"Isabella"

Written By: Kaeru Shisho

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Rating: R

Warnings: AU, male/male pairings, romance

Pairings: 1x2x1

A/N: Thanks to Waterlily for her support.

Summary: Duo needs more than a friend in his life and gets more than he bargains for when he meets Heero.

"Isabella, Bella, Bella"

"No, I do not want a cat." Duo was adamant and tried to sound like he meant it. "Why? You have to ask? Geez Louise, Hil, I'm just able to feed myself and get to work. You are talking about another life form! I can't be responsible for another life form! Hey, gotta go. Bye."

He didn't have to go; he wanted to go, or her voice to go away, but actually he was still in bed, because it was his day off, his day to sleep in and report to no one. Duo was sure that was the last he'd hear of any pet procuring. He'd been clear, adamant, firm in his position. No wishy-washy benevolence which could lead a girl on into thinking he could be controlled or convinced to go against his best interests.

Girls can dream, though, and Hilde was Duo-resistant. Cute, smart, and employed, Hilde had her choice of boyfriends. Duo's alleged charm had no effect on her. But he didn't know that. First mistake. He actually believed that she listened to his words and respected him enough abide by his wishes. Second mistake.

Two weeks later, the phone call with Hilde was long forgotten, overlaid with others, some important others not so much. So, when she asked him to lunch "with a couple of friends" he said "yes" without a second thought. The others joining them would be mostly work mates at the salvage yard. And he'd had lunch with her and them before, lots of times. It would be fun. Third mistake.

"…Third strike and you're out, as they say," said a friend of Hilde's named Peter as a finish to his story.

Peter was a man of great talent on the wrecking and smash-it-all-to-hell machine, but was weaker than wet cardboard in the creative department. So, this was surprisingly prophetic of him, had Duo been aware of his failings and been keeping count.

Not only was Duo not aware of his previous communication break downs with Hilde, he was not listening to most of the current conversation. He was stirring his Thai iced tea and watching the sweetened condensed milk whirl into the burnt-orange tea. But even that wasn't registering beyond the visual, mesmerizing effect. Not with more important things to distract him. Thing. Man. Heero Yuy was a newish customer currently re-furbishing vintage motorcycles. He was a friend of a friend, Trowa Barton, who rebuilt motorcycle motors and who had dragged Heero into the salvage yard recently.

Sweat rolled off his brow and chest as Duo finished hefting the last of twelve engines into their new storage slots. Organization was the key to keeping the staggering heaps of junk from becoming the ultimate vortex of chaos. He wiped his damp bangs from his eyes and was immediately rewarded with a refreshing view: Tight jeans, tank top revealing a toned chest and well-muscled, tanned arms. Yeah, baby! The best thing about being a sweaty mess was that it disguised Duo's drool.

Hilde, looking cool and fresh in her crispy, clean coveralls didn't even have to shout for his attention. He nearly bounced off the stacked engines in his rush to stand at the customer's feet and await his wishes. His mouth opened to deliver his usual pitch, and there he stood mouth agape, nothing coming out except aforementioned drool. Up close, the man stunned him with his good looks, his dead man's stare from the darkest blue eyes Duo had ever seen softened by a disorderly mop of dark hair, giving him a rumpled, grumpy puppy quality.

"Heero, this is Duo Maxwell, our engine and parts specialist. Duo, this is Mr. Yuy."

Duo waved a greasy, dirty paw and Heero smiled as he withdrew his clean hand, a very nice looking hand.

Hilde sighed. "Heero's looking for motorcycle parts," she nudged Duo further into the conversation. "Your friend, Trowa, brought him along and is already digging through the parts over there."

"I'm looking for a particular type," Heero said, the corner of his lip twitching into an almost-smile, "of engine."

"Right this way," Duo said, averting his eyes. If he didn't look, Duo convinced himself, the distraction Heero was to his concentration could be controlled. "Is this work-related?"

"No, just a hobby." Heero raked a hand through his hair. "Wish it was at times. Tech Logistics owns my soul these days." He smiled shyly. "I keep buying bikes to fix and a storage building to keep them in and rent a workshop to do the repairs," he explained heaving a great sigh, "and then the weekend's over before I know it."

"Yeah, that's sounds like a pricey hobby." Duo almost suggested he find a helper, like him, but he hadn't the nerve to say that. "So you know Barton," Duo wanted to get that relationship well understood.

"I bought a mirror in his store and got to talking about motorcycles."

"He's got a sweet re-build, for sure," Duo agreed. "He's always part-picking here, fixing up some old motor he's found and sometimes he sells it at the store. All right, we've made it to gently-used engine land- motors piled wide and high. Tell me about your project."

As Heero explained what he was working on, Duo let the words soak in, ordering his thoughts, and decided he liked the nice voice even if it lacked emotion. Heero gave a concise description of the antique motor he was looking for, and Duo needed only a few extra details to locate the precise model.

Trowa joined them, approved of the selection, and totally messed up the vibe Duo thought he had going. In fact, it wasn't until his friend pointed it out to him that Duo realized he'd practically given away the engine. "It was a steal," Trowa said, laughing when Duo returned a look of complete bafflement.

Heero had to leave soon after that, carrying the heavy engine without help, the sheen of sweat highlighting bulging muscled biceps. Duo's heart pounded to the rhythm of his internal lust track (Hot'n'sexy Bebop bebop, Hot'n'sexy Bebop bebop …) until Heero's car containing Heero, Trowa, and the eingine was out of sight. Before he suffered cardiac arrest, his heart returned to normal size and he let out his breath and relaxed his shoulders. Wow. He'd never forget Heero Yuy. He'd left an impression the size of a ball park.

But, sadly, no contact number. Duo hadn't asked for one; nor had he offered his number to Heero. It all happened so fast and he was struggling to keep his footing knee-deep in the murky water of the dating ritual. If there was a way to see him again, Duo was certainly game, though.

He had taken fantasizing about Heero Yuy to an art form. When he had to give attention to his job or possibly cut off a hand or break his neck, he could bring all his powers of concentration to focus on his work. Otherwise he could interweave Heero into the textured tapestry of his life-ly duties with flair. Life was but a loom… Now, Duo could think of nothing or nobody else, which was why he missed all the build up to what would happen next. He was standing on the sidewalk outside the scrapyard with Hilde and a pack of work friends.

"-So, Duo," Hilde called him to attend her, "You listening? Good. You go with Charlene and Tyler in Arlene's car. I'll take the rest and meet you there, K?"

"Say what?" Duo asked dreamily.

Tyler kicked his chair. "C'mon. Be happy Hilde got talked out of showing us the new discount shoe store."

Duo was happy about that, for sure, and hopped to his feet. "Shouldn't we be getting back to work?"

Tyler gave him the "I do not believe you just said that" look. "They're re-paving our parking lot and painting the showroom. Remember, moving all the cars this morning?"

Duo didn't but shrugged instead of saying so. Trowa had dropped him off at the "Yards" on his way to the downtown Oasis Antique store that he co-ran with his boyfriend, Quatre Winner, giving them a chance to mention Heero without outside interference.

"So, you liked him, I take it?" Trowa asked.

"God, Tro'… I'm going nuts! Heero's like…like everything I ever dreamed of all wrapped up in the hottest package… Man, where's he been hiding?"

"Sanc mostly. Hey, I know he wants to get to know you. We'll invite you both over for barbeque." Trowa seemed to have gotten this idea from someone else from the practiced manner he'd said it, his boyfriend, Quatre, probably, since Trowa wouldn't have taken the initiative to jumpstart any romance for Duo. He pulled over near the scrapyard entrance and stopped.

Duo opened the car door and got out. "Tell Quat thanks and I'll be there."

Trowa smiled. "I'll keep you apprised."

"I didn't drive in today," Duo told Tyler.

"But you knew," Tyler insisted.

Duo probably had been told, but the re-paving information had been cancelled out by Heero daydreaming, like nearly everything else. Where were his friends taking him, he wondered, kicking away a half-eaten bag of potato chips and an empty can of cola as he climbed into the back seat of Arlene's car. As the drive went on for more miles than comfortable, a growing pissed off-ness welled up inside Duo. He had lots of things he could be doing if this was half a day off!

"You know," he began when the car stopped at a red light, "you can just drop me off here—"

"That's silly, Duo. We're almost there!" the driver said, and giggled, too.

There was nothing Duo felt like saying to criticism that came with a generous helping of giggle, so he sat back into the seat and patiently stared out the window. The car slowed and turned into a parking lot.

Humane Society.

"What are we doing here?" Wisely, Duo didn't ask that aloud, for surely everyone (but him) had participated in the planning of what was going on.

"Okay, gang." Hilde waved them all into the humble, whitewashed building. "Dogs are on the left; cats are to the right. Now go look. You are all without a pet and these pets are all without a home. Be the home for one of them."

Oh. Duo dug in his heels. "I told you I can't deal with a pet of any ki-iind." And there his brain the mouth disconnected.

"Hello, Duo."

It was HIM!

Heero stood before him wearing a faint smile and shirt, tie, and slacks. "I just came from work. Lunch break."

"Oh? Um. Hi." The higher functioning brain-verbal connection was intermittent. Something in Duo's brain wiring had come loose. He felt fuzzy and floaty and happy.

Heero didn't seem to mind that Duo lacked the social skills of a crow all of a sudden. "I can't stay long, but Hilde asked that I show you the cats up for adoption."

"Adoption?" That word cut through to the center of activity. "You mean available to take home."

"Yes." Heero indicated that he should follow him, so Duo did automatically. "Some people think of it as adding a family member, and many of the cats available are kittens. Generally the cats available are older ones, but most people would rather take a kitten than take on an adult."

"What happens to the ones no one wants?"

Heero sighed. Other than that there was no change to his tone of voice. "After they've been here awhile, weeks, they get scheduled for termination."

"How do you know all this?" And why, Duo might have thought to ask, are you here doing this?"

"I volunteer here."

Duo stopped dead in his tracks, so to speak. "I'll take one. Just box one up that's about to be …you know… and I'll take it."

"Okay." Heero looked at his watch. "But don't you want to choose one?"

Duo didn't even want to have one, much less pick one out of a mess of others, but he would to save a life. "You do it. I'll trust your judgment. If I look, I'll be tempted beyond my self-interest to take them all."

"I'm running very late," Heero countered and held up his wrist showing his watch as proof. Duo's expression must have melted his watch. "I have one in mind that I think you'll like. I'll tell Mrs. Bassman and have her make the arrangements."

Duo nodded and tried out a facial expression he hoped didn't make him look too dopey. Heero flashed him an infinitesimal smile and caught his eyes for a moment. "See you later, then," he said in parting, and then disappeared down a hallway. Duo kept those eyes, that measuring look, in his mind, imagining the lips belonging to that smile honing in on his. Heero looked slim but ripped from the way his shirt tightened over bulging muscles. Duo wondered how it would feel with that chest pressed up against him…

"Earthsphere to Duo, come in Duo." Hilde nudged his shoulder. "Congrats, you got a cat. There's not room for it in the car, though, so you'll have to come back for it later. It's open until nine o'clock tonight."

"Uh, huh… okay." He gave her a nothing's-bothering-me-today smile and kept it all the way back to the salvage yard. He couldn't go inside the scrapyard or cross the fresh pavement, so he leaned against the fence for the remaining few minutes until his ride home arrived. This provided him time to play back all the Heero Highlights…

Trowa swung by the yard and Duo dove into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut behind him. "Wow!"

"You all right? You look a little—" Trowa began.

"I saw HIM today! At the Humane Society!"

"Him who?" Trowa asked, teasing. "Him… Heero?"

"Yes, Heero!"

"He was at the animal shelter?" Trowa sounded unconvinced. "He doesn't volunteer there during the day. He works at Tech Logistics-"

"I know, he told me that, but –even so- he was there today."

"Duo, you realize he took off time from his job to see you?"

"You think so?" Duo beamed, thrilled with the knowledge.

"Don't be stupid. You know he interested. He's coming Saturday. So are you. Barbeque. Bring a six-pack."

"Ahhh…K." So that's what Heero meant when he said he'd see him later!

"If you can't live without him until then, why don't you ask him out?"

"You'll give me his number?" Because Duo STILL hadn't asked for it…

"Yeah, if you admit you're a coward."

"I'm a coward. Now, gimme." Duo waited for the number.

Trowa punched up a contact number and handed Duo his cell without his eyes leaving the road. "So, what did you do there?"

A bit of Duo's joy ebbed away, sucked into the sinkhole created earlier, when his distracted move to save a doomed animal from certain death ended up with him gaining an unsought for pet. "I saved a cat from being… terminated."

"You got a cat?" Trowa looked around. "Where is it?"

There hadn't been space in the car, in either of the cars, because the other dupes, his work friends, had already filled the available gaps and legroom with newly adopted dogs. He'd ridden home with doggy breath on his neck and hadn't cared, thanks to Heero-based fancies.

"I'm going back over to pick it up."

Trowa, who shared a flat with his boyfriend of five years and that many cats, one for every anniversary, nodded in an understanding way. "Get a wide variety of food, canned and dry. Cats are choosy and have… sensitivities."

"Food, right." Duo made a mental note, and then a wonderful idea occurred to him. "You don't suppose we could go there now?"

"Not going in that direction," Trowa said. "Sorry. I've got my own Quat trouble to fix."

Duo winced at the pun. "'Sokay."

Trowa let him out at his house and drove away.

Duo loved his house. It was a small home, a real find at the edge of town that he got at a bargain price, because of Quatre's connections. Duo had the best friends. Although the house was small, it resided on a large lot so it could be expanded later. Much later, if ever. Duo could barely afford the payments and upkeep, but it was his. He wasn't excited to share it with a cat.

He'd much rather share it with a boyfriend, and he had the exact one in mind already. And they hadn't even been out on a date!

His own car was in his garage. Duo started the engine. "Shit." He would have to stop for gasoline first. A long line. He hummed a tune and let his thoughts drift to a land where blue eyes, dark ruffled hair, and winsome smiles reigned.

Next, he pulled into a parking lot for a few groceries including cat food. He continued on, fighting the city traffic for the second time that day. This would have put his mood in a dark place had he not been blessed with the ability to take a little interlude with Heero and fantasize it into a full-blown and orchestrated musical.

He was whistling a made-up tune from Heero Act 2 as he entered the shelter, wrote out a check to cover the cat's medical costs, city fees, and a bit more to go to a general donation fund to rescue or give sanctuary to something in the animal kingdom, signing it with a flourish, and then danced away with a cardboard cat-carrier and "startup" box of cat care items, including instructions and an itemized list of all the cat's shots.

Act 4 opened as he parked his car at home and set his brake. "C'mon, Miss Kitty. Time to see your new home."

Duo rested the cat carrier on the floor of his kitchen, opened the small round door, and then ran out to get the starter kit. When he set that down, he noticed that the cat had not appeared. He made another trip for the groceries.

Still no cat.

"You gotta have a name…Let's see, here. This says you are Isabella. That's a lotta name for a cat, dontcha think? How about I call you Bella? Here, Bella, Bella, Bella…"

Maybe water would help? He filled a small bowl from the sink and set it out near the carrier. "Well, I'm gonna lock up, so you can come out in peace."

As Duo stood by his car, he noticed the trash blown by the wind and caught in his fence. He collected it and remembered tomorrow was garbage day so he rolled the cart out to the street then went back into the house to empty wastebaskets and gather more detritus to take out.

"I really need to mow the grass."

Or borrow a few of Quatre's goats. Besides the cats, his friends Quatre and Trowa maintained a menagerie of farm and household pets. For fun. The miniature goats were Duo's favorites, especially from a distance.

Dandelions were blossoming with abandon. He actually loved running the mower. He kept the motor tuned perfectly and the blades sharp. He always like tinkering with motors; it had got him his job; it had got him out of a life of crime.

He'd been at the church-run home for boys as long as he could remember. Maxwell House. Like the coffee brand, but for orphans no one wanted. At fifteen, though, he had to go out on his own, and unprepared as he was ended up in jail for breaking and entry. That was when some good luck came his way in the form of Mike Howard. A very laid back but intelligent man was Howard. He needed strong bright young men and women to work in his salvage yard, and skimmed the jails for first time offenders that had potential. And Duo used his once in a lifetime opportunity to prove his worth. He had a "flair for repair". After five years, he and Hilde were the senior operators of much of the heavy disassembly equipment.

"Good ole Howie," Duo said, sighing as he opened the garage door, parked his car inside, and locked the doors. And then he recalled having a cat, which he'd never seen, loose in his house. "Probably ripping up curtains, barfing on carpets, and peeing on my shoes!" he cried out as he raced into the house.

But once inside, all was tranquil, silent, except for the cuckoo clock he'd bought from his friends' antique store. Tick tock. There was, still, no sign of a cat in residence.

Could she be hiding inside the carrier? He ended up sticking a hand in the carrier and discovering it was empty. Oh, no.

"Bella? Where did you go?"

The door to the outside was closed. Now. But it had been open as he'd gone in and out. Could she have run out? Yes, it was possible. So, Duo dashed to the door and froze in place. He had absolutely no idea what Isabella the cat looked like. Oh, no!

OHMYGOD I LOST THE CAAAT!

After running around for about ten minutes like a terrier amped up on a rich mix of crack, speed, and meth, Duo collapsed, panting in a chair at his kitchen table, and started to think about what he could do.

Calling Trowa or Quatre would get him nowhere; especially after hearing he couldn't describe the missing feline. They would laugh (Trowa) and scold (Quatre) him out of town. There was Hilde, who might sympathize with his dilemma, or at least the poor cat. She'd been at the shelter. It was possible that she saw Isabella.

So he called her. "Hil, you gotta minute to come out here?"

"Probably not. I'm busy. Where are you?"

"My house!" Duo cried out.

"What's this about?"

"Isabella… the cat you insisted I get."

"Suggested. You picked her."

"Not important. The point is… now I can't find her! I took her inside, but I wasn't around when she stepped out of her carrier—"

"Did you look in the carrier? Cats can curl up pretty small."

"Yeah, I checked good. She's not in the carrier. She is, in fact, nowhere to be seen. At all!"

"Cats hide."

"I KNOW! Listen, I'm worried she might have sneaked outside while I was carrying stuff in, but I can't look for her because everyone's gotta cat around here… they lay about on the paving all over, anyway, and I never laid eyes on my cat so I wouldn't know her from… I couldn't pick her out of a line up, is my point. So I need you to come over and help me look."

"Oh, sorry, Duo, but I never saw her either. I'd be no help. And I have a hot date in about an hour and have to shower and all. Don't worry, she'll show up when she gets hungry." She wished him good luck and signed off. Compassion only extended so far, apparently.

Now what?

The phone number Trowa had given him was burning a hole in his pocket, sending up smoke signals that spelled: Call the super-hot, stud!

"Heero, of course. He probably packed the cat in the first place. He certainly knows what it looks like." But, Duo worried, what kind of a person loses his new cat before setting eyes on it?! What kind of human being was he?! This might be a deal breaker as far as Heero was concerned! Make or break them!

Well, at least he couldn't fault him for trying. The elderly Miss Wilkes next door couldn't see a cat if it sat on her lap and the Dosher kids across the road would either find and stash the cat for their own evil purposes or run it over. No one else was home, judging by the lack of cars parked on the street—no one used their garage space for storing cars but him. And since he couldn't think of anything else to do and had no one else to turn to, Duo placed the call. He remembered Heero was probably at work and this would be a most unpleasant interruption just as—

"Hello?"

Too late.

"Um, hi. This is Duo? From the scrap yard? We just met—"

"Yes, Duo, I remember. How are you and your new cat doing?"

"Um, good, er, not so good actually, you see…" Duo gave him the short and long of it, wishing Heero's voice would give away more of his state of mind than it did.

What he had to say came as a pleasant surprise, though. "That's too bad, Duo. I can finish my work and be out in thirty minutes," Heero said in the same tone as reading a grocery list. "What's your address?"

Duo dictated the street number and embellished with detailed instructions for getting there and then thanked him and shut off his phone. Apparently, Heero was not only stunningly handsome and Adonis-like in every way, but he was also a whole lot less judgmental than he thought and was very nice and accommodating. He hadn't asked where Duo got his phone number. He didn't drill him for every last, incriminating detail. He just assured him he would drop what he was doing and help.

Sigh… So, nice… SO FAST!

Either Heero left without finishing his work or he drove at the speed of light, because he arrived at Duo's front door less than thirty minutes later. Duo nearly leaped into his arms like an eager puppy, but chose a firm handshake and verbal bombardment as a greeting instead.

"Man, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. And we hardly know one another! It's so great! First, you gotta know that I'm not really an animal abuser. Not at all. I mean, look at all the food I got her—that's Isabella, the cat. I didn't name her. It was on the paper, you know? I wouldn't stick a cat with a name like that actually. I call her Bella, or would if she were here…" his voice trailed off as he soaked in the intensity of the other man's dark blue gaze. "Um…"

"Bella." Heero cleared his throat. "You can name her anything you want. Isabella is the name of the woman in charge, Mrs. Bassman."

Isabella Bassman. Duo slapped his forehead. Could he be any stupider? Heero was this brain-iac high tech guy and he couldn't even find his newly adopted cat or correctly read the papers that came with it!

"So," Heero went on, "Bella is a tuxedo cat, which means she's almost all black with a white face, chest, and paws like she walked through paint."

"Black with some white. I haven't seen a cat like that around." God, that was disappointing news.

"Are you sure she ran outside?"

"Not sure of anything." And when Duo was feeling his lowest, he caught a glimpse of a smile on Heero's lips. Just a tiny one, but reassuring to Duo. So he was sure of one thing: he was sure he was falling hard for this guy.

"Let's focus on the indoors."

"Okay," Duo agreed and led the way back into the kitchen where they stared at the empty carrier.

"We have to think like a cat." Heero got down on his hands and knees, eyes six inches above the floor.

Duo nearly fainted as the blood bolted his brain and collected in his manly parts. Oh, God! Heero's ass in nice form-fitting slacks sent his over-active imagination into overdrive. Some flicker of activity in the Better Judgment portion of his brain reminded him to help out, so he sank to cat-height near Heero. Immediately, he wished he'd scrubbed the floor as he peered about. Bits of that carrot he'd peeled, crumbs, and that bottle opener he'd lost, but no cat. "What do you think?"

Heero shrugged and stood again. "I see you put out water. Open a can of fish-based food and set it nearby, then we should leave the room and wait."

"Okay. Can I get you something to drink? Beer?" Duo asked, letting Heero handle the stinky cat food container.

"Beer would be fine."

They carried drinks into the living room, found seats side by side on the couch and sat. Through the amber glass of his rapidly emptying bottle, he watched Heero's eyes scan his living room.

"Nice house."

"Thanks, it's got potential. I like it." Duo winced to hear his lame chatter. Hoping to pick a better topic that would encourage Heero to do the talking Duo prompted with, "So, you know what I do, seen the scrapyard. Not much more to it than that. So, what do you do for Logic Tech?"

"Tech Logistics," Heero corrected him. "It is hard to describe." And then he attempted to do that without using too many abbreviations or acronyms which make up the baffling shorthand of technical talk.

Duo listened with rapt attention, enamored by the movement of his lips. Where his voice lacked animation, his eyes glittered and mouth moved with great motility, leading Duos thoughts to imagine kissing him.

Suddenly, Heero's hand cautioned Duo to silence and stillness.

"Cat?" Duo signaled with the wiggly finger "tail" and upraised eyebrows.

One curt nod "yes".

What Duo had on his mind was more in tune with exploring Heero's lips with his own, what the cat had on her mind, well, who knows? But she nosed around both men's pant legs before jumping up in the couch. With hardly more than a glance at them, she interposed her furry self into the small open space in between them.

"She looks happy," Heero observed.

She's keeping us apart, the little hellcat, was what Duo thought. He was tempted to push her off and scoot closer to Heero, but he didn't. He grumbled, "Good for her."

With a clearing of his throat, Heero drew all Duo's attention back to him. When he turned his eyes on Heero, he was struck again by the depth and clarity of their almost inhuman blueness. The power of his concentrated gaze was unnerving. DearGod helpme.

"She was hiding under your dishwasher," Heero stated. "I saw her eye reflection."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"It wasn't to keep you in suspense," Heero assured Duo. "Bella seemed to want to remain a secret a little longer." Heero met his eyes with what Duo considered to be a tenuously warm look. "It provided me an excuse to stay longer."

Not that you needed one.

They exchanged smiles and Duo sighed. "That machine broke down a few weeks ago. I pulled it out to fix it but the motor's shot and I've been waiting for a replacement so I didn't shove it back in right. What do you know? I made a cat hidey-hole."

They talked a little more about motorcycles, what Heero should bring to the barbeque (his swimwear, because Trowa and Quatre lived on a gigantic estate with a huge pool), and then she uncoiled, stretched, yawned, showed off her sharp teeth and claws, then leaped gracefully to the floor to go check out the food offering.

"Why's she so flabby?"

"She had a litter, Duo."

"Of kittens? Where are they?"

"At the Humane society waiting for adoption."

"You mean, when I took her, they were just… abandoned?" Duo was horrified. "I made them orphans! Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"They are perfectly able to live on their own, Duo. It's normal for cats to part ways—"

Duo stared up at the clock. "I have just enough time to get there before closing, I think."

"You… are thinking of taking in… all… the kittens?" Heero asked, flat-toned, his voice breaks giving away his skepticism.

"Yeah." Duo wondered at his own decisiveness on the matter. From no pets to… many!

"I'll go with you. I might be able to talk us into the building, if they're about to lock up. The volunteers aren't usually happy to work extra hours."

Heero was right. Even though the doors weren't locked, the shelter hadn't time to process Duo's paperwork and let him take the kittens. Heero persevered, promised to file everything properly the next day, if only they could carry out the five lively kits right then. He might not have had the most salubrious voice, but Duo could admire the other man's ability to argue convincingly.

"Aren't they cute?" Duo asked for the third time. He poked a finger through one of the airholes in the boxful of kittens and felt impossibly soft fur followed by a tiny claw prick.

Heero had replied in the affirmative the times when Duo had asked before, but maybe Duo had surpassed his new friend's tolerance level, because now Heero just grunted, and then said, "I haven't had dinner and I'm hungry. I could stop for takeout, if you like?"

"Yeah, good idea. Anything not fish, not after smelling that cat food."

"Understandable. Pizza? Your choice."

"Great, my fav!" Duo called in an order, while Heero turned the corner, following the GPS directions to the pizza parlor Duo chose, which was on the way to his house.

When they arrived, Duo made a mad dash for the pizza, shouting, "I'll take care of everything!"

Heero helped him into the car minutes later, cradling hot, fragrant boxes of pizza (one without meat, just in case) , bottles of soda (which came free), and a plastic carton of tossed green salad (so I appear to think about my health).

The rest of the drive took fifteen minutes.

"So, does this count for a first date you think?" Duo asked.

Heero's answer was a sharp nod. "Is that important?"

Just wondering how long I had to wait to kiss you, Duo thought to himself. He shook his head. "Just thinking."

Heero smiled, but said no more until he parked in front of Duo's home, and then it wasn't what he said, but what he did that answered Duo's unspoken question. A hand slid behind his head and the car seat as Heero leaned over him, tilting his head slightly, achieving the perfect angle of attack, and then in for the kill. Duo felt his heart stop, practically, then thunder on, the warm lips pressing into his then parting slightly, a wet tip of hot tongue tickling his lower lip.

Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop!

Mew! Meeeeee-uuuw!

Cool air separated them. "I'll carry the food," Heero said. "The box of kittens is yours."

Box of… what?! My God! What had he been thinking?! "It's a lot of furballs and I think they're growing. I know the box is heavier than when I first got them," Duo concluded, but he wrestled the box to the door, unlocked it, and pushed in.

Mew! Meeeeee-uuuw! Mew! Meeeeee-uuuw!

MEOW! Isabella answered, bounding to greet them at the door.

Once they were settled in, eating their pizza slices, opening another beer, and watching the five kittens and Isabella playing in front of the TV, replaying that first kiss in the car and wondering when it would be time for the next, Duo sighed, hit full force by a surge of elation. "Isn't this great?" he asked before thinking how this might not be idealized from Heero's point of view.

"It is," Heero agreed. "I was thinking of a word… symbiosis. It's from the Greek for 'together' and 'living'."

Duo's mouth fell open. "You were?" he meant to say, but it came out as "Ah…"

"A kind of mutually beneficial relationship. Would you be interested in exploring one?" Heero asked.

Duo nodded enthusiastically where all words failed him. He wasn't worried. The right words would come to him eventually, like Heero and Isabella and all her family.

The End

 

 

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