Heero narrowed his eyes to focus on the sights of his compact Preventer standard issue .45 Glock 38 pistol and with even pressure squeezed the trigger. With a strike of the firing pin against the bullet's primer the gun recoiled firmly against the palm of his hand as the bullet flew downrange and struck the paper target center mass. He paused, steadied his arms and with three consecutive squeezes sent a rapid trio to cluster around his first shot.

With the extended magazine this pistol could hold ten rounds. He had six more to go. He released them from his pistol in two sets of three before he released the now empty magazine and set it on the raised bench in front of him. He rested his pistol barrel pointed downrange and slide open beside and proceeded to load his three empty magazines.

All ten stalls of the basement training range were full. He had managed to get a spot in the farthest stall on the firing line. Duo had ducked into the third stall from the front door. He could hear the faint rapid ticking of all ten shots being slammed out at once. He glanced to his right and saw Duo's target downrange at fifteen yards shaking violently as it was being riddled with holes.

He thumbed the last bullet into his third magazine, rolled his shoulders and pushed his clear eyepro up his nose. He felt the air in the range shift as the main entry opened. The vents that cleared the gunpowder from the air began to suck harder behind him to compensate for the pressure change as a figure walked in. He tilted his head and saw Trowa had entered with his gear. He took a step back out of his stall and checked the range. Nobody was leaving. He made eye contact with his lover and tilted his head at his own stall to invite Trowa to join him.

Trowa walked over to Heero's stall and set his bag down. He slipped his noise canceling headphones on and reached into the bag to pull out the gun Sally had issued him. It was a SIG P226, used by Special Ops only. Trowa spent a few minutes loading it, making sure to stay out of Heero's space so the other could continue his target practice. Through the corner of his eyes, he watched his boyfriend handle his own gun, noticing what a turn on it was. Heero looked hot as hell right now.

Heero finished his practice and reached out to flick the switch that brought the paper target back. He unclipped it and put a fresh target up for Trowa before sending it downrange. He moved his things out of the way and stepped to his left to make room for him. Heero noticed Trowa's new pistol immediately. It wasn't the usual Preventer standard issue that the rest of them had. It was an immediate signal to him that whatever Une had offered Trowa it was clearly more involved than typical field agent work.

Heero was all too familiar with Trowa's track record during the wars. He had been on the receiving end of the other man's gun during his infiltration of OZ. The sight of the P226 was a clear sign that Trowa was on special assignment, and while Heero agreed that his lover was more than qualified to handle such an assignment, his personal feelings nagged at him. The idea of his boyfriend going alone into something formed a tight, anxious knot in his stomach.

As Trowa stepped beside him to ready his weapon he reached up to turn the dial on the other man's noise cancelling headphones so his voice could be picked up through the surrounding din of the firing range.

"They made you Special Ops," he stated the fact flatly, his face placid. He reached out to press his hand against his lover's side, his actions completely blocked by the separating wall of their booth.

"They did." Trowa replied, getting into formation. He held his gun up and steadied it, aligning its aim with the center of the target. Their headphones muffled the loud noise of the gunshot as the bullet flew through the air and hit the target dead center.

He wasn't sure what Heero was thinking right now. He knew the other had the opportunity to join Special Ops at one point during his career with Preventer, but had a feeling he knew why Heero turned the offer down. You couldn't always avoid killing in Special Ops. And it was a higher risk position. Trowa didn't mind the risk. The thrill of it was like a drug and his system needed it.

The taller man steadied his hand again and aimed at a different area of the target, the head. His finger pulled the trigger and he watched the bullet pierce the paper, almost ripping it in half. Nice gun.

Heero stepped back and stood behind Trowa's left shoulder and watched as the other man got to know his new sidearm. He saw the spent shell casings bounce from the right partition wall as he discharged the pistol and scattered on the floor at their feet. He spotted a hot casing bounce from the wall to land within the collar of Trowa's Preventer jacket. As the other man finished his first magazine and dropped it to exchange for a full second Heero reached up to casually pick the rogue casing from its hideaway against his lover's neck.

"I'm excited for you," Heero admitted honestly.

The support took Trowa by surprise. He expected to get lectured on how risky the role was. "Thanks." He gave his partner a soft look, holding himself back from kissing his boyfriend in the workplace. Sally had given him shit earlier about his new relationship. Apparently Duo had a big mouth.

Trowa slipped the second magazine into his gun and made sure it was properly loaded before repositioning himself to shoot off the second round. The gun felt good in his hand, the vibration bullets releasing felt therapeutic, almost. He'd missed this.

Despite what Heero's personal feelings were about the risks he would never speak those concerns openly. Trowa Barton was an excellent soldier, and he knew he was the best candidate for Special Operations. Heero was genuinely proud of him. He waited until he had finished his second magazine before inching between the left wall and his lover's body. He eyed Trowa's new pistol, touched the taller man's abdomen with the flat of his hand and smirked. "I think your slide is loose. Let me try it."

He was such a fucking liar.

Trowa was sure his slide was not loose, but he handed the gun over to his boyfriend anyway. "Sure. Have fun." He moved out of the way and crossed his arms over his chest to watch Heero play with the new toy.

Heero resisted the urge to smile like an idiot, took Trowa's place at the bench, loaded a magazine, slammed it inside, racked the slide to chamber a round and rapidly slung all twelve rounds downrange. He dropped the empty magazine and rested the open pistol back on the bench pointed downrange, dusted his hands off and stepped aside to let Trowa have it back. "I was wrong, it's fine," he said plainly. The acrid scent of spent gunpowder hung in the air momentarily around them. As they exchanged places he grabbed the front of Trowa's uniform jacket and smashed a rough kiss against his lips.

Trowa moaned into Heero's mouth, felt his legs go weak. He pressed his lips back with equal force, slipping his tongue inside for the hell of it. No one could see them anyway. He reminded himself that it was definitely a good thing they weren't partners out on the field. Heero was a distraction.

Heero continued to distract him by yanking his body against his to force Trowa to pin his back against the booth's bench. As he pulled him closer their feet shuffled and slipped over the spent brass that littered the floor. Heero bit into Trowa's lower lip roughly, growled into his mouth and then reluctantly pulled away just far enough to glare through his clear protective eyepro into his face. "Just because you now outrank me... don't think I can't control you," he said in a low, silky voice. He tugged against the other man's jacket for emphasis.

Trowa had to use the booth's wall for support after the kiss took his breath away. His green eyes locked on Heero's, lower lip sore from the fierce lovers bite. "Understood." Was it time to go home yet? While he enjoyed playing with guns, it took all of Trowa's willpower not to grab Heero by the arm and drag him off to the car for a 'late afternoon break'. Get a hold of yourself, Bloom. He shook his head and snapped out of the lovesick trance, refocusing.

Heero nodded and had just pulled away from him when the familiar grinning face of his American partner rounded the partition. Duo materialized beside him and draped and casually around his shoulders. He leaned forward, dragging Heero with him, and smiled at Trowa before yelling, "hey, yo Tro! Congrats!"

Heero wondered how Duo always managed to know all of the interoffice gossip.

Trowa had started packing his gun up when Duo came over. He took the magazine out and emptied any unused bullets. "Thanks." He gave his friend a quick nod, also wondering how the hell the braided man had found out so quickly. "Who told you?" He looked over his shoulder curiously.

"Eh, nobody, I just figured it out. I mean, why wouldn't they make you Special Ops? You're the best! Besides, Wufei may have slipped at the water cooler..." Duo grinned widely. He had overheard Wufei ask Une in their office floor break room that Trowa was going to need undercover papers. He had just put two and two together. "Does this mean you get all the cool toys? I see you got the SIG already, man... lucky fucker."

He squeezed Heero's shoulder roughly and shook him. "See, you two coulda been Spec. Ops partners, but you have to go and become a damn bleedin' heart Liberal," Duo yelled playfully. "Anyway, meet me in the lunchroom, huh? They're serving borscht today. Man, I love that shit." Duo pushed off of Heero and slipped away and back to his own booth.

Heero sighed and gathered all of his things and slipped them into his olive green range bag. He had decided that he would take his Preventer issue Glock home tonight to clean and oil it himself. He didn't trust the new quartermaster. He held his bag open to offer to carry Trowa's weapon for him if he wanted. Around the office they weren't allowed to wear their sidearms, which was ridiculous, but a policy issued by Preventer under pressure by the local Copenhagen authority. That never kept Heero from wearing his personal ultra compact Colt in an ankle holster at work. He zipped the bag shouldered it and followed Trowa out of the range. He took his headphones and eyepro off once they stepped outside of the soundproofed door and onto the elevator and tucked his and Trowa's gear in his bag.

"When do you leave for assignment," Heero asked casually as he hit the first floor button where the cafeteria was.

"Next Tuesday." Trowa responded, arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the elevator wall. He watched the floor numbers rise. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone." They had one week together before he was gone again.

That was one of the cons of accepting a position with Special Ops. Sometimes you were never home, although on months when things were slow, you could have a lot of downtime. Trowa had really picked up on Heero's interest to keep up with his aerialist acts. Maybe he could do so in-between missions.

It was going to suck being away from his partner for however long he was in Asia. Trowa averted his lover's gaze and kept his eyes on the digital floor number mounted above the buttons.

The corner of Heero's mouth perked. He wasn't happy about being apart, but it was the nature of their job. He slipped closer and pressed his shoulder into Trowa's in an attempt to reassure him. The elevator opened to the first floor and they stepped out side by side and made their way to the cafeteria. Heero spotted Wufei already seated at a table alone, face first in a book as usual. He went through the line, got a vegetable soup and bowl of rice and approached the Chinese man. He used his toe to pull his own chair out and took a seat to Wufei's right. He tucked his range bag under the table at his feet. Wufei looked up at them and narrowed his dark eyes on Heero as he realized what he had just stowed beneath the table.

"Why do you have that up here?" Wufei asked with a frown. "No, wait. Let me guess. You don't trust the new guy."

Heero shrugged a shoulder and tasted his soup. Wufei rolled his eyes. "That's against policy, Yuy."

"You don't know about it," Heero replied coolly.

"What Bag?" Trowa played stupid and sat down next to his boyfriend. Wufei rolled his eyes and shook his head, deciding to forget about it. Normally he would have made a fuss, but he trusted Heero, Duo, and Trowa more than most people at Preventer. Which meant turning his head in the other direction from time to time.

"So how has training been?" The Chinese man made conversation with his new full time agent. Trowa set his water down and gave Wufei his attention. "It's been fine. Lots of paperwork, and I had to sit in on that 'New Training and Protocols' meeting that everyone has to go through when they start." Even though he'd been working freelance with Preventer for years, it was procedure that all new full time staff attending the boring meetings. "Testing out the new gun was fun." Trowa glanced over at Heero and gave him a knowing look.

The corner of Heero's mouth ghosted over with a smile before he turned his focus on his food. Wufei blinked but didn't address the exchange.

"You know how any organization is, everything has to be done by the books. I'm sure it is boring, but you'll have plenty of excitement soon enough. Might as well enjoy the quiet and calm while you can," the authoritative Chinese man replied. He closed his book and sat to a full sit to give them both his undivided attention. "It is rather ridiculous, though, that they expect Gundam pilots to sit through gun safety briefs."

Heero smirked and sat up from his soup. "I was told my my instructor the first year I was here that I have poor range manners," he said plainly as he took a sip of his tea. "He didn't think it was funny when I pointed my pistol in his face."

Wufei's eyes widened and his lips parted slack in shock. "You did no such thing!"

Heero sighed and stooped over to take another bite of his soup. "You're right, I didn't."

Duo bounced up to the table and saw Wufei's exasperated face. "What did I miss? It must be something good. Wufei looks like he just saw a ghost." He took a seat next to the Chinese man and started digging into his food.

"We were just giving Wufei shit." Trowa commented, looking around at his group of friends. It felt good to have all the former Gundam pilots together again. Except they were missing Quatre…

"What? Doling out the shit without me? What a crime," Duo said playfully as he munched on his sandwich. "So, Fei, when you gonna come down to the range with us? Don't you big shot desk jockeys have to still qualify on your pistols?"

Wufei's eyebrow twitched. Heero finished eating and straightened in his seat again. He lifted his cup to his lips and sipped his tea slowly before replying flatly, "you only shot a 214 today."

Duo paused mid-bite and gawked at him. "Huh? What did you say?"

Heero set his cup down and crossed his arms over his chest. "I saw your target. Your highest score was only a 214. Sounds like it is you who needs more practice."

The targets were graded on a scale of 1-500, and while anything 210 to 219 was considered decent, Duo normally shot around a 230.

"Ok, seriously?" Duo looked offended. Did Heero always have to steal his good vibes? He put his hand out to surrender. "Sorry my shooting tactics aren't as precise as yours, Mr. Perfect Soldier. But they work."

The group chuckled at that response as they finished their food. Trowa reached under the table to put his hand on Heero's thigh and give it a playful squeeze.


It had felt like a short week. Monday came and went, work was slow and yet somehow the time seemed to slip by faster than usual. They had stopped at a Mediterranean restaurant on the way home, ate dinner in mutual, comfortable silence and gone back to the apartment so Trowa could get ready for his deployment the following day.

Heero knew there wasn't much he could say or do to help him. Mission preparation was a very personal thing, and required focus and attentiveness. He had taken residence on the couch, seated sideways with his laptop propped onto his lap, out of the way of Trowa's third pre-mission layout. Tactical gear, supplies, weapons, and regional undercover clothing were spread neatly across the room. He looked up from the chaos strewn across the living room floor at Trowa, who was standing in the middle of all of it looking thoughtful.

"Missing anything?" He asked casually. He pulled up all of the information he had on Trowa's upcoming mission and began keying through the data for the tenth time that night.

"I actually think I have everything laid out this time." Trowa surveyed the spread once more. "Yea. I think I'm good." His nerves were a bit frayed but he wouldn't admit that to his lover. In the morning he'd be on a flight headed to Manila, unsure of when he'd return. Trowa bent down and started to gather everything up so he could actually pack it away in his bags. Keeping busy was a good distraction tactic.

Heero nodded and would have offered to help him, but it seemed like Trowa had a system. He knew that his packing was something to distract himself. He considered distracting him with other things... but then thought better of it. Maybe later. He stared down at the satellite image of the manufacturing plant for the thousandth time. He didn't know why, but something about the place seemed familiar. Sure, he had witnessed plenty of Earth from an aerial view, and he couldn't remember the last time he had been anywhere near Manila. There was just something here that was begging to be noticed. What the hell was it?

Heero decided to try and distract Trowa with small talk, something they honestly rarely did. "Your sister called me while you were in the shower earlier," he began as he stared down at the aerial image. "She tried to call your phone, and when you didn't answer she panicked. I told her that while you're gone she can call me anytime for updates if I had them. Was... that a mistake?" Heero wasn't sure if opening that door to Cathy was going to help things, or make his life miserable with frantic 2am phone calls.

Trowa was usually pretty secretive about his work for the Preventer. He didn't go into detail with his sister, and she probably had no idea exactly what he did for the organization. "It's fine, but I'd stick to vague discussion. She can work herself up really quick." Trowa rolled his clothes tightly and used them to line the bag. "I can call her tomorrow when I'm at the airport." He glanced up at his lover on the couch.

"I understand." Heero locked eyes with him for a moment before closing his laptop. He slipped off of the couch and crossed the room to crouch down beside him and pressed his hands against the rolls of clothing he was using to line his bag to held hold them in place. "You won't have to worry about her," he said softly as he stared down at his hands. "I'll take care of her..." if something happens to you.

"Thank you…" Trowa paused for a second as he registered Heero's words. He could sense a hint of sadness. "I'll be fine. You'll see me in no time at all." He had to keep repeating those words to himself if he wanted to get through this. In his entire life, Trowa hadn't ever become this attached to someone so quickly. But he was very much attached to Heero Yuy, and the thought of never seeing him again just wasn't something he could accept. Trowa reached for another one of his belongings and put it into the bag.

The corner of his mouth perked as he registered the fact that Trowa was trying to comfort him. He reached out to grab a few items and helped him to turn and twist them to tightly pack them. He shifted onto his knees and became very focused on this task. If Trowa was going to go, then damn it, he was going to have a perfectly packed bag. "You don't have to reassure me," he said plainly without looking up. "You are the most capable person I know. I know you'll be fine." He was trying to be reassuring, and he honestly believed that as far as this mission went Trowa could handle himself. The man had amazing tactical, strategic and physical ability. However, nobody could outrun a bullet.

The thought made a sourness jump into the back of his throat. He scowled and tried to swallow the tension and irritation that he felt from the notion back down into his stomach.

Trowa gave a nod and together the two young men finished packing the bags. "There. I think I'm set." He stood up and carried them over to the hall, setting them just outside the bedroom door before returning back to the living room. Trowa really didn't want to spend his last night home fretting over the mission, especially when that was all that would be on his mind for the next days to come.

Heero eyed him as he moved around the apartment. He noticed his entire body moved tightly, tense and less graceful than usual. He didn't know what to do for him. Heero's personal solution to stress was to work out until he couldn't keep his eyes open, or work himself into the ground. What did Trowa need?

He crossed the room to meet him in the middle and grabbed him into a tight hug. "Do you want to go somewhere?"

"Where?" Trowa hadn't been aware that his tension was so exposed. He was starting to become less effective with masking his emotions. He wrapped his arms around his shorter boyfriend and rest his cheek against his lover's neck. Inhaling Heero's unique scent calmed his nerves and helped him relax. The thick brown hair at the base of Heero's neck tickled Trowa's nose and made him smile.

Heero shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. Let's just go."

He dragged him out of the apartment and just picked a random direction to walk down the sidewalk. It was 18:45 and the sun was nearly complete in tucking itself down below the old city's jagged horizon. A cool night breeze kicked up from over the Baltic Sea and licked at their bodies as they walked. Eventually they ended up by the ocean. Heero always found himself drawn to the piers. He slipped his hand into Trowa's and walked beside him for a while without saying anything for nearly half an hour until Heero finally spoke. "I really... care about you." It sounded lame, but he didn't know how else to describe it.

Trowa wondered where this conversation was going. He glanced to his side at his lover and squeezed his hand. "I care about you too." It was obvious to everyone around them that the two young men had fallen for each other fast. They had created a strong connection that most never experienced in a lifetime. Trowa looked back out at the sun setting over the water, thinking it was so beautiful. The colonies didn't even come close to comparing to Earth's beauty.

That wasn't right. None of this felt right. Heero mentally cursed himself. Why was he so fucking awkward? He stopped short and yanked Trowa's hand and forced him to turn to face him, and dug his feet into the ground as if the word he planned to say would knock him over.

"Trowa Bloom, I am in love with you." He said firmly, his eyes glistening with anxiety. It almost hurt to verbalize it. He hadn't told anyone that, not even Relena. His fists clenched. The words forced the floodgates of his anxiety for him open as he finally accepted the fact that yes, he loved this man, and now he may never come back. He grabbed Trowa's stunned face with both hands and peered at him in the dark. "You have to come back."

Trowa's heartbeat sped up, the butterflies returned in his stomach to wreak havoc. Heero had just used the 'L' word. The capital 'L' word. He could see a plethora of emotions swimming around the dark blue orbs that stared up at him in confession, and Trowa knew it was true. Heero Yuy loved him.

The realization moved Trowa to his core and he couldn't tear his eyes away. He felt exposed and vulnerable, opening himself completely to his lover. His mask slipped off his face and shattered upon hitting the ground. "I'll come back." He said firmly, not breaking their eye contact. "I will." It was a promise.

Heero was glaring at him. "I'm not stupid. I know you can't promise me that," he growled, his eyes never leaving his. He recalled Relena asking him to stay alive many times before. He felt foolish for saying something so similar. He shook his head and narrowed his eyes on him. "What I mean is... if you don't come back, I don't know how I am going to continue living." Over the past month he had spent every waking moment working on something for Trowa. The apartment, the piano, himself. That form of obsessive behavior was his curse, and how he had been conditioned to be. First it was his mission, and then Relena, and now his focus was Trowa, only this time he loved his target. If Trowa died on this mission he wouldn't be able to keep going. There would be no reason to.

"Don't say that." Trowa didn't want to think about that. He tried to pull his face away but Heero's fingers held him perfectly still, his only option to either look down or continue gazing into those emotional eyes. The thought of Heero not being able to move on without him was heart wrenching. He frowned and closed his eyes for a moment.

Trowa Bloom was still learning how to value himself, still learning that he wasn't disposable in the eyes of his friends and loved ones. Being a solider was a selfless thing, but now Trowa was starting to realize that in a way it was also a selfish thing. He'd always had trouble taking into consideration what would happen to his loved ones if he suddenly wasn't there anymore. Cathy had tried punching this realization into him back during the war, but somewhere along the line his old habits had won and he'd regressed back into devaluing himself. Soldier mode would take over and all he'd think about was completing the mission, regardless of the risk factors, regardless of what happened to him.

Heero noticed his closed eyes and knew he may have pushed him further than he was comfortable going. He released his face and hugged him in an attempt to comfort him. "You're the most important person in my world, Trowa. I don't mean to tell you that to make it harder for you to leave, but if I didn't tell you that and you never came back... you would have never known."

Trowa let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in. He tucked his face against Heero's neck and kept his eyes closed, anxiety swarming his mind. "Thank you for telling me…"

Did he love Heero? Undeniably yes. But it was hard to say those words. The last and only person he'd ever said those words too had broken his heart. And somehow it felt as though he'd be putting himself at even more of a risk if he voiced his love. Like it would somehow jinx his mission and he really wouldn't come back.

Heero nodded mutely and hugged him tightly against himself in an attempt to hold him together. He knew Trowa had a hard time with expression, it was something they had in common. Heero at least at at young age had been secretly encouraged by Doctor J to act on his emotions. It was what motivated him to make this confession in the first place. He knew the risks for this mission, he wasn't naive. Anything could happen.