Rei, Ami and Makoto trudged up the stairs to their rooms and packed their belongings as quickly as can be. They could hear Minako's voice in the garden comforting Wufei and Quatre. Rei wasn't surprised to see Heero waiting for her in her room. They had so much to say to one another. He had so many questions he needed to know the answer to. Rei sat on her bed and waited for him to speak and Heero paused a few moments gathering his thoughts before speaking.
"Rei, when you first saw me, I reminded you of him didn't I? I reminded you of Relena's father?" Heero asked his voice soft and Rei nodded.
"Yes, you remind me of him very much, but you are different in your special way, he was my past, you were my future," Rei said a little remorsefully as she remembered that there was no future for the both of them.
"And now?" Heero persisted and Rei's sad violet eyes gazed up at him with a sadness Heero felt inside his heart.
"You too are my past."
Heero looked at Rei, and his mouth opened as if he had more to say but instead he closed his mouth, turned on his heel and left the room. As soon as he left, Rei left her facade of strength fall and she pulled her knees to her chest and started to cry for she had driven away the man she loved.
Rei was nearly finished packing when there was a knock on the door. Rei knew there was only one other person who would need to talk to her before she left. Rei opened up the door to reveal Relena's slim figure. Rei bowed her head and let Relena into the room. Relena stood just inside the door and watched as Rei went back to packing.
"So you're my mother," Relena stated looking Rei up and down closely. It had taken Relena a few hours to come to grips with the reality that the ebony haired beauty who had wed Heero was the mother she had been searching for. The woman who had taken the man Relena had loved since she was a teenager was her own mother. Relena didn't know what she felt right now.
"Yes," Rei whispered and Relena ventured to sit on the edge of Rei's bed watching Rei pack, not believing that just when they had found each other Rei was leaving.
"Tell me about him," Relena pleaded suddenly and Rei's eyes filled with sadness as Relena begged, "tell me about my father."
Rei had known this conversation would be coming since she had first seen Relena that day at Quatre's mansion and still she was unprepared. Rei took a few moments to gather her memories and then began the story.
"Your father, was a protector of a Princess from a different universe. Here the girls and I were called senshi, well in your father's universe they were called Starlight's and your father's name was Yaten. He was handsome and smart, talented, his hair was as long as yours a pale white colour. You have his eyes, not the colour, but the same look, I can't explain it, but every time I look at you, I feel like I am looking at him. I first met him when I was seventeen when he and his two comrades came looking on Earth for their Princess. We never really spoke then, he was dedicated to his mission and I was too busy protecting Serenity to worry about anything else. I think he also found me a bit tedious. I was in high school, impressionable, a little silly, and they were so mature for their age, different to other boys. I guess you could say i was in awe of him. They found their princess and returned home. I didn't see him again until I was twenty-two, the year after Crystal Tokyo had been created. They came on a diplomatic mission and spent close to six months with us and in that time Relena, I fell in love. He was everything I ever wanted. The perfect man. It was strange because he was always so quiet and at first we fought a lot because I found him so snobby, but when you look past outside appearances Relena, you fall in love with the person inside. Its so hard to put into words how wonderful he was Relena, I have only my memories. But I knew our love was doomed from the start. Senshi couldn't fall in love. But Yaten, he was the eternal optimist. He promised me he would find a way but when the six-month mission was over he was gone. Six months later he returned with news. He would be living at the Crystal Palace from now on as a diplomat for his planet. I couldn't have been more overjoyed but the other girls weren't so sure. All of them have suffered terribly Relena, you have to understand that before you judge them for what they did and their part in this story. They have loved and lost more times than any of them would care to remember, and much more than any normal person could possibly stand. They didn't approve of your father and I, Yaten and I were an anomaly that couldn't last forever. Minako especially didn't agree, she just seemed to know it would end badly. But life was wonderful for one perfect year. Yaten and I were in love and we were together, and we thought it could last forever. We were wrong. We never told Serenity about us, the senshi and falling in love. We never brought the subject of us getting married up with her and I guess with all the work to be done, Serenity didn't notice. We didn't want her to worry. We all love her so much, we hated to cause her any pain. Yaten and I knew it was forbidden but when you are in love, really in love, you don't care. But one day I found myself pregnant, I was pregnant with you Relena. Yaten was overjoyed, he had it planned in his head that we would marry and raise you together but that wasn't to be. Where would we raise you? His planet or ours? Either way one of us would have to abandon our duty to our princesses. His comrades found out and disapproved to put it nicely. They arranged with Minako a safe haven where I would have you and then leave you and they would take Yaten back to their home planet and Yaten and I were ordered to forget each other. But your father, stubborn as he was wouldn't hear of it. He escaped their custody the night before he was meant to return home and he…oh God Relena I was standing right there below him unable to do anything…he threw himself off the main balcony and landed where I was standing arguing with the other girls about keeping you. Yaten told me once that he would rather die than be parted from me. As he fell he screamed out, "For you Rei," and then…it was over, Yaten was dead and my soul was lost. After his death you were the only thing that kept me going. The thought that a part of Yaten was growing inside me filled me with enough hope not to try and join Yaten in peaceful death. But I couldn't keep you, I tried to keep you, but I couldn't. I kept this when I had to leave you," Rei pulled out a scrap of cloth, well worn and Relena looked at it raising an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
"A part of your baby blanket, so I could always feel you near me," Rei admitted and Relena felt her eyes fill with tears. Her mother had cared about her. Relena took the cloth tenderly in her hands and looked up at Rei wondering why on earth she was leaving.
"Why don't you stay with Heero, he is your husband and he loves you?" Relena asked and Rei shook her head sadly, a wry smile of knowing touched her lips.
"Why don't you marry Trowa, he is your friend and he loves you?" Rei countered and Relena shrugged blushing deeply.
"I guess we are both afraid to do the things that would cause us the most joy for fear of our duty," Relena replied and Rei focused her eyes on Relena as a thought crossed her mind.
"You heard me that day didn't you? The day when Heero was hurt, when I sent the message to the girls, you heard it," Rei asked and Relena looked a little embarrassed to have been caught out.
"Yes."
"You inherited my gift for telepathy, while I am away I will help you enhance your skills and teach you all I know, after all you are my daughter," Rei said smiling fondly at Relena seeing in her daughter the man she once loved.
"And you are my mother," Relena said softly and slowly and a little unsurely they approached each other and hugged. Uncomfortably at first and then they both relaxed a little and laughed, breaking apart.
"Okay this is really weird," Relena giggled and Rei laughed too.
"Agreed."
"Did you want to take these?" Relena asked taking things off Rei's dresser and Rei looked at her daughter and smiled thankfully nodding.
Rei was just about finished packing when Relena reached out and grabbed her mother's hand.
"Rei?"
"Yes?" Rei replied looking down at her daughter lovingly and Relena had a look of sadness on her face.
"You will come and visit, and let me get to know you, won't you?" Relena asked and Rei impulsively hugged her daughter again this time neither felt the weird feelings they had felt before. They felt completely happy.
"Of course," Rei promised kissing Relena's forehead and mother and daughter remained like that for a long time, until Ami came in telling them it was time to leave.