Aishiteru
Chapter Two
"Airplane!"
Friday, December 13th, Preventer Headquarters Building, New London, AC 201
Duo bounded out of the stairwell and in a few long strides, had found Hilde's side once more. He was practically bubbling over with this new tidbit of information he couldn't wait to wave past Hilde's nose. Of course Hilde, with her innate sense of gossip, knew that Duo had something worthwhile.
"Well, Duo? What did you find out about that girl?" Duo merely chuckled and took in a deep breath, to fuel his hot air.
"Imagine if you will, a world not bound by the laws of reality, a world in which science fact and science fiction are one in the same, a world-"
"Duo, get to the point."
His face fixed in a manic grin and he fairly danced from foot to foot as he sing-songed at her, "I know something you don't know!"
"Duo!"
"It's multiplied!"
"What?!" She was getting pretty damn irritated.
"What has two blue eyes, and neither of them are ever black; a computer chip in it's brain, and is harder to kill than a cockroach?"
"Cher?"
"Brown eyes, hun. And he's not animatronic." he paused and speculated his last comment. "We don't think. At least, not so much any more."
"Then you mean Heero." She frowned, staring at him questioningly before the connection formed in her thoughts. "You ... mean Heero? Multiplied...?" She grabbed him by his lapels and shook him jarringly, either unaware or uncaring of the stares they were attracting. "What do you know?! Is it another weapons project? Someone's trying to create another perfect soldier?! You-" His hands caught her shoulders, pushing her gently back off of her tiptoes.
"Settle, Tonto - you're scaring the natives. I don't mean recreated, I mean procreated." His grin widened as she paled visibly. "And guess who the lucky egg donor was...." The cafeteria was startled by a resounding slap ringing though the air.
"Duo Mervin Maxwell, if you're implying what I think you're implying-"
Warning. Warning. Growling Hilde. Abort joke mode. He glanced around the rest of the room before grabbing her by the arm, interrupting her and whispering in her ear, "Let's take this somewhere more private; I can give you the details I've dredged up so far. I think you'll be interested." He nodded to an Asian man watching from nearby as he dragged Hilde out the door. "Wuffie, cover me the first half of the shift wouldjya? I'll be back in a flash, I swear." He was met by a disdainful snort.
"Anything you say ... Mervin." Duo shot a glare over his shoulder.
"Thanks, Chang."
*
"I can't believe it."
"That's the fifth time you've said that."
"Well, I just can't ... how is it possible? She must have been expecting at the same time we were, and no one ever found out? Why wouldn't she tell you?"
"Why should she have? Making public knowledge of her status as an unwed teenaged mother wouldn't have helped her reputation any, and hurt her politically. Besides, it would only make the kid an easy target. How would you like it if we had to scan for snipers every time Ezra went outside to play?"
"I can understand that part, but obviously some people know. Why wouldn't she trust us?"
"We know her, but we aren't exactly her closest friends. It's easier to keep a secret, the fewer people who know about it. I mean, Hell - the only time I've even been to her estate is in uniform, waiting for someone to throw a bomb. As far as I can tell, Sally probably knows since she had to be the logical choice for all that pre-natal stuff. She's probably the kid's pediatrician. That means Wu Fei probably knows too. Une knows, obviously. Quatre's on intimate enough terms with Rel that he probably knows, so that clues in Trowa by default. The sixty-four thousand dollar question is whether Heero knows."
"So then in theory, you're the only pilot she didn't tell."
"Are you trying to make me feel dejected? Nah, she wouldn't have told Wuffers or Trowa outright, they just happen to have the right connections. If you were one of her maids or something, I'd know too. At least, she didn't go out of her way to keep me from getting out with the information, so I figure she trusts us, she just didn't go out of her way to tell us, either."
"I can't believe it."
"Six. The poor kid is probably bored out of her head around here though; it's no wonder she was out here playing 'Mission: Impossible'. I was thinking, she's still stuck up there with all the legal mumbo-jumbo, what do you say we pull Ezra out of the daycare zone and send him up?"
"You want to send a four-year-old Maxwell into Lady Une's office? A twenty-one year old Maxwell does enough damage. Duo, we've discussed this before. The war is over; there is no need for you to endanger your life. I'm almost finished with your last report, so as soon as I send it up to Mission Directives, I'll swing by and see if Relena minds me taking her to the park with Ezra."
"Roger that. We'll rendezvous at 1300 hours at Wacdonald's for mess."
"Operation: Playdate confirmed, agent Hades."
"Move out, agent Persephone." They exchanged a mock salute before marching off towards their respective destinations.
*
One Hour Later, 12 PM, Lady Une's Office
Hilde knocked tentatively at the door to the Head of the Preventers office. She still couldn't believe that for five years of friendship, Relena had kept something so major as her child secret. Oh, Gods! Hilde just realized something she forgot.... What was she supposed to say!? She'd sound like an idiot, just coming up because of something Duo had told her. She hadn't seen Relena for over a year, with the exception of phone conversations, and here she was just about to waltz in and ask if her newly discovered daughter would like to go out to the park and lunch with her and Ezra! She was startled out of her reverie by the door swinging open and Lady Une's face filling her vision.
"Agent Persephone?"
"Uh, I'm sorry to disturb you, ma'am."
"No, it's quite all right. What brings you to my office?"
"Um, well, you see ... Duo--"
"Ah. I think this would be better to discuss inside," she moved aside and gestured for her to enter.
"Of course, ma'am," Hilde nodded and entered, walking straight into Relena's unabashed gaze. Hilde almost jumped, she was so startled to see her when the room had appeared empty just two second ago.
"So you know?" Relena asked. It was more of a statement really, but Relena was too polite to assume anything. Hilde simply nodded in response. "We didn't think Duo would be able to keep it from you for five minutes. I'm surprised you didn't come up an hour ago." Hilde giggled nervously at the comment.
"I would have, but I had paperwork to finish up."
"Ah, at least one of you has the presence of mind to remember your job once in a while. Your husband does excellent work in the field, but his attention to procedure leaves something to be desired."
"He's just not a desk-job sort of person; that's why they work so well together, Lady." Hilde smiled gratefully as Relena spoke up in Duo's defense, even if she was getting stuck as his "Gal Friday." Damn, she'd been hanging around Duo too long, picking up his slang. Relena turned her attention wearily back to Hilde, "I'm sure you have plenty of questions and accusations for me, and I'll be glad to stand your interrogation, but I'm afraid it'll have to wait. I'm needed A.S.A.P. at the Lunar Peace Conference Facility to organize an emergency Summit Meeting in regards to the recent terrorist attacks against former military leaders. So I have a nine hour flight and seven hours to make it in, once I make my own arrangements, prepare my speech, pack Hope off to my mother, convince her that I'll be home soon and she'll have fun, reassure the public as to our control over the situation, and give my secretary a pep talk to convince her that she can survive two weeks without me." She said in one breath, and then stood looking slightly dazed by the impossible list of duties she'd rattled off.
"Actually," Hilde cut in tentatively, "I was just coming up to see if you'd be interested in taking an active role in Operation: Playdate, but don't worry about it. I can see that this is obviously a bad time for-"
"This is one of the better days I've had in the last two months."
"Well, I ... hey, Relena, you know if you really have your back to the wall right now, Duo and I wouldn't mind taking Hope while you're on the Moon. I mean, it would save you the trip out to your Mother's, and she might see it as more of an adventure than having to stay with her grandmother."
"I couldn't impose on you like that. Hope is a real handful, and you need to watch her 24/7."
"So we've come to find out. But it's really no problem. We've had lots of practice with Ezra," Hilde smiled. The smile spread to Relena as she mused over the many misadventures that had been relayed to her via her vidphone conversations with the Maxwell parents. "We'll be heading back to L2 tonight, so we can see you off at the spaceport before catching our own flight out. How does that sound?"
"What about Duo? You haven't exactly had time to talk this over with him."
"He'll love it! We both really want to get to know Hope, and this is the perfect opportunity, not to mention, we can relieve you of some stress. So what do you say?" Relena seemed too caught off guard to come up with a reasonable argument, so she simply caved.
"Sure, why not? I guess I'll tell her the good news." Relena turned and walked across the room to a side door to the right of Lady Une's desk. She opened it and poked her head in.
"OK, punishment time is over; you can come out." The girl walked out, her eyes downcast until she became aware of the extra presence in the room. She glanced up at her mother, apparently knowing what was expected of her. She walked across the room and stopped in front of the young woman she recognized from her brief glace in the cafeteria. Hilde was baffled.
"Good afternoon. My name is Hope Nadeshiko Darlian Peacecraft. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." She looked to her mother for confirmation. Relena nodded to the apprehensive violet eyes.
"What a well mannered young lady! Maybe you'll rub off on Ezra if we're lucky! My name is Hilde Maxwell, Duo's wife, and the pleasure is all mine. How are you, this afternoon?"
"Fine, thank you," she said practicedly.
"I have to go to the Moon tonight and-"
"No!" Hope exclaimed before her mother could finish. "I don't want you to go away again!" she ended, obviously upset.
"I'm very sorry, Hope, but this is unavoidable. You know about what's been going on. I need to try and fix this."
"Why can't someone else fix it? Why does everyone make you do everything?" Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill, and wrenching Relena's heart. Nevertheless, she had to be firm or she would never leave for the Moon, and they really needed her this time.
"Hilde has graciously offered to have you stay with them," she continued. "How would you like that? Your first trip off the Earth."
"Off the Earth?"
"Yes. Duo, Hilde, and their son Ezra live on the L2 colony. So how would you like that instead of going to stay with Grandma?"
"I would like that very much," she said quietly, knowing she had lost.
*
Six Hours Later, 6:22 PM, Preventer Spaceport, New London HQ, Closed Launch.
"Sweetheart ... it's time to let go of Mommy now ... she has to get on the shuttle. Baby, you're cutting off Mommy's circulation. It's only for two weeks, you'll have lots of fun playing with Ezra." With much coaxing Relena pried the clinging child off of her leg and transferred her to Hilde's arms. After a barrage of kisses she turned to finally head for the rolling staircase waiting for her to ascend, only to be stopped by a resounding "Waaaaaaaait!" Relena turned back half alarmed and half exhausted to see Hope had wrestled her way free of Hilde's grasp and was staring up at her tearfully.
"You forgot Daddy's bear! I need Mister Snuffullufagus!"
Relena's face softened as she crouched for one final embrace, "Sweetie, he's packed up nice and safe in your bag, I made sure Pargon put him there especially. Okay? Duo and Hilde will call me for you as soon as you get there and you can tell me how nice it is."
"Okaaaaay..." Hope whimpered as she finally allowed herself to be led away to the shuttle that would take her to L2, exchanging the occasional glare in response to the Maxwell Child's stare.
*
By lunchtime on the second day of the flight, conditions had improved between them only by virtue of Duo's intervention. Left alone, there was something of a communication gap dividing the fourteenth generation Peacecraft and the second generation Maxwell.
When Hilde's fretting became intolerable Duo finally blurted, "At least he didn't shoot her twice!" Hilde looked at him as if he'd grown another head and he gave up the argument. Relena would have laughed.
"Would it be better if he shot her once?" she questioned the empty space where Duo had been. Sighing, he made his way back to the cafeteria section where the two short people were supposed to be eating cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Quietly. Neither the short people nor their meals were anywhere in sight.
An extensively trained soldier, Duo did not panic. Much. Before he could begin an exhaustive search for the fugitives, he was unwittingly alerted to their whereabouts by a crash, the sound of gushing water, and yelling. In that order. Two miniature spies came tearing out of the Men's Restroom, one in suspiciously pink overalls, and the other dripping wet. With the skill born of stealth operations combined with parenting, he managed to catch hold of both in one outstretched arm before they could make their escape.
"What. Did. You. Do." He wasn't sure he wanted to hear this. After a few moments of hoarse sputtering, Ezra met his face with impossibly wide eyes, as if he didn't believe what had happened himself.
"She didn't believe me 'bout urinals," he stated as if that explained everything.
"So you decided to show her; I can follow that much. What happened?"
"Well, someone was coming in and girls can't be in the boy's room, so we hid in a stall and were standing on the toilet ... and ... she," he pointed accusingly, "wanted to see how someone could make while standing up so I helped her look over the door and ... it fell down."
"And you fell in," Duo finished in disbelief.
Before he could say anything more, Ezra noted the "your-ass-is-grass" look in his eyes and piped up at the top of his lungs, "Help! Somebody help me!" In his surprise Duo let him slip out of his grasp and the wailing boy latched on to the nearest staring bystander, "Help! He beats me! I have scars all over! He'll tie me up in the backyard and hit me with a chain again! You won't let him hurt me, will you mister?!"
Hope looked on in pure admiration.
"I do not beat my son! Ezra Mikhail Maxwell, I'm going to kill you! That's a figure of speech! What are you looking at!? Just wait until I tell your mother!"
An hour, several explanations, and a trip to the brig later, Hilde escorted her seething husband back to their seats in the main compartment, where two apparent angels were quietly playing "Go-Fish."
"Daddy, what's 'battered child syndrome?'" Hilde quickly hushed him.
"When we get home, you are going to be in trouble for a long, long time," Duo said frighteningly calmly.
"A lot of trouble...?"
"Do you remember the time you hot-wired your teacher's car and you couldn't help in the scrapyard for a month?"
"Yes...."
"More trouble than that."
"Oh...."
"Post-traumatic stress -- he was in the war," Hilde whispered to the lady sitting next to them.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*