Title: The Valentine's Way part 1/?
Author: Vuli
Rating: PG
Summary: A Valentine's Day gimmick at the Preventers HQ leads to innuendo and rivalry for Chang Wufei. Will he choose the advances of a not-so-secret admirer, or the unexpected romance blossoming between himself and Heero Yuy?
Pairing: 1+5. Smidgen of OC+5, rumoured 1+2+1, 2+OC.
Warnings: Shounen ai. Fluff. Wu-moping. ^_^;
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to SOTSU, Sunrise and Bandai. That's it.
Archive: Wind Chijmes Pavilion. Everyone else, help yourselves, just drop me a line!
Feedback: raichuelectric@hotmail.com; feel free to email me with your comments, or even random 1x5 ramblings.
Author's Note: A little late for a Valentine's fic, ain't it? *grin* Once again, I've taken liberties with a character's past, this time the period between Wufei and Meilan's marriage and her death. And the fic is a Preventers-style AU. Blame it on all those pics of the boys in Preventers uniforms.
Background: Set one year after Endless Waltz. Wufei was working in space, as seen at the end of EW. However, he and Sally have been temporarily reassigned to Earth. Why? Author's prerogative, that's why.
**Dedicated to Eradicated Illness, for her lovely fanart and encouragement. ^_^**
**Special thanks to Erynna and Wind Chijmes for their continued support!**
The Valentine's Way
"Oh, no."
That was Wufei's immediate reaction as he stood frozen, not more than five steps past the front door, staring at the reception desk in undisguised dismay. Festooned with chains of pink and red paper hearts, it had become a gaudy horror that left little doubt as to the occasion.
Valentine's Day.
He had forgotten, of course. On his colony, very few of the people he came into contact with had actually celebrated; certainly not his own family. Besides, he had spent only one Valentine's Day in a relationship - his ill-fated union with Meilan - and it had been anything but romantic.
The year after that, he'd been holed up in a dingy, rotting shack, alone, half-starved and nursing injuries. There was no time for romance in a war, not that he'd wanted it, with Meilan's spirit ever-present in the form of Nataku, a constant reminder of his responsibilities. But Nataku was gone now, as was his colony; the war was over. For the first time, love seemed a viable emotion...and he was more alone now than he'd ever been.
"Preventer Spirit!" one of the receptionists called, waving cheerfully.
The sound of his code-name drew him from his gloomy reverie, and not for the first time he resented the rank that segregated him from his colleagues. Even though he'd only been in the building a few weeks, most of the desk staff knew him by sight...probably something to do with the 'Outstanding Agent' award that had been pressed on him for several consecutive months. It was at times like this that he longed for anonymity, or the solitude of being Nataku's pilot.
"Good morning," he replied with a curt nod. He greeted them in the same manner every day.
Unlike any other day, however, the same receptionist leaned across the desk and held out a rose with a tag - heart-shaped, of course - knotted around its stem. She smiled brightly. "This is for you."
Wufei stared at it, and she chuckled. "It's not from me, Preventer Spirit," she explained patiently. "Everyone gets a rose when they come in. You write your name on the tag and give it to your Valentine."
After receiving reassurances that she'd already given hers away and checking to make sure that the tag was still blank, Wufei reluctantly accepted the rose, holding it gingerly between thumb and forefinger as though the stem was bristling with thorns. Wonderful. If the thought of facing Valentine's Day unloved had been depressing before, it was doubly so now. The flower made it seem real.
The receptionist seemed to misinterpret his silence. "You can have more if you want," she said, reaching for the bucket of roses beside her. "Mr. Winner took a bunch of them half an hour ago."
"No, no," Wufei blurted. "One is sufficient. Thank you." He hurried away from the desk, fleeing for the relative refuge of his office, ignoring the chorus of 'Happy Valentine's Day!' from the rest of the receptionists.
---------------------------
There was little chance, short of going to see Director Une herself, of actually knowing who was responsible for the gimmick, but Wufei had his suspicions. Leaning against the elevator wall, he frowned down at the rose in his hand, trying to ignore the paper hearts that dangled from the ceiling. The damn things were everywhere, it seemed - he could only assume that they had infested the whole building, and it irked him. By the colonies, this was Preventers Headquarters! It was so...so...unprofessional, damn it! He hadn't worked for almost a year to help build the Agency's legitimacy only to see it dissolve for the sake of one inane tradition.
Still… The roses weren't that bad an idea, he supposed. More tasteful than the decorations, at least. His frown turning thoughtful, Wufei pulled a pen from the pocket of his jacket and held the tag against the metal wall, writing his name on the card without the flourish of his usual signature. What was the point? He didn't expect to give it to anyone, anyway.
The elevator slowed and came to a stop on the twelfth level, the doors sighing apart to reveal an unreasonably happy Quatre, one arm laden with roses, the other a bundle of files. "Wufei!" the former Sandrock pilot exclaimed, stepping in. "I was looking for you. Did you just get in?" He struggled for a moment to reach the nineteenth-floor button, then sighed gratefully when Wufei tapped it for him and relieved him of the files. "Thank you. Oh, you got a rose from reception. Good!"
Wufei eyed Quatre with a touch of wary disdain. "Did you have something to do with this?" he growled, poking the rose at him accusatorily, then upward at the dangling hearts.
"Kind of." At Wufei's sharp glare, he cringed a little. "I just contributed toward the flowers!" he blurted. "The decorations were Duo's idea."
"I knew it!" Wufei snarled, his hand clenching into a fist around the stem of his rose, and Quatre winced.
"Well, it's a cute idea," he countered. "And it'll cheer people up."
"Cute? Cute? It's making a mockery of this Agency!" Wufei snatched at one of the paper hearts and tore it free.
Quatre cradled his roses defensively. "Director Une doesn't think so. She gave us her approval to organise all this," he said with a frown, resisting the childish urge to stick his tongue out at his friend as he'd seen Duo do many times. Besides, his best foil had always been words. "Just because we want to have a little fun doesn't mean we take our jobs any less seriously than you do, Chang Wufei. That sort of attitude is only going to alienate you."
He was pleased to see Wufei flush and look away, the comment effectively taking the wind from his sails. As though on cue, the elevator coasted to a stop, the doors opening with a time-honoured 'ping', and he breezed out without another word, chin high…then let out a little cry of dismay.
"Oh Allah, my files!" he exclaimed, hearing the elevator doors close. In his eagerness to make a triumphant exit, he had completely forgotten that Wufei had taken the pile of folders for him.
"How embarrassing," a dry voice commented behind him, and Quatre blushed hotly, turning to face the poker-faced Preventer Spirit. When Wufei took a step toward him, he put his hands out instinctively, expecting the other to thrust the files at him, but Chang simply brushed past. "I'll walk you to your office," he stated, leaving Quatre to trail after him, then glanced back with the faintest quirk of a smile. "Perhaps it will give me a chance to work on my social skills."
---------------------------
The second disaster of the day came in the form of Duo Maxwell, waiting for them perched atop Quatre's desk, his legs swinging idly over the side. Like Quatre, he carried a bunch of roses, although it was a safe bet that most of those roses had been given to him.
When he spotted them coming, he slid off the desk with a welcoming cry of, "Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Don't you ever work, Maxwell?" Wufei grumbled as he deposited the stack of files on the desk. Quatre carefully laid his roses there as well.
"Not if I can help it." Duo waved a hand flippantly, then reached out to tousle Quatre's hair. "Please tell me he's not your Valentine, Q!" He jerked his head in Wufei's direction.
Quatre made a noise of protest and batted Duo's hand away, trying to finger-comb his hair back into neatness. The noise Wufei made was a lot more ominous.
"Oh, come on! What am I supposed to think, when you make poor 'Fei carry your stuff for you? I swear, Quat, you're like a schoolgirl."
"Actually, I offered," Wufei interjected. His voice was suspiciously cool. "Not that I expect you to understand simple courtesy."
Duo eyed him, already forming his retort, and caught sight of the rose in Wufei's hand. "So, who's your Valentine, if Q-lovin' isn't on the cards?" he asked slyly.
There was a slight flicker in the black-haired Preventer's stony expression, just a flash of pained frustration in his eyes that had nothing to do with his irritation over Duo's teasing. "I don't have one."
"No one?" Quatre ventured, touching his sleeve. Remarkably, Duo didn't comment, although there was a contemplative look on his face.
"I don't need one," Wufei amended tetchily.
Quatre's fingers dropped from his sleeve to the desk, closing around the nearest flower stem. "Would you mind if I gave you a rose?" he asked, a touch of colour appearing on his cheeks. "I mean, I got one for everyone. That's why I was looking for you." Quatre held out the rose hesitantly, and was surprised when Wufei took it.
"Thank you." Wufei's whole face seemed to change, lifting in a smile. "It was very thoughtful of you."
"You're welcome. Happy Valentine's Day, Wufei," Quatre said, then, before he could think better of it, leaned up to press a chaste kiss to his friend's cheek.
Wufei blinked in startlement. "And you, Quatre," he replied, clearing his throat to hide the embarrassed waver in his voice. "I'd better get some work done." He merely nodded at Duo, who touched two fingers to his temple in a salute, and turned, heading back toward the elevators.
"Damn, is there anything you can't get away with?" Duo shook his head wonderingly.
Quatre's blush deepened as he watched Wufei go. "Well, I didn't dare try that with Heero," the blond teen answered, turning to Duo with a smile. When he saw the slow grin stealing across his colleague's face, he raised his eyebrows curiously. "What?"
"Just an idea," Duo responded, the innocence in his tone completely undermined by the gleam in his eye.
"Oh, Duo, no -"
But the exuberant American was already out of the door, chasing after their friend. A moment later, an angry shout resounded down the hall.
"Maxwell, you brat! Give me that back!"
Quatre quickly shut the door, leaning against it. "I'm not getting involved," he muttered, although he couldn't deny his gnawing curiosity. What was Duo up to?
TBC…
Yes, what indeed? ^_^ I must apologise for the shounen-ai liteness of this chapter, and the distinct lack of the '1' in 1+5.
Long-Winded Explanation of Wufei's Code-name:
Why Spirit? Well, "Dragon" was the obvious choice, but it's been done before, in much better fics.
"Nataku" was also obvious, since Wufei's carrying on the quest for justice through his job. However, I'd rather think that, with the destruction of Altron, he's trying to put Meilan behind him, and that his work as a Preventer is about finding justice in his own right, not for Meilan.
Sooo... "Nataku" was an ancient god without a soul, right? Therefore, the opposite would be a mortal (Wufei) with a soul...a spirit. Makes eventual sense, ne? Curse my obscurity. Heh.