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-----