Rating: PG13
Warnings: Warnings will give the ending away, but the rating does not exceed PG13.
Disclaimer: Stop rubbing it in... I don't own them, I'm just trying to have some fun.
Summary: How long is eternally?
Notes: glomps to CYT for wonderful beta work.

Archivist's note: By the author's request, this story is labeled as containing strong angst.

Eternally Yours
by Arithion/Arithkenshin

Arms wrapped themselves around Duo's waist as he stood in the kitchen making dinner for himself and his lover, and he leaned back into Heero's arms, revelling in the warmth and security of just being with him.

"I need to pop into work Duo..."

Duo twisted in his arms and looked at the other man, pouting his full lips. "But you promised Heero... it's our first real holiday."

Smoothing the long braid and lightly kissing Duo on the lips Heero rested his forehead against that of the violet-eyed man's."I know love... I'm sorry...with everything... I just forgot..."

Duo couldn't help but chuckle. "Ahhh, Mr. Perfect Soldier..." He called Heero in teasing jest, as they did very often. "Did I distract you?"

A light laugh emerged from Heero's throat, showing just how far he had come in the few years since the war. Using the nickname Duo had earned during the war, Heero's voice was fond. "Death is always distracting..."

For some reason, a shiver ran down Duo's spine, and the messy haired youth looked at him in concern. "Are you catching cold, Duo?"

Shaking his head Duo snuggled as close to Heero as he could, somehow feeling the need to be close to him. The need to feel that he was real.

Concern was still plastered across Heero's handsome features. "Are you sure, Duo? I can probably just call a courier. I'd prefer not to leave you alone if you're getting sick."

The small laugh that trickled out of Duo like a mini waterfall put Heero at ease...at least a little. "If you're sure..."

With a gentle shove Duo pushed Heero away, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach, making himself believe that he was just upset that Heero was going into work when they were both supposed to go on their first real holiday the next day.

"Go now... so it's sooner when you come back to me, love."

Those Prussian eyes filled with the smile that he reserved only for Duo, making the braided man forget his worries for a second. "I promise I won't be long, Duo."

Smiling back, Duo mockingly scolded his lover. "Just see that you don't let dinner get old, I'll have it finished when you get back."

Heero headed towards the door, pausing when he heard Duo call him.

"Heero, wait a second..."

Wiping his hands on the apron he was wearing, Duo made his way to the door and cupped Heero's face in his hands.

"Be careful please... Come back to me."

Closing his eyes, he leaned forward and kissed those sweet lips. The kiss lasted for a little while, each just enjoying the feel of the other, each just losing themselves for a moment in the taste that belonged to the man they loved.

"I will always come back to you Duo...eternally yours. " And Heero flashed a smile as he stepped out of the door.

Duo shivered a little, words that usually offered such comfort somehow sounding foreboding. Unusual perhaps, for the perfect soldier to forget something. But to be honest, they were getting married the following day. So it was a little out of the ordinary to begin with. They didn't live too far from the offices, but far enough that it didn't feel like they lived at work.

Still, something wasn't sitting quite right with him. It felt wrong.

Placing the risotto he was preparing in the oven, he set the timer for the 45 minutes it would need, removed his apron and grabbed the mug of cocoa that was now cool enough for him to drink. He walked to the window to watch the rain pouring down outside, drenching everything.

Opening the window, he trusted that the overhang above them would keep out the actual rain and instead he would be able to just let in the sweetness of the air. The freshness after it had been cleansed by rain.

Gingerly, he sat himself on the window ledge, one leg bent and the other resting on the sofa beneath the window. He wrapped the arm with the mug around his raised leg and let himself reminisce.

Letting his mind wander he thought of the war and how he met Heero, the smile crossing his face as he remembered how close they had become since then, how close they had become during it. He still couldn't quite believe his luck; he had always thought that Heero would end up with Relena. Didn't the Hero always end up with the Heroine? A smile played across the braided man's lips, as he remembered Heero's reaction to those thoughts.

"But Duo, she's like my little sister. It'd be incestuous!"

Heero was his, all his, and tomorrow they would be getting married, and spending the rest of their lives together. He stood, leaving the mug on the ledge and stretched himself out, wanting to start the salad to go with the dinner, and made his way to the kitchen. But he never made it that far.

The building shook with the force of an explosion, the sound so loud, it was obviously only a little ways away. Rushing back to the window Duo gripped the sill and looked out, in time to see the dust cloud settle, flames riding up high into the night sky. Flames and cloud in a shape that was horribly familiar to Duo. Pain shot through his body, as if a part of him was torn away, as if a part of him was in pain.

"No..."

He had to be all right, he just had to be, Heero wasn't allowed to leave him yet. Absently lifting the mug back in his hand he crawled onto the sill, trying to contain the pain and the knowledge his soul felt. Finally he ripped his eyes away from that cloud... begging it not to be what he knew it was. Realisation crept through him, though denial took over, and he leaned back against the wall, eyes vacant, looking at the burning horizon and yet not focusing on it, mug almost forgotten in his fingers.

Hearing something only he could hear, his gaze turned towards the front door of their apartment, revealing Heero, looking just like he had when he had left. A sad smile spread across Duo's features as the brown haired man looked at him, inside him.

"I knew you'd come back to me Heero..."

"Eternally yours Duo... I promised that..."

Duo just nodded as the other youth seemingly flew across the room running to him. Catching Heero with his free arm when their lips met, caused him to lose a little balance against the wall, and as he began to turn towards the slightly taller boy he finally let the mug fall forgotten and wrapped the other arm around Heero, burying his hands in that messy hair, and tasting the man he loved, tears coursing down his face for the first time in memory, as the rainy wind freed his own hair from its braid.

The head medic sighed as he stopped CPR. It was a lost cause. He called over some men to remove the body of the young man with the messy brown hair from the scene of the Preventers Headquarters bombing, there were wounded that were still alive to tend to. The smile on the face of the chocolate haired boy unnerved him... it was almost as if he died having found peace.

The people on the street below watched in horror as the lithe body fell from the 22nd story of the apartment block, to crash with a sickening thud on the pavement. Witnesses swore he had been holding onto something as he fell backwards out of the window and to the ground below. There was a smile on the face of the chestnut haired youth whilst the curtain of chestnut surrounding him soaked a deep red, as if he had welcomed death.

And in the apartment... black smoke wafted out of the oven.