"A Very Gundam Thanksgiving"

Written By: The Plotting Housewife

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sotsu and associated Parties. This work is written for pleasure not profit.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Holidays, Thanksgiving, Fluff, Humor, Crack

Pairings: Trowa Barton/Quatre Raberba Winner, Duo Maxwell/Hilde Schbeiker, Relena Peacecraft/Heero Yuy, Chang Wufei/Sally Po, Zechs Merquise/Lucrezia Noin, Catherine Bloom/Original Male Character

Summary: The former pilots and their loved ones come together to celebrate Thanksgiving at Trowa and Quatre's Massachusetts home. Chaotic it may be, but there's never a dull moment when the gang's all here.

"A Very Gundam Thanksgiving "

Chapter 2: Double Bird Strike

An hour later, all the boys, sans Quatre, were gathered in the clearing just off to the side of the house. It was still dark, though the sky had brightened slightly from black to dark blue, illuminated by the full moon beginning to set in the west. The sunrise was still about thirty minutes away and the stars glittered like diamonds in the vast indigo canopy, clear and sharp in the cold, low-humidity atmosphere.

They were bundled in various shades and patterns of denim and flannel, worn in layers to ward off the chill. Their heads were covered with knit caps, hands protected by gloves, and feet kept warm in waterproof work boots which would be doubly helpful when the ground thawed and became muddy later in the morning.

It was the first time any of them had seen Wufei not in the traditional garments of his clan, or Preventers' uniform. He'd emerged from his room in a pair of light blue jeans, an oversized red, yellow, and green flannel shirt with a blue high-collared shirt underneath. His shoulder length black hair was pulled tight into its usual ponytail, but he wore a red knit cap over his head. He trudged in front of the others like a man on death row, looking like a Chinese lumberjack.

It had taken approximately six minutes and sixteen seconds, and a smack upside the head from Quatre to finally calm Duo's hysterical laughter to mere snickers and breathy chuckles that sounded more like drunken hiccups.

Wufei had glowered and silently vowed to kill Duo in his sleep.

They were expected to recon in the clearing at o'six hundred hours and then rendezvous at o'eight hundred. There was a brief argument over how the much anticipated taking down of Thanksgiving dinner would pan out. Duo preferred a hands on approach, declaring he would wrestle the turkey to death with his bare hands. Trowa opted to decline informing him of the fact that wild turkeys were much tougher than their farm-raised counterparts, actually morbidly curious to watch such a scenario play out. Wufei insisted his sword would be the superior weapon of turkey doom. Heero wanted to shoot the turkey...with a pistol. Trowa, bless his heart, figuratively shot them all down and handed each of them a bow instead, hesitating when he got to Duo, and a bundle of hollow-point aluminum arrows tied together with narrow strips of leather.

The three novice bird hunters, satisfied with their respective weapons, were debriefed on the proper methods of bow hunting technique and safety, Trowa pointedly looking at Duo during the safety speech. Then they were off into the woods to, as Duo put it, "Wrangle up some grub".

Quatre watched from the window with a mixture of joy at witnessing what was sure to be a momentous bonding occasion, and a little apprehension because he knew how trigger happy they could be. He just hoped Trowa would be able to prevent any accidents. He did not wish to see them return home with arrows sticking out of various limbs and body parts. Chances were, it would be Duo, though he wouldn't put anything past Heero either.

Shaking his head fondly, Quatre turned from the window and began to prepare the house for the arrival of the remainder of their guests.

Relena, Milliardo, and Lucrezia were expected to arrive at ten o'clock. Milliardo and Lucrezia would be bringing their five year old daughter, Mae. They were also expecting their second child in December. Quatre had insisted on turning the large first floor den into a makeshift suite for the expecting couple and their daughter as he did not want the heavily pregnant Lucrezia to have to navigate the long staircase. He'd purchased two beds, one large for the parents, and a child-sized one for Mae and worked tirelessly to make sure the room was as cozy, comfortable, and accommodating as possible.

Hilde, Dorothy, and Sally were expected about an hour later. Cathy and her husband had a longer trip, traveling from L3, and weren't expected until early afternoon.

Relena would be rooming with Heero and Hilde with Duo. Sally and Dorothy would bunk together in the last available upstairs guest room. And Cathy and her husband would take the master suite. Trowa and Quatre, giving up their room for the next two nights, would camp out in the small front sitting room which housed a queen sized pullout sofa bed. 

Quatre went about adding the finishing touches to each of the rooms. He made the beds and placed tiny chocolate mints on each pillow, vacuumed the carpets and stocked up the bathrooms with colorful soaps placed in a little dish on the counter and stocking them with clean, fluffy towels. By the time he was finished, the place looked like the featured article for Bed & Breakfast Monthly.

***

A loud whoop outside startled him out of his culinary-induced concentration of making crust for the pumpkin, sweet potato, and mincemeat pies. Moments later, the front door burst open and Duo's voice bellowed, "Honey, I'm hooome!"

Quatre sent up a silent prayer that the spring-loaded door stoppers had held up under the assault and prevented a knob sized hole in the adjacent wall. Trowa would bitch for days about having to replaster it. He'd probably send Duo a bill for the cost of materials and labor, too.

Wiping his flour-coated hands on his apron, he stepped into the foyer to greet the returned hunters. He had no doubt they were successful. Trowa was an ace hunter, never failing to bring home a kill. With him leading the charge, they were guaranteed to have a big, juicy bird on their Thanksgiving table.

As he entered the foyer, Duo was standing in the doorway grinning like the Cheshire cat, his fists on his hips and chest puffed out with pride.

"I take it it went well?"

"You're darn tootin', Q-man! You should've seen me! I was like, ‘Pow!' And then I was like, ‘Bam!' Ain't no bird in this here world that can escape the Great Shinigami." Duo punctuated his exclamations by pretending to shoot imaginary arrows all over the foyer.

"That's great, Duo! I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, buddy!" He beamed proudly as Quatre's obvious enthusiasm stroked his already swollen ego.

Wufei pressed in behind him, having to squeeze through the small space left by Duo's body that still took up the majority of the doorway.

"Maxwell, would you mind making a little room for the rest of us?" He scowled as he kicked off his boots and shrugged out of his flannel. He tugged the cap off his head, pulling strands of black hair loose from his ponytail, and dropped it on top of the pile. Quatre took stock of his appearance and noticed his handsome face was streaked with dirt and there were leaves stuck in his hair.

"Wufei, are you okay?"

"I assure you I'm quite fine, Winner. Thank you for your concern. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a hot shower. I trust you won't need to use me as target practice again, Maxwell?"

"Duo!"

"What?! It was an accident, I swear! C'mon, Wufei, I said I was sorry."

"I know you did. Now, I just want to get through the rest of this day with what little dignity I have left. Is that too much too ask? Am I reaching for the stars here?" Wufei turned away to head up the stairs and that's when Quatre saw that his entire backside was caked in mud.

"Wufei, just leave your dirty clothes outside your door and I'll get them cleaned for you."

"Thank you, Winner, but at this point, I'd rather just burn them." He walked up the stairs without another word, taking his wounded pride with him.

Quatre turned an accusing glare on Duo who put his hands in front of him, palms outward in a placating gesture. "Quat, I swear it was an accident and I did tell him I was sorry."

"What the hell happened, Duo?"

He scratched his head, his eyes flitting to the side, unable to look the blond in the eyes. "Er...well, I was trying to get the feel for the bow, y'know? Those things are a real pain to get the hang of. Tro makes it look so easy. I was aiming for a tree, y'know, to get a little practice shot in. I...uh...well, the ground was uneven and I lost my balance and almost hit Wufei." He blushed and stared sheepishly down at his mud-caked boots.

"Duo, oh Allah!" Quatre would be lying if he said his heart hadn't just leaped into his throat. He pressed his hands over his mouth as he realized how terribly that could have ended.

"It's okay, though," Duo insisted, his voice reedy with a desperate need to reassure him. "Trowa knocked him out of the way before it could hit him. Man, that husband of yours has some killer reflexes," he added, his expression one of deep admiration.

Quatre dragged his shaking hands up his face and through his hair, releasing a huge sigh of relief that no one had been hurt. Thank Allah for Trowa and his "killer" reflexes indeed. Damn, but he loved that man to pieces. He had to shake his head to clear it of all the horrifying possibilities, things that could have gone wrong. If Trowa hadn't been there to react the way he did, their day would have turned out very differently.

They were Gundam pilots, the best of the best. And they'd almost been done in by a turkey hunting accident.

"Hey, Q, relax! Wufei's fine, okay? Yeah, it could have gone horribly wrong, but it didn't. We're all okay, okay? Please, I feel just horrible about it." Duo was flushed with mortification, turning pleading eyes on Quatre.

He let out a long breath and shook the last of the adrenaline out of his system. "You're right, Duo. I'm sorry. I'm so relieved that none of you were hurt."

Duo laughed suddenly. "Why are you sorry? I'm sorry! I'm pretty sure I gave all three of them a heart attack and now I just gave you one."

Quatre chuckled and pointed at his friend's feet. "Take those boots off before you ruin my clean floor and come help me in the kitchen." He shook his head and picked up Wufei's discarded flannel, hat, and boots to take them to the utility room. "I just hope Wufei doesn't hold a grudge for too long."

Duo waved a hand dismissively. "That uptight stick-in-the-mud loves me. He practically worships the wet cement I walk on. Just...don't tell him I said that." Duo glanced up the stairs and then turned and winked at Quatre, his sunny smile back in place.

Quatre snorted. "Duo, what would we do without you?"

He lifted his chin and looked down his nose at the blond in an attempt to appear regal, though in his current disheveled state, he looked more like a delusional hobo. "Oh...die of boredom, I suppose. You'd also be turkey-less on this fine Thanksgiving day, I might add."

Quatre grinned. "Oh, yes. That's right. You got one? Personally?"

"Yep! I bagged one and Tro got one, too," Duo informed him, his face radiating pride and Quatre was so happy for him, he pulled the man into a squishy bear hug, murmuring apologies when he heard Duo wheeze. "Careful now, Cat. Wouldn't want to make the wife jealous, and I sure as hell wouldn't want to piss off that big, strong husband of yours. Pretty sure he could snap me like a twig with his bare hands."

Quatre playfully punched him in the arm and stepped away with a laugh. "Are you going to give me a hand in the kitchen, or what?"

Duo froze with his finger pointed at his chest, mouth open in mock outrage. "First I hunt and now I must cook, too? This is blasphemous! I demand a recount." When there was no sign of Quatre's acquiesce, his expression softened into a warm smile. "Actually yeah, I'd love to, but I want to take a shower first. Wouldn't do for me to be all nasty and smelly when the ol' lady gets here, now would it?" He quipped and then spun on his heel and started up the steps in wool-socked feet.

"Oh, and Duo?" Quatre waited until he stopped halfway up the stairs and turned, looking down at him over the railing.

"You need to do something really nice for Wufei. You know, make peace. Let him know you don't actually want him dead."

Duo grinned. "Don't worry your pretty blond head, Cat," he said and continued on up the stairs, his voice trailing off the farther away he got. "I know just what to do..."

Quatre's face twisted a little, not sure if that was a good, or bad thing and wondered if perhaps he should warn Wufei, just in case.

Despite his loaded down arms, he managed to grab a hold of Duo's boots, holding the heavy things tightly with two fingers and a thumb and cursed when dried mud dropped onto his spotless tile floor.

Slam!

"And would you stop slamming the damn doors?!"

~ * ~

Chapter 3

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