Life... Really Part 4
As Duo continued to explore the bedroom, Heero got dressed, watching his new pet in amusement. The teenage boy chuckled deeply in amusement when the kitten returned to sit at his feet, sniffing at the bottom of his blue jeans.
When Heero sat on the edge of his bed to put his socks on, Duo jumped up onto the mattress to sit beside him. Finished with changing, the Japanese youth smiled to his pet and gently patted the top of his head, rewarded with a deep purr from the furry creature.
Carefully scooping the kitten easily in one hand, Heero smiled, "Now I can officially introduce you to Noin and Zechs." He rose to his feet and made his way downstairs.
The smells of pancakes and bacon filled the air in the living room as he entered. All the while as he moved, Duo's head and eyes scanned the new surroundings, Heero imagined, trying to get a feel for the place.
Zechs was sitting at the dining room table, reading through the daily newspaper on his handheld monitor. Looking up from the screen, the tall man smirked, "Well, look who's awake."
From inside the kitchen, they could hear the hurried sounds of cooking utensils being lowered as Noin's voice called, "Let me see!" She ran out into the room, beaming at the sight of the kitten in Heero's possession as she exclaimed, "How adorable!"
Grinning and shaking his head, Zechs rose from his place at the table to get a better look at the new member of the family.
Duo seemed a bit nervous for a moment, seeing two strangers who suddenly appeared before him. However, when Noin gently ran her hand over the fur of his back, he closed his eyes in enjoyment and purred loudly.
"Hello, Duo. Oh, he is such a sweet little thing," Noin gushed, allowing Zechs to get a chance to observe the tiny animal.
Zechs stroked his pointed finger under the kitten's chin, feeling the soft rumbling from the purrs. He chuckled deeply, "Yes, I have to admit that he is that."
He gasped along with Noin when the kitten's bright eyes opened to look up at them curiously. Blinking in shock, the blonde man said quietly, "You're right, Heero. His eyes certainly are violet."
"I've never seen eyes like those on a kitten before," Noin commented as she watched that penetrating gaze in awe. "They're beautiful," she finally managed to say, Zechs nodding his agreement.
Heero smiled down at his new pet, who was now looking up to him, raising his front right paw up towards his face as if to try to tell him something. He couldn't help but be proud to own such a rare commodity.
Running his free hand over the little one's head, he shrugged, "I've never actually seen any cats before, myself, so I wouldn't know what eye colors are normal. But, they were the first thing that I noticed about him the first time I saw him."
Noin smiled, "Well, I can see why." Her eyes widened for a moment before she ran into the kitchen again, muttering, I almost forgot.
When she returned, the young maid held a small dish with chicken slices in it. "The poor thing must be starving after it was living out on the streets."
Almost the moment Noin had entered the dining room with the dish, Duo sat up in Heero's hand, sniffing the air and stretching its thin body towards the food. Heero lowered the kitten onto the carpeted floor just as the tall woman placed the dish down as well.
Duo all but ran the short distance to the food, sniffing at the chicken strips a bit more before quickly eating what must have seemed like a gourmet meal compared to what little he must have found on his own.
While the kitten ate his own meal, Heero joined Zechs at the table as Noin placed their own food on the table.
Every few bites of his pancakes, the Japanese teenager would glance down to his pet, a small smile appearing on his face as he watched Duo licking his paws as he lied at Heero's feet after his chicken had been devoured.
When the boy was not looking, Zechs and Noin would give each nervous gazes, silently carrying on a conversing and gesturing to the young man without his knowing. When Heero would look back up at the table, the pair would quickly lower their heads.
As Noin and Zechs cleared the table, Duo leapt into Heero's lap, nuzzling his head against the human's chest, purring in content.
Walking back into the room, the tall chauffer smirked, "It's almost as if he's thanking you for saving him. He's yet to leave your side."
Shaking his head, Heero replied, "I think that he's just so starved for affection that he wants to stay close to somebody right now."
The Japanese youth bent his head to place a gentle kiss atop his companion's furry head. "From what the vet said last night, Duo's only three weeks old, but there is no telling how much of that time he spent on his own." Rising on his hind legs, Duo placed his front paws on Heero's chest, sniffing up at him adorably.
As she wiped the table down, Noin suggested, "Well, you should get ready for our excursion. The nearest town with a pet store is Waupan, and that's about an hour's drive away. Duo can come along too, since this place recommends owners to bring their pets along to try their items out."
Heero grinned at that and rose from his seat, lowering Duo to the floor as he walked from the dining room to gather his coat and shoes. Duo watched his departure for a moment before running off after the boy, quickly catching up to his heels.
Noin chuckled deeply and shook her head, "They certainly make quite the pair." Zechs hummed his own amusement and nodded.
* * * * * *
Duo's little head peeked out over the zipper of Heero's blue windbreaker as they entered the large pet store. Like his kitten, the boy's eyes widened as he scanned the large area filled with toys, beds, grooming materials, anything that pet owner could possibly want or need for their animal.
At the sight of some of the other cats, along with several dogs, led around by their owners, Duo began to tremble with fright.
Heero frowned as he took the small kitten into his hand, removing him from his coat. "It's all right, Duo," he cooed softly to the shaking animal as he stroked his brown fur with his free hand, meting the kitten's eyes.
What a few more pats, Duo calmed, leaning his face into the touch and closed his eyes. Behind them, Noin and Zechs entered, followed by a robot pushing a cart beside them. "Where would you like to go first, sir?" the mechanic voice asked.
"Bedding," Zechs answered simply.
The robot replied, "This way, please, sir." With that, they were led by the assistant towards the middle of the store.
When they reached the isles filled with a wide variety of bedding, Heero blinked his wide cobalt eyes and asked, "Where do we even start?"
Noin's own awe filled eyes took in the selections as she shook her head, "I'm not even sure. To think that this is just the bedding section in here, too. It's a good thing we have the whole day."
Beside her, Zechs stated, "Well, considering this community has a great many households with pets, they need a large pet store such as this one, to take care of all of them. Since there are no pet owners in our own city of Compton, we don't have the need for such a store there."
As he walked down the first isle, Heero's head was still swimming as the reality of just how different he lived compared to most people sunk in.
In this city, Waupan, the houses were much smaller than the ones in Compton, and they were much closer together. In some places, there was litter in the streets and children walked and ran through it, not seeming to notice it was there.
It was one thing to understand the notion of how privileged a life he had; to actually come face-to-face with the reality of just how opposite that world was to a community such as this, was quite starling.
When he really thought about it, Heero realized just how long it had been since he was even outside of Campton. When he was a child, he remembered his father visiting a town such as this with him.
That visit had been such along time ago that it was difficult to recall just how those families in the neighboring towns actually lived. Any accounts of those societies were relayed to him by his parents, and they were not too fond of other places.
With a mischievous chuckle, Noin picked up a pink bed with blue dogs painted on it. "I would say that the colors of this would go well with Duo's eyes, but I don't think that it's very fitting for him."
Just out of curiosity, she held the bed out to the kitten. Looking from the bed to Noin and back to the bed again, Duo swatted his front right paw at the bed, as if trying to bat it away. The three humans laughed. "I agree, Duo," Heero snickered as he patted the animal in his hand.
After crossing a few isles and examining a few possibilities, Zechs located a simple bed with a wicker base. Compared to most of the other beds, it was a relatively simple design. Somehow, it just seemed perfect because of that.
The bed was more than big enough for the kitten at the size he was now, leaving enough space for him as he grew. The bedding was a soft, woolen material that was dyed a deep purple. Holding it up, he asked, "How about this one?"
Both Noin and Heero appraised it with satisfied looks as Zechs lowered the item to the floor. Setting Duo down, the Japanese teenager told him quietly, "See what you think, little one."
As if understanding the whole concept, the kitten walked over to the bed, slowly climbing over the brown wicker siding and onto the bedding. The inside was easily four times bigger than he was.
Once on the soft material, Duo all but fell onto his side, nuzzling his face into the wool, purring in content and rolling onto his back as the humans watching over him laughed and chuckled.
"Looks like we have a winner," Heero grinned, picked his kitten up again. Once back with his owner, Duo looked up to the boy, resting his front paws on his chest again.
Heero lifted him so the cat could climb onto his shoulder. Wrapping his lithe body behind the Japanese youth's neck so that his front paws and back paws hung on either side, the kitted rested his head on the human's shoulder with a small sigh of content.
Gathering the bed, Zechs handed it to their robotic assistant and held the bed out and said, "We'll be purchasing this."
The robot accepted the bed in its metallic hands and replied, "Very good, sir." As it lowered the item into the cart, it asked, "Would you like to see any other departments?"
Noin answered with a nod, "We should visit the toy section next."
"Very good choice, madam," the assistant said in that metallic voice. "This way," it directed, pushing the cart ahead of them.
As they made their way to the half of the store designated for toys alone, Heero looked to the kitten on his shoulder and noticed how his pet's violet eyes widened at the sight of the wide selection of things to chew, chase, anything his little heart could desire.
He chuckled deeply, "This ought to be fun."
* * * * * *
Four hours later, Heero, Noin and Zechs entered their house again, each with their arms filled with bags stuffed with items from the store. The door automatically closed after the voice at the entrance greeted them all.
Heero would never have imagined how much of an affair it was to care for a pet, how many things were needed to see that an animal was kept healthy and happy. He was fortunate enough to not need to worry about the financial responsibilities. For that, he was grateful.
Along with the realization of what was included in caring for a pet, what had been even more of a surprise to Heero, was being in a different city and the way people lived in a society that was not as well off as the one in which he lived.
The day's events had been as much of a learning experience, as they were quite enjoyable to him. Along with a new understanding of the world around him, Heero was finally taking responsibility for something that he actually wanted as his own.
Recalling the visit to the veterinarian that worked at the store for check ups and shots that were needed for any visitors, Heero did feel bad for Duo in thinking back to the fear of the small creature.
It had taken a lot to finally get the kitten to relax enough to get his shots and have his eyes and ears checked out. The doctor had been kind enough to show Heero what to look for as warnings for any infections.
Once the check-up was all over, Duo all but leapt back into Heero's possession. If anything, the teenager could find relief in knowing that his feline was given a clean bill of health and all of his needed shots.
Duo was perched on his owner's shoulders again, trying to peek down into the bags in the boy's hands. Around his neck, he wore a new, red collar. Dangling from the collar was a gold plated tag with the name 'DUO' written in a lovely script.
"Well, that was a nice change of pace, I must say," Noin smiled as she lowered her bags onto the large living room sofa.
Following her lead as he relieved his arms of his own items, Zechs and Heero expressed their agreement, putting everything they had purchased away. Once the bed, food, leash, brushes, and most of the toys were put away, Noin looked to the clock.
The young maid's eyes widened slightly in realization of what time it was and she announced, "I should get dinner started before our guests head over."
Zechs spoke up almost immediately to offer, "I'll help."
Shaking his head, Heero wondered when his two guardians would finally stop dancing around their obvious feelings for each other and just come right out and say how they felt. Instead, they continued to make excuses to be around each other.
Heero turned his head to smile at his personal neck warmer and replied, "All right. I'm going to take Duo upstairs along with his bed and some of his toys."
When the boy moved to gather a handful of toys, Duo leapt from his shoulder and tried to get at his new play things before Heero scooped them up. "In a minute," he smiled, patting the top of his kitten's head. Taking the bed in his free hand, he gestured to the stairs, "Come on."
As Heero rose up the stairs with his faithful pet hopping up the steps behind him, his guardians smiled as they watched. Noin turned to face the tall man beside her. "I've never seen him so happy before," she commented quietly.
Shaking his head, Zechs couldn't help but grin as he replied, "Nor have I." He sighed deeply and folded his arms as he said, "I am still shocked that Danielle allowed Heero to keep that kitten. I just hope that this might mean she realized she is putting too much pressure on him."
"I have a hard time seeing her admit to that," Noin frowned. "From what I understand, she was brought up the same way, just as her husband had been. Then, their parents before them were the same as well. A cycle like that is pretty hard to break."
Zechs chewed on the inside of his lip, looking up the stairs as he thought a moment. Finally, he stated, "Agreed, but Heero is nothing like either of his parents. He takes things in and considers what he can learn from them. His parents only concerned themselves with what was of importance to them."
Lowering his arms, the blonde looked back to the dark-haired woman as he asked, "Did you see the way he was focused on taking in his new surroundings in Waupan when we drove through today?"
Noin took a moment, but actually did remember seeing the boy all but glued to the back seat windows of the stretch car. At recalling that, she nodded, "He did seem intrigued by the whole visit. But I thought that would have been a normal reaction, since he had never been out of Compton in years."
"Ah, but that's the difference between Heero and his parents," Zechs began, a slight smirk on his face, a raised finger in the air to halt Noin's thoughts. "No matter where they went, whether it was their first time there or not, his parents' eyes were glued to their laptops and to the newspaper, their reports, anything but what was around them.
"Instead of believing what his parents said, Heero was still too curious to see it for himself. Instead of focusing on what only concerned him, his career that his parents have lined up for him, he wanted to see how other people lived."
Obviously wanting to get all of this out, Zechs began to pace as Noin watched him intently. He continued, "I have a feeling that Heero had what he needed to gain right amount of leverage in talking his mother into allowing him to keep Duo. Getting his mother to allow such a thing was a near impossible feat."
Finished his pacing, Zechs met Noin's wide eyes and smirked, "I have a feeling that he had been saving whatever he used to get her to accommodate his wishes. If that's the case, it just backs up my statement, that he takes everything in, even things that may not directly effect him, to learn from them and use them when he can.
"These are all reasons I think he could be a ripple in the current that his family and their families before them have lead." Pointing up to the ceiling, to where Heero's room was over their heads, he concluded, "He could be the one to break the cycle."
Noin smiled at last, in taking everything that Zechs had observed about the boy. What he said did make sense. If Heero truly wanted to learn about the world around him- whether relevant to his own life or not- he would have the advantage no one in his family had...
"Heero's curiosity would finally catch up to him," Noin stated. "Eventually, he'll actually want to experience life... what life really is outside of the bubble that those before him created around him."
Zechs smiled back, "Exactly. If we're right in this theory, it may not take much for him to turn around and actually have a say in his own wishes, hopes, fear, his life. This could be the start of what we hoped for him."
Unable to contain her excitement, Noin laughed and threw her arms around Zechs in a tight hug. Zechs' initial response was to return the embrace. The moment it registered that they were holding each other, they both stiffened, wide-eyed.
Pulling back in a rush, Noin blushed fiercely and lowered her head. Running a hand through her hair, she suggested quickly, "We should get that dinner started."
With her head lowered, she missed the fact that Zechs was blushing almost as badly as he brushed a hand down the front of his shirt to straighten it. "Good idea," he replied just as quickly. Together, they made their way to the kitchen.
* * * * * *
Looking up to the monitor, Heero chuckled deeply to himself when he saw his friends standing outside the front door. Duo was grooming himself; lying in his bed, with his eyes closed, he licked his front right paw and brushed it over the fur on his back.
"Time to meet the guys, Duo," the teenaged boy smiled as he scooped the kitten up. Only slightly surprised by the sudden change of altitude, the violet-eyed feline looked up to his owner in what could only be considered confusion.
When he reached the front door and opened it, Heero watched as his three friends' expressions went from smiles of greetings to shock, when all of their eyes fell onto the furry creature in his hand.
For a moment, the Japanese teenager just grinned at his three frozen comrades. Breaking the silence, he gestured to the kitten and announced, "Everyone, this is Duo."
"Is that really what I think it is?" Wufei questioned, being the first to find his voice, pointing at the kitten.
"Where did you find him?" Quatre inquired immediately after, his wide eyes turning up to look at his friend.
"How the hell did you manage to get your Mom to keep him?" Trowa asked immediately after.
At their sudden barrage of questions, Heero laughed before replying, "Yes, he's an actual kitten, I found him in the street last night and my Mom is a long story."
Satisfied with those answers, his friends came to life again as they moved forward to get a closer look at the kitten. Duo just ate up all of the attention as he was patted and caressed by each of Heero's friends. Even Wufei was enthralled by the little one.
"He's so cute!" Quatre exclaimed with his eyes filled with wonder.
Heero smirked, "Well, before you all smother him, let's go inside. Dinner will be ready in a little bit. You can all take turns holding him while you're here." With that, he led them all into the house.
* * * * * *
With a wide yawn, Duo lowered his head onto Heero's shoulder, where he had taken his perch again. Heero chuckled deeply, "Yes, it's been a pretty exciting day. You made quite an impression on my friends back there."
Closing the bedroom door behind him, he carefully picked Duo up from where he was wrapped around his neck and lowered the kitten onto his new bed before removing his shirt. The shocked looks on his friends' faces came into the teenager's mind again and he smiled.
The evening had been quite memorable for them. Each expressed their jealousy that Heero came across such a rarity. In the short time they spent with Duo, they quickly realized the advantages of having an actual animal for a pet as opposed to their robotic canines.
Come the next night, Heero knew that it would be back to business as usual. By then, his mother would have gathered enough work for him to keep busy. He was fully prepared to returned to his normal life, the only one he had ever known. Still, the distraction had been pleasant, while it lasted.
After pulling his sleep pants over his waist, Heero walked over to his pet's bed, where the kitten lay watching him all the while. The youth bent at the waist and patted the top of his head as he said quietly, "Good night, Duo."
Turning the light out, he crawled into his own bed and pulled the covers over him. Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply. His cobalt eyes suddenly snapped open, when he felt something land on the mattress beside his face. Sitting up slightly, he watched as the little kitten walked up to the large pillow where the boy had lain his head.
Heero chuckled as the little one rolled into a tight little ball just by the human's head and closed his violet eyes with a small sigh.
'So much for the bed,' the teenager thought to himself, a smirk on his face. Still, he couldn't complain. Lowering his head back down beside his pet, Heero closed his own eyes and drifted off to sleep.
TBC...
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