Challenge 258 friendship
Title: Lookin’ at you, kid
Author: ingvild
Characters: Heero, Sylvia
Rating/word count: All ages, 671 words
Summary: Meeting again after two years, Heero and Sylvia find that this could be…oh, you know how that quote goes.
Sylvia Noventa hesitated before approaching. The last time she had seen the young man standing with his head bowed and his hands deep in the pockets of his dark dress pants, he had handed her a gun and offered her the chance to shoot him. She had called him a coward and he had left her while she was still on her knees, unable to get up just yet.
What were the chances of her running into him here, now? she wondered. True enough, it had been exactly two years since that day, when he first came to her and asked to be shown this exact place, but still, Sylvia had never supposed that she would ever see Heero Yuy again.
He straightened. A change in posture, a brief tilt of his head although he didn’t turn around, and she just knew that he had sensed her presence. Did he somehow also sense that she was no threat, she wondered, or was he still in that frame of mind where it didn’t matter so much whether he lived or not?
She cleared her throat. “So, I see that you’re still alive,” she said, wincing inwardly even as the words made their way out of her mouth. Talk about awkward opening…
He gave an almost inaudible snort, and Sylvia had to force herself to keep from gaping. Did he actually find that funny?
“Seems like it,” he said softly, before turning to face her. “Do you want me to leave?”
Sylvia shook her head. “No, it’s okay. Grandfather would probably appreciate your being here.”
Heero shrugged. “You’d know that better than me.”
She bit back the sharp retort that of course she would; she had been raised by the man, after all. Heero had only killed him.
It felt very strange to converse pleasantly with her grandfather’s killer.
“I thought about you, last new years,” she said to get her mind off the track it had been going down. “With the Mariemaia-uprising and all. I wondered if you’d been involved in the fighting that went down.”
“You could say that,” Heero replied calmly. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t spread it further, though.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Sylvia replied.
“Why not?”
Of all the things she’d expected him to say to that, that was the last thing. “Because…just because.” She glared at him. How dare he come here and ask such simple questions with such difficult answers? “Because there’s no point. The war’s over, you’re not a threat…at least I hope so…and…” She trailed off.
“I’m not a threat,” Heero told her. “I’ve stopped fighting now. My war’s over.”
That was the feeling she had been getting from him. “Good. Grandmother would be pleased.”
He inclined his head. “I’m glad to hear it.”
A sudden thought hit her. “Did you get the letter she wrote you? She said she sent it with some girl called Relena. That wasn’t really…was it?”
“The current Vice Foreign Minister, yes. And no, I didn’t get to read it. That’s okay, though, Relena told me what was in it.”
He was on first name basis with the former Queen of the World. The Princess of Pacifism herself. Well, that was a character witness if Sylvia had ever heard of one.
“Is she your girlfriend?” The question startled her even as she asked it, but it seemed to startle Heero even more. He blinked quickly before shaking his head.
“Why not?” Sylvia blurted out, and had to force herself not to clap her hands over her mouth. Of all the things to say…!
Heero, however, just chuckled. “I’m…not really ready for a relationship with anyone, much less someone so famous. I’m still figuring out that whole ‘life during peacetime’, ‘interpersonal relationships based on something other than being allies of convenience’ thing.”
“Well,” Sylvia heard herself say, “you can always talk to me if you like.”
Heero blinked. “Really?”
Sylvia nodded, and was surprised to find that she meant it. “Really.”
Author: ingvild
Characters: Heero, Sylvia
Rating/word count: All ages, 671 words
Summary: Meeting again after two years, Heero and Sylvia find that this could be…oh, you know how that quote goes.
Sylvia Noventa hesitated before approaching. The last time she had seen the young man standing with his head bowed and his hands deep in the pockets of his dark dress pants, he had handed her a gun and offered her the chance to shoot him. She had called him a coward and he had left her while she was still on her knees, unable to get up just yet.
What were the chances of her running into him here, now? she wondered. True enough, it had been exactly two years since that day, when he first came to her and asked to be shown this exact place, but still, Sylvia had never supposed that she would ever see Heero Yuy again.
He straightened. A change in posture, a brief tilt of his head although he didn’t turn around, and she just knew that he had sensed her presence. Did he somehow also sense that she was no threat, she wondered, or was he still in that frame of mind where it didn’t matter so much whether he lived or not?
She cleared her throat. “So, I see that you’re still alive,” she said, wincing inwardly even as the words made their way out of her mouth. Talk about awkward opening…
He gave an almost inaudible snort, and Sylvia had to force herself to keep from gaping. Did he actually find that funny?
“Seems like it,” he said softly, before turning to face her. “Do you want me to leave?”
Sylvia shook her head. “No, it’s okay. Grandfather would probably appreciate your being here.”
Heero shrugged. “You’d know that better than me.”
She bit back the sharp retort that of course she would; she had been raised by the man, after all. Heero had only killed him.
It felt very strange to converse pleasantly with her grandfather’s killer.
“I thought about you, last new years,” she said to get her mind off the track it had been going down. “With the Mariemaia-uprising and all. I wondered if you’d been involved in the fighting that went down.”
“You could say that,” Heero replied calmly. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t spread it further, though.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Sylvia replied.
“Why not?”
Of all the things she’d expected him to say to that, that was the last thing. “Because…just because.” She glared at him. How dare he come here and ask such simple questions with such difficult answers? “Because there’s no point. The war’s over, you’re not a threat…at least I hope so…and…” She trailed off.
“I’m not a threat,” Heero told her. “I’ve stopped fighting now. My war’s over.”
That was the feeling she had been getting from him. “Good. Grandmother would be pleased.”
He inclined his head. “I’m glad to hear it.”
A sudden thought hit her. “Did you get the letter she wrote you? She said she sent it with some girl called Relena. That wasn’t really…was it?”
“The current Vice Foreign Minister, yes. And no, I didn’t get to read it. That’s okay, though, Relena told me what was in it.”
He was on first name basis with the former Queen of the World. The Princess of Pacifism herself. Well, that was a character witness if Sylvia had ever heard of one.
“Is she your girlfriend?” The question startled her even as she asked it, but it seemed to startle Heero even more. He blinked quickly before shaking his head.
“Why not?” Sylvia blurted out, and had to force herself not to clap her hands over her mouth. Of all the things to say…!
Heero, however, just chuckled. “I’m…not really ready for a relationship with anyone, much less someone so famous. I’m still figuring out that whole ‘life during peacetime’, ‘interpersonal relationships based on something other than being allies of convenience’ thing.”
“Well,” Sylvia heard herself say, “you can always talk to me if you like.”
Heero blinked. “Really?”
Sylvia nodded, and was surprised to find that she meant it. “Really.”