The day broke dark and gloomy, a storm on the horizon. Black clouds rolled
in as Dorothy awoke to see her son off to school and her husband to work.
She went into the kitchen and flipped the light switch, only to discover the
bulb had burned out. "Oh well, I guess I'll just make breakfast in the dark,"
she said to herself as she opened the fridge. She removed the milk, to
find that the milk had gone bad and the butter was turning green in places.
"This is not my day," she sighed as she disposed of the rotting dairy
products. "At least Duo and his wife are coming by later. Duo always puts
Heero in a good mood, and I can't wait to see Lu Shou again. It's been so
long!"
Her thoughts were disturbed as she heard a thud followed by a quick "OW!"
She giggled slightly as Heero plodded into the refrigerator-illuminated
kitchen, hopping on one foot and rubbing his shin. "Don't we have any light
bulbs?" he grumbled as he moved towards the cabinet.
"Good morning to you too, love!" called Dorothy teasingly. After a few
minutes of rustling about, Heero pulled a light bulb out of a cabinet and
replaced the burnt-out one. Light filled the area, to reveal a very sleepy
Atsuburo standing in the doorway.
"Hi mom, what's for breakfast?" he said sleepily as he slid into his chair.
"Waffles," replied Dorothy. "The milk went bad. I'll have to buy some more
before Duo and Lu Shou come by today."
"Now I know why everything's going wrong today," mumbled Heero. Dorothy
shhot him a death glare that could rival his own.
"Uncle Duo's coming by today?" Atsuburo was suddenly all smiles. Even Heero
was trying to supress a grin.
"Yes. Actually, there's a bit more to it, but it's a surprise." Dorothy
smiled at her son and continued with breakfast. "Just be sure to come
straight home after school today, ok?"
"Ok, I will!" Dorothy placed a plate down in front of Atsuburo and Heero, and
one for herself, joining them at the table. She watched as Atsuburo and
Heero ate. She never thought she could be so happy as a housewife, and she
certainly never thought that she would marry a man like Heero! She looked
her son up and down. He had just turned 15, the same age she and Heero were
when they met. He was tall, with piercing blue eyes and a light coloured hair
that was a blend of her blonde and Heero's dark brown. He didn't quite have
the large fork in his eyebrows that she did, but there was a definate split
near the ends. He had inherited Heero's sense of dedication and honour, but
fortunately none of his homicidal/suicidal qualities. And instead of being
stoic and silent like Heero, he had her passion for her goals and gift for
words. He was a perfect mix of the two of them, or so she was always told. He
reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it, no matter
how hard she thought. She supposed it would come to her some day...
"Hey, Dad, are you looking forward to seeing Uncle Duo and Aunt Lu Shou?"
"Hn."
* * *
Heero had taken the afternoon off of work, and was currenlty sitting at the
kitchen table with Dorothy, reminiscing about the Eve Wars. "How did you
manage to stand being around Relena so much, anyway? I only had to deal with
her every once in a while, and after the wars she had grown up a lot."
Dorothy chuckled. "Simple. I've always loved a conflict, and our
personalities are about as conflicting as you could get! You know, I really
can't wait to see her again. It's been such a long time since we've seen
everybody. Duo pops by on occassion, and sometimes Quatre calls us up, but
the last we've really seen anyone was what, five, six years? And I don't
recall ever seeing anyone's children."
"Zechs and Noin send us pictures. Ren looks a lot like his father, and Veiya
just screams Noin."
Dorothy laughed again, and Heero gave her a funny look. "It's just that you
keep calling her Noin! She's married now, Noin isn't her name anymore. Call
her Lucrezia."
"Sorry, but that just doesn't seem right. I've always called her by her last
name."
"Well Merquise does not become her! Get used to Lucrezia." Dorothy grinned.
"I wonder what Atsuburo will think when we tell him Quatre's invited the
lot of us to his mansion for the weekend? I just know he's dying to spend
more time with Duo."
"I swear, that Duo... If any of that braided baka's bad habits rub off on my
son, I'll kill him!" Heero glared into the air, as if Duo could somehow see
it.
"Come on now, I know you care about him. Cheer up! After all, it won't just
be Duo that Atsuburo will be seeing. Even Wufei is coming."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Heero raised an eyebrow.
Dorothy ignored Heero's snide comment and continued on. "Of course, Sally and
their daughter will be coming along. Trowa and his wife will be there, and
their son, and we will get to meet Quatre's... er... husband, I suppose.
Duo's husband will be meeting us there, as well. He's being delayed by a
business meeting."
"Stop right there! Did you just say Wufei's daughter?"
Dorothy had another occasion to laugh as she realised that Heero was more
taken aback by the fact that Wufei had a daughter than the fact that Duo
had a husband. "Yes, he does. Her name is Xian, and from Sally's letters
she's more stubborn than the both of them. I can't imagine how."
"Oh good god. Now back up again... Duo's husband? Didn't you say he and his
wife were coming by later?"
"Yes. Didn't you know, the three of them are all living together with Duo's
daughter?"
"No." Dorothy searched Heero's face for any sign of surprise, but found none.
it was strange, every time she started talking about their old friends,
Heero reverted back to "perfect soldier" mode. She supposed it was a defense,
and she let him continue with it, but she would rather he not act that way
all the time. It was about time the other guys realised what a warm, caring
person Heero could be.
"They seem to be quite happy together. Duo Maxwell, Lu Shou Ling, and Antuan
Lecion. And Lu Shou tells me the little girl is just precious."
"Little girl? And who is actually the father?"
"Yes, a little girl. Her name escapes me right now... but Duo is the father.
Apparently there's no doubt; even without DNA testing anyone could tell it's
Duo."
"That frightens me."
Dorothy paused, startled. Heero was never frightened. "What's so scary about
it?"
"That means, she's just like Duo. It was a blessing that Duo was made, yes,
but it was also a blessing that there was only one of him!"
Their conversation was interrupted by the doorbell. "Oh, that must be them!"
Dorothy ran towards the door, while Heero stayed put in the kitchen. He
listened as she opened the door, and as their guests entered the house. He
heard the pleasantries being exchanged. A male voice... so familiar... that
must be Duo. An elegant female voice... that must be Lu Shou. And then, the
all too familiar incessant babbling began.
"Oh wow this is such a cool house! Is that a cat? Here, kitty kitty kitty...
Aww, she doesn't wanna play! What's her name? Hey, that's a really big
clock! Can I touch it? It feels so smooth!" Heero braced himself for the
braided tornado that would soon enter the kitchen. But wait, that voice
wasn't Duo's at all... it was female.
A thunderclap sounded through the house, and a flash of lightning illuminated
something largely clad in black but with green pigtails that bounded into the
kitchen. It stopped, put its hands on its hips, and gave Heero a humongous
grin. "Hiya Uncle Heero! Mom says to introduce myself, so here I go! I may
run, and I may hide, but I never tell a lie! I'm Smile Maxwell!"
Heero's eyebrow started to twitch.
in as Dorothy awoke to see her son off to school and her husband to work.
She went into the kitchen and flipped the light switch, only to discover the
bulb had burned out. "Oh well, I guess I'll just make breakfast in the dark,"
she said to herself as she opened the fridge. She removed the milk, to
find that the milk had gone bad and the butter was turning green in places.
"This is not my day," she sighed as she disposed of the rotting dairy
products. "At least Duo and his wife are coming by later. Duo always puts
Heero in a good mood, and I can't wait to see Lu Shou again. It's been so
long!"
Her thoughts were disturbed as she heard a thud followed by a quick "OW!"
She giggled slightly as Heero plodded into the refrigerator-illuminated
kitchen, hopping on one foot and rubbing his shin. "Don't we have any light
bulbs?" he grumbled as he moved towards the cabinet.
"Good morning to you too, love!" called Dorothy teasingly. After a few
minutes of rustling about, Heero pulled a light bulb out of a cabinet and
replaced the burnt-out one. Light filled the area, to reveal a very sleepy
Atsuburo standing in the doorway.
"Hi mom, what's for breakfast?" he said sleepily as he slid into his chair.
"Waffles," replied Dorothy. "The milk went bad. I'll have to buy some more
before Duo and Lu Shou come by today."
"Now I know why everything's going wrong today," mumbled Heero. Dorothy
shhot him a death glare that could rival his own.
"Uncle Duo's coming by today?" Atsuburo was suddenly all smiles. Even Heero
was trying to supress a grin.
"Yes. Actually, there's a bit more to it, but it's a surprise." Dorothy
smiled at her son and continued with breakfast. "Just be sure to come
straight home after school today, ok?"
"Ok, I will!" Dorothy placed a plate down in front of Atsuburo and Heero, and
one for herself, joining them at the table. She watched as Atsuburo and
Heero ate. She never thought she could be so happy as a housewife, and she
certainly never thought that she would marry a man like Heero! She looked
her son up and down. He had just turned 15, the same age she and Heero were
when they met. He was tall, with piercing blue eyes and a light coloured hair
that was a blend of her blonde and Heero's dark brown. He didn't quite have
the large fork in his eyebrows that she did, but there was a definate split
near the ends. He had inherited Heero's sense of dedication and honour, but
fortunately none of his homicidal/suicidal qualities. And instead of being
stoic and silent like Heero, he had her passion for her goals and gift for
words. He was a perfect mix of the two of them, or so she was always told. He
reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it, no matter
how hard she thought. She supposed it would come to her some day...
"Hey, Dad, are you looking forward to seeing Uncle Duo and Aunt Lu Shou?"
"Hn."
* * *
Heero had taken the afternoon off of work, and was currenlty sitting at the
kitchen table with Dorothy, reminiscing about the Eve Wars. "How did you
manage to stand being around Relena so much, anyway? I only had to deal with
her every once in a while, and after the wars she had grown up a lot."
Dorothy chuckled. "Simple. I've always loved a conflict, and our
personalities are about as conflicting as you could get! You know, I really
can't wait to see her again. It's been such a long time since we've seen
everybody. Duo pops by on occassion, and sometimes Quatre calls us up, but
the last we've really seen anyone was what, five, six years? And I don't
recall ever seeing anyone's children."
"Zechs and Noin send us pictures. Ren looks a lot like his father, and Veiya
just screams Noin."
Dorothy laughed again, and Heero gave her a funny look. "It's just that you
keep calling her Noin! She's married now, Noin isn't her name anymore. Call
her Lucrezia."
"Sorry, but that just doesn't seem right. I've always called her by her last
name."
"Well Merquise does not become her! Get used to Lucrezia." Dorothy grinned.
"I wonder what Atsuburo will think when we tell him Quatre's invited the
lot of us to his mansion for the weekend? I just know he's dying to spend
more time with Duo."
"I swear, that Duo... If any of that braided baka's bad habits rub off on my
son, I'll kill him!" Heero glared into the air, as if Duo could somehow see
it.
"Come on now, I know you care about him. Cheer up! After all, it won't just
be Duo that Atsuburo will be seeing. Even Wufei is coming."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Heero raised an eyebrow.
Dorothy ignored Heero's snide comment and continued on. "Of course, Sally and
their daughter will be coming along. Trowa and his wife will be there, and
their son, and we will get to meet Quatre's... er... husband, I suppose.
Duo's husband will be meeting us there, as well. He's being delayed by a
business meeting."
"Stop right there! Did you just say Wufei's daughter?"
Dorothy had another occasion to laugh as she realised that Heero was more
taken aback by the fact that Wufei had a daughter than the fact that Duo
had a husband. "Yes, he does. Her name is Xian, and from Sally's letters
she's more stubborn than the both of them. I can't imagine how."
"Oh good god. Now back up again... Duo's husband? Didn't you say he and his
wife were coming by later?"
"Yes. Didn't you know, the three of them are all living together with Duo's
daughter?"
"No." Dorothy searched Heero's face for any sign of surprise, but found none.
it was strange, every time she started talking about their old friends,
Heero reverted back to "perfect soldier" mode. She supposed it was a defense,
and she let him continue with it, but she would rather he not act that way
all the time. It was about time the other guys realised what a warm, caring
person Heero could be.
"They seem to be quite happy together. Duo Maxwell, Lu Shou Ling, and Antuan
Lecion. And Lu Shou tells me the little girl is just precious."
"Little girl? And who is actually the father?"
"Yes, a little girl. Her name escapes me right now... but Duo is the father.
Apparently there's no doubt; even without DNA testing anyone could tell it's
Duo."
"That frightens me."
Dorothy paused, startled. Heero was never frightened. "What's so scary about
it?"
"That means, she's just like Duo. It was a blessing that Duo was made, yes,
but it was also a blessing that there was only one of him!"
Their conversation was interrupted by the doorbell. "Oh, that must be them!"
Dorothy ran towards the door, while Heero stayed put in the kitchen. He
listened as she opened the door, and as their guests entered the house. He
heard the pleasantries being exchanged. A male voice... so familiar... that
must be Duo. An elegant female voice... that must be Lu Shou. And then, the
all too familiar incessant babbling began.
"Oh wow this is such a cool house! Is that a cat? Here, kitty kitty kitty...
Aww, she doesn't wanna play! What's her name? Hey, that's a really big
clock! Can I touch it? It feels so smooth!" Heero braced himself for the
braided tornado that would soon enter the kitchen. But wait, that voice
wasn't Duo's at all... it was female.
A thunderclap sounded through the house, and a flash of lightning illuminated
something largely clad in black but with green pigtails that bounded into the
kitchen. It stopped, put its hands on its hips, and gave Heero a humongous
grin. "Hiya Uncle Heero! Mom says to introduce myself, so here I go! I may
run, and I may hide, but I never tell a lie! I'm Smile Maxwell!"
Heero's eyebrow started to twitch.