The Cat

by Tayjena

A lost cat shows up at Heero's door. shounen ai

Title: The Cat
Author: Tayjena
Rating: pg
Pairing: 1+2
Warning: sap, fluff. shounen ai
Beta: Sophie, Traci
Summary: A lost cat shows up at Heero's door.
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me, if it didwell I wouldn't be where I am that's for sure! :P
Inspired by: My cat Gaisha (misspelled on purpose)
Notes: I just re-watched Gundam Wing after several years, and my cat Gaisha kept jumping on my lap. But she would only do this when Duo was on screen(and would run away when Relena came onwonder where she got that from) and so this came about. Hope you like since I haven't written GW fanfiction in awhile!

It had been years since the end of the war; years since he'd found himself being held by Relena and telling her that he didn't want to fight anymore. And years since he'd had any real contact with the other former Gundam pilots. On rare occasions he'd speak with Quatre, or maybe hear news of Wufei. He knew Trowa was back with the circus once again, and had seen him a few years ago. And he believed Quatre had once mentioned Duo, but other than that he really hadn't heard much about the former American pilot.

Heero Yuy, the former pilot of Wing Gundam 01 and later Wing Gundam Zero, hadn't give much thought to the other four he'd fought along side so many years ago. He'd never really considered them comrades anyway and it was natural to him, that when he found himself still alive at the end of everything they'd fought for, that he wouldn't think of them as anything now either.

Still there were times when he did wonder what they might be up to, as they were sometimes the only ones who'd be able to understand how he felt in this new world they'd helped to create. But, even that was brief and far between.

He had other things to deal with.

He'd remained on Earth with Relena since, unlike the others that had seemed like the only place he could belong. They all had someone to return to; some home to go to. But he hadn't. So he'd felt that she was the only one he could go to.

Relena's romantic interest in him had finally given way as she grew up, and they were able to have a very professional and platonic relationship. They both cared for and loved the other in their own way, but it would never grow into anything more.

It was during one of his days off, that Heero had found himself thinking back on the Gundams and their pilots. He thought of missions and explosions, blood and tears, of battles and betrayals, guns and soldiers, fighting and hiding. His thoughts dwelled on each pilot in turn, in what he'd been through with each one. The longest was Duo. He found this slightly odd and a bit disturbing.

It seemed there had hardly been a time when he hadn't been with the cheerfully-annoying, braided pilot. After all, Duo was the first of the other pilots he'd met, having been shot by him in front of Relena who then tried to protect him from the self-proclaimed Shinigami. They'd gone to school together for a short time, competed to see who would complete a mission first - Duo had such an odd sense of humor as far as Heero was concerned. Even when the idiot had been captured and Heero had set out to kill him, he'd instead managed to save him.

Yes there were many memories of Duo. More than Heero could actually count.

Well, in truth, there were many containing all of them. But his thoughts seemed to linger on the ones of Duo Maxwell for some reason.

He couldn't figure out why, though. That guy had always grated on his last nerve with his upbeat personality and cheerfulness.

/So why?/

Heero's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a strange sound coming from outside one of the windows. At first he thought nothing of it, but when he heard the distinctive meowing again he got up. It was louder than it should have been seeing as he was on the second floor. But, as he approached the sliding glass doors to the small balcony, he could see it.

Sitting there staring expectantly at him, was a pair of oval-shaped green eyes. The completely brown cat stood up as he got closer, watching him the entire time.

When Heero opened the door, he expected the cat to run away, but instead it walked in as though it already owned the place. He knelt down; his hand outstretched and found the cat to be rather friendly. It came running over to him and rubbed its head against his hand before allowing him to move it down its back and then, it spun around and pressed its head back against him.

He smiled softly, the cat reminded him of someone.

~*~*~

It had been nearly a week since Heero had found the brown cat on his balcony. He'd discovered it was a male Havana Brown. He found it odd that such a rare breed would just randomly show up on his balcony, so he'd done everything he could to get word out that he'd found this cat, but so far no one had gotten back to him.

He'd decided to keep it until the owners called instead of taking it to a shelter and so he'd had to get a litter box and food and other such cat things. He'd even taken it to the vet just to have it checked out, but it seemed to be quite healthy.

Heero stepped into his apartment and the cat - he didn't have a name for it - came running over and rubbed against his legs. Then looked up at him and meowed, loudly.

"Yes, yes. Just let me in the door and then I'll feed you." Heero wasn't sure when he'd begun answering the cat's meows, but it seemed to be very frequently that he found himself talking to him. Carefully, he stepped over and around the tom and headed for the kitchen, all the while the tom complaining as it followed him, and Heero could have sworn those meows sounded like 'now'.

After setting down the food dish for the Brown, he went to check his home phone answering machine in case someone had called that about the Havana Brown and not his cell phone.

There was nothing.

Heero watched as the cat devoured its food and sighed. There was still something about this cat that reminded him of someone.

~*~*~

It had been a month now since Heero had taken in the male Havana Brown cat. And in that month he still hadn't named it, but now that was becoming a problem as he was tired of calling it 'you' or 'cat'. He'd become quite attached to him, and though he'd thought of many names he could have given him, none of them seemed to fit his personality.

It wasn't until one day that the tom jumped into his lap and, didn't lie down, no instead this cat always had to try to climb up Heero's chest as though he were a tree, before resting against his chest like that with both front legs stretched up over each shoulder as though he were trying to hug Heero.

Heero stroked his head letting his hand run over glossy, smooth fur. He watched the chestnut tail swish lazily from side to side. Almost like the way a certain someone's long brown braid used to do.

Then it occurred to him.

Who the cat reminded him of.

"Duo."

The Havana Brown meowed in reply. "That's what I'll call you, Duo."

Duo purred in response.

The name seemed to fit. After all his fur was almost the same shade of brown as that guy's hair, and he was rather loud, friendly, and energetic.

"I wonder what he'd say if he knew I got a cat and named it after him" Heero asked absently, to which Duo meowed at him loudly and stretched his legs and tried to proceed further up Heero's chest and rubbed his head against Heero's face.

"Yes, Duo…" Heero proceeded to pet the cat lazily.

~*~*~

Three months later, and Heero had pretty much given up on finding Duo's owner. It was now a routine that the moment his alarm would go off, Duo would be there head-butting him, jumping on him, nudging him and all sorts of things to get him up to feed him. Then when Heero would come home, Duo would instantly be at his feet demanding to be fed again, and following him through the apartment until he put down the food bowl.

It had also become a habit for Heero to not only talk to Duo, but to actually hold a conversation with him as though he could understand the insistent whining meows and that the cat understood him talking to it.

Then there were times when Duo would feel that Heero wasn't paying him enough attention, and then to Heero's annoyance, the Havana would either jump up on the desk and walk all over his keyboard, or other times would begin jumping on the furniture and knocking things over until Heero yelled 'Duo!' to which the tom would just look at him innocently surprised as though he'd done nothing wrong. In the back of his mind, Heero could imagine Duo laughing with that same look on his face.

As Heero grew more accustom to having the cat around and repetitively saying the name Duo, he found himself thinking more and more about the person associated with the name.

It also seemed, to Heero at least, that whenever his thoughts began to wander to the former Death Scythe pilot, Duo would instinctively and immediately be on his lap, purring and kneading, and latching onto his chest, tail swaying back and forth. It was almost as though the cat could sense who his thoughts were on.

"Maybe some day I'll have to introduce the two of you." Heero said, as he looked down at the Havana Brown half on his lap, half on his chest leaning against his arm with its paws stretched up to his shoulder. Duo made a meowing sound and then moved to stand up and nudged his face against his chin repeatedly. "Yes, yes, Duo," Heero whispered as he briefly leaned down and pressed his forehead against the cat's before gently pushing him down. "I love you, too."

~*~*~

Duo Maxwell stared down at the piece of paper in his hand. He couldn't believe it. After nearly six months of searching the colony he lived on for his Havana Brown, who would have thought the cat would be on Earth instead? And on top of that, that former pilot Heero Yuy would have been the one to find him?

Duo grinned as he made his way up to Heero's apartment. It had been a long time since he'd seen Heero in person. Of course he had spotted him on numerous occasions from Relena's many television appearances, but it had been awhile since they'd been face to face.

"Wonder how he's been…"

Duo often thought about his former comrades. Just simply in passing to wonder how life had been treating them since the war. And he kept in pretty good contact with Quatre so he'd hear from time to time how every one else was doing. Quatre, though, mostly seemed to know what was going on with Trowa more than the others, but Duo had a sneaking suspicion that that was because the two had finally formed some sort of real relationship.

He made it to the door indicated on the slip of paper and was just about to knock when he heard that distinctive and still somehow familiar voice behind it shout his name.

Duo froze.

He stared at the door for a moment. There was no way Heero could have known he was there. He hadn't called to say the cat was his or that he would come get it. Nor had he alerted anyone else to his plans, he'd just come to Earth.

Duo pressed his ear to the door and listened for a minute.

"Dammit, Duo. Why must you do that, huh? Don't give me that look. It's your fault, you knocked it over."

Duo chuckled from where he stood behind the door. So Heero had named the cat after him. Now that was interesting. He bit his lip to contain himself, then took a deep breath and put a smile on his face and this time knocked on the door when he raised his hand.

"Be right there." Heero voice called out from behind the door. There was some noise from behind the door as Heero, from the sound of it, was nearly tripped by the feline Duo as he made his way to the door. This only made Duo Maxwell grin more.

Then the door opened and Duo found those eyes he'd never quite forgotten.

"Hey."

"Duo…" Heero said in surprise as he took in the sight of the other man. "Wha..."

"I was in the neighborhood, and figured I'd stop by for a visit."

"How were you in the neighborhood? What are you doing on earth?"

"Geez, and here I was being nice and going out of my way to visit ya, and this is how you treat me?"

"What do you want?"

Duo shrugged, smiling. "Aren't you at least going to invite me in before you start interrogating me?"

Heero took a step back and allowed Duo to enter. Duo smirked and walked in. As Heero closed the door behind him, he saw the Havana Brown, sitting there staring at him with a cold, calculating gaze.

"Tsk. Never would have figured ya for a cat person Heero."

Heero glanced over at the feline and had to blink a few times. He'd never seen the cat look like that. It had always been very friendly to anyone - all though it was rare for Heero to have guests - that came over.

"Oh, well he just showed up about six months ago. I've been taking care of him until I can find his owner."

"That right, huh." Duo knelt down and held out his hand to the cat, who still regarded him icily. Then slowly it made its way to him and allowed him to pet his back. /Six months… that would be right around the time I lost you./

"So what are you doing here?" Heero asked again.

Duo pressed on his knees and forced himself up. "Well I," he showed Heero the flyer he had with the picture of the Havana Brown and Heero's contact information. "I just came down to Earth and saw this. Figured I'd visit ya buddy."

Heero snatched up the flyer. "Like I said, I've been waiting for the owner to call me." Then he walked past and into the kitchen, all the while followed by the cat that seemed intent on tripping Heero as he walked.

Duo took the opportunity to glance around before he followed as well, noticing all the cat toys laying around, the cat bed, and scratching post and various other cat necessities. "I don't know… seems you've taken quite a liking to him," he teased.

As Duo walked into the kitchen he found Heero pushing the cat off the table. "Off the table Duo, you know better."

He chuckled softly.

"You named it after me? I'm flattered."

"Don't be." Heero replied, curtly. "I had to call him something, and he's so loud and obnoxious, and whiny and energetic, and overly friendly and annoying, I just named him the first thing that came to mind when I thought of all those things."

Duo shrugged as he took a seat in one of the chairs. "Still, you thought about me, it's still kinda flattering."

Heero joined him at the table offering him a cup of coffee. "He just reminded me of you…" He admitted softly. "All those things and the color of his fur… it's like your hair."

Duo blinked, taken a bit slightly. "When did you get so sentimental on me, Heero?" He smiled at the other. Then watched as the feline Duo jumped up on Heero, practically climbing up his chest as though to get on his shoulder. It leaned up and continuously head butted Heero's chin, nose and even his eye a few times as it did. Still smiling he reached for the offered mug and started to take a sip.

"Yes Duo, I love you…" said Heero out of habit to the cat before pushing the cat away from his face.

Duo though choked on the liquid in his throat as he heard this, and he was pretty sure his heart had just stopped. "Wah?" Heero raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh right… the cat…" Duo took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Better watch what ya say there Heero, someone might get the wrong idea."

"Baka." Heero snapped, and Duo grinned.

"Ah, just like old times."

"Why are you here again?"

"Well… I came down to find my cat actually… Hilde gave me a Havana Brown a year ago and about six months ago he disappeared. Never expected he made it here, but it's good to know he's been taken care of."

This time Heero choked on his coffee. "Are you implying Duo is your cat?"

"Well yeah... I am the first person to come looking for him aren't I?"

"You're just using that as an excuse to intrude on my life again."

"C'mon now! I wouldn't do something like that. Look." Duo pulled out his wallet and offered a picture of the cat to Heero along with another slip of paper he'd printed off offering a reward for the lost cat.

Heero glanced over both things and had to do a double take at the name of the cat. It was hard to distinguish Havana Browns based on pictures since they did tend to look very similar but the one in the photo was the same chestnut brown as the one hanging on his chest.

"His name is Heero?"

Duo grimaced. "Ah… yeah… He reminded me of you."

Heero blinked at first then thought how he himself had reacted to Duo, and then how the cat had considered him earlier. "Really."

"Yea! He's always nagging and meowing orders at me, just like you use to do." Duo grinned slyly. "And he's not nearly as affectionate with me as he seems to be with you. Guess he really likes you." The feline Duo started brushing his face against Heero's again as though to emphasize this point.

"Down, Duo." Heero pushed him down and back into his lap, causing Duo Maxwell to blush slightly and look away.

/Damn... My cat's getting further with Heero than I ever did./ Duo had always harbored certain feelings toward the 01 pilot, but had done his best to suppress them, not wanting to ruin their 'friendship.' But, seeing Heero after all this time and how well he treated 'Duo' was making them resurface.

"Well if that's all you came for, I'll gather up his things and you can take them with you and be on your way."

Duo looked back at Heero and lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Eh... I'm in no real hurry. Besides, I'm thinking ya might as well keep him. He likes ya more anyway."

"But, he's your cat, Duo." Said cat meowed from Heero's lap. "And, he was a present from Hilde. I can't keep him."

"She only got him for me to keep me company and so someone would be around when I said your name."

Heero's eyes widened.

Crap. Had he said that out loud?

Duo tried to laugh it off. "I often wonder what you've been up to."

Dark blue eyes lowered and followed the chestnut tail flickering across his legs. "I've been thinking about you a lot lately, too." Heero admitted, "Ever since he showed up."

Duo stared at him, unsure how to take this admission. "Oh really... Well I'm glad to hear you've spared some time to think about little ol' me." He laughed.

"Like I said, he reminded me of you that's all. Don't read too much into it."

"Yeah, but Heero... You've gotten pretty attached to him, too, haven't ya? I mean you said I love you. Never thought I'd hear that… Granted it was to a cat but, I still never thought I'd see the day you said something like that."

"It's just because... he's so affectionate." Heero raised his gaze to meet Duo's and found violet eyes shimmering back at him. "So, how long are you planning to stay on Earth?"

Duo shifted a bit. "I don't know. Didn't really think about it. Came down to get my cat, maybe see how you were, it was just a coincidence that you were the one that found him so I killed two birds with one stone I guess." He broke eye contact.

"Why'd you want to see me?"

Taking a sip of the coffee, Duo thought of how to answer that. For him it was a bit of a loaded question. Of course, he'd wanted to know that Heero was well and that he was happy and to just know what he'd been doing in general. But he'd also wanted to see him, just to see him.

"See how you were doing and... well there's something I've put off telling you."

"Oh?"

Duo set down the mug and thought again for a moment. "Well you see..."

Suddenly the Havana Brown jumped into his lap. It didn't try to climb on him like it did with Heero, it merely sat there and looked at him. He ran his hand over its back. "Yeah I know, Heero…" he whispered absently, "I love you, too."

Heero caught this and smiled. At least he wasn't the only one who said such things to the cat. He was also glad he wasn't the only one that appeared to talk to the cat as though it understood.

"Why don't you stay here for a couple days." It wasn't a question. Heero was telling him to stay, and not just on Earth but there with him and the Havana Brown. "We can catch up and maybe you'll get the nerve to tell me whatever it is you want to say."

Duo stared at him.

Then he nodded, "Yeah, all right."

~*~*~

Over the next few days, Duo stayed with Heero and he began to realize why the cat had reminded him so much of the long-haired American. And he also started to see why Duo had seen him in the cat.

It wasn't that the cat liked either of them better. It was just that the animal seemed to sense what each of them wanted. The Havana Brown seemed to be smarter than the both of them as far as he could see.

They were both doting the cat with attention they wanted to give the other, and it responded as it perceived they would. With Duo it was simple and controlled and with Heero it was complex and affectionate.

~*~*~

After about a week, Duo still hadn't managed to tell Heero what he wanted to, and was beginning to sense that maybe he should just return to space.

"Hey Heero, thanks for letting me stay with ya, but I think it's about time I head back." Duo spoke to Heero's back as he sat at his desk.

"You never told me what it was you wanted to say."

"It's not important."

"Duo." Heero didn't move and Duo Maxwell was pretty sure he was talking to the cat since they both were still calling it by the others name. It made things a little confusing.

"I love you." Heero said, still not looking at Duo.

/Yep… he's talking to the cat…/ Duo thought.

Then he felt two paws kneading his leg and looked down to find the cat stretching up his leg. But if the cat wasn't in Heero's lap

"Heero?" Duo wasn't sure which one he was referring to at that point.

Heero Yuy stood up and turned to face Duo. "Baka. I'm talking to you not the cat."

Duo's eyes went wide with shock and slowly he glanced back at the other man. "He..."

Duo never got to finish the name, Heero crossing the distance faster than he could speak even the others name, and his lips were pressed tightly to Duo's. The braided man had no time to react as Heero just as quickly pulled away.

"It occurred to me that I was saying that to the cat, because I really wanted to say it to you."

Duo finally moved, putting his arms around Heero. "Yeah, me too. I love you, too, Heero."

~*~*~

A few days later, Heero and Duo were lying on the couch, Heero's fingers slipping through Duo's loose hair.

They'd been discussing what they were going to do about their new relationship. Duo had to return to the colony in a few more days. Hilde had already tracked him down and yelled at him to get back to work.

"So what do we do now?"

"Don't know"

The Havana Brown cat jumped up between them. They both reached out to pet it, hands brushing against each other as they did.

"One thing's for sureWe need a new name for him"

"Baka."

"I'd still get confused if we called him that." Duo grinned.

Heero shook his head and moved to kiss Duo. "I was talking about you."

~*~*~

Owari