Author: Zazu
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Sap
Pairings: 5xR
Summary: Wufei reflects on his life as he walks his daughter down the aisle.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, nor do I own the characters. I have borrowed them here for some fun and creativity, and this is not for profit. I do, however, own the plot mentioned here, and any instances that you may find similar to real life events are purely a coincidence. All of the characters depicted in this story are adults.
Daddy's Girl
People say that your life, your best or most important memories, will flash through your mind moments before you die.
I have almost died a few times, although I suppose I wasn't close enough to death to have experienced the memory flashes.
I can, however, vouch for the fact that memories will flash through your mind when you're walking down the aisle.
As I began to walk down the aisle, a beautiful young woman on my arm, I knew I should have been telling myself things. Like how I should listen carefully to the music and not walk too fast. How I should be careful to catch her if she tripped on her dress, or anything else. To look forward, not down at the cute children walking ahead of us, sprinkling flower petals.
I should have been rehearsing my brief speech to the man standing at the alter, a speech that was edited so that death threats were omitted...or at least made in a subtle manner.
When I looked at the beautiful young woman beside me, I knew that she should have been thinking how she couldn't trip, how she had to be careful. Seeing the way her eyes were drawn to that of the man at the alter, I knew that her thoughts too, had deserted her in favour of something else; someone else. Memories, perhaps, or thoughts of the future; I wouldn't know.
Twenty-five years ago when I had been about to take her mother as my wife, I was standing at the alter. I had been rehearsing my wedding vows, but the vows had left me the moment by wife-to-be appeared, and I distinctly remember that I had thought of nothing but how beautiful she was, and how beautiful our future would be.
Now, taking step by step down the carpet covered with flower petals, the first memory I had was of one of my best friends teasing my daughter for being indecisive.
~*~
"Which one, baby girl?" Duo asked, holding up one blue and one pink teddy bear. She'd grabbed for the pink one, and Duo had taken it back only to offer her the blue one. She'd accepted it without a fuss. "Wufei, your daughter is going to be one indecisive woman when she grows up."
"Leave her be," I said, a small smile on my lips as I watched my friend and daughter play. "She's only eight months old."
~*~
Duo may have been prophetic when he said my daughter would be indecisive. She was slow to make decisions, whether they were as small as which flavour of ice cream she wanted, or big, like what she wanted to grow up to be.
~*~
"You're already doing course selections for your junior year," I said. "And they could affect the courses you can take in your senior year. Do you have any idea what field you want to be in?"
"I'm not sure," she replied. "I can't decide between politics, like Mom, or sciences. I don't know if I want to be a doctor, or maybe a chemist. Maybe I'll major in computers? Uncle Heero's work seems interesting."
"How much time do you have?" I asked. "When is this course selection due?"
"Next week."
"What...do you think you want to grow up to be?"
She smiled at me, leaning close to kiss my cheek. "Always Daddy's girl."
~*~
We were almost halfway down the aisle. She squeezed my arm and I glanced at her. It was as if she could read my mind.
"Always Daddy's girl," she whispered softly.
"Always," I replied.
Decisions hadn't been her forte, but being logical and analytical helped in that respect. She knew how to weigh her pros and cons, although she didn't always manage to figure out what could be more important.
So my first question to her, when she told me she might want to marry this man, probably didn't surprise her.
~*~
"Are you sure?" I asked. "Absolutely sure?"
"Yes," she replied.
"You thought it out?"
She shook her head, her long hair swaying behind her. "Only a little. I...felt it out." She looked at me. "Uncle Heero taught me to follow my emotions. I...think I can feel that he's the one."
I nodded. "I know the feeling."
"You do?"
I touched the wedding band on my finger. "I'm sure it was the same feeling I had when I asked for your mother's hand in marriage."
~*~
We walked up the few steps; the young man stepped forward.
I turned to my daughter, choking back the lump in my throat as I smiled at her, taking her hand from my arm and giving it a squeeze.
"Wo ai ni," I whispered.
She smiled. "I love you, too," she replied, looking down behind me to where her mother sat.
I turned to the young man and set her hand onto his. He immediately grasped her hand, a familiar gesture between them.
"Love her," I commanded softly. "My son."
He smiled and nodded. "I did, I do, and I always will...Baba."
I left them, walking down the steps by myself, towards the empty seat next to my wife. She reached out to me and I took her hand as I sat down.
"They're so beautiful," she whispered.
"She's just as beautiful as her mother," I replied.
"We're not losing her, are we?" she asked.
I looked up at my daughter, at the way she stared deeply into the eyes of the man she so loved. She glanced at me, her smile radiant.
"No," I said, squeezing my wife's hand. "We're just adding a son to our family."
OWARI
Back to Zazu's Fanfictions Page