Disclaimer: As always, I own nothin'
Pairing: 1x2x3 with various combinations of that either implied or described so basically, 1x2x1, 2x3x2 and 1x3x1 and then all together! Phew…
Warnings: m/m sexual relations of varying degrees of smutness and leading towards a threesome, mission related violence, language, angst…
A/N: I started this fic almost a year ago and finally completed and edited it… Title taken from the Muse song Time is Running Out. It is complete and three parts so updates should be pretty quick once I've stopped tinkering with it!
Time is Running Out
Chapter 01
You Will Be the Death of Me
One blue eye looked through the scope on the sniper rifle, catching guards in the cross hairs but not firing. Heero observed the perimeter, laid on his stomach in the snow, his white snowsuit making him invisible to even the most keen observer as he began to count the timings of the guards along the walled defences of the isolated mansion and bunker.
It was twilight, the night approaching in the cold climes of the bleak countryside of a countryon the border of the Sanc Kingdom and his current vantage point overlooked the mansion hidden in a small wooded area, now devoid of any leaves or branches. It did not offer cover but he was out of the sight line of the cameras that he saw swinging in short arcs to pick up any movement. He needed to wait until night to make his break past the perimeter so he continued to look through his scope, counting and watching the guards.
He didn't think they'd provide much problem as the guards were mercs and the thing about mercs were that they generally weren't that loyal or committed to any cause. And they had an extreme sense of self-preservation. He smirked slightly at the thought. The infiltration would be easy. Well, easy for him. He'd been dropped by the Preventer helicopter miles away, unable to get too close due to alerting the men inside the building and the potential unmasking of his attempt to make contact with the undercover operatives inside that had the valuable information on the planned coup d'etat. Many countries were currently undergoing political turmoil and the fear was for it to spill over. And this one was just too damn to near to the Sanc Kingdom. Too dangerous for a rabid right wing political government to take over and maybe make an attempt at destroying the peace on a knife edge that they'd lived in for the past six years.
Heero did not feel the cold as he lay in the snow. He remembered his first experience with snow during the war as his life before that drifting around the colonies pretending to be Odin Lowe's son had not given him opportunity to experience snow either real or artificial. Then he'd been locked in the training labs on L1, training and lying on lab tables and becoming what he was today. Not feeling the cold as he remembered Antarctica and Trowa.
The first time he and Trowa fucked was in the build-up to his fight with Zechs Merquise. And he still remembered it vividly, being inside the hanger near Heavyarms, still unbelieving that Trowa would let him near his suit. Sure as hell, he would never let Trowa touch Wing like that. And Duo would forever have resentment regarding his treatment of Deathscythe. There were still times when he was drunk, when haze clouded over those blue eyes and his breath would be hot on his face and Duo would poke his chest, hard, and tell him he was an asshole and it always went back to that moment. Heero thought after seven years Duo would get the fuck over it. And he'd silence him with his tongue in his mouth. It was a damn effective method. Only bettered by it being his dick in his mouth, between Duo's parted lips and usually Trowa would be watching, eyes heavy lidded, his hand slowly moving over the bulge in his own jeans at watching them together.
He remembered Trowa at fifteen, the way his hands moved over him to help him heal and how he was there for every moment of his recovery and his attempt to find absolution, observing it calculatingly and not commenting on his stupidity at offering a gun to the family members of a man he'd killed. Heero never was quite sure if he'd ever found absolution for his act – maybe in saving the earth from chunks of Libra he had, maybe from blasting Barton's bunker but Trowa hadn't judged him for any of his actions and he'd not found absolution in Antarctica but he had found comfort in that cold metallic base, fucking for the first time on a small single military grade bed, careful not to aggravate his wounds as he they slid together both hot and cold at the same time.
Despite lying in the snow for near two hours, the cold hadn't seeped into his bones, through his clothes, thinking sometimes he could've just worn the tank top and shorts from the war if it hadn't been more conspicuous than the white of the snow camouflage wear. He still was so desensitised to the changes in temperatures, his lovers had used it to their advantage on occasion, ice sliding over his skin and a tongue following it to see if they could elicit some kind of shiver. He shifted his position as for a second the ghost of being touched intimately was sweeping across his skin and he gritted his teeth, irritated at being the one left behind, waiting, biding his time – his mission related skills only becoming relevant at this stage in the operation.
The night had fully fallen when Heero did one more sweep to observe the guard movement around the building and decided he could finally make his move, securing night vision goggles over his eyes as he rose to his feet and brought out a small device from his pocket.
The mansion was located in isolation. The nearest town and residence far enough away so that when Heero activated the EMP device, it shorted out only the immediate area and the entire building was suddenly cast into darkness. With a look of satisfaction, Heero slung the strap of his gun over his shoulder and made his way closer to the walls that he could scale without issue. It amused him to see the sudden panicked movements of the men, the mercs who should be so calm and controlled blindly figuring out what was going on and why they were suddenly cast in darkness. No comms working. Nothing electronic working. To be suddenly blanketed in complete blackness.
The approach was still done with caution, the hood of his white suit covering his dark hair, his clothing entirely white to blend in with the powder underneath his feet. It was deep, his feet making deep hard scars across the surface as he approached. There was no moonlight, the deadness of the new moon not visible in the sky and tonight had been picked for many reasons.
That contact had been made. That the data that was required was now ready. That the men visiting tonight to this "secret location" would provide the Preventers with everything they needed to know. Which ESUN politicians wanted this political turmoil and everything that Heero and the other Gundam pilots had fought for to be fucked up. The lack of moonlight was good on a practical level as he reached the high walls that surrounded the mansion but it was not the reason he was here tonight. The short comm message. That the mission should soon be complete and once the transfer of data was done and the men identified, then Duo and Trowa could leave and return to the life that they'd built.
He leaned against the wall once he arrived at it, his body tight against the cold brick work and he listened to the panic on the other side of the wall. The voices were a mix of languages. Mercs were always a mix of nationalities and sometimes it was a weakness. That there was no common tongue between some of them – English mainly used but then some would be incompetent at that language – and in the confusion, Heero heard garbled orders and responses in a variety of dialects.
Asserting that so far he was undiscovered, Heero reached for the belt at his waist and detached the grappling hook that he could secure to the top of the wall to make his climb over. He glanced upwards, throwing it towards the top of the wall and testing the tautness of the thin wire as he did not want to make any mistakes and needed to make sure it could support his weight.
It was always going to be him that was sent in, that this needed to be done with skill and discretion, the data discs handed over, the men confirmed who were attending this meeting and then the Preventer's could act. It was not his job after that. The Preventer brass had quickly figured out how to use the former Gundam pilots who'd drifted to the organisation and Heero was for covert ops. And he was the best.
The wire supported his weight as he made his climb, the wall providing purchase and it took little time for Heero to be crouched on the thin wall, looking down at the grounds below that would've been an elaborate garden in the summertime. Through his night vision goggles, he could see that there was still some panic and he used that to his advantage as he unhooked the wire from his belt and jumped down, his landing silent and utterly perfect. He didn't need the grappling hook leaving it where it was, his intention was to make a much more subtle and clever exit than he had used to enter. The ride underneath a vehicle was never that pleasant and with the addition of snow it would be damn difficult but there was difficult for normal people then there was what Heero was able to do.
He watched the action in front of him, the doors of the large mansion opening and a tall man exiting to figure out the confusion. Heero's eyes narrowed to watch the scene before him and he waited cautiously working out when to time his run from his position and make his entry into the mansion undetected. In the schematics, the place had been a veritable fortress – cameras, motion and pressure sensors so it had to be someone with Heero's skill to infiltrate. Une told him it had to be him in the plushness of her office, her head balanced on her fingertips as she knew Heero would do what was necessary. He would use more extreme methods than were officially approved but Une had made sure there were a lot of blank spots on the Preventer records of the former Gundam pilots. It seemed she knew from day one that they would be unable to play by the rules. They rarely did.
Heero had studied the schematics and knew the entrance that would cause the least amount of suspicion – he'd knock out a ground level window and crawl through, entering near the office that the contact had indicated they would meet. The office where he would secure the data and exchange the intel. The men planning the coup d'etat would know nothing about Heero's entry, they'd only know when the Preventers arrived in the night, banging on doors, smashing belongings and taking them into custody for war crimes and plotting or whatever charges would be levied.
He thought briefly then of Relena, how she would speak so passionately on TV screens about the work of the Preventers and how they had managed to secure peace for the ESUN again and she would never know it was Heero who had done that. Never know it was him with a sniper rifle, night vision goggles, a grappling hook and an EMP device. She'd never know all the things he still did for her despite her effectively cutting him out of her life on her discovery of his more unconventional choice of relationship.
He took a deep breath in the frigid air and made his decision to move from the security of being crouched against the blanket of snow and make his attempt to enter. Re-securing his weapon over his shoulder, he reached for his hunting knife – a gift from one of his lovers who'd ran it over his chest like a caress, like a threatening kiss before throwing it to one side and claiming his mouth, body, soul. He would use the knife as it was silent and utterly deadly in one swift stroke. None of the clatter of gun fire, none of lining up targets in the scope, the immediacy of death that would be bleeding out on white snow.
The voices around him suddenly quietened, some order resumed and he wondered what had caused the change in demeanour. He guessed whoever had come out of the doors but he didn't have time for speculation as he rose to his feet to make his run.
He started to move and felt a blinding flash over his eyes, his hand automatically raising to cover his eyes and face, confused as his vision whited into nothing but sparks and he reached for the goggles, groping blindly to remove them as suddenly, there was light and not only light, large floodlights making the ground glow and his night vision goggles painful against his retinas. The moment of confusion, of inaction was enough as he heard the sound of the mercs realising there was an intruder.
"Shit," he whispered under his breath, tangled in the goggles and hood but even essentially blinded he was Heero Yuy. He didn't go down that easily. Duo always said he'd go down swinging, joking that as he stroked his cheek in some moment of tenderness that they rarely got opportunity to achieve.
The first swing at him he sensed, his goggles now off but his eyes were still painful and a parade of white dots flashing in front of him inhibiting his damn focus. He lashed out as he should, not needing sight, not needing anything but his own body and the knife he extended to swipe at the mercs. He heard the groan of pain, felt the spatter of blood against his face at the downward stroke and with his vision beginning to return he saw the next merc approach him and he spun, his legs swiping at the man, his knife at the torso, feeling the pull of connecting with a body, the judder as blade entered clothing and skin and flesh.
"Stop."
A voice commanded in the local language - and the men who had surrounded Heero backed off leaving him an opportunity to look up now that his vision was almost back to normal – only the slight sparks behind his eyes continuing to flutter. He was surrounded, men with guns trained at him in a circle and he glanced around once to see his potential enemies, calculating briefly if he could take them all out. It was not impossible – he could tell the weaker mercs, those that held their guns with less surety, those who didn't seem to know what the hell they were doing. It made him feel like a predator again – how he'd felt at the controls of a Gundam, seeing his enemies as nothing more than cannon fodder to be disposed of.
He turned his head to the direction of the voice and the circle opened a little, a man walking through a gap in the perimeter that had been created, the men reverential to his orders. Heero didn't flinch at the sudden feeling of familiarity and longing. No one would know that his heart hammered faster in his chest at the moment of recognition and his expression was just as hard as it would've been to any enemy. Not the look he would give one of the men who shared his bed, who's lips knew every part of him intimately, who he in turn knew every scar, every ridge and he'd mouthed at them in lazy days in bed, the other man in the bed watching through heavy lidded blue eyes as they touched, cigarette smoke drifting around them and the smell of bourbon on the air.
He didn't brace himself for the swipe across his face and the swift punch to the stomach. He could've tensed his abdominal muscles, could've made it hurt less but Heero didn't as the punch to gut, upwards, nearly winded him. It made him think of Duo, made him think of doing that to him but at least this punch wasn't quite as hard as his own. In the impact of the punch into his stomach, lips were close to the side of his face, the feeling of hot air battling the cold temperature and creating a cloud of smoke in front of his eyes.
"Play along."
He fell to his knees from the impact into the snow and there were some noises of jeering from the assembled men around him and he looked up to the one green eye he could see clearly, one of the men he'd initiated an unconventional and heated relationship with and didn't flinch at the punch across his face that connected with bruising force. He felt his lips split under the pressure but knew that the façade had to be maintained, as always it did, but as a kick hit him in the stomach, sometimes Heero wished Trowa wasn't so good at playing the fucking enemy.