|
"Recycled Valentine "Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, male/male pairings, language Pairings: 1x2, 3x4 Summary: A Valentine's Day themed romance encompassing all the young men Thanks to Waterlily for all the editing and humor
to keep me going "Recycled Valentine " Chapter 7 When he opened his eyes, Heero knew he'd overslept. 9:30! He always awoke before 7:00. But it was Sunday. No work today. The drumming of rainfall on his roof lulled him back under his covers. He felt good; rested well; caught up on lost sleep. He had dreamed of Duo. He was sure he'd dreamed about Duo, even though he remembered none of it. He had been left with a feeling of well-being, his heart told him, so he was sure Duo had been there. He had three freckles to the left side of his nose. His teeth were slightly crooked, in a cute way. The braid was awesome, heavy and smooth. And that firm body squirming beneath his- DUO! If he was going to get to Duo's as promised and on time, based on his timetable, then he had plenty to do and shouldn't be wasting it lying around. He updated his notebook as he went along. Duo's formal wear- check. Take out lunch-check. Dessert-check. Duo's house-in process. Replace scratched phone- ? Florist-? Thankfully, the rain had tapered off by the time he reached the unique, wooden house on the hillside. Chopping wood he didn't mind, but laboring in the chill rain he did. He parked in the driveway beside the SUV, tossed the clothes bag over one arm and balanced the food on the box of dessert treats, leaving his foot free to kick the car door closed. As he crossed to the new front door, he admired the fresh, dark blue paint and brass knocker. He didn't get the chance to use it, though, because the door opened magically. "Hi!" Duo greeted him wearing a big smile and a t-shirt with jeans. Good enough to eat. Heero smiled, and said, "Hello." The other man may have read his mind; his smile widened to show teeth. "Wouldya like some coffee first? Lemme grab somma that." Hooking a finger under the hangers, he liberated the clothes. "Hello and yes, please, to the coffee offer." Heero stepped inside and trailed after Duo to the kitchen to store the food. On the counter by the sink, steam rose off the brew. He chose one of the two identical brown mugs and listened to Duo's sock-clad feet pad down the hallway's wood flooring and then onto a rug. "You brought the right set, heh, heh." Duo's muffled voice sounded as if he were in a clothes-filled closet a few rooms away. "What?" Heero paused in his coffee pouring. "Oh, I figured with your luck, it'd turn out that your brought your clothes and not mine." Duo reappeared in the kitchen. "No tragedy." "My luck?" Heero asked, playing along. He topped off the other mug and held it out. "You think I'm jinxed?" Coffee in one hand, Duo pointed his other to the window seat and led the way to sit there. "Maybe." Heero joined in gazing out the window. Rain-slicked pathways wound like ribbons through green tracks of grass and mounds of winter-ravaged shrubbery. "My life hasn't been so bad. I met you. That's been good." Duo's reacted with pinked cheeks. "Well, only time will tell how ill-fated that'll turn out." "Or not," Heero insisted. "Or not. Right. Hey, sorry to be so off this morning. It's the gloom." Duo waved at the dark sky for illustration. Heero swallowed more coffee then set down the mug. Just being at Duo's house made him feel good. "What gloom?" He let his eyes rove over the other man and showed his admiration with a gentle smile. He got the reaction he wanted when Duo laughed. "God, I feel chipper-er already." He gulped the last of his coffee. "C'mon. Let's get on with it while it's not raining. Getting some endorphins going and having that dessert to look forward to and I'll be okay." "You can be bossy," Heero commented to the receding back. A twitch of the braid was all the answer he got. Duo proceeded to order him around a little more, directing activity, not that Heero minded so much. He even found it to be rather pleasant, not having to be the one in charge for a change; he had TechSolutions to lord over the rest of the week. So, Heero gladly followed Duo's lead and turned chaotic piles of wayward tree parts into neatly stacked logs for the fireplace. Heero didn't do all the work, of course, but a large portion, impressing Duo all over again with his outstanding physical condition. Birds twittered in the bushes, and high in a pine tree a family of curious crows made raucous fun of them slaving below. "Noisy," Heero commented. "This ain't nothing," Duo boasted. "Wait till spring when the frogs start up." He gestured to the downhill side. "That neighbor has a pond, big enough for ducks, and the frogs ribbit like crazy." From the far-off look in the man's eyes, though, Heero decided the memories brought him delight, not annoyance. "Nothing like that on the colony I came from," Duo added. "Mine neither." Nippy as it was, after a few minutes of sawing, chopping, and stacking wet tree trunks and limbs, both men started stripping off jackets and shirts. Using his t-shirt as a rag, Heero wiped sweat from his face and got an eyeful of the other man doing the same. Duo was ripped. That became all Heero could focus on. That bare chest decorated by the small cross that hung from a gold chain, and the tattoo. He couldn't take his eyes off the half-naked Duo standing within arm's reach. Duo had probably given him the once over, too, not that Heero cared, but when he looked up, Duo was staring at his face. Watching him and his reactions. "Like the tat?" Duo asked. Heero nodded slowly. "Yes." "Betcher wondering about it, huh?" Blues, purples, and greens swirled across his chest, waves cresting with pale foam. "The ocean," Heero said. He traced the flow from one side to the other, outlining the rosy nipples. "Ye-eah." Duo's voice cracked; his eyes closed; he leaned into the caress. "Tell me," Heero urged him without stopping the gentle stroking. "Oka-ay. Well, ah... the first time I saw the ocean, it just awed me. My first year here, I got a ride to the beach and, well, as soon as I could afford this," Duo touched the center of the tattoo below the cross, "I had it done." "You'll always have the sea with you." Duo rewarded him with a beaming smile. "You get it!" "You wear it well." Heero felt his head spin from the close proximity, the heat, the musky smell of manliness. "I'd like to walk on the beach. I only saw it from the air in a plane." "Maybe you can take me to see it sometime soon?" Duo suggested. Take you... sounded like an invitation to him and overwhelmed his wits. Heero was on him like a starving animal, which he was. "I'll take you, yes." Duo whined a needy cry of anguish wrapped around a whole lot of desire. "Fuck waiting. That's for girls." "Agreed." Hands roved over exposed skin as their mouths joined. Hard chests crushed, hot-pressed together intimately, slick with sweat and felt so amazing. The heavy rope of hair knocked against knuckles where his fingers locked onto a belt loop. He felt Duo's hand on his shoulder, massaging in rhythm with his breathing, and fingers threading their way from the nape of his neck up into his errant hair. Lips parted, breath came in short gasps, and then Heero fell upon Duo's mouth again, tongues rasping together. None too deftly, Heero unfastened Duo's fly, slid his hand under the worn cloth, and rubbed a hand over the budge. Duo moaned into his mouth and sank an inch on weakening knees. Heero squeezed and groped for a better hold, pausing when he felt a tug on his arm. The surge of disappointment brought tears to his eyes. Duo wanted to stop! Duo straightened up and whispered, "Let's take this inside," and propelled them both to action. Hope springs eternal! Shoes and socks dropped by the door, jeans shucked in the hall, shorts came off, but a little slower, acknowledging the importance, the implications, of the action. "Shower." Duo's explanation, although brief, was not necessary since Heero could tell he was leading them into the bathroom, not the bedroom. They clung together, trading places under the water to rinse, locked mouth to mouth when they could. Smooth suds and slippery fingers roving over firm flesh provoked an irresistible urge to get more contact, to enter, to thrust. Duo humped against his stomach. When he looked down, Heero saw waves rolling over muscles, a glorious slippery slide, a shuddering release of tension, and then a lightning strike of pure pleasure. Sometime later, a period of indeterminate time; although, Heero judged, neither of immense nor short duration, he opened his eyes. He was still embracing Duo. The time element, he decided, was of no consequence in comparison to the relevance of the event. He'd shared sex with Duo; the length and form was wholly immaterial. Doing it again and very, very soon was. "Don't let go," Duo said jokingly. "If you do, I'll fall and crack my head open." Heero tightened his hold. "If you fall, I will, too." So they stood, unsteady on the feet, wavering while enveloped in one another's arms, and letting the warm water rinse them clean. "I could sure use some food right about now," Duo said. "How 'bout you?" "Yes," Heero said, although he imagined he could be satisfied on a diet of Duo alone for some time. With the heavy fog of lust lifted, Heero felt a little embarrassed as they toweled off together, in a small space, naked, trying to sneak peeks and not get caught. He thought Duo acted body-shy, too. "Here, grab a robe," Duo said, pressing a terrycloth robe in Heero's arms. He wrapped himself in a flannel one and left the bathroom. Eat and not continue on into his bedroom, Heero noted accordingly. Had Duo fixed up his bedroom, it would have been a conscious decision and meant he'd intended for them to have sex today. If he'd left it messy, then he would have been demonstrating how spontaneous the sex had been, but not made it the momentous occasion he'd intimated he would make it when Heero had first toured the house. An analytical dichotomy to be sure, but without peeking into the master bedroom, how would Heero determine which had been Duo's objective? He wondered if he was reading too much into Duo's choosing one consumable over another. Lunch over the partaking of more sex? But then the smell of sizzling meat hit him alongside the head, and eating was suddenly all-important. After wielding axes and lugging logs and particularly after a stint of active sex, both men's appetites catapulted into overdrive. Heero couldn't have reported what it was that they had eaten and he had been the one to pick it out and had helped Duo microwave it to proper serving temperature. They tore through the food Heero brought, inhaling the rice and side dishes in five minutes flat. "Good thing you brought dessert," Duo said. "I'm still hungry." So was Heero, but he had other ideas. He cleared the table with a sweep of his arm. "What the -?" He had Duo flat on his back, on the table, kissing him to silence in a heartbeat's time. A hand parted the robe to reveal a wedge of clean, bare skin. "Oh," Duo gasped. "Yeah." And Heero broke away from the swollen lips and smiled, because there was no mention of cream puffs calling to them from their pink box. He'd done that to Duo. He pressed his lips to Duo's and felt the moan vibrate along the line of contact. His tongue vacated the lovely mouth, painting a trail down the pale neck, his nose pushing aside a few stray hairs over his Adam's apple, and then sucking on skin near the gold chain. Duo's voice dropped to a raspy whisper. "Tha- that's good." Heero moved on to the tattoo. "Oh. Dear. God!" Duo cried out, his fingers gripping at Heero's shoulders, but in no way trying to stop him. Heero progressed, licking his chest, following the curves of the waves, taking time to suckle the contrasting nibs, making Duo tremble and quiver excitedly. He moved from mound to cleft without dithering. He knew what he was after, and when his chin reached the soft, brown curls, he smiled. "My back," Duo complained. "Here." Heero lifted both legs to either side and over his shoulders so he was supporting the lower half of Duo's body and the wood table bore the rest. "Better?" "Yeah. Oh-" He licked up Duo's shaft, sucked and swirled around the sensitive tip, and slowly worked the length with a hand. Duo moaned softly. More of a whimper. For all his talking, when it came to sex, Duo surprised him by being mostly quiet. Heero would have predicted loud, if he'd been asked. As soon as he cupped his balls, the sac hardened, and Duo pulsed wet heat into his mouth. All it took for Heero to come was for Duo to grasp his penis and kiss the moist end, he was so excited. It was explosive and messy and exhilarating. Duo handed him the dishtowel to clean up while he sat at the edge of the table and watched. "Anything you have to do?" Duo asked, his breath coming in pants. "'Cause at this rate, I got the feeling nothing much is gonna get accomplished this afternoon." "I need to replace my cellphone." He said it before thinking. Now he wished he could have shut the fuck up, said "no", and carried him off to the bedroom like any hot-blooded, gay man with an active brain cell would have! Too late. "Break'll do me good. I'll go with you." "You sure? It's liable to be boring." "Watching you pick out a new phone? Yeah, probably, but that's what boyfriends do for one another." Boyfriends. A kooky smile spread over Heero's face. "You are my boyfriend." Duo hit him on the arm, same arm, and same place as he had on previous occasions. "Of course! Did that just occur to you?" "Boy-friend." Heero liked saying it for practice. He couldn't wait to use it in a sentence, to introduce Duo as his boyfriend. Together, the gathered takeout boxes and silverware from the floor, swept, and cleaned the tabletop. They dressed in their discarded clothes, adding another layer as they traced their path through the house and came upon them. Duo offered him a soda for the road and took the SUV keys. "I'll drive." The process was quick. Heero knew what he wanted and where to get it on a Sunday an hour before closing. "What do you think of this one?" Duo wiggled a blue model in the air. "Or take a ride on the wild side and go with hot pink?" Heero shuddered and the face he made brought Duo to tears he laughed so hard. "I've made my choice." "That it then?" Duo asked. "Another silver and black phone?" "It's what I had before." "Yeah, I know," Duo said, chuckling. "So buy it, and then let's walk around, okay?" "Yes." While Duo window shopped, Heero removed the packaging and replaced the memory card with one from his old phone. Duo led him around the mall with a hand to the small of his back. Nothing too obvious, but Heero thought it felt nice. Duo's cell buzzed and he fumbled to locate it in his jean's pocket. "Hello?" "Just testing," Heero said into his cell. "Right. How about we grab something to eat on the way home?" "All right." "Good. Now, hang up. This is idiotic." "I will, but I wanted to tell you how much I, ah, liked what we did." Duo rolled his eyes. "Well, duh!" He put away his phone and clasped Heero's hand in his. "It'll only get better." "I look forward to finding ways to make you feel good." He watched as Duo's smile broadened into a wide grin and knew he'd said the right thing. On the way back to Duo's home, they stopped for burgers and fries. "As much as I'd like to, um, mess around some more. We both got early starts in the morning." Duo sighed. "And your room's not clean?" he asked. Damn he was curious. Duo looked a little strange. "Did you peek inside?" "No, I guessed." Not wanting to explain himself in case it sounded too weird, Heero moved on. "Anyway, I have to go home and change," Heero said with an accompanying sigh of his own. "Yeah." "I wish I'd thought to bring a poem to read to you," Heero said. "A poem, Heero? Is this about your struggle with words?" Heero nodded. "Quatre told me that poems bring understanding to a person's deep, heartfelt thoughts, desires and unvoiced sentiments. An entrance to the soul without having many words." "Oh. Well, it doesn't take too many words to say what I'm feeling about you." Duo looked through his fall of bangs, eyes wide, unsure. And yet, you're not saying them. Heero leaned close and closed his lips over Duo's, kissing softly, and then more fully and deeply. From Heero's point of view, actions transcended the need for words altogether. When they parted that evening, they promised to try to meet sometime before the party, and they really did try. (o) The week was monstrously busy for both of them, but Heero in particular had extra client meetings to make up for ones he had cancelled. They talked when they could, but the first time they actually had physical contact turned out to be the day of the party. Heero drove to Duo's home to hand-deliver his special Valentine card, and box of candy, and got the kiss of his dreams, sans sex, in return. "I take it you'll be mine then?" he asked, feeling pretty sure of the reply. Duo examined the card, reading it over seriously, and then a smile broke across his face. "Yours. All yours." Heero had an armload of warm boyfriend, insistent that he kiss him again. He gave into popular demand and demonstrated all the passion he could with his mouth. "Nugh...uh..." Duo tried talking, but Heero kept on, rubbing his tongue against the other man's tongue, tickling his teeth until the babbling stopped and his knees nearly gave way. "Mine," he whispered into Duo's ear. One more body-hugging squeeze and he freed him. "Later." "Where you going?" Duo asked still steadying himself by the re-built door. "What's your hurry?" "If I stay, I won't leave." "By definition, yeah." "I'll see you tonight." Heero said giving Duo a serious look. "Be ready." "Aye-aye, sir!" Duo said, snapping him a salute. "I won't make us late, you can be sure." Heero returned home to watch the clock, play minesweeper, and pace the floor. He selected socks that matched and polished shoes until he could see his reflection. Duo wouldn't care about his shoes; he should have taken his clothes and stayed there. But he wasn't doing it to impress Duo. Not this time. He had a darker purpose; he didn't want to give Zechs Merquise anything to find fault with. And that bothered him. He ate a snack of peanut butter on celery sticks, pre-packaged from the nearest quick market. He showered, shaved, and dressed, taking meticulous care and attention to detail to get the tie just so, and returned to the bathroom to run a comb through his still-damp hair and pluck an errant eyebrow hair that had passed muster on every previous examination. Satisfied with the results, Heero decided to leave well enough alone. His shiny, new cell phone chimed "time to go," right on schedule to pick up Wufei and Trowa, and then Duo. "My boyfriend." He smiled with the satisfaction of having one; that it should be the charming Duo Maxwell took away his breath. He made one more decision, a spontaneous one. "This is for you, Duo." Just one final touch. He picked out a gold marking pen that Quatre had made him buy to write Christmas cards two and one half months back. It would do. He knelt to the floor and carefully drew two large hearts on the toes of his shiny, black shoes. Inside one he printed in tiny, neat letters "D.M. & H.Y." and inside the other he wrote "4ver". Duo would love it and to hell with the prince. He collected Wufei first, because Heero knew he would be on time and, indeed, he was, standing outside his apartment, dressed in black and red, and looking impatient. "Hotel Moderne," he said so Wufei wouldn't ask where he was going next. "You'll never find a parking space." Heero didn't think his remark deserved more commentary than "Hn." He was already feeling the return of his stress, even though he'd dealt with the specter of Merquise sufficiently with the shoe decoration. He hunted for a parking place near Trowa's temporary downtown residence without luck. On the third trip around the block, Wufei pointed out Trowa exiting his door, so they double-parked in front. "Looking good," Trowa said. Whether he meant the comment about himself or them wasn't clear, and it didn't matter. They all did look good. "Talked to Quat. He's been at the palace all day 'seeing to things', as he says, and had to change clothes in one of the prince's suites. Quatre said to tell you the man's taste in décor is atrocious. Just what you'd expect." That was the most talking Trowa had done since Heero had known him. "Why would you expect a prince to have poor taste?" Wufei directed at Heero. "He's an ass," Trowa said succinctly. "Or so I hear." "You've heard right," Heero said. "Nonsense. You don't know the man, and since I'm looking forward to meeting him tonight, don't spoil it for me." The Chinese man sat back and stared out the window. "So be it," said Heero and concentrated on his driving. "One more quick stop here," He double-parked again at the florist's and rushed inside before the others plied him with questions. Two minutes later, he dashed back to the car carrying four small boxes. He handed two over the back seat to the curious passengers. "Here. Put these on. It's traditional, and all the men will be wearing them. Even Quatre and the prince." Wufei looked at his white rosebud as if it were a lady's hygiene product. Trowa asked if his would bite. Heero ignored them. "You put them on like this." He demonstrated the placement and the use of the long pin as he attached his to his left lapel. Trowa had to pin the flower on Wufei where the man couldn't see "the badge of weakness", but in the end they both wore the flowers Heero gave them. "Next stop, my boyfriend's house." Yes, saying it brought him all the pleasure he'd hoped for. "ETA twenty minutes," he announced with mounting excitement.
|
