Nine Hours

"I…"

Heero looked around bewildered. Neither one of the pilots were saying anything. They actually seemed quite frightened of doing so and were rather expectant of Duo.

"I remember now!" said Heero surprising them all, "I needed to talk to Dr. Sen, it's about the diary I found in Sixto's room" Heero made an attempt of standing up only to be rushed back into bed by his lover. Duo held on tightly to Heero's waist and dug his head on his stomach.

"Don't get up Heero!"

"We'll bring Dr. Sen here, you don't have to go anywhere" said Quatre ushering Trowa and Wufei outside the room. Duo remained next to Heero.

Heero stared down at his lover's head. Duo had no desire of turning up to see him; he knew that if he did, only tears would come back. Heero gently stroke Duo's hair and was surprised to see bandages around his wrist… both his wrists.

"Duo… what happened to me?"

Duo didn't answer for a while.

"I'm sorry Heero…"

"What?"

Why was Duo apologizing now? Heero thought they'd settled things already, why was Duo saying this?

"I'm so sorry for pushing you away… for pretending I didn't need you… for yelling at you… for…" Duo's voice broke away. He swallowed hard, "I'm deeply sorry. I don't know what else to say… please forgive me"

Heero stared at his boyfriend's head and tried to lift Duo's face to meet his eyes. The boy was firmly glued to his waist and wouldn't look up.

"Duo…" Heero tried once more to lift his face to no avail.

"I'M SORRY HEERO! I'M SORRY FOR BEING A PRICK, FOR NEVER LETTING YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU… for never letting you know how much I need you, for never showing how much I care for you…"

"Duo…"

Duo was blinking furiously and biting his lips to prevent him from crying again. If there was a god in heaven, or wherever, he'd be witness of Duo's eternal love and devotion to the man he was currently hugging.

"I'm the one who should be forgiven…" whispered Heero. "I… if anything of what you just said was true, then I'm guilty as charge of the same mistakes. I don't always understand what's happening with you, but I try hard to learn, to be a better man for you Duo… I just don't know if I really deserve you, and that frightens me the most. All I want is for your happiness, and I feel that at times I don't really contribute in it…"

Someone knocked at the door. Duo let go of Heero but didn't allow him to see his face. "Come in!" he yelled, standing up and reaching for the door to let Dr. Sen in.

"I hear Heero wanted to talk to me"

Heero saw Duo stand with fear and sadness in his eyes. He had no clue of what was happening right now, but all he truly cared for at the moment was to mend things with Duo. Dr. Sen approached him snapping his mind back to reality.

"Yes…" he stammered forgetting for a moment the initial purpose of having Dr. Sen come and see him, "yes, I wanted to talk to you about the diary I found" he said now firmly making full connection with the present.

The next few minutes, Heero stood in deep conversation with Dr. Sen. The rest of the pilots along with Lady Une, Noin, and Zechs arrived back at the room and sat in the background, intently hearing the latest news they had missed due to obvious reasons. Heero asked to be brought his laptop and he exposed to Dr. Sen that which his team had so far skipped: the videos Heero had found thanks to the mysterious notations Sixto had made.

Sen was delighted to see such videos. He watched with rapt fascination, especially the last one. "So that's why… I see…" he rubbed his chin, deep in thought, and kept on watching, barely even blinking. Once it was over, Heero had nothing else to say. "May I borrow your computer Heero?"

"Certainly"

"I'll have it immediately taken over to the labs for further examination of the data presented here… this is truly a wonderful breakthrough… amazing, simply amazing" Sen carried the laptop in his hands carefully, like holding a newborn, still zoned out, immersed in his own thoughts about the recent happenings. He left the room and the pilots were left behind with Lady Une, Noin and Zechs. New hope shone not too far off, but they still were unsure of how to take it. Heero's condition didn't allow for celebrations to start early.

Which brings us back to Heero.

"Now, would anyone care to explain why am I here?" asked Heero breaking the silence.

Once again, the dreaded question was out in the open. Quatre, Trowa and Wufei turned to look at each other uneasily and then at Duo, who had had his head down for the whole time. Noin and Zechs turned instead towards Lady Une.

"After we found you and you told us about the diary, you guys were prepped for medical examination," she said, "tests were carried out and once they were done, you asked to speak with Sen"

"I know, I remember that much" Heero cut in, "but what about these bandages? What happened afterwards? I don't recall how I got in here. I don't know why am I here or even where here is."

Lady Une took a deep breath. "As we were on our way, you collapsed… you began to have a fit so they took you down to the sickbay and had you strapped to prevent worse damage"

Heero stared wide-eyed at her. The information wasn't sinking in right and he turned to look at the rest of his friends, which in turn, evaded his look.

"You were out for about four hours until now. That's all that's happened."

It might have seemed cold, but they all knew that if Lady Une hadn't said it like that, sentimentalism would have gotten in the way and Heero would have never found out what was happening. Heero leaned back on his pillows and stared at nothing, his eyes blank.

"Everyone please leave" Heero said. Lady Une ushered them all outside, gently taking Duo's hand to lead him out. The boy seemed to have become lifeless and nothing more than a dummy. Heero now knew.

XXX XXX XXX

"Lady Une, may I please have a word with you?" Heero poked his head out of his room and found just the person he'd wanted to talk to. Lady Une was leaning on the wall just outside his door, her arms crossed.

"Sure" she said, and joined Heero inside.

The rest of the pilots had taken Duo upstairs. He was a walking wreck. Duo longed for nothing more than to be next to Heero at the moment, but after Lady Une told him what had happened, he had asked everyone to get out, including Duo. They all knew how hard it was to take in such news and they could only guess how Heero was feeling at the moment.

As for Duo, he was in a pitiful state. Quatre had suggested they go up for some fresh air and maybe something to eat. None felt hungry at the moment, but they still complied with the blond's suggestion. There was nothing they could do at the moment anyways, so whatever was fine. They reached the entrance to the sickbay and outside they walked for a moment until they spotted a vending machine. Most were empty nowadays since the quarantine, but this one still had some beverages left in it.

"Anyone fancy some tea?" asked Quatre looking at the poor contents inside the machine.

No one answered, but Quatre still inserted some coins he found in his trousers and selected one of the drinks. He offered it to Duo. "You haven't had anything to eat in a while and you must be very tired"

Duo stared at the can offered to him and took it automatically. He held it in his hands and turned it without really intending to drink its content. Quatre wanted to say something to him, to comfort him in some way, but he just didn't know what the right words were at the moment. He tried to reach out and at least pat Duo on the back, but his hand never made contact with the braided boy. Trowa had pulled him back.

Quatre stared at Trowa with glassy, tear-filled eyes, but Trowa merely shook his head. Duo had to be left alone right now, there was simply nothing they could say to him. Quatre squeezed Trowa's hand tightly and bit his lips to prevent any drama from gushing out.

"Duo?"

They all heard Lady Une calling from the opposite end of the corridor they were standing at. She spotted them and rushed over to where Duo was still playing with the can of tea.

"Duo, Heero wants to talk to you."

Duo raised his eyes towards his employer and rushed back into Heero's room without waiting for further instructions. Lady Une watched as he left and then addressed the rest of the pilots.

"Stay close by, I'll be right back and I'll be needing your assistance"

XXX XXX XXX

"Come in" Heero called out after he heard someone knocking outside his door. Duo timidly poked his head inside and Heero motioned him to come forward. Duo entered and shut the door behind him. Heero walked over to where his lover was standing and hugged him tightly. "I love you Duo" he whispered. Duo broke down crying into his lover's arms. "Please don't cry Duo" Heero lifted Duo's chin and wiped his tears with his thumbs.

"Duo, please don't cry. It's alright, I'm not afraid"

Duo stared intently at his lover's beautiful Cobalt eyes. Heero was smiling. He wasn't happy, but he was still smiling, trying to comfort Duo.

"I'm actually glad this happened to me instead of you"

"How can you say that?" whispered Duo barely audible.

"That's how I feel"

Duo kept staring at Heero, carefully studying each and every single feature of his boyfriend's face. He approached Heero, intent on kissing him. Heero pulled away at this.

"I don't… I know it might be too late now, but I don't want to infect you in case I haven't yet…"

Duo hugged Heero round the waist and pressed his forehead against his. "Even if it kills me, just kiss me"

Their lips met once again in a kiss. It was the best kiss they'd ever shared. Never before had they had such a passionate kiss that was yet so pure and true. Both knew they could be sharing the last kiss of their lives and wanted to make out the most of it. Duo held on tightly to Heero and in turn, Heero surrounded Duo with his arms and pressed him to his body.

They felt like they wanted to be even closer, despite the fact that there was barely any space between them. Like wanting to fuse with the other, breaking the barrier between each entity. Duo had thought they'd accomplished that the first time they ever had sex. He had felt like they'd become one at the moment, but he had never realized how far they were from reaching unity. He felt terribly anxious knowing he could not break the barrier between them…

Heero finally broke the kiss apart.

"Duo… will you marry me?"

Duo's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"I… I know I don't have much time left, but if I really have to go, then I want to make the most out of what's left of these last nine hours I have. I already asked Lady Une if she could find some sort of minister who'd be willing to marry us, but that is only if you want…"

"OF COURSE!"

Heero smiled, this time truly happy. "Of course I'll marry you Heero"

"Eh… I don't have the ring…"

"I don't need a ring. All I want is to be yours"

XXX XXX XXX

A/N: Hi! I'm still alive and kickin'! I'm so very sorry it took me forever to update this. If I'm not mistaken, it must have taken me the better part of a year, but please, be indulgent with me, university takes more out of you than it would appear at first… they should offer warning booklets or something: WARNING! University drains you of not just energy, but also of time, social life, inspiration and muses.

So, I'm drained of mushyness. I don't think I'd ever written something as romantic and corny as what I wrote in the end. Having a boyfriend certainly helps, but I don't think I'll be saying anything sweet to him for the next couple of years…

Anyways, I'm proud to announce that this is the chapter before the last. I'm done writing this fic and have only one more chapter to post after this. Don't worry, I promise I'll have it up before the week is over. Thank you all for your patience and once more, I apologize for having you waiting.