Because I had to write this. I dedicate it to Zero, who was the reason this became more then just an idea in my head.

And as always, thanks to Chiad, because she is the best Beta ever.

One-shot. I'll go back to working on Shadow Rising now.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Duo's voice was filled with incredulous amusement as he flopped onto the safe house's couch, staring at Heero as if the other boy had grown a second head. Heero just smirked and shook his head.

"I'm perfectly serious," Heero said mildly, sitting on the couch next to his friend.

Wufei went straight to the kitchen, Duo's laughter following him into the other room. The three had just completed a mission, and Duo, on the way back, had initiated a most unusual conversation. How many different people the pilots kissed. At first Duo had defined 'kissed' as any type of kissing, and then had rapidly declared that only romantic, lips to lips, with tongue kisses counted.

Wufei had listened with growing amusement and incredulity to Duo's strange anecdotes of kisses he'd experienced or seen. Surprisingly enough, when they'd approached the safe house, Heero had joined the conversation, and his dry description of his first kiss was what had Duo in stitches in the living room.

Wufei poured himself a glass of water, drank it, and then rejoined his companions in the outer room, in time to catch the tail end of one of Duo's sentences.

"—fter that she slapped me. It wasn't even as if /I'd/ done anything, either!" the braided pilot was huffing at Heero, who just snorted unsympathetically.

Wufei arched an eyebrow at the two on the couch, then started forward, intending to pass them and head for his room and a little downtime, since they had, after all, just completed a mission.

"Oi, Wuffie!" Duo's voice stopped the Chinese pilot and forced him to turn around, staring into two pairs of eyes, one blue, one purple.

"Yes?"

"What about you?" Duo was grinning, and despite himself, Wufei could feel a bit of color rise to his cheeks.

"What about me?" He asked sarcastically, hoping to escape the inevitable question by some miracle.

"Who've you kissed? Or at least how many? So far... The tally stands at Duo five, and Heero two. So I'm winning. But maybe you could jump in and take the prize, eh? Astound us with your womanizing ways, Wu-man!" Duo waggled his eyebrows and Wufei snorted, trying not to be amused by his American friend's antics.

"Unlike you and Yuy, I do not... Kiss and tell. It isn't honorable." As soon as he said it, Wufei knew it'd been the wrong thing to say. There was a light in Duo's eyes that said he'd caught the American's curiosity for real now, and a Gundanium-enforced buster shield would not protect him from Maxwell's prying, not until Duo had the answers he wanted. A glance at Heero showed Wufei he'd have absolutely no help from that quarter, and in fact, studying the lift of the Japanese boy's eyebrows, Wufei had the sinking feeling Yuy was going to back Duo up on this one.

In short, Wufei was doomed.

"All right Wu, now you have my attention! You can't claim not to have kissed anyone after a line like /that/! At least tell us how many, man!" Duo said, grinning wickedly; he already knew he'd won, or that he would win, eventually.

With a resigned sigh Wufei approached the couch and sat on the armrest, more perching than sitting. He was silent for a moment, aware of the other two's eyes on him, and he could /feel/ the blush on his neck and cheeks and ears. "One," he said quickly. "I've only ever kissed one person. Happy?" He grumped, shooting Duo an annoyed look.

"... Whoa. That's worse than 'Ro here. Your wife, right?" Duo's inflections were careful in the last sentence, curious, but mindful of Wufei's sensibilities. The Chinese pilot had always respected Duo, and he was grateful for the consideration in the other's voice.

"No. Actually." Wufei said, not /wanting/ to say it, but some masochistic spark of honesty making him dispel Duo's assumption. He could feel Heero and Duo avidly staring at him now. It was flustering.

"Well then, who was it?! Jesus, Chang, it's like pulling teeth to get you to say anything! You know you can't go until you spill, right? 'Ro and me'll stop ya if ya try."

"..." Wufei did not look at the other two, his head bowed, face crimson.

-------------------------------

Wufei cursed silently as footsteps approached him from down the hall. He'd set the explosives, he had the data from the Oz terminal, he'd hacked the security systems, now he just had to escape. Which was difficult, since someone had spotted him, and he was currently being chased. The alarms weren't going off, because of his work on the systems, but they would be soon.

Deciding to take his chances, the young Chinese pilot dove for the only door in the hallway, yanked it open, jumped inside, and slammed it shut behind him, just as he /knew/ the guards were coming around the corner. For a few breathless seconds he just stood there, in front of the door, and then he looked into the room, and time froze.

The room was beautifully decorated, elegant. More like a room from a palace than a room at a military base. But it was extravagant; just expensive, and very tasteful. The room was not what had Wufei staring in shock, however.

A tall, stately man, with ginger-gold hair slicked back, and eyes as blue as the uniform coat that was draped over his chair was staring at Wufei from the window, a forgotten glass of wine half raised to his lips. Treize blinked.

Wufei, for the life of him, could not force his muscles to obey him. He simply stood there, feeling like a landed fish, and stared at his mortal enemy, a man who had already defeated him once, and he could not even manage to draw his gun.

Treize broke the strange stalemate, sitting his glass down with a small little click of crystal on metal that sounded like a gunshot to Wufei's ears. "Mr. Chang." The leader of Oz said carefully. "What an unexpected... but pleasant, surprise. I take it by your reaction," and here Treize smiled very lightly, not condescending, the smile invited Wufei to join in the amusement. The pilot was too stunned to accept or refuse. "That you were not expecting to see me."

It was about here that Wufei noticed that the dress shirt Treize was wearing was only half buttoned and exposed a good portion of the Oz leader's chest, not to mention his neck. Wufei was surprised and, strangely, horrified to discover that Treize's neck and chest, as well as his, for the moment gloveless, hands, were covered in scar tissue; the kind of ugly white welts of flesh that resulted from sword fights, and malfunctions or damage in an MS.

Treize noticed Wufei's stare and smiled, a small, kind sort of expression. "Forgive my state of dress. I am aware I do not make a... pretty sight when not in full dress." The General was approaching the door and Wufei with casual ease, and he was just in range of the Chinese pilot when a sharp knocking at the door finally startled Wufei out of his state of shock. He reached for his gun, but Treize had somehow grabbed his wrist, stalling his movements.

"Yes?" the Oz leader called, as calm as you please, looking at Wufei even as he directed his words out the door.

"Sir! There's an intruder, we think he went this way! We were wondering—"

"If he was in my room?" Treize called trough the doorway, smiling at Wufei's horrified expression. "I can assure you, I am perfectly all right." The General raised his finger to his lips in a 'keep silent' sign, actually winked at Wufei, and then gently shoved the teen behind the door, one hand closing his shirt to hide the scars, the other opening the door and allowing the soldiers outside to look in.

"We're sorry to intrude sir." The soldier sounded uncomfortable. Wufei got the feeling he was as stunned by seeing Treize without his uniform jacket on as Wufei had been to see Treize /wink/.

"Not at all. As you can see, I am safe." Treize smiled, charming and understanding. Wufei could see why he inspired such loyalty in his followers; he treated them like humans, instead of pawns. At least in person.

"We'll be on our way sir!" and with that, and a salute, Treize closed the door, leaning on it and crossing his arms, grinning at Wufei.

"What do you think? Should I be branded a traitor, for harboring a known terrorist and enemy of Oz?" Treize asked after the footsteps receded.

"...You're mad." Wufei said, the first words he'd managed since opening the door.

Treize actually laughed, a full, throaty, almost kind sound. "That is the first time anyone has been forthright enough to call me that to my face, Mr. Chang." Treize pushed himself from the door, holding out a hand to Wufei, "I must—"A large explosion cut off the general's words, sending both he and Wufei stumbling.

Wufei would never remember why he did it, but he caught Treize, before the General could completely loose his balance. Instead of stepping aside and letting Treize fall, he caught him. Two more explosions sent the two of them rocking drunkenly, Treize's arms looping around his torso in an effort to balance them both, Wufei's left hand at the General's hip, his right hand bracing against the wall.

Treize looked into Wufei's face, his impossibly blue eyes wide. And for a moment Wufei saw someone else, not the dangerous leader of an enemy organization, but a young man consumed by a sorrow so deep it was like ice freezing Wufei's soul, just meeting those eyes. Whatever Treize saw in his own black eyes, Wufei couldn't guess, but their faces were suddenly inches apart, the two of them just staring, a stunned look on Treize's face, open shock on Wufei's.

The fourth explosion rocked the base and Treize stumbled, his weight sending them both against the wall; their lips brushed, completely accidentally, and they both froze, the spark of contact thrilling through Wufei's soul. For a moment, neither of them moved, then they both seemed to move at the same time, lips parting, hands tightening on the others body, tongues darting forward, unshy, aggressive. Wufei was reminded of his first encounter with Treize, the kiss /felt/ like that duel, parry and thrust, but there was more to the contact than aggression; there was lightning and heat and... The fifth explosion went unnoticed, but then the alarms started blaring, belatedly, and the two men nearly leapt apart, staring at each other as if electrocuted.

"I... that is... I.."

Wufei stared as Treize tried to form words. He'd never imagined that the Oz General could /ever/ be flustered, but then, he himself didn't feel terribly composed, either.

"It's okay." Wufei surprised himself by the statement, amazed that his voice hadn't even hitched.

Treize just blinked. At any other time Wufei would have reveled in his enemy's confusion, at the moment, he couldn't even imagine mocking Kushrenada's momentary lack of balance.

"I... kissed back." Wufei pointed out, replying to the expression on Treize's face, since the general still hadn't formed a coherent sentence.

There was silence, if one discounted the wailing sirens of the alarms, between the two men for a moment. Then Treize stepped forward and kissed Wufei's cheek. He was composed again, but there was something in his expression, an openness that Wufei didn't know how to react to.

"You and those other pilots." Treize murmured. "You will bring us a future." And then the expression was gone, the composed leader of Oz, charming, elegant, mysterious, was back, and Wufei was almost upset that the sad-eyed young man was gone. He didn't even reflect on the words Treize had whispered, he'd hardly heard them, his head was reeling too quickly.

"Go down the hall, take the third left and then the first staircase on the right. It'll lead you to a garage, I'm sure you can hotwire a vehicle and escape through the south gate, I assume it was the hanger you blew up, so most of the guards, good as they are, will likely be distracted."

Wufei just stared at the man, and when it became apparent that the Chinese pilot was not going to offer any thoughts on the matter of his own escape, Treize raised a questioning forked eyebrow in silent eloquence.

"Why help me escape? I'd kill you in a minute, to end this war." Wufei answered the question, the moment of shared understanding still lingering, leaving him off-balance and confused.

"Because you will be needed." Treize said simply, as if stating a logical truth.

"You're mad, Kushrenada."

"You've said this already." Treize smiled, offered Wufei his hand, and Wufei took it without thinking. Treize pulled him forward, away from the wall, hand lingering on Wufei's for a moment, before letting him go, turning into his room, shouldering his coat on, and picking his gloves up from the desk.

"Shall we get to our respective duties, Mr. Chang?" Treize asked, turning around, buttoning his uniform, an ironic smile on his features.

"... Call me Wufei."

For a moment Treize's smile widened, surprise and pleasure mingling in his expression, and he inclined his head. "Very well... Wufei. I hope that at our next meeting, we can duel again, on your terms." The General opened the door, looked down the hall to check for soldiers, then offered Wufei the chance to be the first to leave.

Wufei took it, following the directions Treize had given him and not glancing at the Oz leader when he stepped in the hallway. He looked over his shoulder only once, right before he turned down the corridor, to see Treize pull on his white gloves and disappear in the opposite direction.

-------------------------------

"...Wu-man? So? Who was it? Who was your first and only kiss? Huh?"

"... I'd rather not say, actually."

"Awww! C'mon, don't be like tha—"Duo stopped abruptly, staring at the odd expression on Wufei's face.

"Ask me again, if we survive the war. If we win. Ask me then." Wufei stood, swallowing, not quite able to meet his friend's eyes. He knew that his moment with Treize had nothing to do with politics or betrayal, but he was not sure if his friends would understand that. He wasn't sure if /he/ understood it.

"Um... Okay."

"Thank you." Smiling vaguely at Duo, Wufei walked out of the room, unaware of the silence he left in his wake.