(GW) cloneness -- chapter 13, tidbit... I dunno.
for Sera, and no, the scene isn't done, but. sleeeeep.
this is straight off the presses, meaning probably full of errors -- anything that shouldn't be there and yet is, should be and yet isn't, grammar mistakes, inconsistencies, pz to be telling me?
i dhed now. *flops*
It was like an anthill. Kids running around, piling up stuff frantically, thoroughly getting in each other's way, and Duo too busy to smooth things out and calm them down. Hell, he was as excited and half-panicked as them.
The only one who wasn't running around was Heero, and that was because he was sitting in a corner drawing his map. Duo was kind of worried that he wouldn't be able to read it. He hoped Heero would think to include landmarks, but he wasn't sure the clone noticed remarkable things the way he did. And distances were all well and good, but he didn't see no one walking around with a measuring tape around these parts.
None of the kids had a lot of things, so once all the stuff inside the hideout was piled up, he left Cathy, Nanashi and Sylvia to try stitching together a few more bags and shoes and all these things, and brought the rest of his kids to check a few places. Heero had said they'd need wire, and thread would probably be good too -- and any kind of food they didn't have to take out of their reserves would be a godsend. Besides, he needed to show Alex and Mueller how to handle a gun, just in case.
They came back to the basement hideout by evening, when Duo was tired of dealing with his littlest crying at the drop of a hat, Hildie and Milly running off at the slightest glimpse of a shiny thing, and Alex and Mueller begging him for bullets in between two bouts of pretend-shooting at each other.
He could smell food cooking; that helped him relax a little. He ordered his older brats to pack, carrying Lena and Quat on his hips to the kitchen. Leaving three children alone with the clone still made him a little uneasy, even though he had decided that he could trust Heero with them; at least neither of them was the sort to bother Heero until he snapped.
He found Heero sitting at the table with Cathy and Nanashi, giving his whole concentration to stitching socks under Cathy's close supervision; Nanashi was watching them quietly, the puppy a lump of sleepy fur against his foot.
Nanashi looked up first, prompting Cathy to look too. Heero stayed concentrated on his stitches, only gracing the door with a quick glance; Duo assumed that he'd heard them come in.
"Oh, Duo, welcome back! We've packed half of the blankets already; they're folded and all. And I cooked stuff for the road, and --"
"Alright, alright. Everything I listed done?" he asked as confirmation.
She nodded vigorously, curls bobbing around her head. "Yeah. And then we went to help Triton and Sylvia with the stitching. Heero says it might be colder out here, 'cause of hu-mi-di-ty and stuff."
"Ah. And where's Syl?"
"In your bed. She got scared, so I told her to pack your clothes and then take a nap. It's alright, isn't it?"
Duo frowned a little. There were things he kept by his bed that he didn't really want his kids touching; weapons, and drugs he used to barter with outsiders. Sometimes it was the only currency they wanted. He still didn't want his kids to think he was a druggie; they knew better than to trust one of those. But if Syl needed a safe place, eh.
"Yeah, s'alright. What she got scared of this time?" he asked, putting Quatre down. The blond boy gravitated to Nanashi immediately, climbing on the bench and looking up at him, and started telling him all about his day. Duo watched them, a tired smile on his lip.
"Me," Heero commented calmly, not looking up.
Duo stopped smiling. "... Huh. And what were you doing?"
"Cleaning my gun."
It was a good thing Lena was asleep on him, because otherwise he would have reached out and slapped the back of Heero's head. Which was not a good idea, seeing the speed of the clone's reflexes.
"... Goddamn."
"I wasn't even looking at her."
The clone looked kind of at a loss; it defused any annoyance Duo was still feeling.
"Ah... S'alright. Syl... She got problems. Sometimes she's even scared of me. It's not even a matter of you being threatening, it's just a matter of you being an adult and taller than her and all. Just don't lean over her, and don't ever corner her, and we'll have no problem."
He sighed, glanced at Nanashi and Quat who were still whispering to each other. Nash was absently rubbing his bare foot on the puppy's flank; she nipped at him sleepily, but didn't protest any more than that. Cathy was looking up at him, frowning in worry.
"Uh, so, you been teaching Heero to stitch?" Duo asked with a chuckle, moving Lena up a little. She was getting heavy.
"He kinda knew, but he was making it all ugly and bunched up."
"I stitch wounds usually."
Duo grimaced faintly. He'd been forced to do that twice; the first time, he hadn't had anything to sterilize his needle and the kid had gotten a bad infection and almost died. (Not that it mattered; the cowardly little backstabber was probably dead, if he wasn't with a gang.) The second time had left an ugly scar; luckily it was on Milly's back, not on his face or hand or anything that would have bothered the kid. "You got training as a medic?"
"No. I just stitch mine."
Shaking his head, Duo turned away from the table and went to check on Sylvia. She was asleep, tucked in a corner with the t-shirt full of rags he used as a pillow over her; only her hair and a bony leg peeked out.
He put Lena down on the mattress in silence, covering her with his pullover, then started packing his things quickly. He could hear Cathy giving Heero pointers and other kids moving around in the other rooms. Everything seemed to be going okay; a welcome change from the nervous agitation he had dealt with all day long.
Of course, the second he finished thinking that, Quat started sobbing his little heart out.
"What's going on?" he demanded as he burst into the room. Quatre was sitting on the ground with Nash patting his head awkwardly, and seemed to be working himself up into one of his rare temper tantrums.
"Otto said -- Otto said -- CAN'T BRING BLANKIE!"
Duo cringed and picked Quat up quickly, patting his back and rocking him in an attempt to calm him down. The little boy was starting to swing his fists around, howling. Otto looked panicked, mumbling denials and giving him horrified looks.
"Duo, I never said--"
"NOOO! WANT MY BLANKIE!"
Duo rolled his eyes, teeth clenched together as he kept trying to calm Quatre. Mueller was wincing and giving the kid dirty looks, and Nash, as unemotional as he usually was, nonetheless looked like he was seriously contemplating the virtues of crying in sympathy. Otto seemed utterly crushed.
"Otto, what did you say?"
"I was talking to Hilde! Just said we had to pack light, couldn't take stuff we wouldn't need--"
Behind them, Lena screamed and dove for the corner where she had stashed her rag doll. Then she curled around it and started crying hard enough to cover Quat's howls.
Quat rose to the challenge. Duo wondered if he was going to turn deaf.
"ENOUGH."
Silence fell on the room, only broken by Lena's sniffles. Quat was totally silent, watching Duo with wide eyes.
"You be quiet now. What's all this screaming business?" he said; maybe a little more sternly than he had intended.
Apparently some of the noise had been from Heero's puppy, because she started up again as Duo moved to go to Lena. The clone dived for the dog, snatched her up, and wrapped a hand around her muzzle. Duo wished his own kids could be quieted down that easily.
"We're not leaving your blankie behind. Promise. Now shush. Yeah, that means your dollie too, Lena. So calm down, everything's alright -- you're gonna nap a bit and then I'll wake you up to eat. Alright? And you can pack your bags and make sure you leave a space for your things."
He whispered at them for almost fifteen minutes, calming them down. Behind him, the older kids had gone back to their tasks, whispering amongst themselves. He carried the two babies back to his corner and settled them down.
Sylvia was watching him with wide eyes, still not quite awake. He smiled at her tiredly, patted her hair quickly, then went back to police the rest. If the twins threw a tantrum, he didn't know what he'd do. Prolly have Cathy cook them for dinner.
this is straight off the presses, meaning probably full of errors -- anything that shouldn't be there and yet is, should be and yet isn't, grammar mistakes, inconsistencies, pz to be telling me?
i dhed now. *flops*
It was like an anthill. Kids running around, piling up stuff frantically, thoroughly getting in each other's way, and Duo too busy to smooth things out and calm them down. Hell, he was as excited and half-panicked as them.
The only one who wasn't running around was Heero, and that was because he was sitting in a corner drawing his map. Duo was kind of worried that he wouldn't be able to read it. He hoped Heero would think to include landmarks, but he wasn't sure the clone noticed remarkable things the way he did. And distances were all well and good, but he didn't see no one walking around with a measuring tape around these parts.
None of the kids had a lot of things, so once all the stuff inside the hideout was piled up, he left Cathy, Nanashi and Sylvia to try stitching together a few more bags and shoes and all these things, and brought the rest of his kids to check a few places. Heero had said they'd need wire, and thread would probably be good too -- and any kind of food they didn't have to take out of their reserves would be a godsend. Besides, he needed to show Alex and Mueller how to handle a gun, just in case.
They came back to the basement hideout by evening, when Duo was tired of dealing with his littlest crying at the drop of a hat, Hildie and Milly running off at the slightest glimpse of a shiny thing, and Alex and Mueller begging him for bullets in between two bouts of pretend-shooting at each other.
He could smell food cooking; that helped him relax a little. He ordered his older brats to pack, carrying Lena and Quat on his hips to the kitchen. Leaving three children alone with the clone still made him a little uneasy, even though he had decided that he could trust Heero with them; at least neither of them was the sort to bother Heero until he snapped.
He found Heero sitting at the table with Cathy and Nanashi, giving his whole concentration to stitching socks under Cathy's close supervision; Nanashi was watching them quietly, the puppy a lump of sleepy fur against his foot.
Nanashi looked up first, prompting Cathy to look too. Heero stayed concentrated on his stitches, only gracing the door with a quick glance; Duo assumed that he'd heard them come in.
"Oh, Duo, welcome back! We've packed half of the blankets already; they're folded and all. And I cooked stuff for the road, and --"
"Alright, alright. Everything I listed done?" he asked as confirmation.
She nodded vigorously, curls bobbing around her head. "Yeah. And then we went to help Triton and Sylvia with the stitching. Heero says it might be colder out here, 'cause of hu-mi-di-ty and stuff."
"Ah. And where's Syl?"
"In your bed. She got scared, so I told her to pack your clothes and then take a nap. It's alright, isn't it?"
Duo frowned a little. There were things he kept by his bed that he didn't really want his kids touching; weapons, and drugs he used to barter with outsiders. Sometimes it was the only currency they wanted. He still didn't want his kids to think he was a druggie; they knew better than to trust one of those. But if Syl needed a safe place, eh.
"Yeah, s'alright. What she got scared of this time?" he asked, putting Quatre down. The blond boy gravitated to Nanashi immediately, climbing on the bench and looking up at him, and started telling him all about his day. Duo watched them, a tired smile on his lip.
"Me," Heero commented calmly, not looking up.
Duo stopped smiling. "... Huh. And what were you doing?"
"Cleaning my gun."
It was a good thing Lena was asleep on him, because otherwise he would have reached out and slapped the back of Heero's head. Which was not a good idea, seeing the speed of the clone's reflexes.
"... Goddamn."
"I wasn't even looking at her."
The clone looked kind of at a loss; it defused any annoyance Duo was still feeling.
"Ah... S'alright. Syl... She got problems. Sometimes she's even scared of me. It's not even a matter of you being threatening, it's just a matter of you being an adult and taller than her and all. Just don't lean over her, and don't ever corner her, and we'll have no problem."
He sighed, glanced at Nanashi and Quat who were still whispering to each other. Nash was absently rubbing his bare foot on the puppy's flank; she nipped at him sleepily, but didn't protest any more than that. Cathy was looking up at him, frowning in worry.
"Uh, so, you been teaching Heero to stitch?" Duo asked with a chuckle, moving Lena up a little. She was getting heavy.
"He kinda knew, but he was making it all ugly and bunched up."
"I stitch wounds usually."
Duo grimaced faintly. He'd been forced to do that twice; the first time, he hadn't had anything to sterilize his needle and the kid had gotten a bad infection and almost died. (Not that it mattered; the cowardly little backstabber was probably dead, if he wasn't with a gang.) The second time had left an ugly scar; luckily it was on Milly's back, not on his face or hand or anything that would have bothered the kid. "You got training as a medic?"
"No. I just stitch mine."
Shaking his head, Duo turned away from the table and went to check on Sylvia. She was asleep, tucked in a corner with the t-shirt full of rags he used as a pillow over her; only her hair and a bony leg peeked out.
He put Lena down on the mattress in silence, covering her with his pullover, then started packing his things quickly. He could hear Cathy giving Heero pointers and other kids moving around in the other rooms. Everything seemed to be going okay; a welcome change from the nervous agitation he had dealt with all day long.
Of course, the second he finished thinking that, Quat started sobbing his little heart out.
"What's going on?" he demanded as he burst into the room. Quatre was sitting on the ground with Nash patting his head awkwardly, and seemed to be working himself up into one of his rare temper tantrums.
"Otto said -- Otto said -- CAN'T BRING BLANKIE!"
Duo cringed and picked Quat up quickly, patting his back and rocking him in an attempt to calm him down. The little boy was starting to swing his fists around, howling. Otto looked panicked, mumbling denials and giving him horrified looks.
"Duo, I never said--"
"NOOO! WANT MY BLANKIE!"
Duo rolled his eyes, teeth clenched together as he kept trying to calm Quatre. Mueller was wincing and giving the kid dirty looks, and Nash, as unemotional as he usually was, nonetheless looked like he was seriously contemplating the virtues of crying in sympathy. Otto seemed utterly crushed.
"Otto, what did you say?"
"I was talking to Hilde! Just said we had to pack light, couldn't take stuff we wouldn't need--"
Behind them, Lena screamed and dove for the corner where she had stashed her rag doll. Then she curled around it and started crying hard enough to cover Quat's howls.
Quat rose to the challenge. Duo wondered if he was going to turn deaf.
"ENOUGH."
Silence fell on the room, only broken by Lena's sniffles. Quat was totally silent, watching Duo with wide eyes.
"You be quiet now. What's all this screaming business?" he said; maybe a little more sternly than he had intended.
Apparently some of the noise had been from Heero's puppy, because she started up again as Duo moved to go to Lena. The clone dived for the dog, snatched her up, and wrapped a hand around her muzzle. Duo wished his own kids could be quieted down that easily.
"We're not leaving your blankie behind. Promise. Now shush. Yeah, that means your dollie too, Lena. So calm down, everything's alright -- you're gonna nap a bit and then I'll wake you up to eat. Alright? And you can pack your bags and make sure you leave a space for your things."
He whispered at them for almost fifteen minutes, calming them down. Behind him, the older kids had gone back to their tasks, whispering amongst themselves. He carried the two babies back to his corner and settled them down.
Sylvia was watching him with wide eyes, still not quite awake. He smiled at her tiredly, patted her hair quickly, then went back to police the rest. If the twins threw a tantrum, he didn't know what he'd do. Prolly have Cathy cook them for dinner.