Love and Gundams
by Lind-Z Yuy
"Honey, I'm home!!" I yelled as I dropped the groceries on the counter of our small apartment. I read the small, scribbled note on the counter: Sorry Raye, duty calls, should be back by 10. Luv ya, Heero. I sighed. Duty this, Duty that. I almost missed my own missions. I patted my swelling tummy. Well, little guy, it's just you and me again tonite. I pulled a frozen pizza out of the freezer and stuck it in the oven. "Nothing like frozen pizza, huh Raye?" I turned around quickly. "Duo! Hilde! Don't you guys ever knock?" I ran over to my best friends and gave them each a hug. They laughed. "Hey, we smelled pizza, that's an invitation in itself!" Hilde told me. "How is it that you guys always show up at dinner?" I asked them. Duo shrugged, "Instincts." We laughed. "Speaking of instincts, where's Heero? He can't be too far off with the little guy on the way, can he?" Duo asked, a little concerned. I shrugged, "Duty called and he made the mistake of picking up the phone." They nodded in understanding, such were the lives of Gundams and their families. Preventers, I corrected myself. There were no more Gundams. I heard a knock at the door and Hilde ran to get it. Always making herself at home, I laughed to myself. Not that I minded. Hilde and the rest of the gang were all the family I had. Quatre and Relena walked into the kitchen walked into the kitchen, followed closely by Catherine and Trowa. I shouted in delight and ran to give them all a hug. Suddenly it was very crowded. We all went into the living room after Hilde and Catherine promised to take care of dinner. Not long after that another knock came at the door. Wufei, Sally, Noin, Milliardo, and Lady Une filed into the tiny living room. "Oy! I'd give you a hug too, guys, but I can't get over there!" I exclaimed, overjoyed that all of my friends were there. "Hey, let's go out back," Relena suggested, motioning to the pavilion used for parties as large as ours. I offered to help carry stuff down, but no one (except Wufei) would hear of such a thing (Wufei got a sharp jab in the ribs by Sally). I walked down, feeling useless and met Heero on the stairs, carrying a bouquet of flowers. I threw my arms around him. He kissed my cheek and handed me the flowers. "For me? Aww, you're so sweet!!" I told him about the company we had and he groaned, "And I thought I had you all to myself this evening. I laughed and patted my stomach. "Alas, no more, my love." We went back up to the apartment to put the flowers in a vase and was surprised by balloons and decorations. "Surprise!!!" everyone yelled. I was in shock. "Wow, you guys certainly work fast!" They laughed. "We had to, we couldn't get you out of the house for very long." Trowa said. Heero shrugged. "I tried." Duo slapped his forehead. "Finally, a mission the guys fails!!" Heero pretended to punch him and Duo fell back on the couch. "Hey! Can we take this outside?" Relena asked. Heero turned and picked me up and carried me down the stairs. There were even more decorations and presents at the pavilion. "What is all this?"
"It's a baby shower!" Quatre said. "Don't tell me you've never heard of one of those?" Hilde said, rolling her eyes. I shook my head. "No, but thanks guys. This means so much to me."
Later on, after the huge pile of baby stuff and a dinner that put 10 more pounds on me than I really needed, everything settled down and we got a campfire going. "Hey, Raye, how'd you and Heero meet anyway?" Sally asked. I yawned. "I dunno, it's a pretty long story, and mommy looks tired." Heero said smiling at me and brushing a strand of hair off my cheek. I sat up. "No, I'm fine. Let's tell them Heero." He shrugged. "Fine by me, although you may want to leave some parts out." He looked at me meaningfully and I giggled. ""Yeah, ok. Let's see. Well, I guess we should start at the beginning. I was raised in the Maxwell house with Duo for as far back as I can remember. Then when it was destroyed..." I winced a little at the memory and Duo reached over and squeezed my hand. I smiled at him gratefully and continued. "We met Professor M and he began training us for Operation Meteor. When he realized my talent lie elsewhere, he took me to meet Dekim Barton and had me tested for other talents. Each of the scientists were instructed to train me in various fields. When the official Operation Meteor began I realized it as not the original and was glad with the course it had taken. I went to Dr. J and asked him to make me a part of it. He sent me to earth to track the gundams and research their missions. Life went on like that and I thought of myself as a behind-the-scenes gundam pilot. Fortunately I wasn't as behind the scenes as I thought. Duo knew I was there the whole time, and eventually, Heero caught on too. After the war between the White Fang and the Earth Sphere Alliance, Heero came looking for me. The rest is history." I looked up and everyone was crowded in. "Well," Relena said expectantly, "Go on. You're not done." I laughed softly and looked at Heero. I was far from done......
"I was having my own little New Years party in celebration of the peace that had finally come when I heard the door burst open. I jumped up and looked to the door. Heero was standing there, pointing his gun at me. I raised my champagne glass to him. "Happy New Years to you too, Heero, come in. I expect you have some questions for me." He slowly lowered his gun. "Who are you?" I bowed, "Raye Megami, at your service." I poured some champagne and offered it to him. He ignored it and sat down on the couch. I sat down in the chair opposite him and sipped from my glass. "Well?" He looked at me. "Is that your only question for me?" He shrugged. "Do you have any suggestions?" I laughed. "You know, for such a good-looking guy, you sure don't talk much do you?" He looked at me again and I blushed. "Sorry, I guess that's the champagne talking." He took the untouched glass on the table and drank from it. "Well, since I'm such a quiet guy, maybe we should let it talk for me too." I laughed. We got to talking about the war and our obscure pasts and soon we were drunk out of our minds. Well, we woke up the next morning in a compromising situation and decided that it would be better if we stayed away from each other. A year passed and I heard about Relena getting kidnapped. I knew that was something you guys would work on and so I checked it out for myself. I was the one relaying information and, once again, working behind the scenes. After Maremaia was defeated, and Relena was taken care of, I found Heero, once again interrupting my New Years. That time, however, Hilde and Duo were there too. We restrained from getting overly drunk that time, but instead, Heero ended up proposing to me. It's been quite an interesting relationship."
I looked up from my reverie and, once again, every one was staring at me. A couple of the girls looked a little teary eyed. I was about to reprimand them for their mushiness, when I felt an unbearable pain. I cried out and Heero pulled me to him. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. I smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, it just caught me off guard that's all." He looked really agitated. "Hey, it's okay, really. We've got at least another hour." He nodded. Quatre insisted we go to the hospital anyway. I shrugged, the contractions still coming, but nothing I couldn't handle. As long as they calmed down, I scolded them. The doctor told them the same thing I had, but I guess they didn't believe me. I laughed when a couple of them asked if I was okay. They were more nervous and in pain than I was. "Gosh you guys! I think it's harder to tell who's having the baby, Heero or Relena or Hilde!" I exclaimed. They all glared at me good-naturedly and told me to hush. About an hour later the contractions got considerably worse and I went into labor. "Heero, babe, don't blame me for anything I say in that delivery room." He looked at me worriedly and I told him to stop, that he was scaring me more than having the baby was. He took a deep breath and at least acted like he was okay. About a half-hour later he found out what I was talking about. "Look what you've done to me dammit!! Ahhh!!!" An hour later I was okay and holding a beautiful baby girl. "Heero, I'm really sorry about what I said in there." He chuckled. "Well, you can't say you didn't warn me." I smiled at our creation. "What should we call her?" He grinned kinda funny. "How 'bout Kahlan, from those books you're always trying to get me to read?" I laughed. "The Sword of Truth books? Sounds good to me. What about her middle name?" The rest of the gang filed in quietly,as not to wake the sleeping baby. "How 'bout gundam? The thing that brought us all together?" Quatre said, half-joking. I looked up at Heero. "Sounds good to me." I whispered. "Me too." he whispered back. I looked down at Kahlan Gundam Yuy. Kinda funny name, but it had a pretty ring to it. "I was just joking," Quatre mumbled. We all laughed quietly. Then the nurse came to take her away and told everyone that I had to rest now. "Amen to that!" I nearly shouted, only I was to tired to shout. Everyone laughed again and went out. "Heero?" I called after him. He turned around. "Stay with me til I fall asleep?" It had just hit me, what I'd done. I'd brought another life into this world. A tiny being that needed and depended on me and Heero being together and loving her. He smiled and came to sit next to me. I held his hand and closed my eyes. He stroked my hair just as he had those many nights when we lie awake thinking about this little life we had created. The last thought I had before drifting off to sleep was wondering if Kahlan would find life as wonderful as I had.
by Lind-Z Yuy
"Honey, I'm home!!" I yelled as I dropped the groceries on the counter of our small apartment. I read the small, scribbled note on the counter: Sorry Raye, duty calls, should be back by 10. Luv ya, Heero. I sighed. Duty this, Duty that. I almost missed my own missions. I patted my swelling tummy. Well, little guy, it's just you and me again tonite. I pulled a frozen pizza out of the freezer and stuck it in the oven. "Nothing like frozen pizza, huh Raye?" I turned around quickly. "Duo! Hilde! Don't you guys ever knock?" I ran over to my best friends and gave them each a hug. They laughed. "Hey, we smelled pizza, that's an invitation in itself!" Hilde told me. "How is it that you guys always show up at dinner?" I asked them. Duo shrugged, "Instincts." We laughed. "Speaking of instincts, where's Heero? He can't be too far off with the little guy on the way, can he?" Duo asked, a little concerned. I shrugged, "Duty called and he made the mistake of picking up the phone." They nodded in understanding, such were the lives of Gundams and their families. Preventers, I corrected myself. There were no more Gundams. I heard a knock at the door and Hilde ran to get it. Always making herself at home, I laughed to myself. Not that I minded. Hilde and the rest of the gang were all the family I had. Quatre and Relena walked into the kitchen walked into the kitchen, followed closely by Catherine and Trowa. I shouted in delight and ran to give them all a hug. Suddenly it was very crowded. We all went into the living room after Hilde and Catherine promised to take care of dinner. Not long after that another knock came at the door. Wufei, Sally, Noin, Milliardo, and Lady Une filed into the tiny living room. "Oy! I'd give you a hug too, guys, but I can't get over there!" I exclaimed, overjoyed that all of my friends were there. "Hey, let's go out back," Relena suggested, motioning to the pavilion used for parties as large as ours. I offered to help carry stuff down, but no one (except Wufei) would hear of such a thing (Wufei got a sharp jab in the ribs by Sally). I walked down, feeling useless and met Heero on the stairs, carrying a bouquet of flowers. I threw my arms around him. He kissed my cheek and handed me the flowers. "For me? Aww, you're so sweet!!" I told him about the company we had and he groaned, "And I thought I had you all to myself this evening. I laughed and patted my stomach. "Alas, no more, my love." We went back up to the apartment to put the flowers in a vase and was surprised by balloons and decorations. "Surprise!!!" everyone yelled. I was in shock. "Wow, you guys certainly work fast!" They laughed. "We had to, we couldn't get you out of the house for very long." Trowa said. Heero shrugged. "I tried." Duo slapped his forehead. "Finally, a mission the guys fails!!" Heero pretended to punch him and Duo fell back on the couch. "Hey! Can we take this outside?" Relena asked. Heero turned and picked me up and carried me down the stairs. There were even more decorations and presents at the pavilion. "What is all this?"
"It's a baby shower!" Quatre said. "Don't tell me you've never heard of one of those?" Hilde said, rolling her eyes. I shook my head. "No, but thanks guys. This means so much to me."
Later on, after the huge pile of baby stuff and a dinner that put 10 more pounds on me than I really needed, everything settled down and we got a campfire going. "Hey, Raye, how'd you and Heero meet anyway?" Sally asked. I yawned. "I dunno, it's a pretty long story, and mommy looks tired." Heero said smiling at me and brushing a strand of hair off my cheek. I sat up. "No, I'm fine. Let's tell them Heero." He shrugged. "Fine by me, although you may want to leave some parts out." He looked at me meaningfully and I giggled. ""Yeah, ok. Let's see. Well, I guess we should start at the beginning. I was raised in the Maxwell house with Duo for as far back as I can remember. Then when it was destroyed..." I winced a little at the memory and Duo reached over and squeezed my hand. I smiled at him gratefully and continued. "We met Professor M and he began training us for Operation Meteor. When he realized my talent lie elsewhere, he took me to meet Dekim Barton and had me tested for other talents. Each of the scientists were instructed to train me in various fields. When the official Operation Meteor began I realized it as not the original and was glad with the course it had taken. I went to Dr. J and asked him to make me a part of it. He sent me to earth to track the gundams and research their missions. Life went on like that and I thought of myself as a behind-the-scenes gundam pilot. Fortunately I wasn't as behind the scenes as I thought. Duo knew I was there the whole time, and eventually, Heero caught on too. After the war between the White Fang and the Earth Sphere Alliance, Heero came looking for me. The rest is history." I looked up and everyone was crowded in. "Well," Relena said expectantly, "Go on. You're not done." I laughed softly and looked at Heero. I was far from done......
"I was having my own little New Years party in celebration of the peace that had finally come when I heard the door burst open. I jumped up and looked to the door. Heero was standing there, pointing his gun at me. I raised my champagne glass to him. "Happy New Years to you too, Heero, come in. I expect you have some questions for me." He slowly lowered his gun. "Who are you?" I bowed, "Raye Megami, at your service." I poured some champagne and offered it to him. He ignored it and sat down on the couch. I sat down in the chair opposite him and sipped from my glass. "Well?" He looked at me. "Is that your only question for me?" He shrugged. "Do you have any suggestions?" I laughed. "You know, for such a good-looking guy, you sure don't talk much do you?" He looked at me again and I blushed. "Sorry, I guess that's the champagne talking." He took the untouched glass on the table and drank from it. "Well, since I'm such a quiet guy, maybe we should let it talk for me too." I laughed. We got to talking about the war and our obscure pasts and soon we were drunk out of our minds. Well, we woke up the next morning in a compromising situation and decided that it would be better if we stayed away from each other. A year passed and I heard about Relena getting kidnapped. I knew that was something you guys would work on and so I checked it out for myself. I was the one relaying information and, once again, working behind the scenes. After Maremaia was defeated, and Relena was taken care of, I found Heero, once again interrupting my New Years. That time, however, Hilde and Duo were there too. We restrained from getting overly drunk that time, but instead, Heero ended up proposing to me. It's been quite an interesting relationship."
I looked up from my reverie and, once again, every one was staring at me. A couple of the girls looked a little teary eyed. I was about to reprimand them for their mushiness, when I felt an unbearable pain. I cried out and Heero pulled me to him. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. I smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, it just caught me off guard that's all." He looked really agitated. "Hey, it's okay, really. We've got at least another hour." He nodded. Quatre insisted we go to the hospital anyway. I shrugged, the contractions still coming, but nothing I couldn't handle. As long as they calmed down, I scolded them. The doctor told them the same thing I had, but I guess they didn't believe me. I laughed when a couple of them asked if I was okay. They were more nervous and in pain than I was. "Gosh you guys! I think it's harder to tell who's having the baby, Heero or Relena or Hilde!" I exclaimed. They all glared at me good-naturedly and told me to hush. About an hour later the contractions got considerably worse and I went into labor. "Heero, babe, don't blame me for anything I say in that delivery room." He looked at me worriedly and I told him to stop, that he was scaring me more than having the baby was. He took a deep breath and at least acted like he was okay. About a half-hour later he found out what I was talking about. "Look what you've done to me dammit!! Ahhh!!!" An hour later I was okay and holding a beautiful baby girl. "Heero, I'm really sorry about what I said in there." He chuckled. "Well, you can't say you didn't warn me." I smiled at our creation. "What should we call her?" He grinned kinda funny. "How 'bout Kahlan, from those books you're always trying to get me to read?" I laughed. "The Sword of Truth books? Sounds good to me. What about her middle name?" The rest of the gang filed in quietly,as not to wake the sleeping baby. "How 'bout gundam? The thing that brought us all together?" Quatre said, half-joking. I looked up at Heero. "Sounds good to me." I whispered. "Me too." he whispered back. I looked down at Kahlan Gundam Yuy. Kinda funny name, but it had a pretty ring to it. "I was just joking," Quatre mumbled. We all laughed quietly. Then the nurse came to take her away and told everyone that I had to rest now. "Amen to that!" I nearly shouted, only I was to tired to shout. Everyone laughed again and went out. "Heero?" I called after him. He turned around. "Stay with me til I fall asleep?" It had just hit me, what I'd done. I'd brought another life into this world. A tiny being that needed and depended on me and Heero being together and loving her. He smiled and came to sit next to me. I held his hand and closed my eyes. He stroked my hair just as he had those many nights when we lie awake thinking about this little life we had created. The last thought I had before drifting off to sleep was wondering if Kahlan would find life as wonderful as I had.