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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"
Noin didn't want to be the first to speak. She was angry with her friend for taking this risk. Angry that he would choose Treize as an ally in such a critical matter. //I need to pull my thoughts together before I say anything...// The boy with the heart-sense felt a little dizzy, unnerved by hearing this private conversation between Zechs and the head of OZ. "It sounds legitimate," Quatre said, sounding a bit surprised himself. He felt Zechs's nervousness wash over him. //I suppose it's right he should be nervous.// But then he was feeling something else... "Duo?" he asked, looking across the table at his friend who was leaning forward, his head in his hands. The other boy didn't respond, except to shake his head slightly to indicate he'd heard. //Why does this feel so strange?// Duo wondered silently. It wasn't the content of the conversation between Zechs and Treize that bothered him, it was the fact of *when* it had happened. Zechs had told him that he'd talked to Treize, but hearing the actual conversation made that suddenly real. Duo realized he hadn't actually believed it before now and he hadn't even thought about the timing. Slowly, he ran his hands through his bangs and then tilted his head toward Zechs, though his eyes were still downcast. "You really did contact Treize while we were in Cairo," he said a bit shakily. Zechs thought his heart was going to burst from his chest, it was hammering so hard... and his gut ached with a sick feeling that despite his care, he'd managed to hurt the one person he could never on purpose. //Didn't I tell him? I thought I'd told him!// "D...Duo," he began, gulping, then continued more strongly. "I had to confront him about what was going on in the colonies - remember the news item we'd caught on TV? And... and I was going to tell you... so I had to break it off first, break cleanly from OZ. I did it... for you, Duo, for..." He tore his eyes away from his lover, heartsick and haunted. "I did it for us." He stuffed his hands in his lap, aching to touch his beloved, knowing he didn't dare. There was a long, uncomfortable silence as everyone waited for Duo to say something, anything, but he just sat there, unmoving. Quatre felt confusion and sadness fill the room. A quick glance at Noin confirmed she was deeply saddened, biting her lower lip to stop its quivering. Federi was confused, and so was Trowa, but he was glad his lover's animosity had quieted. Heero was impossible to read as always. //Come on, Duo...// Quatre thought, feeling a terrible hurting coming from Zechs and a deep fear from Duo. //You can do this. You know he loves you...// With a deep breath, Duo looked up. It was like he had just emerged from a deep sea dive, taking in his first breath of fresh air. //I can do this. Zechs loves me...// He felt eyes on him... several pairs of curious eyes... but he chose not to look at them, instead he turned his own wide, worried eyes up to his lover's face. Zechs was sad... no, torn inside out. //Oh, God!// "I believe you," he said, quietly, and then reached out a hand to cover Zechs's hands. "I believe you, love." Sucking his breath in sharply, Zechs grasped the lifeline extended to him and brought Duo's hand briefly up to his lips, bestowing a courtly, aristocratic kiss to the his knuckles. "Thank you, love," he murmured so softly that only Duo and possibly Noin beyond him could have heard it. Slowly the tight knot within his abdomen began to unravel. The rest didn't matter, not really... only Duo. Heero watched the interchange avidly, not nearly as unemotional as the others would assume, keeping a tight rein on his reactions. To see the blatant tenderness between the two pilots he respected the most seemed to strike a chord deep inside him. //That's why they will fight now, to protect this, to make the Earthsphere peaceful so they can be together,// he thought, impressed. //To have someone to protect...// Quatre sighed. The love and relief pouring off the other two pilots made him reach out and touch Trowa's arm. "All right then," he said, cheerfully, watching the lovebirds as he was bursting inside from his own feelings for his lover. "I think we're ready for the next round, Heero." Trowa started at the touch to his arm. The display of affection by Zechs and Duo before the rest of them was unexpected and puzzling... but this whole thing was puzzling. //This relationship they have - it's a weakness, isn't it? Aren't I weak for feeling this need to protect Quatre now?// But he knew well he had no choice. He did love the little blond. Taking a deep breath, Trowa glanced over again at Heero who unfroze finally. "I do have more," Heero retorted a bit brusquely. "This next clip is what settled it for me. It's from yesterday morning, late. " He turned the recorder back on. T: "Milliardo, you, too, are touched with purity. I'm very glad." Z: "I?" (Voice: a snort) "You're joking." T: "Well, whatever. I have told you that I will be your silent support for this new alliance you're creating with the Gundams. I *will* do this, Milliardo, for I, too, see the writing on the wall when it comes to Romefeller. Peace will never come at their hands, I know that now. If my actions help you in any way, help those little pilots... then my own conscience will be eased. And I hope they can one day look upon me with compassion rather than hatred..." The gathering listened to the rest in fascination, hearing of the new group of loyalists Treize Khushrenada was gathering around him for the express purpose of controlling the information that would reach Romefeller about the endeavors of their alliance on Antarctica. Even more startling was the revelation that Treize believed that the favor of God had passed from himself to the Gundam pilots and Zechs! Heero listened again, eyes closed. He thought he could almost picture Khushrenada, or at least see him as a man with lofty and high ideals, but who had been swept aside by the baser lusts for power in the breasts of his superiors... Now, seeing how the tides were shifting, Treize was scrambling to make some contribution, to atone for the massively critical error at New Edwards... to assist his old friend in a path that had been... perhaps only for a time... removed from his control. Trowa, hearing that Zechs was adamant about not giving orders to the Gundam pilots, and hearing Treize himself say that he was now taking orders from Zechs, felt his head spinning... and looked with wonder at Heero, who had been the calmest of anyone in this room through the whole thing. //He's not angry, not one little bit... yet he suffered from what Treize did more than anyone. Is the evidence truly that good? What are you thinking, Heero??// But Trowa himself was feeling calmer, though still focused on Quatre, who seemed substantially more relaxed. Finally Heero shut the machine off and retrieved his disk, then went and sat down. "Zechs, do you trust Treize?" Zechs, subdued, glanced over. "No. I can't afford to. This alliance is too important. I told you this - that's why I have my great-uncle, Marquis Weyridge, watching him." Heero placed the disk flat on the table with a slap. "Treize said there was one word which you should use when speaking to us about his involvement, Zechs. Tell them what that one word is." Nodding, Zechs took a deep breath. "He said to speak of atonement." "Atonement," Heero echoed. He bowed his head briefly. "I understand." "Heero?" Trowa inquired, bewildered. //He's not... no...// Heero looked up at Quatre, who was watching him a little fearfully, aquamarine eyes wide. "I'm joining GAIA," he said quietly and confidently, "because they are trying to make a better world..." He jerked a thumb toward Zechs and Duo. "And because Treize Khushrenada offers himself to be used for that purpose. This..." And now he gestured around the whole table at them all. "This is what we must do now for peace in the colonies, in the Earthsphere." "Yes, this is about peace, Heero," Quatre said, softly, if not a little sharply. Heero's announcement surprised him. Heck, it surprised everyone in the room. He could sense that. But the blond boy wanted desperately to accept Heero into their alliance. It was his dream to have an alliance of all the Gundam pilots. "You spoke of Treize's atonement. You of all people should be most reluctant to accept that, but I see that you have." He paused for a moment, considering this further. //Has he forgiven Treize for New Edwards? It doesn't matter... we need Heero to tip the scales of this war in our favor.// "This is good news then... that you will join us and help us to achieve peace. Thank you, Heero, and welcome." Heero didn't respond. //The Noventa family forgave me. If Treize is sincere, then he deserves forgiveness... until he betrays us. Then I will beat Zechs to the side of his scheming so-called friend and slake the steps of the Romefeller Foundation headquarters with his blood... for the Noventas.// Trowa had been on the verge of screaming at Heero again when Quatre spoke up. //We're betrayed again and Heero wants to join them? Quatre cares only for the alliance - is he blinded to the dangers here?// His emerald eyes flicked once to the Wing pilot, but it was no use. Trowa Barton was doubting everything now... even his lover. //What's the truth? I don't know what the truth is here. Do I trust Quatre?// For now, the only response he could think of to make was to keep silent. "You knew before you played those tapes that you were joining us," Duo said, accusingly, shaking his head at Heero. He was none too pleased at the pain the other boy had caused Zechs by doing so, and truly wondered at its purpose. "I never would have pegged you for an entertainer... and that was one hell of a performance. I don't suppose you'd care to apologize..." He trailed off, realizing his words were going on deaf ears. "You needed to understand the danger Zechs put us all in," Heero murmured unexpectedly. "And understand why a risk like this is worth taking." He stared ahead of him, focused on nothing, arms crossed over his chest. Duo shook his head again. "I guess the end justifies the means," he said, sarcastically. //But we need him in this alliance. I can't screw this up for everyone...// "Oh, what the hell. I'm glad you've finally come to your senses and are joining us!" Heero nodded and seemed to unfreeze a little. Zechs, watching him closely, had the thought that Heero himself had feared rejection. It would explain his closed expression, his defensive posture. "Good to have your on the team," Federi was murmuring, still shaken by all that had happened. "You're a fine pilot." "Thanks," Heero muttered, then glanced the way of Trowa. The pilot of Heavyarms was too quiet, still seeming to seethe in silence at all that had been going on behind the scenes. //There could be trouble here yet...// "Yes, welcome, Heero!" Noin exclaimed and then looked down the table to Zechs. "Well, you did it. I can hardly believe it, but you've actually formed an alliance with the Gundam pilots. Congratulations, Zechs." Noin was still a little dazed. Only a few days ago, she had been carrying out Zechs's orders to bring the pilot of 01 to him to do battle again. And now they were all in a new alliance. //He needed to break from OZ and to ally with the Gundams... and he needed someone like Duo. Looks like his life is right on track for once.// Zechs himself was still stunned. "Thank you, Noin," he murmured quietly, then looked over at Heero. "And thank you, Heero... for listening to those recordings with an open mind. Although I could seriously take you to task for your methods of presentation..." He chuckled weakly. "But then you'd have every right to take me to task for my persistently awful timing." He squeezed Duo's hand in his lap, grateful for the contact. "Then we're even," Heero replied smoothly, as always, unsmiling. "Suits me just fine." "So," Trowa spoke up suddenly, anger still in his voice, stained with sarcasm now, "was that the *good* news or do we have some other surprise to look forward to?" All eyes went to Zechs, but the commander only gestured to Heero. The less focus on him, the better, he believed. "Hn," Heero made a noise, accepting the pass-off. "It seems that the entire world and the Romefeller Foundation now believes that a large OZ fleet on maneuvers in the vicinity of Antarctica perished this morning without a single survivor due to a massive ice storm caused by sunspot activity. All data received from the fleet as well as meteorological data support this conclusion." "What?" Trowa said, stunned further... the fight beginning to drain out of him. "The whole fleet was reported destroyed by an ice storm?" Quatre asked, his eyes wide with the news. "How can that be? No word of the Gundams? Of the battle?" He looked to Zechs. "Does this have anything to do with Treize?" "Wow, that'd be some magic trick if it did," Duo added, looking up at his lover. //I sure hope you know what you're doing involving Treize like this.// "Treize's faction altered the data and doctored the few video transmissions of the battle," Zechs responded, nodding at Quatre first, then glancing at his lover. "He'd told me he was going to do that beforehand, though I wasn't ready to believe he could pull that off until he actually did, which is why I didn't mention it to you, Duo." He smiled a little at him, hoping to ease the sting of that omission. "Why?" Trowa demanded, less venomous, but still suspicious. "Why was that necessary?" "To prevent our being discovered," Heero put in soberly. "Yes," Zechs confirmed. "Treize said he couldn't stop that fleet from attacking, since they were Inspector Acht's and not truly OZ. But he said he could keep Romefeller from learning about us... at this time. And he has kept his word." "Zechs," Federi spoke up quietly. "This is something I've been meaning to ask, and what everyone has been wondering on the base... what now? What's the plan?" Zechs smiled faintly. "Ah, the purpose for our meeting. Well, one of them, for I did intend all this to come out anyway. The plan... is what we need to discuss. My only thought was to work toward building our alliance for a time, perhaps a month, before we confront Romefeller for real, even in name only. In that month - while Treize keeps Romefeller in the dark, which he has promised to continue to do - I believe it would be a good idea to upgrade the mobile suits - all of them - for outer space. We may be needed there soon. There's just one problem." "Outer space? But we only just got to Earth..." Duo said, sounding a bit disappointed. He wasn't really protesting the idea, but rather revealing his new-found enjoyment of the Earth. After all, he'd made new friends and found a beautiful lover here. But though the Earth had much to offer, if the war moved to outer space then so would Duo. Zechs sighed, rubbing his thumb over Duo's fingers as if to anchor himself further. "We have the skills to retrofit the Gundams for outer space. What we don't know yet is what more we need to do to them to ensure that they will be able to defeat Romefeller's mobile dolls, for that is what we will be fighting for the most part in the future. That could take upgrading which we don't have the expertise for. If only we had someone who'd worked on Gundams already..." "Hey, I know a guy," Duo said, excitedly, realizing he had the solution to this problem. "He helped me with my Gundam when..." He was about to tell them about the time Heero stole parts from his Gundam, but in the spirit of the new alliance he decided not to. "Anyway, he's a genius when it comes to Gundams. Professor G told me about him... His name is Howard." Quatre turned to Trowa, placing his hand over the other boy's. "Are you all right, Tro?" he asked, whispering, so as not to disturb the discussion. His lover was certainly emitting a range of emotions from anger to confusion to hurt. "I need you to be all right with this." "Yeah," Trowa murmured, glancing down at their hands. "Just a lot to get used to. I'm fine." "That's wonderful, Duo, " Zechs was saying, smiling a little more easily now. "You'll have to try to get in contact with him. Hope he doesn't mind the cold." "Uh, that might be a problem. He works off an island in the Pacific Ocean and he likes to wear shorts and Hawaiian shirts. Somehow I can't see him wearing a parka!" Duo said, laughing, remembering the quirky scientist. "We'll have to hope the prospect of working with the Gundams is enough of a lure to convince him to come to our cold, adopted continent anyway," Zechs murmured, enjoying seeing his lover relax after all the tension of just a few minutes ago. "What about the Aries?" Federi asked. "Maybe the Aries pilots could help me steal some Tauruses to strengthen our ranks?" Noin suggested. "That would be excellent," Zechs responded. "Which reminds me of another concern..." He glanced at Duo. "It's been brought to my attention that this base reeks too much of OZ to be truly comfortable to the Gundam pilots." After exchanging a knowing glance with him, he looked at the group again. "Any suggestions?" Although he had ideas, he wanted to shift focus off himself again. //I do not want to lead this little band of rebels. It wouldn't be prudent...// "New uniforms would be a good start," Noin said, remembering Trowa's uneasy reaction to the OZ uniforms before the battle that morning. "There's a supplier I trust in Capetown. I could contact him right away. Any objections?" "Yeah, I have one. I'm not wearing a uniform," Duo snorted. The idea of uniforms was just a tad too close to regular army for his tastes. He loved the look of a certain special someone in a uniform, but he couldn't quite picture himself in one. "So, it doesn't matter to me what you do." Quatre cocked his head, grinning and chuckling a little at his friend's remark. He knew Duo was joking, if only a little. "You never know, Duo, you just might look good in a uniform." When the other boy only shrugged, as if to say he might still be persuaded, Quatre decided to pursue the idea of uniforms further. "How about if I help you Ms. Noin? Maybe we could design a symbol for GAIA?" "That's very generous of you Quatre. I'd appreciate the help," she said. She assumed that the ex-OZ personnel would be more than agreeable to uniforms, in fact, would probably work better if they had one, but she wondered about the two other Gundam pilots. "What about you?" she asked, nodding to Heero and Trowa. "Are either of you uncomfortable with wearing a uniform?" Trowa was staring at his lover, imagining him wearing some sort of soldier's uniform. //Tasty...// "Yeah, that might not be so bad... I can handle that..." "Really?" Quatre asked, raising an eyebrow at Trowa. His lover's sudden enthusiasm surprised him, but then he also understood the appeal of uniforms. //I'll have to make a point of suggesting short jackets... for morale purposes.// "Um... yeah," Trowa repeated, the corner of his mouth curving every so slightly. The curve of his lover's lips stirred Quatre's libido. //Oh, my wild Tiger... is that what's on your mind?// He nudged the boy under the table with his foot, but didn't make eye contact. //Looks like another fun evening...// "I don't have any opinions either way," Heero stated flatly. "I might wear one and I might not." "Noin, Quatre," Zechs spoke up, amused by the reactions, "thanks for volunteering. And Heero, I think a new interface design for the computer system would be a helpful addition to our de-OZifying efforts, don't you?" "That's fine," Heero muttered, but a twitch to his mouth revealed that he was pleased to be involved. "I'll do it." "You're going to let Heero design the new program?" Duo asked, playfully. "That's scarier than leaving it the old OZ way." He laughed, but no one else joined in. Quatre and Trowa were too "distracted" and Heero was just too damn serious for his own good. "I'm joking!" "Yeah," Heero murmured. "Do you think you can write a better program interface, Duo?" He looked over at the long-haired pilot finally. "Oh, I don't know... But then if I did write a better program would that mean you'd have to start taking on some of *my* responsibilities in the alliance?" Duo asked, a look of pure curiosity on his face. "You'd have to start telling jokes... and I think that'd freak everyone out." There were a couple of muffled sounds at that, as most of them suppressed laughter at Duo's playful teasing. Zechs sighed happily. //He does have this way about him... this is good for us. We've been so serious...// Duo looked at Heero from under his chestnut bangs, watching the tight face across the table from him, and chuckling under his breath. //What would it take to crack that veneer?// "It's okay, Heero, really. You can write the program. Besides I have the satisfaction of knowing that I matched you blow-for-blow on that computer simulation today." //Figures he'd bring that up.// "I'm glad I provided you with such enjoyable entertainment," Heero replied dryly. "Of course, there will have to be a rematch... that is, if you really think you can beat me twice." The other boy laughed. //God, he hates to lose. Even in a stupid game!// "A rematch is just fine by me. Hey, I'll even let you make the first strike... if you think it'll help." "That won't be necessary," Heero replied. //I won't mention that I beat Heero as well,// Zechs was thinking, listening to the exchange. //Or that I want a rematch with him just as much...// Just then he looked over at the Wing pilot, who glanced back at him at the same time... and a knowing look went between them. Oh, yeah, there would be a rematch. Duo noticed the silent exchange and cringed. //It's just competitiveness, Maxwell, nothing more...// he tried to reassure himself. But then why did he feel so left out... so irrelevant suddenly? //They have this *thing* for fighting each other that's all...// Quatre shook his head at his fellow Gundam pilots. "Surely you two are better than this? Challenging each other like a pair of school kids... like if you lose to the other your pride will be taken away," he said, chuckling. He was quite pleased actually that Heero and Duo seemed to be getting along... in a manner of speaking. //If they're willing to play a game together they can't dislike each other too much.// Zechs shifted in his chair, suddenly discomfited though by what he had no idea. //Take away... pride... better than this... where have I heard that before?// The words seemed simple, even innocent, so why should he feel such a chill? He dismissed it immediately.
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