Heart of the Storm
Epilogue
Trinity removed her reading glasses, setting her folder aside as she heard the giggles of two little girls outside of her home office. She had been apprehensive about moving into Peacecraft Manor; she and Zechs were taking things slow; after all, they were practically strangers. And although Storm Haven was a secure environment for her children, it was no home. Here they had a freedom that Haven didn't offer. And Zechs was more than willing to fulfill his role as a father, not just to Michael, but to Nika, also.
Plus, she could be close to her brother, get to know him again. His and Relena's wedding, indeed, was much larger than he had anticipated. Relena had apparently been planning the event for some time, even before they were together. But Trinity thought even she underestimated the number of reporters and cameras that were in attendance. The marriage of the Vice-Foreign Minister was a large enough story, but a marriage to one of the famed gundam pilots made it the story of the century. They both had thought about scrapping the whole wedding thing and go elope, but five minutes before the wedding had NOT been the appropriate time to be having second thoughts.
She chuckled as she spun her chair around, glancing to a photo of the wedding party that was framed on the wall behind her desk. Taken only minutes after Heero and Relena had been pronounced man and wife, they were both positively glowing. Duo, as best man, stood next to Heero, but his usual flashy grin was forced. He had utterly hated the 'monkey suit', as he had called it, that he wore and had kept swearing that Izreina had tied his noose of a tie too tightly. This coming from a guy who used to wear a priest's collar, Izreina had said, giving a tug on his braid to get his attention.
Hilde, as matron of honor, stood next to Relena, also with a forced smile. The woman had been miserable the entire day, but for a different reason. She was nine months pregnant! But she was damned if she was going to let that interfere with her best friend's big day. Despite her doctor's orders, recommendations was what she called them, she still did her part. What she didn't tell anyone was that contractions had started that morning and her water broke half a minute after the camera's flash. Needless to say, she and Duo had missed the reception, which had become one hell of a party after the reporters, cameras, and the more distinguished guests had left. And by the time the festivities had died down, Duo Jr. had been born, and they started right back up.
There were no other groomsmen or bridesmaids, but the other three pilots were in the photograph as well with their dates. Trowa and Kalli stood on a step in the background. Trinity swore she would get that girl for neglecting to inform her that the two of them had eloped a week prior. Their only attendants had been Quatre and Izreina, who were kneeling in the foreground, arm in arm, the engagement ring on Izreina's left hand clearly visible, reflecting the flash of the camera. Trinity really couldn't say she was surprised at the swiftness of their relationships. They had been very attached to their respective beaus ever since their meetings nearly a year ago.
To Duo's left, Wufei stood, a familiar scowl on his face, with Sally's arm around his waist. Their marriage had been a well kept secret, going on five years now. Every single one of their friends, even Une, was planning some sort of revenge for that fact. But any threats of carrying out said revenge had been put on hold for the time being. Just last week, Sally announced she was pregnant with twins. Trinity smiled, revenge would come. She couldn't wait until it really settled in Wufei's mind that he was going to be a father times two.
Seated on the floor in front of Quatre and Izreina, were the kids. Michael in the middle, with the little ring bearer, Aaron in his lap. And the two flower girls in matching dresses, Alyssa and Nika were on either side. The girls had liked the idea, very much, of being sisters, and their continuous laughter throughout the mansion was constantly putting a smile on Trinity's face. They both already had Zechs wrapped around their little fingers. Lord, help him when they become teenagers. At least Michael, like Trinity, had a very protective nature. No one messes with his sisters, or his little cousin.
To Hilde's right, stood Zechs, Trinity on one arm, and Noin on the other. Their divorce had only recently become public knowledge, particularly because of one tabloid referring to Trinity as 'Milliardo's Mistress'. The act to set said tabloid straight was met with the full fury of the Storm; it was most unpleasant, and was an example to future journalists to stay out of their business.
Trinity looked back at the door as a strong knock was heard over the girls' giggling. She smiled as Zechs didn't even wait for an acknowledgement before he opened the door, staggering in, a six year old attached to each leg.
"Having a bit of trouble?" Her voice was full of sheer amusement as she tried her best to hold her snicker in. What she wouldn't give for a camera at that moment… She folded her arms, leaning back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other, a smug grin on her lips.
"How do you get them off?" he asked, as seriously as he could muster, but her smile just broke down any attempt.
She stood and walked around her desk, her arms still folded as she turned her smile to the two girls. "Go on and make sure your room is clean, girls. Bedtime in ten."
The girls immediately complied, scurrying to their feet and out the door. Zechs watched them run up the stairs and shook his head as he looked back to Trinity. "How is it that you and Noin can get by with telling them something just once? I feel like a broken record talking to them sometimes."
"Every kid knows, Zechs, mommies mean business." She grinned at him a moment before her eyes fell to the package she just noticed in his hands.
"This came this morning for you. I hadn't had the opportunity to bring it to you until now." He handed the parcel to her.
She looked the box over as she carried it back to her desk. "There's no return address… Postmarked from Japan?" She raised a brow, looking towards him as she set it down. He wouldn't have given her the package if he didn't know where it came from. His paranoid nature wouldn't have allowed it, until he searched it first, but this had been unopened.
"Open it," he said as he closed her office door.
She slid back into her chair after pulling a pocket knife out of her back pocket. She flicked it open and slid it along the seams, laying it to the side when she was done. As she parted the top flaps, she paused. Her eyes focused on the object within before widening as she reached in. She breathed in a soft gasp as she pulled an old, tattered, stuffed rabbit. The light purple color of the fur had all but faded completely away. Her finger traced along a stitch where one of its ears once was, and she felt her eyes begin to water. A small smile came to her lips, remembering the fight with her baby brother that took it off.
She looked past the rabbit, and picked up the computer disk that had been taped to the bottom of the box. She slid it into her computer and sat back in her chair as the recorded message played, hugging the rabbit tightly.
A woman appeared on the screen, looking very much like her, except for strands of gray in the otherwise chocolate colored curls.
"My aijou, beloved daughter," the woman smiled a very warm smile. "To say that I was surprised to hear from General Peacecraft would be a gross understatement." The smile faded into a very sad one for a moment. "Words can't really say how sorry I am that I couldn't protect you and your brother from the man that should have loved you. I only hope that one day, you'll forgive me. Not a day goes by that I don't wish that I had done something to save you from him. I had tried to find you after the war, but silly me; I was looking for the wrong people. It hadn't occurred to me that you wouldn't be using your father's name any more. Imagine my shock when the general told me who I should have been looking for."
Her warm smile returned. "I'm certain Heero Yuy's namesake would be proud of what he's accomplished. I know I certainly am. I'm proud of you both. I hope you don't mind the early Christmas present. I treasured the few things I managed to salvage from our home before Odin burned it, hoping that I might return them to you and your brother. There are copies of some of the photographs included on this disk. I'm sorry I couldn't deliver them in person, but, if you wouldn't object, I'd like to make a trip to see the two of you and my grandchildren after the New Year."
Trinity closed her eyes as she felt Zechs' hands resting on her shoulders. She sighed as he lightly kissed the top of her head and the message concluded.
"I love you, Trinity."
Izreina sat at the dining table, fidgeting with the corner of her napkin, intentionally avoiding the gaze of her soon-to-be husband. She had, in fact, been avoiding him all evening, since she had returned from HQ. Even though the Storm was not as active as it had been, Lightning and Thunder were now administrators at the academy.
Quatre only hoped he wasn't the reason for her distance, but if something had happened at work, she would definitely have let him know about it. He watched her just pick at her food for what seemed like hours before he finally spoke. "What did I do?"
"Hmm?" she asked, really absent-mindedly before blinking a few times to come out of whatever trance she had been in. "I'm sorry, Love… What?"
"What did I do? You've hardly said a word to me all evening." His brows knitted in concern.
She gave him a small smile, still not looking at him. "I'm sorry, Quatre, I've just been… thinking." She stared down at her plate, pushing steamed vegetables around with her fork.
"About what?"
She didn't answer right away, hesitating for a long moment before speaking. "Oh… I was just thinking that we might need to push the date of the wedding either up or back…" Her smile grew into a very loving one as she finally managed to meet his eyes.
His brow rose a moment. "What do you mean…?" He dropped his fork as their eyes met, hoping he actually read the interpretation right. "You're not… are you?"
Her smile spread into a downright grin as she nodded, and no sooner did she blink, that he was kneeling beside her, one hand wrapping around one of hers, the other resting on her belly. She laughed as she ran her free hand through his hair. "Darling, you're not going to be able to feel anything yet. It will be a long while yet before you can."
He ignored the comment as he leaned in to kiss her belly. "When is he due?" he asked, looking up to her with a grin.
She laughed again. "As I said, we need to rearrange the date for the wedding… and how are you so sure it's going to be a he?"
"Because there are too many women in the Winner family," he laughed as he stood, brushing her lips with a light kiss. "Now you'd better eat. I don't want my son going hungry."
She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. "What are you going to do if it's a girl?"
He shrugged, giving her a wry grin over his shoulder as he walked back to his seat. "Then I don't want my daughter going hungry."
Kalli and her new sister-in-law, Catherine, had an immediate connection to each other, and had gotten along very well since their meeting. Too well, if you asked Trowa. They both appreciated throwing sharp objects at him. And his new wife definitely needed more practice at not hitting him.
"Kal?" he yelped as he attempted to dodge the knife that now pinned his pants to the board behind him. He forced his voice to remain calm as he scolded her. "Please leave the knives to Cathy… I thought you wanted to have kids someday…"
She grinned as Catherine happily gave her another throwing knife. "Aww, Baby, but this is fun!" Her cheerfulness about the situation was beginning to get on his nerves. "And I do want kids, but practice makes perfect, Honey-bunch."
He glowered at the grin on her face as he unpinned himself from the board, seeking shelter behind his sister who wasn't cooperating. "Keep that up, I won't be able to give you kids…"
Catherine giggled as she attempted to keep herself out of the middle of this lovers' quarrel. "Oh, Trowa, you never gave me this much trouble when I was learning."
"Yes, but you were trained to purposely miss," he caught Catherine by the shoulders and made sure she stayed in between him and the lady with the knives. "She's a trained assassin… very big difference…"
Kalli's eyes flashed into a glare at her husband as she threw the knife into the ground. "Trowa Barton, I am not an assassin. I may know how to kill a man in the most gruesome way possible, but I am no assassin… Keep up the insults, pansy, and I just might change that!" Without another word, she stormed away from them into the trailer, slamming the door behind her.
Catherine couldn't hold in her giggle. "A word of advice, dear brother," she started as he hesitantly started towards the trailer. "Don't piss off a woman that's PMSing… especially a Stormer…" She fell to the ground in a fit of giggles as he apparently had second thoughts about consoling his wife and walked the other direction.
The End
Author's Note: So what did you guys think? Seriously. Comments welcome.
