Disclaimer: Neither Gundam Wing nor its characters are mine. They are the
property of their respective owners. Rhys (when he shows up) is not mine.
He is the property of Laurel K. Hamilton. The Sidhe, the way I use them,
are Laurel K. Hamilton's interpretation of the faeries from mythology. If I
use Hands of Power, which I might, they are the creation of Laurel K.
Hamilton, too.
Pairings: 2x1 (eventually), 61, 51, implied 34, RH, H9H, others to be named
Rating: R
Warnings: AU, OOC, probably lemon, semi Duo- bastardization (don't worry, he gets over it), angst, NICE RELENA Lots of death, too, so maybe I should put DEATH FIC. Sorry I didn't put it sooner, but I just kind of got away with me.
blahdenotes thought blah denotes flashback or Memory
The Elements Chapter 37
Heero woke and was blinded by white.
"Where am I?" he said, then immediately regretted it. He knew very well where he was; he'd only been here countless--well, not countless, only 57,683--times before. He was in the White Room. The special waiting room reserved for the Elements until it was time for them to be reborn. Their own personal little Limbo.
"You know damn well where you are, big brother, so suck it up and wake up," a feminine voice said. Heero knew only one--female--person who could put that amount of scorn and love into one sentence--Kali.
"Is he okay?" Heero asked her, knowing that she, more than anyone, would know who he was talking about, as well as the answer to his question. He sat up, with help from Rafe, and waited for her to answer. Leif and Eric were somewhere behind Rafe, far enough back that Heero could see them, if he looked hard enough.
Kali didn't respond. She opened her mouth, but then closed it, quickly. She had a sort of grimace on her face; every time she opened her mouth to speak, she shut it, as if afraid bugs were going to fly in. Or out.
"Is he okay?" Heero repeated. "Is Duo okay? Did he get out safely?" Heero stood up, agitated. If Kali wouldn't answer such a simple question, then it must be bad. Duo might even be dead.
Kali bit her lip--something she did when she was nervous, which Heero had always found to be endearing, but now was just annoying--but she didn't turn away from Heero. In fact, she turned towards him more, and held his forearm. She looked into his eyes, trying to tell him something. Heero knew that she was only trying to comfort him, but the only comfort he could accept would have to come in the form of words, not touches.
"Please, tell me," he whispered to her, and the slight inclination of her head told him that she would.
"He's not dead," Kali said, "but he is by no means 'okay.' He's--well, I'll just show you." Kali walked over to the television--much like there was a viewing apparatus in the Black Room, there was one in the White Room; it now looked like a television, keeping up with modern technology--and turned it to the station labeled "Duo Maxwell."
Heero pushed away his concerned brothers--they had crowded around him as soon as they understood what he wanted to know, and what the outcome could mean to him--and watched Duo.
Apparently, Duo hadn't been able to get to the mirror that would have taken him back to the mirror. Either that, or he had chosen not to go, just in case Heero came back. Knowing Duo--rather, knowing Danyer and all that Duo had been previously--Heero was more inclined to say that it was the latter instead of the former.
Duo was currently outside of the now-ruined castle, crying. He sat half naked in the grass while the castle smoldered in the background. Duo wept into his hands, looking for all the world that he'd just lost his dog, his best friend, and his girl all at once. Which, Heero realized, wasn't all that far from the truth. Well, except for the dog thing. Neither of them had ever been into Master/Pet type deals.
Heero tore his eyes from the screen; he couldn't bear to watch Duo torture himself like that. He just couldn't.
"Well, that won't do. That won't do at all," Kali said from somewhere to his right. Heero couldn't be bothered to be confused by this, though under ordinary circumstances were random mutterings were curious. "The two of you just found each other again. You can't be apart yet. That is unacceptable."
"I agree completely," Heero said, his eyes still carefully avoiding the TV screen. He wanted to see Duo, but not like that. He wanted to be able to touch him, to hold him and caress him, the next time he saw him. "But what can we do about it. Kill him?"
Kali smiled at that, a smile that made Heero's stomach hurt and his heart soar. They were going to do something bad, but it was going to be worth it.
"Of course we're not killing him, sweetie," Kali said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Killing him would do no good; you two wouldn't be together again, just dead in two different places. You know that as well as I do. No, I think that, instead of bringing him to us, we'll just all go to him."
Heero's head snapped up. He wasn't sure if he'd heard right. Was Kali suggesting that they go back down to earth? Was that even possible? And if so, for how long? Heero didn't know how they could go to Duo--the dead had White Rooms for a reason, and that reason was that the people in charge liked knowing where they were. They would get into a lot of trouble if they just up and left. But if it was for Duo--for Danyer--Heero would do anything.
"Yep," Kali said. "All we gotta do is go through that screen, and we'll end up wherever it's turned to. Believe me."
Heero didn't quite believe her, but he was willing to do it. Heero took a deep breath and stepped into the television. Dimly, he felt his siblings follow.
The five of them stepped out into the forest at Duo's back. Duo was facing the castle, so he couldn't see them, and he couldn't feel their presence.
"What do we do now?" Heero asked Kali, as there was obviously more to her plan than just showing up.
"Now, all we need are some bodies," Kali said, twirling a piece of her hair in between her fingers. "You can grow them--you can grow anything. After you do that, I'll just put us in the bodies, and we'll be as good as new. Better even."
"Won't we get in trouble for this?" Rafe, who'd been quiet up 'til then, asked. "I mean, are we allowed to do this?"
"Probably not," Kali answered, "but won't it be worth it to spend all that time with Rhys that you otherwise would not be able to--after all, he did survive; the only one left standing after the nymphs were through. If we don't do this now, you know that it'll be at least sixteen years before you can hold him in your arms again. Rhys doesn't do pedophilia, and it'll take at least that long for you to be old enough to be in his bed."
"Well, in that case--Heero, what are you waiting for, a blue moon?" Rafe said.
Heero sighed and went to work.
Duo heard a noise--not an uncommon occurrence in the forest, but still, in the last few months, he'd learned that nothing was usually what it seemed-- and looked up.
"Who's there?" he called out. His voice hitched, and he cursed himself for it. Heero would never be that weak. Heero was so strong, always doing what was right--except for that one time, and even that was probably necessary. Heero'd made the ultimate sacrifice, and here Duo was, weeping over what he'd lost. What had been done to him. Heero had died.
Duo didn't realize he was speaking aloud until he hard a gruff laugh behind him.
"I didn't stay dead for long, did I? Guess I never did know just when to quit, a now-familiar voice said. Duo'd spent months listening to that voice in his Memories--the depth and tone changed, but it was always undeniably Heero.
Duo turned around, startled beyond belief and not quite sure that it wasn't just his ears playing tricks on him. But then, his eyes would've had to be fucked up, too, because there, standing before him, was a moss-covered Heero Yuy.
As far as Duo could tell, there wasn't a scratch on him. That couldn't be right. After Heero had kicked Duo out of the throne room, there had been a massive earthquake. Thankfully, Duo had been in the doorway of one of the rooms that hadn't gotten hit that much, but most of the castle had been destroyed. After the shock was over, Duo'd gone back to the throne room and forced open the door. In the middle of the room, there was pile of ash- -it could only have been Heero. Other than the obvious destruction, it was the only difference. So, how could Heero go from a pile of ash to exactly how he looked before?
"Is it really you?" Duo asked, standing up so he wouldn't have to look at the Heero-like thing. If it really was Heero, it would be easier to drag him off and make passionate love to him if he was already standing. If it wasn't Heero, it would be much easier to run away as fast as he could-- though if it wasn't Heero, and it wanted him dead, Duo probably couldn't run fast enough to get away.
"Yeah, it's me. In the flesh," Heero said. He ran his hands down his chest, peeling off some of the moss. He held it above his face and stared at it in what could only be described as reverence. "In the new flesh. It's soft, like a baby's. Never thought I could have skin this soft."
That was enough to convince Duo that it really was Heero--of course, unless it sprouted wings and a horn, he was ready to believe, maybe even then. In a matter of seconds, Duo was racing toward Heero. He reached his beloved and scooped him up, embracing him tighter than he ever had before. A thought flittered through his mind. He really is soft like a baby. I wonder how long that'll last.
"What happened? How did you get back? To me?" Duo asked after putting Heero down. He held Heero's waist in a death grip--just light enough that he wouldn't hurt him--afraid that if he let go that Heero would disappear. That a short, green goblin of some sort would pop out of the woodwork, yell "Just kidding, ha, ha!" and snatch Heero away.
"It doesn't really matter," Heero said, bringing his arms up to hug Duo's neck. Apparently--judging by how hard he squeezed--Heero held the same sentiment of the goblin-yelling-snatching thing. "All that matters is that we're here, now, today. Maybe forever."
Duo smiled and hugged Heero tighter. Forever sounded just about perfect.
Kali smiled as she saw her brother with his soulmate. "They look really great together, don't they?" she asked her other brothers.
"Yeah, they do," Rafe said, coming up behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "but where do we go from here?"
"Now, you go through that mirror--I think it's still standing--and you go get your own soulmate," Kali said. "The nymphs attacked where he was staying, but he survived. For some reason, they didn't bother him. Something about not wanting to kill the last surviving member of a species. The others, though, they--" Kali smiled at Rafe and waved for him to go. "Go on, go. Get your ass to your mate; I'm sure he really misses it."
Rafe took off towards the castle. He didn't look back the entire way, but Kali hadn't missed the beginnings of a blush.
"Nice. Subtle," Eric said, coming from the left of Kali. He was smiling as he said it, though, so she knew he wasn't mad. "But really, where do we go from here? Do we still die at twenty-five? After all, it was part of the curse put on the Riders, so logic dictates that if they're gone, so is that. So, if we don't die then, will we live forever? What do we do now?"
"I'm not sure,' Kali said, grabbing Eric's and Leif's--who had followed Eric over like a puppy dog--hands. She brought them together, and when they clasped one another, she let go. She nodded her head then, figuring it all out. "First, we help put this world back together. There was a lot of damage--more than either of you saw individually--and it's going to take much work to get it back to its former glory. Then, we love. We love our families. We love our friends. We love our soulmates and strangers on the streets. We love anyone we meet, or don't meet. Or that and then help. Either way. It doesn't really matter which happens first."
Kali walked toward the castle, leaving her two brothers holding hands, one brother running for his mate, and the other--the one who saved them all with his sacrifice--holding onto the one he died for. She wondered what would happen with them, but she knew that, whatever it was, they would be great at it. Not because they were superpowerful Elements who could kick the ass of anyone who dared to cross them, but because they loved and were loved in return.
The End
Selune
Pairings: 2x1 (eventually), 61, 51, implied 34, RH, H9H, others to be named
Rating: R
Warnings: AU, OOC, probably lemon, semi Duo- bastardization (don't worry, he gets over it), angst, NICE RELENA Lots of death, too, so maybe I should put DEATH FIC. Sorry I didn't put it sooner, but I just kind of got away with me.
blahdenotes thought blah denotes flashback or Memory
The Elements Chapter 37
Heero woke and was blinded by white.
"Where am I?" he said, then immediately regretted it. He knew very well where he was; he'd only been here countless--well, not countless, only 57,683--times before. He was in the White Room. The special waiting room reserved for the Elements until it was time for them to be reborn. Their own personal little Limbo.
"You know damn well where you are, big brother, so suck it up and wake up," a feminine voice said. Heero knew only one--female--person who could put that amount of scorn and love into one sentence--Kali.
"Is he okay?" Heero asked her, knowing that she, more than anyone, would know who he was talking about, as well as the answer to his question. He sat up, with help from Rafe, and waited for her to answer. Leif and Eric were somewhere behind Rafe, far enough back that Heero could see them, if he looked hard enough.
Kali didn't respond. She opened her mouth, but then closed it, quickly. She had a sort of grimace on her face; every time she opened her mouth to speak, she shut it, as if afraid bugs were going to fly in. Or out.
"Is he okay?" Heero repeated. "Is Duo okay? Did he get out safely?" Heero stood up, agitated. If Kali wouldn't answer such a simple question, then it must be bad. Duo might even be dead.
Kali bit her lip--something she did when she was nervous, which Heero had always found to be endearing, but now was just annoying--but she didn't turn away from Heero. In fact, she turned towards him more, and held his forearm. She looked into his eyes, trying to tell him something. Heero knew that she was only trying to comfort him, but the only comfort he could accept would have to come in the form of words, not touches.
"Please, tell me," he whispered to her, and the slight inclination of her head told him that she would.
"He's not dead," Kali said, "but he is by no means 'okay.' He's--well, I'll just show you." Kali walked over to the television--much like there was a viewing apparatus in the Black Room, there was one in the White Room; it now looked like a television, keeping up with modern technology--and turned it to the station labeled "Duo Maxwell."
Heero pushed away his concerned brothers--they had crowded around him as soon as they understood what he wanted to know, and what the outcome could mean to him--and watched Duo.
Apparently, Duo hadn't been able to get to the mirror that would have taken him back to the mirror. Either that, or he had chosen not to go, just in case Heero came back. Knowing Duo--rather, knowing Danyer and all that Duo had been previously--Heero was more inclined to say that it was the latter instead of the former.
Duo was currently outside of the now-ruined castle, crying. He sat half naked in the grass while the castle smoldered in the background. Duo wept into his hands, looking for all the world that he'd just lost his dog, his best friend, and his girl all at once. Which, Heero realized, wasn't all that far from the truth. Well, except for the dog thing. Neither of them had ever been into Master/Pet type deals.
Heero tore his eyes from the screen; he couldn't bear to watch Duo torture himself like that. He just couldn't.
"Well, that won't do. That won't do at all," Kali said from somewhere to his right. Heero couldn't be bothered to be confused by this, though under ordinary circumstances were random mutterings were curious. "The two of you just found each other again. You can't be apart yet. That is unacceptable."
"I agree completely," Heero said, his eyes still carefully avoiding the TV screen. He wanted to see Duo, but not like that. He wanted to be able to touch him, to hold him and caress him, the next time he saw him. "But what can we do about it. Kill him?"
Kali smiled at that, a smile that made Heero's stomach hurt and his heart soar. They were going to do something bad, but it was going to be worth it.
"Of course we're not killing him, sweetie," Kali said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Killing him would do no good; you two wouldn't be together again, just dead in two different places. You know that as well as I do. No, I think that, instead of bringing him to us, we'll just all go to him."
Heero's head snapped up. He wasn't sure if he'd heard right. Was Kali suggesting that they go back down to earth? Was that even possible? And if so, for how long? Heero didn't know how they could go to Duo--the dead had White Rooms for a reason, and that reason was that the people in charge liked knowing where they were. They would get into a lot of trouble if they just up and left. But if it was for Duo--for Danyer--Heero would do anything.
"Yep," Kali said. "All we gotta do is go through that screen, and we'll end up wherever it's turned to. Believe me."
Heero didn't quite believe her, but he was willing to do it. Heero took a deep breath and stepped into the television. Dimly, he felt his siblings follow.
The five of them stepped out into the forest at Duo's back. Duo was facing the castle, so he couldn't see them, and he couldn't feel their presence.
"What do we do now?" Heero asked Kali, as there was obviously more to her plan than just showing up.
"Now, all we need are some bodies," Kali said, twirling a piece of her hair in between her fingers. "You can grow them--you can grow anything. After you do that, I'll just put us in the bodies, and we'll be as good as new. Better even."
"Won't we get in trouble for this?" Rafe, who'd been quiet up 'til then, asked. "I mean, are we allowed to do this?"
"Probably not," Kali answered, "but won't it be worth it to spend all that time with Rhys that you otherwise would not be able to--after all, he did survive; the only one left standing after the nymphs were through. If we don't do this now, you know that it'll be at least sixteen years before you can hold him in your arms again. Rhys doesn't do pedophilia, and it'll take at least that long for you to be old enough to be in his bed."
"Well, in that case--Heero, what are you waiting for, a blue moon?" Rafe said.
Heero sighed and went to work.
Duo heard a noise--not an uncommon occurrence in the forest, but still, in the last few months, he'd learned that nothing was usually what it seemed-- and looked up.
"Who's there?" he called out. His voice hitched, and he cursed himself for it. Heero would never be that weak. Heero was so strong, always doing what was right--except for that one time, and even that was probably necessary. Heero'd made the ultimate sacrifice, and here Duo was, weeping over what he'd lost. What had been done to him. Heero had died.
Duo didn't realize he was speaking aloud until he hard a gruff laugh behind him.
"I didn't stay dead for long, did I? Guess I never did know just when to quit, a now-familiar voice said. Duo'd spent months listening to that voice in his Memories--the depth and tone changed, but it was always undeniably Heero.
Duo turned around, startled beyond belief and not quite sure that it wasn't just his ears playing tricks on him. But then, his eyes would've had to be fucked up, too, because there, standing before him, was a moss-covered Heero Yuy.
As far as Duo could tell, there wasn't a scratch on him. That couldn't be right. After Heero had kicked Duo out of the throne room, there had been a massive earthquake. Thankfully, Duo had been in the doorway of one of the rooms that hadn't gotten hit that much, but most of the castle had been destroyed. After the shock was over, Duo'd gone back to the throne room and forced open the door. In the middle of the room, there was pile of ash- -it could only have been Heero. Other than the obvious destruction, it was the only difference. So, how could Heero go from a pile of ash to exactly how he looked before?
"Is it really you?" Duo asked, standing up so he wouldn't have to look at the Heero-like thing. If it really was Heero, it would be easier to drag him off and make passionate love to him if he was already standing. If it wasn't Heero, it would be much easier to run away as fast as he could-- though if it wasn't Heero, and it wanted him dead, Duo probably couldn't run fast enough to get away.
"Yeah, it's me. In the flesh," Heero said. He ran his hands down his chest, peeling off some of the moss. He held it above his face and stared at it in what could only be described as reverence. "In the new flesh. It's soft, like a baby's. Never thought I could have skin this soft."
That was enough to convince Duo that it really was Heero--of course, unless it sprouted wings and a horn, he was ready to believe, maybe even then. In a matter of seconds, Duo was racing toward Heero. He reached his beloved and scooped him up, embracing him tighter than he ever had before. A thought flittered through his mind. He really is soft like a baby. I wonder how long that'll last.
"What happened? How did you get back? To me?" Duo asked after putting Heero down. He held Heero's waist in a death grip--just light enough that he wouldn't hurt him--afraid that if he let go that Heero would disappear. That a short, green goblin of some sort would pop out of the woodwork, yell "Just kidding, ha, ha!" and snatch Heero away.
"It doesn't really matter," Heero said, bringing his arms up to hug Duo's neck. Apparently--judging by how hard he squeezed--Heero held the same sentiment of the goblin-yelling-snatching thing. "All that matters is that we're here, now, today. Maybe forever."
Duo smiled and hugged Heero tighter. Forever sounded just about perfect.
Kali smiled as she saw her brother with his soulmate. "They look really great together, don't they?" she asked her other brothers.
"Yeah, they do," Rafe said, coming up behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "but where do we go from here?"
"Now, you go through that mirror--I think it's still standing--and you go get your own soulmate," Kali said. "The nymphs attacked where he was staying, but he survived. For some reason, they didn't bother him. Something about not wanting to kill the last surviving member of a species. The others, though, they--" Kali smiled at Rafe and waved for him to go. "Go on, go. Get your ass to your mate; I'm sure he really misses it."
Rafe took off towards the castle. He didn't look back the entire way, but Kali hadn't missed the beginnings of a blush.
"Nice. Subtle," Eric said, coming from the left of Kali. He was smiling as he said it, though, so she knew he wasn't mad. "But really, where do we go from here? Do we still die at twenty-five? After all, it was part of the curse put on the Riders, so logic dictates that if they're gone, so is that. So, if we don't die then, will we live forever? What do we do now?"
"I'm not sure,' Kali said, grabbing Eric's and Leif's--who had followed Eric over like a puppy dog--hands. She brought them together, and when they clasped one another, she let go. She nodded her head then, figuring it all out. "First, we help put this world back together. There was a lot of damage--more than either of you saw individually--and it's going to take much work to get it back to its former glory. Then, we love. We love our families. We love our friends. We love our soulmates and strangers on the streets. We love anyone we meet, or don't meet. Or that and then help. Either way. It doesn't really matter which happens first."
Kali walked toward the castle, leaving her two brothers holding hands, one brother running for his mate, and the other--the one who saved them all with his sacrifice--holding onto the one he died for. She wondered what would happen with them, but she knew that, whatever it was, they would be great at it. Not because they were superpowerful Elements who could kick the ass of anyone who dared to cross them, but because they loved and were loved in return.
The End
Selune