17 Mar 2000
Well, hellow! anyone miss me? I don't think so.. but anyway, miss yall.
anyhow, before going to Congo, like in 3 hours time, I thought of getting my current obsession out. here you go!!!
p.s. and I had obtained for myself, a sig file!! aha.
for Whizzy-sama
Check out the pic here
Nothing was as good as a quick dip in the tub, with warm water laced with rose petals. Nothing was as good as that, after yet another satisfying night.
Treize lowered himself even deeper into the soothing water. A pity Zechs couldn't join him in the tub. His second had to rush back to the command centre and sort all the petty things. And he, laying back, dreamily.
Such things rank could give.
He hummed along the lines of a certain symphonic composition when the highly annoying comm unit started to beep.
/Surely, there's a law somewhere that said comm units are illegal, and thus should be banned from use/ he muttered.
"Treize." he said, not bothering to cover his annoyance.
"Ah, Treize. Its me, Milliard."
Treize softened at the voice of his lover. "Yes, luv?"
/Maybe having a comm unit is not bad afterall/
"There's an emergency, Treize."
The lounging general groaned. "At this time of morning."
Milliard scowled a bit, "Sadly, yes."
"And?"
"There's a surprise attack from one of the colonies. We're trying to figure out which. But they are quite large a number and seemed highly trained."
"ETA?"
"Approximately 7 minutes."
Treize groaned again. He reached out to his rubber duckie and placed.. splashed it onto the water. /So much for the idea of relaxing today. It had just flown out from the window./
"I can't possibly get there in time..."
"Of course not. I didn't say you needed to come. Switch the 3-D sensors on, Treize. I'll brief you."
"I'm in the TUB, Milliard."
A chuckle, "I am alone, in Tallgeese, don't worry. I had no intention to share the views with the others. Not yet."
"Ha ha, funny Milliard. Now get on with it." Treize's voice was laced with impatience and anxiety.
/Surprise attack. Damn./
A few seconds later, a hovering 3-D screen materialised in the vast expanse of the bath, and Milliard's visage came into view. His bearings betrayed the stress that had accumulated over a small period of time.
A small appreciative whistle came from the long haired pilot.
"Cut that out, Milliard. As if."
"Ah yes, back to business." The tone changed into deep seriousness.
The two men became involved into briefings and de-briefings, shouting commands and relaying them. Soon, the colony's forces came into view.
"I think its L4. The Manguanacs." Zechs relayed.
"Oh."
And barrages of commands and the rest came back into full force again.
"Three of ours down, Treize... Broken hulls. We lost Yassef."
Treize brought his rubber duckie up and flung it down in great annoyance, splashing water everywhere. "Damn. We lost one of our best. Carry on, Milliard."
Exchange of fire, casualties from both sides, and long five hours of in-space fight later, the fight ended. Oz won somehow, but not without considerable casualties being towed back into the headquarters.
"Done." Zechs said, and Treize slumped into the water, now colder.
"There goes my morning bath." Treize muttered.
"And I bet you wrinkled in the water.. Like, you've been, what? At least five hours."
Treize lifted his hands and looked at his palms, and he lifted his feet.
"Oh my. You're right, Milliard. I wrinkled like hell." He raised himself abruptly, water sliding from his body, and creating sparkles. Zechs whistled once again, purposely annoying his lover.
"You do look wrinkled." Zechs chuckled.
"Shut up, and free yourself from any duties today, pile it on Noin or Une, for all I care. And get your smooth arse back here, ASAP."
Zechs smiled, "YES SIR, GENERAL KHUSHY, SIR."
Treize flung his rubber duckie at the transparent screen and it flew past, and hit the wall with a squeak. "Cut the crap and be here."
Zechs smiled, "Sure, just hang in there, okay? I'll be right down."
And before they closed their comm units: "I love you, Milliard."
"Me too."
Zechs knocked on the door softly. "Treize? Wake up.." he even contemplated using his security code to get into his commander's room. But he would enter the civilised way this time, he thought.
Minutes passed by, and Zechs was still knocking at the door. By now the last strand of patience had just left him, and Zechs resorted the (ehem) less civilised entry. He punched in his security clearance code and walked into the room.
He found Treize bundled up in his bed, his blanket up to his chin. His face beet red.
"Treize?" Milliard knitted his brow and touched his friend lightly on the shoulders. "are you feeling all right?"
Treize opened his eyes groggily. "Oh, hi. Good morning."
"You're late for the morning briefing. Dermail would scream you know. And you know what happened when he screamed, don't you?" Zechs helped Treize to rise from his bed, the older man yawned sleepily and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. We had to get a new roof for the meeting room."
Zechs nodded. "Well, in case you're wondering, we need a new set of windows, a door and a new roof now."
Treize's eye widened for a moment, and he let out a small groan, "Already?"
"Sadly.. Now.. we'll have to get you down to meet him, before we have to go search for a new job."
"Sure, sure whatever. I think I'll skip my bath.."
Zechs handed Treize his uniform and helped him to get into the set of clothes and at least look presentable.
So the day passed with considerable uneasiness for Treize. Dermail wasn't really the best person to have around, and him skipping his morning bath wasn't really a nice thing to do. He felt stuffy and smelly and most of all he started to itch. That made his patience even shorter. He felt sorry for Zechs, for his second had to made sure that all sharp objects, or any objects that could kill, were not within reach of the fuming Treize.
And so, after all the necessary day's work, both men ended up exhausted on Treize's couch.
"Milliard."
"Yah?"
"Could you help me scratch my back. It itches like crazy."
"Your back?"
"Well, the whole of my body itches. Maybe its because I skipped my morning bath."
Zechs helped Treize out from the uniform, while saying, "Nonsense. Skipping a bath wouldn't hurt.."
As the last piece of garment left Treize's body, Zechs' eyes widened and he choked out an involuntary gasp. "Uh, I think.. skipping a bath is a bad idea after all."
Treize looked at his body and swallowed hard. "Damn."
His body was literally covered with red rash, and Treize had just started to scratch randomly. Zechs caught Treize's hands and held fast to it. "Don't scratch, it'll get worse."
"Yeah sure. It itches like.."
"No swearing, Treize. It'll get worse too."
"Gods, Milli, you sounded like a grandmother."
Zechs scowled playfully, and placed a small kiss on his lover's forehead, "That's GRANDPA, I am a male.. Come on, lets get you a doctor."
A couple of hours later they were in Treize's bath.
"This concoction smells awful!!" Treize moans as he sniffed a bottle full of doctor's prescription.
Zechs switched off the running water and grabbed the bottle from Treize and measured it before he poured the content into the water. "Now, now. You know this will make you all better."
"I will NEVER step into that water! NEVER!"
Zechs shrugged and pulled Treize into his embrace. "Now listen here. Treize-koi, you'll get in there, soak yourself for half an hour, and I'll change the water, put in some of those Rose bubble baths you like, and get the horrid smell off you. And the sooner you heal, the sooner we could hit the bed."
"Yeah, okay. I am not supposed to touch you when I had this bloody rash. Such hell."
"Now there, Treize.." So, Zechs helped the sulking Treize soaked himself into the awful concoction. "By gods! This is even worse than I thought. It smelled like.. like.." Treize swore.
Zechs handed Treize his rubber duckie and Treize clutched to it, like there's no tomorrow, "Now there, Treize, I'll be here, we share the burden together. And you might want Quackie to share our burden as well.."
So there they were, for half an hour, with the stench, and the sulking Treize, and the tortured rubber duckie...
And that continued every morning and evening for three days, and Treize eventually recovered.
That night:
"Milliard, next time remind me to have regular baths." Treize said as his second snuggled closer.
"Yeah." And they soon locked themselves in a fiery lovemaking. Well, what do you expect?
After all that, as they laid down, perfectly sated, "Milliard?"
"Hmm?" came the sleepy reply.
"We still need to put a new roof over the meeting room."
"Whatever."
"I love you."
"I think I do too. Without your rash."
"Whatever."
Notes: okay i'll make sure er.. I put on all the necessary warnings. Okay. maybe OOC, er.. the Une/Treize bathtub scene. a bit like that, but not really, I mean, not exactly what you see on telly. I don't know what you see anyway, i've never seen GW on anything, at all. gomen ne. Oh yes, Shounen ai something, and hint hint hint, threesome, well, not really. Really, I am soooo addicted
Treize was considerably enjoying his morning bath, as ever. He always like baths. One of his favourite places is the Bathtub, with his Quackie, er.. Rubber Duckie on tow.
"Quack, quack.." he mused, as he sailed the yellow duck on the water, once in a while steering clear from the red rose petals.
"Quack.. eep, watch out, don't hit the big bad rose.." he smiled.
Treize was so into his own reverie, er.. duck playing, that he didn't seem to notice the highly annoyed Lady Une, who apparently had been tapping her heels and calling Treize for a few minutes now..
`"Ehrm" Lady Une cleared her throat in her loudest, most annoyed voice she could muster.
"Qua.. er? oh Lady? What?" Treize jolted in surprise.
"Well, if you haven't noticed yet, I am here with the paperwork you asked me for."
Treize groaned, "Don't you know what time is this? Its not even the official working hour yet!"
Lady Une blushed beet red. "Er." was the only word she could say.
"Or.." Treize purred seductively, "You had plans to actually join my morning bath."
Lady Une blushed even deeper.
"Uhn.." Lady Une tried to muster all her strength and will power. "Uhm.. if you.. don't mind.."
There! she said it.
"Oh no. not at all." Treize shook his head. "But I don't know about Milliard."
"Its fine with me, if you are, koi." Milliard stepped in, with only a towel around his waist.
So, a minute later, a guard passed by the front of the door, and heard something along this line:
"Quack Quack.. steer clear from Monster Zechs." That's Treize.
"Mo.. mo.. monster Zechs!!! I'll show you MONSTER ZECHS!" a sound of pouncing could be heard.
"Ouch. You hurt Poor Quackie" that's Lady Une's cooing.
"Yeah. Baaad Zechs." Treize again, with a slightly overdone voice.
"Hmmph!" Zechs again. "You you... you all ganged up against me.." then a mock wail.
"Milliard, its okay.." Treize sounded guilty. "Quack?" a sympathetic quack, presumably from Quackie's voice actor, Treize Krushrenada.
"I never want to sleep with you any longer." A poutish Zechs.
"Good!" beamed Lady Une. "My turn then, can I, Treize?"
Silence.. then SPLASH! SPLASH! and more splashes and more laughter.
QUACK!
Another part for the Rubber Ducky arc. Oh well, I am obsessed, as you can see. Very much obsessed that is!!
Warning: OOC, Yaoi, Lime-ish (?) Sesame Street best loved Oscar theGrouch! and Grover to the rescue.
Zechs rolled onto his stomach, that day had been very tiring, and nothing is better than a nice rest for the night. From the bathroom, he could hear the splashing of water on skin. Zechs groaned.
/Can't you think something decent for at least a minute, when it comes to Treize?/
He thought for a while and then turned back to lie on his back, his head craddled by his arms and he huffed. And said on top of his lungs, to no particular person, "No, I can't!"
and he nodded victoriously, and chuckled.
/Such things that came from him./
Then suddenly he heard a sharp shriek from the bath. Instinctively Zechs jumped down from the comfort of the bed.
"Kwah! Treize, what happened?" As Zechs walked into the bathroom.
There, inside the bathroom, he could see Treize, wrapped only in a towel, staring wide-eyed at the bath shelves, his finger pointing to a certain void corner of the shelve, and kept repeating, "Its gone, he's gone! I can't believe this! I can't believe this!"
Zechs walked up to the dazed Treize and comforted him, "Who?"
"Quackie.."
For once Zechs could only stare at the gaping General. "Quac.. Quackie?"
"Yes! Yes! I always put him on the shelf, and now he's gone!!"
"We'll go search for it, er, him... But we'll have to fet you dressed first."
**
That afternoon the cleaning lady got a visit from two of the most influential people in the OZ. No, not the Head of Household, even as the Head of Household could sack her there and then. No, these two people could not only sack her there and then, but planted a dozen of bullets on her and still say that she died of heart attack.
"Good morrow, Sirs." She tried to put up her best manners.
The older of the two men, the one she, and all the cleaners only knew as the Forked-Eyebrowed-Doom, waved her uninterested with her greetings and manners.
The other man, a tall imposing man, with long platinum mane seemed to do the talking, presumably Mr Forked Brow wasn't feeling at his best to do the talking.
"Uhm.." she hesitated, not knowing how to address the two men.
"I am Captain Zechs Merquise, this is General Khusherenada"
She bowed in respect. She had five kids, one niece, two husbands, and a few cattles to feed, and she's not going to loose her job, or worse still her head because of impunity.
"Well, to start with, we are not that concerned with manners," Captain Zechs Merquise said, "So you could cut that unnecessary hulla ballo out."
"Very well, Milord."
"What we want to know is.." the Captain didn't seem to know how to put his words. And trying not to sound so awkward, "Where you put the rubber duckie? I reckon that you're the one who cleaned Treize's bathroom."
"Ah, I threw it away, Milord. Be.. be.. because.." She could see the Forked-Eyebrowed-Doom ready to spew real doom, had the Captain not restrain him.
"Where was it now?" I believe its in the trashcan now.. Please, Milords, I don't know anything, I am just doing what the Household Master told me to do." She ducked her head, and tried not to make an eyecontact with either.
As she finished talking, she could hear the exitting footfalls, boots clicking on the marble floor. The Household Master was going to get into real trouble.
**
A few gunshots later, the Household Master was shaking badly, and his hairline receded a further thirteen inches.
"Its in.. in the Trashcan, Milord."
"Why in Space would you throw the duck, er, rubber duckie?" Treize growled.
"It.. it.. it just doesn't seem to fit. I am just doing what I think is best for My Lord."
"The Lord said you're not supposed to discard anything of his, and definitely not the rubber duckie. Now go find it, wash it clean, and bring it back to me."
The Household Master could only stood transfixed to the floor. "Bu.. bu..t"
"No buts.. or do you prefer.." Well, one Eyebrow (tm) began to rise with rhethoric question.
"Ve..very well. Sir." and the middle aged man scurried out.
**
After a few inches of hole on the carpet, thanks to Treize's anxious back and forth pacing,
"Treize, could you please stop it. You're worse than an iron."
"I am worried."
"We could get a new one."
"NO! nothing can replace Quackie."
Zechs pondered for a while, "Not even me?" Now he's a bit worried as well.
"NONONONO!! nothing. can. replace. Quackie."
Zechs could feel his world came crashing down. And a volcano errupted in his head.
"THAT DOES IT!" He paced fumingly towards the door and summoned the Household Master, "BORODIN!"
The Household Master scurried, now even the Lightning Bearer, er Baron was angry at him.
"Where's the rubber duckie?! find it quick! or I will personally see that you'd be sent to the lab and be changed into a rubber duckie! Now go find!"
Zechs sighed. He never thought that he wasn't even as precious as the rubber duckie. He began to question himself. Treize seemed to realise his mistake and embraced his subordinate and placed a small peck on the side of the slender throat.
"Gomen ne, Zechs"
And they traced their way to the couch.
**
"Aaaah!"
No! that's not the scream of ecstacy. Thats the scream of poor Borodin being faced with a sickly, smelly green thing that suddenly appeared from the trashcan, and then, a tug of war, between the butler and the green thing.
Zechs and Treize, and a few of soldiers trampled in. "What was *that* Borodin?" Treize exclaimed.
The green thing turned sharply at Treize, and Treize could see that the green thing was holding his rubber duck. "Who are you? why are you with my duck?"
"You name it, I hate it. Now go away."
Treize whipped out his gun, but to no avail, for the green thing had almost disappeared inside the trashcan,
but then
"Hello every-bod-eeeee!"
The green thing stared at the blob of blue that came into view. "SuperGrover!"
"Yes, the world cutest moster, SuperGrover! in the name of justice... er no, that's Sailor Moon's line.. nevermind! Oscar, hand the rubber duck back to the gentleman over there."
"Scram!" the green monster called Oscar said.
"Oh no you don't. for SuperGrover is here to save the day."
**
A few fights later, between two furry beings, it seemed that Oscar was winning, but SuperGrouch had the Ultimate Oscar defeater: Maria's voice recording. For those who don't know, Oscar was actually quite fond of Maria and SlimeyWorm.
Hearing Maria's so-called call, Oscar dropped the rubber duckie with a squeak and slipped into his trashcan, trying to look presentable.
Grover, er, SuperGrover, gave the now stinking rubber duck to the gaping butler who then scrub and wash and clean the yellow duck until it shines again, and gave it back to a very happy Treize.
From then on, the rubber duckie was placed in a locked glass cabinet, that could not be penetrated by any force whatsoever, not even a Gundam blast can destroy it.
And all ends well, for everyone.
~QUACK!
Rubber Duckie Arc (5)
Songfic: Rubber Duckie
sung by: Ernie, from Sesame St.
/Rubber Duckie, you're the one,
You make bathtime lots of fun,
Rubber Duckie, I'm awfully fond of you;/
Treize sat in his tub, surrounded by his favourite rose scented bubble, cheerfully playing with Quackie.
"Treize.." there's Milliard too.
"Sir.." and Lady Une.
And... "Hello every-bod-eeeee!" Grover, the one who saved the day, I mean saved Rubber Duckie from the evil clutches of Oscar.
Suddenly.. "Gimme back!"
All heads turned to the doorway and saw a really sad looking dejected.. er.. what's his name already?
"Ernie!" Grover exclaimed. "Why? what happened?"
Ernie didn't say anything but lunged forward and grabbed Quackie from Treize's hands. "Rubber Duckie!" he smiled and squished the rubber duck, creating squeaky noises.
"Eh, excuse me sir, that's my Rubber Duckie, you must have been mistaken." Treize said.
Ernie examined the yellow duck, "Yeah, I am sorry." and he gave it back to Treize.
(woh woh, bee doh!)
/Rubber Duckie, joy of joys, When I squeeze you, you make noise! Rubber Duckie, you're my very best friend, it's true!/
"Oh what must I do now?"
"Ernie?" a figure came into view. This time, Treize could do nothing but suck the air in awe. Even he, the Forked-Eyebrowed-Doom couldn't match the new comer and his one eyebrow, and his monotoneous serious air.
"Be.. bert?" Ernie looked around, "He's not here, my rubber duckie's not here."
"I think I know where it is," Grover said.
"Where? I think I can't live without my rubber duckie." Ernie said.
"Oh no, I am still your friend," Bert said.
"yes, I think I know where your rubber duckie is, good sir," Treize said.
"Oh tell me please."
(doo doo doo doooo, doo doo)
/Every day when I
Make my way to the tubby
I find a little fella who's
Cute and yellow and chubby/
They walked to the back yard, where the trashcan leading to Grouch World is.
"I think, the green man, er.. Oscar, took your rubber duckie. Because he took mine once."
"Why would Oscar want my rubber duckie anyway?" Ernie was amused.
"I don't know, but we shall find out," Zechs said.
By then, Lady Une and Bert were busy comforting the dejected Ernie.
"I always have my rubber duckie near me, we are good friends, we never leave each other, my cute rubber duckie."
Then he heard, "Hey Ernie, is this rubber duckie yours?" that's Grover.
Ernie looked up and saw Oscar and Grover fighting for the possession of a rubber duckie, and Ernie could spot his rubber duckie from miles away. "Yes! Yes, that's my rubber duckie."
"Haha, nope, its mine now," said Oscar.
"Oh no you don't," Zechs said, "Or I shall call Slimey and Maria here and let them scold you."
"OH no, please don't. Here!" Oscar flung the yellowish duck towards Ernie, "now scram!"
(rub-a-dub-a-dubby!)
/Rubber Duckie, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber Duckie, I'm awfully fond of you./
"My rubber duckie, its back now!" Ernie jumped up and down with joy.
"Very good indeed." Treize said. "Now if you don't mind, we still have a very important appointment to keep." and he walked into the mansion followed by the others.
"My rubber duckie, my rubber duckie.." Ernie said, hugging his rubber duckie, and will never ever let it go again.
/Rubber Duckie, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber duckie, I'm awfully fond of -
Rubber duckie, I'd like a whole pond of -
Rubber duckie I'm awfully fond of you!/"Hey, not faaaaiiirr!!" Zechs wailed, "Why must you guys always pick on me?"
Everyone shrugged, and Treize and Ernie launched the ultimate Double Duckie Peck Combo against Monster Zechs, and rescue Princess Une. SuperGrover to the rescue, helping the monotoneous court pigeon feeder, Monotonous squabius aka. Bert.
Water everywhere, bubbles everywhere, laughter everywhere. Until bedtime comes.
Lady Une had long retreated to her beauty sleep and SuperGrover went to help one of the Leaping Sheep (you know those sheep that you count when you can't sleep) apparently one got stuck on the fence and obstruct the Leaping Sheep traffic.
Ernie and Bert were given a suite with two King Size beds and a very snug cover and pillows. Treize tucked the two to sleep and blew off the lights, and walked to the direction of the door where Zechs was leaning to the doorframe, head tilted to one side, smiling.
Then a hug. "Well, lets go and have our *own* night." and a small kiss on the forehead, and they closed the door carefully behind them.
Vaguely they could hear: "Hey, Bert old buddy? Are you asleep?"
"Er-nie!"
"Hey, Bert? What are we going to do tomorrow?"
"Er-nie!"
(doo doo, be doo.)
QUACK!
~
<>< JejeFish!
Another Rubber Duckie fic. this one is done by Vries. its angst now.. err.. Deathfic too. Okay. So its not by JejeFish, JejeFish is only posting this.. kay?
By Vries.
-----------
NOTES: As per my promise, I think... never mind. and for my rubber duckie that can't float anymore.
A bit mushy, or sappy, I think depends on who reads this.
Oh yeah, Uhm, not the best time to actually posted this one up. this is depressing, I warned you. I mean after being depressed on the GW on Cartoon Network (thats what I take from all the posts)...
oh yah, AU too
Once Upon A Time by Vries
based on: Once Upon A DecemberZechs rummages into his box of belongings, the room was barren and the wooden flooring creaked softly beneath his feet. He had just moved in. The war was now over. The colonies, the earth, the peace, all had been acquired. It was now time to start a fresh page of life. And he moved to a secluded place, far away from Sanc, far away from the world, far away from memories.
So he chose an old mansion on top of a hill. This mansion was once a church, or so he was told. It was a place surrounded by green. The scent of perpetual spring. A perfect place to recede into oblivion.
The fireplace flickered lazily, crackling once in a while, and warming the place up gradually. He pulled out a medium sized cream box, and opened the cover. Inside, laid the red fabric of his military jacket, underneath, the set of decorations from war. He touched the fabric lightly, and sighed. He set the box aside and retrieved a smaller box. He ran his fingers melancholically on the soft velvet, and opened the lid slowly. Inside was the impeccable gold band that Treize had given to him. That too he set aside carefully.
Then his eyes caught the flickering flames and hesitated for a while. Deft hands replaced the two boxes neatly into the large cardboard box, where the other memorial things were. Things that were painful reminder of Treize, things that he so lovingly kept.
He never knew that he was to part with them. He never knew he was to part with Treize, he never knew that these were the aftermath of the strings of his most precious memories. However much he tried to deny it.
He trod the floor, feeling the cool wooden floor shifted slightly beneath him. And slowly he set the box down, beside the fireplace, and he sat crosslegged, his fingers toying absently with a metal poker.
After much reverie, he took the small red velvet box again. Treize had always said he looked good in red. He caressed the box one more time, before mechanically dropping it into the fireplace. He didn't even open it. It was just too burdensome.
I love you.
Then the box with his service uniform. The red that Treize adored. The flames claimed it too, with severe hunger and intensity. It blazed. More fiery.
I love you.
Items after items disappeared in the flames, and time backtracked. Memories after memories dissolved into ashes. Time backtracked into the days of their adolescent, before they got involved into the gruelsome war.
He picked up a laminated plastic, with a stem of blood coloured rose. A rose from Treize on their first kiss. He had dried it with care and preserved it. The memories of the kiss suddenly surfaced. It had been years since, but it felt like yesterday. He touched his lips briefly, and the rose. And that too was devoured by the hungry flames.
Then, a one-legged Mecha replica. A christmas present from Treize. It used to have two legs, but it fell from the third floor balcony, when he carelessly knocked it over. He, in reflex, reached out to catch it as it flung down in speed and gravity. He might have fallen over, had Treize not caught his hands, and jerked him away from the balcony and hugged him tight. Albeit involuntarily. He could still hear his blood rushing and his heart beating fast. The close proximity between him and Treize.
The flame now took possession of it. Another memory gone.
The contents in the box diminished as the flames grew wilder, the room became humid. Zechs reached to the box and drew it closer, and there he saw, at the bottom of the box, alone, a fading yellow of his childhood.
He reached out and took the earliest memory of his childhood with Treize with trembling hands, as memories flooded in. The sensation of the clammy rubber felt most intimate. He had once thought he had lost it, but no, the oldest memory still stayed behind, buried under all other memories, there, at the most bottom of his existance, waiting patiently for him to find it again.
The memories were vague. He was what? six years old, when Treize gave him this. He clenched it in his hand, and he stood, walked out of the room towards the bathroom.
***
Zechs sat on the side of the tub, watching clear steamy water ran from the tap. His hands played lightly with the yellow rubber duck in his hands. The colour faded. The bright yellow colour turned sickly pale, the once briliant blue paint that constitutes the eyes faded. All in all the duck was in a sad state.
<"Here..." Treize handed a box with a rather garish red bow on it.>
It was snowing that day. Christmas day, his first Christmas with Treize, they had just known each other for three months then. He looked up curiously at the older boy.
<"Open it..." the ginger haired boy urged.>
Zechs remembered his hesitation in opening the box, and then he found, nestled in the middle of soft pastel coloured tissue. A bright yellow rubber duck. He tried to stiffle a smile.
<"Don't laugh..." Treize cuts him off, "Thats the only thing I can get you with my allowance I saved up.." and the ginger haired boy blushed.>
Zechs remembered vaguely that he embraced his newfound friend. Touched at the straightforwardness and sincerity of the older one.
As the water slowly filled the tub, Zechs thoughts flew back to the earliest reaches of his memory. He remembered the water wars, how they used to pounce each other over the rubber ducky, how they used to fight over it, how the catch and throw... or just merely watching the rubber ducky floated on the waters, in the bath, or on the streams.
The water soon filled the tub, and with one flick of the wrist he turned it off. He placed the faded rubber duck carefully on the not-so-still waters and saw bubbles began to form.. He frowned. And he witnessed the rubber duck became heavier with water seeping into it, from unseen holes.
And he witnessed it sinking.
And touched the bottom of the tub.
And he felt his life sinking as well.
From happiness to sadness.
From love to nothingness.
He can't feel a thing. His life plunged like the rubber duck. Holes of guilt and shame, of regrets, of senseless and wishful thinking had managed to take him down.
His eyes caught the sight of his razor on the sink, and for once he thought dying would be nice.
***
The coroners found him, hours later... the tub was of red blood water. Relena was the one who found her lifeless brother when she decided to call over and check on her brother.
As they carried the body out from the bathroom, Relena spotted a yellowish tinge at the bottom of the red water. Not thinking she fished it out, her hands red with her brother's blood. She frowned, at the sad rubber duck in her hands. Bathed in red.
***
Somewhere far above, life went on. Where hope of childhood were fulfilled. A life with no more deaths. A love amended.
On earth, the funeral procession was magnificent. The death of the Prince of Sanc. His resting place was elaborate, beautiful, and of the blackest and toughest marble. Red Roses, red as blood. Zechs always looked good in black.
And in the middle of the myriad of red, a yellow one, and a small box. Inside, wrapped in pastel tissues, the faded yellow memory, coated with dried blood. A testimony of childhood dreams.
Up there, somewhere, those dreams came through.
***
"Dancing bears
painted wings
things I almost remember
and a song someone sings
once upon a decembersomeone holds safe and warm
horses prance through a silver storm
figures dancing gracefully
across my memoryfar away
long ago
glowing dim as an ember
things my heart used to know
once upon a decembersomeone holds me safe and warm
horses prance through a silver storm
figures dancing gracefully
across my memoryfar away
long ago
glowing dim as an ember
things my heart used to know
things it yearned to remember
and a song someone sings
once upon a december"
Once Upon a December
OST Anastasia
sung by Deana Carter~VIDLC