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"The Road Not Taken"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, yaoi Pairings: 2x3, 1x5, 3x4, past 1x3 Summary: Sometimes we live our lives following one road because we never consider another. Trowa Barton has the misfortune to answer the classified of a straight Duo Maxwell. Thanks as always to the always fabulous Cuzo
for being my beta! "The Road Not Taken " Chapter Ten Trowa woke up feeling disorientated. He was definitely not in his own bed and he had definitely had too much to drink the night before. And he was being suffocated by something hot and heavy. He slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the light that assaulted him and as he did the night before came back to him. He was in Duo's bed, and it felt like it was Duo, softly snoring away, who was currently draped across his back. Trowa took a moment to marvel at this situation. Twenty four hours ago he had been alone, trying to figure out if he should even call Duo and risk humiliation, and now… now he was waking up naked in bed with Duo. And last night Duo had touched him, had almost gotten him off with his hand alone and Trowa felt such an amazing sense of relief at that. He eased himself out from under Duo and out of the bed. Duo rolled onto his side, seeking the warm spot Trowa had just vacated, and the sheets pooled low around his thighs. Trowa couldn't help but feel like a letch as he looked over Duo's naked body. He had a lean, wiry build and was almost completely hairless, save for the dark nest around his groin and a sprinkling on his legs. He was very young, Trowa couldn't help but think, and incredibly vulnerable looking as he slept. He turned away from the captivating sight and hunted for his boxer briefs and his pants. He pulled them on and slipped out of the room, intent on rinsing out his mouth at the very least. Once in the bathroom he made use of the facilities, emptying his full bladder before swiping some toothpaste onto a finger and trying to scrub his teeth and mouth clean. His hair was a mess, as it usually was in the morning, and he was just vain enough to try to get in under some semblance of control before he crept out of the bathroom to rejoin Duo. Except that as soon as he left the bathroom he found himself face to face with Hilde, Duo's roommate. "Hi," she said. "Hi," he responded, immediately on edge by her tone. "I was hoping to catch you before I left." "Oh?" He had sort of been hoping for the exact opposite. From their hints last night, Trowa could only imagine what Duo had told Hilde and her boyfriend about him. "I'm putting on some coffee before I go, want to join me for a cup?" It was definitely not an invitation, and Trowa reluctantly followed her into the kitchen. "So you spent the night." "Yes, I did." "Does that mean you and Duo are back together?" "If that's what he wants." "Uh huh." She regarded him over the percolating coffee pot. "I want to hate you, for what you did to him." Trowa winced. He didn't really blame her for disliking anyone who hurt Duo. "But the way he looked at you last night… Trowa, if you break his heart again, I will kill you. He's my best friend, my soul mate, and I don't want to see him as miserable as you made him before ever again." "I can't promise you anything, Hilde," Trowa said, simultaneously touched and irritated with her protectiveness towards Duo. "But I don't want to make him miserable. I want to make him happy." She looked at him for a long moment and then sighed. "Good. Because he's the most amazing person I've ever met and you'd better make sure he feels that way around you too. There, I've done my duty as the meddling best friend. And now I have to go to New York." She poured the entire coffee pot into a travel mug. "Thanks for the coffee?" He joked. She smirked at him. "You wouldn't be able to crawl back into bed with Duo and pretend to wake up when he did if you had coffee breath, now would you?" Trowa decided that he liked Hilde, a lot. "Travel safely," he told her. "I always do," she said and then she left. Trowa went back into Duo's bedroom and took off his clothes before easing himself back onto the bed. He had to shift Duo's body away to make room for himself, but Duo, still sleeping, complied with only a grumble. Trowa lay on his side and wrapped one arm around Duo from behind. What had Duo called this? The big spoon. He had to smile at that. He had never fallen asleep before with someone wrapped around him like Duo had been last night and he was amazed at how easy it had been to drift off. Usually he liked a fair amount of space to himself in bed - he and Heero had been terrible at sharing a bed because they both prefered to have as much space to stretch out as possible - but he hadn't minded Duo's proximity at all. The steady drum of his heartbeat had been soothing and the press of his hard body had felt oddly familiar. Of course, thoughts about Duo's hard body were making Trowa hard and he shifted his lower body away from Duo. He wasn't sure how receptive Duo would be to waking up with a hard dick nudging at his ass. Trowa idly traced over the planes of Duo's chest and up to the large tattoo that he had finally seen last night. It was some kind of intricate Celtic knot that started just below his collarbone and extended nearly six inches down, stretching several inches wide. He made a mental note to ask Duo about that, and about the scar he had noticed weeks ago, months now, at the base of Duo's neck. It was a long, horizontal slash that had the faded, white impression of an old wound. He wasn't sure how long they lay there, Duo asleep in his arms and Trowa trying to catalogue his naked body, but eventually Duo yawned himself awake and stretched. Which of course brought him back into contact with Trowa's Dick He felt Duo's entire body tense up and then the other man rolled over and actually smiled at him. "I guess someone's happy to see me?" Duo joked. "Always," Trowa said. He leaned down to kiss him but Duo scooted away quickly. Trowa frowned. "Sorry," Duo said sheepishly, "I just need to brush my teeth - I - just give me one second." Duo rooted around on the floor and pulled on the shorts he had discarded last night before leaving Trowa alone in the room. It took him a little longer than a second to return, but when he did he was grinning. "Looks like we've got the place to ourselves - Hilde's already gone and Greg must have left earlier too." "I saw her on her way out," Trowa admitted. Duo arched an eyebrow. "Did she threaten to kill you or anything? If she did, I'm really sorry, and really, really embarrassed." "It's fine. We just talked while she made coffee." "Just talked… I'm going to have to assume it was about me." Duo approached the bed, looking shy. "Of course it was. She cares about you a lot. But, if it's okay with you, I'd rather focus on the here and now?" Duo smirked. "Really? And just what would the here and now entail?" "Well for starters you need to take off your shorts and get back in bed with me. It's rude to leave guests unattended, Duo." Duo chuckled and started to undo the fly of his shorts but then he hesitated. "Um, I have to ask you something first," Duo said, suddenly looking nervous. "Okay." Trowa sat up in the bed and Duo cautiously sat down on the edge, clearly ready to jump off at a moment's notice. "So, when you broke up with me a few weeks ago, I thought it was because, well I thought it had to do with the whole BDSM, fisting thing - but if you're not into that -" "I'm not," Trowa assured him, hating Quatre just a little bit more. "I tried it one time, but it's really not my thing. At all," he repeated for both his and Duo's sakes. "Right, that's good to know, but if that's not why - then what were you breaking up with me for? You said that I wasn't ready to be with you - and I thought that meant the other stuff, but now… I feel like we still need to talk about things before we just fall back into bed with each other." Duo looked miserable and Trowa had to sigh. He was right. They did need to talk. "Duo, this is all… very new for you, and I actually enjoy getting to experience it with you." "But?" Duo prompted. "But I wonder just far you want to go down this road." Trowa hesitated. "You're twenty three. You've spent your life as a straight man and now you're… not as straight as you thought. But how gay are you?" "I don't really know. I mean, when we broke up I was a mess because I couldn't figure that out. Am I just in love with you as a person or am I really attracted to men and never considered it before? I check guys out now, you know? Which I never did before and I do think they're attractive and… I don't know. No one else is you." Trowa found himself swallowing hard at Duo's words, Am I just in love with you? He didn't think Duo was even aware he had said that, and he didn't think pointing it out at this moment would help this conversation progress much. But still, Duo had said those words. It made Trowa mentally stumble as he considered his next words. "When I was your age, I'd been out for years and I had been sexually active since I was in high school but I was still twenty three - I was still going out and hooking up with new guys every few weeks - I wasn't interested in settling down and finding the one. I was more concerned with enjoying myself - and other men - as much as I could. But I'm not twenty three anymore. I turn thirty in a few months. My best friends are in the process of adopting and I've spent the last five years in a… in some kind of a relationship with a man who despises commitment. I want to find the one. I want to settle down and start a family." "I want those things too," Duo said, "I mean, not so much the hooking up with new guys every few weeks." "Are you sure?" Duo frowned. "Yes? I mean, neither of us is proposing right now, right?" Trowa shook his head. "No, of course not." "Okay, just checking. But I guess I've always been kind of… I don't know, a serial monogamist? I dated Sylvia for a year, Hilde for a year, and -" "Hilde? Your roommate?" Duo nodded and then gave an apologetic shrug at Trowa's questioning look. "She doesn't go for the whole marriage-kids-capitalist thing. We tried to make it work but… we kind of want different things out of life." Trowa wanted to think it was strange that Duo and Hilde lived together after a failed relationship, but he and Heero still maintained a close friendship - so perhaps it wasn't so unusual? "I'm not experienced, obviously, if that's what we're talking about?" Duo broke into his thoughts. "So I get it, if this is frustrating or boring or -" "No. It's none of those things. I said it before, I enjoy being with you as you experience these things - but how much do you want to experience? Are you going to wake up in six months and wish you were… with Hilde instead of me?" He voiced the fear that had plagued him since the start - of course, he hadn't been concerned with it being Hilde Duo would prefer, before. "No. I'm not. Hilde and I aren't - we're friends. She's my best friend and I love her to death, but I don't want to be with her. Not like I want to be with you. If you're asking me if you think I'm going to wake up in six months and wish I wasn't gay or something - I have no idea - have you ever done that? Is that even a thing?" "I don't know," Trowa confessed. "I've never dated a straight guy before." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not a straight guy, though," Duo said, a hint of irritation in his voice, " Maybe I'm not 100% gay - because yes, I still find women attractive - but I'm bisexual, at the very least. I'm not going to wake up in six months and suddenly think "ugh - all that sex I enjoy, it's just wrong."" "Do you enjoy the sex? Touching me and having me touch you?" "Yes, of course." "Last night was the first time you actually touched me," Trowa had to point out. Duo looked sheepish. "I know." He sighed. "It's not - I don't know." "Did you enjoy it?" "Yeah, I mean… I thought it was kind of obvious how much I enjoyed last night." Trowa shook his head. "No, did you enjoy touching my Dick?" Duo nodded. "Yeah, it was… it wasn't like masterbating, which I thought it would be. It was...I don't know. It was kind of amazing seeing you like that, knowing it was me doing that to you." "Was it something you want to do again?" Duo offered him a crooked smile. "I'm thinking yeah, as often as possible." That was certainly satisfying to hear, but Trowa decided to just go ahead and lay all of his concerns on the table now. "What about anything else? Oral sex? Anal sex? How far do you want to go, Duo?" Duo bit his lower lip. "That's a good question," he admitted with a sigh. He held Trowa's gaze for a moment and then nodded. "I get it now. You're wondering how much of your time you're wasting with me, yeah? You want to find someone to spend your life with and start a family and presumably fuck senseless as often as you can and instead you're stuck with me." "I'm not stuck with you and I'm not wasting my time," Trowa said. "I'd like to figure out if you're someone I could spend the rest of my life with." "But I'm not Quatre," Duo said. "What does that have to do with anything?" "I'm not like him - I'm not your type or whatever and I still don't know what the fuck to do and -" "Duo, I don't have a type," Trowa interrupted. Duo frowned. "Quatre said I wasn't your type. He said -" "He also told you I was into fisting and BDSM. He was jealous and he was trying to scare you off." Trowa leaned forward and kissed Duo, waiting for Duo's muscles to loosen and for the other man to kiss him back before he gently eased away. "I want to fuck you senseless, Duo, not him, not some 'type' I'm supposed to have." Duo swallowed hard. "But what if I don't want that? What if I'm just not… you said before that we didn't have to have anal sex." "We don't," Trowa assured him. Duo spent a long moment staring at him. "But you want to." "I… enjoy it," Trowa allowed. "And if I never want to do it?" Trowa knew that if Duo did not ever want to have anal sex it would likely, in the end, drive them apart. It wasn't as if Trowa was particularly obsessed with anal sex - but if Duo didn't want to bottom for him or top Trowa, then he knew he would always wonder whether or not Duo really wanted to be intimate with another man. He knew that some gay men avoided anal sex - knew some who viewed it as some kind of homage to heterosexuality and felt that any man being a bottom was effeminate - but he wasn't one of those men. He liked being topped by another man and he enjoyed being buried deep inside someone. "We already agreed no one is proposing today, Duo," Trowa said, sighing and fighting back a nagging sense of doom. "Three weeks ago I was convinced you would never touch my Dick - and I'm not saying that in three weeks I expect you want to have anal sex. I'm just saying that I understand that you are still trying to figure yourself out." "But you need more," Duo said with a sigh of his own. He drew his knees up to his chest, looking very, very young. "I don't need everything, but I don't like the feeling of waiting for you to run away if I go to far. I don't like…" Trowa struggled to figure out the right words. "When you hesitate - when you get that look in your eyes as though you have no idea what you're doing and don't know if you're going to regret something - it makes me feel like I'm… I don't want to force you to do anything." "You aren't," Duo said. "Seriously - I've never felt like you're forcing me to do anything. And I'm not worried about regretting anything. When I hesitate it's… fuck, Tro, I really don't have any idea what I'm doing and you do - you're experienced and you're really, really good at this. I just…" "I intimidate you," Trowa realized. "Your experience and your skill do, yeah," Duo admitted and he looked miserable. "I think about all the things I want to do with you - to you - and I just… it's not going to feel as good as it does when you touch me. It's like - it's like that fucking blow job Zechs gave me. How the hell am I going to manage anything like that? Tro, you've got a big cock and I want to…" Duo trailed off, his face completely red. "You want to what?" Trowa prompted him. Duo made a frustrated growl. "I want to stop feeling like a fucking teenager talking about sex for the first time," he muttered but then looked directly at Trowa. "I want to touch your cock. I want to get you off with my hands and I want to taste you - I want to taste your cum and I want to give you a blow job but what if I suck at it?" Duo looked absolutely stricken. "Well," Trowa said cautiously, "if you suck at it, that sounds like you're doing something right." It took Duo a moment but then he gave Trowa one of his crooked grins and shook his head. "You know what I mean." "I do," Trowa agreed. "And I'm sorry. I wish I'd met you ten years ago so that - wait, I definitely don't," Trowa amended, doing the mental math, "because then you would have been thirteen and that's creepier than I can handle. I wish I wasn't seven years older than you and a lot more experienced so that you wouldn't feel like it mattered, because it doesn't. The first time I gave someone head," Trowa shook his head, unable to stop himself from blushing slightly at the completely embarrassing memory, "I tried to deepthroat him and had to run to the bathroom so I didn't vomit all over him… but I learned how to do it better, so that my partner enjoyed it but also so that I enjoyed it." Duo nodded slowly. "I hear you say that, but… what are the odds that you are going to wake up in six months and wish I was Quatre?" That question hit Trowa hard. "I'm never going to wish you were Quatre," Trowa said with absolute certainty. "But, you're not convinced that in six months you're going to look back and wish you'd been with someone else instead of teaching me all this stuff," Duo concluded. And wasn't that the reason Trowa had thought to end this the first time? In six months would he wake up and realize he should be out there, looking for someone to spend his life with - someone who wanted to have anal sex and who knew they were gay and embraced that? Or, in six months, would Duo be that person? Or, in six months, would Trowa care that Duo wasn't that person. Trowa wasn't so sure he cared now that Duo wasn't that person. "I -" His phone rang. Trowa stared at it on the nightstand, merrily vibrating away as a robotic tone filled the room. He looked at the caller ID. It was Tim. "I'm sorry," he said to Duo, "I need to answer this." Duo's lips tightened into a thin line but he shrugged. Trowa grabbed the phone and answered it. "Tim?" "Trowa?" Came the somewhat surly response. "Is anything wrong?" "Oh, not much, you know, just told the kids I couldn't take them to the zoo today because I had to work…. and then I show up at work and find myself completely alone, without, you know, the scenic designer here to work with me… anything wrong with you?" "Fuck." Trowa looked at the time on his phone. It was already 10:30 - he and Tim had agreed to meet at 10:00 to start work that day. "I'm sorry, I had no idea it was this late. Give me fifteen minutes and I'll be there, okay?" "Yeah, well -" "With donuts and that fancy coffee you like," Trowa added. Tim was one of the best painters he had ever worked with and Trowa did not want to be on his bad side. "Donuts, huh? That because you're late or did you get laid last night? Because if you got laid I need to thank this guy in person - you've been a complete ass -" "Goodbye, Tim," Trowa interrupted, not keen on hearing just how difficult it had been for the painter to tolerate Trowa while he and Duo had been apart. He hung up the phone and gave Duo an apologetic look. "Duo, I'm sorry. I need to go to work - I had no idea it was this late in the morning." Duo shrugged one shoulder and moved off of the bed, giving Trowa room to get up. "Sure." Duo stood silently watching him as Trowa rooted around for his clothes and started to dress. "So is this… it, then?" Duo asked once Trowa was dressed. Trowa looked at him. Duo looked forlorn and miserable. He loves me, Trowa couldn't help but think, he loves me and I'm completely fucked. "Come with me?" He asked. Duo frowned. "Where?" "To the shop. I need to do some painting - it's going to be a few hours - but I don't want to leave things like this between us." Duo's frown only intensified. "So you want to continue this discussion at your work? In front of other people?" "No. I'd really like to pause this discussion and just spend time with you." Trowa shrugged. "It won't be the most exciting six hours but any time spent with you is better - it's not a waste. Ever." Duo looked at him, silent and questioning. "And I'll buy you dinner," Trowa added. Duo's lips quirked upwards, just slightly. "Who could refuse that?" -o- The car ride over to the theatre was silent and awkward. When Trowa made his single pit stop at Krispy Kreme, Duo followed him inside, feeling out of place and more than a little miserable. "What kind of donuts do you like?" Trowa asked him as they waited in line. It seemed as if he had completely compartmentalized their earlier conversation and Duo felt irritated by that. "Crullers," he said, though he was in no mood for donuts. Trowa nodded. "I've always been a fan of those, too," he said. "Most donuts have too much sugar on them." Duo nodded in agreement. Of course they had similar taste in donuts - didn't they have similar taste in everything else? Everything except for anal sex, at least. "Duo." Trowa's voice sounded remarkably even, and when Duo looked at him he wanted to scowl, but Trowa's eyes actually seemed to be filled with the same turmoil that Duo felt. "I love you too." The words took Duo completely by surprise. He swallowed hard and had to look away from Trowa. "I thought you missed that part," he confessed. When he had blurted it out before, Trowa had had no reaction and Duo held been grateful for that - it was bad enough that Trowa still wanted to end this, worse if he realized how much Duo cared for him. But he did know - and now Duo knew that Trowa loved him too. He sighed. "Nothing's ever easy, is it?" He mused. "Not the good stuff," Trowa responded and shrugged. "We'll figure it out." And just like that, the dark weight of impending doom was lifted - yes, their relationship was a bit of a mess and Duo was more than a bit of a mess and had a lot of things to figure out, but Trowa clearly thought this could be worth it, that Duo could be worth it. By the time they arrived at the theatre, Duo had developed a mental checklist for further research - when he had gone to Capulets the last time, he had neglected to find much of anything helpful about vanilla homosexual sexual practices and still had just the internet to go on. He felt confident that if he had more research he would feel less awkward around Trowa. When they walked into the theatre they were greeted by an irate man in an orange Hawaiian shirt and gray hair that seemed to sprout from his head at improbable angles. "Bout damn time you got here," the man grumbled and snatched the box of donuts from Trowa with one hand and the steaming hot coffee cup with the other. Trowa smirked. "Tim, I'd like you to meet Duo Maxwell. Duo, this is Tim Parati. He's one of the best scenic painters in Atlanta, and definitely the craziest." Tim smirked for a moment and then looked over at Duo. "He a new intern or is he just here as eye candy for us?" Tim asked. Duo felt himself flush. "Ah, I'm just messing with ya, kid," Tim said and chuckled. "You're too pale for my tastes, anyway." With that, Tim took the donuts and coffee off to the other side of the shop, where several shelves of paint cans were arrayed beside a large sink and several closed cabinets. "His partner is a drag queen. Her specialty is Beyonce," Trowa told Duo. "Oh. Oh." Duo looked at Tim again. The middle aged man in the Hawaiian shirt was not someone Duo would have pegged for a gay man dating a black drag queen. Trowa smirked. "Don't worry, I don't mind how pale your skin in," he assured Duo. It looked like he was about to kiss Duo, but then Tim called out. "Quit flirting with him and let's get to work!" Trowa rolled his eyes. "Come on. I need you to help us spatter some blood." "Some - what?" Trowa smirked at Duo's shock. "This is for The Pillowman. I told you it's about a serial killer? Well, the scenery is kind of… figurative and metaphorical. So the platforms and walls are like children's blocks." He gestured to the floor of the shop, where rows of thin wooden sheets had been laid out with only a few inches between them. "These are the facing pieces for the platforms and the walls. We're going to paint them today using a spatter technique. You're going to go through and spatter the blood -" "Blood? Real blood?" Trowa gave him a look. "No. It's a mix of red paint, brown paint and clear sealer - but you're going to spatter that first, then Tim is going to come behind you and spatter water, and then I'm going to finish it off with some scumbling." "Scumbling?" "I'm going to blend it together just a bit, to make it look old and faded and a bit less like blood all over everything." "Uh huh. I've still got no idea what you want me to do." Trowa chuckled. "Here, let me show you." Duo followed him over to Tim and the cans of paint. Trowa looked through the cans until he found one labeled 'dark blood' and pulled the lid off. Duo watched as he stirred the dark, thin liquid that did look a lot like blood. Trowa then grabbed a brush and a wooden dowel. "Step one is to dip the brush into the paint," Trowa demonstrated. "Then give it one solid shake to the side, to get the heaviest part of the paint off," he demonstrated again, shaking the brush once to his side and a spray of dark red paint landed on the floor. "Then you tap the ferrule of the brush - the metal part here? - against the dowel, like this. And you get an even-ish spray." Duo watched as Trowa covered one of the wooden sheets in drops of the paint - some big and some small - but he walked around the flat, tapping the brush, and creating an amazing texture. "I can't do that," Duo said. "I'm going to mess it up." "If you do then we'll just fix it," Trowa assured him. "I've never done anything like this before." Trowa shrugged. "First time for everything." Trowa held his gaze for a moment, and Duo realized they weren't really talking about paint anymore. He sighed and took the brush, dowel and paint can from Trowa. "You're sure?" "Of course." Trowa stepped back and watched Duo dip the paint brush into the can. "Good - now shake it once to the side - good. And now start tapping it against the dowel." Duo held the dowel and the brush in front of him and gave the brush a solid tap, as he had seen Trowa do, and was rewarded with a shower of paint on the flat - and all over himself. He could taste paint in his mouth, feel it on his face, his hair and his arms. He glared at Trowa. The taller man had a hand over his mouth and his eyes were narrowed in mirth. "Are you laughing at me?" Duo demanded. Trowa nodded and took a moment to pull himself together. "I'm sorry. I probably should have warned you." Duo arched an eyebrow - and he could feel paint on his forehead now. "Probably?" Trowa shrugged one shoulder. He didn't seem that apologetic at all. "Spattering is always a bit messy - that's why I asked you to wear old clothes - and your first time is usually… very messy. But it gets better." Duo glared and was about to say something, but Tim stepped between them. "Come on, we can't stand here chatting all day - keep going so I can spray the water after you." Duo sighed. "You'd better be buying me a fucking steak dinner after this," he muttered. "Anything you want," Trowa assured him. Duo glumly dipped the paintbrush back in the can and repeated the process - adding another liberal coating of paint to the wood on the floor and to himself. Four hours later, as he stood back and surveyed their combined efforts, he was forced to admit that it looked amazing - and that it appeared as though he had not, in fact, screwed anything up. The blood spatter had been thinned down by the water that Tim sprayed after him, and then Trowa had blended everything together so that each of the panels looked like very old, very worn wood - and faint drops of dark red shown through in some places, as though blood might have been spattered on the walls at one point and later cleaned away. "This looks creepy," he concluded. Tim snorted. "Not as creepy as you, kiddo. You look like an extra from Carrie." Duo looked down - there were splotches of the blood paint all over his arms, shirt, shorts and legs. He could only imagine what his face and hair must look like. He cautiously ran a hand through his bangs and grimaced, feeling the wet and dry spots of paint. "I'll clean up the paint," Trowa told Tim. "You can head out. Thanks for coming today." "Anytime," Tim said, "but don't leave me hanging for an hour next time. Good to meet you, Duo. Hope you come in again - we could use a hard worker like you." Duo accepted a handshake from the man, startled and pleased at the praise. "Thank you for the help," Trowa told him once Tim had left. "You really did do good work." "Thanks for letting me. Aside from the fact that I'm covered in paint, it was fun." Trowa smirked. "It took me a few years to learn how to spatter without getting covered in paint, you'll get the hang of it - if you want to." Duo looked him over and had to smirk. There were a few stray drops of paint across Trowa's face and neck that Duo had accidently sent flying in his direction at one point. "What?" Trowa asked, returning the smirk. "Nothing, you've just got paint on your nose." Trowa arched an eyebrow. "So do you." Duo shrugged. "I've got paint everywhere," he pointed out. "True. Here, why don't you try washing your hands and arms while I clean up our stuff. We can go back to my apartment and you can shower before we get dinner." "Your apartment?" "Yeah, I've got some soap that cleans this stuff off pretty well without you having to scrape your skin off. And I've still got your shorts from last time you were there - I can loan you a shirt to go with those." "Hope you don't mind waiting the six hours it's going to take me to get all of this off," Duo muttered and Trowa chuckled. "If it's going to take that long then maybe I should give you a hand." The thought of Trowa taking a shower with him, scrubbing him down, touching him - it reminded Duo of that porn clip they had watched. He tried unsuccessfully to fight off the rush of arousal he felt at that mental image. To try and distract himself he set about furiously scrubbing at the paint on his hands and arms and channeled thoughts of Betty White. When they arrived at Trowa's apartment, Duo had to fight against a sudden feeling of uncertainty - it was one thing for Trowa to tease him about giving him a hand in the shower, another thing entirely for Duo to take him up on it. "Here's the soap - and some shampoo - I'll grab a towel for you and find the clothes," Trowa said, showing Duo the bathroom and organizing things for him. Duo took in a deep breath and reminded himself that Trowa wanted him just as much as Duo wanted Trowa. Besides, there was a first time for everything, as Trowa had said. It was time that Duo initiated intimacy for Trowa for the first time. "Does your offer to give me a hand still stand?" he asked as Trowa started to walk out of the bathroom. Trowa stopped and turned back, a hesitant look on his face. "Of course - if you want me to." "Yeah, but just so we're clear, I'm not actually asking you to help wash me. I've been wanting to try out that shower thing since we watched it and I'd really like the chance to be naked with you again." Trowa looked shocked and pleased by Duo's words. "Well, if that's what you want, I'm not going to complain," he said, a slow, seductive smile spreading across his face. Duo smirked back and leaned in to kiss Trowa. It was much better sober, he decided, remembering their kisses last night. He could feel the heat and strength of Trowa's body and he could taste the faint, lingering hint of sugar on his lips from the donuts. He could also feel the corners of Trowa's lips still curved upwards in a smile, even as they kissed. Duo pulled back enough so that he could maneuver his hands to the hem of Trowa's shirt and then pushed it up, revealing Trowa's smooth, taunt skin. Trowa obligingly raised his arms above his head so that Duo could pull the shirt completely off, and the look in his eyes filled Duo with an incredible need. Trowa was looking at him as though he wanted to devour Duo on the spot, and Duo found himself feeling the same way. He ran his hands over Trowa's chest, tracing the faint muscle definition and pausing to pinch Trowa's nipples. He hissed in pleasure and rocked forward on his feet, clearly wanting more contact. Duo leaned down and took one of the small, firm buds in his mouth and sucked on it. Trowa groaned and Duo moved his attentions to the other nipple. "You really do have sensitive nipples," he had to say as he straightened and pinched them again. Trowa nodded. His face was flushed and his eyes hooded - he looked more aroused than Duo had ever seen him, and he marveled at just how incredibly sexy Trowa was. Duo trailed his hands down Trowa's torso and to his the waistband of his pants. He could see the bulge of Trowa's erection and he felt a surge of anticipation at the sight. He opened the fly of the pants, unzipped them and eased them down, smirking at the way they caught momentarily on Trowa's erection before sliding down to his ankles. Trowa stepped out of them, pausing to toe off his shoes and socks as well, and while he did Duo reached out and massaged Trowa through the cotton boxer briefs he wore. Trowa sucked in a breath and Duo looked at his face, eager to see his reaction. Trowa looked directly into his eyes and Duo maintained the contact as he pushed the boxer briefs down and then grasped Trowa's cock in his right hand. Trowa swallowed hard and then moaned when Duo started to work his hand up and down the length of his cock. "God, Duo, that feels so good," Trowa breathed. Duo alternated the pressure and rhythm of his strokes until he finally found the combination that seemed to drive Trowa wild - he closed and his eyes and gasped and reached out to Duo, grabbing his hips and rocking forward, trapping his cock and Duo's hand between their bodies as he tried to maintain as much contact as possible. Duo continued to stroke him, feeling himself grow more and more aroused every time Trowa moaned or gasped or said his name and he was filled with a sense of confidence by Trowa's reactions to him. For perhaps the first time - Duo felt like he knew what he was doing and wasn't in danger of embarrassing himself. Trowa's body tensed, and then he came with a shuddery gasp. "Duo. Thank you." Trowa kissed him and it was clear he was very, very grateful for the hand job. "My pleasure," Duo assured him once they broke apart. Trowa smirked. "So much for that shower fantasy." Duo shrugged. "I got distracted." Trowa chuckled. "Well, any time you want to be distracted again, just let me know."
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