Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Back In Your Own Backyard ❯ Epilogue

Back In Your Own Backyard - Epilogue
~Can't you see?
There's a feeling that's come over me
Close my eyes
You're the only one that leaves me completely breathless

No need to wonder why
Sometimes a gift like this you can't deny

'Cause I wanted to fly, so you gave me your wings
And time held its breath so I could see, yeah
You set me free...~
-Michelle Branch, "You Set Me Free"



He felt rather than saw the brightness behind his closed eyelids, and decided immediately that he need not get up just yet.

Unfortunately for him, a certain *someone* had ears like a cat; damn him for it, anyway!

"Hey guys, I think he's finally waking up!"

A vague stirring of déjà vu struck his still-sleeping mind, but he ignored it and tried to go back to sleep.

"Q-man, wakey wakey!"

No such luck, Duo.

"... Trowa's here," that voice said suggestively, and Quatre's eyes popped open instantly. He threw a hand over his aching eyes and sat up, glancing around, as memories of the past few days flew through his mind.

He was in a bed; *his* bed to be exact.

/Silent gratitude./

Hm? What was that?

~You're still tired?~

Oh. Trowa. He turned and smiled at the brunette youth, very much relieved to see him.

~Are you...?~

~Perfectly all right. They were all reversible spells, Quatre. No physical harm done.~

He could feel the mental smirk that came with that reassuring blurb of thought. Trowa seemed to be taking the whole magic thing rather well.

~I'm so sorry, I'm the one that did this to you, forgive me-~ he began, but a silent, soft retribution cut his thought off.

~No harm done, Quatre.~ Trowa repeated. ~And it wasn't it your fault.~

Quatre couldn't even *begin* to deny that statement as he was suddenly assaulted with an ecstatic bundle of Hirde, as the shorthaired girl proceeded to latch onto him in her relief. He choked and attempted to push her away as he felt his magic leak away from him, and his strength along with it, but she was attached to him like a leech. Thankfully, Duo got the message in time and pulled his friend back, fast.

Before the longhaired youth could go off into a rant about the dangers of latching on to someone who was depending on magic to keep him alive at the moment, however, the door opened, and in walked his sister and Wufei. Out of the corner of his eye, Quatre spotted Duo leaning closer to Heero, as if purposefully trying to antagonize his past lover. In fact, he probably *was*.

Wufei's dark eyes made a quick scan of the room and it's occupants, before alighting upon Quatre. There was something very depressing in that gaze, and even more so in the words that followed.

"You're father requests the presence of everyone involved in the incident. Now."

-----

Quatre nervously slipped into a respectable outfit for a meeting with the King, no matter that it was his own father that had summoned him. He also made sure to build a mental wall around his link with Trowa; it wouldn't do for them to be messing around in each other's heads right at this moment, and he didn't want the taller boy to realize how nervous he really was. An official meeting with his father was not to be blown off.

As Wufei escorted them to the throne room, he explained a bit to Quatre, talking low so that the others would not hear.

"I have informed the King of what has occurred as of late, not including the... Bonding between you and Barton, and excluding some facts that will have better use later. Dorothy has yet to be punished, but that will happen soon enough. Right now I am more worried about your safety, Prince Quatre. When he finds out about the Bonding, I am afraid..." at that point, he paused for a long moment, and the blonde looked at him encouragingly as they fast approached the large doors. "You're father is not a very forgiving man," Wufei continued after a moment, "He will be displeased, to say the least, even though it was by no means either of your faults."

"But, why-?"

"I have not yet told him of your... preferences, Quatre," Wufei replied to his only half-spoken query, to the blonde's immediate worry.

Oh, crap.

-----

"Heero." Trowa pulled the Prussian-eyed youth aside even as they made their way to where wherever Wufei was taking them.

"Yeah?"

"... Something's up."

All he got for *that* was a slightly raised eyebrow. He continued.

"Quatre... he's done something. Something with his mind. He's cut me off, somehow. I can't tell what he's thinking anymore."

"And that worries you?"

"Yes. He wouldn't do something like that unless he was anxious about something."

"... I'll look into it."

-----

Quatre felt a major headache coming on as they reached the doors to the throne room, but he ignored it. He had much bigger problems to worry about.

Inside, the blonde spotted both Rila and Erts standing on opposite sides of his father- and both were smirking rather maliciously. The word 'bode' came to mind right about then- as in, this did not bode well. Those two weren't stupid, not by far.

"His Highness, Prince Quatre Reberba Winner." Wufei announced, as was proper court conduct. "And his compatriots: Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton, Ireia Winner, Hirde Schebeiker, and-" the onyx eyes widened as he realized Duo was nowhere in sight, and he forgot to request the full name of the other human, "-Solo." From the look in the eyes of the King's guardsman, Wufei severely wanted to include himself in that list, but couldn't until the King had heard the whole story.

Everyone began talking at once.

"Father, look at that, he's lowered himself to the level of mere Humans-"

"That one, that human- she dared attack a loyal minion of the House of Winner-"

"Sir, I may not be familiar with your kingdom's laws, but-"

"She's lying, Dorothy attacked *us* first-"

"Father, you *must* have them punished-"

"I think it's safe to say that *someone* has violated them in trying to kill Quatre-"

"How dare she, the little brat, she can't accuse *us* of-"

"*Enough*! Dorothy is already being punished, though for *what*, exactly, I'm not sure." Milan Winner shouted, voice instantly calling everyone to order. "Now, *what* is the meaning of this?!"

"Father-" Erts began, only to be cut off, her blue eyes flashing with irritation.

"Apollyon."

"Lord?"

"Report."
"Yes, Lord." Wufei sent a searing glance in Quatre's direction, then turned his gaze back to the King. "Highness, I believe that the Prince and his compatriots, including myself, were only just recently involved in a rather complicated assassination attempt on the part of the Prince."

A silence pervaded the atmosphere for a moment, the eyes of Milan Winner sweeping over all present. "That is a very serious charge, Captain of the Guard. But first, tell me, who do you believe responsible for all of this?"

"It is my belief that it was planned and put forth by the combined efforts of... Erts Bihari Winner and Rila Nahum Winner, along with the help of the expert assassin, Dorothy Catalonia."

Erts hissed at him then, a wild, feral sound that was drowned out by Rila's instant protests. "Father, we did no such thing! You know we'd never purposefully try to hurt one of our own. Quatre is our brother!"

"Only in blood," was Wufei's low reply, so soft that Quatre doubted anyone but he had heard it.

"Why don't-" Erts silky voice interrupted the others, stilling them into a brief silence, "-you ask them what they're trying to hide, Father? Why don't-" she cut off Wufei's next heated remark with a practiced ease, "-you ask them just what exactly spurred them to go traipsing about the kingdom with no one but Wufei as an escort...?" she purred, assured of her success.

"I think I can answer that."

A new voice; gazes turned to the doors, where Duo was just entering, movements the same silken grace that Dorothy had exhibited earlier. The longhaired youth had changed into a skintight, jet-black outfit in his absence, and his body seemed to glow with an inner light- evidence that he was actually Sidhe, and not hiding it anymore. Instead of his customary braid, Duo's hair was now pulled back into a loose ponytail, and in his slender hands he carried Deathscythe- position not threatening, but not docile either. He was smirking as he moved to casually lean against the wall, and that sign was the only thing that reminded Quatre of the Duo he had met in Tokyo not long before.

"Duo Maxwell, fellow compatriot of Prince Quatre." Wufei stated after a tense silence, sullen note barely suppressed in his voice. "Former member of the King's Guard."

"And also formerly known as Shinigami, isn't that right, Wu-bear?" Duo added, eyes closed as if in thought or weariness, though neither was true. The smirk didn't leave his face for an instant. "And, as I was saying: the reason that Quatre over there was, as you so gently put it, 'traipsing about the kingdom' was because a mutual friend of ours, Trowa Barton, had been captured and put through severe torture by one Dorothy Catalonia. She was using him to get to Quatre, who she successfully Bonded without either of their consents."

All eyes flew to the stunned visage of the King, who gazed at each of the Humans in turn. His eyes were hard as he finally asked, "Which one of you is this 'Trowa'?"

The tall youth stepped forward silently, usual non-expression on his face.

"Is this true, Trowa Barton?"

"I am not familiar with the full extent of the ceremony you speak of," he stated truthfully, "but, yes, I believe it is."

A silence as Milan Winner contemplated this, then: "Quatre."

"Yes, Father?" the small blonde stepped forward to stand next to Trowa, reaching out and linking their hands together in a seemingly unconscious gesture. The strong grip of the taller youth's hand on his own served to calm his churning insides just the tiniest bit.

"What do you have to say for yourself, and for all of this?"

Quatre swallowed roughly, nervous, "It's true, Father. Trowa and I are Bonded. It was Dorothy who did it; she kidnapped Trowa and..." he couldn't continue on that train of thought for long. "... She tried to kill me several times. If it hadn't been for Trowa and everyone else, she would have succeeded."

A hard glance, cast at Rila and then Erts.

"That doesn't mean anything, Father! I had no idea that any of this was going on!" Rila protested, eyes wary.

"You did, Madam." Wufei corrected. "And I can prove it." His black gaze was intense on her nervous form, "/S'hue/."

At the softly spoken command, a dark light began to emanate from the girl's body, and she gasped as the sword she had stolen from Wufei floated upward from her and into the youth's waiting grasp. Wufei had to admit, it felt very, very good to have his blade back.

"That proves nothing!" Rila shrieked, voice high.

"Perhaps not." Ireia finally spoke up, staring with disgust at her sisters. "But the fact that Dorothy got her hands on the sword Forswythe sure says something, doesn't it?" Quatre's sister was right; Forswythe could only be wielded properly by a member of the Royal Family, or someone who was given it by one.

"She *what*?!" the King demanded, eyes gazing accusingly on Erts and Rila. The two girls backed up a step, in unison, eyes wide. They'd been found out, finally.

"Father, we only wanted-"

"It wasn't fair that he-"

The King's eyes darkened, clouding over, and suddenly the two were encased in clear, rose-tinted capsules. Their cries were instantly cut off, and no sound at all came from them, even when they began pounding on the smooth, unbroken surface. The Winner family wasn't the ruler for nothing; theirs was a long line of the most powerful Sidhe around, and Milan Winner's power had not faded over time.

"They will be suitably punished." He assured as the pair disappeared with two small bursts of light, and Quatre winced; he didn't even want to know how that was going to come about. "Now, Apollyon."

"Yes, Lord?"

The King's hands linked, fingers forming a steeple as he thought. "The Bond... it is between the two of them?" he gestured towards Quatre and Trowa, the latter of the two having moved behind the blonde and placed an encouraging grip on either shoulder. Wufei nodded affirmatively.

"And how long has it been?"

"My estimate would be between two and three days, Highness." At this, Quatre jerked, startled. This was the first he'd heard about how long he'd been asleep; apparently, it had been awhile.

"And, by any stretch of the imagination, could the link possibly be broken?"

The Prince's eyes widened, and he started forward, but Trowa's grip restrained him, and instead he sank back into that comforting embrace. They couldn't... They wouldn't...

Wufei hesitated, and his eyes hardened ever so slightly. "It *is* possible, your Highness, but I would not recommend it."

"Why is that?"

"The Bonding ritual is meant to be for life, Highness, and at this stage, severing a mental link could cause both of them great pain, and could mentally damage or even kill them both."

An expulsion of breath. "And so you would have me just sit back and do nothing as the sole male heir to the UnSeelie kingdom is taken from it? You know as well as I do that a marriage contract between royalty that will one day inherit the throne is not complete unless the partners have Bonded." His eyes lighted upon his son and his Bond, eyebrows raising in small shock as Quatre, not noticing the eyes upon him, guided Trowa's arms to rest loosely around the smaller youth's waist as he buried himself further in that encompassing embrace. "And what's this?"

The blonde jerked guiltily in Trowa's arms at his father's inquisitive voice. Uh oh...

"Father, I-"

"Majesty," Duo suddenly and unexpectedly broke from his uncharacteristic silence, sidling up to the pair. "When Bonded, one tends to acquire very close feelings to the other. Quatre may not have willingly acquiesced to the ritual, however, it may have worked out for the best. Trowa is a good person; I understand that you have need of an heir, but, from what I understand, you have a choice between twenty-nine others, at least two of which have great potential. These two... well, they like each other. It's pretty obvious, ne?" he grinned his usual joker-grin at that.

"I can see that." Milan managed at last. "I never expected something like *this* to happen. And, if this were any other circumstance, I would certainly agree-"

"Father." Ireia stepped forward, laying a warm hand on her little brother's shoulder. "Weren't you the one who kept telling us that we need to fight for what we believe in? Everyone's rooting for Quatre, and I for one believe in him." This profession caused Quatre to smile gratefully up at her, but she wasn't quite finished. "And, if it's that important to Quatre, I'm sure we could find someone else, don't you? You know he's never enjoyed being cooped up here."

The words elicited just a nod from her father, but he retreated into contemplative thought for a moment. "... Wufei?"

"Lord, I believe Lady Ireia is correct. With the Bond, it would be hard enough to mold him into what you wish him to be. Master Quatre will never live up to your expectations because he is not what you think he is. He is his own person, with different feelings than you. He is not just a projection of you. If you tell him to stay, he will do it, but..."

"... Yes." The King said at last. "I understand. Quatre... if this weren't just like it is, perhaps I would force you to stay, on the pretense that you cannot know your own heart so thoroughly in such a short time. But I know the Bond hides nothing, and cannot lie to you. You are free to go, as long as you will give me your word to help me find a replacement." A smile was beginning to form on the King's face, and it was revealed fully as the room erupted in cheers. Well, they were mostly Duo's cries, but it was still very loud.

"Yeah! Go Q-man!" the longhaired Sidhe cried, slapping Trowa jovially on the back and winking suggestively before bounding over to Wufei and wrapping him up in a hug. The raven-haired Sidhe stiffened in the embrace, surprised, before he pushed Duo roughly away with a warning growl.

"Maxwell..."

"Aw, c'mon, Wu, it's just a celebratory hug, no big deal! You were great, man!"

And then, Wufei actually *blushed*. Duo recovered from the surprise of *that* instant rather quickly, and he smirked and reached over to give his ex-lover a pat on the head. Another growl.

"Maxwell!"

He lunged, ready to strangle Duo with his own braid, but Heero suddenly whirled the longhaired youth around. Duo came face-to-face with a pair of striking Prussian eyes, startled, but beginning to smirk as a pair of soft, warm lips descended upon his own, giving into the insistent mouth on his. He broke away only long enough to glance for a moment at first the smiling pair of Hirde and Solo, then Trowa and Quatre, the little blonde resting comfortably in his bondmate's embrace, before he let out one more suggestive comment and went back to the task at hand.

"C'mon, you two, it's time for the obligatory happy-ending kiss!"

This startled the two out of the contented tranquility their minds had been sharing, and, realizing what had just been suggested, Quatre's cheeks began to burn a bright red. Still, he turned in Trowa's embrace, heart beginning to beat faster and eyes caught by the warmth in the forest green ones of the taller youth. He didn't know who leaned closer first, but suddenly their noses were touching, and their breath intermingling in soft gusts of air and- he tilted his head slightly, and came into contact with a warm pair of lips that rested hesitantly against his own for a moment- as if afraid of hurting him- before beginning to move, slowly and carefully. His eyes slid shut, and Quatre barely heard the whoops of appreciation from the ecstatic longhaired boy as he and Trowa gently embraced, mouths moving together and linked minds connecting in a more intimate fashion, as they enjoyed the warmth of each other's form.

And, this time, there were no interruptions. Quatre was infinitely glad for that.




OWARI