Author: Zazu
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Fluff
Pairings: 5+R
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.
Notes: Not beta-read. Written to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Happy New Year, everyone!!
New Traditions
When Wufei woke up, he realized that his wife was gone from the bed. It was rare that he didn't wake up when she left, but Wufei simply got out of bed and stretched, scratching absently at his belly. He relieved himself in the bathroom and spotted an outfit hung up on the back of the door with a note pinned to it.
Please wear this, Wufei.
He studied Relena's familiar script before he followed through with his morning routine and put on the clothes his wife had left him. It was dark blue with gold, and a sense of nostalgia washed over Wufei as he struggled to button up the shirt. The little knots of fabric on the type of shirt were always difficult to slip through the little holes, but he finally managed and slipped on the new pair of black pants too.
Listening carefully, he set out to find Relena and heard some sounds in the living room.
Stepping in, he stared in shock. The whole room was transformed; there were flowers, a potted plant overflowing with fruit and a large, hand-sewn picture of a single Chinese word.
A scroll hung on the right side, two four-word phrases reading well wishes written out carefully in black ink. Relena was standing on a chair on the left side, trying to hang up a matching scroll with different words.
Wufei moved forward silently, and rushed the last few steps when Relena yelped and almost fell over sideways, reaching to slip the scroll in place without knocking over the flowers in her way.
She looked up in surprise, then flushed. "You weren't supposed to see me!" she said.
"You could have hurt yourself," he scolded, letting her straighten but not letting her go.
"I wanted this to be a surprise."
"It is." He noticed then, that she was wearing a pretty, pink shirt and that two of the stubborn buttons had slipped out of place. He slid them back into place and looked at Relena.
She suddenly clasped her hands together and recited, to the best of her ability, four, short phrases to wish him good health and prosperity, safety wherever he went, dreams to come true and to have energy in all his endeavours.
He smiled. "Happy New Year," he said. "Xin nian kuai le. Thank you, for the new clothes and for decorating this room, even if we need to flip the word upside down." He gestured to the decoration.
Relena's smile faltered. "What? Why?"
"The word is supposed to be like this," Wufei explained. "But to flip it upside down means fortune is coming. It's a pun off the Chinese words 'to arrive' and 'to flip upside down'. But you couldn't have known. I'll fix it after breakfast."
She smiled. "I invited Heero and Duo over for lunch, is that okay? Heero said he'd bring over some turnip cake, already fried." She looked worried. "Do we have to give out red pockets? I mean, married couples do that, right?"
"Yes, they do, but no, we don't. We give red pockets to those younger than we are, and they are considered equals."
"Oh." Relena smiled sheepishly, then gestured to the pile of red pockets on the table. "I guess I got them for nothing?"
Wufei smiled. "It could be to show good faith and well wishes. We can still give them out."
She lit up. "Great!"
He pulled her close then, and smiled. "This is the first time I've celebrated the New Year in four years," Wufei said. The last time he had done so had been before the war, before his colony and clan had been decimated. After that, there hadn't been much to celebrate alone, and Wufei had never really bothered. Now, he realized that he missed the smells of the flowers and the lucky symbols that had been a large part of his childhood.
"This is the first time I've ever celebrated the New Year," Relena replied. "Am I doing okay?"
"More than okay," Wufei assured her. "Did you sew the fortune sign?"
She nodded, and Wufei knew that it must have taken her a long, long time to get it done, especially when she did it without his knowing. "And I wrote the words, although I'm sure your calligraphy would be much nicer."
"It's perfect as it is," Wufei murmured, reading the words Relena had written.
"Perfect enough to make this a new tradition for us?"
Wufei smiled. "If you don't mind, I would love to take part in this celebration again, with you."
"You'll teach me more about it, and some more calligraphy?"
Wufei nodded. "So...this where I get to give you good wishes too."
"Is it?" Relena asked.
"I wish you the best of health, everlasting beauty, dreams come true..." He leaned closer. "And maybe a baby for us?"
She flushed and hit his arm. "That isn't something you say, is it?"
"No," he admitted. "But you wished that my dreams could come true, and I'm merely telling you what one of those dreams happens to be. And it should be something to say, because I'd bet a lot of mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, even friends would wish for it. Think about celebrating this with our children..."
Relena stepped into Wufei's embrace again, leaning into his warmth and strength. "It will happen in time, and when it does, we'll have some new traditions again," she said softly. "So for now, let's just enjoy this."
"I already am."
OWARI
Back to Zazu's Fanfictions Page