"Woke Up One Morning… "

Written By: SkyLark

View commissioned art for "Woke Up One Morning"

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters. I just love playing with them.

Pairings: 1+2+1, eventual 1x2, 5xS

Warnings: Angst, Sap, Romance

Rating: NC 17

Summary: After a night on the town together, Heero and Duo wake up with blank minds and a pressing problem.

Betaed by ShenLong *hugs*

Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm and http://www.mizunoamy.bravepages.com/skylark/skylarkfics.html

Special Note: "The translation' s rights to portuguese the works by this author were given in to the principal translation' s team of the
website www.xyzyaoi. org " "Os direitos de tradução para o português dos trabalhos desta autora foram cedidos para os tradutores oficiais do site www.xyzyaoi. org "

"Woke Up One Morning… "

Chapter 11

When Heero and I arrived at headquarters, our normal routines fell in automatically. Moving purely on autopilot, we checked in with Rose at the front desk. Her cheery smile and kind ‘good mornings; sent us on our merry way up to the seventh floor where our office was waiting for our return.

The little bit of mail sitting in our bin was sorted and forwarded. Then, on went the computers so that we could go through the unread emails that had come in during our leave. I am still going through my nearly two dozen messages when Heero steps in from his visit to the cafeteria for some refreshers to start the early morning right.

As the door closes behind him, he moves right for my desk. I sigh in relief when he lowers my mug filled with coffee fixed just how I like it and a blueberry muffin - my personal ‘breakfast of champions.’

My fingers instantly stop typing and I meet the cobalt eyes watching me with a breathed, “God, you’re the best husband ever.”

Snickering, ‘Ro heads back to his own desk on the other side of the room with his own mug and breakfast. “Just don’t forget it,” he smirks as he takes his seat and lowers his items. Focusing back on me, he announces, “Lady Une will be briefing us on the case surrounding the attack in an hour.”

Course of action noted, I nod, “Good. That’ll give me more than enough time to tie off the loose ends that came up while we’ve been away.” Humming in agreement as he sips his tea, my partner turns himself in his chair to look back on his computer.

Diligent as ever, Heero dives right back into his work while taking an occasional bite from his plate of protein-rich eggs and yogurt. Biting my lip, I chew on a small piece of my muffin and watch him from the corner of my eye.

That sinking feeling from earlier this morning is coming back. Try as I might, I’m just not able to push it away the way I was able to when these fears first set in.

What if he’s really not ready to leave this life behind? What if I’m the only reason he’s willing to make such a huge leap into something way out of his element? If he regrets the decision down the road, would he resent me for it?

And what if-

“Something’s on your mind.” Heero’s voice breaks through my train of thought in that matter-of-fact tone of his. Blinking in surprise, I see that he’s actually looking right at me. How long he has been, I have no idea and I blush at being caught in my drifting.

I let out a sigh and rub my eyes for something to do besides facing that worried look on his face. Before my hand is even away from my face, I hear the rolling of plastic wheels nearing and my head shoots up and turns to where my husband is now sitting beside me.

My mouth falls over and I am just getting ready to ask how the hell he managed to sneak up that quick when he reaches to gently brush the bangs out of my eyes. In little more than a whisper, he asks, “Tell me?”

Goddamn. There’s no way I can hide now.

Taking a deep breath, I come clean by answering with a frown, “I’ve been thinking a lot about how this is our last case and what a big that will be.” ‘Ro nods his head for me to continue and I shrug, “But it’ll be a much bigger adjustment for you since I had some time to live outside of any missions or duty to the peace.”

Still nothing from my partner as he knows that I haven’t finished my train of thought. A lump suddenly forms in my throat and I clear it away before I manage, “This wouldn’t be like my signing onto the force because you asked. I’m asking more of you in stepping down. What if you end up hating me for it if it’s not the right thing for you?”

A small smile tugs at the corner of Heero’s lips and I can tell he already knew where I was leading all the while. He was just waiting for me to come out and say it. That knot in my throat returns and I swallow past it.

Gripping the arms of my chair, he spins me so our knees are touching as he leans forward. “First off,” he begins, “I would never make such an offer if it was not something that I want for myself. Yes, it will be a massive adjustment for me, but I’m more than prepared for that.”

He tilts his head and states, “I meant it when I said before that I’m tired of carrying this duty. There will be challenges for me in doing that, and they won’t always be easy to deal with, but I have someone who can help me through that. Right?”

I feel my own mouth curling up in a smile as I nod my commitment firmly.

That smile grows on Heero’s face as he replies, “Good. Then, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I may need you to be patient with me at times, but no matter how rough times may get for me I could never take it out on you. This is still *our* goal. Don’t forget that.”

Once again, my husband knows exactly what I need to hear to get past my doubts. Grinning widely, I vow, “I won’t. Thanks, ‘Ro.”

Pressing up against me, he gives me a soft kiss before pulling back to lightly hit the back of my head. “Now, get back to work, baka,” he chuckles at my look of surprise and heads back to his desk with his chair.

My braid swings as I shake my head in amusement. I deserved that little chastising. I really have to stop second-guessing everything around our relationship… around this marriage.

Clearly, Heero had known what he got himself into with every situation that’s come up for us before while weighing the pros and cons that could arise.

And just as before, he would never foolishly make any leaps into the unknown unless he had some trust that it would all be for the best.

I’m still smiling as I turn back to my computer to get through the last bit of emails waiting to be opened. Of course there will be challenges for us, no matter what we do. But, just as I trust Heero to help me through the rough times, he’s showing me the same trust to be there for him when it’s his turn to need help.

That trust and respect is, most likely, going to keep us together. More so than even the rings on our fingers.

* * * *

Refreshed from my coffee, I step into Lady Une’s office along with Heero and Wufei. Her door closes behind us as we take up the three seats before her desk.

Smiling at us, the Commander greets, “It’s very good to have you all back, Agents Wing, Scythe and Dragon. With the exception of the attack and some of the… issues that came up after, I hope you did get to enjoy your time away.”

Her back straightening in her seat, she folds her hands on her desk as she changes gears by announcing, “Now, to the business of solving who was behind the attack on the Assembly. Michael Bay, our friend that we have been holding started off very tight lipped on his actions, or if he was working under the direction of someone else.”

A chilling smirk curls the side of Une’s lips upward. “With a little persuasion, he was suddenly very willing to talk,” she informs. “Though I would love to have an actual name to work with specifically, we can say that the attack did come down on him as an order as expected.”

There is a shift in her eyes as she goes on, “Mister Bay claims to not know who initially planned the attack, but he does know there are several people involved. He was one step above the bottom of the totem pole. Leonard Halstein, the man in the car, was the bottom level.”

Holy shit…

“Leonard Halstein?” Wufei repeats, his eyes wide along with my own and Heero’s. “The same Leonard Halstein that we’ve been after for years with his involvement in underground terrorist organizations?”

Our Commander nods, "The very same. DNA tests on the remains in the vehicle have confirmed it." Leaning back in her seat, she folds her arms and comments, "Which is quite disconcerting, considering how we have always assumed he was one of the higher-ups in the world of terrorism."
 
Heero speaks for all of our fears by saying, "Now, there's an unknown number of people above him." Taking a deep breath, he asks, "Any idea on how those people in the chain communicate that we may be able to start tracking them?"
 
Lady Une answers, "From a search of Bay's house, as well as from his statements, we have found an untraceable message passed along in code. These messages can come from mail slipped under a door or a telephone call that comes over like Morse code.
 
"Scribbling that had been licked in his desk by his telephone confirm that. This organization works solely on never revealing its members to anyone. Jobs are simply given and expected to be carried out with the threat of the ultimate punishment if they are not."
 
Fuck. The attack against the Assembly just opened a whole shit can of worms that we had never expected.
 
While I don't think any one of us expected this investigation to be an easy one, we certainly weren't planning on it becoming this big.
 
"Do we have anything solid that we can work with to try and bring some other members in?" I ask. "It would only take one or two others to start following the chain somehow."
 
The grin returning, Une replies, "Actually, that is where you in particular may be of assistance." Blinking in surprise at that, I watch as she opens the folder stamped 'Classified' on her desk. She removes a sheet of paper from the top and holds it out to me. "As our self-proclaimed 'expert on all that goes boom,' I need you to look over the statistics report from the car. There have been traces of materials used to set the explosion that are unfamiliar to our team."
Intrigued, I accept the paper and look it over as Wufei and Heero watch at either side of me. Of course there are the usual accelerants and other chemicals to set off the bomb.

But then... at the end of the list of traced substances, my eyes widen in disbelief. There is no name to what was found, only its broken down chemical components.
 
Having worked with such a powerful explosive before, I know exactly what it is.
 
A chill runs down my spine and I can feel the color draining from my face as I continue to stare at the chemical equation. We're in a shit load more trouble than we ever knew.
 
Finally, I find my breath and meet the Commander's eyes. "This is an explosive called Glycaminum. Whoever is manufacturing this shit is doing so illegally. G was going to use this as part of the weapons in Deathscythe, but he couldn't bring himself to it because of how destructive it can be."
 
Looking back to the sheet, I shake my head, "Luckily the bastards setting the bomb up didn't know how much they needed to really make a mark. The levels of what was actually used are lower than what I'm sure they intended. If there was much more, more than half of the building would have been leveled."

“There could have been a reason for using only a little as well,” Heero thinks out loud. “Maybe there was a reason to not take out the entire Assembly.”
 
It doesn’t take much to know where he is headed in that train of thought. Fielding the comment, our boss nods, “Oh, even the surviving members of the Assembly are being watched closely. Now that we have something to go on, we need to find where this Glycaminum is being created and track down the buyers."
 
"And so we use all of the assailants that we have in captivity who have ever bought or sold explosives," Wufei suggests. "There is no way the existence of a rare chemical like this Glycaminum would have gone unnoticed by them."
 
Pushing her seat back, Lady Une turns to type away at her computer and says, "I am going to get the names of all of those prisoners now. We'll bring them in for questioning one-by-one until we get some answers."

She punches the last keystrokes then turns to face us, sighing in relief, "This is a very good start. Are there any further questions before we have our guests filing in for questioning?"
 
Before I can even open my mouth to ask, Heero beats me to the punch by questioning, "Where does the call for Duo's investigation stand?" Calm as he looks right now, there's a fire under his eyes at the mention of that move.
 
I can't help but smile to myself at his protectiveness and flash him an appreciative glance. Discretely, I tap his leg with my own as the only real contact I can make with him right now.
 
Smirking, Lady Une reassures, "The situation has been handled by myself personally. Those Assembly representatives involved have backed off with all of the evidence they could need." She raises an eyebrow and adds, "When that was not enough, my threat to charge them all with slander for wrongly accusing a publicly known defender of the peace was enough to keep them quiet."
 
Nearly choking at the thought of the Commander going to such extremes for my part, I sputter, "H-how did they take the threat?"
 
"Oh, not well, but they know better than to assume I'm bluffing," she chuckles. "I simply reminded them that I am not in the business of making friends or pandering to politicians. My sole job is to defend the peace and to stop those who are the true conspirators against it."

With a shrug, she concludes matter-of-factly, "And so they will simply have to accept that or look for protection from attacks like this elsewhere."
 
Damn, I love this woman. Few would ever have the balls to try and cross Une, even the most influential of people.
 
Grinning widely, I lower my head with a sincere, "Thank you, Commander."
 
She waves a hand nonchalantly and replies, "No thanks needed. For now, just go through these files on everything that we do know about the hit while we wait for some of our guests to come in for questioning."

Handing over a classified file to each of us, Une nods firmly, "You are dismissed for now. I will inform you when we can begin the interrogations."
 
At that, we all rise from our seats and head from the room to return to make our way for the elevator down the hall. Stepping into an empty car and hitting the buttons for our floors, I lean back heavily against the wall with a heavy sigh of relief at the weight that's been lifted off my shoulders.
 
"That lady is getting one hell of a Christmas present from me this year," I snicker, my eyes closing on me. I feel Heero's weight lean up just beside me as he chuckles deeply in amusement and I look over at him with a smile while the elevator begins its descent.
 
Standing a few feet away from us, Wufei folds his arms and asks, "So, how long have the two of you been hiding this affair of yours?"
 
Completely caught off guard, 'Ro and I both straighten and shoot our wide eyes on Chang. Shaking his head, our Chinese friend laughs, "Come on, now. I have worked with the two of you longer than anyone else. You didn't really expect me to not pick up on the subtleties, did you? Especially not when Sally and I had been there."
 
In all reality, I had always expected 'Fei to be the one to notice anything different between Heero and I... but I'm off my game at being confronted about it like this. At the surprised glance my husband throws me, I know that he is, too.
 
And since I can't run right now, my only other option is just being honest.
 
Smiling, I shrug in admission, "We've been together since the mission in Vegas. Something about the city, I guess." And it's all completely honest... with a bit of omission over the whole 'marriage' thing. I'm relieved to see Heero's shoulders relaxing and a small grin tugging his own lips as he focuses back on our friend.
 
Wufei's eyebrows raise in his turn too be taken aback. "Nice job covering it up that long," he compliments. "I've only picked up on the changes these last few days." His face moves to smile warmly at us as he promises, "Your secret is safe with me."
 
Overhead, the bell rings to announce our arrival to Chang's floor and the elevator slows to a stop. Leaning towards us, he smirks, "If I may say, it's about damned time."
 
Both my partner and I blink our widening eyes while our jaws hang a bit as the doors open. Waving with one hand and his file tightly gripped in the other as the doors open, Wufei says, "Sally and I will catch up with you at lunch as usual. Let me know if anything stands out in the reports before then."
 
With that, he turns on his heels and steps from the elevator and heads down his hallway. That quiet, smug snicker of his returns as the doors close after him.
 
'It's about damn time,' what the hell did he mean by that? Ah, well, it doesn't really matter. Far as the secret goes, I completely trust 'Fei to keep the fact that Heero and I are together between us.
 
Leaning back against the wall as the elevator starts again, I finally close my mouth and snort, "Took him longer than I expected." I peer from the corner of my eye to my still-shocked husband and grin, "Well, we still have one over on him. He has no idea we're married."
 
Heero shakes his head, chuckling, "I can't wait to see the look on his face when that gets out. We'll have to make sure Sally's there for that news in case he needs medical attention."
 
Too true.
 
Bad as I feel for keeping that detail from 'Fei and the others, it's still somehow exciting to have something like this that we can keep to ourselves. However long that lasts, I'll be sure to enjoy every last damned minute of it.
 
 TBC

Chapter 12

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