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"The Wedding Planner"Written By: Snowdragonct Disclaimer: Don't own any part of Gundam Wing or the characters, more's the pity. This is for fun...no profit involved. Warnings: AU, yaoi, some OOC, angst, potential lemon(s), sickening sappy fluff Pairings: to be announced, or it’d be too easy (but you know who I like) A/N: This idea hit me while I was driving somewhere, and I needed to start it before the inspiration faded. But it will take second place to Boot Camp and the sequel to Boot Camp, so I can’t promise regular or frequent updates. It’s probably totally predictable FLUFF, so you have been warned. And I’m trying out the world of first-person here, with point of view shifting between Heero and Duo (maybe others…not sure yet). Rating: NC 17 Summary: Heero isn't thrilled when Relena hires
someone to plan their wedding, but once he meets the young man, he's
downright unhappy. Duo Maxwell is friendly, good looking, and spending
way too much time with Relena...Heero's jealousy knows no bounds.
"The Wedding Planner"
Heero’s Point of View My respect for Maxwell went up several notches when he graced me with a brilliant smile and accepted my hand. “Duo Maxwell. Pleased to meet you.” And with a simple smile and handshake, I’d accomplished what Relena sent me to do that day…smoothed things over with her wedding planner. Not that I was completely reassured of his intentions—I’m not that gullible—but maybe now he’d lay off baiting me. I’d had a bad moment or two—like when he went to start the car. There’d have been Hell to pay if he’d up and quit on us. Fuck, he was right! I was whipped…and I was ashamed of it. Since when had Relena’s word been law? That was going to have to change, and soon. Then there’d been the moment he asked why I’d hated him on sight. I couldn’t very well tell him it was because even I could see how good-looking he was. He had stunningly expressive eyes, a killer smile, a slim, athletic build—and that hair! With Relena’s history of having roving eyes, I was almost sure she was lusting after him from the moment they met. I mean, I was a guy, and I found him attractive. How was a girl to resist? But I couldn’t very well tell him he was too beautiful. How the hell would that sound? ‘Oh—I hated you the moment I saw you because you simply exude animal magnetism.’ Yeah…that’d go over well. Once we got our handshake and introduction over with, I felt myself relax a bit. Perhaps we could maintain peace long enough to complete the wedding plans after all. “So, what shall I call you?” he asked, giving me an almost mischievous look. Well, damned if that wasn’t a subtle challenge. For a moment I wondered if we were headed into another power struggle, and he was just setting me up. But then I looked into the guileless depths of those sparkling eyes and couldn’t believe he was anything but sincere at that moment. Okay, I could give an inch here. “Call me Heero,” I suggested, surprised at how shy my voice sounded. Fuck! Get a spine, Yuy! But the wide, genuine smile he gave me—one with no trace of sardonic or mocking humor—was enough to make me glad I’d met him halfway. “I’m Duo.” Then, just like that, all our past hostility apparently forgotten, he gestured expansively towards the barn. “How about we take a ride, Heero?” “In a carriage?” He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’d prefer to try hitching the horses to the Jag.” Although loathe to admit a weakness, I nonetheless was forced to. “I—uh—I’ve never been around horses much.” Or ever. His smile was reassuring. “Don’t worry. Hilde will handle all that equestrian shit. You and I just have to know how to climb in and go along for the ride.” He got out of the Jag, grabbing a sweater out of the back seat. “If we’re lucky, she’ll take us along the beach,” he explained. “It might get chilly.” A slight frown creased his forehead. “You gonna be warm enough?” “I don’t get cold easily,” I shrugged. He smirked at me with a positively wicked gleam in his eyes. “S’okay. If you do get cold, I’ll keep ya warm.” He winked and turned away, which was fortunate, as I felt myself blush at his flirtatious comment. The little tease! Maybe all the gestures I’d taken as flirting with Relena were just his way of joking around. He certainly wouldn’t be flirting with me. Would he? “Duo!” a female voice squealed in delight. A brown-haired girl came dashing down the aisle of the barn as we entered, and threw herself into Duo’s arms, hugging him around the neck. Yet another female unable to keep her hands off Maxwell. Guess that clears up the issue of who he flirts with. He laughed and swung her once around, before depositing her back on her feet. “Not in front of the customers, Hilde!” he scolded, winking to soften it. She looked at me, smiling in welcome. “Ooo…Duo…cute customer.” Shit, I was blushing again, I just knew it! “Ah. I’m…uh…” I stammered. “This articulate fellow is Heero Yuy,” Duo told her, ushering her over to meet me. “He and Miss Relena Peacecraft are going to be married next year, and might want your carriage services….if you impress him enough.” Hilde glanced aside at Duo. “Oh, so he’s taken…how sad.” She gave him a pitying look, and for some reason he blushed. “Hil—stick to business,” he chided. She smirked at him, leaning up to whisper in his ear, turning him an even deeper shade of red. Then she turned back to me. “Is there a particular style of carriage, or color of horse you prefer?” “I—uh—Duo and Relena did most of the research,” I managed, trying to regain the composure I usually found effortless. But I was out of my element, and up to my neck in Duo’s. And the last thing I needed was for Hilde’s questions to remind him I’d deliberately excluded Relena from today’s activities. My fiancée would probably have enjoyed it immensely, especially considering the company. Uh, yeah, those little resentful thoughts still tried to crop up. Only now they were directed more at Relena and less at Duo. “I think for their type of wedding, the two-horse hitch would be perfect,” Duo told her. He graciously didn’t even dart a scolding look at me. “Dapple greys?” “Ah, the Percherons,” she grinned. “They’re a beautiful pair. I’ll get ‘em hitched up.” Duo and I sat on a fence railing watching the girl as she brought out first one and then another huge horse, cross-tying them in the aisle and running a brush over their coats. “Percherons?” I asked. “Mm, that’s the breed,” Duo told me. “The darker one is Scythe and the silvery one is Wing.” “You know them.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I do this a lot, you know.” “Bring business to friends?” I asked. I didn’t mean to sound accusing, but I must have. He gave me a wary look. “I bring business to the people who will do the best job for them,” he said with a slight edge to his voice. I’m not without observation skills. I knew I’d insulted him. And for a change, it mattered to me. “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise,” I assured him. “What I meant to say is you make friends with the people you do business with.” “Some,” he said without looking at me. His gaze was directed at the floor in front of his feet, his hair obscuring his eyes so I couldn’t read his expression. I guessed I wasn’t forgiven just yet. “Okay. You make friends with the ones who aren’t ‘complete pricks.’” Ah…that drew a reluctant smile from him, and he looked up at me through his bangs, almost shyly. “Sometimes even with the ones who are.” While I wished he’d used the past tense on that, I could understand why he hadn’t. So far I was still in the category of ‘complete prick.’ Apparently I’d have to earn my way out. “Duo—got a sec?” Hilde called, leading the darker horse over. “Hold him here while I get Wing?” “Sure.” He took the lead line as if he was completely at ease, running a hand up the side of the horse’s huge head and scratching behind an ear. “Hey there, handsome,” he crooned, putting his face next to the sleek, furry one. “Careful!” I cautioned, leery of the big animal. The chestnut-haired man glanced over at me. “Come meet him,” he suggested. “I don’t think—.” “C’mon,” he urged. “Be brave, Yuy. Do something daring for a change.” “I’m daring!” I asserted with a scowl. “You’re conservative,” he replied. “Safe.” By this time he was cheek to cheek with the big horse, running his fingers caressingly over the long nose. “Come give Scythe a big kiss.” He demonstrated for me, placing a kiss squarely in the center of the horse’s face, right between the liquid brown eyes. “I’m not kissing a horse, Maxwell,” I said firmly. “At least pet him,” he urged, pleading with those big indigo eyes. I walked cautiously over, questioning my sanity every step of the way. “If he bites me—.” “He won’t.” “But if he does—.” “I’ll make sure Relena gets your body and your life insurance.” I gaped at him in horror. “That’s not funny.” His irrepressible grin said otherwise. “Neither is a grown man who’s afraid to pet the horsey.” Asshole. “Fine. If I die, I’ll come back and haunt you,” I swore, making my feet move me reluctantly closer to the gigantic animal. Scythe stuck his head out, his nostrils flaring as he drew a deep breath and then blew warm air across the hand I timidly extended. “He’s cool with you,” Duo told me, his eyes riveted on my face. “Go ahead.” Cautiously I placed a palm on the horse’s nose, feeling the sleek hair and surprisingly warm skin underneath. “It’s…soft.” “Yeah,” Duo said quietly, almost reverently. I got bolder and stroked the horse’s face, starting up high, and running my hand all the way to the muzzle. And the big grey animal kept his head lowered for me as if enjoying the attention. I looked over at Duo feeling a wide, totally unaccustomed grin on my face. “He likes this.” “Uh-huh.” Duo’s hand was still on the side of the halter, his fingers scratching slowly under the horse’s jaw. “I do too,” I admitted. “You should try new things more often, ‘Ro,” Duo said in an intimate tone. Only this time it sent shivers down my spine, instead of raising my hackles as it had when I’d heard it directed at Relena. I opened my mouth to tell him not to call me that, and then hastily shut it. Why ruin the perfectly amicable relationship we were starting to develop over a simple nickname?
tbc... |
