Heero crossed his arms, and glared into the darkness beyond the illumination offered by the single candleflame. His night vision could barely pick out the tumbled mess of his bed, and the slender form lying in it, and he wondered what in the Gods’ name he was doing. There was no need to put the boy in his bed, or to worry -- for the first time in his life -- if the blankets were warm enough or soft enough. There was certainly no need to sit, long into the night, watching and waiting for the boy to awaken. No need for any of these, nor was there any reason for the strange crawling sensations in his belly when he envisioned the boy waking alone in a dark unfamiliar place, hurting and afraid...
Trowa was right, of course, and he berated himself fiercely for asking such a foolish question in the first place. Human beings weren’t animals, even if they acted like it sometimes -- he couldn’t help but think of the army scavenging the enemy camp, swarming like a horde of hungry insects -- and you couldn’t treat them like animals. If it had been an animal he claimed, out of Khushrenada’s possessions, then he could have just locked the beast in a cage or leashed it to a post --
No... no. He didn’t know what the prisoner would do when he awoke, so he had no choice but to sit up awake in the dead of night and watch him. It would be dangerous to turn his back on a potential threat. Imprudent. That was the only reason.
He’d have to remember that. It made a good excuse.
The candle burned a little lower; from the shadows, Heero Yuy heard a soft whimper. He cocked his head, listening hard into the silence; the boy was still asleep.
He settled back in his chair, and waited. Even if he didn’t know why.
Re: Spoil of War, prologue
Date: 2006-02-27 11:17 pm (UTC)Heero crossed his arms, and glared into the darkness beyond the illumination offered by the single candleflame. His night vision could barely pick out the tumbled mess of his bed, and the slender form lying in it, and he wondered what in the Gods’ name he was doing. There was no need to put the boy in his bed, or to worry -- for the first time in his life -- if the blankets were warm enough or soft enough. There was certainly no need to sit, long into the night, watching and waiting for the boy to awaken. No need for any of these, nor was there any reason for the strange crawling sensations in his belly when he envisioned the boy waking alone in a dark unfamiliar place, hurting and afraid...
Trowa was right, of course, and he berated himself fiercely for asking such a foolish question in the first place. Human beings weren’t animals, even if they acted like it sometimes -- he couldn’t help but think of the army scavenging the enemy camp, swarming like a horde of hungry insects -- and you couldn’t treat them like animals. If it had been an animal he claimed, out of Khushrenada’s possessions, then he could have just locked the beast in a cage or leashed it to a post --
No... no. He didn’t know what the prisoner would do when he awoke, so he had no choice but to sit up awake in the dead of night and watch him. It would be dangerous to turn his back on a potential threat. Imprudent. That was the only reason.
He’d have to remember that. It made a good excuse.
The candle burned a little lower; from the shadows, Heero Yuy heard a soft whimper. He cocked his head, listening hard into the silence; the boy was still asleep.
He settled back in his chair, and waited. Even if he didn’t know why.