29 Jun 2001
TITLE: Velvet
AUTHOR: Kat & kumi!
PART: 39/42
FANDOM: Gundam Wing
PAIRING: A puddle of Treize, Zechs and Wufei
WARNINGS: lemon, lemon, lemmmmon!
DISCLAIMER: Not ours. *sigh* ^_~
"Does he *own* you?" Mari asked, nose wrinkling a little at the idea.
Wufei, sprawled on the bed in the spare room, was stroking the cat. "You say that like it's something horrible, by in my case it isn't."
"How could it *not* be horrible?"! she said in protest.
"Well, because *sometimes* 'being free' is dangerous and scary and bound to kill you. He took me in off the streets, took care of me when no one else in the world wanted anything to do with me, including my family. He was like an angel - like he was sent from heaven just in time." He felt his cheeks color a little and then added, "It was like he was sent from heaven to me... How is that horrible?"
"It..." Her words drifted off, as her father's story -- the one he'd passed off as a fairy-tale of sorts -- came back to her mind. "I guess not. Father says he did the same for him." She looked pensive for a moment, little brows drawing together. "How can he love you both?"
A small sliver of pain went through him at her words. He had gotten Zechs all to himself for a week and it had been complete heaven. Now he'd have to share again and all the anxieties about Treize stealing Zechs away were ready to rush in.
"I... I don't know, to tell you the truth," he said, smiling a little sadly at her. "But you know, he's always been different from other people... never one to do things the way everyone else does. Maybe that's why..."
"Why's he so.... different?" Mari asked, moving closer to pet the cat, too.
Wufei shrugged lightly, keeping his eye on the cat. "He just... likes things to be... more intense than most people. He likes having *lots* of money and *lots* of houses and flats, and *lots* of pretty things around him... He really loves *owning* things - likes knowing he's responsible for them, for their care... houses, cars, companies... most of all people."
"So he's a giant pack rat?" Mari asked, looking up at him as he petted the cat.
Wufei laughed and threw a bed pillow at her. "No! Not at all! I mean... pack rats just pile everything up and treat all their belongings as if they had the same value. No, Zechs... Zechs is more of a... an art lover. He cherishes the things he owns and likes to see them looking their best. He likes taking care of them, of making sure they... *glow* from the inside..." He ducked his head, looking down at the cat again. "That's why people... people like me... are happy to be *his.* We love the idea that someone so beautiful sees us as treasures, I guess."
He tilted his head and looked over at her. "What do *you* think about him? From what your father told you, and from what you've seen?"
"I... don't know," she mused quietly. "He seems... *nice*, I guess. And you seem nice, too -- but Anne was nice, so that can't be why father wanted to come all the way up here. He says he's completely in love with Zechs, but that means mushy stuff. Ugh. But even if there is Mushy stuff, I think Zechs is okay... He kinda looks like Relena."
Wufei made a face. "He does?? Well, she must have changed since I last saw her, but she was probably 14 or 15 then." He paused, not knowing quite what to say. "She always seemed... a little strange to me..."
Mari looked surprised. "So... she *is* his sister?!" was her exclamation, disbelief strong in it.
Wufei nodded. "Sure is. I don't know how someone like Zechs could have a sister like that, but it's true... Was she a friend of yours?"
"She's my father's business partner!" Marimeia exclaimed, eyes *wide*.
There was a hesitation, a moment when Wufei tried to register the fact. Treize... had a practice with *Relena*? A stupid but persistent thought came then and refused to go away: Treize's ties with the Peacecrafts were nearly as strong as Wufei's, particularly given the fact that Zechs had, for all intents and purposes, cut his ties with his family years ago.
/They have more connecting them than I realized... oh god.../
To Mari, he said, "Oh - I didn't know that. That's kind of strange, isn't it? Small world..."
Mari shifted, petting the cat. "Very strange. No one was really happy that he was leaving Bonn to be *here*," she sighed. "Relena talked about putting Father 'away', so maybe it's better to be here."
"Putting him *away*?" /Damn, I know he's competition, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone.../
He frowned in thought stroking his hand down the velvety tail of the cat. "If you ask me, Relena doesn't sound nice at all... to say something like that about your father..."
"I didn't think so, either," she sighed, looking up at him. "So, you're happy here? With Zechs? And Father will be happy here, too?"
He smiled at her again. "Well, I don't know if I can speak for your father, but I'm *very* happy with him... and Treize... well, I know that he really loves Zechs and it's hard to be happy unless you're with the person that you really love. Don't you think so?"
Small fingers knotted for a moment in the cat's fur, before stroking gently again. "Maybe. Maybe Father'll spend all his time with Zechs, and none with me."
"No," Wufei shook his head firmly, "he wouldn't do that. He left Zechs to go to Bonn to get you, even though he knew it really hurt Zechs to do it." /And don't think I'm not still angry with you, Treize... and at some point you're going to hear about it.../
The cat gave one long stretch, her forepaws touching Wufei's knees, her back paws touching Marimeia. Then she stood, gracefully, and jumped off the bed, disappearing around the door to parts unknown. Wufei looked over at the red-headed girl. "You know, your Father tried to get in touch with you earlier, but the men who had him before Zechs wouldn't let him. When he came to our house it was clear to Zechs that part of getting him over what those animals did to him would mean letting him contact you. That's why you got those letters. Treize cares about you so much he was willing to get hurt trying to contact you..."
"Really?" Marimeia kept looking up at Wufei, curious. "I wouldn't like him to get hurt... but those letters helped a lot."
"And he knew they would, that why it was so important to him to send them... and that's why Zechs *let* him do it... because he could see that it meant the world to him..."
/And someone tell me why I'm up here, defending him to his daughter while he's down there getting it from the Master.../
"But why... *own* people at all, if he's so nice. He shouldn't have to buy friends," Mari pointed out, though more softly than other things she'd pointed out.
/Oh, fuck - how to explain this to a nine-year-old... Shouldn't her father be doing this...?/
He tried not to smile as he looked up at her. "Well, we're not exactly 'friends' and Zechs has lots of friends that aren't his slaves... I think this is something your Father needs to explain things to you. Why don't you go down and ask him?"
Blue eyes looked up at him openly, and she shook her head. "He's doing mushy things with Zechs. and I kinda know what type of 'friends' you both are with Zechs."
"Well, then the answer to your question might lie in the fact that Zechs gave your father his freedom. He did the same to me, but I didn't really take it. I didn't want to."
Wufei stretched out on his back, his head pointed towards her, his stocking feet on the headboard, and look at her upside down. "I know it might be hard to understand, but there are people, people like me, who love the idea of being 'owned' by someone like Zechs. It makes us feel happy - feel safe to know he's in charge of us. He protects me... he protected Treize... and I think your father still likes that idea."
"Of being protected?" Mari asked in slight confusion. "Father's never really liked being bossed around."
Wufei shrugged, or the closest thing to it while lying down. "All I know is he was really happy with Zechs. Maybe I'm wrong... or maybe he changed while he was here. But that's definitely one to ask your *father*, not *me.* So... how did he do in Bonn? After he got back, I mean?"
"He wasn't happy," she sighed. "He talked about you and Zechs, and you, and Zechs, and Zechs some more, and broke the engagement with Anne, saw a doctor and decided to come back here."
That surprised Wufei. He had thought that Treize went back to Bonn because he felt comfortable there, but that wasn't the picture being painted by his daughter.
"Sounds like a really fun time," he drawled ironically. "And how did you handle all of that?"
"I liked being with Anne and my friends, but..." She trailed off, looking out the door. "I want father to be happy. I can make new friends. I can't get a new Father."
He rolled over on his stomach and looked up at her, his chin propped in his hand. "That's a pretty grown-up way of thinking about things, Marimeia," he said softly. "I'm very impressed - you're quite an amazing person."
She blushed a little, and smiled -- a real smile, though small. "Thank you. It's just... father really wasn't happy in Bonn."
"I know," he said, "that's why I'm impressed. You could see that, and it was important enough for you to give up things you liked to see him happy. To me that means you have a really great relationship with him."
That same smile again, and she looked at him this time, instead of the doorway. "He'd do it for me."
He smiled back, a flash of white in the caramel skin. "You're lucky that way, you know. Some people don't have families like that."
"But your family *here* is like that, isn't it?"
"Well," he said in a wry tone, "my family here is Zechs! So, yes, I suppose you're right. I would do anything for him and," /god... I think... I hope.../ "he would probably do anything for me... just like he'd do anything for your father, I believe... and he might just start feeling that way about *you*!"
He pointed a finger at her, his eyebrows raising comically. "And if he *does*... you'd better be prepared. 'Cause when *Zechs* latches on to someone, he means it!"
She laughed, a bit uneasily, but still laughed. "We'll see about *that*! I run myself!" she smirked. "You can ask father that..." she trailed off, looking to the door again. "Do you think he's done being mushy...?"
/Oh, what to say, what to say.../
"Well, I think if we don't go down there pretty soon? They'll get *very, very, very* mushy indeed. And then I'd have to lock you in your bedroom for the rest of the night so you wouldn't see things you're not suppose to see... if you know what I mean... which, actually, I hope you don't..."
"Then lets go?" she asked, sliding down the bed onto her feet, starting towards the door.
"Definitely." Wufei sat up and slid off the bed, padding over to the door and opening it. From the front room, down below them, came soft sounds of pleasure that made him want to clap his hands over Marimeia's ears.
"Uhhhnnn... Treize... beautiful man..."
"Ahhn.... God, I've missed you. Missed this... Mmm..."
Marimeia's eyes were *wiiiiiiide* as she looked up to Wufei.
He gave her what he knew must be a pathetic smile. /Damn it all - why *me*??/
"Ahem, Zechs? Treize? It's getting late. What should we do about dinner... and getting Marimeia to bed at a reasonable hour?" Wufei smiled over at her as he held a hand to his ear in a theatrical gesture of listening to what might come from the lower floor.
Treize cursed softly in Russian, before calling, "Uh, I'll be up in a moment!" Then, in a softer whisper, "here, let me help put that... away, Zechs."
For several moments there wasn't a reply and then Zechs called up, "Wufei - why don't you come down and help me make dinner."
"And me...?" Mari called down, peeking past Wufei.
"I'll be up in a second to help settle you in!" Treize called up.
Wufei gave her a soft pat on the back. "See you at dinner, okay?"
"Okay," she sighed, smiling again as her father started to come up the steps. His face was decidedly flushed.
She looked at him skeptically. "You look funny, Father - and I don't mean amusing."
"It's nothing to worry about," he murmured as Wufei went down the stairs. "Did Wufei show you your room while we're here?"
"Yes, and there was a cat on the bed when we came up. We petted it for a while and then it disappeared somewhere." She sat down on the bed again and looked up at him with frank blue eyes. "So what were you doing down there that whole time? Kissing Zechs?"
The flush on his face deepened as he lifted her suit-case up onto the bed. "Yes. Does that bother you, Mari...?"
She kicked the mattress absently a couple of times, thinking about how to answer. "Well, it's not so much that it bothers me... it's just really strange. I mean, Anne *really* wanted to kiss you and you didn't seem to want to kiss her at all. So... is it just that Zechs is prettier than Anne?"
"In... ways," Treize sighed as he opened Mari's suit-case. "For starters, I *like* kissing him more than I liked kissing Anne. There's more than just prettiness to it, Mari. What I feel for him makes it better than kissing anyone else."
"Do you still want him to own you?"
Startled eyes looked down at her, Treize's expression questioning. "Why do you ask that?"
"Because you like to wear that collar... and because you wanted to come back to him so much. It just seems... I don't know, like you like having him taking care of you..."
"I... do," Treize murmured, "In some ways. I still like to be my own person and make my own choices but... it's like..." his lips thinned as he tried to gather the words together, before saying in German, "[It's like I take care of you, Mari, in a way. You are still your own person, but you *know* without a doubt, that I'll always be there for you, if you need me.] It's like that with Zechs. It's support and caring, and love."
"So... you see him like your father? But you're a grown up - I don't understand."
"I... not like my *father* -- like my protector," Treize sighed, sitting down beside her. "You like to eel safe, right, Mari? You like to be surrounded by familiar or favorite things to make you feel better on bad days. Well, being with Zechs gives me those same feelings of being safe and loved."
She ducked her head at his words and kicked the mattress again. "I thought that's what family was for... I thought you felt safe with me... and with Anne."
"Mari..." he spoke softly, pulling her close for a hug, "I do feel safe with you -- I'll always feel safe with you. But... I feel safe with Zechs in a different way than I do with you -- it's a slightly sexual way."
"But I thought you felt that with Anne. You've been with her for a long time."
"Anne... felt like being with a sister, Mari," Treize admitted at last. "It felt... a little gross sometimes."
She raised sleek red eyebrows at him. "And you never told her that?"
He shrugged slowly. "I couldn't think of how, and I'd thought, at the time, that maybe it was normal."
A heavy sigh escaped her. "So... how long are we staying here? Does he even have a real house? What about school? And... what about *Christmas*? It's only a three weeks away."
"I know," Treize murmured, hugging her closer for a moment. "He does have a real house. It's outside of London... After Christmas I'll put you in a school. We'll still have Christmas -- tree and all!"
"At least Wufei seems nice," she grumbled.
"He is, and so is Zechs," Treize murmured.
"So what's for dinner?"
"I..." Treize kissed the top of her head. "I think rice, carrots and some sort of meat. How does that settle with you?"
She leaned into him, head resting on his chest. "Okay, I guess." Then she slipped arms around him and buried her face against him. "Father..."
"Everything will be all right," he soothed, stroking her hair gently. "I promise."
"I hope so," she whispered. "I really hope so..."
"There's no reason for it to not be okay, Mari," Treize uttered softly, pulling back a little. "Now, do you want to help me unpack your things? When we get back to England, we can call Anne and have her send everything else."
"All right," she said, standing up and opening the suitcase. She pulled out shirts and socks and pants and began putting them into the drawers of the little dresser against the far wall. "There sure is a lot of snow here."
"We had snow back home, too," he reminded her gently, helping put those clothes away.
"Not this much.." She put a stack of clothing away and then turned to look at him. "So... am I going to be living with all of his slaves?"
Treize's expression looked stricken. "No!" he startled, giving the most truthful answer he could. He and Zechs hadn't spoken of that... and they'd still have to. "I'm not sure where you and I will be -- I still need to talk with him about that, but it won't be as slaves, Mari."
"But we'll be living there *with* him, right? And all of his slaves are going to be there too. Like Wufei - he's a slave. Will I have to stay in my bedroom so I don't see them doing... whatever it is they do together?"
"No," Treize murmured, sighing quietly. /Hadn't thought so much about that..../ "Most of the slaves there just have *jobs* that they do -- like Duo. He's the chef. Or Trowa, and he fixes *everything*."
"Did you have a job?"
"Mmm-hmm -- I did research and... acted like a personal butler," he smiled. "I helped a lot on business contracts."
"And you liked that better than being a *lawyer*?" It was clear from the tone in his daughter's voice that she herself found the idea ridiculous.
"Yes." Treize himself was startled by the authority he put behind his own voice when he said that. "I can't do that anymore, Mari -- I'm... I'll admit I'm scared to do it, and I can't *act* the same way I used to."
"So he changed you? He made it so you're not the same person?"
"No, Mari -- I'd already... been changed when I got to Zechs. He helped me get back to where I am now." He tried to sound assuring to his daughter ,but had no idea how effective it was or wasn't.
She frowned at him and then shook her head. "I don't think I'll *ever* understand grown ups," she muttered. "Do you think dinner is ready? I'm *hungry.*"
"I think..." His lips compressed in that expression he'd never had before coming back from being with Zechs, and he nodded, grasping Mari's hand in his. "Come on -- let's go see if it *is* ready."
Downstairs the chicken was baking in the oven. Zechs was leaning against a counter, trying to judge how Wufei was taking Treize's sudden arrival. "Talk to me, sweet one," he said softly but firmly. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
He looked at Zechs for a moment, before asking, "Are you going to get rid of me, Zechs? Now that *he* came back...?"
"No!" Zechs reached across the space between them and pulled Wufei into his arms. He nuzzled his way past the other man's silky hair to the warm, caramel skin below it. Kissing the tender spots he knew so well, he murmured, "Why would you ask such a question? I love you..."
Coupling those words with those kisses was deadly to Wufei, and he could only shudder at first, groping for words to reply with. "I love you, too." No more questioning without proof or reason... "Only, I don't want to be ignored..."
"Mmmmn... look at you," Zechs breathed, pulling back enough to brush his lips against Wufei's. "How could I possibly ignore you...?"
"I hope you never can," Wufei sighed happily against those lips. "What would Treize think of... the three of us...?" Black brows rose and fell a little, almost wiggling.
"Well," Zechs murmured, "we'll just have to ask him, won't we...?" The scent of the younger man was too tempting and Zechs leaned in further to take his mouth in a long, sweet kiss.
"We were wondering if dinner... was ready...." Treize trailed off as he and Mari entered the kitchen -- it wasn't a startled sort of 'trailed off' -- only the sort that signaled he knew neither of them were listening.
"I thought you loved my *father*!!" Mari shouted, taking a step into the kitchen.
Zechs and Wufei both jumped and turned towards the doorway, eyes wide at the unexpected protest. Zechs looked up at Treize, then down at the girl and stammered, "I... I *do* love... your father..."
"Mari, he loves Wufei, too, and I've told you that," Treize murmured in a quiet tone to his daughter, while Wufei nodded, not moving from where he stood.
"We share," Wufei said.
The girl rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her. "Grown ups make no sense at *all*! Father never had to share *Anne* with anyone," she said looking at Zechs, her tone one of accusation.
The tall blond frowned a bit, not sure what to say. "Marimeia, I really do love both of them. I know you think it a bit unusual, perhaps, but I can promise you that I care about your father very deeply. I would never want to hurt him... or you, and my love for Wufei doesn't change that."
"And when you're a senseless adult, Mari," Treize added, you'll be able to see the benefits of it," he spoke plainly, smiling some as he did so. "There's more love to go around for all of us since Zechs loves Wufei, too."
"It's not something that splits, Mari -- it grows," Wufei said, slipping away to check on the rice for a moment.
"I didn't know you cooked, Wufei," Treize mused.
"What?" Wufei said, "You think Maxwell actually has *talent*? I taught him everything he knows..." He looked up and saw Zechs sitting back in his chair, sleek blond eyebrows raised. "Oh, okay - I taught him everything he knows about Asian cooking."
Zechs chuckled. "Duo will do very well, I imagine. I've given him his freedom as well, but he wants to stay on for awhile to get more experience. He and Heero will be sharing a room."
"You're getting rid of your slaves?" Mari asked, before Treize could.
Zechs looked over at Treize briefly and then back to the girl. "Yes, I am," he said softly. "You see, Marimeia, when I realized that I was in love with your father, and then realized that I was also in love with Wufei, I realized that loving them didn't fit very well with keeping slaves..."
"Good," Marimeia approved, picking up her fork. "I didn't want to see people being kept as slaves."
"I'm surprised, Zechs," Treize uttered, eyebrows nearly into his hairline. "But... I think it was a good decision." and a comfort, that it would just be he and Wufei, and no other slaves to worry about being with Zechs.
A frown, only half-joking, appeared on Zechs's face. "Well, I'm glad the Khushrenada's approve of my actions." In reality, the dominating part of his personality chafed against the idea that Mari was dictating what he would do in his own house, but then he told himself that his life would be different and he needed to get used to it. /We're going to have to work on that attitude.../
Treize's smile was a little sheepish, "Not that I'd have really been bothered the other way." A glance to Mari, gaze a little darker, "They're good people, Mari -- it's a title, not something to be scorned."
Pacified somewhat, Zechs tucked into his chicken. Wufei turned to Marimeia. "Do you like to ski? There's a great stretch of woods just to the north of the cabin. Zechs and I were planning on going tomorrow." He smiled hesitantly at her. "Want to go with us?"
"Oh! can I?" she smiled, looking at her father.
"We'll see," Treize replied. It all depended how the night went... and how sore he was.
"There are a lot of old skis in the little shed outside," Wufei continued. "I'm sure we could find some your size, and who knows... maybe even some big enough for your father." The Chinese man looked up at Treize with a little smirk. "Does your father ski, Marimeia?"
"No," he cut her off before she could go and tell them about some of his skiing follies. "Not at all. But I can ice skate, and that *has* to count for something, neh?"
"Excellent," Zechs murmured sitting back with his champagne glass. "We also have a small lake nearby - very sheltered. I believe I fancy a moonlight skate..." He glanced across the table at Treize and gave him a look designed to melt the butter in it's tiny dish.
"I'd fancy that, too," Treize murmured, melting in ways the butter couldn't. Oh, it was so wonderful to have and be back with Zechs again.
"Wonderful," Wufei couldn't help but smile a little. "Now... eat? Both of you -- it's not Duo's cooking, but it's still good.."
The meal continued, the conversation getting easier bit by bit, and when they were through Zechs looked over at Treize, his expression one of barely restrained hunger. "Goodness it's late... just look at the time..."
Mari glanced over at Wufei and just rolled her eyes.
"Well, Mari.... he's right, and that means--"
"That it's time to go to bed," she interrupted him, pushing her empty plate away and sliding down from her chair. "Do I get a story tonight...?"
Zechs smiled down into the last of his champagne and relented. "Well, I suppose it's not *that* late. By all means, Miss Marimeia, drag your father upstairs and make him tell you a *good* one."
Treize was already standing, and grinned a little at Wufei and Zechs. "Don't wait up for me, then -- I'll be down soon enough." Then, to Mari, "how about the rest of the last story I told you...?"
His daughter tilted her head, staring at him, then looked back at Zechs and Wufei. They looked back at her in puzzlement. "All right, Father. I'd be very interested in hearing the end of that particular story."
Having indicated her approval, she headed towards the stairs but then stopped and turned back to the men at the table.
"Good night, Wufei. Good night... Zechs."
In an instant she'd ducked her head and was racing up the stairs.
"I'll be back soon," Treize murmured, before padding quietly up the stairs after her.
End of Chapter 39
(:./kumiko/velvet39)
