Author's Note: I've missed you guys! ::sniff, sniff:: I'm okay, really. I just get so emotional about being able to write again! I might as well warn you that the chapters will probably be shorter than what I used to produce just because of time limits. Sorry!
Duo looked at the sky and sighed. Behind that blue veil was another world, an entire crop of colonies that were going up in almost record numbers as demand for living space increased. More and more of Earth was being bought up for conservation, soon he'd have to leave and move back up to space. He missed Hilde, but after the war the Earth had begun to feel like home.
"Daddy!" squealed a voice. Duo sat up in the grass and turned just in time to get shoved back down as a toddler jumped on him. He laughed and held the little girl tight.
"I'm not going to let go!" he said. The child wriggled until she'd escaped his arms and got to her feet. She put her hands on her waist and looked down at him triumphantly.
"Ha! I got away! Mommie said it's dinner time." Then she turned and ran away. Duo sat up again and followed her with his eyes as she ascended the front steps of a small farmhouse and went in. With a resigned sigh, a full-grown Duo got to his feet and headed in. Years of rough living had left his body creaking like an old man's. All the Gundam pilots were having problems with their bodies only four years after the final battle. Sally had said it was from the incredible stresses they'd subjected themselves to, and Trowa was the worst off because he'd been piloting mobile suits since before he could remember.
Duo came into the kitchen and looked around. A little red-headed girl turned in her chair at the table and smiled. He grinned and ruffled her hair and she cried out in protest. "Mommie" was at the fridge putting the milk away. Duo slid into his seat and asked, "Where's the food?" His response was an almost instantaneous rap on the head with an unidentified object. Whatever it was, was hard.
His assailant sat down opposite him and he saw the weapon had been a serving spoon. "Mommie" raised her eyes to Duo's and said, "The last things left to pack are the kitchen ware. I can't thank you enough, Duo for helping us."
Duo waved a hand. "It's nothing, the least I could do for an old friend. How was your last day at school, Washu?"
The little girl grinned. "It was great! Mrs. Hanson said I could sit in the VIP seat, and Lila gave me a locket, see?" Duo reached out and lifted the little silver locket away from Washu's front and turned it over.
"That's nice, even from your best friend," he said. Then Duo looked at the other occupant of the table and asked, "No one gave you any trouble, Misaki?"
The woman shook her head. "No, the movers were actually very considerate." She sighed and her pink eyes roved about the room. "I'm going to miss this old place. At least now I get to join my sister. How is Hilde?"
Duo smiled. "You know her, never anything wrong. Judging from her tone and all, I'd guess someone else tried to get her to sell an un-scrapped suit." The adults were silent and the only sound was of Washu as she hummed and the occasional knife scraped against a plate. As the meal drew to a close, Duo said, "Washu, tomorrow you're going to go live with Mommie Hilde, so get to bed early."
She nodded and jumped down form her chair. Then she ran around and waited for Misaki and Duo to pick her up in turn and let her give them a kiss on the cheek. That nightly ritual over, she ran upstairs to where her nightclothes had been left out. Duo got up and went into what had been the living room. There was only a laptop left, it was sitting on the floor with the screen glowing a blank blue. He sat down in front of it and started typing.
'This donation is in loving memory of our dear sister, Funaho. Her dying wish was for her assets to be dedicated to a new building at the Locke Institute to allow others to enjoy it as much as she did. P.S. Her daughter, Washu, is expected to be able to collect all benefits from such a generous gift.
Sincerely,
Hilde Schbeiker & Misaki Jurai