Author's Note: Awwww, I see that confusion still abounds in the ranks. *grins* Just so you know, if you have no earthly clue as to what in the heck is going on, I promise you that there will be a question and answer supplement at the end of the story where, hopefully, all your questions will be answered. Of course, if you can't wait that long you can always drop me an email. I'll give you what hints I can. Besides that, enjoy reading!
It was autumn and the leaves fell in cascades of gold, orange and red. The air spelled of spices and the ground underfoot was aflame with bright fall colors. The wind was brisk but not chilly and the sky was the most perfect shade of blue he had ever seen. There were no clouds, only the a faint 'V' of geese flying south, their calls the very essence of the changing weather, but he did not notice any of this. The earth might have stopped spinning for all the attention he gave it. No, his eyes were trained on the luminescent being waiting for him under the red oak, slim fingers dancing with lazy leaves as they fell.
He stepped forward to cross the space between them and she looked up with a fluidity of motion that left him breathless, the graceful movements of startled deer. It was amazing.
She hadn't known he was there.
Even as the echo of his first footfall died away, the wind blew colder and in the distance, the horizon grew dark. This he did see clearly but it did not make him pause. He knew the consequences of his actions very well. He had remembered with the help of those he had lived countless of lives with and now his journey would be complete.
If he could make it to her side.
She watched him walk steadily, no trace of fear in her eyes through the world groaned and shadows fell the nearer he came to her. When he was halfway, snow began to fall, a few dainty flakes that landed on his nose and made him blink. It did not make him slow. Leaves crunched under his feet as they froze and were broken by his passing. He ignored the temperature drop and kept his eyes trained on Relena's deep aqua eyes, two bottomless wells that now shed tears for what was to come. She knew as well as he what would happen. She had probably known from the beginning when they had stood together by the beach and he had barely known who she was.
He remembered now, and it hurt.
No one appeared to stop him when he was within arm's reach, though he could feel their eyes. Quatre, Dorothy and Zechs….They were in this world, too, awaiting a time when they would be born again with their loved ones. Was the world really cruel?
No. It had given him her.
He reached out and drew her to him with one breath even as the wind erupted into a whirlwind of dried leaves and frantic snow. It swirled around them and threatened to tear her from his grasp but his arms remained locked around her waist as her lips kissed his throat and her eyes met his. Her voice reached him, through even the tempest that had coalesced around them.
"You came," she said and he nodded, kissing away the cold tear that trailed down her flawless cheek. Her fingers tightened in the fabric of his shirt and her hair whipped around her like a pale cloud. Snowflakes caught in her lashes and glittered with her every movement. "You came," she repeated, "to say farewell."
Again, he nodded.
BP's falling! Check his airway. Damn it, he's bleeding too much!
She smiled a little and touched his hair, so sad and yet so willingly to believe in him. He closed his eyes, his heart full of pain and regret, but he did not make a wish. In this, he could not be selfish. Relena's warm lips brushed his eyelids.
"Try not to think of it as a leaving," she whispered, "This moment was given to us when all others are kept apart."
He's fluctuating! Ready the Fib! Stand back!
He said nothing, simply bent down and kissed her gently, cradling her close to him as he felt himself begin to wane. When he stepped back, his body had grown transparent and Relena's hand had come up to cover her mouth.
"I love you," he said to the wind, and the wind replied with the voice of a dove, "I love you and I'll be waiting for you here, in the place between worlds. When you come again, never doubt that I will be waiting."
He was moving backwards, away from her. His heart gave a might lurch within his chest and his vision blurred. He tried to look for Relena but her image was gone and he was only cold. So very cold…
Alright, clear!
Bam.
"Go, Heero, and do not be afraid. I am with you, forever."
He closed his eyes.
Clear!
Bam.
Darkness crushed him on all sides and he struggled to breathe, to survive, to live.
Just to live…
Clear!
Bam.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
We've got a pulse. Bag him and I don't care if you have to bring him back to life with a kiss, this one's staying. Got it?
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Relena….
TBC…