[Gundam Wing] [Blood and Tears: Reunion] (Ch 5 - Blood Ties)
Standard disclaimer goes here - Gundam Wing is not mine, it belongs to people with a lot more money than me, yada yada.
A/N: Warnings: Language, angst, maybe a bit of OOC, but I really hope not. Implied yaoi, not much of a timeline to speak of, and vampires. Oh yeah, it’s AU, but I’m sure you already knew that. :)
Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5xKiara
Blood and Tears: Reunion by Manic Grasshopper
Chapter Five - Blood Ties (5/?)
Kiara was awakened from a sound sleep by frantic knocking at her door. She rolled over, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and stood, glancing at the clock. It had been hours since Wufei had walked her back to her room and kissed her goodnight before heading off to bed himself. She hurried to the door, immediately recognizing the blazing presence on the other side. Duo pretty much fell inside as she opened the door.
“Duo? What’s wrong?”
The braided boy didn’t answer right away as he slammed the door shut and turned the bolt. His eyes were wild as his gaze fell on his friend.
“There’s something you need to know about Cale - and me.”
Kiara felt a curious tightening in her chest. It felt like…hope.
“…What?”
Duo staggered to her bed, sank down wearily, then held out a hand.
“I had this dream…”
***
A while later, Kiara sat on her bed with Duo curled up asleep next to her, his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his bangs, thinking. She somehow hadn’t been surprised by his news. She remembered the ill child he had been, and the almost overwhelming feeling that she had to help him. Maybe she had known, even then.
“My Cale…my Duo,” she whispered, smiling faintly. “I’ll do better this time, I promise.”
***
“Hey mom!”
As Duo’s voice rang through the hall, Kiara turned from her conversation with Quatre, smiling at the utterly joy-filled expression her son wore as he jogged through the crowd to reach her.
“Don’t you have class?” She asked sternly. He threw his arms around her, earning stares from the surrounding students.
“Yeah, but I wanted a hug first. You wouldn’t say no to your baby, would you?”
Kiara hugged him tight, trying not to melt where she stood. “There you go my dear one.”
Duo blushed as he stepped back, rubbing the back of his head. “Thanks. Hey, what’re you guys doing out here anyway? Doesn’t your class start in a minute?”
“The teacher told us he had a surprise for the class, and to wait by the door.” Quatre gestured to the milling students. “I think we’re the minority.”
“A surprise, huh?” Duo chucked wickedly. “Maybe it’s a real-life demonstration of condom usage.”
“Duo!” Quatre flushed bright pink. “Don’t say things like that!”
Kiara laughed softly. “Yes, Duo, don’t say things like that. Quatre’ll have a heart attack if it comes true.”
“Yes mommy.”
She was reaching out to whack him upside the head when Mr. Owens stuck his head out of the classroom, a mischievous grin on his lips.
“All right everybody, get in here! It’s time to learn the consequences of sex!”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Kiara muttered. “We already covered STDs lastweek. There’s not much left.”
Duo gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
“It’ll be fine. See you guys at lunch!” He melted away into the thinning crowd without waiting for a response. Kiara felt Quatre’s fingers grasp hers as he tugged her into the classroom. The very first thing she noticed was a large cardboard box sitting on the floor next to the teacher’s desk. It was covered with an old drop cloth, but whatever was in it made visible lumps. She frowned at it as she took her seat, listening to the excited chatter of the other students.
“Settle down, settle down.” Mr. Owens had moved to stand beside the box, a clipboard in his hands. “We’ll be beginning our weeklong marriage project today, and I expect you all to act like the well-adjusted adults few of you will become.” He grinned as voices rose in protest.
“All right now! First things first - assigning partners. Remember kiddies, for better or for worse, till death do you part, or until the week’s over.” He glanced down at his clipboard.
“Alicia and Jonah.”
A surprised squeal escaped from a small blonde girl in the front row. The boy behind her groaned, thunking his head against his desktop.
“Troy and Dawson.”
Kiara watched in amusement as the two boys, another blonde and a redhead, jumped up from their seats near the windows, horror-struck.
“Hell no! I ain’t gay!”
“Me neither! Ask my girlfriend!”
The class erupted into riotous laughter. Mr. Owens raised a hand for silence, then spoke.
“I didn’t say you were. There’s no reason we can’t have same sex couples for this project. Hopefully, it’ll teach all of you to respect people and lifestyles different from your own. Sit down, both of you.”
Slowly, the boys sank back into their chairs, silent. Mr. Owens continued down the list, assigning four more same sex couples, including two sets of girls. Quite a few boys whistled.
Kiara rolled her eyes as she slumped in her chair. Almost a hundred years later, and some boys were still idiots. She quickly straightened as she heard her name called.
“Kiara and Quatre.”
She turned her head to stare at her friend. He was blushing faintly and smiling. She felt her heart skip a beat. From the side, he looked so much like… She shook her head violently, looking away. No. It was the hair and eyes, that was all. And even then, Matthew’s eyes had been- She bit her lip, forcing herself to focus on Mr. Owens. He’d finally finished pairing everyone off, and had pulled the cloth off the box, revealing a pile of life simulator dolls.
“Each couple will be responsible for one doll, for a period of one week. You’re to treat these dolls as if they were real babies, which means feeding, changing diapers, playing with them, and finding them a babysitter if necessary. The packets I’ll be passing out before the bell will explain the basics. These dolls were programmed to respond to stimuli with realistic behaviors, such as crying, laughing, etc, so before any of you decide to just shove them in a closet under last week’s laundry and go on your merry way, I’d like to warn you that the dolls’ treatment is internally recorded.”
Mr. Owens ignored the wave of groans that swept through the room, again referring to his list.
“Alicia, please come and get your son.”
The beaming girl bounced out of her seat and up to the desk. She accepted the doll she was offered, then held it tight against her chest as she made her way back to her chair. Kiara eyed the pile of dolls with dread as names continued to be called. She didn’t want to do this; she didn’t want to be here.
“Quatre, you’re the proud papa of a boy.”
She went rigid as the words were spoken, watching as Quatre retrieved their ‘baby’. He sat down carefully, and then turned to her, cradling the doll.
“Do you want to hold him?” He was smiling, his sea-green eyes bright. Kiara shook her head as she stared at the doll’s bright Amethyst eyes.
Oh…Oh God…
“I can’t- I can’t do this.” Her voice came out unsteady, on the verge of tears. “I just- I’m sorry.”
She stood hastily, her chair tipping over. The whole class was staring now. Quatre rose, his free hand reaching out for her. Kiara jerked away from him, then fled.
***
She knew Quatre was following her as she nearly ran down the corridor, intent on reaching the safety of her room. She’d explain later, she just couldn’t now - she couldn’t face him, not while he had that stupid doll.
“Kiara!” Quatre’s voice echoed faintly from behind her. “Kiara! Please, wait!”
“Leave me alone!”
She let out a small sob of relief as her door came into sight. She withdrew the key from her pocket with shaking fingers and unlocked the door. Seconds later she was inside her room, slamming the door shut just as Quatre reached her.
***
“Kiara!”
Quatre came skidding to a halt as the door slammed shut in his face. He frowned, trying to juggle the doll as well as the schoolbags that dangled from his shoulder. A few seconds later, he heard the lock slip into place.
“Ki-“ His plea was cut short by a high-pitched wail that echoed off the walls. Quatre winced, awkwardly patting the doll’s back.
“Shh, shush now, mommy’s just…um…”
Free-period students were beginning to peer out of their rooms, staring as Quatre fumbled with an increasingly loud ‘infant’. He cast a hopeless glance at Kiara’s door before hurrying off to find the others.
***
“Doesn’t it have an OFF switch?” Wufei complained, scowling. He wondered if there was anything in this room to make earplugs with. Why didn’t I go with Barton today?
Quatre shook his head, rocking the crying doll. “Heero already looked!”
“Apparently not hard enough!” The Chinese boy snapped, grabbing the doll from the other boy. He turned it upside down, shook it, and pulled off its diaper to peer beneath.
“Where is it?”
“Wufei!” Quatre was aghast. “Don’t do that, you’ll make it worse!”
The words were barely out of his mouth before the cries changed to howls. Wufei grimaced.
“That’s it.” He moved towards the door, naked wailing ‘baby’ in tow.
“Wha- Where are you going?”
“…You’re not a single parent, are you? Come on.”
***
Kiara sat on the floor, leaning against the door with her eyes closed. Duo had been outside in the hallway for almost an hour, pleading with her through the door. She’d been tempted several times to let him in, but…But I don’t want him to see me crying.
A choked laugh escaped her at the thought. He’d seen her cry before, and no doubt could hear her doing it now. She swiped the back of a hand across her cheeks as she rose.
“Ki? Ki, are you okay?” Duo’s voice was bordering on frantic. “Mom? Talk to me, please.”
She flipped the lock, tugged open the door, and held out her arms.
“I’m okay.”
Within seconds, Duo was hugging her tightly.
“Don’t do that, all right? Don’t lock me out.”
Kiara nodded, rubbing his back soothingly. She noticed Heero standing just outside the door.
“You can come in, you know.”
He shook his head. “I should let Quatre and Wu-“ He stopped abruptly as the sound of a crying baby reached their ears. “…They could have left it behind.”
Kiara blinked in confusion for a moment before comprehension dawned.
“The doll?”
Duo laughed, pulling away from the hug as Heero snorted.
“Yep.”
The three watched with no little amusement as Quatre and Wufei hurried through the hallway, nearly running Heero down as they pushed into the room.
“Kiara!”
Quatre held the wailing doll out at arms’ length. Wordlessly, she took the doll, cuddling it. The blonde backed up a foot or two, fingers in his ears. He turned away and was surprised to see that while Wufei and Duo were doing the same, Heero was not. The Japanese boy had moved into the room and closed the door, but wasn’t showing any reaction to the noise. Just then, the crying ceased. Quatre pulled his fingers free as he turned back around. Kiara was still hugging the doll to her chest, a sad smile on her lips. She slowly moved to sit on her bed.
“Kiara? Are you all right?”
“She’s okay. Right?”
Her gaze lifted from the doll to Duo, then shifted to Quatre. “I owe you an explanation for what happened in Health class.”
Quatre raised his hands in protest, eyes widening. “No, you don’t. It’s none of our busin-"
“Yes it is,” Wufei interjected from his spot near Heero. “We agreed no secrets.”
Duo whirled, casting a murderous glare at his friend. “This has nothing to do with Kevin or that bimbo Alice, so we don’t need to butt in!”
“You know this for certain?”
The room was silent for a few moments before Kiara spoke, her voice soft.
“It’s about your- Cale’s…father.”
That got their attention.
“My- his- what?”
“I panicked earlier because…well, the way Quatre was sitting…his profile- He reminded me of Matthew. Cale’s father. Both blonde. Matthew’s eyes were a deeper blue…It was close enough.”
She sighed, laying the doll aside before clasping her hands together in her lap.
“When I told Matthew I was pregnant, he was happy. He couldn’t wait for the baby to be born.” She smiled at Duo before continuing. “Neither could I, but when Cale was born…He had brown hair like his grandmother but his eyes… they were this beautiful shade of Amethyst. I figured he must have gotten them from his father’s side.” Kiara looked away from the boys, her voice wavering.
“Matthew came storming into my hospital room later that day, having just been to the nursery to see his son. He accused me of lying to him, of trying to trap him. There was no way that Cale could possibly be his, he said, because no one in his family had ever had eyes like that. I told him that was ridiculous, there had to be someone in our family trees…but he didn’t listen. He just…left. He refused to have anything to do with his son after that.”
“Fucking bastard.”
Kiara turned back to see Duo’s eyes blazing with anger.
“He was a bastard, and Cale was better off without him. You were better off.” He crossed the room and hugged her tight.
“I agree with Maxwell.” Wufei moved to stand next to them. Kiara loosened her grip on her son, smiling faintly at Wufei. Duo stepped back, looked between the two, then smirked.
“Awe, Wufei, are you gonna be my new daddy?”
“What?!”
All it took was one look at Wufei’s outraged expression to send Kiara into a fit of giggles.
“She does need a good man to be a proper role model for her child.” Quatre volunteered, blushing slightly. Heero snorted in amusement.
“You couldn’t pay me enough to be Maxwell’s father!”
“Does that mean you’ll marry me and do it for free, then?” Kiara gave him her best innocent smile.
Wufei threw his hands up in frustration before storming across the room and letting himself out.
“Oh! Wufei, wait! We didn’t- Oh dear.” Quatre started for the door before he spun back around. “Kiara- He didn’t mean that- I should go after him-“
She nodded, trying to suppress her giggles. “It’s okay, I know he didn’t mean it. I’ll see you later.”
The blonde gave her a quick smile before hurrying out the door, not noticing Heero slipping out after him. There were a few seconds of silence before Duo spoke.
“Are you going to be all right? With that, I mean.” He gestured toward the doll. “‘Fei’s nothing to spazz over.”
“I’m better now. There won’t be any problems, and I’m not worried about Wufei- Oh! Where’s Trowa? In all of the chaos, I didn’t even-“
“It’s okay. He told Heero earlier that he was going to practice his flexibility during lunch, in the very crowded gym.” He smirked as Kiara rolled her eyes in mock-exasperation.
“My only child is a pervert.”
“Only with Heero!”
Kiara groaned, shaking her head. “Do me a favor and go eat your lunch.”
Duo frowned in concern. “You’re not coming?”
“I feel like napping a bit. We can worry about me later.”
“…If you’re sure…”
She jumped to her feet and hugged him tightly for a moment.
“Go eat, and come back in an hour, okay? We can miss our science lecture in favor of…lab.”
Duo grinned mischievously.
“At least OZ soldiers are good for something. Have a good nap.” He let himself out, closing the door quietly. Kiara locked it before lying down with the doll cradled to her chest.
“If I had it to do over…” She closed her eyes, beginning to imagine how she’d change things (Kicking Kevin in the nuts at their first meeting seemed a pretty good start) when a soft knock interrupted. She frowned, opening her eyes.
“Duo, it’s only been ten minutes-“
“It’s not Duo.” Terran’s voice calmly drifted through the door. She froze for a moment before she sat upright, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.
“What do you want? I told you to go away!”
“I know you did.” There was a pause before he continued, voice soft but clear. “I just wanted…Kiara, are you sure we can’t talk about this? I mean…I know you’re worried that maybe I’ve gone around the bend, but I promise…I promise I haven’t. I’ve only stayed with Kevin this long so that when he found you…I could help.”
Kiara stood up, still clutching the doll. She carefully placed it on the bed before moving noiselessly to the door.
“What’s the point? I could get away on my own.”
“I want to go with you.”
She leaned her forehead against the wood, fingers playing over the doorknob.
“…You could have the first time…and…I’ve- I’ve found someone else.”
She waited for an outburst, but none came. There was only silence.
“Terran?”
“I heard you. Let me in? So we can work this out? Or at least so I can say goodbye if you decide you really want this other guy.”
Against her better judgment, Kiara fumbled with the lock, tugging the door open to reveal Terran, arms folded across his chest as if he were cold. He smiled wanly as he looked down at her.
“Going to invite me in?”
Kiara held out her arms in answer. Terran stepped over the threshold and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her hair gently.
“I’m sorry…”
“For what?” She lifted her head, staring up into pain-filled brown eyes. “Terran? For what?”
“For this.” He whispered. He lifted his head as he stepped back from the door, pulling her with him.
“Kevin- come in.” His voice was weary, defeated. At first Kiara wasn’t sure she’d heard right. Terran hadn’t just invited Kevin into her room…hadn’t just betrayed her- Oh God.
She struggled in his arms, knowing as she did so that it was pointless. Even if she freed herself, she wouldn’t be able to get out of here. Not with Kevin-
Heavy footfalls entered the room, and her door shut with what seemed like a deafening click. It took her a moment to focus on Kevin’s face, on the messy black hair that was just as she remembered, falling in greasy spikes over green eyes. His lips twisted into a smirk as his gaze slid over her.
“Looks like you’ve run out of places to hide…Traitor.”
TBC