A/N: See, when I said hell or high water, I didn’t mention conjunctivitis. This should have been up yesterday, but I was busy trying not to go blind. I don’t like being sick.

Let them rest in the lap of Death.

The last traces of light were fast disappearing from the face of day. The wind picked up slowly, bringing with it a flurry of clouds. The evening gold of the sky was subtly turning into a light shade of purple. The peace above the world was tranquil and incessant, sharply contrasting with the landscape below. Fire raged wrathfully like a second sun around fallen stone and wood structures of temples and statues.

Seto followed the general across the flaming sands almost helplessly. His arm was in a vice grip as he stumbled and walked behind Set. Neither said a word, comprehending the urgency and the need for silence. Bright orange flames rose high around the duo like a maze unwilling to let them escape. Even Set found it difficult to navigate through the vast heat and the fallen stone and debris were too big of an obstacle to get past in their current haste. Sounds of battle and the clash of weapons rang in the distance outside the searing walls of fire, but nothing ever got closer than that.

Set finally released his companion’s arm. Seto stopped and sighed wistfully.

“Fate is one evil child.” Set sighed, letting a stray breeze caress his face and provide some relief from the heat of the encroaching inferno.

Seto pushed aside a few strands of sweat-drenched hair away from his eyes. “As is fortune.” He slightly smiled at Set’s questioning glance. “I thought it was my greatest fortune when you let me stay on with you, but…”

“Now you are in a most unpleasant situation.” Set finished. “You might call me delusional, but we both saw this coming, did we not? Perhaps you saw it better than I.”

Seto nodded. “Both of us dared to trifle with something we neither understood nor knew of. Our attraction fast became infatuation and turned too quickly into love. When you said you loved me, did you understand what you truly meant, general?”

Set shook his head ruefully and little droplets of sweat flew from his hair. “No, I only thought love was that flame I felt when we touched. But such a thing cannot be all that tangible, can it? Love is something more enigmatic and unfathomable.”

“I don’t know, general. Maybe we’re both simply mad.” Seto stepped closer and despite the heat, he wrapped his arms around Set’s slender waist and held him close. Overhead the clouds roiled in like a lumbering giant, growling softly.

Set sifted through the dark sable hair idly and pushed them back, exposing two brilliant blue lotus eyes. Those exact eyes that sent him spiraling down since he first saw them. “I wouldn’t argue.” He said. “I, a sworn High Priest and Lord General of the Pharaoh and Khemet, placed you above all priority and duty. That is madness if nothing else. But believe me when I say, I cannot do otherwise as long as I know you exist, your memory won’ let me.”

“Dangerous obsessions.” Seto murmured. He noticed the inferno coming closer. Showers of sparks were flying between them and the sky above rumbled and flashed forebodingly. Set slipped from the embrace and caught his companion’s arm again, pulling him on.

“Come on!”

Seto followed again, dodging fallen bodies and debris. Set was keeping a fairly steady pace as he ran through the fiery maze and out into a clearing. There were no visible flames present, but it wasn’t exactly the safest place to be. Ash and dust choked the air with red sparks creating a dim light. They were inside a temple structure or what was left of it, anyway.

“General, get out of here!” Seto yelled in Set’s ear. “Your men…”

Set whirled around. His eyes were feverish and rimmed with a quiet resignation. “I cannot. The battle was already lost the moment I let my mind wander.”

Seto looked incredulous. “You threw the battle?”

“No, I truly lost this one.” Came the reply. “My heart wasn’t in it. It’s is like you said, dangerous obsessions.”

Tears spilled past Seto’s eyes as the ash stifled fresh air. He held back a cough. “What will you do at the mercy of the enemy?”

Set pulled the other toward him, wrapping his cape around themselves, ignoring the dry acrid smell of fire and burning substances. “I won’t submit to anyone else, nor will I leave you at the mercy of this world. We know what fate planned for us. Remember, life doesn’t end with death.”

Seto pulled back slightly and nodded in comprehension. “May Osiris grant that our souls be reborn and one day understand the true meaning of what we tried to achieve.”

Lightning flashed violently in the sky, lighting the world as if it were day again.

“I vow that our second chance shall not be wasted.” Set whispered. “As our lives repeat, so shall our sentiments till we can finally rest together in Paradise.”

The end of life, death, is still no absolute. Everything will be repeated as time moves in circuit; love, trust, loyalty shall always be called upon. Their very souls will be reborn in new vessels soon enough. Till then, they rest in the lap of Death and their current bodies are covered by the ever shifting sands while their spirits fly free to Judgment.

II

Sometime after midnight, the battle ceased and clouds finally burst. The sky goddess Nuit send the droplets of rain to heal the scorched earth. Flames flickered out and wet sand settled over fallen bodies and weapons hiding them for the next eternity. The pools of blood soaked away into the desert, which once again regained its golden hue.

By dawn, the rain stopped and save for the charred remains of a temple, everything lay under the tawny landscape. Silence pervaded from horizon to horizon and it looked as if nothing had ever taken place.

When the senses are blindfolded, it becomes Infatuation.

A feeling unfathomable, and inexplicable is Love.

Respect for the soul is Reverence.

They are hopelessly entangled in each other’s path, love turns to Worship.

Love is the only solace when Life and death become an Obsession.

United forever in time, they rest in the lap of Death.

END-

A/N: OMG, I finished a fic! (jumps around like a psychotic terrier on crack) Praise be to the muses. So...y'all noticed that Set gets all mushy all that time and Seto doesn't even refer to him by name? Lol! ..yeah ok.

Weird, weird and totally…weird. Eh, I’m still on conjunctivitis medication and I’m still blind and writing this, so it’s bound to be strange. And…guys, the character death had to be done cuz yeah, the last shade of love is death. And personally, I don’t think those two would ever have a happy ending. That’s just my opinion.

And can’t forget my reviewers.

Yume no Zencho: Thanks for your reviews! Sorry if the fact that they died ruined your reading experience.

NachzesSee, I didn’t leave it undone! And the lemon shall be up next week when I’m cured of pink eye on my Livejournal. I don’t feel like putting it up here. Anyway, thanx for your reviews and hope you enjoyed the fic.

A Bit of Happiness: I suppose their relationship escalated and deteriorated at the same time b/c they did discover something new, yet lacked understanding of what they were doing. Thank you for your review. So glad you enjoyed the fic.

StainofCurareHope you’ve enjoyed the angst, thanks for the review!

KurosaiseiAww, thank you. (blushes) It’s not really beautiful, just my weird attempt at writing about an abstract idea.

Sapphire Siren: Aww, I’m sorry about the depressing chapters. I actually don’t like Romeo and Juliet b/c their ‘dying for love’ crap is just stupid. This is more like a descent into madness born of unresolved, incomprehensive feelings. Tho I doubt anyone got that. (ducks into cardboard box)

And thanks to everyone else for their comments. Appreciate it all. (grins and waves.)