The Best Revenge
Summary: When something is taken away, violently, what’s the best way to get revenge?
Disclaimer: I don’t own them. Duh.
Pairings: 1xR, 3x4, 2x5
Warnings: This is a really sad story (trust me, I was teary while I wrote it) with character death. Can’t handle that, don’t read.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A lone figure stood in the small cemetery, staring at the lone stone under a weeping willow. The stone was gleaming black, elegant, and understated. He hadn’t been surprised at all when his husband had asked for that during their talks of ‘just in case’.
Just in case had turned out to be a month away.
Sniffling softly the figure crouched down, running a loving hand over the stone’s smooth surface. He knew his love was resting in peace.
“Hey there, love. It’s been another year. I can hardly believe it. The twins are growing like weeds! I think I’ll have to take Bao shopping for clothes soon, same with Wei. Solo’s going to be following in their footsteps soon enough.”
The youth sighed softly, tracing the epitaph.
-Here lies a true warrior.
-An honorable man.
-A loved husband
-And a doting father.
-Your work is done.
-Rest easy.
He had composed that himself. It sat in small elegant script beneath the name of his husband. Relena had been in tears when she read it. She said he would have approved of it.
“Turns out the twins grew into their looks. Your black-silk hair and my eyes. Quatre warned that I’d be beating off boys and girls alike soon. I hate to admit it, but he’s right. How Solo ended up with his shade of hair though it beyond me. Did you know it paled out? It’s a really light version of mine now. But his eyes are all you. He can glare a wall down. Even Ro was intimidated!”
The man chuckled softly, pulling his braid around and playing with the end.
“They ask about you, you know. What you did, what you were like, ‘how in the bloody hades’ did we end up together. I think Trowa taught Zhi that one. I’ll get even with him later for it. He should know better.”
“They have a kid now too. Quat and Tro I mean. Little Fleur. Cute as the devil, that little girl. She has Q-bean’s hair and Tro’s eyes. She’s going to be killer when she grows up.”
Reaching into his breast pocket he pulled out his wallet. Inside were pictures of the former pilots and their families. Trowa holding their baby girl, who had a rather impressive grip on his unibang while Quatre tried to smother a laugh. Heero and Relena with their son. Little Alexander was a year older than the twins, growing into the lanky body of a barely-teen boy with his father’s eyes and mother’s hair.
“You know, Alex is starting to look at Bao. Might have to watch them in the future. With his mother’s determination and father’s glare it might get a little interesting. But he’s a good kid. Always polite, even without his mother leaning over his shoulder.”
The clouds overhead were few and far between. A beautiful spring day with the blooms of the willow just starting to get the soft green of new growth. It still hurt a bit to think that ten years ago his love had been killed on a day just like this.
~*~*~Flashback~*~*~
A groggy hand reached for the incessantly ringing phone.
“’Lo?”
“Duo, I’m so sorry.”
He sat up sharply, alarmed at the tone in Heero’s voice. If he was choking on words then it had to be something terrible.
“Heero?”
“There was a bombing at HQ. Une and Sally were badly injured. But Wufei…”
The phone fell to the floor with a clatter. He couldn’t see the wall right in front of him, his eyes were on his memories. The silently smiling face, the tolerant look when he held the twins after they had gotten into things again, the quiet calm he was able to project to get Solo to stop crying.
That was the same position his friends found him in over an hour later.
With tears streaming down his face.
~*~*~End Flashback~*~*~
The perpetrator had been caught. The trial outcome was a given. The man was locked up for the rest of his life.
Heero had barely restrained himself from shooting the man in sight. Quatre had that Zero System look on his face. Trowa was wishing for his throwing knives. Even Relena seemed willing to chuck aside her pacifist ideals to throttle the man that had killed such a dear friend.
But Duo hadn’t reacted. He’d nodded in acknowledgement and walked out quietly to pick up his children. The legacy left by Wufei through his Clan’s inheritance and the compensation checks from the War would insure that they never had to worry about going without. Duo’s war comp ensured that he wouldn’t have to work and could raise their children like they had wanted to.
“I still can’t believe your gone love. But I listened. And the children know. They know how much you love all of us. And that you’ll never really be gone. I hope you’re waiting for me by the gates when I get there. Give Sister Helen and Father Maxwell a hug for me, would you? Tro’s driving me to pick up the kids from the dojo. I’ll be seeing you love.”
With that he pressed his fingers to his mouth before setting them on the name engraved on the stone. Three white lilies were left at the base, one for each of their children. And a rose for the two of them. He’d be back again soon.
Trowa stood at the gate, watching as his friend stood, brushing off the back of his pants and walking towards him with a little smile on his face. The years and fatherhood had calmed him. But he still managed to make them all smile. Something the others marveled at.
He blinked out of his trance to see the violet-eyed man looking at him curiously.
“Duo, why… no, never mind it’s not my place to ask.”
“Nah, go ahead Tro. You know I won’t mind, whatever it is.”
“Why is it that you never took revenge against that man? We all know that you could have killed him and no one would have been able to pin it on you. Duo?”
Trowa was surprised when the man lowered his head slightly, hiding his eyes behind chestnut fringe. One thin hand rose to brush away a few stray tears. When Duo looked up again, there was a true smile there, even with the tears. The former acrobat’s gaze was locked on his friend’s face as violet eyes turned back to the cemetery, resting on the weeping willow and the lone figure standing under it by the stone.
“Because, a very wise man once told me the best revenge is a good life.”
Under the tree Wufei smiled and waved.
And then simply faded away.
Disclaimer: I don’t own them. Duh.
Pairings: 1xR, 3x4, 2x5
Warnings: This is a really sad story (trust me, I was teary while I wrote it) with character death. Can’t handle that, don’t read.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A lone figure stood in the small cemetery, staring at the lone stone under a weeping willow. The stone was gleaming black, elegant, and understated. He hadn’t been surprised at all when his husband had asked for that during their talks of ‘just in case’.
Just in case had turned out to be a month away.
Sniffling softly the figure crouched down, running a loving hand over the stone’s smooth surface. He knew his love was resting in peace.
“Hey there, love. It’s been another year. I can hardly believe it. The twins are growing like weeds! I think I’ll have to take Bao shopping for clothes soon, same with Wei. Solo’s going to be following in their footsteps soon enough.”
The youth sighed softly, tracing the epitaph.
-Here lies a true warrior.
-An honorable man.
-A loved husband
-And a doting father.
-Your work is done.
-Rest easy.
He had composed that himself. It sat in small elegant script beneath the name of his husband. Relena had been in tears when she read it. She said he would have approved of it.
“Turns out the twins grew into their looks. Your black-silk hair and my eyes. Quatre warned that I’d be beating off boys and girls alike soon. I hate to admit it, but he’s right. How Solo ended up with his shade of hair though it beyond me. Did you know it paled out? It’s a really light version of mine now. But his eyes are all you. He can glare a wall down. Even Ro was intimidated!”
The man chuckled softly, pulling his braid around and playing with the end.
“They ask about you, you know. What you did, what you were like, ‘how in the bloody hades’ did we end up together. I think Trowa taught Zhi that one. I’ll get even with him later for it. He should know better.”
“They have a kid now too. Quat and Tro I mean. Little Fleur. Cute as the devil, that little girl. She has Q-bean’s hair and Tro’s eyes. She’s going to be killer when she grows up.”
Reaching into his breast pocket he pulled out his wallet. Inside were pictures of the former pilots and their families. Trowa holding their baby girl, who had a rather impressive grip on his unibang while Quatre tried to smother a laugh. Heero and Relena with their son. Little Alexander was a year older than the twins, growing into the lanky body of a barely-teen boy with his father’s eyes and mother’s hair.
“You know, Alex is starting to look at Bao. Might have to watch them in the future. With his mother’s determination and father’s glare it might get a little interesting. But he’s a good kid. Always polite, even without his mother leaning over his shoulder.”
The clouds overhead were few and far between. A beautiful spring day with the blooms of the willow just starting to get the soft green of new growth. It still hurt a bit to think that ten years ago his love had been killed on a day just like this.
~*~*~Flashback~*~*~
A groggy hand reached for the incessantly ringing phone.
“’Lo?”
“Duo, I’m so sorry.”
He sat up sharply, alarmed at the tone in Heero’s voice. If he was choking on words then it had to be something terrible.
“Heero?”
“There was a bombing at HQ. Une and Sally were badly injured. But Wufei…”
The phone fell to the floor with a clatter. He couldn’t see the wall right in front of him, his eyes were on his memories. The silently smiling face, the tolerant look when he held the twins after they had gotten into things again, the quiet calm he was able to project to get Solo to stop crying.
That was the same position his friends found him in over an hour later.
With tears streaming down his face.
~*~*~End Flashback~*~*~
The perpetrator had been caught. The trial outcome was a given. The man was locked up for the rest of his life.
Heero had barely restrained himself from shooting the man in sight. Quatre had that Zero System look on his face. Trowa was wishing for his throwing knives. Even Relena seemed willing to chuck aside her pacifist ideals to throttle the man that had killed such a dear friend.
But Duo hadn’t reacted. He’d nodded in acknowledgement and walked out quietly to pick up his children. The legacy left by Wufei through his Clan’s inheritance and the compensation checks from the War would insure that they never had to worry about going without. Duo’s war comp ensured that he wouldn’t have to work and could raise their children like they had wanted to.
“I still can’t believe your gone love. But I listened. And the children know. They know how much you love all of us. And that you’ll never really be gone. I hope you’re waiting for me by the gates when I get there. Give Sister Helen and Father Maxwell a hug for me, would you? Tro’s driving me to pick up the kids from the dojo. I’ll be seeing you love.”
With that he pressed his fingers to his mouth before setting them on the name engraved on the stone. Three white lilies were left at the base, one for each of their children. And a rose for the two of them. He’d be back again soon.
Trowa stood at the gate, watching as his friend stood, brushing off the back of his pants and walking towards him with a little smile on his face. The years and fatherhood had calmed him. But he still managed to make them all smile. Something the others marveled at.
He blinked out of his trance to see the violet-eyed man looking at him curiously.
“Duo, why… no, never mind it’s not my place to ask.”
“Nah, go ahead Tro. You know I won’t mind, whatever it is.”
“Why is it that you never took revenge against that man? We all know that you could have killed him and no one would have been able to pin it on you. Duo?”
Trowa was surprised when the man lowered his head slightly, hiding his eyes behind chestnut fringe. One thin hand rose to brush away a few stray tears. When Duo looked up again, there was a true smile there, even with the tears. The former acrobat’s gaze was locked on his friend’s face as violet eyes turned back to the cemetery, resting on the weeping willow and the lone figure standing under it by the stone.
“Because, a very wise man once told me the best revenge is a good life.”
Under the tree Wufei smiled and waved.
And then simply faded away.