Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make any money off of them.
Warnings: Male/Male sex, graphic, language, violence.
Milliardo Peacecraft spread out the laminated documents on his large desk. All
of them had glowing official seals. Heero recognized two from Relena Peacecraft.
"Let's talk," Milliardo said and leaned back in his leather chair. His ice blue eyes stared at Heero intently. Heero had expected to see anger, but instead he saw weariness instead.
He wasn't offered a chair. Heero stood at parade rest in front of the wide desk. It was calculated, of course. Milliardo wanted to remind him that he was a follower, not a thinker, and certainly not a strategist. He was supposed to follow orders without question. It was what he was best at.
"I've been called to explain Preventer decisions to officials who wouldn't understand a necessary action if it rolled over and smothered them," Milliardo continued. "This is your doing. Before I have to explain my decisions, I would like you to explain yours to me."
Heero smoothed his hands over his civilian shirt. It was a red polo. His black jeans and steel toed shoes finished off his non military appearance. "Is that a request for information?"
Milliardo frowned. It made him look far older than his years. A scar along his chin became prominent against his paler skin. It showed his rising blood pressure. His long white hair, caught back in a clip at his neck looked un-kept and ready to spring free at any moment. Just like the rebel he would always be, Heero thought. Ready to break free from convention and leave the rule book behind to achieve his goals.
"If I'm being criticized for my decisions regarding you, then I should be allowed to face my accuser," Milliardo replied steadily. He shuffled the papers as if they had a specific order. Heero noted that he was laying them down by date of received."I won't get that opportunity facing a board of desk bound politicians."
Heero was frowning now as well, staring down at the seals and wondering what those official papers were asking for. It was possible that not all the questions being asked were about a lone agent and his dismissal for acting in a logical and Human way. Heero was well aware of political posturing and opportunism to promote other agendas.
"I used to think that politicians and noncombatants shouldn't be allowed to make military decisions," Heero replied. "Now I understand that some decisions made outside of the theatre can have a different perspective that can be beneficial. One view point can be blinding."
Milliardo suddenly scooped the papers into a neat stack, his fingers tense. "Are you saying that I'm blinded because of my position?"
Heero reached and pried a laminated form from under Milliardo's hands. He turned the pages and read. It was very official language asking Milliardo to explain his decision to dismiss a top agent." "Are they all about my dismissal?"
Milliardo sat back and released the rest of the papers. He made a gesture at them, short and sharp. "Read them. If you think they are all about you, then you are a fool. Some have been looking for a reason to dismiss me and to discredit Preventer's. There are some who would like control or to eliminate a military police force all together. They've always seen us as a threat to peace and civilian freedoms."
"You can't blame them for that view," Heero retorted. "You used the ploy of keeping the peace through might enough times."
"We've been very careful to adhere to all civilian laws and restraints," Milliardo said. "We've been a force for good, a force that has kept the peace and protected the new government from opposition."
He didn't see the correlation, Heero knew. If they protected the new government through force of might, then it was far too easy to tip that balance towards a government kept in power by that same might. He wasn't there to argue politics, though. He was there to make certain that Milliardo wasn't going to win his argument, that the man knew that Heero was his opposition. Heero was not going to follow orders this time. He wasn't going to back Preventers against all threats.
"Your opposition to your dismissal could bring Preventers down," Milliardo said. "Do you want that? Can't you go quietly, fuck Maxwell when it suits you, or even if you can in his condition, and enjoy your retirement? I can even set you up with a pension."
"My personal life with Duo Maxwell is not a topic of discussion by you or anyone else," Heero angrily replied. "Don't mention it again."
"It will come up at your meeting with these same people," Milliardo warned. "I intend to make it a part of my decision to relieve you of your position with Preventers. Your relationship with Maxwell compromised your decision making that day. It was obvious to all involved. I have statements by senior agents to support my conclusion. I will make you appear to be a flawed agent, Heero. They will agree that my decisions were not based on...." he pulled a file over to look at and read from the first page..."a desire to de-humanize Preventer agents."
"I intend to argue that my decisions were not based on my desire to save Duo Maxwell exclusively," Heero replied and managed to keep his voice calm.
"Exclusively," Milliardo repeated and there was a small smile on his lips.
"I don't intend to lie," Heero replied.
"I'm counting on that," Milliardo told him. "I asked you here to confirm that very quality. I wanted to know if you still possessed it."
"If there is anything else?" Heero said angrily.
"Nothing else," Milliardo replied, but then looked apologetic. "I hope you understand that your opposition will involve Duo Maxwell? I intend to call him before the board as well to give his statement. He'll be forced to defend you, of course, because of his relationship with you. He'll be dismissed entirely from Preventers. That will mean that the treatments and operations for his unfortunate condition will cease after his dismissal. I hope you have a large source of funds, Yuy. Maxwell has been a very expensive liability to Preventers."
"First you threaten to bribe me and then you threaten someone I care about," Heero said in disgust.
Milliardo shrugged, took the papers back from Heero, and then stacked them neatly on his desk again. He steppeled his fingers over them. "I'll use all the weapons available to me, Yuy."
"Duo and I are both used to suicide missions," Heero replied. He left Milliardo in his office and went to find Duo. Heero didn't intend to change his mind, but he wanted Duo to be prepared. It was about to get ugly
------------------------------------------------------
"You're hurting, Mr. Iron Grip," Duo complained.
Heero eased up on the pressure his fingers were exerting on Duo's shoulders. They were both in a therapy spa, the warm bubbles and jets of water relaxing Duo's muscles after an intense therapy session. Floating on his back in front of Heero, with Heero's sure hands making certain he stayed afloat, he had seemed almost asleep while Heero had informed him of their danger.
"I won't lie about what I think about our operation," Duo told him. "It stunk. We stunk. You made a bad decision based on your emotions. While I think you're allowed to have emotions, when it comes down to the nitty gritty of doing what a terrorist demands, we part ways."
"It wasn't a bad decision and I didn't base it entirely on my feelings," Heero protested and not for the first time.
"Whenever I mention the part where I was almost sucked out into space, you get emotional," Duo complained. "I have the bruises on my shoulders, now, to prove it. You can't tell me that you made a decision that had any basis in logic."
"I will prove my reasoning to their satisfaction," Heero promised.
"By lying?" Duo wondered.
"Everything I say will be the absolute truth," Heero promised.
Duo frowned up at the ceiling. As he floated in the state of the art spa, with an expensive therapist waiting out of earshot for his return to take him to an equally expensive doctor, and the extremely expensive treatments to rebuild bone and muscle tissue that were scheduled for that day, Heero had to wonder if his arguments took those costs into consideration.
"If I win my arguments, and they agree with my conduct," Heero said with uncertainty, "Milliardo has promised to retaliate against you."
Duo smileddangerously. "I don't like threats," he replied.
"Relena will be there," Heero assured him. "She won't allow her brother-"
"Heero," Duo interrupted, "I know you think she's the shine on the shit, but the fact is she is a figurehead. Her brother still has the power, because he wasn't alone in wanting the Earth to take a hit for trying to control the colonies. I know mass murder of civilians is a horrible crime, and you almost gave your life to stop it, but people don't consider the casualty count. They just want the end result. They think with their emotions too. They'll back Milliardo."
"She will be my character witness," Heero revealed. "So will you."
"Even though you know I'll say that you were controlled by your emotions? I won't lie either, Heero." Duo sighed and moved until he was upright and facing Heero, his braid floating in the water. Almost submerged he looked like the old Duo, the one whole in body and ready for anything. He would only be that way again with the help of cutting edge treatments and technology.
"When I consider the consequences of my stance," Heero told him, searching Duo's eyes for understanding, "I think of you, of the things you need. I think about how this might hurt you... permanently. I want to turn away. I want to let them do what they want to save you. Logic tells me I can't do that. My heart does as well. If we allow Preventers to become a heartless military organization, more concerned about results and acceptable casualties, then we all face another war down the road, another organization that thinks it needs to control Earth and Space by any means necessary for our own good and at whatever cost."
"The military has always wanted brainless soldiers who follow orders explicitly," Duo chuckled. "It's been proven time and time again that it doesn't work.
"It wasn't going to work during our mission either," Heero said. "I thought about all the possibilities and I realized that your death, your sacrifice, wasn't necessary."
"You made a prediction?" Duo said with raised eyebrows. "That is new for you. You like hard facts and hard conclusions."
"Not that time," Heero replied as he reached out and cupped Duo's cheek with his warm, wet hand. He said earnestly, "If we allow ourselves to be ruled by fear than everyone hiding in concrete bunkers for the rest of their lives would seem like a sound idea as well."
"If you give terrorists what they want, they keep coming back and asking for more," Duo insisted. "You know that, Heero. They know I'm your soft spot, now. They might try and take me again to get you to cooperate."
Heero leaned forward and stole a brief kiss. It was tender, an apology. "There are instances where I might have refused, even to save you."
Duo smiled. "Really? That's good to know. I didn't want to think you were losing your mind."
"It was unnecessary to sacrifice you to prevent something fifteen to eighteen years out, especially with what I know," Heero said.
"What do you know?" Duo wondered.
"I'll save that for the meeting," Heero replied as he pulled Duo towards the edge of the pool.
The therapist saw their movement and began gathering towels and piling them onto Duo's wheel chair. As he wheeled the chair towards the pool, Duo gave him a brief look.
"Never give your enemy good intel so they can defend themselves against you before a conflict," Duo said with a wink.
"Of course," Heero replied.
"I am an acceptable casualty of this conflict," Duo stressed as he hooked an arm around Heero and Heero lifted him out of the water. "I know you're counting the cost of the doctor bills, but Quatre's taught me a lot about the good use of a lawyer and a legal system that doesn't like when employers try to offload their responsibilities to injured employees. That includes Preventers."
Heero wasn't certain about Duo's trust in the legal system. They were both know for unorthodox methods during missions. It wouldn't be difficult for Milliardo to prove that Duo had many instances of gross negligence. It wouldn't be a stretch that he could bring charges against Duo, deny him medical coverage, and even have him incarcerated.
"What are you thinking?" Duo wanted to know. "You suddenly have that 'kill everyone' glare."
Heero shook his head and smoothed out his expression. "It was stupid. I was thinking the war was easier when you could kill your enemies, but it wasn't. Even then it was hard to know who they were and how to fight against them."
"My truth and your truth need to make one truth," Duo said as Heero put Duo down on the spa steps and took the towels from the wheelchair to help dry him off. "If it doesn't, you'll probably hate me."
Heero shook his head. "Never. Even when you shot me, I didn't hate you."
"You were just pissed as hell?" Duo chuckled.
"Something like that," Heero said with the same amusement. "Or I was until I realized that you couldn't be that bad a shot and pilot a Gundam. You made sure not to hit anything vital."
"You didn't make it easy," Duo remembered.
"Why should I?" Heero asked as he lifted Duo and put him in his wheelchair.
"Love at first bullet, then?" Duo wondered with a wicked gleam in his eye.
Heero leaned down and seized another kiss, not caring that he was making the therapist uncomfortable. "First sight," Heero amended.
"Me too," Duo admitted.
Heero became serious. "I hope you still love me when I prove you wrong."
Duo sobered as well. "I will, but I'll be pissed."
"I can live with that," Heero replied, and hoped they both weren't being naive.
____________________________________________
"You look good in that monkey suit," Duo said as he passed byHeero in his wheelchair and took his position in the nearly empty room.
Noises were amplified and voices carried far too easily. The men at the table at the front of the room were speaking in very low tones but it was easy to catch their names and arguments about the political ramifications of bad decisions.
The best of the best of Preventers were in attendance; Commander Une, Milliardo Peacecraft, Chang Wu Fei, Sally Po, and a nervous Relena Peacecraft seated with a small protective entourage off to one side. None of them were seated at the table at the head of the room, though. That was reserved for the five men who were all military officers in and out of the war.
Heero pulled at the tight collar of his 'monkey suit' a tailored black three piece that made him look both dangerous and respectful to the proceedings at the same time. Relena's concierge service was good, very good. Sitting patiently with his Preventer representative, Heero didn't have any illusions about how helpful the man was going to be for his case. He was there to present character witnesses and corroborating evidence, not to orchestrate any brilliant legal maneuvers.
Duo's appearance seemed to signal something to the men at the table. One nodded to a man standing beside him and that man called the proceedings to order.
This wasn't how it was going to end, Heero thought as he was called to stand before the table and the charges were read. His counter charges were an afterthought almost, tacked on at the end of a long list of reasons why Preventers thought he wasn't fit for active duty any longer. When the man reading the charges finally ended and stacked his paperwork as if nothing could be questioned, Heero took another stepped forward. His represenative made a startled sound, but Heero ignored him.
Heero recited his service record and his commendations at length, ignoring any protests. When he was finally done, he asked, "I have worked with Duo Maxwell on many occasions. My feelings towards him have always been the same as they are at present. No charges have ever been presented that I compromised my orders or failed because of those feelings."
"So your accusation is that the charges being presented against you now are personal, rather than professional?" One of the men at the table asked with clear disgust and disbelief.
Heero recognized him and knew his reputation. Commander Romanov. Always a hard liner for rules and regulations. Heero knew that he wouldn't get any sympathy from his corner. The man looked Germanic, stern, and as uncomfortable as Heero in his dress Preventer uniform. He was a man of action and always out in the field with his men. Heero knew why they had called him in for this duty. In fact, it was clear that all the commanders representing their fields of expertise had been chosen because they wouldn't be sympathetic to someone who had made a decision to ignore orders.
"I was under the impression that Commander Peacecraft was the officer that would be questioned today," Heero replied. "I was told that I was to attend so that I could be questioned about the charges that have been filed against him."
"Preventers and i's agents are being questioned, today," another commander pointed out. It was clear that he was not in a good mood. He had a shock of white hair and a square featured face that made him look like a slab of unfinished granite. "We wish to hear from all the agents and officers involved. Since you are central to these charges, we have chosen to question you first."
"Commander Talon," Heero addressed him with a respectful tone. The man was a decorated war hero and not someone who would judge a situation unfairly. If he had to trust someone to look at the facts with reason, it would be this man, Heero thought. "If someone else had been in that airlock, in danger of being spaced, I would have still chosen to give the terrorist what he asked for. I can't deny my feelings for Duo Maxwell, but I can deny that his danger caused me to act irrationally."
Another commander, a tall, thin man with a beak for a nose and small eyes that seemed to be having trouble seeing the papers in front of him, interjected, "This report, filed by Captain Chang Wu Fei, questions your judgment. So does this one submitted by Commander Une, Peacecraft, and Maxwell. With so many imminently qualified men and women questioning your motives and your judgment, including your own lover, I wonder why we are all here and wasting time?"
Heero felt his representative shift feet and begin to move paperwork and a computer pad in his hands. He was getting ready to say something, perhaps ask for leniency. Heero forestalled him.
Heero stated, firm and unflinchingly,"I contend that all of those people have been influenced by a Preventer culture that fosters a hard line adherence to orders; a culture that fails to respect the human factor when it plans its missions and implements armed actions."
They all stared at him for long moments and then Commander Talon chuckled, but it was more of a cynical sound than a humorous one. "Your record isn't filled with those kinds of considerations, Mr. Yuy." He stressed the Mr.
"Perhaps it was and no one thought my considerations conflicted with Preventer policy until now?" Heero suggested.
"Or you didn't have a significant other in the mix in this level of danger before," Romanov replied acidly.
"I am not denying that my decisions were affected," Heero reminded him. "I am denying that my decisions that day were in error and that they endangered anyone on that station that day."
"You're not asking for reinstatement of your rank and position within Preventers," the thin man noted. "In fact, you're not asking for any compensation at all."
"It's in the interest of Space and Earth for Preventers to operate as a civilian entity, not one based on war time codes of operation and conduct." Heero replied.
Commander Talon sighed and leaned back in his chair. He gave Romanov an angry look and said, "This isn't the cut and dried discussion you thought was going to happen. We need more time. This may take days... weeks."
Romanov retorted. "We have signed statements. We have video. We have Heero Yuy's own admission. His contention that Preventers was willing to let an agent die because of adherence to protocols that don't respect a post war time culture, is ludicrous."
"We have to make the determination that his orders were indeed unreasonable under the circumstances, under post war time ethics, culture, and threat levels to the civilian population," Talon pointed out. "The determination will have to be made independently since we are also being charged with practicing war time tactics and promoting war time culture."
"That will take weeks," the thin man sighed and gathered his paperwork. "We need to adjourn for now."
"Agreed," Romanov said reluctantly.
When the room emptied and Heero was left alone, even his representative having abandoned him and Relena giving him a single nod of support before vacating the premises herself, he wasn't surprised when Duo stayed behind.
"I was ready for fireworks," Duo told him. He gave Heero a long, searching look. "You know I had to file that statement with what I believe to be the truth?"
Heero smiled, leaned down, and gave Duo a deep kiss. When he broke it, he saw Duo's relief. "I have to prove you're wrong. I have to prove that everyone is wrong. That's why we're here."
"I don't know if that's good or bad," Duo admitted.
"I think it's good," Heero replied. "I know it's good, actually."
Duo caressed the arms of his wheelchair and then smiled with challenge in his expression."I'm willing to sacrifice a hell of a lot while you prove your point. Even if they take my wheelchair and my therapists. Even if I have to panhandle on the street for change when they fire me."
"Thank you, love," Heero told him. "I hope none of that will happen. Relena is ready to fill up the press with stories of disenfranchised war heroes if they attempt it."
"For me?" Duo was skeptical.
"For me," Heero replied with a chuckle.
"Thought so," Duo snorted. He looked around them in disgust. "Let's get out of here. Too many commanders in one room makes it stink like brass and bad ideas."
"I agree," Heero replied.
-------------------------------------------------------
"They're afraid of her," Duo said in disbelief as he read over the papers delivered to Heero that morning.
"Maybe she dislikes you because you only see her as the young girl from the war?" Heero suggested as he took the papers back.
"She dislikes me because I killed a lot of people during the war and I'm not sorry about it," Duo retorted softly. He signaled to the waitress to bring more coffee. "I also publicly criticized her pacifist movement. If you recall, the press had a field day with that."
"I do remember," Heero replied as he played with his eggs and sausage breakfast with a fork. "Something about lions eating gazelles."
"That was a damned good analogy," Duo retorted.
"That was a pretty big word for you," Heero chuckled, "but I also recall that she replied, if the gazelles make a united front, the lion retreats."
The waitress filled Duo's coffee mug, winked at him, and walked away with a swing to her hips. She was a pretty brunette, but Duo didn't notice as he picked up a piece of bacon from his plate and took a bite. He said around his mouthful, "I've seen enough nature shows to know the lion goes away with a full stomach." He waved the end of his bacon at Heero, "Still, she's saved your bacon now and she didn't do it by being a gazelle. There are some gutted officials this morning and I bet one of them is Milliardo Peacecraft."
Heero sighed and scowled, "I am eating breakfast."
Duo chuckled. "What's making you ill, gutted officials or me mentioning Milliardo?"
"Both."
"You've been re-instated and I get to keep my doctors," Duo said. His eyes were roving the small diner and noticing the people staring at them and taking cell phone photos. "We're supporting dozens of news people and helping the average citizen make money by selling the news our photos. Relena gets some good press for helping out war heroes. We're the gift that keeps on giving."
"It's not all good press," Heero pointed out as he glared at the people around them. "Some of them think I'm degrading the readiness of Preventers."
"You know how I feel about that," Duo replied.
"It bothers me that I still haven't convinced you that if we take humanity out of the equation, then what we fight for is meaningless," Heero said.
"Tell me that when we start seeing little versions of you fighting against us," Duo replied. He finished his bacon, sipped his coffee, and then pushed it all away from him. "Don't tell me that's not going to happen."
"The odds are against it," Heero said as he put down his fork and shuffled through the papers. He frowned at them. "I would have liked this to go to trial. I wanted awareness of the problem, a chance to change things. Now I think it will be swept under the rug."
"You can drag them into court," Duo replied, "or have a lot of interviews in the press. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Heero Yuy, Aka Junior Lowe, has enough skeletons in his closet, and outside of them, to make his arguments for a more peaceful force a hard case to make. They will attack your credibility. Right now, they're giving you an escape hatch."
"And I should take it?" Heero wondered.
"I would," Duo replied with a shrug, "but I wouldn't be in this situation to begin with."
"Don't start calling me Junior,"Heero complained. "That was another lifetime."
Duo smiled softly. "You asked me my real name, remember? When I told you I didn't know it, you felt so bad you told me yours. You didn't tell me I shouldn't use it."
"People should change their names periodically throughout their lives," Heero replied thoughtfully as the waitress dropped the check on their table, winked at Duo again, and walked away. "as we get older and we experience more, the names we start out with stop fitting who we are."
"Unless nothing ever happens to you," Duo chuckled. "I didn't get a real name until everyone I knew died."
Heero reached over the table to squeeze Duo's hand. "I'm fighting for you, too. And not just so they will patch up your body."
"When I'm healed up enough, I'll show you how much that means to me," Duo promised. He backed his wheelchair away from the table. "I haven't even begun to show you how much I love you."
"I can't give up, Duo," Heero said apologetically. "I would like to be with you in a peaceful place, so that we can finally appreciate being together, but this is bigger than the both of us."
Duo gave Heero a steady stare and then said carefully, "Heero, you just made my argument for me. Don't you hear yourself? You're willing to put aside your own life, sacrifice your happiness and mine, for the greater good. You've made the decision that other people are more important. We did that during the war. We were doing that as agents in Preventers. You want to make decisions based on being human, but that's not what you're doing now."
Heero felt confusion, but then he firmed his resolve. "It's not the same thing."
"It's not?" Duo shook his head and looked weary suddenly. "Then you're splitting hairs and you're asking other people to do it as well in very dangerous situations. Hindsight is great. When you're in the moment, I think we need fast and hard rules of engagement. Maybe you can decide in seconds that sacrifice isn't called for, but most people aren't that quick."
"No decision is without risk," Heero replied as he stood and picked up his papers and the bill.
"Life is risky," Duo agreed.
"My experience should count for something," Heero continued to argue as Duo wheeled towards the cash register and the bored young man manning it. "My decisions based on that experience should require a level of trust by commanders."
"Again, you're requiring a level of expertise that many agents don't posses," Duo replied as he dug in a pocket and pulled out some bills. He tossed them onto the counter and Heero added his own along with the bill.
"It should be part of their training," Heero continued to argue as he followed Duo out of the diner.
"Heero..." Duo paused as sunshine played in his brown hair and the city life streamed around them. He finally said in frustration, "I have so much on my plate right now. I just want this to be over with so I can concentrate on getting better. I want to concentrate on us. If you want human, that's selfish and very human."
"I'm sorry," Heero replied as he followed Duo towards his car. Parked at the curb, he opened the door for Duo and watched the man laboriously get himself from his wheelchair into his car seat on the passenger side.
When Heero climbed into the driver's seat and closed the door, Duo reached out and put a hand over his. "Look," he said with difficulty, "I know you have to do this. I just wanted you to know how I felt about it. That doesn't mean I won't stand with you or that I won't understand if you push this on the court anyway."
"I have to do this, Duo," Heero replied apologetically.
Duo nodded understanding, but as Heero pulled away from the curb, he wondered if their budding relationship was going to survive the turmoil.
--------------------------------------
"I love the therapy pool," Duo sighed as he floated and Heero held him steady with a light touch on his arms.
"I love seeing you in the therapy pool," Heero replied with a smile. "It's a win, win if it helps you."
"Are you ogling my pathetic body, Agent Yuy?" Duo raised a brown eyebrow.
"Not so pathetic, now," Heero pointed out.
"You're looking with love glasses," Duo chuckled as Heero gently pulled him along the shallow end and Duo kicked his legs slowly under the water.
"Isn't that rose colored glasses?" Heero wondered.
"I'm cutting to the chase," Duo replied with a chuckle. Rose colored, means love has made you blind."
"Or innocence," Heero corrected. "I don't think I'm blinded by either, though."
Duo looked exasperated. "That's the point, Heero. You wouldn't know."
"Are you trying to open my eyes, then?" Heero was almost nose to nose with Duo, now, not caring if anyone else in the pool saw them. His vision was filled by purple eyes that weren't reflecting the humor Duo was pretending.
"No," Duo replied softly. "I want you to go on being blind."
Heero had seen Duo out of the water in his swim trunks. He was thinner than usual, but his body had always been a rugged road map of his past life. Adding a few more features to the landscape wasn't going to change how Heero felt about Duo or his body.
"You should write poetry," Duo chuckled, when Heero managed to convey those thoughts out loud.
"All my poems would be about you," Heero replied.
Duo grimaced, but he was still smiling. "That is the sappiest thing I've ever heard anyone say."
"Even Quatre?" Heero wondered.
Do pretended to think for a moment and then conceded, "OKay, he has said a lot of things that were sappier.... still... that at least gets second place... well, if we were having a contest."
"We're not," Heero said. He leaned in and gave Duo a soft kiss on the lips.
Duo's eyes rolled from one side and then to the other. He broke the kiss. "Not here," he complained.
Heero looked around them and found that they were alone. The pool was empty and the surrounding enclosed area was free of anyone. Even the therapists were absent. "I don't think giving people a show is the problem," he said, trying to sound casual while he was deciding on escape strategies.
Duo heard the tension in his voice, but didn't look around them again. "What's the problem, then?"
"My swim trunks getting tight," Heero replied without missing a beat.
"Uncomfortable," Duo agreed. "If you can't control yourself, Yuy, why don't you let me finish up here alone? You can get our things and we can get out of here to a more comfortable place after."
Heero frowned. Duo was being selfless, sacrificing himself so that Heero could reach safety. Heero knew that he still couldn't swim on his own very well. If he cramped, or one of his healing limbs decided not to work properly, he would never make the side of the pool.
"I'll put you on the steps," Heero suggested. "If you promise to stay there and not swim twenty laps on your own, I'll leave you there. You can still kick your feet."
"I promise," Duo leaned in close to kiss him again, but he whispered, "I think we're being paranoid. This is a pool at the center of Preventer H.Q.."
Heero gave that an instant of consideration and then replied, "Maybe not."
Duo kissed along his jaw and neck, bobbing a little in the water as he pulled himself closer to Heero. Heero was already floating him over to the steps. "Might be other people in danger, then. You need to get out of here and warn them that something's going down."
Heero couldn't take Duo with him easily. If they were about to face an attack, perhaps in reprisal for Heero's court action against Preventers, then eliminating witnesses would be their next step. Heero knew that he needed to leave Duo. That might make Duo a hostage or they might kill him outright, but the chance that Heero could leave and save other lives was worth the risk.
"Wait here love," Heero said, louder. "I just grab our things from the lockers."
"Hurry," Duo replied. "I'm turning into a prune already. You don't want a wrinkled man in your bed, do you?"
"When we're older, I won't mind," Heero chuckled and it wasn't forced.
"More sappy lines," Duo sighed.
"Just speaking the truth," Heero said as he left the water, grabbed a towel where he had left it on the pool edge, and sedately walked towards the lockers.
As soon as he was out of sight of the pool, Heero alerted security that there might be a situation. Searching the locker room, he found two men who had just donned swim suits, talking. He directed them to the exit. They were curious, but followed his orders. He retrieved his gun and returned to the pool area.
Duo was still sitting on the steps but another agent and a therapist had entered the water and were doing exercises. Duo smiled at Heero.
Heero hid his gun on the side furthest away from the swimmers as he checked the pool area carefully. When he joined Duo, he crouched cautiously, ready to turn in any direction and fire his weapon if necessary.
"Paranoid," Duo said with a chuckle. "Everything is all right. People aren't waiting to get rid of troublesome agents."
"Not here," Heero replied. He helped Duo out of the water and supported him until they reached the locker rooms. Once Duo was seated on a bench, Heero called in that everything was secure, and then turned to get their clothing.
"Heero?"
Heero looked back and saw that Duo's expression was serious. His lover said, "You just proved to me that when the situation is critical, you will leave me to help those who might be in danger."
"Of course," Heero replied in exasperation. "We both signed up for that when we joined Preventers. Do you understand the difference, though? In one case no one was in danger except you. Your death wasn't warranted. In this case, there could have been other causalities. In that instance we both understood our jobs. If there had been any chance of multiple deaths I would have let that man blow you out of the airlock."
Duo smiled warmly. "That's the man I love."
"Then will you support me when I'm in the court room again?" Heero wondered.
Duo nodded, looking fierce. "Yes, I will, and I'll mean it 100% this time. We're going to be a united front."
----------------------------------------------------------------
"It's not going to get any better reading it for the hundredth time," Duo complained.
Heero turned off his palm computer and tossed it into their beach bag with a
sour grunt. Stretched out side by side on two lawn chairs, and under a wide
umbrella, the sea rolled onto a white sandy shore in turquoise waves frothed
in white. Seagulls played and sandpipers dodged the surf looking for food.
"Relena says I should feel grateful," Heero said as he turned his
head to look at his lover? Husband? Life companion? Partner? He wasn't sure
how to put a name to it. It didn't need ceremony or taking oaths in blood on
a battlefield. It just WAS, as if they had always been together. It was unshakeable
and he knew it would stand the test of time.
Duo was wearing dark sunglasses. He was also wearing his swim trunks, a few
beaded bracelets, and his dog tags. He didn't seem to care that people stared
at his scars and or gaped at the way parts of his body hadn't healed exactly
straight. The braces were off and he was free to relax, trusting Heero to get
him on and off the beach when necessary. He had already managed to get Duo into
the surf and now they were salted, kissed by the sun, and smelling like the
ocean.
Duo looked back at Heero and tipped his sunglasses down to reveal his purple
eyes. "Relena says a lot of things. She also says I should be in prison.
In this case, she may be right."
"That you should be in prison?" Heero wondered.
"Ha, ha," Duo retorted. "You know the military has to put everything
through extensive testing and peer review before peeing standing up. You are
lucky and you should be grateful that you managed to put that machine in motion."
"An acknowledgement would have been better," Heero complained.
"Not until Hell freezes over, and probably not even then," Duo snorted.
"If they do find merit with your claim that there is a time that a soldier
should be allowed his humanity, they'll quietly implement new regs and that,
my love, will be that."
"So... is this return trip to this five star hotel, that we couldn't afford
in a million years, a payoff of sorts?" Heero wanted to know.
"Probably, but who the hell cares?" Duo reached out and touched Heero's
face. "We get one week, everything paid, and I'm not going to question
it."
"I had to promise not to speak about the matter to the press," Heero
said as he kissed Duo's hand and then sat up holding onto it. His lawn chair
creaked under his weight. He slid his feet under the sand and wondered if it
was actual sand from earth. It felt wonderful. "I also had to promise not
to attempt to advance my cause for two years."
"We're young," Duo pointed out. "Two years is nothing."
"And if I find myself in that kind of situation again?" Heero wanted
to know.
"Let's hope we don't," Duo replied, making it a joke as he added,
"I'll try to make shooting me out of an airlock a clean cut decision next
time."
Heero felt a sharp pain in the vicinity of his heart. "Don't say that!
I don't even want to think about it."
Duo looked contrite, but he sighed, took back his hand, and stared out at the
surf. He slid his sunglasses back on and said, "It'll happen, Heero, someday.
The odds are against us in this kind of job. Even banged up, I still put myself
in danger."
"They want me shipping out on a new mission as soon as we return to headquarters,"
Heero admitted. "They'll keep us separated from now on. I don't want to
live that way."
"Me either," Duo replied. "They want me at home base, training
recruits." His mouth twisted sourly, "Paperwork, mind you. I'll be
teaching them all about paperwork, not how to get through military exercises."
It was an admission that he was never going to be one hundred percent. Heero
had thought as much. They had made love last night, slow and easy. Duo had wanted
more, had wanted to show Heero his passion, but Heero had held him in check,
keeping their love making safe and painless. After, Duo had been angry and frustrated.
It had taken Heero a long while to make him believe that it was enough for him.
"They want us both back in action, but they want to control us," Heero
said irritably. "I've lived my life being controlled. I want it to stop."
Heero took his time replying, weighing all options. He replied at last, "No
matter what we do, you won't be fighting physically any longer."
That was painful, but it had to be faced.
Duo nodded, his jaw clenched tight. "I still have my brains. We did pretty
well on this last mission before everything went to hell."
"We did," Heero agreed.
"So, as a team, we rock," Duo said. "We just need to find someone
who will let us do our thing... together."
"Our thing," Heero repeated and nodded with a smile. he warned, though,
"I won't give up on changing Preventers. It's too important."
"Of course it is," Duo replied, "but you can do it from the outside,
right?"
"I think so," Heero said, "We have Relena to help us."
Duo slid down his glasses and glared at Heero. "Stop mentioning her!"
Heero leaned so that he was nose to nose with Duo. "Jealous?"
Duo snickered, "Hardly! More like... f'n irritated. I want to enjoy this
vacation before more shit hits the fan. She's like... a shit magnet. "
Heero grimaced. "That's crude."
"She makes me crude," Duo complained and then pouted. "I'd rather
be crude... over there... in the surf again... with you."
Heero looked over at the surf and then at Duo, smiling. "I think that can
be arranged."
Heero stood, bent, and picked Duo up as if he were a child. Duo put his arm
around Heero's neck and watched their progress towards the surf. The light turned
his chestnut hair to fire and he was warm and comforting in Heero's arms.Mmaybe
he hadn't gotten everything he had wanted, Heero thought, but getting Duo was
more than he had ever hoped for.
.
on to chapter four
TBC