Pairings: 3x2, multiple others
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, everyone. I know it’s a shock, but they aren’t mine.
Authors Note: If there are any huge errors, please let me know. Currently working without a beta and have a bad habit of rambling (shock, right?)
Not one of my faves, but here ya go. If you love it or hate it, let me know!!
Christmas Miracle
When Duo’s phone rang he moved to answer it, deliberately avoiding looking at the sad excuse for a Christmas tree that stood withered and tilted in the corner of the room. Recognizing the number he smiled as he accepted the call, “Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane or something already, Heero?”
“I wanted to tell you Merry Christmas before we left,” the blue-eyed man stated solemnly, “and ask one last time if you would like to accompany us.”
While the offer was kind, Duo couldn’t imagine himself dressed in a tuxedo and surrounded by people he didn’t know at the Cinq Kingdom Christmas ball, a tradition Relena and Zechs had resurrected two years before, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’d rather stay home than be at a formal party. Me and tuxedos are not a good combo.”
Heero stared at Duo through the screen, a line between his eyebrows, “I don’t want you to be alone for the holiday. I’ll tell Relena to go without me.”
“No way, man. You’re not getting me in trouble because you don’t want to rub elbows with the rich and elite of the universe.”
“It isn’t that, Duo. I’m used to dealing with those…people. You shouldn’t be alone at this time of year.”
Although he was touched by the sentiment, Duo repeated, “I’ll be fine. You’re supposed to spend the Christmas holiday with your family and that means Relena. We’ll see each other when you get back.”
His best friend looked away with a pained expression at a garbled announcement over an intercom in the background, “That’s the call for our flight. Duo, are you certain? I could arrange for you to be on the next flight.”
“I’m sure. You go, tell Relena I said Merry Christmas, and drink some eggnog for me.”
The braided man had barely ended the call when the phone rang again. Answering it, he was faced with a set of worried light blue eyes. “Quatre, why are you calling me? You aren’t still home, are you? If you are, Wufei’s going to have a fit.”
“We are already at the family estate, where almost all of my sisters and their families have already gathered,” the blonde never lost his concerned expression. “I was worried about you.”
“Why are you worried about me? You need to worry about your sisters. If one of them steps out of line and says the wrong thing to you, Wufei’s likely to gut them,” Duo teased of the dark-eyed man’s protectiveness concerning his smaller lover.
“I most certainly would not do such a thing,” Wufei’s scowling visage appeared over Quatre’s shoulder. The scowl abruptly altered to a gleeful grin, “However, I would feel no remorse about removing a few chunks of hair while they are sleeping.”
“I made him leave all of his weapons at home,” Quatre rolled his eyes dramatically.
Duo wisely kept from smiling when Wufei opened the lapel of his suit jacket to reveal the knife concealed there. “That was a good idea. Marina was the sister that’s been saying all that bad stuff about Wufei, isn’t she? Doesn’t she have hair she’s very proud of?” he mused, giving the armed man a pointed look. The nod he received told him the nosy Marina would likely lose her hair before the holiday was over.
“Yes, she is, but that’s not why I called,” Quatre responded, unaware of the silent conversation between Wufei and Duo. “I called to ask if you wanted to spend Christmas here with us. I could send a plane to get you; you could be here in two hours.”
Thinking of the offer, Duo tried to envision the horrors he would suffer at the hands of Quatre’s many sisters, brother-in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. “No thanks,” he stated firmly, “If I saw Marina I might choke her and her asshole husband. I’m good here.” Before the blonde could argue Duo heard his front door open, “I gotta go, Hilde just came in. Have a good Christmas, guys.”
“You too, Duo. We’ll see you when we get back.”
Disconnecting the call, Duo looked at the archway that separated the front hallway from the living room, grinning at Hilde when she stared in horror at his sickly Christmas tree. “You do realize the presents around the tree are bigger than the tree itself, don’t you?”
“There was a kid outside the grocery store selling them,” he explained with a shrug, not mentioning that he had given the child forty credits for the already dying plant, hoping the boy would be able to get food for himself and his family for the holiday. The child’s awestruck expression had helped Duo feel a little less depressed about the holiday he would be spending alone. “There’s no point in me having a tree, anyway. It’s just me here.”
“You could come with us to Rick’s mom’s house,” Hilde suggested as she bounced the baby bundled in a thick blanket. “They wouldn’t mind having one more person and have already said you were welcome.”
Rising from his seat, Duo took the infant from Hilde’s arms, “It’s a nice offer, but I’ll stay here. Don’t even think about cancelling, either,” he added quickly at the mutinous look on her face. Spinning the baby and making her gurgle, he grinned, “They haven’t gotten to see little Abby yet.”
“Did you make any plans with Trowa?” the raven-haired woman that Duo considered a sister asked as she moved slowly across the room.
Using one hand to guide her into a chair, he attempted to avoid the question, “Are you going to be okay sitting in a car for a five-hour drive? You just got out of the hospital yesterday,” he reminded as he nuzzled the three-day old, smiling again as Abby blinked sleepy eyes.
“Rick asked the doctor if I would be fine to travel and the doctor said yes. Did you make plans with Trowa or not?”
“He has to work,” Duo replied in a rush, thinking of the man he had been dating for almost a year. “Someone has to be at the fire station if there’s an emergency so he volunteered to work Christmas since he doesn’t have any family and the others do. I understand why he did, Hilde, and agreed with his decision, so don’t get your panties in a knot about it.”
“You shouldn’t be alone for Christmas.”
Having heard the same thing multiple times already, Duo sighed, “You’re supposed to be with your family at Christmas. For you that means being with Rick’s family to show off Abagail. Heero has to bear the torture of sequins and suits to be with Relena, where Zechs and Noin will also be. Family means that Quatre has to keep Wufei from shaving his sisters’ heads and Howard is on a salvage job with his wife. I don’t have a family and this isn’t the first time I’ve spent Christmas alone; it probably won’t be the last. I’ll be fine, just like I was last year and the year before that. When everyone gets back to town we can all get together and exchange gifts or something. It’s enough for me to know that you’re all happy.”
“What about your happiness?” she asked softly. “You’ve always dreamed of having a big Christmas dinner with a family. Why don’t you come with us so you can have that?”
“Because that’s not my family, it’s yours. I stopped dreaming of a big family dinner a long time ago, right after I figured out Santa didn’t leave presents for brats that lived on the streets.”
“Don’t you believe in Christmas miracles?”
Looking from her daughter to Hilde, Duo smiled as he tilted the baby down to show the way Abby was gripping his finger with one tiny hand, “This is a Christmas miracle, Hilde. This is the reality of Christmas… that you could give life to something so small and fragile. It’s a miracle to know that next year she’ll be yanking paper off boxes and shoving everything into her mouth. For me, that’s enough.”
Eyes filling with tears, Hilde sniffled as Rick entered the living room, glancing around the room from behind thick lenses and blinking owlishly when he saw his wife on the verge of tears. Duo shook his head as the gangly man rushed across the space to crouch beside Hilde, “Honey, are you okay? Do you need to go lay down before we leave?” he inquired, clearly at a loss about what to do to make the woman feel better.
Needing to lighten the mood, Duo snorted, “It’s a miracle that you found someone that worries as much as you do. Go show little Abby here to her grandparents, Hil. We’ll talk when you get home.”
Rick helped Hilde from the chair and carefully took the baby from Duo before Hilde hugged the braided man, “You’re my family too, Duo.”
Extricating himself from the awkward embrace, Duo rolled his eyes at the woman, “Go on. Get her out of here before she turns on the waterworks and makes Abby feel uncomfortable.”
Rick seemed baffled by the conversation and why his wife was so saddened, but he paused at the hallway to look back at Duo, “I don’t know what all of this is about, but you are part of our family, Duo.”
Ten minutes later Duo stood on his porch and waved as Rick drove away, Hilde returning the wave with a sad expression. When the car disappeared he crossed his arms against the cold and took a longing look at the houses down the street, all of them decked out with cheerfully glowing lights. In every house he was able to see a tree in at least one window and many wreaths hung in doors to welcome holiday guests.
In his home, the lack of decorations was glaringly obvious and made him feel more depressed than he had before. The single ornament he had dared hang on the tree made it list to the left, appearing as if it would fall over if he breathed on it too hard. He had considered hanging decorations, but it would only serve to remind him that he had no family, no one to spend Christmas with.
As the evening progressed he ate a microwave pizza and channel surfed, groaning aloud each time he happened across a Christmas special. When the phone rang at eight o’clock he smiled, not needing to look at the number to see who it was, “Hey, you,” he said readily, smile fading when he took in the somber expression facing him. “What’s wrong?” he questioned quietly, assuming Trowa had decided he no longer wanted Duo as part of his life.
“Nothing’s wrong, not really,” the other man responded with a baffled look.
“I thought maybe you didn’t…nevermind,” Duo finished awkwardly, face heating.
Trowa’s face cleared, filled with understanding, “You don’t have to worry about that, Duo. You’re the best thing in my life. Actually, I wanted to surprise you by coming over and spending the evening with you before going to work since we haven’t been able to see each other for a few days, but Catherine decided to drop by for an unannounced visit.”
Realizing the other man also had a family, Duo fought to keep his expression neutral, feeling alone and unneeded. “I understand, Trowa. You haven’t been able to see her in months. How long is she in town?” he asked, hoping for some time with his lover during the holiday.
“She’s staying until after the beginning of the year,” Trowa winced. “Duo, I really hoped…”
“It’s okay. I’m kind of tired anyway. I think I’ll go to bed early tonight.”
Green eyes were searching his face and Duo knew he needed to end the call before the other man could see how sad he really was. “Tell Catherine Merry Christmas for me, okay? I’ll see you in a few days. Be careful at work, Trowa.”
“Duo, I…I miss you.”
Giving an honest smile at the softly spoken words, the braided man nodded, “I miss you, too. Don’t work too hard.”
He tried to pass some time by watching TV, but Duo kept dwelling on the fact that he was alone on Christmas Eve. It would have been so easy to resent that Catherine had come to see Trowa, but he was jealous instead of angry. He wasn’t jealous that the woman had made an unscheduled visit, a habit she had, but that Trowa had a family and he didn’t.
Growing more and more depressed, the braided man decided it would be best to go to bed as he had said, although he wasn’t really tired. In his upstairs bedroom, he prepared for bed then stood at the window and looked out at the strings of lights. Three houses down he could see the brother/sister team that lived there in the dwindling light, running around the large decorated tree in their front yard.
In spite of being lonely he had to smile at their antics as the older sister captured her brother, spinning him in circles. From this distance there was no way to hear them, but Duo could imagine their laughter as they played. “Christmas miracles…” he mused. “There isn’t much point in wishing for someone to spend Christmas with,” he said aloud, thinking of his lover, “but it doesn’t hurt to wish for a little snow, does it?” he wondered aloud, thinking of the joy they children would have if they woke in the morning to find the yard covered with white snow to play in.
After the kids ran toward their house he let his eyes drift up to the sky, thinking of Howard and Ellen, jetting among the stars on their most recent job. Out of reach by phone or radio, he sent a mental message of happiness before climbing into bed, sighing heavily as he thought of how long and boring the next day was going to be.
The next day he woke and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He hadn’t slept well, tormented by dreams of Christmases to come where he was always alone while all of his friends went to be with their families and loved ones. Glancing out the window he gaped, unable to believe what he was seeing. Large, fluffy while flakes of snow drifted lazily past the glass, a small mound already piled on the windowsill.
A smile drifted over his lips as he climbed from the bed, moving to the window and putting his hands on the glass so he could peer out to see the white blanket that covered the ground, “Merry Christmas, kids,” he murmured softly.
His gaze moved from one house to another, unsurprised to see lights already on in most of them. His perusal ceased when he saw the car parked in the driveway across the street, “What the hell?”
Forgetting his depression from the night before, he flew into the bathroom, foregoing a shower in his haste to get ready. After brushing his hair and teeth he pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater then shot down the stairs, intending to discover why Rick and Hilde had returned home.
His planned departure was halted when he reached the bottom of the stairs and found Hilde sitting on the couch, Abby sleeping soundly in her lap. Demands for answers never came as he gaped at where his pathetic Christmas tree had stood the night before, replaced by a tree with full branches and twinkling lights, ornaments glittering from between the strings of lights.
Working through his shock as he moved to the couch, he let his eyes wander around his living room, stunned to see the festive decorations that had been missing the previous evening, blinking when he saw the pile of gifts under the tree. Shaking his head he sat beside the smiling woman, “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with Rick’s family and what is that smell?” he breathed in deep the tantalizing scents drifting from the kitchen.
“That would be a ham and if you insult my cooking skills I’ll get my boyfriend to hurt you,” Relena snorted as she appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, followed by a group of people.
Behind the blonde, Heero lifted his eyebrows, “Do I get to insult your cooking? You had to read the directions before you figured out what you were doing.”
“It’s called a recipe, Heero. You didn’t know how to fix it, either.”
“Lucky for us, Noin is an excellent cook. The turkey will be edible even if the ham is not,” Zechs stated as he pushed by his sister, smiling at Relena’s half-hearted attempt to punch him in the arm.
“That’s not a fair comparison,” Relena defended. “She’s had cooking lessons.”
“Stop fussing, you two. The food will be fine, especially since Quatre and Wufei brought most of it,” Noin commented idly as she pointed Zechs to a chair.
Duo found his voice when Wufei and Quatre emerged from the kitchen, accompanied by Rick, Howard, and Ellen, “What are you all doing here? You’re all supposed to be with your families.”
“Duo, we are with our family,” Hilde put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Rick and I didn’t make it halfway before we decided the holiday should be spent with my brother. Before you argue with me, we’re going to his mom’s for New Year’s. We both wanted to spend Christmas with the one person that’s always there when we need him and that is you.”
Stunned by her explanation he looked at Heero, though it was Relena that spoke, “I’ve been to enough balls to know that we won’t be missed, so we left Pargon in charge of the festivities. We’d all rather be here, where we don’t have to get dressed up and smooze with the stuck-up people at the ball.”
“It’s fun to get dressed up sometimes, but the people that were invited are all snobs with no concept of what Christmas is all about,” Noin agreed lazily as she stroked Zechs’ long hair. “Christmas is about spending time with those you love, not sucking up to see who made more money during the year.”
“I’m just glad I didn’t have to wear a damn tuxedo,” Heero noted as he sat on Duo’s other side. When Relena cleared her throat loudly, the blue-eyed man blushed, “I’d rather be here, you know…because…well, I mean…”
“I get it, Heero. Let him off the hook, Relena,” Duo snickered as he comprehended how embarrassed his friend was.
“I thought it was best to get Wufei as far away from Marina as possible,” Quatre shared as he took a chair, his lover sitting on the floor at the blonde’s feet. “You could have told me he snuck a knife into the house,” the blonde glared at Duo. “Poor Marina isn’t going to be happy when she sees her hair, or what’s left of it.”
“Poor Marina shouldn’t have called you some very bad names,” Wufei noted with narrowed eyes. “We wanted to be here instead of there in the first place and made a quick exit after everyone else had gone to bed.”
“This was after he made a trip to Marina’s bedroom and took the majority of her hair as a trophy,” Quatre sighed as he rubbed his face. “I’ll be getting a hysterical phone call later, no doubt.”
“She deserved it,” Wufei replied, smug.
“What about you two?” Duo defused the impending argument by addressing Howard and Ellen, smiling when he saw their eyes locked adoringly on each other. Their marriage was only a few months old so he understood their mutual adoration, but their clear happiness made him feel Trowa’s absence acutely.
“You really didn’t think I’d miss Christmas this year with you, did you? I promised you last year I’d be here.”
“We finished the salvage job a few days ago and headed straight here,” Ellen added to Howard’s explanation. “We wouldn’t have missed the holiday with you; you’re the closest me and this old geezer will ever have to a son.”
Duo’s face was hot as he stood, folding the woman into an embrace she returned instantly. Fighting back tears, he kept an arm around her waist and looked around the room at the smiling faces of his friends, all watching him with pleased smiles, “Thanks for coming, guys. I really didn’t want to be alone this year,” he said even as he thought of his lover, knowing if the tall man was there the day would be as perfect as he could ever hope for.
A knock on his front door had Duo frowning, extricating his arm from Ellen’s waist, “Is there something else I need to know before I open the door?”
His unexpected guests glanced at each other before shaking heads or shrugging, “I don’t know about anyone else, but sneaking food and decorations in here was the extent of our plan,” Wufei commented.
Still awestruck by the turn of events Duo made his way to the door and opened it, frowning as he was hugged enthusiastically by the redheaded woman that practically launched herself at him, “Duo, it’s so good to see you!”
“Catherine, what are you doing here?”
“I had to come by and say hello. It wouldn’t be Christmas without seeing your friends and family,” the woman enthused as she gave him another squeeze that threatened to take his breath away.
“Come on in,” he invited as he stepped back, “I seem to be having a party where everyone showed up and brought food and stuff.”
“I didn’t bring food, but I did bring everyone’s presents just in case I wasn’t able to see them. I also brought something you might appreciate.”
“You didn’t need to bring anything.”
“In this case, I think I did,” Catherine stepped beside Duo and gave him a small shove toward the porch. “Your present is on the porch. Go see what it is and I’ll go say hello to everyone.”
Baffled yet willing to go along with whatever she had planned, he stepped onto the porch with his bare feet, wincing as the cold seeped into his skin. Movement to his right had him turning, staring in surprise at the man that was there, leaning against the side of the house with a sprig of mistletoe held in one hand. As Duo watched, the mistletoe was lifted over Duo’s head, Trowa smiling and quirking an eyebrow, “You wouldn’t ignore a Christmas tradition, would you?” the tall man questioned quietly.
“Absolutely not,” Duo replied as he moved willingly to the other man, instantly wrapped up in a kiss that left him breathless and yearning for more.
Remembering they were standing in full view of the neighbors should anyone wander into the falling snow, Duo put a bit of distance between them, yet couldn’t force his hands to release his grip on Trowa’s shoulders. “I thought you had to work.”
“The fire chief decided that since our precinct is so small it wouldn’t hurt to let the other stations cover any emergencies that came up.”
“Trowa, you realize you’re the fire chief, don’t you?” Duo smiled when he was pulled close again.
Trowa kissed him lightly, “I wanted to be with you today. I thought you were going to be alone and was going to ask if you wanted to come back to my house,” the tall man gave the cars parked along the road a wry look. “I guess you aren’t alone as I thought.”
“The other guys came instead of going to the other…things they were supposed to go to. For some reason, they all decided to come here.”
“They came here because they wanted to be with their family, Duo. It’s the same reason I needed to be with you today.”
“Are you saying that I’m your family?” Duo asked, tilting his head up to meet the emerald gaze watching him.
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Trowa hands tightened on Duo’s hips when the smaller man tried to pull away, “You aren’t just my family. You’re everything to me. Families can be splintered or broken apart, but you are the most important, precious thing I’ve ever been able to claim as mine.”
Duo didn’t even try to hide his pleasure at Trowa’s words, putting their bodies together again, “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
“I can guess, but you probably didn’t even notice I wasn’t here when you already have so much company,” Trowa teased as he opened the door and led Duo back inside, where they could both hear conversations and laughter coming from the living room.
“It’s great that everyone came, but without you it felt like something was missing.”
Before he was able to rejoin the crowd of people in the next room, Duo found himself pressed against the wall and being kissed senseless. He was breathing hard when Trowa released him, his knees weak as he used the tall man for support. “I could always tell them to leave,” he suggested with a hoarse voice.
“We’ll have time to spend alone later, Duo,” Trowa promised as he took a deep breath and released the smaller man.
“I recommend you stay away from the ham; Relena made it and not even Heero’s sure about eating it.”
Trowa blinked as he pulled Duo toward the archway, leaning down to whisper into Duo’s ear, “Heero has a stomach lined with Gundanium. If he says not to eat it, I’m not touching it.”
In spite of his reservations, Duo did end up trying the ham, but only after witnessing Relena eat some of it. He also tried the turkey, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and a dozen other dishes until he felt like his stomach was going to explode. Everyone was complaining about the abundance of food consumed when Hilde plopped Abby into Duo’s arms and crawled under the tree to retrieve the presents there and using Rick to hand them out to their intended receivers.
It didn’t take long for Duo’s living room to be covered in discarded wrapping paper and empty boxes. Good natured arguments flew back and forth about gifts given or received, wads of tissue paper tossed as much as words. During it all Duo ignored the pile of presents at his feet, his head resting on Trowa’s shoulder and Abby nestled in his arms, sleeping soundly. When Trowa nudged him slightly, he lifted his head to meet the emerald gaze, “Aren’t you going to open your gifts?”
“I’ll open them later. I think this is the best Christmas present I could ever dream of and nothing can compare. It’s more than I ever dared hope for.”
A large hand moved to the baby as Trowa traced her cheek with gentle fingers, “You’ve always had a family, Duo. It’s always been right here with us.”
“I didn’t realize it,” the braided man admitted when Trowa’s eyes turned to him. “I have to admit I was pretty damn depressed about spending Christmas alone.”
Trowa gave a nervous look around the room before lowering his voice, “There’s something we need to talk about later, Duo. It’s nothing bad, but not something I want to discuss while everyone else is around. Would you mind if I stayed the night?”
“What about Catherine?”
“She’s a big girl. She knows where everything at my house is.”
“You two need to stop whispering and rejoin the conversation,” Relena teased with a grin. “If I didn’t know better I’d say the two of you were making plans.”
“If we were, the way we were whispering should have told you that it wasn’t something we wanted to talk about to everyone,” Trowa noted idly as he leaned away from Duo, one arm resting over the back of the couch as his fingers caressed the back of the braided man’s neck.
“That was a polite way to tell you to mind your own business, Relena,” Heero commented from beside the window, where snow continued to fall. “Leave them alone. Duo, you should see this,” he added, tilting his head to look at something outside.
Curious, Duo shifted Abby to his other arm as he stood, blinking when he stood beside Heero, “I’m pretty sure there weren’t lights on my house an hour ago.”
“That must be where Wufei and Zechs disappeared to,” Quatre smiled. “I was beginning to wonder.”
“You weren’t the only one,” Noin snorted as she joined the group at the window. “Let’s go see what they’ve done to your house.”
Mildly afraid of what he would see, Duo handed the baby to Rick and located his shoes and coat. Outside, he went to the road and turned to regard his house, twinkling happily with thousands of stringed lights. His pleasure at the sight turned to outright amusement as he realized the platinum blonde was helplessly tangled in more lights, expression one of extreme embarrassment. “Trowa, do you think you can get him down before he falls off the roof and hurts himself?”
“I think I can do that, although I wouldn’t do this for anyone else on my day off,” the tall man commented as he went toward the garage where Duo kept the ladder.
While Trowa, Wufei, and Heero worked on freeing their former enemy, Howard snagged a moment of Duo’s time, “You and Trowa seem to be getting along pretty well.”
“So do you and Ellen,” the younger man attempted to steer the conversation from his relationship and onto Howard’s. He smiled when the faded blue eyes immediately swung to the door of the house, where Ellen fussed over the baby, “She’s a good woman, Howie. Someone needs to keep you in line.”
“Not much chance of that,” Howard snorted. “I’m too old to change my ways, but she accepts me how I am. You and Trowa seem to do the same, accept each other, I mean.”
“If I tried to change him, he wouldn’t be the same person,” Duo shrugged, realizing the other man had only been deterred for a moment. “I assume he feels the same about me.”
“I’m surprised the two of you haven’t decided to live together yet.”
Duo’s face turned bright red as he shoved his hands in his coat pockets and shuffled his feet, “There hasn’t been a lot of time to talk about anything. He’s been working most nights at the station so we haven’t seen each other in a while.”
“Don’t put it off if that’s what you want, Duo. If you find something that good in your life, don’t let them get away like I did with Ellen nearly twenty years ago. I was lucky she gave me a second chance.”
“I don’t plan to let Trowa go anywhere.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Howard pulled Duo into a hug that the braided man didn’t consider turning away. “We gotta go; there’s another job on the other side of L3 we’ve been contracted for. I thought about turning down the offer so we could stay for a few days, but it promises to be a profitable salvage job.”
Having lived in space in one form or another most of his life, Duo understood how rare the chance was to make a real profit by running salvage. It was hard work, but Howard and Ellen made a good team. “I’m glad you were able to make it for even a few hours.”
“You can guarantee we’ll be here next year, kid. Expect us bright and early Christmas morning. Maybe next year, we’ll bring some food, too.”
Recalling the man’s cooking aboard the Sweeper ship, Duo grimaced, “That’s really not necessary. I’ll hire a caterer if I have to.”
“My cooking ain’t that bad,” Howard laughed at the expression on Duo’s face before conceding, “Okay, so it is that bad, but Ellen’s a great cook. She’ll whip up something guaranteed to delight everyone.”
By the time the men got off the roof, Howard and Ellen were gone. The party began to disperse after that, everyone leaving until only Trowa, Hilde, Rick and Abby remained. The black-haired woman gave the baby a bottle as her husband went around the living room, cleaning up the remaining wrapping paper that seemed to cover every surface. “Duo, are you going to open your presents?” she asked, gesturing with her chin to the untouched pile.
“I’ll do it tomorrow. Honestly, after today I don’t think there’s anything I could possibly get to make me happier than I am. Thank you for getting everyone together,” he expressed his gratitude, assuming she had been the one to gather his odd family in spite of the stories he had heard.
“I really didn’t do anything,” she countered with a tired shrug. “Everyone just kind of…showed up this morning and everyone brought something. This wasn’t planned at all.”
“Christmas miracles?”
“You could say that, or you could just say that Christmas is the time to spend with your family. You figured that out first and reminded the rest of us.”
Duo was struck speechless as the couple took their leave, Rick carrying Abby while he kept an arm firmly around Hilde’s waist as they walked across the street. Watching through the window, Duo sighed in contentment as arms wound around him, holding him in place as lips teased his neck. “Catherine didn’t have any arguments about being left alone tonight?”
“She said she expected me to want to stay here. Apparently, she had already made a date with a guy she’s stayed in contact with; they met on one of her visits a year ago. I don’t think I successfully hid my…eagerness to see you again,” Trowa chuckled against Duo’s hair.
Turning around, Duo raised an eyebrow, “Did you want to see me that badly?”
“I hate being away from you.”
The firm statement had Duo wondering how he had gotten so lucky, “Howard asked me why we weren’t living together yet.”
“What did you tell him?” Trowa’s eyes were guarded.
“That there hadn’t been any time to talk about it. I didn’t know what else to say.”
“I’d like you to open the present from me, Duo,” Trowa surprised him by saying.
Surprised at the change of topic, Duo frowned, “You don’t want to live together, do you? That’s the real reason we haven’t talked about it before.”
“Once you open your present, you’ll understand what I’m trying to say.” Leaning down, the tall man brushed his lips over Duo’s, “Please, open the present.”
Looking at the stack of unopened gifts, Duo sighed, “Which one is it?”
“I’ll get it,” Trowa moved toward the tree instead of the couch, retrieving a rectangular box the right size for a large book. “I didn’t want you to open it while everyone else was here. It’s personal…too personal for everyone to see.”
Intrigued, Duo took the box and sat on the couch, pulling the paper off carefully. Once the paper was removed, he eventually opened the box he found and stared inside before reverently picking up the photo album that lay nestled inside tissue paper. Stunned, he turned the pages slowly, awed by the pictures he found of himself and the other former Gundam pilots.
Awestruck by the images, some taken days before his first arrival on Earth and others of more recent times, he held his finger on a picture of himself and Dr. G, the scientist that had given him possession of his beloved Deathscythe, “How did you get this? I didn’t think there were any pictures of him.”
“Howard had it. I assumed they were friends,” Trowa was watching Duo’s face intently for the braided man’s reaction.
“Friends is a strong word. They were acquaintances and business partners, but never friends.” Frowning deeply, Duo remembered the day in the photo, “I’d been training for a few weeks when this was taken.”
“You appear to be upset.”
Duo laughed at the observation, “I wasn’t upset, I was pissed. G had just told me I would never be Deathscythe’s pilot because I didn’t have the patience or skills to be responsible for such a machine,” he shook his head and looked at his former self, legs spread wide and hands on hips, chin jutted out in a defiant angle at the scientist. “I told him I could fly better than anyone and that I’d prove Deathscythe was meant to be my partner.”
“How did he respond to that?”
“Like any adult when dealing with a bratty, rebellious kid…he banned me from the hangar Deathscythe was housed in. The technicians were warned not to let me inside, no matter what I said to them. I could be very convincing when I wanted something,” Duo admitted with a laugh.
“Did you have a story that got you past the technicians anyway?” the tall man inquired, lips twitching against the smile that was trying to form.
“I didn’t have to. I went through the ventilation shaft and broke into the hangar, overrode the security codes on the bay doors and took my partner for a ride. I thought about never going back, but I did after a few days, only after realizing I didn’t have the tools I needed to do some maintenance. When I got back, G told me congratulations. I’d proved I was capable of piloting the Gundam and responsible enough to bring him back when he needed to be worked on. He still thought I was unconventional, but he agreed I was the best pilot for Deathscythe.”
“It was a test he concocted?”
“That’s what I thought, too, but no. He really meant what he said and had planned to set me off on the next available satellite we passed that could support life. If I hadn’t stolen Deathscythe for my little ride, I’d probably be living on a moon somewhere,” Duo chuckled.
“I’m very glad you stole your Gundam,” Trowa stated sincerely while his green eyes danced with amusement.
“I am too. Not only did I get to partner with Deathscythe, but I got to meet all of you guys.”
Trowa gestured with his head, indicating that Duo should continue to look through the pages. The braided man did so, wondering how the tall man had gathered so many photos and was about to ask when he came to a blank page, “I think you missed a…page?” his teasing turned to confusion when he saw the rest of the book was empty. He was beginning to close the book when he felt something else, flipping to the back cover and staring at the ring taped to the last page.
“I didn’t miss a page, Duo. I left them blank because your life isn’t over yet. You have many more memories to make and put in here. I wasn’t able to share in most of the memories you already have here, but I would like to share the rest of them with you.”
Afraid to assume anything, Duo watched the other man with wide eyes, “Share them by living together?”
“That, but I want something more permanent.” Trowa cleared his throat as he pulled the tape from the book, holding the ring in the palm of his hand, “I’m asking if you’ll be my family, Duo. Not just the sentimental kind, by my actual, legal family.”
“You want to get married?”
Trowa’s hand closed over the ring at Duo’s stunned tone, “I know it’s sudden and you probably think it’s too fast to change our relationship, but will you think about it?”
“I don’t have to think about it.” Duo grabbed Trowa’s arm when the tall man tried to stand. “You know I have doubts and questions about where I came from and who I really am. I had doubts about where I belonged until today. One thing I’ve never doubted…is you.”
“You don’t have to say things like that, Duo. I understand,” green eyes were turned to the floor, Trowa’s face devoid of emotion.
“When did you want to get married or do you have a date in mind?”
The blank look on Trowa’s face was replaced by one of shock, “I thought you didn’t want to get married. Isn’t that what you meant?”
“I meant I never doubted you were meant for me. I’ve always felt that I belonged with you, even before we were together. Making it official sounds like a really good idea to me,” he added, nodding his head when Trowa continued to stare at him. “Yes, I want to marry you. We’ll need to decide where we’ll live, though.”
“I think we should live here,” Trowa stated quietly. “You own this place and I rent my house, so it makes more sense. You also have Hilde living across the street.”
“She can be an annoying neighbor,” Duo warned as Trowa held the ring between his fingers, slipping it on the smaller man’s hand while smiling, clearly pleased that it fit.
While the weight of the band felt odd, Duo decided that it belonged on his hand, “It fits.”
“I guessed about the size,” Trowa admitted sheepishly. “You know you can’t wear it yet.”
Allowing the ring to be removed again, Duo made sure the photo album was in a safe place before tackling Trowa, pinning the tall man to the couch, “You know you’re never going to get rid of me now, don’t you?”
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” the green-eyed man smiled as long arms held Duo in place. “I’m not concerned about Hilde being so close, either. The two of you need each other. As far as a date for the wedding, I didn’t have a specific one in mind. You can choose any day you want as long as we have some time to prepare; the others would be angry if we give them a day’s notice.”
Letting his head rest on Trowa’s chest, Duo listened to the steady heartbeat, smiling as he realized his lover was as steady and dependable as the unwavering beat. “Valentine’s day is corny as hell, so what about the end of January? That gives everyone a month to fuss over us and tell us what to do.”
“Since you put it that way, we should elope,” Trowa snorted as Duo levered himself up to grin at him. “The last thing I want is for other people to pressure us about what we should or shouldn’t do.”
“That’s how family works. They tell you what to do and you ignore them and do what you want. It’s all about compromise.”
“You compromise, I’ll ignore.”
Laughing at the other man’s wry statement, Duo stood and pulled Trowa up, backing his way toward the steps. “I can agree with that. Right now, I have some plans of my own. When do you need to report to work tomorrow?”
“I’m not working tomorrow. I took a few days off so we would have some of the holiday together because we weren’t supposed to see each other.”
“You really didn’t have to close the station, Trowa,” Duo paused in ascending the steps, eyes level with the other man’s. “I’m very happy you did, though. It wouldn’t have felt right if you hadn’t been here. If you had been the only person here, I would have been just as happy. You’re what I need to be happy, regardless of what the day is.”
“The best part of my day is getting to see you,” Trowa told him in a low voice that revealed his emotions. “I don’t tell you how I feel often, but I love you. My days were full before we became a couple, but my life was empty. I’ve been scared to tell you how much you meant to me, realizing finally that it was the most important risk I could ever take, and the only one that could cause me to either gain everything I need for a good life or lose everything important. I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything.”
Stunned at the emotional outpouring, Duo closed the small distance between them and kissed his lover, long and deep in an effort to convey the feelings he didn’t know how to put into words. When the kiss was finally broken, he swayed for a minute, dizzied by the intensity of the kiss. “If you always kiss me like that, we won’t have that much time as a married couple; I’ll die from pleasure.”
Without warning, Trowa grabbed Duo’s hips and lifted the smaller man, nipping at Duo’s bottom lip with a smirk, “If dying from pleasure is your goal, it won’t be from a kiss.”
Moaning as their bodies rubbed together, Duo let his head fall back, groaning as a warm, moist tongue stroked his neck, “Dying isn’t my goal, but it’s a helluva good threat. You think you can make me pass out or something?”
“That sounded like a challenge,” Trowa countered as he carried the other man up the stairs. Duo expected to be tossed to the bed and was surprised when he was carefully laid down, “I believe I have one last Christmas present for you, Duo, if you’re willing?”
There was no mistaking Trowa’s meaning as a hand pressed against Duo’s jeans, lightly caressing the erection straining the fabric. “I’m willing, but are you able?” Duo teased, gasping when a hand nimbly found its way inside his pants. “Nevermind, you’re definitely able.”
Trowa laughed as he found Duo’s neck, the laughed fading as he lifted up on an elbow to stare down at the braided man. “Merry Christmas, Duo. I hope we’ll have many holidays to share after this one.”
“We will, Trowa. I hope we begin a tradition where we end each holiday in a position kind of like this one.”
Duo was pulled to a sitting position, his shirt removed quickly, “If not one like this, then one close to it,” Trowa agreed in a husky tone.
“That’s the kind of tradition I can really get in to,” Duo commented, rolling his eyes when his lover gave him a smirk. “Yeah, yeah, or the other way around. Merry Christmas, Trowa.”
“To this holiday and many more.”
Duo’s agreement was lost in a breathless laugh as he was disrobed, given only an instant to see the lights netted across his window before he forgot about everything except the man with him.
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