The light had barely faded from the sky when the gates to the fort opened and the Manguanacs swarmed out. They swiftly made their way through the Oz soldiers, avoiding the few who still stood and homing in on the five Chosen, who lay collapsed in several heaps around the castle. Quatre was the first recovered, and he struggled to his feet long enough to reassure the Manguanacs that he was fine, before he nearly collapsed again. Rashid easily caught him as he stumbled, and supported him with one arm under his shoulders, because Quatre refused to let anyone carry him and insisted on going to meet Trowa, who was being similarly assisted, before going inside the safety of the fort. No one knew exactly what the Oz soldiers would do, now that they were free, but no one was taking any chances. Right now they were too stunned to do anything, but that situation might change at any time.
Duo and Heero they found together, and the two stumbled to their feet and managed to make it several feet by leaning on each other before they almost fell as well. After that they allowed themselves to be helped.
Sally found Wufei still kneeling beside Treize's body. He managed to get up on his own and glare at her. The look she sent back was an astonishing combination of exasperated and hurt, and Wufei had the decency to look abashed, although he glared again when his cheeks started to turn slightly red. He started to stumble back to the castle on his own while Sally trailed a few feet behind him. After he fell for the fourth time, he glared at her and barked, "Are you going to help me or not?" She smiled slightly and he threw one arm over his shoulder. The two of them made it back to the fort without any other assistance.
-------------------------
The morning after that battle, Trowa heard a slight sound that brought him to full wakefulness in an instant. He'd learned, over the years, to ignore 'normal' sounds, wherever he was, and to only pay attention when there was a sound that didn't belong there. He must have heard something to bring him out of the deep, restful sleep he'd been in, only barely distinguishable from a trance by someone familiar with one.
He lay quietly with his eyes open for several minutes, trying to figure out what had happened without moving. Quatre wasn't as sensitive as he was, but he was certain that if he tried to move off the bed, Quatre would wake up. Quatre really needed this sleep - he'd practically been transparent when the stumbled up here yesterday... or was it the day before? Trowa was alarmed to discover that he'd actually lost track of how long he'd been asleep.
Of course, it wasn't as if he hadn't needed the rest, he'd been just as drained as Quatre. In fact, they probably would have been flat on their backs for weeks if it wasn't for some of the mages, who'd taken turns expending a great deal of time and effort to bring the five of them back to normal. Or so Trowa assumed, he'd only seen Quatre since the battle, since the two of them shared a room, but the mages that had tended to them had said that the others were fine, just exhausted.
Trowa himself had been too exhausted to protest having that many people around him, close to him, while he was vulnerable, and whenever he started to get very uncomfortable, Quatre would lay a hand on his arm or shoulder and leave it there until he relaxed, no matter how tired Quatre might be.
He was still a little tired, but there was no way that he was going to go to sleep until he figured out what it was that had woken him up. He heard something very faintly... it sounded like shouting. He strained to hear more, but failed. Very, very carefully, he reached for his power, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't feel any pain. After a moment's thought, he knew why. Magic couldn't heal backlash, but it hadn't been backlash that they'd been experiencing. It had been exhaustion, plain and simple - they'd given everything they had to that spell. And exhaustion could be healed by magic, simple enough.
As quietly as he could, because he knew that magic disturbances would wake Quatre faster than any physical disturbance, he funneled some of the energy into his body, improving his hearing. At once, the voices jumped to crystalline clarity.
"Out, witch!" That comment was followed by a series of curses that Trowa didn't recognize, but the voice was Rashid's. "Leave this place or I will kill you."
"I'm not leaving until I speak with him," said a firm voice, and Trowa involuntarily stiffened. He recognized that voice! But how in the world had Lady Une gotten into the fortress?!
Quatre either felt his alarm or felt him stiffen beside him on the bed, because he suddenly woke. He immediately sat up, then raked blond hair out of his eyes, a somewhat confused expression on his face. Quatre was not a morning person, not by a long shot. He managed, during the war and while they were on the run, but during the few safe days they'd had between Sank kingdom and when Quatre went to see his father, he'd always managed to sleep late and was incurably grumpy for a good hour after rising.
Now, however, he'd pushed all of that aside and had his sword in hand, ready to fight even as his mind shook off the last remnants of sleep. "What happened?" he asked, looking around the room and probably through the walls with his mage-sight. Then he relaxed slightly and blinked. "Wait a minute. Did I... I didn't dream that, right? We really did it?" he asked, turning towards Trowa.
Trowa nodded silently, then smiled as Quatre's face lit up, and he threw his arms around Trowa, dropping the sword in the process. For a minute he just stayed there, squeezing Trowa as hard as he could, and Trowa didn't protest. Everyone else could wait, now that he was with Quatre.
After a few minutes, Quatre pulled back to arm's length. "What happened? Why were you scared?" he asked.
"Lady Une is here," Trowa told him.
Quatre's eyes widened. "How?" he demanded.
"I don't know, I just found out that she was here."
"Let's go," Quatre said, sliding out from underneath the blanket, and Trowa realized that Quatre had absolutely nothing on.
Come to think of it, neither did he. The thought brought a small blush to his cheeks.
Quatre, the little mindreader, obviously hadn't given up his habit, because he glanced over his shoulder at Trowa, and the look he sent was positively devious. :Trowa,: he whispered, pausing in his preparations long enough to pose for Trowa. :Do you like what you see?:
Trowa could have happily strangled him, and might have (well, not really), if Quatre hadn't giggled like a little kid and then thrown some clean clothes at him from the chest that rested beside the bed. Sometimes he wondered if Quatre really knew what he was doing to him, then he remembered that Quatre was probably reading his mind as he thought that, and every time he looked up, Quatre's eyes were there, meeting his, that same devious smile on his face.
They hadn't gotten very physical yet. The gods knew that Heero and Duo hadn't waited, Quatre was caught up in their emotions often enough that Trowa was intimately familiar with far too much of their personal lives. He wasn't quite sure why they'd waited, but it was because of Quatre. There'd been something very wrong with doing that while they were fighting, with the way people were dying and Quatre was so incredibly on edge...
It's over now, Trowa suddenly realized as he pulled on his shirt. He knew that Quatre was interested, just not during the war, and Trowa had resigned himself to wait. It wasn't what he would have preferred, but he wasn't going to push Quatre, not when just being near him made him feel so alive.
:Yup, it's over,: Quatre said into his mind as he jammed his feet into his boots. :Which is all the more reason to deal with this as quickly as possible!:
Trowa blinked. He hadn't been aware that Quatre was this eager.
:I've been trying really hard not to think about it. I don't think I could have handled it during the war, it would have been... bad... with my power...: Here he paused and shook himself slightly. :On top of everything else we had to do, but now...: he gave Trowa that look again.
"Come on," Quatre said out loud. "Let's go see what happened."
They opened the door to their quarters, and met Heero and Duo in the hallway.
"Lady Une is here," Quatre told them, and Heero nodded shortly. "Duo, do you know how she got through the shield?"
Duo's eyes unfocused for a second, then he blinked and answered, "It's gone. She didn't have to go through anything."
"What?" Heero asked sharply.
Duo shrugged. "We don't need it anymore, and it had to be a major drain on their resources. They couldn't leave it up indefinitely. The trees will remain, and there probably won't be much bad weather in this region, but that's about it." He paused and looked around. "Where's Wufei? He has to be up by now."
Quatre's face suddenly turned very red, and Trowa had a sneaking suspicion. That suspicion was confirmed when he turned, not towards Wufei's quarters, but towards Sally's, which were in the opposite direction.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, the door opened and Wufei emerged, fully dressed and with his sword in his hand. A moment after that, Sally emerged, also dressed and with a sword, but with an inordinately pleased expression on her face. She smiled at them with a look that was almost smug, and Trowa smiled back.
"Hey Wufei, that's... ow!" Duo exclaimed as Heero grabbed his braid and pulled hard. But Heero was also wearing a slight smirk, which Wufei obviously saw, as he glared at all of them before sighing and shaking his head, his shoulders slumping slightly in defeat.
"What has happened?" he asked instead.
Quatre was smiling slightly but answered seriously. "Lady Une is here," he responded, unconsciously flashing them all an image of her. "And the shield the faeries constructed is gone, permanently."
"What does she want?" Wufei demanded, his eyes going vague as he also pinpointed her location.
"We were going to find out."
Wufei grunted acknowledgement and without waiting for the rest of them, started off down the corridor, obviously assuming that they would follow. Trowa did, but not before he heard Duo lean over and whisper to Sally, "Nice job, we were all rooting for you."
--------------------------
Lady Une had made it to the courtyard before someone stopped her, and now was standing quietly with a fixed expression on her face as Rashid glared at her. Quatre, looking as composed as ever, walked directly up to him. "What's going on, Rashid?" he asked, pretending to ignore Une for the moment.
"She wishes to speak to you, Master Quatre," Rashid said with a glare, making it obvious that if Quatre said so, he'd gladly slice her in two.
Quatre gave a slight shake of his head and turned to face Une. "What do you want, Lady?"
"I am the highest ranking member of Treize's staff to survive," Une said immediately, turning to face him. "Therefore it is essential that I brief you on the condition of the troops and the state, your majesty," she said with a deep bow.
Duo happened to be looking at Quatre when she said this, so he got to see all the color drain from his face. Quatre swallowed once, then asked in a hoarse voice that was hardly more than a whisper, "What did you say?"
"Your majesty," Une repeated. She paused for a second, then added, "The line of succession is clear."
"I am not in the line of succession," Quatre snapped. "I was disinherited, remember? By law, no mage can inherit anything!"
"Treize was quite clear on that account, actually. He left it stipulated that upon his death, all the laws concerning so-called 'faeries' and their rights as citizens of Oz would be restored to what they were before his reign, with a few additions which I am permitted to explain to you after your coronation."
Duo finally decided to cut in. Quatre was looking decidedly green. "What the hell are you talking about, lady?"
"He is the new king," Une responded, with another bow in Quatre's direction.
"Quatre?" Duo asked, looking for confirmation.
"I was fourth in line," Quatre murmured, still very pale. "Trieze had few close relatives. First was his cousin, Dorothy Catalonia." His hand drifted down to his side, where Duo knew he still had a scar from when he'd been stabbed.
"Catalonia?" Duo repeated. "You mean the witch with the eyebrows? The one who..." Duo suddenly cut himself off, wishing that he'd thought a little more before opening his mouth. Sometimes I think I should just stuff my braid in my mouth and leave it there, he thought ruefully.
Quatre winced slightly. "Yes, well... Second in line was Treize's half-uncle, a noble named Noventa." He looked questioningly towards Une.
"When Treize demanded that all of his vassals send in their troops to support his army, some questioned his demand," Une said quietly. "Noventa was among those he killed as an example to the others."
Quatre nodded, his face still pale. "And then came my father..." here he hesitated for a few seconds, then continued, "And then me."
Trowa moved up until he was directly behind Quatre, then put both of his arms around the smaller boy as he stared at Une. Quatre unconsciously raised one hand to grasp Trowa's arm, all of his attention focused on Une. "Who... who is next, now?" Quatre asked her.
Une's eyebrows rose slightly. "Your majesty..." her gaze went vague as Quatre's eyes narrowed. For a moment both froze.
Just as suddenly, they both blinked and Quatre frowned.
:What's going on, Quat?: Duo asked.
:I'm currently first in line to inherit the throne from Treize,: Quatre said softly.
:But we just killed him!:
:It doesn't matter, if what she's said is true...: Quatre trailed off for a second, and Duo could feel the tension in him. He remembered a few discussions he'd had with Quatre during their journey (as the only other one who spoke regularily, they'd had a lot of discussions), where Quatre described his relief at not being heir to his father's position, because of the pressures, the dishonesty, the outright murders that took place in the political maneuverings at that level. Quatre couldn't be happy about this.
:Screw 'em,: Duo suggested. :There have to be other people out there that can do this, let them take care of it.:
:I can't.:
:Why not?:
:Septum.:
:Who the hell is Septum?:
:He's next in line after me.:
:So?:
:He's a monster, a thousand times worse than Treize ever was. I can't let the country fall into his hands.: Quatre gave him a small smile. :I can do a lot of good for our kind in that position, far more than I ever could on my own.: He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, and Duo saw Trowa's grip on his love tighten slightly.
Trowa bent his head down until his forehead rested on the top of Quatre's head, and Quatre suddenly relaxed into him as Duo felt the slight murmur of conversation between the two. After a few seconds Quatre nodded suddenly, and straightened, raising his head, and Duo unintentionally caught the tail end of their conversation.
:..really?:
:I will always stay with you,: Trowa told him firmly.
Duo slammed up his shields, he was not going to intrude on their conversation, but a second later his brain finally caught up with what he'd just heard.
:Quatre?: he said hesitantly.
:Yes?: Quatre responded immediately, opening his eyes.
:You do realize that we'll be there for you, if you want us,: Duo told him, reaching out for Heero's support. After all, he didn't know for sure if Quatre wanted them around, now that the war was over. Quatre was such a... a... well, innocent wasn't the right word, but it didn't seem like someone like him would have much use for an assassin and a thief.
Quatre's eyes widened in surprise. :You... you'd do that? For me?:
Duo could have smacked himself. Again. Of course Quatre would assume that they'd rather be somewhere else, having fun probably. He was so giving it was irritating, sometimes. :Sure! What, you expect me to get a job or something somewhere. If you want a mangy not-so-ex-thief, you got me?:
:*My* mangy thief,: Heero corrected. :And you have us, if you need us.:
:Hai,: Wufei agreed.
:Thank you,: Quatre whispered, tears filling his eyes. :Thank you all.: He turned in Trowa's arms to give him a quick kiss, then turned back to Une. "Lady, I need to know the condition of the forces gathered outside the gates," he paused, then added, "My forces."
----------------------
Quatre rubbed his eyes and wondered how he'd missed the amount of tedious boredom involved in his new position. Well, long stretches of boredom mixed with shorter periods of intense frustration. Oh well, I guess it's better than the old pattern of long stretches of boredom followed by periods of intense terror. No doubt about it, this was infinitely preferable to what they'd faced during the war.
But still... Quatre quickly rearranged his features into something solemn and dignified, something that would be expected of a king, as the herald announced the next lord. He'd been at this for over three days now, meeting and greeting every single one of the nobles of the kingdom... my kingdom, I have to remember that... so that they could pledge loyalty to him and see him with their own eyes, and so that he could convince them that he was worthy of their loyalty. Too often, that meant proving that he really was too strong for them to attempt to bully, or worse, to overthrow. That accounted for the frustration - they had to know what he and the others had accomplished, did they really think that just because he was young and small that he was going to let them push him around?
The man who walked in was easily three or four *times* his age, and literally dripping with jewels and expensive robes. He had half a dozen retainers with him, and a quick mental check told Quatre that Rashid had refused to let him bring the other dozen or so that he had with him into the throne room. Quatre felt guilty about uprooting Rashid and taking him away from the rest of the men, but he needed some people close by that he could trust, and Treize had taken most of his staff with him to the desert, and most of them had died there, so they were a little short-handed right now.
It would be generations, probably, before the land recovered from that war. Not the land itself, they'd managed to keep most of the damage to the desert, but the nation of Oz, that was another story. They'd killed thousands of men in the desert, and while Oz was a big nation, they'd wiped out a good portion of the young men from their own generation, and those a decade or two older than them. That was going to be a serious problem in a generation, and it was a serious problem now, in terms of manpower. Quatre had been left effectively without an army.
Well, he had one, it was just that the army he had was less than a tenth of the one that Treize had possessed. His standing army, that was, to speak nothing of the troops that he could have called up, had called up from his vassals. Quatre had no such resources.
Of course, it didn't matter too much. He alone could have held the borders of Oz with his power, and the other four had stayed, so it wasn't as if Oz was in danger of invasion, it was just a good idea to have some sort of visible force to let Romafella know that they weren't weak. Oh well, as Duo had put it, screw them. If Romafella tried to attack, he'd give them a demonstration of his power. Or maybe he'd let Duo deal with them, he'd been complaining about how bored he was. Duo really needed something to occupy himself.
At least they didn't have to worry about Romafella having mages of their own. Although the normal mages (no longer called faeries, by royal decree) had gained quite a bit of power when the war ended, they were still nowhere near as powerful as any of the five, or even as powerful as any of the old mages. They had a least a generation until *those* started popping up, and even then, they were the only ones with any reliable knowledge about the old spells. Which meant that any powerful mages would either have to search for any records that had survived the past thousand years, or come to Wufei's school to learn.
Quatre did his best to conceal a smile and keep his face appropriately serious as the noble went into the long, involved greeting that was customary. It might be proper, but after you'd heard it a dozen times, it quickly lost it's appeal.
He was so glad that Wufei and Sally had found each other, and one of the best things that he'd done since becoming king was giving them money and property so that they could start a school. Wufei was going to be teaching the magical arts, and Sally was going to concentrate on spreading her rare knowledge about healing herbs. She had already sent word to Relena, explaining what had happened (Quatre would have loved to see that letter) and saying that she was going to have to resign her position as spy master. She probably couldn't have stayed there, anyway. It wasn't much use having a spy master who was good friends with the rulers of another kingdom.
Quatre had gone to Sank personally, just for a day, to tell Relena what had happened to Milliardo. That had been one of the most painful things he'd ever had to do. How exactly were you supposed to explain to a person that their beloved older brother had been possessed by demons, tried to bring about the fall of the planet, and then sacrificed himself to the same cause? Relena had been very kind about it, hiding whatever grief she felt long enough to ask Quatre if he needed any support from Sank and to tell him that she would be in contact later to establish firm relationships between their kingdoms before she excused herself so she wouldn't lose control of herself in public. It wouldn't do for a queen to be seen bursting into tears.
Heero had arrived at the palace, taken one look at what little remained of the guards who were supposed to guard the king, and dismissed them all in disgust. No one thought to question his authority until some time after, by which time Quatre had thought to cover him by declaring him Master of the Guard and a general. Technically, both of those positions were supposed to only be open to those of noble birth, but Quatre made it quite clear that he was ready to ennoble Heero if it came down to that, and no one had protested. Heero had picked the best loyal fighters out of those that had survived the war, promoted them, and was now engaged in training new troops, after he'd been over the castle from top to bottom, checking for possible weaknesses that assassins could take advantage of. Whenever he found a weakness, he bullied the servants into fixing it before moving on. Quatre found the entire situation somewhat amusing - it wasn't as if he couldn't protect himself from assassins, after all. However, there were other people close to him that he did not want in danger, and for that reason, he was grateful for everything that Heero was doing. He was even more grateful that Heero had just stayed with him. He didn't know if he'd have been able to handle this without the others supporting him, even if he didn't see them very often.
Maybe that was why he was so short-tempered right now. Trowa, officially the Royal
Consort, had left several days ago to inspect the wastelands that remained as a mute testimony to the last mage war. Quatre knew that Trowa tried not to be uncomfortable around people, normal humans in particular, for his sake, but it was a constant struggle for his lover. For that reason, Quatre had immediately agreed, even encouraged him, when Trowa had hesitantly suggested that he might go take a look at them. Trowa thought that with his powers, especially since they were given to him by the Earth itself, he might be able to start a healing process in those lands. It would take years, maybe generations, but eventually, he might be able to restore the beautiful grasslands that their predecessors had shown them.
Quatre heartily approved, although he knew that this would take Trowa away from him for long periods of time. It wasn't as if he couldn't visit him whenever he wanted, but this was the first time that they'd been separated since they went to the desert to battle. So far he was exerting his self-control and not conjuring himself to the far north to have a quick visit with his love, but he wasn't enjoying the experience. Trowa probably hadn't even reached the wastelands yet. He couldn't conjure himself right there, not without knowing what it looked like and establishing a power node there, and because of the very nature of the wastelands, there was little power at all there. And according to Trowa, what power remained was twisted and unusable.
Still... They had waited a very long time, and he'd only had Trowa for a couple of months before Trowa left, and enforced abstinence wasn't sitting very well.
A small smile did appear on his face as he remembered the first time, in the royal chambers which did not feel like they were his, in a far-too-large bed.
Quatre regretfully dragged himself back to the present as Tsuberov finished his part of the ceremony. Quatre rose and inclined his head gracefully as Tsuberov somehow managed to drop to one knee, the gesture made clumsy by his huge bulk. "We are pleased to accept your fealty," Quatre said formally, placing a hand on the man's head, inwardly wincing as he encountered a large amount of oil in his hair. "And you are welcome to stay in the palace as our guest as long as you desire." That was part of the ceremony, too, and if Quatre hadn't thought that every old noble would have been scandalized if he left it out, he probably would have. He hoped that Tsuberov left quickly.
"My honor, your majesty," Tsuberov said, hauling himself to his feet. "But before I leave, I wanted to speak with you about the taxes my realm must pay. As one of the few of your advisors who remains from your father's time, I was hoping that we could work out some sort of agreement..."
Quatre nearly groaned. It was going to be another one of those meetings. Sometimes he wished that he could just cast a spell on his nobles to make them loyal to him and leave it at that. But no, that wouldn't be right. But it was awfully tempting.
"Of course," he said through gritted teeth. "Why don't we discuss it right now?"
------------------------
Duo watched with growing amusement as Quatre patiently dealt with the fat old noble for the better part of an hour. First the man attempted to trick Quatre into placing his seal on a document that would have virtually eliminated the taxes that he had to pay to the crown. When that failed to work, he tried to bully Quatre into the same action, which obviously wasn't working, although he was too stupid to notice it.
"What's going on?" Heero asked as he suddenly appeared behind Duo, looking over his shoulder into the mirror that he'd spelled.
"Quatre's dealing with this old fart," Duo told him, leaning back into Heero and wrapping a hand around his back. Heero looked *good* in a uniform, he reflected happily. And even better out of it. Duo grinned to himself, and told himself that he could wait until evening to get his lover out of those clothes. Really, he could.
"Hn."
Quatre was really getting irritated, Duo could tell by the tension in his neck and the way that Quatre's right hand was drifting towards the spot on his hip where his sword would usually rest. Finally Quatre jumped to his feet in the middle of one of Tsuberov's rants, which was full of just-barely-veiled threats directed at Quatre's friends and family, his wings snapping out into existence behind him.
Tsuberov was so shocked at the appearance of the wings that he actually stopped talking, and several of his servants tried to hide behind his bulk.
Quatre sure knew how to make an appearance, though. He stretched his wings out to their full length as he walked down the stairs that led to the throne, making himself look as large as possible. "Lord Tsuberov," he said quietly, his tone light. "If you make one more threat against any of those I care about, I would look to your own safety quickly. Need I remind you that I am a mage, fully capable of defending and running my country without any help from any vassals?"
"No, my lord," Tsuberov choked out, dropping to one knee again.
"Good," Quatre said sternly, allowing his wings to droop a little bit, but not absorbing them into his body. He turned and walked the few steps back to the throne, then seated himself on the edge of it, since it was not designed for people with wings sticking out of their backs. "Now, I believe that we were discussing the taxes that your region pays the crown, is that right?"
"Yes, my lord," Tsuberov replied, not rising.
"It seems to me that I remember that your region was one of the few that escaped without any damage in the war, is that correct?" Quatre asked coolly, his manner suggesting that he wasn't really asking a question. Sure enough, a second later he continued. "I think that you would be in a better position that most of your fellows, isn't that right?" he asked. Again, without waiting for a response, he continued, "I think that perhaps I should *raise* the taxes your region pays, to help those injured during the war get back on their feet, so to speak."
Duo saw Tsuberov's face turn a very odd shade of purple, and he seemed unable to answer.
"Yes, I will keep that consideration in mind, thank you for the suggestion," Quatre said, ignoring the fact that that wasn't close to what Tsuberov had said. "Rashid?" he called, raising his voice slightly, and Duo saw the huge Manguanac enter the room.
"Yes, Master Quatre?"
"Please escort Lord Tsuberov back to the stables and see that his escort is ready for him," Quatre instructed smoothly. "He has to get back to his realm to make sure that the crops are ready to be gathered. He may be assisting with the recovery effort more than anticipated." The barely-veiled threat seemed to come as a shock to Tsuberov, who stumbled to his feet. Now his face was white. He bowed once, and then allowed himself to be escorted out of the room without saying a word.
Duo quickly cancelled the spell on the mirror as he saw Quatre rise from the throne and head for the door to the small room that Duo was currently in.
Quatre opened the door and closed it carefully before taking his crown off and throwing it across the room.
Duo stared at him, something was strange... it took him a second to realize what it was, and then he burst out laughing. Quatre glared at him. "What?" he snapped.
"Since when are you taller than me?" Duo asked between his chuckles. Quatre glanced down at himself. He'd obviously forgotten the fact that he'd spelled himself to look several inches taller and a few years older. He growled something unrepeatable and then rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.
"Is this because Trowa's not here?" Duo asked, unable to resist a little more teasing. "Frustration from something else boosting your self-image?"
Quatre's eyes narrowed, and Duo suddenly realized that he might have caught Quatre at the wrong time for that sort of teasing. After all, Quatre had just spent the better part of two hours dealing with the old fart, and Duo wasn't even sure how long Quatre had been at it before he started to watch. He'd only started because he'd sensed Quatre's frustration and had nothing better to do while Heero was inspecting some new recruits.
"Don't think I didn't feel you watching me, either," Quatre said slowly, and Duo could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. It suddenly occurred to him that he might have hit a little too close to home with that jab about Trowa, too. Oh, shit.
:You really shouldn't bother him right after court,: Heero said matter-of-factly, but the fact that he pulled Duo closer to him as he said it told Duo that he was still there with him, and that he was, in a weird way, just joking around. Heero had a very, very weird sense of humor, as Duo was discovering.
"I think you have a little too much free time on your hands," Quatre continued ominously, crossing his arms across his chest. As he spoke, he absorbed his wings, and his image shimmered slightly as he resumed his true form.
Duo couldn't really argue with that. He was bored - this was the first time in a very long time that he either wasn't struggling to get enough food to get by, or wasn't fighting a war. Not having either of those occupations to occupy him left him with a lot of free time.
"All right," Quatre said cheerfully, sitting down in a comfortable chair. "What are you going to do?"
Duo blinked. Whatever he'd been expecting, this hadn't been it. "What?" he asked intelligently.
"What do you want to do? Trowa is going to rebuild the wastelands, Wufei and Sally have their school, and Heero's running the Guard and the army. What are you going to do?"
Duo blinked again. "I... I, um, I don't know..." he started hesitantly.
"Duo, you better give me something to do with you, or I'm going to make you a Duke," Quatre threatened.
Duo gulped. He'd seen enough of the crap that Quatre went through because of his position to know that he didn't want any part of it. "You wouldn't."
"Try me," Quatre said, leaning forward slightly with a hint of a smile on his face. "You know that Treize killed off half of the nobility, between making examples and using them in the front lines. I've been temporarily promoting everyone I can think of who's competent, but I'm still short for rulers of quite a few regions. You're competent, I know that. In fact, I bet you'd do a good job." His smile was positively poisonous, and Duo wasn't altogether sure that Quatre was bluffing.
Nope, now was definitely not a good time to bother him, Duo thought to himself. He most certainly did not want to be a noble, and he opened his mouth to tell Quatre that. But because his brain wasn't entirely connected to his mouth, he automatically answered the question that Quatre had originally asked, with an answer that he'd been thinking about for a long time.
"I want to have an orphanage," he blurted out, then clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes widening in shock. "I mean... um..."
Quatre's eyes had widened slightly at his accidental comment, all of the malicious gleam fading from his eyes. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes thoughtful. Duo swallowed, waiting for Quatre to tell him that he really wanted to, but Oz had just lost too much in the last few years to devote many resources to something like that...
"That's a wonderful idea!" Quatre exclaimed, smiling brightly.
Duo blinked. "What?"
"Duo, that's a wonderful idea. I'm sorry I didn't think of it sooner, thank you for reminding me. There are a lot of children out there who are going to need a lot of help now that the war's over."
"You think it's a good idea?" Duo asked. In his wandering, he'd heard a lot of wealthy people talking about how horrible poverty was and how wretched the children were, but he'd never seen anyone who was actually willing to do something about it.
"Of course! Just tell me what you need, and I'll make sure it's done," Quatre told him. "Being a king has to be good for something," he muttered to himself as an afterthought.
Duo blinked again. That's it? It's that simple? It was like a dream come true, he'd always felt guilty about abandoning those kids that he'd been watching when he was little, always wanted to do more for them, and now he could... He couldn't believe that Quatre had just agreed.
:Baka. You've been thinking about this for a long while, haven't you?: Heero accused.
:Well, sort of, I wasn't really serious,: Duo protested.
Heero turned him around so they could look at each others eyes. :Yes, you were,: Heero said seriously. :Why didn't you tell me?: he sounded a little hurt.
:I didn't think it... I didn't want to waste your time with something that wasn't important,: Duo replied defensively.
:You. Are. Always. Important,: Heero said flatly, then leaned in to kiss him.
"All right, that's enough!" Quatre suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "I'm going to visit Trowa! I'll be back in a couple of hours. Tell Rashid where I've gone, and let me know as soon as you have a list of whatever you need for your orphanage," Quatre told him, and then suddenly disappeared.
Duo giggled. :You know, I think he misses Trowa a little.:
"Hn."
"Heero, you know, there are a couple of million words in our language, and I'm sure that Wufei or Quatre could teach you a couple million more in others, if you want."
"Hn."
"I just can't wait until the first time that you talk baby-talk to some little kid," Duo said, already chuckling at the mental image.
He felt a stab of alarm from Heero. "Kids?" Heero asked.
"Yeah." Duo felt a hint of guilt that he'd automatically assumed that Heero would come with him. After all, he had a lot of responsibilities here. Duo could always travel to see him...
"Baka. Of course I'll come with you. I can travel to the palace to take care of things, once everything's arranged," Heero told him. "I just..." he trailed off hesitantly. "Kids?"
"They'll love you," Duo ensured him.
"You're... sure?" Heero asked, a hint of longing in his voice.
Well, whaddya know? Heero's got a soft spot for kids, Duo marveled. "Of course I'm sure. They're just going to love you," he repeated, wrapping his arms around Heero's neck. "Just like I do. Well, almost as much as I do," he corrected after a moment's thought.
"Hn."
"Heero, what did I tell you? You have a mouth for a reason, how about you try to use it for talking."
Heero looked at him consideringly for a moment, and Duo wondered what was going through his lover's mind. "Or not, if you want," Duo continued automatically. "I mean, if you really feel that... mph!" his words were abruptly cut off as Heero showed him exactly what he thought his mouth was for.
THE END
Well, that's the end of it! Hope that everyone enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun writing it!
Official statistics: ten months of writing, 264 typed pages, approximately 150,000 words, and more strange looks from my friends and family as I pantomimed some of the scenes I was writing than I want to think about, and it's done.
I want to thank everyone who gave me encouragement all the way through this monstrosity, especially Hana-chan and Nova, who managed to write me for every single chapter I posted. I never would have been able to finish it without that encouragement.
Duo and Heero they found together, and the two stumbled to their feet and managed to make it several feet by leaning on each other before they almost fell as well. After that they allowed themselves to be helped.
Sally found Wufei still kneeling beside Treize's body. He managed to get up on his own and glare at her. The look she sent back was an astonishing combination of exasperated and hurt, and Wufei had the decency to look abashed, although he glared again when his cheeks started to turn slightly red. He started to stumble back to the castle on his own while Sally trailed a few feet behind him. After he fell for the fourth time, he glared at her and barked, "Are you going to help me or not?" She smiled slightly and he threw one arm over his shoulder. The two of them made it back to the fort without any other assistance.
-------------------------
The morning after that battle, Trowa heard a slight sound that brought him to full wakefulness in an instant. He'd learned, over the years, to ignore 'normal' sounds, wherever he was, and to only pay attention when there was a sound that didn't belong there. He must have heard something to bring him out of the deep, restful sleep he'd been in, only barely distinguishable from a trance by someone familiar with one.
He lay quietly with his eyes open for several minutes, trying to figure out what had happened without moving. Quatre wasn't as sensitive as he was, but he was certain that if he tried to move off the bed, Quatre would wake up. Quatre really needed this sleep - he'd practically been transparent when the stumbled up here yesterday... or was it the day before? Trowa was alarmed to discover that he'd actually lost track of how long he'd been asleep.
Of course, it wasn't as if he hadn't needed the rest, he'd been just as drained as Quatre. In fact, they probably would have been flat on their backs for weeks if it wasn't for some of the mages, who'd taken turns expending a great deal of time and effort to bring the five of them back to normal. Or so Trowa assumed, he'd only seen Quatre since the battle, since the two of them shared a room, but the mages that had tended to them had said that the others were fine, just exhausted.
Trowa himself had been too exhausted to protest having that many people around him, close to him, while he was vulnerable, and whenever he started to get very uncomfortable, Quatre would lay a hand on his arm or shoulder and leave it there until he relaxed, no matter how tired Quatre might be.
He was still a little tired, but there was no way that he was going to go to sleep until he figured out what it was that had woken him up. He heard something very faintly... it sounded like shouting. He strained to hear more, but failed. Very, very carefully, he reached for his power, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't feel any pain. After a moment's thought, he knew why. Magic couldn't heal backlash, but it hadn't been backlash that they'd been experiencing. It had been exhaustion, plain and simple - they'd given everything they had to that spell. And exhaustion could be healed by magic, simple enough.
As quietly as he could, because he knew that magic disturbances would wake Quatre faster than any physical disturbance, he funneled some of the energy into his body, improving his hearing. At once, the voices jumped to crystalline clarity.
"Out, witch!" That comment was followed by a series of curses that Trowa didn't recognize, but the voice was Rashid's. "Leave this place or I will kill you."
"I'm not leaving until I speak with him," said a firm voice, and Trowa involuntarily stiffened. He recognized that voice! But how in the world had Lady Une gotten into the fortress?!
Quatre either felt his alarm or felt him stiffen beside him on the bed, because he suddenly woke. He immediately sat up, then raked blond hair out of his eyes, a somewhat confused expression on his face. Quatre was not a morning person, not by a long shot. He managed, during the war and while they were on the run, but during the few safe days they'd had between Sank kingdom and when Quatre went to see his father, he'd always managed to sleep late and was incurably grumpy for a good hour after rising.
Now, however, he'd pushed all of that aside and had his sword in hand, ready to fight even as his mind shook off the last remnants of sleep. "What happened?" he asked, looking around the room and probably through the walls with his mage-sight. Then he relaxed slightly and blinked. "Wait a minute. Did I... I didn't dream that, right? We really did it?" he asked, turning towards Trowa.
Trowa nodded silently, then smiled as Quatre's face lit up, and he threw his arms around Trowa, dropping the sword in the process. For a minute he just stayed there, squeezing Trowa as hard as he could, and Trowa didn't protest. Everyone else could wait, now that he was with Quatre.
After a few minutes, Quatre pulled back to arm's length. "What happened? Why were you scared?" he asked.
"Lady Une is here," Trowa told him.
Quatre's eyes widened. "How?" he demanded.
"I don't know, I just found out that she was here."
"Let's go," Quatre said, sliding out from underneath the blanket, and Trowa realized that Quatre had absolutely nothing on.
Come to think of it, neither did he. The thought brought a small blush to his cheeks.
Quatre, the little mindreader, obviously hadn't given up his habit, because he glanced over his shoulder at Trowa, and the look he sent was positively devious. :Trowa,: he whispered, pausing in his preparations long enough to pose for Trowa. :Do you like what you see?:
Trowa could have happily strangled him, and might have (well, not really), if Quatre hadn't giggled like a little kid and then thrown some clean clothes at him from the chest that rested beside the bed. Sometimes he wondered if Quatre really knew what he was doing to him, then he remembered that Quatre was probably reading his mind as he thought that, and every time he looked up, Quatre's eyes were there, meeting his, that same devious smile on his face.
They hadn't gotten very physical yet. The gods knew that Heero and Duo hadn't waited, Quatre was caught up in their emotions often enough that Trowa was intimately familiar with far too much of their personal lives. He wasn't quite sure why they'd waited, but it was because of Quatre. There'd been something very wrong with doing that while they were fighting, with the way people were dying and Quatre was so incredibly on edge...
It's over now, Trowa suddenly realized as he pulled on his shirt. He knew that Quatre was interested, just not during the war, and Trowa had resigned himself to wait. It wasn't what he would have preferred, but he wasn't going to push Quatre, not when just being near him made him feel so alive.
:Yup, it's over,: Quatre said into his mind as he jammed his feet into his boots. :Which is all the more reason to deal with this as quickly as possible!:
Trowa blinked. He hadn't been aware that Quatre was this eager.
:I've been trying really hard not to think about it. I don't think I could have handled it during the war, it would have been... bad... with my power...: Here he paused and shook himself slightly. :On top of everything else we had to do, but now...: he gave Trowa that look again.
"Come on," Quatre said out loud. "Let's go see what happened."
They opened the door to their quarters, and met Heero and Duo in the hallway.
"Lady Une is here," Quatre told them, and Heero nodded shortly. "Duo, do you know how she got through the shield?"
Duo's eyes unfocused for a second, then he blinked and answered, "It's gone. She didn't have to go through anything."
"What?" Heero asked sharply.
Duo shrugged. "We don't need it anymore, and it had to be a major drain on their resources. They couldn't leave it up indefinitely. The trees will remain, and there probably won't be much bad weather in this region, but that's about it." He paused and looked around. "Where's Wufei? He has to be up by now."
Quatre's face suddenly turned very red, and Trowa had a sneaking suspicion. That suspicion was confirmed when he turned, not towards Wufei's quarters, but towards Sally's, which were in the opposite direction.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, the door opened and Wufei emerged, fully dressed and with his sword in his hand. A moment after that, Sally emerged, also dressed and with a sword, but with an inordinately pleased expression on her face. She smiled at them with a look that was almost smug, and Trowa smiled back.
"Hey Wufei, that's... ow!" Duo exclaimed as Heero grabbed his braid and pulled hard. But Heero was also wearing a slight smirk, which Wufei obviously saw, as he glared at all of them before sighing and shaking his head, his shoulders slumping slightly in defeat.
"What has happened?" he asked instead.
Quatre was smiling slightly but answered seriously. "Lady Une is here," he responded, unconsciously flashing them all an image of her. "And the shield the faeries constructed is gone, permanently."
"What does she want?" Wufei demanded, his eyes going vague as he also pinpointed her location.
"We were going to find out."
Wufei grunted acknowledgement and without waiting for the rest of them, started off down the corridor, obviously assuming that they would follow. Trowa did, but not before he heard Duo lean over and whisper to Sally, "Nice job, we were all rooting for you."
--------------------------
Lady Une had made it to the courtyard before someone stopped her, and now was standing quietly with a fixed expression on her face as Rashid glared at her. Quatre, looking as composed as ever, walked directly up to him. "What's going on, Rashid?" he asked, pretending to ignore Une for the moment.
"She wishes to speak to you, Master Quatre," Rashid said with a glare, making it obvious that if Quatre said so, he'd gladly slice her in two.
Quatre gave a slight shake of his head and turned to face Une. "What do you want, Lady?"
"I am the highest ranking member of Treize's staff to survive," Une said immediately, turning to face him. "Therefore it is essential that I brief you on the condition of the troops and the state, your majesty," she said with a deep bow.
Duo happened to be looking at Quatre when she said this, so he got to see all the color drain from his face. Quatre swallowed once, then asked in a hoarse voice that was hardly more than a whisper, "What did you say?"
"Your majesty," Une repeated. She paused for a second, then added, "The line of succession is clear."
"I am not in the line of succession," Quatre snapped. "I was disinherited, remember? By law, no mage can inherit anything!"
"Treize was quite clear on that account, actually. He left it stipulated that upon his death, all the laws concerning so-called 'faeries' and their rights as citizens of Oz would be restored to what they were before his reign, with a few additions which I am permitted to explain to you after your coronation."
Duo finally decided to cut in. Quatre was looking decidedly green. "What the hell are you talking about, lady?"
"He is the new king," Une responded, with another bow in Quatre's direction.
"Quatre?" Duo asked, looking for confirmation.
"I was fourth in line," Quatre murmured, still very pale. "Trieze had few close relatives. First was his cousin, Dorothy Catalonia." His hand drifted down to his side, where Duo knew he still had a scar from when he'd been stabbed.
"Catalonia?" Duo repeated. "You mean the witch with the eyebrows? The one who..." Duo suddenly cut himself off, wishing that he'd thought a little more before opening his mouth. Sometimes I think I should just stuff my braid in my mouth and leave it there, he thought ruefully.
Quatre winced slightly. "Yes, well... Second in line was Treize's half-uncle, a noble named Noventa." He looked questioningly towards Une.
"When Treize demanded that all of his vassals send in their troops to support his army, some questioned his demand," Une said quietly. "Noventa was among those he killed as an example to the others."
Quatre nodded, his face still pale. "And then came my father..." here he hesitated for a few seconds, then continued, "And then me."
Trowa moved up until he was directly behind Quatre, then put both of his arms around the smaller boy as he stared at Une. Quatre unconsciously raised one hand to grasp Trowa's arm, all of his attention focused on Une. "Who... who is next, now?" Quatre asked her.
Une's eyebrows rose slightly. "Your majesty..." her gaze went vague as Quatre's eyes narrowed. For a moment both froze.
Just as suddenly, they both blinked and Quatre frowned.
:What's going on, Quat?: Duo asked.
:I'm currently first in line to inherit the throne from Treize,: Quatre said softly.
:But we just killed him!:
:It doesn't matter, if what she's said is true...: Quatre trailed off for a second, and Duo could feel the tension in him. He remembered a few discussions he'd had with Quatre during their journey (as the only other one who spoke regularily, they'd had a lot of discussions), where Quatre described his relief at not being heir to his father's position, because of the pressures, the dishonesty, the outright murders that took place in the political maneuverings at that level. Quatre couldn't be happy about this.
:Screw 'em,: Duo suggested. :There have to be other people out there that can do this, let them take care of it.:
:I can't.:
:Why not?:
:Septum.:
:Who the hell is Septum?:
:He's next in line after me.:
:So?:
:He's a monster, a thousand times worse than Treize ever was. I can't let the country fall into his hands.: Quatre gave him a small smile. :I can do a lot of good for our kind in that position, far more than I ever could on my own.: He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, and Duo saw Trowa's grip on his love tighten slightly.
Trowa bent his head down until his forehead rested on the top of Quatre's head, and Quatre suddenly relaxed into him as Duo felt the slight murmur of conversation between the two. After a few seconds Quatre nodded suddenly, and straightened, raising his head, and Duo unintentionally caught the tail end of their conversation.
:..really?:
:I will always stay with you,: Trowa told him firmly.
Duo slammed up his shields, he was not going to intrude on their conversation, but a second later his brain finally caught up with what he'd just heard.
:Quatre?: he said hesitantly.
:Yes?: Quatre responded immediately, opening his eyes.
:You do realize that we'll be there for you, if you want us,: Duo told him, reaching out for Heero's support. After all, he didn't know for sure if Quatre wanted them around, now that the war was over. Quatre was such a... a... well, innocent wasn't the right word, but it didn't seem like someone like him would have much use for an assassin and a thief.
Quatre's eyes widened in surprise. :You... you'd do that? For me?:
Duo could have smacked himself. Again. Of course Quatre would assume that they'd rather be somewhere else, having fun probably. He was so giving it was irritating, sometimes. :Sure! What, you expect me to get a job or something somewhere. If you want a mangy not-so-ex-thief, you got me?:
:*My* mangy thief,: Heero corrected. :And you have us, if you need us.:
:Hai,: Wufei agreed.
:Thank you,: Quatre whispered, tears filling his eyes. :Thank you all.: He turned in Trowa's arms to give him a quick kiss, then turned back to Une. "Lady, I need to know the condition of the forces gathered outside the gates," he paused, then added, "My forces."
----------------------
Quatre rubbed his eyes and wondered how he'd missed the amount of tedious boredom involved in his new position. Well, long stretches of boredom mixed with shorter periods of intense frustration. Oh well, I guess it's better than the old pattern of long stretches of boredom followed by periods of intense terror. No doubt about it, this was infinitely preferable to what they'd faced during the war.
But still... Quatre quickly rearranged his features into something solemn and dignified, something that would be expected of a king, as the herald announced the next lord. He'd been at this for over three days now, meeting and greeting every single one of the nobles of the kingdom... my kingdom, I have to remember that... so that they could pledge loyalty to him and see him with their own eyes, and so that he could convince them that he was worthy of their loyalty. Too often, that meant proving that he really was too strong for them to attempt to bully, or worse, to overthrow. That accounted for the frustration - they had to know what he and the others had accomplished, did they really think that just because he was young and small that he was going to let them push him around?
The man who walked in was easily three or four *times* his age, and literally dripping with jewels and expensive robes. He had half a dozen retainers with him, and a quick mental check told Quatre that Rashid had refused to let him bring the other dozen or so that he had with him into the throne room. Quatre felt guilty about uprooting Rashid and taking him away from the rest of the men, but he needed some people close by that he could trust, and Treize had taken most of his staff with him to the desert, and most of them had died there, so they were a little short-handed right now.
It would be generations, probably, before the land recovered from that war. Not the land itself, they'd managed to keep most of the damage to the desert, but the nation of Oz, that was another story. They'd killed thousands of men in the desert, and while Oz was a big nation, they'd wiped out a good portion of the young men from their own generation, and those a decade or two older than them. That was going to be a serious problem in a generation, and it was a serious problem now, in terms of manpower. Quatre had been left effectively without an army.
Well, he had one, it was just that the army he had was less than a tenth of the one that Treize had possessed. His standing army, that was, to speak nothing of the troops that he could have called up, had called up from his vassals. Quatre had no such resources.
Of course, it didn't matter too much. He alone could have held the borders of Oz with his power, and the other four had stayed, so it wasn't as if Oz was in danger of invasion, it was just a good idea to have some sort of visible force to let Romafella know that they weren't weak. Oh well, as Duo had put it, screw them. If Romafella tried to attack, he'd give them a demonstration of his power. Or maybe he'd let Duo deal with them, he'd been complaining about how bored he was. Duo really needed something to occupy himself.
At least they didn't have to worry about Romafella having mages of their own. Although the normal mages (no longer called faeries, by royal decree) had gained quite a bit of power when the war ended, they were still nowhere near as powerful as any of the five, or even as powerful as any of the old mages. They had a least a generation until *those* started popping up, and even then, they were the only ones with any reliable knowledge about the old spells. Which meant that any powerful mages would either have to search for any records that had survived the past thousand years, or come to Wufei's school to learn.
Quatre did his best to conceal a smile and keep his face appropriately serious as the noble went into the long, involved greeting that was customary. It might be proper, but after you'd heard it a dozen times, it quickly lost it's appeal.
He was so glad that Wufei and Sally had found each other, and one of the best things that he'd done since becoming king was giving them money and property so that they could start a school. Wufei was going to be teaching the magical arts, and Sally was going to concentrate on spreading her rare knowledge about healing herbs. She had already sent word to Relena, explaining what had happened (Quatre would have loved to see that letter) and saying that she was going to have to resign her position as spy master. She probably couldn't have stayed there, anyway. It wasn't much use having a spy master who was good friends with the rulers of another kingdom.
Quatre had gone to Sank personally, just for a day, to tell Relena what had happened to Milliardo. That had been one of the most painful things he'd ever had to do. How exactly were you supposed to explain to a person that their beloved older brother had been possessed by demons, tried to bring about the fall of the planet, and then sacrificed himself to the same cause? Relena had been very kind about it, hiding whatever grief she felt long enough to ask Quatre if he needed any support from Sank and to tell him that she would be in contact later to establish firm relationships between their kingdoms before she excused herself so she wouldn't lose control of herself in public. It wouldn't do for a queen to be seen bursting into tears.
Heero had arrived at the palace, taken one look at what little remained of the guards who were supposed to guard the king, and dismissed them all in disgust. No one thought to question his authority until some time after, by which time Quatre had thought to cover him by declaring him Master of the Guard and a general. Technically, both of those positions were supposed to only be open to those of noble birth, but Quatre made it quite clear that he was ready to ennoble Heero if it came down to that, and no one had protested. Heero had picked the best loyal fighters out of those that had survived the war, promoted them, and was now engaged in training new troops, after he'd been over the castle from top to bottom, checking for possible weaknesses that assassins could take advantage of. Whenever he found a weakness, he bullied the servants into fixing it before moving on. Quatre found the entire situation somewhat amusing - it wasn't as if he couldn't protect himself from assassins, after all. However, there were other people close to him that he did not want in danger, and for that reason, he was grateful for everything that Heero was doing. He was even more grateful that Heero had just stayed with him. He didn't know if he'd have been able to handle this without the others supporting him, even if he didn't see them very often.
Maybe that was why he was so short-tempered right now. Trowa, officially the Royal
Consort, had left several days ago to inspect the wastelands that remained as a mute testimony to the last mage war. Quatre knew that Trowa tried not to be uncomfortable around people, normal humans in particular, for his sake, but it was a constant struggle for his lover. For that reason, Quatre had immediately agreed, even encouraged him, when Trowa had hesitantly suggested that he might go take a look at them. Trowa thought that with his powers, especially since they were given to him by the Earth itself, he might be able to start a healing process in those lands. It would take years, maybe generations, but eventually, he might be able to restore the beautiful grasslands that their predecessors had shown them.
Quatre heartily approved, although he knew that this would take Trowa away from him for long periods of time. It wasn't as if he couldn't visit him whenever he wanted, but this was the first time that they'd been separated since they went to the desert to battle. So far he was exerting his self-control and not conjuring himself to the far north to have a quick visit with his love, but he wasn't enjoying the experience. Trowa probably hadn't even reached the wastelands yet. He couldn't conjure himself right there, not without knowing what it looked like and establishing a power node there, and because of the very nature of the wastelands, there was little power at all there. And according to Trowa, what power remained was twisted and unusable.
Still... They had waited a very long time, and he'd only had Trowa for a couple of months before Trowa left, and enforced abstinence wasn't sitting very well.
A small smile did appear on his face as he remembered the first time, in the royal chambers which did not feel like they were his, in a far-too-large bed.
Quatre regretfully dragged himself back to the present as Tsuberov finished his part of the ceremony. Quatre rose and inclined his head gracefully as Tsuberov somehow managed to drop to one knee, the gesture made clumsy by his huge bulk. "We are pleased to accept your fealty," Quatre said formally, placing a hand on the man's head, inwardly wincing as he encountered a large amount of oil in his hair. "And you are welcome to stay in the palace as our guest as long as you desire." That was part of the ceremony, too, and if Quatre hadn't thought that every old noble would have been scandalized if he left it out, he probably would have. He hoped that Tsuberov left quickly.
"My honor, your majesty," Tsuberov said, hauling himself to his feet. "But before I leave, I wanted to speak with you about the taxes my realm must pay. As one of the few of your advisors who remains from your father's time, I was hoping that we could work out some sort of agreement..."
Quatre nearly groaned. It was going to be another one of those meetings. Sometimes he wished that he could just cast a spell on his nobles to make them loyal to him and leave it at that. But no, that wouldn't be right. But it was awfully tempting.
"Of course," he said through gritted teeth. "Why don't we discuss it right now?"
------------------------
Duo watched with growing amusement as Quatre patiently dealt with the fat old noble for the better part of an hour. First the man attempted to trick Quatre into placing his seal on a document that would have virtually eliminated the taxes that he had to pay to the crown. When that failed to work, he tried to bully Quatre into the same action, which obviously wasn't working, although he was too stupid to notice it.
"What's going on?" Heero asked as he suddenly appeared behind Duo, looking over his shoulder into the mirror that he'd spelled.
"Quatre's dealing with this old fart," Duo told him, leaning back into Heero and wrapping a hand around his back. Heero looked *good* in a uniform, he reflected happily. And even better out of it. Duo grinned to himself, and told himself that he could wait until evening to get his lover out of those clothes. Really, he could.
"Hn."
Quatre was really getting irritated, Duo could tell by the tension in his neck and the way that Quatre's right hand was drifting towards the spot on his hip where his sword would usually rest. Finally Quatre jumped to his feet in the middle of one of Tsuberov's rants, which was full of just-barely-veiled threats directed at Quatre's friends and family, his wings snapping out into existence behind him.
Tsuberov was so shocked at the appearance of the wings that he actually stopped talking, and several of his servants tried to hide behind his bulk.
Quatre sure knew how to make an appearance, though. He stretched his wings out to their full length as he walked down the stairs that led to the throne, making himself look as large as possible. "Lord Tsuberov," he said quietly, his tone light. "If you make one more threat against any of those I care about, I would look to your own safety quickly. Need I remind you that I am a mage, fully capable of defending and running my country without any help from any vassals?"
"No, my lord," Tsuberov choked out, dropping to one knee again.
"Good," Quatre said sternly, allowing his wings to droop a little bit, but not absorbing them into his body. He turned and walked the few steps back to the throne, then seated himself on the edge of it, since it was not designed for people with wings sticking out of their backs. "Now, I believe that we were discussing the taxes that your region pays the crown, is that right?"
"Yes, my lord," Tsuberov replied, not rising.
"It seems to me that I remember that your region was one of the few that escaped without any damage in the war, is that correct?" Quatre asked coolly, his manner suggesting that he wasn't really asking a question. Sure enough, a second later he continued. "I think that you would be in a better position that most of your fellows, isn't that right?" he asked. Again, without waiting for a response, he continued, "I think that perhaps I should *raise* the taxes your region pays, to help those injured during the war get back on their feet, so to speak."
Duo saw Tsuberov's face turn a very odd shade of purple, and he seemed unable to answer.
"Yes, I will keep that consideration in mind, thank you for the suggestion," Quatre said, ignoring the fact that that wasn't close to what Tsuberov had said. "Rashid?" he called, raising his voice slightly, and Duo saw the huge Manguanac enter the room.
"Yes, Master Quatre?"
"Please escort Lord Tsuberov back to the stables and see that his escort is ready for him," Quatre instructed smoothly. "He has to get back to his realm to make sure that the crops are ready to be gathered. He may be assisting with the recovery effort more than anticipated." The barely-veiled threat seemed to come as a shock to Tsuberov, who stumbled to his feet. Now his face was white. He bowed once, and then allowed himself to be escorted out of the room without saying a word.
Duo quickly cancelled the spell on the mirror as he saw Quatre rise from the throne and head for the door to the small room that Duo was currently in.
Quatre opened the door and closed it carefully before taking his crown off and throwing it across the room.
Duo stared at him, something was strange... it took him a second to realize what it was, and then he burst out laughing. Quatre glared at him. "What?" he snapped.
"Since when are you taller than me?" Duo asked between his chuckles. Quatre glanced down at himself. He'd obviously forgotten the fact that he'd spelled himself to look several inches taller and a few years older. He growled something unrepeatable and then rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.
"Is this because Trowa's not here?" Duo asked, unable to resist a little more teasing. "Frustration from something else boosting your self-image?"
Quatre's eyes narrowed, and Duo suddenly realized that he might have caught Quatre at the wrong time for that sort of teasing. After all, Quatre had just spent the better part of two hours dealing with the old fart, and Duo wasn't even sure how long Quatre had been at it before he started to watch. He'd only started because he'd sensed Quatre's frustration and had nothing better to do while Heero was inspecting some new recruits.
"Don't think I didn't feel you watching me, either," Quatre said slowly, and Duo could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. It suddenly occurred to him that he might have hit a little too close to home with that jab about Trowa, too. Oh, shit.
:You really shouldn't bother him right after court,: Heero said matter-of-factly, but the fact that he pulled Duo closer to him as he said it told Duo that he was still there with him, and that he was, in a weird way, just joking around. Heero had a very, very weird sense of humor, as Duo was discovering.
"I think you have a little too much free time on your hands," Quatre continued ominously, crossing his arms across his chest. As he spoke, he absorbed his wings, and his image shimmered slightly as he resumed his true form.
Duo couldn't really argue with that. He was bored - this was the first time in a very long time that he either wasn't struggling to get enough food to get by, or wasn't fighting a war. Not having either of those occupations to occupy him left him with a lot of free time.
"All right," Quatre said cheerfully, sitting down in a comfortable chair. "What are you going to do?"
Duo blinked. Whatever he'd been expecting, this hadn't been it. "What?" he asked intelligently.
"What do you want to do? Trowa is going to rebuild the wastelands, Wufei and Sally have their school, and Heero's running the Guard and the army. What are you going to do?"
Duo blinked again. "I... I, um, I don't know..." he started hesitantly.
"Duo, you better give me something to do with you, or I'm going to make you a Duke," Quatre threatened.
Duo gulped. He'd seen enough of the crap that Quatre went through because of his position to know that he didn't want any part of it. "You wouldn't."
"Try me," Quatre said, leaning forward slightly with a hint of a smile on his face. "You know that Treize killed off half of the nobility, between making examples and using them in the front lines. I've been temporarily promoting everyone I can think of who's competent, but I'm still short for rulers of quite a few regions. You're competent, I know that. In fact, I bet you'd do a good job." His smile was positively poisonous, and Duo wasn't altogether sure that Quatre was bluffing.
Nope, now was definitely not a good time to bother him, Duo thought to himself. He most certainly did not want to be a noble, and he opened his mouth to tell Quatre that. But because his brain wasn't entirely connected to his mouth, he automatically answered the question that Quatre had originally asked, with an answer that he'd been thinking about for a long time.
"I want to have an orphanage," he blurted out, then clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes widening in shock. "I mean... um..."
Quatre's eyes had widened slightly at his accidental comment, all of the malicious gleam fading from his eyes. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes thoughtful. Duo swallowed, waiting for Quatre to tell him that he really wanted to, but Oz had just lost too much in the last few years to devote many resources to something like that...
"That's a wonderful idea!" Quatre exclaimed, smiling brightly.
Duo blinked. "What?"
"Duo, that's a wonderful idea. I'm sorry I didn't think of it sooner, thank you for reminding me. There are a lot of children out there who are going to need a lot of help now that the war's over."
"You think it's a good idea?" Duo asked. In his wandering, he'd heard a lot of wealthy people talking about how horrible poverty was and how wretched the children were, but he'd never seen anyone who was actually willing to do something about it.
"Of course! Just tell me what you need, and I'll make sure it's done," Quatre told him. "Being a king has to be good for something," he muttered to himself as an afterthought.
Duo blinked again. That's it? It's that simple? It was like a dream come true, he'd always felt guilty about abandoning those kids that he'd been watching when he was little, always wanted to do more for them, and now he could... He couldn't believe that Quatre had just agreed.
:Baka. You've been thinking about this for a long while, haven't you?: Heero accused.
:Well, sort of, I wasn't really serious,: Duo protested.
Heero turned him around so they could look at each others eyes. :Yes, you were,: Heero said seriously. :Why didn't you tell me?: he sounded a little hurt.
:I didn't think it... I didn't want to waste your time with something that wasn't important,: Duo replied defensively.
:You. Are. Always. Important,: Heero said flatly, then leaned in to kiss him.
"All right, that's enough!" Quatre suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "I'm going to visit Trowa! I'll be back in a couple of hours. Tell Rashid where I've gone, and let me know as soon as you have a list of whatever you need for your orphanage," Quatre told him, and then suddenly disappeared.
Duo giggled. :You know, I think he misses Trowa a little.:
"Hn."
"Heero, you know, there are a couple of million words in our language, and I'm sure that Wufei or Quatre could teach you a couple million more in others, if you want."
"Hn."
"I just can't wait until the first time that you talk baby-talk to some little kid," Duo said, already chuckling at the mental image.
He felt a stab of alarm from Heero. "Kids?" Heero asked.
"Yeah." Duo felt a hint of guilt that he'd automatically assumed that Heero would come with him. After all, he had a lot of responsibilities here. Duo could always travel to see him...
"Baka. Of course I'll come with you. I can travel to the palace to take care of things, once everything's arranged," Heero told him. "I just..." he trailed off hesitantly. "Kids?"
"They'll love you," Duo ensured him.
"You're... sure?" Heero asked, a hint of longing in his voice.
Well, whaddya know? Heero's got a soft spot for kids, Duo marveled. "Of course I'm sure. They're just going to love you," he repeated, wrapping his arms around Heero's neck. "Just like I do. Well, almost as much as I do," he corrected after a moment's thought.
"Hn."
"Heero, what did I tell you? You have a mouth for a reason, how about you try to use it for talking."
Heero looked at him consideringly for a moment, and Duo wondered what was going through his lover's mind. "Or not, if you want," Duo continued automatically. "I mean, if you really feel that... mph!" his words were abruptly cut off as Heero showed him exactly what he thought his mouth was for.
THE END
Well, that's the end of it! Hope that everyone enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun writing it!
Official statistics: ten months of writing, 264 typed pages, approximately 150,000 words, and more strange looks from my friends and family as I pantomimed some of the scenes I was writing than I want to think about, and it's done.
I want to thank everyone who gave me encouragement all the way through this monstrosity, especially Hana-chan and Nova, who managed to write me for every single chapter I posted. I never would have been able to finish it without that encouragement.