Genre: AU, Romance
Pairings: 1x2
Warnings: Serious fluff, sap, silliness, animals talking, adult situations, some language
Disclaimer: Forgot it in the first chapter, so here it is. Don't own nothin' but these words!
A/N: I watched the AKC dog championships on Animal Planet recently, and it totally sparked my imagination. I didn't realize what a pain it was, though! I had one of my loyal readers (hugs to Dark Angel!) ask if I was going to pursue this, so the answer to all of you wondering is totally yes!
Chapter 7 / Making Decisions
"I don't know why I don't just buy one of these for us," Heero mused, hands resting on the wheel. "It would encourage me to take you out here more often."
Duo, sitting at his feet, waved his tail.
"You're very pretty, love," Heero said, smiling. "Here, come put your paws on the wheel, then you can steer."
Panting, Duo obeyed and jumped up to put his front paws on the wheel. Heero placed his arms one on either side of the dog. Leaning down, he kissed the top of Duo's head.
"Which way do you want to go? Left?" The boat veered sharply to the left. "Or right?" It reversed its course.
Duo barked just once, eyes shining with happiness. Chuckling, Heero stepped back and let his companion take over. Duo actually did a pretty good job for not having hands. Heero wished he had his camera with him to take some pictures.
Abruptly, Duo abandoned the wheel and jumped on Heero, tail waving, licking his guardian's face. Fending him off, Heero raised an eyebrow. "Now, what if we ran into another boat? You're fired, steersman, and confined to the brig. Away with you, pest!"
Moments later Duo changed form. Heero gazed into the violet eyes of the boy now straddling his hips. His lower lip quivered as he pouted.
"Do I have to, Master?" he whimpered, a very canine-like whine pouring from his throat.
When nailed with that look, Heero thought he very well might consent to selling his soul. His hands ran up the bare skin of Duo's back, splaying against his shoulders to pull him close against his chest.
"No," he murmured. "In fact, I think I want you to stay here with me." He lightly tickled Duo's sides, eliciting a sweet giggle. "You'll get sunburned, my pet."
"Does that hurt?" Duo asked.
"It can hurt like hell," Heero confirmed. "You have such pale skin you'd probably burn like a lobster."
"What's a lobster?" Duo wanted to know.
Heero blinked. "You've never—?" he began, then cut himself off. "I can't believe I've never brought lobster home for you. That's it, we're having some tonight. It's a kind of crustacean, like crab."
Duo gave him an adorable look, his head tilting to the side. "What's crab?"
Laughing, Heero glanced out over the water to make sure there was nothing that required his immediate attention and turned back to Duo. "They're shelled water creatures. They live in the ocean, and they have large pinchers. They're pretty stupid, and crabs remind a lot of people of spiders."
Duo made a face. "Spiders are gross."
Grinning, Heero ran a finger down Duo's jaw. "I wouldn't have pegged you for the squeamish type."
Turning his head, Duo chomped his finger. Giggling when Heero gave a yelp, he snuggled his head under Heero's chin. Sighing, Heero wrapped his arms around him.
"Those kind of tactics aren't fair," he said. "How can I stay angry when you do that?"
"Mm," was his only reply.
--------
Duo did get sunburned. When Heero took them home at dusk, his skin felt tight and hot beneath his thick fur. It did hurt, and as soon as they got inside the house, Duo changed into his human form.
Heero, right behind him, stopped when Duo did. "Are you all right, love?" he asked softly.
Ever since recovering in Heero's care, Duo had not felt any kind of pain. He hated pain. Whining faintly, he burrowed into Heero's arms. "Hurts," he mumbled.
Heero lifted him with gentle ease, never touching any place Duo was burned. "I'm sorry, Duo," he murmured, "it's my fault. I should have been paying better attention to you."
He carried Duo up into the bedroom, laying him down on his stomach. "Stay here," he said. "I'll go get something to make that feel better."
Moving hurt, so Duo lay still while Heero was gone. Not long later Heero returned, sitting beside Duo. He heard his master open some kind of bottle, then something slick and blessedly cool trickled down his back. He grunted softly, body relaxing in sweet relief.
"What's that?" he asked.
He could hear the smile in his master's voice. "It's aloe vera," came the soft reply. "It moisturizes sunburned skin to keep it from peeling. It also happens to be very soothing."
"Feels nice," Duo mumbled, closing his eyes.
Heero's hands were gentle and cool as he slowly, carefully rubbed the aloe into Duo's skin. "Duo," he murmured, "there's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Mm?" Duo said, just to let him know he was listening.
"Do you remember Quatre talking about the dog show in the city this summer?"
"Yeah."
"I looked into it a little," Heero said, his hands not stopping their soothing motions. "It's in five weeks, and I think it would be a lot of fun for both of us. Is that something you would be interested in?"
"Um," Duo said slowly, "could we maybe watch one so I could see what happens?"
"Of course," Heero replied. "I'm sure Quatre will have one on tape somewhere. The guy loves dog shows."
"Okay," Duo said, half asleep.
The thought of being in one didn't bother him much. He knew it wouldn't prove even remotely challenging. To him it was just a matter of making Heero look good. Anything that accomplished that goal was worth it.
His mind wandered to what had happened this morning. He wondered why Heero had been thinking about the past. Particularly Duo's past. That was something he could barely stand to dwell on himself, and just thinking about it sent involuntary tremors down his spine.
In reality, he had very few coherent memories of what had happened before Heero. Most of it was blurred together in a tangled haze of pain, fear, and overwhelming despair. He did remember deciding to escape. The people who owned him had thrown him in the back of a truck to take him somewhere. After probably an hour of driving, Duo carefully got up, taking great pains to make sure they didn't see him, and jumped out of the truck bed.
He had no idea how long he lay on the side of the road, in so much pain he couldn't see or hear anything, unable to move a muscle. He dimly recalled being picked up and taken somewhere, then waking up feeling a little better in a vet's office. The vet he now knew as Doctor Quatre Winner. A friend of Heero's and someone the young man trusted.
Duo also clearly remembered the first time Heero took him home. He hadn't been able to control his shaking. He was so scared he could barely think straight. He didn't want another master. He was positive it would only wind up like last time, and he would rather be dead than have to live with that again.
But Heero didn't hurt him. Ever. Heero was so gentle and careful and loving. Every one of his touches brought pleasure, not pain. His voice was always so soothing and calm. His words were always full of affection and tenderness. He was never angry or impatient. He always made sure Duo was never hungry, thirsty, or uncomfortable.
When his body finally healed enough that he could walk without pain or hesitation, Duo tested his new master. He snarled at him whenever he came too close. He even bit him, twice. Once so badly the wound needed stitches.
And Heero never retaliated. He never even acted like he was going to. Instead he wrapped his arms around Duo, apologizing softly for frightening him or startling him. Duo found it impossible to maintain any semblance of aggression at this. After a week he calmed down enough that Heero's presence was acceptable. After a month he found he couldn't live without Heero.
Drifting between wakefulness and true sleep, Duo was a little startled by the soft sound of Heero's voice. "Are you thirsty, love?" The warm tickle of air teased his ear.
"A little," Duo admitted.
The bed shifted when Heero rose. Moments later it dipped again with Heero's weight when he returned. Duo sat up enough to gulp the cold water down, then flopped bonelessly back down.
He heard Heero rummage around, then felt the gentle, soothing tugs on his scalp that told him Heero was brushing his hair. Sighing, he melted into the bed at his master's ministrations. He was almost asleep when Heero stopped, and Duo felt him slowly get off the bed again.
"Where're you going?" he mumbled, opening a heavy eye to peer up at his master.
Heero stroked his cheek. "I'm just going to do a little work on my laptop. I'll be right here, love. Go to sleep."
Reassured, Duo allowed his body to sink down into the bed. The sound of Heero typing on his keyboard lulled him into a deep, peaceful sleep.
-
Glancing up from the computer screen, Heero looked at Duo. He was sound asleep, face relaxed and tranquil. Smiling softly, Heero rose and gently spread the sheet over Duo's legs and hips, leaving his back exposed to the cool air in the room. The air-conditioning was already on, keeping the bedroom comfortably cool. And having pulled Duo's beautiful hair into a braid, nothing could touch his burned back.
Reaching into his desk drawer, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Quatre's home number. It rang a few times before the vet answered.
"Hi, Heero. What's going on? Anything wrong?"
"No," Heero said, keeping his voice low. He knew from experience the sound of his voice wouldn't wake Duo from deep sleep, but it never hurt to be extra careful. "I was actually calling about the pamphlet you sent me. About dog shows. What would it take to get it set up for me?"
"A little bit of work on my part," Quatre replied, sounding pleased, "but nothing I would mind doing for you and Duo. For starters, he would need to be registered. Since you found him at the animal shelter, you'll need to bring him in so I can draw a little blood for DNA samples. Thanks to technology I should be able to track his family down pretty easily."
"Is it a pain to register?" Heero asked.
"No, not really. As soon as we register him with the AKC, you two can enter the shows. This competition in five weeks is a prelim for the statewide competition. From there it's on to national competitions, which leads to the AKC championship shows. I really think you and Duo could make it that far. You've taken such fantastic care of him that no judge could find any fault with him at all."
"All right," Heero said after a brief moment of consideration. "I'll bring him in on Thursday, if that's all right. He's not feeling well at the moment, so I'd like him to rest for a few days before I take him anywhere."
"Not feeling well?" Quatre repeated, sounding concerned. "Is he sick? Do you want me to come over and look at him?"
Leaning back, Heero propped his feet on the desk with a smile. "No, that's not necessary. He's not sick, just feeling a little off. Nothing a day or two of rest won't cure. I took him out on a boat today, and the sun got to him a bit."
"Ah, well, you fuss over him so much I suppose if it were anything serious you would have him rushed to the ER," Quatre said, sounding amused. "I have a good friend who trains dogs for show. I'll give her a call and schedule you an appointment sometime next week after I have the results of Duo's DNA testing. One thing. You might want to work with Duo on his aggressive temperament. That would be seen as a serious fault in the show ring."
Heero idly drummed his fingers against his thigh. "That won't be an issue. Duo listens to me. You know that."
"True," Quatre mused. "All right, bring Duo in and as soon as possible we'll get him registered with the AKC."
"Thanks, Quatre," Heero murmured. "I appreciate it."
Flipping his cell closed, Heero watched Duo for a time. It was odd that his life hadn't changed much since finding out Duo could change forms. Well, that wasn't quite true. Now Heero was even more reluctant to be away from him.
His eyes traveled over that sweet face. Duo looked so innocent, acted so naïve. Heero loved everything about him. He never wanted to do anything that made Duo unhappy. Standing, he padded to the bed and gently kissed Duo's temple. The boy made a very soft sound and nestled a little deeper into the blankets.
Chuckling softly, Heero went about getting ready for bed. When he slid under the sheet, Duo instinctively cuddled against his side, making him smile.
"Good night, my love," he whispered.
In his sleep, Duo smiled faintly in reply.