Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Author's Note: Duo is not dead, and for the record never was dead, only in a coma. Also (sorry for the confusion), when Heero, Quatre and Trowa rescued Duo from the movie set and brought him to the colonies in a state of shock, Duo went through a series of seizures and involuntarily knocked Heero out. What happens after Duo's seizures until Trowa wakes up Heero in the previous chapter is all a hallucination on Heero's part. His dreams were meant to represent the last of his psychological/chemical additive difficulty and to give him a view of what his life could have been like if he hadn't been able to save Duo. This is the final chapter.

Chapter Nine

I awoke at 2 a.m. After sleeping most of the day before, I felt content to hold Duo as he slept. I felt him move slightly at about 6, his eyes looking blurrily up at me.

"You're not sleeping?"

I brushed a strand of hair out of his face, "I'm not really tired anymore."

Duo shifted on the bed so he could see me better. He spoke in barely a whisper, "Trowa told me you've raised enough funds to support the school."

I glared at him, "You called me to save you, so I did."

Duo chuckled, "In the war, we just busted each other out of prison. In normal life, we must save each other in the most peculiar ways."

I lifted my hand and cupped Duo's face. In my heart I had never felt so exposed, begging the only person who could take my happiness away to show mercy. "Duo, come away with me."

His eyes lowered to the bed. Haven't I eliminated all doubt in his mind? I'm back from supposedly dying in the last war, Relena is executing a world-wide plan to bring opportunities of education and prosperity to everyone, no orphan in this civilization is left unaccounted for… From the look on his face, I could tell that Duo had already stepped away from all of this, that in the short time he'd been awake, he had already moved on. His eyes blinked slowly from exhaustion.

"I miss Solo."

I thought back to everything I had learned about Duo. Wasn't the year Solo died at the same time I lost Odin Lowe? We were both stripped of our protectors, of the only semblance of family or friendship we had, in order to find each other and create that security again for ourselves.

I looked at Duo, "Solo has a grave marker at the church, right next to mine. Let's go visit it."

Duo looked up at me with tears in his eyes. After a moment of thought he spoke, "If I have my days straight, the anniversary for the Tragedy is coming up. Will you come to the ceremony with me, Heero?"

I grabbed both of his hands and kissed them, hurriedly trying to put my anguish into words. "Duo, I will go with you because I want live my life with you. Promise me you will never again let anything get between me staying with you. Let me save you, let me protect you-"

"I love you tomodachi." Duo's words were so rushed I almost didn't catch them. I didn't think Duo remembered anything from my native tongue. He had learned it during the war so he could talk to me more privately. He squeezed my hands in emphasis. "Ai shiteru," we both said in unison as Duo wrapped an arm around my neck and pulled me in to kiss him strongly.

"Well, these will come in handy after all!" Duo and I jumped in surprise and looked to the doorway to find Quatre holding two small cases. Quatre approached us and handed over the small boxes.

"When the second war ended, Wufei and I took a trip to Earth and bought engagement bands. I bought a matching gold set to remind me of what I felt for Trowa. Wufei bought rings for he and Treize, and I watched as he threw Treize's in the ocean. While we were there, I bought this set for Duo, thinking that he might want to do something similar to remember you, Heero."

We looked down and saw two small black cases, each with a silver band inside. Duo took them out and placed one on my ring finger and one on his, laughing at how our fingers were the same size. Quatre pulled us into a group hug and Trowa appeared a moment later to join us.

This concludes my account of experiences after the war for the L1 school system. In the year since these events and subsequent engagements transpired, a conflict has been brewing and threatening to break the peace. My fiancé and I, along with our closest friends, are once again preparing to enter a war. I cannot say whether this time my Duo will be taken from me or if I will lose my own life, but I can hope that the fighting will end by the time you schoolchildren are old enough to join the military. If you learn anything from me, let it be this: Follow your emotions, and never give in. This is Heero Yuy, signing off.

THE END

A/N: Well, that's it. I hope you got something out of this story. Tell me anything that comes to mind with this piece, so maybe I can more accurately convey to others the revolution that has occurred in my mind. I am grateful to Heero, whose character I used to speak of my own heart; to Jimmy Eat World, whose music was my muse in writing this; and to my reviewers, who made this all seem worthwhile. Thank you.