Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 88 ( Chapter 88 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Please see previous chapters for notes, disclaimers etc.

"Chimaera"

By ShenLong.

Chapter 88

Heero strolled out from the shower wearing nothing but a towel around his hips and smiled at his lover who was just waking up. "Morning. Sleep well?" he asked as he opened a drawer to take out a pair of boxers. Dropping the towel he stepped into the garment and began to pull the boxer's up over his knees and thighs to rest on his hips.

"Now that's what I call a lovely view to wake up to," snickered Duo as he brazenly ogled his boyfriend. "And yes, I slept like a baby."

"Good," replied Heero and carried on dressing, knowing that Duo's eyes were following his movements. "Hungry?"

"Mmmm... Depends on what you're offering."

"I was thinking about waffles," Heero said and smacked Duo lightly on his backside. "I'll be glad once your hormones return to normal."

"Oh, I don't know. I kinda like this increased libido part, it's the other bits I could do without. Waffles sounds good though."

"Waffles, it is. Do you want me to bring them up here or are you coming down?"

Duo looked under the sheets at the tent in his boxers. "Hopefully I'm coming down, I need to pee and I can't like this," he snickered.

Heero rolled his eyes. "Too early in the morning, little mother." He placed a kiss to Duo's lips. "I'll go start getting breakfast ready, see you shortly."

"Okay," Duo grinned and began to lever himself out of the bed to head for the bathroom and the toilet that his bladder was demanding a visit to.

***

Toilet visit taken care of, Duo quickly dressed and joined his lover in the kitchen. "You put Miracle out?" Duo asked as he fetched them both a glass of orange juice.

"Hai. I've left her outside for a bit, thought she might appreciate a bit of a run around." Heero piled the waffles on a plate and set them on the table.

Duo placed a waffle on his plate and reached for the maple syrup, drowning his breakfast in the thick liquid. Heero screwed his face up in disgust at the amount of sugar he could see floating there but didn't say a word.

"You picking Wufei up?" Duo asked around a mouthful of waffle.

"Hai. I told him I'd be there at ten fifteen."

"How long before you're back?"

"Depends on how much stuff Nurse Brown has. She did say she didn't have a lot so I'd say we will probably be back around two, maybe a little earlier. I'll try to call you once we're on our way back with an ETA."

"Thanks. You going to ask Wufei?"

"Yes, I thought it best to ask him as soon as possible."

"Good."

Silence reigned for a little while as both men finished their respective waffles. With breakfast finished, Duo let Miracle back in whilst Heero did the dishes. With the chores out of the way, Heero collected the keys to the pick up and kissed his lover goodbye.

"I'll be back soon, Duo. You rest, okay?"

"Yes, Heero."

"I have my cell 'phone with me so if you need to contact me at all..."

"Heero?"

"Hai?"

"Go. I'll be fine so stop worrying. Sheesh, anyone would think you were a mother the way you keep fussing over me."

Heero hung his head, a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry, I don't mean to but I can't help it sometimes."

"I know," Duo replied softly and brushed his lips over Heero's. "I do appreciate the concern but I'm a big boy, Heero."

"Hai, you're getting big all right," smiled Heero as he ran his hand over the protruding belly. "And I love you, Duo Maxwell."

"Love you too, Heero. Now, get going. The sooner you move your butt the sooner you get back home to me."

"Okay." Stealing one last kiss, Heero trotted down the steps and climbed into the pick up. The engine started with a roar and the pick up moved down the driveway and out of sight.

Watching his lover depart, Duo turned to pet Miracle's head. "Geeze, anyone would think that pregnancy was a disease the way they all carry on," he muttered to the dog who wagged her tail. "Come on, girl. I've got work to do on this wedding ceremony."

Miracle followed her master back inside the house and to the computer room where she curled up on the rug, the sound of tapping at the keys lulling her to sleep.

***

"Yuy," Wufei nodded as he climbed into the passenger seat of the pick up.

"Morning, Chang," responded Heero as he slipped the car into gear and drove off. "You have the directions?"

"Of course." Wufei gave him a scornful look and pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket. "You have a road map?"

"Side pocket."

"Thank you." Wufei reached into the side pocket on the door and pulled out the road map. He scanned through the index and located the street name, then he plotted their course.

Driving along the busy road, Heero followed the directions Wufei gave and within half an hour they had arrived at Nurse Brown's home. Heero pulled into the driveway, noting the homely look of the small house with its white picket fence, sweeping lawn and lovely rose beds. "Nice," he said appreciatively.

"Suitable for such a woman," stated Wufei and went to open his door. Yuy's hand on his arm stopped him and he turned to look at the Japanese man, a small scowl on his face.

"Wait just a moment please, Wufei."

Wufei hesitated. Something in Yuy's tone told him his friend had something important to say and so he released his grip on the door handle and turned to face the other man. "What is it, Yuy?"

Heero stared out the windscreen for a moment, trying to sort his thoughts into some form of order. "I have something important to ask you, Wufei. Please, listen to what I have to say and consider my words before replying."

Nodding, Wufei settled into his seat for a while longer.

"Wufei, as you know, Duo and I are getting married in three weeks."

"Yes, I had noticed," replied Wufei with a touch of humor in his voice.

"Well, we have been planning the ceremony and with Howard agreeing to preside over the ceremony that only leaves me with one other important thing to do." Heero paused for a second and then turned his intense blue eyes to meet with Wufei's curious ebony gaze. "Chang Wufei, will you be my best man?"

Wufei couldn't answer for a moment, all the wind had been knocked out of his lungs leaving him gasping like a stranded fish. His eyes searched those of Yuy's, looking to see if the man was joking, stringing him along; but he could read nothing but calmness and sincerity there. This was Yuy, he reminded himself, and Yuy wasn't one to pull practical jokes like this. Maxwell... now that was another story. He could expect a joke of this sort from Maxwell, but not Yuy. "You're serious?" he asked, looking for conformation.

"Hai. Duo is having Trowa as his best man and I would be honored to have you at my side as mine. We have shared a lot together over the years, Chang, during and after the war. It would mean a lot to me to have your support on my wedding day as my best man." Heero broke their locked eyes and turned his head slightly. "If you do not wish too, then I quite understand."

"No, I mean, yes, I mean..." Wufei paused and took a deep breath to steady his rapidly beating heart and force some of the shock from his system. "That didn't come out right. Let me start again. Yuy, I would be more than happy to accept the request and be your best man. I am honored that you would think me worthy of such an important role on your wedding day and I will do everything in my power to give you the support you will need and expect. Thank you for considering me a good enough friend to ask."

Heero smiled, a truly genuine 'from the heart' smile. "Arigato, Chang. I appreciate you doing this for me. Duo will be similarly pleased. Despite what you may think of him, Chang, he truly does have a heart of gold and would do anything for you and the rest of us. He is the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I know," replied Wufei and in a rare display of emotion, Wufei touched Heero's arm with his hand, squeezing lightly. "He may act the fool, enjoy joking around and playing tricks on people but he does have a very sharp mind and a courage unmatched by anyone I have ever met. He is an inspiration to us all in many ways. I admire him for having the strength to endure what he is going through, for had it been me in a similar position I don't think I could have found the courage he has."

Heero stared at this unusually long speech from the Chinese man, a speech that didn't put Duo down, quite the opposite in fact.

"And if you tell him any of that I will personally cut your balls off and feed them to you. Now, let's go and organize this nurse, I have my own life to lead as well you know." Wufei reached for the door handle once again and this time Heero didn't stop him.

A smile played on Heero's lips as he thought over Wufei's words. On the surface he might appear to be a cold indifferent bastard, but underneath he was as soft hearted as they came.

***

Nurse Brown was ready for them, having completed all her packing and now the few boxes were stacked neatly in the hall awaiting transportation. "Hello boys," she greeted the pair at the door. "Thank you both so much for offering to help me move my things, I don't think I could have managed by myself."

"Our pleasure," replied Heero. "What would you like us to move first?"

"Those boxes there if you don't mind. They only contain a few books and things I thought I might need. The others are mostly clothes and a few knick knacks."

Wufei and Heero duly carried the three boxes Nurse Brown had indicated to the pick up and placed them in the back, returning to collect the remaining four which were a little lighter.

"Thank you," said the nurse as they returned to the house to inform her that all the boxes were in the pick up and ready to go.

"Anything else you wish to bring with you?" asked Heero politely.

"I have my medical things in another bag but I'm sure I can fit them into my own car… Oh, and I mustn't forget Barney or his bits and pieces."

"Barney?" questioned Wufei.

"Her bird," replied Heero.

"Ah. Wonder what the dog will make of that?"

"I have no idea, Chang, but there's only one way to find out."

"I certainly hope that Maxwell has managed to do some training with that mutt otherwise you're likely to find more than just fur and feathers flying," warned Wufei.

"He has, Chang. Miracle is becoming quite a nice, obedient dog and she's good company for Duo with me being at work all day."

Wufei gave a noncommittal grunt by way of reply and then shut up as Nurse Brown reappeared with a bird cage and the weirdest bird either one of them had ever seen.

"What do you call that?" asked Wufei as he eyes the bird with suspicion.

"This is Barney, Mr. Chang, and he is what is known as a Weiro. A Weiro is a type of cockatiel, something like a parrot only on a smaller scale. They are highly intelligent, easily trained and make wonderful companions. I've had Barney here for the past twelve months and he's really starting to blossom in his character."

"Hello," said the bird as if to confirm his mistress' words in regards to his abilities.

Wufei studied the bird. He was a mixture of brown, fawn and gray in his body feathers with yellow, cream and white around his face. He wasn't very large, roughly fifteen to twenty centimeters in height so Wufei guessed. The crest of feathers raised and lowered as the bird ducked its head or cocked it to the side to observe his admirers.

"Hello, Barney," said Heero with a smile of amusement. He could already picture the fun Duo would no doubt have with the bird.

"Hello. Who's a pretty boy?" squawked Barney.

Heero blushed, Wufei smirked.

"I'm all ready so shall we get going?" said Nurse Brown as she tried to ease the discomfort that the Japanese man was obviously feeling from Barney's words and the teasing look on the Chinese man's face.

"Hai, let's get going, Duo is waiting and I don't like leaving him for too long if I can help it."

Wufei strolled back out to the pick up, Heero carried the cage to Nurse Brown's modest sedan whilst said nurse closed and locked her door. Heero set the cage down on the car seat and went to get into the pick up.

"I'll follow you," said the nurse as she climbed in behind the wheel.

"Okay," replied Heero and buckled up. Soon they were once again on the road, this time heading back to the mansion.

***

Duo had patiently gone through all the wedding plans again and was pleased with the results. All was pretty well finalized, there was only the ceremony and their vows now left to complete. He hoped to sit down with Heero during the course of the next week and sort out what they wanted to say to each other and also how they wanted the ceremony to read. He was expecting an e-mail from Howard any day now with his proposal for the ceremony and once they had that they could go through and make any changes they thought necessary.

Miracle gave a low whine and got up from the rug. She stretched her front legs and then her back ones before moving to the door and pausing to look back at her master.

"What do you want, girl?" asked Duo as he looked up.

Miracle wagged her tail and moved through the doorway.

"You want to go out?"

"Wuff!"

"Okay, then. Hang on just a sec." Duo managed to get himself out of the chair and onto his feet. He paused for a moment and then with a hand on his lower back, he followed the dog through the house to the back door and let her out. He waited patiently for Miracle to finish her business, checking his watch and happy to note that a fair bit of time had passed and Heero should be home soon. Miracle came bounding up, tongue lolling to the side of her mouth and looking for some attention.

"Sorry, girl. I'm not up to playing at the moment," Duo told the dog and turned to walk back inside. "Maybe later," he added as he watched the dog's ears droop a little. His lower back was aching and his shoulders hurt. All Duo really wanted to do was lie down and have his lover's strong hands massage his back and neck, but Heero wasn't here right now so he would have to wait. With a sigh, Duo eased himself back into his chair and stared at the screen once again, still figuring out what words he wanted for his wedding vows.

***

The watery world around it was becoming rather cramped and the little fetus wasn't happy about that. It wanted to stretch its limbs, kick and play around, exploring these appendages it had little control over. Every time it moved though it seemed to be brought up short, an invisible barrier stopping it from moving as freely as it wanted to.

It turned a little and tried a different angle but was continuously thwarted by the same walls. In frustration it began to beat its little fists and kick out, but quickly tired of the activity. The small baby, that now resembled a human in miniature, curled up on itself and shoved a thumb into its mouth to suck on it, a small comfort for the lack of space it endured.

A soft rumbling vibrated through the surrounding fluid, offering a little in the way of soothing the baby's annoyance and the fetus allowed itself to be caressed by the reverberating sounds of its mother's voice, distorted through the many layers of skin, muscle and occasional organ but still managing to penetrate the baby's ears.

Content for the moment, the fetus drifted off to sleep.

***

Duo suffered through the kicks and attacks on his insides with as much grace as he could muster. He knew that the baby would be active, Sally had warned him of that. As the child within him grew so it would naturally want to move its new limbs around. Unfortunately for him his body didn't seem to want to expand as fast as the child and he regularly found his inner organs being assaulted by a terrorist attack that was locked inside. He sighed and ran a hand over his swollen stomach.

"Take it easy in there, sunshine. It won't be too much longer before you're in this world and then you can pound and kick all you like; meanwhile, try to have a little respect for my internal workings, they might not be much to you but I'm afraid they're rather vital to me and I'm very attached to them."

Miracle cocked her head and looked in confusion at her master. She could sense his discomfort and gave a low whine, placing her chin on Duo's thigh and giving his hand a lick as if in consolation.

Duo gave the dog a smile and petted her head whilst his other hand continued to caress his belly.

"I'm okay, girl. Just sunshine doing a little break dancing on my guts. I'll be glad once this baby is finally born," he confided in the dog who listened with rapt attention. His eyes took on a far away look as his thoughts drifted, his mouth opened and words began to spill out in random order. Knowing there was only Miracle there to hear him, Duo gave voice to all the concerns and fears he'd been carrying around with him; he hadn't wanted to say anything to Heero, his partner had enough on his plate to worry about, he didn't need Duo's insecurities as well. Besides, there wasn't anything Heero could do about them anyway.

"I guess I'm scared, Miracle. My body is changing so fast and yet not fast enough, this child is growing at such a rapid pace that some days I feel as if my stomach is going to explode from the pressure inside." Duo stared at the dog who gazed with liquid brown eyes full of adoration back at him. "Silly, isn't it? Look at me, a trained terrorist, former Gundam pilot, someone who's gone through more shit in a few years than most people do in an entire lifetime and I'm scared of becoming a parent."

Miracle licked his hand in sympathy.

"I suppose it's all these unknown factors; at least a woman has a head start, her body is equipped for all this." Duo sighed. "Why did I have to be born a freak?" Duo could feel himself becoming lost in his sentiment and self loathing when the sound of the pick up reached his ears. It pierced through the fog of self doubt and drew the young man back to the present. Miracle stood up and barked, recognizing the sound of the car.

Duo quickly wiped his eyes and straightened his clothes. He forced a happy smile onto his face and pushed his bulk out of the chair. Hand still on the small of his back for support, he walked slowly down the hall way towards the front door where he could hear the sounds of Heero's and Wufei's voices. Opening the door, Miracle shot through, barking happily and nearly knocking Heero flat on his back in her excitement to greet him.

"I thought you said Maxwell had been doing some training with that mutt," snickered Wufei as he watched Heero push the dog away a bit.

"He has, she's just pleased to see me," replied Heero and patted the squirming dog. "Now sit, Miracle."

The dog obediently sat and Heero gave Wufei a smirk of satisfaction.

Nurse Brown had finished getting herself and Barney out of her car and was about to approach the steps when Heero took the birdcage from her and carried it up the steps. Heero paused at the top where his lover awaited, those violet eyes widening as he observed what Heero was carrying.

Never had Duo seen a bird, parrot, cockatoo, or whatever you wanted to call it, quite like this. His eyes widened as he studied the small bird that cocked its head and stared back at him, equally as fascinated.

"This is Barney," said Nurse Brown as she joined Heero, Duo and the bird on the front step. "He's my cockatiel and companion."

Duo stepped a little closer and smiled. "Hello, Barney."

Barney raised his crest of feathers and gave a chirp before settling for a moment and fixing Duo with one beady black eye. "Hello. Who's gorgeous? Kiss me quick," the bird chirped.

Duo began to blush, Wufei snickered softly and Heero wore an amused smile.

"You'll have to forgive Barney, Duo, I'm still in the processes of teaching him to talk and being a great mimic, he tends to pick up things very rapidly and they aren't always appropriate. I do tend to forget he's listening sometimes when I'm watching the television and before I know it, he's picked up words from the shows," explained Nurse Brown.

A spark of mischief flared in Duo's eyes and he took another look at the bird. "You know," he began, "I think Barney and I are going to get along just fine."

~ * ~

tbc.........