Imperfect Soldier
-----part 1-----
"What's our mission?" Duo asked as Heero sped along the highway. "Why
did we have to pack so much stuff?! Come on, tell me."
Heero had tried to avoid this, but Duo wouldn't let up. "Okay. Here's
the deal. They didn't give *us* a mission. They gave *me* a mission."
"Then why did you bring me on it?" Duo was confused.
"I didn't." Heero replied. He pulled over at a gas station. "Get your
best outfit from your suitcase. We're going out to dinner."
"This is a bit spontaneous, isn't it?" Duo asked, getting out the best
outfit he had and running into the gas station restroom to change. He
returned to the car a few minutes later and they drove to a nice
restaurant that was located in the downtown shopping district.
"Go on in and get us a table. I'll find a parking spot."
Duo nodded. "Okay, but if you ditch me, I'm ordering the entire
hors d'ouevres menu and charging it to your account."
Heero watched Duo go into the restaurant, then drove and parked the
car half a block away. He placed something under the dashboard, then
went to the store across the street from the restaurant.
The jeweler looked up as Heero walked in. "May I help you?"
"I'm looking for an engagement ring." he said.
"For a young lady or a young gentleman?" the jeweler asked.
"It's for a young gentleman." Heero smiled. "An elegant young man who's
physical loveliness is surpassed only by the beauty of his soul."
There was a sudden explosion outside. Heero looked in the direction of
his car, to make sure that's what it was, and gave the slightest of
nods before turning his attention to something more important.
Inside the restaurant, Duo didn't hear the explosion. All he heard was
the band playing an old calypso tune and the hubbub of a hundred
different conversations taking place simultaneously. He was about to
go and check on Heero when the Perfect Soldier walked in. The waiter
showed him to their table and Heero sat across from Duo.
"So, about your mission?"
"My mission was to kill you."
Duo jumped up in alarm.
"Relax." Heero told him. "I have no intention of following that
order."
"So much for being the Perfect Soldier." Duo remarked.
"It's far better to be an imperfect soldier with you, than a perfect
one without you." Heero replied.
Duo blushed. "I thought you wanted to be the Perfect Soldier more than
anything."
"I'd rather be the Perfect Husband." Heero told him as he took the
ring from his pocket and showed it to Duo. "Will you marry me?"
Duo's eyes went wide and his clasped his hands over his mouth.
"Heero," he exclaimed. "It's so beautiful. I... I don't know what to
say."
"How about 'yet'?" Heero suggested.
"Yes." Duo nodded. "Yes, I'll marry you."
-----part 2-----
Heero's heart raced with joy as he slipped the engagement ring onto
Duo's finger. "Now I'm truly the perfect soldier." he said,
thoughtfully. "I have Duo's love."
"You've always had it." Duo replied.
The waiter politely interrupted them and took their order. Once he
was gone, Heero turned to Duo.
"We're getting married as soon as we leave here." he said. "Then,
we're taking off."
"Where to?"
"Luna." Heero told Duo.
"The new lunar city?" Duo asked. "Why there?"
"The people who ordered your death have no power there." Heero
explained. "Once we become citizens, they can't touch us and you'll
be safe."
*****
"Mission?" Trowa asked. "What mission?"
"He just said he had a mission and took off with Duo somewhere."
Wufei replied.
"Check." Quatre suggested. "I got a bad feeling."
Wufei shook his head. "I'm not suicidal." he said. "There's no way
I'm touching Heero's laptop."
Quatre went over to the laptop and opened it. Heero's last communiqué was still open and readable. //He must've left in a hurry.// he
thought. //He'd never leave it like this otherwise.//
"What's wrong?" Wufei asked.
Quatre's face was very pale now. "Oh, Heero," he lamented, "how
could they ask you to do such a horrible thing?"
-----part 3-----
"The c-!" Duo yelped, after they left the restaurant, Heero gagging
him, just in time.
"I did that." Heero explained. "Don't worry. I don't want them to
trace us. Come on. This way." he lead Duo away, down the road
Duo nodded and followed. In time, the two companions arrived at the
spaceport.
"Where to?" The ticket agent asked when they got to the front of the
line.
"Luna." Heero replied. He handed her both his and Duo's passport as
well as a ticket voucher.
"Thank you." The ticket agent told Heero as she handed him two
tickets. "Enjoy your stay on Luna."
Heero gave a nodded and lead Duo aboard the shuttle. "Well, soon we'll
be on our way to our new home." he observed.
"What'll we do there?" Duo asked. "How will we survive?"
"I've already got a job lined up." Heero replied. "It's in law
enforcement?"
"SWAT team? Secret Service?"
"No. Something far more dangerous."
*****
Tranquility Plaza, located in downtown Luna, was the largest and
most crowded shopping mall on the surface of the moon. Originally the
remains of a failed arcology, the citizens of Luna had converted it
and now enjoyed it as a convenient shopping mecha.
Standing near a corner, in his well-kept uniform, Heero Yuy turned to
Duo, his spouse of two days, and scowled. "Not a word." he warned.
"My lips are sealed." Duo smirked.
"I *wish*." Heero emoted.
-----part 4-----
"Any news?" Trowa asked. It had been nearly two months since their
fellow pilots had disappeared without a trace. Since then, they'd had
various assignments, and during each, they'd tried to find some trace
of Heero.
Quatre studied the readouts on the laptop before him. "An explosion
downtown around the time Heero and Duo disappeared." he replied.
"Someone set off a car bomb. They think someone may have mistakenly
believed a politician was going to be in the area and the explosion
was meant for that person."
"It could've been Heero." Trowa suggested.
"You think he asked Duo to wait, then pretended to go into a store to
get something and ...?" Wufei clenched his fist. "Such a horrible
injustice."
"Duo." Trowa closed his eyes.
"To lose one so beautiful is the greatest injustice of this war."
Wufei ranted. "I shall not stand idly by and permit such a thing to
go unpunished! Duo deserves justice! His death must not go
unchallenged!"
"We don't even know where Heero is, or if he's still alive." Trowa
pointed out. "He could've blown himself up, too."
The phone rang and Quatre stared at it. If he, Trowa and Wufei were
all there, then who was calling his house? The very rich weren't of a
habit of giving out their phone numbers and Quatre was no exception
to this rule. Realization struck and he grabbed the phone from its
cradle.
"Heero," he screamed at the caller, "you've got some nerve calling
here after you murdered Duo! You son of a bitch, when we find you,
we're going to kill you slowly and make you suffer for what you did!"
"Thanks, Quatre." The voice was Duo's.
Quatre collapsed into a chair. Tears of relief and joy ran down his
face. "Duo?!"
Wufei and Trowa joined Quatre. "Is it...?" Trowa asked.
Quatre nodded. "He's alive." he replied. "Duo, are you okay? Did you
get away from Heero?" He listened, then his eyes went wide. "You
serious?! Duo, that's wonderful! Congratulations! Of course. I
understand. We'll talk later. Bye." he hung up.
"Duo's alive." Quatre announced as he , Wufei, and Trowa visibly
relaxed. "He married Heero they day they vanished and they're
expecting a child."
"Who's carrying it?" Trowa asked.
"Duo is." Quatre shrugged. "Heero's very protective of him, too."
-----TBC-----