Kracken
Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make any money off of this.
Warning: Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence.
Tin Soldiers
Cohesion
If you think it wasn't hard facing a bunch of men, who had seen me and Heero doing it like wildcats, then you're stupid. I had to put on my war face and look like I didn't care. It's just sex, right? Everybody does it. Yeah, everyone bends over and ... I had to shut down that thinking as a blush started rising out of my collar.
"Are we tired yet?" I asked the bench full of sweating and panting men. They all looked ready to collapse. The only mercy I'd granted them was dressing them down in the locker room where it was cooler than out under the scorching sun.
Heero stood at my shoulder, face looking like the killer I remembered from the war. My lover wasn't happy, not at all, and I was hoping that he kept his temper in check and didn't mangle any of the recruits.
"You showed teamwork and ability last night," Heero said in a tight tone of voice. "I wonder why we haven't seen either on the actual training course? Are you only concerned about practical jokes? Perhaps you should seek employment as circus clowns, then. I know a man who could put in a good word for you."
I saw their chagrined looks, angry glances at one another, and then collective sullenness.
"Permission to speak plainly," a wiry man asked. Kendell, I recalled, very quiet and unremarkable. A born follower, which is why it surprised me that he had decided to be their spokesman.
"Granted," I replied, giving him a look that told him that permission only went so far.
"You aren't following any of the training manuals," Kendell said. "None of the other recruits are being subjected to the same kind of..."
"Torture?" I supplied with a grim smile.
"Yes," Kendal agreed nervously. "We think your methods are excessive and dangerous."
"Which is why you plastered pics of me and Heero screwing all over headquarters?" I wondered, almost losing my temper, but not quite. "Discussing your concerns didn't seem an option?"
"We proved ourselves, didn't we?" Tamil grated out. "We pulled one on the great Gundam pilots."
I wanted to bash his face in, instead I told him in no uncertain terms, "Let me tell you what you did, agent. You broke several laws, you invaded our privacy, and you showed a contempt for proper channels and authority. I assure you, if any one of you had tried to enter our room, you'd be sporting a toe tag and having your next of kin notified. The only thing that you showed us was that you're good with a telephoto lens and have uncommon peeping tom skills."
"You have a unique opportunity," Heero interrupted, and I was almost glad. I wanted to vent, but I knew we had to concentrate on turning the trainees around. "You are training with two Gundam pilots. Your training is different, because you will be different agents. You will be an elite core, a special forces until ready for any mission. You can't be insubordinate. You can't be weak. You can't not be committed 100%."
"Gentlemen," I told them. "We are trying to keep you alive. We are trying to give you the reflexes and awareness that you need for your position. Our methods may seem violent and over the top to you, but when we're done training you, no one will be able to get the drop on you. You will always be ready for anything."
They looked at each other again. Quatre had chosen them well, and, yes, I'd been doubting it. I stopped doubting when they decided not to be washouts. Tamil growled, "We didn't like the way you were treating us like idiots. We were chosen because we're best at what we do, sir. "
My first reaction was to tell him what idiots they really were, but Heero shifted and I knew what he was thinking. We'd made our point. They were back in line. It was time for me to back off, but just a little. "Okay, I'll give you some benefit of the doubt," I replied. "But you need to prove to me you're worth it."
"Yes, sir," they all replied.
"Okay, get showered and down to mess hall," I ordered. "We'll finish the day with some paper scenarios."
They looked relieved, though I would have traded a good obstacle course over reading and writing any day. As they went to the showers, I turned and began walking out of the locker room with Heero.
"That went well," he said.
I grinned. "It'll be even better in about an hour." I clapped the
shoulder of a man waiting outside of the locker room door. He held a digital
camera and looked nervous. "Make sure you get clear shots of everyone and
have them posted all over headquarters as soon as possible," I ordered.
"If anyone questions you, tell them it's being done by order of Quatre
Winner."
We all put up with the ribbing for the next few weeks, but, you know, getting
someone back for almost exactly what they did to you, levels the playing field
nicely. No one feels like they have to top it or retaliate. Did we get along
perfectly and learn to be good friends? Hell no, but I let up a little on them
and they tried a little harder, so we both got what we wanted. That made my
mood better. I could even be good natured about the digital cameras that kept
showing up with requests for clearer shots this time.
"Nice try," I told the man as the fifth trainee tried to get the drop on me at lunch time. Sandwich poised in my mouth, in the middle of a bite, my glock was aimed between the man's eyes as soon as he popped up behind a pushed out vending machine.
"Bang," another voice said on my right and I felt cold metal touch my forehead. My eyes swivelled and I saw another trainee standing there and grinning.
"Good one," I grinned back as Heero pressed his glock up against the back of that man's head. "You would have got me, but we would have gone down together."
"Still counts," the man groused.
"It does," Heero agreed, "If the loss of an agent was necessary."
Heero pulled up his gun and then holstered it. "Marching orders," he announced as he snagged a chair and ignored the trainees. He tossed the papers at me and I looked them over.
I couldn't miss our names, they were in large letters at the top. I looked at Heero in disgust. "Why do I feel like I've been set up?"
"Because you... we... have," Heero replied irritably. "Quatre was expecting us to head this team all along."
I glared down at the mission specs. "It's not like we could turn them over to someone green for this anyway. They'd be slaughtered."
Heero grunted as I holstered my own gun and flipped through the pages. "We could refuse," he said.
I rolled my eyes at him and he smiled tightly. "Nobody is killing men I spent that much time hammering into shape," I grumbled. "So, tropics, at least. I was really getting tired of the snow and ice gigs. We'll need rain gear, weatherproof equipment, emergency rafts, snake bite kits, and GPS that doesn't get confused every time a cloud goes over head. I want the eight point triangulation laser kind. Quatre wants us he can damn well empty his pockets outfitting us right."
I looked over the maps and didn't like what I saw.
"Swamps. A lot of chance for traps and spotter blinds," Heero said as he read them from his side.
I grunted and tapped it where they suspected the base of operations was located. "Chemical traces on the satellite. Red glow markers. Heavy metals. Slag waste in the water. Must be weapons production of some kind. Here, they tried to hide it with alcohol signatures. They wanted us to think they're running a still or a drug lab. That's so common out there, most law enforcement wouldn't have bothered as long as they stayed away from the hard stuff."
I checked sources and then laughed, "Top brass says they were tipped off by an agent alligator hunting," I told Heero. "What the hell... I wonder what those odds are?"
"Slim," Heero replied and I looked up and saw that paranoid frown that I knew and loved. He would make damned sure that we didn't walk into any traps. I was glad that I didn't have to worry about that aspect of the operation.
"So," I drew the word out as I folded the paper in my hands. "Your honest opinion about the readiness of our babies?"
"Pack some diapers," Heero said thoughtfully, meaning that we should bring along a few experienced men, "but I think they're ready for some first steps."
"Any suggestions?" I asked as I tapped a rhythm on the table with my mission spec.
"Chang," Heero replied promptly. "Tiger. Maybe Maple."
"Maple?" I snickered. "A woman among poor boy lambs. Sounds good. Let's get 'em ready then."
Heero snagged my collar and forced me back into my seat. He pushed my sandwich back at me. "Eat first."
"Yes, mommy," I snickered. I rubbed his foot under the table with mine. "I think we have an entire twenty four hours before jump. Wanna...?" I waggled my eyebrows suggestively.
Heero smirked. "Always."
Of course I made sure that the curtains were drawn tight that night, that I sniffed the room for bugs and hidden cams, and even checked the local satellites in orbit for special hacked orders. Maybe our boys were too busy worrying about their gear and the mission, but we weren't bothered as we used every available surface, including the shower and the kitchenette, and found a new use for repelling straps and a bivoac chair that the previous tenant had left behind. By morning we were sated, my ass was sore, but happy, and Heero looked like a big lazy cat as he kissed me, fondled my morning hard on, and then slapped my ass awake as he rolled out of bed and took a shower.
"You are inhuman," I groaned as I opened bleary eyes and smelled cloying sex all over me. "Coffee... Get me coffee!"
I fell asleep again and woke with a styrofoam cup of black coffee being waved under my nose. I grabbed it and sat up. A bag, stained with the grease from a large fried egg and sausage biscuit, landed in my lap. I mumbled my pleasure, a goofy smile on my face.
"You take good care of me," I sighed as I sipped heaven in a cup. Just the way I liked it, thick as mud and strong enough to strip paint.
"You took good care of me last night. Just returning the favor," Heero told me as he dropped his coat and began digging through a bag for his own breakfast. "We have one hour until we have to assemble."
"I'll be ready," I assured him.
My legs were suddenly in the air and Heero was between them. His expression was predatory, breakfast forgotten and a sexy smile on his lips. I wrapped my legs around his waist and sipped at my coffee again as I grinned up at him. "Another go?"
Hands cupped my ass and squeezed. "No time," Heero lamented.
There was a brief knock on the door and then it opened. My face went eighteen shades of red as Heero stiffened and half turned in the grip of my legs. I couldn't see who was there, but I knew Heero's gun was pointing at him.
There was a disdainful snort. "I should have known," Wu Fei's voice said. "Maxwell, if you could curb your libido, please, the men are all assembled and waiting for the both of you. Also, would you refrain from drawing characatures of me being molested by regulations manuals on my spec sheets? If you have a problem with authority, then you should have become a mercenary."
I mouthed his words sarcastically as Heero looked down at me. He smiled and then touched my legs, reminding me that I could let go. I did and pulled the sheet around me as Heero turned completely to face Wu Fei.
"We'll be there in twenty," Heero told Wu Fei. The man was dressed in black fatigues and was looking very hard at a spot on the wall, nostrils flared. He gave one nod, turned on his heel, and was gone, leaving the door open.
Heero closed the door and then turned to me. "Why is everyone trying to get in on our love life?" I wondered sourly as I cast off the sheet and stood up. I rubbed my embarrassed, retreating member in apology. "Sorry guy, maybe in another few days..."
"Promise?" Heero asked and looked like a little boy with sad, but hopeful eyes.
I snorted at him. "It may decide to come back out by then." But then, I glared. "That's not like you, leaving the door unlocked."
"I had my hands full with breakfast," Heero replied and looked guilty now.
"Don't get sloppy on me, Captain Yuy," I told him and, no, I wasn't joking. So much of our continued existence had been due to our knack for always being vigilant.
Heero took his ear chewing, but then he was helping me get ready. After a shower, I dressed in my splotchy, olive drabs, and he helped me check my weapons before I put them on. That was showing my trust. A person always took care of his own. He understood the gesture and kissed me before we left the room.
"Ready, love?" I asked, feeling adrenalin begin to kick in.
"Ready," he replied and I saw the gleam in his eye that was all Heero.
"Let's take our babies out for their first walk then," I chuckled and together we went out to review the troops.
TBC