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windchijmesTitle of work : Chibi Kisses - 6 - Eskimo Baby
Genre : Gen, Fluff
Rating : G (General)
Warnings : Pure fluff and cutesiness.
Summary : Little Heero and Fei visit the library, and Heero has to teach the stubborn little boy to read a book.
"Have you got all your books, Heero?"
The little boy nodded and held up his back. The top was open and inside, a row of five books could be seen.
"Here! Catch this."
A set of house-keys sailed through the air and Heero caught it neatly in his hands. He placed the keys in his bag.
In front of Heero, a brown-haired woman in her mid-thirties tapped her fingers against her chin. " I don't think I've forgotten anything. Come, let's go." She turned abruptly and smiled at him, holding out her hand.
Gazing up into eyes as dark and as blue as his own, Heero slipped his hand into hers. He liked holding his mother's hand. It always made him feel safe.
"I can't wait to meet the little kid you keep talking about!" she chuckled as she locked the door behind them. Then, squeezing his hand, they walked out onto the pavement.
The best thing about their tiny apartment was that it was very near this shopping centre, which, multi-purpose as it was, housed a small, but well-stocked library. A week ago, Fei-fei's mother had asked him which library he went to. She thought it would be a good idea to take Fei-fei there.
"Hiiiiirrrrooooo!!!"
That bright, childish voice was unmistakably Fei-fei's.
Heero looked around quickly, breaking into a smile when he spotted the little boy. Near the entrance to the centre, with one hand held tightly by his mother, Fei-fei waved one little arm wildly.
The two mothers exchanged beams and greetings. Mrs Chang said she was pleased to finally meet the mum of such a well-behaved little boy like Heero. Likewise, Heero's mother replied that Fei-fei was such a cute little boy. Bending down before Fei-fei, she smiled at this adorable child in his white top with prints of cuddly pandas, and matching little pants. Suddenly the attention of this stranger, Fei-fei blinked slowly, his round cheeks seeming even rounder as they turned pink. He was probably just a step away from hiding behind his mummy.
"Say hello to Mrs Yuy, Fei."
His small black head turned as Fei-fei looked uncertainly from his mummy to this strange woman.
"I'm Heero's mummy." The woman said it like she was sharing a secret with Fei-fei.
Fei-fei perked up instantly at the mention of Heero's name. His dimples twinkled as he beamed suddenly. "Hirosmamee?"
"Uh-huh," Heero's mummy chuckled.
"IlikeHirosmamee."
The two women laughed. Fei-fei then wanted to hold Heero's hand instead, and his mother acceded wryly. The two boys walked ahead, with their mothers following behind. Along the way, Fei-fei chattered excitedly about the library, while Heero tried his best to answer all the little one's queries.
"Isthelybreenice?"
"Of course!"
"Hiroteachmetoread?"
" I'll teach you to read all sorts of books. You like that?"
"Ilike!"
Before they knew it, they were already in the centre and heading for the escalator that would bring them to the second storey where the library was. Fei-fei's chubby palms were pressed to the glass as he peered down from the moving escalator. He seemed so very amused that everything on the first floor was becoming further and further and smaller and smaller as the escalator travelled up. Actually, the escalator was not the only thing Fei-fei was so interested in. There was the library of course. One step inside, and Fei-fei's black eyes rounded in amazement.
"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing at the shelves, stacks and rows of books that lined the interior of the library.
Grinning, Heero pointed to something even more interesting. It was a little area sectioned away from the rest of the library, painted with rainbows, fluffy clouds and a big smiling Mr Sun, and fenced by low shelves of children's books. Those were apparent from their gaily-coloured spines and big, bold lettering across their covers. Cartoony pictures were sprinkled over many of their pages too.
"Iwannaread!"
Heero was allowed to bring little Fei-fei to that children's area, as long as they stayed there until their mothers were ready to bring them home. To this, Fei-fei agreed readily, already impatiently tugging at Heero's hand.
Once the two kids stepped into the children's section, Fei-fei instantly shook free of Heero's hand and zeroed in one particular shelf. He pulled at one of the books, tugging with his little arms until he finally pulled it free. Beaming, he held it up to Heero.
"Iwannareadthis!"
Heero stared at the book. It was a book on aircrafts and machines for older children, of probably ten years or maybe even older. Heero himself had trouble recognising some of the words, lest to say Fei-fei who had not even started to read properly.
"Not this one," Heero refused carefully, placing the book back on the shelf.
Fei-fei's eyes widened into huge black discs. "Why?" he said plaintively, trying to reach for the book again. "Iwant!"
"It's too hard," Heero explained, quickly pulling out another book. This one was an introduction to alphabets and basic words, with many nice pictures. "What about this one? I can teach you this one."
A little kink appeared between Fei-fei's brows as he examined the book. Obviously he didn't think this one was as exciting as the other one with the aircrafts and machines.
"See?" Heero hurriedly flipped to the page where the alphabet A was featured. "Aeroplane!"
That did the trick.
"Awoplane," Fei-fei echoed enthusiastically as he took the book, cuddled it to his chest and began heading towards a corner.
Heero heaved a silent sigh of relief and tagged along. They chose a nice, cosy place and Fei-fei settled down quickly, plonking down on his bottom. Heero sat behind the younger boy, his legs drawn out on either side and his chin resting against Fei-fei's round head.
Placing the book on the ground, Fei-fei flipped it open eagerly. At the page with the bright yellow and red aeroplane, he patted the page with one chubby palm. "Awoplane!"
Heero smiled. "A for ae-ro-plane."
"A…for…awoplane!"
"Ae-ro-plane." Heero corrected. "Air..rrro…plane." He even rolled his R for a longer time for good measure.
Fei-fei giggled. "Air…rrrrooooo…plane!" he said triumphantly, not quite able to roll his R, but making good effort of it.
They got through the A page relatively easily. Then it was the B page, with the picture of a boy playing with a ball.
"Boy," Heero said, pointing to the picture. "Ball," he said, next pointing to the ball in the boy's hands.
Fei-fei perked up. "Feifeiandball!"
Heero couldn't help a chuckle. "Boy and Ball."
"I'maboy," Fei-fei said proudly. "Ihaveaball."
Well…Fei-fei did read the words 'boy' and 'ball', Heero conceded, and he continued going through the words on the page. By the time they finished the C words, Fei-fei was getting a little restless. Heero found himself having to shake his head every time Fei-fei turned his head around and begged to go read his 'awoplane' book. When they finished the D page, Fei-fei was already fidgeting and squirming like a little worm.
"Idunwannaread…" he said, growing sulky as he tried to close the book, and not succeeding because Heero's hand was pressed on it.
"Don't be naughty," Heero scolded, his patience wearing a little thin. They just finished letter D. There were twenty-two more letters to go!
Fei-fei's lip stuck out in a pout but he still tried to wheedle his way out. Nudging his head against Heero's chest, he stared up at Heero, big black eyes blinking innocently. "Pwweeeeaaase…Idunwannaread."
Heero didn't buy it. "You have to."
"Idunwanna!" Fei-fei said sulkily, making petulant whimpers in his throat when he tried to close the book and failed again.
"You're a naughty boy," Heero said sternly. "I can't teach you like that!"
At Heero's scolding, a little choked noise escaped Fei-fei and the younger boy turned away from Heero abruptly. Curling himself into a ball, Fei-fei tucked his head into his arms, refusing to look at Heero.
Heero blinked. This reminded of the very first time he met Fei-fei, except this time Fei-fei was throwing a tantrum because of him. Admittedly, he could have been more patient with the little one, but when it came to books, he wanted only the best best. Well, now he would have to think of how to cajole Fei-fei, because there was no way Fei-fei was going to relent without some work on Heero's part. Coaxing him, Heero snuggled his arms around the younger boy, patting at the small, dark head, even cuddling Fei-fei.
Finally, a little voice came from the ball. "HiroangrywifFeifei…"
"No," Heero was surprised. He had thought Fei-fei was angry with him, and not the other way round. "I'm not angry with you."
"…no?" Fei-fei said, still in that small voice.
"But you have to be good. Is Fei-fei a good boy?"
Fei-fei's head lifted a little. Heero smiled inwardly. That was easy! Sneaking his hand under Fei-fei's chin, he lifted the boy's head, so he could see the round little face with those big and now watery black eyes. "Well?"
"Feifeigood," Fei-fei announced to him, now sounding more like his usual impetuous self.
"If Fei-fei's good, then Fei-fei will read finish this book," Heero told him, turning the page to the letter E.
There was some silence for several seconds as Fei-fei thought that one through. Then he gave a long sigh, as though as he was an old man. "Okaaay…"
"Look," Heero pointed to the page, where there was a picture of a man clad in thick fur an standing in front of what must be an igloo. "Eskimo."
It seemed that picture managed to snag Fei-fei's attention well enough. "Eskeeee…" Fei-fei tried out that word. Then, he turned around and beamed at Heero. "MO!" he chortled.
Heero stared down at the little upturned face, all rosy fat cheeks and twinkling dimples. No wonder he could never say no to Fei-fei. Not when the little boy was so cute! Heero remembered something suddenly.
"Do you know how Eskimos kiss, Fei-fei?"
Fei-fei tilted his head as he pondered, then he shook it hard.
"Like this." Heero dipped his head and bumped his nose against Fei-fei's smaller one. He nuzzled their noses together, Fei-fei's baby-soft cheeks nudging his face.
When they separated, he was grinning and Fei-fei was giggling. The little one raised a hand to his own nose and poked it with a finger. "FeifeieskeeeMO."
Heero laughed. "Nope," he corrected. "Fei-fei is an Eskimo baby."
Fei-fei's lips pursed. "I'mnotababy! I'maboy. BOY."
"Baby."
"BOY!"
"Baby." Heero laughed again and turned the page to the letter F.
~*~ fin ~*~
November 2003