1 - 20 of 145 Works by Zaganthi (Caffiends)
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"That reporter Duo likes, Theroux, would like to interview us all." He didn't think it was whisk him away level, but he did need to feel familiar contact just then.
"Holy shit! He wants to do a documentary on us?!" Duo half shouted out in the background. "Come on, you know he's cool."
"I'm not sure we are as exciting as his normal subjects?" Quatre suggested and the warmth flowing easily towards him was palpable.
Series
- Part 35 of Emotional Intelligence
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For a few years, Treize had been on the colonies almost exclusively, constantly creating the world that the power structure wanted. That Vingt had wanted, but had gone about the wrong way. Quatre and Duo seemed much closer to achieving that equal peace without standing on anyone's neck.
It left him with a lot of regret to mull over.
He had a tendency to do that, even more, when the others were busy. Duo was personally invested in making this work for the people he grew up with; he was literally getting out and pushing it along. After the first test section had been done, it had gotten easier though getting there had been interesting. He'd counselled them taking a two day break so...word could get around. People could see with their own eyes what had been achieved. Quatre had fretted about the timelines, but two days weren't going to break any plan (not any good plan, at least) and it had worked.
He wished... he wasn't sure what he wished. That Vingt had Quatre's heart and compassion? Or Duo's instinctive savvy?
Series
- Part 34 of Emotional Intelligence
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Not for the first time, Duo wondered how a street rat from L2 was spending his weekends dropping in on royalty. "You fell in with the wrong crowd," Quatre teased as they were out of the car and walking up the steps.
"The street rats were actually classier people." Treize accepted the lead, and as they turned to the door, it was already opening. He could almost hear in his head the dramatic music, or somebody was thinking it really loudly at him, and the first two guesses didn't count. Quatre giggled a little over the link, and hell, he was going to get a fucking backing track to this whole visit at this rate. It didn't help that Zechs always looked like he would swirl a cloak even when he didn't have one.
Series
- Part 33 of Emotional Intelligence
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It had been a while since Quatre had dressed as a businessman, but if he was going to gatecrash a top-level Board meeting of WEI, then he needed to be taken seriously. A ridiculously expensive suit made a difference - it emphasised him as an adult. The pause from Duo and Treize when he had come out 'suited and booted' for corporate industry war indicated even they had been a little surprised.
They'd moved quickly after that revelation that Treize discovered. He'd been at once filled with anger, hurt and calculating fury, but what he had underestimated were Duo and Treize's reactions. He supposed he might eventually stop being surprised that his partners cared about him and his interests in a profound, visceral way. Eventually, Treize had suspected out loud that eventually might actually be 'never', but they still loved him despite it.
Series
- Part 32 of Emotional Intelligence
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It was as if his words constituted permission because Quatre's smile was blinding then as was his emotional reaction - figuratively and literally because he damn well started glowing as he said in a reverent whisper "Sandrock..."
His Gundam impossibly powered up there and then right in front of them even as Quatre literally ran towards it. This time around he really got it, he could feel Sandrock as Quatre felt him - and it was a him strangely. Just as he felt that Deathscythe was more than just metal and technology, Sandrock had a presence. How, he didn't know but it was like seeing him reunite with a beloved family member.
Series
- Part 31 of Emotional Intelligence
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"Yes." Anne agreed and smiled a little. "But forgive me if I offer you the perfect Christmas present to give to Quatre..."
"Ah?" That caught his attention slightly because Sandrock immediately came to mind. "I don't think we could fit a Gundam in the townhouse..."
"No, but I will give him official clearance to come into the Office and training area and see his Gundam. Duo has been quite clear about how much Quatre misses his Gundam and feels the separation is because he is not trusted."
"It's hard to not interpret it that way," Treize agreed, keeping his tone easy and light. "He's a very sensitive person, and quick to assume he's done something wrong."
Series
- Part 30 of Emotional Intelligence
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They were in space now, on a custom shuttle with several prototype Pod devices that they could drop on the trash asteroids Treize had secured for them.
To which Duo had declared, "Oh yes, asteroids, just securing and placing them in stable orbital positions, perfectly normal and Jesus fuck how much money do you have?"
The answer was usually 'more than he knew what to do with', with a brightness in his eye. Treize was glued to the shuttle's window and the monitoring system, bouncing back and forth between them both. Quatre had kept a lot of the details as a secret from Duo and Treize because he wanted to feel their reactions and see in reality how intuitive the systems were to control even by novices.
Series
- Part 29 of Emotional Intelligence
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Hilde waved goodbye as she left and Duo went to look for Treize and Quatre. What the hell was wrong with him. His body seemed to be saying yes but his mind was definitely not in that space at all. What the everlasting hell was going on. He wanted to see her again but why?
Treize passed him a picture of tree frogs, apparently feeling the confusion as Duo half jogged through the aquarium to catch back up. What the hell. Just what the hell.
It took him a while to get there, but the moment he got close, Quatre saw him, beamed a happy smile and the link opened up with a rush and he was surrounded again in emotional warmth. It was addictive and a relief, and there wasn't, there wasn't any recrimination from either of them. Just run off and see an old flame, it's cool, we'll be here when you get back vibes.
Series
- Part 28 of Emotional Intelligence
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Treize remembered the discussion of gunpowder residue on his head; it was one of the things John had been livid about after everything, and unable to explain any more than Treize had at the time. Seeing it written down... was something else. Treize closed the book over his finger, gently tapping it on his thigh as he looked up at Quatre.
"The first hot chocolate of the season," Quatre said sitting down next to him, comfort flowing over the link. "I really wanted something sweet." He paused. "I can feel something is...oh." He noticed the book in Treize's hand.
"Adding to the list of things we need to probably talk about," he said quietly, contemplating it as he reached with his other hand to take the cocoa. "Have you written everything up?"
Series
- Part 27 of Emotional Intelligence
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Heero stopped to look at Duo for a moment. "I am not usually anyone's first choice for company." The subtext was clear; why here and not with Quatre and Treize.
Yeah, why there and not back home? Because Treize was worryingly near-catatonic and withdrawn, and Quatre was going to smother him with well-meaning worry. Accidentally. "I needed a break. Weirdly. I dunno, is that normal?"
"Yes," Heero said simply. "Why do you think I spent most of my time alone? A normal reaction to trauma."
Heero was a weird bugger when Duo least expected it, and that made him smile. "Hell. Yeah. I like company, and I just... can't fix anything. Can't fix myself."
"And you've come to me for that?" Heero asked and shook his head. "You are worse off following your ordeal than I thought."
Series
- Part 26 of Emotional Intelligence
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It was hard to be patient and stealthy when Quatre knew Treize and Duo were in a specific building that he could get to now in about fifteen minutes. He'd found them, able to sense the...absence created by the barrier in a similar way to a migraine scotoma making a blot in a field of vision. When they had arrived in the Maldives, he had subtly blanketed the island and found the dead zone. When he then had to recover for half a day, Heero and Trowa had done recon while Wufei set up a base of operations.
The person who was creating the dead zone was not a trifle. He was not a manageable threat that he could just wander in and deal with on the fly, which was why he was forcing himself to be patient when he received back the next un-reassuring communication needle from them both. They were tired, hungry, worn, beaten, in pain, and he could hear their words and feel the emotions behind them.
It drove every part of Quatre crazy. He wanted to tell them he was here. He was just outside their door. He could be there touching them in minutes.
If he wanted to lose them.
Series
- Part 25 of Emotional Intelligence
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"A skilled soldier can create opportunities where none exist," Heero said as they dished out. "Admittedly, Relena wouldn't let me demonstrate the vulnerability to offensive fire by bombing the Council's homes, but it nearly happened."
Mid swig of beer, Treize choked and had to lower the drink, coughing. "Oh, I am sorry I missed that. They've been bombed out before, it's a perfectly indefensible hellhole."
Duo started to chuckle, waving a fork at Quatre. "Oh, oh, if it weren't so late this rant comes with documentation and like fucking acetate overlays on terrain maps."
Series
- Part 24 of Emotional Intelligence
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Life took on a routine, and weirdly, his anxiety went up. It was calm, too calm. Too normal. Too good. Four days of going through data, some low-level rumblings about maybe eventually popping a mission on these people, and one day a week of Gundam maintenance and repair. Then two whole days off to sleep in, fuck, and do whatever. They'd visited museums the previous weekend, and because of a bad storm laid around and read books and watched tv the weekend before that.
Life just wasn't supposed to do that.
Duo knew what life had been like for someone like him and there was always a part of him that told him to hold back from getting too comfortable because he'd end up back there again. He'd been used to scrabbling for the basics, not always getting food, hiding from the latest gang on the street, giving away his stash to someone not well, or constantly trying to find an angle.
Series
- Part 23 of Emotional Intelligence
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Duo was a little nervous about his first day as a Preventer, mainly because he didn't know what to expect. He'd been used to running his own ops, or doing his own thing mainly so being answerable was a bit... yeah.
Weird? It was weird. It was totally, totally a nervous feeling, and he had a new suit and polished up boots, and it was all weird. It was Treize straightening his necktie for him before he headed out the door weird. He checked in, and filled out paperwork, and got his picture taken for a badge, and finally was escorted into a fancy building on the compound that was just outside of the city. He had to get to the fourth floor, and he was supposed to meet the Boss Lady in her office.
Series
- Part 22 of Emotional Intelligence
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Nobody wanted to get laid and be left hungry. And suppose John had had time to think about it and changed his mind. In that case, Sebastian could go back to his apartment have food ready to eat by himself and some shitty box wine to drink by himself, so it wasn't really a terrible Friday night either way. It wasn't like he didn't live in a district full of bars. But... he had hope when he knocked on the door to the Baker Street building.
It was opened by an older lady. "Hello, can I help you, dear?" she asked. That had to be Mrs Hudson from John's description.
"Evening, ma'am. I'm looking for John Watson." Hopefully, that was polite and formal enough for the landlady.
Series
- Part 3 of Attraction Distraction
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"You lost your goddamn mind." Noin was breathing hard and trying to get herself together.
"I..." He looked genuinely disturbed, and she could tell with an almost icy fear that this was real, not some careful dissembling and acting at being discovered. "I don't remember. We were just with Relena?"
"We were not just with Relena." She watched him carefully, still trying to catch her breath. "You just burned a bridge with your oldest friend and then turned to me waving the matches."
"Oh... Fuck, fuck, what have I done? What's happened?" The man who feared nothing in battle was looking terrified. "Noin, I remember talking with Relena about what happened with Heero and... I'm here? Is that even possible?"
Series
- Part 21 of Emotional Intelligence
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Quatre stood watching, sipping a fruit punch that miraculously had not been spiked by Duo, letting himself sense what was going on.
There was Treize's stepfather chatting with some business people near Dorothy. Treize had a persistent intrusive thought about pushing him down the stairs. It was something Treize didn't want to actually do, but it was intrusive, and he knew it for its pointlessness. There was the Sanc Ambassador who was chatting Dorothy up quite animatedly, all bubbly hope that he might get to sleep with her.
There was Dorothy who was having none of that, her mind sharp and analytical, registering the people she needed to speak to, noting who others were speaking to and logging it in a way that was all too familiar.
Series
- Part 20 of Emotional Intelligence
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 25,907
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Kudos:
- 15
- Hits:
- 261
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Summary
Sebastian kept his eyes on John as he stripped off quickly and pulled open a bedside drawer to fish out a butterfly knife. "You'll have to hold still for me, or you'll regret it. It's sharp."
He brought it closer to John, and he froze, a sure primal instinct not wanting to move into it. "Don't..."
A lie from the way he was breathing, and eyes were fixed on him.
His eyes said yes please, with sprinkles and whipped cream, and Sebastian gave John an elevated grin and grabbed a handful of the too big shirt to slash at in one quick motion.
Series
- Part 2 of Attraction Distraction
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There was a brief moment then where Quatre sat up sharply, looking very dismayed. "Oh no..." and then the doorbell rang.
"It's them." Quatre looked outside as if he was seriously contemplating throwing himself into the swimming pool in the villa adjacent.
"It's them?" Treize had to rouse himself from their comfortable pile, from a lazy moment of intimacy that wasn't tied to any particular urge, so that doorbell ring had better be worth it. It had been the sort of nice and comfortable that led to other nice and comfortable things.
"Sisters."
Series
- Part 19 of Emotional Intelligence
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Zechs leaned heavily on the cane as he walked, and she knew he was in discomfort. His pain haunted them both, in a way, followed them into the bedroom, ghosted along after everything he tried to do.
She added sugar to the mug and waited for him to sit down at the table with her before setting the mug down for him.
"Thank you," he said smiling, and this was her Zechs, the contrast so different at times that he did seem like another person.
Series
- Part 18 of Emotional Intelligence