Dragons on the Doorstep
~*~ V
“Dragons don’t do ‘weddings’ like Iria means,” said Wufei that night, as they readied themselves for bed. “We claim a Chosen publicly and that’s that. No officiants, no guests, no religious trappings. I think I’m getting worried about what our wedding would consist of…” He shrugged nervously. “Religion doesn’t figure in our lives.”
“Nor in mine. I’m a Healer and an empath and a minor magician; I don’t have the spell width for religion. The kingdom is not particularly religious anyway.”
“Um… Good..?”
Quatre laughed. “Yes, good.” He pulled Wufei to him, and kissed him deeply. “How about if we just speak out the words and then do the ceremony for the kingdom and be done with it all?”
“Oh, that sounds excellent! But when? And what is an auspicious date?”
“It’s whatever I want it to be,” Quatre grinned. “Since I am, you know, the king.”
“What does a human wedding consist of?”
“Hm… we need someone to ask a few formal questions, then we answer, then they pronounce us married.”
“That seems simple enough for me.”
“Cheek!” laughed Quatre. “If I can figure it out, I know you can! Let's do yours first. That'll give us confidence.”
“Good idea. I can always use confidence.” He took Quatre’s hand. “Tomorrow?”
“ Mm… What about the day after? Tomorrow is shopping day, remember. I'll throw a dart at the calendar and we'll have our auspicious date for the kingdom wedding.”
~*~
The day after next, they exchanged “Chosens” before their friends and colleagues at the collective and celebrated with cake and rice wine. A week and a half later, the kingdom celebrated the marriage of their king and his consort with cake and fine spirits.
Not much changed after their marriage. They divided their lives between the collective and the kingdom. At some point, the Vizier noticed that the treasury was growing faster than seemed normal. Quatre took great pleasure in informing her that the kingdom, in the person of the king, was now linked to a money manager who was famous among dragons for growing wealth. Iria checked into the levels of the treasury and allowed as how the dragons were welcome in the kingdom any time.
Quatre decided to make good use of that extra money by hiring four more Healers, including one child specialist. To that end he began sorting through the applications he'd brought home with him. Of the 38 he had, fourteen were rejected immediately, mostly for mundane reasons such as lack of practical experience. The remaining 24 were gone over with a fine-tooth comb, and seven more were rejected for temperament. Four of those were given the suggestion that they apply to Rive Bartonn, as the town desperately needed Healers and they seemed like they would fit in there better than at the kingdom. They would also work with the settlement.
Iria set appointments for the remaining applicants to be interviewed two weeks hence, along with practical demonstrations of their abilities. Quatre and Wufei spent a week at the collective, mostly being lazy, and sleeping late. They shopped, without buying much, and ate at the sushi stall every day. Quatre considered new hobbies, reading books on various crafts and consulting with Duo for ideas. Duo decided that he needed to have hobbies as well. His choice for mindless entertainment was to pick up a hook and yarn and promptly crochet a blanket for his son - who still didn’t have a name, dammit! - and a hat for Heero.
On one shopping trip, Duo made a great show of asking Quatre and Wufei what colors they liked best. He then slipped away from them and came back with a bulging bag of yarn, along with several new tools, looking unbelievably smug.
Wufei and Quatre traded looks and smiled at the industrious Kewpie, knowing exactly what he was up to.
Quatre found himself drawn to ceramics and clay. The idea of making a bowl or vase appealed to him. He was aware it might not look like he expected, but it would be his, from beginning to end and he could look upon it proudly. As a child, his father considered hobbies to be a waste of time. Quatre should be spending his time learning to be king, he decreed, but as it turned out, being king came as naturally to him, as his Healing did. Quatre had thought that the old king was not pleased with how quickly he picked up on his training and duties, as if it should have been harder. As if he should have had to struggle to learn the duties of a king, and Quatre often wondered if it was harder for his father to learn those duties. As if the old king was hard on him because he was jealous of how easy it was for his only son. Of course, Quatre never dared ask that question; the very idea of questioning his father about something like that was absurd.
He forgot about all that for the moment, and continued on signing paperwork for the kingdom and in between signatures, sketching designs he would like to try to make. He glanced at the clock. His ceramics tutor was due in twenty minutes. He returned to his sketching, humming to himself. He was setting up a kiln and a wheel at the kingdom and also at the collective so that he could relax at the end of whatever stressful days may occur.
Wufei spent the week in the kingdom with the Vizier, learning what, if any, duties he was expected to fulfill as the Consort. To his relief, he was mostly expected just to support the king, in whatever way the king needed. Wufei could certainly do that, and with joy. He couldn’t say that to Iria, though. He felt that mentioning their very satisfactory sex life was a bridge too far for his sister-in-law.
He did find his king’s fascination with making clay and ceramic items charming, and determined that he would be infinitely supportive. He watched as the tutor walked Quatre through the stages to creation and applied hands-on instruction to prepare and work with the clay. At one point, Quatre called for him to come and help with… something… on the wheel. He was happy to put his hands where they showed him and move them as the instructor ordered and to pump the wheel. He had no illusions of anything coming of his own attempt at creativity and he wasn’t disappointed. He did, however, praise his Chosen for his own ability to make a… whatever it was? A bowl…? Or a vase…? Could be either. Maybe it was a cufflink dish. Whatever it was, it was Quatre’s and he would love it for that reason alone.
A great deal of laughter accompanied the creation of the ceramic whatsis and whatever it was, it pleased Quatre. They adjourned after the end of the session and went to the king’s suite where Quatre grabbed a few potatoes and a pot and began making potato soup.
“I will never get over the king making us potato soup in our quarters,” Wufei laughed. “We could go to the dining room, you know.”
“I know,” laughed his Chosen. “But I felt like potato soup. It’s winter at the collective and I feel like I should be eating something hot and filling.”
“Hm… You know… we could invite Heero and Duo to visit for dinner. It’s been a whole nine days since we’ve seen the baby. When do you think they’ll get around to naming the little guy?”
“I’ve been wondering that for the last two months. I’m beginning to think they aren’t going to name him at all!” He set about peeling the potatoes. “Would you visit the kitchen and ask the chef for the other ingredients, my love? Do you have the list?”
“I have committed them to memory. And I will call Heero and invite them. I’m sure they'll come.” On his way to the kitchen, he tapped his sapphire earring. “Heero, my friend. Would you and Duo like to come to dinner tonight? Quatre is making potato soup and feeling nostalgic for winter.”
“That’s just a little bizarre, you know. But we’ll come. Duo has been having withdrawal pains and wants to see his best friend and show off his latest project.”
“Excellent!” Wufei laughed. “And when are you going to name that child? So I can stop calling him ‘the baby’.”
“Um… Well, we’re trying out different names to see what fits him. No luck so far.”
“Try harder!”
“I’ll tell Duo. We’ll see you at six your time.”
“We’ll be ready.”