Work Text:
The Car Buying Experience
It was mid-Spring and the weather had been fastly warming up. Relena normally would never complain but she was already starting to become uncomfortable with the warmer temperatures. Being almost eight months pregnant with her second child, she was starting to remember how much she didn't enjoy the last few months of pregnancy.
"It's too hot out," Relena said as she moved to stand, whipping her forehead with the back of her hand. She had been outside working on the flower beds preparing them for the coming flowers that would soon start to bud.
"Then go inside," Heero said from a few feet away with their son Aiden. The two were busy digging holes in the sandbox that was nestled between two large flower beds.
"I don't want to be inside, Heero. I want to be out here enjoying the Spring weather. I just wish it wasn't so warm out," Relena huffed as she moved to stand closer to them. Heero turned his head to look up at her.
"Then come sit down with us for a while," Heero said standing up. Brushing off some of the sand that stuck to his hands. He then moved to grab the chair he bought outside for her when they came outside. Heero placed the chair so Relena could put her feet up on the edge of the sandbox before he helped her to sit. "Better?"
"Yes, thank you," Relena smiled up at him. His deep blue eyes shone with warmth as he went back to play with their son.
Relena smiled at the pair. Aiden was three years old and looked every bit like his father, except for his eyes. Aiden had dark brown hair that felt almost exactly like Heero's. Relena learned after several attempts to try and keep his bangs from falling into his eyes, that it was useless. She had tried cutting his hair but gave up on that. Deep down she loved how they looked so much alike that she'd rather keep his hair longer and unruly. But his eyes, they were all hers. Light blue eyes like the ocean looked up at her as he turned to show her the castle he made, right before it fell apart in his hands. Relena laughed lightly as he grumbled before attempting to remake the small castle.
Their little family was growing though. Relena laid a hand on her swollen stomach as she felt their daughter kick. She had been over the moon when they found out that they were having a little girl. Heero on the other hand was quiet for a few days. He had said he was happy but Relena saw something in his eyes. Slowly after a week, Heero opened up a little more. He was truly happy to add a daughter to their family, but he was more afraid she'd be just like Relena herself.
She had laughed at him when he told her that.
"Aiden is a mini-you, so why can't I have a mini-me?"
Heero had just stared at her with a blank expression on his face.
"I would love nothing more than to have a smaller version of you, my only issue is… can I handle two of you?"
Relena had outright laughed at him then. Her eyes filled with tears from laughing so hard.
Relena smiled at the memory. She had assured him that everything would be fine and not to worry. Secretly she was overly excited for their daughter to come. Aiden was Heero in every way, but he still enjoyed his morning cuddles with her. She knew soon those moments would be a thing of the past. But now with their little girl on the way, she'd have someone else to spoil. And she had every intention of doing so.
Relena thought about all the wonderful things she'd get to do with their daughter, along with teaching Aiden about his new role as a big brother, but one thing stopped her musing as it came to the forefront of her mind.
They needed a bigger vehicle.
It was a topic that hadn't gone over well with Heero when she pointed it out. While their current family SUV was nice, Relena wanted something bigger.
Their family was growing which meant they'd be taking more things with them whenever they left the house. Heero had claimed at the beginning that their current vehicle was fine. That it met their needs and he had no intention of buying a new one.
That was short-lived once Relena bought a new car seat for their baby.
She tried to install it, moving the front seats and even going as far as to move Aiden's car seat but no matter where she put the baby's, nothing worked. She wanted them to fit comfortably, which meant for that to happen they'd need to upgrade to a larger SUV.
Relena caught Heero's eyes as she turned to face him. He had that look again. The look that said 'I know what you're thinking about.
Returning a small look of her own she asked his favorite question as of lately. "Did you finally decide on a new vehicle?"
Heero tightened his eyes. Enough for her to know he was glaring at her. She knew she was pushing his buttons with the topic.
"I've told you already, the same thing as yesterday, I'm still looking."
"I don't understand what's taking so long. We can buy any vehicle we want. But you put us on a budget," Relena crossed her arms over her chest.
"I just can't justify spending that much money on a car, Relena. We can get something just as nice for less. Do we even need all those extra features?" He lifted a brow at her.
"I understand that and I do agree. We don't necessarily have to spend a fortune on a new one. But can't we spend a little more to get one that's a little nicer?"
"Relena, trust me. When I find something I feel meets all our needs I'll let you know," Heero sighed. Relena huffed her displeasure but nodded her head.
"Daddy goes fast in our car!" Aiden yelled while throwing up his hands
"You're not supposed to tell your mother that," Heero said as he turned away from her, looking at their son.
"Looks like someone's busted for speeding," Relena laughed as she stood from her chair.
A week later, and after many hours searching the internet, Relena found something she wanted to show Heero. Relena was already in bed, waiting for Heero to return from checking on Aiden. Their son had been asleep for a good two hours, but one of them always went to check on him before they called it a night.
Heero eyed her as he came back into their bedroom. Making his way over to the bed, he climbed into bed, pulling the sheets up around his waist.
"Is there something you need?" Heero asked when he turned his head to face her.
"No, not really," Relena said, biting her lip. "But I did want to show you something." Heero lifted a brow at her as she handed her tablet over to him. "I found this, I think it might be worth looking into."
"I thought I said that I would handle buying another vehicle," Heero glared at the screen.
"You did," Relena started slowly. "But I was just browsing and I happened to find this one."
"I don't like the body style," Heero said as he looked back at her. Relena narrowed her eyes at her husband as he conveyed how much he didn't appreciate the SUV she picked out.
"It has everything we would need and want. Plus it's under budget! But you won't even look at it because you don't like the body style?"
"To be honest, it's terrible looking. I don't understand how this style could appeal to anyone," Heero deadpanned.
"What do you mean? Are you saying I have bad taste!?" Relena's eyes grew wide.
"That's not what I'm saying. I just don't understand why they make them this way nowadays," Heero turned back to the tablet, scrolling through the photos. "I don't like it, so the answer is no. I'll look for something better," Heero said as he handed her tablet back to her.
"You're unbelievable, Heero," Relena said as she put her tablet down on her nightstand.
"What?" Relena ignored him as she turned her lamp off, laying herself down, keeping her back towards Heero.
"Goodnight," she said with a hint of anger in her voice.
Heero said nothing, but Relena could feel Heero move before she heard the click of his lamp being turned off. Their bedroom became engulfed in darkness. Relena was settling herself into their bed more when she felt his arm wrap around her.
"Don't even think about it, Heero. My answer is no." Heero grumbled something as he turned over on his side of the bed.
Another week passed by with Heero wondering what Relena was up to. After she had shown him the SUV she liked, she turned around stating she trusted him in selecting the best vehicle for their family and had yet to say anything about it since.
He had asked her a few times if everything was fine and her response was always "yes" with a cheery smile. Heero wasn't foolish though. He knew deep down Relena was pretending to be happy with him after he shot her down about the SUV. He even went as far as to show her a few models he found that he liked. All she ever said was, "it's nice, you should go look at it, I'm sure it's a perfect choice."
Heero had gone to one of the dealerships to view one of the ones he selected but after seeing it in person he opted to not have Relena see it. It would have resulted in her faking a smile, agreeing to everything then going home to give him the silent treatment.
That had happened the first time they went to go look at a new vehicle.
It was supposed to be just something fun for the two of them but Relena had made a fuss over the fact it was a two-door instead of a four-door. At the time they didn't have Aiden and he didn't see the point in buying a four-door if the car itself was meant for the two of them.
He had learned the hard way after they finally settled on a two-door sports car and not even a year later, they found out they were going to parents, and once again, Relena had been angry with the fact they had a two-door vehicle.
Not only did he hear about how they needed something different before the baby arrived, but it was the fact that Relena had a hard time getting in and out of the car as her pregnancy progressed with Aiden.
Relena managed, but it made him feel guilty watching her, literally, roll herself out of the car whenever she got out.
They ended up switching to his Preventer-issued SUV as their main vehicle, which in turn made Relena want one for their own family vehicle.
At the time he agreed, there was no point in trying to use their small car anymore to transport themselves or even a child. Heero had gone out when Relena was around seven months pregnant to find in her words "the perfect vehicle."
It turned into a nightmare. Just like when they had bought their car.
Heero wanted to pick something and be done with it. Car shopping was his least favorite thing to do and even though he loved Relena, vehicle shopping with her was worse than going clothes shopping with her.
Which was why he wanted to handle it on his own this time.
Heero told Relena when she brought up to him that he wanted to be the one to select the vehicle and that she wouldn't have any say in the matter. It didn't go over well at first but as he explained she seemed to understand.
But the more he thought about it the more he realized he fell into a trap of his own making.
Relena would agree at first, then change her mind, then agree again. She would play the mental war game with him, and in the end, she would wear him down till she won.
Heero narrowed his eyes as he drove home.
Thinking over everything that had happened over the last few months. He knew he fell right into the palm of her hands as he turned into their driveway.
Relena was good at her games. She knew how to get what she wanted. That's how they ended up with their soon-to-be second child. She wanted another and somehow she got him to agree.
It wasn't that he didn't want another child, he just wasn't sure they were ready to add to their family so soon. That and now that they were having a girl, he had his own fears and worries, but there was no turning back. The deed was done and his fate was sealed.
Shaking his head, he turned off the engine of the vehicle. Making his way into the house he hoped Relena hadn't seen him pulling up to the house. Lucky for him, he found her and Aiden in the kitchen. Relena looked up at him as he came to stop a few feet away from her. Slowly he lifted his hand, dangling a set of keys in his fingers.
"You didn't?" Relena stared wide-eyed at him.
"Get your shoes on and come outside," Heero said as he walked closer to help Aiden down from the barstool he was sitting on.
"Heero Yuy, if you-"
"Just come outside," Heero said, cutting her off. Holding Aiden, he made his way back out of the house. Relena followed close behind him.
"You didn't…" Relena trailed off as she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Go look at it," Heero smirked as he handed her the keys.
Relena all but ran over, throwing open the driver-side door of the black SUV that was parked in front of the garage. Heero chuckled as he watched her. For someone who was now eight months pregnant, she could still somewhat move gracefully. But it was mainly the expression on her face that made him smile. Aiden wiggled in his arms, setting him down, Aiden ran over to the SUV. He turned, looking at him, waiting for him to open one of the doors for him. Heero made his way over opening up one of the rear doors before helping Aiden in. Heero climbed in after him, watching as his son's eyes went even wider.
"It's so big!" he squealed.
"Heero…" Relena said from the driver's seat. Heero looked up to see her staring at him wide-eyed. "I thought you said you didn't like this model?"
"I don't. But it has everything you want and everything we need as a family," Heero smirked as Relena gaped at him.
"I may not fully like the outside, but I like the inside. There's plenty of room for all of us, plus we have the option of third-row seating. I have the seats down for now so we have the added trunk space," Heero watched as Relena tilted her head to the side.
"I can't believe you did this, after everything you said," Relena said. Heero shrugged his shoulders.
"Do you like it?"
"Do I like it?" Relena started slowly, "I love it! Can we take it for a drive?"
"Right now?"
"Yes right now. Go get Aiden's car seat. Wait, do we even have his car seat?" Relena's face fell as she looked at him. Heero nodded his head before climbing back out.
"I took it out before I left. We do have to go back to the dealership and pick up our other car, so this works."
Relena was making adjustments to the driver's seat and steering wheel so she could drive her new SUV while Aiden happily sat in the back bouncing up and down in the middle seat. Heero was in the trunk getting Aiden's car seat out before he came around, opening the driver's side passenger door. securing it in place. Once Aiden's car seat was secured, Heero buckled Aiden in. Heero moved around the front of the SUV to the passenger side, opening the door, he sat down in the seat.
"Ready?" Relena couldn't contain the excitement in her voice when Heero turned to look at her.
"Let's go," Heero said as he buckled his seat belt.
Relena smiled the entire time they drove around before stopping back at the dealership to pick up their other SUV. Before Heero could get out, Relena stopped him.
"I love it. Thank you, Heero, it's perfect for us," Relena smiled at him. Heero nodded his head as he was about to shut the door when Relena spoke again. "But one thing. What do you plan to do with the sports car?" Relena lifted her brow at him.
"Relena. I'm happy that you're happy. But right now, we're not going to discuss that. I'll see you at home and drive safely. Be good for your mother, Aiden," Heero said, shutting the door. Relena glared at him before she heard Aiden speak up from the back.
"Daddy's in big trouble!"
"He'll learn sweetheart, he'll learn," Relena said before pulling out of the dealership. She couldn't complain. She had gotten a bigger vehicle and it just so happened to be the one she wanted in the first place. Yes, Heero Yuy was slowly learning that no matter what, when it came to some things she would always get her way.
Now to just work on getting him to get rid of the sports car. Relena smiled to herself as she thought of a new mental war game she could play with Heero.