A Classic Case of Irony
by IsabelleRose
Chapter 3: The Challenge
In the aftermath of the laughter, Wufei and Duo helped to drag Hilde, Trowa, and Cathy off the floor, while Quatre began clearing away their dishes. Heero was crouched near the door, carefully examining his son's clothes for mess, when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. Zechs. Their eyes met and Heero understood immediately.
"Take Gabe," Heero told Duo, leaving no room for argument. He ruffled his son's hair before following Zechs quietly out of the room. They traversed a narrow corridor for a short while, wordlessly, before Zechs opened a set of double doors and indicated that Heero should pass through. Heero stepped comfortably into the library as Zechs shut the doors behind them to give their conversation the necessary privacy. He settled down into a massive arm chair in a shadowed corner, while Heero preffered to lean against a bookcase, arms crossed, as usual. Neither was in a rush to speak, but they weren't avoiding the discussion.
Heero noted how Zechs sat perfectly still in the armchair, staring unabashed back at his former rival. He resisted a smirk at the older man's stubborn streak. Neither wished to be the first to look away, because neither was intimidated. Like Zechs, Heero was motionless. They let their individual thoughts occupy them for the time being, not desiring to share.
After several minutes of silently regarding one another, Zechs leaned foward, resting his elbows on his knees, hands draped casually between them.
"You and my sister used to be very close," he began, not bothering to beat around the bush. "What happened?"
"I have a son now."
"Yes," Zechs agreed. A long pause stretched between them, although neither of them was counting the minutes. Heero knew that Zechs intended to say more on the subject. "It doesn't explain the hatred in your eyes when you look at her, though."
"Why do you care?" Heero demanded softly, clearly unwilling to fork over the desired information.
"You loved her," Zechs stated with a simple shrug. Heero gave a short laugh at that.
"That was a mistake."
"Like your son?"
"You have no idea what you're talking about. Leave my son out of this or you'll wish you'd never returned from Mars, Zechs." He took a dangerous step forward and Zechs knew from the cold glint in Heero's eyes that he might not come out of that fight in one piece.
"I apologize. Heero, you know that I have the utmost respect for you," he placated honestly. More silence stretched between them. Heero's face was set in stone, every muscle in his body tense. Zechs watched and waited, wondering what Heero would reveal to him.
"What's done is done," Heero concluded, signalling the end of their conversation by turning his back on his old arch nemesis and leaving the room. Heero hadn't told him much, but Zechs was satisfied with what he had learned. The deep fury that consumed Heero made it clear. This wasn't about Heero having an illegitimate child. Surely that didn't help the current situation, but-
Leave my son out of this....
Something far more secret than the child itself was the key to Heero and Relena's fall-out. Zechs rose and crossed to the window, watching Heero striding across the lawn towards the obstacle course his friends had constructed after dinner. He vaguely wondered how long they had been in here talking... or not talking, really. Heero launched into a sprint as he caught sight of his son.
"Don't worry," Zechs assured from afar. "I'm not going to get invovled. This isn't my battle."
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Quatre's gardens were large and intricate, winding their way through the hilly landscape in florid glory. Duo stood atop one such hill with Gabe on his hip, sheilding his eyes against the sun as he surveyed their hard work. Yep, this obstacle course was a doozy. He patted himself on the back, mentally.
"What do you think?" Duo asked. Gabe let out a giggle of anticipation, rubbing his hands together with glee.
"Daddy's gonna win," he replied confidently.
Duo laughed and turned so the two of them could watch Heero's approach from the house. The man in question walked at a calm, steady pace. Even from the hilltop, Duo could tell that Heero's face was harder than it had been, but it softened at the sight of Gabriel waving madly. Heero launched into a sprint, his lean legs covering the ground at an impressive rate. In no time he was standing beside them.
"Don't over do it," Duo grinned. "You've got a difficult course ahead of you."
"Hn." He took his son back with a cocky smirk.
"What do you think?" Duo asked Heero this time. The former pilot 01 scanned the grounds briefly, taking it all in as quickly as possible.
"No problem," he answered, shifting his son to the opposite hip.
"Sure, sure," Duo muttered, "'No problem,' he says."
"Everything ready?" Trowa asked, coming up beside them. Cathy trailed behind him, looking incredibly excited.
"All set here," Duo answered, waving his hand out dramatically to gesture towards his section of the obstacle course.
"Good. Quatre's finished with his section, too. Ready, Heero?"
A curt nod.
"Gabe, Daddy's got to stretch," Heero told his son warmly, setting him on the ground.
"Oh! C'mon Gabe, let's get good seats," Cathy exclaimed, taking the little boy's hand and tugging him after her as she rushed towards the tallest hill, where several chairs had been set up. Heero dropped to the ground, stretching out his legs, then arms and back. He rolled his shoulders and flexed his fingers.
"Equipment?" He asked, glancing at some of the more difficult obstacles.
"No way," Duo teased. Heero just shrugged.
"Don't need any, just faster with it."
The three headed down the slope towards the start point where Wufei waited impatiently. The course lay before them, plain as day to their well-trained eyes.
"So, first one to the finish wins," Duo told them, feeling the need to say something. "We're the judges, so no cheating, but basically anything goes."
Heero bounced lightly on his toes his wild hair flopping into his face as he turned his head to grin at Wufei. Wufei scowled back, but there was excitement in his eyes. the two refocused their attention on the course.
Up on the hill, the audience waited with baited breath for the event to begin. Relena stole a glance back at the building that Hilde had retrieved her from. The sun beat down on their necks and Gabriel squirmed uncomfortably next to Cathy.
"On your mark," Duo's voice exclaimed from the start line, "GO!"
"He forgot 'get set'!" Gabe protested.
"He's too impatient," Hilde laughed.
Heero and Wufei rocketed down the cobblestone path towards obstacle number one: a twelve foot hedge.
This would be easier in zero gravity, Heero mused with a silent laugh. His eyes darted back and forth, looking for a tool to aid him. Seeing nothing of use, he concentrated on the jump. The muscles in his legs bunched as he crouched, before springing upwards. His hands caught the upper branches of the leafy wall and he used his momentum to catapult himself over the top. Like a cat, Heero always landed on his feet.
Wufei had mastered the hedge, too, so the two of them continued their journey. A field of rose bushes met their eyes. The blossoms were in full bloom and there was no way they could simply storm through without causing regrettable damage.
Without a second thought, Heero dropped to his stomach and proceeded to crawl at the bases of the bushes.
"Yuy, you're out of your mind!" Wufei shouted. It was obvious to him that they were meant to go around this obstacle. He darted to his left and disappeared down the cobblestone path.
Heero was not deterred by Wufei's opinion. He worked steadily with his elbows to pull himself forward. The branches swept low and thorns lashed at him with every movement, but he knew the distance was bearable and continued to press onward. It wasn't too long before Heero was back on his feet, boots pounding the stone as he rapidly approached the next challenge.
Heero skidded to a halt as he reached an empty courtyard. He didn't buy it for a second. Eyes narrowed, he stooped to snatch up a stone before hurling it across the vacant space. Lasers shot out from every direction and disappeared after a moment. Heero recognized them as short-range dissapating lasers.
Several more stones went flying through the air. Heero observed the patterns carefully. Finally satisfied with the data he'd acquired, he bolted headlong into the frenzy.
Relena's knuckles tightened on the bench as one of the searing lasers hit Heero in the shoulder, but he didn't flinch.
"He did that on purpose," Duo muttered quietly, obviously trying to keep Gabriel from hearing.
"Why?" Relena asked, horrified. Duo shrugged and turned his attention back to the action.
"Those are short-range dissapating lasers. After a certain distance, they fade and eventually disappear altogether. The laser that struck him was relatively close to its dissapation point, so it probably didn't seem worth dodging to him. Don't get me wrong, that probably hurt like hell, but it's nothing Heero can't handle."
"Uncle Duo," Gabe interrupted, leaving Cathy's side and moving towards Duo. "Did you see how cool Daddy is?" The little boy climbed into Duo's lap with a grin.
"Sure did!" Duo answered, ruffling the boy's hair.
Heero was past the lasers now, quickly approaching a reflecting pool. The pool was clear and void of all life. The still water provided the perfect setting for observing the heavens . Today, however, Heero could tell the water was different. An odd sheen coated the surface and obscured the reflective qualities. His suspicions were confirmed when the pool of water transformed into a field of flame.
"Duo," he growled under his breath. The man was unquestionably responsible for this prank. The stone courtyard in which he stood was encompassed by a towering stone wall which came to the very edge of the reflecting pool. Having no room to skirt the edges of the pond, Heero was only left with the option of scaling the wall.
The shallow grooves between the stones offered little in the way of footholds, but Heero managed to get to the top in an impressive amount of time. Once he had hauled himself to the top, he sprinted across the unsteady surface to the opposite end and sprang to the ground once more. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the heat of the flames, further encouraging him to continue.
For a while, the path he chose did nothing but wind aimlessly through the garden. The path veered off every few feet, splitting of in complicated forks. He had a clear vision of which path to take, never hesitating at a turn. Heero was sick of the sight of hedge by the time he reached a clearing. He was met by two things, both of which irritated him: another pool, and a dead end. A split second of analysis revealed an underwater passage way as his only means of escape.
Heero weighed his options before peeling his shirt off and diving into the cool water. The passage was small and manuevering would be difficult once inside, but Heero didn't hesitate. As he proceeded through the tunnel, all light faded to black. The darkness seemed to stretch on for ages. His lungs were beginning to protest, but just as he began to consider going back, a light appeared ahead.
Heero's lungs were screaming for air by the time he reached the surface. He wasn't sure how many minutes he'd been without breath. He hauled himself out of the pool and allowed himself a few moments to recover before he was back on his feet.
The path leading away from the pool was marked "wet paint". Heero growled his displeasure, noting the long trelis that covered the path and understanding what he had to do. His hands latched securely to the wooden structure. He made his progress like a child on monkey bars, one hand shooting forward and hauling the rest of his body with it before the next hand shot out and did the same. After several hundred feet, he was able to drop to the ground again. His feet flew forward, not stopping to consider the flaming hoops before he was leaping through them.
Heero didn't stop to consider the deep hole in the ground that blocked his path. He flung himself across the gap and rolled safely out of his jump on the other side. There was no loss of momentum as he continued forward through a winding path dotted with lillies of every variety. He found himself running uphill and down over and over again.
A pit of quicksand appeared at the edge of his vision. He had a plan before he'd even reached it. Dropping to his stomach once again, he covered his face with his hands and rolled across the expanse in a log-like fashion. It took little effort to raise himself up on the other side and continue down his chosen path.
He wasn't happy to come across yet another body of water, especially once he noticed that this pool was infested with eels. With a growl, he dove into the dangerous waters. He kicked hard, propelling himself forward as well as dispelling any predators that attempted to take a peice of his leg. He barely managed to get through unharmed. He hauled himself out of the pool, shuddering at the thought of the eels' slimy bodies.
He was cut, burnt, wet, and dirty, but the end was near.
The clearing at the edge of the garden was beautiful. A brook bubbled its way through the lawn, tumbling down a waterfall before continuing on its way. Wildflowers swayed in the breeze, dotting a path that lead to a fountain that tinkled merrily into a shallow pool. Heero stooped to examine a pattern of stones laid out in the grass at his feet. They spelled out a coded message, but it took him only moments to decode it: The first to construct a bow and arrow and fire the arrow into the air, wins.
Heero immediately went to work finding his supplies. The rocks around the waterfall were shale. It didn't take long to find a sliver that was sturdy but sharp and pointed. Long prarie grass would serve as string to secure the arrowhead to the arrow and to notch his bow. The wood for the bow was somewhat difficult to find, since the orchard at the edge of the glade was mostly gnarled, but a willow tree guarded the brooke in the distance and that wood would suffice.
Wufei burst into the clearing and followed the same course of action as Heero, although not necessarily using all the same materials. Their bow and arrows were rough, to say the least, but Wufei and Heero both managed to lean back and shoot their arrows into the sky- unfortunately, at the very same moment.
"Brilliant," Duo smacked himself in the head. "Now what?"
"Tie-breaker," Trowa answered simply. He indicated that the other Gundam pilots follow him. Duo stood, lifting Gabe from his lap and absentmindedly handing him to Relena before dashing away.
Relena turned red as Gabe smiled up at her, settling into her lap.
"Isn't Daddy cool?" Gabe asked enthusiastically. Relena gave a weak smile in response.
"Watch the tie-breaker, Gabe," Hilde rescued.
"Okay, okay! So a finish line would have been better," Duo admitted, "But we can't go back. So would you quit the yapping already?" Wufei glared at Duo once more, but decided to lay off for the moment.
"So what's the tie-breaker?" he asked instead. He bent to examine the spot on his leg where an eel had bit him.
"Simple," Trowa stated. "You both shoot an apple off somebody's head."
"Who's head?" Duo asked. Eyes turned towards him.
"Oh, no!" he protested. "That's craziness! They just built those arrows! They aren't reliable!"
"I'll go, too," Quatre offered.
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Relena and Gabe watched as apples were plucked from the orchard and set atop Duo and Quatre's heads. Gabe tugged Relena's sleeve anxiously.
"What if Daddy or Uncle Wufei misses?" he asked, eyes wide. "I like Uncle Duo and Uncle Quatre." It was the first time Relena had seen Gabe's faith in his father waver. Cathy spoke up with a grin.
"Uncle Wufei teaches an archery class," she confided. "Quatre's in the clear."
Gabe pouted and looked down at his father, who was his greatest hero.
"What about Daddy?" he asked in a very small voice. Neither Hilde nor Cathy really knew the answer. They looked at one another helplessly before each opening their mouths to give a hurried response. Relena gave Gabe a comforting squeeze and spoke up instead.
"Your daddy has excellent aim," she assured. "He never misses."
Gabe's face lit up again. Relena bit her lip distractedly, her eyes a little glazed with far off memories. Gabriel linked his hand in hers as Heero and Wufei notched their bows. Despite their confidence, the group jolted in unison as the arrows whistled through the air and struck their respective apples. An appropriate, relieved applause followed.
"Who wins?" Cathy asked at the edge of her seat. All five of the Gundam pilots were gathered around the two apples.
"Let's go down and see," Hilde suggested. The others nodded and started carefully down the grassy slope. Gabriel still clung to Relena's hand for support. She didn't notice the contact, sucked into her memories like a black hole. As they drew near the pilots, laughter became evident. Gabe relinquished Relena's hand and dashed forward, eager to be a part of the fun.
"Daddy!" he squealed, "Did you win?" With a huge grin, Heero turned and lifted his son into his arms.
"Yes. I won," he answered with a smug laugh. Wufei scowled and the pilots laughed once more.
"What happened?" Cathy asked, catching up with the toddler. Trowa held forth two apples. One was neatly split in two, the other looked a little battered, but remained in one piece.
"Wufei's arrow shattered upon impact," he explained. Duo could be heard snickering in the background.
"When you make an arrow under a time constraint with a garden for a supply base, something has to be compromised!" Wufei defended. He turned to glare at Heero. Heero just shrugged.
"If you were still young and spry," Heero began. The look on Wufei's face caused him to stop in his tracks, opting for laughter instead of insult.
"Daddy," Gabe called. "You lost your shirt!"
"It was ruined anyhow," Heero pointed out spinning in a swift circle and getting a surprised squeak out of his son.
"You need a bath!" Gabe further declared, plugging his nose to illustrate his point.
"Say that again!" Heero challenged, tipping Gabriel upside down and shaking him playfully until the child was lost in a fit of giggles. "What did you say?" Heero demanded again in a teasing voice.
"YOU STINK!" Gabe shouted, laughing.
"Alright," Heero agreed, righting his son. "Let's go take our baths and go to bed."
"No bed!" Gabe pleaded. Heero laughed, tossing the boy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and sprinting up the hill. The pilots and company watched the laughing boy and his father disappear in the direction of the house, Gabe's squeals reaching their ears even after he was out of sight.
"You didn't let him win on purpose, did you?" Cathy prodded with a foolish grin plastered on her face. Wufei growled.
"There would be no honor in that, woman. He beat me fair and square. Try not to rub it in."
"I'm glad he won," Quatre said kindly. "For Gabriel's sake. I'm glad they came."
Hilde, Duo, Trowa, and Cathy all exchanged a guilty look. They hadn't told Quatre about what Heero had overheard them discussing. He recognized the way they avoided his eyes immediately.
"You didn't say anything, did you?" he hoped.
"Well..." Duo began. Hilde interupted him, without even meaning to change the subject.
"Where's Relena," she exclaimed. They all froze. Relena had slipped away again without their noticing. Hilde's face darkened. "This is very hard for her, isn't it?"
"I think so," Quatre answered sadly. They looked at one another, their good moods suddenly ruined. What in the earth sphere had happened between them...?
Sorry for the long delay. My laptop was stolen- with it, all of my writing. It's taken a while for me to rehabilitate myself. Please review. I could use the encouragement. ;)
Later-
Izzy