Author: Sparkle Itamashii

Title: Inheritance

Warnings: Respect the "R" rating. Please see my profile for details.

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing AC is NOT MINE


Chapter Seventeen

I squashed down the panic that was quickly rising in my chest. It was stupid. No one was after us. We weren't in danger. Life was normal and there had to be a reasonable explanation for why Heero had turned off his phone. It hadn't even rung so that meant it was off or…

Or maybe he had it on and he was talking to someone else. I always forgot that my phone went straight to voicemail if I was on the line.

I took a deep breath, berating myself for getting worked up so easily. All I had to do was call him back and leave a message and when he got off the phone he'd give me a ring. Simple. But I'd barely made the decision to do so when my phone rang. Startled, I flipped it open and answered.

"Duo? I just tried calling you but it didn't ring. Where are you?"

"Where am I?" I asked incredulously. "Where are you? Heero, you can't just disappear without leaving a note." I probably shouldn't have snapped but I was more than a little relieved.

"I left a note," he retorted, sounding a little irritated. "It's taped to the television because I thought you'd sit down to watch the news before we got back. Don't have a heart attack."

"I'm not." I took a deep breath and smiled, hoping it would show in my voice. "So where'd you guys go?"

"We took a ride to see what daycares in the area looked like." Daycares? Since when did Heero know what a daycare was? "There are some pretty nice ones if we're willing to do a bit of driving."

"Is it really okay to put her into a daycare? I mean… Shouldn't she be in special classes or something? She's the last Peacecraft. Relena would have expected her to take over once she got old enough…"

"I know, but honestly until we figure out something better… We're probably not the best choices to be taking care of a child all day and all night. I would be more comfortable if we could take this in smaller steps."

Pulling the phone away from my ear long enough to give it a strange look, I decided I was definitely asleep. I had to be dreaming. Heero never admitted a fault or doubt like that. It made me tingly inside to think that if he kept this behavior up he would someday be a real person...

"Okay," I agreed, allowing myself a smile. "Small steps. When are you guys going to be home?"

"Hour or two probably. I had two more places I wanted to drop by. We already had lunch so don't worry about that. Did you want me to pick up dinner?"

"We've got chicken nuggets in the freezer."

I had to choke back a laugh at the perfectly offended noise Heero made in the back of his throat at the suggestion. "Those are dog treats."

He was so particular about the strangest of things. I wasn't sure if he was worried about feeding them to Mara or about giving the dog's treats to someone other than the dog so I covered both bases easily. "They're perfectly safe and it's not like Artemis will mind." I rolled my eyes, ready to get off the phone already. "Just come home, all right? We'll make chicken nuggets for Mara and you and I can order Chinese or something later."

"Fine." The phone clicked off and I couldn't help dropping my head back in exasperation.

I closed my phone and tossed it on the counter. I couldn't believe that Heero was really getting into this parenting thing. It was like he'd done a complete 180 in a matter of days. Though I seriously wanted to think that he could just snap his fingers and change like that, I knew him better. I knew how stubborn he was and how much pride he had. I knew how he worked and right now he wasn't working right. Something very strange was going on and whatever it was, he'd apparently decided not to tell me. More than that, he was actively hiding it from me, as though I wasn't trustworthy enough.

Bothered, I hopped over the back of the couch and settled into it, grabbing the TV remote from where I left it hidden between the cushions. I was confused about the piece of paper taped to the screen until I remembered that Heero had said he'd left a note. I got up and plucked it off, scanning the quickly (but very neatly) written "Went day-care searching, will return for dinner" before crumpling it and shoving it into my pocket.

I flopped back down and switched on the television. There had to be something distracting on television. I hated thinking in silence; it was almost as if I needed the background noise to think coherently. As soon as it flickered on I ignored it and began making a list of all the things Heero might possibly think he had to keep from me. What was so important (or so insignificant) that he couldn't tell me, of all people, about it?

Actually, it could have been anything. If I'd learned nothing else during my time fighting in the war, I'd learned that events that seemed connected… often weren't. That didn't mean that they didn't affect each other or that one unconnected event wasn't advantageous to another. It just meant I had to be more careful making any sort of assumption.

Of course, by now you've probably guessed that my first guess was that his behavior had something to do with Relena or Mara. It was an obvious factor; maybe the most obvious factor. Relena gets killed and a kid gets theoretically dumped into Heero's lap. He protests up and down until the kid arrives and then suddenly becomes sweet and considerate. Overly sweet and considerate, if you want my opinion. I'd never seen him take to anyone so fast and thoroughly. I could chalk it up to the fact that he can't hate kids but that just… didn't seem valid enough. He wouldn't have protested as much as he had if disliking kids was the reason. That's not how he works. If Heero dislikes something he either changes it or waits for someone to notice he doesn't like it so that they can change it. So if he didn't like the idea of having Mara, he would have found a quieter way around it.

But… the girls weren't the only factors anymore- Wu Fei had been acting strangely as well. He almost never just showed up to seek Heero's company, especially not when Heero was at work. Calling was out of the question, but he'd done that, too. Not to mention that Heero had called him back immediately instead of later, like he usually would have done for any phone call he received.

Then there was Trowa, who wasn't calling anyone. Normally that would concern Heero, but he'd brushed it off when I mentioned it. He hadn't asked about it since then, either, and I very much doubt that he'd called Quatre to check up on either of them.

Add to all of that the fact that the old labs were being unearthed, a situation that could be a little too revealing about our pasts. Sure, they probably didn't have much on me, but even if nothing they found had to do with me… I would still be affected if it concerned any of my friends. Say they found something about Heero? Quatre? I mean… There was a world of possibilities and I admit I was somewhat scared of how little I knew about everyone. I wanted to believe that I was strong enough to consider them to be the same people I've always known but... I suspect there's a point where you can only know so much about someone before you can't know them any more.

I didn't want to ever find that point with anyone, much less my friends.

So I did the only logical thing- I stopped thinking. The longer I thought, the worse things seemed and without someone there to talk to I knew it would quickly be too much for me to handle. It had always been that way; if I stopped talking, I started thinking and if I started thinking I would think myself into a hole I couldn't escape.

It was a couple hours later when Heero finally arrived; Artemis didn't even flinch. He was the only one she never barked at if she knew he was coming. I was so completely zoned out in front of the television that I didn't even notice them enter. I probably could have ignored them all night except for the fact that Heero knocked me around the head with a bag of bread as soon as I was within range. It was with lightning fast reflexes and years of training that I got myself to my feet in time to-

"Help bring in the groceries."

To help… bring in the groceries. Right. "Groceries? I thought you were coming right home," I asked skeptically.

He raised one eyebrow in my direction and then turned toward the kitchen. "I said I had two more places to stop. Market was one of them now go help."

Secretly amused, I hop-slid over the back of the couch and disappeared with Artemis to the outside. Mara was making her way up the front steps carrying a box of cereal in both arms. Behind her like a little treasure trail was another box of cereal, a box of granola bars, a bag of chips, and a package of crackers that had been opened. Halfway between the car and the house lay the remains of the paper bag that had housed them all.

"I carried a seeral!" She announced quite proudly upon sight of me.

"Haha… That's great Mara, good job," I said weakly, smiling as I knelt to grab the crackers before Artemis could eat too many of them. "Take it in to Papa, okay?"

"Okay!"

Now see… I'm used to people doing what I tell them if they say okay. I'm used to "okay" being an agreement to get something accomplished. Apparently no one tells this to three year olds though. I swear I only turned my back on her for a second- just long enough to grab the second box of cereal… but apparently one second is just too much time.

When I turned around it took me a moment to realize what she was doing. The cereal box she was carrying must have been opened by Heero earlier because she had it wide open now. Artemis was quickly becoming her friend with every mouthful of sugary treats she was being hand fed. Mara, for her part, was squealing and giggling as Artemis licked her hands clean and moved for her face.

"Artemis!" I reprimanded sharply. Immediately her ears flattened and her tail tucked as she turned to look at me. "Get in the house!" I pointed for emphasis and she gave me the guiltiest look anyone's ever given me. Mara stared between us with wide eyes, like she thought I was going to attack her next. "Take the cereal inside, sweetie." I said as gently as I was able. I guess I'd been a little more stressed than I thought I was.

She disappeared and I finished unloading the groceries from the car while Heero put them in the right places. We never bought all that much because there weren't things that we ate on a regular enough basis to buy them. In fact, we avoided that sort of behavior; repetition. There were a lot of very bland, normal things this time like more chicken nuggets, fish sticks, hot dogs, and potato chips. I knew he wouldn't eat any of them- most of the things he'd bought were things he considered to be "dog treats," which made me wonder who picked them out- him or Mara.

By the time I thought to ask, however, they had both disappeared. As I checked the front room for them I heard the bath begin to run. Rolling my eyes, I flicked on the oven and opened the freezer to paw through the contents. Artemis padded around my legs, whining and begging; she knew where the chicken nuggets came from. I tossed one to her as soon as I found the old box and set about making the others.

It wasn't long before Heero and Mara returned, both of them looking more wet for wear. I grinned, helping Mara up onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "I thought the water was supposed to stay in the tub, Heero?"

He shot me a nasty glare and took a seat as well. "It was until someone decided bath time was over and made a run for it." He eyed the chicken nuggets rather dubiously. "We're getting something else."

"I know," I responded a little testily. We'd been over this once before and I'd agreed to ordering out somewhere. "I thought you were going to order Chinese."

Making a face, he shook his head. "I'm not really in the mood for Chinese."

"Thai?"

Another face. "Too similar."

"Well then you pick!" I said, exasperated. Mara looked up, glancing between us with a slightly bewildered expression.

"Watch your tone, Duo." He stood, grabbing the phone off the wall cradle and looked idly at the keys as he leaned against the counter. "What about that Italian place down the street?"

"Someone would have to go get it." I took a seat and watched Mara coat half a chicken nugget with far too much ketchup.

"Then someone can go get it when I put Mara to bed." He smiled in an overly sweet way before dialing. "What do you want?"

I rolled my eyes, resigning myself. "I don't care." He gave me a wolfish smile the second the words were out of my mouth, and began ordering… in Chinese. "You sneaky bas-…" I cut myself off, glancing to Mara who was paying neither of us any attention.

Heero thanked the person on the other end of the phone and tossed it at me to hang up. "I'm going to go change," he told me, picking at his still wet clothes.

"Did you order extra?" I asked, setting the phone back on the cradle.

"Yeah." He disappeared down the hall. "When is he supposed to be here?"

"Eight… eight-thirty. Not sure, somewhere around then. I guess it depends on when he can make it out here, right?"

"You're being awfully argumentative tonight." I could hear him opening drawers in the room as he shouted. "What's wrong?"

What wasn't? He was acting painfully normal and so was I and it was completely unnerving. Apparently I wasn't doing quite as great an acting job as I'd hoped. "It's been a kind of long day," I replied.

"That's not a real answer."

"I know."

"Well you can't-" there was a muffled noise and a moment later he appeared in the kitchen doorway again. "You can't just act weird and not talk about it. That's not like you…"

"I'm not the only one acting really weird," I grumbled. Giving him a bit of a grumpy sidelong glare, I sighed. "What's up with you lately?"

"What do you mean?"

I snorted, trying to put my thoughts together like I had earlier. "It's like you're… I dunno, bi-polar or something. One minute you're arguing with me like your life depends upon it and the next you're playing the sweet boyfriend card. I just want to know what's going on."

"What are you talking about?" He gave me a hard look as though he thought I'd completely lost my mind.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Something is happening and you know what it is and you aren't telling me. I want to know. I think I deserve to know, especially if it involves me." I saw a protest on the tip of his tongue so I kept going before he could say anything. "And don't you tell me it doesn't, Heero Yuy, because I know it does.

We watched each other silently for a long moment before he drew a deep breath and seemed to resign himself to giving away at least a little bit. "If you're talking about Wu Fei calling and going out with me, it's not a big deal. He was having some trouble and he wanted to talk to me about it." He shrugged nonchalantly. "He solved it, so it's over and done."

"And Trowa? He's been missing, you know, and you don't seem very concerned about that."

"Duo- it's Trowa. He can take care of himself; we all can. You know that." He moved into the room and pulled a glass out of the cupboard. "I'm sure he'll be back in contact soon."

"You know… it wouldn't kill you to talk about those sorts of things," I told him, leaning back in my chair to watch him get a glass of water. "People worry about you when you get all weird."

"You're the only one that worries," he pointed out matter of factly.

"So that's one more person than should have to worry!" Before we could argue further, the doorbell rang. For a moment I was confused, having forgotten we were having company. I scooted my chair out as Heero gave me a curious look. Realization dawned on him just as I spoke. "It's Quatre," I said, getting up and pushing my chair in again. "I'll be back."

When I opened the door, Quatre turned around and smiled cheerfully as he handed me a stack of papers several inches thick, tucked into a manila folder. "Good evening!"

"Good something," I said, cracking a smile as I flipped open the front of the folder. "What's all this?"

"That is…" he looked dubiously at the stack, "everything."

"Everything?" I echoed, looking up at him curiously.

"Yeah. It's got her birth certificate, bank account information, doctor forms, Relena's death certificate and a copy of her Will." He paused for a second, as though trying to remember what else there was. "Oh yes," he said, meeting my eyes with a mischievous smile, "I also had them transfer all the documents showing that you and Heero are now her legal guardians. She's yours for real now."

"You're the best."

"I know." He glanced around me as he took off his shoes. "Where would you all be if I wasn't?"

"Lost, for sure." I felt that familiar tingle of worry spread through me as I said the words, remembering how Trowa had fallen out of contact with us. "Any news on Trowa?"

A very strange, mixed expression crossed his face when I mentioned it but it disappeared as quickly as it came, replaced by a serious look. "I'll talk to you about it later, alone, okay?"

An unsettlingly large lump settled in the pit of my stomach at the way he said those words, but I merely nodded. If he wanted to talk later, we could talk later. "Okay."

He smiled. It was weak at first but I could almost see him shove the worry to the back of his mind and forget it. "Where is she? Mara?"

"Finishing dinner," I said, closing the door as I resolved to let the bad things lie for the moment. "Chicken nuggets and ketchup."

Quatre made about the same face as I did at the choice of food. None of us were fans of anything bland. "You too?"

"No, thank goodness. Heero actually ordered Chinese. We were going to put her to bed when it got here."

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" he asked as we entered the kitchen.

"Not at all."

Heero glanced up and gave a silent wave that Quatre returned. Mara looked very seriously at Quatre for a moment before turning those big blue eyes my way as if accusing me of bringing someone into the house.

"Eat your dinner," Heero said quietly, poking at her chicken nuggets to draw her attention back to them.

"We ordered for you, too." Quatre's eyebrows rose in surprise as he looked back to me. I grinned, offering him a seat. "We knew you would be over, so why not? It's not like you don't order the same thing every time."

"Almond chicken with spring rolls on the side, no sauces, white rice," Heero said in unison with Quatre and all of us smiled. "Good to know I'm predictable."

"I think we'd all be lost if you weren't, Quatre," Heero said honestly. "There has to be something in life we can count on to remain the same."

We fell silent after that and Mara watched us curiously as she ate the rest of her chicken nuggets. She and Quatre started up a conversation of sorts when she offered him a nugget, although I expect that he didn't understand much of what she was telling him. He was a very good sport about it, though, and laughed quite a bit.

"I think it's about bedtime," Heero said after a little while. It was quite clear that Mara caught the drift of what he'd said because she sank low to the table and gave him quite a pathetic look.

"I think so, too." I was about to say more when the doorbell rang. I glanced curiously to Heero and he shrugged.

"Chinese?" He offered as though I'd asked.

"Oh yeah…" I pushed myself away from the table and stood. "Why don't you guys put Mara to bed and I'll get the food?"

The entire bothersome day seemed worth the while when I saw Quatre smile at the suggestion. "Great!" He clambered to his feet much faster than Heero. "Mara, can you show me your room?"

"Yeah!" She exclaimed, slithering to the floor from where she'd been standing on the chair. "I show you, follow me!"

She bolted out of the room with Quatre right behind her. I could hear them talking in her room as I turned to Heero and flashed a smile. "I think we aren't the ones that need a kid."

When he smiled I felt something within me relax. It was a real smile, the kind he only gave me when there wasn't anything else on his mind. "I think you're right."

Quatre came back a short while later and dug into his food almost immediately. I was surprised at how quiet an affair the entire dinner was. Heero made a weak attempt at starting a conversation and Quatre, in turn, made a weak attempt at continuing it. Neither did a very good job and I think it was just easier for them to be silent than to worry about making small talk. That's all it was anyhow; nonsense that neither of them needed or wanted at that moment.

It was almost ten when Quatre got up and helped me clear the table. He and Heero said their goodbyes before Heero went to check on Mara so as soon as we were finished dumping the remains of dinner into the trash, we escaped to the front porch. Quatre pulled up just short of the edge of the porch and stood there, staring out at the street for a long moment. He seemed so lost, so… not himself today.

I gently closed the door behind me and gave Quatre a searching look. I knew better than to say anything though. When he was ready to tell me what he had to say, he would and asking before then was rude. Whatever was on his mind couldn't be terribly good, judging by the way he fiddled with his car keys and refused to look me in the eyes. It worried me to see him like that; Quatre wasn't supposed to get nervous.

"Trowa called last night," he said suddenly, as if he was afraid he'd never say it if he didn't say it quickly. "After I hung up with you, he did."

Nodding slowly, I let myself drop back against the door as I crossed my arms. "Is everything all right?" I tried to sound as neutral as I could but it didn't work very well. Honestly I was afraid he was going to drop some horrible news on me which I wouldn't be able to handle and that sort of inability on my part would only make a situation like that worse.

"I didn't get to talk to him for very long; his connection was shot." Which said a lot; mobile phones generally got great reception via satellite and hard lines almost never suffered connection failure. "He said he was with the circus in the colonies. I guess he must have left quickly…"

"What? Without saying goodbye to you?"

He winced; I'd obviously hit the nail on the head. "I know it seems strange," he said diplomatically, like he was trying to reason it out to make logical sense. "But if the circus needed him for something right away, I can see where he might not have had time. I don't want to worry about it if he's all right. He said he would be back soon."

Honestly… I wanted to be there with Quatre in that not-worrying place but I knew better and so did he. The entire thing reeked of conspiracy. Trowa didn't just pack up and go so far without telling anyone. The worst thing a person can possibly do is go somewhere without telling anyone else where they are going, how long they'll be there and when they'll be back. It's the best way to get into trouble because if you disappear, no one may know to look for you until it's too late. I knew that. Quatre knew that. Trowa knew that. Everyone knew.

I couldn't just leave it alone for Quatre, as much as I didn't want to add to his list of worries. "But leaving without even a phone call beforehand?"

"I know," Quatre agreed with a sigh. "He said his phone died." He held up one hand to stop me before I could protest. "Duo, I know. It doesn't exactly sit right with me, either. But… If that is what he wants me to think, I'm going to think that. If it's important, I'm sure he will tell me before I need to know."

Though I didn't want to resign myself to waiting as Quatre obviously had, I didn't see that there was much of a choice. If Trowa wasn't telling Quatre something then there was no way he would tell me. Of course I would ask him later anyway, but I already knew I wouldn't get an answer.

"Yeah," I agreed quietly. "Let me know if you figure out anything. Everyone's been acting a little strange lately."

That earned me half a decent smile from him, at least. "I will. Take care."

"You too."

I watched him walk down the driveway and slip into his car. It always surprised me to see him driving his own car instead of allowing someone to drive him. I knew how much money he had and how much he made and yet he still hated to let people do things for him. He still preferred to do things with his own two hands. It was nice; kept things… real. Grounded. Nuances in behavior like that were the things that we could safely bring to our futures from our pasts.

Sighing, I opened the door and let myself half fall inside. The bolt slid home almost if its own accord and I turned around to head to the bedroom. Heero was standing in the hallway, watching me with a curious look. I didn't want to talk to him. I didn't want to listen to him avoid telling me anything else and I knew that if I tried talking to him now that we'd only bicker. Again. I didn't want to start a fight with him; not tonight, not tomorrow… I could do without fighting for a while.

So when he reached out to stop me from moving past, I shrugged off his hand and just kept walking.


/End Chapter Seventeen, Inheritance/