Well...it's over ^_^ I hope you all liked reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. To everyone who kept coming back for more, thank you ^____^ And to those of you who have been sitting at your computer since chapter one...take a fifteen-minute break, okay? That's not good for your eyes ^_^;;;
Sword of the Stars Part 27
Consummations
Duo was awakened abruptly when he heard footsteps. He remained still, too weak to move, and kept his eyes closed. If he let them know he was awake, the questions would start. Duo, are you all right? What happened? How do you feel now? He didn't want to deal with that.
Although he knew he'd been asleep for a long time, he was still very tired. The sleep he'd had hadn't been pleasant. It had been full of nightmares and fighting. The memory of Heero's death kept coming back to him, no matter how hard he tried to forget about it. Desperate, he attempted to turn his attention to something else.
His wounds. That's right, the injuries he'd received in the battle. His shoulders were each bandaged tightly, and a bandage was wrapped around his head, covering the gash there. Many of the cuts and slashes he'd had were no longer there. But the worst part was simply the sheer exhaustion he felt. In the back of his mind, he could feel the weariness of the Star Sword and the Celestial Dragon. The bond between Duo and the Dragon was what had saved him from death.
The footsteps seized his attention when they halted by his bed. It was an effort not to turn and look to see who it was.
"Duo?" a voice asked. He thought he knew who it was. "Duo, are you awake yet?" Wufei? Was it Wufei? He thought so, but wasn't sure. "Duo, don't you think it's time you woke up?"
I don't want to wake up, he mentally answered. Go away and leave me alone.
"Duo?" Wufei asked again, gently shaking his shoulder.
Annoyed, he pulled away from the grasp and turned his head away from him. "Go away."
There was a moment of silence, then, Wufei spoke again. "Do you feel better now?"
"I don't want to talk," he said curtly. "Please just go away."
"You'll have to talk," Wufei replied. "There are crowds of nobles and rulers who want to talk to you."
He turned his head and glared at the Healer. "I don't want to see anybody. Tell them to go away."
"Duo..." Wufei didn't finish. Instead, he stood and left the room. As the door shut behind him, Duo closed his eyes. Sleep took him almost immediately.
~*~
Quatre glanced up expectantly when Wufei exited Duo's room. "Well?"
"He's awake," Wufei said after a pause.
"About time."
"But he's upset. He's not himself."
"Is there any reason he should be?" Yohan asked them, looking out the window. "He's been through a lot, you know."
Wufei fell silent, tapping his lips. After a moment, he spoke again. "How are things with the nations?" he asked Quatre.
Quatre smiled. "Going very well, actually. Triantia's new ruler, Empress Liana, has established peace treaties with every other nation. Everything is back to normal. She has invited the rulers of the other nations to stay for the night, and they will return to their lands tomorrow."
Wufei smiled. "That's good to hear."
Quatre hooked some hair behind his ear. "Is anyone hungry? Do you want to get some dinner?"
Wufei nodded. "I'll come."
"Yohan?"
"No, my boy. I shall take a walk, I believe."
"All right, then." Quatre and Wufei left Yohan in the halls of the Triantian Palace.
~*~
It was well into the night when Duo woke again, his body damp with sweat from a nightmare he couldn't remember dreaming. His room was dark, but next to him, a figure stood holding a ball of light above his hand. He turned his head and frowned.
"Yohan?"
The mage sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hello, Duo. Are you feeling better?"
"No!" Duo's reply was sharper than he intended it to be. "Do you know what I've done, Yohan? I let Heero die!"
Yohan was silent for a few moments, then he patted Duo's shoulder. "Heero is quite alive, Duo."
Duo blinked. "What?"
"He's alive," Yohan repeated. "Wufei and the other Healers helped him."
"Why didn't he tell me?" Duo demanded angrily.
"Because we weren't sure if he would survive then. He only regained consciousness a couple of hours ago. But he's quite well. Don't worry."
Relief and joy filled Duo, and he smiled. "You're not lying, are you? He's alive?"
"He's alive," Yohan laughed. "He's alive. Quatre demanded we look at him the moment we arrived here.
Wufei examined him, and sure enough, he was alive. I don't know how, granted, but somehow he managed to pull through."
Duo sighed in relief. "How is Quatre?"
"He's well, and so is Wufei."
"And what about you?"
"I have come to say good-bye."
Duo blinked. "Good-bye? You're leaving?"
Yohan nodded. "I will depart tonight. I came to say farewell, and to say that I am proud of you. You did not really need my help after all."
Duo smiled. "Thank you, Yohan. But, where will you go?"
"I will return to my home, I suppose. Or perhaps I will continue to travel. Who knows?" Yohan turned to leave. "And, Duo," he said over his shoulder, "you should be very proud of yourself. What you have done for this world...is more than any Warrior before you could ever have done."
"Take care of yourself, Yohan..."
"You, too. Farewell, Duo Zendrick."
"Good-bye."
Yohan smiled at him once, and left the room, shutting the door behind him. With a smile, Duo drifted back to sleep, this time, free of nightmares.
~*~
He felt the sunlight on his eyes several hours later, and heard a familiar voice.
"Duo, get up! How long do you plan on sleeping?"
Duo opened his eyes and smiled. Heero's blue eyes stared down at him. "About time," his friend said. "I've been here for ten minutes!"
Duo rolled his eyes and sat up as Heero sat on the edge of the bed. For a moment, they simply stared at each other. Then, Heero began to laugh, a touch nervously. "You thought I was dead, didn't you?"
Duo nodded. "You looked pretty dead to me," he said.
Heero shook his head. "Duo, Duo, Duo... It takes more than some silly little Star Sword to get rid of me. I didn't live through your father's training to be killed by a knife."
Duo laughed and clasped his friend's hand. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!"
"Likewise," Heero replied, giving Duo's hand a squeeze. "So, now what? I mean, do you have any Warrior business you have to attend to?"
Duo shook his head. "No. I don't really want to deal with any of that. I've had enough of this Warrior thing. I just want to go home."
"Me, too. But Quatre says their having a feast and a ball in your honor. So you have to stay for that."
Duo shrugged. "I suppose. But what about you? Are you staying?"
Heero shrugged. "I don't know. You think they'd mind if the Dark Lord stayed for dinner?"
Duo laughed. "I don't think so." He stopped laughing and regarded Heero seriously. "Is the Dark Lord really dead, Heero?"
"As dead as anything can be," his friend replied. "He's gone for good."
Duo smiled in relief. "Then let's get ready for that ball." He made ready to stand up, but paused. "Heero... how *did* you survive all of that?"
"I'm not sure, actually," his friend replied. "I thought I was dead, to be honest. But something kept me alive...I think it was the magic I have...but I...really don't know..."
Duo nodded in understanding. "At any rate, we're both alive after we thought we'd be dead...so I'd say we're pretty lucky."
Heero smiled. "Let's go to the ball, Duo." He started to rise, but Duo reached out and closed a hand over his wrist. "Yes?"
Duo swallowed and braced himself. "Heero...I..."
"I know," Heero replied. "I know."
"I almost lost you."
"But you didn't."
"You're right, I didn't." Duo leaned forward. "And I don't ever want to."
Heero's eyes softened. "You won't."
"Heero...have I ever told you...how much I--"
Heero shook his head. "It's okay, Duo. Me, too."
A small smile tugged at Duo's lips, and he leaned forward, covering Heero's lips with his own, gently plying his friend's mouth open with his tongue. Heero responded to the kiss with just as much passion, their tongues dancing together in perfect harmony. Duo gently yet firmly tugged Heero into his lap, and the other boy straddled him, wrapping his arms around Duo's neck. Duo, in turn, began rubbing Heero's back with his palms. He laid back, pulling Heero on top of him, and then rolled over so that he was on top, breaking the kiss to venture lower, scattering soft kisses along Heero's jawline, down his neck, and up to his ear.
"Do you feel up to this?" Duo asked.
Heero's eyes were closed, and he smiled and nodded. "As long as you are."
/Oh, I feel up to it,/ Duo thought. He didn't care about anything other than showing Heero how much he really cared. In answer to Heero's question, he pressed a kiss to Heero's mouth before moving down to nibble his neck. Heero's hands tangled in his hair and pulled him up for a soul-searing kiss as Duo slowly and sensually set to work on the clothes that were hiding Heero's body from him.
Neither of them attended the ball that night.
~*~
The next day, everyone went home. The visiting soldiers, the nobles, the other rulers, and the Stardragon Mages all left Triantia and returned to their own nations. For the first time in months, the world was at peace.
Duo stood with Quatre, Heero, and Wufei outside the Triantian Palace. He and Heero were stroking their horses. Duo turned to Quatre questioningly.
"What will you do now?"
"I have a kingdom to rebuild," Quatre replied. "I'm the Prince of Garrania now. And as soon as it's rebuilt, I'll be King." He gestured to the Palace. "I'll be staying here for awhile. The Empress has promised to lend me workers and supplies to help out."
"I'll be staying, too," Wufei added. "I'll go back to Garrania with Quatre. What about the two of you?"
Duo patted Cloud's nose. "We'll ride back to Redwood."
Quatre frowned. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
Heero nodded, stroking Bolt's nose. "I have to see what I've done."
"Why don't you just ride the winds or something?" Quatre asked.
"No," Duo said. "I just want to enjoy riding for now." He stepped forward and hugged Quatre and Wufei.
"Good-bye, you two. Thank you for everything."
Duo stepped back and gave Heero a chance to hug them. "Thank you...for not giving up on me."
The two friends turned and mounted their horses. They looked over their shoulders and waved at the other boys.
"We'll see you again," Quatre called to them. "Redwood and Garrania are very close!"
"Have a safe journey!" Wufei called. "Good-bye!"
Duo and Heero hit their horses' flanks as they waved one last time. Cloud and Bolt began to gallop away from the Palace.
~*~
It was three months later when Duo and Heero finally arrived in Redwood. Duo tensed for what he would see, and gasped. The town was almost completely rebuilt, full of children and working adults. Duo exchanged astonished glances with Heero and dismounted. The two boys led their horses into the town, gazing around in amazement.
Those who saw them gasped and pointed. The town's people stopped whatever they were doing to stare in shock. As Duo glanced around, he saw a man running toward them. He gaped when he saw who it was.
"Father?!"
Heero jumped. "Master Zendrick?!"
Duo's father ran toward them, despite his hip. When he reached them, he circled his huge arms around them and squeezed them tight. "Duo! Heero! I thought you would never come back! I thought you were dead!"
Duo struggled for air in his father's grip. "Father, how?" he managed. "The fire? I thought..."
"We escaped during the first fire," his father explained as he hugged them. "And began to rebuild when the soldiers left. We were almost finished, but we needed more food and supplies. We had to go to neighboring villages for that, since our soil is no longer fertile. When we returned, we found our town burnt to the ground again! We had to start rebuilding it all over again!" Master Zendrick pulled away suddenly and seized Duo's jeweled scabbard. "Is this what I think it is? Everyone was saying that the Warrior came to fight the Dark Lord and won! We heard that the Warrior was one called Duo Zendrick, but I didn't... Duo, *are* you the Warrior?"
Duo smiled and drew the Star Sword. "I am, Father." The crowd gasped in surprise.
Master Zendrick grabbed Duo's shoulders. "Are you serious? You...*you* fought the Dark Lord?! How-how did you...*beat* him?"
Duo laughed lightly. "I don't know. I guess he wasn't much of a fighter." To his left, he saw Heero roll his eyes.
"We'll see about that," his lover retorted. "Next time, you're mine."
Duo and Heero broke into a fit of laughter. Master Zendrick stood gaping at them. "How can you two find this amusing?"
Duo and Heero smiled at each other. Duo sheathed the Star Sword. He and Heero each put an arm around his father's shoulders and led him back toward Duo's house as the people of Redwood stared after them.
"You might want to sit down for awhile, Father," Duo said, winking at his lover.
"That would be a good idea, Master Zendrick," Heero agreed, laughing. "Duo and I have quite a long story to tell."
OWARI
Author's Notes:
"Sword of the Stars" was inspired about a year and a half ago by the video game "Suikoden II". I played the game, and, seeing the friendship between the Hero and Jowy be broken up when they found out they were each destined to lead opposing forces, I started thinking what it would be like for me to be forced to fight my best friend. The thought led to the plot of SoS. Now, it's finally complete ^_^
You may have noticed that I did not explain HOW Heero survived his ordeal when he should have died. And there never will be an explanation. I decided to leave that theory open to the readers and allow you to draw your own conclusions.
Trowa, as you may have all seen, did not appear in this fic at all. No, I don't hate him--I just didn't feel the need to use him for this epic. Quatre, whom perhaps you thought would receive the role of the Healer, I find works well as a warrior. Thus, he was my non-magic fighter of the group, and Wufei, whom most probably would think of as a fighter, was my Healer.
As with most of my epics, original characters ran rampant in this fic. Perhaps this is because I started out as an original writer before turning to fanfiction. I love creating new characters--especially evil ones.
Next, I would like to thank some special people. First, thank you to everyone who replied to this fic--you've all made me feel very special and flattered! Secondly, a big thanks to my wifey and beta-reader, Kitty-chan *glomps* Thanks also goes to my beloved future hubby, Biko-chan *snuggles* As well as to 0083 and Arenna, whose wonderful fics and constant blackmailing forced me to get the fic posted sooner ^_~ I love you all!
And to all of you who read this fic: thank you very much! I'm honored! *bows* And with that, minna-sama, "Sword of the Stars" has come to an end. Thanks for reading!
~Mina Lightstar
"Sword of the Stars" began in late 1999 and was completed in early 2001
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