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"Regained "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, masturbation, angst, violence,
language Pairings: 6x2, 3x4, mention of 13+11, R+1 Summary: Sequel to Interfacing: Lost. GAIA, the
new alliance, fights its first battle in Antarctica; Duo and Zechs
begin to rebuild their relationship "Regained" Chapter 10
"Hn," Heero muttered again. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the door as if willing it to open. Miraculously it seemed to work this time as the door indeed opened. Heero straightened as Zechs Merquise entered, followed by Noin and Duo. But he didn't approach the table yet. Zechs took in the whole of the room in a glance, noting Heero Yuy's stiff posture, but smiled first at Quatre and the boy with the russet hair. "Quatre and Trowa, thanks for coming," he murmured, moving to stand behind a chair directly opposite Quatre, who sat in the middle on the other side of the table. As Noin stepped smartly to Zechs's right, leaving Duo to take the seat to the left, the only chair remaining was opposite Duo. Zechs gestured to that chair, nodding at Heero. "Heero, please, come and sit down." Heero looked into the pale blue eyes of the tall blond man, his... nemesis? Former nemesis? He didn't know what Zechs was. But Trowa appeared relaxed, Quatre was smiling, and even Duo seemed content. He nodded tersely, then unfolded his arms and came to the table, sitting rather circumspect. //I'm not going to look at Duo... not going to give him any ammunition if I can help it...// Just then, a soldier wearing an apron came in to pour coffee all around, and another placed baskets of pastries on the table. "Please, help yourselves," Zechs murmured to the group. Each fixed their beverage to their liking using the cream pitchers and sugar bowls already on the table. //I can feel the tension... and it's largely emanating from Heero Yuy,// Zechs thought, taking a pastry and handing the basket to Duo. //This could get rough...// As soon as it was just the six of them in the room again, Heero, who'd only taken a sip of his black coffee so far, cleared his throat and repeated his earlier question to Zechs. "So... why did you leave OZ?" Trowa stilled. //He's going to press until he gets every answer he wants,// he noted wryly. Duo shook his head as he scooped a fourth teaspoon of sugar into his black coffee. "Good morning to you, too," he snorted. Then he suddenly remembered his promise. //Oops, Zechs thinks the teasing will put Heero off from joining us.// "What I meant to say was, that's a very good question, Heero." Quatre shot Duo a strange look. //Huh?// Zechs swallowed the bite of pastry he'd taken, and sipped on his coffee. "I'll be glad to answer that, Heero," he began slowly. "For some time I had been growing dissatisfied with the direction in which OZ was being steered by the Romefeller Foundation, which is taking an increasingly aggressive role in OZ. I have witnessed atrocities that made me ashamed to be a part of that organization." He paused to look very intently at Heero, matching him near-glare for near-glare. "One of those was the fiasco with threatening the colonies that we were a party to in Siberia," Zechs explained, a glint of ice in his eyes. "That... was shameful." //I'll say it,// he decided, choosing to go further. "As was New Edwards," he added, breaking the gaze. //Oh, God, here we go...// Duo thought. He knew full well how deeply the words "New Edwards" cut into the heart of each of the Gundam pilots at the table. Heero's mouth went dry. "And where were you at that time?" he managed to snap, unrepentant if he should sound harsh. "In Nairobi," Zechs countered firmly. "I was not involved in the planning or decision making that went on regarding the trapping of you Gundam pilots into attacking that base. I had no prior knowledge of that at all." The dark-haired boy calmed minutely. "So... OZ sticks in your craw, too, does it?" Heero asked, tilting his head at him a little. Zechs smiled tightly. "That's precisely it. So... it seems we have a common enemy now." Heero did not return the smile, his large eyes dark and flinty. "What we fought over in Siberia had little to do with OZ or the war." There were glances exchanged around the table, and general surprise from all at Heero's admission. "What do you mean, Heero?" Quatre asked, gaping at the tense boy beside him. //Yeah, what do you mean? You're being such a shit, and I can't even tease you like I usually do!// Duo thought as he stared at the other boy. "Heero is right," Zechs admitted. "It was a game to establish superiority... and I sought to take revenge for the deaths of my men at his hands." He looked down suddenly, staring at nothing on the table before him. Zechs could feel the coiled tension in Heero Yuy as if he'd placed hands on the boy's body. It was in the mysterious psychic connection he seemed to have with the intense young pilot. "Meeting Duo Maxwell changed all that," he murmured, then smiled a little though he still looked at nothing. Duo turned to Zechs then, wanting to reach out to him, but instead he was too surprised by the admission to do or say anything. It touched the young man's heart that his Zechs would say this to the group... that he didn't just say these things in private. "To make a very long, intricate story short," Zechs was saying, "he has enabled me to find the strength to act on the decision to leave OZ which I'd already essentially made even, perhaps, as I knelt on the plain of Siberia and decided to rebuild Gundam 01. Even more, Duo has enabled me also to find a reason to fight, a true one." //Thank you, Zechs,// Duo thought with a little grin. Zechs took a deep breath and looked up again at Heero. "I have found a couple reasons. I will fight for the freedom of the colonies from tyranny, and for peace in the entire Earthsphere." Underneath the table, he slid his left foot over to rest against Duo's right, making a subtle physical connection with his little lover who sat stunned by Zechs's admission. //Zechs!// Duo exclaimed in his mind, very nearly shouting it to the room. The slight touch had an immediate effect on him, sending an electrical charge through his body and warmth to his face. //Oh, Wolf, you are trying... you do want us to be together again,// he thought with a thrill, even as he pressed his foot back in acceptance of the contact. "I see," Heero muttered. //I don't see at all! Duo?? How could meeting that blabbermouth with a braid have made such a difference?// //He doesn't see in the least,// Zechs mused, then paused for a moment to center in the warmth and support of Duo's presence. It made the iciness of his connection with Heero recede, to his relief. Trowa was staring at Duo, who seemed oblivious to everything but Zechs beside him, though the boy with the braid was trying not to gape at Zechs. //Oh, so that's how it is... hmmm...] Glancing sidelong at Heero, Trowa wondered, [Did Heero have his eye on the man for himself? Or on Duo? I've got to talk to Quatre about this. Oh, Duo, you lucky bastard...// "Any more questions?" Zechs asked, glancing around finally. "I have one," Trowa spoke up quietly. "If you're now opposing OZ, aren't you going to become a primary target for them? You've got a powerful mobile suit. If you're not going to give it back, they're going to keep coming for you, you know." He glanced at Quatre as he finished. "You'll be endangering your own allies." //Like my sweet kitten...// "They know where you are now, Zechs," Heero added hastily. "They called the Gundam in." Zechs felt Quatre and Duo's eyes on him and knew they were wondering if he was going to reveal the secret ally. "You're overestimating my worth in the eyes of OZ. They're not going to spend any more time on me than is politically useful. After the first few forays, there won't be any more." //Oh, Zechs, I hope you're right...// Noin thought as she silently watched the power struggle before her. She had faith in Zechs and knew better than anyone else in the room that he could hold his own in an argument and on the battlefield. But she wasn't as sure of his confidence that OZ would let him and his mobile suit go that easily. "Oh, yeah?" Heero retorted before Trowa could. "How many is a few? You think just because you've got four Gundams here now that they'll fight off anything that comes after you?" "Of course not!" Zechs threw back and again they'd slipped into that subtle tug of war between them. "Gentlemen!" Quatre said, trying to temper the situation. But his protest seemingly went unheard as his own Trowa spoke up against the man again. "Then how are you going to do it?" Trowa asked. He was unconsciously aping his new role model, leaning forward in challenge exactly as Heero was. "With the *Aries* suits you have here at the base?" Zechs felt his temper rising, but he would not be goaded into speaking out of hand. "I'm certain that two Gundams and the Tallgeese will be able to easily handle anything that finds its way down here. Few are going to want to come to such an inhospitable land anyway." Heero's eyes widened. //Is he that sure? I could be looking at the devil himself,// he thought, wondering if Merquise had cut a deal with someone. //Does he really think we're that naive? Judging from Duo and Quatre's expressions, they seem to think he's sincere. Could he be? How can we trust him?// "You sound very sure." Zechs met his gaze again. "I know OZ." "And Duo and I have every faith in you," Quatre added quickly. "Damn straight, we do," Duo said with a firm nod and looking directly at Heero. "I can understand your hesitation, Heero," Quatre said, also looking at the intense boy. Then he glanced to his side. "But you, Trowa... I had hoped my explanation earlier would've calmed some of your fears." //You seem to be almost mimicking Heero. Why, Trowa? Don't you trust your own feelings?// Trowa glanced toward Heero, but instead of responding, picked up his cup of coffee and took a long swallow. //I trust Heero Yuy's instincts...// "Trowa," Quatre said with a sigh. //He's following Heero's marching orders,// he thought angrily. //We'll see about that...// Heero was frowning, which was nothing unusual, but he was also trying to process the fact that the other two pilots seemed so sure about their new ally. //This is not as simple as it seemed. They're not drugged, they don't appear to be under hypnosis, and Zechs certainly doesn't seem smug about this at all. His confidence isn't a put on.// He glanced at Duo again. "That must have been some 'meeting' between you and Zechs." "And what's that supposed to mean?" Duo said with a huff. He leaned forward then in his chair, his sharp gaze barreling down on the other boy. "You'd better not be insinuating that Zechs did anything wrong," Duo said defensively, pointing an accusatory finger at Heero. He was hypersensitive to any accusations towards Zechs, especially after all the heartache they had both suffered in that regard. Then, placing a hand gently on Zechs's forearm, Duo added, "All you need to know is that *I* trust Zechs." The protectiveness and unconditional support exuding from Duo served as a healing balm to Zechs's heart. //He's recovered from all that so completely,// he thought, warming. //Why can't I?// "Thanks, Duo," Zechs murmured, and gave Duo's hand a brief squeeze before reaching for his coffee again. "Heero, I know it may be difficult to understand how the three of us reached our agreement to ally." He leaned forward, cup in hand, his full attention now on Heero Yuy. "A lot... has happened. And I am not now the man you faced in Siberia." Heero leaned forward as well, purposely copying the other's posture. "That's clear." His glance shifted to Duo again for a moment. "Perhaps you know by now that none of us knew the other pilots existed until we were already on Earth. So we have no mandate to ever consider any of the other Gundam pilots as our comrades..." He looked back at Zechs, somber. On the other side of Heero, Trowa shifted uncomfortably in his chair. //Not even me? I only saved your life and followed you around Europe for the past few weeks...// "Be that as it may," Heero was continuing smoothly, "I've learned from Trowa that we acquire allies sometimes whether we want them or not. I prefer to work alone... but sometimes that's not a good thing against an organized enemy. Coordination of efforts can be critical." "I agree completely," Zechs jumped in, feeling that they were finally getting somewhere. "Otherwise we are getting in each other's way." //This is certainly a cool customer - he's completely impassive and impartial. His natural suspicion is a defense, no more. I've rarely heard a more clinical assessment of a war...// "That's it," Heero admitted, then dropped his gaze, turning his attention to his coffee again. "However, I need a hell of a lot more information before I can join forces even with the two of you." He inclined his head toward Quatre before taking a drink from his cup. "And we're prepared to tell you whatever it is you need to know," Quatre said as he stood. "But I want to make something perfectly clear," he said, looking directly at Heero. "I don't agree with you. We cannot win this war on our own." He walked around then to stand next to Zechs, broadening his intense gaze to include Trowa now. "This shouldn't be about any one of us, and certainly not about Zechs Merquise, who, you will see in time, is as dedicated in this fight as the rest of us." With that said, he rested his hand on Zechs's shoulder briefly in support. //Something has happened to make them want to work with this OZ has-been,// Trowa thought, his eyes widening a little to see Quatre touch the older man so comfortably. //They've really gotten to know him, apparently! Amazing... and I owe my little love an apology. Damn...// Quatre relaxed a little then and retreated back to his side of the table. He was disappointed in Heero's stubbornness, and especially Trowa's. //After everything I told you... and what we mean to each other.// He couldn't quite understand why his Trowa had picked Heero Yuy as his role model. With a small sigh he began again. "I've been thinking about this alliance for a long time... I'd like to call it GAIA for the Gundam Alliance in Action. And to symbolize peace for the Earthsphere." "GAIA? I like it, Quatre," Duo said. "So do I," Zechs spoke up, relaxing a bit. "Calling upon the Goddess of the Earthsphere can't possibly hurt. Good idea, Quatre." "Thanks," the blond boy said with a smile. "Right now GAIA consists of myself, Duo and Zechs, and Zechs's team here at the base... Oh, and you, Ms. Noin, if you feel so inclined to fight with us." "Of course, I'll support you. Any way I can," Noin said and nodded. Quatre looked toward his allies now. Though he was still hopeful that Heero and Trowa would change their minds and join them, he knew that GAIA had to move ahead and be prepared. "Our first mission will be to stop that OZ search team that should be arriving in the next 24 hours." "The base's facilities are completely at your disposal, Duo and Quatre," Zechs said. "We must see that our mobile suits are prepared for battle. Heero, I'll take you to see your Gundam myself. Trowa, I already gave orders for your mobile suit to be rearmed. Whether you two fight with us or not, however, is completely up to you." Heero gave Zechs a curt nod; Trowa nodded and murmured, "Thanks." Just then the cook brought out the rest of "breakfast". Though several of them were anxious to get to work, the enticing smells kept everyone in their seat. "Do eat up, everyone," Zechs directed, smiling. "I think we're all going to need the energy!" The new GAIA members, four now with the enthusiastic addition of Noin, tucked eagerly into the food. After sidelong glances, Heero and Trowa helped themselves to the bounty as well, though neither added much to the rather more casual breakfast conversation during the rest of the meal.
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