I unfortunately don't own the G-boys; if I did I would be much happier, wallowing in money. But I don't so don't bother suing; I don't have anything, I'm a poor college student people! Unless of course you want a couple blood thirsty dust bunnies….I got plenty of those. Comments are always appreciated….craved actually. REVIEWS! I NEED REVIEWS. Uh…sorry….I'm ok now. So please, review; let me know what you liked, what you didn't, the good, the bad and the ugly basically. However flames will be laughed at, so I wouldn't even bother.

Sorry it's been so long since I've written anything...things have been so hetic lately. I'm hoping that my muse for Eternal Darkness and Secrets of the Gods will come back...so hang on...don't give up on them yet...I'm determined to finish those two...it just may take me a while.

Dealing with Death

It was early; the sun had yet to peek above the horizon. The blue-black sky still glittered with the silvery light of the stars; though clouds were quickly casting a grey veil over the light. A thin, lithe figure sat in the window seat; watching as the clouds rolled in. A stout breeze blew in from the mountains; bring the frigid breath of the North Wind and the promise of snow. The figure narrowed his dark violet eyes; he did not like the feeling he was getting from this storm. He had grown up on the streets of the L2 colony; where the rains and snows were as unpredictable as his next meal. He could sense a storm coming; and it was going to be a bad one.

"What are you doing awake Duo? A voice from behind him asked; "And why do you have the window open?"

Duo turned and regarded the boy in front of him. Cobolt blue eyes watched him intently behind a curtain of unruly chocolate hair. Those eyes noticed everything, always watching, always studying and always analyzing. I wonder what he sees in me; Duo thought; then he gave his friend, if you could call the 01 pilot a friend, a lazy smile.

"Morning Heero;" He said cheerfully but without the normal hyperactive bounce he usually had in his voice. "I heard you moving around so I figured I would come down and see ya off."

"I don't need to be seen off, Duo;" Heero stated, giving Duo a glare; "You should be sleeping, you may have a mission come in here soon." Duo repressed the urge to roll his eyes; with Heero it was always about the 'mission'. I swear that boy eats, sleep and breathes 'the mission'; Duo thought; then giving his friend another smile;

"Yea I know; I'll sleep later. I just got back from a mission yesterday." Duo said, "Besides it gives me a chance to check on the weather. Theres gonna be a snow storm rolling in this afternoon or tonight I bet. So I need to talk to Quatre and figure out what supplies we're going to need."

"Hn."

"Here, "Duo said, handing Heero a cup of steaming hot coffee; "Sit down and eat before you leave. You'll forget to eat while you're on survalience, I know it." Giving Duo a particular look; Heero sat. It was odd for Duo to not be hyper and bouncing off the walls…normally it meant he was up to something.

"Don't worry Heero;" Duo said, seeming to read Heero's mind, "I'm not up to anything. It's to early for me to be planning anything or to be hyper. Besides I havn't had my daily intake of caffine yet, so you're safe for now."

"Hn." The two sat in silence for several minutes, each drinking their coffee, lost in their own private thoughts. It was a peaceful silence; the first birds beginning to wake and sing their varied songs. The first rays of light peeked over the horizon and fell across the forest. The light glittered off the heavy frost on the trees; making the forest around the safe house glitter as if it as covered in diamonds.

The alarm on Heero's watch beeped, indicating that it was time for him to leave. Oddly enough, Heero found that he was reluctant to leave now. He had actually been enjoying his time sitting next to Duo gazing out the window.

Heero rose to leave; a chill crept up Duo's spine and Heero suddenly appeared grey in his vision. Fear clutched at Duo's heart. His vision only seemed to change like that when someone was going to die. It happened when his parents died, it happened when Solo died, and it happened right before the Maxwell church had been destroyed. That was why he had rushed to get a mobile suit for the rebels threatening the church….in hopes of saving his new family. But he couldn't; he couldn't save Solo and he could save the church…it seemed as if everyone that he got close to died. It was why he began calling himself the God of Death… And now it seemed that Heero was due to pass into the next realm. Duo shook himself; that is quite enough Maxwell; you're being superstiousious; God wouldn't take Heero.right? At the very least Heero was still needed for this war; and they were doing a good thing…right? So Heero would come back safe and sound, no worries.

Duo suddenly realized that Heero was watching him an eyebrow raised in silent question; Duo smiled; "It's nothing Heero." He replied, "take care and good luck on your mission. Make sure to keep and eye on the weather." Heero nodded and disappeared down the hall. A few moments later Duo heard the rumble of the truck as Heero pulled out.

He shouldn't be gone long; only a couple days. This was just a snatch and destroy. Simple enough especially for the Perfect Solider. You're worrying over nothing. Duo told himself, yet….he was still uneasy. All his instincts were screaming at him that Heero was in danger. An icy wind blew through the window; it nipped at his nose and cheeks; there was the definite scent of snow on the breeze. Hopefully it won't be a blizzard.

That evening the worse blizzard in decades struck. In little over a hour two and a half feet of snow had fallen. Reports claimed that some areas had as much as four feet already. Meterologists predicted that the area should be expecting anywhere from four to six feet of snow before the night was out.

Heero swore as he ran through the OZ base. He hadn't expected the commanding officers to pull all the troops and guards into the building when the snow started. The place was now crawling with soldiers.

A bullet whizzed by his head; embedding itself in the cement beside him. He swore again, more vemently this time; as he fired off two response rounds and took off down the hall. His already injuried leg and arm sent bolts of pain throughout his body with every step. He needed to get out of here and he needed to do it fast. He had the information he was looking for, the bombs were set to blow this place sky high; now he just needed to get out and give the data to the Doctors.

Bullets whizzed by; frantic Heero looked left and right, searching for anyway to get out of the predicament he had put himself into. To his right was a large window; it was a way out….and it was fast. It met all the requirements he wanted in an exit route. He raced towards it; bullets richoceting all around him; he fired five rounds into the window nearly shattering it. He ran full tilt towards the window; and slammed his shoulder against it. It shattered instantly unable to resist the additional strain Heero had put n it. Heero plummeted two storied; instantly and without conscious thought Heero twisted like a cat in midfall so that he landed on his feet. He hit the ground and rolled; agonizing pain flashed through his leg. Broken; he knew. He pushed the pain away. He could still use the leg. The cold hit him like a sledgehammer; the frigid wind went right through his turtle neck and jeans; stealing all the warmth his run in the building had produced. The snow was already to his knees; and he was instantly soaked. He waded through the wet fluff until he hit tire tracks; then he forced his battered body into a run. A truck was parked near by; the driver was waiting to be told where to park apparently. Heero made a snap decision and raced over to the truck. The driver was just getting out of the vehicle; blinded by the snow and ice, he did not see Heero's mad dash towards him until it was too late.

Heero tossed the dead man to the ground and climbed into the truck. He put the vehicle into gear and pulled out; seconds later the entire hanger went up in a firey inferno. Soldiers raced over to help put out the flames and help anyone caught in the blast. Unnoticed; Heero drove right out the back gate; pausing long enough to silence the gate guard. Heero drove as fast as he could on the snow covered road. He swore again in his native tongue; he couldn't see anything but white. Ahead Heero could barely make out the shape of a bridge. He slowed a bit; knowing that bridges tended to be far slicker then the road; yet when his tires touched the cement of the bridge, he started to slide. He clutched the wheel; trying to regain some control; praying that his tired would catch.. Unfortunatly he was going to fast; before him he could make out the 3 foot guard rail of the bridge….and he was heading right towards it.

Duo stood on the second story balcony; gazing off into the blinding swirl of snow. Something was wrong; he knew it. More specifically something was wrong with Heero. Everytime Duo looked at something that belonged to the 01 pilot; he saw grey.

"Duo, what in Allah's name are you doing out here? You're going to catch your death out here;" the small pale Arabian said, coming to stand next to Duo.

"Can't you feel it, Kat?" Duo asked, "Something is wrong….something is wrong with Heero."

"Ay, I feel it too." Quatre replied.

"Do me a favor; Kat?" Duo asked, "Go grab me some blankets and medical shit….I'm going out."

"WHAT!" Quatre yelped, "You can't! You'll freeze! No one can survive that! Heero's probably holed away somewhere…he's fine. We're just being…paranoid."

"You know as well as I do that that isn't the case. Heero's in trouble; I know it. In the matters of Death, Kat, you know I'm never wrong." Duo stated.

"At least wait until morning…" Quatre pleaded; Duo shook his head;

"Heero may not have until morning."

Quatre hesitated; caught between his worry for Heero and his worry for his braided friend. Duo turned and gave Quatre an encouraging smile;

"I'll be fine Quatre; I've spent many a nights out in weather colder then this; with less protection then I have now. Trust me; I'll bring both Heero and myself back. I promise." Duo said; " And you know I always keep my word."

Not completely satisfied, but knowing that Duo would take offense if he continued to argue; Quatre went off to gather the necessary things for Duo. He gave the pack to Duo when the braided youth came into the kitchen. Quatre walked Duo to the door;

"Be careful, Maxwell. If you don't come back I swear I'll hate you for all eternity." Quatre stated. Duo grinned; "No worries. Kat, you can't kill Death remember?"

Quatre watched until Duo drove the second truck out of sight. He had a very bad feeling. Duo may call himself Death; but he had a feeling that if the 02 pilot wasn't careful, he would be meeting Death very, very soon.

Duo drove slowly towards the base where Heero had gone. It had taken him nearly all evening to hack into Heero's computer and get the data. Hopefully if they both survived this Heero would forgive him for the invasion of his privacy. More likely the guy will give me the whole "I will kill you' routine and break ever bone I have in my body. In any case it was something he would have to worry about later…right now he had to consentrate in the road or there wouldn't be a later. Besides Heero should know by now that there's no such thing as privacy when dealing with and ex-street rat.

It took Duo over five hours to arrive at the site. Duo rolled to a stop some two miles from the base; he parked his truck around a bend; out of direct line of sight. He walked to the edge of the tree line and looked over in the direction of the base….the snow was beginning to slack off now; though Duo would have still be able to make out the smoke and blaze that still filled the sky. Damn what ever Heero had used was obviously some bad-ass shit. I almost feel sorry for whatever fool gets to clean and sort through that mess. Duo thought; peering through his night vision goggles at the former base; "Damn Heero…." Duo muttered into his scarf, "And you call me a pyro!" Making sure that the truck was concealed as best as possible; and that he had all his warm clothes on…and had his little bag of goodies; Duo started out. It was going to be a miserable two miles; but he would make it. He HAD to find Heero. He had to.

It took Duo nearly two hours to walk the two miles; dispite the warm clothing and all the physical exertion that he had to use in this weather; he was freezing. The wind seemed to worm it's way in between the fabric of his clothing and steal any and all warmth he had.

Suddenly snow covered ground flashed grey in his vision. Duo froze; bringing his head up to look around. He was on a bridge; further from the base then he had initially figured. He could barely make out skid marks on the bridge and a large eight foot section of cement guard rail was missing. Again his vision flashed grey. Heero. With renewed strength and energy Duo forced his way through the snow to the edge; below in the icy waters; he could just make out what looked like the back end of an OZ army truck. His vision flashed grey again; longer this time. Please dear God don't let him have gone into the river! Please no…Frantic Duo scanned the sides of the bank; searching for any6 indication; anything at all that might indicate that Heero was NOT still in the truck submerged in water. On the left bank; there looked like a section of the snow had slid off into the water… His vision flashed grey again. Heero… Somehow he knew…simply KNEW that it was Heero and he wasn't dead yet…there was still a chance… there had to be. It seemed like it took him an eternity to fight his way down to the river side.The closer he got to the spot; the more his vision flashed grey. Finally he reached the section of snow; frantically he brushed the snow away, revealing a nearly frozen Heero. The boy lay motionless on the ground; his hair and clothes frozen. His lips and skin had a blue tinge. Please dear God let me not be to late…please have mercy…don't take him… please don't take another one from me…please not him…be alive Heero...please be alive. Over and over again Duo chanted in his head; hoping that by repetition that God would hear him and spare Heero's life. Pulling off the gloves on his right hand; Duo checked for a pulse…there was a very faint one…barely noticeable. Shoving his hand back into the cold glove; Duo bent and lifted the prone body of the 01 pilot and carried him over to a clear spot beneath the bridge. An errie calm settled over him as he began pulling things out of his bag and arranging them. Quatre had thought of everything to add; and everything was simple and quick. He packed blankets; and extra set of Heero's clothes, snap hotpacks, fire starter wood, matched, and a pot for boiling water, plus simple broth for them both to drink. Duo got the fire going; mentally willing it to catch and burn, then he dragged Heero closer to the fire in an attempt to thaw his clothes so Duo could get them off him. At the same time Duo had a pot filled with snow setting over the now roaring fire; waiting for the snow to melt then boil. Once Heero's clothes had thawed enough that Duo could remove them; Duo very carefully changed Heero into his set of clean, dry and WARM clothes. By now some of Heero's color was returning and he had started to shiver. Duo wrapped him loosly in one of the blankets and placed the hot packs within the blankets to help warm him up.

"You know he's mine.." A smooth, silky voice said; the sound sending chills up Duo's spine. Duo whirled, gun instantly appearing in his hand; aimed directly at the speaker…who was hovering out over the swirling frozen waters. Duo felt his eyes go wide and he jaw drop. Before him dressed all in black leather; was a young man who appeared to be physically no more then twenty. However, one look into those glowing green eyes and Duo knew that this being had seen civilizations rise and fall….his eyes were timeless… His blood red hair billowed out around him like a living thing. Duo could barely make out two long black feathered wings sprouting from the young mans shoulders. He was bare foot, Duo noticed. He also had two silver wrist cuffs; multiple earring in each pointed ear; a silver cross glittered on his bare chest. In his hand he held a sythe.

"Who the hell are you.." Duo said in a choked whisper; already knowing the answer.

"I should think the self proclaimed God of Death would recognize another…" the being said, his voice slid over Duo's skin like water, sending chills up his spine.

"Shinigami…" Duo whispered; fear clutching his heart.

"See…I knew you knew mw." Shinigami said, smiling. His eyes glowed red in the firelight.

"You're here for Heero.." Duo stated.

"Always knew you were a clever one…" Shiniagmi replied.

"You can't have him." Duo said, his resolve hardening, he was NOT going to let Death take the life of another person he loved.

"And who is going to stop me? You?" Shinigami asked, laughter echoing in his voice; "Step aside child, I have a job to do."

"No. You want him you'll have to come through me to get him." Duo said, he didn't know what he was thinking, challenging a god? Was he insane?

"You really would die for this human, wouldn't you?" Shinigami asked, he seemed slightly confused.

"Yes, I would lay down my life for Heero; and for any of the other pilots too…they're the only family I have. I don't fear Death." Duo stated; suddenly realizing that he would indeed sacrifice everything for the other gundam pilots. Shinigami regarded him for several long moments.

"Interesting…I have never felt that sort of loyalty or attachment to anything thing." Shinigami stated, dark shadows seemed to move behind those bright green eyes; "I have a proposition for you human."

Duo blink…what?

"I have been living this exhistance for a very very long time…I have seen the rise and fall of Egypt and Rome…and never have I once experienced the emotion that you have for these 'friends' of yours. So, I'll make a deal with you, Duo Maxwell." SHinigami stated, Duo flinched slightly…How did it know my name? "In exchange for the life of one Heero Yuy and my help in other matters; you will allow me to merge with you and become part of you. I will live your life right beside you; sharing your body, experiencing all that you experience, seeing all the you see, feeling all that you feel. I will exsist with you like that until the time of your death; in which case, I will retire and you will become the new Shinigami…"

Duo blinked. Did he just hear right? Shinigami was making a deal with him…he could save Heero if he allowed Death to share his body….

:"You'll still be in control of your body, human, I'm not possessing you merely hitching a ride so to speak. I will even give you my advise and help as much as I can in the restricted form…."

"If I agree to this, you'll become part of me….like a hitch-hiker….and you'll help me protect the ones I love?" Duo asked, trying to get his mind to wrap around what he was being offered.

"Correct."

"Alright." Duo said; "I'll probably regret it later, but if you'll help me keep my friends alive and in good health…so be it…I accept."

"DONE!" Shinigami bellowed; there was a blinding flash of light and a sound like a thunder clap; then silence. Duo shook his head; taking in his surroundings. Already the power that was Shinigami was making itself known. He no longer felt the bite of the frigid air; the swirling snow no longer posed a problem for him; he could see everything in a weird kind of negative effect….every tree, every stone was outlined in different colors. He could practically hear every flack of snow as it touched the ground. He shook his head; trying to clear it of the noise. Next to him Heero moaned; Duo looked at him. As he watched Heero's body began to glow as it grew warmer. Duo smiled…he would be ok…

Of course…a promise is a promise a voice whispered in his head. Duo blinked; then shook his head again. He'd worry about strange voices in his head later, right now he needed to tend to Heero.

The snow stopped falling about an hour before dawn. Quickly Duo packed up the camp site; then wrapping one of Heero's arms around his shoulders; he set off down the road. Oddly enough; Heero felt like he weighed nothing; and the snow didn't seem to pose a problem to him in the slightest. The two miles fell away in what seemed like moments; in reality only taking an hour to reach the truck. Duo was amazed; he looked behind him to remove their trail…only to find that there wasn't one. Duo blinked; somewhere in the back of his mind Duo heard the echo of a laugh.

Duo brushed the snow off the truck and put Heero into the back of the cab, wrapping him tightly in blankets, so he wouldn't catch any more of a chill then he already had. Duo climbed into the drivers seat and started the engine; then pulled out. Instantly he ran into a potential problem…OZ had set up a road block sometime in the night to prevent anyone from going to the destroyed base. Wonderful how the fuck am I suppose top get through that!

Go straight through.

"You're fucking crazy.." Duo muttered.

Go through it…I'll handle it…trust me…

"I'm fucking insane…listening to the damn voices in my head…" Duo muttered as he drove up to the OZ soldier standing guard.

Officer Allen stopped the approaching truck; the driver, a young man in his twenties with red hair, smiled back at him.

"What can I do for ya, boss?" the youth said; Allen gritted his teeth, he hated youngsters, didn't they know how to speak to an adult with respect?

"Papers." He snapped, "There was a breach, Corneal Une wants everyone checked, she thinks that the arson may still be in the vicinity."

"Ah, one of them Gundam Pilots, eh?" the young soldier asked, handing Allen his papers.

Allen grunted an affirmative; checked the papers, then returned them and waved them on their way.

Duo sat in amazment. They had just driven right by a guard; and he hadn't even given Duo a second glance.

Perhaps having Death tag along won't be such a bad thing after all, hm human?

"Indeed, perhaps not…" Duo muttered.

He arrived back at the safe house by midday; making sure to take the long way back on the off chance someone was following him.

"DUO! HEERO!" Quatre called, as soon as he saw the truck pull up. Duo smiled down at the petite blonde as he and Trowa pulled the still sleeping Heero from the truck seat.

"I was beginning to worry…" Quatre said, giving Duo a hug before scampering off to tend to Heero.

"I told you; you can't kill Death." Duo said, smiling as he followed his golden haired friend. If Quatre had chosen that moment to turn around; he would have noticed that Duo's normally violet eyes were glowing red at the center. In the back of Duo's mind a deep, smooth, silky voice laughed.