GS Note: I swear, spelling mistakes are on the head of Kaz, she's been playing with my fingers the whole time and hitting random keys. And yes, I have your mushy 1x2 scene in here ^_^ No lemons though, I am only fifteen. Bah, I shouldn't even be reading them let alone writing them… Oh, and the cat shows, the circuits and everything, I made them up. I did do some research but this is an alternate universe so don't be disappointed if the Coast-to-Coast Cat Show doesn't come to your town ^_^

I have some information to those who are interested. As you might know, Heero and Duo are Havana Brown cats. Wufei is a Siamese, Quatre and Doro are Persians, Treize is a Russian Blue and Mariemaia has a breed, I just can't remember it ^_^. You can find pics and details here: http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/havana.html

Trowa is a Pixiebob, a really cool kind of cat that has a shorter tail then most. More here: http://www.tipbs.com/

Gato

Chapter 2

Heero, of course, woke up in time to escape the kitten's room without detection and left by the second grate on the wall. It was dustier then he remembered. It should have been, no one was supposed to have been using it. After sneezing several times, he decided it would be a good idea to start clearing the vents.

He took the long way back to his room. Checking all the grates and vents for any recent blockage or disruption, he tries his best to tread quietly over the metal tunnel. If he was too loud, Hilde, Noin or Zechs might hear him and his days of travelling would be over.

He turned down the vent leading to the feed room when he noticed something different. He paused and took a cautious sniff of the air. It was cleaner. The gritty dust under his paws wasn't there. It was like hitting a barrier. Just behind him, the trail was dusty, streaked with the path of his paws and tail. This part, however, was clean. It was almost as if some one had been using it for a while.

Heero's senses were on alert as he slowly crept down the cleared tunnel. The cleaned path ended at a grate just a short distance away. Heero leaned up against the corner of the vent and cautiously peeked passed.

"Maybe Wufei was here," he mused quietly but quickly dismissed it. Wufei would have had to use the path he had come through. That part had definitely not been traveled over. Heero frowned; he tried to pride himself on his attentiveness to detail of animals in his household. No one was living in the room beyond the vent, it was the feed room and he would not tolerate it.

The room was dark and when Heero pushed the grate it stayed firmly shut. He glared in the pitch black hoping to spot any sort of movement. The dark shadows stayed still. He scowled at the darkness, it was getting early and Hilde would be in to feed him and change the litter box soon. He should be there or she might go looking for him.

There was a tense pause; the air seemed heavy with anticipation as Heero debated silently with himself. Slowly, Heero let out his breath. There was nothing he could do right now.

He continued on his way. It was probably a rat or something. He grinned; he'd have to deal with that later. He couldn't have rats moving in on his territory.

***

There was a shift in the dark room. The cream cat let out a heavy sigh as the chocolate shadow by her only escape, left. She was safe.

Relena uncurled her body from top of the refrigerator where she had been sleeping all day. She would have to be careful now that someone traveled in her secret hiding spot. She needed that; yesterday had been a close call when that girl had uncovered her hiding spot wedged between the dry food. She had only barely managed to move in time.

Now, it was time to eat. Relena stole to the open bag of food that was slowly leaking behind the massive stock. She figured no one would miss it. There were over a hundred bags in the tiny room and this one was at the back, hidden away. She chewed the food slowly now. She had found her way passed the dogs nearly three days ago and had discovered this room soon after. Now that she was comfortable, she could being to plot her revenge.

"Oh yes, Duo," her eyes took on a strange glint as she chuckled silently at her own brilliance. "Soon, I will come for you. And you won't know what hit you."

***

In a separate part of the huge mansion Noin had been left by her great-aunt Une, Zechs sighed and pulled his head out from under the pillow. The bedroom was comfortable and the bed luxurious. Plush covers and pillows molded to the sleeper's body creating a warm and snuggly bed. It was a perfect room. The bedside lamps were a nice touch too. Most days.

"Noin, would you shut that off? I was the one who had to drive five hours straight today, remember? You needed shut eye."

"In a minute," Noin replied absently from her side of the bed. She flipped the page of the catalogue. "Do you know what month it is?"

Zechs sighed and leaned back on his pillow. He might as well try to make the situation less painful. "April, why?"

"The Coast-to-Coast American Cat Show is starting up again," Noin looked at him over her reading glasses. "I entered Heero three years ago but had to cancel when my mother got sick. The deadline is tomorrow for late entries and the first show day is on Wednesday. Maybe we should try again."

"Oh no!" Zechs looked alarmed. "There is no way we are flying to the United States for one cat! How am I supposed to get off work?"

"Oh come on," Noin rolled her eyes and took off her thin-framed glasses. "It's only for two weeks, the station can give you that! I have a cousin who works in travel; she can get us tickets… Come on Zechsy, think of it! We can cruise your hometown in New York one day, see your brother, and then travel across the country so you can get in a few days of sun on the beach in Orange County… It'll be fun!"

Zechs looked at her pleading face wearily. He did dislike England for the sole reason that it was so overcast all the time. It would be nice to get some sun in for a change. God knows how long it had been…

"Does Heero even qualify? He hasn't shown in over six months besides yesterday."

"Yesterday actually gave him the final points he needed. It's a good thing I showed him like crazy before that accident of his. I all ready entered Wufei, Quatre and a few others in it too but I was planning on sending Hilde along with them. If we take Heero, I'm going to want to go. You know how temperamental he is. I'm hoping that all his titles will make up for that new cat's non-pedigree status."

"Why don't you just breed Heero to an outside cat then?" Zechs snagged the catalogue from Noin's hands and placed it safely on the floor opposite to her. "You wouldn't have to worry about that then."

"I might," she admitted and tried to reach over him to get the magazine but he pushed her back. She sighed and settled back in defeat. "If this show doesn't go over well I probably will splurge and get that pair or breeding females I was over at Liverpool last month. They were really pricey but had nice bloodlines."

"I still don't understand why you haven't named that new cat of yours," Zechs sighed and started to pull the covers up again as Noin reached over to shut off the light. The room fell dark. "You are going to be getting new cats soon. We can't just keep calling her that."

"The name will come to me. Just go to sleep, I'm tired."

"Hm," Zechs closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off all ready. "I think she looks like a Duo…"

***

Heero had almost no warning. Wednesday morning he was sneaking silently back to his own room from Duo's box when he heard voices down the hall. He almost panicked but ducked under a small table next to his door, the long cloth hiding him.

"Do you have the passports?"

"Check!"

"Carriers?"

"Check!"

"Quarantine waivers? Grooming kits? The papers?"

"Check, check and check! Don't worry Miss Noin! You have everything!"

Heero held his breath as the three pairs of feet stopped by the table.

"Everything will be fine!"

"I know, I know, Hilde," Heero could hear the grin in Noin's voice. "Zechs, why don't you take carrier 3 and get Quatre? Hilde can go track down Mariemaia and I'll get the tranqs our of the exam room."

"Sure Lu," a pair of sturdy black running shoes went to leave. "Who's going to get the demon though?"

"Leave carrier 1 here, I'll grab Heero last. I think he's going to be a bit fussy since he only just got back a few days ago."

"So wait with a needle to stitch you back up?"

"Very funny Zechs," Noin's voice was a bit calmer. From what Heero could tell, there was another show. A long one at that if they were numbering the carriers and getting the tranquilizers. He shuddered. He hated tranquilizers; they always made his nauseous. "Just for that, after you get Quatre, you can get Wufei."

"The longest-haired one and the crabbiest," Zechs snorted and started to walk away. "I'm beginning to rethink this."

Heero could feel his heart pounding in his ribcage. He was leaving again so soon. He had to talk to do. He took a step before he realised that She and Hilde were still standing outside of this hiding space. He stopped reluctantly but tried to will them away quickly.

"If there is any trouble, call Miss Harvard at the office or me on my cell phone. I won't be able to talk to you but you can leave a message on my voice mail."

"I'll be fine," Hilde reassured her. "It's not like I've never been on my own before!"

They had a quietly chuckle as Heero shifted impatiently from paw to paw. "You'll have Walker, Zechs insisted on taking Otto but that mammoth of a dog is too big."

"Otto and I get along, stop worrying and go get those tranqs!"

Noin laughed sheepishly, then turned and left the same way as Zechs. Hilde waited for a moment before she too turned on her high running shoes and walked away. As soon as Heero deemed it safe, he darted out of his hiding spot and, ignoring the world around him, dashed off to the shortest distance between him and Duo.

Hilde had left the female's wing open a crack but Heero barely noticed and he pushed his way past the white door and streaked into the second room. Without acknowledging the protests as his sprint work up kittens, Heero took a gigantic lunge and landed in the box almost on top of Duo. A kitten squeaked and cried as a paw stabbed its tail.

"What the-" Duo jumped out of her doze, her tail puffed and eyes darting. "What the hell are you doing!"

"I don't have much time," Heero panted. Relief flooded through him as he looked upon his mate. It was good to see her at least once before he left. "I have another show to go to, I don't know how long or where it is."

Duo froze as she struggled to process what he just said. "But… you just got back, how can you leave again?"

"I don't know!" Anxiety gripped Heero as he watched Duo's face of surprise go to hurt. "I don't want to go, I want…" he paused and lowered his voice. "I just want to stay with you. Please believe me?"

Duo nodded silently and looked down. She sighed. "I was just hoping you'd be around longer. It's been a long time since we had a night to ourselves. Dorothy was going to baby-sit tonight and we could have spent a night out on the town."

"I hate this as much as you do," Heero was pleading. He carefully stepped over the kittens and nuzzled her neck gently. She looked up at him. "I swear, when I get back we can spend all the time you want on the streets. I just don't have a choice this time."

Duo was very quiet for a while and studied his face. She was so serious. Heero shifted his weight nervously as he waited for a reply. After an eternity, she smiled softly.

"All right. Go on and do me proud," she touched his nose with hers. "Don't you dare mess up, I can't stand the thought of sharing you with anyone else."

Heero gratefully purred and lifted up a paw to push her down. He groomed her face happily, feverishly whispering promises in her ear as she chuckled and half-heartedly pushed him away. He pulled back after a minute and sighed in regret.

"She is probably looking for me," he explained as she watched him. "I have to go."

Duo just sighed and nodded. "I'll be seeing you soon?"

"Hopefully. Just remember, I love you."

"I know."

GS Note: Well. It's here. Um, kinda been a while but you did get your stupid 1x2 scene. It totally SUCKS but I hope you all get a kick knowing the power you have over me ^_^ Only took me, what, 50 pages of Neko and another five or so with Gato?

Have a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Cheers!