Sweet Child of Mine
The Second Installment of the Angels Saga
Chapter 1
The cold winter wind nipped at their noses and exposed fingers as the pair scuttled down the dank street. Snow from the previous night was slush at their feet and the small brown haired child playfully jumped from puddle to puddle. He giggled and smiled up at his mother from under the blue knit cap he wore over those mahogany hued curls. "Momma," his small tinkling voice rose up to her, "are we gonna meet the Gundam pilots when we get there? Are we, are we?" He bounced up and down in excitement as they continued their journey hand in hand.
His mother gazed down at him with sparkling deep blue eyes like the sea and smiled warmly. "That's right Jude. We are going to the Earth's branch of the Preventers." She had finally managed to force herself to go confront the boy's father. To be fair, none of this was his fault, she had intentionally kept Jude's existence a secret. Jude had been conceived during the war and she had not wanted to put more on his father's already over loaded shoulders than was necessary. Jude did not know that his father was one of the Gundam pilots, however she had made sure that he knew that they were heroes.
The wind tousled her honey blonde hair, accented with subtle brown and red highlights, around her face. She sighed and looked up at the gray sky above them as she flicked the long curls out of her face. She was stressed out by the whole situation. The charming man she had fell in love with back then deserved to know he had a son, but she was scared of how he would react. Their relationship had been all flirtation and sex with no indication that he wanted anything more. How would knowing that Jude was his make him feel? Would he want a place in his son's life, or would he want nothing to do with a child born from a relationship he considered nothing more than a distraction from the war?
'I'm doing the right thing,' she thought, 'he deserves to know…' In recent moments of panic she hoped that he would not be there and that she could escape with her precious son. She would tell herself that at least she had tried and be done with the whole mess. Realistically, that would never work; the guilt would be too much.
As they came to the front of the building, the young woman paused inhaling deeply to try and calm her nerves. Nothing. The terrible bundle of fears still sat in the pit of her stomach. Glancing down at the beautiful angel who had her eyes she gathered all the strength she could and marched them into the gargantuan multi-storied building. The inside was even more intimidating with its crisp modern design and vast marble-floored entryway. Two elevators stood side by side just beyond the receptionist's desk where a cute girl with a raven black pixie cut sat reading a fashion magazine. She quickly recognized the newest issue of Vogue and realized with a cringe that the new Victoria's Secret spread she had posed for was featured prominently in the center of the mag. Well, a single mother had to pay the bills somehow didn't she?
The sound of the pair's footsteps alerted the receptionist and she made an attempt to hide the reading material under a stack of papers on her desk. She looked up at them expectantly, eyes bugging out of her head as she caught site of the tall slender blonde. "Ohmigosh!" she exclaimed, "You're, you're…"
"Here to see one of the Preventer agents actually," she cut her off quickly. Talking about her status as a lingerie model was not something she wanted to do in front of her son.
"I'm gonna meet the Gundam pilots!" Jude shrieked with joy and ran in circles around his mother with arms spread like wings.
Catching the verbal cue the tiny pixie girl winked and reached for the phone, "Of course! Let me get someone down here to escort you up." She pulled out her magazine once again and turned to the ad's page so that she could compare the picture to the person. A woman's voice came on the other line making the girl jump, "Miss Noin, there is a young lady here to see our boys." Her brow scrunched up in irritation, "Well of course I'm sure she has a valid reason to be here! Yes ma'am, I'll have her wait here for you," pixie girl hung up the phone and rolled her eyes. "Miss Noin will be right down to see you. I'm sooooo sorry for the inconvenience."
Five minutes passed while Jude continued his impressions of the Gundam suits and the receptionist shifted her eyes back and forth from the magazine to his mother. She was probably trying to decide how much of the pictures were airbrushed and how much was the real thing. When people found out she had a kid they always sized her up to see if the pregnancy had flawed her figure.
With a soft ding the elevator opened to reveal a lovely woman in a trim company uniform and short hair so black that it shone blue in direct light. When she caught site of Jude and his mother her expression changed from agitated to stunned. The two had known each other for only a short time during the war and hadn't been in contact for years, but still held a strong bond.
"Well now, you are the last person I expected to be waiting down here!"
"It's good to see you again Lucrezia." The young woman lifted her son into her arms resting him on her hip. She walked forward to join her old acquaintance in the elevator and nodded to the pixie girl as the doors closed.
Noin was eyeing the boy curiously. Jude met her gaze and quickly hid his face in the crook of his mother's shoulder. "And who might this be?" she asked.
"This is Jude," she answered cautiously, "he's my son."
She could tell Noin was trying to keep her expression calm, but noticed the storm of bewilderment raging in those dark eyes. "What a clever name you have young man," she finally managed to force out.
"Momma picked it 'cause of her favorite song," Jude mumbled still hiding.
"I see," Noin smiled this time and cocked her head to one side in an attempt to get a better look at the boy. 'He looks so much like…"
Scrambling to stop her from saying his name, the blonde girl flashed Noin a panicked glance. Noin quickly zipped her lips and added one more thing to her list of questions she would ask as soon as they were alone. Jude, finally coming out of his hiding place, stared at the pretty lady and asked, "Do you know the Gundam pilots? My momma says I get to meet them today."
"Why yes I do know them," Noin laughed at his cute lisp, "but I'm afraid only a couple of them are here today."
"Aww man…" he took on his famous irresistible pout, "will I get to meet the rest of them someday Momma?"
"Sure thing, little man" his mother reassured him, "We'll just have to come back later." Her heart pounded in her chest at the prospect that he wouldn't be available and she could go with Plan B and escape. She grimaced, "Which ones are here today?" she asked Noin.
"Quatre and Wufei. They are the only ones not on a mission right now." Noin stated.
Jude looked up at his mother for the descriptions that would tell him who the woman meant. She laughed, relieved that he was not here, and mock whispered in his ear, "It's Catter and the grumpy guy with the dragon thingy on the arm of this Gundam." Jude couldn't say Quatre yet so he instead called him Catter after his favorite bug the caterpillar. Close enough right?
"Oh!" he wiggled excited in her arms, "You mean Catter and Woofy," he let Noin know that she had not used their correct "code names." Noin threw back her head and laughed enjoying the child's amusing names for the two pilots. She found children more interesting than anything. She and Zechs had decided they would not have children, however she didn't mind being around one that belonged to someone else at the end of the day.
The elevator jerked to a stop at the 12th floor and they all stepped out into the hallway.
A/N: Sorry for the abrupt ending there, this is a test chapter to see if this story recives any interest. Please review and let me know if you like it. I wonder who Jude's father could be...? *hee hee hee*