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"The Christmas Kitten"Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: R Warnings: AU Pairings: 1x2 Summary: lets see, there's some 'gasp!' and some 'giggles' with a little 'awwww' on the side. ^-^ "The Christmas Kitten" “This is so stupid.” “Shut up and help me,” Duo grunted heaving on a package that was teetering on the windowsill of a forlorn shack hidden by the thick canopy of the forest. “We’re not elves,” Hiiro grumbled but pushed hard smirking when the box tumbled in the window landing on the small, scrubbed wood table inside. Duo huffed glaring indignantly before turning to climb inside. The shack was dark except for the low fire but he made sure to hide himself behind a candlestick until he was sure no one was about. “Can we go now?” Hiiro asked sighing heavily while he leaned his tiny arm against the windowsill. “Stop grousing and help me get this thing to the tree,” Duo grumbled going to the edge of the table to peer down looking for the best way to get the box from the tabletop to the floor. It didn’t seem like such a feat to move a six by ten box from a table to the hand knitted throw that lay beneath the small pine shrub in the corner unless one considered that neither of them were more than six inches tall. Hiiro sighed and rolled his eyes but climbed in the window to help. Duo smiled when he pulled out a length of twine he’d apparently gathered during their yearly trek through the woods to deliver Duo’s Christmas present. They worked silently wrapping the box and lowering it gently to the hard wood floor. There was a rug this year, that was new but it looked as if it’d been laid some time back. It wasn’t going to make it any easier to move the box though so they weren’t thrilled about it. Instead of sliding the box to it’s destination under the sparsely decorated tree as usual they were forced to turn it end over end which meant it was taking twice as long. “Hurry up!” Hiiro grumbled tiring of Duo’s meticulous concern over the boxes contents. “Don’t break it!” Duo growled rushing to make sure it didn’t land too heavily on its side. “It’ll be morning before we’re there at this rate!” Hiiro snipped. “Stop pulling on the twine!” Duo rasped preempting Hiiro’s attempt to simply drag it to its destination. “You’ll mess up the decoration,” he pouted straightening the plum pulp paper that encased it. Hiiro’s brow knit crossly showing his impatience with the entire affair but smoothed over before he could retort. The lines on his forehead eased while he watched Duo fuss over the thing and he thought about all the time he’d put into carving the delicate figurine within. A vision of Cassy, the little girl who lived in the shack with her grandfather came unbidden to his mind and though he wasn’t of the opinion that they should be risking life and limb for such an endeavor he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips while he watched Duo tuck and smooth the homemade paper. “Come on,” he sighed clapping him on the shoulder. “Let’s get this over with.” Duo smiled and followed him around the box to help lift it for its next flip but barked out a startled cry when he came face to face with a furry snout that sat under the large green eyes of a cat. “Run!” Hiiro shouted turning to flee in one direction while Duo scampered off in another but he turned suddenly when he realized the cat had followed Duo instead of him. “Hey!” he shouted to no avail. His eyes widened while he watched in horror as the cat, a kitten at most, chased his partner under the wood burning stove. It was too low to the ground for the kitten to fit but it wasn’t giving up that easy and kept swiping at him while it growled and swished its tail. “HEY!” Hiiro yelled again running to the fireplace to gather bits of bark to toss at it. His efforts proved worthwhile when the kitten abandoned its search for Duo and bounded toward him staying hot on his heals while he beat a path to the table and scrambled up the twine they’d left there. He just barely made the top before the kitten leaped up in one mighty bound and crouched low. “Hiiro!” Duo shouted. “The pot!” Hiiro dared to glance at the fire where a large pot lay upside down on the stone beside it. His eyes flickered to Duo when he dashed across the floor headed straight for the iron sanctuary but locked angrily on the kitten when its head turned, its green eyes tracking his partner’s movement. “Hey!” he shouted getting the kitten’s attention long enough for Duo to make it to safety before he dropped like a stone to the floor. The kitten landed lightly beside him and growled softly while it crouched low. He wasted no time making a mad dash for the box that still lay in the middle of the floor managing to skid behind it before the cat caught up. “Hiiro!” Duo cried desperate for his safety but there was little Hiiro could do but move from one side of the box to the other while the kitten swiped at him. It was only a matter of time before the cat got lucky so Duo searched for some way to distract the feline finding only a spoon nearby. “Duo!” Hiiro screeched having almost been decapitated by the crafty kitten and Duo’s amethyst eyes set. A moment later he’d retrieved the spoon and set the handle in a crack in the stone pulling back hard while he laid a pebble from the firebox in it and aimed. The kitten hissed and jumped in surprise when the pebble bounced off its head giving Hiiro an opportunity to make a run for the pot which he made it under with Duo just as the kitten pounced. “Damn it!” Hiiro growled smacking his bone headed partner upside the head. “I knew you’d get us killed one day!” “It’s just a kitten!” Duo countered. “No more than a baby!” “That hardly matters when you’re on its insides!” Hiiro retorted. “Oh, you’re not going to get eaten,” Duo huffed plopping down on the stone. “Tell that to that thing out there!” Hiiro argued doing the same in the opposite direction. They sat in silence for a time while Hiiro fumed and Duo sulked. They could see the kitten through the pots spout which had given up trying to poke its nose under it and curled up under the tree to watch them patiently. “Maybe we could enchant it,” Duo mused. “What?!” Hiiro gasped turning astonished eyes on him. “You’re not seriously thinking of continuing this insanity!?” “We’re not finished.” “Duo, please,” Hiiro pleaded rolling to sit on his feet where he faced him. “It’s here. She’ll find it right where it is in the morning. Let’s just…” “It should be under the tree.” “This is not worth risking our skin over.” “She’ll get nothing for Christmas if we don’t,” Duo sighed. “She got that!” Hiiro countered pointing at the seemingly sleeping kitten. “Do you think it was a present?” “It’s wearing a red bow, Duo,” Hiiro groaned. “Do you think it could be bewitched?” Hiiro moaned dejectedly and melted to lean against the side of the pot to argue, “You’re beautiful… but you’re not a pixie.” The blush that rose to Duo’s cheeks made Hiiro smile in spite of the situation. It was true that brownies such as themselves possessed little to no magic as did the pixies and nymphs but one look into Duo’s shimmering, violet eyes made him wonder if he couldn’t pull it off on sheer charm alone. “Hey!” Duo suddenly barked moving quickly to the spout of the pot to glare at the kitten who had abandoned its spot under the tree in favor of investigating the box that lay in the middle of the floor. “Leave that alone!” Hiiro went to his side feeling his stomach drop when he saw the kitten bat at the twine tied around the parcel. The anger in Duo’s eyes was reflected in his heart when he thought about all the work and devotion his partner had put into the present this year. The figure was of a sprite, its wings carved lovingly from the dried sap of an ancient maple tree. It was twice the size of a real sprite but would fit perfectly into the hand of an eight year old girl. Duo had created every aspect of the gift with great care and devotion and it pained him to see the kitten carelessly swatting at it. Even the paper had taken a week to make and though Hiiro often teased him about what he considered to be a foolish endeavor he wasn’t about to let all his hard work be destroyed by a playful kitten. “Get ready to run,” he told his disgruntled looking partner shifting his expression to one of curious hopefulness. Duo’s mouth curled into an impish grin as he watched him slip outside and hook the grapple they often used to travel through the forest in the spout of the pot. A few moments later he reappeared holding the end of the twine which he offered to Duo with a smile. They pulled together heaving on the string until the pot was lifted enough to expose them to the room then shouted with all their might until the kitten left off its game with the box and pounced but when it landed where they had been all it got for it’s trouble was a pot over its head. “You’re brilliant!” Duo crowed ignoring the spitting growls sounding from beneath the pot. “Above average,” Hiiro agreed arrogantly catching him around the waist when he launched himself at him. “This will be the best Christmas ever!” Duo smiled excitedly. “It will,” Hiiro agreed. “Just as soon as we’re finished with this.” Duo laughed delightedly rushing to the box to finish their task. It took a little while but it was soon tucked into its proper place beneath the tree just as it had been every year since the child had come to live in the shack. “I can’t wait to see her face,” Duo smiled following his partner up the twine to the table by the window. “I hope she doesn’t break it,” Hiiro commented recalling how delicate the figure was this time. “She’s older now,” Duo reasoned letting his partner help him up onto the table. “I’m sure she’ll be careful.” They turned to look at the pot when a loud meow sounded and laughed then scurried out the window when the light of a candle brightened the hall. “Tedder?” Cassy called curiously while the kitten yowled louder. “How did you get under there?” the child asked setting the candlestick down on the stone before lifting the pot. Duo smiled when the kitten climbed into her arms and snuggled up under her chin happily. “We’ll have to have Relena bewitch it before next year,” he reasoned knowing it wouldn’t be so easy to fool a full grown cat. Hiiro nodded his agreement making a note to pick up some of the sprite princesses favorite flowers the next time they went to visit but his thoughts narrowed to Duo alone when the child let go a soft gasp and put the kitten on the floor. His mouth curled knowingly while he watched Cassy quickly claim the box under the tree, the excitement in her young, vibrant eyes mirrored in Duo’s sparkling expression. It wasn’t every year that they got to see her open her gift but he’d have faced a thousand cats and more to see the light that danced in Duo’s eyes when she opened the box and gently lifted the figure into the light. “I think she likes it,” Hiiro whispered near Duo’s ear but all he managed in return was a quick nod while he watched the girl softly cradle his gift. “Thank you,” she whispered bringing the figure to her cheek to nuzzle it adoringly. The kitten climbed into her lap being received happily as it stretched up to sniff at the sprite. They stayed for a time and watched her play with her new toy then faded back into the woods when she dozed off somewhere before dawn. Night wasn’t really the safest time for a brownie to be moving about but it wasn’t uncommon for them to bed down in the day after one of Duo’s little adventures. “We’ll have to warn the wildlife of the cat,” Hiiro reasoned yawning widely while Duo lined their bed with fresh fern. “They won’t listen,” Duo reasoned fussing with the mound that was to serve as Hiiro’s pillow. Hiiro smiled knowing he was right but they would spread the word anyway. He waited a moment longer knowing Duo would fuss a bit before growing weary and sliding into his spot. The soft huff from his partner confirmed that he had entered the bedding early but he was too tired to be overly concerned reaching out to snag him around the waist and drag him to his side. “Let me finish the awning,” Duo groused tugging to get free but Hiiro refused to relent turning him in his arms so he could kiss him. “Mmmm,” Duo moaned giving in and wrapping his arms around his stately partner. “Do you think she’d like a robin?” he mused getting a little lost in the feeling of Hiiro’s warm lips brushing along the tender skin just behind his earlobe. “The cat would eat it,” Hiiro reasoned slowly rolling them over. “Not a real one,” Duo chuckled. “Perhaps,” Hiiro said wriggling this way and that, “You could, just for a moment, allow me to think of you?” Duo’s smile faltered when Hiiro raised his hand and from his strong fingers dangled a length of braided silver upon which hung a delicate figure fashioned of ivory and onyx, its wings stretching wide where they encircled the perfectly infinite circle of the full moon. “Is this…for me?” Duo breathed understanding the symbol of timeless unity contained in the piece. “A gift,” Hiiro smiled fastening the chain around his neck. “For Christmas,” Duo smiled touching the figure where it lay warmly against his chest. Hiiro gazed down into his beautiful eyes recalling the endless years he had been granted the pleasure of his company and smiled as he kissed him and voiced his everlasting wish… “Forever.” owari :)
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