He Wasn't Coming Home
She ran across the yard with Heero and Relena trailing after her, barking loudly and whimpering, trying to get her to slow down and nuzzle their faces. Barefoot and sweaty, she dropped herself onto the grass and let the dogs lick her face in affection. She laughed, dragging them down and encasing both huskies in a deep bear hug.
From the porch, Tom watched her, with a little girl on his lap.
"Uncle Tom, do you like dogs?" Sora asked, her bright brown eyes looking up at him inquisitively. Tom looked down at her and smiled. "I do sweetie. I love dogs. I just don't have the time to take care of one since I'm always traveling." He raised his face to see Yin still wrestling her two giant dogs down onto the ground. He heard a loud bark come from the grey one and shuddered slightly, but saw that Yin barked back. He laughed softly. Apparently his bodyguard grew up with wolves.
The doorbell rang. Tom turned his attention to the pedestrian gate. He spotted Preventer Yuy standing there, already reaching for the gate's handle and pushing it open. He took slow steps into the garden.
Yin noticed and got up from the grass, brushing the bits from her body and walked towards her brother. Her face brightened upon seeing him, but Tom noticed how she suddenly changed expression upon seeing the Preventer's face. Her eager steps slowed, and the two dogs stood sentry on either side of her. Preventer Yuy set his somber eyes on Sora before looking at Yin. He wasn't smiling.
"Yin, I need to talk to you. Can we go somewhere private?" He said, in a voice devoid of emotion. Yin blinked somewhat, her stature transforming and Tom noticed her shaking, fear etched in her eyes. She turned towards the man and asked him to bring Sora into the kitchen so she can have an early supper. The man nodded, and carried the little girl in his arms towards the inviting smells of the kitchen.
Feeding Sora soup was difficult, since she wanted to go outside and play with Uncle Heero. Tom had to hold her still so she could finish her bowl. In the middle of trying to get Sora to finish her carrot, the two older Winner children and their half-brother Rudy came in, sporting puzzled and confused looks that they directed outside where they could see their mother and uncle speaking from beyond the window. They took their seats around the kitchen table and ate quietly, darting looks towards each other and outside. Tom watched the children in silence, while trying to get Sora to sit still.
The main door opened and Yin came in, sans Preventer Yuy. She lingered in the main hall for a while, look at the carpet before she inhaled deeply and slowly walked towards the kitchen, her bare feet making silent steps into the threshold. Her children looked up worriedly, halting their meal and waiting for what their mother had to say, what their uncle had told her that made her look so unhappy.
Yin let her eyes graze around the kitchen, taking in her client, still hanging on to her youngest and her three older children. She spoke something which came out in a cracked whisper.
"Elliot, Queenie, can I see you in the library now?" She whispered, as she made to take Sora from Tom's arms, who happily extended her small limbs to reach out to her mommy. The two blond children silently pushed their chairs away and followed their mother silently, and Tom saw a glitter of a tear cascade down Queenie's eye. Tom was left in the company of the young prince Rudy, a love child Yin had with a powerful alien prince back when she was still young. Rudy gave Tom a look before he continued sipping his soup. He ate quickly and excused himself from the table, leaving Tom alone in the solitude of the kitchen. Tom followed the young man out and found him standing just outside in the main hall, watching the closed library door silently. He sat in one of the chairs darting the wall. Tom took the other.
Rudy leaned forward, his hands clasped tightly together. His look was distant, almost blank as he spoke what he felt was the problem. "Something's wrong. Uncle Heero would normally stay for dinner and he didn't. Uncle Q was supposed to return from his mission yesterday. I wonder what happened?" The young man said, biting a fingernail, his eyes crossed as he waited patiently for the door to open. Tom tried to listen for any noise coming from the library, but none echoed. He waited quietly beside the boy and twiddled his fingers.
Then slowly, both men's head tilted up upon hearing a soft, and anguished lullaby echo from the library.
I will tell to you my sweethearts
A tale of a long lost love
I will tell the tale of a love I had
When you were just a child
This happened when mom was sleeping
A war has begun far away
So your father went to fight for you
So you can live longer days
Tragedy has come your way then
Papa died for the sake of his love
And mama sleeps, a heartbroken maid
Though I pray that day never comes
This will be my lullaby
Rudy jumped up quickly and darted towards the library door, pushing it open. Tom immediately got up as well and followed the prince into the library.
He saw it in pitched black darkness, the only light emanating from a set of ethereal white wings protruding from Yin's back folded in to shelter her and her children as she hummed the lullaby. Elliot and Queenie were lying on her lap, tears pouring from their cheeks as they took in the news she gave them. Sora clutched onto her mother's chest tightly, crying the loudest and feeling the most hurt. Yin patted her children's heads, her own cheeks wet with tears as she ignored the intruders. Rudy's body shook somewhat, broken from the sight and he took feeble steps towards his half-siblings and his mother and knelt down onto their forms on the floor. He opened his arms and encased his mother and Sora in a loving hug. Yin returned it, and grasped her son's shirt tightly, keeping him there, as if afraid he was disappearing. Tom left the room quietly, closing the door behind him, eager to let the family have their moment of mourning. He returned to his seat and waited for them.
After what felt like an hour, the door to the library opened and the Winner children came out, Sora sleeping in Rudy's arms as he guided the two teenagers up the stairs. Tom's eyes searched Rudy's for Yin's presence and Rudy simply informed him that their mother had to step out for some fresh air for a while. She was within the compound but was not to be disturbed, he said. Tom nodded. He watched the prince carry his half-sister and pull his half-brother and half-sister up the stairs before they disappeared on the landing. Upon hearing the closed doors, Tom went out to search for Yin.
The compound was big, and Tom had not had a chance to explore it since he wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. His presence in the compound was unwelcome, considering he was putting his bodyguard's family in danger, but the Winner family was very wealthy and influential, and they had their own private bodyguards who took care of the family while the parents had to work. Tom passed some of them, and was barked at by the guard dogs who didn't know him.
Suddenly, he spotted Heero and Relena whimpering by the entrance to an unknown part of the mansion. Tom recognized it as the party hall. Tom was never invited to any of the Winner events, but his friends have often told him about the beauty of the hall used only during big corporate events.
It's a huge hall adorned in gold and high ceilinged windows. Both ends sport double grand staircases, one leading from the west wing where the preparation room is located, while the east wing end is connected to the Winner's residence. Mr and Mrs. Winner would always enter from there, and they would always sparkle bright when they do. They are the most beautiful couple you will ever see. Mr. Winner is the epitome of high class society, always dressed in something white and regal to match his stature, while his wife would always be either dressed in white or in red, her favorite color. He would parade her around the room proudly and many a bachelor had sought to dance with the lady, only to be turned down politely. She was not very talkative, and there would be times when she would excuse herself from the party and would stride out quickly, suddenly morphing from something so fragile and delicate into something hard and steadfast. We all know that she works for the protection of peace and was always on call, but we all feared that she and her husband deserved to be happy with the current peace. They always keep pushing for more that we're all afraid that it might be too much for both of them.
Tom stepped into the hall and was amazed at its size.
A giant chandelier hung from the middle of the room, emitting diamond sparkles around despite the power being shut. The windows covered the walls that ran through the hall, illuminating the place with the moon's light. The dance floor was immense and Tom held his breath at the ornate intricacies of the double grand staircases. The steps were adorned in red carpet, with double doors hiding just in between them. On the East wing end, was a huge balcony, probably where the orchestra would have been positioned, while on the West wing end, also on the balcony
Was the shadow of a family portrait.
Tom walked towards, it, entranced by it's size, encompassing almost half of the wall. As he got closer, the image cleared,and he easily noted the people in the portrait. There were six people, three of them seated, sharing a red plush Victorian couch. Yin sat on one end, Queenie sat on the other, while Sora was nestled in between them. Standing behind the couch were the men, Q standing above Yin, Elliot in the middle and Rudy standing at the other end. The men were all in suits, Rudy holding onto a cane, while the women wore simple dresses. They were all smiling into the camera.
Underneath the picture, hovering just near Yin's painted shoe, stood the real thing. She was looking up, caressing the photo with her hand. She didn't notice Tom's presence in the room despite the echoes of his footsteps in the empty hall.
He went up the stairs to stand near her, his hands in his pockets. She turned to him, looking at him with hollow eyes. She dropped her hand and turned, walking towards the plush red couch that stood across the painting, the exact same one they used in the portrait. She sat down, bringing her legs up and hugged them, still staring up at the picture. Tom silently took the space beside her and sat down, leaning forward, his hands clasped in front of him. He watched her silently.
It took a while, but she finally turned to him and stared at him with distressed eyes, her tears never wavering as she gazed up at the spot where Q was painted. She would crack a smile, only to frown again and weep quietly. Tom shimmied close to her and slowly placed a hand around her shoulder. She lurched for a while, but he tried again, and this time, she followed his body's movement, leaning towards his side. He could feel her shaking and shuddering from her sorrow. He let her mourn, sitting silently beside her and gazing up at the portrait.
"He's not coming back." She muttered. Tom turned his face to hers as she looked up at him, a helpless child searching for answers. "What makes you say that?" He asked, bringing the other hand to her face and rubbing the tears away. She sighed heavily.
"Nii-san told me. He said they lost contact with him during the mission. It was compromised and they had no way of checking if he was okay. When they were able to search for clues, the found traces of a struggle and blood in the area. They analyzed it and found some traces that belonged to Q." Her breath hitched and Tom gathered her up in his arms and hugged her tightly, letting her cry her pain away. He waited quietly for her to continue.
"They couldn't find the body, but they were able to collect a few of his things from the site, his wallet, celphone and his jacket all torn to shreds. I was informed by Nii-san that they were doing their best to locate his body but until then, they had to declare him MIA. In Preventer, that's as good as dead." She sniffed, burying her head onto the man's chest, shuddering some more as the tears continued to fall. Tom patted her head softly, hoping his simple gesture would calm her down. She wept for her husband for hours until she fell asleep in his arms, tired from the emotional turmoil, her soft breath blowing onto Tom's chest as he guided her down to the couch and laying her there, as he stood up to stand in front of the picture to look at it.His eyes immediately went to the blond Patriarch, smiling down at them.
In the dead of the night, Tom made a decision.
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The Next day
Elliot and Queenie got up on their own, unusual, becaue they normally get woken up by their mom (when she's home) or from their alarm clock. They made an awful racket in preparation for school, but no sound escaped the master's bedroom and the two decided to let Sora stay home for the day. They had to buckle down and go on with life. Elliot needed to work hard to take over the family business now that dad wouldn't be around, and the two decided that they would start training the next day.
The smell of pancakes filled air, warming the siblings' hearts slightly. They ran down the stairs to have their breakfast and
prepare for the coming battle ahead.
They expected Sonia their house maid to be cooking the pancakes, smiling at them, assuring them that things would be okay despite their father missing. They didn't want to believe him dead. They knew he was out there, protecting them with his anonymity. He was going to save the world, but he needed to protect his family first.
They didn't expect their mother's tall blond client standing in front of the stove, wrestling a pancake onto a serving dish. They stopped at the doorway, confused and blinking, wondering if they were seeing things. Tom looked up at them and smiled.
"Good morning. Time for breakfast." He said, placing the stack of pancakes on the table. The teenagers looked up at the man, unsure if they wanted to know, but hearing their tummies grumbling won them over and they came into the kitchen and took their place around the counter top, taking a plate and grabbing some pancakes.
Pounding could be heard coming down from the stairs. Yin appeared, gasping for breath and heaving as she grasped the doorway, gazing at her kids, before she caught sight of Tom.
"Sorry guys! My alarm didn't ring! I'll try to fix something qui----what are you doing?" She said, staring wide-eyed at the man who was serving her children breakfast. Tom shrugged. "I decided to get up early and cook some breakfast, is that a crime bodyguard?" He said the last word with indention. Yin's eyes glowered at him, but she said nothing, and simply entered and made sure her kids were ready for school, arguing that they could stay home for the day. The two declined and soon they were riding one of their cars off to school. Yin waved them off before returning to the kitchen, eyes fixed on Tom who began working on a fruit smoothie. She crossed her arms over her almost bare skin. "Explain..." She said, in a soft voice that spoke the demand. Tom ignored her, letting the blender run for a while, drowning out every thing before he answered.
"I decided to be here for you."
Yin felt her brain shut down. "EXCUSE ME?"
Tom poured the smoothie concoction into a pitcher. "Your kids need a dad. I'll be that."
Yin felt her system crash. "I'm sorry, but....WHY?!!!!!"
Tom settled the pitcher close to the dining table and went around the counter to where Yin stood, still barefoot,in nothing but a pair of spags and gym shorts. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "I figured my bodyguard needs me here. I can help you raise them." He said, burying his face in her hair. She brought her hands up to his chest and leaned on it, confusion wracking her brain as she tried to comprehend what he was trying to tell her.
Let me help you He seemed to say. Let me watch over your kids. Let me take care of them. Let me love them the way I love you. Let me act as their father. Let me watch them grow. Let me be there for them.
She looked up and saw sincerity in his eyes. He leaned his forehead on hers and smiled down at her, waiting for her to answer. Yin leaned away, unsure of what he wanted her to do.
"It's a big responsibility. Parenthood." She said, trying to convince him to leave.
He smiled. "I'll learn. You'll be my teacher." He laughed. She smiled.
"They aren't your real children. You will have a hard time dealing with them, especially my teenagers. They know you are not their father."
"I will earn their love. I don't expect them to love me right away."
"You'll have to win Rudy over. It took Q ages for Rudy to warm up to him."
"I'll manage. He's like a little brother. I'll enjoy talking to him."
"You'll have to be present during Sora's moving up day at the end of the term."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world."
Slowly, Yin's eyes glowed in the early morning sun. She felt that with Q's departure, her heart had hardened, losing its one big supporter to death. Now, someone, a stranger, her client, was going to change his lifestyle, his life, just to help her rear her children. She knew it was going to take Tom's strength to the extremes, considering these were not ordinary children, but she didn't expect him to stay, but the thought warmed her heart. Maybe, for the time being, he can help her move on from the loss.
She stood on her toes and pushed up, to graze her lips on Tom's letting him cradle her head in his hands. They stayed like that for a while.
Until Rudy and Sora walked into them.
"Mom, Sora's asking why she was staying at ho-------GEEZ MOM GET A ROOM! IT'S BAD ENOUGH I SEE YOU AND UNCLE Q, DO YOU HAVE TO DO IT WITH THAT GUY TOO???!"
"Uncle Tom and Mommy are kissing! Uncle Tom and Mommy are kissing!"
Oh well...mayhem start.