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"The Pet Project Series "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: NC 17 Warnings: AU, shounen-ai, rated for language and
suggestiveness Pairings: 1x2,3x4,5x6 Summary: The GW boys use pets for matchmaking purposes. In this last story, Duo and friends deliver Quatre and Trowa a well-intended Christmas gift, the kind that keeps on giving. A/N: This is for Waterlily's birthday, she who
is the master of Wufei/Zechs pairings. Thanks for editing, Snowdragon! "The Pet Project Series " Part 3 Dallying
Llama
He gestured for Heero to continue backing the van up to the wire fence. "That's it!" Duo shouted, and Heero cut the engine. A week earlier, he and Heero had laid a gravel road, encircling the property for easy access, and also a gate between his and the Winner property. He'd mumbled something about "compliance with fire department right of entry" and Quatre hadn't batted an eye. Anything to smooth the path and official opening of Maxwell's Parish Orphanage before the Christmas holiday. "This'll be great." Duo slid the lock off the gate. Heero stared at him a moment then agreed tentatively. "I hope so." Wufei and his boyfriend were there to participate, too. He and Zechs attached the rear ramp to the van. The tall man with the military bearing and sweep of platinum hair wiped off his hands using a monogrammed handkerchief. Duo could have sworn it was a rose and the initials "TK". Zechs was staring at him as he folded the cloth and pocketed it. "We are ready for mission 'egress'." "Isn't that a kind of long-legged bird?" Duo asked, hiding a smile. "That is an e-gret... Oh, of course, you are teasing." The dignified man forced a crooked smile. Heero drew on heavy-duty gloves and then he and Heero jumped up onto the ramp and opened the van double doors to reveal two fluffy, furry rear ends standing four feet off the ground on equally shaggy legs. Heero snapped the leads on the matching head harnesses, while Duo patted their necks to reassure the two animals. "Let's go, babes." "Duo, you didn't choose them for their appearance, did you?" Zechs made no effort to mask his sarcasm. "Ha, ha!" "These particular llamas were chosen for their coloration, intending for them to emulate their masters," Heero said, unsure who was kidding whom and wanting the point made clear. Duo led the slightly smaller llama with the huge eyes and ivory-colored fur backwards down the ramp to the ground. The other llama turned and followed on his own, Heero needing only to hold the leash out from underfoot. He gave the shaggy caramel-colored back a pat and asked, "Should we part his bangs to one side, or would that be too obvious?" "Sure, go ahead," Heero agreed. As Duo gave the animal a "Trowa" hairdo touch up, he filled in a few more facts. "These two are brothers and just the right age for pets, and gelded." All Duo's helpers winced. "I didn't do it, geez." "I hope you haven't overstepped the boundaries of friendship imposing these animals on Winner and Barton," Wufei's lips curled giving his smile a sinister look, looking as if he knew no such boundaries himself. "Not that they don't deserve it for all the creatures they've hoisted on us over the years," Duo said. "It's all justifiable. And it might help, you know." Wufei lost his smile and glared at Duo. "Perhaps, but, still, these are large and they live for years." Heero moved his face out of his llama's "kiss" range. "15 to 20 years." The long tongue missed his nose fractionally. "Hey, they deserve llamas," Duo insisted. "They stuck us with life-long companions-" "What?" "Aw, 'Ro, I didn't mean you. The pets! The cats and dogs!" "Those animals needed good homes," Wufei insisted. "Certainly, darling, but there must be more than two proper homes in all of Sanc." Zechs ran a gloved hand briskly across his lover's arm. "Don't you agree?" Wufei clicked his tongue. "You got off easy." Heero removed his gloves and started ticking off his current household on his fingers. "Not only do we house fifteen unruly kids, he feeds hundreds of cats-" "Five," Duo corrected as he tied the leashes to the fence. "-five that Trowa dumped on us, and more that you seem to collect like lint." "Birds?" Zechs asked, his eyebrow arched, showing undue interest in the answer. "No, no birds or dogs. Just cats and, strangely, terrarium creatures." Heero met Zechs' questioning gaze. "Lizards and snakes and one tortoise." "Our kids love them!" Heero let out a sigh carrying great weight. "That doesn't mean we should have them all, Duo." "You don't," Wufei assured him. "We get the dogs and birds. I put my foot down at vermin." Zechs smiled down at his lover. "Really? Which foot?" "Both! Trowa actually tried to tell me a ferret was like a dog. He must think me a dolt." "No, love, just soft-hearted." "I'm most definitely not going soft!" Duo sputtered back a laugh just imagining Wufei going all schmaltzy over animals. "No? In that case, dearest, I'm ridding us of the conures." He met Heero's eyes, searching them for mutual understanding. "Two pairs, mind you. Two noisy pairs. I'm setting them free next spring. I understand they can naturalize in Sanc, so everyone can enjoy them." "I've never heard of them going wild and surviving. I'm looking that up when I get home," Wufei muttered. Zechs' smug expression gave the impression that he had an abundance of plans to keep Mr. Chang adequately distracted on their return home. There would be no time for bird internet research. "Here they come," Heero pointed out. Duo waved at the oncoming pair, bundled in matching parkas and gloves. "Aw, ain't they cute?" Trowa unwrapped the arm encircling his lover's shoulders and jangled a ring of keys. "There's two too many visitors. Maybe we ought to keep the gate locked?" But he was too late. Quatre had already spotted the pretty llamas and was fanning the padlock with a hand. "Oh! They are adorable, don't you think so? Hurry and open up, Trowa!" The lone green eye stared down Heero. "What's up?" "They're guard llamas." Heero pushed away the caramel llama's head so it could face Trowa and stop trying to lick his hair. "Guarding what?" Trowa made a big deal out of scanning the empty lot. "Oh, I get it. They'll chase you off our property?" "No, no," Duo charged into the conversation. "They can guard the kids so they don't get crept up on by wolves or bears or something." "There are no-" But Heero cut off Wufei's rejoinder with a sharp jab from a pointed elbow directed at his diaphragm. "-woofs!" "If that's the case, then you and Heero should have them," Trowa maintained. "I'm sure they are their newest additions to the homestead, right?" Quatre sounded hopeful. "Naw, we got lots to take care of already. They're fer you. A gift!" "Merry Christmas." Heero's flat delivery, however, sucked the cheer out of it. "Ah, thanks?" Quatre kept up his polite pretense under most conditions, while Trowa muttered something about "having plenty to take care of himself". Quatre only barely restrained the whine from entering his voice. "But why two?" "Two llamas can easily be kept on an acre of pasture, and there needs to be at least two 'cause they are herd animals and there's no other animals out here." "Oh." Trowa opened the gate, walked right up to the animals, and patted their heads. "Hello, fellas. We're going to have to protect the bark on the Sanc red oaks so you don't nibble and strip them to the bone and kill them all. Bet you eat your weight in food, dontcha? And you're not even fully grown yet." "They get bigger?" If Quatre's eyes grew any larger they would have encompassed his face. "A little," Duo hedged. He didn't really know. "I'd imagine these two gents will grow to six feet tall and maybe 300 pounds," Trowa said. "Bigger than us." "Um..." Quatre, who had been about to bury both hands in the plush fur, took a step back. Duo had nothing to say to that, so he switched topics. "They eat mostly hay. Here's a booklet that tells about the care. Ah, it says... they cost next to nothing to feed. Look, see? Says here they make good companions 'cause they're undemanding and gentle." Trowa took one of Quatre's hands, removed his gloves, and jammed the bare fingers into the thick fur, making him smile. "Soft." Zechs chuckled into his hand. "If you collect the fur, I'm certain you can have a fiber artist spin and knit matching hats for the two of you." Quatre sniffed the air as one of the llamas dropped a load of less desirable product. "Oh." Looking a bit despondent, he glanced up at Trowa. "How long do they live?" "Glad you asked that!" Duo shouted out. "Once they establish this nice, close bond with you guys, you can count on them being 'round for 15 to 20 years." Meanwhile, Heero gathered a sack from the truck. The two animals perked up, interested immediately. One hummed loudly and the other made a whinny-gurgle noise. "What's wrong with them?" "Nothing, Quat. 'Ro's just bringing over some treats. Let them give'em to their new pets, okay?" "Sure. Here." Heero pushed the brown bag into Trowa's hands. For a minute, he had to fend off the two llamas, while stuffing an apple in Quat's hand. "Take that." "Ack!" "Look, I know why you got us these and I'm here to tell you we're fine," Trowa said. "We had a fight, a big one, I'll admit, but we patched things up. We don't need long-lived pets to keep us together." Heero turned to glare at Duo, whose rosy cheeks pinked a deeper shade. "I told you." "Duo, did you get these from Meg's LonePine Farm?" Trowa asked. It saved Duo from having to defend his logic. "Yeah-" "It's all right then," Trowa told his lover. "She's placing animals from the Noventa ranch." "Oh," Quatre said, sadness marring his features. "A terrible tragedy." Zechs shook his head. "I heard there weren't many animals that survived the fire." The llamas cluckled and hummed and blew on Quatre's hair, begging for more snacks. When one started to pull a paper from his pocket, he pushed away the furry face and hopped backwards. "Not that!" He handed over a sheaf of papers to Heero. "Here are the invitations to the Winner-Barton home Holiday Celebration." Heero passed a pile to Duo and a pair to Wufei, keeping one for himself. Duo flipped through the stack. "Wow! One for every kid? You guys are just... the best, you know?" Duo laughed and rubbed his hands together. Trowa snorted and chuckled at the same time. "Right. Okay, well I'm taking Heckle and Jeckle here to the barn before they drag something more out of that trailer. Quat? Wanna grab that bag of chow?" "Heckle and Jeckle?" Quatre scrunched up his face as if he smelled something awful, and he might have. "No, no... I don't like those names." The group broke apart, going their own ways, leaving the new llama owners to the naming of their new charges. (o) A few weeks later, the day of the Holiday Party... "But it snowed!" chimed several small voices. "Rowy, 'ow're we gonna get to Catty's?" whined a tiny voice close by. Heero gritted his teeth, biting back a sharp remark about the nickname, but then recalled that little Janice had a difficult time with her speech, particularly her "H's'. He held up his buzzing cell phone. "Shut up for a minute-all of you- and get dressed like Duo told you. Warm. Use the gifts we got you." Fleece hats, scarves, mittens, down coats, insulated boots were donned in a confusion of colors and cacophony of noise. And then came the sound of ringing bells. 'Eeeeeeeeeeeee! What's that?" so many voices cried out. "Go to the back door and line up," he ordered them, not unkindly. Duo clamored down the stairs carrying Benny, who always waited until the last minute before visiting the bathroom. "Ready!" Bells grew louder as a horse driven sleigh slid through the yard. "Whoa!" Trowa told the horses, reining them in to approach slowly. "Sandrock! Heavyarms! Get back here!" Quatre shouted at the two fluffy llamas, who ignored him. The two wayward animals actually sped up and trotted past the rented horses to greet the children, Duo, and Heero at the back door. It took four trips to transport all fifteen orphans plus Duo and Heero to the party at the Winner Barton house. Theirs was an ancient country cottage perched on the hill, half hid by pines on approach, Built with timber-framing, painted black, and with toasted brown stucco and low hung eaves, Quatre called it his gingerbread house. Indeed, with its winter decorations, it was that. Tall red and white candy canes edged the walk leading to the front doors, and more stripes framed the door; the windows shone in hard candy colors; long rich looking vanilla frosting dripped from the eaves. Glistening gumdrops dotted the outside walls and the shutters were lavished with frosting and licorice twists. The giant wreaths centered on each of the doors turned out to be created from real fruit-flavored candies wrapped in green tinted cellophane. The doors swung open and the children squealed at the sight of the huge Christmas tree sparkling with lights and colorful ornaments, some handmade by them. Several of the children raced over to look for the ornaments they had handcrafted and point them out. Other children jostled for a spot near the fireplace to warm their hands by the roaring fire and pick out their names on the stockings arrayed across the hearth. Duo's eyes roved about looking for the source of the good smells. "Amazing, Quat. When do we eat?" Roasted meats and vegetables, warm spicy ginger bread, and wine simmered pears all contributed a trace to the rich aroma blend. "Fifteen minutes!" Only Heero actually checked his watch and set a timer. Duo greeted Wufei and Zechs with a mock salute and grin. "Brought both kids, I see." "Both-?" Wufei's eyes narrowed with understanding and his grip around the tiny dog in his arms tightened enough to cause the animal to whine and lick his hands. "Greta is very small and requires a sweater in cold weather. Ask Barton if you don't believe me!" Zechs set down a wriggling little human girl. "All right, Meiran, now that everyone is here you can go play." He and his partner had been unable to resist the darling smile and flashing eyes of the little girl when Duo had introduced them, and so they had adopted her immediately. That they'd been married only a week hadn't mattered at all. "Life is short," Duo had told them that memorable day. "Don't think too hard about things or you'll out smart yourselves." Duo certainly knew all about that. Had he considered all the problems and difficulties he and Heero would have to overcome to get the orphanage going, they might not have gotten started. "She has your eyes," Zechs had told Wufei. "She's Chinese; at least, in part, so it's no surprise." But Wufei had been charmed. Every week at least - they had promised-she would have a play date with the other children. And they'd kept that promise for each of the two weeks she'd lived with them; however, this was the first visit with the dachshund. "May I show them Gretel?" she asked very politely. Wufei wasn't so sure he wanted the tiny dachshund out of his arms and possibly trod upon underfoot. "I'll hold her and you do the introductions." Not the perfect solution, but acceptable for the little girl, and she and her two fathers made the rounds, Zechs unable to let either his partner or his new daughter out of his sight. Trowa returned from caring for the horses and llamas, washing his hands and removing his boots by the back entrance before joining the merry gathering. The rental agency would be by later to collect the horse-drawn sleigh and horses; Trowa had another means to whisk everyone home. He'd originally rented the sled to give Quatre rides around the property (not all with the horses pulling the sleigh either), but he'd loved it so much that he'd added a few more hours to the rental and shared it with his neighbors. And from the look on the orphans' faces it had been worth every penny. After the little dachshund had given a lick to all the children's faces, Quatre rounded up the children for their dinner. Since this would prove to be noisy and brief, the men all stood around and snacked, waiting on Holly who needed more juice, having split hers already; serving more of the stuffing to John, another ham slice to Bobby; helping cut up a portion into tiny bite-sized pieces for Jamie. While the adults sipped mugs of soup and dipped in thick bread slices, the children played board games. A few girls drew pictures and under their watchful eyes let a couple boys pose in "Santa hats" or holding one of the resident ferrets, which looked an awful lot like Gretel. Dessert was peppermint ice cream. Quatre scooped bright the thick, white cream shot through with red swirls into bowl and lay out platters of freshly baked cookies, some that the children had decorated the day before. Decorating gingerbread men and tree-shaped sugar cookies had been a blast, messy and noisy. Duo was glad they'd hired a cleanup crew to clean the kitchen before Heero got home, tired from work. The children were more excited about the promise of presents to open than eating, now that their hunger was satisfied, and so most of the cookies would be boxed and sent home for them to enjoy the next day. "Okay everyone," Quatre called out his clear voice rising above the excited chatter. "In order to distribute the presents, you must all gather about and sit quietly. I'll call your name and your gifts will be passed to you. Understand?" Yes. Get on with it already. Duo chuckled as he watched Quatre direct each child into their proper seats with prim patience. He wondered how much longer he and Trowa would be able to hold out before wanting to adopt a child of their own? "Will! Holly..." As Quatre distributed the lavishly wrapped presents, Trowa handed the adults foaming mugs of eggnog with a wink. "Take it easy. I was a little heavy-handed with the rum." "Thank God," Zechs muttered with a grateful smile. Duo couldn't really see this being the great Lightening Count's sort of party and thought Trowa was doing a good job propping him up. And if he thought about it, Trowa seemed to be ducking out a lot to make drinks or whatever. Maybe he wasn't as keen on kids as pets? Trowa waited until Quatre finished passing out the presents and the children were busy tearing apart the packaging to offer a cup of nog to his lover. "Want to do the toast?" Quatre shook his head. "You start." "All right. Well-," he shook his head with a faint blush. "To friends, good friends," Wufei cut in to save him more grief. "The best," Heero embellished further. "And from Shakespeare," Zechs said, "'May heaven send you many, many happy days.'" "How about a toast to our happy, animal-filled lives?" Trowa offered more confidently now. "You guys are so lame," Duo said, laughing. "Here's a real toast: If you can't be merry at Christmas, then you can drive the rest of us home when we are!" "Oh, Duo, with the kids here?" Quatre lamented, holding back a smile with trouble, Duo could tell. "You must remember Tiny Tim's toast from A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens: 'Here's to us all! God bless us every one!'" "Oh!" Wufei gulped most his drink and jammed the mug and little Gretel into his lover's hands. "Meiran looks like she's fallen asleep." "She's not the only one." Heero announced that it was "time to go home" amid moans and complaints of "already?" "Yes." Duo agreed. The older kids could play a little longer in their own home, but the youngest were fading fast. "Gather what you can," Trowa told him. "Yuy and I will take them home and I'll bring over everything that's left behind tomorrow, 'kay?" "Fine." On the way out, Quatre tucked a stuffed stocking into each child's hands, wished them a "Merry Christmas", and let Heero and Trowa take turns sledding them home using the new speedy Polaris snow mobiles. Duo joined them on the second trip, and stayed to get the snow gear put away and muster the troops. It had been the best Christmas he'd ever had, and only needed lights out, a warm bed, and his lover to tie the bow on the most perfect day ever. Or maybe he'd tie Heero to the iron bed rails, adding a festive bow? He looked forward to peeling off Heero's clothes and testing out the generous caramel flavored lube gift from Quatre and Trowa, and wondered what it was that Heero'd been hiding in that old gun case. "Hope he likes the gold chain I got him." But he knew he would. Heero loved everything given to them. "Okay cats, all of you off the bed!" Well, almost everything. The End. A/N: Merry Christmas to everyone... and to those of us who just finished celebrating Chanukah, I hope it was wonderful, too! - KS
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