Fic: This is how it ends (Rayne/Angilo)
PG-13, no warnings, set in the far future, in half-script canon and half-RP canon. Possibly won't make sense unless you know the canon.
*
First, the peace treaty with Mars is signed; second, war criminals are released; third, the formation of the new Martian government is officially recognized by Earth. Bit by bit, piece by piece, the separate and distinct governments between the two start to come together, even though there are still those who object.
Derek Rayne is in the thick of it, the whole time. He’s a war hero, he’s a symbol, he’s the man that Mars has chosen to represent their soul. And David Angilo refuses, point-blank, absolutely refuses to leave Rayne’s side.
Through all this, somehow, Rayne is still as silent as he ever was. Rarely cracks a smile.
It takes Angilo a long time to realize that Rayne, simply put, is not the kind of person who can let himself be happy.
~*~
One year after the formation of the new government, Rayne is elected to the position of Councilor, replacing Maurina d’Jorian. He moves back to Mars permanently, abandoning the tentative cohabitation he and Angilo have shared for a long time now.
Angilo resigns his military commission, and follows.
They curl close on the bed in Rayne’s new apartment, in Mars Prime, and Angilo can almost feel the bars trapping Rayne in this latest high-profile prison.
~*~
One year, four months. A terrorist attack decimates Mars Prime. Rayne searches frantically through hospital after hospital, before he finds Angilo, safe and sound, helping with what he can.
Rayne cries with relief when they have a moment alone. Angilo kisses him, just kisses him, until he’s all right again.
~*~
The sting of betrayal never fully fades.
Angilo still can’t stand the sight of Vivian. Vivian, for her part, remains eternally suspicious that Angilo has Earth’s best interests at heart. D’Jorian trusts Vivian’s word.
Rayne remains in an uneasy balance, unwilling to let go of any of the three.
~*~
Three years, and they’re still together.
That’s almost five years since they first slept together, first fumbled on Angilo’s couch, first united to pull Rayne back from the ledge on which he eternally lingers.
They don’t make love as often, anymore. Rayne’s starting to have long-term breathing troubles from the gas at Toridia; the Martian government doesn’t have the funds to get the veterans the health care they require.
Angilo doesn’t have a solution. All he does is listen, and stay silent when Rayne’s breath gets too raspy - Rayne doesn’t like him pointing it out.
~*~
Three years, eight months.
Angilo surprises Rayne one morning, and, for a moment, he can feel Rayne lose himself in the moment. They’re equals, even for a second, equal and in love and it’s perfect.
Barely a minute afterwards, Rayne’s eyes shade over again.
~*~
This isn’t to say that it’s all bad. Rayne loves Angilo; Angilo loves Rayne. This isn’t a fact either of them can change or deny. And whatever pain they suffer together, it’s a thousand times harder apart.
~*~
Three years, nine months. A reporter calls, asking Rayne to reveal his story in a memoir.
Rayne refuses. He hardly looks at Angilo, for almost a day.
~*~
Three years, eleven months, and a war reparations board claims Angilo should be on trial for rape and sexual exploitation. This isn’t the first time these accusations have come to light.
Angilo defends himself adequately.
Rayne goes public and gives a scathing speech about the vengeful spirit of Mars that’s not even specifically against that particular group.
The reparations board fades away, quietly.
The next time Angilo sees d’Jorian, she gives him a faint smile. He suspects that she may have had something to do with it.
More than that, Angilo thinks that maybe Rayne could only give a speech like that if he knew the problem intimately. If he was afflicted with it.
If he, in fact, wanted revenge.
~*~
Four years, one month since the formation of the new Martian government. Vivian disappears, leaving d’Jorian a coolly worded warning not to come looking for her.
D’Jorian stays the night at Rayne and Angilo’s, getting drunk. The conversation is stilted until nearly three in the morning. Then, Angilo hands d’Jorian her latest drink, looks her in the eye, and tells her that he would do anything to keep Rayne safe.
For the first time, she believes him.
~*~
The next morning, when d’Jorian leaves, Rayne lingers in the doorway. He doesn’t speak much, the rest of the day.
~*~
Four years, six months.
The days whirl by, one at a time, like leaves in a toronado. Angilo can hardly count the passage of time.
Then he and Rayne separate, as Angilo goes back to Earth to deal with his unfinished business there.
Then, the days drag by, slow and sure. But they’re more peaceful, and Angilo wonders, he really wonders, if that’s what he wants.
~*~
Four years, nine months, Angilo returns.
He’s never felt Rayne quite so fervent before.
He resolves either to leave more often or to never, ever leave again.
~*~
When Vivian comes back, she’s different. What was cool has warmed; what Angilo now realizes was pain has become peace.
She tells them she’s dying.
~*~
Five years, six months, and there are tears, but the only people who really know Vivian’s name are the ones who won’t tell it to history. Her contribution will be lost.
She would probably like it that way.
~*~
By the sixth year, it seems like Rayne has pneumonia more often than not. Angilo stays up with him, taking care of him, and Rayne, in return, rarely lets go of Angilo’s hand.
It seems a distant universe where Rayne was once Angilo’s prisoner, and all he could do was comfort; now, Angilo pulls Rayne towards freedom every day, and all Rayne does is look away.
Maybe he’s more comfortable behind bars.
~*~
Angilo asks Rayne, once, if he’s happy.
“Yes,” lies Rayne, in response.
~*~
The requests for interviews, memoirs, biographies have mostly faded away.
Nonetheless, six years and nine months after the end of the second Earth-Mars War, a reporter calls, from a Terran news network, asking Rayne for a public interview.
Rayne hangs up.
The reporter calls back.
Rayne hangs up again.
Not to be outdone, the reporter leaves more than fifteen messages. Rayne calls back; Rayne accepts.
~*~
Six years, ten months. Rayne returns to Earth for the first time since he gave up his freedom to save Angilo’s life. A crowd greets him as he exits the spacecraft.
Angilo tenses, preparing for a riot.
Then - then, they burst into applause.
They cheer.
There are signs, here and there, for Martian sympathy groups, for veterans’ organizations, for prisoner rights groups. Hostile faces are rare and far between.
~*~
‘The Human Heart Has Triumphed’, reads the headline; the picture underneath is of Rayne clasping hands with the mother of a dead Terran soldier.
~*~
Rayne smiles, hesitantly, when he’s on television.
~*~
And he cries like a child when he gets back to the hotel room. Hard, sobbing - though not clinging to Angilo, not holding on too hard. For once, for once, it’s like he can hold himself together, and he doesn’t need Angilo.
But - he wants Angilo.
~*~
There’s a similar crowd that gathers when Rayne is leaving. News cameras, reporters, even the President of the United States (largely a ceremonial title, these days).
Hesitantly, Rayne touches Angilo’s shoulder, his cheek, and presses a kiss to his mouth. It’s broadcast to every news network in the world, then re-aired on Venus, the stations, and Mars.
~*~
There’s something different in Rayne, after that.
~*~
“Are you happy?” asks Angilo, stroking Rayne’s hair back from his face.
Rayne smiles, wickedly.
And no; no, he doesn’t have to say.
*
First, the peace treaty with Mars is signed; second, war criminals are released; third, the formation of the new Martian government is officially recognized by Earth. Bit by bit, piece by piece, the separate and distinct governments between the two start to come together, even though there are still those who object.
Derek Rayne is in the thick of it, the whole time. He’s a war hero, he’s a symbol, he’s the man that Mars has chosen to represent their soul. And David Angilo refuses, point-blank, absolutely refuses to leave Rayne’s side.
Through all this, somehow, Rayne is still as silent as he ever was. Rarely cracks a smile.
It takes Angilo a long time to realize that Rayne, simply put, is not the kind of person who can let himself be happy.
~*~
One year after the formation of the new government, Rayne is elected to the position of Councilor, replacing Maurina d’Jorian. He moves back to Mars permanently, abandoning the tentative cohabitation he and Angilo have shared for a long time now.
Angilo resigns his military commission, and follows.
They curl close on the bed in Rayne’s new apartment, in Mars Prime, and Angilo can almost feel the bars trapping Rayne in this latest high-profile prison.
~*~
One year, four months. A terrorist attack decimates Mars Prime. Rayne searches frantically through hospital after hospital, before he finds Angilo, safe and sound, helping with what he can.
Rayne cries with relief when they have a moment alone. Angilo kisses him, just kisses him, until he’s all right again.
~*~
The sting of betrayal never fully fades.
Angilo still can’t stand the sight of Vivian. Vivian, for her part, remains eternally suspicious that Angilo has Earth’s best interests at heart. D’Jorian trusts Vivian’s word.
Rayne remains in an uneasy balance, unwilling to let go of any of the three.
~*~
Three years, and they’re still together.
That’s almost five years since they first slept together, first fumbled on Angilo’s couch, first united to pull Rayne back from the ledge on which he eternally lingers.
They don’t make love as often, anymore. Rayne’s starting to have long-term breathing troubles from the gas at Toridia; the Martian government doesn’t have the funds to get the veterans the health care they require.
Angilo doesn’t have a solution. All he does is listen, and stay silent when Rayne’s breath gets too raspy - Rayne doesn’t like him pointing it out.
~*~
Three years, eight months.
Angilo surprises Rayne one morning, and, for a moment, he can feel Rayne lose himself in the moment. They’re equals, even for a second, equal and in love and it’s perfect.
Barely a minute afterwards, Rayne’s eyes shade over again.
~*~
This isn’t to say that it’s all bad. Rayne loves Angilo; Angilo loves Rayne. This isn’t a fact either of them can change or deny. And whatever pain they suffer together, it’s a thousand times harder apart.
~*~
Three years, nine months. A reporter calls, asking Rayne to reveal his story in a memoir.
Rayne refuses. He hardly looks at Angilo, for almost a day.
~*~
Three years, eleven months, and a war reparations board claims Angilo should be on trial for rape and sexual exploitation. This isn’t the first time these accusations have come to light.
Angilo defends himself adequately.
Rayne goes public and gives a scathing speech about the vengeful spirit of Mars that’s not even specifically against that particular group.
The reparations board fades away, quietly.
The next time Angilo sees d’Jorian, she gives him a faint smile. He suspects that she may have had something to do with it.
More than that, Angilo thinks that maybe Rayne could only give a speech like that if he knew the problem intimately. If he was afflicted with it.
If he, in fact, wanted revenge.
~*~
Four years, one month since the formation of the new Martian government. Vivian disappears, leaving d’Jorian a coolly worded warning not to come looking for her.
D’Jorian stays the night at Rayne and Angilo’s, getting drunk. The conversation is stilted until nearly three in the morning. Then, Angilo hands d’Jorian her latest drink, looks her in the eye, and tells her that he would do anything to keep Rayne safe.
For the first time, she believes him.
~*~
The next morning, when d’Jorian leaves, Rayne lingers in the doorway. He doesn’t speak much, the rest of the day.
~*~
Four years, six months.
The days whirl by, one at a time, like leaves in a toronado. Angilo can hardly count the passage of time.
Then he and Rayne separate, as Angilo goes back to Earth to deal with his unfinished business there.
Then, the days drag by, slow and sure. But they’re more peaceful, and Angilo wonders, he really wonders, if that’s what he wants.
~*~
Four years, nine months, Angilo returns.
He’s never felt Rayne quite so fervent before.
He resolves either to leave more often or to never, ever leave again.
~*~
When Vivian comes back, she’s different. What was cool has warmed; what Angilo now realizes was pain has become peace.
She tells them she’s dying.
~*~
Five years, six months, and there are tears, but the only people who really know Vivian’s name are the ones who won’t tell it to history. Her contribution will be lost.
She would probably like it that way.
~*~
By the sixth year, it seems like Rayne has pneumonia more often than not. Angilo stays up with him, taking care of him, and Rayne, in return, rarely lets go of Angilo’s hand.
It seems a distant universe where Rayne was once Angilo’s prisoner, and all he could do was comfort; now, Angilo pulls Rayne towards freedom every day, and all Rayne does is look away.
Maybe he’s more comfortable behind bars.
~*~
Angilo asks Rayne, once, if he’s happy.
“Yes,” lies Rayne, in response.
~*~
The requests for interviews, memoirs, biographies have mostly faded away.
Nonetheless, six years and nine months after the end of the second Earth-Mars War, a reporter calls, from a Terran news network, asking Rayne for a public interview.
Rayne hangs up.
The reporter calls back.
Rayne hangs up again.
Not to be outdone, the reporter leaves more than fifteen messages. Rayne calls back; Rayne accepts.
~*~
Six years, ten months. Rayne returns to Earth for the first time since he gave up his freedom to save Angilo’s life. A crowd greets him as he exits the spacecraft.
Angilo tenses, preparing for a riot.
Then - then, they burst into applause.
They cheer.
There are signs, here and there, for Martian sympathy groups, for veterans’ organizations, for prisoner rights groups. Hostile faces are rare and far between.
~*~
‘The Human Heart Has Triumphed’, reads the headline; the picture underneath is of Rayne clasping hands with the mother of a dead Terran soldier.
~*~
Rayne smiles, hesitantly, when he’s on television.
~*~
And he cries like a child when he gets back to the hotel room. Hard, sobbing - though not clinging to Angilo, not holding on too hard. For once, for once, it’s like he can hold himself together, and he doesn’t need Angilo.
But - he wants Angilo.
~*~
There’s a similar crowd that gathers when Rayne is leaving. News cameras, reporters, even the President of the United States (largely a ceremonial title, these days).
Hesitantly, Rayne touches Angilo’s shoulder, his cheek, and presses a kiss to his mouth. It’s broadcast to every news network in the world, then re-aired on Venus, the stations, and Mars.
~*~
There’s something different in Rayne, after that.
~*~
“Are you happy?” asks Angilo, stroking Rayne’s hair back from his face.
Rayne smiles, wickedly.
And no; no, he doesn’t have to say.