Duo's Secret Love

-----part 1-----

"Hey! Heero!" Duo called out, running into the kitchen with a bouquet of red and white roses. "Thanks! Does this mean you finally want to marry me?"

"I didn't give you flowers." Heero told Duo. "I don't know what you're up to, but that's a really bad joke."

"Joke? What are you talking about?" Duo asked. "And if you didn't give me these flowers, then who did?"

"What am I? Flower security?"

"I thought you were getting serious about us." Duo pointed out.

Heero turned to Duo. "There is no *us*, Duo." he said. "There never has been. Duo, I... I love someone else."

"Not Relena!" Duo yelped. 

"No." Heero smiled, wanly. "Not Relena. But not you, either."

Duo ran from the room in tears.

-----part 2-----

Duo ran out into the street, getting hit by a car that was speeding by. It threw him several feet, causing him to land near Deathscythe.

Heero and the others heard the screeching tires and ran to see what had happened. 

"Please, let Duo be okay." Heero pleaded as he raced to the front door. "I don't love him, but that doesn't mean I don't like him."


Quatre looked up from working on his Gundam. He was surprised to see Deathscythe returning, cradling Duo in its hands. The Gundam seemed to be comforting its pilot, who was clearly wounded.

"What the...?"

Heero ran in. "Duo's been hit by a car. I need to find..."

Quatre pointed up at the small, wounded form in Deathscythe's grasp.

"What is going on?" Heero demanded.

-----part 3-----

Deathscythe would not let Heero near Duo, however. The deadly Gundam just stood there, protectively cradling its pilot, and singing a lullaby to the braided baka.

"Please let me just ..."

"You've done enough damage, thank you." Deathscythe replied, bitterly.

//Why does Duo's Gundam sound like it has feelings?// Heero wondered. //Surely, it...// he paused his train of thought as Duo's happy announcement about the flowers returned. "Did you give Duo those flowers?" he asked aloud.

"Yes." Deathscythe replied. "He seemed sad the other day when he was piloting me, so I wanted to cheer him up."

"Why?" Heero asked.

"I love him."

Heero blinked. "Impossible. You're just a machine. A collection of circuits and some Gundanium alloy. Nothing more."

"Wrong." Deathscythe replied. "We Gundams have an AI interface. That's one reason we respond so quickly to your actions. We practically have a telepathic link with you. And we do form a sort of awareness or intuition after time."

"But you don't have feelings." Heero pointed out.

"I feel more for Duo than you ever will." Deathscythe told Heero. "You're so intent on being Dr.J's perfect soldier that you have no idea what you're throwing away."

"What are you talking about?" Heero demanded.

"Of all the joys in all the worlds," Deathscythe replied, "there is none greater than loving and being loved by Duo Maxwell."

-----TBC-----