Her mother's daughter chapt 12

[Ame-san]

Chapter 12



He was not ready. After all he had been through for the past few days he was still not ready to face his fear. He wanted to run away again. Acceptance of the truth came with a prize he couldn't afford to pay, not without some courage. He had courage of course, but having the courage to die was so much easier than having the courage to live. To live required love, something he thought he could never acquire or give in return. Love, a nebulous term like hate, proved to be just as abstruse as everything else in his life. He tried to seek the answer in a dictionary, but it only resulted in more confusion. Well, at least now he learned never to trust a book again. Printed definitions did not define life, not his anyway.

He stood on the front porch of the house, debating with himself weather to knock on the door. Slowly, he lifted his trembling right hand and tapped the wooden barrier. Deep down inside he wished that no one were home, so he could slide back into his protective shell. ' Why am I doing this anyway? It's not going to change anything.' He wanted to escape but a certain magnetic force was pulling back him to stay. ' Why can't I just leave? Damned it.'

The door opened softly and a fierce young woman appeared at the threshold.

" Hello, Heero." She greeted him with a faint smile.

" Elizabeth." He nodded in return with his cold piercing eyes staring straight into hers, unwavering.

She was not feeling the least uncomfortable but stared back at him with the same eyes.

" I would love to continue this staring contest Heero, but I still have things to do." She spoke to him without ever removing her gaze away from him.

" I see." He broke the gaze first, giving Liz her victory.

" Anyway, you want to come in?" She motioned him to enter the house. He followed.

" So...um, I'm glad you are here." She tried to sound sweet. Tried would be the key word. The whole scene was nothing but awkwardness.

He didn't really know what to reply or how to reply. What could he say to her? I'm glad to see you too, since you are my daughter? That would never work.

She led him into the living room and motioned him to sit down.

" You want something to drink?" Liz was actually being her mother's daughter for once with the good manners and everything.

" No, thanks." He was feeling rather odd about the whole politeness from her.

" Good, then. Just make yourself comfortable and I'll be right back." She reverted back to her old self with a grin. A scary lopsided one too.

" Excuse me?" Heero didn't miss the mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

" Don't worry, I'm only going out to get our dinner. " She nicely informed him and grabbed her car keys ready to leave without him.

" Where is Relena?" He needed to know exactly what she had planned. For some reason he did not like the tone of her voice.

" Oh, it's five thirty. Mom will be back in half an hour. I'll be back sooner than that. Bye Heero!" She left before he could form word in his mouth.

"But-" She was already out the door.

He was left alone in the house. Completely alone in Relena's house. What was he suppose to do? Go and search her room to see if she kept any pictures of him? Looking for a teddy bear in Liz's room and finding out that she had named it Heero? Right, like that's ever going to happen in this harsh reality. Still, all those thoughts were quite tempting.

Should he just make himself at home? After all, he was supposed to be part of this family too. He wandered around the living room trying to get his head cleared before speaking to Relena. 'Why would she invite me here for dinner in the first place?'

The sound of keys opening the front door pulled him out of his reverie. ' Liz's back.' He remained quiet waiting for her to call his name out loud, but the sound never came. Foot steps came near approaching where he stood, different foot steps yet they were familiar to him.

She didn't notice anything strange until she saw a dark shadow standing in the middle of her living room. By instincts her hand reached into her purse pulling out the only weapon she carried and held it tightly ready to use it against the intruder.

She switched the light on in a flash of a second and pointed the weapon at her enemy.

" Don't move, or I'll shoot!!" She threatened the intruder.

"Relena?" Heero was taken aback by her new skill.

"Heero?!" Relief and anger came simultaneously. Still pointing her weapon at him she let her anger took over.

" What do you think you are doing in my house, Heero! Don't you know that it is illegal to break into someone else's home!?" She took a deep breath. " I could've shot you."

The sight before Heero could have made him laughed out loud, for Relena was now holding a gun in her hands threatening to hurt him. Ironic? Most definitely.

Both of them stood motionless trying to figure out what had just happened.

" Heero," Lena calmed down a bit and continued without lowering down her weapon. " Are you going to answer my question or not? If you won't, then just leave. I won't call the police. Leave or explain yourself."

" Put the gun down Relena." Heero ordered.

" It's Lena, and I know what I'm doing." She lowered her weapon and put it back into her purse. " I see you still haven't got rid of that ordering people around habit of yours." She saw that questioning look in his eyes. " Don't worry, it was not loaded and I don't have any bullets anyway."

" Is that suppose to be a joke?" A surprising remark coming from Heero.

" Are you trying to be funny?" Lena shot him back with her own sarcasm.

" You invited me here for dinner." He stated the obvious, at least to him it was a fact.

" What?" She set her purse on the couch. " I never invited you. How did you come to terms with that idea?"

" This morning, Elizabeth..." He paused realizing that he had fallen into that little girl's trap.

" Liz?" Lena questioned." Of course! " Only the mother knew her daughter the best. "She'll be in deep trouble when she gets back."

" Um...where is she?"

" She went to go pick up dinner."

" We might as well sit down and wait for her." She sat down on the couch next to her purse. He sat on a chair opposite of her.

Silence once again made its way into this particular house.

" Heero?" The shock had left her completely. She looked him in the eye and said. " Sorry about that outburst earlier."

He didn't reply but only nodded in acknowledgement.

" Well, I've been wanting to ask you earlier today." She paused to sort out her words. " Why, why did you apologize this morning?"

" I already explained it." It was a monotone.

" No...I mean what made you do it?" She wanted to know; she needed to know.

He shook his head." I don't know."

She clasped her hands together and looked down. " We need to put things out in the open, Heero. We can't run away anymore."

" Why did you leave?" He said quietly.

" I've told you before, I left because you did. What was I suppose to do? Be an idiot and wait for you forever? I was naive, but I wasn't stupid enough to do that."

Silence.

She continued. " Why are you here? Heero? Why did you return?"

" Because I have no where else to go." He spoke the truth, and the truth always hurt.

" I thought I would never see you again, Heero. You know what? I was actually happy without you." She sighed. " All these years I was happy, and then when I finally came back, I discovered that all my miseries were still here waiting for me."

" I'm sorry."

" It's not your fault, Heero. We were so young back then, we just didn't know it would end this way." She shook her head.

A moment of silence passed.

" Relena?" He said her name.

" You won't change will you, Heero?" She chuckled softly. " You are the only one who's determined to call me by that name now."

" Relena, what were we?"

" What do you mean?"

He summoned enough courage and spoke. " What was our relationship? How did we feel..."

" It was a blur to me, I don't think we ever had a relationship." She answered honestly. " I do admit that I had feelings for you, strong feelings, but that was many years ago."

" Do you still?"

The question itself startled her. She lifted her head up to face him. " No." She shook her head. Her eyes full of regrets and hopelessness. " I don't."

" But..."

" Heero, this is real life. We can't just pick up where we left off sixteen years ago. It doesn't work this way. We are different people now. I can't just let you into my life again and start loving you like that. We are only strangers, Heero, and nothing will change it. I hope you would understand somehow." She saw the disappointment in his eyes, but there was nothing she could do. She meant every word she said.

" You've changed."

" I've grown up, that's all." She stood up and walked toward him. She put her right hand on his shoulder, the only way she knew how to comfort him. " Heero, I know what you want to say, but I just don't feel the same way anymore. It may sound harsh for me to say that, but I don't know how to put it in other words. Please understand me."

Silence.

The stillness in the room was broken by the sound of the vidphone in the study.

" I'll go get it." Lena left quickly.

He understood. He had understood her a long time ago except he was too afraid to confront this knowledge of his. The truth still hurt. It was finally over, there was nothing unresolved between them. Everything was clear now. It was time for him to move on too. ' I wish there is still hope left.'

'Hope'.

" Heero!" Lena ran back into the living room trembling, though she refused to show her weakness, her fear. " The hospital just called, Liz...Liz had gotten into a car accident."

No.

[goddesswing]

Oh my god(dess)! Ah! Megami-sama! *cough* I mean... poor Heero... POOR LIZ! YOU BETTER NOT LET HER DIE!!!! *sniffs* I like how this fic is going. I've never really read anything like it! So many twists and turns. Intresting. I really 'hope' that everything turns out for Liz's family...

+::goddesswing::+

[DragonLadyKira]

Oh no....
Poor Heero...
Poor Liz...
Poor Everyone!! I really hope this has a happy ending! I love happy endings!!

~*~Kira~*~

[kawaiiemogirl]

Oh no...I'll read the rest.