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Section 3: Peace at last… Right?


Amber

Duo sighed to himself as he watched the various piles of bags form around the room. Slowly, duffle bags and a few suitcases appeared around the room, waiting to be picked up by the departing members of their group. Of all the Gundams, he was the only one who wasn’t packing yet. Duo wanted to stay here until Hildi got out of the hospital, planning on heading to L2 as soon as she was well enough to travel. Everyone had nodded in understanding before going about finding all their possessions, and the atmosphere became increasingly melancholy and crushingly heavy as the piles continued to grow.

Wufei stood in front of the window, gazing out at the city around them, arms crossed over his chest, a depressed frown creasing his features. The Chinese boy decided it would be honorable of him to stay and say goodbye to his comrades formally as opposed to just up and leaving. Duo didn’t ask, but he thought that was just an excuse to stick around a bit longer. Though none of them would admit it, aloud at least, they had found sanctuary and safety with each other and didn’t want to give that up until they absolutely had to.

“So Wu-chan. Where you headed off to?” Duo asked with false flamboyancy.

“Back to my colony, to my clan. Why?”

“I don’t like the silence.” No plastic cheer lined that statement, instead it reeked of the dejection that had overcome the long haired American. For once Wufei had to agree with the braided idiot. The silence in the pent house was deafening and profound. The soft noises coming from the others as they packed just served to enhance the silence. Finally Heero emerged from his room and dropped his duffle on his small suitcase, and proceeded to sit on the sofa to wait for the others to finish. Duo watched him carefully, looking to see if his friend and partner was alright. His mask was back in place, that was for sure, but he seemed to be deep in thought, and was staring at the floor, at something far away.

After a moment Quatre and Trowa emerged from their room carrying their duffels and instrument cases, an air of apprehension close on their heals and spreading to saturate every inch of the room. Then, as they set their bags down, an even heavier silence fell on the group, a silence that seemed to smother every one of them, even Heero. Occasionally, someone would open their mouth but nothing would come out; none of them could seem to find the strength for force words through their constricted throats. Even the great Duo Maxwell was at a loss for words.

They all just stood there, trying not to look at one another, trying to figure out a way not to say goodbye but knowing that it was futile. An eternity of unbearable silence passed before Duo, the joking angel of death, finally opened his mouth, “Well Quatre, I know were in the midst of the silent brigade an’ all, but this is ridiculous.” Everyone, even Heero, cracked a smile at that. Leave it to Duo.

“Baka.” Heero muttered.

“That’s my middle name, don’t wear it out.”

“Can’t you ever be serious Maxwell.”

“Can’t you lighten up.” Trowa chuckled at the boy’s antics as he said that, and Duo gave a cheeky, plastic smile.

Silence tried to gain the upper hand again, and everyone wanted to do something to stop it but no one could figure out how. Finally Quatre stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Duo in a friendly hug, which the American teen returned.

“Tell Hilde I said Hi, will you?”

“Sure thing Quatre.” You could hear Duo’s smile leave his face as he spoke.

“And You…” He pulled back to look Duo in the eyes, “You take care of yourself, you hear, and stay out of trouble.”

“But trouble is what I do best.” There was no mirth in his statement, not even false mirth. Quatre smiled anyway.

“So… Any Idea where you’re going Heero?” Trowa asked. Anything to keep the silence at bay.

“I’ll go wherever my mind takes me. It’s about all I can to right now.”

“Hmm. Just one thing Heero,” Cobalt eyes met emerald for a moment, “Don’t forget what you told me. The only way to live a full life is to act on your emotions.” Heero nodded mutely.

“Ok, now for the mandatory rant about being weak because we don’t want to say goodbye from Wufei.” Duo said and all eyes turned to him and waited.

“Who said it’s mandatory. I don’t like saying goodbye any more than the next person.”

“Come on Wu-chan. Humor me. Please.” The plastic smile was back but the request was genuine.

Wufei considered the American for a moment, then considered how to go about it. He’d never had trouble ranting before. Well, Duo just asked him to humor them, not to be serious about it. Ok, here goes. “Well even if I don’t like it, real men shouldn’t have trouble just saying the words, turning around and not looking back. Weak women are the ones who like to make saying goodbye last forever.”

The group smiled slightly at the halfway decent rant, knowing it was all the Chinese boy could muster. Trowa looked up at the clock, looking for an excuse to leave.

“I guess we should say final goodbyes and get going Quatre. Or our plain is going to leave without us.” Quatre nodded in agreement, despite the fact that he owned the shuttle, and that they could leave whenever they wanted. Everyone else knew this as well, but no one said anything. Quatre turned to Heero.

“You take care of yourself, Ok. And stay away from the self destruct button.” Quatre said, and extended his hand which Heero took without hesitation.

“You take care of those sisters of yours.” Quatre looked surprised for a moment before he smiled and nodded.

“Look me up sometime, Heero. Ok.” The Perfect soldier nodded again and Quatre turned to Wufei.

The two faltered, not knowing what to say to each other. Finally, Wufei rested a hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder, looked him in the eye, and smiled kindly. Quatre returned the smile and they both nodded. Words weren’t necessary. Trowa and Heero shook hands and met eye to eye, again not saying anything. Words more often than not got in the way.

To Wufei, he suggested that he learn to respect women better, and the two exchanged handshakes. Duo saw them to the door and gave each a cocky joke before letting them go, complaining to Quatre that the Arabian was leaving him here with Heero and Wufei, causing the boy to smile as they disappeared around the corner. Duo stood in the doorway for a moment after they were gone. He hated this. He hated it with a passion.

Sighing he turned back inside to see Heero and Wufei also saying goodbyes. Unlike Quatre and Trowa, Wufei really did have to go if he wanted to get to the shuttle with time to spare. He watched as Wufei retrieved his stuff and moved towards the door, where Duo was waiting, and waited for the self proclaimed Shinigami to crack another joke. Duo, however, was at a loss for words. Damn he hated this. He hated the way his stomach was trying to tie itself in a knot. He opened his mouth for the mandatory smart-ass remark, but nothing came out.

“The Great Duo Maxwell is at a loss for words. The world is coming to an end.” Both boys were surprised at what Wufei just said.

“Hey. I’ve had to say too many goodbyes to people I care about just to have them die.” He replied sharply, surprised at his own outburst.

Wufei smiled then. “Well, I don’t think your going to have to worry about that Maxwell. The war is over. There’s no reason for us to die now. And It’s not like were never going to see one another again.”

Duo sighed and closed his eyes, letting that statement wash over him before looking up at the Lone Dragon and offering a weak but genuine smile. “Thanks Wu-chan. I needed that. Hey, take care of yourself, Ok.”

“You to… Shinigami.” They grinned at each other before Wufei headed towards the door. Heero watched as Duo seemed to wilt as the door closed, before picking himself back up again to face him.

“Now, what do I say to the perfect soldier.” He said, trying to keep the silence at bay.

Heero considered him evenly for a moment, trying to come to a decision. Finally he spoke to his distressed partner, wanting to ease this transition somehow.

“Would you like me to stay?” It was a simple question, but one that threw Duo completely aback. That was the last thing he had expected.

“W… What did you say?” he asked, not believing he heard what he thought he heard.

“Would you like me to stay? Until Hilde is well enough to travel. Unlike the others, I don’t have any particular destination in mind and I am not restricted to a time frame.” Duo stared at him for a moment before smiling, a small, but genuine smile of relief and gratitude.

“Thanks Heero. I would appreciate that a lot.” Heero nodded in understanding before reaching for his duffle and returning to his room. Please

“I’m here to retrieve my ticket to the L5 Cluster, Colony 23501, under the name Chang Wufei.” The Chinese Pilot told the ticket agent at the Sank Kingdom airport. The woman smiled and nodded politely, before she began typing on her computer to confirm a reservation under the aforementioned alias. Wufei sighed quietly, trying to keep from looking over his shoulder to scan for the Heavyarms and Sandrock pilots which were undoubtedly at this very airport, and forced himself to be patient while the woman worked.

He was going home.

It was almost a physical effort to keep his composed mask in place at that thought; so many emotions associated with that prospect, so many conflicting, confusing emotions. After a year of fighting, after a year of hardship and suffering, enduring shame and humiliation and isolation for so long, he was finally going home. Nataku was safely entrusted to the more than adequate care of Quatre’s capable hands, at his disposal should he require her again, though he doubted it. Then again, who knows what the future will hold, but everything aside, he just felt better knowing she was in his friend’s and comrades hands, as opposed to some warehouse out there. The war was finally over, he didn’t have a reason to step into her embracing cockpit now.

He shook his head almost violently, banishing that train of thought, as it made him feel something akin to sadness or remorse. Instead he turned his focus to what he would do once he got home. It had been over two years since Meiran died, and the clan elders had probably already arranged for a new marriage by now, as he, after two years, could no longer claim to be mourning for his late wife. Even so, it would be good to get back to a normal life again. Right?

“Your shuttle will be standing by to launch momentarily Mr. Winner. You can board at gate 12.” Wufei looked over his shoulder as a door opened to reveal a brown haired man in a suit, followed by Quatre and Trowa.

“What about the mobile suits?” The winner heir inquired anxiously.

“They are being loaded as we speak sir.” Trowa tuned out the conversation as he felt someone’s eyes on them and discreetly turned to scan the room over in a single, sweeping gaze to find Wufei watching then steadily, and, turning to acknowledge his presence, gave him a small smile. The Chinese boy waved but neither said anything, not wanting to go through another goodbye session. Luckily for all involved, Quatre was seemingly too engrossed in his conversation with the customs officer to notice their friend not ten feet away from them.

“Here’s your ticket sir.” The woman said and handed him the ticket in exchange for the credit chips he handed her. He grunted his thanks and turned towards the gate, glancing over at his friends, just to lay eyes on them one last time, to see Trowa watching him quietly, the barest hint of… sadness… regret… in his emerald eyes. For a brief moment or a short eternity, neither could tell, they just gazed at one another, almost drinking in the sensation of feeling one of their own near by before they were separated for quite some time. Finally, after a moment of consideration, Wufei opened his mouth to silently communicate with the stoic pilot.

“Make sure Quatre take’s care of Nataku for me.” Trowa seemed to pause for a moment, before giving a slight, reassuring smile and nodding his head just enough for the Chinese pilot to see. Wufei nodded likewise and turned towards his gate and out of their rang of sight.

“Doesn’t he trust me?” Quatre said quietly, coming up next to the boy with the strange cloak-like bangs a moment later.

“What do you mean?” Trowa turned an inquiring eye to the smaller boy.

“I saw Wufei, same as you did. I just didn’t want to show it because I knew he would expect me to come over and chat. I saw what he said to you.” He smiled becomingly. Trowa simply nodded in understanding before they to set off for their own gate and to make sure that the suits were being well taken care of.


The sound of light rapping at the door resonated through the room, and was answered by a dispassionate, ‘come in’. Pressing his lips together in empathy for his partner, Duo opened the door and was treated by a strange sight. He had expected Heero to be on his bed, or at the window, not at his computer. The fact that he was at his computer wasn’t what was unusual though. What was unusual was the unnatural silence that permeated the air. What was disturbing was that, though they were poised, ready to begin work, Heero’s hands were not flying over the keyboard like he was used to seeing. The sight was almost… no, not almost, it was disturbing.

Resisting the urge to ask why the boy’s hands were malfunctioning, Duo plastered on his best plastic smile and forced himself to be cheery, for both their sakes. Letting himself be caught by Heero’s depression would lead to a dark and scary place, letting Heero fall deeper than he already was would lead to a meltdown. “Wha’cha doin’ Hee-chan?” He said, bounding up to the boy and putting a friendly hand on his shoulder; though moreover he wanted to see what seemed to have captivated his friend though. What he saw made him worry his bottom lip to the point of almost tasting blood, just to keep himself from shaking the boy. On the screen was a blank writing document. Not a single letter on it.

Forcing his smile back into place he jerked Heero’s shoulder. “Hey, you wanna go grab a bite to eat, I know this great place a couple blocks away.” First thing he expected was for the perfect soldier to snort, then remark in his even voice that he hadn’t been in the Sank Kingdom long enough to ‘know a great place’ to eat.

What he didn’t expect was to hear a low, soft rumble coming from Heero’s abdomen and a soft sigh from his lips. “Yeah. I don’t know why, but I just can’t work today.” He turned his computer off, closed it and stood up, waiting for him to lead the way. “I can’t remember the last time I ate.” He commented, more to himself than to Duo.

To say the American pilot was shocked by this was the understatement to the year. When Heero stood up the flamboyant American started taking shaky steps back as if his knees were about to give under him. Actually it took all his willpower to keep just that from happening. Taking a few quick, deep breaths, he smiled and led Heero out of the penthouse, making a joke about how Heero could probably go a month without food and be no worse for wear. Heero didn’t respond. Instead, he contented himself to listen to Duo’s inane chatter about this or that, cracking a joke here and there. I was a nice, soothing noise, actually, and one Heero took full advantage of.

He noted that the braided baka was being careful not to say anything of consequence, for which he was grateful. Actually, listening to Duo going on about how Howard was doing, he had just gotten off the vid with the Hawaii clad man, was making him feel better; like Duo was beating back this ache in his chest he still didn’t understand, and he found himself smiling slightly as he listened to the sound of Duo’s voice, rather than the words he was saying.

Duo glanced at his silent companion and was shocked to see the corners of the boy’s mouth turned up slightly in a sad, but genuine smile, before he began to royally pat himself on the back and kept talking, not wanting to ruin what had overcome the boy. Slowly, the two just walked, a companionable, metaphoric, silence between them, as Duo started saying nonsense things, things that neither of them were paying any real attention to anyway.

After what seemed to be fifteen minutes, Duo stopped them in front of a corner shop. “Here we are,” Duo chirped triumphantly.

“Ice Cream. I thought we were going to get something to eat.” Duo stared at him in mock shock, before starting to count on his finger, mumbling to himself.

“Wow.” Duo breathed, trying so hard to keep his grin from overpowering the feigned awe on his face. “12. Man, I didn’t think it was possible. Heero Yuy spoke more than ten words in a single breath.” He looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, “Where are the flying pigs? They’ve got to be around here somewhere. Or has fell frozen over? I hope not, because then were would Shinigami send all those bad souls.”

This was too much, Heero grinned and bonked Duo upside the head. Duo gave him a smile that was a strange combination of sheepish, relived, and the cat with feathers falling from his mouth. Needless to say, only Duo could have pulled it off. His smile turned into an all out cat grin when Heero didn’t stop grinning at his flamboyant partner.

“Come on. I’ve got to introduce you to ice cream. There’s nothing else like it in the world.” Duo said and skipped inside, immensely pleased with himself, with Heero only a few feet behind. Duo ordered a rocky road and a plain chocolate ice cream cone, and led Heero to a booth. Handing Heero his cone, he began to lick his own.

Poor Heero, looked at the tower of gray brown stuff helplessly. He really had never had ice cream before, and didn’t know the first thing about how to go about eating it. Duo sighed, told Heero to watch him, and demonstrated how to eat an ice cream cone by licking his own and humming to himself, savoring the taste and feel of the treat.

Tentatively, under Duo’s eagle eye, Heero stuck out his tongue slightly and rubbed the tip of it against the gray brown mound, pulled the muscle back inside and… shock of shocks, smiled rather broadly, for Heero Yuy anyway. Duo was getting a real kick out of this, not to mention an inflated ego, and watched as Heero took a larger taste of his cone, before settling down with his own. For a time, the two just sat in a companionable, contented silence, enjoying this small taste of normalcy. Slowly, the cones began to dwindle, and Heero started nibbling on his cone when Duo spoke up.

“Hey, Heero. Can I ask you something?” Duo asked, setting his cone down and letting a concerned frown settle on his face.

“Sure. What is it?” Heero considered his partner expectantly.

“I… can you… Well, you see, every time I go to visit Hildi, my mind keeps asking this question and I can’t seem to come up with an answer other than the stereotypical ‘Women’, and I was wondering if you had any idea.”

“Duo, I don’t think I’m the one you should go to with women problems. Quatre is much more qualified than me.”

“No, I don’t mean anything like that. I mean… I told Hildi point blank that I fought so people like her won’t have to. I told her I wanted her to stay out of the war and what did she do, she went on the foolhardy mission to get us information on Libra that we didn’t really need, nearly getting herself killed in the process. I keep asking myself why. After all I go through to protect her, why would she just throw herself in the middle of the crossfire like that. All I can come up with is ‘Women.’ I’d ask Dorothy but I haven’t seen her around, so I’m asking you, since this kind of thing seems to be your forte.”

Heero was silent and seemed to be giving the question some serious thought. He needed to answer that question both for himself as for Duo. Finally, he spoke, a sad note in his voice. “Actually, I’ve been asking myself the same question about Relena. I guess, well, Hilde was a soldier right.”

“Yeah. So.”

“So, she knew that she had the power to make a difference. Even though she knew she wasn’t any where near our league, she knew she still had power, and didn’t like having to sit back and watch as other’s died so she decided to do something about it. Tell me, Duo, if the situation were reversed, could you have sat back and done nothing?”

Duo considered this for a moment before he relented. “No, no I guess I wouldn’t.”

“There’s your answer.” Duo nodded and they fell into a silence again.



Journey Home

Silently, a boy wiped the fogged window next to him with his fist, listening to the squeak of the damp glass and looked out at the vast expanse of stars beyond. He sighed quietly to himself, his warm breath fogging the window again for a second as he tried to squelch the growing knot in his stomach. He was going home. Part of him wanted to go bouncing off the walls because he was going to be with his family and his clan again, but part of him felt that he didn’t belong there anymore. He had been away for so long, he wondered if he could go back to the way his life used to be before Nataku.

Another part of him trembled because he was on his own now, the other Gundam pilots were far away and it would be a long time before he saw them again. Strange, he hadn’t really realized how attached to them he had become until they weren’t around anymore.


“We will reach out destination in two hours, Mr. Winner.” The flight attendant said before moving on.

“Thank you.” He said and turned to Trowa, who was gazing steadily out the window. “Hey, you ok.”

‘Huh?” He looked up at his partner. “Yeah. Just… I don’t know. I think I’m nervous but… I don’t know. I’ve never felt this before.” He said finally, tuning back to the window. Quatre placed a comforting hand on his arm. He knew what Trowa was going through. He went through it every time he went home. Even though he knew exactly what kind of reception he would get, it was still unnerving.

“Everything will be ok Trowa. You’ll see. Everything will work out.”

“I know. But still.” Quatre hummed in sympathy.


There. In the distance. He could see it. His colony, his home. Wufei pressed his forehead to the glass , trying to get a better look. He was almost home, and his stupid stomach hadn’t settled down yet. He hated this. At least he wouldn’t have to endure any welcoming committee. He hadn’t told anyone he was coming home. They would find out soon enough, and he just wanted to get used to the new surroundings again.

“Shuttle will be docking in fifteen minutes. Please fasten you seatbelts and remain seated.” Came a feminine voice over the speakers. Looking down, Wufei made sure his seatbelt was secure and sighed. A mild frown creased his brow as he looked down at his palm. It was wet. Both his palms were wet. Damn. He began to roughly rub his sweat slick hands on the cushions of the armrests. How could he be this nervous? He was just going home. The clenching in his stomach answered that for him.

Br> Trowa did his best to keep from fidgeting as the shuttle came to a shuddering stop at the colony his circus was currently visiting. He could do this. He could do this. ‘Why the hell is this so hard?!’ Quatre almost giggled at the way Trowa rubbed his hands together while trying not to. He felt sorry for the boy, he really did, but this uncharacteristic behavior was almost comical.

Slowly, he undid his seatbelt and stood, stretching luxuriously, before holding out a helping hand to Trowa. “Were here.” His voice was quiet and soothing, and well aware that Trowa might not get off this shuttle without him to push him off. Slowly, Trowa nodded, undid his seatbelt and took the proffered had, surprised by the strength in smaller boy’s grip as he was pulled to his feet.

“It’s ok. Everything will be Ok.” Quatre soothed and Trowa gave him a weak smile.

“Why does my stomach hurt?” He asked quietly, noting the sympathetic and amused smile that graced Quatre’s features.

“It’s natural Trowa. Don’t worry. I’m here.” Trowa sighed, strangely comforted by that. He hated to think how Wufei was fairing without one of them to help him to his home.


Unconsciously keeping his duffle and his suitcase trapped in white knuckle grips, he forced his feet to move down the steps and onto the colony that had been his home for fourteen years. He was home. He ‘was’ home… wasn’t he? Shaking his head he suppressed that thought and, head held high, took that last agonizing step off the shuttle.

His arrogant mask faltered, and for a brief moment his irrational fear and anxiety flicked across his face a few times. Taking a deep, deep breath, he decided to take it one step at a time and force one foot to fall in front of the other. He was home. And he wasn’t going to turn coward now.


“Can we go rent an apartment for the night, maybe…” Trowa asked pitifully. Quatre had finally decided the only way to get Trowa home was to drag him there. The circus tents were in sight now, and Quatre was actually having to pull on Trowa’s arm as he led the increasingly nervous boy to the huge, multicolored tents, a kind, sympathetic, amused grin on his face. He was definitely getting a kick out of this.

Finally, Quatre stopped a good fifty feet away from the tents and turned to his fidgeting partner, squeezing his hand to try and give him some strength. Trowa looked on at the tents with a strange combination a fear, longing, and trepidation.

“Come on Trowa.” Quatre commanded gently and Trowa nodded, allowing Quatre to lead him into the circus, because he knew he probably wouldn’t have the strength to do it on his own. After they were almost past the first tent he decided he was going to dig in his heals.

“Can’t I stay at an apartment tonight…” It was all Quatre could do to keep from laughing his head off. Trowa was being so childish and it was positively adorable. He started forward again but Trowa wouldn’t budge.

Sighing, Quatre turned to the tall pilot. “Fine. Stay right here then. You move an inch then I will scream to the whole colony that you hear, understood.” Trowa visibly gulped but nodded all the same.

“Good. Now stay.” Quatre pointed to the ground for emphasis, trying desperately to keep his grin off his face. He turned and went the rest of the way past the tent and looked around, never really taking his eyes off Trowa. Finally, he spotted the person he was looking for and gave Trowa a stern glair before disappearing out of sight.

“Catherine.” He called. The girl looked up at the sound of her name and saw that blond boy that Trowa went after during the last part of the war wildly waving his arms for her to come over, and quick.

Frowning, she met the boy halfway, who instantly grabbed her wrist and started leading her away.

“Come on. Quick, before he gets away.” He said, no longer able to keep the Duo type grin from his face. Startled and confused, Catherine allowed herself to be let by the boy to the side of the tent. “I brought him back, Catherine. Safe and sound.” He said as Trowa and Catherine’s eyes locked and Trowa tried desperately no to fidget.

After an interminably long moment, “Trowa!” Catherine cried and ran towards her little brother, not bothering to break herself as she tackled him to the ground in a fierce hug. “Trowa! Your Home!” The sound of her bell like laughter filled the air and Quatre smiled to himself as he watched the reunion from a respectful distance.



China Blue

Slowly, Wufei became comfortable with his surroundings as he walked the streets of his colony. It was one of the older colonies, and it’s age showed, but it also had a history, unlike some of the newer colonies. For a time he had just wandered aimlessly, drinking in the sight of some of the buildings he used to visit a lot before he became a Gundam Pilot and was gratified to see that nothing much had really changed, but now that he had spent a good two hours at least loitering and reminiscing, he had a destination in mind. He wanted her to be the first to know that he was home, and now, the field of wildflowers was in sight. As he reached the edge of their ‘special place’, he bent down and picked some of the more impressive blooms, not wanting to approach her after so long without an offering.

Soon, the marking came into sight and he let his bags fall to the ground a good twenty feet away and behind before he approached her grave. Quietly, he came to stand before the gravestone, gazing down at the Chinese inscription on the marker, and slowly fell to his knees, placing the flowers at the base of the headstone. For a moment he just sat there, basking in the sense that he was near her again, before bowing low, placing one palm on the ground in front of his knees, the other hand on top of the first, and his forehead on top of the two.

For a time he remained like that, paying his respects to Chang Meiran, his late wife. He felt the heat from the huge lamps in the roof of the colony beat down on his unprotected back, strangely different than the way the sun did. Finally, he pushed himself up from the ground and gazed steadily at the headstone. “It’s over, Meiran.” He finally said, trying to think of a way to tell her everything that had happened without going into rant mode. He knew she hated that. “The war is over. We’ve won.” He smiled and decided he should tell her about the Gundam pilots.

“There are five in all. Five Gundams. Each one of the pilots is extremely different from the others but they are all strong. They are all worthy to be called equals. It may be weakness but you’ll probably get a laugh out of it.” He smiled self-recriminatingly, “I couldn’t have done it without them, nor could they have done it without me. Then there was this Woman, Relena Peacecraft. She wasn’t a warrior like the rest of us, but she was just as strong as any Gundam pilot in her own right. I know that must sound pretty strange coming from me but it’s true. It’s possible earth wouldn’t be inhabitable if it weren’t for her. She sacrificed herself, Meiran, sacrificed her life to save the earth. You would have liked her, I think. I never knew her personally, but rather by reputation. Some of the other Gundams knew her though, and they all spoke very highly of her.”

He lapsed into a silence for a time, as if he were waiting for her to call him weak or something akin to that. Instead he began to feel more at peace with himself, like she had accepted him. “You know, since I got back, you’re the first one I’ve seen, the first to know I’m back.” A gentle breeze caressed his skin and he felt like she was thanking him. “Nataku…” His ponytail slowly swayed from side to side in the synthetic breeze as his mind traveled back in time. The huge overhead lights that made up the sky in the colony turned red orange, simulating the sunset, and Wufei never moved.



Eagles Eternity

The gentle singing of birds penetrated the darkness that surrounded his mind, and a cool breeze played over his skin. Slowly, Wufei roused from slumber and looked around to see the field of wildflowers spreading out around him. Pushing himself to a sitting position, he released a deep yawn and stretched luxuriously before pushing the sleeping bag off his sleep tense form. A mild rustle sounded as he pushed his feet beneath him and stretched again, enjoying the feel of the breeze over his bare arms, before he looked down at the memorial marker of his wife and smiled.

Some of the birds took flight from their hiding places in the field and filled the air with song. ‘Meiran.’ Slowly, he took his gaze from the grave and looked out over his colony. No, after everything that had happened, he couldn’t call it home, at least… not yet. Maybe… someday… but, no. He wasn’t the arrogant, self righteous boy he was when he left one long year ago. Was it only a year? It seemed like an eternity had gone by. He had grown a lot since then, and he could never be the scholar boy he was when he met Meiran. Never again.

However, he wasn’t really the arrogant, almost snobbish boy he was when he was piloting Nataku either. He had learned a lot during the war, had learned a lot from his comrades, his partners, his friends, his… brothers. Yes, that is what they had become over the course of that year, brothers. They were family, bonded together in a way much deeper than blood could ever hope to accomplish. This Colony, It was not his home anymore. It was possible it could never be again. At least, not in the way any one of his safe houses with the pilots, or one of Quatre’s homes were. The Dragon Clan, it wasn’t really his family anymore either. He had forgotten, in a sense deeper than memory, he had forgotten the Dragon Clan, Had moved on without them. He still had obligations to uphold, however, and Honor to maintain. He would stay here for a while and see what happens. If Things don’t work out then he could move on later.

Silently, he moved to place his sleeping bag into his duffle and lay that next to his suitcase. As he straightened he took a deep breath and inhaled the perfume of the flowers. Gods, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt like this. He felt refreshed, renewed this morning. He felt ready to take on the entire world. Nothing, absolutely nothing could stop him now. Even before Meiran he had never felt like this, never before had he welcomed the day with open arms. Maybe it was being back at his colony, maybe it was being near Meiran again, maybe it was that the war was over, or maybe, it was because, for the first time in his life, he didn’t have a self imposed destiny. Today he woke up not knowing what was going to happen, and frankly not really caring. It was a new day, and he fully intended to make the most of it.

Wufei let his mind fall quiet as he loitered around the field, occasionally picking flowers for Meiran. He smiled as he felt the grass lap at his ankles and removed his shoes, feeling the full grass caress his feet, savoring it. Soon, he returned to Meiran’s grave and knelt before her, smiling at her. A zephyr played with his pony tail and he felt it play across the back of his neck. For a moment, his eyes fell distant as he felt the pull of his hair, confined in his tight tail. A thought flicked through his mind and on a whim he reached back and pulled the tie from his hair and wrapped it around the stems of the flowers, letting his dark silk fall to his neck and sway where it will in the breeze. A wide, awed smile spread on his face. He suddenly felt better than he did when he woke up. It felt good to let his hair down, it felt… free.

Gazing over at the marker, his smile softened. “Thank you, Nataku, my dearest wife, thank you for all you have done for me.” The words seemed to hang in the air before the breeze carried them away and he smiled again, pushing himself to his feet and retrieving his stuff, he looked over his shoulder at his wife’s grave. Then, for a second, he actually saw Meiran standing a few inches above her grave, smiling kindly at him, affection rich in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to speak but no words came out, but that was ok, he under stood what she said, and watched as she smiled again gaily, before she disappeared. His hair swayed back as he smiled and nodded before turning and heading off to whatever the day may bring.

“No, Wufei, Airen. Thank You.”



Watermark

The light from the colony shone down on the little blond angel through the open window, a cool breeze caressing his skin, gently nudging him into the waking world. He looked so peaceful, lying in the simple bed, golden silk falling about his face in a most becoming manor, a small smile gracing his heart shaped face, breath soft and calm. He honestly looked like an ethereal being fallen to earth. Finally, it wasn’t the feel of the breeze or the light on his skin, or the soft sounds of waking animals that roused him from a truly refreshing slumber, but the sound of a flute seeping through the door.

His smile deepened and he hummed in pleasure as his sky blue orbs were revealed to the world. Instinctively, he reached behind him but encountered nothing, before smiling to himself and, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed, stretched and yawned languidly. He listened to the sound of the flute as he wiped the sleep from his eyes and moved towards the chare upon which lay his cloths for the day. It was so nice, waking up to the sound of Trowa’s flute, it was so relaxing. If only he could always wake up to it…

He sighed to himself as he striped of his pajamas and pulled on his clothes, listening to the long, soothing notes of the flute. ‘I wonder if Trowa is feeling as refreshed as I am this morning.’ He thought to himself, as there was a hit of anticipation and… joy… in the notes that resounded throughout the trailer. ‘Oh Allah, it’s been so long since I’ve felt like this. I’m actually looking forward to the day. I feel like rising to meet it instead of moving through it like I normally do. I hope the others are feeling as good as I am.’

Slowly, he reached the door and hesitated, savoring the contented notes a moment before pushing through the barrier. Quickly scanning the room he found Trowa sitting on the couch, back to him, seemingly engrossed in his playing. Quatre smiled, and spotted his violin case nearby. Softly, so as not to disturb his partner, he freed the instrument from its confines and poised the instrument against his neck, listened to the melody Trowa was playing before proceeding to accent it with his own melody.

Carefully, so as not to jerk his instrument, but quickly, so that Trowa would see him right away, Quatre moved to sit next to his partner and was gratified to see Trowa smiling almost smugly as the smaller boy sat down, never once opening his eyes to look up at the golden haired angel. Quatre smile, closed his eyes, and settled in for another, more joyous, session of music making. Neither really noticed the creak as the front door opened, or the light footsteps of someone entering the trailer. Then their was silence, filled only by the sound of the two musicians in the room. When they finally reached the end of the beautifully improvised song there was a soft, but very real applause and the two looked up to see Catherine leaning on the wall, smiling appreciatively and clapping gently. Trowa smiled wordlessly at his sister while Quatre blushed becomingly, setting his violin aside.

“That was beautiful. I didn’t know you played Trowa.” She said quietly from the doorway.

“Thank you. It never occurred to me to tell you. Sorry.”

“That’s alright. I notice you two haven’t eaten yet, she said, gesturing to the pile of pancakes on the counter. “Would you mind if I joined you?” She asked politely.

“Not really. Quatre.” Trowa turned to his partner in question.

“Make yourself at home.” He said gesturing for her to take a seat.



Embers

The sizzle of bacon permeated the air as the strips of pork were turned by expert hands. The sound of soft humming hung in the atmosphere. The bread suddenly jumped out of the toaster and the eggs were ready to be turned. Soft splats were sounded as the eggs landed back in the pan and a couple of oranges gave way and split before a knife. Dripping, as the liquid was squeezed from the fruits into two glasses.

Behind, a door opened, accompanied by a loud yawn. A yawn that was suddenly cut short as the yawner suddenly got an eyeful. Violet eyes widened to an impossible size as he watched Heero Yuy move about the kitchen in the penthouse, preparing breakfast with experienced hands and… Humming? The fact that Heero was cooking wasn’t what was disturbing. Duo figured the boy must have learned how to cook to survive on his own during the war but… Humming? That was scary.

Heero looked up casually at his wide eyed partner and greeted him with an almost cheery ‘Good Morning. Breakfast is almost done.’

Suddenly Duo dashed to the window above the sink and looked up into the morning sky. “Where are the flying pigs!” Suddenly a small black piglet with large white eyes whooshed past to the ground. “No, that’s a falling pig. I wanna see a flying pig.” Duo mumbled to himself before he received a firm whack upside his head, curtsy of Heero Yuy.

“Idiot.”

“What? They’ve got to be around here somewhere.”

“Do you want me to really hit you.” Heero glared mildly at the boy, hands on his hips for a moment before tuning back to finish the meal.

“Sorry. It’s just… What happened to cause the change of attitude. I thought you were still in the gutter over Relena.”

“I think I’m, what do you say, over it.” He looked to Duo for confirmation on his phrasing.

“Heero, are you sure.” Duo inquired gently, uncertainly.

“Yeah. I think I am.” His voice held a musing note, “I mean it still hurts, but… not as much as it used to. I guess I just realize that she would want me to be happy, to really experience life. I don’t know.”

Duo nodded, on some level understanding what Heero meant.

“You know, the night we memorialized Relena, I saw a shooting star just before the sun came up. I don’t know how or why, but I suddenly had the feeling that she was alright, wherever she is, and that everything will be alright.”

“I saw that shooting star. Just before sunrise right.” He received an affirmative, “and I got the same feeling as well. Weird.” The two served themselves and settled down in the living room.

“Do you have any plans today, Duo?” Heero asked quietly.

“I’m going to visit Hildi for a while, other than that.” He shrugged. “Why?”

“No reason. Duo, when you leave, where are you going?”

“I’m planning on taking Hildi and going back to L2. Why? You wanna come?”

“If it’s not imposing.”

“Not at all.” Duo shot his friend a cocky grin. “The more the merrier. Besides, I don’t think I’m ready to have all of us leave just yet.”

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

“Why?”

“Well, you see I have no real idea how to live as a civilian, you know. I was hoping …”

“That I could teach you. Sure. Though I have a feeling Hilde will be teaching us. I’ve never really been a civilian myself Heero. The closest I’ve come is a street rat, and I just as well not go back to that life.”

Heero just nodded and they finished their meal in comfortable silence.



Journey Home

‘Here it is.’ Wufei thought to himself as he stood before the house that had been his childhood home. Slowly, as if it might crumble at any minute, he lifted a hand and gently touched the brick wall that surrounded the house. Home. He had called this place home for so long. Could he call it home again? A car whooshed by, causing a breeze to bear down upon him. His neck length hair tickled his chin and face before he brushed them aside. Taking a deep breath he forced one foot to fall in front of the other, taking him through the gate and to the door of the house.

Closing his eyes, he took a moment to get a firm grip on his mask before lifting his hand and rapping his knuckles on the door three times. “Just a second.” Came the call from inside. For a moment his breath caught in his throat as he recognized the voice to be his sister’s, Chian, before he forced himself to breach normally. A moment later, the door opened to reveal his elder sister wearing a red silk Chinese dress and her hair up in ornamental sticks. For what seemed a small eternity the two just stood there watching each other, Chian’s eye’s becoming round as recognition slowly dawned on her. She opened her mouth for something to say but nothing would come. Finally, Wufei decided that if he didn’t make the first move, they would be standing here forever.

“Nihao, My Sister.”

“Wu… Wufei.” Here dark eyes began to glow as she fought to hold back the tears of joy at seeing her little brother back home, safe, and alive.

“Yes, Chian. I’m back. The war is over, and I’ve come back.” That did it. The tears spilled over and she reached out to entrap her brother in a fierce hug. Wufei let his bags fall to the ground as he returned the embrace. Strange, Chian seemed shorter than he remembered. He smiled as he felt the girl tremble in his arms, feeling her tears slowly dampen his coat and not caring.

“Oh.” She finally pulled back to look up at him. “Please, come in. Come in. Mother will be so glad that your home. Oh, I can’t believe your back, we were all so worried about you.” She bent to help him with his bags but he refused, taking them onto himself and following his sister into his home. “Please, make yourself comfortable, I’ll go get Mother.” With that she disappeared down the hallway.

Taking advantage of the short reprieve, Wufei looked around at the room. It had changed some, but it was still very much the way he remembered it. Setting his bags on the floor he moved towards the wall with some family portraits. ‘So many memories.’
Watermark
“Wufei…” the voice was soft, the word breathed and he turned to see his mother, fine wrinkles marring her still beautiful face, silk robes flowing around her. Her hair had grown whiter since he left, soft strands falling in her face. Her eyes, as always, seemed infinatly deep and wise, and her withering body seemed to glow before him.

“Mother.” Wufei drank in the sight of the woman before him before offering her one of his more congenial smiles. “I’m home.”

The woman smiled and tears of joy slipped down her cheeks as she stepped forward towards her son. Wufei met her halfway in a loving embrace, and each drank in the feeling of being near to their loved one. “Oh, my son. My son. I can’t believe your home. How I’ve missed you so.” She pulled back to look her boy in the face. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine Mother. Really.”

“My brave boy. Look at you, you’ve grown so much. You’ve let your hair down. Oh. Would you like something to eat?”

“I’m fine. It’s just good to be home.” A sob escaped her throat again as she enveloped the boy in another firm but gentle embrace. Wufei smiled and again returned the favor. He was home. He may have other homes now but this… this is home.


No one took note of the black clad boy with a three foot long braid sauntering through the hospital. That had become a common sight as of late, seen every day at approximately the same time for the past two and a half weeks since the purple haired girl, Hilde, was admitted to the hospital. She was admitted the day before the Princess’ funeral and every day since then this mysterious youth would move through the halls with the ease of long practice and head strait for room 392.

Today he carried a bouquet of yellow roses, after the doctor had vided him and told him that she was free to go after a final check-up that afternoon. He was relived and gratified more than anything else that Hilde was leaving the hospital today. First and foremost, he hated the stench of hospitals. Second, a week of living with Heero, an abnormally behaving Heero, was starting to creep him out. A whole week, and he still wasn’t used to seeing Heero this… no, not happy, because he wasn’t, but rather… revitalized, renewed; and not in the sense as a second wind during battle. It was like he had somehow found the strength to move on with his life and actually make the most of it. Heero had actually taken ‘him’ to that Ice-cream shop the other day.

But still, despite how up-beat the boy had become, he was still… dissatisfied almost. Can’t quite find the word for it. He wasn’t happy, because Duo knew what happy looked like, but he wasn’t depressed either. He still kept his mask on most of the time, but it had softened considerably since the war. In any case, he would be glad to have Hildi around to keep him from going around the bend. And since the girl didn’t know how Heero normally acted, well, that was an added bonus.

The elevator came to a stop with a ‘ding’ and he stepped off onto the floor and headed to Hilde’s room. When he got their the doctor was just coming out. “You have impeccable timing Mr. Maxwell.” He said by way of greeting. “She’s just getting dressed now.”

“Thanks.” The doctor nodded and went about his rounds. Duo decided to be courteous and knocked on the door.

“Come in.” Duo did to see Hilde trying to tie her shoes. One of her arms was in a sling and she still had a bandage over her head. She looked up and smiled brilliantly at him. “Hey, Duo. Just in time. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“Likewise. These are for you.” He said, holding the roses out to her. Hilde looked startled for an instant before smiling and taking the mandatory sniff of the blooms’ perfume. “You want some help with that.” Duo Inquired, referring to her shoes.

“Thanks. It still hurts to move this arm yet.” She lifted her left arm that was in a sling.

“No prob’.” He bent down and tied her laces in a few quick movements before standing and offering her his arm. “Shall we go, milady.”

“Yes. Lets’ blow this joint.” They laughed and headed to the reception desk to sign her out.


“We’re back, Heero.” Duo called as he led Hildi into the pent house, setting her bag onto the floor. A soft grunt issued from his room. “Make yourself at home, I’ll go see what’s up.” He told Hilde and headed towards the bedroom. Hilde took the opportunity to look around at Duo’s current stay. It was more… lavish than the one they had shared on the colony during the war. More decorative. “How is he paying for this?” she wondered aloud, noting Duo’s voice coming from the closed door. A minute later she heard a click as the door opened and she turned to see Duo emerge followed by a boy a trifle taller than he was. The other boy, Heero, she deduced, was wearing a pine green tank top and dark blue genes. His bangs were long and unkempt, falling in his face, obscuring his fierce cobalt eyes.

“Hilde, this is my friend and partner, Heero Yuy. Heero, this is Hildi Schbeiker.”

“Hello.” Hilde acknowledged and held out her hand which, after a moment of consideration, Heero accepted.

“You’re the girl that brought us the information on Libra. I don’t think any of us have had a proper chance to thank you.”

“My pleasure, really. I was glad to help.”

“Heero is going to be coming with us to L2. I told you that didn’t I?” Duo looked unsure for a moment.

“Yeah, you mentioned it. I think it’ll be nice to get to know some of you comrades.” Heero sneered, amused.

“Yes, I’m sure. Would you like something to eat? We don’t have much at the moment but…”

“Not really. If it’s all the same to you I’d just as well get going.”

“Ok, Heero?” Duo turned to his friend.

“Sure. I’ve been ready to leave for a while now.”

“Ok, so I guess we’ll go pack. Make yourself at home and we’ll be out as soon as we can.”

“Kay.” Hilde watched as they disappeared into their respective rooms before kneading her left arm and moving towards the window. The doctors had told her what had happened to Relena, and to say she was shocked was an understatement. She knew, just by looking at the girl, that she was strong, especially after she had taken on the role of Queen on the earth, and was still processing the information that she was gone. She sacrificed herself to save the world… Silently, she just stared out at the Sank Kingdom, Relena’s Kingdom.


The familiar sound of Edna’s knitting pins clicking together roused the star child from her slumber. Slowly, she turned to the kind woman who had taken her under her wing. “Hey.” She said, pushing herself up to a sitting position, wincing as her shoulder mildly protested the movement.

“Good evening child.” Edna said, from the chair beside the bed. She placed her knitting aside to give the girl her full attention. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah.” The girl mumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“Good. The doctor said that you’re well enough to leave today.”

“What! Really?”

“Really. We can leave right now if you want.”

“Please.”

Edna laughed at that. As the girl got better she got more and more restless, and was practically pulling her hair out from boredom. The girl watched as the woman reached down and pulled up a wrapped package. “Here, Honey. I got this for you yesterday. I hope you like it.”

“For me?” She took the package and began to gingerly remove the wrapping. It was a shirt and slacks outfit. “Thank you, Miss Edna. I love it.”

“Just Edna if you please.” The girl smiled as the woman stood to give the girl some privacy.



Prelude

“This is Ann Street, Hon, and our house is the third one down on the right,” Edna said as she turned the corner. The star born girl listened contentedly to the woman’s sweet voice, and watched the scenery go by. It was a nice, smallish neiborhood, picturesque even. And there, third house down the street was a smallish brick house with a large, old evergreen off to one side and another tree growing in the middle of the yard. She looked the house over while her caretaker pulled in the drive.

When the motor stopped running she opened the door and stepped out onto the cement drive. She hissed slightly as she put pressure on her still sensitive legs, but managed to get out of the vehicle on her own and looked around. Across the street was another brick house with a huge Weeping Willow in front. The hairs on her neck pricked slightly as she felt someone watching her, and she tuned to see Edna gazing at her kindly. She smiled and followed the woman in the house, noticing the flourishing flower bed out front.

Inside, the house was sparkly decorated with plats and flowers and was well kempt. She smiled, toed off her shoes, as instructed by her hostess, and placed her bag on the sofa.

“Feel free to look around hon. Would you like anything to drink?”

“Whatever,” She said politely, not entirely sure what she liked and didn’t like. Moving slowly in consideration to her wounded leg and her arm in a sling, she looked at the pictures that lined the walls. There were old images and newer pictures. Some of the pictures were so old it looked like the paper might crumble at the slightest touch. One image in particular caught her attention.

It was the image of a dark haired girl wearing a plain dress and a hair cap. The picture was ancient, the girl didn’t even bother to smile. For a time she just stared at the girl, not sure what about the image that seemed to catch her attention so. Then, suddenly the girls face changed to a soft smile before blinking back to the expression it was before.

“She was my ancestor, one of the people to colonize America.” The girl tuned to see Edna smiling at her kindly, setting a tray of two glasses of an orange liquid down. Taking one, she handed it to her charge and took the other one for herself. The girl looked at it for a moment before taking a judicious sip of the… somewhat tart liquid. She liked it.

“What is it?” This aroused a chuckle from the woman that threatened to turn into a hearty laugh.

“Orange juice, Dear.” The girl smiled slightly before turning back to the image of the colonial girl.

“Please, what was her name?” Edna gave her a curious glance but said nothing.

“Erin. I know because it was an unusual name back then. Why?”

“Erin… The Star Child tried the name out, seeing how it rolled of her tongue, listening to the sound of it. “Erin.” She smiled. “I like it. Would you… would you mind if I borrowed her name, until I can remember my own?” she turned to her hostess, to see the woman smiling again.

“Sure. I would be honored, Erin.” And then, for the first time she could remember, Erin, the child born of the stars, smiled. Truly, genuinely smiled.


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