clockmaster | [RL With Zechs- Noah'splot]

Zechs glared at Hakuba a bit, but ignored the hidden barb. He called Hakuba a kid because he was angry, mostly. When he was just nineteen, after all, he commanded armies and nearly destroyed the Earth. It wasn't his age - it was his experiences. Hakuba was never a soldier, and he had never been forced to kill a man. Never learned how to estimate how quickly he could kill men.

In that way, Hakuba would be forever young to him. But it was also why, except for when he was angry, Zechs didn't consider it an insult. It was a compliment instead.

Zechs was the last person to judge someone merely by their looks. Especially based on his own experience.

"Other people's opinions are rarely so important to me," Zechs said coldly, but admitted - showing a great trust in Hakuba, "except this man was one I wanted to impress and gain the respect of. I had admired his abilities as a soldier for a few years, and we had much in common. When he could see me as his equal, we could become friends."

Bitter, he said, "Such petty things were important to me at the time."

"Thing like that is what give us a reason to keep trying, Zechs. Some people call it hope, I call it stubbornness."

Hakuba looked at him for a moment and smiled. Zechs had still to drink the coffee, but at least the mug was on his hands now. The detective turned back his attention to run an specially difficult code who will break some of the security walls. The Zero system have a lot of them, and some they were just fake ways. A bunch of security to find nothing, just a loss of time.

"Was you successful? You two become friends I mean?"

(ooc: is he talking about Treize?)

Zechs' features tensed once again, but this was a welcome distraction for him. Talking about Treize was infinitely less painful than talking about Tyki. Not surprising. He hadn't meant for their conversation to travel down this path, but he wouldn't divert it.

Also, he was drunk. While he hid it well, it made him a bit more talkative about certain things than usual. Hakuba was merely lucky enough to witness it.

"For a time," Zechs acknowledged. "We were even close. Understanding ... was an important issue between us. We had felt there were so few people who could know the sorts of persons we were, beneath our masks. Who could share the visions we could see for the world."

Zechs' expression was dark. "Yet perhaps it would have been a better thing if I had not become friends with such a man."

Hakuba made an small movement of the head or a murmuring sound from time to time to let him know that he was listening; even if he was actually frowning at the screen, like to blame him for all their problems.

Zechs was still tense, it was obviously that he was a man who valued his secrets and didn't enjoy the idea of sharing them. hakuba respected that, and feel honored to have Zech's trust, even if it was increased by the sorrow and a slightly drunken state. he wondered how Tyki did it to get under Zechs's shield and if they close relationship was exactly because they share a really difficult past and some dark secrets.

"..why that?"

Hesitating, Zechs took a moment to respond to Hakuba's innocent question. To buy himself some time, he sipped lightly at his coffee, barely consuming any of the drink. Merely stalling as he attempted to think of how to explain. He wanted to tell the truth. But he didn't know how much of the truth he should tell.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Hakuba. He could tell the boy secrets, obviously, and they would be kept. But a lot of this sort of thing was private, emotional. Yet more than anything else, he didn't know if the Detective could understand. It came down to experience again. Hakuba had never been a soldier, never killed anyone, never contemplated the murder of millions. Tyki and he could form such a close friendship initially because they were both monstrous.

"... He was a man who was excellent at manipulating other persons. Especially those who he cared for, who cared for him in turn. I was commonly known as his pawn, and for a time I was proud of my role. Yet eventually, even when I broke all ties with him - I still felt as if I was a part of his larger mechanizations."

Zechs looked rather grim, hardly calm at all. Yet at least he wasn't thinking about Tyki, injured and alone on the Ark. This was a past memory he had already defeated. "If I had not known him as I had, things might not had happened as they did. Though be it for better or for ill, I do not know."

Eyes focussed on a binary code now, Hakuba feel Zechs hesitation. He was telling him more with his silence than his words.

"... He was a man who was excellent at manipulating other persons. Especially those who he cared for, who cared for him in turn. Hakuba knew about this, at some level, her mother was like that, and he was afraid to become a person like that some day.

"You couldn't help yourself, Zechs, sometimes we can't choose the person we get interested in, we just do.Every man has his own courage, and is betrayed because he seeks in himself the courage of other persons." Hakuba sighed and quoted Oscar Wilde. "I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world.".

Zechs glared. "One may always help themselves. Choice is one of the few things we are afforded. I had given my trust willingly to such an individual, and I may have chosen wrongly. Even with ZERO, I could never determine if such a path was the correct one."

As he drank more of his coffee, he was feeling increasingly tired. Normally, this would make him suspicious. Angry. Violent. But a strange sort of calm was settling as well. Perhaps some of the bourbon was finally having its intended effect?

But Zechs didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to dream.

"... How goes the hacking, as we speak of the program?" Zechs asked.

At Zechs's glare, Hakuba smiled softly again. Even if Zechs was still worried, and patronizing him a bit, it was good to hear him concentrated in other's thing than worrying about Tykis. Not like that wasn't comprehensible, Hakuba was worried as hell too, but showing it and panic will not help anyone. So he choose to be the cold heartless bastard because sometimes someone needed to be that.

He noticed how Zechs's body language changed as he drank. Akako's potion was working, slowly, like a caress of the lady of the night, calling him to sleep.

"Sadly, it goes slowly. It can took me more than I first expected. That's why I told you about not making fast judgments, they explode on your face. I thought that It would just took me the whole night but maybe it's a bit more, even with Doyle working on it too. Who designed the system was a genius or a mad person. A mix of both, probably."

Zechs was trying very hard not to show his worry and panic. But it was extremely hard, even for someone like him. Who didn't even bat an eye when his closest friend died. But he had never loved someone like this before. And he had never been told he could do nothing about a situation as an adult. Zechs always could cope better if he could do something.

But Hakuba's words had an unexpected effect. Zechs laughed, darkly and and morbidly, but he laughed all the same. He gave the Detective a more honest look than he intentionally had all evening.

"The scientists who designed the ZERO system were mad. But the man - the boy - who designed the security system around it is perhaps madder. But he was the finest warrior I have ever faced in battle. If you can best him in this, you will indeed earn my respect. He is not a force to be trifled with."

The boy wasn't sure if the laugh was scary or relieving, but he grinned back.

"Well, he certainly must be proud of his creation."

A boy uh? Kid where usually better at technology than adult gave them credit for, that's going to be interesting.

"But anything is sacred, Zechs. I estimate that it will take me a day, maybe less. Don't worry. Can you told me a bit more about him? Maybe it will help me to understand why the program is so challenging."

Thinking, this being difficult as Zechs grew increasingly tired, he tried to think of the best way to describe the pilot of Gundam 01. Slowly, he offered, "He would have written the security program sometime after the war, I am guessing. I know the ZERO system is only archived for research purposes. But we are all very concerned it could fall into the wrong hands."

Heero Yuy would say Zechs' hands would qualify as the wrong ones, he would guess, but they weren't going to mention that. Shifting a little more in his chair, becoming comfortable, he continued, "His reflexes and strength are superhuman. Even during the war, when he was about fifteen, he looked to be much younger. But intelligence points evidence to the boy having been involved in various terrorist organizations since early childhood."

Zechs was also more genuinely relaxed now than he had been previously. Talking shop, as Noin might call it, helped to calm him considerably. "He works best in solo missions, but has the ability to work together with team members when required. He follows orders without hesitation, but has the ability to question orders. That was not trained out of him. He is currently a high ranking agent in the Preventers Peacekeeping Organization. His presence there alone frightens some government officials into remaining peaceful. He's considered one of the most dangerous people alive."

So was Zechs, but he wasn't boasting about himself. He was speaking almost fondly, as if recalling someone he was close friends with - rather than someone who he had faced as an enemy.

Hakuba rubbed the back of his neck and took a sip of his own coffee as he thought about the information that Zechs shared with him. Just fifteen years, and he did all that. Strange. Impressive too.

"And might I inquire what was your relationship with him?" This was said in complete innocence and determination, meeting Zechs's eyes.

Edited 2008-11-30 04:15 (UTC)

Laughing again, darkly, Zechs ran a hand through his hair. Why was he so tired? He felt like he was about to fall asleep. But stubbornly, so stubborn, he stayed awake. Sleeping meant he may dream. Zechs knew what sorts of nightmares he would have. And once again, he would have to deal with them alone.

"He was the only man who could defeat me in battle when I was at my best," Zechs said. No exaggeration. Merely fact. "We understood each other well, though we were often on opposite sides of the war. In battle, there was a sense we were equals, though we were determined to kill one another. We knew our roles well. We were soldiers, killing machines, little more. All the same ... He is a better man than I."

At last, his face grew dark at the end of this. Heero Yuy should have killed him three years ago. He hadn't. If they were really soldiers who followed the ZERO system's instructions to the letter, then Zechs should have never lived.

But he was alive now. Zechs stifled a yawn.

"Like machines, Zechs, a person can always improve. Don't be so hard on yourself." Hakuba drank again, hidding an middle smirk. The potion was working, he hoped that Zechs would be sleeping in less than an half hour.

He knew the sensation, Akako gave him the same potion a few times before, the times where the heist with Kids gone really, really wrong and people get shot at or nearly killed. It gave him peace, at least for a few ours, and prevented him of dreaming. Just the calm of the nothingness. He always woke up more relaxed and energetic than a normal sleep, that was another difference of the potions and the sedatives.

Unlike Hakuba, however, Zechs didn't know the sleep which would come would be dreamless. Thus, he still tried to fight against it, even if it was futile. As he slumped in his chair, he still managed to have an air of upright nobility. This, too, indicated a trust of the Detective. Zechs didn't fall asleep in front of just anyone.

"... You have not any idea, Hakuba, of what I had attempted to do," Zechs said, his voice growing more soft and weary.

"I call you a boy, and you act insulted, yet I compliment you. No one should be made to do the things I had chosen, all for revenge, all for peace. All twisted and wrong. You are so young. Be glad," he murmured, fighting still to keep awake.

His hand clenched, then relaxed. For some strange reason, it was hard for him to become angry at the moment. More of the bourbon's effects? But that seemed so strange.

"No, I don't." Hakuba agreed, talking in a calm voice. So that's what he meant when he called him a kid . He looked at the war mug on his hands for a moment.

"I'm sorry if I misunderstood you. But Zechs, how much of you you really know of me? People are mysteries. You can spend your life with someone and never really know anything about him, and you can share a moment with an stranger, and feel the connection."

Edited 2008-11-30 04:47 (UTC)

Zechs' expression was soft, wounded, exhausted. Once again, mere moments before sleep, his calm mask had vanished. All of this was what lay beneath, what few people ever saw of him. What Hakuba might only see this once, and never again. But who knew what the future would hold?

"You will never decide it is worth the death of millions, perhaps billions, for a single ideal," Zechs murmured, hanging on to the last few fragments of his consciousness. His voice was tired, but not from the potion. "You will not sacrifice your humanity, as I had."

"And ... Ty- ... Tyki," he said in a whisper, "we shared a moment of kinship. A connection ... "

If Hakuba replied to his cryptic statements, Zechs wouldn't had heard him. He was finally asleep, having succumbed to the potion at last.

After a few minutes, when Zechs's breathing started to grow deeper, Hakuba moved and took him out of the chair. He wanted to leave him on his bedroom, but dismissed the idea quickly. Maybe Zechs would be more comfortable on a bed, but it probably remembers him that Tyki wasn't there once he wakes up. He wasn’t sure about was room was the bedroom, and didn’t feel like violate Zechs’s intimacy even more, so he carefully left the taller man on the couch. He took off his shoes and unbuttoned the first buttons of his shirt. Hakuba smiled sympathetically and brushed his hair away from his forehead. The boy knew that he couldn't listen, but he replied Zechs's words about having to sacrifice his humanity.

"I hope I don't have too, Zechs. And as long as we are alive, there's always hope.”

Hakuba looked around until he found a blanket to cover Zechs, and then went into the kitchen for some more coffee. Sitting back in front of the computer, he closed his eyes and tried to relax. He wished that tomorrow morning Zechs will be a bit more relaxed. He sat in silence, save the noise from the computers.

"Doyle?"
"Yes, Saguru-niichan?"
"Am I doing the right thing?" He asked. It was a question he'd asked himself before and was asking himself again. The computer whirred some more.
"I think you are." Doyle finally commented. "But then, I wouldn't be here if you weren't doing what you're doing." True, true, Hakuba thought.
“Let’s go, there’s still a lot of thinks to hack.”
“Yes, Saguru-niichan.”

The early morning sunlight gently creeped up out of the disappearing gray clouds and swept into the small room. It spread slowly, filling every bit of space with a bright glow. Someone was already up, mostly because he didn’t sleep on the whole night. Hakuba studied the fridge with a sad expression, there wasn’t much to work with...He wondered when was the last time Zechs ate.

Hakuba shook his head, and using the ingredients that he could find started to cook some waffles fro breakfast. It wasn't like he could do anything else now, and he need to keep himself busy to avoid falling sleep. On the living room, Doyle was still working on the ZERO system and Zechs was comfortably sleeping on the couch.

It was an uncanny habit. Baring extreme circumstances, Zechs awoke every morning shortly after sunrise. Though the man had slept very little, ate less, and drank quite a bit last night, he still managed to stir at the usual hour. His sleep, thanks to the potion, had been dreamless, and for a moment, he had forgotten what had happened the day before. He turned into the side of the couch, reaching for a man who wasn't there.

Startled, he woke fully, sitting bolt upright. His back and legs throbbed in protest - Zechs was too tall to sleep comfortably on a couch. His head was also a mass of pain. A hangover. Lovely. Zechs steadily began to swear under his breath in French, German, and Russian.

Getting to his feet - did he smell food? - Zechs noticed Doyle still running on his computer. Right. The Detective must still be here, he thought. Schooling his expression once again into a calm mask, he made his way to the bedroom so he could retrieve pain medication. He really hated hangovers. But if he broke open another bottle of bourbon, Hakuba would be convinced he was an alcoholic or something foolish like that. Zechs didn't want to give the boy the wrong impression.

A colored mix of swears coming from the living room informed Hakuba that Zechs was awoke. Even if he didn't catch the russian ones, the french and german one were enough to make a sailor blush. he looked at his clock, Zechs didn't sleep as much as he expected, he would have know that the potions mixed with coffee instead of tea would be less effective. He went to find the older man.

Zechs was in the master bathroom, which unfortunately for his privacy, was connected to the bedroom. He had forgotten himself and left the bedroom door open as he retrieved painkillers. Currently Zechs was laying them out - two aspirin, vitamin B, and a tiny caffeine pill - a small hangover cure kit. Systematically, he swallowed them with a tiny glass of water, then ran a comb through his hair, hoping to restore his immaculate appearance.

The bedroom was still a mess, of course. Smashed glasses, other bits of broken furniture and equipment were scattered about in his rage the night before. As this was a pre-furnished apartment supplied by Rufus, Zechs made a note to himself to repay the man personally for anything he had destroyed. It was only the proper thing to do.

Today, Zechs was feeling considerably calmer, if only because he had slept dreamlessly. He also had a plan of action. Tyki was alive. Once he had built the ZERO system, he could figure out what he could do from there. He wasn't helpless any longer.

... Where was the boy, anyway?

Hakuba come to the living room to find it empty. He deduced that Zechs would be on the bathroom or his room, and he wasn't interested in following him there. It was enough that he was still, and was going to be at least for some day, on Zechs apartment, no need to annoy him more than the necessary.

So he waited for the other man to show up, a glass him a glass with a red dense liquid on his hands.

Before too long, Zechs emerged. There were still shadows under his eyes, and he hadn't yet changed into fresh clothes. He didn't wish to keep his guest waiting. But he had cleaned his teeth and his hair was extremely neat, now. He also didn't wish to seem unkempt before a houseguest.

Closing the bedroom door behind him, his eyes momentarily softened in unspoken gratitude. Hakuba had not invaded his privacy. Then, his expression hardened into a professional mask again.

"How goes the security system?" He first asked, and then Zechs' eyes narrowed. "Have you slept, Detective?"

Like he was one to talk.

"When I curse, who's not very often, I use Italian. " Hakuba informed Zechs and gave him a soft smile as a good morning salute."It's more melodic, and you can gesture."

"The hacking it's doing well, the hardest part is done. Doyle is working on the rest now. I been staring at the computer screen for more than 5 hours on a row, my eyes needed some rest before I go blind." The boys shrugged. "Kid-san heist are usually at night. And when the theft ends he go away, but the police forces and I need to deal with the aftermath. I'm used to sleepless nights."

He offered Zechs the glass.

"It's a Bloody Mary. While your blood is dealing with the new alcohol it is ignoring the old and in the mean time tomato juice and celery are full of vitamins. The side effects of aspirin, Tylenol and ibuprofen can be magnified when alcohol is in your system, so it is best -even though it may be the first thing you reach for- to avoid them to kill the hangover pain. Aspirin is a blood thinner, just like alcohol, and can intensify its effects and Tylenol can cause more damage to your liver. So, please, drink it."

The world needs more cookies. :D

And panckakes :D specially for Emo!Zechs....he needs cookies with Tykis' shape or something >_>

zomg pancakes are awesome. And waffles. Hakuba should cook some for him. <3

He will cook for him on the morning..if Zecks drink the damn coffee >:|

Don't worry, don't worry, he'll drink it. He might hate Hakuba for drugging him, though. >.>;;

Akako's poison can't be detected. Hakuba will say that he fell sleep 'cause he was drunk >_>

Hakuba should be glad that Zechs is drunk and therefore less suspicious. >.>;;

<_< Hakuba is innocent as pure snow...sneaky detective is sneaky >D

All Zechs can say was he'd better get a ZERO out of this. D:

He is, but Hakuba is delaying it on purpose, and Doyle will keep and eye on zero <3

If Zechs doesn't get the ZERO system from Hakuba he'll just go to someone else D:

He will give him ZERO, but with an undetectable portion of Doyle in it who is watching over Zechs<3

Just as long as the ZERO doesn't somehow corrupt Doyle. :o

Nah, and Doyle will not really do anything to ZERo either :3

*evil grin* Don't know what Doyle will tell Hakuba, though. "Day 03: Zechs sitll crazy."

XDD "Day 153: You don't really want to know what he and Tyki did over washer machine" Hakuba: T_T No

*is laughing* So true, so true. XD

1/2 Poor Hakuba, you two will corrupt his innocent mind...well Akako already did that.

2/2 The morning after~

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evil grin Don't know what Doyle will tell Hakuba, though. "Day 03: Zechs sitll crazy."

is laughing So true, so true. XD