Alphabet Soup
Chapter Two
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"Zechs?"
No answer.
"Zechs . . . ?"
After receiving no reply again, Noin peered quizzically at her husband over the top of her menu and crinkled her nose up at the sight of Zechs' blank expression. She sighed and lowered her menu, studying the blond man through eyes that were gleaming with curiosity and just a bit of annoyance.
"Zechs . . ."
He blinked, but other than that, Zechs remained motionless, his clear blue eyes peering at the menu in front of him but not really focusing on the words printed on it. Noin sighed again, louder this time, and she shifted in her chair, rolling her eyes a bit as she leaned forward over the table to stare her husband in the face.
"Zeeeechs . . ."
He wrinkled his nose, shifted a bit, and continued staring ahead blankly. Noin, her curiosity now completely gone, suppressed the urge to kick him.
"Come on, Zechs," she growled softly, biting her teeth together. "The Lighting Count would never display such a lack of focus in battle, would he?"
But the Lightning Count was not currently in battle and didn't respond.
Noin scowled, ripped Zechs' menu out of his hands, and whacked him over the head with it.
"Zechs!"
Clear blue eyes widened as Zechs tensed abruptly. "Luc? What is it? Has Yuy killed my son?"
Noin regarded him with a flat expression and pointed wordlessly at the annoyed waiter who was waiting to take Zechs' order. Zechs looked relieved.
"Oh," he sighed, relaxing visibly. "Water, please."
The waiter frowned as Noin raised an eyebrow.
"Um . . . honey . . ." Noin whispered, reaching across the table and taking Zechs' arm. "We ordered our drinks five minutes ago."
Zechs blinked at her, then turned to the waiter, then looked back at Noin. "We . . . did . . . ?" he asked slowly. "What did I order?"
Noin and the waiter exchanged glances as Zechs began staring bewilderedly at the menu in front of him.
"He'll just have what I'm having," she said sweetly.
The waiter wrinkled his nose in annoyance as he quickly jotted down the order, snatched the menus from the table, and walked away, grumbling.
Zechs watched the man for a moment. "How rude."
Noin frowned at him. "Well, he had been waiting a long time for your order."
The tall man blinked. "Really? What for?"
Noin opened her mouth to reply, then shook her head and sighed. "Never mind, dear."
It was going to be a long night.
ooooo
"Finished!" Alex cried happily.
Heero and Relena turned from the pile of Legos on the floor to look at the beaming youngster.
"Let's see it," Relena smiled, setting down the small house she built.
Alex grinned and proudly held up two oddly-shaped . . . things. Relena stared at them, looking slightly puzzled as she tried to figure out what they were. "Um . . . wow, Alex . . ." she said after a moment. "Those are . . . really, um . . . nice."
Alex blinked at his aunt, then his pride seemed to leave him, and he looked doubtfully at his creations, deflating visibly.
"Don't you recognize them?" he asked, his lower lip sticking out slightly.
"Er . . . of course!" Relena said hurriedly. "They're, uh . . ."
"Colonies."
Relena turned and blinked at Heero as Alex grinned widely, obviously pleased.
"That's right, Uncle Heero!" he cried happily.
Heero set down the miniature Wing Zero he had been building from Legos and looked at the little boy's model of the colonies.
"This one's . . . A0206, right?" he asked, looking rather impressed.
"Yep." Alex beamed proudly up at the man.
"And . . ." Heero examined another one, raising an eyebrow. He stopped, his gaze turning incredulous as he looked back at the little boy. "X18999?"
"Yep! You're good, Uncle Heero!"
Relena stared at the model of X18999 for a moment, then snorted softly at the memory of that particular colony as Heero smiled slightly and handed the two Lego colonies back to Alex.
"Those are quite impressive," he remarked with a smirk. "I see your father is educating you well."
"Mm-hmm," grinned the boy.
Relena smiled and affectionately patted the top of her nephew's pale blond head. "Those were very nice, Alex," she said sweetly. "You're quite the little architect."
"Thanks," he chirped. Then, grinning widely, he said, "Wanna see what they can do?"
The two adults blinked at him. "Huh?"
"Lookey," Alex said, picking up the model of X18999.
Heero and Relena watched closely as the little boy began to fiddle with a small, building-block constructed mechanism in the side of the colony, then he set it down and stepped away from it. Heero and Relena watched the small colony, then they looked at Alex, who was staring at the model of X18999 with wide, anticipating eyes.
"3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . ." he counted down softly.
Suddenly X18999 exploded, sending small pieces of Legos flying through the air at blinding speeds. Relena let out a shrill scream as Heero threw an arm around her waist and pulled her to the floor, shielding her from the flying pieces. Alex, however, began to hop about, clapping and laughing happily.
"See?" he cried jubilantly. "It self-detonated!"
Relena opened her mouth in shock, staring with wide eyes at her nephew as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. "Alex!" she exclaimed in a voice that was an octave above her usual one. "Colonies are NOT to be blown up! And how on EARTH did you accomplish that with Legos? Just WHAT has Milliardo been . . . uh . . ."
She stopped, staring with huge eyes at Heero, who was doubled over in laughter.
"Heero?" she asked fearfully.
The slender man's shoulders were shaking with his convulsive laughter, and his dark blue eyes were shut tightly as he rolled around on the floor, clutching his stomach. Relena was horrified, having never seen Heero laugh so hard before, and she timidly leaned forward to look at his reddening face.
"Heero?" she breathed, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.
"That . . ." choked Heero, ". . . that was . . . priceless . . ."
Relena chuckled nervously as Heero continued laughing. Alex was staring at Heero with wide eyes, then he gazed at Relena, looking puzzled.
"What's wrong with Uncle Heero?" he asked, his tiny brow furrowed. "Didn't he like my colony?"
A forced grin curved Relena's lips as Heero's laughter began to subside. "Something tells me he liked it a little TOO much, Alex," she replied.
"Oh," the child said softly, turning back to Heero and watching the adult recover from his unusual giggle-fit. The phone rang suddenly, and Relena stood to her feet.
"I'll get that," she said, smiling at her nephew. "It's probably your mommy."
"'Kay," replied Alex absently, staring with wide, curious eyes at the still-chuckling Heero. Relena glanced at Heero, shook her head, and walked towards the ringing telephone.
"Just when I think I've got you figured out, Heero Yuy," she muttered, "you go and surprise me." Relena shook her head, bemused, and reached for the phone.
"Hello?"
The pretty blond diplomat suddenly grinned. "Lucrezia! Are you and Milliardo having a good time? . . . Good . . . How nice . . . What? Milliardo did what?"
Relena's eyes widened. "He chased down an ambulance? Why on Earth – Well, why did he think it was coming HERE? . . . Oh, of course. Do me a favor and tell my brother that Heero isn't about to kill Alex or I, so he can just relax . . . Oh, you've told him that already, have you? Well, I don't know what else to tell you . . . No, no, I'm sure it'll be fine.
"Hmm?" Relena shifted the phone on her ear and looked back to the living room where Alex and Heero were. "Yes, everything is going well here. We've been playing with Legos . . . Yes, Heero too . . . Oh, Lucrezia, stop laughing!
". . . So you'll be home in about two or three hours? That's fine, take your time, have fun, relax! . . . Well, I don't know if Milliardo will or not, but what can you do? Oh, it'll be okay, just go to the movies and have fun . . . Alright . . . Hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator for sandwiches? . . . Sounds good . . . Yes. . . . Have a good time, then. Okay. Goodbye."
Relena hung up the phone, shook her head, then walked back into the living room, grinning at Alex and Heero.
"So, who's hungry?"
Review. C'mon. Everyone's doing it. You know you wanna. Hee-hee. Peer pressure.