There is no Absolution
by Jennifer Beacham
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"Death is the first dance, eternal"
"Metropolis--Part 1", Dream Theater
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Blood. Everywhere blood.
"What did you give up to come to me?" he panted,
pushing aside the pain to gaze into those clear, amethyst eyes,
set in a face that had been ethereal even in life...and was only
moreso now.
"Nothing that matters," was the quiet reply, given as
the speaker knelt at the side of the fallen knight. He reached
out a hand to touch that agonized face, gazing into those cobalt
orbs with a look of peace.
If possible, the pain in those blue eyes increased.
"No..."
"It was never mine to give away," the winged being said
softly. "It was given for you long ago." A slight,
impish smile curved his expressive lips. "If we are to be
damned, better to be damned together, ne?"
The blue-eyed man shuddered, letting go of a moan that was not
entirely inspired by physical pain as the angel cradled him in
his arms. "Why?"
"Because I love you." Amethyst eyes lifted as a great
shout could be heard beyond the walls. They were coming... Not
much longer to wait. "Sleep now," he breathed, leaning
forward so that his long, shining hair and snowy wings enveloped
them both. "I'll protect you." His gaze flicked to
where a steady stream of lifeblood pooled on the already muddy
ground of the courtyard and tears welled in his eyes. Not long at
all.
"Duo?" It was carried on a ragged breath, one of the
last.
"Yes, Heero?"
"I've always...loved you."
"I know," the angel whispered softly, brushing his
fingertips against one bloodstained cheek. "I know."
********
"Duck!"
Heero flattened instantly, watching as Duo dove in next to him,
both teenagers bracing against the concussive force of the
explosion. Duo's head popped up first once the noise had died
down, and Heero quickly reached out and pressed him flat again.
Violet eyes glared at him and he glared right back, firm in the
knowledge of who had whom in that contest. As expected, Duo made
a little snort of exasperation, turning back towards the hallway
and the reason that Heero had made him stay down.
A squad of Oz troopers came thundering down the hallway, finding
a blasted out shell where the computer substation's control room
used to be. Their lieutenant shouted orders and the squad
scattered in several directions, trying to ascertain just what
had happened. Heero tensed, sensing a similar reaction from his
partner. The hall visibly cleared...1...2....3.
They burst out of the alcove as one, back to back. Hearing Duo's
gun cock a moment after his own, the barest hint of a satisfied
little smirk quirked his mouth. It quickly smoothed out into the
look of intense focus that was his trademark. They were clear.
"Go," Heero said softly. He relaxed his right arm
slightly as he felt the warmth against his back diminish.
Falling into stride together, Heero let Duo take point, which
left him to watch their backs. They didn't have much time, the
troopers would regroup shortly to report their findings.
Abruptly, his shoulder collided with Duo's back right before he
heard the softly whispered "Kuso." Whirling, he snapped
his gun up, leveling on the target that had given Duo pause.
Three troopers faced them, all with their guns drawn, all looking
alternately surprised and very pleased with themselves. Evidently
they disregarded two seeming-boys as opponents, forgetting that
those boys were Gundam pilots.
He could feel Duo's eyes on him, sensed that silent acquiescence
to Heero's judgement. What do we do? he asked silently.
"Put your weapons down and surrender quietly," one of
the troopers ordered. Not acceptable, Heero's eyes
informed Duo. Get ready.
At some signal, not so much heard or seen so much as felt, they
both fired. Two troopers down, one left. Heero lunged, but wasn't
quite fast enough. The bullet had already left the gun by the
time his forward momentum sent him crashing into the trooper, his
hand clamping down on the weapon. Duo twisted, tried to dodge,
succeeding in redirecting a shot aimed at his chest into his left
arm. He staggered but didn't go down, his right arm steady as he
prepared to fire if necessary.
Incapacitating the man with a sharp knife-hand blow, Heero
gathered himself back into a crouch, wrenching around to rake his
gaze over Duo. "Status?" he demanded, eyes lingering on
the bright ribbons of crimson trailing down the other boy's
forearm.
"I'll live," the reply held only a faint trace of Duo's
usual wry humor. "Let's get out of here." Heero's eyes
stayed on him for a moment longer, then he nodded sharply. If
they didn't get out of this compound right now, they
were both going to risk more than a relatively minor gunshot
wound.
Lifting his head like a wolf scenting the wind, Heero listened
intently, then gestured for Duo to join him. Keeping his free
hand on his injured partner's back, he guided him unerringly
through a maze of passageways. There were a few close calls, but
they managed to make it outside with no further incident.
"Daijoubu ka?" They crouched in the relative safety of
an outbuilding. Time to catch their breath, time for Heero to tug
at the sleeve of Duo's shirt to expose the wound. Duo cursed
creatively, but let him do it, turning his head to peer at it
himself.
"It's not too bad," he said with a touch of relief. The
bullet had made a clean exit and while it hurt like hell, the
flow of blood had become sluggish. He watched intently as Heero
produced a field kit from... somewhere... and applied a neat
field dressing. "That'll do for now," he said with a
sigh, then lifted his head only to find himself drowning in eyes
like shadowed sapphires. "What?" he asked softly, a
slight smile curving his lips.
Heero shook his head slightly, realizing that, among other
things, he was becoming distracted from the mission. He also
realized that he really didn't care. Leaning forward, he kissed
his lover. It was gentle, soft, more comforting than urgent,
lasting more than a moment, but less than the lifetime that it
could have. "Mine," Heero whispered with a rare
possessiveness, drawing back to capture Duo's gaze.
"Wrong." Chuckling softly, Duo nipped the Perfect
Soldier's chin. "You were mine first." They stayed
there, together, for another few heartbeats, foreheads touching
as they shared their mingled breath.
"We need to go." Heero's firm, focused tone broke the
mood, but it was a necessary evil. They had to get off the
grounds or the chances of being captured would steadily increase.
"We do." He took Heero's hand without even a twinge of
pride, accepting it for what it was. Concern. Once he was on his
feet, violet eyes swept the area, looking for anything that might
give away the fact that they'd paused here, but it seemed
relatively clean. His partner was already at the door, taking
stock of the situation outside. They were relatively near the
perimeter now, the fence only a quick run from this building.
Beyond that? The woods, and their hidden Gundams.
"Can you manage the fence?" Heero's eyes flicked to his
wounded arm.
Duo nodded, moving to Heero's shoulder. "For you I would
walk through hell," he murmured quietly. After a moment of
silence, he added wryly, "against my better judgement, of
course."
What he didn't see was the look Heero gave him. Haunted, hazy, a
little fearful, not of him but for him. Then it was gone and
Heero shook his head slightly, turning his thoughts back to
getting them out of here.
(To be continued)