Disclaimer: As per usual. They aren't mine.

Author's Note 1: So, this is it, really. There will probably be some sort of epilogue(s) at some point in the future but this is the official ending.

Author's Note 2: Many, many, MANY thanks to everyone who's helped me on this journey; to the brilliant Kaeru Shisho, who's been this ALG's fairy godmother, and Heero's champion, practically from the start; to Snowdragonct, who really started it all, and to all the readers who were kind enough to take time to leave comments.

Rainbow's End:

'Wufei asked me to give you these,' Zechs handed me a sheaf of printed papers. 'Instructions for dog-minding duties. And I'm to make sure you have both our numbers, and to tell you to call us if anything goes wrong, or Jiang isn't settling with you, and I'm telling you now, Maxwell, you'd better not call under any circumstances. I have very specific plans for how this evening is going to go, and nothing is going to disrupt them. Even if you burn the house down, we are not to be disturbed tonight. Is that quite understood?'

'Wouldn't dream of it,' I grinned at him. 'Don't worry; you guys go off and enjoy yourselves.'

Zechs' eyes narrowed critically, looking me over. 'Hmm, I'd say the same, but I hope you're planning to change before Yuy gets here unless you want him to take you for the hired help. Or get straight back in his car. The man's flying across the world to see you; you could at least make an effort.'

'He's seen me in old clothes before.' I settled the puppy in my arms, glaring at him. There was nothing wrong with what I was wearing; black jeans and an old hoodie that I'd found in the back of my closet.

'Really? And he still fell for you. How very odd. Honestly, Duo, you're twenty-three. You should have learned how to dress yourself by now. Go and put something on that actually fits. Your ass is your best feature; you need to showcase it more.' He gave my braid a tug for emphasis, then turned away at the sound of Wufei's footsteps. 'You see?' he muttered. 'That's how to dress for a date.'

'You look amazing,' I said admiringly as Wufei emerged, rumpled but radiant, from his partner's embrace. He did too; sleekly-clinging black leather pants, and a dark red silk shirt floating around his hips.

'Don't be silly, Duo,' Wufei said crisply, leaning in to give his baby a last cuddle. 'Now, you do have our numbers. And the instructions we printed out. Just call if there's anything else; actually, call us anyway. We'll be back by midnight at the latest.'

'Actually, darling,' Zechs interposed, sliding an arm around his waist, and going in for what looked like some pretty comprehensive groping under Wufei's shirt. 'I thought we might stay in town after dinner. We could get a room at that hotel by the lake that you like.'

'Oh, Mil, I'm not sure. We've never left him all night.'

Zechs grinned over at me. 'I know, but he is old enough to stay home alone, don't you think?'

Wufei spluttered with laughter. 'You know perfectly well I meant Jiang, not Duo.'

'Did you, dearest?' Zechs asked innocently. 'I wasn't sure. But we're hardly abandoning Jiang, are we? He has a perfectly competent baby-sitter, and we could have lovely hotel sex, and room service, and I'm sure Duo would appreciate having the house to himself tonight.'

'Would you?' Wufei gave me a worried glance. Maybe he'd had some idea of hanging around as a chaperone or something. Challenging Heero to a duel if he didn't behave himself. He probably had orders from Quat to report everything back to High Command, Sri Lanka.

I shrugged. Then again, maybe I didn't want witnesses to whatever was going to happen. 'Maybe. Yeah. Why not? Listen, I'll be OK. You guys go and have fun.'

'You have fun too, all right?' Zechs enthused and then winked at me as he pulled Wufei toward the garage.

Fun, yeah.

Not quite the word I might have used.

His flight landed at six, precisely on time; the plane probably wouldn't have dared be even a second late. I got a quick text a few minutes after, saying he'd arrived. Nothing more. He rang two hours later, to say he was just pulling up outside. I'd driven to the airport often enough to know just how long it took to get to our house. He hadn't floored it, but he'd made good enough time.

I opened the gates by remote and just waited, hugging Jiang, sitting on the steps by the front door. I hadn't been able to settle to anything since the guys swanned off. I'd tried watching TV, messing around with my orchids, checking emails. Nothing worked; I just couldn't concentrate on anything, and eventually I'd given up and plonked down on the front porch, trying to remember to breathe.

He had a decent-enough rental car; a pretty nice 4WD, actually. He was looking good, despite the long flight. He was wearing the sweater I'd got him in Venice, dark blue to match his eyes, and snug jeans. Damn, he'd made an effort at least, even if I hadn't. He took a hold-all out of the back of his car, something that could be an overnight bag, or a light packer's idea of enough for a week. Fuck. I told myself to stop over-thinking every little thing and jumped up to meet him.

The pup was a pretty good ice-breaker. Heero had to cuddle him, and I babbled on about where the guys had got him, and that they were out for the evening, just in case he was waiting for them to pop up and interrogate him, and asked a few questions about his trip. Somewhere in there, I got a kiss on the cheek, a swift press of his lips that could have meant anything or nothing.

'So, um, you want to come in and dump your stuff?' I picked his bag up before he could answer, on the grounds that he hopefully wouldn't run off without his belongings, and headed inside. I still wasn't sure if he definitely staying, not sure where to put him, even. I'd made up a guest room, just in case, although realistically if the worst happened, he probably wouldn't want to stay anywhere near me.

'How's the Honey Monster?' I asked as he followed me towards the house. 'I wasn't sure if you were going to bring her with you.'

'She's never flown. I didn't really want her first time to be such a long flight; it didn't seem fair to her.'

'Yeah,' I nodded, getting the subtext. Not fair to drag the poor dog across the world, when he might not end up staying for long. I held the front door open for him, and stood back, letting him take it all in.

He still had Jiang cradled in his arms as he looked around. I had a weird moment of almost déjà vu, remembering how I'd felt the first time I'd walked into his house, wondering if he felt anywhere near as disoriented as I had.

Walking into someone else's life.

He didn't say anything, just turned slowly around, taking it all in. Wall of sheer glass overlooking the valley outside. Granite fireplace with one of Zechs' paintings suspended from the ceiling beams over it.

'Right, this is it. So, you can put your stuff in my room for now, if you want.' I gestured down the hallway, and he obediently followed me. 'So. Um, welcome to the art gallery.'

I'd had little fantasies about taking Heero into my bedroom. About what would happen. None of them had been like this, with us talking like strangers.

I took Jiang from him and sat down on the bed, and watched him move his bag unobtrusively in a corner from where I'd dropped it in the centre of the floor, and then look around. There was one wall composed of floor-to-ceiling windows; the others were painted a deep, luscious plum colour but they were mostly covered in art. I had a couple of massive canvases Zechs had done for me; one of me standing looking up at Deathscythe, One of a black bear in a forest glade. It was one of those paintings that you could look at forever and still find something new. There were deer half hidden behind the trees, birds in the branches, insects everywhere. Opposite my bed, I had a painted bamboo scroll 'Fei had brought me from China. A few half-decent sketches I'd done myself. Some finger paintings by Sally's twins and one of Gemma's unicorns—and-fairies paintings she'd given me back in Florence.

Heero walked around, taking careful note of each, and then sat, a careful distance away, on the bed, tipping his head back to look at the watercolour on the wall behind him.

'God, Duo. Tell me that's not an original.'

'What can I say? My BFF just happens to be a billionaire.' I shrugged and dropped the flip tone. 'It was my twenty-first birthday present from him and Tro. You know me and sunsets.'

'It's stunning,' he commented, looking the glowing colours.

'Yeah.' I pulled my knees up to my chest, rested my chin on them. Jiang squirmed restlessly and then made a lunge for his favourite toy; the long braid dangling temptingly over my shoulder. The end was starting to get a bit bedraggled at this stage, to be honest.

'No, pup,' Heero said firmly, reaching over and taking him back, giving my hair a quick touch on the way, something you couldn't call a caress, quite. It was something though. 'That's not a toy.'

'Um, thanks. Heero. Look, I'm really glad you're here. I'm sorry about everything.'

Ooops. I wasn't meant to say that, was I? Not according to Zechs.

Talk to him, Maxwell.

'I've been a selfish ass,' I said, the words skittering out far too fast. 'I get that. I get it's been hard on you too. I – I don't want things to stay like this, going 'round in circles all the time. I want this to work. Us. I want to be with you.'

He said nothing for the longest time, keeping his eyes on the painting. He hadn't properly looked at me since we'd come inside, Not once, I realised suddenly. God. He did turn to me then, looking just as lost as I felt. I shivered, knowing suddenly what he was going to say, feeling little crystals of ice settle on my skin, in my heart, radiating outwards.

I'd spent ten days with my brain telling me that there was no way Heero would fly across the world to break up with me.

I'd known though, in my heart, that it was something he'd do in person; that he wouldn't do something like that over the 'phone.

'I don't think I can keep doing this, Duo.'

Oh, fuck.

'I screwed up,' I gabbled. 'I know, I get it. I'm sorry. This, this is what I do. You know me. I'm stupid. I would have come home, I would have come to find you. Days ago, if you hadn't said you were coming here. Heero, please, I'll do anything to make this work You've no idea how much I've missed you. I love you.'

He nodded, didn't say it back. He did reach across the mattress to take my hand in his. 'After the war, you ran away from me, and you almost died. My fault. All of it,' he breathed. 'I swore I'd take care of you and you nearly killed yourself because of something I did.'

'No! Heero, no, it wasn't like that! Not your fault at all, any of it. It was all me, reacting badly to a …a situation, and just freaking out. It was beyond stupid.'

If it came to fight or flight, I was probably always going to run; he actually lifted gave me a crooked little grin when I said so. 'It's just something that's too hard-wired into my brain, I guess. It's the first thing I remember Solo ever telling me; my first memory, pretty much. I was too little to know anything else but he was always going on about running and hiding. It kept us safe, you know?'

'Duo, I will always keep you safe.'

'I know. I know. You've always been that for me. Always.' He shifted, just a little bit sideways, and put the dog on the floor, and I pretty much fell against him.

'I can't promise I won't ever leave again. I'm an idiot, you know that. But I will always come back to you, Heero. I swear.'

'You'd damn well better. I'm not planning to spend the rest of my life running around the world after you and I'd rather not have to keep you locked up.' He smiled at me then, the little smile that had always been mine. Just a faint quirk of the left corner of his mouth.

God, the relief.

'I'm planning to…try to stop doing that so much. Do more of the talking stuff. Honest. We're still… us?'

'Still us,' he affirmed softly, whirling me into his arms. 'You're still mine.'

'Yeah,' I moaned into his neck, and then felt his lips moving against my skin. Such relief, having him back. Very much back, actually; he shifted us so he was leaning against the headboard, me in his lap, very intimately aware of how glad he was to have me back as well. He nosed delicately along my jaw and then his mouth finally found mine.

I'd shown him how to kiss, back when we'd been fifteen, not that he'd needed much in the way of instruction; he'd been teaching me ever since.

'God. You,' he muttered, one hand holding the back of my neck his mouth ravaged mine, and the other drifting along my waist, before sliding south of the border.

I made a colossal effort and lifted my head. 'Heero, wait. Listen. Do you think maybe we could go for a walk or something?'

His expression couldn't have been more shocked if I'd suggested barbequing babies on the grill, and then he grinned. 'A walk? Really?'

Wow, he was a hell of sight better at accepting rejection than me. I didn't actually think it had ever happened before, couldn't remember ever turning him down. Yeah, there'd been plenty of times at the start when I wasn't ready for anything sexual, anything physical and he'd been the most damn gentle, patient, solicitous person in the universe with me, but we'd got past that.

I'd never in my life actually refused him.

'I'd like to show you 'round a bit,' I said, just a tiny bit unsteadily. OK, maybe he wasn't quite all that good at the accepting rejection. He had one hand tracing slow, sensuous circles on my spine, and one running up and down my braid, and a quizzical little smile playing on his lips. I was finding it hellishly hard to work out why in the world I didn't want this. 'What it's like outside. Heero, please. You've been flying for hours; you must want to stretch your legs a bit.'

'I can think of other ways of stretching myself.' He slid one hand around the back of my neck, pulled me so close I was cross-eyed, trying to look into his eyes. 'Duo. I thought we were all right. What's wrong?'

'Nothing. Honest.' I leaned that little bit closer again, bumping my nose against his. 'I just thought we should talk about some stuff, maybe. You know.'

He let me go then, and started to laugh. 'God. Now, you decide you want to work on your communications skills.'

I gave him a sour look and then realised that yeah, maybe it was a bit funny. Total role reversal.

I hurtled 'round the house, filling a rucksack with drinks and snacks and a blanket and a couple of torches, just in case we stayed out late, and shut Jiang in the kitchen, hoping he wouldn't wreak too much havoc.

'There's a really nice trail to a waterfall; it's about halfway up a mountain so there are great views.'

Neither of us said a lot as we hiked through the forest, but it was still strangely comfortable. I pointed out a couple of viewpoints; places where we'd seen animals. We were about half-way up when I remembered taking Trowa on this hike, months ago, when all of this was just starting. Probably not the best thing to be thinking about, given how things had turned out with me and Tro. Something we'd all made an apparent resolution never to mention.

'I can see now why you found it so hard to settle in a city.'

'Yeah.' I grinned suddenly. 'It was so weird at first, being here. You have no idea. So quiet. All that empty space. Animals everywhere; the first week we were here, there were raccoons hanging around the back door. All this wildlife. Scary as hell, actually. I was such a city kid, you know. Even rabbits were a novelty. And then I guess I just got used to it.'

'Is that what you'd like? To live back here?' He'd been looking out over the mountains, but at that he turned to look straight at me.

'If you'd asked me a month or so ago, I'd have said yes,' I told him honestly. I'd been so desperately homesick at the beginning. 'But now, this is always going to be a special place for me, but it's not really home anymore. You weren't here, I don't know.' I pulled a bramble leaf off the bush beside me, carefully started stripping it into ribbons. 'I think maybe the guys need some time together, without me hanging around. And I think we could maybe look at getting somewhere new, just for the two of us.'

Heero's house was just that. Heero's. A place he'd chosen for himself. It was never really going to be ours. Too many ghosts, for me, of other guys he'd presumably taken home, a life he'd lived without me knowing any of it.

If he came here, and he was clearly willing to do it, it would be exactly the same, in reverse. It wouldn't be fair on him.

'I'd like somewhere that we both choose. A place where we can start our own memories.

I can't just move into your life, Heero.'

'I didn't expect you to.'

'You kind of did,' I said gently. 'Be honest. You have this whole life in Italy, and you thought I'd just slot into it, and everything would be perfect. It didn't work, and it wouldn't work if you just gave up everything to come and live here with me. I think we should get our own place. Somewhere bigger,' I elaborated. 'Somewhere we can give each other a bit of space. Be honest, 'Ro. I've been driving you nuts with my mess.'

He shrugged. 'I missed it, when you were gone. I missed you.'

'You noticed, then? I thought maybe you'd like the peace and quiet for a change. No Duo-fuelled dramas.' I'd been teasing, pretty much. I regretted it when I saw the expression on his face. Not a joking matter.

He shook his head firmly. 'I didn't like it when you weren't there. Everything was wrong. I don't know. It was too much like before, not having you around. I hated it. I can put up with a little chaos, if I have to.'

'Can I get that in writing? With witnesses? Seriously, I think we need a bigger place. Maybe somewhere outside Florence. Somewhere in the countryside. A place where the guys can visit, and the kids, when they have vacations.'

'You want to stay in Italy? Really?'

'Really, yeah.' I grinned at him. 'Maybe not forever, but I've been missing it. And it'd be a shame to waste all those Italian lessons. I've spent a fortune on classes over the last couple of months. Even found that therapist. I've been looking up a few properties on line. I can show you when we get back. Houses with a bit of land, and some outbuildings.'

'Somewhere like that, it will be expensive.'

'I have money, Heero,' I said quietly. 'I'm not asking you to bankroll me. I get pretty well paid, and I never really spent that much, living here with the guys. We could look at an old farmhouse or something that needs some renovation. Zechs and I did a lot to this place when we moved in. Not that it was in bad condition; we just wanted to change things around. I like doing all that stuff.'

He laughed suddenly. 'I know. I remember you painting Wufei's living room pink, after the war.'

'Crushed raspberry, Yuy, not pink,' I said loftily. 'And it was a north-facing room. It needed a warm colour.'

'It was pink,' he argued back, and suddenly it was a good memory.

We'd ended so awfully badly, that I'd spent too long just – not thinking about the good stuff that had happened in that one year.

'OK, it was maybe sort of pinkish,' I agreed, slipping an arm around his waist, and curling closer.

He smiled, kissing my cheek. 'It wasn't all bad, that year, was it? The two of us?'

I blinked; he'd echoed exactly what I'd been thinking. 'No! Not at all. So many good bits.'

He'd been looking wistful and then he suddenly laughed. 'The polar bear!'

'That bloody Christmas cracker!' I was laughing myself. 'Remember? We thought the bang was an explosion. I thought 'Lena was trying to take me out so she'd get to have you to herself.'

'We never did get to have our own Christmas tree,' he said rather sadly.

'This year. You remember, you promised me we'd have so many Christmas trees they'd be visible from space?'

'Is that what you'd like?' He smiled softly, taking my hand, lacing our fingers together.

'Nah, just one would be good. A real one,' I clarified. 'Not one of those artificial trees. I don't like those.'

'A real Christmas tree,' he echoed, making it sound like a promise. 'Anything else?'

'I want us to have all the other holidays people have. You know. Sappy Valentines stuff, and so much chocolate at Easter that we feel sick. And proper dates. Those pizza nights we used to do.'

He kissed me softly, that very special look in his eyes. We'd never got around to having much in the way of private traditions, but on the first night when he was home from a mission we'd got into the habit of buying takeaway pizza slices and a couple of drinks, and taking them to a little picnic spot by the late. Making out a bit if there was no one around. He'd use to tease me about being a cheap date; I'd threaten to make him take him someplace fancier with linen napkins and snooty waiters.

'We'll be in Italy, Duo. There'll be all the pizza you can possibly eat.'

'Another reason for staying there. And actual holidays, Heero; going places. I want us to travel.'

He kissed me then, just a brush of lips against mine. 'We could go back to Vietnam. If you liked?'

'Yes!' I said excitedly. We'd had ten days there, after one of his missions, and it was one of my most shining memories. I'd love that. 'Maybe some other countries in Asia as well. I mean, if you can take some time off work.'

'I do get holidays.' He gave me a quirky little grin. 'I don't always take them. I have quite a lot of leave accumulated.'

'I bet! And there's Sri Lanka. I've promised to go see Quat and Tro soon.'

I wasn't entirely sure how he'd feel about that. I knew he and Quatre were in touch, cobbling their friendship back together, but actually going to stay with Quat was a pretty big step.

He just nodded though, looking genuinely keen. 'I'd like that.'

'That'd be great. Hey, how long can you stay here? You don't have to rush back to Florence, do you? I want to show you around,'

'I have a fortnight.' He grinned at me suddenly. 'I thought it might take that long to convince you to come back, or else to make plans for an abduction. One or the other. I want you to show me around, too. That car you're always talking about, and your orchids. We need to start making plans to ship them to Italy, don't you think?'

I met his eyes levelly 'Absolutely.'

I couldn't stop smiling, suddenly. This was us, Heero and me, planning our future. Actually making plans for holidays and houses and a shared life together.

'Remember, we talked about the sort of home we wanted?' I asked. 'Near trees and water.' It was a bit bittersweet, that memory. The two of us, on Christmas Day, 196, with the world suddenly full of shimmering promise. Two kids who'd never had a home, discussing it like a fantasy. 'I still want that, Heero. And maybe, like, a vineyard or an olive grove as well.'

'You want to turn into a farmer?' he teased.

'I like growing things.'

'Beehives,' he said suddenly, and I kissed the hell out of him.

'You wanted a puppy as well,' he remembered suddenly, and he was clearly hell bent on deciding I was going to get every single solitary thing I'd ever mentioned wanting to have. I really hoped he'd forgotten I'd once imagined having a dinosaur.

'Yeah, the puppy thing, I could leave that, to be honest. They're a lot of work. And you get puddles everywhere. And worse. Seriously, Jiang is like this leaky creature that never runs out of liquid.'

Heero laughed at that. 'He's adorable. I never thought Wufei would get a Chow. I remember him, after the war, talking about how his family used to keep them.'

'Yeah? I never knew that. He's never told me much about L5; hurts too much, I guess.' It was…odd, just a bit. Heero knowing stuff about 'Fei that I didn't. Not bad, just reminding me how close they'd been, once. How close we'd all been.

'I'm sorry, Heero,' I said suddenly, awkwardly. 'How everything turned out, after my accident. It was shit, right? The guys were your friends too and you ended up losing all of us. I never really thought about it much before. I mean, it must have been awful.'

'It wasn't your fault,'

He shrugged; such a simple gesture to convey those years when he'd been hurt and alone and blaming himself for all of it, mostly likely, while I'd got to play the wounded innocent.

'I am sorry,' I repeated quietly. 'Truly. For everything. I am, Heero. All that time we wasted. We should have been together, we should have worked it out. Somehow.'

'We're doing it now.' He took my right hand, laced our fingers firmly together. 'Making our life. And I'd quite like a puppy. House training isn't all that difficult if you can set a routine.'

'Sure. Pups, kittens, whatever. You really wouldn't mind moving?' I asked. 'Leaving your house? You'd end up having to commute a fair bit. Or you could keep the house, for when you're working late or whatever.'

'Hn. Maybe. I think we should buy the new house together; perhaps get a small apartment in the city if there's money left. It might not be a bad idea to have a place there. You won't miss Wufei and Zechs?'

'Sure I will. But I miss Quat and Tro as well; I can't just keep the lot of them in a box though, can I? Even if I wanted to. And I'd miss you more, more than anything.' I leaned against him, and he put his free arm around my waist. ''Fei and Zechs, they need some time together, you know? Just the two of them, not me hanging around all the time. They've never really had that. Anyway, I've been thinking, since I came back here. About a lot of stuff. About what I want to do with the rest of my life.'

'Any conclusions?'

'I want to be with you,' I said steadily, and saw the last little tendrils of uncertainty dissolve in his eyes. 'That's number one. And to visit the guys a lot. I'm never not going to want that, you know?'

He nodded.

'Beyond that, I'm not sure. I'll keep taking some work commissions; the money's good, and it's pretty interesting, mostly. I was thinking, if we found a place with enough land, I could set up my own workshop, maybe specialise in renovating vintage cars. It's something Zechs and I do, sometimes. The other thing, I was looking at university courses. There's a pretty big international college, English-medium, and they've got an Arts programme.'

He gave me a slightly odd look. 'The way you talk about university before, I didn't think you enjoyed it.'

'Yeah, well, I was kind of too messed up back then to appreciate it. And I didn't even bother to choose my own course; I just went along with what 'Fei and Quat suggested and, honestly, most of it was pretty damn boring. I mean, I could have done the practical stuff blindfolded and Zechs ended up writing most of my assignments for me. This is different; I'll be doing something I choose, subjects I'm actually interested in.'

He nodded approvingly. 'What were you thinking of?'

'I thought maybe literature. I read enough, right? And Art History or whatever, since I'm going to be living in Italy. And I dunno, a psychology course. Maybe. Some kind of counselling thing. Remember you talked about me doing some kind of volunteering with kids; I guess if I'm ever going to do that, I'll need an actual qualification.'

'You're thinking about it? You'd be wonderful.'

'Just thinking, so far,' I warned. 'Stop jumping the gun on me.'

Heero snorted, settling me more closely against him. This was it; the place where I was supposed to be, where I'd always been meant to be.

Just us, sitting on a hillside with the sky gleaming gold from the setting sun, and the whole world shining with promise.