|
"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 " 2) When the young couple was gone, Zechs glanced over at Heero, who was staring at the computer screen though the simulation program was no longer running. "I doubt that you were at fault, Heero," he said quietly. "You were just doing your best. I think Duo took the contest a little too seriously." Heero did not reply immediately. Then he took a deep breath and replied, "We're preparing to go to outer space to face Romefeller's Taurus mobile dolls. I'm not certain Duo understands that we need to improve our skills and reaction times. We did not have a simulation to train on originally, but since we do have this, we'd be foolish not to take advantage of it. At least that's how I see it. Perhaps I should have talked with him about it first." He tapped idly on the keys. "I've gotten in trouble with him before for not talking enough with him." Zechs gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Heero. Duo's itching to get back into the war, I think, any way he can. Remember, there was the month without battles, then we've been cooling our heels here for three weeks since that last one." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, sitting back. "And I suppose I'm at fault as well. It's just been so busy lately." "Take your own advice," Heero directed him with a little ironic snort, glancing over. "Someone had to run the base and you're the one with that sort of experience. Duo has to understand that." But the older man was shaking his head. "Heero, there's something you don't know... no one knows. Since Cairo, Duo and I haven't..." He paused, ducking his head. [Why am I telling *him*? What is this connection we have?] But he knew he had no one else to confide in - and Noin was busy with managing his sister. [I can trust him... he's that objective... and it's just this weird connection thing...] Heero only widened his eyes. "You haven't...?" he prompted quietly, impressed and relieved that his friend would confide in him. "Not all the way," Zechs replied, looking at his folded hands on the table. "We haven't gone all the way... together." "Oh," Heero replied unhelpfully, his face feeling suddenly flushed as he realized what the man was talking about. He tore his gaze back to the computer screen. "I'm sorry," Zechs said hastily, realizing he was presuming too much. [This is foolish...] "You don't want to hear that sort of thing. I just..." He looked away toward the door as if his glance could make Duo walk through it. "You're easy to talk to, Heero... and a good friend." "It's okay, Zechs," Heero murmured, looking over at the man again. "I'm glad you find me easy to talk to, though I can't understand it. I'm not that much for talking, you know." But deep inside he was pleased to be truly thought of as a friend. [Is Duo still my friend?] Zechs was mostly in profile to him, the platinum tendrils hiding part of the handsome face. The boy was aware that the Barclay base commander was good-looking, and of course he knew Duo thought he was gorgeous. But any sort of sexual or romantic attraction was not any part of Heero Yuy's psyche as yet. He didn't allow himself to wonder if he was odd that way; he had enough on his plate. If others chose to have romantic relationships, all for the good, as long as he wasn't expected to as well. His intense training to become a Gundam pilot hadn't included any social instruction beyond learning enough manners to pass through polite society with little notice, and certainly no one had ever taught him about sex. Heero had always figured he could find out about that sort of thing after the war... if he survived that long. Anyway he was exceptionally glad that Relena Peacecraft had been diverted from coming to Antarctica. The girl confused the hell out of him. "So, Duo is frustrated... on many levels, you're saying?" Heero added carefully. The older pilot chuckled. "That's exactly it." He leaned in toward him, speaking in a conspiratorial tone. "Someday you're going to know what I'm talking about all too well... and *then* we'll talk!" [Especially if you hook up with my headstrong little sister...] he thought to himself, unaware of the door to the room opening back up again. There were plenty of people in the halls as Duo made his way back to the computer room, but no one he knew or cared to talk to. He'd calmed down considerably since his outburst, but his stomach was still in knots thinking about the impending apology he needed to make to everyone. He would also need to admit to Zechs that he'd lost his cool and lost the game to Heero. [That's the worst of it,] he thought, hitting his thigh with his fist. However determined he was to do this right, Duo was definitely a bundle of nerves. They would all be waiting, talking about him, thinking he was losing his mind. So when he opened the door to the computer room the last thing he expected to find was that the room was nearly empty of all spectators. Only Zechs and Heero remained and they were sitting quite close... talking. Though their conversation ended abruptly the moment he arrived. "Oh," he said, stepping into the room with wide, wondering eyes. The apology he had been reciting suddenly vanished from his head. "You're back," he said to Zechs, trying to understand the scene before him. Zechs had straightened quickly at the sound, and now rose from his chair to face his little lover. "Yes - Howard had only wanted to tell me about Sandrock and Heavyarms being completed," he explained, wondering why Duo looked so stunned. "That's good," Duo said, sounding a bit dismissive as he felt a lump form in his throat. [Something is going on here, I just know it... The way they were talking so secretly and then stopped when I walked in, and now, the way they're looking at me.] "Well, I didn't mean to interrupt," he said, looking at Zechs and then focusing his attention on Heero who was still seated. "I just came back to... apologize." Zechs started to say, "You didn't..." at the same moment Heero stood abruptly, accidentally knocking his chair off balance, which Zechs's lightning reflexes automatically caught before it hit the floor. Heero stared at the chair, bewildered, while Zechs straightened it, then they both looked back up at Duo, who was very close to The Look: the God of Death about to take a victim. Heero had been inadvertently thinking, [They've had *sex*, intercourse, been intimate,] though he'd known about the nature of Zechs and Duo's relationship for weeks now. But he hadn't really thought about what they were doing... or weren't doing as the case may be... with each other. [They've really... urp...] He squared his shoulders. "Apology accepted," he murmured, not having any idea of what else to say. [I can't just say - 'I'm sorry you're not getting any'!] Duo's eyes narrowed intently at the pair. "Yeah, well... okay." He really didn't care if Heero accepted the apology or not. He was just trying to be civil to a fellow Gundam pilot. But what had his mind racing was Heero's clumsiness. If there was one thing Heero Yuy was not, it was clumsy. [What's he so nervous about?] he wondered, and then remembered how close the two had been sitting when he'd come into the room. [I did interrupt something! Oh, shit!] "I'm outta here," he said, abruptly and turned tail, the sudden movement sending his braid flying behind him. [God, I can't deal with this.] "Gonna go find some penguins." "Duo!" Zechs called, but Duo was disappearing out the door fast. In two steps, the Deathscythe pilot and the braid were gone. "Duo..." Zechs had a hand extended toward the door, but when his lover was gone, let it fold into a fist, then let it drop. [Duo, *what* are you thinking?] he worried, bowing his head. Heero craned his head to look up at the tall pilot, wondering what was going on in the man's mind. [Perhaps I can get Duo alone later, talk to him... he's been acting weird lately, and not just because of the rematch, I think...] Zechs took another step toward the door, thinking he'd go after Duo anyway, when his radio at his belt went off. Glaring at the door in frustration, he answered it. "Merquise." He listened for a moment, then nodded tightly. "I'm on my way." "Problem?" Heero asked, working on shutting the computer down. "A contact sighted," Zechs sighed, pausing at the door. "Penguins?" That drew a smile. "Let's hope it's penguins." Then he sobered. "Whatever it is, Duo is likely to run across it if he's hunting penguins." He sketched the dark-haired boy a salute and disappeared out the door, heading up to the control tower. [He could need backup,] Heero thought, following a moment later, making a beeline for the hangar. The pulse in Duo's ears pounded as he made his way to the hangar. He'd wanted to say something to Zechs, ask him what was going on, but he knew he'd only look like an idiot... again. So instead, he'd left the room. [I need some time to think... or not,] he told himself as he pushed through a small grouping of mechanics standing in front of the lift to his Gundam. He didn't bother saying "hello" or even nodding a greeting as he was still so dumbfounded by the intimacy he'd seen between Zechs and Heero. [Heero doesn't let anyone get that close...] He sank into the pilot's chair of Deathscythe and released a long sigh. "Home," he whispered, and then felt a guilty pang because for weeks he had thought his home was with Zechs. "It's just me and you, buddy," he said with a shaky breath, finishing the powering up sequence and setting the communications to audio only on direct channel. In moments he was heading out over the great ice continent. The freedom gave him the peace he couldn't find at the crowded base, but that peace was soon interrupted. Barely 30 seconds out of the hangar, the Deathscythe's detection system sounded, alerting Duo to an approaching aircraft. "Hmm, guess those penguins are just gonna have to wait," he said and turned his Gundam toward the object to investigate. Heads turned and sighs of relief were emitted at the sight of the tall, familiar figure in the dark green uniform with the long, light gray coat as Zechs Merquise strode into the base's tower control room. "What do you have, Federi?" he inquired of the dark-haired, older officer. Federi diRoma, the officer in charge of the control tower, turned and smiled, his mustache twitching. "Good, Zechs, you're here. It appears to be a mobile suit carrier, but here's the funny part. It's surely only carrying one suit. You want to make the contact?" Zechs gestured with a gloved hand. "No, that's fine, Federi. It's likely another mysterious refugee." He winked at him; they didn't make a big deal out of the OZ defectors. "Mobile suit carrier," Federi called on the radio to the incoming shuttle. "Please identify yourself and your intent. This is private airspace." "My name is Sally Po," came back a warm, musical, female voice, surprising them. "An acquaintance of mine and I are here to visit someone that I personally think very highly of... and whom we have just learned is alive after all, which I'm very happy to hear. You could say I was a fan of that young man." Zechs frowned. The woman must mean Heero, but she wasn't Relena, that was for sure. [So is the lad leaving broken hearts all over the Earth after all?] He almost smirked. "And the nature of your visit?" he asked after gesturing to Federi to let him handle this one. "Well, I know Barclay Base isn't exactly a research facility," she said teasingly. "But this is definitely a friendly visit." Zechs gestured for the transmitter to be put on hold so she couldn't hear their discussion. "Anyone know who this is?" Heero in his Gundam hit his radio button. "She's an ex-Earth Alliance medical doctor," he reported in, having opened a channel to the tower as soon as he'd gotten into his suit. "I believe she's the same one at New Edwards who alerted us about the missile silos that were about to blow. I'm pretty sure we can trust her." Quatre and Trowa picked up on the conversation as well. They were out testing their new weapons systems on their Gundams several miles east of the base. "Quatre, here. Sally Po is one of the reasons we're alive today," Quatre said, breaking into the radio traffic. "I'm with Heero. I think we can trust her." At another hand gesture, the radio connection was opened back up. "Miss Po, please stand by..." "Sure thing," she replied, though now she sounded a little tense. The connection was put on hold again. "Where's the Deathscythe?" Zechs asked the radar officer. "About five miles from the carrier and closing fast," the man reported. "Shit." Zechs glanced at the radar screen, making his own assessment, then gestured to the radio operator. "Call 'im." When the man nodded to indicate a channel open to the Deathscythe, Zechs made the call. "Duo! This is Zechs, come in, please!" "Wait!" Sally called abruptly to her partner who had taken one look at the heat signature on the screen, then headed toward the hold of the shuttle. "Where are you going??" "You might trust these people," Chang Wufei snapped, grabbing a coat, "but I have no reason to! And if I'm not mistaken, that's a Gundam heading for us!" Then he disappeared toward his own mobile suit. Sally stared at the screen, horrified. "But... Wufei? You don't know... ah, hell... they've still got me on hold..." She was fond of the little Chinese pilot, but she knew well already how short his fuse was. Wufei had not been happy when his friend Sally had cornered him into accompanying her to this frozen land on the pretense of some rebel base being there that they could potentially assist. All he knew was that Heero was supposed to be there, and only because some woman... no, worse, some *girl* said so. He'd been extremely unhappy cooling his heels after Siberia since he hadn't even been a part of that. By now, almost two months later, he was spoiling for a fight... and if that Gundam wanted to challenge him, all the better! It might just improve his mood. (tbc)
|
