Title: Personable Young Men
Author: Karina
Rating: PG
Pairing: Relena + Stephen
Notes: Challenge 197. Baby Series 4 #47. Takes place after The First Reform.
Spoilers: None
Warnings:
Many thanks to ShenLong Deb for her work betaing this set of fics.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the Characters from the series but the baby is mine.
Title: Personable Young Men
"Ena! Up!"
Blue eyes widened slightly at the demand, smiling down at the pale haired cherub almost dancing on the spot. The child was surrounded by a pile of toys consisting chiefly of large sized building blocks fitted together in no reasonable, recognisable shape or form. Amidst the debris of his grand building program was a scattering of picture books, an A.B.C open to B for ball with a colourful picture of a red, white and blue ball and C for cat, with a black and white kitten. Relena noticed a basic animal recognition book open to C for Camel and D for Dog and a sensationally bright book of colours as well as a fairytale anthology resting on the seat of the rocking chair to one side.
Stephen's minder was currently employed tossing some of the toys into the large chest near the window and Relena thought she heard the woman mutter something about having thought working in the palace nursery would be a fairytale come true. Relena rather got the impression it had not proven as 'fairytale good' as she had expected. The young woman turned around quickly at the sound of the child's voice and with a soft 'Oh!' she dropped a quick curtsy to the unexpected visitor to the nursery.
Relena smiled pleasantly at her and looked down at the child who was still looking expectantly up at her, chubby arms raised. The expectation was clear, the gaze forceful and infinitely patient, and Relena was not one to disappoint her nephew. How could you ignore those wonderful, wonderful eyes?
"Up, Stephen? Happy to oblige." She adored the feel of his tiny body against her breast, kissing his pudgy cheek and listening to his excited, unintelligible gabble. "Well, you have quite a lot to say, young man."
"I am sorry, Ma'am. He's being a little demanding lately."
Relena flashed a megawatt smile at the woman and hugged Stephen, touching her lips lightly to his forehead. "It's fine, Rosy. I'm always happy to charm personable young men with killer blue eyes."
Rosy laughed softly and sobered quickly as a side door into the nursery opened and Helen Butterworth, undisputed Queen of the nursery, breezed into the room. Relena watched as the woman's sharp gaze swept the room, noted every out of place feature, filed it away for later reference and inclined her head respectfully to the watching Princess with the barest dip of a curtsy.
"Your Highness. It is a pleasure to have you visit the nursery. A word of caution, though. Do beware of the monster drool. He's cutting more teeth so he's positively dripping most of the time. Never known a child to drool as much as that young man when he's teething."
"What's a little bit of drool between family?" Relena chuckled. "And it's Relena, Helen. I thought we had come to an understanding about that."
"One 'Your Highness' at the beginning of the conversation, followed thereafter by Miss Relena's a plenty," Helen primly returned.
End
Karina Robertson 2012