15 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; sap; not only relatives but relatives and wills (always a volatile mix...)
Treize's solicitor, Mr. Dmitriov, was standing at the door to the library, suffering through a recounting of some great-aunt's recent ailments. A look of great relief washed over his gaunt face when he saw Treize enter the parlor. He extricated himself from the wrinkled woman's verbal grasp and headed over towards the new Count.
"Ah, there you are, sir. Are you ready to begin the dispensation?"
"Yes, yes -- as soon as possible," he said, empathetic of what the man had been hearing. "Zechs -- sit by me." It wasn't an order, but more of a request.
"You look snappy," a young voice commented from Treize's other side --Dorothy. "But you just want to run off right now, don't you Zechs?"
The blond boy eyed the girl cautiously, then looked up at Treize. "Oh -well, Dorothy's got it in one, actually. I don't really have any business sitting in on this kind of thing. Perhaps I should wait out in the garden?"
As he finished the sentence, Irina appeared magically before them, her eyes running up and down Zechs in a shrewdly appraising manner. "Hmm... who *is* this little fellow? Someone you've been hiding, Treize?" She gave an oily smile to her cousin, then looked back to Zechs. "He certainly cleans up nicely. Does he have any money?" she asked, leaning in to pick up a strand of blond hair, "or *connections*?" With a little laugh she let the strands go and Zechs pushed them quickly behind his ear, not sure whether to be afraid or tell her how ridiculous she looked.
Treize looked up from Dorothy, back to Zechs. "No, I'd rather that you stayed here," he murmured so that none but Zechs heard him, then, louder, "Irina, this is Zechs -- *my* *companion*." It was hard to tell if he put more stress on the word 'companion' or 'my', but it seemed more on 'my'. "Zechs, this is Irina, a relation of mine."
Dorothy giggled. "Don't touch him, Iri! Treize gets antsy when people touch Zechs!"
Irina bent down to Dorothy's level, a wicked gleam in her pale, blue eyes. "No, you can't be serious, Dorothy!" she said in a conspiratorial stage whisper. "Your uncle? Tell me it isn't so! Why ever would Treize feel that way? Tell me *all* the gossip dear!"
In the background, Mr. Dmitriov rolled his eyes and gave up, going to sit down at the long table in the library - to wait.
Treize's control just then was so firmly out of his grasp that he simply wanted to bring his knee right up onto Irina's face. Dorothy gave no answer, only giggled again, before running off to torment someone else.
"Well, now that you've had your fun, Irina, care to go into the library?" Treize asked in a low tone.
"Certainly, dear Treize. Perhaps this lovely thing can tell me all about what you two have been up to lately, hmm?" Winking at Treize, she slid her arm through Zechs' and simpered at him as they moved in to the library. Zechs pulled back a little in alarm, on the verge of excusing himself all together when Charlotte joined them. Her long, plain face fell immediately when she saw Irina's stranglehold on Zechs' arm.
"Treize!" she said, recovering quickly, "would you mind if I sat next to you?"
"To one side, yes, however..." For a moment he looked as if Irina were dragging away his lifeline. "Zechs -- wait a moment, hmn? -- Irina, go on ahead. We'll join you shortly."
The young woman's face changed, rather breathtakingly, from a predatory smile to a withering stare at Treize. "Well," she murmured huffily, "aren't you the kill-joy." With a sniff, she moved into the adjoining room. Charlotte hid a wide smile behind her hand.
"Thank you," Zechs said, rubbing at his biceps. "For a moment I thought she was going to cut off the circulation to my arm."
"I was rather worried about that, and her talking your ear off," Treize murmured. /I'd hate to lose either part of you./ And he smiled at Charlotte, and winked. "Well, are you planning on taking a piece out of Zechs, too?"
Charlotte giggled, rather unflatteringly, and blushed. "Oh, no Treize... I, uh... well, no!" She ended by waving large hands at him and covering her face.
Zechs leaned towards her. "Thank you, Charlotte. I can't tell you how much my other arm appreciates that." Charlotte giggled again, this time with an unladylike snort in the middle and turned towards the library door.
Everyone was in the room but Mr. Dmitriov and Nikolai. Never having witnessed anything similar, Zechs was unclear just what to do. "Is their someplace particular you're supposed to sit, Treize?" he whispered.
Treize shrugged. "Damned if I know," he murmured quietly, moving toward a seat that had Charlotte on one side and an empty seat on the other --for Zechs. "Sit."
"Yes, sir," Zechs murmured under his breath, taking the seat which happened to be across from Irina, who gave him a wink.
They waited a few moments in silence and then Mr. Dmitriov came in, Nikolai right behind him. The solicitor sat and took out a large envelope from his briefcase. Adjusting his glasses, he made a few perfunctory comments about the order of the reading, the proper behavior of the participants, and the timeline for the actual receipt of the willed items.
He began with the most important legacies first and after reading the long and legalistic preamble to the will, he got to the top item. "I leave to Treize Khushrenada, my son and heir, the sum of 2 billion monetary credits and the house and grounds of the Kiev estate."
At that moment, Zechs looked across the table and saw Nikolai whispering something to Irina and for some reason, a chill ran down his spine.
Treize noted that talk, too, and looked over to his uncle Catalonia for reassurance of some sort against the two's scheming -- if it was about the estate, he'd be happy to help defend, but if it concerned Zechs...
He'd have to not let the boy out of his sight until they were gone.
The solicitor droned on, giving out cash to some, furnishings or jewels to others, until everyone had been mentioned but five of Treize's cousins. He stopped, removed his glasses, and looked at the assembled family in a meaningful way. "All of the real property and wealth that was owned by His Grace has been specified in this will. However, there was one attachment, a codicil, that the late Count added to this document, approximately 10 months ago. It was a rather strange request, to tell the truth, and I did try to discourage His Grace from doing it, but he was adamant.
"The codicil states the following: The house and grounds of the Khushrenada estate, that I have willed to my son and heir Treize Khushrenada, is to be given to him and him alone, unless a sum of 100 million monetary credits can be amassed between at least three members of the group mentioned below. If that happens, then my son shall forfeit the property."
"Now wait a minute, Dmitriov," General Catalonia broke in. "Surely this isn't right." He leaned over to Treize. "Don't worry about this, Treize, it can't be done."
/Irina, Nikolai... Hell./ Treize looked on edge, to say the least --this was his *home*. He'd lived there for so long, and aside from the bases, it was his only refuge... He could only look at his uncle and nod faintly, awaiting anything else to be said.
The room was suddenly humming with hushed, excited conversations. "What I propose we do," Dmitriov said loudly, seizing back control, "is read the legacies given to this last group of family members and then break for approximately 45 minutes so that they may discuss what they wish to do from there." He put his glasses back on and read from the document.
"For the children of my brothers and sister, I leave the following in monetary credits:
For Nikolai Pestrak, the sum of 40 million credits
For Irina Doschak, the sum of 20 million credits.
For Vanya Pestrak, the sum of 15 million credits.
For Alexei Khushrenada, the sum of 39.5 million credits.
For Charlotte Khushrenada, the sum of 50 million credits."
Dmitriov looked over his spectacles at them. "Now, let us all retire until 3 o'clock for the family members affected by this to consider their options."
He'd lose the house. There was no doubt about it any longer. He'd lose the house. The gardens, the memories, even his mother's grave.
His expression was calmly schooled as he rose to his feet, murmuring a quick "Excuse me" before he nearly ran from the room. Nikolai would find two others and they would get the house -- the money didn't matter a whit to him, but...
Long legs took him from the house faster than he'd wanted to leave, really. He'd wanted to walk, calmly, not run, but it had been too much to deal with, too many thoughts, and knowledge of his family's disdain for him, except for Dorothy, her father and mother, and perhaps Dermail. Even Charlotte was only there for the money, and the furniture. All he'd wanted to keep when it was all done was his books and his memories.
The fresh, warm smell of the gardens filled his nose, as he kept running, until he reached a small fenced in area, and fell to his knees, breathing hard. They wouldn't find him there. Not yet. They wouldn't look in the small family plot.
~~~
Zechs stood as Treize left the room. /He's upset - more upset than I've ever seen him... I have to go find him./ He had started towards the door when Nikolai walked in front of him and blocked the way. "Get out of my way," Zechs said, voice low but angry, but Nikolai only crossed his arms and smirked.
"Running to find your master? Well, take it from me, he won't want to see you. He prefers being alone when he's angry, and toys need to know their places." Nikolai reached out a hand and slid long fingers down Zechs' cheek.
That was enough. "I've had it with you and your familiarities!" Zechs growled as he knocked the man's hand away. "Keep your hands off of me, do you understand?"
Nikolai looked irritated. "I wouldn't be so quick to react, *boy.* You and your *owner* are about to lose this house. This house and all of the things it means to Treize and who will have them? Me, that's who."
"I believe the codicil said it required 100 million," Zechs answered, hands shaking with rage. "You haven't got that much."
"No, but we'll certainly be a lot closer with my portion." Zechs turned to see Irina walking up to them. "Oh, don't worry sweetheart," she said addressing Zechs. "We only have one more cousin to convince and the estate will be ours. Isn't it funny? Isn't it wonderfully, ironically funny?"
The other relatives had gathered around the three of them and were looking on passively, as if watching a play. Zechs turned to them. "Don't any of you care about this? Treize grew up here - it was his father's home! Why should they be able to come in and take it from him?"
The only reply he got was stony silence. But the silent relatives did do one thing - they caught Nikolai's attention, giving Zechs a change to duck past him and head out to look for Treize.
As he left, Charlotte moved inconspicuously to one of the windows and watched him disappear around the corner of the path.
Beside her stood young Dorothy, who also watched. "Family can be so cruel, hm?"
~~~
"It's only fair, I suppose," Treize spoke softly to the two graves before him, as he knelt on the soft, warm earth, "that they always win. I can do for myself well enough, while they have to leech..."
His voice was tight as he spoke, fixed on his mother's flower strewn grave. Always, always she had flowers on her grave. Either from himself, or the few other family members who came to the graves, or from the servants who remembered her and had loved her more than some of their own kindred.
Elegant fingers touched lightly at the headstone, tracing her name, and the years she'd lived. "I miss you, mother."
His father... there was no love lost between the old count and Treize. The man had always been distant and never around when Treize needed him. His mother had advised him on how to get close to Zechs, his mother had tutored him when he'd first begun learning different tongues, his mother was always there with a kind word, that soft, gentle smile...
And he'd never been able to do anything good enough for his father. Treize didn't doubt that the man had loved him, no, but he'd certainly not shown that he ever had. But since his mother had died, it'd not taken long for his father to follow her -- they did belong together, bound by a chain that wouldn't break, as one followed the other beyond...
And left him there, virtually alone, except for Zechs, and a myriad of soldiers that admired a man they didn't really know.
Sapphire bright eyes squeezed shut so that only a few tears out of many managed to escape.
~~~
General Catalonia was ensconced in the library with Dmitriov, arguing with the solicitor over the legality of the codicil. The rest of the family were back in the parlor in small groups, with the exception of the four cousins whose legacies could activate the codicil and take the estate from Treize.
"Interesting times, eh Sophia?" Maxmillian Pestrak, Nikolai's father sat down in an armchair across from an elderly woman who was married to his cousin.
"Yes, yes - only..." She trailed off and stared at the hearth, now set with flowers, due to the warm weather.
"Of course, of course," Max sputtered. "No one *wants* to see young Treize lose the house, but, well - there is the codicil. It's perfectly legal."
"Yes," the old woman murmured again. "Perfectly legal."
~~~
Zechs had covered most of the gardens on the eastern side of the property and found no one. He was pausing for a breath, hands on his knees, panting, when he remembered the small bridge at the back of the garden. Treize hadn't wanted to go there with him, but perhaps, if he were on his own...
He didn't wait to finish the thought, just took off at a full run for the tiny graveyard he'd only glimpsed once. Now if he could only remember how to get there...
~~~
Treize had managed to keep a great deal of his grief for his mother in check when she'd died; now it came spilling out in a rush, triggered by thoughts of losing the house to vindictive relatives. Betrayed and turned on by his own family...
He was kneeling more beside his mother's grave, than his father's, and his vision had clouded over as he kept tracing the inscription beneath her name and the date. 'And even the holy hosts will mourn thee...'
Coming through the last clump of lilac trees, Zechs spotted the small bridge. /"He won't want to see you... prefers to be alone... toys should know there places..."/ Nikolai's words made him hesitate but he couldn't forget the look on Treize's face as he'd left the library. If there was one thing he couldn't do right now, it was let Treize face all this by himself. He strengthened his resolve and walked across the bridge.
The moment he entered the tiny graveyard, ringed with a wrought iron fence and deep in the green gloom of summer shade, he saw Treize. The man was kneeling in front of a fairly new gravestone, his forehead resting against it, long fingers stroking the cool marble. Zechs approached him slowly and quietly, then knelt beside him and put an arm around the broad shoulders. "Treize," he said softly. "Whatever is going to happen, I'll be beside you. We'll face whatever it is together."
/Zechs./ The only person who'd been in that room who would look for him, who would care enough to bother even doing that much...
He turned away from the gravestone, still feeling the chilling touch of that marble against him even as he pulled Zechs against him, clutch that of a desperate man as he pressed his face blindly against Zechs' sweater, letting the tears fall.
"They can't do this -- it's wrong. They wouldn't do it if they didn't hate me so..." His voice was ragged, low and pained as he managed to convey the betrayal he felt.
A surge of protectiveness went through the blond boy and he wrapped both of his arms tightly around Treize. Stroking the older man's hair, he whispered softly, "Treize. They don't hate you. I don't think so, anyway. I think they're just greedy. Family matters, but not when it stands in the way of money."
He could feel Treize's tears through the fabric of his shirt, and he began stroking down his back, hoping to ease some of the horrible grief he knew that Treize must be feeling. "I swear to you, Treize. I will * not* let them get this estate. It's yours and it will remain yours, always."
How very much like Zechs to say such a thing, to reassure such things... "No one can thwart Nikolai -- it's not even worth trying," he murmured against the cloth, holding Zechs tighter still. He could hear Zechs' heart beat, a bit faster than normal. From running? It didn't matter -- it was steady, and familiar from sleeping in bed for the past few nights with the boy. A beat that reminded him just why he did go on day to day, why he did make every effort to seem composed and perfect, why he could let his guard down around Zechs.
It wasn't like Treize to give up, and the quiet words of surrender worried Zechs. But they also galvanized his resolve. He wasn't exactly sure of what he could do, but he *would* find something, some way to prevent Nikolai from laying his hands on the house. There had to be an ally. There just had to be.
"Don't tell me I can't thwart Nikolai," the blond boy said staunchly. "I got away from him to come find you, and I'll get this estate away from him, too, if he tries to take it from you." He pulled the older man tightly against him, kissing the top of his head and rocking gently. "Don't despair... Nikolai has picked the wrong enemy - in spades."
No more words came from Treize, as he simply held on tightly to his beloved anchor to reality. /I'm supposed to protect you, my dear prince, not the other way around.../ The gentle rocking calmed his tears, and he slowly lifted his face from the damp shirt, to kiss Zechs gently on the lips.
It was a long and sweet kiss, soothing to both of them and sorely needed. "Don't you ever give up," Zechs whispered against Treize's mouth. "We can do *anything* together... *anything.* Then he pulled Treize forward again for another healing kiss.
~~~
"Charlotte, it's a wonderful plan, you must see that." Irina paced up and down the small sitting room off the main hall where the three of them were ensconced behind a closed door. "You *must* agree to work with Nikolai and me. Think of what you'll be getting." She cast an imploring look at Nikolai, lounging on the small loveseat opposite Charlotte. He gave her a bored smile.
"Yes, come now, Charlotte, this really *is* the chance of a lifetime. Just think of the money this place would bring. Not to mention all of Treize's mother's little "treasures" she kindly thought to leave behind. A very good price, I'd wager. More money than you'd be able to spend, dear cousin." He gave the young woman across from him a sleekly contemptuous smile.
Charlotte, however, was not easily convinced. "You can't sell the estate! It's been in our family for the longest time - hundreds and hundreds of years. I will definitely not go in with you if you sell it." She had a stubborn look on her face and her two relations sighed inwardly at her mulishness.
Irina threw her hands in the air and began another lecture to Charlotte about her dim prospects for any kind of marriage, so wouldn't money be just the thing she needed to take care of herself in life? She had been giving this particular lecture to Charlotte since they had both turned 13, and had come to relish it's impact on the horsey-looking girl. This time was no different. Charlotte's manner seemed to wilt as her cousin went on along with it went her confidence.
Nikolai, meanwhile, had been going over what Charlotte had said. It wouldn't do for them to treat Charlotte as they always had - the way Irina was doing. Charlotte's role was a crucial one. It called for a different tactic all together and he had just discovered it.
Smiling more sincerely (he hoped) at his plain cousin, Nikolai put a hand up to stop Irina. "Sit down, dear cousin. You've done enough, thank you." Irina did what she was told, but kept a scowl on her face as she joined Nikolai on the loveseat.
"Charlotte," began Nikolai, "I've been thinking about what you just said, and I can see your point perfectly. So I have a proposal for you that you might like."
Irina snorted but a swift kick to her ankle quieted her down nicely.
"What I propose is that you, dear Charlotte, take the estate."
The two women looked at him, one appalled, one baffled. He smiled at both of them. "Who else would look after this place properly? Who else has the kind of respect you have for its history and traditions? You, Charlotte, should be the mistress here. And all it would take is for you to give each of us," here he pointed to Irina and himself, " a portion of the legacy the Count left for you. That way you can do with the Estate whatever you want."
Irina cast a sidelong glance at her cousin. "How much would you suggest she give us?"
"I was thinking of, perhaps, 15 million each. That would certainly be akin to what the place is worth and would still leave you with 20 million, Charlotte, to live out your life in comfort... here... in the house you love so much."
Charlotte studied Nikolai's face for a long time and then, in a small voice, said, "I *have* always dreamed of being mistress here." (She didn't tell them that she had wanted it to be with Treize. They would have laughed at her.) "But what about Treize? He loves this house -he's grown up in it."
Irina's eyes lit up as the beauty of Nikolai's new plan came to her. "Well, then *invite him to come!* The house will be yours, won't it? You can invite whomever you want to come and visit. And won't that just be darling, meeting him as the mistress of the house when he arrives?"
Charlotte seemed to be pondering this idea very deeply. "And another thing, Irina said, if Treize comes, perhaps he'll bring along his little friend." She winked at Charlotte. "I saw those roving eyes of yours in the parlor. You could probably have the both of them here, whenever you liked..."
"I... I hadn't thought of that..." Charlotte said softly, slipping into a quiet reverie where her handsome cousin and his beautiful best friend were with her for days on end. "No, I hadn't thought of that at all..."
End of Part 11
(:./kumiko/bblood18)
