Mars by kumiko and tzigane

Part Two

They arrived at the elevator and Zechs leaned against the wall, pulling Wufei close to him, staring down at the hands he took hold of. "I know we have to find whoever's doing this," he said quietly, "and we have to do it quickly or the entire project will be compromised. I know that all of the workers here are depending on us, not only for their jobs but for their survival as well. Hell, we couldn't get half of them off the planet right now if we had to." He looked up and traced the line of Wufei's jaw with a long, slender finger. "But we have to work together, and I know you don't care to work with Noin right now so it'll be hard."

Now fingertips brushed a stray lock of dark hair away from the younger man's eyes before whispering across his cheeks and lips. "I wanted us to be able to talk about things. I was hoping we could do that while the others are asleep. Maybe if we get a least something worked out between ourselves, then... well, working together won't be as difficult."

He lifted his gaze to Wufei's eyes, one hand still cupping his face. "Can we do that? Can we talk when our group meeting is finished?"

Wufei's expression was slightly worried as he looked up at Zechs; worried because he knew exactly how much Noin meant to the other man and precisely what he'd done to him by leaving him. "Yeah," he agreed quietly, rubbing his cheek slightly against that hand. "We can talk while they sleep, if we get the chance. This is serious business but... I don't know if we can all work together if we ~don't~ get it worked out. Noin and I..." His voice tapered into silence. "Well. We've never really gotten along that well, have we?"

"No, I suppose you haven't, and this hasn't helped any. But we have to do everything we can to be a team." He let his hands slide down Wufei's sides until they encircled his hips. Pulling the younger man up a bit, he leaned down and kissed him, softly at first, brushing his tongue lightly along Wufei's lips, and then pushing gently inward, exploring that heated cave further and further.

The sound of his name was a yearning whisper on Wufei's lips as they parted, tongue sparring lightly with the older man's as ebony brows moved together, his own arm reaching up and wrapping around Zechs's neck to pull him close as Wufei moved onto the balls of his feet. "Ah, God, Zechs," he murmured shakily, wanting the man again. /He could kill me with this much want... need... desire... adoration.../

All of which was echoed in the small moans of the blond man as he breathed, "Wufei," against the other man's lovely mouth and then took another long, deep, kiss. His hands roamed all over Wufei's body in long firm caresses, the desire in him causing those hands to tremble. He broke off hesitantly and pressed little, open-mouthed kisses along Wufei's jaw, hands still exploring. "Maybe... if there's time... we could..." Passion got the better of him before he finished and he pulled the smaller man to him in a fiery kiss.

A shaky sigh broke from Wufei's throat as he tilted his face to kiss Zechs once again, eyes roaming over that exquisite face, his cheek brushing Zechs's lightly. "Maybe," he agreed, a little shaken that he couldn't keep his mind on business instead of his lover. He'd been able to do it before... But maybe he'd lost something of an edge, in all that time.

Maybe Treize's death had taught him how fragile and transient love could really be.

"I want to love you at every possible opportunity," came the quivering whisper. "And maybe a few impossible ones."

Zechs gave him a sly smile. "Oh I'm sure they'll be lots of impossible opportunities," he said, leaning down to nuzzle Wufei's neck. "Do you think they'd be *terribly* distracted if I spent the meeting lying on my back on the conference table, with you pounding into me?" He ended the sentence by sucking hard at the cords of Wufei's neck and squeezing small tight buttocks as he brought the Chinese man's hips forward to press against his own.

"Oh, God," Wufei warbled, melting into that grasp, head dropping back, eyes closing tightly. Pure shivers danced down his limbs with those words and he took a deep shivering breath. "I think they'd be distracted. I'd be distracted. I'm already distracted..."

"Too bad," Zechs breathed, lifting Wufei completely off of the ground now, holding him in place and rubbing firmly against him. "Dear God -- I want you so much... want to fuck you, right here, right now..." The tall blond gave a frustrated whimper and one of his hands snaked under Wufei's bottom to gently squeeze his balls. "So beautiful," he whispered, "So damned perfect..."

Hands filled with soft cornsilk hair and Wufei kissed him deliciously, moaning aloud with the pleasure of that touch where he wanted it most, everywhere, and especially the throbbing genitals that sent shudders down him. "Zechs! Please!" Wufei groaned. "Oh, GOD, please!"

The tall blond's hands were lightning fast and Wufei's shorts off in seconds. Still holding him, Zechs turned and held the younger man up against the wall while he dealt with his own fly. "Hold onto me," he panted softly in Wufei's ear, cupping smooth buttocks in his hands before spreading them apart and teasing the exposed entrance with the head of his shaft.

/Oh, GOD, I can't believe we're doing this in the hall!/ The thought was there and then gone as Wufei wrapped his arms tightly around Zechs's shoulders, burying his face in the other man's neck as his legs met around the tall blond's hips. "Yes!"

Zechs's fingers ran the length of his erection, slick with fluid brought on by desire. He rubbed a fingertip against the tight pucker and pushed it inside. That was all the preparation time he could afford and so, cupping the back of Wufei's thighs and pressing him firmly against the wall, he thrust inside of the smaller man in one, long, fluid stroke.

The loud moan that Zechs felt against his throat was partially pain from soreness; but it was mostly from crazy pleasure, hot and rampant as wildfire. "Zechs!" Wufei cried out, arms tightening, gasping with the wonder of that deep intrusion even as he felt himself clenching spasmodically around that delicious shaft, hands clenched into tight fists. "Oh, GOD! Zechs!!"

"Uhhhhn..." Zechs forehead rested against the wall, his shaft buried so deeply the every inch of it felt the tight spasms of Wufei's release. He growled possessively and burrowed between his partner's neck and shoulder, biting softly at the tender junction as he pumped the smaller man full of hot, slick seed.

Wufei shuddered, spilling against Zechs's uniform shirt, fingers stroking over the fine broad shoulders of the man holding him close. "Oh, God," he moaned hoarsely. "Oh, God!"

Zechs felt a wave of tenderness sweep over him, triggered by their positions and by the sweet sound of Wufei's cries. He nuzzled against the damp skin of the smaller man's neck, kissing his way upwards until their mouths met in a long, slow-burning kiss. Easing Wufei gently to the floor he knelt before him and licked his belly and softening member until they were perfectly clean.

Those motions brought the warm tinge of tears to Wufei's sinuses as he stroked Zechs's hair, blissful, the edge worn off of him. "Anyone could walk by," he whispered, not bothering to stop the slow petting motions. "Just anyone...."

"Yes, I know," Zechs murmured. He pulled up Wufei's shorts and fastened them, before standing and doing the same for himself. "I think," he said taking more kisses, "that I'll have to run by the storeroom ... mmmmnn... and get another shirt... we'd better hurry..."

"Waddling right after you," Wufei assured him, dazed and vaguely amused at both of them. /No one has a right to be this sated and happy, do they?/

Zechs hid a smile as he pulled Wufei into the elevator, holding him close as they rode down to the level of security command. Luckily the storeroom was deserted and Zechs was able to stuff his shirt into a hamper and grab another, buttoning it as they hurried to the command center.

"Sorry -- we got held up," Zechs murmured as he walked to the conference table.

/Well, I did, anyway,/ Wufei thought with a certain amount of smugness as he sat gingerly in a chair next to Quatre.

"Oh, that's all right! Sally was just telling us all about St. Catherine. Gruesome, isn't it?" Quatre murmured.

"Oh, I could always predict that I'd have nightmares on Sunday nights," Sally said, smiling. "I still can't believe they told all those horrible stories to little kids. Oh -- sorry Zechs, did you want to get started?"

"Well, the sooner we start the sooner we'll finish and the three of you can get some sleep." He leaned back, running his fingers through his hair. "This shouldn't take long, I just wanted to us all to come up with some ideas about how all these incidents might be related. For instance," he got up and went to a small white board on the wall in front of the table. Taking a pen from the tray in front of it, he wrote:

damage at O2 farm damage to senior staff quarters damage to planters

"Now, remind me again what we found at each of these places that might give us a clue as to *who's* doing it or *why.*"

Sally spoke first. "Well, it was St. Brendan on the wall just after the staff quarters were rifled."

"St. Catherine came with the planters," Noin said softly.

"And we've still got nothing on the damage from the second oxygen farm, though I'll bet if we went over it with a fine-toothed comb, we might just find another saint," Wufei also replied.

Now the board read:

damage at O2 farm -- ? damage to senior staff quarters -- Brendan damage to planters -- Catherine

"Brendan protects mariners," Sally offered, "and Catherine protects engineers and people who work with wheels."

"Good, good," Zechs murmured, filling in the information. "And the messages we've all received -- are there common themes there?"

Quatre's mouth puckered into a frown. "They're intended to hurt, and badly. To frighten us off of Mars and off of this project, taking everyone else with us."

"I'd say that's the long and short of it," Noin agreed.

"Yes, but there's also the sense that something bad is going to happen," Sally added. "In my room the message was to get out before it did -- and I believe Noin's was the same. I don't know if that means whoever this is has got something planned, but it certainly seems as if they're hinting at it."

"Mariners, engineers, trouble at the base, warnings to leave..." Zechs frowned deeply. "What kinds of people would be both mariners *and* engineers?"

After a moment's silence, Quatre said thoughtfully, "People like the doctors."

The mere thought made Wufei pale slightly. "You have no idea what people like that are truly capable of, either."

Seeing the distress underneath the statement, Sally stepped in. "Perhaps not them -- perhaps... mariners... engineers... someone who builds boats or ships? Someone who designs them?"

A name flickered through Zechs's mind but he dismissed it without another thought. "But someone who designs them wouldn't necessarily *work* on the ocean. And since neither Mars nor the colonies have oceans, I'm assuming this is someone from Earth." He looked hard at each one of them. "Why would someone from Earth want to stop the development of Mars?"

"Prejudice," Wufei suggested quietly. "We're getting past the point of people being prejudiced about colonists and the colonization of Mars could give hatred and bigotry a new outlet to feed on."

Sally looked over at Wufei thoughtfully. "So, you're saying that someone might already be prejudiced about the people who will come here in the future? That their getting their licks in early as it were?"

"Maybe," he said reluctantly. "It's the only thing I can think of, even if it's not much."

Quatre frowned. "Surely it's more than that, though, isn't it?"

Zechs was staring off into the distance, frowning. Something about all of this was disturbingly familiar, but he couldn't quite pin down *why.* "I still think the key will lie in finding out the connection between mariners and engineers," he murmured. The he blinked a few times and looked around at the others, almost as if he'd forgotten they were there for a moment. "Sorry, why don't you three get some sleep. Wufei and I will do some thinking on what we've talked about here."

/Thinking,/ came Noin's dark sulk as her eyes narrowed. "I'm not quite ready to go to bed yet," she answered softly. "Surely we can work out something more than a future prejudice?"

"Well, *I'm* thinking on borrowed time, so I'm taking the blond guy up on his offer and getting some sleep. Good night, folks."

"Good night, Sally," Zechs said distractedly. Turning to the dark-haired woman he asked, "Well, what do *you* make of it, Noin?"

"I think we need to find out something more about that thread of Jaggi's," she murmured. "If it's no material known to man, then it's DEFINITELY going to be traceable."

Wufei snorted. "You may not be ready for bed but your brains are asleep, woman. If it's no material known to man, how can we figure it out and trace it?"

A nervous cough sounded from Quatre. "Um... I'm going to bed before the NEXT universe wide war starts in this room."

That was enough to make Wufei a bit shamefaced as he sat back, though he hated to admit it. "Good night, Quatre," he murmured, a little subdued.

"We obviously have to catch someone with it; not an easy task, but neither is it impossible since we're looking for them already anyway. If we find the perpetrator, we either find the person responsible or find someone who KNOWS who's responsible," Noin said, the look on her face stubborn.

"I don't see how we *can* if we don't have it in the database and we don't have any idea of who's doing this," Wufei confessed, frowning. Sometimes, the looks Zechs gave Noin.... /If he doesn't want me, he should just say so./ Not that being unwanted was really a question because God knew he could barely sit still in the plastic chair that was a part of the conference room. /It's going to be a miracle if I get through the day this way./

"That's where finding the link between the medals comes in, I think." Zechs was sitting in his chair, elbow on knees, chin in his hands and staring at some point that appeared to be a thousand miles away. "And it's right here," he added softly, tapping himself on the forehead, "but I can't get it out..."

Just then, the comm unit beeped.

Zechs hit the speaker key. "This is Zechs, what is it?"

"This is an automated message from -- HOUSEKEEPING. You are receiving this message because there has been a work stoppage in the -- LAUNDRY -- sector. Currently there are no personnel assigned to this sector. The work stoppage will continue until the -- SECONDARY LAUNDRY CHUTE -- is cleared. Thank you."

For a moment, Zechs simply stared at the comm unit. "Why did we get this?" he whispered. "This should have been sent to Housekeeping. I *know* there are people in Housekeeping..." He looked up at Wufei and Noin. "I really don't like the sound of this. Think I'd better go down there and make sure they're all right."

Wufei stood up, flicking a strand of loose hair back out of his face. "I'll go," he said. "Woman, you need to go talk to Jaggi and somebody needs to stay here; and you're security, Zechs, not me, so they'll want you if something comes up."

Zechs's instincts kicked in before anything else. He stood suddenly, hands on lean hips, turning to face Wufei. "I don't want you going down there! It could be dangerous! It's *because* I'm security that it makes sense for *me* to go!" Looking into dark, fathomless eyes, it was, to Zechs, as though the world had just that moment narrowed down to just the two of them, and the thought of what could happen to Wufei... "We finally found each other again," he said roughly, almost a whisper, "and you just want to go off like that, so careless about your own safety?" His eyes were challenging, stance one of cool aggressiveness, but every part of him wanted to press itself against the slender Chinese man and say, /NO. Not my lover. Not now -- when he did the unthinkable and actually came looking for me. NO.../

Every word, every syllable, was a nail into Noin's heart and her hand moved tremblingly to her mouth to cover the heavy breathing that she knew must be clearly audible to both of them since the sound of it tortured her almost as much as Zechs's words.

"I can take care of myself," Wufei told Zechs, voice soft and verging on deadly. "I know as many ways to kill a man as you do and probably more and I'm not afraid to use them; I've used them before. I'll be all right, and you really *are* needed right here." The sound of Noin's pain had struck him and he felt bad about it at the same time as he was conversely pleased by Zechs's concern.

A brief look of confusion crossed the blond's face and then he remembered. Turning around suddenly he saw Noin, looking dazed and hurt, and walked towards her. "Noin... I'm sorry..."

"No," she said simply, standing up and looking at them both, her voice shaky and low with pain and not a little anger. "You're not half as sorry as I am." /Sorry I met you, sorry I love you, sorry I can't stop, sorry for myself... ah, God!/

It was no use. Zechs had to acknowledge that now. As much as he loved Noin, as much as she excited him and made him feel warm and wanted, the truth was he was happiest with men. /No. Not men. Man. I've never been good at trying to be non-monogamous... get too attached for that... and Wufei.../

He looked up slowly at the dark-haired man behind him, wanting to reassure him, wanting to tell him he'd made a choice, but unable to hurt Noin more than he had. "I'm sorry if you got the idea that I thought you couldn't take care of yourself. I know you can. Go on and go, and -- please be careful." With these last words he put everything he could into his gaze. /You're the one I want to be with. I don't have any more doubts... so for God's sake don't go getting yourself killed little man, because it's been done before.../

Slowly he turned back to Noin.

"Of course I do," Zechs said hoarsely. He stared down at the floor for moment, trying to collect himself, then slowly raised his eyes to her face. "I never wanted to hurt you. Out of everyone I've ever known, you've been the one who's always there. Ever since that afternoon at the Academy... Surely, Noin -- you have to know how much I love you. You're the dearest friend anyone could ever have." As he said this he reach out a hand and ran his fingers through her long bangs, tucking them behind her ears so he could better see her eyes.

Those bruise-dark irises glistened at him as tears welled in them, spilling onto pale cheeks. "I know," she said softly, trying to look away from that azure gaze and finding herself unable to do so. "Zechs... if I had been a man... would it have made a difference? I mean, there was Treize and now there's... him."

"Oh, Noin..." he breathed, brushing her tears away with his fingertips. "I can't answer that. You're *not* a man. You're a beautiful, loving woman who deserves better than she's had for the last eight years." He gave her cheek one last caress and then dropped his hand, looking down at the floor again. "But... it *is* true -- I think I'm meant to be with another man. That's what feels the most honest to me. I just wish so much that I didn't have to hurt you to be true to myself."

Those steady dripping tears hurt her and made her angry, but it was mostly anger at herself for letting him see that she was so deathly hurt. "I see," she whispered. She couldn't say that she understood; she didn't want to understand! But... "I suppose all I've ever wanted... was for you to be happy. Having more than that was... nirvana, and it feels like it's all been ripped right out from under me.."

"Noin!" Zechs's voice carried a note of anguish as he moved forward and embraced her without thinking. "I'm so sorry... I don't want to hurt you, honestly, but somehow it seems more cruel to pretend with you. That's something I just can't do..."

"I know." Her voice was low, her expression desperately sad. "I know you can't. If you could, you wouldn't be the man I love. Just please, Zechs. Please. Understand if I want to be by myself for a bit? And I might not speak to you but it's only that it hurts to do so."

Suddenly Zechs realized what he was doing and quickly let go of her. "Yes... Yes of course," he murmured turning away somewhat. "I understand, Noin. You have to do what feels right to *you* as well." He took a few steps back, his expression one of severe grief. The thought of not having Noin to talk to was horrible, but he couldn't deny her that defense. He moved to the main console, not really seeing any of the instruments. "I suppose this would be a good time for you to find Jaggi," he said, voice almost a whisper. "Again, I'm sorry, Noin."

The sound of the door sliding open and sliding shut again signified her leaving and left him alone with his pain.

Typical of large facilities almost universally, the laundry was in the basement of their rather extensive operations building. Wufei moved down stairs instead of taking the elevator, thoughts still in the room behind him. /He wants me. He really honest to God *wants* me!/ There was elation in that thought as well as some sympathy for Noin. Knowing that he was the one who was wanted was enough to make him capable of granting that much, even though he was disgusted at himself for it.

Reaching the bottom of the stairwell, he began to search for the light switch in the obviously abandoned room. Housekeeping had set shifts and laundry wasn't due in for another three hours, he didn't think.

After some fumbling, he finally found the switch, flipped it, and...

Nothing.

He flipped it again, frowning. Still nothing.

Suspicion and paranoia rose and he clicked on the Maglight he'd brought down with him so that he could look into the second laundry chute -- IF he could find it. Shining the light around, he clicked it off again and slipped in, allowing his eyes to accustom themselves to the almost non-existent light as he moved through the darkness silently, not wanting to attract attention by using the light until he had no other choice.

His heartbeat ran wild as he moved carefully through that large room, searching, looking for the chute. /If I remember right, it ought to come out somewhere over here,/ Wufei thought to himself as he moved closer to the wall.

With that single footstep, he made a mistake, stepping into something wet on the floor and sliding, unable to catch his balance because he refused to let go of the flashlight. The back of his head and his shoulder struck the concrete floor hard enough to make a loud crack as they made contact and so he lay dazed in the liquid for a moment before the smell struck him.

Tinged with copper... bitter, an undertone to the smell of rancid something, like pigs at the slaughter, thick metallic taste gathering at the back of his mouth.

Like the few people he'd killed in the war that had been outside of a machine.

"Oh, God," he whispered, realizing what he was now thoroughly covered in and scrambling to get up, bumping his head a second time on the laundry chute, jammed partially open by whatever (whoever) was stuck in it. His skin was shivering violently as he clicked on the Maglight, blood-sticky hair clinging to his face.

Eyes shone back, half-open and glistening wetly. It was a woman, a bloody sheet wrapped around her, sanguine liquid dripping down in congealing glops to flood the floor and puddle neatly beneath the shaft. The worst, though... the worst....

/I'm going to be sick.../

The worst was the medal that had been firmly nailed into place against her forehead.

/St. Florian Protect Us/

Several floors up, Zechs sat staring at the surveillance monitors. He'd followed Wufei's progress, clicking through the different cameras, always keeping a finger on the slender man's image. That had worked until Wufei had gone into the dark laundry room. After that, Zechs had lost him.

Now he could only wait to hear from him and until then he was alone with his thoughts. /I was a beast to Noin... but what else could I have told her? Anything else would have been a lie -- and I can't lie anymore; not to her, not to myself... not to Wufei./

The thought of his lover made a rush of desire pass through him, leaving him weak. Elbows on the edge of the console, he let his head fall forward into his hands. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks and shook his head at his own lack of control. Sitting back again, he stretched out long fingers to stroke the dark vid screen. "What are you doing to me, little man," he whispered. "And what's taking you so damn long..."

It was at that moment that he picked up a pinpoint of light, moving swiftly through the darkness. Only seconds later, Wufei moved from that shadowed door and into the light, covered in spattered blood, one hand clutched around something and the other tight on his flashlight. There was no sound --only visual, and the young man started up the stairs once he reached the light but swiftly turned as if changing his mind and vomited in a corner.

"Wufei!" Zechs's voice was no more than a gasp as he slammed his palm down on the comm units call button and typed in Sally's code. "Sally! Meet me in on the first floor! Bring your bag! Now!!" He hadn't even waited for her to answer, but he couldn't spare anymore time. In a second he was out the door and running down the main stairs.

Down on the basement level, Wufei thought he'd finally brought everything up he could've eaten anytime in the past several days and he knew, God, he knew he was going to have to stop and dry heave on the way back upstairs. /The smell... oh, God, if it wasn't for the smell.../

Bleary-eyed, but with the talent of all good medical personnel, Sally was on her feet, pulling on clothes and snatching her medical bag up as she headed out the door for the stairs. /Dear God, Zechs sounded frantic... what could it be? Who.../ The idea that it might be Wufei quickened her steps even more.

Zechs continued running downwards, cursing himself for letting Wufei go instead of himself, praying to whatever god cared to listen that the Chinese man would be all right. He came out on the first floor but no Sally yet, and worse --no Wufei. He hurried back into the stairwell and took the last flight of stairs two at a time, throwing the door open and running into the basement.

Wufei was there, head down, gasping for breath and heaving every couple of seconds, unable to quite stop. One closed fist braced himself against the wall and the other kept a death grip on the flashlight.

"Wufei!" Zechs was on his knees beside him in a heartbeat, peering into his face while surreptitiously feeling along his back and sides for wounds. "Can you breathe?" he asked, taking the other man's jacket off. /Damn! I can't see where he's bleeding.../

Sally came through the door, quickly assessing the scene and then dropping to her knees in front of Wufei. She took a small foil package from the bag next to her and tore off one corner. "Come on, now, drink this down, it'll stop that queasy feeling." She tipped Wufei's chin up and squeezed the contents of the package into his mouth.

Zechs meanwhile had run his hands over most of Wufei's body but still hadn't found the wound that had caused the bloody jacket and pants. He looked up at Sally, frowning in concern. "He has blood all over his jacket, but I can't find any wound. Could he have coughed it up?"

Moving Wufei so that he was sitting with his back against the wall for support, Sally took the jacket that Zechs held out and examined the blood stains. "Don't think so," she said, "when that happens the blood is usually bright red and this... this blood is much darker and even starting to congeal. And look there isn't any on his shirt... Wufei, can you talk, honey?"

"Yeah," he said finally, panting shallowly for breaths. Whatever Sally had given him seemed to have worked for the moment -- damned fast stuff. "Yeah... 's not mine." His head was swimming from the violent crack against the cement floor, a good half of the reason for the nausea, he figured. "'s a woman... 's a woman...." His stomach was threatening him again so he took a single deep breath and unfolded his palm, showing them what he held in it: the medallion with the nail still driven through the center. "Pulled it..." /Don't get sick again, don't get sick again!!!/ "Pulled it out of her forehead."

He'd seen blood in the war; they'd all seen blood. He'd killed more men than he could count, including the pilots he'd blown up at Victoria Base; but only once in all that time had it been so personal -- Treize's death. Unable to stop it, a hot tear tracked down his cheek as he took another deep breath. "Hit my head a couple times, pretty hard whacks..."

Sally looked up at Zechs sharply. "I don't fool around with head trauma, we're getting him to the infirmary and doing a scan, NOW. We can talk about... what he found... after we get him up there. You have problems with that?" She gave a stern look to Zechs whose eyes widened. He shook his head and then murmured, "Let me get forensic down here --only take a second and then I can carry him up."

The forensic team was on their way, and a security detail, summoned by Zechs on his run down the stairs, had just arrived to secure the crime scene. Slipping his arms carefully around Wufei's back and under his legs, Zechs lifted him up like a beloved doll and he and Sally headed up to the infirmary in the elevator.

Sally was performing a quick neurological exam while they waited to reach their floor. "Well, the signs are good so far -- your pupils are evenly dilated and I get a nice response from both of them," she said, flashing a small light in each eye. Grip strength is even as well. That's very, very good news."

Zechs allowed a small part of him to relax. If felt as though he'd been holding his breath since seeing Wufei appear on the monitor, and even a small piece of positive news was *something* to cling to. He rested his cheek very lightly against the side of Wufei's head. "How's the nausea?" he asked softly.

"Better since I'm not standing up," Wufei replied vaguely, trying to clear his throat of the thick taste at the back of it. "I thought at first I'd knocked myself out but then the smell of it hit me and... I think *I* would've had to have been dead to not get up and get out of it. God. So much blood. How did they get that much blood out of one woman? And now you're all bloody, too, from touching me." Wufei knew he was talking too much, too fast, but it didn't really want to stop. "I had the medallion, didn't I? With the nail?" He couldn't remember... no, he'd had it, all right. "St. Francis. St. Francis protect us... What did I do with it...?"

"I have it," Zechs assured him as they stepped out into the lobby of the infirmary. Sally marched through the doors, the woman behind the small counter at the back of the lobby looking at her with a puzzled expression. "Dr. Po? What are -" She cut herself off as Zechs walked by her, carrying a bloody Preventer. "Right," she said, moving into trauma action mode and following them back to the examining room Sally had gone into.

Sally began giving orders. "Zahia, good -- " she said to the woman who joined them, "get the scanner warmed up, we need a set of head CTs, no contrast, and I want them developed immediately."

"Yes, Doctor," Zahia murmured and went into action.

"Zechs," Sally continued, "sit him down on the table, *carefully*, and get him undressed and under this blanket." She took a thick white blanket from a warmer and put it one the table. And then give him some water -- you'll find a cup in the cupboard. I'm going to get something better for the nausea and something for pain and sleep." So saying, so was out the door and down the hall.

Zechs blinked only a couple of times in the direction she'd gone, in awe of her speed, and then turned to Wufei. "Water first, or out of those clothes?"

"Get them off," Wufei whispered, frowning slightly. He didn't want to be taken care of, he wanted to get out of his clothes, he wanted to take a bath, he wanted to curl up and hide against Zechs... None of those things, however, were possible. Sally was right, as much as he hated to admit it, and Zechs had a complete mess on his hands down in laundry. "I want to get them off and I want a bath." One hand raised to touch gingerly at the lump on the back of his head, touching the tender knot and wincing. Another bruise was growing on top where he'd knocked his head against the lid of the chute. "Damn."

"I'd suggest not touching those --only likely to make it hurt more," Zechs said in a matter-of-fact voice. He's gotten the t-shirt over the bleeding head and was kneeling now, removing shoes and socks. "I'll make sure she gives you a bath, but I don't think *anything's* going to happen until she makes sure your head is okay. Can you stand up long enough for me to get these pants off?"

A grunt sounded in answer and Wufei slid to standing, a hand pressed to the padded exam table to keep him steady. The words that came were soft and quiet. "Yeah. I can. Zechs? I'm sorry... I scared you..." He shook his head slightly to try and clear it, a hand rising to rub at his eyes, smearing some of the stinking blood still on his hands across his face.

Easing pants and underwear off, Zechs guided Wufei back to the table to lie down, covering him with the pre-warmed blanket before answering. He pulled up a stool alongside the bed and took one of Wufei's hands in both of his own. "It wasn't *your* fault, so there's nothing to apologize for," the tall blond said, softly chiding. He reached back onto the nearby counter to find tissues and wiped off what he could of the blood, still holding tightly to the dark haired man's hand. "I'm just... very, very glad that this stuff wasn't yours..." He was frowning and biting his lip a little, doing everything he could not to seem overly-emotional.

It was damned hard.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier -- that you shouldn't go down there. I could tell you didn't like *that* one bit..." He smiled hesitantly and looked up through long, golden bangs. "I just don't want anything to get in the way this time," he whispered. "I don't want to lose you again." The prick of tears behind his eyes was only barely controllable, so he stood suddenly and turned to the sink. "Let me get you some water."

"Mmmm," was Wufei's only sound of agreement as he fought to keep his eyes open. Now that he was definitely safe, laying down and warm, even if he wasn't clean, it was all he could do to fight off the urge to close his eyes and just sleep. "'d be nice," he managed to say sleepily, drawing in a deep breath that irritated his sore middle section.

Wufei had gotten about two sips when Sally and Zahia arrived, wheeling a small cart that they placed at the head of the examining table. Zahia brushed Zechs out of the way, staring at him with one raised eyebrow before leaning down to adjust the angle of the examining table. "Is that the guy who did this to you, honeychild?" she whispered to Wufei, giving Zechs with a highly critical look. "'Cause if it is, I should really call security."

A rusty laugh that hurt him came from Wufei at the thought and he almost couldn't stop once started. "N...n...no, no. No. Not Zechs." He laughed again before settling with nothing more than a smile, eyes closing completely. "Fell while I was downstairs is all. Hit my head on something trying to get up..." The fuzzy realization that it sounded like something an abused spouse would say almost set him giggling again because Zechs CERTAINLY wasn't that kind of man. The mere suggestion was hysterical, though it probably would have been less so if he had not been so light-headed and hurt so bad.

Hearing his name from Wufei, and then seeing the boy begin to -- laugh? -- Zechs crossed his arms and frowned slightly at them. "What? What's so funny?"

Sally was still all business. "Zahia, turn the monitor on, please. Wufei, I need you to stay perfectly -- What *are* you laughing at?" she asked in a thoroughly puzzled voice.

Zahia flipped monitor switch, looked down at Wufei skeptically, then back at Zechs once more, this time raising both eyebrows at him, her face somewhat accusing.

Zechs's confused frown deepened as he held out his hands, palms up, in an graceful entreaty. "What?? What did I do??"

Sally tried again, "Wu-FEI!"

Finally, Wufei's snickering stopped, mostly because it was making him queasy again. He turned his eyes on Sally and said (with some vague remnant of his previous humor), "Yes, woman?"

She cast him a withering glance and said, "Listen, BOY. I need your head to be completely still or you're never leaving here, do you understand?"

Zechs slapped him playfully on the leg. "Hush! Just do what she says!"

Having adjusted the monitor, Zahia stood suddenly and stomped over to Zechs, hand on her hips. "All right, *that's* it! I knew you were trouble the moment you walked in here!" She was crowding the tall blond away from the table and towards the door of the examining room, and despite the nearly 10-inch height difference between them, she was being fairly effective. "You've done enough to this poor child, *big guy.* So you just go find something else to do! Shoo! Go!!"

Zechs frowned, ducking and pulling back now and then to avoid the woman's hands, which were, at that moment nearly punching him in the shoulders. "Hey! I didn't do anything! Ow!!"

He grabbed the arm the the diminutive nurse had just whacked. "Sally -"

"Zahia -- it's okay," she was having trouble hiding a smile.

"No, it's not," Zahia insisted. "This guy's just a big bully!" She whacked the other arm.

"Zahia!," Sally said trying to keep Wufei in place. "Oh -- Zechs why don't you wait outside."

Wufei was, once again, back to giggling, after-signs of a hysteria that he was surprised he felt. He was even able to forget Sally's comment of 'boy'. "Z...Z...Zechs!" he laughed. "Zechs w...w...wouldn't... oh, I hurt...."

Zechs had a look of wounded outrage on his face as he opened the door and held up his hands against more threats from Zahia. "What did I do?," he asked, bewildered in a sort of angry way. As Zahia closed the door on him, he was looking at Sally, pleading, "Tell her! She'll believe you!"

Zahia turned back to the scan machine with a satisfied look on her face. "You just relax, baby," she said soothingly to Wufei, patting his arm. "I'm not letting that tall drink of trouble *near* you!"

Sally pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to forget the look on Zechs's face and concentrate on the matter at hand.

"Okay, Wufei -- hold very, very still..."

"I'm holding still, woman," he told her, frowning now because Zechs was gone.

The scan took about five minutes, with another five for Sally to fully analyze the images. "Well," she said at last, "you've got a nasty concussion, but I don't think you'll have any permanent damage. You'll just have to be on light duty until the swelling goes down. I'll go tell Zechs."

Zahia was fussing over her patient. "You listen to Dr. Sally. I want you to just stay here and *rest* for at least a half an hour, all right? And if you need anything, you just push this little button," she said in a motherly voice, and pressed a small paging unit into Wufei's hand. Leaning down close to him, she added, "And honey? Take it from one who knows bad men -- you stay away from that brute." She nodded wisely, patted his shoulder, and went to the door.

Bemusedly, Wufei shook his head and laid back, alone in the room once again. /Crazy woman,/ he thought and he couldn't help but smile. The very thought of Zechs hitting him, hell!, *anyone* hitting him, and just being allowed to do so... He chuckled again, reaching up to rub the knot on his head. "Zechs wouldn't hit me," he told her as she headed out the door.

Sally found Zechs sitting in the lobby of the infirmary, under the stern eye of Zahia. He was talking over the portable comm unit to his team downstairs in the basement, head propped on one hand and looking weary and miserable.

Sally poured a cup of coffee for each of them and sat down beside him on the floor. He finished his call and gave her a tired sigh, gratefully accepting the coffee.

"So," Sally began. "What are things like down there?"

The tall blond took a long drink of scalding coffee, shuddered just a bit, and then spoke. "They've moved her. Our pathology team is small but they're the best in their field, They're doing the autopsy now." Another long swallow and he looked over at Sally. "Her name was Anna Galang, an assistant lab tech, Biochemistry division. Lots of friends, no enemies. Why would anyone have to die like that..."

She patted his arm and spoke softly. "Let's wait for the autopsy results."

"Yeah, yeah of course. How's Wufei? Can I see him?"

"Let's give him 10 minutes or so," she said, sounding distracted. "May I see that medal, Zechs?"

"Oh -- yeah, here it is." He dug into a front pocket and handed over the damaged piece.

Sally peered at it, turning it around several times, before pointing at the center. "You see the soldier, well some of him, he has a lance and, on the other side of that hole you can barely see a tub of water. This is a medal for St. Florian. Protection against battles. Florian was a Roman soldier who converted and was immediately martyred -- don't ask how," she said quickly, shaking her head and hands. "Too disgusting."

"Against battles...?" Zechs said slowly, looking up at Sally.

"Yes -- and I'm not sure if your thinking about the same thing, but this seems to provide a link between our mariners and our mechanics."

"Yes..." Zechs said softly, his gaze unfocused. "A very -- disturbing link..."

Zahia's eyes never moved too far off of Zechs, suspiciously watching out for Sally even as she filled out all of Wufei's paperwork.

"Now, if I can only figure out how that thread fits in with all this..." Zechs was interrupted by a beep from his comm unit. His teams were reporting in on the search of the perimeter, finding nothing. He told half of them to search one more time and sent the other half to check on the whereabouts of all other personnel. Finally, he sent two of his best people to interview the head of the lab the dead woman had worked for.

Wearily, he closed the unit and sighed, "Can I see Wufei, now?" he said in a voice that was younger than his 21 years

"Sure," she conceded and walked him most of the way. Standing in front of the door, Sally took hold of his wrist and lectured him sternly. "Now remember -- only a few minutes, he shouldn't stand up, and you..." she paused and look him up and down, "you should definitely *not* lay down. I'll be back," she waved, closing the door behind her.

Zechs walked to the table and looked down at his lover. He was sleeping so comfortably that Zechs didn't have the heart to wake him up, so he turned a chair around and straddled it, leaning forward, resting his hands on his arms to watch his lover sleep.

Carefully, Wufei moved on the table, lashes fluttering as he drew in a deep sigh. His eyes opened just enough to see Zechs and an arm reached out, fingers trailing over the tall blond's arm. "Got past Zahia," he murmured, eyes closing again.

"Yeah -- it wasn't too hard," the blond said softly. "I threw a bone out the doors of the lobby, and while she was off chasing, it I slipped in." Long, slender fingers stroked Wufei's hair back out of his eyes. "You go back to sleep, okay?"

"Mmmm," Wufei murmured in sleepy agreement, turning his head farther in search of that hand and kissing the heel of it. "Sorry. You going back to work?"

Zechs smiled at the sleepy face before him. "Yes. I have a lead now, thanks to you. And if I don't keep moving I'll fall asleep on my feet." He rose and pressed his lips against the other man's forehead. "Sleep well, love."

"Mmmm," came that slight murmur again as Wufei sighed and shifted slightly, hating for Zechs to move away from him. One last admonition, though, and then he could sleep. "Be careful."

As the door clicked quietly shut behind Zechs, the sound of rapidly moving feet ran directly into him, nearly bowling him over entirely. "Oh!" said an exhausted-looking Quatre, blinking rapidly. "Sorry, Zechs, only I..." His hand went to cover his heart. "Only I was worried. Something's happened to Wufei, hasn't it?"

Zechs was still steadying himself on the wall. He looked over at Quatre, breathing heavily and wondered briefly if Nurse Zahia would want to take care of him, too. /God she'll probably think that I pushed him or something.../

"Yes, he had a nasty fall, and a nasty discovery downstairs, as well. Why don't we go down to the security room. I can tell you about it there."

Quatre gave him a little smile and straightened his dishevelled clothing slightly. "So long as you don't mind ME making the coffee," he joked. Quatre's coffee was usually so thick a spoon could stand straight up in the cup.

"No, actually," the tall blond said as they headed out. "I believe the only thing standing between myself and imminent slumber might be your coffee."

They headed for the elevators and Quatre pushed the button lightly, leaning against the wall with a shoulder. "So tell me what's happened?"

"He found a body -- one of the lab workers in biochemistry -- she'd been stabbed and put into one of the laundry chutes." He pulled the small medal from his pocket and handed it to the small Arabian. "And this... well, this was nailed to her forehead." He grimaced slightly at the imagery that pulled up. /God, Wufei.../

A shudder rippled through the slim blond and he brought both hands up to rub at his face. "Gruesome," he noted, frowning. "I hope they did it AFTER she was dead.."

The elevator doors opened onto the dim corridor that led to the main security control room. Zechs let them both in and got onto the comm unit, checking with the different groups he'd sent to do various tasks. Forensic had finished with the crime scene, the body awaited Sally in a back room of the infirmary, and all personnel had been accounted for. One security detail was in the process of interviewing those people for whereabouts while another was speaking with the head of Anna Galang's lab. The perimeter of the base had been checked and secured.

Rubbing his eyes, Zechs turned to Quatre and began explaining the symbolism of the medal. "So that makes a nice link. When might mariners and mechanics come in contact with battles? If they're military employees, yes?"

Tourmaline eyes gleamed thoughtfully as crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes," he said slowly, frowning. "But there's something else. Something just at the tip of my tongue, if only I could get it out..."

"Something about the medals?" Zechs asked wearily. "Or about the murder?"

"The medals," Quatre replied. "There's something about the medals, only I can't seem to get it out. Something about the medals and Duo..." That brought a bright spark to the little blond's face. "We should call Duo! He lived in a Catholic orphanage on L2 for a while!"

Zechs looked skeptical, but he nodded after a time. "Why don't you handle that. I didn't known him very well, so it would sound pretty strange coming from me. And I'm going to spend some quality time with the security reports for tonight. Someone *must* have seen *something.*" He ran a hand through long, blond bangs and tried not to sigh too loudly. "I appreciate your help with this, Quatre. It was bad enough when our equipment was being damaged, but this -" He cut himself off and just shook his head. "Let me know what you hear from Duo, all right?"

"Will do," was the reply. "I'll go call Duo now -- maybe see if I can't get the others, as well." It was a partially selfish desire, the want to call Trowa and have him come to Mars to help, but...

Turning back to the monitor screen behind him, Zechs leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk and letting nearly three feet of silky platinum hair spill over the back of the seat. He needed to think.

/But I don't *want* to think. What I *want* is go upstairs and see how Wufei is doing, but Nurse Pit Bull would probably have me thrown out. Unreasonable woman./

He folded his arms across his chest and almost pouted. /I want this to be done with. I want a vacation. I want my little man, damn it, and at least two weeks behind a locked door with a very comfortable bed and a pair of handcuffs... Damn, he'd look good wearing nothing but handcuffs.../

"Who'd look good wearing nothing but handcuffs?" came an amused question from the door.

Zechs swiveled around in the chair, not changing his basic position, but frowning at whoever would be disturbing a good pout. "None of your business," he said to the newcomer.

The security officer, one Benjamin Baker, raised both hands and waved them slightly, bright red hair waving about on his head like something come to life. "Hey, hey, no offense, really. You were just talking to yourself, sir, so I sort of thought I'd help you along."

Zechs tried his best to be concerned that the man may have overheard too much, but he couldn't. It wasn't just that he was tired and cranky. He simply didn't want to hide anymore. He was in love, had been since before Dekim Barton's coup, and it just didn't matter who knew anymore. The thought, as it came to him, was rather exhilarating and not a little alarming.

"What do you have for me, Baker?" he finally said, hoping his tone was more congenial.

His officer moved further into the room, sitting down slowly, face solemn. "I saw her, sir. About forty-five minutes before Preventer Chang found her body."

That got Zechs to move. He sat up, feet flat against the floor, and leaned towards Baker. "Where was she? Did you talk to her? What kind of state was she in? Where was she going?"

"Looking *nervous*," Baker replied. "I guess she would have, wouldn't she? She stopped by the commissary for a cup of coffee. We'd dated a handful of times, you know, here and there, and she was a nice enough woman. We..." He stopped for a moment and hands went up to tug at crayon-colored locks as if it would jump-start his brain again. "We were going out tonight to watch the sunset, but that's sort of out of the question now, isn't it? She said she had to head back to work, but she kept looking over her shoulder. When I asked her what was wrong, she said some guy had been harassing her, wanting to take her places, talking about some kind of activist group she was a part of at one point..."

Zechs lifted his head sharply. "Activist group? Did she tell you which one it was?"

"No. She never mentioned which one, only said it had something to do with one. I figured... well, I sort of figured maybe it was the guy stalking her, the one who... you know."

/Yes, Baker, I know... I know what this kind of death means. Even if you haven't promised them your very soul, it still hurts when they go like this.../

"I'm sorry, Baker," Zechs murmured, voice a bit hoarse. "But thank you for coming to talk to me. The more we know about her movements, especially these last couple of days, the easier it might be to find out who did this." He looked back at his screen and the large data file of reports he needed to sift through. "Before you go, Baker," he added, "can you tell me if she acted afraid of anyone on the base?"

Standing, Baker looked up at the ceiling, almost glaring at it for a moment in an attempt to hold back the tears gathering. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure he was the guy stalking her, too. Some guy from forestry, name was Nembule."

Through his fatigue-induced haze, Zechs realized that the man had used the term -- stalking -- twice. "Wait," he said shaking his head a bit. "You're telling me that she was being *stalked?*"

"Well.... yeah," Baker replied. "He kept pressuring her, wanting her to go places with him. You know. PUSHING her. She hadn't been really scared that I noticed until today, though."

Another lead -- and this one had to be followed quickly. "I'll get right on that, Baker. You've really given me a great lead and I appreciate your coming in. You're excused and take it easy, please."

As the man left, Zechs pulled Nembule's personnel file up on his comm unit and started to read.

The smell of antiseptic was in the air and Wufei clutched his little gown to him, flushed deep red and scowling. "WOMAN! What did you do with my clothes!?" he cried, frustrated. He'd already given that Zahia woman a free show before he even realized that the damned thing was open in the back!

"Oh, stop whining!" Sally said cheerfully as she walked in with a stack of someone else's clothes. "Your real clothes have been taken in as evidence by Zechs's team. You wouldn't have wanted them anyway. Here you go." She handed over the stack. "I suppose you want me to leave while you change?"

"YES!" he replied, still that hysterically funny color as he grasped the stack, letting loose the back of the gown. Lord, he hoped there weren't any reflective surfaces back there!

Wufei hadn't even considered the shape of his previous clothing in his embarrassment, but it brought things back to him in an unpleasant rush. "Have you... you know... found out anything? New, I mean?"

"I haven't talked to Zechs lately," she admitted. "You've been out for several hours, so it's my guess that they probably have something new. If you promise to be good and obey all these instructions," here she waved a long piece of paper in front of him, "then you can go down and see what's up."

Black eyes glared at the paper in frustration. "Let me see that!" he said, lower lip already poking out poutily.

Handing the paper over to her cranky but recovering patient, Sally couldn't help but feel a wave of sympathy. "Ah, what's making you so grumpy, eh? That's a pout on your face if I'm not mistaken. What's wrong?"

"There's too much on this paper," Wufei sulked, noting the 'no sex for twenty four hours' clause and wondering if that was on there just to see if he would complain. "...and I'm walking around with my behind showing. Why shouldn't I pout?" He sighed. "I just hate being sick. I'm a miserable patient."

Sally couldn't resist a small explosive laugh at that. "Tell me something I don't know! Now stop complaining and get those clothes on." She stopped at the edge of the curtain that surrounded his bed and said in a low voice, "I happen to know that Noin is asleep and Zechs is by himself in security. Carpe Diem and all that." WIth a quick wink, she was gone.

"That," Wufei said to himself as he shimmied into the jeans and t-shirt she'd left, pulling on socks and tennis shoes almost as quickly, "is one very bad woman!"

Downstairs in Security, Zechs was pacing around the control room to keep himself awake. All of his teams had been assigned their tasks and the data they would need to move forward was being gathered. What he had to do now was wait for it to come to him -- well, that and stay in the control room in case something else happened. To say that he was not at all happy with this would have been a gross understatement.

"I've got to do something," he murmured softly to himself, "or I'll either go to sleep or go quietly mad with this waiting..."

"I've been there," a sultry voice told him from the doorway. "I wouldn't suggest it."

In the doorway was a veritable vision of delicious male flesh; one white t shirt clad shoulder pressed to the side of the door, denim-clad legs crossed at the ankles, black hair loose around face and shoulders. "There are much better things to do than go *mad*."

Zechs could feel the color rise in his cheeks as he stared at Wufei, both of them feeling the powerful attraction between them. It was heady stuff.

Slowly, not moving his eyes from Wufei's, Zechs walked across the room towards him with a predatory grace. He pulled the smaller man through the door and locked it and then reached for Wufei's hips and pulled him forward. Hands warm and firm, caressing hips and waist, the tall blond drew his lover into a deep embrace. "Look at you," he whispered. "You make me ache, just looking at you..."

A lazy smirk crossed Wufei's lips slowly as he looked up from beneath a fringe of black lashes. "Nice hair," he commented idly. "Wanna... fuck?"

The crude question made Zechs's shaft harden as he pulled Wufei more tightly to him. "Fuck, get fucked, I don't care," he growled, "as long as it's something to do with you and me and sex..." He trailed off and pulled Wufei's head back a bit for better access as he clamped his mouth against a warm, smooth neck and pressed himself, arousal and all, against Wufei, backing him against the door.

A long low groan broke from Wufei's throat as he shuddered, the feel of Zechs against his belly, the nipping touch of those teeth setting off a variety of reactions. Most of those involved a rapid stiffening of his own organ, as if they hadn't already nearly screwed themselves into insensibility. "Oh, GOD, yes," Wufei growled, arms wrapping around Zechs's neck as he purred, practically attaching himself to the blond god.

"Ah, dear God, little man," Zechs whispered, squeezing tight buttocks so that he could press harder against his partner. "How did I ever live without you..." His hands slid over Wufei's t-shirt and found two mildly aroused nipple. He brushed them with his thumbs, over and over, slowly and then began sucking at the soft, damp skin of Wufei's neck again. "Top or bottom love...?"

At that point, Wufei's eyes had practically rolled into the back of his head and his whimpered answer probably wasn't much satisfaction. "Let's just get naked," he whispered in Zechs's ear, "and then fuck 'til we can't move anymore. I get top first!"

"Uhhhn!" Zechs growled again pulled Wufei away from the door. Unlocking it, he scooped up a control unit pager and led the way to a small door at the back of the room. Behind it was a another room, tiny, lined with shelves of supplies for the control center. It was thickly carpeted. When the door was closed and locked, Zechs leaned against it, his head ducked, looking up at Wufei through long, blond bangs. "What's all this about you being top?"

Glittering black eyes narrowed as Wufei stalked forward. "I'm... on... TOP," he said firmly, smirking.

"Hmm," the blond replied, still staring. "You going to teach me a lesson?"

Thumbs hooked in belt loops as the Chinese bishonen's smirk grew, hips shifting forward slightly. "Oh, yeah. Like you've never had before!"

One golden eyebrow raised questioningly. "I'm a rather rebellious student, and so far *you* seem to be all talk and no action."

With a positively feral expression, Wufei pounced, sending Zechs tumbling down from the door and onto the floor with him on top of the taller man. "Oh, yeah?" he said, leaning down and capturing Zechs's mouth in a biting kiss that almost stung. "All talk and no action?"

Zechs pulled away from the rough kiss and breathed, "That's what I said... you couldn't take me, little man. You're just not... *up* to it." The words were soft and stinging, designed to be spurs. Zechs wanted to be well and thoroughly fucked and he wanted it rough. Wufei was responding perfectly...

Growling, his uniform jacket was practically ripped open, the zipper utterly destroyed in the quick removal as Wufei's hands went between them, pulling roughly at the buttons of those pants. "I'll make you eat those words!" he snarled, a hand moving beneath the white t-shirt Zechs wore and roughly pinching a nipple.

Zechs let out a harsh gasp at the sound of ripping fabric. "Is that right?" he panted from under Wufei. Is that all you're going to make me eat?" /God he's beautiful.../

Black gaze lingered as it moved up his body, an absolutely ravenous expression upon Wufei's face. "Not even remotely," he replied, shifting so that his hands moved up to the buttons of his jeans.

Arching up to press his erection against those jeans, Zechs stared at the younger man above him, his gaze heavy-lidded and his voice barely a whisper. He even amazed himself at the words that came out of him. "Treat me like a slut."

For a moment, Wufei seemed almost startled by that request and it slowed him; only for a moment, though, because soon he was straddling Zechs's chest, eyes purely black without the slightest hint of brown in that moment as he hissed, "Take my cock in your mouth, bitch. Suck it.... suck it good or I swear I'll fuck you inside out."

"Make me."

It was all Wufei could do to keep from laughing with delight as he took Zechs's face in his hands, slapping him; much more noise than hurt, barely touching that golden cheek, in fact, as he pressed himself against those beautiful lips, shoving. "Do it or else you'll wish you had!"

Turning his head away, Zechs growled, "No!" It came with a certain relish. He was dying to know what the consequences were for disobedience.

Shifting quickly, Wufei got off of him, turning him over on his belly and jerking down his uniform pants in a single movement. The shocking feel of a hand coming down on his bare ass was probably not *quite* what Zechs had expected! "I told you to do something!" Wufei growled, smacking him again. "When I say do something, you DO it!"

Zechs eyes went wide at the sting. /Oh, yes -- *that's* the little tiger I remember.../ He wriggled against Wufei's weight. "No, you bastard!" he hissed. "Let me go!" /Oh *damn* I want him in me!/

That was met with several more quick smacks before Wufei pressed his entire length against Zechs, almost purring. He'd snitched a little tube of KY under Sally's watchful eye and GOD, that came in handy, smeared across his cock with a fast shaking hand before he nuzzled between those lovely pink cheeks and thrust, gasping aloud at the heat and tightness surrounding him.

At that, Zechs considered his lesson well-learned. He let out a hoarse cry, feeling as if he were being torn apart inside and just as the pain got to be too much he remembered to push back and Wufei slid all the way in, rubbing along Zechs's prostate as he did. The blond shuddered at the intimate touch and cried out softly, pounding the floor with one fist and blinking back tears. Then he arched his back, lifting his bottom up to impale himself further.

"Ah, *God*... Wufei..."

"You know you want it," teased the wicked little whisper as kisses traced his spine, hands tender and soothing against his sides. "Push back..."

Zechs did as he was told and pressed himself backwards, feeling every inch of the younger man inside of him. Deep inside... Tears spilled over golden cheeks at the intensity of it and he shook his head, sobbing softly. "I... I... can't..." A small shift brought the sensitive nub deep inside him to life again and he dropped his head to rest on his elbows, whimpering. "Oh, *God*..."

"Too much?" Wufei whispered, face pressed lightly against Zechs's back as he remained still. "Not what you wanted? I'll stop...." That didn't keep his hand from creeping around and lightly plying Zechs's erection, though.

"Ohhh, please don't stop," Zechs whispered through tears. "God, you're so *deep*... make me want it so damned *much*..."

The nudge of a kiss pressed to the nape of his neck, Wufei sighing and slowly, so slowly, stroking over turgid flesh, only shifting back and forth slowly. "Move when you're ready, Zechs... God... love you..."

"Oh, I want it *now*, little man! But I want it to come from *you*, not from me... unless... unless you don't want to..."

"Stop that, now." The voice was firm -- well, as firm as it *could* be, considering he was cock-deep in Zechs's ass. "I just don't want to hurt you..." A hand smacked lightly against a thigh. "Unless, of course, that's what you want," was the sinful continuance.

A soft groan escaped Zechs as he wriggled, wanting the friction and frustrated that he wasn't getting it. "Oh, *please*... don't make me wait!"

For a second, it seemed as if Wufei wouldn't move at all; but then he was shifting in firm strokes, long and hard, that seemed to shake the entire frame of the tall man beneath him.

Hard panted breaths were forced out of Zechs with each thrust and he whimpered, shaking his head at the sweet agony of pleasure Wufei had gotten him into. Azure eyes closed slowly as he felt release coming for him, as if it were a far off wave and there was nothing he could do to escape its path. The next moment it was on him, and the only thing to do was moan his lover's name, over and over as his seed spilled onto the floor.

The heated clamp around him left him without the will to push much more, so exquisite was it, and so Wufei gave another shaking thrust and then another and finally a last before collapsing atop Zechs with quick pants. "Oh, GOD!"

Burying his face in the soft carpet, Zechs groaned softly as Wufei filled him with warm seed. So lovely, to be claimed that way and know that it was his sweet little man, his small but fierce tiger who had done it. "Love you, little man," he whispered. "Love you..."

It took all Wufei could do to pull out slowly and tumble to the carpet beside Zechs, an arm going out to wrap tightly around him. "So much," he answered quietly, nuzzling against him. "So very much."

The tall blond was half expecting his pager to go off at that moment, but it didn't, and he rolled to his side as well, facing Wufei. "Why can't I get enough of you?" he said softly. "You're in my blood, a part of me... I wanted to die when you left me."

Those wide-spaced dark eyes wavered for a moment, almost as if fighting back a sheen of tears. "I don't know," he said slowly. "I used to think about you, when I was with Mariemeia. Used to dream about you, ache with missing you, wake up with a wet pillow... I guess I hoped that you weren't suffering through that. That you'd seen the note..."

Zechs closed his eyes for a moment and a single tear made its way down his cheek. After a moment's pause he opened his eyes again. "Looking at the things you left... it was too painful. Especially those books. It... it had meant so much to me to be able to buy them for you, to be able to do something to make you happy when you were so miserable. Without you there... well, it just hurt too much."

Fingers rose, touching his cheek lightly. "I know," Wufei whispered. "Oh, God, I know. Before I went to her, I put everything away, on Earth. *Her* hair, the roses, the medallion... everything. I was afraid, if she saw them... I was just afraid! But I had to get them back. Even though they all hurt, even though it was all sadness, I had to get them back..."

"So how did you get the book?" Zechs asked, his voice no more than a whisper. "I put it into storage with all the other things... from that house. Never meant to go back for it. I suppose I was rather hoping I would die in that war. Then it would stop hurting. Everything would just stop hurting..."

There was some surprise in Wufei as he looked at Zechs. "I took it with me... You didn't even notice..." He laughed a little harshly, eyes wide and confused. "I was so afraid you would notice and be angry that I had taken anything at all, and you didn't even notice!"

"I didn't notice anything back then," Zechs replied softly. "It was like being dead, but my body didn't know it so I was still walking around." A strange, quiet laugh escaped him. "I became a very frequent visitor to my grave... Besides, why would I be angry? Those books were yours. I gave them *to you*, to do with what you wanted."

"But *you* bought them," Wufei said, touching that lovely face. "You bought them and signed them and meant them and we shared them..."

"I guess I just assumed that you didn't want anything to do with me anymore. That I'd been wrong when I thought..." He broke off. "Why would you want books given to you by someone you hated? That's what I thought."

"Well, don't ever think it again!" Wufei told him, scowling. "You're mine and I love you and you'd better remember it."

Zechs gave him a soft smile. "Yes, *sir*!" he said, reaching out a finger and tracing the scowl on Wufei's face -- first the eyebrows, the nose, the downturned lips. "I believe it now, little man..."

"Kiss me," Wufei demanded, still pouting.

There was nothing to be said to that, so Zechs simply rolled over atop Wufei and stared down into eyes like midnight. Tracing his thumbs over fine, black brows and then down to the lovely, carmine lips. Brushing against them lightly with his own, he whispered, "You devastate me," and pressed his mouth to Wufei's.

"Always," Wufei said softly as their lips parted, coming together again slowly.

So good -- it was always so good with Wufei, and Zechs had to moan softly, unable to believe his luck. It wasn't often that life handed out second chances, let alone thirds, but this one was genuine. He straddled the younger man, forearms on either side of his head, pressing against him as he ate sensuously at an eager mouth. "Mmmmn... Wufei... love you," he whispered as he nuzzled Wufei's ear and began another kiss. "Love you... love you... love you..."

The sound that came from the Chinese man was one very few people would recognize and only one of them was living. A light laugh so short and small as to be a giggle spilled loose, the tickle of that kiss against his ear giving him goosebumps. "Yes!" he said in pleased agreement. "Oh, yes, I love you!"

The side of Wufei's neck had taken on a sudden appeal to Zechs and he proceeded to bury his face against it, kissing and licking the soft, warm skin and making happy growling noises. In between them he managed to say, "Someday I'm going to ask you to marry me, so I can carry you off to a castle, and we can raise the drawbridge and stay in bed for days..."

"Oh, GOD, that sounds like a beautiful idea..." Wufei murmured, tilting his head back and almost purring with laughter, the touch of Zechs's mouth wonderful and still encouraging the goosebumps that he had. "That sounds just about perfect... Mmmmm, do that again!"

Soft slow kisses were pressed to that offered throat, little nips taken, and then on to suckling that left tiny bruises on the tender, richly-colored skin. Pressing the entire length of his body against his smaller companion's, Zechs nuzzled his way to the other side of Wufei's neck, to begin all over again.

The words that echoed in his ears were sweet, indeed. "Make me cry for you, Zechs..."

And he did.

Two days later -- 11 am Mars time

Duo woke from a fuzzy, but pleasant dream that involved something that required him to fly around at high speed, so his face on waking was already fixed with a pleased grin. He shrugged cramped shoulders and stretched his arms, giving a loud yawn and blinking at the cabin in general and his seatmate in particular. "Morning, Trowa," he said cheerfully. Guess we're close to Mars, eh?"

"Another half hour," Trowa said quietly, looking out the window as if he could see Mars (and Quatre) from there.

A quick scratch of a somewhat scruffy head and Duo stood, leaning over the empty seat in front of them so he could stretch his legs. Their shuttle carried only four other people, all scientists going to Mars to relieve others who had been there for six months.

Looking around for a possibly conversation partner, Duo made a face. Everyone was either asleep or working on the computers that were built into every seat. With a heavy sigh, he flopped back down in his seat and looked over at Trowa. "*So*. Trowa. How long has it been since you've been away from L3?"

For a moment, something resembling amusement glanced across green eyes before disappearing once again. "Since the coup attempt, actually. The circus hasn't been back since then, and Quatre..."

When the pause grew prolonged, Duo raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer to the quiet man at his side. "Yeah, and Quatre...?"

The faint flush on those cheeks wouldn't have been noticed by any normal person, but it was there. "Quatre doesn't live on L3," he said finally.

Duo sat back, a sympathetic pout on his face. "Ah, Trowa. I know all about that kind of thing. But I'm sure he'll be really happy to see you, and you never know what can happen when people meet up again after a long time apart. I mean, heck -- he could be feeling exactly the same way, you know? Hoo, and then what happens, right? I mean, have you considered moving to *Mars* for awhile? But maybe it's not so bad. I've never been there before, have you?"

That flood of words washed over Trowa, leaving him feeling much like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. "No," he told Duo in his own quiet manner. "I've never been to Mars before."

"Cool!" Duo replied. "Then it's a first for both of us! Just think, a completely new *planet* to roam around on. Who'd have thought? Wish I had Deathscythe here, can you imagine going on a tear around all the craters and stuff..." Duo went on for quite awhile, secure in the knowledge that Trowa was listening to him. The chatter only stopped when a voice on the overhead speakers announced they would be landing at Mars Base in five minutes. This elicited a wide grin from Duo, who leaned over and elbowed Trowa playfully. "Five minutes 'til Quatre!"

Somehow, Trowa knew that those five minutes would not be passed in silence.

He had been right. Even as they disembarked, Duo continued to talk, and Trowa marvelled at that. Did he ever stop? Did he never get tired?

Did he ever need to take a breath?

Nearly thrashing Trowa with his braid, Duo whipped his head around several times as they stepped off the shuttle into the cavernous visitor hangar. The his face lit up. "Quatre!! Look, Trowa -- there he is!! Hey, Q-man! How's it going!!"

With much more decorum, Trowa rolled his eyes slightly and followed behind Duo, a warm hint of a smile gracing his features. His gaze ate the smaller blond alive with adoration for a moment as he said simply, "Hi."

The flush upon the blond young man's cheeks spoke of something a bit more than delight. "Duo! Trowa! I'm so glad you could both make it!"

Duo wrapped lean arms around Quatre, enveloping him in a bear hug. "Oh, man -- it's so good to see you. Been *way* too long."

"We've been very busy here on Mars!" Quatre said, hugging him back even as he looked at Trowa with glowing worshipful gaze. "And we've been having problems..."

"You said you'd tell us about those when we arrived," Trowa murmured. "Shall we go somewhere and talk about them?"

Duo looked quickly between the two of them and tried, unsuccessfully to stifle a smirk. Then he arranged his face as seriously as he could and said, "Well, actually guys, I'm beat. Space travel really takes it out of me, especially this civilian stuff. So, um -- Quatre? Maybe you could just tell me where my quarters are and I'll just flop for a bit and then maybe we could meet for lunch and maybe talk while we're eating." He smiled at them and blinked. "Okay?"

"That's just fine, Duo," Quatre answered vaguely, that shining smile still beaming upon Trowa.

Trowa's answer was equally as distracted, though more specific. "See you in the cafeteria."

Another look back and forth at the frozen figures of his friends and a small look of irritation crossed Duo's face. "Great, well..." He waved his hand in front of Quatre, but the blond didn't blink. "Guys?" No response was forthcoming. At last he said in a loud voice. "You can get rid of me really easily if you just tell me where my quarters are and give me a map!"

"Having a hard time, Duo?" Noin drawled as she walked towards him. "I'd heard you and Trowa were coming in, so I thought I'd come down and welcome you to Mars. They seem a bit distracted, don't they?"

A grin returned to Duo's face. "Hey, Noin! Long time no see!" He nodded towards Quatre and Trowa and made a wry face. "Can't get any information out of these guys," he drawled. "Maybe you know where I'm quartered."

"Chances are," she replied, shaking her head slowly. "C'mon. Got any bags?"

He indicated the backpack he carried. "Just this. I travel light. So, aside from all this weird shit happening, how have things been out here?"

Sighing, Noin held out both hands. "Want me to start at the beginning? Wherever that is?"

Duo's eyebrows rose and he looked over at the dark-haired woman as they crossed the hangar. "Su-ure," he said, with mock wariness. "Has it been that exciting?"

"Well, we've had quarters destroyed, hearts broken, security at risk and a murder. What would you say?"

Duo arranged his face to look suitably impressed. "Well," he answered, "I'd say that's a big 'yes'. Now of course, I knew about the the quarters, the security and the murder -- Quatre filled us in on that. But the heartbreak stuff is new. Care to buy me a soda and fill me in?"

"Ahhh..." For a moment, Noin thought about it. "Why not? C'mon, let's go."

Hoisting his old green backpack a bit higher on his shoulder, Duo followed Noin to the base's canteen where they picked up drinks and found a table. "Nice place," Duo said, looking around the spacious eatery. Then he looked back to the woman across the table. "So what's going on, Noin?"

"Where to start?" she asked idly, playing for a moment with her straw. "Hmmm. Well, I suppose we'll start with the fact that I always thought Zechs and your buddy Chang hated one another. I mean... you know why, right?"

Duo looked rather uncomfortable. "Uh... no. Am I supposed to?"

"No, it just means that I have to go all the way back and explain some other things to you. You see, Zechs and Treize Khushrenada were always a 'thing', as some people would say. You might have heard it." Her smile was crooked. "They called him 'Treize's Boy'."

Duo pulled his head back and blinked at her. "Wow, do I feel out of it," he said with a low whistle. "I'd heard the nickname but didn't realize..." He waved a hand dismissively. "Sorry, go on."

"As it turns out," Noin said slowly, "there was more than one boy. If you get what I mean. I don't know any of the details, just that it was so."

Despite appearing to be a silly chatterbox, Duo Maxwell had an extremely quick and incisive mind and with Noin's comment it had just kicked into high gear. "Wait just a minute," he said slowly, sitting back a bit in his chair. "Are you trying to tell me that... that Treize was sleeping with Zechs... *and*..." He tried hard to say the name, but it seemed so absurd. Shaking his head in disbelief, he murmured, "No... he wouldn't have... He just... wouldn't have done something that stupid..."

"Which one?" Noin quipped, raising both eyebrows. "Because I promise you, they could and they did."

Duo's mouth gaped. "Well, hell! At least Zechs was on the same *side* as the guy! Wufei -- oh man, why would he *do* something like that? He had to have known what a compromise that was to all of our positions!"

"You've got ME," Noin replied. "I've never had any indication of what goes on in the mind of *that* young man." She sighed. "At any rate, it was so. Something happened between all of them, though just what, I couldn't tell you. All I know, now, is that after the war, Wufei and Zechs apparently met in Luxembourg where they enjoyed a short-lived romance that was broken by Wufei leaving to join Mariemeia's army. That," she said sardonically, "is where I come in, so to speak."

Feeling completely perplexed, Duo folded his arms in front of him. "So, even though they were both sleeping with Treize, who was basically two-timing both of them, they met up after the war and fell in *love?* And what happened when Wufei left?"

"That's the long and short of it," Noin said. "After that, I think Zechs fell to pieces for a while -- he's never really been willing to talk about it. Then there was Mariemeia's coup attempt, and afterwards, we came to Mars and became... involved. Unfortunately, Chang Wufei *also* came to Mars..." She sighed. "Things were so happy until a few days ago. Everything was so perfect... and then the trouble started."

The expressive face across the table from her turned like quicksilver to sympathy and concern. "Wow. So, you and Zechs were... like a couple or something? Well, what happened? Was there trouble between you and Wufei?"

"Actually, no. There was trouble here. Little things, at first, trouble at the oxygen plant, tensions rising between workers, that sort of thing. Then, three nights ago, the REAL trouble started. All of our rooms were ransacked -- mine, Zechs's, Quatre's, Chang's. Sally was the only one whose quarters escaped, but she got a note similar to the ones left in all of our rooms. Mostly, they were intended to hurt us. Damage our relationships with one another, somewhat. There was a dead animal in Zechs's room and all of his pictures of Treize and his family were destroyed; Chang's memory box and books were ripped apart; Quatre's violin was smashed... Oh, there were other things, but those were the things that *hurt*. In my room..." She paused. "There were Barbie dolls mutilated to look like Zechs, and... pictures on the wall. Pictures of them. Zechs and..."

Duo wore a puzzled frown. "Pictures? Like from when they were together before?"

"From about two hours before," Noin clarified. "On one of the decks. When I thought Zechs loved *me*."

It took a few seconds to process, but the meaning finally clicked in Duo's mind. "You mean someone took pictures of them when they were... Doing *that?*" he said in a fierce whisper. "Do you know who it was? And then they put them in *your* room??" He put an elbow on the table and propped his cheek on it. "It must have been quite a shock."

"That's the understatement of the century," she drawled, raising her coke and taking a sip. "No, maybe even the understatement of the next three millennium... I didn't even find them. They did, took them all down, of course, but I found out what they were anyway. The best clue -- the only clue -- that we've had so far, has been the medallions. They've been left somewhere for each incident that's occurred. The first was left on the deck where the pictures were taken -- St. Brendan. The next was at the site of some machinery that had been destroyed beyond working -- just one part. One very irreplacable part. That one was St. Catherine. The last was the most gruesome. Chang went down to check a problem in laundry and found one of our people there. She'd been murdered and stuffed in a laundry chute, with the medallion nailed into her forehead. St. Florian."

"Florian?" Duo said, looking up at her in surprise. "What a perfect choice for something that sick. His small frame shuddered. "I remember having to learn about him in catechism. He wasn't just martyred, that guy was *tortured.* He was scourged, half-flayed alive, set on fire, and finally, when that didn't kill him, they threw him into a river with a stone around his neck." Once again a quick shiver and then, in a low voice, "Can't believe they want little kids to learn that kind of stuff..."

"Quatre sort of thought you might be able to make a connection between them that we haven't been able to," Noin said quietly. "And, of course... there's safety in numbers."

"I'm really sorry to hear about all this, Noin," Duo said, giving her a sympathetic look. "And I'm sure it makes things even tougher dealing with Zechs and Wufei right now. How are you handling that?"

"Like a bear with a sore paw," she admittedly with no little amusement. "It's kind of rotten of me, but I figure I'm entitled."

Another sympathetic frown, then Duo's face brightened. "Hey, you want me to beat him up for you?"

At that, she laughed, voice delightfully husky. "Hmm, now there's a thought, isn't there?" Shaking her head slowly, she said, "I guess not. Though the idea of it will certainly give me plenty of fond fantasies!"

Duo, having sat in the shuttle and now in the cafeteria, was trying hard not to bounce in his seat. "Well, you just remember that I'll do whatever I can for you -- including bodily mutilation. Hey, would you happen to have a map of the base that I could use to do some exploring?"

"Yep," Noin agreed, sucking down the last of her drink. "We ought to just put up billboards that announce, 'you are HERE', I think sometimes. But I can get you one. Come on." With that, she rose, cup in hand.

"So," Duo began hesitantly as they walked, "are you going to put me back on the shuttle if I ask where I can find Wuffie?"

"Mmm, my suggestion would be the security office," Noin told him, chunking the cup. "Three halls down, take the elevator to the third floor and it's two halls down on the left, fifth door on the right."

Duo folded his arms in front of him and gave her a somewhat pained look. "How about I just get a map -- got one of those?"

When she'd procured the map for him, he set off happily through the somewhat labyrinthine hallways of the base and soon found a door that read, "Security Control Center." Pushing the door open, he looked around hopefully and when he didn't see anyone called, "Hey Wu-man! You in here? It's me. Trouble!"

"I don't want any, I have enough," came the reply as Wufei stepped out of what appeared to be a small room. He was a mess, hair down, bruise on one temple, black hair tangled and he smelled like...

The braided boy had taken one step towards him and then stopped, tilting his head to one side as he took in his ex-colleague's state of dishevelment. "W- Wufei? Are you all right? You look like you've been in a fight." /And I won't ask about your aftershave. I can tell it's Eau de Man. Heh! Wow, Zechs must like it rough.../

"Nnn. I nearly knocked myself flat on laundry level," Wufei grunted, glancing surreptitiously at the mostly shut door as he shifted from foot to foot. "You made good time."

"Yeah, the wonders of space travel," Duo said, smirking at his friend. "So... anything going on here *other* than this creepy business?" /Mmmm... if he's like this, I wonder what Zechs looks like.../ He couldn't help but giggle at the thought. Wufei gave him a strange look, though, so he did his best to stifle it.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Wufei said, still looking at the chestnut haired man oddly. "Aside from murder, intrigue, destruction and all-around chaos."

"That's a new look for you,isn't it?" Duo said, unable to get all the smirk off of his face.

Black eyes narrowed slowly as Wufei reached up and tucked tangled hair back behind his ears. "The bruise hurts too much to pull it back," he excused, sniffing and zipping his jacket.

"Yeah?" Duo replied, having to laugh at the look of the perpetually neat-and tidy Wufei in what *had* to be a sex-drenched state. His mirth was interrupted, however, by a beeping sound from the console that stood to Duo's right. Immediately, a tall figure came out of the back room and ran to the comm unit, pressing the call button and leaning down to speak to the caller. Long, pale gold hair hid his face from Duo's view.

As if that would have made any difference...

The American turned to Wufei and grinned. "So," he said quietly, stepping a little closer to the ex-pilot of Altron. "You're working with Zechs now. How's that going?"

"We haven't killed one another yet," Wufei said uneasily, stepping back from Duo. He knew he smelled like sex and, while it was probably already obvious... Well. There was no reason to flaunt it, was there? It was none of Duo's business! And there was still the fact that Zechs was worried about Noin and her reaction to their relationship...

The tall blond finished the call he'd taken and turned around. "Duo," he said evenly. A pleasure to see you again. How have you been keeping?"

"Just fine, Zechs," he said with a very warm smile. He walked closer to him and pointed to the console. "Are you in charge of all this stuff?"

"Mmmm, yes I suppose I am, although I don't feel I've been doing the job very well lately..." Zechs's voice had trailed off and frowned.

"Hey," Duo said, putting a hand on the tall man's arm, "it's gonna be all right! We're all gonna be working here together -- don't get down!"

Zechs raised an elegant eyebrow at the cheerful boy, but then relented and smiled. "Thanks, Duo," he said, "I appreciate that."

Wufei, on the other hand, wasn't smiling at ALL. "Maxwell," he said stiffly. "Remove your hands right this minute before I remove them for you and leave you with nothing but two bloody nubs." Little flames were practically sparking in black eyes as he glared at the two. If he could have, he'd have stamped Zechs with little black marker stating 'property of Chang Wufei, touch & die' in that moment.

Two long-haired men looked over at him and blinked. Duo was certain he had to be joking. "Oh, right," he said his tone rich with irony, "yeah, I bet you'd really beat me up, wouldn'tcha, Wufie." He was nodding his head, trying to look serious in pursed lips and a heavy frown. Zechs looked down at him and grinned.

Duo was having so much fun with it, in fact, that he forgot to remove his hands from Zechs's sleeve.

One black eyebrow raised very slowly as Wufei took another step closer, practically purring as he glared at them both. "No, Duo. I wouldn't beat you up." His teeth were gritted together tightly. "That doesn't mean I can't do something more exotic and painful, however."

Duo's wide eyes went impossibly wider.

"Wufei? What are you talking about?" Zechs said, his tone light and joking. "You're going to scare your little friend here, stop kidding around."

Duo carefully lifted his hand off of Zechs's uniform sleeve and held up his hands. "See, Wufie? They're off! I'm not touching the merchandise!" He backed slowly away from Zechs, who was watching him with a confused look.

Wufei's arms crossed over his chest, lower lip stuck out slightly, eyes narrowed. "Hmph! You just keep them that way, Maxwell," he said seriously. "It's MY merchandise."

It was Zechs's eyes that went wide this time. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then turned red and shut it, turning back to the console again.

Duo gave the blond a wary, sidelong glance and inched away from him, not knowing quite where to go because moving away from Zechs meant moving towards Wufei. He grinned, nervously, trying to calm his former colleague. "Well, you two seem very... close. That's great."

One black brow perked straight up as Wufei looked at Duo. "You're up to something, Maxwell. I don't trust you one bit, and you just keep that in mind. Have you seen Quatre yet?"

"Seen him? Yes. Talked to him. Hah! Trowa got off the plane and the two of them were like little magnets. Zoom!" He brought his fingers together rapidly and held them in a knot.

Over at the console, Zechs looked over his shoulder and smiled at the sound effects before taking another call.

"*Maybe* I'll get to talk to him," Duo added, "but I'm not holding my breath."

Wufei skirted Duo to sink into a chair near Zechs, glancing up at the tall man for a moment as he said, "Has anybody filled you in on exactly what's happening here, Maxwell? Quatre seemed to think that you'd be able to connect some kind of link that he just hasn't been able to grasp yet."

"Noin told me some stuff. Seems you folks are finding saint medals. That took me back, believe me. Having to learn all that stuff -- never knew it would actually be of some use. Do you have the medals themselves that I could look at?"

"Yes. Zechs?" Wufei asked, looking at him.

The tall blond turned, holding one side of a headset against his ear. He pointed to a small brown envelope on the desk behind Wufei. It was marked, "FORENSICS: Cleared."

Moving with his usual spare grace, Wufei turned and lifted the envelope, scooting his chair closer to Zechs so that Duo could get closer on the other side -- DEFINITELY on the other side! "Here they are," he said quietly, spilling out the contents.

The medallions, some smaller than others, glimmered slightly with the exception of the one with the hole in the center, gleaming coldly.

Duo moved his chair over and sat down, picking up each medal, staring closely at it and then putting it down in his palm and picking up the next. "These are definitely from the Earth -- there's a big difference in Earth medals and Colony medals in the Catholic Church. I'm not sure why, but I remember Sister Helen having problems getting a hold of Earth medals for a couple of people who weren't born in the Colonies. Colony medals were usually oval in shape. These are round..."

He turned all three over and pointed out a small engraving on the back that read, "Terr." "See that?" he said, looking up at Wufei. "Earth-based churches got so paranoid that they insisted the medals be inscribed so there wouldn't be any mistaking one for the other." The shaggy head was shaking. "It was a very weird chapter in the Church's history... well -- one of many."

Zechs, off of his call, leaned over and looked at the tiny mark. "Okay, so the person who got these either was with an Earth-sect of Catholicism or knew someone who was, or is trying to make us think they were." He ran a hand through long bangs and looked over at Duo. "Any other way to narrow it down any?"

"Oh, well... not all the Earth sects used special medals. In fact there were quite a few that used oval medals to show support for the colonies. It was one of those fashionable statements for a liberal-thinking Catholic to make. So, the churches, and parishioners, who used this kind of medal were much more conservative and often had strong anti-colonial feelings. That's the whole reason the two types of medals came to be used in the first place."

"Which brings us back to the murdered girl," Wufei said. "She was pro-colony in the extreme and that guy who was harassing her had been very anti-colony."

"Yes... he was..." Zechs looked thoughtful. "Duo, would you be willing to interview this man, the one whom Anna thought was harassing her? Maybe you could get him to talk about his religious affiliation. It might be nothing, but we have to explore every option that seems connected."

Duo shrugged. "Sure. I can talk to him. We can swap catechism stories." He looked up at Zechs and winked, forgetting Wufei was sitting next to him. "When do I start?"

The poke he felt in his ribs was particularly painful and unpleasant, though Wufei's face did not change expression. "Now. Yesterday. As soon as I can get you down there!" /And AWAY from my Zechs!/ he thought crankily, lower lip becoming slightly pouty again.

Duo tried to scowl at the other ex-pilot, but it just wouldn't work when he thought of why Wufei was acting the way he was. Imagine -- the stiffest, sternest, most stubborn of the pilots (even more than Heero) was getting protective about a guy who was almost a foot taller than he was and who probably outweighed him by eighty pounds or so.

"I appreciate it, Duo. We all are very grateful for the help you and Trowa can provide."

"Ah, don't fuss about it," Duo said good-naturedly, waving his hand. Just give me an hour to decompress and I'll be happy to talk to the guy." He stifled a yawn and then looked at Wufei. "Can you show me where I'm staying?"

Pushing himself up from where he'd been leaning against the desk, Wufei shoved black strands of hair behind an ear. "Come on. You'll be in the 'guest' quarters. We all are, currently. Decided it was safer to stick together after our rooms were ransacked."

"Great -- lead on. Oh, g'bye Zechs!" Duo called from the doorway. "I'll check *you* out later!" The he stepped into the hall to follow Wufei.

Black eyes looked at him with a steady evil glare. "You'll WHAT later, Maxwell?"

"Come back...?" Duo said, now feeling less threatened and more amused by the jealousy in Wufei's voice. "Visit him again? Drop in and say hi -- chat a little? He's *damn* good looking, you know...."

"Perhaps you've become deaf in your old age," Wufei said slowly, "or stupid. I don't think you understand, Maxwell. I'm quite serious. Zechs. Is. Mine. I would be very UNHAPPY with you if you did those things -- so unhappy, in fact, that I might just have to..." He paused, trying to think of an appropriate punishment. "Leave you alone in a room with Trowa and Quatre as they stare into one another's eyes for hours."

The American gave his best impression of someone facing not only death, which was inconsequential, but the full force of Hades as well. He grabbed a hold of Wufei's arm and looked pleadingly into the dark eyes. "No! No, Wufei!! You wouldn't do *that*, would you? Just for a little harmless flirting?? Please, no!!"

"That and WORSE," Wufei assured him through that narrowed gaze. "You just keep in mind that he's *mine*."

"Yeah, yeah," Duo muttered, rolling his eyes, and then he looked over at Wufei again. "Why are you being so possessive of him, anyway? I thought you two couldn't stand each other. What happened?"

A slow flush rose on Wufei's face, and he shrugged, smiling just the tiniest bit. "Long story. Things happen."

Duo let out a burst of laughter. "Oh really? Things happen? You've just threatened me with a fate worse than death if I get anywhere close to the man you hated and your explanation for it is, 'Things happen'??"

They were standing at the door to Duo's quarters. "I don't suppose you'd care to fill me in on any of those little 'things', would you?"

"D'you have time for it?" Wufei asked, tilting his head to the side. "It starts before the end of the war, you know. Before Mariemeia, even. And I want a shower, first..."

"Well," Duo said graciously, "please feel free to use the one here. I'll be after you."

Wufei's brows quirked up and he gave Duo a crooked smile. "Sure. Maxwell, are you sure you're mature enough to hear about this?" It was the closest to teasing Duo'd seen him in... well... EVER!

"Am *I* mature enough??" Duo said in mild disbelief as they entered the room. "Come on, Wufie -- you were always the prude of the group." He gave a teasing laugh and threw his backpack on one of the three beds in the group living quarters.

The smirk that was cast his way was enough to shake that belief -- almost. "Like I said, Maxwell... Are you sure you're mature enough?" And the bathroom door shut behind him, very quietly.

Duo made a face at the door and then threw a pillow at it. "Oh, sure -- you just *think* you're being very mysterious and driving me completely crazy with curiosity, don't you. Hah! You don't fool me one bit! I happen to *know* that aliens have abducted the real Wufei and put you here in his *place!*" He flopped down on the bed he'd chosen and muttered to himself. "Am I sure I'm mature enough -- hn."

Ten minutes later, Wufei walked out of the bathroom, clad in the same clothes but smelling *much* better. /Need a change, but it can wait 'til.../ The sight of Duo, sprawled out over the bed and dead to the world, almost made him laugh. "You couldn't even stay awake, Maxwell," he said softly.

"Wha? What??" Duo sat up suddenly, looking around and blinking furiously, like a cat that's been awakened when it *really* didn't want to be. Rubbing his face with his sleeve, he looked up at Wufei with bleary violet eyes. "'s my turn?"

"Yes, Maxwell," Wufei said solemnly. "It's your turn."

Duo took a bit longer in his shower and emerged, when he was finished, in a towel, wrapped around his hips, combing out very long, very wet hair. "You don't mind if I get dressed while we talk, do you? So, what's with the 'Zechs is mine' thing?"

"That's fairly simple," Wufei replied. "Zechs *is* mine. Mine. M-I-N-E. Mine." He chuckled slightly at his own redundancy. "I haven't been in love like this in years. Not since..." That was a particularly sobering thought, and he sighed. "I should probably start at the beginning. What do you know about Treize Khushrenada?"

Duo made the connection immediately. "You were *in love* with Treize?? The guy we were fighting against? The guy you *hated?* Or at least *acted* like you hated?"

A dull flush covered Wufei's face. "Yes." There was no use in denying it, in trying to worm his way out of the confession that he'd been planning to make anyway.

"Wow," Duo said softly and then slowly began to comb out his hair. /He was the one who killed him... how did *that* happen...?/ Sitting down on his bed, Duo drew all of his hair over one shoulder and continued combing. "Were you two... were you *together* during the whole war?"

Laying back on the spare bed, Wufei folded his hands behind his head. "Part of it. Not once I figured out he was sleeping with Zechs. Unfortunately for Treize, Zechs figured out he was sleeping with *me* about the same time. We both just sort of abandoned him to fate, I guess you could say. It's why I always hated Zechs so much... blamed him, some, I guess. He hated me as much, though..."

"Wait a minute -- Treize was with *Zechs* too? Man, do *I* feel out of the loop! I heard they were close, but..." He stared at Wufei for a moment and shook his head, spraying water droplets around the room. "MY head's spinning on this one. So, if you hated Zechs and he hated you because you were both sleeping with the same guy... that doesn't seem to lead, logically that is, to you telling *me* I can't flirt with him because he's Y-O-U-R-S. Care to explain that?"

"Where did you go after the war, Maxwell?" Wufei asked. "I mean, what did you do, between then and Mariemeia's coup?"

Duo's face took on a look of consternation. "What? I... Heero and I spent some time together. Went back to L2 for a bit and the Preventers called. Said they wanted a couple of space jockeys for undercover work. It was actually pretty slow until Dekim Barton showed up." His frown deepened. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you!" was the reply as Wufei sat up and shook his head. "I went to Luxembourg when the war ended. There wasn't anywhere else to go... I mean, my colony had been destroyed, Treize was dead and... the rest of you just sort of went off happily in pairs, and there was nowhere to go.... So I went to Luxembourg, to the Romafeller estate where they'd kept him captive. That was where I met Zechs again."

"That must have been a lovely meeting. Had you actually met him before that? When you two were... I mean, while you were both with Treize?"

Laying back down on the bed, Wufei continued. "He took care of me, though, and that was good. I couldn't even remember to come in out of the rain for a while, obviously. And at some point, I'm not really sure when... things just... changed."

"So he was nice to you and eventually you just... liked him for something more? What was it?" The American half-hid behind his pillow and wriggled his eyebrows. "Is he good in bed -- heh heh."

Instead of getting excitable and cranky, Wufei only lifted a brow in a lofty imitation of Treize Khushrenada. "What do *you* think, Maxwell?"

Duo, not to be outdone, raised his eyebrows as well. "I wouldn't *know* dear, *I've* never been in bed with him." He sighed heavily and then grinned. "Maybe I could remedy that problem on this trip..." He lay that way for awhile and the look upside-down at Wufei. "You're avoiding all this -- why don't you want to talk about it?"

"It's hard...." Wufei frowned. "You think I'm used to confessions like this? You asked, Maxwell, and... I think I've wanted to tell, but... Ah, hell..." He bit his lip. "I fucked it up. So it's hard to talk about... But it was so *wonderful*, Duo. He pays so much attention, and he likes to read in bed, and he cooks, and he loves sex and... and it was too much, you know? It was too much. I couldn't believe I deserved that, and so when Mariemeia found me..."

"Whoa!" Duo sat up, mouth gaping in disbelief. "*She* found *you*? I always thought -- well, I guess I always thought that you went to her... you know, sort of... volunteered. "But if he was so great, how did *she* break that up. What did she say to you, man?"

"That I owed her. That I owed Tr... her father. That she'd kill him if I mentioned it to him..."

"Shit," Duo murmured, sitting back a bit and staring down at his comb. "Tell me something, Wufei. Did you believe in what she was doing? I mean... do you think that's what Treize wanted?"

For a moment, black gaze only looked at him, solemn, somehow. The question seemed to rumble about in his thoughts before he said slowly. "Now? No. I know better... But then...." How to explain, the dreams, the nightmares that had clung to him, then, the desperate feelings of inadequacies?

Duo waited patiently and when his friend said nothing he prompted softly, "But then...?"

"Then was just different, Maxwell," he said softly. "Then was harder. We'd lost our purposes, hadn't we? Tell me you weren't ecstatic when something dangerous came into your life. Tell me you don't feel more alive right now. Tell me that it didn't make you feel worthless, useless, to be without a war, a purpose, a *life*, a family... a lover that you'd killed with your own hands..." He sighed. "And Zechs was so beautiful and so *good* when I needed abuse a lot more than I needed that kind of wonderfulness."

For the moment, Duo ignored the fact that, actually, he had found life after the war very pleasant indeed. But then he had always had a "vocation" as it were and was more than happy to return to salvaging full time. He looked thoughtfully at Wufei. "Seems to me that if you're at the point where you think you *need* abuse, then that's the time you *do* need someone wonderful."

Wufei shrugged slightly, looking at him. "I don't know. I was so confused..." He sighed. "Anyway, point being, I went with Mariemeia, where I *did* get the abuse I was looking for. And then, when I finally got my act together, I came here, and there he was. I knew he was here... I mean, how could I not, right?"

Duo laughed a little and shook his head in disbelief. "So, you came to Mars knowing that the guy you ran out on was working here? That sounds like a good plan. What was his reaction? Did he welcome you back with open arms?" The laugh had settled into a mischievous grin and Duo waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Black eyes rolled slightly. "He nearly pissed in his pants, he was so frustrated!" Then, unable to believe he'd said that, he flushed violently. "What's worse, he was with Noin. Ugh. Women."

A pillow from Duo's bed sailed through the air and landed precisely in Wufei's face. "Well, *damn* it's good to know *some* things haven't changed at all over the years. You're still just as fond of the ladies as always." Duo sniggered lightly. "So, he really wanted you, but he was already with Noin?"

Wufei tossed the pillow back and shook his head. "He didn't act like it. Acted more or less like he'd enjoy just about anything that would get me away, up to and including burying me headfirst out on the plains someplace." The next admission was a little sheepish. "I searched him out and..."

Duo clutched the pillow to his stomach and stared. "You did *what*?"

The blush on Wufei's face said it all as he looked back at the violet-eyed ex pilot. "YOU know."

"Even though you *knew* he was with Noin??" Duo felt suddenly as though he was looking at a very skilled Chang Wufei impersonator. Surely the Wufei he knew would never be so forward as to follow an ex-lover to a lonely outpost like Mars and hope to start anything again -- and yet it seemed to be so. "Well," Duo added, having to admit an embarrassing curiosity, "what made him change his mind about you?"

"It wasn't over yet," Wufei said softly. "That's all. Sometimes, unfinished business takes over one's being. Maybe that's all it is," he said, suddenly insecure despite love-words so recently given. "I didn't mean to take him away from Noin... only..."

Duo leaned forward, still clutching the pillow, and searching Wufei's face. "Only what, Wufei?" he asked quietly.

"Only I couldn't live without him."

The rather shaggy head tipped to one side and Duo smiled wistfully. "Oh, Wufei... that's so... romantic." He was beaming at his friend, enjoying the rare feeling of being happy for Wufei. "And I guess he couldn't live without you, either," he added softly.

"I don't think so," Wufei said just as quietly.

For several moments, Duo just sat, hugging his pillow, enjoying the look on his friend's normally stern face. Then a thought occurred to him and he frowned a little. "And... what happened with Noin?"

"Zechs apologized. There wasn't much else to do..."

"Hmm," Duo said, noting his friend's hesitancy. "So it's all worked out now, then. You guys certainly seem... *happy* with each other. I'm really glad for you, Wu-man. I never would have thought in a million years it'd be Zechs, but, I'm really happy you two found each other."

"Yeah," Wufei said softly, laying back against the pillows. "Me, too. So if you touch him, I'll hurt you, Maxwell. Well..." he paused. "Fulfill the threat about Trowa and Quatre, maybe." It was a *definite* tease -- scary.

"All right, all right -- as long as you don't take ordinary conversation as me putting the moves on *your* guy. Besides -- if he's half in love with you the way you seem to be with him, nothin' *I* could say would make him be unfaithful." Duo grinned and then flopped over on his back. "And now, I have to kick you out. I need a nqp if I'm gonna be at all coherent when I talk to this guy. Can you turn off the light on your way out?"

Rising, Wufei nodded. "Can do," he said, moving to the door. "Sleep well, Maxwell." Clicking off the lights, he let the door shut behind him and began the long trip towards the cafeteria. /Might as well pick up a few sandwiches and some coffee,/ he thought, frowning slightly and tucking a loose strand of black hair behind an ear.

The trip took forever, as it sometimes seemed *everything* did on the Mars base; the designer had been more interested in rabbit warrens than livable space, Wufei sometimes thought. Of course, most space vessels seemed that way to him. His own preference was for the architecture of childhood, Chinese pagodas and walls beautifully thin, painted upon.

Sighing, he turned the last corner on his way to the cafeteria, and ran head on into his current mortal enemy: Lucrezia Noin.

Noin, having had little sleep, even when she'd been able to find a bed and try napping, was irritated enough by the sheer incomprehensibility of the problem they faced. The last thing she had needed was to run head-on into Wufei, who looked, to her anyway, suspiciously disheveled. She stood in the doorway to the cafeteria and stared at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be working on something, BOY?"

One black brow rose superciliously. "Yes," he responded, "and at the moment, I'm working on getting lunch. Do you mind?"

"Actually, yes I do." Noin folded her arms in front of her and regarded Wufei with something approaching contempt. "The rest of us have been up for nearly twenty hours straight. You've been sleeping. It seems a bit soon for you to be traipsing down here for food."

The cold look that almost frosted her over was truly wicked. "You could definitely use a little beauty sleep at this point, woman. So why don't you get out of my *way* and find your way to a bunk?"

Noin was close to slapping him. But frankly, there a was a better way to get under Wufei's skin and she was just angry enough to use it. Leaning over, she said in a low voice, "I wouldn't get too comfortable in the bunk *you've* been sleeping in. Because I've actually spent a *lot* more time with Zechs than you have, and I know him a *lot* better than you do. I know his weaknesses, I know what he wants far more than you do. After all -- you *walked out* on him. What's to say Mr. Chang Wufei won't take an inkling to do it again? So be sure, Wufei -- I'll make sure he remembers what you did to him back in Luxembourg, I won't let him forget it." Wufei paled visibly beneath his skin as he looked at the woman across from him, the expression on his own face now strangely frozen. "I see," he said softly. "Perhaps you'll do that after all, but at least I'm something more than a doormat, *Preventer* Noin, and a male to boot."

Not letting his smugness deter her, Noin replied, "I'm guessing that, since Zechs has shown an attraction to *both* men and women, that he will be far more likely to *stay* with a woman who will never let him down than with a little *boy* who has a track record of not only running out on him, but of taking away his first lover as well -- and not giving a damn that he did it." She didn't verbalize it, but the specific threat of bringing Wufei's relationship with Treize (and how it had torn apart Treize and Zechs) was hanging in the air.

"Don't you *dare* bring Treize into this," Wufei hissed, voice low and dark.

"You're in no position to dictate terms to me, little boy," Noin said somewhat harshly. "So stop acting like Mr. Sexier-than-thou because if I *have* to bring Treize into it, I *will.* I want Zechs to see you for what you are, not the sweet little sex kitten you're pretending to be when you're around him."

He couldn't help it as he paled even further, just looking at her. For a moment, another face was super-imposed onto hers, filled with fury, two tiny pig-tails whipping to either side with anger, and he thought for a moment he'd lose all control and run from her, that ghost of his wife. "You don't have any power over me," he denied hoarsely, realizing only once he'd said it that it was actually Noin. "Get out of my way, woman."

She brushed past him in the doorway, then looked back over her shoulder. "You enjoy your meal. I'm going to see what my superior officer is up to."

Well.

That had gone really well.

Morosely, he headed into the cafeteria, getting soup and a sandwich for Zechs. His own appetite was pretty much destroyed, for some reason. /Idiot,/ he thought to himself. /She's just a woman.../

Meiran had been just a woman, too, though, and Noin had him so damned cowed he was afraid to go back up to security at all! Not that he could admit that to *her*, which meant that he had to...

Punching the elevator button, Noin waited with her arms crossed and her temper flaring. /Little shit. Acting superior because he got Zechs to -- ugh, I don't even want to think about it! Well, all's fair in love and war, *boy*, and this, I believe, qualifies as both./ The elevator came and she got in, pressing the number for the floor where the security office was housed. /I'm coming for you, Zechs.../

The elevator rose slowly to the floor she wanted, its motions smooth and easy even as it opened out onto the hallway just down from Zechs's office.

The blond himself was half-lounging in his chair, one elbow propped on the work surface in front of him. The screen of his computer was filled with photos of the laundry area and he was clicking through them, staring at each for several moments before going to the next, a puzzled frown on his face.

"Hi, there," Noin greeted huskily, moving forward to stand beside him. "You look like a man who's got a lot on his mind."

Looking up at her, Zechs smiled in a somewhat distracted way. "Take a look at this," he said pointing to the screen. His finger hovered above something rusty-red that was on the floor of the laundry area. "What do you make of it?"

Her head tilted to the side. "Looks like... hmmm. I'm not sure. Something corroded, or maybe..."

"Or maybe some of that nice red dust that we have so much of outside?" Zechs looked up at her, judging what she thought about the idea.

Her dark eyes widened, brightened. "Of course it is! How stupid of me!" Arms were flung tightly about his neck, her laugh sounding. "You're brilliant, Zechs!"

A bit startled by her enthusiasm, Zechs patted her arm awkwardly. "Well, that's awfully nice of you to say, but I don't think I deserve that label just yet. We need to get a sample of that stuff analyzed and see if it came from around the base or from somewhere else on the planet."

Her arms were still around him and he looked up at her with a puzzled expression. "Noin? Not that I mind having you close, but... I thought you said you didn't want to do anything like this..."

"Maybe I changed my mind," she answered, looking at him solemnly. "It's a woman's prerogative, you know." /And maybe, if that brat can win you this way, so can I./

"I think," he said slowly, still staring at her, "that I'm very confused..."

Noin looked at him, tilting her head to the side. "I think you are, too," she said softly, leaning in as though to kiss him.

In the doorway, Wufei watched silently, gnawing on his lower lip. /Maybe she's right. Maybe it is wrong. Maybe I *am* bad for him. Maybe.../

/She doesn't understand... I'm confused at what she's doing, not.../ "Noin, please..." Zechs began.

As the woman's lips met Zechs's, Wufei gently lay the coffee he'd brought and the bag with fruit and sandwiches just inside the door before turning and walking swiftly down the hallway, as far away as he could possibly get. /I am *such* an idiot. Of *course* all of those things would bring anybody who *had* any sense to their senses. She's right. I *am* worthless to him.../

That decided, he headed for his old room, off-limits or not. /Got to get away from here..../

In the security office, Noin sighed, lightly touching Zechs's lower lip with her tongue.

She was certainly beautiful, Zechs had to admit, and the feel of her lips, the sweet smell of her, could still do something powerful to him. It would have been easy to fall into her, to kiss her back, to do so much more, but he couldn't. He had Wufei. They had managed to come back together, overcome horrible odds, and more than anything else, Zechs didn't want that endangered. So he took hold of Noin's arms and gently pushed her back. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment and then Zechs found his voice. "Noin, you misunderstand me. I'm not confused about what choice to make. I've already made it. I'm with Wufei now, and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."

"Even though he betrayed you?" she asked him softly. "Even though he took Treize away from you? Even though he left you cold in Luxembourg? I would never do that to you, Zechs. Never."

/God, it sounds awful when she says it... one thing right after another... be he's different now. He's come to terms with things... Treize.../

Zechs eyes had drifted away from Noin's as he thought but now he looked back at her, his expression a bit less certain, eyes pleading for something -- understanding... or reassurance? "He wouldn't do anything like that again, Noin."

"Are you really so sure?" The question was quietly spoken, infinitely painful to contemplate. "You didn't think he'd do it then, either... did you?"

"That's not fair," he murmured, looking down at his hands resting on the arms of his chair. "He's... he's *changed*... he's not the same person he was back then. He really means it this time."

"And will you believe it next time? Or the next? Or the next? Zechs... can you really trust him, the way you can trust me?"

/She can't be right! He wouldn't leave again, would he? I don't know what I would do if... No! He's different! He *is*.../

"Noin," Zechs said softly, looking up at her again, "why would he have come here, to this particular place, why would he have even approached me if he wasn't serious about being together? Why would he do that?"

That question was more difficult for her to answer. "I don't know, Zechs," she confessed. "Maybe he needed a way to pass the time. Maybe he felt guilty and wanted a chance to do it more gently. I don't know."

Zechs looked stricken, almost as if she slapped him. "No..." he whispered, his voice pleading. "He wouldn't do that. He's not that kind of person..."

He stood abruptly, forcing her to straighten and step back. "This isn't really an appropriate topic of conversation right now. I'd like you to go down to forensics and see if they got a sample of that rust-colored stuff. It needs to be analyzed quickly. Tell Jaggi to notify me herself when it's done." Having said that, he turned away from her and walked slowly into the back room, where he and Wufei had made love only an hour before.

"All right, Zechs." That disembodied voice was slightly odd as it echoed through the small room where he now stood. "I'll go. Only... think about things? Please?"

The door to the security office closed with a small click. At the sound of it, Zechs leaned back against the wall, eyes closing, mind weary from Noin's suspicions. /I can still smell us in here... Wufei... you would never do that to me, would you? You won't leave me again...?/

He turned and left the room slowly, planning to go through the crime scene pictures one more time. As he turned towards the video console though, he saw the bag that Wufei had left there. /Wufei said he'd get lunch... When had he done that? Surely not when Noin was here.../ "Shit!" The word came out as a fierce hiss and then he was moving, out the door and down the corridor towards the room they'd shared several hours before.

When he arrived, the room was empty, though nothing in it had been moved.

"Damn... where *is* he...?" Zechs ran out of the room to a comm unit built into one of the corridor walls. Punching in the code for the clinic, he heard the nurses's voice.

"Clinic."

"This is Zechs Marquise, chief of security, has Wufei Chang come back up there?"

"No... but aren't you -"

"Thanks anyway," Zechs said tersely, not giving the woman a chance to recognize his voice. He tried forensics, the cafeteria, even the oxygen farm, all to no avail.

Leaning against the corridor wall he closed his eyes and let his forehead drop to his hand, concentrating on where the Chinese man might be. After a few moments, an image came into his mind -- an image of Wufei's face staring down at scattered petals and strands of dark hair. Zechs looked up suddenly. "Of course..." he murmured and started running.

Looking around the room, Wufei drew a deep breath. Forensics had been in and security had gone over every last inch of the area, so it was safe to be back in it, to look at the sadly empty space where his things had once so properly existed.

Empty, the way he felt...

/Idiot. Idiot. Idiot./ It was repetitive, much in the way of an echo, and the desire to lay down and sleep and sleep until it went away was an almost impossible draw. /Idiot.../

Standing in front of the elevator, Zechs cursed its slowness and headed down the hallway to the stairs at the far end. Taking them two at a time, he ran up two flights to where the administrative crew had their sleeping quarters. He passed his own room without a thought to the destruction that had been done to it and kept on until he reached the door of what had been Wufei's quarters. Knocking loudly, he called through the door, "Wufei? It's Zechs. Will you let me in, please?"

It was startling, that Zechs had come after him; but he didn't answer, only continued to stare bleakly at the empty shelves, the gouged furniture and walls. /Go back to Noin, Zechs. It's all right. I deserve it.../

"Wufei!" Zechs called a little louder, still panting a bit from his run up the stairs. Then he let his fist slide down the closed door and leaned his forehead against it. "Aren't you here either?" he said, his voice soft and sad. "Where are you? I'm trying so hard to find you... because I think you saw something and misunderstood it and if I can't find you, I won't have any way to tell you that you're wrong about Noin and me... very, very wrong..."

The door slid open slowly and Wufei looked at him from the other side, face set in a deep frown; serious, but not angry. "I understand," he said quietly. "She's right, about what she says. That she'd never do that to you, what I did..."

At the sight of his small, slender lover, Zechs was flooded with relief. He held onto the side of the doorframe and looked down into Wufei's somber eyes. "Noin can't begin to understand the pressure you were under. And you know... if she thought it would save my life, I think she'd have done just what you did. I know that *I* would if I thought it was the only way to prevent *you* from being hurt." He raised a hand to cup Wufei's cheek, stroking the soft skin with his thumb. "Please," he whispered, "please don't leave me now. Whatever those demons inside of you say, I want to be with *you*... the best person in the world for me... is *you*, Wufei. I swear to you that's true."

Black lashes met caramel cheeks and Wufei sighed. "How can you *possibly* trust me?" he asked, still frowning. "You have so much faith..."

"You didn't have to come back," Zechs whispered. "You didn't have to face me, or my anger, but you did. And now that I know *why* you left, how can I be angry at you?" Azure eyes were level with ebony as Zechs's thumb brushed lightly over those lashes. "How can I not trust someone who did so much to spare me from harm?"

That raven gaze opened slowly, catching Zechs's with emotion so pure it burned. "I love you." They were hard words to say, always, but Zechs needed them even more than he did, and he wanted to say them so badly.

"Oh my sweet little man," Zechs breathed, stroking the black silk of Wufei's hair. "I love you, too."

Arthur Nembule snorted as he looked at the boy with the long braid, scowling. Thick auburn brows grew together at the bridge of his nose, and equally dark auburn hair lay in strangely greasy-looking swirls upon his head, despite the fact that he'd obviously just washed it, for it was dripping water. "Yeah, okay. I got time to talk to you. Five minutes, 'cause otherwise my ass'll be in a sling for bein' late."

"Thanks, man," Duo said congenially, sitting down at the small table in the meeting room. "Frankly, you're doing me a big favor by saying yes. These higher ups you got here are really tight-asses when it comes to getting stuff done on time. Remind me of a priest I used to know. Talk about a stickler for everything by the books. Sheesh!" He laughed and shook his head, appearing to reminisce for a moment.

"Yeah, well. They're all from the fuckin' colonies, I guess. Gotta be uptight when you're in space, or it sure seems like it," Nembule grumbled.

"How true, how true," Duo drawled. "I mean, sometimes you gotta wonder if.. well, if people are even meant to be out here, you know? I remember Father Tabor* giving that speech about the clues he'd found that we were never meant to leave the Earth. Powerful stuff. Makes a man think, you know?"

The rather scraggly looking forestry worker nodded. "Long and hard, man. Long and hard. Don't know what I'm doin' up here when I oughta be back home, but the money's too good to turn down, you know? An' maybe I can talk a few of these poor saps into believing in the Truth Faith and all..."

He put his feet up on the table and leaned back. "Trouble is getting them to listen. You found anyone on this sorry rock who really *listens* to what you have to say?"

"Hell, no!" Nembule sighed. "None of 'em are interested in the Word, man. Just progress. It's some kinda Bible, ain't it? Well, they'll all regret it in Hell. Shame."

"Yeah. Maybe she's there now..."

"She?" the man asked, yellow-ish eyes narrowing.

Duo made a point of not looking at Nembule. He stared into space, his expression rather pensive, arms behind his back. "I think she might have been completely brain-washed by the other side. And now... well, she probably *did* have a chance. I'm sure *someone* tried to make her see how wrong she was. Shoulda listened..."

"What the fuck're you talkin' about?" Nembule growled, rising. "That bitch, Anna? You think you're gonna waltz in here an' I'm gonna make some grand confession? Yeah, ok, I wanted to date her, but that didn't mean I wanted t' *kill* her an' I'm sure as hell not confessin' to anything like that!"

Duo almost laughed and waved his hands, as if to brush away the man's suspicions. "Look, would I be talking to you like this if I thought *you* did it? Give me some credit, okay?"

Thick lower lip pouted out as those muddy-yellow eyes narrowed. "Yeah, well, I don't know who done it. She was hot, you know? Even if she was some kinda love-the-colonies nut."

The braided boy leaned forward, as if he were about to say something confidential. "See, that's just the problem. She *was* part of that 'pro colony' stuff. So who are these guys gonna blame now that the shit's hit the fan? True Believers, that's who. And what if it was some colonist trying to frame Church members? The medals make it look like it was one, you know?" /I've gotta get to him to tell me who else here is part of the group... just can't do it directly or he'll clam up... come on, pal... /

Fortunately for Duo, Nembule was none too bright. "Well... I dunno, see, there ain't many of us... I dunno who mighta killed her or nothin', but there's some folks... you know, that believe this ain't right."

/Bingo./ Duo leaned closer in as Nembule sat back down. He look over his shoulder, as if to make sure no one had crept into the room while they had talked, and was happy to see the other man do the same thing.

"Well *that's* good to know," he said in a low voice. "Imagine if none of the Believers had gotten out here. No one to stand up and be willing to speak the truth. But *I'm* concerned that they're going to be targeted by the colony lovers -- you know, retaliation, that kind of shit."

"Well, truth is, I don't really know who none o' the others *are*," Nembule admitted with a frown. "See, there's just a... Information exchange, if you will. Not nothin' else. No killin' or nothin'..."

"We've gotta *protect* them, man," Duo whispered dramatically. "Wherever it is you meet them may not be safe anymore." He was guessing of course, completely. He had no idea how they exchanged information, but it was worth a try.

"I... c'n leave a note, man. It's the best I c'n do..." Nembule muttered. "Grateful for the head's up, though, guy."

"No problem, man. The church is important, you know. And like I said, *someone's* gotta stand up for what's right. But... what if *you* get caught. When you're bringing the note there, I mean?"

A sly smile filtered over Nembule's face. "No worries, man. It's a safe place." Glancing at his watch, he stood. "Late for work, gotta run."

"No problem. Thanks for listening, buddy." Duo stood as well and, as the man left the small room, took out a small portable comm. "He's leaving, Wufei. You can activate the tracker. I put it onto his arm when we shook hands. It should be absorbed into his skin by now."

"Roger that," came the tinny reply, and in the security office, Nembule's tracker bleeped on-screen. "Well, we've got him. That should make things fairly easy."

Zechs leaned forward, eyes on the small dot moving across the screen. Long, pale hair brushed Wufei's arm. "Excellent work. Now it's just a matter of waiting until Mr. Nembule goes to warn his superiors."

In the meeting room, Duo collapsed into a chair, running a hand through his bangs and sprawling back to stare at the ceiling. "That would have been so much easier," he muttered to himself, "if only I could have *lied* a little..."

The comm unit still hadn't clicked off, so it should have been no surprise to hear Wufei's tenor voice say dryly, "Duo Maxwell: he runs, he hides, but he *never* lies."

Duo sat up suddenly and stared at the comm in his hand. "That's right, Wufie," he said somewhat defensively to the small device, "and I'm *damned* proud of it!"

In the background, he could hear Zechs chuckling. "Hey, Mister Security Chief," he said in an easy-going voice, "how'd I do? Ready to give me a job here? Can I work *beneath you?*" Having said it, Duo snickered and held the comm back away from him, in case Wufei decided to scream.

There seemed to be some rather jumbled up muttering including words like 'neuter', 'sharp objects', 'agony' and 'extreme suffering' before Zechs answered.

"You did wonderfully, Duo," came the deep voice, "and if I thought for a moment we could keep you here you'd have a job offer on the way down. But I know better." He chuckled again and Duo heard him say, "Are you all right? You look flushed..."

"I'm going to have to hurt you, Duo. You're giving my blood pressure fits," Wufei muttered, just barely audible.

Duo dissolved into a fit of laughter and then, only barely, managed to say, "See you guys in a bit. I'm starved -- going to get some chow. Be *good* little boys..." Another explosion of laughter and the connection went dead.

* Father Tabor will be one of the "radical" Earth-only priests who took a very public stand against the colonies.

Zechs was shaking his head and laughing. "He's great, Wufei. Really."

Alone with Zechs, Wufei couldn't help but smile. "Admittedly, he's not so bad; but it's fun to do what he expects me to do."

Sleek, golden eyebrows raised and then Zechs's face fell into a pout. "You mean you're *not* jealous about me? I'm crushed!"

"Point of fact." Wufei told him, "You're mine. He already knows I'll take him off at the knees if he tries anything." A little smirk crossed those lips. "And THAT'S true jealousy. Mine."

"Yes indeed," Zechs purred, staring into Wufei's eyes. "Completely and utterly *yours.*"

Arms wrapped tightly about his waist, Wufei's head ducking beneath his chin to kiss his throat. "Still haven't had breakfast," he said lightly.

"Really?" Zechs murmured back, his own arms sliding down Wufei's back and pulling his closer. "Well, there's the cafeteria I suppose, although those tables don't seem like they'd be very comfortable to be ravished on..."

"Those hard plastic things?" Wufei asked, eyes slanting to land on Zechs's mouth. "No. Not at all. I was hoping you'd see things my way," he whispered.

"So the only question that remains is: just who will be ravished and who will do the ravishing..."

A spark lit deep in those black eyes. "Wrestle you for it," he declared smugly.

An elegant, blond eyebrow arched. "Agreed," Zechs said with a sultry smile. "Where?"

"Here," Wufei answered. "Now."

Azure eyes widened. "Out here?"

Wufei's smile widened as he nodded.

Zechs looked around the room and then at the door. "Okay... how do we start?"

"Just... like... this!" Wufei purred, promptly pouncing him and dragging him to the floor in a tangled pile of limbs and hair.

"Ahhhh!!" Zechs let out a cry of surprise to find himself suddenly horizontal with a squirming Wufei on top of him. He couldn't free his hands easily but he *did* manage to wrap long legs around Wufei's shorter ones and flip him onto his back.

Startled gaze looked up at him for a moment before Wufei shifted his legs, planting both feet on the floor and pushing at Zechs's arms. "I can see I'll have to employ better tactics!"

"Obviously," Zechs said, rubbing his hips against Wufei and smirking down at him. "It's well known that the defense position you put me into is also an excellent one for *offense* as well."

"That's all right," Wufei told him, shifting so that he was once again over Zechs, the other man's hands held firmly down to the floor. "I can still win!"

Zechs struggled for a moment and then murmured, "As I said, an excellent position for offense." A last attempt to push Wufei's legs off of his own and Zechs conceded. "I give up. I'll just have to admit that I'm old and feeble and can't wrestle with the youngsters like I used to," he teased.

Wickedness lit up Wufei's face. "Good, old man," he said arrogantly. "Accept your defeat. The weak should never be afraid not to fight."

"*Child*," Zechs said in mock coldness, "don't be so disrespectful of your elders... and don't keep them *waiting*..."

"Are you waiting, Zechs?" Wufei asked, voice a husky whisper as his fingers pried open the zipper of his jacket.

"Eagerly, Wufei... very, very eagerly..." Zechs murmured, as his hands roamed over the lean body atop him. They trailed down to cup Wufei's bottom and gave it a long, firm squeeze.

Biting his lip, Wufei practically *purrred* with that touch. "I won," he reminded Zechs huskily as he got down to the golden man's skin. Not that it mattered; either way, they'd learned to pleasure one another. It was still fun to rub that in a bit, though.

"Yes," Zechs whispered, nibbling softly on Wufei's ear. "I'm your captive... what will you do with me...?"

"Ravish you unconditionally," Wufei sighed, letting him nibble away as he turned to mush atop him. "As soon as I find my bones again..."

Zechs smiled against the delicate skin. "It makes me so damned *hot* to think I could even *begin* to make you feel that way... Mmmmm..." A soft bite fell over the tender skin of Wufei's neck and Zechs licked the little mark it had made.

With a decisive nip, Wufei returned the favor, fingers stroking over Zechs's ribs, his hard belly. "Good," he whispered, "because you do. Zechs...."

Zechs tried to move his hands but found them too securely held, so he turned his head and gazed at Wufei in longing, eyes drifting to the warm lips so close to his own. A soft whimper and then, "Fuck me..."

The softest of kisses was granted as Wufei shifted, stripping him with a slow, easy car that belied his trembling hands, the want in his gaze that said so much. "I could never turn down an offer like that," he husked, mouth latching firmly onto a nipple.

The gentle tugs of Wufei's mouth and tongue on him pulled a long, soft moan from Zechs. He was in heaven at the slowness of it all, the hands, gentlest of gentle, undressing him, bringing out a vulnerability only two people in his entire life had ever been allowed to see. One of them was gone now, but the other he would hold onto as if his life depended on it. Because it really did -- he'd learned the lesson. It had been a truly horrible one but he had learned it well and would never make the same mistake again.

"Wufei... oh my love..."

"Shhh," Wufei soothed, kissing down his belly, tongue lightly scraping across the tiny charming place that was his navel, teasing at it as uniform pants scraped past hip bones, pulled slowly towards his knees, as far as Wufei could reach for the moment. "Shhh."

/Oh, God... he's undressing me... here, in the office... anyone could walk in at anytime... and see... God, and see him doing this to me! Why is that so damned *arousing*...??/ With the feeling of cool air against his thighs and cock, Zechs felt a strong sense of wantonness creeping over him. "Oh, do it to me, little man... please!"

Almost growling, Wufei kissed lower upon his belly, strong fingers going to wrap around the delicious thickness of his erection, holding it still as his mouth kissed a path closer... closer... His tongue lashed out, catching the tip before lips took the length partially between them, strong sucking accompanied by the caress of tongue enough to drive a man insane.

A sharp cry came from the blond man and his hips bucked towards the mouth that was devouring him. Zechs's fingers buried themselves in the silky strands of Wufei's hair and tugged gently, seeking more friction, more contact. "Ahhh, Wufei... sweet one... love you..."

The answer came in the way of a low moan, wet fingers prying slowly behind his balls and seeking out the tiny entrance between those perfect cheeks. With care, Wufei sucked him deeper into his throat as a single digit teased lightly, pushing into the tight ring of muscle with the lightest of thrusts. "Mmmm..."

Zechs gave a sharp intake of breath and shuddered slightly at the invasion. It was hard for him not to squirm, between the wet suction of Wufei's mouth and the teasing pressure of his finger and all he could do was rock back and forth between the two, savoring both and whimpering softly.

The touch he received was tender, soothing, and Wufei was *very* obviously enjoying his work, tongue plying sweetly as the head popped out of his mouth and he lathed it, lapping at it. Teeth nibbled delicately at the spot where head met shaft, tongue following them in abject apology even as Wufei sucked his way down and took a testicle covered by hair and roughly-textured skin into his mouth, palm continuing to stroke the exclamation point of Zechs's groin.

"Aaaaahhh!!!!" It couldn't be helped anymore and Zechs was tossing his head back and forth, squirming and panting, completely gone in pleasure. "Oh! Wufei! Please... oh, *please*... need you inside..."

Lifting his mouth, Wufei simply smirked, a second finger delving deep, touching against the lovely soft spot that guaranteed Zechs's pleasure. "Maybe," he teased, taking Zechs into his mouth again with that hard suction.

Another sharp cry and Zechs's fist hit the floor. "Oh, damn you little *tease*!" His hips were moving in little thrusts, as he pressed himself against Wufei's fingers, whimpers sounding more desperate. "Ahhhhh... Feels so *good*..."

Wufei gave a very definite sound of amusement as he deepened the rhythm of his fingers, his lips moving to match it, his enjoyment rising. "Mmm.."

"No... no fingers!" Zechs gasped. "I... I... want *you*... *please* Wufei! Please do it!"

Lips parting from flesh, Wufei gave a husky laugh, shifting up quickly to kiss Zechs, hard and sweet. "You want my penis?" he whispered, a certain amount of sweet adoration and amusement on his face as he took Zechs's hand and placed it upon his erection.

Long, golden fingers squeeze the bulk of it firmly and let out a ragged moan at the feel of it. "Yes!" he whispered. "Want... *need* all of it... inside me..."

"Then open my fly," Wufei teased, kissing him sweetly again.

Zechs made short work of it and soon was propped up on his elbows, looking down at his own hand, rubbing and squeezing the hard, cotton-covered sex. "Mmmm... perfect...."

"You have NO idea!" Wufei gasped, thrusting into that palm and moaning. "Zechs.... Zechs....!"

Zechs took his hand off of the tight bulge briefly, sliding his fingers under the back of the waistband of the tight briefs Wufei wore and slowly dragging the last barrier downwards. A quick, firm squeeze of bared buttocks and then he laid back, pulling Wufei on top of him. "Ohhh... don't make me wait anymore, little man," he breathed, arching his hips so that the head of his lover's shaft was caught between his cheeks. After that, the only thing he could do was throw his head back on the floor and moan.

Hungry lips latched onto a nipple even as Wufei pressed against him, fingers rising to press against Zechs's mouth, seeking saliva for lubrication. Getting just what he wanted, he smeared it quickly, carefully, along himself before pushing forward.

A small gasp escaped Zechs at the tightness, the heat of the penetration. He closed his eyes tightly and wrapped his arms around Wufei's neck, holding the younger man to him. "Oh, yes... my little angel... as far as you can..."

Shuddering, Wufei pressed sweet kisses along Zechs's winging collarbone, sighing slightly as he pushed inside of his lover as deeply as he could go. "Yes..." he breathed. "Oh, yes..."

Tiny whimpers and shudder breaths were the only sounds Zechs could make as he was impaled. Somewhere inside him, a part of him that only two people in the world had ever seen, was on fire and he wanted only to lie back and be used by the lovely young man above him. "Mmmmnn!"

"Come on," Wufei whispered, shuddering and thrusting to the depths of him. "Come on..."

Harsh breath, a soft cry, and long fingers squeezed Wufei's arms. "God... so close... ah, love... ohhh... Wufei!!"

Crying out, Wufei shifted deeper, harder, faster, entire body beginning to wind up into nothing more than the incredible feeling of each and every motion, the strands of corn-silk pale hair beneath his fingertips leaving him shuddering. "Unh!"

"Ahhhnnn!!!" Zechs turned his head to the side, and let release flood over him, not caring where he was, only knowing the deep, profound pleasure that came from being taken. He whimpered as each pulse went through him, gripping Wufei's arm, and taking ragged, shallow breaths.

"Ooooohhh, *shit*, this was *not* a good time to visit..." came a voice from the doorway.

Despite that sound, Wufei groaned, stiffened and shuddered against Zechs as he came, all tangled up in the larger man as he slumped against him, gasping.

Duo, who had been the owner of the voice at the door, look down at the small disk that held his report about the interview with Nembule, Obviously they needed it, or would, once they go their pants back on, so he needed to leave it with them, but would they see it? Uncertain as to what to do, he crept across the room, one eye on the passionately coupled pair sprawled on the floor. "Don't... mind... me..." he said softly, as he tiptoed to the main control console. "Whenever you want to look at it," he continued, even as he saw Zechs's arms slide around Wufei's neck and the two men falling into a deep kiss. /Wufie, I gotta say, you know how to pick 'em.../

"Love you," Wufei breathed against Zechs's mouth, kissing him with an undeniable hunger and squirming atop him. "Nnn, Zechs..."

Zechs's hands were in Wufei's hair now, tangled in the silky strands and pulling the smaller man down to kiss, his hips rising softly to meet the squirming from above. "Wufei..." he breathed, his voice pure silk, "my beautiful little man..."

Duo was finding it difficult to keep his mind on being quiet as he made his way across the room. He tried to remember the last time he'd had sex with anyone, then remembered how long it had been and felt a pout coming on. With a last look at the entwined couple, he headed for the door.

"Why is it I want you so much?" Wufei whispered, lips caressing a lazy little path over that beautiful face... just as one Duo Maxwell came into his notice. For a moment, he didn't move, only became utterly and completely still as his eyes became so huge they were almost round, their half-nakedness suddenly rather embarrassing. "Zechs," he whispered as Duo tiptoed towards the door. "We have company."

Zechs's eyes joined Wufei's in widening, a sense of panic welling up in him as he froze. He turned his head slightly and caught sight of a slim, braided figure heading towards the door at a creep, then looked back at Wufei. "Should we just ignore him?" he whispered.

"Yes," Duo whispered back loudly. "Just ignore me. I was never here."

"Just ignore him," Wufei groaned. "He was never here! As *IF*, Maxwell!"

"Hey, look!" Duo said, sounding irritated and not a little pouty, "*I'm* trying to be nice and quiet. It's your own fault if *you* decide to talk to *me*, Wu-man! This is what you get for screwing in a public place!"

Beneath Wufei, Zechs was wriggling, trying to get up and at least get dressed. "He *does* have a bit of a point, Wufei..."

Duo suddenly giggled. "I *do*, Zechs -- and it's a very nice point indeed. Better than Wufei's for *damn* sure!"

Zechs turned scarlet and prayed the floor would swallow him.

A low growl rumbled loose from Wufei's throat. "Maxwell, on the count of three, you'd best be gone, because if you *aren't*, I'm going to gag you with that damned braid and stuff you in a closet somewhere! One... Two...."

"I'm going, I'm going!" Duo said, still giggling. As he went through the door he called back, "You know my room number, Zechs!"

"Ah, God..." Zechs said softly, a reddened face pressed against Wufei's cheek.

Lips pressed to his cheek gently for a moment. "Sorry I got carried away," Wufei muttered.

"Don't apologize, love... well I guess we gave *him* a show didn't we...?" The blond's face had gone completely scarlet now and he didn't appear to want to move it from its position, buried between Wufei's neck and shoulder. "I just want time enough to hold you..."

"Just for a while," Wufei agreed quietly. "Everything is so hectic. Do you think we'll ever figure out what's going on?"

"I think we've turned a corner on it," Zechs said, wrapping long arms tighter around Wufei and nuzzling against his neck. "When we find out where Nembule is going to meet the bastards it shouldn't be long before we find out where they're hiding."

Almost purring, Wufei closed his eyes and nodded slightly. "Mars was supposed to be a haven," he whispered, "not somewhere to come to die."

Zechs's reply was quiet and slow in coming. "Fanatics don't seem to believe in havens... I didn't when I was one."

"Really?" Wufei asked him, folding his hands on Zechs's chest and putting his chin upon them. "I did. I did, but then I couldn't save it and it blew all to hell and back. It's probably stupid of me to wish that there would be some safe haven somewhere in the universe."

"Not at all," Zechs said softly, brushing stray hair out the younger man's eyes. "People have been trying to create them since there were humans on the planet. You never know when it might really happen..."

The answer that came in return was quite serious, barely heard. "You're my haven, Zechs. Don't forget."

"Oh, little man..." Zechs breathed, stroking the dark, silky hair. "You are mine as well, and so very precious to me... never want to let you go again..."

Across the room, at the control console, the comm unit buzzed.

"Damn," Zechs swore softly, "why does reality always have to come crashing in? You'd think we lived in the real world or something."

With a heavy sigh, Wufei shifted off of him and began to pull his clothes on again. "You'd think," he murmured, glaring at the still beeping console. "On the other hand, we *were* naked in the security room," he noted, watching Zechs dress with an appreciative eye. "It was bound to happen."

"Yes, well." Zechs muttered as he crossed to the console, "they *could* do us the favor of sending all the security calls to the engineering division while we're... otherwise engaged." He gave Wufei a rueful smile and activated the comm unit.

"Marquise here."

"We got 'em, chief! He went to the overflow storage room in the basement! There was a hidden door down there and someone with a hood came through it and then disappeared again!! We got 'em!!"

"That's wonderful news, Tully," Zechs said, voice pitched to be soothing to the overexcited officer. "Wufei and I will be down in a few minutes. Have the tape cued and send three officers down to the storage room. Tell them to conceal themselves until we get there."

"Roger that, chief!"

When the officer had terminated the connection, Zechs turned to face Wufei. "Ready for a bit of adventure?" he murmured.

A slightly vicious smirk was on Wufei's face. "Ready, willing and *more* than waiting," he said. "I want to catch those bastards. Nobody should die like that onna did."

Zechs bowed his head in understanding, then swept an arm towards the door. "The game is afoot, Mr. Chang, and now is the time to strike. After you."

It was a short trip down to the interrogation room where Duo had spoken to Nembule, and where the others were waiting with what they'd caught on video.

"Ready to roll, sir," a young man with a blond crew-cut said eagerly, name tag identifying him rather absurdly as John Smith.

"Right," Zechs said. "I want you and Canale to come with us. The rest of you are to secure the storeroom. No one is to get out through that door unless it's one of us four. Murase?"

"Yes sir?" an older man stepped forward.

"I want you and your team to start looking through the hard copies of the base building plans. If there are more possible entrances or exits I want to know. You might also try the three comm units that were here originally. Use the encryption program -- there may be something hidden on one of those."

He turned to Wufei. "Well, let's go solve a mystery."

"Ready," Wufei replied softly.

They moved quickly out of the interrogation rooms and down to the basement -- far too close to laundry for Wufei's comfort, he thought, shuddering as they passed the doors there on their way farther down.

"All right," he said softly as they joined the members of Security who were waiting for them in the small box-filled room. "We're going to go in. You saw how they opened whatever passageway got them here?"

"Yes, sir," one of the men said, stepping up to the light switch that controlled the banks of overhead lights. He took a screwdriver out of his pocket and pulled the plate away from the switches, revealing another, smaller set of switches inside.

"I'll be *damned*," murmured Zechs, staring at the tiny bank of controls. "Renner," he called to one of the younger officers, "get upstairs and help with the blueprint search. Find out if these were part of any original plan."

"Yes, sir!" Renner reported sharply, running to obey.

"And get Maxwell down here," Wufei added, stepping forward to look at them more closely, eyes squinted. Damn his vanity, he couldn't see a thing without his glasses. "This looks sort of like something.... Hm."

"A set of auxilliary switches, feeding off the power that comes to the main switchbox." Zechs looked up at the man who'd opened the panel. "Did you see which one he used to get out?"

"No, sir, he was in front of the panel at the time."

They all looked back at it, wondering what would be best to do.

They didn't have too long to wait, though, as the sound of booted feet came down the stairwell. "Don't touch a damn thing down there! Let me look at it first!!" A second later Duo was there in the doorway, panting a bit, but otherwise fine.

"Okay," he said, taking deep breaths, "whaddya got here Wu-man?"

"Take a good look at this," Wufei said. "I don't have my glasses on, so I can't tell, but it looks... Hm. I don't know. I thought you might catch something that I haven't."

The American squatted down by the panel, peering at it for several seconds and muttering to himself occasionally. Then they heard a small cackle of glee.

"Ha ha!! I found it! They were good, I have to admit, but I was better and it won't work, I say. It just won't work!" He stood up then, and beamed over at them all.

Zechs looked at Wufei, then Duo, a frown of puzzlement on his face. "Whatever are you talking about Duo?"

"*This.*" Duo held up yet another saint medal.

"I KNEW something would have to be there!" Wufei said smugly. "The switches look almost familiar, though. Like some others I've seen before, only haven't placed yet. They way that they were put in, they're not the sort of switches one uses on terra bound wiring. They look more like... Hm. Like the ones on the moon base, or maybe something else. I don't know. What's the medal, Maxwell?"

Duo peered at it. "Figures," he said simply, handing it to Zechs. "It's Saint Agatha."

Zechs was holding the medal by the edges and looking at the woman's face. She looked to be young and pretty and was carrying a tray with what looked like two loaves of bread.

"Why does it 'figure' that it's Saint Agatha?" he asked, passing it carefully to Wufei.

"Because for some reason way the hell back there in time, she was the one people called on when Mount Vesuvius erupted and ever since then she's been the patron saint of protection against danger from fire."

/A regular walking dictionary of saints../ Wufei thought, frowning. "A threat, then. They're suggesting that we'll be burned soon. The note for you insinuated the same thing."

"Nice try, Wufei -- but no. Actually it's a tiny little bit of irony, I believe. You see these three wires? The way they have it rigged, there's one that probably opens whatever passageway they have, the blue one. Then this green one here -- it's connected to the lighting circuit -- probably to let them control whether the room is lit or not, depending on the level of risk. And then there's *this one*... It's black and it's not connected to anything that would open the door or run the lighting." He pointed to it with a slender finger.

"What I'm betting is, this is a trap wire. If someone comes snooping around and tries to mess with their set up, this baby's probably going to detonate something and I think Agatha's being here means that whatever it is, is incendiary."

Zechs paled a bit. "Damn..."

"That'll teach me to touch things without my glasses on," Wufei said quietly, a bit startled. He'd not even thought about the room possibly exploding... "So what makes you so sure of that, Maxwell?"

Duo looked back at the black wire. "It's the way they connected it. These other two wires are connected to code -- they're hooked up in the safest possible way." He pointed to the where the black wire was twisted together at the switch panel. "But *this* one is definitely not up to code -- it doesn't have a cap over the twisted ends of the wires. It just kind of hangs there. I'm guessing they wanted to do this as fast and as effectively as possible and they way they have it wired here makes it very sensitive and very dangerous."

"Zechs was frowning at the panel in front of them. "Can you deactivate it, Duo?"

The American looked back at Zechs and gave him a wink. "You just watch a pro in action, Zechs." Turning back to the panel, he brought a tiny pair of wire cutters out of his jeans pocket and went to work.

Zechs leaned over to Wufei and whispered, "You friend is very impressive..."

Wufei snorted, lower lip poking out slightly. He was awfully jealous, whether he'd ought to be or not, so the next admission was difficult for him. Difficult -- but fair, as Wufei would not be anything less than that. "Of course. I expected it of him."

It was fairly obnoxious of him, perhaps; but it was also VERY Wufei.

Zechs brushed his lips over Wufei's ear, as discretely as he could, and whispered, "You're *adorable* when you pout..."

THAT was definitely fair compensation and he allowed a little smile to tickle the edges of his lips, even though he had ought to be serious and paying attention. "Good."

Several minutes passed in tense silence while Duo worked to defuse whatever device had been wired into the panel. Then they heard a tiny *snip* and the braided man turned to them, smiling, and holding up a two-inch long length of slender wire cable.

"I got it. No pretty explosions here today *and*..." He turned back to the panel briefly and used his wire cutters to flip a small switch. A panel in the wall they stood next to slid to the left, making everyone jump backwards a bit.

"Open sesame," Duo said, grinning from ear to ear.

Letting loose a relieved breath due to the fact that they'd not blown up and then tensing once again in anticipation of what they might find, Wufei turned to peer at what had lain behind the panel Duo's work had moved out of the way.

It was long and unlit, as he'd known it would have to be; the sort of thing that reminded him of Gothic novels, the sort that he secretly loved to read but wouldn't admit anything about to the rest of the world. The difference in those corridors and this one was obvious. For one, it was lacking in dust and cobwebs, something for which Wufei was grateful as he had an aversion to eight-legged bugs. For another, there was no dark twist or flickering firelight just ahead -- just smooth metal walls that almost seemed to curve up ahead in the gloom. Not that he could tell that -- it was too shadowy in there and the dark metal of which it was made gave no betraying gleam of light to show just how much (or where!) it curved.

"Well," he said softly, feeling Zechs almost jump as he spoke up and *seeing* the other members of security doing so, "shall we go in?"

"Yes," Zechs said, a little tension-filled breath escaping him. He turned to Duo. "Are you coming with us, or would do you think you'd be better working back here?"

"I think I'll stay here," the American answered. "Not that I'm not dying to get in there and see where it goes, but there could be other explosives here and I should try to deactivate them. You'll call us if you run into trouble, right?

Zechs nodded and then looked over at Wufei. "Let's go find these bastards," he said quietly and stepped into the tunnel.

A deep breath later and Wufei was with him, single-file, the tall blond just before him as they crept through shadowy darkness along the way. He could feel the curve of the passageway beneath his fingers, light and careful not to touch anything; only to make their way along. Wufei knew that, in all of that darkness, his eyes must be widely dilated, but still he saw little -- just the pale gold flash of Zechs's hair flitting before him as tension rose up, singing in the pit of his belly with each step they took.

The tunnel had a definite curve to it and Zechs reckoned that they were now heading away from the base and traveling perpindicular to it, due south. He began speculating on who would have built the tunnel, and where it could possibly lead and wanted to run a few ideas past Wufei, so he brought his pocket scanner out and stopped. Holding the device out, he turned in a circle, scanning the entire tunnel for signs of bugging devices or other surveillance equipment.

The scan came out clean and he breathed another sigh of relief, putting it back in his pocket and turning to Wufei. "Tell me, love, do you remember who was in the first crew that came to Mars?"

Gnawing at his lower lip, Wufei considered it. "No," He confessed finally, infinitely softly. "I only came later, and only because you were here."

Zechs smiled over at him. "There was a group of the pro-Treize, another of Colonists, and some civilian recruits from Earth who hadn't been involved with OZ. The first two groups had extensive background data collected on them, but the third group wasn't investigated as well. It was a self-selected group and I'm wondering if the people who didn't like the project, the kind that would have disagreed with people like Anna Galang, might have organized somehow and kept themselves hidden within the group of Earth-based recruits. Then, when they were here, they might have been able to somehow make this thing." He gestured to the tunnel, then shook his head.

"But they had to have had someone fairly high up to be able to divert the resources without attracting too much attention. I mean, I was here the whole time, so was Noin, and neither of us saw anything suspicious."

"So, who do you suspect?" Wufei asked, tilting his head to the side. "Sally was here, wasn't she? Not her, and not Quatre, either..."

There had only been one other person with enough authority to allocate this many resources, and Zechs simply didn't want to think about the possibility that the murder could be tied to him. "I... I'm not sure..." he said uneasily.

"Zechs." Wufei's voice was firm, distant -- the Gundam pilot of long ago, and not the man that Zechs knew so well. "Your suspicions..." The blond man's reluctance was kicking his own instincts, talents, into overdrive, and he knew that when he heard the name, he'd know the truth behind it. It was a talent of his, one unexplained and unexplainable, but one he had nonetheless.

"It just doesn't seem possible, Wufei," Zechs said softly as they continued their slow walk forward. "But I don't know who else it could be..." He was silent for a moment, the only sound the faint echo of their boots against the concrete floor of the tunnel. When Zechs spoke again, his voice was filled with reluctance and disbelief. "Howard..."

The word practically clicked into place, and Wufei smoothly shifted forward, gun now in hand instead of in its shoulder holster. "He's the one," he said softly. "He's got to be. Why would he do it, though?" That made him frown. Once upon a time, he wouldn't have asked about *reasons*; only about right and wrong, black and white. It was somewhat shocking to him to realize that he now saw the world not only in shades of grey, but in a variety of colors and depths as well as opposed to his former view. Treize had done that; Treize, and Mariemeia, and, most of all, Zechs.

The tunnel was curving again and now they seemed to be moving at a slight angle, south southeast, from the base. "I'm not sure - not at all, and yet... There's something that fits, something out of all the things we've found fits perfectly with the idea of him and I can't remember what it is... Maybe something one of us said or... one of the clues we found that we didn't understand." He was frowning now, upset with himself because he was missing an obvious link.

"Damn, why can't I remember!"

"He's an engineer," Wufei said flatly, "and Maxwell used to go out to an old ocean oil rig for him to fix up Deathscythe. That makes him something of a mariner, as well, and related to military matters. The medals connect..."

Zechs shook his head. "No, that's not it... well, all I can do is hope it comes to me. Do you see light up there?"

"Maybe," Wufei whispered. "Just a little...."

"Is your gun drawn? There's no way of knowing what's down there, but I'm going to bet they don't want to see us..."

"Drawn and ready to go," Wufei whispered.

The light they had seen had grown brighter as they walked, and now they could see clearly that it came from a glass panel in a door at the far end of the tunnel. Wherever the tunnel had taken them, they had arrived. Several more minutes of silent walking and the slope of the tunnel floor began to rise. The door was at the top and they could see a large fluorescent lighting fixture on the ceiling of the room beyond.

"Take the left - I'll go right," Zechs whispered, ducking down below the level of the glass panel and creeping forward silently, gun drawn.

Wufei drew in a deep breath, cast out a though and reached for the old fashioned door-handle -- strange, here, but still, there it was. "On the count of three," he breathed softly. "One... two... THREE!"

Wufei swung the door open and they both moved into the doorway. Zechs was crouched with his gun out, and as he trained it around the room he saw small workroom, lined with shelves. There were several video monitors along a long countertop, and Zechs could see that on each one was a different view of the inside of Mars Base. His stomach dropped as he saw Noin and Jaggi working in Forensics, Quatre and Trowa at a small cafeteria table, their heads bent together, and Duo looking over blueprints of the base with several of the engineers.

"They may know that we're here, Wufei..."

The firm sound of a gun cocking sounded just behind Wufei's head and he almost cursed, so angry was he with himself. "You could say that," a quiet voice came from behind them. "You might say that, indeed."

Zechs glanced to the side without moving and saw the butt of the gun up against the back of the Chinese man's head. He knew immediately what to do, of course. He could risk his own life but he would never, ever risk Wufei's.

He dropped his gun and held up his hands, still not moving an inch from where he was. "I won't fight you," he said, his voice deep and clear, "so you don't have to keep the gun against his head."

"I think," the dark, mysterious-looking man said easily, "that I like it best just where it is. I know about you, and about him." From the expression on his face, it was rather obvious who had taken the pictures left in Noin's room. "I'm surprised you found us here. That's all right, though. We'll see what the others have to say about all of this. For now, though..." The barrel of the gun moved down, pressing into the back of Wufei's head. "Move to your left, and down the hall there."

Zechs rose in one, swift movement and headed down the hallway to his left. /I won't let him die. I'll do anything they damn well tell me to do... No sudden moves, no brash talk, nothing that could get him hurt... and if it's Howard... I can only pray he'll listen to me./

Behind him, Wufei was practically fuming. /I can't believe I'm this stupid!/ he declared, wanting very much to break some part of the man holding the gun in a very painful sort of way. Instead, he said, "So, why are you doing this? Surely you have some reason... some political agenda, maybe?"

That earned him a sharp prod that hurt the back of his head and made him scowl more deeply. "Keep your mouth shut," the man simply said as they continued walking.

This hallway was better lit than the other, straighter, but containing several sharp turns that seemed to have no rhyme or reason.

They'd been walking a good five minutes in the warren of hallways when their captor stopped before an unobtrusive-looking door. He punched a code into keypad near the doorframe and there was a faint click as the lock mechanism disengaged. The door slid soundlessly inward, revealing a room that appeared to be overflowing with leafy, green plant. Somewhere near the back they could hear the sound of water gently splashing.

"Bring 'em on in, fella," a gruff voice called from somewhere close to that water source, one that Wufei recognized.

It was definitely Howard. There was no question about it.

His dark eyes sought out Zechs as their captor nudged them forward. They moved through a green paradise that should have made him think of Earth, he supposed. Instead, it made him think of just what they were -- hot-house plants that would die without steady climate control and attention... just like anything one found in space, with the growing exception of Mars, Mars that would be *different*...

The two of them were pushed forward through the dense plantings to a small work area at the far end of the room. Though they couldn't see them, there were speakers somewhere putting out the soft sound of waves breaking on a beach.

Zechs's heart sank to see the man sitting at the work space counter. His back was to them, but the gray hair and Hawaiian shirt said it all -- Howard, the ocean-going salvage man, designer of Tallgeese and Peacemillion, was there, under the Martian surface.

Trying to contain his utter bewilderment, Zechs breathed, "Howard... why?"

"Oh, hello, Zechs. Wuffie. Good to see y'all here," the engineer said conversationally, continuing to water his orchids with care. "Knew you'd get here eventually, you know."

"Well, could you get this guy to take the gun out of the back of my head?" Wufei growled, frowning sharply.

Zechs was completely at a loss. The signs had been pointing this way -- it'd been getting clearer and clearer, but... maybe he really hadn't wanted to accept the idea that the man he'd worked with so closely for a time during the war was capable of murdering people in cold blood. He tried again to speak. "Why...? Why did you do this? Y-You were one of the first... to come here... *Why?*"

The older man let out a slow sigh and stopped in his watering, lightly touching the stem of a flower as he frowned. "Ya know, Zechs, humanity is a funny thing, isn't it? After Khushrenada died, an' after everybody thought you did, I kinda thought that would be an end to all o' the hatred and prejudice that people had. Thought maybe they'd learned somethin' from all o' the fightin' that we did there at the end. Nobody did, though. It all started up again a year later, thanks to this young fella with you and folks like 'im, didn't it? Stirred up old hatreds again. Even once we got here, workers were talkin' about hatin' the colonists, hatin' people not born on Earth.."

"So you decided to bring down the colony here, is that it?" Zechs asked. His mind was crowded with questions but he wasn't sure how to ask most of them. "You decided to become a saboteur?"

"Seemed like the thing to do. Stop this folly before it became somethin' a lot worse, provided a third point of hatred yet again," Howard said solemnly.

"And *MURDER* was a part of that?" Wufei asked angrily.

That question was met with a hard rap against the back of his head that almost sent him to his knees, only prevented from doing so by Zechs's quick motion to grab him. "Shut up," the man holding the gun growled. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

It appeared that Howard didn't either. "We've only been breakin' equipment," he said with a frown. "Right, Jordan?"

Zechs had pulled Wufei towards him so that he was between the Chinese man and the guard. "So this is the kind of person you work with now, is it Howard?" he asked his former comrade-in-arms while glaring at the guard. "Common thugs - who commit *murder.* Or didn't you know that?"

End of Part Two

(:./kumiko/mars2)