25-September-2001
Title: An Honorable Enemy Part 7/8
Author: Enigma
Written: August - September, 2001
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: {wait and see}
Category: Angst, Mild Shonen Ai, Friendship, Morality, Squick, OOC
Enigma Story Category: G-Boys High Adventure!
Archive: GW Addiction, Sweet&Sweet
Warnings: Angst, very mild shonen ai, friendship, morality, squick, sermonizing on the treatment of prisoners of war, language, plot-related OOC, etc.
Reference Point: In case you don't recognize the OZ pilot, he appears in Episode 13 teamed with Lt. Alex and while he appears to be a real bastard there, I envision him differently here. The action in this fic fits into the series timeline between Episodes 10 and 12.
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the GW Universe. I'm not making any money off this story. It's written out of love, so please don't sue me.
Notes: When captured and badly beaten by OZ, Wufei's existence hangs in the balance. What could possibly motivate an enemy pilot to risk his own life to save him?
//thoughts//
A half-hour later, the two mobile suit pilots sat together sipping at their cups of green tea and talking quietly. Wufei's injuries had been attended to and, with more than a little help from Mueller and a great deal of caution, he'd even propped himself up in the pile of blankets.
Mueller told Wufei that he had identified a location for him to complete his recovery in and the oriental youth felt relieved that he might not be trapped alone in the small farm building after the OZ pilot left to return to duty. The ShenLong pilot was startled that Mueller had gone to so much trouble for him, but the South African teen stated that it was the right thing to do and that was the end of the matter.
Wufei had been openly curious as to how Mueller planned to return to OZ without facing a court-martial or worse.
Forcing another swallow of tea down since the liquid seemed to soothe his stomach, the younger man asked, "How *are* you going to do that, Mueller? I mean, considering my condition when you took me out of there, you can't very well expect to convince them that I forced you to rescue me."
Chuckling softly at the very idea that anyone as badly injured as Wufei had been as a result of his capture would be able to coerce the elite Specials pilot into doing what he had done, Mueller answered, "True, that's one idea I never even thought of, though, Wufei. In fact, I was fairly well stumped on how to pull it off without just going directly to His Excellency and asking for clemency."
A slight frown crossed Wufei's face as his own mixed emotions about the man who had bested him in a duel yet refused to grant his request for an honorable death flooded his mind.
As an observer of battle strategies, the Chinese boy respected the tactical brilliance the Russian man had shown, however as an individual, he felt the man failed to follow even the most basic precepts of honor. Realizing that Mueller didn't share these opinions, Wufei wisely chose to keep them to himself and not insult his new friend, simply remaining silent and waiting to hear what else the man wished to tell him.
Mueller finally answered the question by not answering it. He said simply, "Wufei, I'd like to tell you, really I would, but if I told you the truth you might think less of me. In fact," he looked away with a grimace, "if I didn't feel as strongly as I do about trying to help His Excellency achieve peace for humanity, I doubt very much that I could even do what I have planned."
"Ah, I see," Wufei nodded, wincing as the pain of his injuries reminded him not use so much body language, "it is a matter of honor then, is it? You feel that what you're going to do is dishonorable yet necessary?"
"Precisely," the darker-skinned youth looked at him with gratitude in his eyes. "I hadn't quite thought of it that way, but yes. The goal is too great to be abandoned and while the method may leave something to be desired, no one will be injured because of it and with some luck, no one but myself and two others will ever even be aware of it."
"That's good," the oriental boy sighed, exhaustion and pain stealing back into his voice as he set aside the now empty mug and sliding carefully back down into the pile of blankets to take the weight off his bruised ribs.
The injured Gundam pilot knew he would need to take another dosage of the sedating pain medication soon, but he recalled another matter that he felt he needed answers to first. "Do you suppose you could finally tell me why you took the risks that you did yesterday, Mueller? This morning was obviously an inopportune time for me to have asked, and I fear that I'm not going to be able to go much longer without more of that godsforsaken medication. So, if you don't mind, enlighten me now?"
Not liking the apparent level of pain his smaller companion was experiencing, Mueller set his own cup aside and moved closer to the injured youth, placing a comforting hand on Wufei's shoulder and smiling down at him before commenting, "I wouldn't curse that medicine if I was you, Wufei. If we didn't have it, I seriously doubt that I would've trusted myself to take care of you this way and who knows what kind of crisis we might have faced by going to a hospital?"
The younger man started to respond, but Mueller cut him off by saying, "But I *will* answer your question, you have a right to know."
Wufei gave him an odd look as he tried to recall exactly what had been said that morning about Mueller's feelings towards him, the physical contact they were sharing seemed to be in direct contrast with the avowals of disinterest from the South African man. Yet as he cast his pain-fogged mind back to the conversation, he remembered the way the two of them had talked about Trowa and Wufei couldn't help but smile at the image of the emerald-eyed HeavyArms pilot that came to him automatically.
Mueller watched the boy closely and was baffled by the range of emotion he observed on the bronze face. His natural curiosity about the sudden shy smile tried to exert itself, but he forced it back, returning to the topic that had waited too long already. "You wanted to know why I rescued you, is that right, Wufei?"
The Chinese youth nodded as his own focus returned to the subject at hand. He waited patiently as Mueller put his thoughts in order before continuing, "Frankly, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but, like the whole thing about my plans to return to OZ, I guess it's safe to say that it was a matter of honor again. You see, when you were apprehended yesterday morning, I had no idea that the man who would take charge of you was basically an amoral pig."
The final words were practically spat from Mueller's mouth and it became clear that there was a great deal about Wufei's own situation that the Chinese youth was unaware of.
Coffee-dark eyes widened slightly, but Wufei kept quiet as he watched the taller man fidgeting nervously, Mueller suddenly hesitant to tell him the extent of the madness of one of the highest ranking Romefeller military commanders.
"The bastard's name is Tuberov," the name was ground out as if it was a curse in and of itself, "and he told me about his plans for you. They were in direct violation of the Treaty of AC175 and I couldn't in good conscience leave you in his hands. Does this make any sense to you, Wufei?"
The Aries pilot was nearly begging his friend not to ask for more details and the smaller man picked up on this unspoken request, answering, "Certainly, I can understand that quite well. I'm afraid that not everyone shares your sense of integrity, Mueller. While I have no idea what precisely the man intended to do, and I probably don't want to know come to think of it, I can appreciate that you didn't want to allow it." He frowned as his thoughts failed to gel properly and he asked, "But why did you put yourself at risk the way that you did? You could be executed for your actions. If what he had in mind was so bad, didn't you think that betraying him might bring such things down on your own head as well?"
Again Mueller looked displeased, but it was unclear if he was angry with Wufei, himself, or the commanding officer he had turned against. After a lengthy pause, he offered simply, "I never thought about it, really. I knew that I needed to get you out of there and my own welfare meant nothing to me. It was my fault that you were captured in the first place. If I hadn't arrived in my mobile suit when I did, you would've made a clean getaway. You're much faster on foot than they are."
A soft snort of disagreement was followed by the pointed remark, "That might've been true two days ago, Mueller, but it wont be the case for quite some time to come with this ankle of mine." Before the South African man could express his apologies again for the injuries, though, Wufei hurried to state confidently, "I'm grateful to have met you, Mueller. It's not often that one meets an honorable enemy."
A slight flush of crimson crossed the darker man's cheeks and Mueller looked embarrassed but pleased and replied in kind, "I'd have to say the same thing, Wufei. You may think that you're not in a position to make my life any more difficult than it already is, but now that I think about it, I've given you a number of opportunities to betray my trust and you've not taken any of them."
"What are you talking about, Mueller? I'm helpless, what kind of trouble could I cause?" Coffee-dark eyes were filled with confusion that even the building levels of pain couldn't hide.
"A resourceful person like you is never truly helpless, Wufei!" Mueller remarked with a smirk. "If you really wanted to, don't you think that you could've gotten my revolver and shot me by now?"
The Aries pilot knew he hadn't pointed out where the handgun was hidden, but Wufei's eyes automatically strayed directly to it, confirming his suspicions and making Mueller chuckle. "See? I never told you it was there, but you knew, didn't you?"
A guilty look flit across Asian features and then Wufei remarked caustically, "Of course I looked for it! We might've been found by someone and if defense was needed, I'd more likely be able to help with a firearm than barehanded right at the moment!"
"Ah, well, there is that," Mueller agreed with a rueful smile. "Then again, I left the computer available and who knows what kind of trouble I could've faced if you took advantage of the opportunity to call for help from your friends? And a million other tiny things that I can't think of right now, but suffice it to say that as enemies we've been getting along pretty well, don't you think?"
"'As enemies'?" Wufei repeated in a questioning tone, then corrected, "We might have been that yesterday morning when I was staring at your mobile suit and wondering why you didn't kill me right then and there. And we might be again if my Gundam was to face your Aries in open and declared combat, but for now I do not see us as enemies. Perhaps merely temporary allies, but I had hoped we might be friends at this point." There was no sulking or petulance in his tone, only a gentle note of hope and wonder if such a thing was even possible.
A gentle squeeze of the hand that had remained in position on one bronze shoulder reassured Wufei even before any words were spoken.
"Yes, I think that 'friends' fits us right now. As for future battles," he winced visibly. Mueller hated to even imagine the possibility that he might see this brave boy again and be forced to kill him, "Well, let's just hope that in a war as vast and spread out as this one is, we wont cross paths that way again, okay?"
"Agreed," the younger man responded solemnly. "I wouldn't wish to be responsible for your death, Mueller, but it would be dishonorable of both of us to claim that we wish to return to defending what we believe in and then refuse to fight with our utmost abilities."
"Sad but true, my friend," Mueller answered with a rueful smile, then brightened as he changed the subject entirely with, "So, now that we know what's what and why I'm crazy, are you hungry? It's going to be sunset soon and my little bonfire will have to be put out if we want to remain undetected. But I, for one, am in the mood to try heating up some of the stuff in some of these cans."
Shaking his head carefully to avoid increasing the throbbing in his head, Wufei demurred, "Not for me, I'm afraid. I think I was doing well to cope with that tea." He bit back the desire to ask for the pain relievers he knew he needed yet didn't want to take.
His companion, however, had no such hesitation and simply opened the first aid kit and quickly retrieved the now familiar assortment of pills, handing them and some water to Wufei before saying with a fond smile, "All right. I'm sure that we can get you started on some solid food tomorrow. For now, you're stuck with another handful of 'candy'."
The injured youth snorted at the comment and swallowed the medication gratefully before laying back on the pile of blankets, thankful that he'd soon be asleep once more and the healing could continue without his being aware of the agonizing pain. Wufei remarked without anger, "That stuff doesn't taste like candy. I wonder what on Earth I was thinking when I said that?"
Mueller chuckled as he moved to gaze in confusion at the various canned goods he'd spotted from the very beginning of their time in the pantry/laundry room. The labels were in a local calligraphic alphabet he didn't recognize and even as he narrowed his choices for dinner, he answered with a sad smile, "At the time, Wufei, I don't really think that you were too terribly coherent. I should stop teasing you about it."
Selecting two cans with images of what he sincerely hoped were main dishes, he returned to the yawning boy and asked sheepishly, "Any idea that these say, Wufei? I'd hate to go to the trouble of opening one of these just to discover it's dog food."
Snorting at his friend's attempt at humor, the Chinese youth opened his eyes again and looked at the cans in puzzlement. "Not a clue, Mueller. These aren't in Cantonese or Mandarin, or any of the major oriental languages. Guess you take your chances, sorry."
The brunette stared at the yawning boy for a moment, set the cans aside, and asked, "Um, are you saying that you speak Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Japanese, and *other* languages, Wufei? Isn't that a bit much for a kid your age who spends most of his time going around blowing up OZ bases?"
Yawning hugely and feeling the drugs' effects increasing rapidly, Wufei shrugged slightly and commented off-handedly, "I wasn't always just a soldier, you know. I used to be a scholar and I know a lot more languages than those, it's really no big deal."
"Oh?" Mueller commented with a shake of his head, "I had no idea. Well, all the more reason that I'm glad I didn't let them kill you. You're far too interesting a person to lose in a senseless fashion like what they had in mind." A voice in the back of his mind mumbled something about immorality being a far greater reason, but since he was trying to keep the lighter, happier mood he'd found after talking to Wufei, his conscious thoughts drowned it out.
Wufei's inhibitions fell quickly as the drugs took control and he reached out a hand to touch Mueller, and he said quietly, "Thanks. I hope that Trowa thinks so, too," before sleep claimed him and the bronze hand fell back to the blankets.
Mueller nodded his agreement as he pulled the blankets up warmly around Wufei's chin, commenting softly, "I damn well hope so, Wufei. A terrific kid like you doesn't deserve to be as damned lonely as I think you must be."
Sighing, the man picked back up the cans of food and walked towards the door muttering to himself, "I've got no idea what these are so how do I decide? Oh well, might as well rely on a tried and true method. Eeny, meeny, miny, mo…"
Stepping into the late afternoon sunshine, Mueller was pleased to discover that the can that he'd chosen held some form of beef and vegetables combination, and while it soothed his hunger, he knew that the ordeal he and Wufei were facing together was far from resolved. It would take time and continued good fortune, but as long as they remained faithful to their own individual senses of integrity and honor, they'd survive the challenges they faced together.
End Part 7
Enigma
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