[wedding from hell] Title: Wedding from Hell [part four/four]
Author: ralphiere
Pairing: Heero/Duo
Fandom: Gundam Wing
Warning: language, sexual content, AU, tweaking ages, sap Disclaimer: I don't own them, thank you!

Notes: This is the last part of the main story, although I reserve the right to write an epilogue - there's more to the story, but to write it within this context just didn't work. I hope no one is disappointed with how I left it off, but it told me it was done and I needed to listen. Oh, and the small excerpt from the book Heero is reading is from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - I'm thinking it would be a book he'd enjoy :P.

Thanks to bleedtoblue for looking it over, you rock!

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Heero had to force himself to open an eye long enough to check the time. It was barely 6 am and he still had a few hours before he had to catch his flight. He had no intentions of squandering a single second. He ran his fingers through the long strands of hair draped over him, enjoying the warmth of the man snuggled across his chest. He drifted on the edge of sleep, wrapped in the scents and the memory of the night before.

He'd spent more time than he'd admit imagining what Duo would be like in bed, and the reality left any fantasy he'd entertained in the dust. The man was far from a virgin, but the way Duo responded to his touch was sweet and refreshing. Once they started kissing Heero knew his heart was lost to the boy he once knew and the man he'd become. He couldn't even remember how they'd gotten out of their clothes they'd been so focused on what their mouths and hands had been doing to create the soft noises of their lovemaking.

A smile spread on Heero's relaxed features as he remembered how Duo whispered pleas to stop teasing as he took his time stroking and licking the flat planes and jutting angles of Duo's body. Heero used all the patience and stamina he'd gained in the years he'd lived away to torture Duo with pleasure, making sure he'd never forget their first time together. When their bodies finally joined Heero had never felt so complete, holding Duo close as he thrust slowly, trying to make the man beneath him moan louder.

They'd stayed tangled together for a long time after they both were spent, not wanting to give up the intense closeness they'd just achieved. As their skin cooled and their breathing eased, they'd cleaned up quickly and burrowed together under the blankets.

"Stay the night." Heero hadn't asked, fully expecting the nodded response against his chest. Duo had stayed, falling asleep wrapped around him as they'd talked in low tones about the years since Heero had left. After Duo had fallen asleep, Heero had continued to stroke his fingers lazily across the smooth skin of his back feeling content.

Now Duo stirred against him, snuggling closer. "What time is it?"

"Still early," Heero answered softly, tightening his hold on the man. In the years since he'd left for college there had only been one person he'd come close to achieving this level of intimacy with and it hadn't turned out well in the end. Sure he'd had sex with people, but to reach a point where it meant something deep had been a fleeting dream for him. He couldn't let this be just a dream. "There's plenty of time before my flight."

Raising his head, Duo looked at Heero with sleep filled eyes. "It kills me that you're leaving so soon." Duo stretched further and kissed him gently before pulling back and searching his face - for what exactly Heero wasn't sure.

"It's not good-bye, not this time," Heero closed his eyes, not caring that he was hiding from Duo's questioning gaze. "We'll figure something out."

"You'll get back home and forget what this felt like." Heero could feel Duo pulling away and grabbed onto him. What could he say to make Duo believe him when he couldn't even define to himself how he was feeling? His world felt like it was upside down and he was flailing to find purchase.

"There's no way I could forget." Heero rolled Duo gently onto the bed, and looked down at him. He loved the way the man looked, all tousled and sleepy. "I've never been very good at this sort of thing ... but you've ingrained yourself in me. I think you've always been nestled somewhere in my mind and in my heart, waiting for the right time for me to wake up and realize what I could have. Hell, I didn't even know that I could even feel anything like this ... I thought it was part of my genetic makeup to be cold and uncaring."

"You've never been cold and uncaring." Duo reached up and touched his face. "You've always had such passion inside of you for anything you did. That's why I wasn't surprised when you didn't come back, I figured you'd just found your place."

"Yeah, I found a place to hide," Heero sighed, turning to kiss Duo's palm before falling back on the bed and looking at the white of the ceiling. "It was too easy to start over where no one knew who I was, or who my parents were. I sacrificed the only family I really had because I was selfish."

"We understood why you left." Duo pulled a pillow under his head and faced Heero, examining his profile. "We missed you, but we didn't hold it against you. None of it matters because you came back when it was important."

"You're way too understanding." Heero closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. "I feel like I don't deserve you being so understanding."

"Shut up, I'll tell you what you deserve. You deserve to be happy, free of guilt - end of story. Forget your parents and their fucked up sense of family, live for yourself and the rest will fall into place."

"Will you be taking your own advice?" Heero turned to look at Duo in time to see emotion play across his face. "You deserve some guilt free happiness too."

"Even if it breaks her heart?" Duo sat up, letting the sheet pool in his lap. "What if she can't accept it? What then?"

"She loves you, Duo, unconditionally. She may not like it, but she'll always accept who you are." He reached out and stroked a hand over Duo's bare hip. "Think about all the shit you've put her through already. Do you think she'd give up on you because you're gay?"

"You've met my mother, right?" Duo asked with a snort. "She may not give up on me, but she could easily beat me to death." He shook his head, a small smile on his face at the thought. "I can see the headlines now 'Son Killed by Spatula While Coming Out'."

"I could go with you-"

"Nah, thanks but that's something I'm going to have to do on my own." Duo groaned dramatically before throwing himself over Heero's chest. "I never thought Solo getting married would complicate my life so much."

"I'm sorry I complicated things," Heero said, pulling Duo's hair out of his face.

"It's okay, I think my life was getting boring anyway." Duo smiled, looking up at Heero. "And it's only going to get more complicated. Speaking of which, please tell me I'll get to see you again before Hell freezes over?"

Hearing Duo's sense of humor slipping back into place made a huge weight lift off Heero's chest. "I was thinking that you have over a month before school starts again. Maybe you could come see me? I have vacation time saved up, and I'd love to have you all to myself."

Duo was silent for a minute and Heero could hear the gears turning. "Make you a deal - I'll come visit you if you promise to come home for ... how about Thanksgiving? Don't think I'm not onto you trying to lure me out there and making me forget about you coming back."

"Deal," Heero agreed, tugging Duo upwards. "Now that we have a tiny portion of our future ironed out, I say we not squander what time we have left."

"Agreed." Duo brushed a kiss across Heero's lips. "But after I pee and brush my teeth, I don't want you calling the deal off because of my morning breath."

He chuckled as he watched Duo walked towards the bathroom hidden by a curtain of hair. With a yawn he sat up on the side of the bed and waited for his turn in the bathroom. He was pleased that Duo hadn't bothered to tie back his hair; he was already craving the way it felt against his skin. By the time Heero finished and went back towards the bed, Duo was sprawled out in the middle of it, his eagerness obvious.

"I could wake up to you every morning a happy man," Heero crawled onto the bed, kneeling between Duo's legs and licking his lips. "A very happy man."

"I can see you're happy," Duo teased, looking at Heero's growing erection. "Now come here and make me happy."

He didn't need to be asked twice. Moving over Duo, he braced his weight with his arms and kissed him. He could feel Duo's cock twitch against his lower belly in response to the kiss, and couldn't wait to see how he responded to more.

Heero wasn't disappointed.

It was easy to forget everything as they lost themselves in each other's bodies. There were no inhibitions as they touched, licked and sucked, gasps and low moans filling the room. Heero couldn't get enough of Duo writhing on the sheets and was doing anything and everything possible to make sure the man didn't stop. But they were only human, and could only take so much before they were edging closer and closer to orgasm.

"Open your eyes," Heero whispered, watching Duo's flushed face. "I need to see you ... don't hold back."

Duo bit his lip, holding onto Heero's arms like they were only thing keeping him anchored to the bed. He wrapped his legs around Heero's waist, arching up as Heero moved deeper.

Heero could see Duo's passion etched in his face, but he could see so much more than that in the man's eyes. Bracing his weight with one arm, he reached between them and wrapped his hand around Duo's erection. "Keep looking at me," Heero ground out when Duo's eyes started to slip shut with the added sensation.

"Please, Heero ..." Duo ran his hands over Heero's chest before throwing his arms wide and grabbing onto fistfuls of sheet. Any other words were lost in almost desperate noises in the back of his throat as Heero brought him to completion. Watching and feeling the orgasm rip through Duo was more than he could take, and with a couple more thrusts he came deep inside.

Trying to keep his weight from crushing the man beneath him, Heero rested his forehead on Duo's shoulder and panted for breath. "That was ..."

"Yeah, it was." Duo nipped at Heero's shoulder before nudging him.

Heero rolled to his side, already missing the feel of Duo's body. It was going to lonely in California by himself.

--

"And we've come full circle," Heero sighed, adjusting his carry-on over his shoulder. They were standing a few feet away from security and needed to say their good-byes before he went into the terminal. The morning had flown by way too fast and now that they were standing at the airport Heero was already longing. He mustered a smile when he saw the uncertainty in Duo's expression, reaching out and grabbing his hand. "We'll be fine."

"Promise I'll see you again," Duo's voice sounded small. "I can't believe I'm letting you go."

"I promise we'll see each other soon, even if I have to come to you." Not caring who was watching, he kissed Duo right in front of security and the people in line at the metal detectors. "I love you, Duo ... for that I'd come back."

He knew he'd stunned the man with his sudden declaration, but didn't regret the words. He'd loved Duo since the kid had offered him his first toothless smile all those years ago. Granted the love had changed, and changed drastically over the last few days, but the root was still secured in the same warm depth of his heat. He wasn't surprised to see Duo floundering for a moment before he threw his arms around Heero's neck and kissed him fierce and long.

"Go before I don't let you," Duo warned in a hoarse voice before clearing his throat and smiling. "Get on the plane and call me when you land."

"I'll call you when I land." He gave Duo's hand one last squeeze before turning and tossing his carry-on onto the conveyor belt for the x-ray machine. He didn't turn around until he was through the metal detectors and by then Duo was gone. His heart twisted uncomfortably but he managed a small smile. I told him how I felt, that's all I can do.

Before had time to wallow in self-pity, he heard boarding for his flight being announced over the PA. As soon as security released his carry-on, he took off jogging towards his terminal. He managed to arrive just as they were making their final announcement, and still had enough luck to not be seated next to the screaming baby.

It wasn't until he felt the plane lift off the ground that he let the full weight of his emotions crash down around him. He'd finally found someone that made him feel alive, that understood why he became the man he was, that liked him just the way he was ... and I'm leaving him behind. Heero scrubbed his hands over his face with a groan.

"Are you alright?"

Heero startled, then immediately felt stupid for such a reaction. He was sitting in a plane full of people and for a moment he'd forgotten. He turned to find an elderly woman sitting next to him, having no recollection as to whether he'd passed by her when he'd sat down or if she'd come afterwards. "I'm sorry, I'm fine."

"No need to apologize to me." She patted his arm lightly, taking full advantage to their close proximity. "I don't want you to think that you're going to be spending the next six hours trapped next to a chatty busybody, but I thought you looked upset."

He smiled down at her warmly; the top of her little blue head barely reached his shoulder. "I just haven't been home in a while, and it turned out to be a little more ... intense than I'd anticipated."

"It always is," she said with a nod. "Are you happy you went home?"

Heero paused for a moment before answering. "Yes, I am."

"That's all that matters then." She patted his arm one more time. "Now I'll leave you be young man. I have a new book of crosswords my great grandson gave me, and I bet him $10 I'd finish them before the plane lands." She held up the book, flipping through the end where it was obvious many pages had been torn out. "The little shit ripped out the answers, thought I'd cheat! Now I need to work on beating $10 out of him!"

Heero laughed and it felt good. There was something familiar about the old woman and it was enough to ease some of the ache from his heart. "Well, good luck to you then." He pulled a battered old paperback out of his bag before stuffing it back under his seat and started to read ... It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him.

--

He'd tried calling Duo when he'd been standing in the baggage claims at LAX but Mrs. Maxwell had told him, after quite a few minutes of idle conversation, that Duo had fallen asleep on the couch. Did she want Heero to wake him? Yes, he wanted her to wake him, but Heero had told her to let him sleep, and to tell him he'd call back when he'd arrived home. The disappointment of not being able to hear Duo's voice was almost painful, but he'd get to talk to him when he got home, an hour tops.

Two hours later found him in bumper-to-bumper traffic that was almost at a complete stand still. He'd seen one fire truck, two ambulances, and at least four tow trucks maneuver their way through the cars on the highway and had lost hope of walking into his apartment before nightfall. After a six-hour flight this was the last thing he needed and his mood was going sour fast. Just as he was inching his car forward a couple of feet before putting it back in park, his cell rang. He answered without looking at the caller ID, assuming that his office officially decided his small vacation was over.

"Just because I'm back in the state doesn't mean I'm back in my office," Heero answered the phone, not caring how irritable he sounded.

"I'd be disappointed if you were back in your office, Ma said you were heading home." As soon as he heard Duo's teasing tone he felt better.

"I'm sorry Duo, I was going to call you when I got home but I'm still in traffic on the 405." Heero put his car in drive and inched it forward a few more feet before setting it in park again. "I'm pretty sure there's an accident."

"That sucks. I guess I'll just have to keep you company."

Heero could hear the smile in Duo's voice and couldn't help the smile that spread on his face in response. "I'd love that."

"Sooooo ... watcha wearing?" Duo teased, making his voice low and throaty. Before Heero could answer, Duo's voice grew serious as he spoke. "You know, Heero, I can do this. Just hearing your voice is enough to make me feel like I'm with you."

"I know," Heero agreed, a weight lifting off his chest. "And we'll see each other soon."

The connection grew quiet for a moment, and as soon as Heero thought he'd lost the signal Duo spoke. "I love you too. I know it would've meant more if I said it to you at the airport, but -"

"It couldn't mean any more than it means to me now." Heero was grinning like a fool, not caring that nearby motorists thought he'd just blown a gasket. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, nor would it be without loneliness, but it would all be worth it.

End

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