Snapshots:
"Araceli"
"Mom?" A girlish voice reached Arys' ears as she
washed the dishes in the kitchen.
"Mhmmm?" Arys replied, looking down at the soapsuds,
wondering when Heero would come home.
Once Araceli had come into their lives, Arys had decided to stay home
instead of working for the Preventers.
She still helped occasionally, but now her life was wrapped up in her
children.
"Where's Dad?" Arys stopped rinsing the dishes and smiled
at her daughter. Araceli adored her
father and every night she would attack him with hugs when he came home from
work. Arys glanced at the digital clock
on the counter. He was late. Very late.
Arys dried her hands and took
Araceli's hand. The two of them walked
into the living room and sat down, Arys motioning for Araceli to get on her lap. She was no substitute for Heero, but she
would have to do until her husband came home.
Araceli wiggled slightly, trying to get comfortable. She wrapped her arms around Arys' waist and
sighed.
"I wish Dad were
home."
Arys studied her daughter
thoughtfully. Her four-year-old
daughter had inherited a curious mixture of her and Heero's eyes. Gray swirled with blue. Often, the color of her eyes changed with
her mood, with the weather, or with her clothing. Arys ran a hand over Araceli's dark hair. It was more the color of Heero's hair than
her own.
"I do too."
"You miss him a lot, don't
you?"
Arys laughed inwardly. Araceli was entirely too intelligent for her
own good. Already, the girl knew her
ABC's. "The girl is just like her
mom," Heero had told her one night, proudly.
"Yes, dear, I miss
him." Arys also missed the work,
but she loved her children too much to let dangerous missions keep her from
home. "Where's Satoru?"
"In his room,
reading."
"He didn't want to play
with you?"
"No, he was reading some
book on the Gundams."
"Gundams, huh?"
"Yeah. He likes them a lot."
"A lot" was one of
Araceli's favorite phrases.
"Well, darling, you know
the Gundams don't exist anymore."
"Daddy said you used to fly
one."
"Yes, I did. And so did he."
"Did you like it?"
Arys bit her lip
thoughtfully. Had she liked being a
Gundam pilot? She had never thought
about it before. Count on Araceli to
bring up such a deep question. She had
associated the Gundams with war for so long that she had never been sure if she
did like being a Gundam pilot. The
killing, the fear, the adrenaline rush from fighting, the Zero System...
A knock at the door catapulted
Araceli off Arys' lap, saving Arys from answering her daughter.
"Daddy!" Araceli ran straight to Heero's legs,
hugging them.
Without a word of greeting,
Heero swept Araceli up into his arms, staring over his daugther's head to smile
at Arys. Though he never really showed
it, Heero loved Araceli's enthusiastic greetings.
"You're late," Arys
said matter-of-factly.
"We had a problem at
headquarters." Heero turned
Araceli upside-down. She squealed with
delight.
"What kind of
problem?" Arys stepped forward for
her ritual welcome-home kiss.
"I'll tell you later,"
Heero said as he turned Araceli right-side up again.
Araceli leaned forward to grasp
both Heero and Arys around the neck in a childish hug. "I love you guys."
Arys stared at her daughter in
surprise. She looked at Heero and saw
him trying to hide a grin.
"Where did you learn that
from?'
Araceli shrugged and then gave
them both an adorable smile.
"Uncle Duo."
Heero tugged Araceli toward
him. Arys had to smile herself as Heero
leaned toward her to whisper, "Figures."