A Strawberry and Vanilla Swirl
Chapter 2
"Man, they sure loose their cuteness fast," Duo complained as he held Destiny out at arm's length.
Hilde rolled her eyes. Relena got up and took the baby away from Duo. Duo had wanted to hold her. So when Relena let him, well…
"Duo," Quatre explained. "She has a diaper on. She's not going to hurt you."
"Are you kidding?" Duo asked him. "She could've wet my clothes!"
"I hope I don't get pregnant," Hilde said. "For the kid's sake. Its dad wouldn't come near it."
"Don't worry," Relena said. "I'm going to go change her." And she left the room quickly.
Duo looked over at Quatre. "Can't you potty train that kid?" he joked.
"I'm afraid they have to be older than three days for that," Quatre added onto it.
Hilde giggled.
"Too bad Trowa had to leave so soon," Duo said.
Quatre frowned. "Yeah, he had to go back to the circus." Trowa was his best friend and Quatre wasn't able to see him much.
Relena re-entered the room. "Okay, she's dry."
"That was fast."
"Motherly abilities."
"Ah…"
Relena smiled at Duo. "Want to try to hold her again?"
Duo grinned back. "No, that's okay Relena, you can keep her."
Hilde put her hands out. "I do! I want to hold her!"
Relena smiled at her and handed Destiny over.
Hilde held the baby close to her. "Hi there, Destiny. You're so cute." She looked at her for a minute, into Destiny's Prussian blue eyes. When Destiny gave a cute little yawn, Hilde couldn't help but 'Awww.' "I want to have a baby," she mumbled.
Duo crossed his arms and gave her a look.
Relena took her seat on a chair. "You know, I thought you two would have a baby first."
"Nope," Duo said in almost a sarcastic tone. He glanced at Hilde and then over to Relena. "We use protection."
"Duo," Hilde snapped.
"What?" Duo asked. He glanced over at Relena again who had a sad look on her face.
"Er… it's not the best thing in the world." Duo said trying to make Relena feel better. "I mean you have sex with these things that feel like balloons --"
Relena got up and left the room.
"That's enough Duo," Hilde said angrily. She got up and followed Relena out.
Duo looked over to Quatre who was giving him a scowl.
"What?"
"You made Relena feel bad. She was probably thinking about Heero the whole time you were talking."
"Well, geez, I'm sorry I didn't know."
Quatre glanced over in the direction Relena and Hilde went. "I'm not the one you should apologize to."
Duo nodded. He got up and headed to Relena's room up the stairs. When he got to the hallway, he was about three doors down when he heard Hilde's voice.
"Quatre?"
Duo hurried down the hall faster and stood outside the door. He reached his hand out to the doorknob until he heard Hilde again.
"But it's his child, Relena."
Duo stopped.
"I know it's his child," Relena replied calmly.
Duo's eyes widened. He pushed his ear against the door. Quatre was Destiny's dad? No way! He was hearing things!
"But he doesn't know," Hilde said.
"Of course not. How can I tell him?"
"You should think of a way."
"Thanks for your help, Hilde. I'll try."
Duo was standing there with his ear against the door dumbstruck.
"What are you doing?" he heard a familiar voice ask behind him.
He looked over to see the popular blond boy.
"Quatre," Duo said surprised – too surprised. He cleared his throat. "I mean, Quatre. Heh heh. Just, um…"
"Eavesdropping," Quatre finished with a smile. Duo shrugged.
Suddenly, the door Duo was leaning on opened and Duo fell down onto the ground. Hilde and Relena, who now had her baby back in her arms, looked down at him.
"Duo," Hilde said. "What are you doing?"
"Uh… well…" Then, he remembered what was going on. He stood up and pointed at Relena. "I heard you, Relena. I heard it all."
"What?" Relena asked.
"I heard what you said about Quatre being Destiny's father and how you had to tell him. Plus, nine months ago you were still with Heero, so I don't know how you two pulled it off."
Quatre, Hilde, and Relena all looked real confused.
"What are you talking about, duo?" Hilde asked.
"I heard you say Quatre was Destiny's dad."
"No, I said Heero was Destiny's dad."
Duo blinked a couple times. "Eh?"
"Relena said she was really sore, but it wasn't at you. I was suggesting names, like Quatre's, but she said she was mad at Heero. You understand? Why do I always have to explain things to you?"
Duo opened his mouth, but then just closed it. Instead he just nodded. Hilde would have made a comment on his speechlessness, but she thought it'd get him talking again.
Quatre was still standing there confused. "What's going on?"
Relena shook her head. "Don't worry about it." When Destiny yawned again she looked up to Quatre. "I'm going to go put her in her crib." She started to walk off, but Quatre jumped in front of her.
"I'll do it!" he proclaimed. In a weaker voice he added, "If you don't mind."
Relena handed the little girl to him. "I don't mind at all."
Quatre gave her a smile and took Destiny into his arms. He glanced at Duo as he turned and left.
Duo cleared his throat again, more to get Relena's attention. "Right. Uh… Relena, I came to apologize."
"You don't have to Duo," Relena said. "It's not your fault."
"Look… if it helps any… the way you guys did it is so much better."
"Duo," Hilde snapped.
"I mean, when we started out we did it without --"
"Duo, stop your chattering."
Duo shook his finger at her. "You can't hang around Wufei anymore," he said teasingly.
Hilde rolled her eyes at that comment. "Come on, Duo. Let's go see if anything good is on TV."
"'K," Duo said as he ran down the steps, Hilde after him.
Relena was going to go down and watch TV, also. But before she did, she decided to peek in Destiny's room.
All of Destiny's baby things were in there: her stroller, bouncer, toys, and so many other little gizmos. She saw Quatre standing by the crib. Through the wooden bars she could see Destiny lying there, her pacifier going up and down every once in awhile.
"You see," Quatre said. "Ali Baba had the smartest camel in the land. So when the forty thieves captured his brother, his camel went back to him. Now, Ali Baba knew something was wrong. So, what he did, was he followed his camel back to the hidden coven."
Relena smiled brightly. Quatre was so sweet. She knew that he knew Destiny didn't understand him. But he was taking his time to tell her a story. She sighed and thought about what Duo said. Perhaps she wouldn't mind if Quatre were her baby's father.
Her eyes widened. What was she thinking? She could hurt people by just thinking something like that. Suddenly it hit her. She was starting to have feelings for him! She couldn't!
She started down the steps. She thought about everything and decided that if she loved Heero so much that she would loose her virginity to him, she could sure wait for him.
***
The dark haired man was looking over the newsstand as if trying to decide which would be the greatest of all. The man at the stand, trying to sell these things, was getting angrier the more he just stood there.
"Hey, Mac," the guy said. "You gonna buy anything or what?"
The man gave him an annoyed look and went back to looking at all the varieties.
"Look, pal. I sell these things. You don't just stand there and look at them."
A cold look made him shut up for a moment. That was one thing Heero decided he was never going to loose. He noticed one particular newspaper had something about Relena on it. He could tell by the large prints 'Vice foreign minister Darlian'. He could see the other text, though. He pointed at that particular newspaper.
"Can I see that one?"
"No, you can buy it."
"Can I see it?"
"Fine!" The man took the newspaper off the rack and threw it at Heero. "Steal it for all I care!"
Heero glared and held the newspaper up right. He didn't know why he wanted to act like a more average person, anyways. You say something to them and they snap back.
He unfolded the newspaper and was stunned by the title that covered half the front page. According to this, Relena had had a baby.
"Hey, Mac. You gonna buy it or what?"
Heero gave him a look before reaching into his pocket and handing over some money. Then he walked off as quickly as he could.
He was heading for a job he got awhile back at a lumberyard. He heard someone call his name behind him, but was too much into the article.
Heero told himself, that if he ever found anyone as annoying as Duo, that he would shoot them. For some reason, he had decided to stop using weapons. So, a young man with short brown hair and brown eyes came up behind him and started to talk to him.
"So what do you think of those guys raising our checks? Huh? I like it, don't you? What are you going to buy with the extra money? Huh? Do you want to know what I think of it? Huh? Ya want to know what I'm gonna buy?"
Heero stopped walking, which made the other guy stop, too. Heero looked over at him. "Hey," he mumbled.
"Huh?"
Heero shoved the newspaper in the man's face. "How long has this been going on? Huh?"
The guy pulled the newspaper away slightly to look at it. He smiled at Heero.
"Hey man, the Vice Foreign Minister Darlian got pregnant. You didn't know? It's been all over the news for the past nine months. Don't you watch TV?"
"I don't have a television. I work for money to which I buy my food. Other than working I live in isolation."
The man started to laugh. "Isolation! That's a good one, Heero!"
Heero just shook his head. "Just tell me what you know about it." It was his experience that verbal rumors were usually a bit more truthful than newspapers.
"Well, I dunno. She had a girl… about a week ago."
"A week ago?" Heero thought about it. Nine months and a week ago… back in September. September. He got a surprised look on his face.
"And," the guy continued as if he didn't notice Heero's reaction. "They thing the father is --"
"I know who the father is." Heero turned and headed the way he came: back home. Repeating in his mind, 'I have to call Relena!'
The man watched him leave in awe. Then he yelled after him. "Hey! The boss won't like you being AWOL like this!"
Duo, Hilde, and Relena were trying to find something fairly good on TV. When the phone rang, Duo noticed some maid heading for it, and so he jumped up to it first.
"I got it!"
Duo picked it up and put it up to his ear. "Yello! You're calling Relena Darlian, but sorry, Duo Maxwell answered. So what can I do for ya?"
"Duo," came a cold voice on the other end. "I want to talk to Relena. Right now."
Duo got a surprised look on his face. "Whoa H -- " He stopped and glanced over to Relena, who was looking at him curiously. Duo gave her a big smile. "I'll um… go in here." He went into the dining room with the phone.
"Heero," he said. "Man, boy I'm glad you called…"
"Duo, I want to talk to Relena," Heero said simply.
"I dunno, man," Duo replied. He peeked out the door to see Relena and Hilde watching TV. "She's kinda pissed at you."
"Just put her on the phone."
"Okay, okay, chill out."
Duo pushed the door opened and walked out. "Uh, Relena." When he got the two girls' attention, he shook the phone. "It's for you. It's Heero."
Relena got the saddest look in her eyes. "Tell him I don't really want to talk to him right now," she whispered trying to hold back her tears. "Tell him to call back later."
Duo nodded and put the phone back up to his ear. "Uh… she said she doesn't want to talk to you now and to call back later."
"Fine," Heero grumbled. "She can act like that and not talk to me. You tell her that I'm glad that she wanted to catch my attention with this by putting it on the front page of the newspaper."
Duo bit his lip and looked over at Relena. "He said that you being pregnant written on the front page of a newspaper was a good way to get his attention."
"Oh, really?" Relena said. "Well, good. I hope he got the message."
Duo cleared his throat. "Uh, Heero? She said she hoped you got the message."
Heero let out a growl. "Tell her I want to talk to her now!"
"Now, Heero. Be calm with her."
"You know what you can do with your calmness, Duo? You can just shove it up your--"
The two girls watched Duo winced. He pulled the phone away and covered the mouthpiece with his hand.
"He really wants to talk to you, Relena," Duo said.
Relena sighed and got up. "Okay, I'll talk to him." She walked over and took the phone out of Duo's hand. She put it to her ear as Duo went over and sat down next to Hilde on the couch.
"Heero," Relena said in the sweetest voice she could. "Nice of you to call me."
"Relena, what is going on?"
"Where do you want me to start, Heero? That night when…" she looked up at Duo and Hilde who were staring back at her. She pushed the door to the dining room open and went in, leaving Duo and Hilde to frown after her.
"…when you slept by my side all night, and obviously left that morning?"
"Relena, I stayed with you for nearly two weeks."
"You passed your record, Heero."
"Relena. Talk to me. What's going on?"
Relena sighed. "Heero. I miss you so much. Where are you?"
Heero sighed, also. "Brazil, South America, Relena. I'm trying to find myself out here. I've been looking, but I think if I find it, it'll be in space."
"Don't go to space, Heero, please. Just stay here on Earth. Come to me, please. I need you. Destiny needs you."
"…Destiny?"
"Your daughter, Heero, yours and mine. Please, Heero. Don't do this to us."
"I'm doing this for you," Heero said simply.
"What?" Relena's voice almost cracked.
"I'm not a worthy father, I wouldn't make a worthy husband in this condition. Give me some time to work this out, Relena. The war's been over for many years, but there's a part of me I can't get rid of. I don't want to be a soldier in a peaceful world. Give me some time to be good enough for you two. You know my habits. I know you know what I'm talking about."
Relena tried not to cry. It was very difficult, but she didn't want Heero to hear her cry. "What do you want me to do Heero?"
"Wait for me, Relena. I'll be fairly human one day. My soldier instincts cannot exist… in your world."
"Heero," Relena's voice was now a whispered. "Come visit us before you go to space. See your daughter."
"You know that would hurt you. I can't hurt you, Relena. Seeing you both now… it wouldn't help anyone. Not even myself. I'm trying to be a good enough person for you. Being able to see you two is my goal. If I don't have a goal to work for, what's the point?"
"…Heero…"
"Just wait for me, Relena."
"I'll wait for you. If I'm old and grayed I'll still be waiting for you. But someone can't wait for you. She won't know who you are if…"
"Have some trust in me Relena."
"Heero."
Heero slowly put the phone down until it hung up. He looked down at it for a long time. "Relena…"
"Heero!" Relena yelled into the phone when she realized he'd hung up on her. "Heero!" She sighed and pulled it away from her ear. Looking down at it in sorrow. "I'll wait for you, Heero."
Duo and Hilde looked at each other when they heard Relena's last comment. Realizing that the conversation must have ended, they headed back for the couch, so Relena wouldn't catch them. Quatre watched them go over, sit down, and act like they were watching TV the whole time. Quatre, however, didn't do things that way.
Relena came through the door and was surprise when she saw Quatre. She gave him the best smile she could. "Hi, Quatre. Finish your story already?" Quatre eyed her as she hung the phone up.
"She fell asleep, I think she found it extremely boring."
Relena shook her head at him. She was about to go over by the television where Duo and Hilde were when Quatre jumped in front of her.
"Are you really going to wait for him, Relena?"
Relena looked at him in surprise. After a moment, she glanced over at the couch. Hilde began to talk about the show that was on, like she'd been into it all day. Duo, however, took to innocent whistling. Relena sighed and looked back to Quatre.
"Quatre. I have to. He's my daughter's father. I can't do that to her."
"Relena, please. He doesn't understand that the worst thing he can do now is not be here! You do need him now."
"You don't understand. Heero will come back soon. I'm fine with the fact that he's not here now. I'll be fine as long as I can see him again in this lifetime. Don't be so overprotecting." She said the last sentence in a more playful way to lighten the mood. She now headed back to her obstacle: the chair next to the couch.
Quatre watched her sit down and sighed. 'No, you aren't fine with it, Relena,' he thought, 'I can feel it. You need him now; you know it. I can feel that, too.'
A bit later into the evening, Duo and Hilde said they had to go back home, so they said their good-byes. Actually, Hilde was the one who said they had to go back home. Whether it was because of Heero's phone call or because of what Duo did earlier, she was urgent to go. Quatre saw a look in Duo's eyes that showed he was thinking one of the two, also.
So, Quatre and Relena wished them well before they left. And right after the young couple left, Relena thought of something. She looked over to Quatre who was resting on a chair.
"Quatre," she said and walked over to him. "When are you going to go back to your colony?"
Quatre smiled. "I've worn out my welcome, eh?"
"Oh, no. Just curious."
Quatre sighed and sat up right in the chair. "Yeah, I guess I should be going back."
"Oh." Relena did her best to try not to show her disappointment. It was going to be slightly lonelier again. But only slightly, since she now had a baby and had to wait for Heero.
"I'll leave tomorrow morning. How's that?"
"If you want."
Quatre got up. "I guess I had better get some sleep, then. I have to call for a plane and pack my things tomorrow."
"Right," Relena said quietly. "Good night, Quatre."
"Good night, Miss Relena."
"Ah!" Relena said pointing a finger at him.
Quatre sighed. "You caught me." Quatre wasn't completely out of the habit yet, and he'd still use 'Miss' before her name every now and then. Relena have him her best smile.
It was around two in the morning when Relena woke up to the sound of Destiny crying. She groaned and kicked the covers off of her. She got up and headed towards the infant's room. She was surprised when Quatre met her at the doorway.
"You get her, I'll get the bottle," Quatre said.
"What if she's not hungry?"
"She'll probably appreciate the food anyways."
Relena shrugged. "Okay."
As Quatre headed down the stairs, Relena ran to Destiny. She carefully picked up the moving, crying, infant. She held her and tried to hush her. The little girl showed now mercy.
Thankfully, Quatre soon came in with a bottle. He handed it over to her and she accepted it. Carefully putting it into Destiny's mouth, so not to force- feed her.
Relena looked up to Quatre. "She wasn't wet, I guess she was hungry." She looked back down to the now calm Destiny as she contently drank her bottle.
"Uh… Relena," Quatre said. "You haven't gotten much sleep lately. I'll take care of her."
"No, I don't think so. Thanks Quatre, but you have to leave tomorrow and you need your rest."
"No, Relena please." They were looking straight at each other. "You need your rest.
Relena opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when she saw Quatre's stern look. She sent him a look back, and they stayed like this for a second. Then, Quatre put his arms out to take Destiny. Relena let out an exasperated sigh and laid the baby in Quatre's arms.
"You're sure?" she asked.
"Yes," Quatre replied.
She gave him a smile as he cradled her daughter in his arms. "You really are a sweet guy," she said out loud. Her eyes widened a bit when she realized what she did.
Quatre blushed. "Gee, Miss Relena, I…"
"Well… I mean you're quite helpful."
"Yeah. I know what you mean."
It was Relena's turn to blush. The two looked at each other for a moment, before Quatre broke it and looked down at the little girl in his arms, that was showing signs of being tired.
"I guess you should get some sleep," he mumbled to Relena.
She nodded. "Yes, you're right. She headed for the door. "Don't stay up too late."
"I won't," Quatre replied. Then she left.
About three and a half hours later, Relena woke up. Five o'clock was usually the time she got up. But, as soon as she was up, she put on her robe and headed down the hall to her baby's room. What she saw shocked her.
Quatre was sitting on a chair holding a sleeping Destiny on his lap. Her bottle was sitting on the floor by one of the legs of the chair, and her pacifier lying next to it. But Quatre was awake with bloodshot eyes.
Relena rushed over to him. "Quatre?" she asked in a worried tone.
Quatre turned his head to her. "Relena." He picked Destiny up. "I watched her all night."
"What? You were supposed to get some sleep!"
"I did. I'd say… a good fifteen minutes."
Relena stomped her foot. "Don't you lie to me, Quatre Winner."
"I'm not," Quatre said honestly.
His tone of voice calmed her a little. "But… why?" Quatre got up off the chair and went over to the crib. He carefully laid Destiny inside, and then turned to Relena. He walked over to her and offered a smile.
"For you," was his simple reply. Then, he walked out of the room.
A little while later, Relena was downstairs on the couch. She had a wide- awake Destiny on her lap as the watched some cartoon show for toddlers. She knew the little one didn't understand a thing, but something about a bunch of furry creatures dancing and singing mesmerized children.
So, Destiny sat on Relena's lap, clapping lightly at the music coming from the television.
Relena giggled at her antics. Suddenly, a sound behind the couch jerked her head to it.
Quatre stood there with his bag in his right hand. His eyes were no longer bloodshot – he must have put some eye drops in them.
"Quatre," Relena began.
Quatre gave her a light smile. "Thanks for not kicking me out long ago."
"You've been such a friend, Quatre."
Quatre looked down to the girl clapping her hands absent mindlessly. He smiled wider.
"I'm going to miss you, angel."
Then Relena and Quatre looked at each other. He walked over closer and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm going to miss you too, Relena. Take care, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay."
He started for the door. "My plane leaves in a few hours. I'll see you in awhile."
Relena sighed as he went out the door. "Sure, Quatre."
The End of Chapter 2 (
Oh, when Duo answered the phone with 'Yello', I didn't misspell 'Hello'. That's just how my little cousin answers the phone, so yeah…
Thanks for reading, I hope you like it so far. I have the outline of each chapter, and I think there are going to be 15 chapters. But don't quote me on that. I better get typing, huh? Thanks for all the nice reviews; you're all so nice! And don't worry, I know where the story's heading. The point is surprising the reader. Well, that's all from me. Thanks again and wait for Chapter 3!
Chapter 2
"Man, they sure loose their cuteness fast," Duo complained as he held Destiny out at arm's length.
Hilde rolled her eyes. Relena got up and took the baby away from Duo. Duo had wanted to hold her. So when Relena let him, well…
"Duo," Quatre explained. "She has a diaper on. She's not going to hurt you."
"Are you kidding?" Duo asked him. "She could've wet my clothes!"
"I hope I don't get pregnant," Hilde said. "For the kid's sake. Its dad wouldn't come near it."
"Don't worry," Relena said. "I'm going to go change her." And she left the room quickly.
Duo looked over at Quatre. "Can't you potty train that kid?" he joked.
"I'm afraid they have to be older than three days for that," Quatre added onto it.
Hilde giggled.
"Too bad Trowa had to leave so soon," Duo said.
Quatre frowned. "Yeah, he had to go back to the circus." Trowa was his best friend and Quatre wasn't able to see him much.
Relena re-entered the room. "Okay, she's dry."
"That was fast."
"Motherly abilities."
"Ah…"
Relena smiled at Duo. "Want to try to hold her again?"
Duo grinned back. "No, that's okay Relena, you can keep her."
Hilde put her hands out. "I do! I want to hold her!"
Relena smiled at her and handed Destiny over.
Hilde held the baby close to her. "Hi there, Destiny. You're so cute." She looked at her for a minute, into Destiny's Prussian blue eyes. When Destiny gave a cute little yawn, Hilde couldn't help but 'Awww.' "I want to have a baby," she mumbled.
Duo crossed his arms and gave her a look.
Relena took her seat on a chair. "You know, I thought you two would have a baby first."
"Nope," Duo said in almost a sarcastic tone. He glanced at Hilde and then over to Relena. "We use protection."
"Duo," Hilde snapped.
"What?" Duo asked. He glanced over at Relena again who had a sad look on her face.
"Er… it's not the best thing in the world." Duo said trying to make Relena feel better. "I mean you have sex with these things that feel like balloons --"
Relena got up and left the room.
"That's enough Duo," Hilde said angrily. She got up and followed Relena out.
Duo looked over to Quatre who was giving him a scowl.
"What?"
"You made Relena feel bad. She was probably thinking about Heero the whole time you were talking."
"Well, geez, I'm sorry I didn't know."
Quatre glanced over in the direction Relena and Hilde went. "I'm not the one you should apologize to."
Duo nodded. He got up and headed to Relena's room up the stairs. When he got to the hallway, he was about three doors down when he heard Hilde's voice.
"Quatre?"
Duo hurried down the hall faster and stood outside the door. He reached his hand out to the doorknob until he heard Hilde again.
"But it's his child, Relena."
Duo stopped.
"I know it's his child," Relena replied calmly.
Duo's eyes widened. He pushed his ear against the door. Quatre was Destiny's dad? No way! He was hearing things!
"But he doesn't know," Hilde said.
"Of course not. How can I tell him?"
"You should think of a way."
"Thanks for your help, Hilde. I'll try."
Duo was standing there with his ear against the door dumbstruck.
"What are you doing?" he heard a familiar voice ask behind him.
He looked over to see the popular blond boy.
"Quatre," Duo said surprised – too surprised. He cleared his throat. "I mean, Quatre. Heh heh. Just, um…"
"Eavesdropping," Quatre finished with a smile. Duo shrugged.
Suddenly, the door Duo was leaning on opened and Duo fell down onto the ground. Hilde and Relena, who now had her baby back in her arms, looked down at him.
"Duo," Hilde said. "What are you doing?"
"Uh… well…" Then, he remembered what was going on. He stood up and pointed at Relena. "I heard you, Relena. I heard it all."
"What?" Relena asked.
"I heard what you said about Quatre being Destiny's father and how you had to tell him. Plus, nine months ago you were still with Heero, so I don't know how you two pulled it off."
Quatre, Hilde, and Relena all looked real confused.
"What are you talking about, duo?" Hilde asked.
"I heard you say Quatre was Destiny's dad."
"No, I said Heero was Destiny's dad."
Duo blinked a couple times. "Eh?"
"Relena said she was really sore, but it wasn't at you. I was suggesting names, like Quatre's, but she said she was mad at Heero. You understand? Why do I always have to explain things to you?"
Duo opened his mouth, but then just closed it. Instead he just nodded. Hilde would have made a comment on his speechlessness, but she thought it'd get him talking again.
Quatre was still standing there confused. "What's going on?"
Relena shook her head. "Don't worry about it." When Destiny yawned again she looked up to Quatre. "I'm going to go put her in her crib." She started to walk off, but Quatre jumped in front of her.
"I'll do it!" he proclaimed. In a weaker voice he added, "If you don't mind."
Relena handed the little girl to him. "I don't mind at all."
Quatre gave her a smile and took Destiny into his arms. He glanced at Duo as he turned and left.
Duo cleared his throat again, more to get Relena's attention. "Right. Uh… Relena, I came to apologize."
"You don't have to Duo," Relena said. "It's not your fault."
"Look… if it helps any… the way you guys did it is so much better."
"Duo," Hilde snapped.
"I mean, when we started out we did it without --"
"Duo, stop your chattering."
Duo shook his finger at her. "You can't hang around Wufei anymore," he said teasingly.
Hilde rolled her eyes at that comment. "Come on, Duo. Let's go see if anything good is on TV."
"'K," Duo said as he ran down the steps, Hilde after him.
Relena was going to go down and watch TV, also. But before she did, she decided to peek in Destiny's room.
All of Destiny's baby things were in there: her stroller, bouncer, toys, and so many other little gizmos. She saw Quatre standing by the crib. Through the wooden bars she could see Destiny lying there, her pacifier going up and down every once in awhile.
"You see," Quatre said. "Ali Baba had the smartest camel in the land. So when the forty thieves captured his brother, his camel went back to him. Now, Ali Baba knew something was wrong. So, what he did, was he followed his camel back to the hidden coven."
Relena smiled brightly. Quatre was so sweet. She knew that he knew Destiny didn't understand him. But he was taking his time to tell her a story. She sighed and thought about what Duo said. Perhaps she wouldn't mind if Quatre were her baby's father.
Her eyes widened. What was she thinking? She could hurt people by just thinking something like that. Suddenly it hit her. She was starting to have feelings for him! She couldn't!
She started down the steps. She thought about everything and decided that if she loved Heero so much that she would loose her virginity to him, she could sure wait for him.
***
The dark haired man was looking over the newsstand as if trying to decide which would be the greatest of all. The man at the stand, trying to sell these things, was getting angrier the more he just stood there.
"Hey, Mac," the guy said. "You gonna buy anything or what?"
The man gave him an annoyed look and went back to looking at all the varieties.
"Look, pal. I sell these things. You don't just stand there and look at them."
A cold look made him shut up for a moment. That was one thing Heero decided he was never going to loose. He noticed one particular newspaper had something about Relena on it. He could tell by the large prints 'Vice foreign minister Darlian'. He could see the other text, though. He pointed at that particular newspaper.
"Can I see that one?"
"No, you can buy it."
"Can I see it?"
"Fine!" The man took the newspaper off the rack and threw it at Heero. "Steal it for all I care!"
Heero glared and held the newspaper up right. He didn't know why he wanted to act like a more average person, anyways. You say something to them and they snap back.
He unfolded the newspaper and was stunned by the title that covered half the front page. According to this, Relena had had a baby.
"Hey, Mac. You gonna buy it or what?"
Heero gave him a look before reaching into his pocket and handing over some money. Then he walked off as quickly as he could.
He was heading for a job he got awhile back at a lumberyard. He heard someone call his name behind him, but was too much into the article.
Heero told himself, that if he ever found anyone as annoying as Duo, that he would shoot them. For some reason, he had decided to stop using weapons. So, a young man with short brown hair and brown eyes came up behind him and started to talk to him.
"So what do you think of those guys raising our checks? Huh? I like it, don't you? What are you going to buy with the extra money? Huh? Do you want to know what I think of it? Huh? Ya want to know what I'm gonna buy?"
Heero stopped walking, which made the other guy stop, too. Heero looked over at him. "Hey," he mumbled.
"Huh?"
Heero shoved the newspaper in the man's face. "How long has this been going on? Huh?"
The guy pulled the newspaper away slightly to look at it. He smiled at Heero.
"Hey man, the Vice Foreign Minister Darlian got pregnant. You didn't know? It's been all over the news for the past nine months. Don't you watch TV?"
"I don't have a television. I work for money to which I buy my food. Other than working I live in isolation."
The man started to laugh. "Isolation! That's a good one, Heero!"
Heero just shook his head. "Just tell me what you know about it." It was his experience that verbal rumors were usually a bit more truthful than newspapers.
"Well, I dunno. She had a girl… about a week ago."
"A week ago?" Heero thought about it. Nine months and a week ago… back in September. September. He got a surprised look on his face.
"And," the guy continued as if he didn't notice Heero's reaction. "They thing the father is --"
"I know who the father is." Heero turned and headed the way he came: back home. Repeating in his mind, 'I have to call Relena!'
The man watched him leave in awe. Then he yelled after him. "Hey! The boss won't like you being AWOL like this!"
Duo, Hilde, and Relena were trying to find something fairly good on TV. When the phone rang, Duo noticed some maid heading for it, and so he jumped up to it first.
"I got it!"
Duo picked it up and put it up to his ear. "Yello! You're calling Relena Darlian, but sorry, Duo Maxwell answered. So what can I do for ya?"
"Duo," came a cold voice on the other end. "I want to talk to Relena. Right now."
Duo got a surprised look on his face. "Whoa H -- " He stopped and glanced over to Relena, who was looking at him curiously. Duo gave her a big smile. "I'll um… go in here." He went into the dining room with the phone.
"Heero," he said. "Man, boy I'm glad you called…"
"Duo, I want to talk to Relena," Heero said simply.
"I dunno, man," Duo replied. He peeked out the door to see Relena and Hilde watching TV. "She's kinda pissed at you."
"Just put her on the phone."
"Okay, okay, chill out."
Duo pushed the door opened and walked out. "Uh, Relena." When he got the two girls' attention, he shook the phone. "It's for you. It's Heero."
Relena got the saddest look in her eyes. "Tell him I don't really want to talk to him right now," she whispered trying to hold back her tears. "Tell him to call back later."
Duo nodded and put the phone back up to his ear. "Uh… she said she doesn't want to talk to you now and to call back later."
"Fine," Heero grumbled. "She can act like that and not talk to me. You tell her that I'm glad that she wanted to catch my attention with this by putting it on the front page of the newspaper."
Duo bit his lip and looked over at Relena. "He said that you being pregnant written on the front page of a newspaper was a good way to get his attention."
"Oh, really?" Relena said. "Well, good. I hope he got the message."
Duo cleared his throat. "Uh, Heero? She said she hoped you got the message."
Heero let out a growl. "Tell her I want to talk to her now!"
"Now, Heero. Be calm with her."
"You know what you can do with your calmness, Duo? You can just shove it up your--"
The two girls watched Duo winced. He pulled the phone away and covered the mouthpiece with his hand.
"He really wants to talk to you, Relena," Duo said.
Relena sighed and got up. "Okay, I'll talk to him." She walked over and took the phone out of Duo's hand. She put it to her ear as Duo went over and sat down next to Hilde on the couch.
"Heero," Relena said in the sweetest voice she could. "Nice of you to call me."
"Relena, what is going on?"
"Where do you want me to start, Heero? That night when…" she looked up at Duo and Hilde who were staring back at her. She pushed the door to the dining room open and went in, leaving Duo and Hilde to frown after her.
"…when you slept by my side all night, and obviously left that morning?"
"Relena, I stayed with you for nearly two weeks."
"You passed your record, Heero."
"Relena. Talk to me. What's going on?"
Relena sighed. "Heero. I miss you so much. Where are you?"
Heero sighed, also. "Brazil, South America, Relena. I'm trying to find myself out here. I've been looking, but I think if I find it, it'll be in space."
"Don't go to space, Heero, please. Just stay here on Earth. Come to me, please. I need you. Destiny needs you."
"…Destiny?"
"Your daughter, Heero, yours and mine. Please, Heero. Don't do this to us."
"I'm doing this for you," Heero said simply.
"What?" Relena's voice almost cracked.
"I'm not a worthy father, I wouldn't make a worthy husband in this condition. Give me some time to work this out, Relena. The war's been over for many years, but there's a part of me I can't get rid of. I don't want to be a soldier in a peaceful world. Give me some time to be good enough for you two. You know my habits. I know you know what I'm talking about."
Relena tried not to cry. It was very difficult, but she didn't want Heero to hear her cry. "What do you want me to do Heero?"
"Wait for me, Relena. I'll be fairly human one day. My soldier instincts cannot exist… in your world."
"Heero," Relena's voice was now a whispered. "Come visit us before you go to space. See your daughter."
"You know that would hurt you. I can't hurt you, Relena. Seeing you both now… it wouldn't help anyone. Not even myself. I'm trying to be a good enough person for you. Being able to see you two is my goal. If I don't have a goal to work for, what's the point?"
"…Heero…"
"Just wait for me, Relena."
"I'll wait for you. If I'm old and grayed I'll still be waiting for you. But someone can't wait for you. She won't know who you are if…"
"Have some trust in me Relena."
"Heero."
Heero slowly put the phone down until it hung up. He looked down at it for a long time. "Relena…"
"Heero!" Relena yelled into the phone when she realized he'd hung up on her. "Heero!" She sighed and pulled it away from her ear. Looking down at it in sorrow. "I'll wait for you, Heero."
Duo and Hilde looked at each other when they heard Relena's last comment. Realizing that the conversation must have ended, they headed back for the couch, so Relena wouldn't catch them. Quatre watched them go over, sit down, and act like they were watching TV the whole time. Quatre, however, didn't do things that way.
Relena came through the door and was surprise when she saw Quatre. She gave him the best smile she could. "Hi, Quatre. Finish your story already?" Quatre eyed her as she hung the phone up.
"She fell asleep, I think she found it extremely boring."
Relena shook her head at him. She was about to go over by the television where Duo and Hilde were when Quatre jumped in front of her.
"Are you really going to wait for him, Relena?"
Relena looked at him in surprise. After a moment, she glanced over at the couch. Hilde began to talk about the show that was on, like she'd been into it all day. Duo, however, took to innocent whistling. Relena sighed and looked back to Quatre.
"Quatre. I have to. He's my daughter's father. I can't do that to her."
"Relena, please. He doesn't understand that the worst thing he can do now is not be here! You do need him now."
"You don't understand. Heero will come back soon. I'm fine with the fact that he's not here now. I'll be fine as long as I can see him again in this lifetime. Don't be so overprotecting." She said the last sentence in a more playful way to lighten the mood. She now headed back to her obstacle: the chair next to the couch.
Quatre watched her sit down and sighed. 'No, you aren't fine with it, Relena,' he thought, 'I can feel it. You need him now; you know it. I can feel that, too.'
A bit later into the evening, Duo and Hilde said they had to go back home, so they said their good-byes. Actually, Hilde was the one who said they had to go back home. Whether it was because of Heero's phone call or because of what Duo did earlier, she was urgent to go. Quatre saw a look in Duo's eyes that showed he was thinking one of the two, also.
So, Quatre and Relena wished them well before they left. And right after the young couple left, Relena thought of something. She looked over to Quatre who was resting on a chair.
"Quatre," she said and walked over to him. "When are you going to go back to your colony?"
Quatre smiled. "I've worn out my welcome, eh?"
"Oh, no. Just curious."
Quatre sighed and sat up right in the chair. "Yeah, I guess I should be going back."
"Oh." Relena did her best to try not to show her disappointment. It was going to be slightly lonelier again. But only slightly, since she now had a baby and had to wait for Heero.
"I'll leave tomorrow morning. How's that?"
"If you want."
Quatre got up. "I guess I had better get some sleep, then. I have to call for a plane and pack my things tomorrow."
"Right," Relena said quietly. "Good night, Quatre."
"Good night, Miss Relena."
"Ah!" Relena said pointing a finger at him.
Quatre sighed. "You caught me." Quatre wasn't completely out of the habit yet, and he'd still use 'Miss' before her name every now and then. Relena have him her best smile.
It was around two in the morning when Relena woke up to the sound of Destiny crying. She groaned and kicked the covers off of her. She got up and headed towards the infant's room. She was surprised when Quatre met her at the doorway.
"You get her, I'll get the bottle," Quatre said.
"What if she's not hungry?"
"She'll probably appreciate the food anyways."
Relena shrugged. "Okay."
As Quatre headed down the stairs, Relena ran to Destiny. She carefully picked up the moving, crying, infant. She held her and tried to hush her. The little girl showed now mercy.
Thankfully, Quatre soon came in with a bottle. He handed it over to her and she accepted it. Carefully putting it into Destiny's mouth, so not to force- feed her.
Relena looked up to Quatre. "She wasn't wet, I guess she was hungry." She looked back down to the now calm Destiny as she contently drank her bottle.
"Uh… Relena," Quatre said. "You haven't gotten much sleep lately. I'll take care of her."
"No, I don't think so. Thanks Quatre, but you have to leave tomorrow and you need your rest."
"No, Relena please." They were looking straight at each other. "You need your rest.
Relena opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when she saw Quatre's stern look. She sent him a look back, and they stayed like this for a second. Then, Quatre put his arms out to take Destiny. Relena let out an exasperated sigh and laid the baby in Quatre's arms.
"You're sure?" she asked.
"Yes," Quatre replied.
She gave him a smile as he cradled her daughter in his arms. "You really are a sweet guy," she said out loud. Her eyes widened a bit when she realized what she did.
Quatre blushed. "Gee, Miss Relena, I…"
"Well… I mean you're quite helpful."
"Yeah. I know what you mean."
It was Relena's turn to blush. The two looked at each other for a moment, before Quatre broke it and looked down at the little girl in his arms, that was showing signs of being tired.
"I guess you should get some sleep," he mumbled to Relena.
She nodded. "Yes, you're right. She headed for the door. "Don't stay up too late."
"I won't," Quatre replied. Then she left.
About three and a half hours later, Relena woke up. Five o'clock was usually the time she got up. But, as soon as she was up, she put on her robe and headed down the hall to her baby's room. What she saw shocked her.
Quatre was sitting on a chair holding a sleeping Destiny on his lap. Her bottle was sitting on the floor by one of the legs of the chair, and her pacifier lying next to it. But Quatre was awake with bloodshot eyes.
Relena rushed over to him. "Quatre?" she asked in a worried tone.
Quatre turned his head to her. "Relena." He picked Destiny up. "I watched her all night."
"What? You were supposed to get some sleep!"
"I did. I'd say… a good fifteen minutes."
Relena stomped her foot. "Don't you lie to me, Quatre Winner."
"I'm not," Quatre said honestly.
His tone of voice calmed her a little. "But… why?" Quatre got up off the chair and went over to the crib. He carefully laid Destiny inside, and then turned to Relena. He walked over to her and offered a smile.
"For you," was his simple reply. Then, he walked out of the room.
A little while later, Relena was downstairs on the couch. She had a wide- awake Destiny on her lap as the watched some cartoon show for toddlers. She knew the little one didn't understand a thing, but something about a bunch of furry creatures dancing and singing mesmerized children.
So, Destiny sat on Relena's lap, clapping lightly at the music coming from the television.
Relena giggled at her antics. Suddenly, a sound behind the couch jerked her head to it.
Quatre stood there with his bag in his right hand. His eyes were no longer bloodshot – he must have put some eye drops in them.
"Quatre," Relena began.
Quatre gave her a light smile. "Thanks for not kicking me out long ago."
"You've been such a friend, Quatre."
Quatre looked down to the girl clapping her hands absent mindlessly. He smiled wider.
"I'm going to miss you, angel."
Then Relena and Quatre looked at each other. He walked over closer and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm going to miss you too, Relena. Take care, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay."
He started for the door. "My plane leaves in a few hours. I'll see you in awhile."
Relena sighed as he went out the door. "Sure, Quatre."
The End of Chapter 2 (
Oh, when Duo answered the phone with 'Yello', I didn't misspell 'Hello'. That's just how my little cousin answers the phone, so yeah…
Thanks for reading, I hope you like it so far. I have the outline of each chapter, and I think there are going to be 15 chapters. But don't quote me on that. I better get typing, huh? Thanks for all the nice reviews; you're all so nice! And don't worry, I know where the story's heading. The point is surprising the reader. Well, that's all from me. Thanks again and wait for Chapter 3!