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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 Twenty-Two POV changes with the scene, mostly Duo Duo looked both ways, saw no one, and then took off in the direction of the governor's office. He could check out the "strategy room" next, if there was time, he decided, and silently thanked Heero for the information. Silent as a tomb. When Duo stuck his head past the door labeled with a gilt plaque: "His Honorable Governor Treize Khushrenada", there was no one inside. He had only minutes, he guessed, until someone would find him. Leaving the door ajar might lead someone to think he happened inside by accident. Maybe. He made his way across the empty office and around behind the desk, into Treize's realm. He found a candle and match and lit it. One quick glance told him nothing. He didn't expect to find what he wanted sitting out in plain sight, and it wasn't. The plans would be locked up, hidden away, maybe in the room next door. What had Heero called it? The Strategy Room. What Duo was looking for in the office was a key, a safe, a hidden hideaway. He opened the first of three drawers in a row in the desk, and found it full of officialdom: health code inspections, party invitations, obligatory functions. Nothing that applied to steam engine plans. Two other drawers were equally useless from a mystery-solving point of view, though it was interesting to note the number of empty bottles of plum Schnapps a drawer could hold. His hands flew under the edge of the desk, feeling for a latch. He found one that opened a drawer, a firearm within which was very dusty, but also very loaded. Stacks of books and papers tied together in albums filled the bookcase. One book was hollow with a key, which he pocketed. The lower shelf stored oversized books and manuals-and, more importantly, maps, which he thumbed through quickly. One titled "Estate and Surrounds" caught his attention and another entitled "Environs" had a line drawing of the area on its cover. He grabbed both and tucked them into his boots. With only a few minutes, at best, to complete his search, Duo examined the picture frames-no hidden safes-and the wood parquetry for loose floorboards or moving walls. The key must fit something, he thought, although it might not be in this room. For a second, he thought he'd found a notch in the chair railing which moved, but decided it must have been just a damaged piece. Then his eye caught the play of light on the floor beneath, the unevenness of the wood slats. He was on his knees instantly, prying along the edges with a knife blade. The slat gave way revealing a lever mounted in the floor. As Duo grabbed hold and pulled, he heard footfalls outside the door. "Drat!" he grumbled and slapped the board back into place. With one last dash to the bookshelf, he seized the first book he could reach, opened it to the middle, and posed. The door opened all the way. "A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective," he read. "Good advice. What the hell book is this?" Duo checked the chapter title, which read: "Sun-Tzu, The Art of War, Strategic Assessments Victory." "Lord Maxwell? This is my office, not the WC." Khushrenada cleared his throat. "My servants must have led you astray." "Yeah, sorry. I just like to snoop around. This place is awesome, the art and all. Door wasn't locked." "Don't see much art in your part of the country?" "Not like this!" Treize looked pleased by the flattery. Duo waved the dog-eared book at the governor and caught sight of Wufei just outside the door. "Read this much?" "Yes. You know, L-may I call you Duo? Good. I don't care if you are titled or not. I find you amusing and attractive. To quote Sun-Tzu, 'All warfare is based on deception. There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him.' I have an idea." Duo had no desire to know about Treize's ideas-they couldn't be good for him. "You trying to bait me? That mean I'm the enemy here?" "Oh, no, ho, ho..." Treize chuckled, tying to sound reassuring, and failing from Duo's standpoint. Wufei's presence-now that was reassuring! On cue, Wufei entered the room. "Sun-Tzu also wrote: 'Appraise war in terms of the fundamental factors. The first of these factors is moral influence.' And, Governor Khushrenada, you have surrounded yourself with some unsavory people here tonight. I think Lord Maxwell and I shall retire early." "Oh, no. This is all just too perfect. It's Chang Wufei. I always wanted a threesome with two lovely, lithesome boys." That was laying it flat out on the table, Duo thought! He coughed, choking, unable to swallow his pride easily, and watched for Wufei's explosive reaction. Wufei was not a happy camper, Duo figured, by the way he aligned his back, tightening his Chinese jacket across the shoulders, and by the way his eyes slitted suspiciously. Still, his friend kept his composure. It was with measured words that he told Trieze, "I want nothing to do with threesomes or twosomes with anyone but Hilde, my wife." Treize was displeased that Wufei had married; Duo could tell that by the way he straightened and his eyes darkened. "You owe me, little dragon." "Owe you? I am indebted to no one!" "You forget then that you lost the last match? You lost. You promised me a rematch." "But that was fencing!" Wufei exploded angrily. Treize laughed. "What did you think I was talking about?" Wufei blushed brilliantly, made a scornful noise, and pursed his lips. Duo tried to conjure up a mental picture of Treize, Wufei and himself in a ménage a trois, as Quatre had called it, but it wouldn't come. "Ah, I'm not great with a sword. Maybe you two boys should do the fight thing and I'll just meet up with you later, Kay?" "Tch-tch." The governor shook his head disapprovingly, but he was not looking at Duo. "Is romance so repellent to you? And you call yourself a married man. I'm a married man with experience. Let me show you romance. I'll have one of the servants draw a bath strewn with rose petals." "There is romance in the play of swords, don't you think?" Khushrenada asked. Wufei shrank back, letting the offer sink in, and, Duo thought, studied the window too hard. Duo looked, too. Was he considering an escape plan? Okay, at this point Duo wasn't absolutely positive that the governor was coming on the them. Duo's powers of observation, his ability to read the body language of other people and deduce their intentions, especially bad ones, had saved his ass on many occasions. Nevertheless, this man was crafty and a first-rate actor. He was also charismatic, tall, imposing, self-assured, handsome... He decided that the window escape route looked pretty attractive at this point, too. Wufei hardened his voice. "I accept. I left my sword at the entry." "I'll have it brought along. Maybe that blue-eyed boy serving your friend at dinner would bring it along?" "My valet? Sure, I thought I'd have him start me a bath." Duo felt the older man's eyes rake over his body, leaving no article of clothing intact. That was creepy. "That would be lovely. Have him ask for my rose soap." "Rose? That's mighty generous of ya!" "Not at all. I thought I'd join you later. It must take you hours to wash that hair alone." EH! Warning! That, Duo knew, was no subtle hint. That was an overt offer of sex. "He, heh, heh... Well, that's what my valet's there for, ya know?" "You haven't seen the bathing facilities, have you? There is room for him as well." As long as Heero was there, no hanky-panky was gonna happen, Duo was sure. There might be one drowned governor, though, so he needed Wufei to go along with the plan, absurd as it sounded. Duo tried passing Wufei a silent okay, and he must have understood because he nodded curtly before saying, "I shall need a bath after the match as well." Never had Duo loved Wufei more than at that moment. He would not let Duo face Khushrenada alone, not on his watch. Of course, Heero wouldn't be far away either. The governor, his arm draped over Wufei's shoulders companionably, grinned victoriously, and left Duo standing in the hall. As Duo wondered how he was to call for Heero, a servant strode in his direction. Long silk-covered legs grew from pale green knee pants, and a closely fitted matching jacket with lemon trim hinted at a well-toned, wiry torso underneath. Duo licked his lips without thinking. Under the jaunty cap, under the curl of white ostrich feather, under the fall of golden-brown hair, were a pair of gleaming green eyes. "Trowa!" Duo let out in a gasp. "In de flesh. It looked bad fo' you, Quatre said. So we came early." "Yeah, the gov' keeps some bad company. He's already made a move on me and Fei's keeping him busy and outta my way for a few minutes. Here." Duo removed the maps. "See what you can make of these. Hidden rooms, escape routes, whatever. I gotta underground room to check out in the office here and Tsubarov's lace next door." "Heero been in dere," he nodded to de chief engineer's room. "Picked up some metal gadgets and t'ings, but not de 'blueprints' dat Quatre wants." "Great. Saves me time. I'll check it out if I get time. I gotta be back in a bathtub in a bit. You in touch with Heero?" "I'm de go-between." "Cool. Can you tell him to make up a bath. Khushrenada thinks he and Wufei are joining me." "I'll pas dat along." Trowa grinned. "I d'ink Master Winner has o'der plans fo' de governor tonight." "God, I hope so. Gotta go." Closing the door this time as silently as he opened it, Duo returned to his loose floorboards. He discovered that sliding the loose piece of the paneling released the board, which he removed and set aside. When he yanked on the lever, the earth moved, well, a rectangle of the floor flipped up, a trapdoor in its upright position. It would be a nasty fall if he didn't watch himself, particularly since the stairs started down from the far end of the opening. When he heard voices outside the office door, he froze. Hide! He didn't even think "where?" there was nothing to do but grab at the visible knob of railing and skitter down the narrow stairway. He reached for the handle on the underside of the trap door, and pulled the floor over his head. He was trapped in absolute blackness. A gust of escaping air blew out the candle above, he surmised. With hands splayed out in front of himself, eyes uselessly staring, Duo inched his way down the stairs to the dirt floor then across the unseen floor into the unseen black. He smelled damp earth and felt a cold draft. There was a hard bang and a voice. "Damnit! He rearranged his office again." Duo froze, fingers twitching at the end out his outstretched arms. "Light a candle." "You light a candle." Sudden light flowed down through the gaps around the trapdoor, streaming in to give a faint yellow-gray light to his surroundings. A rough stone wall stood directly in front of him, less that a foot from his fingers, which he now dropped to his sides. A long, low-ceiling room extended to his left, under the main room of the office. To his right, a gloomy blotch suggested a corridor beyond leading under the room next door, the Strategy Room. Duo tiptoed toward that corridor. Darkness. Almost total as before, except that when he looked back, he could see a rectangle of thin yellow lines up above in the black, outlining the trapdoor. A sound of voices came from up there. Were they saying something useful, he wondered? He wanted to hear what they had to say and he didn't want to get caught in total darkness, unable to find the staircase up and out. He skulked back to stand beneath that thin yellow rectangle overhead, and listened. What were they saying? At first, nothing; they seemed to have stopped talking just as he got there. Then all at once, the people up there began again to speak, muffled but understandable. "What's that?" "I'm leaving the governor a little present-updates to the plans, hopefully the final ones." That must be Tsubarov, Duo thought. "Surprising him, then?" "Yes. Let this be a surprise for him. He says I'm behind schedule." "You didn't tell him you brought a working model?" "Not yet. I haven't had the chance. He's been so busy with his new playthings. I thought I give a little demo tomorrow afternoon out by the stables." "Can't we bring it indoors?" "No! You saw the thing! It's too heavy to move around for his convenience. Stable's good enough." "Well, that's fine for tomorrow, but what about tonight? I'm so bored waiting for him and his fencing." And that must be Weiridge, Duo thought. "We can get the party rolling with Winner." "Have you seen that leggy coach boy of his?" "Have you seen Maxwell's valet?" The two men laughed. "Easy game." The voices faded, moving to the far end of the room and, Duo guessed, out the door. A smile spread across Duo's face like a venomous snake, like death, a slow death. "Heero and Trowa... easy game? Oh, you will be disappointed, gents." At least they left the candle lit. Duo leaped up the staircase and shouldered the trapdoor, which wouldn't budge. "Damnit anyway." He clamored back to the dirt floor and inched about in the gloom until he ran into a stool. This he carried up the stairs and used it to wedge under the wood slats. Inch by inch, the door rose until he could jam an entire chair leg through. Down the stairs, he raced again to look for something else. This time he found a wooden crate, heavy and sturdy. Up again and with more heaving and swearing he worked the crate up and under the edge, wide enough for his slender body to slip through and out. All this trouble for a candle! And, sure enough, a fat envelope rested on the desk. He pinched the envelope and jammed it into his other boot. He adjusted the crate and better secured the trap door open, before slipping back though and down the stairs. With the light to see by, Duo could make some progress. Duo knew basements. He remembered basements from L2, remembered that, all in all, it seemed to him worth the risk, and lit one little candle rather than stand and curse the darkness. The candle created an effect very like the shadowed insubstantiality of the Kasbah club at midnight, or a drunken sailor's party when the captain was out of town. In its fretful murk, he could see rows of kegs:" beer kegs, wine kegs, whiskey kegs, and kegs marked in languages he couldn't read, but that had to contain exotic liquors. He wasn't sure , but it all looked like a bootlegging operation to him. He ripped off brand tags randomly and pocketed the evidence. Never knew when they might become handy. The place was also littered with broken chairs and tables. He carried the candle to the more promising corridor. The cold air nearly snuffed out the flame. Even though he had entered another room bigger than a large closet, he could make out more corridor continuing on. He stuck his head into that opening and smelled the cold, dank smell of underground. The opening led down and out. Somewhere. Spider webs crisscrossed in a lacy veil, indicating no one had used the tunnel recently. He didn't have time to investigate that route and returned to the closet-sized room. Halfway down one side wall stood a bookcase filled entirely with neatly filed, clearly labeled paper folders. Bingo! Okay, that was more like it! Duo settled himself in front of the case and let his fingers do the walking among the folder tags, stopping when he came to "Engine- Original." The file was a full inch thick. He flipped through and saw drawings of parts, gears, "turbine," "furnace." Yeah, it sounded right. He peeled off his fitted coat and lay it flat on the floor, opening it wide, and then removed files and piled them in the center. He cleaned out everything that seemed relevant and that he would be able to carry. How long had he been down here, he wondered? Time to get outta here! After folding up the ends of the coat and tying the arms tightly over the front to hold it together, he straightened himself, cocked an ear, and listened. Nothing. He hefted his package and jogged back to the staircase. When he looked over toward the stairs, he could see no lines of yellow light, which was good. He had the candle. No one had gone back into the room. Since he'd left the trapdoor open, that was a very good thing, but he hadn't wanted to chance getting stuck underground again. Life often came down to a simple balance of risks. He made short work of getting his prize up and out, kicking the stool and box back down into the basement, closing the trapdoor, replacing the candle, and checking once more for signs of his activities he might have left. Satisfied that everything was okay, he blew out the candle and carried his coat out of the room and into the hall, where he was jostled in the hall and nearly ran into a servant. "Your bath is getting cold." Heero. Duo took a deep breath and in an off-hand tone said, "Yeah, here, carry my coat will ya?" He took the coat, eyes widening fleetingly at the weight. "I'll take this to remove the spot on the collar." "Yeah, good idea. My boots'll need polishing, too. Maybe later." Duo could tell Heero was faking composure and smiled to reassure him. "Have you and-Tro' ?" "Met? Yes. Those...items... were very useful." "We have everything. Decide on a route." Duo looked around, and then whispered, "I found an underground tunnel that might lead out." "I will check it out." "And get Trowa to check out the stable. Tsubarov brought a demo." Duo could feel the grin when Heero whispered, "You know I love you, master." "I love the way you say that." (o) Quatre stood on the fringes of the party, watching Tsubarov and Weinridge and commenting on his observations to Trowa. "Men of Treize's type draw notice by strewing money around like lions spray their urine to lure females." Trowa cleared his throat. "So, how do we go 'bout distracting deez men?" Trowa asked Quatre. "We dance with them." Trowa raised an eyebrow in question. "It is good dat you and I have been practicing." "Speak lots of French. That impresses them, Triton. Yes, I decided to use that name. Does it make it easier to play the role?" "But, of course." Quatre leaned into him to say privately, "You look so good in satin. You know, it feels like skin." "I will try not to dink o'dat when dey touch me den." That startled Quatre and made him think, really think about what he had planned to do, how he and Trowa were to distract these men, giving Duo all the time he needed to get the plans and get out. Something deep inside him cringed and he knew Trowa was too important to him, that his feelings counted more than even this mission, and that he could not continue on and exploit him, especially with men such as these. His eyes searched the handsome face, noting the faint freckles running up under his long bangs, the hint of beard, and the lips he wanted so very much to claim at that moment. This man was his heart's desire, not a tool or a toy. "This is wrong. I don't want them to touch you. In fact, go now. Go to my room and stay there. I've dealt with worse in the past, I can get everything accomplished without you; better, in fact, knowing you're safe, and-" "Knowin' you don't wan' me to do dis," Trowa said, holding his lover's gaze and smiling a fraction. "Tells me how much you care 'bout dis Cajun gambler. It means a lot to me, I wan' you to know, but... I'm here to watch over you now. I don't wan' doze men messin' with my man." "Oh," Quatre's eyes glittered with tears. "I do love you." "Yeah, me too." His vice caught in his throat and threatened to choke up entirely if those beautiful eyes didn't look away. He glanced askance to the doorway, considering for a moment escaping this insanity, taking his lover away. But there was Duo and Wufei facing Treize Khushrenada and so many others counting on Quatre and him to play their parts. "I will hate this," Quatre said. "Me, too, mon cher." Trowa dipped his chin and hardened his resolve. "So let's get dis over wid befo' dey go lookin' fo' Maxwell." As they approached the knot of men, drinks and glassware, their conversation ended. Quatre and Trowa stood back to watch in morbid fascination while Weiridge messed with a pair of glasses. He appeared to be doing everything possible with them, like a man with too many choices and no taste of self-control, which he was. He had already sluiced in some clear liquid, and now he was adding some red liquid and some yellow liquid and some blue liquid and some green fluid, all of them channeling around through the differing layers of density and combining to form pools that looked like a test you didn't want the results of. Weiridge divided the concoction between the two gasses, dribbling much of it on the tabletop, and held up his glass in a toast. "To crime." "Without punishment," Tsubarov amended. "We should get started before they drink much of that," Quatre whispered. Trowa stepped forward, saying to Tsubarov's back, "Bonsoir," andforcing the engineer to swivel his head and smile upon him. He was short, whippet-thin, in his mid thirties. Quatre made a similar move on the other man. 'Weiridge. It's been weeks." "Well, you've been invisible," Weiridge said, as he showed Tsubarov an elaborate shoulder shrug, head shake, eyebrow waggle, and torso twist, to indicate that he didn't know so far exactly what was going on, but it didn't seem to include any imminent threat. Tsubarov could not have cared less, so absorbed was he in the attentive youth nearby. "You are new," Tsubarov observed. His teeth were very white but very small, making Trowa think of a fox when he smiled. "I am new here," Trowa said. The man chuckled; the youth dressed as a footman in L3-styled livery was amusing. "I'm called Tsubarov." "Triton." Trowa said. "Aimes-tu danser?" "Dance? Me? Perhaps," the man said, with his fox smile. "I'll let you lead, if you want," Trowa said, with a carnivorous smile of his own. Tsubarov took the lead, but he could not measure up to the acrobatic clown's light step and athletic moves. His guiding hand slipped lower until he was fondling the taut fabric playing over Triton's ass. Trowa grit his teeth and on a turn caught Quatre frowning in earnest his way. He mouthed, "okay," although it wasn't, and turned to the side, but not before he glimpsed the fag-hater nip his lover's neck. "Watch your grip, coach boy. Save it for later, when you're biting my pillows." Trowa eased up where he had seized hold of his dance partner's shoulder, "I am his footman. My apologies." His words came out clipped and voice ice-cold, but he never miss-stepped. Let the man dream of what would never be his. "Footman? Ah, of course Winner would have a tall, good-looking boy to show off. He always has gone in for status symbols; collecting inessentials is a luxury only a few can afford. Usually, he's surrounded by those dark lads from L4. I don't see any of them about today." Trowa surmised the man was fishing for information and considered what he'd tell him next and pushed his Cajun accent further to the L3 French end of the spectrum. "In de carriage, no Maguanacs were present. But... we are late arriving at our destination. Dere's no telling how many may be on the way by now." The man's face drained of color and Trowa knew he'd hit the right nail on the head, the one that fastened coffins. The hand on his as crept up to a safer location on his hip. Trowa hoped that Quatre would have less to distract him now. He, however, had to endure the marquise wrapping Quatre in afar too-intimate embrace. How he wished he could be the one to hold Quatre and dance! The string quartet was excellent. The only sour note was the company. Trowa caught Quatre's bright blue eyes, and for an instant hung on long enough to exchange silent reassurances. Quatre laughed, or pretended amusement at whatever inanities Weiridge muttered, severing the connection. "Sorry," Tsubarov grunted after a particularly egregious foot mashing. Trowa's step faltered and smiled weakly. Quatre never tread upon his toes. He watched his lover's dexterous, graceful movements and sighed. He never abused his body in anyway. Never. Trowa never desired a man before Quatre. Sex, but not the man. Quatre was his and deep-seated needs he didn't need to understand drove him to mark his man. The beautiful blond with the brilliant mind was only a waltz step away. Trowa was stronger than the skinny little fox, Tsubarov. He forced his dance partner closer to the other pair. When he was only an arm's length away, Trowa reached out, clutched Quatre by the shoulder, dragging him into a one-armed embrace, ignoring the other two men wrapped around them, and kissed his lover on the lips. Quatre kissed back, reaching out and grasping Trowa at the waist. They released one another the next instant, whirling apart. Weiridge and Tsubarov coughed and wheezed a little, but we're not shocked or not shocked for long. They seemed more to take it as a sign that the good times were about to roll. "Brazen boy you have there, Winner." "Yes, he's always clowning around. You should see him with a whip." The marquise turned to ooze. "Oh!" (o) The bath was a cavernous tiled lined room, steam-filled, and smelling of roses. Wufei wanted nothing more than to be riding away from this nightmare about to unfold. "Wufei," Treize said in a voice like velvet. "You are exquisite. My China doll. You were a prince and turned down the hand of a princess to become a school teacher in an obscure part of the country." As caresses ran across his bared shoulders and wet kisses fluttered from his back up his neck, Wufei cringed with revulsion. "Trembling my China dragon? I shall drive you crazy tonight." Wufei nearly vomited, but he had more control that that over his body. "... I could make you a prince again..." Wufei blocked the horrible images from his mind and he tried to shut out the sounds of that voice uttering those unwanted words with recollections of home and Hilde. "By my ancestors..." he whispered. "... Do you know how long I've wanted you? I thought you were so young when I first set eyes on you at the Watergardens, but that was an illusion. You were simply small of stature... Fencing as foreplay for fighting men, don't you agree?" NO! Wufei screamed in his head. Treize had been his mentor, advisor, and friend. It had been an honorable relationship. Honorable! Treize yanked off the ribbon holding Wufei's slicked-back hair in place. "Better," he said, as he raked fingers through the shiny black hair, freeing it to fall loose and frame the younger man's face. "Finish getting undressed and join me." Treize tossed his own jacket and shirt onto a bench, dropping his drawers nearby, while Wufei turned his back to him and removed his own. Wufei grabbed a large, white towel and wrapped it about his hips as quickly as possible, the sound of splashing in the near distance. Treize stretched lazily into his side of the huge tub, a well-fed, extremely comfortable large wet cat. "We're in for some good fun. Fuck and frolic, a little time out from the cares of everyday life." Wufei stared at him. "What did you say?" "Frolic," he said, and beamed at him, the cat with the canary feather in the corner of his mouth. "Fencing," Wufei said with a disgusted snort, distracted, but his agenda would not let him dwell on a passing bewilderment. "I didn't realize how out of practice I had gotten." "You will beat me sometime, but I'm a wily old soldier." Treize started singing, crooning with a voice like morphine-laced molasses. "Life can be so gra-aand..." Eyes closed and wishing his ears had lids as well helped Wufei's concentration. He whispered a mantra, "Protect me from dishonor to my clan. My body is just a shell; he can do my soul no harm." "It's all because of you-who-who-whoooo, who-who-whoooooooo..." Treize paused in his yodel. "Get in the water." Wufei clenched his towel one last time, looked to the closed door, and then released his hold, freeing the cloth to fall to his feet and expose his privates known only to himself, his Hilde, and possibly his nanny. The door flew open, crashing into the opposite wall. "Hey, is this the place?" Never before had Wufei welcomed the Maxwell bellow as he did at that moment. He swept up the towel and tucked it about him. "It's about time you made it." (o) Duo entered the bathing room with all the bonhomie of a carefree man on vacation. Wufei, on the other hand was standing a little hunched over, a death-grip on the towel concealing his lower body, and giving Duo that thousand-yard stare that suggests therapy is no longer an option. "Hey, I fell asleep, what can I say? The ride wore me out and then the drink and top it off with the loads of food... Is that you in the fog, gov'nor?" "Lord... Duo? At last!" "You got other people back there?" "No, strip down and come on in. Come here! Did you bring your half-breed?" "My, what?" "Your valet. His eyes, he looks Chinese, but only a fragment. Now, my little dragon prince is a pure breed, aren't you?" Heero? Half-breed? Duo decided Treize was on a bender having downed one too many brandy cocktails. "My valet was 'called to assist elsewhere,' his words." Duo moved closer to the tub itself nearly touching the nearly naked Wufei, who was bristling with indignation. "When'shegoingtogethere?" Chang hissed in his ear, running the words together so fast Duo couldn't parse the question immediately. He removed his boots, careful not to reveal any of the stolen papers still hidden inside them, and socks. "Dunno," he said, pitching his voice low. While Wufei's attention was elsewhere, Treize caught the edge of Wufei's towel and whipped it off. "Now, climb in, my dragon!" "Eek!" Wufei squeaked ( involuntarily, Duo guessed, because it was not how he imagined a dragon would sound) and obeyed the order with a hop and splash. Duo had done a lot worse than this in his sordid past. Men often shared baths and the cities' bathhouses accommodated every pocketbook. If you had no money, you rendered services. He had performed to his personal limits and after meeting Howard and turning around his fortunes, he hadn't thought he'd have to stoop again. He would not. He figured between both Wufei and himself they could drown the larger man if they had to, but he really hoped it wouldn't come to that. That would so mess up the plans, and then Quatre would be disappointed. Besides, the governor might turn out to be a gentleman in the bath. He could make up a better world, too. "You naked yet, Lord Duuu-oh?" "Ju-ust about," Duo sang out as he slipped off his pants and kicked them into the pile with his shirt and jacket. He thought about tying up his braid so it didn't get wet, but couldn't find a string or rope or... Wufei's ribbon would do, though. Thankful the steam acted like a veil to blur the view, he finished off his hair and climbed into the largest tub he had ever seen. White marble from here to eternity with gold fixtures and red rose petal floating; at least Duo hoped that's what his foot was pushing aside. "This is h-hot!" Duo shouted as he climbed over the edge. Treize might or might not be dangerous, but the bath surely was! It might boil him like a little trout. "Forgot about you skinny boys," Treize chuckled and poured in a pitcher of cooler water. It wasn't more than a drop in the ocean, but he seemed to think it was sufficient because he didn't offer to do more. And like the ocean, the water deepened as Duo moved further in. If he wasn't poached to death he'd drown! He pawed about for a secure grip and found the carved lip of the tub. Below that, ringing the inside in short segments, was a narrow, smooth bench. Duo scooted closer to the governor than he liked in order to keep his head above water. Surely the man wouldn't let him drown! Wufei said nothing huddled as far away from the other two as possible. Duo thought he looked like part of the decorative trim, like a statue, he was so immobile. But not for long. "I can hardly see you over there. Bring me the soap, will you little dragon? Here, I'll help." Treize hooked a foot around his leg and reeled him in. His friend embodied misery. His hair, longer than Duo thought, hung limply on either side of his face and down his back to just past his shoulders. Duo couldn't help but find Wufei terribly attractive, but when he raised his head, Duo caught a fleeting look of anger, terror, then mortification. Then the black eyes closed, shutting off the humiliation of his body as the larger man drew him to his side. Duo heard a hitch in Chang's breath, and thought his friend must have bit his tongue to stop himself from crying out. The ache in that sound nearly drove Duo out of the bath to find one of their swords, and drive it through the big brute's heart. Disgrace never wounded Maxwell that hard, but he knew how it would tear up a proud man like Wufei Chang. Time to act like the friend he professed to be. "Hey, gov, wanna back scrub? Turn 'round." Treize released his toy and soaked up the view of Duo's sliver of a body stretching over the edge, reaching for the rough-looking sponge. "How thoughtful of you. Yes, that would be divine." Duo dodged Treize's advances, like when he stretched his back and pushed into Duo, grinding into his groin. Duo moved away. He was afraid to travel too fast or he'd lose his footing. A few slimy touches wouldn't be as bad as slipping beneath the water. Duo could swim, Heero had seen to that before he had let him on a boat with him for long, but he didn't like it, and harbored a deep fear of the water. Deep water. Water closing over his head. He lost his hold on the soap, which popped out of his hands with a plosh. "I'll reach that for you," the older man purred. As Treize pretended to reach for the soap, Duo felt his wayward fingers skim over his thigh. In the skirmish that followed, Wufei escaped, scuttling crab-like around the perimeter to the other marble bench. Well, he had the governor's attention off his friend. Now what was he going to do, Duo wondered? Strong hands seized his hips, elevating him onto the governor's lap, facing his broad chest. "Time to change sides. Part your legs a little more and you'll fit better." His legs spread to encircle of the older man and his groin slid forward. Duo could not miss the size differential between his limp cock and the imposing pole saluting him from below. "You are the most seductive little mouse. Yes, you are my little mouse." Mouse! Wufei's a hot-as-hell, fire-breathing dragon and I'm a fucking little scrap of vermin! Duo was pissed off. When the crushing lips pressed against his, he bit down. Treize pulled back and licked the blood off his lips. "Oh, a fighter? I love a challenge." Three things happened at once. A wave of water nearly washed over his head and then Wufei appeared at his side dragging him out of reach of the lascivious man, just as Heero dashed into the room. As well timed as Duo's entry had been for Wufei the first time, Heero's interruption came at an even more opportune point in time. "Governor Khushrenada. You are needed in the L3 reception room AT ONCE!" "What?" Treize grumbled as he reassembled himself to take in the new presence in his bath. "Somethin's coming down, I reckon he means," Duo said. Both he and Wufei scrambled out of the water, while Heero tossed them towels. "This is a rude time to bother me," Treize continued to complain. "It can't wait." Heero offered the man a thick robe embroidered with gold roses at the cuffs. "Humph..." Heero moved between Duo and Wufei and whispered so only they could hear, "Get dressed. Breakout time, hot stuff." Duo grinned and cast a glace to Wufei. "He meant you," Duo said at the same time Wufei snapped, "He meant you." "Hurry up." Heero chuckled darkly and helped them sort out their clothes.
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