Chapter Seventeen

Noin sipped at her pre-breakfast coffee, and then set the cup back onto its saucer on the table in front of her, glancing at Une seated across from her as she did so. The older woman seemed to be taken by the news article she was reading, and was all but ignoring her own cup.

The younger woman let her attention drift from her immediate surroundings as she recalled her conversation with her former classmate the previous evening, experiencing again the peculiar mix of exasperated affection and amused annoyance she had felt at his naivety.

It had been a genuine surprise to her to learn that Treize hadn't bedded him yet – somehow, she had seen the general as the sort of man who took what, and whom, he wanted, when he wanted them, and most likely made them think it was their idea whilst he did it. Certainly, he was more than capable of sweet-talking one seventeen-year-old virgin into his bed if he was so inclined. Learning that he hadn't done so with her friend at the first chance he got, that he had chosen instead to wait for the younger man, had left her feeling both pleased and saddened.

Zechs's comments about Treize's reasons for waiting had changed her opinion about the subject rather sharply, banishing the new-found wave of tenderness towards the older man and leaving her displeased with her friend and irritated with the general. It was a shock to learn that Zechs was, despite everything that had happened to him, still so gullible.

Did he really believe that nonsense about the age of consent mattering? Noin had realised instantly what Zechs clearly hadn't; that if Treize had touched the pilot at all, he'd given whatever enemies he had – and she could believe that the general had his fair share of those – all the ammunition they'd ever need. Just that scene she'd interrupted on the plane would be enough to bring charges of assault, if that was the intent. Zechs obviously hadn't grasped the fact that if they were ever caught they were both in trouble. It wouldn't matter a whit whether he was eighteen or eight when he first went to bed with Treize – the older man was his Commanding Officer. The two of them shouldn't even be considering being lovers.

She sighed, sipped at her coffee, and glanced across at Une again, knowing what Zechs's reply would be if she were to point any of that out to him: If that were the case for him, surely it was also the case for Une, and yet Noin had spent most of her Christmas break encouraging the other woman.

She pondered, for a moment, what it would take for her classmate to realise that it was different for Une. Fair or not, in the society the Oz officers moved in, Treize and Une would have gotten away with a relationship where Treize and Zechs would not. Most likely, they would have done more than get away with it.

From what Noin had seen of things, Treize could have outright asked Une to marry him and the worst that would have happened, would have been a slap on the wrist and few disapproving head shakes at some of the dances. She honestly doubted that they'd even have received those – in her opinion the whole thing would have been given a strong media spin. Whilst she had been supporting Une, she'd always thought it would end in hundreds of publicity photos of Treize and his Lady, and a new slogan for the organisation, touting some such nonsense as the leaders of the future living in perfect harmony with each other at work and at home. Treize would have escaped punishment because Une was a social equal – talented, pretty and obviously devoted to him – and because he needed to have children to protect his family line. Une would have gotten away with it simply because she was female.

It was the same reasoning that she had always applied to her dreams of a relationship between Zechs and herself – whatever the Code of Conduct said, the two of them, the Special's top pilots, would have been good publicity. The whole world liked the perfect, star-crossed lovers' image.

No matter what Zechs might think, Noin refused to believe that Treize had delayed things until the younger man's birthday simply because of his age. It was clear to her that Treize had concocted that story to cover for something else entirely – he had chosen to wait for Zechs's birthday, she had concluded, because it was his birthday – because he wanted Zechs to have another reason for remembering it apart from the destruction of his home and family.

On the surface, it was a truly sweet thing for the older man to have done, and for a few minutes she had found herself smiling at the idea, until she remembered whom she was attributing this to. Somehow, sweet didn't seem a strong enough motivating factor for a man who could plot circles around Machiavelli in his spare time.

There was thread of anger in Noin's feelings towards her superior now, and a shade of disgust. It hadn't taken her long to realise that Treize had played on Zechs's innocent faith in him, had manipulated the younger man completely. She had no doubt that the general had set up this entire weekend to do to her friend exactly what it had, and she couldn't help but wonder if her own part in it had been a set-up as well. Had Treize planned for her to see them at Christmas, to overhear what she had – therefore prompting her confrontation with her friend – or had it merely been convenient coincidence? One way or the other, Treize had put Zechs in a position where he was vulnerable to the memories of his past, had watched and bided his time whilst they had torn the pilot apart, and then, last night, with one act and a few hours of his time, he had put the younger man back together in the fashion he chose and bound her friend to him for the rest of their lives.

Une reaching for her coffee cup distracted Noin from the bitter direction her thoughts had taken, and she shook her head at herself, wondering when she had become so cynical. Surely Treize had done what he had because he loved Zechs, nothing more. What was she thinking, devising all these elaborate plots all of a sudden? What need did Treize have to find another way to tie Zechs to him anyway? The younger man was his completely, and from what she had seen lately, had been for most of his life.

Sighing, she got to her feet, and went to indulge her love for cooking one last time – determined to make the most perfect breakfast either man had ever had.

******************************

Zechs woke to the feel of a warm body drawing him close, wrapping him in strong arms and the embrace of the heavy covers. It was pleasant, comfortable, and he sighed gently as he drifted into a doze. Light little nipping kisses were trailed across the back of his shoulder, teasing him away from the lure of sleep and he turned into the touches, rolling onto his back without opening his eyes, a lazy smile answering the low chuckle his shifting seemed to have provoked. The kisses resumed, across his collarbone and his throat this time, and the soft brush of auburn hair against his skin accompanied them. The strands of hair tickled and Zechs found himself laughing quietly as he finally opened his eyes.

"Good morning," Treize greeted, looking down at him, amusement and affection playing across his face and lighting his night-dark gaze. "I'd begun to wonder if you were ever going to wake up."

"I'm sure I would have eventually," Zechs murmured back, and slid his arms above his head so he could stretch the night's lack of use from his muscles.

Treize watched him, raising an eyebrow with a knowing smile as the movement made the younger man flinch a little, reminding him, with the strain on muscles that had never been used in that way before, just what they had done the previous evening.

The pilot frowned a little; concentrating on the stiffness in his back and thighs, and the vague soreness inside himself made him aware of places in his body that he had never really paid conscious attention to before. The odd sensations they were feeding him now were unlike anything he had felt before.

Treize's fingertips brushing his cheekbone drew his attention from his body and he shifted it to the general. "How do you feel?" the older man asked him, and Zechs shrugged. "You aren't hurting too badly, I hope?"

"Not too badly, no," the younger man conceded. "Not at all, really. It's more that I feel anything at all…" He trailed off, not knowing the words to describe the sensation of being open he was feeling – the ghostly impression that muscle memory was giving him of there still being something inside him.

A glimmer in sapphire eyes and a quirk to Treize's lips let him know that he didn't need to find words. "It'll pass when you start moving around."

Faint colour touched Zechs's face. "I'm not sure I want it to," he admitted quietly.

Treize smiled at him, then leaned down and kissed him thoroughly, lingering long enough that Zechs could feel himself beginning to harden again. He moaned softly when the older man pulled back

"Oh, to be eighteen again!" Treize sighed dramatically, and ended up flat on his back laughing as Zechs shoved at him in exasperation.

"I suppose I should be more understanding about your aged lack of stamina!" the younger man retorted, and yelped as his commander reached out and swatted him.

"You should," Treize agreed and rolled out of the bed, reaching for his clothes.

Zechs watched him from where he was lying, slowly recognizing that Treize must have been up for quite some time before he woke him. The room had been straightened and most of their things repacked in their bags. The general had even, Zechs realised as the older man began pulling his hair back into its usual style, found the time to take his shower.

He stretched again, feeling the shift of his strained body mingle with the lingering heat sparked by their kiss and smiled. "Treize," he murmured. "Do we really have to get up?"

A split-ended eyebrow rose as Treize turned his head to look at the pilot. "I seem to have created a monster," he mused, tapping the back of his hairbrush against the open palm of his other hand. He shook his head. "Unfortunately, we have to get back to Luxembourg relatively early, so move it, Major."

Zechs scowled, but obeyed, sliding from the warmth of the sheets and padding into the bathroom.

*************************************

Zechs picked up his hairbrush and pushed his wet hair out of his face, preparing to brush it out. A glimpse of himself in the mirror on the wall made him pause, and he set the brush down again as he tuned to look at his reflection properly. He didn't look in any way different from the way he had when he'd been getting ready for the meal the night before, barring the marks Treize had left on his skin, and somehow that surprised him. He felt changed; his perception of the world around him had altered, so why didn't it show?

It wasn't the first time he had felt this sense of being out of sync with the rest of the world – he had long ago learned that life altering events had this effect on him – but this was the first time there hadn't been some visible sign; this time there was no scar, no mask or uniform, merely the stiffness in his body and his own knowledge.

Picking his brush up again, he drew it through his hair until he was satisfied with the silky fall, and then slid into his clothes and packed his toiletries, ready to leave.

Treize was waiting for him in the bedroom, seated gracefully on the couch underneath the window, and he got to his feet as the younger man approached him, smiling at him and reaching out for him.

Zechs went into the offered embrace willingly.

"You took longer than you usually do – is everything alright?" Treize asked.

"I'm fine… just a little dazed, I think." He bit his lip wondering whether to confess his thoughts. "I feel… changed… Everything seems different this morning. Silly, I know," he admitted.

"Not at all," Treize countered. "I'd think you odd if you didn't feel altered – don't you think you should be?"

"I don't know."

The older man stroked a hand down the pilot's spine. "You aren't the only one feeling it, my love. I don't think it's possible to experience something like that and come out untouched."

Zechs pulled away a little, enough that Treize could see his face, and the expression on it and in the pilot's eyes made the older man smile. It was a charming mix of surprise and delight, touched with a vulnerability that called to mind the winsome child his friend had been not so many years before.

"You…?" Zechs asked, colour touching the faint tan of his skin as he stumbled for words. "But you've… I mean, it wasn't…."

Treize laughed quietly. "No, you weren't my first – you knew that. That hardly means last night didn't matter to me. Or that I can easily dismiss the fact that you'd let me be your first, and how that makes me feel."

"Oh."

"Yes – oh." Treize smiled at Zechs for a moment, holding his gaze, and then he brushed a light kiss across his forehead and stepped away. "Come on."

***************************************

Treize strapped himself into one of the passenger seats on the plane and smiled as he watched Zechs do the same and wince a little. The younger man had begun shifting restlessly about halfway through their drive to the airport, leaving Treize to conclude that over three hours of sitting still – first through the lengthy breakfast-come-lunch Noin had prepared, and then in the car – had caused his muscles to stiffen and protest more vigorously about their treatment the night before.

Quietly, he resolved to force Zechs into borrowing his bath again as a remedy and his smile became a smirk as he acknowledged to himself that his motivation for such a gesture wasn't entirely altruistic. A good part of him was hoping that the deliberate repetition of last night's opening moves would leave the younger man in a willing mood. Having once had the pilot completely, he had found he was rather eager to repeat the experience – and whilst he knew it would be pain rather than pleasure for Zechs if Treize tried to make love to him again so soon, still there were other things they could share which were far more satisfying than not touching each other at all.

The plane, once again under the command of the two women, accelerated along the runway and took to the skies, banking as it came to the heading needed for the Luxembourg base.

Zechs was out of his seat and pacing almost as soon as the flight levelled off, casting baleful glances in Treize's direction until the older man was forced to give into laughter.

"Glare at me if it makes you feel better, love, but I did warn you to expect some discomfort. For all that it feels so good, the human body wasn't designed to do what we did last night."

Zechs let his expression soften into a rueful grimace. "I suppose I should only be grateful that I don't have to pilot a mobile suit in this state. That would be unpleasant!"

Treize undid his own restraints and went to stand behind his companion, slipping his arms around the younger man's slender waist. "It's not the most comfortable of experiences, no," he agreed, casting his mind back over the few occasions he'd been forced to do exactly that.

The pilot had turned enough in his arms that the general caught the dark look that flared in Zechs's eyes at his words. It seemed one night had been enough to make the blond possessive. Treize supposed, after all that nonsense over Une at Christmas, that he should have expected it, but he couldn't say he was disappointed. In truth, he liked the flash of jealousy enough to see if he could encourage it a little.

"Oh?" Zechs asked, and his tone of voice was too casual.

Treize answered him with a knowing smirk. "There's been a time or two," he murmured. Zechs's eyes narrowed and Treize shrugged. "It gets easier with practice, obviously, but I was very gentle with you last night. There was one occasion when I had no idea I was going to be piloting the next day and I encouraged my partner to be rather… vigorous about things. I distinctly recall regretting that during the mission I had to fly." The smirk gave way to a smug smile. "Though I rather liked it at the time, of course…"

Treize began to pull away, and was stopped by Zechs's sudden fierce grip on his arm as the younger man looked at him with darkened eyes and an unreadable expression. "Did you now?" the pilot asked, and kissed him, fast and hard and punishing. Treize gave a low moan, and Zechs pulled away, letting him go and stepping towards the cockpit. "I'll remember that," he tossed over his shoulder.

Treize blinked, caught his balance and smiled. Just before the younger man vanished from view, the general gestured with his hand as if conceding a duel, acknowledging that Zechs had won this particular game.

The pilot smiled back at him, and left Treize to celebrate in silence at the success of his work.