Warnings and Disclaimer: nothing new
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Chapter 7:
"Collins?" Zechs stuck his head into the room.
"Yes?"
"Une would like to speak with you," he announced, giving Duo an odd look as the Owned jumped to his feet and stood very close to his Master. "Is something wrong, Duo?" the blond man asked.
The First looked uncertain for a moment then shook his head. "I don't need to be borrowing trouble. I just want to be near you for now," he stated, reaching out slowly for Zechs' arm, giving the older man plenty of time to pull away. When he didn't, Duo latched on, nuzzling the bicep gently, but maintained a firm grip as Zechs lead Collins to the vidphone.
"Lady, this is Dr. Avery Collins. Collins, Colonel Lady Une," the blond introduced blandly, pointedly keeping Duo out of view.
"I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, Lady," Collins began easily.
"I don't like hearing about anything happening to my agents. Especially something like this," she glared.
"I truly didn't know until after the fact, Lady. And I did not know that Duo was a Preventer until today. He never deigned to tell me. Perhaps you should ask him why?" he suggested.
"That's a very good suggestion. I'd also like to see for myself how Maxwell is fairing," she replied icily.
"Very well. De—Duo?"
Duo raised a questioning eyebrow to his Master who nodded. Reluctantly, he released Zechs' arm and allowed himself in front of the camera. "Hey, Une-chan," he smiled softly.
Une caught her breath as she looked at the face of the former 02 pilot. His normally handsome features now seemed to be ethereal. Multi-hued hair falling over his shoulders like a curtain of silk, unrestrained, high cheekbones and strong chin coupled with eyes that were now unquestionably violet and seemed to reflect inhumanly. The pointed ears just finished off the illusion, which was only broken with the familiar cocked eyebrow. "Maxwell," she acknowledged, finally. "You're looking well."
"You too, Une-chan, but I thought you had something to ask me?" he replied.
The prompt put her thinking on the right track. "Yes. Dr. Collins said that you never told him you were a Preventer. Why not?" she asked flatly.
Duo threw a glance back at his Master, making sure he could answer freely. Zechs nodded. He wanted to know as well. "What point was there? What was done was done. It's rather irreversible, so why make a bigger deal of it?" he shrugged elegantly.
"You are my subordinate, Maxwell—"
Violet eyes seemed to light up momentarily. "The only person I'm subordinate to is my Master," he stated coldly. "That's Zechs, if you're confused, by the way," he added cheekily.
The Preventer Chief mentally recoiled at the cold look in the First's violet orbs. "Let me talk to Dr. Collins again," she finally informed. Duo stepped away without another word, going to sit next to the chair his Master had planted himself in. Subtly, he rested his head against the blond man's thigh and wrapped an arm loosely around the same leg. Absently, Zechs automatically began to stroke his Owned's hair while listening to Collins and Une's conversation. "Okay, Collins, no more word games. How much of Imprinting is real biological imprinting, and how much of it is just the subject's belief?" she demanded instantly.
"I'm afraid I'm not sure what you're—"
"How much of this is all in his head? Brainwashing, for lack of a better term."
"Ahh… I see," Collins gave a sad smile as he heard the First's soft purring. "You want to believe that this is all in his head and that the only thing necessary to reverse it is making him understand that it's not real, is that it? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Lady, but the Imprinting is sound biological Impression," his lips turned up in an ironic little grin. "I'm sure you remember Kelvare, Lady. He never would've left something such as the Owned's loyalty to such an inconsistent thing as brainwashing."
"I don't care what you did, Collins, or what Kelvare did. I just want you to find a way to reverse it," Une hissed lowly.
"I'm afraid that complicates things. Those who consent to becoming the Owned know that the process is irreversible. It makes them consider the decision very carefully. If there is suddenly a way to reverse it, then we'll have all sorts of people who think they want to be Owned but end up chickening out, leaving them with the physical enhancements but no one to keep them under control," he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I already did the best I could when I realized that the First had Imprinted upon what I believed to be a stranger in a picture. There is no so-called cure, Colonel Une. Just as there is none in nature."
~~~~~
Duo's things had been moved to Zechs' temporary room by the time they retreated to bed. At the foot of the queen-sized bed was the Owned's cat-like bed.
"Is that really comfortable?" the blond asked, eyeing the pillow-like thing suspiciously. Duo chuckled softly, opening a drawer in the trunk that held most of his belongings.
"It's obscenely soft," he smiled. "I swear, you just sink into it. I love it. Sometimes I think Kelvare mixed a little too much cat genes when he was going for retractable talons," the chestnut-haired man admitted, shifting his shoulders resulting in a cracking of joints that made his Master wince. "Sorry."
"It's okay, but doesn't that hurt?"
"No more than cracking your knuckles. My wings are fairly heavy so the joints get a bit stiff during the day. Of course, every now and then I do it just to annoy Collins. He positively cringes every time I pop 'em," he tossed the blond a fanged grin and managed to startle a snicker out of him.
"So can you really fly?"
A genuine smile crossed the First's face as he pulled his hair over his shoulder and reached behind his back. "It's amazing…" There was a wistful awe in his voice. "I've never flown outside, mind you. There's a huge training facility in the basement with more than enough airspace to take flight. It's even better than piloting 'Scythe was… I can't describe it."
"So you really fly, not just glide?"
Duo nodded. "I found some of Kelvare's old notes when I was bored. It looks like it was an even bigger frustration to him then getting the Imprinting to work. Human bodies just weren't meant to fly. Actually, different Owned have different wing shapes. There's one girl who doesn't have any finger bones in this part of her wing," he explained, pulling his own around to point out the bone that ran the length of his wing membrane. "But she's tiny, so she doesn't need the extra support," he added. "I haven't asked, but I don't think there's actually bone in this finger though. I think it's just cartilage," the violet-eyed man explained, reaching towards the bottom of the wing and twisting it around to show its flexibility. Zechs noticeably winced. "It doesn't hurt anymore than pulling your ear around hurts. I can feel it, but it definitely doesn't hurt," he assured, moving to sit on the bed. "It's okay to be curious, you know?"
"But…" the blond looked pained.
"Hey, what's done is done," the First comforted. "Kelvare may have been a jerk, but he really was a genuis," he stretched out a wing to his conflicted Master and giving him an innocent look. Slowly, Zechs sat on the other side of the bed and reached out to touch the extended limb. "It's not going to bite."
Carefully, the blond Preventer ran his hand over the membrane and blinked in surprise. "It's just…"
"It's just skin. It's only black cause it's tattooed. Same with my tail. I asked Collins for that. Believe it or not, these wings look really creepy when they're flesh colored. That, and they're a menace to conceal. When they're like this, they're easier to hide. I just hook this finger up top here," he pointed to the almost claw-like finger at the joint of the wing, "on my shoulder, and let it hang down. Then I have a black trench coat that is lined in stone gray. Blends nicely," he smiled as his Master continued to run his hand over the wing membrane.
"It's almost like leather…"
"What do you think leather is anyway? Silly." The Owned giggled as the former prince hit a sensitive spot. Stealthily, he poked the older man in the side with his tail. "That tickles." Zechs cringed away from the tail, protecting his sides.
"Your tail is hard," he complained, reaching out of the swinging appendage.
"Duh… it's mostly bone," violet eyes practically glowed in happiness as he put his tail within reach. At the end of the four and a half foot long tail was a nine-inch spear-shaped club. "Careful of the edges, they're kinda sharp. Don't ask me how many pairs of pants I've ripped on it," he made a face that got a smile out of his Master.
"Why a club? Wouldn't a whip-like tail be better?" the blond wasn't really thinking of the wings and tail being part of his friend, just curious as to how they worked. As long as he wasn't repulsed, Duo didn't particularly care.
"It would. Collins said that Kelvare was smart enough to realize that different people are better at using different weapons. The was a guy here who had a morning star on the end of his tail. Sweet Shinigami the guy was huge. It fit his personality," he was talking to keep his Master calm mostly. Once Zechs realized, or remembered that these were part of his friend, who was not only now Owned, but his Owned, it would be harder to appeal to his natural curiosity.
"This seems contrary to yours, though. Too obvious," the blue-eyed man commented.
"Is it now? Kelvare thought the same thing. Move your hands back. I don't want to hurt you," he warned. Zechs did as asked, and the spear-head split open to reveal three sharp, jagged bone blades. "They're stronger than the rest of the bones in my body… I can cut concrete with these suckers," Duo explained, flexing the sides open more so that Zechs could see that the bone sabers were actually hinged and could move slightly in a scissoring motion. "Make damn good scissors too," he added, snapping his tail shut.
"I would imagine…"
The Owned tilted his head and examined his Master closely. "You look tired. You've had a long day. Why don't you get into some comfy-cozzies and crawl into bed. I'll be here to guard your dreams," he promised, moving off the bed and reaching behind his back as he had earlier. The sound of a zipper was heard once, then again as he reached behind his neck to undo the top of his halter-top. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked, holding the shirt unsure in front of him. "Zechs?"
The blond man jumped, cursing himself furiously in every language he knew. "It's fine… my bag—"
Duo's tail plopped it on the bed. "Collins sent for your stuff," he stated.
Zechs couldn't help staring stupidly. "Totally prehensile, huh?"
"Helps with balance too, but aside from that, yeah, it's kinda like a fifth hand at times. Providing I'm dealing with something fairly long, anyway. Things like glasses and stuff like that… well, those are for hands, not wayward tails to handle," he grinned sheepishly, going to kneel by his trunk again.
The blond stared at the finely muscled back as Duo dug into his trunk, unable to stop himself. It was odd to see the smooth connection of the wings with his back, knowing that nature had never intended such a thing. The First had surprised him when he'd taken off his shirt, giving his Master an unobstructed view of his chest. It was something that Zechs had always struggled with before, forgotten in the stress of the situation, remembered in an unguarded moment. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't attracted to his friend, but there was a certain safety in knowing that Duo had Heero and that he had Noin. A dark corner of the blue-eyed man's mind noted that he could have Duo any way he wanted now. He shook it away fiercely, digging through his own bag, the bag Noin had packed for him. Everything meticulously folded and in its place, remnants more of military life than a true neatness. His heart ached for some reason as he thought about his wife-to-be.
"Zechs?" Again, Duo's voice startled him out of his reverie only to give him another shock. The First was wearing a toga-like garment that seemed to wrap around his neck then hang loose until the waist where a black satin cord belted it, then a flowing skirt fell to his ankles, long slits up the sides that were held loosely together with laces of the same cording, but much thinner. What was most startling though, was the color of the garment, a pure white. He'd never seen Duo wear white that he could recall. It was very flattering on him.
The Owned fidgeted with the cord belt under the scrutiny of his Master, a light blush covering his cheeks as he ducked his head. "Wings and tails are a little awkward to fit clothing around… the skirt is the best thing for a tail and wings make normal shirts impossible…" he explained, breaking the apparent spell that had held the blue-eyed man. "You haven't gotten changed?" he pointed out.
"I… It's just…" the blond shook his head physically. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear white," he finally recovered.
Duo made a bit of a face. "I don't like it very much, but for sleepwear it's fine, I guess," he admitted, then raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to get changed?"
"Yes," the Preventer stated firmly. "Where's a bathroom so I can get cleaned up?"
The Owned only pointed through the doorway, eyes lingering longingly on his Master as Zechs promptly went to the bathroom to get ready. With a sigh, he unfolded the blanket in his bed and laid down, wrapping himself from the waist down while letting his wings work as a blanket for his upper body. He listened to the blond as he puttered about the bathroom, returning a few moments later to crawl straight into bed.
"Duo?" his tone was uncertain as he reached for the light.
"Get some sleep, Zechs. You're exhausted."
"Good night." There was a soft click and the lamp was put off.
The First was awake deep into the night, doing nothing but listening to the sound of his Master's sleep, memorizing the rhythm and sound of his breathing, violet eyes glowing dimly in the dark room. Unable to sleep, he silently got up and went to Zechs' side, admiring the slack face as his Master slept soundly. White-blond hair spilled over the pillows like a waterfall of moonlight.
Unable to resist, Duo leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the older man's lips. "I love you," he whispered, slipping back to his bed, finally to find sleep.
TSUZUKU….
