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FLUFF. Pairings: 3+4, 6+9 (could be 1+2 hints, or not, up to you)
AU: Endless Waltz never happened. This happened instead. Why? I said so.
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Christmas Eve, A.C. 196
Christmas was in the air. You could tell, by the way Duo was incessantly humming "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," and the scent of pine needles lingering in the air. Of course, by that standard, Christmas was not only in the air--it was on the front steps, covering most of the linoleum in the entryway, and all over the living room floor as well.
Heero was grumbling under his breath, a string of coloured lights wrapped around his body and entangling his legs. "You'd think," he growled, "that a technology capable of creating the Gundams could fix these so that they don't all blink out just because one does."
"Need a hand with those, Heero?" Quatre offered, from where he sat at the dining table next to Wufei, stringing popcorn into long ropes.
Heero glowered at the string of lights. "No thanks, Quatre, I can handle it."
"I'm still not sure what the purpose of all this is," Wufei began, varying his pattern of one cranberry, one popcorn to two cranberries, one popcorn as he began another rope. "All this Christmas business--"
"It's just a chance to get everyone together again," Quatre explained patiently. The pair of them, unlike the rest of the group, had never celebrated this particular holiday before, but they were following Duo's directions diligently. "Besides--"
"It makes Duo happy," Heero finished firmly. "This is important to him, so we're all going to participate, and we're all going to enjoy it."
Quatre was sure he didn't /mean/ for it to sound more like a threat than an invitation.
The door swung open, letting a short blast of frigid air into the house before Trowa could slam it behind him. "The walkway's clear now, people should be able to get in without falling and killing themselves. Any word on when they're showing up?"
Duo danced out of the kitchen, balancing a cookie sheet in each hand. "Your sister called and said she's on her way. Hilde's train won't get in for another hour, and the others are all at a state function they have to sneak away from. Trowa, man, Heero's got the tree, but can you put the lights on the roof? I don't think any of the rest of us are up to it, it's icy out there."
Trowa's lips quirked in what was not quite a smirk. "Sure. Let me get a cup of coffee in me first, I'm freezing. How're the cookies coming?"
"A masterpiece, if I do say so myself!" Duo announced grandly, lowering the tray for inspection. Trowa sputtered.
"They're all--Duo, you are the /only/ person I've ever met who makes Christmas cookies shaped like Gundams. Is that Deathscythe leading Santa's sleigh?"
Duo blushed bright red, but he nodded. "Yup. And that's Heavyarms there, sticking out of the stocking. They'll look better when they're frosted."
"SHIT! GOD-/DAMMIT/!!" The swearing preceded a loud thump from the living room, and they all ran for it, Duo balancing his cookies precariously as he tried to keep any from sliding off the trays. The string of lights had gotten the better of Heero, and tangled around his feet. The other end was still wrapped around the top of the tree, bending it at a dangerous angle after dumping Heero solidly onto the floor.
"Lights one, Heero zip," Duo declared, handing the cookies to Quatre so he could help the Japanese boy off the floor. "Here--stay still and I'll unwrap you." Heero favoured him with a glare, and Duo grinned innocently. "C'mon, you know what I meant. Stay still."
The doorbell rang as Duo was freeing Heero from the tangle of lights, and Wufei abandoned his stringing to leap up and answer it. Catherine Bloom, bundled into a thick wool coat and huddled against the cold, slipped past him into the house.
"Hi there...have you guys been out there tonight? It's freezing! It's got to be negative three at least!" She was shedding layers as she spoke, hanging coat, scarf, and hat in the entryway and stuffing gloves into one of her pockets. "Looks like I'm early...anything I can do to help out?"
Duo, who was half-straddling Heero in an attempt to get the boy loose, tossed a wave her way. "Wanna frost the cookies? Quatre has 'em, all the stuff's in the kitchen, I'll be done in a second. Trowa!" he called louder, into the kitchen. "Cathy's here!"
Quatre stood up to deliver the circus performer two trays of sugar cookies and give her a hug. Trowa appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, downing a cup of steaming coffee faster than it should have been possible to drink without scalding his throat. After a greeting hug to Catherine, he startled bundling into his coat again. "Duo, I'm putting the outside lights up now."
"Thanks man!" Duo called, as the tangle finally came free and he tumbled backwards onto the floor. Heero stood, picked up the lights, glared at them, and started over again.
"Be careful!" Quatre admonished quickly. "It's icy up there, Trowa."
"I will," Trowa promised before his lover or sister could get any more worried about his climbing about on the roof. "Save me some frosting, it's the best part."
Catherine directed Quatre to sit back down, and took over the kitchen, mixing water and powdered sugar and various colours into bowls. "Duo! Did you have another tray in to bake? I think they're burning...."
"MY COOKIES!!" Duo let out a shriek, abandoned Heero, and dashed wildly for the kitchen, skidding across the floor and bumping into the stove. "Thanks! I'll get 'em. Go start frosting, okay?"
Under Duo's chaotic direction, the preparations came together at last. The last sheet of cookies was only a /little/ singed, Heero's third try rendered him the victor and the lights blazed bright and cheerful on the tree, and Trowa was careful as promised and didn't fall off the roof. It didn't take the six of them long to not only frost the cookies, but eat at least a third of them.
"Trowa! Don't eat them all /now/!" Duo chided, exasperated.
Trowa tried to look innocent. "It was broken."
"Not until you bit it, it wasn't!"
"There are plenty of cookies left, Maxwell!" Wufei interrupted, trying to sound gruff through the mouthful he was chewing on himself. "It won't hurt if we have a few of them now."
Duo took one look at Wufei and burst into giggles. "It's hard to take you seriously, Wu-man, when you've got red sprinkles all over your face."
"Hmph," Wufei answered, licking his lips.
The doorbell rang again, preceding a thump against the door. "Somebody wanna let me in?" Hilde Schbeiker's muffled voice could be heard from outside.
"Coming!" Duo called back, hurrying for the door. He threw it open, only to collapse against the wall in laughter again. "Need a hand, Hilde?"
"No--no, I've got it--" She was a small enough girl already, but looked positively childlike, all bundled up against the cold, and holding a stack of presents that was taller than she was. "Just--dammit--I can't see past these very well--where do I put them?"
Despite her insistence that she could manage, Heero relieved her of the packages and deposited them under the tree. "Did you carry those all the way here on the train?" he asked.
Hilde blushed.
"Come frost cookies with us!" Quatre bade, waving her over. "We're almost finished, and /somebody/ keeps eating them," he added with a stern look toward Trowa and Wufei. Neither of them paid him any attention.
Hilde leaned over the table to examine their handiwork, and burst out laughing. "Which of you made these? Is that Wing Zero with a sack slung over his shoulder?"
Heero blushed. "Duo made 'em, we just decorated," he said defensively.
"Don't worry," Hilde said comfortingly. "I think it's cute."
"Okay, everybody!" Duo directed, moving the cookies out of Trowa and Wufei's direct line of sight. "Time to decourate the tree!"
"I was hoping you had a use for all those ridiculous strings of foodstuffs you had Quatre and I making earlier," Wufei said.
"Oh, I've got more than that," Duo promised, his violet eyes sparkling with childlike glee. "I stopped by the store and picked up some ornaments yesterday. You guys want your first present of the night?"
Six pairs of eyes regarded him hungrily. "Presents?"
Duo laughed, and dashed to the entryway to dig a small package out of his coat pocket. "They're little, but I wanted to start off the night with 'em...I thought we could put all these on the tree first," he explained, passing out palm-sized bundles of paper and string to all of them. "I've got 'em for the others too, but they're not here yet...here, open 'em."
The others didn't have to be told twice. The sound of ripping paper dominated the conversation for a moment, followed by Quatre's bright squeal of glee. "Duo! That's...adorable!" he exclaimed, holding up a miniature Sandrock, with a wreath around its little plastic neck, for the others to see.
"Impressive," Wufei agreed, pleased, looking closely at the model of his own Gundam. Hilde's was a Taurus suit, Catherine's was a clown.
"So go put 'em on the tree already! It's ceremonial!" Duo commanded, bouncing excitedly on his heels and pulling his own miniature Deathscythe from another pocket. "Our first set of Christmas tree ornaments. Come on, don't you feel even a /little/ gushy?" When no-one else admitted to it, he tossed his hair with a "Hmph!" and swept out of the room, only to return a few moments later with boxes. "I'll get you all in the holiday spirit yet. You just watch. Start decorating, kids!"
It /was/ fun, whether they admitted it or not, a chorus of laughter accompanying the ritual that some of the pilots had never learned. Duo was snapping pictures every chance he got, capturing the unguarded moments when his friends forgot their masks and pretenses in the sheer contagious joy of being together. His favourite, he decided, was Quatre climbing onto Trowa's shoulders to put the angel on top of the tree. This was one roll of film he was /not/ going to forget to develop!
"Well," Heero said, standing back to survey their handiwork appraisingly. "I think it looks good. Duo?"
"Perfect," answered Duo, who was practically glowing.
The bell rang one more time, and he rushed to answer it. The temperature outside had dropped even further, and the freezing wind brought three more guests inside with it.
"Relena! Zechs! Miss Noin! Glad you could make it!" He ushered them inside, taking coats and hats and shooing them into the living room with the rest.
"So are we," Zechs said dryly, raising a hand in greeting to the room. "It was starting to look like we'd never be able to sneak out of the official party."
"Sally's not going to make it," Noin added regretfully. "She's staying to keep Lady Une company." Her expression darkened. "There wasn't really anyone else who would."
"But we brought you all presents!" Relena chirped, her eyes dancing as she dragged a duffelbag in from the front hall. "And I'll have you know you're not an easy bunch to shop for. I've been agonising over these for weeks!"
Duo was already handing them /their/ Gundam ornaments. "Tallgeese for Zechs...white Taurus for Noin--that's how you can tell it from Hilde's, hers is purple. And a toy soldier for Relena--not perfect, I know, but the best I could do. Now put 'em on the tree with the rest and then we can sing Christmas carols!"
"...Sing?" Wufei repeated.
Duo flashed him a grin. "Of course! It's the best part! Well, next to the presents. I just wish somebody knew how to play 'em."
Quatre chuckled, sliding out of his chair. "Give us a little credit, Duo, please! You've been planning this for a month. Just because I didn't know any Christmas carols then doesn't mean I haven't learned them since."
Duo's face lit up like somebody'd just remembered to plug him in, and he all but bowled Quatre over with the force of his hug. "You did? You can? You're the best! Come on, everybody...."
Noin let out a laugh. "Exuberant, isn't he?"
Heero just shrugged and grinned.
Quatre sat down at the piano, Duo still bouncing at his side. The others fanned out behind them, falling into hushed silence as Quatre began to play.
Duo, they discovered, had a wonderful voice. He was also the only one who knew all the Latin words to 'Adeste Fideles', but after one verse, when no-one else had joined in, he switched to the English version 'O Come All Ye Faithful', and Noin, Zechs, Relena, Trowa, Catherine and Hilde all joined in. Catherine had an ear for harmony, and her voice was a trilling soprano that she raised in descant against the others' chorus. By the third verse of 'Silent Night', they fell silent one by one, til only she and Duo's clear baritone were left, twining around the melody in the clear pine-scented air.
Duo was happier than he remembered ever being in his life. By the time they'd exhausted all the carols Quatre had learned to play, he was glowing. His Christmas party was going even better than he'd hoped, and not even Heero or Wufei, who greeted most of his ideas with a certain amount of disdain, had protested. On the contrary, they both seemed to understand how important it was to him, and helped out as best they could. He could have kissed them.
"That's all I know, Duo," Quatre announced, flexing his fingers. "And my hands are getting cramped."
"That's okay," Duo assured him, unable to resist the impulse to throw his arms around Quatre's shoulders and hug him quickly--Quatre, at least, he could be sure wouldn't mind. The blonde boy flushed a little pink, but squeezed his hand. "Time to eat the cookies!" Duo announced, bounding for the kitchen. "Except Trowa and Wufei, they already had their share."
"They were /broken/!" Trowa protested, as Wufei opened his mouth to defend himself as well.
Catherine laughed. "And there are still plenty for everyone, anyway. I'll put on tea."
The tea was made, the cookies were passed out to everyone--including Trowa and Wufei--and the members of a patchwork family settled themselves in the living room around the tree. Zechs and Noin took the sofa, leaving just enough room for Hilde to perch on the opposite arm. Trowa and Quatre curled up together in their favourite oversized armchair, their arms around each other, Quatre's head resting against his lover's chest. Duo draped himself over his beanbag, Catherine folded herself onto the floor at Trowa's feet, and Heero, Wufei and Relena each claimed a spot on the carpet, conveniently close to the cookie tray.
"I've got to congratulate you, Duo," Noin said contentedly, her head resting in the hollow of Zechs' shoulder. "This Christmas party was a wonderful idea. Much better than being stuck dancing with stuck-up aristocrats all night."
Zechs' arm tightened possessively around her. "There's only one stuck-up aristocrat you ever need dance with," he informed her levelly. "And if necessary, I'll make that very clear to all of them." Noin just laughed, tolerant and happy, and nestled into his chest.
"It's definitely better than last Christmas," Relena agreed, stretching out along the bottom of the sofa and propping her chin in her hands. "To think a year ago, we were all fighting...some of us fighting each other... I'm glad we're all together here."
"Here, here!" Hilde cheered, raising her teacup above her head in a toast. "Of course, /last/ year," she added, wrinkling her nose, "I spent Christmas eve in a hospital bed."
"That's because you're an idiot," Duo informed her blankly, and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"I was only trying to help /you/," she reminded him. "Though how I'm supposed to come up with a better present than Libra's blueprints for this year is beyond me!"
"You must have had some ideas," Heero pointed out. "I saw the stack you brought with you." Hilde just grinned and looked smug.
"It reminds me..." Relena began, almost without realising she was speaking, and she looked flustered when all attention focused on her. "It reminds me of when I was a little girl, that's all. It was the only time I could really always count on my dad to be home--he and my mother went to the gala, but they always left early enough for us to spend time together before they put me to bed. My mother--she plays the piano too, though they used to let me sing most of the carols by myself. Then we'd have hot chocolate, and I'd hang my stocking over the fireplace...."
Her voice faded off, but Duo picked up for her. "Yeah...it was the best time when I was a kid, too. Everybody remembers orphans at Christmas, even if they did try to forget us the rest of the time." There was no bitterness in his voice, and he waved off Relena's stuttered attempt at apology with a smile. "Don't be silly, you were a little kid too. You can't fix all the world's problems, you know, even if you try. Anyway we always had a bit extra around then, and Father Maxwell and Sister Helen always made sure we all got /something/ for Christmas." A warm smile eased across his face. "She used to make birthday cake for the baby Jesus," he said tenderly.
"My brothers and I used to hide under the stairs and try to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus," Noin said as Duo fell silent. "Not that my parents didn't always catch us and send us back to bed, but we tried. Once we figured out that didn't work, we tried to climb out the window and watch for him on the roof." She grinned ruefully. "That didn't work either."
"I feel a bit left out," Heero said after a moment. "I don't have any warm fuzzy holiday memories to share. Sorry."
"It's all right," said Trowa sleepily, his cheek resting against Quatre's head. "I don't either. But if this is going to be our first one, at least it's going to stick with me for a long time."
"Hn. True," said Heero, brightening.
Hilde bounced off the arm of the sofa then, and scrambled under the tree. "Enough of the sappy stuff. Time for presents! If you don't open the ones from me /right now/ I'm gonna burst, and then I'll never get to see what you think of them!" There was a good deal of wriggling as she extracted her gifts from what had become a considerable pile, passing them out as she uncovered them. "You have no idea how hard it was to make these without any of you knowing. I've been working on them for months."
"Well I'm curious," said Duo, trying to curb his excitement long enough for her to finish passing them out. Somehow, though, his fingers kept sliding under the paper, tugging at the ends.
"Duo, stop pretending to be patient and just open it," Heero said, a catch in his voice sounding suspiciously like a laugh.
"Nope." Hilde bonked Duo on the head with Quatre's present as she passed him. "You all have to open them at once. So there." She distributed the rest of the boxes and returned to her perch, looking smug. "/Now/ you can open them."
A good deal of ripped wrapping paper revealed that Hilde had knitted them all sweaters. The same motif, each a different combination of colours that matched the colouring or personality of the person it was made for. "If they don't fit," she informed them, "you'll just have to get real fat or chop off some body parts, 'cause getting measurements from you people without letting you find out about it is a mission in and of itself."
"Actually, it's perfect," Heero assured her, tugging his on over his head and looking a little dazed. "I think--well, except for my Gundam--that this is the first time anybody's ever made me anything. Thank you." A chorus of equally sincere thank-yous echoed his, and Hilde just twisted her hands in her lap and grinned.
"Don't know how I'm supposed to top that," Relena grumbled good-naturedly, "but I'll pass mine out anyway."
"Get mine while you're there?" Quatre asked her pleadingly, too comfortable to move.
"And mine," Trowa echoed, for the same reason.
The next half hour was a dizzy haze of coloured paper and startled exclamations of joy as each box revealed something that was "just so perfect" for its new owner, chosen with deliberate care by the giver. Duo's ecstatic high only increased when he saw how much thought all his friends had put into their choices. Some were symbolic, some were merely unexpected, all were proclaimed perfect. It was a sated and happy collection of people that finally collapsed among the stacks of gifts and remains of wrapping, basking in the glow of what Hilde termed "ultimate sap."
"Is that it?" Duo asked, flopped back in his beanbag in feigned exhaustion.
"I think so," Relena affirmed, cuddling a new stuffed bear to her chest.
"Almost," said Zechs. "I've got one more...I didn't get a chance to put it under the tree." He pushed Noin playfully, and she sat up, mumbling protest until he dug a small velvet box out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Actually," he admitted ruefully," I didn't get a chance to even wrap it. But--well, Lu? What do you think?"
Noin popped the box open, her bright blue eyes going wide and shining with what looked extremely suspiciously like tears. "Oh my--"
"Is that what I think it is?" Trowa asked, nudging Quatre. "C'mon, lean over and tell me if I'm right."
Quatre squirmed in his lap but obliged, stretching across the distance between chair and sofa to better see the box. "I think so--gold, sparkly--show it around, Miss Noin, would you?"
Noin was not really paying attention to Quatre, or any of the rest of them who were all squirming to see inside her box. She only had eyes for Zechs, who had clasped her hand and leaned close to whisper to her. "Well, Lu? Will you marry me?"
"Of course," she answered, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him exuberantly. The box, with the ring in it, tumbled onto the floor, where Relena snatched it and proceeded to pass it around the room.
"Now that's a diamond," Catherine said approvingly.
"My only question," Heero said flatly, "is if she's going to be able to move her hand with that thing on it."
"I'll certainly never call her weak again," Wufei agreed, eyeing the sparkling stone.
"That's what Oz officer training is good for," Hilde assured them. "Get strong, smack around trainees, carry big diamonds."
"I think," Catherine observed, "that we could take this, get to the pawn shoppe, and get back with the money before they even noticed we weren't in the room anymore."
Zechs flailed at her with his free hand, trying to show he /did/ notice she was there. She just laughed and ducked out of the way.
After more congratulations--and a bit more kissing--the boys saw their guests to the door. Hilde was going home with Relena--a last-minute invitation from a girl who didn't /really/ want to be stuck with only her newly engaged brother and fiancée for company--but Catherine was staying a few more days. She'd already vanished into the room Heero had agreed to give up for her, Wufei had retreated to bed as well, and Quatre and Trowa were on their way.
"We'll clean it all up in the morning," Quatre said, yawning, only still upright by virtue of the arm around Trowa's neck. "Gonna get sleep now."
"Yeah, right," Duo teased, and Quatre blushed. "G'night you guys."
"Merry Christmas," Trowa said softly, before lifting the half-asleep Quatre into his arms and carrying him toward their room. Duo wondered if maybe they really /were/ only going to sleep.
Which left Duo and Heero, standing in the living room surrounded by a chaotic post-party blur. "They're right," Heero said, giving Duo's arm a tug. "We'll clean up tomorrow. I want to sleep, and Catherine's in my bed."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Duo surveyed the room one more time with satisfaction. "It went well, didn't it?"
"It did," Heero agreed, almost tenderly. "Did everything turn out the way you wanted it to?"
"Did it ever!" Duo beamed, missing Heero's slight smirk as he was led off to his room. "Thanks, Heero. I've gotta tell the rest of them thanks too, in the morning. I know I'm the only one that was really pushing for a party, and you guys made it really special for me."
"You're welcome," Heero said simply, pushing Duo into the bedroom.
Duo let out a squeal, and Heero clamped a hand over his mouth. "Be quiet, baka, you'll wake everyone up," he said affectionately as Duo broke from his grip and took a flying leap onto his bed, where a Christmas stocking had been filled and lain carefully across the pillow. He dumped it upside-down, spilling a collection of candy and a small leather book onto his bed. "Was this from you?"
Heero shrugged innocently. "Open it and see."
Duo, his mouth so stuffed with candy that his cheeks bulged out, flipped open the book. "Ffmmp lllbnng," he announced happily, dribbling peppermint down his chin. It was a photo album, the first half filled with pictures from the last year, the second half empty. "This is fantastic!" he said, once he'd swallowed his mouthful.
Heero cleared off the bed that he was supposed to be sharing and stretched out on it. "It's just a little thing. We thought we should let you know we understood what you were doing...and we appreciated it."
Duo flopped back on the bed, his expression dazed, his eyes half-closed. "Perfect."
"Hm?" asked Heero, settling down with Duo's pillow.
"Perfect," Duo repeated, rolling over to prop his head on one elbow and rest a hand on Heero's shoulder. "Best damn Christmas ever."
"I'm glad," said Heero, in the same tone he usually used for saying "Mission accomplished."
"Now," Duo mused, curling up next to him, "I just have to start planning for New Year's."
~Owari~
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Copyright 2005