Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make any money off of them.
Warnings: Male/Male sex, graphic, language, violence.
Where the sun don't shine
1x2 GW
Kracken
The hotel was everything it had been billed:Opulent to the nth degree.
Heero appreciated its beauty while still judging it a logistics nightmare. It
was full of ornamental greenery, private cu-de-sacs, and doors that led in every
direction. A lack of heavy foot traffic and the expensive clothing of those
who were walking the patterned stone walkways, spoke of the price tag for staying
there. A person on a real vacation might have thought the lack of clientele
a good thing, but Heero saw it as a lack of cover. It was going to be very easy
for the enemy to follow them with surveillance.
"It smells like..." Duo wheeled his chair alongside Heero, his expression lost in thought. "Suntan lotion, fresh cut grass, tropical flowers and... a sea breeze. Amazing."
Duo plucked a pink hibiscus from a bush and stuck it above one ear in his chestnut hair. Looking down at Duo's suddenly eager grin, Heero found his lips twitching to make a return smile.
"Like what you see?" Duo wondered with a raised eyebrow that was both devilish and mischievous.
Heero swallowed hard. He didn't have to fish for a response, it was there on the tip of his tongue. They had both stopped and people moved around them as if unseeing. The porter carrying their luggage was standing almost at attention, his expression blank. Heero was certain he would stand all day if necessary until they were ready to move on.
"I always have," Heero finally replied and he didn't imagine that startled look in Duo's eyes that quickly slid away to be replaced by pleasure.
"I tell people you have talented tongue, but they never believe me," Duo said as he recovered his wit. "Come on, I really want to get to our room as quick as possible."
There was a blatant innuendo implied and Heero felt the heat all the way to his ears. He nodded and they proceeded past check in and followed the directions of the porter. Everything was already taken care of, they were assured, so that they could begin enjoying their vacation immediately.
"That's really nice of them," Duo said as they took the glass elevator up to their floor.
They had a good view of a garden within a garden. Banks of flowers and plants wept around the stark, yet beautiful lines of a zen garden. A waterfall that looked as if it was leaping straight from the rocky side of a Hawaiian cliff face kept everything wet and pleasantly cool.
"It's a bit hot out there," Duo complained.
"For realism," the porter informed him. "The temperature can be adjusted in many areas to suit your comfort level, sirs."
"Perfect," Heero replied. He was used to the cooler temps of most space stations automatic environment controls.
"The bed is hydroform?" Duo asked the porter suddenly, a crease of concern between his eyes.
"Exactly to specifications," the porter replied confidently. "We do strive to accommodate all the physical needs of our guests. The suite has extra wide doors, counters and facilities with wheelchair access."
Duo seemed relieved and Heero wondered how much of that was for show. He didn't have those options in their barracks rooms. It was possible that Duo wanted to emphasize his disabilities to make their enemy underestimate his abilities.
"Shit!" Duo exclaimed, and Heero had to agree, when the elevator doors opened and they found themselves in a wide hallway, with an expensive black and red carpet, Gold and white wallpaper depicting egrets, reeds, and a water scenes flowing on both walls as if they rode waves, and doors that were ornate enough to be works of art themselves. They looked like solid mahogany and were carved with more egrets.
"The room must be nice," Heero decided.
"I'll bet, if the hallway looks like this!" Duo chuckled.
"This way, sirs." the porter led them to room 402 and opened the door for them. He placed the luggage inside, bowed a little, and then swept back out without waiting for a tip. "Enjoy your vacation, sirs," he said, and then he was gone smoothly and tactfully.
"Ready for that carrying business," Duo said uncertainly.
Heero was still looking after the porter. He looked down and saw something in Duo's expression that made him not hesitate to pick Duo up in his arms. He shoved the wheelchair into the room with his foot and watched it roll forward and bump to a stop at a well appointed desk.
Duo was light, despite the braces. He smelled nice, like cinnamon candy, and his skin was warm where it touched Heero's. The purple of his large eyes, his long swinging braid, and the wild abandon of his bangs made him seem as exotic as the flower in his hair.
"All right?" Heero asked softly.
Duo seemed at a loss for words, staring into Heero's eyes searchingly, and then he said, "Yeah, all right."
Heero carried him through into their room and then understood why the porter had called it a suite. There was an outer room with an overstuffed couch before an ornate stone fireplace, cashmere throws, a white thick pile carpet, and various pieces of furniture for in room dinning and relaxing. A door led to a sunken spa tub and an amazing bathroom that included a blue stone shower that seemed carved out of a single block and a double sink of the same stone. Another door led to a bedroom with a circular bed with white linens, thick comforters and ornate pillows with gold thread designs.
"Bed," Duo said in a whisper. His eyes were wide, as if the suite frightened him with its opulence.
Heero felt his heart begin racing. How far were they about to go faking a relationship? Duo was dedicated enough to consider it his duty, but Heero wasn't sure he could perform without the passion that he really felt for Duo. It would go too far, he felt, and Duo might feel the need to retaliate, to reject him in a way that would ruin their working friendship.
Heero placed Duo on the bed and Duo snagged a throw and covered himself. He looked tired and apologetic, yet relieved as well as the mattress conformed to his body and most likely eased his pain.
"I need a bit of rest, Heero. Sorry about that." Duo apologized. "I have a cheap version of this at home. This is really nice. He took up a small control and punched in a setting. He put it down and smiled. "It's heated too."
Heero felt his own kind of relief. "Of course. I'll look around the hotel while you relax."
"Sounds good," Duo sighed. "Check out a good place for dinner."
"I will... love," Heero agreed.
Duo looked at him quickly and then smiled. "This will be a great vacation, love. I just have to go at a slower pace."
"As slow as you need," Heero replied and then tentatively, "Do you need medication?"
"I keep it for the really bad pain," Duo replied. "This is just a sixer on the ten scale."
"That's wise," Heero agreed. "I'll be back."
"I'll be here," Duo assured him with some self deprecation.
Heero left the room and then leaned up against the hallway wall to take some deep breaths. It was a few minutes before he could get control of himself enough to continue to the elevator. Duo's injuries didn't matter to him when it came to his feelings for Duo. Heero wasn't sure how he was going to keep control of himself until the end of the mission. Duo wasn't stupid. He was going to find out. Heero wished he was certain whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing.
---------------------------------------------------------
Heero knew that their main weapon would be uncertainty. As he walked intricate stone walkways to almost every part of the resort, he allowed himself to study everything closely. It would be up to their enemy to decide whether he was planning a military action or simply following a soldier's habit of checking the perimeter.
There were electronic brochures available and Heero leaned against a very real looking palm tree to study the list of activities and suggested resort hot spots. It was a very impressive resort, he decided, after seeing horse back riding, windsurfing, and cliff climbing. There were also levels of danger that a guest could choose after signing the appropriate waivers.
"First time here?"
Heero looked up, his hand drifting to a spot at his back where his gun holster sat snugly out of sight. He scratched idly and then let the hand drop as he tried to cover the motion. A woman smiled up at him engagingly.
She looked Asian, her dark eyes and long black hair aesthetically pleasing and her body willowy thin in a colorful bikini bathing suit.
"Yes, first time," Heero replied stiffly. "I'm with a friend."
"Friend?" She continued to smile, but she looked puzzled as well. "Most people bring their lover or come alone hoping to meet someone."
Heero felt unsure how to reply to that. Finally he admitted, "More than a friend."
"That sounded... uncertain," she chuckled.
"Developing," Heero replied and saw her disappointed look.
"Well," she leaned in, letting him smell her expensive perfume, and made sure her next words couldn't be misunderstood. "If it doesn't develop into anything, you can find me in room 2234. My name is Stacey."
"Stacey," Heero repeated.
"Stacey," she repeated and then, as if she needed to make herself even clearer, "As in Stacey... who came alone... hoping to find someone."
"Who?" Heero wondered.
Her eyebrows rose and she looked as if she was silently questioning his intelligence. She suddenly decided that she was being insulted. She frowned and said, "You should keep your options open, war hero."
She turned on a perfect sandaled foot and walked gracefully down a sunlit walkway. Heero blinked after her, realizing that the woman had recognized him.
"She's pretty," Duo's voice said from behind him.
Heero turned. Duo was in his wheelchair, but he also had a crutch strapped to the back of his chair in case he needed to navigate difficult terrain. He was wearing white shorts and a loose shirt adorned with red tropical flowers.
"Was she?" Heero replied, liking how the sun made Duo's hair glint with red, as if he wore fire among the long brown strands.
"No wonder you don't have anyone in your life yet," Duo whispered with a devilish spark in his eye. "Your standards are too high."
"They need to be," Heero replied and then wondered what had happened to his self control.
Duo seemed to accept his words as more play acting. he said, louder, "Are you saying I'm the one who set them so high?"
Heero found it hard to come back with a response. He swallowed in a suddenly dry throat. "You are the best."
"The best pilot?" Duo said with a grin. "The best soldier? The best..."
"Lover," Heero interjected and felt a hot blush. He cleared his throat harshly as Duo's eyes laughed at him and he said roughly, "We should eat."
"Thank you," Duo replied, not to be distracted. "And, yes, we should eat."
They navigated the walkways until they reached a restaurant that was casual, half of it enclosed in glass and the other half sprawling out onto a pristine beach.
"I don't think they have a version of bar food here," Duo lamented as a man seated them outside at a table that had a fine linen table cloth, expensive utensils, and crystal glasses.
"I'm sure they would make anything you would like," Heero replied as he settled in his chair. "This place seems to cater as a matter of course."
Duo smiled sadly, "I think the chef would have to look up how to cook a hamburger and fries."
"So would I," Heero replied. He tapped a finger several times on the table as if he was impatient for a waiter to appear. It was a signal to Duo that he saw someone suspicious.
Over Duo's shoulder there were several men who had just sat down. They looked dressed for the beach, but there was a tenseness about them that made Heero's instincts sit up and take notice.
Duo nodded as the waiter appeared to give them menus. Duo looked his over and then said softly, "Relax. They want to see what our game is. Let 'em look."
"Two Gundam pilots would make good hostages," Heero muttered unhappily.
"Nope, you're wrong," Duo replied so low that Heero almost couldn't hear him. "Everyone knows we're willing to die. Nobody's meeting any demands to save us. It's more likely that they'll wait until we're alone to eliminate us. They wouldn't want to have an entire resort panicking. They want all of this nice and quiet. No muss, no fuss."
Heero nodded, but his mind was already imaging being attacked and his reaction to that attack. He mentally worked over scenarios, trying to discover the best way to save Duo, to protect him, if it came down to a firefight.
"Heero?" Duo asked.
Heero blinked and realized that the waiter was there ready to take their order. "Rice and a white fish."
"Kinda bland for our first meal here," Duo complained. He reached over and touched Heero's hand. Warm and calloused, Duo's hand squeezed his briefly, patted it, and then retreated to pick up the menu. "Let me order, okay?"
Heero nodded, feeling a little trepidation.
"This," Duo pointed to several pictures. "And this.... this... this... and mimosas."
The waiter said, "Very good, sir." and left them.
Heero began to complain, but Duo glared with mock severity. "We're on vacation. I ordered shrimp in a cream sauce on flaky pastry, fruit with cream and raspberry puree, and some sugary cannolis. Stop worrying about protein and carb combinations for optimum energy and let's have some fun."
"Will a platoon be joining us?" Heero wondered acidly.
"No, but I did order lots of food to hand feed you, lover," Duo chuckled and his eyes sparkled with humor.
Heero thought he was joking, but when the food came, Duo did just that. They shared the dishes and Duo chose a few choice selections to make Heero eat. Banana in raspberry sauce dripped down Heero's chin. Duo cleaned off a dab of the sauce and put it in his own mouth, making a show of sucking it off. Heero felt his body go hot instantly.
"Too much sun?" Duo wondered when he popped the finger out of his mouth.
"Why... Why do you ask that?" Heero wanted to know.
"You're all red," Duo teased.
"We should go," Heero said abruptly and stood, pulling down his shirt to hide his obvious reaction to Duo's teasing.
"Back to the room?" Duo wanted to know.
Heero nodded. Duo grinned and motioned to the waiter.
"We'll bag the rest up," Duo told Heero. "Wouldn't want to waste that." His eyes traveled down to Heero's crotch.
Heero ground his teeth in a panic wondering just what Duo had in mind. Was he about to offer to play the ultimate part for the mission? Was Heero going to have to follow through and...
"Are you alright?" Duo asked suddenly in concern. "You look... pale, now."
"I'm alright," Heero replied and found himself walking towards their room.
Duo put their bagged food into his lap and rolled his wheelchair swiftly to catch up. "Can't start things without me," he said with a wink.
The walk back to their room didn't take as long as Heero hoped. He didn't have time to prepare. His mind was whirling and his body was running hot. He knew what to do with a lover. He wasn't a virgin, but Duo was different. This wasn't a fumble in the dark to relieve tension. He didn't want to hurt, didn't want to get off and not care about the other person. He didn't want that swift separation, each person going their own way as if nothing had happened. If this act was going to be for the mission, Heero was afraid it would be exactly that.
They entered their room and Heero automatically locked the door behind them. Duo rolled his wheelchair into the center of the room and then stopped. "Heero... do you mind if I give you a raincheck?" He sounded almost afraid. "I don't feel so good. Maybe the pain meds and too many cream sauces?"
Relief almost took Heero to his knees. He replied quickly, "Of course. We have a lot of time, Duo. We don't have to rush anything."
Duo must have heard the truth of his words in his tone. The man looked back at him with searching eyes and it was long moments before he said, "Thanks. That's why I love you. Always understanding. I guess I'll go lay down, then."
Duo wheeled into the bedroom and Heero collapsed on the couch, head falling back onto the cushion. It was while before his heart stopped racing.
----------------------------------------------------------
"Here." Heero stood in the bedroom closet and mouthed the word. Outside, sitting in his wheelchair, Duo smiled.
"You can't be trusted to pick out anything decent," Duo said in a long suffering tone of voice. "I think I can fit in there... hell, Trowa's entire circus troop could fit in there! How many damned clothes do people bring on vacation?"
"Some people live here," Heero replied as Duo navigated the doorway and joined him where their limited selection of clothes hung.
"Must be nice," Duo replied sourly.
"Dead spot," Heero said as Duo joined him. "No cameras or audio."
"Good, we can finally make a plan," Duo replied and Heero wondered at the irritation in his voice. It seemed at odds with the flirtatious Duo from before. He wondered how much of it had been an act and was suddenly afraid that all of it had been a carefully crafted con job.
"Are you feeling all right, Heero?" Duo wondered and his concern looked genuine.
"This isn't a situation that I'm familiar with," Heero replied carefully. "I'm not sure about our boundaries."
Heero was surprised when Duo blushed and looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, me too. I mean... they have every part of the room monitored except for right here. I'd hate to have to put on a porno show for them."
"You would?" Heero stumbled, rephrased his words and said, "You're willing to go that far?"
Duo eyed him. "We might have to." He sighed and raked a hand through his unruly bangs. "Look, I know this is really hard for you, being straight and all. I mean, at least I'm bisexual..."
"You are?" Heero's eyes widened in surprise and he swallowed hard.
Duo grunted in offense, "Is that a problem?"
"The sex part or the fact that you're bisexual?" Heero had to look anywhere but at Duo as he replied, "It doesn't bother me. I'm... gay."
"You are?" Duo was equally as shocked. "I thought... well... never mind what I thought. So... we could... do that... uh, have sex and that would be... okay?"
"No... I... It's not..." Heero stumbled, unable to articulate what he was thinking so clearly.
Duo looked pained and his jaw clenched before he said, "Oh, it's a problem because of me? I'm pretty messed up. Ugly, actually. I'd find it hard to get it up too."
Heero suddenly clamped a hand on Duo's shoulder feeling boiling hot and freezing cold at the same time as his emotions flip flopped and his blood pressure did interesting gymnastics. Duo looked up at him, frowning, waiting for Heero to confirm his guess.
"None of that matters," Heero said, wanting more than anything else just then to have Relena's way with speeches, with finding the exact right words. "I don't... It's not that at all. I don't... I don't think I can... for a mission."
Because I care too much for you, Heero wanted to say. Because I love you and I want that act between us to be wonderful, memorable, and everything I had hoped for.
The words didn't come out, though. Instead, he reverted back to soldier mode, back to the war days when missions were priority. He said, "We'll have to find an alternative."
"Okay," Duo sighed and it was shaky."I can pretend to have a headache every day we're here." It was part sarcasm, part suggestion. "I'm used to being ill. I'm sure I can manage a stellar performance."
It was a sound plan and Heero found himself nodding. He went on to more important things, feeling as if he were reaching for a lifeline,"There's several entrances that might take us into the service areas undetected. I noticed that the pool and lagoon areas all have pumping stations carefully hidden and that there are several emergency hatches in the rock climbing stations."
Duo thought that over as he pulled down an orange flowered shirt and tossed it out of the closet door. "You are not wearing that one and that's final!" he shouted loudly enough for the hidden bedroom surveillance to pick up.
Heero glared after the shirt. Duo smirked.
"Was that your favorite?" Duo joked.
Heero didn't want to admit that it was. He returned to the subject matter at hand. "The emergency hatches are more likely to have surveillance. The water pumps have plates that need to be removed before we can access the hidden equipment. I think that makes them less likely to be monitored."
"Sounds right," Duo replied. "We'll have to take our bags to hide our equipment. Swim suits won't give us much protection in a fire fight."
"We should begin operations as soon as possible," Heero suggested.
"Agreed," Duo replied. "Maybe they'll thank us with more vacation time here once we kick terrorist ass?"
Heero warmed to that notion but he kept it to himself as they left the closet with Heero holding a blue shirt and a pair of swim trunks.
"It'll be hard keeping my hands to myself," Duo chuckled as Heero began changing.
Duo had white swim trunks and a white tank top, though Heero wasn't certain if Duo could actually swim. "Likewise," Heero replied and that took Duo by surprise.
"Then maybe we'll give the resort staff a show?" Duo joked lewdly and winked as he began pulling off his shirt.
-------------------------------------
Duo floated like a mischievous seal, letting the water of the private pool buoy him as he gently pushed off from the side and came towards Heero. His braid snaked behind him, the brown hairs catching the light and making it a tail of cinnamon fire.
The pool was all theirs. Reserved for three hours and set high on a faux mountain top that looked carved from the Hawaiian islands, it was a secret hideaway hidden by tropical plants, trees, and sandy rock. There was even a steaming heated spa pool off to one side and half hidden cache of drinks on ice poured into the hollow of a faux rock.
Duo hadn't climbed up to their romantic pool. A hidden lift had brought them up, whisper quiet and quickly gone once they disembarked. He hadn't brought his leg braces or crutches, but it wouldn't matter. He wasn't the one who would be doing the physical part of the operation.
"The water is the perfect temperature," Duo said with a sigh. "Not too cold, not too hot."
"Are you doing all right?" Heero asked.
"Water is the only place where I feel good, Heero," Duo replied and then added with a sparkle in his eyes, "and in your arms of course."
Duo reached out and Heero gently caught his arm and pulled him in towards his chest. He wasn't ready for Duo to come face to face with him, for there to be silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity.
"Ready to get real, Heero?" Duo whispered, barely moving his lips.
"Yes," Heero replied, knowing that Duo was completely unaware of how very real it was for him.
Duo's eyes searched his face, as if checking one last time that Heero wasn't about to react badly to his next actions. Then, Duo wrapped legs loosely around Heero's hips, draped arms over his shoulders, and leaned in for a devouring kiss.
Heero couldn't help his reaction. He knew that Duo could feel it. Duo was smiling into their kiss and making a small, breathless chuckle. He deepened the kiss even more while Heero closed his eyes and fell into the moment. His body was on fire. It wanted Duo now and completely. When he surged out of the water, carrying Duo up the steps of the pool still wrapped around him, it wasn't faked when he said around their kiss. "Need you, now!"
"Cameras. Everywhere. People will get a show." Duo gasped back.
"Bushes," Heero replied. He bent, snagged their gear awkwardly while still trying to hold onto Duo, and then staggered into the bushes.
When Heero put Duo down, he draped the towels over them both and then pulled Duo into his embrace. He felt a definite erection pressing against him.
"I think I need to be on top, lover," Duo said loudly.
Heero rolled them until Duo was kneeling above him. He nodded to Duo and then slid out into the cover of a thick bush and a faux rock. He pulled a pack along with him.
"Get them trunks off Heero!" Duo moaned."I want in, now."
Heero's body wanted to stay. He wanted everything that Duo was wanting, only he wanted it for real, not as a cover for their operation. It was painful to crawl away, and not just physically, to the cover that protected the pool pumps.
It didn't take long to get the grates open and to slip down the access tunnel ladder. As he suspected, the hotel had wanted to do maintenance without guests seeing the proceedings.
Heero made quick work of infiltrating down into the depths of the station. He mentally took note of weapons, positions, and troop strength. When he returned to the surface, he was already removing his swim trunks.
It was effortless to reseal the grates and slide back under Duo. The man was sweating, breathing hard, and glaring down at him.
"Did you have to take THAT long!" Duo growled. "I feel like I've been doing a thousand push ups. In my condition that's not a good thing."
Heero rolled them and came up on top, letting the towels slide away. The cameras had a direct shot of his naked posterior.
"They're armatures," Heero told him and Duo's irritated expression slid away. "Minimal weapons and disorganized. They were arguing and there were definite factions among them."
"So you don't think they have the actual ability to light up this station?" Duo asked.
"They might set explosives, but they don't seem to know anything about the station systems," Heero replied.
Duo's hands suddenly grabbed Heero's ass cheeks. His fingers kneaded as Duo grinned up into Heero's face. He mouthed silently 'sorry.' "Damned baby, you are hotter than a solar flare!" he shouted out loud, but then, softer, "We need to act quickly. I think it's time for me to play my part while you go after the main guys... well, if they have any. Let's crash their party, Heero."
Heero felt as if he WAS a solar flare. Duo's hands were setting him on fire both physically and mentally. He knew that Duo could feel the hardness between them and he knew that he couldn't leave, couldn't play his part, without saying anything.
"Duo," Heero breathed as he leaned to talk into Duo's ear. "I'm not acting."
He saw Duo's shocked surprise. Duo's mouth opened as if he was about to say something, but Heero was already getting up.
"Duo? What's wrong? Should I call the medical staff?" Heero bent over Duo, hands fluttering in a perfect copy of how Relena acted when she was excited and didn't know what to do.
It took a few heartbeats for Duo to play his part. He blinked dumbly and then seemed to shake himself. He looked distressed and then gripped at his lower abdomen. He replied in a gasping voice full of agony, "No! I'll be okay."
"You're not okay!" Heero protested. "I need to call for a medic."
"No! I'm not ruining our vacation!" Duo shouted back and his eyes were glassy and full of pained tears. If Heero hadn't known better he would have believed in Duo's anguish.
"I'm calling them," Heero insisted. "I won't have you suffer in a ridiculous attempt to make this vacation enjoyable for me. I don't want to enjoy anything without you enjoying it as well."
Duo's face scrunched up slightly and by that Heero knew he was overplaying it. He felt that Heero was stepping too far out of character. Duo didn't realize that he had these feelings always under a shallow level of control.
"All right," Duo finally agreed. "I'm sorry, love."
"Don't be sorry," Heero told him as he found an emergency panel and pushed the button there.
"I didn't want to spend this vacation medicated and asleep because of it," Duo was saying as Heero knelt down and helped him sit more comfortably. There was a ring of truth in Duo's words.
"You meant that," Heero said with a frown. "Duo we're supposed to take things slow and careful. This about being together, not about scaling cliff faces and swimming laps to impress me. I love being with you. It doesn't matter what we're doing."
Duo searched his eyes, his expression strained. "Heero... I don't know... I... You say that now, but even five years down the road, you'll be tired of taking care of me."
"Five years from now, it's likely you'll be a lot further in your recovery," Heero replied. "You're strong. They have new technology that can help you. This isn't how things are going to stay."
"What if it is?" Duo wanted to know and his expression was very serious. "I've been wondering if I'll spend my life alone if this turns out to be permanent."
Heero swallowed hard and then admitted, as he looked out into the distance for a rescue lift, "I have this dream... a beach house... just us... maybe a little dog... palm trees... beautiful water... the sun in your hair. That dream has you in it just as you are now. It's not a nightmare Duo. Not to me. It's a good dream."
"You never said anything..." Duo whispered and then caught himself and fell back into character. "That's a nice dream, love. I want to have it on two feet that don't need crutches. I want that for you."
"I have what I want now," Heero insisted.
The lift reached the pool area and a medic and his assistant were first out, dragging a box of medical supplies behind them. Heero made way for them as they began attaching sensors and taking readings.
"I have a full set of your medical records, Mr. Maxwell," the doctor assured him. "We requested them as soon as your reservation was confirmed. We like to take special care of all of our guests needs. If you'll allow me, I'll administered a treatment that will bring down the swelling and reduce the pain."
Duo nodded. "Go ahead." His voice sounded resigned and weary.
"We'll transport you to the clinic and run a full scan," the doctor suggested, "but I think you know we will find that you overexerted your body. Your records are very clear that you are on reduced mobility. Rather than have you over exert yourself again and endanger your health I will recommend to the resort that certain areas become off limits to you. I'm certain they will reduce the cost of your stay because of those limitations."
"Thank you," Duo replied and sounded bitter. "I did over do things." He looked up at Heero. "Why don't you stay and finish out our time here? In fact, I really don't mind if you go and do some of those 'strenuous activities' by yourself."
"If you're certain?" Heero asked.
Duo sighed. "I know how this works. I strained my body and I'll be stuck in bed, drugged to the gills. There's no reason for you to hang out in the suit and stare at me while I sleep."
"If you insist," Heero replied uncertainly.
"I do," Duo replied. He motioned to the men waiting to get him on the lift. "Get me out of here."
Heero watched them carefully load Duo onto an anti grav sled and take him onto the lift. Duo waved a hand at Heero and then the lift dropped out of sight. Heero kept staring after it and then gathered their things and started down the regular path rather than stay. It wasn't necessary to their mission to stay there, but Duo had given him the perfect opportunity to split them up and divide their target's resources watching them. Duo would make sure he was the center of attention while Heero worked.
Heero thought of the confessions that he had made and found that he didn't regret them. He knew Duo was confused and that he wasn't sure how much was part of the act, but Heero could see him beginning to understand that his partner was more than he had seemed. Heero had definite emotions and those emotions were not what Duo had expected.
_____________________________________
In the end, Heero never found their target, Doctor Samuel Patterson. He began to wonder if Une had been given bad intelligence. The terrorists seemed to have their own agenda; a splintered one where some thought they were demanding large sums of cash, while another was more concerned with political concessions.
It was Heero's decision, in the absence of any hope of success carrying out their original orders, to practice some of Duo's patented 'hotdog' style of combat and create his own mission. Considering that the terrorists were in disarray of purpose and wholly inexperienced in station operations, Heero wasn't concerned about his level of success.
The station had been designed so that a child could run the systems and there were multiple fail safes, backup systems, and breech controls. They went online as soon as Heero took central control off line. Hatch controls were over ridden and Preventer jump ships began docking almost immediately.
Heero understood the dangerous situation that still existed. The terrorists could decide to splatter the guests and the staff with weapons fire. Heero was betting that they would rather escape. He didn't expect them to take Duo with them as a hostage.
When he reached the medical facility, Heero grabbed a medic from among the fleeing crowd of civilians. Bunching a fist into the man's white coat, he demanded, "Where's Duo Maxwell?"
"He's been taken to a safe area with the other patients. We though it was just a malfunction, but then someone told us it was terrorists, so we evacuated," the man replied as he tried to pry Heero's iron grip open. "Let me go! I have a family!"
"Tell me where the safe area is," Heero demanded.
"You won't be able to get in," the man replied. "It's a closed hatch system with its own environmental controls and escape pods."
Heero's mind clicked on the obvious. "Who told you there were terrorists?"
"I don't know! I wasn't there." The man pulled at Heero's hand again, almost daring to put up a real fight. "I need to get to my family."
Heero released him suddenly. The man staggered and began running as Heero grabbed for his communication device.
"The terrorists have hostages in the medical facility," Heero barked. "They may try an escape with the emergency pods."
"Roger that," a man replied and Heero recognized Wu Fei's voice. It gave him confidence that things would be handled correctly even while his heart was pounding in fear for Duo.
"Armatures," Heero muttered as he looked for the safe area. It would be close to medical and with an easy access so that patients could be quickly moved there.
An expert would know that the ploy wouldn't work. An expert could quickly surmise that there was nowhere an escape pod could go that wouldn't be tracked. Hostages did not guarantee anything. A standoff was only for people who had run out of options or were suicidal. Heero had carefully studied these terrorists and had not come to the conclusion that they were ready to die for their causes.
Heero reached the safe area just as the lights began blinking warning red for launch. A quick look through a viewing port told Heero that none of the patients had been left behind.
It took precious moments to warn Wu Fei and then to decide his next move. His heart wanted to pursue the pods, but his duty was mop up, now, and to assist the incoming Preventers arrest the terrorists. His first duty was to protect the public and Duo would agree with that whole heartedly.
"Personal transports are leaving the station," Wu Fei reported. "There are too many to track."
"Most of the terrorists are in lock down below station living level," Heero replied.
"Roger that," Wu Fei responded and the com went dead. Heero could imagine him scrambling agents to arrest the terrorists.
Heero took two steps towards the corridor leading back to the more densely populated parts of the station, but then paused when his com beeped. That was outside protocol. He wasn't in a secure location or in a command capacity. It was dangerous to call an agent in the midst of combat.
Heero stared at his com, weighing possibilities, and then answered it. He wasn't surprised to hear Duo's voice.
"Heero."
Heero had already guessed the situation. "Doctor Samuel Patterson is with you?"
"Very astute," a different voice said over the com. "We'll drop the subterfuge game then and get right to my orders for you, Heero Yuy."
The man didn't sound like a hostage or even a victim. His clear, concise instructions sounded like a man who had developed his plan long before his arrival on the station.
"You are in medical I assume? Looking for your fellow agent?"
Heero didn't confirm his guess. Instead he asked,"I won't respond to threats against Agent Maxwell. You must know that? The station is being taken over by Preventer agents. You won't be able to leave the station."
"You will take a blood sample and place it in the computer there," the man continued as if Heero hadn't spoken. "You will give the sample this code." He rattled off the code fully expecting Heero to memorize it.
Heero didn't bother asking what would happen if he refused."This is pointless," he said as he went back into the medical facility and searched for a blood ampoule.
"Not really," the doctor replied. "Just do as you're told and nothing will happen, even to your little lover."
"I'm not little," Duo's voice grumbled.
"Don't change the link to contact your fellow agents, by the way," the doctor warned, "or I will slit his throat and take from him a much larger sample."
Heero found the ample and weighed possibilities as he punched the code into a medical computer. There were possibilities that were obvious; cloning being foremost. The doctor couldn't know that Heero's enhancements had more to do with later manipulations than his base genetic code. Still, even a stripped down version of himself would make a formidable enemy.
Heero wouldn't sacrifice civilians to save Duo, even though he was certain that his heart would turn to a cinder if anything happened to Duo. They had signed up for a Preventer position with eyes wide open, knowing that the day might come where one of them gave the ultimate sacrifice. That didn't mean that Heero couldn't make a decision in Duo's favor based on risk assessments.
Heero took the sample and placed it in the computer. It sent the information to an unknown destination.
Heero knew that there was only a small chance that cooperation would win Duo's freedom. It was more likely that the doctor would keep Duo as a hostage or kill him outright.
"He isn't here, Heero," Duo suddenly said through his com link. He sounded in pain and out of breath. "I managed to get lose and search the room. He's on a remote somewhere else. I'm alone."
"Perfect!" the doctor said with pleasure. "I knew exactly how long it would take a clever invalid to release himself and find a light source. Now that I have my sample, Heero Yuy, I'll thank you and take my leave."
"We'll find you," Heero warned.
"I don't think so," the doctor replied. "Besides, you'll be too busy trying to save your lover from decompression. The emergency hatch is missing an escape pod in section F, level four, room 32 maintenance bay. I over rode the system so that it doesn't know that. The alarm and the emergency door to the missing pod should be engaging soon. I don't think I'll give you an exact time. Makes life more interesting, don't you think?"
Heero switched the com line as he began to run and told Wu Fei, "My target is outbound. Duo is in danger of decompression section F, level four, room 32 maintenance bay."
"I don't have agents in that area," Wu Fei replied.
Heero already knew that. It wasn't a key control center. It would have been regulated to later mop up procedures.
"I'm going there," Heero warned in case Wu Fei sent agents.
"I can't send you back up," Wu Fei replied.
"Roger that," Heero said and turned his com back to Duo. "I'm coming."
"I got this, Heero," Duo replied in annoyance. "I just have to jump the panel to the controls and..."
"Duo?" Heero prompted as he shoved through a crowd of disoriented civilians, pounded across a well manicured park, and took the ramp down into the sections below station.
Resort employees shouted at Heero to stop, but they were too intent on finding safety to take the time to physically stop him.
"Duo?" Heero prompted again.
"I was unconscious and manacled when I was brought here," Duo replied at last. "I escaped the manacles and managed to trip the lights. I didn't have to get to my feet to do that. The control panel is across the bay and up on a platform. I have to climb a short flight of metal stairs."
The way Duo was breathing Heero knew he was already attempting it.
"I'm on my way!" Heero told him.
"Warning light just went yellow," Duo replied simply, which meant systems were filling a nonexistent escape pod with air and readying it for launch.
Heero hit the elevator at full speed and punched the down button before he slammed into the interior wall. Turning as the doors closed and the elevator quickly dropped downward, he was mentally counting down the seconds and well aware that he wasn't going to make it in time.
"Duo," Heero said. "I need to tell you."
Heero felt tears of frustration choke him.
"That you ignored every Preventer protocol and gave a terrorist what he wanted?" Duo replied irritably. "I'll have to chew you out as soon as you get here."
"Pressurizing," Duo said, his frustration rising.
"Duo!" Heero exclaimed as the elevator doors opened and he rushed out and down a long corridor toward the correct number bay. "Let me say this!"
"No!" Duo shouted back. "You don't need to say anything! I got this!"
The walls were riveted metal and the floor was poured concrete. Heero's feet made echoing noises while a distorted image of himself ran along side him. He could almost make out his own anguished expression.
Heero reached the doors of the bay and slammed the control down to open them just as the light started to flash red. The locks grated as they tried to automatically seal the doors against hard vacuum. A warning alarm sounded.
Heero passed through the doors and shouted, "Duo! I love you!" thinking it was his last breath on this side of life.
Duo was leaning back against the wall up on a metal platform, wires hanging from his mouth and a panel in his hands. The jumped open controls to the escape pod doors were a mangle of torn and spliced wires. The light above the escape pod door flashed yellow and then went back to green.
Duo's eyes were wide in surprise. He spat out the wires and said, "Une owes me some dental work. I think I chipped a tooth stripping those wires."
------------------------------------------------------------
When Heero entered the rehabilitation wing of the medical facility, Heero was still loosing his tie from the long meeting with Une and her special gathering of what most in Preventers called her Firemen. They evaluated a complete breakdown disaster and gave advice on how to extinguish the blaze caused by it.
"How did it go?" Duo asked.
Duo was seated a padded bench, weights on one leg, and a man crouched down in front of him making sure he didn't strain himself too much as he lifted that leg up and down repeatedly. They were almost alone, a few others at distant therapy stations with their own assistants.
Heero felt like sighing, but didn't. He stayed professional, agent speaking to agent about a mission that had not gone by the numbers. That was how Duo seemed to want it now. Heero's confession had in that emergency pod bay had not gone unheard, but it seemed that Duo wanted it forgotten.
"I was reprimanded severely," Heero told him, not caring that the man in front of Duo was studiously trying to be invisible but clearly eager to overhear and maybe spread gossip later. It didn't matter, Heero thought. The reprimand and the reason for it were now a part of Preventer record.
Duo nodded. Sweat was beading his forehead and he looked strained. Their mission had not done him any favors. It hadn't even won them a few days of R&R. The resort had wanted them off station as soon as they could be evacuated. Heero felt some regret at that. He had almost enjoyed himself and he had hoped that a few days downtime would clear the air between them.
Duo had gone into therapy almost immediately on returning to headquarters though, and he had rebuffed all of Heero's offers to do anything outside of work. It was like watching a clam snap shut and refuse all attempts to pry it open. Stubborn Heero thought in irritation; stubborn and wanting to be a martyr. Heero was sure that Duo was trying to rebuff Heero for what he considered Heero's best interests. They were both people who lived a lifestyle of self sacrifice. It was a battle of wills, now, to see who could manage to sacrifice more. Duo was winning at the moment, but it was costing them both emotionally.
"What's the plan?" Duo asked. "or are they still working on that?"
Heero shrugged. "Retrieval at this point seems unlikely. The sample has probably been disseminated. Watch and wait."
Duo nodded, but he was frowning too. "Wait fourteen years? Sixteen? How long do you wait for an army to appear?"
An army of Heero Yuy's or Duo Maxwell's,if the man had taken a sample of Duo as well. "It only takes one."
That didn't make Duo any happier. "What you did was shit!" he exclaimed abruptly."You let yourself get involved and that's what happens. People pay, Heero. Maybe not right away, but they will."
Heero felt that keenly, but he replied softly," Whatever you think I am, I am Human, Duo. I can't be a machine. I made the best decision."
"For me?" Duo bit out and glared at him from under a sweaty fringe of bangs.
"For me," Heero replied with intensity. "Because of what I want."
"You never cared about that before," Duo scoffed.
The trainer cleared his throat as he took off the weights on Duo's leg. "That's enough for now Agent Maxwell. Call me if you experience cramping."
The man kept his head down and made his retreat. He wanted juicy preventer information, not an ambiguous squabble between agents.
"You scared away my trainer," Duo complained. "I could have done twenty more reps on that leg."
"You push too hard," Heero complained. "You haven't stopped since we returned to headquarters."
"I'm not going to until I get back on my feet without crutches and braces," Duo threatened. "I took some experimental bio mesh gel. They let you have the untested stuff when you have suicidal mission specialist on your file."
"Who did you make that decision for?" Heero demanded angrily. "It could just as easily kill you."
"I made it for me!" Duo exclaimed, slamming a hand down on the padded seat and then wincing at the pain. "I did it for me, for my work, for the next mission."
"That's a lie!" Heero retorted.
Duo's eyes went furious in a heartbeat. He shoved himself up from the bench and fell forward. He hit Heero's chest hard and leaned his full weight on Heero, his hands knotted in Heero's dress uniform. He was wearing only a white rag of a t-shirt without the sleeves, and a loose pair of olive green shorts that hung low on slim hips.
"Do I feel heavy to you, Heero Yuy?" Duo demanded. His eyes bore into Heero's as if he was looking for his own lies there. "How do you fancy holding up my God damn weight like this for the rest of our lives? People will stare. People will say you're a freak. People will say I'm a horror and that I'm like a leach, holding you back, holding you down, making you less because I am so much less than you Mr. Perfect!"
Heero slowly slid his arms around Duo's waist and easily held him. His eyes softened and he replied gently, "I'm not perfect and I've wanted to hold you like this since the first day we met. I could easily do this for the rest of our lives. I want to be with you and love you, Duo. You can't decide what's best for me and sacrifice everything I want keeping me safe, keeping me perfect... when I'm not, when it's not what I want."
He saw Duo's eyes shimmer with tears and then Duo was twisting away and trying to break free. Heero held onto him until he was clutching at Duo from behind and preventing him from reaching his crutches. They struggled until Duo stopped fighting and simply hung limply, head forward and braid swinging as he breathed heavy in exhaustion.
"It's what I want," Heero insisted. "Please believe that."
Duo laughed a little and shook his head. "I don't know..."
"You do," Heero replied. "I felt it. I saw it. I know it because we were finally open with each other during that mission at the resort. You don't lie. Don't start now. Tell me the truth."
"The truth is that I don't think this will work," Duo replied. "The truth is that I think we will crash and burn and never get over it. We will hate each other and hate what we put each other through trying to pretend I'm going to be anything other than a messed up ex-Gundam pilot and Preventer agent."
"That can only happen, that can only be true, if you let it," Heero pointed out. "If we let it. I'm not going into this with closed eyes. I see what's in front of me Duo. I don't deal in fantasy, you know that."
Duo nodded after a long minute and then allowed Heero to turn him and face him again. His eyes were pained, but thoughtful now. "Une gave me my walking papers as a field agent," he announced. "I'm a consultant now. I don't even rate when it comes to my job."
Heero looked towards the other patients and there trainers and then asked, "What don't you see on my uniform Duo?"
Duo's eyes looked him over curiously and then narrowed in anger. "They didn't...?"
Heero's official badge was gone.
"They only wanted me when I made cold, hard decisions, Duo," Heero explained. "The moment I made a decision that was Human, I didn't rate anymore." He reached and gently smoothed a hand along Duo's face. "I think I'd rather be Human, Duo. I felt perfect when I was.... not before."
"They can't just toss you out...!" Duo plucked at the place where Heero's badge had been. "That's criminal!"
Heero's expression firmed and he replied, "If that's the kind of agent they want, a man who doesn't question the humanity of decisions, then maybe it's time we either get out of the way or make it known that Preventers can't operate that way. You tell me Duo, fight or leave?"
"I don't give up," Duo retorted and the hand over Heero's uniform turned into a fist and hit there lightly. "I don't quit. What do you do, though, when they toss you aside?"
"You go through outside channels inward," Heero replied confidently. "You go to the one person who knows that humanity counts for everything."
"Relena?" Duo was surprised.
Heero nodded. "She's not an inexperienced little girl anymore, Duo. If you're willing...?"
Duo looked uncertain. "I don't know..."
"Give it a chance. Give us a chance. That's all I ask," Heero begged.
Duo nodded, but Heero could see doubt. Things weren't going to change in a
day and if they chose to change the world as well as their relationship, there
wasn't any telling how long the struggle would be. Heero was willing to give
it all the time that it needed though and he hoped that Duo felt the same way.
----------------------------------------------
Relena was gardening. Heero blinked at the young woman with her hair held by an overlarge clip at the top of her head in messy disarray, dressed in a dirty t-shirt and shorts, and wearing tennis shoes. She seemed overly slim, hardly more than the girl she used to be. She wiped at sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. There was a scratch along that hand, looking red and new. The pink rose bushes she was attempting to tame with a prunner along a low wall were not cooperating.
She was at the very back of the grounds outside of her official residence. She had a staff of hundreds to cater to her every whim. Her staff of gardeners alone must have been phenomenal to take care of such a large display garden. That she was taking a hand in the work herself told Heero that she was doing it for therapeutic reasons, rather than finding herself short on funds to pay her staff.
"Come down in the world, Ms. Peacecraft?" Duo chuckled as he used his crutches to maneuver around a pottery planter bordering a bench and a sitting area of flagstones.
Relena started and turned to glare. Her blonde hair was hanging in her blue eyes and her face was tinged pink with exertion and sun. Her expression softened when she saw Heero. "It relaxes me, Mr. Maxwell," she replied, but her eyes stayed on Heero.
Duo sat on the bench with a sigh and stretched out his legs to rest them. He was wearing black overalls and black combat boots. His hair was a loose braid. He looked ready for a tactical mission.
Heero had considered Duo's mode of dress when he had picked him up at the Preventer bachelor quarters still assigned to him. All of Duo's worldly goods had been stuffed into a duffle in the seat of his wheelchair and he had been sitting on the bed waiting just as he was waiting now, stretched out, relaxed, and trying to put on a visual deception that it all didn't matter to him.
Heero himself was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. His shoes were steel toed and brown leather. He still carried various weapons hidden on his person and he was certain Duo was wearing the same. They were both attempting subterfuge but for different reasons. It was a wonder that their reputations alone had given them access to the most important person in the Earthsphere without a search or much questioning.
"One day, you'll visit just to have tea and to catch up on my life," Relena said to Heero as she put her prunners in a woven basket and moved to sit on the end of the bench as far from Duo as she could manage. Duo watched her slide to the end and smiled indulgently.
"I don't leave sticky residue... honest," Duo joked, but Relena didn't smile and she was staring down at her hands. He sighed in the next moment and said, "You know, I told you I was gay, because you were trying to set me up with psycho Catalonia at one point. You told me we had a lot in common... which I thought was freakin' disturbing... Anyway, gay people don't rub off on you, Ms. Peacecraft."
"Is that what you think of me?" she wondered and her small smile was tight. Her hands worked in her lap and then she looked at him squarely, the light of the sun catching in her eyes and making the blue as light as the sky. "You're a killer. Wholesale slaughter. I read reports from the war... No mercy. No regrets. Pardon me if I seem hesitant in your presence, God of Death."
"Oh," Duo sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck with a grin on his face that was just as disingenuous as all the rest of his expressions since Heero had picked him up for the ride to Relena's residence. "That... well... Isn't redemption worth something?"
"Are you redeemed?" she wondered archly.
"Guess not," Duo replied with a shrug and then winced at some pain it caused him. "I'm paying, though. Paying a hell of a lot. Karma has my number, so why don't you stop busting my balls, Ms. Peacecraft and let Heero have his say as to why we're here?"
"I know why he's here," Relena replied angrily. "I fail to see why you are in his company?"
"Relena," Heero cut in anxiously. "Stop this. If you know why I'm here, you know Duo is part of it, too."
"I'm not a fool. I can see why Preventers would want to take advantage of Mr. Maxwell's skills," Relena replied. "and I can also understand their need to retire him from active duty. I don't think being happy about his retirement is a flaw in my character. He speaks about redemption, but I have files of evidence to the contrary. When Preventers needs someone to perpetrate violent large scale actions, he is always the first man they contact."
"That would be your brother, Milliardo, actually," Duo interjected airily."He just pulls me in for consult about the stealth parts of those missions. I'm better at sneaking in and blowing up than I am at making treaties, truces, and taking surrenders."
"That's repentance?" Relena wondered acidly.
"It's saved the world a few times," Duo retorted and then relaxed and grinned again, "Or don't they put that in the reports?"
"You don't burn down the house to save it," Relena retorted.
"I follow orders... or I did," Duo replied.
They were quiet for a long moment and then Heero decided that he needed to take control of the situation back. They needed Relena's cooperation or they wouldn't have any access to her political allies. "Relena, we're not here to argue about mission parameters," Heero told her and her blue eyes looked at him as if he had injured her deeply. She looked sad and small suddenly and he didn't like seeing her that way. A symbol should always stand tall and strong, he thought. It wasn't meant to look vulnerable.
"They let you go because you made a Human decision, one not based on mission parameters," Relena said softly. "You saved... you chose to save a man and worry about potential long term ramifications later. I find that progress, honorable, and correct. No one was in immediate danger. You didn't compromise the action going on then. You didn't compromise other agents or civilians."
"He followed the orders of a terrorist," Duo broke in sourly. "I still don't agree that was the right decision."
Relena glared at him and then looked at Heero intently. "Heero gave him a vial of his blood. I hardly call that an unreasonable negotiation concession. The potential to use that vial for long term plans is so remote that taking it into consideration during that moment would have been ridiculous in my estimation."
"Your unprofessional estimation," Duo cut in. "When the army of Heeros shows up at your door, you tell me again how ridiculous it is."
"Super armies have ben attempted before now," Heero said. "Along with unmanned suits. They have never been successful."
"People are too full of independent will, even when you try to breed it out of them," Duo said with a chuckle. "That's what Dr. G told me. You can't control all variables. Even with unmanned suits there was always the human component running them and f'n it up."
"Heero exhibited independent, logical free will," Relena said. "He's being punished for it. I can't allow that to stand."
"That's why we came here," Heero replied. "Preventers made a bad call and we feel they are heading in a direction that will make it an organization that will eventually fail to represent the people it was created to protect."
"My brother is behind this," Relena said thoughtfully. "I can feel it. Maybe Une too. It won't be easy to dissuade them from their course of action. You may have to go before hearings."
"Heero you mean?" Duo wondered knowingly.
"Yes, Heero," Relena replied as she stood up and brushed at her t-shirt, as if Duo had left some sort of residue there. "You hardly believe Heero made the right decision. I don't think you can be a reliable advocate."
"Guess not," Duo said with another shrug and another grimace of pain. "Besides, I'm biased."
Relena raised eyebrows, mystified.
"Well," Duo said broadly, grinning even more, "I am in a relationship with him. Makes me bias."
She frowned as if he had slapped her and then she looked at Heero in shock. They stared at each other for a very long minute and then Heero nodded, once. He didn't know what to say.
Relena closed her eyes tightly, shook her head sharply, and then opened them and grabbed up her basket. "I want to be alone. I'll call you when I need you."
"Sorry for the full frontal confession," Duo said and it was clear he wasn't sorry at all. "Just thought there should be full disclosure since Preventers knows about it already."
"You are the God of Death," Relena said to Duo as she walked away from them. "You destroy."
They watched her go and then Duo frowned and began to stand up. "She's right, you realize? I only know how to destroy things. Building is out of my skill set."
"You'll learn," Heero replied as he helped Duo balance on his crutches. "We'll both learn."
"And if we can't?" Duo wondered.
"We can," Heero insisted. "We have already."
"Some," Duo amended for him.
"Some," Heero conceded.
"You expect more learning to follow?" Duo laughed. "Where did you suddenly find all of this optimism?"
"From Relena," Heero replied. Duo looked at him, startled, and then sighed.
"Alright,I'll stop digging into her sore spots," Duo promised. "She just makes it easy... and she pisses me off."
"She sees us clearly and it makes her afraid," Heero pointed out. "We're not..."
"Peaceful people," Duo finished and leaned into Heero. Heero slid an arm around his waist and they made their way out of the garden.
TBC