Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Yuletide Peace ❯ Preparing for the Party ( Chapter 1 )

This is the final installment of this series as well as the last "Gundam Wing" piece I've ever written. The revised edition of this lemony tale is my holiday gift to those who chose to read it and I wish you nothing but the best in the coming year.

May 2003 bring us all greater happiness than 2002 did.

E-sama the Llama

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Title: Yuletide Peace [part 1/6]

Book 4 of the "Incredible Edibles Series"

Author: Enigma

Written: December, 2001; revised: December, 2002

Rating: NC-17

Series: Gundam Wing

Pairings: (3x5)-lemon [(Sally+9) (1x2) (6x4)]-non-lemon

Category: Yaoi, Shojo ai, Romance, Sap, Humor, Lemon, AU-OOC

Enigma Story Category: Pilots' Pleasure

Archive: mediaminer.org [author: "E-sama the Llama"], GW Addiction, Sweet&Sweet

Warnings: yaoi, shojo ai, romance, sap, humor, lemon, Howard, G-Boys in party clothes, seductive eating, holiday foods, fluff, and general silliness. AU-OOC.

Disclaimers: "Gundam Wing" is the property of Bandai, Sunrise, et al. This unauthorized and unpaid piece of fanfiction was created for entertainment only, kindly do not sue me.

Notes: Following a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with friends, Wufei and Trowa rendezvous with Sally aboard Howard's ship and the injured ShenLong pilot is finally freed of the cumbersome cast that he has worn since his Gundam was shot down. What special gift does Trowa offer Wufei while they attend a joyful Christmas party which includes another lovely face from both Gundam pilots' recent pasts?

++ sound effect ++

*****

Quietly at anchor in the Gulf of Mexico, an unusual gray ship floated peacefully in the waning rays of light on a cool December day. Bright, twinkling lights outlined the name "Aloha" across her stern then dashed off to run helter-skelter over and under the various cranes and other raised surfaces to finally congregate on the superstructure in an elaborate and ultimately gaudy cone of lights. [1]

Seagulls flew overhead, oblivious of the laughter and music which arose from the unique salvage vessel not caring that those aboard were celebrating a holiday known the world over which combined pagan and Christian traditions in equal amounts. Also being celebrated was the recently announced truce in the war between OZ and the freedom fighters that the ship supported, a miracle which would last until Epiphany on January 6th.

Aboard the "Aloha" were two of the infamous Gundam pilots, a former Alliance physician, an eccentric engineer, and the host of technicians and crew who kept the floating base of operations for the Gundams in order at all times.

Trowa Barton and Chang Wufei had been with the ship for almost a month during which the Chinese boy very gladly regained some of his mobility when Sally Po had removed the heavy cast he'd had on his right leg and he exchanged his crutches for a cane. The European teen was pleased by this development as well, but had been kept busy working on a new security system he'd wanted to create to give the mobile suits he and his friends operated greater safety. While Trowa toiled alongside Howard on the difficult wiring assemblies they'd designed, Wufei spent as much time as possible assisting the technicians with the on-going repairs on ShenLong.

Despite sharing a fairly spacious VIP cabin, the young couple hadn't had enough time to be together lately and the coming celebration was a welcome opportunity to relax together, however, one of them had a task to accomplish first.

Below decks and ignoring the soft, cheerful party noises that were reverberating through the metal bulkheads, Wufei chose his words carefully, taking extra time to print each letter clearly as he wrote:

"Dear Debra," [2]

"Thank you for the lovely artwork that you sent us. It was very bright and it looks nice on the wall of---"

The ShenLong pilot started to write "our bedroom" then reconsidered it.

No matter how open-minded the child's mother obviously was, there were certain things that didn't need to be stated quite so plainly to a four year old. Taking a moment to glance at the child's sparkly, glitter-covered construction paper rendition of Santa Claus's workshop surrounded by snowflakes, he realized a small fib was acceptable on this holiday where adults' lies to children were part of the traditions in the first place.

After erasing part of the second sentence, he continued:

"It is very bright and it looks nice on our refrigerator."

Memories of the day the child had come over to help remove the gallery of artwork that covered the refrigerator in the safehouse the two pilots had resided in for the autumn months came to mind. Debra had been terribly sad that her friends had to go, but when she heard that Wufei's cast was to be removed soon she laughed happily and insisted on knowing where to send him a new drawing to commemorate the event.

Luckily, Trowa had already established a forwarding system for himself since Catherine insisted on sending him homemade baked goods and snacks on a regular basis, and he gave her that address. The fact that it was in Ontario, Canada, made no difference to Debra's mother and meant that he and Wufei were now guaranteed a certain amount of mail that didn't include chocolate chips, coconut, walnuts, or even the occasional bag of peanuts from the circus for a change.

Shaking thoughts of the most recent parcel--an exquisite collection of European holiday cookies that the redheaded knife-thrower had been baking since mid-November--from his thoughts, Wufei chuckled and responded to a concern that the blue-eyed moppet had posed in the note that accompanied the artwork.

"In answer to your question, we are quite certain that Santa already knows that you will be at your Aunt Dae's house in Maryland for Christmas." [3]

His pencil was momentarily still, smiling as he recalled the look of pure joy that had suffused the little blond girl's face the day after Thanksgiving when she had come for a visit to bring them some brownies she'd made with her aunt. Debra had discovered that Trowa and Wufei had not only eaten some of the "gobbler" she'd been so concerned about but that they had friends visiting, all of whom struck her as particularly nice. The chipper girl eventually regaled the six pilots with stories of her fun with the cat at her aunt's house and how she was going to be there for the late December holiday season, too.

Realizing he was running out of time to finish, Wufei began writing once more:

"We hope that you and your mother will enjoy the holidays.
"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

"Your Friends, Trowa and Wufei"

Taking a moment to double check his printing to make sure the letters were legible for the precocious preschooler, the raven-haired teen missed the sound of the bathroom door opening behind him.

"Um, Fei?" Trowa's voice called across the room nervously, "How do I look, koi? Do you think this will be okay?"

Turning eagerly to see his lover, the Chinese boy answered in an awestruck tone, "Wow, angel. You look--" words eluded him momentarily as he licked his lips hungrily and made the slender HeavyArms pilot tremble slightly, then added, "Wow!"

Emerald green eyes glanced down shyly as a faint pinkness danced across ivory cheeks and Trowa responded, "I don't think I look *that* good, dragon. Not at all."

Wufei rose from his chair with a smile and grabbed his cane to help him make his way across the room to where he had a better view of his beloved soulmate. Reaching for one long-fingered hand that he clasped, raised to his lips, then kissed gently, he disagreed, "You, my angel, are indeed a 'wow' and then some! You look utterly delicious!" Trowa's blush intensified as he added fondly, "And very festive, if I might add. The clothes Sally got you look quite nice indeed."

A warm sense of satisfaction flowed through Trowa's heart as Wufei tilted his head up and kissed him briefly before stepping back to take a long appreciative look at his lover's new outfit which was debuting at the special event they were now "fashionably late" for.

When the two week long cease-fire was announced, it had been Howard who suggested they have a Christmas party since he was always looking for an excuse to have fun. It had been Sally, however, who took charge of it to avoid it becoming, as she put it a "cheap pizza and beer fiasco." The engineer didn't really care as long as the doctor promised to include plenty of the classic Chinese steamed pork buns she made that he had a weakness for. With a happy laugh, the physician agreed then stipulated that she'd do that plus throw in the homemade dipping sauce he loved for them if she could insist that those attending wear something nicer than coveralls or shorts. To her amazement, the man agreed and soon most of the crew was gladly hunting down clothing items that had gone unworn during wartime or ordering from the Internet in a panic.

The two people who didn't have to seek anything new to wear, however, were the Gundam pilots.

When Sally had seen Wufei's reaction upon seeing Trowa the first time after the battle that left ShenLong damaged almost beyond repair and its pilot with a broken leg, she decided to find a way to show them how pleased she was that they had found one another. She recalled the look of hopelessness in Wufei's eyes when they had encountered one another in rural Asia and was ecstatic that those coffee-dark orbs were filled with love and strength once more.

After sending the couple off to the Northern Virginia safehouse, she returned to her normal pattern of using her occasional base on Howard's ship as a jump point for her travels to assist wherever the war had left victims in need. While in Great Britain to help give inoculations to a group of displaced Filipino children, she had unexpectedly encountered Duo and Heero who were enjoying the truce and spending their afternoon goofing off in London's Piccadilly Circus.

After sharing lunch and swapping stories, Duo happily dismissed his lover in favor of the woman's company for an all-too-rare shopping trip. Heero was more than glad to leave, he hated shopping, and the unlikely pair enjoyed combing the shops and boutiques for a few hours.

Sally mentioned that she wanted to get the other boys something and Duo wisely recommended clothing, saying that Trowa needed a better wardrobe than jeans and a turtleneck all the time and that Wufei's outfit needed a break, too. Agreeing and pleased to get such an excellent suggestion, she was even more thrilled that the American teen knew their sizes, but he only laughed, saying that as long as they all did laundry for one another on and off there wasn't much privacy in that area of their lives.

Before long, they had any number of bags and parcels with outfits for not only Trowa and Wufei, but also some for the braided boy and his lover as well but skipped doing the same for the already well-heeled Winner-Peacecraft contingent. Duo had been surprised that Sally was in such a mood to spend money, but the honey-haired woman ruefully admitted she never spent much of her salary from the Alliance since it seemed like blood money to her now. However, the physician commented that spending it on the pilots themselves seemed like poetic justice and she was all in favor of it.

In the end, Sally returned to the "Aloha" with what the two Gundam pilots would end up wearing to the party since the clothes were far too dressy for everyday wear. Granted, she hadn't had the discussion about the party with Howard before her spending spree, but this was what had ultimately spurred her request for more formal apparel.

Wufei allowed his eyes to slowly track from supple black boots, up dark gray pants that snuggly fit trim hips and firm abdominal muscles, then seemed to be stuck for a moment on a black leather belt that gave him ideas he was trying not to give in to. Forcing his eyes past the shining gold buckle, he gazed at a soft, sea mist green shirt that provided the perfect background for a deep burgundy necktie.

Realizing he'd stood rooted to one spot too long, Wufei shook himself from his daze and commented lovingly, "You are truly stunning in that ensemble, my love. Sally obviously has good taste to choose that for you, though I think perhaps Maxwell had something to do with the selection as well. After all, I doubt that onna had any idea how great your ass would look covered in steel gray lambs' wool like that."

Trowa fought the urge to blush furiously and lost. Face turning pink as he hid behind the cascade of auburn bangs, he only remarked, "I'm not the only one, Fei. If you had any idea how scrumptious *you* look right now, I think we'd never get out of this cabin!"

"Oh? You really think so?" Wufei teased, turning slowly to let his lover take another look at his new outfit and it was all Trowa could do not to jump him right then and there.

One of the wonderful things about shopping in Piccadilly Circus is the vast array of styles of clothing one can find there. Sally had been particularly pleased to find a shop that carried traditional Chinese clothing and she picked out Wufei's new outfit there as well as getting a few things for herself since wearing silk always reminded her of home.

Trowa took another look at his lover, starting at the floor and working his way up, beginning with sleek black slipper-style shoes up to soft ivory silk socks that disappeared into the cuffed bottoms of black silk pants. The emerald gaze was barely past Wufei's knees when it encountered the hem of a brilliant red silk tunic that wrapped itself lovingly around the Asian teen's compact body and was cinched at the waist with a black silk sash that matched the pants. Two golden dragons encircled his torso, hand-embroidered beasts of legend chased one another such that there was a majestic roaring head sewn directly above his heart as well as one protecting his back. The tails of the mighty beasts spiraled up long crimson sleeves and it was an overwhelmingly elegant tribute to both his heritage and his strength of character. The fascinated verdant eyes finished their surveillance by coming to rest on the smaller boy's upturned bronze face, jet black silk hair hanging freely over his shoulders to create an image of attractively self-confident masculinity.

Even as he leaned on his cane negligently, Wufei felt his lips turning up at the corners in a tiny smirk as he brought Trowa out of his sudden silence by saying, "Well, koi, I guess that you've changed your mind about going to the party?"

Blinking in confusion, Trowa answered, "Why do you say that, koi?"

Amused obsidian eyes trailed down the front of the elegant gray pants, pointedly stopping below the belt as the Chinese boy licked his lips and said simply, "I think that it is *you* who look scrumptious, angel. I could use a snack if we're not getting any party food today."

Trowa chuckled softly and walked up to press his body against Wufei's, allowing them both to discover how much they wanted one another, then suggested quietly, "You know, dragon-love, there's nothing that says we can't *share* a snack right now and go to the party later." He slipped his hands around his beloved's waist and pressed in for a kiss which was welcomed by slightly parted lips and a gently beckoning tongue.

Rapidly, the kiss deepened and threatened to sweep them both away until---

++ Clang, clang, clang!!! ++

Both youths startled briefly as they tried to place the noise which came again.

++ Clang, clang, clang!!! ++

Someone was knocking on the cabin's metal hatch and interrupting their intimate moment.

Wufei groaned angrily, and muttered, "You know, that never happened to us until we met Debra."

Trowa snickered, released his hold on Wufei after the other boy steadied himself with the cane again and answered before going to open the hatch, "True, Fei, but at least out here, we can be fairly certain that it isn't an unexpected child come to visit, ne?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Wufei answered without much enthusiasm, then felt absolutely shocked when he saw who their visitor actually was.

*****

To be continued

Author's Notes for This Part:

[1] To the best of my knowledge, Howard's ship isn't given a name in the series, so I hereby dub her something relevant to his choice of clothing if nothing else.

[2] Never assume that a friend insertion ends after only two stories! Oh no!

[3] 'Tis my kitten, Ryoko!

Full Author's Notes to run at conclusion.