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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 " 36) It seemed like the typical beginning to just another meeting. Sally and Federi, already seated at the long table in the conference room, were sipping at coffee and chatting about inconsequentials. Lance was leaning on the chair at the end of the table, lost in a reverie. Heero was over by the room's credenza, apparently straightening the coffee service, cups, and water pitchers. Zechs, leaning on the back wall, his arms crossed over his chest, was listening to something about which Duo was expounding in a relatively lowered voice. Quatre was by the front of the meeting table, fussing with some papers. No one was as calm or as casual as they looked, however. While Sally Po seemed quite relaxed wearing her new GAIA uniform - an extra one of Noin's, actually - she couldn't help but wonder what Wufei was up to... and what he was going to do. Lance was also wondering, mostly about the goings-on in Bremen, and especially about the mission of his friend, Rejean. Did it go off as planned? Was everyone all right? Clearly Treize had escaped safely, but... Federi was concerned for the group, reading a lot of different emotions in the room, especially from the Gundam pilots, from the nervousness of their little blond leader, to the frenetic, disciplined movements of the Wing Gundam pilot, to Duo's overly carefree chatter. [They're not looking forward to seeing Treize Khushrenada...] A good deal of Quatre Winner's mind was not present to Earth at all as he wondered how his lover was... and if he'd made contact with OZ yet. Everyone had confidence in Trowa's abilities to be the chameleon he must play. [I shouldn't worry either... should I?] Heero, now that he was presented with having to view the face of the man who'd used him to doom the Alliance pacifists, was having a hard time holding in the rage that had surged back up from somewhere. Though he'd finally patched up his friendship with Duo just an hour ago, now his past had come back to haunt him. Yet the others didn't seem to be having trouble. Quatre, he guessed, was preoccupied with thinking about Trowa... and Duo was... He had no idea. Duo was standing as close to Zechs as he could get without being all over him, gesturing wildly, speaking sotto voce about... [I don't want to know,] Heero thought, though once in a while he caught a word: "Maguanac", "flowers", "underground". [What's a Maguanac? No, I don't want to know...] "You should've seen those girls... all giggling and bringing us flowers. Wow! Like we were real heroes," Duo told Zechs excitedly. Then he turned to see Quatre who was trying to look busy. [He needs some distraction.] "Hey, isn't that right, Quatre?" Duo asked, raising his voice as he called across the room to his friend. "Weren't we treated like heroes?" The little blond raised his head and looked over at his friend. "Huh?" he wondered aloud and then the only image that could possibly come to mind did... "Oh, sure, Duo... that little village," he said, smiling sweetly. It was a nice memory. Quite a homecoming for him and his loyal Maguanac army. Something he would definitely call simpler times now that he was so involved with this new alliance. "We could sure use the Maguanacs again," he added with a sigh and then straightened the pile of papers in his hands once more. "You nervous 'bout something, buddy?" Duo asked, scratching his head as he watched the other boy re-shuffle the papers. "Same thing you are," Quatre said, giving Duo a knowing grin. "Me nervous? No way!" Duo said, unconvincingly. The thought of seeing Treize Khushrenada was giving him a constant chill, but he was trying to act nonchalant about it... after all Treize was Zechs's friend. [I really hope we're not going to be spending Christmas with the guy.] [They're not looking forward to seeing Treize,] Zechs mused, still leaning on the wall. Heero, he'd noted, was astutely ignoring the other two Gundam pilots talking across the room to each other behind him. [I don't blame him... them. But it's time they got past that...] "You guys have fought against the worst kind of odds and you're nervous about meeting one guy in a televideo conference?" Sally asked, shaking her head. "I'm glad Wufei isn't here to see this." The jibe was deliberate to try to steer their tensions away from what was really bothering them. It didn't surprise her when the fiery Duo was the first to take the bait. "Oh, yeah? And where is that Wufei anyway?" Duo snorted, tossing his head. "He ran out of here the first chance he got." Zechs came away from the wall in the same moment as Heero turned around in surprise. "I don't think..." Zechs tried to say. "That guy's probably hiding out somewhere right now," Duo said, putting his fists to his hips as he stared down their new ally, the doctor. "He's hoping OZ won't catch up with him... instead of standing up to them like the rest of us!" "That's quite an assumption," Sally said, calmly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, you hardly gave him a chance. How do you know he's not on a mission right now?" "A mission to save his own hide!" Duo snarled back at her. [Oh, I am SO not getting into this fight,] Heero thought as he hastily turned back around, fussing with the coffee cups again. He had a little touch of fear within him that was quite enough to deal with. [I'm afraid that when I see Khushrenada, I'll...] He gulped. It could get violent. "Okay... that's enough," Quatre said, firmly as he stepped away from the table and held his arms out to symbolically keep the two apart even though the table already separated them. When Zechs put a hand on Duo's arm to calm him, Quatre sighed in relief. He was sure Duo wouldn't pursue this argument while Zechs was trying to rein him in. "Yeah, okay," Duo said, reluctantly and rolled his eyes. It felt good to let his blood boil a little... maybe it was true that he liked to fight. [But there's no sense fighting amongst ourselves,] he admitted silently and began to relax from the touch of his lover's hand. "No hard feelings," Sally said, nodding at Duo. She would have to confess later that she was only trying to relieve some of the tension. [Mission accomplished,] she thought with a subtle grin. [Er, what am I missing here?] Lance wondered, the hairs on the back of his neck rising from the tension in the room. Then he remembered. [Oh, shit. New Edwards...] "We're all understandably anxious about this call from Treize," Quatre said as he looked around the room. He could still feel the tension, but at least Duo and Sally looked a little calmer. "Maybe we should discuss what we'd like to say... are we even going to tell Treize our real names?" Turning to the base commander, and the only person in their original circle who knew Treize at all, Quatre asked, "Zechs, do you have any advice for how we should handle this?" As the others' eyes turned to look at him, Zechs rubbed at Duo's arm a second longer, then let his hand drop. "I think Treize should know your names at this point," he said quietly. "And you need to let him talk. I believe he has a great deal to say, some of which I'm expecting will be apologies." Despite his self-control, there was steel bitterness in Heero's voice when he spoke. "Not that those apologies will be automatically accepted. It depends on... everything." "Yeah, Zechs, I wouldn't even think about trusting him if it wasn't for you," Duo said as he looked up into his lover's concerned eyes. "I guess that means we're counting on you to be our intermediary," Quatre said, hopeful that Zechs would understand. [I know Zechs doesn't entirely trust Treize either, but I think *we* should try. After all, Zechs trusted us before he really knew us... even when he thought he'd lost Duo. Someday I'm going to tell him just how brave I think he was.] Thoughtfully, Zechs turned to regard the most recently "escaped" ex-OZ soldier. "Lance, I know this must be difficult for you to understand... why the Gundam pilots have so much animosity toward Treize Khushrenada...." Lance straightened. "No, it's because of New Edwards, of course. But I know from speaking with..." He almost said "His Excellency". "...with Treize, that he deeply regrets that... incident." "Yeah," Heero muttered. [Treize can say anything he wants. Talk is cheap.] Zechs nodded to Lance then looked down at Duo, his statement softening for a moment. "Treize won't let us down. I'm afraid we may learn of some things he's done of which we won't approve, but even so, we can trust that he's firmly on our side." Lance looked away. He hadn't told them... about Rejean. [No one asked me if I knew what was going to happen in Bremen... and I didn't volunteer the information. I suppose it's too late now...though Treize did order me to lie if asked...] The little, empathic Arab tilted his head at Lance, sensing an uneasiness coming from him. He hadn't spent much time with the older boy since his arrival, but it seemed he'd slipped quietly into the routine of the base, making himself useful where he could. "Lance, you're Treize's messenger... is there anything you'd like to share before the call comes through?" Though he wore the GAIA uniform now, Lance knew he had yet to fit in. [I'll tell them anyway. They have a right to know. Treize will understand.] "Well, actually, there are a couple things..." Abruptly the room's communications console began to beep. The call from Treize Khushrenada was coming in. Lance's glance flew to meet the thoughtful ones of the base commander. "I guess," Zechs murmured as they moved to take seats at Quatre's hasty gesture. "Treize will be the one telling us instead." He nodded to Quatre and went to open the connection. Duo sat next to Zechs, who would be closest to the monitor, with Lance on his other side. Across the table, starting on the end close to the monitor, was Quatre, Heero, Sally, and Federi. The picture settled. It revealed two people sitting on chairs in what seemed to be a parlor, wearing dark green uniforms identical to their own... and the pewter solar wheel GAIA pin. On the left was Lucrezia Noin, who looked pleased to see everyone. On the right was a somber Treize Khushrenada. "Good evening, Treize," Zechs began, returning to his seat. "I see you arrived safely in the Sank Kingdom." He was setting a tone by avoiding the use this time of code names. He'd checked the enzyme coding himself; they were fully secure. "Thank you, Zechs," Treize murmured, but his gaze was not on his friend at all, but on the younger members of the GAIA Leadership committee. [They're present!] he marveled. [And no code names this time? That is a relief; those are so tedious...] "And you, Noin," Zechs smoothly greeted his friend. "It's good to see you again." "Thanks, Zechs... it's been a while," she said, smiling. [Oh, I'm so glad he's sitting next to Duo... I guess that means they've worked things out. Treize will certainly be watching them though... trying to discover if Duo is his new lover. Damn, Treize, you're about the nosiest person I've ever met!] Though he was still unsure about the aristocratic figure to Noin's right, Quatre cleared his throat to greet his friend. "Miss Noin," he said with a little nod. "Oh, hello," she said, purposely not saying Quatre's name since she wasn't sure if they were ready to reveal all their identities yet. "I'm so glad to see you're all here." She smiled sweetly at the boys she had grown to admire. "Federi, you, too," she added, winking at the control tower captain who of course would already be known to Treize. "Hello to everyone!" [I see we have some newcomers, too. Well, the alliance *is* growing.] "Forgive me," Zechs murmured, smiling at his friend. "Let me introduce Lucrezia Noin... a damn good pilot and friend. She's been in Sank assisting the Princess the last few weeks." Duo kept his mouth shut as he stared at the images on the screen through his heavy bangs. [Noin looks good, but geez, Treize isn't anything like I imagined. He's actually... nice looking. A bit too serious, but easy on the eyes. Hmm, I really thought he'd look... meaner and uglier.] Heero, too, was staring openly at the image of Treize Khushrenada. [Used to power... it sits on his shoulders like a mantle,] he thought, drawing his brows together in a frown. [Arrogant... that's obvious. Dangerous... yes. But then so are we... Strange. He's a hell of a lot younger than I would ever have expected. But then so is Zechs...] Zechs cleared his throat. "Let's take care of the rest of the introductions, shall we? Are we agreed to dispense with code names?" He glanced briefly at Duo, then looked across the table to Heero and Quatre. "Sure," Heero muttered. After all, his name *was* a code name... and he didn't have any other to use. "Yeah, okay," Duo said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I think that's fine at this point," Quatre agreed. [If we're really going to be allies, then we need proper introductions.] "Thank you," Zechs murmured, then straightened. "Let me continue by formally introducing the man next to Noin. I present to you... Treize Khushrenada, the Rose Knight." Treize inclined his head in a bow, his aristocratic features relaxed, his demeanor calm and controlled. "I greet you all, my fellow colleagues. Let me say it is my great pleasure to see you at last." Lance relaxed; this might not be so bad after all. But glancing at the stony statement on Heero's face, he checked that opinion. [Oh, dear...] It was immediately clear to Zechs that none of the Gundam pilots would respond, though belatedly Quatre ducked his head in a quick bow to be polite. [Uh-oh...] "Now, allow me to introduce the remainder of our Antarctica contingent, Treize," Zechs spoke up again and gestured across the table. "The leader of our committee, Code Name 'Thirst', is Quatre Raberba Winner, pilot of the Gundam Sandrock... 04 to you." Treize straightened, but in surprise. "Winner... not from *the* Winner family? Are you?" The boy seemed slight and almost fragile in appearance, but there was a depth and determination in his eyes which reminded Treize sharply of Chang Wufei... in fact, he expected to see it in each of them. Wealthy and influential this young man's family might be, but the boy was a true rebel. "Yes, I'm the Winner heir," Quatre said, proudly, keeping a steady gaze on Treize. "My father wouldn't approve of my activities though, so I've been keeping a low profile." [Low profile? He's got a whole army backing him!] Duo thought and swallowed a snicker. [The heir!] This little fact took Treize aback. [Astonishing! But then I shouldn't be surprised. They're all going to be astonishing...] "Indeed, that is wise," Treize replied to Quatre. "It is good to meet you at last, Quatre Winner." "Thank you," Quatre said, nodding. Then as an afterthought, he added politely, "It's good meeting you as well." Zechs next indicated the pilot to his left. "And this, Treize, is Duo Maxwell, pilot of 02, the Gundam Deathscythe... code name Death." [And deservedly so...] he thought to himself, proud of his lover's fierceness. Treize could not help widening his eyes a little. [Is that braid as long as I think it is? Odd! Hmmm, he's sitting next to Zechs... umm...] "Interesting name for your Gundam, young man. Do you fancy yourself to be the Grim Reaper?" [I had to ask...] "I don't *fancy* myself as anything other than the avenging God of Death himself!" Duo said with a raised voice and a sneer. "And your worst nightmare... if given the chance!" "Duo!" Quatre exclaimed, gripping the edge of the table. [Allah! I can't believe he just said that!] [If he hadn't said it, I might have,] Heero thought, impassive. Noin suppressed a giggle, glad to see someone giving Treize a hard time. [These boys are not going to be intimidated. Good for them!] Treize swallowed carefully. [God... of Death? What a terrible image! And the hatred pouring from him... so like Wufei... so much hate...] Down the table, Sally and Federi couldn't help but smother their amusement. Lance, on the other hand, looked mortified. [Who the hell have I allied myself with?] He stared at Zechs, who didn't seem at all ruffled by the boy's audacity. [I can't believe he's letting him get away with that...] Zechs looked straight at Treize, a glint in his eye. "Do you remember the Maxwell Church incident, Treize?" [Oh... that. Maxwell, hmmm...] "Certainly," Treize replied smoothly. "Duo is an orphan, a survivor of that massacre of innocents," Zechs explained, toying with a sugar spoon in front of him on the table. "He has seen Death face to face in a manner more intimate than most of us have been exposed to. If he is crossed..." He looked up, meeting Treize's wondering gaze. "He shoots to kill. He tried to kill me, in fact. I'm very lucky to be alive." Duo turned sharply to look at Zechs. [Yikes! Why'd he have to mention that?!] he wondered, but knew with a powerful certainty that Zechs was completely over that misunderstanding. [Thank God for Quatre!] [Good God...] Treize frowned. [And I have to make nice with them. Obviously they haven't let me off the hook.] "Duo," he addressed the boy, "I apologize if I seemed disrespectful. Your anger... is justified." "You got that straight," Duo said, tightly, retreating a little into his painful memories. "Those Alliance bastards gave me no choice..." [I'm sure he's never had to face his own personal hell.] "And neither did I," Treize murmured. "For which I am eternally sorry. I know that I deserve your rage... all of yours." He took a deep breath. "Now I atone, and I can only pray to God that one day I may receive your forgiveness." Then he looked straight at a particular pair of burning eyes. Zechs caught the look. "And this is Heero Yuy, pilot of 01, Wing Gundam," he introduced the boy across from Duo. [I heard Relena speak that name, but I wasn't sure... so, he uses the name of the slain martyr!] Treize gravely bowed his head in respect. "Yes, I have heard of you... Heero." No response. "Ah, Relena has told me a bit about you, as has Noin," Treize added, feeling distinctly uncomfortable under that steely gaze. No response, no reaction of any kind. [Heero's being a real cool customer,] Duo thought, pleased by his friend's steady intensity. [But sooner or later he's gonna blow a gasket...] "Yes. Well." Treize shifted in his chair. "I hope that some of you may look upon me more kindly once I complete giving my report on the events of this day," he finished. [That one,] he was realizing, cold in the pit of his stomach, [will never forgive me...] Everyone was looking at Heero now, but he only had eyes for the object of his hatred. Quatre shivered from the strength of emotion pouring off Heero. [It feels as if every pore of his body is exuding anger and hatred. Oh, Heero... you can't live like this. Not even for all Treize has done against you.] [I want to give him the benefit of the doubt,] Heero was thinking. It was important to him to out-intimidate Treize Khushrenada. He had to give that much to the man. [But he's still very much under suspicion...] Treize tore his eyes away to glance at the woman beside him. "I should mention as well that Lucrezia here is already eager to be gone from my side, though I'm sure she'll miss the Princess. She'll be returning to your base as soon as your man gets here, Zechs." Zechs winked at his friend, relaxing for a moment. "We await your return, Noin." [And I don't doubt you're ready for a change from Relena...] "Thanks," Noin murmured with a little smile. [Might as well finish the intros so we can get that report,] Zechs thought ruefully. "Ah, you both probably know Federi... and this is Dr. Sally Po... and of course Lance duChien." Treize turned his attention to the others, nodding graciously. "Yes, Federi diRoma, good to see you again... Dr. Po, Alliance, wasn't it? Zechs has spoken to me of you. Glad to have you aboard. Lance... well, at least there's one friendly face out there..." "And what am I?" Zechs challenged him immediately with a smirk. [Treize, the little pilots have ruffled you, for you are certainly off your game, letting yourself be caught like that.] Treize managed a smile. "You, Zechs, are the Angel of Peace." "Ha!" Zechs barked a laugh. He plunked the spoon into his cup, making a rattling noise. Then he nodded toward the Gundam pilots, steering the conversation purposely back to the objects of Treize's discomfort. "Frightening, aren't they? But they're our hope, Treize. As I believe you know well." Duo's wide, cobalt eyes stared at Zechs for a moment and then looked back to Treize. [Whoa! Way to go, Wolf! But I still can't see you being friends with this guy.] [Oh, my, he's improved,] Treize noted, relaxing minutely. Zechs had never looked more at ease with himself. And, considering the company he kept... "Yes, that is adamantly plain to see. If they ever forgive me." "Or if they don't." Zechs was suddenly serious again. "Now, the report." "Yes, the report," Quatre said, beginning to feel more comfortable, especially after Zechs's last remarks. "We're anxious to know of the recent events in Bremen." "Although, if you don't mind first," Zechs interjected smoothly, "Please... how is the Princess?" Though relieved to defer his report for a few more minutes, Treize narrowed his eyes. "She takes after her brother. Headstrong, passionate, extreme... although she's far less mannered than you are, I will say." "And a pest," Duo muttered under his breath. Zechs raised a white eyebrow wryly. "I see." [That must have been some meeting...] Heero snorted in half-hearted contempt. "Agree or disagree, Heero?" Zechs asked, amused. "I'm sure he agrees!" Duo said, chuckling. "She... talks a lot," Heero muttered, looking down into his coffee cup. It was empty. "And asks too many questions. She can be quite rude." "Heh," Duo laughed again. [Man, this is great... Heero cornered... That girl sure flusters him! I wonder if he has a thing for her?] "There, we do agree on something. We'll work with her manners, I assure you," Treize replied, nodding to Zechs. Then he sighed and steepled his fingers before him. "Now... Bremen." Lance squirmed a little in his chair. Now the truth would come out. He wondered how the others would take the news of the terrible deeds that took place in order to upset the balance of power. [This is war... they'll understand.] (tbc)
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