Heero & Duo take their daughter to the fair
"Can I have some more cotton candy?" Fuyuka asked even though there was a ring of pink fluff around her mouth.
"There's tons around your mouth," chided Duo, who could barely keep from laughing. Even Heero looked amused.
Her tongue, already dyed red, licked it all away in a second. "Now, can I have some more? Oh, wait, what's that?" She pointed to a bunch of rods kneading a sticky mass behind a glass shield at a nearby stall.
"Saltwater taffy," said Duo. "Want some?"
"I think that's enough candy," said Heero. "She already has a soda and some cotton candy. She's hyper enough as it is."
"It's the county fair. Loosen up. Besides, I'd like some."
Duo paid the clerk six dollars for a hefty bag. He handed her a yellow one with orange stripes.
She bit into it then spat it out. "Oh, ewww, banana flavor."
Duo sighed then took out another that was brown.
This one she kept in her mouth. "Chocolate, mmm. Let's go on some of the rides."
"You go, I'll just sit and wait," said Heero.
"But, Dad, I want you to ride with me. It's no fun without you."
Heero shrugged. They started to walk towards the children's section when Fuyuka said, "I'm not a baby, I want to ride the Evolution." Basically, it was a ride where people were strapped into their seats and were swung back and forth and then finally upside a couple times.
"You're too short," said Heero. "You'll fall out and hit your head when it goes upside down."
"But if you're anything like Heero, you won't feel a thing," said Duo. "Ow!" Heero had given him a little pinch on the arm.
So they went on all the other rides like a miniature roller coaster and bumper cars among other things, which she enjoyed immensely. After riding every single ride, they wandered among the exhibits like "World's Largest Hog," and there was even a camel ride stand.
"So, Heero, how's the fair so far?" Duo asked as he watched her sit on top of the enormous beast as it was led around slowly in a circle.
Heero shrugged, but smiled.
"Then why are you smiling?"
"Because you two are having fun."
Duo smiled at that. "Hey, how about we get some animal plushies for Fu?"
"Stop calling her Fu. You make her sound like some martial art."
"Ok, how about Yuka or Yuckie?"
Heero elbowed him in the ribs. "Baka. You act barely older than our daughter."
"Well, that's part of the fun of parenting. You get to relive your childhood, experience life through their eyes. This is the fun part. You should enjoy it as much as possible. Just wait until she gets to be the age when we first met, she'll be impossible. She'll be calling up her friends non-stop, maybe dating Juni and having weird hair colors. She'll say things that'll drive us up the wall."
"It doesn't matter. Just as long as she leads a normal life and doesn't have to climb into a Gundam or get hurt by one, I can handle it."
They watched as she jumped off the camel into the attendant's arms who put her down. Then she hopped and skipped her way over to her parents. Heero picked her up and put her on his shoulders.
"Oh, look! Stuffed animals!"
They looked at the rows of stands of various games. "Ninmyu ryokai," said Heero to himself.
"You know, these games are much harder than they look... They... Why do I even bother?" said Duo as Heero hurried over to the first booth, where you could win a big plushie for making a basket three times in a row.
"Which one do you want?" he asked her, pointing at the prizes.
"The lion one. That's for Juni. I want to get a kitty cat for Mulan. She loves cats."
"And how about your boyfriend Damien?" kidded Duo.
"Ewww!"
Heero took the ball and then the basket. "They're not regulation size. No matter." Then he went on to make the basket three times in a row. The carnie looked impressed; he hadn't seen anybody do that in weeks and especially not on their first try. Heero pointed to the giant stuffed lion. "That one." Then he turned to Duo, "Now go to one of the booths and win our daughter another plushie."
"Ok, Ok."
Within fifteen minutes, they'd won 8 plushies between them. Their loot included one lion, two cats, two teddy bears, one dog, a giraffe, and a unicorn. Heero said, "I think that's enough. We should leave the rest for other people to win."
"This is one good haul. We should have lunch."
"Ah, but nothing sugary," remarked Heero, noticing Fuyuka performing gravity-defying bounces while trying to unrun her parents. He snatched her up and said, "Don't run away or we'll have to get a leash."
"I'm not a dog."
"Then don't run ahead of us. Which one do you want to hold?" He said pointing to the various plushies they'd been carrying and strapping to their backs.
Of course, she picked a teddy bear.
Duo grinned, "And you wonder where your genes went. . ."
"Baka."
"You sit down at that table. I'll go get us some grub."
Heero looked at the little girl looking expectantly at him. "Something the matter?"
"Everyone at school asks me about you and Daddy."
"Oh, what do you mean?"
"What's a Gundam?"
Heero sat still in thought. Of course, he and Duo had had discussions about what they'd say once she was old enough to understand about the war, but today wasn't the day he'd expect her to ask such a question. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I don't know what it is. Is it a plane?"
"It's a mecha that is basically humanoid in form and used in armed conflict. . ." Heero stopped when he saw the words sail right over head and into the distance. "I'll get your Daddy to help me explain things."
"Help explain what?" Duo asked, as he brought over two chicken breast sandwiches and a plate of ribs with a side of coleslaw. He quickly gave Heero and Fuyuka the sandwiches, then sat down with his ribs.
"She asked me what a Gundam is." Heero said.
"Oh," Duo said, looking very serious. Then he smiled, "Well, you know what soldiers are, right?"
"Yeah. They're in the army."
"Well, a long time ago, Dad and I were soldiers. Well, kind of. Gundams are the mecha we used back then."
"Are they like the robots the construction guys use?" she asked, referring to the labor units used to create skyscrapers and colonies.
Duo felt a little pang in his chest. I can't believe she's comparing my Deathscythe to a contruction mecha. Jeez, he thought. "Well, I think ours were quite a bit better than that, but you've got the basic idea."
"OK. The other kids said that their parents talk about how you piloted Gundam and they asked me what it was."
"Well, if you have any other questions, don't be afraid to ask."
"'kay. Can I have some more candy?"
"No," said Heero. She'll probably ask tougher questions later on. Duo and I will have to be ready for them. He brushed the hair away from her mouth and smiled at the trusting face looking up at him with complete adoration. "We'll be leaving right after lunch so we'll be on time for the fireworks over the bay."
"Yay!"
"Where're the fireworks?"
"They'll be here soon. It has to get dark enough. You've asked twelve times already."
"But I want to see them."
Finally, a light went up into the sky and exploded into streams of gold that lingered in the sky. "Daddy, it's like your hair."
Brilliant chrysanthemums of green and red populated the sky. Whistles and dull booms and ooohs and aah filled the air. One light flew up and turned into red, white and blue stars that twinkled as they fell.
Heero blinked and frowned. It was all very pretty, but it reminded him of the sounds of those battles so long ago. It reminded him of the sound of real bombs shelling houses and mobile suits blowing up. I should enjoy this, but it reminds me too much of the past. He glanced at his daughter who was looking up at the sky with joy. I hope that she never has to think about these things when she takes her children to a fireworks show.
He closed his eyes.
Fuyuka turned to see her father fall asleep. She turned to Duo and said, "Dad's asleep. He'll miss the show."
Duo looked at Heero's face. "I think he's dreaming of the time when the stars really did fall out of the sky. Just leave him be. He's seen fireworks before. We'll wake him when it's time to go. Now, just keep looking up at the sky."
"Hey, Heero, I bet the people on Earth are watching one helluva light show." Duo said.
Heero was looking at the smiling face on his videoscreen and smiled back.
"Ah."
"Say, Heero, what are you going to do now?"
"Now?" he frowned. "I never thought that far. I always thought I'd die."
"Well, now that we don't have to fight anymore. . ."
"Uh, huh."
"We could go to school for real this time or hang out with some of my buddies in the Sweepers Group. Either way is fine with me, what do you say?" The words were casual but the expression on his face was serious.
"I'd really like that."
A smile of relief swept over Duo's face. "Meet you in the hanger." His face winked off the screen.
Heero looked at the wreckage burning up in the atmosphere. Baka, he thought, what else was I going to say? They say that when you see a falling star and you wish on it, your wish comes true. well, I see thousands of falling stars, maybe all my wishes will finally come true. Well, I'll be happy if one comes true.
Fuyuka was asleep in the back, surrounded by her stuffed animal toys, all except for one. Duo was holding a big teddy bear.
Heero glanced over at his husband. "Why are you holding a bear? Why don't you throw it in the back with the others?"
"But honey, this one is for you."
"Will you ever stop making fun of me about teddy bears?"
"Well, I figure everyone should have something to help them go to sleep."
"Hmph. Isn't that what you're for?" Heero said, patting Duo's knee, then putting his hand back on the steering wheel.
"Hmm?"
Heero mumbled, "Silly plushie."
Duo laughed. "First endearment and it's that. Ha, ha, ha."
"Shh, you'll wake her up."
"Yes, my plushie." Tonight should be pretty fun, well, at pretty funny, Duo thought.
"Baka," Heero said, repressing a smile.
The End
(:./mk/fym7)
