They were getting married. The actual announcement had taken place as soon as they'd come inside and they'd told their news while the others were still
eating breakfast. Needless to say, decorum was broken for the occasion as a shocked silence passed before being quickly replaced with loud talking. The
youngest were excited, but they knew the least about adult relationships, so they got over their shock more rapidly than the older ones. Rashid and Quatre
were, of course, the best contained as they were older and better acquainted with these sort of things. For the moment, Quatre pushed aside his worries as
he allowed himself to simply be happy.
Blushing when Zechs whirled him in a circle, Duo grinned widely, shaking his head. "We haven't set a date yet, we just decided about five minutes ago." A
quick glance to Heero showed the Japanese boy was the calmest in the room besides Treize as they both watched the two long-haired males express their
excitement. Heero's expression was softer than Duo was used to, but the smug smile floating on his lips and in his eyes told what he was really feeling. Then
he looked away from his new fiancé as he bent to pick Hilde up.
"You're going to be my daddy now?" Hilde asked, her wide eyes shining as she placed her hands on Duo's chest.
"Um, more like an uncle," Duo laughed, glancing at Heero in time to see the boy's smirk. "But your favorite uncle, right?"
Hilde nodded vehemently, "Now you'll never leave!"
"Oh joy," Dorothy said, expression deadpanned.
Duo laughed again when the sweet girl in his arms suddenly glared over her shoulder at Dorothy's smirking face. "Shut up onna!"
"Hilde! Where did you..." Frowning, Quatre turned slowly to stare at Wufei who was studiously ignoring everyone, his arms folded over his chest. "Great,
Wufei. That's just great."
Turning, the black-haired boy raised an eyebrow and smirked. "So she's smart, that's nothing to complain about. Hilde has good taste."
"Weakling," Dorothy taunted, edging away from the boy.
"Hey! Stop that right now." Frowning when Heero made a soft sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, Duo glared first at Wufei and then Dorothy. "You
guys will have plenty of time to argue, just be nice for now, okay?"
"Really, Wufei," Treize said lightly, smirking as he and Zechs moved to stand beside Duo. "Picking on a woman? Not exactly manly of you, is it?"
"You don't have to stand up for me," Dorothy said quickly, trying to be subtle as she shifted the brown-haired man's gaze to her. Wufei was glaring daggers
and looked ready to tackle him. "We'll just fight it out later."
"Well, I wouldn't want either of you getting hurt," Treize frowned, not exactly pleased at the idea of Wufei fighting the girl. For the last fifteen months he'd been
teaching him how to fence and his honor told him it was wrong for a man to fight the weaker sex. If something had caused the boy to change his views, Treize
wondered if he actually enjoyed fighting the girl. "Do you fight often?" He couldn't imagine what would lead the proud boy to attack his own sister unless he
intended to defeat her and thereby shut her up. That, or he'd found that being female didn't necessarily equate to being weak.
"Sure," Dorothy said proudly, folding her arms over her chest and adopting a stance identical to Wufei's, although she didn't know it. "As long as no one
leaves a mark or...seriously injures the other, it's all right."
Listening to them, Duo grinned as he heard his own words repeated. He was surprised when he'd caught the two wrestling on the lawn after that first
excursion, but he'd found that they continued to follow his rules. Blinking when Quatre caught his gaze, Duo set Hilde on her feet and moved to talk to the
boy, grateful that Heero seemed interested in what Dorothy was saying. When he reached the blonde boy, he noticed that Rashid immediately moved to the
others and struck up a conversation, diverting Heero's attention further.
"I talked to him a little," Duo said in an apologetic tone, "but...I kinda got sidetracked. I promise, though, just give me some time to wear him down."
"It's all right," Quatre smiled, stepping forward and giving Duo a warm hug. "I understand completely. You look just like I felt the first time Trowa told me he
loved me. I can wait." Sighing, the boy moved back and gave a sad smile. "I think it would be better to wait until things settle down, then I want to talk to
Heero myself." Duo looked like he would argue, but he beat him to it. "Once you two are married, I'm sure Heero will understand more about how I feel about
Trowa. You know, I think you're the first person he's really liked. I don't mind the wait."
"Are you sure?" Duo asked uncertainly. "It could be a while before we actually get married."
"I doubt it. I don't think Heero's that patient." Smiling when Duo looked confused, Quatre shrugged. "I'd wait forever for Trowa."
"Duo?"
With his back to Heero, Duo gave the pale boy a quick, playful grimace before turning to smile at his fiancé. "You called?" Quatre smiled again at him, and
moved to stand near Zechs, joining in their discussion and laughing at something Hilde said.
"I want to make a trip to the church." Duo made a face and he stepped forward, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "I know you're not eager to see
them, but I'm not hiding anything. Besides, I need to know if they give their permission for the wedding."
"What if they don't?" Duo asked, tilting his head curiously. He knew Une wouldn't argue and he guessed that she might even be happy although he was sure
she'd hide it. Still, he wondered what Heero would do if they refused.
"Then we go to a different church." His eyes narrowed when Duo smiled, but he didn't ask about it. "I want to go now."
"What's the rush? I mean, we could wait until lunch, go later in the afternoon." It wasn't like him to procrastinate as he believed chores should be done quickly
so there was more
time for fun things, but Duo wasn't looking forward to a lecture. Not about the wedding, but about his running away. He'd been grateful that Treize and Zechs
had gone in his stead to tell Une that he was safe, and he knew he deserved a lecture for being too cowardly to face the music himself. Looking at Heero's
blank face, Duo sighed. "Okay, let's go."
Smirking suddenly, Heero took the boy's arm as he turned and caught Zechs's eye, waiting until the man had quieted things before speaking. "We're going to
the church to tell them about the wedding. We'll be back later."
"Good luck," Zechs said, smirking when Treize snorted. "That woman doesn't like you much, Heero."
"I know."
* * *
"You've gone insane, there's no other explanation." Expression carefully guarded, Une watched Duo scuff one foot on the floor of her office, waiting for him to
look up. She didn't so much as glance at the stiff-backed boy standing beside him. "First I find out you ran off, leaving your assigned post, and now you're
not only leaving the order, you're getting married. To him."
Wincing at the emphasis she put on the last word, Duo glanced at Heero before meeting Une's eyes. "Well, you remember how you said you wanted me to go
so I'd know for sure if being a priest was what I wanted? See, that's what I did and I found out that I'm not...priest material." The woman snorted and glanced
to Noin who stood beside her, a hand covering her mouth. Looking at her for a minute, Duo relaxed a bit as he realized she was hiding either a smile or a
smirk.
"Duo, this boy is the first person you've had contact with in years. I worry that you're jumping into this decision without testing the waters first. If you don't want
to be a priest, I support you in that, but you have other options. You don't have to marry the first person you meet." Judging her words carefully, Une knew
the moment Heero realized what she was saying and she nearly smiled at the look of angered outrage that flitted across his face. She knew that Duo wouldn't
dream of marrying if it wasn't for love, but she didn't know Heero.
"He's marrying me," Heero said slowly, voice cold as he stared into the woman's brown eyes. He'd definitely understood what she was hinting at and he
couldn't get the image of Duo kissing other men until he found the one he liked best out of his mind. He knew where she was coming from, but it was
unwarranted. As unworldly as the American was, Heero didn't think Duo had fallen for him just because he was the first to come along. "If you have any
specific reasons to object, state them clearly."
"All right. Duo, you are the most carefree person to step foot inside these walls. That's one of the reasons I sent you to work with Captain Yuy's family in the
first place as the notice said they were very disciplined. I can't see you being happy leading a disciplined life." Watching Duo, she saw Noin nod and waited to
hear what the boy would say.
Flushing slightly, Duo glanced at Heero before smiling at the black-garbed woman. "I don't have to be disciplined. Heero loves me the way that I am." The
boy beside him nodded sharply and he barely kept from grinning at the warmth that spread through him. "So I want to get married. I thought you'd be
more...well no, not lenient...um, happy?"
The boy turned uncertain abruptly and Une dropped the act as Noin laid a light hand on her shoulder. "I am, Duo, I am. I just don't want you rushing into
something you'll regret. But if you're certain you want to marry this young man, then yes, I'm happy for you. It'll be a fine wedding."
"I bet you'll look wonderful in white," Noin said, her hand dropping as she no longer hid her smile. "Although I always thought black was your color."
"Well, shall we discus the wedding then?" Une asked, her eyes leaving Duo as she looked to the intense boy standing beside him. It was true that she had
become rather protective of the lively American, but she couldn't forget how concerned the dark-haired boy had been when he'd come to the church searching
for him. "I assume you'll want to negotiate an appropriate dowry."
"No, all I want is Duo. I have enough money." Glancing to his left when Duo sighed, he smirked at the very pleased smile that came over his lovely face. "As
for the wedding, we want to marry as soon as possible."
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Duo asked suddenly, frowning at Heero. He liked the fact that the boy was eager to wed him, but he couldn't help wonder why
he was so rushed. "I'm not going to change my mind if that's what you're afraid of."
Heero continued to stare at Une and he could tell that despite her chaste life as a nun, she knew about life as she smirked at him. "How soon can it be done?"
Glancing at Noin, Une's eyes shone as the woman was blushing lightly. "I think a week is about right. That'll be enough time to get the proper forms and
there'll still be time for either of you to change your mind. Not that I expect you will." Duo shook his head firmly and Heero didn't so much as blink. "All right."
She stood slowly, motioning for the long-haired boy to come to her side. He did so with obvious reluctance and wary eyes, but she simply smiled and hugged
him suddenly, causing him to blush bright red. "We'll miss you."
* * *
The wedding wasn't going to be held at the Maxwell Church since it was more of a monastery than an actual chapel. Instead, they made plans for a larger
establishment, one with enough room for all of the children to take part in the ceremony. Since Duo didn't invite anyone beside the nuns, Heero left his
acquaintances out of it. He hadn't wanted them to come anyway, and with the children being his only family, there were no isles of guests. Witnesses were
required, however, and Zechs and Treize were more than happy to oblige as they made plans to sit on Heero's side of the church opposite Une and Noin.
While it wasn't often that she left her sanctuary, Une had agreed to go, not wanting to miss it anyway and Noin naturally went as well.
Leaving the children to decide the colors of the wedding, Duo had quickly realized his mistake as they'd barely gotten the re-designed outfits done in time. Yet
the finished product was nothing to scoff at as he made certain each child looked his and her best. He did, in fact, spend more time on their clothing than he
did on his own outfit, but he'd never been much on appearances. Luckily, Quatre must have spent a lot of time around Zechs because the boy seemed to
know everything about the current style and where to get the best in men's attire. Duo had been at a loss as to which colors to choose that wouldn't clash,
especially since his favorite color was automatically ruled out. His suggestion was a common joke during the long week as he was reminded again and again
that it was unlucky to wear black to a wedding and that he *had* to wear white whether he liked it or not.
Duo had never been to a wedding, and he'd been more than a little irritated when he was informed that only the one's getting married were allowed to wear
white. Zechs should have been more polite when he told him, however, as Duo had been rather angry. Still, he knew the children were very excited about the
wedding and he didn't want to ruin it by breaking any taboos. The fact that Heero could have cared less what colors the children wore didn't help either, but
Duo took one of the comments he threw out to heart and went about planning the colors with a better mood.
In the end, no one was unhappy. The girls wore long dresses of varying shades of lavender, the lightest, of course, went to Hilde and Duo made certain her
dress abounded in ruffles. She seemed to have a fetish for ruffles and he knew she'd look adorable in them. Since Treize had offered to take pictures, he
made sure the dresses were perfect. This meant they were modeled according to each girl's preferences and he was glad they knew what they liked. He
didn't want them all to wear the same type and while Zechs was quick to inform him that it was customary, he'd kindly ignored him. So Sally got the ruffle-free,
short sleeved dress she wanted and Catherine wore a dress with a wide skirt and a line of ruffles at the bottom and around the neck. As much as it surprised
him, Duo even saw to it that Dorothy had a dress that was rather different from the others. With a more narrow skirt and an elegant bodice, it made her look
much older and more feminine than he'd imagined she could look. While she was defensive about it, he could tell she wanted to look mature and he did
nothing to hinder her. She was growing up.
The boys were also dressed in purple, but theirs were much darker. Zechs had fought diligently to explain that the color was too close to black, but Duo
wouldn't listen. He knew what black was and it *wasn't* purple. Besides, there was no way he'd get Wufei to wear some light, pastel color. He knew the boy
would have been at ease in white, but that had been denied so he did what he could. As with the girls, he wanted them to wear clothing that they liked, things
they chose themselves. So he was satisfied with the simple outfit Rashid wore, defending it when Zechs complained that the boy's vest wasn't formal enough.
It looked good, and it suited him. While he thought the outfit would have been better if the shirt had been white, he was still pleased with the way the boy
looked. Quatre, of course, looked wonderful and his simple suit was used as an example by the white-haired man as to how people should dress for
weddings. Zechs eventually gave up, as he didn't even try to change what Wufei chose, moaning when he found the boy was going to wear a simple loose,
long-sleeved shirt and pants set. He wouldn't even tuck in the shirt and the tall man hid from the sight, not listening when Duo said it looked nice. As far as he
was concerned, they were all hopeless with no fashion sense. Treize, of course, agreed with him but he was biased as he enjoyed the fancy way his
pale-haired lover chose to dress.
The most difficult part of the preparations regarded Duo who, as the only one of the two being married who cared to dress up, was to wear something
wonderful. Having seen the boys' outfits, Heero had decided to wear a simple-cut suit of the same color and nothing anyone said would change his mind. Of
course, Duo didn't try to change his mind as he liked the way the cobalt-eyed boy looked in the dark color. As for himself, he had planned to let Quatre and
Zechs plan his outfit, but he quickly discarded the idea when he found himself dressed in an outrageously fancy white...outfit. He couldn't call it a suit and he
didn't know what to say about it that wouldn't hurt the two's feelings. Instead, he admitted that he had other ideas in mind and they helped him find something
that he was happier with. They eventually reached a compromise that consisted of a ruffle-free shirt and pants. The coat was Zechs's contribution as it
practically reached the floor and made the boy seem taller somehow rather than shorter as long coats usually do.
So much time was spent on the clothing, that it was a day before the wedding when Treize inquired how the boy would wear his hair. What resulted was close
to panic on Duo's part as he had trouble keeping the two fashion-crazed males away from him. He knew his customary braid was hardly appropriate, but the
intricate styles they wove his hair into all seemed to have been made for women. In fact, Zechs admitted that there weren't any styles for men with hair as long
as Duo's. As luck would have it, Quatre had a solution that even Duo could live with and Zechs was satisfied with the boy's choice. It seemed that the boy was
interested in other cultures and having seen the types of veils women wore, Quatre quickly described a head-dress that was similar yet suited for a man. In
fact, the transparent cloth was sewn to match the styles worn by Arabian men, and while it was lengthened so it would cover the boy's long hair, the front
remained untouched so Duo's dark bangs showed where the headpiece ended.
The wedding itself was anticlimactic for Duo, as he watched the children file down the carpeted isle, so pretty in their finery. He'd expected more from the fuss
made over the preparations, and it wasn't until it was his turn that he felt the beginnings of a nervous flutter in his stomach. Maybe it was the way Heero's
eyes seemed to glow as he walked to him, but he found his hands trying to shake and it was difficult to hold the flowers Quatre had given him. Then he was
standing next to Heero and his sudden apprehensions melted away as the intense boy actually smiled a bit. Repeating the vows was suddenly easy and he
grew impatient as he could feel the boy standing next to him radiating intensity. Somehow, he kept from sighing or shuffling and the ending came as a
surprise.
Turning to face Duo, Heero slowly pulled the boy to him, wrapping his arms around his waist. Resplendent in white, the boy beamed and his violet eyes closed
as their lips touched in a slow kiss.
.-.
PART 14
.-.
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