That made me cry.
Thank you for a wonderful story.

Wow. That's some powerful stuff. Beautiful, though. I'm...going to need some time to process this one.

Well done.

Well done. Your writing is very realistic and touching.

Ah, a true test now. As morbid as it sounds, a funeral is an excellent chance for Trowa and Duo to shine and shine they do.

I loved Duo's recollections of Bailey. I also loved his bitterness against Une. That strikes me as a very Duo way of dealing with grief. You really hit the nail on the head there, my dear.

And then we have that fantastic moment where Duo's Shinigami voice comes out. (Well, OK, you didn't *say* it was his Shinigami voice, but I kinda imagined it was anyway.) That was a moment that could make or break a friendship and I liked that he and Trowa weathered the potential misunderstanding.

Also, thank you thank you thank you for not vilifying Stanbourne. I really appreciated the shades of grey you inserted into something that is usually considered with far more (and unsatisfying) simplicity.

Duo's final gesture at the graveside - making the cross and kissing the pendant - really struck a chord with me even though I'm not Catholic or anything. It was such a poignant moment and I could just see Duo's struggle to both let go and never forget.

Thank you for this, dear. It was truly a wonderful read.

That was buttersweet

Great write hun

Kudos

Blade

So... that was unbelievably sad. Thanks for that.

But, seriously, you have such an amazing skill for packing in so much emotion into so few words.

I envy you. And I love reading your work.

I just LOVE You! And the story as a matter of fact... Such a good 232, I can die happy now. Snif. Will it get further? Hope so. Well written. Congrats!

Well done. Duo's emotions are real and vivid and the way he grows sad and angry then deflates as he relives his own past (among many other memories) is spot on. Well written, IC and very touching. Great job.

I've got no way to reply to you personally, Reb, so I thought i'd at least leave this here in case you came back :)

Thank you so much for your kind review, i was greatly honoured to receive it. I wasn't sure how to write the military-style funeral initially, but it's good to know that it rang true, though I'm sorry you know that first-hand.

I'm very glad you could empathise with Duo's often capricious state of mind. His thoughts were a challenge to write for this piece, but though it wasn't easy, it was enjoyable to explore that part. I hope I get to do it again.

Thanks so much for taking the time out to review my fic. It's greatly appreciated!

A.

I could not read this story without visualizing my uncle's military funeral- it gave me an odd sense of doublevision; even the day had been beautiful and sunny, only cold. You captured the grief and pride understated way you wrote the funeral highlighted the characters' intense, deep emotions, and though the story wrings the heart, the ending is both bittersweet and hopeful. Thanks.

My goodness. That was really something, it really got to me this one. Someone close to me passed away last year, and this story is like a microcosm of the process of bereavement; the anger, the guilt and the memories... I appreciate your ability to capture that emotion and translate it in a way that really makes the reader empathetic to Duo's narration. Gah now I'm crying.

That's nice. My ex-to-be wouldn't even go to a funeral of a family friend with me last summer. I had to go all alone, only knowing a handful of people there, and try to comfort the one left behind. It sucked.

Trowa's a nice guy to agree to go to the wake and everything; moral support for Duo. I want a friend like that. And one with as quirky a sense of humor. I loved the bit where Duo talked about getting stuck in customs for four hours. Hilarious. And yeah, at funerals, I think the dead person would want people to remember happy moments-not just stand around and cry. (Check out Jackson Browne's "For a Dancer." That's what they'll have to play at my funeral. I demand it!)