A Dance for Two:
... And So Forth ...
By: Madisonne
Part: 2/? of 'A Dance for Two'
Warnings: Yaoi, adventure (?), sap
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing because if I did, I'd have a boy friend! :-P! 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 feedback!!!), flames laughed at.
Notes: Please please PLEASE review!!!!!! I know what I want to do with this, but I'll need review-power to get it all out!
: A very special 'thanks' goes out to the wonderful Saturn who reviewed even though Treize and Wufei weren't exactly her idea of a perfect pair! We should all bow down to her for inspiring me to continue the fic! Yay, happy reviewer! :-D
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He grimaced again as a thorn caught onto and tore at the ankle of his pants. 'Damn him to all hells with his stupid rose fetish...' He grumbled inwardly. Shaking his leg lightly to disattach himself, he continued up the lattice.
Fortunately, the window to which he was climbing had been opened to let in the cool evening air. Reaching the target, he tumbled into the room.
'Oh shit [1]...' He thought, taking in the rows upon rows of bookcases over-flowing with books of all shapes and sizes.
"You know, you could've just walked in the front door like any other normal person." A voice tinged with sarcasm intoned.
He reached for his gun.
"Now that's not very nice, Wufei. Or smart either. You should know that killing an army's prized Lieutenant is quite... For lack of a better word, stupid."
"I don't want to play any of your verbal games, Merquise." He sighed, standing all the way up.
"I see you've been talking about me with him. Don't I feel special." The sound of a book snapping shut preceded the appearance of the man behind the voice, stepping out from one of the rows. "I'm not foolish enough to think you came all the way here just to banter with me, so why don't I show you the way to where you really want to be?" He waved for him to follow and set off down the library aisle.
"I might surprise you..." He quietly jested.
He whirled back around and looked at him as if deciding something. "You'll do." He turned back around and continued out of the library and down the hall.
They reached an ornately decorated door. "Here you are." Zechs turned to leave.
"Wait! How do I get in?" Wufei asked. "You and Treize are the only people on the scanner."
"He added you. It's a sign of trust." This time he walked away before Wufei could ask any more questions.
Shaking his head at the puzzle that was Zechs Merquise, he turned to the door and patiently stood still for the retina scan. A mechanical chime sounded and the double doors slid open.
Moving cautiously, he slid into and scoped out the room before standing to his full height and orienting himself.
Apparently some happy-go-lucky person had decorated the room. Not only was every piece of furniture upholstered in a pristine white, but also on every table was placed an ornate vase over-flowing with blood-red and snow coloured roses.
He turned from the sight and continued on into an adjacent room. Right away he saw the calm touch of the man he sought. Everything in the room was necessary, but nothing more. The closet, for example, on further inspection proved to be categorised by colour and style. Truly, the room followed the old cliche "a place for everything and everything in its place". Such utilitarianism did not surprise him however, it was the true reflection of the occupant's personal quirks.
There was one thing out of place, however. A folded note on the side table.
Feeling rather guilty, he picked up the note.
The match wasn't an entire loss, no matter what you say. We had to finish what was so foolishly begun... You didn't win this one, though. It's about time someone showed you how fencing is really done, especially since your friend is quite fond of the form; I'd hate to see you lose to him. Zechs
He dropped the letter as the guilt for reading such a personal narrative on such a personal subject got to him. It wasn't as if he was actually around enough to understandably become jealous and possessive.
Deciding to leave before getting himself into more trouble, he passed on to another door. This led to a large, lavish bathroom. The focal point of the room was the floor-level bathtub (which actually looked more like a small swimming pool).
He realized that it could be a while before the General returned, and, with that in mind, he drew water for a bath. Adding goop from various bottles, he saw the water convert to foam and scented liquid in front of his amused eyes.
Growing impatient while waiting for the tub to fill, he left the room through a different door. A corridor of doors opened onto a stately-looking room.
He went into the room, slightly curious. A large desk stood silhouetted against closed, full-height, double glass doors. There were a few side tables with lamps and a couple of standing lamps were placed strategically around the room. The walls were covered with maps containing pencil and pen marks.
He clicked on a set of switches, resulting in the ceiling lighting up and a thin piece of glass lowering from a compartment in the middle of the room. It stopped at slightly above his waist and he stared at it, uncomprehending. Suddenly, it dawned on him; half of it was a map of the colonies, the other half was covered in cryptic writing. This was where some of the war's most horrible atrocities were thought up.
He quickly began to decipher it, noting that the General must not trust even his own men for the majority of the writing was in old Sanskrit and Farrcee.
All of the sudden, he heard a female voice out-side of the room.
Frantic for a hiding place, he ducked under the massive desk, curling up to use up the least amount of space possible.
"But, sir..." The lady's voice pleaded over the sound of the door opening and people entering.
"No, I said no! What part of that did you not understand?!!" The man whom he sought answered angrily.
"You have no way of proving your concerns!"
He stalked over behind the desk and sat down heavily. "No, god damn it! I will not run the risk of causing the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians. Find some other way or give up on the project!"
"It's impossible to find them! They're trained to be illusive!" She screamed back at him.
"Then find a way to defeat them without blowing up half a city!" He shot back, just as angrily.
"Sir, permission to speak candidly, sir?'
"Granted." He folded his hands on his desk.
"If we don't act now, we may never find them again!"
"Then, perhaps, they deserve to win. I really don't wish to discuss this further. Please leave."
The woman sighed. "Yes, sir." Her steps belied her exit.
He waited until she'd cleared the room before standing up and stepping back from the desk. "That hardly seems a comfortable hiding spot..."
Moving slowly, Wufei crawled back out from under the cherry desk. He stood up, staring unblinking at the man in front of him who smiled slightly back. Biting his lip, he threw himself into the unsuspecting yet willing arms of his should-be enemy. Sniffling lightly, he managed to choke out, "Thank you so much."
He smiled understandingly and embraced the pilot. "It was the only think to do. I am still human, you know."
"I know."
"I take it the rose bushes didn't agree with you." He commented on the torn clothes. "They're usually quite friendly."
"That's 'cause they take off the thorns before they get placed into your rooms." He snapped jokingly.
"Hate to ruin the moment, but... Is there water running?"
"Shit!" Wufei smacked himself on the forehead and ran out of the room.
Slightly amused both at the unusually strong language and the hurried exit, he followed the sprinting pilot. Once in the bathroom, he understood the reason for rushing; the other had entered just in time to shut off both faucets mere centimetres before the tub over-flowed.
"Planning to drown me in my own bathtub? Doesn't sound quite civilised to me..."
The pilot stuck his tongue out at his elder. "I smell horrible. I assumed you wouldn't mind."
"Of course not; be my guest." He bowed ironically and turned his back politely.
Stripping his clothes of quickly, he lowered himself into the relaxingly hot water. "Oh, you seriously know how to live!"
He laughed warmly and turned back around. "Well, leading an army does have its perks."
"I could get used to this."
He sat at the edge of the tub. "You could stay." He caressed the side of his pilot's face. "Hide here."
He brushed away the comforting hand while sloshing another palmful of water over his head. "We both know that's impossible."
"Someday, maybe." He turned back away. "There are so many things I wish I could change."
"Treize..." He sighed. "I know. But there's simply nothing either of us can do." He rubbed a handful of goo into his hair and scrubbed it, slightly absent-mindedly.
He took over the task, running the surprisingly long locks through his fingers gently. "I didn't think you'd come back."
"And miss this treatment?" He scoffed. "Hardly."
He chuckled. "I'm glad you did."
Wufei ducked under the water for a second. Remerging, he spoke, "So am I."
Treize smiled in response. "Good."
"Hand me a towel, would you?'
He yanked a towel off of the rack and handed it to the drenched, but clean, pilot. He then turned away again, giving the most ferocious, most honourable man he knew some privacy.
"Since your rose-bushes seemed to have taken a liking to my clothes, could I borrow some from you?"
"Well of course." He left and returned quickly, his arms full of clothes. "Here, try these." He gave the pilot a stack of various pants and shirts.
He pulled on black pants, a white shirt, and a grey sweater, all of which were quite noticeably too large on his shorter frame. He handed back the extras. "Thank you."
Turning back around, Treize snorted in amusement at the over-sized clothes.
"What?"
He shook his head. "You're cute."
He wrinkled his nose at him. "If you were anyone else, you would be dead by now."
Treize chuckled. "I don't doubt it." He grabbed a brush off of the counter. "Come on, I'll brush your hair for you." He headed out the door with the pilot on his heels. Sitting on a cushy armchair, he motioned for Wufei to sit in front of him on the floor and when he did, he ran the brush through the silky black hair. "It's funny..."
"Hmmm?"
"I always thought of you as a quiet person. You certainly were not this talkative when you were masquerading, quite well, I might add, as a cadet here."
"I guess I just have to be in the right surroundings."
"And what, pray tell, might those be?"
He was silent for a moment. "I have to feel safe."
His hand stopped pulling on the brush. "I'm glad that you trust me enough to feel safe here."
He stood up and fluffed his long hair. "And, you have a way of making people act strangely." He flopped down in the same chair, sitting side-ways on his elder's lap.
Treize put his arms around his small companion. "God damn war... If it weren't happening, we could spend forever like this." He sighed heavily. "I used to think war was beautiful, but now I've found something better worth living for."
"Hey, don't go all gushy on me. It's not all that bad." He lied blatantly. "It could be worse; one of us could be dead." He attempted to jest.
"Oh, gods! I hadn't even thought of that! I'd be... Lost without you!" He sighed again. "This whole thing would be so much easier had we never met!"
Wufei stood up at that. "You... Regret this?"
He stood up and had the younger man in his arms in seconds. "No, not ever could I regret this! You're the best thing that has ever happened to me!"
"Good. Don't you ever scare me like that again!"
"Or what?" He jested lightly.
"I'll feed you to your own rose bushes!"
"You'd have a hard time explaining that one to Une or Zechs."
He shuddered. "They'd eat me!" He turned very solemn. "Does Zechs hate me for something?"
"No, heavens no! Well, I don't think he does... I think he's just being overly protective and is afraid that I could get hurt." He sat back down, drawing the other young man with him.
"I wouldn't hurt you."
"I know you wouldn't. He just doesn't know that." He laced his arms comfortably around the other and they stayed just that way for a long time.
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[1] Wufei: I do not curse!
Rei-chan: Do too!
Wufei: Do not!
Rei-chan: Do too!
Wufei: Kisama, you stupid girl! I do not -CENSORED-ing curse!
[2] Duo: That's pretty stupid, I mean, for all you know there's a horde of angry soldiers there. Anybody else would have had the common sense to run!
Wufei: Running from a potential fight is weak. *Looks smug*
Others: *Confer*Hold up sign, The people think Wufei was foolish not to run from his possible death*
Wufei: It's rigged, I tell you!
[3] Rei-chan: Flowers? You have flowers?!! I'm so jealous! *Goes for the ornamental set pieces*
Madisonne: No! Bad Rei-chan, bad! *Smiles apologetically to cast* She's obsessed. *Hands Rei- chan a sippy-cup* Now go sit in your chair and drink your juice.
Rei-chan: *Pouts*Goes to chair and sips juice mournfully*
[4] Rei-chan: "Our play's not done, oh no, not quite, for life never ends in the moon-light night and, despite what pretty poets say, the night is only half the day. So, we would like to truly finish what was so foolishly begun for life is never finished and the play is never done until we've all been burned a bit and burnished by... The sun!" *Pauses dramatically* What?!! Don't you all get the connection? 'The Fantasticks'?!!
Others: *Makes crazy sign*
Rei-chan: *Sighs*Drinks from sippy-cup*
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Please review, pweeeeathe?!! I'd love you forever and forever! Well, not... Forever, but long enough to jump up and down and be inspired to write more! ;-D