A Matter of Heart: Heirs to the Legacy
By: Andrea Readwolf
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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. ***
~ The Sands~
Mara Jade looked up at the mansion-the size of which rivaled Peacecraft Manor and could probably engulf Whispering Pines, Emerald Gardens, and Bridgelight whole! It was almost as big as Adrian's palace in Sank, sitting there like an oasis on the edge of the desert. She suspected the sole reason for the town they'd just come through probably was this mansion. And Tristan walked right on up to the front door like he owned the place.
Wait a minute. What did he just say? "The Raberba Home Estate"? Then.
There were two people waiting at the door for Tristan and Mara Jade when they walked up the landing. The woman, a girl Tristan recognized as one of the Manganacs's wife, exclaimed how happy she was that Tristan was back and the house was all ready, their rooms ready and was it acceptable to take the young lady to the Mistress's chambers?
Tristan smiled and nodded, reassuring Mara Jade when the woman took her in hand and began to lead her off. The Mistress's Chambers. Yes, everyone recognized Mara Jade's importance. He smiled again, wondering if Mara Jade had caught on yet.
The young man led him to the dining patio to wait for her. For a moment he thought about going to the Room, but then dismissed it, settling back into the large cushioned wicker chair. Overhead a lazy fan stirred the air, and he closed his eyes and relaxed.
A bug was buzzing along the glass walls of the patio, trying to get in. Shouts of laughter from the village. Sands blowing over the Sahara. Water faucets opening. A gasp as cold water showers down.
A ghost smile. A ghost kiss. Phantom lips ghosting over a slick wet neck. Ghost fingers brushing over pert breasts, slick stomach. Teasing between dark thatches, slipping inside. A cry-
"Your actions are a grave breach of responsibility and trust!"
Tristan's eyes snapped open, his jaw dropping as he looked back at the middle-aged man glowering at him.
"It was just a little fun," his lips moved, but it wasn't Tristan's voice. Quickly, Tristan got up out of his seat and looked back at the young man still sitting there. "Don't make such a big deal-"
The older man sputtered, turning a deep shade of purplish red. "B-b-b-Big deal!" he roared.
"You're making a scene," the younger man replied calmly.
"Have you no consideration? " the man asked lowly, his voice sounding desperate to Tristan's ears. The smile fell from the young man's lips. "You are my son, but I don't know who you are anymore."
"You never knew me," the other grounded out, standing with forcible anger.
"Rama! Rama, where are you going?"
"Out!"
The images fade from the patio. Tristan just stared a minute longer, before shaking his head. Yes, he was definitely Home.
After a year away, Triton Raberba Winner finally gave up and returned home to Emerald Gardens with all of his bags in tow. It helped that his brother was soon to be a father and he wanted to be around for that. It helped that the girl he had loved since before he was born was actually in town and held to a promise to stay there until *after* the holidays. It also helped that Emerald Gardens was almost WEI headquarters-equipped to handle incoming and outgoing information from all WEI outposts. He could run New Renaissance Medical without ever leaving home. The only reason he had left in the first place was to get some on the job understanding of what his people were trying to accomplish. And, of course, it definitely helped that he was the boss and could do whatever he liked.
The only person over him was his father-which was just another reason Triton decided to come home. Callie had warned her brothers of their father's opinionated stubbornness concerning the status surrounding Tristan's impending fatherhood. Namely, Quatre was 'going Zero-system' because Tristan hadn't married Mara Jade yet. Never no never mind that the girl didn't *want* to get married. No, the great Quatre Raberba Winner had declared that the two should be married and that was final. Only, Tristan hadn't followed decree (big surprise there, Triton thought, grinning) and so Triton was bound by brotherly-love and sibling-pact to side with his brother and sister whether or not he agreed with them. It was a rule, after all. All siblings must gang together to overrule the vote of the parents, or in this case, parent. Their Dad seemed to be secretly on their side. So did Mara Jade's fathers, for that matter. That made it seven against one, nine if you included Mara Jade's sister and brother. Not that the odds ever deterred Quatre Winner.
It was just as well that his brother had snuck Mara Jade out of the country. No sense leaving her in range of Quatre's temper. It gave Triton a good 36 hours to work on his father, get him to back down, and accept circumstances as they were. Of course, now probably wasn't a good time, he thought, as the soundtrack to his father's temper-tantrum drifted down to him through the ceiling. Casually, he looked over to his other father, sitting at the table calmly drinking tea while reading some papers.
"Has he been like this since.?" Triton asked, clearing his throat.
One green eye quirked upwards and the corners of Trowa's mouth twitched as he set his tea cup back down. "Yes," Trowa answered shortly, and then seeing his eldest son's frown he went on. "He sees this as his inability to protect you. Worse, he sees what will happen once the media gets wind of this and there's no wedding band on anyone's hand. He worries that it will be more than any of you should have to deal with, and it upsets him that he never saw this coming."
Triton noticed his father's thumb absently twisting the plain gold band on his own left hand as the older man spoke, his voice calm and soft, yet whole-heartedly sincere. He nodded again, accepting his father's insight to the matter-his parents hadn't been married for thirty years for nothing. "We're old enough to protect ourselves," he said after a moment, frowning.
Across the table, Trowa's heart panged but he nodded and answered, "Of course."
"And he should realize that it would be a tactical error to rush into a wedding under these circumstances," Triton went on, unaware of the room above quieting.
Across the table, Trowa frowned but didn't say more than, "How so?"
"Well, for one, the media will be all over a Winner wedding, and it will eventually come out that Mara Jade's pregnant. That will leave tongues to wag over how it was a forced wedding, not one out of love. That leaves suspicion open for future indiscretions on either's part. If we let it set, wait it out as it were, then Mara Jade's pregnancy will still come out, but we can still handle it under WEI's influence. Let it out that they've been seeing each other on the sly for quite a bit of time and that a possible wedding has been hinted at. You could tell the truth, that neither one feels they are ready for marriage just yet, or you could lie and say Mara Jade doesn't want to fit her wedding dress around the baby. I'm sure she'll throw that excuse out once she realizes it's available anyway. This way, when they *do* marry-and they will-it will seem like the decision of two rational adults who are committing themselves to one another for no other reason less than love for one another."
"That's quite a plan."
Triton looked over his shoulder, at once surprised but quickly recovered of Quatre's sudden appearance. Trowa, he noticed, wasn't surprised. Just how long had his father been listening?
"And when would you release this information to the press?" Quatre asked, walking more into the room and pouring himself a cup of tea-all calm, cool, and collected, like he *hadn't* just thrown a temper-tantrum upstairs.
"Leak information that Tristan's been seeing someone steadily," Triton answered, only feeling a minute sense of betrayal for his brother, but continuing believing in the long run, this would be better for the two. "The media will then ask him whether they are true or not. Last time he denied any relationship between himself and Mara Jade. to keep the press off of her. Now, with the pregnancy, he'll have to either admit to the relationship or look like a fool in a few months when the truth can't be hidden any longer."
"And if he chooses to look the fool and protect her?" Quatre countered.
"Of course he will." Triton smiled at his father. "I would question his love for her otherwise."
End Part 26
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com