"The Meaning of
Life"
Written By: SkyLark
Pairings: 1x2x1
Warnings: AU, Neko, male pregnancy, sap, angst
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"
Seated at Howard's table with a calendar in front of
them, Heero and Duo worked together in getting the precise date to
when they noticed the first sign of conception. Pointing to the date,
the artist noted aloud, "That was the morning we noticed the
bleeding." The neko nodded in confirmation.
Humming to herself across the table, Sally typed the information into
her laptop. "Then as long as the pregnancy is a standard one
in going a whole nine months, we would be looking at a late February
or early March delivery. Of course, we would be able to have a much
more narrowed date down when we have the first normal ultrasound in
a few weeks."
Just behind the braided doctor, Howard stopped his pacing and
focused on his friends. "Of course, I would like to see the pregnancy
go full term. The delivery would, of course, have to be
through a cesarean section."
Treize raised his head from where he was peering over Sally's shoulder
to look over their research on the screen as they shared a worried
look. "While I completely agree, that does pose a bit of a problem,"
he frowned deeply.
Gesturing to the young woman before him, he commented, "Neither
Sally nor I have a great deal of experience in that since that is
not what our medical careers focus on. While I am sure that we could
perform the procedure, I would feel better having someone who really
knows what they're doing. Someone that is in the field of child deliveries."
At the end of the table, Cassie gasped. Her tail waving excitedly
and her hears perked high, she said, "I think I may know someone
that could help with that." All eyes turned to her as she suggested,
"Hilde Schbeiker. She's a friend and she is a practicing obstetrician.
I was just working with her a couple of nights ago. She's fantastic."
Relief flooded over the expecting couple. "We are both familiar
with Hilde," Heero commented. "It's been some time since
we were all able to catch up given our busy schedules."
"She's also someone we can trust," Duo added. "We would
need someone that wouldn't go running to the press with this news
when they found out. The media would have a field day with this
story." Every head in the room nodded at that point.
Howard waved a hand in the air and stated, "There will be plenty
of time to involve her. For now, let's just get through the first
few weeks of this as under wraps as possible." Focusing on the
parents-to-be, he told them, "The fewer people that know about
this the better in the beginning. Spare your families and us, I would
keep this from everyone else until we know that the pregnancy carries
through the first trimester."
Not liking the sound of that, Duo swallowed roughly. "You mean
there is a good chance that I may miscarry before then?" he questioned.
Though he had come to terms with carrying a child, it still was a
strange thing to use words like 'miscarriage' and 'cesarean section'
in reference to himself.
Biting her lip, Sally took a deep breath. Carefully pushing her laptop
aside, she folded her arms on the table and met her braided friend's
gaze almost hesitantly.
"What we are dealing with here is very uncommon," she began.
"Unfortunately, there is a good chance that your body may
suddenly reject what is happening to it. Were that to happen, there
is little that we would be able to do to stop it. We do not want to
think of that happening, but we do have to consider the possibility
that it may happen."
Eyes filling with small tears at the thought, Duo wrapped his arms
around his abdomen protectively as his tail and ears drooped. Swallowing
past the lump in his own throat at that, Heero reached over to rub
his lover's shoulder blades in support. As Sally had stated, no one
wanted to consider such a loss, but there always was that concern.
It was certainly going to be a very long nine months... if the pregnancy
did get to carry out that long.
Treize decided to lighten the air by grinning, "We will worry
about that only if that should come about. For every chance there
is of something going wrong, there are just as many possibilities
of this turning out just fine. Just take this one day at a time."
Pleased with the doctor's wording, Howard smiled, "That's right.
For now, just head back home and take everything in." Rounding
the table, he patted the top of the braided neko's head and smirked,
"You really are one of a kind, my boy, just like I always knew
you were."
Duo's stomach lurched in recalling how he had almost wished for the
times when he had been unique. He certainly was that now.
Snorting, he muttered, "Yea. Just when I didn't think I could
be more of a freak."
Heero frowned in hearing those soft words. Choosing to not bring it
up before their friends, he reached over and just squeezed Duo's
hand. His cheeks flushing at clearly being caught, his lover flashed
him a small grin.
Rising from her seat, Sally announced, "I believe that you both
could use some time alone at home after all of this. Should anything
come up, don't hesitate to call any one of us whatever the time."
Howard and Treize gave their own affirmatives in agreement.
A round of handshakes and embraces went around the lot as they all
parted ways. Taking Cassie back home with them, Heero and Duo were
quiet most for most of their trip.
For the whole of the drive, however, the artist kept his right
hand free of the wheel to clutch onto his partner's.
* * * *
That evening, it was decided between the newly expecting couple that
they needed that night to themselves before informing their families
of the news. It was still all too overwhelming to have to worry about
how they would be making that announcement.
Curled up together in their bed following dinner, they remained in
a companionable silence for a time before Heero turned to kiss the
neko's brow and whispered, "You're not a freak, you know."
Biting his lip, Duo ran a finger over the chest beneath him. "I
just should have known better to be careful what I wish for,"
he remarked quietly. "Not that I'm complaining over this at all,
it's just a pretty bit adjustment."
A sad smile tugged the artist's lips. "I understand," he
nodded. "But it is pretty amazing... this baby that we never
knew we could make."
The last of his dark thoughts banishing, the neko grinned widely.
"Yea," he breathed. "I always knew that I wanted to
have a family with you, just never knew that it was possible to actually
have a child of our own." He rested a hand over his abdomen along
with his tail.
"Wonder what they'll be like," Duo mused aloud. "Since
this never happened before, we don't know if we'll have a normal looking
child or a neko like me."
Shrugging, Heero threw in, "Or a combination of us. Maybe they'll
have just a tail or just the ears. There are a lot of options, I suppose."
He looked down to the braided head on his shoulder and smirked, "Whatever
the case, they'll be perfect." His lover chuckled quietly and
nodded.
With a snort, the neko said, "I'm going to get huge. Not to mention
the mood swings and other side effects of being pregnant."
At that, the artist smiled lovingly, "I still won't
love you any less." The arms around him tightened in appreciation
as a deep purr rumbled from his partner's chest.
Carefully sitting up a bit, Heero commented, "I do wish that
you had someone you could talk to that understands. I'm sure
that Dorothy and Lady Une would be willing to help in that field with
their own recent experiences from their pregnancies."
Pushing himself up, Duo grinned, "That's true. I sure could use
some help in knowing what to expect and I can trust them.” There
was another companionable silence between the couple before the braided
teenager smirked, “So are there any ideas as to how we’re
going to break this to our families?”
“I was thinking maybe we could make dinner for
them tomorrow night and break the news then,” the Japanese youth
rationalized. Turning to fully face his lover, he shrugged, “If
that’s all right with you, of course.”
Tail swishing behind him, Duo grinned, “That sounds
good to me. At least they’ll all be sitting, then.” He smirked
as his partner chuckled quietly.
Lightly running his fingers through the neko’ long
bangs, Heero smiled warmly. “I love you so much,” he breathed.
Returning the smile, the neko replied in kind, “Love
you, too.”
And with a shared kiss, they settled down for the night.
More than ever before, they anxiously awaited the next day. And they
knew they would looked forward to every day more and more from that
night forward in anticipation of what was to come.
* * * *
Stirring the sauce in the pan that he was working with,
Heero looked over to the braided teenager at the cutting board and
asked, "How are the mushrooms coming?"
"Almost finished," Duo answered as he chopped the last of
the tops down finely. Lifting the cutting board he headed for the
stove as the artist stepped aside and added the mushroom to the sauce.
Once he was finished, he opened the oven door to peek in on the chicken
that was cooking. "That only needs about another twenty minutes,"
he announced while closing the door once more.
Danielle stepped in and took a deep breath. Humming, she sighed, "Oh,
it smells wonderful in here." Tilting her head to the smiling
boys turning to face her, she offered, "I can help out wherever
you need me. Is there anything else you need another pair of hands
for?"
Shaking his head, Heero replied, "Nope. We have the main course
and other fixings all taken care of. Besides, this is you night off,
remember? Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes."
His mother raised an eyebrow and smirked, "All right. I'll call
Zechs and Noin over, then." That said, she turned on her heels
and headed out of the room to give the cooks their space.
Nervously chewing on the inside of his cheek, Duo's furry ears twitched.
"She knows something's up," he commented quietly. "We
have cooked for them before, but I'm sure that we've been acting differently
since our visit to Howard's yesterday."
The artist turned back to the stove to stir the sauce that was beginning
to boil lightly. "I'm sure they're all a little suspicious right
now," he shrugged, keeping his voice low. "But it's only
for a few more minutes before we make our announcement."
"Good point," the neko nodded. Heading over to overlook
the vegetables and garlic bread that he had been working on, he reached
for the seasoning shakers with his tail to apply them to his concoctions.
* * * *
Less than a half hour later, Zechs and Trent assisted the couple in
bringing out the dishes of food to the table. At the insistence
of their parents, Heero and Duo took either head of the table while
their guardians sat across from each other. Bring part of the family,
himself, Danny had taken his place between his mother and big brother.
Grace was said and the entrees were passed around while conversation
filled the air. Nothing was out of the ordinary for the start of the meal
as compared to any other family dinner together. Silently, however, the young
men at the heads of the table were waiting for an opening in the discussions
to share their news.
"This all tastes wonderful," Noin complimented after she
had a chance to sample everything. "Thank you very much for this,
boys. This was a wonderful surprise."
Eyeing one another across the table, Heero and Duo communicated silently.
Clearing his throat the artist straightened in his seat at deciding
to get the ball rolling on the reason behind the meal. "Actually,"
he began, "we both wanted you all here to tell you something."
Zechs chuckled quietly as he sat up in his own chair. "We all
pretty much had a feeling there was a reason behind this," he
stated. Noin, Danielle and Trent all nodded with amused expressions.
"So, what is the big announcement?"
Suddenly more nervous than he had ever felt leading to that moment,
Duo swallowed roughly. "W-well," he stammered. "We
had a very interesting meeting with Howard, Sally and Treize yesterday
and-"
"Is there something wrong, then?" Trent cut him off to question,
eyes wide in concern at hearing the team of people that the boys had
seen. Focused on the neko, he said, "It would have had to be
something to do with the way you've been feeling lately."
Noin was quick to frown in worry, "They found what the problem
is?"
Danielle threw in, "Whatever it is, you don't need to worry.
I can afford the best doctors to help find a solution."
Nearly overlapping her comment, Zechs nodded, "And we'll all
be here to support you whatever it is." At the slew of questions
and remarks that came from their parents, Heero and Duo had made several
attempts to get a word in to no avail and could only get broken sentences
in.
Shaking his braided head in frustration, the the cat-eared teenager
had had enough and yelled over all of the chatter, "I'm
pregnant!"
A pin drop could have been heard in the silence that immediately followed.
Eyes wide and jaws slack, the families at either side of Duo were
staring in disbelief at him. Heero bit his lip as he watched the backs
of their family members' heads while his lover swallowed at the expressions
focused on him.
Finally, after a long silence, Danny cheered excitedly, "I'm
gonna be an uncle?!"
With so much tension in the air, Duo broke out into a loud fit of
laughter over the innocent question. Heero chuckled quietly and shook
his head in amusement.
"That's right." the braided neko grinned widely to his little
brother, rubbing the top of his head. Laughing, Danny jumped from
his seat and sprang into Duo's lap to wrap his arms around his neck
tightly.
Breaking out of his stupor, Trent looked over to Danielle beside him
and smirked, "Still with us?" Lightly, he poked her arm
to see that she would remain upright while being frozen as stiffly
as she was.
Lightly slapping his hand, the red-haired woman threw her husband
a half-hearted glare while Noin and Zechs began to show signs of life.
"P-pregnant?" the nekos' mother breathed, skin pale as she
reeled over the news.
Zechs shook his head in awe, asking, "How? How is that possible?"
Clearing his throat, Heero drew the attention onto himself. "In
a nutshell, when Duo and the others were reformed, there was a mutation
due to the DNA used," he explained. "The mutation created
female organs over time and over time, it found a way to reproduce."
Danielle blinked her cobalt eyes in shock as understanding dawned
on her over the information. "And there would have been no way
of knowing until conception occurred," she thought aloud. Her
son nodded.
As Danny crawled off his lap and back into his own seat, Duo shrugged,
"We're just as surprised as all of you."
Tears welling in her eyes, Noin slowly rose from her chair and moved
towards her son to embrace him tightly. "So I'm going to be a
grandmother," she whispered with a glowing smile. When she pulled back,
she giggled, "Maybe it's a bit out of order since your father
and I were planning on adding to the family with a baby of our own,
but this is still wonderful news."
Moving in to hug his son, Zechs patted his back and told him quietly,
"Out of order or not, everything happens for a reason."
As he straightened, he folded his arms and said, "I would like
to meet with Howard and the others to be filled in on everything they
know since you are our son and we should know how to help where we
can." Relieved over their reactions, Duo fought the shimmer in
his eyes in appreciation of the support.
A similar scene was taking place at the opposite head of the table
as Danielle and Trent embraced their son while offering their congratulations.
"I'm going to be a grandmother," the retired lawyer blinked
in surprise. Grinning, she chuckled, "And I'm going to spoil
that little one to death." The two men in her life snickered
at the sentiment.
Once everyone had a chance to hug and offer their warm wishes to the
expecting couple, the lot sat back down. Immediately falling back
into her analytical ways, Danielle rationalized the situation at hand.
"The media will have a field day with this," she commented.
"We'll have to be cautious that this does not get leaked out."
Heero reassured, "Besides everyone in this room, Howard, Sally,
Treize and Cassie are the only ones that know about this. We're planning
on keeping it that way for a while until we know that everything is
all right with the pregnancy. Then we can tell our friends that we
trust."
"Good idea," Trent remarked. "One can never be too
careful with this."
Raising an eyebrow, Duo turned to the little neko beside him and smirked,
"Got that, little brother? Even Solo and the others can't know
about this right away. We'll tell them when the time's ready."
All the more excited at the thought of having such an important secret,
Danny nodded enthusiastically, "I won't tell anyone. You can
count on me."
That out of the way, the large family's discussion for the rest of
the evening turned to the topic of the unexpected baby that had come
into their lives.
TBC
chapter 9
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