"Is the war really over?" Relena asked.

Members from all sides of the war sat in the MO-II resource satellite's conference room, discussing the terms of the new treaty. Though none of them were directly involved, they still wished to understand the terms since they were the ones who had fought for it. Lady Une had already left the satellite to confer with the colony representatives.

Noin sat beside Relena, her eyes still sad. She was not sure if Zechs was alive or dead, but she held the words Arys had spoken to her close to her heart.

"He's alive; I know he is..." Noin kept murmuring under her breath.

Relena glanced at Noin worriedly. "Noin?"

Lucrezia Noin raised her head to see Relena's violet eyes fastened on her face. "I'm fine, Relena."

"What I'm wondering is how the Earth and the colonies are going to arrange for peace. They've been at each other's throats for so long, they may not remember what it was like to even have peace." Sally leaned back in her chair, eyeing Relena. Wufei sat next to her and he nodded in agreement with her words.

Relena shook her head. "The Earth and the colonies have to learn, Sally. Fair trade and equal treatment will more than likely bring about an agreement."

"I think we need some kind of organization that exists for the sole purpose of keeping the peace," Noin said with conviction.

Sally glanced at her friend. "You mean, something that basically exists to extinguish any skirmishes that occur."

"Exactly."

Relena nodded. "That would help. An agency that identifies the spark and then takes care of it before it can become a wildfire. What would you call such an organization?"

Sally smiled at Relena and then leaned back in her chair with a knowing look in her eye. "The Preventers."

Duo spoke up. For once he had actually been listening instead of talking, but at this point, he had to give his opinion. He stood to his feet. "I, for one, just want some peace and quiet for a while."

Noin put a hand on Duo's shoulder. "Duo, we're not asking you Gundam pilots to help us in this endeavor. Having you as part of the agency would be an incredible boost, but we're not going to make you do this."

Duo looked relieved. "Good. Maybe later I could handle something like what the Preventer agency is all about, but not right now." He sat back down.

Quatre looked doubtful. "With my father gone, someone needs to run the Winner corporation." He shrugged. "That someone's me."

Duo patted Quatre on the back. "No sweat, Quatre. You could help out with your resources."

Quatre brightened. "That's right!" He turned to Sally and Noin. "Whenever you need help financially, I can provide the money!"

Sally and Noin looked at each other and then back at Quatre. Noin nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Trowa's quiet voice came from the far end of the table. "I have a job at the circus, and Katherine needs me."

Wufei snorted under his breath, but Duo glared at the Chinese boy warningly. Wufei covered up the snort with a cough.

"Wufei?" Sally gazed at him expectantly.

Wufei waved her off. "Sure, I'll join. I don't have anywhere else to go..." His voice trailed off bitterly.

Sally's eyes saddened, but Noin briskly nodded. She scanned the seats at the table and noticed that two people were still missing from their conference.

"Does anyone know where Heero and Arys are?" She asked.

Duo put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair casually. "Who knows with those two? They could be working on their Gundams, talking in the hallway outside the door, discussing enemy tactics, leaving the satellite via a...."

Everyone in the room turned and glared at Duo. "Shut up, Duo!"

Duo stopped talking for a moment, tilted his head arrogantly, and rolled his eyes at the group. "Sheesh. What'd I say?"

_______________

Arys stood in an observation lounge far away from the conference room. She gently caressed the glass of the viewport in front of her. The glass felt cold, with the vacuum of outer space. And hanging like an expensive Christmas ornament amongst the stars, Arys saw the Earth. They had just saved it from an ageless winter that would have killed every living thing on its surface. She traced the outline of one of the visible continents with a slender finger, following the coastline absently. It was so blue, so full of life. Arys wondered if she belonged there or in outer space. She had always lived in outer space though, in her mind, never on the Earth. Did she even deserve to live on such a planet? She who had killed so many and felt dead inside? Arys gripped her bandaged shoulder with the other hand; she had almost been killed herself.

"It's so beautiful..." Arys murmured, echoing the words she had heard Zechs say many times as he stood beside her in the stargazer room. She would never forget the wistful tone of his voice as he pointed out the location of the Cinq Kingdom, his home, or what had formerly been his home. Many of her fellow pilots believed Zechs to be dead, but Arys knew better. And she had seen the look in Noin's eyes. The former OZ soldier also knew that he was alive.

The sound of a door opening behind her interrupted her thoughts and Arys focused on the reflection of the approaching figure in the glass. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt, a welcome change from his usual outfit. He walked up beside her, not looking at her, instead staring out the viewport. Arys found herself closing her eyes in gratitude that he had lived, that he had come back to her. Who was she thanking? She didn't know. Outside, she thought she saw one of the stars wink at her. She smiled slightly.

Heero saw the slight upturning of her lips. He put a hand on the glass as she had done only a few minutes before. He pulled it away almost immediately, feeling the coldness of space on the other side of the glass. He turned his head to look down at her.

"Why are you smiling?"

Arys chuckled, low under her breath. "You kept your promise, Heero."

Heero's hand reached out for hers. He bent down to whisper, "I tried."

Arys squeezed his hand and turned so that she could see his eyes. They were dark and seemed to reflect the starlight flowing into the room from outer space.

The Soul of Outer Space.

"Quatre was right," She whispered back, her gray eyes searching his wonderingly. And with a certainty she had never felt before, she knew where she belonged. Not on Earth, but with this boy who was quickly becoming a man, who perhaps was already a man. She reached up to touch his cheek with her free hand. He took her hand. A man trapped in a boy's body. His eyes were so... old, so much older than they should have been.

"I can see myself in your eyes..." Heero said softly. "Not only a reflection of my face but of my inner self. You've seen too much, Arys, just as I have."

Arys nodded. "Yes..."

"I saw a picture of you when you were ten years old. What caught me were your eyes..." Heero's voice trailed off. "They were so... sad."

"We've both had to grow up too fast, Heero. The others as well." Arys lowered her gaze from his face. "It's very sad what this war has done to children like us."

Heero remained silent. Arys could feel his eyes boring into her and she shivered slightly. He released her hands and took her shoulders.

"Arys... I..."

Arys' head shot up and she pinned him with her steel gaze. He froze. "Heero, you came back because of me, didn't you?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "I never should have let you make that promise... What if you had failed the Earth because of me?"

Heero shook his head. "I did come back because of you and the promise I made, but there were other reasons..."

Arys put a finger to his lips. "You don't have to tell me, Heero. I trust you."

He looked down at her, wondering how he had ever lived before without the girl standing before him.

Arys' arms circled his neck. Her melancholy mood disappeared and she smiled at him. "What matters is that you succeeded and you survived." Her sharp tone softened, lowering to a husky whisper. "And I'm so glad."

Heero could not resist any longer and put his arms around her waist, drawing her close against him. Before bringing his lips to hers, he looked down into her eyes, feeling ready to drown in their gray depths. They were so soft, so inviting, and Heero took the invitation without hesitation. Both closed their eyes as their lips met, and both felt as if the world could have ended right there and neither would have noticed. Neither felt the need to say "I love you" because both already knew.

Duo walked into the observation lounge, a more-than-irritated look on his face. He glared at the couple standing by the viewport and then cleared his throat loudly. Heero and Arys broke apart and turned in each other's arms to glare at Duo. He stood by the door, tapping his foot impatiently. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"I knew it! I just knew it! I've been looking for you guys everywhere!"

Heero and Arys' eyes lost their angered look, and the two burst into laughter.

Duo looked confused and the anger faded from his eyes. "What'd I say?"