Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Bai Tou Xie Lao - A Chinese Wedding Story ❯ chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

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.

~*~*~*~*~

Duo leaned back against the door of his apartment, having just gotten home from one of the most mind-numbingly boring assignments he had ever been on. There were no assassination attempts, no bomb threats, and heck, there weren't even really any arguments between the different politicians. Just a lot of hoity-toity talk about trade and tariffs and whatnot.

The highlights of the trip was having dinner with Quatre and Trowa, and getting to see Relena and her husband Sean. The last time Duo had seen the couple was at their wedding last year, and it was nice to see that they were still happy and nauseatingly in love. The two could give Q and Tro a run for their money in the sappiness department. But even though Duo now had to schedule an appointment with his dentist after seeing the two couples in the same week, he was happy for his friends.

Sparing a glance at the clock and seeing that it wasn't too late, he made his way over to the vid phone in the kitchen, dialing up Wufei.

"Chang."

"Wu-fantastic! How are you doing man?"

"Fine, Maxwell, you look hyper. I'm guessing your mission was quite uneventful?"

"You said it! It was worse than watching paint dry, and it took forever! But I did get to see Q-Diddy and Tro-Daddy."

"I trust that they are well, especially after having to deal with a braided tornado."

"Oi! I resemble that remark!"

"That would explain why I said it." Wufei now started smirking at this point.

Duo pouted to show his displeasure with his best friend. "Ha, for that, I'm going to make you wait for the good news. Are you and Jun Li doing anything tomorrow night?"

"Not that I am aware of, why?"

"I want you two to come over for dinner, I have some things I thought I'd discuss with you both about the wedding, and I haven't seen your beautiful bride-to-be in a while. There's still time for me to talk her out of marrying you and choose me instead."

Wufei laughed outright at this, saying, "You'd be rather disappointed; you know that she's lacking certain endowments that you want."

Duo waggled his eyebrows, grinning. "We could always have a wild and wacky threesome! Whaddya say?"

"I'd say I'm the wrong Asian for you."

"Pfttt! You shush about that, I never should have confided in you, you don't let me have any peace. You know I won't go there, so you might as well drop it."

"I still don't understand your thinking on that, but I'll let it go for now. You should get some sleep though, it's getting late. Jun Li and I will see you tomorrow for dinner."

"Great, thanks. Thai sound good? I haven't had it in forever!"

Wufei nodded, "Sure. See you tomorrow, Chang out."

The display of the vid screen went to black, and Duo terminated the call on his end with a sigh. It seemed that lately everywhere he turned was a reminder of Heero. Quatre kept shooting glances at him over dinner, which of course he avoided expertly, since he knew what the blonde empathy was trying to get at. Then there was the little heart-to-heart in the car with Heero, and his very unnerving introspection in his hotel room, and now this thing with Wufei.

Duo just couldn't understand why everyone else couldn't accept the fact that he and Heero were friends, and nothing was going to change that. Certainly the fact that he lo…has feelings for him didn't mean he'd act upon those feelings. Especially in the line of work they were in. The last thing he needed was to bring the Maxwell curse down on Heero. Then he'd be out a friend, lover, and partner. And the fault would only lie on him, in more ways than one. Not only would it be due to the fact that all the people he loved died, but also that since they were partners at Preventers, anything that happened to Heero would be, at least indirectly, due to some mistake on his part, or the fact that he hadn't been there in time to help his partner. He just couldn't take those risks, Heero meant too much to chance that on his feelings.

Duo rubbed his temples. "Man, this is getting me nowhere besides in circles. Might as well call it a night." He then went into his bedroom, stripped off his clothes, and crawled into bed.

~*~*~*~*~

The next day Duo was running around trying to do a million things at once. First, he cleaned the apartment and did his laundry since he had been away. That was an adventure in itself, considering that every time he went to the basement of his apartment complex to wash his clothes, somehow the sock gremlins ate about half of his socks, never to be seen again.

Next he went to Wegmans [1] to get his food shopping done, since he was down to the bare necessities. This was his second favorite place to go shopping; it was like the amusement park of supermarkets. Anything you needed, you could find. They even stocked truffles that went for hundreds of credits a pound. And although they had a great international foods section, he still needed to stop by the oriental food mart that was a block from his apartment to get the rest of his culinary needs.

Now he was finally at his favorite place to go shopping: Minako's. Shindou Minako came to Brussels from Japan over twenty years ago and opened up her store with her husband, Nori. Duo had been coming there regularly for the past three years, and they knew him by name.

"Konnichi wa, Minako-san! Hisashiburi desu. [2]"

"Hisashiburi, Duo-kun. And where have you been?"

"Gomen ne, I was on L4, bored out of my mind! Can you believe that there was a whole group of politicians from the Earth and Colonies, and nothing happened? No threats, no daring rescues, not even a paper cut! If Heero wasn't there to keep me sane, I probably would have strangled myself with my braid." While saying this, Duo wandered over to the display of pocky and grabbed a box of strawberry [3], opening it and putting a stick in his mouth to suck on while getting the rest of his groceries.

Minako just rolled her eyes, much like an indulgent parent with their child. "Making something special tonight, Duo-kun?"

Duo nodded while grabbing a package of glass noodles. "Yep, Wufei and Jun Li are coming for dinner, and I'm cooking Thai. I'm thinking yam wunsen [4], gai pad meg mamuang [5], and khao niau muul [6] for dessert. Whaddya think?"

"I think it will be delicious, just like everything else you make. I still haven't forgiven Nori for saying your cooking was better than mine."

Duo just laughed while grabbing bottles of fish sauce and oyster sauce. "But you still love me, right? What would I do without my adopted 'kaasan Minako? I'd be a poor, pathetic little Duo!" He then stared at a can of coconut milk, an intent expression on his face, before grabbing a couple. "Do you think I should serve peaches or strawberries? I can't decide."

"Ano…I'd say peaches. They are delicious with that dish. You're forgetting the sesame oil again, Duo-kun." She then walked over to the aforementioned bottle and grabbed it for him.

Duo, taking the bottle of the oft-forgotten oil, kissed her on the cheek. "I always do that! See, I really would be helpless without you! Or at least, I'd have some guests who think that my yam wunsen tastes pretty odd."

The older woman merely laughed and started ringing up his purchases, while Duo wandered back to the pocky and grabbed a few more boxes of strawberry and chocolate, but none of that nasty Men's pocky. He liked his pocky girly and good-tasting thank you very much.

After paying for his groceries, he grabbed the bags, and waved goodbye. "Arigato, Minako-san. Ja ne!"

Duo then piled his bags in the trunk of his Volkswagen GTI along with the rest of his groceries, and drove back to his apartment complex.

Finally staggering in his front door, weighed down by at least a score of bags, Duo stumbled into the kitchen to start putting away the groceries. After finishing that task, he noted that it was a little after two o'clock, and Wufei and Jun Li wouldn't get there till around six.

With a mischievous grin, Duo made the rounds of the apartment, making sure all the blinds were closed, popped in a CD with music from the anime, Gravitation, stripped down to his boxers and unraveled his braid.

Duo then danced around his kitchen, making dinner preparations while singing along to the music of Bad Luck and Nittle Grasper. It was while he was singing "Predilection" that the vid phone rang. Dancing over to the unit in the kitchen, Duo pressed the receive button, still singing. "Can't get enough kotoba yori mo motto; don't let me down tashika ni misete hoshii; one more night kusuka ni kizutsuita; kimi wo mitsumeru me sono saki ni. [7]" The first thing Heero saw when the vid stream picked up on his end was a mass of chestnut hair that was…singing? In Japanese? It of course couldn't be anyone but Duo with that much hair in that particular shade of chestnut, but Heero was caught slightly off-guard. In the seven years that he had known Duo, he had never seen the man with his hair down. The thing could have been falling out of its braid entirely, and he would only take it down in private. He finally cleared his throat and called out to get his friend's attention. "Duo?" Duo immediately whipped around at the sound of Heero's voice, a blush darkening his cheeks. Shit! I look like a complete idiot! "Oh hey, Heero! Sorry about that, just trying to throw things together for dinner later and listening to some music. What's up?" "I wanted to let you know that I finally got those Inuyasha DVDs that I ordered. I was wondering if you wanted to stop by tonight and watch them." Duo groaned loudly, running a hand through his hair. "Man, I'd love to, but 'Fei and Jun Li are coming by for dinner tonight. Hey, why don't you come to dinner too and bring the DVDs with you? I'm making Thai!" Heero weighed his options carefully. He could either stay home by himself suffering his own cooking, or he could go to Duo's and have an enjoyable evening with friends, and dinner that wouldn't give him food poisoning. Hmm, tough choice. "When should I be there?" "Well, the lovebirds should be here by six, so any time before then is fine. See ya then Heero!" The call disconnected and Heero was still standing there, staring at his blank screen. For some reason, the lyrics to the song Duo was singing stuck in his head, bringing back memories of the first time the pair had met. His hand moved absently to touch the scar on his upper arm from the bullet wound Deathscythe's pilot had given him. Hmm, even if a scar remains… ~*~*~*~*~

When five thirty rolled around, Duo was bustling around setting the table, and digging around for the nice set of chopsticks and rests that were a gift from Heero for last Christmas, along with a sushi-making set. It was the first time since receiving them that he'd had company over for anything other than an informal dinner.

Finally he found them in the back of the silverware drawer of the hutch he kept the good dishes in. "Well, that was logical of me. Why didn't I look there first?" As he was setting out the chopsticks on the table, the doorbell rang. Duo ran over to the front door, his fresh braid already having flyaways trailing behind him.

On the other side of the door was Heero, dressed in a pair of khakis and a white oxford shirt opened at the collar. "Come on in man, I spy those DVDs! Can't wait to see what's up with that Bankotsu dude. He's got a braid like me!" [8]

Heero stepped inside and immediately removed his shoes. For some reason he never understood, Duo had insisted on having white carpets. So they were all extra careful about making messes whenever they were at Duo's. Thankfully, the dining room had hard wood floors, and the kitchen was tile.

Duo went back into the kitchen, chattering on about Inuyasha while putting the finishing touches on dinner. The doorbell rang again, and Duo stuck his head out of the kitchen, and giving Heero a big smile. "Do me a favor and get that? Dinner is almost ready."

Heero just shrugged and went to get the door. He let in Wufei, who was casually nice in navy slacks and a pale yellow polo shirt, and Jun Li. She was about the same height as Heero (much to Duo's consternation) and her long, straight jet-black hair was down tonight. She was wearing a black knee-length skirt and a red silk shirt with cap sleeves and a Mandarin collar.

Duo finally emerged from the kitchen and whistled loudly. "Whoo hoo, come give daddy Duo some sugar!" When Wufei came over to Duo and planted a kiss on his cheek, everyone laughed while Duo sputtered. He recovered quickly though and winked at his friend. "Does this mean that you rethought my offer on a threesome?"

Wufei ran a hand through his hair, worn down more often then not, and groaned. "Maxwell, you are going to be the death of me one day."

"Just as long as it's after the wedding, its fine with me!" chipped in his fiancée.

"Woman, now I see where your loyalties lie! With my insurance policy!"

Winking at her husband to be, Jun Li wrapped her arms around his waist. "Why else do you think I wanted to marry a Preventer?"

"Hey," Duo whined. "Couldn't you have picked the one with more hair and who is a better cook?"

Heero snorted at his partner's antics. "You would have been disappointed with her…assets."

Everyone else laughed while Duo pouted. "You're right, but we would have made some beautiful half-Asian babies! Her hair and my eyes, now there's a heartbreaker in the making. But anyway, let's eat! I'm starved!" Duo then led them all into the dining room and served dinner.

They spent the meal exchanging small talk, with the engaged couple trying to figure out the surprise Duo had for them. This caused Heero and Duo to shoot each other amused glances all through dinner. Finally, when Duo brought out dessert, he decided to enlighten his friends.

"Okay, so I know that neither of you are religious in the Western sense, but still want the ceremony, correct?" Nods were his reply. "Well, I was thinking, we don't necessarily need to have the ceremony at a church; it could be wherever we decide to have the wedding banquet. So what do you think about…Quatre and Trowa's Brussels estate? They asked while we were on L4, and I told them I'd talk it over with you both and see what you think."

Wufei and Jun Li looked at each other, doing that couple thing where all they need to communicate is their eyes, and then smiled. "That's a wonderful idea, there will be plenty of room for all the guests, and the grounds are beautiful. Wufei and I would love to have our wedding there."

"Great!" Duo was so excited he was practically bouncing in his chair, and totally ignoring his khao niau muul for once. "So, have you decided on the date?"

"We've narrowed it down to one of two days. As you probably now know, its best luck to have the ceremony on an even day, or on a day with nine's in it. September 9th is a Saturday this year, so it will either be that, or August 4th." Wufei rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It won't be as big of a deal worrying about the date since we'll be having the ceremony and reception at Quatre and Trowa's. Maybe we should go for the 9th. It's a very lucky day."

Jun Li smiled and nodded. "That would be wonderful! I was just afraid that anywhere we wanted to book space at would be full. This is going to be perfect!" She then got up and rounded the table, throwing her arms around Duo and giving him a huge hug, and then giving Heero the same treatment. "My 'Fei has been so lucky to have found a family with the four of you. And I was lucky enough to gain four big brothers as well as the love of my life." This was said with a soft smile directed at Wufei.

Duo immediately grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and pretended to be speaking to someone. "Yes, hello? I'd like to make an appointment with Dr. Sheehan." Pause. "Yes, well, I seem to have spontaneously gotten cavities from a plethora of sap in my dining room." Pause. "Perfect, tomorrow at 2:00 is fine with me. Thank you!" This of course earned him a swat on the back of his head from Jun Li.

Rubbing the back of his head, Duo grinned, unrepentant. "Aw, you all know I love you. Why else would I be showing off my culinary skills to you all, instead of the next headliner of my remarkably uneventful love life?"

Wufei frowned at yet another of Duo's self deprecating remarks. "Duo, perhaps you should - "

He never got to finish his thought because Duo gave him a look that immediately cut off his train of thought. "You know I'd much rather be here with you all, then having to deal with some idiot who doesn't understand me. But honestly, enough of this! We have wedding plans we could be going over, or there's always the Inuyasha DVDs that Heero brought over."

Heero mulled over what Duo had said about his relationships, and he was frankly worried. The braided American wasn't one to be alone, yet none of his relationships ever panned out. Heero understood Duo's reasoning behind dating civilians, but they would never understand the things they went through as soldiers, and their need to defend the peace they fought so hard for. Duo is very attractive, Heero thought. I've heard more than a few of the agents at HQ mentioning their interest in him. Perhaps I can make him see that he should consider someone from there. With this personal mission in mind, Heero turned his attention back to his friends, who were now discussing possible caterers for the wedding, and smiled. Ninmuryoukai.

~*~*~*~*~

[1] Wegmans is real, and it's the best grocery store ever. Yes I know they wouldn't be in Brussels, but indulge me!

[2] Basically means "Hello Minako! Long time no see."

[3] I'm imposing my partiality to strawberry pocky on my story…mmm, pocky! Men's pocky is darker chocolate, more bitter…ick.

[4] yam wunsen - glass noodle salad

[5] gai pad meg mamuang - chicken with cashews

[6] khao niau muul - sticky rice with fruit [7] can't get enough, it's more than words; don't let me down, I want it to be revealed; one more night, even if a scar remains; the eyes you look into were the first you saw. [8] kinda off-topic, but if you've seen Bankotsu from Inuyasha, I say he's a mix of Sanosuke from Ruroni Kenshin and Duo. He's got a long-ass braid, black hair, a cross on his forehead and this big sword thingie like Sano. Am I right?