Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Where Sunrays can't reach you ❯ Chapter 4. ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4.

In the months after Milliardo's arrival Treize didn't see much of the fair-haired officer. He and miss Noin were training; always training. From what Lady had told him he concluded that miss Noin was studying to be an instructor and Milliardo was building all kinds of skills. Once he had seen them practicing together in Mobile Suits by moonlight from his balcony. He had taken a few minutes from his duties to watch the magnificent grace of Milliardo's fighting. When the two pilots had finished they walked back to their quarters, immersed in their conversation as ever. A nervous little movement of his head told Treize Milliardo had noticed. But the lieutenant had done nothing to acknowledge his presence. Of course this had amused Treize; he loved to get under the skin of this person, who put so much effort in appearing apathetic.

Something a lot less amusing had been the arrival of his old classmate Zachary De La Ferre. Not long after Treize's secret journey to the Sanc Kingdom he had beaten Zachary in a Mobile Suit brawl. Since that day on De La Ferre had been his sworn enemy, always trying to make life hard for him in numerous small and not so small ways. One time he had even twisted the neck of a bird, which Treize had kept for a long time. She had given birth to several of the others and Treize had been especially fond of her, maybe because she cared so much for her children. He had found her under his pillow when he tried to go to sleep. His first instinct had been to beat Zachary up, but he knew that it would only make his life at the Academy harder. Since then Treize had always remained cool under his bullying, occasionally getting him back, to retain the respect of his peers. He didn't really want to admit it but life at the Academy would have been a whole lot more pleasant if he hadn't been there.

Treize wasn't really sure why Zachary came to his castle anyway; he had written him something about wanting to assess alternative modes of training. Treize lips formed a bitter smile; it was impossible Zachary was genuinely interested in any training program he had designed. He only comes to spite me again. Zachary unfortunately was CIO of a huge oil-imperium and his family had ties with many of the top figures in the Alliance. It will not be wise to openly become his enemy if I don't need to.

Unlike Zechs and miss Noin the count didn't arrive by helicopter, but with a Zeppelin. Despite himself, Treize was somewhat amused by this display. Treize had ordered all his officers to be present for the welcoming. He had felt a little unease when Milliardo wasn't there at half past three. The lieutenant arrived only when De La Ferre's monstrosity was already landing. His beautiful hair was covered with sand and there was a tear in his pants near his knee. He had probably been training in the desert and it would have been wiser if he had changed.

"Aaah Treize, how are you my brother?" Zachary asked while shaking his hand. Of course Treize knew how to play this game.

"I am quite well, my greatest thanks for your concern. How are you my friend?"

They exchanged a lot more similar pleasantries and Treize's officers saluted. Unfortunately Zachary had also noticed Milliardo's unconventional appearance.

He walked over to the young man and asked sarcastically, "What's this Treize? Are your officers supposed to be dressed like this at a formal greeting?"

Treize immediately felt the spark of defiance in Zechs, but before he could avert attention the lieutenant had opened his mouth.

"No sir, it's not mister Treize's order, but you can't expect me to do a ten days desert training in clothes as fancy as yours."

Everyone in the crowd held their breath.

De La Ferre narrowed his eyes, but put on a fake smile. "So they also speak without permission, a highly unusual way."

"He will receive proper discipline," Treize said. Zachary only nodded at this.

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Zechs sighed when he took of his mask. Only in the cover of night and in his own room he took of the heavy piece of metal. He sat down on his bed, wrapped his arms around his knees and recalled the events of the day. Of course it hadn't been wise to stand up to the aristocrat, but his pride had taken over. He had felt insulted that a mere count was speaking that way to him, a prince. He was shocked by these feelings. Apparently part of him still clung to his royalty.

What happened after that had confused him even more. Everyone had been dismissed and the count had walked away, offering his arm to Lady Une, who of course had shot a deadly glance at Zechs. Khushrenada had followed them, but while walking he laid his hand on Zechs' shoulder, stroking it for a mere second. He had looked at Treize with wide opened eyes, but of course the duke pretended nothing unusual had happened, as he walked on. Without really wanting to Milliardo now rubbed his hand against this shoulder. This man, this Treize, who is part of the Alliance, was getting under his skin. He cursed himself for this. It was the Alliance that destroyed my family, the Alliance that destroyed ME and now I am getting attracted to one of its top-figures. He squeezed his knees in an unconscious effort to punish himself for this weakness, but wasn't able to squeeze his self-loathing away.

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Treize was content. A week after the count's arrival, it still brought a smile to his face to recall Zachary's shocked face at Milliardo's behavior. The man was such a tyrant for his inferiors he never expected anyone to behave like that. Naturally it was expected of Treize that he disciplined his officer. He had given orders that Zechs Merquise was not permitted to receive mail or use the telephone for the next three months. For most soldiers this would be a nasty punishment, but Milliardo had no family like them, so he knew this wouldn't harm him in any way. He did realize that Zachary wasn't just Treize's enemy now, but also Milliardo's. He had to keep an eye out for him.

Lady Une stepped inside his office for the last briefing of the day. She saluted and started talking about shares, shifting power relations in Luxembourg's ministry of foreign affairs and Lady Noventa's garden architect. It became increasingly difficult for Treize to listen to her briefings or keep his attention at his work. He used to make a mental note of everything she said, but now his mind was drifting to Milliardo... again. What will his face look like now? Does he have scars, which he's trying to hide? Would he still have that lost expression in his eyes? Those eyes. He had only seen them once. He gave himself a mental slap, Milliardo Peacecraft was a human and it was wrong to think about those eyes as if they were something different, something more than that. Only now he noticed that Lady had stopped speaking and was staring at him with an expecting glance.

"Oh my apologies, Lady, thank you for your briefings, any advises for today?"

The Lady answered: "Keep an eye on the roses near the vollaires, they are about to bloom."

She saluted and left the office.

Treize got up from his desk a minute after that. There was nothing for him to work on this night, except of course the always present pile of paperwork. He walked out of his office, through the corridors of his castle. He heard faint sounds of technicians repairing something outside the castle, but all military personal was expected to be in their rooms right now. He knew what he was doing, but didn't really want to be aware of it. He descended the small stairs that led to the officers' quarters. The door to Zechs room was the second on the left. He stood in front of it for a few moments and then entered. The bed was neatly done, a uniform was lying on the only chair and on the concrete floor lay some papers, but there was no Milliardo. Treize sighed; he didn't know what he was doing there anyway. He had half hoped to find him without mask. Then he could have finally looked into those eyes and get rid of his somewhat unhealthy curiosity. He left the room and wondered where Milliardo could be at this hour of night. As far as he knew there weren't any desert training programs this week.

While he walked through one of the halls he casually looked through its windows. Suddenly he noticed a faint light in the library in the west-wing. He was positive that besides him and Lady no one would have even noticed the light, but Treize knew it was supposed to be entirely dark in that part of the castle at night. Now he went straight for the library. Is it just a couple making out or a spy going through my documents? He was as quiet as he could be -and that was very quiet- when he entered. He passed some of the bookcases towards the cases with his private archives, were the light came from. Suddenly he saw a man with long fair hair standing there, his back towards him.

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Despite his quietness Zechs noticed him a second before Treize's hand reached his shoulder. He turned around in a flowing movement. He had expected a night guard and was shocked to see the charming aristocrat.

"What are you doing here, Zechs Merquise?" Treize asked him, emphasizing the name.

Zechs quickly lay down the book he had been holding in the bookcase next to him, positioning his body in front of it.

"Just reading sir," he said, keeping any hint of surprise out of his voice.

"Just reading? You do know that you can lend books by day and read them whenever you want in your room, am I mistaken?" Treize asked, again with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"I just couldn't sleep so...." he was unsure of what he should add to those words.

"Aaah" was the reply "but officers and soldiers are not supposed to venture out of their rooms past 10, let alone in this part of the castle."

With a sudden movement Treize grabbed the book from behind him.

"What's this? Building a State, the Weaknesses of the Alliance Space Fleet Uncovered, hmmm.... why would a mere lieutenant read something like that?" Treize asked, faking shock.

Zechs knew this was going to get him into trouble; it was highly suspicious to read such a book by night, in a place where he wasn't allowed to be. He bit his lip; I am not supposed to be caught like this. I have already done so much, sacrificed so much to infiltrate in the Alliance.

He looked up to meet Treize's stare, wondering if Treize would call Lady Une or security. To his indescribable surprise the duke didn't reach for his communicator but for Zechs' head. Both his hands were placed on his cheeks and the aristocrat stared intently at the covered face. His cheeks were caressed, first only one and then both. To the young man's horror Treize suddenly used both his hands to remove his mask. His eyes widened while Treize laid it on the bookcase behind him. He felt very vulnerable without his face being covered in the presence of this enigmatic man. But because of the compromising situation the duke had found him in, he didn't dare to utter a protest. Treize's hand reached for Zechs' chin and he was forced to look into the duke's eyes. For a long time Treize stared at his eyes, never allowing him to break the stare. He didn't really know how to respond to this and wanted to look away. But the stare was so demanding that something like that seemed impossible. Finally Treize smiled. It was not a mocking smile as usual, but a content one. He laid a hand on Zechs' back and lightly let his lips touch a cheek.

Zechs gasped out of surprise. Surprise because of Treize's actions, but also because of the pleasing tenderness in the touch. An arm at his back pulled him closer to the duke, who moved to his mouth. Lips touched his for the first time. Thoughts ran wildly through his head, still the lieutenant didn't move. So hot. Once again the lips touched his, only this time they didn't leave. Zechs was still startled, and looked wide eyed at the man. Lips moved slightly upwards and rested on his upper lip. Slowly the duke started sucking on it, using the pleasing touch to persuade him to open his mouth. Zechs leaned in a little and parted his lips slightly.

Treize immediately took the opportunity to let his tongue slip in. Its touch made Zechs tingle all over and he automatically closed his eyes. The tongue teased him and quickly explored every corner of his mouth. In an attempt to stop the uncontrolled movements he let his own tongue meet Treize's. The duke slid a hand through his hair and tried to break his tongue away from the other. But Zechs didn't want to let him win and once again his tongue licked the underside of Treize's tongue. The aristocrat's tongue now made a quick circle around his, provoking him to stop it. But Zechs' tongue mimicked the circle. Then he pulled back a little, waiting for a counterattack. Treize only touched the tip of Zechs' tongue lightly and then withdrew his own to his mouth, daring Zechs to enter. He hesitated for a moment. Treize laid a hand on his back and slowly moved it downwards. Even though it tickled it was very arousing to the young man. Zechs now carefully moved his tongue in the other mouth. Unlike Treize he took the time to explore slowly. The other granted him a few moments to do this and left his tongue alone for a moment. Instead he suddenly pushed him closer by using the hand that had moved even further downwards.

Treize was aroused. That was immediately clear as Zechs was pushed against the proof. But the older man hardly gave him time to realize that as he closed his lips around Zechs' tongue and sucked it demandingly. Zechs opened his eyes for a moment, overwhelmed by the intimacy and sexiness of it all. He was growing hard as well and looked up at Treize, whose eyes were only opened a little. Then he saw his mask lying behind the duke and his mind began objecting. This man is the enemy; he's part of the Alliance, the Alliance that I am going to destroy. What am I doing? Stop this now! He slowly broke away from the kiss and put his hands on Treize's chest, using them to keep a small distance between them. Treize now opened his eyes completely and stared at his. But Zechs didn't want to meet his glance and looked at the ground. Treize put his hands on his and slowly pulled them away from his chest. Then he pulled the lieutenant towards him and whispered.

"shhh.... Milliardo, it's alright."

To be Continued.