Timeless
Part 27
by Nazarri
"Noin!" Relena greeted merrily as she and Dorothy entered the lounge
where the VIP guests were waiting to be announced.
Noin turned away from Sally and Lady Une to see the young Queen
walking toward her. Relena looked stunning in her full-length
antique rose silk gown. Her ornate crown was sitting atop of her
dainty coiffure. She had a glow that surrounded her.
"Relena!" A warm smile graced Noin's face as she crossed the room to
embrace her long-time friend. "You look beautiful! How are you?"
Relena took a step back and beamed. "Actually, I'm better than I
have been in a long time."
Sally walked up to stand beside Noin. "Where is Heero? I thought
that he would be here."
Not really caring, Relena shrugged lightly. "He and Duo should be
along soon."
"They're probably screwing each other stupid, maybe they'll put on a
show for everyone at dinner." Hilde's voice interrupted.
Sally, Noin, Relena, and Dorothy turned to see Hilde approaching
them. The anger that this young woman harbored was evident in
everything from her word usage to her body language. Bitter rage was
permanently etched on her face.
"That's enough, Hilde." Relena replied with a sigh. "I'm sorry that
you are so angry. I know how you feel, how much it hurts, honestly
I do. But you and I have caused enough harm in all of this, its
time to let it go."
"Fuck you, Miss High and Mighty!"
Dorothy placed herself in front of Relena and pointed at
Hilde. "You! Shut up and back off!" She turned around to face
Relena, "What do you mean that you two have caused enough?" she asked
softly. "What is going on?"
Looking sheepish, Relena refused to look her lover in the eye. "We
will talk about it later, in private."
"You can count on it." Dorothy confirmed.
Hilde stared incredulously at the two women, finally understanding
why Relena was so understanding all of a sudden. "What? You two are
together? What the hell is this?"
"None of your business!" Dorothy growled, not even bothering to turn
around.
The young Queen stepped around Dorothy and faced Hilde. "I finally
realized what I truly wanted and needed and it isn't Heero! I
deserve to be treated with love and respect; that was something that
Heero never gave me. And no matter how hard I wished for things to
be different, he never could give me those things. He is who he is
and I do not have the power to change that. It was stupid of me to
want to be with him after the way he treated me. And certainly don't
need so-called-friends who encourage me to want that for myself
either! I am a woman now, no longer a foolish child who doesn't know
any better, trying to live out other peoples fantasies instead of
doing what is right for me. I grew up and it felt wonderful, Hilde;
you might want to try it some time."
~*~*~*~
The moment they left their suite, Duo felt like something was about
to happen. It was a strong grip of power that wrapped around his
spine and gave it a good shake.
Duo felt as if he were walking through a dream. Everything seemed to
be moving in slow motion around him. They walked, he and Heero, side
by side as they were once again surrounded by military security.
They walked down the palace corridors, passing ageless antiques and
priceless treasures. Guests and dignitaries stepped aside as they
passed, whispering and pointing at them. It was so odd to see the
images that surrounded him, certainly surreal. Duo felt like he was
watching a movie that had been slowed down to a crawl.
That is when he saw them. Quatre and Trowa were holding hands,
sitting on a small fabric bench in front of a hall window. They were
kissing each other deeply. As the entourage approached, they both
turned to look directly at him. Trowa seemed as impassive as ever,
but Quatre winked and blew a sweet kiss at Duo. He felt the kiss
land lightly on his cheek.
He gasped as he tried to react. He felt himself moving toward them
in a desperate attempt to touch his long lost friends, his hand
reaching out to the seemingly solid forms. But he moved as slowly as
everything around him. A single blink of his eye and they were
gone. The bench was empty.
Duo felt his heart catch in his throat. A quick glance over at Heero
showed him that his moves had not gone unnoticed. As Heero reached
for him, Duo saw Wufei and Meiran behind them, walking with the rest
of the security detail. They were armed with mystical weapons,
protecting them from harm.
He felt the world start to spin, he felt dizzy and shaky. Duo saw
Wufei walk, literally through the security guards to be at his
side. Wufei seemed to catch Duo in mid air, which was not that
difficult considering how slow everything seemed to be moving. Duo
could feel the touch of his friend and he looked up into those exotic
eyes.
Wufei caressed his face and smiled. "We are always with you." The
words seemed to float in the air rather than reach his ears.
Duo shuddered and tried to say something back, but words would not
come to him. He saw Wufei gently guide him into Heero's arms before
going back to Meiran's side.
Heero watched wordlessly as Duo swayed to one side and then suddenly
land right in his arms. There was no time to question the physics
involved or why his fall abruptly changed before he found himself
with an armful of beautiful spouse.
"Duo!"
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