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. ***
~December 13 AC 227 6:30 AM~
[Countdown: 4 1/2 hours]
Calista Winner considered herself better than any wake-up call or alarm, which is probably why she took it upon herself to slip into the room, unannounced and unwitnessed, and pounced on the bed shouting sing-songily, "Wake-up! Wake-up! Everybody, wake-up!"
The two occupants of the bed were instantly awake, and although Tristan just groaned and tried to kick his 'little' sister off the bed, Mara Jade was bolting up--until a clump of dark hair caught under Tristan’s body, yanking her back down with a loud accompanying, "Ow!"
Then Tristan was sitting up, alert, too.
Calista sat on the edge of the bed waiting patiently while the pair carefully gathered all of Mara Jade’s -loose- dark hair and quickly twisted it into a braid, before relying the information that had brought her here in the first place.
"Our Dads are up," she said, re-alerting the two to her presence. "And, as calm as they are about you two sleeping together at home…"
Mara Jade flipped her braid back over her shoulder as she scrubbed some sleep out of her eyes, yawning. "Don’t worry. I reinforced Sank’s security systems yesterday."
"Yeah, well," Calista smirked, picturing Uncle Heero working at his laptop with no results. "Trini and ‘Drian are up, too, and both are ‘bout ready to have separate nervous breakdowns. As Maid of Honor and Best Man it’s your duties to keep them sane before the "I do’s". Afterwards, they’re on their own, no da."
"Okay, okay, okay," Tristan practically growled. "Now would you get out of here so we can get dressed already?"
The blonde heiress smirked, but stood. "Why, oni-san! Isn’t it a little late for modesty?" She fluffed her golden mane down her back and sailed toward the exit, calling over her shoulder, "See you both at brunch!"
The marriage of Sank’s king was a big deal. Yes, a very big deal. It was such a big deal that people from all over Earth, the colonies, and Mars were in attendance. Many guests had already arrived the night before, but more were due today, and the palace kitchens were bustling with activity, trying to keep the food buffet in the luncheon and breakfast rooms fresh and delicious while preparing the afternoon and evening meals, as well.
As Mara Jade slipped past two older gentlemen to snag the bacon strips, she couldn’t help but overhear a snatch of their conversation…
"I don’t think I’ve ever been more frightened in my life then when that red demon-looking gundam came flying to Sank’s defense."
"I know what you mean. I can still hear Minister Dorian’s voice--of course she was Princess of Sank at the time--asking everyone to stop fighting--"
Mara Jade moved on to the fruit salad, trying her best to ignore any other conversation around her. As she scooped enough fruit onto her plate for three people--Trinity probably would want some too, after all--her thoughts turned inward, and a frown managed to mar her face as she climbed the staircase back up to the family suites. It was only natural that people would talk about Sank’s popular history, but… Mara Jade couldn’t help wishing that they wouldn’t. So much of Sank’s history was bathed in sadness--a sentiment completely out of place on her sister’s wedding day. She hoped today’s happy memories would go far to soothe over this country’s wrinkles.
A new King; a new Queen. A new young royal couple. Yes, Sank was definitely due for some good memorable events.
Mara Jade knocked on her sister’s door--one and-a-two and one--before walking on in.
Since Tristan’s clothes were in his room it took him longer to get down to the food. Bypassing the fruit salad, he loaded two plates with French toast and sausage links, scrambled eggs, country gravy, and bacon strips. He wasn’t thinking of his best friend when he piled on the food, but Adrian didn’t seem to take notice as he helped himself to a sausage link wrapped in French toast.
"What are you doing in here on your wedding day?" the blond young man asked the dark-haired monarch, looking around Sank’s King’s office.
"Just because it’s Saturday, doesn’t mean there isn’t work to be done," Adrian gripped, adding his signature to several pieces of paper. "Let me just finish these tariff proposals and then I promise to put it all away until Monday."
"Monday?"
Adrian shook his hand out, trying to forstall the writer’s cramp that was trying to settle there. "Yes, Monday."
"But… I thought you were leaving for your tour on Monday."
"I am, we are, which is why these can wait till then." Adrian sighed heavily, falling back against his chair. "They’re mostly reports on the cities and towns we’ll be visiting. Trini will want to look at them, too. She’s more interested in this stuff than I am."
Tristan grinned as he dug whole-heartedly into his breakfast. "It’s nice to be with someone who compliments you, eh?"
"You know so much about it, do you?" the dark-haired young man teased, but his blond friend just smiled and winked.
"You wouldn’t think it, would you? Looking at us," Tristan said mixing his eggs and gravy. "But we do compliment each other well, Mara Jade and I."
Adrian laughed, shuffling the papers on his desk around and putting away his pen. "You both cover it up well, then." He pulled out his schedule and glanced at his watch.
"Don’t we, though?"
"Brunch is at ten. That gives us an hour and a half to kill." Adrian looked up at his long-time friend.
"You know my suggestions: anime, vid games, sabbac, or food, and one of them’s already taken care of," Tristan replied, lifting his fork in acknowledgement.
Adrian grinned. "Have I shown you Sank’s Entertainment selection yet?"
"Why, no. No, you haven’t," Tristan grinned as well, shoveling the last piece of bacon into his mouth before standing to follow Adrian out of the room.
Still pouting, Heero left his computer to join his husbands as requested for a walk of the grounds.
"It’s nice day for a wedding," Quatre sighed, slipping his hand into Trowa’s as they stepped outside. On his other side Duo humphfed.
"See if you’re saying the same thing when it’s your baby girl getting married," the longhaired man snapped, resting his head against Wufei’s as they walked.
"Callie’s a little young yet to be thinking of marriage," Trowa frowned, not liking the idea of his baby getting married at all.
"She’s as old as we were," Heero pointed out, joining them, slipping between Quatre and Duo easily.
"I don’t think it’s fair to compare anyone to us, do you?" Quatre asked, linking his arm through Heero’s.
"No, but I don’t think it’s fair to compare *our* children to normal people’s children, either," the Japanese man replied, linking his arm around Duo’s back and brushing Wufei’s side.
"No, perhaps not," his Chinese husband agreed as they walked through the rose garden’s maze. As one, they stopped suddenly when they came across a sixth.
He sat beside the empty fountain, playing with a red rose in his fingers. He didn’t notice them until they were right on top of him, and then he hurriedly wiped away the tears in his eyes.
"Is, is something wrong, Zechs?" Quatre asked for the five, aquiline blue eyes shining with honest concern.
The tall blond man forced a smile to his lips. "Just some bad memories catching up with me," he replied sheepishly, ducking his head to avoid eye contact.
Seeing the rose in the other man’s hand, Wufei questioned, "Trieze?"
Startled blue eyes met onyx before a pathetic laugh left his throat. "Among others," he acknowledged.
"Why don’t you join us?" Heero asked, looking at his other mates for confirmation.
"Yes," Quatre picked up. "We’re enjoying Sank’s grounds before we have to meet back up at the palace for brunch. We would appreciate your company."
Zechs’s smile was warm-felt this time as he bowed his head in acceptance, murmuring, "I think I would like that, thank you," before joining ranks next to Wufei. And the six men wandered off deeper into the garden maze.
If Tristan had thought his friend’s coronation was long and boring he was about to find out how much worse a royal wedding could be. Of course, everything went off as planned. It really was a beautiful wedding--as far as weddings go. But the whole ‘processional, blessing, commitment speech, unity candle, vows, more blessings, Trinity’s coronation as Queen, followed by more blessings, followed by the recessional and greeting line, and pictures and press statements, and the receiving line, and ceremonial stuff---that stuff he could do without, Tristan thought. Still…. The vows were nice, and if he and Mara Jade were looking at each other instead of Trinity and Adrian, well, who really noticed. He did, of course. He noticed the blush the stained her cheeks before Mara Jade tore her eyes away to watch her sister and new brother-in-law. He knew how her hands were shaking in his as they walked back down the aisle. He knew as his body pressed closer to hers during the photo session. He knew how annoyed she was to be standing in line, welcoming people while there was food she could smell twenty feet away and her belly was grumbling. He knew as he held her in his arms as they twirled out on the dance floor on display for all the guests of Sank.
She loved him. Honestly, truly, madly, deeply loved him.
And it was a heady feeling indeed.
[Pre-Wedding Countdown]
After a formal brunch with the wedding party, the girls disappeared off in one direction while the boys filed off in another, not to see each other for another two hours. The boys arrived at the church fully dressed at a quarter past noon, escorting guests to their seats while waiting for the girls to arrive. Thankfully--for Adrian’s nerves, Tristan thought, seeing the white limo pull up and the girls pile out--they did arrive… with an extra ten minutes to spare. Seeing his best friend’s condition, Tristan made the decision that when it came his turn to get married, he wasn’t going to let Mara Jade out of his sight.
Speaking of which, the blond young man only caught a glimpse of his girlfriend before she and the rest of the bride’s attendants were herded into a back room of the church. He had to admit, though, from what he saw, the girls looked good. Really good.
And then he felt his brother’s inquiry and decided now would be a good time to let Adrian know his bride had arrived.
Trinity was fussing with her veil.
"Stop it," her sister snapped, adding the finishing touches of body glitter to Nicole’s face.
The dark-haired bride smiled apologetically but obediently removed her fingers from the lacy material.
"Domo arigato gozaimasu!" the blonde child cried as Mara Jade capped the glitter and tossed it to Calista Winner.
"You look as pretty as a pixie!" Callie laughed, adding the sparkly accents to her own face.
"Does that make me the fairy queen?" Trinity teased, fluffing her skirt, the diamond flower vines twinkling like fairy dust as they caught the afternoon sunlight pouring in from a sole window.
Indeed, Trinity’s entire gown was of satin and diamonds, glittering all on its own, from her diamond be speckled torso, to the diamond halter that wrapped around her neck to support the bodice, leaving her arms and shoulders completely bare, all the way down to her satin pumps with matching flowering vines on the toe. The only actual jewelry she wore was the drop-earrings dangling brightly. Even her hair was left unadorned, pulled back behind her head and twisted into a knotted bun with the wisps of veil tucked into the center of the knot.
Her maids contrasted her completely, from the obvious--Trinity’s white gown and her maids’ dresses black --to the not so obvious. All four maids wore identical sleek black dresses that curled up around each shoulder before plunging down their backs. Black satin gloves encased each arm from fingertips to above the elbow. A gold diamond and gemstone tennis bracelet curled around each left wrist (Sapphire for Kit, topaz for Mara Jade, jade for Calista, and ruby for Nicole) with matching sweetheart necklaces encircling their throats. The girls’ hair were curled and left loose--at least *they* wouldn’t suffer from cold necks--and diamond encrusted tiaras crowned their heads like princesses.
There was a knock at the door and all the girls jumped, flushing prettily as same said door creaked open.
"Safe to come in?" Duo’s voice asked.
Kit, closest to the door, grinned and held the barrier open. "I guess we could let you in," she teased, smiling as both Wufei and Heero pushed Duo in so they could enter as well.
"Well? How do I look?"
Trinity did a little twirl, holding her skirt out and beaming at her three fathers.
"You’re not going out there looking like that," Heero replied sternly, borderline growling.
Duo smirked and held a hand out to his Chinese husband. "Told you. Now pay up."
Trinity’s face fell, however, as she stared at her father. "What’s wrong?"
Heero smiled sheepishly. "You look entirely too beautiful," the Japanese father said softly, cupping his eldest daughter’s bare shoulder and then cheek, tipping her face and lightly kissing her forehead.
Wufei smiled and held his hand out to a pouting Duo. "I believe the term is ‘pay up’?"
"Is everyone here?" Kit asked, trying to peek out the door.
"Everyone who’s gonna be here on time," the long haired American replied as Wufei pushed Heero aside to admire the bride.
"I don’t think I’m ready to let you go yet," the dragon said to the pearl.
Trinity smirked, hugging Wufei tightly. "You’ll get used to it," she whispered.
"That’s what I’m afraid of," her father replied.
All too soon there was another knock at the door--this time Dylan poked his head in. "You were supposed to get them, not get all sentimental over ‘em," the youngest member of the Yuy-Maxwell-Chang family griped.
As mentioned before, everything did go off as planned--well, except for being a tin teensy weensy bit late. Like, say, they started fifteen minutes past schedule? It was already five past one when Wufei and Lucrezia lit the Unity candles. Eight past one when Julian escorted the last guest to her seat before slipping into his spot in the processional line.
As rehearsed the day before, at ten past one Julian and Calista began their march. And then Dylan and Nicole were moving. And then Triton and Kit. And then it was hers and Tristan’s turn. Her legs felt wobbly, but she remembered to smile. Her heart was pounding in her throat, but she held her bouquet steady. Her stomach fluttered, but Tristan was there taking her hand in his as they turned down the center aisle…. And he whispered, "I love you."
And before she knew what she was doing, she whispered it back, "I love you, too."
Before she had left, Mara Jade had turned to her sister and father, smiling. "See you on the flip side," she’d whispered to them, kissing her sister’s cheek before heading out. She hadn’t realized she was the one who’d be ‘flipped’, though…
Trinity squeezed her father’s hand.
"Ready for this?" Heero asked, squeezing back and forcing a smile onto his lips. For some strange reason he couldn’t think of this as gaining a son, but as losing his daughter. He’d be losing Mara Jade, too, soon…. Two of his babies gone, in such a short time. He’d grown so attached to them… loved them so much… It was hard to believe there was ever a time when he didn’t want children. Hard to remember a time when he’d fought Duo and Wufei on their decision to have a baby together. Hard to remember a time without his little ones. It was probably a good thing Dylan wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
"It’s going to be alright," Trinity replied, smiling.
"If it’s not," Heero growled, "You just call Daddy or me and we’ll make it alright."
Trinity smiled, leaning forward to kiss her father’s cheek and wrapping her arms around his torso. "I love you, Daddy. Thank you for… everything."
Heero hugged her back. "Thank me by being happy," he whispered hoarsely.
The Sank National Anthem started and there was a rustle as the congregation stood to attention and Adrian Peacecraft, 14th King of Sank, strode calmly and assuredly to the alter, mindless to the wave of humanity that dipped as he passed, pausing at the first aisle to first kiss his mother’s cheek, hug his father, and then walk over to hug Duo and Wufei, too.
And then it was Trinity’s turn. At twenty past one, the traditional chords of the wedding march sounded. Taking a deep breath, she reminded her father to, "Smile!"
Three and a half hours later, Adrian and Trinity left the church as man and wife.
Dylan was itching to get the cravat off, but he bravely endured for his older sister’s sake--until he noticed Tristan wasn’t bothering with such formalities--the blond’s cravat was already loose as he thanked the masses of humanity streaming out of the church.
It seemed like forever--indeed, it was thirty minutes--before the last stranglers filed out of the church, and then it was Tristan’s and Mara Jade’s duty as Best Man and Maid of Honor to sign the wedding contract as witnesses before their group could begin the arduous task of taking pictures. That event in and of itself, took another hour.
This five-hour event served three purposes: 1. It served to make a very happy Trinity and Adrian man and wife, king and queen. 2. It managed to freeze everybody’s ears and noses --and in Trinity’s case, arms and fingers, too! And 3.) It convinced Dylan that if he ever decided to do such a crazy thing as commit himself to one person forever, they were going to elope and forget all this crazy hullabaloo. Tristan and Mara Jade, of course, had already decided in that direction.
It took little over a half hour more to deal with the swarm of press covering the Sank Romance Story. The biggest adjustment for everyone save Adrian, and perhaps Zechs, was having Trinity addressed as royalty. It took the poor beaming young bride a moment to realize the questions were being directed at her. Not only was she now Trinity Peacecraft, she was also Queen Trinity and Her Majesty. Strange…
Still, the young queen won the hearts of the press and the people in general all around the colonies, Mars, and Earth. Her sweet and honest manner, her willingness to answer almost any question, and those she wouldn’t or couldn’t answer she’d smile, eyes twinkling, and tease, "Now, you don’t honestly expect me to tell you something like *that*, do you?" or "You know, that’s an excellent question to which I have absolutely no idea how to answer. Do you, dear?" she’d asked, looking towards her husband. The media soaked it up, catching every little glance between the two, every little touch from the brushing of fingers to the full-body hug and kiss and Adrian’s after comment, "I feel like I’ve been waiting centuries to do that!"
A smashing hit. The best thing to happen to the Sank Kingdom since the return of its Princess thirty-two years earlier. A bright hope for the future. A refreshing beginning.
Yes, all this and more…Sank had begun a new and wondrous chapter in its history. A most deserving period of peace, rebirth, growth, prosperity, and most of all, happiness.
End Part 37
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com