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"Crisis"Written By: Artemis Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: yaoi lemon including rimming, angst,
violence, language, reference to past NCS involving a minor, death,
angst. Pairings: 6x2, 3x4 Summary: Sequel to Interfacing: Regained. GAIA
prepares to go into space and announce itself to the world; Duo and
Zechs' relationship goes through its own crisis. "Crisis " 12) Zechs went first to the hangar, hoping to catch a glimpse of the braid. Instead he found Howard directing a crew involved in the finishing touches on the Tallgeese's new cloaking system. "Hello, Howard, how is it coming?" Zechs asked, looking up at his own mobile suit. "Hey, things are all right," the gray-haired man answered. "Moving right on schedule." Howard paused for a moment in his conversation with Zechs to advise one of his assistants and then turned back to the base commander. "How are things with you?" "Could be less busy," Zechs admitted in all honesty, giving the old man a small, wry smile. "Time *is* getting critical." "Hmm, right," Howard said with a nod, considering the fatigue marks that grew more pronounced every day around Zechs's eyes. "You might wanna try scheduling some sleep into your busy day, and giving that boy a rest at the same time," he said, chuckling. "Scheduling sleep would be nice if I could do that," Zechs replied, ignoring the comment about "that boy" as well as the twinge it gave him. "I admit I've been working too hard." [He's got something on his mind,] Howard observed. But of course that was no surprise since Zechs was in charge of running the base. "All you pilots are working too hard as far as I can see. Even Duo's been down here most days... and then just a while ago..." he said, chuckling again, "he shows up wearing the GAIA uniform. Quite a transformation he's making!" Zechs gaped at the man, amazed at what he was hearing. "Duo... was wearing the uniform? You saw him? How long ago was this?" [Duo! You put it on! Oh, my sweet little fox, what does this mean? Why are you hiding this from me?] "Yeah, he showed up here, oh, less than an hour ago," Howard said, scratching his head as he remembered the scene. "I was pretty involved with the upgrade to your cloaking system, so we only chatted for a couple of minutes." "You don't know where he went, do you?" Zechs looked sheepish for a moment. "I'm afraid I've misplaced the braid." [Oh, now he's really going to think I'm obsessed with him!] Howard grinned at the reference to Duo's most unique feature. "Uh, I really wasn't paying attention, but I think he headed toward the tower. Seemed keen on showing off the uniform." [Oh? Was he going to show it off to me, I wonder? Is he somewhere looking for *me* right now?] Zechs managed a lopsided grin in return. "Thanks, Howard, I'll look for him there." "Don't mention it," Howard said. "I hope you find your missing braid and the boy it belongs to!" He winked and then turned his full attention to finishing the work on the Tallgeese. Quatre was returning from the control tower with the evening's weather report when he spotted Zechs approaching. The outlook was for more wind and snow, but still Quatre hoped for sunshine and warmth. "Zechs!" he called as he crossed the hangar on his way to check on Trowa. "Hello, Quatre," Zechs replied as he neared the blond boy. "May I speak with you a few minutes?" He gestured with his hand toward Sandrock, which was standing beside Heavyarms and away from the activity in the hangar. "Of course," Quatre answered as he walked with Zechs to the relative privacy between the two Gundams. "I'm glad to see you, actually..." He hesitated to finish telling Zechs what was on his mind, or more accurately, what was in his heart. Not long after he and Trowa had bumped into Duo in the corridor, Quatre had begun to feel a great unease. Now that he was standing here with Zechs he knew where that unease was coming from. [Duo...] They reached the space between Sandrock and Heavyarms before another word was spoken. Glancing up, Zechs got a glimpse of Trowa far above them, tinkering with his mobile suit. [Quatre wants to be with his lover,] he thought. [I won't keep him long. I just want to know where Duo is... if he's all right...] "Actually what?" Zechs murmured as he turned back to face the younger pilot, arms crossed over his chest. Although he stood before one of the Gundam Sandrock's legs, he hesitated to lean back on it, knowing that some of the pilots were funny about their mobile suits being touched. "Done with dinner already?" Quatre asked with a little smile. He hoped that seeing Zechs here meant that things were okay between him and Duo, but his heart told him differently. Still, he didn't want to make any assumptions. "I know Duo is a fast eater, but Trowa and I just saw him less than a half hour ago..." Zechs stared down into the honest, open aquamarine eyes. "Quatre, I haven't seen him... for a while. I've been... looking for him before I go get some dinner. Have you seen him?" Within, his mind was trying to put the pieces together. Duo, wearing the GAIA uniform! Going to the tower... and now Quatre and Trowa had seen him... and were under the impression that Duo was having dinner with him. [What in the world...?] Quatre could feel the man's worry. It hung heavy around him like weighted silk. [They're not okay?] The realization struck him hard. He'd been so consumed by his feelings for Trowa that he hadn't been paying attention. [I've been so selfish...] "We saw him in the corridor," Quatre said, pointing towards the main hall leading into the base. "He said he was going to find you for dinner." He paused for a moment, searching for the right words to give Zechs some reassurance... comfort. "He seemed happy and before he went on his way he asked if we'd seen Heero. I think he wanted to show off the uniform. I told him Heero was in the computer room." [No! Did he hear...] Zechs turned away abruptly, hugging his arms to himself as he tried to process the information. [He must have heard about the nightmares! Oh, my love... I don't blame you! Please...] This whole day had gone wrong from the moment Howard had called him away during Duo's rematch with Heero. Duo's burst of anger when he lost the rematch... then Sally and Wufei's arrival and the fight between Duo and Wufei's Gundams... then Heero's dressing Duo down in the hangar... [I never did ask Heero about that, damn...] Finally there had been Duo's unfortunate outburst during sex, then Zechs's reaction. [Why did I leave him like that? Oh, fuck, Treize had called... Then I couldn't find Duo and ended up talking to Heero again. Why was I talking to Heero, of all people? Why do I feel safe sharing with him? I should have gone to find Duo no matter what... and I should do that now...] "Zechs," Quatre said, his voice soft. When the man didn't respond, Quatre repeated his name again and touched his forearm. "You're concerned about Duo..." [Should I tell him that Duo is sad? No, I better not, it'll only hurt him more.] "I'm sure he's around here somewhere. Maybe he's talking to Heero?" "No, I was just talking to Heero," Zechs replied, his statement haunted. "He must have gotten diverted by something... someone." [Quatre felt so guilty for his part in our original misunderstanding,] he mused. [Best not to burden him anymore...] "Um, Duo really seemed happy?" [And I ruined it...] "Yeah, I think he wanted everyone to see him in the uniform," Quatre said, forcing a little smile, though he knew his face betrayed his concern. "He even asked us if we noticed anything different about him. How could we not?!" "I... I have to find him. Oh, by the way, we have a visitor from Bremen arriving tomorrow morning. Treize is sending us one of his men with some critical files from the colonies. Just so you know, as we should both be on hand to meet him. Then the Committee can meet with him." "An envoy from Treize?" Quatre asked with some surprise. Though he had become relatively comfortable with Treize Khushrenada's involvement in the new alliance, he still felt a tingle of anxiety on hearing one of his personal envoys would be arriving from Bremen. "Yes, and I thought we should send someone to Treize as well," Zechs sighed. "I think Bronn Sangers would make a good representative for us." "Sounds good," Quatre commented. [Duo will be happy to hear that; he hates the guy.] "Thanks. The visitor is going by the code name 'Dog Squire'. He could be here by dawn," Zechs added thoughtfully. "Okay, I'll roll out the red carpet," Quatre said with a little laugh, but the joke went on deaf ears. Zechs was terribly preoccupied with finding Duo. "Excuse me, Quatre," Zechs murmured, and turned away from the other pilot. "Sure, Zechs," Quatre said with a deep sigh. [Please be all right, you guys... please.] Walking away, Zechs knew that Duo was not looking for him... not now. He was in plain sight in the hangar, and had talked to enough people that someone would surely have told Duo by now that he was looking for him. Then he stopped and glanced back at the mobile suit on the end of the row of suits. Deathscythe stood there, all gleaming black, gold, and white. [He's there,] Zechs suddenly knew. He took a step in that direction, but caught himself. [Maybe he's afraid to face me... I'd better call him.] He diverted over to the nearest Aries mobile suit and entered it in order to use its radio to call the Gundam. That would be more private than using the open-channel, hand-held radio they each carried. Settling in the Aries pilot seat, Zechs activated the radio, locking in on the Deathscythe's normal frequency. "Duo, come in please... this is Zechs... please, Duo..." Duo stirred from his light sleep when he heard the familiar warm velvet of Zechs's voice. His stomach tightened as he sat up and stared at the radio for a moment unsure of what to do. He was afraid to confront Zechs about what he had heard. He was afraid because then *all* the horrible truth would come out and he'd have to face the fact that it was over... their love affair was over. He swallowed hard, closed his eyes and reached over to open his end of the transmission. [Just pretend like everything's okay...] "I'm here," Duo said, answering in as cheerful a tone as he could manage with a breaking heart. "Just up here taking a break." "I've been looking for you," Zechs breathed, leaning over with his head in his hands. He had the radio on audio-only, in case Duo still wanted his privacy. "Ah... I was told you were wearing the GAIA uniform. I'm looking forward to seeing that." [Taking a break? From *me*?] Zechs fought to keep his composure. [He freaked out when he heard I was having nightmares about him... he doesn't want to face me... oh, shit, I need to talk to him...] [He's been looking for me? Oh, God, this is it! He wants to tell me it's over! I need time... have to gather my wits... need to stall...] "Um, yeah, I decided to give the uniform a try. So far I've gotten a pretty good reaction out of everyone. I thought maybe they'd tease me..." Suddenly Duo couldn't say anymore. It was too hard trying to be chipper when it felt like the world was crashing down on him. "They'd better not," Zechs heard himself saying, but his mind was whirling as he tried to decipher what was going on with his lover. [He's pretending... isn't he? He found out where Heero was from Quatre and came up to the computer room to show off his uniform... but he never came in. He had to have been there, had to have heard what I said about my nightmares. That's what he's running from. And now... I desperately need to talk to him, but I don't want to make him face me before he's ready. Damn this...] "Did you... get a chance to get some dinner, Duo?" he asked, wondering how to coax his little fox from his den, or if he should wait for Duo to come to him. "Dinner?" Duo asked in surprise. [Is he wanting to break up with me over dinner?!] Duo began to imagine the scene. He and Zechs would be seated at opposite ends of the long table in the officers' dining room. A myriad of staff would serve them their final meal together and then after a glass of brandy, Zechs would clear his throat and say, "Duo, there's something I need to talk to you about." [Oh, God!] Duo cried out in his mind as his body trembled. [How can this be happening? Why did Heero have to come to Antarctica? And why did I have to meet Zechs if this was the way it was going to end?] The boy's mind was reeling and Zechs was waiting for an answer... "No, I haven't had dinner... but I think I'll get something from the kitchen later. You know how I like leftovers." Later. The word was clearly a dismissal, and Zechs, bewildered, took it as such. [He doesn't want to see me!] He remembered the time only a few weeks ago when Duo nearly walked out of his office, believing that it was pointless for them to keep trying to make it work, until Zechs had called him back. Now his little lover wasn't even in the same room with him... and he could hear, he thought, that same defeatism in the boy's voice. [No, not after all we've been through together... I'm imagining things! I'll get beyond the nightmares...] But he had no assurance of that. [I'll talk to Sally - maybe I need counseling or something... we could fly someone in from Capetown... there, if I get help, then Duo will see it can still work... won't he?] The silence hung between them, thick like a dense fog that made vision difficult. Zechs swallowed and made himself break it. "Come see me later, Duo... please? It's been a rough day... and I'd like to talk to you about it... before bedtime." [There! The door is open... I think...] Duo took a deep breath and exhaled. [He sounds sad. This can't be easy for him either. Zechs is a gentleman. He'll want to break the news as gently as possible.] "Sure, we'll talk... later," Duo said, deliberately leaving the timing of his visit vague. He knew it wouldn't be easy for him to go to Zechs's room tonight. Not like the other nights when he would race through the halls to be with his lover, even if it meant they'd only be spooning up and going to sleep. There had always been hope then. Hope that once the war ended he and Zechs would be together... completely... as promised. [I have to face him sometime... It'll only get worse the longer I put it off.] He resigned himself to being mature about this, but he always handled difficult situations better with a joke... "I'll knock three times," Duo said with a half-hearted chuckle. "Otherwise you might not recognize me... in the uniform." "I look forward to seeing you in that," Zechs murmured, closing his eyes. [I look forward to seeing you in anything... or nothing,] he thought, wanting to tell him that, but knowing the teasing would only make it worse later when Zechs wouldn't be able to make love to him... again. [I do need help - for the panic attacks *and* the nightmares. Damn, and the timing could not be worse...] He took a deep breath. "Until then, Duo." "O-kay," Duo said, resigned to the inevitable. He closed off the transmission before Zechs could say anything else and immediately doubled over and wept. "I love you, Dancer," Zechs added, hastily, but the connection had already died. [Damn! This cannot get worse!] (tbc)
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