Genre: AU, Fantasy/Drama/Romance
Pairings: 1x2, others
Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words
Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, language (the usual), peril, violence, animal shamans, neko Duo, king Heero, impending war
A/N: Okay, so I can't stay away from this story. You all convinced me not to, anyway. X3
A Lazy Day With You
Heero woke to a sound and sensation he couldn't quite identify. Both were rather pleasant, so it took several minutes before his sleep-muddled brain could get it together. Finally he realized what it was as he slowly came awake. Duo, still nestled right where he'd been last night, was licking the underside of his jaw, making the most adorable grunting mewls.
He laughed softly, and the kitten's movements became a little more animated, obviously encouraged by Heero's reaction. "All right, all right," he said, cuddling the kitten against his chest with one hand, "I'll get you some breakfast."
Duo reacted to his voice, his head tilting up toward the sound with a little mewl that sounded so much like a "What?" that Heero couldn't help another chuckle.
"You aren't like human babies at all, are you?" he mused. Planting his feet on the floor, he shuffled to the long, thick cord by the door and pulled.
It would alert the servants in the kitchen that he needed them. Duo was getting more insistent, sucking on Heero's finger when he found it, all the while making those grunts that made Heero grin. The fire was dead, cold black ashes littering the hearth. He frowned, faced again with the dilemma of what to do with the kitten. Building a fire would require both hands.
"All right," he said in that low, soothing tone he'd adopted whenever speaking to said kitten, "I'm going to put you down, okay? Just for a minute. And I'll be right here. You can hear me."
This time, however, he didn't even finish putting Duo down before the leopard kitten made his distress known. Heero quickly pulled him close again, snuggling him into the crook of his neck. It was rapidly getting to the point where he would do anything to avoid hearing those awful cries. As before, Duo calmed immediately, resuming his sucking on Heero's finger in search of milk.
Sighing, Heero sank back down onto the bed. "What am I going to do with you, hmm?" he murmured, planting a kiss on the tiny creature's head.
He absolutely could not stand the thought of leaving Duo alone only to have the kitten wake without his guardian around and cry out to have no one hear. He was so tiny anything could happen to him. What if he hurt himself? Or got hungry? Or scared? Or just plain lonely?
These were not things he'd thought of when he'd agreed to this. And yet, the thought of giving Duo back to the Shamans was another unbearable thought. How had he fallen in love with the kitten in the space of a day? Besides, Kal'an had told him due to scent-impression, Duo now considered Heero his parental figure. And that wouldn't change until Duo reached his first transformation stage, close to two years from now.
His musings were cut short when someone knocked on the door. His visitor did not wait for an invitation to enter, which meant it was the Head Cook, Muriel. Only she was bold enough to barge in on her king. And only she could get away with it. Taller than Heero by nearly a hand, she was broad and quite large. She ran her kitchen the way a battle-hardened general would run a war-camp. Which was why Heero never called her on her casual treatment of him—he genuinely liked her.
Which was rare.
"Good morning, sleepy king," she said with a wide grin. "How's yourn kitten? I been simply dyin' all day to see him, waitin' for you to wake up and call me. I brought warm milk for him and breakfast for you. Now, where is the little thing?"
Smiling, Heero nodded to his arms, motioning she could approach and see. She set her tray down and came to the bed. Heero lowered his arms just enough so the blanket could be pulled back and his kitten exposed. Still happily sucking on Heero's finger, the blind kitten was a little ball of fur in the folds of the soft material. Muriel reached out and lightly stroked his tiny back.
"Oh, isn't he just the most darlin' little thing you ever did see?" she cooed.
Duo didn't seem bothered by the unfamiliar touch, but Heero suspected that would change if he removed himself from the equation. "Would you mind pouring some of that powder into the milk for me?" he asked. "The Shamans left it for me for him. I should feed him before he sucks my finger clean off."
"Of course," she said, giving one last doe-eyed glance at the kitten.
Only when Heero's finger was replaced with the bottle did Heero turn back to business. "Muriel, I need you to do something for me. I wish for no one else to know you are doing this, and certainly not why. Today, leave the kitchen in the care of your most trusted, and travel to the Chang estate."
She looked surprised. "Lord Wufei? May I ask why?"
Heero's eyes went back to the content bundle in his arms. "I can't leave Duo alone even for a little while. Muriel, he makes the most awful cries when I put him down or he wakes up to find me not there." He didn't even have the heart to demonstrate.
"So you would like Lord Chang to help you until the little darlin' is more grown."
"Yes," Heero said, pleased. "Wufei is the only one I trust to do this for me. He is the only one deep enough in my confidence to do it right."
"I assume you mean excluding me, Your Majesty," Muriel said with a twinkle in her eye.
Heero grinned crookedly. "Yes, well, others might find it strange that a king piles all his troubles on a cook. Even one as good as you."
She laughed, a sound that made Duo's ears flatten a little though he didn't stop working on the bottle. "I'll leave at once. Do you and the kitten need anything before I leave?"
"No," Heero said, smiling. "Thank you, Muriel. Oh, yes. Send my chamberlain to me. I can still sign papers and fulfill my more tedious duties while I'm holed up in here."
Smiling, she gave him a cursory bow and left. Heero turned his attention back to the kitten, who was once again giving emptying his bottle his best efforts. He didn't make it, but he was once again a round little thing when he finally could take no more. Smiling with deep affection, Heero set the bottle aside.
"All finished, little kitten?" He chuckled. "You're going to be a very fat thing if you keep this up."
Duo mewled in inquiry, then gave a huge little yawn and promptly fell asleep. Heero gingerly set him down on the bed, moving ever-so-slowly to avoid waking his tiny charge. Then he washed in the basin in his bathing room, keeping his ears peeled for any sounds from Duo. He quickly made himself presentable and was just settling to eat breakfast when a knock sounded again.
Heero shot a startled glance at Duo, but the kitten slept on. The knock began again, but Heero jerked the door open and glared. "Enough already!" he snapped.
The chamberlain started back in surprise; no one liked to be on the receiving end of Heero's temper. "I-I'm sorry, Your Majesty," he stammered.
Heero had never liked the man. He was the former king's chamberlain, a mousy fellow who just rubbed Heero the wrong way. "Never mind," he said. "I won't be leaving these rooms today, so bring me all of the paperwork that needs my attention. If anyone wishes to see me, tell them I am unavailable—I don't care who it is."
"Is Your Majesty feeling ill?" the chamberlain fussed, wringing his hands.
"No," Heero said shortly. "Go! I dislike being made to wait!"
The man made a sound like a frightened mouse and scurried away. Rolling his eyes, Heero resisted the urge to slam the door. The time was fast approaching that he would be in a position to choose his own heads of state. And the chamberlain would be the first to go.
As soon as his eyes fell on the bed, Heero's sour temperament evaporated. He couldn't help smiling, laying down and curling around the tiny little ball of fur and hunger. He just wanted to cuddle the little thing. Even in his sleep Duo uncoiled a little, snuggling into Heero's warmth. Heero chuckled low in his chest, causing Duo to mewl a teeny bit, not truly awake.
"Shh, you just sleep my little one," he whispered on a barely audible breath.
Duo shifted, his paw landing on Heero's lips. The young man laughed, lightly kissing the pads. Still not waking, the kitten shifted to his side, moving even closer to Heero with a sleepy-sounding grunt. Heero chuckled through his nose.
"Cute," he murmured. "I'm already looking forward to the day you open your eyes, little kitten. I promise I'll always take good care of you. I'll never neglect you. And when you reach your first transformation stage, I'll give you everything you want. I don't ever want you to be unhappy."
Duo started shifting more, so Heero stopped talking in fear of waking him. The chamberlain returned a handful of minutes later, a very timid knock heralding his arrival. Extricating himself with care, Heero pulled the door open with an expression like a thundercloud. The chamberlain gave him the stack of papers with a squeak barely intelligible as, "Your Majesty!" and fled.
Unable to help a satisfied grin, knowing that was a somewhat childish thing to do, Heero took the papers and set them on the table by the fire. It was only a few steps away from the bed, so if Duo woke before he finished, he could reach his side in an instant.
o8o o8o
After four hours, Heero's eyes were ready to fall out of his head. He hated paperwork. It took forever and made his head hurt. People sent so many absurd and ridiculous requests to him for consideration. He suspected most of them just wanted a reason to complain. It was irritating. Tossing the expensive feather quill on the table, he rose and tugged the cord for a servant.
Then, because he simply could not make himself wait anymore, he went to the bed and lifted his sleeping kitten into his arms. Duo stirred at once, starting up those hopelessly cute grunting sounds.
"Hungry again?" Heero murmured, nuzzling his face against the kitten's soft belly.
Duo's tiny paws tried to hug Heero's nose as the kitten mewled, and Heero liked to think those were sounds of contentment. He wondered when Duo would start to purr. He couldn't wait for that. Probably when he got bigger, big enough to work his purr-engine. Smiling, Heero rose when he heard the servant knock.
A girl with a tray of his lunch and Duo's stood there, smiling shyly. "Your Majesty? Mistress Muriel told us to make sure we brought a warmed bottle of milk for your kitten. Is this him?"
Unable to hide his pleasure, Heero nodded, smiling kindly. "Yes. Duo, this is Kandri. Kandri, this is Duo."
The girl balanced her tray against her hip to reach up and lightly stroke Duo's tiny head. Duo grunted a little as if he didn't like that, making the girl giggle. She looked quite happy that Heero remembered her name.
"I'll just leave the tray here, Majesty," she said, setting the tray down by his tall, neat stack of papers. "And would you like me to take these to the chamberlain?"
"Please," Heero said, smiling his gratitude. "Thank you. And when Mistress Muriel returns, please tell her she and her guest can just come right up. No need to wait."
"Of course, Your Majesty," she said, curtsying before carefully collecting the papers and hustling out.
Heero sat down cross-legged on the bed, position Duo on his lap so he could hold the bottle in one hand and reach his lunch with the other. This time when Duo finished, he didn't immediately fall back asleep. Heero put his own lunch aside, wanting to give the kitten his full attention.
Laying down on his stomach, he kept his hands close to Duo's body so the kitten wouldn't start crying for him. Then he called to him in a soft, loving voice. "C'mere, Duo," he murmured, smiling in blissful happiness. "Come on, little kitten."
It was about the most adorable thing he'd seen yet, watching Duo attempt to walk on the uneven surface of the bed. It was not made, so he had constant challenges from the wrinkled sheets and bedspread. Even so, the kitten seemed absolutely determined to get to the sound of the trusted voice, making grunting noises every time something got in his way.
Eventually, however, he made it, nestling against Heero's face with a sigh. Laughing warmly, Heero wrapped his arms around him, staying where he was. He couldn't remember ever willingly settling in for a midday nap. But with Duo snuggling against his cheek with a big yawn, he decided it might not be such a bad thing.