January 26, 196 2

LETTERS FROM DUO
(Sidefic series for the Death and the Dragon Arc)

By: Mel and Christy
Warnings: Fluff!

Duo finished wrapping gauze loosely around his hands, wincing as it pressed on his open blisters, and sat on the floor in front of the fireplace, pulling his blanket more tightly around him. *All alone in this poor excuse for a shack, much less a safehouse, and nothing to do but freeze. Just my luck lately.*

With a sigh, he pulled over his laptop, checked the battery and started to type.

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FROM: SUPREME_MASTER@HELL.com
TO: Djinni@Sandstorm.com
SENT: 21:42 January 26, 196AC
SUBJECT: FREEZING!

---message begins---

Hey Q!

Man, this has got to be the worst mission possible! I think I'd rather have to dress in drag and parade through downtown London or Paris. I'm holed up under six feet of snow, stuck outside all day in sub-zero temperatures, spying on a tiny factory to see if it is actually a viable target. EXCUSE ME! I DON'T think women's underwear is OZ's latest weapon of mass destruction! I've been here 4 days already and NOTHING, but G says give it another 4 days or so. GEEZ! I HATE the cold!

The safehouse is nothing more than a 1 room shack with a closet sized bathroom. Hot water? What's that? There is a fire place, at least... but is there any wood? NO! I've got blisters, damn it, from cutting my own! And did I mention it's FREEZING here?

G says if this does end up a bust, I should head to safehouse 12 and wait for my next mission. But I was thinking... if you're not busy, what do you think of hanging out on Howard's ship for a few days? He's floating around the South Pacific where it's WARM. You know how I hate the cold. Maybe we can get the others there, too. We could all use a break.

Let me know, 'k?

Your frozen friend,

Duo

---message ends---

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Quatre finished wiping grease off his hands, grabbed a cup of tea, and sat in front of his laptop, waiting while it pulled up his messages. *I do hope there's something from the guys... or at least something from H. Everyone else is off on missions and I'm stuck here waiting, with little or nothing to do. Even a mission would be welcome at this point.*

The laptop chirped, signalling his mail was downloaded, and he grinned as he opened the one from Duo. *This should cheer me up.*

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FROM: Djinni@Sandstorm.com
TO: SUPREME_MASTER@HELL.com
SENT: 10:58 January 27, 196AC
SUBJECT: Re:FREEZING!

---message begins---

Duo,

I thought you were going to change that email address? _I_ don't mind it, but it did make Abdul rather twitchy when you emailed him and he wasn't expecting it.

Are you sure that's just an underwear factory? I have to admit, it sounds like a silly choice of cover, but why would an underwear factory be stuck out in the middle of the frozen tundra? It's not like there's a huge market for lingerie industrial espionage secrets... is there?

That definitely sounds like an awful safehouse. At least you won't be there for too much longer. You've been very busy lately, and I think some time in the tropics with Howard is a wonderful idea. I don't know if I can justify taking any time off-- I haven't been working nearly as hard as you have, and H did tell me to stay put-- but I'll see what I can do. I'm sure Trowa and Heero would love to join you. Trowa's been in Northern Canada, so he'll appreciate the warm weather. Wufei is on a mission, too, and being very uncommunicative at the moment, but I'll see what he thinks when I can get a hold of him.

'End up a bust' at a lingerie factory? Did you do that on purpose?!

Hope things get better,

Quatre

---message ends---

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Quatre sighed and shivered in sympathy for Duo. *Well, I suppose my situation could be worse... and I can wait for a mission as easily on Howard's ship as I can here all alone...*

Grinning once again, he began firing off emails to H, Heero, Trowa and Wufei.

January 26, 196 (2)