Heero sat quietly next to Quatre, who seemed dwarfed by the huge bed he was lying in.  There was a large bandage around the blond’s head, covering part of his face, and another around his chest.
     The mission had gone terribly wrong and Quatre had put himself and Sandrock between a blast at close rang and a damaged Wing Zero.  The guilt Arabian had put himself at risk saving him.
     Iria had said that Quatre could hear them even though he was out cold, and that something someone said might be able to snap him out of it.
     He’d been sitting in the same position, in the same chair for over two hours and he hadn’t said a word.  He briefly remembered seeing Quatre telling stories with Duo to some kids at an orphanage once.  Only he didn’t know any stories.
     Looking at Quatre’s swollen face he swallowed hard, then cleared his throat.  “Uh, Once apon a time… there were five,um, five soldiers.  These soldiers were sworn to protect their countries at all costs… even at the lose of their own lives.  Only they didn’t know that they were fighting for the same thing.  Peace.  Each soldier was different from the others.  Once was loud, annoying and had a braid… we’ll call him, uh, Idiot.  Another had long bangs and was quiet and analytical… he’ll be… Silence.  The third was dark and was the last of his people… um, he was Lunatic.
     The last two were a pale blond with a gentle heart and a kind soul called…”  Heero glanced down at Quatre’s sleeping face.  “Noble and a…”  He grinned to himself.  “A smart and handsome young man named… Perfect.”
     “The first time two of them met, it was Perfect and Idiot and IDIOT SHOT PERFECT TWICE!  And then he got Perfect captured… course he DID get him free but that doesn’t count.  So Perfect threatened to kill him…”  He frowned to himself.  “… Only he never actually went through with killing Idiot… though I don’t know why, the analysis is still inconclusive….”
     He looked back at Quatre and pulled the blanket tighter around him, “Anyway there was a girl who found out Perfect’s secrets and she was called Nosy because she was so, well, nosy.  He threatened to kill her but things kept interrupting him so she’s still alive… and NOW she has a crush on him AND she won’t leave him alone, which only creates problems for him but she’s necessary now so he can’t kill her… YET!”  He grinned crazily but quickly schooled his features.  “Anyway, Perfect fought the masked man and had to self destruct and Silence took him to a circus to help him get better.  Then Idiot got caught so Perfect saved him only to get caught later on by the enemy, along with Lunatic and…”  He rolled his eyes heavenward.  “Of course Idiot just had to go and get caught but thankfully Perfect wasn’t stuck in an enclosed room with him too long or Perfect might have had to make good on his earlier threat… At the time Silence was impersonating the enemy and Noble…”  Realizing what was next Heero stopped.
     “It was just a stupid story anyway.  All I know is that Perfect learnt a lot from Noble about how to live and Perfect doesn’t want to see the only true life he’s ever encountered taken away.”
     He stood up.  “I have to check for new missions.”  And stiffly he walked to the door and then paused with his hand on the doorknob.  “You have to live because you show me what living is and if we finally achieve peace I want to be able to live as a person… not a soldier…”
     As he left he failed to notice the soft smile on the unconscious boy’s lips.