Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing.

Chapter 2

Thanksgiving was over, and people were getting excited for Christmas to come. Decorations were strung up on shops and windows. Christmas trees sprouted up on empty lots for people to buy, and department stores were soon filled with shoppers. Many people caught onto the holiday spirit of joy and laughter. However, there was one person who wasn’t very jolly at the moment.

“You’re what?!”

Heads popped out of the cubicles when they heard the shout coming from Heero’s office. They looked at each other and sighed. Their boss didn’t sound too happy as if he ever was. They all shook their heads and resumed working.

“I’m taking a leave of absence,” Wufei Chang repeated calmly. He looked at Heero straight in the eye. Wufei had never seen his friend like this. He usually kept his emotions under control, but now Heero’s eyes flashed with anger, and his mouth was set in a firm line. Also his hands were clenched into fists.

“Sally and I have to go to China. My mother is ill and is demanding that the two of us go and take care of her,” Wufei continued.

“How long will you be gone?” Heero asked after taking a few deep breaths.

Wufei shrugged. “I’m not sure. She sounded terrible over the phone, but you know my mother, Heero. She tends to exaggerate things. It’s probably nothing,” he declared.

Heero didn’t answer. His emotionless mask had settled back into place. He drummed his fingers on the desk as he stared at Wufei.

“Look, if you’re worried about the merger, I already gave my work to Trowa. He has everything. You guys can handle it,” Wufei reassured Heero. “Even with Maxwell onboard.”

However, Heero wasn’t exactly convinced. This merger was very important. There couldn’t be any mistakes. Duo was already coming back from doing the overseas talking with the Winner Company. God, he hoped Duo did things right. Finally Heero sighed. “All right. Have a good trip. I hope your mother feels better,” he said.

Wufei smiled his usual half smile. He got up and opened the door. Before he left, he turned around and said, “Don’t worry, Yuy. We’ll get this.”

“What makes you so sure?” Heero asked, leaning back in his chair.

“We always do,” Wufei reminded him. With that he was gone.

Later that day, Heero’s phone rang while he was looking over the contract again. He pushed on the speakerphone and said, “Hello?”

“Hey, Heero, guess who’s back?” exclaimed a cheerful male voice over the phone.

Heero groaned to himself. The devil was back. “Duo, where are you?” he asked. “How did things go?”

“Come down to the courts, and I’ll tell you everything,” Duo replied.

“What?!”

“I seriously need a good game of ball. Those guys don’t play there, and you know what deprivation does to me,” explained Duo.

Heero sighed. He could feel a headache coming as he rubbed his temples. He did not need this right now.

“Heero, you still there?”

“Yeah, unfortunately,” he muttered under his breath. Heero sighed. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Duo said and hung up.

Heero grabbed his cell phone and coat and stood up. He shook his head, seriously doubting his sanity at the moment. It was only the beginning of winter, but it still felt like twenty below zero. Heero headed out, telling his secretary that he’ll back later. He drove down to the basketball courts at the nearby park. He found Duo already shooting baskets. He marched over and glared at him.

Duo stopped to catch his breath and tucked the ball under his arm. He gave Heero a merry smile and wiped his forehead with a towel. After doing that, he took a long drink from his water bottle. All the while, Heero stood patiently with his arms crossed and his customary glare.

“Well?” he practically shouted out.

“Whoa! Hold your horses. Everything turned out pretty much okay,” Duo finally said. He threw the ball at Heero.

Heero caught it easily and glared at Duo even more. “Care to clarify that?” He shrugged off his coat.

For the next half hour, they played one on one with Duo explaining everything and Heero asking questions. Finally they stopped to rest. Duo was breathing hard, but Heero was barely out of breath.

“I definitely need to get back into back into shape,” Duo huffed.

Heero couldn’t hide his exasperation. “You were gone for only two weeks, Duo.”

“Yeah, but you should have seen that place. Those guys really know how to live over there. I did absolutely nothing except talk and eat and stare at beautiful women all day,” Duo explained with a wistful smile and sigh.

Heero shook his head and let out of a sigh of his own. “So everything is set?” he questioned, turning around to pick up his coat.

“Like I said, pretty much, but I did have to...improvise on a few things,” Duo declared hesitantly.

“What things?” Heero growled, slowly turning back around. Suddenly his phone rang, saving Duo from having to answer. Heero threw a deadly a deadly glare at Duo before answering his phone. “Hello? Mr. Winner, how are you?”

Duo looked at Heero expectantly. “What is it?” he mouthed.

“Yes, I understand. (Pause) You’re welcomed to stay at my home. In fact, I’ll be honored if you do,” Heero continued as he settled back into his mask. “It would make our business easier if we did it face to face. Yes. (Pause) My family? What...”

Just then Duo grabbed the phone from a confused Heero. “Mr. Winner? It’s Duo Maxwell, sir. Do you remember me? Of course you remember me. (Pause) Yes, Mr. Yuy and his family are very anxious to meet your son. (Pause) Yes, goodbye,” Duo finished and hung up. Then he turned to Heero who was scowling at him.

“What family was he talking about?” Heero asked in a mild tone that contradicted the dark scowl on his face.

“Like I said, I had to improvise on a few things. You see, Winner’s a real family man kind of guy. He wasn’t about to let his son do business with a guy without a family which is basically you,” Duo hurried through his explanation.

“So you gave me a family!” Heero shouted. He was furious. He rarely shouted. In fact, he rarely lost his control on his emotions. Right now he didn’t care, and he looked as if he wanted to kill Duo.

“Hey, don’t worry. I have everything figured out. We just have to make some changes,” Duo declared. He started to walked back to his car.

Heero stared in frustration at Duo with his long braid swinging back and forth. Why was everyone telling him not to worry? Well, damn it, he couldn’t help it. God, what was he going to do? His hands clenched together as Heero resisted the urge to pound his friend into the ground.

* * * * * *

A week later, Heero didn’t want to pound Duo. Now, he downright wanted to murder him. To solve the “family” problem, Duo auditioned people to play Heero’s family. Yet no one could play the parts. Most of them seemed to be afraid of Heero. Those who weren’t could not play the happy family that Duo had told the Winners about. They were in trouble. The son of the Winner family was coming in two days.

“I can’t believe there isn’t one perfect family in this whole city,” exclaimed Duo. He was so frustrated that he was ready to pull out the hair out of his braid. He was sitting in Heero’s living room with Heero and Trowa Barton, the fourth partner of Heero’s company.

“It’s your fault, Duo. You shouldn’t have lied to them,” Trowa said in his soft yet serious voice. He was leaning against the mantel of the fireplace.

Duo groaned and threw an arm over his closed eyes. “Don’t lecture me, Barton. This is frustrating enough without your words of wisdom. Now help me think.”

Heero was sitting in a chair in a dark corner. He had been silent since the last pair of actors had left. His hands were gripping the arms of the chair as he contemplated on how to kill Duo for getting him into this mess. No, killing him wasn’t good enough. Finally Heero spoke up. In a low, deadly tone, slowly he said, “Duo, you find a way of this mess, or else I’ll cut off that braid of your.” Heero knew how much Duo’s braid meant to him. Duo would rather die than lose his braid.

Trowa smiled as Duo snapped open his eyes and jumped up. Duo started pacing in front of Trowa, knowing Heero’s threat wasn’t to be taken lightly.

A few blocks from Heero’s house, Relena and Evan were going from house to house trying to raise money for a children’s charity. It was a beautiful winter day. There was freshly fallen snow everywhere from the light storm last night. Evan was skipping ahead of Relena in a light blue jacket and winter pants. He had on white mittens and a matching white snowflake hat.

“Be careful, honey. The ground’s still wet. You don’t want to trip and fall, now do you?” Relena warned her son.

“Don’t worry, Mommy. I’m a good skipper,” Evan called over his shoulder. He continued skipping as Relena smiled after him. Her son was growing up. Thank goodness, he didn’t look like his father. Evan had her sandy colored hair only a shade lighter and her blue aquamarine eyes. Relena hurried to catch up with her son.

“Mommy, can I ask you a question?” Evan asked, slipping his hand into hers.

“Of course you can. You can ask me anything,” Relena replied, giving him a big smile.

Evan kept his eyes on his boots as they continued to walk. He wasn’t sure if he should ask. Last time he did, Relena had gotten very upset. Right now he knew she was waiting patiently for the question. “Why don’t I have a daddy?” he asked quietly and stopped walking.

Somehow Relena knew he was going to ask that question soon or later. Evan may only be four, but he was very intelligent for his age. She sighed silently and then kneeled down in front of him. She placed both hands on his shoulders and looked straight at him. “I told you all this before, don’t you remember? I can understand why you want one. It was hard for me to grow up without my father. But remember, honey, you did have a father once. He just not here anymore. Do you understand, Evan?”

Evan nodded. “I understand, Mommy, but Aunt Hilde said that I could have another one if I wanted. She said that you could find one for me. Something about eating dinner with other boys except Uncle Zechs.”

“She said that, did she?” Relena said, raising an eyebrow.

Evan nodded again. “Uh-huh. So can we get a daddy?”

Relena got up and brushed the snow off her pants. “Evan, I’m afraid it’s not that simple. You don’t just get one. It takes time and...” Relena couldn’t finish her sentence.

“And what, Mommy?”

“And a miracle, I’m afraid,” Relena continued. “And you know miracles are very rare. Now enough talk about that. We have work to do.” She looked at the house that they had stopped in front of. “Let’s try this house.” She started up the front walk.

Evan followed her in silence. He looked down at the basket he was holding. Inside there were pamphlets with a picture of Santa Claus on the cover. Santa Claus! Evan smiled brightly. Santa would give him a daddy if he asked for one, and so far Evan knew he had been a good boy. So, he decided that this year he was going to ask Santa for a daddy. Evan skipped happily after Relena until they were on the front porch. Relena took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

* * * * * *

Inside the house Heero was getting extremely mad at Duo. He was out of the chair and pacing as well. Duo kept telling Heero everything would turn out all right. Heero growled at Duo and headed toward his braided hair friend.

Duo swallowed hard and backed away nervously. “Uh, Heero, don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Duo stuttered, his hands shooting up in front of him. Heero was an inch away from him when all of a sudden the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” exclaimed Duo. He rushed to the door, thanking his Maker silently on the way. He pulled open the door, and his mouth dropped at the sight in front of him.

Standing in front of him was what looked like a pair of angels. A woman and a boy. Duo rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. Nope, he wasn’t. The woman was incredibly beautiful with long sandy hair and deep aquamarine eyes. The boy looked about the same. They were dressed in light blue clothes with white hats and mittens. The boy was smiling up at him. However, the woman looked shocked.

Relena couldn’t believe it. One of her bosses was standing before her. Of all the houses she could have chosen, she chose one with her boss in it. What were the chances? “Mr. Maxwell,” she whispered.

Then Duo realized the woman had spoken. His name in fact. “Do I know you, ma’am?” he asked, eyeing her carefully.

“I...uh...I work for you, sir,” Relena replied. “My name’s is Relena Peacecraft.”

“Would you like to donate some money for charity?” Evan asked suddenly. He lifted up the basket for Duo to see. “It’s for a good cause.”

“Evan!” Relena exclaimed, horrified by her son’s actions. She was so embarrassed, looking down at him.

“Did I say it wrong, Mommy?” Evan questioned innocently.

“Mommy?” Duo’s mouth curved slightly.

“My son, Evan,” Relena wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“You’re not married, are you, Ms. Peacecraft?” Duo asked, his smile widening.

“Um...no, sir,” she replied, her brow drawing together slightly in confusion.

Duo’s smile nearly split his face. A light bulb went on in his head. He wasn’t going to die after all. “Ms. Peacecraft, there’s something I want to talk to you about. Would you like to come in come in? It’s really cold out here.”

Evan accepted the invitation immediately. He rushed by Duo before Relena could stop him. “Thank you,” he said over his shoulder.

Duo held open the door for Relena with a big smile. Relena wasn’t sure if she should go in, but what choice did she have? Evan was already inside. So she took a deep breath and went in. Duo closed the door behind them. He ushered the pair into the living room.

Heero was talking with Trowa when he heard footsteps. Duo was back. He turned around, and his eyes widened at the sight. Duo was with a woman and a boy. It was that woman from the office!

“Heero, this is the solution to our problem,” Duo announced. He gestured at Relena and Evan.