Duo's voice rang out over the thumping of the hammer as he nailed a loose board back on the side of the house.

"Hitchin' on a twilight train
Ain't nothing there that I care to take along
Maybe a song
To sing when I want
Don't need to say please to no man for a happy tune."

He reached down and picked up the baby playing at his feet, swinging her around.

"Oh, I love my Rosie child
She got the way to make me happy
You and me, we go in style
Cracklin Rose, you're a store bought woman
You make me sing like a guitar hummin'
So hang on to me, girl
Our song keeps runnin' on
Play it now
Play it now, my baby
Cracklin' Rosie, make me a smile
God if it lasts for an hour, that's all right
We got all night
To set the world right
Find us a dream that don't ask no questions, yeah."

Rosemary squealed in delight and he tickled her belly.

"Pops! Come see this!" Jazz ran up panting. "HURRY!"

Duo followed along behind his son to a bare patch of land. Jazz pointed down. "Look! It's growing!"

Duo knelt and examined the tiny green shoots. "Well, of course it's growing. What did you expect? You planted it, you've watered it, it's had plenty of sunlight... " He paused, seeing the wonder on his son's face diminish slightly. "It's incredible, isn't it? Creating life? Watching it grow?"

"Yeah..." Jazz nodded, his tone awed. "Do you think the rest will grow too?"

"Sure. We'll have our own vegetables to eat before too long, you just watch."

At one time, the land their house stood on had been a sprawling farm. It had been empty for years before Duo and Heero had purchased it, turning it into a home for themselves and their children. Linra's beloved animals had plenty of room to play and grow, and Jazz had taken a surprising interest in agriculture. Duo wouldn't be surprised to see the old farm return to life under his son's hand.

Rosie squirmed in Duo's hands and he let her down to crawl around in the dirt. He was of a firm belief that keeping a child from getting dirty bordered on child abuse.

Jazz steered the baby away from his beloved plant shoots. "Do you have to go?" he asked his father.

"We're only going to be gone a couple of days. No sneaking after me this time, either." He warned.

Jazz sighed. "I know, I know. Just... "

Duo sat down in the soil and pulled Jazz down next to him. "Jazzy, ever since... well, I haven't been very comfortable letting you out of my sight. And you've been the same way about me. But... we need to start trusting life again, you know? What happened isn't going to happen again. Vire is gone and he can't hurt us any more. It's okay for us to have our own lives."

Lali rolled by and Rosie laughed and crawled after the cotrefil.

"You promise you'll always come back, right?" Jazz asked.

"Pinky swear." They joined fingers. "Before there was anyone else it was you and me against the world." Duo reminded him. "We're still the best team ever."

"Yeah." Jazz grinned. "Rosie, no, you don't eat ROCKS, you dumb kid." he took off after the baby.

Duo glanced back at the large house behind him, seeing Heero standing in the doorway watching them. Jazz was on his knees now crawling after Rosie, and Linra was feeding her animals in the distance. His hand closed around the cross around his neck, feeling a deep warmth in his soul.

His land.

His family.

He was finally home.

The glowfish danced in the waves, darting around the man's feet as he walked along the shoreline.

The beach was empty tonight, the lovers retired to the privacy of their own homes, the parents long since having packed up weary children and departed.

He glanced up at the stars. His now. He had the means to explore them of he wanted to, to go wherever he chose. He could walk past those who had known him for years and know there would be no recognition in their eyes.

How ironic. All those times as a boy he'd craved the freedom to leave his home and now he couldn't imagine being anywhere else. He wanted nothing more than to spend his days in quiet study, his nights on the shoreline.

He had a new name to go along with the new features, and he much preferred it to his old one. People had heard that name and spoke with the respect they'd been taught to show, not that which they really felt. The people he spoke to now smiled to see him for no other reason than the fact they were glad of his company.

Absently he touched a scar on the palm of his hand. His promise had died with the man he used to be as well. He'd fulfilled his duties as best he could; he wanted no more part of it. It would be quite a few more years before their ancestors returned for the next collection. Let the new Tren of Seta worry about how to handle that when it happened. It was no longer his concern.

He was not completely safe. His mother thought him well on the way to Earth by now. If she had known he'd had a change of heart, returned here...

He frowned and shook his head. Seta was a big place. She'd never find him.

He sat down in the wet sand, catching and releasing a glowfish, smiling to himself.

Home. He was home.