"I spy with my little eye something that is...blue."

Colonel Zechs turned to his right and stared at his commanding officer in disbelief. The OZ general, however, merely smiled back at his second and plucked a bit of lint from his cuff.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, what did you say?"

"I said, 'I spy with my little eye something that is blue.' You did say not five minutes ago that you wished there was a way to kill time on these long shuttle flights, didn't you?"

"Yes, General, but—"

"Then, I spy with my little eye—"

"Your Excellency, I really had something else in mind, not the games children play on long car trips."

Treize only smiled wider while settling back in his seat. The shuttle was empty except for the two of them, and if they weren't on their way to such a dismal conference, Zechs might have felt as playful as Treize. Hmm...well, what's the harm? He turned to look at the General. "All right, then. Your jacket."

"What?"

"You spied something that was blue. I'm guessing it's your jacket."

Treize glanced down at his uniform for a moment, then grinned as he shook his head. "No, but we should decide rewards before playing." He stared at the colonel for a moment before smoothing a stray lock from his own forehead, and Zechs realized Treize was using his mask as a mirror.

"Rewards? What kind of rewards?"

"Hmm...let's say that if I guess correctly I get to see you remove that mask. And if you guess correctly, you may ask me to do anything of a similar nature."

"Similar nature?" Beneath the mask, an eyebrow arched, intrigued. "What exactly would you consider 'of a similar nature', Treize?"

"Well, nothing that would compromise international security, nothing dangerous, nothing humiliating. Nothing that would involve anyone outside this cabin. I'm sure you understand."

Zechs nodded, then considered the reward. He knew exactly what he wanted, but was it wise to ask for it? It would unquestionably change their relationship forever, but wouldn't it be worse to say nothing and spend eternity wondering what might have been? For several minutes Zechs was tortured by the tug-of-war of what to do. The inquisitive smile Treize was famous for soon settled the issue. Zechs removed his mask.

Time stood still as Treize stared, mesmerized by the fall of white gold hair cascading down over padded shoulders. It held him spellbound until the beauty of the face he hadn't seen in years snapped him out of it. He'd both prayed for and dreaded this day, terrified he'd discover his friend's best days had been spent hidden behind a ghastly mask. As it was, time had been merciful. Zechs had not passed the zenith of his physical perfection, and his days of purest beauty were still ahead of him. "Milliard." In another moment, Treize remembered that no answer had yet been guessed. "Why did you remove the mask?"

"I thought we could skip the questions and go straight to the rewards. You're now obligated to let me request a reward from you."

Treize nodded and swallowed hard, waiting impatiently for Zechs to name his prize.

"I want...I want you to let me...erm...kiss you."

Treize blinked a few times, then blinked some more, but in another second his hand rose to brush the curve of Zechs' cheek. As Zechs leaned into the hand, Treize leaned forward, and they met in a kiss somewhere in the middle. The kiss tasted of joy and despair, of something wanted for a long time, and of something that could never be. But for the span of time while they embraced, there was nothing more real or more powerful.

Minutes later they separated slightly, far enough to look each other in the eye until Zechs broke the magic. "Speechless, Your Excellency? I've never before seen you at a loss for words."

Treize smiled sweetly before refuting the charge. "Actually, I do have something to say." He leaned in again until his forehead rested against Milliard's. "I spy with my little eye something that is—"

"BLUE!"

Zechs jerked out of his seat as a little boy screamed an answer to his playmate and ran down the aisle, laughing. The former OZ soldier looked around the cabin and was stunned to find it now full of people. A moment of reflection as he settled back into the seat brought his thoughts into focus. "A dream. It was only a dream." He'd never been on a shuttle alone with Treize; he had never kissed him.

"All passengers prepare for landing."

The captain's voice brought Zechs fully back to the here and now. He gathered his belongings and disembarked with the other passengers, making his way through the Mars spaceport with his eyes on the ground. It was only a dream.

"There you are! How was your flight?" Noin asked, startling him out of his thoughts as she approached him at the baggage carousel.

"I'm sorry, Noin, what did you say?"

She hid her disappointment that he was never excited or surprised to see her, a pattern throughout their lives she'd thought she'd gotten used to. "I asked how your flight was, Zechs."

"Oh." Zechs considered the question as he grabbed his bags from the carousel. "Heh. Actually, it was...very good. I was sort of sorry we had to land."

"Oh? That's funny. You've always hated shuttle flights. I remember on a trip during the war Treize once said he'd have to find a way to keep you from fidgeting so much."

Zechs stopped moving and turned to face her. "What did you say?"

"You remember. During the war you, me, Treize and Lady Une had to go to an Alliance briefing in the L2 system. You couldn't sit still and the General asked you why. You told him you hated long shuttle trips because there was nothing to do. He said he'd have to find a way to amuse you on your next shuttle flight."

Zechs remembered, and sadly drifted over to the terminal window overlooking the runway, stroking his lower lip with one finger.

"He kept his promise."