Author: Zazu
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Kids
Pairings: 5+R
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, nor do I own the characters. I have borrowed them here for some fun and creativity, and this is not for profit. I do, however, own the plot mentioned here, and any instances that you may find similar to real life events are purely a coincidence.
Notes: Not beta-read. This is a part of the babysiting adventures universe, inspired by Sharon's prompt "Babysitting adventures for uncles Heero, Duo, Trowa and Quatre. Wufei and Relena are the parents, of course". I should state now that the little drabbles in this universe will not be chronological at all!
The World's Best Baba
The small patter of feet coming towards him alerted Wufei to his daughter's presence as he stepped into the house. Turning after he locked the door, he was surprised to see her eyes brimming with tears as she reached for him.
"Leila?" he bent down.
"No!" Relena snapped. Leila cringed and Wufei picked her up anyway. "Wufei!" Relena said in an exasperated tone as she approached them.
"What's the matter?" Wufei asked as Leila buried her face into his neck. The little body in his arms trembled as she cried quietly and Wufei immediately felt protective of his daughter, even though the 'enemy' was his wife.
"Leila exerted violence on Andrew."
Wufei blinked at Relena, trying to place the name. "Andrew as in Nina's son?"
When Leila was born, Relena had taken a long period of maternity leave, turning up only at necessary political functions and doing as much work as possible from home. Now that Leila was four years old, Relena had returned to the office, and with Wufei's job as an agent at Preventers, finding a temporary babysitter had been necessary until they found a suitable live-in nanny.
Their neighbour, Nina, had offered to help; the woman had often sat with Relena while she was pregnant and addressed the many concerns that Relena had. With three children of her own, Nina was a good and convenient choice for the Chang's until they found a more permanent option. Andrew, Wufei recalled, was Nina's middle son, and was twelve years old.
"Leila? Look at Baba."
It took a moment for Leila to lift her head, tears still streaming down her face.
"What happened?" he asked. "Did you hit Andrew?"
She nodded, and he waited for her explanation. Leila scrubbed her face with her small hands before she blurted out, "he called you names!"
"Me?" Wufei asked.
"Apparently, Andrew's class was one of those who invited a Preventer to the classroom for a talk. Nina said that some of the students asked questions regarding the amount of violence some missions necessitated."
"Andrew said Baba hurt people and killed people," Leila sniffled. "He said Baba had a gun and he was a killer!"
Wufei heaved a sigh, rubbing Leila's back as she hiccupped. "Relena..."
"Regardless of what Andrew said, Nina would have disciplined him! It was not necessary for Leila to hit him!"
Relena was still a pacifist at heart, and Wufei had to admit that he didn't want his child to grow up in violence. Leila didn't know much about his job except that he solved cases and caught the bad guys; she was much too young to really understand what Wufei did in his past or sometimes had to do.
A part of him wanted to say that Andrew deserved it and that Leila had done a good job. He wanted to ask if he had hurt her in return, and he knew that Andrew's words had hurt Leila deep inside where Wufei ever wanted her to be hurt. He was damn proud that she had stood up for herself against the older boy, even if she had used the wrong method.
"Leila, we don't hit other people, okay?" Wufei asked. "Promise Baba."
"But he..."
"Promise Baba," he repeated, looking her in the eye.
She nodded. "I promise."
"Wufei!" Relena said, seeing him turn towards the stairs, no doubt to clean Leila's face. "That's it? Just an 'I promise' and you're letting it go?"
"Relena..." Wufei set Leila down. "Leila, go upstairs and wait for Baba in your washroom."
She obediently walked up the stairs and Wufei waited until she had gone into her room before he turned to his wife. "Relena...Leila was provoked. You can tell her all about how she was wrong, but in the end she probably won't even understand. This is the first time it has happened, and she's learning along the way."
"But just letting it go without punishment could encourage her to..."
"Relena," Wufei pulled his wife close. "When have you ever seen her violent?" he asked. "We're lucky she doesn't have my temper, aren't we?"
"With what happened today she could very well be showing just how much she is like you."
Wufei kissed Relena's forehead. "If it happens again, we'll address the issue with a little punishment, okay? Right now, I'm just proud that she stood up for herself."
"Nina apologized for what Andrew said," Relena admitted. "But I don't want her to know violence, not when she's so small."
"I know," Wufei said, rubbing Relena's back like he had done to Leila. "But it's not like Leila really hurt Andrew, right?"
"Actually," Relena muttered. "She punched him where it would hurt the most. Probably not on purpose and more of the fact that he's taller than her, but..."
Wufei winced at the thought. "Okay. I'll steer clear of her little fists then."
"That would probably be wise," Relena replied. "Go wash her face and wash your own, too."
"I will."
He walked up the stairs and found Leila standing by her bathroom door, waiting. Lifting her again, Wufei sat her on the bathroom counter and wet her facecloth before gently washing her face.
"Baba, I made Mommy mad," Leila whispered.
"She doesn't like it when you hurt people, okay?" Wufei asked, kissing Leila's head.
"Do you really hurt people when you work?" Leila asked, her voice and expression suddenly scared and vulnerable. Wufei bent a little to be level with her.
"Yes," he said softly. "Not because I want to, baby, but sometimes, people will end up getting hurt. It's like when we played tag with Uncle Duo, remember? He chased you around and you tripped and scraped your knee. Did Uncle Duo want to hurt you?"
Leila shook her head.
"That's what it's like, sometimes." Wufei knew that it wasn't the best explanation he had, but he didn't know how else Leila would understand his work.
Leila wrapped her arms around Wufei's neck, pulling him close for a hug. "Andrew was wrong," she whispered. He didn't say anything. "Baba is not a killer."
Wufei found a lump in his throat when he heard those words and he swallowed hard.
"I love you Baba," Leila said. "You're the best Baba in the whole world."
He smiled at those words. "Leila, don't tell Mommy, but Baba is proud of you for standing up for me. Thank you, Leila."
"You're welcome," she automatically replied, although as Wufei pulled away he could see that she couldn't quite understand what he had meant. He set her on the floor then. "Go downstairs Leila, Baba is going to get changed."
"Okay."
He walked with her out of her room and watched as she went downstairs before he went to his bathroom. Splashing his face with water, Wufei looked at his reflection.
How long would his image of 'best Baba in the whole world' last? What would Leila think if she found out that her Baba was really a killer in the past, a killer now when he had no choice? Would those adoring eyes become scared, or become angry, hateful? It would break him if Leila turned away from him, even though he didn't intend to let his daughter grow up to be narrow-minded.
He shook his head. He was who he was and that could never be changed. Leila would find out one day, and maybe she wouldn't understand at that time just what Wufei had done in his past, or why. There was nothing he could do now, except hope that his daughter would eventually understand it all and still respect him.
Most importantly, he knew that no matter what she felt towards him or his past, he would keep fighting, as a Preventer, to make the world as safe a place as possible for his beautiful little daughter.
OWARI
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