"…if they made the mobile suits out of plastic, 'cause then they'd have to make the little kits out of titanium and I made a model once for my tutor out of cardboard which he…" An accusing finger wavered in the general direction of his commanding officer. "…attached a rocket to and tried to send it into space… it caught fire! But that wouldn't happen to plastic and it'd be so much cheaper…. Whaddaya think, Treize?"

Treize shook his head. "I think I'm never letting you drink again."

Zechs blinked at this, blue eyes widening as he tried to process the older man's words through the alcohol soaking his brain. "I love you," he responded eventually, seemingly unaware that this did not follow from the previous conversation at all.

From the kitchen, where she had gone to make coffee, Treize heard Noin dissolve into laughter and smiled to himself, thanking whatever gods had inspired him to move the rest of their evening back to their lodge shortly after Une's return from the restroom. It had transpired with increasing amounts of liquor that the normally taciturn pilot talked when drunk. In fact, he positively babbled, and nothing he said made any sense. Hence, his assertion that all new mobile suits should be made out of plastic.

"I do, I love you. And I love Noin and…"

"Thank you, Zechs," Noin replied, setting three cups and the pot of coffee down in the middle of the table. Treize nodded his thanks, and began pouring the rich black liquid into the cups, pushing one of them, without sugar or cream, towards the younger man. "Drink that, Zechs."

"Huh? Alright. I love Noin… but I don't think I love anyone else. I pretend that I do, 'cause I have to, see, but I don't – the only people I really love are you two…"

Noin choked on her coffee, wiping at her eyes as she howled with laughter. "God, sir, make him stop. It hurts!"

Treize watched her with gentle eyes, wondering if he'd ever been young enough to giggle at the antics of a friend like that. In an organisation that was becoming increasingly elitist and claustrophobic, Noin, with her straight-forward manner and willing smile, was a much-needed breath of air, as she had been since he'd met her as a cadet willing to tell her commander to stop being prejudiced because she was female. He hoped nothing ever happened to change her, and as he looked at her he made a decision about her future.

"I don't think anything is going to stop him until he's sober again, Lucrezia."

"Well, thank God Lady Une went to bed. I don't think she'd have appreciated this much."

"Almost certainly not. You don't have to stay up – I can manage him."

"It's alright, sir, I'm enjoying myself. It's… nice seeing him so relaxed."

Treize smiled. "It is, but I'm going to have to find another way. If I'd known he was going to go on like this…!"

Noin shrugged. "Everyone does something weird when they're drunk, sir. Zechs talks, I sing – it could be worse."

"How so?"

"He could get weepy, or angry… I've known a few people who were completely placid until they got drunk."

"So have I." He hesitated. "I sleep."

"I'm… sorry?"

"If I drink enough to actually become truly affected by it, I go to sleep."

Noin smiled. "Lucky you, sir," she said, somehow not surprised. It was as unusual for her commanding officer to sleep any decent amount as it was for Zechs to talk this much – some of the nastier stories suggested that the real Treize Khushrenada had never been seen, and, in fact, the organisation was figure-headed by a team of identical doubles, because there was no way one man could do everything Treize appeared to – and she couldn't imagine her commanding officer doing anything less than refined. If he had been cursed with the tendency to do anything foolish, he would never touch alcohol at all.

Treize shrugged, sipping his own coffee. "I suppose it could be worse, but there have been times… especially before I had any tolerance for alcohol. I'm told I fell asleep stood up once, at one of my parents' parties. I was fourteen, on leave from the Academy, and they'd decided I was allowed to drink with dinner. Sparkling white wine and it went straight to my head."

Noin giggled, though she was a bit taken aback by the fact that he was willing to share such personal information with her.

"We should annexe this place," Zechs said suddenly.

"What?"

"Take it over… the whole region. Make it our kingdom, then we could just stay here!"

"Zechs…"

"We could make this place our Palace and…"

Treize was caught somewhere between laughter and disapproval. "I'm not sure about that, Zechs."

"Why not?" the blond asked him. "It'd make a nice palace!" He frowned, thinking. "Let's see… Noin could be a princess and Une could… uhm… I'll think of something later… and then Treize could be a Queen, and I…"

"Hey!"

Noin bit her lip, trying not to laugh at her commander's expression – clearly, he didn't appreciate the implications of that title.

Zechs smiled at him. "You'd make a good Queen – I should know!"

Treize got to his feet, moving to stand behind the younger man. Long fingers rested on slumped shoulders. "Zechs, hush. Tell me more about your idea for the mobile suits."

"But I need to…"

"You need to be quiet – before you say something you shouldn't," Treize murmured, leant down and kissed the younger man. The pilot melted into it, his body turning pliant to Treize's hold as he made some small noise in the back of his throat.

"S'nice…" he whispered.

"Yes, it is," the general confirmed, dropping to sit on the arm of the chair. "Are you tired yet?"

Zechs shook his head. "No."

"Damn."

Noin giggled, reminding Treize that she was there. He looked at her and smiled. "Lucrezia – I have a rather odd request for you."

"Yes, sir?"

"Do you know how to make hot chocolate?"

"Yes, sir."

He smiled at her again. "Would you mind? It may well be the only way we're going to get any sleep tonight…"

Noin blinked, pushing up from the table. "Sir?" she asked, but her commander merely nodded at her, the look in his eyes enigmatic. She bit off her grin. "I'll be back in a minute, sir."

Treize watched her slender figure disappear under the archway that led to the kitchen, and then turned his attention to the younger man, lifting a hand so he could run it though his heavy hair.

True to word, Noin was back rather swiftly, balancing mugs of frothed, sweet-smelling liquid on an ornate little tray. Carefully, clearly trying not to spill, she set the tray down on the table and handed two of the cups across to Treize, sighing with relief as she sipped the foam from the top of her own drink and sat down again.

Treize selected one of the mugs she had given him, seemingly at random, and pressed it into Zechs's hands in place of the empty coffee cup. "You might want to remember this trick, Lucrezia," he told her, picking up the last mug. "I have no doubt you may find it useful someday."

"What trick, sir?"

"Keep watching," he instructed and Noin, like the good soldier she tried to be, obeyed his orders. She was surprised when, scant minutes later, her classmate closed his eyes and rested his head against their commander's side, looking for all the world as though he were going to fall asleep there.

"Sir?" she asked Treize.

A gentle smile lit the general's features as he prised a half-full cup from slackening fingers before it could fall and spill all over the floor. "Know your subject, Lucrezia," he murmured. "There are only two things in this world that will put him to sleep. Being in a car is one, hot chocolate is the other – and it works every time."

"Oh," Noin replied and hoped she was hiding the swirl of her reactions from the older man. Whatever else he was, he was first and foremost her commander, and there were things she wouldn't have him see. Knowing just how much more he knew about their mutual love sent a surge of jealousy through her that made her stomach jump and all but wiped out the delight she felt at seeing the blond so unguarded. Was it fair of the universe to have given her a rival she had no hope of competing with?

Treize stood up and patted Zechs on the shoulder. "Come on, you can't sleep here."

"Hmm?"

"You can't stay here, and you've long since gotten too big for me to carry. You'll have to walk."

"Oh…" Zechs stumbled to his feet, trying to follow the instruction the older man was giving him, and made his way in a weaving line across the room to the foot of one of the staircases.

Noin snorted with laughter, her wash of jealousy gone as quickly as it had arrived. "That's cute, sir. I would never have guessed – hot chocolate as a sedative for the Lightning Baron."

"Quite. Good night, Lucrezia."

"Sir."

Graceful as he ever was, despite the fact that he had drunk far more than any of his junior officers, Treize followed the younger man up the stairs. For a minute or two, Noin stayed sat at the table, finishing her drink and thinking, then she gathered herself, cleared the cups away and turned for the second flight of steps leading to her own room.

**********************

The layout of the resort had been a good part of what had decided Treize upon it as their destination for this weekend. A group of cottages lay scattered through landscaped grounds – currently under feet of snow – connected to the main lodge by covered meandering walkways. That central building held all the luxuries of a top-class hotel, from the lavishly appointed reception area and bar to various places to eat, a ballroom for those inclined to dance, and even a small theatre.

The cottages themselves had been built with three floors and an eye to the maximum amount of privacy. The lowest level held the kitchen that Noin was so eager to try out, the dining room they had spent the latter part of the evening in, and a small, snug-seeming lounge. From a small lobby, two flights of spiralling steps rose into the upper floors of the cottage – one to the first floor and one to the second.

Noin and Une had the two bedrooms on that first floor, Zechs and Treize those on the second – though they'd likely only use one of them. The cleverness of the design ensured separation between their party, without the isolation of occupying different buildings. And, given that the stairs were carved from wood, there was no way that anyone could sneak up to the second floor without being heard. It was perfect for the general's purposes.

By the time Treize got to the top of the steps Zechs had managed to get the door to the room they had chosen open, but he hadn't turned on the light. Treize did that as he entered the room, and smiled when he caught sight of the pilot sprawled across the bed, having, the older man suspected, simply fallen onto it.

Sitting on the edge of the soft bed, the general shook his friend lightly. "Zechs, you need to change."

"What…?"

"You're still dressed. You need to change – you can't sleep in your boots!"

"Oh… no." Slowly, the blond levered himself to his feet and began to strip out of his clothes, swaying where he stood and fumbling as he pulled on what passed for his nightwear when he bothered wearing anything at all. Treize assumed that habit had developed on L2, when the pilot discovered that being in command meant that he would be woken at all sorts of hours, and that his aides wouldn't think twice about walking into his room to do it, and he smiled to himself. That, or Zechs was worried about sharing a bed with his commander.

Sure that Zechs wouldn't fall asleep half way out of his jumper, Treize turned his attention to his own nightly routine, and then climbed into the bed, pulling up the heavy covers to ward off the chill of the room. A moment later, Zechs joined him, all-but vanishing as he did so.

Treize chuckled. "Are you cold?"

"Yes!"

"Come here then." Gently he tugged on the younger man's arm until he rolled onto his side and Treize could draw them together. "Better?"

"Much…"

Tiny shifts settled them together. Treize bent his head and brushed his lips across the pilot's. "Good night, Zechs."

"…Night…"

Treize smiled, closing his own eyes as the stress of his globe hopping caught up with him. "You don't change, Zechs. Don't ever change…"

********************

A sudden lack of warmth and the sensation of the mattress moving beneath him disturbed Treize some hours later, jolting him from a deep sleep to almost-wakefulness. He rolled onto his side, folding the weight of the blankets more closely around himself and buried his head into the hollow he had made in his pillow as he sought to sink back into the vaguely erotic dream he'd been having.

From somewhere nearby, somebody gave a low moan, but the general wasn't entirely sure whether it was a part of his dream or not, and so didn't react – instead allowing himself to fall further back into the slumber his body was telling him he still needed. There were quick footsteps and then, a moment later, on the very edge of his awareness, the painful sounds of someone retching.

Something about that caught at his mind, but he was asleep again before he could chose to respond to it in any other way.

**************************

The second time Treize came up from his dreams, it was to open his eyes slowly to a room bathed in strong sunlight and stretch lazily, aware that he felt more rested than he had done in a long time. He had no idea of the time, and in all honesty, couldn't bring himself to care all that much, as he lay still for a moment, and then climbed out from beneath the sheets.

Zechs was gone, he noted, wondering absently how the younger man felt this morning. Given the state he'd been in when they went to bed, Treize doubted his friend felt well.

A tap on the door drew his attention and he crossed the room to open it. "Good morning, Lucrezia," he greeted, somehow not surprised that it was the Captain who was responsible for the hesitant rap.

"Good morning, sir… you asked me to wake you in time for breakfast?"

"Yes, thank you. I take it I should get dressed?"

Violet eyes seemed to take in his current state of dress, and then she shrugged. "I don't see why – Zechs isn't dressed yet."

"But you are, and I suspect Lady Une is, as well. It won't take me above five minutes. I'll join you shortly."

Noin smiled. "Yes, sir."

Treize closed his door behind her retreating figure and began to ready himself for the day in a hurry.

***********************

"You look shocking."

Zechs looked up from his contemplation of the contents of his coffee cup and tried to smile. "Thank you."

Treize sat down next to the younger man on the couch. "I'll take it you're hung-over?"

The blond shook his head, winced and sighed. "Probably."

"Have you eaten?" Treize asked, and snorted when his friend cringed. "You should – it does help."

"I've been telling him that all morning, sir. He won't believe me." Noin smiled at both men as she came into the room, Une behind her, and tried to hand Zechs a plate. The blond waved her away.

Treize laughed, watching the younger man pale as he caught the scent of the food she'd presented him with.

"You're enjoying watching me suffer, aren't you?" Zechs demanded, closing his eyes.

"Always," Treize murmured. He gave the younger man a moment to register the implications of that, and then smiled at him, pouring a glass of water from the jug on the table. "Here, take these." He passed the pilot the glass and a small bottle and watched as he shook out two of the tablets it held and dropped them in the water. "They should help."

Zechs swirled the glass. "Thank you," he replied and began drinking the contents.

Une leaned forward, brushing the crumbs of her croissant off her fingers. "What are we doing today, sir?"

Treize shrugged. "Whatever you chose to do, I would imagine. You need not wait for us if there's somewhere in particular you wanted to go."

Une and Noin exchanged looks.

"You wouldn't mind?" Noin asked.

"Not at all. There was a reason I hired two cars." Trieze cast a wary glance at Zechs. "I can't imagine we'll be going anywhere particularly interesting."

Noin laughed. "No, maybe not."

As one the two women stood up, and made for the stairs to collect their things, leaving with cheery calls of 'goodbye' a few minutes later.

Treize turned his attention to Zechs. "What do you want to do? We can simply go back to bed, if you wish?" To his surprise, the younger man shook his head.

"No. I don't know what was in those tablets, but they work."

Treize laughed. "Even Colonels suffer from hangovers, my friend, and yes, they do."

Zechs nodded. "Is there anything you want to do?"

Treize smiled as he stood up. "Not especially. Would you care to go to the local village? It isn't all that far."

The pilot shrugged. "Why not?"