First order of business! Tosses cookies to everyone who guessed correctly Thanks for the reviews! They make me feel all warm inside . I sit here, listening to my FFXI OST. I'm feeling a bit lazy, which isn't very good. Work! I need to work! rips hair out GAS PRICES! My god... dies…. I apologize for that… I watched this movie recently named 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.' If you haven't watched it, you need to. It's excellent… anyway…

Pairings: 1+2, eventual 1x2x1
Warnings: Shounen ai/yaoi, fluff, AU, OOC-ish? We all love a nose-bleeding Wufei, ne? xD
Disclaimer: Do I even need to write this part? If I owned GW, I wouldn't be writing fanfics for it. Duh.

Proceed!

The Betrothal, Part III — By: Black Amethyst

Wufei was currently lounging on one of the plush sofas in his uncle's library. On his lap was perched an antique novel that he had managed to salvage from the disarray of chaos that the librarians called the bookshelves. He had spent many hours searching for this one book, and thus far he was yet to be disappointed in his efforts. The story had captivated him to the point that he hadn't put the book down for the past six hours. Wufei's eyes scanned the lines quickly, trying desperately to read as much as he could at once. Once his eyes traveled a little lower on the page, his eyes widened and his breathing hitched. He felt his face burn at the erotic love scene that his mind was now envisioning. Wufei buried his nose deeper in the book as though afraid that it would be snatched away from him before he would be able to finish. His face reddened even more after reading the next few paragraphs, and he was almost certain that he was sporting a nosebleed.

If possible, the temperature in the room seemed to rise as Wufei came close to the end of the chapter. He let out a low mewl of anticipation at the words he was quickly scanning. Oh, my god, he thought to himself after he had read an exceptionally graphic sentence. He leaned his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes, allowing that vision to replay itself over and over in his mind. Just as he was about to continue reading, he was jerked out of his thoughts by the library door being slammed shut. He sat up quickly with a small utterance of surprise and stuffed the book under the pillow. He placed another book that he had set aside on the table into his lap and tried desperately to appear absorbed in that.

He got himself settled just as his cousin walked calmly around the couch he was sitting on and set himself down in a chair opposite Wufei. Wufei waited a moment before chancing a look at his cousin. He was sitting with his chin propped up by his palm, staring pensively at the fireplace. Wufei smirked to himself and pretended to mark his place in the book before placing it back on the table.

"My, my," Wufei said as he removed his reading glasses(1). "What's got you all in a huff?"

His cousin's steel blue eyes flashed up at him. "I am not in a huff."

Wufei's smirk widened. "Oh, really? Then why are you acting so juvenile?"

The boy's messy brown hair covered his eyes for a moment as he sat up fully. His eyes narrowed. "I am not acting juvenile."

Wufei snorted. "Oh, come on, Heero. For you, slamming a door is as juvenile as a regular person throwing a hissy fit."

Heero's eyes bored into Wufei's. The glare promised pain, but Wufei held his ground. He knew his cousin better than anyone, and he wasn't about to let this strange deviance in behavior go uninvestigated. Heero's look didn't soften as he allowed his gaze to travel back to the fire.

"I've been… betrothed."

If Wufei had still been holding the book, he would have dropped it.

He gaped for a moment before regaining his composure. "What? When? To who?"

"As of today," Heero rubbed his face with his hands as though he could erase the thoughts. "I am now officially engaged to Prince Duo Maxwell."

Wufei sat stricken. He marveled at his cousin's calmness. If it had been him, Wufei knew that someone's head would be rolling right now. He sank back into the cushion and stared at nothing. Wufei knew all too well what Heero was currently going through. When he was only thirteen, his parents had promised him to a woman whom he had never even seen before. He had been enraged by his parents' determination to marry him off. It was because of that that Wufei was able to sympathize with Heero. Wufei took a moment to try to visualize Heero being married to some woman that neither of them knew, and then something clicked.

"Wait a minute, you're engaged to a boy?"

Heero's jaw visibly clenched. He hissed out an affirmative between gritted teeth. Wufei again leaned his head back and placed his arm over his eyes. "How can you be so calm about this?"

Heero shrugged and stood. He made his way over to the fire and placed a hand on the mantle. He grabbed the poker and began prodding at the flickering flames. "I won't deny that I'm a little…"—Heero gave the logs a particularly violent jab—"…upset. You and I both know that such an arrangement is vital to our two families' lasting friendship." He turned to face Wufei. "The war has left everyone on precarious ground. I know this is needed."

"That doesn't mean that you have to be so accepting of it, though," Wufei said as he folded his arms over his chest.

Heero placed the poker back in the stand and sighed. He stood still, watching the flickering flames licking at the logs. "Yeah."

Wufei brought his glasses up and began to chew thoughtfully on the plastic loop.

"I think I should use the excuse of being a teenager and go sulk in my room for a few days."

Sudden, harsh laughter erupted from Wufei as he stared at his cousin's back but it faded quickly. He stood and placed his hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Perhaps it won't be as bad as we're making it out to be."

"Duo isn't interested in other boys. He'll be raving mad."

Wufei blinked in surprise. "You've met him before?"

"No," Heero said as he absently rubbed the back of his head. "but Dorothy has."

The raven haired boy cringed at the name.

"He was all that she would talk about for days," Heero continued. "If Dorothy was that captivated by him, I'm terrified to think of how out of touch he'll be."

Wufei gazed at the Japanese boy sympathetically. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I'm going to go angst now," Heero said as he turned to leave. Wufei chuckled humorlessly.

"If you need anything, call me."

"Yeah."

Wufei watched him go. Thoughts of Heero's seemingly bleak future weighed heavily on his mind. He shook his head and cleared those thoughts from his mind. He leaned toward the door, cautiously listening for Heero's retreating steps. Once he was sure that his cousin was truly gone, he hurriedly picked up his earlier novel and quickly finished the love scene he had been so engrossed in before.

(1). Le gasp! Pervy Wufei! Who would have thought? xD Most of you have read Episode Zero, so I don't really need to remind you that Wufei was more of a nerd before he became involved in the war. I love the pics of him with glasses. -

Merf… Okay, I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry. I tried to take my time with this one so it wouldn't be as jumbled as the first chapter. I'm still unhappy about that one. I think I'm going to edit it. Gar… whatever. It's rainy and I'm drowsy so I'm going to bed. Oyasumi D