Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot situations I put them in. Everything else belongs to somebody else so give credit where credit is due. Thanks to all those who've been faithful readers throughout this fic and I hope you enjoy this final chapter.
Our Beginning
With the help of their combined families and friends Wufei and Noin managed to plan their wedding to the extent that Noin was no longer blowing up at the drop of a hat by the time May arrived. As everyone expected Noin's mother, grandmother and Wufei's grandmother pretty much took over a lot of it, steam rolling their way past the couple who were too exhausted to stop them. Wufei kept up his part of the bargain and planned the travel and transportation arrangements as well as the food. The women were of the opinion that those were the only three areas in which a man could even adequately pull off apparently. As it was Noin's mother changed half the food decisions a couple weeks before the wedding was to take place then changed them back to his at the last minute. Since the women had been keeping tabs on him constantly he wasn't even surprised. So long as Lucrezia was happy he was fine with whatever the women cooked up. As it was he didn't even know what the color scheme was since it seemed to change daily. He'd stopped asking at the end of March. He knew what he was wearing was appropriate and that he was marrying the love of his life, that was all he needed to know. It was decided that the wedding would be held in Noin's home town, taking place at her family church as was the usual tradition. The reception would be outdoors under a tent and Wufei could only pray the weather would hold for it. He hated to think what Lucrezia would do to God on her judgment day if he didn't provide her with good weather.
As Wufei had feared Duo did manage to pull of a more...interesting bachelor party then Quatre originally intended. Unfortunately no one had thought that the idiot would be smart enough to enlist Noin's brothers to help and so everyone had thought they'd be relatively safe once they got to Rome where the wedding was going to take place. What was supposed to be a rather tame night at a upper class club stayed that way for the first couple of hours until Noin's brothers announced they had a little surprise for everyone. Then they'd ended up at a less then classy bar which had the prescribed strippers and drinks where it was questionable what was in the glass, not to mention whether or not said glasses had been cleaned before hand. Thankfully though Wufei kept his wits about him and finding a debit machine took out three hundred dollars and paid the two hired strippers for his group to leave him alone. Thankfully Noin's brothers thought this was damn hilarious and since they still got to see the women shimmy their stuff they didn't mind overly. Besides, wasn't it a good thing their sister had caught herself a guy like that? Cheered by this they embarked on a drinking spree with Duo and Trowa, Trowa drinking them all under the table. No one had ever been able to figure out when Trowa was drunk because really, no matter how much he consumed his personality didn't change even a little. He was freaky that way. Much later Quatre, Heero and Wufei loaded everyone into the car at two in the morning and got the dead drunk men into their proper beds, assured of impressive hangovers to come.
The girls were out later then the guys with the bride certainly getting into things, unlike her more serious groom. After all, it was her last day as a single woman and she was sure as hell was going to celebrate it. Like Wufei though she kept away from the alcohol over all, not about to risk having a hangover or worse, looking like she had one. Her wedding day was going to go off without a hitch and she was going to look her very best. Going out clubbing with the girls she lost track of the number of clubs and bars they ended up in, attracting plenty of male attention and a lot of free drinks once they explained it was a bachelorette party. Male strippers were inadvertable and while Noin had to admit the views were more then nice she maintained that she'd take her man any day which of course had everyone sighing and getting teary eyed over it. There were plenty of toasts and other female rituals to be had as well, many of which they would never admit to participating in and that would have had their men folk reeling from shock before carrying them off to be locked up until they were too old to attempt to try and pole dance as Tula had attempted without much success though there was plenty of cheering for being brave enough to try. At about three they all headed back to Noin's family house where they were all staying while the guys were stuck boarding with her brothers. Collapsing into their beds they were all soon asleep, the sun rising on the big day.
The big day came and preparations began at ten when the women were all ushered out of the house and packed into cars to head out to the salon where they were going to be prepped from head to toe for the big ceremony. The men, thankfully, were allowed to sleep in a little and rising at eleven Quatre went in search of Wufei, finding him sitting out on the back porch looking thoughtfully into space. Taking a seat beside him Quatre patted his shoulder. "Ready for your big day?"
Nodding his head Wufei turned to look at Quatre, not surprised Quatre's first order of business was to seek him out. Duo was likely still snoring and he knew Trowa and Heero were in the kitchen raiding the fridge for food. Trust Quatre to check on the groom first.
"Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day." Quatre observed, taking in Wufei's calm and serene expression. He'd expected the groom to be a little jittery but his friend looked like he didn't have a care in the world. "Aren't you nervous?" Quatre blurted out after several moments of silence.
"I wondered if I would be but no. It's Lucrezia who'll be walking up that aisle to me. Nothing else matters. Yes I'm slightly worried that something will happen to ruin things for her but as long as she becomes my wife today, that's all that really matters to me."
"Well if it's any consolation I think the women in her family have this whole thing so well planned no one would dare risk their wrath screwing something up. I think your flower girl and ring bearer might have been traumatized for life at yesterday's dress rehearsal." Heero said dryly from the doorway, leaning against the frame. "Coffee's ready. Come and get it."
Wufei rising he held a hand out to Quatre to help him up and together the three went back into the house to get something to eat before heading out to get ready themselves.
The wedding was for three and by two Noin was ready to pace a trench through the room she and the rest of the women were in. She was dressed, polished to a gleam and absolutely and completely terrified. If she'd had her bouquet in her hands she would have shredded the flowers and twisted the steams to pieces by now.
"If she keeps that up she's going to be too tired to walk down the aisle." Trinity whispered to Sally, the two eyeing Noin with a combination of amusement and slight worry.
"Quit this pacing, sweetheart. Everything is going to be perfect." Noin's mother reminded her daughter, coming over to place a restraining hand on her youngest daughter's tense shoulders. "Now sit down and rest. Everything has been taken care of. There's nothing to worry about."
"People always say that. Right before everything blows up in their face." Noin informed her mother, nibbling on her bottom lip nervously.
"Nothing is going to blow up in anyone's face. We've all worked our butts off to make sure everything is perfect and it will be." Lazuli said with a chuckle, walking into the room with a shake of her head. "Of course I'm not one to talk. I paced quite the trenches before both my weddings. I'd say everyone is nervous before a wedding but Wufei's being quite the rock. Duo on the other hand is freaking out for him."
"He's not nervous?" Noin demanded to know, not sure whether she liked the idea that her groom was as cool as a cucumber while she was in here freaking out. Didn't he realize how big a step they were taking? Didn't he realize that this was it, till death do them part? Why the hell was he calm when she felt like a deer caught in headlights?
"Well that's not surprising really, dear. Wufei's always been the one to handle himself better under pressure. My guess is after it's all over he'll need to sit down and take some calming breaths of his own." Lazuli said with a chuckle, shaking her head.
"Was he nervous when he married Meilan?" Noin asked, curious as to whether he'd been nervous then.
"No, he was more angry then anything else. As I recall, the day they got married he told her to go to hell right after the ceremony." Lazuli replied, not surprised when nearly every woman in the room gasped at the idea of any groom saying that to his bride. "Not to excuse him but Meilan was far from being on her best behavior at the time either. They only knew each other vaguely from boarding school and they didn't even have time to get to know each other before the ceremony began. She didn't think he was worthy of her clan name and he didn't want to have anything to do with anyone, much less her. She was quite skilled at annoying him, as most teenage girls are. They were children, being thrust into an adult life their parents had created for them. Neither of them were the sort to like being made to do something they didn't want to do. Their sense of honor and family tradition were about the only things that kept them from disobeying their family's wishes. I'll be forever glad that God has let me live long enough to see my Wufei marry a woman he loves more then his very life. I never thought I'd see the day, but this is one case where it was good to be wrong."
"Do you think...she and I would have gotten along? Under different circumstances I mean." Noin asked, feeling her nerves start to settle a bit. That was right, Wufei was marrying her. He'd already gone through one forced marriage so it wasn't like he was going to repeat that again when he had a choice this time. He loved her and wanted to marry her. That was all that really mattered.
"I think you would have." Lazuli said softly, smiling as she patted Noin's cheek. Everything was going to be better then perfect. Her Wufei had found the perfect woman for him and she didn't have a single doubt in her mind that they were going to be incredibly happy together. It wouldn't always be smooth sailing and peaceful but she didn't doubt these two would weather the storms and be better for it. This was a bond that would last the tests of time. "Now, we have a half an hour to go. Do you have all the bride requirements covered?"
"I think so. Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, right?" Noin answered, repeating the familiar rhyme that was a must for any bride, regardless of culture nowadays. "Something old, my gold hoop earrings that were my great grandmothers, something new is my dress. Something borrowed are these awesome shoes from Trinity and something blue is covered too." She added hastily, not exactly about to say where the blue came in. She didn't think Wufei's grandmother really needed to know that part.
"Then you're good to go." Pulling an envelope from her purse Lazuli held it out to Noin. "And if you get nervous, just read this."
"What is it?" Noin asked, taking the letter from her soon to be grandmother in law. Her name was on the front and if she wasn't mistaken it was in Wufei's handwriting. He'd written her something?
"He wouldn't tell me. He just said that if you started to get nervous to give it to you. I might have let it slip that you were doing some pacing." Winking Lazuli went off to see to some last minute details while everyone else crowded around to read over Noin's shoulder.
Lucrezia,
Quit worrying about today and imaging that something is going to go terribly wrong. None of that matters. All that matters is that we love each other, a wedding is just a formality to make that official in the eyes of society. The wedding isn't important, all that's important to me is you. Now quit wearing down the floor. I'll see you at the end of the aisle.
Wufei
"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW." Was the general feeling in the room as everyone took turns sighing over the letter while Noin pulled herself together and clutching the letter against her took a deep breath and smiled.
At three o'clock on the dot the wedding began. At the front of the church Wufei and his groomsmen waited patiently, all wearing matching black suits with a white Mandarin styled shirt underneath. On their labels were alternating white and red rosebuds. There was a gap between Wufei and his other groomsmen, a spot Sally would be filling as his best woman and friend. After Sally was Quatre, Duo, Heero and finally Trowa, all looking handsome and a little uncomfortable in their suits. Other then Quatre none of them willing spent much time in the things after all. Standing across from Wufei was Milliardo, the bride's best man. The two men eyed each other, their mutual truce still in place as the organ began, signaling the arrival of the bridal party.
First came Noin's niece and nephew, the two walking down the aisle with the little girl happily flinging the red and white rose petals every which way. Everyone having a good chuckle over this the girl soon joined her mother while the boy went to stand beside Trowa who's been charged with keeping an eye on the boy until the ring was safely delivered. Next came the bridesmaids, all dressed beautifully in light purple lilac, the spaghetti straps showing off the identical gold chains with a heart shaped locket, a gift from the bride. Relena, Lady Une, Trinity and Tula all lined up with their guys as Sally came last before the bride who walked into the room on her father's arm, a wide smile on her face and a glow that seemed to shine from all around her.
Walking confidently and gracefully down the aisle on her father's arm Noin was a stunning bride, drawing all eyes to her. Dressed in a a sleeveless traditional Chinese dress of gold her tanned skin glowed against the silk material, the slits on either side of the dress reaching mid thigh. Her only jewelry were the small hoops in her ears and the engagement ring that shone on her finger. In her hands was a small bouquet of red and white roses, the buds just beginning to open. Eyes only for her man Noin didn't even notice the walk down the aisle, only aware that Wufei was at the end of it and that that was where she was going.
At her seat in the front pew Marta beamed at her daughter through her tears, her one hand holding onto her handkerchief while the other was in Lazuli's. Besides Lazuli sat Patch, wiggling in his seat with a red and white stripped ribbon around his neck. Squirming about he obviously wanted to be with his two favorite people and on seeing Noin finally managed to break free and to everyone's surprise a dog suddenly appeared out of no where to rush over to the bride's side, his tail wagging eagerly. Motioning Lazuli back Noin leaned down and grabbing her dog's leash in her free hand continued down the aisle with Patch eagerly trailing beside her as if he too was escorting the bride to her groom. Reaching the end she watched as Wufei came forward to take her from her father, shaking his head at their disobedient dog before smiling at her ruefully as if to say, doesn't it just figure. Turning she smiled at her father, kissing him on the cheek before taking the hand Wufei held out to her. Nodding to her father Wufei escorted her and Patch to the front where her family priest was waiting. Walking around Wufei and Noin so that he was in between them Patch sat, looking up at them adoringly as he waited to see what was going on exactly.
"Everything is going to be okay." Wufei whispered under his breath, squeezing her hand in his.
"No, everything is going to be perfect." Noin whispered back and together they turned to face the beginning of their life together as man and wife.
Note: Well that's it, that's all she wrote. Well no, not exactly lol. There is a sequel planned for this that will take place seven years from now featuring their life together and their children. The story will, however, focus on another unusual couple but Wufei and Noin will definitely pop up as well as Alexis. If interested ask to be notified since I'm not sure when will start posting it.