It was Christmas Eve, and Wufei slowly pulled his four-wheel drive SUV into the driveway, parking it just behind three others, and frowned softly to himself, "Wonderful. I'm the last one to arrive." He sighed, "Well, no turning back now." He turned off the car, dropping the keys into his pocket, and picked up the plastic bag in the passenger seat. Opening his door, he cautiously stepped out of his car, closing the door behind him, and slowly trudging up to the door of the somewhat small house he'd come to. Of course, it was only small when one compared it to the mansions that Quatre and Relena owned, which is where Wufei usually went when visiting the other pilots.

Stomping his feet on the doorstep, he raised a hand, and rang the doorbell, a little smile on his lips, 'Duo certainly has good taste in houses, at the very least. Maybe this won't be so bad.'

A moment later, the door opened, a grinning Duo, wearing green pants and a red sweater, with green and red ribbon braided into his hair, greeted Wufei. "Hey, Wu! Come on in! I was worried you might not make it with the blizzard that hit yesterday." He offered cheerfully, stepping aside as Wufei stepped in.

"You'll probably want to arrange these under your tree." Wufei offered, holding up the plastic bag, which held five small gifts, each meticulously wrapped and ribboned, labeled in neat cursive writing. He slipped his jacket off, hanging it on the coat rack with all the others, bending over to take his boots off.

"Sure thing, Wu!" He replied exuberantly, dashing out to the nearby living room, where the other three pilots and Relena were currently holding a conversation.

Sighing softly, Wufei stepped out of the shoe port, and up onto soft carpet, walking to the doorway of the living room, and hesitating a moment, unsure of how to integrate himself into the conversation.

Relena spotted Wufei, and laughed gleefully, promptly walking over, and planting a kiss on his lips.

Black eyes went wide at the quick peck, his cheeks flushing from the pink Jack Frost had left there to a full-blown red, "R-Relena?" He asked, clearly confused.

Quatre laughed, pointing at the arch of the doorway, "Look up, Wufei." He replied happily.

Looking up, Wufei raised an eyebrow, "Why on earth would someone hang a plant there, and what does it have to do with what your wife just did?" He asked, attention shifting as Duo came over.

Slinging an arm around Wufei's shoulder, he gently led the other pilot into the room, "That plant, Wufei, is called a mistletoe. It's Christmas tradition that anyone standing under a mistletoe is supposed to get a kiss." Duo replied warmly, "Which is why it's perfectly okay for Relena to kiss you without getting herself into trouble with Quatre."

"Mistletoe? I see. I hadn't seen a live one before." He replied, his blush slowly subsiding.

Duo nodded, promptly plopping a Santa hat on Wufei's head, grinning, "Want some punch, 'Fei?" He asked warmly, releasing the Altron pilot, and heading over to the stereo, hitting a button, and Christmas music began filling the room.

"Sure." Wufei replied, slipping his hands into his pockets, and much to Duo's pleasure, left the Santa hat on his head without complaint as he greeted the others properly.

Soon, they'd all settled into the chairs and sofa in front of the fireplace, chatting and laughing, catching up on what had happened between them all over the last year.

When he was returning from another trip to the kitchen for some cookies, Duo paused in the doorway, "Come and get 'em!" He called with a cheeky grin.

Laughing, Relena came up, giving Duo a quick peck as she took a cookie, then returned to her seat, Heero, Trowa, and Quatre following suit, though they gave Duo his kiss on the cheek.

Noticing this small variation, Wufei raised an eyebrow, coming up to get his own cookie, picking up a snowman shaped sugar cookie, and smirking at Duo, "You're certainly lingering under that mistletoe." He offered, then leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to Duo's cheek, though it was a bit closer to the lips than any of the other pilots' had been. He quickly retreated to the couch again, taking a bite of the cookie.

Duo strolled into the room, a lopsided grin on his face, and a little blush rising on his cheeks as he set the cookie tray down on the coffee table, "So who's up for a Christmas movie?"

"As long as it's not White Christmas again." Heero replied, shaking his head a little.

"Nah, I was thinking more along the lines of The Santa Clause." Duo replied with a grin.

"You enjoy those twentieth and twenty-first century films far too much, Duo." Wufei offered with a chuckle, taking another bite of his cookie.

"You actually know of the movie?" Duo asked, eyebrows rising.

"I have a lot of free time." Wufei replied evasively. Truth was, he'd actually taken to watching the movies of the era Duo seemed to adore, simply because Duo adored them. 'I'm so pathetic. I can't have him, so I obsess over things he likes.' Wufei gave a soft sigh as that thought ran through his mind, popping the rest of the cookie into his mouth.

Duo grinned, pulling out an old DVD, and slipping it into a large, boxy machine that was hooked up to the T.V. (A.k.a. the DVD player), and hit a few buttons. An opening sequence later, and he hit one more button, starting the movie. He then turned off the radio, turned out the lights, and plopped onto the couch next to Wufei.

Fifteen minutes into the movie, Duo shifted, his hand falling onto the couch between himself and Wufei, though he didn't seem to notice.

Wufei, however, was acutely aware of the closeness of that hand, and leaned forward, plucking another sugar cookie from the tray on the coffee table as an excuse to move. When he leaned back again, his left hand dropped to his side, bumping lightly against Duo's, taking a bite from his cookie, and sneaking a glance at Duo out of the corner of his eyes.

A little smile had risen on Duo's lips, but his hand remained where it was, fingers shifting a bit, to rub against Wufei's.

Hope blossomed in the Asian's heart, 'I hope I didn't imagine that.' He smiled, taking another bite from his cookie, his fingers moving in reply to Duo's.

During this subtle attempt of both Duo and Wufei to figure out where their relationship stood, and where it could go, the other pilots and Relena burst out laughing in reaction to the movie, fully oblivious to the shy courtship occurring on the couch.

By the middle of the movie, Duo and Wufei had gotten around to holding hands, Duo's thumb brushing gently, steadily over the back of Wufei's hand.

Wufei glanced over at Duo again, once more from the corner of his eyes, blushing brightly as he found the American doing the same, and shyly averted his eyes.

Rubbing his thumb a bit more firmly over Wufei's hand, Duo turned his head to peer at Wufei's face, patiently waiting.

Slowly, Wufei turned his own head, eyes nervously shifting up to look into Duo's. Relief flooded through him when Duo gave him a wide smile, the very one that always made him feel as if he were melting. He returned it with one of his own, for once not making it tight or modest, just letting the smile draw the corners of his mouth up, feeling a bit more at ease.

Duo relaxed, casting a glance around at the others, to be sure that they were properly distracted, before raising Wufei's hand with his own, pressing a soft kiss to the back of the Chinese man's hand, and lowering their hands again before anyone noticed.

It was a little late, however, Heero tapping Trowa's shoulder once, giving a tiny gesture towards Duo and Wufei.

Trowa smiled as he watched the kiss delivered to Wufei's hand, eyes shifting up to Heero's, and giving a soft nod of approval that the two had finally begun to make their moves.

When the movie ended, Duo reluctantly got up, hand sliding free of Wufei's, turning off the DVD, and flicking on the lights.

Relena yawned softly into her hand, "Oh, my! I don't know about anyone else, but I'm quite tired. I hope you don't mind if I turn in a bit early, Duo." She offered warmly.

"Not at all. Take your pick of the guest bedrooms." Duo replied with a grin.

"That reminds me, I'd better get my overnight bag out of my car." Wufei added abruptly, getting up, "I'll be back in a moment."

"I think I'll going to go to bed, as well." Trowa offered, getting up and heading off to the hall where the guest bedrooms were, Relena following just behind.

Wufei moved to the shoe port, slipping his boots back on, and grabbing his jacket. He put a hand in his pocket, making sure his keys were still there. He was mildly surprised when a white pompom dipped into his view, and he smiled as he realized he was still wearing the Santa hat Duo had put on his head. Chuckling softly, he turned, walking out the door, and back to his SUV.

"So you two are finally making moves." Heero offered, smirking at Duo as he lounged in an armchair.

"What do you mean by that?" Duo asked, a blush lighting his face.

Quatre chuckled, "Oh, come on. You two have been sneaking glances at each other for years now. It's about time you figured out that you both like each other." He replied with a smirk.

"And yes, you both really are that obvious." Heero added, "Even Relena had noticed."

Duo scratched gently at the base of his braid, still blushing fervently, "Yeah, well, don't say anything about it, okay? We've gotta work this out for ourselves." He replied softly, giving a soft sigh of dismay.

"Fine, if that's what you want." Quatre replied, rolling his eyes lightly.

"Hn." Was Heero's only comment.

Just then, the front door opened again, Wufei returning to the house, hanging his coat up again, and pulling off his boots. He walked back into the living room, duffel slung over a shoulder.

"Do you even know how to pack light, Wufei?" Quatre asked, an eyebrow rising.

"It's the only bag I have that my sword would fit in." He replied with a soft frown, "I can't do my kata without my sword. There's really not much in here."

Heero smirked, glancing above Wufei's head, and giving Duo a nudge.

Glancing up, Wufei blushed again, giving a sheepish smile as Duo came forward after being nudged, placing a soft kiss to Wufei's cheek.

"I'll go pick out a guest bedroom, and drop my bag off in there." He offered, quickly making his way back out of the room, and down the hall.

"Heero." Duo scowled, turning to face the Wing pilot.

He shrugged in reply, "I'm going to bed." He replied simply, and walked after Wufei.

Quatre, on the other hand, popped a disc into the stereo, chuckling as he programmed it, then glanced over at the clock, "Why, look at the time! It's almost midnight. I think I'll head to bed, too." He offered, hitting the play button, and walking out of the room, passing Wufei as he did.

Raising an eyebrow as he entered the living room, Wufei looked over to Duo, "Is it just me, or was Quatre giving me a 'you've fallen into my trap' smirk?"

Duo sighed, "It's not just you." He replied, shaking his head as the song began playing on the stereo.

Wufei blushed softly, "And now I think I understand why." He replied, hands picking lightly at his pockets as butterflies sprung to life in his belly.

"Yeah. It's almost midnight now." Duo offered, blushing right back.

Wufei swallowed heavily once, a hand coming up, finally removing the Santa hat as he walked towards the other doorway of the room, the one the mistletoe was above. He glanced at the clock, which glowed red at him, 11:58.

Duo followed, giving Wufei a little smile as he leaned on the wall, glancing at the clock as he waited, silently praying that neither of them would chicken out at the last minute, which it already was. The clock glowed, 11:59

The number on the clock changed, glowing 12:00 at the two anxious pilots, and slowly, Wufei moved forward, standing below the mistletoe, and swallowing heavily.

Duo came forward, hands shyly moving to rest on Wufei's hips, and slowly, he leaned forward, though he couldn't quite bring himself to bridge the gap between their lips.

A second later, though, and Wufei's arms had slid around Duo, and throwing caution to the wind, he took a leap of faith, pressing his lips softly to Duo's.

Duo relaxed, his eyes closing as he returned the kiss softly, his arms sliding forward to hold Wufei close more firmly as the song Quatre'd put on the stereo came to an end.

Savoring the kiss, feeling the butterflies in his stomach subside, Wufei moved his arms up, to wind them around Duo's neck rather than his waist, another song beginning on the stereo. This one was another old Christmas song; an upbeat version of All I Want for Christmas is You.

Slowly, Duo broke the kiss, smiling at Wufei as he began swaying lightly to the song, not bothering to break the peaceful silence between them.

Slowly, Wufei's eyes opened, returning Duo's warm smile, and matched the other's swaying, a hand sliding down Duo's arm, taking the other's hand in his own, and began leading Duo in a Waltz to the time of the song.

A grin brightened Duo's face farther as he followed the other pilot's lead, dancing around the coffee table, across the living room.

Wufei abruptly halted, however, nearly falling over as he saw their audience. A bright blush flared up on his face, and he swallowed heavily.

Trowa, Heero, Quatre, and Relena stood in the second doorway, and began clapping as Duo looked back at them.

A bright blush flushed Duo's face as he looked at them, a frown finding its way onto his lips, "You planned this, didn't you?" He asked accusingly.

"Don't bother being mad at us." Quatre replied with a smirk, "After all, if we hadn't stepped in, you and Wufei would be exchanging glances for the rest of your lives, and never making a move."

"He has a point." Wufei conceded with a sigh, averting his eyes to the carpet.

Duo just shook his head, using a hand to tip Wufei's head up lightly, "Well, then, we'll just have to keep them from pulling another stunt like this, and just admit what we feel." He offered, in a move that was so bold, he surprised himself.

The blush gracing the Chinese man's face darkened, and he gave a nod, "I think I can do that." He offered, and leaned in for another kiss.

More applause reached Duo's ears as he wound his arms around the other pilot's waist again, returning the kiss eagerly.

The next few hours was spent with the respective couples moving to Duo's 'exercise' room, which was just a plain room with a hardwood floor and no furnishings other than the decorations on the walls, programming Christmas music into the stereo, and dancing around the room.

They all rose late on Christmas morning, Duo getting the turkey into the oven, then putting the Santa hat back on Wufei's head, and passing around the presents. The day was filled with laughter and jokes, and everyone was pleased to see that Duo and Wufei were finally allowing themselves to be as close as they'd wanted, cuddling on the couch as they opened presents, kissing each other unashamedly as they went out of their way to find reasons to pass under the mistletoe.

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