We were gone all day, Aida and I. She’s a beautiful woman, probably about my age. Dark skin and curly black hair. She carries herself very proudly, but she doesn’t act that way. She’s really rather nice, and given what I’ve heard of Quatre, she’s perfect for him. I don’t know what happened in the past between Quatre and Trowa, but it’s apparent that things have been worked out. And it’s apparent that all of them had some similar bond.

     I could tell this when Duo arrived. He came in a big rush and hugged everyone in the house and pestered me a million times about how long it would take to get to the Notre Dame and how long before everyone else showed up… He is just like Trowa spoke of him.

     And Arden. Arden with her black eyes and bobbed black hair and black outfit. She refuses to make eye contact and stays close to Duo’s side. But he presents her proudly to everyone and holds her hand constantly. She seems incredibly sad, but still, there’s hope in her eyes every time she looks at him.

     And then Wufei showed up. They were all shocked to see that his hair was now short (as compared to before, I suppose) and loose and that he was now wearing black framed glasses and smiling. Oh! the smile he had on his face.

     There was a look exchanged between him and Duo that was the tip-off that whatever had gone between Trowa and Quatre was not a singular event. I still have no idea what happened, but they all seem to be happy now, and that’s what matters.

     But now Duo is literally chewing Wufei’s ear off and Wufei, shockingly enough from what I’ve heard, is returning the favor. I don’t think they’ve stopped talking yet.

     And Asia. She’s politely making the rounds around the room trying to meet everyone. “I’ve been told so much,” she says happily. “I just want to put a human to the stories!” She’s got platinum dreadlocks and the same glasses as Wufei. Every now and then she exchanges a look with him and they both grin and then he turns back to his rapid conversation and she goes back to meeting people.

     When Heero showed up, everyone was shocked. He hugged Duo and shook Wufei’s hand. He put an arm around Quatre and said something silly that made the other four laugh and then smacked Trowa on the back of the head. He proudly introduced Ayria and never stopped smiling.

     And Trowa. Trowa still doesn’t smile much. He never has. But he’s calm now. More calm than I’ve ever seen him. He’s actually laughing and talking. It’s so warming to see him do that.

     We’re all sitting around the table now. A flowered centerpiece, the food, five candles. Everyone has a small glass of wine in front of them. Even Quatre. (Albeit, while we’ve all got French wine, he has a special spiced kind.)

     Everyone is laughing and smiling, even Arden at this point. It just seems natural when Heero stands up, his glass in his hand.

     “For how long? For how long were we together? We fought, we killed, we succeeded. And we thought we knew it all.”

     “Well some of us did!” Duo says gladly. Heero rolls his eyes.

     “But here we are, some time later, and now we know that there’s more to life. More to us.” Duo stands up.

     “It was an amazing ride. One which we still talk about. One which we can still drink to!” he grins widely and takes a drink out of his glass. Trowa stands up.

     “I thought that I’d never be able to get past it,” he glances at Quatre. “But today I learned that that is half the fun. That the point isn’t to get past it, but to embrace it and take the memories along on the ride.” Quatre stands up.

     “It’s amazing this peace we have now,” he glances at Trowa. “Peace in our souls.” I notice that Duo glances at Wufei and then Heero. That Heero glances at Trowa. That they all glance at each other. Wufei stands up.

     “This justice, this peace, this… victory. It has finally come to us, and only when we finally came together. We’re happy now,” he smiles. They’re all standing up. Five pilots, five warriors, five simple humans. They reach their glasses to each others and click them in a cheer. “We’re home now.”