A/N: Yo! I'm back! Sorry I took so long, but I was busy braiding Duo's hair. ^____^; Enjoy Ch. 12!
~~~The Aftermath~~~
Quatre scrapped the bubbles off his tongue, Trowa ran his fingers through his uni-bang, and Wufei cracked his neck back into place.
"So where are Heero and Duo?" Relena repeated with her hands on her hips.
The boys exchanged blank looks at each other. They were already in a heap of trouble for "placing the babies in danger" with their "accidental" bubble bath, but now another problem surfaced: the location of Heero and Duo was unknown. So, how should the G-boys respond? An "I don't know" answer would most likely pay the penalty of a broken nose or perhaps a very sore crotch.
Hilde became impatient. "Well?"
Quatre swallowed his nervousness and leisurely rose from the foamy floor. "We'll find them," was all he said, and he backed it up with a reassuring half smile. Trowa and Wufei nodded in agreement.
"Wait, let me get this straight," Relena spoke slowly in a low tone. She rolled her hands into small fists and took a step closer to the boys. "Are you saying that you don't know where they are?"
Uh-oh. There's that "I don't know" statement. Quatre's tenseness returned. He looked to his fellow pilots for help. Wufei crossed his arms and shrugged; Trowa simply remained still. Quatre turned around to face the irritated girls, but something below the foam near to his feet caught his eye. It looked like… a braid? … A braid!! Mercy smiles upon the G-boys!
Quatre quickly knelt down and excavated through the bubbles, uncovering more and more of the chestnut braid.
Hilde scurried in front of Quatre. "Duo! There you are!" She scooped him up and squeezed him tightly. Duo coughed out bubbles and gasped for air.
"I… can't… breath! Hilde!!"
"What about Heero?" Relena stressed. "What if he's hurt?!" As she panicked, she felt a slight tugging on her hair. Relena zipped around and saw Duo releasing a strand of her hair and pointing towards the bathroom.
Duo tried to emphasize in English, but what came out was just high-pitched gibberish. "Daba."
Relena tilted her head and smiled, admiring his baby talk. "What was that, Duo-kun?" [A/N: In case you don't know,"-kun" is a cutesy Japanese name for a little boy.]
Ignoring her mockery, he repeated himself louder. "Daba! Daba!" Duo pointed with each "word".
"He said, 'there'," Trowa suddenly spoke up and carefully led Relena into the slippery bathroom as everyone else followed.
"Where now, Duo?"
"Bafffta."
"What?"
"Baaafffftaa!"
"What did he say, Trowa?" From that moment on, Trowa became known as the official baby translator. Who would've known?
"The bathtub," he calmly answered.
Sure enough, Duo (and Trowa) was right. Buried under the thick layer of foam, Heero clung onto the faucet with a mighty death grip. Trowa pried him off, picked him up, and wrapped him in a snuggly bath towel.
It was at that point, when Hilde realized Duo was also naked. Her face flushed and turned bright red. "Um… c-could someone take Duo away from me?" After all, her arm was supporting Duo's little bare bottom. Wufei rolled his eyes, grabbed a towel, and aided Hilde.
"Thank goodness they're ok; no thanks to you three…" Relena muttered the last part. "Now, if you boys would, get Heero and Duo dressed and then clean up all this foam."
Wufei narrowed his eyes. "So, we have to do all the work while you onnas just sit back and watch?"
Relena lifted her hand and flicked her hair back. "Of course not. Hilde and I have other chores to complete." She paused allowing their curiosity to sink in. "Heero and Duo haven't had a chance to eat dinner yet, so we are going to get things ready for them." Relena let a small giggle escape her mouth.
Heero's head sprung up from underneath the towel when he heard the word "dinner" and Duo's eyes sparkled as a trail of drool oozed from his mouth. "Fooood…" they both breathed out heavily.
Hilde chuckled at the infants' hypnotic state. "Just bring those two into the kitchen when they're ready, k?" Wufei nodded in confirmation feeling to some extent satisfied with the onnas' response. And with that, the ladies departed leaving the men to clean up. Yes, I know: a twisted world they live in…
As soon as they left, Duo and Heero were eager to get dressed and tugged on Trowa and Wufei's sleeves.
"Come on, hurry up! I'm starving!" Duo whined. Wufei growled in annoyance and set Duo down on the bathroom countertop. Trowa trailed behind and set Heero next to Duo.
Quatre clapped his hands together. "Ok, let's get started. You guys can dress them while I get a head start on cleaning up the all this foam. When you two are done, you can help me out, alright?" The plan was laid out and the mission was accepted. But there was still one problem.
"Where are their clothes?" Trowa mused out loud.
"…"
"And what about their diapers?" Wufei added.
"… Uh, maybe I should go ask Relena." Quatre literally slid out of the bathroom and out of sight with a loud crash. A second or two later, he walked passed the doorway, rubbing head.
Silence… Stillness.
Duo and Heero were growing impatient as their stomachs growled noisily.
Silence… Stillness.
Their baby level of tolerance disintegrated and salty tears began to form in their eyes.
"I think they're about to cry," Trowa stated.
Wufei stared at him with alarm. Usually it was Duo's job to state the obvious. "…Then maybe you should do something about it."
The two mini-pilots let out heavy sobs. So, Trowa came to one conclusion: "I don't know what to do."
Wufei face-faulted. "You've done it before! Remember? You played a song on your flute and it calmed them down!"
"Well, yes, but…" Trowa paused. "This is a different situation. And besides, I can't remember where I put my flute."
Wufei nearly fell over. "You never were good at remembering things," he muttered. Heero and Duo cried louder, demanding food into their bellies. Wufei rubbed his temples. "What's taking Winner so long?!" he shouted, making the babies bawl even louder.
"Don't yell like that. You're upsetting them."
"Then make them stop crying!" Wufei snapped.
"I told you, I don't know how. You make them stop!!"
Trowa's outburst left Wufei speechless.
Hot tears streamed down Heero and Duo's faces as they screamed to the top of their lungs. Trowa and Wufei covered their ears. This wasn't working out at all.
Trowa grabbed Duo and rocked him back and forth; just like the mommies on TV. Television always knows best, right? Duo bawled louder. Maybe not…
"That's not working," Wufei waved his arms. Look who's stating the obvious now…
Trowa narrowed his eyes, shoved Duo in Wufei's face, and motioned for him to grab the tear-soaked baby. Duo let out a loud groan and kicked his feet.
Wufei didn't want to argue with Trowa; not with those frustrated eyes. He stared at the braided infant for a moment or two, and then carefully held him as far away as he possibly could. "What do I do now?"
Trowa picked up the crying Heero and wrestled with his constant squirming. "I don't know. Make him laugh or something."
"But, how? How do I make him laugh?"
"I don't know… Try making a funny face."
Wufei looked at Trowa as if he was wearing a hot pink tutu. He lowered his tone and spoke very slowly so there weren't going to be any misunderstandings, "Do I seem like the kind of person who makes funny faces?"
Trowa paused and thought about that for a moment, "… No. No, you don't."
"Good. Then let's keep it that way."
Heero and Duo continued to weep and moan as their stomachs growled and complained.
"What's going on in here?!" Quatre hollered over the infants' screams. He stood at the threshold, holding a brown box in his arms.
Duo and Heero ceased crying instantly. Silence… Stillness. Then, "Quatre!!" They held out their arms to him and yelled out his name. "Catwa! Catwa!" Or… what sounded like his name.
Quatre raised an eyebrow and suspiciously made his way toward the infants. All the while, Trowa and Wufei stood there utterly baffled. 'What's so special about Quatre that made them stop crying?' After placing the box on the countertop, he held out his arms in return and hesitantly embraced Heero and Duo in each arm.
"Catwa!" Duo blissfully chewed on Quatre's sleeve. "Chu!" ^_________^
Even Heero was exposing an affectionate greeting. He closed his eyes, buried his nose in the crook of Quatre's arm, and silently cooed.
Not knowing what else to do, Quatre remained silent and watched his pocket-sized friends cuddle with him… and drool on him.
Wufei shook his head. 'I expected better from Yuy.' After muttering "weakling", he proceeded towards the box Quatre brought in and inspected its contents: a pair of new baby outfits, fresh diapers, and two pacifiers. Wufei grabbed the diapers and waved them in the air to get Quatre's attention. "Shall we get started now?"
Quatre looked up from his bundle. "Um, sure." He carefully skated across the slippery tile, nearly banging his knee against the sink.
Trowa glided swiftly and stopped next to Quatre. "Here, let me help you." He extended his arms and waited for a baby.
"Thanks, Trowa. Could you take Duo? I think he may have actually chewed through my shirt."
Quatre was right. Duo's first baby tooth had grown significantly and it needed to practice. A trail of drool stretched from Quatre's shirt to Duo's mouth as Trowa pulled him away. Sure enough, his shirt had a hole the size of a pea on the sleeve near his shoulder.
As soon as Quatre's warmth disappeared Duo let out a high-pitched whine and reached back to Quatre, wiggling his fingers. Just as he was about to cry, Wufei shoved a pacifier in his mouth.
Duo crossed his eyes and tried to stare down at the foreign device. Was it food? He wrapped his tongue around the rubber texture and absorbed its tasteless feel. Frustrated that it wasn't food, Duo bit down as hard as he could. His tooth sunk into the pacifier's bouncy rubber, and the pain in his tooth suddenly disappeared. The pacifier is now officially his new best friend.
Satisfied with Duo's reaction, Wufei grabbed the other pacifier and turned to Heero. His face was still buried in Quatre's sleeve and his tiny fingers wrapped around his vest. Hesitantly, Quatre pulled him away and exposed his face to the bright, cold world. This—mind you—did not make Heero happy.
"WAAAAA!!"
Ignoring his ear-splitting yelp, Wufei took advantage of Heero's wide-open mouth and shoved the other pacifier inside. His angry outburst ceased, mainly out of confusion. Was it food? Heero lightly bit down on the rubber. His new emerging tooth found a new sense of relief. Heero's face brightened into a Duo grin as he sucked on his pacifier.
Now that the babies were content, it was time to get them dressed. Heero and Duo were laid down on the bathroom countertop without a fuss. So far, so good… They just simply sucked on their little pacifiers with a smile across their little faces. In no time, their diapers were strapped on. Step one: complete!
"I'll go get their clothes." Trowa rummaged through the box and held up the two one-piece outfits. One of them was covered with little kitties and the other had little doggies on it. Trowa smirked; he knew which outfit went with whom.
"The cats are definitely for Heero!" Quatre giggled as Trowa showed off the new garments.
"Then those frolicking mutts must belong to Maxwell," Wufei added with a chuckle.
Duo didn't mind his new attire at all; he actually liked it. Heero wasn't a fan of the "cute kitties", but they were a whole lot better than the teddy bears he wore before.
Trowa, Wufei, and Quatre stood back and observed the infants dress themselves. Heero had no problems with putting on his clothes. He inserted his plushy legs into the correct slots, and then slid his arms through the sleeves. The only assistance Heero needed was the snap-on buttons. Quatre kindly aided him, and Heero was all set.
However, Duo was a different story. He put his arms in the leg holes and his legs into the sleeves. When he couldn't find the opening for his head, he knew something wasn't quite right.
Quatre nudged Wufei with his elbow. "Why don't you help him?" It wasn't really a question, but an insist.
Wufei watched Duo flapped his arms, trying to free himself from the devouring pajamas. But, each struggle worsened his predicament. Wufei clearly faked a smile. "Sure. I will help him, friend Quatre. Let me give Maxwell a 'helping hand'."
Quatre was uneasy towards Wufei's response. He didn't like the way he pronounced "helping hand". Perhaps this was a bad idea…
Duo looked up and saw Wufei towering over him. He let out a sheepish cackle and shrugged in defense. Wufei cracked his knuckles and grabbed Duo's right foot. Before he could counter, Duo was hoist into the air and upside-down. He could hear Quatre's gasp and Heero's snicker as his arms and braid dangled below him. Wufei knew exactly what he was doing, besides giving Duo a head rush. Holding the braided baby with one hand, he untangled his limbs with his other hand.
Duo was not helping the situation at all. He kept trying to grab his feet and pull himself up, and frequently tugged on Wufei's arm to get his bearings. Wufei just smacked his forehead or poked his ribs to get him to stop. It worked sometimes, but the rib poking made Duo jerk violently and giggle.
Finally, the pajamas were off and Duo was without delay dropped onto the countertop. Don't worry, he's fine; he landed on his head. Duo rubbed his head, sucked on his pacifier, and let Wufei dress him without any interference.
"There," Wufei declared and crossed his arms. "He's dressed."
"… Um, yes. Yes, he is." Quatre's attention was on Duo. If there were any bruises, they would be in trouble. With no visual damages, Quatre faced Wufei and offered a timid smile. "Thank you, Wufei for your 'helping hands'."
In the background, Heero clapped and little hands together and nodded. He quite enjoyed the show. Duo recovered from his head rush enough to be able to stick out his tongue in Heero's general direction.
"We should take Heero and Duo downstairs now," Trowa reminded them. "The girls are waiting to feed them."
The infants' eyes widened. "Fooooooood…"
"Yeah, you're right. Let's go." Quatre picked up Duo and securely held him.
Wufei nudged Trowa. "You take Heero." He was done with babies for a while. Trowa nodded and followed Wufei and Quatre with Heero in his arms.
"Food, food, food, food, food!" Duo chanted over and over. He bounced as much as he could in Quatre's grip.
From downstairs, Relena and Hilde could hear Duo's babble. They raced to the foot of the stairs and greeted them with huge smiles plastered on their faces. Without another word, Heero and Duo were snatched away and hugged until their eyes bugged out.
"Thank you, boys for dressing them," Hilde was the first to speak after the "tender" reunion.
Quatre bobbed his head. "Your welcome."
Changing the subject, Wufei turned around and made his way back upstairs. "Let's hurry and clean up the bathroom." He wanted to get that over with as soon as possible.
"Ok. Have fun with Relena and Hilde, guys!" Quatre waved to Heero and Duo.
It finally dawned on Duo. "You're leaving us with them?!"
"Relax, Duo," Heero counseled. "Just think about the food we're about to eat."
Relena lifted Heero's wrist in the air and flopped it up and down. "Say, 'bye-bye', Heero!"
Then it dawned on Heero. "Wait! Come back!!"
"Let's go have some fun, baby-chans!" Hilde sang… and it was scary.
"NNOOOOOOO!!!"
A/N: That's that! More chappies to come! So, lemme know what kind of chapters you wanna read, and then hit me with "the mallet of inspiration". *Straps on a helmet* Review, review, review! Ok? Ok! Sayonara! ^__________^