DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing is property of its rightful owners and I in no way assert any sort of claim over its characters and storylines. Everything non-Gundam Wing is mine.

Morning After

"On your six."

Heero Yuy spun and fired. Fluid, clean, smooth. The target's head snapped back, blood spraying up into a graceful cloud. The body fell back, dead before it hit the ground.

"Two more, 50 meters ahead, one o'clock." The voice in his ear warned as he checked the body.

With precise and unhurried motions, Heero Yuy slid a new magazine into his gun, the empty clip falling to the ground with a hollow clatter. He chambered the first bullet, his callused hands steady and firm.

"Coming up 40 meters now. Better get in position."

He crept back down the hallway and paused at the corner, his thick brows knitted in a frown.

"30 meters now."

He could hear the footsteps approaching, hurried but cautious. These were no amateurs.

"Oh man, those are some nasty guns they've got there." The voice in his ear sounded both disgusted and impressed.

"What do you mean," Heero Yuy grumbled under his breath, his finger tightening on the trigger.

"Those new laser-guided ones. They just gotta lock on a target on you and the gun does the rest. Bullets can even go around corners if they calibrate them right... You're gonna have to let them get close, they'll have the advantage long range. And you gotta down them quick, no redos here."

"Stats?"

"First guy's just under six feet. The second guy, oh sorry, lady's 5'9, 5'10 tops. Both have body armour and helmets. Your target's gonna be small…"

"Say when."

"Hold. 20 meters... They're keeping to the middle of the hall, walking about a foot apart, the woman's two feet behind the man… coming up on 15 meters… On my mark…" The voice grew quieter as his targets approached.

Heero Yuy tensed, the muscles in his arms bunching as he prepared to hurl himself around the corner.

"Mark!"

He threw himself into motion, rounding the corner and firing off four shots before his two opponents could even take aim. He sprung forward, kicking away their guns, his own still in a tight grasp, his finger itching the pull the trigger.

"Down boy!" The voice chuckled. "Dead men don't shoot."

He loosened his double-handed grip on his gun and bent down to retrieve one of the fallen targets' modified firearms.

"Leave it,"the voice snapped. "They're calibrated to their owner's DNA. Try and use it and it'll blow."

"You don't want one?" He asked, pulling back.

"Haha! You know I'm more of a traditionalist. Besides… I've got no use for them. You'd better hurry. Window's closing fast."

"Roger," Heero Yuy replied as he crept down the hall. "Am I clear?"

"Yep. Take a right up ahead, and then a left. The systems room is the one with the electronic lock."

He raced down the halls, keeping tight to the wall and low to the ground. Whipping around the final corner, he crouched down in front of a large steel door and pulled a small metal device from his pocket. Sliding it next to the electronic lock, he waited quietly while the small device began cycling through a series of numbers.

"Is my lock-pick still coming in handy?" The voice asked in a playful tone.

"Do you need to ask?" he growled under his breath as he watched as the lock-pick displayed the final digit in a series of nine. With steady precision, he keyed in the numbers and pocketed his device as the door unlocked with a soft click.

Heero Yuy silently slipped inside and went straight to work, locating the targeted server and quickly plugging in his pocket sized computer. His eyes scanned the lines of a scrolling code, their blue hue almost black in the darkness of the room. Satisfied, he left the computer running and moved on to the other servers, carefully selecting pre-determined targets and clipping small transmitters to their wires before sliding them back into place.

"Oh man, these guys are up to no good. At least they keep good records. With these files, the Agency should be able to make some inroads. About time if I say so myself!" The voice snorted.

"Shut up, you're distracting me," Heero Yuy snapped as he continued to move about the room at a feverish pace.

"…"

He continued to work at a fevered pace, clipping transmitters to wires while keeping an eye on his computer. Finally finished, he was wiping the sweat from his brow when his computer beeped, signaling its completion.

"Data retrieved, mission accomplished," he muttered under his breath as he stashed his computer and drew his weapon, preparing to exit the room.

"Am I clear?" he asked after a long moment of silence. There was no answer.

Scowling, Heero Yuy risked a quick peek out the door. "Duo!" he hissed as he withdrew back into the room.

"Oh, so now you want my help?" The voice was petulant.

"I don't have time for your games, I need to get out of here."

"Yeah, exiting now would be a good idea. The second patrol's just about to discover the first body."

"Shit!"

"Tsk. Language Heero!" The voice chided. "Anyways, you gotta make a break for it now. Can't go back the way you came. Go straight, right, another right…"

Heero Yuy exited the room and dashed down the hall, following the voice's directions.

"Okay, now take the next left, straight after that… better pick up the pace buddy, they're about to raise the alarm."

He surged forward in a flat-out sprint, flinging out a hand to steer his momentum as he careened around the corners. Alarms began to flare and he heard footsteps pounding down the halls around him.

"They're blocking off the exits and gaining on you."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"There's a closet coming up on your right in 14 meters, take cover."

He dashed into the aforementioned closet and nicked the door shut behind him just as a group of armed guards rounded the corner. He braced himself and stilled his breath until he heard them march right past his location.

"Now what?" he muttered, his gun slippery in his grasp.

"Look up!" The tone was playful.

Heero Yuy glanced up and saw the air vent, large enough for him to slip through.

"Those weren't in the floor plans."

"Lucky for you, someone wasn't being thorough when they were doing renovations."

"Does it lead outside?" He asked as he climbed up the nearby cabinet and examined the grated vent.

"Would I steer you wrong?"

Heero Yuy merely shrugged as he pulled out his knife and began unscrewing the grate covering over the vent. Carefully setting aside the grate, he paused to push his sweat soaked bangs out of his eyes before hoisting himself up into the air vent.

"I keep telling you, you should get a haircut," The voice nagged.

"Not now Duo," he grumbled as he hit a fork in the vents. "Where am I going?"

"Hey, I'm only looking out for your best interests here!"

"Fine, I'll get a haircut on my next day off. Now which way?" he hissed under his breath.

"Right," the voice was terse.

Heero Yuy continued to follow the dictated directions until he finally emerged outside the compound.

"Head south, clear the ridge and you're home free. The team's waiting for you there."

"Roger," he replied and sprinted away from the darkened building.

"Lieutenant Yuy!" his teammate greeted him as he jogged into camp. "Did you get the data?"

Before he could answer, he was grabbed by the collar by another. "What the hell? You cut off communications!" He yelled, gesturing at the earpiece and mic dangling uselessly from the collar of his jacket. "We had no idea what was going on in there!"

"Distractions would have compromised the mission," Heero Yuy glared back at the imposing man, refusing to budge an inch.

"Whatever!" the man let him go in disgust. The Colonel's on the line for you. You'd better make your report!"

Heero Yuy nodded and entered the mobile office. Once the door was closed, he turned to the darkened screen of the videophone. "Mission accomplished. Sending data stream now," he intoned blandly as he plugged his computer into the phone.

"Well done," a disembodied voice replied. "You are dismissed until your next mission."

He saluted smartly before exiting the mobile office, just in time to catch the tail-end of a conversation between his subordinates.

"…devil's own luck."

"Yeah, he always manages perform the impossible, even without a partner."

The two men fell silent when they caught sight of him. He strode past them without a second glance, opened the door to one of the parked SUVs and turned on the engine. Moments later, he was speeding down a deserted highway.

He woke at dawn. Without a second's hesitation, he slipped out of bed, pulled the sheets and covers back up over the pillows and smoothed out any wrinkles. Entering the bathroom, he emptied his bladder, brushed his teeth and shaved. Quick, efficient, not a single unnecessary motion.

He entered the kitchen, placed two slices of bread in the toaster and cracked an egg into the frying pan along with a thick slice of ham. He poured himself a glass of water and drank while he waited, refilling it once again when his breakfast was ready. He sat at the kitchen table, turned on the television and watched the news until he finished his breakfast. He rinsed his plate, glass and utensils and placed them on the drying rack before moving back into the bedroom. He shed his sweatpants and shirt, pulled on a fresh pair of underwear, worn jeans, T-shirt and socks.

Making his way to the entrance of his apartment, he shoved his feet into a pair of beat up sneakers, grabbed a jacket from the coatrack and pocketed his keys.

The florist's shop was just opening its shutters as he arrived. The middle-aged woman smiled at him and beckoned him inside.

"The usual?"

He simply nodded as she gathered a bouquet of white lilies and began wrapping it after adding a handful of baby's breath and green trimmings.

"You must really miss him," the woman told him with sad eyes as she handed him the bouquet.

He didn't reply but handed her two bills. "Thanks," he said as he exited the shop.

The sky was lightening from pinks and oranges into a light blue as he walked among the tombstones, the dew-drenched grass glistening in the rising sunlight. He was alone in the cemetery, not another living soul visible among the rows and rows of marble and stone.

He finally stopped at the foot of a large, unmarked grave marker. He set down the bouquet of lilies, white petals stark against the black marble. Hands in his pockets, he closed his eyes and tilted his head back, breathing in the fresh morning air.

"Still don't believe in sleeping in huh?"

"No." He opened his eyes and looked at the man across from him, sitting nonchalantly on the gravestone with his legs crossed, a long braid dangling over his shoulder.

"I see you got a haircut."

"You told me to."

The long-haired man smiled faintly before sighing heavily.

"Don't you get tired of coming here week after week?"

"No," he answered as a slight breeze drifted through the open grounds, gently ruffling his coat and hair.

"What if I tell you to stop?"

"I won't."

"It's been over a year Heero," the man on the gravestone told him, cobalt eyes holding his gaze from under bangs that remained unmoving in the wind. "You need to let go."

"Do you want me to let go?"

The braided man hesitated, his wide eyes flickering downwards before meeting his gaze again.

"You can't lie Duo."

"I know," was the breathy reply. "But you need to move forward, for your own sake."

"I don't want to."

The man on the tombstone smiled, a pained expression overtaking his features.

"The first time you actually want something… and you ask for the impossible."

"You're still here."

"Am I really?"

"It doesn't matter."

The man laughed, a bitter edge lining the humour. "You're a stubborn man Heero Yuy."

"I know." A ray sunlight shone into his eyes, causing him to close his eyes and raise his hand against the blinding light.

"I'll come again next week," he told the unmarked, black gravestone before turning away from the rising sun and making his way out of the deserted cemetery.

AN: Despite promising not to write anything until May, it seems I am severely lacking in willpower.

Still debating whether to leave this as a one-shot or to continue. Anyways, comments and criticisms always sought and welcomed!