15-Jul-2005
Title: Howl 8/?
Author: Sol 1056
Rating: NC-17 for sex, violence, and dirty mouths
Warning: Subplots deal with the establishment, child-bearing... oh, and werepervs. Yes. That's right. Werepervs.
Pairings: Various, but predominantly 2x1, 1xR, 2xR, 4x3, 5x3, 1x3, 4xC, 3xH, RxD, 5xM, and a few others that may come and go.
Disclaimer: No, don't own 'em... Hey! Could that be a sigh of relief from Bandai?
Archived: sweetlysour and gwaddiction
Critiques: always welcome, natch!
Note: I wrote this just to see Asuka fall over in shock. Okay, not really; I was inspired by the AJU boys. But I also like seeing Asuka fall over dhed in shock.
"corolla of bleary spikes pushed down and broken like a battered crown, seeds fallen out of its face"
---Allen Ginsburg
Heero had fallen asleep with a peaceful feeling, and woke up with a knee to his shin. It was followed by a muffled grumbling, and a hissing sound like air from a heat valve; slowly the sound became words, punctuated by thumping and someone growling.
"And if you ever do that--"
Another thump, another bleary growl.
"Again, I will hunt you down and shoot you myself--"
Two more thumps, and the strangest squeak.
"And I won't use painkillers! No!" Relena's voice shot up to its highest registers, and she giggled suddenly. "No--no p-p-pain-- stop that, I'm berating you!"
Heero opened his eyes to find Duo twisted around in bed, his face pressed against Relena's chest, tonguing her breast while she tried in vain to push him off. Heero caught her annoyed-amused look, and propped his head up on his fist. Duo wriggled when she swatted his shoulder a third time, but merely wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight. Heero snorted and slapped Duo on the ass.
"Hey!" Duo let go long enough to glare over his shoulder at Heero, but his eyes were unfocused, a little; he was still under the effects of the painkillers. "Watch it, Heero-boy--"
"I'm seconding Rel," Heero informed him, and sat up, leaning over Duo to study the stitches. "You keep that up, you'll pull the stitches out."
Duo made a face, and collapsed onto Relena's lap, his head lolling across her thighs. "They'll be fine."
"Only if you stay still and rest," Heero replied.
Duo just grunted, turning his face to press his nose against Relena's belly. She giggled, and leaned over Duo to kiss Heero good morning.
"Does this mean... " The rest of Duo's words were muffled against Relena's skin. He shifted, and she pulled back, grinning down at him. "Man, I stink," he announced, blinking as if it'd just occurred to him.
"Shower," Relena said. She clambered from the bed, stretching. "I'm going to go throw up, and then you can have the bathroom."
Duo's eyebrows shot up. "Still?"
She shrugged. "Might as well get it out of the way, and then Heero's going to help you in the shower."
"I am?" Heero studied his wife's lean figure, and the growing curve of her belly, the weight of her breasts as she walked. He felt strangely bereft, in the sudden break of their usual pattern. His cock was half-hard, and he wanted her, badly. "But what about--"
"Don't worry, Relena-girl," Duo said, grinning. He moved to lay down beside Heero, and his hand wrapped around Heero's cock, stroking it lazily. Heero gasped at the almost-forgotten, achingly familiar grip of Duo's calluses. Heero arched his back, gasping, and Duo chuckled. "I'll keep him ready for you."
Relena laughed, and turned on her heel. In two steps she'd joined them on the bed. Her smile bright, almost triumphant, she positioned herself above Heero, letting Duo guide her down. Heero gasped as she settled down onto him, his cock buried balls-deep in her hot wetness. Duo's grip shifted to her clit, rubbing lightly, and she began to rock, gently then faster. Heero held onto her hip with one hand; the other hand sought out Duo's cock, stroking firmly.
"Ye... " He ground out, then lost the breath to speak the rest, but it echoed in his head. Yes, it was good to have Duo home.
To Relena's surprise Duo obediently took the antibiotics and stayed in bed for the next two days, letting his stitches heal. As a treat, she and Heero made dinner both nights with finger-food, bringing plates into the bedroom and eating, cross-legged on either side of Duo. The first night he went to sleep soon after eating; the second night he was more awake and feisty, bored from staying inside all day.
Relena set the plates on the bedside table, pretending worry over Duo's stitches before kneeling over Duo's face. Heero lay beside them, fingers running up Duo's cock, and when she fell to the side, sated, Duo laughed, kissing Heero deeply, laughing again when Heero licked Duo's face clean.
They fell silent, sprawled across each other and the bed, until Relena rolled over to crawl forward, grasping Heero's cock in one fist, Duo's in the other. She enjoyed the sensation of having a cock in her mouth; she liked the power, knowing those sounds were her doing, but with both of them present, she liked seeing their faces as much. It was hard to lean over, as well; it seemed like sometimes her own body was determined to get in her way.
Her breasts ached, along with her ankles, so she lay on her side; their crossed legs pressed against her chest and hips as she fisted her lovers' cocks. She couldn't quite hide the grin as both men arched against her hand, hips thrusting, hands clenching in the bed sheets, mouths open, gasping. Duo came first, white streams across her hand and his stomach, followed almost instantly by Heero.
"I like that part," she whispered, and rubbed her hands across her breasts, spreading their cum over her body. Her nipples peaked almost painfully, and she pressed her thighs together, rocking her hips. "I like seeing you come."
Duo chuckled, and reached down, pressing fingers against her clit. With only a few flicks, he had her shaking, moaning as she rubbed against him. Heero's hand joined Duo's, pressing into her; she shuddered, then relaxed with a sigh. She chuckled weakly, face against the bed clothes.
"Enough," she moaned. "Need to breathe."
"Overrated," Duo teased, and ran a single finger down to join Heero's fingers, which moved to run up the crack of her ass, lightly. Duo's hand stilled, buried in her. "Tomorrow... "
"What?" Heero's fingers moved away, and Relena raised her head. He was frowning at Duo, absently sucking on his fingers. "Already?"
"For two weeks," Duo replied, and licked his own fingers clean. "I'm on a bimonthly cycle now."
"Now? What were you before?" Relena twisted to cross her arms behind her head. She stared at the ceiling, and chewed her lower lip, wondering if Duo raising the topic meant it was okay to ask. "When... when you're not you, do you... understand what's going on?"
"I can." Duo leaned back, wincing almost imperceptibly; Heero caught him, and Duo shifted to lean over Relena's leg, held up by Heero. "It's harder. Smells take so much precedent, and I have to work to get past the instinct, it seems."
"So you don't understand English?"
"I do. Well enough, at least, but mostly simpler words. Commands, tones." Duo shrugged, and fisted a hand around his cock, then scratched his balls, seemingly uncaring. "Why? Worried about what you said around Dog?"
Relena could feel her ears getting hot. Heero chuckled, a hand running up and down her thigh.
"In case you're wondering," Duo continued, "I never heard you tease your husband about being an exhibitionist." He beamed, one eyebrow arched.
"You... " Relena gaped, then covered her face. "I can't believe... "
"Nope. Never heard a word." He laughed out loud, then, and twisted to kiss Heero deeply for several seconds. Relena uncovered her eyes to see both grinning at her openly, and she groaned. Duo rolled his eyes. "We've done things that would make a professional blink, and you're worried about one conversation what... two months ago?"
"I know, but... "
"Relena-girl." Duo swiped a hand across Heero's chest, and sucked on a finger. "I'd know both of you anywhere, now."
"You'd better," Heero replied, in what might have been a snarl but for the slight pout hiding in his tone, and the way his lower lip stuck out. "You're ours."
"Mine," Duo growled, and kissed Heero again.
Relena watched, still a little mortified, but satisfied. When the two broke off, Heero panting a little--while Duo just looked smug until Heero elbowed him sharply--she broached her next question. "Does it hurt? To... change?"
He was quiet for a moment, one hand across her knee, thumb rubbing lightly; the other arm keep Heero close to him. Heero lay with his head on Duo's shoulder, eyes heavy-lidded, but a tension in his body bespoke his own waiting, as well.
"It did... but I can shift fast enough now." Duo shrugged. "Normally I don't do it until I'm at a safe location."
"So people don't find you?" Heero's question was a low rumble.
"So I have clothes," Duo replied, chuckling. "I don't fancy walking around naked... anywhere but with you two, that is."
Relena smiled, and rolled over on her side to face the two men. Heero began asking about Duo's travels, and as much as she wanted to listen, she felt weighed down and relaxed. Heero's hand, stroking her hair, and Duo's fingers running up and down her legs, only made her drowsier.
She closed her eyes, not meaning to sleep, and the voices faded away. Some time later she woke to find Duo stretched out beside her, cross-wise on the bed; Heero straddled him backwards, sucking on Duo's cock not more than a short reach away. He glanced to the side and smiled around the flesh in his mouth, and she reached out, grasping his hand. He gripped it tightly, then groaned, releasing Duo as his back arched. She held onto Heero through his orgasm, her eyes closing again, her nose full of the scents of cinnamon, sex, sweat, and the faint hint of sugar.
When she woke in the morning, Dog lay across the bedroom threshold.
Heero took a deep breath and studied the freezer rows. All the cartons were brightly colored, and damn it, he should've written down the flavors. In desperation, he pulled out his phone, hitting speed dial. Trowa answered on the second ring.
"Yes?" He sounded a bit out of breath.
"Did I interrupt something?" Heero glared at the woman near him, who reached in and grabbed a carton with barely a second look. "I just have a quick question."
"Not too busy. Shoot."
"Ice cream." Heero sighed, blowing hair out of his eyes. "Rel's crying again. Meiran said ice cream would work, and she told me four types but I'm not sure which."
"Chocolate," came Trowa's knowing reply. "Soothes the wild wife." The phrase reminded Heero of Duo's taunt, and he filed it away as another question he'd ask Trowa, someday.
"Just plain chocolate, or with things in them?"
"Does Relena like nuts?"
"Anything but macadamia." Heero tilted his head to read the fancy lettering on the side of one container. "Chocolate with walnuts, and chunks of dark chocolate?"
"That should work. But I'd pick up a carton of strawberry, and one of vanilla, too, just in case."
"How much does she need?" He opened the door, dutifully pulling out a carton of each and dropping them into the basket. "There's only one of her."
"No, there's two of her." Trowa chuckled. "You weren't around when my sister was eating her way through everything. Just be glad Relena's not demanded salmon with chili on top and a side of puffed potatoes."
"That's disgusting."
Trowa snorted. "That's pregnancy."
Heero sighed, and hung up.
Hopefully his little surprise wouldn't be ruined by more crying jags--often for no reason that he could see. He had finally determined one pattern of Relena suddenly crying at any commercial featuring small animals, which had led him to changing the channel as soon as commercials broke into the news. But when she'd burst into tears, insisting it was a sign he'd become bored with her, he'd given up. Better to let her cry over the puppy in the laundry basket promoting some new shoe brand, than let her think his channel-switching was because he found her ugly.
And that wasn't the case at all; now that he'd finally had sex--and damn good sex, by his reckoning--he wanted it all the time. It didn't help that she positively glowed, breasts full and heavy, hips swaying with the new weight, and he felt like he was fourteen again and trying to shut away a burgeoning sexuality for a higher cause. Then, it had been to train for war; now, it was to respect her wishes of when, how, and where. She was the one with the baby, after all. He'd never made a point of masturbating, but at least three times a day he'd catch sight of her and was immediately hard. It amazed him, sometimes, that she could do that to him with just a glance. And it frustrated him, too--if Dog were Duo again, at least then he could work off some of it off, but no.
He paid for the ice cream, wondered why the woman behind the register gave him such a sweet smile, and trotted home quickly before the containers melted. It wasn't that he only craved sex, but that he'd always craved it and maybe only now--now that he could have it, knew what a beautiful thing it was when his own orgasm didn't really matter nearly as much as hearing those wonderful sounds from someone else's lips--did he want it so much more. Jerking off in the shower was an empty, useless thing, when it didn't give him Relena's soft cries, or Duo's guttural moans. He wanted the release of sex, but he wanted to give them each that release, even more.
Heero pushed open the apartment building's door, and checked the ice cream. It seemed to have made the four-block walk relatively intact. The surprise had been in the works for a week, and he hoped the ice cream would settle her nerves, so she'd sleep and be refreshed in the morning. It'd taken a lot of paperwork to convince the city to let him rent a timeslot at the park, and more promises of days off to get Trowa's sister's car, and he didn't even want to think about what he owed Meiran for the time she'd been putting in, covering for Relena.
Arriving at his apartment, he produced the ice cream, and was stunned when Relena promptly shoved him against the wall, yanked down his jeans, and nuzzled him erect before pushing her breasts around his cock. Overcome, he fucked her breasts while she grinned up at him, delighted, and he came across her chin and neck. He sank to his knees before her, kissing her deeply, then pulled away with a laugh.
"I wasn't expecting that," he told her, wiping off her skin, bemused.
"You brought ice cream." She yanked off her shirt, rubbed herself clean, and went to make a bowl. "I'll save you a spoonful," she said over her shoulder.
Heero groaned and slumped against the wall, then looked over to see Dog lying across the living room floor. Dog sat up, tail thumping on the carpet, and Heero waved him away, getting up with a bit of a struggle.
"You'll get your turn next week, I'm sure."
The park was empty, and Dog hesitated on the sidewalk before Heero opened the gate. Relena got out of the passenger side, her eyes wide and surprised.
"It's... a dog park?" She glanced at Heero, who unlatched the leash from Dog's collar. "Wait, you can't--"
"I can, too." Heero brandished the reservation sheet at her, before tucking it away. He grabbed the Frisbee and blanket from the back seat, giving them to Relena before picking up the cooler. "Let's go play."
For the next hour, Relena sat on the blanket in the shade, but she could still throw the Frisbee with some amazing strength--and accuracy, Heero amended, after the third time she sent the Frisbee with unerring aim for his stomach. Dog barked, running in low, dark circles around Heero, and with a sudden coiling of powerful muscles, he'd leap and snatch the Frisbee from Heero's hands--or pluck it from the air just before Heero caught it.
"Damn it!" Heero yelled and took off after Dog, as Dog bolted for Relena, running wide circles around her, tail plumes waving furiously. Heero leapt over Relena, landing on Dog, and the two rolled for several feet, with Dog ending up sprawled across Heero. Dog dropped the Frisbee, and barked twice, tongue hanging out.
"Heero!" Relena laughed, picking up one of the apple cores and throwing it at him. It hit him in the side of the head, and Dog grabbed the core, chomping it down in two bites.
"Hey!" Heero fell back on the grass, arms spread. "The two of you... "
Dog got up, carrying the toy to Relena, who held it at the ready. "Come on, lazy husband," she taunted. "I'm ready to throw some more. Go fetch!" Dog lay down next to her, and fell over until his head was in her lap. "Go on!"
Heero groaned, rolling over on his stomach to come up on all fours. He stalked towards her, butting her in the forehead before kissing her hard on the lips. She beat him off with the Frisbee while Dog barked, tail wagging hard enough to smack against Heero's thigh.
After a moment he got up, running off at Relena's direction, turning as she let the toy fly. Dog streaked away from her instantly, and Heero took off as well, both aiming for the Frisbee. When Heero caught it--snatching it away just as Dog's jaws snapped on empty air--the gunshot echoed, and for a second Heero only stared at Dog, bewildered.
But only a second, and he dropped the Frisbee, heading towards Relena at top speed. She lay crumpled on the blanket, and he yelled wordlessly, arms waving. The park's attendant, down by the gate, shouted something, and began running towards Relena as well, but Heero slid to a stop at her side, first.
"Rel! Rel!" Desperate, he rolled her over, panicked, and she stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes. Blood on her shoulder, and she whimpered. "Rel, Rel," he kept saying, feeling across the wound--it had grazed her upper arm. She clung to him, and he looked up as the attendant halted at the edge of the blanket.
"She okay?" The attendant's badge said Lance. He was young, but had the hard edge of former military, or perhaps a young police officer. "I called ambulance and cops, already--"
"Grazed," Heero replied. He turned to look for Dog, and saw the blur of black come to a sudden halt halfway between the blanket and the park's fence. Dog stood with his nose in the air, tail lowered and ears back. "Dog! Stay!" Heero held her close, and kissed her on the brow. "Please be okay--" Something moved in his vision; Dog, turning in a circle. "Dog! No! Lay down!" He yelled, but Dog didn't even look his way. "Damn it--" He let Relena down, torn between wanting to stay but afraid of what Dog was planning.
"Go," she whispered. "Don't let Dog be--" Her last word, <I>hasty</I>, was almost lost as Heero took off after Dog, yelling for him to stay. The attendant knelt by Relena, and Heero glanced over his shoulder to see the boy staunching Relena's wound. Heero wanted to go back to her, but his gut screamed that letting Dog--Duo--go would bring nothing but trouble.
Dog, though, turned his head, mid-autumn breeze catching the long plume of his tail. Then he froze, barked once, and coiled, leaping into motion. Heero put on a burst of speed, trying to keep up--but Dog stretched out, brought his legs under him, and sailed over the low fence with a foot to spare. Heero caught it only a few seconds behind, hurtling over the chain-link like he'd once done in boot camp. Landing on his left foot, he winced at old wounds, and reached for the gun at the small of his back.
Ahead of him, Dog streaked across the quiet street and towards the apartment complex across from the park. A first-floor apartment window was open; something moved inside. A flash of metal, a curtain waving, and Dog never veered. Heero clumsily unsnapped the holster's guard, bringing out his gun with a yank; he didn't yell, uncertain whether it'd alert anyone, and certain it wouldn't stop Dog. He didn't know why, he just knew--
And then Dog leapt again, throwing himself paws-first through the apartment window. Heero aimed for the front door, taking the apartment's front steps two at a time, not even pausing before slamming his shoulder against the door to force it open. The apartment on the left had to be it--he kicked the door in, nearly falling into the apartment, gun at the ready.
Dog had already done the work. He stood over a man, maybe mid-thirties, dark skin, hair bleached in streaks, sweatshirt, old jeans. A high-powered scope sat on a card table; a tripod stood at the window. The man's neck was a huge gash, blood streaking across the floor. Dog's muzzle dripped blood.
"D... Duo," Heero gasped, blinking. He kept the gun on the man, and shook his head, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. Fuck! What would--
"Heero," Duo's voice said.
He lowered his arm to see Duo perched on the shooter's chest, naked, blood in crimson rivulets down his face, across his chest. Heero stared at the gashes along Duo's forearms, from flying through the plate glass; Duo gave him a weak smile.
"No one hurts what's mine."
"But... " Heero shook his head. "You killed him. Now they'll be after you--"
"Of course I killed him." Duo leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and laughed softly. "It's what I was trained to do. And he shot our mate," he added, with a colder tone. "That's not a forgivable offense." Duo groaned, unexpectedly, falling forward, as if off-balance. "Go on, get back to her," he ordered.
"But you--"
"I'll be fine." Duo shook his head. "I can't hold this for much longer. Go on. Make sure she's okay--"
"It's just a graze--"
"Good--" He dropped his head, the loose braid unraveling with the movement. "Go on--"
Sirens blared in the distance. "Cops are almost here," Heero said, looking back into the room--but it wasn't Duo, but Dog who came to his feet, slipping in the blood. With a whisper of large paws and the click of nails on the linoleum, Dog moved past Heero, down the hall, and fled out the open front door, away from the sirens.
Heero stared down at the bloody paws on the carpet, and then followed them back to the dead body. There, slowly being absorbed by the blood seeping out of the shooter's body, were two bloody handprints. Heero sighed, holstered his gun, and headed back across the street to join the EMTs running towards his injured wife.
Relena stared at the watermarked ceiling, and contemplated the age-old question of one hand clapping. Certainly, she could only twiddle one thumb, and she wondered if that were close enough to enlightenment. Pain shot down her arm, a swift piercing line reminding her, and she caught her breath before slowly letting it out.
Between pregnancy, the gunshot wound, and a dead body of unknown origin, she'd been in the hospital for three days. She'd counted the cracks in the opposite wall five times, and felt like she knew every olive-and-chartreuse vinyl tile by heart; the bed creaked with each move, metal creaking on metal. In the hallway, voices echoed into a blur of sound, rushing like a tub being filled. She'd managed to block it out, watching the clock's endless click-click-click of the second hand, waiting for Meiran's daily visit, the only decent break between the investigating officer's soliticious questions and her husband's protectiveness.
Once she'd thought his protectiveness sweet, even touching. After four days in the hospital with him lurking over her every second, it was beginning to get annoying--especially since she could sense a roiling anger under his skin, both at Dog's actions, and at Duo's absence.
"Ms. Yuy?" Officer Winston stepped into the room, clearing his throat. "I've news of the shooter. We've identified his connection for his weapons, and it appears he was acting alone."
She nodded, too tired to bother with much more. If she opened her mouth, she'd probably just scream at him.
"And there's still no sign of your dog." He smiled; despite his curt tones and angular face, he seemed a kind man. "While this does get you off the hook of having him destroyed for being a vicious animal--" Relena amended that to a kind man with no sense of tact-- "Unfortunately, the city's now aware you have a dog loose, and I'm afraid you're being fined for that."
"Of course," she muttered. "More fines."
"What?" Heero stepped into the room, a cup of coffee in his hand. She eyed it hopefully, but he made no move to let her have any of the precious caffeine. Instead, he grilled Officer Winston in low tones. Relena contemplated grabbing her hairbrush from the side table and throwing it at him.
"A regular party in here!" A huge handful of flowers appeared behind Heero, an arm attached--pale hand, forearm, black sleeves pushed back.
"Duo!" Relena knew that voice anywhere, and sat up to accept Duo's kiss on the cheek and the bundle of flowers. She sneezed, and he laughed. "They need water, they're beautiful--" She sneezed again, but clutched the flowers when he tried to take them away. Easier to focus on that, than Heero's icy glare and the officer's quiet departure. Duo put the flowers in her water jar, and she smiled. "I love them. Thank you."
"My pleasure." Duo sat down on the edge of the bed, giving her a weary smile. "Are you okay? Why are you still here--"
"Because the cops want her under surveillance, along with me," Heero snapped, nodding to the other bed in the room. "And the doctors want her here considering the risk, and her history. Both physically, and the other... incidents."
"I'm right here." Relena sighed. "Don't talk about me like I'm not."
"We're also under investigation because we have--had--a dog that viciously attacked a man without proof of wrongdoing."
"What?" Duo snorted. "Like a high-powered scope isn't proof, Heero-boy."
"They're not going to expect a dog to know that." Heero bristled. "It's not safe for you to be here."
"Do I look like a dog?" Duo spread his arms, revealing his slender chest, the dark shirt and high collar. His jeans were worn, but tight on his body; he didn't look too much the worse for wear, except for slight circles under his eyes. He dropped one hand, resting it on Relena's; his gaze never left Heero. "As long as Relena-girl is okay, it'll be fine."
"I'm right here!" Relena huffed.
"It's not," Heero replied. "Your rash actions meant we've been without you--"
Duo's eyes narrowed. "What's going on? I thought you'd done a bang-up job of protecting her on your own, before I got here."
"I--" Heero scowled, mouth shutting. "If we're partners in this--"
"Shit happens." Duo waved Heero away, dismissively, then cut the air with his hand in a sharp gesture. "But no one takes aim at what's mine and walks away."
"She was--" Heero appeared to bite back his words, changing mid-stream. "Now the police can't question the shooter, and they've been stumbling in the dark to find out if he was alone--"
"What does it matter? He's dead, now."
"He wouldn't be if you'd listened to my command to stop!"
"Ah." Duo had grown quite still. "Is that it?"
"Yes." Heero crossed his arms. "When it's her protection--"
"Hey!" Relena frowned when neither man turned to look at her.
"Then it's my say," Heero continued, without pause. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you."
"Oh, yeah?" Duo released Relena's hand, coming to his feet to stand nose-to-nose with Heero. "I went to war at fifteen, trained since I was twelve--"
Heero snorted. "I went at fifteen, but I'd trained since I was eight--"
"Not my fault," Duo snarled, "that you're a slow learner."
Relena grabbed her hairbrush and threw it against the opposite wall. "HEY!" Her aim wasn't as good with her left arm, but she still hit the clock. The punctured glass cracked loudly, and both men turned to give her equally surprised looks. "I'm right HERE," she said, her voice going up as her fury rose. "And I'm not some helpless idiot, and if the two of you want to have a pissing contest then I suggest you go do it somewhere else--"
"Rel," Heero started to say.
Duo got out, "Relena-g--"
"Shut up!" Relena glared at both of them, dropping her voice to a whiplash-whisper. "Another word from either of you and you'll BOTH be sleeping on the floor."
Heero blanched; Duo's eyes went wide.
"This is how it's going to work," she informed them, keeping her voice low and controlled so it wouldn't carry out the open door. "You are going to go somewhere and get this out of your system. After that, from now on--" She thought rapidly, turning the dynamics over in her head. "When you're... shorter," she finally said, pointing at Duo, "you're going to listen to Heero. What he says, goes. The rest of the time, then Heero listens to you. That's the compromise."
"But--" Heero started to say.
"And you both listen to me, ALL of the time!" Relena pushed down the blanket and pulled up the loose hospital top, to point to her rounded belly. "See this? This says I get the final say, because I'm making decisions for me and a baby. And as long as you act like idiot children, I'm making decisions for all of us."
Duo blinked, while Heero had the grace to look abashed.
"And THIS--" Relena pointed to her crotch. "Gives me the right to say if you don't behave and do as I've decided, you're BOTH cut off."
Heero's surprise gained the faintest shade of a smirk.
"Don't even think it!" Relena held up her left hand in a fist. No way did sleeping on the floor mean messing around. Duo's expression had become a touch smug, but it disappeared when she glowered at him. "If you're in trouble, you don't get to have fun. Understood?"
"Uh... " Duo shifted nervously. "Are we in trouble right now?"
"Not yet." She huffed, pulling down her shirt, and straightening the blanket, glancing at the two men out of the corner of her eye. "You two go settle your differences, come to the realization that I'm making the best decision on how this will work, and then come back when you're better."
"Oh." Heero nodded, while Duo fidgeted for a moment. They didn´t quite look each other in the eye. Heero sighed and checked his watch. "The gym will be open for another two hours, and it's about six blocks from here."
"Wrestling or boxing?"
"Up to you."
"Both." Duo turned, his braid flying out behind him, and it smacked Heero across the arm just as Duo leaned forward to give Relena a hard, fast kiss. With a wider smirk, Duo turned again, waving over his shoulder as he left the room.
"Bastard," Heero muttered, then blinked when Relena narrowed her eyes at him. "Rel--"
"Go on," she ordered.
"Trowa's right outside, if you need anything."
"Okay. Stop stalling."
"Love you." He kissed her, just as strongly, and left; for all the hard lines around his eyes, his step was lighter than it'd been in four days. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he'd grown to rely on Duo in some odd way, as well.
Relena laid back and thought of that, and how Heero and Trowa had been friends, but Heero always held something back. What was the difference? Why with one, but not the other? Or perhaps it was because she'd let Duo in, become intimate with him, where the law forbade her from doing such with Trowa.
And speak of the devil...
"Mrs. Yuy?" Trowa stuck his head in the door.
Dressed for guard duty in a nice suit, he obviously was still insisting on being formal despite her assurances she'd rather he call her by first name. She gave him a weak smile, certain it wasn't an appropriate time to point out that he'd seen her husband naked plenty of times, as had she, and wouldn't that put them on a first-name basis, if nothing else?
"The doctor is here to see you," Trowa said, winking before slipping out again.
"Mrs. Yuy," Doctor Po said, sailing in with a young Chinese man behind her. "I'm afraid I have some difficult news. Is your husband available?"
"He's gone... with a friend to the gym. I expect him back for dinner," Relena said.
"Ah. This is Doctor Chang, one of the interns," Doctor Po explained, gesturing to the silent young man at her side.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Yuy." His dark gaze was intent, taking in the bandages and sling on Relena's arm, the visible curve to her stomach, and the pink top Heero had brought her from home.
"Hello," Relena replied, and wished she'd been able to wash her hair. "Could you give me a quick overview of the issue, so I have some idea? Is there something wrong with any of the test results?"
"No, not entirely." Doctor Po took a seat on the chair where Heero had been spending so much of his time, between Relena's bed and the door.
Doctor Chang took the other seat, facing the door, on Relena's right side, and began probing the bandages, as if checking them over.
"I'd rather we discuss this with your husband present," Doctor Po began.
"Really, I don't need my husband here for every little thing." Relena glanced at Dr. Chang, who simply studied her from under smoky eyelashes, before tightening the straps on the sling. Damn it, and it'd taken her a half-hour to get those looser; it was awkward with only her left hand.
"Then I'll say this as gently as I can," Dr. Po replied. "One of the tests we gave you was an early sonogram, to confirm your child was uninjured in the... incident. However... "
"Is the baby okay?" Relena gave Dr. Po a sharp glance.
"Yes. In a matter of speaking." Po smiled, a bit tiredly. "All four of them are just fine."
Relena blinked, opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, then shook her head with a soft laugh. "Wait, wait, I thought you just said... four."
"I did."
"But... " She shook her head again. "That's ridiculous. Four... "
"You've just entered your third month, as I understand it." Dr. Po checked her chart, and nodded. "This is too soon to determine a baby's gender, but it's not too soon to identify that you have four sets of arms and legs floating in your amniotic fluid. And... " She looked pointedly at Relena's stomach. "You are showing a great deal more than one would expect, for only one child."
"Four... " Relena took a deep breath and caught it, choking unexpectedly. She was startled when Dr. Chang's hand pressed firmly against her lower back, supporting her as he gently pushed her back down onto the pillows. She looked over; his expression didn't change, yet she didn't feel disapproval from him, only a patient compassion, despite his bland expression. "But... "
"The benefit of realizing this now," Dr. Po said, and she coughed, delicately, looking away, "is that we can make arrangements now, rather than in a hurry."
"In a hurry?"
"Yes. If you... chose... then this pregnancy could be terminated. Your name would be returned to the list, and you could try again if your name comes up in the lottery again."
"No." Relena said it as flatly as she could manage.
"I didn't think so." Dr. Po smiled, sadness in her eyes. "The other option is to wait until you've reached the six month stage. Then we can identify gender, and the fetuses would be viable if removed via C-section."
"I don't understand. Why would you do that?"
"You'd choose which child you wish to keep, and the rest would be... " Dr. Po let the sentence trail off.
Relena puzzled over the fact that her brain seemed to have spontaneously halted. Out in the hallway, she imagined she could hear nurses going on about their business, watched by Trowa; a quick glance revealed the tiles on the floor continued to be a placid olive and chartreuse alternating pattern. There were still cracks on the wall opposite, and water stains over her bed, but for Dr. Chang's downcast eyes, a line between his brows, and Dr. Po's gentle smile.
She tried to speak. "I thought you just said... You mean the other three... "
"Yes."
The cotton sheets rustled, and Relena wondered why it sounded so far away. A warm hand pressed against the nape of her neck, guiding her back, strong arms but it wasn't her Heero, wasn't her Duo. Why did it seem like the ceiling was rushing away from her so quickly, and why did her chest ache so badly, when the shot had been to her shoulder? Someone was screaming, and she wondered distantly who could be so hysterical. How rude, to shout so stridently where other people could hear.
Green eyes filled her vision, warm arms embracing her, but the suit didn't smell like Heero's sweat or Duo's sugar, and was there an earthquake and why was the bed shaking? Someone kept screaming, but muffled. Relena wondered distantly at it, until something poked her in the arm, and it all faded into nothingness.
End Part 8
excuse me while I flee the fury that is likely to be asuka k.
(:./sol/howl8)
