Quatre stepped out of the ballroom and onto the hotel's garden. Ralph had his back to Quatre, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a cigarette between his index and middle finger. He took one puff of the cigarette letting the smoke come out slowly afterward.
"Ralph?"
The black haired boy looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Hello smarty pants."
"Hi..."
The two just stood there watching the other.
"Congratulations, again, your majesty." Ralph said sarcastically, bowing slightly at Quatre. He took another puff of his cigarette.
Quatre cocked an eyebrow. "Why'd you nominate me?"
"Cause you deserve it." He shrugged.
Quatre pondered this for a bit. "Is...that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Ralph chuckled. "Good." he bit his lip. "How long has it been since I last spoke to you, Quatre? Four, five years?" He chuckled again. "You know. It was that day you talked to me about my dad." He paused and looked at Quatre. The blonde nodded. "My friends dissed me earlier that lunch. Did you know that?" Quatre shook his head. "They called me names and said that they didn't want to be around me anymore. I didn't care. I didn't care about anything, or anyone. I just wanted to be alone. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck with my mom since she hated me as much as I hated her." Ralph scoffed. "Then you came along. Little ol' smarty pants. I thought you wanted to take a hit at me. You know, kick a guy while he's down. I expected you to make fun of me. To make fun of my dad. But you didn't." The black haired boy paused to take another puff. "You actually comforted me. Told me that things'll be okay and that if I wanted someone to talk to, you'd be there. Remember that?" Quatre nodded again. "My dad told me, before he died, that everything I should do should be for the right reasons. And that I should do what makes me happy. That day you talked to me, I thought about what he said. I couldn't find a good enough reason for why I ever bullied you. I regret ever hurting you. Cause I saw that even when you don't need to care, you do. I don't know if you could ever forgive me, Quatre. I don't even see why you should. There's no way to take back those years, but I am sincerely sorry. I hope the best for you, Quatre." Ralph paused to take another puff. "Cause you deserve it."
Ralph looked away into something in the darkness before taking one last puff, tossing the butt on the ground and smothering it. He turned and looked Quatre in the eye. He smiled at the blonde before walking away.
"Ralph," Quatre grabbed the boy's arm. "Wait."
Ralph looked at Quatre and listened.
"I was never angry with you for what you did. I never even thought about hating you. There was never any point to. And even if you think I shouldn't," Quatre paused. "I forgive you." He released Ralph's arm from his grip.
Ralph swiped something from his cheek. Quatre smiled at Ralph. He reached up and gave the black haired boy a hug. Ralph, after recovering from his shock at Quatre's action, returned the embrace and smiled into the blonde's hair. "Thank you, Quatre..." he whispered.
Quatre pulled away and smiled at Ralph again. "Thank you." He winked twirling his crown on one finger.
Ralph smirked. "Well, school activities aren't really my scene. I should go before someone is desperate enough to ask me to dance." Quatre laughed. "I'll see you around." Ralph turned and began walking towards the parking lot.
"Goodbye, Ralph!" Quatre waved.
Ralph looked over his shoulder, gave a small wave, and continued walking away. Quatre watched the boy disappear into the darkness.
"Here you are!"
Quatre turned to see Trowa standing at the doors to the ballroom. "Hey."
"That's all you can say?" Trowa placed a hand on his hip.
"Am I supposed to say something else?"
"You could start with what you're doing out here."
"I was talking to Ralph."
Trowa's faced washed over with concern.
Quatre smiled at his friend. "Don't worry. Nothing happened."
"What'd you talk about?" Trowa asked, still not convinced.
Quatre shrugged. "I forgave him."
"Why?"
"Why not? There's no need for me to stay mad at him."
"Quatre, he tortured you for two years."
"And left me alone for seven."
Trowa still stared at his friend.
"Trowa, don't worry about it. What happened between me and Ralph is over. He apologized and I forgave him. And that's that."
Trowa sighed and walked over to his friend. He placed an elbow on the smaller boy's shoulder and leaned on him. "Sometimes I wonder if you're too nice for your own good."
"But that's a good thing. I got a crown for it." Quatre said matter-of-factly while holding up his crown.
Trowa took the crown and examined it. "Admit it, Winner. You liked being crowned a king."
"I do admit it. I just don't like the attention that came with it along the way."
"Hm."
"Now, get off me. We need to return to our prom. It's our last one, after all." Quatre shoved Trowa's elbow off of him.
Trowa chuckled. "Quatre?"
"Hm?"
The taller boy placed the crown on the blonde's head. "Congratulations."
Quatre smiled. "Thanks."
Author's Notes/Disclaimer: No own. No sue. Hooray for Ralph! They have made their peace. I believe this is the last time we will be seeing him (awwww...I'll miss you Ralph!). Shall we always remember Ralph: the bad guy gone good.
Okay. The night is not over yet! There's still another chapter after this that deal with this night. I'm hoping that it's funny as are my intentions for them. Questions? Comments? Please Review or send me an e-mail. Thanks.