A Matter of Heart: Heirs to the Legacy
By: Andrea Readwolf
Email: andrea_readwolf @hotmail.com
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}, Julien)
Catalonia-Dorian Family (Dorothy Catalonia + Relena Dorian, Regina)
Une-Po Family (Lady Une + Sally Po, Marie Une*, Michael Braddocks, Mark Braddocks, Matthew Braddocks)
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.
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.
***These stories and the ideas contained within are copyright of the author. No reprinting or posting without permission of said author.***
~Caro Festival~
The Caro Festival was actually a megalomanious musical concert. To Trinity, it was heaven on earth. It was a chance for her to escape the stress of wedding planning, allowed her to step away from being the bride- and queen-to-be and just be a girl in love, surrounded by the two things she loved most in the world: Adrian and music. It was a chance for her Adrian to be the boy she'd grown up with, her child-hood sweetheart; not the soon-to-be King of Sanc.
In short, it was their chance to be a normal couple in love.
The pair strolled from booth to stand, smiling and laughing at some of the antics of the various hawkers. Everywhere you turned there was music and colorful banners and limber acrobats. They has split apart from the others a short time after arriving but had agreed to regroup at the plaza for and early dinner before the evening's festivities began. Glancing at his watch, Adrian noticed it was inching closer to the agreed upon hour.
"Trin," he called gently, lightly placing his hands on her waist as he looked down over her shoulder at the various jewelry and baubles she was admiring. He liked the way she seemed to melt back against him naturally like. "We should think about heading back soon."
"That time already?" she asked, fingering a bauble of malachite and jade. "I wish we didn't have to go back," she sighed. "I miss having you all to myself whenever I want."
"I'm yours, whenever you want me," Adrian replied, dropping a small kiss against her throat.
"Mmm. I'm not so sure your state advisors would appreciate me stealing away their very important king and wasting away his precious time," she teased, dropping the bauble back into its tray and turning towards him, smiling lovingly.
"Ah, well, those same advisors would surely bend over backwards to please their very beautiful queen," the dark-haired prince of Sank replied, teasing her lips gently with his. "And I doubt any time spent with you could be considered a waste."
At 26, Katarynna Peacecraft still didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. After playing around with college for two years, Zechs's and Noin's oldest child decided school just wasn't for her. From that decision, Kit had spent the last 8 years moving from internship to internship, trying to find something that clicked for her. She could honestly say she'd lived and visited all corners of the Earth Sphere.
This month she'd returned home and taken up a small job at Preventer headquarters. One could say she was lucky. Well, relatively lucky at any rate. It was nice to see her parents and siblings regularly, true. And it was even nice to see the Winners and Changs again. But it was getting pretty annoying dealing with her father's rules just like when she was a child. And it was definitely annoying to feel like a babysitter again.
The crazy thing was, except for her little sister, Nicolette, who had just turned nine last month, everyone was all grown up. Even Calista, Triton and Tristan's baby sister, was legally an adult last year. Kit felt old, she realized. Old and tired and lonely.
Oh, sure, she had friends scattered out across the Earth Sphere. Friends she'd made growing up, friends of others who had Preventers for parents, friends at each place she'd stayed for a little time. But all those people who she called "friends" were really little more than acquaintances. People she talked to and hung out with because they were there, and it was something better than sitting home, alone and lonely. The fact that she was 26 and had few if any real friends weighed on her heavily.
That, and her brother's circumstances. She was shocked when she'd found out he'd agreed to return to Sank, their father's homeland, and rule. Her baby brother? A king? It was almost preposterous. But he seemed so serious and set upon the decision, and next month they would all be traveling to Sank for her brother's coronation. Her brother. King. It was crazy. And as if that wasn't enough to send her emotions flying--Adrian announces he and Trinity are engaged.
Her brother. Her baby brother, 3 years younger than her, was getting married. At 23, it seemed like everything was falling into place for him. He graduated from the University with high honors; his future was laid out all perfectly before him; and he had the love of his life there with him to share it all with.
Was she jealous? Of her baby brother? Damn straight she was.
In the end, she'd agreed to go to the Festival with them because she couldn't stand the thought of staying home by herself. Still, she almost wished she had stayed home. It was even more annoying walking through the crowds seeing all the other people coupled off in pairs of friends and lovers. And she was alone. No love, no friends; alone.
A hand slid into hers and squeezed lightly. "Whatcha thinking?"
Triton. Hn. Well, at least she wasn't completely alone. "Pitying myself," she answered, smiling light-heartedly and swung his hand once or twice before letting go. "Do you know, those people, they didn't ask me whether or not I would have liked to return to Sank. No, they went straight after Adrian." She stopped by a small stand displaying pewter fairies with gauzy wings and colorful jewel accents.
"Oh? And would you have gone? Had they asked you first?" the blond young man asked, trying his best to sound casual and nonchalant.
Kit stood up straight and turned away from the stand; Triton followed. "No," she said after a moment. "I probably wouldn't have. Something like that would have tied me down too long for one place."
He nodded in quiet acceptance, and it seemed that he was going to allow the conversation to drop for a while. It wasn't that Triton wasn't a good conversationalist or that Kit didn't like him at all. it was just. he sometimes made her feel uncomfortable. Like he was reading her mind or something and knew how she felt.
"Did you like Mars?"
She looked at him. His eyes were so blue-they reminded her of the oceans of Earth as seen from space. She looked back ahead. "Yes. It was nice there. Not Earth and not the Colonies, but something unique. I... I thought that, maybe, I would have... remembered something, you know?" She looked out the corner of her eye to see if he thought she was crazy.
"You were a baby when you left Mars," Triton reminded her gently, a small frown tugging at his lips. "I doubt you'd remember living on Mars."
"No," she agreed. "I didn't. Even so..." Kit sighed, unconsciously following Triton's navigation. "Aunt Marie did say a lot has changed in the last 20 years. Even the apartment my parents lived in is no longer there."
"I always meant to head out there one day," Triton informed her idly. "See the sights and all that."
She smiled. "It is lovely," she told him. "But it's not home."
"No," he agreed. "No place is like home."
He stopped. She stopped.
The way he looked at her - it made her feel kind of funny inside. They stood there, in the middle of the plaza, facing each other. Triton reached up and softly pressed a strand of dark silk back behind one ear, startling Kit. Still, his eyes looked into hers, and she felt it again, like he was reading her soul.
"How long do you intend to run, Katarynna Peacecraft?" his voice asked lowly.
She wet her lips. "I-I don't know what you mean."
His hands were warm against her cold ones, and he held both between them. "You should-"
"Oh my Stars! Is that Tristan Winner? Quick! Over here, on me!"
The shout registered almost as instantly as the flashes and harsh lights of cameras turned on them. He turned to face the paparazzi, but only one hand released Kit's, the other held on tight, not allowing her to try and slip away, and so she, too, was caught in the media's light.
"Tristan! Tristan! Tell us, who's your lovely date?" a gaudily clad woman with crazy glasses demanded, shoving a microphone in his face.
"It's Triton," the young man replied coolly. "And if you'll excuse us, our purpose here is entertainment, not business."
"Triton! Triton! Wait! Wait! What brings you to Earth? Where are you going next? Who's your date? Triton!"
The shouts rained over them as Triton determiningly ignored the masses and pressed forward, pulling Kit behind him.
The media steadfastly followed them and it was apparent that at least some of them weren't about to give up. Annoyed, Kit pulled her hand free from Triton's grip and turned on their pursuers. Light's flashed on her face and cameramen pressed in close, but still she forced a smile onto her face.
"I'm sorry," she said politely. "Perhaps you misunderstood. Mr. Winner and I are here to relax and enjoy the music and festivities. If you'd like an interview, please call his office and schedule."
"Wait, wait! And who are you?" the same woman as before shouted, pressing forward.
Kit's smile became almost whimsical. "Me? I'm just an old friend of the family's. Hardly noteworthy." She turned back to Triton with the intent to calmly walk away - only then aware of the fact he'd stopped when she did and was waiting right at her back.
"Your name, miss?" someone else shouted.
Kit paused-what could it hurt? "Katarynna Peacecraft," she answered.
There was only a moment of stunned silence, when all that was heard was the sound of some flash bulbs going off. That moment was enough to finish propelling Triton and Kit inside the tiny restaurant where they were supposed to meet the others. More questions began being shouted at the pair, but the doors were already closing behind them.
Triton's hand found Kit's again, and he gave it a little squeeze. "I'm sorry about that," he said, bowing his head. "But you were great with them."
"Yes," Kit mused, following the maitre-d to their reserved table. "I spent some time with my aunts and had to deal a lot with the media. Aunt Dorothy taught me all I need to know about dealing with news crews and paparazzi."
"Tristan's always been better at handling them," Triton frowned, holding a seat out for her. "I'm glad you were here."
Kit looked at him as he took a seat next to her, and she realized that, despite all his worldliness, living away from home for almost a year and all, he still needed someone to take care of him. She smiled and opened her menu.
End Part 8
Andrea: {starry-eyed} Aren't Trinity and Adrian just the *cutest* couple?
Trinity: Mara Jade's right. !__! I am a bimbo!
Readwolf: Now, now, honey. You're just a lady in love. I'm *sure* you're
get over this phase... I hope.
Trinity: That's *sooo* re-assuring. ~__~
Mara Jade: Hey! Why wasn't *I* featured in this bit? I thought this story
was supposed to be about me and Tristan!
Readwolf: Actually, Heirs 1 focuses on the *older* chibis--meaning Kit,
Adrian, Trinity, the twins, and you... Anou, Andrea? I think we've been
doing a pour job focusing on Triton and Kit's relationship?
Andrea: They have a relationship? {blinks owlishly}
Readwolf: ~__~ They would if you *wrote* it!
Andrea: Oh. ^__^;;
Triton: I'm so not feeling the love here.
Tristan: {grinning} Don't worry--she hooked my and Mara J up pretty
nicely. I'm sure she's take care of you and all.
Andrea: are you *sure* they were supposed to be in a relationship? I can't
find any notes on the matter...
Readwolf & Triton: YES!!!
Andrea: >.< Okay, okay... there's no need to yell, Jeesh...
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com