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"Greeting Cards"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, funeral practices, AU, fluff Pairings: 1+4, 1x2x1, 3+H, 5xH, 3x4, 6x9 Summary: Each chapter is based on Heero’s
greeting cards and Duo's mortuary. "Greeting Cards " Chapter 31 -- February Sweethearts It was Valentine's Day and we were invited to a party at Quatre Winner's house. I had been afraid Duo had wanted to go to the dance at the hospital; he had gone last year. I had already opted out of Relena's invitation. Relena had astonished me. She had actually begged me to accompany her to the hospital dance. I would have felt foolish showing up with Duo after telling her we had other plans. But as it turned out Duo had had no intention of going. "Hilde made me go to that stupid dance last year," he explained as he pulled black jeans over the lovely red, silk boxers I gave him for his birthday (very romantic holiday attire,) "but not this time." "She has a boyfriend to take this year instead of you," I assumed was his reason, wrongly, of course. "'Fei? No, they're going to Quat's party, too. He doesn't want to run into his ex at the hospital-- Oh you remember he'd been dating Sally Po when he met Hilde? Anyway, facing his ex or his boss at a dance party? I couldn't say which he'd think would be worse." "Probably the 'dance' part," I joked. "So, Lady Une will be there?" "She was last year. Une's a hospital administrator of some sort. She wears several hats." "One would think she would have stepped down when she took over the Preventers." "But it's her cover, you see? We are the only ones who know about her position in Preventers, I think, though I could be wrong about that. Anyway 'Fei's not going and nor are we." "I understand his wanting to avoid unpleasant encounters." I avoided as many as possible. I had no idea what to expect from a Winner-hosted Valentine's Day party, but I trusted Trowa to keep it sensible. I took off the green shirt I had thought would look good, but made me look ill, and chose a silky white one Duo turned down for a red. Even though he was taller, we bought the same size shirts. They tended to fit differently, but equally well, so we shared. Pants were not sharable. His legs were longer. "Did Relena really invite you to the dance? I can't believe the nerve of that woman! She knows we're a couple." "Some people believe a ring demonstrates a form of bonding, permanence, and a man without one is fair game." "That's stupid enough. A couple is up here," he stabbed at his temple with a finger. "We don't need matching rings to prove how together we are." He must have seen something to the contrary written on my face, because his voice hitched and he asked, "D-do we?" I always admired the rings couples wore. I thought of a ring as a symbol of eternal love. I would love to wear one from Duo. "'Ro? Hey, is this something important I'm stomping all over here? Talk to me." "I like them." "You don't think a ring is like a token of possession?" "Only in that I would love to possess something valuable you have given me." "Oh." "It shows the world that you have found a loving partner." A friend with whom you can share the rest of your life. "And you'd wear one if you had one?" "If it was from you, and you wore a matching one." "Hmm. You look good, babe." He tossed me the keys. "You can drive." We were at Duo's apartment with the mortuary van. I backed out of the parking space and trundled toward the university district where Winner lived. "Make a left up at the light," he told me. I thought he wanted to pick up some wine on the way, so I made the turn without comment. But when his next instructions took us into Sanc's swankier downtown, I wondered what he had up his sleeve. No store manager wanted a mortuary van parked out front; it scared away business and attracted curiosity seekers. I asked him, "Are we driving to kill time or worry the merchants?" "Park anywhere. There!" "It is a red zone." In front of a jewelry store. Duo slapped an "On Duty" sign onto the windshield and unlatched his seatbelt. "I don't take advantage often. C'mon." "What are we doing here?" I asked. "Testing the waters. You want rings; we look at rings and see how that goes." Oh. But what had we just discussed? To me, it implied we were engaged, and I know Duo had not changed his mind about that. Now I was confused. All I could guess was that the rings carried no meaning to him besides a shared gift. Did I want to wear a ring without significance? I followed Duo into the shop. Even now, thinking about that moment is enough to take my breath away. He was a slender young man, wearing a brilliant red shirt topped with a black leather jacket. A long dark braid hung down his back, tied at the end with a black leather band. His finely chiseled features might have been carved from creamy marble. His eyes, violet-blue, flashed with an inner tempest. He was a man on a mission, focused, determined, and absolutely stunning. The eyes of customers and sales people turned toward us, him. If he was aware of the sensation his appearance caused, he gave no indication of it. He wound his way to the cases of rings, pausing long enough for me to decide which ones to consider first. I found the simpler bands in the less glittery counter, and within seconds there was an attentive clerk wishing to help us. The guy was smart enough not to draw conclusions about us, or at least not to ask silly questions. He just listened at first. "Silver or gold? Plain? I don't know," Duo said. "I got past the 'possession' symbolism of a ring, because the more I thought at that, the more I realized it was Solo's voice making excuses for not wanting them for us. But they look so—" Expensive and permanent. "These are wedding rings," the clerk said. "That's not what we want." Duo looked ready to give up and make a run for the nearest exit. The clerk smiled knowingly. "Young adults not quite ready for the full commitment of engagement and planning a wedding will often give promise rings as a symbol of their love and their decision to at some point when they are older to consider marriage to one another." "A promise ring," Duo repeated. "Does that mean we'd have to get other rings later, assuming we wanted to, you know?" Assuming we wanted to get married? So, Duo was still considering that option. It was nice to hear it from his lips. Reassuring. "That could become cumbersome, if you weren't interested in wearing multiple rings. In your case, gentlemen, perhaps a bracelet would be more to your liking? Over here—" Now, the bracelets were attractive and carried none of the weight of a ring. Duo picked out three and held them up. "What do you think?" Just reading his face told me he was more comfortable with the choice, too. I smiled. "Gold, with no inscription." "You're right. We want to take them away today, not wait around for that. Man, they're pretty heavy." The salesman showed us a couple thinner chains in gold. "Promise jewelry sells very well. It's a good step for couples who fall in love very quickly and wish to demonstrate exclusivity, but want to be able to get to know each other better before setting a wedding date." Duo looked over at me. "I'll let you think it over in private." The salesman moved a discrete distance away where he could keep an eye on his trays of bracelets, but not overhear what we had to say. "If you have your heart set on rings--," Duo began. It was time for me to set him straight once and for all. "To me, rings are worn, not for any religious or magical reason, but because the person wants to publicly announce that they have found an intimate friend that they plan share the rest of their lives with. I would want to wear mine with pride. If and when we are both ready to make that kind of commitment, then we will choose rings, if that is all right with you?" His relief was obvious. He let out his breath, blowing the air up, ruffling the hair comically. "Yeah. I knew you'd understand. You always do. I think I like this promise idea, too. You choose the bracelet." "I like the promise idea as well. Either of these will do, but this one costs half as much." "Since I can't tell the difference, wanna go with the cheaper one? Not that I don't think you're worth the best or anything." I had to chuckle at his backpedaling. He was trying so hard to please me in this, what he must consider to be, extravagant gift exchange, whose meaning was largely of a abstract nature. The clerk reappeared instantly, shimmering over. "Smart choice. Would you like these gift wrapped or wear them out?" "Just boxes. No paper or ribbons," Duo specified. No frills. Duo's frugal nature attracted me almost as much as his sense of humor. Naturally, that came after I grew to know him, because at first it was his dead-on gorgeousness that drew me in. We each paid for the other's gift. That felt rather silly, but it was fair. "Mr. Maxwell. You are--?" The clerk's eyes flashed out the window to the mortuary van. "That one. Yep. Sorry 'bout that. I don't usually park out front like that, but we're kinda in a hurry." "No problem at all. We welcome our local business owners to stop in any time." The man smiled graciously and returned Duo's card. As he took my charge card. He scanned the name and his smile grew. "Mr. Yuy. You wouldn't possibly be the artist?" I gave him a curt nod. "Yes." "I caught your show during a lunch break. I think you're wonderful." His neck and cheeks pinked and he continued to write up the ticket. "I couldn't afford to buy anything, but I've been saving up for a Valentine card. It may be too late." Before the man could gush more, I asked for his business card, turned it over, and drew a quick sketch of his face. Shock of blonde hair, gold, wire-rim glasses, suit collar, tie, dimples. "To Dave," I wrote, "Free pass for a holiday card today." "When you buy your card, go to Hilde's Boutique and show her this. She can call me if she has any doubts as to its authenticity. In any case, it will get you a Valentine at a price I am certain you can afford." I had Hilde hold onto a few special cards for last minute shoppers. If they didn't sell, she could keep one. I know she would have put that one back, so I was sure Dave would get one today. "T-thank you!" The man blubbered more before returning my card with a receipt. He checked his watch. "Looks like it's an early lunch day for me." We thanked Dave again, and left. "That was nice," Duo told me. He chose to do the driving to Winner's place and cranked the engine. "He was kind, considerate, and helpful." I stared out the window as dark clouds scuttled overhead. The first drops splattered against the windshield as we entered the older area with the tall trees bare of leaves and the stately brick buildings. "He could have been patronizing and made us feel uncomfortable." "True, still, you were extra nice." Duo turned and slowed, searching for a parking space. "There are times I wish we'd taken the bus. There's one!" A wrench of the steering wheel one way then another and he nudged the van into a slot. "So, can we open our gifts before we go in, or are we waiting for a special moment?" "Now would be fine." That way we could show them off. I had an irrational desire to see the look on Winner's face when we showed him our matching bracelets. Duo loved me best. Now I had proof. Not that I needed it, but it felt good. A tad childish, but good. We exchanged boxes and hesitated. "On the count of three," he said. He did a countdown and then we simultaneously opened our gifts. "Cool." "Yes," I agree. "May I put yours on you?" "Yeah, I don't know how I'd work the clasp left-handed-- or do we wear these on our left arms? What do you think?" "Right is fine." That way they might be more noticeable, too. I fastened the clasp, and then he did the same for me. We twisted our arms and admired the results. Most important to me was how he felt, but his glow reassured me. "I like them." "They look great, babe. Thanks and thanks for the idea and all." "Do I get a kiss to go with it?" Suddenly, in my arms was all 130 pounds of solid lover. He had me pressed up against the door and his tongue filling my mouth in a hot-as-hell kiss. God, I loved him like this, wanting me, taking me— "We either go in now or go home." "Home?" Wishful thinking. He punched my arm. "Wrong. Let's go." He dragged me in by the hair; well, not really. It was my hand. His bracelet tickled my wrist and sparkled. My Duo. Thankfully, Winner's party was a small gathering. I pulled Trowa to the side to congratulate him on getting his way about the small number of invitees, and he was so smug about it. "Like I said, I got the power," he quipped. He and I had talked about the party over lunch the week before. Our meeting had been at my bequest with the intention of learning about his boyfriend's tastes so I could complete his Valentine card gift. When I arrived at the morgue to collect Trowa, Duo had been surprised by my visit, having forgotten that I had forewarned him just that morning in the coffee shop. He had been working too hard playing catch up. "I will stop by the morgue at lunchtime, just to let you know," I repeated. "Know what?" Sigh. "That I will be there. Trowa and I have a lunch... appointment." "Oh, yeah?" I could have sworn I detected flecks of green in his eyes. "He asked me to create a card for Quatre and I need to know about his special likes and dislikes to make the card personal." "You could ask me!" I folded my arms across my chest and frowned. Hard. "No. I do not think it is a good idea for me to get private information about my best friend's boyfriend from his ex, who also happens to be my boyfriend." He took a moment to parse that then his scowl smoothed out. "Yeah, okay, if you put it that way... I get it. But do you have to go to lunch?" "Are you jealous?" His face paled first then the blood flooded back in force. "J-jealous? Of Trowa? Are you kidding? No, no, no, no. It means lunch coverage will be light, that's all." Sure, love. "I see. So, do you think you might be able to get away for a lunch date with me sometime?" "Yeah," and a smile split his face. "Just not right yet. We are so behind. Bodies stacked to the roof." "And you work through lunch every day?" When he started to nod in assent, I asked, "Do you have a funeral this week?" "Three," he said right off then added, "... and one more called in this morning for Saturday. That's two on Saturday! Thursday's free." "Then we lunch on Thursday. Trowa will cover for you. That's his job now." Duo started to object, paused, then agreed and in the process completely wiped out the previous conversation from his memory, apparently. By the time I showed at the mortuary's back door, he was completely baffled by my appearance. I pulled him aside, reminded him, kissed him lightly to reassure him, and told him to go get something to eat himself. "I will." "Now, love. You will collapse otherwise." A shout from inside, Endive, I think, said, "He'll eat!" "Oh, and after work we help the Claremonts pack. Don't forget!" Really, Duo! I had it in my daily planner. "I will remember." Trowa left with me, raising eyebrows on all his employees, and we left before we could hear the questions. Duo, I knew, would remember what it was all about, eventually. Around the block, I picked up takeout sandwiches and took a walk. "Favorite color?" "He says blue, but he always picks out yellow stuff." "Animal?" "Only in bed." Trowa flickered a smile and shook his head. "Kidding... ah... cats." "What kind of flowers does he like?" I asked. "Violets." Trowa knew the answer and I crooked an eyebrow. Most guys ignored details like that. "Good. I know where to find some." We finished our sandwiches and tossed the trash in a corner market garbage container. "It's winter," he reminded me. "Yes, it is." I shared my smart-alecky smile with him, but nothing else for a while. We turned up an avenue in one of the older posh neighborhoods. Most of the flowering plants were dead or sticks, but if you looked closely, you could spot signs of spring. Violas planted in fall sported a few tattered flowers, and freshly planted primulas, destined to be pelted into the mud by future rain or hail, brightened the greens and grays of the landscapes. I stopped in front of an early century built home with classic columns supporting a cold-looking portico. "Here are some." I pointed to a mass of tiny green leaves with purple flowers on short stems. In spring, when the weather was warmer and the sun out longer, the stems would grow. Trowa leaned down and picked one to smell. "Yeah, that's the scent he likes. Puts it in his bath." "He puts flowers in his bath?" "Bubble bath." "Oh!" Now that was a fantastic idea! "Haven't tried that yet? I definitely recommend a bubble bath together." "Thanks." I added that to my list of things to do and then returned to the present. "I need some violets to press." "Sure thing." Trowa picked a handful from plants which had seeded themselves along the sidewalk and carried them back to the coffee shop. Along the way he quizzed me about Duo by guessing the answers first. "Blue?" "Black." "Dog?" "He is not an animal lover, but he has a mouse." Trowa hesitated a moment then chuckled. "That's a pest, not a pet." "Most pets are pests if they belong to someone else." Trowa agreed with a nod. "Roses?" I smiled. "Yes. I think he likes roses best." "He likes this rose petal rice pudding Quatre makes. It'll be at the party so you can taste it." Not on your life. When I visualized Duo lapping rice pudding off a pale naked chest I felt sick. I did not want to consider where or when Quatre had made Duo pudding. "Party? Oh, the valentine one." I couldn't help my lack of enthusiasm for that festivity. Noisy, crowded, strangers, all added up to make it a stressful event for me. "Not a party animal?" "Not a pack animal." When Trowa looked confused I added, "Like a wolf... lives in a pack?" "Oh, yeah... Me neither," Trowa confessed. "How about I convince Quatre to keep it just us and Chang and his girl?" "That would be better, but can you swing it? Winner seems rather—" Bossy sounded harsh. "Used to getting his way? Yeah, but I'm tenacious and this is important. We need to be tight, close. We can't talk openly about the mission with others around." "I hope you can keep the party small. Duo said he had problems getting Quatre to go along with his ideas." "Duo's a pushover. So are you. Oh, not about everything, but with relationships, friends. Couple of softies. I got the power of persuasion." He chuckled again. "Let me guess your likes. You are a green?" "Orange." "Cat?" "Dragons." "That's not a... okay. Have it your way, although we call them lizards in this day and age. And with flowers...ah... tulips." He snickered at the face I made. We were standing by the window of a florist's shop where pink and white tulips, red roses, and dyed green carnations were featured. He was unimaginative. "Tulips? Fuck you. I am a carnation man." Speaking of unimaginative, carnations were pretty blah in my book. My favorite flowers had nearly unpronounceable names, certainly nothing a brain-wiped lab-tech would recognize. I think he got that and we laughed together. "My turn. Blue." "Yeah." "Dog." "Yeah." "And you do not know shit about flowers, but you'll eat broccoli." Trowa was doubled up, snorting, and wiping his eyes. "Jesus, Yuy..." I made him cry. Cool. I guess I had power, too. And Trowa had been right. When Duo and I arrived at the Valentine Party house, Wufei and Hilde and Trowa and Quatre were the only other couples there. Nice. I slapped an o-fuda on the threshold as I passed through. Heart-shaped. Pink paper. Red pen. For the occasion—just the one. Quatre glowed with party fever; he needed an o-fude of a different sort. "Now that everyone's here, I want you all to sit around the coffee tables. We're going to make cards!" Oh boy. "But in order to know who you are making your special card for, we are going to draw names from this hat." Oh joy. "But I already made a card for—" "That's okay! If you draw the name of a person you already brought a card for, then choose another name. Go on, Heero, you go first." With all the enthusiasm of a cat getting a bath on a cold day, I took a paper from the knit cap. I had Quatre's name. What good things could I dredge up to say to him? Thanks for releasing Duo before you slept with him...no... Nice to know you could be so dumb as to let the best guy on the planet slip through you money-riddled fingers... nooo... Thanks for the putting a smile on my best friend's face...double no...? "Do I say whose name I got?" I asked. "No, keep it a secret. Trowa, you choose next." Everyone took a turn. "Now that you all have a name, you'll make that person a card, but not just any card. You must write one positive thing about that person. Then when you are done with that, you'll make a Valentine card for the most important person in your life, who had better be in this room." We all joined him in a laugh, but trailed off as he set out piles of colored papers, stiff card stock, lacy doilies, glue, pens, ribbons and feathers, which confused most of the others. As he instructed everyone on the making of Valentine cards, I thought of birds, flying ones carrying ribbons in their beaks, trailing through the air, weaving through the cutout edges of the heart-shaped doilies... and then I heard my name and returned to the conversation. "Um, like Yuy here, I already did that," Trowa said. "We could bring out the food?" Quarter was tearfully thrilled to be relieved of further cooking duty, grateful that we would do the rest, happy never, ever to have to be like a waiter again. Drama queen. "Almost everything is already done," he assured us, but then dictated everything that was left to do and it seemed like there was plenty to keep the two of us occupied for an hour. I trusted Trowa to keep it real and know how much of Quatre's plans we could blow off. We were diligently cutting, pasting and otherwise settling into our card creations, when the soft music quiet was cut by an ear-piercing squeal. Hilde grabbed Duo's arm, then mine. "You're both wearing matching bracelets!" Duo was delighted, which made me very, very happy. "We just got'em." "I love it!" Hilde gushed. "Is this a formal...arrangement?" Chang took over the questioning from his girlfriend. He was particularly interested in rigid rules, I had come to recognize. "Naw, just to show we date exclusively. We chose them over rings." Duo's explanation would do. Quatre demanded a closer look. I was very pleased when Duo refused to remove his bracelet for closer inspection. "I'll shower with it. It ain't coming off." "I think it's a lovely sentimental gift to share, don't you Trowa?" "Yeah." My best friend seemed to admire the matching bracelets. He touched and smiled agreeably. But... my feeling was that Trowa would have preferred his lover in handcuffs, but that was just an image I had in my head. When Quatre excused himself and left the room for a couple minutes to take a leak, I gave Duo and Trowa a couple card ideas. I refused to do the drawings, though. "Fun for you, but work for me," I reminded them. I did touch-up Trowa's picture with the perfect smile, but that was all. When he was finished with his card I reminded him, "Food duty for us now." He and I left the others to their gluey sticky messes. We took containers out of the spacious refrigerator and assembled snacks on trays. I made tea and he made coffee so that we were ready to haul it all in about the time the others had cleared off the tables. "Eat or cards?" Trowa asked. It was totally unnecessary, of course. "Eat!" "We can have our card exchange with dessert," Quatre said, taking control, such as it was. The piles of rather dainty finger sandwiches and hefty meat pies disappeared like lightening. Trowa and I stood to exchange the empty trays for dessert and beverage-filled ones, while Quatre fluttered about with excitement. "Wait till he gets all sugared up," Trowa whispered. "He talks so fast it's come out just a buzz." "Duo gets louder," I told him, since it seemed best friends shared a secret or two. We dumped trash and refilled a tray with treats, plates, and napkins and another with coffee and tea items. "Those cakes are very red," I noted. "Intense, huh? He calls them red velvet cakes with the best white frosting ever." "Is the white lumpy stuff in a bowl the rose pudding?" I asked. "Yeah, here," he said as he tore up a fresh rose from a vase and sprinkled petals over the top. "That's what he does." "I hope those were clean." "I'm not eating it," Trowa announced then pranced out of the kitchen with his tray. "You really out-did yourself here, Quat," I heard Duo say. I managed not to spill burning hot liquid on anyone as I lowered my tray to the table. This was a balancing act I thought Trowa would have endured better than I, but he was already jamming a red cupcake into his mouth. Wufei, interestingly, gave me a hand with the teetering tray. Of course, it was his lap most in danger of being soaked if my hand slipped. "Man, my fav stuff. This is so good." Duo shoveled a groaning spoonful of pudding into his mouth. Quatre insisted that we trade around our cards and read the inscriptions. Trowa used the opportunity to give him the Yuy original. Quatre was tearfully thrilled. It was a pretty thing with a cutout in the center featuring pressed violets between sheets of vellum. There was a sleepy white cat with a yellow bow napping on a rug in dappled sunlight, its head resting on the lid of a pink heart-shaped candy box, and it said, "I'd love to cuddle with my Valentine." The art was some of my best, and Trowa knew it. On that high note, Trowa gave Hilde his homemade card. He had used my idea, but his drawing wasn't bad at all. On the outside was a huge female black widow spider and a tiny male one holding out a Valentine candy box and wearing a cheesy grin. Inside the card was the female and the empty candy box. Extending from her mouth were a couple twiggy legs. The inscription read, "And he brought dessert, how thoughtful." Hilde practically "busted a gut" as Duo would say. "This is the funniest card ever, Trowa!" My card to Quatre was yellow with butterflies and inside it said I appreciated his planning skills. He smiled politely and thanked me. I had not wanted to overshadow the card I had made for Trowa to give him, and I think I succeeded. Hilde made me a multilayered doily and cutout heart creation that was rather fussy but pretty. She wrote that my best features were my blue eyes and dark hair, which were like hers so ha, ha! I wished it did not make me think that Duo liked me because I reminded him of his best girl friend. Quatre gave Wufei a splendid card with a list of Wufei's fine qualities inside. Very tasteful and Chang appreciated it in the way Winner understood. "Thank you." "You're welcome, Wufei." Wufei handed Duo a rather plain card. White, folded in two with "DUO" printed on the outside and "CHANG" printed on the inside along with a tightly scripted note, "Bravery and Justice above all else." Duo smiled and thanked him as he jabbed a card Trowa's way. On the cover was a very roughly sketched pair of snakes lying nose-to-nose, bodies curved into a perfect heart shape. Inside, there was the pair now flattened with wavy tread marks as if run over by a car. "Pair imperfect." Quatre thought it was not very "Valentiny" and Trowa agreed. "But then you're supposed to be my Valentine," he said and then kissed Quatre to the floor. And Duo's card to me? He made a doily-heart layered thing like Hilde had, probably at her direction. On the cover he printed, "I'm more than one." Inside were the words, "Sister Helen had a picture of me when I was 2." Now that was funny. We all talked and listened to music and were about halfway into a screwy movie, when Wufei was called away to work. We helped Quatre pick up and then took off, party over, which was good because I had night time plans for my love. (o) My plans had begun earlier in the week. After Trowa clued me in on the fun prospects of sex bubble bathing, I visited the department store, looking for something that spoke to me. I settled on rose bubble bath with super bubble action and real damask extract, but it was just settling. And then I spotted silly bath time soap crayons for kids. And foam soap. I knew I would enchant Duo instantly. When Valentine's Day arrived, I had made sure we started out at Duo's and not my room, because I had fixed up my room and bath for a special night. We dressed at his place, bought our wonderful bracelets (surprise!) and went to Quatre's party. But when it was all over, we drove the Mortuary van to the palace. The moment he walked into my room he suspected something, of course, my shouting "Close your eyes!" had a lot to do with that, but I had filled the place with candles and had to light them all to give the full effect. So he stood patiently and waited. "I smell burning matches." "I have it all under control." "Okay, just had to make sure you weren't about to burn down the palace with me in it. You aren't, right?" "I am not burning down the palace. All right. You can open them now." "Oooh pretty, babe. Real romantic." "This is only the beginning." I lead him to the bathroom and undressed him, kissing each exposed limb as I went. "You wrote a poem on the shower walls?" he pointed out. "With the soap crayons." I was sane. "This is my card to you." "My... oh, yeah, I get it. Cool..." Then I read it aloud so he could hear it coming from me: "Nothing is more beautiful to me than you wearing only the moonlight and my kisses." "God, 'Ro... You are amazing." "Just you wait." I turned on the bath and let the water pound on the entire bottle of soap that I had upended in there. I may have overdone that part. The bubbles grew to extraordinary heights and made Duo laugh. So... maybe I did it right. "I bought soap crayons and foam soap, which is colored soap that comes in cans like hair mousse." "What have you got in mind?" the silly boy asked. "Climb in and find out." My boyfriend and I used the foam soap to make "outfits" on each other. We used the soap crayons to write on each other and to write sayings and draw pictures on the bathroom tile. "I like your playful side," he told me. "I love your every side," I said and made him give me a new hairdo—blue mousse. I had readied his favorite "travel" razor, which he'd bought with a toothbrush and left in my bathroom. I sat on his lap and shaved his face for him, gently kissing the areas after I shaved them. After that, he did the same for me. We rinsed and I washed his hair. Mine was fine. "Relax," I told him. I massaged his back and we lay back in the water quietly, just listening to each other's breathing. "We're getting all wrinkly. I hate to, but we should get out." He was right. We used the shower to rid ourselves of the last of the bubbles and colored soap We took turns drying each other, blew out candles from the bath to the dresser, and then climbed into my bed. "I love my Valentine, Heero." "I love you." I really did, too. I just looked at him lying there. His hair fell in dark lustrous waves that flowed and blended into the dark coverlet. When he moved it came alive burnished by the candle highlights. He was exquisite, beautiful beyond anything I had ever imagined. And I had an excellent and wild imagination.
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