Another Chance

x1-TaKeN-oVeR

Mild cursing and some angst

And yes BrainyPsycho the review did help. Thanks! And you better get your drag costume ready.

"Wow, my room hasn't changed a bit," Heero declared as he stepped into his childhood sanctuary, "even the posters andfurniture are in the exact same place." He shook his head at his former taste of rock stars, people, and sports posters that littered his bedroom walls. What had he been thinking back then? "Waita minute," he spoke through narrowed eyes, "what happened to my Batman Beyond bedspread?"

His room was of fair size and furnished properly.He had two large oak colored dressers with a large mirror hanging over the one nearest to the door, and a big window behind his queen sized bed that was covered with red and blue bed sheets. He had a medium sized closet to the left of the bed and a small night stand with a lamp to the right.

Miri smiled as she placed one of his suitcases on the bed while Heero flopped the other two up. She opened it and began laying the folded clothes onto the bed. Once the suitcase was empty, she made her way to a empty dresser and began laying the clothes in there.

"Mom didn't throw away anything, just putit in the attic. I remember when you, Haru, and Akira kept your room's a permanent war zone." She spoke with nostalgia, "You couldn't place one foot in the door without falling over." She finished her task and grabbed his shoe bag, making her way towards the closet. "My room was the cleanest and Mom would always give me five dollars extra in allowance," she boasted proudly.

"Which wasn't fair at all," Heero grumbled as he opened one of the other suitcases and took out all his clothes. He picked up he pile of night shirts and boxers and laid them in another dresser drawer. "Hey, hand me my socks," he called to her.

She got out the bag of socks and threw them to him. "Jesus Heero, plannin' to move back in?" She joked and squatted down, beginning her task of arranging his shoes at the bottom of the closest.

Heero grabbed his socks and placed them on top of the dresser. He caught his reflection and stared at himself. His complexion was clear with that natural bronze color he inherited from his father. It wasn't that noticeable but his eyes were a bit dull and he had tiny dark bags under them. He was wearing a white button down shirt with stylish blue jeans that were faded in the front. His sleeves were rolled to his forearm and you could see more of his healthy skin tone. The white tennis shoes that completed the outfit were sitting by the door.

He looked good, no doubt about that, but he looked tired. And it was to be expected. His father had passed away only a few months prior and he was left in the dust. Since he was fifteen years old, his father had been the only one in his life, his only constant. And to suddenly have him ripped away, just like his older siblings and mother all those years ago, was just too much. So he packed his bags (with pretty much all his clothes), grabbed as much work as he could from his professors, and hit the road.

He didn't think through with his plan and knew it was, not only, crazy but compulsiveto show up on his mother's doorstep after eight years but...he had nowhere else to go. He needed to be around familiar faces, needed to feel like he belonged somewhere...needed to find some direct answers to the questions that had been piling up over the years.

Miri finished her task as shoe lady and slowly got up from her knees. She looked across the bed at Heero who was staring into the mirror with an unreadable expression. She came behind him and rested a small hand on his shoulder. He sighed at the contact and closed his eyes.

"Something happened," she muttered knowingly.

He nodded his head slowly and turned around. "But I don't want to talk about it right now."

"When you're ready?"

"Yes, when I'm ready," he repeated certain.

"Right then," she nodded and picked up the last unopened suitcase from the bed, "we'll finish unpacking then go and find Dumb and Dumber." She told cheerfully and giggled at her own joke. She made her way to the other dresser and began placing the clothes inside.

He almost smiled at the mention of his two older brothers but a sudden image of his mother flashing in his mind stopped him. He had almost forgotten the true reason as to why he was in his old home. He had come to see his mother.

"What about Mom? Where is she," he inquired quietly.

"Well it's about time," she mumbled to her self but once she caught sight of Heero's confused expression she elaborated, "I was wondering when you were going to ask about her since it was obvious you weren't expecting me when I opened the door this morning."

"I guess I just got kind of sidetracked," he answered truthfully.

She nodded her head, "She's at work and won't get off until about eight tonight but if you want to see her..." she trailed off and stared at him from across the bed.

"I don't want to bother her at work. Maybe it would be better to wait until she got home tonight," he reasoned.

"I know that, if I was Mom, I'd want to see you as soon as you got here. She really missed ya, Hee-chan. It's been pretty rough on her since you left." She turned around and went back to fixing up the clothes.

"I know it's just...hard." He ran a hand through shiny coffee locks and let out a deep sigh as he leaned against the dresser.

Miri noticed the tired tone in Heero's voice and took pity on him. "How about this, we'll go see you're brothers and then go find Mom. What do ya say?"

"Haru and Akira? You think they'll want to see me," Heero wondered nervously.

"Of course they will Heero," Miri threw a glance over her shoulder, "they're your brothers for goodness sake. I know they've missed you like hell-just like the rest of us. Why wouldn't they want to see you?"

Heero bit his lip softly, "I don't know. They haven't seen mefor years and it'll be kind of weird and..." He turned back to the dresser and finished putting his clothes inside before turning around to face her.

"Heero, don't be silly," she snorted as she set he last shirt in the drawer. She closed it with a nudge of her hips and placed the empty duffle bag in the closet. She looked around the room and noticed everything was in it's place. "Finished?"

"Yeah," he nodded and went to put his shoes on.

"Okay then, let me grab my shoes and keys, and I'll meet you downstairs," she spoke as she passed by him and traveled down the hallway to the left, to her own bedroom.

He sighed once he was finished and took his time traveling down the stairs. He walked back into the kitchen and picked up his abandoned keys laying on the counter. He threw them in the air distractedly while deep in thought. 'There's nothing for me to worry about; they are my brothers and I was just being stupid. Plus it will give me practice before seeing Mom.' He heard Miri travel down the stairs and went to meet her. He noticed she was walking a little slower than before and with much more caution.

"Are you okay?" He asked with concern in his voice. He grabbed her hand as she stepped off the last step.

She huffed slightly and gave him a tired smile as she tucked her arm in his. "Just a little tired with the extra baggage," she joked.

Heero mentally kicked himself. His sister had been on her feet all day for him and not once did he offer to take some of the work load from her. "I'm sorry.."

"Hey," she interrupted," don't apologize. This is the first time that I've done actual work since I told Collin I was pregnant."

Heero chuckled. "Alright, but from now on at least pace yourself. You did a lot today and I don't want to have what's-his-name come after my ass." He led her towards the door and shut it securely as she locked the bottom lock. It wasn't necessary to lock both locks. The neighborhood was so good-natured and crime free, the town was nicknamed Pleasantville.

He walked her towards his car and unlocked the passenger door with a push on his power pad. He opened the door and stared at her blankly when she didn't budge.

"Okay, see this is when you get in the car..." he trailed off.

"Haha, Mr. Funny Guy but it's been awhile since you've been here. I think I should be the one to drive." She smirked at his lost expression.

"I found my way here just fine," he complained with the stamp of his foot.

She looked at him squarely, "So you're telling me that you didn't get lost? At all? Not even once?"

Heero shifted, "Well, I...uh..."

"Exactly," she nodded and made her way to the driver's side.

Heero grumbled under his breath before throwing himself inside and bringing the door close with a slam.

"Oh, I see you still have your temper, you little brat." She laughed after she got into the car and Heero threw the keys in her hand. She revved the engine after buckling her seat belt. Pushing the gear into reverse and she moved out of the driveway, then, throwing it into drive, drove down the little street. "Wow, Heero this car moves great. When did you get it?"

"I bought her a couple months ago," he stated as he rolled the window and began fiddling with the radio. He sat back and relaxed as Kelly Clarkson's 'Since You Been Gone' came out of the specialized system he put in a month before.

Miri began singing along, twisting her body to the music as she turned down Smith Dr. "She's gorgeous, honey." She replied referring to the car after the song turned off. Another song, Mariah Carey's "Like That," came on and Miri turned the volume up.

Heero started nodding his head to the beat but burst out laughing as soon as he caught an eye and ear of his sister singing and dancing to the music. He hated to be mean but it looked and sounded like she was dying a slow and painful death.

"And just what is so funny," as she took a break from her vocalizing. Truth be told she didn't know the words to this part.

"You," Heero gasped and clutched his stomach.

Miri shook her head and laughed as well. She turned down Town Center and switched off the radio. "You remember this place," she questioned as they traveled down the small strip of shops.

"I can't believe this place has stayed the exact same. It's as if time stopped completely." Heero looked on as they passed the doctor's office, antique shop, the market, toy store, candy shop and so many others. The place looked just as it had eight years ago.

"You know, Mom's got her own shop now." Miri said after a moment of silence.

Heero turned to her in shock. So that was where she was "working."

"Does she really? Since when?" Since he was little, Heero knew his mother wanted to open up a clothes shop of her own but having and raising four kids was a job in itself; she simply didn't have the time.

"About three or four years ago she opened it up. Her own little boutique," she smiled as she thought about her mother's store. "It's real nice and Mrs. Stevenson helps Mom run the place." She came to a stop sign and stopped,watchingas old Mr. Rivers and his wife passed by in their old red Chevy. He honked twice and waved before continuing on.

"Old Mrs. Stevenson, huh? What is she now, like 100 years old?" He laughed referring to hissixth grade teacher.

She made sure the way was clear before heading down the road. "Haha, very funny." She said laughing and when she didn't stop Heero turned to her with a smile on his face.

"What?"

"Remember when you did something bad, I don't even remember what it was, in her class and she made you miss out on that trip. You were so mad that you came home and told Haru and Akira what happened..." She couldn't finish because she was laughing so hard.

Heero's smile grew and he chuckled, "Oh yeah! I don't remember what I did but she made me miss the class field trip to the hiking trail behind the school. I came home, mad as hell, and told Akira and Haru what happened. I think I even started crying."

Miri laughed uncontrollably,"You did," she gasped out.

Heero laughed, "Wow, that's insane but I was really mad.But anyway,I told Haru and Akira and they said 'no problem, we'll get her back.' So later that night, around 10 or 11, we grabbed like 10 rolls of toilet tissue, snuck over her house and toilet papered it." Heero sighed with satisfaction, "And up until then, that was the greatest night of my life. Such a rush."

"I believe you," she smiled after getting herself under control. She remembered the morning after, when they told her, she almost died laughing then too. It never got old.

They drove in silence for a few minutes before turning into the parking lot of an impressive sized Mechanic shop.

"What are we doing here," Heero questioned in confusion as he looked upon the name located on top of the building. Cars R US. How cute.

She didn't answer until she had parked and was getting out of the car. "Just come on," she tried hard to hide her smile and, after locking the car doors, made her way to the garage entrance.

"I thought we were going to see Akira and Haru," he followed her into the garage and saw the many cars and trucks laying around with their hoods up and parts scattered everywhere. Most-actually all-the mechanics waved and yelled 'Hey' to Miri before focusing their attention on him.

Suddenly someone called out to him and he turned around. He was a young man, about his age, with dirty blonde hair and light green eyes that were focused on him. He stared at the young man before feeling a smile make its way onto his face. He recognized the man.

"Tommy Lee?" He said as he walked over to him.

Tommy smiled a full tooth grin and jogged to his old friend. He wrapped him up in a hug and swung him around once. "Where the hell ya been, Kiyo? Welcome back!" He used the childhood nickname the young man had and stepped back.

"Thanks! It's great to see you, again. How have you been?" He asked excitedly, it was great to see old friends. He remembered when Tommy boy and himself used to get into nonstop trouble.

"Life ain't too bad for me, ya know? Got a good job, married with a couple gremlins runnin' around..."

"Whoa, kids! Marriage? You serious? So Tommy 'Trouble Maker' Jones finally decided to settle down? Never thought I'd see the day," Heero joked and got a light sock in the arm in return.

"Haha, Yuy. But where the hell you been man? You've been gone for what? Six, seven..." He lifted green eyes to the ceiling to recall.

"Eight years," Heero answered.

"Eight fucking years man." Tommy whistled lowly and was about to ask another question before a loud yell interrupted him.

"Kiyo is that you?" The loud voice boomed through the garage.

Heero looked to the man calling his name and smiled in delight. Walking toward him was, Johnny Bowman, a man he had met in high school and became fast friends with. Johnny Bowman had been big and beefy back then and he hadn't changed a bit. "Wow Jon Jon, it's great to..." he didn't finish because he was swept into a powerful hug. He forgot that Johnny was a little on the emotional side.

"Heero, it's been so long. I can't believe it's you," he sobbed into his shirt. He tried to reach and pat him on the back but his arms were trapped to his side by Johnny's massive arms.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Easy there Goliath, don't kill him yet, he just got here." He joked as he tried to pry Johnny off of Heero.

Miri stood to the side and watched as Johnny began to pester him with questions. She smiled as a few other guys came up and welcomed Heero back home. She turned around and made her way to the office in the corner of the garage. She knocked once before entering.

"Thanks for actually taking the time to knock this time," a dry voice stated.

She stuck her tongue out before smiling at her older brother. She went over and sat down heavily in one of the chairs facing the desk.

"Rough day," Akira questioned. Akira was looking very comfortable in his big leather chair with his feet kicked up onto the desk.

Miri looked into her brothers eyes and sighed. "Um...not exactly," she mumbled cryptically. She watched as her brother rolled his eyes before standing up and stretching.

Akira was decked out in work clothes which consisted of a dirty red, backwards baseball cap with his black hair curling beneath it, oily black overalls with the arms hanging around his waist, a white baggy t-shirt and black steel toe boots. She looked at his face for any kind of sign that today maybe a bad day for reunition. But all she saw was smooth tanned skin, beautiful gray eyes he had inherited from their grandmother, a dust of brown freckles along his nose and high cheek bones that ran in the family, full pouty lips and a strong jaw that was apparent in her other two brothers.

"What?" He asked in annoyance as he caught her staring.

"Nothing," she said simply.

He made a face at her. "Fine then." He stood by his desk and began shuffling papers to tidy up the ever present mess. After working in silence for a few moments he looked up at her. "So what are you doing here?"

"I actually came here to..." Miri trailed off as she heard the door to the back entrance of the office open. She watched as the door opened to reveal a tall, dark and handsome young man.

He walked into the room and stared at the occupants through dark tinted glasses. "Hey Momma," he called and walked to Miri to give her a hug.

He pushed his sunshades to rest atop his headand nodded to Akira. "What's up man?"

"Not too much," he replied, "what are you doing here?"

"I came over to..."

"What," he asked as the volume in the adjoining room suddenly escalated.

"I said I came over to invite you to lunch," he repeated a bit louder and turned to Miri, "you too, if you want to tag along."

Miri smiled thankfully and went to decline, "Sorry, but I..."

"Hold on guys, those animals out there are getting way too loud." He grumbled as he walked out of his office to regulate his workers.

Miri stared after him a moment before following with a hesitant hand in the air. "Uh, Akira? Maybe you should..."

"Hey!" He bellowed before yelling playfully. "I'm working here you idiots and that's exactly what you should be doin' too. So bring that..." Akira trailed off as he got an eye of just why the mechanics were getting loud. In the center of the circle, that had formed in the middle of the garage floor, was his younger brother-Heero.

Heero looked up at the man whose voice thundered throughout the large garage. As the noise began to subside his eyes settled on a tall man staring at him with startling gray eyes.

'He looks the same but then...God, he's so different,' he though to himself. He straightened his back before smiling shyly.

Miri watched the exchange between her brothers and hoped to God nothing would go wrong. She felt Tall, Dark and Handsome come behind her and gasp as he got a look at what was happening. 'Not now,' she thought to herself. She'd deal with him later; right now she just wanted to concentrate on her family.

Heero watched nervously as Akira slowly walked towards him. He tried not to fidget as Akira stared at him intently. "Hi Akira," he whispered as Akira came to a stop in front of him.

"H-Heero," he questioned and brought a hand to lightly trace his jaw. "It's really you," his voice broke slightly.

Heero felt his eyes water and nodded. "Yeah, it's me." He tried to blink away the tears that threatened to fall but was too late as one fell and slipped down his face. "I've really missed you, 'Kira."

Akira felt his own tear fall and grabbed his little brother into a powerful hug and lifted him from the ground. "You damn well better have, kid. I can't believe it. You're back. You're finally back," he laughed loudly.

Heero wrapped his arms around Akira's neck and held on tightly. Burying his face in his neck he mumbled, "I'm finally back." After a while he registered that someone was clapping. Scratch that. A lot of people were clapping. Just as he felt Akira let go, he did the same and turned to the sound. He saw all the mechanics with wide smiles splitting their faces and hands coming together repeatedly.

He blushed, the red hue covering his face, at the thought of the men seeing his and Akira's reunion. He turned to Akira and saw the same color staining his cheeks. Heero looked slightly behind him and saw Miri clapping and trying hard not to cry-she was failing miserably, as usual. And just as he was about to roll his eyes he caught sight of another young man. He was tall and wiry with large violet eyes, plump pink lips and what looked to be a braid down...his...

Wait a minute!

Duo Maxwell!

Okay, well I hope this chapter gave you a bit more to go on. Don't worry, as we speak I am working on the 3rd chapter. Maybe I can even get it to you within the week...but I doubt it will be this long. This story is starting out slow but it should speed up within the next few chapters.

Review me please.