Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Tidal Whims ❯ First Wish ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: If I owned them I would not share.

Pairings: You'll see later. ;)

AN: Please leave feedback! It encourages me to write faster when I know there are more than two people actually reading!


~*~*~*~ signifies a change in time/place.

"______" signifies speech

'______' signifies thoughts




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Duo and Quatre had to run through the little park to get to their little hiding spot on time. For some reason they'd never been able to make it the day that Miss Helen told this particular part.

They weren't going to miss it today!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Excuse me?”

The young woman stared at the couple in front of her. The woman looked frail, but beautiful, like a leaf on the breeze. The man had grey hairs at his temples, starting to show his age. Both of them had their fair share of scars.

“We are looking for a small boy. He has blonde hair, bright blue-green eyes, fair skin… he looks very much like my wife.”

They both looked world worn. She didn't have the heart not to try and take a hard look at the woman, hoping to help.

When she recognized the features she gasped.

“You know our boy? You know our little Quatre?”

“I… yes.”

“Where is he? Is he in your class? Is he happy? Can we see him?”

The woman's life seemed to take on a glow that it had been lacking, taking years off her face.

“I… I think you should sit down and I can tell you what I know.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Duo? Where's Miss Helen?”

“I don't know.”

“Do you think it's another one of those in-service days?”

“Uh, dunno. Maybe.”

Their thoughts were halted when they saw the teacher walking into the park. Alone.

“Boys?”

Two cautious heads poked out of the greenery and the teacher smiled. Moving over to the fountain she sat on the grass, careful not to stain or rip her slacks and motioned the boys over.

“If I remember correctly, your names are Duo and Quatre, yes?”

She got a hesitant set of nods.

“Quatre, do you remember your surname?”

“Huh?”

The confused quirk of his face was rather cute. Apparently Duo was rubbing off on him.

“Your family name, or last name. Like my name is Adelaide Helen. But don't tell anyone.”

Giving them a conspirator's wink and a smirk she managed to make the two boys chuckle and relax slightly.

“Oh, why didn't you say that in the first place? I think it was Winner.”

Miss Helen's smile grew bright and there were tears in her eyes.

“Miss Helen? Are you okay?”

Some time when she wasn't looking the violet-eyed boy had gotten to her side and placed a thin hand on her arm. The smile grew slightly sad.

“Quatre?”

A frail looking woman was waling up the path. She seemed shy and uncertain. The blonde boy's eyes grew wide.

“Quatre? Is that you my haytham?”

The blonde boy looked up, eyes wide. Haytham meant young eagle in Arabic. He remembered that endearment from so long ago. His mother used to call him that for how quickly he'd be at her side when called, almost when as if he flew.

For a few moments it seemed as though he couldn't find his voice. When he spoke it was soft, almost not there.

“Mama?”

The woman crouched down and opened her arms wide. In less than a heartbeat the small urchin boy was there, thin arms wrapped tight around her neck.

The teacher watched the scene with a smile, tears falling silently down her face.

When the boy at her side made to move away though, her hand shot out, catching his wrist, surprising both of them. Making a motion with her head she brought Duo's attention to the small blonde talking a mile a minute.

“Mama! You were gone so long! I thought you'd died! That's what Aunt and Uncle said anyway. They were mean so I ran away and then I met Duo and he's been taking care of me and he has to come with us because he's family too!”

“The little boy with the braid?”

“Yup!”

The boy was now hiding behind the teacher's legs as she stood, brushing a bit of grass from her backside with her free hand. Slowly she convinced the boy to follow her over to the pair of blondes. It was hard to imagine them as being related until you saw their eyes. One was dressed in clean pressed clothes that fitted her perfectly, the other in dirty scraps of clothes that others had thrown away.

The bright turquoise color if their eyes though, no one could deny they were blood after seeing those.

The blonde boy bounded away from his mother and grabbed Duo's hand. Even he was probably surprised with the strength of his `little brother'.

“Duo! This is my Mama! You're going to live with us, right?”

He gave both of them such a set of puppy-eyes that in the end both caved. It did take him a little longer to get Duo to give in. Must be from being around him so much.

“Well then, I think we should be introducing ourselves. I'm Quatrina Winner, Quatre's mother. My husband is waiting back at the school. Now I just have one question for you.”

Duo gulped audibly.

“Do you two want bunk beds or your own rooms?”

The best term to describe the expression on the boy's face was gobsmacked even as the blonde wrapped his arms around him. A tremble worked it's way through him and the blonde just tightened his arms and held on to his brother, even as his mother's arms wrapped around both of them.

Still, the braided boy hardly dared believe his ears. He'd have a home. And he wasn't loosing Quatre.

“Mrs. Winner?”

“Yes?”

“Can I call you Mom?”

She gave a delighted laugh and pulled both boys onto her lap, hugging them tight.

There were plans to be made and a new life forged, but this day would ring hard in their memories for many, many years to come.

None of them really cared that the story would have to wait.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“It's starting.”

“Yes.”

“You think they're the right ones?”

“Yes.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“They didn't wish for themselves, they wished for each other.”

“You are right on that count.”

“That… and they have never felt more safe than near them.”

“That makes a difference?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”< br>
“They trust that which they cannot explain. And don't bother trying to justify it. The fact that it is real to them is good enough.”

Somewhere in the great `what if?' where no mortal ever dared set foot, much less dare to dream, two sets of eyes found each other and smiles for the first time in centuries.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

-I need no roof for shelter.
-I need not fear the rain.
-I need no shoes for weary feet
-Nor ointments to mend the pain
-I need no shade from heat
-I need no calm for storm
-I need not words from empty voice

-So long as you call me Home.