The Boy and The Squirrel [Part Ten]
Mother Nature gave her puffy blue dress another tug as she watched the sleeping blonde right next to the squirrel. She was getting a tad bit annoyed at the rough material that graced the lacy dress and wanted to get it off as soon as possible.
Checking the clock, she decided that the time was just right to make her move. She came closer to the sleeping boy, intending to wake him up. She used the end of her golden staff to tap the boy's nose. Quatre responded in irritation and whacked the annoying insect off his nose.
"Oof!"
Mother Nature was thrown halfway across the room.
"Why that hairless ape," she muttered. "I ought to poke his nose until that thing turns purple."
She fluttered her wings and collided instead with a hand. By this time she was really annoyed. She didn't know that the boy could be so active in his sleep. It was like he was running around too much in his dream.
Deciding that she was starting to like her quickly ruining look, she straightened out the ruffles on her blue dress, put her hair back into place and picked up her broken wand. With one last huff of determination, she flew across the room to the sleeping squirrel, making sure to avoid the dangerously flailing arms and legs. When she reached the other side, she poked the sharpened end of her wand on Trowa's behind.
The squirrel's first response was to yelp and then look at the equally annoyed Mother Nature in her half-ruined state.
"What happened?" he asked as he combed his hair back to its original style.
"Apparently, your sweet little love over there tends to get violent in the wee hours of the night. It's bad enough that I'm compromising myself by dressing up like this. Get that thing off me before he flattens me with those gigantic hands."
Trowa looked at her and then at Quatre. Just like she said, he was flailing around almost wildly about the sheets. It was a miracle that he didn't flatten his bedmate in the process. Trowa sighed and then crawled up to him, making sure not to wake him up. He whispered something into his ear and the blonde eventually calmed down.
"What'd you say?" Mother Nature asked, now more curious than angry.
"It's a secret," Trowa answered and then climbed back down.
He pulled Mother Nature by the bottom of her dress and straightened out the ruffled lace that was sticking out to the side. After that, he took her wand and jumped down the bed to find a replacement. When he found a shiny enough rod, he climbed back up and handed it to her. He continued adjusting her clothes until he thought it was perfect. When he knew she was ready, he pushed her forward.
"I'm not going near that thing. The last time I tried to wake him, he tried to swat me like a fly."
Trowa didn't say anything but instead climbed back up on Quatre's face and tickled his nose with his furry tail.
The boy stirred but refused to get up. Trowa did it again. This time, Quatre sneezed and then opened his eyes to find a small, chubby fairy looking at him with eyes wide. His eyes went wide as well.
"Trowa, help me out," Mother Nature whispered and all Trowa did was sit beside the shocked blonde.
As far as he was concerned, he was only a spectator looking in on the performance. Mother Nature cleared her throat once and then adjusted her dress one more time before delivering her practiced speech.
"Child," she said, almost like the way the fairies did on television. "I have come today to grant you a wish."
"At 3:30 in the morning?" Quatre questioned and Mother Nature looked a tad bit annoyed.
"Child," she said again. "Just go with the flow. This is merely part of your dream and I'm here to grant you your wish."
"Are you real?" he asked, looking skeptical.
"I'm as real as they come," she answered and then winked at Trowa.
The squirrel was getting nervous. It looked like Mother Nature didn't get enough practice. The Cinderella videos did nothing to enhance her attitude and behavior. He hoped that the boy wouldn't notice anything strange. Quatre yawned and then looked again at the awaiting fairy.
"I don't know. It feels kind of weird. I mean, I'm not eight years old anymore so I'm just probably imagining you," he said and then poked her on the chest.
Mother Nature got even more irritated but tried to stay clam. Trowa watched on, hoping that his scheme would work. The boy was becoming very uncooperative.
"Look boy, I may be a figment of your imagination. Heck, I may be the tooth fairy, a demented dream, who knows? I'm here to grant you a wish. Now cough it up boy. Who knows? You just might wake up the next morning and find whatever it is you're looking for."
Trowa went pale and hoped that Mother Nature wouldn't get more irate than she already was. He hoped too that Quatre wasn't startled too much by her change in behavior.
"Umm..."
"Hurry up kid. We haven't got all day."
The lace that was crawling up her leg was apparently to blame for her sudden change in mood. The rough material was making her itch.
"There's something I've really wanted for some time now. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try even if you're just a dream sequence," he said and then chuckled.
"Uh huh. Go ahead cutie. Cough it up."
Quatre looked at her, smiled and then opened his mouth to reveal his silly wish. Trowa watched on in anticipation, waiting for his dream to come true. It was something he had been waiting to hear for so long.
"I'd like Nanashi to be by my side when I get up in the morning."
Trowa's face fell and Mother Nature almost faltered in her act. She knew Trowa was really hoping for the 'turn the squirrel into human' approach.
"Ah... Yes, child. I will grant you that wish. When you get up in the morning, you will be rewarded with the most beautiful creature by your side."
Quatre smiled wider and Trowa didn't look too happy.
"Sleep now my child. You wouldn't want to miss out on your wonderful surprise, would you?"
Quatre nodded and then almost like he was hypnotized, fell asleep when Mother Nature snapped her fingers. His head dropped to the pillows beneath him and he instantly fell into a deep slumber. Mother Nature chose that time to switch back into her original form and rid herself of the rough material that had been bothering her for half the night.
The rest of the night, Trowa remained silent and Mother Nature didn't know what to do. She just hoped that she could do something before Trowa lost all hope. After all, she was the one to indulge him. It was time she did something to patch up the problem.
When the morning came, Trowa scratched his ear which was suspiciously on the side of his head instead of above it. He reached behind him for the acorn he had hidden on the bed and almost chocked on the nut that was now 100 times smaller in his mouth than it was before.
He bolted up from his semi-conscious state and looked at his hands. He had five fingers again and he looked under the blanket to find that he had legs. He was so delighted at this new discovery that he didn't seem to mind his undressed state.
His lips twitched upward the smallest bit but he was grinning inwardly. He knew Mother Nature had a soft spot. It was just a matter of convincing her that he deserved to be human. All he had to do now was clean up, present himself to Quatre and live happily ever after. That was, until the door to Quatre's room opened with a slam.
By the door stood Duo, Heero and Wufei already dressed for the start of their classes. They were there to pick Quatre up for breakfast like they did everyday. He knew he was in trouble.
"Whoa! Will you look at that!" Duo said and then whistled. "It looks like Quatre got his wish granted last night."
Trowa blinked and then stared. Of course at that point, he couldn't explain himself to the surprised group of people by the door. He willed himself to weasel out an excuse but it was no use. The words wouldn't come out.
"Non-students are not allowed to stay at the school dorms," Heero said with an undertone of threat.
"Hey! It's about time the circus guy came back. Quatre's going to go nuts."
"You imbeciles!" Wufei suddenly said. He was quiet up to that point because it seemed like he was the only one who knew what was going on. "If you used your heads first, you would have noticed that our friend isn't in his own room and that there's a new rodent on his bed."
Trowa blinked again.
"That's strange," he thought. "If I'm human now then who's the squirrel on the bed?"
He took out the covers and found an adorable creature occupying Quatre's pillow. On the squirrel's head was a hint of blondish hair.
"There must be a mistake," Trowa thought again to himself.
By that time, the other three were staring unbelievingly at his unclothed body exposed, now without the covers, to the morning sun. That was the last he remembered before Heero took to strangling his neck.
The first thing Trowa heard when he woke up was the sound of Duo's voice in conversation with someone.
"Why not? Quatre got to keep his own little squirrel with the weird hair. Why can't I keep this cute one?"
"Because, like I told Quatre several times before, rodents must be kept away unless you want to be infected."
"No way! Just how many of these squirrels have you seen with a hint of yellow on their head? I don't care if he's a mutation. I'm keeping him."
"It looks like he prefers Nanashi over you."
Trowa opened his eyes. He hadn't been addressed in the name for so long. When he did, he found a curious looking squirrel with the largest set of blue-green eyes fixated on him.
"Quatre?" he asked.
The other two people in the room immediately stopped their conversation and looked at him.
"Where is he?" Wufei started.
Duo helped him sit up and handed him a glass of water. He was grateful because his throat felt dry from a previous oxygen deprivating experience.
"You know, " Duo said. "Heero could have killed you with that iron grip. Next time, if you want to appear out of nowhere, put some clothes on and keep off the host's bed."
"If I were you, I'd speak up now," Wufei interrupted. "If you don't want Heero to castrate you before sundown."
Trowa pointed to the squirrel.
"No way Nanashi! I'm keeping this one," Duo said before grabbing his newest pet to himself.
Trowa would have smacked himself on his forehead if he weren't intent on solving his problem. Wufei looked calm and rational but he also looked like he was going to turn him over to Heero if he didn't speak up soon. Heero was out of the question. He seemed to know more about Trowa's non-existence more than anyone else. His only choice was Duo who looked like he wasn't going to let go of the terrified creature any time soon. Mother Nature was going to get a long lecture from him that day. That was for sure.
"Look Nanashi, tell us now where Quatre is and we'll protect you from Heero for the time being," Wufei said, trying to reason out with their newest guest who didn't seem like he understood anything with his lack of reaction.
Trowa pointed to the squirrel again.
"Damn it Duo! This isn't helping. Hand the man that rodent so he could tell us where Quatre is."
Trowa sighed. It was going to be very hard. Duo reluctantly handed Trowa the squirrel. The creature blinked his big eyes when he came face to face with Trowa.
"Quatre?" Trowa asked again.
"Forget it. The man's insane," Wufei said.
"Hold on. I think he has something," Duo reasoned out.
While the two continued their argument, the squirrel looked at Trowa and nodded a yes.
"I knew it," Trowa thought to himself. "It would be the only plausible reason."
The squirrel tugged on his hair to get attention. It may have been very strange but Trowa thought it was rather cute. In fact, it was too cute it didn't seem right. The blonde haired squirrel theme was just too bizarre for him. Such variations did not exist in nature as far as he knew. It was amazing that it's appearance hadn't yet caused a scandal.
Trowa was on a world of his own as were the two friends who continued to bicker at the corner of the room. Quatre was getting bored. The creature who fit exactly on the palms of Trowa's hands tried in vain to tug his hair harder in order to get the attention of the dazed human. He was frustrated so he decided to move around in a frenzy. All the while, Trowa was finding the display quite amusing.
"Having fun Trowa?" a voice said out of nowhere.
Quatre cowered at the sound and latched himself on to the backside of Trowa's long bang. Trowa decided that it was time he got a little talk with Mother Nature. Slipping out unnoticed, both man and squirrel headed for any opening, preferably somewhere away from people. Quatre clung to his shirt while on his shoulder so as not to fall off.
While they were alone, the winds picked up a little and it was then that Trowa decided that he was going to start his long conversation with Mother Nature. As he was starting, he opened his mouth and was surprised to find that nothing was coming out.
"Forgot about the talking problem Trowa?" Mother Nature spoke up.
Trowa fumed inwardly but could not argue. His companion, on the other hand, found that the inside of Trowa's shirt was both warm and comforting. Trowa looked like he had a shivering tumor in his stomach.
"Don't be scared cutie pie," Mother Nature said to the cowering creature.
He retrieved Quatre from inside the ruining shirt and looked up to scold Mother Nature as if saying 'He doesn't know who you are. Of course he's scared!'
"Oh, silly me," Mother Nature said. "Look over here, honey," she said. "I'm Mother Nature. Everyone knows who I am."
Quatre looked skeptical and tried in vain to go back inside Trowa's shirt.
"Fine then," Mother Nature said and sighed. "I'll do it just this once."
There was a whirlwind of leaves before she appeared before the two of them dressed in the same blue dress she wore the night before. Trowa had to turn away to hide his amusement but Quatre finally understood. He jumped down from Trowa's hand and had a little talk with his fairy godmother.
All Trowa heard was squirrel talk, which at that time was useless to Trowa's now untrained ear. He waited and watched for passes by, making sure that no one witnessed the eccentric display. A few minutes later, he saw Quatre nod and Mother Nature dissolve back into thin air. Before he could vocalize his thoughts, he was faced with a love-sick squirrel attached to his neck.