Gundam Wing: Angel and the Dragon

Part 12

The image on the screen resolved, not into Zechs as the boys were expecting, but into a dark purple-haired woman. Her eyes were chips of flint and she glared at the pilots with something approaching hatred. Wufei started, recognizing her. :That's the onna at Victoria Lake.:

"Where is Zechs Marquise? We only deal with him." Trowa said evenly.

The woman started then leaned towards the screen. "Zechs isn't here. You'll have to deal with me."

Trowa took that in stride, his expression not changing. "What is your answer?"

"Answer to what?" she said harshly.

Now an expression of confusion rippled over Trowa's face. Wufei frowned. :Didn't Zechs tell her the situation when he left?: A suspicion started forming in his mind. Trowa repeated his demands, word-for-word and the woman's eyes widened, flicking to Treize's face in the background. His blue eyes were impassive and the bruise on his cheek stood out starkly.

She opened her mouth, and their equipment started beeping urgently. Quatre examined the display. "There's an urgent call coming in," he announced. Trowa returned his attention to the officer.

"We'll contact you later," he said, cutting her off. Quatre fiddled for a few moments and a familiar grin came up on the screen.

"Duo!" the blonde gasped in shock. Even Treize looked surprised and chagrined.

"Yo!" Duo said with a wave. "Who'd you think it was?"

"Maxwell!" Wufei said, "How did you get out?"

"Yes, Duo, where are you?"

Instead of answering, Duo turned his attention to Treize. "Greetings, General, nice to see you. I have someone here you might like to see." He reached out and pulled someone into the visual pickup by the collar of his uniform. Though he wasn't wearing his mask, the blonde soldier was immediately identifiable.

"Zechs Marquise!" Quatre breathed. The Lightning Count looked away.

"I'm sorry, sir," he said, then was cuffed into silence by the pilot.

"Listen you, how many time do I have to tell you to shut the hell up?" Duo berated him, letting go of his collar and shoving him away. A cry and a thud could be heard outside of the range of the camera's view. Duo grinned broadly into the viewscreen. "I'm in the safehouse outside of Luxembourg. Send your people Quatre, and we'll see if Oz can deal with having *two* of their top people gone, or if they'd rather just give Heero up."

"They'll be right there, Duo. Sit tight," Quatre said.

"Will do! Over and out!" he said, and the screen went blank.

The three pilots looked at each other, then down at the General. He seemed to be in shock, his manacled hands trembling slightly. Quatre shrugged and turned back to the equipment to contact the Maguarnacs. Wufei exchanged another glance with Trowa.

"One down, one more to go," the Chinese boy said.

Duo's grin was infectious as he sauntered up the driveway, the silent Zechs Marquise in tow. Quatre ran down to meet him while Wufei strode along behind him. When Quatre got to Duo, he threw his arms enthusiastically around the other boy.

"Duo! I'm so glad you're okay!" he cried.

"Of course I'm okay! You can't keep Death down, Quatre," Duo replied, laughing. Wufei took hold of Zechs, who was glaring at him with incredible ferocity.

"Be careful, Maxwell. Letting go is the quickest way to lose a prisoner."

Duo smiled at Wufei, letting go of Quatre. "Yes sir!" he said, saluting with a flourish. "Your advice is well-appreciated, Chang I-got-General-Treize-out-of-a-military-compound-in-the-mountains Wufei."

Wufei snorted and started dragging Zechs up the slope to the house. "I have something to talk to you about, Maxwell. When you have a minute."

"No problem. Uh, Wufei?"

Wufei turned. "What?"

"Where are you putting him?" Wufei shrugged.

"Treize is in Heero's room, any suggestions?" Inexplicably, Duo blushed deeply.

"Uh, put him in my room for now, we'll figure something out later."

Wufei gave him a searching look, nodded, and continued on his way.

Duo sauntered towards the house, stretching. "Saaa, Quatre, it's good to be back!"

After Zechs was safely ensconced in Duo's room, Quatre pressed a steaming cup of coffee into Duo's hands and sat him down on the couch, opposite Wufei. At the braided-boy's questioning look, he shook his head and headed upstairs. Wufei took a deep breath.

"Maxwell, there's something I have to tell you."

Duo put the cup on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch, lacing his fingers behind his head. "What, Wufei? You finally admitting to the world that you're a raging homosexual? What?"

Wufei shot to his feet. "What?!" Then he seemed to consider it for a moment, sitting back down. "Well, I suppose that's part of it, at that."

Now Duo sat up straight. "What?"

Wufei fixed him with a serious I'm-not-going-to-take-any-shit-for-this glare. "For the past few months, I've been involved - sexually - with Treize. I'm not a spy, nor have I given them any information, so you don't have to worry-" He stopped talking as Duo rolled off the couch with laughter. He lay on the floor, clutching his stomach and howling while Wufei stood over him. "What the hell is wrong with you, Maxwell? Maxwell?"

Finally, he regained enough control over himself to wipe the tears out of his eyes and get his breath back. "Sorry, Wufei, I didn't mean to confuse you. You see, I've kinda gotten involved with Zechs since I got captured. I just thought it was kinda funny, you know?"

Wufei was speechless. He sank down - thankfully into the armchair again - and stared at his fellow pilot. "You, what?"

Duo sat up, his eyes glancing up at the stairs, but there was no sign that either Quatre or Trowa had come to investigate his outburst. "Come on, man, let's go for a walk."

Once safely outside, Duo turned to Wufei, seriousness reflected in his violet eyes. "First of all, do you care about him? Treize, I mean."

Wufei glared at him defiantly. "Yes, definitely."

Duo raised his hands as if to ward him off. "Calm down, man, I'm not accusing you of anything. I just had to make sure." He lowered his hands, becoming serious again. He glanced at the house again before continuing. "You see, Zechs and I are here because of a plan that will make everyone happy - well, not most of Oz, but who gives a crap, anyway. He *let* me capture him."

"He did?"

Duo nodded vigorously. "Yeah, he's going to get Treize out of here, then we trade him for Heero before Noin finds out that the standing orders were not to release him. Treize and Zechs get to go home safely, Heero gets out of there, and everyone's happy, you see?"

"Why would Zechs disobey a direct order like that?" Wufei asked, forgetting that he had been professing the opinion that just that would happen the night before.

"Because he's in love with Treize, baka. Didn't Treize tell you that?"

"Treize?"

"Jeez, Wufei. You're sleeping with him and you don't even know that he and Zechs are sleeping together?"

Wufei exploded. "They're *what*?" He turned to march back towards the house, his eyes flashing with rage. Duo caught his arm.

"Wait, Wufei! Aw shit, man, I didn't know you didn't know that. Get pissed at Treize about it later, okay? We have to get him out of here without him finding out that Zechs got captured on purpose, first, all right?"

"I'm going to kill him."

"Yeah, but later, okay?"

Wufei looked back at the braided pilot and read the pleading look in his eyes. With an effort, he regained control over his anger. "All right. What's the plan?"

Duo blushed, letting go of Wufei's arm as he became apparent that he wasn't going to go straight upstairs and throttle his lover. "Well, do you have any ideas?"

"Why don't we just go talk to Zechs about it?"

Duo nodded and they went back into the house. Zechs was handcuffed to Duo's desk chair, a rickety affair that rolled on wheels - sometimes. The blonde soldier looked up as they entered and glared at Wufei.

"It's okay, Milliard, he's on our side."

The glare didn't let up. "What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me Treize hasn't told you either!" Duo said in shock.

"Told me what? That he's sleeping with him? Of course he's told me. He trusted Wufei, and he betrayed him."

Wufei bristled. "Only to escape. As I explained to him: the war is more important than my feelings for Treize." He took a breath, searching his emotions, then said with certainty. "I love him." Then his eyes narrowed. "Even though he slept with you without telling me."

Zechs raised his eyebrows. "Oh, uh, I see." He didn't really know what else to say.

Duo sat on the bed and Zechs swiveled to face him. "All right, Lightning Count-sama, what's your brilliant plan for getting Treize out of here?"

Zechs thought. "Well..."

"Christ, do I have to think of everything around here?" Duo exclaimed.

"I'm working on it," Zechs said defensively. "There wasn't much point in making a plan until I knew what I was up against, was there?"

"He can't escape while I'm watching him," Wufei said. "Trowa and Quatre know about our relationship, I can't give them any more reason to distrust me."

"All right, let's just use the direct route then," Duo said. "It doesn't implicate either of you two."

"What the direct route, angel?" Zechs asked. Duo grinned and outlined his plan.

Treize looked up as the door opened, but it was only Duo Maxwell. He elbowed a yawning Quatre out of the chair and sat down in it.

"Duo? Isn't it Wufei's shift?" Duo growled, his eyes flashing in anger.

"Yeah, so we should let him in here so he can fuck Treize like the traitor he is? Give me a break." To Quatre's widened eyes he said, "He's really sucked you in, you know that? I'll bow to majority in not blowing his head off, but if you think I'm letting him anywhere near the General alone before I've investigated this *thoroughly*, you're crazy."

"Uh, yeah, you're probably right, Duo," Quatre said softly. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to be sure, rather than risk Heero."

Duo nodded. "My thoughts exactly. Oyasumi, Quatre."

"Oyasumi nasai." The door closed behind the blonde boy with a soft snick. Immediately, Duo leapt up, crossing the room. He lifted a small, black object in his fingers and placed it against the door, listening closely. A few minutes later, he straightened, turning a broad grin towards Treize.

"Okay, they're gone to bed. It's show time."

"Show time?"

"Right, now look, General. You've got two people very deeply in love with you, who don't want you to die. Out of respect for those two people, I'm going to help you get out of here."

Realization dawned on Treize. "Zechs put you up to this, didn't he?"

Duo scoffed. "Of course not! He wouldn't disobey your orders like that, but he was pretty broken up, I mean *really* broken up after you gave that order." He sat back down in the chair and leaned forward urgently. "I'm in love with him, all right? And I just couldn't sit still after you hurt him like that. It was pretty easy for me to capture him when he was crying and shit like that. He has no idea why I've done this. He's probably sitting in my room cursing my name for all I know."

Treize's eyes widened. "You would betray your people for him?" That earned him a chuckle.

"Hey, if we've got Heero back, Oz can *have* you and Milliard for all I care. We're still going to win."

Treize had to concede that he may have a point. :Milliard told him his real name, how interesting.:

"So, you release me and trade Zechs for Heero before I can get back to civilization, is that it?"

"Exactly it."

"And what if I refuse to cooperate." Duo's eyes lit up from within, an effect that made him look decidedly psychotic.

"Then I trade Zechs for Heero anyway, and you still lose, only this way you probably lose your life, too. I love Zechs, but my magnanimity only extends so far." He smiled slowly. "And after everything Oz has done to me, an excuse to carry out Trowa's threat is quite attractive."

Treize gazed at him for a moment, but couldn't detect any signs that he was bluffing. Slowly, he nodded. "Very well, what is your plan?"

"First, you beat me unconscious, then you go out the window. It doesn't lock, unfortunately. Wufei will be waiting outside to get your handcuffs off, and then he'll sneak back here, with Trowa and Quatre none the wiser. Then you hoof it. By the time you get back, Zechs will be there to greet you." He smiled again. "Oh, and I would suggest that you apologize to Wufei, and make it good. I let it slip that you were sleeping with Zechs the whole time he thought he was your one-and-only. Sorry about that. He's a little pissed."

Treize blinked, then looked down at his manacled hands. :Oh dragon, I should have told you at the outset, but I would never have captured your heart, then.: He looked up again, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Duo was still relaxed and smiling, clearly expecting him to say something.

His hands shot out, catching Duo with a double-fisted right hook to the chin and sending him sprawling. Treize kicked him, once, in the stomach before he could recover and the boy slumped, unconscious. He looked at the door, briefly considered just going after Zechs and escaping with him, but he had no way of knowing if Trowa was with him. He wouldn't be able to surprise Trowa the way he'd surprised Duo. He pushed the window open and looked out. The house was set into a hill, and though it wasn't a short distance to the ground, he was confident that he could land safely.

He dropped to the ground and rolled, fetching up on his back, unharmed. A rustle in the grass alerted him to someone approaching. He got to his feet, hampered by the handcuffs, and then relaxed as Wufei emerged from the trees.

"Come on," the Chinese boy whispered urgently, and they took off at a run. When they were a reasonable distance from the cabin, Wufei turned to him. "The nearest settlement is a day's walk that way," he said, pointing.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, dragon. I know, for you, this is the only way." Wufei nodded. Treize held out his wrists. "The handcuffs, dragon?"

Wufei punched him. Hard. In the stomach.

Treize dropped to his knees, gasping. "That was for cheating on me." Wufei growled.

Treize couldn't answer for a few seconds, he just clutched his stomach and tried to breathe. "I never meant it as cheating, dragon," Treize said quietly, once he'd recovered. "Zechs and I have been together for years. I knew when I set my sights on you that were I to tell you, you would never agree to be with me, so I said nothing. I also feared Zechs' reaction, so I said nothing to him. When I realized my feelings for you, and heard of Zechs' interest in your friend Duo, I realized I had to tell you the truth." He looked up. "But there simply wasn't a good time. I had planned to do it the day you took me hostage, actually, but I didn't have a chance. I'm very, very sorry I never told you myself, dragon."

Wufei crouched beside him and undid the handcuffs, then embraced him clumsily. "All right, if Maxwell can stand it, I guess I can. But only because of how I feel for you. Zechs can go to hell."

Treize smiled and got to his feet, aided by Wufei's hand. "I understand, dragon."

"You'd better go, I have to get back. I'll contact you."

Treize nodded, and the boy melted into the shadows. "Sayonara, for now, my dear little dragon," he said. Only nightbirds replied.

When Duo came to, he had a massive headache. His jaw hurt abominably, and his stomach felt like it had been kicked by a horse. He rolled over and groaned, then checked his watch.

:An hour. Treize, you bastard. Oh well, at least that's long enough.:

He didn't have to feign a groan as he levered himself to his feet. Still holding his head and feeling the bruise on his chin develop even as he walked, he stumbled over to Quatre and Trowa's room. He knocked loudly.

"Trowa! Quatre! Treize fucking jumped me and escaped," he called. Sounds of scuffling answered him. He headed for his own room and burst in with as much vigour as he could summon given the thousand galloping horsemen in his head. Wufei looked up from the book he was reading and Zechs, on his bed, seemed to startle awake. Looking over his shoulder at Trowa and Quatre, who'd just emerged - in bathrobes - from their room, he said, "Zechs is still here. The coward escaped by himself."

Quatre sighed with relief. "At least we still have one."

Trowa came up to him. "Duo, I don't think Zechs told that woman that Treize ordered him not to release Heero."

Duo grinned and smacked the wall with the flat of his hand. "Sugoi! We can still get Heero back, then. Let's call her now before Treize can get to her."

"Shouldn't we at least look for Treize, anyway?" Quatre piped up.

Duo frowned. "I was out for about an hour, but it can't hurt."

Wufei joined him. "We'll never find him, honestly, in the dark, with our numbers."

Trowa shot him a look, but agreed. "True. If we do find him, we're just as likely to have him find us."

"Yeah, and then I won't be the only one with a massive headache," agreed Duo. "Either that, or Treize will be plus one pilot again."

"Unlikely," Wufei said. "But possible."

"All right, lets just use our trump card and get it over with." Duo grinned ferally over at Zechs. "And let's gag him this time, so he can't do anything stupid."

Noin was roused from bed by an urgent call. She hurriedly struggled into uniform and ran full tilt to Zechs' office. She took a moment to compose herself, then flicked on the monitor. The dead-eyed, brown-haired pilot didn't seem at all ruffled from being forced to wait. Now, instead of Treize in the background, she could see Zechs, gagged and handcuffed, and a pilot in a priest outfit standing beside him. :Duo Maxwell,: she thought.

"I apologize for the wait," she heard herself saying. "You called me out of bed."

"Not at all," the spokesman said. "I apologize for cutting you off before. I'm sure you can imagine why it was necessary." His eyes hardened slightly. "I repeat our earlier demand. Release Heero to us, and you may have your commanding officers back."

She looked at Zechs, then back to the pilot. "Where's Treize?"

"You know we have Treize. Now we have proven that we have Zechs Marquise. Give us your answer."

Noin took a deep breath. "Very well. Give me coordinates for the exchange and we will comply."

"Not necessary. We will return your men to you once we receive confirmation that Heero has been released. He will make his way back to us without the necessity of meeting. I would suggest that you not try to retrieve him until you have Zechs and Treize back."

Duo piped up with a grin. "At which point, it'll be too late."

Trowa glanced at him, an unreadable expression on his face. "Exactly." He gestured and the connection was broken.

Noin slammed her hand on the desk. :What choice do I have?: She pressed a contact.

"Lieutenant, make arrangements for the prisoner to be released into the city."

"Yes, sir."

Zechs was marched back to his room. Trowa and Quatre went back to bed, and Wufei followed them a safe time later at Duo's pointed glare. The door clicked shut.

Duo threw his arms around the other man.

"Listen, I have to talk to you about something."

Zechs felt a fist around his heart clench. "What is it, angel?"

"I've really, really enjoyed being with you, Milliard."

"But..." Zechs prompted, his heart sinking.

"No, not really 'but', more of an 'except'."

"Meaning what?"

Duo sighed and kissed him. "Meaning, I don't know if I can do what Wufei is doing. He sneaks off and goes to see Treize and we all wonder where he's going. Well, we don't really wonder anymore, but that's a recent thing. I don't think I can live two lives like he does. If I'm going to force myself to fight this war - which I'm going to do - I can't be sleeping with my enemy. It's that simple. I can't live with that kind of dichotomy."

Zechs sighed. To be honest, he wasn't completely surprised. "I see what you mean."

"I *do* love you. I meant what I said, Milliard, and if I can possibly avoid killing you before the end of the war, I will. I want us to try again, later, when all of this shit is over."

"Angel, I love you, too. And I can live with that." He smiled. "Just don't get yourself killed, all right?"

"Hey, you can't kill Death, man."

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