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From Forever to Forever
Part Five: For Richer
August 21st, A.C. 203—Duo Maxwell—11:32 a.m.
God, I love summer on Earth. We’ve all been planning this group-vacation for months. The place Quatre found is great, too—right on the ocean. The kids love it.
But it sucks that Silvia had to go to an emergency committee meeting back on her colony. Quatre was pissed when he found out—hell, we all were. But we’re getting on just fine.
The sun is warm, the tide is out, and Hilde and Relena are wearing bikinis. Can life get any better? Oh yeah—Sally took the kids out for ice cream, so Hilde and I can relax for once.
I run up the beach, where Hilde and Relena are sipping tea and reading their books. It’s too calm. So I shake things up a bit by flicking my wet braid at them.
Relena shrieks like a normal girl should. But Hilde’s quick to act.
She jumps up and grabs my braid, yanking me close. "Do it again and you’ll lose the hair. Got it?"
Man, I always forget how she can be. "Fine—I won’t do it again. Sheesh." I rub my head, hoping she’ll think it’s a lot worse than it is so she’ll feel guilty.
"Your woman controls you?" WuFei asks in his haughty voice, walking up from the house with Trowa and Quatre. Man, it never fails. He always shows up at the wrong time, to throw around his stupid little insults.
Hilde glares at him. Nothing pisses her off like an arrogant Wuffie. "Damn straight I’m controlling him! Otherwise he’d be an ass like you!"
Quatre laughs—always playing the peacemaker. "Hilde, you know he only acts like that to make up for other . . . deficiencies."
Hilde chuckles and Relena smirks. "Do you mean WuFei or Duo?" my wife asks, grinning wickedly. She turns to Relena. "Let’s go see if Sally and the twins are back yet."
I watch her leave, shaking my head. Who’d’ve thought something so mean could be found in a cute little package like that?
"Damn," I mutter. "No sex for me tonight. What are you guys gonna be doing?"
"We were going to take Maja to the carnival this evening—other than that, we don’t have plans," Trowa says with a shrug.
WuFei laughs coldly. "Unlike you, Maxwell, I’m smart enough to know not to piss off my woman—so I’ll be with her this evening."
I scowl. Why is he so nasty all of the time, anyway? "I guess that means you’ll do whatever she wants to do, though." There—right back at him.
He shrugs. "Whatever keeps her satisfied." He smirks and walks off, heading toward the surf.
I turn back to Quatre and Trowa. "He’s just happy to know that he’s not the only one who’ll be begging on their knees for some lovin’ tonight!"
Trowa smiles—as much of a reaction as I could have hoped for, really—and Quatre rolls his eyes. Poor guy. It must suck to know that everyone else in the house is getting some.
Well, except for Trowa. He didn’t bring a girlfriend, like Heero. He says he isn’t really serious about anyone.
But as I watch him walk away with Quatre, I have to question his words. Is there no one he’s serious about, or is the person already taken? And does Silvia know that someone else is interested in her husband?
August 21st—Relena Darlian—3:18 p.m.
I can’t find Heero anywhere. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him all day—he was gone when I woke up.
I pull my hair into a ponytail and throw Heero’s button-down shirt on over my bathing suit. Maybe he’s on the beach. And if not, well, I’ll wait for him there.
I run down the stairs and smack into Heero.
"Where have you been?" I ask, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.
He shrugs. "Around."
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Call me crazy and obsessive, but whenever I’m with Heero I get this feeling that I should hold on to him tightly—like I’ll lose him any time.
He nods. "I found a neat place you’d like."
He leads me to the beach, where Trowa and Quatre are playing with Maja. We wave hello and continue onward, toward a little cove a half-mile away. The view is beautiful, and the area is secluded from signs of civilization.
"I didn’t know this place existed," I whisper with awe.
"This is where I’ve been for a good part of the day," Heero confesses. He looks . . . uncomfortable. Maybe he doesn’t like to think of himself as the kind of guy who can revel in aesthetic pleasures like beauty. "I’ve been thinking."
I don’t ask what he’s been thinking about. He’ll tell me when he wants to.
He stands behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder. "You know, we’ve been dating for two years now."
"Mmm-hmm." I close my eyes and lean against him. There aren’t many chances to get romantic with Heero. Normally he holes himself up, occasionally letting me inside, but rarely coming out himself.
"I spent the morning thinking about it." He holds me tighter and his voice seems . . . different. It shakes slightly, not at all like his usual decisive, firm tone.
He is silent for what seems like an eternity. I’ve learned to be patient with him, though. It took almost four months to get to our first kiss—but like everything else Heero does, our physical relationship only gained momentum from there. We were making love within three days. Yes, patience is always best with Heero Yuy.
But now it almost seems like he’s having an internal battle. And like always, I can’t figure out what he’s thinking. I turn around in his arms, placing my hands on his shoulders and looking up into his faraway expression.
His hands cup my face, his thumbs grazing over my cheeks. "I realize that two years is a long time to date someone without ever really discussing . . . our future. So I want you to know that I’ve told Lady Une that I’m going to leave the Preventors in six months—that is, if you’ll marry me."
My heart skips a beat. Marriage?! For one delirious instant my mind takes stock of the task—what would marriage with Heero be like? It was something I’d allowed myself to daydream about years ago, when I knew so little about him. He was a fascination to keep my mind off of my family and the war. But now—I hadn’t let myself think of it for fear that I’d wake up one morning with him gone, and I’d never hear from him again.
But something in his face tells me that it won’t happen like that.
"I would love to marry you, Heero," I whisper, punctuating it with a kiss.
His mouth curves into a gentle smile. "Good." Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a simple but elegant diamond ring. His eyes meet mine as he slips it onto my finger. "I spent the rest of the morning searching for the right ring," he explains before pulling me against him for another kiss.
August 21st—Quatre Winner—10:54 p.m.
The kids are in bed now, and now we can all enjoy a nice, relaxing evening with old friends. The breeze from the ocean makes the beach cool enough for a bonfire. Hilde and Duo are lying back in the sand, snuggling like teenagers. Heero and Relena keep drifting away from the group, murmuring secretively to each other. They haven’t said anything about their engagement, but it’s hard not to notice the diamond ring that keeps sparkling in the firelight. WuFei and Sally have been going in and out of the ocean, testing each other’s endurance, I think. But now that it’s cooler, I think they’ll probably stay out for the night. Plus Sally’s put away more drinks than anyone else—I don’t think WuFei will let her near the water again.
And Trowa—well, he’s quieter than usual, if that’s really possible.
It’s kind of like the old days—when we were all Preventors together. Except for Relena, of course. It almost makes me miss the old life.
Duo sighs, sitting up to grab another beer. "Quatre, I’m glad you hired a staff for this vacation. Now I’m not too worried about the kids."
Hilde laughs. "Sure—you’re not worried. I take it you’ve been running back to the house every twenty minutes to hit on the maid?"
"Nyah. She’s not as cute as you, " Duo grins as he presses the cold can against Hilde’s bare legs. She smacks him playfully, then sits up and leans against his shoulder. He kisses the top of her head before offering his drink to her. I’m not used to them being so sweet. Lewd and vulgar? Yes. Sweet? Rarely.
"So why didn’t you bring one of the cute girls from your team?" Heero asks Trowa as he and Relena return from a short walk along the surf.
Trowa shrugs. "They’re not as nice as they look."
Duo snorts. "Hnn. I didn’t think you were into nice girls—you go home with a different person every night!"
I glance over at Trowa, watching his face flush. He shifts uncomfortably. He and Duo were roommates back before I left the Preventors. Certainly he’s used to Duo’s coarse discussions about other people’s sex lives. Then again, Trowa’s gotten even more withdrawn and personal the past few years. I don’t think he likes to talk about his affairs with anyone, certainly not a crowd.
"I don’t date people I work with," he answers softly, avoiding the insinuated question. He picks up handfuls of sand, letting the grains sift through his fingers.
Hilde snickers. "Yeah, I used to say that, too—and look how I ended up!" She elbows her husband in the ribs, smirking.
Sally laughs, her voice low and throaty from all the alcohol. "I think you’re smarter than us, Trowa. People shouldn’t get so involved in their work."
"What’s that supposed to mean?" WuFei growls, hovering over her prone body. She answers with a drunken giggle.
"It means that all work and no play makes Wuffie a dull boy," Duo teases. "Trowa doesn’t have that problem, do you, buddy?"
Trowa falls back against the sand with a sigh, his arms stretched out to either side. I can tell by his expression that his mind is somewhere else completely. Maybe he’s thinking about those multitudes of dates. I know I am, now. I’ve never really thought of him in the context of a date. Or a relationship. He’s always been just Trowa. I can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Why hasn’t he ever mentioned anything to me about it? Aren’t I supposed to be his closest friend?
But then, it’s not like he has to. I remind myself that I don’t have exclusive rights on him, or anything. Why should it bother me so much that he’s with a different person every night?
"So when will Silvia be here?" Relena asks, sitting down next to me.
I shrug, glad for the change in topic. "Hopefully soon. It depends on how long it takes for the committee to come to a decision. But she’s supposed to call tomorrow and give us an estimate." I don’t mean to sound so dejected, but I’ve missed her a lot. I have trouble sleeping when she’s not around.
"You know what they say," Duo chirps. "Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder!"
Yeah. Easy for him to say.
"Shut up, Duo," Trowa growls quietly.
I lie back on the ground, looking up at the stars. I can’t see my colony from here—it’s on the other side of the earth right now. I fling my arms out with a sigh, bumping Trowa in the process. Our fingers touch briefly, and for a moment my stomach quivers. Our eyes meet in the dim firelight and I feel my mouth twist into an involuntary smile. What is this? Excitement? I push the feeling away, closing my eyes to shut out Trowa and the others.
I must be missing Silvia more than I thought.
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