"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"

The crowd at large began to still on its own as everyone wanted to get every detail of what was taking place. Arms folded behind his back, Septum turned smartly full on to the witness. "So, if that is the case, there is a reason to believe that in the future it may be possible to genetically enhance men to bear children."

Unable to really catch his breath over everything, the scientist shrugged, "I-I suppose that there is a chance that should the right team-"

Septum waved an arm in the air, cutting him off as he shouted, "It's a simple 'yes' or 'no,' Doctor. And if it is a 'yes,' then that means gay men would be able to start a family of their own, should they choose, correct?"

"That is really too far in the future to really-" Howard tried again, only to be cut off once again when the raved haired man growled deeply.

Gripping the wooden railing of the witness stand, Septum hissed, "You are dodging the question, Doctor Venti! 'Yes' or-"

Duo slammed a fist on the table as he shot to his feet, bellowing, "Badgering the witness, Your Honor!" Glaring heatedly at his surprised challenger, he panted heavily as a few beads of sweat dampened his brow under the pressure of the change in tide of the appeal.

There was nothing but a still silence in the air as every onlooker held their breath over the outburst and clearly distraught state of the defendant. Biting his lip, it was all Heero could do to remain in his place and not hurry to his partner's side. Instead, he just gripped his mother's hand that had sought out his own.

Seated closely together, Sally, Treize and Hilde shared concerned looks while getting ready to jump up the moment they thought Duo or the babies' health were in danger.

All eyes on him, the neko took a deep breath and readjusted his tie. "Forgive me, Your Honor," he sighed as he wiped his brow. "But, I believe that Mister Septum can get to the point without badgering the witness like this."

Justice Harris appraised the defendant and answered, "Agreed, Mister Maxwell." Kindly, he suggested, "Why don't you have a seat and I will see this is kept as brief as possible before we take a short recess."

His braided head lowering, Duo replied sincerely, "Thank you, Your Honor." Carefully, he sat back down while Treize moved up to the short wall with his medical bag in hand to keep a close eye on his friend.

Gazing down to the dark eyes on him, Harris gritted, "So help me, Mister Septum, you get to your point, or you will rue the day you ever set foot in this court."

A pleasant smile returning, the prosecutor bowed and responded politely, "Of course, Your Honor. My apologies." Clearing his throat, he focused back on a shell-shocked Howard.

Calmly, he questioned, "Doctor Venti, would you please answer a 'yes' or 'no' to whether or not it would ever be possible for men in the future to bear children thanks to the studies of Mister Maxwell's make up."

Swallowing past the knot in his throat, the scientist ran a hand over his wet forehead and answered, "It is a ways off from happening... but, yes, eventually it may be possible for normal male humans to bear children."

The grin on his face spreading, Septum nodded firmly, "Thank you, Doctor." Straightening himself, he told the Justices, "No further questions."

Harris peered over to the defendant and inquired, "Mister Maxwell, would you like to step forward and redirect at this time? Or recess first and follow your redirect afterwards?"

Much as he wished he had something to regain the momentum he had lost, Duo could not think of one thing that would help. What was more, he was not about to put Howard through the wringer any more than he already had been.

Half rising to his feet, the braided teenager stated, "There will be no redirecting, Your Honor. And I have no further witnesses. The defense rests."

Several mutters of disappointment and shock ran through the room. To end the case on a clear point for Septum was a more than risky move. Even the prosecutor, himself, was a picture of a relief and surprise.

Now that the Justices had the whole gay marriage issue before them once more, coupled with the possibility of their also having the chance to produce a family together, there was a good chance that the appeal would be in vain.

Rubbing his chin, Harris looked every bit as caught off guard by the announcement as everyone else. Slowly reaching for his gavel, he said, "And with no witnesses for the prosecution, we will have a brief recess before we hear your closing arguments. Court will return to session in fifteen minutes."

A wooden, hollow clap echoed through the room when the gavel fell.

* * * *

Practically jumping over the short bar, Treize and Heero assisted the neko back into his chair to the whispers through the audience.

"Easy," the tall doctor urged his patient gently as Danielle, Noin and Zechs hurried through the swinging door. Sally and Hilde were close behind. While the Justices stepped from the room, the crowd rose to its feet before heading out to stretch their legs.

In the balcony, however, Susan and the other reporters remained in place as they tried to catch a glimpse of what was happening at the front of the room. With a hand over her chest, the blonde journalist had to remind herself to breath after that winding round of events.

Stretching his arms over his head, Septum hummed to himself. A smirk on his face, he headed past his opponent as their eyes met through the fury of activity around. "Good luck in the closing arguments," the prosecutor snickered. "You're going to need it."

Duo glared heatedly at the retreating man as Heero wrapped his arms around his shoulders to whisper in a tall ear, "Let it go. You don't want to work yourself up any more than you already are." Sighing, the braided teenager nodded shallowly and shed his suit coat so Treize could check his blood pressure.

Just behind the wall, the remainder of their friends and family stood by as closely as they could while giving the medical team a chance to check on their patient. Gently pushing her way through, Jena appeared with a fresh cup of cold water and handed it over to Heero.

Offering the striped neko a small smile of gratitude, the artist turned towards his lover and told him gently, "Here." Parched after his ordeal, Duo gladly accepted the drink and finished it off in a couple of sips as his temperature and other quick tests were run on him.

"How are you feeling?" Sally leaned in to ask, a bit of relief flooding her features over how the vital signs were looking.

Discarding the paper cup, the pregnant youth admitted, "A little light-headed and nauseous, but otherwise fine." Hilde shared a glance with the braided doctor as they nodded as though they had expected that response.

The obstetrician ran a hand through her short hair and straightened herself from looking at the notes Treize had taken of the blood pressure reading. "You're stressing yourself more than I would like to see, but you're not in any immediate danger right now."

Getting back to his own feet, Treize frowned, "I'm not even sure I very much like the idea of you trying to get through the closing statements. You really need to take it as easy as possible."

Embarrassed over his explosion, Duo blushed and bowed his head a bit. His ears and tail drooping, he muttered, "Yea. Sorry for that outburst." Peering back up, he found a sadly smiling Howard, Danielle and Trent.

Grinning sheepishly at them, the neko added, "And I didn't mean to leave you out of the loop with my questioning. I just didn't want to take any risk of it getting leaked to Septum."

"You were brilliant in doing so," the red-haired lawyer complimented. "The fact is we all overlooked the fact that you nekos are your own species and a man-made law is preventing your kind to survive. All of the focus has simply been on you and not what this means for an entire line lives."

Trent warned, "Just be sure to keep that part as brief as possible as Justice Harris ordered. If you run on that for too long, the appeal will be rejected without a second thought."

Nodding, Duo replied, "Right. Now, I'm also up against the fact that now the Justices will be afraid of the gay marriage possibility if more men are able to conceive. If they rejected my wish to marry before because of the political affect it would have when they had no idea I was pregnant, they have even more reason to be afraid now."

Lightly kissing the top of his lover's head, Heero reassured, "You've done everything that you can to argue your point. If the Justices reject the appeal, it's a no fault of yours. You have to remember that." Small tears in his violet eyes, the neko purred deeply and pressed their foreheads together.

Whatever happened, everything was going to be all right. Their voices were heard and that was all that mattered.

"Are you sure that you're up to going on with this?" Noin questioned worriedly as she was cleared a way to reach her son. Running a hand through his bangs, she told him, "No one would think any less of you if you had Danielle and Trent close the appeal for you." The said lawyers nodded their heads in support of that comment.

Zechs stood beside his wife and added, "We just want you and the babies to be safe, but you do whatever you feel you can handle and we'll support you."

Biting his lip, Duo seriously considered his options. Of course, first and foremost, the safety of his babies came before anything else. He had been lucky up to that moment of not really pushing himself beyond his limits, but the war was not over just yet.

Torn in what to do, the braided teenager looked over to his team of friends behind the bar. His violet eyes settling on the knot of his fellow nekos, he focused on them. Little Danny was kneeling on the bar just beside him with a tilted head and swinging tail in a complete picture of innocence. "We're behind you, Duo," the boy chimed. Solo, Cassie, Andrew, Jena and Carson all nodded along with the others.

In that moment, the decision was made.

Chuckling softly, Duo faced his little brother and rubbed the top of his head. Purring deeply, Danny's eyes closed as he grinned widely and leaned into the touch. Quickly kissing the boy's head, the braided neko wrapped him up in his arms and gazed back to the rest of his family.

"Don't worry about me," he announced in a tone that left no room for argument from anyone. "I'm finishing what I started.

* * * *


Moments later, after an emotional round of appreciative embraces from his fellow nekos for including them in his battle, Duo was seated behind his table while Septum approached the podiums. Not a murmur could be heard throughout the room for these closing statements.

Quietly clearing his throat, the prosecutor gazed up to the Justices watching him and began, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Supreme Justices, I believe that it is needless to say we were all taken by surprise over the defendant's condition."

Nonchalantly shrugging, Septum admitted, "Everything changes when there are children involved in any situation. And, like all of you, I also have a certain soft spot for little ones." Several members of Duo's support team looked to one another and rolled their eyes.

Raising a finger, he stated, "Mister Maxwell is correct in saying that this appeal involves more lives than his own. But, he did not know just how many lives he was taking into consideration." Duo looked up from his note-taking and frowned over having predicted this move from his challenger.

"See, because we can now openly discuss the gay marriage issue, I simply have to return to that now," Septum shrugged. "The bottom line is that we simply cannot overlook what this new development means for our future."

Holding a hand out towards Howard in the benches, he declared, "You heard from Doctor Venti, yourselves, that there is a possibility of genetic science allowing normal human men to bear children. It would not take a great deal of imagination to know what that would mean to the gay community if they could argue that they can also produce their own family as a means for having the right to marry."

The prosecutor opened his arms to either side of him and asked, "When will it all end then? Allowing this marriage to go through will only mean that there will be more pressure from other same-sex couples that they have the same right."

Several faces amongst the Justices had a clear look of agreement short of actually nodding their heads. A few of the men and women cast each other glances from the corners of their eyes in a silent conversation.

His head shaking, Septum commented, "The bottom line, Ladies and Gentlemen, is that the argument will never end unless a clear message is sent in this one case. Many may see this as being a unique situation where an allowed marriage between two males does not affect another." That said, he leaned forward at the waist as though to share a secret, he said softly, "But it does."

Pointing at his own chest, he smirked, "I know that." The smirk grew as he gestured to the Justices, "You know that." Spreading his arms out as he turned towards the audience, he stated, "This entire courtroom knows that."

Once again facing the Justices, the prosecutor beseeched, "You need to uphold your original verdict in this case. There was a reason you decided not to allow the defendant the chance to marry. Do not allow your emotions around this one special situation cloud that."

In conclusion, Septum lowered his head deeply with a sincere, "I thank you all for your time." Turning on his heels, he returned to his table with his back straight and head high. Very little muttering filled the air from the crowd as all eyes fell on the neko.

Harris nodded firmly to the defendant, "Your closing statement, Mister Maxwell." Sitting back in his leather chair, he folded his hands in his lap to listen in intently.

Brushing back his deep purple tie as he rose, Duo returned the nod and replied, "Thank you, Your Honor." As his partner moved before the podiums, Heero held his breath and reached for his mother's hand to squeeze it.

With a deep breath, the braided teenager's eyes slowly ran back and forth from one Justice to the next. Speaking loudly and clearly, he opened, "Ladies and gentlemen, as Mister Septum just reminded us, this case is a unique one. While it focus on me and the fact that I am pregnant, whatever decision you make will affect more lives than you realize."

Frowning sadly, Duo shrugged, "I am one of very few... the first of a rare line of creatures. And you once all agreed, unanimously, that even as a neko I was still to be given the same rights as any human. But, you are taking away a right that you and so many others like you take for granted... the chance to love and live as you choose."

A handful of Justices blinked their widening eyes as though waking into a new realization.

The braided teenager turned towards the small band of nekos and held an arm out to them as he said, "My friends, here, are all being affected by that. What are Carson and my brother Danny to do now that they are not allowed to marry? What of my children or any other children to come from us when they learn that they are limited to who they can and cannot be with?"

Biting back a wave of emotion as the reality of it all came crashing down on him, Duo gazed back on the black-robed jury. "We're a dying breed," he all but whispered. "And a man-made decision is seeing that we cannot thrive... all because I fell in love with my best friend who just happens to be the same gender as I am."

Lady Une, Sally and Relena began to wipe at the shimmer that had formed in their eyes. Hand-in-hand, the nekos bit their lips and fought their own storm of feelings.

Quickly getting back off of the extinction topic, lest he overstep the ground he was allowed, Duo shook his head, "My whole career is going to be devoted to defend people who just want to be given a chance at what everyone wants... to be accepted and to live however they choose."

His voice cracked at that last comment while small tears filled his eyes as he pointed to his chest and breathed, "That's all that I want, too. Yes, I am different in so many ways than all of you. But, I also have dreams and feelings the same as you, as well."

One of the Justices, an Asian woman, lowered her head and shielded her eyes at the overwhelming emotions pouring out. Several other members shifted in their seats or cleared their throats. Yet others still looked on hard at the neko, completely unreadable and almost cold.

Gripping his tail in one hand, Duo held it up and told his audience, "I hope that you will see past this." His free hand pointing to his tall ears, he added, "And these." Wrapping his arms around his swollen belly, he bit his lip while adding "And even this so that you can just see me the same way you see yourselves."

Susan's bottom lip quivered as she stifled a small sob over the heart-felt words from the focus of her column. No longer was she thinking of her story when she saw that neko. All she saw before her was a person who was just trying to live as normally as he could.

Other members of the press alongside her stood in mute awe, their hands no longer writing or typing along.

"Please... just let me live and love as freely as any of you can," Duo requested as a tear rolled down his face. Bowing his head, he sighed, "Thank you."

Slowly, the neko turned and headed back towards his table. On the way, he sought out only Heero and their shimmering gazes met.

Grinning proudly, the artist breathed, 'Love you.' His chest swelling and a weight lifting from his shoulders, Duo smiled back and took his seat. When his stomach became a surge of motion again, he rested a hand over his babies and purred deeply.

A long, pronounced silence followed as everyone allowed the neko's words to set in. Finally clearing his throat, Harris reached for his gavel and announced, "Thank you, Mister Maxwell and Mister Septum. We will now return to our chambers to deliberate on our final verdict."

That announced, the echoed sound of the gavel fall filled the air.

TBC

chapter 30

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