No Sound In Space
Chapter Four
Zechs
I put on a decent, collected front; but truthfully, I was worried. I was more worried that no one else saw what I did. I hadn't expected them to see the person in the car, but at least the gun being fired, or maybe even the car. Treize had always told me that I had the fastest reflexes he'd ever seen, but could that really be the only reason I saw what they didn't? Did no one else really see the blue eyes belonging to the one that fired the gun at me? I supposed it was possible, but it set me off a little more. To be even more honest, I was still a little dazed. I was coherent, but when I stood it felt like everything was spinning. I didn't say anything. I didn't need to make them pointlessly worry; and I knew that between Treize and Quatre alone, I would be drowned by their combined concern.
I knew something serious was going on the moment that Lady Une started acting nice to me. She never did that. The woman loathed me to degrees that were almost frightening. She had devoted so much to Treize; but she can't blame me for his choice. If I had the power to control Treize's impulses, he would have listened to me when I told him to leave me alone and would probably be with her now. But he chose to pursue me until I caved.
"Carry me." I mumbled, leaning my head back against his chest. He wouldn't deny me. I would play it like I was being stubborn and he wouldn't think twice about the possibility that walking for too long would probably result with me on the floor, dazed.
"Oh? Such an odd request, love, but I would be delighted to!" Yes, Treize, you can have your moment of glory. I'm letting you carry me…I never let you do it. So enjoy it, you lovable bastard.
I repressed a little mutter of surprise when he lifted me. I should not have been surprised by his strength. He had been my superior for a reason, but it is still alarming that he could lift me so easily. Wufei, Trowa and Heero could do it then too. My days of being bigger than them ended when they shot up like damn plants soaked in miracle grow. I was almost unfair. My advantage against Trowa had been lost, especially. He was strong enough to lift me off my feet just by pressing me against the wall, as we discovered when I tried to high tail it out of the kitchen and failed. Miserably.
I subconsciously leaned my head against Treize's chest. I couldn't help it. I was a little tired. You take a shot to the head and see how 'fun' and painless it is. I've had worse, but that was unpleasant after many years of not being faced with massive bleeding. I knew Heero was eyeing me. He was always looking for a reason to pick me apart. I regarded him as a very close friend after so many years, but that didn't change him into a nice guy by any means. Of course, I am no angel either. I antagonize as much as the next pilot.
"So, how's your head?" Heero spoke and I eyed him suspiciously. I knew there was a joke coming. I just had to nail it before he did and with a little quick thinking and prediction on my part, he was easy to figure out.
"Don't worry Heero, I'm keeping track of how much my brain swells. It's large enough already. I wouldn't want my skull to crack." I grinned against Treize's shirt. He smelled strangely like roses…
"I'll get you next time, Merquise."
"I await the challenge, Yuy."
We ran into Noin on the way out the door. She stopped and let us continue out of the room. She smirked and eyed me as if she were about to say something smart. I knew that look. Damn her.
"Hey, where's the dress?" She said with such sweetness. Fake sweetness. Horrible woman. "Did I miss the vows already?"
"You only think you're funny." I scoffed at her before Treize turned me away from her. He leaned close to her and with his best charms whispered to her, even though I heard it. He wasn't even trying to be stealthy anymore.
"Darling, you'll be the first to know when I get him into a dress."
"You traitor!" I smacked his arm and squirmed.
"Hey, I thought I was going to be the first to know!" Duo whined from the other side of me. Treize looked over at him.
"You'll be the one standing next to him in the matching dress, Maxwell…"
Duo huffed along with me and folded his arms. "He's evil, Zechs. Pure unadulterated evil."
I nodded my head in agreement, "Though I'm not sure about the unadulterated part…He's pretty tainted if you ask me." I mumbled.
"Tainted, chéri? What could you possibly mean?" Oh, he tries to be charming. Usually it works… He's such a fiend. He carried me slowly once we came upon the steps. I would have hated for him to drop me down several flights of stairs. He didn't seem in the least bothered by carrying me, but I felt bad about asking him to do it. I wasn't heavy, but I wasn't light either.
"He's saying you're not only a demonic, soul consuming vampire, but you're a innocence thieving one at that." Heero offered, following last up the steps.
"In short terms…" Wufei chuckled, "You're a pervert."
"At least I'm not alone." Trowa snorted. I looked back and saw him shrug. I frowned at him and he saw it. He gave me that look that spelled 'I'm watching you'. I gave him a look that said—with equal clarity—'I'm on to you'. We've learned each other's eye language. It was a little frightening.
"I suppose you could be worse." I smiled softly, resting my head against his chest. For being the large, war-craving overlord he gave off an indescribable air of protection.
"Of course I could, love. I could have won the war, captured you, and publicly declared you my slave."
"I'm sure we all know what kind of slave we're talking about here." Duo chuckled and I itched to lean over Treize's shoulder to flick him in the head.
"Some how…I'm not really finding myself opposing this idea."
"Zechs!"
"What? It would be like being Queen, but with twice as much violent sex."
"You're reproachable." Heero shook his head. He stopped and somehow managed to beckon Treize to do the same with a single estranged look. "Treize, do you mind if I kidnap Zechs for a moment?" The tone in Heero's voice was strange, "I need to ask him something."
Treize looked as perplexed as I was, but I couldn't rightly tell Heero no. I nodded, reassuring my 'protector' that I was—in fact—a big boy and could handle myself. "Well, he seems to be up for the idea. Come claim your prize, Yuy." Treize grinned stupidly before he actually dropped me into Heero's arms. Surprisingly, Heero barely wavered. Damn kids… getting so strong.
"You guys go on ahead. We'll catch up." My new 'owner' said and I scoffed, kicking my foot harmlessly at Treize who would not stop giving me that sappy 'I love you' look. He demoted my masculinity—or what was left of it—by looking so sappy all the time! It wasn't far. How could he look sappy and yet maintain is manly dignity, while I suffered the slow non-literal process of damn near becoming a woman!
Heero abruptly swished around. I almost fell out of his arms and I know he did that on purpose. "You know, treating the torch in such a manner is reprehensible!"
"That only applies in the Olympics. You're hot Zechs, but I have yet to see fire spark off you." He snorted. Clever, Yuy, but I'm not finished yet.
"Oh you just wait until I get into the kitchen again. Then you'll see!"
He snorted again. That was a habit of his. I was a little surprised when he kicked open a random conference room door. Luckily it was empty, otherwise that might have been difficult to explain. He walked casually to the large bored rectangular table sitting in the middle of the room. Yes. I did just describe a table as being bored. He took no time in dropping my ass on it. Well, actually he was much nicer about it than that; but he still lacked the soft touch required to not cause me more grief.
I sat myself straight, mumbling an obscenity or two for good measure. "So what's with the sudden kidnapping, Heero? That's not like you. I mean, if you wanted to get kinky…you could have just asked."
"Don't tempt me, Blondie. I could easily throw you down on this table and make you writhe under me, if I felt so inclined."
"Oh please… you wouldn't do it."
"Only because baka would be mad that he couldn't watch."
"What am I to you people? Everyone's walking wet dream?" I snorted. Sometimes, it was a pain in the ass being the primary 'eye candy' as Duo eloquently puts it.
"Pretty much. You don't want to know what Trowa dreams about doing to you… well…more like you and Quatre…at the same time. I think he just likes blondes."
My face threatened to flush at the very idea. "What did you want to talk to me about, Heero?" I tried the tactical subject change.
"You're drinking again." He stated.
I froze.
"I've noticed it before, but I've not gotten a chance to say anything. Your reaction to what I had said earlier about you drinking like a fish only made it more solid."
"Why now Heero? Why bring this up now and here of all places?" I replied with a meekness I didn't usually have.
"Because, quite frankly, you're in shit condition, what with the head injury, and you're not in the spirits to fight me."
I turned my head a little. I hated him for being so perceptive. I had even managed to keep Treize out of it. There are just some wounds too hard to heal. Alcohol has a numbing effect. When I was drunk… I didn't have to feel. "I'm fine." I simply stated, but I knew there would be more argument out of him.
"You're not fine. Baka is worried about you, but he's too much of a chicken ass to address the problem."
"Or maybe he's trying to stay out of my business." I frowned.
He surprised me a little when he slammed his hand down beside me on the table. The smack echoed through the room and it was his wordless way of telling me to shut up. But I was feeling defiant that day.
"You are our business, Zechs!"
"Well I haven't done anything to danger my health yet, so what's to fucking worry about!?"
"Duo told me all about you, Merquise. How long had you been living without giving two shits about your life? Old habits die hard, maybe? Or there's something you're not telling us! You only relapsed once in the last six years, but what's driving you to it now?"
I glared at him, but I made no move to stand or move close enough to choke him—like I wanted to. "For one, you wouldn't understand. Secondly, as long as I'm not drinking myself into a coma, what does it matter!?"
"It matters, Zechs. And I promise my soul on it, that if you don't keep yourself in check…if you get worse… I will tell Treize and he will not like that at all."
"You couldn't wait to attack me at a different time, could you? I have several stitches in my head and you're bitching at me about a drink or two." I scoffed. He was making me seem much worse than I was.
"Wild Turkey is not a drink or two Zechs and we both know it."
"I'll fix it when I'm ready," I replied. It wasn't a promise, but it was some form of reassurance.
He sighed, dropping his shoulders from their offensive position. "I'm just worried about you. You seem to fail at realizing the impact you make on us. It's not like it was before, you know. We've all changed. But you….you try to stay behind. Like you're afraid you may become someone that everyone will have the chance to love." He leaned forward and—in a rare gesture—he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "I'll drop the subject for now, but we're not done with this topic. Just promise to take it easy for a while? I don't know how long we would survive if Treize caught on to your distressed mental state."
"He's the only person I know who can actually rape someone with love alone." I sighed and he chuckled. I leaned my head against his shoulder.
"There was actually something else I wanted to ask you."
"Oh? So this wasn't just a rag on Zechs because he's a drunk?"
"A secret drunk, mind you. Who apparently speaks third person."
"Okay, Smartass. What's the question?"
His demeanor returned to serious and he moved back to look at me in the eye, "did you know that the person who shot you was the one from the picture? Is that why you knew so quickly that that picture wasn't you?"
"You're perceptive aren't you?" I asked, raising a brow at him. He smirked like the cocky bastard he'd become over the years.
"I can read you like an open book with a type twenty font and double spaced."
"Am I really that easy?"
"Heh…Oh you're not easy, all right. Other wise, by now Trowa would have-"
I fake coughed loudly, "Allow me to rephrase that. Am I really that easy to read?" I had to give him a point though…that was a well-placed response. Damn pervert. They're all perverts.
"You had a look on your face when you said that you saw the person. Not to mention you kept looking at that picture. I figured that you must have thought, for some reason, that there was a connection. Only you have the reflexes to have seen as much as you did."
"I was concerned. Even though I only saw the man's eyes, because of the shades; but they were bright blue. I know that's not much to go on, but they had that same look that the man in the picture did. And I'm still wondering why the hell they're dropping pictures at us like this? If they really wanted to kill me, they could have done it by now! Why go through the effort to prove that my very lifestyle is documented? They should know better than to think that would intimidate me. Not only am I a war veteran, but also I grew up the son of a king! To have my life regularly violated without my knowledge is nothing serious to me."
"Then they have to have another motive." Hero suggested. He was on the same train of thought that I was. If anyone was going to be with me on this, it was Heero.
"I don't seriously think they wanted to kill me. I think that was their way of getting our attention."
"Talk about a way of doing it. I guess they had faith in your ability to not die."
"They assumed Treize bit me."
"…True, vampires are hard to kill…" he paused thoughtfully, "he did bite you, didn't he?"
"Many times." I smirked.
"I knew it."
"You know, 'Hee-chan', if you keep me in here…they're going to think you're doing bad stuff to me." I teased. Using the 'Duo' voice was the best way to aggravate the so-called 'perfect soldier'.
"For all you know, I could be planning to lock that door and make you my bitch," he replied by whispering in my ear. I shivered.
"Why am I always the bitch in these situations?"
"Because you look better on the bottom."
I sat up straighter and folded my arms, "and how would you know?"
"I walked in on Treize having his way with you…remember?"
"…oh yeah.…" I stuttered. I'm a very calm person, but that was enough to make my face a little hot. That had been so embarrassing. It wouldn't have been so bad if it had been Duo or Quatre who saw that, but it was Heero. He would never let me forget the fact that I apparently scream like a woman. "Oh go attempt suicide, Yuy." I muttered, "it's not my fault."
"Hey, you're the one who asked why you're always the bitch." He gave me a smug look.
"You're a pain in the ass." I said looking at him from the corner of my eye.
"Yes, well this pain in the ass needs to return you to your rightful owner." He replied. He gave me no warning before he suddenly pushed my side ways and pulled me off the table, easily dropping into his arms. I glared up at him. "I need to give you back the way I got you, no?"
"I'll get back at you."
He chuckled, "I'm sure you will."
As sure as he said, he carried me back out into the open. The others were already coming back out of their rooms after acquainting themselves with the. I quickly noticed that Treize was wrapped in a large sheet. I questioned this until Wufei came out of his room throwing pillows at him and screaming something about him being a thief. Duo and Quatre were the first to approach while Trowa did damage control on the other two. Quatre wasn't fooling me. I knew he could tell that walking wasn't a pleasant idea for me. Naturally he was worried over it.
"Zeeeeeeeechs," Duo drawled, bouncing next to me. "Can I possibly coerce you into braiding my hair?"
I laughed, "Duo, you had been braiding that mess of hair for years, and now suddenly you can't do it unless I do it for you?"
"You have the magic touch, Blondie." He whined.
"I should have never let you be aware of my mad braiding skills."
"You're starting to sound like Wufei."
Speaking of whom, Wufei appeared not but a moment later with a look of irritation plastered on his Asian face. Treize was always finding some way to harass him in the same manner I harass Heero, or how Trowa harasses me. We had a silent rivalry of stupidity going on.
"You need to restrain your significant other, or he'll be significantly dead." He mumbled to me, but glared Treize into his minds own oblivion.
"You can't do a thing to me, Chang." Treize challenged.
"Oh I could do a number of things." He grinned looking down at me. I repressed a small yelp when I found myself being—once again—shifted to someone else's possession. He was wicked about it though, and had no trouble throwing me over his shoulder.
"Aaaaaaaaaccck. Treize!" I cried pathetically.
"Come get your damsel in distress, Kushrenada!"
"Treeeeeeeize, you sorry bastard! Come save me!" I whined. At least Wufei didn't hold me with an iron grip. I think that would have killed me at that point. Wufei stepped back while Treize approached. Oh god. They're going to duel over me! Someone stop this! I whined in my head.
"Hey, you forgot me!" Duo's voice drew my attention and I looked straight in front of me and there he was with that 'I'll help you' look splattered across his face. I held my arms out and he took my hands and pulled his body weight against Wufei's grip. The three of us toppled over. I landed on top of Wufei and I couldn't resist a smirk when I took a moment to look him in the face.
"Using me in such a way! It's reproachable, as Heero would say! But, in a strange way, kinda sexy." I leaned forward just enough to give him a teasing kiss on the cheek. "Remember I have allies too." I winked and looked back at Treize with an even bigger smirk. I saw that look in his eyes. If I didn't get away quickly I was likely to be dragged off to a dark place where no one would be able to hear me scream. Shit.
"Zechs!" Duo prodded me and I jumped up, using him as support and we darted away from Treize. Wufei stood up and suddenly it dawned on me that perhaps the two of them would combine efforts against my new 'ally' and I.
"Have you no restraint?!" My feeble protest.
"Of course not, chéri. You know that."
"Hee-chan, save us." Duo pleaded, but it seemed that Heero was standing indifferent.
"He can't save you now, Maxwell." Wufei taunted.
Well, that wasn't true. I leaned against Duo warily and it was that moment I decided to use my unintentional trump card. Without even being fully aware of the sudden stress the playful activities were putting on me, I blacked out from fatigue.
To be continued…
Leo: Don't endings like that just piss you off? This is the first time I've ever written as Zechs, so naturally it's going to be a little out o character, forgive me if it was. I've sculpted him into a difference character than most people do. Next chapter starts us back on Heero, so we'll see what happens then! The next three chapters are CRUCIAL. A lot will happen in a short time. So stay tuned. These chapters will probably get written fast because I'm looking forward to them!
