It went "zip" when it moved
and "bop" when it stopped
And "whirr" when it stood still
I never knew just what it was and I guess I never
will.
After a long week of traveling and dealing with the sudden ice storms, Wufei sank into the stiff office chair and threw a stack of reports onto his desk. It felt good to be back in the office. The office was order and normalcy, where one could get work done without the constant disruption of rookies asking what to do and civilians complaining that 'they needed to be somewhere.'
Since Christmas at the Winner estate, the Chinese Preventer had spent an hour in the office before the storm hit. Freezing fog wasn't something that the average man should bother with, but of course stupid people with invincibility complexes decided that they could make it through unscathed.
After three days of fender benders, thirty car pile-ups, jack-knifed semis, closed freeways, black ice, and of course Yuy and Maxwell holed up in his apartment, Wufei needed another vacation. It wasn't terrible having his old teammates staying in his one bedroom home, in fact that had been the only bright part of the entire disaster, but company is company. For a person used to living alone, the presence of another body, let alone two, can rack on their nerves. Still, Shenlong's former pilot wasn't about to complain. It was a nice way to thank Duo of his Christmas present.
The first time that I picked it up,
I had a bigsurprise
For right on its bottom were two big buttons
that looked like big green eyes.
I first pushed one and then the other,
and then Itwisted its lid
And when I set it down again, this is what it did
His onyx eyes drifted unconsciously towards the little metal toy seated by his computer monitor. The little wind-up dragon stared back, with glowing green eyes. The sleek red body was segmented so it could 'slither' across whatever surface it was placed on. Next to it lay the sliver colored key, a simple little object that caused the meshwork of gears move. Such a low-tech thing, and yet just the right gift.
When I was just a wee little lad
full of health and joy
My father homeward came one night and gave to me a toy
A wonder to behold, it was, with many colors bright
And the moment I laid eyes on it, it became my heart's
delight
Onyx eyes peep over the covers as the first rays of sunlight stream in through his window. It was New Years! New Years meant aunts and uncles and cousins and presents and Daddy. Daddy would be home for New Years, he just had to be. Rolling out of the bed he shared with his little brother, Wufei pattered, barefooted out of their bedroom, and down the hall to his Mommy's room.
A whispered warning from behind halted his journey. "Wufei! What do you think you are doing?" The six-year-old Chinese boy whirled around to face his father.
"Daddy!" he cried running and trying to tack the man. "It's New Years!"
"Yes it is," his father confirmed hugging the bundle of energy. "But you should still be in bed."
"I couldn't sleep anymore. I wanted to see if Mommy needed help."
"She doesn't, but since you can't sleep," the elder Chang smiled as he lifted his middle son onto his shoulders, "I was going to wait until you three were together to give you gifts, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to give you yours now." The already large onyx eyes grew bigger at the word present. Daddy and a present, it was too much.
Digging in the pocket of his coat, Wufei's father produced a small box, no bigger then his palm, and handed it to the bouncing child on his shoulders. "Happy New Years little 'Fei."
With deft fingers, the child pulled the plain paper off the box, throwing it on the floor, and tore the lid off, discarding it in the same manner. Inside resided a tiny wooden dragon, painted red. The toy was carved in such a way that it seemed to fly, even while it was sitting in the box.
"Oh, Daddy, it's wonderful," the child cried grabbing his new friend and sending the container to the same fate as the rest of the wrapping.
"Do you know where I've been for the last week, Wufei?"
"No Daddy, but Mama said it was important."
"It was. My son, someday you are going to become an heir to the legacy of our clan, and make you mother and I so proud."
"How Daddy? You're only a scholar and not a heir."
"We have been betrothed to the heir, my son. One day you will marry and her and become one of the most important men of our colony. What do you think about that?"
"Yuck, I have to marry a girl. Do I have to kiss her?"
"To produce an heir you might."
"Double yuck."
"So you don't want to?" The child thought for a moment, looking at the toy in his hand. "If it is what you and mother want, then yes, I would be honored to take a wife." Wufei wiggled a little, signaling he wanted down.
Moments after his feet hit the floor, the child was running back to his room.
"Where are you going son?" the father asked noting the urgency in his son's stride.
"I have to get ready to be wed Daddy," the child said looking back with a determined look in his eyes. His father laughed.
"Not today little 'Fei, but when your older."
~*~
Running a finger across the cold surface of his new dragon, Wufei let a smile cross his lips. "Mieran, I never did get to kiss you, did I?" he mused.
Giving into a childish urge, the Chinese Preventer took the shinny metal key into his hand and grabbed his new toy, savoring thing tiny feelings of guilt and shame along with the overwhelming anxiety that accompany the act of 'doing something wrong' in the form of belly butterflies.
It first marched left and then marched right
And then marched under a chair
And when I looked where it had gone, it wasn't even
there:
I started to sob and my daddy laughed,
for he knew that I would find,
When I turned around, my marvelous toy, chugging from
behind
Placing the key into it's designated spot, he wound up the toy three firm rotations before removing the key and setting the mechanical dragon back on his desk. With the whine of gears, the small figure wiggled across his desk, bringing a childish smile to the stoic man's face.
It still goes "zip" when it moves
and "bop" when it stops
And "whirr" when it stands still
I never knew just what it was and I guess I never
will.
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