Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Normal Life ❯ Chapter 17

Disclaimer:
IT'S MINE!! ALL MINE!!! WAHAHAHHAHA!! *Ayanami laughs manically as the lawyers and her muse team up and try to put a straight jacket on her and take her away*

Authoress Note: School's started and life sucks, ne? Well, the pains of the band I love so much have hit me again, now that Mommy's graduated and I'm left with a sightly sadistic Pit Captain... (But I'm Asst. Captain!) Goddamit, I've heard (and played) Rhapsody in Blue so many times I could (and do) play it in my sleep.

If any of ya'll out there are Southern CA band people, are you going to the El Camino field show on Oct. 13th?

Tama-neko: She wants to know so she can (1) Meet you, and (2) draft you as her pit crew. Well, I think she's rambled enough, I'd better start her writing now.

Ayanami: Damn straight!!

Another Note: One of my reviewers asked about Cinq and Sank, and which one is right. Well, I used Sank before, but now I'm going to try to use Cinq becuase Cinq is the number 5 in French. We all know about Gundam Wing and numbers, ne? So, they're both the same, and you'll see both. They're both right, really.

"Umm....Mister, I'm lost." Aiko looked up at the tall man, giving him her best puppy eyes. Zechs stared right back down at the child, for some reason feeling to need to not give in to her utter cuteness. He felt his resolve weakening, ever so slightly.

"The front room is down that way." he said gruffly, pointing down the hallway.

"But, Mister," she protested, a small tear formed at the corner of her eye, increasing the puppy eye factor tenfold, "It's dark over there... I'm afraid of the dark. There are monsters and bad people in the dark." Her gaze never wavered from his clear blue eyes. He didn't break his gaze away from her, refusing to give in.

"It's not..." he trailed off as her lower lip began to quiver. His last walls of defense crumbled, and he surrendered. He sighed, and got down to eye level with the child. "Hey, don't cry. I'll go with you." he said gently, wiping away her lone tear.

"Really?" she asked, suddenly happier. He nodded and stood up, taking her small hand in his. As he led her down the well-lit hallway, it occurred to him that this child might be more talented at manipulation than he thought.

"See? There are no monsters or bad people here." he said, comforting the child. She didn't smile up at him, or thank him for showing her that. It seemed as if a dark cloud was hovering over her head.

"There were bad people at home." she said darkly, her eyes downcast.

He had heard about the attack from Noin. Zechs picked the girl up, and wondered for a moment how he'd gotten so attached to her in the few minutes that he'd been with her. "It's OK. They can't hurt you here."

"But they hurt Karou! And they tried to hurt Daddy! They hurt 'Lena before she came to visit us! They're going to come here next, and hurt Ayame too! And maybe me, or you, or Uncle Duo, or Miss Noin, or that old guy who gave us breakfast, or-" she rambled, real tears threatening to break loose.

"Shh." he quieted her, "They can't hurt anyone anymore. I made sure of that." he said, both to her and to himself.

"They can't?" she asked, warily.

"No, they can't. It's my job to make sure that people like them can't hurt people like you or your Daddy, or your sisters." he assured her. "And I always do my job."

By this time they had reached the main room, and Aiko's eyes widened with a sudden brainstorm. She knew that even though Mister Zechs and Daddy didn't like each other very much, they respected each other a lot. And the same went for Zechs and Uncle Duo. Mister Zechs was a really nice guy, so why should she only torment Daddy? She should play a joke on Uncle Duo too...

She scanned the room and decided that the first joke wasn't going to work anyway. Daddy and 'Lena were already awake, although they were still sitting rather close together. Duo was sitting on the couch across from them, eager to see what Aiko would do. Karou was playing with a half-awake Ayame. She suppressed a grin, and jumped out of Zechs arms.

"Thanks for helping me, Uncle Zechs!" she cried happily.

Uncle? That title must come easy...why are Heero and Duo staring at me like that? Why is that girl- Karou- laughing like that?

"U..uncle?" Duo choked out. Heero just glared, half at him, and half at his errant child.

Karou was laughing quite sadistically, Ayame laughing with her. "Aiko!! I can't believe you pulled the great Zechs Marquise into the evil Band Cult!"

"Evil Band Cult?" Zechs asked, his eyes narrowing. Duo just banged his head on the table.

"Hey! We're not evil, we're only misunderstood!" Heero defended himself and his band.

"Speak for yourself! I'm evil and I know it!" she retorted, laughter dancing her eyes. Aiko walked over and sat down next to Karou, watching the situation unfold.

"Will someone explain this to me?" Zechs thundered, and was promptly ignored by the bickering Heero and Karou. Relena sent an amused glance his way, and then focused her attention on the arugment-turned-mudslinging match.

"Shut up, Laundry basket boy!" Karou snapped. Heero blushed profusely, a sight that many thought that they would never see.

"Laundry basket boy?" Relena inquired, causing Heero to hide behind one of the pillows on the couch like a little child.

"Yeah, he was conceived in a laundry basket." Karou said, enjoying her brother's plight.

"Hey, at least I'm not dating my uncle!!" he yelled from behind Relena. He paused, then, "Wait, that didn't sound right..." Karou erupted with a new burst of laughter, along with everyone else in the room. Even Zechs was enjoying Heero's discomfort. He was still trying to process the fact that his fiercest rival, the one he'd never managed to best, had raised children. Now he saw before him a normal teenager (The term 'normal' used loosely... he's in the band, remember?) being mercilessly tortured by his family and friends.

"Hehehe, Heero, laundry basket! Rose really is creative, ne?" he teased.

"Shaded, Duo! After all you were conceived-" he stopped as he noticed Duo tense, "Hey...Mommy never told you where you were conceived, did she?" He grinned as Duo shook his head no. Heero fished through his pocket and pulled out an updated version of their family tree. (which was basically a 3x5 card with a bunch of scribbles and lines all over it) "Let's see, Duo....Duo...Ahh, here you are, Duo! Son of Mommie and ...Jake! My God!"

Karou's eyes bulged. "Jake! Mommie must've been really drunk!"

"Drunk, stoned, and raped." Heero corrected, reading the smaller text under Duo's name. "Conceived..." he paused for dramatic effect- and to make out the words "in the back Bus 2?"

"EWWWWW!! I'm never sitting on Bus 2 again!" Karou cried.

Duo shuddered. "Me neither."

Zechs shook his head and turned around. "I'm not going to ask, I don't want to know." He told himself. He felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down to find Aiko staring up at him again.

"Um, Uncle Zechs?" she asked softly.

"Whatever it is, no. I've learned my lesson." he said, knowing he could never say no to that child.

"I just wanted to thank you. I used you in my joke so I could embarrass Daddy and Uncle Duo." she admitted. "But I hope you weren't embarrassed, too."

"No, I wasn't embarrassed." he lied, impressed at both her cunning and naivety. "That was funny, but be sure to apologize to your Daddy and Duo later, OK?"

She nodded. "OK. Thanks, Uncle Zechs!"

"AIKO!!" Heero thundered.

"Umm....Yes, Daddy?" she said, peeking out from behind Zechs' leg.

"You... you... you called him Uncle on purpose... to make us fight?" he demanded, a slight bit of embarrassed amusement softening his harsh features.

"Umm.... yeah." she hugged Zechs' leg tightly, cutting off blood flow to everywhere below the knee.

"Come here, you!" he had pried her arms from Zechs' leg and was mercilessly tickling her in a flash.

Karou crept up behind him and grabbed for Heero's sides. He made a high-pitched squeal of protest, sending everyone into fits of laughter. He turned attacked his sister, restarting another of the tickling matches that was the norm in their family.

Zechs used this time to take his leave, meeting face to face with Noin right outside the door.

"You know, I saw you with Aiko back there." she jerked her head back towards the other end of the hall where Aiko had begun her plot.

"And?" he prompted, frowning. He studied his soon-to-be wife, searching for the reason behind the odd chord in her voice. She seemed happy, in a quiet way.

"I think you'd make a good father." she stated, her eyes glowing.

That's it! She looks like she's glowing. Hey, isn't that how they describe women who are-

She gazed up at him. He looked over her once more, but this time he saw a lot more. One hand was holding a small white object, and the other was placed protectively over her belly.

Thud.

"Wow. He caught on quicker than I thought."

Little bit o' 6x9 in there to make up for the lack of 1xR. You like the merciless Heero torture? I sure as hell did! MWAHAHAHA!!

And as for the Karou dating her uncle part... In reality, Karou (name is changed) dated (past tense) her nephew, Hobo (don't ask), who had in the past dated his own mother. As I said, we are a twisted bunch.

*hugs for all*