7A/N: The first time I heard the song "If The World Was Ending" by JP Saxe and Julia Michaels, I knew I had to craft a story around it (if you feel like ugly crying with me, please go give it a listen). This bittersweet fic is the result. If you're familiar with my work, you know I don't usually steer far from a Happily Ever After guaranteed, so this is different from my usual fare. I hope you can appreciate some romantic angst this Valentine's Day.
Love love love,
– RFP
"We interrupt this broadcast to declare a state of international emergency. The International Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has detected a significant environmental event that will impact the greater Earth Sphere. You and your loved ones should seek the nearest fallout shelter immediately. Please stand by for further area updates."
Heero Yuy should have been on Earth when the asteroid hit. But he had been on a Preventers mission on an outer colony when the news broke, and he had a hell of a time securing safe passage back to L1, let alone the Earth itself. ESUN had predicted an event of this magnitude months ago, but asteroids were notoriously unpredictable. There was always the chance it would miss. In the past, they always did.
Not this time.
Once it was clear that there was nothing to do about the impending doom but to shelter in place, Heero made up his mind that he was going to do whatever the hell he had to do to get back to Earth before disaster struck.
Back to Brussels.
Back to her.
I was distracted and in traffic
I didn't feel it when the earthquake happened
But it really got me thinking
Were you out drinking
Were you in the living room chilling watching television
"I'm sorry, sir, but there are no shuttles leaving for Eart– ugh!"
The spaceport worker guarding the private shuttle didn't stand a chance. Heero knocked him out with an expert chop to a pressure point on his neck, and started up the shuttle controls. He knew he was being stupid and selfish, and felt a stab of guilt over what he was about to do. Undoubtedly there were hundreds of thousands of colonists who wished they could do the same, race to Earth to be with their loved ones. It wasn't fair. But Heero had learned a long time ago that life was far from fair. And if he had the chance to get back to her, he had to take it.
It's been a year now
Think I figured out how
How to let you go and let communication die out
As Heero fired up the controls and navigated the shuttle out of the hangar opening, off the colony and into space, it was her face that lit up the screen before him, her voice that echoed in his mind, her lips, her hands that caressed him, her body entwining with his.
His jaw clenched as he hurtled the shuttle toward Earth, ignoring the flashing "red alert" that warned him he was approaching the atmosphere too fast. His shuttle was heating up. He didn't care. He had to get to her.
He couldn't believe he'd let a year pass without so much as contacting her. He'd had his reasons, but each one was irrelevant, now. Sorry excuses. Lies he'd told himself, to make it easier.
He was a coward, and it had cost him.
He'd lost her.
But he needed to find her, hold her, one last time. Regardless of what had happened between them, he had made her a promise, long ago, to protect her. He would die fulfilling that promise. It was the only acceptable outcome.
The shuttle blazed through the atmosphere at record-breaking speeds.
He was on fire.
I know you know we know
You weren't down for forever and it's fine
I know you know we know
We weren't meant for each other and it's fine
Stars twinkled in the midnight sky above him on the beach along the Belgian coastline where he'd landed his stolen shuttle. He couldn't help but wonder, would the starlight be snuffed out when it was all over? Or would the stars continue to shine on in defiance while the world burned?
He hot-wired the first vehicle he came across and sped toward Brussels. He was running out of time. Occasionally, he'd cast a wistful glance at the stars outside the window as the world blurred by him.
Star-crossed. Soulmates. Meant to be. Terms he'd heard others use to describe what the two of them shared. Their uncanny connection. Body and soul. He hadn't experienced anything like it since, and knew he never would again.
And yet he'd left. He'd left because he'd felt he had to, because he didn't know what else to do. There was nothing he could say or do to change that or make things better. He knew it was far too little, too late. But here he was, his heart in his hands, racing against time to get back to her.
Even if he was out of time to say anything at all.
But if the world was ending you'd come over, right?
You'd come over and you'd stay the night
Would you love me for the hell of it?
All our fears would be irrelevant
If the world was ending you'd come over, right?
The sky'd be falling and I'd hold you tight
And there wouldn't be a reason why
We would even have to say goodbye
If the world was ending you'd come over, right?
Right?
If the world was ending you'd come over, right?
Right?
"Vice Foreign Minister Darlian!" The young aide ran up to her, panting, sweat beading on his forehead. "We have to leave!" he bellowed, gesturing wildly at the door. "Now!"
Relena sighed and pushed up from her large wooden desk, smoothing her skirt with her hands. Panicking wouldn't do anyone any good; she'd learned that firsthand a long time ago.
"Try to stay calm, Devin," she said with a smile. "Everything will be all right."
The aide looked at her as if she had grown two heads. Maybe she had, or would. Maybe aliens would attack them next.
Not that Relena wasn't taking the asteroid threat seriously; she was. She had taken every precaution to ensure that the rest of her staff was all safe; as safe as they could be. She'd closed her office hours ago, yet she remained, because she was still waiting.
But she couldn't wait any longer.
It was time.
I tried to imagine your reaction
It didn't scare me when the earthquake happened
But it really got me thinking
The night we went drinking
Stumbled in the house and didn't make it past the kitchen
Relena smiled as the memories surfaced, while Devin escorted her and another stubborn dignitary to the elevator that would take them to the underground shelter below the ESUN building. The older politician gave Relena an exasperated look, undoubtedly baffled over how she could be smiling at a time like this.
But her thoughts remained elsewhere. Thoughts of stolen moments, secret kisses, first-time fumbling in the dark…
His hands, his shoulders, his back, his stomach, his lips, his hair, his eyes… Wild and sensual and feral and completely, utterly hers.
Oh, it's been a year now
Think I figured out how
How to think about you without it ripping my heart out
Had it really been so long since she'd heard from him last? She checked her phone, just for the hell of it. After all, she had nothing else to do during this awkward elevator ride.
She opened up her last message from him, sent… one year ago, almost to the day.
And I know you know we know
You weren't down for forever and it's fine
I know you know we know
We weren't meant for each other and it's fine
Her eyes glistened, and the tears stung. She'd meant to write him or call him back; really, she had. But a stupid, stubborn part of her refused. It just hurt too much.
But now… now, if she had the chance, even just a moment, to tell him...
But if the world was ending you'd come over, right?
You'd come over and you'd stay the night
Would you love me for the hell of it?
All our fears would be irrelevant
If the world was ending you'd come over, right?
The sky'd be falling while I hold you tight
No, there wouldn't be a reason why
We would even have to say goodbye
Pain struck Relena's chest, and she thrust out her hand to stop the elevator doors from closing.
"What are you doing?!" the aide screamed at her.
"Foolish girl," the dignitary spat.
Relena shot them both an apologetic smile, but otherwise ignored their admonitions as she slipped through the elevator doors, onto the lobby floor of the ESUN building.
She couldn't go underground. Not just yet. Not without trying to reach him, at least once.
Taking in a deep, shaky breath, Relena picked up her phone once again, and tapped on his name to dial his number.
She could do this. She had to try.
She had to say goodbye.
If the world was ending you'd come over, right?
You'd come over, right?
You'd come over, you'd come over, you'd come over, right?
Mmm…
The call went straight to his voicemail, which was just a simple tone. He'd never bothered creating a mailbox with his name, or rather his alias. Not that she blamed him; she knew how much he valued his autonomy.
But what she wouldn't give to hear his voice in her ear, one last time.
Heero hit the dial button again, and once again got Relena's voicemail. Her cheerful, feminine, beautiful voice filled his head and for a split second, he closed his eyes, envisioning her before him, all golden hair and sapphire eyes.
He could see her now…
Relena wandered outside in a daze. The world around her was in pandemonium, in stark contrast to the empty glass building she'd just left. People were everywhere, running left and right, racing to find shelters that weren't already full. Relena's understanding was that most were at capacity. She was lucky to still have a spot.
But she couldn't take it. Not when she didn't know where he was. She knew he was in space, probably. And that meant he would be safe, as long as the colonies could hold out without any support from the greater Earth Sphere. Which should be for a long, long time, since the colonies were designed to be self-sufficient. By the time they needed more resources, the Earth would be in recovery.
She hoped.
Heero parked the SUV he'd stolen haphazardly on a sidewalk a few blocks away from the ESUN campus. There were too many bodies running about to get any closer without having to mow people down. And tempting as that was, Heero didn't want to leave this Earth with any more blood on his hands.
He made the rest of the way on foot, running in the opposite direction of people scrambling to find last-minute shelter, like a salmon swimming upstream.
Every step brought him closer, his feet pounding the pavement in time to the frantic beating of his heart. And her name was a heartbeat all its own, pulsing in his very core.
Relena.
Relena.
Relena.
She would make one more attempt. Hell, who was she kidding? She would keep trying until she reached him.
She would keep trying, until she couldn't try any more.
She hit dial again. She waited again. She heard the beep again. She hung up, then started the process over again.
Then, finally, there was no beep. There was a soft "click."
Her heart lifted.
"Relena."
His deep baritone wrapped around her like a warm blanket.
"Heero."
I know you know we know
You weren't down for forever and it's fine
I know you know we know
We weren't meant for each other and it's fine
They both turned at the same time.
Relena's breath caught. Heero's eyes widened.
They both pocketed their phones.
They both rushed forward.
He opened his arms and she launched herself into them, at long last closing the distance between them.
But if the world was ending you'd come over, right?
You'd come over and you'd stay the night
Would you love me for the hell of it?
All our fears would be irrelevant
If the world was ending you'd come over, right?
The sky'd be falling while I hold you tight
No, there wouldn't be a reason why
We would even have to say goodbye
Heero caught Relena and clutched her to him. She held on just as tightly, winding her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. His hands stroked her back, her hair; her hands did the same to him, and they entangled themselves together in the middle of the deserted courtyard.
They pulled back just enough to press their foreheads together, and they both opened their eyes, ocean meeting the night sky. They smiled at one another, drinking one another in, taking in one final look as the lights from the buildings towering above them shut off one by one, cloaking them in darkness.
High above them, the stars continued to shine.
If the world was ending
You'd come over, right?
You'd come over, you'd come over, you'd come over, right?
Mmm…
Their lips found one another in the dark.
They kissed and held each other as silence fell.
If the world was ending you'd come over, right?
They stopped kissing long enough to reassure one another, while they both still had breath.
"I love you, Heero."
"I love you, Relena."
The area alarm blared one more time.
"Seek shelter immediately. This broadcast will go dark in five… four… three… two…"
A white light flashed all around them, enveloping them in its heavenly glow, lighting up both their faces. Their eyes met and held, and they smiled.
THE END
