Alphabet Soup

Chapter Four

I don't know if this is supposed to happen when you're writing, but when I was writing this chapter, I laughed out loud once and even got a few warm, fuzzy feelings. Thank you all very much for the kind reviews! To those who reviewed and asked that I keep this story going, don't worry, guys! I'm not one to stop a story like this, and besides, I think I'm only gonna have three or four more chapters after this one! No worries! Oh, and zephryn73509, concerning your question . . . um, I actually have no idea how Alex made a colony built entirely from Legos blow up. I guess I wasn't really thinking about how that would work when I was writing it. By all means, it doesn't really make sense, does it? Mind boggling indeed! Oh, well, maybe in the future all children have Exploding Legos! Hee, hee, hee! Good question, though!

Anyways, read away, everyone!

Alex sat at the table and watched Heero with interest, his little legs dangling far above the floor. After a few minutes of trying to peel the same hard-boiled egg, the child had grown bored of helping "Uncle Heero" and decided to pursue a more interesting activity . . . staring at Heero like there was no tomorrow. The ex-Gundam pilot could sense the child's intent gaze, but he ignored it and continued peeling and slicing the hard-boiled eggs. A few minutes of uneasy silence passed, and Heero began to wish that Alex would say something instead of staring at him with that calculating, absorbed gaze that made the child look so much like Zechs.

"Uncle Heero?"

Heero let out his breath. Finally! He paused in peeling an egg to look over his shoulder at the little boy. "What is it?"

Alex's tiny brow was furrowed in concentration, and he stared hard at the bowl of eggs sitting in front of Heero on the counter. "Are we gonna eat those?"

Heero nodded and turned back to his peeling. "Yep."

"Oh," said Alex, nodding. "Okay."

Rolling his eyes, Heero scowled and chipped off a particularly stubborn piece of shell.

"Hey, Uncle Heero?"

Gritting his teeth, Heero sighed heavily and turned around to stare at Alex. "What?"

Alex cocked his head to the side, pale blond bangs falling into his eyes as he looked hard at the slender man. "Where did those eggs come from?"

Heero paused in peeling the egg. "Um . . . the supermarket." Unless the Merquise family had recently taken up chicken farming.

"Oh." The child looked seriously up at him and raised an eyebrow. "'Cause Uncle Duo told me somethin' different."

Huh, boy. Here we go. Heero turned to look at Alex, one eyebrow raised. "Oh, really?" he asked cautiously. "What did he tell you?"

Deadpan, Alex replied, "Uncle Duo told me that eggs come from a chicken's ass."

Heero's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he stared, flabbergasted. "Huh?"

Not noticing the adult's reaction to his statement, Alex folded his hands in front of him seriously as he kicked his legs back and forth under the table. "Is that true, Uncle Heero?"

Heero cleared his throat awkwardly. "Er . . . well . . ."

Alex was watching him closely, awaiting a response.

Heero reached up to tug on a lock of unruly hair, frowning at the child as he tried to think of a way to reply. "Um . . . yeah," he mumbled after a minute. "I guess they do."

Alex looked impressed with this information, but after a moment, he wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Then why do we eat them?" he asked curiously.

For the second time in the past minute, Heero was at a loss for words. He stared at Alex as the little boy stared back, neither speaking for a long, silent moment. Then, wordlessly, Heero grabbed the eggs, put them in the refrigerator, and began rummaging around the kitchen. Seconds later, he produced two large cans from the pantry and placed them on the counter where the eggs had been, then turned to look seriously at the child.

"Do you like alphabet soup?"

Alex nodded eagerly, and Heero smirked. "Okay."

As Alex looked on, he opened the cans of soup and poured the contents into a small pot that was sitting on the stove.

"Hey, Uncle Heero?"

"Yeah?"

"Why does Daddy not like you?"

Heero stopped what he was doing, his eyebrows raising. He thought hard about the question for a moment, but each time he thought of a reply, it didn't seem . . . suitable.

Because I defeated him in battle and he's a sore loser.

No.

Because he's my arch-nemesis and we hate each other's guts.

Not likely.

Because Zechs Merquise is an arrogant, prissy, egotistical son of a . . .

Relena would kill him.

Finally he shrugged and said, "Well, I guess it's because of your aunt."

Alex looked confused. "Aunt Relena?" he asked. "But why?"

Heero's brow furrowed as he stirred the heating soup. "Well . . . I guess . . . I guess your dad wants to protect her," he replied after a moment, looking over his shoulder at the child. Upon seeing Alex's confused expression, Heero sighed and turned to face him, crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter. "You see, Alex, when you care about someone very much, you want to make sure they're safe and no one hurts them. That's all your dad's doing."

The confused look on the boy's face suddenly became tinged with annoyance. "But you wouldn't hurt Aunt Relena," Alex said, scowling a little. "You're nice."

Try as he might, Heero couldn't suppress the tiny smile that came with the boy's words. "I would never hurt Relena," he agreed. "But your dad doesn't know that." Heero turned back to the soup to stir it again. "Since Relena is his little sister, he's very protective of her. He wants to make sure she's always safe and happy. Does that make sense?"

"I guess so," said Alex doubtfully. Heero turned to him again, his expression patient.

"I think you'll understand if you ever have a little brother or sister," he said, mentally hoping any other Merquise offspring will take after their mother and not their father. "Your dad only wants what's best for your Aunt Relena, that's all. Do you understand?"

Alex nodded, smiling, and Heero turned back to the heating soup. But he only had a few seconds to stir the soup because as soon as he turned his back, Alex said, "Hey, Uncle Heero?"

Heero suppressed a sigh and looked back at the child. "Yeah?"

Alex's expression was serious as he said, "You like Aunt Relena, don't you?"

Heero stopped. What was it with this kid and these questions? Was he really this nosy and talkative (note to self: strongly advise Noin not to let Alex spend prolonged amounts of time in the company of one Duo Maxwell), or had his father put him up to this bizarre interrogation? Both cautious and curious, Heero turned his body completely so he could look at Alex. He studied the child's face for a moment, and, after finding no evidence of motives other than simple curiosity, he cleared his throat.

"Yes, Alex," he replied, his voice suddenly much quieter. "I like your Aunt Relena very much."

Alex smiled at those words, but he wasn't done yet. "Are you gonna marry her?" he asked curiously, cocking his head to the side.

Heero's heartbeat suddenly sped up. "W-what?"

"Mommy says people get married when they like each other a whole lot," replied Alex, kicking his feet back and forth. "You said you like Aunt Relena, and she likes you back, so are you gonna marry her?"

Heero wasn't one to blush . . . ever . . . but he felt an unmistakable heat wash over his cheeks at those words. He thought of a small box he had been carrying around with him the past few days and put a hand over the object in his pocket as he swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair, gritting his teeth.

"Uh, we'll see."

"Oh. Okay," said Alex, propping his chin up on his hand as he kicked his feet back and forth. He looked thoughtfully at the unusually fidgety Heero. "Hey, Uncle Heero?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope you marry Aunt Relena."

Dark blue eyes widened. "You do?" Heero asked, swallowing hard again. "Why?"

"'Cause I like you. And then you'd be my uncle for real, wouldn't you?"

"Uh, I guess so." Heero let out his breath and turned back to the child. "Hey, Alex, can I ask you to do something for me?"

"Sure!" said Alex, looking eager.

Dark eyebrows furrowed as Heero looked seriously at the boy. "Never tell anyone about this conversation. Understood?"

Alex nodded vigorously. "Yep! 'Specially Daddy, right?"

Heero blinked, then a small smirk curved his lips. "That's right," he said, bringing a bowl of soup to the table and setting it in front of the child. "You're a pretty smart kid."

"Isn't he, though?" asked a voice from the doorway. Alex and Heero turned to look at Relena as she walked into the kitchen. Her damp blond hair hung limply around her shoulders, and she was drying it with a fluffy blue towel she had gotten from the bathroom.

"Hi, Aunt Relena!" squealed Alex, his mouth full of noodles.

Relena moved to Heero's side as he turned to face her. She noticed that his cheeks were tinged faintly pink, but she dismissed it, shaking her head briefly. She must have imagined it. Heero never blushed.

Then again, Heero never smiled. Or laughed. Yet he had done both of those things more than once in the past hour. Would wonders never cease?

Heero held out a spoon and a steaming bowl of soup, a surprisingly soft look on his face. "Here," he said quietly. "You like alphabet soup?"

Relena looked into his eyes for a moment before smiling and taking them from him gratefully. She continued to stare at him for a moment, then she looked down at her soup and her expression grew confused as if some piece of information was just dawning on her.

"Wait," she said, looking around. "Alphabet soup? What happened to the hard-boiled eggs?"

Heero stopped. Alex was watching him, a big grin on his face. The two shared a significant glance, then Heero cleared his throat and turned to Relena.

"We were . . . ah . . . struck by a moment of enlightenment and decided to have soup instead," he replied, deadpan.

Relena raised and eyebrow and crossed her arms as she studied the two. "Really?"

Heero nodded and poured himself some soup as Alex burst into giggles at the kitchen table. Relena blinked at them, then cocked her head to the side. "Are you two keeping a secret from me?"

Alex's giggles grew even louder as Heero shook his head, smiled, then looked over his shoulder at Alex. "Of course not," he said. "Right Alex?"

And he winked at the child.

Alex giggled. "Right!"

Relena had to do a double-take. Did Heero actually just wink? she thought incredulously. Oh, God. First he starts laughing, and now he's winking. If he tells me he's growing his hair in a braid, I'm leaving. She let out her breath, fluttering her lips.

"Okay," she said out loud, shaking her head. "I don't think I want to know."

"You don't," Heero said.

Alex hopped down from his chair, still giggling, and he ran to Relena's side. "Hey, hey, Aunt Relena?" he said, tugging her skirt. "Aunt Relena?"

She smiled down at him, brushing still-damp hair over her shoulder. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Can we eat our soup in the living room?" Alex asked, his eyes wide. "I promise I won't spill nothin'!"

Relena frowned. "Alex, I don't know if your parents would want me letting you . . ."

"Please, Aunt Relena?" he begged, hopping up and down. "Pretty please?"

But before she could reply, Heero nodded said, "Sure, Alex. Go ahead."

"Yay!" cried the child, running to the table and grabbing his bowl of soup. "Thank you, Uncle Heero!"

Relena turned a disapproving look in Heero's direction as Alex ran from the kitchen into the living room.

"Heero . . ." she started, but he only grabbed his soup bowl and looked back at the frowning blonde.

"Don't look at me like that, Relena," he said. "He promised he wouldn't spill anything."

Relena was still clutching her own bowl of soup, and she shook her head. "Heero, he's four years old," she said bluntly, raising an eyebrow. "He's going to spill something."

Heero shrugged, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Well, we'll just have to be there to clean it up, won't we?"

Then, as Relena gave him a strange look, the soldier grabbed her free hand and began pulling her after him into the living room. The blonde's eyes were wide as he led her into the other room, and then she sighed, shaking her head.

"Sometimes I just don't get you," she muttered.

Well, now we're getting somewhere! Wa-ha-ha, the things I put Heero through. When he was left for a few minutes alone with Alex, I bet he wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition.

(The Monty Python men run in, dressed in red)

"No one EVER expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

Eep! (Run away! Run away!)

Do review, pretty please?