The cold bit into any exposed skin viciously. Snow flurried around him, mixing with icy droplets of water that cascaded from the sky. He shook his head, sending a shower of water from his hood. Heero pulled his jacket tighter around his body and continued oh his trek, ever forward.

The loud bustle of the city echoed quietly behind Heero, a faint reminder of what he was leaving.

Quatre and Duo had located him. They had gone to the trouble (as much as that was with Quatre's money to impress) and sought him out. And now he left again -- he had to! If there were any other option for him he would have leapt at it. Yet, they would not -- could not -- understand the ex-pilot; not the soldier who harbored emotion; not the warrior who was capable of love.

A tiny kick echoed within him, his child pleasantly warm even while a chilled breeze nipped at his face. His gloved hand fell to the thickly covered spot.

    "Everything has changed, hasn't it, baby?" He murmured gently. "Changed again. We left them once…" His heart clenched painfully at that. While emotions were yet new to Heero, his hormones exaggerated them. A shuddered sigh escaped him. "I'm not a pilot anymore, baby; I'm not a soldier. They… wouldn't understand."

Heero paused as a shiver chilled first up his spine then down again, yet from the cold or his thoughts he did not know. He peered at his surroundings. He had been walking since the end of his workday, around five o'clock, yet even then the skies were dark and heavy with precipitation. Now the streets were inky black, few street-lamps above to chase the shadows away.

His gaze fell upon a small, flickering sign. "OFF," it read, the only letters illuminated by the fake pink glow of fluorescent. The remaining letters would spell "COFFEE" yet it looked as though they had not been alight for a long while.

Heero stared passively at the place. These types of establishments were not the best to make a meal at, yet his hunger had not bothered him till now. As he weighed the decision mentally, his child rolled within him, choosing for them. With a confident step he entered the small restaurant.

The seedy, smoke-filled room nearly gagged Heero, yet where was he to go? He sat at a booth in the far corner, hoping to escape the louder customers along with their unpleasant smell. The seat was an easy fit, which was good for he did not wish to accidentally rub against what was surely living on the underside of the table.

Nearly ten minutes of waiting brought Heero an arrogant looking waitress, dressed in a shabby uniform and smoking a cigarette. Her voice was deep and raspy as she spoke, her mouth full of yellowed teeth. "What can I get you, pretty boy?"

Heero decided not to bother asking to see a menu and simply order bravely. "Soup and coffee; decaf."

    "We ain't got no decaf coffee, suga, regular will hafta do ya."

Heero sighed, "Water then."

The waitress nodded once around a rather nasty sound cough and headed toward the back of the establishment, laughing loudly and flirting with various men along the way.

His soup came to him another ten minutes later, though it looked to be no more complicated than an out-of-the-can creation. The first spoonful was cold, no doubt due to the waitress' lingering at a table close to the kitchen. Heero sighed ruefully and forced another bite.

As the fourth spoonful fell onto his tongue with a bitter taste, Heero considered giving up on the ordeal; if not for the resounding tumble within him he would have gladly paid and left. Yet the child came first and he had not eaten since his afternoon snack.

A few more bites and a glare at the glass of water. Something was floating at the top. Suppressing a shudder, Heero quickly finished the soup and stood, dropping a couple bills on the table.

With a hurried step he headed for the exit, a hand lightly ghosting the area around his now slumbering child. With a sudden jerk Heero stopped himself in barely enough time before running into a rather broad man. Unfortunately, the large man had missed the sight of Heero completely and nearly knocked him down.

    "Whoa, watch yaself." The man grabbed Heero's arm in one thick hand, holding him upright. His eyes briefly roamed over Heero's body though it was covered in thick winter wear. His tongue darted out to moisten badly cracked lips.

Heero pulled himself out of the man's grasp as politely as he could. "Sorry," he mumbled, continuing to the door. Loud laughter echoed on the quiet streets as Heero left the restaurant. He would have to make sure he got into a better part of the city tomorrow, he was sure he did not want to experience another night in a place like this.

The sky had cleared somewhat and a few brave stars attempted to shine through. Heero sighed and tucked his hands in his pockets, continuing forward.

This must have been one of the more stupid ideas he had come up with. Where was he going? Was he actually planning on walking there? He shook his head. Not pregnant, he could not risk his health to the elements while bearing such a burden. Who knows what could happen?

He was broken from his thoughts when heavy footsteps thudded behind him, approaching quickly. He turned, one hand on his belly, the other reaching for the gun he had kept at his side during the war. It, of course, was not there; he chided himself briefly, not during peacetime. He squinted through the light mist and discovered that the man running toward him was the very man from the coffee place a little while previous.

    " 'Ey!" he called, "Ya dropped this!" The man waved something in the air resembling a wallet.

Heero frowned, patting his pants pocket where his wallet should have been. He sighed upon finding it empty; he knew he had not dropped his wallet so much as it had been stolen.

The man ran up to him, lightly panting. "Here," he offered the wallet with a grin.

    "Thanks," Heero replied dryly. "Excuse me." He turned away from the man after quickly sizing him up out of habit. He had not gone more than a few feet before the large man fell into step beside him.

    "The names James, my friends call me Jay."

Heero sighed. "Is that so?"

    "Yeah," Jay nodded, a grin still on his face. He hummed quietly to himself as they walked, seemingly as he would do with his friends. "So what's a pretty boy like yaself doing 'ere all alone?"

    "I'm meeting my friends, they live around here," Heero lied.

    "And they ain't got no better food than that place?" He snorted, "Some friends. Where do they live?"

    "Up the street." Heero felt odd without a means of protection. On the subway or during the day it was not as bad. Yet here on the back streets in the dead of night he felt foolish. He should have carried his weapon.

Jay looked sideways at him. "That's where I live too. Ain't know no other whities there, though."

Heeros senses prickled in anticipation. In a sudden move, Jay was pushing Heero against a wall, roughly holding him by the neck. Heero struggled, lashing out at the man that was over a head taller than he.

Heero stopped all movement as he was faced with cool steal to his face.

Normally, he would have fought the offender off when face with a gun, but with his baby…

    "Keep the wallet," Heero said, desperately hoping that was all Jay was after.

    "Why should I do that when I could have a perfectly good pretty boy to mahself?"

Heero felt his heart clench at the whispered words. He was no idiot, he knew what the man was after and he knew damned well his chance of escaping was nil. But he had to try…

A swift kick to the groin brought the man to his knees, shouting curses. Heero bolted. He had to run, there was no way he would risk a hand to hand fight when his child yet rested within him. However, his run was slow and awkward, compensating for the extra bulk of his abdomen.

A bullet whizzed just over Heero's right ear, stopping him immediately.

    "Next time I won't miss." Jay's hand fell heavily onto his shoulder and turned him around. Heero did not have the presence of mind to block the punch to his face, much less to catch himself from falling, his emotions ran high and his brain was stuck on run!

The ex-pilot landed hard on his buttocks and back, the breath puffing out of him. He looked up to the man towering over him, a snarl on his lips though fear lay just hidden behind his eyes.

A grin grew on Jay's face as he grabbed himself and adjusted crudely. "This is gonna be fun."

 ~~~~~~~~~~~

A cliffie! Well sort of. Wee^_^

Chapter 4

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