Chapter 18: Carbon Copy

They had just finished dinner when Aiden returned, scowling fiercely. He had decided very adamantly against the "charms" of dating women his mother picked out, and decided that they were going to have to have a very long talk. All of these thoughts, however, flew out of his head as soon as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Aiden, take out the garbage," his father ordered from putting away the milk. Quatre was helping Yamashi dry dishes for Aiden's mother. The blonde sent an uncertain, pensive look over at his friend. "Get both bags."

Relena stepped forward. "I'll get one," she offered, lifting the smaller before Aiden could stop her. He sent her an unreadable glance, but didn't protest.

They walked to the curb in silence, Relena handing Aiden her bag to toss into a big brown bin. After that was done, he wiped his hands on his jeans and bowed his head.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her in a deviously soft voice.

Relena straightened a bit. "We came to see you." She paused. "I came to see you. I needed to, after what Ryo told me he'd done to your letter."

Aiden sent her a sharp glance. "What?"

Relena shook her head, dismissing Ryo. "It doesn't matter – he was jealous and . . . and scared. He was scared of what you meant to me. That's why he was so mean to you." She put a hand on his arm and looked tentatively up into his eyes, moving closer. "He was scared of how much I loved you."

Aiden frowned, but didn't move away from her. "That's over now, Relena. 'Loved.' Past tense."

She shook her head, fighting back tears. "I still love you, Aiden! I love you! And if Ryo was being honest with me about that letter, then you love me too."

"It doesn't matter any more," he started impatiently, but Relena interrupted him.

"Yes, it does!" she cried, holding tightly to him. "It's not too late, Aiden! We can still make it work!"

Aiden shook his head violently, closing his eyes and pulling away, though she wouldn't release him.

"Why not?" She went pale – stricken. "Do you love me? Was he lying?"

Aiden made a face and shook his head again. When she didn't speak again, he whispered, "Of course I love you."

Relena looked up at him, at his handsome brown face and wild hair, and those soft, creamy drawn eyelids. "Then why not? Why can't you come back with me?"

The calm was broken in moments. "Because you're asking me to leave my family!" Aiden spat, eyes flying open and shimmering with unshed tears.

She was shaking, both with anger and the effort it took to keep from crying. Oddly, she wasn't afraid. "I'm not . . ."

"Yes," he told her, cold and furious. "That's exactly what I'd have to do–"

"To be with me," she finished, looking away. "I'm sorry, then. I'm sorry for being selfish. I'm sorry for crying over you all those nights, worrying about you, wondering if you would ever come back." She turned back, trembling with anger as the tears on her cheeks glinted at him. "I'm sorry I ever thought I loved you." With that, she left him.

Aiden sank onto the driveway, lost in his guilt and misery. His father found him there, watching the darkening sky, a short while later.

"It's all fake," Aiden said softly, watching the stars fading in, surrounded by black and commanded by a thin silver slip of a moon. "These stars, that space. It's not ours, it's Earth's. We just live inside a carbon copy of Earth's beauty, don't we?"

His father sat quietly beside him and they didn't say anything else for a long while.

"I spoke to your mother, and we agreed that we shouldn't be pushing you to date anyone new."

Aiden gave a dangerous, wry smile. "Good. Any more of that girl and I would have to shoot myself."

"You are a bit young to be in any serious relationship. You need to start a business or something. Perhaps a repair shop. Get financially stable."

"I could work with Hilde," Aiden smirked, looking down. "I think she'd kill me before the end of the first week." At his father's look, he clarified: "Duo's fiancé runs a repair shop."

There was another sliver of silence. "We lost a lot of money while we were gone. A lot of business. And we're behind on our bills." He took a deep breath and didn't look at Aiden. "I don't want to pressure you, but we really need a little extra income right now. If you could just get a job . . . it would help."

"The bills couldn't be too high, since we weren't even here?"

"We have no money, Aiden," his father whispered. Aiden nodded and they sat as the night took over the carbon copy sky.