wagging its tail in unconditional happiness. The girl, too, was beaming at him, like they had no idea he was a killer. He opened his mouth to tell them this.
"I've been lost all my life," he said instead.
The girl laughed. The puppy laughed, too, with a high-pitched yip, and wriggled around in the grass, asking him to come play. He was soft, and warm to the touch, buzzing with energy...
...wet, white fur matted now with wet ashes. Cold. He picked the puppy up and cradled it to his chest, soft and limp and cold.
Children died. Young animals did too, with no-one to protect them. That was just reality, wasn't it? That wasn't heartlessness.
Was it?
~~~
Heero cleared his throat. Duo ignored him, pointedly. He was crouched in a clear spot on the floor, their ration bags open next to him, a variety of supplies scattered on the floor around them. In the center, the kitten crunched busily away at some shredded, dried meat.
"You can feed her," Heero announced. Duo shot him an extremely sardonic glance, and turned back to shredding bits of meat into the bowl.
"And it would be dangerous to go out to return her while there are still patrols about," Heero continued, feeling very foolish. "But when we leave she'll have to go back anyway."
Duo snorted. "Thanks so much for your gracious permission, Yuy," he said sarcastically.
"I..." Heero stood, shifting from foot to foot. "I wasn't planning to hurt her," he muttered.
Duo looked at him, hard, and seemed to see something that relaxed him. "Well, good," he said brusquely. "Because then I really would have had to kick your ass. Isn't that right, Callie?" he said in a high, silly voice to the kitten. The kitten purred louder in response.
"Callie?" Heero was floored.
"Yeah." The grin was starting to come back to Duo's face. "She's a calico kitten, right? That's what the orange and black patches are. So it's Callie for short, see?"
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:43 am (UTC)"I've been lost all my life," he said instead.
The girl laughed. The puppy laughed, too, with a high-pitched yip, and wriggled around in the grass, asking him to come play. He was soft, and warm to the touch, buzzing with energy...
...wet, white fur matted now with wet ashes. Cold. He picked the puppy up and cradled it to his chest, soft and limp and cold.
Children died. Young animals did too, with no-one to protect them. That was just reality, wasn't it? That wasn't heartlessness.
Was it?
~~~
Heero cleared his throat. Duo ignored him, pointedly. He was crouched in a clear spot on the floor, their ration bags open next to him, a variety of supplies scattered on the floor around them. In the center, the kitten crunched busily away at some shredded, dried meat.
"You can feed her," Heero announced. Duo shot him an extremely sardonic glance, and turned back to shredding bits of meat into the bowl.
"And it would be dangerous to go out to return her while there are still patrols about," Heero continued, feeling very foolish. "But when we leave she'll have to go back anyway."
Duo snorted. "Thanks so much for your gracious permission, Yuy," he said sarcastically.
"I..." Heero stood, shifting from foot to foot. "I wasn't planning to hurt her," he muttered.
Duo looked at him, hard, and seemed to see something that relaxed him. "Well, good," he said brusquely. "Because then I really would have had to kick your ass. Isn't that right, Callie?" he said in a high, silly voice to the kitten. The kitten purred louder in response.
"Callie?" Heero was floored.
"Yeah." The grin was starting to come back to Duo's face. "She's a calico kitten, right? That's what the orange and black patches are. So it's Callie for short, see?"