"Clear," Heero called, and he turned and picked up a steady jog toward his partner. They were both dressed in matte black, the simplified and less noticeable version of the Preventers logo on their shoulders. It was done in shades of dark gray so that it wasn't likely to give the agents away when they were trying to hide, while still making them identifiable to their fellow agents.

After the wars had passed the two of them had found themselves with very little direction, and had decided to join the peace-keeping agency together. They'd been assigned as partners right off the bat and had stayed that way for the entire time they had worked there. In fact they would be celebrating the fourth anniversary of their partnership fairly soon...once they tool care of this terrorist cell, of course.

With a gesture Duo confirmed Heero's statement of clear, and Heero again picked up his pace as they headed for the command center of the building. They had been inside for a while and knew that people would be on the lookout for them, but the terrorists they'd taken down so far hadn't proved to be much of a challenge. Even so, they were being careful, running silently down the hallways.

Out of nowhere Heero said, "I love you, you know that?" The comment was made off-handedly, as he was just commenting on the weather, and Duo didn't even break his stride as he thought about it.

It made sense, and he felt himself accepting the new information easily. Heero was one of the only people he truly trusted, and that trust extended beyond even that which he gave to the other ex-Gundam Pilots. They knew each other inside and out, and they were best friends -- it seemed like they'd always been best friends. But the bond between them went deeper than that, and he knew that he'd never have been able to fall in love with anyone else at all.

"Yeah," he said in response both to Heero's question and his own thoughts. "I know." Then they rounded a corner and were faced with a small group of the terrorists, and he flung a small-scale grenade at them as the two Preventers dropped to the ground. It turned out that those had been the last major pocket of resistance, and then all they had to do was clean up the base and take care of the minor details.

It was only when they were on the transport back to Headquarters that Duo leaned over, kissed Heero and said, "By the way, I love you too."

"I know," Heero murmured, and then kissed Duo back.