Chapter 31
Trowa and Reiming stood together silently on a rooftop. Three hours had passed since their
confrontation, and now both were lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Trowa spoke.
"I suppose I have some explaining to do to Giselle...and to Will. That is, if they
choose to listen."
"I will speak to Will."
Surprised, Trowa cast a sideways glance at his wife. "Why?" he asked, surprised.
"Will will not listen to you. He feels that you have betrayed his mother, the most
important person to him. But he has no history with me, other than the fact that I
'replaced' his mother in your affections." Turning to face her husband, she put a hand on
his cheek. "He has your stubborness," she said softly, stroking his cheek. "I can see
the resemblance; I wonder why I didn't see it sooner-"
"-because it is something you thought I would never do," Trowa said bitterly.
"It is behind us," she said simply. Sighing, she added, "And you will have a hard
enough of a time with Giselle as it is. Let me deal with Will."
elsewhere...
"Will! Stop that!"
Will ignored his friend and took another long drink from the whiskey bottle he had
pilfered when his Preventer escorts weren't looking. Wiping his mouth, he slurred,
"Wha? Why sthould I?" Breaking out into hysterical laughter, he said, "Anywaysh...life
shucks as it is. The sthing that I shwore to my mothsher...the last requesht tha she
made to me...jusht thurned out to be shum letter to my bashtard 'fodder!'"
Disgusted, Yuri stomped over to his glassy-eyed friend and tried to wrestle the bottle
away from him. "Give me that!" he snarled, trying to pry Will's fingers off. "Drinking
is the last-"
Suddenly, the door opened. Surprised, Yuri turned and released his hold on the bottle.
At that, Will took the opportunity to scurry off to a corner of the room, still giggling
to himself in his drunken stupor.
Heero glared at the two disheveled young men in front of him. "You!" he barked, indicating
to Yuri, "Out here!" When Yuri looked uncertainly at Will clutching his bottle, Heero
stormed into the room, yanked the bottle out of Will's hands, and stormed back out,
jerking his head at Yuri. "Satisfied?"
"Well, um-"
"I will deal with him."
Heero turned towards the voice. "Reiming," he acknowledged.
"Heero," she responded, nodding at him. Then she turned her attention back to
Will, who was attempting to "stealthily" sneak up on the Perfect Soldier and get his
alcohol back. Heero shot a Death Glare in his direction and tossed the bottle into a
trash can, eliciting a wail of distress from Will.
Reiming hid a smile at Will's drunken antics, then said, "Do what you need to do with Yuri.
I will deal with this one. Don't worry," she said, smiling thinly at Yuri's expression,
"I won't traumatize him...too badly. I'll just...sober him up."
a few minutes later...
"SHIT!!! What the FUCK is THIS?!"
Reiming had kept her end of the bargain, and she was now cooly observing Will...a very wet,
angry, sputtering Will who had found himself in a pool and tangled up with a laneline.
Spitting out water and disentangling himself from the clutches of the laneline, Will
glared angrily at Reiming, who had a perfectly neutral expression on her face. "Alright
Lady! What the HELL was THAT for?"
"Contrary to my brother's belief, his sons do occasionally steal sips of alcoholic
beverages. In order to save them from his wrath, I have found this method to be most
effective," she explained calmly.
Dragging himself out of the pool, Will snarled, "Yeah, well, I'm not your brother's kid,
so you can keep your nose OUT of MY business!"
"No...you are not my nephew. You are my husband's son."
Surprised, Will looked up. Then he sneered, "Oh...so YOU must be the legendary Chang
Reiming, the whore extraordinaire! I've heard stories about YOU."
Reiming's face showed no change. "Yes, that would be me when I was younger. It was a
matter of survival, though I'm not proud of it."
"Oh of course not! After all, how many different men did you sleep with in a week?
Five? Six?"
"My record was ten. Various soldiers would come in during the night, and leave in
the morning."
"How can you possibly be so calm about it then, if you're not proud of it?!"
"I've come to terms with it. Nothing can change the past, but we are all free to
influence the future."
"Yeah well, good for you, but to ME, you'll just always be a slut!" Will snarled,
then looked surprised when Reiming started to chuckle. "Hey...what's so funny?" he
demanded.
Reiming smiled at the baffled young man in front of her. "It's interesting...Here you are,
just sober five minutes ago, soaking wet, and as huffy as well, a wet cat, and I can still
see the resemblance you bear to your father. Trowa would never be caught dead in your
situation, but still..."
Tilting his head at her, Will said slowly, "Hey, Lady...I'm just not going to be able to
piss you off, am I?"
"No, I don't think you'll be able to. Ten, twenty years ago? I would have shot
you and danced on your corpse. Now? No, it'll take more than a wet and frustrated young
man to make me angry...especially when you are Trowa's son."
"He killed my mother. I will never acknowledge him as my father," Will said
bitterly, tears coming to his eyes.
"On that issue, you will have to settle with him yourself," she said gently,
casually pulling out some tissues and handing them to him. Then she gave him a gentle
push towards the building. "I've arranged for there to be a hot shower for you, as well
as dry clothes. Now hurry up and clean yourself up."
"Rei...Can I call you that? Why are you being so nice to me? I'm your husband's
former lover's bastard son...Aren't you supposed to hate me?"
"That may be true in a fairy tale, but unfortunately, this is reality. So, no.
And as for Rei...You may call me that, but only you! I've threatened to cut off Duo
Maxwell's braid plenty of times for butchering my name, but I'll make an exception for you.
In return, however, I want you to allow your father to talk to you. You have his
stubborness; I know it's not an easy request. But remember, we all have the power to
control our own futures, or at least influence their outcome. What will it be? A life
completely estranged from your own father, or perhaps a chance to reconcile yourself with
him, and to get some answers? It's up to you."
That said, Reiming left, leaving Will standing there in his own thoughts.
elsewhere...
"Come in here. Sit," Heero said curtly, gesturing to an open door. Yuri set his
jaw and walked in. As his eyes adjusted to the somewhat dimmer lighting of the room, he
focused on a figure sitting at a table. "You..."
"I've been wanting to talk to you, Yuri," Relena said. "Now...tell me why you've
been so anxious to see me, and even willing to throw everything away for this."
AN: This chapter's dedicated to JupiterTwo, who's feedback on my story got me off my lazy
butt and back on my computer. Here's the result; more is to come. Thanks a lot! =P
Trowa and Reiming stood together silently on a rooftop. Three hours had passed since their
confrontation, and now both were lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Trowa spoke.
"I suppose I have some explaining to do to Giselle...and to Will. That is, if they
choose to listen."
"I will speak to Will."
Surprised, Trowa cast a sideways glance at his wife. "Why?" he asked, surprised.
"Will will not listen to you. He feels that you have betrayed his mother, the most
important person to him. But he has no history with me, other than the fact that I
'replaced' his mother in your affections." Turning to face her husband, she put a hand on
his cheek. "He has your stubborness," she said softly, stroking his cheek. "I can see
the resemblance; I wonder why I didn't see it sooner-"
"-because it is something you thought I would never do," Trowa said bitterly.
"It is behind us," she said simply. Sighing, she added, "And you will have a hard
enough of a time with Giselle as it is. Let me deal with Will."
elsewhere...
"Will! Stop that!"
Will ignored his friend and took another long drink from the whiskey bottle he had
pilfered when his Preventer escorts weren't looking. Wiping his mouth, he slurred,
"Wha? Why sthould I?" Breaking out into hysterical laughter, he said, "Anywaysh...life
shucks as it is. The sthing that I shwore to my mothsher...the last requesht tha she
made to me...jusht thurned out to be shum letter to my bashtard 'fodder!'"
Disgusted, Yuri stomped over to his glassy-eyed friend and tried to wrestle the bottle
away from him. "Give me that!" he snarled, trying to pry Will's fingers off. "Drinking
is the last-"
Suddenly, the door opened. Surprised, Yuri turned and released his hold on the bottle.
At that, Will took the opportunity to scurry off to a corner of the room, still giggling
to himself in his drunken stupor.
Heero glared at the two disheveled young men in front of him. "You!" he barked, indicating
to Yuri, "Out here!" When Yuri looked uncertainly at Will clutching his bottle, Heero
stormed into the room, yanked the bottle out of Will's hands, and stormed back out,
jerking his head at Yuri. "Satisfied?"
"Well, um-"
"I will deal with him."
Heero turned towards the voice. "Reiming," he acknowledged.
"Heero," she responded, nodding at him. Then she turned her attention back to
Will, who was attempting to "stealthily" sneak up on the Perfect Soldier and get his
alcohol back. Heero shot a Death Glare in his direction and tossed the bottle into a
trash can, eliciting a wail of distress from Will.
Reiming hid a smile at Will's drunken antics, then said, "Do what you need to do with Yuri.
I will deal with this one. Don't worry," she said, smiling thinly at Yuri's expression,
"I won't traumatize him...too badly. I'll just...sober him up."
a few minutes later...
"SHIT!!! What the FUCK is THIS?!"
Reiming had kept her end of the bargain, and she was now cooly observing Will...a very wet,
angry, sputtering Will who had found himself in a pool and tangled up with a laneline.
Spitting out water and disentangling himself from the clutches of the laneline, Will
glared angrily at Reiming, who had a perfectly neutral expression on her face. "Alright
Lady! What the HELL was THAT for?"
"Contrary to my brother's belief, his sons do occasionally steal sips of alcoholic
beverages. In order to save them from his wrath, I have found this method to be most
effective," she explained calmly.
Dragging himself out of the pool, Will snarled, "Yeah, well, I'm not your brother's kid,
so you can keep your nose OUT of MY business!"
"No...you are not my nephew. You are my husband's son."
Surprised, Will looked up. Then he sneered, "Oh...so YOU must be the legendary Chang
Reiming, the whore extraordinaire! I've heard stories about YOU."
Reiming's face showed no change. "Yes, that would be me when I was younger. It was a
matter of survival, though I'm not proud of it."
"Oh of course not! After all, how many different men did you sleep with in a week?
Five? Six?"
"My record was ten. Various soldiers would come in during the night, and leave in
the morning."
"How can you possibly be so calm about it then, if you're not proud of it?!"
"I've come to terms with it. Nothing can change the past, but we are all free to
influence the future."
"Yeah well, good for you, but to ME, you'll just always be a slut!" Will snarled,
then looked surprised when Reiming started to chuckle. "Hey...what's so funny?" he
demanded.
Reiming smiled at the baffled young man in front of her. "It's interesting...Here you are,
just sober five minutes ago, soaking wet, and as huffy as well, a wet cat, and I can still
see the resemblance you bear to your father. Trowa would never be caught dead in your
situation, but still..."
Tilting his head at her, Will said slowly, "Hey, Lady...I'm just not going to be able to
piss you off, am I?"
"No, I don't think you'll be able to. Ten, twenty years ago? I would have shot
you and danced on your corpse. Now? No, it'll take more than a wet and frustrated young
man to make me angry...especially when you are Trowa's son."
"He killed my mother. I will never acknowledge him as my father," Will said
bitterly, tears coming to his eyes.
"On that issue, you will have to settle with him yourself," she said gently,
casually pulling out some tissues and handing them to him. Then she gave him a gentle
push towards the building. "I've arranged for there to be a hot shower for you, as well
as dry clothes. Now hurry up and clean yourself up."
"Rei...Can I call you that? Why are you being so nice to me? I'm your husband's
former lover's bastard son...Aren't you supposed to hate me?"
"That may be true in a fairy tale, but unfortunately, this is reality. So, no.
And as for Rei...You may call me that, but only you! I've threatened to cut off Duo
Maxwell's braid plenty of times for butchering my name, but I'll make an exception for you.
In return, however, I want you to allow your father to talk to you. You have his
stubborness; I know it's not an easy request. But remember, we all have the power to
control our own futures, or at least influence their outcome. What will it be? A life
completely estranged from your own father, or perhaps a chance to reconcile yourself with
him, and to get some answers? It's up to you."
That said, Reiming left, leaving Will standing there in his own thoughts.
elsewhere...
"Come in here. Sit," Heero said curtly, gesturing to an open door. Yuri set his
jaw and walked in. As his eyes adjusted to the somewhat dimmer lighting of the room, he
focused on a figure sitting at a table. "You..."
"I've been wanting to talk to you, Yuri," Relena said. "Now...tell me why you've
been so anxious to see me, and even willing to throw everything away for this."
AN: This chapter's dedicated to JupiterTwo, who's feedback on my story got me off my lazy
butt and back on my computer. Here's the result; more is to come. Thanks a lot! =P
