Author: Sparkle Itamashii
Title: For All Time
Warnings: Respect the rating
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing AC is not mine.
Summary: Till death do us part, right? Not anymore. [shounen-ai:yaoi:slash] Main:1x2x1
For All Time
They were practically on our heels as we hurtled through the darkened, cobblestone streets. Dawn would be upon the village soon and with it would come the people. They would surely catch us with the crowds to slow our escape. No sea of bodies would part for lowly thieves like ourselves but they could not jump aside fast enough when they saw the armed royal guards bearing down on them. It was a pitiful truth I could do nothing to correct.
Grabbing Heero's arm I yanked us both into a darkened alleyway. I heard the shouts of the guards as they thundered past, searching near frantically. For them to return empty handed was unacceptable. They knew all too well that it would be their heads if we were not captured tonight.
Better them than us.
We tried to control our breathing to keep from alerting anyone to our hiding place. He peeked out just enough to see where the guards had gone before dropping into an exhausted squat beside me. I leaned back against the wall, closing my eyes. We'd been running since dawn. The Royals may have been absolutely tireless but we were not. My legs were ready to give out on me and we still had not managed to escape. I couldn't help but think that this time they really meant it.
This time we were going to die.
A light touch danced ever so lightly across the back of my hand and I latched gently onto his fingers, twining them with my own. I sank to a crouch beside him, looking over with a vague semblance of a smile. "Heero…?" I whispered imploringly.
He shook his head in response, remaining cautiously silent. With deft fingers he undid the leather cuffs around my hands. We had been running so constantly that neither of us had had the time to remove them yet. I returned the favor with momentary relish of our small new freedom. Unfortunately we were still in the fire with little hope for actual escape.
"We need to keep moving." He breathed. Reluctantly I got to my feet, giving him a nod of agreement.
I felt absolutely rotten as I watched him discreetly checking the street. It was my fault we were in this position at all. We had almost had our throats slit because I botched the gig. Committing a crime against the church is not a good idea in the best of situations, much less when you are as hunted as we were. It didn't help that our sovereign had, for once in his life, been in attendance.
Of course we had been caught almost immediately, as we were caged in an unfamiliar building- the church. We hadn't planned on the Royals being there along with the city guards. Almost instantaneously were we recognized and sentenced to death. I suppose they were done playing our games. Most of the city guard had probably dealt with us at one time or another, though we had always slipped through their fingers like water. The Royals were better, faster, and far too efficient for us to handle. One more slip up now seemed like it would be the last slip up I would be around to make.
Even though we had escaped the Royals' prison, we had been caught on our way through the outer walls. Yes, walls. Once you were in their clutches it was a rare miracle to depart their care alive. We were lucky we had even made it as far as the outer wall before being spotted. That we had outrun them this far was sheer, blind luck. It didn't help that the Royals weren't the only ones who wanted our hides. All the villages in the area knew who we were.
We had already been branded as wanted a long time ago. If my love for Heero had not been enough to condemn us, our thievery was. It was not uncommon to see city officials prowling after us at any time of the day or night. We seemed to draw them to us like flies to rotting meat. I don't know what it was that attracted authoritative eye our way but I wished it would go away so that we could live in peace.
After a moment of careful observation Heero deemed it safe to travel and we darted into the streets once more. The advantage to being as shoeless as we were was the silence with which we could move. As we ran through the streets like shadows we could hear the guards clanking around, searching. If we could exit the town we could get a fair enough head start to outrun them entirely.
I clutched my leather cuffs tightly in my hand, not ready to drop them just yet. We were effectively weaponless and although they would do precious little when it came down to it, they were better than nothing. Heero called us up short at the outskirts of the town and we stilled ourselves to listen.
Shouting echoed dimly from the town square. They were organizing themselves.
I glanced out over the expanse of open, hilly ground that spread for miles off this side of the village. The grass grew thicker and taller the further away I looked and I felt my heart lift just the slightest bit. Escape, for the first time since we had begun this horrific chase, seemed possible. If we could make it to those fields we could make it anywhere.
We took off running, mindful of anything sharp in our path we could manage to see in the light of the half-moon. Every step we took, however, only brought dread to me like stone weights in my gut. It became painfully obvious that we were not going to get away this time. The same sense of despair washed over me as I heard the sound of rushing water.
I stopped short of the cliff's edge, peering down into the thundering ravine. I could not see the bottom for the darkness but even so high above the pounding river we could hear the water tearing against its stone channel, ripping apart anything in its path. My body screamed in protest as I fell to my knees, jarring them against the rough, rocky ground. I struggled to draw a strangled breath, letting it out in a sharp, harsh sob. It was too far to jump across and we could not make it back without them finding us. There was no where left to turn. All paths now lead us swiftly to our deaths.
Heero turned, facing the city we had just come from as he panted for breath. I knew he still held hope that we could escape. He had always been able to get himself out of any bad situation into which we had ever gotten ourselves involved. I trusted him in the past and I trusted him now, but I knew better.
We had come so far for nothing. This was the end of our road.
"Duo come on, get up. Please get up." He pleaded, encircling his hands around my thin arm and pulling. "There's still time!"
"I can't." I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, willing away my tears. I'm sorry, Heero, I'm so sorry. I can't run any more. I can't lose you to them, not like they want.
He dropped to his knees beside me, wrapping me in his arms where I could feel his body shake with unshed tears. He knew as well as I did that it was over, that we had lost. He was just as scared as I was.
"We can't let them get us, Duo, please. Please get up. Run with me…" He whispered, voice catching in his throat.
No, they couldn't catch us. They could never touch us, Heero, we were invincible. Cracking open my eyes I let the leather cuffs I had been clutching fall to the gravel in front of my knees. I could hear them shouting behind us as they finally emerged from the city, probably realizing we had already left. Time was running out so fast...
I gently took Heero's hand in mine and answered his startled, hurt look with a smile. I wrapped the leather straps of the cuffs around his left wrist, kissing his palm. Sorrowful understanding dawned in those deep blue eyes I loved so much and it was the most beautifully painful sight I had ever seen. Very carefully he picked up the other part of the cuff and bound my right wrist, returning my kiss.
He knew.
They were so close now I could make out what they were saying, though I ignored it. In moments they would be of no consequence.
"I love you." He swore on a whispered breath, leaning forward to kiss me even as he got to his feet. I wished so very badly that I could see him more clearly in the darkness that enveloped us.
I rose with him, trembling to my very core. "I swear I will find you, Heero." I brushed his thick bangs out of his face with both hands before dropping them to his shoulders. I gently rested my forehead against his, staring at him without truly seeing him. "No matter where you are or how long it takes, I will find you again."
He nodded, choking on the lump in his throat as he controlled himself. "May the times accept us when you do."
I closed my eyes as I smiled, nodding my own agreement. "I love you." I whispered, pulling back to look at him. I slipped my bound hand into his as we turned to face the cliff's edge. The guards were nearly upon us now.
His grip tightened resolutely. "May we live side by side in the next world." He called to the open air.
With that, we cast ourselves from the precipice.
Notes:
To continue or not to continue… THAT is my dilemma…
