Category: Continuance, Post-Waltz, UCPA-verse
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Note: I originally had this posted under another name, but decided to repost it. If you have any questions and/or comments, feel free to review/pm/message/email me from either account.
“This is good.”
“Duo.”
“No, seriously, this is great. It’s fabulous.”
“Duo…”
“Come on. Why wouldn’t this be the highlight of my month? I mean, Heero, look at us.” He turned his head, moving his attention from the scene down the lake at the other end of his scope to Heero and moved his arm up and with a casual flip of his wrist, displayed himself to the other. The mud was so soft that even dispersing their weight by laying down, it threatened to suck them in, already it covered him head to foot, and was a thick layer of gunk from foot to thigh where he’d sunk before finally getting on his belly to crawl the rest of the way. His braid was a solid chunk of stiff rope down his back and every time he blinked, dried mud crumbled off his lashes and nearly blinded him. “What part of this is not fantastic?”
Heero stared at him blankly, not impressed. “Duo.” After all, it wasn’t like the former Deathscythe pilot was the only one covered in the stuff, they were both out there after all. Then again, it was only one of them who’d chosen the spot, and that person had not been the man behind the sniper rifle. “I get it.”
“What? I’m not blaming you for anything. You look like I’m blaming you for something.” He blinked innocently, their voices were hushed and reinforced from the earpieces and throat radios they were wearing in the case they got separated. You know, just in case. And ‘just in case’ was what Duo and anybody he was working with, religiously had to plan for because Duo had a habit of getting into situations that nobody expected. Usually people didn’t believe the reports either. It was a “you had to be there” type thing.
And this time, Heero was there.
“I mean, I don’t really get compliments on my complexion or anything. I thought, you know, maybe it was because I’m a guy. But apparently I just need some spa therapy. Though, I think you could have just told me.”
“Are you even paying attention to what’s going on?”
Duo huffed. “Are you?” He challenged back as he once again ducked down and pressed his cheek against the rifle in his hands and returned his attention through the scope and the scene playing out before them. “By the way, just for the record, this is really boring.”
From his left, Heero snorted lowly. Duo didn’t have to be looking at him to see the other’s dark eyes roll, something Heero’d picked up within a year of Waltz ending. One of those really, well, human things. It was like hearing Heero laugh because something was actually funny, or sing in the shower.
Yeah, that one just… Duo had really needed to pee and Heero swore he was just doing it because it had been stuck in his head for the past four days. Duo let it slide. He also knew that despite their friendship, Heero might just beat the crap out of him if he told anyone. At the very least, he’d sabotage him the next time Duo crashed at his place.
“Like, really boring.”
The other man grunted, a low rumble that Duo could practically feel vibrate through the muddy ground.
“Can I just shoot them?” He wasn’t actually asking, but if he didn’t keep up the conversation there was a danger of not having any. Heero’d become a much better conversationalist, but sometimes if they were on a stakeout, especially something with rifles and binoculars, he could be pretty dead.
“No, Duo, you ca-”
“Shhh!” His leg kicked over, ripping out of the mud with force that threatened to make all of his work outs for naught, and caught Heero in the shin. There was activity on the dock, a boat pulling around the cliffs and slowly making its way across the lagoon.
“No shooting.”
He saw it when the boat turned. Just a momentary flash, a tiny dot of a reflection and instantly his weight shifted, his fingers carefully guiding his rifle into a new position.
“And what happened exactly?” It was Une. Though, thank God, they weren’t actually in the same room as her, not that it kept her from looking like she was going to kill them. Actually, Duo was pretty sure he could feel pressure building up in his head and he wondered if she was telepathic, if she could potentially blow him up with the power of her brain.
“There was a sniper in the hills.” He’d already said this. In fact, he was pretty sure they’d had the same discussion three times in a row. Oh well, here went a fourth.
“A sniper?”
“Yeah.”
“And you saw him?”
“I saw a reflection. A reflection off a scope.”
“And did you find a body, after you, of course, were done shooting everybody else at the scene?”
Duo coughed.
“No, we didn’t. But we did find a partial trail in the area Duo said he spotted the sniper.”
Thank you Heero.
Une huffed under her breath, her jaw clenching shut as she continued to glare, and the pressure behind Duo’s temples continued to get steadily worse. He really hoped his head didn’t explode. Heero really wouldn’t appreciate it, after finally stepping into the argument and everything. Not the best thank you gift. “I want your report by tomorrow.”
“Will do.” He was already reaching forward before the words actually left his mouth and the screen clicked off promptly following the statement. Grinning guiltily, he turned back to Heero. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“You’ll say that in the report too, right?”
“About what?”
Duo stared. “The whole trail thing…”
With a nod, Heero’s lips twitched into a smile of their own. “Sure thing.”
: End :