrugged, obviously abandoning denial already. "Why are you so lonely, Heero-kun?" At the silence her question received, she tried a slightly different tactic. "I mean, you've got Duo-kun."
And at that, he stood a step back, shaking his head swiftly. "Duo's not interested in me like that, Usagi. We're just partners. You're trying to twist facts to meet your theory."
She frowned, considering that for a second, before shaking her head. That wasn't it at all. "I think you'll find it's the other way around, Heero-kun."
"I doubt that."
"I don't," she retorted. She could hear Trunks-kun and Duo-kun on the stairs now. With that in mind, she backed off. "Think about it, Heero-kun, please."
He shook his head slightly, taking another step away from her as Duo-kun and Trunks-kun came into view on the stairs.
Fine. If that was the way they were going to do this, then that was the way they were going to do this. Apparently that way... was going to be the hard way.
She could live with that. She certainly hoped Heero-kun could as well.
24 October 2012
Okay, whoops, I'm running a little behind this morning. I got caught up talking to my beta reader about the interesting points of the English monarchy. I did mention I'm re-reading Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time, right?
See you in the next chapter!
Apollymi