30 Apr 2001
TITLE: Harvest Home
AUTHOR: kumiko & tzigane (guilty as charged)
PART: 1/3, Story 6 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 ^_~
C&C: If you feel the urge ^_^
The morning air was crisp, clean, the sky such an incredibly clear blue that it seemed almost as if such a color could not exist. Gold leaves shuddered, reaching for the sky before tumbling down in tremulous showers to irritate the owners of lawns and gardens alike, little rains that definitely aggravated one very nervous Chang Wufei.
"AGH! I *just* swept off the porch!" Wufei told the tree, shaking a fist at it. "They'll be here any minute and you keep making a MESS!"
"Would a cup of coffee make you stop yelling at the poor thing?" a voice behind him asked. Then the hinted-at cup appeared from above him, the hand that held it shaking just a bit.
"Two or three Valium would be better," Wufei said, reaching for it and taking it with his own trembling fingers. "I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous. Are you sure your parents won't mind coming to Thanksgiving dinner with us? I mean, I know they agreed and all, but... I'm just really nervous."
"No -- they'll be fine, really," he looked at Wufei, trying to exude an air of confidence but not quite succeeding. "Oh, come on --" he added, "we're both worried but really, how bad could it be? A couple of Scandinavians from Minnesota and some Chinese from Georgia..." His voice trailed off and he ran a hand through long bangs. "God, what *were* we thinking...?"
His shorter lover was slightly pale as he sank down into a rocking chair, grateful for the sweater he was wearing. It was nippy out, and maybe if he thought about the weather instead of...
That wasn't going to help a bit, Wufei decided with a deep sigh. "I'm more worried about what my dad will think. I'm worried about what *your* dad will think. What does your mother think?" he asked. /Oh, Lord, I sound like some kind of babbling idiot...!/
Zechs perched on the railing of the porch and sipped his coffee, clinging a bit tighter to the mug than he usually did. "Oh, my *mother* won't be a problem. The only thing she's likely to fuss about is whether everyone gets enough to eat and if we're wearing our coats when we go outside and, maybe, if we get some exercise after dinner." Taking another long sip, he frowned thoughtfully and continued. "My father, on the other hand, probably won't say more than a few words the whole time. He's a true Minnesotan."
Looking over at Wufei he smiled in complete empathy. "Have you talked to your mom about this?"
Wufei shook his head, looking guilty. "I told Aunt Mei, though, so I'm sure she knows. What one knows..."
"...the other knows," Zechs murmured. "Well, there's always the idea of taking her aside beforehand -- you'd still have time." He paused. "Unless you think that would make it worse..."
"No," Wufei replied. "I will. I mean, that's a good idea, it is, and hopefully my grandmother won't be too nosy. She can't stand a secret." For that matter, secrets drove Wufei crazy, too. "I'm nervous," he sighed, standing up and moving to wrap both arms around Zechs, careful with his coffee cup.
Zechs set his own cup down on the railing and put his arms tight around the smaller man. "I know you don't believe it now, but this *will* be all right, I just *know.* It won't be easy or even pleasant, probably, but I think, in the end, it'll be okay." He pulled back just enough to get a good look at Wufei's face. "Have I told you how gorgeous and brave I think you are, and that I love you to pieces and worship your body and all that other fluffy romantic stuff?"
"Yeah," Wufei admitted sheepishly. "Before we even crawled out of bed this morning. I love you, too, Zechs, so much..."
Zechs nuzzled against Wufei's neck and then looked down at him. "Well, the place is spotless, we've shopped for dinner, we've done the laundry and put away all the naughty pictures... what do we do now?"
"Mmmm, pray real hard," Wufei told him, leaning up and stealing a kiss.
Zechs kissed him back, making it linger and running his fingers over Wufei's throat and neck. "I could think of ways to distract you..." he murmured.
"Our parents are going to be here in minutes," Wufei mumbled against Zechs's lips as they found his own. "I'd love that, but I don't think any of them would take it really well..."
"Spoilsport," Zechs teased and took another long kiss. "Mmmm... so your grandparents are really okay with the invasion of Northerners tomorrow?"
"They think it's cute," Wufei informed him. "You know. 'Our little angel is bringing home a *friend*!' and all that."
Zechs laughed and tickled him under the chin. "Aw... are you really their little angel? I can't wait to see you with them. I bet it'll be like watching you when you were ten or something like that!"
"Zechs!" Wufei couldn't help himself -- he laughed, leaning up and kissing Zechs one more time before parting and dropping back into his rocker. "I hope everything goes okay. You're gonna *love* Grandma's dressing."
"Yeah?" Zechs said, "let me guess... um, cornbread, sage, and sausage?"
"Nuh-uh," Wufei told him. "It's a secret. And... sausage?" he grinned. "Is that how you Yankees make it?" A slight dig in the ribs, obviously teasing.
"Do I *qualify* as a Yankee?" Zechs said, looking pleased. "I always thought only New Englanders got to be Yanks. Will I be tarred and feathered soon? Run out of town?"
"Just run on a rail," Wufei promised. "Mine." >)
Zechs grinned broadly at him. "Oh, in *that* case, bring it *on*!"
The sound of a car turning onto the street brought black eyes nervously around as it passed by -- a green car, not the maroon of his parents' Volvo. "Maybe once I've had that talk with my dad," he promised, settling back.
"Just make sure he's out of the room, first," Zechs added, winking at Wufei.
And at that, Wufei had to laugh -- laugh or cry today, it seemed to him, and he was a bundle of nerves. Maybe the coffee hadn't been a good idea. Maybe some sedatives would be *much* better... "I'll try!"
Zechs felt a wave of empathy go out to his nervous lover. He remembered being in this same state before he told his own parents. "You know," he said softly, "I'm really looking forward to meeting your Mom and Dad. It'll be interesting to see if I can spot you in them."
That brought Wufei's smile back, and his attention, as well. "You'll know the minute you look at my father. The words 'spitting image' come to mind. And my mom..." His smile broadened. "Yeah. You'll know." He believed Zechs would know anything. Everything...
"I'm sure if they're anything like you at all, I'm going to really like them," Zechs said. "*Especially* if they have your wonderful accent."
"My mom sounds kind of like me. My dad sounds like..." Wufei laughed. "Um, like Jackie Chan, sort of."
Zechs laughed. "No -- say it isn't so! I didn't think even Jackie Chan sounded like Jackie Chan! So the South didn't rub off on him, eh?"
Dark eyes bright, his lover shook his head, lips curving into a smile. "Not too much. His patients think it's adorable, except sometimes they have to ask the nurses 'what that nice doctor' just said." He laughed a bit at that. "Drives Dad crazy, or it used to, but he's mellowed a whole lot over the years, so it doesn't bother him so much now."
"I forgot you said he was a doctor," Zechs said, draining lukewarm coffee from his mug. "What's his specialty?"
Wufei gave a slow, almost vicious grin. "Gynecology. Don't ask ME how he can do it. I'd go blind if I had to look at those all day!"
Nearly spitting his coffee out, Zechs put a hand over his mouth and stifled a laugh. It took a moment for him to able to swallow the stuff, during which time he covered his face with a hand, trying gallantly not to spit it all over the porch (and Wufei). "Don't ever do that again," he choked out. "Not just after I take a sip!"
"Soo~oorry," Wufei said, even though he wasn't *really* very sorry about it at all. He was smiling, anyway, and not worrying anymore, at least until the sound of a car in the driveway caught his attention. "They're here," he said nervously, shivering suddenly.
Zechs gave silent thanks that he didn't have coffee all over his shirt and turned to see the car pulling into the drive that led to the side and back of the house. He could see his mother, through the back window, beaming at him and waving. There was no denying her -- he had to wave back.
"Well, let's get this show on the road," Wufei told him, sitting his cup down on the little table they kept between their rockers and heading down the steps as his parents got out of the car, the back doors opening, as well.
Wufei had told the truth when he'd said he looked like his father -- they looked very much alike, of similar height and build, and his mother was even shorter, the three of their voices raising in a cacophony of happiness even as Zechs's parents slid out of the car, catching Wufei's attention.
"My God! Zechs! They're..." Giants, Wufei wanted to say. "They look just like you!" he finished, beaming suddenly, and they *DID*, actually!
Zechs smiled at everyone, allowing Wufei to slip past him to greet his parents while he walked to where his own stood and was dragged into a hug by his mother.
"You're looking underfed," she said simply, a little teary with happiness and reluctant to let him go. His father stood by, smiling calmly, not saying a word until his wife had finished the hug. Zechs put out a hand and his father took it, then wrapped an arm around him and gave him a couple of manly slaps on the back. "How's it goin', son?" he said.
"Great, Dad," Zechs answered, grinning at his mother. "I hope your trip was okay."
"Oh, it was," his mother said, then leaned in to whisper, "they're real nice people, hun."
"Your grandmother is expecting us!" Wufei's mother said, her own accent delicately Southern and strangely tinged with Chinese. "Your Aunt Mei tried to convince me she should come here, but I told her no, no, we would be home soon, and then tomorrow, we'll eat 'til we all burst and, if I'm any judge..." Twinkling eyes fell on Zechs and Wufei *blushed*. "We'll be watching football tomorrow, no?"
"Football is only one big man trying to kill another very big man," Wufei's father sighed, shaking his head. He grinned, then, though, ruffling Wufei's hair all out of its ponytail. "This is why it is so much fun to see, yes? These giants. Your friend, his parents are very nice. Very *tall*, but very nice. Most excellent, son."
"Daa~aad!" Wufei couldn't help but laugh, and he kissed both of them, hugging them closely, perhaps even a little too much, but almost completely from fear that tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to hug them at all.
Zechs's mother leaned close to him and whispered, "They seem to think we're abnormally tall."
Zechs stifled a laugh and whispered back, "To them, we *are*." Then, in a normal voice he said, "Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Wufei." Waving his arm at his lover, he led them over to where the Chang family was embracing. "Wufei, these are my parents -- my Mom, Ingrid, and my Dad, Gunnar."
Suddenly shy, Wufei nodded and smiled, eyes shining. They WERE awfully big, but that only went to figure. After all, Zechs was pretty big, too, and that was a most wonderful thing -- a *MOST* wonderful thing! "It's very nice to meet you," he said solemnly, heart framming in his chest. "These are *my* parents -- my daddy, Kyu-Sung, and my mother, Xian."
Dark gaze much like her son's peered up at Zechs. "But most people just call me Zee. Kids had a hard time saying Xian in elementary school when I was young." She smiled at him. "I'll bet Zechs got you lots of trouble in high school, though!"
"Zee!!" Wufei's father said, flushing slightly, but smiling all the same, particularly when he saw the expression on *Zechs's* face.
"Um -- yes, actually I did," Zechs said, not at all expecting the comment from such a sweet looking lady. He smiled at her. "But then I went through a growth spurt and they stopped it."
She nodded, grinning up at Zechs's mother. "I can see why," she told her, nodding again. "Your son *is* a sweet boy. Isn't that nice, Wufei?" she asked, turning and winking at her son.
"Um, yes, ma'am," he replied, still standing next to his father. "He's a very sweet boy, and it's really nice!" /Really, really, really nice, when he's sweet and even when he's not...!/
"Well," Zechs said, feeling his cheeks redden, "why don't you all come inside? You must be tired after all that driving."
"Nice of the Changs to drive us," said his mother, obviously the talkative one in the family.
His father nodded and said, "Mmhmm -- very nice."
"Mom, Mrs. Chang -- let me get your bags for you," Zechs said, wriggling his eyebrows at Wufei after his father's back was turned.
"Oh, don't worry about those things, sweetheart," Zee told him with a smile. "We'll just take them on to my momma's house. Isn't that right, pumpkin?"
"Yes, ma'am," Wufei replied, following Zechs around to the trunk. "Daddy, have you got the keys?"
"Yes, yes," his father replied, hurrying towards them. "In my pocket. We will get their luggage. Your mother, she packs the same as always, you know. Many bags, boys. Many." That was said with a certain twinkle in his eye, as if he knew what response that would gain him -- if not now, then later.
"Well, then, I'll grab Mom and Dad's," Zechs said, reaching in and taking out two dark blue suitcases. "It's this way," he said over his shoulder, and headed up the porch to the side of the house.
"Lovely house, honey," his mother murmured, looking up at the old place.
"Mmmhm," his father agreed, carrying a camera case from the trunk.
Wufei had rearranged the bags in the back and was scurrying after them, his parents following. "Sweetheart, you didn't mention that your friend was living in the old Lennox house," she said as they approached.
"Ma'am?"
"The Lennox house," she said again. "You know, they moved it over from that little town half a county over to restore it. Beautiful old house. I didn't know they'd split it up into apartments!"
Unsure of whether this was a critical comment, Zechs decided to say nothing for the moment. "Right in here," he murmured, opening the side door and carrying his parents' bags inside.
"Oh my," Ingrid breathed, gazing up at the tall ceiling and glowing wood staircase of the foyer. "Isn't this expensive, dear?"
"I got a good deal, Mom. You remember -- Professor Noin helped me find it."
"Good woman," said Gunnar.
Zechs grunted.
Wufei felt like grunting, too -- for one thing, Professor Noin set his teeth on edge. For another, he didn't like Zechs grunting. He liked Zechs the way he was, sweet, and willing to talk, and utterly wonderful.
"They've done a beautiful job," Zee murmured. "I was afraid they wouldn't do it right, but they have. It must be awfully nice to live here, hm?" Her eyes were on her son, and they gleamed with a certain knowledge. "I know how you are about these things, Wufei."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied solemnly. "They've done a beautiful job, converted some of the bedrooms and other smaller rooms into large bathrooms, really. The second floor ballroom was difficult for them, I think. They ended up leaving it alone and just locking it up. It made the second floor kind of small, with only one apartment, so they did the same with the third, since the ceilings are low up there. Only the first floor is cut up into two apartments, because the rooms were so big."
Kyu-Sung was smiling at that, already. "This boy of mine, he will make an excellent historian and restorer. I have never had any doubts about him."
THAT made Wufei feel even more guilty, and nervous. He didn't ever want to disappoint his father, and the fear that he would... well, it was intense.
Zechs gave him a smile that he hoped was reassuring. "Oh, and he does so well at Lingering Days, Mr. Chang. You should hear him talk to visitors -- he amazes them with all he knows." He opened the door to his apartment and led the way inside. "Please, everyone, make yourselves comfortable. I'm just going to put Mom and Dad's bags in the hall closet for know."
"Oh, thank you, honey," Ingrid called, then, as an aside to Zee, added, "I wish my younger boys were as thoughtful as Zechs." She shook her head. "But... they're young yet..."
"Boys are *always* young," the other woman assured her, nodding. "Always. Even grown men are young."
"Mo~om!"
"Ze~e!"
"You see?" she said with a smile, watching her men -- well, boys, who were smiling a bit sheepishly.
"Oh, here," Ingrid said suddenly. "I told you I'd show you pictures of the other children. Zechs? Before you lock everything away, could you please bring my little photo album. I brought it so you could see how your brothers and sister and doing."
She turned back to Zee and said, "This is the first time Zechs has been so far away from home, so I made a point to bring some photos he could look at."
"A big family is *good*," Zee agreed, nodding firmly. "My Wufei has only ever had cousins, and that's well and good, but no substitute for brothers and sisters."
"They seem to be getting along all right," Wufei whispered to Zechs as he moved to help with the bags.
"I'm seriously convinced," Zechs said quietly, "that any two mothers in the world could talk for days just about all the trouble their children have caused them." He pulled a small, blue photo album out of his mother's bag. "That and bragging, of course." Giving a wink and an unobtrusive kiss to Wufei, he stood and walked back into the front room, handing the album to his mother.
"Oh, thanks, hon," she said and then opened it to the second page. "These," she said tilting the book so that the Changs could see it, "are our youngest. They're twins, Carl and Tor -- we call him Tori." The picture showed two teenaged boys getting ready for a canoe trip. They could have been carbon copies of Zechs except their hair was shorter, just brushing their shoulders.
Zee nodded solemnly, laughing. "What handsome big boys! Oh, so nice! Our poor Wufei, he so often complains because he's not, you know."
"Not what?" Ingrid asked, frowning in puzzlement.
"Big," Zee responded with a grin. "Genetics."
"Oh, not important, at all," she said, waving a hand. "It's horrible trying to find clothes for them. Now my eldest, Eva, is my height..." She turned the page to a photo of a laughing woman in her mid-twenties with Ingrid's golden blond hair and darker blue eyes. "So all of the boys took after their father and Eva took after me. It looks the same for your family," she said, smiling over at Wufei and his father.
"Cookie-cutters," Zee agreed, sighing happily as she looked at the room full of men, fathers and sons. There were days that she wished she'd had a daughter -- if only one! -- but it didn't make her love her son any less, and she was glad to see him talking to his father, particularly since she suspected what he'd be saying soon and thought he'd be rather surprised at Kyu-Sung's response. "But isn't it sort of nice? This?" she asked Ingrid. "We'll show you where they work, perhaps. It's a marvelous place!"
"That'd be nice," Ingrid said. "I'd like to see them in their costumes. Do you go and visit Wufei there a lot?"
Zee shook her head. "Never often enough. You'll see them, and I'm sure you'll agree -- soo~oo cute! I worry about him, you know..." A glance was sent to her, one full of motherly concern, and very pointed.
"Yes..." Ingrid nodded her head softly. "Yes, I worry, too... but there comes a time you just have to trust them and have faith that they'll be careful and take care of themselves... and each other." She returned the steady gaze with a calm one of her own.
The slight smile that crossed the other woman's face as she reached out, took the tall blonde's hand, was tender and just a *tad* tearful. "Yes," she said, glad for the understanding. "Yes, they will."
"I'll be happy to get everyone something to drink," Zechs said, walking into the room further, "but maybe you'd also like to freshen up? The bathroom is down the hall on the left. He glanced over at Wufei, looking pale and worried. /The sooner this happens, the better, angel.../ "Wufei," he added, "you should show your Dad the garden out back and those chrysanthemums you planted."
"Right." Wufei was a little disturbed to realize that his voice almost seemed to *warble*. "Daddy? Want to come look?"
"Yes, yes... I come." Kyu-Sung stood up from his seat on the sofa and walked to where his son waited. "You a gardener, now? You come help your parents next spring."
Wufei's answer was dutiful and smiling. "Yes, sir," he replied, dark eyes full of love and more than a little worry. "You going to plant raspberries in the garden?" he asked as they headed towards the back door, separating from the others.
Zechs watched them go, every part of him wanting to follow, to make sure Wufei was all right. Then he felt a squeeze on his hand and looked down to see his mother looking up at him.
"It'll be all right, honey. You just have faith, all right?"
He gave her an almost teary smile. "Thanks Mom, I'll try..."
"Daddy, I...have something I need to talk to you about," Wufei said as his father leaned over looking at the 'mums. They were beautiful, fat-headed and just right, and he was very proud of them. He was also very nervous, and very glad that his father wasn't looking right at him.
"This is an important thing, yes?" his father said, brushing a thumb over the soft petals of one of the flowers. "Well, you may not believe it but I can be a good listener."
Dark eyes glanced up, watching the older man. "It's a hard thing, sometimes, to say things that might change your entire world."
"Sometimes the world needs changing," Kyu-Sung said quietly. "And sometimes, the world has caught up already." He looked over at his son, so serious, and they wandered over to the next flower bed. "What is this world-changing thing, Wufei?"
Carefully, Wufei wet his lower lip, tongue darting out as he took a deep breath and prepared himself. "Daddy, I think... well, no, I more than think, I *know*... Daddy... I don't like girls," he managed to say, words suddenly spilling out in a sudden rush. "I mean, I more than don't like them, they're nice and all, for friends, but I really don't like them for more than that, that is, I mean, because, well...."
He breathed in deeply. "Father, I'm... a homosexual."
Well, that had been the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life.
For a long moment, Kyu-Sung said nothing. Then he turned to his son and said quietly, "I'm glad you finally had the courage to tell me, Wufei."
Black eyes widened impossibly, Wufei's mouth falling open for a moment. "You... I... You *KNEW*!?"
His father nodded solemnly. "I've known... for quite some time. I knew about your friend in high school... never really liked him."
At that, a slight sound came from Wufei, almost a laugh, though not quite. "He wasn't so likable, Daddy. I... well, I'm telling you for a reason. I suppose I'm a coward, and weak, for not telling you sooner. I'm telling you because I can't not tell you. I'm telling you because... Zechs... It's serious, Daddy."
Kyu-Sung regarded his son for a moment. "Serious," he repeated. "What does that mean between men?"
Carefully, Wufei knelt down beside him and reached out to touch one of the flowers, gnawing at his lower lip. "I'm not really sure, I guess," he confessed. "I mean, it's not like that other. It's not like just something to play at and not... not go through on. Serious, I guess. Like I could spend the entire rest of my life with him and love every last minute, serious."
"I see," his father murmured, watching his son's movements. "Is he worthy of you? Treats you well? Better than that boy in high school?"
Wufei's dark gaze turned up to his father's, his lower lip shaking just slightly as he nodded. "Much better," he said softly. "He treats me like... like there's no one on earth he could love better. He treats me like I'm just right. Not perfect, because nobody is, but... like there's nobody more perfect for *him*, even with all of my faults."
His father looked thoughtful and, for a moment, lifted his gaze to survey the rambling garden before dropping back down to look at Wufei. "If that is so, then how could I disapprove? I am your father, and I want what is best for your happiness. If this man is best... then I give you two my blessing."
Wufei barely bit back tears, unable to help himself as he rose quickly, both arms wrapping tightly about his father's shoulders. "Thank you," he whispered shakily. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. It was so hard, and I was so afraid that... that you *would* disapprove, and if you did, I knew I couldn't ever bear it..."
Slowly, Kyu-Sung's arms came up around Wufei. "You're my only child. You are more important to me than breath itself. I would be a very unworthy father, were I to judge you harshly on what cannot be helped. That would be like shunning you if you were left-handed. What is there to judge? You are a fine young man, and all I ever wanted in a son."
"I love you, Daddy," Wufei whispered quietly, and they stood there for some time.
Not usually a nervous person, Zechs was, nevertheless, standing close enough to the kitchen sink to see a little of the father and son interaction, happening out the window. Wufei looked tense and Zechs's concern for him was obvious in the way that he was wringing the dishtowel he had in his hands. He had come in to make tea for his guests and had gotten as far as putting the kettle on before he'd begun spying in earnest.
/It'll be okay... he'll tell him and his Dad will understand... really... *hell* I wish I knew what they were saying!/
"You're worried." Wufei's mother moved up beside him, having caught a glance of him at the kitchen sink as she passed from the bathroom back towards the small living room. "It will be all right. He knows, you know."
Zechs turned and looked down at the small woman next to him, an expression of disbelief on his face. "He... he *knows*? Did you tell him?"
"You think a father wouldn't know these things?" she asked, looking up at him. "It's not easy. He's our only child, and Kyu-Sung loves him very much. They've always been very close. I never had to tell him. He knew." Zee paused and smiled. "He's not so staid as his son thinks. Many things are acceptable to fathers who love their children, are they not?"
The tall blond thought of his own father, a strong and quiet man who helped strangers lost in the snow and would give his life for any of his children. "Yes," he said softly, "yes, incredibly, they are." He suddenly felt a wave of relief go through him and he smiled down at Zee. "So, what do you think of all this?"
"I think you'd better be good to my baby, or you'll regret it," Zee told him firmly, winking at him. "You never want a momma hot on your heels, Zechs Marquise. Remember that." It seemed to amuse her, for she chuckled and stood on her toes to see what she could in the garden. "They'll be coming in shortly," she told him. "Why don't we make that tea...?"
"Good idea," Zechs murmured, letting his eyes linger on Wufei for a moment before turning from the window. "Perhaps you can help me," he said in more practical tone, taking a fragrant Oolong out of the cupboard -- Mrs. He's special recommendation. "My tea always comes out too bitter. Any advice?"
"My son, he can cook, but he's hopeless at tea. *I* will show you how," Zee told him with a smile. "Then, you can have perfect meals."
"Um, can I get you anything else?" Wufei asked, handing Zechs's mother another pillow. The sleeper-sofa in the living room had been pulled out into a bed and they had made it up together once his own parents had left. Zechs and his father had both been rather quiet, and had slipped into the kitchen together only a few moments before, so Wufei figured they might want to talk together without him and he was glad to let Zechs have that, especially after earlier in the afternoon. He was nearly floating on clouds now, even though his parents had left to spend the night at his grandmother's almost an hour before. "I don't think it'll get too cool, but you can never tell. They kept the original single-paned windows, you know."
"Don't you worry, sweetheart," Ingrid said, unpacking flannel pajamas, "where we live it's already down in the 20s at night. Why, this is like a tropical vacation." She smiled at him.
He couldn't resist the urge to smile back. "I'd freeze to death," he said, shaking his head. "Zechs keeps laughing at me first thing in the morning, because I always think it's so cold. He's... really sweet," Wufei continued hesitantly.
She looked up at him briefly, a knowing look on her face, and then her gaze dropped to the suitcase again. "He always was," she said. "Always kind, sweet to his sister and kept a very close eye on the twins." She took out two paperback novels and put one and the larger set of pajamas on what obviously would be Gunnar's side of the bed. "The most easy-going kid I ever saw."
"It must be nice, having a lot of kids like that, a lot of brothers and a sister, too, I mean," Wufei replied, standing there and watching her momentarily. "You're sure I can't get you anything else?"
Ingrid reached out a hand and patted Wufei's arm softly. "Now, you stop worrying about me. Gunnar and I will be perfectly fine. But *you've* had a long day and need your rest." She turned her back to him for a moment to put a small travel clock on the table next to the sofa and, as she did, murmured, "Besides, you and I have to get Zechs through meeting the rest of your family."
At that point, Wufei decided that he really *loved* Zechs's mother. "Meiran will be the worst, and he can handle that. I believe in him!"
"Hmm," she said thoughtfully sitting down on the bed at last, "why do I have the sudden feeling that your Meiran and our Uncle Olaf are kindred spirits?" She smiling at him, her eyes actually twinkling, and said, "Good night, dear. Sleep well."
"Yes, ma'am. I hope you have a good night," Wufei answered, bowing his head to her before heading to the bedroom, making a mental note to ask Zechs about 'Uncle Olaf'.
In the kitchen, Zechs and his father were having a cup of coffee. It was strict routine in the Marquise household that Gunnar ended each day with a steaming cup and he wasn't about to miss out just because he was in unfamiliar surroundings. Now both men had a chair at the table, opposite one another so that one pair of long legs could stretch out to one side and the other pair had just as much across the way.
"Great that you and Mom came all this way," Zechs said, sipping his coffee.
"Your mother wouldn't stand for not coming," his father told him, nodding and nursing his own cup. That translated loosely into, 'We're glad we could make it, too, son, I missed you'.
"How's work been going?" Zechs asked.
A moment's silence stretched between them as his father drank slowly, nodding when he finally put the cup down. "Had to go out with Pete and Ole last week. Had a problem." Gunnar worked at Voyageurs National Park, overseeing canoe trails and keeping an eye out for the people who came hiking and canoeing there. Sometimes, it got a bit exciting, and his friends Pete Peterson and Ole Larssen went out with him to settle matters.
"Don't tell me -- a group of city folks tried to paddle out to Cutover Island even though it's November and the landing's closed."
"Yep." That was all he said -- all he *had* to say, really, for Zechs had certainly spent his fair share of time helping out now and again, as all of Gunnar's boys had. He took another swallow of coffee, and put his elbow on the table. "You happy?" he asked quietly.
Zechs also knew, without it being said, that this was a multi-dimensional question. His father had proposed it in order that Zechs might take it in any direction he needed to. If there were problems, they could be brought up, and if there was great happiness, that could be mentioned as well. The younger Marquise took the second option. "I think he may be the one, Dad." Hesitating a moment, Zechs stared down into his coffee and then, softly, added, "How did you know with Mom?"
"SHE told ME," his father said with a firm nod, eyes exactly like his son's twinkling. Their courtship had been a short one, love at first sight, and Eva had been born exactly nine months to the day after the wedding -- lucky, because everyone in the county had been counting. "After that, it was all downhill." He seemed to think about it for a moment before he said quietly, "There's a shine in the eye and a sparkle in the smile. Hard to miss it, when it's right."
Watching his father, Zechs had to smile, imagining him as a young man. It must have been very embarrassing to be that much in love -- especially for a person like Gunnar. "Well, I don't know if Wufei would tell me something like that, but... well, I don't think there'll be anyone else for me. I'm too far gone."
Gunnar drank the last of his coffee and carefully stood, taking his cup to the sink and rinsing it out before he said solemnly, "Then you do what's best to make you happy, son. You know your mother... and I love you."
That was an amazing admission from a father who showed his love with actions and not words. Not wanting to make him feel more uncomfortable than he no doubt did already, Zechs said simply, "Thank you, Dad. I love you both -- very much. Let me know if you need anything?"
A little embarrassed and awkward now, his father coughed and nodded, heading back towards the living room and Ingrid, who was already in her pajamas.
Zechs washed his own cup and turned out the kitchen light. Walking down the hall, he could hear his mother's voice, talking quietly to his father. When he opened the door to his bedroom, it was an absolute joy to see Wufei there. /I have someone too, now... someone whose eyes twinkle.../
"Hey," he said softly. "I'm surprised you're not already asleep."
"Who's Uncle Olaf?" Wufei asked sleepily. He was still awake because he'd been clinging to the thought that he needed to ask Zechs about him.
Zechs gave him a puzzled look. "My mother's oldest brother. Why?"
His lover yawned and nuzzled deeper into the quilt-covered bed. "I told her Meiran would probably give you the most trouble, but it would be nothing you couldn't handle, and she said that Meiran must be like your uncle Olaf."
The tall blond laughed, stripping off his clothes and tossing them into the hamper. "Ah, well -- then Meiran must be formidable indeed. Uncle Olaf is a very kind man who acts rather like a pit bull when he first meets non-family visitors. They have to... prove themselves to be kind and honest folk before he'll leave them alone to enjoy the party. Before you have his approval he's... gruff, I guess, and skeptical. When he's certain of you though, he'll treat you like family and you'll be one of the sheep he protects from outsiders."
Zechs hung his robe on the bedpost, just in case his parents needed him in the night, and then slid into bed next to Wufei. "So -- is that anywhere close to Meiran?"
"She's just *cranky*," Wufei told him, sliding close and wrapping a leg over Zechs's thighs, an arm across his chest. "She's a female chauvinist, and she won't like you 'til she knows you're good for me. She *hated* Trowa, and gave him a really hard time."
Reaching up to turn out the light, Zechs muttered, "I think I like her already. I don't know *how* you put up with him for as long as you did... the jerk."
"You do a lot for people you love," Wufei replied, sighing. He was perfectly happy just where he was, and if he never had to move from that spot against Zechs again, he'd still be happy. "Or think you love, anyway. Can you imagine what I'd do for *you*?" he said, kissing Zechs's shoulder. "I've never loved anyone the way I love you..."
Long arms wrapped around Wufei and Zechs's fingers tangled in his dark hair. "I have to say the same," he breathed. "You've completely taken me over..."
A sleepy nuzzle of lips came against his own before Wufei snuggled a little closer. "Today was a good day," he said, fighting the drifting of his eyelids. "I'm glad Daddy didn't... wasn't... Well, I'm glad."
Wriggling until his chin fit comfortably over Wufei's head, Zechs closed his eyes and smiled. "I'm very glad, too, Wufei. More than I can say... Good night."
"Good night, Zechs," Wufei whispered over the force of a yawn. "I love you..."
"I love you, too."
There were plenty of cars outside the small brick home already when they drove up, Zechs's parents stuffed into his sports car with Wufei and Ingrid in the back, Gunnar and Zechs in the front. It wasn't so bad for Wufei, but Ingrid's knees had been pressed to the side for the entire twenty mile trip to the dirt road where his grandparents live.
"Looks like everybody's here," Wufei said, pulse pounding a bit nervously. He hadn't brought anyone home since Trowa, and he didn't know what they would think, especially since only about half of them knew he was gay.
"Quite a crowd," Zechs said, unbuckling his seat belt. He looked back at Wufei and winked. "Any advice we should know before hand?"
"My grandfather's very Irish," Wufei noted. "And my grandmother's very old Chinese, but very Americanized. They got married after World War II ended, and she's been here ever since. Um... pretty much, everybody's really different, so just wade in and we'll go from there, I guess!"
Gunnar gave Zechs a meaningful look, but his son just smiled at him. "It'll be okay, Dad. You don't have to talk if you don't want to."
Gunnar returned a small grunt in reply and opened his door, standing and giving his hand to Ingrid to help her out. On the other side of the car, a younger version of him did the same for Wufei.
"Dad will be fine," Ingrid said. "Just find someone to talk about fishing with him."
"That would be Uncle Randy, then," Wufei said as Zechs shut the door to the car. "Hunting, fishing, you name it, he..."
"WUFEI!!!" Several voices squealed, and he and Zechs were surrounded in very short order.
All three Marquises turned at the same moment and three pairs of blue eyes widened at the onslaught of Wufei's relatives. /I feel like a circus attraction,/ Zechs thought to himself, uncomfortable about his height for the first time in a very long time.
"Wait, wait!" Wufei chided, shaking his head at some of the younger ones. "I have company!!"
"Don't be so bossy," one of the girls said, tossing her pigtails. "Meiran will get you!"
"Well, Meiran will just have to get me. Granny and Poppa are inside, right? With my mom and dad and yours?" he questioned.
She nodded. "Uh-huh. An' Meiran. She's got her panties in a bunch, Wuffie."
Wufei nodded back and drew a deep breath. "Come on. We'll go inside, now." He leaned over to whisper up at Zechs, "It'll be all right."
"Uh-huh," Zechs murmured back, a little shell-shocked by the direction the conversation was going. "C'mon, Mom... Dad." The three of them huddled together in self-defense and hesitantly followed Wufei up the porch steps.
"She's not *that* bad, Zechs..."
"CHANG WUFEI!" The sound of that voice was pure challenge, and the hand that reached out for him was even more so. "I see you've brought someone *with* you."
If Wufei *could* have broken out into a sweat, he would have. "Ah, yeah. Meiran, this is Zechs Marquise and his parents, Mr. Gunnar and Mrs. Ingrid. Ma'am, sir, Zechs... this is my cousin Meiran."
Her eyes were already suspiciously leveled on Zechs. "You're tall," she said, almost an accusation. "And *blond*."
Pinned by that gaze, Zechs couldn't bring himself to speak for several moment. He tried, but nothing would come out. Finally, he managed a weak, "Yes... sorry..."
Ingrid looked over his shoulder at the young woman and smiled peacefully. "Our whole family is like this, dear," she said kindly.
That seemed to mollify her somewhat, but she was still eyeing Zechs with an awful lot of suspicion. "Well, we'll just see about *you*," she said firmly.
Zechs shuffled over to stand behind Wufei, watching Meiran as though she were an unstable explosive device.
"MEIRAN!" Wufei bellowed, stomping a foot hard.
"Don't yell at your cousin!" a voice came floating from somewhere in the house. "Bring your friend and his parents! Come, come, Wufei!"
"Be GOOD, Meiran! No female chauvinist nazi communism[1] today!" someone else said.
She stood there, staring at Zechs as he and his parents walked into the house. The blond man leaned down to Wufei and whispered, "Is she the type to put poison in the stuffing?"
"Don't worry," Wufei whispered back, "she'll eat more of it than you. Look out for the cranberry sauce, though."
Zechs *really* hoped he wasn't serious about that!
"Come, bring in your friend!" That was his aunt Mei, and introductions were made quickly -- his aunt, Mei, her husband, Randy, and his brother Jack, who was divorced and came to their Thanksgiving dinners because their parents were dead. Then came the introductions to his grandfather, Gordon O'Farrell, and his grandmother, Fan Lin.
"We are glad for your company," his grandmother said once they were all seated and smiling at one another. "Our grandson, he is our oldest grandchild, and we worry for him. He brings no one home, only study, study, study...."
/Oh dear,/ Zechs thought, trying not to smile. /I've been a *very* bad influence on him.../ "Thank you for inviting us," he said, smiling at Fan Lin. "Wufei studies very hard and is a very good student."
Ingrid smiled too. "Are *all* your grandchildren here today?" she asked, looking around at the many faces.
"ALL of them," Gordon said. "Our son dropped his kids off on the way to take his wife to see her mother. They've got her in the nursing home a ways off, but she's got so bad nobody can much help her anymore. Especially since they've got two sets of twins. They run in the family, you know. They'll be back in time for a late dinner, though..."
"I'll introduce you to all the kids later," Wufei murmured to Zechs. "Meiran's got a sister and two twin brothers, too."
"Will *they* hate me as well?" Zechs murmured back and gave Wufei a little smile.
"Well that's how family should be," Ingrid continued, giving Zechs a look of mock offense. "*My* children seem to have wanderlust -- Zechs is down here and his older sister is in New Mexico!"
"I want to live in California!" the girl in the pigtails said eagerly.
"But you can't go without me!" another said, scampering into the room. They were identical, right down to the clothes they wore, and it was impossible to tell them apart.
Wufei smiled and reached out, the second girl crawling up in his lap and popping her thumb in her mouth. "Then you'll have to go together, Jeanna May. Have you met Zechs, here?"
"Hm-mm," she said, taking her thumb out and looking at him. "Meiran is suspicious about you. She's funny that way. Is he nice?" Jeanna asked Wufei.
"Very nice," he agreed, "and his parents are nice, too."
"That figures," she snorted, crawling over into Zechs's lap then.
Wufei's black eyes sparkled at Zechs with more than a little amusement and his eyebrows lifted as if to say, 'Does that answer your question?'
Zechs looked down at her at the same time she was looking up at him. Their noses touched. "Are you ready for a big Thanksgiving dinner, Jeanna?" he asked playfully.
"Uh-huh!" the girl answered cheerfully. "Aunt Jane will be bringing chocolate cake," she whispered to Zechs with a firm nod.
A young boy came over and pushed at Jeanna. "I want to sit in his lap, too!" he whined.
His sibling, across the room, was shyly approaching Gunnar. Just as Zechs's father was beginning to feel cornered, the boy rushed forward and crowded into his lap, looking up with big eyes and smi~iling.
"Teddy!" The man who'd been introduced as Randy moved forward. "That's not nice, son."
"But Ricky's on the other man's leg now!" the boy protested. He wasn't more than seven, and tiny.
"Sorry about that," Randy said sheepishly, shaking his head at Gunnar. "So. I hear you like to fish." Wufei had mentioned it to him in the midst of various other talk, and that was the perfect conversation for both of them!
"You bet," Gunnar said, lifting Teddy more comfortably onto his lap as if he'd known the child all his life. "Are you two anglers?" he asked, looking seriously at the boy in his lap.
Zechs leaned over to Wufei and murmured, "If your uncle gets him talking about Northern Pike or Walleyes, he'll never shut up."
"He'll probably take him to the pond out back later and introduce him to bass and speckled perch," Wufei agreed even as his Aunt Mei came over.
"Well, I see you're doing well," she said, sitting down next to Zechs and looking up at him.
Zechs gave her a weak smile. "Am I?" he said, "I can't really tell..."
"You were doing all right the minute Kyu-Sung walked in," she told him with a wink. "We've heard nothing *but* 'Zechs' this and 'Zechs' that and 'Wufei is so happy'...well, in his own way, anyway. I've heard more from Zee..."
"Aunt Mei..." Wufei said, smiling back and turning red.
"AND your grandma's just glad you've brought home a friend of any sort. She was really worrying about you!"
"What, you're telling me this one was nothing but books until he met me?" Zechs asked teasingly, looking over at Wufei with a smirk.
His aunt rolled her eyes and smiled. "The librarians thought he lived at their library. I had to send Meiran to drag him home, even when they were children! Oh... I'm sorry if she gives you a hard time. She's just that way. She'll get over it," he was reassured.
"Or else," Wufei muttered under his breath, glancing up at the door to see her standing there. For a moment, the expression on her face was tender, worried, and then she saw him looking and it hardened again, making him sigh. Well. She'd just have to get over it, and that was all there was to it.
"Why is she so protective of him?" Zechs whispered to Aunt Mei, nervously eyeing Meiran as he did.
"They're only two months apart," she said as Wufei stood and walked to the doorway to talk to her. "They were both small children, smart, and were picked on a lot by other children. He had glasses by third grade, so it was a bit worse, and they didn't see each other as often as we would have liked. My husband taught her to stand up for herself. Wufei's father taught him that there's no shame in bending if you remain unbroken."
"That would explain those differences..." Zechs mused. "But... I would think she'd be happy if he was happy. Why is she acting like she's put out by the mere fact of my existence?"
Mei glanced over at the two of them talking quietly, passionately, and sighed. "Well. Trowa." That was moderately blunt and really said it all, as if nothing more was necessary.
"Ah," the blond said quietly. "I met him recently and I understand completely. So now she's suspicious of anyone he's with?"
The woman's dark eyes lit up with amusement. "She wouldn't be her father's daughter if she wasn't just a bit paranoid," Mei replied, nodding over to her husband and Gunnar's father. Randy was obviously in deep and earnest conversation, and Gunnar didn't look like he was in *too* much pain. "My husband is a suspicious man, also, in many ways. He seems to have taken to your father, though."
"According to my father" Zechs said, smiling at the two men, "fishing is the One Great Thing that unites all men." Sure enough, Gunnar had his hands spread apart, showing the length of a legendary fish, to Teddy's absolute amazement.
Ingrid walked up at that moment, a child pulling at each of her hands. "We're going to see the chocolate cake," she said, beaming, and then disappeared through the doorway, dragged by her small guides and followed by the kids who'd been occupying Zechs's lap.
Zechs looked over at Aunt Mei and grinned. "She may look like a mild-mannered woman, but she's been know to suggest blackmail in order to get grandchildren."
Her own look returned his obvious happiness. "Well, you can lend her my kids any time you like, so long as I get them back eventually. Meiran is nineteen, and Jun Li is fourteen. The twins are only seven, though." Her expression turned sheepish. "We went to a very good party one evening."
"Aunt Mei!" Wufei called, slight frustration on his face as Meiran walked away from him. "Granny says it's time to put the casserole in the oven."
"Is there anything I can help with?" Zechs asked as she stood.
"You stay right here," Mei told him. "Men in a kitchen are Very Bad Things."
Wufei moved closer, winking at Zechs. "The grill, on the other hand..."
"You're all pyromaniacs," Meiran said from behind him, having slipped back into the room. "Little boys and pyromaniacs!"
Zechs made a bit of a fear face at Wufei and looked distinctly uncomfortable when his father, Uncle Randy, and Teddy, left the room for a look at the pond.
He was alone with Wufei and Meiran, both of them standing over him as he sat on the sofa, feeling (to his amazement) like a small, vulnerable rodent as the hawks circled above.
"You're not a pyromaniac, are you, Wufei?" he asked with a hesitant smile.
Black eyes absolutely lit up with excitement. "Of course I am!" he replied, smiling at Zechs. "Fire is *beautiful*."
"He used to light matches and let them burn down to his fingertips," Meiran said, her own almost identical gaze taking in Zechs's every expression as she leaned closer. "Does that make you worried?"
Backing up at the same rate that she came closer, Zechs felt a sense of unreality come over him, as if he were in a bad science fiction movie and the cute boyfriend was turning out to be an alien monster in front of his very eyes. "Uh... should it?" he said looking from face to face in mild shock.
"No," Wufei told him, sitting down next to him and giving Meiran what was definitely a Look. "All men are pyros. I've seen you grill," he teased gently.
Meiran didn't quite seem convinced yet. "So. You're a Yankee."
Zechs let his gaze flicker nervously over to Wufei and then look back at the young woman standing over him. "I'm... from Minnesota," he managed to say and then tried to smile at her. /Wufei! Call her off!!/
"Minnesota wasn't even a *state*, then," Wufei told her.
"I still don't think..."
"MEIRAN!!!"
Her frown deepened. "All right. But..."
"Meiran!" And that had a bit of whine added, as if to say please.
Zechs was certainly not going to volunteer the information, garnered from years of study in Minnesota elementary, middle, and high schools, that, well, actually it *had* been a state 'then'. It had only been one for two years, but it *had* been a state. This information, he wisely decided, would definitely be better kept to himself.
"Wufei has... has told me a lot about you, Meiran," Zechs said, still trying to smile. "I really appreciate your family inviting us over today -- so... we could... meet each other." He looked at Wufei for a moment and then added, "Wufei's a wonderful person, so it figures that his family would be great, too." /This is like trying to convince a tiger not to eat you.../
"So are you having sex yet?"
"MEIRAN!!!!!!!"
Azure eyes went wide for a moment and then the tall blond struggled for composure. "That's a rather personal question," he said, trying to sound pleasant. Looking over at Wufei, he tried to talk out of the corner of his mouth. "Are you two in the habit of discussing these things?"
"No," Wufei muttered back.
"It's *still* my business," Meiran informed them both. "What if he's not *good* to you!?"
"He IS good to me!"
"You thought Trowa was good to you, too!"
Wufei's expression was firm as he stood up and glared at her. "I told my father yesterday."
"Y...you what?" she asked, eyes becoming almost round.
"He did," Zechs said, looking directly at Meiran. "He was really brave and it worked out better than he expected." He reached up and took a hold of Wufei's hand, smiling at him.
"So...it's serious?" she said softly, falteringly.
Wufei nodded. "That's what I've been *trying* to tell you!"
"I hope you can be happy for Wufei," Zechs said, still looking up at her.
For a moment, it seemed that she would smile at them both, but then she looked at Zechs instead and said, "If you hurt him, I'll kick your ass from can to can't."
"Meiraa~aan!!!"
"All right, all right!!!"
Zechs was holding his hands up in front of himself, waving them as if to ward off an attack. "I swear, I swear!" he said, half smiling, "Never gonna happen!"
"You just remember that!" she huffed, turning on Wufei. "As for YOU..."
"*I* surrender!" Wufei said hurriedly.
Meiran sighed and shook her head. "Boys," she murmured despairingly.
"Meiran?" That call came from somewhere else. "Sweetling, your pies...!"
"My pies!" With that, she was gone, off and running towards that voice, and Wufei collapsed on the sofa beside Zechs.
"Well," he said. "That's over. You did pretty well."
"Pretty well?" Zechs said in disbelief. "She rendered me speechless and threatened to kick my ass and I did 'pretty well'??" He blinked several times at his lover and then said, "What happens to guys who *don't* 'do well'?"
Wufei grinned almost viciously. "She kicked Trowa in the balls within five minutes."
Zechs paled, looking at his lover dubiously and drawing back a bit. "Not in the literal sense, surely!" he said.
"Kneed him square in the 'nads," Wufei said with a firm nod. "He nearly puked."
"What did he do to deserve *that*," Zechs asked, laughing a bit. "Aside from showing off his winning personality?"
"He told her to back off, she was just a woman and had no place in his business."
Zechs stared at him for a moment, blinking. "He was an idiot," he said simply, and then, "I mean... it would be a fitting end, really, for someone that unaware of the dangers lurking in his environment to be permanently prevented from reproducing." The tall blond mused on this for a moment and then asked, "Did he stay long after happened?"
"He went home and put ice on it," Wufei said with some amount of satisfaction. "Swelling, and all that. Zechs?"
The blond man leaned over and kissed the edge of Wufei's jaw. "Yes, Wufei?" he murmured.
"Wanna go out and see the barn?" Wufei whispered. "There's a hay loft and ev..."
"Dinner's ready, boys! Go get your uncles, before they fall in the pond!"
Zechs whimpered and let his head drop onto Wufei's shoulder. He had just gotten started on an image of the two of them, in a hayloft, naked, and frankly Thanksgiving dinner was not high on his priorities at the moment. "Such timing she has," he pouted.
"Afterwards," Wufei promised, stealing a kiss while no one was looking. "While your dad fishes, and my mom kidnaps yours."
But a stolen kiss was not enough, so Zechs slid his arms around Wufei's waist and kissed him properly. "It's going to be difficult to concentrate on turkey..." he murmured.
"And there's gonna be havoc if my Poppa sees," Wufei admitted, still delighted to have been kissed. "I haven't told the rest of them, yet. I thought I'd save that 'til later today."
"Well, I don't want to get you into trouble," Zechs said, pulling back. "Where do we need to go -- before Meiran comes to get us."
"Come on!" Wufei said, tugging at his hand and pulling him towards the dining room. "You're going to *love* dinner..."
The day had been long, full of food and family talk, and now Zechs and Wufei were lying in bed, talking about their families and how things had gone.
"I hope it's not an imposition on your grandparents to have my folks there," Zechs said, feeling strange that his parents had chosen to spend the night there instead of at his apartment.
"You didn't see my Poppa practically dancing a jig?" Wufei asked, an eyebrow raised and a smile on his face. "I think he'd have been heartbroken if they'd come back to the sofa-bed. And Uncle Randy will be there first thing in the morning with all of his fishing gear...." He sighed deeply. "They all took it so well. I guess they must have known..."
"Maybe," Zechs said, gathering Wufei into his arms. "Or maybe they just love you and it's not something that would change that."
Wufei yawned a bit and curled into Zechs's grasp. He was happier than he had any right to be, he knew, but there it was. He was happy, and that was t hat. "I love you, Zechs," he said with a deep sigh.
Smiling into silky, dark hair, Zechs murmured, "I love you too, Wufei. Do you think Meiran's going to sneak over here in the dark and spy on us to make sure I'm not abusing you?"
"Or to watch," Wufei teased. "Yeah. Maybe that's it...." He laughed quietly. "No, no. That's just twisted. Sorry."
"Mmm..." Zechs purred into Wufei's ear, "what other twisted ideas do you have...?" And with that he pressed his lover down onto the mattress and proceeded, very slowly, to have his way with him.
The coffee was on and Wufei hadn't stirred once as Zechs crawled out of bed, compact body sprawled across the majority of it the very moment Zechs's taller form had left the mattress. For a moment, he'd watched his dark-haired lover sleep, but now he was in the kitchen, bright morning sunlight shining in, red bathrobe wrapped about him and his bare feet were chilled slightly from the hardwood floor. It was a morning for quiet, peacefulness and maybe even going back to bed with a cup of coffee to wake Wufei up, too.
Unfortunately, it was interrupted by a firm little knock on the front door.
He peered up at the kitchen clock and muttered, "Who in God's name would be visiting us at eight o'clock in the morning?" and then padded out into the front hall and opened the door.
"Well? Are you going to ask me in?" Meiran said, looking up at him, hands firmly on her hips.
Zechs blinked and then realized she was staring at him and he was wearing his bathrobe. With reddened cheeks, he opened the door wider and said, "Ah. Meiran... how very nice to see you." As she brushed past him he added quickly, "Wufei's asleep. Sorry." /Why am I constantly apologizing to this woman...?/
"That's good. I'm not here to talk to Wufei. I've talked to him all my life. *I'm* here to talk to *you*."
"Okay..." Zechs murmured, "Why don't you come into the kitchen. Can I get you some coffee or juice?" He led the way, tightening the belt on his robe as he did. /I probably shouldn't ask to be allowed to dress before we talk. She might smell fear on me if I did.../
Meiran followed him towards the kitchen, glancing around as if making several judgments at once. "Coffee is fine. Do you have sugar and cream?"
"Yup," Zechs said, pouring out a cup for both of them and then putting sugar and cream on the table in front of her. He walked carefully to his chair, sliding her cup over in front of her and then tried to put on his best smile. "My parents and I really had a good time yesterday. Your family is great."
"They're different," Meiran told him solemnly as she began fixing her coffee. "They aren't like most families are these days. Your parents have been married since they were barely more than teenagers," she said with a sharp-eyed look. Apparently that meant something, though there was no guaranteeing if she thought that it was good or bad.
"True," Zechs nodded, looking back and her and trying to appear calm. "That's the way it's been in my family, going back a hundred years or more. They're very calm, boring folk, I suppose, especially compared to some." He took a sip of coffee and then propped his elbow on the table, chin in his hand. "But they're very *good* people. You can count on them... count on me."
Meiran's gaze latched onto his face. "CAN he count on you?" she asked, to the point.
Zechs continued to hold her gaze but his voice was soft. "Are you worried that I'll be another Trowa?" he said.
"Are you another Trowa?" she asked, a question returned again for his own. "You've gone deeper than he did. You've gotten close. Will you hurt him worse?" Meiran couldn't bear that. As much as she and Wufei fought, as often as they bickered back and forth on the phone and in person, she loved her cousin. They were best friends, each other's confidantes, and in a lot of ways, so much more. "Do you even have any conception of what something like that would do to him?"
"I know what it would do to *me* to lose *him,*" Zechs replied in a serious tone. "It seems much more likely to me that he would leave me and find someone else than that I would want to go."
"Then you don't know anything about him at all," she told him passionately, shaking her head in a quick negative motion. "*I* know him. He'd slit his wrists first! He *sleeps* with you. He let you have *sex* with him. Do you know how much that means?"
Zechs's cheeks went pink. /Am I supposed to be talking about this stuff with her??/ "Uh... quite a lot... no doubt..."
Her dark eyes narrowed as she loo~ooked at him across the table. "Are you mocking me? Or are you uncomfortable talking to an *onna*?"
"Why would I be mocking you?" Zechs asked. "All I meant to say was that I know Wufei doesn't 'sleep around' as it were -- that he doesn't sleep with just anyone. And what's an 'onna'?"
"A woman," Meiran replied shortly. She continued looking him over for a moment before she drew a deep sigh. "Well... I suppose you're all right," she finally said grudgingly.
"Well, I don't want you to feel half-hearted about this," Zechs said, almost brave enough to smile at her. "Go ahead -- ask me anything."
The first question seemed almost yearning in some secret depth of it. "Do you love him? Really love him, like he deserves?"
"I don't what your judgment is about what he deserves, but I do know that I love him more than anyone I've ever met. I've never felt before that I wanted to... to 'settle down' with someone, but with Wufei..." He did smile, then, and swirled his cooling coffee around his mug. "Well, with Wufei I almost feel eager to... like it would make me the luckiest man in town." He propped his chin in his hand again and looked over at her. "Pretty corny, huh?"
"It *would* make you the luckiest man in town, so it isn't corny," Meiran told him, nodding solemnly. Despite herself, he was going to melt her resolve, and she knew it. "So this isn't just some six month fling. You think it's true love."
/I suppose I could pout and tell her that I'm not chopped liver, but... naw. Too much trouble.../
"No," Zechs answered. "I don't do six month flings very well. I tried one or two when I was younger and... well, I guess I'm just not the fling type. I tend to take things too seriously for that kind of thing." He took a last sip of coffee and made a face at its tepidness. "But even with guys that I stayed with -- or wanted to stay with -- this is just... *different* somehow. More coffee?"
"No, thank you," she returned politely. "You know, I'm not asking this because I don't like you. I'm asking you this because... well... Wufei hasn't got the best taste in men, usually, and I didn't want you to be like the last one."
/Am I *really* this bad? Anyone would think I'm a flea-ridden commoner who wants to marry the king.../
Zechs poured himself another cup. "Well, I don't know if this will assure you, but I've *met* the last one and my opinion on him is that he is a toad and deserves to have his balls shrivel up and fall off."
And THAT was really all it took. "He IS a toad who deserves to have his balls shrivel up and fall off!" Meiran agreed, smiling now. "I kicked him in them the first time I met him! You... you're maybe not so bad. You might even be good enough for my favorite cousin," she admitted, giving in.
"Still here on approval, eh?" Zechs said, grinning over his cup. "How long before I get a long-term contract, coach?"
"Wee~eell," Meiran said, eyeing him carefully, but definitely smiling. "We'll see."
"Morning," Wufei mumbled sleepily, wandering in with eyes barely open. "Heard voices. It's early, Mei..."
She simply smiled. "And you're a late sleeper," she said with a nod. "I know."
"He's damn cute when he's like this though," Zechs said, pulling the sleepy boy into his lap. "Aren't you?"
"Mhm," Wufei agreed, hiding his face in Zechs's hair. "I'm damn cute. At least, you think I'm damn cute, so I must be." It seemed logical to him, in that moment, anyway, and it made Meiran *laugh*.
"Well, I ought to be on my way," she said. "The twins have a dentist appointment, and you know how Mom is..."
"You heard the woman, lazy bones," Zechs said, nuzzling Wufei's ear. "Stand up and see her off properly." He himself stood up and did nothing, just held Wufei in his arms and smiled at him.
"Bye, Mei," Wufei said lazily, not wanting to move away even as she stood up and walked towards the door. "And Mei?"
"Yeah?"
Reluctantly, he pulled out of Zechs's arms and moved towards her, kissing her cheek. That made her smile. "Thanks," he said, hugging her tight.
"Yeah, well. Somebody's got to keep you out of trouble," she said finally, a little embarrassed.
"You do a great job."
"Thanks to you, too," she whispered, hugging him. "I gotta go. I'll show myself out. I'm sure if you play your cards right, you can get laid this morning...."
"MeiRAA~AAAN!!!!"
She only laughed and scooted out into the foyer, though, leaving him alone with Zechs.
The blond had his head tilted to one side. "What did she say?" he asked.
"That she's sure I can get laid this morning, if I play my cards right," Wufei repeated, flushed, black hair still sleep-tangled a bit.
"Mmm... played your cards right, eh?" Zechs said softly, his voice pure silk. "Well, I've been thinking about this game that we could play... where the Vikings go to China to do a little looting and pillaging and general ravishing of gorgeous Chinese boys..."
With that he scooped Wufei up and deposited him over his shoulder, casually walking back towards the bedroom. "And I do believe that I've found *mine*..."
"That," Wufei whispered, "sounds like the best game I've ever heard of."
"Good," Zechs said, running his hand over Wufei's bottom. "Then you won't mind it if I tie you to the bed...?"
"Will it be my turn next time?" Wufei purred, squirming against that touch, trusting Zechs not to drop him.
"Oh, yes... I've heard those Chinese pirates are real rogues," Zechs grinned. They reached the bedroom and he tossed the smaller man down onto the bed. "Stay right there, my lovely captive," he ordered smoothly. Then, flicking his robe off, he walked to the dresser and found some of the scarves they'd used for Halloween. "These should do nicely," he said, smirking over his shoulder at the dark-haired prisoner on the bed.
The sigh that came loose from his lover was almost ecstatic before his lower lip stuck out. "I won't let some Viking savage pillage and ravage me!" he declared, eyes sparkling. Oh, he couldn't WAIT 'til Zechs pillaged and ravaged him!!
Zechs laughed, sounding almost like a Viking might have. "Oh, a feisty one, eh?" he said with a confident grin. "I like my boys feisty." He turned from the dresser, silk scarves in hand and a prominent erection displayed. "Even better because you have no say in the matter. For I wish to fuck you and therefore you *will* be fucked and I don't give a damn about whether you want it or not... though I dare say you'll be begging me for it in short order."
"Never! Wufei declared, squirming on the bed as if he might get off of it. "I'll never beg you to put that in me!" That was the most blatant lie he'd ever told and OH! he loved telling it!!
Zechs laughed again and crossed to the bed, pushing Wufei gently back down to the mattress. "Begging for it as deep as you can take it," he said with a smirk. "And *then* you'll be begging me to take you back with me and fuck you all the way over in the boat. I'd bet my best shield on it!"
He pounced on the smaller man, hands pinning wrists and the silky fall of his hair teasing over Wufei's nipples. "You. Have. No. Choice."
It was so easy to close his eyes, press his legs together slightly to feel his erection trapped between them, balls positively aching for more of what only Zechs could give him. "Never..." he managed to moan out, though they both knew it was true and he'd be begging inside of ten minutes. How much fun this was! ^_^
"What a lovely little brat you are," Zechs murmured in a voice like raw silk. He rocked his hips, brushing his own erection against the one growing between Wufei's legs. "Won't it be a pleasure to hold you down and stick it up inside of you... my little captive..."
"Ze...e....ohhhhhhhhh!" Wufei moaned, rocking up to Zechs and licking his lower lip, eyes half-closed, mouth trembling. It felt so good, held between Zechs and the bed, and the filtering sunlight coming in made it better because he could see his beloved's face! "Oh, no!" he whimpered, though it really meant, 'oh, YES!!'.
Slowly, Zechs's knees began to force Wufei's legs apart. At the same time, the tall blond took first one wrist then the other in a loose grasp and tied each to a slat in the headboard with one of the silky scarves. /Mmm... I'll have to remember to get some thick rope at the hardware store... and maybe some chains.../ "Surrender, boy," he said roughly. "Your fate is inevitable..."
Lips were parted, breaths coming between them quickly as Wufei tugged at the scarves -- not TOO hard, more just for fun. "So long as I resist, it can never be inevitable! That would be cruel!"
"So it is," Zechs growled in delight, spreading the younger man *wide* and nudging the head of his shaft up under the small, plump balls. "But you're *mine* now... I found you, and I caught you, and now I'll take what I wish from you!" He pushed his hips forward a bit and wedged himself against Wufei's entrance.
"Please!" Wufei moaned, unable to help himself as he hitched his hips slightly towards that invader. "Please, don't!" Oh, he was so hot and so *ready*, and he knew that Zechs could only feel good in him now, as frantic as he was. Just the *thought* was almost enough to send him over the edge!
A slow smile crossed the golden features. "Not quite ready to beg for it, eh? Well, we'll see about that..." Leaning his head down, he breathed warmly across Wufei's chest before taking the very tip of his tongue and pressing it the the very tip of one, caramel colored nipple. The touch was almost too light to be felt -- almost -- and held steady right on that sensitive tip.
"Haaa!!" Wufei couldn't help but cry out, hips rocking up hard, Zechs almost broaching him... but not quite. "Oh, GOD!!!" His hands tugged fitfully at the scarves, eyes closing. "OH!!!"
"Say you want it," Zechs insisted in a low, fierce voice. Then he began, slowly, to flick his tongue over that nipple, again just on the tip of it and just barely light enough to be felt.
"I~I..." Wufei gasped, shuddering. "I WANT IT!" Every last thought had abandoned him and he was shifting restlessly, wantonly, needingly. "PLEASE, Zechs, *please*!!"
The sound of that need, the wantonness behind it, nearly made Zechs come right then. He reached for the lubricant on the nightstand and drizzled it on his cock, sliding it on with his fingers, the tips just entering Wufei -- teasing at his entrance. "That's my good little boy," he purred, grasping Wufei's ankles and pressing them outward. Every inch of the dark-haired man was completely exposed to him and Zechs gave a little growl of pleasure at the sight of it, of his lover, ready to be plundered.
Then he gave a slight push and the head of his shaft slid in.
"Ooooohhhhhh!!!!!" It was a long sound, ecstatic, and Wufei shook his head from side to side, pulling in a deep, deep breath. Zechs felt so good in him, so *very* good, and he thought momentarily that if he died just now, he'd do of pure happiness -- ecstasy, even. "Oh, GOD, *YES*!!!! Please, Zechs! Please, Zechs, please, Zechs, go deeper! Give me more! I want you!" he moaned frantically. "I need you, now, in me! Please!"
The blond man's cheeks had gone scarlet, so intense was the desire to thrust in hard, as far as he could go, but he wanted to torture his lover just a bit more. "Not yet, little boy," he breathed, and simply rocked back and forth, fucking Wufei's entrance with hot, tight little motions, moving in just slightly until he felt the nub of prostate along the wall of the younger man's body and began rubbing in earnest.
That brought outright screams in short order, loud cries that begged for more, and sobs in between them as Wufei twisted beneath him. The sound of his pleading bounced back off of the walls as he twisted, turned, trying to get more of Zechs into him -- more, and more, and more. "ZECHS!!!"
"*Take* it..." The words were no more than a low, heavy breath, and Zechs pushed in to the hilt, burying his shaft in soft, heated flesh and moaning at the feel of it. "Ahhh... GOD!! Wufei!!"
The smaller man was so close to coming, entire body wrapping around Zechs as much as he could, whines of intense sexual delight spilling out of him repeatedly as he cried out, begging. "Please, Zechs! Please, please, oh, God, oh, God, I'm going to come if, I, oh, oh, OH!!!"
Zechs began thrusting in earnest, unable to stop the urge to pound into the smaller man. With each long press inwards, he growled softly, the feeling becoming almost too intense and then, suddenly, he was falling and his head was back, hair a long, golden storm down his shoulders and moaning with each blissful spasm. "Wufei..." he breathed... "Oh, my *boy*..."
With a last yell, Wufei spilled between their bellies, crying out loudly as semen splattered between them. His entire body seemed to arch, eyes closed tightly as he yelled, and then he nearly collapsed into the sheets, gasping for breath.
Zechs let go of Wufei's legs and rested on his hands, his head dropping forward as he tried to catch his breath. "You are so amazing," he whispered softly, face covered by long, blond hair.
"I've died and gone to heaven," Wufei said finally with a heavy sigh, "and you're the angel assigned to keep me delirious with pleasure. 'Fess up, beautiful."
Zechs looked up and gave him a wink. "And here I thought," he said still panting a bit, "that I was being *devilish*!" He leaned down and took Wufei's mouth in a deep and possessive kiss. "You realize we're going shopping with our parents today..."
"Mmmmmmmm," Wufei agreed, kissing him again, long and sweet. "Then can we spend tomorrow in bed?" he whispered. "I want to be naked with you for a very long time..." The smile he gave was almost TOO sweet. "I love you, Zechs."
"I love *you*," Zechs murmured in reply, nuzzling at the sensitive place on Wufei's neck and throat. "And bed all day tomorrow sounds like paradise..."
Wufei let out an ecstatic little sigh, shivering. "Perfect," he whispered, kissing him again. "That sounds just perfect."
End of Part 6
[1] Sorry, inside joke. Couldn't resist. ~_^
(:./kumiko/ldays6)
