"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 "

Prologue

The haughty figure of Treize Khushrenada was looming over his bent form, one forked, ginger eyebrow raised in a mixture of disbelief... and disdain. "You're better than this, Zechs Merquise," the commander-in-chief of OZ stated, a hint of a sneer to his voice.

"Where..." Zechs managed to straighten, though he was belatedly aware of a sharp pain in his side and a sound that sickeningly resembled crunching. His... ribs... were broken...

"Shut up!" the second figure shouted at him again. A hard shove with a booted toe painfully told him how he'd broken his ribs. Zechs gasped and blood spilled from his mouth.

He did not have to look to see who his other tormentor was. It could only be the Death God who wished to claim his sorry soul because... because... He could no longer remember. But it seemed he did something terrible to the human aspect of this deity. If only he could remember...

"I don't suppose there's any explanation for what happened," Treize said slowly, regarding him with distaste. "You trapped him, took him for your own pleasure. Such a dishonorable act for a warrior of your caliber!"

"I..." Zechs shook his head, bewildered. He did what? To whom?

"He must be killed so he cannot harm another," the God was speaking harshly to the other man, his Devil's Advocate or perhaps just the Devil. "He *violated* him! But that's not what hurt the most," the angry deity with the long braid sobbed. "He lied and said he loved him!"

Love... love Duo... Zechs remembered that. Dancer. His priceless treasure, his sweet little fox. "Do... love," he moaned, but a hand - Treize's? -slapped his face. No! No one should touch his face!

"Don't compound the problem with lies, Zechs," Treize snarled. "You are not worthy of your station if you lie! What of your rank and title?" A hand came down to grab a fistful of his long, platinum hair, pulling upward painfully. "You shame your father, lying like this... bad enough that you can't keep your cock where it belongs!"

Another hand grabbed a second hank of hair. "Death may be too good for you, Merquise. First we'll shave your head..."

The Death God and the Devil laughed insanely over that, tugging hard on the beautiful pale hair. "Won't you look pretty then?" the God laughed. "Or, better yet, if we cut it short, then razor in the word for what he is..."

"What?" Zechs gasped, frowning.

The two looked down as if they'd forgotten he was actually present. "Rapist," Treize Khushrenada sneered.

Zechs sat up in bed abruptly, his heart pounding in his chest, the word ringing in his ears.

"Sweet Duo," the velvet voice cooed softly.

"Hmm?" the boy answered dreamily, still mostly asleep. He was lying face down in his bed. His hair undone and spread over his naked body like a veil.

Hands touched him. Moved under the mass of chestnut hair, smoothing over his lower back. "It's me, baby."

"Zechs? Is it morning?" Duo asked, blinking his eyes as he tried to wake more fully. The room was dark.

"No, it's still night..."

"Then what's happening?" Duo asked, beginning to roll over.

"Stay there, baby. Just like that," Zechs said, his tone sensual and loving. "I want to look at you just the way you are."

"But I can't see you," Duo said, trying to twist his body around to look at his lover's face.

"Just stay like that for me, please. I want to make love to you."

"You do?" Duo asked, almost breathless. He couldn't believe it. The last Zechs had told him was that he was still healing from the tragedy of that fateful morning in Cairo. Still needing time to recover. But now, suddenly, large hands were holding Duo with a firm, but loving pressure. Keeping him belly down on the bed.

The boy stilled. Zechs wanted to make love to him. Duo had been waiting for days now, yearning for their bodies to join again, and share their love in the fullest way possible.

A kiss to a bare shoulder, then another to his spine and the small of his back... until finally his lover's lips, so moist and soft, gently kissed each round globe of his ass.

"Oh, Zechs..."

"Yesss, baby, I'm here."

The boy sucked in a shivering breath as the large, callused hands massaged his ass. Zechs was kneeling between his legs, their thighs touching. At last the hands parted his cheeks and his lover leaned over and blew on the boy's opening.

"Oh!" Duo exclaimed.

"Mmm... I've always loved how you scream," Zechs said and then rubbed a finger over the opening, pressing a digit just inside the tight ring of muscle.

Duo's breath caught at the new sensation. "Zechs, are you really...?"

"Mmm, yes, love. I am *really* going to make love to you."

A flash of warmth spread though the younger man's body. Oh, how he wanted this. Oh, how he needed this. "Yes, Zechs... take me."

The finger slid in deeper. "There..." the man breathed.

"Oh, yessss," Duo sighed, rubbing his cheek on the pillow as the long finger worked in and out of him, making him mewl with need.

"Good, you remember, baby. You're staying relaxed."

The next few moments seemed a haze as Zechs finished preparing him. Then, at last, Duo felt the familiar nudge of the man's cock at his opening.

"Yes, Zechs. Now, please!"

With one, long slide the large cock was inside him. The delicious, longed for sensation made Duo moan and push back to impale his slender body even further on his lover's hard sex.

"Yesss, Zechs. Love you, Wolf..."

"Mmmm... Dancer... you feel so good," the man moaned behind him, beginning to move in and out of that sweet little ass.

Soon their bodies were writhing against each other. Thrusting wildly and all too quickly building to orgasm. Duo tried to slow his own thrusts, wanting this to last all night, to feel the incredible sensation of being filled by his lover for hours on end. But he was too close to the edge to pull back and they were too hungry. The lovers arched as they climaxed, their bodies pounding together several more times as the powerful orgasms ripped through them...

... and Duo came, crying out and humping the bed beneath him. His cock rubbed into the mattress, spilling his pleasure onto the sheets as his eyes fluttered open to wakefulness.

"Zechs?" he asked, suddenly no longer feeling the weight of his lover on him. He turned his head. Zechs was not there. "Huh?" he wondered and looked to his lover's side of the bed... It was empty. "No," he sobbed. It had been a dream. "That was a fucking wet dream?!" He slammed his fists into the pillow. "But I felt him inside me!"

As much as he wanted to convince himself that he and Zechs had finally made love again, it hadn't happened. He was alone in Zechs's bed. Alone with the painful reminder of how beautiful their lovemaking could be. How much he longed to be filled by that man... could even now still feel the very real effects of the dream.

"Where is he anyway?" he asked aloud, noticing the time. "Two A.M. He's an early riser, but this is ridiculous."

The dampness of the bed beneath him prompted Duo to get up. He pulled the fitted sheet off, crumpling it in his hands. He'd have to change the sheet before Zechs found out what had happened. [That'd be pretty embarrassing to explain.]

[Break room,] Zechs muttered to himself, clutching the morning coat around himself for warmth as he headed for a source of coffee. The images from the nightmare still clung to his thoughts; shaking his head, he worked to dispel them yet again. There would be no more sleep tonight, he knew.

The break room, in close proximity to the hangar bays, would likely be empty at this hour of night. Only the control tower personal manned their stations at night to monitor systems and watch for intruders, and they had their own break room.

But the room, plain with two rows of tables and chairs and vending machines lining the walls, was not uninhabited after all, he noted, for a huddled figure with a dark shock of hair sat slumped over at one of the tables. Zechs thought it was one of the Aries pilots until the figure, alerted by his entry, straightened and sat up. It was Heero Yuy.

"Heero, excuse me," the older pilot murmured politely. "I did not mean to disturb you."

"You're not disturbing me," Heero replied smoothly, cracking his knuckles with loud pops. "The mattress is softer than what I'm used to."

Zechs got himself a cup of coffee, then turned to the boy, carafe in hand. "Want some?"

"Sure, thanks," Heero replied, then took the cup Zechs handed to him and sipped. "Drinkable..."

Zechs sat opposite the other pilot and chuckled. "It's more than drinkable. Unless they haven't unpacked the stores yet, this should be our best Kenyan roast." He took a sip, then a longer swallow. "Good, I don't have to rag on anyone tomorrow for not getting the proper coffee supply out."

Heero nodded, taking another sip. The coffee was good, he had to admit, probably the best he'd had in a long while. It figured that the OZ - former OZ now -personnel would keep some of their aristocratic tastes. [Zechs does have class, I'll give him that,] he noted, eyeing the man's attire - plain white shirt over the usual dark charcoal pants, and a long, dove-gray morning coat. Though hastily thrown together, Zechs wore the outfit like a formal suit. [It's the way he carries himself... a prince...]

"So," he ventured to ask a moment later, "though Quatre's leading GAIA, you're still going to be functioning as base commander, then?"

Zechs sighed, putting down his half-empty cup. [Nasty job, but someone's got to do it.] "Apparently, yes. It's a managerial position for the most part, overseeing the control tower staff, Aries pilots, engineering staff, and the foot soldiers manning the hangars and taking care of vehicles. The base doesn't run itself. We fairly abandoned the Lake Victoria base, you know. Of course I did not order a single person to come down here with us, and even offered them an out without repercussions. These people don't know what's in the future but they're willing to risk everything to join us. I guess I feel a responsibility to them as I initiated the departure from OZ."

Heero was surprised. He'd wondered how the base had gotten staffed. "That is a burden, though, isn't it? The only life I risk in my fight for the colonies is my own."

[Is he testing me?] Zechs wondered, looking back at the guileless Prussian blue eyes. [Always observing and evaluating, this one...] "It is a burden, certainly. It is both my privilege and my duty to accept it. Positions of command, Heero, come with burdens. I would like nothing more than to lay down those burdens... but my conscience will not allow that. This is what I must do."

"Hn." Heero made a little sound of acceptance, nodding. [I wonder if Duo understands that... it's going to take time with Zechs away from him.] "By the way," he added, reaching for his mug, "I think I would like a rematch in that simulation. I came down here for a rematch... and I didn't get one, not a real one. So that would have to be the next best thing. But not with Leos." He took a swallow of coffee, not looking at the other man at all. "I'll reprogram the simulation. We'd fight as ourselves, Wing Gundam against Tallgeese."

"You're on," Zechs immediately replied, mouth curving into a grin. "But only with the parameters as they were in Siberia. With a handicap to the left arm of Tallgeese."

Heero's eyes widened. "You'd fight me with a handicap on purpose?" Then he straightened, back rigid abruptly. "You were planning on fighting me with that handicap all along! But... you didn't fight like that yesterday morning..."

Zechs chuckled at the younger pilot's consternation. "After arriving here a couple days ago, I had Meiser restore the left arm after all," he explained. "I was pretty sure I did not want the rematch before I came here. That changed before I left Egypt, even."

"Why would you do that?" Heero demanded. "Why would you deliberately fight with a weakness?"

It was perhaps a larger question than it appeared. [My relationship with Duo could also be construed as a weakness,] Zechs mused, then replied calmly to the boy's question. "The weakness to Tallgeese was only because our battle at Siberia was interrupted. If you're referring to any other weakness..." He leaned over the table to look deeply and directly into those intense, dark blue-gray eyes. "Weakness is a matter of perception. What you perceive as a weakness, I might perceive as a strength... Heero."

Heero's eyes narrowed as he considered the man's words... and held his gaze.

Since he was already wearing his oversized "blonds have more fun" t-shirt, Duo only needed to slip into a pair of blue jeans before he headed out in search of a fresh fitted sheet. Barefoot, he padded to the supply closet which wasn't far from Zechs's room.

He grabbed the door handle and found it locked. "Of course, damn it," Duo said, and then looked either way down the hall. There was no one around at this time of the morning, so he grabbed the doorknob and gave it a special, forced twist, busting the lock and opening the door. With the speed of a covert operation, Duo threw the soiled sheet into a laundry bin and snatched a clean one from the shelf and then headed back to Zechs's room to replace the sheet.

A minute later he was done remaking the bed. [Now to find Zechs. He's probably in his office... I know he's been worried about all that paperwork.] Duo took off down the corridor in the direction of the base commander's office. As he was walking past a break room near the hangar he was surprised to hear talking. [Must be some guards on break.] He stopped to poke his head inside the open door to say 'hi' to the ex-OZies, when the word got caught in his throat. To his surprise he saw that the voices actually belonged to Zechs and Heero! [What the...?]

Duo felt a lump rise in his throat. Why was Zechs here at this late hour talking to Heero? Leaning forward as if speaking to him... intimately? The boy with the tousled, chestnut braid stood motionless and speechless in the doorway.

Noticing the movement, Heero glanced over, only moving his eyes, to see Duo standing in the doorway to the break room, an inscrutable look on his face. "I guess it's not the best night for sleeping," he murmured, then nodded to Duo.

Following Heero's shift in attention, Zechs turned around in his chair to behold his lover. "Duo," he began warmly, smiling. "you woke up as well, I see." He got up slowly, hand outstretched a little in invitation.

Duo's eyes shot back and forth between Zechs and Heero. [I can't believe these guys are becoming friends,] he thought as he stepped into the room. If ever two people had been enemies in this war it was Zechs and Heero. "Uh, yeah... I guess I got a little cold without my heat source next to me," he said to Zechs with a wink and then chuckled at the joke. He knew Heero was more than aware of the relationship, so he thought it was okay to allude to it. Then he got a whiff of the coffee, sniffing the air like a bloodhound. "Man, that smells good! Got anymore?"

As a smiling Zechs got up to get Duo some very good Kenyan roast as well, Heero raised an eyebrow, regarding his friend impassively. [Heat source... hmmm...]

"Duo and coffee, hmmm," Zechs pondered, giving Heero a wink. "In the middle of the night, right." He handed over a cup, giving Duo an statement that said very plainly that he wasn't sure it was a good idea. "I suppose this means no more bed tonight?" [Although I would like to cuddle up with him again... maybe the nightmare won't come back anymore,] Zechs added to himself though he was careful to keep his statement open and relaxed.

"Can't handle all my energy, huh?" Duo asked, smiling brightly, and then eagerly took a long sip of coffee. "Oh, that's good."

Just then Quatre walked in, stopping to look at all his friends gathered round the table. "Hi, everyone. Didn't expect to run into any of you this time of night." He gave a little grin and moved quickly to the cupboard, grabbing a bowl and then turning to get some ice from the freezer.

[What's *with* these guys?] Heero wondered, tracking the little blond with the other two. [Why doesn't Zechs just haul Duo back to bed? Why isn't Trowa sniffing after Quatre? I spent two hours schmoozing with the likes of Bronn Sangers for this?]

"Quatre, good, er, morning, I guess it is now," Zechs greeted the small blond.

"Hn," Heero muttered and took another swig of coffee.

"Yeah, we're just hanging out," Duo said, casually, wondering what his friend was going to do with all that ice. When Quatre turned back to them again, Duo caught sight of red marks on the boy's neck. Quatre was wearing his pink shirt, open at the collar, and tucked haphazardly into his khaki slacks. [Oh, my God! He's got hickeys!]

Recognizing the marks as love bites, Duo covered his own neck with his hand, but not to hide any marks - for they were nearly invisible - but to grieve their loss. [I should be happy for Quatre,] he thought, whom he now noticed reeked of sex. But instead he felt cheated and hurt. [I let Zechs mark me in Cairo because I wanted everyone to know... and then I was ashamed of those marks... now I'm jealous of Quatre's.]

Zechs was taking another sip of his own coffee when he happened to notice that Duo was *staring* at Quatre... then touched his own neck. [What is he... oh...] he thought to himself, belatedly noting what Duo was staring at. [Hmmm... I marked Duo like that once.] But he couldn't tell from Duo's statement if he was happy about his friend or not... then he knew. [I haven't done that since...]

"Well, I'd better be getting back," Quatre said with a little grin. "The ice..." Somehow he managed not to blush, and then stepped over to Duo. "Could I speak with you a moment, Duo? In private?" he asked, his eyes sliding from Duo to the others, wondering if it was okay to interrupt this little gathering.

"Sure, buddy," Duo said, cheerfully, dropping his hand from his neck. [Stop being silly...] It'd been at least a day since Duo had a chance to talk to Quatre and he had missed his friend. "I should be heading back to bed, too," he said, taking another gulp of coffee and then setting the mug down on the counter. "We can talk on the way."

"That'd be great, thanks, Duo," Quatre said, smiling. "Goodnight, guys... I'll see you later."

Duo looked at Zechs and asked, "Will you be long?" His eyes conveyed his hope all too clearly. He wanted to cuddle with his Wolf again.

"I'll be right along shortly," Zechs replied, smiling.

As Duo and Quatre walked out into the hall, Quatre nudged his friend. "I see you're still wearing that shirt," he said with a snicker. "I think I'm finally starting to believe that blonds *do* have more fun."

Duo gave his friend an odd look as they continued down the hall. [What's up with him?] "You're in a awfully good mood."

"Oh, Duo, I'm the happiest I've ever been!" Quatre exclaimed, and then pulled his friend into his arms for an impromptu hug, the ice cubes sloshing in his bowl.

"Whoa!" Duo said, laughing. He pulled back from the hug to look more closely at his friend. "Let me guess... Trowa."

"Yes, Trowa," the little blond answered, all starry-eyed in love. He looked around to be sure no one was in the corridor to hear them and then added, "We actually did *it*! I can hardly believe it, but Trowa and I finally went *all* the way!"

"Hey, that's really great!" Duo exclaimed, sincerely happy and more than a little surprised. [He's blushing,] Duo thought with some amusement as he observed the other boy's overflowing joy. [So now he's getting laid and I'm not...]

"Thanks," Quatre smiled and then nodded for them to continue down the hall. "I've been dying to talk to you. It's all just so amazing... I never knew sharing yourself with someone could be so intense!"

"Yeah, it sure is, buddy," Duo said with a grin. [God, I'm really happy for him, but I can't help feeling a little envious...]

The blond sidled up to his long-haired friend as they walked. "I hope you don't mind me talking about this, but you're my best friend, Duo, and I really want to share this with you." He looked over at his friend and smiled. "I mean, you know what I'm talking about, because you and Zechs are in love, too and you've..." He paused, his cheeks pinking again. "You've been intimate... so you know how wonderful it feels to have someone inside you... and how that makes you even closer."

"Oh, sure," Duo said, nodding, trying to squelch the jealousy that was growing inside him. "It does make you a lot closer when you do that..." [I can't believe we're talking about each other's sex lives! Well... Quatre's sex life.]

Quatre could sense more than just happiness coming from his friend. [Jealousy? He misses me...] "Hey, I know I've been spending a lot of time with Trowa since he got here, but I don't want you to think we're not best friends anymore, because we are, Duo. We really are!"

The boy with the braid smiled, brightly. "I know we are, Quatre." He swung his arm around his friend's shoulders, tugging him close. "I guess I have missed our friendship, but I'm just as guilty for spending so much time with Zechs." [Except I'm not spending that time like you think I am.]

"Well, I don't blame you. I know you two are happy to be back together again and have some catching up to do." [Thank Allah above that they're finally back together!]

"Yep, you got that right!" [Boy, do we ever have catching up to do!]

They were approaching their rooms now, and Duo let his arm slide from his friend. "It was sure good talking, Quatre. Maybe when this war is over we can all go out on a double date!"

"You got a deal," Quatre said, and playfully shoved his friend toward the room he was now sharing with Zechs.

Duo looked back to his friend before he went inside. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it, Duo?"

"What's all the ice for?"

[I wondered when he would ask.] The blond smiled devilishly and then gave the simplest answer he could. "Nipples."

"Nipples?" [Huh?]

"Think about it. Good night, Duo!" Quatre said with a wink and then went inside his room. "I'm back, Tro..."

Duo ducked inside Zechs's room to wait for his lover. As he stripped out of his jeans again and sat on the bed he thought about ice cubes and nipples. "Hmm..." Suddenly his eyes went wide with the image of him and Zechs playing with ice cubes... rubbing them on.... "Oh!"

"So," Zechs ventured to ask his companion when their friends had left, "just how close are you to my sister? I never asked you before."

Heero's eyes widened. "Close? I'm not close to her at all, at least not on a personal level. I suppose that I've felt obligated to protect her..." He scowled, thinking of the attack on that school in which he shielded her from falling debris. "The funny thing is, I said I was going to kill her because she'd seen me and knew too much about me, but somehow I never did."

Zechs chuckled. "That must mean I should thank you. Strange - do you have a connection with her, too?"

The other pilot rolled his eyes. "Damned if I know. She just keeps finding me. I still can't believe she was flying down here! So - that was Treize who intercepted her, then? He convinced her to stay away?"

Collecting the empty mugs, Zechs rose from his seat and went to put them in the sink. "Yes, that was Treize. I'm not sure how he managed that either, but I'm very glad he did." He looked back at the boy, who leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, an inscrutable look on his face. "So... there's nothing going on between you and Relena, then?"

Heero made a rude noise. "You have nothing to worry about from me, Zechs, trust me. Besides, there's no way I'm going to get involved with anyone now. Especially with..." He waved in the general direction of their rooms.

Zechs raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Come again?"

The boy kicked at the chair opposite him, causing a clatter. "Come on, I'm not deaf. Quatre and Trowa are getting into it pretty heavy and you and Duo..." He waved again. "You know."

The other pilot just looked at him.

"All right," Heero went on, grimacing, "I'll say it. All of you are going to be distracted because, well, you're sexually involved. It's a liability, a weakness. Someone has to keep a level head."

For some reason, Zechs felt a devilish urge to tease the intense little soldier. "And that would be you."

[He's baiting me,] Heero considered carefully. "Yes."

"And what were we doing yesterday morning, hmmm?" Zechs inquired, grinning. "What do you call *that*?"

The dark Prussian-blue eyes narrowed. "Er, fighting mobile suits..."

"Most of that without you, yes?"

Heero swallowed carefully. He hadn't committed to assisting them at that point. "I guess so."

"Ha!" Zechs exclaimed, about to laugh. "You know, I think we need to fix you up with someone, Heero. Which side of the fence are you on?"

The boy paled. [Okay, so he's made his point - they all fought extremely well despite being romantically involved with another pilot - so, what now?] "Fence?"

[No reason to assume that all of them, at this tender age, would even be interested in relationships,] Zechs thought, then gave the boy a wink. "Think about that question... and get back to me," he replied smoothly as he sauntered out to go join his lover.

Heero slid down further in his chair, scowling again. [Fence? I'm on the side of the colonies...]

Duo was lying on the bed with his arms tucked behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. [I went from living in a desert to living on this iceberg.] "Brrr," he shivered, realizing he was a little chilled from just wearing a t-shirt. [But Zechs will be back soon and then I'm sure to get warm...]

The boy never thought there could be anything as important to him in life as his fight for the colonies and avenging Maxwell Church. When he came to Earth several months ago, he had expected to fight and win... and possibly even die. He never imagined that he would meet other Gundam pilots, even form a true friendship with one of them, and then in a weird twist of fate meet and fall in love with a man who used to be his enemy.

"Zechs..." he said the name aloud. How he loved that name... that man. [Damn, I'm lucky hooking up with him... He's so good to me... and I'll never need to look at a dirty magazine again!] With that thought he laughed and then stretched his body out on the bed, spreading his legs and arms luxuriously and taking over the bed as if he was someone of much greater stature. Just then he heard the door open. He rolled to his side to see that his lover had arrived home. "Hey, there."

After toeing off his shoes at the door and hanging up the morning coat, Zechs closed the door and began unbuttoning his shirt as he crossed the room. "Now that's an enticing sight," he sighed, his gaze taking in the vision of his little fox encased in that voluminous t-shirt, lying on his side with that damn braid draped sensuously across his hip. [Delicious...]

Stopping at the closet, he hung up the shirt but dropped and left his slacks where he stepped out of them, then snagged the discarded short sleeping kimono off the floor, hastily dressing. It still made him a little nervous to be completely nude with Duo. [Just a few days,] he told himself, taking a deep breath. [Then I'll be back to normal...]

Then he was kneeling on the bed and leaning down. "Will you sleep with me? Can I hold you?" he asked teasingly, pretending to be serious.

"Yes and yes," Duo said, smiling brightly and still tingling from having gotten a full, albeit brief view of his lover's backside. [Hot damn!] "Should I scoot over or do you want to just plop down right on top of me?" he asked, hopeful, but also teasing.

But Zechs was already climbing onto the bed, literally crawling over Duo to get to the far side of the bed. "I like it over here," he murmured as he settled behind Duo then collected his lover into his arms to spoon up against him. A moment more of snuggling and he had the boy right where he wanted him. "Mmmm, I like this..."

[Comfy, but not exactly what I was hoping for...] Duo thought, enjoying the way Zechs's body was curled around him... warming him. "So, you just couldn't sleep before?" he asked, still wondering why Zechs had gone missing in the middle of the night.

[I will *not* tell him about the nightmare,] Zechs told himself firmly. [That would only injure him all the more, remind him of what he's done.] He pressed a kiss to Duo's hair, then murmured in reply, "I needed a stretch, that's all. Now that we're here, I need to start up a regimen of workouts again. Or at the least get in a couple daily jogs." It wasn't really a lie; he did feel the need for more physical exertion... especially if he was not risking exertion of a different kind in the bedroom...

"Jog around the hangar, huh?" Duo asked, chuckling. [I can see that getting an audience.] An image of Zechs dressed in his red t-shirt and tight, spandex shorts came to mind... and to groin. [Oooh, that's nice!] "So, did Heero have anything interesting to say?"

[He's got me in bed and he wants to talk about Heero?] Zechs noted sleepily. Despite the very good Kenyan roast, he wanted to go back to sleep... hopefully with no more nightmares. "He said he's not deaf. I believe he heard us earlier... and probably Quatre and Trowa as well." His voice was starting to slur slightly.

"Heard us? Oh, he *heard* us!" Duo let out a hearty laugh. The thought of Heero being subjected to the moans of two pairs of lovers was quite funny. [He probably would prefer being tortured!] "Well, he'll just have to get used to that, huh, Wolf?" Duo asked, nudging his elbow into his lover's belly.

"According to Quatre they won't be letting up any time soon either." [But they're actually doing *it*!]

Zechs took the offending arm *and* the braid and wrapped both in front of Duo with his own arm. "Heero didn't seem to be complaining too much... well, maybe a little," he chuckled, remembering the kicked chair. "I'm sure he could easily move elsewhere, seeing as how two more rooms just seem to have become available." He yawned expansively, getting hair in his mouth in the process. "Pffft... can we go to sleep now, little fox?"

"Sleep? Oh, I suppose so... if you're tired, that is. I'm kind of awake now, but I think I could fall asleep again," Duo said, knowing very well he was rambling. [Must be the coffee,] he thought. He was really hoping that Zechs would want to do more than cuddle before going back to sleep. [Damn, that dream has got my engines all revved up. He's right behind me... It would be so easy for us to...]

"Mmmm, good..." Zechs murmured sleepily. Evidently Very Good Kenyan Roast did not have the same effect on his Sankian physiology. He nuzzled the back of Duo's neck, nosing the braid with a soft little purr of satisfaction. "Sweet li'l fox... so cuddly... how did you get to be so cuddly, Dancer?" Sleep was stealing over him, relaxing the tall body with the considerably shorter one tucked neatly within the curve of the long limbs.

Duo could hear the change in Zechs's voice. [He's falling asleep,] he thought a bit sadly. "You're the first one to think I'm cuddly, so maybe it's *you* who makes me cuddly!" he chuckled and snuggled closer against the long body behind him. "Or it could just be that our bodies fit so well together. That's what makes *this* so nice," he said, wiggling his ass into the curve of the other man's body.

"Nice," Zechs echoed, his breathing slowing. "Ver' nice..." He trailed off, though just before he slipped completely into a slumber, he kissed Duo's hair, then relaxed even more. In another moment he was deeply, peacefully asleep.

For a long while after that, Duo lay awake, breathing in time with his lover's slumbered rhythm. It was still amazing to him that he and Zechs had found their way back to each other. [After trying to kill him...] Duo began to think, but quickly set those events aside. What mattered now was this renewed closeness. The fact that Zechs wanted him close. Wanted to curl up with him and sleep through the night in each other's arms. [I still want us to make love, but he says he's not ready. I hate to think he still might be holding something against me for what happened.]

There it was again, those terrible thoughts of that terrible day. So, he turned his mind to remembering their loving this evening. How they pleasured each other and shared a passion that was reminiscent of their days in Cairo. [I did good tonight,] Duo thought with a little smile as he closed his eyes. He was proud of how well he managed the 69... giving as much as receiving. [He's still a good teacher...]

End, Prologue

Chapter 1

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