Warnings: None really, maybe a tiny bit of angst if you wanna call it that and a tiny bit of shounen ai. I don't own GW, nor do I own the G-boys :::sighs::: No matter how much I wish I did, oh well. :::snaps fingers::::
Please send c&c to sheira_kagema@yahoo.com
Duo wrung out the washcloth he'd been using to wipe Heero's face once again. He laid it upon the Japanese boy's forehead and stared at the relaxed face of the other pilot. How long had he been nursing Heero? 24 hours? 30? The American massaged his forehead where a headache that he couldn't seem to shake continued to pound.
The Japanese pilot had ceased to sweat, but now he was shivering and struggling in his sleep. "Heero no baka." Duo whispered affectionatly as he grasped the Japanese boy's fingers. He was so tired, why couldn't he just sleep? Duo's body screamed at him to sleep and the American found he was having a harder and harder time keeping his eyes open. "Maybe I'll just lay down for a few minutes." Duo whispered as he crawled into the bed next to Heero.
He tossed the washcloth into the basin and pulled Heero into his arms. Maybe his body heat would help to chase away the shivers that constantly racked Heero's thin frame. Within minutes, Duo's exhausted body won out and he fell into a tired sleep. He never noticed when Heero's breathing got shallower and shallower, or felt his heartbeat gradually slow down.
"Surprise." Shinigami said with a cheerful grin.
"Where.."
"Where did that come from?" Heero nodded shortly and reached out a trembling hand to touch the feathers. They were a dirty shade of off-white, nowhere near as attractive as Shinigami's wings. They were actually quite dingy looking... "Well I'll be honest with you, that's not a good sign. It means you're leaning closer towards the Death side, so you are now changing on this plane even as your body shuts down back on the Mortal plane.
"I'm dying?" Heero asked.
"Almost, you're going to have to choose, and choose quickly."
"Choose..Either face what's on the Otherside or go back to Life where I have to kill and live in pain.."
"Aa, it's a shitty decision." Shinigami said bluntly. "Judging from the appearance of your wings, you'll probably go to a pretty nice place, the only thing that's stopping you from reaching true paradice is yourself."
"What? I don't understand." Heero frowned, confused
"This," Shinigami geastured at Heero. "It's how you perceive yourself." Shinigami fingered one of Heero's pinions. "You see yourself as tainted and unclean. You think you're damned for eternity, so you will be. Only you can save youself from yourself, if that makes any sense."
"Aa." Heero muttered as he glanced down at his wings. "What about Duo?"
"What about him?" Shinigami asked.
"Will he..will he be alright if I die?"
"That's not something I can say."
"Don't give me that!" Heero grabbed Shinigami's shoulders.
"You have to choose!" Shinigami narrowed his now violet eyes. "What do you think would happen to him?" Heero backed away and sank to his knees.
"Duo." Heero whispered. How could he choose between Pain and Love or Paradise and Peace? What kind of choice was that!?! Heero didn't know what to do, did he wish to continue his pitiful existence or did he wish to brave what was on the Otherside and flee from all the pain and sorrows that permited his everyday life.
If he was dead, he wouldn't have to be a Gundam pilot anymore. He wouldn't have to /kill/ anymore; no more little girls and their puppies, no more senseless slaughter. He'd be at peace... alone.
With an odd certainly, Heero was sure that if he died right now, Duo wouldn't be joining him in Eternity. Could that mean the American would do something stupid like killing himself and thus sentence himself to whatever existed as Hell?
"It's a possibility." Shinigami interupted. "I can't tell you the future because I don't know it myself. I am merely a Guide, Heero. I can only show you the path, it's up to you to walk it however." Shinigami knelt down next to Heero. "Now, you must choose."
Heero looked up and the world around him slowly melted into a beautiful light that radiated love and happiness.
Duo awoke with a start and he looked over at Heero who was still, too still.
"No!!!" Duo cried as he felt for Heero's pulse. The Japanese pilot's pulse was thready and weak, and he wasn't breathing. "No!!!" Duo raged against his panic as he performed artifical respiration on Heero. The Japanese boy still didn't breathe and Duo laid his head on Heero's chest and sobbed like a lost child.
His tears fell hot on Heero's skin even as Duo's fingers dug into the matress. "Don't leave me, please." He begged as he listened to the slowing beat of Heero's heart. "Please, don't leave me alone. I can't live like this again, onegai Heero. Don't die..Heero!!!!!" Duo cried harder as Heero's heart finally stopped. "No!!!!!!"
"What is that?" "The Otherside." Shinigami said sadly and his beautiful black/violet wings were replaced by the bat-like ones Heero had seen before. "You've made your choice? If you don't do it quickly, you won't have a say in the matter." Heero looked at Shinigami then he looked at the portal of Light that appeared before him. Heero took one step towards the portal and Shinigami shook his head sadly, grief and regret written across his features.
"No!!!" Heero's head jerked around when he heard Duo scream. He glanced around wildly and Shinigami looked up in surprise as well. "No!!!"
"Duo.." Heero couldn't see Duo but he could plainly hear Duo's choked voice.
"I'll be damned." Shinigami whispered as Heero looked for Duo. The Light beckoned to Heero, softly whispering his name and promising happiness and peace, a wolrd devoid of pain and suffering. Heero closed his eyes, torn between Life and Death.
"Don't leave me, please." Duo's voice again.Heero turned back from the life and looked around
"Duo!! Where is he!?!?" Heero grabbed Shinigami's shoulders and shook him.
"Only you can find him." Shinigami said calmly.
"How do I find him?" Heero asked confused and Shinigami smiled beautifically.
"By spreading your wings and flying. By choosing Life over Death." Heero swallowed and glanced at his dingy white wings. He concentrated and they fluttered, unused muscles protesting. Heero gritted his teeth as pain flaired between his shoulder-blades.
"It hurts because you've never used them before. Can you withstand the pain, I wonder." Shinigami said conversationally as he flapped his own wings. They had transformed back into the black/violet feathered wings instead of the leathery bat-like ones he'd sported before. "Trust in yourself, Heero. Believe in yourself, otherwise you'll never fly. Never Live."
"Ryoukai." Heero muttered as he gathered all of the happy memories in his life and tried to gain the strength he needed from them. Not suprisingly, most, if not all of them centered around Duo. With a strong beat of his wings, Heero felt himself lift off of the ground. He flapped his unsure wings and ignored the pain from his protesting muscles. "You said you were a Guide, so guide me to Duo!" Heero growled as he fought to stay afloat.
"Please don't leave me alone. I can't live like this again," Duo's voice reached Heero's ears and he heard the tears in the American's voice even if he couldn't see them. "Onegai Heero. Don't die.." Shinigami nodded his head and flew off in the opposite direction of the Light.
Heero glanced over his shoulder and that Light grew dimmer and farther away. "Heero!!!!!" Heero flapped his wings harder and Shinigami finally swooped down and landed at the edge of a black pool. He reached out his hand and touched the surface, breaking its mirror-like appearance. Heero's winced as a light suddenly flashed and Shinigami stood before him with pure white wings.
"I am the Guide, both Death and Life, Light and Darkness." Heero blinked and fell to the ground as a sudden pain racked through his chest. "Your choice.." The Guide asked softly and Heero felt that Light creep around him. The pain faded away and a langourous peace settled into him.
"No!!!!" It was Duo's tortured cry that awoke Heero from his lethargy and Heero crawled forward until he was at the edge of the pool. He saw Duo crying on his chest and saw the tears streaming down the American's cheeks as he sobbed loudly.
"Duo.." Heero whispered as he reached out his hand to touch the water. The moment his fingertips came in contract with the water, the Light receded and Heero felt as if he was melting into the water itself.
"The Choice has been made." Heero heard the Guild intone. "Live Well, Heero Yuy." Heero looked up at the Guild even as he sank into the water and he saw that the familiar blue-violet eyes were smiling and he smiled back before the darkness claimed him.
Sheira
Please send comments to: sheira_kagema@yahoo.com
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