Elsewhere,
30 years earlier.
With a small sigh, I watched my lover push his small dark glasses up his nose and climb up to the gundam, the Tiger Lily.
"Watch out Jerry" yelled Howard from the control room, "I'm not sure if it's safe yet"
Jerry grinned and I sighed again. That big blond lunk had just gone and convinced Jerry that he had to do this.
"I'll be fine, watch me!" he called down.
I held out a hand "Be careful, for me?" I asked.
"I'll be careful, love" he said quietly, then climbed into the cockpit. The engines booted up, control systems came on line and the Lily lifted off.
Up, up. Too high! Too fast!
Boom.
The loud, flat sound echoed around the deserted base, shivering across flesh and down bones. The sky was still for a moment then all hell exploded.
The gundam flashed into an expanding cloud of flame and debris, surrounding the body of the only one I've ever really felt anything for.
A small speck, growing larger and larger. Jerry!
D bolted upright in bed, still hearing that flat, awful noise. Instinctively, he turned to check on the man beside him.
Long hair, grey now, a metal arm, permanent reminder of that day, over fifty years ago now, when his world had turned to flame and, where bright amber had once stared back, now only cold metal lay.
Still, even now, even after all these years, he was beautiful.
Calming himself, D lay back down and rested his head on his lovers chest.
"Remember Icarus, Jerry?" He whispered sadly to his lover as the human arm wrapped unconsciously around him. He could hear his heart beating steadily as he drifted slowly back off to sleep. And to dreams.