Chapter 28-A Happy Ending
"So what exactly is going on?"
"My cousins are down for the week…they were really vague about why. Anyways one of them has a wife, and she had a baby a few months ago. I haven't seen him yet." Audrey explained holding her hand up to watch the sunlight glint off of her new engagement ring. It was a lovely silver color, although it was actually made of gundanium—Audrey's idea. When she held it just right, the entire ring appeared to swirl with different colors. There were two small diamonds surrounding a larger diamond in the middle. "I want you to meet my cousins. They're both really cool. And…We're going to have to tell my parents we're getting married…well actually, you are going to have to ask my father for permission."
"I need your father's permission to marry you? Is that a law?"
"It depends." Audrey explained. "It you're a minor, you need parental consent to get married. After that, you don't."
"But we're both going to be of age." He said.
"I'm getting to that. Okay. It's tradition, dating back years and years for the groom to ask the father for his daughter's hand in marriage. In the actual ceremony, the bride's father, 'gives her away.' My father wouldn't like it at all if you didn't ask him. I know he'll agree…eventually. But it's more out of respect that you ask than actually needing permission. Get it?"
"I guess." He said. "But how do you know he'll agree? What if he doesn't? I mean, he nearly disowned you when you tried to leave with me."
"But this is different. Marrying you is more respectable than living with you while we're not married."
"You're sure he'll see it that way?"
"Well...I don't know per se. But, well…we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Heero sighed as Audrey's parents' house came into view. He was suddenly feeling nervous.
Audrey looked over at him, and smiled a bit at his expression. "Don't worry. You don't have to talk to him right now."
Heero turned into the long driveway and pulled to a stop in front of the house. Audrey hopped out of the car, slung her bag over her shoulder and skipped off toward the house. Heero followed a little more sedately.
The door was opened after just a few knocks, and Jeanne beamed at them. "Oh Madamoiselle! Monsieur." She nodded to Heero and gave Audrey a hug, before telling her something in French.
The two women turned and headed into the house, still talking in French. Heero couldn't understand a word of it, so he just followed awkwardly.
Finally Jeanne and another servant took their bags and left Heero and Audrey alone in the foyer.
"Everyone's out, except for my two cousins and the baby. They're upstairs." Heero just nodded and Audrey headed up the stairs and down the hall.
They reached a door and pushed it open without knocking.
Two nearly identical men were standing on either side of the pool table. They both turned as they came in. Both were tall, and slender with dark hair and eyes. The only reason Heero could tell them apart was because one had a goatee whereas the other was clean shaven.
"If it isn't our favorite cousin." The bearded one said with a wide grin. He handed his pool stick off to his brother and strode over to scoop Audrey into a crushing bear hug. The other man put down the pool sticks with a playful scowl at his brother before following him.
"We were wondering when you'd show up." He pulled Audrey from the other man's arms and gave her his own hug.
"Ah and who's this?" The first man turned to Heero and extended his hand.
"Heero Yuy." Heero introduced himself politely. "It's a pleasure."
"Yeah nice to meet you." The man shook Heero's hand enthusiastically. "I'm Rick. This is my older brother Ian."
"Nice to meet you." Ian said shaking Heero's hand as well. "I've heard quite a bit about you."
Heero cocked an eyebrow, but before he could ask anything, Rick cut in with a laugh.
"Some of it was good. We didn't take much Uncle Greg says very seriously, so don't worry."
"That's a relief." Audrey said. "I can't imagine he'd have said anything nice."
"Oh he didn't." Rick assured her. "I recall the term 'punk' being thrown around quite a bit."
"But father seems to like you quite a bit." Ian turned a critical eye toward Heero. "You used to be a gundam pilot." It was more a statement than a question but Heero nodded in confirmation anyway.
"When dad told me Audrey was dating a veteran, I was expecting someone in their forties."
"You are quite young." Ian pointed out.
"Younger than both of you." Audrey cut in. "But what are you doing butting into his business?"
Rick draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Now don't get all upset. You can't blame us for being curious. It's not every day that you meet a gundam pilot now is it?"
"You'll have to forgive us if we seemed rude." Ian said genuinely, turning to Heero.
"No problem." Heero shrugged, grateful that someone had steered the conversation in another direction.
"Well we did have a reason for asking, you see. Part of the reason we're here." Ian continued, sharing a secretive look with Rick. "We've convinced Uncle and father to join us for a shooting party."
"A shooting party?" Heero and Audrey asked at the same time.
"Since when do you do that sort of thing?" Audrey asked visibly shocked. "I can't imagine daddy agreeing to it."
"Since it's no longer political faux pas to enjoy shooting a gun." Rick said playfully. "And for your information dearest little cousin, he already has."
"He seemed pretty excited, as a matter of fact." Ian lowered his voice. "Word has it, he was quite a shot in his younger days. You see that's where the idea came from. We happened upon the topic with dad, and he told us how fun it would be if we all went out to the range."
Audrey looked doubtful.
"I've told him I wouldn't believe it until I see it. But this weekend there's a to-" Ian stomped on Rick's foot. Rick cut off and then continued with a laugh. "But down to business." He turned to Heero. "We absolutely insist that you come along."
"Me?" Heero wasn't entirely sure what a shooting party entailed. He looked to Audrey for help, but she was grinning at him.
"I think that's a great idea." She said. "A nice bonding experience don't you think."
"Any specific reason he'd need to bond with your dad?" Rick snatched up her hand, and eyed the ring with a smirk.
"As you see." She countered, with a smile of her own.
Rick turned back to Ian and extended his hand. "Told ya."
"Congratulations." Ian said to the couple while trying to subtly pass Rick a ten dollar bill.
"I'll pretend I didn't see that." Audrey said, rolling her eyes.
"You should probably take that off if you don't want an uprising." Rick said.
Audrey frowned and looked at the ring. She hadn't taken it off since Heero had given it to her. She looked over at Heero.
"I'd rather not have do listen you your father yell at me the entire time I'm here." He said.
"He'll do that anyway." Audrey mumbled, but still reluctantly slid it off.
Rick and Ian shared a laugh.
"So…everyone's…shopping?" Audrey asked to change the subject.
"Yeah." Ian chuckled a bit and Rick started hooting with laughter. "It seems that our fathers have…er…grown out of their old sportswear." He patted his stomach with a grin.
Audrey laughed.
"And none of the women could pass up the opportunity for a shopping spree." Rick explained after he'd pulled himself together.
"But they left Danny here? With just you two?"
"I'll have you know that we are perfectly capable." Ian pulled a baby monitor out of his pocket and waved it at her.
Audrey gave him a mock doubtful look.
"You can see him if you want." Ian offered. "It's almost time to feed him anyways." He turned and headed out of the room, Audrey hot on his heels.
"And probably to change him too." Rick whispered to Heero as they followed the other two out of the room. "We're lucky she's here. Melissa—that's Ian's wife—specifically told the servants to make us change the diapers."
When they reached the room, they found Ian and Audrey leaning over a small bassinet. Audrey was going on about how cute 'little Danny' was. Ian was explaining, with pride, every single one of the baby's features.
Heero peeked over her shoulder to see what the fuss was about. It looked just like a regular baby to him. Really tiny, dressed in a blue onesy, with a small patch of dark hair on his head. He'd never seen one so small in person, but he had seen quite a few that looked exactly like the one in the crib on TV. He cocked an eyebrow and tried from a different angle. Still nothing.
Rick leaned around Heero and started planning Danny's brilliant future as a stunt biker.
Heero supposed it was inevitable with all the fuss around him, that the baby would wake up. The room was soon filled with high pitched cries. Heero backed up a bit, not really knowing what to make of the situation.
Ian and Audrey seemed to have a quiet conversation, and then Audrey picked Danny up and, holding him to her chest, started patting his back. The cries soon subsided to low whines.
"You're a natural." Ian said with a smile.
"Most women are." Audrey said.
They all stood silently for a few seconds as Danny's whimpers died down completely. Ian sniffed inconspicuously. "Well he's probably hungry, so I guess I'll go fix him a bottle." He said suddenly, breaking the silence.
The comment seemed to spur Rick on. "No no! I'll go!" He insisted hurrying toward the door.
"That's okay." Ian said. "I've got it."
"We'll both go…to make sure we get it right."
"Good idea. We'll be right back."
Audrey stared after them in confusion before Ian poked his head back into the room. "And if the desire so strikes you" He said with a grin. "You may change his diaper." With that he was gone.
Audrey gaped for a second and then sniffed the air. "Those bastards." She growled. "Heero, can you turn the light on?"
He quietly obeyed and then watched as Audrey worked to spread a blanket across the bed and balance Danny at the same time. "What are you doing?"
"I suppose I'm going to change his diaper." Audrey said, lying Danny down on top of the blanket. She made a funny face at the baby and he flailed his arms and legs trying to grab her. "Uh oh! You made a poopie. Yes you did. Yes you did. But that's okay. Nothing to be embarrassed about. We'll clean you right up." She straightened up and looked around the room before looking at Heero. "Can you grab me that bag?"
Heero got it and brought it to her. He continued to stand behind her watching curiously as pulled some things out of the bag and unsnapped Danny's onesy. She then pulled open Danny's diaper.
Heero's curious expression was instantly replaced by a look of terror. His eyes widened, and he had to work to fight back a gag. He clapped both hands over his face and stumbled backwards until the wall stopped him from going any further.
Audrey looked back at him and chuckled at his disturbed expression.
"Is that normal?" He asked. His words came out muffled since he didn't dare remove his hands from his nose and mouth.
"Yeah." She said. "It's not as bad as it looks. Come over here."
He just shook his head and kept his back firmly pressed against the opposite wall.
"Oh quit being such a baby. It won't kill you. You'd think that after fighting in a war you could handle a little poop."
"I'd rather touch nuclear waste." He said. "That's disgusting."
She rolled her eyes and silently finished changing Danny's diaper. After she'd snapped him back up, she picked him up and placed him back on her chest. "Now let's go see where your daddy and uncle have disappeared to. They're probably dawdling around so that they don't have to help." She looked at Heero who was still by the wall with his mouth covered. "It's safe now." She said with a laugh.
He cautiously removed his hands and followed her as she walked out of the room and headed downstairs.
"You think she finished yet?" They heard Rick ask as they walked it.
"I did." Audrey answered.
Both men spun and looked at them with guilty expressions.
Audrey slid into a chair and nestled Danny into the crook of her arm. Ian handed her the bottle and slid into another chair. Heero cautiously sat down on the other side of Audrey. He looked as though he expected a dirty diaper to be dropped on him at any second, but he seemed to slowly be getting over the notion. Audrey decided to not mention projectile vomiting to him, lest he leave the room altogether.
"So how are things?" Rick asked to break the silence as he, plopped down across from Audrey.
"Alright." She said.
"Is it true you got shot?" Ian asked.
"Uhh. Kinda." Audrey said. Her cousins leaned in closer. "I was wearing a bulletproof…vest."
"Why?"
"Why what?" Audrey asked. "Why was I wearing a vest or why was I shot at?"
"Both."
"Oh well…uhh…" She looked at Heero.
"The Preventers needed her to sneak arms into Relena Peacecraft's banquet. We knew there would probably be trouble and there was. An assassin shot at Relena. Audrey pushed her out of the way, and took the bullets for her."
Her two cousins stared at Audrey in shock, and she ducked her head with a blush.
"Our baby cousin?" Ian said finally overcoming his shock.
"Saving people?" Rick and Ian shared a surprised look before looking back at Audrey.
She was saved from having to respond by her parents, aunt, uncle, and Ian's wife coming in.
"Oh my baby's here!" Lillian squealed, rushing over and kissing Audrey's cheek.
"Hi mom." Audrey said, relieved at the interruption. "Hi everyone."
Her Aunt Theresa hurried over to Audrey and looked her over. "Oh child! We heard about your accident." She gave her a quick kiss and then gave Heero one as well.
Heero blushed in embarrassment, but the blush quickly faded when he noticed the glare Gregory was sending him.
"But you look okay." Theresa finished.
"You look more than okay." Uncle Freddie said stepping fully into the room and blocking Gregory's view of Heero. "You're radiant." He bent down to whisper in her ear. "But I wouldn't talk about it much. Your father has heard some odd rumors from his friends." He straightened up. "So! We are now all properly possessed of outdoor clothing. We will be ready tomorrow morning bright and early." He turned to Heero. "You will join us won't you?"
"Of course he will." Rick spoke up.
"Excellent!" Uncle Freddie said. "We'll be such a jolly party. Oh and of course Audrey, you're invited as well."
"To a shooting party?" She asked incredulously. Heero froze on side of her. "Uh…no thanks. Maybe next time."
"Oh. Oh well then." Uncle Freddy said. "It will be just the guys then." He draped his arm over Gregory's shoulder, and led him scowling out of the room. "Come along Gregory, I'm feeling a spot of rum right about now. How about you?"
The next morning, Heero found himself sqeezed into the back seat of Gregory's rather fancy car. Rick was sitting on side of him with Ian against the other window. They were both apparently half asleep. Gregory was driving, and Uncle Fred was sitting in the passenger seat.
"So Heero." Uncle Fred asked suddenly, breaking the silence and causing everyone to jerk fully awake. "I don't remember if I ever asked, but I suppose that it's safe to assume that you've used a gun before."
Rick and Ian started snickering, and Gregory scowled.
"I…can handle one…pretty well." Heero answered, allowing himself to chuckle a bit.
"Pretty well you say?" Uncle Fred turned in his seat to look at Heero. "Now I've got my expectations set pretty high. I had assumed that you were nothing short of excellent."
Heero just shrugged, and Uncle Fred smiled at him before turning around and slapping Gregory's shoulder. "I daresay that he'll put you to shame, old boy."
"He probably will." Gregory agreed to everyone's shock. "But I was never a soldier."
Uncle Fred snorted. "And it's a good thing too. I would hate for my fate to rest on your skills. Oh, but look. We're here."
'Here' was seemingly nothing more than a wooden lodge set in front of a large field. The five men piled out of the car and headed inside. There were a few men milling about, and there were large cases lining a wall behind a counter, all full of different rifles and ammunition. Heero scanned the wall full of rifles, mentally noting the pros and cons of each.
"What are we shooting at?" Heero asked Rick.
"Clay pigeons." He answered scanning the wall himself. "They get shot in the air."
Heero nodded.
A man with grey hair and a mustache walked out. "Can I help you gentlemen?"
Uncle Freddie walked up. "We'd like a Trap range and…60 pigeons." The man told him the price for what he'd asked for and for five rifles.
"Sounds fair enough." Uncle Freddie said and handed the man his card.
"Alright gentlemen." The man said once Uncle Freddie had paid. "Choose your weapon."
"You go ahead first." Uncle Freddie told Heero. "You probably know more about them than all of us put together."
Heero scanned the wall again before his eyes rested on one rifle in particular. "I'll take that one." He pointed.
"That one?" The man looked him up and down. "It's got a pretty powerful kick, son. You sure you can handle it."
Heero just nodded.
The man gave him a doubtful look but took the rifle down anyway. "If you change your mind just bring it back. I'll give you another one."
The other four men got their rifles and they all headed out to the range.
"Okay." Uncle Freddie said staring confusedly at the machine and the box of clay pigeons beside it. "I'm assuming that we're to put these together somehow. Any ideas?"
Rick scooted past him and quickly set it up. "Who's first?"
"I'd like to try my hand at it." Uncle Fred said stepping forward. Rick let it go. Uncle Fred shot a few times, and ended up hitting in on his fourth try. "It's a bit harder than it looks."
Gregory went next. He missed the first one altogether, and hit the second pigeon only after three tries.
Ian and Rick were a bit better. They managed to hit their pigeons a bit faster.
Finally it was Heero's turn. He stepped forward and got his rifle ready.
"Ready?" Rick asked.
"Yeah."
"Pull."
Faster than anyone could respond, Heero fired and his pigeon shattered. The four other men stared at him in silent amazement as he brought the rifle down and turned around.
He looked a little sheepish, and shifted his weight nervously. They acted like they'd never seen anyone shoot before.
"Do that again." Rick said after a few agonizing minutes of silence. He loaded another pigeon and fired it.
Heero whipped around and in one shot, again shattered the pigeon.
"He's amazing." Uncle Fred said.
Gregory and Ian were still shocked speechless.
Just then two men walked up. They had apparently seen Heero's shots.
"He here for the tournament?" One said nodding toward Heero.
"Tournament?" Uncle Fred and Gregory both looked at him curiously.
"Today. Sporting Clay Tournament." The second man said. "It starts at 10 o'clock. Thousand dollar prize for first place."
Everyone's eyes widened at the amount of the prize—everyone except for Ian and Rick—and they looked over at Heero.
"You should do it." Rick said to Heero. Ian nodded to back him up. Heero looked skeptical. "They've got quite a few contestants this year, but I'm sure you can take them all."
"You knew about it?" Uncle Freddie asked Rick and Ian.
"Well…yeah. Sort of." Rick said. "We saw the commercial for the tournament. That's how we found out about this place. We thought we'd come check it out and drag you two lards along. Who knew Audrey's boyfriend was such a good shot though?"
"How many can you hit in a row son?" One of the men asked.
Heero just shrugged.
"Give it a try then." He looked at the group of men and gestured to the machine. "May I?"
"Go ahead." Rick said. He and the other four stood back and watched as Heero turned back to the range. He didn't really like being singled out, but no one could deny that he was a good shot. Plus, a thousand dollars would be nice.
The man tinkered with the trap and pigeons started flying. Some went high, some low, some slow, some fast. Heero hit each one with only one shot.
When the trap finally finished, Heero relaxed and turned back around to find that a small crowd of amazed onlookers had gathered around him.
He nervously shifted his weight and stared back at them. Somewhere in the small crowd, someone started clapping. The clapping spread, and soon Heero was standing embarrassedly in front of a crowd of applauding people.
"So you'll join, eh?" The man asked.
"Uh…" He looked to Uncle Fred who nodded enthusiastically. "Sure."
"Where on earth are they?" Melissa asked after having put Danny to bed upstairs.
"I have no idea." Audrey said. "I didn't think they were going to be gone this long either." She checked the clock. "It's almost seven."
Just then there was a commotion in the driveway, and the front door burst open. Audrey and Melissa rushed into the foyer to see what was going on. It sounded like someone was wailing.
When they reached the foyer, however, all their worries were put at ease. Ian and Rick arms were draped across Heero's shoulders. The wailing sound was Rick singing a loud off-key rendition of "We are the Champions." Heero looked as if he didn't know whether he should be enjoying the serenade or be disturbed.
Uncle Fred and Gregory were standing behind them looking amused.
"Where have you been?" Melissa demanded.
Lillian and Aunt Theresa walked in at that very moment, and it was obvious by their stern looks that they had been wondering the same thing. Ian and Rick skipped forward, dragging Heero along with them. Rick grabbed Heero's hand and thrust it into the air, showing everyone the golden trophy he held. Rick and Ian started up a new round of "We are the Champions." Uncle Fred joined in as well, and Gregory, oddly enough, started to laugh.
Heero looked as though he couldn't quite comprehend the situation. He was a little confused that Gregory hadn't said anything negative toward him since he'd won the tournament and had even given him a "congratulations" and pat on the back.
He looked around the room to see that Lillian, Aunt Theresa, and Melissa were all scowling at the men. He wasn't entirely sure why they would be mad at them. It seemed that the other men had known that they would be in trouble when they got back—something about not checking in and the women being worried. He seemed to recall a similar thing happening when he hadn't bothered to tell Audrey that he would be fighting in the Mariemaia incident.
He looked over at Audrey to see if she looked upset at the moment. She was watching her cousins in amusement. That was definitely a good sign. Finally, when the singing quieted down a bit, Audrey turned toward him and asked. "You won…what?"
"A thousand dollars!" Rick said for him.
"A thousand dollars?"
"Who won a thousand dollars?" Lillian asked.
"Heero did." Gregory said. The room went silent for a moment.
Audrey stared at Heero, who was trying to gently pull his arm away from Rick. He finally did. He looked over at Audrey, handed her the trophy, and then shoved his hands into his pockets.
Audrey stared at the trophy. It was shaped like a big cup and had a little man with a rifle on top. "Sporting Clay State Tournament. 1st Place." She read out loud. "You won this?" She looked up at Heero.
He nodded.
"He wiped the floor with them!" Rick shouted, startling everyone. He clapped Heero on the back.
"I've never seen anything like it." Uncle Fred added. "Perfect scores every time."
"Never missed one." Ian added.
Heero just shrugged, a little embarrassed at the attention.
"I wish I could have seen it." Audrey said.
"It was a spur of the moment thing." Heero told her.
She pouted for a second and then smiled. "So you had fun then."
"Sure did!" Rick tightened his arm around Heero's neck. "The crowd loved him. After he finished the last round, a bunch of women took their shirts—." He stopped and looked at his mom sheepishly as if wondering if he would get in trouble. There was some part of him that told him that since he was 22 years old, his mom couldn't do much to him. Still, though. He looked to his dad and brother, but all of the men in the room seemed to have found something very interesting on the ceiling. He looked back to his mom. "So…umm…when's supper?"
"The servants should be setting it out now." Theresa said, walking toward Heero. "But what's this? You won a shooting contest." She gave him a kiss on each cheek that left him blushing, and then turned to Audrey. "It's a good one you got here. A man's no good if he can't aim."
"Good heavens Theresa." Lillian said pulling her away, but not before Theresa could give a playful swat to Heero's backside.
Heero and Audrey seemed confused for a second, before Rick's snickering made them realize the meaning of her statement. They both blushed furiously.
Theresa seemed to remember Rick's question and turned to her younger son. "Young man, I hope you realize that none of you will be getting desert."
Ian, Rick, and Fred groaned.
"Now none of that." Melissa said, taking Ian by the arm and leading him into the dining room. "All you had to do was call once and tell us that you were okay and that you all would be staying late."
"You can't blame us for worrying." Lillian took Gregory by the arm and started leading him off as well. "A shooting range is a dangerous place. Who knows what could have happened."
Heero cast Audrey a significant look as she started pulling him toward the dining room. She slapped him lightly on the stomach, and he chuckled.
The next day, Heero knocked hesitantly on the door to Gregory's office. He had put off this moment for the entire trip, and since they were leaving in a few hours, he knew that if he was going to do it at all, it would have to be then. He looked back at Audrey with a pleading expression.
She just mouthed "good luck" to him as Gregory called him in.
He stepped silently into the room, but aside from closing the door behind him, made no further movement.
Gregory looked up at him, and the two locked eyes for a moment.
"Come closer." Gregory demanded, and after Heero obeyed, he asked. "Well?"
Heero took a deep breath. Gregory had been near decent to him after he had won the tournament, but he didn't know quite how far that grace would extend. Why was talking with this man always so difficult for him? "I wanted to ask…for permission to marry Audrey."
Gregory straightened in his seat and stared at Heero in shock. "You want to marry my daughter?" Gregory interrupted, sounding like he dreaded the idea.
Heero nodded nervously. "Yes…sir."
Gregory shuffled his papers into a neat stack and set them aside. "Have a seat." He said relaxing a bit in his chair.
Heero nervously strode forward and sat in one of the chairs in front of Gregory's desk.
"You may know," Gregory started. "That I have never been very fond of you."
Heero remained silent, all the while thinking that that was the understatement of the year.
"But" He said as if the words physically hurt him. "It has been brought to my attention, that I may not have given you a fair chance."
Heero straightened hopefully.
"I think we should get a few things out of the way."
Heero just nodded, wondering what the man was talking about.
"Do you plan to make my daughter work for the rest of her life?"
"Work? As in a job?"
Gregory scowled dangerously. "While we're on the subject, why don't you tell me exactly what happened at the banquet a few weeks ago and why I keep getting reports that my daughter looked pregnant."
"Oh." Heero couldn't help but squirm a bit. He thought for a few seconds about where to start, and then finally decided to just tell him everything. "Well you may have known that Relena Peacecraft's recent move away from pacifism had quite a few people upset. She even received two threats."
Gregory looked interested.
"Well, the Preventers wanted her either to position more security guards at the party or to let us provide it. She refused, and so we—her Milliardo Peacecraft included" He clarified "decided that it would be best if we went as guests and brought weapons. And the only way that we could think of to get guns past the metal detectors was to put them into a fake belly…which Audrey wore. She had a choice in it, of course. And she was never supposed to be in any danger—at least no more than any other guest there. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and well…she ended up saving Relena's life, so we can hardly say that we're sorry for bringing her. She hasn't complained about it either."
Gregory stared at him for a long while. Heero just stared back. Finally after a few agonizingly slow minutes, Gregory blinked. "I see. And did she have a choice in working in the first place."
Heero cocked an eyebrow. "She never led me to believe that she wanted to be 'taken care of' in that way. I'm perfectly willing to provide for her, but I don't think she wants that."
"Really? And what is your job exactly."
"I'm a recruit trainer for the Preventers, but I would also do field work if the situation is dire enough."
"What do you mean 'dire?'"
"Requiring skill that no one but a gundam pilot would have." Having seen Heero's performance at the tournament the day before, Gregory had no doubt that there were a few skills that Heero possessed that most other men did not.
"And do you think there may be a situation like this?"
Heero shrugged, wondering what the man was driving at. "I couldn't say. Maybe."
"Is there any chance you could be killed while doing this."
"Ummm…yes. But there's a risk factor to nearly every job. I'd wager someone could find reason to put a bullet in you…sir."
Gregory looked taken aback, but then almost surreally, he smiled. "I suppose you're right."
Heero sighed in relief. The statement had slipped out before he could stop himself, but he'd instantly regretted it.
"The reason I ask," Gregory said, reasonably. "is because, I don't want to see my daughter hurt…or poor. I assume your work has insurance then?"
Heero nodded. He supposed they did too, although he'd never checked.
"And I assume that you would know if, you were to marry my daughter how to go about changing your plan to provide for her in the case of your…demise."
Heero stared. Is he planning for me die?
"You'll have to figure that out then." Gregory said taking his silence as a "no."
Heero sat up straighter at his wording.
Gregory pretended not to notice. "You have a house I understand."
Heero nodded.
"Near Sanction?"
He nodded again. He hoped Gregory wouldn't dive into a million questions about this as well.
Thankfully he didn't. All he asked was "Will you put her name on the title?"
"It's already there." Heero said, wondering if he should have mentioned that.
"Is it?" Gregory looked surprised, but didn't say anything else about it. "So you are capable of taking care of my daughter it seems. You will keep her safe?"
Heero nodded.
"Never hurt her." His eyes darkened threateningly.
"Never." Heero agreed.
"Do you love her?"
"Yes sir."
"Yes. And I believe that she loves you as well. You've asked her?" Heero nodded.
"Well then…" A pained expression briefly crossed Gregory's face, but it disappeared after a second. "Welcome to the family." Forcing a small smile, he stood and extended his hand. "Make her happy, son."
Heero was shocked for a moment, and then beamed. He stood and accepted Gregory's hand. "Thank you."
Deciding not to test his luck by waiting around, Heero hurriedly scurried out of his office.
Audrey was waiting right outside, all of her relatives, and the servants crowding in the hallway. "Well?" Audrey asked impatiently the second he stepped out of the doorway.
Heero grinned at her, and she flung herself into his arms. With no thought to all the people crowded around them, Heero picked her up and spun her around before setting her back down and kissing her. The hallway erupted into cheers.
They pulled apart and Audrey took the ring out of her pocket. Heero took it from her and, after slipping it onto her finger, pulled her into another kiss.
After months of planning and preparing—during which time Audrey's mother and Aunt had shown her every single bridal magazine they could get their hands on, and Heero had spent much more time with Audrey's father than he ever cared to—the day had finally come.
Heero stood on the altar of a large fancy church. The four other gundam pilots were lined up behind him—Duo directly to his right.
There were beautiful flowers decorating the church and a white silk running down the middle aisle. Familiar faces filled the seats, and Heero was actually surprised at how many people he knew.
Jonathan's and his mother were somewhere in the church. When he'd seen him earlier, Jonathan had sent him a smirk. Heero didn't have to think too hard to know what it meant. Jonathan would no doubt tell him that he'd predicted they would get married.
Hale and his wife and daughter, along with nearly every recruit that Heero had ever trained were taking a large portion of the seats. Other Preventers, along with Milliardo Peacecraft, his sister, and Pagan were there. Catherine, Dorothy, and Hilde were sitting together near the front.
Their neighbors, Jose and Maria, were present as well. So were Cynthia, her husband, Anna, Patrick, and Lucy.
Audrey's family and servants took up the remainder of the area.
The organ started playing. Heero stiffened and looked to the back of the church, everyone else turned around to see. The door in the back of the church opened and out stepped Mariemaia dressed in a frilly golden dress. Very slowly—partly because of respect and partly because she was still rather weak—she walked up the aisle, tossing flowers left and right. A few seconds later, Jeanne appeared at the entrance, wearing a more sedate dress of the same color. Noin, Sally, and Une followed her out and took their places on the altar.
The music changed. Heero swallowed nervously, his eyes glued to the doorway. It opened again, and there stood Audrey and her father, arm in arm.
Heero was sure that he knew how to breathe, but at the moment, the ability seemed to escape him. Audrey was dressed in a corseted, silky white dress, that fell off her shoulders. The poofy skirt was long and left a silky train behind her. A veil obscured her face, but Heero could just make out her blond curls beneath it.
He'd never seen a more beautiful sight.
Everyone in the church stood, but Heero hardly noticed. He did notice, however that Audrey and her father were walking towards him.
He wondered for a second whether it could really be happening, but then decided that whether he was in reality or not, this was where he wanted to be.
Audrey and her father reached him, and Gregory—seeming quite reluctant to do so—placed her hand in his. He took a step back blinking to try to keep his tears at bay.
Audrey's mother and Aunt were already in crying. He was sure that he had seen Relena pull a hanky out from where she was sitting in the back.
Heero and Audrey turned, hand in hand to face the priest.
"Dearly beloved," He began. "We are gathered here today…."
As the priest went on, Heero looked over at Audrey, she was absolutely gorgeous. It was at that moment that he wondered how he had ever managed without her. He was certain that he never could again.
"Mr. Yuy." Heero snapped out of his reverie, hoping that he hadn't missed anything. To his relief, he hadn't. The priest motioned for him to recite his vows.
Heero turned to Audrey. "I, Heero Yuy, take you, Audrey Harper, to be my lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish; and I promise to be faithful to you until death parts us."
"Now, take the ring, put it on her finger, and say 'with this ring, I thee wed.'"
Heero turned to Duo, and couldn't help but laugh.
Duo choked and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "It's not funny." He whispered, sniffing and pulling himself straight. "Boys don't cry."
Heero nodded with a smirk and looked at the other three gundam pilots. Quatre was faring no better than Duo, but at least he had a handkerchief. He gave Heero a watery grin. Wufei and Trowa both gave him amused smiles.
Heero grinned back and turned to Duo, who had dried his face, but was still sniffing every now and then. "The ring?"
Dou handed it to him, and Heero turned back to Audrey. "With this ring I thee wed. Let it be a symbol of my promises to you and a reminder of my devotion to you."
Audrey repeated the vows and placed a ring, also made of gundanium onto his finger."
The priest went into a long proclamation of how they would share all their wealth and happiness for the rest of their lives and then said the words that Heero had been waiting to hear that entire day. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Heero grinned and gently raised Audrey's veil. She smiled back at him, blushing a bit as how amazed he looked.
The entire church went silent as Heero stepped closer. "I love you…my wife." He whispered with a small smirk, and then amongst whistles and applause, leaned down and captured her lips in their first kiss as husband and wife.
THE END
Hello there. So it hasn't taken me forever to update again. Yay!
But, sadly, this is the end of this story. I am considering a sequel, but if it does in fact happen, we won't be seeing it for a while.
Anyways, one last time, I want to thank all of my reviewers. You guys have been absolutely great!