27 May 2001

TITLE: Love in a Cold Climate
AUTHOR: kumiko & tzigane (guilty as charged)
PART: Story 8 of Lingering Days
FANDOM: Gundam Wing
PAIRING: 6+5
WARNINGS: AU/OOC; yaoi, some bastardizations running about.
DISCLAIMER: They don't belong to us. If they did, they'd spend more time naked.

ARCHIVE: No, thank you ^_~ All former chapters at hhttp://www.aestheticism.net/vcity/580/
C&C: If you feel the urge ^_^

Lingering Days by tzigane and kumiko

Part 8: Love in a Cold Climate

Three days later, the two of them were standing at the airport gate when the flight agent was announcing the last boarding call for the flight to Minneapolis. Zechs was standing with his arms around Wufei, feeling stupidly like crying. "It's only two weeks, right?" he said miserably into the dark, silky hair.

"Two weeks is forever," Wufei answered with equal sadness, head tucked under Zechs's chin. Anyone passing by wouldn't notice they were men, for they were so close it would be impossible to know whether they were male or female. "And Minnesota is a world away."

The slim younger man had taken all of his belongings home only two days before, and they'd spent the night at Wufei's house -- it had been strange, sleeping in the two twin beds that were in Wufei's room instead of sleeping *together*, and in the middle of the night, Wufei had waken from a light doze to find that Zechs had crawled in bed with him and had wrapped his arms and legs up lightly with Wufei's, inextricably tangling them.

Wufei thought he'd die if they stayed apart two whole weeks!

"You won't mind if I call you twice a day, will you?" Zechs asked, as the ticket agent began waving his arms frantically at the tall blond.

"I'll be waiting next to the phone," Wufei promised, letting him go and biting his lower lip hard to hold back from making an idiot of himself. "I'll miss you."

Zechs reached out a long arm and grazed over Wufei's cheeks with the tips of his fingers. "I won't really breathe until you're back in my arms," he whispered, and then he was being hurried down the jet way and was gone.

THAT nearly killed him! It was all that Wufei could do to walk calmly from the terminal to the train and take it back to Hartsfield International's short term parking lot. By the time he reached his car, he was sniffling, and by the time he got in it, he was outright *bawling*.

Thank God he kept napkins in the glove compartment!

A fight through interstate traffic and an hour later, he parked next to his mother's small pick-up and climbed out, heading into the house through the garage door and into the kitchen. "I'm home," he called unhappily.

His mother looked up from the kitchen table, where she was making a grocery list. "Did he get to his flight on time?" she asked and then looked sympathetic. "And how are *you* doing, honey?"

A sniffle revealed his misery. "I think I'm going to go to bed," he said with a sigh. "Maybe it'll all look better when I wake up."

Just then the door burst open and Meiran stumbled in with several grocery bags. "You're not going to bed, pal," she said. "I've got popcorn and cranberry strings to make and *you're* helping!"

THAT nearly startled him right out of his skin! "Meiran!" he cried. "What are you doing here?" She never came up to Atlanta before Christmas -- there was always so much to do at their grandparents, and as the oldest, Meiran was *very* particular about her duties.

"I decided to come early. I've learned to delegate. Besides, I knew *you*>would be moping around here after Blondie left and would need some sense shaken into you."

"Meiraa~aan!" That was his typical response to 'Blondie' comments, but he hurried to help her with her grocery sacks and kissed her cheek besides. "You're so bad. I'm glad you're here, though," he said thoughtfully. "I..." Well, he felt miserable, that was just that!

"Ye~es?" she said, giving him a slightly disapproving sideways glance. "It's only two weeks, Fei, you can be without the teddy bear for that long, can't you?"

"Meiran," Wufei's mother chided softly. "Well, I think I'm going to lie down before making dinner. See you two in an hour or so." She rose gracefully and left, abandoning her son to the vagaries of his cousin.

Once his mother was gone, Wufei sat down at the table and sighed. "I cried," he said morosely. "Two weeks is a long time, and... well, I don't know. It's not permanent, we're not permanent, and I want us to be. To be forever, and happy, you know, the whole 'til death do you part business..." he confessed.

"Seriously?" she said, sitting down next to him and beginning to unload the grocery bags. "Geez, no wonder you've been acting like a complete idiot around him."

"I'm not an idiot!" Wufei protested. "I'm just in love! Haven't you ever been?"

"Not to that extent," she said flatly, "and I hope I never *am.* Here, start the popcorn." She handed him a jar of corn and then took out needles, thread and two sacks of cranberries. "So, have you told him all this and does he feel the same way?" she asked.

"Well..." Wufei said, obediently getting up and looking for the popper. "Not exactly. I mean, I wasn't sure how to start the conversation. You know? Who's supposed to ask, in a situation like ours? Me? Him? I don't know."

She held a cranberry up and skewered it with a look of rather ferocious triumph. "Ah, well -- you don't have those stupid conventions that straight people do. I mean, with us it's all set out, who's supposed to do what. Isn't there some sort of gay etiquette book you can look in?"

At that, her cousin blinked repeatedly. "I don't know. I've never *heard* of one... Mei, do you suppose it really matters? I mean, I guess I could ask *him*, right?"

"What," she asked, looking over at him, "to marry you?" She seemed to think for a moment and then said, "I guess. I mean, you're a boy, too. But are you *really* sure you want to do that?" Her eyes were narrowed suspiciously.

Pulling down the popper, Wufei plugged it in, remaining silent for a few moments as he searched for the instructions. "Well," he said finally, solemnly, "yes. Yes, I think so."

She was quiet, stringing cranberries onto the thread, but then grinned evilly and said, "So who wears the white dress?"

"MeiRA~AN!!!"

"I think it would look best with your coloring. If Blondie wore white we'd never find him in all the tulle." She snorted happily and then looked at him crossly. "Have you got that popcorn going yet?"

Sighing deeply, Wufei shook his head and -- despite himself -- *laughed*. "Yes, Meiran," he said calmly, dark eyes suddenly brightening. "You want to help me pick out a ring, then?"

She stared at him, mouth slightly open. "You're going to give him a *ring*?" she asked in a tone of utter disbelief. "Are you going to get down on one knee, too?" She gave a chuckle and then added, "Of *course* I'm going to help you pick out a ring. You'd be *hopeless* at it. Probably come home with a diamond studded horror!"

Smirking, Wufei turned and looked at her, saying teasingly, "What's so wrong with a diamond studded horror!? Duh, Meiran, I have better taste than that! Besides," he continued, "diamonds wouldn't do Zechs *justice*. I was thinking more like rubies, or sapphires." Oh, he enjoyed the look on her face at that!

She looked at him sternly. "You *definitely* need supervision," she said, "if *only* to preserve our family's good name. I'm going with you."

"Yes, Meiran," Wufei answered, suddenly in better spirits as the popcorn began popping. "You know, I wish I could have gone with him. I mean, he stayed *here* for Thanksgiving, and his family came, too..."

"Then why didn't you, selfish thing?" she said, holding up the string to judge the look of the berries on it. "Honestly, he probably thinks you don't love him now." The sarcasm was practically dripping from her voice.

"Mei!" Wufei exclaimed. "That's not nice! I... I just.. I mean, you know. There's Grandma and Poppa and, huh, like *you* wouldn't kick my ass if I didn't come home for Christmas!"

"Damn right," she said, simply. "So you're stuck. You'd have felt bad both ways." She smiled in a self-satisfied way and then added. "Don't you have that popcorn done *yet*?"

"It's coming, it's coming," Wufei sighed. "Well, you know, if there were flights on Christmas Day then I could go...." Not that he knew anything about airports or planes or anything else. He'd never been on one, and he really wasn't sure that he ever wanted to go on one, either!

"Of *course* there are," she said, looking at him as if he were a kindergartner. "What *century* are you in?" She came over and peered impatiently into the corn popper. "What do you think your parents would say if you went?"

Gently, Wufei pulled the bowl of popped corn away from the popper and turned it off, moving to sit at the table where Meiran had left a needle and string for *him*, as well. "Good luck, son, have a good time, don't worry about us. And I'm in the same century you are, Mei! Just because I don't fly everywhere I want to go doesn't mean I'm stupid." He was a bit cranky about *that*. Meiran had been to China to visit their relatives, and he had not, and that made her feel superior on occasion.

"Of course you are," she said matter-of-factly. "If you were intelligent you>would have been planning to go on Christmas Day all along!" Grabbing a handful of popcorn, she poured half of it in a small bowl she'd fetched from the cupboard and ate the rest. "So. Are you going to do it? Even better -- are you going to do it and not tell him you're coming?" Ebony eyebrows were wiggled suggestively at him.

There was just something about that wriggle of brow that made him turn red from the top of his head to the tip of his ears and down. "Um..." Tentatively, he looked at her. "If I didn't say I was coming, Mei, then how on earth would I figure out where he lives? He doesn't live right *IN* St. Paul, he lives somewhere out in the middle of nowhere."

She turned and looked at him, profoundly disappointed. "Where is the warrior blood in you?" she said dramatically. "You have his address, right? You can read maps and use the telephone, right? It's not like he lives in the wilds of Borneo or something! Don't be so helpless!"

"You're *such* a female chauvinist nazi communist!" Wufei sighed, the family joke spilling easily from his lips. "But... I guess you're right," he agreed reluctantly. "So, you going to come with me to get a plane ticket, too?"

Sticking her tongue out at him, she stabbed several pieces of popcorn and then held up the needle. "Of *course* I'll go with you. If I don't you'll end up on a flight to Brazil or some such place."

"I'm not totally incompetent!" Wufei protested, stringing cranberry-popcorn cranberry. "I guess we should do that tomorrow, then. Get the ticket, and the ring. Yes?"

"Sounds good," she said. "You better do your research today, then. Where are you going to start?"

Wufei's voice was firm as he said, "I'm going to *start* by getting a road map and finding out about rental cars. I'm not sure I ought to just show up unannounced, Mei. I mean... well..." He paused. "Well, you know. His parents like me, but it's rude to just show up..."

"It's not rude. It's romantic!" she said, just as firmly. "Besides, if you're *that* worried about it, call one of his parents at work and get it set with them. They don't seem like the type who would spill the beans."

He smiled at her, suddenly, brilliantly. "Have I told you lately that I *love* you, Mei?"

"Oh..." She was on the verge of turning red so she stabbed a cranberry and muttered, "Save the mushy stuff for Blondie and get cracking on those berries!" Behind the gruff tone, though, he could tell she was very pleased indeed.

"Yes, ma'am, miss female chauvinist nazi communist," Wufei replied gently, and that was that.

Meiran was waiting for him, bright and early next morning, sitting at his mother's kitchen table and drinking coffee. "About time you got up. All the stores will be closed if you don't hurry." She smirked around her coffee cup. "Did you track down the information you need?"

"What information?" his mother asked, looking at him warily. "What are you two planning?"

"Ah..." Wufei said nervously. "I'm going to Minnesota on Christmas Day..."

She stared at him for a moment in sheer disbelief and then smiled. "Well good for *you*!" she said. "I was wondering how long you'd last without him."

Meiran snorted delicately. "About the time it took to drive here from the airport," she murmured.

"One day," Wufei promised almost viciously, "you're going to fall in love and I'm going to laugh like the very devil."

"Hah!" she said with a fierce kind of self-satisfaction. "As if I'd act like *you* do! 'Ohhhh, *Zechs*...' She trailed off making loud kissing noises while Wufei's mother tried not to laugh behind her coffee cup.

"And when you DO fall in love," Wufei announced evilly, "I'm going to give him a blow-up picture of Poppa brushing the dirt off of your panties after you fell off of the swing. Just for that! And maybe the nakie-Mei-in-the-bathtub one, too!"

"You wouldn't *dare*!" she said, getting out of her seat.

"*Children,*" Wufei's mother said meaningfully. "Let's just have our breakfast and enjoy ourselves, yes? Now Wufei, tell me about this trip."

"Yes, ma'am," Wufei said. "Well, last night, we..."

"So, which shop do we go in first?" Wufei asked Meiran carefully. They'd gone to the mall to pick up some things she *insisted* he would need, though she wouldn't say just what, and they were swarmed over by the mass of Christmas shoppers around them.

"This one over here," she said, dragging him towards a storefront with a strange purplish-pink glow coming from it. "You'll need something to catch his interest..."

Wufei's eyes blinked slowly, owlishly, as his face began to turn bright red. "Uh... Mei, that's a.... *that's* a...."

"You're cute when you turn colors," she said blithely as the plunged headlong into Frederick's of Hollywood and headed towards the men's wear section.

"Now, let's see -- how does he like to see you?" she asked, holding up silk thongs of various colors and putting them against his skin. "The submissive, slaveboy type, or the little Asian tigerboy type?"

Groaning, Wufei buried his face in his hands at the sound of nearby giggling. "Both!" he whispered, squirming slightly with the need to remove himself from the vicinity of the store *most* immediately!

"Both, eh?" she said, wriggling her eyebrows again. "Well, let's get you one>of each, shall we? Who knows what he'll be in the mood for after *all* this time away from you..." She walked over to a rack of what appeared to be simple black silk bikinis. "How about this one," she said, holding the garment up high. "You can play the handyman who comes to *fix* things..." It was then he noticed that attached to the side of the briefs with a small black silk ribbon was a tiny black leather pouch with miniature tools inside of it.

"Mee~eeiii!!!! Wufei groaned softly, flushing an even brighter shade of red before he muttered, "He likes pirates and sultans better."

"*Does* he now," came a smooth voice very close to his ear. Looking up, Wufei saw a tall, lean man in his early thirties, with ginger hair and forked eyebrows. "If I paid admission could I come and watch?" he said in a wicked tone, giving both of them a wink and causing Meiran to snicker loudly as the man walked away.

In that moment, Wufei *knew* that if he could melt into the ground and disappear, he would gladly do so! He'd never been so utterly mortified in his entire life! "Can we just finish!"

"Oooh, how about this?" she said. "You could play the daimyo and he could be your loyal samurai." She was holding up a flowing silk kimono, black shot through with glowing bronze threads. It came with a matching silk thong.

"I can't believe I'm even talking about this with you," Wufei sighed before admitting grudgingly, "but... that sounds okay."

They made their purchase and Wufei nearly flew out of the store, Meiran having to run after him to keep up. "So," she said casually. "Ready for jewelry?"

"Yes," Wufei sighed in a relieved sort of way, his face STILL deeply red. "I can't believe we just bought that stuff!"

"He'll *love* it," Meiran insisted. "You'll look quite the little shogun and he'll fall on his knees in front of you. Now, which jewelers should we try first?"

"Why not that one there?" Wufei said, pointing to a nearby Friedman's.

Walking into the hush of the jewelry store, the cousins were greeted by a middle-aged woman who wore so many jewels that she sparkled every time she moved. She had a somewhat simpering face and a plastic cord around her wrist that held several small keys.

Her face lit up at the sight of them. "I sense a bride-and-groom-to-be!" she said with a little too much enthusiasm. "Are we picking out wedding rings?"

"This is my cousin," Wufei said calmly. "She's helping me pick out what I need."

"Ah," the woman said meaningfully, not missing a beat, "and what might that be? Something pretty for a pretty young lady perhaps?"

Meiran was trying hard not to snicker, with only partial success.

"Um, actually, no," Wufei said without missing a beat. "Something appropriate for a very handsome young man."

The woman blanched slightly. "Oh, well," she said, a hand coming to her throat as if something were stuck there. "Perhaps a nice set of cuff links, or a watch, perhaps?" she suggested, moving slowly away from the case of wedding rings in front of her.

"No, he wants to marry the guy," Meiran said plainly. "He needs a ring. Do you have a problem with that? If so we can take our business elsewhere."

"Oh, no!" the woman said quickly, trying to smile at the outspoken young woman. "It... doesn't really matter to *me* of course..."

Looking faintly disgusted, she tried putting on a game face and turned to Wufei again. "So, were you thinking of one with a stone, or just plain gold?"

By then, Wufei was *very* glad that he had Meiran with him! His cousin, outspoken as she was, took care of everything before he even got that far, and that left him smiling. "Well, I was thinking plain gold. Zechs doesn't need much ornamentation, Mei. I mean..." He paused thoughtfully. "And he's gold all over, from his head to his toes. A little more would be very pretty."

His cousin winked at him. "Gold all over, eh?" she said. "*All* over?"

The face of the woman behind the counter made a brief spasm of horror and then fought its way back to neutral. Keeping her eye on the two of them as if they were bombs likely to go off at any moment, she unlocked the glass cabinet and took out a deep blue velvet tray of men's rings.

"*All* over," Wufei agreed, enjoying this little game of Meiran's. "I wish I knew what size was right. He has very slim hands, so I guess what would fit my index finger would fit his ring-finger..." Wufei's hands, by default, weren't as large as Zechs's, but neither of them found that to be any sort of deterrent to what they liked to do in any way. Carefully, he reached out and plucked one up, slipping it on his finger. "Hmm. Too thick?"

"Mmm... yes," Meiran agreed. "He's the slim sort. What about that thinner one with the little brushed gold leaves on it?"

*That* brought a smile to Wufei's face at first sight, the pretty trailing leaves of gold wrapping around the band perfect the moment he saw it. A quick fit showed that it was perfect, or at least, that he hoped it would be, and he nodded firmly, reaching for another and sliding it onto his own ring finger. "They're just right, Mei," he said quietly, looking at them there together. "Perfect." /But what if he doesn't say yes?/

The saleswoman heaved a barely audible sigh of relief that the decision had been made so quickly. "All right then, will you be paying for them up front, or would you like to arrange a three-month payment plan?" she asked, fishing around behind the counter for ring boxes.

"Up front," Wufei said solemnly, taking off the rings and reaching into his back pocket. It would be expensive, but he wanted to pay for it and have it be done with -- he wanted to *own* what he was going to give Zechs. "Thanks, Mei," he said with a slight smile, looking at her. "You're the best."

"I know," she said simply and then grinned at him. "And you're welcome. Now understand that I want a detailed account of how you're going to ask him. *And* exactly what he says."

"I'll tell you everything that *won't* make your delicate ears burn," Wufei promised to the utter mortification of the woman ringing up the purchase.

As they left the store, Meiran was careful to speak loudly when she asked, "Can I be your maid of honor?"

Wufei only laughed at that -- well, that and the slightly hysterical shrill of the lady in the jewelry store as they left. "Hmmm, well. All right. You'll make a cute maid of honor. I'm NOT wearing a dress, though!"

She shrugged eloquently. "Guess Blondie will have to wear one -- although I think he's going to have a hard time finding one in his size..." She checked her watch. "Is it time for the travel agent?"

"We have an hour," Wufei said, "but the office is in Buckhead, so we probably ought to go soon."

"Right. Do you want to stop by the drug store and stock up on condoms?" she asked frankly.

The young man's face started to glow -- again. "Ahm, we haven't used them for a couple of weeks. We had blood tests, and... well, it's not like either of us is sleeping with anybody else, Mei...."

She looked at him skeptically, a small frown on her face. "Hmmm. Well, I suppose you two know best... Anything else you need to pick up?"

"Lube," Wufei said dreamily. "Lots and lots of lube."

*That* actually made Meiran blush -- she who never turned a hair at anything. "Right," she said. Why don't you go get that while I look at the earrings over here..."

With a laugh, Wufei walked away from her, going quickly to pick out what he needed. It was MUCH less embarrassing in Atlanta, where no one knew him or cared what he bought. His purchase was rung up easily enough and he had just what he needed before he headed back to Meiran.

"Ready to go get that plane ticket?" she said, walking out of the accessories store. "Not gonna chicken out on me at the last minute, are you?"

"I've bought the rings and the lube," Wufei replied cheerfully. "What do you think?"

"Oh, well," she said teasingly as they headed out towards the car, "rings and lube. That's commitment if *I* ever heard. Written in stone, definitely."

"Don't be catty," Wufei told her, sniffing. "Or I WILL show off those baby pictures!" What a deliciously fun threat that was!

"Hey!" she said indignantly. "That's *blackmail*! No *fair*!" She sniffed back at him, sliding into the passenger's seat, and grumbled, "Just drive."

"You love me, Mei," he teased, starting the car and backing out carefully, heading onto the circular road that would lead to an exit. "If you didn't, you wouldn't let me tease you."

A soft grunt was her reply and then she asked, "So, I take it you'll be flying into Minneapolis. Where do you go from there?"

"There's a map in the folder there," Wufei told her, nodding towards the information he had prepared for the trip. "He lives near a national park kind of thing, Lake Kabetogama. It's almost on the Canadian border. I guess, from there, I learn how to drive on snow and ice," he finished. "I'm a little worried about that."

"Voyageurs National Park," she read carefully off the map. "That's pretty far north. Why not get a bus from Minneapolis so you won't have to drive?"

"Well, I'll still have to make it to his house," Wufei said solemnly. "I'm not so sure they have taxis wandering around in a national park!"

"What about my idea of calling one of his parents? I bet they'd pick you up at the bus station if you asked nicely," she said, still teasing.

Glancing over at her once they merged into traffic, Wufei smiled. "HE answered the phone last night. I'm going to call sometime when I'm more likely to get someone else, at least, until I *DO* get someone else. I've got four days, after all!"

"True," she said. "So, how are you going to ask him? You'd better make it *good.*"

"You think he'd say no if it wasn't good?" Wufei asked nervously.

Meiran looked thoughtful for a moment, just to torment him, and then said, "Knowing him -- not a chance he'd turn you down, but *I'm* talking about *memories* here. You'll want to look back on that moment and remember how *romantic* it was, not how mediocre it was. You need it to be good so you can impress your kids and your grandkids." She stopped a moment and looked over at him. "*Are* you guys going to do the kid thing someday?"

"It's not like I'm going to get pregnant, Meiran," Wufei said dryly. "Besides, what are you going to do, donate your eggs and body for us? I mean, if we were going to have kids, we'd want them to be close, I think... I really don't know, though. I don't know how he feels about it..."

She was quiet for a long time, watching the highway go by. When she spoke at last, her voice was soft. "I might consider doing that for you. I mean, it would be the closest thing to it being *your* genes, right?" There was another long pause and then she smiled devilishly. "Would that mean he'd have to have sex with me?" Then she started to laugh.

"Noo~oo!!!" Wufei protested. "We'd use a turkey baster or something! NO girl sex!"

"And what's wrong with *girls*, boy?" she said. "You talk about us like we all have leprosy. Turkey baster, my *ass*! I'd be going through nine months of hell for you and you wouldn't let me have fun for an hour? Hmph!" It was so *very* easy to fluster Wufei... she was having the time of her life.

"Well..." He sounded as if he was going to give in reluctantly before he>said, "No! No, no, no *and* no! Not with *my* man!" He grinned at her, totally unrepentant. "I love you, Mei," he chuckled.

"Yeah, well -- I guess I love you, too... BOY. Are we *there* yet?"

"About another ten minutes, if traffic doesn't bottle up ahead," Wufei told her, carefully slipping through the groups of cars around them. "It's right off of the exit, I think, so it shouldn't be too bad. I don't know what the new exit number is, so look for the signs, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered and they spent the next several minutes in companionable silence.

"There it is!" she said at last, point to the sign over the highway.

At her direction, he quickly made his way to the exit and got off, veering right to the yield lane and taking a quick glance before heading almost immediately into a small strip full of cute offices that looked like little Colonial houses. "There. The blue one," he said with relief, parking in front of it. "And we're ten minutes early. Let's go on in, though..."

"Right," she said and then added, "My little baby's going on his first plane trip!"

He groaned at that, ruffling her bangs as she stepped close to him and then heading into the office marked 'Lawson Travel Agency'.

The building was really rather small, but there was a waiting room filled with beautiful travel brochures, and they could see through a set of French doors that the agent was talking to someone else for the moment, so Wufei sat down and picked up a few of the brochures to leaf through. "This looks like fun," he told her, waving once close by her hands.

"Oooh! A tour of French nude beaches!" she said. "Taking him there on your honeymoon? Better watch out for sunburn..."

"As if," Wufei said with a smile. "I told you. Mine. That means no looking, too, I don't care if everybody else *is* naked."

"What a little tyrant you'll be!" she said, punching him lightly in the arm. "Are you going to keep him from going out in public, too? Hm? I would think it would be kind of a thrill to have someone with you that everyone else was admiring."

THAT thought made Wufei blush... just a *bit*! "Maybe," he agreed. "But I could be evil and he could remain clothed while I rubbed it in that he's mine and no one else can see!"

She shook her head in disbelief. "Who would have thought you'd turn out so possessive. You didn't act that way around Trowa."

"Trowa didn't really care about me, Mei," Wufei said slowly. "And maybe I knew that. Zechs, though... Zechs *cares*. Zechs cares in a forever-after kind of way. Maybe that makes all the difference."

"It still seems like this all happened kind of fast," she said, looking over at him. "I always assumed it took a long time to get to the forever-after stage. Especially with *boys.*"

At the back of the office, the travel agent was standing and shaking the hand of the woman he'd been working with.

"So, maybe it's just true love," Wufei suggested with a smile. "Maybe that's all."

*Maybe*," she said, giving him a congenial snort.

Just then the door of the travel agent's office opened and the woman client walked out. "Mr. Chang? Come on in," the man said.

Easily, Wufei rose and looked at Meiran to be sure she was coming with him before they went in. "Mr. Larson," he said calmly. "How are you today?"

"Just fine, just fine," the man said, taking a seat behind his desk. It was neat, with small knickknacks on it from travel companies and it held a computer, the screen of which looked like it was covered in some obscure code.

"So, what can I help you with today?"

Taking a deep breath, Wufei replied, "I need to go to Minneanapolis on Christmas Day, and I need a bus from there to Kabetogama," he said solemnly. "If I can't get one, I'll try to make other arrangements..."

"All right," the man said, a little hesitantly. Let me take a look at where Kabetogama is..." He check a laminated map that he pulled from a drawer. "Whoa -- way up there. Okay, let's get you to Minneapolis first and then we can check other flights and the bus lines." Stretching his fingers, he began typing furiously into the computer.

Nervously, Wufei took a deep breath and smiled at Meiran. /Flying. In the snow. I've lost my mind./

She patted his thigh in a soothing manner. "What would be safest," she asked the man, "to fly to Kabetogama or to take the bus?"

"Depends," said the agent, still typing. "In an ice storm nothing is safe, but luckily Minnesota doesn't get hardly any of those." He hit his return key decisively and then turned to them with a smile. "Snow's the real hazard that far up and sometimes it's easier to fly. They seem to keep airport runways plowed even when major highways aren't. My wife lived in Duluth for two years and she never took buses during the winter."

He looked back at his screen and said, "Okay, there's flight leaving Hartsfield at 9am, getting into Minneapolis at 12:30pm with a twenty minute stop in Chicago. Now from there I could get you on a flight to International Falls, about 30 miles away from Kabetogama, at 1:05pm. You'd get in there at 3:25."

Meiran looked at him. "Do you think you could get his parents or his sister to pick you up there?" she asked.

"Eva's home for Christmas. I think I could manage it," Wufei said thoughtfully as the travel agent typed a bit more.

"Flying all the way, then," Mr. Larson said with a smile. "That's a much better choice."

Meiran looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You okay with that?" she asked quietly, knowing her cousin's nervousness about flying.

"I'm a little worried I'll get lost in the layover," Wufei admitted. "Do I have to change plans, or is it just a stop?"

"Just a stop," Larson said. "You can even stay in the plane if you like." He looked over at Wufei. "So, should we book it?" he asked cheerfully.

"Go for it, coz," Meiran whispered. "Make him *yours*!"

"Yes, please," Wufei responded, flushing lightly. "That sounds perfect."

At eight that evening, Wufei was fairly well ensconced in his bedroom, phone in hand. The number Zechs had left with him was almost memorized already, but he checked it again as he dialed, anyway, and prayed that Zechs *wouldn't* be the one who answered the phone as it began to ring.

A female voice answered. "Hello? Marquise Jerky Cafe, may I help you?"

Wufei drew in a deep breath. "Um, may I speak to Eva Marquise, please?"

"You've got her," the voice said. "May I ask who's calling?"

"My name is..." He paused, swallowed. "I'm Chang Wufei. Ah, your brother's..."

"Wufei!" she said, "Nice to finally meet you -- if only over the phone. Well, I take it you probably want to talk to Zechs. Let me get him-"

"Wait, wait!" Wufei cried, a hand quickly waving as if it would stop her all the way from Atlanta. "No, please, I need to talk to you! He didn't hear that it was me, did he? If he did...!"

"No, he's downstairs with the twins, watching some weird martial arts film that he insisted on renting at the video store."

At THAT, Wufei was nearly gleeful. "Ah, that's good! Well, the point in my calling is that... that I miss Zechs terribly, and while I can't miss Christmas with my family, I was hoping that maybe no one would mind if I came there, Christmas Day? I want to surprise Zechs, and I..."

"Oh, *pleeease*, come," she said, interrupting him. "He's not much fun at *all* the way he is right now. Keeps talking about you, and when he isn't on the phone with you he's staring out at the snow and brooding about not being with you. By all means, *please* come up."

THAT sent a warm glow of pleasure through him, sparking up from his toes and fizzing all the way up to the very tips of his hair, he was sure. "Um, I have a flight scheduled, only I need someone to pick me up, and I think it comes in at 3:30 in the afternoon..."

"Where are you flying into?" Eva asked, "International Falls? I could meet you there. That's about an hour drive from here, with the roads the way they are."

"That's just where!" Wufei said, peering at his ticket. "That's perfect! I would really appreciate it. I..." He paused. "I want to surprise him. I want to see him *smile*...."

"Well, don't tell him I said this," she said in a conspiratorial voice, "but he wouldn't only smile. He'd fall to his knees and kiss your feet, that's what *I'm* thinking!"

"That doesn't sound too bad," Wufei admitted with a little bit of timidity. "I've been thinking the same about me! I miss him awfully, and I can't bear to stay away..."

"Then *don't*," she said simply. "Do some celebrating with your family and then get on that plane and get up here! I'm really looking forward to meeting you."

"I'm looking forward to meeting you, as well," Wufei admitted, "and the rest of your family, too. Your parents are very sweet."

"Oh yeah, they're the best," she agreed, "and Zechs is the best brother anyone could have. Now the *twins* are a different story..."

"Oh, dear..." Wufei said. "Well.. I guess I'll have to find out about that sometime! I don't have any brothers or sisters..."

"They can be a mixed blessing," she said. "Zechs is the blessing, the twins are more the mixed part! So, I'm not to tell him anything about this, right?"

"Right!" came the smiled agreement. "And I'll see you at 3:30 in the afternoon on Christmas Day, then!"

"You bet," she said, "see you then."

"Now," Wufei said sweetly, "can I talk to Zechs? I mean, if he's too interested in the movie... but... I miss him awfully!"

"Sure, just one sec -- I'll get him."

There was a long pause and then, after a minute or so, Zechs picked up the phone. "Wufei? Hi, sweet boy! How are you doing?"

"Missing you," Wufei said promptly, wishing he could bury his face in all of that long golden hair. "I hate being so far apart, but when I see you again, I know it will have been worth every minute of waiting."

"Mmm, I can't wait to have you to sleep with at night again. It's tough getting to sleep without you next to me." He laughed softly and added, "Got any snow down there, yet?"

"Not a chance," Wufei said, almost sighing. "It sounds so good just to hear your voice, Zechs. I love you. I adore you. I'm not letting you out of bed for a week when you get back..." /Or maybe when I get there, anyway!/

Growling softly, Zechs murmured, "Now *that's* the kind of threat *I* like to hear. We've got a lot of pillaging to catch up on..."

Wufei let loose a sigh, dropping back on his bed, absolutely *aching* now! "I've been thinking about you a lot, Zechs," he confessed, tentatively>reaching down. "What I want to do when you get back, how I want you to..." He trailed off, biting his lip. "I'm such a perv."

"Mmm," Zechs said, nearly purring, "I know. It's one of your best personality traits... I wish I was there right now, with you."

"Yeah," Wufei sighed. "Then, it could be your hand on my belly instead of mine, and mine could be somewhere *much* better than that!"

"Touching you so softly, and then letting my hand move down to squeeze you... oh, *God* I can almost feel it."

"Zechs..." It was a whimper as Wufei curled up, hand brushing with a certain amount of pressure over his crotch. "Mmm... I can almost feel it, too," he sighed, shivering. "I love you, Zechs..."

Zechs's own hand moved to cup the hardness between his legs and squeeze it softly. "I love you too, *sweet* boy," Zechs breathed. "What I wouldn't give to feel you under me right now... your skin would be warm beneath my lips, and I'd kiss you *everywhere*..."

"Everywhere?" Wufei asked, gasping slightly as he pulled open his zipper slowly, unable to resist. God, it was wonderfully naughty, to be doing this thing with Zechs! "When you say that, I can almost feel it. Your mouth is so soft, love," he whispered, shivering as his fingers shifted a bit closer. "Unh..."

"And I kiss down your shoulders," Zechs murmured, opening his jeans, "and find your nipples, and then I lick the tips of them and take each one into my mouth as I press against you..."

"I love it when you do that," Wufei breathed, shuddering slightly and rocking against his palm. "When you bite them and suck them and rock against me. Love to hear you moan, and to make you do it, and to feel your skin on mine..."

There was a ragged huff of breath on the other end of the line and Zechs growled, "Now I'm opening your legs... pressing them apart and nudging up against you... ohh, want to be inside you so *badly*... I'm hard and dripping wanting you so much. And I feel you begin to open..."

"And you coming in!" came the low moan, Wufei's hand sliding inside of his white cotton underpants. "Zechs! Oh, you feel so good," he whimpered, stroking himself the way he imagined Zechs would, shuddering. "I love you, Zechs!"

"Uhhhn... and you so *tight*" cam the husky reply. "Perfect, like you were made for me... ahhh..." His own shaft was out now, glistening drops smoothed over the length as Zechs pulled at it. "All the way out," he whispered, "and then in to the balls -- uhhn, you're *mine*, Wufei!"

Wufei's hips slid forward hard, propelling the hardness between his legs even faster between his fingers, soft little whines and moans spilling loose from him. "Zechs!" he managed to pant out. God, just the thought of what they were doing excited him unbearably. "I want to be yours forever, Zechs, and feel you in me and... Unh!!"

"Ahh, holding you down and fucking you *hard*, sweet boy," Zechs said, voice deep and breathy. "So deep... going so *deep*... *ahhhhn!!*" The tall blond's head was down on the desk in front of him as he came, wave after wave of fiery pleasure running through him as he filled the Wufei in his mind. "Love you... adore you..."

The heady spill that filled Wufei's palm left him trembling and half-asleep, panting slightly for breath as silence lay between them for a moment or two. "Wow," he said finally, curling around himself. "Mmmmm, Zechs, I love you an awful lot. I've never done *that* before! That was.... wow!"

"Only problem is," Zechs murmured, his voice even deeper than usual, "you can't curl up to a phone all night... ah, I *miss* you... I can't wait to see you again."

"Soon," Wufei promised, hardly able to stand keeping his secret. "It's not so long. It just FEELS like a million years..."

"I'll dream of you tonight. If you dream about me, too, maybe we can met up... Good night, sweet boy."

"Good night," Wufei murmured reluctantly, listening to the other end of the line and wanting to wait for the last minute before hanging up after Zechs. "Only four more days," he whispered to himself, sniffling slightly with loneliness. "Just four more days."

The traffic going into Hartsfield was unnaturally light, but it had been like that all the way up I-75, which had at least given Wufei less to worry about, since Meiran was driving.

"You're all packed?" she asked, even though the point was moot. "Didn't forget anything did you? Do you have the rings?"

"I've got everything," Wufei said, closing his eyes as she crossed four lanes of traffic to head for the exit. "The rings are in my carry-on with all of the Christmas presents we got his family."

"You *will* be polite, right?" she continued, careening around the exit ramp and cutting off another driver to get into the right lane for his airline. "You won't embarrass us, will you?"

"I'd die first," Wufei said, hands coming up to cover his entire face.

"I should certainly hope so," she responded simply. They drove in silence to short-term parking lot and got a space not 50 yards from the terminal. Walking in, the whole place had a rather deserted air about it. Meiran smiled in a self-satisfied way. "Now *this* is the time to fly!"

Looking around, Wufei's eyes widened slightly. "It's huge," he said solemnly, looking at the directions. Red was North, and Delta was red, so... "Ah, we're going to gate A6, so I guess we go and find the train..."

Meiran scanned the immediate area. "There's the check-in desk!" They approached a bored-looking young woman behind the counter.

"Yes," she said, as if it took great effort to speak. "May I help you?"

"Ahm, I'm going to Minnesota?" Wufei almost asked. "And I need to check my bags and things. I do that here?"

"This is the place," she said, getting up and tapping at her computer to bring it to life. "Can I see your ticket please? And why on Earth are you going to *Minnesota* in the *winter?* You must really like snow..."

"No, ma'am," Wufei said politely as Meiran pulled out his ticket and handed it over to the woman. "I'm going to visit friends. Family, sort of, I guess you could say."

As she typed in his information, she gave a soft snort. "Well if *I* were you, I'd tell my family to stick it and I'd go to Bermuda."

Meiran struggled valiantly not to laugh out loud. "Yeah, Wufei... tell 'em to stick it!"

"I don't think I'll have to tell 'em that," her cousin said, flushing darkly even as a wicked smile snuck over his lips. /With any luck, I won't have to say a thing at all and he'll *surely* 'stick it'./

"Bags?" the check-in clerk said, looking at the two of them doubtfully since one was covering up a fit of giggles and the other was brick red and smiling in a strange way.

"Two," Wufei replied, dragging his two fairly large pieces of luggage up and putting them in the little open space that seemed to be for them. "And a couple of carry-on bags."

"No more than two," the woman said, "and they have to fit in that little box over there, otherwise you'll have to check them."

"How soon does the flight leave?" Meiran asked.

"Forty minutes from gate A6," came the crisp reply, as the check-in clerk dragged Wufei's bags onto the conveyor belt behind her. That accomplished she returned to the desk, handed Wufei his tickets back, and said, "Have a good flight, and keep warm."

"Thank you," Wufei replied promptly, turning to smile at Meiran. "Well? Let's go, then."

"Right," his cousin replied. "The escalators are right over there."

From there, it was a pretty straight-forward shot...well, if not straight forward, then very easily followed. The escalators went down forever, and probably gave people afraid of such things hives. Signs pointed the way to the train that went around and deposited passengers at each terminal, so it wasn't very difficult for them to slip onto the hurtling machine, and hang onto the rails for support since the first stop was the A terminal -- and six was all the way at the end.

"Well," Wufei decided once they were about halfway there, "at least we don't have the big bags."

"This is nothing," she said. "Think about tramping miles through the snow to find his house!" Looking over at him, she grinned evilly.

"Sometimes," he said sourly, "you're just so encouraging, Mei!" He could>feel his hands shaking slightly as they got closer to A6, and he shivered a bit. "It's bad enough I'm going to be *flying*. There'll be a lot of air between me and the ground, Mei..."

"So this is where I whip out my statistics about how much safer flying is than driving," she said calmly, depositing one of the bags on a seat at the gate. "You survived getting here, didn't you? So the flight up is a piece of cake!"

If Wufei hadn't been fairly certain that he didn't want to be skinned alive, he *would* have said, 'not if they fly the way you drive'. Luckily enough, he was going to see Zechs and, as a result, was intent upon remaining in one piece long enough to do so. "If you say so," he agreed reluctantly.

They sat talking for another twenty minutes. People were slowly filtering in from unseen places to take seats in the gate area and finally a perky-looking young man came up to the counter to issue boarding passes.

Nudging Wufei, Meiran murmured, "You need to go get your boarding pass, and is it just me, or is that guy flaming like a gas grill?"

Taking a look at the other young man, Wufei had to smile. 'Flaming' was quite a good description, actually. After all, he *was* wearing a maroon beret. "Oh, my..."

"Well, go on," she whispered, nudging him again. "Tell him you need to see your boyfriend *bad*..." After saying this, she pretended to bury her head in a nearby abandoned newspaper.

With a chuckle, Wufei rose and headed for the flamingly gay man, barely able to look up at that little beret. "Ah, hi, I need to give this to you?" he half-asked.

The man smiled cheerfully. "Yes, sir," he said. As he typed in the information from Wufei's ticket he said, "Got some special Christmas plans?"

Flushing charmingly, the short Chinese man nodded. "My, um, boyfriend's in Minnesota...."

The man behind the counter gave something close to a squeal then leaned forward and asked, "Is he good looking? Tall, dark, and handsome?" He handed Wufei a boarding pass and wriggled his eyebrows impishly.

"Tall, golden, and a *god*," Wufei whispered back mischievously.

The counter clerk shivered in delight and gave Wufei a wink. "Well, go keep him warm, honey!" he whispered back and then smiled at the next man in line. "Merry Christmas sir, do you have your ticket?"

Hurrying back to Meiran, Wufei heard the announcement that his plane was ready for boarding just as he stopped in front of her. "Definitely," was all he said, winking at her. "Sounds like it's time for me to... you know."

She pointed a finger at him solemnly. "Remember -- I want details." Then she hugged him tightly and whispered, "You're going to do great, and remember -- you're going to be seeing him tonight!"

"If I don't die of heart failure going up in the air," Wufei agreed, hugging>her back tightly, momentarily afraid to let go. "I'll see you after New Year's, Mei."

"Bye!" she called as she watched him walk down the jetway, then walked to window and waited until his plane had taken off to leave. "Go get him, tiger..."

The feel of the wheels lifting off had made Wufei queasy, but the feel of them coming down had seemed even worse -- after all, there was *ice* in Minnesota, and there hadn't been any of that in Atlanta. Still, he was awfully grateful to be in International Falls, and so he gathered up his carry-on bags once they were allowed to get up and headed off of the plane, figuring that it wouldn't be *that* hard to recognize Zechs's sister.

After all, how many tall blonde goddesses could there *be* in Minnesota?

It turned out that there could be quite a lot of them! Everyone seemed to be tall and blonde, though no one seemed as beautiful to him as Zechs, and he felt well and truly lost as he stood there momentarily, trying to decide which way to go.

"You must be Wufei," a cheerful voice came from his left side. He turned to see yet another tall blond, this one a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties, at least 5'10'' with a head of thick, golden blond hair in a braid and eyes exactly like Zechs's. She held out one hand for one of his bags, the other for a shake. "I'm Eva. Welcome to the frozen North!"

"Thank you," he responded, nodding his head and looking up at her. "I'm DEFINITELY Wufei," he continued almost cheerfully, "and you've never met anybody prouder to be on the ground again!"

She laughed out loud. "Oh, no! Not much of a flyer, eh? Well, don't worry, it's all ground transportation from here on. Do you a have coat in one of these bags? We've got a real good blizzard on the way and the temperature's dropping with the wind and all. Might be good to put in on now."

"We had to go shopping for one," Wufei confessed as he began to open one of them up. "Blizzard, huh? We get those once every blue moon. The whole world turns white and, a week later, it all melts and life is back to normal. Even when it's a blizzard, though, it's nothing like up here. It's only happened twice that I can think of, at least, while I've been alive."

He *liked* Zechs's sister already. She was so easy to talk to!!!

"Well, around here the snow starts in November and doesn't fully leave until late April. We've already got two feet on the ground and this one's supposed to leave another two behind."

She looked over at him as they walked to the baggage claim area. "He's going to be out of his mind with happy when he sees you!" she said, giving him a wide smile.

"I couldn't stand another day without him," Wufei confessed, looking up at her gratefully. "Thank you SO much for coming to get me! I think I'd have moped myself stupid if I hadn't come. You parents were so nice when I met them, and Zechs is so wonderful, well, I figured the rest of you must be, too, and you've definitely proven that!"

"Aaack! Don't say things like that!" she said, turning slightly pink. "I don't take compliments well at all!" Then she laughed again. "Zechs is always saying things like that about you, though. It was so cute last night... He has this little photo album with pictures of you and of the two of you together. He was sitting on the sofa with the album in his lap, looking perfectly *miserable* so I sat down beside him and asked if he wanted to show it to me, and he said, 'Yeah,' in this little unhappy voice. So we sat there and he went through the whole thing, telling me all about you and what you were like. It was sweet. He's so far gone..."

She grinned at him.

A flush rose in Wufei's face, happiness, mostly, and his eyes fairly sparkled. "I love him," he said simply. "Really incredibly impossibly enormously..." He sighed. "I can't wait. He's so close..." He bit his lip and then grinned. "So, he loves you a lot, then, I'll bet. Sounds like he does, anyway. It must be nice, to have a sister, then."

They had arrived at baggage claim and were standing near the carousel, watching for Wufei's bags. "Well, Zechs thinks so most of the time, although when we were little he and I had one or two big spats, but we get along great as a rule. The *twins* however... I'm not sure sometimes if they appreciate having a sister. Half the time they're envious of me and the other half they treat me like I come from an alien planet -- Planet Female." She chuckled to herself and added, "They're *very* into male bonding."

At that, Wufei couldn't help but laugh. "Twins run in my family, too. A *lot*. My mother's sisters both have twins -- one has a set of girls, and another has a set of boys. Teddy and Ricky are like that, too, so far, but they're only seven, so that could change," he said, reaching out and grabbing the first of his bags. "Oh, there's another!"

"Got it!" she said, deftly snatching it from the conveyor belt. "Do you have anymore?"

"That's it. I take it we're off into the snow, now?" Wufei asked, looking around.

"Yup, my car's right out front," she said, heading off towards a pair of doors frosted over with white. "Put your hood up -- with the wind chill it's about twenty below right now."

Dutifully, Wufei pulled the warm hood up, and he was INCREDIBLY grateful for it the moment the doors opened! He gasped, shuddering and pausing momentarily as if he was going to step back from that biting cold. "My GOD!"

She smiled sympathetically at him. "It'll take a day or two and then it won't feel so bad. Oh, the snow's really coming down now..." Looking up, her face was immediately covered with graceful white flakes and she laughed at them.

She led the way to a white Land Rover which she unlocked. Stowing Wufei's bag in the back, she held the hatch open for him. "Let's get in and get that heater working, eh?"

"Y-yes, please!" Wufei replied, shivering terribly. "It's so coo~oold!"

When they were both in, Eva started up the car but not the heater. She stepped out while the engine warmed, using a long scraper to clear snow and some ice from the windshield and the side windows. Hopping back in and buckling up, she turned the heater on high and a wash of warm air filled the car. "Mmmm..." she almost purred, "*That's* why I chose this car..." Then, turning to Wufei, she grinned and said, "And we're off on Operation Zechs!"

"I don't mind suffering through ice, in that case," Wufei decided with a laugh, still shivering, and wondering how anyone could live in such cold all the time! "Anything for Zechs!"

They had cleared the city and were on the highway that would lead them to Kabetogama when Eva glanced over at him and said, in a soft voice, "You're not the type to hurt him, are you?"

For a moment, they drove on quietly before Wufei drew in a deep breath. "I thought... I was in love once, before, but I know better now. I've never been in love.. no, not *in* love, I've never *loved* anyone as much as I love Zechs. Maybe my family, but that's a different sort of love. Not the passionate forever after sleep in your arms every night and never get tired of it kind of love I have for Zechs. I suppose, if you want the truth, that I'm the sort of person who'd never give up on the person they love. Even if Zechs did something truly horrible, I would love him then, too. I'm lucky he's not that kind of person, though. He's *wonderful*, and kind and sweet and smart and sexy and..."

"Yeah, yeah!" she said, smiling and waving her hand at him. "I get the picture. No, I was just... well -- he doesn't fall for people easily, you know? He's cautious that way, but when it happens he falls *hard.* I'd hate to see him upset like he was the semester before he left for graduate school. You really don't seem like that sort of person, but neither did that last guy, so I guess I'm just feeling protective."

"I think I'd rather die than hurt Zechs," Wufei said quietly, watching the snow as they drove through it. "I think it would kill me if that happened."

She watched him for a moment, his face serious as he looked out the window. "You're a sweetie, Wufei," she said at last. "He's very lucky to have you."

"I think *I'M* lucky to have him," he replied solemnly, tilting his head to the side. "I don't think I can keep this to myself anymore," he said, reaching into his pocket for the ring boxes that he'd slid in once he'd gotten on the plane. He'd just wanted to...to *look* at them, and think about it, and he was going to die if he didn't have somebody to talk to about it soon!

Carefully, he pulled the one that was for Zechs out -- the one closest to the top of his pocket -- and opened it up. "Ah, I guess boys don't get married, but..."

Briefly, she glanced down at what he held and broke into a wide grin. "Wufei! You devil! You're going to propose to Zechsy?! That's *wonderful* Whoo hoo!!" She was laughing again, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "And who says boys don't get married?" she added. "I want to be best woman."

Wufei nearly squeaked because they were driving and she had a hand off the wheel and it was snowing! "So does my cousin Meiran!" he said with a grin.>"SHE gave him *fits* at first, but she likes him. If she didn't, it would have been a bad thing!"

"Excuse me?" Eva said in a mock tough-guy voice. "Someone's givin' *my* brother fits? Well, I may just have to meet this woman..." Another laugh and her attention was fully on the road again. "This is so great! He's going to be in *shock!*"

"Do you think he'll say yes?" Wufei asked hesitantly, already smiling and mostly certain of the answer.

Mostly.

"Once you pick him up off the floor? Yeah, I think he will." They were passing through a small town now and the small main street looked like something out of a Christmas card. "Of course, I can't speak for him, but if last night was any indication..." She winked at him. "You're a shoo-in."

Laughing, Wufei melted down in his seat slightly, shutting the ringbox. "I'm glad to hear that!" he admitted. "I know I don't have anything to worry about, but that doesn't mean that I won't worry!"

"So when are you going to ask him?" she said, wriggling her eyebrows at him in a manner disturbingly like Meiran.

It was impossible NOT to like Eva, he decided, not that he'd wanted to, anyway! "I haven't really decided, yet," he admitted sheepishly. "I had thought maybe when I first saw him, but that's not nearly romantic enough!"

A sign at the side of the road read 'Kabetogama 25 mi.'

"Hmmm..." She looked thoughtful for a long moment. "What about later tonight, in front of the Christmas tree? I could convince everyone to go to bed at the same time and you could have him all to yourself."

"Could you really?" Wufei asked, face lighting up. "That would be just *perfect*!!"

"Leave it all to me," she said with supreme confidence.

When the vehicle finally slowed down and took a left turn, it was snowing so heavily that Wufei could barely see the glowing lights filtering from the house. "We're here?" he asked excitedly, looking hard at the house.. well, as hard as the snow would allow him to look at it, anyway!

What he saw was a rambling house with a high pitched roof, necessary for keeping the snow from building up. It sprawled among a veritable forest of pines with a long gravel drive leading up to it from the road.

In the front yard, half-hidden behind a curtain of white flakes, they could make out what looked like a snowball fight going on.

"Ah, you *get* 'em, Zechs!" Eva called, sliding out of the car the moment it stopped.

Wufei nearly gasped. SNOWBALL FIGHT! It was one of those things you watched on television, not something you *did*, because even if it *did* snow, you only picked up sticks and dirt with your snow! He hurried out and automatically squeaked as cold snow soaked through his jeans the moment he took a step onto the lawn. "COLD!"

Zechs was facing away from them and had just lobbed a huge snowball across the yard, towards two teenaged boys. The sound of Wufei's voice, though, made him turn suddenly and he stood, looking dumbstruck, staring at the sight of his lover. Unfortunately this left the blond man vulnerable to attack and as he managed to get out, "W-Wufei?" a large snowball hit him smack in the side of the head.

"GOT 'IM!!!" the two teenagers crowed from the across the yard.

"Merry Christmas, Zechs," Wufei replied, unable to stop the brilliant smile spreading across his face despite the cold and all of the snow drifting down around him.

Zechs was still looking stunned as he began to walk towards him, but within moments a smile began to take over where shock had been and he took the last few steps at a run, grabbing the Chinese man around the waist, picking him up, and spinning him around several times. "Wufei!! What in God's name are you *doing* here?"

Laughing, Wufei buried his face against Zechs's, the blond man's cheeks flushed and warm despite the cold, his arms going tightly about Zechs's neck. "I couldn't stand another day without you," he whispered. "Not even another minute! Meiran helped me buy my ticket and everything!"

Zechs leaned down and captured Wufei's mouth in a long, lingering kiss. "Oh, love," he whispered against soft lips, "you don't know what this means to me... everything is perfect now that you're here..."

From behind them, they could hear footsteps crunching in the snow.

"Hey, Carl?" a voice asked.

"Yeah, Tori?" another one asked right back to the first.

"I think our snowfight's done with."

A momentary pause sounded as the kissing kept right on. "You don't say."

Zechs didn't pay attention to them at first, too caught up in savoring the taste of his lover to do anything but hold tightly to Wufei.

"This is disgusting," Carl complained. "Come on, Z -- you *are* in public now."

Neither of the men showed any sign of letting up, though, and Tor sighed. "I think their lips froze together," he noted, shaking his head so that blond hair fell all around his face. "I mean... LOOK at them!"

Zechs broke away long enough to say, "Wufei? Would you like to meet my brothers? Maybe then they'll shut up..."

"That sounds good," Wufei answered huskily, his mind very *obviously* still on Zechs's lips and kissing him again.

Blushing a bit, Zechs turned to where the two boys were standing. They were identical in every way, except for the clothes they wore, with hair the color of Zechs's and eyes the darker blue of their mother's. They stood solemnly now, with identical expressions on their faces, hands in their coat pockets, regarding Wufei with mild suspicion.

"Wufei, these are my brothers, Carl," the boy in the dark blue jacket nodded to him, "and Tor -- we call him Tori." The other boy, whose jacket was dark green, inclined his head exactly as far as the other had.

"Carl and Tori," Zechs continued, "meet Wufei."

"Ah, hi," Wufei said, flushed as much from the cold as from Zechs's kisses. "It's nice to meet you!"

For a moment, it seemed that they'd both just say nothing, but then Tori nodded slowly. "Yep," he drawled, a little smile sneaking over his lips. "Zechs's boyfriend is definitely Southern! Say something again!"

"He sounds like that guy in Cape Fear!" Carl whispered to his twin. "They really *do* talk that way!"

Tori nodded eagerly in agreement.

"Hey!" Zechs said, looking stern, "you're being rude. Knock it off!"

"No, no! It's all right! I don't mind! But," Wufei said, "I haven't seen whatever you're talking about. So long as there are no Deliverance comparisons, I guess I can live."

"Yeah, you even survived a trip with *Eva* driving," Tori said with a nod. "Women, huh?"

"I could drive rings around you in *any* kind of weather and you know it!" came an incensed female voice from behind them. Eva had gathered both bags from the car and was now standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at her younger brothers, who nearly yipped and scuttled into the house.

"Way to go, *woman,*" Zechs grinned, still not letting go of Wufei. "And I assume you were in on this little scheme?"

"A proud co-conspirator," she said with a pleased air. "And now if you two lovebirds will excuse me, I'm going to go explain to Mom why there will be *seven* at dinner tonight." With a wink, she was off, with Wufei's bags no less, leaving them alone in the snow.

"Thank you *so* much," Zechs whispered as he nuzzled close again for another kiss. "You don't know how miserable I've been without you..."

"I cried all the way home from the airport," Wufei confessed before he stole Zechs's lips thoroughly.

"Yep," Tori observed, from the front door. "Our target's gone. That's okay though, eh, Carl?" That said, he stuffed a handful of snow up beneath his twin's parka and down his pants.

Carl gave a shriek and, when he'd recovered, chased Tori back into the house.

"It's not the most romantic of places at the moment," Zechs murmured against his lover's lips, "but at least you're *here*... that's all the matters." And with that, he wrapped his arms tightly around Wufei and kissed him until they were both completely out of breath.

"I missed you terribly," Wufei confessed, kissing him one more time, "but it's FREEZING out here!! Let's go inside, Zechs?"

Zechs gave him a grin, their foreheads pressing together. "Weather wimp," he said affectionately. "Come on inside..."

They walked to the door and as Zechs opened it a wave of warm air, spiced with some savory cooking smell came to them. The house itself was even larger on the inside than it looked outside, with a wide, spacious front hall, an open wooden staircase going up to the top level and down to a lower level.

They stowed their coats, Wufei's shoes and Zechs's snowboots along one wall of the entryway that was given over to a row of coathooks with a line of boots beneath them. Then Zechs led the way through a large family room, with a cheerful fire in it's open hearth, into the equally large kitchen. The twins were hanging around their mother, who was testing a big clove-studded ham near the stove and batting away their fingers with practiced ease.

She turned when they came in and broke into a wide smile. "Wufei! Dear! How wonderful that you could come up and spend some time with us! You must be *freezing*, poor dear, not used to our winters. Well, come in, come in. There's hot cocoa ready and I'll have some appetizers out of the oven in no time. Come on, don't be shy sit down!" All during this she had advanced on him and bustled him over to the long, wooden dining table where she sat him down and patted him gently on the arm. "Such a long way you've had to travel!"

"It was the first time I'd ever been in a plane!" Wufei confessed, letting her hug him and hugging her back. "And it was snowing so when we came down that I got awfully paranoid, because I just knew that thing wouldn't be able to come to a halt because something had to have frozen. I'm frozen," he said with a shiver, grateful to be seated and to have a hot cup of cocoa put in his hands. "I'm so sorry if I'm intruding, I should have warned you, but I was so excited, and I didn't want Zechs to know, and I forgot to have Eva tell you, ma'am." All of that tumbled out quickly, and he looked sheepishly at his cup.

"Intruding? Why, you couldn't intrude, dear -- you're practically family! And Zechs is smiling for once, instead of looking so glum like he has been." She headed back over to the stove. "No, no -- we're thrilled to have you."

"He can do the dishes after dinner, eh?" Carl said to Tori.

"Yah, instead of us!" Tori quipped back as both boys grinned at each other.

"Just try skipping out on it and I'll sic Eva on you," Zechs growled.

At that, Wufei had to laugh, for both boys turned eyes on them that were so much like Zechs's it wasn't funny, bright blue and wii~iide as if that were a true threat.

"C'mon, Zechs," Tori teased, "You don't need *that* much time for kissing!"

"Now, boys," their mother scolded, "just you wait 'til you have someone you like kissing. Then you'll understand."

Tori was the first twin to blush bright red.

"Yeah," Zechs said smiling, a slightly odd tone in his voice, "just wait..."

Wufei laughed again, shaking his head, black strands of hair falling into those lovely almond-shaped eyes. "Hmm, Meiran would enjoy knowing your brothers, Zechs," he chuckled. "She'd have someone to torture for a LONG time!"

"The last thing we need here is another *girl,*" Tori said with a solemn face, and Carl nodded immediately.

"Watch it buddy," Zechs said, "that person over there *cooking your dinner* is a girl. You want to eat tonight?"

"She's *MOM*," Tori stressed, shaking his head. "That's a whole different thing!"

"I don't know if I've just been insulted or complemented," Ingrid said without even turning around. "Boys, put this bread on the table, and the pot of cheese and Zechs? Could you go fetch the lutefisk for us, please?"

She handed Carl a loaf of fragrant brown bread, just out of the oven, and Tori a small china crock of some soft, white cheese. She carried plates and a jar of homemade pickled beets to the table while Zechs disappeared into a walk-in pantry and came out with a sealed crock, which he placed on the table.

"How do you feel about lutefisk, Wufei?" he asked under his breath.

"What *is* lutefisk?" Wufei whispered back, honestly bewildered as the two younger boys went about setting the table.

"You probably would be more willing to eat it if you didn't know," Zechs said thoughtfully. "It's cod, soaked in lye. Some Norwegian men have been known to have orgasms when it's mentioned," he continued, "but you'll notice that they only eat it once a year at Christmas." He looked frankly into his lover's eyes. "I suggest you get drunk before you eat any."

"Drunk?" Wufei whispered back a bit frantically. "At your mother's table!?" As if he would do such a thing! No, no, he'd suffer through the lutefisk and be a man about it. After all, NOTHING could be as bad as chitterlings. NOTHING.

"Hey, so, Wufei's going to have the lutefisk, huh?" Tori asked, smirking slightly from across the table.

Carl hid a smile and leaned over, whispering something in his twin's ear.

"You don't have to eat any if you don't want to, dear," Ingrid said soothingly, giving Wufei another pat on the arm.

Zechs was scowling at his younger brothers. "Try the bread, hon. It's Swedish limpa bread, it's great."

"*No* one makes limpa like Mom," came a voice from the doorway. Eva walked in and sat down at the table opposite Zechs and Wufei. "What are *you* two sniggering about?" she asked the twins suspiciously.

"Nothing, Mom!" Tori replied angelically. He seemed so innocent, in fact, that it was a miracle there wasn't a halo -- albeit crooked -- over his head.

Wufei decided that he was *very* nervous about that!

"If they try to get you to eat the lutefisk," Eva said to Wufei, "just ignore them."

"Hey!" Carl protested, "how can he be a part of the family if he doesn't eat lutefisk?"

"Yah, he's gotta prove he can be an honorary Norwegian," Tori added, nodding vigorously.

Zechs leaned over and whispered in his lover's ear, "Don't do it!"

"Don't worry," Wufei replied in an equally soft voice. "I'll make sure to give them something really horrible at a later date. It'll be okay." Well, MAYBE he'd survive.

"It's your tastebuds," Eva murmured, wrinkling her nose.

"Mom, do you have any potatoes ready so Wufei can eat lutefisk?" Tori asked his mother eagerly.

A plate of warm mashed potatoes was put in front of Wufei, along with some bacon and mustard.

"You just take a hunk and mash it in with your potatoes there," Carl instructed.

"Then add some of the fat part of the bacon," Tori continued.

"And some mustard along with it," his twin finished.

"I repeat," Zechs said in a quiet voice. "Don't. Do it."

"Are they telling me the right way to eat it?" Wufei asked.

Tori looked a bit indignant. "There's only one way to eat lutefisk!"

"I can't believe he's going to eat it," Eva laughed.

At this point Zechs could only shake his head. "Mom," he said, not moving his head from his hands, "Can you bring over a big glass of water..."

Carl opened the crock of lutefisk.

"Trust me," Wufei said, despite the stench. /It could be worse,/ he reminded himself. /Think about pig's feet. Think about cow brains scrambled with eggs./ Bravely, he reached out and found a fork, pillaging about in the lutefisk crock before pulling out a small chunk of it. "Just to make sure there's plenty left for *you* guys," he noted dryly as he began to squish the fish up into his mashed potatoes.

Wordlessly, Eva rose and searched for a glass as their mother shook her head and laughed softly, going back to getting dinner on the table.

"Okay," Tori said, "now the bacon and the mustard."

"What's going on in here?" a deep voice came from behind Eva. She turned and smiled at her father who had just come into the kitchen from somewhere else in the house. "Oh, no -- Wufei! Good to see you but... you're going to try *lutefisk*?"

Zechs let out a small groan and simply shook his head.

"Yes, sir," Wufei replied cheerfully enough. "I'd like to say that it can't be THAT bad, but the reactions seem to be telling me that it must be. *Still*..." He raised a black eyebrow, smiled at Zechs, smiled at the twins. /I'll die before I so much as flinch,/ he decided, adding the crumbled bacon and mustard. "Like so?"

"Just like that," Carl agreed, seeming to almost dance even as he remained still. Oh, the look on Zechs's boyfriend's face would be so PRICELESS!

Six pairs of very blue eyes watched hesitantly as he mixed in the remaining ingredients. Zechs tried very hard not to wince.

"So, does that look about right?" Wufei asked, looking at Carl and Tori across the table.

"Pretty much perfect!" Carl agreed, nodding.

"I'd say it's just right," Tori replied with a smile.

That having been said, Chang Wufei knew that there was nothing for it. /Do what Meiran would do if she was here, Chang!/ he told himself as he lifted a good forkful and stared at it for a second. /Be a man!/ Well, not that Meiran would be a man, but still! That decision made, he very self-consciously took a bite, aware of all of those bright blue eyes watching every motion even as he smiled, chewed patiently and swallowed.

It was the most awful stuff he'd ever tasted in his *LIFE*!!! If he hadn't been so damned determined, he would have spit it right back out, in fact, because he wasn't that fond of fish to start with. He took another bite, though, and looked across the table at Carl and Tori with a smi~ile. "Not bad," he managed to say before taking a third.

They all, including Zechs, were watching him with astonishment. He hadn't made one sound, not one indication that the wretched taste had gotten through.

Carl nudged Tori and they looked significantly at each other. "Well, Mom -- I guess we know what Wufei's having for dinner," he said.

"Yah," Tori chimed in, "have another piece, Wufei!"

"No, thanks," Wufei replied. "I'm not that fond of fish. Besides... I want to be sure that there's plenty left for you guys." And he really DESPERATELY wanted Dr. Pepper or something to wash that nasty taste out of his mouth before he fell over dead with the smile still attached to his face!

Zechs grinned at him, holding the water glass. "Well, I guess you probably don't need this, either, you handled that so well..."

The gleaming look in those black eyes promised an almost imminent death -- well, all right, maybe just a beating. "Actually, I'd appreciate having it. Or maybe something with sugar." /Lots of sugar. Lots and lots and *LOTS* of sugar,/ he thought with an inner shudder.

"For that, here," Eva said cheerfully, handing him the Coke she'd just opened. "I can't believe you didn't flinch!"

"Quite the man," said Carl, shaking his head and cutting more bread for himself and Tori.

"Quite the man," Tori agreed, nodding his head. "Dad, I think he's earned 'Honorary Norwegian'," and Carl nodded.

"Oh, yah -- I think he's earned that," Gunnar agreed.

Unfortunately, Wufei missed the whole thing -- he was busily emptying the can Eva had handed him, and the temptation to gasp once he had drunk enough to kill some of the taste was great. "Just wait," he promised when he finished. "If you like this, I'm sure you'll *love* chit'lin's." He smiled at Zechs angelically. "Your brothers *can* come visit, right? And we can feed them some?" He really hoped Zechs remembered Mueller the Moron's fiasco with the pig intestines.

"I think that would be an *excellent* idea," Zechs said, "and *I* want to be there when they try them."

Eva was finishing up a small dish of beets. She pointed her fork at Wufei. "Give 'em your *worst.* They deserve it."

"Enough, everyone!" Ingrid called from the stove. "No more dares -- help me set the table for dinner."

"Yes, ma'am," both twins carolled cheerfully, and everything became a bustle of energy as the family settled in to eat.

It was nearly three hours later before Wufei had Zechs to himself, Eva bustling the twins off to bed despite their protests of wanting to 'play just one more game of FF7!' and winking at Wufei as the older Marquises headed for the kitchen for Gunnar's cup of coffee, leaving Zechs and Wufei blessedly alone in the living room.

Zechs let his head fall back on the sofa and closed his eyes briefly. "Thank *God* they've all gone..." He cracked an eye open and looked over at his lover. "You were utterly *amazing* this evening," he murmured. "A true culinary pioneer."

"If you ever feed me that stuff again," Wufei told him, "I think my balls will shrivel up into raisins. That was the second most awful thing I've ever eaten. Well, right after Mueller's pig intestines..."

Zechs laughed. "Oh, well -- seeing as I'm rather fond of that part of your anatomy, I will defend you from every lutefisk crock we come across for the rest of our lives." He shook his head ruefully. "I *did* warn you..."

"You did *indeed*," Wufei agreed, shifting closer and laying his head on Zechs's shoulder. "But I had to be a man, or your brothers wouldn't have approved. That's important to me. Like standing up to Meiran would be for you!"

"Oh, yah -- could you imagine those three meeting?" Zechs mused and then started to laugh again. The he leaned over and kissed Wufei's forehead. "I really can't begin to tell you how happy I am that you're here."

Nervously, Wufei shifted, loving the feel of Zechs's lips. "I've got your Christmas present with me, Zechs," he said softly as he heard his lover's parents heading upstairs.

"Mmm... and I have yours, as well," Zechs said smoothly. "Is it time for presents?"

"I think I'll pop and die if I have to wait any longer," Wufei confessed. "I mean, it was all I could do to wait this long!"

"This sounds intriguing," Zechs said with a wry smile. "Okay -- you first."

It took a minute -- his hands were shaking, so it was hard to get the little velvet box out of his pocket without some difficulty -- but he finally managed it, and opened it slowly, watching Zechs's face. "I..." He paused thoughtfully. "I love you, Zechs. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see when I go to sleep at night, even when I'm so old I can't get in and out of the bathtub by myself. I want to be with you always, Zechs, and... and this is what that's for. Marriage is marriage, even if it's only in the heart. Zechs... will you?"

At first, the blond man seemed to have not heard him. Zechs was staring down at the ring, glowing in its box, his expression completely blank. Then his eyes began to shine and quiver just the slightest bit. One blink of golden lashes and a single tear fell from his eyes to the leg of the jeans he wore. In a broken whisper, he said, "I can't imagine any better gift... Wufei." Then he looked up into the dark, almond eyes. "Yes," he said, barely audible. "Yes, I will. Can you... put in on me?" The hand he held out was trembling severely.

For a moment, they fumbled with the ring, Wufei's fingers shaking almost too badly to put it on him, but he managed to get it there, lips moving to kiss away the tiny trail of wetness on Zechs's cheek. "I love you, Zechs. I love you so much... I've never been happier, ever, than knowing that you said yes!"

Long arms gathered Wufei up and for several moments Zechs just held him close. "I'll love you forever... I promise you I'll never stop." He pulled back just a bit and frowned. "But... *you* need a ring, too."

"It's in my other pocket," Wufei confessed, reaching a hand back to pull it out. "I've been toting them around since the day after you left. Meiran went with me, and helped me to get the right sizes. It fits perfectly, doesn't it?" he asked, looking carefully at Zechs's hand. "And it's beautiful on your hand."

Zechs leaned his forehead against Wufei's. "*You're* the one who fits perfectly," he said softly. "Now, hand over that box..."

With a shaky laugh, Wufei handed him the box, hand caressing over Zechs's as he opened it. "I love you." It just seemed to spill out of him at every moment, joy rapturous and written in his every motion.

Zechs took the other ring out the box and slipped it carefully onto Wufei's finger. Then he sat back, smiling at the sight of the two bands gleaming up at them. "Thank you so much, Wufei. You've made me so happy..."

"I want to always make you happy," Wufei replied, laying his head on Zechs's shoulder. He felt so *good*, so just right, and it almost made him feel as though he was glowing!

Zechs sighed a bit. "My present will seem so... *boring* after this," he murmured. "Still, it's along the same lines, I suppose..." He winked at his lover and whispered in his ear, "I slipped out of the dining room during dinner, remember? I hid your present on the tree."

"Can I look for it now?" Wufei whispered back, gaze darting over to the ornament covered tree. "Do I get a clue? This will be great!" Fun, Wufei knew, and anything from Zechs was so wonderful!

"No hints -- that would be too easy -- well, other than to say it's *not* an ornament. It *is* however, hanging from a branch."

Zechs gave Wufei a broad grin. It was a bit of a challenge, given that the tree was a large Douglas fir and about ten feet tall. Still, Wufei was a bright boy, and he laughed quietly, kissing Zechs before standing up and beginning to look on the tree. Chances were, Zechs would have hidden the present at eye level....

"You know the wonderful part of this," Zechs said leaning back against the sofa cushions, "is that I get to admire your saucy figure while you look."

"Saucy??" Wufei said, almost laughing. "Now I'm *saucy*???" he asked, looking through the tree. A wooden mouse... a little pine cone...a wooden basketball goal with wooden mistletoe... a hockey stick disguised as a candy cane...

"Absolutely saucy," Zechs said. "There are parts of you that just cry out to be groped... and *squeezed* and *fondled*... so hurry up and find that present so we can get down to something seriously biological." He wiggled his eyebrows at the Chinese boy and smirked.

THAT sounded incredibly good, so Wufei kept up his search, looking, looking...

When he found it, it was nearly hidden, and he gasped, mouth open wide. "Oh, Zechs!!!" He managed to get out a little laugh, pure joy. "I think we were thinking the same thing...!" Turning, he dangled the set of brand new keys from his red ribbon, little bits of pretty paper declaring them 'house keys'. "I love you!" he cried, flinging himself at the other man.

Wrapping his arms around Wufei, Zechs beamed. "I love you, too," he said, "and I'm tired of sharing you with Mueller. No more duffle bags or missing toothbrushes or half your clothes somewhere else." He pulled back far enough to look his lover in the eyes. "*You* are *mine* and you're going to stay *put* -- with me where you belong." Pressing his forehead against Wufei's he said, "Understand?"

"For the rest of my life," Wufei promised in a whisper, shifting to lightly capture Zechs's lips, the play of sweet lingering touch infinitely tender.

At the top of the stairs, shrouded in darkness, Tori turned to his brother, eyes not moving from the two men on the sofa. "So you think they're going to have like... a *wedding* or something?" he whispered.

Carl snorted. "That would be girly," he whispered back. "Anybody who eats lutefisk and doesn't flinch *isn't* girly."

"Yah, that's true," Tori reflected. "But what about that *ring* he gave Z?"

"Well..." Carl paused. "Maybe that was girly, but he said somebody named Meiran was with him. Maybe he was going to buy a tie-tack and she made him do it. I'd buy a ring if Eva made me," he admitted.

"Let's hope they never meet up when we're around!" Tori whispered with great concern. "*That* would be *scary*!"

A delicate shudder crept down the spine of his twin. "Girls."

Tori nodded vigorously then looked over at his brother. "We... we should go to bed, yah?"

The smile his brother gave him was pure wickedness. "Unless you want to keep watching, yah."

In the darkness, Tori turned pink. "They're not going to do anything down *there* -- out in the open! Are they?"

"Better safe than sorry," his twin whispered.

"And," came a firm womanly voice, "better in bed than caught by *them*." Eva grinned. "So get to bed, you two!"

Tori jumped at the sound of her voice and then got up and scurried towards the room he shared with Carl. He looked back and, seeing his brother with a stunned 'deer-in-the-headlights look', ran back, grabbed Carl's hand and pulled him up.

Laughing softly, Eva shook her head, glanced down the stairs once again at the two still kissing on the couch and utterly unaware of their audience, and headed back to her room.

Owari

(:./kumiko/ldays8)