A Persian's Tale: Scarred for Life 7
2/25/2008 -- 1561 words
Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter (Rowling) or Gundam Wing (Bandai, et al.)
AN: Here you go people, Quatre receives his birthday present and Harry gets his name. I had this name picked out since the beginning of the story and it's not changing so -raspberry-. I've gotten a whole lot of reviews and PMs about the story and calico Persians; there was this really cool PM from 'fhrulz21' that I'm going to stick at the bottom, you might find it as interesting as I did. Learn something new every day, and danged if this story isn't providing for that in spades.
Bold Italics - Wufei talking in Chinese (he reverts to Chinese when he is confused and stressed.)
'Italics' - Thoughts
PS: Yes, scritching. If you owned a pet you could physically hold and interact with, you have scritched them at some point. I wonder what you people would say if you knew I never owned a cat? I had 1 dog for a year but we moved into an apartment and she had to be given away, then we got 3 gerbils instead. I swear one of those things was rabid.
Wufei was obviously a cat person; long, firm strokes along his spine, unconscious relaxation with Calico in his lap, occasional scritching behind the ears. Cat person extraordinaire. After Duo had relaxed and Dr. Barton gave him a clean bill of health, courtesy of Wufei, Quatre ushered the boys into a smaller side living room. Mr. Beard was instructed to extend formal apologies to the guests and assure them of Quatre's continued health and well being. A different Arabic man wearing a fez entered and left a tea service in the room before exiting.
Duo was lying curled up against Heero on a leather couch that looked like it had been custom ordered to support at least three full grown adults lying down. Heero was spooned tight against Duo's back, arms wrapped around his waist and gripping Duo's hands between his own in a white-knuckled grip. Next to them in another over-sized armchair Quatre was sitting comfortably in Dr. Barton's lap. Quatre leaned comfortably back against the vet's chest and the vet rested his chin lightly in the blond hair. Across from the two couples in another abnormally large chair was Wufei with Harry resting comfortably in his lap. In the middle of the set up was a mahogany coffee table where the tea service rested.
For almost dying, again, it was surprisingly comfortable to not wind up in the hospital wing. The blueberry scone Wufei was inconspicuously feeding him was a definite perk.
"So, any information on our assassin?"
"Well, aside from the pulpy mess your present made of his wrist and his inevitable death? Not much, he was a high caliber professional, cost a pretty penny to hire him. So, pissed anybody off recently Quat?"
"I'm the owner and CEO of Winner Enterprises, Incorporated and you're asking me who I upset? Duo, I live."
"True—"
"Wait! Birthday present?"
"Er, yeah. Happy birthday Quatre, one purebred kitty cat for our little purebred kitty Quat."
"Duo."
-MEW-
Wufei looked down at the cat in his lap, smirking at the glare the multi-millionaire was leveling at the braided menace. "So, did you have any say in this or did Lady Luck just randomly bestow her blessing on you for you to wind up the pet of Quatre Raberba Winner?" The Chinese Preventer agent whispered to the indignant Persian. He looked up into Wufei's face and growled softly.
"Alright Duo, alright. I'm grateful for the present, especially since he saved my life. But, I still protest leaving a defenseless cat in my hands. You know what my schedule is like, how am I supposed to properly care for him? I can't very well just leave him with the servants."
"He was a stray and has shown a distinct independent streak while living with us. He undoubtedly has the ability to care for himself should WEI or ESUN take you away for extended periods of time."
----
The blond, no surprise, still looked worried even with Heero's observation. Since Quatre was being stubborn he, under protest, stood from Wufei's lap, stole the remaining half of the scone from his fingers, and hopped onto the coffee table. He strolled across the table, sat on the edge for a moment to look his new owner up and down, then daintily jumped into his lap. Quatre, surprised, raised his arms thus leaving his lap clear for Harry to take over.
He purred contentedly from his new perch and promptly started attacking the scone in his mouth. Call it a test, but if the blond freaked over scone crumbs and blueberry stains ground into his khakis then he had every intention of booking it at the first opportunity. Quatre, seeming to understand his challenge, smiled softly before taking the scone from between his paws.
-MROW-
Stealing food from him was dangerous enough when he was human, as a cat he had teeth and claws to make the thief immediately miserable; in fact, his claws were already digging into the tender flesh of his owner's thighs. Promptly a piece of scone appeared before his eyes and he released his claws. 'Smart for a blond.'
He daintily took the morsel from Quatre's fingers and purred softly in return.
----
"So, does he even have a name? Or have you just been calling him some derivative of Cat?"
"Aw, come on Quat, I'm a little more creative then that!"
"You wanted to name him Specs."
Quatre giggled while Trowa snorted softly into his hair. "Did he really?"
"Yes. The cat promptly voiced his displeasure. Actually, it appeared he was ready to attack Duo again, especially when he suggested Goggles immediately after."
"Again? What did the idiot do?"
"Fei! What makes you think I did anything?"
"Shinigami. Deathscythe. Prankster. Calling me anything but Wufei. Expl—"
"Okay, okay, we get it. I am a little provocative."
The four boys plus the cat snorted at that statement.
"Oh yes, pick on poor little me. I didn't just have a minor mental breakdown ten minutes ago. Nope, not me." Heero's tightened his entire grip on Duo's body, trying his best to smother him in his body. Duo was also three inches taller than Heero so that required a little effort.
"What did you wind up calling him?"
"Eh? Oh, Calico. A bit obvious but we didn't want to get him used to responding to a unique name. Figured you should be the one to name him. He is your present."
"Oh, well…What do you name a cat?"
Trowa grimaced before muttering, "Anything. I've treated Sugars, Schoonkums, Airbornes, Gremlins, Tinys, Bobbys, Socks, Drakes, and one memorable little black cat appropriately named Lucifer."
"Why?"
"Duo, you remember when I had to give Calico his shots? Consider a cat who behaved in such a way every day."
"Oww. Okay, understandable."
"What happened with the shots?"
"Don't ask!" Duo and Trowa yelled in unison.
"Erm, okay. But I don't think Lucifer or any of those other ones are appropriate for him."
Duo laughed softly, "I don't know. Lucifer just might be appropriate."
"If you didn't torment him he wouldn't be inclined to torment you baka."
"You just like him because he ratted out that little pipe bomb to you."
"You stored an incomplete pipe bomb next to my laptop."
"And the menace is still alive?"
"Couch with Calico for three days."
"You're going soft Yuy."
"Ah, if you'd just hook up with Doc Po you would change your tune."
Wufei glared hotly at Duo before turning a contemplative gaze onto the happily purring Persian.
"Well, start brainstorming names. Either he'll react to something or we'll hit upon something that seems fitting."
----
They went through things from Beowulf to Grendel, Kamikaze, and Dervish. Trowa even suggested looking through some of the religious names since he'd answered their unvoiced prayers to keep Quatre safe from the assassin. Duo and he were of the same vocal opinion when he raked his claws against the vet's hand. Heero, rather sadistically, suggested naming him Milliardo after the leader of White Fang. Wufei answered for everyone by throwing an appropriately named throw pillow at his head – he hit, hard.
----
He was becoming frustrated at this complete lack of progress picking a halfway decent name. Quatre had ten small dots of blood decorating his pants leg, Dr. Barton was prudently hiding his scratched hands under the blond's shirt, and the other three had various bruises.
"Are you sure you don't want to call him Pooky?"
Three times Duo suggested that and at two inches per suggestion, that was six inches gone at the first available, safe, moment.
"Duo, lay off. I think your hair is in danger if the vibes Calico's giving off are anything to go by."
"Eh? Since when could you sense animal emotions?"
"He's sitting in my lap and practically vibrating from negative emotions. Reason enough for me to sense him."
'Huh, blondie is an empath. Go figure.'
Actually…
He jumped off Quatre's lap, wandered across to Wufei's chair, and sat on his feet. He then started pawing at Wufei's BDU covered legs.
"What on earth?"
He slipped away from the Chinese man's reaching hands and continued pawing at his pants. He focused as best he could to send off positive emotions while obviously pawing at the legs. If his plan worked…
"What is wrong with this cat?"
"I think…I think he likes your pants Wufei. He seems…positive?" Quatre's confusion was obvious.
"BDU?"
At least Trowa was smart. He growled and continued pawing the pants.
"Battle Dress Uniform?" GSR-man was confused too.
"I think he's trying to suggest his name."
"Isn't that a bit too smart for a cat? I mean, he's weird enough as is but to actually understand and try to suggest his name?"
"One Year War and Endless Waltz. ZERO. Lunar Base."
"Okay, okay. You win. Again."
"Tree Suit?"
Growl.
"Leaves?"
Growl.
"Camouflage?"
-MEW!-
"Eh? Camouflage?" The boys looked cute when they were confused and harmonized very well. However, seeing as Wufei was the one to suggest his name in the first place, he daintily hopped up into his lap. It was almost criminally enjoyable driving the boys nuts. Coy and primping little purebred kitty then evil little hell cat bent on death and destruction before turning back into the dainty little cutesy fluffball.
He had a name, belonged to a kind little rich man who had his vet for a boyfriend, and seemed to like him. Life was finally looking up for the trapped Boy Who Lived.
I HAVE NOT READ DEATHLY HALLOWS! I DIDN'T LIKE HALF BLOOD PRINCE! Therefore, my characterizations of the characters are not influenced by either work. Thank you.
A concern about the Malfoy family was brought to my attention over on HPFandom so I'll try to answer that generally now, in depth when they make an actual appearance in the story.
Lucius Malfoy - Harry respects his power but is absolutely terrified of him. Lucius is willing to interact with the muggle world for business not just the wizarding one and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty while knowing when to delegate the jobs to those more expendable or experienced. Voldemort's right hand man for a reason, Harry is not afraid to back off when confronted by Lucius if he can.
Draco Malfoy - Harry has absolutely no respect for him and if anything holds him in great disdain. He is a spoiled little brat who at 15 still hides behind his Daddy's big bad shadow. He doesn't know the meaning of hard work and refuses to get his hands dirty in any way. Harry thinks he is in desperate need of a reality check, something along the lines of being dropped with 50 pounds and the clothes on his back in the middle of a big city without his wand.
Based on this understanding -- Zechs Merquise in NOT a stand in for Draco Malfoy or Lucius Malfoy! Either Harry would have no respect for him or be absolutely terrified of him, neither of which is conducive towards a healthy, happy relationship.
Now that that is out of the way, fhrulz21's PM:
Although it is rare for a male calico to exist, the calico would have to have an XXY chromosome set. In humans, it is called Klinefelters syndrome which (although it is not always readily apparent) can lead to symptoms such as: difficulty reading, writing, slow language development, male breasts, small testes, infertility, and sparse body and facial hair. Some men are unaware they ever have the disorder or it is never properly diagnosed. However, it is still a very rare disorder not only in humans, but also in cats.
I read your reviews, I've proven that time and again! So, leave a review!