Labyrinth


"So you want to go then?" He questioned, hopefully.

"Hai!!" she shouted, almost jumping out of her wheelchair.

"Minako! Be careful!" Quatre said, "If you get hurt again you can't go! And you have to
stay in the wheelchair! Promise?"

Minako pouted and crossed her arms. "Onegaaaaaiiiii????" She watched Quatre shake
his head. "Fine..... I'll be good..."

Quatre kissed her nose. "Koishiteru, Mina-chan." He smiled at her.
"Hm.." He
looked out at his Gundam, which was currently inside a rather large
parking
garage. "Iria said I could leave Sandrock here." The pilot explained.
"So
let's go hail a cab."

Minako smiled. "All right." She motioned for him to lean closer to her and she kissed
him on the cheek, watching him turn bright red. "You're so cute when you blush, you
know that?"

He blushed brighter. "Well… you're cute 24-7." He kissed her back.

Minako giggled and leaned back, closing her eyes with a sigh. "I'm so lucky to have you,
Quatre." she smiled.

"No way," he winked, "I'm lucky to have you." He kissed her again. "We'd better get a
cab. Or they'll all be gone." He grinned. "Do you want me to push you?"

Minako smiled. "Sure."

Slowly, he wheeled her to the line of taxis. One pulled right up beside them. "Would
you be needing a ride, sir?" The man asked.

"Yes, please." Quatre replied. He helped Minako into the front seat and the driver put
her wheelchair, folded up (Kattie: wheelchairs are very high-tech these days… but why
didn't she get automatic? The answer: not as romantic. Quatre couldn't push her in an
automatic ^^), in the trunk.

"Where will you two be going?" The driver asked.

"To Venus." Minako answered.

The driver smiled at her. "Sorry, I can only take you as far as the Space Port. Hope
that'll work for you."

Minako giggled. "Okay then."

"I went to Venus once," the driver said, "That's where I met my wife. In old days Paris
was the city of love. Now we have a whole planet. It shows how far we've come. A
great place for young lovers." He winked at Quatre who blushed in return.

Minako giggled again and blushed herself, not saying a word.

"My wife… Marian… she was the prettiest girl at the party. Her hair in a bun… and that
dress. I was a goner… Two days later we were married in a drive through wedding…
She said it wasn't very romantic but what did she know. Drive-through's are very
romantic."

Quatre tried to figure out why this man was telling such a personal story to them. Just a
little weird.

"That's a sweet story, sir." Minako commented. "I personally wouldn't care where I get
married. As long as I'm with my one true love."

"That's what I told her. BUT NO! And she wanted kids. So we had kids. And then!
After the divorce GUESS WHO GOT THEM! I only see them holidays… That little
sneak! HOW DARE SHE! I'm never going to Venus again! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Um..uh..." Minako looked nervously back at Quatre.

"That's horrible, sir… maybe you could tell a counselor about it?" He asked, shooting
Minako a sad smile.

The man fell silent. "Yeah… of course… so… how's your day been?"

"Trust me.... you do not want to know..."

"Fine then… Have fun on Venus." He turned the radio on and up.

Minako shrugged, then leaned her head back to rest a bit on the ride. She was still a little
weak, though she would never admit it.

Quatre watched Minako from the back left seat. Love flowed from his heart.

later

Quatre helped Minako back into her wheelchair at the Space Port.
"Good luck." The man said to Quatre with a wink.
He blushed insanely and handed the man the cab fare.

Minako smiled as the cab drove away. "Finally!" she laughed.

Quatre grinned back at her. "He was just lonely. I can relate." He kissed her forehead.
"We'd better get the tickets."

"Yes! Let's go!"

Quatre wheeled Minako over to the line. After a few minutes they had reached the front.
"How may I help you, sir?" The cashier asked.
"May I have two first-class tickets for the next shuttle to Venus please?"
The cashier smiled and winked at Minako before saying, "That'll be $10,000."

Minako's jaw dropped. "$10,000?!?!?!?!"

Quatre put a hand on Minako's shoulder and handed the cashier exact change.
"Thank you, and have a lovely trip." The cashier replied, handing him the tickets.
"Thank you." Quatre said, wheeling Minako out of line.

"Quatre.... but it... but you.....?"

He looked at her with worried eyes. "Are you okay Minako?"

"Ten-thousand dollars?! And you-" she lowered her voice to a whisper, "You carried that
much cash around?!"

"It's not a big deal, Mina-chan," Quatre explained, "I need to carry money around in case
my Gundam needs repairs. Besides… no one thinks I have any money."

"Yeah.... but....." she sighed and let her head fall down, "I'll just not think about it, I don't
want another headache.."

"I'm sorry Minako…." Quatre said, trying to comprehend what she meant, "But… I don't
understand…"

"Well, where I come from, that's ALOT of money... like, a quarter of my dad's yearly
paycheck..." She dropped her eyes and tried not to think too much about her dad.

"Um…well. I'm sorry…" Quatre replied, looking down at the ground.

Minako forced a smile, determined not to ruin the day. "It's okay. Now let's go before
we miss our shuttle."

"Alright," Quatre said. He wheeled her over to the entrance for the shuttle. With a smile,
he handed the attendant the tickets and went down the long hall, leading to the ship.

"Wow!" Minako exclaimed, "This is amazing! MUCH different than the planes back
home!"

"Planes?" Quatre questioned. "As in AIRplanes?"

"Yeah..."

Quatre looked at her in awe. "That's amazing… We stopped using those hundreds of
years ago. But they were quite impressive." He smiled.

"Ah.." Nothing surprised Minako anymore.

Slowly he wheeled her to their seats. A stewardess helped Minako into her chair.
"We'll have this in the front. When we reach our destination I'll come back to help you."
She explained to Minako.

"Thanks" Minako said.

Quatre kissed her hand. "Have you ever been on a shuttle before?"

Minako shook her head. "No...."

"You might want to sit back. It's going to be a little rough on the take off. The pilots for
the Space Ports aren't very skilled." He explained. A smile covered his lips. "But you get
free peanuts."

Minako giggled and rested he head on Quatre's shoulder. "As long as I'm with you." she
smiled.

He kissed her hair gently. "I won't leave you."

The shuttle took off, slamming them back against their seats. The pressure was great
showing that the pilot was not.
"It'll be over in a minute." Quatre explained.

Minako nodded, closed her eyes and held on to Quatre. She really hated this feeling.

After what seemed like hours, the shuttle leveled out and was smooth.
"It's
over now." Quatre explained, "Until the landing."

Minako sighed in defeat. "Oh well," she said, grinning, "At least now
I
have en excuse to hold on to you."

He kissed her head gently. "You don't need an excuse."

Minako sighed and rested her head against Quatre's shoulder. "Thank
you so
much.... This trip to Venus really means a lot to me..."

"I hope you have a good time," Quatre replied with a smile, "I love it
when
you smile." He blushed slightly.

"You're so sweet.." Minako sighed, closing her eyes. "I want to keep
you
forever."

"Then you will," he said, grinning brightly, "I'll even gift wrap
myself and
get a card."

Minako giggled and hugged Quatre tighter. "Aishiteru, koibito..." she
said
with a yawn. (she's a bit sleepy....poor Mina-chan)

Quatre smiled at her yawn. "Why don't you sleep? You don't want to be
tired
on Venus, do you?" Saying this, he realized how tired he was. His eyes
started to close.

"Oyasuminasai, my love.." Minako whispered.

"Oyasuminasai, Mina-chan." Quatre managed to speak, before falling
in to
dream world.

A couple hours later.....

*bang* *boom* *bang* *screech*

"AAHH!!" Minako shot straight up as the shuttle shook.

Quatre took Minako's hand in his own. "It's okay Mina-chan. We're not
crashing." He gave her a smile of encouragement. "The shuttle's
landing."

"Are.. are you sure? I mean...." Minako looked around, "Is this really
supposed to happen?"

He nodded sadly. "The better pilots were all taken to fight in the
war. All
that were left were amateurs and trainees."

"Oh.." Minako said, dropping her gaze, "That's sad.."

"They're still alive, some of them." Quatre looked away from Minako.
"And I
have to kill them." A lone tear slid down his cheek.

"Gomen nasai..." Minako said as she leaned next to Quatre, "I didn't
mean to
bring up such a painful subject..."

"It's alright," he replied, "I guess I should be used to it by now."

Minako frowned. "But you shouldn't have to be used to it.." she wiped
away
his tear with her finger.

He smiled slightly, but his eyes remained sad. "When this war's
over, I'm
not going to fight any more. Never again."

Minako smiled sadly and placed hand on Quatre's shoulder. "Don't
worry, once
it's over, you'll never have to."

Quatre smiled brightly at her. "Yeah, And I won't have to put you in
danger.
I'm sorry, Mina-chan. But I'll stay by your side to protect you." He
kissed
her again.

"Quatre... listen. Don't put yourself in danger to protect me. I can
take
care of myself, remember?"

"I'm sure you could. But I wouldn't risk something as important as
your life
to find out."

Minako smiled and kissed him. "You'd at least better be careful
though.... I
couldn't live without you.."

Quatre grinned back. "Well I couldn't live without you so it looks
like
we're going to have to stay alive, eh?"

Minako giggled and gazed at Quatre lovingly. "Good plan."

"I thought so. So where do you want to go on Venus? We can go
anywhere you
want. There's even an old palace. Very mysterious thought it was
there when
we first landed." Quatre went off thinking about this.

Minako's eyes went wide. 'Magellan?' she thought to herself. "Let's
go
there!"

Quatre nodded. "Alright. It should be within walking distance of the
Space
Port. I've heard it's quite beautiful." He grinned at her. "Though
not
nearly as beautiful as you."

Minako blushed and kissed Quatre on the cheek. "You're too sweet!!"

There was a loud bang as the reached the landing pad. Quatre took
Minako's
hand. "We'll be okay. But they're going to need to spend a lot of
money for
repairs."

Minako smiled and nodded, but her mind remained on one thing.
Magellan. Her
home.


As they left the ship, Quatre looked at the pilot. A complete
amateur, he
didn't even have the badge that symbolized completion of training.
This was
getting annoying. He took Minako's hand. "Are you alright? You're
being
kind of silent"

"Gomen..." Minako said quietly, "It's just... strange... being back
here.
You see, I was born here... in the palace, Magellan. This was my
home."

"Really? On Venus? I didn't know that they had established
colonization of
Venus in your time? Or do you mean in your previous life?" Quatre was
very
interested.

Minako dropped her gaze. "In my previous life.." she looked around at
all
the destruction and fought tears, "It was so beautiful here... until
Beryl..."

Quatre hugged her gently. "It's okay, Minako. You can cry if you
want.
There's no shame in crying." {not a word you anti-Quatre meanies}

Minako shook her head and pulled away from Quatre, smiling
pathetically, "I'm
fine, really..."

"Maybe you'll feel better once you see the palace? It's completely
restored
to its original condition." Quatre said, hopefully.

Minako's smile widened. "Really?"

"Let's go." He grinned back at her with lovingness in his eyes.

Minako smiled as she followed Quatre.

He had to admit, he'd be pretty upset if this had happened to his home.
They
had tried to keep some of the old houses together, but the damage was
easily
visible. 'It must be hard for Minako.' Quatre thought. "You can see
the top
of the palace to the left." He informed her, pointing at where you
could
barely make out the roofs very top.

Minako looked over and smiled at the familiar sight. "It's so..
different.."

"They couldn't restore it completely to it's original form, they'd
never seen
it. But it looks like they did a good job. Do you think so?"

Minako nodded sadly. "Yeah, but they forgot my favorite part..."

"I'm sorry." Quatre said, looking at her with his sad eyes. "This
must be
very hard for you. If you don't want to see it-"

Minako shook her head. "No, I want to see it.... it's just....
strange..."

"Alright," He replied, a little confused, "Maybe the inside will be the
same."

Minako looked down. "Yeah, maybe.." she said sadly.

'Minako,' Quatre thought, 'What can I do to make you happy again?' "I'm positive that it
will be perfect inside." He said, with optimism dripping from his voice.

Minako smiled at his attempts. Even though the words didn't help much, it made her feel
better to know that Quatre cared for her.

As they reached the palace, Quatre began to see how incredibly large it was. It made him
feel somewhat insignificant in its presence. "You lived…HERE?"

Minako nodded. "I grew up here. When I was 13, I was sent to the Moon to train as a
senshi."

Quatre looked at the ground. Had he already told her what had become of the moon? He
wasn't sure but would attempt to stay away from that topic. She probably would be…
less than thrilled, to put it lightly, to know that it had become a tourist attraction with
only large buildings and miners. He knew nothing of a castle or any ruins there.

"That must've been hard." He said.

"Well," she started, "It was.... but I had grown up knowing that one day I would leave my
family to go fulfill my... duty...."

Quatre kissed her gently. "You don't have to talk about it if it's painful…"

"No.." Minako said looking up at her koi, "It's all right. Besides, if I'm going to be in love
with you, it's good for you to know about my past. Perhaps someday, you'll know it all.."

"Well…" He looked at her beautiful face. "If you want to know my past…"

"It's all right Quatre. Don't tell me to be even. You tell me when you feel ready."

Quatre smiled. "My past is pretty boring anyway… except for maybe the Gundam
part…"

Minako giggled. "Somehow, you don't strike me as the boring type..."

"Well… I mean… There were a FEW times my sisters used me as their dolls…" He
blushed. "Apparently I make a very pretty girl…"

Minako laughed this time. "Did they tease you much? I mean..... the youngest of
twenty-nine sisters and the only boy! I'm an only child, but I hear horror stories from
Usagi who has one brother."

"Yes," Quatre grinned, "All 29 of them teamed up against me. I can't
beat them all."

"I bet that they're nice to you now that you have a huge robot!" Minako joked.

"Um... they don't really talk about that much because my father
disapproves," He grinned at her, "It's kind of a serious topic. But they
haven't dressed me up in a while." Quatre winked at her.


Minako smiled. "Well that's good." she sighed and leaned her head back, wishing that
she could stand and lean her head on his shoulder. But she had to be content with
reaching her hand back to rest on his.

After what seemed like years they finally reached the palace. A man
was
selling audio tours on a booth to the right of the entrance while
multiple
people walked in. Quatre was looking WAY up to see the whole palace.
"Was
this always so big?" He asked. {Kattie: Now think about how big his house is
and
then understand this big}

Minako looked up and examined the palace for a moment. If she had let herself, she
would start crying all over again, but she was determined not to ruin this day. "Well," she
said as she squinted her eyes, partly to focus on the top, partly to squeeze the tears back,
"It's pretty close, but they're missing a couple wings." She looked back to Quatre, "But so
much of it was destroyed in the war that there would be no way possible for them to get it
totally accurate."

Quatre sighed. He knew Minako, she would try to act cheerful and hold
all of
her pain inside until she exploded into a million pieces of hurt.
"Mina-chan..." He said quietly. Slowly, he led her in.


Minako's looked around silently as they walked inside. She tried her hardest not to break
down and sob right there. Maybe coming here wasn't such a great idea. She was
suddenly getting homesick. "It's..... different...." she whispered, turning her head so that
Quatre wouldn't see the tears falling from her eyes. She had to stay strong. She had to
stop crying.

Quatre gently kissed her cheek. "We can leave if you want to... There
are other things to see here... If you want to..."


Minako shook her head and wiped away her tears, hoping that Quatre hadn't noticed.
"No, no... it's all right." she said turning around, "I want to see this. I have to."

Quatre took her hand into his own. "Just tell me if you want to leave,
ok?"

Minako smiled and nodded. "Arigato, koibito."

Quatre smiled at her. "Don't be sad, Mina-chan. I know it's hard...
at least there's still some of it right?" He said, trying the optimistic
approach to the situation.

Minako couldn't sit there any longer. He was so good to her and she just had to hold him.
"Aishiteru, Quatre!" she shouted, jumping out of her wheel chair and embracing him
tightly.

Quatre was startled but soon regained his composure and hugged her
back.
"You promised to stay in your wheelchair remember?" He picked her up.
"I'll
just pretend this didn't happen, well, the leaping out of your
wheelchair
part, I wouldn't WANT to forget the rest." He winked.

Minako crossed her arms and pouted. "But I HATE sitting in this thing! I can't hug you!"

"Then I'll have to hug you," Quatre replied.

Minako smiled. "What would I do without you, Quatre?"

Quatre grinned back. "Aishiteru."

"You didn't answer my question!" Minako teased playfully.

"Hmm… maybe… be out of your wheelchair?" He suggested.

Minako giggled. "Silly! Yeah, but I'd also be a grumpy hag with no happiness." she
grinned.

"That's not true," Quatre insisted, "You would still have your friends. They seemed like
very nice people." He smiled.

"Yeah," Minako agreed, "But I could never imagine life without you."

"Me neither… without you I mean…" He blushed slightly.

Minako laughed softly and smiled at Quatre. "Aishiteru, koibito."

"Minako… Even if I can't imagine it… I know what life would be like… Minako…" He
looked away, "Before I met you… I was… I always acted happy… like it didn't matter
that I had to kill people… but Minako… it isn't okay… and…" He went silent and looked
back to her. "Don't leave me Minako. Just promise me alright?"

Minako looked up at her koibito, tears forming in her own eyes. "I'll never leave you
Quatre.." she said softly, "I'll die first."

Quatre took her into his arms. "I love you Minako… Koishiteru… More than anything…
More than life… I'll do anything you want… Anything… you know that right? I love you
so much." He kissed her with all of his love flowing from his heart. "I love you." He
kissed her again.

Minako shut her eyes and wrapped her arms around Quatre's neck, deepening the kiss.
She still couldn't believe how someone could be so pure, so full of love... for her. She
felt as if the curse had been lifted. She had been saved by her knight in shining armor.
Nothing could be wrong with the world now, nothing.

A tear slid down Quatre's face. Although they were together now,
destiny
would surely part them. They were from different times and the balance
of
the universe would be thrown out of place. And so, Quatre held Minako,
and
swore never to let go.

Minako felt the hot tears falling onto her and she looked at Quatre, a concerned look in
her eyes. "Koibito?"

"It's nothing." Quatre replied, wiping his tears away. "I just..
I'm sorry.
I won't ruin your day with my selfish problems."


Minako frowned, "Quatre... you know that you can tell me anything. Besides, nothing
could ruin this day as long as you're here with me."




"Mina-chan... How long can this really last? Whatever force sent you
here... it could send you back. It would separate us. Most likely it
will... I don't think I could live with that. It was hard enough
before. Having no happiness. But it would be so much harder having known
happiness to have it taken away. I don't think I could survive Minako.
I'd just... fade away... like our time together... I'd fade away with
the memories. And disappear..." Quatre was holding in his tears with
all of his strength, but he was growing weak.



Tears formed in Minako's eyes as she realized that all that Quatre said was true. She was
so distracted that she never considered the fact that she would have to go back. "Kuso!"
she shouted upward. "You did it again, didn't you Danburite?!" She ignored the
confused look on Quatre's face and continued on, "Why can't you leave me the hell
alone?! Why why why?!?!" she pounded her fists on her lap then stopped, her body
wracking with sobs. "Gomen nasai, Quatre....."

Quatre took Minako into his arms. "Even if we are physically separated
our souls will eternally be together. I love you." He kissed her
gently. "Since.. since you're leaving.. and we don't know how long we will
be together..." he turned bright red. "will..uh...will you maybe...marry
me?"

At first, Minako thought she heard wrong. She blinked, then studied Quatre's face. It
was full of sincerity and love. She smiled brightly, all sadness forgotten and she wrapped
her arms around him and brought her nose so that it was touching the tip of his. "Quatre
Reberba Winner, nothing in the world, yours or mine would make me happier than to be
your wife."

Quatre forgot all sadness and felt complete ecstasy at her words. "You... you will?
Really?" He stared at her, wondering if maybe he misheard her.

Minako nodded her head and whispered, "Yes, koibito. My koibito. I will marry you,
and you will make my life complete."

Quatre took her into his arms once again. "I love you Minako! I love you, konyakusha! I
promise to make you happy! Aishiteru!" The only thing Quatre could think was
happiness. "OOOH! You want to go get a ring? You can choose. Any ring you want!"
He couldn't help but get excited.

Minako giggled at his excitedness. "Whatever you want Quatre. As long as I'm with
you."

Quatre looked around at the castle. "Do you want to look around more?"

Minako nodded, still smiling. "But do I still have to stay in the wheelchair?"

"Yes," Quatre said. "Unless you want me to carry you again?"

Minako giggled. "I would have you carry me, but your arms will get tired...." she sighed,
"Fine.... I'll stay in the wheelchair.... but that doesn't mean that I'll like it!" she pretended
to pout.

"You look really cute when you pout," Quatre said, "I'll give you a kiss if you smile."

Minako giggled at Quatre's boldness. He was much less shy than before.

Quatre kissed her gently. "You stay that way." He smiled. "Let's promise to be happy
from now on. Alright?"

Minako nodded and smiles up at Quatre. "Aishiteru, iinazuke." she said lovingly.

"Do you promise?" He asked, ignoring her cuteness. "I need an answer, koishii."

Minako sighed. "All right.... as long as you promise to do the same."

"I promise. I'll try my hardest to be happy. It won't be hard with you here." He kissed her
again. "Aishiteru."

Minako smiled and placed her fingers gently on Quatre's. "Ready?"

Quatre nodded. "As long as you are, my love."

Minako nodded, apprehension finally catching up to her blissful mood, but she wouldn't
let it overcome her. She wanted this. She wanted to see her past, her home. She
watched silently as Quatre wheeled her through the palace. She had noticed many things
out of place, but that was to be expected. While the differences did cast a shadow on her
happiness, she was still content, knowing that Quatre was with her.

As hard as Quatre tried, he couldn't concentrate on the beautiful
palace.
Verses of "I'm getting married in the morning," floated through his
head
{from Pygmalion- fyi}. He could only think of Minako. And that they
were
getting married.


Minako sighed, not at the beauty of the palace, but at the happiness that comsumed her
heart. Never in her life had she ever imagined feeling so happy. She thought about what
it would be like. Wearing that beautiful dress, Quatre at the end of the aisle, beautiful
flowers, Quatre at the end of the aisle, people dancing, laughing, singing, and Quatre by
her side. All she could think about was Quatre... her fiancé.... soon to be her husband.
And she would be a wife. Quatre's wife. She giggled, thinking of all the wonderful
things.

Quatre smiled at Minako. "You look so beautiful when you smile."

Minako smiled up at Quatre. "Oh Quatre, I can't wait! I'm so excited!"

Quatre kissed her hand. "It will be the greatest honor my life has ever known."

"When will we be married?" she asked exitedly.

"Whenever you want." Quatre said. "But I hope soon. Maybe after we're done with our
business here."

Minako smiled. "It couldn't be too soon."

"Wait," A thought struck Quatre's mind, "Wouldn't you want your friends to come?...
maybe... there's some way? I'm sorry I don't know much about your powers..." He
instantly felt at having brought up her friends. "I'm sorry... if you'd rather not talk about
it..."

Minako thought for a moment, memories and dreams whizzing through her head, but she
finally made her decision. "I... I have no way to communicate with my friends.... who
knows how long it'll be until I see them again... but by then, it may be too late." She
looked up at Quatre and smiled slightly, "Quatre. Right now, I don't care who's there to
see it, I want this, and as long as I have you by my side, I will be content."

"That," Quatre said, "Is why I love you. You're so caring. And you always try to be
optimistic. You're wonderful Mina-chan. I love you."

Minako sighed dreamily. "And I love you too."

"If it would make you feel better... It could just be us. And a priest or judge or whomever
to do the ceremony. Whatever you want Minako. You can do whatever you want." He
was looking at her eyes, falling into their pureness.

"No, Quatre. Invite your friends and your family. It would make me happy to know that
you're not alone."

"Minako," Quatre smiled at her, "After we are married you'll have 29 sisters. You can
see how Usagi feels."

Minako giggled. "I'll just keep reminding myself that you're more than worth it."

Quatre couldn't help laughing, it felt good to laugh. Then he got serious. "But you have
to remember their names. Otherwise they'll get mad. And they get REALLY mad if you
mix them up."

Minako put on a fake frown. "Oh great..... Looks like I'm doomed."

"Of course not," Quatre waved his hand as if to dismiss it, "We'll have you memorizing
them in no time."

Minako giggled. "You have that much faith in me?!" she laughed, "I can't even
remember your friends' names!"

Quatre smiled at her. "Maybe you should memorize their names
first, they
might shoot you if you forget." He could picture Hiiro getting called
Jiro or
something. 'Omae o korosu!' Hiiro shouted. Quatre got a big
sweatdrop.
"Actually, just remember Hiiro's the one who would kill you if you
forgot his
name." He smiled. "Or at least he'd say he would, he still hasn't
killed
Miss Relena."

Minako raised an eyebrow. "Who's Relena?"

Quatre smiled. "Relena is Hiiro's girlfriend." He explained. "Only he
won't
admit it. She's a very nice person. She's the leader of the
Peacecraft
Nation. One of the few pacifist nations."

"Oh!" she giggled, "So Hiiro has a girlfriend, ne? I never would have imagined it!"

They're pretty opposite of one another. But it kind of makes sense,"
Quatre
continued, "Hiiro can't stand people who are like him. He has to be
dominating." He grinned. "But Relena can make him act differently.
You
should see them together. It just seems right."

Minako smiled. "Almost as right as us?"

"Almost," Quatre grinned, "But not quite."

"Quatre Reberba Winner!" she scolded. Looking up at his confused face, she continued
on, "If you don't come down and kiss me right this instant you'll be in more trouble than
you could possibly imagine! You'd be better off as a captive with OZ!"

"Yes, Minako-sama," Quatre did a quick solute before leaning down and
kissing
her. "I wouldn't want to see you mad." He joked.


Minako smiled up at Quatre and sighed happily. "Aishiteru, koibito."

Quatre held her hand tightly. "Is there anything else you want to see
here?"
he asked, anxious to leave.


Minako shook her head. "My mind is in focused on one thing right now, Quatre. Let's
go."

"Alright," Quatre said, pushing her wheelchair out of the palace. "Do
you
want to go shopping for your ring now?" he asked. It was at that
moment a
thought occurred to him. He dug in his shirt and pulled out a long
chain.
At the end of the chain was a ring. "Unless, you'd want my mother's
ring
instead? It's kind of old fashioned. I'm sorry if asking offends
you.

Minako's eyes filled with tears as Quatre gently placed the ring in her hand. She studied
the ring in awe. It was gold, with a huge diamond which was surrounded by small
sapphires. She smiled up at Quatre. "This is the most beautiful ring that I've ever seen!"
she paused, then handed it back to him, "But it's too special to you Quatre. I could never
take this away from you."

"No," Quatre shook his head, "Something this special could never
compare to
how special you are." He smiled at her. "But I hope it's good
enough."

Minako smiled up at Quatre. "It's better than I could possibly imagine. I'll cherish this
forever, koibito."

Quatre grinned back. "Minako," He kissed her, "That's why I love you!
You're so wonderful!"


Minako kissed Quatre back and smiled again. "Nope. YOU'RE wonderful."

"Not nearly as wonderful as you." Quatre blushed. "We sound like newlyweds already."

"Well, if we stand here all year, we'll NEVER be newlyweds, now will we?" she giggled.

"Well… do you want to be married here?" He asked.

Minako gasped. "We could do that?"

"Of course," Quatre said, kissing her on the cheek, "Anything you want. Anything that's
within my power. Only for you." He smiled at her.

"Oh.... Quatre....." she wrapped her arms around him, "Aishiteru!"

"Aishiteru," Quatre replied, "Eiei…"

3 weeks later

Minako sighed dreamily as she let herself fall back onto her bed. It was only two weeks
until the wedding and she was on cloud nine. She thought back about how she dreamed
of being a bride, and how her groom couldn't be more perfect. She briefly thought about
her friends and how she longed for them to be there with her, but she brushed the thought
away and forced herself to smile. This was going to be the happiest day of her life, and
as long as she had Quatre, nothing could be better.


Quatre sat in his study staring at the envelope. It was a red
envelope.
Red... It was a notice that someone had died. He stared at it trying
to
figure out who had died and how he hadn't noticed. As he thought about
it,
he realized something was missing, but he had been so much into his
wedding
plans that he hadn't payed attention.
He began to lose focus on the object and drift into his thoughts.

Minako held her ringed finger up in front of her as she gazed happily at the treasure. She
still couldn't believe how Quatre could give away something so special to him....

A sudden shock ripped through her body and she sat straight up. Something was wrong,
but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Quatre.... she had to see Quatre. She left her
room and made her way to his study, then gently knocked on the door.

Meanwhile

Quatre sat sobbing in his room. He didn't need to read the letter. He could feel who was
gone. And now, the tears just wouldn't stop flowing. "Father..." He whispered.

outside

"Quatre?" she knocked again, "Quatre, are you all right?"

Inside

Quatre tried desperately to stop crying. He didn't want her to see him sad, especially
since he had promised to be happy. "I'm…fine." His voice cracked on the last word. The
red envelope sat in his lap, unopened, sealing the fate of his father, and how he had died.

Minako frowned. "No, Quatre.... you're not all right.... can I come in?"

"Just a second." Quickly, he brushed away his tears and forced a smile. "Um… you can
come in now…"

Minako stepped in slowly and looked over to where he was standing. His eyes wet with
tears and his cheeks covered in red streaks. She looked at him, puzzled until she saw the
envelope in his hand. The red envelope. "....Quatre..."

"Yes, Minako?" Quatre asked, with a look of extreme happiness that was too happy to be
real, plastered on his face. But his eyes were full of tears. "Is there something you would
like?"

Minako walked up next to Quatre and brushed her fingers across his cheek. "Quatre....
please talk to me....."

"I'm fine… really I'm fine." His smile cracked into a frown as the tears began to fall. The
sobs began to echo from his throat once again. "I'm fine. Just fine…"

Minako wrapped her arms around Quatre and soon found herself crying as well, even
though she didn't know what had happened. She could feel his hurt, his pain, and she had
to be there for him.

"I'm sorry… I promised that I'd be happy… but…but… he's dead, Minako! He's gone
forever! Just like my mom…" He could barely speak through his sobs.

"Who?" she asked calmly, holding Quatre tighter.

"M-my dad! He's dead just like mom! And… he died hating me!" He squeezed the
envelope in his hand.

"Shh...shh.." Minako soothed. She looked Quatre in the eyes with a serious expression.
"Quatre.. he didn't hate you."

"But he did! All because I had to be a stupid gundam pilot! Because I couldn't end the
war by not fighting… And he hated me for it!" Pain filled his heart as well as his eyes.
The memories seemed to drown him.

Flashback

"Dad… I have to pilot the Gundam. I need to fight for peace." Quatre told his father.

"Then be a coward and pilot it! You'll only be adding fuel to the fire of war!" His father
retorted.

"Why can't you understand? The colonies don't have any army! They need someone to
protect them! If we all just sat here than OZ would take over and we'd all be under their
control!"

"It would be better than being a murderer."

Quatre stared at him for a few minutes, his eyes pleading for him to show a sign that it
was okay, but there was nothing, only a hard glare. "Good bye, father." He whispered,
leaving the room.

End flashback

"All I wanted was for him to accept me… but he wouldn't… and now he never will!"

Minako's expression softened. "Quatre.... nomatter what you think, your father DID love
you....... He told me so himself..."

Quatre looked up at Minako with tear-filled and hope-filled eyes. "Really?" uh oh it's
the wounded puppy dog look from Quatre. No one can resist

Minako nodded and smiled sadly. "Yes..... before we left, he wanted to talk to me
privately. He wanted to explain to me that the reason that he didn't want you to be a
gundam pilot was because he was worried about you. He cared for you and didn't want to
see you get hurt."

"He did?" Quatre questioned. Tears began sweeping down his cheeks again. He looked
to the ground. "Kamisama… I loved him so much, Minako… He… I looked up to him…
I always wanted to be like him…" Looking at the letter, Quatre sighed. "Mina-chan
would you … read it to me…onegai?"

Minako gently took the letter into her hands. "If you're sure..." She carefully opened the
letter and examined it. She held back her tears as she began to read.

"To the Family of Robert Winner:

We regret to inform you that Robert Winner, businessman and father, became a casualty
to the war on 6/2 in the year After Colony 195. Your loved one died courageously
fighting for what he believed in, and will always be remembered on Colony 04.

As the OZ forces attacked our colony, they demanded the ownership of satellites, which
Mr. Winner rightfully owned. Defying the enemy, Mr. Winner refused to acknowledge
them. In response, OZ demolished the satellite that he was currently staying residence at.

Included in this documentation is his will. We hope this letter may be of some comfort
to you. Thank you for your time.

Regretfully,

Colony 04"

She handed the letter back to Quatre gently. "He was a brave man, Quatre, and he only
wanted the best for you."

Quatre bit hit lip to hold in the sobs. Harder and harder as it grew harder to hold them in.
Soon he could taste his own blood… and then the sobs were released. "Damn OZ! Why
do they have to do that? They've done enough! Now they're attacking civilians!
Why?…"

Minako held Quatre close, letting her own tears fall. "I'm sorry Quatre.. I don't know..."

The sadness built into rage within Quatre's heart. "I'll kill them," he whispered, "I'll kill
them all… those bloodthirsty barbarians… all of them…"

Minako pulled back slightly, a bit frightened by his words. "Quatre..... that won't help
anything. You of all people. You've always said that fighting was wrong. Revenge is
not the answer. Besides.... why should you stoop to their level?" her eyes softened and
she took Quatre's hand into hers, "Quatre... what they did was horrible, but..... the only
way to get through this is to forgive."

"Forgive the people that made me fight in the first place!" Quatre glared across the room.
"No… Not when I can show them what they've taught me. They made me this way, and
they will suffer for it. And for all of their bad deeds." Quatre smiled.

"No! Quatre... please..... this isn't you!"

"Minako," Quatre embraced her gently, "I'm sorry," he pulled away, "but this is me. I
have to grow up, Minako. Hiiro did… Everyone else has figured it all out… I tried so
hard to be kind to everyone…

But you know what Minako? They walked all over me because of it. I guess kindness
must also be a childish thing… I need to grow up. And OZ will pay for all they have
done…"

Minako hung her head low. "Then you are no better than them..." she said sadly, tears
falling from her eyes.

The words stung Quatre at the depths of his heart. "I'm sorry Minako… I'm sorry…"
His vision began to blur. "I'm so sorry…" And then he fell.

"Quatre!" she knelt down beside him, "Quatre, are you all right?"

"I'm sorry…" Quatre repeated, looking up at her, "You shouldn't have to see this… when
people… when people die… I kind of lose control of my thoughts… As if killing OZ
would bring them back…" He looked at the letter. "I don't want to fight…" and then back
at Minako. "But I will… for the colonies."

Minako shook her head and placed both her hands on Quatre's shoulders. "No, Quatre..
please.."

"Minako," his expression changed to a solemn look, "I can't be selfish anymore. I won't
be a child as I said. Even if I don't want to fight I have to. Otherwise the colonies will
loose this war." He brushed her cheek with his hand, "Relena-san's father was king of the
Sanc Kingdom, a pacifist nation. Was, Minako. Pacifist nations never last long… but
she is now queen, and her kingdom will live, because I, for one, am going to protect it.
That's how the world works, koishii. You have to fight to protect…"

"Quatre..... if you are to protect the Sanc Kingdom, then do so by defending them, not
setting out to attack them. Please Quatre.... it hurts me to see you this way." she said, her
voice cracking on the last words.

As Quatre saw her eyes, his expression softened. "Minako, try to
understand," He kissed her cheek, "Sometimes you have to attack first,
you
can't just defend something, it'll get you nowhere. That would be
giving
them the advantage of choosing where to fight and giving them plenty of
time
to analyze the situation. Plus it would ruin the countryside of the
kingdom.
Wouldn't it be better if we had the advantage? If their land got
ruined?"

Minako closed her eyes as soft sobs escaped her lips. 'What can I do..?' she her mind
screamed, 'He'll get himself killed this way....' Then she finally made a decision of what
to do. Her mind wrestled until she finally decided that there was no other way. Clasping
her hands together, she grasped the ring that encircled her finger, and slid it off gently.
"I'm sorry Quatre,..... but you're not who you used to be. The one that I know and love...
and..." her voice cracked, but she pressed on, "until he comes back... I..." she placed the
ring into his hand and squeezed it closed, "I can't marry you." That said, she turned and
ran out of the room, sobbing.