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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 32
The return of his beautiful lover to the room made Duo hesitate to speak. Zechs's presence always calmed him, warmed him, and he let himself enjoy that feeling a moment before he questioned him about this game. "Not exactly," he said, finally answering the man's question as he got up from the chair. "That Leo I was fighting reminded me of someone... Heero, in fact. It was definitely Heero. You've programmed in our fighting styles." That last statement was more accusation than question, and Duo crossed his arms as he nodded back at the computer. "This 'game' is some sort of training program for OZ pilots. So they can figure out how to defeat the Gundams." Zechs gaped at the closed expression on his little lover's face for a moment, then he controlled himself, responding in a more professional manner. "I find that odd that you're surprised. Remember this system came from an OZ base, and that I hadn't touched it since before I'd decided to leave that organization. Of course they programmed in what data they had on the Gundam pilots, though please do note that the player is using Leos, not Gundams. But I assure you no one on *this* base is training to defeat Gundam pilots." That said, he turned from him and began to brush out his hair. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Duo said, bristling that Zechs would turn away from him. //Is there some reason why I shouldn't have brought this up?// "Hey, I think I should be bothered by this," he said, staring at the man's back and watching him brush out his waist-length hair. He didn't like that Zechs seemed to be unwilling to address his concerns further. //I should tell him how I feel. What's really bothering me...// The Gundam pilot took a deep breath and dropped his arms to his sides as he took a step toward his lover. "Zechs, it reminded me of when we were enemies. It shook me up a little... you know?" The brush stopped mid-stroke, then came down as Zechs turned back around to face him. In two steps he reached Duo and folded his arms around him. "I'm sorry that everything around you now reminds you of the enemy, Duo," he replied quietly. "Which I am not, nor is anything at this base. We haven't had time to create GAIA more fully and eradicate the taste of OZ from everything here... for which I'm sorry on your account." He took a deep breath, kissing Duo's hair softly. "Now we will have time for that, I think. I'll see that the simulation is changed, I promise." "It's all right, really," Duo said, putting his arms around the taller man's waist. "I'm getting used to all this OZ-ie stuff around me. It was just this one thing..." He shook his head. There was no sense in dredging up the not-so distant past. To do so would only hurt himself and Zechs again. They just needed to move forward... away from that terrible morning and its consequences to the "new" Cairo that Zechs was promising. "I think I'll take that shower now." Before releasing him, Zechs tipped up Duo's chin and kissed him lightly and warmly. Only then did he let Duo go. "While you're doing that, I might take a look at the simulation myself. Could be fun. Was it?" "Yeah, it was pretty cool," Duo said a bit mildly, feeling not quite as enthusiastic for the game as he was initially. He headed to the bathroom, grabbing his cut-off shorts on the way. "Back in a few," he said, closing the door behind him. Zechs frowned slightly as he sat before the computer. //We haven't had a chance to eradicate the OZ-iness here,// he thought as he idly went through the game options, hardly paying attention to his choices. //I can't help what he found here...// Unsettled, he started in to play, directing his red Leo to confront the blue Leo on the screen. It had been a long time since Zechs had bothered with simulation games, but still it was a shock when he hadn't defeated the blue Leo a half minute later. Then he realized. //The damn computer chose to play with Heero Yuy's profile!// In the unused office, Heero hit Pause again, staring at the monitor in shock. That red Leo was clearly performing like Tallgeese, piloted by Zechs! //Why would they have Zechs's style programmed in here?// It didn't make sense, but suddenly Heero wanted to continue playing, thinking this might be the only chance he would ever have again to fight against Zechs. Zechs, in his quarters, put the game on Pause and checked the program settings. It was then that he noticed something odd. The program was set up to default to player-player mode if there was another player available, rather than player-computer even if that had been the choice. "Oh, shit," he said aloud, feeling a rush of adrenaline. He was playing Heero Yuy, NOT a computer-programmed profile! A glance at the bathroom door and the sounds of the shower told him he could afford to indulge a little. //Damn, but I can't fight him for real, but... does he know he's playing me? He and Duo were actually playing against each other! Did he know? Will he know now?// Resuming the game, Zechs continued to battle Heero's Leo with renewed vigor. Time seemed to take a step backwards, for it was as if he and Heero were back on the plain of Siberia, battling one on one, Tallgeese against Wing Gundam! Heero was stunned; the simulation was incredibly realistic, almost too much so. He knew well from experience that Zechs was an unconventional fighter, fast and innovative, brilliant in fact - how could a computer simulate his creativity? Hastily he backed off his Leo after a flurry of strikes to get his bearings. //Unless I really am playing Zechs... oh... shit...// Before the red Leo could come after him, he rushed back in, beam saber at the ready, adrenaline fueling his renewed determination. He was going to get Zechs! //Come on, you're too slow,// Zechs was thinking with glee, his red Leo maneuvering effortlessly around the blue one. //Come and get me, Heero!// He got in with a good, hard hit to the shield arm, slipping away before the blue Leo could retaliate. "You're better than this!" he exclaimed aloud, and unaware that he had done so. In the shower, Duo considered the simulation once more. //Zechs thinks it bothers me because it's a leftover from his old OZ base,// he thought as he soaked his unbraided hair under the rush of water. //But there's lots of reminders of OZ here...// He began to shampoo the long mass of chestnut hair with almost subconscious movements as he focused his mind on what had really bothered him. //I guess I didn't like seeing the inner workings of OZ... Seeing what they had actually done to try to beat us.// It was true that he hadn't entirely wrapped his mind around what Zechs had been like when he was with OZ. He'd seen the uniform and the Tallgeese in battle, but that was Zechs as his ally. He'd never truly seen him operate as OZ's Colonel Merquise. Somehow finding that simulation programmed with Heero's fighting style gave Duo a glimpse of how Zechs had operated. //He was a fierce enemy... And Heero would know that best. He fought Zechs.// Duo decided then to ask Heero about the Zechs that had been his enemy on the battlefield. He would find out from a fellow Gundam pilot exactly whom Zechs had been. Then, hopefully his curiosity would be satisfied. //I love him, but I need to know...// After rinsing his hair, Duo soaped himself, washing his body completely of the grimy feeling that came with battle. He was glad he'd eaten and taken a nap and had begun to reconnect with Zechs. //I still owe him a massage,// he thought happily. //And we need to talk...// It was then that he realized his distress at the simulation might have something to do with the fact that they'd just fought together for the first time. Though Duo had been awestruck by Zechs's prowess on the battlefield, it was still another side of his lover. A side that reflected a past with OZ. //Talking will be good,// he thought, turning off the water and grabbing a large towel to dry himself. He slipped into his cut-off shorts, combed out his hair, and dried it partially with a towel and then a blow dryer. //Now I really need to get close to Zechs,// he thought. When he came out of the bathroom, the steam following him, he saw Zechs sitting at the computer. //Has he been playing that game the whole time?// "All done and ready to cuddle," he said, sounding himself again. When Zechs didn't immediately look up, the younger man swept his loose hair around to the front of his chest and stepped closer, sure that his lover would be distracted away from the computer screen by his clean smell, undone hair and near-nakedness. A voice impinged upon Zechs's awareness, and he turned his head in subconscious response, though his eyes were still glued to the monitor, his fingers still flying over the keyboard. He got in a killing blow to the blue Leo, then abruptly froze as his awareness registered the clean, sharp scent of lavender, followed by the recognition at the periphery of his vision of his lover's presence. And masses of loose, clean, chestnut hair. Zechs hit a key to stop the game and turned fully to fill his hands with the freshly washed tresses, bringing the handfuls up to his face to inhale deeply and rub against his cheek. "Did... you say something?" he murmured to Duo, whom he belatedly realized was dressed only in those obscenely brief shorts. //Damn... my little pilot is certainly a sexy fox... who needs to be ravished badly. Damn...// //That's better,// Duo thought with a smile, watching Zechs enjoy his hair. "I was saying it's time to cuddle, but I want to give you that massage first... and talk, of course." //And have you make passionate love to me...// He reached up and took a lock of Zechs's platinum hair in his hand. It was soft and healthy and spoke volumes of this man's breeding and self-esteem. "I love your hair, Zechs," Duo said, lifting it to his face to breathe in its scent and touch it to his cheek. "Mmmm, love all this hair." "We definitely have that in common, and I look forward to the massage," Zechs replied with a last deep inhale, then straightened to watch Duo rubbing his cheek with his hair as well. He smiled, releasing the tresses but slipping his hands around Duo's waist to draw him close. Then the smile turned to a smirk. "By the way, you might be interested to know that you were not playing a programmed version of Heero Yuy. I discovered that the computer defaults to player-player mode despite your settings when there is someone else connected at the same time. Our friend Heero is somewhere on this base playing that simulation!" "What? That was actually Heero?" Duo asked, surprised and tickled all at once. //I guess that makes sense. That program was awfully sophisticated.// "Hey, I did pretty good against him," he said, lifting his chin proudly. "I always knew we'd be well-matched against each other." He let go of Zechs's hair, but continued to caress a length that covered the man's shoulder. "And how 'bout you? Were you able to defeat the great Heero Yuy?" he asked with a smirk. "Actually, yes," Zechs replied and winked at him, "I finally killed the little bastard. Of course, if he's like a cat and has nine lives, that means he'll come back yet again. So we get seven more chances at him." //Oh, shit, I love when he pets my hair...// Duo laughed at the evil thrill he could hear in his lover's voice at having defeated Heero yet again. "Heh, I'd love to see the look on his face when he figures out he was fighting us!" //Maybe that'll put Mr. Yuy in his place a little...// He leaned in and kissed Zechs's forehead, pleased with the shared joke. "He never stood a chance." "Never," Zechs echoed with a last smirk, then he sighed as he rubbed his nose against a lush fall of chestnut hair cascading down Duo's chest. "Mmmm, this feels so good... but you know, Duo, the fact that Heero Yuy is on a computer console somewhere in this base means only one thing. He's obviously trying to get whatever information he still feels he needs before joining us. And I have to let him find what's there to find." "Yeah, it was only a matter of time before he tried to hack into the system," Duo said, his body warming to Zechs's touch. "You've got nothing to hide... and he's already lost once today... so why not give the guy a break?" He smiled down at his lover, feeling a great deal of pride for Zechs's abilities. //So, even Heero couldn't get around Zechs's security... Interesting.// Sighing, Zechs turned back to the keyboard and tapped in some codes while keeping the other hand around Duo's waist. "Voice command: Zechs Merquise," he spoke to the system. "Voice recognition system, disable. Password: Victoria." "Warning: Security breach in progress," the system replied promptly. Despite the trickle of fear that announcement brought, Zechs knew it was only Heero and that he had to let the pilot find what he could. //The recordings... but my conscience is clear,// he mused. Still, it was sobering. The truth about Treize had to come out fully to all the Gundam pilots. And he, Zechs Merquise now of GAIA, had to let it. "Allow," he replied to the system, then put his console in standby mode. Heero, still scowling from his trouncing at the hands of Zechs's Leo, sat back and glared at the computer system. //Damn, but he's good,// he mused, holding his injured arm which was now throbbing. //I had a handicap, however. I'll kill him next time... in the game...// Then he leaned forward, staring at the screen. A message was now displayed: "Voice security: disabled". It disappeared again after three seconds. //Voice security!// he thought, astonished. //No wonder I couldn't get in! Did he just...// The scowl deepened. //He wants me to hack in!// Then he subsided. //He's confident he doesn't have any surprises lurking in here that he doesn't want me to see. That's a good thing. Or he knows that he has to come clean on anything that could threaten the new alliance. So it's my responsibility to be thorough.// He went back to the Archive level on the main menu, which now opened easily. Here he found, as expected, Zechs's own and the engineering staff's notes and plans for both the Tallgeese and what they knew of Wing Gundam. There were reports of the move from Lake Victoria as well. Smiling grimly to himself, Heero settled in to read. Duo bent to kiss Zechs's cheek. "Now Heero will be occupied for a good long while... And I know just how to keep *you* occupied until dinner time," he said with a devilish grin. //It'll be all right,// Zechs told himself again, then stood up, slipping an arm around Duo's shoulders as he steered him in the direction of the bed. "That sounds good to me," he murmured as they walked over. "I could use some pampering - my shoulders are still a bit stiff from fighting. How about you?" Once at the side of the bed, Zechs left him to step over to the closet where he pulled out a pair of pale blue silk pajama bottoms. He slipped those on and discarded the robe before joining his lover again. "Feeling a little knocked around, but no worse than usual," Duo snorted. OZ always hit them hard with as much fire power as possible. Their efforts didn't typically damage the Gundams, but they shook up the pilots plenty. Duo scratched his head as he watched Zechs carefully dress before discarding his robe. //Damn. No show again. Maybe I should just ask him if he'd make love to me...?// He took a deep breath and smiled when Zechs turned back to him. //Or maybe not...// "Why don't you get comfortable and I'll see what I can do about those shoulders of yours." "Mmmm, I can't wait," Zechs murmured, smiling. He climbed onto the bed and lay face down, his head to the side and resting on a pillow, arms to his sides. "There, I'm all yours." //Well, you're almost all mine,// Duo thought with a sigh as he looked over the long, finely sculpted body laying before him. Zechs completely oozed sex out of every pore of his body, even unconsciously, and yet he wasn't all about sex. He was a man of the world. Intelligent, brave, fierce, charming and truly committed to the new alliance GAIA. And yet, most profoundly to Duo, Zechs still wasn't ready to make love again... meaning he was not completely healed from their "misunderstanding." With this in mind, Duo knelt on the bed beside his lover, carefully brushing aside the long fall of silky hair, to put his hands on the bare skin of the man's back and shoulders. He hoped each touch, each moment together was bringing them closer to a complete healing. The massage began gently, as he tested for tension, and yes, it was there. The muscles were tight under his hands as he rubbed. "Damn, you're tight, Zechs," Duo said, concern in his voice. "I think I'd better go easy on you to begin with." "Tallgeese does that, winds me up like a top," Zechs muttered. "I shouldn't complain. It's not giving me a heart attack anymore." Then his voice warmed. "That feels good, love. Don't worry, I can take a lot." //I have to get used to him touching me... everywhere...// Hearing this, Duo rubbed deeper, pushing harder into Zechs's shoulders than before. "It was good fighting with you today," Duo said, thinking back to the battle and how they still hadn't talked about it. He leaned over the other man further, moving his hands to the inner shoulders, working that area now. "A bit surreal, but good. I thought you were incredible out there." A grunt escaped the older man, and a few more pleased noises before Zechs could speak again. "Up a little... there... thank you. Yeah, I have to admit I was very relieved to be fighting on the same side as you Gundam pilots... and it felt good to see you slicing your way through the hordes of Aries. I almost felt like I was one of you pilots..." His voice trailed off as he began to relax under his lover's hands. "Like one of us, huh? Is that what you want? To be a Gundam pilot?" Duo asked, chuckling a little as he continued the massage. He was surprised by the admission. Not because Zechs admired them - he had noble views of war and OZ had certainly fallen far off that mark - but it surprised Duo that Zechs actually wanted to be one of them. "All I could think of out there was that I was sure glad you were on our side. You with your Gundam prototype and us, well, we're just piloting the next generation of suits. I guess that makes you one of us... doesn't it?" "Yes, actually I would like that," Zechs replied, sighing. "I like to think we are a group of matchless pilots, though I fall far short of you and the others in one aspect. Well, I have fallen short, I should say..." He trailed off, purring as a particular muscle group relaxed under Duo's attention. "Perhaps I have recovered some ground. You Gundam pilots are pure, uncluttered, focused on your cause. I have only recently decided to actually have a cause not related to personal revenge... thanks to you." //Is my cause really that pure?// Duo wondered, as he bent to kiss one shoulder and then caress it idly with his hand as he considered his purpose in this war. Though he was fighting for the freedom of the colonies, he was also fighting to avenge the deaths of Father Maxwell and Sister Helen... and all the others who had died on that terrible day at the Orphanage. So, perhaps his cause was tainted as well? //I can't think that way... Wars are no place to lose focus.// "*You* have a pure heart and cause," Duo said, reassuring his lover as he moved his hands down the broad V of the man's back and began the massage again. "I'm sure if you had been born on the colonies you would've been a Gundam pilot, too... and a damn good one." "Thank you," Zechs replied, though he didn't really believe he could claim any purity. He'd been trained since babyhood in the Peacecraft pacifist beliefs only to abandon them completely at the age of eleven in order to become a soldier, encouraged by his friend Treize Khushrenada to join OZ in order to one day take his revenge on his family's murderer. Now that he had his revenge, he still fought. Wasn't that wrong? He released a long, low sigh. "I would have been proud to pilot a Gundam for the colonies," he murmured. "Oh, Duo, you are spoiling me... your hands on me feel so good..." "Good, I want you to relax," the younger man said, smiling. He shifted his weight on his knees and bent low again to place a small trail of kisses up Zechs's back. When he reached the man's neck he nuzzled it and then whispered, "Please tell me what you really thought today. Are you okay with me... with the God of Death?" Duo hadn't quite articulated his question the way he wanted to, but he had to ask it anyway. He needed to know if the image of him killing without mercy on the battlefield affected Zechs in some way... or would change their relationship. Zechs tensed unconsciously at the question. On one level, he could so clearly hear the plaintive need in his lover to be sure that he didn't fear his pilot persona, but on another level it was an unwelcome reminder of the God of Death who had not only fired a gun at him with intent to kill, but had also faced him in Quatre's office days ago with undeserved suspicion and ire. The bottom line was of course that the God of Death no longer directed hatred at him. "I have a great deal of respect for the God of Death," Zechs replied finally, relaxing minutely. "I would be foolish and a hypocrite if I did not accept that in you now, Duo. You no longer direct hatred toward me. Therefore I cannot justify rejecting that persona if you in turn accept the bloody Lightning Count. I had more kills than you this day." He sighed and reached a hand over to lie on Duo's knee. "You are my equal," he added, his voice softening. "That's a very good thing, don't you think?" "Equals... Yes, I like that," Duo said, nodding and feeling a bit of relief. Then he considered Zechs's warrior persona... the impressive Lightning Count. The man he never expected to meet and had only known through the tale of Heero's supposed death on the plains of Siberia. "And you... Lightning Count," he said, sitting back, though his hands were still on Zechs, caressing him gently. "That's a part of your past with OZ..." There was a moment of hesitation when the motion of his hands stopped. Duo drew in a deep breath. Images of the battle came back to him, filling him with both joy and apprehension. "I can't lie and say that *he* doesn't bother me on some level," he admitted, but then covered Zechs's hand on his knee with his own to reassure his lover once more. "But when I saw you today, dressed for battle and your eyes so intense, and then I saw you on the battlefield... I thought you were the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. You were incredible! I'm still a little in awe." Needing to see his lover's face, Zechs rolled onto his side, leaning on an elbow so that he could look up at him. Gently he took Duo's hand in his, caressing the back of his fingers. "Thank you... but I'm still very much your Wolf... just as you are very much my Dancer. We've just gotten to know the layers beneath the surface." He smiled and added, "In Cairo, you've discovered a me far more genuine than that stiff, regimented soldier who must keep his lofty image polished in order to inspire the troops. He can get rather... tedious." This last was accompanied by a relaxed grin. Duo smiled back, glad to see the tension had slipped away. "Yeah, I can so see that... I mean how it'd get tiring after a while." He looked down at his lover, enjoying the sizzle in the air when their eyes met. No more words needed to be spoken. Not when eyes and hands and lips could speak for them... Duo tilted his head to the side and the heavy length of chestnut hair fell forward over one shoulder, covering half his body. He bent down then, stretching out his neck until his lips met Zechs's in a sweet, light kiss. "Mmmm," he said, a moment later when their lips parted. "Is it time to cuddle?" "Oh, yeah," Zechs replied, grinning. "Especially when you look so adorable!" He collected the heavy mass of hair in his hands and directed it back over Duo's shoulder, then reached around Duo's waist and pulled him down into his arms. Once he had his Dancer snuggled in against him, he met his mouth for a proper... and deeper... kiss. With the other man's arms wrapped around him, completely embracing him, Duo felt the world slip away. The cares of the day took a backseat when Zechs Merquise was hungry for his lips. The man had that power over him. The power to erase the bad and make Duo think that there was nothing more important in this moment than the two of them. Even as his face was nearly turning blue from lack of oxygen, he was reluctant to break the kiss. "Whew!" he exclaimed, panting, as he pulled away from that fabulous mouth. "I vote we make this our new post-battle ritual!" "Only if the massage is part of the package," Zechs replied, grinning, also breathing a little fast. "I do feel *much* more relaxed!" "Hmmm, you drive a hard bargain," Duo snickered, and poked at the man's side. "So, I guess that means I give good massages," he said, smiling brightly. Then, under his breath, but still loud enough to be heard and to be playful, he added with a wink, "and other services as well." Zechs yawned just then, though he was in the midst of gently poking back. "I heard that," he commented, then pulled Duo back in close. "Can we nap post-battle, too? I love sleeping with you." He yawned again as he filled his hands with chestnut hair. //And this way I don't have to think about what Heero's finding right about now,// he thought to himself, realizing how sleepy he was all of a sudden. "Sure, we can nap," Duo agreed, snuggling in as he rubbed his cheek on the bare chest next to him. "And then later..." He yawned. It seemed Zechs's sleepiness was catching. "Later... I can showcase those *other* services to you," he said with a chuckle, closing his eyes. "Mmm, so nice..." //My beautiful Dancer,// Zechs sighed as they settled in to nap in each other's embrace. //Nice...// In moments the breathing of each pilot slowed as they fell asleep together.
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