Cool Tiles
By: Derrian Star
Chapter 3
"Catherine made me sleep with the lions for a week." Trowa recalled after a moment of reallocation. It had taken him just about that same amount of time to wash of the smell of cat too. No matter how many times they all got hosed down as one big happy family.
"We lived together in our trailer at the time. She threatened to let her aim slip if she caught them from me."
Wufei blinked; neither of the Trowa or his sister could have been more then nine at the time. "They let her play with knives?" After a day away from the house both he and Heero were being brought up to speed on the events that they had missed when out on when taking a run to the next town on business. Some how it had turned into a story time session.
"It makes it a bit hard to practice when the knives don't stick to their mark. None of her precautions mattered though. A couple weeks after I recovered she turned up with red spots all over. Apparently animals can't 'get' the chicken poxes, but they 'can' carry the virus." Slender shoulders shrugged in a nonchalant manner.
Crossing his arms over his chest the Chinese smirked slightly. Imagining either Trowa with that crazy head of hair or his sister, bright red locks to begin with, covered in little red spots could crack even the coldest exterior.
"I mediated for a week and a half."
Making his way out of the kitchen, and catching only the last half of the conversation, Duo looked at the three in the living room and snorted. "Now tell us something we don't already know 'Fei"
"Damn it Maxwell! I was forced into the meditation by the elders of my clan when they found out I had contracted the chicken poxes. On a 'rock'. In the middle of the 'lake' that was on the edge of our village." A few more 'choice' words were later muttered carefully under his breath. None of them being particularly nice.
The constant tap tap tap of Heero on his laptop paused for the briefest amount of time after Wufei finished his quick blurt of story.
"Damn dude that sucks! And I thought the oven mitts were bad!"
"I would think that there are a few worse things than 'duct taping oven mitts' on to someone hands in this day and age."
"Yeah yeah . . . Well at the time it sure as hell didn't seem like it." The braided boy stuck a closed fist on his jutted hip. "Now I'll get out of your hair if anyone can tell me if we have any baking soda?"
"Above the oven in the right cabinet." Trowa said a bit warily. Duo had been searching around in that kitchen for almost an hour. And he was pretty sure the other was not in there cooking dinner for later.
"Cool thanks!" The brunette once again disappeared into the other room. Only to reemerge after a quick minute, box in hand, and heading up the stairs.
A soft grunt had Trowa and Wufei looking over to Heero.
"What?"
"Did you know that some cultures bath in oatmeal to rid themselves of the itch that accompanies chicken poxes."
"That is almost repulsive." The black haired pilot stated. Leaning over a bit so he could take a look at the computer screen and the information there. "Forget that . . . vinegar is 'much' worse."
Now Trowa join in the little circle. "People actually bathed in Vinegar?"
"And tomato juice, and mud, and ice cube filled cold water." Heero listed monotone.
"Do you think any of that actually worked?"
Wufei snorted. "Maybe once. And now every little kid with red spots will smell worse then Trowa after a week of sleeping with the lions."
Green eyes narrowed at the jest for a moment, but just a moment before he looked back at the screen. "Where did you find that Heero?"
"The file history. Duo must have used my laptop at some point to look it up."
There were times when even the famous Gundam pilots got scared. 'Now' was one of those times. Both Trowa and Wufei leaned forward so quickly that the computer controller was almost dumped out of his chair. Three heads stared at the screen side by side, so close together that their ears touched. "Quick what else did he look up!?" Two voices frantically questioned. Two sets of hands tightly gripping the back of the arm chair.
"Um, here is one of the more strange ones . . . Members of the Elvis fan club were reported treating their own children with an old family remedy that Elvis's mother often recommended. A thorough coating . . . of . . . baking soda?!"
"DUO!!!" The three jumped as the angered cry echoed painfully loud throughout the large house. It was soon followed by a thump, squeak and crash.
The three in the living room made quick work to reach the top of the stairs and down the short ways to the left where the first bedroom door was located. It wasn't open when they got there, but the unpleasant noises from behind it cause Wufei to quickly grab the knob and barge in.
The scene they stumbled in upon could have very well come out of a child's Christmas story book. Beautiful white fluff covered 'pretty' much everything in the small room. Bed, desk, TV . . . Giving a soft feeling that one could almost fall into with a happy sigh of contentment. Though the next turn of the page would soon give any viewer a bit of a shock.
On the floor at the foot of the empty bed a pajama clad snowman was currently trying his hardest to strangle a second snowman who was pinned beneath the first. ". . . Dye it red and feed it to the vultures!" The victim was being severely shaken with each and every word spoken by the irate, once blond boy. Only the end of the sentence was caught but by the way Duo was desperately pleading for his braid's life they all knew who the intended meal was to be.
Giving the body one final vicious push into the floor boards, Quatre made a lunge for the drawer of the nearby desk. Going for anything sharp that he could get his hands on and make good on his threat. No illness was going to keep him away from his just revenge.
"No! Quat geezes!!" Duo squeaked, throwing himself at the fluff covered boy, managing to catch him around the waist just in time and set them both into a large pile white. Upsetting the material into a powdery cloud that hid most of the room.
The other three just sat near the door, watching, after seeing the mess, they figure Duo 'defiantly' deserved what might be coming to him.
"We did 'not' have this much baking soda in the house." Heero commented dryly, his blue gaze narrowing as he calculated the number of boxes it must have taken to fill up a room that size.
Waving away the white dust as it drifted in to his face Trowa agreed.
"Maxwell made a trip out early today." The Chinese pilot pointed out. Only planning to interfere if limbs became risked. The braided young man had managed the upper hand and was now sitting on Quatre's chest, using his knees to keep the flailing arms pinned while his hands fought for control over the yellow handled scissors.
"Let's think reasonably here Q! You wouldn't stop itching! Baking soda helps with the itch! IT WAS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!!!" A too close for comfort snip made Duo jump back, allowing Quatre room to move and find an advantage. Only he took a lungful of the particle filled air a bit too quickly, and sank to his knees in a fit of sneezes.
His crab scramble away from the insane was brought to an end by a pair of legs and a heavy hand of his shoulder. Looking up and over his shoulder the self made doctor gave his best 'I'm so busted' grin seeing Heero there.
Trowa calmly scooped up the scissors from where they were dropped to the ground in front of Quatre as he continued in his episode. Wufei was soon helping the sick boy off his knees and out of the cloud filled white room.
"He's not itching anymore is he?!" Duo attempted to plead his case to the Japanese pilot, as he was hauled to his feet by an unbreakable hold on arm. They to left, closing the door behind them. Making sure that the rest of the house would not become victim to the baking soda hurricane.
"Unless I am mistaken, they do make a simple non-itch cream for that Duo."
White powder flew in two directions as the braided boy threw up his hands. "Ha! And give into those medical mumbo jumbos and their miracle drugs! I'd rather cut off my own braid! Evil I tell you! EVIL!"