Merry Christmas to You
By: Madisonne
Part: 1/? (I know how the story is going to go, but not how many parts it will take!)
Warnings: Yaoi, angst, sap
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does NOT belong to me... (Damn, damn, damn...) No infringement on the rights of the owners of said anime intended. Don't sue me, suing isn't nice. As for the fic, don't steal it! Criticism accepted (feed me feed-back at Fire_Elf_Rei@hotmail.com!!!), flames laughed at.
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"Two steps... I can make it. Just two steps more... Wait, no, I lied. Ten steps... I can make it..." He puffed as he trudged along in the snow.
* * Mean-while * *
"Five steps... I can make it. Just five steps more... Wait, no, I lied. Thirteen steps... I can make it..." He sighed as he dragged himself through the thick snow, cursing his injuries. Suddenly, the beacon of hope he'd been searching for found him, the sight of the safe-house he'd seen on his radar. Crying out, he crawled with renewed passion towards the small heaven.
* * * * *
"Shit. I've got snow everywhere and I'll bet I'm gettin' frostbite. Isn't this just lovely?" He snorted. "If I'm any more sarcastic, I think I'll die." He saw a dark form in the distance. "Can it be?!! Sweet mother of Christ, I think I've found it!!!" He started to race lopsidedly in the snow towards the house.
* * * * *
"Well, you're at the door, but you can't get in because your fingers won't work. Greeeeeeeeeeeeeat... This is just how I wanted to spend my goddamn Christmas Eve. Out here in the fucking snow. Freezing my fucking ass off." He grumbled as he attempted to pry open the door. His head shot up as he heard approaching footsteps.
The person halted, just five feet from him. "What the hell are you doing here? Why aren't you back where you belong?"
'He thinks I'm some child...' He thought, amused. "One might ask you the same question. I'm here to dry off and warm up for the night."
He was silent a minute. "How did you get the coordinates of this place?"
"I was sent them by my superiors."
'Oh, well it looks like SOMEbody (*Cough* Heero *Cough*) did a great job finding an unknown place...' He looked the man over, assessing his status. "Well, as long as we're both here, we might as well both get warm..."
The man blushed. "Well, yeah, but... I can't open the door. My fingers don't seem to be working..."
The other cursed, walking up to the door. He attempted to turn the knob, but it was locked. He sighed, then kicked the door in.
The man tried to get up and walk in, but found himself unable to do so.
It was then that the other realized how badly his impromptu house-mate had been hurt. Cursing softly, he went back outside and picked up the man and carried him into the house, depositing him in front of the cold fire-place. He sifted through his pack, coming up with his first-aid kit. He turned back to his "patient". "I suppose we need to get all those layers off you..." He knelt by the man and helped him take off this three coats, five scarves, two pairs of gloves, and a hat, revealing a still soggy-looking man. Sighing, he stripped him down to his undershirt and boxers, the only layer which was somewhat dry.
With the clothing out of the way, he saw two startling things, one, the identity of his patient, and two, the extent of his injuries. "Well... Fuck."
The man looked up sharply. "Is it that bad?"
"Well, it's pretty bad, but that's not all. You... You're..."
"Zechs Merquise. And you?"
"Well, that's where the bad part comes in. Gundam pilot 02, Duo Maxwell." He sighed heavily.
The man looked thoughtful. "Well, that would put a damper on our relationship, now wouldn't it?"
Duo snorted. "Yeah." He paused for a sec, listening to the wind blow. "You think we're gonna make it?"
"Honestly?"
He nodded.
"No."
"Well then, I suppose it doesn't matter which side we're on if death is in store. So let's take a look at those wounds." He re-located the kit he'd set aside, and upon opening it, he settled down beside his impromptu patient.
An hour later saw Zechs' wounds patched up to the best of Duo's ability.
"How bad is it, doctor?" Zechs asked, half joking.
Duo wrinkled his nose. "Well, your arm was pretty torn up, but it patched up nicely. I'd expect only a minimum of scarring. The other lacerations were nasty-looking, but not too bad once they were cleaned up. Your legs, well... That's another story." He turned away, unable to look in his former enemy's eyes.
"What about my legs?" He asked, slightly panicked. When Duo didn't answer, he propped himself up on his good arm and stared at the boy. "You can't hide the truth from me, and you'll only end up hurting me if you don't tell me..."
Duo sighed. "It's pretty bad. The bones splintered in various places... I really can't tell you anything more. All I could do for them was disinfect them and wrap them against infection."
"Well fuck, to quote you."
Duo snorted. "Hungry? There were a few nutrient bars in the first-aid kit. I suppose we should ration them, but since we're not... Gonna make it..." He broke up, tears springing to his eyes.
Zechs flopped back down. "Might as well make the most of it. Even if nutrient bars taste like salty cardboard..."
"Damn snow..."
"Yeah. Well, we could look at the bright side, little kids all over this part of the earth got their white Christmas."
Duo snorted. "It's ironic. The one day I still find sacred, I get stuck here in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do..."
"You can always talk to me!"
A swift glance at the older boy showed him that Zechs was kidding. "Greeeeeeeeeaaaaat." He joked back, then turned to look out the window. "Do you think they'll even look for us?"
"I know my people will, but they'll wait for the snow to clear. We'll be long gone by then."
Duo nodded. "I annoy them so much when I'm there, they'll probably thank their lucky stars for peace and quiet."
"What do you mean, 'annoy'?"
"Nothing... Well, I guess I just feel that they get upset with me... Heck, I don't just feel that way, I know it! Yuy's taken the liberty to tell me that... Often. I'm used to being called an idiot or loud-mouth. I guess talking and making noise is just how I forget about... What I do..." He stared out into the blinding snow.
Zechs was silent.
"I suppose you're going to do the same, call me an idiot and tell me to stop talking. Don't feel bad about it..."
"I sort of like having someone around to talk with... I don't get to just talk to anyone anymore. Everything I discuss with someone is related in some direct way to the wars. I never have time to just chat anymore. I guess I miss it..."
"So you won't yell at me and call me an idiot if I babble on for hours on end?!!"
Zechs smiled and shook his head.
"Yay! The rest of the guys should be as cool as you!" Duo grinned. "And you actually listen to what I say! I mean, sometimes Wufei will listen, but not often, and certainly not about regular day-to-day stuff!"
"I understand."
"So, what a way to spend the Christmas holidays, ne?"
"Jeez, really. Did you have anything special planned for the occasion?"
"Me? Nah, not really... I think Quatre was planning on some sort of celebration at one of his mansions, but I guess I'll never know now. What about you?"
"Nope..."
"No family to go home to or anything?"
"Not really. I was planning on just celebrating with a few close friends and letting the day drift by. Just the same as every year before."
"Well, this should make for a nice change!"
Zechs scoffed. "Yeah, if you fancy freezing to death..."
"Hey, beats sitting around, listening to Wufei rant, and being bored to tears."
"Well, if you put it that way... Maybe it's not so bad." He looked over at Duo, who was beginning to shiver. "You should get out of your wet clothes. Don't want to get frost-bite!"
Noticing the chills coursing through his body, he nodded and took off his first layer of clothes. After doing that, he realized that the rest of his clothes were soaked too. "Uhm... I've got a problem."
"What's that?"
"All my clothes are soaked."
"So? We're both guys. It doesn't matter, I mean, modesty is probably the least most important thing right now."
"Yeah, you're right..." Duo admitted, digging through his pack. "Aha!" He held up his new-found make-shift ensemble, a chenille blanket. He quickly stripped off the rest of his clothes, then wrapped the blanket around himself.
"You're still shivering. We should get you into bed." He looked around the cabin to see the very small, twin-sized bed in the corner. He gestured over to it. "Go, warm up. I'll just hang out here."
Duo gave him a skeptical look.
"Oh, go on! It's not like I'm going anywhere!"
"Alright..." Duo acquiesed. "But not until after I get this fire lighted." He did so, quite efficiently, then sank into the bed, still shaking.
Ten minutes passed by in which the only sounds were Duo's harsh breathing and the fire crackling merrily, as if unaware of the peril its creators were in.
"Zechs, you still awake?"
"Mm?" He stopped dozing long enough to give that articulate response.
"You should be the one up here, man! You're the injured one!"
Zechs woke completely during the last. "Hey, it's alright! I'll just sleep here."
"No, it's not right!"
"You can't be out of that bed or you'll get pneumonia."
"And you can't be out of that bed because you're injured." He scooted over experimentally. "There's enough room for both of us here." He got out of bed and walked over to Zechs. "Let's just get you moved over..." He lifted the deceptively light pilot and carried him to the bed. "There ya go!" He pulled the covers up underneath his "patient's" chin. "See, all tucked in!"
Zechs wrinkled his nose at him. "I'm not a child, you know. I could have done all that by myself."
Duo looked over to the fire-place. "You mean to tell me that you could have gotten yourself from there to here. I don't think so."
Zechs gauged the distance in a glance. "Well, alright... Maybe I couldn't have gotten all the way over here... But still..."
"But still nothin'."
He sighed in mock-exasperation.
Duo sat down on the other side of the bed, both boys scooting as far from the other as humanly possible. "Well, better get some sleep. Merry Christmas to you."
Zechs snorted. "Yep, right back at you. G'night."
He yawned. "Night..."
Minutes passed, but neither got any closer to sleep. Slowly, and unknowingly, the two inched closer and closer to each other, until their hands touched. Both jumped back at the touch, hastily apologized, and scooted back over to their respective sides. This happened three times before Duo sighed in exasperation and sat up. "Look, we're gonna die, right?"
Zechs nodded.
"So what should it matter if we share the same bed? And it'll be warmer if we're not hanging half on, half off the bed."
Zechs nodded, although much more hesitantly.
"So, come here." He opened up his arms.
Not sure whether or not to accept the invitation, he bit his lip and stayed put.
"Don't be silly..." He scooted over to the other, not wanting to have to coax him out of his theoretical shell. He threw his arms around him, slightly unnerved by the shaking eminating from the man in his arms. "It's just a comfort, something to ease the pain, ya know, all that psycho-babble stuff..."
At the last sentence, Zechs froze, his eyes going wide yet unseeing.
"Uh, Zechs? Zechs? Snap out of it, man!" Duo waved his hand in front of the fixed eyes.
"Wha'? Oh, sorry..." He ducked his head to hide his blush.
"What's wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing..."
"You're lying."
He frowned. "Why would I lie? I told you, nothing's wrong."
Duo caught his chin and forced him to look up at him. "No, something is wrong, I can tell. I won't let you go into a reclusive little shell, I've seen too many people use that to avoid dealing with their problems. And it doesn't help, it only hurts."
At that, Zechs broke into tears, burying his face in the front of Duo's shirt, who, in response, tightened his arms around him. When he had calmed down enough to be comprehensible, he began. "I-I suppose this is v-very silly, but... That's the same thing he told me, that it was just comfort. The thing is, it wasn't comfort to me... An-and I really didn't want to, but I kept telling myself that I couldn't say no because he was my superior and I k-kept hoping he'd be right, that it would yield some comfort, but it didn't... Not ever."
"I'm sorry, you're not making any sense. Why don't you start at the beginning?"
He took a deep breath. "It all started about a year after I joined OZ, I met him and we became friends. Those were the great days, we joked and laughed all the time, but then, he... Became serious? He didn't laugh as much anymore. I wanted desperately to help him feel better, it scared me to see him so unhappy. Well, one day he came to me and asked me to help him. He told me it would make us both happy, ease the pain, provide comfort... I didn't want to, but I never said no..."
"But you didn't say yes?"
"No, I never said yes... And it just kept on getting worse and worse, he'd come to me more and more frequently..."
"Zechs, you do realize that what happened was rape?"
He looked up sharply. "No, it wasn't, I mean..."
"You never said yes, that makes it rape."
He frowned as he thought about. "But he didn't think it was, I mean, I know he wouldn't have done that if had known..."
"I understand... It's bad for both of you and once he realizes that it was, I can suspect he'll feel horrible."
"He'll... He'll, gods I don't know, do something rash..."
"You should talk to him, let him know what you feel and tell him you don't blame him for anything. I think it could make a big difference in how he... Accepts it when he realizes what he's done."
"I... I don't want to cause any trouble..."
"Trust me, it will be worse if you don't talk to him about it."
"I do..."
"What?"
"I mean, I do trust you."
Duo was silent for a minute. "You know, that's the first time any one has said they trusted me... It's kinda... Nice."
He laughed softly in response. "Understood. Our jobs don't really lend themselves to reliability... You could have to kill your best of friends at a moment's notice. That's the really scary thing about this damn war."
"I trust you too..."
"Well, I suppose you would have to trust me to sleep in the same bed as me, your 'enemy'." Zechs snickered ironically.
"May I?" Duo's hand paused just above Zechs' hair.
He nodded, and felt the hand tangle in and smooth out his hair. Slowly, he felt his muscles relax one by one.
"It's amazing..."
Zechs raised an eyebrow.
Duo caught the question in his eyes. "How relaxing this can be."
"Anymore and I think I'll turn into a little puddle of mush..."
He laughed. "Well, if you want me to stop...?" He untangled his hand from the silky strands.
Zechs caught his hand and stopped it from being completely removed. "No, don't stop."
"Okay, I won't!" He laughed quietly at his bed-mate's actions.
"You'd better not."
Duo laughed at the mock-serious look on Zechs' face. "You look really cute when you make that face."
He wrinkled his nose at him.
Duo leaned towards his 'enemy', hesitating in his next course of action. The unsure, but anticipatory look on Zechs' face decided for him. He closed the distance between them, touching their lips in a feathery-soft kiss. He pulled away, uncertainty and embarrassment clear in his eyes.
Zechs frowned slightly and put one pale hand up to his lips, as if checking to see if the kiss had actually happened.
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... I just..." Zechs silenced him by put one hand against his mouth.
"It-It's alright... I sorta... Sorta liked it..." He ducked his head in embarrassment.
Duo's eyes lit up. "So, you, uh, wanna do it again?"
Zechs thought about it, then nodded his head enthusiastically, causing Duo to snicker lightly.
"So ya liked that? Mm-hmm... How about a little of this?" He leaned over and kissed him again, this time not so lightly.
When they finally realized that taking in oxygen was indeed more important for survival than kissing was and separated, they were both grinning widely.
"Thought you'd like that..." Duo managed to pant, sitting back up.
Zechs mock-growled at him and pulled him back down on top of him.
"Just a second..." Duo frowned. "If, at any time, you want me to stop, just tell me and I will. No matter what."
Zechs thought about this. "Shut up and get to work."
* * * * *
Duo laughed as he laid tangled in the sheets with one of the most dangerous men in the world, heck, in the universe, in his arms. "We forgot the nutrient bars..."
Zechs gave him a funny look. "I think this beat any nutrient bar anyday."
Duo smiled and shook his head. "G'night Zechs."
"It's already morning."
He stuck his tongue out at him. "Go to sleep."
"Aa, you know you love me..." He fell asleep in the middle of his sentence.
Duo smiled again. "I know, and I do."
* * * * *
Zechs raised his head as he heard the sound of a helicopter's blades cutting through the cold morning air. Then he heard a snow-mobile's engine in the distance. He nudged Duo, who woke up almost immediately. "It seems they did find us."
Duo listened, relief evident on his face. "Good, I didn't really fancy dying..."
"Uh, we're going to have to make sure the opposing sides don't see us."
Duo frowned, thinking about it. "I'll sneak out the back and meet the guys, then you can stay in here and let your people find you."
"Why should you have to suffer the cold?"
"Because you're hurt. Badly. Now don't argue, we don't have a lot of time." He hopped out of bed, pulled on his still slightly wet clothes. Once he had collected all his stuff, he walked back to the bed where Zechs had managed to sit up and was watching him. "So, I suppose this is good-bye..."
Zechs motioned for him to sit next to him. "I want to thank you, for everything."
"You're welcome, and thank you for trusting me." He squeezed Zechs' hand and began to stand up. "One last thing, the 'superior', it was Treize, wasn't it?"
Zechs nodded.
Duo leaned over and kissed his fore-head. "Goodbye Zechs." He walked outside to the blinding white snow and his friends.
"Merry Christmas to you, Duo." Zechs smiled and waited for the helicopter to land and the medics to come pouring out to find him.
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