Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Tangled Web ❯ Not-So-Covert Tactics ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me ::sigh::
Warnings:

Complete and utter chaos described the scene in a nutshell. What should have a been a simple search and seizure mission had turned into a giant disaster. Trowa cursed under his breath as yet another bullet narrowly missed his head. He was almost completely pinned down behind a bunch of crates that were threatening to collapse at any given moment. Intelligence for the Preventers had turned out to be a complete joke. This illegal MS factory wasn't just a small operation that had recently gotten off the ground, it was an entire underground base with more than 600 soldiers ready and able to defend their ideals at a moment's notice.

And who does Lady Une send in to clean up this impossible fiasco? The Gundam pilots of course. All of the Gundam pilots. *If she had only thought to send just one of us out here in the beginning, this never would have happened.* But no one wanted to announce the pilots' involvement with the Preventers until the dust had settled a bit from the war, so now Une needed the best of the best to bail the them out of this ungodly mess.

Trowa darted from his rapidly disintegrating hiding place to a more stable one with a better vantage point. As he nimbly dodged a rain of bullets, he came to the conclusion that he had missed these kinds of situations. There was something about the explosions, the smell of hot metal in the air and the screams of the dying that made him feel sentimental.

*After all, the last time all of us pilots were together in the same place was during the war. Ah the good old days... We should get together like this more often.* He was certain his fellow pilots felt similarly. Duo had practically quivered with excitement as he geared up for the mission with the other guys. And when Wufei had stopped, ahem, 'arguing' with Quatre long enough to go over the specs for the mission, his eyes had gleamed with something akin to joy when he realized he was going to get to use his sword. And Heero, well Heero had only used Death Glare #4 (TM) on everyone for daring to be in the same building as Duo while he was changing into his gear. That had to mean something, right?

Speak of the devil, wasn't that Duo right smack in the middle of the whirling mass of insanity below? What the hell was he doing down there and where was his ever-present shadow, Heero? Trowa worked his way closer to Duo to see if he needed help, leaping from catwalk to catwalk in order to avoid detection from, well, everyone really. Friendly fire was a very real possibility during a cluster fuck like this and Trowa really enjoyed not being shot.

When he had gotten as close as he could without being blown up, shot at, or pelted with fruit (where had Duo found time to pack that?) Trowa assessed the situation. Duo was surrounded on all sides by 15 different soldiers. He didn't appear to have any weapons other than the fruit and he looked injured, so why were all the soldiers treating Duo like a bomb about to go off? All enemy fire had ceased quite suddenly for what appeared to be no reason at all, what was going on?

"It's a mystery, isn't it?" Said a velvety voice right next to his ear. Trowa froze, had he gotten slack in the 3 months since the war? How had he allowed someone to creep up on him like that? *Ah, well... might as well brazen it out.*

"Well, seeing how the center of the whole situation is a enigma unto himself, I would have to concur." Trowa said offhand, slowly reaching for a hidden dagger.

"Ah ah ah, none of that now, 03." Both of his hands were captured in a lightning-fast exchange against an unknown assailant from behind. "You wouldn't want to injure an ally, now would you?" The soft, velvety voice continued with lips barely brushing his ear.

"Mm...nuh... ally?" Wait, that voice was familiar, wasn't it? As his assailant pushed him closer against the guardrail of the catwalk, bending over him ever so slightly, a lock of white-blond hair slipped over his shoulder. "Zechs?!"

"Darn, and I was hoping to keep the game up a little longer." Trowa was released and turned around to see Zechs Merquise flash a sultry smile and his Preventers badge.

"I had heard rumors that you were working for the Preventers, but had discounted them as idle gossip."

"That's a surprise coming from someone that is supposed to be only a rumor himself."

Trowa felt his face heat up and puzzled at it. *Is this what embarrassment feels like? And if so, why would I care what he thinks?*

Zechs brushed a finger across the green-eyed boys cheek. "Status, 03?"

Trowa looked up in confusion until he saw the blood on Zechs' finger. "It's nothing, I didn't even notice it happening. Duo is the one we should be worrying about right now."

"Of course, you stay here and I'll go fish him out of that mess." Zechs turned to go, but was forestalled by a hand on his arm.

"Stay here? Who do you think you're talking to? Duo is MY friend, if anyone's going to go save him, it's going to be me." Trowa thought that the weird feeling inside of him might be anger. Curious. *Obviously Duo has yet another admirer, but that's never made me mad before, so obviously I must be mistaken. This can't be anger.*

The blonde stared down at him with an indecipherable expression on his face. Then he scowled, "I'm fresh and ready for combat, but you look like you've gone ten rounds with a Mobile Doll without your Gundam. And don't try to tell me that the bullet wound on your face is the only one you have, I'm not stupid. This is no time for you to run off to play hero just so you can look good in front of Duo."

Trowa sputtered, "Play hero? I'm just trying to get my friend's back when he needs it. And for the record, I don't need to try to look good, my record speaks for itself." Yes, this was definitely anger he was feeling. How odd. *I'll have to examine this occurrence more closely when the mission has been completed.*

"Yes, your record does speak for itself." Zechs leaned in closer. "I've been told that you pilots all tend to stick pretty close together, especially you and Duo... and Heero too, of course."

"Of course we do, do you know how much trouble Duo can get into when left on his own? Heero stays on Duo Watch almost 24 hours a day, but I think he likes it. He has to sleep sometimes, though. That's where I come in. We've got a pretty good system worked out by now." Trowa tried to put a little distance between himself and the other man, but was stopped by the railing behind him.

*********************************

Duo couldn't believe his luck. He had gotten seperated from Heero and Trowa appeared to be too distracted with with his own issues for him to make a difference in the situation Duo was currently embroiled in. *Finally! I can have some real fun!* There were 15 people surrounding him. In other words, 15 toys for him to do with as he pleased. Of course Heero would have a litter of kittens when he found out what Duo was up to, but that was later, right? This was now.

He turned full-circle to confirm that all the soldiers had been properly pelted with fruit, an action which caused everyone surrounding him to back up. *Jumpy are we?* Duo laughed to himself. They had good reason to be jumpy, they had just witnessed him taking down 10 of their comrades with very little effort on his part. *I'll bet they still haven't figured it out yet. Well, they'll learn soon enough. Show time!*

"Shinigami has decided through trial by fruit that you are all guilty of heinous crimes against humanity. I shall now pass judgement upon you all." Duo flashed a manic grin at the soldiers to his right, pointed an imaginary gun at them and pulled the 'trigger'. Their companions looked on in shock as the men dropped to the floor, twitching. Everyone with half a brain immediately put several extra feet between them and the wild-eyed braided boy.

*I just love this part! I kinda wish Heero was here though. I'm sure he'd really get a kick out of my clever lil' plan.* "That is, if he could just stop being so over-protective for 5 minutes, Jeesh!" Duo sighed dramatically, then directed his attention to the nearest soldier. "What's up with that, huh? We had a blast during the war, blowing up bases and killing scores of Ozzies like a well-oiled machine, but now he won't let me do anything!"

The nearest soldier had started to become less near on account of the fact that he was running away. *Now that just won't do.* "It isn't polite to walk out on a person while they're talking!" Duo shouted after the retreating man. "I'll have to teach him some manners, I guess." Flashing a saucy wink at the cowardly soldier's comrades, he 'took aim' with his finger and 'shot' the little wuss down.

One brave, young soldier managed to squeak out, "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing he didn't deserve." Duo frowned. "Honestly, the nerve of young people these days... Here I am in the middle of a friendship crisis and that jerk can't even take 2 minutes out of his busy schedule to lend a friendly ear. But you guys aren't like that, are ya? You seem like polite enough fellows, I'm sure you'll help me out with my problems, yes?"

The 10 soldiers that hadn't been taken down by Duo's Surprise Fruit Attack of Doom immediately rushed to assure him that they would love to help him with any of his problems that they were deemed fit to hear.

He was pretty hot after all, for a crazy guy.

*********************************

Trowa was feeling overheated and a bit dizzy, why did Zechs have to crowd in so close? He could have sworn that there was plenty of catwalk for everyone to enjoy.

"So, you and Yuy have a system worked out to share Duo?"

Zechs' voice was like a dagger wrapped in black velvet. His face was close enough for Trowa to feel his soft breath ghost over his cheek. *Words, pay attention to the words, Barton, not the voice.* "We share the responsibility of keeping him out of trouble."

"You don't strike me as the type to play nursemaid. Why bother cosseting a young man that has more than proved himself in the battlefield?"

"None of us pilots really know how to deal with living in peacetime yet, but for me, Duo, and Heero it's especially hard. None of us have ever had a normal life. I was practically born on the battlefield, Heero was raised as an assassin, and Duo has had to take care of himself for as long as he can remember. I guess our similar pasts have caused us three to look out for one another, it helps us survive the peace. Both Heero and I believe that Duo has earned the right to act like a child for a little while if it helps him cope."

"What about you, Trowa? Who takes care of you and allows you to be able to relax and act like the child you never were?"

"T-that's different," Trowa stammered. "I'm fine being alone. I don't need to be a child the way Duo... Wait Duo! What are we doing standing around here talking about this crap when Duo needs help?" He tried to move away, only to discover that Zechs had him completely boxed in. "Move out of the way, or I'll push you off the catwalk." Trowa's voice became deadly.

"Turn around and see for yourself," Zechs said with a smirk, moving back just enough to give Trowa room to turn around.

For a moment, Trowa's rapidly fraying composure fled him entirely as he took in the scene below, causing his jaw to drop open. Duo was no longer in the middle of a nervous, but menacing group of soldiers covered in fruit, but was instead sitting on top of one of many unconscious soldiers and chatting casually with the 3 that were still left standing, or sitting rather. For all purposes it looked like they were sharing hair care tips - something that could be entirely possible.

"How on earth did he manage that?" Trowa allowed a small smile to emerge, marveling over the self-appointed God of Death.

A deep chuckle emerged much closer to his ear than he was comfortable with. "That clever little bastard." Zechs whispered almost reverently.

Trowa suppressed a shiver. *Why am I having such a hard time concentrating? Duo and Quatre hang all over me all the time and I never get this distracted.* "What do you mean? Can you see how he's been taking them out?"

"It might have something to do with that." Zechs leaned forward to put his face right next to Trowa's and pointed down at Duo. "Look at his right hand."

At first 03 didn't understand, but then he caught a glimpse of something small and metallic in Duo's hand. Because they were above and behind the braided Preventer they could see what none of enemy soldiers could - an object that looked suspiciously like a miniture hand-held remote. "So that's what he was doing with that defibrilator he stole during his last stay at the hospital – he probably put the electrodes in the fruit to get them on his victims and then activated them with that remote. I had no idea that he could make something like that."

"No wonder we lost the war, none of our soldiers were this inventive." Zechs mused softly, running a hand down Trowa's side.

The green-eyed pilot suddenly realized how compromised his position was, the taller blonde man had him completely pinned against the railing and was pressed against his back in a very... erm, friendly way. "What are you doing?' Trowa squeaked out.

"Checking for injuries. I told you that I didn't believe that wound on your face was the only one you had."

"Ahh....ah! I'm pretty sure that I don't have any injuries there!"

"Well, one can never be too careful in these situations, no?"

Warm lips brushed the back of his neck followed by a hint of teeth. By this point, Trowa had forgotten about the complaint he had been about to lodge and concentrated on not falling over the railing. "Still... huhuu...checking for..ahhh...injuries?" He was very proud of himself for managing to get that sentence out.

"No, I've assured myself of your physical fitness."

"Then what...?"

"You said that you were alone, does this mean that Duo and Yuy have no claim on you?"

"A claim...on me?" Trowa couldn't remember ever being this flustered. He was always the calm, unflappable one in the group and now he felt like he was flapping all over the place. "You're joking right? Heero would kill everyone on the planet before he shared his Duo and Duo, well... we aren't even sure if he even knows what sex is, he's pretty oblivious. He hasn't even noticed that Heero has made a claim on him - and even Quatre's plumber has noticed! That poor man..."

"Duo isn't the only one who's oblivious." Zechs muttered.

"What do you mean?" Trowa felt himself being turned around to face Zechs.

"I mean that Yuy isn't the only one around here that's staking a claim."

Firm but gentle hands grasped 03 by the back of the neck, rendering him immobile as Zechs swooped down like a hawk sighting it's prey, capturing the green-eyed boy's mouth with his own. Trowa didn't bother to pretend like he didn't understand what was going on anymore – it wasn't like he hadn't had fantasies about this man since their meeting in Antarctica, after all. *A person would have to have at least 3 bowls of stupid for breakfast to pass up this opportunity – it's a good thing I only had coffee.* One last moment of sanity asserted itself, allowing Trowa to break free long enough to gasp out the question, "What about the mission?"

"When I arrived,This was the last area of the complex to be neutralized and Duo appears to have taken care of the last pocket of resistance without our help, so you have no more excuses to help you escape. Do you really need one?"

He was answered in a very Trowa-esque fashion – involving action rather than words.

*********************************

"Duo! Where in the name of the gods did you go...?" 01 rounded the corner expecting chaos to greet him at any moment – only to step on something slippery that sent him skating through the hanger. On his impromptu trip across the floor he managed to duck under the wing of a plane, dodge a flying piece of clothing and skirt around a pile of boxes that appeared to have been shot all to hell, but just as he was starting to get the hang of sliding uncontrollably through enemy territory on top of a piece of... kiwi (WTF?) he was suddenly airborn having slammed into a pile of unconscious soldiers. This made him... less than happy. "I just know that this has something to do with Duo." He grumbled.

"You see? He even blames things on me without bothering to ask my side of the story." A very familiar voice proclaimed in a rather wounded manner. Well, at least he'd found the object of his search. Heero blinked as he took in the scene of fruit-encrusted insanity. Why was Duo sitting around chatting with enemy soldiers?

"But... you were the one flinging fruit all over the place." One very brave/stupid soldier pointed out. Duo flung him a pointed look and raised a finger in his direction. "However, he really shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that!... It wasn't very nice."

"You're absolutely right. Heero, what do you have to say for yourself?" Duo asked in an disturbingly manic way.

"I'm sorry, I missed the last part of the conversation on account of the fact that I was admiring how well you had the situation under control." Heero invented quickly. "What were you saying?" Heero glared at one of the soldiers drooling over HIS Duo before turning his complete attention over to 02.

"Really? That's awesome! I've been having a lot of fun down here, but I wish you could have been here, you would have loved it!"

"I would have been if you hadn't run away the second my back was turned."

"Awww, come on, you never would have let me get away with this if you had known. You used to be a lot more fun during the war, Heero. What's going on? I miss my friend who used to give me explosives and them help me invent creative ways to use them, don't you wanna be my friend anymore? "Duo flashed puppy eyes the size of beach balls at Heero. A man with a heart of stone would have broken under such regard – as it was there were people three miles away that were suddenly struck with the urge to go and buy a pony for a purple-eyed boy they hadn't even met. Heero never even stood a chance.

"Duo... You're the only person I want as my back-up, the only person I want to be around for more than an hour at a time, the only person I trust... of course I want to be your lo - erm friend. I'm sorry if I've been a bit over-protective lately, but it's only because I wanted you to have a chance to enjoy living a normal life during peace-time."

"Heero... " If possible, Duo eye's doubled in size.

"I know that you haven't had the chance to just be a normal kid and have normal fun, so all I've wanted is to give you a chance to have that kind of life if you wanted it. That's why I've been acting like such a... Mmmumph!" Heero's heart-felt speech was cut off on account of him recieving a pair of preventer-issue briefs to the face. "What the?... K'so yaro! Heero looked up to see who he needed to kill for interrupting him (he had been working on that speech for almost a year, dammit!), only to get a sock in his mouth for his troubles. ""Pleaghttttt!" This was not going according to plan.

As Heero stoically choked on sock lint and dreamed of the days when all of his problem could be solved via Gundam, Duo asked quietly, "What is Zechs doing to Trowa?"

01 looked up again – keeping his mouth firmly closed – to see 06 bending 03 over the catwalk in a very, erm, friendly manner. *How did he manage to get Trowa's briefs off while his pants were still on?* Heero mused to himself. "Umm..."Heero said in an enlightening way.

"Hey, Heero! Did you ever find Duo?" Wufei came barreling into the hangar with Quatre at his heels. "Oh, I guess you did, that wraps up the last loose end, then. The base is secure and... Zechs, stop that!"

"Aw, man, this kind of puts a damper on our plans for a threesome." Quatre muttered to himself.

"Is this really an appropriate place to be doing that sort of thing?"

"Why not, 'Fei? We're all friends here – except for the people trying to kill us." Duo said, helpfully. " Hey, how come no one ever wants to do those kinds of things with me?"

For a moment the entire hangar went silent, then suddenly there was a mad rush where everyone – except for Zechs and Trowa who were still currently occupied – including some soldiers who had been faking being unconscious, surged forward in attempt to assure Duo that they would be more than happy to do 'those kinds of things' with him. Duo then qualified the question by asking, "Heero, why don't you want to do those kinds of things with me?"

Everyone stopped suddenly and tried to act like they had been doing nothing the whole time, while simultaneously checking to make sure Heero hadn't noticed anything.

"Duo, I..." Heero swallowed, he hadn't been planning to have this conversation in front of a crowd, but he wasn't passing up the opportunity. "As I was saying before, I just wanted you to have a chance at a normal childhood and most of my research pointed me to the conclusion that most kids don't have gay lovers, otherwise I would have shagged you the first chance I got."

"So you were what, going to just spend the rest of your life just being my friend? That's kind of stupid, 'Ro."

"Of course, not! I was waiting until you were 18, then I was going to..." Heero looked around at his audience, blushed, then leaned over and whispered in Duo's ear."

"Screw waiting, I'm 16 and a boy, I'm almost positive that waiting is not the normal thing to do, Right Tro?" Duo called out for support.

Heero didn't wait for the strangled response from the catwalk, he just grabbed Duo's hand and dragged him out the door, ignoring the braided boy's statment, "But, there's another catwalk that's unoccupied!"

*********************************

Chang Wufei watched the retreating forms of his 2 fellow pilots for a moment, feeling a small pang of regret – one he knew was shared by Quatre.

His blonde bombshell of a lover tugged on his arm and with a sly smile on his face, asked, "So... what do you think of our chances of convincing Zechs to share?"

Wufei returned his smile and knew that he had gotten exactly who he really wanted.