Just give me a reason
Just a little bit's enough... Just a second we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
It's in the stars... It's been written in the scars on our hearts
We're not broken just bent... And we can learn to love again
-Lyrics to 'Just Give Me a reason' performed by Pink and Nate Ruess
Elements of Great Design Epilogue
The world had changed quite drastically from those days of Gaia. It had taken on several names and the lands had spread out over vast oceans varying in shapes and sizes and their own entities.
Magic had faded along with the mystical creatures that it created... wiping their histories from the knowledge of the people carrying on. The length of life spans had shortened dramatically compared to those extended by gifts.
Through all the many twists and turns, the one thing that remained the same was the four elements, life and death. Even they came in and out of existence in different forms, had new and various backgrounds to help them move along together as they needed to protect the survival of mankind and the Creator's way. And though their maker had many names of His own, be it God or any other entity He remained the one and only creator looking over all.
If Gaia, now Earth, was drastic enough of a shift from its original state, space became a new field of focus with the arrival of colonies. The new monsters replacing dragons and the like were man-made robots and mecha. Warfare had become a great deal more challenging being fought on so many different fronts and with so many people being gifted through the ways of technologies that could kill as quickly and easily as a cast spell.
But the peace had survived a series of new wars. All thanks to the Keepers and their preservers.
Sighing deeply, Heero Yuy leaned back against the furthest elevator wall from the doors. It had been two years since he vanished following the Mariemaia incident... a game that a frightened little girl manipulated by Dekim Barton was not ready for.
Inwardly, he smirked. Normally the Creator was not one to bring familiar faces or names back into play... however when even they were needed they would make their appearances again. And they would eventually fade away for the rest of eternity at the end of their lives.
The best way for the Perfect Soldier to understand the return of Relena, Zechs, Noin, Treize, Howard and so many others this time around was because they were meant to help him remember his own true purpose as quickly as possible.
Of course it was that simple.
Life had a much rougher start this time around than he ever had in the past. Stripped of not only his memories but the very thing that made him close to human, he had lost his way... until he came to stare into an oddly familiar pair of violet eyes one evening on a desolate harbor.
Those eyes haunted Heero for the longest time... stirring something inside of him akin to his former self. reassuring as it was to have something oddly familiar, the owner of those eyes started off as a source of frustration to the Wing pilot since he could not wrap around why he felt as though he knew the braided teenager.
Once the wars and the final fight had ended and Yuy disappeared, everything came back over time. Finally waking in a cold sweat, the wide-eyed soldier had regained every last memory. With that, his connection to the other Gundam pilots became all too clear as well...
...and he had run from all of them. Worst of all, he had run from the one creature who was in every sense of the words, his other half.
Now standing in the elevator that would take him to his office, all that Heero could do was hope that he had not burnt the bridges between himself and his family. When the lift came to a stop, his escort stepped out and to the side to make way for him as she adjusted her Preventer jacket.
"Last door at the end of the hall on the left," Commander Une smiled to her new agent. "It is an honor to have you along, Agent Life."
She did not get the meaning behind his requested code name... nor would she ever recognize him from the last time they'd met centuries upon centuries before. Such was for the best. No doubt she was longing to be reunited with Treize for the rest of their afterlife when she joined him again. There was no need for thoughts of happier times with her soul mate that were long gone.
Nodding firmly, Yuy replied sincerely, "Thank you." He took a deep breath and took the first nervous steps down the corridor.
When he was nearly half the distance to his destination, bright laughter poured from the opened door across from it. As soon as it reached Heero, his eyes widened and he froze so rigid that his knees almost buckled. Suddenly breaking out into a run for the room, he came to an abrupt halt once again when he looked upon the faces inside.
Gathered around the large, round table in the middle of the space as they ate lunch together were none other than four of the only beings he longed to see more than anything. Air. Water. Earth... and even Fire. Upon his arrival, the Keepers were stopped mid-conversation as their own enlarged eyes fell on their brother. All bearing Preventer uniforms, the lot blinked for a long moment before anyone moved.
It was particularly the face of the lovely redhead seated close to Wufei's side that nearly undid Yuy. A soft, sharp sigh escaping him, he walked in long strides to her at the same time that she shot to her feet and met him half-way in a tight embrace.
Raining kisses to her face, he ran a hand over the back of her head to run his fingers through her long, red curls. "Where have you been?" he breathed, feeling the already damaged walls that had been placed around his emotions crumble to the point that he began to mist over.
"Working behind the scenes," Anna giggled, her blue eyes misting over as they slowly pulled away and rested their foreheads together. "I got to cause my own bit of havoc infiltrating OZ, the White Fang and Mariemaia's army. Missed communicated orders, faulty weapons..." Biting her cheek, she added, "...electrical fires. That Zero system was meant to do a hell of a lot more damage than what it did cause after I took a few sparks to it."
It was just like Fire... always looking out for her brothers whether they were aware of it or not. Laughing, Heero held her fast again.
Trowa and Quatre were close by when their missing preserver was freed to greet them. Exchanging one-armed embraces, the three smiled on each other for the first time in months. "It hasn't been the same without you," Winner commented. "Good of you to come back home."
Lightly nudging his lover, Barton snorted, "You know as well as anyone that sometimes it takes a little longer than others in this group to remember where we belong." Raising an eyebrow, he stated, "I seem to recall from our last existences that you took your dear sweet time coming around. I was left to deal with seeing our siblings happy in their pairings for years before you decided to come around." A sheepish grin tugging his lips, Water ducked his head.
Wufei stepped into the scene, saying, "All that matters is that we always reconnect... the means to it may not be ideal but they are what they are." If nothing else, the Earth Keeper was well aware of that much in this new life. There was a hint of hesitation in his approaching Heero since they had not exactly parted on the best of terms due to his involvement with Mariemaia's army.
Clearing his throat, he held out an open hand. "I do hope that you will forgive my transgressions," he frowned deeply, "I truly did not know myself when we last met up. I was... pretty lost..."
"There is nothing to forgive. I can relate to how you felt back then," Yuy reassured, foregoing the handshake and pulling his brother into an embrace instead. Shoulders sagging in relief, Chang returned the warm gesture in kind.
Returning to Anna's side, Wufei smiled lovingly at her as he chuckled deeply, "The moment this one came to enlist with the Preventers a few months ago, everything came back... it all just fell into place and I was whole again."
His lover blinked the tears that had begun to shift her vision and gave the same adoring grin while she cupped his face in a trembling hand. In the light, the redhead's uniform nameplate on her chest glistened with the name 'Agent Firefly.' Smiling sadly, she brushed the ShenLong pilot's cheek as she whispered, "See, my love. No need to ever go back to that place again."
Gently grasping her hand with their gazes still locked, Chang turned his head to kiss her palm. Forgetting that they were not alone, the forever tied pair leaned in to partake in a sweet kiss.
What those Keepers shared was the very thing that Heero had craved... had needed from the moment he gathered his senses.
Swallowing roughly, he inquired softly, "I haven't... I didn't hurt Duo... did I?"
Trowa folded his arms, warning, "Oh, he's plenty mad at you for being away all this time." To the mortified expression on his brother's face, he snickered, "But I wouldn't worry too much. You know he'll forget all of that when he sees you again."
"And I wouldn't waste another moment if I was you," Quatre suggested, smirking. "We'll have plenty of time to catch up once you've both had the chance." Gesturing to the corridor behind Life, he informed, "He's busy finishing up a report that Lady Une needs on her desk before the end of the day." Shaking his head, he laughed, "Procrastinated on his work until the last minute, at no surprise to you I am sure."
For only a brief second. Heero was reluctant to leave his family after just being reunited with them. But then there was still the one his soul ached for the most. With a smirk and a wink to his siblings, he turned and reentered the hallway to pause before the closed door.
Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and knocked.
"I promise I'm eating the lunch you dropped off, Quatre," came the voice that had slipped into nearly every last one of his dreams. "And if it's Anna, I would love to play some pranks on the new recruits being brought in, but I'm still too busy."
Snorting under his breath, Yuy knocked once more.
On the other side of the door, paper rustling could be heard followed by a muttered, "Oh, for the love of..." The door slid open with a half-snapped, "Come in, already. You all give me grief over slacking but you have no problem interrupting when I-"
Seated behind his desk, Maxwell's fingers were frozen over his computer's keyboard when Heero entered the room. Back rigid and eyes as wide as they could manage, the son of Shinigami was just as remarkably beautiful as Life remembered him to be. Breath hitching in his throat, the Wing pilot walked into the room as the door slid closed behind him.
"H-Heero," Duo breathed. Rising onto shaky legs, he rounded his work station, never blinking out of fear that the creature before him might disappear again. He came to rest before his soul mate at arm's length. Chewing on his bottom lip, he asked, "You... remember, then?"
Without hesitation, Yuy nodded, "Everything."
Keeping his tone flat, Agent Death questioned, "No more running... or self-destructing?"
Unable to help himself in wanting to lighten the mood, Heero grinned, "Well, you cannot kill Life." The flash of anger in his long-time lover's haunting violet eyes made him sober and vow solemnly, "No more of any of that. You will have me for the rest of this existence and every other to come just as always."
Finally, that smile he loved spread its way across Duo's face. "Good," he sighed.
In that small response, it was clear that air had been right... all had been forgiven unconditionally.
Sealing the promise forever written in their hearts, Life and Death closed the distance between each other to cling onto one another and poured every 'I love you' and bit of emotion into a passionate kiss.
"What about your report?" Heero asked when he felt nimble fingers working the buttons of his uniform shirt free.
Duo laughed and nibbled his partner's lip before he purred, "Lady Une knows I never get anything to her on time. She'll give me an extension. Right now, this is a hell of a lot more important."
One thing that the wickedly smirking Perfect Soldier was not about to do was argue with the favorite son of Death.
Despite their existences many changes... the most important things remained the same... the greatest elements of the Creator's design...
Family... Love... And a purpose they provided to live and fight for them.
OWARI
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