For the Love of a Child
by Star Kindler
Chapter Four
Disclaimer: I don't own GW, but if I did…
Author's Note: Told ya I'd get the next chapter out soon! I wonder if this means my bad case of writer's block has been cured…
Warnings: Yaoi, angst, and OOC
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"Look Daddy! There's some tigers!" Ayanna squealed as she pulled me over to a line of brightly painted cages on wheels. She gasped as we stood before the large animals. "They're so big!"
I laughed and glanced over my shoulder at Heero. He didn't seem the least bit interested. In fact, he almost seemed irritated. Oh well, let him be aggravated. I wasn't about to let him spoil our day with his negative attitude.
"Heero! Duo!" We turned around only to see Quatre walking in our direction.
"Quatre! It's been a long time. What are you doing here?" I asked.
He smiled. "Same as you. Just came to see Trowa's show."
At that moment, he looked down at Ayanna, and back at me. I could see the questioning look in his eyes. I couldn't wait to see his face when I told him who she was. "Oh, you haven't met my daughter, have you?" I asked with a smile.
Quatre looked as if he were about to fall over. "Your what!?" He looked over at Heero. "Is he serious?"
Heero remained apathetic and crossed his arms. "Yeah, he's serious."
Quatre's gaze shot back to me. "It's a long story…" I answered his silent question. He nodded and turned his attention to Ayanna
He leaned down almost to her eye-level. "Hi. My name is Quatre. What's yours?" He asked with a smile.
"Hi! I'm Ayanna." She grinned.
"Nice to meet you, Ayanna. Are you ready to see the circus?" He asked.
"Yeah!" She practically beamed.
He straightened up and faced Heero and I. "Well, shall we go, then?" Heero just scoffed, but I nodded. I wish he would just loosen up once in awhile. As we made our way to the entrance, Ayanna's reaction to Quatre bothered me. When she met Heero, she seemed indifferent, but seemed very enthused when she spoke to Quatre. Well, Heero wasn't one of those people you could just immediately open up to; I suppose she would get used to him in time.
***
We bought our tickets and made our way to the stands. We took our seats and waited for the show to begin. I could still feel the anger rising. Duo's daughter certainly seemed to like Quatre. She didn't even smile when Duo told her to say 'hello' to me. I can't say I was jealous, but something was eating at me; I have no idea what. Duo and Quatre talked a little, but for the most part, we remained quiet. That is, until a man with a holder full of cotton candy walked by and Duo jumped up. "Oh. Ayanna, do you want some cotton candy?" He asked excitedly.
"Uh-huh! Please!" She exclaimed.
He smiled. "Okay, I'll go get it, and you stay here with Heero and Quatre." Duo left, leaving me next to the little girl. She looked up at me and just stared. Her gaze was making me rather uncomfortable.
"What?" I finally asked.
"Why don't you talk?" I heard Quatre stifle a giggle. I suppose it was an innocent question – but one I did not have an answer to. Thankfully, at that moment, Duo returned with a package of cotton candy and handed it to Ayanna. She tore the plastic covering off quickly and stuffed a handful of the stuff in her mouth.
"Want some, Daddy?" She offered. He smiled and ripped some of the air light candy off.
The show began soon after that. I zoned out most of the time. Something about elephants balancing on their hind legs and lion tamers cracking their whips at roaring lions didn't interest me. Duo and Ayanna, on the other hand, were enjoying the show thoroughly; they were cheered and clapped loudly.
It wasn't long before Trowa's act began. He positioned himself in front of the large white board while Catherine stood several yards away, knives in hand.
I heard Ayanna gasp and I looked over at the two next to me. She was clinging to Duo's arm. "Is she going to throw those at him?" She asked fearfully.
"Shh…just watch." He whispered close to ear. Sighing, I glanced over at Quatre. His eyes were glued to Trowa, and he seemed to be holding his breath.
Catherine launched the first dagger. Then the next, over and over again, until she reached the final one. The last knife struck the board next to Trowa's ear. The entire audience remained struck with awe then suddenly broke out into a clamorous applause. Duo whistled and cheered quite possible louder than anyone else in the crowd. His daughter clapped just as loudly. Honestly, I don't know what the excitement was about; I wasn't the least bit impressed.
The rest of the show flashed by me. I didn't want to be there, and just wished it would end. After an eternity, it finally did.
"Hey Quatre." Duo piped up. "Do you think Trowa would mind if we went backstage? I think Ayanna would like to see some of the animals up close."
Quatre shrugged. "I don't see a problem. Sure, follow me." He led us to the back; I have no idea why I following them. Hell, I didn't know what I was even doing there. I told Duo I didn't want to do this; I knew it would turn out badly, and I knew the kid would hate me.
Finally, we found Trowa. He had changed out of costume, and was standing by some lion cages.
"Trowa." Quatre tapped him on the shoulder; he turned around and smiled. The two pulled in close for a hug.
"Ahem." Duo cleared his throat, trying to gain their attention. Trowa looked up.
"What are you guys doing here?" He asked, surprised.
Quatre chimed in. "Just to see your performance, of course." he paused. "Oh, and to show off Duo's daughter." He ended with a sly smile.
Trowa's gaze dropped to the little girl clutching my lover's hand. "Duo's…what?"
"Daughter. This is my daughter, Ayanna." Duo replied. The little girl smiled.
Trowa seemed absolutely perplexed. "Duo, I know it's been a long time since we last saw each other…but since when did you have a child?"
Duo sighed and patted him on the shoulder. "It's a very long story, which we will go into later. Right now, Ayanna would like to see the lions. Would that be okay?"
"Uh…yeah, go ahead, but don't get too close. They haven't been fed yet." He replied and the Duo pulled Ayanna over to the cages.
"Heero…" Trowa whispered. "Can you tell me what's going on?"
"Yeah, I'd like to know, also." Quatre stepped up next to me.
I sighed. It shouldn't have been me telling them this. "Duo has a daughter, which I didn't even know about. He told me yesterday. Apparently, the kid is going to be living with us." I replied, not wanting to go into too many details.
"Oh." They said in unison, though, both still seemed as confused as ever. I couldn't blame them; I was too. I still wasn't too sure what was happening. All I knew is that I wanted to get home.
"Duo, come on, let's go." I said sternly.
He turned around. "What? Why?"
"Because it's getting late, and you've got to get her home." I replied, not in any mood to hear his whining.
Ayanna cast her gaze up at him. He must have taken pity. "Aw, Heero…"
"Now, Duo." Why did I have to order him like that?
He sighed, defeated. "You're no fun…" He muttered as he passed me. We said our good-byes to Trowa and Quatre and left. I didn't care what Duo and Ayanna thought about me at that moment. I didn't like the emotions that were overtaking my body, and I felt I had to get out of there.
***
I don't understand why Heero wanted to leave so quickly. We didn't even get a chance to talk to Trowa and Quatre; I haven't had the opportunity to in so long. But now we on our way home. We had already taken Ayanna back to the house she was staying at. The guardians gave me some news on Kalista. They informed me she was slowly slipping away. I'm not sure how I should take that.
Then there was the way Heero had acted the whole evening. He didn't even try to get close to Ayanna; and I don't know what she thought about him. I guess I can only pray that they get closer when I gain full custody of her. I would like Heero to adopt her also. I wonder if he'll agree to do so?
We finally got home, and Heero stormed through the door. He seemed extremely irritated – more so than usual. He stopped next to a hall table and laid the car keys down. I wrapped my arms around his waist and planted a kiss on his neck. "What's the matter, love?"
He pulled out of my grip and pushed me away. I could see a mixture of anger and hurt in his cobalt eyes. "Everything!" He bellowed. "I can't believe you're doing this to me."
I was taken back. "What do you mean? What have I done?"
"Out of no where, you tell me you have a kid – and then you expect me to accept her. You obviously don't love me."
I couldn't believe he was saying this. I felt tears sting my eyes. "No Heero, that's not true. I love you more than life! I didn't even know this was going to happen-"
"Bullshit! You could have at least told me about her when we got together. That shows what you think about me." He picked the car keys up once more and lowered his voice. "I thought we had an open relationship…"
He headed to the door, and I grabbed his shoulder. "Where are you going?" I choked back a sob.
"Out. I need to think." He pulled away from my grip and walked out the door. I was left alone. After a few moments, tears fell from my eyes. I know I shouldn't have cried, but I couldn't help it. Could Heero be so angry that he would just leave me? Not knowing what to do, I wandered into the living room and threw myself on the couch. I couldn't bare the thought of losing Heero; he had never gotten so angry with me before. And I had never seen such a hurt look in his eyes – had my secret destroyed our relationship?
~~End of Chapter Four~~
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*gasp* I finished chapter four in less than 24 hours! Anyway, please let me know what you think! ~Star Kindler