Daddy Duo
Chapter 11
You are Cordially Invited
The cream-colored envelope arrived at Duo and Hilde's new townhouse.
They had finally found a bigger place within their budget, and it even had a small backyard and a garage.
The engraved invitation said, "You are cordially invited to attend the engagement party of Relena Darlian and Heero Yuy."
Duo read that much and whooped loudly, making Solo cry.
"Sorry," he said, as Hilde tried to comfort the startled infant.
"What is it?" asked Hilde.
"It's an invitation to Heero and Relena's engagement party!" he exclaimed. "Can you believe it?"
"Finally!" said Hilde. "Or do you mean you're surprised you were invited?"
Duo gave her a dirty look. "No I mean I wondered if they were ever going to go public."
"I bet old Zechsy is goin nuts," crowed Duo.
"You didn't know before this?" asked Hilde
"I knew he was boinkin' her," said Duo. "I never told you about the night I went over to Heero's and Relena was there. At 4:00 in the morning. Besides, Heero could be plotting the overthrow of the known universe and no one would know."
"'Boinkin'?" repeated Hilde. "You're such a romantic!" she said sarcastically.
"I guess one does not 'boink' the Vice Ambassador," said Duo. "My apologies."
"Maybe I should say he 'completed his mission'" Duo said evilly.
"You're awful!" protested Hilde, laughing uncontrollably now.
Solo had quit crying and was looking at his parents curiously.
"Maybe Sally and Wufei getting married inspired them," said Hilde.
"It was such a nice little wedding," sighed Hilde.
"The party the guys had the night before was a lot better," said Duo, winking.
"I don't want to know what happened, okay?" said Hilde.
"I have pictures suitable for blackmail," said Duo. "Wufei has to be nice to me for the rest of his life."
"I don't want to know," repeated Hilde, putting Solo in a baby swing to entertain him.
"Fraidy cat," taunted Duo.
"Your mother is a 'fraidy cat," he said to Solo, who babbled inanely back at him.
"I am not," said Hilde, "I just don't want to know how stupid Daddy and his friends can be."
The doorbell rang.
Duo went to answer it. "Welcome to baby bedlam," he said to Wufei and Sally, who were on the doorstep.
Hilde came over and gave Sally a quick hug. "I'm so glad you came," she said, "It's going to be nothing fancy, just a backyard barbeque. Trowa and Quatre are coming too."
"Did you get your invitation to Heero and Relena's engagement party?" asked Sally.
"Yes, today," said Hilde. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised."
"We shall burn meat together, my friend," said Duo to Wufei. "It's a sacred American house-warming ceremony."
"Sounds frightening," said Wufie in a non-committal fashion. He handed Duo a package. "Chinese beer," he said. "Very good."
Duo took out a bottle. "Let's have some," he said, "I'm game."
He found an opener in a drawer in the kitchen and opened two bottles, handing one to Wufei.
"Pretty good," said Duo, taking a long swig.
"Did you even taste it?" asked Wufei shaking his head.
"Nope," said Duo, grinning. "I'll taste the next one."
The doorbell rang again and it was Trowa and Quatre, of course.
"Come in," yelled Duo.
"Go answer the door," scolded Hilde. "Lazy ass!"
"Okay," said Duo, going to the door and opening it.
"Come in and have some Chinese beer," he said to them.
"How about iced tea?" suggested Quatre.
"All made," said Duo, opening the fridge. "We knew you were coming."
He poured Quatre a glass of iced tea and handed Trowa a beer.
"Let's go out back," Duo said. "I need to check and see if the barbeque pit is hot."
"Great," he said, when they were out on the patio. "It's just right."
The brick barbeque was glowing red hot with coals.
"I've got marinated swordfish, and steak, and chicken," Duo announced.
"Just put a little of everything on," said Hilde coming out. Sally was holding Solo and sat down on a cedarwood love seat with cushions next to Wufei.
Solo looked at Wufei with wide innocent eyes, reminiscent of Duo's, for a few moments and then held out his arms.
"He wants you to hold him," explained Sally.
"I figured that much out," said Wufei. "But I am not much acquainted with holding infants."
"Oh, come on, Wu-man," said Duo, "He doesn't bite, besides, he only has two tiny teeth."
Solo grinned widely at that moment, demonstrating that he indeed had only two bottom teeth.
"Very well," said Wufei reluctantly. "But I warn you, if I damage him, it's your fault for insisting I hold the child."
"He's quite sturdy, actually," said Hilde. "Go ahead." She smiled at Wufei encouragingly.
Sally placed Solo on Wufei's lap. He looked up and made a gurgling sound.
"He can sit if you support his back," said Sally. "He's 4 months old, now, isn't he?
"Yes," said Hilde. "He can roll over, too."
"He doesn't do any other tricks yet," said Duo, joking, "but we're working on beg and fetch."
Hilde smacked Duo on the head with an oven mitt and he stuck his tongue out at her.
Solo continued to look at Wufei and grin engagingly. "Why is he doing that?" asked Wufei.
"What?" asked Sally.
"Smiling at me," said Wufei. "He doesn't really know me that well."
"He likes you," said Sally. "Babies pretty much like most adults at this age. He doesn't have any reason to be suspicious or fearful of anyone, he's had nothing but loving and kind adults around him."
Wufei nodded, "Total innocence," he said in a quiet voice.
Solo looked at him solemnly with large violet blue eyes at his tone.
"Do you think he understands me?" he asked Sally.
"He understands your tone," replied Sally. "Probably some words, too."
Wufei reached out a finger and tickled Solo experimentally on his side.
Solo giggled and squealed. "He's ticklish," said Wufei, smiling.
He stood Solo up on his lap, hands under his arms so he could look around.
He tried to reach out and grab Wufei's hair.
"Watch him, he loves to pull hair," said Duo ruefully.
"He knows how to grab things at this age, but not how to let go," said Sally. "That's a more complex motor skill."
"You know a lot about babies," said Trowa to her.
"A year of pediatrics during residency," said Sally. "And I have a few cousins with children."
"You'll make a great mother," said Quatre, smiling at her.
"Oh, I don't know about that," said Sally modestly. "It's one thing to know a lot of facts, but taking care of an infant takes hard work and patience."
"You're very patient and hard-working," said Wufei to her.
"Well, thank you, my dear," she said, "but it's quite a sacrifice."
"On L5, people were traditionally expected to marry very young and have lots of children," said Wufei. "Someone my age could very easily have four children," he added thoughtfully.
Duo shuddered, "Four kids!" he exclaimed.
"Within a large extended family, with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins, there's plenty of help and guidance," he explained.
Quatre nodded, agreeing, "It's much the same in my culture," he said.
"Yeah, you grew up with all those sisters," said Duo to Quatre. "That must have been really something else."
"It was noisy," said Quatre. "But I never felt lonely," he added.
Trowa was conspicuously silent.
Quatre looked over at him and Trowa was looking off in the distance with a grim look on his face.
He leaned over and whispered," What's wrong?" in Trowa's ear.
Trowa got up and walked into the house without a word.
"Excuse me," said Quatre, following Trowa inside.
"Oops," said Duo, quietly.
"Just leave them alone," cautioned Hilde. "Whatever it is, it's their business."
"My fault as well," said Wufei. "Here we are babbling on about our childhoods, forgetting that doesn't exist for our friend Trowa."
Quatre followed Trowa into the kitchen.
"Tell me what's wrong," Quatre insisted.
"You want that," Trowa said. "The family thing. I've never had anything like that but Catherine. I don't even remember being a child!"
Quatre shook his head. "Is that what this is all about?"
He went to put his arms around Trowa.
"I told you we don't have to make any decisions about that right now."
"But you want it!" said Trowa.
"I want you," said Quatre. "The rest will come if it's meant to come."
Quatre sighed. "It wouldn't mean anything without you there anyway."
"Come on," he said. He gave Trowa a kiss. "Let's go back to the party."
"All right, but let's leave early."
Quatre nodded. "We will." He smiled. "I'll tell everyone you have a headache."
"From which I will recover immediately when we get home," said Trowa, smiling.
"Of course," said Quatre.
After dinner, Quatre and Trowa made their excuses and left, and Wufei and Sally soon after.
As they got into the car, Sally was smiling mischievously at her husband.
"You like them, don't you?" she aked him.
"Maxwell?" he said. "He has grown up quite a bit from when we were pilots."
"He's a good father," said Sally. "I was a little worried for him at first, but he's very natural."
"Unlike me," said Wufei.
"Nonsense," said Sally. "You just haven't been around many children or babies."
"You want a child, don't you," asked Wufei directly, looking into her eyes.
"Am I that obvious?" she asked lightly, but she flushed and wouldn't look back at him.
"When I saw you holding their baby, I could tell," he said. "You were completely absorbed in him."
"I have plenty of time to have a baby," said Sally. "And I want you to want it too."
"I'll consider it," he said, "I haven't thought about it, is all."
"Will you really?" Sally asked him.
"Yes, now that I know it's important to you. I love you, Sally. And you would make a good mother."
She smiled and leaned against his shoulder and he tipped up her chin and gave her a kiss.
"And you would make a good father, Dragon, you just don't know it yet," she whispered.
Chapter 11
You are Cordially Invited
The cream-colored envelope arrived at Duo and Hilde's new townhouse.
They had finally found a bigger place within their budget, and it even had a small backyard and a garage.
The engraved invitation said, "You are cordially invited to attend the engagement party of Relena Darlian and Heero Yuy."
Duo read that much and whooped loudly, making Solo cry.
"Sorry," he said, as Hilde tried to comfort the startled infant.
"What is it?" asked Hilde.
"It's an invitation to Heero and Relena's engagement party!" he exclaimed. "Can you believe it?"
"Finally!" said Hilde. "Or do you mean you're surprised you were invited?"
Duo gave her a dirty look. "No I mean I wondered if they were ever going to go public."
"I bet old Zechsy is goin nuts," crowed Duo.
"You didn't know before this?" asked Hilde
"I knew he was boinkin' her," said Duo. "I never told you about the night I went over to Heero's and Relena was there. At 4:00 in the morning. Besides, Heero could be plotting the overthrow of the known universe and no one would know."
"'Boinkin'?" repeated Hilde. "You're such a romantic!" she said sarcastically.
"I guess one does not 'boink' the Vice Ambassador," said Duo. "My apologies."
"Maybe I should say he 'completed his mission'" Duo said evilly.
"You're awful!" protested Hilde, laughing uncontrollably now.
Solo had quit crying and was looking at his parents curiously.
"Maybe Sally and Wufei getting married inspired them," said Hilde.
"It was such a nice little wedding," sighed Hilde.
"The party the guys had the night before was a lot better," said Duo, winking.
"I don't want to know what happened, okay?" said Hilde.
"I have pictures suitable for blackmail," said Duo. "Wufei has to be nice to me for the rest of his life."
"I don't want to know," repeated Hilde, putting Solo in a baby swing to entertain him.
"Fraidy cat," taunted Duo.
"Your mother is a 'fraidy cat," he said to Solo, who babbled inanely back at him.
"I am not," said Hilde, "I just don't want to know how stupid Daddy and his friends can be."
The doorbell rang.
Duo went to answer it. "Welcome to baby bedlam," he said to Wufei and Sally, who were on the doorstep.
Hilde came over and gave Sally a quick hug. "I'm so glad you came," she said, "It's going to be nothing fancy, just a backyard barbeque. Trowa and Quatre are coming too."
"Did you get your invitation to Heero and Relena's engagement party?" asked Sally.
"Yes, today," said Hilde. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised."
"We shall burn meat together, my friend," said Duo to Wufei. "It's a sacred American house-warming ceremony."
"Sounds frightening," said Wufie in a non-committal fashion. He handed Duo a package. "Chinese beer," he said. "Very good."
Duo took out a bottle. "Let's have some," he said, "I'm game."
He found an opener in a drawer in the kitchen and opened two bottles, handing one to Wufei.
"Pretty good," said Duo, taking a long swig.
"Did you even taste it?" asked Wufei shaking his head.
"Nope," said Duo, grinning. "I'll taste the next one."
The doorbell rang again and it was Trowa and Quatre, of course.
"Come in," yelled Duo.
"Go answer the door," scolded Hilde. "Lazy ass!"
"Okay," said Duo, going to the door and opening it.
"Come in and have some Chinese beer," he said to them.
"How about iced tea?" suggested Quatre.
"All made," said Duo, opening the fridge. "We knew you were coming."
He poured Quatre a glass of iced tea and handed Trowa a beer.
"Let's go out back," Duo said. "I need to check and see if the barbeque pit is hot."
"Great," he said, when they were out on the patio. "It's just right."
The brick barbeque was glowing red hot with coals.
"I've got marinated swordfish, and steak, and chicken," Duo announced.
"Just put a little of everything on," said Hilde coming out. Sally was holding Solo and sat down on a cedarwood love seat with cushions next to Wufei.
Solo looked at Wufei with wide innocent eyes, reminiscent of Duo's, for a few moments and then held out his arms.
"He wants you to hold him," explained Sally.
"I figured that much out," said Wufei. "But I am not much acquainted with holding infants."
"Oh, come on, Wu-man," said Duo, "He doesn't bite, besides, he only has two tiny teeth."
Solo grinned widely at that moment, demonstrating that he indeed had only two bottom teeth.
"Very well," said Wufei reluctantly. "But I warn you, if I damage him, it's your fault for insisting I hold the child."
"He's quite sturdy, actually," said Hilde. "Go ahead." She smiled at Wufei encouragingly.
Sally placed Solo on Wufei's lap. He looked up and made a gurgling sound.
"He can sit if you support his back," said Sally. "He's 4 months old, now, isn't he?
"Yes," said Hilde. "He can roll over, too."
"He doesn't do any other tricks yet," said Duo, joking, "but we're working on beg and fetch."
Hilde smacked Duo on the head with an oven mitt and he stuck his tongue out at her.
Solo continued to look at Wufei and grin engagingly. "Why is he doing that?" asked Wufei.
"What?" asked Sally.
"Smiling at me," said Wufei. "He doesn't really know me that well."
"He likes you," said Sally. "Babies pretty much like most adults at this age. He doesn't have any reason to be suspicious or fearful of anyone, he's had nothing but loving and kind adults around him."
Wufei nodded, "Total innocence," he said in a quiet voice.
Solo looked at him solemnly with large violet blue eyes at his tone.
"Do you think he understands me?" he asked Sally.
"He understands your tone," replied Sally. "Probably some words, too."
Wufei reached out a finger and tickled Solo experimentally on his side.
Solo giggled and squealed. "He's ticklish," said Wufei, smiling.
He stood Solo up on his lap, hands under his arms so he could look around.
He tried to reach out and grab Wufei's hair.
"Watch him, he loves to pull hair," said Duo ruefully.
"He knows how to grab things at this age, but not how to let go," said Sally. "That's a more complex motor skill."
"You know a lot about babies," said Trowa to her.
"A year of pediatrics during residency," said Sally. "And I have a few cousins with children."
"You'll make a great mother," said Quatre, smiling at her.
"Oh, I don't know about that," said Sally modestly. "It's one thing to know a lot of facts, but taking care of an infant takes hard work and patience."
"You're very patient and hard-working," said Wufei to her.
"Well, thank you, my dear," she said, "but it's quite a sacrifice."
"On L5, people were traditionally expected to marry very young and have lots of children," said Wufei. "Someone my age could very easily have four children," he added thoughtfully.
Duo shuddered, "Four kids!" he exclaimed.
"Within a large extended family, with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins, there's plenty of help and guidance," he explained.
Quatre nodded, agreeing, "It's much the same in my culture," he said.
"Yeah, you grew up with all those sisters," said Duo to Quatre. "That must have been really something else."
"It was noisy," said Quatre. "But I never felt lonely," he added.
Trowa was conspicuously silent.
Quatre looked over at him and Trowa was looking off in the distance with a grim look on his face.
He leaned over and whispered," What's wrong?" in Trowa's ear.
Trowa got up and walked into the house without a word.
"Excuse me," said Quatre, following Trowa inside.
"Oops," said Duo, quietly.
"Just leave them alone," cautioned Hilde. "Whatever it is, it's their business."
"My fault as well," said Wufei. "Here we are babbling on about our childhoods, forgetting that doesn't exist for our friend Trowa."
Quatre followed Trowa into the kitchen.
"Tell me what's wrong," Quatre insisted.
"You want that," Trowa said. "The family thing. I've never had anything like that but Catherine. I don't even remember being a child!"
Quatre shook his head. "Is that what this is all about?"
He went to put his arms around Trowa.
"I told you we don't have to make any decisions about that right now."
"But you want it!" said Trowa.
"I want you," said Quatre. "The rest will come if it's meant to come."
Quatre sighed. "It wouldn't mean anything without you there anyway."
"Come on," he said. He gave Trowa a kiss. "Let's go back to the party."
"All right, but let's leave early."
Quatre nodded. "We will." He smiled. "I'll tell everyone you have a headache."
"From which I will recover immediately when we get home," said Trowa, smiling.
"Of course," said Quatre.
After dinner, Quatre and Trowa made their excuses and left, and Wufei and Sally soon after.
As they got into the car, Sally was smiling mischievously at her husband.
"You like them, don't you?" she aked him.
"Maxwell?" he said. "He has grown up quite a bit from when we were pilots."
"He's a good father," said Sally. "I was a little worried for him at first, but he's very natural."
"Unlike me," said Wufei.
"Nonsense," said Sally. "You just haven't been around many children or babies."
"You want a child, don't you," asked Wufei directly, looking into her eyes.
"Am I that obvious?" she asked lightly, but she flushed and wouldn't look back at him.
"When I saw you holding their baby, I could tell," he said. "You were completely absorbed in him."
"I have plenty of time to have a baby," said Sally. "And I want you to want it too."
"I'll consider it," he said, "I haven't thought about it, is all."
"Will you really?" Sally asked him.
"Yes, now that I know it's important to you. I love you, Sally. And you would make a good mother."
She smiled and leaned against his shoulder and he tipped up her chin and gave her a kiss.
"And you would make a good father, Dragon, you just don't know it yet," she whispered.
