It's not really a coincidence that Wufei is in the elevator when it opens, silent and stoic - he moves through places like a ghost, and rarely gets questioned about it - he just is, like he's meant to be.
(Reporters don't really stand a chance - he's right by the panel, and the door shuts, mysteriously, just as soon as Treize passes the threshold. Someone's arm nearly catches in the process, and Wufei just gives them a curt smile. They can still use their fingers.)
"Goodness." - is that for the sudden appearance, or the fact that someone almost lost an arm? Either way, Treize's concern isn't even trying to be genuine.
Inside the elevator is not silent, but the dulled noise is a relief. He takes a moment to let go of the noise in his head and cast aside the looming headache before moving to push the button for his floor (unless someone else already has).
"I didn't know you were here."
This isn't true; Treize is well aware of Wufei's inclination to infiltrate the president's security team as a confederate for his own purposes, and keeps flawless tabs on said subterfuge, something no one in this elevator is unaware of. But he's being polite.
(Aren't elevator doors supposed to have safety mechanisms in them? Alas.)
Someone already has pushed the button, yes, and that same someone states blandly, "I had time." This doesn't explain why he chose to spend said time here of all places, or even really make too much sense if given any real consideration.
But Wufei's perfectly capable of playing along - being polite is another matter entirely of course, but he is slightly more relaxed in this context.
It seems like, unless he's off-planet, Wufei always has enough time for this - showing up, or making sure he's been assigned, appearing with uncanny timing (be it for assistance or ... otherwise). The whys are unspoken, and have as much to do with Treize as they do Wufei.
The companionable quiet is relaxing, and thankfully the only people waiting for them when the elevator doors open are staff members. There's still a walk through the convention center to get back to the hotel, but at least it's private. Treize accepts a reaction feed from one of his aides, wordlessly reflecting on it as they walk. It's warm out still, just before sunset, and he prefers this to anyone bringing in a car for the short distance.
His timing is always very convenient, and since the whys are unspoken, things tend to get done more quickly. More efficient all-around.
There's something less easygoing - if he could ever really be called that, even now - about his movements once there are other people present again but they're still as fluid as ever. He glances over at Treize once as they walk, only a little more interested in the feed than he appears.
The sky is beautiful, anyway, even if he's never really had cause to stare at the heavens in wonder.
(As they approach the hotel, his hands in his pockets almost make him look normal.)
It's delicate work, picking through all the responses to see what's going to stick - this isn't a function he's attending as a mediator, but as a voice with assets, to set an example. It heartens him that individuals whom he might clash with on other political topics are able to be allies in this setting. The world is coming along beautifully.
They aren't alone in the next elevator, but Treize dismisses the rest of the staff once they're back in the main area of his rooms. Despite it, a pile of paperwork is left on the table. He sighs at it and steps over to the window to look out at the city in the fading light, pulling off his tie absent; no uniform today.
"I think that you've seen my daughter more inside a month than I have," he reflects. "How is she?"
Wufei sits but doesn't quite settle, fussing with the first thing he reaches. It happens to be a superfluous paperweight - as he moves it between his hands it's a little slow and lazy, but still purposeful - if he wasn't doing anything he would be fussing over something else instead.
He smiles faintly though and when he speaks, there's something almost affectionate - he's fond of her (Wufei? Fond of someone? Say it isn't so), and dotes on her so much as Chang Wufei is capable of doting on someone. "She's all right. There's nothing pressing, though I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you."
(She terrorizes the staff, sometimes, and if he's present when it happens he just kind of sits back and chuckles inside his head.)
Of all things to come of his - relationship - with Wufei, a bond with Mariemaia was not what he initially expected. In retrospect he isn't surprised; she is both innocent and inexplicable, lacking a context as a person as a secret, the light product of something stormy and polarizing. Treize is happy for every consistent person in her life, and the affection she gets from Wufei has been a rare, pleasant surprise.
"Seeing my daughter more than a handful of times a year should be pressing," he sighs, and for him it's relatively genuine-sounding. "But I know she understands."
.. At age nine, yes. Now he glances over his shoulder at Wufei and his fussing. "Have you eaten?"
Wufei didn't expect to foster a bond with Mariemaia himself; it simply happened, and perhaps it was partially because no one did expect a gundam pilot to be spotted on occasion carrying a little girl around on his hip, but he is very genuinely fond of her - and honestly, wouldn't you carry her around if she wouldn't stop clambering all over you anyway?
He sets the thing down, finally - he makes no comment on what self-depreciation is there, even if he does agree. "Earlier," he states, which means 'ate breakfast at six am.'
It's the nature of things; sometimes Treize feels especially guilty, but he's made his choices and he must live with them. His daughter must, as well, though he's made all of her choices. Someday, he hopes, things will equalize.
But not now.
Treize gives Wufei a look as he shrugs off his blazer before nabbing the room service book and tossing it over to him. "I'm taking a shower." There'd better be food in here when he gets out, sir.
Wufei quirks a brow at the look but all the same looks relatively unruffled in response to it - he catches the book easily and begins to flip through it, acknowledging the unspoken (and spoken, both) with a slight nod and a light, "All right."
He's just. Going to order whatever looks good to him.
Treize considers telling him to order a bottle of wine, too, but decides against it - he probably doesn't need it, and it's more interesting to just leave Wufei up to his own devices. The younger man's forgetfulness about meals is inherently concerning to Treize, both because of the extremes of his former lifestyle and the fact that Treize is just so damn Celtic that the idea of deliberately passing up food is offensive to his delicate sensibilities.
He takes a few mild painkillers for the headache that's still lurking before spending a few long minutes under the hot spray. Hedonist that he is in his spare time, he's aware of how little he has of it, and so it's not long before he's back in the main room, redressed in something less formal (for him), hair still half-damp. Did Wufei vanish into the aether? Let's find out.
Wufei did not vanish into the aether, thank you very much. That said, he's gotten better with his eating habits over time - Treize knows this well enough, though this doesn't mean that his current habits aren't concerning. Just slightly less so than they used to be.
He's ordered food though, a somewhat surprising variety, and he's been polite and waited for Treize to come out before he starts picking at things.
"This looks fantastic," he says, coming to sit down, "And not at all like vile processed sandwiches that I am convinced are specifically engineered to keep politicians irritable and vaguely anemic."
Thank you for your cheer, Treize. "I hope following me to the ends of the earth for dinner hasn't taken you from anything pressing."
"That explains a lot," he says, relatively lightly. This is as he finally decides to settle with what seems to be some sort of salad with an abundance of mango in it. It's very yellow-orange.
"If I had anything pressing enough, I wouldn't have bothered," which is a little verbose for 'no,' but there you go. "I had a day."
... So he spent it stalking Treize to Queensland, yes.
That Wufei is inclined to materialize from the shadows behind Treize all across the universe isn't anything new at this point, but there's always the delightful mystery of 'Is it that which we don't speak of, or am I doing something that needs to be monitored?' Today, however, it's just that they're who they are and this - whatever it is - has become vital.
(Reporters don't really stand a chance - he's right by the panel, and the door shuts, mysteriously, just as soon as Treize passes the threshold. Someone's arm nearly catches in the process, and Wufei just gives them a curt smile. They can still use their fingers.)
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"Goodness." - is that for the sudden appearance, or the fact that someone almost lost an arm? Either way, Treize's concern isn't even trying to be genuine.
Inside the elevator is not silent, but the dulled noise is a relief. He takes a moment to let go of the noise in his head and cast aside the looming headache before moving to push the button for his floor (unless someone else already has).
"I didn't know you were here."
This isn't true; Treize is well aware of Wufei's inclination to infiltrate the president's security team as a confederate for his own purposes, and keeps flawless tabs on said subterfuge, something no one in this elevator is unaware of. But he's being polite.
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Someone already has pushed the button, yes, and that same someone states blandly, "I had time." This doesn't explain why he chose to spend said time here of all places, or even really make too much sense if given any real consideration.
But Wufei's perfectly capable of playing along - being polite is another matter entirely of course, but he is slightly more relaxed in this context.
Reply
It seems like, unless he's off-planet, Wufei always has enough time for this - showing up, or making sure he's been assigned, appearing with uncanny timing (be it for assistance or ... otherwise). The whys are unspoken, and have as much to do with Treize as they do Wufei.
The companionable quiet is relaxing, and thankfully the only people waiting for them when the elevator doors open are staff members. There's still a walk through the convention center to get back to the hotel, but at least it's private. Treize accepts a reaction feed from one of his aides, wordlessly reflecting on it as they walk. It's warm out still, just before sunset, and he prefers this to anyone bringing in a car for the short distance.
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There's something less easygoing - if he could ever really be called that, even now - about his movements once there are other people present again but they're still as fluid as ever. He glances over at Treize once as they walk, only a little more interested in the feed than he appears.
The sky is beautiful, anyway, even if he's never really had cause to stare at the heavens in wonder.
(As they approach the hotel, his hands in his pockets almost make him look normal.)
Reply
It's delicate work, picking through all the responses to see what's going to stick - this isn't a function he's attending as a mediator, but as a voice with assets, to set an example. It heartens him that individuals whom he might clash with on other political topics are able to be allies in this setting. The world is coming along beautifully.
They aren't alone in the next elevator, but Treize dismisses the rest of the staff once they're back in the main area of his rooms. Despite it, a pile of paperwork is left on the table. He sighs at it and steps over to the window to look out at the city in the fading light, pulling off his tie absent; no uniform today.
"I think that you've seen my daughter more inside a month than I have," he reflects. "How is she?"
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He smiles faintly though and when he speaks, there's something almost affectionate - he's fond of her (Wufei? Fond of someone? Say it isn't so), and dotes on her so much as Chang Wufei is capable of doting on someone. "She's all right. There's nothing pressing, though I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you."
(She terrorizes the staff, sometimes, and if he's present when it happens he just kind of sits back and chuckles inside his head.)
Reply
Of all things to come of his - relationship - with Wufei, a bond with Mariemaia was not what he initially expected. In retrospect he isn't surprised; she is both innocent and inexplicable, lacking a context as a person as a secret, the light product of something stormy and polarizing. Treize is happy for every consistent person in her life, and the affection she gets from Wufei has been a rare, pleasant surprise.
"Seeing my daughter more than a handful of times a year should be pressing," he sighs, and for him it's relatively genuine-sounding. "But I know she understands."
.. At age nine, yes. Now he glances over his shoulder at Wufei and his fussing. "Have you eaten?"
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He sets the thing down, finally - he makes no comment on what self-depreciation is there, even if he does agree. "Earlier," he states, which means 'ate breakfast at six am.'
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It's the nature of things; sometimes Treize feels especially guilty, but he's made his choices and he must live with them. His daughter must, as well, though he's made all of her choices. Someday, he hopes, things will equalize.
But not now.
Treize gives Wufei a look as he shrugs off his blazer before nabbing the room service book and tossing it over to him. "I'm taking a shower." There'd better be food in here when he gets out, sir.
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He's just. Going to order whatever looks good to him.
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Treize considers telling him to order a bottle of wine, too, but decides against it - he probably doesn't need it, and it's more interesting to just leave Wufei up to his own devices. The younger man's forgetfulness about meals is inherently concerning to Treize, both because of the extremes of his former lifestyle and the fact that Treize is just so damn Celtic that the idea of deliberately passing up food is offensive to his delicate sensibilities.
He takes a few mild painkillers for the headache that's still lurking before spending a few long minutes under the hot spray. Hedonist that he is in his spare time, he's aware of how little he has of it, and so it's not long before he's back in the main room, redressed in something less formal (for him), hair still half-damp. Did Wufei vanish into the aether? Let's find out.
Reply
He's ordered food though, a somewhat surprising variety, and he's been polite and waited for Treize to come out before he starts picking at things.
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"This looks fantastic," he says, coming to sit down, "And not at all like vile processed sandwiches that I am convinced are specifically engineered to keep politicians irritable and vaguely anemic."
Thank you for your cheer, Treize. "I hope following me to the ends of the earth for dinner hasn't taken you from anything pressing."
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"If I had anything pressing enough, I wouldn't have bothered," which is a little verbose for 'no,' but there you go. "I had a day."
... So he spent it stalking Treize to Queensland, yes.
Reply
That Wufei is inclined to materialize from the shadows behind Treize all across the universe isn't anything new at this point, but there's always the delightful mystery of 'Is it that which we don't speak of, or am I doing something that needs to be monitored?' Today, however, it's just that they're who they are and this - whatever it is - has become vital.
"Are you staying?"
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