Out of Tune
Epilogue: In Tune And Singing In Harmony
Well folks, we've come to the end of something, good, bad, and ugly. Hope you enjoy the very last addition to Out of Tune! Thanks for being here for the whole thing!
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, logos, etc. from Gundam Wing.
"I'm sure, besides, you never did finish my guitar lesson," she replied. Trowa grinned and with no more coaxing, he gave into his urge to pick her up and take her to bed. Besides, she had a point. The girl needed to learn to play the guitar sometime.
Roughly One Year Later
"WAH!!!!!" was pretty much the only sound little Solo Maxwell could make, that and "AHHHH!!". And both sounds were beginning to drive Trowa Barton up the wall, despite his deep affection for his godson. Somehow, he glared over at his steady girlfriend Dorothy, he'd ended up babysitting Solo under the pretenses that he needed to "get used to little children". Although he loved children, having his own sounded quite scary.
"How's it going?" Dorothy asked as she moved from where she had been talking to Hilde and Relena in their little circle in the corner. Trowa groaned in response. Dorothy laughed and took Solo from him. Within seconds, the sounds of tinkling laughter and baby coos were filling the air.
"How-how'd you do that?" he demanded. Dorothy laughed again.
"You just need to give him some attention and he'll gobble it right up," she explained. Trowa paused and then grinned.
"I knew that," he replied, making her roll her eyes. He watched on in amazement as she turned the fussy child into a laughing and happy baby boy. The fear of having children seemed distant as he watched her with Solo.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to thank you for coming to me and Hilde's rehearsal dinner tonight!" Duo yelled, his voice carrying over the crowd. Trowa had completely missed the two's entry. However, he missed a lot of things when Dorothy was around. That's why their little "mutual office" was now really just her's because he'd get too distracted to do any work in there, especially with her in it.
Trowa tore his gaze away from her and began to scan the small room that was crowding so many people together. Although it was a fairly small crowd, there was a lot of bustle due to the two babies in the room; only a week after Dorothy had been released from the hospital, did Sally and Wufei announce the coming of a child of their own. And little Marameia still made sure she got her due amount of attention, making the room a very busy place.
Not long after Wufei and Sally's announcement, did more good news arrive; they were calling off the isolation between the Earth and the colonies because, due to Quatre's earlier contributions and the effectiveness of a, then unknown, Preventer named Sony, the New Faction was dissolved and its leader, the arrogant Duke Dermail, was put behind bars for attempted crimes against humanity. With the isolation called off, Heero was allowed to return to Earth, where he and Relena finally went public with their relationship. Although it wasn't still accepted in many circles, both being from two different extreme views on war, neither gave a rat's ass.
Duo and Hilde had already postponed their wedding before the isolation was cut off so that all their friends would be able to attend but once the operation was disengaged, the two decided they'd keep their new wedding date instead of dealing with the hassle of making out a third round of invitations. Hilde delivered on January 24, making Duo a very happy, but very tired, Daddy. Duo couldn't really decide which of his friends he wanted to name his son's godfather, so he decided to let them all be god-fathers…even Quatre.
Although relations were still a bit strained between Trowa and Quatre, the Q-man had been reaccepted by the others after his profound apologies to each one, that he made personally. As Trowa's eyes leapt from person to person he noted how different they all looked from when they were 15. Duo still hadn't cut his hair, and had only proceeded in getting taller. He'd finally lost the excess black attire and let himself dress in more cheery of clothes. Heero had probably changed the most out of all of them; now growing a bit of facial hair, he was now fuller than he had been and his laugh was much more of a common occurrence than it had been. Wufei had let his hair down for the rehearsal dinner, literally, and although he still was a bit of a stickler for rules and dress codes, having a child had loosened him up and the upcoming marriage to Sally didn't put any wrinkles on his face either. Hilde looked a nervous wreck, what with planning the wedding and caring for her baby, but Relena, who's calm voice always worked to soothe people, was helping her immensely. She'd even offered to be her personal wedding attendant so that she could help the poor girl out. Sally was holding little Meiran on her hip, the little girl looking calmer than any baby had the right to be. Although it seemed odd to Trowa that Wufei would name his daughter after his deceased wife, Sally had been all for it. Apparently there was a respect the two parents had for the woman that made naming their daughter after her a great honor. Lady Une was sitting and laughing with Lucrezia and Milliardo, who had recently returned from Mars to attend the wedding. Although none of the three were in the wedding party, they were so close that they would be sitting at the wedding party table anyway. The rest of the guests that would be at the wedding were a mix of Hilde's family and friends and Duo's other friends from work.
Finally, Trowa's eyes came to rest on Quatre, who was now sitting in a corner talking quietly to Catherine. Trowa looked down and away from the two, not really wishing to see them together. Even he couldn't deny how close the two were becoming but he couldn't really quite bring himself to like it. A part of him knew it was unfair to think badly of them finally finding someone to be happy with, but most of him just couldn't part with the fact that his sister, whether she be biological or not, was falling in love with Quatre. However, he would never say anything to either of them, he didn't want to hurt his sister and he knew that Quatre wouldn't hurt her, not after what he'd done to Dorothy.
"Let's get this party started!!" Duo yelled, starting to pass fill people's cups with beer from a large pitcher. Duo, being Duo, had decided that instead of having something fancy for the rehearsal dinner, they'd keep it simple and have beer and pizza at a local bar that was well known for its karaoke nights. Trowa hoped that Duo wouldn't be so stupid as to get trashed and sing, considering that it was his wedding tomorrow afternoon.
Luckily enough for all those involved, Duo only drank enough that he only needed to be escorted to his room instead of carried. And he wasn't the only one trashed, Milliardo and Heero had drunk enough that they agreed to sing a duet together; "I've Got You Babe" was their choice. Trowa shuddered, the memory of Milliardo and Heero with their arms around each other's shoulders and their out of tune slurred lyrics were enough to make even understanding Relena cringe.
The next morning was a blur as various men and women recovered from hangovers and struggled into dresses and suits. The wedding party had the shortest end of the stick, particularly the women. As if it wasn't bad enough they had to primp themselves, they also had to help clueless ex-gundam pilots into tuxes. Poor Relena had to help both Heero and Duo prep themselves, and she had to make sure they looked better than any of the other's considering their status as Best Man and Groom, respectively. Dorothy awoke bright and early that morning, getting herself ready before Trowa had even got up and was now helping him tie his bow and put the stud-like things on the buttons of his tux.
"Come in!" Dorothy cried when she heard the knock on the already open door. "There you go babe, all set," she said as she finished on his tux.
"Auntie Dorothy, how do I look?" Marameia asked as she twirled around in her flower girl dress. Dorothy smiled and clapped before giving her two thumbs up.
"You look beautiful!" she exclaimed, giving the little girl a hug. Trowa grabbed her from Dorothy and spun her around.
"Are you sure it's not your wedding day?" he asked jokingly as he set the laughing girl down. Marameia giggled and shook her head.
"Of course it isn't, but when it is, will you marry me?" she asked, her large eyes questioning. Trowa laughed and looked over at Dorothy.
"I dunno, what do you think Dot?" he asked. His eyes met hers and they shared their own silent laugh before she answered.
"We can share Marameia," she said. "Now come on, I'm sure Lady's looking for you," she said, picking the girl up. Trowa waved good-bye and turned back inside, before checking to see if anyone was watching him. He turned into the small bathroom of the hotel room and reached into the case that held his shaving gear and other toiletries. He knew that this was a safe spot that Dorothy wouldn't dare look in; their first argument had centered over this case and how "sacred" it was. He pulled out the special item that he'd hidden inside and pocketed, patting it to make sure it was safe and well hidden beneath his jacket.
He looked out the door again and once he was sure the coast was clear, he closed the door softly and picked up the telephone, dialing the familiar number of a favorite place.
"Hello, I'm calling about the 'event', tonight," he said, knowing the person on the other line would know exactly what he was talking about. "Good, is everything in place?" he asked. "Excellent, then I'll bring her tonight," he finished. He hung up the phone and ran a hand through his hair.
'I just hope everything goes to plan,' he thought.
The ceremony had gone off without anything too major going wrong. In fact, if anything did go wrong, those who found out made a point that Hilde never found out about it. This was something Duo had dictated the night before when the bride wasn't looking. The only thing that didn't go as planned that Hilde did find out about was Solo refusing to wear the dress shoes that went with his baby tux. However, they all decided he looked cuter without them. Marameia had yet again stole a crowd by showcasing off her "cousin" and still being able to throw flowers as she carried the ring bearer and fulfilled her duties as a flower girl.
It had been a very beautiful wedding and the barhopping afterwards was a great way to kick off the couples' marriage. When they finally arrived at the reception in the banquet hall of the hotel, Duo was yet again easily blitzed but then, so was Hilde, so no one really paid any mind. Even though she was of German heritage, Hilde had gone along with Duo in having a traditional American wedding, complete with all its old traditions. As dinner was being consumed, the guests would use their forks, knives, and spoons to make ringing noises against their china, forcing the couple to stand up and kiss in front of the crowd. Since both loved eating face, as Heero so grumpily put it, they'd also agreed that whenever anyone said the word love, they'd also have to kiss. Which is why when Heero gave his Best Man speech, he made a point of saying that he'd replaced every 'love' in his speech with, what else, Wing Zero. Which of course made for a very amusing speech indeed.
When Relena gave her Bride of Honor speech, she made a point of saying love several times in a row forcing the couple to remain standing for a good 5 minutes. Once dinner had been served, the music and dancing commenced. All of the gundam pilots were forcefully dragged out onto the dance floor, either by their girlfriends or by Duo, who was covered in lipstick and spilled champagne. Trowa hadn't minded since Dorothy wasn't much in the mood to dance so they slowly slipped away from the dance floor to the bar where they hid amongst the crowd of people.
"I'm so happy for Hilde," Dorothy almost shouted to Trowa, so he could hear her over the music. Trowa smiled and took a drink of his Malibu and coke, nodding as he swallowed. He turned back to the dance floor to find that Duo had been joined in the exclusive "Drunk and Luvin' It" club by Heero and, surprise upon surprise, Quatre. The three were laughing like the best joke in the world had been said as they struggled to recreate disco moves. Relena was blushing, Hilde was laughing and playing along, and Catherine was struggling with a nervous laugh.
"Never took Wufei for the dancing type!" he shouted at Dorothy, the music pumping louder as another fast song played. He pointed over at the Chinese man, who was involved in a 3-way dance between his wife and daughter.
"Kodak moment!" Dorothy cried back. Trowa laughed and nodded. He spun his chair back towards the bar, his hand instinctively going to hers. He lifted it up and kissed her palm, his eyes never leaving hers. She smiled back at him, giving him his favorite expression in her "book" of expressions as they called it. 'I can't wait for tonight,' he thought, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Once the song had finished, Duo walked up to the DJ and informed her that it was now 10 o'clock and time for the Grand March, of course, he hadn't said it as clearly as he'd of liked, but he at least got the point across.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you'd all be so kind as to stand up now, leave a nice aisle here on the dance floor, that's it," she directed. Trowa and Dorothy stood up and filed out of the room, following the rest of the wedding party.
"This should be good," Dorothy whispered to Trowa once they were in the quiet of the hall outside the doors. Trowa laughed and nodded, offering his arm to his lady.
"Guests, I'd like to present to you Mr. And Mrs. Duo and Hilde Maxwell and their Wedding Party!!" the DJ cried. Duo and Hilde busted open the double doors with a practiced high kick. Duo picked her up and rushed into the banquet hall, a shrieking and laughing Hilde in his arms, and slid to his knees. The bridesmaid's eyebrows shot up in surprise as the groomsmen proceeded to follow Duo's example, picking up their girlfriends and sliding into the dance floor.
The rest of the guests burst out laughing as five gundam pilots were simultaneously slapped.
As soon as the antics of the Grand March were over, the group decided to serve the large wedding cake. Of course, since Duo and Hilde still weren't sober, when they fed each other their cake they mainly got it in each other's hair and face…although it seemed as though Hilde had done that on purpose.
After each guest had had their fill of cake, Duo grabbed Hilde and rushed behind the DJ's stand, grabbing the mike.
"Now, we'd like to do the traditional wedding tosses, starting with the throwing of the bouquet!" he cried, his speech still slurred. "Now all you non-married ladies get up here and get your baseball gloves on, Hilde's got quite the curve ball-bouquet!"
Hilde laughed as Duo blindfolded her and spun her around several times. Then he put her back to the crowd of women and stepped back dramatically so as to get out of the way. Dorothy glared over at Trowa who had pushed her out into the crowd of ladies and stuck her tongue out at him. Trowa only laughed somewhat evilly and turned his gaze back to Hilde. She threw it back with all her might, quickly spinning around and tearing off her blindfold to see who'd catch it. Dorothy and the women next to her all reached for it, almost as if out instinct. However, they were to far to the left of it and watched it as it fell into the hands of an unsuspecting Relena. She stared at it as though she'd never seen one before, then turned on her boyfriend Heero and wiggled it, her eyes mischievous.
"Alright now, ladies, you've had your chance, now its time for the men to catch something. All men without a slave driver, I mean wife-" SMACK "Ow!! Hilde, watchya do that for?!" This earned a laugh from the crowd as the non-married men gathered in the dance floor. This time it was Dorothy's turn to push Trowa out into the crowd. However, Trowa was prepared. He'd though of a shield. He turned back for a second and disappeared from Dorothy's sight, only to return with Solo in his arms. He winked at Dorothy and laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him again.
In front of the crowd, Duo's hands had been tied behind his back and was blindfolded, courtesy of Heero. His duty as Best Man completed, Heero turned into the crowd. Hilde was seated in a folding chair, her legs crossed with the gartered leg on top. Duo was left having to use his teeth to lift up her billowing dress and find the black and red lacy strip on her thigh. The men whistled and cheered as inches of her thigh appeared. Hilde laughed as Duo tickled her with his searching mouth. Finally, he found the garter and began pulling it off her leg. Once he'd gotten it over her foot, Hilde untied him and spun him around like he'd done her. Once properly dizzy, she turned his back to the crowd and let him throw it.
The lacy thing was too light to go very far and as ironic as it seemed, it was only the men in the front of the crowd who had a chance. And standing smack dab in the middle of the fight for the garter and the chance to dance with Relena was Heero Yuy. Now, under normal circumstances, Heero would have simply let someone else grab it…but this was a slow dance with Relena and he hadn't gotten a chance to do that yet. So as it dropped to the floor, he was right in the mess of things, grabbing for the frilly under-thing. And with a few well-placed Preventer moves, he stood up, holding the strip in his hand and pumping it like he'd one the Olympics.
Relena and Heero had their dance alone on the floor, all the girls sighing as they watched the romantic scene unfold. The couple was soon followed by Duo and Hilde's dance alone, which brought only more sighs and a few tears from the ladies in the room.
"One more slow song folks, then I'm handing it over to the live band over there!" the DJ called out as the song ended. She gestured towards the band Short Story Long that were setting up in the back of the room. Trowa sighed, his anxiety starting to wane. There was only one more dance left to go and then he'd be free. Dorothy reached for his arm and gently tugged him onto the dance floor.
"Let's dance one more time before we leave, okay?" she bargained. Trowa nodded and put his arms around her waist. He bowed his head toward hers as she snaked her arms around his neck. They swayed together on the crowded dance floor, letting their expressions and bodies speak for them. This gave Trowa time to think and consider some things that were weighing his mind down. 'Am I ready to do this?' he asked himself. He pulled away slightly to look into Dorothy's face. Her eyes were closed and she was humming softly to the music. The dancing lights played on her face and he could imagine her playing in natural sunlight with their children, their laughter identical to hers. He could almost picture her as if it were a memory, sitting on the floor with their own small family opening Christmas presents or baking cookies. The song came to an instrumental break and Dorothy's eyes fluttered open. She cocked her head to once side as though asking why he was staring at her with such an odd expression. He smiled and kissed her forehead, pulling her close again.
'Yes, I'm ready for this,' he answered himself.
"Trowa, where are we going?" Dorothy laughed as he pulled her along the street. He had blindfolded her so he'd be able to surprise her. He took different paths then he usual did to confuse her and keep her guessing. He wanted this to be a complete surprise.
"If I told you, I'd ruin the surprise," he answered. Dorothy laughed at his response and clung tighter to his hand as he turned a corner rapidly. She thanked her stars that she'd listened to him and taken her high heels off as they turned yet another corner. They slowed down as they reached what must be their destination and Dorothy heard him fiddling around with a key. A door opened and he led her inside, keeping a hold on her hand as he shut the door behind them. A familiar smell overwhelmed her as she took a step further into the room.
"Can I take my blindfold off yet?" she asked, her voice quiet. Trowa shook his head, forgetting she couldn't see it momentarily.
"No, not yet. I'll take it off when we get there," he replied. "We're almost there, don't worry," he said, pre-countering the inward groan that she needed to walk even further on aching feet. Dorothy nodded and let Trowa lead her. The un-place able smell wafted away as they entered a new room or hall. Trowa stopped again to open a door and led her into another room. The light that had shown through the blindfold disappeared as she heard him close the door.
"Stay right there, okay?" he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Dorothy nodded again and backed herself into a wall, so she'd feel a little more secure in this room with so little light. She turned her head in the direction she thought Trowa had gone and watched through the fold for any sign as to where she was. A dim light was now shining in Trowa's direction and she could just make out his figure approaching her.
"Can I see what my surprise is yet?" she asked eagerly. Trowa laughed, the sound filling what had to be a fairly empty room.
"Yes, you can," he answered, lifting the blindfold off. Dorothy blinked a moment to get used to the light and gasped. She looked around herself to make sure she was really where she thought she was, but there was no mistaking it.
"It's the niche," she whispered. Trowa laughed and nodded, wrapping his arms around her. Dorothy placed her hands on his arms for support, as she scanned the makeover he'd given the room. In one corner he'd made a small bed on the longer of the two couches, plush pillows looking ever so welcoming. In the middle of the opposite wall, he'd set up what looked like tens of candles on one table, adding a warm glow to the room. However, the oddest thing was the decorations; they were all Christmas decorations. It was closing in on Christmas, yes, but they hadn't even hit Thanksgiving yet. Trowa's arms left her as he turned around and hit a switch. The song Greensleeves filled the room. Dorothy laughed and turned to him again. He smiled and bent down to plug in a cord that disappeared behind some gauze she hadn't spotted earlier.
Icicle lights lit up all around the top of the room and above them on the ceiling, wrapped in light red paper. The poor girl had taken in too much and small tears leaked out the corner of her eyes as she laughed and spun around the room.
"I figured since we never really got to celebrate our own Christmas, why not do it a little earlier this year?" Trowa explained, as he pulled her to him again. Dorothy laughed and cried at the same time, her hands fisting themselves in his white button up shirt. Trowa threw his black jacket next to their "bed" and led her over towards it. "Okay, now sit down," he directed, leading her down. Still holding her, he squatted down in front of her and wiped her tears away, his smile fixed on his face. He kissed her, savoring the feel of her lips against his; it was a feeling he knew he'd never get tired of.
When he pulled away, he stood up and reached into his pocket, keeping the item hidden in his hands. He knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in one of his own. He positioned himself so that he was down on one knee and Dorothy gasped again, knowing what was coming.
"Dorothy, I love you," he began. She smiled, more tears falling down her face.
"I love you too," she choked out. Trowa smiled and stroked her face, wiping off as many tears as he could.
"I've seen how happy Duo and Hilde are, and I know we have what they had before they got married. And now I want what they have married; Dorothy, do you remember when we went to that gazebo in the park and we saw that elderly couple walking past? I can see us together for that long, I can see us sharing a real home and having children, watching them grow up, having grandchildren-" his voice broke and Dorothy laughed, her eyes sparkling. Trowa smiled and kissed her again. "Dorothy, Dot, I want to be with you for the rest of my life and for longer; I want you to belong to me and me to belong to you." He gathered up his courage and produced the ring that he'd been saving up for with his paycheck for the last 6 months. It wasn't the most extravagant but Dorothy already loved it, her eyes matching the sparkling single diamond enclosed in silver. "Dorothy Catalonia, will you marry me?"
Dorothy was silent for a moment, still crying. She opened her mouth to speak but was too choked up to speak. So she slid off the couch and into his arms, nodding frantically against his shoulder. She pulled away and wiped at her face, smiling the biggest smile he'd ever seen.
"Yes, a thousand times, yes!" she finally cried, falling back against him. Trowa laughed and stood up, taking her with him and spinning her around. Their lips met again and it was as magnetic and powerful as the night they kissed beneath the orange glow of an outside lamplight flooding into their apartment. His grip on her tightened and he knew this was the moment where his life really meant something, this was the moment they'd both been waiting for their whole lives.
As he pulled away from her lips, he touched her face and made her open her eyes. As he drowned in their sea-like depths, he remembered something he'd been told in the circus when he was taught how to play the guitar. He'd asked the man teaching him how he got his guitar to be concert tuned and the man waved a hand dismissively.
"Trowa, it doesn't matter if your guitar is tuned the right way, just as long as each string is in tune to each other, then you'll sound just fine. In fact, I think it often sounds better when you're not in tune the right way; it has it's own unique sound and flavor…" he trailed off and his eyes went distant. "It's like love, Trowa. When you're in tune with someone else, it doesn't matter if you're in tune with the rest of the world. Because when you're played together you make a beautiful sound unique to only the two of you and that's something special and rare," he laughed as he caught Trowa's expression and patted him on the knee. "When you find that someone, you'll know what I mean!"
Trowa smiled and placed butterfly kisses down her jaw and to her lips. He laughed against her lips and pulled away, spinning her around again. Yes, he knew what the man meant. He was in tune with Dorothy and no other melody ever sounded so wonderful as the one playing on her face and his.
The End
Did you enjoy this story? I hope so; now get off the computer and go look for your special someone and get in tune; the orchestra is waiting!! Love to all,
MadameHotaru.of.87
Epilogue: In Tune And Singing In Harmony
Well folks, we've come to the end of something, good, bad, and ugly. Hope you enjoy the very last addition to Out of Tune! Thanks for being here for the whole thing!
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, logos, etc. from Gundam Wing.
"I'm sure, besides, you never did finish my guitar lesson," she replied. Trowa grinned and with no more coaxing, he gave into his urge to pick her up and take her to bed. Besides, she had a point. The girl needed to learn to play the guitar sometime.
Roughly One Year Later
"WAH!!!!!" was pretty much the only sound little Solo Maxwell could make, that and "AHHHH!!". And both sounds were beginning to drive Trowa Barton up the wall, despite his deep affection for his godson. Somehow, he glared over at his steady girlfriend Dorothy, he'd ended up babysitting Solo under the pretenses that he needed to "get used to little children". Although he loved children, having his own sounded quite scary.
"How's it going?" Dorothy asked as she moved from where she had been talking to Hilde and Relena in their little circle in the corner. Trowa groaned in response. Dorothy laughed and took Solo from him. Within seconds, the sounds of tinkling laughter and baby coos were filling the air.
"How-how'd you do that?" he demanded. Dorothy laughed again.
"You just need to give him some attention and he'll gobble it right up," she explained. Trowa paused and then grinned.
"I knew that," he replied, making her roll her eyes. He watched on in amazement as she turned the fussy child into a laughing and happy baby boy. The fear of having children seemed distant as he watched her with Solo.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to thank you for coming to me and Hilde's rehearsal dinner tonight!" Duo yelled, his voice carrying over the crowd. Trowa had completely missed the two's entry. However, he missed a lot of things when Dorothy was around. That's why their little "mutual office" was now really just her's because he'd get too distracted to do any work in there, especially with her in it.
Trowa tore his gaze away from her and began to scan the small room that was crowding so many people together. Although it was a fairly small crowd, there was a lot of bustle due to the two babies in the room; only a week after Dorothy had been released from the hospital, did Sally and Wufei announce the coming of a child of their own. And little Marameia still made sure she got her due amount of attention, making the room a very busy place.
Not long after Wufei and Sally's announcement, did more good news arrive; they were calling off the isolation between the Earth and the colonies because, due to Quatre's earlier contributions and the effectiveness of a, then unknown, Preventer named Sony, the New Faction was dissolved and its leader, the arrogant Duke Dermail, was put behind bars for attempted crimes against humanity. With the isolation called off, Heero was allowed to return to Earth, where he and Relena finally went public with their relationship. Although it wasn't still accepted in many circles, both being from two different extreme views on war, neither gave a rat's ass.
Duo and Hilde had already postponed their wedding before the isolation was cut off so that all their friends would be able to attend but once the operation was disengaged, the two decided they'd keep their new wedding date instead of dealing with the hassle of making out a third round of invitations. Hilde delivered on January 24, making Duo a very happy, but very tired, Daddy. Duo couldn't really decide which of his friends he wanted to name his son's godfather, so he decided to let them all be god-fathers…even Quatre.
Although relations were still a bit strained between Trowa and Quatre, the Q-man had been reaccepted by the others after his profound apologies to each one, that he made personally. As Trowa's eyes leapt from person to person he noted how different they all looked from when they were 15. Duo still hadn't cut his hair, and had only proceeded in getting taller. He'd finally lost the excess black attire and let himself dress in more cheery of clothes. Heero had probably changed the most out of all of them; now growing a bit of facial hair, he was now fuller than he had been and his laugh was much more of a common occurrence than it had been. Wufei had let his hair down for the rehearsal dinner, literally, and although he still was a bit of a stickler for rules and dress codes, having a child had loosened him up and the upcoming marriage to Sally didn't put any wrinkles on his face either. Hilde looked a nervous wreck, what with planning the wedding and caring for her baby, but Relena, who's calm voice always worked to soothe people, was helping her immensely. She'd even offered to be her personal wedding attendant so that she could help the poor girl out. Sally was holding little Meiran on her hip, the little girl looking calmer than any baby had the right to be. Although it seemed odd to Trowa that Wufei would name his daughter after his deceased wife, Sally had been all for it. Apparently there was a respect the two parents had for the woman that made naming their daughter after her a great honor. Lady Une was sitting and laughing with Lucrezia and Milliardo, who had recently returned from Mars to attend the wedding. Although none of the three were in the wedding party, they were so close that they would be sitting at the wedding party table anyway. The rest of the guests that would be at the wedding were a mix of Hilde's family and friends and Duo's other friends from work.
Finally, Trowa's eyes came to rest on Quatre, who was now sitting in a corner talking quietly to Catherine. Trowa looked down and away from the two, not really wishing to see them together. Even he couldn't deny how close the two were becoming but he couldn't really quite bring himself to like it. A part of him knew it was unfair to think badly of them finally finding someone to be happy with, but most of him just couldn't part with the fact that his sister, whether she be biological or not, was falling in love with Quatre. However, he would never say anything to either of them, he didn't want to hurt his sister and he knew that Quatre wouldn't hurt her, not after what he'd done to Dorothy.
"Let's get this party started!!" Duo yelled, starting to pass fill people's cups with beer from a large pitcher. Duo, being Duo, had decided that instead of having something fancy for the rehearsal dinner, they'd keep it simple and have beer and pizza at a local bar that was well known for its karaoke nights. Trowa hoped that Duo wouldn't be so stupid as to get trashed and sing, considering that it was his wedding tomorrow afternoon.
Luckily enough for all those involved, Duo only drank enough that he only needed to be escorted to his room instead of carried. And he wasn't the only one trashed, Milliardo and Heero had drunk enough that they agreed to sing a duet together; "I've Got You Babe" was their choice. Trowa shuddered, the memory of Milliardo and Heero with their arms around each other's shoulders and their out of tune slurred lyrics were enough to make even understanding Relena cringe.
The next morning was a blur as various men and women recovered from hangovers and struggled into dresses and suits. The wedding party had the shortest end of the stick, particularly the women. As if it wasn't bad enough they had to primp themselves, they also had to help clueless ex-gundam pilots into tuxes. Poor Relena had to help both Heero and Duo prep themselves, and she had to make sure they looked better than any of the other's considering their status as Best Man and Groom, respectively. Dorothy awoke bright and early that morning, getting herself ready before Trowa had even got up and was now helping him tie his bow and put the stud-like things on the buttons of his tux.
"Come in!" Dorothy cried when she heard the knock on the already open door. "There you go babe, all set," she said as she finished on his tux.
"Auntie Dorothy, how do I look?" Marameia asked as she twirled around in her flower girl dress. Dorothy smiled and clapped before giving her two thumbs up.
"You look beautiful!" she exclaimed, giving the little girl a hug. Trowa grabbed her from Dorothy and spun her around.
"Are you sure it's not your wedding day?" he asked jokingly as he set the laughing girl down. Marameia giggled and shook her head.
"Of course it isn't, but when it is, will you marry me?" she asked, her large eyes questioning. Trowa laughed and looked over at Dorothy.
"I dunno, what do you think Dot?" he asked. His eyes met hers and they shared their own silent laugh before she answered.
"We can share Marameia," she said. "Now come on, I'm sure Lady's looking for you," she said, picking the girl up. Trowa waved good-bye and turned back inside, before checking to see if anyone was watching him. He turned into the small bathroom of the hotel room and reached into the case that held his shaving gear and other toiletries. He knew that this was a safe spot that Dorothy wouldn't dare look in; their first argument had centered over this case and how "sacred" it was. He pulled out the special item that he'd hidden inside and pocketed, patting it to make sure it was safe and well hidden beneath his jacket.
He looked out the door again and once he was sure the coast was clear, he closed the door softly and picked up the telephone, dialing the familiar number of a favorite place.
"Hello, I'm calling about the 'event', tonight," he said, knowing the person on the other line would know exactly what he was talking about. "Good, is everything in place?" he asked. "Excellent, then I'll bring her tonight," he finished. He hung up the phone and ran a hand through his hair.
'I just hope everything goes to plan,' he thought.
The ceremony had gone off without anything too major going wrong. In fact, if anything did go wrong, those who found out made a point that Hilde never found out about it. This was something Duo had dictated the night before when the bride wasn't looking. The only thing that didn't go as planned that Hilde did find out about was Solo refusing to wear the dress shoes that went with his baby tux. However, they all decided he looked cuter without them. Marameia had yet again stole a crowd by showcasing off her "cousin" and still being able to throw flowers as she carried the ring bearer and fulfilled her duties as a flower girl.
It had been a very beautiful wedding and the barhopping afterwards was a great way to kick off the couples' marriage. When they finally arrived at the reception in the banquet hall of the hotel, Duo was yet again easily blitzed but then, so was Hilde, so no one really paid any mind. Even though she was of German heritage, Hilde had gone along with Duo in having a traditional American wedding, complete with all its old traditions. As dinner was being consumed, the guests would use their forks, knives, and spoons to make ringing noises against their china, forcing the couple to stand up and kiss in front of the crowd. Since both loved eating face, as Heero so grumpily put it, they'd also agreed that whenever anyone said the word love, they'd also have to kiss. Which is why when Heero gave his Best Man speech, he made a point of saying that he'd replaced every 'love' in his speech with, what else, Wing Zero. Which of course made for a very amusing speech indeed.
When Relena gave her Bride of Honor speech, she made a point of saying love several times in a row forcing the couple to remain standing for a good 5 minutes. Once dinner had been served, the music and dancing commenced. All of the gundam pilots were forcefully dragged out onto the dance floor, either by their girlfriends or by Duo, who was covered in lipstick and spilled champagne. Trowa hadn't minded since Dorothy wasn't much in the mood to dance so they slowly slipped away from the dance floor to the bar where they hid amongst the crowd of people.
"I'm so happy for Hilde," Dorothy almost shouted to Trowa, so he could hear her over the music. Trowa smiled and took a drink of his Malibu and coke, nodding as he swallowed. He turned back to the dance floor to find that Duo had been joined in the exclusive "Drunk and Luvin' It" club by Heero and, surprise upon surprise, Quatre. The three were laughing like the best joke in the world had been said as they struggled to recreate disco moves. Relena was blushing, Hilde was laughing and playing along, and Catherine was struggling with a nervous laugh.
"Never took Wufei for the dancing type!" he shouted at Dorothy, the music pumping louder as another fast song played. He pointed over at the Chinese man, who was involved in a 3-way dance between his wife and daughter.
"Kodak moment!" Dorothy cried back. Trowa laughed and nodded. He spun his chair back towards the bar, his hand instinctively going to hers. He lifted it up and kissed her palm, his eyes never leaving hers. She smiled back at him, giving him his favorite expression in her "book" of expressions as they called it. 'I can't wait for tonight,' he thought, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Once the song had finished, Duo walked up to the DJ and informed her that it was now 10 o'clock and time for the Grand March, of course, he hadn't said it as clearly as he'd of liked, but he at least got the point across.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you'd all be so kind as to stand up now, leave a nice aisle here on the dance floor, that's it," she directed. Trowa and Dorothy stood up and filed out of the room, following the rest of the wedding party.
"This should be good," Dorothy whispered to Trowa once they were in the quiet of the hall outside the doors. Trowa laughed and nodded, offering his arm to his lady.
"Guests, I'd like to present to you Mr. And Mrs. Duo and Hilde Maxwell and their Wedding Party!!" the DJ cried. Duo and Hilde busted open the double doors with a practiced high kick. Duo picked her up and rushed into the banquet hall, a shrieking and laughing Hilde in his arms, and slid to his knees. The bridesmaid's eyebrows shot up in surprise as the groomsmen proceeded to follow Duo's example, picking up their girlfriends and sliding into the dance floor.
The rest of the guests burst out laughing as five gundam pilots were simultaneously slapped.
As soon as the antics of the Grand March were over, the group decided to serve the large wedding cake. Of course, since Duo and Hilde still weren't sober, when they fed each other their cake they mainly got it in each other's hair and face…although it seemed as though Hilde had done that on purpose.
After each guest had had their fill of cake, Duo grabbed Hilde and rushed behind the DJ's stand, grabbing the mike.
"Now, we'd like to do the traditional wedding tosses, starting with the throwing of the bouquet!" he cried, his speech still slurred. "Now all you non-married ladies get up here and get your baseball gloves on, Hilde's got quite the curve ball-bouquet!"
Hilde laughed as Duo blindfolded her and spun her around several times. Then he put her back to the crowd of women and stepped back dramatically so as to get out of the way. Dorothy glared over at Trowa who had pushed her out into the crowd of ladies and stuck her tongue out at him. Trowa only laughed somewhat evilly and turned his gaze back to Hilde. She threw it back with all her might, quickly spinning around and tearing off her blindfold to see who'd catch it. Dorothy and the women next to her all reached for it, almost as if out instinct. However, they were to far to the left of it and watched it as it fell into the hands of an unsuspecting Relena. She stared at it as though she'd never seen one before, then turned on her boyfriend Heero and wiggled it, her eyes mischievous.
"Alright now, ladies, you've had your chance, now its time for the men to catch something. All men without a slave driver, I mean wife-" SMACK "Ow!! Hilde, watchya do that for?!" This earned a laugh from the crowd as the non-married men gathered in the dance floor. This time it was Dorothy's turn to push Trowa out into the crowd. However, Trowa was prepared. He'd though of a shield. He turned back for a second and disappeared from Dorothy's sight, only to return with Solo in his arms. He winked at Dorothy and laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him again.
In front of the crowd, Duo's hands had been tied behind his back and was blindfolded, courtesy of Heero. His duty as Best Man completed, Heero turned into the crowd. Hilde was seated in a folding chair, her legs crossed with the gartered leg on top. Duo was left having to use his teeth to lift up her billowing dress and find the black and red lacy strip on her thigh. The men whistled and cheered as inches of her thigh appeared. Hilde laughed as Duo tickled her with his searching mouth. Finally, he found the garter and began pulling it off her leg. Once he'd gotten it over her foot, Hilde untied him and spun him around like he'd done her. Once properly dizzy, she turned his back to the crowd and let him throw it.
The lacy thing was too light to go very far and as ironic as it seemed, it was only the men in the front of the crowd who had a chance. And standing smack dab in the middle of the fight for the garter and the chance to dance with Relena was Heero Yuy. Now, under normal circumstances, Heero would have simply let someone else grab it…but this was a slow dance with Relena and he hadn't gotten a chance to do that yet. So as it dropped to the floor, he was right in the mess of things, grabbing for the frilly under-thing. And with a few well-placed Preventer moves, he stood up, holding the strip in his hand and pumping it like he'd one the Olympics.
Relena and Heero had their dance alone on the floor, all the girls sighing as they watched the romantic scene unfold. The couple was soon followed by Duo and Hilde's dance alone, which brought only more sighs and a few tears from the ladies in the room.
"One more slow song folks, then I'm handing it over to the live band over there!" the DJ called out as the song ended. She gestured towards the band Short Story Long that were setting up in the back of the room. Trowa sighed, his anxiety starting to wane. There was only one more dance left to go and then he'd be free. Dorothy reached for his arm and gently tugged him onto the dance floor.
"Let's dance one more time before we leave, okay?" she bargained. Trowa nodded and put his arms around her waist. He bowed his head toward hers as she snaked her arms around his neck. They swayed together on the crowded dance floor, letting their expressions and bodies speak for them. This gave Trowa time to think and consider some things that were weighing his mind down. 'Am I ready to do this?' he asked himself. He pulled away slightly to look into Dorothy's face. Her eyes were closed and she was humming softly to the music. The dancing lights played on her face and he could imagine her playing in natural sunlight with their children, their laughter identical to hers. He could almost picture her as if it were a memory, sitting on the floor with their own small family opening Christmas presents or baking cookies. The song came to an instrumental break and Dorothy's eyes fluttered open. She cocked her head to once side as though asking why he was staring at her with such an odd expression. He smiled and kissed her forehead, pulling her close again.
'Yes, I'm ready for this,' he answered himself.
"Trowa, where are we going?" Dorothy laughed as he pulled her along the street. He had blindfolded her so he'd be able to surprise her. He took different paths then he usual did to confuse her and keep her guessing. He wanted this to be a complete surprise.
"If I told you, I'd ruin the surprise," he answered. Dorothy laughed at his response and clung tighter to his hand as he turned a corner rapidly. She thanked her stars that she'd listened to him and taken her high heels off as they turned yet another corner. They slowed down as they reached what must be their destination and Dorothy heard him fiddling around with a key. A door opened and he led her inside, keeping a hold on her hand as he shut the door behind them. A familiar smell overwhelmed her as she took a step further into the room.
"Can I take my blindfold off yet?" she asked, her voice quiet. Trowa shook his head, forgetting she couldn't see it momentarily.
"No, not yet. I'll take it off when we get there," he replied. "We're almost there, don't worry," he said, pre-countering the inward groan that she needed to walk even further on aching feet. Dorothy nodded and let Trowa lead her. The un-place able smell wafted away as they entered a new room or hall. Trowa stopped again to open a door and led her into another room. The light that had shown through the blindfold disappeared as she heard him close the door.
"Stay right there, okay?" he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Dorothy nodded again and backed herself into a wall, so she'd feel a little more secure in this room with so little light. She turned her head in the direction she thought Trowa had gone and watched through the fold for any sign as to where she was. A dim light was now shining in Trowa's direction and she could just make out his figure approaching her.
"Can I see what my surprise is yet?" she asked eagerly. Trowa laughed, the sound filling what had to be a fairly empty room.
"Yes, you can," he answered, lifting the blindfold off. Dorothy blinked a moment to get used to the light and gasped. She looked around herself to make sure she was really where she thought she was, but there was no mistaking it.
"It's the niche," she whispered. Trowa laughed and nodded, wrapping his arms around her. Dorothy placed her hands on his arms for support, as she scanned the makeover he'd given the room. In one corner he'd made a small bed on the longer of the two couches, plush pillows looking ever so welcoming. In the middle of the opposite wall, he'd set up what looked like tens of candles on one table, adding a warm glow to the room. However, the oddest thing was the decorations; they were all Christmas decorations. It was closing in on Christmas, yes, but they hadn't even hit Thanksgiving yet. Trowa's arms left her as he turned around and hit a switch. The song Greensleeves filled the room. Dorothy laughed and turned to him again. He smiled and bent down to plug in a cord that disappeared behind some gauze she hadn't spotted earlier.
Icicle lights lit up all around the top of the room and above them on the ceiling, wrapped in light red paper. The poor girl had taken in too much and small tears leaked out the corner of her eyes as she laughed and spun around the room.
"I figured since we never really got to celebrate our own Christmas, why not do it a little earlier this year?" Trowa explained, as he pulled her to him again. Dorothy laughed and cried at the same time, her hands fisting themselves in his white button up shirt. Trowa threw his black jacket next to their "bed" and led her over towards it. "Okay, now sit down," he directed, leading her down. Still holding her, he squatted down in front of her and wiped her tears away, his smile fixed on his face. He kissed her, savoring the feel of her lips against his; it was a feeling he knew he'd never get tired of.
When he pulled away, he stood up and reached into his pocket, keeping the item hidden in his hands. He knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in one of his own. He positioned himself so that he was down on one knee and Dorothy gasped again, knowing what was coming.
"Dorothy, I love you," he began. She smiled, more tears falling down her face.
"I love you too," she choked out. Trowa smiled and stroked her face, wiping off as many tears as he could.
"I've seen how happy Duo and Hilde are, and I know we have what they had before they got married. And now I want what they have married; Dorothy, do you remember when we went to that gazebo in the park and we saw that elderly couple walking past? I can see us together for that long, I can see us sharing a real home and having children, watching them grow up, having grandchildren-" his voice broke and Dorothy laughed, her eyes sparkling. Trowa smiled and kissed her again. "Dorothy, Dot, I want to be with you for the rest of my life and for longer; I want you to belong to me and me to belong to you." He gathered up his courage and produced the ring that he'd been saving up for with his paycheck for the last 6 months. It wasn't the most extravagant but Dorothy already loved it, her eyes matching the sparkling single diamond enclosed in silver. "Dorothy Catalonia, will you marry me?"
Dorothy was silent for a moment, still crying. She opened her mouth to speak but was too choked up to speak. So she slid off the couch and into his arms, nodding frantically against his shoulder. She pulled away and wiped at her face, smiling the biggest smile he'd ever seen.
"Yes, a thousand times, yes!" she finally cried, falling back against him. Trowa laughed and stood up, taking her with him and spinning her around. Their lips met again and it was as magnetic and powerful as the night they kissed beneath the orange glow of an outside lamplight flooding into their apartment. His grip on her tightened and he knew this was the moment where his life really meant something, this was the moment they'd both been waiting for their whole lives.
As he pulled away from her lips, he touched her face and made her open her eyes. As he drowned in their sea-like depths, he remembered something he'd been told in the circus when he was taught how to play the guitar. He'd asked the man teaching him how he got his guitar to be concert tuned and the man waved a hand dismissively.
"Trowa, it doesn't matter if your guitar is tuned the right way, just as long as each string is in tune to each other, then you'll sound just fine. In fact, I think it often sounds better when you're not in tune the right way; it has it's own unique sound and flavor…" he trailed off and his eyes went distant. "It's like love, Trowa. When you're in tune with someone else, it doesn't matter if you're in tune with the rest of the world. Because when you're played together you make a beautiful sound unique to only the two of you and that's something special and rare," he laughed as he caught Trowa's expression and patted him on the knee. "When you find that someone, you'll know what I mean!"
Trowa smiled and placed butterfly kisses down her jaw and to her lips. He laughed against her lips and pulled away, spinning her around again. Yes, he knew what the man meant. He was in tune with Dorothy and no other melody ever sounded so wonderful as the one playing on her face and his.
The End
Did you enjoy this story? I hope so; now get off the computer and go look for your special someone and get in tune; the orchestra is waiting!! Love to all,
MadameHotaru.of.87