Woke Up One Morning... Part 17
Swallowing roughly, I look to Heero with wide eyes. His lip tucked in by his teeth slightly, he meets my gaze and shrugs. Though our backs are to Wufei and Trowa, I can see them share a confused glance from the corner of my eye.
Lady Une's smirk only grows into something I am even more concerned about before she disappears back into her secretary's office, clearly expecting us to just follow behind her. I can feel a couple beads of sweat forming on the back of my neck.
Damn. There is absolutely no telling what this is all about, but I have a pretty bad feeling. No chance for any running or hiding from this.
And don't get me wrong- I like Lady Une a lot. But she can still scare the crap out of me at times.
"We'll catch up with you both at lunch," Chang offers before he and Barton head off down the hallway together, occasionally glancing over their shoulders at us until they turn the corner for the elevators.
Heero gently urges, "We better see what this is about." At that, his hand returns to the small of my back to give me a gentle push. Just to keep me from running should the urge strike.
My stomach in knots, I force my feet to move one after another until we enter the receptionist's room.
Kathie flashes us a sympathetic smile on our way past her desk and buzzes us back into Lady Une's office. Inside, the Commander is typing away at her computer and does not bother to look up at us.
That sinking feelings returns.
Still mentally laboring to make myself step forward, I return to the same seat I had occupied and Heero sits at my side once more. Our shoulders brushing together offers a little relief... but not much.
Her fingers pausing in their work, Lady Une spins her chair so that she is facing us.
That Cheshire smile tugs her lips again as she says, "Agent Scythe, I certainly hope that you did not believe I fell for your cover-up when I called you this morning. I know you far better than you realize to not have picked up that you are hiding something. If that slip never happened, I never would have picked up on what was right in front of me."
Oh... fuck.
Instantly, my next breath is sucked in and held as my heart starts hammering in my chest. Even Heero's shoulders have tensed and his eyes widen in shock and a little bit of fear.
"C-Commander?" I stutter nervously. Shit! That really isn't helping the situation! People who have nothing to hide don't stutter!
Gesturing to my hands that I am only now realizing are folded tightly together while they fidget with my braid, she orders calmly, "Please remove your band-aids for me." A small gasp escapes 'Ro as he snaps his head in my direction in a panic.
My brain has completely shut down as those words sink in. She knows. Holy shit, she knows! And it's all my fault!
I bite my lip as I force my right hand to move slowly. From my peripheral vision, I see Heero doing the same. And at the same time, we unravel the band-aids concealing our wedding bands. It's all I can do to sit upright under the scrutiny of those brown eyes panning from one gold ring to the other.
Taking a deep breath, Lady Une's eyes close and she nods as if telling herself that her feeling was right. She opens her eyes again and smirks, "And why was I not invited to the wedding?"
A loud rush of air escapes my lungs in the sound of a short laugh at the release of the tension that had built up in me. She raises an eyebrow in amusement, but leaves the question out there to be answered.
"We would have invited you if we knew there was going to be a wedding," I sheepishly reply as my cheeks color and I fiddle with the end of my braid again. It's Heero's turn to let out a sharp, nervous laugh as I duck my head.
Blinking her wide eyes, the Commander looks from my face to my husband's and back again. "What are you talking about?" she frowns deeply.
I grin a bit and shrug, "You remember our mission in Vegas?" A realization to how long ago that little trip was has her eyes widening further.
Quoting my partner from a car ride with our friends, I state, ""We got the bad guy, went out celebrating and woke up married." At the sight of her jaw falling open, I duck again. At the quiet, surprised snort and quick lowering of Heero's reddening face, he clearly remembers where that line came from.
There is a long, long silence before Lady Une's mouth snaps closed. "I see," she manages in little more than a whisper.
Ok... this is good. So far, she is not blowing her top. Very slowly, I start raising my head again now that the coast seems to be clearing. Heero's own tension is fading as he sits deeper into his chair in a more relaxed fashion.
"You know," the Commander laughs suddenly, "As mad as I wanted to be when I realized you were hiding your marriage from me, how you got here is so damned unexpected it is all too funny to be upset. To have been a fly on that wall when you woke up that morning..."
It's not very often when Une will laugh like this. And the situation is actually humorous enough that I crack a smile along with her when the last of my tension fades completely away. Heero breaks out a slight smirk of amusement.
Shaking her head, she sobers enough to regard our rings again while she questions, "And you both have decided to stay married? Even in light of the circumstances of how you got to this point ?"
Now for the real moment of truth- having to admit our involvement to the very woman who is against couples working together.
Luckily, my husband answers on both of our behalves so that this is not just coming from me. In a calm but firm voice he makes it known, "Duo and I had decided we would give the marriage a try while exploring our relationship in a deeper manner."
To emphasize his point, he reaches over to hold onto my hand with a squeeze that makes me smile. That damned blush returns to my cheeks at his clear show of affection. "I believe that it has been working out very well for us so far."
My hand squeezes back and holds on tightly as we meet Lady Une's eyes while awaiting our fate together. Whatever conclusion she comes to, we've made it perfectly clear that it won't change what we have.
Then, to my absolute shock, a genuine smile tugs her lips. "About damn time," I could swear she mutters to herself under her breath, but I'm not exactly sure. The movement of her mouth was discrete enough that I could not read it. Before I could dwell further on what it was she really said, she straightens in her seat and states, "Well, you both know what this means for your partnership as Preventers, then."
Biting my lip, I sit up a bit to unashamedly beg, "Commander, please don't separate us. Not when we have a case as big as the one we're working on now."
She certainly does not need to know that this will be our last case for the time being if it will convince her to keep us assigned as each other's partner. "One of the biggest reasons we kept our marriage a secret was so we could keep working together."
'Ro's mouth is opening to voice his own objections to our professional breakup when Lady Une suddenly informs, "Which is exactly why you will continue to keep it a secret."
Our eyes widen in disbelief of what we just heard when she grins, "While you both understand my reasons for not allowing couples to work together, I honestly cannot see either of you working better with anyone else. You both have worked with each other long enough that it would be too great of an adjustment for either of you to trust someone completely new to you the way you need to in the field."
Well... shit. She really does get us. Again, I just blink dumbly at her.
A finger raising in warning, Une levels, "The last thing that I need around here would be whispers that I am showing favoritism. Of course, I am showing favoritism here, but I do not need the other agents believing that."
That is more than understandable. Both Heero and I nod firmly without hesitation. I'm almost shaking with relief knowing that we're not going to be split up. The hand in my own squeezes once again as a reassurance.
Dry washing her face with her hands, the Commander lets out a long sigh. "Alright," she smiles and waves. "Go on now. We should be hearing back from Adam when he and his team have developed something we can work with for this case. Make sure that you're available to assist him and the others if they have questions."
Rising to our feet, my partner and I rewrap the band-aids over our wedding bands. Not wanting to press our luck, we gladly head for the door as Une turns to type at her computer.
Just before I step out, however, I look back and call, "Commander?"
She pauses in her work to look up to meet my eyes, the question in her gaze. My face breaks out in a sincere smile as I say quietly, "Thank you." Heero also grins in kind and whispers his own appreciation with a nod.
Chuckling quietly, she shakes her head in amusement but smirks kindly, "You're very welcome. And belated congratulations on your wedding." I snicker along with 'Ro as we step through the doorway that swishes back open to us.
The moment the door closes behind us, I let out a deep sigh of air and run my fingers through my damp bangs. Lightly patting the small of my back to urge me on, Heero leads the way past Kathie's desk and back out into the hallway.
"You know," I begin when we're alone once again, "I'm actually happy that it's not just our secret anymore." Looking over to my lover, I shrug, "I'm pretty damn proud to have you as my husband, so I'm glad it's known to someone else."
Blinking his cobalt eyes in surprise, Heero gives me the most beautiful smile and reaches over for another hand squeeze. "Same here, Duo," he replies softly. "Same here."
* * * * * *
"So you survived," Chang smirks as Heero and I approach the table he is sharing with Trowa in the cafeteria. "If your meeting with Une had taken much longer, we were going to send in reinforcements"
Chuckling, I set my tray down and sit beside Barton while my lover sets himself across from me at 'Fei's side while I reply, "Aw, you know Une is more bark than bite when it comes to the four of us. We're practically her kids."
Even if he wanted to argue that, my Chinese friend knows better as tilts his head and nods, "Very true. Since the end of the wars, she has had a soft spot for us. I think it kind of mixes between respect and sympathy after what we had been through."
That was always my deduction when it came to our Commander's 'soft spot' for us. Whatever the real reason behind it, I'm thankful to have a motherly figure on our side with the kind of pull that she has.
"So, this is one hell of a case for you to be pulled into, huh?" I ask with a nudge to my tall friend at my left.
Grinning, Trowa finishes his carton of milk and shrugs, "I'm actually quite excited to be a part of this. Considering the scale that this operation is shaping into, this is going to be a damned near historic takedown. If I'm going to be involved, it's good to know that it extends even my initial intentions of simply looking after the Assembly."
The sentiment is exactly what I have felt since knowing the involvement of Glycaminum in the hit against the Assembly. What we're going to be part of is bigger than any other assignment we have had since the wars.
It's a hell of a way for me and Heero to close the chapter on our responsibility to protect the peace. We'll be going out as real heroes as opposed to the 'reformed terrorists' that most people see us as.
So, yea, I'm admitting that I'm actually happy that we stayed on long enough to be a part of this. It's not all that often a person gets to make enough of a difference that it could change the lives of countless persons... or even history.
Really, in the end, that is what the five of us former Gundam pilots wanted all along. It was why we became the soldiers we were in the first place...to do something extraordinary.
And we're right on the brink of that once again.
* * * * * *
I sigh heavily as I finally step through the door of the home Heero and I share. Today had been long and grueling following our meetings with Lady Une. Immediately after that, there were other little meetings with the remainder of our team to answer whatever questions they had about the chemical we're chasing down.
That all added up to us not leaving the office before eight o'clock tonight.
Ever vigilant in looking after me, Heero made sure that I had a fresh mug of coffee whenever I was beginning to fade. Working such a long, stressful day on very little sleep was a challenge but somehow I managed thanks to his help.
Too tired to even bother thinking about eating dinner, I've set my mind to showering and heading right for bed. Grunting that announcement, I head to the bathroom while stripping down along the way.
My uniform falls in one big heap just outside of the shower as I step inside and close the door behind me. Sighing deeply, I turn the shower head on and take in the warm water as it hits my aching muscles to relieve them.
Over the sound of the rushing stream, I head the glass door squeak open and turn quickly to see my husband entering in all of his bare glory.
Smirking at what I'm sure is a shocked expression on my face, 'Ro steps into the water with me and reaches past to take up the shampoo bottle.
Quickly opening the cap, he proceeds to pool a healthy does of the gel and motions for me to turn around. Happily complying, my eyes close with a quiet moan when his hands massage the shampoo from scalp to tip.
Just like the last shower we shared together, I don't have to lift a finger as I'm thoroughly cleaned and rinsed before Heero takes care of himself in half the time on account of his much shorter hair.
When the water is turned off, I'm led back out into the steam-filled room to be dried, hair-wrapped and robed with an overwhelming amount of gentleness and care. Draping his own robe on, my husband scoops me up and lowers me onto the floor in front of the main living room couch.
Brush in hand, Heero unravels the towel around my hair and begins to brush out every little snag without ever hurting me. Smiling, I hum and close my eyes once again at just how damned calming and good it all feels.
The last time that I was given this same kind of attention was after I had blurted out an 'I love you' to my partner. This was his response, replying with actions and not words. So, I'll always take moments like this as him telling me he loves me back.
I'm really fighting to stay awake as Heero ties the end of my damp braid that he wove. Kissing the top of my head, he rises and scoops me back up to carry me into our room. Along the way, he turns out all of the lights.
Suddenly alert, I find that I'm without my robe and lying in the arms of my every-bit-as-naked husband under the sheets. Must have dozed off for a second there. A sight blush colors my cheeks in realizing that I just caught him watching me sleep the same way I had been watching him this morning.
My instincts to want to protect 'Ro kick in when I remind myself that there could still be some lingering nightmares that will catch up.
As my eyes are forced to open, the small smile on his face grows as he brushes his free hand through my bangs soothingly. "Don't worry. It's my watch tonight," he insists in a gentle voice.
"But-," the protest I was about to start is cut off when his lips press up firmly against mine. Blinking, my eyes close as I return the kiss with a sigh. It's hard to argue when the object of your affections would prefer to do this instead.
Pulling back, much to both our regret it seems, Heero reassures, "I'm fine. And I'll sleep better knowing that you're getting your rest after the night you had before."
And just like that, I'm not at all embarrassed to voice exactly how I feel as I smile and breathe, "I love you."
With another kiss that's deeper and much more emotional, 'Ro gently rests my head back down on his chest and says softly, "Sleep now, Duo."
Between that gentle urge and his hand brushing lightly over my hair and face, I drift away from the world.
TBC...
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page