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!
Chapter 8 / Heero and Duo meet the Trainer
On Thursday, Heero took Duo into town. Duo was feeling excited again, eager to get started on this whole dog show thing. He was very glad the sunburn was healing up, and he vowed never to be so careless again.
"Quatre has a tape of last year's championship," Heero told him as they drove. "We'll watch that tonight over dinner, okay?" Reaching over, he stroked Duo's face.
He leaned into the caress. Getting up, he paced a little on the seat, anxious to be there. Heero made him sit back down, ever concerned and cautious. Sighing Duo dropped his head onto Heero's lap.
As soon as they stopped Duo was up again, tail waving. Grinning, Heero let him out and they went into the vet's office. Hilde looked up from the desk, smiling at them.
"Well, hello again. Right on time. I'll go get Doctor Winner."
"Thanks," Heero said, resting a hand on Duo's head.
Duo waited with jittery energy. He didn't like needles, and Heero had told him to do DNA testing Quatre had to use one on him. While that thought didn't particularly thrill him, he had resigned himself by now.
While they waited, a plump woman with a ratty mutt came in. It instantly started barking like crazy at Duo, straining at the end of its leash toward him. Duo, who never even wore a collar let alone a leash, glared down his nose at the noisy thing. Some dogs were so stupid. Heero's hand tickled down his ears, momentarily distracting him.
"What a beautifully behaved dog," the woman said, sitting down on a chair by the wall, tugging at the leash of her own dog. "How on earth did you train him so well? No leash, even!"
Duo didn't miss the bright flash of pride in Heero's cobalt eyes. He shrugged. "We understand each other," he replied, sounding a little smug.
She tugged on her own dog again. "May I pet him?" she asked.
Because she seemed nice enough, Duo was afraid his master would consent. As always before, though, Heero shook his head.
"Sorry, but he's not very friendly with other people. His previous owners were horribly abusive."
"Oh, my!" the woman exclaimed. "Poor dear. He's so good with you, though. Look at him watch you. Why, he's attuned to your every movement and expression. What's his name?"
"Duo," Heero replied, caressing Duo's cheek.
Duo's eyes drooped slightly, enjoying the attention.
"Is he a purebred?" the woman asked.
"Yes," Heero answered, "and believe it or not, Duo's never had a day of training in his life."
"Really?" the woman gushed. "What a wonderful dog! He must be very smart."
A slight, enigmatic smile crossed Heero's lips. "He can understand everything I say," he told her.
She sighed. "I wish Gunner was the same. He's actually my good-for-nothing son's dog. I'm taking care of him because my son's not able to. He has a nice enough personality, I suppose, but he's not the sharpest tack in the shed." She looked at Duo. "Not like you, though, Duo. What a precious dog. How old is he?"
"About a year and a half," Heero answered, leaning against the counter.
Duo sat at his feet, nudging his hand for more affection. Which Heero promptly gave him.
Even with Heero's soothing ministrations, Duo still felt his tolerance level reaching critical mass when that irritating little dog would not stop barking. He could feel his body tensing, and Heero's hand laid flat against his neck as though warning him not to move. Unable to help himself, Duo rose to his feet and let out a single, low warning bark.
The ratty mutt shut up instantly, lying down with a tiny whimper. Duo sat back on his haunches, hoping Heero wouldn't be angry. His master actually chuckled. The woman was looking down at her charge, seemingly surprised.
"Well, I never," she murmured. "Nothing has shut that critter up since I took him in. Duo, you little angel, how about you come home with me, eh?"
Duo gave her his most baleful glare. Nothing on the planet could coerce him into leaving Heero, especially for such a petty reason. Beside him, Heero smirked and folded his arms.
Quatre finally emerged from the back. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Heero. Hello again, Duo. Are you feeling better? Your mas—uh, guardian told me you weren't feeling so well." He glanced at the plump woman. "I'll be with you in a moment, ma'am."
"Take your time," she said, still staring at Duo.
Duo made a great show of ignoring her, walking so close to Heero he brushed against his leg.
"How's he doing?" Quatre asked as they walked to the back.
"Much better," Heero replied, gently stroking Duo's back. "Aren't you, my pet? We didn't do anything for two whole days. Any longer and I'm sure he would have expired from sheer boredom."
Quatre chuckled. "He's so energetic, he might. And you would too. How did you explain it to your boss?"
Heero shrugged. "Told him the truth."
Quatre stopped beside the exam table, looking amazed. "And he let you stay home? He's . . . extremely lenient."
Again Heero gave a nonchalant gesture. "He can't really afford to fire me, and I don't really need the job, so . . ."
Grinning, Quatre moved to the cupboards. "Put him up on the table for me. This won't take long."
Duo stood still while Heero's arms slid under him, supporting him under the chest and waist to lift him easily up onto the table. He watched, trying not to be too nervous as the vet prepared a needle.
"Maybe you should hold his head," Quatre suggested. "I'm not afraid he'll bite me, but I'm sure he'd appreciate the comfort."
Heero nodded and cradled Duo's head in his hands, tucking it under his chin. Duo nuzzled him as best he could—he really couldn't move at all this way. He felt Quatre's hands, flattening his fur out of the way, felt the needle sink into his skin and flinched. Heero's hands stroked the soft fur at his throat, soothing.
"You're being a good boy," Heero murmured. "He's almost done, love."
A few seconds later, Quatre said, "There, all done. See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
Heero snuggled Duo for a few more moments before letting him go. "He won't be sore, will he?"
"Maybe a little," Quatre said, "but not too bad. I should have the results in a few days. As soon as I know, I'll give you a call. It won't be a problem, so I already called my friend. She's agreed to meet with you today if it's no big deal."
Duo was surprised. By the look on his face, Heero was, too. His master shrugged. "That's fine. I didn't have plans."
"Great," Quatre said, smiling. "I have her card at my desk."
Heero once more lifted Duo, setting him lightly on the floor. Duo walked in a tight circle around him, rubbing his head against his master's legs. Smiling, Heero scratched behind his ears.
Quatre led them back out. "Her name's Catherine," he said, rummaging around. "She's been training and breeding dogs now for about seven years. She's gotten a pretty good reputation for herself."
"How did you meet her?" Heero asked, sitting on the edge of the desk.
Duo jumped up, placing his paws on Heero's legs, placing his torso in his master's lap. Heero's arms automatically went around him.
Quatre blushed a little. "Actually, I'm a friend of her brother's." He glanced at the woman still waiting.
At the moment she was not paying any attention, all her focus on her rat mutt, trying to make it mind.
"Actually," Quatre said, lowering his voice, "I'm going out with her brother."
Heero neither looked appalled nor disgusted. He merely raised an eyebrow, grinning slightly. "Really. What's his name?"
"Trowa," Quatre answered, smiling a bit dreamily. "He's been trying to talk me into being an on-call vet for the shows. I don't know if that's something I would enjoy or not. I mean, I love working with dogs, don't get me wrong. I've got three. But I enjoy my quiet business with my personal clientele, you know?"
Heero nodded. Quatre handed him a business card. "That's got her phone number and address. She's expecting you sometime around one."
"Great," Heero said, pocketing the card. "Thanks for doing all this for me, Quatre. We appreciate it."
Quatre just beamed.
As they walked out of the office, that woman called after them, "Goodbye, Duo! Oh, why can't you be such an angel, mutt? Huh?"
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Catherine Barton's house was modestly large, its plainness made all the more noticeable by the spectacular landscaping of her three-acre lot. Giving it a critical eye, Heero decided it must have been done on purpose. Because the house was unremarkable, it drew attention to the real artistic flair of the property. He liked it.
Pulling into the driveway, he turned off the truck and faced Duo. "Before we go in there and commit ourselves, Duo," he said seriously, "I want to know for certain this is something you want to do. Don't feel like you have to do anything just to make me happy. Your happiness is more important to me."
Duo's wonderful, dark eyes gleamed as he bobbed his head in a nod. Heero searched his expression, looking for any signs of hesitancy. There were none. Satisfied, he gave the dog a quick smooch before opening the door. Duo hopped out after him, doing that little walking around Heero in a tight circle, rubbing against him the whole way. Heero found it hopelessly adorable. He gave his companion a quick caress before mounting the steps of the porch, knocking on the door.
A sharp bark was his first reply. Moments later a tall woman with slightly curly brown hair answered. "You must be Mr. Yuy and Duo, right?" she said. "Doesn't your dog have a leash?"
"No," Heero answered. "He's never needed one. He'll stay by me."
Shrugging, she beckoned them in. "I'm Catherine Barton. Quatre probably told you that. Are you thirsty, would you like anything to drink?"
"We're fine," Heero declined. He wouldn't mind seeing Duo have a drink, but this woman might give him tap water. That was unacceptable.
She led them into the living room, gesturing him to sit. When he did, she plopped down opposite him, crossing her legs. "So," she said. "Quatre tells me you and Duo are interested in entering the dog show in the city next month."
"Yes," Heero replied, nodding. Duo leaned against him and rested his head on Heero's leg.
"What kind of training have you two had?" she asked.
"None," Heero replied. "Duo has never even been to obedience school."
Catherine raised an eyebrow. "And you want to enter a show in a little over four weeks?"
"That's correct."
The trainer took a deep breath. "You're dreaming, Mr. Yuy," she said flatly. "It takes months, sometimes upwards of a year to get a dog ready for show. There are too many techniques and tricks a dog must learn, not to mention you have to work with them to get them used to being surrounded by people and dogs and handled by strangers."
Heero shrugged. "I think Duo can handle it."
She shook her head. "I'm not saying anything against Duo. This doesn't have anything to do with how smart the dog is. Even smart dogs have to learn the rules. Here, let me show you something."
Standing, the trainer walked out of the room. Moments later she came back with a small dog probably only ten inches high. It was kind of a cute little thing, a bit flat-faced with long fur a soft tawny color.
"This is a Tibetan Spaniel," she said, leading the little dog in on a leash. "He's been doing shows for two years now. Last year he took third in his group, which is non-sporting. Judges will always ask dog handlers to walk their dogs across the floor."
Gently tugging on the dog's leash, she led him across the room. When she reached the far end she gently tugged him back the same way. The dog went with hardly any pause. Catherine came to a halt in front of Heero.
"It took two months to get him to do that without tugging."
Heero just shrugged. "Just give him a try."
Giving him a long-suffering look that spoke eloquently of messy failures, Catherine removed the leash. "All right, but I'll have to get a collar for him. All dogs in the ring must wear collars and leashes. Has Duo ever been on a leash?"
"Not in my care," Heero replied, not liking the thought of that one bit.
"Then he'll have to learn the most basic training from scratch," Catherine said, leaving the room. She came back with a collar.
"Not too tight, okay?" Heero said.
She nodded, looking distracted as she knelt and buckled a leather collar around Duo's neck. Duo never took his eyes off Heero, looking like he didn't like this at all. Heero didn't, either. She snapped the leash to it and stood up. Before she could so much as tug once, Duo rose, stepping close to her to keep the leash slack.
Looking surprised, she started walking. Duo kept pace, watching her for cues as to when to turn. The moment she began to pivot on her heel, Duo made a loose circuit around her, walking back to Heero. Heero watched him with a smirk, noticing how Duo lengthened his stride, moving with poise and easy grace.
Catherine came to a stop, staring down at Duo in apparent surprise.
"If you think that's impressive, wait until it's me," Heero said, unable to keep the satisfied pride from his voice.
Without a word Catherine handed him the leash. Heero rose from his lounging sprawl and looked down at Duo. His companion's eyes were alert and keen as he watched Heero, waiting for his cue.
Heero stroked his face. "Why don't you give her a pose, love?" he murmured. "I think she will appreciate that." He started walking.
He held the leash loosely, making a point of showing the trainer that Duo didn't need it in the slightest. The slack drooped almost to the floor. When they reached the other end of the room, Duo paused, looking at Catherine before following Heero back.
Heero paused in front of the trainer, folding his arms. "He'll do that without a leash," he said, hoping he didn't sound too smug.
She was staring at Duo. "Look at him," she murmured. "He hasn't taken his eyes off you. He's completely attuned to your every desire. I'm sorry, Mr. Yuy, but I don't believe that dog has never had any training."
Smirking, Heero rested a hand on Duo's head. "Call me Heero. Duo's a smart dog."
Catherine shook her head. "That," she said, pointing to her Tibetan Spaniel, "Heero, is a smart dog. Your dog is incredible." She paused, looking down at Duo again. "I'll take you on. I assume Quatre has registered him?"
"He's working on it," Heero replied, "but he said there wouldn't be any problems."
"Then I'll believe him," she said. "Quatre makes small miracles happen. I could see you two going far, Heero. Duo is a magnificent dog. As soon as Quatre has you registered, bring Duo around and I'll start you two training. You should also have Quatre give him a complete physical examination to check for any faults or physical defects."
Heero nodded, somewhat distracted. "Will you call us or should I call you?"
"I'll call you," she replied, leading them to the door. "Thanks again for coming, Heero. I'm looking forward to working with you."
Outside in the truck, Heero gave into the impulse to give his companion a big hug. Duo squirmed in his embrace, licking his face and waving his tail. "You were absolutely perfect, love," Heero crooned, kissing Duo between the eyes. "You completely dazzled her! You are going to be brilliant, and you'll take them by storm!"
Duo barked, just once. Heero pulled out onto the road, feeling the first real stirrings of excitement. He had a feeling this was going to be fun.
I'm so excited! I should warn you, my loyal readers, this story will probably never end . . . I'm having WAY too much fun writing it. See you next chapter!