Author: Chauni

Website: www.oocities.org/asukalangley2nd/

Warnings: Violence, Angst, Suicide, Death, Yaoi, Language

Pairings: 1x2

Disclaimer: I don’t own the GW boys, or the song “Touched” by Vast, nor did I make any money off this. Pity me.

Touched

touched

you say that i am too

The wind was icy and unforgiving on the rooftop, slapping the former soldier across his emotionless face. Invisible fingers ran through his short dark locks, tousling his already unruly hair, while his cerulean eyes stared at the scene laid out before him.

The city was asleep, quiet and hushed. Lights, some from apartments, some from houses, others from bars, all proclaimed their life, announcing their company. Murmurs of cars drifted up the thirty-three stories to his sensitive ears, and were quickly disregarded.

Heero’s feet were heavy as they glued him to the edge of the roof, holding him there like magnets. Hazily, he noticed he was chilly, clad only in a worn, forgotten green tank top and black spandex shorts, things he had shed years ago, but that did not matter now. His arms slowly rose to his sides, resembling a child mimicking a bird in flight. His eyes, those glittering hard orbs that caught the light of the city and shone with vacant expression, slipped shut as his head leaned back, lips parting ever so slightly.

A ghost of a smile found itself upon his mouth, something hauntingly beautiful with its lifelessness. His throat struggled against the sound that wormed its way out, failing to kill it before it emerged.

“Duo…”

That name. Something that damned him more surely than the war, the death, the massacres ever had. He hated him, hated the way he felt now, hated the way his name never left his tongue, hated the image of him that plagued his mind like a disease, hated the solitude he was now being forced to experience.

“Oh, Duo…”

The wind was frigid as small flakes of snow drifted down from above to light upon his warm flesh, melting instantly. He didn’t feel their soft kisses, however; his mind still danced an endless circle with a mysterious boy with a braid that never ended and eyes that never faded.

so much of what you say is true

“You know what, Heero?”

The soldier turned his eyes towards the voice, noting the dreamy quality that hung from it. Duo laid beside him, hands folded behind his head as he stared up at the stars. His face was peaceful and smooth, causing him to actually look his tender age rather than the immortal pilot he had become. Pallid moonbeams lit across his alluring face; skipping in the wide violet eyes, fluttering across the round cheeks, kissing the sweet nose. Heero was grateful the safehouse had been one far from everything, in the middle of the woods; for once, he was given time to appreciate some of the things he was fighting for.

The countryside was perfect, away from the sound of Mobile Suits, away from the sounds of death. Darkness lapped greedily at everything, devouring the ground with an infinite hunger. Grass, lush and thick, felt like soft carpet beneath their battle weary bodies. The night was refreshing and quiet, one of the few relaxing times they had during this hellish war.

“What, Duo?” he asked, eyes catching every contour of his partner’s face.

“I’m almost glad for this war,” he murmured, his eyes slipping shut.

Heero sat in silence for a moment, his thoughts churning. He didn’t need to ask why his partner would say such a repulsive thing; he already knew. His hand snaked through the grass and slipped under Duo’s head, coaxing out the fingers there.

“Duo…”

i'll never find someone
quite like you
again

“Duo?”

Heero raised an eyebrow, searching the small safehouse for any sign of his current roommate. He had been gone an hour, only to run a few small errands in town, and now the place was completely devoid of all signs of the boisterous braided pilot.

He made his way down the hallway and upon seeing that the bathroom door was closed, decided to burst his way into the room and begin yelling as to why he received no answer when he called. All noises died in his throat as he saw what awaited him.

Candles, different shapes and sizes, littered the porcelain sink and white tile floor, each one blazing with its own stem of life. Rose petals, velvety and red, were scattered, creating a small trail up to the white, marble bathtub.

Duo’s eyes were large and encompassing, absolutely hypnotizing as they stared in awe at Heero. His hair floated lazily on the water, the shimmering chestnut tresses spreading out around him in a blanket. Droplets of water glittered across his flawless flesh, catching the candlelight and reflecting it. His face was a mixture of timid tenderness and complete and utter passion.

“Heero,” he whispered, his lips moving with a seductive slowness, as if tasting each letter of his name. “This is for you.”

“For…me?”

The bathing pilot elegantly rose to his feet, holding out a hand. Water dripped off his arm, falling into the full tub with quiet splats, while his hair clung to his body, shielding it from Heero’s needy eyes. He looked like a god, something both clean and holy. He was divine. “This is for you, Heero Yuy. All of it. It always has been and always will be.”

i'll never find someone
quite like you

like you

That image of the seductive nymph faded away and was replaced with the intense face of Shinigami. Duo sprung up onto Heero’s communication radio, his face a mask of worry and pain.

“Shit! They just don’t stop, do they?” he growled, jerking the controls of his Gundam. Heero looked to his left and saw Deathscythe swing its scythe in a green ark, decimating two approaching Leo’s. “You think they would learn their lesson already and give up!”

Heero’s Buster Rifle blast cut through the olive armor of a nearby Leo, blowing it to pieces beside his Gundam. Shrapnel and fire encased Wing, sending him staggering back a step. “Keep your mind on the battle, Duo,” his monotone voice said. “You have three Leo’s approaching from behind.”

“Damnit!” he cursed. Deathscythe swung around in a blurring arch of metal, his screams filling through the radio link. “DIE!”

Heero did not give his comrade another thought as he went about his own mission:

Surviving.

the razors and the dying roses
plead i don't leave you alone

Survival had become a thing of the past for the ex-Wing pilot, however. Missions, his purpose, his reason for survival, had melted away like the snow on his flesh. The war had ended three years ago; peace took the world over like wildfire. Both he and Duo had been elated at the victory, feeling their own oppression being lifted. Such joy was short lived however; life is always bittersweet. You will forever exchange one agony for another.

The night air was coaxing him ever closer to the edge; the tips of his shoes now hung off the rooftop. His eyes looked downward, the fall inviting. Sure, he had dropped from farther before and survived, but then he had actually desired to live, that primal fire driving him forever further. Now, such ideas were lost in a torrent of black water.

The thoughts of his friends passed through his mind like glimpses of a movie: Quatre standing, hand in hand with the tall Heavyarms pilot, their lips curved up into blissful smiles that battled against all those theories that claim happy endings do not exist; Wufei meditating, but cracking a hidden, stealthy smile as he watches Duo emerge from the kitchen covered in flour from a failed cooking experiment; Zechs and Noin, reading their nuptials to all their guests, the couple sharing their paradise with every person in the room; Relena, tall and graceful as she recites yet another diplomatic speech on her one true passion of peace. Each image sparked a bittersweet memory, each one reminding his tired mind that there was a person at his side throughout all of that.

That person was long gone, just as that version of him was forgotten and dusty.

“What do you want from me?” he whispered, arms still standing out. “I have given you every part of me, and it’s not enough. You’re still eating at me.” A short, wild laugh escaped his lips, pushing their way past them before he could stop. “You’re more annoying now that you’re gone!

“Well, don’t worry, you bastard!” he suddenly screamed, fists clenching so hard that blood seeped out between his white knuckles and tumbled to the traffic below. “You win, Duo! Do you hear me? You win! I have fought enough and I’m fucking tired of it!” A tear slipped down his left cheek, the liquid jewel going unheeded by him.

“I’m coming, Duo,” he whispered, and then took a final step off the edge of the rooftop.

the demi-gods and
hungry ghosts

A year after the war had ended found the ex-pilots of Deathscythe and Wing walking down the crowded streets of L2 colony. Duo had insisted upon seeing his home, reliving the threads and origins of his existence. Heero wondered if Duo was doing it for himself or to shed some light on his beginnings to his partner, but Heero had agreed to come along regardless.

“Come on through this way,” Duo exclaimed, waving his koi over frantically. “This is a shortcut to the Church, or at least what’s left of it. I wonder if they ever rebuilt it like they said they would.” He dashed down an alley, braid swinging wildly, the darkness devouring him whole.

Sighing, Heero followed him between the stores, only to be halted on the spot.

A man, tall with wild red hair and even wilder hazel eyes, stood with his arm snaked around Duo’s throat from behind. The braided boy was held up against the man’s muscled body so hard that his face was turning an unattractive shade of purple, his eyes wide. A gun, sleek, imposing, black, was thrust against his temple hard enough to bruise the flesh there.

“Let him go,” Heero growled, hand slowly drifting to his own gun.

“You have no idea what is happening, do you, you bastard?” the man growled, a sneer riding his mouth. His grip tightened on Duo’s throat, pulling him closer to his body. “During that war, you fucking kids killed two of my brothers with those Gundams! You murdered my family, damnit!” Tears leaked out of the corner of his eyes, trickling down his unshaven cheeks. “The grief killed my mother! Their kids are growing up fatherless! And it’s all your fault!”

The hammer clicked back in the gun as the man began to grin. “I’ve watched you for so long now, Heero Yuy. You really lost your touch if you’ve never noticed.”

Shit! Heero thought, hand inconspicuously floating to his own weapon. How could I not have detected it? “What do you want?”

“To make you suffer like I have,” the man snarled. “I want you to know what it feels like to have your world shatter down around you like it has for me! And I’ll do that by taking this pretty one out.”

“Heero,” Duo whispered, his voice steady and unafraid. His eyes were strangely hard and almost vacant as they pleading with his dark haired koi. “If I die, promise me you’ll live. Promise me you’ll be all right! Don’t let this asshole win!”

“Shut up,” Heero growled, eyes narrowed and attached to the man behind him.

“Damnit,” the braided boy hissed. “You don’t understand! Don’t die because I do! Live because I love you.” He head craned a little back to his captor. “I guess now’s as good of time as any to atone for my sins.”

Heero didn’t give a second thought to Duo’s pessimistic request. His palm wrapped around the cold metal of his gun and yanked it from the waist of his jeans, pulling it in front of him in a blinding flash.

A light erupted, thunder echoing down the alley. A body fell, skidding across the cold pavement, a pool of blood spreading like a crimson shadow beneath him.

The man laughed, even as Heero’s gun tore a blackened hole into his chest. He flew back against a store wall, sliding down it in a scarlet mess. His hazel eyes rolled back in his head, a ghost of a vengeful smile forever imprinted on his mouth even as blood trickled out of the corner of it.

Heero stumbled to his partner, the gun slipping through his numb fingers. Somewhere, an eternity away, he heard people screaming and yelling, but that didn’t matter anymore. Nothing did, as he kneeled down beside his koi, taking his mangled body into his lap. He peeled away hair that was thick with blood and other substances, and pulled it away from his once beautiful face. He didn’t want to think of how soft the side of his head was, or what were the tacky things he felt in Duo’s hair; he couldn’t handle it, not now, not now, damnit! Tears trickled down his cheeks, down to his chin, and dripped off only to fall onto his lover’s parted, bloodstained lips.

“…no…gods…no…”

god, god knows i'm not at home

“Is there anything I can do for you, Heero?” Quatre asked softly, his hand a light comfort on the Japanese boy’s shoulder.

“No,” he shortly replied. He sat on the bed that he and Duo had once shared, now cold and discarded. The entire apartment seemed foreign and unearthly, like his life before this had been some fantasy dream world. His hand crept over to Duo’s pillow, absentmindedly pulling a long chestnut hair from it. “I want to be alone.”

Quatre, although totaling disagreeing with the boy’s choice, nodded. “I understand. If you need anything-”

“I’ll call you,” he muttered, never meeting his eyes. “Goodbye, Quatre.”

“Goodbye, Heero,” the blonde boy murmured. “Be careful.” With that, he slipped out of bedroom, and within seconds, out of the apartment.

Heero walked to the bathroom, imagining that it smelled like rose petals and wax, firelight flickering across the tiles; a long ago safehouse within a distant memory that seemed never to have been ruthlessly crawling into his mind. Without a sound, he walked to the shower and started it, turning only the left, hot, handle up as far as it would go. He waited patiently, staring into the mirror as it began to grow smoky. Once steam began billowing out from behind the curtain, the boy stepped into the water, clothes and all.

His skin ignited in screams of protests, but he ignored them, and within moments, forgot them. His flesh instantly changed to red, the color of his lover’s blood as it spilled onto the cold pavement. That scene, his reaction time, Duo’s eyes, they all followed him in his nightmares and his days. It had all happened so inhumanly fast; one minute he had been upbeat, cheerful, annoying as usual, and the next…

The steam threatened to choke him as the shower continued its merciless downpour. “My fault,” he whispered, the water seeping into his mouth and burning his tongue and throat. “If I had known we were being followed, he might still be a-alive now.”

He threw back his head, the dark hair sending a new river of boiling water down his already shrieking back. “DUO! How could you leave me now? The war was over, damnit! This was our time! You fucking bastard! How could you…how could you leave me all alone?”

Heero fell to his knees, his body crumbling onto the cool porcelain of the tub. His fist crashed against the wall, shattering the tile into jagged pieces that tore into his flesh, unforgiving. Blood cascaded in streams down the side of the shower and his hand, diluted with heated water.

“Your blood is on my hands, Duo Maxwell. There will not be one day that goes by that I will not remind myself of this fact. I swear to you, Duo, I will never forget!”

i'll never find someone
quite like you
again

No one was there; he had made all the arrangements and decided on the eternal spot of Duo’s remains. The countryside was peaceful, just like that night ages ago. Snow blanketed the ground in a fluffy, cottony sheet, looking enticing to lie upon. A few animals trekked through the snow, searching for sustenance in the merciless January month, and once rewarded, scurried away to sleep once more.

Stooping down, Heero’s gloved hand swept away the snow that covered the black marble headstone, picking it out of the carved grooves, polishing it to a shining contrast. It had cost him quite a bit of money for this weighty piece of black stone, but he didn’t care. It was his own penance for not being able to save him, protect him when it finally mattered.

The last three months had been a torment of sweaty sleepless nights and hazy, forgettable days. Everything felt so obscure and far distant, as if watching it all through a thick pane of smoky glass. Faces wore the false masks of cheerfulness as they gazed at him; eyes shone with sympathetic condolences that no one could ever understand.

He pulled the black leather glove from his hand and traced his fingertips across the name on the headstone, as if feeling his the supple flesh of his lover once more.

“It shouldn’t be like this,” he whispered, his lips going numb with the winter weather. Clouds of smoke drifted from his mouth and floated lazily in front of his face. “I feel so damn helpless, and this isn’t me! I don’t crack like this! I’m stronger than this!”

He dropped to his knees in the snow, crunching sounds slapping his ears. He could dimly feel the wetness soaking through his jeans and to his legs, but disregarded it. It was just another reminder that he was painfully alive.

“What are you doing to me, Duo?” he asked the black marble. “What the hell are you doing to me?”

i'll never find someone
quite like you
again

He had overheard their whispers, questioning his sanity and well-being. He could feel the weight of their eyes on his back as he walked through a room, could see their lips moving in hushed words over the dreaded decline of the once “Perfect Soldier”. He hated their pointless pity; it did neither him nor the late Duo any good. He certainly didn’t need it; he wasn’t the one lying in the unforgiving ground. It was just another pointless emotion that had no place in a tragic world.

Of course, if that were the case, then neither did his grief. He wanted to be rid of it, just as he wanted to be rid of any memory of his chestnut haired partner, but he was not allowed such a privilege. A year and a half after the demise of his koi, he still bore that demon on his back, along with the demon’s cousins, Guilt and Remorse.

Heero excused himself to his borrowed room at Quatre’s estate; he was not in the mood for one of Winner’s parties tonight. He was uncertain why he had agreed in the first place. Throwing open the door, he slipped into the room and collapsed on the large bed. After a moment of thought, he realized that he had once shared the same bed with Duo when they had taken a vacation at the blonde’s house. Growling, he jumped up and prowled to the balcony, staring out into the peaceful darkness.

“Are you all right, Heero?”

Heero’s head fell slightly forward, a small snarl clawing at his mouth. “I’m fine, Relena,” he replied without turning around. His voice was low and just barely above a growl, almost totally covered up by the din of the party below.

He could hear her soft footsteps as she came closer to him. A warm, delicate hand suddenly rested upon his shoulder, which he promptly shook off. “I don’t think you are. It’s Duo, isn’t it?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

She ignored his shortness and walked in front of him, leaning her back against the wrought iron balcony rail. In the moonlight, she looked beautiful. The beams danced across her soft skin, making it almost glow while her eyes glittered with a strong sense of determination and concern. She noted the dark circles under his eyes and the paleness of his face, despising the way he looked now. “You are killing yourself, Heero! Can’t you see that?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he hissed, turning away.

Relena ran in front of him, forcing his gaze to her. “Can’t you see what is happening? Are you that blind? What happened to the boy who would not let anything defeat him? What happened to the boy who was the savoir of hundreds of thousands of people? What happened to the person who was the strength of every person on the colonies and the earth? Is he that easily defeated?”

His eyes burned with a blue fire, a sneer growing across his lips. “That person is dead and buried, if he ever existed at all.”

“How can you give yourself away like that?” she shouted.

“If you can ask that,” he said, turning and walking towards the door, “then you’ve never felt love.”

She ignored his comment, disregarding the malice in each of the syllables. She had not wished to resort to what she was about to do, afraid of drudging up more pain than anything else, but she was desperate. He was wasting away, right before her eyes, and she was damned if she was going to allow it without a fight.

“Would Duo want you acting like this, Heero?”

Her face was steel as she regarded his strong back. Her words beat mercilessly into his head like thunder, stopping his feet for a moment. She was strong, and now for a change, she was being strong for him. However, this time, it just wasn’t enough.

“It doesn’t matter what Duo would want, now does it, Relena?” he hissed, turning around to look at her with shielded eyes. A vacant smirk danced across his dry lips. “Duo’s dead! Whatever Duo ever wanted doesn’t fucking matter because HE IS DEAD!”

She watched his outburst with soft eyes. “Oh, Heero,” she murmured. “You need to learn how to live again.”

“Why should I learn something that I have no intention on actually doing?” he replied, then walked out the door, leaving the girl to stand alone in the darkness, hands clasped at her chest. Her eyes stared at the mahogany door in stunned shock, her thoughts jumbled.

“No,” her numb lips muttered. “He couldn’t mean that! He’s too strong for that! He has to be, because…without him…” Tears, diamonds on the soft flesh of her cheeks, trickled down unnoticed. She didn’t have to finish her words; she knew what she felt.

i looked into your eyes and
saw a world that does not exist

Heero threw back his head as he stepped out into Quatre’s courtyard. The sweet fragrance of jasmine, rose, and honeysuckle all rushed over him, mocking him with their life. The spring night was warm and alive with animal songs and party music. He hated it.

He made his way to the immense garage and discovered an old, twentieth century motorcycle inside. It was a classic, sleek and beautiful, with gleaming chrome and black metal. It vibrated underneath him as it roared to life with a throaty cough, declaring its power to the rider. In gold lettering, the name “Harley Davidson” was proudly painted across one of the saddlebags. With expert skill, he peeled out and away from the mansion.

Thoughts tumbled in his head while the wind rushed past his ears. Love? What did anyone know of it? He certainly didn’t, at least not until it was too late. He had taken it for granted, taken every moment they had for granted! The others could say what they wanted, do what they wanted, but they had no idea how much of a weight this truly was.

Duo…

Those eyes, that glittering amethyst that changed as quickly as weather; brimming bliss shifting to a mouth-watering seduction only to swing to the hardened walls of a skilled soldier. But throughout it all, behind those masks, Heero had seen the life that he had never been allowed to live, and he saw that the world was beautiful. The conditioning, the hell, the death, it meant nothing as he stared into that life, that glimmering violet that haunted him to this day.

“You don’t live by a gun; the gun lives by you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that if you want to give up your damn icy mask, you can. It’s your decision; no one else’s.”

“Do you ever think before you open your mouth?”

“Do you ever consider the impossible?”

“What is impossible?”

“You.” Laughter, light, echoing…

“So, I let down my walls so you could leave me?” Heero screamed, the words savagely ripped from his mouth. He was drowning in the onslaught of the wind, it mercilessly choking him as if it were water. He gunned the controls of the bike, speeding it onward. “I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you, damnit!”

i looked into your eyes and
saw a world i wish i was in

He left the bike discarded by a nearby lake, forgetting its existence as he sat on the beach. He was close enough to see his reflection in the waves, twisting and shifting as the water pulled back and forth. Lights twinkled like manufactured stars on the horizon, some scarlet, some azure, most a milky white.

He was cold, but ignored it. His hand drifted lightly across the sand and rocks, feeling the pointed corners and soft grains. His eyes never left the water, never left the beckoning waves and tempting release that it offered.

You left me with nothing. Why should it matter, though? I can’t believe that I’m acting like this! Is it because I failed? Is it because I’m the cause of your death? Or is it more? Is it because I lo-

He shook his head, dark hair swinging. Love is for the weak! When you died, so did that emotion! I am torturing myself because I let an innocent die, and that’s it!

His eyes drifted to his hands, imagining the blood that stained the palms as he held Duo’s crumpled body in his lap. He remember those parted cold lips and his tears as they fell onto them, moistening them with his grief. His heart began to ache with an agony never felt before, something more pure and whole than even imaginable. It was as if Hell had swallowed him whole.

Suddenly, Heero reached over and grabbed a rock, clenching it inside his metal fist until it bit through his flesh and blood poured out between his fingers. It dripped onto the sand, tacky and dark against the golden beach.

“See, Duo? It’s still on my hands! It’s still there, no matter how many times I wash them! See what you’re doing to me?” With a flick of his wrist, he launched the stone, sending it skittering across the water.

Sighing, he leaned back and closed his eyes in defeat, images springing to painful life in his mind’s eye.

Duo, with his hair spread out across black satin sheets like splayed fingers, his tongue slowly licking his swollen lips as his eyes begged Heero closer…

Duo, twirling and skipping as he danced in the rain; his face blanketed in total elation…

Duo, throwing out insults as he fought inside his Gundam; his face a mask of cocky bravery, but some other emotion- regret? - dancing behind his eyes…

Duo, his arms held out lovingly to embrace him; his face soft and his eyes full of forgiveness…

“I suppose it’s not one thing, but a mixture. I wanted nothing more than to be with you, and for you to show me everything there was to being ‘normal’ and ‘alive’. I have betrayed you! How can you expect me to go on and act happy? I died when you did. That soldier Relena spoke of is nothing more than dust and bones. That person is gone and only I remain.

“But for how long?”

I'll never find someone
quite as touched as you

The wind rushed past his ears, roaring like taunted lions. He felt it wrap around him, tightening a suffocating hold on him as he dropped faster, and sliding through his splayed fingers. The stars and rooftops fell away from him with a speed that seemed intangible and the screams from the spectators below delighted him.

This is it. It has been years in the making, but this it! I’m coming to find you, Duo!

His head fell back, the hair tickling his face as his lips parted. Forbidden tears were ripped from his eyes and carried into the night air, glistening like the stars. His body tingled with unimaginable excitement and freedom, something believed to be lost long ago. He flipped in the air, completing a lazy circle until he was facing skyward again.

He blinked and time slowed down, dropping to an agonizingly sluggish pace.

A boy hovered above him, violet eyes dancing with an uncanny mirth as a smile licked his lips. His body was clad in his normal tight pants and plain shirt, but they were now a suspicious white, strangely becoming against his radiant, soft flesh. His eternal braid of chestnut silk floated lazily behind him as he dropped with Heero, his arms held out invitingly. Wings of pure, unblemished perfection protruded from his back, the white feathers rippling slowly as they flapped.

“Duo…” Gods, he looked beautiful, smiling with untainted life.

“You were never one to listen to me, were you, Heero?” he whispered, his voice a heightened song of immortality.

“You did this to me,” he muttered.

“Sure, blame the dead guy,” the angel joked, smirking. “What are you doing?”

“Joining you,” he murmured, leaning his head back into the wind. “Forgetting this…”

“Heero, you shouldn’t,” Duo whispered. “I would have waited for you.”

“But I couldn’t wait for you,” he replied, haunted smile on his dry, cracked lips. “I couldn’t wait for you anymore.”

I'll never love someone
quite the way
that i loved you

“‘Wait’?” His eyes widened into pools of lavender, calling, begging him closer. “I was always with you, you idiot.”

“That didn’t matter!” Heero screamed. “I needed to feel you, be next to you because it didn’t matter any other way! If you’re not here, I’m not myself. I have become weak and pathetic in your absence.”

Duo regarded him a with a sort of curious, yet hurt, expression. “Are you doing this for you or me?”

The answer was short and cold. “I’m doing it for us.”

A hand, softly glowing, reached down and caressed the side of Heero’s face, forcing a small gasp out of his mouth as he nuzzled it. “I loved you enough to wait for you. I loved you enough to let you live.”

“And I loved you enough to find you,” he whispered. “I loved you enough to die.”

“I never would have imagined something like that coming out of your mouth, Heero,” Duo commented, grinning. “You have turned into quite the sap since I’ve been gone.”

Heero ignored the joke, holding his arms out to the angel above him, looking like a child begging its mother. His hair flew about his head in dark ripples, and his face was set in sheer determination and final peace. Somewhere far away, he swore he could smell the sweet fragrance of roses and wax. His cerulean eyes beckoned Duo closer, begging him to take him.

“This is for you.”

Words, hazy with time, were called into Duo’s mind as he whispered, “For…me?”

Heero’s lips worked with a slow urgency as he nodded; time finally returning to its normal speed. White wings wrapped around his body while deep, insatiable pools of amethyst steadily devoured him. Inhuman warmth spread throughout his body, igniting every portion of his lost soul. No fear existed, nothing negative tainted him any longer. His hands were clean. Total completion enveloped him and he felt alive once again, alive in death.

My Heaven…

“This is for you, Duo Maxwell. All of it. It always has been and always will be.”

Heero Yuy felt nothing as his body crashed onto the front end of a black pickup truck; his spine instantly shattering as he slipped from its crushed hood and to the bloody pavement below. He didn’t feel the blood as it streamed from almost every portion of his mangled body. He didn’t hear the screams of the onlookers, their shrill cries of horror carried away on snowy wind.

He was gone before he ever hit the ground.

The End