13 Jun 2000
DISCLAIMER: All Gundam Wing characters are property of Sunrise, Bandai Visuals, Sotsu Agency, and Asahi TV. This work is not written for profit, but for entertainment purposes only.
Pairing: 13x6/6x13
WARNING: YAOI - heavy shonen-ai; over-the-top sap; relatives
"I *knew* you two would end up together!" Dorothy smirked.
The problem with being an adolescent is, of course, that embarrassment comes so easily. It certainly did to Zechs, who wanted more than anything else to sink into the ground at that moment. But, he knew it would be bad manners to ignore the girl so he looked over at her, tried to smile, and said, "Hello, Dorothy. How nice to see you again."
"You and Uncle Treize sleeping together?" Dorothy giggled once more, a dark and delighted sound. "You're pretty."
Treize sighed, shaking his head. "Where's your father, Dorothy?"
"Coming this way."
Zechs' eyes widened and he looked up at Treize. "Shouldn't we get up?" he said in a small voice. "If your uncle is coming..."
Treize's eyes were wider than normal as he nodded and nearly jumped to his feet, hauling Zechs up with him, and brushing both himself and the blonde boy off.
It appeared they were just in time for crashing down the trail they'd used earlier was a stern-looking man, lean and powerful with a bearing that was unmistakably military in nature. "Dorothy? Is that you? You mother told you not to go running off and what do you do, first thing out of the car? I swear sometimes I think you need to be horse-whipped." He came out of the trees and stopped abruptly when he saw Treize. "Oh, hello there young man. You've been scarce around these parts of late. Good to see you're looking well, though. Has Dorothy been making a nuisance of herself as usual?" His words were harsh but his face when he finally spied his daughter was anything but.
"Dorothy has been quite herself," Treize mused, managing to put on a half-faked smile. Out of all his relations, these were the best to deal with. "It's good to see you again, General." And he bowed, a smooth, fluid move.
"Look, father! Zechs is here *with* Treize!" Dorothy smiled.
To the great consternation of his daughter, the General merely replied, "Well of course he is - they're very good friends." He cast an appraising eye over Zechs, then nodded his head in the blond's direction. "Well, well - Lt. Marquise. You certainly have been busy, haven't you."
Zechs had saluted the General, but didn't know what to make of his comment. "Sir?"
"I can't believe you're the same boy who came here a couple of Christmases ago." The General smiled at Treize. "I hear your friend did very well in his studies at the Academy. You and Dermail planning on using his talent? He's not going to be rotting away in some typical Second Lieutenant position is he?"
"He's going to be my second," Treize smiled. "A fact which pleases me greatly and will *certainly* keep him from rotting away."
"Good to hear it! We need more young blood around the HQ. All those old bastards, hamstrung by tradition - although don't tell your uncle I said so." General Catalonia laughed good-naturedly and clapped Zechs on the back, which almost made the blond boy stumble forward.
"The Federation is going to put up a hell of a fight," he said, lowering his voice, "but they can't get away with the kind of slipshod leadership they've been doling out. And it's young people like you, Treize, and your friend here who are going to stop them." It was Treize's turn to get clapped and then the General turned and called for Dorothy. "Where are you, you little hellion? We've got to go say hello to your innumerable relatives."
Dorothy had been trying to slip away through some bushes, but sighed as she was called back. "Yes, father... But is Treize coming back, too?"
"Ah, I'd like to keep my sanity for a fraction longer," Treize smiled at the girl, now genuine after hearing her father speak. He was always, ALWAYS reassuring... "But we'll catch up."
General Catalonia was already heading for the path. He waved a hand at them without taking his eyes off Dorothy, running ahead of him, and disappeared into the trees. Zechs watched the man go, his eyes full of curiosity. "I don't remember talking to him much on my other visits here, but he seems like a very good man."
"He is -- my mother's brother," Treize sighed with a ghost of a smile. "And he's on our side, Milliard."
Azure eyes narrowed a bit, turning to look at the tall nobleman. "I take it not everyone in OZ is in that position?"
"What position?"
"Of being on our side," Zechs answered. "Of understanding the reasons you have for wanting the Federation government gone. I know there were several cadets at the Academy who seemed to relish the idea of having the power and control that the Federation does now. But..." He hesitated for a moment, frowning down at the grass. "But I don't think that's what you have in mind at all. Or... am I wrong?" he ended, looking again at Treize.
Treize smiled slightly. "You're not wrong at all, my friend -- the Federation abuses it's power and the countries it holds. That should not be so, ever again."
"Hmm." Zechs put his arm through Treize's and rested his chin on the older man's shoulder. "So see? Some of your relatives are quite pleasant. Although that little cousin of yours always seems to catch us at the wrong time... Do you remember that time underneath your bed covers? I thought I'd die of mortification."
Treize kissed Zechs' gently at the edge of his lips. "She'll never tell a soul -- she just likes to tease us."
"More like torture, I think, by the look on her face." The blond boy rested his head on Treize's shoulder. "I know you should probably be getting back, but I don't really want you to. Not at all." He shifted a little and slipped his arms around the other's waist, hugging Treize tightly to him.
Treize's arms tightened around Zechs' back, stroking gently. "We'll stay here a while more. It's pleasant. And you're perfect company."
Zechs hid his smile by burying his face against his partner's broad chest. "You're perfect in every way. For me..." Gathering his courage, he looked up at Treize, raising a hand to stroke his cheek. Then both hands were there, exploring the older man's face - caressing the fine lines of his jaw and brushing softly across his lips. "Oh God, Treize," he breathed, feeling a bit weak, "I love you so much."
"I'll love you forever, my dear friend," Treize smiled, kissing those fingers there. He needed to have Zechs, soon, but... ah, not now.
Something in Treize's demeanor made the blond hesitate. /He's got too much on his mind to bother with this right now. I should keep quiet - let him decide what he wants to do./
Zechs corralled his wayward thoughts and dropped his hands to his sides. "I know this must be a difficult day for you. And I want you to know I'll help in anyway I can. I just... I just don't know what to do to make it better."
"Just be here, Milliard," he sighed softly. "You give more strength than you think."
"Of course I'll be here," Zechs responded. He shoved his hands in his pockets as protection from adolescent hormones and looked across the grass. "There's a bridge across the pond at that end. Would you like to walk down there?"
"Yes." A short answer from Treize, and it was obvious that he was mentally tired, though not physically. He didn't really have to *think* around Zechs and that was something to cherish. As they began to walk, slowly, Treize let an arm drift around Zechs' waist, pulling him close.
Zechs gave a squeeze in return and then looked ahead to the bridge. "Hey -want to play Pooh sticks?" he asked, and ran ahead onto the small, wooden bridge, picking something up from the ground as he went.
Treize made an amused sound. "Pooh sticks? What's that?"
The blond boy was leaning over the bridge railing, watching the water in the pond drain into a small stream that ran towards the back of the property. The water was about two feet deep and made a soft murmuring sound moving over the smooth stones below it. As Treize reached the bridge, Zechs held up a slender twig and broke it in half, handing one piece to the skeptical nobleman. "It's just a race. We drop the sticks off one side of the bridge and then go to the other side and see whose stick floats past first." He leaned over the railing again, holding his stick above the water, and waited for Treize.
"All right," Treize smiled, holding his above the water as well. "Ready, set... go!"
And they both dropped the sticks in at the same time. Treize pivoted to look over the edge of the bridge, and Zechs looked with him.
Zechs' piece crossed first.
"Ha ha! Victory!" the blond boy laughed, then looked teasingly up at Treize. "Must be all that administrative work. It's slowing you down."
"My stick must simply have been heavier," Treize mock pouted. "Although the administrative work.... is something you'll want to avoid at all costs." Then the older boy winked at Zechs, a faint smirk touching his lips. Then, without warning, his hands dove for the boy's sides, tickling mercilessly. "I'll win yet!"
Zechs let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a shriek, as the fingertips hit what felt like hundreds of sensitive places all at once. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to wriggle his way out of Treize's grasp, so he resorted to the only thing a soldier could do under conditions where retreat is impossible - he counterattacked. Managing to turn his back to the tall noble he lifted both feet at once, planted them firmly against the wooden railing of the bridge and pushed with all his might, still trying to grab the hands that were making him laugh.
It was a small bridge, and wasn't built to maintain that sort of roughhousing -- so it was no surprise to Treize when he found that Zechs' powerful push sent him back against the railing, taking the boy with him; or that the railing gave way behind him and that he hit the water with a loud smack, still holding Zechs, cushioning the boy's fall.
And truly laughing the entire time.
Scrambling onto his knees, Zechs turned to look at his soggy companion, leaning back on his hands, in the water. The mortified blond clapped both hands over his mouth, azure eyes wide. In a hand-muffled voice, he said, "Oh! Treize... are you all right?" Then the absurdity of OZ's finest sitting in what amounted to a large puddle of water struck him and, try as he might, he could not help but burst out laughing at the picture of wounded dignity before him.
"Only my pride," Treize chuckled damply, running a hand through the water to splash some on Zechs.
Frowning in mock disapproval at the water dripping from his bangs, Zechs said, "Well now, that was rather childish," and then proceeded to splash his companion twice.
"And you call *me* childish?" the nobleman chuckled, splashing Zechs again, but with more force than the first time. "That'll teach you..."
Zechs made a small sound of outrage. "Teach me?" he said a splashed the older boy. "*Teach me?*" Another splash. "Yes, actually you're a *very* good teacher, Treize!" With that he launched an all-out naval attack on his superior officer, scooping up as much water as he could with each splash.
It grew in proportion, until both were soaking wet, and Treize was throwing water back as hard as Zechs was. A sputtered laugh, then, still laughing, "We should... go back soon... to dry... off." Oh, it was hard to talk while looking at a long haired boy who looked more like a soaked dog than anything just then.
Zechs wiped as much water as he could from his eyes. "Oh, yes. Let's. I'll make an *excellent* impression on your relatives," he said looking up through heavy wet ropes of hair.
"*I'll* make an excellent impression on my relatives," Treize smiled as he tired to get back to his feet. "When we go in, let's walk through the parlor -- straight through them all."
Zechs leant an arm and soon both were standing and out of the water. He really couldn't help but laugh again - they both looked so ridiculous. "Won't your butler go after us with a kitchen knife if we tread water all over those valuable carpets?"
"Do I care? Anyway, I happen to know that the carpets, at least those in the parlor, have been willed to Charlotte," came the smirked reply.
"Treize!" Zechs smiled appreciatively. "You're positively *evil!*" He had wrung out his hair as much as he could, but it felt heavy and sticky against his back. He scooped it forward, over one shoulder, and plaited it quickly, then tossed it back again. "Why do you insist in making sport of poor Charlotte? She seems to adore you..." He paused for a moment and tried to hide a grin. "Rather like a good Basset Hound might."
"Yes, and she has all the *attraction* of a Basset Hound," Treize murmured, sitting on the bank of the stream to dump out his shoes. "Her stumbled personality is a relief from the vindictiveness of some relations of mine, but not enough of one."
"Poor girl." Zechs was still smiling as he wrung out the front of his shirt, but then a thought seemed to come to him and he frowned slightly. "Treize? Your cousin Nikolai is coming, isn't he?"
Treize's expression twisted into a sadder one. "Yes. Since that's the case..." He trailed off, offering his hand to Zechs as he rose. "Let's head back, walk through the parlor, then take a few minutes to change and warm up again."
The small frown on the blond's face remained as they began walking towards the house. "It's just that..." he trailed off, looking out over a sweeping classical garden that they were passing. "Well, he has this habit of... getting a little too close."
"I know," Treize spoke, and his tone was protective. "And if he does it again, and I'm not there, I urge you to kick him in the groin and call for me -- when we change, I'll put my gun on my person again. He's dangerous, Milliard."
Zechs looked up at Treize, brows drawn together in concern. "Dangerous? How could he be dangerous. He's just a nuisance, isn't he?"
"Both," Treize mused, tone still serious, even though he looked and felt like a wet cat. "He's unstable."
The blond boy pondered this information until they came in sight of the house. He looked back up at his companion. "Which way do we go? I'm just going to follow you."
"In through here," Treize uttered, heading towards a side door -- there really was no way to go upstairs without walking through the parlor, so might as well do it directly...
They took their shoes off in the small mud room just inside the door and then Treize led them down the eastern hallway to the parlor.
"Treize! You wicked thing! It's been far too long, come over and-" The speaker, a slender blonde wearing a just-on-this-side-of-decent dress and expertly applied make up, broke off suddenly when Treize came all the way into the room. "Well, what have *we* been up to?" she asked in a sultry tone, eying him up and down. "My, my, my..."
"Good day to you, Irina," he greeted blandly, expression tired. "My companion and I were out for a walk, and part of the bridge decided that it simply didn't like two people being on it at once." A quiet sigh, and he looked to Zechs. "Zechs, this is Irina -- Irina, meet Zechs."
Zechs bowed, trying to look dignified but knowing he failed utterly. "Very nice to meet you, Miss Irina."
Irina looked the wet boy up and down, then slid her gaze over to Treize again. "Oh. How sweet," she simpered. "A little friend. Well *do* get dried off cos'. We're all waiting on you. Your solicitor arrived fifteen minutes ago. Went straight into the library and locked the door. Said he had papers to take care of. Can you believe the man? How impossibly rude." She sniffed at the recollection and then spotted a great aunt that she expected money from someday. "Oh, there's dear aunt Svetlana - must go. Kiss, kiss." She flitted away in a haze of lilac perfume.
Most of the relatives, drinks in hand, were now staring at the two young officers, apparently not at all sure what to make of them.
Treize managed a beaming smile, which, considering his wet state, probably assured most of them that he wasn't even playing with half a deck of cards. "We'll be down right away, as soon as we dry off."
"Went swimming with your clothes on?" One cousin asked, nearly sneering at them as they left the room to head upstairs.
Zechs followed in his companion's wake up the stairs and into Treize's suite. Once the door was closed he reached back to loosen the plait he'd put in his hair. "You really have the most extraordinary relatives, Treize."
End of Part 9
(:./kumiko/bblood16)
