For The Grace of Knights and Angels
By Doctor Megalomania
A/N: This is finally it, the final chapter. Thank you, especially to the awesome Queen Vixen who has been utterly too awesome in her support of this fic. Even after all this time, I'm still squeeing like a mad woman when ever I see your Reviews QV! I hope when I next appear on GW fanfiction I can count on you to join me! I hope you've enjoyed yourself, and please leave me a review to let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Also, I apologise. The Song in the last chapter was Last Impression. And Below I've used White Reflection! Thanks!!
Epilogue: Danse Macabre, Death's Final Movement
Ten Years Later…
Heero stood on the docks, remembering.
He was remembering when he had been a foolish little boy, all guns and missions. He remembered thinking he was a solider. His hands were stuck in the deep pockets of his trench coat, and he smiled at the sea. It had been the annerversary of Gundam's first appearances that had sparked this journey in him. Behind him, Quatre and Trowa were quietly telling off the twins for messing about with the railings. Wufei's youngest daughter was standing beside Heero, stubbornly sharing his quiet contemplation. She'd taken such a shine to him. He was the coolest uncle ever! Nataku had once proclaimed this fact over dinner.
Heero had smiled, but didn't add what he'd thought.
Maybe Duo would have been cooler.
I feel your love reflection The wings of courage you gave to me, I spread them open in my heart; Ah, I want to feel the pain of the pulsing,
Far away painted in your eyes
as you gaze back at me
Never ending story…
Their fluttering seems to shake off the sadness and painful scars…
The shining of the irreplaceable --- of irreplaceable love
So much had changed this since the end of the Shadow War.
Heero had tried not to change so much, but even as he looked in the mirror and saw the early wrinkles around his eyes, he had to admit that maybe he was loosing the battle. Trowa and Quatre had adopted a multiude of children – A bit of a surprise for Quatre and everyone, but Trowa seemed determined to top his late Father-In-Law's number of children. It seemed every year that passed, the Winner-Barton family grew. The four year old twins, Harmony and Melody were the latest additions to the 20 strong family. Trowa had once admitted, that being an orphan or the fact that Quatre loved having a lot of family had very little to do with it. Trowa's green eyes had glittered sadly as he spoke to Heero, in a low voice he said, "It just seems like a Duo thing to do."
Wufei too had done things that he would never had done before, in the name of Duo. Both he and his wife had become quite the figure heads in improving L2, and their own family – consisting of three girls (Shen-li, Lilly and Dahlia) and two boys (Xiao-Well, Wufei) – were well known around several charities. Wufei had regained his inherited fortune from L5, and was using it to great effect. His family lived quite happily on a simple budget, because they recognised both the parents' need to fund such charities.
I feel your love reflection
Pile up the dreams ever thickly
The young ones who desire each other --- fearless of making mistakes!
I feel your love reflection
Far away painted in your eyes
as you gaze back at me
Never ending story…
"There's a little left." He confided in her. He motioned everything around, "All of this… the Earth and the Colonies are still around and are at peace because of that little bit of Gundam magic that's left."
"Really?"
"Mm-hm." Heero hummed and looked around, remembering the significance of the docks. Here was where he had first met – and was shot by- Duo. This was one of the final places that they had been visiting on their tour of the world. So far, he had seen the desert where Quatre had first landed, the ruins of the shuttle port where Trowa had attacked Quatre, the campsite which Wufei and Trowa had sat and drank coffee once a long time ago.
They were visiting the docks where he and Duo had first met, and here, Heero had come finally to say goodbye.
"The last of the Gundam magic made all of this possible." Dahlia looked around, awed.
Above him, the wind whipped up. Behind him, Meiran cursed. She moved toward the two sat down and crouched. There's a storm coming.
Heero blinked, as he looked around. The water was starting to wave harder; the sunset was rapidly disappearing in the face of the sudden storm clouds that gathered. Meiran gathered up her little daughter, and turned to run as the rain started to come. Heero was surprised; the weather reports had said nothing about bad weather.
I want to softly communicate to your bare skin the feelings that are spilling over,
As if hugging close the strength to become gentle…
Ah, I just want to nobly and lithely
overcome this unstable age --- these unstable days…
"Heero!" He turned, seeing his friends gather into the various cars that were pulled up. Quatre shouted again, "Come on! Heero! We're going back to the hotel!"
"Aa. Go ahead without me!" Heero turned around once more, to take in the sea.
Quatre start to shout a reply, but was stopped when Trowa reached out to pull at his shoulder and yelled back at Heero. "Okay, but call us!" Trowa shook his head at Quatre, "You know he needs to do this."
Quatre looked one more time to the lone man on the docks, his long trench coat flapping in the gathering wind. "Trowa… I think…"
"I know." Trowa said, as he got into the car. "But really, would you really stop him?"
Quatre closed his eyes as lighting and thunder began to crash about the skies. "No," he said finally, getting into the car with his husband. "No, I suppose I would not."
I feel your love reflection
The truth of our acceptance of each other
Kiss me --- and there's nothing else that I'll need!
I feel your love reflection
Believe in the passion that will not give up
Our piercing through the eternal battle
Never ending story…
Heero stared around him, and nodded firmly.
In his pocket, the gun was warm.
He hadn't really planned to do this here, but when the morning had come, Heero had a feeling that wouldn't leave him alone. He needed to be at this dock. He couldn't be anywhere else for a very long time. He needed to be right here today. Heero smiled bitterly as the rain began to lash down, flattening his dark hair against his scalp.
Heero's hand tightened on the grip of the gun, and he began to pull it from his pocket.
The sea below him raged incredibly, and in that moment, Heero wondered how he could kill himself after all that had happened.
The storm brought so much darkness that Heero asked himself how long he had been standing here. The lightning was frightening, and yet still Heero did not run to shelter. He stood by the docks, welcoming the hard, cold rain. Ten years was a long time to mourn someone, Heero closed his eyes tightly, and felt the rain wash away his tears. Maybe it was time to let go of Duo. It would be hard, since Heero couldn't bring himself to love anyone beyond his friends and the various children that they added to their families. Heero didn't really want to love anyone else.
He pulled the gun from his pocket and stared at it.
"Baka." He whispered fondly, "You always managed to change my mind at the last moment."
With a long swing, Heero threw the gun into the sea.
Stuffing his hands into his pockets again, Heero turned his back on the sea and started toward the car. He frowned slightly as the storm eased, and moved on. He stopped and looked up, as the rain ceased. Looking around, Heero could see that the storm clouds were starting to break up, and the moon was rising. He heard a faint noise from his car, and looked over to see …
Heero would swear for years afterward his heart stopped in that single moment.
There, standing by his car, as if he had never died …
Duo.
Duo Maxwell stood, dressed in black, and with streaks of silver through his long braid. He looked exhausted and was swaying even though he was leant against the silver car. Heero ran to him, clamping his hands around the shorter man's shoulders. Duo was soaking wet, through and through. His violet eyes were dull as he looked at Heero.
"That's a good choice." Duo said tiredly, "I'm glad I didn't come all this way … only to have to go back to hell…"
Duo's violet eyes rolled upward and he collapsed into Heero's arms.
Heero sank to the wet ground, and held Duo. He was stunned.
And this is how their friends found them, two hours later.
I feel your love reflection
Pile up the dreams ever thickly
The young ones who desire each other --- fearless of making mistakes!
"You know, the doctors say you may never wake up. I say, after ten years of being dead and you come back." Heero smiled and reached over the various tubes and breathing gear that kept Duo alive in his hospital bed, to flick the other man's nose. "I say, you're going to sleep for a bit, get some rest, and come back twice as annoying as before."
Duo was in some kind of coma. He wasn't brain dead, but the doctors simply couldn't figure out why he wasn't just waking up. Quatre had poured money into the Preventer hospital to ensure that Duo would get the best medical care possible. Duo would be cared for in a unit that would allow the four other Gundam Pilots complete access to the slumbering man at all times.
Heero was the most frequent visitor of course, just happy that Duo was here and alive. The others came as often as they could and they all noticed that a hole that had been there since the end of the Shadow war had finally been filled up again. In the three years since Duo's unexpected return, the pilots felt as if something had been restored. Heero would never loose hope that perhaps one day Duo would just wake up.
Often he would be there before dawn if he had an early shift, and today was one such day. Heero had his hands wrapped around a cup of coffee and was perched on the nearby seat. He stared at Duo fondly, thinking about what story to tell the slumbering former pilot. He'd recounted Trowa's adopting frenzy, Wufei's promotion, Quatre's resignation as CEO at WEI.
"I'm sorry," Heero sipped his coffee, "It's been so long… and only now do I realise I've told you nothing that's happened to me…" he winced as he caught sight of the time. His shift would be starting very soon. "I'll think about it today, and I'll tell you something about me tonight." He stood and pulled on his jacket, brushing off the preventer insignia. He reached down to grab Duo's free hand and squeezed it gently. "I love you. I never stopped. I never even tried to stop."
He turned away to walk but felt the hand in his twitch.
Blinking, Heero looked down at his hand to realise that Duo's hand was squeezing back.
He looked into the face of the slumbering former pilot and felt his mouth go lax.
Duo's brows were briefly drawn into a frown before it smoothed out, and the sleeping man turned his head toward the window. Heero felt warmth in his heart blossom, and he turned to look as well. There he found that the dawn was coming.
I feel your love reflection
Far away painted in your eyes
A new day was dawning.
"Hey buddy…" Duo's voice was cracked from under use, "Shinigami's back from hell…"
Heero returned his gaze back to Duo, and found the other lying peacefully, with a smirk growing on his face. Just as he had done when the zombies had first attacked the camp, Duo had done the impossible and had come back from the dead. Heero felt the smile on his face grow as the sunlight filtered into the room. Duo's own smile was faint as the man tilted his face into the warm light.
"Told ya we'd win."
As you gaze back at me.
Never ending story…
For the Grace of Knights and Angels
The End.