Fanfic: Domesticity
Pairing: 1xR Rating: G Summary: “When he was sixteen, domesticity was a dirty word.” Heero grows up. Note: This is for @Oncefutureking for the @gwsecretsantaexchange
When he was sixteen, domesticity was a dirty word. That meant settling down, making decisions and generally knowing where you belong. He didn’t know where he belonged after the defeat of the Barton Foundation. One thing he did know, is that he felt calmer in the presence of the young Vice Foreign Minister.
It started slowly for him. He would check up on her once in awhile. After Mariemaia, he would keep tabs on where she was. He emailed in a few tips to Commander Une, just to make sure her team had the situation under control. Slowly, those emails became phone calls to Une. Then they would talk for a bit about her security situation. Une suggested he stop in next time he was on Earth to talk about Relena’s team. That seemed like a good idea to him, which was entirely surprising. The need to be left alone was fading away. He was starting to seek out opportunities to see his former comrades. More alarming to him, seeing her on TV wasn’t enough.
He hadn’t completely avoided her. Whenever she visited the colonies, her personally worked with Une to secure the buildings she visited. He never contacted her, although somehow he knew she didn’t take it personally.
After about two years, he found the shadow routine was getting old. Whenever he thought about seeing her, he thought about being seen by her. He broke his silence around her birthday, showing up with a teddy bear and a card, leaving it on her desk. But this time, he waited for her in her office. The smile she gave him as she entered and saw him warmed him completely. It was something he hadn’t felt in a long time and he spent the next several months chasing that feeling.
He made a habit of checking in on her at the office. It made less and less sense for him to be based in space. He got an apartment in Brussels, near her. He felt himself changing. He liked being around his old comrades. He would rather spend a quiet night next to Relena than by himself.
And then came Otis. The ball of black and tan fur ambled into their lives one uneventful Thursday. Relena’s assistant had found him outside and brought him to work with her, she said Relena would know what to do. The puppy roamed the office for a moment before singling out Relena and promptly falling asleep on her lap. Heero knew at that moment that the dog had stolen her heart.
She took him home, got him a collar, leash, bed and every kind of dog food the local pet store had. She fretted about a name before landing on Otis, because she said it fit him somehow. Heero went with her to the vet and they found out he wasn’t microchipped, was very healthy and a purebred German Shepherd. She filled out one form and he was hers.
Keeping the dog at home during her work day seemed cruel to him, so Heero started to train him so that he could accompany her. They spent hours together learning commands until Otis could perform the tasks with hand signals. Otis took all of his training seriously, watching Heero’s hand movements closely and obeying the commands fastidiously. The only time he ever got off track was when Relena was around. Heero could relate.
She was a little more lenient on him when Heero wasn’t around. Relena gave him a few food scraps and let him on the couch. She made sure to never do it around him, lest she receive a disapproving look.
Otis liked Heero. They would spend many a quiet afternoon together and there was a respect between them. But he loved Relena. He turned into a giddy mess when he saw her after a prolonged absence. She indulged it, smiling brightly as Otis would shower her with kisses. Heero didn’t like that Otis would lose his carefully crafted composure, but he loved seeing Relena smile.
It was an equally unimportant weekday when Heero pulled into the driveway of Relena’s house and had a sudden realization that he had built himself a family. They had never talked about it, but Heero had basically moved in to her home. They made decisions together and took trips together. They never made decisions without talking to each other. He realized coming home to her and Otis was his favorite part of the day.
He never thought he’d have a family. If you asked him a few years ago, he would have said he didn’t deserve one. But as he opened the door to the house he shared with her, he knew this was right. That this place with this woman and this dog - it was home.
It was suspiciously silent as he locked door behind him. He heard the hum of the tv in the living room and moved towards it. He found Relena asleep on the couch, and her stalwart companion curled up in her legs.
“Some guard dog.” he murmured while patting Otis on the head. The dog sighed deeply, as if he was agreeing.
She shifted at the sound of his voice, stretching a bit and opening her eyes.
“Go to bed.” he said, still petting Otis at her feet.
“I am in bed.” she answered sleepily, not making any moves to get up.
He lifted her from her position at the end of the couch, but instead of getting her up, he took a seat. She adapted, using him as a pillow. “I’ll get up in a second.” she murmured, clearly about to fall back asleep.
Otis readjusted to his presence on the couch, curling up closer to Relena. She sighed contently as his arm snaked around her, pulling her closer.
Domesticity? Yeah, he could get used to this.
