title: A Stray New Life
fandom: Gundam Wing
genre: AU
parings: 2x1x2
warnings: past NCS, past abuse, violence, angst, hurt/comfort, m-preg
rating: R, or NC17
summary: Heero is on the run for his life when he's saved by a beautiful and kind carpenter named Duo. Duo offers Heero a warm safe place in his home and inadvertently in his heart as well, but outside forces are conspiring to destroy Heero forever.
Chapter 07: Cat's in the Cradle
"Now, Alfred. Come at me like you're attacking." Heero instructed to the nervous and very doubtful teenager standing in Duo's living room.
Alfred scratched at the back of head. "I don't know Heero. I don't want to hurt you."
Straightening from his defensive position, Heero felt an amused smirk twist at his lips. "I promise I won't let you hurt me, Alfred." He highly doubted the red haired and freckle faced teen could do much damage regardless, but he was going to be extra careful; after all it wasn't just him anymore.
Dropping his hand, Alfred took a deep breath and tried not to get sick with nervousness. "Okay, as long as you promise."
Bending at the knees and spreading his legs in a defensive position Heero gave him a small reassuring smile. "I promise. You can't hurt me or the baby, Alfred. I won't let you."
"Okay." Alfred took another deep breath and fixed a slightly pitiful frown of concentration on his face before he rushed forward with both arms stretched out toward his "victim".
Knowing what was coming, Heero clasped Alfred's wrists tightly and twisted with just enough pressure to bring the young teen to his knees but not actually cause any damage.
With a squawk of surprise Alfred found himself on the carpeted floor whimpering as a slight twinge of pain throbbed in his forearms. "Owie…"
Hastily letting go, Heero quickly dropped down next to him. "I'm sorry Alfred! Are you alright?"
"Jeez, Heero. How did you do that?" Alfred grimaced in embarrassment as much as in pain while he sat back on his heels and rubbed at his wrists.
Sighing in relief Heero got to his feet and gave Alfred a hand before he explained. "First of all, you never attack an opponent like that. It is very easy to be disarmed that way."
"I kind of figured that part out." Alfred grumbled as he resumed his position in front of Heero awaiting his next instructions.
Watching the boy with amusement as he shored up his wounded pride, Heero resumed his defensive position. "Now try the same attack slower and I'll explain how I disarmed you."
Nodding, Alfred stuck his arms out again and moved forward slowly.
Heero grabbed Alfred's wrists from underneath. "Intercept the attack." He twisted them outward, "Immobilize." Then he flicked his wrists downward forcing Alfred's arms to bend at the elbow and causing him to take a knee on the carpet. "And incapacitate."
"Now that I can see what you did it doesn't seem that difficult." Alfred didn't feel the pain this time seeing as Heero moved slower and didn't put as much pressure on him as before.
Heero continued to hold his pupil in that position. "Once you have your attacker like this you can take him down with a knee to the face or a kick to the groin."
Alfred shuddered. "Isn't that like fighting dirty?" He struggled to his feet with Heero's help.
"No, they attacked you so it's up to you to protect yourself." Heero unconsciously brushed a hand across his barley visible swelling belly. "And you do that anyway you can."
Nodding his understanding, Alfred decided to learn everything he could from Heero. He wasn't going to let those bullies push him around anymore.
After what seemed like days to Alfred, both he and Heero were sweating with the exercise. "Heero!" Alfred found himself face down on the carpet as Heero flipped him over his shoulder when he attacked from behind. "Can't we rest for a little bit? I can't feel my face anymore!"
Shaking his head in feigned disappointment, Heero scolded, "My grandfather wouldn't let me stop training until I either threw up or collapsed. I don't see you doing either." He was exaggerating of course, but Alfred didn't need to know that.
Whimpering like a pitifully kicked puppy, Alfred struggled to his feet again. "You're the pregnant one! Don't you need to throw up? Or at least sit down?"
Heero was about to open his mouth and negate those remarks when the room suddenly spun and he found himself being lowered to the couch by a frantically questioning Alfred.
"Oh my God!" Alfred had barely managed to catch Heero before he collapsed to the floor and was huffing and puffing with the effort to help walk him to the couch. "Heero! Are you alright?" He began to wave his hands frantically in front of Heero's face to fan him off. "Shit! Duo's going to kill me! How many fingers am I holding up?"
If the room hadn't still been spinning Heero would have laughed at poor Alfred's panic. "Alfred," He said in a very calm voice. "You're not holding up any fingers."
Frowning confusedly at his still frantically fanning hands Alfred giggled embarrassedly. "Oh."
Reaching out and pulling Alfred down on the couch next to him with a show of impossibly amazing strength, Heero chuckled kindly at him. "Calm down. I'm not going to die. I just got a little dizzy. It's common for pregnant people to get dizzy."
"Oh." Alfred said again as he finally relaxed and folded his still shaking hands in his lap. "You kind of freaked me out, Heero."
"I know." Heero sighed and leaned his head back against the couch, resting one hand over his belly. "I'm sorry about that. I guess I didn't realize just how tired I was getting."
"It'd ok." Alfred sank deeper into the couch, his body felt numb from the intense workout and his legs probably wouldn't support him if he tried to stand again. "I didn't think being pregnant gave you so much energy."
"It doesn't." Heero lifted his head and gave the teen a small amused smile. "Normally I would be able to workout for another couple of hours before stopping for a break."
"Jeez! I'm glad you're pregnant then. I probably wouldn't be alive if you worked me like that." Sighing in relief, Alfred smiled back at him. "Did your grandfather really teach you all those moves?"
"Mm." He hummed turning his gaze down to his lap he stared at his hands covering where his baby was growing. "He taught me seven different kinds of martial arts, how to box, how to dance, a tiny bit of singing, and what he knew of yoga among other things."
"Whoa." Alfred's head was spinning. "He must have been really cool."
A wistful and tender smile spread over Heero's face. His grandfather had been marvelous; strict, hard, but absolutely wonderful. The pain of his absence flared up in Heero's heart. "I loved him very dearly."
Turning his head at the sound of Heero's slightly strained voice, Alfred saw the single tear that escaped Heero's eyes before he wiped it away. He didn't need to ask to know that Heero's grandfather had died. Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder Alfred stayed silent, offering support as Heero gave a very uncharacteristic hiccup before he got himself under control again.
Whisking away the last of his few tears, Heero patted Alfred's hand on his shoulder. "Thank you. I haven't figure out how to handle all these hormones yet."
"It's alright." Alfred pulled his hand away and gave him a bright smile. "My mom's had three kids already and she still breaks down in tears when someone leaves the cap off the toothpaste."
That brought a small chuckle out of Heero before he shook his head and got to his feet. "It's time I started supper before Duo get's home. Do you want to help me or would you rather shower and get that sweat off of you?"
Heero fascinated Alfred and he was working his way up to a good solid hero worship, so for him the answer was easy. "Can I help you cook? My mom always says I might chop my fingers off or something."
Laughing again, Heero gave the teen a hand to help hoist his stiff and sore body out of the plushy sofa. "I'm sure we can find something for you do that doesn't involve amputation."
Duo yowled as he almost took his finger off with the table saw for the fifth time that day. Things just did not seem to be working in his favor.
His bus had been late that morning, when he got to the work site he realized he'd left his lunch on the public transport, and Helen had pulled him from the master bathroom on the second floor to fix the colossal mistake made on the kitchen cabinets by one of the other carpenters. It was almost shutting down time, and he still hadn't even begun to fix the problem, his belly was growling in hunger, a migraine was working in his temple, and he was now bleeding on the wooden cabinetry.
"Jesus, boy!" Howard jumped when he got a look at Duo in the kitchen as he went around telling people to shut down for the evening. "You damn neared sawed your finger off!" He grabbed Duo's hand and gingerly poked and prodded at the wound to make sure he didn't need to put anything on ice and call an ambulance.
"Thanks for that helpful observation, Howard." Duo whimpered as Howard agitated a particularly tender place on his index finger. "God, today just has not been my day."
"I'd say so, boy." Sighing in relief, Howard reached into his tool belt for the gauze rap he always kept on site and yanked the plastic off the roll. Unraveling it he started to wrap Duo's injured finger as tight as possible without completely cutting off the circulation. "If I had known you'd been having such a bad time I would have sent you home."
"Nah." Duo huffed in frustration. "It's alright. This week had been going so great I should have known it wouldn't last."
Howard raised an eyebrow at his honorary nephew. "What's on your mind, kid? I know there's more floating in there than geometry and wood staining fumes."
Shoulders slumping even further Duo took his hand back and examined the makeshift bandage. "Nothing much, Howie. Just the usual you know. Work, taxes, bills, babies."
"Babies?" Howard straightened in surprise than comprehension. "You been having problems with your troubled roommate?"
"No." Duo shook his head. "Heero's been wonderful. It's me that's been having problems. Howard I-…" Duo looked into his uncle's eyes with a mixture of fear and confusion. "I've got all these thoughts and feelings rolling around and I just can't seem to latch onto one and make it stick long enough to understand it."
"Boy, what are you talking about?" He had some idea, but Howard knew it would help Duo to put his jumbled thoughts into words.
"It's Heero!" Duo exclaimed in frustration. "Well, not really him, it's just that I want so much to take care of him and his baby and the other day we went to the obsi-obstan- doctor and got a picture of the kid on the screen and I just felt so… then I couldn't really… and I want so much to be someone for that baby."
Howard threw his head back and laughed a deep rumbling laugh that flustered his poor nephew even more. "Boy, you have got it so bad!"
"What?" Duo whined at a complete loss. "What's bad?"
Slapping his big work roughened hands on Duo's shoulders Howard gave him a warm almost fatherly smile. "You're smitten with the boy."
"No I'm n-" Duo cut himself off as his brows wrinkled almost painfully before they shot wide on his forehead and he slide forward to slam his head on the saw dust covered bench between his uncle and him. "Man!"
Patting Duo's head comfortingly, Howard soothed, "Now don't beat your self up about it, boy. Talk to old Uncle Howard."
"Howie!" Duo raised his head ignoring the wood dust sticking to his sweaty forehead. "I told him I wanted to be a father to his baby."
That shocked a couple more gray hairs into Howard's beard. "Did you now?"
"Yeah." Duo's face scrunched up. "Every time I look at him and he's got this small glowing smile on his face, I get this twinge, you know, right here." He pressed a hand to his chest. "And sometimes when he thinks I'm not in paying attention or he's thinking about something else entirely he rubs a hand over his belly and I get this flipping all in here." Duo rubbed a hand over his stomach as if he were in pain. "God! And every time I think about him being beaten on by that bastard I want to just-" He broke off and twisted his fists together as if wringing someone's neck.
Howard laughed again then patted a hand over Duo's to halt his violent gesture. "I get the picture boy." He smiled kindly at his red faced and confused nephew. "You want to protect him, care for him, be a father to his baby."
Duo sighed. "Yeah. And I'm scared shitless."
Nodding Howard rubbed at his beard. "Why don't you tell the boy that? I mean the part where you're two steps in love with him." He clarified when Duo was about to say he'd already done that.
Stopping with his mouth open, Duo stared at his uncle then closed his mouth and rubbed at his suddenly numb face. "I am, aren't I?"
Howard picked up a piece of twisted sawdust and twirled it between his fingers. "I'd say so."
Blowing out a breath Duo felt a sudden weight lift off his shoulders and a good portion of his uncatchable worries and thoughts dissolve. "That is quite the revelation."
"I'd say so." Howard smirked amusedly, tossing the wood twist to the floor. "What are you going to do about it?"
Duo responded without a thought. "Nothing." He shook his head. "I'm not going to do anything, Howard. He ran away from an abusive relationship he'd been stuck in for God knows how long. He's pregnant, unsure of his footing, and just getting used to human kindness. I can't just waltz into my apartment with a dozen roses and declare my love for him." Holy God, he thought, I'm in love with Heero. It sent a pleasant shiver down his spine.
Leaning back on the carpenter's bench Howard scratched at his chin. "I didn't think of that."
Chuckling mirthlessly, Duo shook his head. "I can't tell him. He's got so much to think and worry about. I can only be there for him and help him through it all. Howard," he looked back at his uncle, "I really want to be a father to his baby. I feel almost as if it's really mine and not… his."
Howard whistled through his teeth. "That's quite the responsibility to take on, Duo. Do you really think you can do that? Be a father to another man's baby?"
"It's not that boyfriend beating fucker's baby." Duo spat, his lips curling in a snarl. "It's Heero's baby." His snarl eased and a tender light came to his eyes edged with frantic nervousness. "And Heero said he would like me to be a father to his baby as well."
Nodding in understand, Howard clapped his hands together and decided to move right on along. "And you're scared shitless."
"Fuck yes." Duo whimpered.
"Well, then!" Howard suddenly beamed at his paling nephew. "You've got plenty of time to learn the basics and no body really knows how to be a parent till the kid actually pops out kicking and screaming."
Duo placed a hand over his mouth, suddenly feeling like his stomach was going to heave. "Oh God."
"Whoa, kid!" Howard chuckled and patted him on the back comfortingly. "Don't worry so much. Me and your Aunt Helen will be there for you and Heero the whole way. You'll be fine."
"You think?" Duo asked earnestly as he swallowed down the bile and looked back at his uncle in undisguised hope.
"Yeah," Howard smiled kindly. "Of course I do. We raised you pretty good didn't we? You and Heero will be just fine. Now," he grinned eagerly, "show me those ultrasound pictures you were boasting about the other day. I never got a chance to snatch them from you."
Laughing Duo pulled out his wallet, feeling immeasurably less panicky now that he knew he had his uncle and aunt's support. "Here." He unfolded the glossy picture. "That's its head and that's its little body. We can't tell what the sex is yet, not for another week or so."
Howard grabbed it and ran his eyes over it like a little child in the window of a candy store. "Well. Will you look at that!" He laughed. "It's no bigger than a plum!"
"Mhm." Duo grinned proudly. "Heero's just barely showing. It's kind of amazing to be able to see where the little guy is in his belly."
"I'll bet." Howard flicked his eyes at his nephew with a knowing smirk before moving his gaze back to the picture to read the fetus's stats the doctor had printed off to the side.
Ultrasound of Heero Yuy
Aprx weight: 1/3 ounces
Aprx length: 2 inches
Pausing and leaning closer to the picture just to be sure he had read what he thought he'd read, Howard looked up at Duo and asked as nonchalantly as possible, "What's your boy's full name, kid?"
Duo leaned around Howard oblivious to the older man's sudden look of extreme concentration as he studied the picture for the hundredth time. "Heero Yuy. You know the kid's got a big head, but the doc says that's normal at this stage. All the kid's organs are supposed to be formed too but I don't know; I'm just amazed the kid looks semi-human. I heard that babies look like sea monkeys in the womb, but Heero's baby looks perfect."
Howard listened to Duo ramble on like any proud father he had ever met, but his mind was rotating and fermenting on something very peculiar. Heero Yuy. It seemed to Howard that he knew a Heero Yuy; a brilliant man with an intelligent mind and a howling good sense of humor.
It seemed to Howard that he remembered going to the man's funeral after he was found dead from a heart attack in his sitting room.
After complimenting Duo on the baby's loveliness and assuring him that its head will not be that large permanently, Howard continued to ponder on his little discovery.
Heero Yuy had been dead for about three years now and Howard remembered going to his funeral and spitting at his daughter's feet. Now that, Howard reflected, was a cold bitch. Didn't even cry at her own father's funeral.
The gossip mill had been flowing at the reception afterwards while he and Helen had been catching up with some old mutual friends of Heero Yuy's. It seemed that Heero had a grandson that was a continual disappointment to his parents. Though his daughter couldn't have cared less for the boy, or so Howard had gathered, it had been a scandalous thing that the boy had disappeared during the burial.
Needless to say, he and Helen had left early, not being able to stomach Heero Yuy's daughter for very much longer.
Quite the coincidence, Howard rubbed at his beard in thought. "Say, boy." Duo looked up at him from his own memorizing of the picture. "Why don't Helen and I come over for dinner some time and meet this runaway. If he's going to be the mother of your child, we should meet him shouldn't we?"
Something in the tone of Howard's voice was odd, but Duo shook his head and pushed that thought to the back of his mind. "Sure Howard. How about you both come over on Saturday?"
"Alright. That'll do." Howard gave him a bright smile to hide his contemplative frown. "You run on home now, boy, and make sure Heero's still kicking like I know you're itching to."
Chuckling at the accuracy of his uncle's statement, Duo stood up from his straddle on the work bench and snatched up his tools throwing them into their places on his tool belt and in the tool box he left on site. "Thanks for the talk, Howie. It helped a lot."
"Anytime, kid." Howard patted Duo on the shoulder as he dashed out of the half finished kitchen and toward the bus stop.
Watching to make sure he was out of sight and on his way ok, Howard pulled his phone from his tool belt and dialed Helen at the office trailer on site. She picked up after three rings barking into the receiver in annoyance.
"Calm down woman!" Howard scowled at the empty kitchen. "I know you were packing up I just wanted to tell you we were having dinner at Duo's on Saturday."
He listened for a moment to Helen's suddenly eager and questioning voice before replying. "Yeah I had a reason. Duo's runaway, I got a full name out of him." Helen's voice nearly split his ear drum and Howard had to pull the phone away from his ear. "Lower your voice and I'll tell you."
He waited a beat before giving into Helen's nagging. "Heero Yuy, Helen. The kid's name is Heero Yuy. Does that sound familiar?"
A muffled, "Are you shitting me?" made Howard chuckle, before he said, "That's what I just about asked him." Then he frowned again. "There's something not right Helen. I think we need to go and check this kid out. If everything is like I suspect there is a lot that we're not knowing about."
Helen agreed seriously. Howard nodded though he knew she couldn't see him. "Yep, see you tonight at home and I'll fill you in on the rest of my chat with Duo." They said their good byes and Howard snapped his phone shut. In his opinion, Saturday evening couldn't come fast enough.
Duo unlocked his apartment door to the sound of two separate voices in conversation and the smell of steak sizzling in on the stove top grill. Turning the corner, Duo was met with the sight of a rather beat up looking Alfred sitting at his kitchen table grinding garlic into a mortar and pestle for salad while Heero watched and flipped the steaks on the stove.
"I'm home." He blinked in surprise and confusion at the scene in his kitchen.
Heero turned around and smiled softly at him. "I invited Alfred to stay for dinner." Then he frowned and suddenly looked worried as a hand twisted in the dish towel hanging from his pocket. "That's alright isn't it?"
Spring into a smile, Duo exclaimed, "Sure! That's fine. He's kept us fed delivering pizzas and we might as well return the favor at least once."
Alfred chuckled at Duo's silliness. "Heero was teaching me how to defend myself and offered to let me stay."
"Yeah?" Duo looked from Heero's slightly flushed face to Alfred who was now concentrating on adding oil and vinegar to the garlic, pepper, and salt. "Why was he teaching you self defense?"
Heero answered before Alfred could. "I stopped a couple of bullies from roughing him up and he asked me to teach him how I did it."
"You did what?!" Duo exclaimed making Alfred jump in surprise. In the blink of an eye he was across the kitchen and had Heero spinning away from the stove, his hands running up and down his body looking for any kind of injury. "Are you alright? Is the baby alright? Did they hurt you?"
"Duo." Heero's cheeks turned bright red in embarrassment and something else as he felt Duo's hands stroke over his chest and down his sides. "I'm alright. They didn't even touch me."
"Heero was so awesome, Duo." Alfred informed him, once he had stopped frantically searching for a wound. "They didn't know what hit them before they were on the ground moaning in pain."
He frowned in confusion, remembering the first night they had met and look of pure terror as Heero had told him of his past with his abusive boyfriend. "Really?" His voice was quiet and Alfred stopped babbling and gushing. He realized Duo's question asked a lot more than he could possibly answer.
"Yes." Heero looked away from Duo's deep violet eyes as he flipped the steaks. "They weren't skilled at all and I was ready for them. It was easy and I've gotten stronger since you've let me stay here."
Lifting his hand Duo almost tucked a long strand of Heero's hair behind his ear before he stopped himself and let the hand fall to his shoulder instead. "Well, I'm glad neither of you were hurt."
Flicking his eyes at Duo in surprise, Heero felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He understood. Duo understood what it was like to be emotionally crippled, frightened, and distracted. Duo didn't blame him for being caught by those two buffoons; he didn't blame him for not fighting Elliot with everything he had.
Swallowing back the threat of tears and savoring the brief comfort of Duo's hand on his shoulder, Heero announced, "The steaks are done. How is that salad dressing coming Alfred?"
Duo picked a piece of lettuce out of the salad bowl and dipped into the salad dressing Alfred was stirring. "Mm." He chewed and shivered with the hint of tang. "That's very good Alfred."
"Thanks." The teenager blushed and began to pour the dressing over the lettuce and tomatoes. "Heero taught me how to make it."
The three of them sat down to dinner talking of Heero's lessons and laughing at Alfred's many failed attempts at bringing Heero down. Duo complained loudly about his horrible day at work and announced that Howard and Helen were coming over for dinner on Saturday. Everything was perfect, Heero thought. This was what he had always missed while growing up.
As Duo locked the door behind Alfred, Heero was standing over the sink rinsing off the dishes and loading them into the dish washing, reflecting on his life. Brushing a soapy hand over his slightly swollen belly he smiled. He had a baby, new friends, a father for his baby, and, most of all, a home with a partner and friend that welcomed him, supported him, and cared about him.
Tears pricked at his eyes, but he wiped them away, and smiled down at the dirty dish water. He was happy for the first time in a very ling time.
A/N: Ok so really long wait for an update. I hope ya'll liked it. I love Howard and I'm really proud of how I portrayed him here. Alfred cracks me up. He's a little awkward and nervous but he has a big heart! Duo's such a sweetie too. I really hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this chapter. I think it's one of my favorites! Read and review.
