Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Victoria Base Affair Extended Edition ❯ Fighting Temptation ( Chapter 3 )

This chapter is a little short, but since it was about two times shorter in the original story, I guess I can live with it.

-o-o-o-

Chapter 3: Fighting Temptation

“Damn you, Zechs, you're a lucky son-of-a-bitch!” Les complained. “How the hell did you get Treize Kushranada to invite you to be on his team?” She punched Zechs on the arm, but there was no malice in her voice or the blow.

“I didn't do anything, except excel as a student,” Zechs answered quietly. Other students were within earshot and he could see them watching him and Les.

“Oh, is that all?” Les said and she rolled her eyes. “Now that you make it sound so easy, maybe I'll try that.” She started laughing.

“Well, if you ask me, Treize is lucky to get him,” Corbin said. “If he hadn't asked, I bet someone else would have. Zechs is better than half the junior class, in my opinion.”

“Oh, yeah, like the opinion of a no-nothing freshman counts for anything!” Les laughed.

Corbin wrinkled his nose at her. “I'm just sayin'…”

Zechs listened to them tease each other without saying anything. Most of his friends were deeply envious of his situation. Zechs was the only freshman who had been asked to join a team for the alumni games at the end of the year. It was not uncommon for juniors to be asked to fill out the teams, and every once in a long while an exceptional sophomore was selected. But this was the first time a freshman had been chosen. Quite a number of the seniors, and not a few of the juniors, were upset that Treize had chosen a freshman to be on his team, even someone as obviously skilled as Zechs Merquise. A few people even grumbled that it was because of Zechs' noble heritage, overlooking the fact that half of the people on Treize's team were common-born citizens.

Zechs found it all rather distressing, but not enough so that he felt tempted to withdraw from the team. He wanted to work with Treize. He told himself it was because Treize was the best student at the Academy and would become one of the finest officers in the Alliance Military one day. But it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to deny how attracted he was to Treize on a personal level, all the more so because every day made him more convinced that Treize was attracted to him as well. Whenever they got together to talk about Zechs' courses and where he was in his training, Treize's eyes seemed to bore into Zechs. Zechs could feel Treize's intent gaze even when he wasn't looking. And Zechs suspected he was doing the same thing. He couldn't help staring at Treize whenever they were alone.

He realized suddenly that the conversation around him had died away, and he looked up to find the other two staring at him.

“You were about a million miles away just then,” Les remarked with a snort.

Zechs flushed. “Sorry! I was just thinking.”

“Obviously. Care to share?”

“It wasn't that important.”

“So it was too good to share!” Les nudged his arm and winked. “What were you doing last night?” She grinned suggestively.

Zechs felt his cheeks grow warm and knew they were bright crimson. He looked away. “I was training yesterday. You know that.”

“That was yesterday. I'm asking about last night.” She leaned forward and dropped her voice to a stage whisper that carried farther, it seemed, than her normal speaking voice. “Did you pick up some cute young cadet on your way back from the hanger?”

“Les!” Zechs complained. “I had training, followed by a debriefing, and then I took a shower, ate dinner and went to bed. Ok? That was it. Satisfied?”

Les sat back with an exaggerated sigh. “Hardly! I was hoping for some salacious details, not a description of your usual boring evening. Honestly Zechs! A guy as good-looking as you are ought to be getting lucky every night, and sharing the intimate details with your less attractive, less romantically fortunate friends. You're really letting me down, man.”

“Yeah!” Corbin agreed with a laugh. “We're your teammates. You owe us.”

Zechs stood up. “I'm going to my room to study. Lord Kushranada wants to assess my skills personally tomorrow and I want to be ready.”

Les' eyebrows shut up. “Assess your skills personally? And I suppose you're not going to tell us about that either?”

“It does sound kind of kinky,” Corbin muttered, rubbing his chin.

“I think,” Zechs said archly, “I'm not going to speak to either one of you ever again.”

Les reached out and caught his arm. “You know we're only kidding you, right?”

Zechs studied her earnest smile and nodded. “I know, but I do worry about what people say.” He glanced around the room to draw Les' attention to the people pretending not to listen to their conversation. “I don't want gossip about me to damage Lord Kushranada's reputation.”

Les pursed her lips. “I guess you're right. I'll watch my mouth.”

“Thanks. I'll see you at dinner.”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Although he and Zechs had had several meetings already, they had not yet trained together. Treize was excited about the training session they had planned for that afternoon. It was Sunday, so the training course was free for anyone to use, as long as they signed up for it ahead of time. Treize had signed up for the outer course, where the hills and valleys made an excellent training ground for setting and avoiding ambushes. Strictly speaking, this particular training wasn't necessary for the alumni games, which were face-to-face set battles, but by using the outer training area, they were assured of more privacy. If they trained on the inner course, they would no doubt draw an audience.

As they lumbered out to the training area in their mobile suits, Treize explained what they would be doing.

“I want to see how you handle the unexpected. Basically, we'll be playing hide-and-seek. I'll hide and you need to find me without getting yourself shot up.”

“You realize ambush and avoidance is a sophomore level course,” Zechs replied.

“I know, but I hear you're exceptional,” Treize replied cheerfully.

Zechs chuckled. “What if I don't live up to your expectations?”

“I have every faith in you, Lightning Count.” Treize stopped. “Ok, turn your back, shut down your sensors and wait here for ten minutes. After that, you have fifteen minutes to locate me without getting killed.”

“Roger that.” Zechs turned around and flipped off his sensors.

Treize immediately marched over the nearest ridge, down the next valley and worked his way up a narrow canyon with a dog leg at the end. It had a slight overhang that shielded him from above and the dog leg hid him from anyone standing at the end of the canyon. He cradled his rifle in both hands and waited.

If Zechs was on the ball, he should be able to figure out Treize was in the canyon, but reaching him without getting shot would be the trick. Treize waited. Twelve minutes in, a shower of pebbles spilled over the edge of the canyon and rained down on the shelf over Treize's head. Treize turned toward the middle of the canyon, expecting Zechs to drop down on him from above. An instant later, a shadow at the edge of his vision made him turn back just in time to be peppered with small caliber training shells from the bend in the canyon.

Treize began to laugh. “Well done, Zechs! How did you cause the rock fall from way over there?”

Zechs lowered his gun. “I made a pyramid near the edge and tossed a rock into it after I entered the canyon. There's a spot just a few steps back where you can see the top of the canyon wall.”

“Very good.”

They hiked back down the canyon together. At the end of the canyon, Treize stopped and pointed up the valley.

“I want you to go up the valley to the far end. It spreads out into a larger valley. There's a stream in the middle. I want you to take up a position near the stream. I'll be attacking you there and attempting to cross the stream. Stop me.”

“Yes, sir.” Zechs marched off.

Treize watched him go. He gave Zechs ten minutes to get into position before following him. The battle was far more difficult than Treize had expected, much to his delight. Zechs could switch between a pitched fight and a running battle without breaking stride. Treize could neither end-run him nor overwhelm him. Ultimately, Treize declared himself the loser when it became clear, after almost two hours of fighting, that he was not going to get across the stream. He held his rifle up over his head in one hand and waved.

“You win, Zechs,” Treize called. “I concede that I am not going to get across that stream today.”

Zechs shouldered his rifle. “You almost had me once or twice.”

“Almost,” Treize agreed, “but I didn't succeed. You're extremely fast.” In fact, Treize wondered if he would ever find out how fast the Lightning Count really was. Most people thought Treize hated to lose, but they were wrong. Treize was always happy to lose to an opponent who could beat him on skill alone. Zechs was already skilled enough that he could push Treize to his limits. Treize could only imagine how good he would be after three more years of training. “That's enough for today, Zechs. You've worn me out.”

“Already?” Zechs chuckled. “Feeling your age, old man?”

Treize laughed. “Cocky youngster! I should trounce you thoroughly for that impudent remark, but the sun is setting.”

“We could go infrared and do a little night training.”

“You haven't received classroom instruction on working with night vision, yet. It's not as easy as it sounds.”

“I haven't had ambush avoidance instruction either and we did that.”

“One new skill at a time, Count Merquise.”

“As you command, Lord Kushranada,” Zechs answered.

They started back toward the base. It was a long walk and the early evening grew steadily darker as they marched along. There was still enough light to see where they were going, though, as the afterglow of sunset turned the sky a deep violet hue, fading to brilliant aqua and pink just above the western horizon. Zechs stopped walking and turned to look at the sunset.

“That's really beautiful, don't you think?”

“Yes, it is,” Treize agreed. He stopped to look as well, and after a moment, opened the cockpit door and stepped out to get a better view. Zechs did the same.

“I hardly ever look at the sunset anymore,” Zechs said wistfully. “It always reminds me of home.” He sounded very sad and Treize looked over at him.

“Zechs, come down for a moment.” Treize gripped the lift cable and dropped quickly to the ground. He walked across to Zechs' mobile suit and waited for Zechs to drop down beside him. The glow of the sky made Zechs' hair shimmer like starlight and his eyes looked violet. There was a wounded look on his face, as if mentioning home had actually hurt him somehow.

“Zechs,” Treize said softly, “What happened to your people was terrible, but you mustn't let that be the only thing that shapes who you are.” Zechs nodded without speaking. The look on his face made him appear vulnerable, and much younger than he was. Treize gripped Zechs' shoulder gently. “If you ever want to talk about it, please come to me. I want to be your friend.”

“You are my friend, Treize,” Zechs answered simply. He looked steadily into Treize's eyes, his open expression showing suppressed desire.

It was too much. Without another word, Treize kissed him. His right hand slipped into the soft folds of Zechs' hair, his left arm encircling his shoulders. Zechs' arms wrapped around Treize and he kissed back hungrily, his tongue feeling soft and warm between Treize's lips. Treize was instantly lost in the passion of that kiss and his knees buckled. They sank to the ground, wrapped in each other's arms. Treize came to his senses only when he realized Zechs was trying to undress him, and that he was starting to undress Zechs. He caught Zechs' hands and pulled them up to his mouth.

“No,” he whispered into the palm of Zechs' hand. “We can't do this. Not here.” He didn't look at Zechs; he didn't dare. “If we get caught, we will never be allowed to see each other again.” He pressed Zechs' hands against his cheek. “I don't think I could bear it if I could never see you again.”

Zechs pulled his hands out of Treize's grip and sat up. “It's been a long time since I let myself feel anything for anyone,” he said softly. “There cannot be love without trust and I have not trusted anyone for a long time. But I trust you, Treize Kushranada.” He stood up and walked back to his mobile suit.

Treize let him start back for the base before getting up to return to his own mobile suit. He stared at the last trace of light on the horizon as the cockpit door closed. “God help me, but I'm falling n love you with you, Zechs Merquise.”

-o-o-o-o-

Zechs was blind to the countryside around him as he returned to base, but it had nothing to do with the fading light. All he could see was Treize's face; the desire in Treize's eyes. What am I doing? He glanced at his sensors and saw Treize's suit lumbering along a half-click behind him. I can't do this! I can't let myself fall in love with him! But a voice in the back of his mind cried: too late! He thought about the kiss they'd shared and his body grew warm at the memory. If not for Treize's self-control there was no telling how far Zechs would have let things go. He felt like a fool. For so many years, he had kept himself under rigid control. He had lost so much, he feared to let anyone get close and then suffer that loss again. But he was losing this battle. His passion for Treize was undeniable.

It was dark when he arrived at the hanger. The mechanics were gone. But Zechs wasn't ready to return to the barracks. He parked his suit and began the post-exercise maintenance. There were a lot of checks to do to ensure the mobile suit would be in optimal condition for the next time. Running the diagnostics and performing minor repairs distracted Zechs from thoughts of Treize.

“You should be in bed. You have class tomorrow.”

Zechs froze. The sound of Treize's voice instantly awakened the aching desire that he had been fighting to suppress.

“I know, but I didn't want to leave this for the mechanics.”

“It's all minor stuff; they won't mind. And you shouldn't be making major repairs. It's their job.”

“I know.” Zechs looked down at Treize from the lift. He was half-way up the side of his suit, patching up the dents from machine-gun fire. The lights from the lift, while adequate for what he was doing, left Treize's face in shadow. “I… was a little too wound up to go back to the barracks,” he said quietly.

“I know what you mean. But what happened this evening is just between us, Zechs. No one else needs to know.”

Zechs sighed deeply. “But I can't promise that it won't happen again. My feelings for you…” He realized he was tightly clutching the tools he was holding when his hands began to ache. “I think I should withdraw from the games.”

“I can't accept that, Zechs.” Treize's voice was deadly quiet. “I need you on my team. Your skills are beyond anything I have ever seen. With you at my side, I know I can take it all. At this moment, that matters far more to me than the fact I've never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

Zechs closed his eyes and shuddered.

“We are professionals, Zechs,” Treize continued. “We will do what needs to be done, and if that means resisting our feelings for each other, then that is what we will do. I'm not letting you off the team.”

Zechs looked down at Treize again. Despite the shadows, he could see the intensity in Treize's eyes. Slowly, he nodded. “Yes,” he whispered. “I am at your service, Lord Kushranada.”

“Good. Now go to bed.” Treize turned and walked away.

Zechs watched him go. Fraternization was frowned on between classmates and forbidden between grades. If they succumbed to their desire and were caught, it might very well cost them everything. Zechs would have to trust that Treize would not allow that to happen.