"Entanglement"

When Heero walked into the office at MLG he felt like he might as well have a scarlet A emblazoned on his suit jacket.

Only forty minutes ago he had been naked, his tongue down Trowa's throat and he had been so achingly close to orgasm - so close to coming all over Trowa's amazing body and his damned talented hand and now he was here, walking towards the office where Trowa's husband sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen, unaware of Heero's approach, of his betrayal.

Duo looked up as he neared and his look of concentration turned to one of concern. He started to rise from behind his desk, but then his cellphone rang and he picked it up with a slight frown.

Feeling like a coward, Heero took advantage of the distraction and picked up his pace, walking faster towards his own office.

He wasn't sure he could handle Duo's concern - not after that morning. He didn't deserve it now, and he hadn't even really deserved it before.

What he really deserved was -

"Shit."

As he approached his office he could see Relena Darlian sitting on his desk. He had decorated the office sparsely - a few Ansel Adams photographs that a client had given him years ago and dark, leather furniture that Gina had found somehow for him that wasn't quite as comfortable as the brown leather armchairs in Duo's office.

Relena looked out of place, with her blonde hair and her pink suit and her predatory smile as Heero approached and he just knew his office was going to smell like her now.

"Heero, it's so good to see you. I told Daddy I simply had to catch up with you before I went back to London. I love what you've done with my office." She leaned back on the desk slightly, and if she had been Duo or Trowa, posed like that, it would have filled Heero's head with all kinds of ideas. As it was - as it was, picturing Trowa naked, leaning back on his desk, reminded Heero of that morning.

"So," Relena continued, unaware of Heero's mental anguish at her presence and his own actions, "I figured I would spend the morning with you - see how you've been settling in, taking over my old clients, wondering if you could ever -"

"Relena. I'm busy."

Heero finally stepped into his office and put down his briefcase and his gym bag. He might be the scum of the earth and he might owe Duo one hell of an apology, but he was not going to let Relena Darlian ruin his day even more with her mere presence.

She arched an eyebrow.

"Daddy -"

"Relena. You aren't going to use your relationship to my boss to manipulate me," he assured her, thinking about Treize and Trowa, thinking about himself and Trowa. If he couldn't shut down Relena - he had no hope of keeping free of Treize.

She pouted for a moment.

"You've always been so rude," she finally sighed. "It's why you have such a hard time finding a girlfriend."

Heero rolled his eyes.

"I'm gay," he reminded her.

"Hm. Well, you don't seem to have much luck with boyfriends either, do you?" She challenged.

No, he really didn't, Heero knew, but he would be damned if he agreed with anything Relena said.

"Anyway, how are you doing with the YSI case?"

Heero frowned.

"Fine. Ask Duo if you want details, he's the lead council."

Relena sighed.

"He won't tell me anything. He's still pissy with me for having Daddy give me the case over him the first time around." She shrugged. "I have no idea why he cares so much - it's a great PR case, but he's never seemed to care all that much about how the firm is perceived anyway."

Heero arched an eyebrow.

"I think he simply cares about the case," he pointed out, thinking back to Duo's enthusiasm and dedication to this case - Heero had been impressed with Duo as a lawyer before, but especially after working with him on this case, he could see that Duo was brilliant and dedicated. He almost regretted having never faced him in court - he would have been a formidable foe.

"I just don't see why. It's just a bunch of juvenile delinquents."

"Who were horribly abused by an organization that was charged with helping them," Heero argued.

Relena shrugged.

"Yes, of course, but all the same - it's hard to feel all that much sympathy for them. But Duo is ready to open a vein for them or something."

Heero scowled. He had always found Relena to be insensitive and self-centered, but she did actually have a point - Duo was very emotionally invested in this case. Heero wondered why that was. He remembered Trowa saying that the three things Duo hated most were child molesters, divorce cases and Treize Khushrenada. He wondered if Duo had ever -

"Anyway, I was telling Daddy that we could really use another partner over in London. We've been able to expand so rapidly and it would be wonderful to have a junior colleague."

Heero just barely refrained from bodily removing her from his office. Of course she would rub in the fact that she was higher up in the food chain than he was.

"Then go bother the associates. I need to get to work. Please get off my desk." He said coldly.

For a moment it looked like she was going to stay sitting on his desk, but then with an irritated huff she stood up and walked to his door.

"I hope being such a dull robot makes you a good lawyer, Heero, because it makes you so boring to talk to."

He refused to acknowledge that parting shot and instead pulled his laptop out of his briefcase and got to work.

By eleven thirty he had managed to make significant progress on several cases, but he was distracted when he looked up from a brief to see Duo leaning against Gina's desk, a flirtatious smile on his face. He was idly leafing through the calendar on her desk while talking to her and Gina was completely mesmerized by him.

Heero didn't really blame her. Duo was incredibly handsome, but when he turned on the charm he was impossible to look away from. Even though he had no idea what they were talking about, Heero found himself intently watching Duo and the way his long, elegant fingers leafed through the pages of the calendar. He laughed at something and Heero had to look away - it was so damned unfair for him to be that gorgeous.

As he turned his head, he caught sight of Treize Khushrenada walking down the corridor, a predatory smirk on his face that froze Heero's blood.

Duo, still by Gina's desk, straightened up and offered Treize a chilly, barely polite nod.

Treize just smirked even more. He clearly loved the effect he had on people and relished Duo's hatred.

"Ah, just the junior partner I was looking for," Treize said as he stepped into Heero's office, completely ignoring Gina when she tried to stop him.

Just the sound of his voice was enough to make Heero's stomach revolt. The glitter in his beady blue eyes was so damned familiar from that night ten years ago -but now, hearing his voice, Heero could only think about what Treize had done to Trowa, and he felt rage build inside of him.

"Convenient that you read my name on the office door then," Heero bit out.

Treize chuckled.

"Indeed. I had hoped to speak with you more at the party last night, but you disappeared so soon. I try to get to know all of the Junior Partners, especially those with potential. Thomas relies on me for my opinions, you know, and -"

"Hey, sorry to interrupt!" Duo stepped into the office, an apologetic smile on his face. "But we've got a lunch meeting, Heero, buddy."

Heero arched an eyebrow. As far as he knew, they had no meeting scheduled for today at any point, much less over lunch.

"Remember?" Duo rolled his eyes and looked at Treize. "This guy - he's so focused on his cases that he just zones out of everything."

Treize arched an eyebrow.

"Perhaps he simply needs the right stimulation."

Heero swallowed hard. Treize could be hinting at cocaine or sex.

"Like a double espresso?" Duo interjected. "I keep telling him but he's all about regulating his caffeine intake or whatever but - come on, Heero, buddy, we've got to get a move on."

Heero started to save the document he had been working on.

"Well, if you aren't available for lunch today, how about tomorrow?" Treize offered. "I feel like I barely know you and I do so want to learn more about you."

"Yeah, sorry, Treize, but Heero and I are in meetings all day tomorrow - we've got opening statements for this YSI trial next week and you know how it goes."

Treize pursed his lips, clearly trying to think of a way around Duo's excuse. Eventually he shrugged.

"Very well. Then we shall have lunch on Thursday, before I return to London. I feel it is vital to learn more about our newest junior partner," Treize said and gave Heero a significant look.

"Thursday sounds great - we'll see you then," Duo said.

Treize glared at him, annoyed that Duo had invited himself along.

Duo just grinned at him and eventually Treize sighed and retreated.

"Thank you," Heero said sincerely once Treize was gone.

Duo shrugged.

"Don't mention it." He looked on the verge of saying more, but then he shrugged again.

"What lunch meeting do we have?"

"Oh, um, well, you have a lunch meeting with Vandy and I'm going to ditch you and have Mexican food since Trowa's gone."

Heero glared at him.

"Why can't all three of us eat Mexican?"

"Because then I'd associate Vandy's face with guacamole and I just cannot do that."

-o-

Duo really hadn't exaggerated their schedule for Wednesday - early in the morning they met with a few witnesses and key experts who would be testifying in the YSI case and that afternoon they met with the opposing council, Zechs Merquise, in Z&P conference room that Heero had really thought he would never have to see again.

Heero was completely prepared for the glares from his former colleagues, and he was even prepared for the way that Zechs Merquise greeted him with barely concealed loathing, but he was not prepared for the way that he and Duo were able to work together seamlessly to counter every suggestion, every insinuation, every snide comment that Zechs made. By the end of their two hour meeting, Heero felt almost giddy. He and Duo were practically finishing each others sentences as they shot down the paltry settlement offer Zechs finally put on the table and Heero was actually more turned on by Duo now, seeing him in full attack mode and working with him, than he had been the times they had danced together. It had been obvious before just why Trowa was so attracted to Duo, but after seeing him like this, Heero envied Trowa. He wondered if he and Duo had worked on cases before, and if Trowa had been this aroused by Duo's ruthless efficiency.

It was only as they were leaving, after Duo politely told Zechs to take the settlement offer and shove it up his ass, that Zechs managed to put a dent in Heero's enjoyment of the last two hours.

"I just hope you're willing to watch me on the news in a few months when I humbly accept the accolades for protecting our communities from dangerous criminals. Enjoy your snide comments now, because when we get in front of a judge and a jury I'm going to rip your case to shreds," Zechs assured them.

Duo sneered.

"The only dangerous criminals in this case are your clients - mine are the victims who have suffered through torture. Don't try to play mind games with me, Merquise, because I'm not going to let them down."

Zechs arched an eyebrow at that, and even Heero was surprised by that surprisingly personal admission from Duo. He was forced again to admit that Relena was right - Duo was dangerously close to this case.

He looked at Zechs and he could see the tall blonde man already thinking and planning on how to use that to his advantage. He was an excellent lawyer, and he especially excelled at exposing the weaknesses in the opposing council. And Duo had unfortunately just revealed a huge weakness.

"And of course," Heero spoke up quickly, "I'm looking forward to defeating you in court so that the public can finally acknowledge what we both have always known - I'm better than you."

Zechs glared at Heero. He had always resented Heero's rapid rise at Z&P and always believed Heero was no match for him.

"We shall certainly see," Zechs eventually bit out and then left them alone in the conference room.

Heero looked over at Duo and could see that the other man knew he had made a mistake.

"Let's grab a drink," Heero suggested and Duo nodded.

They took a cab over to The Black Rabbit, which had become a regular retreat for Heero ever since Duo and Trowa had first taken him there.

They were on their second drink before Duo spoke again.

"I know Trowa thinks I'm some kind of saint or something, but I'm not. I could have been one of these kids if it hadn't been for a stupidly determined school counselor." Duo shook his head and sighed. "After my Dad and my brother died I went through a lot of shit and eventually - I just figured, fuck the world - it liked to fuck me, you know? I was caught shoplifting and sentenced to community service and Dr. Po - she saved me from going down a really, really dark path with my life."

It was clear that Duo was leaving out a lot of information.

"I don't think shoplifting -"

Duo shook his head.

"That was the only thing I was ever caught for. The other shit - " Duo shrugged and offered a bitter, twisted grin. "I'm close to this case, to these kids. Too close, probably, but I'll be damned if I walk away from them."

"Trowa told me you hate child molesters," Heero said and Duo looked at him sharply. "He didn't tell me why," Heero hastened to add. He didn't want Duo to think Trowa had betrayed a confidence to him. It was bad enough that Heero still couldn't bring himself to admit to Duo that he had nearly had sex with his husband on Tuesday morning.

"Because he doesn't know why," Duo muttered.

Heero arched an eyebrow at that. It surprised him that Duo would keep secrets from Trowa.

"He told you about Treize," Heero had to point out, suspecting that it was one of Trowa's worst moments.

Duo nodded in agreement.

"He thinks it's just one of my things," Duo said after emptying his glass and signalling for another. "I hate child molesters and divorce cases and -"

"Treize Khushrenada."

Duo's lips twitched.

"I was going to say the Yankees, but yeah, I hate Treize too."

"But it's not just one of your things," Heero persisted. He wasn't sure why he was pushing Duo on this, but it felt like something he needed to know.

"No, it's not just - Jesus, man, why do you even care?"

"Why did you care about Treize and I?" Heero shot back.

Duo scowled at him.

"Because I care. Even now, even after you -" Duo stopped himself and shook his head. He glared at Heero. "I told you I'd only been with four guys before."

Heero nodded.

"So you and Trowa, obviously, and then Franklin, in law school who..." Duo sucked in a breath. "Franklin was the first guy I was with voluntarily." Duo accepted a fresh drink from the waitress and he stared at it instead of Heero."I said that I went through some dark shit after my Dad and brother died. I... fucking hell. I've never told anyone this shit."

Duo's voice was raw with emotion. Heero bumped his knee against Duo's. He didn't think he would respond well to an arm around his shoulders, and the casual touch was unobtrusive.

Duo pressed his leg against Heero's, tacitly accepting the comfort.

"I was sent to a therapist after the accident and... and he touched me. He fucked me and he - he spent months trying to get me to trust him, to open up to him and then he fucked me and told me no one would ever believe me if I told and -"

"Number 13," Heero realized.

Duo nodded in agreement. He seemed grateful that Heero had stopped him. "Yeah. Number 13."

They had assigned numbers to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and Number 13 had been a fifteen year old boy who had been raped repeatedly by one of the wardens in the correctional facility he had been sent to. He was now nineteen, and when they had interviewed him Duo had had a look of anger on his face during the entire deposition. Heero had assumed it was just anger over the treatment of the teenager, he had had no idea Duo had had a similar experience.

"How old were you?" Heero asked.

"Twelve. Thirteen when I finally convinced my Mother I didn't need to go to therapy anymore." He laughed darkly. "She kept saying that I clearly needed more therapy - that I seemed to be getting worse."

"You never tried to tell her?"

Duo shook his head.

"When they died - it was hard on her and I didn't want... I believed him, when he said no one would believe me and I didn't want to do that to her."

"Trowa would want to know," Heero said.

Duo shook his head in disagreement.

"No. Trowa doesn't - he never thinks anything is wrong with me and I don't want him to look at me like that, like I'm broken or fucked up or -"

"I'm not looking at you like that," Heero said and Duo turned his head and met his gaze.

"No, you aren't," Duo agreed.

-o-

Heero was hungover on Thursday, which wasn't surprising considering the sheer volume of alcohol he and Duo had consumed the night before, but it only made his anxiety about lunch with Treize worse.

But when noon rolled around and Duo walked over to lean against Heero's open door, looking so casually sexy that Heero forgot about his pounding headache. Duo offered him an almost shy look.

"Hey," he said.

"We need to work on our pacing when we go out drinking," Heero told him.

Duo nodded and then winced and massaged his temples. Heero was relieved that he wasn't the only one suffering.

"You okay?" Duo asked him after glancing down the hall to see if Treize was approaching yet. He stepped into the office and sat down in the chair across from Heero's desk.

"Yes. Thank you for doing this with me."

Duo shrugged one shoulder.

"Thanks for... you know. Listening to my shit and not looking at me like I'm some sort of pathetic -"

"Duo. I'm not looking at you like you're pathetic because you are not pathetic. Trowa wouldn't think you are either."

Duo shook his head.

"No, but he'd think I was... less or something. He thinks I'm -"

"Ah. Here you are."

Treize was standing in Heero's doorway, a smirk on his face.

Duo rolled his eyes and Heero fought back a comment about the obviousness of their location.

"So, where are you taking us for this fancy smooze lunch?" Duo asked Treize and stood up.

Treize looked like he wanted to have Duo killed and Duo grinned broadly at his irritated expression.

"I have reservations for us at Per Se," Treize said.

Duo arched an eyebrow.

"You really do want to make an impression on the new Junior Partner," he muttered and then turned to Heero. "I didn't get taken to Per Se until my second year as a Junior Partner, when Thomas and I talked about Treize moving to the London office."

A muscle in Treize's jaw jumped at that and Duo smirked slightly.

"In any case, shall we?"

Duo and Heero dutifully followed Treize out of the office.

"Thank you," Heero whispered to him.

"Of course. I'd never let a friend have lunch with Treize alone."

The lunch turned out to be blessedly anticlimactic. Every time Treize tried to make an insinuation about Heero and their past meeting, Duo jumped in with some blithely naive comment or a reference to Treize being sent to London. As a result, the conversation actually focused on work for most of the meal, and even when Treize promised to spend more time mentoring Heero next time he visited, Heero didn't feel that anxious. Duo in crusade mode, shooting down Treize and making Heero feel worth being saved, was a little scary and a lot sexy.

Treize left directly from the restaurant to go to JFK and catch a flight back to London and Duo suggested they walk back to the office.

"So, we need to talk about this."

Heero looked over at him.

"About Treize?" He really didn't know what else to say on the subject. Unless Duo had a permanent plan in mind for getting rid of the slimy man?

"About us. About you, Trowa and me. About that mind altering kiss you two had in the locker room at La Palestra and about the fact that Trowa can't keep his hands off you. And I -"

"He told you," Heero sighed in relief.

Duo gave him a look.

"Of course he told me. He called me on his way to the airport and told me that morning. Heero - Trowa and I are a team. We fuck up sometimes, a lot these days as it turns out, but we're in this together."

Heero wasn't entirely sure what to say. He found it nearly impossible to believe that Duo had known for the last two days and had still saved him from Treize. Duo had even confided in him, when Heero had done that to him and he had known the entire time.

"Look, Trowa flies in tonight from Miami and we're headed to the Cape for the long weekend Friday morning. We're driving back on Tuesday night."

"So you want to talk on Wednesday?"

"No." Duo fidgeted with his tie. "We want you to come with us, out to the Cape."

"Are you sure?" Heero found it nearly impossible to believe that Duo and Trowa would invite him to their summer retreat - he also didn't see how the invitation to their beach house could result in a conversation that didn't end with them naked together. Unless they planned on taking him sailing and dumping him overboard.

"Yeah. We're sure. I think being away from the city, from work - just the three of us together - will give us a chance to figure out what the hell we're going to do."

~ * ~

Chapter 6

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