Wild Roses
Chapter Eight
Mid-October AC-190
Lake Victoria Military Academy
Zechs woke from a deep, dead sleep to the sensation of his bed rocking and tilting underneath him and a gentle hand brushing his hair out of his face.
"Hello, sweetie," a quiet voice murmured from somewhere nearby. "Is everything alright?"
Rolling onto his back, and into the source of heat behind him, the blond opened his eyes and looked up into the worried face of his room-mate. "Otto?"
"Hi, gorgeous," the other cadet confirmed with a warm smile.
"What are you doing here? You weren't meant to be coming back until the weekend, were you?"
Removing his hand from Zechs's hair, Otto shrugged dismissively but something flashed across his face. "I caught an earlier flight – thought I'd surprise you, love. Are you okay? It's a little early to be in bed, isn't it?"
Zechs sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, I'm fine," he insisted, giggling a little. "I was just trying to sleep off the vodka Treize has been feeding me all evening." He ducked his head apologetically. "I don't think it's worked though. Sorry!"
"I don't mind. You're cute when you're drunk, hon," Otto replied, then put his head on one side and smiled. "So, what did tall, hot and dashing want with you?"
Zechs shook his head at the other cadet's irreverent description of their teacher. "Just… stuff. What time is it anyway?"
Otto glanced at his wristwatch, then stood up and made his way across the room so he could drop his duffle on his own bunk. "Ten to nine," he murmured, shooting a grin over his shoulder as he unzipped his bag and began to pull folded clothes out of it. "Go back to sleep if you want, love. I'll try to keep it to a dull roar. I'm probably going to go out later anyway."
Zechs shook his head, rubbed his eyes again and swung his feet to the floor by his bed. "I'd rather not. If I go back to sleep now, I'll be awake again at four am. Need a hand unpacking?" he asked, eyeing the size of the bag warily.
Otto chuckled. "If you want to slave for me, be my guest, angel, but don't feel that you have to. It's my own fault that I can't pack for toffee." Rich brown eyes sparkled with amusement. "I am such a cliché sometimes! Typical gay man – more luggage than any woman, just because my shoes absolutely have to match my shirt!"
Zechs snorted and stood up. The alcohol still in his system made him sway in place for a moment, but then he got his balance and moved across the room to pick up the first of the discarded clothes. Folding the spare uniform trousers neatly, he hung them back in the narrow wardrobe to one side of Otto's bunk.
Returning to the pile on the bed, he ruminated on the fact that Otto seemed to have more clothes than any other cadet at the Academy. One of Zechs's earliest memories of the other boy was coming into the room at the start of the first year to hear him bewailing the lack of storage space.
That first impression hadn't left Zechs overly fond of his new roommate. Having pegged Otto as a dizzy, spoiled aristocrat's son – one who had probably only applied to join the Specials in the first place because he thought it would be 'cool' – Zechs had been stunned at the personality switch Otto employed when he was on-duty. In class, in training, in any situation that called for it, the bitching queen persona vanished as though it didn't exist, to be replaced by a consummate, controlled professional.
Having won the soldierly respect of his secretive, blond bunkie, Otto had proved persistent in his attempts to make theirs a proper friendship. He'd even gone so far as to stay up all night once in an attempt to catch Zechs without the shielding glasses he took off only after all the lights had been switched off, and put on again the moment he woke up, before he switched any light on.
Gradually, Zechs had let down some of his wary guard and begun forging a steady connection with the other cadet, just as he was with Noin. By the end of their first year, Zechs had two close friends, and, by extension, a circle of casual acquaintances.
The blond grimaced as he tried to cram yet another shirt into Otto's over-stuffed wardrobe, then gave it up, took it across the room and hung it in his own half-empty closet instead.
Otto looked up to see what he was doing and broke into a beaming grin. "Oh, sweetie! Thank you!"
"I'm tired of getting pulled up on room inspection because you have your clothes hanging off all the door handles," Zechs explained, smiling back. "Besides, if it ends up in my wardrobe, you probably won't notice when I get round to borrowing it some time."
"Is that the reason for your altruism?" Otto cast Zechs a speculative glance, then shook his head. "You're right, love, I probably won't notice. But not that one, eh?" He hunted randomly through the piles still strewn across his bed and shoved a pale blue something at Zechs. "If you have to resort to theft, thieve that one." He gave the taller boy a slow smile. "Goes with your eyes, hon," he purred.
Zechs felt himself blushing, and he turned away so the dark haired cadet wouldn't see.
Between them, they finished sorting through Otto's luggage in silence. Finally Otto picked up the neat bag that held his toiletries and headed for the bathroom. "I'll just put these in the cabinet, and then you can tell me what you've been getting up to in my absence."
Zechs nodded and suddenly remembered the events of the morning. "Otto!" he called, stopping the other cadet before he could get halfway across the dorm.
"What?" Otto asked, looking alarmed.
"You need to be careful in the bathroom. I broke a glass in there this morning, and I might not have got all the shards when I was cleaning it up. I don't want you to cut yourself."
"Oh, right, thanks. I'll watch where I stand then." The dark-haired boy padded into the bathroom, and closed the door behind him.
A few seconds later Zech heard a tap turn on and realised Otto must be washing up after his flight or something. Expecting him to be a while, Zechs picked up his book and sat down in his desk chair to read.
Warm hands on his shoulders pulled him from his engrossment in the novel. "You had a bad day, gorgeous?" Otto asked quietly, his voice thrumming with concern. "That glass 'dropped' an awfully long way across the room, didn't it?"
Zechs sighed – his clean up had been half-hearted and hurried to say the least. He should have known Otto would notice something amiss. "I suppose," he admitted. "Don't worry about it."
"You sure? I can sit and listen as well as the next man, angel, if you need me to."
"No, it's nothing, really." A sudden thought occurred to Zechs and he spun the chair to look up at the other boy. "Listen, did Noin say anything to you before you went home? About something she was planning?"
Otto stared at him for a moment, and then he began to laugh. "She might have. Why, hon?"
"Because she came on to me last night, that's why. And I got the distinct impression that you knew she was going to."
Otto's chocolate eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my God! The silly chit didn't actually go through with it, did she? I wish I could have seen that!"
Zechs glared. "You might have warned me, Otto!"
The bubbling laughter cut off abruptly. "So you could fret about it for the next three months? I really didn't think she had the nerve to try it, especially after I took the piss out of the idea for an hour straight."
"Noin didn't think you were taking the piss – she thought you were seriously telling her to go for it. She cornered me in her room last night, and … well, it wasn't pretty."
Otto grinned. "It wasn't or she wasn't?"
"Stop it!" Zechs snapped. "I'm sure you think it's hilarious, but you weren't there! Noin was really upset, I've never been so embarrassed in my life, and now she thinks the two of us conspired to humiliate her!"
"Whoa, sweetie. Easy. I'm sorry – if I'd known she'd try it on, I'd have told you. I really didn't think she would. Have you spoken to her today?"
"After she threw me out of her rooms last night looking ready to kill me? I thought I'd give her today to calm down a little. Besides… I was with Treize, and…"
"Ah." Otto murmured and made for his bunk, stretching full length on it "Well, I'm sure she'll get over it. She can't stay forever as obsessed with you as she is now, especially now she knows…" he stopped and looked at Zechs. "Uh, I assume she knows you're gay now, love?"
Zechs sighed. "Yes, I told her. And Treize, for that matter."
Otto lifted his head. "Really? When did that happen?"
"Today."
"Wow. You have had a busy day, haven't you? What did he say?"
"That he wishes I'd told him sooner. Quote, 'Did you think I'd hate you for it, or something equally silly?' Unquote."
Otto smiled gently. "There you go, angel. I told you he wouldn't have a problem with it." He flopped back onto his bed for a minute or two, and then rolled to his feet. "Come out with me!"
"What?"
"I was going out anyway, remember? You should come with me. You need to celebrate, and I so need to get laid!" Otto shook his head, making his heavy brown hair wave around him. "You have no idea how much I have to behave myself when I'm at home!"
Zechs scowled. "Otto, I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Oh, come on, hon! It'll be fun – and," he added, smiling mysteriously, "I have something new to show you!"
The blond wavered, knowing it would be better for him in the long run if he went back to bed and got a decent night's sleep. Then, rational thought overridden by his tipsy state and his curiosity enticed by the mischievous excitement sparkling in his friend's eyes, he gave in and nodded. "Alright then," he agreed. "But not too late."
Treize, having spent the couple of hours since seeing Zechs to his dorm in his office working, had decided to check on the younger man before retiring to his own bed for the night.
The stress of the day and the potency of the vodka had combined to hit Zechs hard, leaving him sleepy and vulnerable. Seeing the state the younger man was sliding towards Treize had called a halt to their conversation and walked him home.
Given that Zechs had just about passed out the second his head touched his pillow, Treize had been hoping to find the cadet tucked up in his bed, sleeping soundly. He had not been expecting to find the room deserted.
A perfunctory glance round told him that Otto had probably returned from his holiday early, and he decided the two of them were probably visiting other friends somewhere on the base, or, most likely, apologising to Noin.
He was therefore somewhat surprised when he almost walked into the girl in the lobby of the cadet dorm building.
"Noin?"
Given that he was her Instructor and an Officer, she had no choice but to respond to him, but she did it looking dearly like she'd rather not. "Sir?"
"What are you doing out here on your own at this time?"
"I was… making a comm. call, sir. I know I shouldn't be out of bed, but…"
"Time differences, I presume. It's quite alright. Have you seen Zechs and Otto this evening?"
Violet eyes flashed angrily. "No! And I don't want to!" She remembered too late who she was talking to and clapped a hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry, sir!"
"Forgiven, Noin." Treize studied her closely, noting the hollow eyed look of too much crying and the droop to her shoulders. "If I may, Noin… Zechs told me what happened last night. He's very upset about it, too."
"Yes, sir…" she whispered, blushing furiously.
Treize watched her, wondering how much damage Zechs's badly handled rejection had done to the girl's confidence. It didn't take a great deal of intelligence to realise that Noin would be feeling pretty rotten about herself.
He smiled at her gently. "It took courage to approach him as directly as you did," Treize murmured. "And it's not your fault that he couldn't respond to you as you wanted. I promise you, most men would have been all over you like a bad rash after such an invite. I know you probably aren't interested in listening to me make excuses for him, but…" He shrugged. "Zechs has had a lot of trouble with admitting his preferences even to himself. He hadn't told me about them either till this evening, so I hope you'll be able to forgive him for not telling you. It's a difficult thing for him. You know he's an orphan? One of his most precious dreams was that he'd be able to have a family of his own again when he was older – and now that looks unlikely."
The girl's eyes widened, and Treize knew he was getting through to her.
"I hadn't… thought of that," she admitted.
"Well, no one would have expected you to. I get the impression that the only reason Mr Maxillian knew anything more than we did was because he guessed, rather than being told. It's not so unlikely, given that he shares the same persuasion."
"No, I suppose not."
Treize smiled down at her. "I know Zechs handled things badly last night, and I can understand that you're angry with him, but perhaps you'll forgive him someday? Your friendship means a great deal to him, I know… and, well, he's a fifteen-year-old boy. They're universally stupid creatures. I know I was."
He got a weak smile from her, as he'd intended.
"I'll think about it, sir."
"Thank you, Noin." He paused. "Now, if Zechs and Otto aren't with you, then I have to presume they've gone out somewhere. Would you have any idea where?" Seeing her about to refuse him, he smiled and swiftly concocted a half-lie. "I'm rather worried about Zechs… he hasn't been at all well today, and he shouldn't be drinking."
As he had expected, concern for Zechs overwhelmed everything else and she nodded. "If they've gone into Kampala together than they've probably gone to one of the clubs, sir. Uhm, the ones in the…" she trailed off, blushing again
Realising that she was embarrassed about telling him that Zechs and Otto were most likely in one of the cities few gay bars, Treize stopped her with a raised hand, and nodded. "Thank you, Noin. Have a good night."
She snapped off a salute and he stepped past her, heading for the Academy gates.
Mid-October AC-190
Kampala City - Uganda
Though Treize had never had reason to go anywhere near Kampala's gay village and its resident nightclubs and bars, he nonetheless had no trouble in gaining entry to any of the venues as he conducted a door to door search for Zechs and Otto.
It was surprising to him that none of the people he had spoken to had recognised the younger men. Without his uniform and dressed as casually as he was, Treize knew he didn't particularly stand out from the crowds but the same certainly wasn't true of the blond cadet.
The instructor slipped through the darkened lobby of the last nightclub he hadn't searched, a place somewhat arrogantly titled 'Pizzazz!', and paused for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness and the flare of the lights on the dance floor.
There was no way his hearing was ever going to adjust to the volume of what was passing for music.
Casting a cursory glance at his surroundings, Treize came to the conclusion that this club looked much like every other he had ever been in – chipping, grubby walls, tatty furniture, the reek of cigarette smoke and an ambient temperature hot enough that he was already beginning to sweat.
Scanning the hordes of people for Zechs's distinctive white-gold hair, Treize made his way to the bar, ordering a drink mostly for the purpose of blending in before pushing his way through the crowds again to lean on the railing that overlooked the dance floor.
He'd been there no more than a few minutes when something caught his eye, drawing his attention towards the shadows at the back of the dance floor. He focused on the spot and was rewarded by another flash of strobe lights on ghost pale hair.
Relieved that he had, most likely, found his quarry at last, Treize made his way along the length of the balcony until he could see the dimly lit space more clearly. To his surprise, it seemed to be some sort of sitting area, with half a dozen sofas, a few chairs and a couple of low tables grouped into loose formations out of direct line of sight of the dance floor and the door.
As Treize reached the top of the stairs that would take him down onto the dance floor – so he could make his way to the lounge area – the blond he was assuming was Zechs was pulled, laughing, to his feet by another man with red hair. They turned for the dance floor together and Zechs's identity was confirmed, though Treize didn't have the faintest idea who the other man was.
The instructor spared a moment to wonder about and locate Otto, found him still sitting on one of the chairs, watching the other cadet, and then Treize turned his attention back to Zechs in time to see the stranger pull the blonde's slender body into a loose embrace as the two of them began to move vaguely to the music.
Treize lost sight of the cadets as he hit the bottom of the stairs, his view blocked by the mass of people dancing. It took time to make his way through the crowds without actively shoving people out of his way, and his throat was beginning to hurt from shouting over the noise of the music before he got all the way across the floor to the far side.
Working his way into a breathing space against the wall, he turned his head slowly until he found Zechs again.
Two or three songs had been played in the time it had taken Treize to get across the club and during one of them Zechs seemed to have switched partner. The redhead he had been dancing with was nowhere to be seen – instead the blond had his arms around Otto, holding him in a considerably tighter embrace than he had allowed the stranger.
The two boys were moving to the music with more intent than Zechs had shown with the redhead as well, rocking and shifting and pressing into one another with surprising fluidity. Treize raised an eyebrow – Zechs had absolutely refused to dance at any of the Balls the instructor had taken him to over the years and the older man had assumed it was because the cadet simply couldn't. That, clearly, wasn't the case.
Treize pushed himself off the wall, intending to interrupt the two boys but before he could take more than a step or two back into the crowds, Otto and Zechs stopped their controlled writhe of a dance and kissed each other.
