Author: Zazu
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Kids
Pairings: 3+4
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, nor do I own the characters. I have borrowed them here for some fun and creativity, and this is not for profit. I do, however, own the plot mentioned here, and any instances that you may find similar to real life events are purely a coincidence.
Notes: Not beta-read. This is a part of the babysiting adventures universe, inspired by Sharon's prompt "Babysitting adventures for uncles Heero, Duo, Trowa and Quatre. Wufei and Relena are the parents, of course". I should state now that the little drabbles in this universe will not be chronological at all!
Circus Adventures
The small dog darted in circles around Trowa then stood on its hind legs, hopping several times and turning in circles.
Leila laughed and clapped happily as Trowa bent and took the dog's front paws, guiding it into a little dance. She took a step forward, then remembered that she'd been told to stay where she was.
"Want to try, Leila?" Trowa asked, letting the dog go and raising a finger so that the dog immediately sat down, its tail wagging madly.
"Yes!" Leila nodded. Trowa held a hand out and she darted forward to take it. "What else can he do?"
"Point to the dog," Trowa said. "Now tell him to lie down."
"Down!"
The dog immediately lay down, and Trowa guided Leila's hand to draw a circle, and Leila giggled, delighted to see the dog roll over.
With a snap of his fingers, Trowa gestured to the dog and fed it a quick treat. "Bang!" he said, pointing his fingers like a gun. The small dog immediately fell over and lay still.
"You killed him, Uncle Trowa!" Leila gasped, horrified.
"No, honey," Trowa laughed. "He's just playing." With another snap, the dog sat up again, panting and wagging its tail. Leila reached out to touch it, petting the dog.
"Good puppy," she cooed.
"He's not a puppy, Leila," Trowa said. "By dog years, he's older than you are!"
"Really?" Leila asked. "But he's so small!"
"You don't tell by their size," Trowa answered. He took Leila's hand and led her to a small ball, whistling for the dog to follow. The dog climbed onto the ball and immediately began to walk slowly. Leila held her breath, afraid the dog would fall and hurt itself.
"He's very good at what he does," Trowa assured her. "Here, give him a little treat. You can put it on his nose, and when you say 'okay', he'll eat it."
Leila balanced the treat on the dog's nose, watching the dog carefully. She stared at the dog for a long moment before she told him 'okay', and the dog promptly ate the treat.
"Having fun?" a woman's voice asked from behind them.
"Cathy," Trowa said, looking up with a grin. "Yeah. We're having fun, aren't we Leila?"
"Yes!" she answered enthusiastically. Then, she spotted someone else. "Uncle Meow!" Leila jumped up and darted up to Quatre, who was walking just behind Cathy, focused on his phone. He immediately slid the phone into his pocket.
"Hello, Leila," Quatre bent and picked her up. He laughed as the cowboy hat she wore slid down and covered her eyes, then helped her lift the hat back up. "There you are. Enjoying yourself?"
"You're late for our circus adventure, Uncle Meow," she said with a pout.
"I'm sorry," Quatre said. "I had to work."
"Uncle Trowa and I were having fun! Watch!" Turning to the dog, Leila pointed to it and told it to lie down, then gestured for it to roll over.
"Very good!" Quatre said. "But you haven't said hello to Auntie Cathy yet."
"Hello, Auntie Cathy," Leila automatically said.
"Hi, sweetie," Cathy smiled. "Are you having fun with Addy?"
Leila nodded. "Yes! Addy's smart!"
"Do you want to see the other animals?" Trowa asked.
"Can we go see the elephants and monkeys?" Leila asked Cathy.
"Sure you can!" Cathy held out her hands. "Why don't you come with me for a minute? I'll take you to see them and show you a few little tricks, and then you can play on the trampoline with Uncle Trowa, okay?"
"Okay!" Leila squirmed a little, so Quatre set her down. She followed Cathy away, her hands holding up her hat as she looked up at the woman, chattering excitedly as they walked away.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself," Quatre replied automatically, sliding his hand into Trowa's. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's okay. We haven't been here for long."
"Is she having fun?"
"Loads."
"And you?" Quatre asked, looking into Trowa's eyes. "Do you miss it here?"
"A little." Trowa looked around, then raised an eyebrow. "But when I think about all of the chores involved? I don't miss it all that much."
"You've become a little spoiled, then," Quatre teased.
"Spoiled? Not really. I've just gained a new perspective. For example, I'd rather scrub your back than an elephant's."
"Is that supposed to be romantic?" Quatre laughed.
Trowa chuckled. "Can't say I didn't try."
"Thanks." Quatre bumped his shoulder against Trowa's. "I'd rather scrub your back, too."
"Is that a promise?"
"Yes."
They found Leila sitting on the elephant's trunk, petting it gently. She waved at them and slid off the elephant, running towards them.
"Uncle Trowa!" she called, grabbing his hand. "Can we play on the trampoline?"
"Sure." Trowa cast a sidelong glance at Quatre. "Want to come and play?"
"Of course!"
They made their way to where the training trampoline was set up with a net around it. Trowa showed Leila how to fall without hurting herself, then let her bounce a little on her own. She was too small and inexperienced to gain too much air, but all the same, Trowa kept a close watch on her.
"Is it safe to jump with her?" Quatre asked. He'd stripped off his jacket and left his wallet, phone and keys aside. Trowa helped him up onto the trampoline.
"Sure. Just have to hold her hand."
"Come on, then." Quatre made his wobbly way over to where Leila was bouncing and caught her hand. Trowa followed and took her hand too.
It was easy enough for Trowa and Quatre to synchronize their movements. Quatre followed Trowa's experienced lead as they jumped a little higher than Leila could on her own, and they lifted her up by their joined hands to let her get more air time. Leila laughed, excited as she jumped higher and higher, her ponytail bouncing along behind her.
"Uncle Meow! Look how high I'm jumping!"
Quatre laughed. "Want to go higher?"
"Yeah!"
"Trowa?"
Trowa nodded and gave a harder push. Leila shrieked happily.
"This is...harder...than I thought!" Quatre huffed. Trowa smirked.
"Where do you think my muscles came from?"
"Trowa!" Quatre hissed, glaring half-heartedly at Trowa's statement. Trowa slowed them down to a stop to let Leila and Quatre catch their breaths.
"More! More, Uncle Trowa!" Leila begged.
"Okay. Let Uncle Meow rest." Trowa gestured to the side. "You can stand on the side of the trampoline so you won't get bounced around.
Quatre shook his head. "I have my camera with me. Help me down to the ground and I'll get some videos and pictures."
It took only a moment for Trowa to help Quatre down, and then Quatre watched as Trowa returned his full attention to Leila. Grabbing his camera, Quatre switched on the video setting, smiling at Leila's happy expression. He stepped back further so he could capture the way they were jumping, watching them gain more height and take on more daring actions.
He took in a sharp breath when Trowa caught Leila into his arms and did a summersault before going back to simple jumps to see if the girl was okay. Leila was a daredevil though, and demanded that Trowa repeat the action again.
For a second, Quatre envisioned Trowa with another child, one that his imagination conjured. The child would have brown hair and green eyes, and the same grace as Trowa.
"Uncle Meow, look!"
"I can see you, Leila!" Quatre called, focusing on the video again as Trowa did another summersault, this one a little higher. He switched off the video and called out for them to do a few poses so he could take some pictures, then lowered the camera, satisfied that he had documented the fun that Leila was having.
It was silly, Quatre realized, to think about a child that he and Trowa would never have. In fact, Quatre wasn't even sure he really wanted children; he loved what he had with Trowa and couldn't imagine it changing anytime soon. Getting to play with Leila, and also the many nieces and nephews from his sisters was more than enough. Now, he only needed to make sure that he got to spoil them, have fun with them, and maybe teach them a few life lessons.
"Uncle Meow!"
Quatre snapped out of his thoughts as Leila ran up to him, panting as she came to a stop. He knelt and dabbed at her sweaty forehead, laughing.
"Had enough of the trampoline?"
She nodded, then threw her arms around him. "It's not as much fun without you playing with me and Uncle Trowa," she said.
"Yeah, Uncle Meow," Trowa said, walking up to them, looking as if he'd done nothing more than take a stroll in a park. "It's not as fun when you aren't playing with us."
"Okay," Quatre conceded. "What should we do next?"
"Uncle Trowa says he'll show me how to do rope walking!" Leila said, pulling back and looking up at Trowa. "Can Uncle Quatre learn with me?"
"Of course."
"Rope...Tightrope walking?" Quatre asked as Leila dashed off to get his jacket.
"It'll only be a foot high off the ground."
Leila ran up again, Quatre's jacket dragging a little, so Quatre took it from her, thanking her.
"Which way do we go?" Leila asked. "And what about the swings, Uncle Trowa?"
"We'll get to the trapezes," Trowa said gently. "One thing at a time." He took Leila's hand and started towards the other side of the room.
"You'll hold my hand, right?" Quatre asked softly as he fell into step on Trowa's other side.
"Baby, I'll catch you if you fall." Trowa took Quatre's hand too, squeezing it gently. "Anytime, anywhere, no matter what."
Quatre squeezed Trowa's hand in return and smiled, not a single doubt in his mind.
OWARI
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