Heero? He loves death. He actively seeks it out. Heero wants nothing more than to end it all and call it a day, and there's not a day that I'm not reminded of it. Me? Well, I'm Shinigami. Who knows, he might just be hoping that my bad luck rubs off on him someday. I doubt he really cares much about me, but I don't think that I care much for him either. I'd call it a mutual partnership at this point. Deathscythe and Wing Zero compliment each others' abilities and share a lot of mechanical similarities, so we get partnered up pretty often.

The trip back to the Gundam Pilots' makeshift base had been quick and silent for Duo Maxwell. He had tried to push the vision of the girl on the pavement's last look from his mind, but after several long minutes of repetitive memory thrashing, he'd finally remembered who she was. For the sake of keeping his own identity a secret, he'd killed someone who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She had been a friend once, or at least as close to a friend as Duo had the right to call it. He'd always been a loner, but she'd been around occasionally. So far as he knew she was doing well these days. Until he'd shot her at point blank, that is.

Duo swallowed back a sickness that threatened to overtake him as he stepped into the base of operations. Quatre waved pleasantly from behind the computer screens and Heero was nowhere to be seen. Trowa Barton had appeared from a nearby room, having only just arrived moments ago. He and Duo passed glances, but no words.

"How did the deal go, Trowa?" Quatre inquired, sliding off of his chair and crawling underneath the desk to adjust some wires. He'd accept no more close calls on missions. The newly arrived teen made some sort of sound under his breath, tossing a clipboard down on a nearby coffee table and taking a seat at the couch beside it. The place might've made for a nice apartment if it hadn't been rigged from top to bottom with electrical equipment.

"They drove a hard bargain, but I managed enough spare parts for all of us and plenty of ammo to go around. We'll have to lay low for a few more days until they get it all to Howard. He's taking a trip up here to replace that malfunctioning joint on the Deathscythe." The way he spoke had always been very precise and simple, never saying more than he had to. very much like Heero, Duo thought to himself as he removed his jacket. It wasn't such a bad thing that the pilots had little to say to one another; it seemed like only yesterday that they'd even learned of each others' existences. Distrust still ran rampant in certain areas, but for the most part the fact that they were all working for a common goal was enough to keep the peace.

"Too close." It was the first thing out of Heero's mouth in Japanese as he'd entered the confines. Duo immediately looked up, staring down the lifeless eyes that did the same to him.

"Excuse me, but you're not exactly the one sticking your neck out here." He quickly reminded the dark-haired boy who had indeed spent the majority of the mission in the relative safety of the base. Quatre slid out from under the desk with an apologetic look, but Duo waved a dismissive hand at the both of them. He'd learned the hard way which hills were worth dying on; Heero Yuy wasn't worth half of his breath. He stalked towards his temporary room, uttering a respectful goodnight to Quatre and Trowa. "Wake me up when the war's over."

"Maybe a few hours." Quatre smiled. "You'll want to see Howard when he comes in, won't you?" Duo turned around thoughtfully. The old mechanic had been one of the few friends that the braided boy had held onto since the start of Operation Meteor. He appreciated that Howard had such intimate knowledge of his machines, could hold a halfway decent lighthearted conversation, and made an excellent cup of Joe.

"Guess I owe the old man a visit. He's comin' on my behalf, after all." Duo smiled to himself, turning back around. On his way down the hall he made an effort to shoulder past Heero as roughly as he could, though his good mood had ruined the original intent. Heero cursed under his breath, turning around after him with gritted teeth. Quatre blinked as the two disappeared, peering over at Trowa then back down the hall.

"He's gonna get himself hurt someday." The Arab sighed, picking himself up and sitting back down in the chair beside him. Trowa made some kind of sound to acknowledge the blonde, picking up a local newspaper. The two boys understood that something unusual was going on between the two pilots. Duo almost seemed to make it a habit to get under Yuy's skin and the only time the two had come to blows, the braided boy had nearly been knocked out cold. Despite the constant tension, they worked well enough together. The blonde often wondered if there was something else going on behind all of those bad feelings, something that nobody else was seeing. Something that nobody else could know about. Something far too dangerous for either of you.

"Unless you plan on goin' out and doin' this shit yourself, keep your mouth shut." Duo barked quietly from the far end of the hall in Japanese, whirling around to face the other boy. It wasn't perfect since it wasn't his first language, but Heero got the point. Though, it was hard for Duo to tell since the boy's expression hadn't changed at all.

"The girl."

"The fucking girl. Thanks for leaving it to me, you could've killed her yourself."

"You're welcome."

"Spare me, Heero." Duo turned around towards the door of his room. As soon as a hand grabbed his shoulder, he turned around to swing at him. Instead of landing a hit, his wrist was caught roughly. With no effort at all, he was slammed violently enough into the wall to take his breath away. All Duo could do was stare maliciously into the eyes that looked just as lifeless as ever. He often wondered if the Wing Zero pilot had a soul at all, or if it was just some shell of a person tuned for nothing but war. Regardless, he couldn't move and Heero wasn't letting him go.

"Too. Close." It was in that split second between Heero's words and the subsequent shove that followed that Duo realized they weren't talking about the girl on the street. Duo reached up to rub his shoulder as Heero walked away. Had he just sensed... jealousy? The braided boy shook his head, opening his door and entering his room, throwing himself down on the bed. He rolled over onto his back, putting the event from his mind. The pain in his wrist brought it back however, and he raised it to eye level. That was going to leave a bruise. Duo sighed, turning his head in the direction of the door and staring at it with narrowed cobalt eyes.

"You could've just said something, baka."

At some point or another we figured out that we were in it for the long haul. Things just kind of went from there I guess. No sappy confessions, no long nights of passion or however they explain it away in those cheap romance novels. It is what it is, as the saying goes. And it's far from romantic.

"So the little rat finally shows himself!" Howard shouted from afar as Duo entered the bay in which the Gundams were residing. The teen spotted his mechanical friend at the foot of Wing Zero and shot him the finger. A few moments later he was close enough to shake the man's hand and get a solid pat on the back. Duo smiled and looked up, admiring the Gundams. Wing Zero's cockpit was open and several dozen wires were hanging from it. Deathscythe's arm was stripped to the wires and skeleton, and Heavyarms was in the process of being re-stocked with ammo.

"So, what's the skinny on these guys?" Duo inquired.

"The only skinny thing here is you," He poked the boy in the side with a smirk, "But we've got our work cut out for us here. I'm going to see if we can get Deathy's arm in working condition without tearing it apart, it's a pretty small bearing. Would be a shame to take out a whole joint over something that tiny."

"Supposedly they got the part, if all else fails."

"Failing is the last thing I do, shorty. Meanwhile, I've got a team over here working on Wing's reaction time. Super Yuy's getting too fast for the system to keep up with. It's asking a lot to get a hunk of metal this size to turn on a dime, but we'll get it as damn close to fifteen cents as we can." Duo smiled, peering up at the cockpit once more. Perhaps avoiding Heero today wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

As if on queue, the boy in question's head popped out of the cockpit, along with the rest of him. He grabbed hold of a nearby wire and slid down to the ground effortlessly, joining the two momentarily. "Wufei's on his way, ETA three hours. Sandrock is staying on Earth with the Maganacs."

"Great folks, those Maganacs. They break my work-load and party like rock stars. Speaking of, where's Blondy? Haven't seen him all day!" Duo snickered at the joke and Heero walked away.

"Probably working on the system we put up the other day. Wasn't working well last night."

"The crazy docs give you boys a day off, and you're still working. If all the other kids your age had half your work ethic, unemployment wouldn't exist. Ah, ah!" Howard reached out to yank at Duo's braid as he picked up a tool kit. He cried out in surprise, stumbling backwards. "You're not working on your day off, kiddo."

"Then you can do the work, and I'll stare at my baby longingly. Fair?" Duo grinned, handing the tools over to Howard who raised an eyebrow. The old man shook his head with a chuckle and handed the kit back to Duo who grinned cheekily and clambered up the side of his gundam as he'd done many times before. Howard gave a defeated sigh as the Deathscythe's lights sprang to life at the hands of its pilot. He wanted nothing more than for his favorite little kid to enjoy being just that; a kid. He often forgot how old they actually were, and he was sure that they did as well. Deathscythe was Duo's life, his favorite toy, and perhaps his only other friend. Operation Meteor wasn't supposed to last as long as it was going; the boys had been at war for so long that they'd forgotten how to live.

For Duo, it was nothing more than revenge for every bad hand he'd been dealt since the day he'd been born. Word traveled fast on the L2 colony and the knowledge that one of their own had finally stepped up gave the street kids something to look up to, some kind of hope that things might get better for them. Unfortunately, the rest of the colony didn't feel the same; something of a civil war had nearly broken out months before that had thankfully been squashed out early. Unfortunately for Duo, that meant forcing himself to become a night owl to avoid confrontations with anybody who might recognize him during the day. So much for enjoying childhood. Howard enjoyed the calls he got from Duo and hated hearing the things he'd managed to endure in the time between the last conversation. It wasn't fair at all.

"The hydraulics are a little low on this side." Howard's thoughts were interrupted by Duo sitting on the door of the cockpit and patting the right side of the giant robot. "Mind helping me for a second, too? The scythe's been a little weak lately, gonna tweak it up really quick. Mind operating the calibrator?" The braided boy smiled when Howard nodded, hopping back into the pit and activating the gundam fully. It took several steps forward, rocking the floor as it unhinged its main weapon. Duo re-adjusted Deathscythe's standing position, giving the screens a once-over before hitting the button that activated the scythe's deadly saber-beam. He then jumped back out of the gundam and slid down the arm, hooking a wire into the scythe's handle and attaching a box to that. For several minutes the two of them shouted readings back and forth. Heero strode in right as they finished.

"Alright you two. Take a break, go home. I'll take care of the rest of this." Howard smiled, shooing the two pilots from the hangar. The artificial sun had just begun to set as they began their short trip. Heero and Duo walked silently back to where they came from, and Duo wished he'd left at a different time. Of all the people to keep the company of, Heero was not high on his list of preferences at that point in time. He peered up at the fake sky, all too familiar with its cloud and weather patterns; today was going to get chilly. It wasn't until they were two blocks from their 'home' that Heero's voice brought Duo back to reality.

"Did you know her?" He had to think about the question for several moments, eventually realizing who he was referring to.

"Yeah." Duo replied dimly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"You're not the only one who's lost someone." The statement was made in a monotone. It caused Duo to stop walking and stare at Heero incredulously.

"I'm sorry, was that supposed to cheer me up? You've got a real way with words." Instead of Heero's usual lifeless stare, Duo's jaw nearly dropped from the insult as the other boy rolled his eyes and kept walking. Duo jogged a bit to catch up and continued right along. "If you've got something to say, Heero, I suggest you fucking say it. I'm really getting tired of all this circle jerking. Save the cryptic bull for someone els-!" He never finished his sentence. Heero turned around and took Duo by the shirt, knocking the braided boy's feet out from under him. With a shout, Duo had been put to the pavement, staring angrily up at a boy who's expression wasn't any more pleasant.

"There's a time and a place for everything," He muttered, leaning in close enough to make Duo uncomfortable. "This is not the time, OR the place."

"When the hell is it, then." He responded through gritted teeth as the hand on his chest pushed down hard enough to crack his collar bone. Duo knew it was never a good idea to pick a fight with Heero Yuy, but the attitude was in his blood. If you weren't tough, you didn't survive. Regardless of the danger involved in taking the perfect soldier head on, Duo refused to be walked on or pushed around without a fight.

It drove Heero absolutely insane that someone could be so pig-headed without a reason; it was as if he had to prove that he wasn't as feminine as his hair made him out to be. Pride and the mission was the only reason Heero stayed silent about the issue; whether the stronger boy wanted to accept it or not, Duo Maxwell was just as much a part of Operation Meteor as anybody else and there was just no getting rid of him. There was also no denying that his defiant stupidity wasn't at least a little bit attractive.

"If you're trying to make me like you, you're doing a terrible job." Duo said softly, cringing from the strain that was being placed on him. The words had an effect on Heero, however, for the pressure had suddenly been released. Only a moment later however, Duo found himself getting yanked to his feet by the same shirt he'd been floored with. He was then spun around and pushed forward, forced to continue the walk home. Duo brushed off his shirt, frowning to himself. If this were any other boy, he'd fight it out until he was battered and bloody with a manic grin plastered on his face. But this wasn't any other boy. So far as Duo was concerned, Heero was a freak of nature. Perhaps not even human. He'd save it for another day when he wouldn't have to explain how and why Heero had broken another dozen bones over his own inability to call it quits.

"Why can't you just admit it?" Duo sighed.

"Shut up, baka."

Memento Mori. I wonder if that means anything to a soldier who doesn't fear death.