Part Seventy-Five: Pre-Flight Jitters
I made calls for three days, solid.
I talked to the IchiBan. I talked to Kohaku. I talked to Teal. I talked to Kiba. I talked to Q. Thanks be, I talked to Q. I probably came near to talking his ears off. And Duo... Duo just lit up my nights.
My Banshee is a wildly affectionate creature in normal times; for some reason, despite my faux pas, he was even more loving, more sensual, more eager, in the days that followed. I found it rather... surreal. And just a little tiring. Not that you would ever catch me admitting that to Duo. I did wonder, though, how he could be mad as hell one moment, and swallowing-- ahem; indulging my sexual whims the next.
Apparently, I did a lousy job of keeping my confusion to myself. Either that, or Q was once again reading my mind. He says he doesn't have that power, but sometimes I wonder. In any case, he took the opportunity to take me aside one afternoon and explain that Duo was both eager and afraid to be meeting my grandmother, my cousin and my children. Eager, because he wanted to know my family and have them approve of him, and afraid that they would not approve of him, and that I would decide that he was not worthy of my attentions.
"You have *got* to be kidding!" I said when Q finished.
He shook his head, smirking. "Afraid not, Heero. Duo is having a serious attack of class-consciousness. He has the idea that your family will think he's beneath you; that he's not good enough for you."
I scowled; a couple of young Sprites walking nearby noticed my glare and faltered, then scurried away.
"Even if such a ridiculous thing were true, it wouldn't matter to me. If anything, they will be even more indulgent of him because he *is* a Banshee. I told you that the IchiBan adored my father."
"I never said Duo was being logical. Even he sees the absurdity of the situation, but that doesn't change the fact that he's anxious and scared." He laid a comforting hand on my shoulder. "He's lost a lot in his lifetime; it's taken a long time for him to open himself enough to care and allow others to care for him. He'll be all right once he meets them."
I thought about that. Yes, my Banshee had lost a lot, and people who should have loved and supported him had spurned him. Not Teal and Shar; I would never include them in that group. Shar had been in no condition to fight for Duo at the time of his banishment, and Teal could not divide his loyalties. They both supported him as best they could. Nevertheless, the Matriarch of his Clan should have been beaten bloody.
In my opinion, of course.
The IchiBan would adore him; I had no doubt of that. Kohaku had already asked more than once when she would get to meet the Banshee that had turned my ordered existence upside-down. Even Kiba expressed interest in meeting the Banshee, having heard from the IchiBan about my own father.
I set a date, finally, and informed my Banshee that we would be traveling to Japan to meet the people I considered family.
I expected him to be excited. He was not excited. He actually shrieked and turned pale, and began babbling about not being ready, about having too many things to do before he could meet them. He promptly disappeared (figuratively) trailing half-finished sentences about gifts and new clothes and being presentable, whatever the hell that meant.
I stood in my office staring at the doorway, my mouth hanging open in... stupefaction, perhaps?
"Close your mouth, Heero," smirked Tiffany. "You're too handsome to resemble a fish."
I turned to her almost desperately. Thank the Dragons that Wufei and Trowa were on assignment and the rest of the office was at lunch. "What the hell is wrong?! Why is he unhappy?"
"Good lord, Heero; the boy wants to make a good impression! Now he has a time limit. You should know by this time, that Duo tends to think out loud when he's wrestling with a problem."
"This is a problem?" I echoed, mystified. "But he was the one who wanted to meet them."
"And he probably expected you to come back with some excuse why they couldn't meet him. That Clan of his worked him over good when they kicked him out. Regardless of his aunt, he's felt like something low and loathsome ever since then."
"But- !"
"Of course it's ridiculous, dear. But you tell a kid he's bad enough times, and he begins to believe it. It's hard to climb out of that kind of pit. Duo's doing a good job of remaking his psyche; he's just a little nervous. He'll be ready, and everything will be fine; you'll see." She gave me a wink. "He's like a bride meeting the groom's mother for the first time; scared of not measuring up."
I growled. "That analogy is absurd!"
"But it's accurate," she insisted. "You just wait; he'll be a bundle of nerves right up until he actually meets the IchiBan, and then you'll be astonished at how poised and relaxed he'll be. Trust me on this one, Heero. I know these kinds of things."
I really didn't have a choice.
I won't go into the utterly absurd events of the next two weeks, except to say that my Banshee knitted like a maniac, spent half his time with his head in the closet moaning about the unsuitability of his wardrobe, and managed to turn hyperventilation into an art form. I could not keep up with his moods; I gave up even trying. At some point, I began to find it amusing. I mean, I was the one who precipitated this whole thing. I should have been running around trying to curry favor with *him*, not him trying to magically divine what gifts, clothing or demeanor would be more likely to make my Clan accept him.
It also served to amuse by driving Wufei right up the wall. The Were-Dragon fussed and fumed constantly about how demeaning it was for Duo to have to prove himself to my Clan. By his reckoning, my Clan should be abasing themselves to my angelic lover and be damned grateful that anyone could stand to be with me.
We actually got into it a time or two, before I recognized it as merely the vocal manifestation of his frustration. I even had a brief moment of wondering if I should ask Teal if any Banshees from his Clan might be interested in a relationship with a pissy Dragon.
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Finally, though, the day came. Duo was doing some last-minute packing; he said he would meet me in the port room. I could only shake my head and agree to go down without him. He wasn't even dressed when I left.
Q met me in the port room with a cup of coffee.
"You look like you'd prefer a stiff drink," he smiled as I drained the mug.
"Whatever he's afraid of, I've caught it," I muttered. "Now, *I'm* nervous about going home. If anyone there so much as looks cross-eyed at him, I will kill them!"
Q just smiled gently. "I spoke to Giniro this morning."
I blinked. "You did? Why?" Why indeed would Q have occasion to speak to my grandmother?
"I thought it only fair that she know how anxious he is."
I hesitated. "She didn't say anything... negative, did she?" The IchiBan, my grandmother, the female who raised me, does not suffer... wimps well.
Q patted my arm gently. "She said that Tori was also nervous when your mother first brought him there. Everyone adored him, regardless."
I looked at the blond Wizard, a friend since childhood. "Q, did you ever...?" I couldn't quite bring myself to finish the question; I don't know why I had never asked it before.
But he shook his head. "I did not have the pleasure. My career did not begin until after they were gone. You will learn more, Heero, now that you are aware and interested." He gave me a slow wink. "You know, there are not so many Banshees in the world; you may discover that you and Duo are even related. Distantly," he clarified at my startled look.
And then his gaze drifted past me to the doorway, and his eyes softened as a warm smile crept onto his face. "Oh, my..." he breathed. I turned, mystified.