Disclaimer: This story was written by a fan only for the enjoyment of other fans, without any monetary compensation. Gundam Wing and its characters are registered trademarks of Bandai Entertainment Inc.™ and Sotsu Agency. All rights reserved.


Weihnachtsgans Augustus

Epilogue

Ducking his head to avoid a small swarm of birds taking off from the brightly lit tree in front of the cabin, Trent Boyle frowned slightly. From inside the house he could hear music and voices.

When the leader of the SAR team had called his former commander earlier that day to update him, as promised, on the condition of the injured snowboarders - amazingly, the three teenagers had suffered no more than a few broken bones and a concussion between them - Treize had invited him to spend New Year's Eve with him and his friends at their cabin. Reluctantly Trent had accepted. He was not much of a party animal. His normal routine was to watch the ball drop in New York and then take Rusty on a long and peaceful walk through the woods. But of course, Rusty was gone… Maybe he could use a little distraction tonight.

The young man, carrying a bottle of champagne in one hand and some sparkling cider in the other, was still trying to figure out how to ring the bell without having to set down his load when the door suddenly opened seemingly on its own. But before he had a chance to wonder about it a large nearly white dog, a Russian Wolfhound if he wasn't mistaken, appeared to greet him with a wagging tail.

"Hello there, aren't you the pretty one?"

"Trent, come in. Close the door," the commander's voice beckoned in from inside the living room.

He followed the invitation, pushed the door close with his foot and slipped off his boots before walking into the room, followed by the Borzoi. The group was sitting around a large table playing some kind of board game, but Treize rose to his feet as soon as he entered.

"I'm glad you could make it."

"Thanks…Um…I've brought something to drink."

"Oh, great. Let me put those on ice." His former commander took the bottles from him. "Have a seat."

As Trent walked around the table, heading for one of the empty chairs he noticed a doggy pen in front of the lit fireplace. Curious he stretched his neck for a look inside, expecting another dog, maybe a puppy but was surprised when instead he found a goose grooming it's feathers. He frowned slightly, about to ask a question then remembered something Treize had told him during their call.

"Umm…Trent, if there is something that strikes you as a little…. well, unusual tonight, try not to think too much about it and just ignore it."

Was this what the commander was talking about? Alright, so geese weren't exactly the most common pets but it wasn't unheard of either. Still musing Trent found his seat next to the young man with long braided hair. The other day on the slope, when he first met them he had almost made the mistake of mistaking him for a woman.

"Hey," the young man grinned at him. "Nice to see you again. Ever played Apples to Apples before?"

"Not that I can remember," he replied. "But I'm sure I'll learn."

Sure enough the game was easy to figure out, and a lot of fun. Before he knew it the clock showed 10:45 and someone suggested turning on the TV. While they watched the New Years Eve show from Times Square in New York Treize and the young man named Heero opened a few bottles of champagne and the sparkling cider and filled everyone's glass with the drink of their choice.

When the ball dropped they joined the countdown and then toasted one another. Trent smiled, glad that he had accepted the commander's invitation. The evening had turned out a lot more fun than he had imagined.

###

After finishing his glass Boyle slipped off to the bathroom. When he returned he noticed Quatre leaving the cabin, apparently to let out the dog. He hesitated for a few minutes before putting on his boots, grabbing his jacket and following the blonde.

Wearing only his sweater, the young man was standing on the patio, his face turned up toward the gently falling snow. In the front yard Cabal was running around, sniffing here and digging there.

"Isn't it bit chilly out here without a jacket?"

Quatre turned his head.

"It's not that bad. I love the snow, don't you?"

"Not if I have to scrape it off my car at 5 o'clock in the morning," Trent replied tongue in cheek.

They both laughed. Then they grew quiet. Silence fell over the scene until Boyle spoke again.

"You really saw him, didn't you; Rusty I mean?" he asked, grateful for the opportunity to speak privately with the young man.

"I did." Quatre confirmed. "But so did you, did you not?"

Trent hesitated.

"As I said, I'm not sure what I saw." He finally admitted. "The wind...the snow...the sun reflecting off it...it all can play tricks on your eyes, and your mind."

#

Quatre just smiled, softly. It sounded to him as though the other man was trying to convince himself not to have seen what he saw.

After a few more moments of hesitation Trent looked up at him. "Do you think it is possible... that he might show himself again?"

The younger man shrugged. "I don't have an answer to that. But I can tell you that if you open your eyes... no, if you open your mind you might be surprised what is possible."

Trent seemed to think about that for a moment, then nodded.

"Thanks. I think I might take a little walk. I'll be back in a while. You guys are not going to bed any time soon, are you?"

"Not for another few hours, I'm sure."

"See you later then."

Quatre 's eyes followed the older man until his form disappeared amongst the darkness between the trees.

"Thanks, Alexander," he spoke when he was sure that he wouldn't be heard. "for not butting in. He needs to figure this out by himself. Somehow I have a feeling, he will. Cabal! Here boy! let's go back inside."


The end

Author's note: Another story done. Just in time too. With Chinese New Year being so early this year I need to start working on that fic. I meant to write a installment about Wufei in the Ghost Detective arc for 3 years now but somehow Chinese New year always seemed to sneak up on me. But this year I really, really want to get it done.

Some of you might be interested to hear that I made some New Year's resolutions for 2014 which include finishing some of my unfinished stories. High on my list are The Museum and The Piano and also Spirit of the Blue-eyed Wolf. That doesn't mean I won't work on other fics, but those three will get my main attention.

This weekend I'll also remove some of my older fics from this site, mainly those that have not been finished and never will be or have been re-written or integrated into other story plots.