Disclaimer: As Usual.

I meant to update this ages ago, but couldn't due to something with either or the internet. But here it is ... on a weekday too.

Note: there will be the LAST chapter after this, the REAL last chapter. This was supposed to be the last one, but on the final count, it was at almost 5000 words (unfinished), so I had to cut it into two. This one is already about 3300 words :D;; Besides, eight is a good number, I think.

When the Wedding Bells Chime.
Part Seven: Of Silk Gowns and Happy Endings Part One.

"- and you know what? I gave him the best sex anyone could have ever wished for. I even cooked for him on the side, washed his clothes, massaged his shoulders when he was tense-"

"I'm sure his shoulders weren't the only thing you massaged."

"And now, one little request, I wouldn't even go as far as to call it a request, he kicks me out! The nerve of him!"

Dearka angrily stuffed a spoon full of dripping vanilla ice cream into his mouth. He always liked the taste of something sweet when he was angry or upset, even if it did contain a mass load of sugar. Sugar meant fat. Fat meant flab. Flab meant he'd have to do extra sit-ups later.

"I'm sure Yzak-san has a good reason for doing what he did," Lacus dipped her spoon into the big tub of Rocky Road that she shared with Miriallia, "Just give him time, I'm positive that he'll come around."

Dearka stayed silent, eyes boring a hole into the plastic tub that contained his triple flavoured confectionary. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his mind off of the silver haired pilot of Duel. He was angry, sad, upset and many other range of emotions that one person would feel after being unceremoniously dumped.

"Lacus is right, Dearka," Miri waved her licked spoon in front of his face, "take it like a man, not like some blubbering pansy. Just gather up all your manliness, waltz up to him and say, 'Yzak, take me, take me now!' given, if you'd stand playing Uke to Yzak, that is. You have to admit, that guy just screams effeminate."

Dearka couldn't hold back a smirk, "Sure you'd say that Miri, given the amount of knowledge you have about Yzak."

"Oh, really?"

"Really. I'll have you know that Yzak is like a tiger in bed," Dearka laughed, "he has this cute facial expression he pulls whenever he's feeling particularly dominant. Like when he squints his eyes and sticks out his jaw a bit, you know that its a 'Dearka, my bedroom now,' time of month," he chuckled, but the laughs began fading as the reality of the situation came back to him and his smile disappeared.

Miri and Lacus watched his sudden change in mood wordlessly. Placing her spoon on the table, Miri reached over and grasped Dearka's hand in her own, "I'm sure Kira and Athrun will be able to talk some sense into him."

Dearka nodded but only half believing Miriallia's words.

The only thing he could think about was how sad Yzak looked that morning, all because of what he did.

- - - - -

"So, Kira," Athrun glance over at his boyfriend behind him. Kira had piloted the ZAKU on their way up to PLANT, so it was Athrun's turn now, a fact which he had imposed on claiming that it was Kira's turn to suffer from the cramps that came with half-bending over in the small cockpit during the whole ride, "How did you manage to get Yzak to make up with Dearka."

Kira had been expecting this question from Athrun, but he had promised Yzak that he wouldn't say a word about it to anyone, and he intended to keep that promise; out of respect from the silver-haired teen, and out of obligation because of the many painful things Yzak could – and would – inflict on him. "Oh, you know … the usual. With a lot of witty repartee and charm."

Athrun rolled his eyes, "Seriously."

"I am being serious."

Athrun opened his mouth to retort but at that moment, the communication system crackled and Yzak's smooth voice flowed through.

"So … what exactly did Dearka want to say to me when he came back?"

Athrun looked over at Kira for a moment, before reaching over to the reply button.

- -

Small fishing boats which had dropped anchor in the ocean watched in awe as two gigantic suits of armour flew right over their hears, causing a mini tidal wave which rocked their boats. They eyes stayed glued to the two suits as their faded into the horizon. All of a sudden, there was a loud static noise and what sounded like a high-pitched shout before one of the mobile suits veered off course and went crashing into the ocean.

- -

"He wants me to WHAT!"

Kira and Athrun rubbed their ears as Yzak's voice continued to blare over the communication device. Yzak's sudden outburst had shocked Athrun, causing him to lose control of Dearka's ZAKU, sending it plummeting into the waters below.

"Exactly my thoughts," Athrun mumbled to himself before shouting back to the accompanying ZAKU Phantom, "you nearly scared the bejesus out of me, Yzak!"

"Nearly? That's such a shame, (Kira could practically see the sarcasm dripping out of the speaker) but getting back to the question. He wants me to do WHAT?"

"Marry him. What's so strange about that?"

"Oh, nothing I suppose, if you don't count the fact that he wants me to dress up like a prissy little woman!"

"Better not let Miriallia hear you say that. She's pretty big on the whole flower power issue."

"She can go to hell! Why the HELL would Dearka even think that I'd agree to do something like this? That I'd degrade myself to being a little Stepford wife just because he's a perverted bastard?"

"Maybe because you love him?"

"I-"

Yzak's stopped talking suddenly, causing Kira and Athrun to wonder if the communication system had given up on him.

"Argh! Just get going NOW!"

Without waiting for their answer, the ZAKU Phantom blasted off towards the island of Reverend Malchio, leaving Kira and Athrun to share a knowing look with each other and following suit.

- - - - -

"- Then there was this one time I was passing by Freedom, this was just before we blasted off from Orb when Cagalli's father self-destructed the place," Miriallia was talking through gasps of laughter as Dearka and Lacus hung onto her every word, "so there I was, minding my own business when suddenly there was this strange sound coming from inside the cockpit, naturally, I went to inspect what it was," she took a deep breath, "and what do I find?"

Dearka moved closer to her, "What?"

"Athrun and Kira doing it, or at least, attempting to do it," she laughed, "You know how crowded a Mobile Suit cockpit can be, even with just one person. Anyway, so there I was, looking at them, speechless, as you could imagine. Athrun kind off had half his leg up above Kira's shoulders, I think the zippers of their flight suit seemed to have been stuck together or something, but the bottom line was that they were in one heck of an awkward position and I was too."

Dearka and Lacus couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"So then, the three of us were just kind off staring at each other, or rather, I was staring strangely at them and Athrun was sharing a look with Kira which obviously said 'say something!' Kira then turned to me and went, 'so … want to help up polish the cockpit?'" she stopped for another breather, letting Dearka and Lacus work off their giggles, "the look on Athrun's face was priceless."

Dearka wiped the tears of laughter out of his eye, "I was wondering where they went that time! But I can't believe Kira and Athrun's coming out of the closet story is so …"

"Undignified?" Miri suggested, receiving a nod from Dearka, "so what about you, Lacus? How did you first find out?"

Lacus fingered her chin in contemplation, "Well, there was the time on the Archangel, after they had rescued my life pod, Kira and I were talking and he kept getting this particular look in his eye every time he mentioned Athrun. That was a first clue. Then when Kira decided to send my back to ZAFT, he asked Athrun to come alone," she smiled sweetly and leaned in closer to them, "and just before they parted ways, Kira said to Athrun that he loved him."

Dearka and Miri's eyebrows shot to their hairline, "He did?" they said simultaneously.

Lacus just tilted her head to a side, and replied with an innocent, "No. That's just what I imagined he wanted to say. My father always told me that if you believe in something strongly enough, it might just come true."

Her words just brought on curious looks from the two people in front of her.

After awhile, Dearka exhaled loudly, catching their attention. The laughter was gone from his eyes and instead, left a dull reminiscing glow, "Maybe it would to you. But to me … I don't know. I still want Yzak, but after last night, the way he acted. I'm not sure if I would still run back to him even if he begged me-" when a roaring of engines and a slight rumble caused by a landing Mobile Suit reached his ears, Dearka's words were quickly forgotten, and apparently, so was his memory, "It's Yzak's ZAKU!" he exclaimed and jumped to his feet, rushing towards the window for a look.

Miri shared a look with Lacus, wondering how Dearka knew it was Yzak just by the sound of his ZAKU, but brushed it off as lovers link and joined the said Coordinator near the window.

- - - - -

Yzak stared silently at the seemingly innocent wooden house before him. Part of him wanted so bad to just jump out of his ZAKU, rush up to Dearka and hug the stuffing out of him, but the other part of him, the usual part, told him otherwise. Where would he put his face if they found out about what happened? The humiliation. Yzak was not someone who handled shame easily. The more reasonable part of him knew that they wouldn't find out, Kira would not tell them but deep down, he wondered if Kira really wouldn't. The only thing he really knew about the brunette was that he piloted Strike, then Freedom during the war, and he had given Yzak the scar that now adorned his face.

It was then that the fact finally hit him; Yzak realized that he had completely forgotten about the scar when coming face to face with Kira earlier. Between everything that had happened with Dearka and getting advice from Kira, not to mention the fact that Athrun Zala had actually cleaned his house, that piece of detail seemed unimportant.

Yzak could help but scoff at his own childishness as he remembered how he had acted then. A petty grudge against an unnamed person was more important to him than the lives of his comrades. To think back on it today, the silver-haired teen realized that he couldn't remember why he had started hating the Strike pilot in the first place. Was it because he was a Natural? He didn't know, what he knew was that the scar did nothing but give him even more cause to go on hating the person even more than he had done so for reason's unknown.

He couldn't help but shake his head, realizing that after going though the battle of Jachin Due, seeing just how easily a person's life can be snuffed out; his cause of hatred was so miniscule. Perhaps all this time, Yzak had only looked upon the scar as a means to hate and kill, when he should have been grateful that he was one of the lucky ones, to be able to look back on that horrific day, mourn and move on with his life.

A life he wanted to share with Dearka.

Pushing back the negative thoughts that have been his source of comfort for the better part of his life, Yzak decided that he could live with a little meekness. He also came to the conclusion that the first thing he would do upon returning back to PLANT was remove the scar, it meant nothing now that he realized that there was more to life than hate.

He still hated Athrun though.

- -

The cockpit flap opened with a hiss, and Dearka watched silently from the window as Yzak's silver head came into view. He could not tear his eyes away as he watched the other teen grabbed the metal cord and slowly lower himself to the ground.

Dearka felt ecstatic, excited and the teeniest bit hopeful when Yzak's feet touched down on the rocky ground and his eyes turned to stare at the house. He didn't seem to notice the three people staring at him from the small window to the right as he hesitantly made his way up the balcony stairs and towards the door.

As if suddenly realizing was he was doing, Dearka muttered a quick 'I'm not here' and rushed back towards the sofa, settled himself down on the soft cushions and pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary. He didn't know what Yzak wanted; even if his suspicions were confirmed and Yzak had come to apologize (a feat that he never thought possible) Dearka was not just going to run back to him with arms outstretched. He was going to make him beg, big time. And if Yzak didn't come to apologize, instead to come a demand back the sweater (which Dearka was currently wearing) he had bought him last Christmas, well … then Dearka would have to settle with eating ice cream on the sofa while watching Oprah for the rest of his life. Which was not all that bad.

Knocking on the wooden door brought him back down to earth and he swiftly turned his attention back to the television, pretending as if nothing was out of the ordinary. In truth, his heart was rapidly beating against his ribcage, and felt that if it didn't slow down anytime soon, one of his ribs might get bruised. Dearka forced himself to swallow the cold scoop of vanilla as he heard the squeaking (he'd have to have Athrun fix that later, it was terribly annoying) as the door was opened and Lacus and Yzak's voice floated in.

Straining his ears to try and listen to their words, he was left dejected when all he heard was mumbles, the click of the door being closed and the thumping of feet on the hard, wooden floor. Dearka quickly turned his attention back to the television, trying not to be too nervous when he sensed Lacus, Miriallia and Yzak's presence behind him.

"Dearka …"

Dearka couldn't help but swallow the lump in his throat. Gathering up as much dignity as he could, he forced a sneer onto his face and turned back to look Yzak in his eye. When he caught a glimpse of the silver-haired teen, however, the sneer vanished from his face, leaving an expression of shock.

Yzak's face was barren of any smirk or sneer or any of those contemptible expressions that were normally present. His eyes were dull, the blue shine in them seemed to have dimmed and his skin looked sickly pale. Dearka couldn't help but notice the flushed look on his face and the redness that tinged his cheeks. His hair was also unnaturally messy. Dearka had a sudden urge to jump to his feet, swoop Yzak off his feet, carry him up to one of the room and snuggle with him under the blanket, but he restrained himself.

"Yzak," Dearka breathed. Setting aside the half-empty tub of ice cream, he stood up, locking eyes with the shorter teen before him.

Lacus and Miri could hardly contain their cooing and giggles as they looked between the two boys. They were so obviously love struck that the air around them was practically crackling from the intensity.

Soon enough, another rumble in the ground signalled that Athrun and Kira had also arrived, giving Lacus and Miri a reason to leave the two of them alone as their rushed for the front door.

Dearka and Yzak stood silently in the same position long after the front door slammed to a close, eyes locking onto each other. Neither one seemed to be making an attempt to break the silence, until a voice in the background shouted for them to get it over with. Dearka thought it sounded suspiciously like Miri's voice coming from the window, but brushed it off as he opened his mouth to speak, not realising that the other teen had done so as well.

"Dearka."

"Yzak."

The said simultaneously, and could help the small smile that surfaced after.

"You can go first."

"You can go first."

Dearka raised an eyebrow, "Go ahead, Yzak."

"No, you can go first."

"I insist."

"I said you could go first, so go first, damnit!"

"Okay then," Dearka couldn't help but sweat-drop. At least Yzak would always be Yzak, "What I wanted to say … well …" there was a mild nagging in the back of his mind which seemed to be reminding him of what he had said earlier, about not forgiving the Duel pilot. He brusquely told it to shut up, "I … err … I never thought you would have reacted that way, otherwise I wouldn't even have suggested it in the first place-"

"Wait …" Yzak cut him off.

Dearka raised an eyebrow. Yzak seemed particularly sombre all of a sudden, and his face seemed to have grown a little redder than a few minutes ago. Either we was becoming sicker because of being in Dearka's company, or he was … blushing.

"About that …" Yzak looked away, clearing his throat abruptly. His mind kept repeating the words 'it's for Dearka, a little humiliation is okay' over and over again, "you see …"

Dearka could see that Yzak was stuttering out his words and wondered what could be so important that it would cause Yzak to have such a hard time forming the words.

"There was a bit of a misunderstanding, a-and what I saw …" he massaged the back of his neck nervously, "well …"

All of a sudden, it hit Dearka like a tonne of bricks. Yzak upset, hurt … what he saw was Athrun in a dress and Miriallia … in a blue dress! He was not upset because he over heard Dearka's request. The Buster pilot couldn't help the small smile from forming at his lips as he continued surveying the nervous Yzak.

The silver-haired pilot didn't notice when Dearka rushed forwards, jumping over the couch that stood between them until he felt strong arms circling his shoulder, pulling him into a firm, but gentle embrace.

Momentarily shocked, Yzak couldn't help but stay unmoving as Dearka buried his face into Yzak's neck.

"It's okay," he heard the taller teen whisper into his ear, "you don't have to say anymore. It's okay."

It took Yzak a few moments to fully comprehend what Dearka had said, and when he did, his nodded his head slowly, a lone tear trickling down his face a splattered onto Dearka's shoulder. The blonde teen seemed to have noticed the cool droplet soaking into his shirt because he hugged Yzak tighter. Even though it was just the thing to do in the moment, his eyes widened slightly when he felt Yzak's arms circling his waist as the boy returned the hug.

"Yzak …"

"Dearka …"

End Part Seven.

Thank you for all those wondeful reviews! They inspire me greatly - except for that one Yaoi flame which I have deleted. That person needs a life. But to all the rest; thanks.

Regarding the silly goose comment; I thought itfit the moment too :D

Regarding the transition part; I tend to mix bits of humor and drama in at the same time. About Yzak and Athrun. I like to characterize Yzak as a very clean person, a neat-freak you could say, but I suddenly find myself taking a liking to make Athrun an obsessive compulsive. When I have establised the way I like to write a character, that's the way I will always write them :D

I'm still flattered that great authors have read and reviewed my story, and liked it. Hope you all like this one too. The next one will really be the last, I promise ... probably.

Review.