Call me a joker, call me a fool

Right at this moment I’m totally cool

Clear as a crystal, sharp as a knife

I feel like I’m in the prime of my life

Sometimes it feels like I’m going too fast

I don’t know how long this feeling will last

Maybe it’s only tonight

Duo Maxwell leaned against the wall of the dark alleyway and brushed a piece of hair out of his eyes. His braid hung down his back and he sighed. What the hell had he been thinking, taking Deathsycthe the day before the mission – the mission he was supposed to do with Heero – and going after that base himself? He’d wound up damaging Deathsycthe and having to leave the Gundam in a cave in the middle of the woods. It had been an incredibly stupid move . . .

. . . And he’d loved every second of it.

Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes

Too high or too low there ain’t no in-betweens

And if I stand or I fall

It’s all or nothing at all

Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes

It’d been like that for awhile now. He had no idea why. All he knew was that he, Duo Maxwell, had been on a super adrenaline-high lately, and it was beginning to become obvious. Heero knew something was wrong; Quatre had known for awhile; whether Trowa and Wufei knew was beyond him and to tell the truth, he didn’t really care. I don’t know if this attitude is great, but I love it! He grinned wildly, shoved his hands in his pockets, and began walking back to the hotel.

Sometimes I’m tired, sometimes I’m shot

Sometimes I don’t know how much more I’ve got

Maybe I’m headed over the hill

Maybe I’ve set myself up for the kill

Tell me how much do you think you can take

Until the heart in you is starting to break?

Sometimes it feels like it will

Duo, where the hell are you? Heero glanced away from his laptop and over at the empty bed for the tenth time since he’d woken up and found himself alone in the room. It hadn’t been the first time. Duo had been doing it for about a year now – going off at night, going after the enemy by himself, not bothering to let whoever he was working with know he was going. Heero’d been patient with him, but there was only so much he could handle. It was beginning to get old.

Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes

Too high or too low there ain’t no in-betweens

You can be sure when I’m gone

I won’t be out there too long

Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes

He glanced at the clock. Duo had been gone for about two hours – he’d be back soon. He never stayed out very long. Even if he was handling things by himself, if he was going to return, he’d be quick about it. Heero shut down his laptop and returned to his bed. When Duo did come back, Heero didn’t want him to know that the ‘Perfect Soldier’ had been waiting up for him. It was better that way.

Out of the darkness, into the light

Leaving the scene of the crime

Either I’m wrong or I’m perfectly right every time

Sometimes I lie awake, night after night

Coming apart at the seams

Eager to please, ready to fight

Why do I go to extremes?

Duo stepped out of the shadow of the buildings and under the dim light of the street lamp, peering up at the dark window of the hotel room he was sharing with Heero. He must be asleep, Duo thought. He shrugged. It didn’t matter. He’d done what he’d needed to do, he’d gotten the job done, and that’s all there was to it. Tomorrow he’d retrieve Deathscythe and be on his way to the next mission. Whether Heero came or not was the Wing pilot’s choice.

Heero listened to the sound of footsteps on the stairs outside the door. Duo was back. He closed his eyes and lay still, breathing heavily, giving off the impression that he was fast asleep. It was three in the morning. Tomorrow, he’d ask Duo where he’d been, and then chew him out for doing the mission by himself. Then he’d take Wing Zero and prepare to fight any troops OZ might’ve left around to search for the Gundams. Business as usual.

Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes

Too high or too low there ain’t no in-betweens

And if I stand or I fall

It’s all or nothing at all

Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes

Two weeks later, Heero surprised Duo by being awake when he came back from one of his midnight runs. Duo hadn’t come out of it too well – his clothes were torn and bloody, and from the look on the pilot’s face, Deathscythe was going to need massive repairing.

"Where were you, Duo?" Heero asked monotonously.

Duo looked at him, and grinned. "Where do you think I was?" he asked. "Taking care of the mission." And with that, he tossed his bloodied braid over his shoulder and disappeared into the bathroom.

Heero looked after him. Duo, he thought, why are you doing this?

No I don’t know why I go to extremes

Too high or too low there ain’t no in-betweens

You can be sure when I’m gone

I won’t be out there too long

Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes