Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Gundam Wing. Bandai got dibs on that. No profit was made in the making of this fic.

Happily Ever After

At long last the war ended and the beautiful princess rode away with her handsome prince. And they lived happily ever after.

Then again, maybe not.

You know, if romance novels and fairy tales are to be believed then as soon as you find your true love the world is suddenly a better place. The sky becomes bluer, the sunshine brighter, you open your eyes to them in the morning and they're the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

The romance novels and fairy tales are full of shit, let me tell you. First of all, I don't believe in that true love crap. What I believe in is somebody who'll put up with you even though you're not perfect. Because let me tell you, first thing in the morning nobody is beautiful. There's crusty dried mucus in the corner of your eyes, you've got bad breath, there's most likely drool somewhere and sometimes you fart in your sleep.

To hear the stories tell it, love is full of bell-like peals of laughter, quietly shared conversations and the right words are always spoken at the right time.

It's not true. What the hell is a bell-like peal of laughter anyway? The only tinkling going on here is followed by a flush. Nobody always says the right thing. In fact, most of the time we don't know what to say at all. And a lot of the time, we say a lot of stuff that we shouldn't. Shallow stuff that afterward we'd like to take back but can't because just the fact that you did say those things defines you. We're all pretty thoughtless. If you can find somebody who'll stay with you despite that, you're doing pretty good.

Maybe the princess rides away with her prince. But then they get to the castle, he wakes up and asks, "Where the hell am I?"

Tender words of sweet nothing, my ass.

So what's the real deal? The real ending to the bedtime story? Well for me it's writing dirty messages on the bathroom mirror. It's having my cup of coffee stolen in the morning before I get the chance to finish it. It's having a crappy day, coming home wanting to swear and throw things and then finding out that a simple, "Shit" and a hug work a lot better.

We're not together because Heero cherishes my hair and loves to brush it. Thank God because the man has the soft touch of a hippo. And Heero certainly doesn't stick around because I complete him or some nonsense like that. Hell, I can't figure out what he wants for dinner, let alone his emotional and spiritual state.

The part they don't tell you, the part they sum up with their tidy little happily ever after, is the part where the prince thanks the princess for the lift, tries to sign up for the next war, finds out there isn't one and then moves in with the thief.

And in the end, the very end, they don't live happily ever after. They live bitching about stupid commercials, arguing over the volume of the stereo, taking turns cooking dinner, offering crackers and water when sick, saying the wrong thing but getting over it.

It may not be happily ever after, but it works.