Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Caged Dragon ❯ Chapter 3

Caged Dragon
By Red Pearl



Chapter Three


Heart pounding in fear, boots heels skipping on the hard surface of the corridors, Colonel Une ran to Treize's quarters, followed by a dozen of the top security personnel. The prisoner Gundam pilot 02 had escaped and taken General Khushrenada hostage. The situation was critical.

The thought of Treize's life held in the hands of that unstable teenage terrorist made Une's blood turn cold. She ran faster.

Treize…

Nothing was going to happen to Treize while Une was by his side.

Especially since she was responsible for this situation; working on a lead provided by her own spies, Une had traced and captured Gundam pilot 02, Duo Maxwell. The capture itself went surprisingly smoothly, which was suspicious in itself; unfortunately she hadn't had time to investigate the matter before things got out of hand.

The prisoner had demanded to see General Khushrenada, alone, a demand that Treize complied with readily. Over Une's objections. During the interview, the prisoner somehow got hold of a gun - Une marked that for further investigation also - and forced the General to take him to Gundam pilot 05.

Chang Wufei.

She had known the boy was trouble the first time she set eyes on him. When this situation was resolved Trezie was going to get one hell of lecture on personal security.

The entire base was on full alert; guards were placed over every exit of the General's quarters. If 02 wanted to leave with 05, it would not be as easy as he seemed to think it would be. She only feared the teenage terrorist would endanger Treize's life while trying to escape; Duo Maxwell had been unbalanced ever since pilot 01's death.

This situation had all the ingredients of a disaster; Une couldn't shake off the bad feeling that something was going to go very, very wrong. But whatever it was, Une was determined Treize would come out of this alive.

Treize can not die…

Because Une could not imagine living in a world without him.

She scarcely remembered a time when she didn't know him; her world before Treize had been dull and colourless, until he filled it up with his brilliance.

The first time she ever saw him, he was up on the podium making a speech. Tall, handsome and magnificent, it seemed to her that she had waited her whole life to meet him. He had laid out his dream for the future for all to see and she had fallen in love with his vision.

And with him.

She went to talk to him after his speech. He was polite, courteous and charismatic, answering her questions patiently, listening to her intently, and genuinely interested in her opinions. But more than that, it was there in all in the words they didn't say, in the looks they exchanged -

He understood her heart.

For that she would follow him to the end of the earth.

It had begin then, this thing between them, more than friendship, different than love, warm and solid and enduring. They had grown close with each other and grew together, and no one could pull them apart again.

It had been difficult, when Treize first fell for Zechs Marquise then for Chang Wufei, but it was never over something as petty as jealousy. Une would never begrudge Treize happiness, and if he found happiness in someone other than herself, she would still be content. The trouble was, neither of his lovers loved him as well as they should.

Zechs betrayed Treize, betrayed his heart and his dream of a new future; his defection nearly broke the General completely. Wufei had never loved Treize, and it her hurt to see how hard the General tried to show affection to the boy when the ungrateful little brat rebuffed and rejected him at every turn. She couldn't see this relationship going anywhere except another heartbreak for Treize.

Now the boy's fellow terrorist held Treize hostage, and she could not help but fear a worse outcome for this relationship.

Une's lips thinned; Treize was going to do great things one day and Une would help him every step of the way. No seventeen-year-old terrorist was going to get in the way.

Arriving at the door of Treize's chambers, she gestured for everyone to be quiet and take up their positions. The door was locked, as expected. Une took a calming breath, pushing all her anxiety aside. She tapped on the door. "Your Excellency," she called, "are you all right?"

"Lady," Treize's voice was calm, serene in the face of coming storm, "it seems Mr. Maxwell has some unfinished business with his former comrade."

----------

"Traitor?" Wufei repeated numbly, brain still not quite processing the accusation, eyes moving from the harsh sight of the gun to Duo's face. The disgust and contempt he found there stabbed a raw wound into his heart. Feeling faint, he replied weakly, "I'm not a traitor, Duo."

Duo raked his eyes over Wufei's form from head to toe and sneered. Wufei flushed, ashamed under the scrutiny, feeling exposed and dirty in the obviously expensive and semi-transparent white silks that Treize brought.

"I could never betray you, Duo," he insisted helplessly, knowing he wouldn't be believed. Tears welled up in his eyes; he bade himself not to cry.

He had humiliated himself enough.

"You fucking liar!" Duo's voice was hot with anger, every word a brutal lash whipped across his flesh. "Did you think no one would ever find out?"

Duo moved closer, crowding Wufei. Une's voice was heard from beyond the door and Treize answered her, while surreptitiously trying to get closer to the boys. But neither Wufei nor Duo paid the exchange much attention.

"You faked your own death so you could became his little whore!" Duo spat, gesturing in Treize's direction. "How long had it been going on?" His voice cracked a little on the next question, "Was it you who sold Heero out?"

Wufei gulped, eyes wide, "No! How could you think that!" However much he might have disgraced himself, the thought that Duo would thinkthat he could ever do something so dishonourable broke his heart. "How could you believe that of me?" Terribly hurt, he turned to Treize for help, pleading, "Tell him, please!"

Treize looked into Wufei's liquid black eyes, heart clenching a little at the distress he saw churning inside. He turned to Duo, calm and smooth, with no trace of hesitation in his voice, "Wufei had always been mine."

The shock of this new betrayal shook Wufei, but it paled in comparison to the shock of his realisation that he still trusted Treize at some level in his heart. That was the reason he instinctively turned to the older man for help. It hadn't even occured to him that Treize might be the one who placed those poisonous thoughts in Duo's mind.

It was betrayal layered on top of betrayal to know that his friend would believe an enemy before him.

Duo's face twisted in a mixture of triumph and fury as he raised the gun, lining it up in Wufei's face…

Hell broke loose in the next few minutes. Time slowed down, and Wufei saw everything happening clearly as if they were in slow motion.

Duo's fingers tightened on the trigger, and in the corner of his eye Wufei saw Treize rushing towards Duo. Wufei closed his eyes, waiting for the bullet to pierce his head. It seemed to be the perfect ending for his wretched life.

A gunshot rang out, but he didn't feel the expected impact. The sound of a body hitting the ground followed, and Wufei opened his eyes. There, in front of him, collapsed on the floor was Treize. A large red blot stained his immaculate blue uniform; the stain spread quickly, soon covering half of his left side.

Duo snarled, raising his gun again, this time aiming at Treize -

Before he even realised what he was doing, Wufei was already moving. Adrenaline rushed in his blood and he made a flying tackle that dropped Duo and him both on the floor. The image of the red-splattered uniform was large in his mind, so large that he couldn't see anything else. A sense of desperate urgency drove him as he struggled
with Duo for the gun.

He just knew he couldn't allow Duo to shoot Treize again.

The sight of Treize lying wounded on the floor frightened him to the depth of his soul. In that second he knew he couldn't bear to see Treize die; just the mere the thought of it drove all air out of his lungs and made him go hollow inside. Duo could kill Wufei with his consent, but he couldn't harm Treize.

Wufei wouldn't let him.

He grappled with Duo, ignoring the punches landed on his body, concentrated on getting the gun out of Duo's grip. Dimly, he was aware of the sizzling pain travelling along his nerves endings and fizzling on the walls he erected around his mind, calling for his attention, but he ignored that too; the pain would have incapacitated him if he gave it a second's thought.

He didn't hear the shouts or the sound of door being broke open, all the rush of new arrivals on the scene. Only when strong arms dragged him off Duo did he realise they were no longer alone.

The OZ soldiers subdued and cuffed them both with cool efficiency. Wufei was left on the floor of their suite while Duo was being led back to his cell. Watching Duo's figure disappeared out of the door, Wufei was hit with another horrifying realisation -

He had just helped the OZ to capture one of his fellow pilots.

/Traitor./

/ I could never betray you, Duo./

His mind froze and the mental blocks he had placed around it collapsed, all the built up pain hitting him at once. The sudden wave of agony overwhelmed him, throwing him into a sea of torment, and with barely a struggle, Wufei was drowned.

----------

On the way to taking the prisoner back into his cell, Duo Maxwell tackled his guards and got hold of another gun.

He was recaptured shortly but not before shooting Colonel Une in the eye.

Treize bent down, ignoring the wound tugging painfully on his muscles, and wordlessly picked up the bloody and broken remains of her glasses.

----------

It was late afternoon when Wufei woke up; sunrays spread through the window and laid a warm hue over the carpeted floor. Wufei lay on a patch of floor untouched by the light, small and chained and forgotten by the world.

The images from that morning replayed themselves over and over before his eyes, making his heart bleed all over again. The Duo he saw was cold and hard, an empty shell of the boy he had once been, joyful, kind and so vibrantly alive. It hurt to see that his friend had changed so much; it hurt even more to know that his friend no longer trusted him, and that the distrust was justified.

He had betrayed Duo.

He had betrayed everything and everyone he had ever fought for.

Pressing his face into the carpet, tears seeping out beneath his lashes, Wufei wished he had died at Duo's hand, because, even now, even knowing the consequence of his actions, he still couldn't say that he would have acted differently.

Treize. Pale and prone. Blue uniform steeped in red.

The mere memory had the power to make his blood chill and his heart stop beating.

In that one moment, Wufei caught a glimpse of another, a world without Treize, a lonely and horrifyingly empty place. In that moment he knew, he was in love with Treize.

And had been for a long time.

He had called it a variety of names, Stockholm Syndrome for one, the necessity of companionship for another, but deep down he had known. He had fallen in love with Treize, the man who had destroyed his home and everything he ever knew, the man who set him onto this path of death and destruction.

Steel cuffs cut into his wrists and cut off circulation; bruises were forming all over his body. OZ soldiers were not gentle with him, but they were small discomforts compared to the turmoil in his heart. One fact stood clear from all else -

Treize had won.

Despite all his efforts, all his resistance, Treize had succeeded in crushing his spirit. Wufei had fallen in love with his enemy, an unforgivable betrayal in his own eyes. A betrayal to both the beliefs he adopted and to the memory of the girl who gave her life for those beliefs. He was no longer worthy to be anything other than Treize's plaything.

Sobbing into the rich carpeting in the fading sunlight, Wufei finally gave up the long struggle.

Love shattered him like nothing ever had before.

----------

When Treize got back to their quarters the sun had already gone down. The moon was pale, casting sinister shadows over the room, one of which settled over Wufei's body like a dark cloak.

Wufei had been left lying on the floor for hours.

Treize's steps were quiet and unhurried as he came into the room. Wufei turned his back towards the door, not at all ready to deal with Treize. He wasn't sure if he ever would be. As the steps came nearer and nearer, Wufei's heartbeats speeded up, and renewed tears burnt his eyes.

He was ashamed. A little boy who couldn't do anything except to cry.

A long shadow passed over him as black booted, white clad legs strode over him, Wufei lifted his head in surprise, seeing the long, slender legs walk steadily away from him and into the bedroom. The bedroom door remained open and from his angle, Wufei could see the General began to undress.

Wufei opened his mouth, and closed it again.

What was there to say?

Treize had won and they both knew it, but why must he continue to play this power game?

Methodically Treize removed his ruined uniform, showing no sign of discomfort in his movements, but when he turned around Wufei could see clearly the bandages covering his side. His heart ached again. This time for Treize.

His eyes travelled up and saw that Treize was watching him, face pale and tired, but eerily calm, those brilliant blue eyes looking dull for the first time since Wufei had met him. Alarm rang at he back of his mind and he swallowed with difficulty.

Something was terribly wrong.

Treize turned, dismissing him without a word, gathering up his robe and walking into the bathroom, with Wufei's eyes burning on his back.

----------

Wufei waited for Treize to finish his shower, restlessness crawling over his skin like ants. His limbs were cramped from being too long in the same position, adding to his anxiety. Something had happened during the few hours that Treize had been away, and he feared it was something had to do with Duo.

It hurt to think about the other boy, to know that one of the best friends he ever had was suffering at the hands of Une because of him. Une had never been known for her mercy, and one who gave her so much trouble would receive the full force of her anger. Wufei wished he could exchange places with Duo, because surely he deserved everything Une had to dish out.

He wanted to atone, he wanted to pay for what he had done, but he knew for some sins there was no forgiveness. Wufei had thrown away everything he ever valued for… for…

He didn't know what it was for but it wasn't for love, because Treize didn't love him. Treize found him amusing, was unaccountably possessive of him, and the sex was great, but that was all there was. Wufei sold himself cheaply, and he knew it.

Listening to the sound of water running in the bathroom, Wufei wallowed in self-disgust. The only thing that made him able to face Treize was his need to help Duo, however little that help might be.

"What's going to happen to Duo?" The question was tossed out before he could lose his nerve.

Treize stopped in his tracks, in the middle of towelling dry his hair. Somehow, even now, a part of Wufei's mind registered desirability of the man; a larger part of his mind, however, watched intently as something ugly flickered across Treize's face. In a voice completely devoid of emotion, Treize answered, "I'm going to tear him piece by piece. I'm going to make him beg for death."

This startling pronouncement had the force of a punch to the gut; Wufei gasped, hardly believing his ears.

Treize seemed have to brushed the matter aside as his eyes flickered over Wufei, "Pardon me," he apologised in his politest tones, "I had forgotten you're still cuffed."

He walked over to his desk and took out a small key, kneeled down beside Wufei and uncuffed the boy. As soon as the cuffs came off, Wufei grabbed him. "Explain!" the Chinese boy demanded. "Why did you say that about Duo?"

"Because you asked me what was going to happen to him," Treize explained reasonably.

"No!" Wufei shook him, "Bastard! Tell. Me. Why!!!"

Treize grabbed Wufei's wrists in his larger hands; the grip tightened into steel vise, face pressing in until their noses almost touched. The distant, blank look in those blue eyes were gone, replaced by a burning intensity that frightened him, and a low, dangerous voice ground out, "Because. I. Want. To."

Ice ran along his spine, and Wufei shivered. Treize continued. "I have called for the most sadistic interrogator in OZ. He's going to strap Duo Maxwell on a rack, making him bleed for every second of every day for the rest of his life. It's going to be a long life, Dragon. I'm going to make him sorry for every life he ever took. He's going to scream…"

Wufei screamed.

Pouncing on Treize and punching him with his bare fists, all martial training forgotten, he attacked the other man in a frenzy. He saw red, blood boiling with rage, white, hot pain buzzing inside his head. His entire being was spinning in a whirlwind of frantic emotions, love, hate, anger, pain, shame, regret, all jumbled up together making him insane. He could no longer separate the emotional pains from the physical agony; both grew harder and harder to bear as he cried and screamed, attacking Treize with flailing fists.

Treize caught his wrists, pushing him back on to the floor and holding him down. Wufei struggled, trying to bite and buck the older man off him, but the Treize remained unmovable. Sweat suffused Wufei's body as the pressure grew louder and louder inside his head and the he felt dizzy the room was spinning there was no light another mouth covered his and he couldn't breath or Gods too much too much hurts too much I can't breath I hate him I hate him I hate him so much…

It was a relief when darkness swept over him and he finally blacked out.

----------

Everything changed.

Wufei opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He remembered everything that happened in the last day. He wished he didn't.

There was a pressure on his arms and a weight straddled over his lower legs. Wufei didn't look down; he knew who it was.

"Look at me," Treize demanded.

Wufei didn't answer, his eyes still glued to the ceiling; the curved frames were especially interesting this morning. A hand on his chin forced him looked into Treize's face.Strange, it seemed the older man looked even more tired than he did last night. Shouldn't he be triumphant, now that Wufei was irrevocably his?

Treize's eyes were shadowed, solemn and penetrating, evaluating Wufei while he lay still underneath. "Une is dead," he said.

Wufei's eyes widened; he knew something had happened, but he never expected this…

/I'm going to tear him piece by piece. I'm going to make him beg for
death./

Duo.

His heart leapt at this revelation, beating rapidly, and a fine layer of sweat broke out on his forehead. This was bad. Oh, this was so bad. Wufei bit his lip, casting about for solutions. There was nothing. Nothing Wufei could say that could assuage Treize's anger; nothing he could do would savage the situation. Treize was not rational or reasonable where the few people he cared for deeply were involved.

Une was dead.

Duo's life was forfeit.

"Please," he begged, even knowing it was useless. "Master… please…" he almost didn't notice when the 'Master' slipped out on his tongue.

It was only right.

Treize's face hardened, "What would you have done, Dragon?" he asked, "if someone killed your truest friend?"

Anger flared up and he shot back, fleeting images of a flower field and a young girl bleeding in his arms. Another lifetime ago and it haunted him to this day, "You killed my WIFE!"

Treize squeezed his eyes shut while the corner of his mouth tightened, but he opened them again and held Wufei's eyes, "I can not say I'm sorry that she's dead."

Wufei choked, pain filling his chest almost to bursting. A sob broke out of him, crystalline tears flowing from the corners of his eyes, soaking the pillow where he laid his head.

There were no words to describe how he felt.

Supple lips covered his mouth; he tried to turn away, still sobbing, but the hands on either side of his head stopped him. A flash of anger made him open his mouth to protest, and he found his mouth invaded by an agile tongue, attacking him with skill and fervour. Unwillingly, Wufei felt himself respond, his pulse quickened and a slow, delicious heat diffused through his body.

Gradually he relaxed under the kiss, the force of his reluctant love overwhelming his anger and regret. His tongue danced and mated his lover's, the hands on his head loosened, cradling him instead of keeping him in place. The kiss continued on, slow, sure, impossibly tender, a silent apology for all the things Treize would never say.

With a start, Wufei realised the saltiness he tasted on the other man's lips was tears. Treize's tears. He tried to break the kiss, to see for himself the tears staining Treize's cheeks. But Treize pressed on harder, refusing to break contact, injecting into the kiss a kind of desperate hunger that made Wufei weak. Comprehension dawned.

/He needs me./

Coming immediately on the heel of that thought was /I can hurt him./ It would have been so easy, to reject Treize when he was at his most vulnerable, but even as the thought flitted across his mind, Wufei knew he could never do it. Not when Treize was already in so much pain.

He lifted his arms and snaked them around his lover's neck, cradling the other man's head closer. Their cheeks pressed against each other and their tears mingled. Treize pressed his forehead against Wufei's, so close they could feel each other's breath.

After some time, Treize looked up, sorrow softening his face and bright pain making his eyes a luminous blue. Wufei forgot to breathe, caught inside that blue depth, pure and unguarded for the first time. Their eyes locked. No words could have described this moment. For one second they had seen into each other's soul, seen into all the love and joy, all the pain and regret.

For one moment they understood each other completely.

Wufei's hands caressed Treize's face, fingers wiping away the lingering tears. Treize blinked as more crystal drops followed the downward lashes, and Wufei felt the urge to cry and laugh again. Drawing Treize's face down, he pulled the other man into another hungry kiss. It didn't matter that everything was falling down around their ears. At this moment, this was what they needed.

This was all they had.

They shed their clothes slowly, exploring each other's body as if for the first time. Slow, hesitant, reverent, they made love for the first time in early morning light.

Treize slipped inside him with the ease of coming home; it still hurt a little, but the pain only serve to make the pleasure more acute, and make everything between them real. They rocked together, Wufei gasping as Treize hit the magic spot inside him; his arms tightened as he held his lover even closer.

Tears were still flowing freely down both their cheeks, but now they were no longer isolated in their separate prisons; now they could share the pain and take comfort in each other. Their bodies moved in a gentle rhythm, not hurrying, stretching out the pleasure, stretching out this moment, branding it forever into their souls.

It wasn't quite forgiveness, but at least, for this moment in time, they had something approaching peace.




The End of Chapter Three.