Author: Keiran
Title: Made in Heaven 1/1?
Rating: PG
Genre: Humour with a spot of angst and hopefully future romance.
Pairings: implied suggestion of future 1+2+1
Warnings: implied future shounen-ai.
Archive: Yes, to anyone who asks.
Notes: Naturally, when I wanted to rest from typing after having finished a nearly 5,000 words assignment, I sat down in front of keyboard and typed all the following, in one go.
Thanks to the Amazing Shenlong Deb, for betaing!
xxxXXXxxx
It was a quiet December night, and most of the world was still, in vigilant anticipation of Christmas. The steady flash of the TV screen cast a light on a figure resting on the couch. Suddenly though, the stillness was broken by a sharp yelp. The man was up in the blink of an eye, jumping over the couch and into the room his daughter slept in. Pushing the door open, he stepped inside, the words 'What happened' already forming on his lips.
However, the sight that met his tired eyes made him stop in his tracks.
Rubbing his face wearily, Heero casually picked up a children's version of a baseball bat.
"I do not think you have a good reason to be here, so please kindly step out of the room. I would hate to beat you to death in front of my baby girl," he said calmly, addressing the stranger in the middle of the floor. The figure cast a forlorn glance at him and tried to stand, immediately falling with a startled – but quiet – yelp.
"Sorry," he whispered, as softly as possible. "I seem to have twisted my ankle." Heero rolled his eyes.
"Serves you right. Now quiet and out. I'm phoning the police and you stay put," he said, withdrawing only slightly so that the limping burglar could walk out. After throwing a quick glance inside to ensure that Marie was safe, he closed the door and directed the stranger into the living room, noting absent-mindedly the long rope of hair, rocking left and right in the rhythm of its owner's uneven footsteps. "Sit down," the short-haired man ordered, pointing to the floor with the bat. "And keep your hands where I can see them."
"Wait, don't phone the police!" the young man – for it was a young man – exclaimed softly. "I'm not a burglar!" Heero gave him a look.
"I don't give a flying fuck. You were in my daughter's room in the middle of the night."
"Look – I know you're gonna flip – but your daughter lost a baby tooth today, right?" Heero paused and turned to look. After a few seconds he thoughtfully snapped the bat against his palm.
"You know… maybe I will trash you. And say you were aggressive," he hissed. What was really scary, was the fact that his face remained totally impassive, retaining however the slightly thoughtful look. "If you ever again try spying on us…"
"That's not what I meant! Holy fuck, this day just went to hell. I'm a Tooth Fairy, alright?" he said very quickly, looking up at the angry man of the house pleadingly.
Heero was stupefied. It escaped his understanding, the situation he suddenly found himself in. He stood there unmoving, gazing down at the unexpected house guest. He had to admit, kid didn't look like a burglar. He was wearing a set of garments he would expect to see at some sort of Anime convention, not on the street and most certainly not on a criminal. The outfit consisted of a dark, turtleneck and shorts, covered by violet, embroidered jacket, that vaguely resembled a short kimono. It was tied at the waist with a wide belt, a shade or two darker than the jacket. However the most un-burglary item he was, or rather wasn't wearing, was shoes. For some reason the kid's feet were only covered in some sort of fabric, leaving his heels and toes bare.
All in all…
"Maybe you are right," he said, sitting on a nearby chair heavily. "I won't call the police." The youth on the floor awarded him a brilliant smile, as Heero pressed a button on the laptop located on the table.
"Wow, that's a relief. This is so embarrassing, you have no idea. I mean, I finished the course with top-notch grades, I dunno what's happened – I normally float in, take the tooth and float out, and if there is serious clutter on the floor I either walk through it or hover over it, but this time it was as if something was blocking me, can you believe that? I was told no one can block another this much! Except possibly God, but why would He bother with blocking me?"
"That's nice," Heero remarked absently. Having pulled up Google, he immediately typed in their approximate location and 'psychiatric hospital'. He was hoping they worked late hours. In the meantime, he recalled vaguely, he had to agree with the kid's fantasy life.
"Hey!" he heard suddenly in the general vicinity of his ear. Turning a little he noted that despite the threat of the bat the burglar had stood up. "I did not escape from a mental institution! I am a Tooth Fairy!"
"Of course you are," Heero replied, acutely aware that his soothing voice wouldn't soothe a sleeping elephant. Good thing Marie preferred hugs to comforting comments. He looked the other man in the face, making yet another note of the unusually vibrant violet of his eyes. "I am sure you are," he tried again, hoping to hell that the mental delusions extended to thinking that all people were friendly and unthreatening. "But I need to check what should I do with that leg of yours."
The boy obviously didn't buy it, because a few megawatts of burning violet gaze later, Heero found himself face-to-face with the man's slender back. It took a moment before his eyes tuned into what the mind would block out normally.
There were four transparent, quivering appendages, seemingly on nothing, as the back of the jacket seemed whole. Before he could voice a comment, they fluttered and the nearly bare feet lifted a couple of inches off the floor.
"See?" the boy commented, a little affronted. "Wings, standard Fairy issue. But damn, I can't seem to get any higher. I got an additional pair 'cause I'm an Applying Fairy. Doesn't happen very often to be chosen to Apply so soon," he finished, a trace of pride in his voice.
Heero was sitting in his chair, his fingers hovering over the laptop's touch pad, the cursor hovering over the first link. His eyes kept getting steadily wider. With shaking hands he snapped the lid shut and turned to follow the fairy's movements, doing what every sensible person would do when faced with undeniable proof that everything he was taught was bullshit.
"Applying?" Heero asked weakly about first thing that seemed a little weirder than what was in front of his eyes.
"Well, normally you have to be a Tooth Fairy for a quarter of a century before you're allowed to Apply," the man said happily, glad that the bat was away from his immediate future. "And I died about four months ago. Nasty it was too, let me tell you. Hurt like hell. And then I ended up in front of the Powers that Be and they said that I could become an Angel of Death for real – oh, right, you wouldn't know. I used to say I am a god of death when I was alive, for personal reasons. So they said that because I died to protect someone, I could become an Angel of Death for real!" his demeanour saddened visibly, shoulders sagging.
"Then… why are you the Tooth Fairy?" Heero said, his voice sounding pathetically weak even to his own ears. Boy, if he ever sounded like that in front of his class, he would be dead meat!
"A Tooth Fairy. There's a whole bunch of us. It's a standard procedure, working as a Tooth Fairy, or a Fairy in general. They say it teaches us humility and respect." The fairy shook his head. "But they said that 'cuz of my background I only have to serve ten years, getting used to the trade and all. The name's Duo Maxwell by the way."
Ah. Duo Maxwell. The name rung a bell in Heero's head. He was supposed to be in his class come September, but the eighteen-year-old had been stabbed to death by two thugs in a back alley, trying to protect his girlfriend.
"Oh." Well, there wasn't much one could say to such a realization, was there? "I'm sorry." Duo blinked.
"For what? I like that name."
"You were supposed to be in my class this year," he said slowly. The violet eyes blinked very fast a couple of times. Then his shoulders sagged and he dropped to the floor, forgetting about his injured ankle.
Bad mistake.
With a yelp the Fairy toppled to the floor and got caught mid-motion by his would-have-been teacher.
"Sorry," the man said, a little mad at himself. "I'm not very sensitive."
"Gee, you think?" the boy muttered sarcastically, sitting on his heels.
"Let me have a look at that ankle," he suggested, hauling the supernatural creature to the couch. Examining the foot, he decided it was merely twisted, and therefore did not require medical attention. Fetching frozen peas from the kitchen, he secured them to Duo's foot with a piece of elastic bandage. "Lie down," he said gruffly. "And call home, or whatever you fairies do in an emergency." Duo glared at him, but the expression dissipated fast.
"This is soo annoying! How come I managed to twist the bloody thing! It was as if something tripped me on purpose!" He continued moaning about his bad luck, informing Heero a minute or two into the show that since he technically did not have a body and couldn't get hurt, there was no emergency procedure. He couldn't quite explain why his skin felt so real to Heero.
Shaking his head, the man set about finding bedding for his guest. "A Tooth Fairy," he muttered to himself. "How the hell did that happen?" Returning from his room with an armful of cloth, he accidentally got hooked on the cloak rack, sending Marie's red jacket onto the floor. Cursing silently to himself he moved his load to one hand, snatching up the garment with the other. Hanging it back on the rack, Heero noticed a piece of paper sticking out of one pocket. Hoping he wouldn't have to repeat the lecture on bringing home handouts (since Marie put all the important documents in her backpack) he took it out and unfolded it.
'Daer Santa,' he read with some difficulty. The letter was written with her favourite purple pencil, Heero noted. 'Pleaze bring my dady a momy plushie to sleep with, coz he'z lonelely in nite and waches much tv and a doll for me. Marimaia'
Leaning weakly against the wall, Heero regarded the letter with a panicked gaze. There was a Tooth Fairy on his couch. His daughter asked for a 'plushie' for him to sleep with in her letter to Santa.
He suddenly realized that the Powers that Be had a sick sense of humour. This night was proving to be the weirdest night of his life; the one he proposed to his ex-wife included.
"Welcome to the Twilight Zone," Heero said softly, walking back into the living room. The boy was asleep already, one of his hands tucked under his cheek. "This is the weirdest night of my life," he said aloud, covering the sleeping boy with a blanket. As he did so he noticed a strip of something white under Duo's belt. Tugging gently, he managed to release the small, sealed envelope with his name written on it. Snickering at the 'Made in Heaven' tag he found right next to where it was tucked, he tore the paper.
A few seconds later, he dropped the slip of paper to the floor in shock.
'My Sincere Apologies For The Delay. Enjoy.
With compliments,
God,
Executive Chairman and Founder of Heaven Inc.'