Author's note: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters. I also don't own the song Happy X-mas. The characters Manda, Taylor, Kat, Alex, Kim, Florence, Angelina, Jason, Jess, and Derek belong to Hoshikaji and the Star Circle. Click here to see their site; it's one of the best online mangas I've read.

The War is Over

This was not how Zechs Marquise had planned to spend his Christmas Eve. He sat on the floor with his fellow hostages. Across the room, he could see Noin sitting with the female hostages.

She looked calm. Her back was to the wall, and a little green eyed girl sat trustingly in her lap. Noin stroked the girl's long brown hair and murmured reassurances to her.

He'd planned on going to church and having dinner with his sister and the others. And then the next morning he'd give Noin her gift and hope she'd say yes. But no, the terrorists just had to interfere.

Actually, he kind of felt sorry for the terrorists. Except for the two ringleaders, they all looked like teenagers who'd been convinced that this was the right thing to do. And it seemed that some of them had doubts. One girl especially.

At least there weren't that many hostages. Besides himself, Noin, and the little girl, there were four teenage guys, two older men, six teenage girls, one little old lady, and two middle aged women. They were all pretty calm though several of the girls had had to talk one of their friends out of doing something stupid. That girl sat glaring at the terrorist leader.

"Excuse me," said one of the teenage guys.

"Yes?"

"I'm Taylor. The guys with me are Alex, Jason, and Derek. My sister, Kat, us over there along with Manda, Jess, Angelina, and Florence. Alex's sister Kim is the one glaring."

"I'm Zechs. How did you guys end up in this situation?"

"Wrong place at the wrong time. We had some last minute Christmas shopping to do."

The terrorists were slightly bored. One of the prodded the old lady with his toe and said, "It's Christmas; you should be singing Christmas carols."

There was silence then:

So this is Christmas

And what have you done

Another year over

And a new one begun

He recognized the soft alto voice; he knew it well. He also knew the song. It was an old song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

And so this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

The near and the dear ones

The old and the young

The raven haired girl with black eyes joined her voice with Noin's. Several of the terrorists had odd looks on their faces.

A merry merry Christmas

And a happy new year

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear

Zechs noticed Taylor begin to hum along, and he wasn't the only one. Quite a few of the hostages were. One of the hostages was humming too. She was rather mousey looking though quite pretty. He would bet she was talked into doing this by people who claimed to be her friends. She look to be more of a serious student than a terrorist.

And so this is Christmas

For weak and for strong

The rich and the poor ones

The road is so long

Taylor's friends over on the girls' side were all singing now. Taylor was still humming and had been joined by Jason and Alex.

And so this is Christmas

For black and for white

For yellow and red ones

Let's stop all the fights

Many of the young terrorists fidgeted uncomfortably; this wasn't what they had bargained for when they had gotten into this. Noin and the others continued seemingly unaware of the terrorists' discomfort.

A merry merry Christmas

And a happy new year

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear

Noin caught his eye and winked. Zechs smiled slightly; she seemed to know what she was doing even if he didn't. Her voice was strong and confident as she continued singing.

And so this is Christmas

And what have we done

Another year over

And a new one begun

Taylor joined in. So did his friend Jason. Tentatively one terrorist joined in. Her voice was soft and unsure. Noin noticed but didn't comment.

And so this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

The near and the dear ones

The old and the young

The girl's voice grew stronger and more confident. Noin smiled encouragingly at her. Most of the hostages were singing now. Zechs shrugged and joined in.

A merry merry Christmas

And a happy new year

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear

The tension seemed to drain out of the girl. Another one of the terrorists added her voice.

"Shut up!" ordered a man Zechs had tagged as the leader.

Noin looked up, and Zechs recognized the stubborn look in her eyes.

"Why? You people told us to sing."

He glared at her, "Shut up or..."

He pointed his gun directly at her. Noin didn't look at all fazed. But the one terrorist protested.

"You said no one would get hurt."

"Shut up Emma."

She was silent for a moment then said, "No, this isn't what I agreed to."

"Emma's right," the girl who had sang said. "You said we would bring a message to the to people. We're not doing that. And it's Christmas Eve."

The line was drawn, and it looked like most of the terrorists were siding with the two girls. Noin handed the little girl to Manda and got to her feet.

"They've made their decision," she told the lead terrorist. "It's over."

"Not quite," he swung his rifle, so it pointed directly at Noin's heart. "I'll at least be able to remove the thorn in my side."

War is over

If you want it

War is over now

Manda and Kat's voices were clear as bells. It was enough of a distraction. Noin swept the man's legs out from under him. She sat on his back and pinned his arms behind him.

It didn't take long for Zechs to gather up the weapons from the terrorists. Most of the former hostages drifted off, but Taylor's group remained.

"We wanted to thank you two," Angelina said.

"Oh, Holly asked me to give this to you," Manda told Noin handing her a small package. "She wanted to stay, but her mom dragged her off."

Inside the package lay a pin in the shape of a wreath of holly and ivy leaves.

Noin smiled at them, "Have a merry Christmas you guys."

"You too," Taylor called as the group trooped out into the snow.

Noin clipped the pin onto her black dress. Zechs helped her into her coat, and they headed home. The two of them stopped in the doorway as the light snowfall dusted their clothes.

"Noin."

"Yes Zechs?"

He slid a little grey box with a purple ribbon wrapped from his pocket. Placing it in her hands, he said, "I know it's a little early, but merry Christmas."

She shot him a curious glance but opened the box. Nestled inside it was a silver ring that held a single gleaming sapphire. Her eyes filled with surprise as she looked up at him. He smiled.

"Yes Zechs, I'd love to marry you."

"Look up."

She did and found mistletoe hung above them. Their lips met in a gentle kiss full of promise.

Owari (the end)