The dinner table was full that night. Everyone, it seemed, had brought home a girl. They all had eaten to their heart's content, pigging out on pizza that the ever-talented Duo Maxwell had…ordered. It was very good.

Now the table was bare. All the food, was, of course, gone, and Quatre, being his gentlemanly self, had cleared it. Ralara, the girl Heero had brought in, was bored. She looked over at the wheelchair bound boy beside her, and asked a simple, yet forbidden question.

"Heero, what happened to your legs?"

All the chatter stopped. Even Duo was silent. Ever since Heero's accident, they had all been very careful with that subject. Heero had seemed to be getting better, but they didn't want to press the issue. They had all figured that Heero would tell them when he was ready. Now, everyone held their breath, waiting for Heero to break loose. But he didn't.

"I…uh…It's a long story." He said, shifting uncomfortably. His hands played with the ever present blanket around his legs, hiding the deformed lumps from sight.

"Well…we have time to hear it. At least, I don't have anywhere to go."

"I…uh…um…" Heero started coughing. Not now! You can't throw up, or cough up blood…they'll find out. All she asked was for your story. You can at least tell her that.

But it will hurt….A part of him complained.

Yeah, like I'm not in pain right now! Now suck it up and start talking.

"I guess I should tell you all." He said, the mild coughing fit subsiding. "It all started about 2 months ago when I was guarding this girl…

~ Flashback ~

"Meran, there is a death threat on you. I do not trust your regular guards with this mission." Heero said, standing erect and looking at her with serious eyes.

The diplomat shook out auburn hair, retying it into a pony-tail. "Heero, I will survive without you, you know. Besides, don't you miss your family and friends?"

Heero graced her with another of his cobalt stares. "This is my mission. As for family and friends, I have none." He said icily.

Meran looked somewhat confused. "But what about the boys you live with?"

"Battle partners. Acquaintances perhaps, but not friends. No one could be my friend anyway. I'm too cold and distant. I have never had one, and now I am sure I never will." He replied stiffly.

"Oh Heero…that's sad." Meran said softly.

"I have no regrets." Looking at his watch, he remarked, "You should go to bed now. You have to get up early tomorrow."

"Alright Heero. Will you sleep tonight?" She asked.

"Perhaps."

They both knew he wouldn't. When he had a mission, he stuck to it. For the past two or three weeks, it had been protecting Meran full-time. There was a red-alert out for her safety, and he hadn't slept since getting it.

Heero guided Meran to her chambers. Once she was inside, he sat down and leaned against the wooden door. He pulled his gun out of the hiding place in the left side of his shorts. Then he thought to himself, as he often did, about why he was here.

Face it Yuy. You're not doing it for her, or for her cause. You don't have even the slightest amount of attraction for her, not even the amount you have for Relena, however small that may be. The only reason you're here is that you're a soldier. You live for the mission, the thrill that cold rush of blood gives you. Missions are like a high for you Yuy. When you have them, you don't think of anything else. You use them to keep yourself from remembering. You'll always be a soldier…a soldier…a soldier…

Later that night

Meran woke to the sound of furious knocking at her door. It must be Heero. She thought to herself. Slipping on a pair of shorts on under her nightdress, she opened the door.

Meran was startled to see Heero standing there, his shirt in tatters. What was left of the green fabric was turning brown from blood. His chest was entirely covered in blood, seeping out of three or four gunshot wounds. Heavy breaths were coming out of his mouth, and his eyes were beginning to glaze over.

"Meran…I've evacuated the building…we've got to get out of here…the assassin could…be anywhere." He gasped.

"Heero! What happened to you?!" She asked, shocked.

"Never mind about me. I…am…fine. I've got to get you to safety."

Meran looked horrified. "No! I'm getting you some bandages!" She ran to her closet before he could stop her, grabbing a handful of the thin white strips.

"Here." She said, handing them to him.

Heero stripped what remained of his tanktop off, and immediately began wrapping his chest with the bandages. He knew that she wouldn't go anywhere unless he was wrapped, and they needed to leave…soon. When he was finished, he tied off the knot, and said,

"Alright, I'm fine. Now let's go!" He grabbed her hand and began to run with her down the hallway. For being injured, he was running pretty fast.

They made it to the lobby of the building without any trouble. The fact that it had been so easy made Heero nervous. The assassin wasn't stupid, Heero knew that from the aching pain that was now shooting up his chest. He suddenly felt the urge to couch. He tried to ignore it, but it was persistent. Soon, he began to choke.

"Meran…stop…uh…*cough, cough, hack, hack….hack…*" Heero leaned over, coughing up into his hand. When he pulled it away, it was covered in blood.

"Heero! You're hurt worse than I thought!"

"I'm…fine." He replied stubbornly, wiping his hand on his shorts. He didn't tell her that it was getting harder to breathe. He headed for the door, his gun cocked and ready.

Suddenly, all of the doors sealed themselves, as did all the windows. It left the lobby in a shady darkness. Heero growled.

"I…know you're *cough* here! Come…*violent cough*…out!" Heero stopped, keeling over and hacking up even more blood. He gasped for air when he stopped. This is bad. If this keeps up…I'll be on the floor in a few minutes…and dead in the next hour. But he said nothing.

No one came out. Heero waited two minutes…three, and there was still no sign of anyone. He coughed again, this time collapsing on the floor from pain. It wasn't possible to stand anymore. He had just lost too much blood.

Heero knew the attacker was waiting for him to pass out from blood loss. Since he was already somewhat paralyzed, it wouldn't be long before unconsciousness took him over. Or at least, that would be the assassin's thinking. Well he'd show him!

"I…can lose a quart and a half of blood and still…survive! I hope…you know you'll be here awhile." He growled.

A deep, demonic voice floated out of the shadows. It sounded a lot like Heero's own voice. "Oh…I don't think I'll have to wait long."

Meran jumped at the voice. "Who are you? Why do you want to do this?" She knelt next to Heero, who was once again trapped in a violent coughing fit.

"Someone Heero knows." The voice said again. The owner of the voice suddenly stepped out of the shadows. "Heero and I used to have lots of fun together. Isn't that right Heero?" It said tauntingly.

The figure was tall, probably over six feet. His body was strong and muscular, showing time of working out in a gym, or at home. He had mossy brown hair, the shade of Heero's, only this boy's hair fell in a ponytail down his back. Piercing blue eyes, a shade icier than cobalt stared demonically out from his head in a glare that could rival Heero's own. But it was something else, a darkness that radiated from the being that made her afraid.

Heero looked up at the figure, his eyes opening wide. "Odin…"

~ Back to Present ~

Heero stopped, tears streaming down his face. This is…harder than I thought it would be…

"Oh…Heero I didn't…know. You don't have to continue if you don't want to."

Heero stubbornly wiped the forbidden tears from his face. "No. I said I would tell you…and I mean it." He said quietly. He reached over and gripped Ralara's hand. Closing his eyes, he began where he left off.

~ Back to Flashback ~

"Odin…*violent cough*…I thought you were dead. I thought I…"

"Killed me? You could never kill me little brother." Odin smiled devilishly.

Meran gasped. "You two are…related?"

Heero looked up from where he lay. "Yes. He met me when Dr. J took me in. You could say he help to train me." *More coughing.*

"Well now Aiden, you have failed. I will take her, get the reward for her capture, and you…will die. Goodbye Aiden." He pulled out a gun from his pocket and aimed it at Heero's chest. Heero knew that if his took one more bullet, he would be gone.

"No!" Heero leapt up, tackling his brothers gun. He took Odin's throat in a chokehold, pointing the gun at him. "Now…*cough* Omae o' korosu." With that, he pulled the trigger, and his brother lay dead in his arms.

Reality hit Heero, and he realized what he had just done. "Odin! ODIN! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He hugged his brother's dead body, a few tears sliding down his face.

All of a sudden, the building began to rumble. Heero broke away from his sorrow and looked up at the ceiling. Huge pieces began to fall to the ground.

"Meran, look out!" He said, throwing himself on top of her, using his body as a shield. The building began to fall, and Heero was not even aware that a bookcase had fallen on his legs. He had already passed out.

~ End of Flashback ~

Heero was sobbing now. He murmured his brother's name to himself, more tears sliding down. No one really knew what to say, as no one had ever seen Heero cry before.

"Heero…it'll be okay…I'm sorry for asking. Now hush…it'll be alright." Ralara soothed. Slowly his sobs subsided, and he wiped off the tears onto his sleeve.

"Can I go to bed now?" Heero asked.

"Bed? What time is it?" Dakota asked, looking up at the clock. "12:30! Can…I spend the night?"

"Me too?" Asked the rest of the girls.

Heero looked at Duo. Duo looked at Wu Fei. Wu Fei looked at Trowa, who looked at Quatre.

"Um…the guest floor isn't ready yet ladies…we weren't expecting company."

"That's alright. We can stay on this floor, with Heero!" Ralara suggested.

Eyebrows shot up al around the room. "Are you sure?" Quatre asked hesitantly.

"Oh come on." Dakota groaned. "I know tai quand do, martial arts, karate, judo, and anything else you can think of! Heero's not going to hurt anyone anyway! The kid's a cripple." She exclaimed in her English accent.

Heero shot her the patented Heero Yuy Death Glare. "I AM NOT a cripple."

Trowa decided that now was the time to talk. "Come on Heero. I'll put you to bed. As for you girls, sleep where ever you want. The couch pulls out."

Everyone nodded, and they all headed off to bed.

Well? What do you think? Do you like the way I used both of Heero's supposed 'names'? The next chapter, for all you who care, is basically all about the romance of Trowa Barton and my best friend. Have fun reading when it comes out!

Jet

P.s. Thanks for all the great reviews. They have encouraged me to write a full 33 pages of this fic so far!

P.p. Read 'Coming Home' by Megan Blackstone. (That's my best friend.) She uses my appartment building idea in it! Hehe.