Title: Here Kitty, Kitty Part 2/4 (yup, I've got two more parts planned)
Author: Gwynn, who suffers from cat deprivation due to allergies not her own.
Warnings: Fluffy, yaoi, kitty love (neko ai?), kitty match making, Duo POV, language. I don't know if you noticed, but it's AU. Hormones, and male ones too.
Pairings: 1+2/2+1 and Hee-kitty+Duo-neko/Duo-neko+Hee-kitty
Disclaimer: Me, own GW? Ahahahahahhaha....
Note: It's winter, the first part started from around october-ish and it's now december. I've never been to NYC in the winter.
Part 2
I can't find him. Again. I mean, for crying out loud, it's the third time this week! Gripe gripe, bitch bitch, complain complain. I grab my black leather jacket, lined with black fleece and head outside.
It's snowing and in NYC, this is not necessarily a blessing. In a big city like this one, the snow mixes in with the air pollution, making the snow a nasty grey/yellow colour. Catching snowflakes could be hazardous to your health.
So you can see why I'm so concerned about my damned cat. But I've got a pretty good idea of where he was. You see, Hee-kitty- my cat- has a little friend. His name is Duo-neko, which is pretty cute, because my name's Duo too.
Duo-neko's owner is Heero. I swear that someone is laughing right now, because Hee-kitty is basically Heero-kitty shortened. I met this guy in a park a while back, when we were both looking for our cats.
He only lives a block down the street from me. And I'm heading there now. I get to his apartment building and go to his apartment. I knock loudly on the door and call "Heero, it's Duo. Have you seen my-" Heero opened the door. "Cat," I squeaked out. Heero was dripping wet, straight from the shower. He's wearing a towel around his waist, knotted at one side so it shows a *lot* of leg.
"Hello Duo. Hee-kitty is in the living room, please come in."
Come. I hate that accursed word! I *walk* in the door, and try to keep my eyes in a place where I *won't* blush like a school kid. Unfortunately, I don't get a lot of help with this. His sleek bare chest is perfectly muscled, not what you'd expect from a professional paper pusher. I think he works out...
The water, dripping from his dark hair, hits his muscles and rolls down and down and down and-
"Your towel's slipping," I mutter, then my eyes shoot to the floor. Damn, even his *feet* are sexy!
"Oh," he says, and the slight movement of the towel tells me that he's adjusting it. From what I can see, he *untied* it and half *opened* it. What I wouldn't give for a floor mirror...
I admit it, I'm gay. But hey, I think my *cat* is gay. And so's Heero's. And his looks a lot like me... and mine looks like him. Damn, it's such a huge coincedence...
Eyes to the living room. Not helping. The cats are curled up together, basking in the afterglow of cat sex, however cats have sex. I don't think I want to know. Or maybe I do...
Okay, back to Heero... He's dressed now, I suppose. He put on a pair of white boxers and a dark green tanktop. I can now more or less look at him like a normal person, as long as I don't look at his-
Heero bent down to pick up the towel he dropped, giving me a look at his yummy be-hind. Damn, I just have no hormone control these days. I've never had these problems before, even working as a ref for the inner city basketball games. But then, none of them look that good...
Anyway, Heero's now brushing his wet hair. I love watching this process. His dark hair lies flat against his head, for about three seconds. The whole thing is flat, then three seconds later *poof*. It sticks up every which way, hanging in an oh-so-adorable way. It's just sooooo tempting to reach out and brush one of those stray locks from those amazing blue eyes.
Daaaaaaaamn.
"Would you like to have a cup of coffee?" Heero asked.
"Yes, please," I managed. Heero hn-ed in a oh-so-sexy way. I sat down on the couch and took off my coat. Hee-kitty had a purely smug look on his little kitty face as he sauntered over to me.
A cup of coffee appeared under my nose as a voice close to my ear said, "Coffee's done." I jumped, Heero was quiet. He sat down next to me. Duo-neko curled up on his lap. It isn't often that I'm jealous of a cat but right now...
I sipped my coffee and we slowly started a stream of idle and boring conversation. Eventually, I left, carrying Hee-kitty with me.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" I said to him as we walked. Hee-kitty just purred happily. I glared at him. "Laugh it up, fuzzball," I stated angrily.
No, I'm not crazy...
Mmmmmmmmmmm....
Pop pop, fizz fizz... four in the morning...rrrrrrggggnnnhhh...
"Hello?" I said sleepily as I answered the knock on the door. Heero was at the door, looking equally sleepy and peevish. His hair was messier than normal and he was wearing pyjamas under his green coat.
"Looking for your cat?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Come in. They're on the futon." Heero came in and hung up his coat. His pyjamas were grey and fairly standard. He must get cold. I don't, I wear my black silk boxers no matter what the... oh god!
I'm mostly naked and I don't even have a *robe*! Oh man... I frantically looked around and managed to find an old white tee from somewhere. It should be in the rag bin, but it's far too thin...
Heero went to sit down on the futon while I was looking for my tee. I realised the room was a *complete* mess, with clothes and stuff here, there and everywhere. I bent down and picked it all up, shoving it haphazardly in the hamper.
"Coffee?" I asked.
"Ye-eah," Heero said. I realised Heero was staring at me, but why? I caught a glimpse in my full length mirror. I was wearing a semi-transparent white tee and silk black boxers that I *guess* were kinda tight... and small and...
Anyway, I turned and walked right into the counter. My kitchen is microscopic, like the rest of my apartment.
"Ow..." I said, limping over to the coffeemaker. I limped over to the futon and flopped down, barely missing a pair of cat tails. They glared and I glared right back.
"You hurt your foot?" Heero asked in concern.
"I just stubbed my toe. It'll be fine." It wasn't, it hurt like Hell.
"Here, let me look..." said Heero, slipping to the floor and knelt by my foot. He took my poor, swollen foot and set it on his lap. With cool fingers, he probed my swollen member (my foot). I winced as little jets of pain shot up my leg.
"It really hurts, doesn't it?" Heero asked in sympathy. I nodded, trying not to cry out. Heero gently pressed certain areas along my foot and the swelling went down. I stared in amazement.
"How'd you do that?" I asked. Heero shrugged.
"Oh, just a little something I picked up. I really think you should get your foot looked at," he said, not looking up. His fingers slowly traced up his leg. I looked down at Heero and he looked up at me. He gently set my foot down and stood up.
"I'm taking you to the hospital. You should probably get dressed," he said to my foot and left the apartment. I blinked and managed to pull on a sweater (black, of course) but pants were a total loss. it just hurt too much.
Heero showed up again and let himself in. He was wearing a forest green sweater and jeans. He forgot his coat.
"Duo? You ready?" he called.
"Kinda," I called back. "I couldn't get any pants on."
"Okay, the car's out front. I'll have to carry you."
Waitasec...carry?!
Heero walked in and over to the futon. He picked me up and hefted me gently.
"Light," he commented and carried me out to the car. It was a black sedan, powdered lightly by snow. With one hand, the one under my back, he opened the passenger side door and set me on the seat. The seat was already pulled back all the way, for my personal comfort. He buckled me in, even though I *could* have done it for myself. He shut the door and got in the other side. He buckled in and turned on the car and shifted gears to drive.[1]
Heero drove to the Hotel Dieu Hospital and parked at the emergency entrance [2]. He opened the door and got out and unbuckled me and picked me up again. He carried me inside, hitting the wheelchair button so the doors opened for us. He plunked me down, ever so gently, into a waiting room chair and went back to move the car. Five minutes later, he came back and talked to a registration nurse. Since the place was deserted at 4:37 AM, I went to a doctor right away. Heero went with me, carrying me again.
The doctor gave us a look but said nothing. After a few minutes, I realized he would never have said much anyway. He had a long, brown bang that needed to be cut and must have been a pain, because it completely covered half of his face. The eye I could see was green. He looked completely expressionless. I didn't even know his name.
"Hey, ah... Doctor-" A name came to mouth and bypassed my brain completely. "Spock." *blush* Shit. He looked up at me and raised an eyebrow in a *very* familiar way. He raised a hand and opened it so his second and third finger were spread apart but the first and second were together, like the third and fourth.
"Live long and prosper," he intoned solemnly. I cracked up and both 'Dr.Spock' and Heero cracked a smile. After we had gotten a hold of ourselves, he said "I believe you have broken your toe. The best thing would be to bind your foot to a board and keep it immobilised. I will give you some crutches so you can get around...on your own." He did as he said. He straightened and nodded to us.
"Nurse Winner will take your information," he said and gave us a nod. He turned and I saw a blond young man come in. Nurse Winner, I presumed. Dr. Spock said something and brushed a hand across his cheek. Damn, it's a freaking sign. Nurse Winner smiled to light up a room and walked in.
"Hello there! A broken toe, what a shame. Now if I could just ask you a couple of little questions, you and your boyfriend can go home," he said brightly. I blushed red and I think Heero blushed a little.
"He's not my boyfriend," we said at the same time. Nurse Winner just smiled and gave me a wicked, conspiratorial look.
'Not yet...' it seemed to say. I managed out the answers to the questions and gave me my crutches. Heero helped me stand so the nice nurse could make sure they were the right height. After a moment, I tried them out and they were fine. But I still liked being carried.
"Well, that's all. Return in about two weeks and Dr. Barton, the doctor who saw you, will check you out again. My name's Quatre, by the way."[3] Quatre beamed at me and shook my hand, and then Heero's.
"Dr. Barton must be very lucky," Heero whispered to me, as we saw them together again, holding hands.
"Yeah," I whispered back. Heero swept me off my feet and carried me back to the waiting room as I clutched my cruches tightly.
About two days later, Heero called me. He asked if I would just be dressed and ready to go at seven PM, preferably in fairly formal attire. I said sure and got ready. I even managed to get a very, very loose pair of black pants on, with a black dress shirt and a black sweater. I really, really like black, so sue me.
I was ready as Heero walked in. He's stopped knocking, mostly because he doesn't want me to get up for nothing. He was wearing black, like me only with a forest green dress shirt.
I smiled and crutched over to him. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?" I asked. Heero shook his head and a hint of a smile appeared. He just held the door opened and gave me a little bow. I smiled back and walked outside. Heero opened the car door for me and I got in, expertly putting my crutches down and buckled myself in.
I wasn't expecting anything in particular, but I never would have guessed that Heero was taking me to one of the biggest restaurants in New York. My eyes very nearly popped out of my head.
Heero must have caught that, because he opened the car door for me and chuckled. A valet type person parked our car as Heero let me into the glittering restaurant. A sleek, dark haired man introduced himself as Wufei and led us to our table[4].
We ordered. I think it's a bad sign when the prices aren't on the menu. Heero and I chatted through dinner and we were just finishing dessert when I finally asked what I had been wanting to know the entire time.
"Heero, this has been an incredible evening. But why would you do all this, just for me?"
Heero smiled gently and took my hand. "Because you are a wonderful person, Duo Maxwell. Also, I feel a little guilty for causing you to be injured." He ran a thumb over my knuckles and I shivered happily.
"Heero, you didn't have to do that! It wasn't your fault at all..." I started.
"But I wanted to," Heero said solemnly and he leaned over the table. I leaned forward too...
"Ahem sirs, but are you finished?" asked the dignified Wufei. We pulled away and Heero managed a yes.
Wufei nodded and came back with a check that Heero barely looked at. He just put a credit card in the leather folder and Wufei took it away. We sat in silence until Wufei brought back the receipt for Heero to sign. He did and we left. He still opened every door for me. It was very late as he brought me home. I yawned as we went upstairs and he said goodnight at my door.
"I had a great evening Heero, thank you," I said, giving Heero a tired smile.
"So did I," said Heero. "Good night." He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips and quickly walked away.
I stood there, dazed, still feeling the fleeting pressure of his lips on mine.
"Wow..." was my intelligent comment. I shut the door and got ready for bed. My last thought as I fell asleep was 'was that a *date*?'
Having this stupid cast thingie on my foot put a major damper on my Christmas shopping. I admit it, I'm a bad Catholic, but I still feel that holidays are important. I grabbed a few cute things for people at work and then went on a mission to find Heero's gift. Now that my cast was off- okay, it wasn't a cast, but it looked like one- I could walk normally. This made shopping much easier.
Anyway, what do you get for a guy like Heero? I had no idea. Plus, I hadn't really seen him since our 'date' over a week ago, except for when he brought me to the hospital.
I was musing over some interesting Japanese artwork and had decided on a painting of a nice bridge for him that ran over a river and was surrounded by trees when I spotted something over in the next booth.
I paid for the painting and rushed over. It was a beautiful golden cross, just like the one my mother-
Anyway, one look at the price tag turned me off. It must have been real gold, nothing *I* could afford. I turned away, slightly sad and bumped right into Heero.
"Hi Heero, long time no see huh?" I said, grinning.
"Indeed," he said solemnly. I realized a while ago that he *always* sounds like that. I hid my bag behind my back and saw he was doing the exact same thing.
"So, you're shopping for Christmas?" I asked.
"Yes. I was just picking up some things for people at work," he said.
"What, no family?" I teased.
"My family have all passed on to another life," he said. He looked... sad.
"I understand, my family too," I said. We just kind of stood there for a moment. Eventually, we drifted off.
Later that week, I went back to the booth and saw the cross was gone.
I flashed half a dozen shots and finished the roll. "That's a wrap ladies!" I called. I set down the camera as Tammy, Jessie and Nina scampered off their perches and went to put on some robes.
They giggled and pointed at the 'handsome young man' at the back. I half turned and saw Heero standing there.
"Hey Heero!" I called, waving. Heero raised a hand in greeting. He walked forward and stoodnear me as I finished loading the camera.
"I didn't know you worked here," he said. 'Here' being Studio 104, [5] a modelling agency. I work here full time and part time as a ref. The ladies love me. I don't flirt and I don't pick on them. You should have heard the praise that I got when I came back from 'medical leave'. Oi! It's so nice to be appreciated.
"Well, I like to keep a low profile," I said, shrugging. I picked up the camera, turning it over in my hands. Grinning, I put it to my eye and took a pic of Heero.
"Why did you do that?" he asked, surprised.
"Oh, for fun. Since I started a new roll, I might as well finish it." I pointed to the place where the girls had been posing.
"Do you always finish every roll you start?" Heero asked.
"Always," I replied. Heero went over to the perches and stood there.
"I don't know what to do," he confessed.
"Just stand there for a minute." I snapped a few shots. "Turn a little to the left. Good." Snapsnapsnap. "Now the right." Snapsnapsnapsnap. "Okay sit down..." and we continued along this vein until the roll finished.
"Great. I'll develop these at home and we can-" "See what develops?" he said, with a smile. I smiled back.
Christmas morning. Hee-kitty was yowling impatiently, wanting to go visit Duo-neko. He didn't slip out anymore, because it was really cold. I pulled on some semblance of clothes, deciding in a rare move to wear colour. I wore a red sweater and white pants and walked over to Heero's place, with Hee-kitty tucked inside my big, black coat.
I knocked and Heero greeted me, looking as sleepy as I felt. Hee-kitty jumped out of my coat and went to greet Duo-neko. I gave Heero the bag his gifts were in and he pointed to the small but real Christmas tree in the living room. A gift was underneath.
"Open yours first," I urged when we got to the couch. He nodded and opened the smaller gift first. I hadn't known what to expect, but the start of tears wasn't one of them.
"Heero?"
"My mother... before she died... told me about this place in Japan. What it smelled like, what it sounded and felt like. But they destroyed it after she left. I never got to see it. Now I can. Thank you Duo, you don't know what this means to me." Heero gave me a hug. I squeezed back, startled beyond words. He opened the next gift, which was a book containing all of the pictures that I had taken of Heero. Most were black and white, but the last one- the best one I think- was in colour, of Heero looking right at the camera, chin cupped in one hand.
Heero didn't say anything, but got the gift under the tree. He put it in my hands and watched me. I opened up the rectangular box and, nestled in cotton, was the necklace with the cross on it. I almost cried right there.
"You knew! You knew how much this means to me! My mother, she had one just like it! I've missed it so much. Oh Heero, thank you. Would you help me put it on?" Heero nodded and lifted up my braid and fastened the clasp, brushing my neck at the same time.
"Why don't we watch the Macy's Parade together?" I asked after a moment. Heero nodded and we turned on the TV, watching the TV and each other.
Later, I got up. I should really have left earlier but, the idea of going back to my empty apartment wasn't fun.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Heero asked. I turned and nodded. He made dinner and we talked about oh, everything. It was great. Heero's an awesome cook. I wonder if this guy's super human? We had roast chicken, potatoes, gravy and a huge amount of other food.
After desert- apple pie, yummie- I stood to go again. I stood just outside the door and Heero stood just inside.
"Well good bye Heero," I started. Heero caught my hand.
"Wait Duo," Heero said.
"Yes?"
"Would you like to stay forever?" he asked softly. In response, I stepped inside and wrappedmy arms around his neck. We kissed, softly at first, then stronger and more passionately as the world faded to a red haze around me. I shut the door, knowing I would stay, forever and ever.
End Part 2
1: Always wear your safety belt! And Heero's driving automatic.
2: Hotel Dieu is the most popular names for a Catholic Hospital. The have one in most large cities and many small ones, like Cornwall.
3: Okay, I just had to put them in. In proper hospital procedure, a nurse should take your information *first*, mostly to prioritize, but I figured that since no one was around... Also, if you've ever read USS Wing-Gundam Class by the wonderful Sony Mouse, you know that Trowa plays a Dr. Spock-esque character. It suits him SO well. And I was forced to make a lame doctor/nurse joke for Duo's benefit.
4: Okay, I know you've had enough with the footnotes but just one more, or so. First, some famous type person said that a true gentleman will not only open doors for you, but will open your *car* door. It might have been Oprah. And I gave Wufei said dignified look, because he deserved it. He's a great guy, really.
5: Last one, I promise. Studio 104 is actually a radio 'program' on another station I listen to. They play dance music from eight until one AM. I know nothing about photography or modeling.
It's official, Part 3 will be lemon-tastic (it will start off just about where Part 2 ended) and Part 4 might be.
PS. If anyone is willing, I have an idea for a pic that would go great with this story. Duo and Heero, sitting on the coouch, posing for the camera and the kitties 'playing' on the floor. Oh, did I mention that I'd like the boys to be necking?