Disclaimer: What? Really? People are still confused over this?

Warnings!: This thing is about as M as M can get. The war's over, but I'm not, so trust nothing. XP

Note: Post-Endless Waltz.

Memento Mori

Epilogue

Home

"Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for."

~ Maya Angelou

When Duo woke up, it was to the smell of eggs and sausage. His mouth watered.

Trying to sit up was a chore in and of itself. His butt had apparently stiffened up during the night, and he ended up pulling and tugging at every available inch of muscle until rolling over and up made him wince. He reached for his butt and rubbed it, since he was alone. It still felt warm, warm and sensitive. Sitting down was going to be torture for a few days. It made him even madder; he felt afraid, a bit, of sex, and knew he had to fuck Heero before the fear managed to roost itself in the deeper recesses of his mind. For once, he was glad he'd undergone rape torture training under G. If he hadn't, he'd probably be far more scarred than he was.

It helped that Nind was dead, too.

He couldn't help grinning at that thought as he rose, his ass flaring at the sudden stretching. He stumbled a bit, too, as his ankles sharply protested the movement. He heard a small clank, then hurried footsteps. "I'm all right," he called, but Heero was already up the stairs and in the doorway. Those dark blue eyes were watching him again. "I'm okay," he said, and waved one arm in a shooing motion. Duo saw Heero's gaze flicker to his arm for a moment and grimaced. Of course. Stupid gauze. Stupid restraints. Stupid Nind.

Heero entered the room and grabbed Duo's elbow. "You should have called for me."

"Heero, my ass hurts. It's not debilitating." Heero's gaze darkened, deepening into a murderous stare that made Duo clear his throat. "Uh, right. Should have called for you."

Heero didn't relent, just held Duo up as they made their way downstairs. "Until you're better, you'll be sleeping down here."

"What?" Duo looked at Heero like he was mad. Sleeping downstairs in his old room? Without Heero beside him? Demoted? "No!"

"Duo, you can't go up and down the stairs–"

"Shut the fuck up, Yuy!" Heero hardly cocked an eyebrow at Duo's outburst, instead helping Duo down each step individually. His poor abused butt burned. His ankles decided to spike the pain a bit, too, as if afraid to be forgotten. Duo was glad he hadn't yet typed; doing so would make his wrists start vying for attention.

The trip downstairs finally finished, they both moved toward the kitchen. Duo was surprised to see a fair layout of food. The eggs and sausage were both there, along with toast; Duo grinned when he saw the waffles. Heero had actually taken his ramblings seriously?

As soon as Duo was seated, he laid into Heero. "I'm not staying down here. I will go back upstairs just to spite you." Heero was silent as he went back to the stove, deftly turning off the stove and lifting the pan of... something as the smell of smoke started churning the air. Duo cocked his head. "Sorry I ruined the food," Duo said.

Heero shook his head and put the pan on the other side of the stove. Only then did he turn back to Duo. "If you try to go up or down those stairs, you may fall. You can't afford another injury. I can only miss today, perhaps tomorrow before I have to return and send in my report." Duo tried to protest Heero waiting to return, but Heero just turned that glare on again. Duo stuck his tongue out. "So you will be staying down here."

"While you're gone," Duo said, amending Heero's statement. That glare ratcheted up a notch. "Heero," Duo said, and he looked straight into that glare, "if you have me sleep away from you, I'll feel like it's because Nind touched me."

Duo was trying to be strong, to get Heero to calm down and, quite frankly, to win the argument before it even got the chance to turn into one. He honestly hadn't expected the flash of something dark and guilty in Heero's eyes that told him that was exactly why he was being delegated somewhere else.

He felt his chest freeze.

"I can't touch you, Duo," Heero said, and Duo couldn't believe how much that hurt. He couldn't breathe. "I don't know how long that will last, but I can't touch you now."

Duo took a few deep breaths. He broke eye contact with Heero. Well, at least he'd finally found somebody who didn't fall all over him for his body. At least not anymore. "Are you fucking serious? It's not like I'm poisoned," he said. He couldn't believe how steady his voice was. He couldn't believe his stomach would dare to grumble in the middle of such a moment.

"Let's eat," Heero said, and Duo glared at him.

"No. Fuck that. Are you serious right now? Do you not want to..." Duo's voice died out despite himself. He couldn't believe it. He was acting like a girl. A pathetic little girl whose crush has turned her down.

He felt a weight on his chest. It kept him from being able to breathe properly.

Heero's eyes were a little wide. "What?" he asked, and Duo almost snarled at him.

"Touch me, Heero! Do you really not want to fucking touch me?!"

Duo stopped cold when Heero's jaw dropped.

Duo had no idea what he was supposed to do. Backtrack? Apologize? Keep acting like a wounded puppy? He straightened his shoulders at that; if he could handle standing in front of reporters as a rape victim, then he could stand before his lover as he was pushed away. "What? Can't talk now? Was I supposed to just let it slide?" Heero's face got weirder and weirder, until finally Duo just stopped. Heero looked like he'd swallowed a lemon whole. In another minute, Duo would find it hilarious.

"That's not what I meant," Heero said.

"Then what?!" Duo asked, but even as the words left his mouth, he understood. It dawned on him almost violently, so sudden that it nearly made him sick. Heero had been worried about him.

It was stupid, really; Heero constantly worried about him. How many times during the war had Heero come to save Duo? He'd never believed in Duo's strength – possibly, Duo thought almost bitterly, because he was always the one getting caught or hurt. So why would Heero change now? Duo hadn't been able to escape from Nind on his own, after all. Even Nind had said it – to the bitter end, Duo had to rely on help. So why would Heero suddenly think Duo could handle himself? Why not pander to poor little Duo, the emotional cripple now that he'd been flogged and raped?

Or maybe, just maybe, Heero was worried about him just because he cared.

He decided to sit down. His pity party was giving him a headache.

"Duo."

"I know, I know," Duo sighed. He was reacting so poorly because of the aftereffects of the trauma. He'd thought maybe he'd skipped this part. That maybe he would be able to gloss over... over the events the way he was carefully glossing over the memories. He took another deep breath. "Thanks for the food, Heero. And for staying with me. I might not be the best company right now, though."

Heero didn't say a word, just made two plates of food and carried them over. Heero sat down across from Duo and didn't so much as touch his food, simply watching Duo. Telling him that he had to eat without even saying a word. Duo sighed. After one bite of the eggs, however, he found himself completely ravenous, and he needed no urging to finish everything on his plate. He looked up in time to see Heero hiding a smirk. "You shut up."

The smirk gentled into something else. "I prefer you like this."

Duo swallowed and wiped his mouth.

"Nind could have taken this you from me." Heero's eyes darkened. Duo tried very hard to not drop his head. He'd told Heero everything, and hadn't seen any censure. That kept him from falling apart, too. "And I don't know enough to know what to do."

Ah. That explained the unnecessarily large meal. And the waffles. "You know me," Duo said, leaning forward. "What do you think I need right now?"

Heero searched Duo's gaze and nodded. With one smooth motion, he stood, walked around the table, and kissed Duo. "That was for me," he said, though Duo was already straining for more. "And this," he said, "is for you." And he walked over to another room. Duo heard the distinct sound of wiring being pulled, and then Heero returned with Duo's laptop in hand.

Duo spluttered. "Hey – what the hell–"

"You do not need to be working on this today. It will slow the progress of your recovery." Heero gestured to Duo's wrists, then looked at his ass, as if Duo didn't damn well know what he was talking about. Duo stood and reached for his laptop. "Duo."

"Heero, that's my job now," Duo hissed, reaching again, feeling the strain on his ass as he stretched the muscles. Heero just cocked an eyebrow at him. "I need that." He thought quick. "It gives me something to do."

"I can think of other things for you to do."

Duo's jaw dropped, and Heero gave Duo a smirk. Duo was left blinking.

"You can watch a movie while I write up the start of my report."

"A movie?" Duo brain rattled. He found himself frustrated and hard. Had Heero meant to do that? Why?

"Yes. A nice, calm, relaxing movie. I'm thinking Die Hard."

Duo laughed despite himself. Heero told Duo to relax on the sofa while he took care of the dishes, and when Duo tried to help, Heero threatened bodily harm to Duo's laptop. It made Duo huff off and plop down on the sofa, which pulled at his wounds and made him wince. Heero heard; he paused in the act of collecting the plates to listen for a moment before turning on the water in the sink. Duo closed his eyes and let himself relax. Heero had said he couldn't touch Duo for a while, which made his teasing all that more undecipherable. Duo gave up on it and stared at the television screen. Heero had never so much as looked at it. Duo had only watched it during those agonizing days when he'd been stuck in the house waiting for Nind to attack.

Waiting. Duo snarled. He never should have waited.

It took a little while for Duo to get those kinds of thoughts out of his head, but he managed it before Heero entered. He grabbed a DVD from the coffee table and placed it in the DVD player that sat completely untouched underneath the TV. Duo grinned at the domestic look – and the view. Nice.

He cleared his throat when he remembered his own abused ass and the trapped position of his stomach draped over Nind's table.

The movie started then, nice and slow, and Duo proceeded to make fun of the old trailers as Heero grabbed his own laptop and started clacking away. Duo sighed and closed his eyes at the sound. Ridiculous that such an obnoxious noise had become so damn comforting. Duo only half listened to the movie, just let Heero's presence wash away the last of his tension. He fell asleep in the middle of one of John McClane's fights.

"Sanctuary, on a personal level, is where we perform the job of taking care of our soul."

~ Christopher Forrest

Heero eventually returned to work, coming back more and more somber as he dealt with the repercussions of Nind's final hours. Whenever Duo tried to get him to talk, though, he just kept saying. "focus on recovering."

So Duo messed around on his laptop while Heero got tenser and tenser, and Heero hovered more and more as Duo slowly got better. Duo managed to sit for a few hours without feeling like his ass was suffering from drag burn. Heero managed to sit for less than two minutes before he started pacing.

On the second Friday – the day Duo specifically waited for, in order to make sure Heero could use work as an excuse to escape Duo – Duo finally gave up on eating the food he himself had prepared and watched Heero pace up and down the kitchen, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Duo was about to lose his damn mind. "So what happened?" he tried, prepared for the answer he received.

"Nothing. Eat your dinner."

Murder. Duo was going to murder him. He would deal with the body burial later, when it was darker out. He would break the legs postmortem so they couldn't possibly be used to pace in the Underworld, or whatever damn afterlife he wanted to imagine for the moment. The image was the only thing that kept him from losing his temper. "No."

Heero looked up at that, his eyes taking in the set of Duo's jaw. Heero's gaze deadened. Ready for a fight, then, huh? Well, good. Because Duo had a good one in him. "Duo," Heero said, trying to cut it off before it grew. But it was a little late for that.

"Did something more happen than me getting dommed by a psycho?" Duo asked, and Heero winced. Duo had had plenty of time to think about that damn day, and he'd decided he'd gotten out well enough to not freak out about it. But not Heero. They'd yet to have sex since that day. What the fuck was that about, anyway? "What happened with Une? What does the media know? Why are you such damn wreck when you come back to me? I feel like you might as well not be here."

Heero actually flinched on that one. His eyes weren't deadened anymore. Oh, no. They looked... a little lost. "Nothing major has hit my desk since... since the incident." The incident? Good Lord, seriously? Shouldn't Duo be the one having a harder time with all this? "Une has officially taken leadership of Preventors without inside incident. Her actions that night seem to have garnered her full support. Externally, however, the countries are trying to see if the paperwork had been completed before she killed Nind."

Which it hadn't been. "But you filed it, didn't you? I mean, you're the obvious choice. The only ones who might see past your work are us pilots, and I don't really think any of us are going to raise any alarms."

Heero still stood in the middle of the kitchen, but now it seemed he understood how ridiculous he looked and sat down. "Yes. The media... found out about a pilot getting injured. They jumped all over it, of course."

Duo was glad he didn't watch the news. "Is that why you're stressed?"

Heero broke eye contact with him. "Not completely."

More like not at all. Duo thrummed his fingers on the table. "Heero."

Heero reached out and grabbed Duo's fingers, stilling them. "It's... I have a decision to make. One that affects the both of us, and I don't know that I'm ready to make it."

Duo's heart stilled for a moment, then almost raced its way out of his chest. This couldn't be good. "A decision."

Heero nodded, that cobalt gaze rising to lance Duo's. "Yes."

Duo suddenly didn't know if he wanted to have this discussion. But he still burned forward. "Tell me."

"I have to decide if this is my forever."

Duo opened his mouth, then closed it. That sounded far too poetic to be what Heero meant. "What?"

Heero released Duo's hand and stood again, pacing through the kitchen once more. Duo felt his own tension rise as he watched. "You asked me once if you were staying. I thought it strange at the time. Why would he ask that? Of course he was staying. But now I understand. You were asking if we were permanent. I've thought yes, but lately I've realized that such an idea can't be shared by actions alone." He turned and walked straight toward Duo, making Duo crane his neck back. He felt vulnerable as Heero stared down at him. "Actions are all I know."

Duo tested his speaking abilities again. "And this has been bothering you?"

Heero nodded, one jerky little movement. "I don't know how to make promises. I don't have any in me to give."

Duo didn't know what Heero meant, exactly, but his heart hurt, hearing it.

"Come with me." Heero held out his hand. Duo looked at it. Duo had been living in limbo, waiting for this moment, for Heero to realize that relationships were commitments. Waiting for Heero to choose to walk away, even though Duo would swear Heero felt the same as Duo. But Duo had chosen his own path long ago, without ever actually considering it, and without hesitation, he took Heero's hand.

Heero led him upstairs to the bedroom.

When Heero started stripping, Duo almost laughed. He should have known Heero's answer would be a good fuck. He wouldn't argue with the idea, but he couldn't help but feel as if the tightrope he'd been balancing on was getting a little less stable by the hour. Sex would not help to strengthen it.

Duo ripped off his t-shirt, then his jeans, glancing over at Heero to make sure he had plenty of distractions to keep him from thinking about Heero's words. If he kept his mind on the physical, he wouldn't end up humiliating himself with a half-mast flag. He finally ripped off his boxers and moved to lay on the bed.

"No."

Duo looked back, surprised, and found himself momentarily distracted by Heero's body. Damn, those hard lines and rippling planes would make Duo combust one day. He cleared his throat. "What?"

"That's my place."

His place? Duo tried to interpret that in a way that didn't include worrying over Heero's previous words, but it didn't really work.

Then Heero moved forward and sat on the bed, and with one deep breath, he lay on his back on the bed. He turned to look at Duo , his hair falling crazily on the white pillow, and beckoned Duo over with one warm hand. "Come on."

Duo's heart burst.

Actions are all I know. Oh, Heero.

Duo wrapped his fingers around Heero's own and oh, so slowly moved over Heero, until his knees straddled Heero's legs and his arms caged Heero's face. Duo saw no fear, no worry. Only acceptance. "This has to be for you, too," Duo said, and Heero raised his chin, looking somehow defiant as he lay naked below Duo. "It is. I want forever."

And Duo's heart melted.

Duo had to lean down, for just a moment, and rest his d on Heero's collarbone. Heero took the hand that wasn't wrapped in Duo's and spread it through his hair, tangling in Duo's braid. "Heero," Duo breathed, and let Heero's scent cover him. He'd needed this. He'd needed Heero on him, around him. How had he survived those past weeks without this? "I want forever, too. Like this. With you." He raised his head. "Well, just to be clear, I wouldn't mind being under you forever, too."

Heero pulled his hair.

"Ow!" But Duo smiled and raised himself up, finally resting his hips on Heero's. Their dicks touched, rubbed, and Duo groaned at the contact and arched his back and neck. He looked back down to find Heero looking at him with wide eyes. Duo rubbed against Heero again, just to see what the contact was like. Heero's eyes fluttered, almost closing but not quite, as Heero struggled to keep his eyes on Duo. Duo panted, his arms straining with the effort to not just devour Heero. He was beautiful below Duo, and Duo had to bite his tongue to keep from saying it. Instead he leaned down and kissed Heero, tasting the man on his tongue, on his lips, until his mouth alone wasn't enough. He leaned back up and pulled his hand from Heero's. Heero made a small sound of protest, but it died when Duo reached behind him and pulled his braid forward, quickly pulling his hair free of its bindings.

Heero's hands reached up and touched Duo's cheek as the strands slid onto his shoulders, then pulled a chunk forward, letting it fall through his fingers. His eyes were wide again.

"Heero," Duo murmured, and leaned down for another kiss. Heero raised his head, and when they met, both moved their hands, Heero through Duo's hair, Duo down Heero's chest. He explored more thoroughly than ever before, touching Heero's nipples, which elicited a sharp jerk, then scraping down the sides of his waist again, feeling Heero's groan in his own mouth. Duo shivered. His mind tried to wrap around the idea of Heero below him, but the concept was so insane he found himself leaning up, breaking the kiss off again just to look, to see. Heero's eyes were almost black as he looked up at Duo, his hands outstretched, his gaze turning almost frustrated as Duo took too long for Heero's taste. "You're..." But for once, Duo couldn't find the words. "Thank you."

Those lines of Heero's were sharp and defined against the stark white sheets, his body thin and lithe, those nipples standing up after just that short attention Duo gave them. Duo decided they deserved a reward, and he bent to give a kiss to each. Heero arched up into the touch, barely grunting at the touch. Duo wanted, suddenly, to have Heero go wild underneath him. He wanted Heero to know he would be safe in Duo's hold, wanted Heero to give him everything as Duo had done for him. Duo found himself wanting more than he'd ever thought he could. Was this what it was like to take the top?

Still, he was slow, gentle, ghosting his fingers alone Heero's stomach, back up to his chest, until those nipples were between his fingers and he was running the pads of his thumbs over those nubs and Heero was struggling to keep his breathing steady. Then Duo leaned down and kissed them again. He darted out his tongue and felt Heero jerk beneath him, heard a strangled sound that Heero cut off. Duo ran his teeth over the thing, just a small warning before he sucked the nub into his mouth. Heero jerked again. This time the sound wasn't cut off quite as quickly. Duo ran his fingers up Heero's sides as he worked. Heero's body didn't seem to know what to do.

Duo wanted this to be about them, just them, but he knew Heero had another motive. He knew Heero was trying to keep this situation as different from Duo's experience with Nind as possible. But Duo would make sure it ended with just them, only them, just himself and Heero and the forever they were promising each other. Nind had no place in this.

Heero's breathing was turning into something a bit more like panting, and Duo moved to the other side, one hand rising to play with the now exposed nipple. Heero grunted. The hands in Duo's hair fell to the bed and clenched the sheets. Duo heard a rip and smiled. Being on top was fun.

Duo finally left Heero's chest and licked his way down, one ab at a time, to Heero's thighs. Duo could feel the skin quiver beneath his lips. "Duo," Heero said, his voice breathless and demanding all at once. Telling Duo to hurry up. Duo kissed the skin and nuzzled the hair that led down to Heero's member. "Not yet," Duo said. "Just once, not yet. Please let me have this."

Heero groaned.

The sound was one of acceptance, and Duo kissed Heero's skin again in thanks. His fingers found their way to Heero's inner thighs and reached up, just barely touching Heero's sac, rubbing softly over the bottom. Heero jumped and yelped, the sound almost loud in the room. Duo heard Heero clamp his jaw shut and licked Heero's tip, just once. He heard Heero's soft exhale and knew Heero had leaned his head back. He sat up quickly, catching the sight of Heero's head thrown against the pillow, his body heaving with the exertion of holding himself in check. God, he was beautiful.

Duo returned to his work, his hands circling Heero's member until Heero was jerking his hips up over and over again. "Duo," Heero growled, and his voice was so low it rumbled through the room. Duo shivered.

"Soon," he promised, and Heero... keened. It was a deep, desperate, almost angry sound, but Duo couldn't think of another word for it but keening. Heero's hands reached down and gripped Duo's hair, stopping him from traveling down to Heero's calves and feet, but that was okay for now. They had forever, after all.

He licked around Heero's dick, slowly getting closer, allowing Heero to pull on his hair so hard it hurt, as Heero lost control of himself and writhed beneath Duo's lips, trying to pull Duo onto his member as Duo deliberately ignored Heero's demands. Heero seemed beyond words now, his body one fluid movement after another, his every breath huffing short moans. Duo finally leaned up and took Heero into his mouth in one fell swoop, glad for his previous experiences as he heard Heero howl. Everything in Duo broke and mended at the sound of Heero's surrender, as those strong fingers pushed Duo further down, until Duo had to work to keep from gagging, until finally Duo had to breathe and he came up for air. Heero was insistent, however, and Duo returned, taking Heero once more, this time slowly pumping, up from the bottom to the tip, where he licked until he tasted Heero's pre-cum on his tongue, then down again only to almost let him go. Heero moaned, pushed against Duo's hands on his hips, forcing Duo's mouth deep once more. Heero's hands tangled messily into Duo's hair, his body squirming madly beneath Duo, and Duo finally gave it up and quickened his pace. Heero cried out again, his hips pistoning. Duo wrapped one hand around Heero's base and sucked hard. Heero went mad. His entire body arched, everything froze, and Heero stayed still. "Duo," he rasped, his body trembling, "in me. Please."

Duo couldn't believe he could feel even more, but he did. He finally let Heero go and leaned up, opening the top nightstand drawer for the lube that was always, always there. He took the tube out and squirted it onto his fingers, rubbing it between until it was warm. Then he leaned over and kissed Heero. Heero's body was greedy, desperate as Heero twisted his head and dove inside Duo's mouth, taking Duo's restraint as he rolled his hips over Duo's. Duo found himself gasping then, straining to keep himself under control. But Heero wrapped his legs around Duo's hips and thrust his pelvis against Duo's, wrapped his arms around Duo's shoulders until he could pull Duo down. Duo whimpered and let himself be held like this, let Heero take possession of him even now, let himself feel protected. Loved. He could feel it in every movement Heero made – mine, that beautiful body said. Mine. No one else may harm you. No one else may have you.

Duo trailed his wet fingers down Heero's body, down that sensitive side, until he reached Heero's hole. Heero tensed for a second, then weakened his hold until Duo was once again in charge of their movements, in charge of the kiss, and Duo tried to make it as reassuring as possible as he slid one finger slowly in. Hero squirmed for a bit, and Duo quickly distracted him with one hand tickling up Heero's side as his tongue licked deep into Heero's mouth. Heero finally relaxed, and Duo wriggled his finger a bit, playing with Heero in a way he knew Nind never would have, until Heero was squirming for a completely different reason. Only then did he add a second finger, and after a few moments' searching, Heero jumped wildly in Duo's arms. Heero's breath shuddered out, and Heero curled around Duo again. "Now," Heero said.

"Not yet," Duo said, worried about the lack of preparation, but apparently Heero's patience was all filled up.

"Now."

So Duo played his fingers against that spot one more time, feeling Heero clench tightly around his fingers and worrying even more until he realized that Heero's entire body was tight. He was holding back his orgasm, Duo realized, and felt everything in his melt all over again. Heero wanted Duo inside him when he came. Well, fuck. The thought alone almost had Duo coming.

Duo leaned up, taking another moment to admire and letting Heero get himself slightly back under control. Duo pressed himself against Heero's hole and watched Heero lean back and open himself further, straining for Duo's presence. Duo slowly entered, giving Heero the time to adjust to the difference in size from finger to dick, but Heero just groaned and snarled and leaned his hips up, pulling Duo inside him. Duo was left gasping and throwing his own head back as Heero's head enveloped him. It almost hurt, the sudden tightening of muscles around his member, and he found his breath sucked out of him. It felt... it felt so damn good. "Heero," he groaned, and Heero moaned, too, and suddenly Duo needed to be in him, fully, to the hilt, and he slowly pushed in some more, Heero groaning, reaching for Duo's hips, and Duo felt Hero tugging him closer, closer, until they were as close as they were going to get without melting into each other, and both were panting against the other's lips, and Duo found himself needing to taste Heero. Their tongues battled, connected, mingled, until both were moving, one slow movement of hips at a time. Duo ripped his lips free and arched his back, getting a small millimeter further into Heero, and both men shouted. "Heero," he said again, "Heero. Heero. I love you." The words were out before he could stop them, and he nearly stopped.

"You, too," Heero said, his voice little more than a breath, and Duo's control snapped. He found himself moving faster, faster, needing to reach that peak with Heero, needing everything.

Heero pushed deep into Duo, forcing Duo faster, demanding higher, until Heero's body shuddered. Duo stared, terrified of missing a single detail, afraid to blink as Heero's body shook and tore itself apart. Heero cried out Duo's name as he came. The sound, guttural and broken and full and perfectly whole, took Duo's control and thrashed it, and suddenly Duo was coming, deep and hard, almost screaming at the intensity. Duo held on to Heero and broke completely, feeling everything fit better afterward.

This was just a piece of their forever.

"And what do all the great words come to in the end, but that? I love – I am at rest with you – I have come home."

~ Dorothy Sayers

A/N: Sorry it's so short, but there you go. I tried to place a small bit in the middle, a piece of conclusion and all, but it wasn't working and I finally gave up. I'm so sorry for the long wait; I literally had to call out from both jobs just to have some time to write. That's the end, by the way.

And I actually had no intention of telling you all what Nind said, but since many asked, it was just a comment on how Nind was going to break Duo the way he'd broken Heero. /looks up at last scene/ I wonder how that worked out for him.

Thought that carried the story:

"In Europe men and women have intercourse because they love each other. In the South Seas they love each other because they have had intercourse. Who is right?" ~ Paul Gauguin