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Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing and am making no money off of this fic.
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(Not) Drinking the Kool-Aid by luvsanime02
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Wufei makes a face at the peach flavor of the cocktail in his hand, but it’s either this or nothing, and Wufei has to have something to drink in order to survive this party.
Well, more of a family gathering than a party. Wufei doesn’t think that his family has actually hosted a party, ever. Formal family gatherings, though, where Wufei is subjected to fruity peach drinks instead of something plain, are unfortunately much more common.
Wufei didn’t have to come. He could have just hidden away at work and pretended to be too busy to show up, but if Wufei does that one more time, he’s pretty sure that his mother is going to start ambushing Wufei at his apartment, and nothing could be worse than that.
So, he’s here, and so far, the only interesting thing to happen is Wufei’s father trying a sip of his own peach cocktail before pointedly setting it down as far away from his plate as possible. Wufei struggles to keep a straight face. His mother notices, and for a moment, Wufei is sure that she’s going to berate his father, but she just picks up the glass and starts drinking it instead.
He never understands those two.
Looking away from them, Wufei glances back over the gathering of his cousins and their cousins and in-laws and nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles and-
Wufei is probably only blood-related to half the people in the community hall, but they’re all family in one way or another. Wufei loves them all, but there’s only a few members of his family that he actually likes, and none of them are here yet.
He sighs quietly. Wufei really hopes that at least a few people show up who he can talk to, because otherwise, his mother is just going to start setting him up with some of the younger women again. No one too closely related, of course, but frankly, Wufei considers anyone present to be too closely related, and even if he didn’t, he still knows all of the women here, especially the ones around his age.
The only female cousin of his that Wufei can stand is currently attending university halfway around the world, so sadly, Wufei’s well out of luck there.
As it is, he’s tired. Despite using work as an excuse to get out of the last few gatherings, Wufei wasn’t exactly lying. He works long hours as a paralegal, and goes to classes in the meantime, still working towards his law degree. He has zero spare time for a social life of his own these days, let alone tagging along to one of these things.
Right now, he’s been awake for over thirty hours, hasn’t even showered in more than that, and he really wants to be back in his apartment wearing sweats and eating something quick before passing out. Maybe taking a quick shower if he’s feeling awake enough not to drown. He has to be up far too early tomorrow, as usual, to get some research in before going to work, and instead of using this time to relax, Wufei is standing off to the side of the hall while holding a glass of some peach-flavored cocktail and dressed in a nice button-down shirt and some slacks.
Briefly, Wufei debates leaving early, but his mother is already giving Wufei a look, and he knows that he can’t remain a wallflower any longer. With a sigh, Wufei plunges into the throng of people, nodding and smiling and saying as little as possible. Luckily, most everyone he speaks to seems only too happy to fill in the silence for him.
He dances with a few of his cousins, because if he does not, there will be remarks about how he’s getting too old to not be looking for a wife and that he should settle down already. Wufei doesn’t have the time to even think about dating right now, let alone anything else, but him dancing with a few young women will keep his mother off of his back for now, and that’ll have to be good enough.
His father hasn’t spoken to Wufei yet about settling down, and so Wufei knows that his mother can’t be too anxious about it just yet, but Wufei is well aware that he’s their only child and that his mother wants grandchildren and that most people his age are pairing off, if they haven’t already done so.
Another dance ends, and Wufei flees the floor as quickly as possible. He figures that he’s put in enough time and is edging towards where his parents are seated when someone tugs on his ponytail.
Only one person has ever done that to him. Wufei turns around, and yes, there’s Meilan, smirking up at him. He can’t believe she’s here. “Look at you,” she says, “being all sociable.”
Wufei rolls his eyes. Still, he’s grateful to see her. “My mother’s been getting worried lately,” he explains briefly, not wanting to go into the whole thing.
Meilan only nods. “Mine, too,” she says, frowning now. “It’s why I’m here, instead of enjoying my break by being, you know, anywhere but here.”
Wufei snorts in agreement. He’s missed how blunt she can be. “So, what was it? Guilt or bribery?” he asks. Wufei’s aunt is a shrewd woman who’s always been determined to get her way, and Wufei has no doubt that she used whatever means she could think of to ‘persuade’ Meilan to show up tonight.
“Both,” Meilan answers, shrugging. Wufei starts to ask her about her classes, but then he notices that his mother and aunt are sitting together, their heads bent close as they whisper back and forth, and that can’t be good.
“Let’s dance while we talk,” Wufei suggests instead. “Otherwise, I think we’re going to be double-dating with whoever they think to throw at us,” he finishes, gesturing at their mothers still huddled together.
His father, sitting close enough to hear them, is beginning to look amused, and okay, now it’s really time to move further away from them. Meilan follows his eyes and grimaces, and the two of them start dancing.
“How’s school?” he asks, now that the immediate danger has passed. He’s aware, though, that they’re both on borrowed time. Neither his mother or his aunt will let Wufei and Meilan catching up with each other hold off their plans for too long.
“Pretty good,” Meilan offers. “I’ve got the core stuff out of the way now, finally, so I can focus on the classes that actually, you know, matter to my degree.”
Social justice. And Wufei can’t believe that’s an actual degree, but he’s not at all surprised that Meilan’s going to school for something like that. For as long as he’s known her, which is basically their entire lives, Meilan has always been willing to throw herself into one cause after the other. Always passionate and willing to help and demanding the same from others. Wufei can’t count the number of times she dragged him along to some protest or other.
Wufei is immensely proud of his cousin, but he doesn’t know where she finds the energy, to be honest.
“Made any friends there?” he asks, and unlike their parents, Wufei isn’t trying to hint that Meilan should be dating someone already. He knows that she hasn’t made any real friends during the first couple of years at her school, because she’s too driven and too stubborn and too smart for most people. Still, he hopes that changes for her.
Not that Wufei has any room to talk. His small handful of friends haven’t seen him in weeks, he’s been so busy lately. He’s lucky that they haven’t given up on him entirely just yet.
Meilan shakes her head. “There’s a woman in my human rights class who seems pretty cool, but she’s just transferred, so I haven’t gotten to know her well yet,” she says.
Transferring in the middle of the semester? Ouch. Wufei internally winces in sympathy for the woman. That has to be hard.
They chat a little more, but Wufei is more than tired by now, and he really just wants to leave. When he says that he’s going, Meilan walks over to their parents with him. “Maybe they won’t make a scene about me disappearing if I’m leaving with you,” she says, and it’s as good an idea as any.
Surprisingly, his mother doesn’t put up any fuss, which has Wufei immediately suspicious. He knows that she won’t say anything about it if he asks her outright, though, and one glance at his father tells Wufei that he’s still too amused by whatever his mother is planning now to say anything, either.
Wufei lets it go, because he’s still getting to leave, and that means he can go back to his apartment, which is all that he really wants at the moment.
Meilan lets out a loud sigh of relief once they’re finally outside, and Wufei laughs, even though he completely agrees. “You staying home for long?” he asks, because he really does want to see more of his cousin before she heads back to school.
She nods. “A few days,” she replies. “Hey, can I stay at your place while I’m here? I’d like to avoid the eventual lecture about not seriously looking for a guy to settle down with for as long as possible.”
Wufei shrugs. “Sure,” he says, having nothing against her staying for a few days at his apartment. “Just so you know, though, I’m passing out when we get to my place.”
Meilan nods, suddenly looking just as tired as Wufei feels. “Me, too,” she admits. “I need to go back home quick to pick up my suitcase, and then I’ll be over. I’m still jet lagged.”
Her mother must have made Meilan come to their family gathering almost directly from the airport. “See you there,” he says, and suddenly, Wufei is glad that he gave into his mother’s demands and came tonight. Sure, he’s tired, and now his feet hurt from dancing and he has a headache building behind his eyes, but he still wouldn’t have wanted to miss the chance to see Meilan.
Exhausted or not, Wufei is really looking forward to the next few days now.