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"Can't Have It All "Written By: Dragonmistress_7 Disclaimer: I don't own the Gundam Wing Boys. Summary: A single night of comfort turns into
Relena's lifetime commitment to the children who came of it, but when
their father's identity comes out, it's hard to see where other important
people in their lives will fit into this strange picture, and if,
somehow, they can all become a family.
Can't Have It All Chapter 5 Life slipped very easily into a routine of feedings, speeches, naps, conferences, dirty diapers, and grand balls. When there was absolutely no way the girls could stay with Relena, they went to daycare, but she usually brought them to work with her. They would lie quietly and sleep or play under her supervision while she worked. Indeed, it was an unusual look that crossed the L3 representative’s face when she asked him to please stop shouting, because he was scaring Aiko. Aiko, though older, was obviously the more submissive. She cried when a loud noise startled her, and even as she got older, was not as eager to move about as her sister. She was a bit headstrong, but in an almost subtle manner, for her age. Her mind worked constantly and quickly. If one method didn’t work to gain her what she wanted, she would try another, completely different approach. Her cries for food or a diaper change seemed almost gentle reminders, half-hearted at best, because that worked well enough and consequently there was no reason to get really upset about it. When in doubt, she took her cues from Kyoko’s reactions, because then reward or punishment would be divided between them, giving a part of the reward to her, or making the punishment less severe in its distribution. In short, she was docile, intelligent, and shrewd. Kyoko Peacecraft was hell on wheels. Fearless, stubborn, loud and curious didn’t even begin to cover it. She learned to crawl from sheer determination, very early. What was more; she pushed her sister to learn as well. Despite their young age, she viewed her sister as someone who needed her guidance and protection. In return, she was the boss. Kyoko wasn’t satisfied unless everything was going her way, and that was with everybody from a soft touch like her mother to a hard case like her Uncle Heero. When she wanted something, she wanted it right the first time, and NOW might or might not be soon enough. Like her sister, she was intelligent and sneaky, but unlike Aiko, her whole heart and soul went into every cry. It tore at the listener’s heart to hear Kyoko bawl, because despite the privilege of her birth and the love of those around her, her passion made it seem as though her heart were about to break. Such were the imps Relena called her children, though some called them “The Hellions” behind Relena’s back, even Heero, upon occasion. It took him some time to be able to tell them apart, though, so he was never sure if it was one or both of them who gave him so much trouble. Most people had a similar problem, including their own uncle. Zechs was at a loss as to which was which for nearly six months before he got it right more often than he got it wrong. Relena hated leaving them at daycare for the same reason. She was tired of hearing that “one of them” had done this or that while she was away. She began taking them to the office with her more and more regularly. Only thing was, even there it seemed nobody could tell her precious little girls, who were so obviously different, apart. From the moment of their birth, she had never gotten them mixed up. Was it so much to ask that of others? Caught up in the havoc of living, Relena was stunned to wake up one morning to the realization that her darling babies were a year old. Though no real party plans were made, Heero and Duo got a cake and Quatre and Trowa sprung for some balloons and a banner and an informal kind of celebration sprung up around the twins late that afternoon. They were allowed to play in the cake while the grown-ups laughed and took pictures, as grown-ups are apt to do, and then, after a quick wash, they got to rip brightly-colored papers off of boxes, which was quite a fun game, in their opinions. All in all, they thought it was a grand way to spend a day, and their mother knew it to be the best party she had ever attended. It was after the girls had fallen asleep and the adults lingered, talking, that the idea was spoken into existence. It might have been Duo who said it first, but only because Heero and Relena had already hinted that the suggestion would be taken favorably. It was so simple that they laughingly wondered why they hadn’t thought of it sooner. Heero and Duo could move in with Relena, and it would be more convenient for them to help her with the girls, and in return, they would have less to pay in the way of rent than they did at their current apartment.
The thing that surprised Relena the most was the things that she never knew about the couple until they lived with her. For example, Heero kept a journal that contained some very- un-Heero-like statements. After she accidentally picked it up and read the first few entries, she returned it to him with a subtle suggestion that he keep it someplace private, lest she unknowingly stumble across it again. Despite his appearance of being nothing more than a loud-mouthed idiot, Duo, she discovered, was disciplined to the point of being meticulous. He treated every aspect of his life with the same considerate care he treated his braid. His clothes were always folded neatly and put in a chair, his dishes always washed and put away when he cooked. If he left unexpectedly, she could always count on finding a note in his handwriting on the refrigerator. At first these things only served to make her more uneasy,
but a month passed, and when nothing happened, her doubts eased. Two
more months passed, and they disappeared. She felt that she had been
overly cynical and chided herself for not having faith in her friends.
In a few more months, her fears were forgotten, and that, of course,
was precisely when the shit hit the fan. ~ * ~ |
