Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ A Child's Love ❯ Weapon Cleaning and Polishing ( Chapter 14 )

Disclaimers: Yeah, like I own Gundam Wing. *goes off to cry, but not before turning out pockets* I am poor as well. Flames will be used in one of Neko's Infamous Bonfires.

A/N: I feel kind of bad for not having started this chapter sooner, but things just happened and then I decided to take a break from writing GW. That lasted all of one week before Neko decided that I was slacking off too much and got me working on some HunterxHunter fic and a few Weiß Kreuz fics. This is the first chapter of any GW fic that I have actively started in the last month. I hope you enjoy.

Dedication: To Angel, for being so patient and understanding with me. To Arith, who hasn't pushed me, not once, about how long it takes me to get a chapter out. And finally, to all my reviewers who sent me great a/o funny reviews for the last few chapters. Thanks all!

Summary of the last chapter: Duo and Noin take the boys to the zoo, but not before the American nearly has a heart attack over Allilon and a bear. Heero finds out why Une was really so willing to help him come into Preventers HQ on his day off. At lunch, Allilon falls asleep, so Duo and Lucrezia part ways. Wufei turns out to be Heero's partner in gathering information, and Heero tells Wufei to call Duo soon. Duo and Allilon come to an understanding about the incident at the zoo, and things might be coming around for the braided one.

Symbols: /blah/ - thoughts
*blah* - emphasized words
*~*~*~* - major scene change or POV change
*~~~~~* - minor scene change

Weapon Cleaning and Polishing

Heero tried to ignore the dull throb that was starting behind his left eye. This was supposed to have been a simple trace, lock and report. Instead, Trowa had to be called in to help find the supposed hacker. All three men had been working for five hours straight, and nothing had been turned up as of yet. After hitting the same trail for the fourth time, Heero shoved the keyboard away from him, stood up, and walked out of the room.

As soon as the cool air hit his face, the pain behind his eyes lessened and his mind wandered to Duo and Allilon. /I wonder how their first day went? Are they both still even alive?/ he asked himself, searching his uniform slacks for his cell phone. Coming up empty handed, he realized that it had to have been in his jacket. Sighing, he headed back into the room.

"Forget something, Heero?" Trowa asked, not looking up from the computer he was still typing away at.

"No, calling Duo," Heero replied, turning on his heel with his jacket slung across his back, and leaving before either occupant could respond. When he stepped outside the crowded computer room again, he whipped his cell phone from the inside pocket of his jacket and dialed his home number.

"Hello," Duo answered cheerfully, sounding as if he had been running. "Yuy household. This is Duo speaking. May I ask who's calling?"

"Baka," Heero said affectionately. He knew his name should have shown up on the caller identification system.

"Heya, 'Ro. How's things at work?" Duo asked, the smile on his face evident, even though Heero couldn't see his lover.

"Hn. Could use your help on this one... At least, if you are still as good as you were during the wars."

"Depends on what you mean, lover boy," Duo said, snickering. "So, you must have called for a reason. 'Sup?"

"How are things going with Allilon?" Heero asked, hoping that he wasn't being too curt or sharp with the American.

"Things are great. We spent the afternoon with Noin and Joshie, came back for a nap, and now we're building a fort in your backyard. I'm really sorry about your fence. Please tell me you didn't like it," Duo said, a definite pleading tone in his voice.

Heero sighed. "Is everyone alright?"

"Of course. So is your fence. I was just yanking your chain."

"Thank you for that."

"No problem, and any time."

"I take it that you two are getting along fairly well?"

"Yeah, kid likes pizza more than I do," Duo said, laughing a little. Heero joined him, remembering the morning's odd food request.

"Before this morning, I would have said that's impossible, but now..." Heero trailed off. "May I please speak to Allilon?"

"Sure, let me go get him," Duo said, and Heero heard the American walk off and the muffled sound of voices before his godson's voice came through.

"UNCLE HEERO!" the boy yelled excitedly. "Whatcha doing?"

"I'm at work with Uncle Trowa and Uncle Wufei," Heero replied, smiling just a little at the boy's happy voice. "How are you and Duo getting along?"

"We made a big fort in the backyard. Mr. Maxswell said that you wouldn't mind about that hole in the back fence," Allilon said.

"WHAT?" Heero growled. He calmed down as a loud chuckle and an equally loud giggle reached his ear, realizing he'd been had yet again. He sighed once more. "Duo, that joke is *not* funny anymore."

"Sure it is... Oops, there's someone at the door. Be right back," Duo said, the sound of his footsteps signaling that he had left.

"Where is Joey?" Heero asked, trying to get his godson's attention once more.

"Madam Pulley hasn't brought him back yet..."

"That's because you are supposed to show Duo where to go so you can pick him up," he explained patiently.

"Oh yeah..." the boy said. There was a pause on the other line and then Allilon gave an excited squeal. "JOEY!" The sound of running feet and the clicking of claws on the floor was all that Heero could hear before Duo's voice came through strong once more.

"Guess this means I won't find out where Madam Pulley lives," he said.

"Madame *Pouley* lives right next door on the left. And I can safely assume that Joey is now in your possession?"

"Yep... Uh, 'Ro, I gotta go," Duo said, fear tingeing his normally cheerful voice.

"Duo?" Heero asked, worried about what could have made the American that concerned. He received no response. "DUO?" A click signified that someone on the other end had hung up. "Kuso...[1]" he swore, dialing the number to his next-door neighbor.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Look, I don't see what the big deal is," Hilde said over the vid-phone. "All I'm asking you to do is to talk to Lover Boy about having a small party at his place. You know, if you mention something about this being the first thing you two do as a 'couple', I bet he'd cave in." She winked at Duo, hoping that her logic would sink in and win over the uncharacteristic worry her best friend was showing.

"I just don't know, Hill. It's not my house. You know if it were, there would be no question about having as many people over as this baby could hold. But, this is Heero "Perfect Soldier" Yuy we're talking about. There's no way in Heaven *or* Hell he'd agree to something like this," Duo said, watching as Allilon and Joey ran around the semi-disassembled fort in the back yard.

"This is so *not* like you, Duo Maxwell. What happened to the guy who got so blitzed a few weeks ago and then drove home on his own an hour later, perfectly sober?"

"That's different. Having a high metabolism rate is *not* even remotely close to asking Heero to throw a party. I... I just don't know."

Hilde sighed, knowing that pressing the issue any farther would only anger the chestnut-haired man. "Fine. You win, but dammit, this is the only way I can figure out how to get me and China-Boy in the same room together. Quatre said he would do it if he and Trowa hadn't *just* thrown that 'wonderful' engagement party for Cathy and Auda."

"Heh... Well, maybe next time he'll remember to *not* piss me off on the same day he plans on serving me alcohol. Not my fault," Duo said, blushing lightly.

"Riiiiiight. I could have told him that... But I had no clue until after all this crap happened. Oh, well, past is past, but this is the now." She sighed and watched Duo watching Allilon. "How's it going with the munchkin?"

"Pretty well. We've been playing in the backyard for most of the afternoon, and now his puppy is here."

"Aw, a boy and his dog. I wish I could see it. Mike's going insane. He wants to go back to L2 already." Hilde sighed, listening to her boyfriend's muffled shouting.

"Oh, yeah, he sounds like he is having a ball," Duo said, grimacing as he thought things over. "What if I could get Heero to agree to the four of us adults going out somewhere. That way, we could have someone who really knows the city with us, and Mike would have someone to talk to. I'm sure Q and Tro would like to come with us..."

"Alright, you talk it over with Heero, and I'll tell Mike and Blondie," Hilde said, smiling brightly.

"You and Quatre are getting along better, I see."

"Sort of, but Mike seems to really like Trowa, so it's a good thing. Do you think I should worry about him leaving me for Bang Boy?"

Duo started laughing. "He'd have to get through Q, and that is *not* an easy thing. Q-ball eats people meaner than Mike for breakfast and then comes home sweet as pie to Tro."

"Yeah, well, if he even thought about it, I'd let Quatre kill him, and help too."

"Now *that* I'd pay to see," Duo said between laughs. "Look, 'Ro's probably gonna be home soon, so I'm gonna get Alli to help me sorta clean up his backyard. I'll come by tonight and talk to you, okay?"

"Sure, and don't stay out to late with Heero," Hilde said with a lecherous wink.

"Er, riiiiight. Whatever. Talk to you later," Duo said, blowing a kiss to his friend before ending the call. "Alli?"

The sound of small feet carried across the hardwood floor and soon, Heero's clone was standing in front of him. "Yes, Mr. Maxswell?"

"Oh-kay. Alli, first off, just call me Duo or Uncle Duo or something like that. No more Mr. Maxwell. You remind me too much of my teachers in school, and that's not a good thing."

"Okay!" the little boy yelled excitedly.

"Alright, now that we have that out of the way, I need you to help me fix up the fort before Uncle Heero gets home. Ready?"

"Yes, Uncle Duo," Allilon said, running towards the backyard.

Duo smiled a little before following the cute kid to clean up.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Heero returned to his house, it was well after midnight. He was tired, hungry, and felt the desire for a shower strongly. He walked into the quiet, dark house and switched on the hallway light. Then, he moved into the living room, but found it deserted. Something on the adjoining dining room's table caught the light and his eye, and Heero went to investigate.

It was a note from Duo.

"Welcome home, koibito. Heh, learned that word from a girl who used to hang out with Hilde and I at our favorite bar on L2. Anyway, dinner's in the fridge. Just heat it up. Your backyard is cleaned, for the most part, although I think Alli may want to just keep that new fort for a while. Joey's been fed and let out already. Alli's in bed, and I'm probably not to far away from him then. Eat, shower, and then come find me. I want to talk to you about something. Love ya, Duo."

Heero smiled at the way the American rambled, even while writing, and walked into his kitchen to see what Duo had forced his godson to eat. He was surprised to find a covered plate on the middle shelf with a sign that said "EAT ME, HEERO!" He snorted at the note and removed the cover of the plate to find grilled chicken breast, broccoli and a medium sized potato.

Sighing at the fact that the food was actually food, Heero placed the plate in the microwave over his stove, and took of his jacket, throwing it on the back of one of the barstools behind him. He fished through the refrigerator for a bottle of water and saw a jar of what looked like orange spaghetti sauce. There was a note on that too. "Everything tastes better with a little cheese sauce, Hee-chan." Heero snorted and removed the jar and a bottled water as the microwave dinged.

He pulled the plate of food out of the microwave, poured a little of the cheese sauce on an empty spot, and sat down to eat. He was not disappointed as the food was very good, and then Heero wondered why he worried. Duo may have eaten some incredibly strange concoctions during the war himself, but whenever it came time to actually cook, the only other person who could out do him in the kitchen was Trowa.

Heero quickly finished his meal, and took the dirty dishes to the dish washer. As soon as he opened the door to the washer, he was assaulted by hot steam and the smell of the cleaning mixture.

/He cooks. He cleans. He manages to have children who hated him love him in less than a day. He looks great clothed and naked. Is there anything he *can't* do?/ Heero thought to himself as he rinsed his plate and eating utensils in the sink. When he was done, he grabbed his Preventers jacket off the barstool and went up the stairs to his room.

He half expected to find his bed occupied by the American, and was slightly disappointed when he found that it wasn't. He figured that Duo had to be either in the guest room next to his own, or in Allilon's across the hall. Resigning himself to a hot shower, Heero stripped quickly and headed to the bathroom down the hall.

When he felt a little more human, he returned to his room, dried off, put on a set of pyjamas that Relena had picked out herself, and went across the hall to find Duo. He quietly opened Allilon's door and looked in. What he found made him smile. Allilon was fast asleep on his bed, with Duo sitting, asleep, in the rocking chair that Heero had brought from his last room. The little boy had a tight grip on Duo's long braid and was smiling.

Carefully, Heero walked over to Allilon, removed the braid from the child's hand, and then stood next to the chair, watching Duo as he slept. His lover looked tired, and for that Heero felt a little bit guilty, but there was a slight smile across Duo's lips.

"How to wake him up?" Heero whispered, but then thought of how he would appreciate being wakened by someone. He leaned over Duo and placec a chaste kiss on the braided man's lips, reveling in the soft feel of them.

"Hmmm?" Duo murmured sleepily as he came around. "Mmm, 'Ro, that's nice."

"Shh," Heero whispered, helping Duo out of the rocking chair and into the hall. He guided the other man into his room and onto the giant king sized bed. "I almost feel guilty for waking you up. You two looked quite adorable sleeping like that."

Duo snuggled right next to Heero as he got into the bed. "You can wake me up any day, as long as you do it like that," he said. "How was work?"

"Frustrating. I'm glad to be back here with my two favorite people," Heero said, prying himself free of Duo's grasp. He was rewarded with a small groan from his lover, but that was settled as he kissed Duo again, this time with more passion.

Suddenly, Duo was awake and kissing back with matching fervor, pinning Heero to the bed with one of his strong legs. Heero moaned as Duo's tongue ran across his lips, and Duo took advantage of that to plunder the warm cavern of his Japanese lover.

Heero's hands grew a life of their own as he began to unbutton Duo's shirt and his own with lightning quick fingers. Soon, bare flesh was touching bare flesh and both men were moaning with desire every time they touched one another. Heero pulled away from the kiss, and quickly flipped his lover over, ready to rip anything his way off. Duo blinked a few times to clear his mind, and managed to place a chilled hand against Heero's hot chest.

"No," he said, amazing himself and making Heero move away.

"Nani?"

"Not tonight. Not like this. I just got Alli to like me again. I don't want a repeat of last time."

Heero groaned in frustration, laying down on the vacant side of the bed and pulling Duo to rest next to him. "I understand. Now, tell me what you wanted to talk about in your note." He had to find something to take his mind off of the bulge in his pants, and talking seemed the best way at that moment.

"Hilde wants the four of us, and maybe Q and Tro, to all go out for a night on the town. Mike's going a little stir crazy, and I told Hill that I would talk to you about it."

"Sounds fine to me, as long as I'm not required to go dancing or drinking," Heero said, suppressing a yawn. "Sleep. Tired now."

"'Kay, Heero," Duo said, yawning widely and closing his eyes as sleep came and claimed both men.

Notes:
[1] Kuso - Japanese, "Damn"