Disclaimer-I don't own Gundam Wing

Lynn-Hey, you spelled a review right! Ducks Just kidding. Just refrain from any form of net-speak, okay?

October, AC 184

"Hikaru? Hikaru!"

Hikaru looked up from where he was playing. His current plaything consisted of a GI doll with half a left arm, a missing leg, and a mauled head from when he had wrestled it from a dog's mouth, at the expense of the GI's eye, cheek, and half his nose.

"Uh-huh?" Hikaru called back.

"Where are you, honey?"

"The living room," he answered.

Aralia entered the living room, her blonde hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, wiping her hands with a dish towel. "Mama's having company tonight, so if you hear someone at the door, you know what to do, right?"

"Hide in the boiler room closet until you come and get me, right, Mama?"

"Good boy." Aralia leaned over and ruffled his chocolate brown hair. He shared the sharp shape of her own blonde locks but took his hair color from a mix between Gendo and Heero. "And if Mama has to leave, you wait until everyone has left, and then you run upstairs and Mrs. Preskov will look after you, all right?"

"Uh-huh." Hikaru averted his attention once again to his GI.

"You!" Aralia grabbed Hikaru by the underarms and whisked him into the air, him gripping the GI even as he flew, as it seemed to him. "Mama loves you, you know that?" She turned him around and planted a kiss on his nose. "Who loves you, Hikaru?"

"Mama does."

"That's right. Does anyone in the whole Earth Sphere love you as much as Mama does?"

"Uh-uh. 'Specially not Papa."

Aralia seemed to freeze for a moment. Her gleeful eyes faltered for a few seconds, though her smile spread as if to make up for it. "That's right, Hikaru. Papa doesn't love you nearly as much as Mama does."

"Nope." Hikaru stuck the GI's ruined head in his mouth and began chewing on it.

"I'm sure that's not tasty, Hikaru," Aralia said, pulling the toy from his mouth. "Are you hungry?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, dinner's almost ready, just as soon as you hear a Ding!, we'll sit down and eat. Now, you know what'll get you nice and hungry?"

"The flowers!" Hikaru yelled triumphantly.

"That's right, my smart little boy!" Aralia tossed him into the air a few inches and caught him again. "I'll go get a blanket and we'll sit outside until dinner's ready."

She sat him on the ground and went to retrieve the faded-yellow quilt that she had made long before Hikaru's birth. She returned to the living room and took Hikaru's hand, leading him through the warmth of their small apartment's kitchen, and through the back door. The cold October wind cut through their long-sleeved shirts, but Aralia sat down on the wooden platform that served as a back porch, sat Hikaru in her lap, and draped the quilt over her shoulders, making sure she covered every bit of Hikaru except his head with it.

Arrayed before them was a sea of yellow daisies, carefully tended by Aralia on Saturdays, owned by the middle-aged landlady, Mrs. Preskov, who lived in the apartment above, and dearly loved by Hikaru. Many a day Aralia would come home from work to see the landlady swaying back and forth on a rocking chair, watching Hikaru as he, with the careful precision of a toddler, peeled open flowers to investigate within.

"What do you like about the daisies, Hikaru?" Aralia asked.

"They're pretty."

"And why are they pretty?" she asked coyly.

"'Cause Mama tends them," he answered promptly.

She laughed and kissed the top of his head. "Mama tends them with love, and that's why they're pretty. I grow them for you, Hikaru."

"Thank you."

"No need, sweetheart." She tickled him, and he squirmed underneath the blanket. "I just do it to make you happy." She took hold of his sides and turned him around so he was looking up into her face. "Now, someday when you're all grown up, you're gonna have someone you love. You're gonna have someone to grow flowers for. Now, promise me that you won't forget to grow those flowers for them?"

"I won't," Hikaru promised solemnly.

"Good boy." She kissed his forehead, and then his nose, and then turned him around so he faced the flowers.

"Did Papa grow you flowers?" Hikaru asked.

Aralia's breath gave a quick gasp at the abruptness of the question. Hikaru enjoyed the topic of his father's disappearance, drinking up every detail she saw fit to give him, as it only fueled his love for her. Aralia, however, feared the topic, thinking it might make her bitter towards her own son.

"Papa grew flowers for me, yes," Aralia said slowly. She paused and thought of Gendo. She had met him one year after her father's death as she struggled to find work. He was secure in his finances as a retired Alliance general, rich from his own gains and his pension. He had hired her as a maid in his mansion. A fairy tale romance later, they were married.

The politics of the situation though—a dyed-in-the-wool Alliance supporter and Heero Yuy's daughter—was enough to drive them apart, not even their son becoming a connection. She had never heard from him again after she had ripped up the note and dropped it in the wastebasket. Hikaru had neither meeting nor picture that spelled out his father to him, only his curiosity paving the way for knowing the man whose name he had taken.

"But the flowers died," she continued. "And he was so upset at the flowers dying that he left." Her countenance saddened for a moment, and she rested her chin on his head.

"Mama?" Hikaru leaned his head back so his Prussian blue eyes stared up into her ocean-colored ones.

She smiled at him, a smile both happy and sad. "But he left me one flower, the most beautiful flower of all. He left me you."

"Silly. I'm not a flower."

"You're MY flower," Aralia said, hugging him close to her stomach.

Hikaru made a small noise and settled into comfort against her torso. For a few moments, all that surrounded mother and child were the daisies swaying in the breeze.

The moment ended with the egg timer going off.

"That's dinner, Hikaru," Aralia said. "Still hungry?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Well, I am, too," Aralia said. She gently pushed Hikaru off her lap and stood, undraping the quilt from her shoulders. "Let's go in and eat, Hikaru, I don't want the meatloaf to get cold."

Hikaru shut the door behind him and crouched in a tight ball beside the large boiler, leaning his head in the crack between the wall and the cylindrical metal of the boiler. The room was comfortably warm, and the door was permeable enough to allow him to hear conversations between his mother and her guests.

"Oh, Odin, it's just you."

"Yeah, the others still think it's too risky to show up here all at once."

"Go into the kitchen and get yourself some dinner. I'm going to make sure Hikaru knows that it's okay to come out."

Aralia's hand was on the doorknob when Hikaru's was, and she nearly tripped backwards as Hikaru pushed as she pulled.

"Odin's here?" Hikaru asked needlessly.

"Yes. Come on, let's go to the kitchen." She took his hand and led him down the hall and into the kitchen.

"Hello, Hikaru," Odin said, peering over the tabletop at the boy as Aralia sat down and pulled him into her lap. She sat at the head of the table, and he at the first seat to her right.

"Hello," Hikaru responded, twisting the tablecloth around his pointer finger.

"So, what've you found out?" Aralia asked.

Odin took a sip of coffee he had poured from the leftovers of this morning. "Not anything good. The Alliance is still planning to take over this colony."

"And what are they planning to do?"

He took another sip, harder and angrier this time. "Subjugate the population. Draft any man or woman of military age, regardless of circumstance, into their army. Exploit our resource satellite, and of course, blame the Winner family for it. Basically become a military dictatorship. As per usual."

"When?" Aralia asked, her voice calm but her nervousness showing through her sudden need to pet Hikaru's hair. "Regardless of circumstance"…should she be drafted forcibly, they'd leave her child to starve. She knew of the war orphans in other colonies, mostly the L2 colonies, who were taking care of themselves by stealing from the already poor people. That was not the life she wanted for Hikaru. He didn't know the first thing about stealing, and how much could he possibly be able to pull off should he try? His 4th birthday was still a month off, there was no way someone as young as he could survive without her.

"Couldn't work out the exact date, but most likely within this month." He sipped again for a long time, thinking things over. When he put down the cup, he looked directly at Aralia.

"I think it's time for you to leave, Aralia."

"What?" She was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's obvious what you're worried about." Hikaru looked up as Odin's hand swept toward him. "I'd take him in myself, but unless you really want an assassin raising your kid…especially this assassin…"

He trailed off. Aralia's face seemed blank. She gently pulled Hikaru's hands off the tablecloth and held them in her lap.

"If you were still working against our cause," she said, quietly but with fierce eye contact, "I would shoot you on sight. As it is I'm already disobeying Papa's teachings against revenge and bloodshed. But seeing as you're now on my side, I will not hold Papa's death against you. I hold it against Septem. But should you ever betray me…" She slammed her hand on the table. "I will not hesitate to kill you."

Odin's hand was suddenly on top of hers. "That's one thing you can be sure of, Aralia, I won't betray you."

Aralia seemed to freeze for a moment. Hikaru stared at Odin's hand on top of his mother's. Very slowly, without knowing just what it meant but knowing it meant something important, he tentatively reached out and placed his own small hand on top of Odin's.

The spell seemed broken. Aralia pulled her hand out from the bottom of the pile and guided Hikaru's away.

"No, Odin."

He was silent for a moment, staring at the table where all of them had contributed a small piece of their respective heart. Then he cleared his throat.

"Think about what I'm saying," he said, in a clear, emotionless voice. "This will be a bigger battle than we're used to. If you really want to risk your life, you should at least secure some means for him to survive without becoming a vagabond. If you'd prefer to live, I advise getting out of here now."

"Thanks for your advice," she said, equally passive.

"Aralia…I didn't want to tell you this, but I guess I have to. Midorikawa is going to head this battle."

Her eyes widened for a split second, but swiftly melted into a glare.

"Papa's leading a battle?" Hikaru asked, staring up at Aralia.

"Hikaru, please go into the living room and shut the door behind you."

"Okay." Hikaru slid off her lap and padded across the room. When the click of the knob aligning with the door jamb was heard, Aralia let out a string of swear words in both English and Russian that even Odin flinched at.

"He was serious. He would really kill Hikaru and me," she spat bitterly. "I won't let him. He'll be blown to bits before I let him lay eyes upon Hikaru, let alone harm him."

"Then what? Suppose you do kill him. You'll be on the run. Imagine how Hikaru will live as a fugitive. And you might have to abandon him on the way, for his own good. He's already missing a father, what would he do without a mother? And if you get killed while trying to destroy Midorikawa…"

Aralia was silent.

"You should leave, Aralia. Leave your revenge until Hikaru can live on his own. Midorikawa will get his, but you don't want it to backlash on your child, do you?"

More silence answered Odin's statement. Odin stared at Aralia for minutes that seemed like hours, but her face was somewhere far away.

"Fine…I will leave." She turned back towards him. "But I do have a condition."

"What?"

"Next time I hear of Midorikawa, you might not be around to talk me out of killing him. And should the incident of my death by him come to pass, it's you I want to look after Hikaru."

"Me?"

"Who else? You'll be the last one left after the Alliance takes over this colony."

"But I just told you, how will he live as a fugitive?"

"This is the worst-case scenario, Odin. You'll take him if I die. As soon as he's ready to live on his own, you can leave him where you know he'll be safe. But until then, you'll be his father."

"Is that the closest I'll ever get to being his father?" Odin shot at her.

Aralia did not flinch. Her eyes never breaking contact with his, she nodded her head.

Odin swore quietly. He pulled a cigarette and a lighter out of his pocket.

"Don't smoke in my house. It's bad for my son."

"You'd drive any man to smoking, Aralia." He slowly put the items away. "If we make it out of this war, I swear I'll make you mine."

"Challenge extended," she deadpanned, without sarcasm. "Do you agree to my conditions?"

"Yeah."

"Good…and thank you."

She stood from the table, and he followed suite. Both passed through the doorway.

"You shouldn't eavesdrop, Hikaru," Aralia said without looking at her son.

"…Sorry."

"Just don't do it again, Hikaru, it's impolite." She led Odin towards the door and opened it. The October night was slowly settling into freezing cold, and the synthetic stars of the colony were shining. The constellation Orion was showing.

"Really should teach the kids some manners," Odin commented.

"When you are a single mother with a toddler and a two-digit job, you can lecture me on teaching manners."

Odin did not remark. He stared at Aralia for a long time, and she did not look away. Then, with the speed of lighting, his hands were on her face and his lips on hers. The kiss lasted for an eternal three seconds that numbed Aralia's mind, and all she wanted to do was respond to the warmth of it, a warmth she had not felt for over 4 years.

As soon as it began it was over. Odin released her face, muttered a quick farewell, and left the door swinging open as he walked down the driveway, turned onto the sidewalk, and disappeared into the night beyond the dimly-lit streetlamps.

Aralia slowly and methodically shut the door as she turned. Hikaru slid off the couch and ran to her, wrapping his arms around her legs.

"Are you okay, Mama?" he asked eagerly, looking up at her.

"I'm fine, Hikaru." She knelt down to his level and stroked the side of his face. "Listen up, sweetheart. We have to go away for a while. Now, if I go missing, you get to the nearest safe place and Odin will find you when he can, okay?"

"Okay."

"And understand this, Hikaru. That man, Odin Lowe, loves you more than your Papa does, or ever did."

"But you love me most, right Mama?"

"But I love you most," she answered, kissing his forehead. "Off to bed now, Hikaru, we have a big day coming up."

She stood and took his hand. She took him down the hallway and tucked him into bed. To his sleepy "'Night" she responded by blowing a kiss. As she flicked off the light and shut the door behind her, she sunk to the floor and cried.