It started out as a wonderful day, Duo thought remorsefully, slinking back to the comfort of the Gundam's hangar. Heero had actually been nice to him, heck was even hinting at possibly, maybe there being a glimmer of hope for something more than friendship. He'd gotten the upperhand in his constant war of pranks and jabs with Wufei not once but twice today. (A rare thing. Duo would never admit it aloud, but Wufei was a formidable opponent when it came to the games of guile and word traps) and even managed to help Quatre out on one of his little projects.
So why this? Why now?
"Coming to visit they say." Duo muttered. "Just like that. No, 'hi son, how are you, sorry we didn't come and get you 15 years ago, but we were busy. Do you have anything going on?' Nope, just 'we're coming to visit. Be ready.' Figures the lil pyro would be that terse, hardly could ever pry more than a sentence out of him."
Duo walked up to the massive foot of Deathsycthe, still complaining to the hulking metal machine. The mechanics were all gone, and even Howard would have hit the sack by this time.
"Reminds you of someone else, eh partner?"
"Do they have ANY idea how much this is going to mess up? What the hell am I gonna tell the guys." He sighed leaning against Deathscythe, patting it as it gave a reassuring vibration through its metalwork.
Duo's lips curled up into a smile. "You still give a damn partner?" His smile widened as the metal whispered back an affirmative that only he could hear. "Of course."
Duo gave a quick glance around into the darkness, just to be sure that no one was there. Satisfied, he let his form drop, stretching out, and smoothing down his wiry black fur.
His four fox tails twitched in unison as he let a little of his youkai out and wrapped it around the warm gundanmium. With a quick twitch, he coaxed the hand of the giant mecha to reach down and settle on the ground before him.
With a fang riddled grin, he hopped into the waiting fist and let it carry him aloft again to his favorite perch on his partner's shoulder. Once there, he slipped back into the comfortable form of the human known as Duo Maxwell. Shinigami didn't know exactly when he began to prefer it, but it he was more at home with braided chestnut hair and violet eyes than that of the infinitely more powerful kitsune/koorime.
Lost in his own thoughts of family and how he was going to juggle this little disaster, he missed the soft shocked gasp somewhere below, and the frantic footsteps fading out of the hangar and down the hall.
TBC
Notes: Youki: consider it demon magic
Kitsune: a fox spirit, playful, mischievous, deadly if pissed off
Koorime: ice demon
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