Torment of Paradise
Chapter 20
The breeze rustled around Quatre as he stood on the hill, looking down at the tree below. The swing moved rather forlornly on the thick old branch, a gentle creaking sound reaching his ears as he walked down and sat on it.
"So this is what it's like to be dead." he said softly as he gazed around the green field.
He looked down at his clothes, the plain khaki slacks and blue button down shirt greeting his eyes; he certainly didn't look dead. The last thing he remembered was the gun going off and the searing pain in his shoulder followed by faint recollections of Jess' face and voice; that sweet voice he would never hear again. He sighed sadly as some of h is last words to her drifted across his mind, the ones of anger in particular. Picking a blade of grass, he studied it closely, trying to wash away the feelings of remorse inside it would seem that he would be here by himself for a very long time. Absentmindedly, he rubbed his shoulder, a stinging sensation spreading throughout it, almost like when the bullet hit him but lesser.
"Odd...should I feel this if I'm dead?" he mumbled as he peered down at the joint.
"Unchuu no kokoro..."
Quatre looked around at the faint words; he was ceratin that was Jess' voice that had uttered them. After looking warily around for a bit and brushing it aside, he closed his eyes and sank back against the smooth wood of the swing. It would seem that he would be here by himself for a very long time.
Bright sunlight lashed at his pupils as he opened his eyes slightly. With a groan, he shut them again hastily as he tried to sit up from the soft surface but collapsed back down as pain lashed through his shoulder joint.
"Take it easy Q-kun. Just lay back down and rest."
He forced his eyelids open, blinking as the light flooded in and blinded him temporarily. Slowly, everything came into focus, revealing the light airy bedroom, the tangy smell of the sea wafting in from the curtained windows. Blinking slowly, he turned his attenntion to the face hovering above him anxiously.
"Jess?!" he started as he tried to sit back up again and managed to pull his shoulder.
"Didn't I tell you to take it easy?" she said as she helped him lean back into the large overstuffed pillows. "You'll strain your shoulder and Iria will kill me if I let anything else happen to her little brother."
Quatre didn't say anything as he simply looked up at her, her brown eyes flashing violet with worry. Jess gave him a faint smile as she reached over to the night table and wrung a cloth before mopping his brow with it.
"Jess..."
"Hai?" she looked at him as she placed the cloth back in the basin. "Do you want your pillow fluffed? Are you thirsty?"
He shook his head. "Did you sleep at all? Your eyes are circled a bit."
"I took naps and all." she said as she edged her chair closer to the edge of the bed.
"Iria was here?"
"Yeah. She says that I am a bad influence on you; you never got shot before meeting me. You yourself look like you need the sleep."
"I'm just a bit tired." he said as he looked out the window again. "Back where it all began..."
"Yeah..." Jess looked out the window with a slightly distant look on her face.
"How did I end up here?" he asked quietly watching the light curtains flutter with the breeze.
"Wufei brought you here. I called Iria on my way down from space. Turns out she was on Earth, looking for a house."
"Oh. You said something?"
"Pardon? The thing about Wufei bringing you or Iria and the house?"
"No, something about an oochie onko something. What was that again?"
Her face went bright red. "I never told you about that...you were with Wufei when..." she trailed off, realizing that she had incriminated herself.
"Back when you destoyed the satellite I suppose. What was it that you said?"
She smiled at him, the anxiousness starting to vanish from her eyes. "Unchuu...not oochie. Unchuu no kokoro; it means 'heart of the universe'. If anyone has that, it's you Q-kun. You use your head and your heart to protect the tenuous peace in space."
"Has peace come to..." he trailed off seeing her nod.
"For the past few days, the mess that was made is being cleaned up rather nicely by Treize; many countries had to be appeased. Turns out Une and Samuel weren't just messing around with the colonies. So I had Wufei see Treize off safely and things are going back to the way they were before."
"Wufei?" Quatre blinked in surprise. "Wufei actually took Treize to where he needed to go? Without a fuss? Maybe I really am dead and this is some weird sort of dream."
"No, it's not." she said with a laugh. "Wufei had his reasons for taking Treize. Seeing as how I interrupted them and all."
"Interrupted them?" Quatre asked.
"They were...duelling when I showed up and crashed the party."
Quatre watched as her face went a bright red. "Duelling...don't tell me you mean-"
"I do."
"Treize and Wufei?"
"Hai"
"I thought Treize was married..."
"So did I. Talk about coming out of the closet."
"He's having an affair with his enemy?"
"Go figure?" she said with a shrug.
Quatre shook his head as he tried to sit up a bit more. "I don't think I want to even ask. And what about-"
"He's dead. I didn't shoot him like you wanted me too; you were right, he wasn't worth it at all."
Reaching forward, Quatre took her hand in his and held it lightly. "And it's all over now.
Jess shook her head, her hand closing around his tighter. "No, it's not; "it never will be until this war is over."
"Until the war is over? Jess, what are you talking about?"
She didn't say anything for a few minutes, her hand starting to shake slightly. Slowly, Quatre laced his fingers through hers, helping her to keep her hand still. Her eyes shifted to their hands before she finally spoke.
"It's all right. I brought you one of your favourite books. Want me to read it to you?"
Quatre simply nodded his head as he patted the space beside him. Taking the book from the table, she settled down beside him and started reading aloud, the book resting between them. Every once in awhile, he glanced at the book before focusing on her face. Finally, unable to take it anymore, he closed the book and faced her.
"Tell me."
Jess didn't say anything as she started at the blanket before speaking quietly. "I thought I never needed it, I could get by without the love of another person ever. Have friends yes, but be truly loved..." she shook her head. "But then you came along into my life and everything was flipped upside down for me in a manner of speaking. And then all this crap started."
Quatre didn't say anything as he pulled her closer to him, sensing her need to be held and understood.
"All that time passed by and it became stronger and stronger until it had suddenly sprung up on me; I hadn't even realized it. And I tried to deny it I suppose, causing myself more grief and heartache in the long run of things. It all really hit home when I saw you get shot with my own two eyes Q-kun. And that's why I'm afraid."
"Afraid? Afraid of what?" he asked, looking at her slightly puzzled.
"Of getting to close to you; you know how easily we can die. For all I know I could die tomorrow, it could be Duo, it could be any one of us. I don't want to hurt you Q-kun and I don't think I'm strong enough to survive if you died out there. I don't even want to go into how horrendous it was when I thought Samuel had killed you."
Quatre didn't say anything,simply stroking her shoulder gently with his good hand. She snuggled in closer, resting against his chest lightly, her skin warm against his. They simply sat there for awhile before Jess shifted and looked up at him.
"But I think it's worth the risk of a broken heart. I think it's worth so much more..."
"So do I." Quatre whispered as he looked into her eyes.
A slight flush spread across her face as she nodded her head with a lopsided sort of smile. Quatre tucked away a loose bang of hair behing her ear, letting his fingers follow the curve of her cheek and rest and cup her chin. Her hands slid up and around his neck as he leaned in closer and kissed her gently before it became a bit more ardent both of them unwilling to believe that they had come so close to losing each other. The delicate scent of ginger invaded his senses as his hands wandered down to her waist to pull her closer. He winced suddenly as a spasm seized up his shoulder and made him draw back.
"Are you OK?" Jess asked as she looked over the white linen bandage.
"Yeah, I just need to rest this shoulder." Quatre said with a face.
Jess snuggled back into his arm, laying down beside him. "I thought I lost you back there Q-kun."
He rested the top of his head against hers, stroking her shoulder with his good side. "I'll always be here for you Jessica, no matter what." he murmured.
She didn't reply simply sighing with content and wrapping her arms around his waist and closing her eyes. Quatre couldn'thelp but smile when she had fallen sleep, still holding onto him. Stroking her hair, he watched as she breathed evenly and slowly. Gently brushing aside a lock of her hair, he closed his eyes 'The torment is finally over. We can enjoy this little paradise that we have...' And with that he finally drifted off to sleep.