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"Brand New Day"Written By: Clara Barton Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. The following
is an intellectual exercise with no intention of profit. That said,
these characterizations, words, and situations are mine. Please ask
before reprinting. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Angst, language, sex Pairings: 1x2x3 Summary: Three months ago Heero had an amazing night with two mysterious, sexy men. He never thought he would see them again. A sequel to Defeated and King of Hearts A/N: So Defeated was supposed to be stand alone
smut, but then I wrote King of Hearts as a prequel to it, and now
I find myself very attached to this world of smutty lawyers. Brand
New Day is a sequel to Defeated and also serves as a prequel to an
actual series I am going to write, Entanglement. "Brand New Day" "I'm sure you're wondering why I've asked you here today." Heero Yuy leaned back in the plush leather recliner and tried not to look amused at Thomas Darlian's first words to him. There was only one reason that Thomas Darlian, managing partner of Meteor Law Group, arch rival of Zodiac & Partners, would ask a junior associate of that firm to a meeting in his office. Well, Heero hoped there was only one reason because if Thomas Darlian had asked him here because his daughter, Relena Darlian, had wanted it - Heero didn't think he could or would be held accountable for his actions. Then again, Thomas had always been proud of his daughter, and her defeat of Heero in court three months ago had no doubt brought father and daughter immense pride. Perhaps Darlian had just called him here to gloat? But why wait so long? "But you've always struck me as a bright lad," Thomas continued, "so it will come as no shock to you that I want you to join Meteor Law Group." It didn't, but again, the timing struck Heero as odd. "You turned down our summer internship program five years ago," Darlian mused, clearly unperturbed by Heero's silence and working from a pre-prepared script, "and my offer to join the associates the year after that." Heero inclined his head. He had desperately wanted the internship, because MLG had the reputation of working their interns nearly to death, but also allowing them to work on actual cases, but Relena had spent weeks going on and on about how delightful it would be to work with him, so of course he had taken the Z&P internship instead - only to discover, on his first day there, that Relena had followed him, somehow convincing someone at Z&P that she had an interest in the law group and didn't want to take her pre-ordained position at MLG. It had been a summer of hell, but it had convinced Heero that under no circumstances could he take MLG's offer to join their associates - he absolutely could not stand to work with Relena. Ever again. "I can only assume that it was a personal decision, since our internship program is superior to Zodiac and we pay our associates equally." Again, Heero inclined his head but remained silent. Darlian steepled his fingers and tapped them against his lips. "My daughter, Relena, whom I believe you are familiar with?" Heero couldn't help the wry grin that question evoked and Darlian chuckled. "Yes, well, her victory over you in court a few months back convinced the senior partners that she was finally ready to step up." Heero arched an eyebrow. Relena had always been a talented lawyer - she had been the driving force behind Heero's efforts at Duke, Harvard and at Z & P - he had never wanted to be beaten by her and he had had to work his ass off to ensure it didn't happen. He found it interesting that the senior partners at her father's firm had so little faith in her. Then again, she wore pink all the time. "She has always been... dedicated," Heero said, his first words and Darlian chuckled again. "Indeed. She has. In any case, she was promoted to senior partner last month and has moved to London, to help expand our business overseas." Part of Heero was impressed, but another part was furious with himself. Relena had made senior partner before he had - she had won, twice in a row now. "You must be very proud," Heero said, feeling like an ass because it was hard to say those words. "Yes. I also find myself in need of a junior partner to fill her office and take over her clients." Heero wanted to get up and leave. He was going to be her replacement? "We have three junior partners at the moment, two are... incomparable while the third is... essential. Even so, our firm is growing quickly - I'm sure you've noticed Z&P have lost more than a few clients to us over the past year - and I need junior partners who have the potential to become senior partners and ensure that MLG continues to rise. I think you are just the man to do that, Heero, and I want you to join us." "Why should I leave Z&P?" Heero asked. "I have the best billings of all junior partners - I'm on track to be made a senior partner next year - and I'm not regarded as a replacement to anyone." Darlian winced. "Perhaps that wasn't the right way to put it. Let me try again. I've wanted you at MLG since you were a pre-Law student with Relena at Duke and I've known for just as long that you wouldn't join my firm while my daughter stood in the way. She's capable, she's ruthless and dedicated and brilliant - but she can also be a bit obsessive. You are too good and have too much potential for me to let Z&P keep you when I can use you to make this firm the best in Manhattan. You can stay at Z&P - you can have the run of the place, which I know you already do - and you can work your ass off and know that, in time, you will work your way up the ladder, but that your hard work will be feeding the lazy, pompous asses at the top for years and years before you have a chance to make a difference." Darlian's blue gaze was sharp and Heero had to acknowledge the truth of this words - Z&P might appreciate the fact that he brought in more money and clients than any other junior partner and half of the senior partners, but they liked to maintain the proper hierarchy of things. Heero could be a senior partner in a year, but it would be decades before he had the influence to call any shots at Z&P. Also... it sounded an awful lot as though Darlian had shipped his daughter across the Atlantic just so that Heero wouldn't have to deal with her. "Whatever Z&P pays you, I can pay more and add bonuses for your billings and any clients you bring with you." Heero started to speak but Darlian held up a hand. "Don't answer me yet. Take the day. Look around our offices, meet some of the partners. I meant what I said - you could help me take MLG to the next level and I want you here, but I've already got two stellar junior partners who are going to give you a run for your money as far as top billings. So, if you like sitting in your corner office at Z&P without any competition, then you should stay there - but you and I both know that having peers worth your attention is the real driving force behind success. Ah - here they are now." Darlian looked over Heero's shoulder and made a 'come in' motion with his hand. "Those two junior partners I told you about. Spend the day with them - they'll show you around the office, take you out and sell you on some of the benefits that come with being a member of our firm." Heero turned his head to see just who these junior partners were. Two men stepped into the office, tall, lean, dressed in immaculate three piece Armani suits that fit them obscenely well and - holy shit. It was green eyes and blue eyes, who had picked up Heero at a hotel bar and spent the next twelve hours fucking him in their hotel room three months ago. Blue eyes recognized him first - the wide smirk on his face freezing and his jaw dropping. Green eyes was more reserved, he arched an eyebrow and actually looked slightly amused. "Duo Maxwell and Trowa Barton," Thomas Darlian said and stood up. Heero followed his lead. "This is Heero Yuy - I'm trying to steal him away from Z&P." Heero held out his hand. Blue eyes, Duo, was still staring at him in open-mouthed shock, but Trowa shook his hand, his grip firm and warm. "Pleasure to meet you," Trowa said and Heero could have sworn there was laughter in his voice. Duo finally recovered himself, closed his mouth, and shook Heero's hand as well. "Yeah. Hi." "These two are among the most brilliant legal minds in the country," Darlian said, stepping between the two men and slapping a fatherly hand on each of their shoulders. Heero knew - he had heard of them, had followed their cases and read their papers but he had never seen a photograph of either of them. "You would have met them if you had taken the summer internship I offered you five years ago," Darlian continued, looking a little sour, "but these two are practically my family - hell, I drafted their pre-nup myself two years ago." Pre-nup? Heero glanced down, at their fingers, and sure enough, both men wore gold bands on the ring fingers of their left hands. Rings that had not been on their fingers that night three months ago. Yet they had been married for two years? "Congratulations," Heero said. "Ah, thanks..." Duo said and he scratched at the back of his neck. "Right. Give him the tour, liquor him up and don't come back until he says yes!" Darlian stepped away, clearly dismissing all three men. Heero followed Duo and Trowa out of the office, happy to admire the view that he really had missed. "Right," Duo said, stopping and turning once they were out in the hall. "Um, welcome to Metero Law Group... this would be the hallway." Heero felt his lips twitch. It was clear that Duo was deeply uncomfortable having to talk to the man he and his husband had picked up for a one night stand. Trowa was smirking, clearly enjoying Duo's discomfort, and Heero noticed for the first time a spray of freckles across his nose and cheeks. He hadn't seen them, that night, but then again, the hotel bar and hotel room lighting had been dim, amber lighting - not at all like the bright sunlight filtering in through the MLG offices. That in itself was an improvement - Z&P was dark, from the narrow windows to the heavy wood paneling on the walls and the floor - and Heero usually felt confined and restricted when he was in his office. "Shall we?" Trowa prompted, gesturing down the hall. "Right! Um... let's give you that grand tour." Duo stepped forward and Heero fell into step, behind him, next to Trowa. While he remembered the details of that night vividly, he had honestly forgotten just how intoxicatingly good both Trowa and Duo smelled, and being this close to them again, seeing the play of all that light on Duo's long hair and looking at those improbable freckles on Heero's nose - hell, just the view alone made him want to jump ship to MLG. Then again, what the hell was he thinking? These two men were married and Duo clearly didn't want him here. He wondered if they regretted that night, if it had damaged their relationship or - "And this is the intern prison quarters," Duo spoke up, breaking into Heero's thoughts. Heero looked at the six cubicles in front of them. They were a hell of a lot bigger than the ones at Z&P had been, and the room actually had windows - the interns at Z&P had called the intern office the basement because it literally felt like that - there was absolutely no natural light. "Filched any good cases for me yet, Yale?" Duo asked, leaning against the nearest cubicle where a red haired woman wearing a blue and white striped tie over her white tailored blouse was sitting, looking up at Duo with a smitten expression on her face. Heero arched an eyebrow. "The interns don't get names - just their schools," Trowa leaned his head down to explain, brushing his lips against Heero's ear in the process and sending a jolt of desire straight to Heero's groin. "Duo, obviously, favors his alma mater." "And you?" Heero asked, looking around for someone wearing a hideous green and red tie. "No one from Stanford this year," Trowa said, "my old spot went to someone from NYU." He walked over to a cubicle in the far corner, its occupant wearing a purple and white tie. "But I have fond memories all the same," he said, his words directed at Duo, who gave him a goofy grin. Clearly, one night with Heero hadn't destroyed them. Seeing that look pass between them actually made Heero jealous - he had never had a relationship with that kind of history, or that kind of intimacy. He thought again of Quatre and Amsterdam, but he had been young back then. His only real relationship of any length had been with Wufei Chang, a lit grad student at Harvard, but that had ended years ago, when Wufei took a fellowship in Germany. "Moving on, we've got the associates cubicles - bigger, but of course, have to keep them in their place," Duo spoke up, walking at a brisk pace and Heero and Trowa once again fell into step behind him. The associates cubicles were only slightly bigger than the interns - maybe eight inches or so Heero estimated - but still an improvement to the hellish box he had spent a year in at Z&P. "And here we have - fuck," Duo muttered the last almost under his breath, coming to a dead stop and Heero actually bumped into him. "Sorry," he apologized. Trowa smirked. "Don't try to feel up my husband in public," he admonished Heero. "Hey D-Dog, T-Bird!" A ginger haired man greeted them, clearly the cause of Duo's abrupt halt and curse. He held up his hand and Duo reluctantly gave him a high five. Trowa seemed to be fighting back laughter and Heero found himself amused by Duo's look of acute pain. "How's it hanging, brothers?" The red head asked. "To the left, like always, Vandy," Duo muttered and then sighed. Vandy - surely that wasn't his name? - looked at Heero and raised an eyebrow. "Heero Yuy," Trowa introduced him, "Thomas wanted us to show him around." "He-man? In the flesh!" Vandy held out his hand. "Man, I've heard so much about you from Relena." He-man? Duo's look of agony had transformed into a broad grin as soon as Heero felt himself scowl. He reluctantly shook the proffered hand. "I'm Alex Trant - junior partner like these two goofs." He looked on the verge of saying more, but Duo gently pulled their hands apart and put one hand on Heero's shoulder, steering him away. "Yep, well, we'll catch up with you later man, we're on a bit of a tight schedule!" And Duo propelled him down the hall, away from Alex Trant. "I fucking hate that guy," Duo muttered. Heero arched an eyebrow. "That's a selling point for me how?" Duo frowned and then grinned. "What? You mean you don't want to be called He-man?" Trowa, behind them, chuckled. "He'd fill out the costume nicely." "That he would," Duo agreed, a bit of heat in his eyes as he looked at Heero. "These are our offices," Trowa spoke up again, breaking the moment. They came to a stop in front of two side by side offices, both with floor to ceiling windows behind large desks, both decorated in clean, simple lines. The office on the left had sports memorabilia along one wall - signed baseballs, basketballs, footballs and pennants. The other office had floor to ceiling book shelves crammed full on every wall except the windows. Heero would have guessed that the sports themed office was Duo's, but a glance at the brass nameplate revealed it to be Trowa's. He arched an eyebrow at the slightly taller man. Trowa shrugged nonchalantly. "Most of my clients are athletes or affiliated with sports - they like to give me things." Duo chuckled. "Everyone likes to give you things - it's those damn freckles of yours." "Don't be jealous," Trowa admonished him, his voice deadpan but the corner's of his lips were tipped upwards. "Besides, you're the one who wanted to have our combined legal library in your office." Duo nodded. "Yeah," he winked at Heero, "means he has to come over and ask me for books - and then I get to watch his fine ass walk back out of my office." These two were clearly perfect for each other, and Heero started to wonder - just why had they picked him up that night in the first place? They had certainly enjoyed themselves - did they do that sort of thing often? "This way," Duo said, walking yet again and gesturing over his shoulder for them to follow. "Your office," he said and came to a stop in front of a corner office several doors down from their own. It was impressive - slightly larger than his current office and with a killer view of Central Park. He walked in and looked out of the windows. "Neither of you are taking this one?" He asked, surprised. "Nah. We've already got the glory hole in the wall between our offices - this would just be a hassle," Duo said. Heero turned around. They both wore bland expressions and he couldn't tell if Duo was joking or speaking in earnest. "In any case, it's too close to Vandy's - he's across the hall." "He's a bit obsessed with Duo," Trowa added, "so don't think you'll need to spend your career avoiding him." "One look at my dick and he's hooked for life," Duo muttered and then he sighed. "Anyway - it's a great office and with a bit of air freshener in here you won't even smell Relena's perfume anymore." Heero sniffed the air cautiously - it did smell faintly of the woman who had tormented him for so long. "Right. This completes our tour of the office - unless you want to see the copy room or IT or HR or Financial?" Heero shook his head in the negative - a copy room wasn't going to make or break this for him. "Great. In that case, I believe our instructions were to liquor you up." Duo clapped his hands together and waggled his eyebrows. "If I remember correctly... you're an Old Fashioned man, yeah?" Heero nodded, impressed that Duo had paid enough attention and knew enough about liquor to be able to know that. "Excellent. There's a great speakeasy type place we found last week that we can start off at and we'll work our way up the ladder of shock and awe from there." Heero was used to VIP areas - his elite clientele at Z&P as well as his position at that firm meant a lot of doors were open to him that most men his age didn't even know existed. But after six hours with Duo and Trowa, Heero was forced to admit to himself that their connections made his look sad in comparison. He imagined it was a combination of their clients, the MLG name, and Duo's charisma that got them behind so many velvet ropes, velvet curtains and closed doors. They had started off at the speakeasy - The Black Rabbit - and if nothing else came from this day, Heero had found himself a new favorite bar - and then moved on to a light dinner at Le Bernardin, and from there to progressively more exclusive bars and nightclubs until, at midnight, Heero found himself in the VIP-VIP section of 1OAK. He and Trowa were sitting at booth, drinking champagne and watching Duo dance with male and female fashion models that Heero had seen on billboards and in magazines. Trowa had his arm across the back of the booth, his wrist just behind Heero's head, and by this point Heero was buzzed and had been battling arousal for hours. Not only were Trowa and Duo criminally sexy, but they knew it and seemed to enjoy flirting with each other and with Heero, dropping subtle references to that night over drinks and dinner and touching each other in off-hand, casually intimate ways that had Heero desperately wanting to relive that night. Duo was currently sandwiched between a tall, blonde male model and an equally tall, equally blonde female model and the three were practically dry humping, laughing and clinging to each other and drawing the attention of most of the club's patrons. Trowa was looking on with a slight smirk, heat in his eyes, and absolutely no sign that he cared about the fact that his husband was being felt up by strangers. "You're not at all jealous?" Heero had to ask when the male model used Duo's tie to haul him in closer. Trowa shrugged. "No reason for me to be. He's not going home with them." It was an excellent point. While Trowa was not a male model, he very well could have been - so it wasn't as if Duo was ditching him for greener prospects. "Besides," Trowa added after sipping his champagne, "none of them know him. They can appreciate his looks, his completely inappropriate dance moves, even his jokes - but they never get to see the Duo that I do. They don't know how brilliant he is, how clever, how ruthless he is at work or how kind he is to people. This is all a game to him, and it's fun, but it's not real." Trowa looked over at Heero, and there was something in his gaze that left Heero feeling incredibly lonely. "So, going to join us at MLG?" Trowa asked after a moment. Heero was about to answer, but Duo came up to them, holding the hand of a thin, attractive black man. "Guess who I found!" Duo said, a wide grin on his face that was the exact opposite of the scowl Trowa now wore. "Stanford! It's been years since I've had the chance to look at your gorgeous self," the newcomer said and reached out to squeeze Trowa's right shoulder. "Oooh. And you've only gotten more buff since then!" "Allan, it's good to see you," Trowa said, his voice conveying anything but enthusiasm. Duo chuckled and tugged on Heero's sleeve. "Come on, stud, dance with me and let these two catch up." "Duo," Trowa said, a warning and a plea in his voice. "Hey, you've had him for the last half hour," Duo said and tugged at Heero's suit jacket until he removed it. "Besides, you and Allan haven't talked in five years - there's so much to catch him up on." Duo winked, grabbed Heero's hand, and abandoned Trowa. Heero allowed himself to be pulled onto the dance floor, and as the heavy bass music seemed to vibrate through his entire body he was vividly reminded of Amsterdam again, of cocaine glazed nights with Quatre and they ways they had practically fucked in public, grinding against each other in the dark with red and blue strobe lights glancing off of Quatre's white blonde hair and their heartbeats thudding in time to the music. "Who is that?" Heero had to shout in Duo's ear to be heard over the music. Duo swirled around him, grinding against his ass and pressing his chest against Heero's back. "Used to work at MLG as a paralegal," Duo shouted back, his lips wet and warm against Heero's ear. "Always had a raging hard on for Trowa. Not that you can blame him." Heero looked back at the booth, at the way Allan was sitting so close to Trowa he was practically in his lap and the faint, irritated scowl on Trowa's face. Trowa glanced at the dance floor, his eyes narrowed. But no, Heero thought, he couldn't blame Allan for his interest in Trowa. The man was beautiful. Duo's body was warm and firm against his and Heero turned, so they were facing each other, and gave in to the urge to touch him. He wrapped his arms around Duo's waist, keeping his grip loose, and as they danced together Duo smirked, his eyes dark and dangerous and Heero wanted him so much it felt like a need. Trowa was right about Duo's completely inappropriate dance moves - Duo's hands were everywhere, on his chest, his ass, his thighs and his face was close enough to Heero's that his lips brushed against his cheek, his hair, his ear and his jaw. Heero was hyper aware of Duo - his scent, his firm body, his half-hard cock that brushed against Heero's and made him wonder just how inappropriate it would be to haul him into the bathroom and suck him off. If this was all just a game to Duo, it was clearly a game he had mastered and took great pleasure in winning. "Come on," Duo said after what could have been fifteen minutes or an eternity. He grabbed Heero's hand. "Let's go save my husband." Then, of course, there was that, killing Heero's arousal like a cold shower. Allan was still at the table, still pawing at Trowa, and Trowa's green eyes were still narrowed in aggravation. "Hey lover," Duo greeted him, sliding into the booth on Trowa's other side and kissing him. "Ready to take me home and fuck me senseless?" Allan looked shocked. "You two -?" Duo held up his left hand and waggled his finger. "Married for the past two years? Yep." Allan looked over at Heero. "Then who the hell is this?" "New friend of ours," Trowa said. He had one hand wrapped around Duo's shoulders and Heero couldn't mistake the possessiveness of that hold or the warning in Trowa's eyes as he looked at Heero. "Well..." Allan moved out of the booth and shook his head. "Congratulations on your marriage, Stanford and Yale." He arched an eyebrow at Heero. "Enjoy your treat." And then he was gone, leaving Heero standing, looking down at the couple in the booth and feeling very out of place. Duo slid out of the booth and threw one arm around Heero's shoulders, and Trowa's eyes narrowed even further. "Well, shall we move on to another club or are you convinced yet that MLG can offer you things that Z&P never could?" He winked playfully. Trowa stood up from the booth and grabbed both Heero and Duo's jackets, tossing Heero's at him before helping Duo shrug into his. Heero knew that something had changed - somewhere on the dance floor Duo or Heero - or both of them - had clearly crossed whatever imaginary line Trowa had drawn for them. Apparently Heero had made this something real and something threatening. Trowa evidently had no interest in Heero's answer - as soon as Duo's jacket was on he walked out of the club, leaving Duo frowning after him and Heero fighting back a growing sense of anxiety. Outside the night had grown chilly, just enough to make the sweat Heero had earned on the dance floor prickle against his skin. Duo caught up to Trowa, grabbing his hand and pulling him close. Heero hung back, not even trying to hear what they said to each other, and he wondered if he should just go home - nothing good was going to come from this. Certainly the night was not going to end the same way it had three months ago. After a few minutes Duo and Trowa approached, both men with serious looks on their faces. "One last stop," Duo said and he jerked his head, motioning for Heero to follow them. They walked in silence for ten blocks, before Duo ushered them into a hole-in-the wall sports bar that looked like the favorite drinking spot for mechanics and city transit employees - not high powered lawyers who had only an hour ago done shots with James Franco. Duo led Heero to a table in the back, the racket from the seven different televisions broadcasting the Red Sox game a distant buzz, and Trowa stopped at the bar. "Is this a Red Sox bar?" Heero asked in shock. "Yep," Duo acknowledged with a grin. "One of the few in the city." "Trowa's a Red Sox fan?" Heero hazarded. Duo scoffed. "Trowa doesn't give a shit about baseball - or any sport. Okay, he cares about golf, but... come on, is that really a sport?" "His office?" "I told you. People like to give him stuff - and you've got to admit, that shit looks impressive to potential clients. You walk in and see a baseball autographed by Derek Jeter and you know Trowa's important." Heero could see the logic in that. "So you're a Red Sox fan?" He guessed. "Dyed in the wool," Trowa said, joining them and passing out pints of some kind of pale ale. "Which is why I proposed to him on Opening Day, at Fenway Park." The two shared another look - that same intimate, slightly goofy-completely-smitten look from before - and Heero felt like even more of an asshole. "So listen," Duo said after letting Heero sip his beer. "This," he gestured to each of them in turn, "is not on the table as some kind of fringe benefit you get for signing on with MLG." Heero nodded. "I didn't think it was on the table." He had hoped it was, but if nothing else, Trowa's behaviour had made it crystal clear that Heero was an interloper in their lives. "Because, it was fun - a hell of a lot of fun - but it was... just some crazy night to celebrate our anniversary and it was one time." Heero blinked. They had picked up a one night stand to celebrate their anniversary? He met Trowa's eyes. The anger had faded from them, but he still looked defensive. "Well, it wasn't just one time," Heero said, hoping to lighten the tension. Trowa's lips twitched upwards. "True," he agreed. "It was at least seven or eight," Heero continued. Trowa arched an eyebrow. "Are you just counting penetration? Otherwise I think it was closer to fifteen times." Heero shrugged. "Are we just counting me getting off? Otherwise it's closer to -" "The point," Duo interrupted them, "is that you're hot - the sex was great - but we're married and if you come work at MLG we'd love to work with you, but we're not going to fuck you again." Heero ran a finger down the rim of his glass, tracing the condensation. "Will that be stated in my contract?" He asked. Duo frowned. "What? Will your contract say 'Duo Maxwell and Trowa Barton will not fuck you?' No. Of course not." "Okay." Heero looked at Trowa. He had relaxed considerably, and that teasing, sexy warmth was back in his eyes. Heero wondered if Trowa's only real concern was that Heero was interested in trying to steal Duo away from him. He arched an eyebrow, silently asking if Trowa minded and Trowa shrugged. Heero smirked and turned back to Duo. "Well if it's not in writing, that gives me something to work with." -o- To be continued in Entanglement.
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