CHAPTER TWO:

 

Duo was dreaming. He was being chased by mega-sized mangas with all of its characters popping out of the book and chasing him as well. The scene changed and he found himself swimming in a bowl of cereal filled with milk. He reached for a yellow-colored fruit loop and hung unto to it for dear life, as a gigantic spoon reached into the bowl to scoop him out. He waved his hands and shouted for the cereal-eater to…uh…not eat him. But the woman, yes that mean woman, only laughed and soon had little Duo deep within her mouth, which - oddly enough - smelt like Winter Fresh bubble gum.

 

Duo screamed and opened up his eyes, only to scream again as four pairs of curious, amused, flabbergasted and irritated looks were pinned on him (You can figure out which look belonged to whom).

 

They were all crouched on their haunches, staring at the crimson-faced minute Duo, with nothing to say really. I mean, what could they say. It wasn’t everyday that you got to see your friend and housemate shrunken to the size of a thimble.

 

“How long before he snaps out of it?” Trowa, the uni-banged and usually silent pilot, spoke up first.

 

Heero shrugged and reached down to brush a finger against Duo’s tail, only to withdraw it quickly as Duo tried to bite his finger.

 

“He is too cute!” Quatre, the ever-loving, ever-caring Arabian exclaimed, aqua depths flashing with excitement. Beneath that blond mass of hair, plans and ideas on how to take care of baby…yes, Duo had become a baby now…at least to him, had already begun to form in his mind. Duo would have to have new clothes, since he couldn’t very well remain stuck in his current attire forever. Duo would also have to have special meals prepared for him…

 

“I AM HUNGRY!!”

 

“Damn it! His voice is still as loud as ever!” bellowed Wufei. Ah, what would our story be without the exotic-looking Chinese pilot that always manages to make every little situation an opportunity to rant on his favorite topic… Justice.

 

“The injustice of it all, ne?” Heero teased.

 

Whoa! Now four pairs of eyes were trained on the smiling?? Brown-haired pilot. Somehow, Heero was really getting a kick out of this whole thing, in some perverted way or another.

 

“I SAID I AM HUNGRY!”

 

And another thing, chibi…make that mini-chibi Duo seemed to have gained a worse temper to accompany his size. Not that we are to blame him in any way. Try to put yourself in his position.

 

“I will get you something to eat,” Quatre volunteered happily. In seconds, a bowl of pasta, which he had so lovingly prepared for dinner tonight was placed in front of…eh…where was Duo?

“I don’t think he can eat from that plate, Quatre,” Wufei clarified with a snort. “We can’t even see his head above the damn rim.”

 

Pointy ears stuck out from above said rim, followed by a pair of tiny arms and a flushed red-faced pilot, who had somehow managed to scramble up the side of the bowl and…

 

“Watch out, Duo! You are going to fall…”

 

…into the, thankfully, warm ropes of spaghetti laced with Alfredo sauce.

 

Trowa chuckled. Quatre looked aghast and hurried away to find a paper towel. Wufei grinned, while Heero was in seventh heaven.

 

“I am so sorry. It’s all my fault. I should have remembered that you would not be able to eat from the bowl. I am so…”

 

Duo, who was currently perched in the middle of Quatre’s palm, scowled as he was rubbed and buried beneath wads of paper tissue. He felt icky and sticky and just plain tired of it all. “I am fine, Q.”

 

“Honestly, I really need to watch the way I…”

 

“I said, I’m okay now, Quatre.”

 

“I really am so sorry…”

 

“QUATRE!!”

 

“Right.” The blond placed him back on the table and resumed his curious watch, hands positively itching to at least stroke the American’s new tail. It looked so…furry.

 

Heero, had meanwhile, managed to find a small saucer, thanks to Quatre’s extensive tea set collection. He took some of the spaghetti and chopped it into tiny bits, before placing it before Duo with a small smile.

 

“There…you should be able to eat now.”

 

“But what is he going to eat with? We don’t have tiny spoons or anything…”

 

“What if we bought a dollhouse or doll-like things, then maybe he could use those…”

 

“Hai, that sounds like a good idea…”

 

“And we are going to have to watch the way he moves around the house now…”

 

“Don’t want to squash him or something…”

 

Meanwhile, back on the table, feeling neglected, growing steadily angrier by the second as his ‘friends’ continued to talk about him like he didn’t exist, Duo Maxwell decided that enough was enough. With a snort, he picked up a tiny string of spaghetti and slipped it into his mouth, before getting to his feet and walking towards the edge of the table. Luckily, Trowa had decorated it with the tablecloth that had strings for its fringes. Smiling in victory, Duo began the dangerous climb down the cloth, ears twitching in agitation as the floor looked eons of miles away from him.

 

He swallowed tightly and closed his eyes, taking deep calming breaths as he continued his journey. Telling himself to hurry up before the others noticed his disappearance, Duo reached the end of his lifeline and hung uncertainly for a moment. His bushy tail swishing back and forth.

 

Got to jump.

 

It was a good five feet - Duo’s measurement - from his position to the floor and counting to ten, he fought the urge to yell ‘Geronimo’ before making the fatal leap.

 

“Damn!” He muttered, hissing in his breath as he landed rather painfully on his tail. Getting on all fours, he crawled around the table, noticing the gigantic feet of the four boys still discussing him. Grumbling beneath his breath, Duo eyed the kitchen door. The damn thing looked like it was in another country. There was no way he was going to make it over there without them knowing.

 

But Duo is a determined and persistent fella, if you hadn’t realized that by now. His ‘never quit’ attitude had gathered him many admirers and haters alike. And so with the attitude firmly in place, Duo began the trip towards the kitchen door.

 

Five tired and sweat-drenched minutes later, Duo leaned against the wastepaper basket and eyed the brown door with faint annoyance. He might as well just scream out ‘come and get me, guys!.’ This trip wasn’t going according to plan any more.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!”

 

Quatre’s scream sent everyone into a state of panic, while Duo was so stunned by the loudness of it, he ended up falling flat on his back and in the process knocked down the small wire basket filled with - thank goodness - papers all over himself.

 

“What is it, Quatre?!” Heero asked with a slight frown, already figuring out what must have happened, for his gaze had shifted towards the blond’s direction and just as he had thought, a certain pilot was gone.

 

“Du…Du…Duo!! He’s gone!!”

 

“Okay, everyone. Start searching,” Heero commanded. And not wasting any time, all four boys fell on their knees and began to upturn every possible piece of furniture they could find. Duo tried to curl himself into a ball, using his tail as a shield. They would find him soon and then the humiliation would begin all over again. Swearing to kill a certain brunette woman as soon as he was restored to normal size, Duo was almost knocked to the side again as Wufei had reached for the basket.

 

“Gah…who makes this sort of a mess anyway?” He grumbled, as his hands reached to pick up the pieces that still lay on the floor. Duo wanted to vanish into thin air. He prayed fervently that Wufei wouldn’t find him…or not.

 

“Put me down!! NOW!!” He bellowed in frustration as he was lifted by the scruff of his neck and raised to eye level with the dark-haired youth. “And watch the way you swing me around!!”

 

“I found him,” Wufei commented dryly with a light smirk.

 

“Allah, thank goodness. Let me have him.” Pale hands were outstretched to receive the struggling kitt…eh…Duo… but as fate would have it, Heero was quick to the rescue. He gently pried the flabbergasted American away from Wufei’s grip and placed him upon his head.

 

“I will take him now. Hang on tight, Duo…OUCH!! STOP PULLING MY HAIR!!”

 

The cheeky kitten shook his head and tugged even harder on the brown locks with glee. Payback time!! Heero growled and tried to swat Duo off, now regretting his action. This only caused his housemates to laugh or chuckle at his discomfort.

 

If Heero was quick, then Duo, in pixie form, was even quicker. He was able to read where Heero’s hands were going to land and was always quick to get out of the way in time. Unfortunately for him, Heero had thick hair and the chances of him getting lost in the wild locks were pretty high. A hair brushed against his nostrils and sneezing loudly, Duo finally collapsed into the soft hair in exhaustion.

 

“Had enough fun now?” Heero muttered with irritation. His hair now looked as if it had had a fight with a scissors and the others were having a hard time controlling themselves from laughing. He trained his trademark scowl on them, daring any one to even burst out with mirth again.

 

“Heh…seems like the troubles don’t end, either in full size or midget-wise,” Wufei said with a snicker. “Catch you later, Yuy. I have to go to work now.”

 

Quatre tried to take another peek at Duo, but was denied the simple action. Pouting at Heero in defeat, he pulled gently on Trowa’s hands and began to lead him out of the kitchen.

 

“Let’s go. I will get to see him sooner or later.”

 

Trowa waved and nodded at the silent boy. “See you around Heero.”

 

The kitchen door closed quietly behind them and Heero was left alone with his little troublemaker. From the silence, the ex-pilot figured that Duo was fast asleep again. Sighing, he sat on a chair and placed his head on the table, careful as not to tip his friend over. Dark blue eyes stared out of the window, watching his friends making their way out of the large compound.

 

It was quiet now. Just the way he liked it, ne?

 

There would be no chance of Duo rushing through the kitchen door with some loud music blaring from his earphones. No chance of he being interrupted by Duo demanding for his constant attention.

 

He closed his eyes and smiled softly. It was fun, having Duo this little, in a way. One thing, his energy level wasn’t as high as it usually was and the boy had the tendency to sleep more often. He would take care of Duo…for now. But once he got back to normal, everything would have to change.

 

“Sleep well, Duo,” he whispered softly. “I promise to take good care of you.”

 

And somewhere buried beneath strands of brown hair, amethyst depths shimmered as the words reached its furry little ears.