Operation: Parenthood

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: Not mine.

AN: Okay, I know it's kinda late, but this is my seventh day of Christmas present to all ya'll. Hope ya enjoy.

Chapter 2: Fixin' the Problem

Duo made his way up the front walk of a large manor house belonging to one Quatre Rebarba Winner. The house happened to be the current residence of all five former Gundam pilots and one Harry Potter. The five of them hadn't wanted to be separated after the wars and had decided that they would live in one of the former Sandrock pilot's places, since he had so many and there would be enough room for all of them to live comfortably.

Once he got inside the front door, he sprinted up the stairs, hoping to catch the Winner heir in his study. He'd called Une on his way home and had arranged a meeting with her, but he hoped the blonde would be able to come with him and help convince her that his idea was a good one. He raced up three flights of stairs and then banged loudly on Quatre's office door.

"Enter," came a rather worried call from inside.

"Quat, I need your help," the braided teen announced, flinging the portal open.

"Well, have a seat and we'll figure something out," the small Arabian motioned to a chair in front of his desk.

"No time," Duo went over and grabbed the blonde's wrist, pulling him to his feet. "I'll explain on the way."

It was all Quatre could do to keep up with the former Deathscythe pilot. He figured something bad must have happened with one of the others, it was the only logical thing he could imagine that would cause the other teen to act this way. However, his thoughts were blown out of the water as he was pulled out of the house and into one of the many cars they owned.

"Duo!" the blonde shook his head as he was forced into the passenger seat and buckled in.

The former street rat ignored him as he rounded the car, sliding across the hood in his haste, and climbed into the driver's seat. He started the engine and buckled his seatbelt in one fluid movement. It wasn't until he pulled out of the long drive that he deemed it appropriate to finally speak with his passenger.

"We've gotta do something, Quat," he shook his head. "I've already called Une and she said she'd meet with me, but you've gotta convince her to do something."

"About what, Duo?" the former Sandrock pilot shook his head, "I have no clue what you're talking about."

With a long suffering sigh, the braided teen filled the other in on what was going on at the Konoha Street Orphanage. When he was through the blonde looked about ready to go ZERO, and Duo knew he'd picked the right partner for his self imposed mission.

"So these three boys need to be adopted?" the shrewd teal eyes narrowed in thought. "And you're hoping Une will supply the perfect parents for them?"

"That's the plan," the former Deathscythe pilot nodded.

"Mission accepted," the blonde nodded once.

It took fifteen more minutes to arrive at the Preventers Headquarters. They both stalked through the double doors and made their way to the elevator, their minds completely on the mission. Duo flashed his Preventer's badge at the security guard who tried to stop them once and they then continued on unimpeded. When they finally reached Une's office, they entered without bothering to knock, they were there for an important reason after all.

Anne Une looked up from the files on her desk as her door banged open, her hand automatically reaching for the gun strapped to the underside of her desk within easy reach. She scowled, however, when she recognized the two figures as two of the former Gundam pilots, one of which was now one of her top agents.

"Agent Scythe, Mr. Winner," she nodded in greeting. "Was there something I could do for you?"

"I called in," Duo smirked, flopping gracefully onto one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"So you did," she acknowledged. "Now, are you going to explain why I had to cancel a very important meeting with the Vice Foreign Minister just to be able to speak with you?"

"Yeah, we got a problem," the former Deathscythe pilot frowned, but stopped as the small blonde put his hand on his arm.

"Lady Une," he said kindly, though his eyes were hard as stone, "it would seem that there is a problem at the Konoha Street Orphanage."

She frowned slightly as she sifted through the papers and files on her desk, finally pulling out a rather thick file, "Ah, yes, the condemned orphanage building," she nodded. "I did what I could for them. I screened many couples and had all the orphans adopted just yesterday."

"Not all of them, apparently," the blonde shook his head slightly. "It has come to our attention that three little boys were not adopted, and are being sent out to other orphanages throughout the city. We find this unacceptable."

"What do you propose I do about it?" she asked, lacing her fingers in front of her on the desk, knowing exactly what three cases he was talking about. Those certain cases were deemed difficult, and she hadn't found a couple capable or willing to take them on. "I have no more couples in the area who can take on any more children. Especially, those three cases."

"We'll do it," Quatre said firmly, causing both other occupants of the room to stare at him in disbelief.

Lady Une scowled darkly at the suggestion. Surely he couldn't be thinking that he and Duo could take on the responsibility for three little boys all by themselves, they were practically still children themselves. True, both of them had good paying jobs, and were more than capable of supporting three children but what about their lives, their hopes and dreams, they couldn't be willing to give them all up for three complete strangers.

"You already know our background," the blonde continued, "we are both in serious relationships, have steady jobs, and are more than capable of supporting three little boys."

She did have to concede his point. Given their backgrounds, it shouldn't have surprised her that these two boys were willing to give up their time, money, and energy into raising three little orphan boys. However, given the three cases presented and the problems and difficulties that would arise from them, she had to put her foot down, at least a bit.

"I don't see much of a problem with your suggestion," a frown marred her stern countenance. "However, given your ages and the specific cases, I cannot in good conscious allow you to adopt more than one apiece. If you can find another candidate for the third orphan I will file the paperwork myself before the day is out."

"Harry," Duo sat up straight in his chair, his eyes going wide. "Harry and Wuffers could adopt the third one. I'll call him. I'm sure he'll agree once he hears what's going on."

"Very well," she motioned to the phone on her desk, grateful for the pilots' idea, even if it was a bit unprecedented. "The sooner you get this taken care of, the sooner those boys will be in your custody."

The braided teen jumped to his feet and quickly dialed the number for his brother's cell. He explained the situation and within five minutes he was beaming down at the phone as he replaced the receiver on the cradle.

"He'll meet us at the orphanage in fifteen minutes," he shook his head, this was above and beyond what he'd expected. "So you want to come with us, Une, or should we just bring in the paperwork once it's completed?"

"I, unlike you, have work to attend to today," she shook her head, a smile pulling at the edges of her mouth, as she handed him three folders. "However, I want your significant others to sign as well, so I will give you till tomorrow to bring in the paperwork. As it stands, though, I see no problem with you taking the boys home with you tonight, let them have the chance to get to know you and your makeshift family."

"Great, you're the best, Une baby," Duo beamed as he took them, then turned and made his way to the door, Quatre hot on his heels.

The pair of them headed back out to the car and were quickly back on the road. Duo took them straight to the orphanage by the shortest route he knew. There was little talking between them as they drove, Duo too happy for words, for once, and Quatre contemplating what he was going to tell Trowa when he brought home a little boy that night that would become their son.

They pulled up outside the chain link fence just as a motorcycle pulled in. They nodded at the other teen as he took off his helmet, revealing a head of tussled black hair and bright green eyes.

"So, Duo," Harry said, falling into step with the other two, "let me make sure I understand this correctly. There are three orphans in here that no one seems to want? And you two asked Lady Une, and she said we could adopt one apiece?"

"That's basically it," Duo beamed. "Now lets go tell the kiddies. They'll be so excited."

"How is it that you know them?" Quatre asked, giving the braided teen a curious look.

"It's kinda an interesting story actually," the former Deathscythe pilot scratched his neck nervously. "I met them on Christmas Eve, at the mall. I bought them some presents. They kinda think I'm Santa Claus."

"That was really nice of you, Duo," his brother gave him a bright smile. "I'm glad you took the time to do that. I wish I could've been there. So what are their names, anyway?"

"Well, the three up for adoption are Kiba, Gaara, and Shikamaru," Duo shrugged. "According to Iruka, the manager of this place, they're special cases, that's why they weren't adopted."

They had reached the door to the building, and Duo held it open for the other two. He then proceeded to lead them down the hall, retracing his route from earlier. Once they reached the office, he rapped three times on the door. A voice Duo could tell wasn't the manager's bade them entrance and they walked in.

"Hello, may I help you?" a tall, silver haired man looked up, a patch covering his left eye.

"Uh, yeah," Duo gave a hesitant smile, "I'm Duo Maxwell, I talked with Iruka earlier about the three orphans still residing here."

"He mentioned you," he nodded. "I'm Kakashi Hatake, by the way, owner of this fine establishment."

"He mentioned you," Duo beamed, taking the seat across from the man. "Anyway, did he mention the deal I made with him earlier?"

"He did," Kakashi said evenly, weighing his words carefully. "I do have to say, I'm quite surprised by your interest in our boys, Mr. Maxwell."

"It's Duo," the braided teen chuckled slightly. "The made quite an impression on me. Anyway, I talked to Lady Une and we found a solution to your problem."

"Oh?" a silver brow rose over his right eye. "And what solution did you come up with?"

"We're gonna adopt them," he beamed, indicating Harry and Quatre as well, who were standing behind him. "She gave us permission and we have the paperwork here."

He pulled out the folders Une had given him and slid them across the desk to the man. He opened the top one and read over the contents quickly. He nodded when he reached the bottom and then turned his gaze back to the three teens.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to raise them properly?" he asked, propping his elbows on the desk and lacing his fingers together. "Iruka told me he explained their circumstances to you. Given your background, it does make one wonder."

"Background, sir?" Quatre's brow rose in surprise.

"Well, I'm assuming that since you are both associated with Duo here," one grey eye met and held the blonde's gaze, "that you are both also former Gundam pilots."

"I wasn't," Harry shrugged, deciding to answer since the others were staring at the man in surprise. "But that doesn't change anything. Lady Une has given us permission to adopt the three boys, that should be enough for you."

"I'm not saying you can't," he held up his hands placatingly. "I'm just wondering if your former status will impede the boys' upbringing."

"Listen, Mr. Hatake," green eyes narrowed slightly, "I can vouch for all five of the pilots. I have lived with them all for over a year now and they are hard working and dedicated to keeping the peace they fought so hard to bring about. Duo, himself, is a Preventer agent. I can assure you, those boys couldn't be placed in more capable hands."

"Very well," Kakashi nodded, impressed with the three young men before him. "I'll call Iruka in and we can sort out the details."

"Thank you, sir," Harry smiled. "Would it be possible for us to meet the boys and discuss this with them before we finalize anything?"

"I'll have Iruka bring them in with him," the silver haired man smiled, hitting a button on the desk in front of him. "Iruka," he said into the intercom, "could you bring Gaara, Kiba, and Shika to the office please?"

He then turned back to the three teens before him, "He'll be just a moment. Did you have an idea about which one each of you wanted?"

"Not really," Duo shook his head, finally finding his voice again. "We just knew we had to do this, so here we are."

"I understand," he smiled slightly. "Iruka and I will give you three a few minutes alone with the boys so you can decide."

Immediately following his statement, there was a light knock on the door before it slowly inched open. Iruka popped his head in, intent on asking Kakashi why he'd called him, when his brown eyes landed on the braided figure in the chair.

"Duo!" he exclaimed before he could stop himself. "I wasn't expecting you back this soon."

"I said I'd be here," the Preventer agent smirked. "Iruka, this is my friend, Quatre Winner, and my brother, Harry Potter. Guys, this is Iruka Umino."

"It's a pleasure, sir," the blonde extended his hand.

"DUO!" a loud shout sounded behind Iruka and a brown bundle of energy bounced into the room and straight for the braided teen. "You came back!"

"Course I did," he beamed at the chibi, "I said I would. And what did I say? I never tell a lie."

"Look Shika, Gaara, he's back!" Kiba bounced back over to the door and began pulling two other boys into the room.

"So we heard," the other brunette sighed. "You're so troublesome."

"Boys," Kakashi said, his voice causing all three to straighten up immediately, "Iruka and I need to have a private word in my office. Why don't you keep our guests company?"

"Yes, sir," the chorused in unison and the two former pilots half expected them to salute the silver haired man.

The two orphanage workers left the room, the brunette looking at the owner in confusion, and the six people in the room began studying each other intently. Quatre smiled at each of the boys in turn, but his hand gripped the fabric of his shirt over his heart as he locked eyes with pale jade. So much pain coming from such a small little boy, it was driving his Space Heart crazy. Harry was watching the boys, just waiting to see what they'd do, he knew kids had a knack for spotting what was going on, even if they were young.

"So," Duo finally broke the silence, "boys, this is my friend, Quatre, and my baby brother, Harry."

"Hiya," Kiba beamed, showing off slightly elongated eye teeth. "I'm Kiba. This is Gaara," he pointed to the redhead. "And Shikamaru," he indicated the other brunette. "It's nice at meet ya."

"Oh, Duo," the small Arabian gasped, tears pooling on his lashes.

"Listen boys," the braided teen cut off his friend, not sure what was going on with the empath. "How'd you like to come home with us?"

"Ya mean it?" Kiba's brown eyes widened dramatically. "You wanna take us home with ya?"

"Well, if ya want to," amethyst eyes sparkled mischievously.

"YAY!" the shaggy haired brunette punched the air excitedly. "See guys, I told ya Santa could fix it! He wants at take us home with him!"

"No, Naruto did," Shikamaru smacked him upside the head. "And we heard him, baka."

"Well then, let's call Iruka and Kakashi back in here," Duo smiled, knowing which one he wanted. "And then we'll take ya home."

Ammie: Okay there ya go. It's really late, and I'm about to fall asleep, but I hope ya'll like it.