----------------------

--------

Heero knew the Peacemillion was going to collide into the Libra. He held Relena close to protect her from the scattering debris. She screamed when metal was torn into pieces with screeching, deafening sounds. Heero knew enough. The Gundams would soon board the Libra to clean up the remnants of the White Fang. He knew what to do, and Relena was not part of his plan. He found two space suits in a locker and silently they suited up. He ignored her worried complaints about his injury; it was only a scratch on his shoulder.

"Relena, we have to hurry. Be careful, I don't want you to get sucked out in to space. This is a protective suit, you'll be pretty safe in it. Come on. You need to get back to Earth, to assume your position as Queen and bring peace in the world."

"Heero, you're nuts," she said while struggling with all the belts and buckles. "What are you going to do?"

"I've got obligations," he answered, "and one of them is getting you into safety." He pushed a button and they were granted access to the hangar where Wing Zero was standing, as tall as a skyscraper and as proud as ever before.

"What about you?" She asked, voice lilting. The visor of her helmet was still open and he moved his hands to close it. She put her hand on his.

"What about you?" She repeated.

"I'll be fine," he answered.

"You still have to kill me."

He looked her in the eyes. They were the same blue as Duo's, but Duo's eyes had a hint of purple and violet... but they both shone, no, glared, strength and passion. It had been a while since he'd seen Relena, after their emotional exchange at the breakfast table in the Sanq Kingdom.

"I'll never kill you."

"You've changed," she said, touching his visor. "Is it because of Duo?"

"It is," he answered matter-of-factly and he was glad to see a wide smile on her face.

"Visit me in the Kingdom," she said and they closed the visor on each other's helmet at the same time.

Heero took place in Wing's cockpit and fired up the boosters. He threw a last look at Relena, who was standing close to the airlock, hands secured. She waved at him before he stepped down to make his descent from the Libra.

---------

Deathscythe Hell entered the Libra from a breach in the hull. Duo made sure he was completely secured before he left his Gundam. He took his bag of explosions with him. His orders were to set the explosions to destroy the last stranglehold and symbol of human domination.

"It looks like these rooms were used for confinement," he thought out loud, seeing the row of doors in the hallway. He thought he heard some noise behind one door and decided to blow it up.

Duo attached the little explosion device on the wall and jumped away. It exploded with a barely audible bang and the door went open. He peeked inside.

"Who's there?" A croaked, barely audible voice.

"It's the God of Death," he answered and went inside, gun ready. The voice that welcomed him, sounded old and squeaky

"Finally," another elderly voice sounded and Duo aimed his gun. There were more people here?

"Welcome, 02. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Five elderly men, clad in white lab coats, sat huddled together, not in the least bit scared or frightened. One man with mushroom shaped grey hair caught Duo's immediately attention.

"Professor G?"

The man smiled, as much as that was possible. "Duo, I'm glad to see you again, finally."

"I thought you were dead!"

G shrugged. "We're all supposed to be dead, many times over. Unfortunately, there isn't much time to chitchat, Duo. We need to get to the core of the Libra to make it explode. Are you with Deathscythe?"

"Of course I am," he sputtered.

"Death really came to life," G answered, hardly audible to overhear.

"Find us some space suits," the tallest of the five ordered. "We'll go with you to readjust the main calibration engines. We can prevent Libra from falling on Earth if we hurry. We'll hitch a ride on your Deathscythe, and don't worry if someone falls off."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Duo asked, while he opened lockers and chests to find the requested suits.

"The story is too long to tell, young God of Death," G answered him. "We've got a lot of work to do. We're responsible for so much, even for the Libra. Tubarov forced us to work for him."

"The idiot," Duo mumbled.

"We made it so that the main cannon has a major fluke. It can't fire consecutively. It bides us some time."

They suited up. Duo was silent and looked at his mentor.

"G…"

The professor looked at him. His words stuck in his throat.

"This way."

It was a risky business, but the five scientists insisted on holding onto the upper body of the Gundam while the cloak would be folded down to shield them.

Duo circled around the rammed spaceship until he found an entrance to the core. He lowered his Gundam in front of the airlock and uncloaked. The wings folded open smoothly; Duo could've sworn he saw a smug look on G's face when he left.

"We're going to set the motors of the Peacemillion into explosion," one of the doctors explained. "Because of the blast, the Libra will be thrown off this trajectory to Earth."

"Affirmative," Duo answered. He focused again on the man who had been his trainer

"G," he said again.

"I would be very happy to talk to you again, but I'm afraid that won't happen. I'm glad you've found whatever you've found, Duo Maxwell. Make the God of Death proud."

With these parting words, the professor disappeared with his colleagues into the bowels of the ship. Duo didn't know what to say. He steered his Gundam away and saw another huge row of mobile dolls.

"Dear Lord..."

Energy blasts coming from the left and right sending his data receptors and meters through the roof. I'm never going to make it! He was going to die even before he could say... but then he was contacted via his communication link.

"Gundam 02, leave this to us. Concern yourself about the Libra. We're a part of Master Quatre's team."

Duo recognized them. It was the Maguanacs Corps. He hurried to join the other Gundams into slicing and chopping away the biggest parts of the ship, before it could fall on Earth.

He didn't know where the others were... incoming message?

His screen showed him the image of a dishevelled Lady Une, declaring the total surrender of the Earth Nation.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed.

Treize was dead? That son of a bitch Chang Wufei killed him! Earth's leader was killed. They called for their immediate surrender, but to whom? Heero was fighting off Zechs, who clearly didn't accept the surrender. There was no one to surrender too. Libra was falling towards Earth and would destroy it nonetheless, until someone was going to do something about it. It can't be in vain! It can't be!

"Duo, in here!" It was Quatre. He sounded as if he was in pain.

"Where are you?"

"We're inside the Libra, smashing things up," he answered. "Come help us Duo, we need to break off every chunk we can get."

"No Quatre, you get the hell away from there! I've delivered the scientists to the core and they're going to rectify the problem by calibrating the engines. Get away from there! If the engines explode before you vacate, you won't stand the impact."

"The scientists?" Quatre was amazed, but he was clever enough to draw his own conclusions. "Okay, we need to get out of here!"

"Yes, Master Quatre!" followed the answer, in chorus, of his fellow Maguanac fighters.

Duo smiled inwardly. Those guys would go to hell and back for their young master.

It didn't take long before he saw Quatre and Trowa vacate the Libra, followed by the typical Maguanac suits.

"Where's Heero?" He asked over the open line.

"I don't know," Trowa answered. "He's still fighting off Zechs. We don't know his exact position. We've got to stay together."

If that was an implemented warning, Duo wasn't so sure. He mulled over the words. He wanted to do something badly and this uncertainty was killing him.

An explosion rocked the Libra and it dissolved in pieces. The scientists had succeeded; they had calibrated the engines! A loud cheer went up through the open lines. Duo was cheering himself but fell silent when he realized with a pang that his mentor now was truly dead. It pained him more than he'd care to admit. Duo reached slowly to close the communication line.

"Wait… look at that!" Trowa sounded agitated.

A massive chunk of the Libra was still falling towards Earth, big enough to cause a nuclear winter.

"Dear Allah, it can't be!"

"What are we going to do?"

"We can't give up like this!" Duo smashed at the controls. His scythe was almost out of power after the hard long battle. He had to do something, if only to slice away at the chunk, to lessen the impact...Wufei's voice crackled through the air.

"Everyone, I gave Heero his beam rifle."

Duo heard cheering, but didn't understand the excitement. His motion sensors had picked up a mobile suit flying in front of the falling piece. Heero. Duo swallowed. I have never felt at home. I thought I found something... someone... and now this. He watched the former battle ship explode. The last piece of the falling Libra was destroyed. He was silent. He was looking past it. Where's Heero?

The fierce light of the explosion diminished and faded away. It became silent in every cockpit. Where was he?

"There he is! He did it!" Duo screamed so hard it was a wonder no one turned instantly deaf.

"Naturally," he heard Chang say, and the rest got lost in a massive cheer of joy. Wing Zero went past them, and took off with great speed. Duo was given the chills. Where is he going?

It was Trowa who cut into the silence. "Guys, we need to get to a hospital. Quatre is injured."

"Where's Howard?" Duo wondered.

"I'm right here kid," the elderly man answered; apparently he had been listening on their frequency. "We're all evacuated to MO-II, a resource satellite. We're going straight to Earth now, care to join?"

"We have to," Trowa made the decision before them. "We'll follow you, Howard."

Duo set grudgingly his Deathscythe into motion.

With the Gundams locked down into a suit hangar, Duo climbed out of Deathscythe and descended with the winch. To his amazement, Wufei was waiting for him on the base of his Gundam. His face wore a strange expression; Wufei's was struggling not to let his emotions show.

"Maxwell, I offer you my condolences," he said so stiffly that Duo was wondering how he could pronounce the words. "I… it wasn't my intention to… depart from Treize this way."

Duo was lost for an answer. Wufei expected him to do something, so say something… and he didn't have any words. Silently they stood opposite each other, and with every second passing, Wufei became more rigid.

"It's okay," Duo said.

"What?"

"It's okay," Duo repeated. There wasn't really anything else he could've said. Treize was gone now, but his tie to him would linger for a long time to come. Duo had suffered the weight of the Kushrenada name when he was alive, now Wufei would suffer the weight of Treize's death.

"I…" Wufei was about to say something else, but Duo shook his head rather roughly.

"Not tonight. Not tonight."

Duo walked away from him and at that moment, he couldn't care less about what was going on in Wufei's mind. He only longed for a bed. When Duo entered the main hall, Howard came running to him.

"Kid!" He hugged him as if he were returning as the long lost son. Duo acknowledged the hug but quickly let go, to have a look around. He recognized Lucrezia, next to her, a woman with honey coloured braids -that must've been Sally Po, he thought-, he saw Relena and…

"It's been a while, Lady."

She smiled at him, face completely free of frowns and sorrow, even though the man she loved dearly had died. "Lieutenant Maxwell, what a pleasant surprise. It's an honour to meet you again."

Duo shrugged. "I have no honour."

He doubted if she heard it.

"So, what's the plan now, Princess?" Duo addressed Relena. She looked tired and sad.

"We finally can build peace from the ruins, but there was a high price to be paid." She shook her head. "Such a high price."

"Tell me about it," he murmured. He figured that Zechs must be dead and he felt sorry for her. "Do you know where the others are?" He asked softly.

"Trowa raced off with Quatre to the hospital. Apparently he was injured in battle," Howard took over. "And your guess is as good as ours as where Heero went to."

He saw Relena's eyes lit up and focussing at him; she thought he knew where Heero was.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know."

The door opened and everybody held his or her breath, but it was Wufei coming in.

Ironically, he was now the only other Gundam pilot people could relate too. Duo felt like he was coming down from a crash landing.

"Aren't you going to celebrate, Duo?" Howard said. "The war's over."

"I don't know," he answered and he looked very pale.

War couldn't be over like this. All his life he had been in the service of war, and now everything was suddenly over? Howard seemed to feel his mood and admonished him to take a rest.

"I will show you your quarters, Duo. Get some rest. You've done great work, but now you've got to rest."

He followed the elder man as if he was a toddler, not giving a damn about the excited celebratory sounds. He'd never felt lonelier in his life. The silver crucifix burned hot against his skin. I wish I'd given it to Heero after all. Where are you? He couldn't remember whether he undressed himself or got into his bed.

----------

The following morning was strange to wake up too. The room was as silent as a grave and for a moment, Duo couldn't recall the location. It finally dawned on him that he was on friendly ground, Howard's hangar. There are no friends or foes anymore. War is over. Next to him was another bed and his heart jumped up. Someone was sleeping in it.

"Heero?" he whispered. There was no movement. He slipped out of bed and crossed the room. He was even more astonished when he saw loose, ebony black hair spread out on the pillows. He took a step back as if he had burned himself. Chang Wufei was sleeping in a bed next to his, in the same room.

He felt dirty. Not because of Wufei, but in general. He quickly grabbed a towel and took a long shower. It was early and it surprised him that Wufei still wasn't awake. Duo dressed himself and made his bunk out of routine, avoiding to make any sound.

"What are we going to do now?"

The question was coming from no one than Wufei himself.

"Find our own justice, I think." Duo slowly turned around. "What's there to do? We're soldiers. I can't talk in the past tense about us yet."

"This is going to be difficult," Wufei said.

"No matter how Relena thinks about it, peace isn't established in one day. There will be people opposing it. So many remnants of factions are left – Romefeller, White Fang, OZ, even old Alliance members. Not everybody will accept peace."

"You're wiser than I thought, Maxwell. You appear easy on the surface, but you run much deeper. I offer you my apologies."

Wufei looked very vulnerable, still lying in bed, supporting himself on his elbow.

"Why do you feel the need to apologize now? Yesterday you did it too."

"Maybe I feel the need to start all over."

"Yeah," Duo answered. He felt strange. "I'm going to see what's for breakfast."

He left Wufei behind in his bedroom, still feeling strange. Why in the hell would Chang Wufei choose this moment to open up?

Because he feels too that things are going to change, big time.

Only Howard was out of bed, and this time Duo was sure the man needed his sunglasses to cover his bloodshot eyes.

"Hey Howard."

"There's some cake and pretzels left over from yesterday," Howard greeted him back. "We missed you at the party, Duo. At least I did."

"You'd be the only one." Duo took a slice of the cake and tasted it. "My first bite of freedom."

Howard didn't respond and Duo felt worse.

"Things aren't going to be easy, Duo." The man shoved the glasses back on the bridge of his nose. "Peace can't be established in two days."

"I figured that out myself," Duo answered dryly. Howard had the decency to chuckle.

"I thought so. I never marked you for someone without intelligence, that's for sure."

Duo munched on the cake. "So... what are you going to do now?"

"Me and the Sweepers? We'll have our hands full. We basically received the orders to clean up after everybody in outer space. It's going to take a while before everything is recycled and all the scrap metal is collected. What do you think, wanna come join us? Most of us haven't forgotten about you and would like to see you back."

"Thank you, but I need to think about it."

"You can contact me anytime," Howard said. "And maybe you can bring your Heero with you, even though I can't peg him as a guy interested in scrap metal."

He laughed uproariously seeing Duo spit out nearly all of the cake.

-----------

The hospital was a few blocks away and Duo walked on the streets, hands in his pockets. It felt awkward. Heero still hadn't returned from wherever he was, and everybody was eagerly awaiting his arrival to welcome him as a hero. Duo shrugged. He didn't care that much that the ones speaking to him, always and only asked about Heero. He didn't care much that practically no one had interest in him. He did care about the looks he received and he knew many people knew of his past. He kicked away a pebble. It was going to be difficult. Going with the Sweepers to space and residing there pretty anonymously was looking better and better every day. He made a decision; if Heero didn't show up in the next two days, he would take up Howard's offer. He was still on Earth, busy signing salvation contracts and assembling his group and equipment.

Howard had told him where Quatre was hospitalised and Duo took the stairs to the fourth floor. He heard voices coming from the room.

"What else is there to do?" Trowa.

"I need to go back to the company and take over from what my father left me." Quatre sounded sad. "I think I have to give up all my freedom to become a boring manager."

"Good morning Quatre," Duo said and waltzed into the room. "Trowa, nice to see you."

Trowa rose to give him a hand, and Quatre waved. Duo took a chair.

"How are you?"

"Doing better now. The wound was thankfully a clear cut. I'll tell you about it another time. I need some rest and I'll be up and around before you know it."

"I'm glad you're okay, both of you," Duo said and he meant it genuinely. He didn't know if the others could hear it from his voice, but they both said the same to him.

Silence fell.

"What are your plans, Quatre? Did I hear something about returning to your father's business?"

The blond Arabian nodded. "You may not know this Duo, but my father died in the war too. I witnessed his death and..." He swallowed. "I have to take up the business. We can do a lot of reconstruction work on the colonies and help the colonists out by rebuilding their homes."

Trowa cut in. "I'm going to go back to the travelling circus I used to use for undercover purposes."

"Back to Catherine?" Duo asked.

"She's going through official paperwork to establish our kinship," he said. "Soon we'll officially be brother and sister."

"Congratulations, that's great news," Duo said. He didn't even feel jealous.

"Do you know something about Heero?"

"No, he's still gone. I think it's maybe for the better too."

"Why is that?"

"You can see for yourself. Everybody wants to lure him into a trap. They want to celebrate big of course, and make him the hero of all times. Without a doubt, he anticipated something like that and is keeping a low profile at the moment."

"Good thinking, I was going to get worried about him. How about you, Duo?"

"Huh, me? Well, I'm thinking of returning to outer space with the Sweepers." He quickly explained what they were doing. "They're as close to family as I ever got."

"You need a comfortable place and if you find it with them, you'd better go with them," Quatre said. "You and Heero will be both easy targets, Heero because he saved the Earth, and you, because of your past and your switch to the Gundam side."

"Yeah…" Duo flinched, feeling cold inside, so cold.

Trowa changed the subject. "How about Wufei?"

"He was suddenly very talkative," Duo answered, thankful for the change of subject.

"He's probably just as confused as everybody. We're on the brink of a new beginning, reconstructing… rebuilding."

"His colony was blown up. He's got nowhere to return to."

"Dear Lord, that's harsh."

Again, silence reigned, but Duo wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable. He decided he stayed out his welcome and that it was time to leave. He stood up to say goodbye.

"Come visit us again, Duo," Quatre said and from the look in his eyes, Duo could tell he really meant it. It made him feel a little bit better and he smiled. He made his way back to his bedroom virtually unnoticed. Wufei was nowhere to be seen and Duo felt suddenly so lonely and sad that he sat down on his bed and almost choked on his tears. If this is how war ends… maybe I don't want it to end after all.

----------

Two days passed by and still no sign of Heero. People were getting worried, until Relena came with the news that she had seen Heero. On her way to another meeting, on the day of her birthday event, she was walking towards her plane when a mechanic had bumped into her.

She hadn't recognized him at first sight and was surprised to find a teddy bear on her seat. That made her think of Heero and when she looked outside, she had him seen walking over the ramp. At the same moment, he had looked back at her and waved a little.

"So he's still alive," Quatre murmured when Duo brought him the news. "I'm curious to find out when he returns."

"I'm not going to wait for him," Duo said and it sounded a lot harsher than he intended. "I've chosen to go with the Sweepers. I can't… I can't stay here."

"I'm sorry that you feel that way," Quatre said, "but I understand. It's going to take time, Duo. You're strong enough to find your way back to us."

"You're kidding. Not one of you wants to see me back."

"You've come through for us during the war and you were on our side in the decisive battle," Trowa said voice calm and low. "That says enough to me."

"My instructor, H, who built the Sandrock Gundam for me, told me about you. The scientists kept in touch, albeit sporadically in the war. H knew, as well as the others, what happened to you. I know that you're the one and only pilot 02. For all that matters… you were the one who opened Deathscythe's hatch, even though the world's most known hackers and Heero had tried to enter it. That says enough."

"Hmm," Duo barely mumbled. "I still stand by my decision. I'm going to leave Deathscythe here, as you asked, Quatre."

Quatre had told him about his plan to destroy the Gundams. The suits weren't regarded as a symbol of peace, as they had been the harbingers of death and destruction. Quatre thought it would be a good gesture for the world to see if they were destroyed. The Gundam would be the first in the movement of discarding all weapons in the world. Duo wasn't really sure if he agreed or not, but seeing that both Quatre and Trowa gave up both their Gundams so easily, he felt like he really had no choice. He regretted it anyway. He'd had such short time to get to know Deathscythe and he was a reliable partner.

"Thank you," Quatre said. "Do you want to leave a message for Heero? I'm sure he's going to come here, sooner or later."

"Just tell him I went with the Sweepers. If he's the great hacker and searcher as everybody's making him out to be, he'll find me." I know he'll find me. He has found me before.

Trowa nodded. Quatre looked at him expectantly. Duo rose from his chair and shook their hands.

"I hope you both fare well."

"Fare well, Duo Maxwell. Until we meet again."

-----------

Duo had very little to pack. The clothes he wore were donated by a first aid institute, and almost everything he owned he had left behind during his scramble from the Lunar Base.

According to the latest rumours, Chang Wufei had gone back to China. Duo didn't need to go to the hangar to see Nataku gone. He wondered if Quatre was ever able to reach Wufei to ask him to give up his Gundam. He doubted the Chinese warrior to give up his beloved Nataku without a second thought.

He stood in the middle of the room as if he was going to say goodbye. He took off his silver chain with the crucifix and put the jewellery onto the desk. Heaving a sigh, Duo turned around and left the room.

Duo found Howard busy giving instructions to a few young kids. Howard waved at him when he saw him approaching.

"Do you still have a place on your ship?"

"For you always," Howard said with a smile. "We're leaving tonight after dinner, make sure you've got everything you want to bring with you. We're heading for L2 first. We already have a branch office there."

"Hilde," Duo nodded.

"You got it. She has a clean bill of health again."

"I'm glad to hear that. It'll be nice to see her again." Duo was relieved. "All right, I'll join you tonight."

----------

After dinner, Duo made his way to the ship. Howard waited for him and looked at him over the brim of his sunglasses.

"Everything all right, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Duo answered and hurled the duffle bag into the cargo room.

"Let's go."

The launch went smoothly and Duo gazed outside the window, while the large vessel slowly moved throughout space. So many memories.He felt empty, even though he was returning to space. A few fellow Sweepers came to him to congratulate him. Their warm welcome lifted Duo's mood; he was really starting to convince himself that he had made the right decision- for once. Maybe he could cast off the shackles of his past and rebuild his own life, preferably with Heero-- finding love, gaining a new life. He smiled at the thought.

It was getting late and the majority of the crew was looking for a place to bunk. Duo was assigned a room on the other side of the hallway and he opened the door. When he clicked on the light switch, Heero jumped up from the little desk in the middle of the room.

"Where did you come from?" Duo was baffled. Heero closed his laptop and turned around.

"I've been on Earth all the time."

"What were you doing?" Duo closed the little distance between them and put his hands on Heero's shoulders.

"I had to... get my mind straight." Heero was shaking, not from the cold. "Is it really over now? Really?"

"From what I know, Relena has assumed her father's office. I can't think of anyone else more suitable for the job. She's constructing a good, healthy organization, the Earth Sphere United Nations. With a bit of luck... we're going towards the path of total pacifism."

"You don't sound too convinced." Heero moved to the bed. He didn't need to motion Duo to come over. "I saved the Earth and the war is over. What am I to do now?"

"There are wars everywhere." Duo touched him again at the shoulder. "Relena's a good-hearted girl and she's got great plans, but they'll fail as long as she wants to suppress the desire to fight in mankind."

"Are you suggesting we should look up another war?"

"No. I don't want to get involved into a war. That would be killing me, and you, Heero."

"Are you going to follow me?"

"Maybe. I don't know." Duo hung his head. "I'm not really myself, you know."

"Treize is dead. You're no longer bound to him."

"He'll follow me from the grave. I'm reminded of him everywhere where I go. I don't even know who I am. What am I going to do? Be a burden to you?"

"You're not a burden."

"Oh yes I am. You don't realise it."

"I didn't think you could wallow in that much self pity, Duo. I'm not going to give it to you. You were strong enough to survive a war on your own. You were the last to fully join us, but I think you're even more of a Gundam pilot than we're all together."

"Stop it. Don't lie."

Heero dangled the silver crucifix in front of Duo. "I didn't go through all that trouble to give this back to a coward."

"I'm not a coward," Duo said. He trembled. "I'm a liar, an ex-OZ soldier, a..."

"You're an idiot," Heero stated. "An idiot for even allowing yourself to so much self pity. That's not how I know you. That's not how I want to know you."

"Maybe you were wrong all the time," Duo said, eyes narrowing slightly. "Maybe you now see the true me, and it doesn't please you."

"What crap for someone who calls himself the God of Death," Heero mocked him.

"More crap for someone who saved the world, and ran off like a frightening bird! You never even told me that you needed to get your mind straight, you… you loser!"

He pounded at Heero's shoulder, and suddenly the dam broke. "You are so fucking perfect! Everybody and the world is looking up at you, gushing that you're the hero, the great and good soldier who didn't even hesitate to sacrifice his life! And me?"

He waited for Heero to answer, but when he remained silent, Duo continued himself. "I'm an ex OZ officer, stripped of rank and honour, who doesn't even know where he stands and can only nag and whine about his place on the Earth… or in space. God, what makes you even think that I can be of any good to you… our relationship?"

Heero held up his hand, with the silver crucifix still dangling from his fingers. "I think I keep this for a while. You need to deserve it back from me."

"It's a priceless gift," Duo growled.

"And you gave it to me first," Heero answered. "You gave more to me than this, Duo. Why can't you see what you all gave to me?"

"I don't understand…"

"Come closer to me."

Duo complied, anxiety and confusion written on his face.

"What are we?"

"What?" He didn't know what Heero meant.

"You asked me the same question on the Peacemillion. What are we?"

"We're not soldiers anymore." Duo gazed into Heero's eyes.

"What are we?" He repeated.

"Friends or lovers?"

"What are we?" Heero asked again and Duo saw that it wasn't a game. Heero's expression was deadly serious. The silver crucifix tingled.

"We're lovers," Duo answered. "We're friends. We're partners. We're us."

"That's all I wanted to know." Heero lifted up his hands. "I don't need to know more."

"As long as we're together." Duo leaned forward.

"As long as we're together." Heero repeated. They kissed a long, fierce kiss.

They didn't exchange any other words until the morning came, watching a sunset in space, hands intertwined.

End