Standard Disclaimers apply: These are not our puppets.
Every now and then
[Shot of the five Gundam pilots, sprawled over an extra-long black leather couch, laughing. Even Heero's eyes are dancing merrily, drunk on the combination of the alcohol and the thrill of freedom. The war is over.]
We find a special friend
[Close up on Quatre and Trowa's hands, resting dormantly at their sides, then carefully meeting, almost timid of the other's touch.]
::Flash backs::
[In a darkened room, we see the tall, charming leader of OZ reaching out to Wufei, whose back is to him. The Chinese pilot stares out the window, worrying his lip. Stroking the sides of his arms, he rests his head on Wufei's shoulder.]
Who never lets us down
[Duo slashes at a line of Leos, looking around for Wing Zero and giving Heero the thumbs up over their comm-link. Heero snaps something rude at the grinning pilot, but Duo just sticks his tongue out and continues fighting. Heero hides a smile behind his hand.]
Who understands it all
[Camera fades to Wufei and Duo, sitting on a large boulder at the beach. They are watching the dying sunset, saying nothing, their minds full of worry over their loved ones.]
Reaches out each time we fall
[Distracted, Trowa slips and falls off the high-wire, landing on an unsuspecting Heero, who scowls but pulls Trowa to his feet.]
You're the best friend that I've found.
[Eyes closed, Duo and Heero slow-dance to the music inside their heads, just swaying in the small space of their dorm room.]
[Pan to the plush red carpeting and through the floor, down to where the other three pilots sit in a circle, playing cards and laughing.]
I know you can't stay
[Duo says something to Heero as they dance--Heero's eyes brighten with tears and he pulls the American into a tight embrace. They stand there, just holding each other for several minutes, until they begin to dance again.]
A part of you will never ever go away
["Quatre?" Duo asks meekly as they sit on the roof of a white mansion, watching the sunrise.
"Mm?" he replies, hugging his arms around himself, his mind envisioning a pair of bright green eyes.
"When the war's over..." Duo trails off, and they watch the sun blossom in silence. Abruptly, he says, "We'll still be together, right? After the war?"
Quatre smiles in spite of himself. He knows what Duo is asking, and he knows what he wants to hear. So he says it.
"Of course," the blonde Arabian says, then quickly heads back into the house, leaving Duo alone to contemplate the morning.]
Your heart will stay.
[Large shot of a white mansion, focusing in on a pair of silhouettes fighting in a window.
"How can you say everything will be all right?" Duo cries, flinging Heero's hand off his shoulder.
"Duo--" Heero begins, but the American isn't done ranting yet.
"You can't know the future, Heero. No one can. It's not that simple," he continues. "The fact is, we could die tomorrow and then we'd never know--"
"Duo," Heero says patiently.
"WHAT?!" The long-haired pilot turns to face Heero, his hands on his hips, glowering up at Heero like a little housewife.
Heero can't help himself.
He laughs.
Duo stares at him in amazement, then his anger cracks and he laughs too, pulling the Japanese pilot into his arms.
Heero breathes in Duo's scent, closing his eyes. He cannot know the future, which makes these moments with Duo all the more precious. Fate has thrown them together, and on a whim, Fate can surely tear them apart.
He decides to risk it. "I love you," he whispers, wrapping his slender arms around Duo's waist.
"Heero?" Duo's voice is weak, and he lifts Duo's chin up. His eyes are shining with unshed tears, but there is a hint of a smile, a tiny grin that Heero doesn't see. "I don't feel so good," he whispers, and goes limp in Heero's arms.]
I'll make a wish for you
[Slow pan around the hospital waiting room. Trowa reads a magazine, which is upside down as Quatre twiddles his thumbs nervously. Wufei stands at the window and watches as a battered cathedral is torn down next door to make room for a parking lot. Heero just sits, barely breathing.]
And hope it will come true
[His lips are slightly parted--one looking closely can see that he is muttering something.
"Please get better," he whispers, over and over until the door creaks open. All four pilots immediately jump to attention; a stern-faced woman wearing a white lab-coat points to Heero and beckons him with her index finger. He walks over obligingly, terror growing in his heart.
"He's fine," she says, and it feels as if the world is moving in a jar of molasses, then snaps back to reality. He looks at her blankly, and she repeats herself, looking a little frazzled. "He's just had an anxiety attack--stress, exhaustion, combined with what he calls 'a bit of a shock'. He asked for you," she said, pressing her lips together in a thin line to avoid smiling at the boy's discomfort.
"Okay," he says, absently scratching the back of his leg with one sneakered foot. Quatre sees Trowa's gaze there, and flinches as if struck.]
That life will just be kind
[We see from Heero's point of view, just the hallway and then a door, and then--
"Duo," Heero says softly. The said pilot looks up from the bed and grins.
"Hey, Heero!" he shouts, loud enough that the patient in the next bed flinches. "Come 'ere," Duo says, waving him down like an airplane.
Heero sits at the edge of his bed, holding one hand in the other to keep from brushing Duo's cheek.]
To such a gentle mind.
[We see Heero draw the curtain separating the two patients, and then their silhouettes, Heero leaning down and softly kissing Duo.]
And if you lose your way
[Wufei trudges through the snow, his head bowed, black hair flowing freely. A single brown, curled leaf flutters down from the bare canopy above and he laughs, a singular, torn laugh that shakes the night.]
Think back on yesterday
[Quatre and Trowa are curled up on Trowa's bed, just touching and exploring their bodies' responses to each other. Quatre lies with his shirt undone, just gently massaging Trowa's nipples. To his dismay, he finds several scars and exclaims over them. Trowa turns away, holding his shirt closed.
"Wait," Quatre calls. He quickly closes the distance between them, folding Trowa into a warm hug that quickly turns into something else.]
Remember me this way
[After, Quatre and Trowa lay cuddled like small children, jumping at strange noises and huddling together for warmth.
"I want to stay with you forever," Quatre whispers, half asleep, and Trowa freezes, his eyelids fluttering like a moth caught in the flame.]
Remember me this way
[Wufei slumps to his knees in front of a granite cross, holding his head in his hands and crying silently. So distraught is he that Wufei never hears the steady footsteps until a pair of strong, warm arms are wrapped around his midsection, gently soothing and caressing away his shaky sobs.]
I don't need eyes to see
[Wufei, blindfolded with black silk, shivers against Treize.]
The love you bring to me
[Close up on a black box, panning out to reveal two gold wedding bands that are slipped on with infinite care.
Trowa and Quatre admire their rings for a moment, then head to their bedroom to celebrate, their minds off the war for once. A squeal of laughter is heard, then their door swings shut.]
No matter where I go
[Duo stares at the dashboard of Shinigami, where a picture of the five Gundam pilots is taped up with a piece of bubble gum, and he winks at them.]
[Inside Nataku, Wufei looks around before pulling out a faded picture of Treize, smiling and waving at the crowd. It looks as if it was roughly torn out of a newspaper, then smoothed over a bit. He smiles in spite of himself.]
And I know that you'll be there
[Still drunkenly kissing, Heero and Duo pass out on the couch. Quatre and Wufei exchange looks, then cover them with a blanket.]
Evermore a part of me
[The next morning, loud shrieks of pain are heard as the Heero and Duo wake up with severe hangovers.]
You're everywhere
[Delirious, Wufei moans on his bed as he dreams of thousands of little Treizes, running around and beating him over the head with a plastic sword.
"Wufei!" they yell, chasing him over an imaginary dreamscape pond. Wufei gasps for breath, his lungs burning as the cool waters engulf him; he hopes that, like most bugs, they won't follow him into the water. He is wrong.
"Wufei!" one little Khushrenada screams, glomping onto him. Suddenly, he has hundreds of little Treizes stuck to various parts of his body.
"Wufei!" they shout in unison, voices blurring to become one. The Chinese pilot jerks awake, sweat soaking his body. Duo and the others are crouched around him, looking at him oddly.
"You were sick," Quatre explains. "Your fever just broke." Wufei nods dumbly, then falls back to sleep, exhausted, a smile on his tired face.]
I'll always care...
End flash back
And I'll be right behind your shoulder
[Tears stream down Duo's face as he hugs the Chinese pilot goodbye. Wufei is elegantly underdressed in white silk pants and a red tanktop, though outside snow falls delicately on the cobblestone streets. The rest follow suit, even Trowa and Heero.]
Watching you
[Music fades out for a moment, leaving only the pilot's voices and the camera pans on Duo's face.
"Fine!" he screams, fingers digging into his palms. "You want to go play housewife for Relena?" Heero flinches, but says nothing, and after a moment, a red rage passes through Duo's face. Shaking with fury, with his arm he sweeps the top of his own dresser, which is littered with momentos and pictures of him and Heero, knocking its contents to the floor.
Heero watches for a moment, eyes shadowed, as Duo advances. He knows he should tell him; tell him that it is only for a month, that he owes Relena for ending the war, which could have ended Duo's life. He should tell him...but he does not.
Duo's hands are outstretched as if to close around Heero's neck, and for a moment, they both know that he is sorely tempted. Then, as if the demon possessing him has suddenly left his body, he begins to shiver uncontrollably. Worried, Heero reaches out to touch him but Duo punches him in the face, the sound of his knuckles cracking against Heero's jaw strangely satisfying. Lord knows Heero's done it enough times to him, Duo thinks.
"That's for telling me you loved me and lying, you bastard!" he screams, shoving Heero onto the bed as the Japanese pilot tries to get up.
"Duo," Heero breathes, eyes wide. "What are you doing?" The lean pilot slides his hand up Heero's shirt, fondling his nipples, sharply twisting them, trying to make Heero cry out in pain.
A sharp movement, and suddenly Heero finds his shirt in tatters around his middle, straps slashed with a razor. He tries to buck the American off, but he is heavier and Heero has no desire to hurt Duo.
The feeling is not mutual, he notes wryly, before he feels the razor cutting across his chest, making long, shallow gashes that bead up with crimson blood immediately. "That's for all the times you made me cry and never cared," he says, his body taken with a fine trembling. His eyes concerned, Heero tries to comfort Duo and finds himself on his stomach, then the razor slowly peeling away the spandex. He gasps as the blade slashes his hips lightly, and then he is naked, vulnerable.
There is a part of him that can't believe it's Duo, his Duo, the one who claims to love him, Duo the one who parts his thighs so he can lightly run the edge of the blade over the sensitive skin of his inner thighs, the place that gives him the most pleasure...and the most pain. He cries out, a single tear trickling down his cheek.
"Are you in pain, Heero?" Duo shouts, turning him over so that he can see the look of fear in his eyes. "Do you want me to stop?"
Heero muffles a half-scream as Duo lifts his hips unceremoniously and slams into him, his cock hard and erect, slowly slicing him open.
"Stop, please stop, Duo, you don't know what you're doing..." The pain is excruciating, making him feel like a red-hot bar of iron is being jammed inside of him, ripping him apart from his aching passage to his chest, where the cuts sting as Duo's mouth sucks greedily on the blood.
At last Duo shoves against him one last, terrible time, then pulls out, his cock bloody. As if just realizing what he has done, he turns and flees to the safety of the bathroom, and proceeds to throw up.]
:::Music fades in...:::
I'll be standing by your side
[Another one gone, the camera pans on Quatre's eyes, which are hollow and have dark circles beneath them. "He's gone," he whispers, turning in his bed and finding only cold sheets. "He's gone," he repeats, unwilling to believe...]
All year through
[Heero watches quietly as Duo embraces the little blonde Arabian, whose eyes have lost their joy. They both weep, trying not to show their weakness, and finally give in, sobbing on each other's shoulders.]
And I won't ever leave
[I won't ever leave. Quatre closes his eyes for a moment, remembering the day Trowa spoke those words to him as they made love. He doesn't know why, doesn't understand Nanashi at all.
Maybe he never has.]
As long as you believe
[Close up on a pool of violet, then zooms out to reveal Duo's eyes, fixed on Heero as the silent boy packs.
"I'll miss you," Duo says, his heart breaking into a thousand pieces as he watches him systematically snap his suitcase shut, then straighten. His movements are clipped and short, much like the pilot himself.
Heero pauses, and reaches out to caress Duo's cheek.
"I've been thinking," he whispers, pulling his hand away. Duo feels his stomach bottom out--he knows what's coming.
"About?" he asks.
"You and me," Heero says, and Duo's face falls, realizing that it is now him and Heero, not 'us'. "I never thought you would..."
They both look away. Duo wants badly to take the Japanese pilot into his arms and try to make up for all the things he has done to him--yet cannot. Some invisible force keeps him from touching Heero; he knows Heero will always think of that night whenever Duo touches him. And finally, Heero just leaves, tired of waiting for Duo to ask him to stay.]
You just believe...
[Close up on Duo, hunched over his bed, crying his eyes out. In his hand is a scrunched up paper.]
Remember me this way...
[Close up on the paper--we can see the first words.
I'm sorry.]
[Quatre sits at a bar, downing his eighth shot of the night. The bartender raises his eyebrows, but says nothing.]
[Close up of Heero, who cradles twin boys in his arms. Relena, who lies, sweaty and disheveled and forgotten, chokes back a sob.
"What do you want to call the older boy?" the nurse asks kindly, seeing her expression.
"Heero," she whispers involuntarily. The nurse shrugs, and puts down Heero.
Heero has never loved her.
Always, his mind is on Duo, whose violet eyes Heero wakes up in the middle of the night screaming about.
What could he have done to give Heero such nightmares?
"Duo," Heero says suddenly, and a fist tightens around Relena's heart. Has he finally snapped, seeing Duo haunting him even as he holds his newborn children?
"We'll name this one Duo," he whispers, and glances out the window, where the setting sun bleeds blood-red across the sky.]
Remember me this way...
Author's notes:
Ariana: Whew! That was...
Bianca: Freakin' depressing?
Ariana: Yeah.
Charmstreak: Hey, how come I only got to write two sentences?
Bianca: I dunno, maybe it's 'cause you slept through most of the writing and only woke when we were writing the juicy bits?
Charmstreak: ::pauses thoughtfully:: I suppose so.
Ariana: By the way, the song is 'Remember Me This Way', sung by Jordan Hill. I'm not gonna tell you what movie it's from cause it'll completely
discredit it in your mind.
Bianca: That bad, huh?
Charmstreak and Ariana: Uh-huh.
Bianca: That's too bad...
Ariana, Bianca, and Charmstreak
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