AC 197 September 8th.
Heero leaned onto the dashboard of his jeep. His face, as usual, was a form of expressionless mask. However, inside he was anxious. He was so scared, so nervous, so frightened. The waiting had not made his feelings better; in fact it did him worse.
Oh how he hated waiting….
He had contacted the prison guard and notified his intention to pick up Heiwa Rei about fifteen minutes ago. What could have taken them so long?
The boy's head jerked up as he heard the gate opened. Quickly, he jumped out from the jeep.
A woman stepped out from the opened gate. She was tall and looked even more beautiful than in the picture he has seen. She had most green colored hair that was long enough to reach her waist. Her violet eyes were bright, a reflection of a soul that had finally gain freedom after years of isolation.
Heero held his breath as those eyes wandered and stopped at him.
The woman looked somewhat surprised to see him. A broad smile was formed on her face as she walked toward him with her few possessions gathered inside a simple bag slung across her shoulder. She stopped right before him.
Heero wanted to say something, anything, but no word came out from his mouth.
"…Heero." It was more a statement than a question she uttered.
The boy promptly nodded.
The woman's smile turned into a wide grin. She dropped her bag and flung her arms around him. "Heero…," she whispered to his ear as she hugged him tightly, mustering all the love she had not been able to give to her son. "I have always wanted to meet you…."
Heero could not say anything. Instead, his body reacted as natural as any other boy who had finally met his mother for the first time of his life.
He cried.
Rei wriggled her nose as they entered the small apartment room his son was renting. "Fungus!" she exclaimed. "When was the last time you actually opened your room to the fresh air out there? And look at those bandages! Eww!" she made a disgusted sound as she poked her right foot to one of the ugliest clothes on the corner of the room. "This one looks like it has expired its service to you YEARS ago!" She rubbed her index finger to the table near the door. "Mou, thick dust! When did you clean your room last time?" She scampered to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "Gyah!! Empty?! GODS!! Heero, do not tell me that you eat nothing at all! You did not eat junk food all the time, did you? No wonder you look so skinny."
The boy could only stare as his mother started to grab a broom, duster, and mop out of nowhere. In a second, she had already involved in a vicious battle with dust, numerous spiders and webs, cockroaches, ants, mice, and many other indescribable things. In a half an hour, the room was tiptop clean. Before he even managed to say anything, Rei had grabbed a few bucks from his wallet and flew downstairs.
He blinked. …Where was she going?
Fifteen minutes later, she was back, armed with two super big grocery bags filled with food and other household supplies. Stomping heavily, she marched to the small kitchen and quickly placed the groceries to their place.
Finally, she stood up and huffed in satisfaction. "Done!!"
Heero was left speechless.
"Heero, what are you doing standing on the doorway like an silly idiot?" Rei demanded as she grabbed a brand new set of cooking utensils and prepared them before she started to rummage through the fridge. "Come on in! I will start making dinner right away."
The ex-soldier was stunned for a moment before he at last smiled slightly. "Yes… Mother…."
Since there was only one bed in Heero's room, they had to sleep together. Fortunately the bed was big enough to hold them both though they had to squirm here and there to get comfortable position.
The two of them had not got used to each other yet. All day, Rei had been the one who did most of the talking and apparently she had ran out of topics. Both of them stayed silent, staring at the ceiling and listening to the vague sound of engines from the street far away.
Heero was the first one to brake the silence. "Anou…."
"Yes, Heero?" she replied.
There was a silence before the boy continued. "There's something I want to ask you… if you don't mind…."
"…Go on."
"Who is my father?"
Another silence before Rei finally sighed. "I knew you would ask that sooner later."
Heero turned his head to face a pair of violet eyes that was staring back at him.
The woman smiled wistfully. "Your father… was a man who had deep blue eyes," she said as she brushed the bangs on his face with her fingers, "Just like yours."
"……"
"I take that you want to meet him?"
"…Maybe…."
"Then… may I use you computer?"
Heero lifted an eyebrow.
Rei grinned. "Last time I saw him was seventeen years ago. I have never heard any news of him since then. Besides, anything can happen in seventeen years, so I have to make sure that he will be presentable for us to see."
"Huh?" Incomprehension was visible on his face.
"Well, he could have married someone else already, right? I am not going to show up claiming someone else's husband and make a jeopardy of a marriage," she shuddered. "I am no meany meany."
"…I see…." The boy turned his head and stared at the ceiling again. "…If he has married someone else… what will you do?"
"…Than I will just hope that his wife will take care of your brother well."
Heero's head snapped back toward her. "My brother?"
"Your brother." Rei was mildly surprised. "You do not know that you have a brother?"
He sat up and seriously stared at her. "No, I don't."
She sat up suit. "If you mind not, may I see my file you said you were reading?"
Heero crawled down from the bed and went to the drawer where he had stored the printed file. Finding it, he handed it to his mother to read.
"Holy crack a mole's head," she exclaimed. "This is supposed to be 'two baby boys'! I bet this was his work."
"Whose work?"
"Your old man, silly. He must have changed this data so that your twin brother could escape the Feddies easier. Your necks worth bucks back then, you know."
"Why?"
She shrugged. "Ask me not, for I know nothing."
Heero went silent for a moment before he said, "What should we do now?"
"Do you want to meet them?" Rei countered.
"…I guess so."
"Then I suggest we go to sleep. We shall start our search tomorrow morning after we have our breakfast. Okay?"
"…Ryoukai."
Fifteen minutes later….
"Is there another thing you want to ask or you just simply have the knack of insomnia?"
"…I was wondering."
"Nan desu ka?"
"What's my real name?"
"Oh, your name?"
"Yes."
"…Hiroya. It is supposed to be… Hiroya Peacecraft."
~tbc~
Hime D.