"A Promise Kept"
By Jadealiya
(( angsty death fic, Heero and Relena's last moments together....and yes, I have a 1XR bias, but I am for the most part very open minded when it comes to couples. As to disclaimers, the characters etc. don't belong to me and so on...))
The metal door slammed shut behind him, echoed by the electronic click of the locking mechanism falling into place. Good. That would give them some time. The shouts of the soldiers on the other side of the door rose and fell as they sought for the quickest route to their prey, but he didn't hear them. All he heard was her struggling to catch her breath as she leaned against the far wall, looking at him with those intense violet eyes.
She knew.
She knew, but she still turned to him.
For hope, for courage, for strength, for something.....
Relena....
"Heero...what should we do?" The young Minister, Relena Peacecraft Yuy, crossed the room towards him, trembling slightly. To anyone else's eyes, she would probably appear completely composed, but he knew what to look for. She was afraid. Terrified.
She knew.
"I don't know, Relena. They don't mean for us to leave here alive."
There, he had said it. She seemed to calm slightly as he confirmed what she already knew. That there was no hope...Nodding her head slightly, she looked past him to the large metal door beyond. They could hear the Captain giving out orders to his men. Some were being sent to the main control room to unlock the doors in this sector, while others were trying to were down the door with brute force. She gently slipped her hand into his, turning her gaze to the large window that covered the upper half of the far wall. The Earth could be seen below them, a solitary and lonely thing when viewed from space. Representatives of all the major nations of the world and beyond were meeting there to discuss ways to combat the growing depression that had hit the economy in the decade following the war.
Relena and Heero should be among them, but an unexpected invitation to negotiate peace with the militaristic Seven Stars organization had been too good a chance to pass up. The group had become too violent and too large to ignore, and this had been the first friendly overture they had made.
And I was fool to go along with it... Heero thought to himself, as he followed his wife's gaze and looked at the small blue planet below them. Relena's reflection in the glass before him showed tears filling her pained eyes. Tears of frustration and sadness at seeing peace again slipping through the people's grasp. Heero slipped an arm around her waist, lightly kissing the top of her head.
"However this ends, Heero, it will only bring about more fighting. If they succeed in their attack, the nations will have to defend themselves. If we stop them, the Stars' supporters will see it as a declaration of war on our part...." Relena placed her hand on top of his, twining their fingers as she so often did when nervous.
Heero said nothing but, with his free hand, opened the bullet chamber on his gun. The soldiers on the other side of the door would break through soon, and he wanted to be ready. Glancing at the gun, he saw that there was only one bullet left.
One bullet...
Relena turned slightly, just enough to look him in the eyes. "Can we do anything to slow them down? We cannot let them take the delegates at the conference unaware. The deaths of so many leaders will only multiply the chaos this will cause."
Heero looked back at her, the intense, level gaze of the solider of war meeting the intense, level gaze of the soldier of peace. They were so alike at times. Each passionately determined to achieve whatever goal was set before them. They understood each other as well as they both understood their current situation. Death was imminent, it was only a matter of how, when, and how much they could accomplish beforehand.
Heero mentally ran down his list of options. Trapped and virtually defenseless on the enemy's ship with the added burden of protecting Relena left him with precious few to consider. The best path would probably be to get to the main control room and either send a transmission to the conference center warning of the coming attack, or to detonate the ship and stop the attack before it started.
"I think I can warn them. It would only be a matter of getting to the control room."
Relena gave him that look...The look that meant that she was going to protest that his idea was bordering on the suicidal, but instead she turned again to look at the Earth below them.
Yes, she knew.
Tightening his grip around her waist, Heero glanced at the door leading into the corridor. The men sent to unlock it electronically had obviously failed, but the door was showing signs of giving in to the physical force being used against it. They were a detestable group. Men with no sense of honor or fair play. Heartless scum even in the eyes of the perfect soldier. They stood to gain much through the assassination of Relena Peacecraft Yuy.
Another thought occurred to Heero as he turned his gaze back to Relena. They could gain even more by keeping her alive. A perfect bargaining chip. And, no doubt, the perfect person to be made an example of. Relena was an idol to the people, the physical representation of peace and hope. How better to break the people then to break their beloved heroine of peace...?
Heero shuddered slightly, almost invisibly, but enough for Relena to notice. She reached a hand back and rested it against his cheek, directing his attention back to the view before them. "
"You gave it hope, Relena." Heero gently kissed her hand, brushing his lips against her finger tips. He knew what he had to do. He didn't know if he could do it, but he knew what he had to do.
He had his mission. He had it since that day on the beach when she found him washed ashore after the launch of Operation Meteor.
"Not me alone, Heero. Though, perhaps my death will help. People need their martyrs."
Relena sounded faintly amused as she moved her hand again to rest on top of his.
Heero's lips twitched in the semblance of a smile. "I suppose they do."
"
Relena....
He saw her at their wedding, radiant in her quiet joy as she promised to be his forever.
He cocked the gun.
Ai Shiteru
He saw her in the years following the war. The time when he had watched her from the shadows. She would always see him, hidden in the crowd at some public function. Her eyes would meet his and she would smile, telling him that he couldn't hide from her...no matter how hard he tried.
He started to raise the gun.
I've always....always.....forgive me, Relena....
He saw her during the war, as the ruler of the Sank Kingdom. As determined to change the world with her absolute pacifism as he was to change it with his gundam.
He felt the tears spilling down his face as he brought the gun level with her head. She would not suffer.
I will always love you, Relena.....
And I have never lied to you.
He saw her eyes widen with surprise and fill with tears as he tore her invitation in half. He heard himself, as he walked past her...
Omae wo korosu...
"Wait for me, Relena. I won't be long."
The gun shot echoed through the corridor, causing the soldiers to increase their efforts. Heero wasted no time. Reverently laying Relena's limp figure to the ground, he ran to the door and unlocked it, throwing himself at the surprised soldiers and making a run for the control room. Part of him heard their shouts and felt their bullets tearing into him, but his focus was entirely on the mission at hand. He was once again the perfect soldier, and pain was a sensation to be thrown aside with all others. Besides, the physical pain couldn't come close to matching the pain in his soul.
He felt like he was on auto-pilot as he sent the message to the conference on Earth, telling them what he and Relena had learned. He didn't even remember setting the ship to self-destruct, or incapacitating the many prone figures he passed as he dragged himself back to the room where Relena was.
It didn't matter though.
He laid down beside her, intertwining his now blood stained fingers with hers, just like she always did when she was nervous.
The alarms were sounded, but they quickly faded as unconsciousness welcomed him like an old friend.
He could finally rest now...they could finally rest now...
And the people would have their martyrs....