Series: Dirty Pair Flash
Title: Please Come Back to Me
Author: Rann Aridorn
Warnings: Heaping amounts of shoujo ai angst

Please Come Back to Me
by
Rann Aridorn


      Yuri sat, her hands resting on her knees, staring straight ahead. Her blue 
and white 3WA uniform still bore the slashes and burns of her recent battle, 
but her eyes bore the hurt and pain of deep, scarring sorrow. They seemed to 
shake slightly, as over and over again.
      'Kei! Kei, you're taking the Lovely Angel in too close!'
      'Knock it off, Yuri, I can fly the damn ship! Oh, damn! Dammit, I'm hit!'
      'Eject! Get out of the ship, Kei!'
      'No... no, I can manage! They'll get away!'
      'Let them get away then! Kei, you're caught in the station's gravity!'
      'No, I can... oh, fuck!'
      'Kei! Kei, NOOOOOOO! KEI, I LOVE YOU!'
      A single tear trickled down her cheek, just as it did as she thought of the 
explosion of the sleek red starship impacting against the colony's 
habitation ring. Yuri had had to be helped out of the communications area, 
sobbing, almost totally incoherent. It didn't matter to her that she'd 
shouted her love to a rapidly-dissipating cloud of fire that had once been 
her partner, or that probably the whole sector had heard her. It didn't 
matter that the criminals that they had been pursuing had been killed in the 
explosion. None of it mattered.
      Kei was dead, and nothing would ever matter again.
      'I was never nice to her... well, she was never nice to me... but that 
shouldn't have mattered... it didn't matter... it didn't matter to my 
heart... oh, Kei...'
      "Agent Yuri? Agent Yuri?"
      Yuri eventually noticed the agent standing in front of her, saying her 
name. She looked up, silent, almost as if hurt by his very existence and 
wondering why he was there.
      "Agent Yuri... the transport's ready to take you home."
      Yuri almost asked 'Which home?' Would they take her to her cold, lonely 
apartment back on Earth, where somehow things would manage to remind her of 
Kei? Or would they ship her back to the backwater little colony world she'd 
been born on, back to a family that would be sympathetic, but without quite 
understanding how she could love another woman so much as to cause this 
sorrow?
      But it didn't matter to her where she went. Kei was dead, no matter where 
in the universe she would lay in bed and cry.

      It was back to Earth.
      The transport ride took three days, three days in which Yuri rarely came 
out of her room, only to eat, and only that because the ship's doctor would 
have been all over her if she hadn't. Yuri didn't want to be placed in 
counseling to "work through her grief". She didn't want to work through her 
grief. She wanted her grief.
      'It's all my fault, after all,' she reasoned as she walked through the 
dirty, crowded sidewalks that led from the spaceport to her little 
apartment. The oppressive human presence in this area might as well not have 
existed for her. 'If I'd been better to her... supporting her when I 
should've instead of always telling her she was being stubborn... or 
stupid... she might have listened to me when I told her to get out. It's my 
fault.'
      She found a large box on her doorstep, and it didn't take a second glance 
to tell that it was Kei's footlocker from 3WA headquarters. It had no real 
meaning for her, though; it didn't make her heart twinge, because there was 
only ice where her heart had been. She squatted down, detaching the little 
slip of paper, reading the explanation without really caring.
      Kei's family had moved to another colony planet, and like the 
frontier-breakers they considered themselves to be, hadn't bothered to leave 
a forwarding address. Without anyone else to send it to, Kei's possessions 
had been shipped to her partner, just like so many bachelor cops of 
centuries earlier. The locker was heavy, and had probably taken two grown 
delivery men a lot of straining and grunting to get it here. Yuri hauled it 
up by one end and dragged it into the bedroom by herself. While she was a 
good deal stronger than her slender teenage girl's frame looked, she still 
felt muscles pull out of place in her arms and back. Didn't matter. The pain 
had no power to touch her anymore.
      Not bothering with lights, Yuri let the footlocker thump heavily on the 
floor. After a moment, she realized that she was still wearing her dirty and 
ripped uniform, having never bothered to throw the memory plastic garments 
into the regenerator. She didn't bother with it now, instead simply taking 
it off and tossing it aside. Now clad in nothing but a few mostly-healed 
blaster burns, soot, and her long purple hair, Yuri knelt down, not 
bothering to look at the missive to find out the combination, instead just 
punching it in and hearing the hiss of the bolts popping open.
      'Guess I knew you a little better than you thought, Kei.' She lifted the 
lid, her dead-seeming eyes scanning over the remnants of her unrequited 
love's proffessional life. Two extra uniforms, still folded and bagged 
(memory plastic was hard to destroy beyond its ability to regenerate, but 
the Lovely Angels had already forced the producers of the uniforms to have 
to rewrite THAT advertising more than once). Standard-issue toolkit, 
first-aid kit, and laptop computer. The first-aid kit was partly open, 
showing the contents inside as having been rummaged around in hastily more 
than once. A smile almost came to Yuri's lips as she remembered Kei cursing, 
one hand tucked against her armpit as she used the other to rummage around 
for salve and a bandage to put on microwelder burns. But the smile faded 
back into nonexistance as she remembered that she would never see that 
again. The laptop looked like it had seen little, if any use; Kei was more 
of a hands-on person, preferring to figure her tech out for herself rather 
than plug it into a computer and be told. Which led to the toolbox.
      It was scarred and dented, looking like it had seen twenty years' service 
in the year or two that Kei had been using it. Mildly curious, Yuri lifted 
the toolbox almost reverantly from its niche and set it on the floor, 
working the somewhat bent latch and opening it up. The tools were clean, 
obviously lovingly cared-for, but somewhat after the fact, it seemed, since 
they too bore their fair share of scratches and chipped edges, no doubt from 
being used in manners that their designers had not quite thought of. And, 
sitting nestled amidst the tools, was the toolbox's, and Kei's, most 
often-attacked technical challenge; the little snub-nosed, hair-trigger 
blaster that had belonged to Iris, half of the original Lovely Angels.
      'Kei, can't you shoot straight?! Why don't you use a regular gun, geez!'
      'Because I wanna use THIS one!'
      "Couldn't let yourself be beat by anything, could you?" Yuri whispered 
aloud to the empty air. "Least of all the ghosts of the past." She wondered 
briefly why Kei hadn't taken her little pet project with her, but decided 
that that, like everything else, didn't matter. Glancing idly to make sure 
the safety was on, Yuri picked the little snub-nose up and stroked fingers 
across the smooth silvery metal, almost petting the weapon that had so many 
hours of Kei's life in it. With a tiny sigh, she set it on her bedside 
table, then turned back to the locker's other contents. A few credit slips, 
what looked like a polished stone from her home planet. Yuri was surprised 
to see a snow globe nestled up against the corner, and recognized it as a 
souvenier she had bought Kei on one of their first missions together. It was 
a tacky little thing, and she'd bought it on a whim, and been rather hurt 
when Kei had vowed to toss it out the nearest available porthole into space 
the first chance she got. Yuri had, of course, hidden her hurt, and 
pretended that she had bought Kei the thing just to spite her.
      Yuri opened a few more compartments, and was surprised again and again to 
find the other little things she'd given Kei. A birthday card, a little 
plush Mughi, some extremely saccharine scenery postcards. But it was the 
last compartment that did it. It was filled with Still Images, essentially 
like photographs of another era, images suspended in thin, clear plastic. 
They were stacked atop one another, the one on top being of a little 
redheaded girl, whom Yuri decided must be Kei, and the people who must be... 
have been... her parents. Beneath that was a picture of Kei at maybe 
thirteen, already with her forelocks dyed blonde, wearing boxing shorts, a 
green sports bra, and with her hands and feet wrapped. The young Kei had a 
bloody nose, a black eye, and one of the biggest smiles Yuri had ever seen 
her with, most likely due to the large trophy tucked into the crook of one 
arm. Another photo under that, of graduation day, it looked like, Kei 
standing amidst a graduating class even smaller than Yuri's had been. But it 
was the final one, tucked away safely at the bottom, that finally broke her, 
as she lifted it in shaking fingers.
      After their first mission as partners, which was supposed to have been a 
simple, low-profile thing, but which had turned into a solar system-spanning 
breakout of chaos... as most of their missions tended to. But once it was 
all over, a photographer had wanted to take a simple picture of the agents 
standing next to one another. Yuri couldn't remember, at all, what had 
started the argument... something inane.
      'Quit trying to shove me over, Yuri!'
      'I am NOT!'
      'You're trying to get more photo space for yourself, you bimbo!'
      'Bimbo?! I won't take that from someone with tie-dyed hair!'
      'WHAT?!?!!'
      The result was a picture of them both screaming at each other, one of 
Yuri's hands tugging violently on Kei's shock of blonde hair, while Kei was 
shoving against Yuri's head with one hand trying to push her away. Yuri's 
fingers trailed over Kei's image, tears flowing unencumbered down her cheeks 
for the first time in days.
      "I'm sorry, Kei," Yuri whispered to the photo, her voice starting to break. 
"I didn't mean it. I like your hair. I like your face. You're so beautiful. 
And I love your voice, and the way you talk. And I love the way you're 
determined, and won't give up, even if it's just stubborness. And I love the 
way you don't take crap from anyone. Especially from me." She smiled through 
her tears, as a sob wracked her body. "And I love the way you try to make 
yourself better than you are, instead of just backing down. I-I love the way 
that you walk, and the way that you breathe... that you breathed... I... oh, 
Keeeeeeeeeeeei..." Yuri fell forward, clutching the image to her chest, 
wailing as her misery shook her entire being. "Please, Kei, I'm 
sorryyyyyyyy... don't be dead, come back to meeeeee..."

      Yuri lay on her bed, curled into a piteous fetal ball, still clutching the 
image to her chest, her forlorn eyes gazing blankly at the wall. Her long 
purple hair fell limply across the white sheets, no longer shining with 
vibrance and health, but seeming as sorrowful and lifeless as its possessor. 
Behind her, ignored, the monitor set in the wall toned with an incoming call 
waiting to be picked up. After a few minutes, the answering program clicked 
on.
      *bzzzt* /Hi-eee! This is Yu-riiii, and I can't answer the vid right now! 
But if you'll leave me your message right after the little beep, I'll call 
you back! Promise!/ *bip*
      /Yuri? Yuri, this is your mother, are you there?/
      The 3WA agent didn't react at all, other than her pupils to contract 
slightly due to the flickering light the vid cast on the wall.
      /Yuri, I heard what happened... about your partner... um... and we heard 
about the... what you said? Honey, please... call us... we're worried about 
you. We'd like it if you'd come home for awhile... so we can talk? Just... 
call us... or something... anything. We love you, sweetheart./ *click*
      The vid's light ceased, and Yuri's world was cast back into a monotone of 
blue light... not that she'd have noticed if a troupe of clowns had paraded 
in and started an orgy. Her entire world was gone... the only remnants of it 
held tight against her breasts and laying scattered in and around a 
footlocker beside her bed.
      After she didn't know how long, the vid began toning again.
      *bzzzt* /Hi-eee! This is Yu-riiii, and I can't answer the vid right now! 
But if you'll leave me your message right after the little beep, I'll call 
you back! Promise!/ *bip*
      The 'soothing' tones of a computer-generated voice purred across the vid 
speakers.
      /Hello, Yuri. This is a fabulous opportunity for you to get all your 
cosmetics free for an entire year! Our studies also show that your friend 
Kei could benefit from this program. If you convince Kei to parti-/
      *CHA-KOW!*
      Yuri clicked the safety back onto the snub-nose, not caring that she had 
picked up the notoriously temperamental weapon, undone the safety, and fired 
a single shot that had hit the vid dead-on... all without looking or even 
changing expression.

      After the second day of laying there, not moving, Yuri felt herself 
starting to go. Her head swam, her vision of the wall would blur. Sometimes 
she would lose feeling in muscles that hadn't been moved in too long.
      Yuri smiled.
      'I'll be with you soon, Kei... just wait for me.'

      On the third day, her door toned, indicating that someone wanted in. Yuri 
didn't care. She was almost there, she could feel it. Her lips were cracked 
and bloody, and every breath burned like inhaling fire. 'Just go away... let 
me go to her...' she thought distantly at whoever was there. But after the 
fourth tone, it went silent... and, a few minutes later, Yuri heard her 
front door hiss open. Fear welled up in her. 'No... no, I've got to go to 
Kei!' She forced cramped muscles to move, shaking fingers grabbing at the 
snub-nose blaster on her nighstand. Her thrashings caused her to fall off 
the bed, but the snub-nose fell with her. Managing to grab the gun, Yuri's 
shuddering fingers worked, in a panic, to try and undo the safety. It 
wouldn't take much aiming, if she could just get the end aimed vaguely in 
her own direction...
      "Yuri?"
      The gun fell from limp fingers. Yuri's head snapped up, to the protest of 
the muscles in her neck, her eyes wide. 'It can't be...'
      And then, there she was, standing in the doorway, looking around in 
puzzlement, before those green eyes were settling on her, blinking in 
surprise and astonishment.
      "Jesus Christ, Yuri, you look like hell."
      "Kei," Yuri breathed. Suddenly, it was like the cramps and pain had never 
been there. She FLEW to the door, flinging her arms around the redhead and 
holding as tight as her malnourished form could, heaving dry sobs. "Kei! 
Kei, you're alive, you're really alive!" Then she was slamming her fists 
weakly against Kei's chest, still sobbing. "You bitch! You inconsiderate 
bitch! I thought you were dead! I thought you were-"
      "Yuri!" Kei caught her partner's wrists in a gentle but firm hold, and Yuri 
almost collapsed, crying. "Yuri, sssshhhh, c'mon... I'm alive. I'm okay."
      Yuri gulped, trying to get her sobs under enough control to speak, looking 
up at Kei. "I thought you were dead... and I... I just couldn't do 
anything... except think about how bad I treated you..."
      "Well, I didn't exactly treat you like a buddy, either..." Kei managed to 
get Yuri a little more upright. "Actually, it was you that saved me. The way 
you sounded... well, I got in the escape pod when you told me to get out of 
the ship. I thought if I acted like I was still in there, though, it'd throw 
the criminals off... and, well, the 'oh, fuck' was because I saw I wasn't 
gonna get far enough away to keep from getting a bit of the explosion. It 
knocked out my comm and locator, and the thrusters too... I had to stay out 
there for about five days before someone noticed I wasn't just another piece 
of debris from the colony ring. But as soon as they did, I grabbed the 
fastest transport back here that I could."
      "Y-you're really here..." Yuri finally smiled, slumping down a little 
again. "You're really alive, and you came back."
      "Hey, look, Yuri, I'd be the last to admit I'm not the brightest star in 
the spiral arm... but I ain't dim either. I know I'll cash my chips in one 
day... but you can't do this to yourself. Because if I can, at all, I'm 
gonna come back. I'll come back and find you. So you just have to keep that 
hope up... you have to take care of yourself, and trust that I'll come back 
to you. Promise me?"
      "O-okay... I promise..." A sudden thought came to her... a mixture of 
excitement and fear trickling through her relief and happiness. "Kei... 
before your comm got knocked out-"
      "Sssshhhh." Kei put a finger to Yuri's lips, gently. "We gotta get you 
taken care of, now, before you totally collapse. Yuri, the only thing that 
needs to be said right now is this:
      "I love you, too."

      Love means that you're not seperated even by death. Love means a trust deep 
in your soul that the one that you love will come back to you. Somehow... in 
some way... you'll be together again. If the love is real, if it's true... 
then that trust has to be there. You can't go to them by hurting yourself, 
because when you hurt yourself, you hurt the one you love.
      When you began reading, the title of this fanfiction was 'Please Come Back 
to Me'. Now that you've read it, I give you the true title.
      'I Will Always Come Back to You.'