---Shades Of Grey---
Chapter 5-These Days It's Harder To Say
**Some things may be hard to say, but they do get conveyed during the night. A bit of Lime here, I think. . . **
AC 192 still, that night. . .
Treize finished wrapping the ace bandage over the gauze padding over Zechs's ribs by tying it off carefully, expertly. "There," he sighed, smiling. "Done."
The younger man, partly wrapped in Treize's only navy-blue robe because nothing else fit him--and "Silver" the cat had no luggage--was seated at the foot of the bed, hands and feet disinfected and already gently wrapped in soft protective gauze to heal during the night. Treize couldn't help but smile softly at him, admiring that slim but powerful body, which had lengthened and filled out over the past year, really ever since the first time he had laid eyes on Zechs.
//You /are/ a beauty, Zechs,// he sighed silently to himself, breaking his gaze away to pack up the rest of the first-aide kit as the younger man re- adjusted the robe to cover himself. //So modest. . . You were lucky, too- -that shot only scraped your ribs a bit and bruised them a bit--at worst, cracked one. It could just as easily have gone /through/ you.//
Zechs yawned widely, lifting a wrapped hand to cover it, then stretched his shoulders a bit, making joints crack audibly. "I suppose it's the couch or the floor, then. I'm just glad we ate dinner on the plane--I /never/ want to find out what 'Fancy Feast' tastes like, but I'm pretty sure this lot would try feeding it to me!"
//The floor? The couch? He got hurt for me--if anyone gets those, I do!// Treize shook his head firmly, and laid a restraining hand on Zechs's bare arm. "You are most certainly /not/ taking the floor! /You/, my dear guard- cat, are staying here on the bed!" Reaching for his cane with the other hand, he moved to stand, wincing a bit at his aching leg. //Damn injury. . . //
That arm escaped his grip deftly, and caught his elbow to keep him from lifting off the bed. "What about /you/, Treize? You can barely walk to the couch! Don't deny it--that leg of yours is in bad shape, and only a fool would push it further right now," the younger man scolded sharply, eyes flaring.
With a sigh, Treize kept his seat on the edge of the bed, and thumped his cane on the floor glumly. //What do we do, then? You're half-naked--that robe doesn't hide much, and I /already/ dream of you as is. . . I'd hate to see your reaction if you wake up with me pawing you!// Flushing faintly, he asked without looking, "What do you suggest, then?" //Don't say we share, you foolish, handsome thing, because--//
"Share the bed. It's big enough for two."
//Damn. How am I supposed to leave you alone? You're not making this easy, you know. You deserve to be warned. . . but how can I admit to you that I'm attracted to you without making you rejecting even the friendship we've formed?//
"Zechs," Treize began hesitantly. "I. . . In my sleep, I might do strange things. . . " //God, that's an awkward way to put it, Treize. Come now, you're a public speaker--there /has/ to be better in this thick skull of yours, somewhere!// Try as he might, though, Treize could think of nothing better to say, let alone add.
The blonde snorted, and stood, limping around to the other side of the bed, where he lifted the edge of the covers. "Do you snore?"
Treize blinked in slow surprise. "Not that I know of."
"Kick or strike out in your sleep?"
"I don't think so." //Where is he going with this?//
"Roll a lot?"
"Not terribly."
"Talk?"
"Definitely not."
"Wet dreams?" Zechs smirked with that one.
"Zechs. . . ," Treize growled. //Only about you!//
A soft laugh. "Answer it!"
"Not lately," he flung back with heavy sarcasm. //Don't ask further on that, Zechs, because I am /not/ lowering my dignity by explaining how to relieve internal pressures. . . //
Zechs paused a moment--then chuckled softly, shaking his head, his long, still-damp cascade of hair pulling at soft cloth of the borrowed robe. "You're a boring sleeper, Treize," he teased, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed and slipping beneath the covers, robe and all. Every movement was guarded--his ribs were still sore.
//God help me,// Treize sighed. And resting his cane against the nightstand, the pajama-clad young general discarded his slippers and followed suite, pulling the covers snugly, neatly about himself.
A glance over at the other side of the bed showed Zechs on his right side and stomach, face-down on the pillow, icy-blue cat-eyes almost hidden by wild gossamer strands of palely-gleaming hair. A faint, almost shy smile met his gaze.
//It's going to be hard not to dream of you smiling at me like that, in my arms. . . Oh, Treize, think of something else! Bad boy! Bad!// Sighing resignedly, he blindly reached back and switched off the light.
Icy blue cat-eyes glowed softly in the dark, still meeting his gaze unblinkingly.
//Silver. . . And yet still Zechs. I don't know what to make of you sometimes, my friend. . . // With a grunt, Treize rolled onto his right side, away from that glowing gaze. //But I love you, no matter what. . . //
"Good night, Treize," that familiar soft, low voice offered gently.
"G'night, Zechs," he answered equally quietly.
//Please, let me dream of something utterly weird and immobile--and /not/ Zechs!//
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//Warm. . . safe. . . secure. . . familiar, good scents. . . quiet. . . dark. . . warm. . . // Zechs purred faintly, mind in a dark oblivion that only allowed those few impressions of the outer world through. He hadn't slept so well since. . . since a very young child, a teddy bear in his arms.
Something around him shifted a bit--
--on top of him.
An annoyingly heavy something, that. Somehow it had been wrapped around him for a while now, an additional--if living--blanket of sorts, but this was too much. It put pressure on his ribs, so he couldn't breathe so well, and that pressure carried around to his sore ones, twinging him awake. Sleepy ice-blue cat eyes cracked open, vaguely pulling his consciousness to the edge of that pleasant darkness for enough reasoning and awareness to deal with this annoyance.
For once, everything was /dark/. Nighttime wasn't really dark to him anymore--not unless he stood in a room without windows or lights and little other illumination filtering in. And he certainly never slept in such a place.
//Dark. . . ?// His eyes opened a little more as he slid gently back into alertness. A curious hand moved from where it had been tucked under his chin to probe that near-blackness. . .
It didn't go more than a few inches before it came in contact with a silken pajama top and end up blocked by someone's firm chest.
Someone, very close, murmured unintelligibly over Zechs's head.
Zechs blinked, frowned, and with his eyes, managed to make out a button not far from his own nose. The scent was familiar--strong--but he'd never thought he'd be so close to the man like this. . . certainly not when he was asleep. //Treize. . . ?// Wonder tickled his spine.
But his ribs were protesting this additional weight being conveyed to them, no matter how minor.
//I'd. . . enjoy this, if I weren't sore there. . . ,// Zechs realized, the notion making him thoughtful. Staring at his hand in that deep darkness, he tentatively stroked it down that smooth surface with a slow flick of his wrist, unable to resist, fascinated by his own movement at how the dark silk shifted under his hand.
His keen ears caught something akin to his own purring, then the arm around him pulled him even closer before his sleepy muscles could react, that head above his own dipping, nuzzling his damp hair, a leg wrapping around his own two. Oh, other than the annoyance of that weighty shoulder and the man's side pressing on his ribs, breathing wasn't a problem--enough space stayed in the angle formed by Treize's body half-covering his own and the mattress.
//It feels wonderful. . . // Held so close, Treize's musky scent was almost intoxicating, definitely soothing him, enough so that he would have drifted off to sleep again easily, content. . .
If it weren't for those damn sore ribs. //It hurts. . . Though--I think I've wanted this. I haven't. . . Nobody held me, not since. . . I don't remember being held like this, to be honest. Not. . . close. . . for a long time. . . Not. . . sleeping. Just short, brief--what duty and dignity allowed.//
"Treize," he whispered so faintly he barely heard himself.
The form half-covering Zechs stroked his upper back a little in a sort of unconscious reply, smoothing long pale hair along the back of the tangled robe.
//Mmmm. . . // Zechs closed his eyes at the good feelings that created, unable to withhold a faint purr. //I don't want to disturb him. . . or end this. But my ribs really /are/ starting to hurt.//
"Treize. . . ?" This time he was louder, though he kept his voice gentle, so as not to startle the man.
A protesting sound above his head, reluctant.
"Treize. . . Treize. . . ?" He repeated the man's name, not changing the volume. //God knows how he's going to react to this. . . //
"Hmmm?" It was more of a grunt than anything else, and the heavy form stiffened a little as awareness returned to the man. Then, in surprise, turning to horror, "Zechs. . . ?"
Treize abruptly jerked backwards--but Zechs was faster.
Zechs grabbed the front of those pajamas that had been conveniently close to hand, and pulled back with just enough force to prevent Treize from rolling further than to his side. //You're not escaping!// he chuckled slyly to himself, glancing up daringly through his fringe of bangs. //I like this--I'm /keeping/ it!//
Treize's bright eyes were staring down at him in a mixture of panic, fear, concern, and dread. "Zechs--I'm sorry--" he began, struggling with juggling words, concepts, and his still-sleepy brain towards a coherent result.
"Treize," Zechs murmured, smiling slightly back at the man, "it's alright. . . You were just leaning too much on my ribs." //Relax, Treize. . . I think I understand your words from earlier now.//
"I. . . I'm sorry, Zechs," Treize whispered, aghast, his weight pulling the silk in Zechs's hands as he leaned in the opposite direction, and he lifted his arm from over the younger man--their legs were still entangled. "I won't. . . It won't happen again--I promise." Those bright eyes turned away, but not before. . .
//You're embarrassed--and hurt? Because you hurt me? But I'm fine now. . . // Zechs didn't let go of the lapels of the man's pajamas completely, but freed one hand to poke Treize's chest. "Do you see me cringing away, Treize? It's alright," he reassured firmly, amused.
Treize paused, looking back at Zechs, a strange kind of hope glimmering in his eyes. . . After a brief hesitation, the weight of that arm returned, reaching around to brush Zechs's hair shyly, experimentally, his gaze echoing his next words. "This is. . . You don't mind?"
//Mmmm. . . Feels good.// Zechs smiled slowly, eyes half-lidding, feeling a purr begin in the back of his throat again. "No," he breathed softly, unable to hide the pleasure in his voice. "Feels. . . very good."
A soft, wondering chuckle over his head drew attention back into the younger man's glazing eyes, forcing Zechs to look up. "I was wondering. . . ever since I found you. . . just where your preferences lie, my friend," Treize murmured teasingly.
//Wherever it lies for cats, I suppose. To be honest. I don't know where they lie.// Zechs sighed softly, closing his eyes. "Treize. . . ," he began gently. //No sense in hurting him, though.// "I don't think I've ever found out, myself. . . ," he admitted.
Treize buried his face in Zechs's hair, not a sound escaping him, though he tensed against the younger man.
//I probably /have/ hurt him. I didn't know he. . . might like me. Like this, anyway. I didn't know /anyone/ could!// So he gave the truth, and with it, a rare gift indeed--his thoughts--in the hopes that maybe Treize could make sense of it. "All I know. . . I like you, Treize. . . a lot. . . And this. . . feels good, somehow. . . right. . . It's probably wrong, but everything about me is twisted, I suppose--"
That arm about him instantly tightened, pulling him against Treize's chest, the older man leaning back to give him enough room that he could lift his head. Bright eyes blazed into his own. "Don't say that--it's not true," Treize scolded with firm conviction, slipping his other arm around to enclose Zechs more firmly--almost as if he feared Zechs might escape. "The only twisted thing was what they did to you. . . And the only things wrong here are the narrow minds of other people."
Startled by the move, Zechs had just let Treize do as he wished, trusting but stiff, tense. Now he stared into those bright eyes, feeling a warmth better than any blanket enclose him with that embrace and those words. //But I can't convince myself of the same, Treize. . . I wonder why?// he thought to himself sadly. "You. . . /care/. . . ," he whispered, shaking his head slightly because he didn't understand, and this awed him--that someone could feel so much for him. "But. . . why? Friends, I can understand, but this. . . this is more. How can you want more--of something like me?"
Treize actually looked saddened to hear that, and rolled onto his back, bringing Zechs along so the younger man half covered /him/. "You think you're a monster," the older man pointed out quietly. "But you're /not/. Until you see that--how can I make you see that?"
//I wish I knew, Treize. . . Life owes me something good, but I doubt I will ever get it. Or am I just unable to see it should such be given to me? I don't know. There's too much I don't know.// Closing his eyes, Zechs rested his head on Treize's chest, stroking the smooth material beneath his hand again and feeling the steady thump of the man's heart beneath-almost feeling Treize smile in response. Wriggling a little, he shifted his body so he was snug against the older man again, curled against Treize's side and partly resting against his chest. A kiss touched the top of his hair gently, a benediction or blessing.
After a moment, Zechs murmured softly, "I can't see blue, either. . . But I can trust you when you tell me something is that color." //I'll trust you on this, Treize. Maybe. . . if I trust enough, hear it enough. . . I'll believe it, too, someday?//
Warm hands stroked his back in long, soothing motions, shoulders to hips, drawing an audible rumble of a purr finally. "Then trust me in this, too. . . ," Treize pleaded gently.
//It feels. . . good. . . right. . . Don't stop!// The last was a silent plea for Fate to give him that little blessing. Nuzzling against Treize's chest and shoulder, he smiled with slow mischief, and shifted a bit closer, playfully letting his topmost hand slowly trace its way from the older man's mid-chest to his beltline in a straight movement. //Wonder how to make /him/ purr. . . Will this do it?//
The answering groan and tightening of those arms around him suggested he was on the right track. It was followed by a growl nearly as feral as his own feline ones.
//Ah, I frustrate him!// No, Zechs felt no remorse at all--but a fair amount of sleepy laughter and playful pleasure at his success. Levering up on his arms a bit, he smiled with sly mischief into those bright eyes glaring at him, and leisurely let that hand retrace its route. "I trust you," he stated quietly, a hint of smugness in his voice. //Should /you/ trust /me/?// he wondered in amusement.
The hands stroking his back slowed to a stop, Treize's expression fading into something. . . he couldn't quite place. Studious, maybe. Or fascinated, spellbound. Just gazing at him, those amazing bright eyes. . . so gentle and kind, so caring. . .
One hand slid up under his hair, cupping the back of Zechs's head, the other guiding his shoulders back down, as Treize lifted his own head, eyes half closing. . .
Zechs flowed with the pressure, with instinct, and found his lips against the older man's, his own hair a gleaming curtain haloing them both, tasting yielding warmth and dampness and the faint musk that identified Treize to him in both his forms. He could feel the man's pulse, a broken second behind the heartbeat beneath his own, both a beat slower than his own, yet singing of life and health. Soft lips moved against his own, until they felt that they merged like twin puzzle-pieces, forming a connection that felt so natural that Zechs nearly forgot they had ever been apart. This was--new, strange, yet astounding, wonderful, a new experience of the kind to be savored, preserved, prolonged as much as possible. . .
Perhaps to be tried again, sometime? Repeated?
//Good!!!// He couldn't help that purr thrumming his throat, or letting his own weight increase the contact between their bodies, or his own eyes from half closing with pleasure, or his trapped hands from making small shoving-stroking-pulling-kneading--motions against Treize's chest like a happy cat. //I like this--want this. . . Whatever it is that we have between us.//
One hand stroking his back, pulling him close, spooned against Treize's body. . .
//Bliss. . . Is there more? Why do I feel this can get /better/? Why, when it's so good already?//
Air. He needed to breathe.
//I don't want this to stop. . . No. . . Longer. . . More. . . //
Um. . . air? Don't forget air. The air out there. You need it in here soon.
//Shut up, body. . . //
Hello? If you want to do this again, remember to breathe! Soon! Make that very soon!
//Can hold a bit longer. . . Don't want to stop!// It was a mental wail.
Breathe, damn it--NOW!
With a mental sigh of reluctance, Zechs gave in to the pressures of his lungs and drew back, pushing up a little on his arms to lean over Treize, noses almost touching, blinking a bit dazedly into eyes he knew were blue, but to him were the most fascinating of grays, breathless, amazed.
"Your first kiss?" Treize chuckled in amusement, chest vibrating under the younger man, though his own eyes gleamed with suspicious dampness.
//I. . . I guess that's what it was,// Zechs realized slowly, and smiled shyly, ducking under the faint protection of his long pale bangs in embarrassment.
They tickled Treize's nose, and the man suddenly turned his head aside to sneeze--so as not to sneeze on the cause. Then a gentle hand reached up to brush that annoying concealment away, to force Zechs to look into those warm bright eyes again.
//Treize. . . // The name was a happy, contented, blessed sound he whispered silently to himself. "Thank you," Zechs whispered with all the sincerity he could give to the man in mind, all he could offer in return.
"You're welcome. . . " The smile that answered him was so gentle it almost stilled Zechs's heart, as the older man shifted the pair of them into a slightly more comfortable entanglement, cradling Zechs's head against his shoulder. "We should sleep," came the reluctant verdict from the superior officer, a sigh of regret that was disgusted with reality. "We've killers to catch tomorrow."
//And bad food and idiot officers to avoid,// added Zechs silently. "Mmmm," he grunted, relaxing against Treize and taking a deep breath of the scent that had comforted him so much when he was asleep earlier. "Just don't crush me this time."
A soft chuckle as the hands on his back stroked slowly, reassuringly. "I'll try not to."
//You can crush me later, after these damn ribs stop getting in the way,// Zechs decided, purring again as he drifted off yet once more into the warm, soothing darkness of sleep, finally knowing the cause of the best sleep he had in years. . .
//I think. . . //
//. . . think. . . //
//. . . might. . . be. . . //
//. . . lo. . . //
Purr. . .
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Treize groaned and buried his face into something soft that smelled faintly of soap and a familiar spicy musk, trying to pretend he heard nothing. //Don't want to get up. . . //
The knocking came again, followed by, "Sir? Your Excellency, Sir?"
The source of those wonderful scents stirred a bit against him. . . chuckling? A low chuckle, quiet and smothered against his silk pajama-top.
//Mmmm. . . Zechs. . . ?// Sleepy eyes cracked open with faint surprise and alarm, to stare at hair so pale it could be termed platinum, tickling his nose. Memories filtered back, hazy, but pleasant. //I. . . kissed you? I hope I didn't dream that--it was so nice. . . //
"Better answer them, before they barge in and find you snuggling your cat," the younger man's quiet voice suggested softly, amused.
"Sir!" The summons was urgent, worried now.
"What is it!" Treize bellowed. //Leave me alone--I /do/ want to snuggle my cat, but in peace!// Zechs twitched at the volume. //Erg--sorry, Zechs, I bet that was right into your ears.// Apologetically, the young general stroked that long soft hair, feeling a faint purr begin. . .
"Lieutenant Une said you wanted to go over the evidence, Sir!"
//Yes. . . Oh, damn. Duty before pleasure, I suppose.// Longingly, he looked down at that wild spread of blonde hair so alluringly close--to make out a laughing pale blue cat-eye staring back at him. Treize sighed, for the first time in his career seriously considering abusing his rank's powers and just taking the day off. //Right when my dreams start to be fulfilled. . . //
"Sir?" Whoever it was out there, they probably thought Treize had fallen asleep again.
The amusement in that visible eye faded even as Treize watched. "They'll suspect something. . . ," Zechs murmured warningly, levering his shoulders up to lean over Treize, long hair streaming about his body like a gossamer veil. "You can't afford it--nor can I."
Treize grunted, grimacing. //True. Damn it, it's true. We have to catch Uncle's killer, /and/ the man who almost got me, and keep enough reputation that I can finish Uncle's dream--destroying the Alliance. And do it without suspicion of what you really are falling on the newest and best recruit in the Specials. . . // "Tell her I'll be out in an hour!" he called firmly towards the door.
"Yes Sir!"
//And while you're at it. . . Let's use some of those privileges, shall we?// "And send breakfast up in half that!" he added swiftly.
"Yes Sir! Anything else, Sir?"
Treize glanced at Zechs, who was sitting up with the blankets wrapped around like an oversized cloak. //God, he's handsome. . . // The young man in question was frowning thoughtfully at his bandaged hands, inspecting the cuts not fully hidden by the gauze wrappings. A nudge from Treize's knee brought that attention firmly back to the older man. //Well, Zechs-- what do you think?//
Zechs shrugged, smiling slightly, then took the covers with him off the bed.
//Imp! You may be bigger than that term generally suits, but you're more mischievous than Alice's Cheshire cat!// Treize growled, flinging that smirking pale creature a glare, before calling back to the soldier, who was still patiently waiting outside, "No! That's all!"
"Yes Sir!" Feet clicked audibly together in an unseen salute, then clopped off into the distance.
A snicker. Zechs held the blankets firmly about himself, standing at the end of the bed, his posture screaming that he had no intention of surrendering them anytime soon. That smile was decidedly wicked--and challenging. Cat eyes gleamed slyly, daring. . .
Treize dragged himself to his side of the bed to retrieve his cane and turned an amused smile to the younger man. //You don't know how much I want to just jump over there and tackle you right now. . . // "Come on now, /Silver/. You can hardly curl up in those and go back to sleep. We've things to do," he admonished playfully.
The slight smile from earlier spread slowly, those icy eyes narrowing, laughing back at him. "Rrrreally?" Zechs half-rumbled in a feral tone.
"Don't make me come over there and take them from you," Treize scolded. But he couldn't hold back a growing grin of his own as he limped around the edge of the bed. //You want me to do just that, I see! Correction--you /do/ know how I want to tackle you right now!//
Lips parting in anticipation, Zechs spread his feet subconsciously, tensing, shrugging the blankets a bit higher on his shoulders so they didn't trail, and offered nothing. Visibly set to dodge, whether or not he knew of his own instinctive adjustments to his posture was a good question.
//Sometimes, my friend, I wonder if you realize how much of what you do is on human instinct, how much on feline instinct, and how much is simply good sense and training?// Setting his cane against the footboard, Treize stood facing the younger man, feeling like laughing as he felt adrenaline tickle his blood. //I think I need this exercise. . . //
For a moment, the two stood still, assessing each other. . .
Then. . .
Treize darted a hand as fast as he could for a handful of the cloth fluttering against Zechs's ribs.
He caught merely air, for the younger man simply turned sideways and shifted towards the opposite side in a blur of fair hair and a teasing whirl of blankets, laughing silently back at Treize, his head tilted teasingly to one side.
//Grrr!// Lunging again, Treize tried to trap that blur between two hands this time.
Cloth slid across fingers, escaping just before he could grasp it, and he got a ticklish jab in the waist for his troubles. This time he had to turn around to find Zechs grinning broadly back at him, folding long "wings" of blankets back across his chest.
"Cat!" Treize half-laughed, half-cursed, whirling and leaping again. . .
. . . To only /almost/ grab the tail corner of the blankets as Zechs vaulted the footboard of the bed and rolled to end up lying among the pillows with the contented smirk of someone who had been there for hours, blankets fluttering to a rest around and over him.
Collecting his cane, Treize could only laugh, watching as the younger man cracked a massive yawn and closed his eyes, snuggling up again--
--like a cat.
//Truly like a cat--but he /is/ one, hmmm? Silver indeed! /My/ Silver, though--and only mine!// Shaking his head, Treize limped back to his side of the bed, set his cane down with casual ease, and suddenly lunged at that seeming-sleeping bundle.
This time, Treize caught it in a full tackle, unaware.
Zechs yelped in surprise, but that turned into a soft, deep chuckle, as blue eyes peered out of the tangle of blankets back at Treize. "You are fun to tease," he murmured, smirking.
Treize snorted, bringing himself nose-to-nose with his personal Cheshire cat and holding it close, firmly. //Oh, you just wait, my Silver. /I'll/ show you teasing--when the time is right!// "/I/," he announced with solemn dignity, eyes dancing, "simply don't want cat-fur all over these for the next few nights!"
A warm rumble-purr of a chuckle, and those icy eyes half-closed over an affectionate smile that warmed Treize's heart.
//Ah, how can I resist you? Screw the military! We'll catch Uncle's killer later!// Leaning closer, Treize began to kiss those irresistibly- delicious lips, and prove that he, too, could tease to an alluring level.
That warm mouth responded to his own, the younger man's hands releasing the blankets to encircle Treize's neck, smooth his hair, explore his shoulders in hesitant strokes.
//Mmm, I can see why you enjoy it so much when I stroke your hair like that. . . Purr for me, my Silver, my snow leopard, my Cheshire cat. . . // Still, Treize himself would have purred, if he could. //I want more of you, all of you, but you are so new to this--so trusting--so amazing--I daren't let this go too quickly--you'd be hurt, and hate me for it. I've had so little hope before this, though, I can endure these small delicious moments, savor them. . . They're more than I dared hope for.//
He could hear it now, the soft, deep thrum of a purr beneath his own chest, even as he rubbed noses with his "pet", toying with the younger man's lips during the kiss, to open that mouth beneath his and let him explore inside. . . .. For a moment, icy eyes widened in surprise, confusion--then narrowed, and the younger man began to spar back.
//Yes, Zechs. . . I'll take whatever you're willing to give, as much as you can give me, for as long as possible. . . //
Someone banged on the suite's outer door.
//Oh, DAMN IT!// Treize cursed, startled into jerking his head up and breaking the kiss, and then glancing at the door warily. //Leave me alone already!//
The younger man blinked, and arched his head up to rub cheeks with Treize, astonishing the older man. //Am I being claimed. . . ? Or scent-marked?// Looking down, he felt like he was falling into those ice-blue eyes. . .
"Breakfast, Your Excellency!" someone called through the doors.
Falling back, Zechs just closed his eyes and shook with silent helpless laughter.
Treize glared at him, then sighed regretfully and dragged himself back towards his cane. //Why, why can't I just be surrounded by incompetents? People who let me lazy around, run late to things, skip breakfast--wait a minute, that's being antisocial. Oh what the hell--why can't they let me be antisocial?!?//
Out of the corner of his eye, Treize could see Zechs wriggling out of the blankets towards the other end of the bed and sitting up, then starting to untangle himself from the borrowed robe--
--and forced himself to look away as that fell away, to put his attention to grabbing his cane. //Mud, Treize, mud and murder. Back to daily life. . . // A mental sigh of regret followed. //Besides, what will you do if you get worked up, hmm? Jump him?//
Heavy paws, still wrapped in bandages, padded past towards the sitting room of the suite, a flash of a fluffy tail curling into eager corkscrews as it went through the bedroom doorway. . .
//As a /cat/? I don't think so!//
An amused growl in the sitting room. . . ?
//Oh no. . . // Treize thought with trepidation. Quickly, he struggled to his feet and limped as fast as he could for the sitting room, hoping he wouldn't be too late. "Damn it, Silver, don't scare the poor man--" he called urgently.
The door clicked open audibly, something rumbled hungrily--
Something fell heavily.
"--into fainting," Treize finished lamely, sighing. //You just /had/ to scare him. . . //
Treize entered the sitting room in time to see Silver, jaws clamped on the edge of the waiting trolley, pulling backwards into the room with the thing in tow, leaving a poor, fainted soldier in the hall outside. Once the laden trolley was fully in the room, the large feline slapped the door closed with his tail, curling up neatly in a sitting position, cat-grinning at Treize.
The older man leaned on his cane heavily, sighing resignedly. "You just /had/ to growl at him. . . " he admonished. //I suppose he'll wake up soon enough out there, though. . . And I'm /not/ bringing him in here!//
In a blurry shiver of a motion, Silver changed--and Zechs, tucked up neatly and half hidden by hair and the trolley, shrugged, smiling without regret, though a touch sheepishly. "I /didn't/. . . That was my stomach!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To be continued. . .
Higher metabolism--faster breathing rate or bigger breaths required. Cats have high metabolisms. So Zechs has no choice but to come up for air first.
Chapter 5-These Days It's Harder To Say
**Some things may be hard to say, but they do get conveyed during the night. A bit of Lime here, I think. . . **
AC 192 still, that night. . .
Treize finished wrapping the ace bandage over the gauze padding over Zechs's ribs by tying it off carefully, expertly. "There," he sighed, smiling. "Done."
The younger man, partly wrapped in Treize's only navy-blue robe because nothing else fit him--and "Silver" the cat had no luggage--was seated at the foot of the bed, hands and feet disinfected and already gently wrapped in soft protective gauze to heal during the night. Treize couldn't help but smile softly at him, admiring that slim but powerful body, which had lengthened and filled out over the past year, really ever since the first time he had laid eyes on Zechs.
//You /are/ a beauty, Zechs,// he sighed silently to himself, breaking his gaze away to pack up the rest of the first-aide kit as the younger man re- adjusted the robe to cover himself. //So modest. . . You were lucky, too- -that shot only scraped your ribs a bit and bruised them a bit--at worst, cracked one. It could just as easily have gone /through/ you.//
Zechs yawned widely, lifting a wrapped hand to cover it, then stretched his shoulders a bit, making joints crack audibly. "I suppose it's the couch or the floor, then. I'm just glad we ate dinner on the plane--I /never/ want to find out what 'Fancy Feast' tastes like, but I'm pretty sure this lot would try feeding it to me!"
//The floor? The couch? He got hurt for me--if anyone gets those, I do!// Treize shook his head firmly, and laid a restraining hand on Zechs's bare arm. "You are most certainly /not/ taking the floor! /You/, my dear guard- cat, are staying here on the bed!" Reaching for his cane with the other hand, he moved to stand, wincing a bit at his aching leg. //Damn injury. . . //
That arm escaped his grip deftly, and caught his elbow to keep him from lifting off the bed. "What about /you/, Treize? You can barely walk to the couch! Don't deny it--that leg of yours is in bad shape, and only a fool would push it further right now," the younger man scolded sharply, eyes flaring.
With a sigh, Treize kept his seat on the edge of the bed, and thumped his cane on the floor glumly. //What do we do, then? You're half-naked--that robe doesn't hide much, and I /already/ dream of you as is. . . I'd hate to see your reaction if you wake up with me pawing you!// Flushing faintly, he asked without looking, "What do you suggest, then?" //Don't say we share, you foolish, handsome thing, because--//
"Share the bed. It's big enough for two."
//Damn. How am I supposed to leave you alone? You're not making this easy, you know. You deserve to be warned. . . but how can I admit to you that I'm attracted to you without making you rejecting even the friendship we've formed?//
"Zechs," Treize began hesitantly. "I. . . In my sleep, I might do strange things. . . " //God, that's an awkward way to put it, Treize. Come now, you're a public speaker--there /has/ to be better in this thick skull of yours, somewhere!// Try as he might, though, Treize could think of nothing better to say, let alone add.
The blonde snorted, and stood, limping around to the other side of the bed, where he lifted the edge of the covers. "Do you snore?"
Treize blinked in slow surprise. "Not that I know of."
"Kick or strike out in your sleep?"
"I don't think so." //Where is he going with this?//
"Roll a lot?"
"Not terribly."
"Talk?"
"Definitely not."
"Wet dreams?" Zechs smirked with that one.
"Zechs. . . ," Treize growled. //Only about you!//
A soft laugh. "Answer it!"
"Not lately," he flung back with heavy sarcasm. //Don't ask further on that, Zechs, because I am /not/ lowering my dignity by explaining how to relieve internal pressures. . . //
Zechs paused a moment--then chuckled softly, shaking his head, his long, still-damp cascade of hair pulling at soft cloth of the borrowed robe. "You're a boring sleeper, Treize," he teased, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed and slipping beneath the covers, robe and all. Every movement was guarded--his ribs were still sore.
//God help me,// Treize sighed. And resting his cane against the nightstand, the pajama-clad young general discarded his slippers and followed suite, pulling the covers snugly, neatly about himself.
A glance over at the other side of the bed showed Zechs on his right side and stomach, face-down on the pillow, icy-blue cat-eyes almost hidden by wild gossamer strands of palely-gleaming hair. A faint, almost shy smile met his gaze.
//It's going to be hard not to dream of you smiling at me like that, in my arms. . . Oh, Treize, think of something else! Bad boy! Bad!// Sighing resignedly, he blindly reached back and switched off the light.
Icy blue cat-eyes glowed softly in the dark, still meeting his gaze unblinkingly.
//Silver. . . And yet still Zechs. I don't know what to make of you sometimes, my friend. . . // With a grunt, Treize rolled onto his right side, away from that glowing gaze. //But I love you, no matter what. . . //
"Good night, Treize," that familiar soft, low voice offered gently.
"G'night, Zechs," he answered equally quietly.
//Please, let me dream of something utterly weird and immobile--and /not/ Zechs!//
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//Warm. . . safe. . . secure. . . familiar, good scents. . . quiet. . . dark. . . warm. . . // Zechs purred faintly, mind in a dark oblivion that only allowed those few impressions of the outer world through. He hadn't slept so well since. . . since a very young child, a teddy bear in his arms.
Something around him shifted a bit--
--on top of him.
An annoyingly heavy something, that. Somehow it had been wrapped around him for a while now, an additional--if living--blanket of sorts, but this was too much. It put pressure on his ribs, so he couldn't breathe so well, and that pressure carried around to his sore ones, twinging him awake. Sleepy ice-blue cat eyes cracked open, vaguely pulling his consciousness to the edge of that pleasant darkness for enough reasoning and awareness to deal with this annoyance.
For once, everything was /dark/. Nighttime wasn't really dark to him anymore--not unless he stood in a room without windows or lights and little other illumination filtering in. And he certainly never slept in such a place.
//Dark. . . ?// His eyes opened a little more as he slid gently back into alertness. A curious hand moved from where it had been tucked under his chin to probe that near-blackness. . .
It didn't go more than a few inches before it came in contact with a silken pajama top and end up blocked by someone's firm chest.
Someone, very close, murmured unintelligibly over Zechs's head.
Zechs blinked, frowned, and with his eyes, managed to make out a button not far from his own nose. The scent was familiar--strong--but he'd never thought he'd be so close to the man like this. . . certainly not when he was asleep. //Treize. . . ?// Wonder tickled his spine.
But his ribs were protesting this additional weight being conveyed to them, no matter how minor.
//I'd. . . enjoy this, if I weren't sore there. . . ,// Zechs realized, the notion making him thoughtful. Staring at his hand in that deep darkness, he tentatively stroked it down that smooth surface with a slow flick of his wrist, unable to resist, fascinated by his own movement at how the dark silk shifted under his hand.
His keen ears caught something akin to his own purring, then the arm around him pulled him even closer before his sleepy muscles could react, that head above his own dipping, nuzzling his damp hair, a leg wrapping around his own two. Oh, other than the annoyance of that weighty shoulder and the man's side pressing on his ribs, breathing wasn't a problem--enough space stayed in the angle formed by Treize's body half-covering his own and the mattress.
//It feels wonderful. . . // Held so close, Treize's musky scent was almost intoxicating, definitely soothing him, enough so that he would have drifted off to sleep again easily, content. . .
If it weren't for those damn sore ribs. //It hurts. . . Though--I think I've wanted this. I haven't. . . Nobody held me, not since. . . I don't remember being held like this, to be honest. Not. . . close. . . for a long time. . . Not. . . sleeping. Just short, brief--what duty and dignity allowed.//
"Treize," he whispered so faintly he barely heard himself.
The form half-covering Zechs stroked his upper back a little in a sort of unconscious reply, smoothing long pale hair along the back of the tangled robe.
//Mmmm. . . // Zechs closed his eyes at the good feelings that created, unable to withhold a faint purr. //I don't want to disturb him. . . or end this. But my ribs really /are/ starting to hurt.//
"Treize. . . ?" This time he was louder, though he kept his voice gentle, so as not to startle the man.
A protesting sound above his head, reluctant.
"Treize. . . Treize. . . ?" He repeated the man's name, not changing the volume. //God knows how he's going to react to this. . . //
"Hmmm?" It was more of a grunt than anything else, and the heavy form stiffened a little as awareness returned to the man. Then, in surprise, turning to horror, "Zechs. . . ?"
Treize abruptly jerked backwards--but Zechs was faster.
Zechs grabbed the front of those pajamas that had been conveniently close to hand, and pulled back with just enough force to prevent Treize from rolling further than to his side. //You're not escaping!// he chuckled slyly to himself, glancing up daringly through his fringe of bangs. //I like this--I'm /keeping/ it!//
Treize's bright eyes were staring down at him in a mixture of panic, fear, concern, and dread. "Zechs--I'm sorry--" he began, struggling with juggling words, concepts, and his still-sleepy brain towards a coherent result.
"Treize," Zechs murmured, smiling slightly back at the man, "it's alright. . . You were just leaning too much on my ribs." //Relax, Treize. . . I think I understand your words from earlier now.//
"I. . . I'm sorry, Zechs," Treize whispered, aghast, his weight pulling the silk in Zechs's hands as he leaned in the opposite direction, and he lifted his arm from over the younger man--their legs were still entangled. "I won't. . . It won't happen again--I promise." Those bright eyes turned away, but not before. . .
//You're embarrassed--and hurt? Because you hurt me? But I'm fine now. . . // Zechs didn't let go of the lapels of the man's pajamas completely, but freed one hand to poke Treize's chest. "Do you see me cringing away, Treize? It's alright," he reassured firmly, amused.
Treize paused, looking back at Zechs, a strange kind of hope glimmering in his eyes. . . After a brief hesitation, the weight of that arm returned, reaching around to brush Zechs's hair shyly, experimentally, his gaze echoing his next words. "This is. . . You don't mind?"
//Mmmm. . . Feels good.// Zechs smiled slowly, eyes half-lidding, feeling a purr begin in the back of his throat again. "No," he breathed softly, unable to hide the pleasure in his voice. "Feels. . . very good."
A soft, wondering chuckle over his head drew attention back into the younger man's glazing eyes, forcing Zechs to look up. "I was wondering. . . ever since I found you. . . just where your preferences lie, my friend," Treize murmured teasingly.
//Wherever it lies for cats, I suppose. To be honest. I don't know where they lie.// Zechs sighed softly, closing his eyes. "Treize. . . ," he began gently. //No sense in hurting him, though.// "I don't think I've ever found out, myself. . . ," he admitted.
Treize buried his face in Zechs's hair, not a sound escaping him, though he tensed against the younger man.
//I probably /have/ hurt him. I didn't know he. . . might like me. Like this, anyway. I didn't know /anyone/ could!// So he gave the truth, and with it, a rare gift indeed--his thoughts--in the hopes that maybe Treize could make sense of it. "All I know. . . I like you, Treize. . . a lot. . . And this. . . feels good, somehow. . . right. . . It's probably wrong, but everything about me is twisted, I suppose--"
That arm about him instantly tightened, pulling him against Treize's chest, the older man leaning back to give him enough room that he could lift his head. Bright eyes blazed into his own. "Don't say that--it's not true," Treize scolded with firm conviction, slipping his other arm around to enclose Zechs more firmly--almost as if he feared Zechs might escape. "The only twisted thing was what they did to you. . . And the only things wrong here are the narrow minds of other people."
Startled by the move, Zechs had just let Treize do as he wished, trusting but stiff, tense. Now he stared into those bright eyes, feeling a warmth better than any blanket enclose him with that embrace and those words. //But I can't convince myself of the same, Treize. . . I wonder why?// he thought to himself sadly. "You. . . /care/. . . ," he whispered, shaking his head slightly because he didn't understand, and this awed him--that someone could feel so much for him. "But. . . why? Friends, I can understand, but this. . . this is more. How can you want more--of something like me?"
Treize actually looked saddened to hear that, and rolled onto his back, bringing Zechs along so the younger man half covered /him/. "You think you're a monster," the older man pointed out quietly. "But you're /not/. Until you see that--how can I make you see that?"
//I wish I knew, Treize. . . Life owes me something good, but I doubt I will ever get it. Or am I just unable to see it should such be given to me? I don't know. There's too much I don't know.// Closing his eyes, Zechs rested his head on Treize's chest, stroking the smooth material beneath his hand again and feeling the steady thump of the man's heart beneath-almost feeling Treize smile in response. Wriggling a little, he shifted his body so he was snug against the older man again, curled against Treize's side and partly resting against his chest. A kiss touched the top of his hair gently, a benediction or blessing.
After a moment, Zechs murmured softly, "I can't see blue, either. . . But I can trust you when you tell me something is that color." //I'll trust you on this, Treize. Maybe. . . if I trust enough, hear it enough. . . I'll believe it, too, someday?//
Warm hands stroked his back in long, soothing motions, shoulders to hips, drawing an audible rumble of a purr finally. "Then trust me in this, too. . . ," Treize pleaded gently.
//It feels. . . good. . . right. . . Don't stop!// The last was a silent plea for Fate to give him that little blessing. Nuzzling against Treize's chest and shoulder, he smiled with slow mischief, and shifted a bit closer, playfully letting his topmost hand slowly trace its way from the older man's mid-chest to his beltline in a straight movement. //Wonder how to make /him/ purr. . . Will this do it?//
The answering groan and tightening of those arms around him suggested he was on the right track. It was followed by a growl nearly as feral as his own feline ones.
//Ah, I frustrate him!// No, Zechs felt no remorse at all--but a fair amount of sleepy laughter and playful pleasure at his success. Levering up on his arms a bit, he smiled with sly mischief into those bright eyes glaring at him, and leisurely let that hand retrace its route. "I trust you," he stated quietly, a hint of smugness in his voice. //Should /you/ trust /me/?// he wondered in amusement.
The hands stroking his back slowed to a stop, Treize's expression fading into something. . . he couldn't quite place. Studious, maybe. Or fascinated, spellbound. Just gazing at him, those amazing bright eyes. . . so gentle and kind, so caring. . .
One hand slid up under his hair, cupping the back of Zechs's head, the other guiding his shoulders back down, as Treize lifted his own head, eyes half closing. . .
Zechs flowed with the pressure, with instinct, and found his lips against the older man's, his own hair a gleaming curtain haloing them both, tasting yielding warmth and dampness and the faint musk that identified Treize to him in both his forms. He could feel the man's pulse, a broken second behind the heartbeat beneath his own, both a beat slower than his own, yet singing of life and health. Soft lips moved against his own, until they felt that they merged like twin puzzle-pieces, forming a connection that felt so natural that Zechs nearly forgot they had ever been apart. This was--new, strange, yet astounding, wonderful, a new experience of the kind to be savored, preserved, prolonged as much as possible. . .
Perhaps to be tried again, sometime? Repeated?
//Good!!!// He couldn't help that purr thrumming his throat, or letting his own weight increase the contact between their bodies, or his own eyes from half closing with pleasure, or his trapped hands from making small shoving-stroking-pulling-kneading--motions against Treize's chest like a happy cat. //I like this--want this. . . Whatever it is that we have between us.//
One hand stroking his back, pulling him close, spooned against Treize's body. . .
//Bliss. . . Is there more? Why do I feel this can get /better/? Why, when it's so good already?//
Air. He needed to breathe.
//I don't want this to stop. . . No. . . Longer. . . More. . . //
Um. . . air? Don't forget air. The air out there. You need it in here soon.
//Shut up, body. . . //
Hello? If you want to do this again, remember to breathe! Soon! Make that very soon!
//Can hold a bit longer. . . Don't want to stop!// It was a mental wail.
Breathe, damn it--NOW!
With a mental sigh of reluctance, Zechs gave in to the pressures of his lungs and drew back, pushing up a little on his arms to lean over Treize, noses almost touching, blinking a bit dazedly into eyes he knew were blue, but to him were the most fascinating of grays, breathless, amazed.
"Your first kiss?" Treize chuckled in amusement, chest vibrating under the younger man, though his own eyes gleamed with suspicious dampness.
//I. . . I guess that's what it was,// Zechs realized slowly, and smiled shyly, ducking under the faint protection of his long pale bangs in embarrassment.
They tickled Treize's nose, and the man suddenly turned his head aside to sneeze--so as not to sneeze on the cause. Then a gentle hand reached up to brush that annoying concealment away, to force Zechs to look into those warm bright eyes again.
//Treize. . . // The name was a happy, contented, blessed sound he whispered silently to himself. "Thank you," Zechs whispered with all the sincerity he could give to the man in mind, all he could offer in return.
"You're welcome. . . " The smile that answered him was so gentle it almost stilled Zechs's heart, as the older man shifted the pair of them into a slightly more comfortable entanglement, cradling Zechs's head against his shoulder. "We should sleep," came the reluctant verdict from the superior officer, a sigh of regret that was disgusted with reality. "We've killers to catch tomorrow."
//And bad food and idiot officers to avoid,// added Zechs silently. "Mmmm," he grunted, relaxing against Treize and taking a deep breath of the scent that had comforted him so much when he was asleep earlier. "Just don't crush me this time."
A soft chuckle as the hands on his back stroked slowly, reassuringly. "I'll try not to."
//You can crush me later, after these damn ribs stop getting in the way,// Zechs decided, purring again as he drifted off yet once more into the warm, soothing darkness of sleep, finally knowing the cause of the best sleep he had in years. . .
//I think. . . //
//. . . think. . . //
//. . . might. . . be. . . //
//. . . lo. . . //
Purr. . .
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Treize groaned and buried his face into something soft that smelled faintly of soap and a familiar spicy musk, trying to pretend he heard nothing. //Don't want to get up. . . //
The knocking came again, followed by, "Sir? Your Excellency, Sir?"
The source of those wonderful scents stirred a bit against him. . . chuckling? A low chuckle, quiet and smothered against his silk pajama-top.
//Mmmm. . . Zechs. . . ?// Sleepy eyes cracked open with faint surprise and alarm, to stare at hair so pale it could be termed platinum, tickling his nose. Memories filtered back, hazy, but pleasant. //I. . . kissed you? I hope I didn't dream that--it was so nice. . . //
"Better answer them, before they barge in and find you snuggling your cat," the younger man's quiet voice suggested softly, amused.
"Sir!" The summons was urgent, worried now.
"What is it!" Treize bellowed. //Leave me alone--I /do/ want to snuggle my cat, but in peace!// Zechs twitched at the volume. //Erg--sorry, Zechs, I bet that was right into your ears.// Apologetically, the young general stroked that long soft hair, feeling a faint purr begin. . .
"Lieutenant Une said you wanted to go over the evidence, Sir!"
//Yes. . . Oh, damn. Duty before pleasure, I suppose.// Longingly, he looked down at that wild spread of blonde hair so alluringly close--to make out a laughing pale blue cat-eye staring back at him. Treize sighed, for the first time in his career seriously considering abusing his rank's powers and just taking the day off. //Right when my dreams start to be fulfilled. . . //
"Sir?" Whoever it was out there, they probably thought Treize had fallen asleep again.
The amusement in that visible eye faded even as Treize watched. "They'll suspect something. . . ," Zechs murmured warningly, levering his shoulders up to lean over Treize, long hair streaming about his body like a gossamer veil. "You can't afford it--nor can I."
Treize grunted, grimacing. //True. Damn it, it's true. We have to catch Uncle's killer, /and/ the man who almost got me, and keep enough reputation that I can finish Uncle's dream--destroying the Alliance. And do it without suspicion of what you really are falling on the newest and best recruit in the Specials. . . // "Tell her I'll be out in an hour!" he called firmly towards the door.
"Yes Sir!"
//And while you're at it. . . Let's use some of those privileges, shall we?// "And send breakfast up in half that!" he added swiftly.
"Yes Sir! Anything else, Sir?"
Treize glanced at Zechs, who was sitting up with the blankets wrapped around like an oversized cloak. //God, he's handsome. . . // The young man in question was frowning thoughtfully at his bandaged hands, inspecting the cuts not fully hidden by the gauze wrappings. A nudge from Treize's knee brought that attention firmly back to the older man. //Well, Zechs-- what do you think?//
Zechs shrugged, smiling slightly, then took the covers with him off the bed.
//Imp! You may be bigger than that term generally suits, but you're more mischievous than Alice's Cheshire cat!// Treize growled, flinging that smirking pale creature a glare, before calling back to the soldier, who was still patiently waiting outside, "No! That's all!"
"Yes Sir!" Feet clicked audibly together in an unseen salute, then clopped off into the distance.
A snicker. Zechs held the blankets firmly about himself, standing at the end of the bed, his posture screaming that he had no intention of surrendering them anytime soon. That smile was decidedly wicked--and challenging. Cat eyes gleamed slyly, daring. . .
Treize dragged himself to his side of the bed to retrieve his cane and turned an amused smile to the younger man. //You don't know how much I want to just jump over there and tackle you right now. . . // "Come on now, /Silver/. You can hardly curl up in those and go back to sleep. We've things to do," he admonished playfully.
The slight smile from earlier spread slowly, those icy eyes narrowing, laughing back at him. "Rrrreally?" Zechs half-rumbled in a feral tone.
"Don't make me come over there and take them from you," Treize scolded. But he couldn't hold back a growing grin of his own as he limped around the edge of the bed. //You want me to do just that, I see! Correction--you /do/ know how I want to tackle you right now!//
Lips parting in anticipation, Zechs spread his feet subconsciously, tensing, shrugging the blankets a bit higher on his shoulders so they didn't trail, and offered nothing. Visibly set to dodge, whether or not he knew of his own instinctive adjustments to his posture was a good question.
//Sometimes, my friend, I wonder if you realize how much of what you do is on human instinct, how much on feline instinct, and how much is simply good sense and training?// Setting his cane against the footboard, Treize stood facing the younger man, feeling like laughing as he felt adrenaline tickle his blood. //I think I need this exercise. . . //
For a moment, the two stood still, assessing each other. . .
Then. . .
Treize darted a hand as fast as he could for a handful of the cloth fluttering against Zechs's ribs.
He caught merely air, for the younger man simply turned sideways and shifted towards the opposite side in a blur of fair hair and a teasing whirl of blankets, laughing silently back at Treize, his head tilted teasingly to one side.
//Grrr!// Lunging again, Treize tried to trap that blur between two hands this time.
Cloth slid across fingers, escaping just before he could grasp it, and he got a ticklish jab in the waist for his troubles. This time he had to turn around to find Zechs grinning broadly back at him, folding long "wings" of blankets back across his chest.
"Cat!" Treize half-laughed, half-cursed, whirling and leaping again. . .
. . . To only /almost/ grab the tail corner of the blankets as Zechs vaulted the footboard of the bed and rolled to end up lying among the pillows with the contented smirk of someone who had been there for hours, blankets fluttering to a rest around and over him.
Collecting his cane, Treize could only laugh, watching as the younger man cracked a massive yawn and closed his eyes, snuggling up again--
--like a cat.
//Truly like a cat--but he /is/ one, hmmm? Silver indeed! /My/ Silver, though--and only mine!// Shaking his head, Treize limped back to his side of the bed, set his cane down with casual ease, and suddenly lunged at that seeming-sleeping bundle.
This time, Treize caught it in a full tackle, unaware.
Zechs yelped in surprise, but that turned into a soft, deep chuckle, as blue eyes peered out of the tangle of blankets back at Treize. "You are fun to tease," he murmured, smirking.
Treize snorted, bringing himself nose-to-nose with his personal Cheshire cat and holding it close, firmly. //Oh, you just wait, my Silver. /I'll/ show you teasing--when the time is right!// "/I/," he announced with solemn dignity, eyes dancing, "simply don't want cat-fur all over these for the next few nights!"
A warm rumble-purr of a chuckle, and those icy eyes half-closed over an affectionate smile that warmed Treize's heart.
//Ah, how can I resist you? Screw the military! We'll catch Uncle's killer later!// Leaning closer, Treize began to kiss those irresistibly- delicious lips, and prove that he, too, could tease to an alluring level.
That warm mouth responded to his own, the younger man's hands releasing the blankets to encircle Treize's neck, smooth his hair, explore his shoulders in hesitant strokes.
//Mmm, I can see why you enjoy it so much when I stroke your hair like that. . . Purr for me, my Silver, my snow leopard, my Cheshire cat. . . // Still, Treize himself would have purred, if he could. //I want more of you, all of you, but you are so new to this--so trusting--so amazing--I daren't let this go too quickly--you'd be hurt, and hate me for it. I've had so little hope before this, though, I can endure these small delicious moments, savor them. . . They're more than I dared hope for.//
He could hear it now, the soft, deep thrum of a purr beneath his own chest, even as he rubbed noses with his "pet", toying with the younger man's lips during the kiss, to open that mouth beneath his and let him explore inside. . . .. For a moment, icy eyes widened in surprise, confusion--then narrowed, and the younger man began to spar back.
//Yes, Zechs. . . I'll take whatever you're willing to give, as much as you can give me, for as long as possible. . . //
Someone banged on the suite's outer door.
//Oh, DAMN IT!// Treize cursed, startled into jerking his head up and breaking the kiss, and then glancing at the door warily. //Leave me alone already!//
The younger man blinked, and arched his head up to rub cheeks with Treize, astonishing the older man. //Am I being claimed. . . ? Or scent-marked?// Looking down, he felt like he was falling into those ice-blue eyes. . .
"Breakfast, Your Excellency!" someone called through the doors.
Falling back, Zechs just closed his eyes and shook with silent helpless laughter.
Treize glared at him, then sighed regretfully and dragged himself back towards his cane. //Why, why can't I just be surrounded by incompetents? People who let me lazy around, run late to things, skip breakfast--wait a minute, that's being antisocial. Oh what the hell--why can't they let me be antisocial?!?//
Out of the corner of his eye, Treize could see Zechs wriggling out of the blankets towards the other end of the bed and sitting up, then starting to untangle himself from the borrowed robe--
--and forced himself to look away as that fell away, to put his attention to grabbing his cane. //Mud, Treize, mud and murder. Back to daily life. . . // A mental sigh of regret followed. //Besides, what will you do if you get worked up, hmm? Jump him?//
Heavy paws, still wrapped in bandages, padded past towards the sitting room of the suite, a flash of a fluffy tail curling into eager corkscrews as it went through the bedroom doorway. . .
//As a /cat/? I don't think so!//
An amused growl in the sitting room. . . ?
//Oh no. . . // Treize thought with trepidation. Quickly, he struggled to his feet and limped as fast as he could for the sitting room, hoping he wouldn't be too late. "Damn it, Silver, don't scare the poor man--" he called urgently.
The door clicked open audibly, something rumbled hungrily--
Something fell heavily.
"--into fainting," Treize finished lamely, sighing. //You just /had/ to scare him. . . //
Treize entered the sitting room in time to see Silver, jaws clamped on the edge of the waiting trolley, pulling backwards into the room with the thing in tow, leaving a poor, fainted soldier in the hall outside. Once the laden trolley was fully in the room, the large feline slapped the door closed with his tail, curling up neatly in a sitting position, cat-grinning at Treize.
The older man leaned on his cane heavily, sighing resignedly. "You just /had/ to growl at him. . . " he admonished. //I suppose he'll wake up soon enough out there, though. . . And I'm /not/ bringing him in here!//
In a blurry shiver of a motion, Silver changed--and Zechs, tucked up neatly and half hidden by hair and the trolley, shrugged, smiling without regret, though a touch sheepishly. "I /didn't/. . . That was my stomach!"
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To be continued. . .
Higher metabolism--faster breathing rate or bigger breaths required. Cats have high metabolisms. So Zechs has no choice but to come up for air first.