Author's Note: This fic is specially written for Moonraven, no da. *Hugs* You're the best! Um, I hope it turned out alright, it's my first het fic.

Warnings: Um, ack…just a teeny bit of naughty thoughts is all. Kinda makes me want to go back and add more smut…I've got a reputation to uphold, after all…

Disclaimer: I do not own WuFei or Sally Po, but I do think they look pretty together. ^_^

Nataku's Heart

by Xellas

WuFei approached his 21st birthday in a manner that was completely normal - for WuFei. He wasn't planning to go out and get really drunk and he wasn't planning to take a nice, relaxing vacation somewhere. But he was going to throw a large party and invite all his friends. It was only right that the people closest to him be there when he got married.

Almost 21, it was past time for WuFei to settle down and begin raising a family. It was very important that he pass on the traditions of his lost clan. All that he needed to do was write and ask the Elders of all the other clans to find him a suitable mate, a strong bride that would bear his children and be a good wife and mother.

So why was it that as he sat down to write the letter properly in the old fashioned way using parchment and pen, he felt as though it was a betrayal?

* * * * *

Two weeks later, he got his answer. His fiancé had been chosen, a beautiful girl from one of the most prominent families. It was less a compliment to WuFei's skills as a Preventer and the part he had played in the war than it was a gesture of respect from all the clans to his lost people.

He should have been elated.

The wedding was to take place in two months' time, on Earth, at the home of the woman's family. There was very little for WuFei to do. He retrieved his traditional clothing from storage and had it cleaned, even though his meticulous packing had left the garments looking like new. He began working on his traditional gift to his bride, a stylized silver dragon entwined with a phoenix, to symbolize the new life she would be bringing to his clan.

All that remained was to send out the invitations. He decided to deliver each personally, whenever possible. It would be a very good way of catching up with old friends. Besides, he knew that some of them, especially that woman, might have a word or two to say to him that was best done privately. He respected his friends but knew that they wouldn't understand. Best to start with Quatre. Of everyone WuFei knew, the blond should be the most able to appreciate the responsibilities of family.

* * * * *

"Have you lost your mind?" Angelic blue eyes stared at the young Chinese man across the table. Quatre, Trowa and WuFei were seated comfortably at a small table in an exclusive, trendy restaurant. The location had been Quatre's choice.

"It is the way my people do things. I have a responsibility to carry on the traditions of my clan." Even as he spoke, WuFei cursed himself for the defensive tone that had crept into his voice. Since when had he needed to justify his actions to anyone?

"But…it just isn't right." Quatre's pale cheeks flushed with emotion, a physical reaction that had always fascinated the Asian boy. He wondered, for the thousandth time, how the blond managed to be so effective both as a warrior and as manager of the Winner fortune, when every thought, every feeling that the Arabian had was so readily apparent.

Calmly, WuFei replied. "It worked for us for over a thousand years." That was better. He was not here to argue.

"That's not what I meant. It isn't right. It wouldn't be fair to her."

That really didn't make any sense, especially coming from a man whose religion endorsed polygamy. Patiently, WuFei began to explain. "Quatre, women in the clans are brought up - "

The blue-eyed ex-pilot interrupted him. "Let me finish. It wouldn't be fair to her because you are in love with someone else."

Suddenly, WuFei understood all too well just why Quatre was so successful.

"I don't know what you're talking about." But the Chinese boy paused, ashamed. Deep down, he knew very well what his friend meant, but he absolutely refused to dignify such a selfish desire with the word love. "You do not have to attend, if you feel that strongly about it."

The blond sighed. Obviously he realized that this was a lost cause.

It was Trowa who answered. "No, we'll be there. We're your friends."

* * * * *

Duo and his lover Hiiro didn't take the news any better. At least WuFei had expected this sort of reaction from Duo and was therefore somewhat prepared.

"But you don't even know her!" The American kept saying. WuFei wondered at the violet-eyed boy's ability to continue restating the obvious. Loudly. Of course, that was the only effective way to communicate in the crowded and tacky bar where Nataku's ex-pilot had met his friends. The location had been Duo's choice.

Giving up on trying to explain, the Chinese boy looked to Hiiro.

"You're doing this to honor your clan, correct?" The spiky-haired young man cut to the heart of the issue.

"Exactly."

"Wouldn't you honor them better by finding someone whose strength you admire? Someone they would have been proud of?"

WuFei sighed. Obviously Hiiro didn't understand, either.

* * * * *

There was only one more person WuFei felt honor-bound to invite personally: his partner in the Preventers for almost six years, Sally Po. That woman. The woman who had been the source of almost every hormone driven fantasy he'd had for the past six years.

Not that she had any idea he had entertained those kinds of thoughts about her, of course. Many times, he had wondered what she would say if she knew. She would probably be disgusted, or worse, laugh at him - after all, WuFei was a full four years younger. Not that the age difference really meant anything, but he knew for a fact that Sally had more experience than he did. But strangely, the fact that she wasn't a virgin and that she didn't care who knew it was one of the things about her that most excited him. In many ways, she was like a man.

The Chinese man snorted. Maybe he should just stick with the same sex like Trowa and Quatre, or Duo and Hiiro, while he was at it. But even had his inclinations gone that way, it was no answer for WuFei. His fellow ex-pilots' liaisons were honorable by the standards of the Clans, to a point, but they weren't allowed to interfere with family. The Elders did their best to arrange marriages for those men who preferred the same sex with women who felt the same. What they did for fun was their own business, but they were still obligated to produce offspring to continue the clan's traditions.

No, he had his duty. He simply had to stop thinking about Sally like that; soon he would have a wife to consider. It was just a lot harder to do so than he had expected.

Unlike his other friends, he decided to approach her at work, in a professional environment. It would be more comfortable that way.

* * * * *

To his surprise, Sally smiled warmly when he handed her the invitation. "Congratulations, WuFei." She said simply.

Prepared for the worst argument yet, her quiet acceptance of the situation knocked the Chinese man off balance. For some reason, it irritated him to no end that she didn't seem to care.

"This is not a decision I made lightly." He heard the unspoken question in his own words and winced. What the hell was wrong with him?

"I know how important your traditions are to you. I hope you will be very happy together and have a large family. Is she pretty?"

Sally understood. Of all his friends, of every person in his life, that woman was the only one who truly understood him. WuFei nodded numbly and produced the picture the elders had sent.

"She is lovely." She smiled at him and something in his chest suddenly became very tight. "But you know what this means, don't you?"

"What?"

"I've got to go out and buy another damn dress. And don't even think about trying to get out of this one, since it's your fault I need it in the first place." The blue-eyed woman's eyes twinkled at his answering snort of disgust.

* * * * *

A warrior had no business shopping for women's clothing, which WuFei suspected was the main reason his partner enjoyed tricking him into the activity as often as she could. Unfortunately, she had ample opportunities, as their job in the Preventers often required the pair to attend formal functions.

However, after the first couple such excursions, Sally hadn't needed to work very hard to trick her partner. One thing WuFei would never freely admit was how very much he enjoyed these trips. How could he not? He would sit comfortably in a chair, usually close enough to the changing rooms that he could hear the enticing sounds made as that woman removed or donned various articles of clothing. Then, once she was reasonably satisfied, she would come out and stand before him, spinning around, flaunting her perfect body before disappearing again, leaving WuFei to wait and wonder what new portion of flesh might possibly be revealed with the next dress.

Over the years, he had come to know and memorize almost every detail of her.

It was a mistake to have come here this time, WuFei realized as he felt himself responding uncontrollably to the soft sounds of his partner's heavy work clothes hitting the floor.

Using meditative discipline, he managed to regain perfect control…for a few minutes, anyway. His calm ended the second she emerged wearing a lovely midnight blue gown. It would have been almost prim, had it not been for the slit that exposed one long, shapely leg all the way up to her thigh.

"…WuFei???" Sally's voice was irritated and the Chinese man realized that the idiot woman had asked him a question.

He let out an exasperated sigh and responded as he always did. "It looks fine, Woman. Can we go now?"

"Well, I don't think I like it. Wait there!" Sally vanished.

Many times, WuFei had wondered why Sally bothered bringing him on these expeditions because she never seemed to listen to his opinions even when he offered them. Surely, it couldn't be that amusing for her to just drag him along? Was she waiting for blood to start gushing from his nose or something equally bizarre?

A few more minutes, some strange and almost erotic rustling, and she reappeared as quickly as she had gone. This time she was completely covered - in a warm red dress that might as well have been poured onto her. It called more attention to every curve on her body than exposure ever could have. It was the single sexiest thing he had ever seen her wear.

The ex-Gundam pilot swallowed. He had survived Oz, had survived Mariameia, had even survived Hiiro and Duo's handfasting ceremony…but he wasn't sure he would survive this.

"Disrespectful." He managed. "Chinese brides always wear red."

"That figures," she replied wryly, "I actually like this one." She spun around in the mirror a few times, examining every aspect of herself in slow detail that increased the Chinese man's discomfort to the level of actual pain. It wasn't until she let out a disappointed sigh and headed back to the fitting room that WuFei realized that he had completely forgotten to breathe.

He had to get out of here, now. It should be easy enough. As soon as she came back, he would excuse himself and go. All he had to do was -

His thoughts were rudely interrupted when the source of his distress returned, clutching the top of a black velvet dress to her chest, her slender hands holding the fabric up in lieu of any real fastening. She walked until she was standing right before him, close enough to touch. His hands itched to rip hers away from her body, to let that soft velvet pile on the floor.

"WuFei?"

His mind had to be playing tricks on him; he had never heard her use such a low, husky, intimate tone of voice before. The sound traveled down his spine with a sensation like the velvet she carried being stroked the wrong way.

With an effort, he snapped out of it. She turned around in a silent request. The dress was open much farther than decency allowed. He could even see a small flash of silken red, screaming out at him from between white skin and dark fabric. Trust a woman like her to wear such indecent underclothing!

Ever so carefully, he lifted his shaking hands to her exposed back. He clasped the tiny pull to the zipper and although his dexterity was completely shot, he managed the task without touching her. Somehow he knew that her skin would be as soft as it looked, that a single touch at this point would snap something deep inside him and he would be lost. Gently, he began to pull the fastener upward. Tearing his eyes away from that enticing flesh, he glanced upward in the mirror.

Their eyes met in the glass. Sally's gaze was even more mischievous than usual, inviting, knowing. That's when WuFei realized that she had been well aware that he was attracted to her all along. She had been teasing him on purpose.

Anger turned his lust into something safer, something familiar. That damn woman was no better than any others of her kind. She was manipulative and deceitful, using her body in a weak and cowardly way to control men, to control him.

"You can do this yourself." He spat and stepped back from his partner as though she had sprouted horns and a tail.

"WuFei? Is something wrong?" Suddenly Sally's face was the picture of innocent concern. She turned to face him and even now, as angry as he was, he couldn't stop his eyes from following the perfect lines of her form, his gaze drawn to the places her still mostly unfastened dress allowed glimpses of the mysteries beneath the soft black velvet.

"I refuse to play this game with you anymore." His hands were clenched into fists at his side. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hit her or to kiss her, but both impulses left him equally terrified. Even his control had its limits and he had just reached them.

She smiled brightly at him. Smiled! The woman had been caught in the act and she didn't even care. There was not even the slightest hint of guilt in her voice as she replied. "Finally, we're getting somewhere! I had just about given up hope."

"Hope for what? Getting me into your bed?" WuFei made a rude noise. "Should I take a number or do I get to skip to the head of the line?" Part of him felt shame knowing that this fight was different, that this time he really wanted to hurt her, but the feeling of powerlessness, of weakness, she invoked in him was intolerable.

Sally looked as though she had been struck. A bright flush of anger worked its way through her pale cheeks as the depth and nature of the insult hit home. When she finally responded, her tone was mocking. "What's the matter, see something you liked? Are you too much of a coward to admit it? Oh, I see…you're afraid you're not man enough to measure up, aren't you?"

"You can ask my wife how I measure up after my wedding. That's the only way you're ever going to find out!"

Dead silence. Too much silence - suddenly WuFei realized that he had been shouting. In public. In a refined ladies' clothing store. He looked around, mortified, as he realized that every woman within earshot had stopped what she was doing to listen to the argument.

He gathered as much of his dignity as he possibly could, then turned and walked out of the building. Hostile female stares burned holes in his back the entire way.

* * * * *

That night, WuFei dreamt of his wedding. He was standing at the altar next to a lovely woman wearing a familiar form-fitting red dress. His bride's face was hidden completely underneath a thick veil made of crimson lace. All of his friends were there, smiling happily as the couple exchanged vows. They behaved well for the most part, except once or twice when Duo hadn't been able to stop himself from heckling the Elder conducting the service.

Finally, the ceremony concluded and WuFei stepped forward to lift his new wife's veil. When her face was finally visible, the ex-Gundam pilot gasped in horror.

It was the girl from the picture, the bride the Elders had selected for him. Lovely black hair framed her delicate Asian face as she smiled proudly at her new husband. The guests began to clap. Duo called for a kiss at the top of his lungs. Frantically, WuFei looked around for someone who would stop this, someone who would step forward and say that it was all wrong. Eventually his eyes lit upon Sally, but she too was clapping and cheering the new couple.

WuFei woke in a cold sweat. He realized that for the second time in his life, he had lost a critical battle. Only this time his opponent was himself and instead of shame, losing brought a wave of relief. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

He got out of bed and immediately began composing an apology to his intended bride, her family and her clan, explaining that he was unworthy of the honor they wanted to bestow upon him. Quatre had been right. Even if Sally rejected him, the noble young Chinese woman deserved a husband who could fulfill her and WuFei would never be able to.

* * * * *

The next morning, WuFei arrived at work even earlier than usual. Maintaining a calm outward appearance took every ounce of his focus; his insides were a twisted mass of excitement and fear. In his pocket he carried his gift for Sally, the only possession he had that could possibly be worthy of her. It was a small thing, an item of no practical use, but it was all he had and he hoped she would forgive him and accept it.

Eventually, Sally arrived. The minute he saw her face all his nervousness disappeared. She was…herself…normal, a little tired maybe but still willing to give a small uncertain smile to her partner despite their vicious battle the previous day. How had he ever been able to tell himself he wasn't in love with her? Everything about her was beautiful. She fought like a hellcat, yet she was one of the most caring people he had ever met. This was the woman who had taught him the true meaning of strength.

Occasionally, doing the right thing could be surprisingly easy.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" Perfectly shaped eyebrows were raised at him as she began fumbling in her bag for a mirror.

The Chinese man gave himself a shake and snapped out of it. "I would like to apologize for my behavior yesterday."

Sally's jaw dropped open. She wouldn't have looked more surprised if he had told her that Hiiro had started taking ballet lessons. He walked towards her steadily, stopping when they were barely an arm's length apart.

He took advantage of her rare silence to continue. "I was the one who acted dishonorably. I respect you more than any other woman - more than any other person on Earth or the colonies."

The blue-eyed woman's jaw was working, but all she managed was a quiet gasp, "WuFei?" Her eyes met his own black gaze and she inhaled sharply at what she saw.

"Sally." He closed the remaining distance between them before reaching into his pocket and removing the small package. "I want you to have this, if you will accept it."

He took one of her hands, noting the trembling of her graceful fingers even as his own had become perfectly steady.

The gift was wrapped in light tissue paper. She tore the fluffy stuff away, then stared in puzzlement at what lay in her hands. It was unmistakably a very special computer chip, circuitry that could only have come from a Gundam. She looked back up at him, questioning.

"It was Nataku's guidance system." He knew as he said it that she had worked on Gundams and would understand. This part alone was truly unique to Nataku; it would not have worked on any other Gundam. It was Nataku's heart.

Tears started to fill her blue eyes, brightening them to the point where WuFei half believed that their light would fill his vision for the rest of his life. When she stepped forward into his arms and kissed him gently, he knew it would.

* * * * *

WuFei celebrated his 21st birthday as planned. Standing proudly before a large group at the front of which Duo, Hiiro, Quatre and Trowa sat smiling broadly at him, he spoke his vows to the woman who would be bringing his clan back to life.

Sally responded to his vows with her own. She was more serious than he had ever seen her as she pledged herself not to him, but to their love and to hope for their future. She looked lovely in a traditional red Chinese dress, her face left uncovered. She would never hide herself, not for anything or anyone.

WuFei wouldn't have had her any other way.

~Owari