SAVE ETERNITY FOR ME

SAVE ETERNITY FOR ME

by Ashura Nagisa

DISCLAIMERS:  Even if I save up my allowance for years, I will probably never own the characters of Gundam Wing.  The story itself and all original characters are mine.  It's a nice compromise, and in kindergarten I was taught to share my toys.

PAIRINGS:  1x2, 3x4, DxR, HxC, 13x11, 6x9, 5+?

ARCHIVE:  Desolation Angels (http://www.dreamwater.net/ashura)

NOTES:  I know I wasn't going to do this, but that's because I didn't have any ideas before.  I did say if I had a story then I'd write it, and there seems to be one after all.  Anyone interested?  *grin*   All the usual credited influences, and apologies to Ruth's Demon, Arbaa, for traumatising him by using his name for past-life-Quatre.

"Save Eternity for Me" takes place about one year after the epilogue of Niobe's Violets (two years after the bulk of the story).  Oz is in the hands of Treize and Une, and Romafeller has released almost entire control of the St. Gabriel School to Iria and the Winner Foundation.  Even Wufei seems to have recovered from the battle and Sylvia's death, and at the age of ten, Mariemaya is coming into her own Power at last....

*****

O for that warning voice which he who saw

Th' Apocalypse heard cry in Heaven aloud,

Then when the dragon, put to second rout,

Came furious down to be revenged on men,

Woe to the inhabitants of Earth! that now,

While time was, our first parents had been warned

The coming of their secret foe....

...And of pure now purer air

meets his approach, and to the heart inspires

Vernal delight and joy, able to drive

All sadness but despair.

--John Milton, 'Paradise Lost,' Book iv, 1-7, 153-5

****

[chapter one:  O Brave New World]

"I don't see," Duo grumbled, gnawing irritably on the eraser-end of his pencil, "why we have to learn this stuff anyway.  Someone please suggest to me a situation when, at any point in my future life, I may find it necessary to understand logarithms."

"Next Tuesday," Dorothy Catalonia responded dryly, glancing up from the paper covered with columns of her small, neat figures, "when Miss Noin tests you on it."

Duo flicked his pencil at her, but she caught it mid-flight, her face contorting with disgust at the drool now coating her fingers.  "That is /gross/.  Like I want your mouth-germs--save 'em for Heero.  Now do you want my help with this or not?"

"I do!"  chirped Hilde Schbeiker, who had been releasing frustration by banging her head repeatedly on her desk.  "I'll never understand this, not in a million years.  Dorothy, what's 36.19 to the power of -4?"

"One over one million, seven hundred fifteen thousand, three hundred fifty-six point two-six," Dorothy answered automatically with a smug wink.  "Now figure it out yourself, it doesn't do any good unless you know how to get there."

"I hate you," Hilde growled, bending her head over her paper again.

Dorothy shrugged.  "I know.  But the only way you'll get rid of me is to work the problem out so I can see you understand it.  Then I get to go replenish the dwindling levels of caffeine in my bloodstream and leave you alone."

Duo sighed and let his head thump forehead-first onto the desk.  All banter aside, raw academics was not his strongest point.  "If that's the case, Dorothy, you're never leaving.  Because I look down at these numbers and all I see is gibberish.  I /don't/ understand it, and I'm not likely to...Christ, I only made it through the seventh grade!"

A frown tugged the corners of Dorothy's lips downward as she leaned over his shoulder.  "I know, Duo, but you've caught up so fast in everything else...."  She touched his shoulder reassuringly as she sank into the plain wooden chair next to him.  "Look, I'll talk to Miss Noin--maybe we can find you a private tutor or something."

He arched an eyebrow, distrust clear in his violet eyes.  "You mean from the outside?  To come in here?  Oh, /that's/ likely.  That Miss Noin's going to want to breach security so I can learn advanced algebra."

Dorothy shrugged, twisting a long strand of silky blonde hair in manicured fingers.  "Hey, it's the best I can do.  I'm not helping you, obviously--I may have a calculator for a brain, but I'm the first to admit I'm a lousy teacher."

Duo favoured her with his most winning smile--the one that made Heero melt, and everyone else sigh and say 'what  do you want this time?'  "Does that mean I can go?"

She rolled her eyes.  "Sure, why not, get lost."

Duo tossed his notebooks haphazardly into his bag, and from the rustle of papers across the aisle, Hilde was doing the same.


"Ah--not you!"  The dark-haired girl found herself pushed forcibly back into her chair, though the corners of Dorothy's mouth were twitching with barely-contained laughter.  "You stay here and finish that problem; I /know/ you had exactly the same schooling I did."

"Thbbbbbt."  Hilde blew a raspberry at her blonde captor, but waved cheerfully enough to Duo, then nudged the dozing, fur-covered form at her feet.  "Hey--would you take Jasper with you?  He's been cooped up in here long enough."

Duo nodded.  "Sure."  At the mention of his name, Jasper raised his head and gazed mournfully up at Hilde.  He was hot, and bored, and despite his unwavering loyalty to his mistress, he KNEW there was a yard outside full of grass and holes and sticks and small furry creatures to chase.

He was a Siberian Husky pup, grey-coated and silver-eyed, and he had first arrived at the St. Gabriel Institute as a seventeenth birthday present for Quatre.  Unfortunately, Quatre discovered shortly thereafter that he was exceedingly allergic to his new canine friend.  So Jasper had found a new home with Hilde, who adored him.  She was convinced--and had somehow converted Trowa to her cause--that both she and the puppy had discovered their true calling, and that it involved building a dogsled in the garage in her spare hours. 

"But there isn't any snow here," Cathy had reminded her incredulously.  "It /never/ snows here!"

Hilde just shrugged.  "So we'll put wheels on it.  Besides, I don't intend to stay here forever, and it snows back  where I come from."

Cathy had grumbled something uncomplimentary about both her girlfriend and her brother, and stalked off to practice throwing knives at people.

That was another thing that had changed in the almost-two-years Duo had been at the school.   Cathy had finally loosened up enough to work with someone other than Trowa--much to Hilde's delight,  when at last she had been allowed to play living target to her girlfriend's dagger act.  Duo had never felt the need himself; he was never that crazy about putting himself in physical danger, but he supposed if he'd had Hilde's ability to regenerate, he might not have minded.

He whistled to Jasper and escaped the classroom.  The puppy's tongue hung out of his mouth as he trotted along at Duo's heels, excited at the prospect of Playing Outside.

"How'd you get out early?  I thought you had a study session."  The warm voice that preceded its owner from behind him in the hallway sent a warm flush through all Duo's skin.  He couldn't imagine a time when it might /not/ so affect him, and he slowed to wait for Heero to catch up to him. 

"Bribed the jailer," he answered pertly, with a suggestive wink that made Heero look uncertain whether he should laugh or tackle him. 

He decided just to shoot back.  "/Ew/.  Anything you touched Dorothy with, /I/ refuse to touch until it's washed." 

Duo made a face at him.  "Funny, that's what she said about you," he retorted, twining his fingers loosely around his lover's.  "But then Jasper looked all cute at her, and she told him to take him outside.  Well, and something about getting me a tutor."

Heero looked startled.  "You're doing that badly?"

The long-haired boy shrugged, nonchalant.  "What do you expect?  Like I just got through telling Dorothy, I missed some vital years of schooling while I was living in shelters.  I'm working as hard as I can, but math isn't my subject.  I'm having trouble catching up."

"I could help you, if you want.  I have time."  Nibbling awkwardly on his lower lip, his head cocked to one side so his unruly dark hair fell in his face, Heero looked utterly /un/like any kind of supernatural entity at all, and Duo found himself reaching behind his boyfriend's shoulderblades to rub the slight, telltale protrusion of hidden wings.

Heero winced.  "Ow!  Don't do that--sunburn!" 

"Sorry."  He blushed--he had forgotten about the 'affliction,' but it had been easily his fault as much as Heero's.  They had fallen asleep together in the garden, and the seraph--who had been lying on top of Duo, after all--had emerged from the encounter with bright pink and very sore skin. 

"Salright."  Heero claimed his lover's hand once more."  Anyway I was looking for you...wanted to tell you I found those books you were looking for in the library.  Although--I wish you wouldn't spend so much time on that.  Especially if you're that behind in math."

"Oh, for--don't you start lecturing me too!"  Duo snapped, before a long sigh slipped from his lips unbidden and he slung his bag higher on his shoulder, so he could reach his unclaimed hand down to scratch Jasper lightly behind the ears.  "Let me guess," he asked the dog.  "You'll be next?"

Heero's voice took on an element of firmness, but a hint of sorrow still hung there as well, unacknowledged and immortal.  "You know that's not what I'm trying to do.  But--researching demons?  I understand the urge, but Dekim's in the past.  Duo, we finally /have/ a future together.  I've waited for this for centuries, can you really blame me if I don't want to spend it all dwelling on things that are finished?"

It was an old, tired argument, and one of the few they ever had, and Duo had his next lines memorised as surely as if they had been scripted.  "And I've told you before...how do I know he's really gone?  Do you blame /me/ for wondering that?  And for worrying that as soon as I really do start to enjoy this future with you, that he or something like him is going to appear out of the woodwork and try to ruin it all again?"

"And you know that's why I'm helping you."  Heero's response was as instinctive and repetitive as Duo's, and they walked in silence for a few paces as he stared down in defeat at the floor.

Jasper nudged Duo's knee pointedly, and he sighed, lifting their joined hands to touch Heero's fingers briefly to his lips.  "I love you."  A moment's nibbling on his lip and he added at last:  "I'll spend less time with the demon books and more with you.  I'd rather do that anyway.  So will you not get after me about it anymore?"

Heero nodded, trying not to look upset--and, to anyone's eye but Duo's, probably succeeding.  The seraph had a tendency to be oversensitive to even small arguments, which almost always left Duo guilt-stricken afterward.  "It's fair.  I love you too."  He clung to the words, as well, every time either one spoke them--it amased Duo, sometimes, that his lover was the one who seemed eternally insecure.

"Good, that's over with," he said, leaning over to plant a kiss on the other boy's cheek.  "C'mon, let's go outside and play with the dog before Hilde gets done and wants him back."

****

"Duo!  Heero!"  Nearly bowled over by a projectile with feathery red hair, Duo somehow managed to catch Mariemaya before both of them went tumbling onto the floor.  He swung her around--it helped with halting the momentum--and tried unsuccessfully to set her back down on the floor. 

Hanging from around his neck like a very heavy, girl-shaped necklace, she beamed up at him, wrinkling her nose.  "You have grass in your hair."

"Yeah, well, I was rolling around in it, okay?  We took Jasper for a walk," he added at Heero's bemused--and deceptively innocent--expression.  "Now leggo, you're getting heavy."

She pouted, but dropped to the ground.  "I'm bored.  Nobody'll do anything with me, they're all watching TV or playing that dumb game, and they won't let me play with them!"

"Ah."  Both the boys knew just the game she meant.  One of Quatre's other birthday presents had been a computer strategy game called "Dictator," and he, Dorothy and Wufei had engaged in a tournament almost immediately.  It took up every spare minute, and they'd been observed hurrying through meals and turning in half-finished homework in order to spend more time with their game.  Considering, it wasn't really surprising that a neglected Trowa had turned to dogsled-building with Hilde.  Mariemaya had suggested more than once that she could give them a run for their money, but so far her challenge had gone unanswered.

Duo was about to promise Mariemaya he'd keep her entertained, when Heero's hand on his arm drew him into the rec room where the others--even the World Domination Triumvirate--were scattered around the television.  "I think this is important," he said worriedly.  "Look."

"What--oh!"  Almost immediately he realised what had captured his lover's and classmates' attention.  On the screen, a news programme showed a crowd of people marching and waving graffiti-painted signs over their heads.  While impossible to make out the complete wording of the signs, one title stood out amid all the others.

Newtype.

"It's new legislation," Quatre explained, patting the spot next to him as he scooted over to make room on the sofa.  The Siren's family had legally adopted Duo a year previous, and was now the closest thing he had to a brother.  "They want to lock up everybody who's a little more than human so they can take us apart and figure out how we work."

"It gets better," inserted Wufei irritably.  "The people you see marching around like idiots on the TV are opposed to the last bit, but seem to agree that anyone with so-called 'newtype abilities' be registered so the government can keep track of them.  They just think--and rightly so, might I add--that GeneTech and the rest shouldn't go around building kids just so they can study them."

Quatre nodded.  "Honestly, I think we're classified enough that even if this makes it through, nobody's going to come after /us/.  I just--well, it's a lot of publicity, none of it good.  And it's such a horrible thing they do--engineering children for their test subjects...."

"Now c'mon, Quatre...that could just be their bad publicity too," Trowa interrupted from the floor at the Siren's feet, but it was plain he didn't really believe his own words.   After all, they had all spent years with GeneTech's notorious scientists as their own private version of the boogeyman.

"I say we blow 'em all up," Mariemaya said fiercely.  All eyes turned to her, startled--she was huddled a bit closer to Duo than before, hunched forward with her fingers clenched and her bright blue eyes narrowed to slits.  "That'd take care of 'em once and for all."

Quatre coughed delicately.  "It wouldn't, actually.  Get rid of a few stupid people, Mariemaya, and somehow there are always a few thousand more to take their place."  His tone was orchestrated to be soothing, to lighten the mood, and the child relaxed visibly.

"I guess so.  But if anybody ever tries to take any of you away, they're gonna have to deal with ME!"  she declared firmly.

Several pairs of eyes traded glances that varied from proprietary, amused or surprised by turns.  "Yeah, okay," said Duo after a moment.  "Believe me, you can have first dibs on anybody stupid enough to try and split us up, I promise."

"You better believe it," Mariemaya growled.

****

For most of the night, Duo had no thoughts to spare for the Newtypes and the politicians now responsible for their fate.  He had plenty to be distracted by, after all--evidenced by the damp sheen of sweat that coated his skin, his tangled hair, and Heero's slow rhythmic breathing in his ear.  His lover's arm wrapped loose around his shoulders, and the air in Duo's small room still hung thick with the scent of sex. 

He nuzzled into Heero's chest, letting the steady pulse of the other's heartbeat thump soothingly against his cheek.  He still marveled, sometimes, at how his life had changed so much in such a short time.  He'd been an orphan, a half-starved, scrawny streetrat consistently getting into trouble, shifted from shelter to shelter until even that meagre security ran out.  And then, one day, he'd accidentally killed someone--and it had turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to him.  He felt guilty about it sometimes, but it really had been an accident, and self-defense at that--it had also been the catalyst which had brought him to the attention of one Dr. Iria Winner, one of the few people not employed by the St. Gabriel Institute that knew of its existence.

And what should have been a terrifying experience had been instead an incredible one.  Oh, parts of it had been horrid; he'd been attacked by a demon and felt his friend, and in some ways mother, die in his arms.  But he had also found Heero, and Hilde, and the rest of his classmates, and he'd found a brother in Quatre--which, in the most fabulous twist of irony he could have imagined, also made him a member of the third richest family on the entire planet.

Fate had a truly strange sense of humour.

His own breathing eased and slowed, and he let his eyes drift closed, til the entire world consisted of no more than Heero's warm skin against his own.  Even that slim consciousness faded slowly, coaxing him into sleep, wrapping him in the memory of his lover's arms and feather-strewn wings.

//Listen.//

The voice was not his own, nor was it familiar--it was soft, the light alto of a girl, or a boy whose voice hasn't yet changed, and it echoed slightly as if the speaker were not completely real.

//Listen,// it whispered again.  //Events are in motion, and spiraling fast out of control.  You must watch, and when the time is right, you must come to me.//

And some part of Duo's subconscious mind answered. //Where are you?//

A flicker of light like a smile, sad and soft. 

//You'll find me,// it promised.

****