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Cages	By : Ryoko21 Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 14164 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Heero 188

Despite several first places, the overall win came down to the dancing event. Part of it was that our team did not participate in several of the events and took a zero for the missed events, part of it was the way Collar was scored, and part of it was the fact that the events our team actually placed very low in several of the events.

Wufei, in particular, was having a bad week, most likely in part to his fight with Master. I could tell that whatever their issues were, they weighed heavily on Wufei’s mind. And even though he and Master put on a good front during the week of Collar, we all knew that things were still not right between them. Wufei had excelled in his fencing match and his history debate, I think because those events allowed him to spend the pent-up aggression he had been harboring all week, but he had done abysmal in the poetry competition, probably because his mind had not been calm.

Master had chosen to keep Wufei in the chess competition, even though Wufei protested that Quatre would be a much better choice, and despite having won the chess tournament easily for the past several years, Wufei was taken out in his third match. It was difficult to tell if this was merely because his mind was not in the game or as an underhanded “fuck you” to Master. I think Master suspected both, but said nothing.

Still, the choice of Wufei was a blow to Quatre’s confidence, and he was so nervous in his first event that he passed out while cooking on the gas range, spilling his flambé all over the floor and burning his left hand. The resulting breakdown took Trowa and Master all night to contain, with constant praise and reassurances, and cost Trowa the gun competition the next day, pulling in a seventh place and his worst time for disassembly and reassembly since he’d started practicing.

So in the end, by force or by fate, the win or lose came down to Wufei in the dance competition, the one competition in Collar that he had never won.

This did not improve things between Master and Wufei. Although they had returned to sleeping in the same bed, there was still a distance between them. They no longer debated or bickered, and Master no longer turned to Wufei for second opinions. Instead, more often than not, I found myself being Master’s shadow, much to Duo’s annoyance. Duo didn’t take any infringement on our time together well, and even less so when it was by Master, but I placated him by telling him it would only be for a few more days. Still, as the final Collar competition neared, I had to wonder if that were true, or if this would be a permanent rift between Master and Wufei. I hoped not. As much as I was enjoying the added time with Master, I could see that the strain wore heavily on both of them. So when Master asked that I accompany him as he went to speak with Wufei just before the match, I was optimistic as I stood just inside the door to the private preparation room Wufei used and listened to their conversation. It did not begin as I had hoped.

“I know you threw the chess competition because you were angry I didn’t give it to Quatre,” Master said evenly, and I rolled my eyes. Even I knew that accusations would get you nowhere with Wufei. “However, I bear you no ill-will for the action. I understand that you are less than pleased with my behavior as of late.”

Wufei laughed, in the tone that makes you think that you’re simply too idiotic to talk to.

“Thank you for that rousing boast of confidence,” he quipped, making a good front of nonchalance as he finished putting on his costume. He was in his customary block cloth pants, and had on a heavy, decorative coat with a high collar. It was a testament to how un-nonchalant he was, that he had done the last buttons on the collar wrong, and had not even noticed. “But, if you’ll excuse me, I have a competition I need to attend to.”

It was like this all the time now, and I had to withhold the urge to sigh at them. If not ignoring one another, they were snipping and accusing, dancing around whatever it was that the two of them were fighting about. It was taking a toll on all of us, but none more than the two of them. Zechs looked spent, like something had drained all the life out of him. There were dark shadows under his eyes, and he had lost weight during the week, barely bringing himself to pick at the food we forced on him. His hands shook when no one was looking, although he masked it well in the presence of other masters. He’d even gotten Duo to do his makeup, covering up the shadows under his eyes and adding some color to his cheeks. We all knew how dangerous it was for Master to look ill during the Collar competitions, and how much of a target we would all be if it looked like our master was losing control.

But he was. Whatever had happened between him and Wufei- whatever had caused this rift- was eating away at Master.

And Wufei was faring no better. The same deep shadows under his eyes match Master’s, but where Master had gotten tired, Wufei had gotten angry. He’d thrown himself into training for his fighting competition, even after the competition had ended, and was rarely seen outside of meals. When he was forced to spend time with us, he was aloof, shutting himself down and refusing to interact with anyone. He’d even yelled at Quatre earlier when the boy had tried to get him to open up, and then was wracked with guilt when Quatre had started crying. Instead of apologizing, though, he’d fled, leaving a pissed-off Trowa to deal with the consequences. And that pretty much spoke of how it had been this past week; Wufei would snap and then run away, never letting any of us get close enough to help.

My musing was broken when Wufei tired of their staring match, attempting to shoulder past Zechs in an effort to leave the room, but Zechs grabbed his elbow and spun him around before he could make it past.

“Please,” Zechs said, and there was a level of desperation in his voice that I did not understand, taking Wufei by the shoulders. “I need you to win this event for me. I know you can do it.”

“Tell me why you need it so badly,” Wufei growled, and it was once again one of those conversations about whatever was between them. The curiosity over what had happened was eating Duo and Quatre alive, but I just wanted them to get over the whole thing.

“Wufei… I can’t…” Zechs stuttered, and he looked so tired again. I wished that Duo or Quatre had come. Quatre would be able to make sense of what they weren’t saying, and Duo would simply demand to know what was going on. One of them would have at least been able to do more than stand in the corner, acting like it didn’t hurt to see two men so in love hurting each other so badly. Watching them fight and struggle and grow apart… was killing me as well.

Because if Zechs and Wufei couldn’t make it, with all their strength and passion, what chance did Duo and I have, with all my faults and his insecurities? What chance did any of us have.

“Tell me what happened to Sith,” Wufei snarled, and Zechs fell back a step, his face going white. It was a turning point in the argument; that much I could tell. Something new that Zechs had not anticipated, and from the deepening frown on Wufei’s face Zechs’ reaction had said as much as Wufei needed to know.

His mouth forming into a hard line, Master turned and fled.

I sighed, wishing once again that there was someone here better equipped to deal with emotional problems. However, since I was the only one present, I bit the bullet and approached Wufei, who was tense and agitated.

“What do you want?” he growled as I approached him, even falling back a step as I neared and reached out to him. I did not react, however, and he relaxed when I began to unbutton his jacket. I saw him blush when he noticed how many of the buttons were mismatched.

“I can do that,” he protested softly.

“Apparently not,” I said, and it was meant to be teasing but he bristled.

“That bastard… Who does he think he is?” Wufei growled, but his eyes suddenly looked sad instead of angry, and I saw them drift longingly to the door Master had just exited through. It was simple enough to tell that Wufei was missing him desperately.

“Why don’t you just make up with him?” I asked, beginning to put the buttons back in the proper holes.

“Because I’m not wrong here,” he said, and his conviction burned through the longing I had just seen there, leaving not a trace in its wake.

“Whatever he’s done, you know it’s because he cares about you. Because he wants to protect you.”

“I do not want to be protected! I can protect myself!” he snarled, and I raised my eyes to meet his. They were filled with fire and righteousness, and I knew I shouldn’t even bother trying to dissuade him from this. Knew I shouldn’t, but couldn’t help but try.

“Maybe Zechs needs to try to protect you?” I offered, keeping my tone unaggressive so that this would not turn into a fight.

“He doesn’t have that right. I am not his pet or his child. I never agreed to this!”

"I didn’t know love came with a contract,” I quipped before I could help myself. I must have been hanging around Duo too much, because my mouth was starting to work on its own. Wufei merely glared at me and I sighed as I quickly finished his buttons. “Whatever’s going on between you two, you have to put it behind you. I don’t know what could cause you two to grow apart like this, but I know that it cannot break you apart. You are both so strong, and so in love.”

But I could tell that my words had not reached him. Instead, he looked at me and said, “Sometimes love is just not enough,” before fleeing backstage.

I’d like to say that Wufei put his whole heart into his dance routine. I’d like to tell you that Master and I watched on the edge of our seats from his private box, surrounded by the other slaves. I’d even like to tell you that Wufei put his whole heart into the performance, and it simply wasn’t enough.

But Wufei’s heart was somewhere else entirely. His dance was almost flawless, from a technical standpoint. His movements were controlled and precise, never a second too late or early. But there was no passion in him, and it was like watching a machine move. His dance inspired nothing from the audience watching it, and in the last moments his ankle gave he took a massive fall… but I don’t know if he would have won even before that.

Master was pale when the performance ended, his hands shaking as though he would faint again. I had hoped that, even though we had failed, Master would be relieved that the competition was over. Instead, he seemed terrified. He rose before the applause had even ended and motioned for the rest of us to stand as well.

“Heero, can you take everyone back to the room? I have something important I must attend to.”

“Should one of us accompany you?” I asked. Wufei had just left the stage and would be a few more minutes changing, and it was odd for a master to walk Collar without a slave to attend him.

“No,” Master said hastily, trying to usher myself and the others toward the door. However, when he opened it, we found the way blocked by a large and rather intimidating guard. His face was cold and expressionless, showing just a bit of disdain, and his jacket showed the insignia for the Owner’s personal service.

“The Owner has requested the presence of Master Zechs immediately,” the guard said.

“O-of course,” Zechs said, and did not seem nearly as surprised as I had expected. It sent alarm bells blaring through my head. “Just let me return my slaves to their quarters.”

The guard’s glare darkened.

“The Owner will not be kept waiting,” he growled, then took Zechs’ arm in a rough hold, pulling him toward the door.

“What the fuck?” Duo snarled, his temper snapping at what he saw as an assault to one of his own. “Fuck off, asshole!” he yelled, and then threw his shoulder into the guard, knocking the larger man off balance. It only lasted for a moment, though, and when the larger man recovered he immediately retaliated, throwing a fist into Duo’s chest that knocked the smaller boy across the room. Quatre screamed, and I saw a blur of movement as Trowa moved to intercept, catching Duo around the middle before the force of the shove knocked them both to the floor. Zechs yelled something indecipherable and attempted to push the guard off, but the guard delivered a rough backhand to Zechs’ face that left a trail of blood running down Master’s chin.

The background noise dimmed suddenly as I turned toward the guard holding Master’s arm in a bruising grip. I assessed him immediately and found that, while somewhat trained, he was used to intimidating rather than fighting, so he was slow and his guard was down. It was a simple thing to slip in while he was distracted by Duo’s loud cursing and deliver a punishing hit to his solar plexus, throwing him backwards and forcing him to release his grip on Master’s arm. I followed his fall, pulling back to finish incapacitating him with a blow to the face.

“Heero, don’t!” Zechs yelled, and it kept me from smashing my fist into the guard’s chin, but only by a hair’s breadth. Unfortunately, it also gave the guard time to recover, and he took advantage of my hesitation by bringing up one of his heavy boots to smash into the side of my face. I fell back, and the others surrounded me, helping me up and just as ready to rip the man limb from limb.

“Everybody stop!” Zechs shouted, causing all of us to still instantly. “Now I need you all to go back to the room and wait for me, is that clear?” He snarled at us, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his hand. “Don’t make a riot out of it,” he cautioned, and then turned and shoved the guard toward the door. “If it’s so important that I see the Owner this fucking instant, quit picking on my slaves and let’s go,” he growled. The guard sneered, and I could see him contemplate coming after us again, but thought better of it and led Zechs away.

Leaving the four of us watching the empty doorway and wondering just what the hell had happened.

“Master?” Quatre whimpered, then made to go after him before Trowa intercepted, catching him around the waist and pulling him back.

“What the fuck just happened?” Duo growled, but he was panting and his eyes were dilated, so I could tell that he was just as frightened as the rest of us.

“Should we return to the room?” Trowa asked, still clutching Quatre to his chest.

“Fuck that!” Duo snarled. “We need to go after them and find out what the hell is going on!”

“We can’t directly disobey Master and humiliate him in front of the Owner. It would be disastrous.”

“Well we can’t just sit on our hands and fucking wait! Who knows what that asshole is gonna do to him!”

“We need to know what the Owner is planning, and there’s only one person who knows him well enough to tell us what’s going on.”

Duo nodded seriously, calming now that we had a plan.

“We need Wufei.”
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Cages