Chapter 12: Happiness At Last
The eight friends stayed up all night talking, laughing, and sharing gifts and food. They watched, laughing, as Wufei chased Duo around the house, pieces of Duo's slice of cake still sliding off Wufei's hair. Cathy and Hilde were caught under a bough of mistletoe, again held by Heero, and gladly shared a Christmas kiss for the camera. Heero was then dubbed the Kissing Elf, and Duo spent the next ten minutes trying to catch him and "initiate" his Christmas title. It ended when Duo finally tackled Heero against the stairs banister.
Duo still did think of Relena at times, and there were times when Heero would wake up in the middle of the night and turn to Duo, to see two thin, wet trails marking their way down his cheeks. But thanks to Heero, Hilde, Cathy, and the rest of the gang, he has been overall happier than he had ever been before.
Wufei finally let his pride down just enough to admit that he at least enjoyed Sally's company, and they've been happily on-again-off-again ever since. She's still working on his temper control. The dagger he received from Cathy now hangs on the wall in his room, still in its case. He prizes it above all his others, especially since it came from a professional knife-thrower.
Trowa has finally gotten over his initial surprise of finding that Cathy and Hilde had already been dating for four months when he found out that Christmas night. To Cathy's disappointment, he has quit the circus, though he still helps out when the troupe's in town. He now stays with Quatre in his mansion, where a guest room is always open and waiting for when Cathy and Hilde stop by. Hilde is helping backstage at the circus to stay near Cathy.
The double-framed pictures that had previously belonged to Relena were placed on Duo's dresser. They have since been joined by many other pictures, including the one of Hilde and Cathy. But Relena's pictures still hold a special place among the rest.
To this day, Duo has a cross-shaped scar on his left arm. But instead of thinking sadly of Relena's death, whenever he sees it he uses it as a reminder that finally, after all the years he had waited in his youth, he is now surrounded by people who love and care about him. They don't intend on dying any time soon, and he doesn't intend on ever giving any of them a reason for wanting to.
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A/N: That's it, it's done! As short as this story is, it's my longest ever finished story, and I'm very proud of it. I love the feedback I've gotten, and I enjoyed every bit of this. Of course, I have about a billion other stories roaming around in my head, so maybe now I can pay a little attention to those. Of course, I will go back and work on my other stories too. . . eventually. . . ^_^;; I am terrible at that, but I really am trying. I promise. ^_^; Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed the story!