It was supposed to be a simple surveillance of a jungle outpost suspected of manufacturing armor that could withstand a beam cannon. We were positioned well away from any of the target's patrols, a vertical climb to a plateau that only experts, like ourselves, could manage. We didn't suspect that our target's had a unhealthy paranoia and had positioned look outs even there. We were pinned down almost instantly. A clump of bushes, vines, and a rocky outcropping were the only things between us and discovery.
"Does this mean we're married?" Duo whispered in my ear, just a breath of sound. He had shoved me down as soon as he had spotted the patrol and we hadn't been able to change our position since. Stretched out on top of me, parts of us were pressing together in a way that I had only dreamed about.
"I don't have a ring on me," I whispered back nervously.
"Bad planning, Heero," Duo retorted with a good humor that never deserted him, in even the direst situations.
"I won't have an unwilling bride,anyway," I parried and he grew strangely quiet. I thought maybe he was thinking better of making even our slight noise, with armed men so close to us, but then he replied hesitantly.
"I am on top. I wouldn't consider that unwilling."
I blinked at the faint outline of his face, but couldn't make out any features. My heart was in a panic, not sure if the joking had stopped and something more serious had started. It didn't want to take the chance, didn't want to be wrong and suffer the hurt that would cause.
"I top in this relationship, love," I tried, but it came out as hesitantly as his reply.
Another moment of quiet. "We shouldn't argue on our honeymoon, lover," he replied more firmly.
"That was a quick wedding," I parried and felt almost sure.
"It had to be. Someone dragged the engagement out for three years." His weight settled more comfortably on top of me, as if he had been under tension that entire time.
My arms slid around him and pulled him even closer, reassured when he didn't jerk away or protest. I would have given anything to see his expression, to have more to go on than just his voice. "I never thought that you would say, yes, if I asked."
"Stupid," Duo sighed.
"Now you're calling your new husband names. That's not a good start, love," I admonished.
"We'd better get to the kissing part," Duo insisted. "No telling how little time we have left."
Our lips came together hard, unable to tell distance in the dark and I felt him smile just before he deepened that kiss and tried to devour me. The footsteps walking by us, not four feet away, made us both freeze, lips still locked together, holding each other tight.
It seemed an eternity. We heard a lighter flick and smelled cigarette smoke.
"Damn cold up here," a voice complained. "Why the hell is it hot down there and cold up here? Isn't this the friggin' tropics?"
"Close your mouth and you'll be warmer," another voice retorted. "At least most of the bugs don't get up this high."
The footsteps walked away, but they held still until they were certain. Then Duo broke the kiss and I heard his very soft laugh. "That was some kiss. I'm glad I married you."
"This isn't a joke, is it?" I couldn't help asking. I needed him to be serious for once, to tell my brain what my heart already knew.
"No," Duo replied, dead serious. "You?"
"No, not joking at all," I replied.
"Good," he said, with obvious relief, and then was crawling over me, digging knees and elbows into painful spots. I rolled onto hands and knees when he was clear, and crawled along with him towards the edge of the plague, and our climbing gear.
As Duo, attached to ropes, began swinging out into space, I whispered, "DO you want a ring?"
"No," he replied with a chuckle. "I just want you."
The End