The title is the name of one of the Gundam Wing songs. So … no genius there. ^_~

Thanks to all my wonderful editors! Behold! Aidenn Legacy, Usagi Asia Maxwell, DevilsDarling, Usa-chan, and Autumn Hime! ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, and I don't plan to either. ^_~

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Usagi leaned back into her pillow and glanced at her watch: 10:21. Still no Hiiro.

Why do you even care, idiot Usagi? she questioned herself, miffed at her traitorous thoughts. Sniffing, she turned deep azure eyes to the white moon outside, ignoring her own question. Moonlight highlighted the room's creamy carpet and ivory-colored walls.

Ever since they were kids, she and Hiiro had been what you might call friends. Of course, perhaps it would be wiser to assume after taking into consideration the fact that Hiiro considered Duo his friend, though the world as we know it would end before he admitted it, and the poor braided man was threatened with a handgun 24-7.

Hearing the front door open, Usagi averted her eyes from the moon imprisoned behind orderly blinds and strained her ears to hear the conversation of Hiiro and this date.

A girly voiced giggled and said, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, Hii-chan!"

Her roommate replied with a "Hn" before murmuring a barely audible good-bye and closing the door quietly.

It was that girl again ... Relena was it? Yes Relena. How could a girl compete with that? Not only was Relena rich and beautiful, her picture splashed across Newsweek and every respectable newspaper in the universe due to her increasing fame as a "beacon of peace", Hiiro had to protect her, which inadvertently brought the two even closer together.

This was her life.

Ever since college began and staying in a comfortable one-story house with her parents ended, Usagi had shared an apartment with Hiiro, both preferring it to the college dorms. Hiiro had exploited the supposed fact that the girl he had grown up with would never come to like him in any manner past platonic, opting to stay with a person he could actually stand on a daily basis. She, on the other hand, had gone against reasonable pleas of her mind and decided to accept the offer in hopes of finally letting him see her as somebody worthwhile and intelligent, past his dismissal of her as a quick-tempered friend who was the only tolerable nuisance in his life.

Of course, it must be noted that they were very rarely the only people present in the modest apartment. His and her friends came over so often that it seemed almost as if they lived there… Of course, it had been established quite early in their college years that neither his nor her friends would ever come all at once due to the fact that, as Hiiro so ably phrased it, "they'll burn down the whole damn neighborhood!"

But between Hiiro's friends and business associates' visits, more often than not behind closed doors, and her own pals' occasional sleepovers, there was hardly any time left to listen to the silence that Hiiro had never been the first to break. Naturally, she had been hurt when he demanded that she kept her nose out of his business affairs with Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, and Wufei Chang, only mumbling something along the lines of "provide … for the war" to her skeptical questions of what exactly this fledgling business did. However, she soon enough reasoned herself into thinking that if Hiiro could stand the giggles and squeals during the bimonthly sleepovers then she should count her blessings and keep her mouth shut about unnecessary privacy.

Come to think of it, she had never really gotten along with the guy. Being the only person he could actually refrain from threatening wasn't the most glamorous position in the world. Besides, they were probably more like rivals, each shooting out taunts and barbs at the other, she in hopes of disguising unrequited affections and he … for the simple pleasure of knowing he could provoke her? Whatever the reason, she wouldn't know.

Every night, she went through the same routine to the point where it became a worn-out tradition that bugged her to no end – wait for Hiiro to come back from whatever date he was one with Relena and then eavesdrop on their conversation to detect signs of love. Can anybody say p-a-t-h-e-t-i-c?

Why couldn't she just say the simple words? Her mind easily answered the ever-present question – she was afraid that once she bared her heart to him, he would recoil from her affections and never speak to her again. Though, bitterly, one would have to admit that that wouldn't be much of a change from the one-syllabled answers he offered her nowadays anyhow.

Sliding out from under warm covers, Usagi got up and peeked out from the crevice of her door. The kitchen light flickered on and she headed downstairs to greet him.

"Hey Hiiro," she smiled with a fake, awfully chirpy voice as she gazed down at him from her vantagepoint a few steps before stairs gave way to the living room carpet.

"Hn," he replied shortly. Why was she always so upset when he came home? Did she hate him that much? Sure, at times he might have gone a bit far, demanding privacy, silence, and order but was it too much to ask for? After all, he had a job to do – protecting the earth and colonies wasn't particularly easy when the weight was divided over only five shoulders – and the charade of convincing her he was in fact a businessman left him tense and alert at all hours of the day, afraid that something might slip out.

"So! How was your date?" she asked brightly, sitting down on the fifth step from the bottom and smiling cheerily up at him.

"Fine."

"What was her name? Relena, right?" she pressed onwards, forcibly quirking the corners of her mouth upwards in a sad attempt to look casual. Maybe if he had known better, he would have detected the slight inflection of the tone and the glassy sheen over sky-blue eyes, but he didn't know better.

"Yeah." He covertly gauged her reaction as he pulled the outer denim jacket he had on off and draped it over the back of an armchair. "How was your day?" he continued gruffly.

The answer came smoothly with ease that clearly told of practiced repetition. "Fine, yours?"

"Fine." He slumped in the armchair, chiseled face turned towards the blank TV screen that reflected a hazy figure back to those dark navy eyes.

The two bathed in silence for a moment before Usagi finally shifted and mumbled a, "Goodnight Hiiro" and got up to head back upstairs.

"Hn."

Smiling one last, whimsical smile at him, the blonde turned and trudged back up the stairs. Well, there goes another chance to tell him, but what did she expect? The cycle of tradition wasn't meant to be broken. They would forever question each other about their days and answer a straightforward "fine" whether it truly was or not. Afterwards, both would leave the other alone, out of courtesy, to go fulfill their own agendas.

Switching her light off, Usagi slipped under now cold covers and shivered as her body worked to warm them again. Glimmering blue eyes peered into the darkness of her room, striving to find answers that faded into dusk.

Who made up the beloved quote "It is better to have loved and lost than never loved at all"? Whoever it was was obviously drunk when he had uttered it – from the looks of matters at hand, she would MUCH rather have never loved at all…

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Please review or email me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading! Yours, Angel. ^_~