27 June 2000
Duo let out a low breath and tilted his head forward, pressing it against the cool metal kiss of his apartment's door. Silently he thanked God that it was late enough in the day that all of the sector's residents had left for their jobs hours ago.
"Fuck," Shinigami whispered tiredly as he raised his hand and swiped a plastic pass card through the door's lock, dread cramping his stomach.
Dread of walking into an empty apartment.
The electronic lock shrilled a double beep as it processed and authorized his entrance. Heavily a callused hand flicked the latch open while its companion pushed away the sturdy door clearing the entryway. Unseeing eyes stared ahead while trained ears strained to pick up the faintest of noise.
Silence.
Dead Silence.
She might still be asleep.
"Right," was the cynical reply his lips gave. Mind ignoring his mouth, Duo walked forward and into his normally welcoming apartment not bothering to close the door behind him. If his suspicions were right and Blair had walked he wouldn't be staying long.
The dread built as he passed though the living room, passed the crumpled EKG read out, and passed the scattered pictures. All wishful thinking halted as the braided man continued to move through the main living quarters to his bedroom which was softly lit with yellow light that spilled out from the closet's open door.
He didn't swear when he entered the empty room.
He froze.
He wanted to scream, but he didn't. Instead his mind went into high gear, analytically taking in the small surroundings. A folded piece of paper where his laptop should be caught his attention first. Unceremoniously, Shinigami climbed over his black comforter covered bed and snatched up the note as soon as it was within reach. Fiery violet eyes scanned the sharp strong hand writing, tracing subtle flares and sharp points of the hastily scrawled letters.
Went to go watch the rain.
Catch me if you can.
Blair
A small frown tugged down the corners of his lips and brows drew tightly together in an expression that was Duo Maxwell's version of a scowl.
The environmental system wasn't set to storm for another week.
"Damn it," the braided man snapped, "Why the hell can't I just meet some nice chick who isn't independent to a fucking fault?"
Because you would get bored with her.
Duo opened his mouth to reply and then stopped, jaw hanging slack and shoulders dropping as he mulled over the thought. The little voice in his head was right, as much as he hated to admit it; he would get bored with a nice mundane girl. No, he wouldn't be bored, he would be miserable.
"Wonderful, simply wonderful," Deathscythe's pilot murmured as he climbed back over his bed, hand briefly resting on cool sheets that testified to how long Blair had been gone. Duo sighed deeply and ran tired fingers over the COM systems controls. After flashing through several screens, Howard's image appeared.
"What's up?"
A wry smirk quirked the braided man's lips. "Blair is."
"How's she doing?" Howard asked carefully, eyes peering over his dark sunglasses.
A fit of ironic laugher almost took Duo as the question slipped through his ears. "I wouldn't know. She walked with my lap top and left a nice little note saying that she was going to go watch the rain, which is beyond me cause the last time I heard the weather controlls aren't programmed for it."
Howard's brow knitted together tightly as he leaned back in his chair, prodigal mind spinning for a course of action. Upon finding one, his wrinkled face relaxed with a smile.
"If she left a note, she isn't gone yet."
Deathscythe's pilot scoffed softly and put his hands on his hips. "Gee, I feel better already."
"She might be hacking the environmental controls."
"Blair that good?"
The old MS engineer slipped off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, a hundred memories passing though his brain. "She used to be. I'm guessing you're going to be taking the next few days off of work."
Duo nodded. "Looks that way. I'm going to the control room to see if I can track her down from there."
"Sounds good, keep your eyes peeled for any user going by Arashi or Yao. They're two standard handles for her. I'll swing by when I get the chance."
The braided man tilted his head foreword and shook it slowly and scoffed. "Tempest and night rain. Do I sense a pattern here?"
Howard chuckled. "You don't know the half of it. And Duo?"
"Yeah?" violet eyes peered out from a fringe of bangs; their steady gaze locked on Howard's image.
"Good luck, kid."
Luck was something Duo was severally lacking one hour, forty-five minutes and four cups of coffee later.
Black coffee.
Strong fingers few over a heavily used keyboard, relentless in their search for any signs of the curly haired ex-pilot. Shinigami paused his near frantic typing to reach for a half-filled mug of liquid caffeine. Violet eyes scanned over the eight view screens that displayed network activity as their liquid crystal glow tinted the visual word with a surreal light. The self-proclaimed god of death was starting to get worried.
Downing the now cold coffee, Duo tilted his head to one side and was rewarded with a cleansing succession of pops from his spine before returning his attention to his search, eyes catching the time.
12:13pm, the red LCD clock blinked causing the braided man to pause and then chuckle dryly.
Ten hours.
Ten hours since he had met Blair and it seemed as if it was a life time ago. Already she had become a fixture in his thoughts.
What have you gotten yourself into Maxwell?
"A murky mess," he replied blandly before a smile turned his lips up.
And you wouldn't want it any other way.
The thought skimmed his mind as a red dialog box popped open on one of the many view screens.
User ID ARASHI detected.
Location: Sector4-x562-y399-z5527.
"Yes!" an exited yell echoed in the control room as Duo bolted up sending his chair rolling backwards till it crashed into the wall behind him.
"Thank you God," Shinigami leaned foreword and pressed his lips to the cool monitor before tired fingers dialed Howard's extension.
Erin Johnson
Please send comments to: johnsoel@purdue.edu