Title: A Life Worth Living.
Pairings: 2x4, ?x?
Notes: This is what happens when I come up with a story while I'm in a bad mood, then write it while I'm in a good one. Sappy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If you sue you'll get my old yearbook and a coke can.
Quatre looked around at the beautiful decorations. His sisters had really gone all out. It was a warm April day. There were a few fluffy clouds, but nothing that could possibly pose a threat to the events that were about to happen. There were tents set up with huge tables and chairs, all with lilac tablecloths. Purple seemed to be the theme of the whole arrangement. The tents were purple, as were every other piece of cloth out in the field that day. There were treams of lilacs and orchids. It looked beautiful.
He walked up to the arch covered in vines. Later today he would be standing under this arch, and the reverend would be marrying Duo and him. Quatre still couldn't believe it. They were getting married.
The preperations, although thorough, had been extremely quick. Duo had only proposed two weeks ago. He took Quatre up in a hot air balloon and when they were in the right spot, told him to look down. There, on the roofs of people's houses, in large amounts of red paint, were the words "Marry Me." Quatre remembered how completely overtaken he had been. Even more so, when they got back to the ground and he discovered that the neighbours didn't enjoy their roofs being painted without their knowledge.
He couldn't help but laugh softly before taking in a deep breath of the lightly scented spring air. Everything was perfect. It was going to be a dream wedding.
"Sorry I haven't come in a while. You can't imagine how busy I've been, what with..."
Quatre suddenly had his eyes covered. "Guess Who?" a playful voice sang.
"Oh, it's the love of my life! I can't wait to make passionate love to you! My wonderful…" Quatre yelled dramatically before turning to face Duo. He mocked a look of surprise "Oh, it's you." Duo pouted and Quatre laughed.
"Sir, are you laughing at me?"
"That I am, Sir."
"Well, sir, I can not stand for that. En Guarde!" Duo yelled as he pulled a pen out of his pocket and proceeded to try and fight Quatre with it.
"Eek! You're going to get ink on my shirt." The blonde haired man said while looking frantically around for something to counter this attack. Finally he spotted his weapon. "Aha! Try and get me now!" He yelled waving a small twig around fiercely.
They began to battle. Duo lunged at Quatre, aiming for his stomach. Quatre leaped backward, avoiding being impaled by the pen and slashed at Duo's arm. Duo pulled away, narrowly missing the attack, and lunged again. They battled on, and it seemed like nobody was going to win when suddenly Quatre's twig caught Duo's pen. The twig snapped and the pen went flying.
"I have you now!" Quatre yelled, pointing his twig at Duo. It was broken in half, with the end hanging only by a few millimeters of bark. However, it was at this moment that the young men realized the absurdity of the scene, and proceeded to double over laughing.
"Oh God! You looked so silly." Duo wheezed.
"Hey, you didn't look too mature yourself!" Quatre managed out between laughs.
Finally, the laughter subsided, and the two men stood looking at each other before moving together to embrace each other. Duo leant in for a kiss, but Quatre pulled away. "Mmm, I have to go get ready or I'll be late for my own wedding." Duo pouted and gave his patented puppy dog look. Quatre hesitated for a moment, looking at his watch. "Ahh, what the hell!" He said, kissing Duo passionately.
"So, where is everyone?"
"Well…"
It had taken a while, but eventually Quatre had managed to stay away from Duo long enough to start getting ready. They had both decided to wear black tuxedos, although it had taken quite a lot of convincing to keep Duo out of a huge wedding dress.
Quatre was buttoning up his shirt when there was a knock at the door to the small room. "Come in" he yelled.
His old friends Heero and Wufei walked in. They were both wearing light violet tuxes. That was a battle Duo had one. Since Quatre had all the Maguanacs to invite, they decided that their other pilot friends would be the "bridesmaids", and as such Duo got to pick the outfits. Quatre snickered. This was the first time he'd actually seen those two wearing the suits, and he now understood why they had made such a fuss.
"I heard that, Winner." Wufei remarked as Quatre continued trying not to laugh. "Never say we didn't do anything for you. You are going to be paying us back for this for the rest of your lives."
"Oh I don't doubt that, although the blackmail from the wedding photos should keep you at bay for a while." The blonde said while smirking. Heero laughed.
"You have really been near Duo too long." He stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, that's the biggest insult you've ever said to me, Heero Yuy." Quatre remarked before they all laughed. It was a nice laugh. It was comfortable, just like they were. It was so unlike the moments they used to have. Those had been so awkward. But now they were happy and that was enough.
"Quatre, in all seriousness," Heero began, "We are both really happy for you two. It's really great that you found each other. Truthfully, I didn't think you'd ever get together. What with how Trowa and Duo used to be. But I'm glad that you two ended up with one another. You are so perfect together."
"I agree." Wufei took off, "We've all been through a great deal as a group. I was so happy to find friendship in this world, but it's wonderful that you two have found love. I'm almost jealous that you've been able to form something together. I really hope for the best between you two."
Quatre was near tears. He couldn't imagine what they could have said to make this moment any more loving. He was with his friends, and they were happy for him. It was like a dream come true.
"Have you seen the paper? It actually made the front page."
The three of them continued to talk. Two weeks doesn't seem like a long time, but peace is more fragile than people realize and Heero and Wufei had been busy making sure nothing happened to that peace. Heero was telling Quatre about a new risk. It was being kept quiet, but was keeping everyone in the preventers very busy. Quatre had just moved into a strategic state of mind and had begun to talk about ideas how to resolve the conflict when a voice came from the doorway.
"Now, don't distract him. He has enough to worry about without our problems." Trowa said, leaning against the doorframe.
"Trowa!" Quatre exclaimed "You're here!" Trowa smiled and moved in between Heero and Wufei.
"Of course I came. You think I'd miss this?" Trowa said while giving Quatre a small hug. "Now don't worry about our problems. We have everything under control. Keep your mind here"
"He's right, we shouldn't have brought it up." Wufei said.
"Don't worry about it." Heero picked up. "Hey, we'll see you in about an hour. Don't be late." Quatre smiled
"Thanks for coming. Bye!" He yelled after them as they left the room and closed the door.
"So, you two are really getting married. I'm happy for you both. You're going to make each other very happy." Trowa spoke softly, not really looking at Quatre but at his friends buttons or at the mirror behind him.
"Trowa? Do you...do you still love him?" Quatre said while manuvering into Trowa's line of view.
"Yes, but not in the way you think. I love you both, enough to want to see you both as happy as you could be in this life, and that's with each other. What Duo and I had was nice, but it's nothing compared to what you two have." Quatre could hear that Trowa was upset, but that he was being honest.
"Oh Trowa, thank you. You've always been such a good friend." Quatre said while clasping Trowa's hands in his own.
They hugged breifly before Trowa said that he should get ready and left Quatre to do so as well. Quatre turned to the mirror and smiled to himself, and marvelled at how wonderful his friends were.
"I talked to them the other day, but they couldn't make it. You know how it is."
"Yeah, I know how it is…"
There was another knock at the door. It wasn't going to be too long before Quatre started to get annoyed.
"I'm not sure if you know, but I have a wedding to get ready for." He yelled at the door while fixing his tie in front of the mirror.
"Oh well, I'm sorry, I guess I should just leave if I'm not wanted at this wedding." Duo said as he opened the door and walked into the room.
"Duo! We're not supposed to see each other before the wedding. It's bad luck!"
"Well, if it means I get to see more of you, I'll take the chance." Duo said as he moved towards Quatre sliding his hands around the other man's waist.
"Hmm, maybe it is a silly tradition anyway." Quatre whispered as he turned around and kissed Duo.
There kisses were slow and passionate, and it was during these moments that Quatre trully felt the love between them. However, Quatre decided to be mean and pulled quickly away from Duo, causing the other man to make a small moan of frustration.
"So," Quatre began, acting calm, "did the others come to talk to you yet?"
Quatre had the ability to have mood swings, knowing that it was really easy to get Duo excited or angry, so he liked to play with that. However, Duo was getting better at this little game. Duo grumbled slightly, but then put on his smile. He wasn't going to let this little blonde boy win. "Yah, I talked to them about fifteen minutes ago." He said imitating Quatre's coolness. "Why, are you afraid we had some wild orgy while you weren't there?"
"No, of course not. I know you would wait for me to get there before it began. You're so considerate." Duo wasn't the only one who was getting better at the games they played with each other. "But now, my friend, it is time for you to leave. I'm still not ready." Quatre said pushing Duo towards the door.
"Fine, fine, I'll leave, but I'll be back!" Duo yelled with a huge hand gesture as the door was closed on his face.
"I'm sure you will." Quatre mumbled to himself, going back to the mirror.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
Quatre mused to himself as he was brushing his hair. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed in the last year. Him and the other pilots were beginning to live normal lives, and interact comfortably, the awkwardness between Trowa and Duo had finally calmed down, and they were becoming friends again, and he had gotten into a wonderful relationship with Duo. He was in love with a fantastic person, and was genuinely happy. It was like a beautiful dream.
"Well, I've talked to some people about you, and they think that maybe…"
Finally, it was time. Rashid came into the room and told Quatre that everything was ready and they were just waiting for him. Quatre gave himself one more look over, to make sure everything was in the proper place, and left his dressing room. He silently walked down the hall with Rashid trailing just behind. They headed outside towards the tents and flowers. He saw Duo standing there waiting and smiled. He looked perfect in his tuxedo. They had decided since this wasn't exactly a traditional wedding, they would walk down the aisle together.
The music started. Quatre took Duo's awaiting arm, and they began to walk. He looked over at his soon to be mate and saw the slightest bit of nervousness behind that classic smile, but when Duo looked at him, all he saw was the love he knew was there. Quatre squeezed Duo's arm and smiled even more, if that was possible. He looked around at the other guests. It seems that everyone they knew was there. Of course the other pilots, the Maguanacs, but Relena and Zechs, Sally, Noin, Dorothy, Catherine, even Lady Une had made arrangments to come, despite her schedule. They were all smiling as the two of them made there way up the aisle. As they reached the end of their walk, Quatre looked forward into the reverend's face. He was also smiling.
The music stopped and the two of them stood there as the ceremony started "Dearly beloved..."
"What do you think about that?"
"I think you should go now."
The ceremony had begun and the reverend was talking. Quatre knew he should have been paying full attention, but he was dizzy with happiness. He marvelled at how anyone could do this and not want to dance around.
However, it had come time for the vows. They had both spent a lot of time coming up with them and now it was time to deliver. Quatre had agreed to go first. He took a deep breath and began the rehearsed speech.
"Duo, I can't tell you how much I love you. I could say how you complete me and how my life has been a ray of sunshine with you in it, but I don't want to spout cliches. I want to tell you about how I love, but after much thought, I decided that there were no words. I decided that the only way I could show how much I love is to just show you every moment how important you are to me for the rest of our lives. So this is my promise to you: I will love and cherish, and put up with, and laugh, and cry with you for as long as we're together. I love you."
Quatre took a deep breath and smiled. He was proud of himself, that we was only silently crying at the end, he had managed to hold together. Although, when he looked into his partners eyes, he saw that Duo was not doing so well. Duo laughed as he wiped tears from his own eyes and began his own vows.
"Quatre, I love you. I love how you smile, how you always have something positive to say, and how you are always bright. I love how you cover for me when I say something stupid, how you don't make fun of me afterwards, and how you stick up for me when you think I'm right. I love how you make that face when you're annoyed, how you try and hide it, and how you let me point it out. I love how you put up with my antics, how you have started to do some of your own, and how you play innocent when I confront you. I love how you look while your asleep, how your breathe is slow and calm, and how you smile in your dreams. I love you and how you love me. I promise to love you forever and to watch you so I can make the list of how I love you longer and longer, and maybe one day it will begin to show how much I love you."
That was all it took. Now Quatre was crying as well. He couldn't have imagined anything more beautiful than what Duo just said. He wanted to just hold him now and never let him go, however the reverend was beginning to speak again, so they both just turned with teary eyes and huge smiles and let the ceremony finish.
"Are…are you sure? I mean, you still have some time."
"No. I'm tired."
"Well, alright."
Relena Peacecraft stood up from her seat, flattening her lilac skirt. He knew it was the outfit she wore when going somewhere that she didn't want to be. He guessed that she thought it made her look happier. She walked around the table and took his hand. "I'll be back again soon, Quatre." She said, smiling weakly before turning to leave.
"Relena." She turned around, anxious in case he asked her to stay any longer than she had too. "Don't forget your newspaper." He said, picking up the bundle. Large black words glared off: "PILOTS 02 AND 03, MARRIED."
She smiled as she took the bundle from his hand and disappeared out the white door.
"Alright now Mr. Winner. Your time is up, let's go back to your room." A medium sized woman with clipped black hair said as she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Okay Sheila." Quatre said, leaving the visiting room though a different set of white doors.
The two of them walked along the corridor. It was lined with identical "rooms", yet Quatre knew where he was going. He'd walked this corridor for the past two years. However, it had been a long time since he'd been to the visiting room. It had been a long time since someone had visited him. He knew that Relena only did it out of obligation.
He didn't blame her for not liking to come here. After all, who wants to visit an insane asylum?
Sheila guided him back into his room, opening the door. It was plain, like all the other rooms. More like some sterile cell than anything else. A small bed was positioned in a corner, close to (but not too close, so that residents got ideas) a small barred window. The only other thing in the room was a small blue statue of a dolphin. Usually, patients were not allowed to have objects that could be dangerous, but he still was the male heir to the Winner fortune, and that did count for something
He walked into the room, letting Sheila close the door behind him. The young man crossed the room and looked through the window, letting the warm sunlight wash over him. He closed his eyes. Slowly, it all returned. He was no longer in his cell of a room, but out in the open air. His eyes focused, and he was standing next to Duo. He had just said "I do."
"Congratulations! You are married. You may now kiss."
Duo leant into Quatre, and they shared a passionate kiss. It seemed like eternity before they acknowledged the massive crowd of guests waiting to congratulate them. He had never felt happier.
This was the life he belonged to.
This was his life.
He didn't care what anyone said, it was his life, and he was living it.