"The Meaning of
Life"
Written By: SkyLark
Pairings: 1x2x1
Warnings: AU, Neko, male pregnancy, sap, angst
Rating: R
Betaed by ShenLong Deb *hugs*
Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm
and http://www.mizunoamy.bravepages.com/skylark/skylarkfics.html
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters.
I just love playing with them.
Third fic in the Neko series
"The Meaning of Life"
Hilde was at the dormitory within fifteen minutes of
Heero's panicked call. Armed with all of her medical equipment, she
made a thorough examination of her patient when he showed her the
strange secretion he'd found when he had gone to the bathroom.
Thankfully, in this new age of technology, even an ultrasound
could be conducted on a simple, specially licensed laptop.
It certainly made Hilde's arrival and hasty move for the apartment
easy on her. Not to mention how carrying her few items did not
draw any attention.
Sure to not miss anything, the obstetrician took another ultrasound
of the babies.
After questioning the neko with everything she needed
to know, she looked up from the screen she was watching and announced,
"As far as I can tell, everything is still moving along fine.
There was no blood in that secretion, nor any other material that
has me concerned."
Both Duo and Heero let out the breaths that they had been holding.
Carefully sitting up, the braided teenager waited until
his partner wiped his abdomen clean and lowered his shirt. Looking
at the frozen picture on the screen of his three growing babies, he
asked, "About how far along are we now?"
Eagerly pointing to the defined heads, and appendages, Hilde
grinned, "Based off everything I have here, we're somewhere in
the thirty-second or thirty-third week of pregnancy. The development
has slowed up a little bit, as if your body is trying to give the
little ones some more time."
Whilst rising to her feet from the chair beside the bed, she stated,
"Sometimes, in the last trimester, there is an increase in secretions.
You were right to contact me, as sometimes that is a warning sign
that something is wrong."
Going over the notes she had jotted down on her pad, the obstetrician
continued, "Luckily, that is not the case this time around. But,
knowing how close we're getting to the delivery time, I would like
to make more regular visits to check up on you and the babies."
The neko did not hesitate to nod, "All right. I'd feel better
knowing you'll be around a lot more these next few weeks." Hilde
gave him a warm smile of understanding and squeezed her friend's arm.
Heero looked to his husband with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk. At
that, Duo rolled his eyes and fought the blush on his cheeks as he
said, "I do have another question."
Before Hilde had to pry the inquiry from him, he pointed
to his chest. "What about these?" he got out in a rush,
like tearing off a band-aid to avoid as much pain as possible.
Glad that her braided friend was the one to broach the matter, the
obstetrician grinned, "Your breasts are simply developing along
with the rest of your body in its change. It would only make sense
that they would grow and possibly even begin secreting at this stage
of the pregnancy."
Kissing the neko's temple, Heero smiled at him, "See. They're
nothing to be ashamed of."
Duo looked down at his ever-changing body, blinking his violet eyes
while taking in the newfound information. Over the last couple of
weeks, his breasts had begun growing along with his abdomen and occasionally
leaked from time-to-time. It was both an annoyance and an embarrassment.
"If you like, I can have Howard run some tests on the
milk for its contents," Hilde offered politely. "Whether
you decided to feed directly, or through pumping, the babies could
gain quite a bit of nutrition and immunities from it."
Quickly mulling over the notion, the cat-eared boy chewed on the inside
of his cheek for a moment. Finally, looking to the young woman, he
commented, "Honestly, I would rather not feed directly since
that would be... weird for me. But I might get used to a pump. So,
you can run the test."
Refraining from a chuckle, Heero leaned over the other side of the
bed to kiss his lover's cheek. He knew that this whole subject was
uncomfortable for Duo, and he certainly could understand why.
The artist had kept his original promise that any decisions regarding
the neko's body had to be made by Duo and Duo alone. Hearing that
the neko was willing to give at least the thought of pumping his own
natural milk was something that Heero was quite happy with. It just
showed how open-minded he was when it came to their babies and their
well-being.
Hilde was a complete professional in extracting a sample from one
of the breasts. With her specimen jar of milk carefully sealed away
with the rest of her equipment, she told the pair, "I'll get
this to Howard on my way back home. As soon as he has the results,
I will get back to you to let you know what we came up with."
More than relieved over how far-less painful the experience was, Duo's
tail started swishing behind him again as his ears perked up. "Thanks,
Hilde," he said sincerely while pulling her down for a tight
hug.
Chuckling, the girl returned the embrace with a quiet, "Anytime."
She accepted another appreciative hug from Heero. Together, the trio
headed from the bedroom into the living room of the apartment as soon
as the equipment was packed back up and ready.
On her way towards the front door, Hilde adjusted the strap of her
laptop bag on her shoulder and raised a finger in warning to
her patient. "You make sure you continue to take it easy,"
she told him.
Focusing on the artist, she ordered, "I want to know immediately
if he starts pushing himself over these next few days leading to the
appeal." Her friends both saluted with amused smirks on their
faces.
Satisfied with that, Hilde grinned and stepped from the room with
a wave of her hand. As the door slid closed behind her, the parents-to-be
sighed deeply in relief after their scare.
Another round of movement began in Duo's round abdomen. Snickering,
he patted his stomach with an amused, "You all just love keeping
us on our toes, don't you?" The fluttering strengthened, making
him wince a bit.
Looking over to the table where their lunch was still sitting, Heero
offered, "I'll go and reheat the soups while you have a seat."
The artist took a moment to wrap Duo up in his arms and kissed
him soundly. "I don't want you off of your feet these next couple
of days if you can help it," he commanded gently when their lips
parted. "You're going to be up and about enough when it's time
for the appeal."
Much as he disliked the idea of being physically restricted, the neko
knew better than to push things. Nodding, he relented, "All right. Professor
G's class will be starting in an hour, so I still have time to have
lunch."
"Okay, but I want you sitting down first," Heero chided
as he led the braided teenager to the table and pulled a chair out
for him.
Waiting until his pregnant husband was sitting, the artist gathered
up some of the large bowls and hurried into the kitchen to heat them
up. Back at the table, Duo sighed and rubbed his protruding belly.
Now knowing how his husband was going to be fretting over him, the
neko prepared himself for what was sure to be a long... however many
more weeks they had to wait before the birth of their babies.
* * * *
Fortunately, after a couple of days following their scare, Duo was
pleased when Heero finally backed down a bit on his mothering. Of
course, there was the expected over-worrying from time-to-time, but
nothing that threatened to drive him insane.
Nice as it was to have someone that cared about him and the little
ones so much, it was also a relief to Duo to be able to walk around
without Heero acting afraid he may break.
As the time neared for the appeal, there was a noticeable tension
brewing around and between the couple. Flowers, teddy bears and
other gifts were being sent to their dorm by their classmates and
friends to wish them luck.
With a couple of days to go before the pending hearing, Duo was sitting
in on his last morning class with Professor G before heading back
home in preparation for his defense. Seated before his desk's large
monitor, the braided teenager's ears were turned towards the speakers
as the teacher gave his lesson.
At the conclusion of his class, the long-nosed professor
looked to his watch and announced, "And with that riveting look
into the judicial process, class is dismissed." His students
chuckled and snickered at the man's sarcasm over one of the more
boring lectures for the course.
Raising a hand, G told his pupils, "As we all know, thanks to
the ever-intrusive media, Mister Maxwell is going to be one of the
few to appeal the Supreme Justices in a couple of days."
The neko blinked in surprise as the monitor on the professor's
desk was spun to look out to the smiling faces of his friends
and classmates. "Let's all be sure to wish him the best,"
the old man said.
"Give them hell, Duo!" one of the students in the back shouted.
Other shouts of the like, all offering warm wishes of 'good luck'
filled the air as the young men and women waved to the cat-eared boy
on the screen.
Taken aback, Duo blinked back tears that had begun to fill his violet
eyes. Grinning widely, he waved with hand and tail back as
he choked out a sincere, "Thanks, everyone." Another
round of cheers and whistles rose up before the gathered students
began filing out.
When the room was nearly emptied out, Professor G stood before the
monitor and smirked, "Never before have I had a pupil going through
the system as I was teaching it. I must say that it is quite exciting."
Biting his lip, the neko replied, "Well, I've learned a lot from
you, Professor. A lot of what you taught me will be really helpful
when I defend myself before the Justices."
"It's a bold move on your part to stand up for yourself
in such a way, my boy," G sighed with a worried frown. His
smirk returned as he shrugged, "But if anything that I taught
here can be of assistance, I am honored by that. Hopefully, whatever
this new bit of information you have will be enough to sway the Justices."
Quietly chuckling, Duo rubbed his large belly beneath his desk- well
out of sight from the camera zoomed in on him. Before long, everyone
was going to know just what that 'new information' was. The only thing
that he was going to miss was everyone's expressions when they finally
found out.
Everything was certainly going to be very different in just a couple
of days.
Clearing his throat of the small lump that had formed there, the neko
smiled warmly, "Thank you for all of your support in this, Professor.
I promise to get caught up with anything I miss in my absence."
G waved his hand with a huffed, "I am not worried about that
one bit. You're one of my best students."
Snickering, the gray-haired man leaned in towards the screen
and informed, "Besides, our next class is scheduled during the
hearing. I plan on taking a break from teaching that day so we can
follow the media coverage and have a few debates on what is happening.
Maybe I'll actually be able to keep some of your classmates' attention
during that."
Duo laughed over the thought of his appeal made into
a class discussion. The fact that the hearing had pulled so much national,
and global interest never ceased to amaze him. "Well, I'll be
sure to catch up with you as soon as I can next week when all of this
is over," the braided teenager grinned.
His professor nodded firmly, "Very good. Best of luck to you,
Mister Maxwell. You're as entitled to happiness as anyone else, so
we're all pulling for you here." Snickering, he stated, "And
to echo Mister Johnson's earlier remark; give them hell."
Laughing and offering his appreciation once more, Duo reached
over to turn off his monitor camera. With a deep sigh, he sank into
his chair as the realization that he had finished his lessons before
having to pack up for the return home sank in.
He nearly jumped from his seat when Heero's voice unexpectedly commented,
"That was nice." Letting out a sharp cry mixed with a mew,
arms and tail wrapped around his abdomen protectively, Duo spun to
find his husband leaning against their office doorway.
With a sheepish smile, the artist winced, "Sorry." Pushing
himself from the frame, he entered the room to kiss his glaring partner's
forehead and gestured to the screen. "That was nice of your classmates
and Professor G to say those things."
"Yea," Duo replied with another sigh, this one of relief
when he finally calmed his racing heart. "G's a pretty cool guy
when you give him a chance."
Heero leaned against the desk and asked, "So... shall we get
started on our packing, then?" With no way of putting the inevitable
off, the neko nodded and rose to his feet with a hand from his partner.
Together, they headed for the room to gather up a couple of duffle
bags. All the while the little ones moved about in Duo's abdomen.
As uncomfortable as it was on his body, he still found a comfort in
it.
* * * *
Two days later...In the hallway just outside the closed
courtroom of the Supreme Justices, the scene was very familiar to
Duo and his friends as the one they made just weeks prior.
Embracing his family and friends when they broke the protective huddle
they had made around him as a shield to enter the courthouse, the
neko did his best to fend off his nerves.
While standing in defense in court was something he was used to with
his line of work, defending himself in this situation was entirely
different.
In a few moments, the world was going to find out just how unique Duo
really was when he entered the room. There certainly was not going
to be a question to what his condition was, dressed in a business
suit that did little to hide his large abdomen.
Two of the last to wish Duo well, Danielle and Trent gave a few last
minute pointers before joining the rest of their friends at the closed
wooden doors. Danny, Zechs and Noin offered their son the best with
tight hugs and kisses.
Last, and certainly not least, Heero moved in to wrap his arms as
snugly around his husband as he could manage.
Kissing the braided teenager deeply, the artist pulled back and
breathed, "Love you. Whatever happens, that won't change. You
know that, right?"
"I know," Duo nodded reassuringly, a small smile on his
face. "Love you, too," he managed in a small whisper before
reluctantly allowing the arms around him to fall away.
Winking, Heero turned and led their support team into the courtroom
to the sounds of muttered voices as those already inside watched and
whispered to one another.
Left alone in the hallway, the neko rubbed a hand over his swollen
abdomen with a whispered, "I guess it's now or never, huh, little
ones?"
Slowly walking to the closed doors, Duo paused there to
take a few deep breaths. Finally ready, he took hold of the closest
door's handle when there was suddenly a piercing pain in his gut,
Crying out, the cat-tailed boy collapsed in a heap. Within seconds,
the doors flew open as several people flew out into the hallway. Unable
to hear or focus his vision past his pain, Duo whimpered when another
attack hit him.
Over many unfamiliar voices that were yelling out words he could not
make out, he heard Hilde shout, "We have to get those babies
out! Now!"
Right on top of that yell, Heero's voice cried through the darkening
world, "Hang on!" Pulled into the dark void, it was the
last thing that the neko heard.
~ ~
Gasping out for air, Duo sat upright in his bed. Sweat pouring down
his face, his wide violet eyes took in the nearly pitch black
room around him just as Heero quickly pulled him into his arms.
"It's okay," Heero whispered soothingly, kissing the top
of his partner's damp, braided head. "You were just dreaming,
love. Everything's all right."
Slowly, it all came back to the startled neko that this
was their first night back at their parents' estate. With the last
of his tension fading, he took relief in the stirring inside of him.
Closing his eyes as he sank into his husband's arms, the neko wrapped
his tail securely around his fretting babies.
He was safe. The babies were okay. Heero was with him. Everything
was right in the world again.
Between his shot nerves and Heero's quiet humming, it was not
long before Duo was lulled into a much more peaceful, dreamless
slumber that he was most grateful for.
TBC
chapter 25
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