If you had asked me twenty-four hours ago what my most prized possession is, outside of Wing, I would have said my laptop. After all, it is my laptop what allows me to further my mission, accomplish what I have set out to do, and stay informed as to OZ's plans. These are all very important functions, which would make my personal computer the thing which I value highest (except for my Gundam).

Of course, if you had asked me twenty-four hours ago, I also probably would have said "Omae o korosu" and either ignored you or shot you. I was in the middle of a mission.

Now, that braided baka has gone and mixed up my life. Again.

Ever since I started rooming with Duo-baka Maxwell, I have been having dreams. I do not normally experience dreams, and I haven't decided if I like them or not. Sometimes, they are pleasant, and I enjoy them; but sometimes they are disturbing and painful, and I don't like them at all. It's strange, but I can always remember the bad dreams with clarity, but the good ones always fade after I wake up. I wish that I could keep the nice dreams and forego these "nightmares", as Duo-baka calls them.

After a nightmare, I always wake up feeling very stiff, and my muscles tend to cramp up. Most of the time, I can ignore the discomfort, because my nightmares generally come right after I finish missions. If you have multiple bruises on your chest and arms from your restraint system, how bad are a couple of muscle aches?

This morning, the day after a mission, I was prepared for the joint and muscle stiffness that accompany nightmares as well as firefights. But, to my surprise, they never came. I drifted awake feeling calm and relaxed, with something soft clutched tightly against my chest.

I woke up fully at that realization, and stared down. Looking back up at me were a pair of button eyes that looked like they belonged in one of Duo-baka's cartoons, surrounded by purple fur that reminded me of a different pair of eyes, ones that were a particular shade of amethyst, or perhaps tanzanite..

K'so! You didn't read that.

It was a rabbit... a bunny. An Usagi. Sometimes, in my nightmares, I dream that I am clutching at a white doll with the fur mostly worn off that I call Usagi, and there is a great bonfire in front of me. Someone comes and tries to take Usagi away from me, and I kick and scream and bite to hold on to it. But, always, Usagi is wrestled from me and tossed into the flickering flames in front of me.

This bunny didn't look anything like the original Usagi. But it was an usagi. It was very soft, and a convenient size, and had very long ears. It reminded me of someone.

I sat up, and nearly grunted in surprise. My roommate was flat on his back on the floor next to my bed, asleep. He was wearing his usual bed-time attire: a pair of black boxers and nothing else. I realized where this usagi must have come from, and alternated staring at the usagi with staring at the baka who was going to catch a cold if he kept this behavior going for long.

As I watched, he stirred and sat up. Little wisps of hair were pulling out of his braid, and he rubbed at his eyes sleepily. Then, he noticed me, and looked up to meet my eyes. He looked suspiciously like Quatre did the time Trowa caught him rifling in the cookie jar.

I said the only thing I could think of that wasn't 'How do you look so damn adorable this early in the morning?' That is not an acceptable greeting for one's roommate.

"How did you know?" How *did* he know that I had a stuffed rabbit an entire lifetime ago, anyway?

His eyes impossibly widened even more than they already were, and then he refused to meet my gaze. "You- uh- you talk in your sleep," he said, sounding slightly guilty.

Oh. I glanced at the usagi again. With its ridiculous eyes and overly-long ears, it really did look like a baka. A very... cute baka.

"Why?" Why did you listen? Why did you go looking? There are millions of 'whys' behind that one.

"You weren't... comfortable. You must have woken up with terrible cramps." I almost grunted again, I was so surprised. Duo-baka had noticed my stiffness? And had figured out the cause? He was a great deal more observant than I thought he was. Then, he had not left me to deal with my problems by myself.

Inefficient. Waste of valuable resources. Invasion of privacy. Very, very childish.

The kindest thing that had ever been done for me.

"Arigato," I said, squeezing the usagi tightly. I noticed that the action made his (no, not "its." I had decided at some point that this was a he-usagi) eyes seem to bug out a little.

I looked up at Duo-baka again. He and the usagi were the only things that were holding my attention this morning. "You aren't... mad?" He was staring at me, blinking.

"No." I paused, glanced at the usagi, then back at Duo-baka, sitting on the floor still in the process of waking up. There was a resemblance, I thought suddenly, and then inspiration struck. "Baka," I tried it out.

Duo-baka blinked a couple more times. "What was that?"

"Baka. I'm naming him Usagi-Baka. Baka for short. After you."

The look on his face was, as Quatre would say, priceless. He looked as honored as though I'd offered to name my first-born child after him, but he was also indignant at the appellation. "Thanks. I think."

I don't think that Duo-baka realizes that, at least in regard to him, "baka" has long ceased to be an insult from me. I felt myself smile slightly.

And Duo-baka beamed back, making his tanzanite eyes seem to gleam and dance. This wasn''t the smile of Shinigami: a dead, flat thing. This was the smile of a happy teenage boy.

My most prized possession now is a purple bunny named Baka, who reminds me of another baka. A Duo-baka.

* * *

After that, I began to sleep better. But it brought something else to light that was, at least to me, rather disturbing.

You see, Duo-baka has nightmares.

I think that's why he doesn't sleep a great deal, though he claims that it's because he doesn't need as much as other people. I think he doesn't want to sleep so that he doesn't have to remember, because he takes short little naps in the middle of the day to make up for not sleeping much at night.

Sometimes I catch him asleep on the couch, watching TV, but only for a half an hour or so. And, if we're at a school, he'll doze in class, so that the teacher will wake him up if he sleeps for too long.

He doesn't know I've picked up on it, but I have. And he doesn't have nightmares when there's anyone around except me. If there's a third person in the room, I don't even think he really dreams. That's when he kind of closes his eyes, but if there's any noise at all, he's up and reaching for a weapon. That's not sleeping: that's resting on a hair-trigger.

But when it is just the two of us, when he eventually goes to sleep, he's very quiet. He lies down in one position, and he's there until he wakes up. Unless it's a bad dream night. Then, he twists and turns and groans and yells and thrashes around. I can't get near him, either. It's like he hears me, and as soon as I try to come to wake him up, he flails harder, and keens like he's in the worst pain imaginable.

Sometimes, he calls for Sister Helen, or Solo, or anyone to come and help him. That's the worst. That's when he sounds like such a little, little child, not a soldier at all. I sometimes can't stand it, and I have to get up and leave the room for a while. Usagi-baka may work for my sleeping nightmares, but for waking ones involving a terrified Duo-baka across the room, I think I need a different cure altogether.

I am worried, and I don't like the way worry makes my stomach turn somersaults. Was this how Duo-baka felt when he decided to try to help me?

That thought has stuck with me for a few nights now. And now, a vague idea is forming. Maybe, since a stuffed animal worked for me, it would work for Duo-baka.

Well, it was worth the attempt, at least. For my sanity and the sake of the mission, if nothing else.

K'so.

When had Duo-baka's comfort and happiness become essential to the mission?

* * *

So I went shopping. It was difficult, as I generally dislike the activity and avoid as much as possible. My well-known aversion meant I couldn't tell Duo-baka where I was going, as he would become suspicious. I must have an alibi, and I must not let anyone know my plans, for fear of an accidental slip of the tongue.

Eventually, though, I had to take Trowa into my confidence. Marginally. I didn't tell him everything, but I figured that between Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei, Trowa was the least likely to accidentally let something slip. He, like me, doesn't talk much, and if he does, it is because the occasion warrants it. I told him that I needed to get something for Duo-baka, but not what or why. I didn't think Duo-baka would like me to tell others of his weakness.

Trowa agreed to cover for me, and when Quatre mentioned that we needed some supplies, we were both volunteered to go. Well, Trowa volunteered, but then said that I'd been shirking my turn for too long (That was a lie. I never shirk.), so I had to go with him. While Trowa did the grocery shopping, I went hunting for stuffed animals.

That was another challenge. There are not many plain stuffed animals to be found. They were all mechanized to the point that I could have sworn that at least one of them was an OZ camera. Finally, I found some in a little store. There weren't many left, and they were all dyed outrageous colors. I considered the few that remained, until I saw exactly what I wanted.

It was a blue turtle doll with a royal blue body and a soft, plush shell that had pale, royal, and navy blue squares patterned into it. It was about the size of Baka (just right for hugging), and just as soft. Its eyes, though, were different. These ones were a darker color blue than the plush of the doll, and were plain buttons instead of imitation eyes.

I don't know why the turtle seemed so perfect. It just was. I bought it, and hid it in the trunk of the car, then went to pick up Trowa. When we got back to the safehouse, I concealed the doll under my bed.

A few hours later, here I am, pretending to be asleep so that Duo-baka will go to sleep, too. It's not working too well. He seems to know my sleep patterns.

"Heero, what's wrong?" Duo-baka asks. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

I try to sound groggy, like he just woke me up. "What do you mean? I was asleep."

"No, you weren't. You were too quiet." He has the gall to sound amused! What does he mean, "too quiet"? I am always quiet.

"Hn." I roll over and close my eyes.

* * *

I wake up, cursing myself for letting myself really drift off, when I hear Duo-baka kicking and clawing at his sheets. I glance over at him to find him drenched in sweat and his face contorted with fear and sadness and pain. His blankets have fallen off the bed, but in his struggles, he has wound the sheets around his limbs, trapping himself in them.

I fish the turtle out from under the bed, and approach his side of the room cautiously. I know that he will not let anyone anywhere near him in this state unless his subconscious recognizes them as a friend. I hope that he has marked me as a friend

I begin to talk softly, not saying anything important, just talking so that he knows who I am. As I continue to babble, I realize that I am having difficulty finding things to say. But Duo-baka has stopped tossing so violently, and so I press on.

I slowly step closer, watching to make sure that I do not unintentionally disturb him. Doubts begin to eat at me. What if he is offended? What if he believes himself above a child's toy? Should I continue? Finally, I reach my goal, after hesitating several times.

This is the moment of truth, and I believe I am more frightened now than I have ever been on any mission. I almost withdraw, decide it's not worth the risk, when I see something on his cheek glint in the moonlight. A tear.

My Duo-baka is crying.

Suddenly, I don't care what he says when he's awake, and I don't mind if he'll think that I'm a baby or an idiot. Duo-baka should not cry, and the aching, stabbing agony in my chest tells me that I cannot let it continue. So, I do the only thing I can think of to alleviate his pain.

I set the turtle on his chest, and scurry back to my own bed, and Baka.

As I lie here in dim light cast by the moon and stars, clutching the purple usagi, I ask myself two things:

1) When had my mind permanently attached the endearment "baka" to my Duo-baka's name?

and

2) When had he become *my* Duo-baka?

* * *

I am being shaken. And a deep voice is talking at me. Fortunately, I recognize it before I finish pulling my gun. Duo-baka.

"...Heero, *where* did you find him? He's perfect! I absolutely *love* him!"

I say what I think would be my normal response to being jarred awake early in the morning. "Omae o korosu."

His face falls instantly, he takes a step back, and I want to kick myself. What a *baka*! And this time, it's not an endearment.

"Duo-ba... Gomen Duo! I--I'm glad you like the turtle," I stammer, sitting up. "I didn't mean to snap like that! But how do you know I gave it to you?"

He stares at me as though I were simple-minded. "Heero, who else cares enough about me to think of something like this?"

I feel as though someone just smashed me in the back of the head with the fist of a Gundam. How could anyone *not* care about Duo-baka that much?

I am at a loss. Fortunately, this is Duo-baka we're discussing here. His face brightens again. "Heero, thank you! How'd you know I've always wanted a stuffed animal?"

I am shocked. I may have been pretty sheltered growing up, but I thought that everyone had at least one doll as a child. Even I had had the first Usagi when I was tiny. "You've never had one?"

He shakes his head, wispy braid swinging with his emphasis. He's holding the turtle so that the shell is pressed against his chest, and he's squeezing it so hard around the middle that it's kind of folding up. Duo-baka is grinning fit to make his face crack open, and once again his eyes are dancing.

Is it possible to be jealous of a stuffed turtle?

"Nope, I never have," he says, answering my previous question. "But this one is perfect, so it makes up for it! And you even gave it its name!"

"What?" I did? I don't remember naming it.

"I'm going to call him 'OOK!'" Duo-baka declares proudly, the grin on his face turning mischievous. Not that I care. All of his smiles are beautiful, except the Shinigami grin.

"I do not recall naming your turtle 'Ook,'" I say to him.

"I didn't mean that you *literally* named him," Duo-baka explains. "I mean you *inspired* his name. If you anglicize 'omae o korosu', and take the first letter of each word, you get Ook! And I think that Ook is the perfect name for this turtle!"

I don't know whether to be honored or insulted.

* * *

As I'm preparing for bed, I notice that Baka has a companion on my pillows. For some reason, Ook is sitting next to Baka.

Before I can say anything, though, Duo-baka re-claims Ook, and climbs into his own bed. "Ook was lonely, and since I know how that feels, I let him sit with Baka for a while," he explains seriously. "I hope you don't mind."

"No," I reply. "Baka is always willing to keep lonely turtles company."

Duo-baka just snuggles deep under the covers with a tiny grin pulling at his lips, and falls asleep.

And he sleeps through the whole night.

~Owari~