Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 74 ( Chapter 74 )

Please see previous chapters for disclaimer, notes etc.

Chapter 74

"But, Quatre, I can't accept that, it's a car for heaven's sake!" stated Duo as he looked at the modest sedan sitting in the driveway.

"I know what it is, Duo. I do have eyes," Quatre returned.

"I know you're a generous person, Quat, and I appreciate all that you've ever done for me over the years and now... but a car?!"

"You said yourself that you and Heero couldn't bear to part with Matilda but unless you sold the pick up you couldn't afford another, more family friendly car, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that: a) You're way too generous, b) I don't deserve it, not after flooring you a few moments ago and c) You have better things to do with your money than waste it on presents like this for the likes of me."

"Duo, Trowa and I wanted to buy it for both you and Heero..."

"Heero's going to go ape shit when he gets back and finds out about this..."

"We haven't had the chance to buy you guy's anything at all for the baby yet..."

"Heero's really gonna flip..."

"You already have pretty much everything else for the baby..."

"You should know what he gets like when people purchase gifts for him..."

"It's our way of helping you out with something you really need..."

"Somehow I don't think he's gonna be too happy..."

"And putting a baby seat in a pick up isn't legal as far as I know..."

"There's no way we can accept, but it sure is a nice gesture..."

"It drives like a dream..."

"What's it got under the hood?"

"Six cylinder, overhead cam with fuel injection."

"Turbo?"

"You better believe it."

"How's it handle?"

"Want to take it for a spin and find out?"

"Love to."

"Here are the keys."

Trowa watched in silent amusement as the conversation flowed back and forth, it was like watching a tennis match, only the ball was verbal. When Quatre asked Duo if he wanted to take the car for a drive, Trowa knew his husband had the American on the hook; now all he had to do was reel him in. If Quat could convince Duo to accept the gift then three quarters of the battle would be won. Heero would never deny Duo anything. A smile creased his lips as he watched an excited Duo take the keys from the blonde and head down the steps, the Arab right behind him. "Just around the estate, Duo," Trowa called out as the pair settled themselves into the car's interior.

"Yes, Mother Theresa," replied Duo cheekily.

"I'll make sure he stays within the boundaries and doesn't do anything stupid," called Quatre through the open window as he buckled his seat belt whilst Duo started the car.

Trowa refrained from voicing his reservations at that comment.

The engine purred into life and Duo couldn't resist pressing down on the accelerator, grinning broadly as the revs increased. A quick glance over the dash panel to familiarize himself with the various gauges and he was set to go.

"See you soon, Trooooo...wwwwaaaa... shhhiiiitttt!!!" screamed the blonde as Duo dropped the clutch and sent the little car hurtling forward, spraying gravel behind as the tires spun, then gripped and they rocketed off down the driveway.

"Fuck! I hope to Christ that thing has dual airbags," muttered Trowa under his breath as he watched the back end of the vehicle fish tail for a moment and then slide around a corner to disappear from sight. With a sigh, Trowa turned and went back inside to continue with his cooking, opting to put off chopping the vegetables until both his husband and Duo returned. The way his hands were shaking it wasn't a good idea and he didn't think that either of the other two men would appreciate bits of finger in their food.

***

"Wheeee... This is cool, Quat. She sure handles well," cried Duo as he spun the vehicle around another corner, the tires squealing in protest. "Good brakes too," he added as he hit them a little harder than intended coming into the next turn. "Look, there's Harim checking the boundary fences. Hey, Harim!" Duo shouted out of the car window and waved enthusiastically.

"DUO! Can you please keep both hands on the wheel?"

Duo turned to look at his passenger and noticed the blonde looking a little green around the gills.

"And keep your eyes on the fucking road!" Quatre yelled.

"Ah! Shit!" Duo braked and yanked the wheel to the left, narrowly avoiding the rabbit that had decided to play 'chicken' and sit in the road. The car jerked and bounced, then settled back onto all four wheels again. "You gotta admit she drives well."

"Can we go back now?"

"I thought you wanted to take her for a spin? Yanno,… put her through her paces."

"I think she's been well and truly tested, Duo. I can safely say that the seat belts work extremely well."

"Shit, Quat. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Back at the house with my sanity."

"My driving's not that bad."

"Duo, your driving is atrocious. This is a car, you know? Four wheels, body, motor and a SPEED LIMIT! Not a freaking gundam for Allah's sake." Quatre really was feeling a bit sick with Duo's driving.

"Awww, you're no fun but I'll slow down and drive properly just for you, grandma."

"Thank you. I would appreciate it." Quatre released his grip on the overdoor support handle, positive that he'd left permanent finger prints in the thing. He was glad it had been bolted in securely, as it was he'd had a couple of moments when he'd thought he would pull it from its moorings with the force he'd needed to apply just to keep himself in his seat.

"If this car's going to be carrying my child in it I want to make sure that it will handle the conditions properly. You can't be too careful and I don't want my baby being at risk because the tires don't grip properly or the brakes work efficiently."

"I think the child will be more at risk with your driving than anything to do with the car, Duo," Quatre replied dryly. "You need to remember that we are on a road, not a gravel track and you're not a cross country rally driver, Duo."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, oh perfect one."

"I just hope that the baby seat fits in okay and that its seat belt apparatus is going to be enough to keep the little one secure once you get behind the wheel. They haven't yet worked out how to install air bags for babies."

"Speaking of the baby seat," Duo glanced at Quatre from the corner of his eye. "Think we could have another shot at it later; try to fit it into this car. I think that maybe it wasn't designed for a pick up and that might be what the problem is."

Quatre visibly paled and shifted a little in his seat. He swallowed and then spoke. "Umm... I think it might be best to leave the fitting of the seat until Heero and Wufei get back, then Heero can get the instructions out and we should be able to get it in without any problems."

Duo frowned. 'Damn! I was hoping to have it installed before he comes back. You know what he can be like, Quat. He'll think we can't do anything ourselves. I might be pregnant but it doesn't mean I'm helpless."

Sighing and shaking his head, Quatre relented. "All right if you really want to, although I don't think we should ask Trowa to help. I'm sure he would more than happily slice and dice that seat at the moment, he swears it's the devil reincarnate."

"In that case, shouldn't he perform an exorcism?" Duo snickered.

"Exorcism, ostracism, whatever; I just don't think it's a good idea to have the seat and Trowa in the same vicinity right now."

Chuckling lightly, Duo steered the car back towards the house, the little vehicle purring along. "Thanks for the car, Quat, but we really can't accept it, as much as I would like too. Heero will feel the same way, trust me on that. It's not that we don't appreciate it, Quat, we do; it's just... far too generous and we won't take advantage of you like that." Duo turned briefly to see what effect his words had on the blonde. He felt awful for refusing but he couldn't accept either, his pride wouldn't allow him to.

"Duo? Can I suggest something here?"

"Sure."

"You and Heero are going to need something other than the pick up for this child. If you won't accept the car as a gift would you consider accepting it as a sort of loan? What I mean is, you and Heero have the car, use it for as long as you want, until the baby is grown up or you can afford to buy yourselves one of your own. When you find you don't need it anymore, let me know and I'll take it back, I can give it to my nieces and nephews to use to learn to drive in."

"So you're suggesting something like a loan car, hire car type situation without the payment bit?"

"Yes." Quatre turned his baby blues in Duo's direction as Duo brought the car to a stop outside the front doors of the house and cut the engine. Quatre knew his big, innocent, puppy eyes usually worked, hell they did on Trowa, never failed; all he could hope for now is that Duo wasn't immune to them either.

Staring at the baby face of the blonde, seeing those liquid, blue green eyes trained in his direction, Duo had no option but to admit defeat before he'd even begun to battle. "Okay, Quatre, you have a deal, " he sighed. "Heero and I will use the car until we don't need it anymore for whatever reason."

"Thanks, Duo," Quatre beamed quietly and began to undo his seat belt. He looked up as he saw one of the front doors open and his husband step out into the porch area.

Duo also saw Trowa emerge as he unclipped his own seatbelt and opened the door.

"How did it go?" Trowa asked politely, wiping his hands on a dish towel. He was relieved to see that they were both still in one piece; and the car too.

"She purrs like a kitten, Tro, and runs like a tiger," replied Duo enthusiastically.

"And you drive like a maniac, Duo."

"I wasn't that bad, Quat. Honestly, Tro, you'd think after being in the war, piloting a gundam and all the other shit we went through that blondie here would be able to tolerate a test drive of a car. I had to put it through its paces and be certain it would be safe enough for my child to travel in."

"That didn't mean going around corners on two wheels or seeing how far up the taco you could get the revs to go before having to change gears. You're not a grand prix driver, Duo."

"Ahhh... You enjoyed it, Quat, and at least you know that the car is responsive and safe."

"And probably needs a complete new set of tires and brake shoes. Excuse me, will you? I need a change of underwear."

"Ohhh... I bet I could make some modifications to it." Duo cocked his head and thought for a moment.

"So I gather from all that, that the car is okay then?" asked Trowa.

"Still one minor detail though," responded Duo.

"And that would be?" Trowa waited for the reply, one eye on his husband who was sneaking past him and into the house, a funny look on his face.

"We need to install the baby seat into it..."

Trowa froze momentarily and blinked. He caught the movement of his husband beating a hasty retreat into the house; he focused his attention back on Duo. "No."

"But, Trowa..."

"NO."

"Please?" Duo tried his best puppy eyes. They didn't work.

"N.O. That means no. No as in; negative, not, not at all, never, no way. Comprende?"

"Eh?"

"Forget it, Duo. I will not attempt to go anywhere near that damn spawn of Satan until you have the instructions." Trowa folded his arms over his chest and stood defiantly at the top of the steps. Nothing would make him change his mind on this. Nothing.

Duo shrugged his shoulders. "Geeze, I don't know. Letting a child's car seat defeat you."

"You gave up," Trowa pointed out helpfully.

"Yeah, but I'm going to give it another shot, though. I reckon it's because it's not designed for the pick up. We shouldn't have any trouble fitting it into the car."

"We?"

"At least Quat's man enough to give it another go."

Trowa sighed. So much for his resolve. "Okay, I'll give you a hand."

"Thanks man, I know you won't regret it and we will have that seat in the car and sorted out in no time."

Trowa had his doubts but kept them to himself.

***

An hour later the three were sitting in the kitchen. Trowa had a steak pressed against the side of his face, Quatre sat with his hand in a bowl of iced water whilst Duo had a packet of frozen corn pressed to his chin. In the corner of the kitchen sat the innocent looking baby seat.

"'We will have it in and sorted out in no time,' he said," snapped Trowa.

"How the hell was I to know it wouldn't cooperate this time? I thought it would be easier being as how it's designed for a car," retorted Duo. "Ow, shit, that hurt." He pressed the corn a little firmer against his jaw.

"At least you didn't get hit in the same place again like I did." Trowa scowled and shifted the steak slightly, another multitude of colors added to his already impressive bruising from earlier where the seat had attacked him.

"I think I would have preferred to have been smacked in the face than suffer webbing burns." Quatre flinched a little as he brought his burnt hand out of the iced water to inspect it. "Fuck! I thought rope burns were bad but the stuff they use to make those straps with, bites like a bitch!"

"I told you to let go," stated Duo.

"And if I had then the damn thing would have gotten you in the face." snapped Quatre.

"Instead it got me," moaned Trowa.

"And it still rebounded and got me in the jaw," added Duo. "Fucking seat. I vote we leave it for Heero to put in when he gets back."

"I second that motion," muttered Trowa.

"Hope he has a suit of armor, or at the least make sure he wears his Preventer riot gear, he's going to need it," mumbled Quatre

The three continued to sit in silence, nursing their various wounds and throwing glares from time to time at the baby seat that sat in the corner... defying them to have a third go at fitting it into the car.

"Bags not taking it back to the nursery," said Duo.

"Well, I'm not carrying it up the stairs, it can rot in the trash can for all I care." growled Trowa.

"Oh, for heavens sake!" snorted Quatre. "I'll take it back up and put it in the nursery for Heero to fit when he gets back."

"Good luck!" shouted Duo as the blonde picked up the seat and tossing the straps around to sit across it, went to take it back to the nursery.

Quatre exited, mumbling under his breath about idiotic baby seats and lost instructions. Duo and Trowa listened to him go, the sound of his retreating footsteps along the hall and then treading upon the stairs. Suddenly all hell broke loose. There was the sound of scrabbling, a thudding sound and then enough cursing to make even Duo blush.

"Ow! Fucking, god damn! You bastard of a seat! Bloody well trip me up would you? "I've got a good mind to chuck you out the window, or better still get Duo's beam scythe and fucking well reduce you to teeny tiny bits of fucking metal, plastic and fabric, you shit of a thing!"

"I think it got him," stated Duo sagely.

"I think it did," replied Trowa.

"Wonder if these problems have anything to do with the seat's product number?"

"Why would you say that Duo?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that I couldn't help noticing that the serial number for the seat is 87900666."

"666?"

"You fucking spawn of Satan! I won't let you defeat me so easily. You will be carried up these stairs. You WILL go back into the nursery for now and YOU WILL GO INTO THE FUCKING CAR!"

"666? I did hear you say that correctly?"

"Yup." Duo snickered despite the bruising to his jaw.

"Should we tell him?"

"Nah, I think he's already figured it out for himself," snickered Duo. "Shit, I didn't know he could be that colorful with his language."

"That's one thing you don't have to worry about, Duo. Quatre certainly knows how to express himself regardless of the situation."

"You can say that again, Tro," and Duo burst into uncontrolled laughter, the Latin joining him moments later, despite the pain of his bruised face.

~ * ~

tbc.....