Kracken
Disclaimer:I don't own them and I don't make any money off of them.
Warning:Male/male sex, graphic, violence, language, attempted NCS
Soldier Boys
Sequel to Running Men
Into the Sunset
Duo was stretched out on his back, sun shinning warmly on his face. Heero sat next to him, cross legged, laptop open and charts flowing across the screen. His fingers tapping on the keys, and faint bird song, were the only noises.
Duo began snoring softly. Heero paused, looked at him with a faint smile, and then went back to typing. They were well hidden in a patch of high, windblown grass at the edge of a stand of trees. Below them, winding through some hills, was the road they had been following for the past half day.
It hadn't been easy to escape the city and the patrols they had been forced to join. Finally slipping away, they had found themselves far north of their target and they hadn't had any choice but to back track. The long walk had exhausted Duo, though he hadn't admitted to it, and Heero had seen clear signs that his partner had been in pain. Back in their regular clothes, their cover now was that they were two young men on a hike, so setting up a small camp wasn't going to be hard to explain if they were discovered. Duo had only given in to Heero' demand that he rest after Heero had convinced him of that.
It had worried Heero how quickly Duo had fallen asleep after lying down. His eyes looked bruised and his skin was far too pale. It had given Heero serious doubts about his ability to complete the mission that they had been given and Heero had spent the last few hours trying to find an alternative, one that would allow him to do the mission on his own. Heero hadn't been successful. Duo's expertise with computers and weapon systems was integral to the plan. Heero knew that he couldn't do Duo's job and his own in the time he was being allotted.
Heero's only option now was to let Duo rest as much as possible and then to push through the forest to the target. Hopefully, the going would be easy and Duo would end up at their destination with enough strength to do his job. Heero closed his laptop, decision made, even though it wasn't the one he wanted to make.
Stretching out beside Duo, Heero very carefully put a hand on Duo's waist. Duo's jacket and shirt had hitched up slightly there, revealing smooth skin and the top outline of his hip bone. Thin... too thin, Heero thought as he felt the sharpness of the bone under his hand. Duo still needed some down time, something that he was probably never going to get. Their stay at Quatre's penthouse had been a definite fluke. They couldn't hope to have that kind of luck again. The war was heating up. They were needed more than ever and time wasn't something that they could afford to take for themselves.
Heero turned towards Duo to give him his warmth and to indulge in the feel of Duo pressed against him. It made him think of other things beside the mission. That wasn't good, he knew, but, at that moment, he didn't care. It was almost painful, his heart filling with some powerful, tender emotion, and he wondered what it would be like to live in a home with Duo, in peace time, in a real bed, as real lovers. What would it be like, to wake up next to him, to know that Duo was his in every way and that they had the rest of their lives to love each other? It was hard to have that much optimism, to step that far out of the dangerous here and now, to imagine it.
Heero stayed very still, once in awhile touching Duo's face, his soft hair, his rounded, boyish cheek. He soon fell asleep as well, something else that wasn't wise, but even his soldier's instincts told him that they had little chance of being discovered there. It felt good to just let go. He felt almost like a thief. He felt like he was stealing time.
Duo awoke to the feel of soft breath in his ear and a warm body pressed against
his own. He blinked opened eyes and found Heero's face not inches from his own,
relaxed in sleep, and almost childish in its lax lines. Duo smiled softly and
reached to touch that sleeping face. He felt a protective urge that was new
to him. He wanted Heero to keep sleeping, to stay as long as possible in the
pleasant dream he seemed to be having. He scanned their surroundings, decided
that they were still safe, and then slipped arms around Heero and held the young
man close. It felt good. It felt right. He tried not to shiver with the strong
feelings holding Heero gave him. Sleep, Heero, he thought, and dream good dreams
for me too.
________________________________
"God hates me," Duo muttered as he hunched deeper into his coat.
The rain was coming down in a steady mist, making visibility difficult and the forest floor slippery and full of mud. They were crouched on the perimeter of their target, Heero scanning with night vision goggles and Duo checking his charges and his equipment with a low level pen light. Duo was shivering and his bangs were dripping water into his eyes. He blinked and shook his head, trying to dislodge the wet, leaning over his bag so that it's contents didn't get wet as well.
"Ready," Duo said at last. "How does it look?"
"Clear," Heero replied and grunted. "Fools. They think their remote location is security enough. Security cameras in zone four and six at main gates. Guard detail along zone seven and nine at side entrances."
"And that's what you can see," Duo grumbled.
Heero lowered his goggles and looked sideways at Duo. "I won't underestimate them."
"Good, just checking," Duo replied shortly. "No screw ups because of cockiness, please."
Heero looked angry, but he shrugged his shoulders as if passing it off and asked point blank, "Can you do this?"
Duo felt shaky, but inside himself he could feel a core of strength that told him that he had enough in reserve to do what had to be done. "I don't know about escaping, but getting my job done? Yeah, I can do it, no problem."
Escaping wasn't a consideration, so Heero nodded, put his goggles away, and then motioned Duo to follow him.
There was always a feeling of butterflies in the stomach and dry mouth at the start of any operation. The brain wasn't completely engaged in the task of destruction yet so it had time to consider death and dying and how badly things could fall apart. There was always that space of time as well, when the brain was frantically signaling that the body should just get the hell out of the situation entirely. It was easier in a Gundam. The brain could be fooled into thinking it was safe then, encased in Gundanium and swinging weapons that could flatten most things in its path. It wasn't safer though. The odds were actually the same. A concentrated attack by the enemy could bring down even a Gundam in time and it had that distinct vulnerability of not being able to simply disappear into a crowd, a forest, or the darkness of night.
Heero had a wicked looking knife cocked in one hand. It wasn't poised to stab, but to slash. Any unwary soldier wasn't going to get a frontal assault. He was going to get a silent slice across the throat. Duo had his own hand on the gas bombs at his waist. They weren't so instant, but they could bring a man down just as effectively.
Heero deployed a device on the security net of alarm beams crisscrossing the target perimeter. They were specific, scanning for human DNA only. It took only a moment to electronically convince it that they were birds flying through the beams. Once through that, it was ridiculously simple to avoid the patrols, and the cameras, and to slip into the hanger containing the huge mobile dolls. They were all lined up conveniently for loading onto transports.
Duo held out a hand to stop Heero from advancing. He flipped open a glowing device. As he watched the screen, waiting for it to stop scanning, he wiped rain and sweat from his face and trusted Heero to keep watch.
Finally, the screen flashed and Duo grunted. He made several hand signs, telling Heero that there were noise detectors and weight pads guarding the hanger entrance. Duo cautiously used the readout to thread their way to the control panel. It was print locked and pass worded. Duo removed the cover with a laser cutter and grinned as he mouthed "Idiots." at Heero. Heero smirked back and nodded as Duo disarmed the system.
They placed their charges then and Heero booted his laptop to use a mobile Doll's guidance system to hack into the target's main computer terminal. He downloaded all of its information and then slipped out without leaving an electronic footprint.
Mission completed... almost. They still had to set off the charges. Duo primed his detonators and began walking back to the main door intent on them and not aware of his surroundings. He bumped into something solid and reacted by jumping back even as Heero sprang forward. Two guards went down, not given time to get over their surprise to see two civilian boys in their supposedly secure hanger.
Heero stepped over the bodies and Duo decided not to look at them as he followed the young man. He couldn't stop from smelling blood though or keep from noticing that Heero had a good amount splattered on him. He had used his knife.
Heero stopped at a large object almost hidden by the side of the hanger door. He reached out, curious, and pulled off a tarp to reveal a custom black and silver motorcycle. Duo's eyes widened at the sleek machine.
"That is.... awesome doesn't really cut it," Duo told Heero as he checked the gas and found the key in the ignition. "I think I'm getting a hard on just looking at her," Duo breathed as he ran a hand over the black, leather seat.
Heero frowned. "Noise," he replied. "We can't take it."
"We could roll it," Duo suggested plaintively. "Come on, Heero! I just can't leave her here for some stupid Ozzie!"
"No," Heero replied firmly and began walking through the hanger door. "Yes," he contradicted himself and whirled back to the bike. "There must have been an alarm that we missed. Guards are coming this way!"
"Shit!" Duo exclaimed. "Goddam, freakin'...." He hopped on the bike awkwardly, detonator still in one hand. He put it in his teeth and brought the bike to life. Heero swung on as well, backwards, legs bracing himself expertly as if he had tried the stunt a thousand times. Knowing Heero, Duo thought, he probably had.
"Go!" Heero snapped.
Duo didn't need to be told twice. He gunned the engine and the bike spun out of the hanger. Cold rain whipped into their faces as he brought the bike around and popped a wheelie as they roared forward. Duo felt something sting his cheek and arm. He heard Heero firing his gun. As the bike began to come down, Duo hit the detonator. As he had planned, the force of the explosion ripped apart anything behind them, gouting out of the hanger like a jet out of a rocket booster and throwing car sized Mobile Doll shrapnel everywhere.
The bike bucked and tried to slide with the impact of the force of the bombs, but Duo wrestled for control and won. He took them out of there at top speed, ignoring the danger of the slick, winding, rutted road that led off the base and into the forest. He grinned, high on adrenalin, popped a wheelie again, and let out a war whoop of triumph that echoed through the trees and the rain. It felt good to be back where he belonged, he thought, back fighting, back exacting his revenge.
They made a small town towards midnight and could feel pursuit breathing down their necks. They had stayed close to the forest, dodging in and out to escape ground and aerial search parties. Duo stubbornly refused to get rid of the bike and Heero didn't offer very much complaint. He wasn't sure that Duo could walk as far as they needed to and, he found, he couldn't follow his harsh training which told him that Duo's weakness shouldn't have been a consideration.
"There we go!" Duo whispered eagerly and pointed to a nondescript van in a long line of them. "Delivery service. They won't notice right away that they're missing one... at least not until tomorrow."
Heero looked at his watch. "It is tomorrow," he said tersely.
"It's hours until they get to work," Duo snorted. "Stop being so nervous. Look, it even has a lift. We'll put the bike in the back and off we go."
"Duo," Heero warned in a growl.
Duo rolled eyes at him. "Heero," he replied. "I'm not risking us for a motorcycle, okay? First sign of trouble, the bike gets ditched." He gave Heero a serious look, "and the van too. If I have to walk, I will. I won't let you risk everything because you think I won't make it."
Heero colored and his jaw clenched.
"Bingo!" Duo snorted. "I knew I was right about that. I'm tougher than I look," he told Heero. "Don't worry about me."
They hot wired the van after disabling alarm systems and it wasn't long before they were driving through the darkness on an interstate highway. Heero drove and Duo curled up as neatly as a cat and went to sleep. Heero glanced over at him from time to time, and saw the utter exhaustion in his partner's face in the dim light of the intermittent lights on the highway.
Heero pondered his actions earlier, his decisions that had been based on Duo's safety despite deciding against doing that very thing. He hadn't been able to help himself, he knew. Even looking back, he was finding it hard to imagine himself doing things differently. He could fool himself into thinking that Duo was important and not expendable, but he knew it didn't have anything to do with that.
Heero reached out and gently touched Duo's cheek. Duo twitched and muttered something sleepily. When Heero drew back his hand, he settled again. Duo was willing to make the sacrifice. Heero knew, that if he tried to make allowances for Duo again, Duo might end up doing more than being annoyed at him. If he couldn't get his head straight and centered on the war, if he couldn't allow Duo to face the danger that he had to, then separating would be the only thing that they could do. One more chance, Heero told himself. It was all that he could allow himself. Once more chance to prove that he could stay in the war and love Duo too.
They found the safe house near dawn, the milky fog obscuring almost everything as they took a rutted, dirt road across an abandoned wheat field. They passed a broken fence and a mailbox that looked as if it had been collecting dust for some time. Weeds grew up around it, almost obscuring the box shape made out of uneven splints of wood and the dubious windmill of a duck adorning the top of it. The whirling wings were still. There wasn't a breeze in the bone chill of morning.
Duo was awake, blinking and uncurling as he felt the difference in their speed and the bumpy road jogging van and passengers alike. There was a huge barn and two silos just outlined against the rising sun. They made eerie shadows. "That's probably where the Gundams are," Duo surmised and then frowned. "I'm going to give Deathscythe a complete systems check. I hate anyone touching him, but me."
Heero agreed with that sentiment, having been thinking the same thing about Wing. He squinted ahead, cautiously picking his way down the road. At last, he pulled into a yard without a driveway in front of a falling down farmhouse.
Duo sighed. "Think it has heat or hot water?"
Heero calculated the age of the building and the level of disrepair. "No on both counts."
"Crap," Duo muttered and opened his door and climbed out. He moaned, feeling stiff and still exhausted, and stretched, yawning hugely. "Well, it looks like a good spot. I saw two installations on the way and a heavily guarded road that might lead to something interesting."
Heero blinked, surprised. "I thought you were sleeping."
"Off and on," Duo replied, "But I pretty much woke up when you pulled off the interstate."
"Hn," Heero grunted, "It will be interesting to see our missions list for the area."
"Yeah," Duo replied, but his mind was on other things. "Do you think everyone made it here in one piece?"
"I saw a gun pointed at us from the third window, second floor, so I imagine that someone did make it here," Heero replied.
"Yeah, I spotted that too," Duo told him with a grin.
Heero shouldered their packs and then they climbed the creaking stairs to the sagging front porch. Duo knocked on the weathered door and called out. "Gundam repair men!"
Heero twitched at the shout, soldier instincts rebelling against any loud noises that would bring attention to them.
"Relax," Duo said and gave Heero a wink. "We're home."
The door opened and Wu Fei stood there with a scowl, dark eyes sweeping them up and down disdainfully. "It is about time that you two arrived," he snarled. "Winner has been adamant that we not start any operation until all of our forces are accounted for."
"Missed you too, man!" Duo crowed and launched himself into Wu Fei's arms. The surprised young man almost fell down as he tried to take Duo's sudden weight and keep his balance. His arms came around Duo's body involuntarily and Duo wrapped arms around his neck, grinning into the oriental's astonished face. "Is everyone else okay?"
Duo let go and backed off, walking past Wu Fei as he looked around a large living room and not giving Wu Fei time to react. Heero was sure, given a few more seconds, that reaction would have been unpleasant. As it was, Wu Fei was left without a target and he spun to stare after Duo, spluttering and trying to recover enough to formulate a response. Duo again didn't give him a chance. He shouted, "Quat! Trow! Where are you guys? We're home!" as he bounded through a door to go in search of them.
"That-That..." Wu Fei stammered and then stopped, his jaw clenching. At last he managed, "He is a fool!"
Heero tried to hide a smirk as he tossed their bags onto a chair and then found one to sit down in. He stretched his legs out and allowed his weary body to relax for the first time in too long.
Heero knew that he should be asking about the area, about their missions, and demanding a full accounting of what the others had been doing, so that he could be prepared. Instead, he closed his eyes and sighed.
"He isn't a fool," Heero said at last, when Wu Fei kept standing beside him, confused and indignant. "He's just happy to see you and the others again."
"Why?" Wu Fei wanted to know, truly puzzled.
"Why not?" Heero replied.
"You are a fool as well," Wu Fei muttered and stalked away.
Heero snorted, recalling Duo's happy face and his obvious relief at seeing that Wu Fei had made it. He found himself smiling. It made him wonder at himself for a long moment, at the changes in him that Duo had wrought, changes that let him find pleasure in Duo's happy exuberance and that could allow him to relax and to take a moment to rest from being a soldier. If it made him a fool, enjoying those simple things, Heero thought, bemused, then he didn't mind being one.