22-July-2002
ANDREA: {ya------awns}
READWOLF: would you wake up already?
ANDREA: {mumbles} don' wanna... mmmmm....
READWOLF: you have *HOMEWORK* to do---or did you forget that in your weekend
of fun.
ANDREA: {smiles} was tryin' to... don wanna do 'omework. wanna sleep.
READWOLF: See. I *knew* you shouldn't have gone to Disney this weekend.
ANDREA: shuddup already. go post another part or something. I'll do my
homework later.
READWOLF: But your paper's due *tomorrow* and you haven't even started
*reading* yet!!!
ANDREA: .....zzzzzz.......
READWOLF: !___!
A Matter of Heart: Heirs to the Legacy
By: Andrea Readwolf
Email:
Rating: YA/Mature
Families: YMC Fam (Yuy-Maxwell-Chang Family: Trinity, Mara Jade,
and Dylan);
Winner Fam (Quatre + Trowa, Triton&Tristan, and little sis
Calista)
Peacecraft Family (Zechs Marquise/Milliard + Lucrezia/Noin
Peacecraft,Kit/Katarynna, Adrian, and Nicolette/Nicole)
Mazzolla Family (Mariemeia + Jake Mazzolla {OC}, Julian)
Catalonia-Dorian Family (Dorothy Catalonia + Relena Dorian,
Regina)
Une-Po Family (Lady Une + Sally Po, Marie Une*, Michael Braddocks,
Mark Braddocks, Matthew Braddocks)
Pairings: Trinity + Adrian, Mara Jade + Tristan, Kit + Triton (hoped
for), Calista + Dylan (hinted at)
plus: 1+2+3+4+5
Archive: Yes-- www.gwaddiction.com
Warnings: The following story contains scenes that are humorous,
sappy,fluff, with Incoherence, random PoV switching, and
Sexual innuendos abound.
Original Characters are presented; all characters are IC according to
the author's interpretation of them. Mainly heterosexual
situations, with hints of YAOI and YURI.
Spoilers: Previous Matter of Heart Series Arc stories: "Dance of the
Heart" Arc and "Oh Baby, Baby" Arc. Built off of "Traditions".
Feedback: C&C is always welcomed and adored.
Acknowledgements: There have been some wonderful people who have
made my sojourn in GW-fanfiction more than just enjoyable and have
inspired me to write, write, and write some more. Thank you.
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters belong to Bandai, Sunrise
and Sotsu Agency and are only being used for non-profit entertainment
purposes. References to printed texts, films, sitcoms, musical
pieces, and/or other fanfictions don't belong to the author either.
Original Characters, including but not limited too, the Berh
Siblings, Jake Mazzolla and "the chibis", are original and hence, the
author's own creation.
Notes: This is the story of the children, the nine children of the 6
gundam pilots (Heero--Zechs) plus the grandchild of Treize
Khushrenada. This story will not focus primarily on the characters
from the series, but rather, the generation after them. This story is
not for all die-hard fans, but runs along the lines of a more
original piece.
Additional Note: 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 often times refer to each other as
"husband"; please refer back to "Promise of the Rings" Part 15 if this
causes confusion.
Additional Note 2: The chibis often times refer to their parents'
friends and partners as "Uncle" or "Aunt"--in this case, the
term is used simply as one of respect since, with the exception
of Kit & Adrian's relation to Relena and all of Quatre's sisters,
none of the parents have siblings.
***These stories and the ideas contained within are copyright of the author. No reprinting or posting without permission of said author. ***
~ September AC 227~
Duo reappeared sometime long after midnight, looking worse for the wear and his breath reeking of alcohol. A cab dropped the longhaired man off, his jeep suspiciously missing.
Wufei and Tristan were still at the table, talking quietly. Dylan had called hours ago to say he was staying the night over at Bridgelight with Julian. Wufei had offered Tristan Dylan's bed since the boy would not be sleeping in it, and Tristan, grateful for escaping the drive back to Emerald Gardens after an emotionally draining evening, gladly accepted. The blond haired boy was just explaining to the older man what it was he planned on doing with his third of WEI when the cab and Duo pulled in the drive.
Tristan had never seen his godfather so thoroughly soused before. He was at once completely amused and totally sorry for being the cause of the longhaired man's drunken state, as well as entirely sympathetic to the hangover he knew Duo would be battling come the day's light.
Wufei forced two whole glasses of water down a protesting Duo's throat before he and Tristan half-dragged half-carried the besotted man up to bed. All the way upstairs, Duo talked and talked, words just falling easily form his imbedded lips. Words like, "I couldn't protect her," and "baby" and "failed her" and even "hurt her." Across from him, the Chinese man murmured soft words in a foreign language.
Tristan had never seen his uncles so. so affectionate or dependent upon each other. Sure, he knew his fathers and their husbands loved each other-it had always just been a given fact, even if the five men didn't live together-but as he watched Wufei help Duo into bed, and then undress him, and then tuck him under the covers and kiss him gently. Tristan swallowed, not really understanding why he was so affected by all this. Maybe his emotions were still high.
Still, once Duo had fallen asleep-almost immediately after being tucked in-and Wufei started inspecting the other man's clothes, looking for rips, tears, stains, and any other damage the apparel might have endured, Tristan wet his lips and in a hoarse whispered admitted, " I've never seen Duo so angry as he was tonight."
Wufei looked up from his inspection to study the man sound asleep on the bed. "Neither have I," he answered, looking back at the clothing in his hands. "Not since the war, at least."
They were both quiet in the moment, and then Tristan finally found the voice to say, "I'm sorry."
"We can talk about it in the morning," Wufei told him, folding the clothes and dropping them in the hamper. "When we're all a bit more fresh, no?"
"Yes," Tristan nodded, taking it as his cue to leave. He closed the door behind him, leaving the two fathers alone. He stopped to look in on Mara Jade, to look down into her sleeping face and gently trace her brow with his fingertips. Gods, how he loved her! And then he took himself to bed, stripping down to his boxers before shimmying under the sheets to dream about Mara Jade and how perfect she felt in his arms.
Sometime in the night, Mara Jade got up to go to the bathroom. She didn't return to her own bed, however, and when Wufei went to check on her the next morning, he found the two-dare he say lovers?-curled around each other in Dylan's bed.
It was a humbling moment. The night before he had lain awake, curled around Duo in some such a fashion, holding the longhaired man to him as Wufei ran the events of the evening over and over again in his mind. As he contemplated the changes life had dealt and the consequences and results of those changes. Seeing his daughter and her. and her lover, together in bed, sleeping.
It was an extremely humbling moment for the last remaining member of a proud clan. The moment when he had to face the fact and realize his children-even the baby-were all grown up now. His beautiful daughters and son were beautiful and strong young women and man. With a heart-sickening nostalgia, he realized he was Dylan's age when Quatre had proposed marriage to his fellow Gundam pilots. He had been only a little older than Trinity now when he'd agreed to carry a baby in his body in a completely radical experiment-the experiment that made him the father of three wonderful children.
Wufei was old.
A newer generation had grown up and replaced him; a generation that was just starting their lives.
He left Mara Jade and Tristan to their dreams and went downstairs to make a good strong pot of coffee. He had a feeling it would be greatly needed today.
The two men were in the kitchen nursing cups of coffee when the blond boy finally decided to come downstairs and face the music. He'd woken up short of an hour earlier, to the most wonderful feeling-Mara Jade, asleep in his arms, her body wrapped around his. For the longest time, he did nothing but stare at her-marvel over the knowledge of their child, humbled by the sheer force of love for her and the baby inside her. It had been hell, staying away from her this week. It took everything in him not to break his promise and stay away. But the baby-he or she-changed things. Eventually, he'd carried her back to her own room, settling her into her own bed. He wanted to crawl inside the covers with her and just cuddle. He didn't, though. He knew he couldn't hide and going back to bed was only delaying the inevitable.
"Good morning," he said first, stepping into the kitchen and into the middle of the two other men's lowered conversation.
"Tristan," Wufei was first to greet. Duo, the boy noticed, didn't look at him or say anything at all. "There's some bacon in the pan or some cereal on top of the fridge. Help yourself."
"Thanks," he mumbled in reply, moving to make some breakfast.
"I was just filling Duo in on some things," Wufei continued behind him.
"Oh?"
"Yes." He could picture Wufei nodding. "And your father called earlier."
Tristan dropped the knife he was buttering some bread with. His voice, however, remained calm. "OH? Sorry I missed him." He cleared his throat a little before asking, "What did he have to say?"
At the table, Wufei smiled.
//flashback//
"Wufei, I'm so sorry," the blonde executive of WEI starting in as soon as the call was put through.
"For what?" Wufei asked, his voice easily relating his annoyance. "I may be gay, Quatre, but I am quite aware of how a baby is naturally conceived. Mara Jade takes full responsibility for her actions and she will deal with the consequences responsibly."
The other man had been speechless, staring at the vidscreen with wide, blinking eyes.
//end flashback//
"Nothing of import," the Chinese man answered Tristan now.
The boy nodded and for several minutes, no one spoke. "It's going to be kinda lonely here with both Mara J and Trinity gone, I imagine," Tristan said finally, just to make some conversation.
"Why would I leave?" a somewhat sleepy voice asked.
Tristan turned and looked at the back stairs. There, standing on the bottom step, was a dark angel-glossy midnight hair cascading down around her shoulders and back. Her simple cotton nightshirt was at least two sized too large for it hung off a shoulder and was just inches shorter than her knees. He couldn't help but smile at the image.
"Well," Tristan answered, replacing the lid on the butter and putting it back in the fridge. "I guess I could move in over here after we're married, but you have to admit, there's more space for us and the baby back at Emerald Gardens."
But Mara Jade wasn't sharing his smile when he looked back at her. In fact, she was frowning. "Who said we're getting married?"
"But, the baby--?" His words melted away right along with his smiled under the weight of her glare. "Mara Jade-" he began, only to be cut off.
"No," she said lowly-not shouting or screaming. "I'm pregnant. Fine." She held her hand up quickly to stop him from saying whatever he was about to say. "I'll have this baby; I've decided not to abort it-"
At this point, both her fathers looked up sharply at the dark-haired girl, unaware that the option of abortion even *was* an option, but Wufei and Duo both held their tongues. The two "children" weren't paying them any attention anyway.
"And I'll keep it," Mara Jade added, still glaring at Tristan. "I'll even make sure your name goes right on the birth certificate as 'father'. But where does it say I have to marry you just because I'm carrying your baby!"
"Mara Jade-?"
"No."
"Be reasonable!"
"I AM!" she shouted, finally letting the tension in the air be expressed. And then, more softly, she continued, "I plan to marry for love, Tristan, and nothing less. And the truth of the matter is. I don't love you. I don' t."
He stared back at her, hard; his tongue feeling like it had been glued to the roof of his mouth. After an eternity, he moved. "Fine." His voice was like a thunderclap, dangerous and fired with electricity.
And then he left. He turned away, walked right out the back door, got in his car, and left.
Mara Jade's jaw hurt watching him leave, her teeth grinding together in an effort to keep her face neutral. Tears stung her blue eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Why was this hurting so bad, watching him leave like this? She had only told the truth.
When finally the sounds of Tristan's car had faded away, her father stood and brought his coffee mug to the sink. Duo didn't look at her, but his voice was scratchy when he said, "You sure loved him enough to get pregnant by him."
A tear slipped past her defense. "Excuse me," she choked "I think I'm going to be sick."
She ran back up the stairs a lot less quietly than she'd come down them.
End Part 19
Trinity: Ouch... I think you really made Daddy mad.
Mara Jade: Tell me you back me up on this, please. One should marry out of
love and nothing less.
Trinity: Oh, quite right, quite right. However--
Mara Jade: What do you mean, 'however'?
Trinity: *However*--I think you're being a big baby about this whole thing.
I mean, why won't you just admit that you love Tristan and then the whole
thing with be fine and dandy again!
Andrea: Aint! aint! aint! Don't ruin my plot, missy!
Mara Jade: !__! But I don't *want* to be in love~!
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com