Goodbye LJ...
Feb. 20th, 2006 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windandwaterThis is just to make it official for those who don't know, but I'm leaving LJ completely. For the rest of this week at least. Tomorrow is the Bar Exam and it runs for three days, so don't expect to see me about at all until Thursday night. Or even until the weekend since I plan on spending Thursday after the Bar drunk and crying. No online time for me at all. *whines* It will be hard, but I know I can do it.
So, because I'm a total h0r like that, I am declaring this to be a spam post. Go ahead. Run wild! Give me fics, give me links, give me pics, just babble to your heart's content and rape my inbox so I have something to see when I finally DO come back to the wonderful world of LJ. I don't even care if you write me a drabble and post it one word at a time. XD;
Though, I've tried to make a spam post before and it failed a bit miserably, so I don't have very high expectations this time around. Feel free to prove me wrong though!
♥
So, because I'm a total h0r like that, I am declaring this to be a spam post. Go ahead. Run wild! Give me fics, give me links, give me pics, just babble to your heart's content and rape my inbox so I have something to see when I finally DO come back to the wonderful world of LJ. I don't even care if you write me a drabble and post it one word at a time. XD;
Though, I've tried to make a spam post before and it failed a bit miserably, so I don't have very high expectations this time around. Feel free to prove me wrong though!
♥
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:44 am (UTC)He caught a flash of motion out of the corner of his eye, and whipped his head around to the inside of the warehouse to track it. Unfortunately, he was looking too far up, and the ball of fur hit his lap before he could react.
Heero narrowly avoided shouting a curse out loud, and even more narrowly avoided shooting the thing off his lap. Fortunately, he did neither, and within a few seconds the kitten had settled itself determinedly into his lap, rumbling like a Vernier engine.
Slowly, Heero edged back from panic mode, and glared at the beast. "What are you doing?" he demanded of it. "You were sleeping with the idiot. So, go sleep with him."
The kitten ignored him. That purr really was uncannily loud for a creature that small, Heero thought bemusedly. She hunkered down on his legs, seeming to almost fold her spine in half as she flipped her tail around her legs. Her small paws kneaded furiously, and Heero jumped as the claws punctured his spandex and, necessarily, his skin.
"Get off," he said, annoyed. He tried to push the beast away, but her claws immediately came all the way out, and dug in with determination; when he grabbed her middle and tried to pull her off, her front legs and trunk almost doubling in length; but she refused to let go.
"Gah!" he said disgustedly, and let go. She immediately returned to normal kitten-length, and resumed purring. He poked her shoulder, and chin, trying to shove her off of him; enthusiastically, she butter her head against his finger and rubbed up against his hand, arching her thin spine against his palm.
It really was astonishing the configurations she could twist her backbone into, Heero observed with some fascination. It was like her skeletal system was made of rubber, or at least cartilage, and not bone at all. Come to think of it, that could explain the highly efficient weight ratio as well, and the astonishing resilience. Perhaps the doctors should have taken that into consideration, rather than the high-density calcium they'd used to enhance his own bones. But then, of course, there would naturally be a penalty to strength capability; no matter how strong the muscles, if they didn't have a strong frame to brace against... This design was very light and compact, Heero mused, but not capable of standing up to heavy tasks.
Heero blinked, and realized that he'd been sitting here, hand stroking over the kitten's fur, for a good three and a half minutes without even thinking about it. She'd stopped twisting around on his lap, and was now draped over his knee, gone limp and warm; the rumbling persisted, though, as did the rhythmic kneading of the claws, in and out. It didn't seem quite so irritating now, though. In fact, there was almost something...
Hn. Well.
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:44 am (UTC)He kept one hand on his gun, and the other lightly rubbing the kitten's ears, as he looked off again into the dark and the rain.
"01 to 02. We are now past the point of communications blackout. Do you read me? Over."
"02 to 01. Loud and clear, buddy. What's your position like? Over."
"Approaching the target from the south, at approximately 35 kilometers per hour. Have yet to meet any serious resistance. Over."
"Serious? Define 'serious.' Over."
"No mobile suits, and no ground patrols armed with threat-grade weaponry. What about on your side? Over."
"A couple of mobile suits, but they were no match for the God of Death, of course! Coming in from the north side now; they never saw me coming, heh. Over."
"Roger that. We should be within visual range of the target within just a few minutes. Make sure none of your opponents manage to get a warning out. Over."
"Heh, not likely. At what point were we supposed to rendez-vous with 03 and 04? Over."
"Contingent on how much resistance they encounter from their position, but they are to provide backup only. They are not expected -- Duo, what was that noise?"
"Uh, what noise? Over."
"That noise. That noise just now. Over."
"I didn't hear any noise, buddy. Hey, we'd better --"
"Duo. Your Gundam is meowing. Why is your Gundam meowing? Over."
"Don't know what you're talking about, buddy. I think -- Hey! Oops, Callie-chan, get back there! Aaahhh..."
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:44 am (UTC)"Hey, Heero, no big deal, right?" Duo defended, though his credibility was somewhat undermined by his trying to fumble around the cockpit and collect his errant charge. "Just a second -- let me get her back in her place and she'll stay out of trouble --" Quick reflexes and a lucky snatch gained him a handful of squirming black-and-orange. "Gotcha!"
A shrill alarm sounded nearly simultaneously in the two cockpits. Heero's attention snapped to the readouts, and Duo swore under his breath. "Damn, they were set up for us!" he whispered, as a convoy of red dots appeared on their screens, headed out from the base.
Another com channel crackled to life, broadcasting on an open band. "Gundam Pilots!" called the new voice, all too familiar. Heero growled to his breath and activated the visuals, allowing the image of the tall, platinum blond Oz officers to flicker to life in his cockpit. "Desist in your mission and stand down. You are outnumbered here!"
"That may be so, but you're way outclassed, blondie!" Duo snarled, wrestling with the kitten. The alarm had spooked it, and just trying to hold onto it was like wrestling a snake. "Calm down, Callie-chan, you'll be fine, okay?" he told her soothingly.
"What?" Zechs said, sounding slightly startled. He gathered his nerve, and returned to his script. "Despite the legendary power of the Gundams, there are only two of you, and you are at a disadvantage. Even if we all die here today, we can still prevent you from accomplishing your mission!"
"There is no way you can keep us from accomplishing our mission," Heero snapped. "Duo, what the hell were you thinking? You were supposed to leave her behind!"
"That's what you said, Yuy! I never agreed!" Duo shot back. "I wasn't just gonna leave her to starve again!"
"How is this better? Bringing a loose animal into the middle of a firefight!" Heero said explosively. "Of all the idiotic, sentimental --"
"If you don't mind --" Zechs cut in, attempting to regain control of the situation.
"We mind!" Heero and Duo yelled back in unison. Heero added, "We'll cut through you and your forces if we have to, Merquise, so don't stand in our way unless you want to die. Duo, you agreed you'd find somewhere to leave her!
Duo returned his attention to the problem of containing the cat. "I only agreed on the condition that I leave her with someone, and we haven't met anyone, thanks to you and your communications blackout --"
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:44 am (UTC)"I propose an alternative!" Zechs interrupted, overriding the conversation. Both pilots snapped fulminating glares at him, but he flinched, but he was not the pilot of Tallgeese for nothing. He cleared his throat and continued. "Duel with me, Heero Yuy. I challenge you to fair combat between our mechs, without involving any of my men."
"Fine, but you agreed to give her to the first person we met," Heero growled. "We don't have time to fool around with sentimental idiots. Speaking of which, what are your terms, Merquise? What do you propose to do when I win?"
"When I win," Zechs said coldly, "you agree to stand yourself and your partner down, and leave without causing any more damage to our troops or our facilities."
"Fine. I agree."
"Idiot!" Duo hissed. "We could have taken him. Sit still, girl!"
"If you should win," Zechs continued, "I will evacuate the base of personnel and order my troops to stand by and not interfere while you carry out your mission."
"02? 01? What's going on?" A new voice broke into the channel, a light anxious tenor. "Have you been cornered by OZ troops? Stand by, 03 and I are on our way --"
"You will not, this is a duel between men --"
"04! -- Where have you been -- Ow, watch those claws --"
"Fine," Heero snapped. "And if I win, you have to take care of the cat."
There was a moment of dead air.
"...what?" Zechs sounded entirely at a loss.
"What?" Quatre echoed with a confused air.
"WHAT?!" Duo screeched, causing a wash of feedback over the comm systems. "Yuy, you traitor--"
"What cat?" Quatre said plaintively, and another viewscreen popped up in Duo's cockpit. "Ooh, she's cute!"
"That's ridic --" Zechs began
"Those are the terms of the duel, Lightning Count!" Heero said, overriding the others' protests. "Take them, or leave them and fight all four of us!"
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:44 am (UTC)"I propose an alternative!" Zechs interrupted, overriding the conversation. Both pilots snapped fulminating glares at him, but he flinched, but he was not the pilot of Tallgeese for nothing. He cleared his throat and continued. "Duel with me, Heero Yuy. I challenge you to fair combat between our mechs, without involving any of my men."
"Fine, but you agreed to give her to the first person we met," Heero growled. "We don't have time to fool around with sentimental idiots. Speaking of which, what are your terms, Merquise? What do you propose to do when I win?"
"When I win," Zechs said coldly, "you agree to stand yourself and your partner down, and leave without causing any more damage to our troops or our facilities."
"Fine. I agree."
"Idiot!" Duo hissed. "We could have taken him. Sit still, girl!"
"If you should win," Zechs continued, "I will evacuate the base of personnel and order my troops to stand by and not interfere while you carry out your mission."
"02? 01? What's going on?" A new voice broke into the channel, a light anxious tenor. "Have you been cornered by OZ troops? Stand by, 03 and I are on our way --"
"You will not, this is a duel between men --"
"04! -- Where have you been -- Ow, watch those claws --"
"Fine," Heero snapped. "And if I win, you have to take care of the cat."
There was a moment of dead air.
"...what?" Zechs sounded entirely at a loss.
"What?" Quatre echoed with a confused air.
"WHAT?!" Duo screeched, causing a wash of feedback over the comm systems. "Yuy, you traitor--"
"What cat?" Quatre said plaintively, and another viewscreen popped up in Duo's cockpit. "Ooh, she's cute!"
"That's ridic --" Zechs began
"Those are the terms of the duel, Lightning Count!" Heero said, overriding the others' protests. "Take them, or leave them and fight all four of us!"
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:44 am (UTC)"I accept," Zechs said, through gritted teeth. "Very well. Let us fight, Heero Yuy."
Heero didn't wait for any more challenges, launching his Gundam towards the other fighting suit. He threw himself into the air to give his charge momentum, and Zechs, after an instant's hesitation, leapt backwards to avoid his attack. His weaker fighting suit couldn't stand up to a battering from the Gundanium very long, and they both knew it. Tallgeese reached for its beam saber, but Wing barreled in close, keeping the range too short to be effective.
The two mechs crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. For a moment, the embattled suits vanished from view; then Wing suddenly burst out of the dust cloud, climbing rapidly away from the engagement. Tallgeese followed its flight with a tightly-aimed arc of missile fire, forcing Wing to twist and dodge in the air to evade it. Explosions rocked the battlefield, filling the air with fire and dust; sparks leapt forth as the mechs crashed into each other again.
"Calico, isn't she?" Quatre was saying, leaning in towards his vidscreen to try and get a good look. "Oh -- she's so tiny! When did you find her, Duo? She can't be more than six weeks old!"
"Kick his ass, Blondie! Don't let him give away my baby!" Duo yelled over the com. He clutched the kitten fiercely in his hands; it was staring with a great deal of wide-eyed interest at the flashing vidscreens. "You'd better win! Wait a moment, the mission. Kick his ass, Heero! No, gah, you can't win either. You both suck, eat shit and die!"
Quatre made ktch-ktch noises at the kitten, who pricked her ears forward in response. "Duo, you can't be cheering for Zechs," he remembered to protest. Eventually.
"He wants to give my baby to that rat bastard!" Duo was ranting, hands clenching on the mecha controls. "No way! No how! He's an OZ goon, for God's sake! He probably adopts kittens from shelters and dissects them for a hobby!"
"Come on now, Duo," Quatre tried to placate him. "Be fair. He's a soldier, not a politician."
Duo and Quatre were diverted by a sudden shrill, high alarm. "We've got company," Quatre exclaimed with dismay.
"Shit!" Duo said, doing a double take at the mess of bogeys coming down on them from the north. "Reinforcements! We've got to get out of here, now!"
"What?" Zechs' voice came over their coms, filled with unfeigned shock. "Bastige!"
"You're telling us?" Duo demanded.
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:44 am (UTC)"I accept," Zechs said, through gritted teeth. "Very well. Let us fight, Heero Yuy."
Heero didn't wait for any more challenges, launching his Gundam towards the other fighting suit. He threw himself into the air to give his charge momentum, and Zechs, after an instant's hesitation, leapt backwards to avoid his attack. His weaker fighting suit couldn't stand up to a battering from the Gundanium very long, and they both knew it. Tallgeese reached for its beam saber, but Wing barreled in close, keeping the range too short to be effective.
The two mechs crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. For a moment, the embattled suits vanished from view; then Wing suddenly burst out of the dust cloud, climbing rapidly away from the engagement. Tallgeese followed its flight with a tightly-aimed arc of missile fire, forcing Wing to twist and dodge in the air to evade it. Explosions rocked the battlefield, filling the air with fire and dust; sparks leapt forth as the mechs crashed into each other again.
"Calico, isn't she?" Quatre was saying, leaning in towards his vidscreen to try and get a good look. "Oh -- she's so tiny! When did you find her, Duo? She can't be more than six weeks old!"
"Kick his ass, Blondie! Don't let him give away my baby!" Duo yelled over the com. He clutched the kitten fiercely in his hands; it was staring with a great deal of wide-eyed interest at the flashing vidscreens. "You'd better win! Wait a moment, the mission. Kick his ass, Heero! No, gah, you can't win either. You both suck, eat shit and die!"
Quatre made ktch-ktch noises at the kitten, who pricked her ears forward in response. "Duo, you can't be cheering for Zechs," he remembered to protest. Eventually.
"He wants to give my baby to that rat bastard!" Duo was ranting, hands clenching on the mecha controls. "No way! No how! He's an OZ goon, for God's sake! He probably adopts kittens from shelters and dissects them for a hobby!"
"Come on now, Duo," Quatre tried to placate him. "Be fair. He's a soldier, not a politician."
Duo and Quatre were diverted by a sudden shrill, high alarm. "We've got company," Quatre exclaimed with dismay.
"Shit!" Duo said, doing a double take at the mess of bogeys coming down on them from the north. "Reinforcements! We've got to get out of here, now!"
"What?" Zechs' voice came over their coms, filled with unfeigned shock. "Bastige!"
"You're telling us?" Duo demanded.
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:45 am (UTC)"What is Colonel Bastige doing here?" Zechs said. "I specifically informed him that I would be covering this post!"
"Obviously he didn't listen," Heero growled. He yanked on his controls, disengaging Wing from Tallgeese with a jerk.
"Shit, the mission!" Duo hissed. "Our target!"
"No need to panic," Trowa's voice came unexpectedly over their lines. "I already took care of it."
"Huh?" Duo turned his sensors towards the military plant. Sure enough, it was a pile of military rubble. "Damn, 03, when did you have time to do that?"
"Nobody was watching."
"This is an outrage!" Zechs' screen flickered into being. His mouth was set in a grim line below his helmet. "We agreed to terms --"
"The terms of the duel stated only that neither 02 nor your men would interfere," Heero pointed out. "03 and 04 were not included in the terms. Besides, OZ soldiers are also interfering. We will have to call this one a draw, Lightning Count. Consider yourself lucky to escape with the lives of all of your men."
He cut the comm over Zechs' incoherent curses.
"Wow," Quatre said admiringly. "Owned."
Three vidscreens flicked on; three pilots stared at Quatre.
"What?"
Outside, the world prepared for war. The Gundams, newly repaired, and upgraded, were loaded onto the backs of the Maguanac transports. Intelligence as to the enemy's movements was gathered, heads put together, new plans and strategies drawn.
Inside, Duo petted his kitten.
"I'm sure Rashid will take good care of her," Heero offered from the other side of the room, behind the shield of his laptop lid. Duo snorted and shifted carefully on the bed, moving slowly despite the fact that the feline on his lap was dead to the world and completely insensible to any motion he might make.
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:45 am (UTC)"I bet he will," Duo said, tone wistful. "Better than Zechs would, that's for sure. Honestly, Yuy, what were you thinking?"
Heero blushed and ducked his head behind the screen. Duo had to chuckle at his expression; the fearsome Heero Yuy, blushing? That really was too cute. "I still don't think he would have done anything bad to her," he protested. "He would have taken care of her, even if he didn't want to."
"Would it be fair to her to give her to someone who didn't want her?" Duo pushed himself to a sitting position in order to face Heero. "It's not enough to just feed and clothe a baby, Heero. You've got to be willing to love it, or it won't grow up right. Besides," he added, looking down at the sleeping kitten with a softer expression. "If you really love your baby, then no matter what happens, you won't abandon them."
Heero didn't answer, ducking his head and typing at his keyboard. He was typing nonsense, but it made a good cover. Duo sighed, scritching the furry ears.
"I'm really going to miss you, girl," he told the kitten fondly. "But Heero's right, you know. I'm not in a position to take care of pets. Rashid'll be a better owner for you. Maybe sometime after the war, I'll come and see you again, but until then, be a good girl, ne?"
Heero very much doubted that last bit. However, he didn't think that it would be very diplomatic to say so. Instead, he chewed on his lip a moment, then decided to go ahead and ask the question that had been nagging at him. "If you knew you couldn't keep her," he said, somewhat accusingly, "and you knew it would hurt to let her go, then why did you pick her up in the first place?"
In his lap, the kitten suddenly sneezed herself awake, showering Duo's hand with a generous dose of kitten snot. She then yawned, stretched to an impossible length, turned herself over, and went right back into somnolence.
Duo chuckled, wiping his hand off on a corner of the blanket. "I dunno, Heero," he said. "I guess I'm just a sucker for anything that's lost or abandoned. I don't want to do anything more than pick them up and hug them and comfort them."
Heero looked up at that, and stopped even pretending to type.
"I guess I just believe in second chances," Duo said pensively. "When I was little, a couple of people gave me some, even when I didn't deserve them. If they hadn't, I would be here. I just wish I could give that same chance to everybody."
"Would you be willing to give me one?" Heero whispered. Duo looked up at him sharply, and Heero bit his tongue, realizing he'd said that last again.
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:45 am (UTC)"I bet he will," Duo said, tone wistful. "Better than Zechs would, that's for sure. Honestly, Yuy, what were you thinking?"
Heero blushed and ducked his head behind the screen. Duo had to chuckle at his expression; the fearsome Heero Yuy, blushing? That really was too cute. "I still don't think he would have done anything bad to her," he protested. "He would have taken care of her, even if he didn't want to."
"Would it be fair to her to give her to someone who didn't want her?" Duo pushed himself to a sitting position in order to face Heero. "It's not enough to just feed and clothe a baby, Heero. You've got to be willing to love it, or it won't grow up right. Besides," he added, looking down at the sleeping kitten with a softer expression. "If you really love your baby, then no matter what happens, you won't abandon them."
Heero didn't answer, ducking his head and typing at his keyboard. He was typing nonsense, but it made a good cover. Duo sighed, scritching the furry ears.
"I'm really going to miss you, girl," he told the kitten fondly. "But Heero's right, you know. I'm not in a position to take care of pets. Rashid'll be a better owner for you. Maybe sometime after the war, I'll come and see you again, but until then, be a good girl, ne?"
Heero very much doubted that last bit. However, he didn't think that it would be very diplomatic to say so. Instead, he chewed on his lip a moment, then decided to go ahead and ask the question that had been nagging at him. "If you knew you couldn't keep her," he said, somewhat accusingly, "and you knew it would hurt to let her go, then why did you pick her up in the first place?"
In his lap, the kitten suddenly sneezed herself awake, showering Duo's hand with a generous dose of kitten snot. She then yawned, stretched to an impossible length, turned herself over, and went right back into somnolence.
Duo chuckled, wiping his hand off on a corner of the blanket. "I dunno, Heero," he said. "I guess I'm just a sucker for anything that's lost or abandoned. I don't want to do anything more than pick them up and hug them and comfort them."
Heero looked up at that, and stopped even pretending to type.
"I guess I just believe in second chances," Duo said pensively. "When I was little, a couple of people gave me some, even when I didn't deserve them. If they hadn't, I would be here. I just wish I could give that same chance to everybody."
"Would you be willing to give me one?" Heero whispered. Duo looked up at him sharply, and Heero bit his tongue, realizing he'd said that last again.
Re: Sucker for a Stray
Date: 2006-02-21 07:45 am (UTC)"Why can't you come here instead?" Heero said, putting annoyance in his tone to cover up nervousness. His heart was beginning to beat very fast.
"I've got a cat on my lap," Duo pointed out reasonably. He made a come-here gesture, like he was pulling in a rope, and Heero found himself out of his chair and crossing the room before he even thought about what his legs were doing.
"I guess I could pick you up," Duo murmured. He got a grip on Heero's arm that not even Wing's pilot could easily break, and pulled him down onto the bed to sit beside him. "The question is, will I get to keep you?"
"I don't know," Heero said. He sounded subdued, but breathless. "I could try."
"Hmmm. Guess it's worth a shot, then." Duo's lips quirked into a grin, and Heero felt a thrill shoot through his chest. "Just one thing I wanna know, then."
"What's that?"
"How are you at purring?"
It turned out to be a good thing that the kitten could sleep through anything.
~fin~