Disclaimer: The characters belong to Sotsu, Sunrise, Bandai Entertainment, I neither claim them nor certainly make any money off them!
Pairing: 6x2
Rating: Lemony in places
Time Setting: Post-series, three years later (minus events in Ground Zero, Blind Target, Endless Waltz as when I started this, I hadn't seen or read about these yet)
Summary: A chance meeting leads to the recovery of a wounded heart.
It was a staring contest, and both contestants were masters. "I've done this before," Trowa Barton declared to his opponent. "You don't have a chance."
The other contestant, much smaller than the quiet, russet-haired man, dug in his heels to make his stand. "I'm not going to bed," he insisted firmly, the large, Prussian-blue eyes glaring fiercely at him. "Not. Going. To. Bed."
"Sure, you are," Trowa replied calmly. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess you missed the training where soldiers are taught to get a good night's rest so they are prepared for battle, eh? Too bad. You'll be unprepared. That's when you make mistakes."
The child scowled even more fiercely, the heavy eyebrows drawn together. "I don't have a mobile suit to fight with. I'm not going to make any mistakes that are life-threatening even if I am sleepy. I don't care. I'm not going."
"Hmmm, disobeying direct orders..."
"You're not my commanding officer!"
"And who would that be?" Trowa bent to look the boy directly in the eye, soldier to soldier. "Who gives you your orders?"
Judo scowled, his hands balled up into fists. "Not you!" Abruptly the boy tried to dart for the door, but the ex-Gundam pilot had faster reflexes.
"I don't think so!" Trowa snapped, nabbing the boy around the middle and depositing him on the bed. "You're staying right here!"
Surprised, the boy settled for a minute. No one had ever spoken to him quite like that before. "Why are you doing this?" Judo asked, a little subdued.
Trowa straightened and crossed his arms over his chest, regarding the boy curiously. "Because I care, of course. You need your sleep."
Judo narrowed his eyes at the man. Since returning from being kidnapped, both this man and the one who looked like him had given him a lot of attention. He knew they were both ex-Gundam pilots, and worked for the Justice Department... and were no one to mess with. Why would men like these bother with a freaky little kid like him? [He says he cares... huh.]
Seeing that he was getting through finally, Trowa sat on the bed next to the boy. "It's important to let people care for you if they want to, Judo," he murmured, glancing over. "It's a lesson I had to learn the hard way. I didn't think I needed people to care about me. Heero went through the same thing. But not having caring people in your life is so lonely."
The boy drew his knees up to his chest and hugged his legs. "But they always go away," he muttered.
"Sometimes... and sometimes, if you let them, they stay." Trowa smiled at the boy a little. "You going to let us stay?"
[He means it!] Judo had never, ever, thought of the possibility that someone would want to adopt him. Was that what this guy was getting at? "Maybe..."
Trowa smiled. "That's a start. Come on, scoot under the covers."
Judo complied, to his surprise, but then gave the man a scowl worthy of Heero Yuy. "I don't need tucking in."
"Of course you don't," Trowa replied smoothly, then reached to ruffle the boy's hair a little. "Sleep well, little pilot."
The boy gasped as the man stood again. "What did you say?"
Trowa gave him a wink as he went to turn out the light. "Once a pilot, always a pilot. Good night, Judo."
"G'night," Judo replied, feeling strangely warm.
Leaving the room, Trowa closed the door quietly, then smiled as he felt hands on his waist, turning him around. Heero pulled him into his arms and nuzzled the taller man's chin.
"That was a fine piece of magic, Trowa Barton," Heero murmured gratefully, holding his lover close. "You made a connection with him finally! I'm so glad..."
Trowa kissed Heero's temple, relaxing against him. "I relate to that boy so much it's scary," he replied quietly.
"Mmmm, as do I." Heero caressed his lover's back, pressing kisses against his jaw and cheek.
"Heero," Trowa whispered, smiling, "I don't think we should be necking in the hallway of an orphanage."
"Darn." Heero released him a little. "Here, this came in the mail." He handed his lover a large silver envelope with blue lettering.
Trowa looked at him closely, then took the envelope and opened it. He drew out the large silver card and held it so Heero could read it with him:
============
You Are Invited To The Wedding
Of Duo Maxwell
And Milliardo Peacecraft
To Be Held At Peacegarden
Colony C-241
July 22, A.C. 199
12:00 P.M.
Reception following at Donatell's
R.S.V.P. Requested
============
"Wow," Heero murmured. "They're really doing it. The whole nine yards, it looks like."
"Trust your brother Duo to land the biggest blond stud he could find," Trowa replied, smirking.
"No, you got it all wrong," Heero countered, matching the smirk. "Zechs crooks a finger and Duo jumps into his lap."
"Oh, right," Trowa said, and they both snickered.
Heero looked up into the warm, relaxed gaze of his lover. "They'll make it. Think we will?"
"What, get married?" Trowa retorted with a wink.
"Er... I mean after that. Happily ever after, and all that." Heero's dark Prussian blue eyes were faintly gleaming in the darkened hallway, watching for the response he hoped to hear.
Trowa glanced back at the closed door of Judo's room, then glanced back at Heero again. "Yeah. Yeah, we will." He gave him a warm smile and slung an arm around his shoulder. "Let's go home."
Heero pulled him down first for a quick, hard kiss that fairly left Trowa a little weak in the knees. Then he released Trowa's mouth and settled an arm around his waist. "Yeah, let's go home."
"You get all the invitations sent out?" Zechs murmured to his lover, braiding his hair for him before Duo left for an important meeting with the college dean over his progress.
Duo was fighting to sit still, and not having a great deal of progress winning the fight. "Yep, all except for two or three." He leaned forward suddenly to snag the list just out of arm's reach on the table. Of course the action pulled his braid out of his fiance's hands altogether.
"Duo..." Zechs murmured. He picked up the braid again and started braiding it over. "Anyone I know?"
The paper list looked like it had been trodden upon by a Gundam or two. "Er, if I can read this. Oh, yeah, no one seems to know where Wufei is, or Sally Po." Duo held very still until Zechs got further along down the length of the braid. "I haven't seen them in three years anyway." He shrugged expansively.
Zechs hissed a little at the movement, but said nothing. As Duo settled down then, he was able to finish the long braid and tie it off. "There," he murmured, kissing his fiance's temple. "Well, were you very close to them?"
Duo shifted around on the sofa to look up at Zechs. "Nah. Wufei and I were imprisoned by OZ for a bit at the Lunar Base, but really, he wasn't friends with anyone. Just an old associate. Sally was on Peacemillion - she knew Heero and Wufei the best, I think." He shrugged again and jumped up off the sofa. "Well, I gotta go."
"Duo..." Zechs whispered, catching him with a hand to his arm before the younger man could bolt.
"Hey, it's okay, really," Duo smiled. "I don't really know them and it doesn't matter." He filled his hand with long, platinum blond hair. "All the people who are important to us will be at the wedding. It's all that matters."
Zechs smiled and stood, wrapping an arm around him. "Yes, it's time for your meeting," he agreed, walking with him to the door.
Deener ran at full tilt across the yard and into the house, leaping over scattered toys from her young cousins effortlessly, wings on her heels. "Auntie! Unka!! It's here!!!" She came to a breathless halt in front of the kitchen table where her aunt and uncle were sitting, waving an envelope.
"What's that, sweetie?" Aunt Liza asked, smiling.
"Open it!" Deener beamed, bouncing on her toes a little.
"Gracious," her aunt exclaimed, chuckling, and opened the envelope. Inside was a silver card with bold blue lettering. "Hmmm, looks like someone we know is getting married..."
"Wheeee, I knew it, I knew it!" Deener shouted, pulling her smiling uncle off his chair and whirling him around in an impromptu dance. "We have to go!!"
"Of course we'll go," Uncle Guy assured her. "After all, they probably would never have gotten together if it weren't for you... according to stories we've heard." He winked at his wife.
"Really?" Deener stopped, surprised. Then she grinned again. "'At's right! That first day Duo came to Peacegarden -he was leaving when I stopped him. He might not have come back!" Her hands flew to her face. "Oh, no... but Duo stayed. Now he and Papa Peace love each other very much." She grinned happily.
Liza and Guy exchanged glances. Miss Cherry at the orphanage had told them that Deener had wanted badly for Mr. Peacecraft to adopt her. Miraculously, Deener had chosen instead to make her home with her real family once she'd met them, but the Valartas - Guy was the brother of her deceased father, Enzo - were now exceedingly grateful that the orphanage founder hadn't pressed his case. They'd made it clear to Deanna that she could see "Papa Peace" and "Papa Duo" anytime she wanted, and both men had made an effort to visit often. And the Valartas intended to include them in their family as much as the men wanted. Deener, and now her two cousins, still visited the Peacegarden to play with the children there.
"Yes," Aunt Liza assured her beloved niece. "They're very lucky to have each other, just as we're very lucky to have found you, dear."
Deener just beamed at that, then launched herself at her aunt. "Love you guys!"
Relena Peacecraft glanced over at her companion. "What's that grin for, I wonder?" she commented with a smile.
"It's nothing," the young man replied shyly, smiling. "I guess I just never expected to come back here." He looked around the grand hall, sighing. "Was the war only three years ago? It seems like another lifetime."
"Yes, it certainly does," she replied, and sipped on her tea. "And we've all been so busy, it's a shame more of us haven't gotten together in all that time." She tilted her head and looked at him more closely. "You haven't been back in space either, I take it."
He shrugged. "There seemed to be so much to do here, though I understand there is still a great deal of rebuilding to be done in the colonies as well." His smile returned. "Your brother, from what I hear, is now considered to be a role model to many there. Despite what happened..."
"Yes," Relena murmured, bowing her head. "But he's a good man, as he always was, and no longer gives in to despair. He started in doing the right thing almost sooner than any of us by building those orphanages. Now the Peacecraft Foundation is helping to unite the colonies to work together toward a new future at last. My own job may not be needed any longer."
"Don't say that, Miss Relena," the other countered immediately. "You are loved everywhere. The colonies will still welcome you as a voice of reason. They just need guidance such as you can provide."
"Very well," she replied, then grinned at him. "And you yourself are well-regarded everywhere as well. Don't go selling yourself short! Perhaps..."
Just then Pargan appeared at her elbow with a large envelope, silver with blue letters. "What's this?" Relena queried, turning it over.
Her companion leaned forward to look at it. "An invitation?"
She exchanged a wondering glance with him, then eagerly tore it open while he chuckled. Then, "Oh, my!"
"What is it?"
Relena read through the invitation, then looked back up at him, her eyes suddenly shining. "My brother's getting married!"
"Ah," replied her companion, smirking. "See there, he *is* getting on with life!"
She stuck out her tongue at him, and he laughed. "Do you already know who the, er, 'bride' is? Whom he's marrying?" Relena wanted to know.
His eyes grew wide. "Well, I assume..." He only knew of one person it could be, but it had been a very long time... "Isn't it Miss Noin?"
Relena's eyes popped. "Oh my, *you* have been out of touch! Miss Noin is married and has a child!"
He sighed. "You've got that right, I have been out of touch. I just thought... those two..."
"Yes, well..." she shrugged, then smirked. "You are going to flip when I tell you..." [And frankly, I still can't believe it myself...]
"Huh? It's someone I know?"
Relena laughed. "You sure do. It's Duo Maxwell."
Quatre's mouth fell open... and stayed that way.
Lucrezia Noin Auberges shuffled sleepily across to the front door of the Lyons townhouse she now called home with her husband of one year, Yves, and their two month old baby girl, Mimi. "Man, I can't believe I forgot to bring in the mail," she muttered to herself, opening the door. She fished out the wad of mail that was sticking out of the outer mailbox, then, squinting against the morning sunlight, brought the mail inside as she shut the door again.
In the kitchen, Noin dumped the mail on the table while she went to make coffee. Once that was started, she shuffled back over to check the mail. A large, silver envelope with blue lettering fell out of the middle of the stack. "What the hell is this?" She looked it over, then opened it.
A moment later, she dropped it back onto the table, the back of her hand raised to her lips, holding in her reaction. [Zechs... and Duo! They're actually getting... married!] Her eyes filled with tears, then she angrily wiped them away. [I've moved on - so what if Zechs picks some scrawny street kid for a spouse? I can't believe it... I saw them together and I still can't believe it...]
Noin picked up the wedding invitation and on the way back to the coffeemaker, pitched the invitation in the trash. "And they actually invited me... me!" she said aloud to herself.
"What was that?" came a call from up the stairwell.
"Nothing, sweetheart," she called back. The baby started crying and there was no more response from her husband. Noin poured herself a cup of coffee and went to sit out on the back porch.
Two hours later, she picked the invitation up out of the trash, brushed some coffee grounds off it, and put it on top of her stack of correspondence on the desk on the side of the kitchen.
The dean of the L2 community college regarded the young man across the desk from him curiously. "Mr. Maxwell, after all our testing, the committee has come to a conclusion."
Duo slouched low in the chair, not expecting much from a stuffed shirt like this college dean. "Yeah? What was that?"
The man sighed. "A college is a learning institution which uses organized and structured learning materials and a group environment to foster the development and training of minds. However, it is a proven fact that this environment completely fails to serve the needs of a small minority of students who simply do not learn well in such an environment."
Duo who had worn his shades into the meeting in defiance, expecting the worst, now pulled them down his nose just enough to peer over the edge. "You don't have to sugar coat it, Mr. Peabody..."
"Piedmont."
"Whatever. You sound like you're throwing me out of this school. Just say it. I'm a big boy now, I can take the bad news. Cut me loose and I'll be out of your hair. Send me on my way to go back to hauling scrap. I've done it before and eked out a living, I can do it again. Guess I just wasn't cut out for the school crap, er, pardon..."
"Mr. Maxwell!" Mr. Piedmont interrupted the rapid fire flow of chatter. "We are NOT throwing you out of this college!"
"Huh?" Duo straightened, but shoved the sunglasses back into place. "But I failed all the tests, and my profs all say I can't sit in class longer than ten minutes, which is true..."
The man cleared his throat; Duo subsided. "Okay, then, what is it? Talk to me!"
"Thank you." Dr. Piedmont straightened his tie and cleared his throat. "As you well know, you in fact aced every test you took. Mr. Maxwell, your grasp of physics and mechanical science is so impressive, we truly believe you'd be wasting your time taking classes. We would like to provide you with a mentor who will guide you through the rest of your studies which will now be on your own. This mentor will also test you and certify you so that you get credit for your current and future knowledge. I estimate you'll graduate with your degree in mechanical engineering in probably about a year."
The shades were pulled back down for a moment while Duo narrowed his eyes at the man. [Nah, he's not joking...] Then he stood abruptly. "Stay here... stay right here..." While the man looked bewildered, Duo dashed to the door of the office and threw it open.
In seconds, he was hauling to the dean's desk a tall man with long blond hair whom he hadn't as much as looked at. "Okay, Peabody..." He all but shoved the man who caught himself on the edge of the desk with a hand before he could pitch onto it.
"Piedmont."
"Yeah, what I said - will you repeat what you just said to me to my partner here?"
Dean Prescott Piedmont looked up at the surprised and slightly embarrassed expression of a young man with long platinum blond hair. "Partner?"
Zechs opened his mouth, but Duo was already in the man's face. "Fiance, Partner, domestic partner, life companion, you figure out the rest. Tell him what you just told me."
Piedmont looked at the blond, who shrugged apologetically, a little smile on his face. "Well... very well," the dean went on. "We've decided to allow Mr. Maxwell to study with a mentor to complete his degree rather than sit through classes." The man pushed glasses back up his nose, trying to ignore the short man with a braid who was glaring at him.
"Oh, that's wonderful," Zechs responded, smiling.
Duo grabbed Zechs by the front of his sweater and turned him to face him, his eyes a bit wild. "What does that mean? Are they throwing me out or what?"
Zechs took Duo's hands in his, smiling at him fondly. "No, silly, it means the college will be thrilled to hand a young man with the caliber of fine mind that you have, a degree when you finish your independent study program."
"Huh?" [He didn't just say what I thought he said... did he?] "Zechs, if you're jerking me around..."
"He's not," Piedmont patiently affirmed. "He's absolutely right. We will provide a mentor who will meet with you weekly to assess your progress and guide you. Or bi-weekly if you prefer."
Duo looked stunned, his eyes still wild. "No more classes?"
"No classes," Dean Piedmont confirmed. "Of course, you'll have access to all our facilities, including the engineering labs. There's a small stipend provided; you should be able to purchase most of your equipment and supplies with that."
"Huh?" Duo looked to Zechs to interpret "deanese" again.
"A stipend is when they pay you to learn, Duo," Zechs explained gently.
"What?"
"It's like a scholarship..." Zechs looked beyond his lover to address the college official. "Dean Piedmont, will Duo be required to do any service or work for the college in return for the stipend?"
Wide-eyed, Duo turned to look back at the dean as well, edging closer to Zechs to hear the answer, worried about just what he was getting himself into. Just being in this office made him very nervous as it plugged into memories of the times he got called to the principal's office during the very few time periods in which he did attend a formal school. Heero had berated him once for "sticking out", but Duo couldn't help being such a cut-up in school. He just couldn't sit still that long.
"Actually, if he would be amenable to this, I believe he would be very well suited to serving as a lab assistant," Dr. Piedmont replied, relaxing a little. "In fact, I was told that in some of his classes, he would finish his lab exercises in record time and spend all the rest of the lab period helping other students."
"You're a natural teacher, Duo, I told you that," Zechs murmured, smiling.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, thanks," Duo replied, nonplused. "You're going to let me stay and study on my own and help out with labs, is that what I'm hearing, huh?" he asked of the dean.
"Ah, yes, I believe that's what I've been saying, Mr. Maxwell," the dean agreed, smiling. "The scientist who is qualified to serve as your mentor will be here on campus tomorrow. He teaches at several colonial colleges, so he's only here once a week. I've already spoken to him and he says he is eager to meet you." He handed Duo a card. "His card and number - Dr. Howard Beckerback."
"Howard??" Duo and Zechs said together, then looked at one another. "Did you ever know his last name?" Zechs asked his lover, who shrugged. "What does he look like, if I may ask?" he inquired of the dean.
Dr. Piedmont chuckled. "He's somewhat of a bohemian, which is probably why he's a favorite with the students."
"Let me guess," Duo broke in. "Hawaiian shirts. Gray goatee, spiky gray hair on the sides, bald on top."
"Er... you know him?"
The two lovers looked at each other again. "Zechs, I'm sure he's not still holding a grudge..."
"It doesn't matter," Zechs murmured with a sigh. "You'll be working with him, not me. And he's perfect - he already knows your skills, I'm guessing, Duo."
"Yeah..." Duo thought about it, then brightened. "This is so cool! Yeah, Doc, I do know Howard - we go way back, er, to the war, that is."
"Then you agree to study under him, complete your degree here?" the dean asked. The man was thinking rather about the future; successful alumni tended to donate money enthusiastically to their old alma maters. It was true that Duo Maxwell seemed marked for success; he had indeed impressed everyone at the college.
"Er, yeah, sure!" Duo replied, grinning. "It's a deal!"
Dean Piedmont almost managed to match the grin.
Once they reached home, Duo pulled off his t-shirt, letting it fly to land on the floor, and was unfastening his jeans even as he walked toward the master bedroom. "Man, I want a shower..."
A hand snagged the back of his jeans, pulling him backwards. "Not so fast, you..."
"Huh?" But Duo was smiling as he was drawn back into his lover's arms. "You want something, Zechs?"
The taller man caressed his back, smiling down at him. "As always, you... but I wanted first to tell you how very proud of you I am. You worked hard to impress the people at that college, and look how that's paid off. You'll be an engineer in a year!"
"Yeah, well, I didn't do anything special," Duo murmured, sheepish. "You know, you could study with me. You're just as gifted with mechanical stuff as I am! I'm sure Howard would..."
"No," Zechs said firmly, dropping his gaze. "I'm done with that sort of thing."
"But..." Duo frowned, looking at his lover's face through the veil of platinum tendrils. "Zechs, you did some pretty amazing stuff on your own in the war. Quatre and Trowa told me back then about the mobile doll system on Libra."
"No..."
"Wait, I'm not done..." Duo tightened his arms around his lover as if afraid he'd pull away. "I'm not going to pretend these things never happened, I've told you that. It's history now. The fact is that you have a pretty impressive brain yourself, Milliardo Peacecraft, and you're every bit as able to learn how to build new mobile suits as I am."
Zechs closed his eyes, trying hard not to think about mobile suits, especially a big red and black Gundam named Epyon. "Angel," he replied softly, "this is your career, not mine. I want you to shine in this, not have to compete with me..."
"It's not competition!"
"Be that as it may," Zechs hurried on, "I've already found a new career, and now it's what I'm best suited for. The Peacecraft Foundation is a lot to manage, and I've accepted that responsibility in my family's name. I build orphanages and housing for people who are struggling. And it seems I'm also being asked now to represent the colonies' interests more and more. That's plenty of a career for me, love."
Duo made a face. "Yeah, but..."
Zechs lifted his eyes to look into his lover's gaze again. "You'll build new suits to help the colonists work in space, and you'll teach those skills you have to many, Duo." His smile returned, warm and loving. "Whether you teach in Peacegardens or on a university campus, you have so much to give... and it's one of the things that made me fall in love with you, Duo Maxwell."
The younger man sagged in his lover's arms. "Okay, you just reduced me to a pile of Maxwell goo..." When Zechs teased a smile out of him, he chuckled. "You win, you big, blond goof! But just promise me one thing, you..."
"What's that, angel?"
Duo tugged a bit on a hank of long platinum hair for emphasis. "You're NOT going to hide from Howard."
Zechs nodded. "All right. I won't."
Duo gave him a wicked, sideways grin. "Kiss me?"
"Until you can't breathe," Zechs promised fervently, descending to capture his mouth.
Several hours later they were curled up together on the couch in their living room, sitting in silence, reading. Duo was tucked between Zechs's legs, leaning back against his chest as he pored over an engineering text while Zechs perused a news magazine from Earth. A long strand of Zechs's hair was pulled to the front where Duo was idly fingering it as he studied; Zechs had the end of Duo's braid in his left hand, absently brushing the tail against his cheek as he read, turning pages with his right.
They'd been silent like that for a full half hour when Duo closed his textbook with a snap. "Whew, that's as much of that as I can take in one sitting," he muttered, but made no effort to move from his comfortable position against his fiance's body. He turned his head to the side, laying his ear against the other's chest, listening to Zechs's heartbeat.
Above him, Zechs glanced down and smiled. [I think I'm actually having a calming effect on him,] he wondered, closing his magazine. [He's usually so hyper...] "Comfortable?" he murmured, folding his left arm around the front of him.
"Very," Duo replied, picking up the long, thick piece of platinum blond hair and laying it against his cheek. "I can't believe how good it feels just to be like this, Heart. Just to be close, feeling your warmth, breathing your scent, playing with your hair... man, it's almost as good as sex!"
Zechs chuckled and teased Duo's nose with the tail of the braid. "Just as good, in many ways, I think. I crave this closeness, too, Angel." He put down the braid and the magazine and folded his other arm around his fiance, leaning forward and bending to press his cheek against Duo's temple. "I wonder what would have happened if we'd met during the war. Maybe..."
Duo tensed when his beloved paused. "Heart?" [I don't like this...]
"Oh, I know it's useless wondering about it now," Zechs replied quietly. "I guess I would like to think that you might have kept me from... despairing." He closed his eyes, remembering when Quinze and the others found him after the Sank Kingdom fell a second time.
"Zechs, it's past. Way past. Don't be thinking about things like that," Duo countered, rubbing his lover's arm in reassurance. "Don't look back, please."
"You're right, of course." Zechs relaxed again, and after a moment, Duo relaxed as well, unconsciously responding to the change in tension of the other's body. "And we have so much to look forward to," he added softly.
"Yeah," Duo replied, his mouth curving into a wide smile. "Yeah." He snuggled down deeper into the warm embrace, sighing with happiness.
Somewhere on Earth several days later, a woman opened a manila envelope that contained nothing but a large silver card with blue lettering. There was no return address on the envelope. "What the...?" she commented, stunned when she read it. Jumping to her feet, she went over to sit on the sofa beside her husband, who was watching television. "You've gotta read this..."
The man took the card and looked it over. His eyes widened with shock. "This can't be..."
"I think I know who sent it to us. Looks like we're invited by association," she murmured, sitting on the arm of the sofa to look over his shoulder.
"But he's... and... and..."
The woman laughed. "Guess we're not so strange, then, huh?"
"Guess not!" He looked wryly at the card, wondering how the hell Zechs Merquise and Duo Maxwell could have even met, much less fall in love and plan to get married.
"So..." The woman looked sidelong at her partner. "Are we gonna crash the wedding of the decade?"
A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Miss this? You've got to be kidding!"
"That's my man," she murmured, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. Just then, a baby in another room started to cry. "I'll get that," the woman added, and went to see what their child wanted.
[Zechs... and Duo!] the man thought, shaken. [Zechs... you're supposed to be dead... aren't you? You're supposed to be dead...]
THE END (but there will be a Wedding fic eventually!)