Author's Note: Kay guys, you asked for it, and now you're gonna be getting just what you wanted! :D I would *LOVE* to send a HUGE thank you to mah new Beta reader, Q. :D Yes, it is just one letter. ;) Mysterious, no? Let's hope this Epilogue clears up the endings of 'A Tense Situation'. Enjoy and on with the warnings!
WARNINGS: Violence, 1x5 3x4, Swearing, fluff, fic rated for blood, gore and violent type stuff. Duo PoV.
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Some people think that there are things on the other side, love, warmth, family..and end to suffering, and you know, I am one of them. But, I don't think that the other side is the be all end all of the life we pitiful humans live here on Earth. Ya know what I mean? I was given the rare honor of actually choosing my fate, and where I would go, when I went into a coma after a Preventers mission, I had the choice to either take the step back to my past, or go forward with my living family. Does it take a genius to know what someone would choose in that kind of a situation?
Granted, some people who have been through war, a bloody and violet one at that would most likely choose the end of peace, and the chance to forget the things that they had done. I am certainly one of those that wish I could take the easy route out of things. But, I have family here.. I at least four that I call my immediate family.. a lover, and multitudes of friends with them. Why would I leave that behind and not atone for my sins? That's not to say that I haven't already atoned, but I didn't want to abandon the people here, and the job that I took up after the war, protecting those who couldn't protect themselves.
I shot through the hallway and through the garden door, a grin on my face and my heart lighter than it had been in years. I knew that what I was choosing was the right thing, and even Father Maxwell, Sister Helen and Solo agreed with my choice. They'd even prompted me to it! I reached the open door to the garden and stopped, standing just shy of the threshold, staring at those gathered people, the embodiment of everything that mattered in my life. I reached up reflexively and grabbed the gold cross hanging around my neck, closing my fingers gently around it. 'Gotta take things one step at a time, right, Father?' I closed my eyes, unable to shake the feeling that he was smiling at me, and it comforted me as I took a breath and that step across the threshold of the garden, into the light and out of the shadow of the hallway.
The people standing in the garden came in to clearer focus, and I had to blink and adjust my eyes to the change of light. It felt like I had really stepped out into the sunlight, and could now see the people moving around, instead of the photo quality they'd had before. I froze, letting myself adjust and listened to the sounds around me, the birds, the rustling bushes, and a god send of a voice that jerked my head up. I saw Wufei standing there in front of everyone, his feet shoulder width apart and his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing those white pants and a dark red tank top, his eyes closed as he seemed to be meditating. Heero was standing to his left, a hand on his shoulder, Trowa on his right a hand on his other shoulder. Quatre stood slightly in front of Trowa who had his free arm around Quatre's shoulder, and then I saw Wufei opening his eyes and lifting his head that had previously been looking towards his feet. 'Hey, Duo... When are you going to come home?' That was just about it, I laughed, grinning at the four pilots and raced towards them. I could see Une, Sally, Relena and Dorothy directly behind my four family members, and behind them, even more people. Had I really been this loved?
When I got within a few feet of them, Wufei unfolded his arms and stretched his hand out to me, and I gladly took it in mine. That simple grip along with my momentum brought me into the planed chest I knew so well. I pressed my face into Wufeis' shoulder and hugged the man for all I was worth, and shortly after, I felt his arms respond in kind. A few moments of this and I felt more arms and lifted my head, beaming at the other three pilots, Heero, Trowa and Quatre as they, too joined the welcoming hug. 'Welcome home, Duo...' I opened my mouth to respond and found that I couldn't talk, that it was hard to talk. I frowned at the muzzy feeling in my throat and reached up to try and remove whatever it was that was causing the irritation. Or, I tried to. I found that my hand wasn't really cooperating, and that it didn't want to move, other than a twitch. I forced myself to lie still a moment and take stock of my surroundings, and try to figure out what the hell was going on now. There was a telltale beeping that told me that I was the one place I *DIDN'T* want to be. However, that *ALSO* told me something else.. I was back! I cracked an eye open and had to blink it a few times to get used to the light.
Despite the fact that the light was dim, and there was a faint glow from behind the curtains of my room, it still hurt. I gave myself some time to get used to the feeling before prying my second eye open and staring up at the ceiling. Yep..It's a ceiling. I mentally smirked to myself and forced my tired eyes to look around. I had an IV in my arm, and I followed the line up to the bag, but couldn't see the writing from this angle. Judging by the muted sounds in the hallway, and the soft, but dark glow outside my window, I had to guess it was somewhere around two or three am. I pulled my eyes from the window and blinked at the couch in my room, wondering why the hell there was a couch in my room, and more importantly... Why Trowa and Quatre were curled up on it like a pair of puppies! I would have chuckled it I hadn't had a damn tube in my throat, but instead, I just laughed mentally and continued my examination of the room. Heero was sitting at the table Id' seen him at before, but instead of being alert and typing, he was slumped over the table, his hands on the keyboard of the laptop, and someone, most likely Quatre had draped a blanket over his shoulders.
My eyes roamed, searching for the next pilot, the one that was missing, but my panic rose when I didn't see him. I had to check one more time before I was sure he wasn't there.. Where was Wufei? There was only one thing in my head - Find Wufei. I concentrated on decreasing my heart rate so that the machines didn't bring the nurses running, as I didn't want to disturb my other brothers. Once it was back to a more manageable level, I tried to lift my hand, and finding it was more responsive, carefully removed the tube from my throat. Id' done this a few times in the war, and knew that if I stayed absolutely still, I wouldn't have to worry about it causing any extra damage. Once that was done, I started on the machines attached to me.. There were only so many you could remove before the nurses came running, but I knew enough from watching Sally and Trowa during the war that I could fiddle with them... there we go! Just like so. I had had to force my legs over the edge of the bed in order to reach the heart monitor, but that was okay, because I intended to get up and walk anyway. God, had my muscles atrophied, it felt like I was moving through freaking tar!
The silence that filled the air was nearly deafening, but I guess it was more so to the other three as they immediately came to wakefulness. Heero woke up just in time to catch me as my legs gave out from under me, with my forced attempt to make them move. 'Hey, Heero! Let me go! I have to find 'Fei!' Or, that's what I *TRIED* to say, but my rough and dry throat didn't listen and I only ended up coughing. That round of coughing had me clinging to Heero and my IV stand for dear life as I tried to remain on my feet. I could hear Quatre scrambling towards me, and Trowa's soft monotone in the background, but I was too busy trying to stick my lungs back where they belonged to know what he was saying. The cool relief of ice chips on my lips was welcome and I greedily took the water to soothe my aching throat. It took a few more chips before I had stopped coughing and could release my death grip on one, Heero Yuy. 'Sorry, Man..' I would see the bruises later, I was sure, but right now, I only had one thing in mind. 'Where...where's 'Fei?' I tried to fix Heero with a death glare, but considering the circumstances, it was like trying to glare down a puppy - wasn't going to work..they'd just lick your face..
'Right here...' I whipped my head around at that familiar voice and could see the owner of it standing in the doorway of the hospital room with a few bags in his hands. Takeout? I would have made a quip about it, but I was too intent on actually getting to the Chinese man, that I was speechless for the moment. One track mind, what can I say? Heero did his best to help me take a few mincing steps towards Wufei, who hurriedly passed the takeout bags to Trowa. I didn't see what happened to them, or where they went.. I didn't care. The moment his hands were free, Wufei was next to me and his arms were replacing Heeros as he scooped me into a damn carry that grooms would give their brides.. You know the one.. carrying over the threshold and everything? All we were missing was the - There it is. I wrapped my arms around Wufei's neck as tightly as I dared and returned the kiss he so willingly bestowed on me. When we pulled back, I could only beam when he spoke two words, and those two words made my soul fly. 'Welcome Back.'
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Phew.. There it is everyone! I ...hope this brings a few things into a more conclusive ending? :) -smiles fondly at the story- I .. really do enjoy the ending of this one. -turns and walks off stage, allowing the characters their time alone-
