Archivist's note: These sentences were written from prompts in the 5sentence fics Live Journal community. These sentences are presented in the order they were posted, not in chronological order. They are mainly about Heero, but they do have implied Heero/Duo content. The titles are the prompts suggested for the challenge.

Heero had never understood how an artist could claim to have captured light in a painting. To him there was nothing more elusive, but then, he thought, they had never been able to see it the way he had, smoothing across the edge of the earth on the cusp of daybreak an instant before exploding in a corona of brightness. That was his sunrise and he sent up a prayer of thanks every morning that he had destroyed the piece of Libra, which had threatened to block it from the world. Most people on earth couldn't appreciate the stark, cold beauty of a dawning day from space, they saw instead a warm, filtered daybreak coupled with birdsong. He would have shown them but he knew he was no artist; then again, some things were never meant to be held down on canvas.

#07 -- Love is

Heero had frowned when he overheard the group of girls sitting behind them on the bus, gossiping about their latest beaus. When Duo had noticed the faint crease between his eyebrows he had leaned across in the seat and asked him what was wrong. It had seemed pointless then to ask if it was true that love was nothing more than a physical attraction. Heero had already seen the answer he was looking for in the expression of genuine concern on Duo's face and in the warm hand that covered his own. Love wasn't found in a pretty face or a pair of bright eyes, it was in showing weakness in front of people and knowing that they would still respect you; not in spite of it but because of it.

#13 -- Swords to Plowshares

It had been hard for Heero to accept the help. Throughout the war he had prided himself on being self sufficient, more than able to take care of himself. It was his means of preservation and, while it had been flawed at times perhaps, it had kept him alive long enough to experience peace. It was only as he made the slow transition from soldier to civilian that he realized just how flawed his logic had been. He had never once been alone.

#19 -- Reap what you sow

Heero didn't believe that in life what you sowed so you would reap and no amount of arguing would sway him otherwise. In his eyes he had done nothing but bring death and misery since before he could remember; the idea that he could gain strong friendships and a good life from such a weak start was repugnant. He was selfish though and listened when Quatre tried to explain that even he, especially he, deserved such things. Quatre's voice would be so forceful and the expression in his eyes so sincere that Heero found himself almost believing. One day, he knew -- he hoped -- there would be no almost about it.

#25 -- Rule of thumb

Heero had made a choice very early on to live by his own rules and, once they were formed, he followed them like he did everything else in his life. That was how he found himself standing in the middle of a battle, on the gangplank of his Gundam, about to die. It was a hard choice but it was his alone and he was proud to have made it. His hand was steady as he raised it high in front of him and pushed the button with no time for regrets as the world around him suddenly went to hell in a blinding flash of light. Those came a month later when he forced his eyes open and realized that he was right back where he started.

#08 -- Man's Best Friend

The small dog that Heero found rummaging in the bins behind his apartment went against everything he'd ever thought about canines; it was vicious and aggressive, snapping at him when he took a step too close and watching him, gimlet-eyed, as it licked the inside of an old tuna can clean. The easiest option would have been to leave it, he had no provisions for a dog in his home, but instead he fashioned a makeshift leash and took it back to his apartment where it took root behind his sofa. Over the weekend he barely saw it, the only proof that it was there was the fact that the food and water he was putting down regularly kept disappearing. He took it to a shelter at the beginning of the week and handed it over into the care of the professionals. The day he heard it had been adopted he wasn't sure how to feel, whether it was happiness for the animal or regret for the fact that he himself couldn't help it; dogs were something other people had.

#16 -- Photographs and Memories

Heero refused to take part in every one of the media storms that occurred after the war, going so far as to approach one person who had managed to snap a photograph of him and remove the memory card from the camera. His identity was a sacred thing, something that he had had to forge for himself after being handed his name only a year ago. A name could be with-held, a physical identity however could not and he held on to his privacy with tenacity. Because of this, when he presented Duo with a small photograph of himself it was accepted with the solemnity the moment required. Heero couldn't explain why he had felt the need to ensure that Duo remembered him but as he watched Duo slip the photograph into his wallet carefully he realized that he didn't need a reason; Duo already knew.

#21 -- Batman and Superman Were Lovers

Years later, when the war was over, Duo had asked him what it had felt like to be the batman of the man of steel. He'd been about to say that Wing had been made of gundanium, not steel, but something stopped the words. Cocking his head to one side he remembered instead the hours of extensive repairs and tune ups necessary to keep a machine of that size in a condition suitable to risk his life against. The feeling of being solely responsible for such a behemoth and yet, held inside carefully, protected from both the elements and the lack of them was strangely hard to voice. He'd never replied in words but the slight smile that tugged at a corner of his mouth had been answer enough.

#22 -- Flying Blind

When the cockpit had been sealed in Wing there had been no window to the outside. Heero had relied purely on his navigation instruments and the feedback from the view-screens to help him maneuver the Gundam. This, to him, wasn't flying blind as the consoles were more accurate than the naked eye could possibly have been and he had the split second judgment of ZERO to help him. He found it harder after the war, when there was no help and he was relying purely on his own skills. It was then that the other aids he had forged during the war came into their own and he found his guidance in the form of four friends who were learning to fly themselves.

#23 -- On the Line

Trowa's offer to teach Heero how to walk the high-wire had at first intrigued him but as the days passed and he was unable to grasp even the most basic of balance techniques he began to regret agreeing to the idea. The problem wasn't in the fact that he was placing his life in a strand of wire about an inch thick but that Trowa was standing a few feet in front of him holding his hands and leading him as he fought to find his equilibrium. Trust had been one thing that had never been easy for Heero and Trowa's actions were an unspoken request, which he found hard to grant. The war was over though and Heero was determined, he knew his first steps would be unsteady but by placing his faith in his friends he would make it. His success was their success and he knew they would never let him fall.

#02 -- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

When Odin had wanted to lay low for a while he'd taken Heero out camping, away from the crowds of a city. They'd cooked catfish wrapped in tin foil over a camp fire and sheltered in a small canvas tent when the weather turned inclement. Heero held those memories close to his heart; they were just as important to him as the times when he had been taught to hold a gun properly and how to fire accurately. Those lessons had been about surviving. It was the accidental teachings of Odin that Heero appreciated, the ones that taught him about living.

#03 -- Keeping it Simple

People believed Heero Yuy to be a person who kept it all near the surface; what you saw was what you got. He was blunt and short and to the point. Heero didn't really care what these people thought, he knew better. He might have preferred simplistic clothing during the war for ease of movement, and a gun was his weapon of choice over a knife, but there was one area of his life that Heero knew was far from casual; his relationships with others. There was no way his closest companions would ever class him as a simple friend.

#04 -- One Sock

There were two things that Heero Yuy could say he truly possessed no matter what happened. One of these was a highly developed ability to make the most of anything at hand. Therefore, when he was waiting for a pick-up from a plane that couldn't land as there was nothing to indicate the direction of the wind, he thought nothing of stripping off his tank top and holding it up above his head. The make-shift wind sock performed its job well enough and the plane came in quickly to a perfect landing. The other thing he knew he had as Duo appeared, jumping down from the fuselage and jogging towards him quickly with a distinct gleam in his eyes, was a very twisted sense of humor.

#05 -- Actions Speak Louder

Heero had grown up with an assassin. He knew about the long waits in less than optimal condition, about priming his weapon beforehand and risking it all on one perfect shot. As Relena's speech progressed below, he prepared himself, ready to remove the latest figurehead of the war. He could have squeezed the trigger any number of times, ended it; but as the final words sounded and the applause began the balcony above was empty. While Heero didn't yet believe in Relena's ideals, he knew that sometimes there was one thing stronger than action and that was the lack of it.

#10 -- Naked

'You have good eyes,' Dr. J had said to him. Heero had never really thought afterward about what the scientist had meant by that, focusing more on the offer that he was being made. Perhaps the doctor had seen shielding already in place and used that as a building block to ensure Heero would have some level of protection in an interrogation; perhaps he had only meant to praise the sharpness of Heero's gaze. Whatever the reason had been Heero knew he gave nothing away with a look; the only way people would see him was if he let them, and he did. To those few that he willingly dropped his guard, 'good' wasn't strong enough a word.

#06 -- Saved by the Bell

Heero had never known a period of time that had been before the war. His earliest memories had been of Odin and, later Dr. J; of training first with a gun and then with a mobile suit. He didn't care to wonder how it would have turned out had it been otherwise; 'what ifs' were of no use to him. He had not been born for war but he had been bred for it, he'd lived for it and ultimately ended it, managing to come through on the other side relatively unharmed. He knew it could not be killed but while it existed he'd had purpose and in its hibernation he found his own liberty.

#11 -- Breakfast at Denny's

Heero had spent most of his life in space. As an inhabitant of the L1 cluster he was used to viewing the earth from his windows, a blue and green flecked marble that he had been able to cover completely with the palm of his hand. The decision to live on the planet had not come easy to him and yet he had looked forward to exploring the vastness of his new home. Early in his travels however one thing stood out; seeing the familiar chain of restaurants here, just like in the continent he had left behind ten hours ago, had been strangely disheartening. Like his hand, it only served to remind him of how small the world really was.

#12 -- Only One Life

Heero didn't know what it was about her that stilled his hand. He only knew that he had tried to kill her several times and always there had been something that spoke to him and told him to spare her. Relena was a liability, he knew; she could identify him and there was no reason for her not to do so if asked. He let her go. One man couldn't save the world but perhaps one woman could.

#18 -- Footprints in the Sand

It had been Duo who suggested the challenge as a good test of their old skills; whoever could touch the ocean without leaving a single footprint was the winner. Heero had pondered the distance, taken in the lack of rocks and firm ground, and sat back on his towel to wait as the others took part. After a dubious victory by Trowa, who had walked on his hands, they returned, wet and laughing to sit down next to him. Idly Heero reached out and skimmed his hand along Duo's back before holding his damp palm out. His proclamation of 'I win,' could not be argued against.

#20 -- The Morning After

A few hours after the destruction of the piece of Libra, Heero had retreated to a quiet spot where he could stand silently, exhausted and cradling a mug of something hot in his hands, and look out over the earth. With the creeping force of the new day spreading over the planet he watched the war end and peace begin. When Duo joined him silently a short time later Heero turned his gaze to their reflections in the window. He'd promised to survive, a rash cry fueled by adrenalin and the sheer desperation of the moment; he realized now that he didn't want that at all and, releasing the mug with one hand, he threaded his fingers with Duo's and squeezed. He wanted to live.

#09 -- Check's in the Mail

It had been no problem during the war to hack into a school's computer system and set his accounts to 'paid in full'. A few quick clicks on the keyboard and his background check was complete and reassuringly clear. Since the peace had finally settled though, Heero avoided the easy option and chose to create a truthful resume. It might not have gained him a job as easily as something fabricated but there was something about sending out a form with his accomplishments, as few as they had been academic wise, that made him feel as though he had made a mark on the world. Or perhaps it was even simpler than that; it was a sign that he existed.

#14 -- Deadman's Hand

Heero had always looked on Operation Meteor as a hand of cards during a game of poker. Five unknown entities, revealed one by one, strong on their own but stronger together. Eventually, in time, they had become two pairs and one free agent. Sometimes he wondered if the scientists had suspected this would happen when they had initiated the plan. They were the hand that dealt death to others and they did it well.

#15 -- Getting Along

If he'd had the choice Heero was sure he would have fought without it. Unfortunately he had needed every advantage he could get his hands on and that had included the ZERO system. The first time he used it he'd almost thrown up; his memories from the first few occasions were forever hazy and disjointed as his battle was raged both inside and outside the cockpit. It was only when he realized that he would never win by pitting his wits against the program that he began to turn the tide. ZERO's relationship was, he discovered, one of mutual surrender.

#17 -- Redeye

Heero had a tendency to focus and tune out extraneous factors unless they posed a threat. It was something that he'd carried across with him from wartime to peace and, as such, he missed the sound of Duo calling his name at first. It wasn't until the balled up piece of paper hit him on the ear that he looked across from his seat to see Duo standing, watching him and grinning. "Get to bed, Yuy," he'd said; "If I can get you with a surface to air missile like this, you're neither use nor ornament." Heero had obeyed with a smile, not knowing which to be more grateful for, the ability to be able to put down his work when he liked and sleep, or the fact that he had a partner who was only too ready to remind him of this when he forgot.

#24 -- Ordinary Man

Heero had been laying a carpet in his new apartment when he accidentally sliced his finger with a utility knife. The cut was deep, almost to the bone, and Duo had rushed him to the hospital in silence after wrapping a towel around the wound. It was quickly obvious that Heero would need stitches and he was offered the choice of a general or a local anesthetic, going with the local in the end as it left him with a little control over the situation. Back at home a few hours later, surrounded by bandages, painkillers, a watchful Duo, and a half fitted carpet, he caught himself laughing. It wasn't the biggest wound he'd had, not by a long shot, but it was the first that he could truly say had hurt him more than the action that caused it.