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Another Murder of Crows: Epilogue

I tried my best not to shake from my excitement (with minimal success) and my smile was threatening to break my face in two. I could see a tiny smile on the corner of Trowa's lips, but the way he squeezed my hands was enough to let me know he was just as excited and happy as me. Duo and Hilde stood behind me towards my left, audibly vibrating with joy as Heero and Wufei stood behind Trowa to his right, both of them as cool and nonchalant as ever. I could see Iria dot the corner of her eye again as Catherine gently patted her on the shoulder, sniffling as well. It was great to see so many people in one room happy, and it felt better that they were happy because of me and for me.

Finally, his words broke through the fog of ecstasy surrounding my brain.

"....I now pronounce you eternally bonded." [1]

I didn't hear the rest of what the judge said, and I doubt that Trowa cared. All that I was aware of was a pair of lips pressed softly against mine, a thousand camera flashes, and the sound of everyone cheering and applauding. We stepped away from each other and faced all of our guests, laughing and waving to everyone as we walked down the aisle.

We were finally married.

***

My butt crash landed into my chair, almost flipping it over I sat so fast. It was the first time in over four hours that I was finally able to have a seat. After Trowa and I had our dance, I had to dance with Iria, then Relena, followed by Catherine (which also came with a ‘you better be good to my brother' speech), Dorothy, Lady Une, Sally, Noin, Hilde, a few secretaries from the Preventers, some of my sisters, and finally Duo. The drawback to dancing with Duo was that it wasn't dancing; it was jumping around like an idiot and doing dance moves that should only be done in a nightclub, which was why I basically dived for my chair. The reception did have an open bar. I just hope it was the cause of Duo's...behavior.

The wedding and reception was small with only 200 people, but Hilde did an amazing job of setting everything up. The wedding took place behind the back of our mansion. (Our. I just love saying that). The judge, Trowa and I were on the dais at the topmost platform. One step below that Duo and Hilde with Heero and Wufei stood as our grooms people, and everyone else sat on these beautiful white chairs that had subtle padding on it to keep it from being too hard. But each chair was crafted that it had white petals with sand colored veins pleated through the arms and legs of the chair. The dais was even pleated with the petals and so were the streamers that hung almost carelessly from the tall trees. The white aisle carpet was done in the same fashion, sprinkled with the petals.

The reception was held on a pavilion I had it built for the occasion, which was good since the sun was trying to beat us down today. But the tablecloths and chairs were done in the same fashion as the wedding. The white tuxes Duo, Heero and Wufei wore were fantastic and classic in every since of the word. To stay true to form Hilde also wore a white tux, but it was NOT masculine to put it politely. It was obvious she did not have a blouse on under her tux jacket, and the suit itself fit every curve of her body. Her white heeled boots really added to her posture in the suit, and the thin sand stripes that all had made them a part of the motif. It was very tastefully done.

I wish the same could be said about Trowa and I. We did not look bad, don't get me wrong, but we were not coordinated with the whole scheme of things. My upbringing wouldn't allow otherwise, so my tux was as black as night and sleek to boot. My shoes were polished so much they reflected the sun, and the collar of my shirt came up to my chin. However, for some reason I couldn't help but feel...sexy. I couldn't! Duo had the tux made for me. The way it was cut, it was extremely form fitting, making my hips look as narrow as they were with the back of the jacket cut short to make my back look long. Even though the collar came up to my chin, it didn't have a bow tie, which gave me the appearance of having a long neck. And last but not least Duo also cut my hair. It was three inches long now. But Duo added some gel to my hair, and had it spiked in random ways all over my head. I really liked it. Worse yet, Hilde added light brown eye liner to my eyes to make them look bigger. I wanted to kill her for it, but when I looked at myself I really didn't see it, and it had the desired effect.

Trowa's tux was exactly like mine except it was dark olive green, and he didn't have a collar to his shirt. Instead, it was a normal dress shirt opened to the center of his chest. His tux wasn't as form fitting as mine, and it wasn't cut like mine to give him that ‘long' look. Everyone knew he was tall enough. But he looked incredible the way he was, and I couldn't possibly ask for more.

"Don't tell me you're done already?"

I rolled my eyes. "I was fine until I danced with your fiancee Odin. I can only drop my butt to the floor so many times before I get tired. Besides, if you would dance with him he would leave me alone."

He pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat next to me. "I don't think so," he said with a chuckle. "People already think I'm insane. I don't need to act it."

"Thanks for the support," I said dryly as I sipped on some champagne. "You're a big help."

"Yeah, I know." A pause. "So, that's all you're doing for your honeymoon huh? Just floating around in space?"

"Yep. We will more than likely go by Mars to see the project, maybe make a pit stop by Jupiter just because. Things like that."

"Well that's good. You deserve the break."

"Yep, and I intend to enjoy every moment of it too. Wait. Uh--why is Sally setting up all that equipment?"

"She is taping Duo and Wufei."

I raised an eyebrow, but I didn't turn to face Heero as I saw Sally stack more equipment on top of her table. It was the real professional looking stuff too. "Why is she doing that?"

"Apparently Wufei hadn't learned his lesson when he got drunk at that night club. He and Duo have each been taking three or four drinks to their table, even though only the two of them are sitting there."

"How many trips have they made?"

"A couple."

"Oh jeez."

"Yep. Anything embarrassing they do she wants to get on film. Real film. Not that camera stuff."

I brought my hand to my head to stop the rapid thumping. "I don't know what I'll do if Wufei drops his pants again. Oh, I think I'm going to be sick."

"Relax Quatre. If he does....then he does. Just laugh it off. It will be one more thing you'll have over him."

"Yeah, the only thing."

"At least it's something." He paused again. "Your son is almost due. What, about a month?"

"Yep. Right after our honeymoon he should be ready."

"Great. I know you're excited."

"Absolutely! I can't wait." I peered out of the corner of my eye, and saw an unusual flicker run through Heero's eyes. "And I know you can't wait either Odin. You're going to be an uncle."

The barest hint of a smile crawled on his face, and his eyes had that flicker again. "Yeah, I know," he said in a whisper. "I'm going to be an uncle." Shaking his head, he stood up. "I'm going to tie Duo down for a while. More than likely we won't see you again before you leave. When you get back call me. There's something that I want to talk to you about."

Krahe. "I understand."

In one of those famous Heero Yuy moves, he pulled me out of my chair and crushed me to him. "Congratulations again Quatre. I always hoped it would work out between you two." Surprising me the most in my entire life, Heero pressed a quick chaste kiss to my temple before abruptly letting go and walking with purpose in Duo's direction. I stood there completely dumbfounded as to what he did, and realized that if I knew this was going to happen, I would've declined Hilde putting eyeliner on me. This surprise was enough to make my eyes look bigger. More than enough.

"Haven't been married a day and already someone is trying to steal you from me."

"Just goes to show," I said as I turned to be wrapped in Trowa's arms. "You better take good care of me, or else."

"Guess I have no other choice," he murmured as he bent down to kiss me.

***

The cool night air was great against my flushed cheeks as we flew down the road. The reception didn't officially end until nine in the evening, but everyone still partied on to their heart's content. Around midnight though, I started to feel a little worn out and wanted to get away from everyone, so Trowa and I hopped into his corvette (a present from me to him) and decided to take it for a spin. That spin turned into an hour and a half random journey around town.

"I can't believe Wufei mooned Une!" Trowa shouted above the wind. "I never would've thought he was the type to do that! Of course I bet he's been wanting to do that for years!"

"That man should never be around alcohol for as long as he lives!" I shouted back. "If anything, he should have a restraining order against it!"

"Oh come on Quatre! It was funny!"

"That's because you weren't the one trying to pull his pants up!"

"No one said you had to do it! Sally could've done it!"

"No she couldn't, she was too busy recording!"

"Ha!" Without warning, Trowa turned sharply to the right, taking us off the road to drive through the desert sand.

"Trowa, what are you doing?!"

He didn't answer me, but laughed out loud as he pressed the petal all the way to the floor. We just about flew over the sand, and I watched as it was sprayed around us, glittering almost a white gold in the moonlight. I stuck my hand out into the spray, watching in childlike fascination as the sand attached itself to my skin to make it glitter. Getting up to my knees, I leaned the upper part of my body over the door to hang out of the car and into the wind, trying my best to keep my eyes open against the onslaught. After a few minutes, I decided to add to the thrill by taking my shirt off, throwing it over my head and watching it fly away in the breeze.

Trowa was not impressed. "Quatre, what are you doing?!" Even as he asked the question he started to slow down to go back for my shirt. As soon as he was making his U--turn, I jumped out of the car and started running for the dunes. I heard a loud curse and the slam of a car door as I continued to run, and managed to kick off my shoes. After a few more strides I hopped out of my pants, and a couple of paces after that was my boxers. So in the bright light of the moon under a starry sky I was running through the desert wearing only my dress socks with Trowa hot on my tail, laughing his head off.

I didn't think I had ever been this happy.

But his legs were longer than mine, and right when I reached the top of a dune he tackled me from behind and sent us rolling all the way down until we landed on level ground. Before I had a chance to get up and start again Trowa crawled on top of me and pinned me to the ground, fondly glaring at me while he tried to catch his breath. "You...know...it's...not nice...to tease."

I couldn't do anything except smile back after looking him over. I had more clothes on than he did--by a sock.

But I wasn't concerned about that at all when he kissed me. Nope. The kiss was very heated and lustful, sending me to a realm where all that existed was us in the desert. My moan was swallowed up in his throat, and I think he took pleasure in that, seeing as how his eyes smiled at me. He then went on to kiss my neck, and I allowed my eyes to fall close and my hands to touch his back lightly. He was being so gentle and so endearing that I wanted to cry. This was how it was going to be for the rest of my life. I didn't and still don't think I deserve him.

Next, Trowa slid lower to my stomach and teased me with alternating bites on my abs and on my sides. The latter always caused me to squirm. And with his fingertips coated with sand, he used them to lightly brush my hips, making me giggle and moan at the same time. He continued to do this for a while, making my blood nearly melt the sand and making me so horny that I was on the verge of exploding without him. As it was, he would decrease the pressure to keep that from happening, and then increase it to torture me even more.

He tortured me so much that when he reached one of my most favorite places I almost came right there. He tongue slowly went up my shaft, lazily almost, before going over my head and down the other side. I dug my heels into the ground and tossed my head from side to side as if I was being slapped. I would reach to run my fingers through his hair only to have him dodge or slap them away before resuming his attack. So those too ended up being dug into the ground. And if that wasn't enough, he stuck one finger into me, preparing me for the big finish.

At this point I was completely delirious beyond reason, and could only let my head fall to the side as he killed me with kindness. A tear slowly slide out of my eye and down my face to become a wet speck on the ground. I looked at my outstretched arm and stared at my wedding ring which was also my engagement ring. Yep, I wanted it to be my wedding ring. It was just too beautiful not to be, even though Iria told me time and time again how tacky that was. Trowa had one made for himself too, except his was the color of blue with white wisps in the blue as well. To match my eyes.

I gasped and arched my back when a second finger was added, and become impatient with the third. My head dropped to the side again and this time I was treated with the sight of a black scorpion walking past us, completely uncaring that two humans were busy copulating. Plus I was starting to get chilly.

"Grr....Trowa, I'm...going to...kill you..."

"Alright," he said breathlessly. "But only because you asked so nicely."

Gently spreading my legs, he placed himself at my entrance and started to push in. It only took a few seconds since I was wiggling so much, and before long he was fully sheathed and we were going at it like there was no tomorrow. My whimpers echoed through the air, and Trowa's growls were both possessive and sexy. He began to torture me again with smooth, slow strokes, then speeding them up to a frantic pace before slowing them down again. I did everything from whimpering to screaming, panting, blessing and cursing Trowa. Then what seemed hours later (and probably was) I finally came, arching my back to the point of breaking my own spine while Trowa shoved deeply inside of me, releasing himself as well.

He dropped face down on me and breathed into my neck, while I stared at the sky and felt our heartbeats pound against each other. I wanted our first time together as a married couple to be in a romantic setting, maybe with the background being the sight of Saturn or along the beautiful moons of Jupiter, but I was happy for this. This was perfect. This was so us.

"Where are our clothes?" I asked after a while.

"I don't know. They're probably covered over with sand by now."

"Yeah. Oh well," I said, wrapping my arms around Trowa as he wrapped his arms around me. And for who knew how long we laid there with each other, just letting the good day settle in our minds. I knew we were going to have our fights and heartaches, but the fact that we were going to have times like this was comforting. And I would need that comfort when the difficult times came. Especially times that were going to be beyond any of our control. I couldn't shake the feeling that it would probably be years before I'll see another murder of crows, and that it will catch me by surprise once again.

But looking into the eyes of the man I love and seeing in his eyes his love for me, I knew that I had everything I needed, and that was why we were once again victorious.

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[1] I don't know what a judge would say for a homosexual couple, so I used ‘eternally bonded.' I like that better anyway. ^__^

** And for Quatre and Trowa's tuxes, I imagined the tuxes fit them like the bull fighters, how their jackets fit them I mean. I've always thought that was so hot!