So Very Beautiful

-----part 1-----

Relena blushed at the gasps of onlookers as she strolled along the beach with 
Heero, Quatre, and a few of her friends from school.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful in all my life," one beachgoer praised.

"You said it," another agreed. "That is definitely proof there is a god of some 
kind out there. You don't get beauty this intense from random acts of nature."

"I wish they'd stop," Relena whispered to one of the girls who had come along 
with her. "It's awfully embarrassing."

The girl scanned the beach and nearly forgot how to speak for a moment when her 
eyes fell upon the shoreline. 

"I don't think they're talking about you, Relena." 

Relena turned and gasped.

Duo had been surfing for some time before the others had arrived and was resting 
on the shoreline. His hair was out of its customary braid and he was kneeling 
there, his surfboard nearby, breathing in the ocean breeze with his face tilted 
up, enjoying the sunshine. 

Relena's friends wondered if Duo knew just how sensual he looked in that pose.

Relena looked over at Heero and saw the way he was gawking. Belatedly, she put 
her hand in front of his eyes. 

"Come along, Heero," she said, haughtily.

"I think I'll just stand here and enjoy the view." Heero told her.

"Heero, I'll let you stand there and enjoy the view if you can admit one thing ... 
not just to me, but to everyone in the group." Relena challenged.

"If you expect me to admit I'm in love with you, forget it," Heero told her, "because 
I'm not."

"Actually," Relena smiled, looking over at Duo, "I want you to admit that you're 
in love with him." 

-----part 2----- 

"You want an admission of my love for Duo?" Heero blinked. Had he just heard 
Relena correctly.

"If you can tell him, in front of everyone, not just in some dark alley where 
you can deny it later, that you love him," Relena told him, "then I'll step out 
of the way. I promise."

Relena waved her arm to indicate the crowd. "And everyone here heard me say that. 
No backing out of it for me, either."

Heero nodded. Then walked over to Duo.

Wondering eyes turned from every corner of the beach to see if the youth in 
spandex had the courage to speak to the wondrous beauty.

Heero knelt in front of Duo and took the other boy's hands in his own. Part of 
him kept reminding him that he shouldn't be doing this in public; that there 
were still many people who did not understand and who hated people who were gay. 
Heero didn't consider himself gay, he just considered himself in love with Duo 
Maxwell. Gay was, in his mind, something that had to do with sex. This wasn't 
sex. It was love. Oh, there would be sex involved of course, when Duo was ready. 
But it was more than just that. It's a combination of the love an older sibling 
feels for a younger one, the love of two best friends, the camaraderie of two 
soldiers fighting side by side, the untainted desire of two virgins each 
dreaming of that promised ecstasy as they looked into each other's eyes for the 
first time...

It took a moment for Heero to realize that that was exactly what they were doing. 
He had been working up his courage to tell Duo how he felt and hadn't noticed 
that the other boy's eyes had opened.

"Yes?" Duo asked, his eyes sparkling dewily as he gazed into the eyes of the 
Perfect Soldier.

"Ai shiteru, Duo-chan." Heero said, softly, as he leaned forward to kiss Duo.

Duo leaned into the kiss, his breath trembling as his lips made contact with 
Heero's for the first time.

Relena removed the shimmering white sun shawl she'd been wearing and draped it 
over Duo's head like a bridal veil.

"As Queen of the World," she declared, "I unite these two in marriage. Let no 
one come between them from this moment on."

Tears of joy fell from Duo's eyes. Neither boy had expected this impromptu 
wedding, but neither of them objected to it.

"You make a very beautiful bride, Duo-chan." Heero whispered. 

-----Owari-----