Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Bai Tou Xie Lao - A Chinese Wedding Story ❯ chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Title: Bai Tou Xie Lao: A Chinese Wedding Story

Author: Alexis - mezzomonkey@earthlink.net

Pairings: eventual 1+2+1/1x2x1; 5xOFC; 3x4x3; past 2xH; past 1xR

Rating: let's say R for now, and perhaps NC-17 later on

Warnings: shounen ai/yaoi; het; sap; fluff; angst of the romantic variety; language

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, and you people already know that! I do own this story, but the original idea is one of Sharon's delightful plot bunnies! Thanks for letting me adopt the lil bugger!

Notes: "Bai Tou Xie Lao" is a Chinese phrase that is said to congratulate newly married couples. It translates roughly to "may you two grow old together, and be each other's companion when your hair is white". I thought it was a beautiful sentiment, and really summed up not only Wufei's relationship, but also the one developing between Heero and Duo.

~*~*~*~*~

Heero and Duo were leading a team of agents for an ESUN conference security detail. This time it was taking place on L4; they looked forward to visiting with Quatre and Trowa when they had some free time.

There were delegations from each colony cluster, along with a few ESUN dignitaries, including Vice-Foreign Minister, Relena Darlian. The purpose of the conference was to discuss trade and tariffs on goods imported and exported by the colonies.

The team of agents arrived 3 days before the representatives were due to scout out the location and establish all precautionary security measures, video feeds and patrol rotations with the hotel conference center security. Heero also made sure he was in contact with Relena's bodyguard, to relate all the information to him. He had trained the man after their breakup and him leaving her employ.

~*Flashback*~

March, A.C. 199

Heero and Relena were in the sitting room having tea, before getting ready for a political dinner that evening. The only sounds in the room were the clinking of the teacups against their saucers. Finally with a sigh, Relena put down her cup and saucer, and looked Heero straight in the eye for the first time since the tea was poured.

"This isn't working out, is it?" A small shake of the head is her answer. "No I suppose not, although I don't know what I expected. You're not comfortable here with me, and we are just too different to work this out. Perhaps we should have seen this coming a while back."

At this, Heero set down his own cup, and looked at Relena solemnly. "We did what was expected of us, it just ended up being the wrong thing for us. There is no fault in our trying. I still look on you as one of the few people whom I am close with. I hope we can retain that."

~*End Flashback*~

They had been able to keep their friendship strong, and it grew outside of the shadow of their strained relationship. He found her a new bodyguard, one whom he thought capable of filling his shoes, insomuch as her protection was concerned. He was also happy when the man proposed and they were married the previous fall.

Sean was a good man, one whom Heero thoroughly approved of, and he put a needed balance in Relena's life. He helped to keep her grounded, away from the sycophantic, back-stabbing community that was the political and aristocratic circles she often traveled in.

Heero was broken out of his reverie by his partner. "Oi, Heero, you done here? We should get going soon, so that we're not late going over to see Q and Tro."

He just nodded and grabbed his jacket. "Aa lets go. I'm driving." This of course caused much whining from Duo. "Come on, Heero! You never let me drive! Just because I like to go a little fast, doesn't mean I'm reckless."

Rolling his eyes, Heero felt the edges of his lips quirking upwards into a small smile. "Fine, Duo. But remember, it's a car, not a Gundam. They're not meant to withstand several G's of force." Duo just grinned at this, and threw his arm around his partner's shoulders.

~*~*~*~*~

The two ex-pilots pulled up to a large mansion, and they were, remarkably enough, in one piece. Duo hopped out of the car first, with Heero just behind him, excited on seeing their old friends. Before they could even ring the bell, the door was thrown open by an over-enthusiastic blonde blur, which launched itself straight into Duo's arms. Duo laughed and spun his armful around before setting it down. "Now Quatre, I'd like to live to see Wufei's wedding, and that won't happen if Trowa kills me!"

Standing next to Quatre, Duo was still irked at the fact that he ended up the shortest of the group, measuring in at a whopping 5'4". Years of malnutrition were the main cause of that, and he was lucky to gain the extra three inches since the start of the first war. Heero and Quatre weren't that much taller, both at around 5'6". Wufei ended up at a nice 5'9"; Trowa on the other hand, lucked out and stayed the tallest of the group at 6' even.

Trowa, who was watching from the doorway, just smiled at his boyfriend's antics with their friends. Heero, in an attempt to avoid getting glomped by the exuberant Arabian, walked over to Trowa and greeted him with a handshake and a small smile. The other pair of pilots came up and while Duo embraced Trowa, Heero got his glomp from Quatre.

"Well, guys, come in! We haven't seen you in a couple of months now. How have you both been doing?"

Duo grinned at their blonde friend's eagerness, feeling the same need to reconnect with the people who were the only family he had and the greatest friends he could have ever hoped for. "Eh, you know how it is, missions and paperwork, along with making sure that our two Asian friends don't end up taking up residence over at HQ. That, and Wufei's wedding, of course."

Trowa nodded, while Heero glared slightly. "But what about you, Duo? Are you still seeing Rick?" inquired Quatre.

Duo shook his head and pasted a slightly less cheerful smile on his face. "Nah, but that's alright. It just wasn't meant to be, he couldn't understand me and why I live my life the way I do. That and he didn't like all my Asian cooking! But don't worry about me; I'm sure Mr. Right will come along. Not everyone can be as lucky as you and T-man."

Quatre and Trowa exchanged a look and a smile, all the while leading their friends to the dining room. The four ex-pilots sat down and were served a meal of chicken Florentine over pasta.

In an effort to turn the conversation away from his personal life, Duo brought up his newest favorite subject. "So I was brainstorming ideas for Fei's wedding, and since he and Jun Li aren't religious, leastways not as far as Christianity is concerned, that we should have the Western ceremony wherever we have the reception, and just have a Justice of the Peace or a clergyman come to perform the ceremony. What do you think?"

Quatre looked at Trowa and received a nod before he started speaking. "Duo, I've been meaning to discuss that with you. Trowa and I were thinking that if Wufei and Jun Li weren't against the idea, the ceremony and reception could take place at our estate in Brussels. There's plenty of room there, and we only use it when we're on Earth."

Duo's amethyst eyes lit up at the suggestion. "That's a great idea! I didn't even think about that. Wow that will make things so much easier. I'll talk to them both as soon as we get back home, and see if they like the idea. That is so awesome of you both though, thanks!"

Heero decided to jump into the conversation at this point. "Trowa how is that new acrobatic troupe that you started coming along?"

Trowa's emerald eyes lit up at the mention of his pet project. "It's coming along wonderfully. As you know, it's based on the old pre-colony acrobatic group, Cirque du Soleil [1], except I named it Cirque d'Espace. There are lots of performance pieces that are just plain acrobatics, but we're also experimenting with bits performed in zero-G, or in fluctuating gravity depending on the cues in the music. Once we have all the kinks worked out, I think it will be a big hit."

Quatre then interjected, his whole countenance glowing with pride, "Trowa has done the majority of the choreography for everything, and has been experimenting with the zero-G for a while now. It's beautiful to watch."

"Man, I'm jealous. I love zero-G, it's so much fun! That's gotta be one of the things I miss most, now that I'm living dirtside. I don't get to pilot and I don't get any zero-G time." Duo finished this statement with a small pout, even though his eyes were sparkling with hidden laughter.

Heero nodded in agreement, "I think that's something that we all miss. There's nothing else quite like it; the rush, the freedom of freefall. I don't know if that's something you ever stop missing after experiencing it."

The others all made sounds of agreement, and then allowed the conversation to drift into more mundane subjects like the security detail the two Preventers were currently on, the latest goings-on at WEI [2] and other such things. When it was finally time for the four friends to part, they all embraced again, Duo promising to call as soon as he had a definite answer from Wufei.

Heero and Duo made their way to the Preventers vehicle that they were using while on L4, and Duo handed the keys off to Heero so he could drive. "I'm feeling magnanimous, so I'll let you take us back to the hotel. Sound like a plan, my man?"

Heero just slid into the driver's seat and started the engine, while Duo got in on the passenger's side and reclined the chair. "Man, Heero, I don't know how you can be comfortable with the chair up like that. If I'm not driving, I like to be able to lean back a bit and take advantage of it and relax."

Rolling his eyes, Heero snorted at this. "Duo, with you driving, it is anything but relaxing. That is, unless you consider doubling the legal speed limit to be relaxing." Duo knew that he was joking, but he still shot the Japanese man an indignant look.

After a few minutes of silence between them, Duo looked over to his partner and grinned. "Hey Heero, a few years ago, I never would have thought that I'd be where I am right now. After the thing with Mariemaia, I thought I wanted to put all this behind me and be a civilian. That certainly didn't work out the way I thought it would. But now that I think about it, I wouldn't trade this for the world. Before I came back to Earth, I just felt so redundant and useless and just plain bored, and this was exactly what I needed."

Heero nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. "Aa, I know what you mean. I thought it would be great to not have to fight ever again, but all those endless political functions took their toll on me. It was stifling; being Relena's bodyguard just did not make me feel like I was doing my part to ensure the safety of the peace we fought so hard for, sacrificing our blood and sweat to forge a new world. I needed to do more. I was so restless, and I wasn't being true to myself and the lesson I was given to live by."

Giving Heero a thoughtful look, Duo continued their introspective thread of conversation. "You're right. You changed; we all did. We've all learned to put the life of a soldier behind us, while still keeping true to our ideals and the reasons we fought a war almost single-handedly. Coming to Earth and joining Preventers was one of the best decisions I ever made. We all needed it; you, me and Wufei.

"Just look how much we've all changed. Wufei can finally let Meilan rest in peace and has learned to let go of his anger and self-doubt. Jun Li was part of that, but I really think that we were too. And look at you! You've come so far from the guy I met on the docks about to kill Relena-sama. I know we weren't really friends during the first war, and barely so during the second, but we were damn good partners. Now we're both, and I'm really happy about that.

"Ya know that was one of the things I was worried about when I joined Preventers. Wufei is partners with Sally, but even so, he and I never worked well together, despite our friendship. I wasn't sure I would be able to trust a stranger at my back as much as I trusted you during the war. Then -poof- there you were joining up, and I didn't have to worry about that anymore."

"Duo, I don't know if I would have signed up with Preventers if you hadn't already joined, or if I couldn't talk you into signing up with me. You're the only person on the Earth Sphere or in the Colonies that I can trust at my back implicitly."

"Aw, man, you're gonna make me blush! This conversation is getting way too sappy; I'll have cavities if we keep this up much longer! Though honestly, I'm glad you're around, buddy. It's been a long road for all of us, but as long as we stick together, we'll never fall under fire."

By this time the pair had reached their hotel, so Heero parked the car and they made their way to their rooms, and said goodnight.

~*~*~*~

Heero was back in his hotel room, and had already changed into a tank top and a pair of long basketball shorts. He then flopped down on the bed, right arm flung up above his head, the left resting on his stomach.

The talk he had just had with Duo had stirred up a lot of memories, and he reflected back on the last seven years of his life. He had come to Earth as a human automaton, living only for the words "ninmu kanryou". At the first hint of failure, he looked towards the option of self-destruction.

He had certainly proved that well-enough after meeting Duo. Both he and his Gundam were seen, and he was captured (thanks to Relena calling an ambulance). Duo released him from the Alliance medical building, but without Relena's timely shout, he never would have pulled the cord to release his parachute.

He had thought that Relena was the key to him living a life after the war, the way to discover that he was more than just a weapon, but he was wrong. While he was with her he only felt the awkwardness of not belonging in her world, and he remained locked within himself.

Joining Preventers, and being around Duo and Wufei all the time helped bring the humanity that was hidden deep inside out to the forefront. He learned to live, rather than just exist. Hindsight, they say, is 20/20, and it makes you see things that you never could have in the moment of its occurrence.

After he met Duo, they had been staying at a school together, waiting for the opportunity to strike at an OZ base. Seeing how Duo interacted with the other students brought home just how cut off he was from everyone, and he resented the fact that Duo brought this harsh truth to light. In reality, it was Duo's zest for life and extended hand of friendship that started the chinks in the Perfect Soldier's training.

He owed the person he was today to all of the other pilots, but the greatest credit belonged to his long-time partner. He was happy with his life and where it was going, even if there was still something missing.

~*~*~*~*~

Duo closed the door to his suite with a sigh, and started stripping down to his boxers as he made his way across the room. He then sat down in one of the torture devices obligatory to hotel rooms, otherwise known as an armchair.

Always one to feel melancholy after visiting Quatre and Trowa, for some reason this time was worse. Duo supposed it was just due to the fact that he had been feeling exceptionally lonely lately, now that he was doing all this wedding research.

The Golden Pair, as Duo so fondly called them, had both fallen for each other early on in the first war, although they didn't get together until it ended. Trowa tried to split his time between Quatre and the circus, but a little after the Mariemaia insurrection, they couldn't bear to spend so much time apart, and had been inseparable ever since.

Duo dubbed them the Golden Pair, because they were the perfect couple in his eyes. They were insanely happy, rarely disagreed, and the simple fact that they were lucky enough to find their soul mate in the middle of a war. Duo knew he sure as hell wasn't having any luck in that department.

The worst thing about his lack of a successful love life, was the fact that he believed, no knew that he met the person who he should be with. Unfortunately there were a few problems with that: a) He didn't know if the person was interested in men, b) he didn't know if the person was interested in HIM, c) it would be breaking his "only date civilians" promise he made himself, and d) it was Heero fucking Yuy.

Duo found it amazing that ever since the breakup with Relena, Heero hadn't dated anyone else, and never made any statements as to what his sexual preferences were. He knew that Heero had wanted to get his shit together before trying another relationship, but it had been three years already, and he hadn't seemed interested in anyone!

The first sparks of attraction were there during the wars, but Duo pushed them away because there was no time for something like that in such circumstances, and then he was with Hilde. After returning to Earth, he made a promise to himself to not get involved with anyone from work, because dating civilians would be better for his peace of mind. That was all well and good, until Heero Yuy walked back into his life, that is.

Watching the man he was meant to be slowly emerge from the hard casing that was his training, that was the catalyst that brought Duo from "I can trust him with my life and he's damn freakin' gorgeous" to "I want him to BE my life, and he's still damn freakin' gorgeous". Tonight's little girly gab-fest just reminded him how deep those feelings ran, since he was constantly suppressing them in favor of friendship and partnership. He knew it wouldn't be easy to keep those feelings down where they belong, but then again, when had Duo Maxwell's life ever been easy?

~*~*~*~*~

[1] Cirque du Soleil - translated from French means "Circus of the Sun" (therefore Trowa's is "Circus of Space"). It's this awesome acrobatic type show with kickass costumes and makeup and all sorts of tricks and stuff…a must-see if you have the opportunity (they perform at Disney World too)

[2] WEI - Winner Enterprises, Inc. (my uber-fantastic beta, Hana-chan, thought I should note that)