Disclaimer: Ain't mine, ain't makin' money.

Notes: This is something a little different for me. This little bit of angst (are we surprised yet?) actually takes place *within* canon. To be more specific, it takes place right before the kick off of AOA and at the end of Cable #20.

Dedications: To Ali (of course) who beta'd it and who's had a HORRENDOUS day. Also, to Ian Churchill cuz he's hot and I want him back on Cable. Who's up for a petition?

It's purple. And blue. Sort of ironic, given the circumstances.

The thing is beautiful. Even from this distance, it's still fantastic. Something that started so small is doing so much damage. Or repair. I guess that depends on how one wants to look at it.

Again, sort of ironic. Given the circumstances.

The universe is ending in a swath of crystal and there is absolutely nothing I can do. I tried. We tried. We failed.

Poof. That's it.

And then there's the other thing.

I don't know what made me force the issue with her. Yeah, we're all gonna die in a few minutes, but been there, done that, buried the enemy. This is different though. The change is palpable. I can taste it in the air. Don't ask me how.

Others saw it too.

Scott and Jean -Mom and Dad, I guess- have said their goodbyes. Yeah, it was mean of me to play that trick. Keeping that sort of information to quiet was selfish. Then again, I'm deserving of a few self-indulgences, right? Bright Lady knows I've given up enough.

Is that why I did IT? Is that why I took that last step? Maybe.

It seems like all the important things that happen to me happen in deserts. I should know by now that me in a desert equals bad karma.

I should have just stayed home.

But then it wouldn't have happened, would it?

Hmph. It's funny. It takes the end of the world for me to face emotional baggage. Scott, Jean... Dom. The universe is ending in a rush of blue and purple and I'm standing, ankle-deep, in a sand dune with three of the most important people in my life. Hell of a way to let your parents know you've got intentions towards a woman. Or let the woman know for that matter. Or let your parents know you knew they were your parents.

I really do have bad timing.

Thoughts have color, you know...

It's probably just a residual bit of power left over from the time-rip, but I'm seeing the colors brighter tonight. I can feel all of them. The barriers are dropping. Everything's ending, so people are reaching out.

Scott and Jean are so tightly linked, I can't tell who's energy is who's. Warren and Betsy are in something of a similar state. Now that's a relationship that's just... interesting.

He was hot for Mom, she was hot for Dad. Takes all types, I guess.

Rogue and Gambit wandered off a few minutes ago. Even the cajun was reaching out. Everyone's feeling it. That sinking thing that lets you know everything's going south. We're watching an ending here.

And I can see it... the purple and blue between Dom and me.

S'funny. I almost feel like smiling. Almost.

If this is the end... it's the end. Everything's over. Done with. The mission is gone. Even Apocalypse couldn't pull a rabbit out of his hat now. Too much is just gone.

Only I could find a bright side to this mess.

Then again, why look a mule in the teeth?

I never did understand that phrase. G.W. hand an interesting time trying to explain it to me once. Things probably would have worked out better if he hadn't been quite so drunk, and Dom hadn't nearly passed out laughing.

She has an amazing laugh. It's one of those undeniably girly things she can't help but do. It's beautiful, in its own way. It's a wonderful thing to watch in progress. First, she gets this really cute smile on her face. Then her cheeks go red, and she tucks her chin to her chest and then it starts. Low and sweet, it rolls off her in waves. How she can project such joy with just a sound... I'll never know.

I guess there's a lot I won't know about her. It hurts to think about that.

There's so much we won't do.

I won't be able to give her birthday present. It's at home underneath the blue sweater she gave me last December, right before Scott and Jean's wedding. I found it at a little market in Morroco a few months ago. I don't know how, exactly. Hell, I don't even know when her birthday really *is*.

I found it in March. The crowds had been out in full force. I got quite a headache from keeping myself masked in the midst of so many people. It was worth it though. Dom'd been back at the hotel, edict of 'Wake and Death' firmly broadcast. That left me and the kids with close to three hours to kill before the lot of us had anywhere to be. The kids wandered around, eyes so wide one'd think they'd never been to North Africa before.

I don't know what drew me to that booth. It wasn't the largest, or the gaudiest. Then again, it wasn't the smallest or the dingiest either. It was just a jewelry booth crammed between a fruit merchant and some guy selling spices. I remember that the smell of chives was almost overpowering.

The bracelet was just hanging there -pretty as you please- next to dozens of other bits of glass and twine just like it. Alike, but so different. It wasn't anything huge or amazing. Nothing too expensive, but something telling. If she didn't want to read anything into it, she didn't have to. But if she did...

It's purple and blue too. Varied glass beads connected with a gossamer bit of twine and a silver clasp. The instant I laid eyes on it, I knew it would be perfect around her wrist.

Not that she'd actually *wear* it...

I guess I've been building up to this afternoon for awhile.

I kissed her today.

Not that we haven't before. Kissed, that is. Hell, we did a hell of a lot more than that two days ago. But this... This was different.

This was us saying we cared. This was us taking a chance. On each other.

Maybe it isn't so bad. The universe is about to implode, so that whole risk factor did just take a header out the closest window. Sick as that sounds, it's kind of neat.

Hmph. Neat. I must be getting old.

We weren't ready to do what we did today. She wasn't ready to hear it. If we somehow pull through this, there's going to be a price to pay. Doesn't matter right now though. We won't have this problem in a few minutes. The moon's purple and blue now. Unsettling as it is, the sight's still amazing.

Domino's eyes are amazing. I've told her that before, but I'm not so sure she ever believed me. Purple is an unusual color for eyes. Especially with white skin. I told her that once. She just laughed and told me blue and gold weren't all that common either. We're both unique then. Completely ourselves.

Purple and blue.

Just words. Descriptions.

They don't mean anything, right?

The wave's hit earth now. I can see it coming. A sheet of crystal so dense it doesn't even give reflections. Maybe that's just because it's moving so fast.

Maybe not.

As it comes closer, I do the only thing I can. I reach out and take her hand. She gives me a startled look; one that tells me she wasn't expecting this last bit of tenderness. That saddens me. But that's not important now. These last moments are what are important.

I rub my fingers across the back of her hand as I watch a pyramid turn glass not more than a mile away. The skin's soft, and so white. I smile at her. A soft, sad thing loaded so heavily, it's a wonder I can even sustain it. She looks me directly in the eye and reflects my expression.

Blue and purple meet one last time.

"Goodbye."

The whisper falls from our lips as it hits. A remembrance. A benediction. A farewell. All, yet none at once.

And the world is naught but blue and purple.