01-Sep-2000
Hello! This is the (much-anticipated) sequel to 'Lemon Joy', which, if you missed it, is archived on my page and GW Addiction (under Tiercel).
Enjoy!
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: 6x5; 1+2
Archive: Yes to GW Addiction; others ask.
Disclaimer: This represents an amateur effort. Money is not being made
from the writing of this story.
Warnings: Here there be Lemon! Also, some Major Sap, humor, and pouty
pilots.
Feedback: Yes!
-- Galadriel
~Zechs~
I was sitting at Heero and Duo's wedding, with Noin as my companion. Thankfully, shortly after the war, she'd given up trying to get me to date her, and our friendship had blossomed.
They looked so happy up there. Tinges of jealousy stirred my insides; traces of memory flitted through my thoughts - memories of my happiness before the Eve Wars. I told myself this wasn't the time to be thinking about that, that I should pay attention to the two grooms as they celebrated and proclaimed their love for one another.
~Wufei~
I made a silent vow to not let Duo and Heero plan my wedding, should I ever have another. Trowa, Quatre, and I were Best Men for both of the grooms. Mariemaia was the flower girl and appeared totally disgusted with the role, possibly because Duo insisted she have a butt bow. (Don't ever let anyone tell you he can't be vindictive.)
Still, all of that was relatively normal. But being married on the rebuilt Peacemillion? By *Howard*? That was more than a little bizarre. Especially since Howard had somehow dug up a really long Hawaiian shirt to use as a robe.
~Zechs~
Watching the eclectic bunch at the front of the room was amusing. Quatre was staring dreamily at Trowa, whose expression was unreadable; Wufei was glaring; Heero was smiling, and Duo was absolutely beaming.
When Howard asked if anyone had any reason they should not be married, Relena stood up, but before she could say a word, all the guns in the room were trained toward her, and the voices rose in unison, "Shut up, Relena." The sight of the five young men in front of the altar, all drawing guns and turning in unison is one I won't forget.
I laughed inwardly as she became flustered and sat down. I wondered why they'd even invited her. Why'd they invite me, for that matter?
~Wufei~
That idiot woman! I was positive no one had invited her, but I guess security wasn't up to keeping out the former Queen of the World. Hmph. As far as I was concerned, she had never been anything but an infernal nuisance, even if she had been on our side. Just like her brother - although her brother had more than made up for his earlier foolishness with his help during the Mariemaia incident.
I winced as I recalled my own ignoble role in that affair. For once, Zechs had been on the right side, which was part of the reason Heero and Duo had invited him to the wedding. That, and as Duo put it, "His sheer decorative value." I had to admit, the man was decorative. That long hair the color of winter sunlight, those bangs that begged to be brushed out of his blue eyes... Quatre nudged me slightly with his foot and I snapped my attention back to Howard, who was just starting on the vows.
"Do you, Duo, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold..."
~Zechs~
Howard was talking about symbolism, about how a ring is an endless circle. Wufei didn't appear to be paying attention. Maybe he was still distracted by Relena's little outburst. I looked at him, and he appeared to be looking at me.
I was going to try to catch his eye, but Howard began the vows, and Wufei returned his attention to the happy couple.
"Do you, Duo, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" Howard asked.
"I do," answered Duo.
He turned to Heero. "Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
"I do," responded Heero.
~Wufei~
Waking up this morning, I had resigned myself to a day spent watching an extremely bouncy Duo glomp an extremely stoic Heero. I couldn't have been more wrong. As they pledged themselves to one another, both Duo and Heero stood completely still, hands clasped together, looking into each other's eyes with an intensity of emotion that made my own eyes sting. All of Duo's habitual cheerfulness had been supplanted by a fierce, singing joy that made every word of his vow vibrant, trembling on the edge of music. And Heero -- I think he flew Wing with less focus than he was expending on Duo in this one moment.
My own wedding had been nothing like this. Just the traditional, millenia-old ceremony, the formal words binding our honor but not our hearts. Meiran and I were two separate people who never managed to meet in the middle. Duo and Heero were becoming two halves of the same whole, making the bridge of a battleship as sacred as any temple or cathedral on Earth. They were beautiful. What they were creating was beautiful. And seeing their joy made me yearn desperately for that sort of beauty for myself. For some reason, my eyes flickered back to Zechs.
~Zechs~
I watched them take their vows, utterly absorbed in one another. They looked so happy. I decided it would be unseemly to brood about my own loneliness, at least for the duration of the ceremony. The reception was another matter.
I forced my focus back to the young men - my former enemies, coworkers, and - dare I think it? - friends. Quatre had finally torn his eyes off Trowa and was watching, with obvious tears in his eyes, Heero and Duo pledge their undying devotion to each other. I've never seen Trowa express emotion as blatantly as his lover, but I'd learned to read signs. He looked, as much as Trowa ever could, like he was going to burst with joy for his friends.
Then my eyes wandered to Wufei. For an instant our eyes met, then I looked away, focusing my attention back on Howard, who was now speaking. I wouldn't let traitorously hopeful thoughts cause me distress later.
~Wufei~
Despite the sheer outrageousness of his robe, Howard had managed to dredge up an impressive air of dignity as he pronounced, " ...by the authority vested in me by the Earth Sphere Alliance, I now pronounce you husband and husband." Then he grinned widely and cried, "You can smooch now!" Heero glared at him, but Duo grabbed his husband by the lapels and dragged him into an electrifying kiss that made Howard's mouth drop open in shock while the congregation cheered loudly. Trowa and Quatre had locked their eyes together, caught up in some private communication of their own.
Helpless to stop myself, I glanced back out into the crowd at Zechs. For just a second, I could see straight into his eyes, into the sorrow and loneliness hidden in those blue depths. Then it was gone, and the corner of his mouth twitched as he indicated the newlyweds with a slight nod of his head. The two were still locked together, and the crowd was starting to snicker just a bit. "Hey now, there's time enough for that later," Howard proclaimed, swatting Duo over the head. Duo pulled back, his eyes glazed.
"Huh? Oh yeah," he muttered hazily. Then he blinked, coming back to awareness. "Let's party!" he yelled, throwing his arms wide.
~Zechs~
Duo kissed Heero with such passion that I couldn't bear to watch. All the loneliness of the past several years flooded over me, like waves over the head of one too deep in the ocean.
I looked away, inexplicably turning to gaze on Wufei. His obsidian eyes met mine, and I forced the depths of my sorrow behind a mask of amusement, as I indicated the two grooms still kissing.
With Duo's cry of "Let's party!" I retreated to the reception area. An "ahem" brought me to myself. I had almost forgotten Noin. Forcing a smile, I took her arm, and we took seats at the table nearest the wedding party.
~Wufei~
The reception was somewhere between a party and a riot, and even the darkest soul would have been hard put to stay gloomy as Duo tried to pull Heero onto the dance floor (Heero, of course, was clinging to one of the pillars...). I began to suspect Duo of spiking the punch when Quatre tried to swing from the chandeliers. Howard appeared to be hitting on Lady Une, Sally Po was attempting to set ancient Chinese poetry to the tune of "Gilligan's Isle," and Hilde and Dorothy, of all people, were making up dirty limericks while wrapping Relena in toilet paper. And Zechs, of course, was dancing with Noin. I'd completely forgotten about her, but there she was, looking entirely beautiful and dancing gracefully in Zechs' arms as though she'd been there all her life.
As Trowa attempted a toast - "To Huo and Deero" - I retreated to a small side room, dark and unfurnished, with a large single window. I stared out, not even attempting to identify stars as I normally would, just staring. Even without conscious identification, I could pinpoint the exact spot where my colony had hung in the vast darkness. If I closed my eyes, I could still see the bright flash of the explosion that had taken every person I'd ever known, save the Gundam pilots. The four of them were my only friends, my only family. But something in me longed for more...
~Zechs~
As I danced with Noin, my oldest still-living friend, I wondered how she felt, knowing that our relationship would never be more than that of friends. The music changed from fast to slow, and I sighed.
"Zechs, what's wrong? You've been like this all day."
"It's nothing. Nothing important, anyway."
She looked me in the eyes. "Listen, Zechs. I can tell you're brooding. I've known you long enough, and I've seen you in full brood enough times to know it." She led me off the dance floor to a small table where we could sit and talk.
I looked up at her, and I could see her concern. I had to tell her something, but what? That I was being miserable about Treize's death so many years ago? I tried to come up with something to say, but she started before I could form words.
"Is this about Treize still? You're hung up on him, aren't you? I bet he'd want you to move on."
I knew she was right, but being resigned to bitter loneliness was just so much easier and didn't require the effort of feigning interest.
End Part 1
(:./tiercel/lpledge1)
