Title: You get what you need
Author: Grevola
Rating/Word Count: PG, 1501 words
Notes/Warnings: Written for th gw500 prompt "Spook" on LiveJournal. What's spookier or scarier than a wedding? Why Relena and Wufei trying to agree on anything, that's what! Silliness, and stubbornness, but no bad words or things that go bump in the night.
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need ~ The Rolling Stones
After the fourth wedding planner threw her hands in the air, showering the couple with bridal pamphlets and invitation samples, Dorothy decided it was time to step in, and damn her stupid promise to Relena anyway. She didn't see how they were going to be married before New Years, but have orange blossoms. To be fair, it wasn't only Relena's fault. Her fiance was proving just as stubborn and opinionated about the whole thing. Take for example the argument about the dress that had sent the first wedding planner off in tears:
"Since you'll be having the dress custom made, your options are virtually limitless. So do you have any ideas on color or material before we look at designs?"
"White."
"Red." Both the women stared at Wufei.
"I am not going to wear red. It makes me look like a blond tomato," Relena said.
"I will not have anyone wearing white at my wedding."
The wedding planner could see a storm on the horizon and moved to diffuse the situation early, "Er, the groom is not usually so... definite about dress color. Is there a reason?"
Wufei rolled his eyes, "White is a color for mourning. I don't want any ghosts at my wedding."
"Strictly speaking, it's for virgins anyway," Relena sighed, "I suppose I could wear ivory."
"That's still white."
"It is not! Ivory, white, champagne, ice, they're all completely different!"
"They're just different shades of white."
It had all gone down hill rather predictably from there.
In the end, there was only one thing both of them seemed to be in complete agreement about: no roses. That had been the last straw for planner number three, but he hadn't been very good anyway.
When Relena's mother had tried to end the arguing by tactfully suggesting that the wedding was supposed to be "her special day", Wufei had been quite adamant that he'd already been forced through one ridiculous wedding ceremony, and if he was going to do it again he'd get at least some say in it this time. It was, as Mrs. Darlian had found, quite hard to argue with that.
So Dorothy had called the one level headed person she could trust to help her with her new plan. None other than Relena's best friend, and Wufei's partner at Preventers: Heero Yuy. He had listened to her proposal quite carefully, and then turned the entire project over to Duo. Once she had established the boundaries of a working relationship with the energetic L2er (he wouldn't tease her, and she wouldn't maim him) things had gone quite well. In the end, even Dorothy would admit that he'd probably had more to do with the shape of the final plan than she had, and all with excellent results.
The morning of October 31st dawned crisp and chilly in Sanq, with dark clouds threatening a torrential downpour by mid afternoon. Which was why no one had complained much when Quatre had invited them to all visit him and the circus for Halloween in Porto Alegre. The holiday had grown in popularity in Brazile, and was now referred to as the "Spring Carnival"[1], and he had insisted on holding a costume party for his dear friends.
The catch? He was providing all the costumes.
Which, given the local heat and the travel involved, hadn't actually been a bad thing. And once Duo had explained his role in the plan to the Winner CEO he'd taken it as his sworn duty to make sure there were no wardrobe complaints. Though Dorothy suspected there might have been some ulterior motive to dressing her a pirate queen.
The ballroom of the small hotel had been decorated to look like a temple abandoned in the jungle. Flowering vines and orchids covered the tables and rafters. Potted orange trees were blooming in the corners, and framed a wooden arch set at one end of the room. Duo, dressed as a shaman with feathers and beads all through his cloths and hair, welcomed the guests the Cannibal Ball by announcing their costumes over the PA.
As Relena and Wufei approached, Duo bowed to them and then bellowed into the microphone, "Ladies and gentle men, I give you Cinderella and her prince, the Red Barron!" They walked in to a round of applause. Relena laughed at Duo's antics, and even Wufei seemed amused as he offered his arm to her formally, ignoring how incongruous here blue satin glove looked against his leather bomber jacket.
Once the last couple of guests had arrived Duo moved to the front of the room and whistled into his microphone. "And now that you're all plotting my demise," he grinned, "I'd like to thank you all for coming to the wedding of two of our closest friends."
Wufei leaned toward Relena and whispered, "You didn't tell me this was a wedding. We don't have a gift."
"I didn't know it was wedding! I don't even know who's getting married!"
"And now, will Relena Darlian and Wufei Chang please get up here."
Trowa, who had been nominated the official photographer, immortalized the exact moment when they looked at each other and said, "You planned this!"
"Come on up here you two," Duo cajoled, "We've got a wedding to get on with."
So it was that they found themselves standing in front of their best friends, and Relena's family, every one in an elaborate costume. Dorothy presided over the ceremony and kept it remarkably short, "We're gathered here today because if we left if up to these two we'd be waiting years to see them married. Now, Wufei, do you want to marry Relena?"
"I wouldn't have asked her if I didn't!"
"And Relena, do you still want to marry Wufei?"
"I wouldn't go through four wedding planers if I didn't want to marry him."
"Do you two promise to love each other, honor each other, and tell each other when you're being a stubborn ass, for as long as you both shall live?"
For the first time since going to stand before the makeshift altar, their eyes met. And if anyone was surprised to see Wufei Chang misty eyed, they all had the good grace not to say anything. "Of course I do," he said.
"I do too," Relena replied.
"Great!" Duo broke in, "Now kiss the bride!"
Wufei took her hands and hesitated for a moment, like he might say something more. Relena didn't wait to find out what he might say, and instead threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
The room filled with loud applause and roars of approval.
Much later, after the cake with pumpkin decorations had been sliced, lotus dumplings exchanged, and a toast had been taken out of two glasses connected with a red thread, the couple had been whisked away by Heero and Trowa to a small table out in the hall.
"Here's the license," he said, offering a pen to the couple.
Relena looked at him for a minute, "This is really happening?"
Heero frowned, "Of course it is. If you want to be married, you have to sign the license, Trowa and I are here as witnesses since Duo and Dorothy got to do the ceremony."
"Well then," Relena took the pen, her hand only shaking slightly as she wrote, "I suppose this is one autograph I have time to give." She turned to hand the pen to Wufei, but he was frowning. "Your turn," she said.
"Give me a moment, woman" he answered gruffly. Then, after another moment of consideration, he took off his aviator cap and goggles and set them on the table with some ceremony. He ran his fingers through his mussed hair and then gently took the pen from her fingers and signed the characters for his name. "After the first time I swore I would never be married in a silly hat again. I blame having to wear it during the ceremony on Duo."
She stared at him for a moment before she burst into laughter.
"Hey, we did what we could on short notice!" Duo said, popping up like a devil at the mention of his name, "And I'd like you both to note that despite the holiday, Relena got her spring wedding, and there are no ghosts to bother Wufei."
Wufei gave his friend a long look before pulling him into a hug, "Thank you."
Relena wrapped her arms around him as well, "From both of us."
"Do I get any thanks?" Dorothy asked, "This was my idea you know."
"Only if you can swear you didn't buy us a toast rack," Wufei growled.
Trowa managed to catch her look of guilt on camera too.
END
[1] This is totally made up. While Halloween is definitely gaining popularity outside of the United States, I have never heard of it being really celebrated in Brazil, or anywhere in the South America, where it happens in the spring, and where Carnival (Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, etc.) is the big costume holiday.
