Title: Learn from past and live for future

Pairings: 1x2

Chapter 6

.

Dock Evan was with his Korean heritage and a small build in his forties, if Heero guessed correctly. He was 5.1 inches in height with an almost feminine body. He had short black hair and dark brown eyes.

"Interesting," Heero said quietly to himself. The more he saw and knew about the country, the more fascinating it got.

When both reached the others, Duo, without failing, started chatting with the doctor and the others, Heero only watched with fascination with how easy it was for some to talk to others. Even Wufei put some effort into it and Heero could see how familiar he was with the doctor. If he was correct in his observation, both Dr. Evan and Wufei seemed interesting to the other. Maybe he could ask Duo later if he was right.

"Earth to Heero, do you copy," as usually it was Duo who pulled him out of his own head.

"And I thought it was me who is always living inside his own head," Duo continued while standing right before Heero.

"Let me introduce you to our Veterinarian," with that Duo once again turned around. "Doctor Evan I want you to meet my best friend, Heero Yuy and his son Solo."

Heero somehow felt foolish to be presented so many times in a same day but he played along and went through with it. When the introductions were finished, the conversation continued with normality.

"First I wanted to thank you Duo for letting me have your dogs for a day." Doctor Even said. "All those school kids just shined around both of them. I don't think either of them have ever gotten so much attention before. They were petted, kissed and cuddled."

"Great," Duo smiled while petting one of his dogs, whom exactly, Heero didn't know. "How was the story of their mother received?"

"As to expect, all the listeners where horrified of her story and the pictures were the hammer," while explaining, Heero could see on the doctor's face that it was serious topic. "The end result was as I wanted it to be," he said proudly, "If I was in a football match I would have shot a goal." He smiled brightly almost as bright as Duo. Then he got serious, "I just hope they will call or help out if they ever see any animal mistreated badly."

"We cannot expect miracles," Tom added absently.

"True," Evan replayed, "but if we work on the younger generations, we won't need the adults."

"How come you're returning the dogs today?" Duo asked, "Did we not agree that you would bring them back tomorrow?"

"Yes, we did." His face got all red and Heero could tell he was embarrassed.

"Maxwell, don't be rude to the doctor," Wufei tried to pull the attention from Evan to himself and to Heero's suspicious, mind it looked like he wanted to give the doctor a few minutes to put himself together.

"What do I do now?" Duo asked and looked all around for someone to explain.

"It's okay Chang, Maxwell is right we did agree I would bring them tomorrow, but if I knew how affined they were to their home I would not," he explained.

"What are you talking about," Joe now asked in wonder.

"Both dogs where great and did all I asked them to do throughout the whole day. They really did listen to all I wanted them to do. How you guys taught them was very productive." The respect doctor Evan showed was really a blessing for Duo, Tom and Joe. Heero could see they all really loved those dogs.

"Anyway, as soon as I finished my school work and the seminar I brought them home and as soon as they got inside they started whining, moving all around like crazy and barking. I hoped they would get tired eventually and would go to sleep but nothing I did would make them stop. There howling got higher and higher my small patients got scared and eventually my neighbours started to call me about it."

"Oh, I am really sorry; they have never been away from home before so we didn't know that would happen if we would, we would tell you."

"I understand," The doctor replayed.

"But, you did not need to bring them; Joe or Tom would have gotten them. We could have saved you the drive to us," Duo explained.

Heero could see that both guys automatically nodded their heads, not even thinking of arguing with Duos statement.

"And not having the privilege to meet your new guests," said Evan with a smile. "It's okay; I got a call from crazy William."

"My neighbor William? That lunatic William, who thinks we want to kill him in his sleep, William?" Duo asked.

"You have a loony as your neighbor?" Heero asked in wonder.

"I think so," Duo answered Heero and again both Tom and Joe nodded their heads instantly.

"Yes, that's the one," Doctor Evan's smiled. "He called me to ask me to visit him as soon as possible because his cows are acting weird. Whatever it is, I hope it's not something that is transferable, like a virus or something," the doctor continued.

"What are you taking about," Tom asked astonished.

"Oh, I saw some documentary about crazy cows," Duo commented his right hand automatically went to his head and to Heero that movement told him that Duo thought exactly what he knew about a similar topic, "Or, did I read about it somewhere?"

It was really funny to see that even after so many years apart, Duo still thought and talked as if he was confused and his thoughts scattered even if in truth he was brilliant and both Heero and Wufei knew that to.

"What are you talking about?" Even Joe wanted to know.

"What Maxwell is talking about is a virus," Doctor Evan's added then continued. "It's called mad cow disease because it affects a cow's nervous system. It causes a cow to act strangely and lose control of its ability to do normal things, such as walk. An infected cow would act "mad," which sometimes means mentally ill. In that case people should not eat those cows."

All mouths where open at that point and all three of them looked at the vet with concern, "And we have that shit here?" Duo asked incredulously.

"Are you crazy Evan's? Is it even safe for you to go there?" Wufei asked and to Heero it showed that Wufei really cared for that man.

"I will know as soon as I see them," the small man replayed. "Please look at your cows to see if they look healthy and act normally as well."

"We have only 5 milk cows but we will do as you say," Joe answered a little concerned.

While they talked, Heero took a closer look at both Duo's dogs; both where black, with powerful bodies. There was no fat on their bones. From his point of view he would guess those two where twins. One was making big circles all-around them smelling new and old. The horse Duo called Shiny fallowed the dog. What did make him smile was seeing his son fallowing as well while rolling the big yellow ball in front of him.

The other dog sat very still at Duos side, looking up toward him and quietly whining like a puppy. To his astonishment Duo did not even look toward the dog, he just patted his head absently.

"Okay then," again Heero was pulled out of his thought, "Thanks again for lending me your dogs and I will call when I know what is wrong with Williams's cows." With that doctor Evan said good bye to all of them then went to his car and drove away.

"If that idiot brings us his cow virus I will strangle him with my bare hands," Duo said hotly.

"We don't know what his cows have; maybe they just ate something bad and have stomach-aches. But if he is feeding them with something bad and made them sick because of it, I will hold him for you," Tom added in a slightly annoyed voice and a nod.

"Both of you just calm down," said Joe with a smile on his face.

Heero had a feeling it would be good to change the subject at that point so he asked what he really wanted to know "Duo I wanted to ask you something?"

That pulled Duo out of his negative thoughts, "Sure Heero, ask away."

"How do you actually know who Baba is and who Buch is?" Heero responded talking about the two dogs.

That question once again brought a smile to Duos face, "Oh that is easy, you see this guy here," with that he sat down on his ass before the dog that was at his side the whole time. "This guy here is Baba, you will always see him running around the barn."

Heero just raised his eyebrows at that, so Duo continued with his explanation. "He is madly in love with our giant rabbit."

"What…?" even Wufei looked surprised at that.

"They are called Flemish Giant's," Joe added

Duo just shrugged his shoulders, "Either that, or he declared himself as there guardian."

To Heero's surprise Tom continued with his own thoughts "I think there foot thumping got him scared when he was young." He said absently but then continued with his explanation, "They were sleeping on the other side of the rabbit house. Whenever the rabbits got scared and were thumping with their feet he got scared to. So now whenever the rabbits start to thump, he runs out to check it out. It's his daily routine."

"Maybe he thinks that, on his watch there shouldn't be any foot thumping going on," Duo smiled at his joke. "If he has free time, you will always find him sleeping by the rabbit fence; at the same spot that our big guy sleeps."

"How many rabbits do you guys have?" Heero asked.

"One big rabbit and 10 normal rabbits," Duo replayed.

While they were talking Baba started to lick Duos face and at the same time whined while turning his eyes toward the barn. "That is what I am talking about," Duo pointed toward the dog. Heero saw what he was referring to and understood.

"He won't be in peace till he checks on how the rabbits are." While explaining Duo looked into Baba's eyes and said one word "Go," with it the dog bounced up and started running to the barn, "Oh love is great."

Heero hoped he was not annoying the four of them but he had to know what to expect from both the dogs so he could know if Solo was safe playing with them. "What about the other dog?"

"Buch is same as Baba but his perimeter for watching is wider. He is usually running around checking that our home is safe and he does that every single day. When Shiny is bored he usually goes looking for Buch and runs with him. It's sometimes funny to see." While he talked Heero saw smiles on all of their faces.

"Don't take it wrongly but are they safe around kids? Is Solo safe if he is left alone with them?"

"Absolutely," Duo replayed without taking offense at Heero's question. "Both dogs and Shiny are very protective of everyone and everything that is on our land."

"Good," Heero said and he meant it.

"Daddy," Solos voice brought Heero out of talking mode "Yes," Heero turned toward the voice and saw that his son was standing right beside him. "I'm hungry," he said very quietly as a result of being embarrassed.

"OMG," Duo jumped up "We forgot about the Spaghetti. Eat, eat, eat, let's go eat," and all 5 grownups started to walk toward the house. "Oh, while we eat Shiny and Buch should make sure all is okay," with that he once again turned 360 ͦ degrees.

"Buch, Shiny," when their names where called both looked toward Duo. "Parameter check, go," and all Heero could see was Buch and Shiny running.

"How long will they be running?" Heero asked.

"They will run few miles around the main house then they will check Joes and Toms house. For now they will be occupied for an hour or two, depends on them" Duo replayed.

...

Although it was there first time having dinner with Duo and his two friends, Heero couldn't shake the feeling of belonging. The atmosphere was warm and friendly. The jokes where flying from ones mouth to another and warm laughter could be heard though the whole room. Most of the talk was done by Duo and Joe. From Heero's point of view Tom usually just added his thought or his knowledge about the topic they were on and so did Wufei. Neither he nor Solo participated in the conversation, his son because of atmosphere in the room and Heero because he was used to talking just when it was needed or when Duo required it.

The spaghetti made a big impression on Solo as he was inhaling and eating it like a starving child. Maybe it would start to be his favorite meal. Heero also guessed the reason for that kind of appetite was a long drive to Duo and then running and playing around with his new animal friends.

And if he was truthful, both he and Solo had never eaten real spaghetti while living with Relena. It was not like she never wanted to; they were just one of those meals the cook never made for them, because it was a meal not worth of Relena and so not worth of her family.

Wufei excused himself shortly after everyone had eaten there full and went to his own room, wherever that was. When his son was also done he asked Heero for his crayons along with his coloring book then busied himself with it. From his face, Heero could see his son was content.

Tom and Joe remained to talk with Duo about the next day's chores and make plans for upcoming days. At first Heero thought he and Solo where intruding, but that feeling went away as soon as Duo started to pull him into there conversations. During there talking even the kitchen got cleaned up.

Heero listened to the information about Tom's sister and her home town problems and plans to get her and her baby to live with Tom and Joe in the near future. He was also informed that they would be having a breakfast tomorrow with Simon Frey who was a small and self-employed architect and who actually worked on Duo's house. After all was said and done they said there good-nights and went to bed. Then only Duo, Heero and Solo remained in the kitchen.

"Is he always so quite?" Duo asked Heero while watching Solo.

"Aha," Heero replayed.

"What about you? Did you spread your vocabulary?"

"Some," Heero said, again replaying with a 1 word sentence.

"Are you joking with me?" a smiling Duo continued.

"Maybe," Heero replayed but had a smile on his face as well.

"Good" said Duo "I wanted to talk to you about yours and Solo's room. Is it okay now?"

"Yes," responded Heero promptly.

Duo continued. "For now I can only offer both of you my guest rooms. It's just for a short time."

"It's more than enough Duo," Heero responded and hoped his face did not show the embarrassment he felt right now because he had not thought about the topic at all.

"I knew I had forgotten something," Heero tried to rise the mood between them but it didn't work so he continued seriously. "Duo, I am very sorry to make problems for you. I should have talked with you about it sooner but if I am honest with you I had forgotten or rather I wanted to get out of my old home as fast as I could."

"Don't be daft." Duo responded. "We won't be having many problems with your room anyway because it's empty so all we have to do is buy you furniture you like and rearrange them as you want your room to look."

It was good that at that point Duo talked mostly to himself so he did not see a surprised look on Heero's face. "My room is entirely empty?"

At that Duo stopped, "Of course it is. I wanted for each of us to rearrange it as it please our uses. You were not around and I couldn't get in touch with you so I just let it bare."

"Oh," was all Heero added. In truth he did not want to take that topic for their talk; not right now anyway.

"Yes, and so," saying that he moved his right hands all round himself to make a point on whatever he wanted to explain to Heero "I want your son to be comfortable in his new home and having his own room is the first step. What do you say?"

Heero was very moved just to hear how much Duo cared for Solo and his feelings. "But you know he is only 5 years old, right?" Heero said rhetorically wanting to make Duo smile.

And smile he did "Haha, yes I know but when we go buy furniture we can take him with us and he can make the choices on his own."

As soon as they resolved that topic Heero and Duo went to collect their belongings. When they got safety inside the house they went back to the kitchen where Solo waited with Buch, lying next to his legs watching them.

"Hey little guy," while talking to Solo he absently caressed the dogs head to approve his being inside the kitchen and guarding a new member of their family. "Do you want to help your daddy and me on choosing witch room you would like to sleep in?"

"Aha," Solo replied.

"Now I know you are your father's son." Duo responded mockingly toward Heero and to both there surprise, Solo smiled.

"Can Buch come with us?" while asking he looked toward Heero and then to Duo.

"Sure can," Duo smiled, "he lives here, but now let's go and see which room you like the most."

...

It was few minutes after midnight when Duo lay in his bed under the bedcovers reading a book. He was actually dead tired but even if he tried to sleep half an hour ago, he couldn't shut down his thoughts so all he could do at that point was to choose a book and read it in hope to sleep sooner. While reading or rather trying to and not listen to the noises outside, a knocking on his bedroom door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"It's open," he responded while hoping he was not too loud. To his surprise it was Heero wearing shorts and a t-shirt. "Hey Heero, I see you got into some more comfortable clothes. Can't you sleep?"

"Something like that, can I come inn?" while asking he got into the room and closed the door behind himself.

"Sure," Duo responded then continued, "Is Solo sleeping?"

"Yes, he is and you have to know he is very excited about having a new room."

Just hearing that made Duo happy "Good. What kind of room did he have in his old home?"

"It was larger than your guest room, maybe two bed rooms together and you could get lost in it," Heero replayed.

"WOW," Duo hoped he did not sound like he doubt his own house or rather taste of it but to his surprise Heero could still read him like an open book.

"I did not tell you that to make you feel bad Duo. I am just telling you what we had."

"Okay," Duo responded calmer now.

"I don't know what kind of furniture we had but it looked old and always polished. Even he had them, I think it was some kind of antique furniture. From my point of view his room did not look like it was for small kid. That bothered me more then you could imagine."

"Did you try to change it? Make it more to his own liking?" asked Duo.

"Yes, I did but Relena started protesting and screaming so both of us, Solo and I just stopped."

They talked some more and Duo could tell Heero got more comfortable in his own skin even while standing on the other side of Duos bed.

"Heero, buddy tell me the truth what do you really want right now?"

"Don't look at me as if I'm crazy," Heero really hoped Duo would understand his wish "Can I sleep in your room with you?"

"In reality nothing you ask of me sounds crazy in my eyes," Duo said quietly more to himself then to Heero. "Hope in its good I have free spot right beside me," He pointed to his right site.

"Thank you," Heero said quietly.

"You are welcome," both of them went quite after that and Duo felt Heero moving under the covers on his side of the bad facing Duo. "But you have to know we will have to talk about that to, don't you?" Duo once again asked quietly.

"I know," Heero replayed, "and I have nothing against it. But right now I only want to sleep."

"Then sleep we will. Good night Heero. Sweet dreams."

"Good night Duo, and thanks, in case I forgot to say it." His voice sounded sleeping and almost on the line of dreaming. Soon after Duo was sure Heero was sleeping he closed the lights and slept as well.

TBC

Author note – Thank you all who took their time and actually wrote me a review, I will try to write faster.

Beta reader - "Poisonsnake23" - Thank you for your time and thank you for having patient with me. You done marvelous work.