CHAPTER III- Morning Has Broken

A/N:

I have taken down 'Different Kinds of Suffering.' It was pissing me off and I didn't like it, and then a discussion with a reviewer helped confirm my dislikes for the story so away it goes. A new chapter of 'Somewhere' is coming out most likely today.

"Good morning, dragon lady," Wufei whispered to his lover, nuzzling against her neck as she stirred into consciousness.

Sally rolled over to look at him, "Hmm…we slept late, considering the fact the president just died."

"I told you that if you came to L1, I would get distracted," he said smugly.

She shook her head, "You were a touch too ardent for it to be just that," she replied, running her hands over his ribs and tracing his collarbone, "What's your real reason?"

"What are you talking about?" he began kissing the part of her neck below her ear to distract her.

She pulled away, "As your senior officer, I demand that you tell me."

"When are you going to start using 'Chang' as your surname instead of 'Po?'"

"When I decide if it's worth keeping you as a husband," she snapped, annoyed, "Wufei…"

"I'm going undercover for a short while. I was going to clear it with my superior officer, but seeing as that's my wife, and knowing that she can't stand more than a month without me in bed beside her-"

She slapped him, "You're the one who's always begging!"

He narrowed his eyes, pretending to ignore her very true statement, "I'll be here, on L1. I need to infiltrate a group of assassins called 'The Scarab Clan' so we can confirm our suspicions that Ariel Yuy ordered the death of the president and that Relena. It's a matter of honor."

He returned to kissing her neck so he couldn't see her face. She bent over to kiss his brow, "I won't stop you."

He looked up, "What?"

She snuggled into his arms, ducking her head under his chin, just be careful, okay? For all three of us."

He started, "What?!"

She laughed maliciously, "You still think babies come from storks, Wufei? With all our practice, I thought I would get pregnant sooner…"

He kissed her passionately, "Yesterday was a bad day. Let's make today hopeful."

"But the baby's last name will be 'Po.'"

"Have you no honor? He must be part of the clan. He will be named 'Chang.'"

"Po."

"Chang."

"Po."

"Never mind, we'll figure it out later. Come here, love."

She was only too happy to oblige.

Heero dragged himself from one the deepest sleeps he'd ever experienced. He sniffed the air. He was in his house, but not on his futon. What had happened? His eyes opened into slits, and darted around. He was in the living room, and Trowa was snoring on the couch. The low coffee table was close to his face, and he noticed that Tyrone had stuck gum underneath it. When he figured out what had happened, he would get that kid.

Consciousness took over in stages, until slowly, ever so slowly, Heero remembered what had happened the night before. The president was dead! Relena was in his house! She was under the same roof, asleep in his bed, rubbing her scent onhis sheets, filling his room with her presence. He knew that now she had left her mark, that room would also contain a lingering reminder of her. Was there no way to escape her?

Did he want to?

He pulled himself up and looked at the clock on the mantel. It was seven o'clock, time for Tyrone to get ready for school. He rolled up his sleeping bag neatly and efficiently, taking care not to wake the very loud Trowa.

When he had cleaned up, he walked up the stairs to Tyrone's room. It was there where things started to get unusual. Tyrone's room was empty. His bed was mussed and unmade, his stuffed dinosaurs seated in a row on the windowsill, the only sign at all that this was a child's room.

He decided to search the other rooms before drawing any conclusions. The weary man checked the bathroom and the study, but found nothing. There was only one room left. He drew a deep breath.

The sight he was confronted with was adorable. Tyrone had crept into Relena's room that night, as he had to visit Heero so many times before. The young boy was snuggling against what could only be described as a fallen angel.

Relena's hair had spread across the pillow like a golden-brown halo, a slight smile on her lips as she held Tyrone carefully. Heero could understand why Tyrone liked her so much. She was balm to the soul of any hurt person, tendering out compassion as if it were nothing.

And to see her lying on his futon, wrapped in his blankets and resting on his pillow while she comforted the boy that Heero had come to consider his own, was something that could not be put into words.

His heart was swelling with love and tenderness for her, and for the boy. He could imagine Tyrone as their child, and she his wife, and couldn't think of a sweeter dream.

Heero Yuy was turning domestic!

He shook his head and moved forward to pick up Tyrone, but the boy struggled in protest, and in turn, woke up Relena.

She looked p at him with her sea green eyes and he felt himself drowning.

"Heero?" she murmured sleepily, "What?"

He repressed the urge to smile at her lying there sleep-mussed, "Tyrone has to go to school."

She blinked drowsily and then looked down at her bedmate, "Oh! I forgot…he mentioned something about another nightmare. How many bad dreams does he get?"

Heero knelt down and picked up Tyrone, he was already whining about wanting more sleep, "One or two a night. He had a rough childhood and many deaths on his hands."

She sat up, tucking her knees under her chin, "Do you have nightmares every night too, Heero?"

"Yes, I've had bad dreams every day of my life except for one night."

She cocked her head, "What night was that?"

A light blush stained his cheeks. Relena had never seen him blush before, "The night I spent with you in my arms."

He left before she could say anything, dragging the still-grumpy Tyrone down the stairs for breakfast.

Relena's expression was contemplative, "Even after all the suffering I've put us through, Heero, are you still in love with me?"

"I like her." Tyrone was saying around a mouthful of cereal.

"I noticed," Heero said absently, pour milk in his own bowl and spooning it up.

"I thought she was you at first," he said sleepily, "else I wouldn't have gone in. What was she doing in your bed?"

"She was sleeping, hopefully."

"She's that girl from the blue room."

Heero glared at his ward, "Don't mention that room to any of our visitors, okay?"

"Why are they here? What happened?"

"They're just staying until things settle down."

"Who's the guy snoring on the couch? Is he her husband?"

Heero almost snorted into his breakfast, "I don't think he could be her husband if he tried."

"Why?"

"He doesn't like women."

Tyrone gave him a look of total and complete incomprehension, "Okay…"

"Don't worry about them; they'll be gone in a couple of weeks. Just don't forget that they're a secret. Don't talk about it at school."

Tyrone shrugged, "I wouldn't do that, I like her a lot."

Heero sighed and thought absently, I do too…

They both turned to see the woman they were talking about standing in the doorway.

She had helped herself to a pair of Heero's sweats and one of his tank tops. Both were too big on her, but she could have worn anything with a smile as bright and beautiful as hers.

The smile turned sheepish, "I'm sorry about the clothes, Heero, but I didn't think you wanted me wandering around the house in a ball gown."

He nodded and picked up the box of cereal.

"Hungry?"

Relena picked up a bowl from the drain board and took the box, "I was wondering if I could walk Tyrone down to school with you."

He frowned, "You should get more sleep."

She laughed lightly and signaled over her shoulder with a thumb, "With Trowa snoring enough to shake the house? I think not. Let me borrow a baseball cap, and I'm sure no one will recognize me."

Tyrone grinned and decided to come to her aid, "C'mon, Heero, it'll be fun!"

He glared at both of them, but crumbled under their eager expressions, "Fine."

They finished their food and Tyrone ran up to brush his teeth while Heero checked through the boy's backpack to make sure he did his homework.

"Wow, Heero, you look very fatherly," she said, looking at him via the hall mirror as she pulled her hair through the back of a baseball cap.

"He's not very consistent with his homework," Heero mumbled, zipping up the knapsack and placing it by the door.

He put on his tennis shoes and Relena donned a pair of oversized flip-flops.

"Tyrone!"

"Coming!"

The boy zoomed down the stairs and out the door, yanking on his shoes.

The older ones followed at a more reasonable pace.

"Are you going to school, Heero?" Relena asked, watching Tyrone bounce ahead with a sudden increase in energy.

He shook his head, "Not anymore. I take art classes down at the local college occasionally, but my training gave me all the experience necessary to work with the Preventers. Maybe one of these days I'll go for a degree in forensics with night school."

Relena smiled, "I always wanted to go to college. I was, in fact, before my marriage forced me to drop out."

That made them both fall suddenly silent.

"Do you…" Heero ventured carefully, "Do you miss him?"

Relena sighed, "No, not really. He was a good person, but I could never love him. You know that. I will miss him as a friend, but not as a husband."

Tyrone waved to them as he entered the school gates, and soon the couple turned and strolled back.

"I didn't think you'd walk an eight-year old to school, Heero," Relena said, giggling.

"If anyone wanted revenge for the deaths of the people killed, Tyrone would be the best target. The world is more dangerous for him than he could ever realize."

Relena nudged him playfully, "You really did turn out to be a good person after all, just like I knew you would."

He chose not to respond to that.

"There was a man asking about our clan, sir," a man said, kneeling down on the floor of the underground cavern, "He calls himself 'Dragon.'"

The man seated on the dais looked down upon the speaker, "Do you know of him?"

"I remember him from A.C. 196. He and I both served the Bartons. He was a gundam pilot."

"I thought they worked for the Preventers now."

"This one couldn't have. He is too honorable, too much of a warrior."

"You vouch for him, Snake?"

"I do, sir." Snake replied. Snake was dark skinned, with a shaved head and scale tatoos all over his body. He looked like the animal he was named after, lithe and sinuous even in the black robes of the Scarab Clan, "He will make a fine assassin."

"Very well, give him the first test." The leader said resolutely, "If he does well, he may be perfect for our next job."

"Yes, sir!"

Snake reached over to his collar, removed the small scarab pin, and tucked it away. Dragon would make a fine addition to their clan- or Snake would pay the price.