10 Jun 2000
Here's the next installment of Perfect Days. Warnings for graphic yaoi. ^_^
DISCLAIMER: All Gundam Wing characters are property of Sunrise, Bandai Visuals, Sotsu Agency, and Asahi TV. This work is not written for profit, but for entertainment purposes only.
Pairing: 13x6/6x13
WARNING: YAOI - juicy citrus scene; sap; angst-in-the-shower; a confrontation
A frustrated groan left Treize, and he shifted deeper into the blankets, as if it would make it all better. "My aide-de-camp -- the secretary I wrote you about."
"The one who tried to seduce you? And she's followed you here?" Zechs looked over at the burrowing man, who was obviously in deep denial. He smiled, then jumped out of bed. "Fear not, sir! I'll take care of her for you!" he said in a bold voice and reached for his robe.
Treize, suddenly without Zechs there in his arms, looked up, smiling. "What are you going to do, Milliard?"
"Why, go down and find out what she wants, of course! I will listen, very politely, then tell her in my most chivalrous voice to go away and let you spend your leave in peace." As he finished speaking he cinched the belt on his robe decisively and smiled innocently at Treize. "Anything else you'd like me to tell her, sir?"
"That she needs to find a hobby," Treize murmured, shifting deeper into the bed. "You must come back straight away, though, and get back in bed."
The blond saluted the lump under the sheets and turned to head downstairs. He encountered Treize's butler coming out of the room, who eyed his dress with no little trepidation. "The Count is sleeping. I'll see to Lady Une. Please take me to her."
They walked in silence down the great front stairs while Zechs smoothed his hair and tucked it neatly behind his ears. The butler ushered Zechs into the large sitting room near the front of the house. The boy walked in, back very straight. "How very nice to meet you, Lady Une" he said smoothly, saluting her. "I am Second Lieutenant Zechs Marquise, and I am staying here with Lt. Colonel Khushrenada during his leave."
Une was a girl of perhaps a little older than Zechs, with a serious face, and full uniform. Soft brown hair was pulled back from her face in a low plait, tied with a small red bow at the end. "Lieutenant Marquise, I am here on urgent business -- there are papers that the Colonel must deal with."
"Very good, ma'am. I'll see to it that he gets them." Zechs gracefully held out a hand for the papers.
Une looked petulant, and disdainful of Zechs. "I am sorry, Lieutenant --but my orders were to hand deliver them to him."
Zechs dropped his hand. "Ah. Well, *my* orders came from the Colonel himself. He asked that *I* take care of what you came for. He's resting at the moment, and I'm sure that someone like yourself, who knows how hard he has been working of late, would not deny him something that is so necessary to the continuance of his good health. So please Ma'am, leave the papers with me, and I will deliver them to the Colonel."
Her eyes narrowed a little. "The *General* told me to see them to the Colonel's hands."
Zechs smiled pleasantly but also crossed his arms in front of himself, determine to prevent the woman from bothering Treize. "Forgive me, ma'am, I mean no disrespect, but the Colonel informed me that he had cleared all his paperwork before coming to Kiev and that any business arising while he was away was to be handled by Col. Kapra, whom I believe is also stationed at your base. He worked this out *with the General* as I recall. So perhaps you should take your papers back to your base and give them to the man they were intended for. Ma'am."
Une looked as if she were steps away from smacking Zechs. "This is urgent and just came up, and if the colonel would like to remain in his high-ranking post, he'd best sign them."
It was Zechs' turn to narrow his eyes, just a bit, and they gleamed, deep azure, at the woman in front of him. "Are you threatening the Colonel's position, ma'am? I wasn't aware that those in subordinate positions are allowed to decide if their superiors retain their titles. Not only that, but if you are using the question of Colonel Treize's rank to threaten *me* into doing something he expressly told me *not* to do, I would have to say that you were a thoroughly dishonorable woman who obviously doesn't understand the first thing about your commanding officer." He stared at her for a moment, then added softly, "But I'm sure that's not what you meant. Is it ma'am?"
Une looked flustered, for a moment. "The general told me to get the Colonel to sign these papers -- that they were urgent. And then told me that if I couldn't deliver them to him by hand that I must report back to him so a more 'dutiful' officer could be put in his place.
"Ah. Well. Why don't I go ask the Colonel to put in a call to the General from his bed. I'm sure he'll want to verify such unusual orders himself. Shall I do that, ma'am? Shall I have Colonel Khushrenada call the General about your visit here?"
"Yes," she said calmly, "Have him do that, *Lieutenant*."
Zechs saluted the woman sharply and turned to walk up the stairs. /How *can* he stand her as a secretary. I can't see him putting up with that kind of attitude... And I, obviously, was utterly useless against it./
At the top of the stairs, he turned the knob on the bedroom door quietly and peeked into the room, wincing to see Treize still in bed and obviously asleep. /Damn her! If anyone should know that Treize needs time away from work it should be that woman. And I have failed utterly to keep his privacy in tact. I'm worthless to him./
Zechs dropped to one knee beside the bed and lowered his head. "Excuse me sir," he said just loud enough to wake the nobleman, should he be sleeping. "I've failed in my attempt to see to the matter myself. Lady Une is still downstairs and claims that if you do not personally accept the papers she is carrying, the General will give someone else your post. Please accept my very humble apologies, sir, for being unable to complete this without disturbing you."
He knelt there, grateful for his long hair, which hid at least part of his burning cheeks. /Worthless, Zechs. An utter failure. You've no right to be serving under him. No right at all. I'll have to speak with the Admiral privately about getting my assignment changed.../
There was a shift in the blankets of the bed, and then a hand lifted Zechs' chin. "It's all right -- she is, pardon my language, a stubborn bitch. You didn't fail at anything." Treize peering out of the side of the bed, resting on his elbows, with the blankets resting on his shoulders. "Come back in, love -- let her wait a little. I'll claim I was tending to something."
"No sir. I mean, please don't let me detain you, sir. I couldn't live with myself if I thought that I had, in any way, contributed to your losing your title and your post within the Specials." He stood and walked to the communicating door. "I'll get dressed and be in my rooms, sir."
"Milliard Peacecraft, stop this foolishness right now," he murmured, his tone even as he rose from the bed, completely uncaring that he was nude. "My Aide-de-camp's presence will not disturb this vacation. You will do just as you were going to do before her arrival -- act as if she is not here. I will return to you shortly. And we are both off duty -- no titles, my love. I'm Treize to you."
Zechs spun around, hair flying and eyes flashing. "I am *not* being foolish. I am concerned about you and your status within the Specials, which apparently is in danger because of what I just did. It was utterly *stupid* of me to go down there and arrogant to think that anything *I* could say would make one damn bit of difference to her. And now you may be in trouble with your General because of *my* stupidity."
He stood and looked at Treize, a strange mix of anger and anguish in his eyes. "I keep wanting to protect the people I love. And I keep failing at it." He was fighting back tears now, and memories of arguing with Darlian and the other senate members to get them to help him regain his father's kingdom. They had argued him into the ground too. It was all so horribly similar...
He lowered his head slightly. "Please excuse me - Treize." And with that he fled to the relative safety of his room.
And Treize let out a soft curse as the door closed. The man Une met would not be a happy one. He picked up his robe and tied it on, not caring that he smelled like sex, and that Zechs probably had before him -- let Une draw her own conclusions.
The walk down to the 'meeting' hall was fast and illuminated by a handful of lightening flashes. Une rose as he entered. "Sir, I have papers for you t--"
He snatched the folder out of her hand. "Sign. Yes, I know -- and Une, allow me to tell you something. Zechs is my second. So if you're ever again given orders to give something to me, you can give it to him and it is the same thing -- now, leave. I'll fax them to the general."
"Y-yes sir," the young woman managed to say, before heading out into the rain.
Treize headed back upstairs.
Zechs stood in the shower, letting scalding-hot water pound down onto his head until his hair was a heavy curtain down his back. The weight was oddly comforting. Emotions warred within him: anger at Une, fury with his own inability to do anything right, sadness at what had been lost with Treize, despair at the thought of having to request that his post be changed. Somewhere in the torrent of water were tears, but in this hot and steamy place he didn't really have to feel them. So he slid down the cold tile wall and sat, curled up, letting the water take everything away.
"Up, my love," came a soft, familiar voice over the pound of the water. Strong arms pulled the blonde boy to his feet within the shower, and against a strong body. "I was worried when you weren't in my room, or yours. Une's gone now." It was hard to not see the boy's tight, tearful face, and he turned off the shower spray, cradling Zechs against him. "Everything is all right, Milliard... I'm not going to lose my post. The general told her that in jest, and now he has the papers he needs. You didn't do anything wrong."
Zechs shook his head, his face buried in Treize's shoulder. "It *was* wrong, though. I should never have gone down there. I should have stayed up here so she would never have seen me. All that training and I don't even have the sense know not to do something like that."
He paused, trying to slow his breathing a bit and then said quietly, "I'm not a good enough soldier to be working directly under your command. I could put you in jeopardy because of my recklessness, and I would never, ever want to do that to you. So..." He looked up into Treize's face, memorizing it for the time ahead, when they would be apart. "I'm going to ask Admiral Huit to reassign me. I'm not worthy of the post I've been given."
"What?" Treize asked loudly. "No, you will not. You will do no such thing -- you're no risk or danger to me."
"What if your general hadn't been jesting? I could have cost you your position in OZ." He looked down for a moment and frowned. "Not to mention I was insubordinate to a superior officer. There's no excuse for that. You need someone who's better trained than I."
"No, I need someone I can trust," Treize murmured, kissing Zechs' temple. "I need someone I can trust, and I can only trust you, Milliard. Only you."
Zechs felt a wave of desire at the touch of Treize's lips. He looked into the man's eyes for a long moment. "I'm sorry, Treize..."
"Don't apologize, my love -- you were following my orders perfectly and there are times where you will have to over-ride a superior officer to follow those orders. Now," he murmured, "No worrying, and no fretting over something that didn't happen." And then he pressed his lips lightly against Zechs' taking a deep, gentle kiss that bespoke of all the caring he felt for he boy.
/Doing such stupid things... and he still treats me like this. I'll just have to try harder.../ Zechs closed his eyes and slipped his arms around his lover's neck. An unbidden thought came to his mind. /I never want to be farther away from him than I am right now./
The kiss deepened more, then tapered away, slowly. "Let's dry off, Milliard -- I'll restart the fire in my bedroom and then we could, perhaps, finish reading the story in bed?"
Nuzzling against Treize's lips, Zechs felt the tension drain from his body. "Yes," he said softly. "I'd like that."
"Good," Treize purred, stepping out of the shower, taking Zechs with him. So close against him... So warm and perfect.
Treize's arms were warm, but the heavy mass of wet hair down his back made Zechs shiver. "I need to dry my hair first," he said, somewhat shyly. "I don't think you want all this wet stuff drenching the pillows."
"I'll wait," Treize murmured, picking up a towel to sop up as much moisture from Zechs' hair as possible.
Zechs waited for Treize to finish, then picked up the dryer that rested on the sink. For ten minutes he lost himself in the sensual feeling of warm air - on his hair, his skin, the heat causing sensitive nipples to harden deliciously. Eyes closed, head back, a faint smile on his lips, he savored every minute until the long, pale gold strands were completely dry.
"You're beautiful," Treize purred, stroking a hand along Zechs' bare back.
The boy opened his eyes slowly, coming out of heat-induced reverie. "Sorry," he said a little sheepishly. "I tend to get lost when I'm doing that. I'm ready," he said, standing.
"Oh, don't apologize, my love," the older man smiled, looking at his companion. "It was beautiful to watch."
Try as he might, the blush would still not obey his command and once again flooded his cheeks. "Thank you," he said quietly and turned off the light in the small bathroom.
Treize picked up his dressing gown and put it over Zechs' shoulders, still nude as he slid an arm around the boy's waist. "This has been a wonderful vacation, my love."
"Yes. It has been wonderful." Zechs rested his head on Treize's shoulder and relaxed against the warmth he found there.
It only took a moment to reenter his bedroom, and start the fire once more, then guide the comfortably warm boy into bed. There was nothing more delightful than sliding beneath the covers with a lover, and nothing better than actually loving that person.
Zechs had picked up the book and now, with his head resting comfortably on Treize's shoulder, he began reading where they had left off:
"After a year or two, it came to pass that the king's son rode through the forest and passed by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel who, in her solitude, passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound. The king's son wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest and listened to it. Once, when he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress came there, and he heard how she cried,
'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.'
Then rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the enchantress climbed up to her. 'If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I too will try my fortune,' said he, and the next day when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried,
'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.'
Immediately the hair fell down and the king's son climbed up.
"At first rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man, such as her eyes had never yet beheld, came to her. But the king's son began to talk to her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her."
"It's always seemed to me," Zechs offered, "that king's sons in fairy tales are a sappy lot. The only really good thing about them is that there always seems to be one around when the heroine needs him."
"They apparently don't have anything better to do than wait for a damsel in distress to drop into their laps," Treize smiled faintly, looking at the book.
"Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought, 'he will love me more than old dame Gothel does.' And she said 'yes', and laid her hand in his. She said, 'I will willingly go away with you, but I do not know how to get down. Bring with you a skein of silk every time that you come, and I will weave a ladder with it, and when that is ready I will descend, and you will take me on your horse.'
"They agreed that until that time he should come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day. The enchantress remarked nothing of this, until once Rapunzel said to her, 'tell me, dame Gothel, how it happens that you are so much heavier for me to draw up than the young king's son - he is with me in a moment.' 'Ah. You wicked child,' cried the enchantress. ' What do I hear you say? I thought I had separated you from all the world, and yet you have deceived me.' In her anger she clutched Rapunzel's beautiful tresses, wrapped them twice round her left hand, seized a pair of scissors with the right, and snip, snap, they were cut off, and the lovely braids lay on the ground. And she was so pitiless that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in great grief and misery."
"That was a rather bad way to get rid of someone," Treize observed.
"Mmm," Zechs replied. "But I bet Rapunzel's neck felt better with those two-story braids off. Look at those things," he pointed to the picture of two huge golden plaits on the floor of the tower. "Wonder if she got whiplash or something when they did?" He turned the page and went back to reading.
"On the same day that she cast out Rapunzel, however, the enchantress fastened the braids of hair, which she had cut off, to the hook of the window, and when the king's son came and cried,
'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,'
she let the hair down. The king's son ascended, but instead of finding his dearest Rapunzel, he found the enchantress, who gazed at him with wicked and venomous looks.
"Oooh - look at that face," Zechs murmured. "Must of been quite a shock, poor fellow. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes -"
"'Aha,' she cried mockingly, 'you would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest. The cat has got it, and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to you. You will never see her again.' The king's son was beside himself with pain, and in his despair he leapt down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes. Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries, and did naught but lament and weep over the loss of his dearest wife."
Zechs frowned for a moment and looked at the cover of the book. "I remembered this as a happy fairy tale - but it's positively gruesome... wait, there's a last bit here on this page -
"Thus he roamed about in misery for some years, and at length came to the desert where Rapunzel, with the twins to which she had given birth, a boy and a girl, lived in wretchedness."
Zechs mouth fell open. He looked up at Treize, frowning in confusion. "Now how in the world did she get *twins*? They weren't even marri-" He stopped, blushed faintly, and then rolled his eyes. "Oh *now* I see what they were doing up in that tower..."
"It wasn't just her neck that was tired every night," Treize chuckled.
"He heard a voice," Treize continued, "and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it, and when he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck and wept. Two of her tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear again, and he could see with them as before."
Treize paused a moment to gaze upon the vivid picture. It was moving, to see the grief and yet the joy on the woman's face, as she threw herself at the collapsed form of the man. It sent a shiver down his spine, to look upon it, for reasons he couldn't explain.
"He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented."
Zechs reached out and ran a finger over the shining castle, decorated for a royal wedding. Flags with jewel-like colors flew from the towers, a line of horses in ceremonial kit stood on either side of a drawbridge, their riders holding aloft lances with ribbons streaming from them. A crowd of well-wishers wore robes of purple and blue, trimmed with gold, and on the other side of the bridge stood a king, a golden crown on his head, his arms spread in welcome.
Zechs' voice, when he spoke, was barely above a whisper. "If I was still a prince, I would get down on my knees on beg you to marry me. And then I'd take you away to someplace like this and give you the most splendid wedding anyone ever had." He paused for a moment, then added, "And I'd give you anything you desired and love you forever..."
Treize couldn't help but smile. "That's all I want, Milliard -- for you to love me forever. And you are a prince -- you're my prince." The boy's head still rested on his shoulder, and he slid his arms more around the boy's waist, cradling him close. "I don't need a splendid wedding, though it would be nice if there *were* a way to make legal our bond... But I don't care. All I need is to know that you love me, and I do."
Zechs' voice was wistful. "I should like proposing to you, though. I think I would do it in a garden, on a beautiful day." The younger officer was staring off into the distance, a smile playing on his lips, as he described the scene. "And when we were in the very heart of the garden, and no one could see or hear us, I would give you a sheaf of deep, red roses tied with a silver ribbon. And on the end of the ribbon there would be a ring, tied with a love knot." His smile grew. "And then I'd get down on my knees and kiss your hand and beg you to be mine forever..."
Blue eyes looked up into deeper blue, a hint of sparkle in them. "And what would you say, Treize? Would you break my heart? Or would you grant my wish and make me the happiest creature on earth?"
The rich sapphire blue sparkled back. "I wouldn't want to break your heart, Milliard -- I'd say yes, my love. No matter what, I will be yours, and you will be mine."
"Then I'll do it," Zechs said after a moment. "Someday. After the war is over. I'll ask you to marry me. Just like I told you." He felt dizzy -equal parts desire and happiness making the world spin everywhere but in Treize's eyes. And those were calm and sure and he was certain, at that moment, that he had never seen anything more beautiful in all his 13 years.
"Yes -- after the war is over, we can be together without anyone bothering us," Treize murmured softly, taking a gentle kiss. Ah, the boy was so hopeful that it hurt his heart -- that he really thought they'd both survive. Zechs would, surely, but... /Do not think like that. Enjoy yourself./
Zechs' eyelids fluttered as a thin ribbon of electricity passed through him. It seemed to come straight from his thumb, where Treize's tongue was doing something delicious and strangely erotic. The blond felt his cheeks flush again and a small, wondering sound came from deep in his throat as he watched Treize's mouth with rapt attention.
And slowly Zechs' thumb was released, but Treize caught his next digit, taking that one farther than the first one -- and his eyes remained fixed on Zechs'.
/Why is there suddenly no air in this room?/ Zechs thought, his eyes half-lidded and heart pounding. /It's just my fingers... just... ahh.../ He could feel a soft and growing ache between his legs, fueled directly by the intense pleasure that radiated out from the tip of Treize's tongue. A stronger shock, down his middle finger now, and his body arched up off of the pillow to meet it and still he was unable to look away from that penetrating gaze.
Ah, he had the boy captivated. Perfect, for--
There was a knock on the door, and Treize drew the finger from his mouth with an angered sigh.
End of Part 6
(:./kumiko/bblood13)
