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"Halfway to Sublimity"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: 1x2x1 Summary: When Duo moves to a new town on the river,
he meets a young man running the river and a rich boy who seems nice.
Maybe he'll settle down for awhile, or maybe not. "Halfway to Sublimity" Chapter Ten Trowa, Heero, Quatre, Duo in another POV trade-off There was little dinner conversation at Quatre's table beyond the necessary and polite; the young men were too busy eating, so it gave Trowa a chance to take in his surroundings. Trowa had seen grandeur before, but never lived in it. Rather than look like the hick he felt - as if he'd been muddin' in the gator pits the night befo-- he copied the others, kept his head down, and blended in silently. Fitting in. He had got it countless times on the run. It was something he was good at. As he listened to the friends exchange pleasantries he longed to be included. Being so quickly accepted into their circle surprised him, but also made him feel like a voyeur. He wondered if that was a contradiction? Immediately on finishing the last delicious course, however, Quatre announced that they should all have a good talk. He stood ready to lead the way to the gentlemen's drawing room. "I'll juss excuse myself to my room, den," Trowa said in a low voice. "Give you an' your friends a chance to catch up." "Oh, pul-eeze," Wufei drawled as he pushed ahead of them. "You're the new person of interest here. Not only have you added spice to your life- sometimes you've added side dishes." Trowa's jaw dropped an inch before he tightened it back into position. Duo burst into ripples of laughter, and Heero pressed ahead, murmuring "move it" or "settle down" or just his usual inarticulate "hn". Quatre narrowed his eyes in Chang's direction as he placed a warm hand lightly on Trowa's elbow, offering to help him walk. "Ignore Wufei. Unless you are terribly uncomfortable, I'd love you to join us and get to know you better." That hand checked his movements, anchoring him in place. All his attention fell onto Quatre. He had not expected anyone like him. A gentleman, but very tactile and intelligent. And beautiful. He avoided eye contact to hide the desire from shining through. "Yeah, 'Tro, five's a lucky number," Duo hooted. "As in five card stud." Trowa shook his head. "Okay. I give up." He watched everyone take a seat, assuming the friends had time-worn places into which he didn't wish to intrude. "So, who owns that other fancy-ass castle you can see for miles around? Some kind of royalty?" Duo asked as he sank into soft chair. Duo rearranged his position, resting his weight on his good arm and limited bending in the middle to a minimum, and then he smiled. As painful as his injuries must have been, Duo never complained and even managed to have a cheery outlook. Heero wore his ever-present scowl and leaned on the window behind the overstuffed chair incubating his primary interest, which was Duo. Wufei, normally a prickly, bold-eyed man, appeared drained as he threw himself into the matching chair. "Mr. Barton, you must sit here and put your feet up," Quatre beckoned. Trowa's eyes flitted over the other young man's gentle features and nodded, "merci." He limped stiff-legged to a settee, where he sprawled out with his bandaged leg raised. Trowa thought Quatre was a man who would always look younger than his chronological age. This image of youth was helped along by his eyes, when they expressed an almost child-like wonder, and his wheat-colored hair cut untidily long, which he kept scraping away at his forehead. Quatre offered everyone a drink, which was uniformly declined. "If I knocked back a drink after all that food, I'd conk out for good," Duo chuckled. He didn't appear bothered by the fact that Quatre hadn't answered his question yet, as if he knew the other man was filing through the possibilities, narrowing the choices, and selecting the ones of interest to present when his host duties had been fulfilled. Trowa could tell Duo was intuitively bright and Wufei book-smart, but Quatre was a bit of both. More than a bit. Trowa lit a cigarette, but couldn't keep his eyes off of the well-mannered blond. He watched as the young heir to the estate moved close, almost touching him, and opened the window. Trowa caught a wisp of musk and some flower scent. Soap? Perfume? When Quatre pushed the drawing room door ajar, the breeze drew the smoke out-of-doors in a long, moist sigh. Was that scent coming from the man's clothes, he wondered? "Well, Princess Relena Darlian has a country estate not far away," Quatre said. "Naw, not that one," Duo said, waving away the idea with his hand. "Bigger, more of a fortress." "You must mean the summer home of Lieutenant Merquise," Quatre said. "He's having a summer fete there next weekend. I'll have to check the calendar." His voice trailed off and he looked thoughtful, but Trowa didn't think he was having a problem recalling the date. Quatre, he believed, was making plans. "Zechs Merquise? A mere half-prince," Wufei said, relegating Princess Relena Darlian's half-brother to the title scrap heap. "And a war hero. You can't forget that," Duo reminded him. Wufei could and did. "Now, Governor Treize Khushrenada-" "A merer baron." Trowa stumped out his cigarette. Competing with Chang at pushing bits of arcana about like driftwood along the river, Trowa cut across Khushrenada's baronetcy, saying, "None of dem matter as long as Dermail is Duke an' Khushrenada tinks he must be in league wid Dekim Barton to buy 'im out." Before Wufei could jump to Khushrenada's defense-which he was certain to do again-- Quatre said, "The governor and Barton have history and blood in common." Wufei became rigid, fully alert, and his eyes flashed with interest. "Gossip?" "Scandalous, but in this case, true." Quatre snickered. "It's not widely known outside his circle." "Sins of the rich and infamous," Duo supplied. "Well, if you don't want to know-" "Damnit, Winner! Of course we want to know. Tell," Wufei demanded. Quatre smiled. Trowa thought he looked pleased-- no, devilishly pleased-- at how he got a rise out of the stuffy Chinese man. Chang Wufei, ostracized head of the Chang Clan and gossipmonger, too. Now, Trowa smiled, but he hid it while lighting another cigarette. "It was through Treize's illicit love affair with Leia that Mariemaia was born." "Who's Leia?" Duo asked as he disguised a yawn. "Leia Barton was Dekim Barton's daughter," Quatre said. He let that information sink in a moment, caught Chang's blazing gaze, and then continued. "This occurred during the war and the story goes: Treize stepped into the line of fire and was injured while protecting his soldiers, which included a younger Lucrezia Noin (Zechs' wife, since you'd brought his name up earlier)." Heero spoke up. "Sally Po told me a story like that once, but I thought it was a girl named Lisa who was working as a nurse with her when she met Khushrenada." "No,Leia," Quatre said. "Incontestable truth, I swear! While recuperating in a field station, Treize met Leia Barton who was helping tend to his injuries. The two formed a connection based on mutual attraction and respect." "Respect, huh? I'll bet," Duo said with a snort, and they all laughed. "So what happened to Leia? You ever meet her or her kid, 'Tro?" "No." Trowa shook his head. "Musta happened befo' my time. Dere was a girl, Middie, who was adopted like me." His throat tightened as he breathed out some smoke, and he looked away through a scrim of tobacco fumes-- his personal smoke screen. He didn't want to think about her. "Leia died shortly after giving birth," Quatre said. "So, there's no reason you would have known her, if you'd been adopted after that. Maybe you filled a void in his life?" As those big, hope-filled eyes met his, Trowa knew he couldn't explain just how unlikely it was that he'd filled any emotional needs of Dekim's. Ever. He shrugged instead, and asked, "Do you know w'at happened to de chil'?" "Lady Une, the governor's current lady friend, adopted Mariemaia," Quatre said. "I've seen her at his residence, when I've been invited... for fencing." Wufei coughed, embarrassed at his admission. "I didn't know who she was, of course." Trowa couldn't guess why he should be uncomfortable telling them about his fencing, unless he hadn't been competing with steel swords. That made him smile as he recalled Hilde's flirting with the proud Chinese clansman. This time he hid his face behind a shank of hair and a hand. Duo barked out a laugh. "That's so cool. Think about it. If Mariemaia is really Treize Khushrenada's daughter with Leia Barton, then Trowa here's Mariemaia's uncle." "Not by blood," Trowa hastily pointed out, losing what little smile he had in an instant. Wufei stared at Trowa. "Just a minute. Now I remember my former chain of thought." "Lose a link or two?" Duo asked. "Maxwell," Wufei growled, "shut up for a minute. Trowa, what did you mean when you said Treize would lower himself to use trash like Barton to buy him out. Buy who out of what?" Wufei asked. "De crown." "You can buy a crown?" Duo asked. "A dukedom, yes. Khushrenada is a very wealthy man, but it would take more than he has now to buy himself a dukedom," said Quatre. "And he's about to become richer still," Trowa said. Four pairs of eyes riveted to his. Here was news, real news, the kind only he would know. What they all needed to know. "How so?" Wufei asked. "Have you heard about de motors dat run on steam?" Trowa's voice sweet and rich as molasses coated the room in its honeyed tone. Quatre waved his hand in the air, clearing a path. "Rumors. The business world runs on rumors." "An' deez motors, dey run on steam. Dekim believes dis one. Just before I left, he was talkin' 'bout usin' steam to power boats. He predicted de spread of steamboat travel. Anyone involved in river trade or travel, well, dey be very excited to control steam power, attaching it to a boat." "Moving against the current," Heero put in, as if he just woke up. Trowa tagged on, "at five to ten miles an hour." Quatre straightened, his excess excitement agitating the air around him. Trowa could feel the hair on his arms tingling. Even his heart quickened to keep pace. "To think, if it were possible?!" Quatre said. "Steamboats would usher in a new era! The potential for combined speed and comfort would mean people would travel extensively and the boost to interior commerce is unimaginable!" "Flatboats. They made this place. They'd be gone within a year." Heero sighed. "To compete, everyone would need the know-how and machinery." "Yeah, and you can bet being on the bleeding edge would be damned expensive and put us small guys out of business," Duo said. "It doesn't take much." "True, it happened to the ferryman," said Heero. "What ferryman?" Duo asked. "There's lots of them." "Wear's Ferry." "Oh, this is a good tale, Heero. What do you know of it? This was before we were born." Quatre asked. He settled himself on the edge of the settee, nearly in contact with Trowa's feet. Heero paced. "There were no major bridges across the Rogue River, so the only way to cross was to make use of one of several ferries along the river, including the barges. Wear's Ferry was one of the earliest of these crossings. It's been replaced, but the old workings are still there." "You've seen them?" Duo asked. Trowa was amused at how Duo and Quatre worked to get the reticent speaker to talk. He watched Wufei examine his hands and rub the reddened knuckles. He must have been hurting, but dared not complain out of pride. No amount of fencing could prepare a man for days of poling a barge, and no amount of good breeding could support that much pain for long. He reminded himslef to stay far away from Chang when he finally broke down. Heero nodded with a serious expression, and when he continued with his explanation, his voice was flat, nothing like the animated Duo. "I've studied how it worked. It was propelled by wires run through pulleys on each side of the river. A wooden stick notched to hook through a loop in the cable was the usual method an operator used to move the ferry. Wear used horse power, so it was the fastest. The crossing, in most cases, took about ten minutes. Wear had so much business that a grist mill and a saw mill began operating at the site, and a village grew - known as Tumbletown." "Yeah? So what happened?" Duo asked. "Somebody built a bridge." "Some...Barton, maybe?" "I don't know." "I think that was before Dekim Barton's rise to power," Quatre said. "I'll look that up. Facts of that nature are stored in public records in the library," Wufei offered. "Bridge building is expensive." "And Sublimity back then had already become the main shipping hub and business center in the mid region with our own doctor, hatter's shop, hemp factory, wagon factory, cabinet shop, and silversmith. The Norwood Inn was an important stopover for merchants," Quatre smiled at Trowa, and then added, "traders, and men seeking to carve out a fortune." "It still is," Heero said. "Right. And the ferry was important, especially to the inn." "It still is, even though it has a different operator these days." "Right." "I know there's no bridge now. I would have noticed something like that. What happened to it?" Wufei asked. Quatre stood and smoothed his pale vest and slacks. Trowa noted the expensive cut and materials, but mostly he admired the man underneath and imagined what his slender form would feel like beneath him. His voice cut through his dreams. "No one was more thrilled that the owners of the Norwood Inn when the big flood ripped down the bridge." "So it took an act to nature to bring it down? No public outrage against it?" Wufei asked. Quatre smiled. "I wonder. The uprights might have been weakened at some point, by human intervention." "Who owned the inn?" Duo asked. "Same family that does today, the Noin's, as in Lucrezia Noin." Quatre folded his hands. "Back to her and Merquise," Duo said, yawning massively. "You sure are down with the haps, Quat. My head's for shit with all these names and intrigues. I think you folks oughta move around more. Ya know, meet new faces?" "You are nearly asleep," Heero said. "I think Trowa knocked off an hour ago." "Not true," Trowa mumbled from the chair where he'd collapsed. "Resting my eyes." Quatre tugged on a silken cord pull. "We can continue this tomorrow." Seconds later his man, Rashid, shimmered into the room. "May I assist Master's friends to their rooms?" "I think Mr. Barton needs help getting upstairs," Quatre said. To Trowa's surprise, the big man swept him off his chair and carried him in his arms out the door and up the wide stairs. Before being the next to suffer that indignity, Duo hopped to his feet, eyes wide, crying out, "I'm okay! I can walk all by myself!" (o) Heero closed the door behind him. Duo had left his shoes inside the door and was already shrugging off his shirt, so Heero moved closer while watching the progress with interest. He never tired of looking at Duo Maxwell. Heero was struck with the overwhelming desire to touch the exposed skin. The nearest shoulder was injury free and, when he massaged the smooth skin, warm. Then, Duo met his gaze. He smiled, and then Duo's eyes left his to stare Heero's hand. Heero followed his eyes, confirming that his senses hadn't also betrayed him and that his hand was in fact even there. One quick glance provided confirmation, and so he slid the hand adventurously down Duo's bare chest to his stomach. He brushed just under the band of his pants, exploring the possibilities, sensing that this contact was purposeful, not accidental. After noticing Duo's obvious arousal, Heero's tentative examination trekked back up his body to rejoin his eyes in a trance that was sending new communications. What did Duo want from him? There was a tap at the door. Heero's hand snapped back to his side. "What?" "Maxwell. Let me in." "Chang?" Heero stepped to the door and pushed it ajar. Wufei kicked it further with his foot. His hands were full. "I have the fresh bandages and an herb potion far better than what that quack in town gave you." His eyes met Heero's and he ducked, avoiding a glare destined to numb his brain. "Yuy, you are here? That look is totally unnecessary. Make yourself useful and take my bag while I remove his-" "I can take off my own wrapping here, jeez," Duo said. To prove it, he tore away at the linen strips, exposing his bullet wound. The skin was bruised around the darkened hole, but there was no sign of infection. "I ain't no baby." Wufei dipped a clean rag in a bowl of infused Chinese herbs then swabbed the skin around the wound. "Ugh." "Ugly, but clean. You'll live. So, what do you make of all this talk?" "Steam powered boats, Treize's illegitimate kid or his playing ball with Barton, or something else? We talked about a lot of crap," Duo answered. "We must stop Dekim Barton," Heero said, choosing one topic. He was embarrassed not to have thought of Duo's needs before Wufei had, and was glad for the diversionary conversation. "That's all there is to it." "How? His mercenaries are ruthless, well-armed, and, sadly, good at what they do." Heero took aim with an imaginary gun. "So am I." "I think we'll have to be a great deal more creative than that," Wufei said with doubting sniff. Heero wasn't so sure. "Hn." And after that inscrutable comment, Wufei finished swabbing the wound with a little more vigor than required. Duo winced. "Lighten up! That's flesh and blood." "There. You can put on that doctor's salve," Wufei made a face, "which is made of bear urine in lard, or use this." Duo chose the second, a pale green paste. "This from your bag?" "Yes."Wufei appeared pleased, dabbed on the medicated ointment, and wrapped Duo's arm with clean gauze to cover the wound. "That is sufficient for tonight. Winner will have his own doctor here to check your progress tomorrow, I imagine." "Ah, shit," Duo groaned and lay back onto the bed. "No doctors. I like your stuff; Trowa's stash is good, too." Heero walked Wufei to the door, but didn't leave. "Thanks. Good night." He closed the door behind him and rejoined Duo. "He's practically glowing from your compliments, you know that." Duo smiled, eyes closed. "Good." He wriggled into his pillows and tucked one arm behind his head. Heero picked up the end of Duo's braid thinking how alluring the man looked. He brushed the palm of his hand and stared into Duo's eyes. He wasn't going to leave, but he wanted to hear Duo ask him to stay. "So--?" Duo asked, his lids lowered and his mouth turned up into a sly smile. "It's been awhile." "You want me to lie here with you?" "Hm, huh." Heero sure did, too, even if he was exhausted. Heero stripped off his clothes and helped Duo remove what was remaining of his. He had seen it all before, but now Duo was his to enjoy. Touching his bare skin was an exquisite torture. He wanted Duo to stroke him, too. Duo sighed and let Heero stretch out full-length beside him. "If my chest wasn't bruised, if my arm weren't throbbing, if I wasn't so fuckin' drained, I'd--" Duo explained. "You would act on everything your mind was suggesting?" Heero guessed. "Yeah." Instead, Duo lay motionless and let Heero run his fingers over his chest. "Do you like this?" Duo hissed through clenched teeth. "Yes." "Just be still, then. Slow down." "Slow down? Shit. If I slow down any more I'll be in a coma." "I meant your imagination." Heero leaned in and kissed him. Heero felt Duo melt into him. His brain misted over in a haze of sensations, all good. He parted his lips and tickled Duo's with his tongue. When Duo's tongue met his, Heero sucked it inside his mouth. Heero groaned and slid over his body partway, avoiding putting his weight on the sore ribs. When a palm, not his, pressed against his growing erection, he moaned-all need. (o) "You speak a dialect of French, Mr. Barton?" Quatre asked. He had accompanied Trowa, in the arms of Rashid, to his room. This guest room was on the same floor as the others and only a few doors down from Wufei's. "Just Trowa. Barton conjures up de o'der man." "Okay, Trowa, if you call me Quatre." "Quatre. D'at's de number four." "And I was born in the L4 sector." Quatre perched himself on the edge of Trowa's bed after Rashid left the room and leaned forward to ask his question. "Isn't that a coincidence?" "Could be." "Ummm. Are you married? Is there someone waiting for word about you? A loved one? Someone we should notify?" "No one at all." "Me neither!" Quatre said with cheer and a general air of bonhomie. "Liar. Your family is famous," Trowa said without malice. He frowned slightly, fighting back laughter, and then drew a deep breath. Musk and some flower. Slow down, slow down! Trowa chastised himself. He tried not to pull the beautiful boy into a kiss. He had never fallen so hard and so fast, but, damn, the young "master" was hot. And he was staring at him. Had he shouted aloud? "I had my school room French. Let's see... as Proust would say, 'N'allez pas trop vite.'" Trowa shrugged, thinking that he must have shouted something. "It means 'go slowly' or 'be precise'-- something like that." "Yes," Quatre whispered. Trowa could have sworn he was acting provocative on purpose. "The advantage of not going too fast is that the world has a better chance of becoming more interesting in the process. And more interesting is almost always more fun. N'est pas?" Trowa licked his lips. Mais qui... He was definitely taking a shine to this captivating, young Master Winner. (o) Wufei knocked on the door to the room he believed was Trowa's. He hadn't been surprised to find Heero in Duo's room. Those two were bound to end up in bed together. His self-satisfied smile grew as he recalled his pivotal role in making it happen. That river rat was overly cautious and dense. He was lucky to have a friend like himself who noticed important things, like the Cajun's interest in mouthy kid with the braid. He knocked again. "Barton? I'll just let myself in, then," he shouted. "I have your change of bandage." Wufei hadn't expected Quatre to open the door. "Yes? Oh, Wufei. What is it?" Wufei explained. "This is Barton's room, is it not?" "Yes. I was seeing to his comfort." Quatre winked; Wufei was sure he saw him wink. "His health comes first." "Of course." Quatre wasn't leaving. "I'd like to assist, if you don't mind, Trowa?" "Non," the Cajun replied. Wufei felt like the unwelcome intruder. He set out his cleaning supplies, bandages, and salves. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Quatre's neatly manicured fingers made quick work of the loose, torn pants and the wrappings over the wound. "The bullet just missed a major artery, didn't it?" Quatre asked. Wufei could just make out Quatre's smooth-skin pointer finger trace along Trowa's thigh where the slug missed. Wufei pretended not to see gooseflesh appear or hear Trowa's sharp intake of air. When he did look up, Trowa's cheeks were blazing. Since they weren't a moment ago, he suspected the man wasn't suffering a temperature. There was more than one way to cause mercury to spike, Wufei thought. He cleaned the wound, carefully avoiding adding to the injury. "The stitches appear tight but not puckery or inflamed. I think you are healing well. Would you like the bear piss or my--" "Save me from de mad doctor's pastes! Please, use your own ointment." Wufei smiled to himself as he medicated to wound, and then reapplied a fresh bandage with efficiency grown out of necessity. When he caught his friend's eyes wandering over the Cajun's torso he cleared his throat. "Winner, a word, if you would?" he growled, then pulled him aside. "You are flirting shamelessly with that Cajun scoundrel. Did you know he gambles, too? Well, he does. We really don't know a thing about him." "He has green eyes. Did you know that?" Wufei narrowed his eyes. He did not like the dreamy tone of Quatre's voice. "Get a hold of yourself, man!" Quatre brushed his arm away. "I'm well aware of what's up. Now, if you are finished, Wufei, you may leave and I'll see to it that Mr. Barton gets his rest." "You do that," Wufei growled. Quatre moved to the door to let him out, but Wufei stood his ground. "There's more. You should know that Yuy is planning to attack Dekim Barton." "Dat would be unwise," Trowa said. "It is his livelihood which is at stake, and retaliation for his killing Odin Lowe. He has his mind set on it." "He's always been rather stubborn and intense." Quatre smiled, thinking Wufei was the same, and turned his head away. "Well, then, I'd better come up with a better idea. A plan. Something wholly unique that Dekim wouldn't suspect, or Khushrenada and that would stop the steam boat project, while at the same time it defeats them..." Quatre trailed off, deliberating what his choices might be. "Duo is not so impulsive," Wufei said after some thought. "He holds sway over Yuy's drives, so hopefully he can keep him in check long enough for your planning to take effect." "I'll need some help," Quatre said. "Zechs is hosting a party. Nothing big, but it's an opportunity to see him. He's very influential and well informed. Would you be willing to go?" "Alone? I'm not sure what I can accomplish-" Wufei hedged. "No, not alone. I think we shall all go. Trowa, too. To get Heero to attend will be difficult, since he would expect to meet someone he'd rather not." "Princess Relena?" "Yes. Do you know the story?" "No, it was just an educated guess. I know she is Zech's sister and would be the only person I'd think of who'd be there." Trowa's eyes met Quatre's. "I have no party clothes, nor can I dance." "That's okay," Quatre said. "I have plenty and I hate dancing. I don't find dancing entertaining. If I want sex or exercise, I prefer it directly and in the open." Wufei snorted. Quatre turned his head. "And, yes, I meant to apply that rule to both, too. Are you done, Wufei?" Wufei's face was beet red as he packed away his medical bag expeditiously. "Yes. We'll talk more in the morning." After Wufei left the room, Quatre snapped his attention back onto Trowa. "There now, I hope you are comfortable for the night. If you need anything, use the bell pull. The servants know to listen for your call, just in case." He opened the closet. "Robe, pajamas." He removed the articles of clothing and lay them across the foot of the bed. "There's water on the bedside table. Let's see, what else--?" Trowa cleared his throat. "I have died and gone to heaven." Quatre laughed. "I hope not! I feel very much alive. Good night." He leaned over and kissed Trowa on the cheek, sighed, and left without looking back to see Trowa's reaction. (o) Duo reveled in the attention Heero gave him. He'd craved Heero's touch from the moment he'd laid eyes on him and his teenage libido kicked in. He moaned into Heero's lips, pressing his lips against his then feeling his tongue gliding across his cheek to his jaw and throat. Between that and feeling Heero's body heat sliding against him, Duo was getting incredibly turned on. Heero broke their kiss and leaned against Duo. His face was inches above his. "Tell me something," he whispered. "I wish I felt better," Duo admitted. "I got this bottle of mineral oil. So, turn over." Duo slowly rearranged himself, wincing when he twisted his ribs area the wrong way. "You'd better make this...oh...yeah...that's...oh... where? Oil?" "I bought it in Serendipity with the cheese. It's for cutting boards." Heero slowly massaged the oil into Duo's skin working from the neck and shoulders down to the waist. "I love touching you." "Lucky... me." "I'm doing this right?" "Yeah." Heero continued to manipulate the muscles in Duo's neck and shoulders then worked his way down the good arm to the fingertips. Duo never felt so relaxed. "Good. I can see how this is sort of how everything between us starts. Sore muscles and too much hard work. A friendly back rub that leads to a leg massage that takes us to the full body massage of now." They were two friends that weren't afraid to show that they cared more than a little bit by breaking through the invisible "don't touch" shell in increments and touching. Heero spent a lot of time massaging Duo's back and buttocks. He used just the right amount of pressure on his thighs and calves then finished up with a mind-stunning foot and toe massage. He helped Duo to roll over, and immediately started at Duo's neck and shoulders, squeezing, pressing, and working his way down toward his toes only briefly brushing past his straining cock. "What's the matter, Duo?" Heero asked while kneading his thigh. "Hmm? Nothing." Except you know what I want! Heero said, "You're not talking, you're not even looking me in the eye." "I just feel so relaxed. If I look into your eyes I'm gonna lose myself entirely." Heero finished up the left leg and started on the right thigh working his way down. "I never thought I'd feel this strongly about anyone," he confessed. That got Duo's attention. "Come'ere." Heero crawled over him and kissed him deeply. Duo broke their lip-lock and tried to put into words what he was feeling. "Hey, ah, this is all new to me, too." Heero's expression was odd before he said, "I didn't know what love was. I wanted it, but I had no idea what it meant to emotionally bond with someone. I thought it was a bunch of poetic rubbish." "Oh." Heero looked over at him with an absolutely blank expression on his face. Duo knew that was only the tip of the iceberg; more was to come. The pain of his past was so deep, the loss of his childhood, his running, his insecurities had been all forgotten with the intrusion-no-- addition of Heero to his life. He knew what he was feeling was a love for him that was so great that Duo couldn't say anything. Apparently, Heero was stuck in the same tongue-tied place. His hands were holding Duo's sides while his feet stroked his lower legs. After a long while of gazing into each others eyes Heero smiled and whispered, "I still don't know what I want I want more, for you to make love to me or if I should make love to you." "Well, ah--." Duo wasn't sure he had the strength to do either, but he was game to try. "You know more about this than me, so tell me what to do." "Huh?" Know more about what? Sex? Oh, no... Then an icy cold spread to Duo's gut. A weight settled on his chest as he realized that Heero must have learned about his time in Purgatory. His almost street-tramp life. Or maybe without that special "almost" part. Who had known about his dubious sexual past that could have told Heero? He'd told him about some bad times, but not how low he'd stooped. Only Hilde and Howard knew-- really, only Howard. He thought of his time at the Sweepers and the opportunities for Heero to have to talk to Howard, and came up with the dunking during bath time. What had Howard told him in those few seconds he was submerged? Time enough to call him a 'whore.' Duo's heart felt squeezed in pain. So was that why Heero was after him? He was easy? His face must have mirrored his gut, because Heero looked concerned and nudged him. "Duo?" He swallowed his hurt. "Oh, yeah, well, when I'm better, sure." He tugged on Heero's arms, arranging him up on up chest. "Hang on to the headboard and I'll introduce you to a blowjob. 'S one way ta pay ya back for the work I ain't gonna be up to doing for some time." Yeah, he was being sarcastic, and, yeah, the old saying was true: misery does love company. So, when a couple heartbeats later he was sure Heero understood his slip up and the mistake he'd made, Duo kicked him off the bed. "Don't let the door hit'cha on the way out!"
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