"Breathless"

Written By: Waterliliylf

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. All rights remain with Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. No profit being made here.

Rating: R

Warnings: sap, angst, fluff

Pairings: 3x4, 13x2

Summary: Quatre finds himself introduced to an annoying young man, one he can't seem to get out of his head.

"Breathless"

Chapter 16:

In which Treize is abducted and taken on a mystery tour…..

Duo closed the gallery door on their last customers, an elderly couple who had obviously wanted to take him home with them, and looked around with a broad grin on his face. 'Nice way to end the day, huh? Two sales. For a while there, I half thought they were going to offer to buy me as well.'

'Maybe I should put a 'Not for Sale' sticker on you. Just in case people start getting ideas.'

Duo took his hand and placed it very deliberately on his rear. 'I think this should work as a fairly effective symbol of ownership, don't you?'

'Ah, so I spend the rest of my life with my hand on your delightful ass? I like that.'

'I kind of like it too. D'you think we can shut up a few minutes early tonight?'

'Very definitely, yes.'

Duo held one of his hands as Treize keyed in the security alarm with the other. It had been a busy day – Sundays usually were – with very little opportunity to be affectionate.

'Don't want any nasty sneak thieves breaking in, now do we?' he teased.

'Certainly not.' Treize bent down and gave him a quick kiss. 'They cause all sorts of trouble, people like that.'

'That sort of sounds like a challenge.'

'Perhaps.' Treize reached into his pocket, searching for the car keys and Duo darted in front of him, tossing them into the air once and then opening the door.

'I thought I'd drive tonight.'

'If you like.' That was rather unexpected; they didn't usually drive each other's cars unless one of them had been drinking. It certainly wasn't a problem though; he could relax and watch Duo's hands on the wheel, and imagine all sorts of delicious things for those fingers to do when they got home.

Treize lifted an eyebrow as Duo drove past their usual turning. 'Are we taking the long way home?'

Duo's mouth curved. 'Not going home. Not tonight. I'm sort of abducting you.'

'Are you indeed?' Very intriguing. 'Where are we going?'

'Mystery tour. You'll see.'

'Duo. Where are we going?' He laid one hand on Duo's leg, squeezing gently, and then let his fingers wander up Duo's thigh.

'Not when I'm driving,' Duo gasped, taking one hand off the wheel to stop him. 'It's a secret, OK?'

'You can't keep secrets, sweetheart. And I hate surprises.'

'Yeah, good point.' Duo relented. 'I thought it would be nice for the two of us to get away for the night. You know that little hotel we went to before Christmas; the one beside the river? I booked us in there. Happy now?'

'Deliriously so.' This time, Duo let the hand stay on his knee. 'How ever did you get reservations? They're always booked up months in advance.'

Duo's mouth curved into that adorably mischievous smile of his. 'About that. I had to do some serious 'phone flirting with the manager. And sort of imply that we're into threesomes. We'll need to double lock our bedroom door tonight. And maybe put a chair or something under the handle.'

'Two chairs,' Treize decided. 'I have no intention of sharing you with anyone.'

'I have no intention of being shared.' That smile widened; his eyes, when he took them off the road for a second, were brimming with laughter. 'So, have you ever done the threesome thing, given your vast experience?'

'Not all that vast.'

'Vast compared to mine.'

'Which isn't exactly saying a great deal, my love.'

Duo stuck out his tongue. 'I was saving myself, OK?'

'I know.' Treize said it softly. It was arrogant and egotistical, no doubt, but he did love the fact that no one else had ever possessed Duo. His Duo. 'And to answer your question, no, I haven't. I prefer to concentrate on one person. Ideally your beautiful self.'

'Excellent answer.'

'I aim to please. Duo, who's looking after Laragh?'

'Quat. He called by while you were talking to those Germans in the back room. All happy with himself since he and Tro got together.'

'When exactly did that happen?'

'Last night. Or this morning. Or possibly this afternoon. Quat was on his way home to feed the devil-cat before going out to Romfeller. And he was lit up like a firework, so don't start on how they're not right for each other.'

'Am I permitted to think it?' Treize asked dryly. He couldn't see those two together; not in a million years. 'Quatre's love life seems to be getting somewhat complicated. When I met him yesterday, he was convinced that Wufei was his soulmate. And he does seem to be rather more suitable.'

'Yeah, maybe if Quat lived in the eighteenth century and wanted an arranged marriage,' Duo muttered. 'Since he doesn't, Tro is way better for him than freaking Chang.'

'Wufei? What's wrong with him? I thought you liked him.'

'He's an asshole. He thinks I'm some bimbo and that my car is flashy.'

'Well, it is, just a little.' Treize smiled; of course it was. It was why he'd chosen it. 'Did he actually say those things to your face? When?'

'When he was in the gallery on Friday. I told you; he came in with that weird Heero Yuy guy. I'll tell you something else; he knows way too much about us and the gallery. Knew all about the burglary and stuff.'

'It's hardly a secret, love.'

Duo sniffed. 'You didn't hear them. Yuy was asking questions and Chang sounded way too knowledgeable. It was quiet for an hour at lunchtime, while you were out, so I did a little bit of research and you know what? The guy's a fucking cop. Seriously.'

'I don't think so. He works at the gallery.'

'Yeah, that's his official job, but he's also seconded to that new Art Crimes Division as an advisor.'

'That doesn't mean he actually has anything to do with actual police-work. Just that he's called in when they need specialist advice.'

Duo shook his head. 'No. I thought that was what it meant, too, and I did a bit of digging around. He's been involved in some investigations. He's good, Treize. Cracked two of the cases himself. And he's been reading files on the gallery. And you. Pulled up your old military service records and everything. He's got a pretty high security clearance, looks like. I'm just the trophy boyfriend, though, so he hasn't bothered looking at anything about me.'

'Good. Now, how did you find all that out?'

'This cool thing called the Internet.' Duo looked, very fixedly, at the road ahead. 'You may have heard of it. You can get all sorts of stuff if you dig around a bit.'

'Duo! You're not supposed to hack into police files. What if someone can trace you?'

Duo laughed. 'You're super cute when you worry, you know that? No one's going to trace me. I'm good at this stuff. Too good for some dumb cops to catch. Relax, babe. He doesn't know anything. But I'd still prefer Quatre not to get involved with him.'

'I suppose you're right.' So Quatre was going to be sacrificed to Trowa. Well, that wouldn't last, no matter how much Duo wanted it.

Duo gave his braid a flick. 'Quatre's a big boy; he can sort out his own love life. So don't start on him; he's already feeling guilty about Wufei, for God's sake. I mean, they had one date; it's not like there was any commitment.'

'Does Trowa feel the same way about him?' Treize tried to keep his voice neutral. It was the First Commandment according to Duo Maxwell; thou shalt not criticise Trowa Barton in any way.

'You know Tro; he's not big into talking about emotions,' Duo said after a minute's pause. Treize made a determined effort not to comment on the understatement of the millenium. 'He needs someone like Quat. And Quat was all blissed out, so maybe he used his heeby jeeby thing to pick up on how Trowa felt.'

'He doesn't like you calling it that,' Treize pointed out. 'And you know that isn't how it works for him.'

'Yeah, yeah. I know.' Duo shifted slightly in his seat; he tried to hide it, but he was never very comfortable discussing Quatre's….idiosyncrasy. 'Sorry. I wanted for this to be a really nice evening. Not to argue with you.'

'No more arguing,' Treize agreed at once, resolving to call Quatre as soon as possible. 'It's a lovely idea. How did you think of it?'

'Listening to Chang and Yuy, actually. Chang was all fired-up about this special date he was fixing up for a guy he was into. 'Course, I didn't know then that he meant Quat. Anyway, I thought it might be nice for us to do something a bit different. You know? Just because we're all engaged doesn't mean we have to act like some old married couple.'

'Positively not.' Treize tipped his head back against the seat and smiled at the vision of them as an old married couple. It was very appealing, the thought of spending so many years with his love.

The Riverside Hotel looked very different on a bright April day than it had in December. The ancient coaching inn was smothered in honeysuckle and jasmine, a few fronds of which had curled through the open window of their room.

'They've given us the same bedroom.' Treize tipped the porter and closed the door firmly.

'I asked for it.' Moving across the room, Duo very deliberately ran one finger up the brass bedstead. 'Same bed; guess they managed to fix it. I packed a couple of those nice silky scarves. Just in case you fancied a repeat performance of the last time.'

'Very much,' Treize said softly. 'It might be nice to have an appetiser before dinner, don't you think?'

'I have something planned first. We're going on the river for an hour while there's still some daylight.'

'Are we indeed?' Treize pulled Duo into his arms and traced the rim of his ear with his tongue. 'Are you quite certain about that?'

'Yeah.' Duo sounded gratifyingly uncertain. 'Totally. Sort of. Fuck, Treize!' He squirmed deliciously under a sensual onslaught of lips and tongue and a sharp sting of teeth. 'Please.'

'Of course, darling. You're so pretty when you beg, do you know that?' Treize's mouth left his earlobe, trailing wet, open-mouthed kisses down his neck and one hand slipped under the waistband of his jeans.

'Treize, stop. OK?' He caught the wandering hand and curled his fingers about it. 'There's something I really, really want us to do. Outside. It won't take long.'

'Very well.' Treize let him go, very reluctantly, wondering what exactly he had planned.

Duo's hand, when he captured it on their way out, was shaking just a little.

'Is something the matter?'

'No. Nothing like that. I just have this all planned out, and I didn't really take into account that you might jump me and it's going to be dark in a couple of hours.'

'Silly. I'm always going to jump you, given the slightest opportunity. And I intend to do it again, the moment we get back to our room.'

'Glad to hear it.'

Treize raised an eyebrow as they walked out of the hotel garden. The riverbank was uncomfortably crowded on a warm spring evening; picnicking families and children throwing balls for over-excited dogs and squabbling and eating ice-creams. It was hardly a most perfect setting for a romantic tryst.

Duo caught his expression and grinned. 'It's OK. Told you I had a plan. Follow me. There's a little jetty just across here.'

'Your carriage awaits, my lord.' Duo grinned at him, gesturing to the first boat, already provided with rugs and cushions and a large cooler bag.

'I didn't know you could row.'

'Can't.' Duo stepped carefully around the bag. 'Sorry; I know it should be one of those wicker hampers, but they don't keep stuff chilled. As for the rowing thing, I'm about to learn. Seriously, how hard can it be to move two wooden sticks through the water?'

'It's not as easy as you think.'

'I'll get the hang of it in a second. Hold on.' Duo bumped them against the jetty, swung in a circle and bumped into the riverbank, and then collided with a boat occupied by four giggling girls, who were trying to moor.

'Hold the oars a little further down, love,' Treize instructed. 'That's perfect. Right, you need to find a rhythm that you move them both at the same time. Like that. Good. Now, don't dip them too deep in the water, and not so fast. Try to make long, smooth strokes.'

'Find a rhythm, huh?' Duo winked at him. 'Smooth strokes, not too deep. Sounds like you could be talking about something else, Mr. Khushrenada.'

'Only to someone with an incredibly perverted mind.'

'Sounds like me,' Duo agreed cheerfully. 'It's like Venice, isn't it? Us in the gondola?'

'Traumatising that unfortunate gondolier.'

Duo snickered. 'Yeah. Poor guy. Still you did give him a whacking great tip; he's probably recovered by now. You can hire guys here to do the rowing for you, but I thought it would be nicer to be just us.'

'It is,' Treize said sincerely. 'Where are we going?'

'You'll see. Can you shut up for a minute? Let me concentrate on my long, smooth strokes, OK?'

'OK.'

Duo swung them, fairly smoothly, around a bend in the river, and they abruptly had the world to themselves. A perfect, sun-splashed green-gold afternoon; with no sounds but birdsong and the gentle plash of water against the boat, and Duo's occasional curse when he fumbled the oars.

The sun was gilding his hair; picking up on the strands on red, and sparkled on the ring on his left finger.

'Here we go.' He pulled them toward the riverbank, aiming for the shelter of a huge willow tree. 'Remember this place? We walked this way when we stayed here in December, didn't we?'

Treize leaned out to secure the little boat against one exposed root, and then settled back on the cushions. 'Certainly, I remember. It's beautiful.'

'Yeah.' Duo gave him a slightly nervous smile. 'OK, here's the thing. The night you asked me about the whole getting engaged stuff, I know you wanted it to be all perfect and romantic and everything and I freaked out and messed it all up for you.'

'No, you didn't.' He leaned over and kissed Duo lightly on the mouth. 'You said yes. That's the only thing that counts.'

'Yeah. But still…we had a fight in there somewhere, and I'd really like us to have a memory that didn't involve me threatening walk out on you, and you getting all panicky. You know?'

Treize nodded, not entirely sure where all of this was actually going.

'So, um, here you go.' He dug into his pocket and took out a small box. 'This is for you and I probably should get on my knees or something but you're not supposed to move around in a boat, and I'm no good at all the flowery speeches, but I love you to bits, more than anything in my whole life, and I want to be with you for always, and I'd really like for you to wear this.'

It was a sapphire. A perfect square-cut gem on a thin band of gold.

'I think you're supposed to put it on my finger for me.' His voice wasn't, entirely, steady.

'Do you like it?' Duo's hand wasn't entirely steady either.

'I love it. And I will love wearing it. For always, like you said.'

'Always,' Duo echoed softly, reaching into the cooler bag and producing a bottle of champagne and two crystal flutes. 'I know you don't really like champagne, but it's traditional, so too bad.' He took a long swallow, then sealed his mouth over Treize's.

'I could to like it, if you keep serving it like that,' Treize said huskily. 'I could get to like it very much.'

'Yeah. This is so sappy. I love it!'

'It was the most perfect idea.' It was, too. Just the two of them with the sun-dappled river, and the first streaks of sunset painting the sky, and Duo's skin washed a pale, luscious green under the willow tree. 'Thank you. And for the ring. You know, we're going to have to start talking about where to go for the honeymoon.'

'Quat's been sending me millions of emails with all these honeymoon destinations he's picked out for us.'

'Hmmm. I'm not sure if I want Quatre to make that decision for us.'

'Yeah. Some of them were pretty nice, though. You know; resorts on their own private islands and villas and all that. Even a palace in Venice.'

'We'll go anywhere you like. Did any of them appeal?'

'I already know where I want to go.' He managed to sound definite and uncertain at the same time. 'D'you have any special place you'd prefer?'

'I want to be with you,' Treize stroked the strands of hair off his forehead. 'That's all. The destination's not important.'

Duo's lashes fluttered closed for a second, and then opened. 'What I'd really like would be for us to go up to the hunting lodge. Can we do that?'

'Whatever you like,' Treize assured him. 'If you're quite sure you wouldn't rather go somewhere a little more exotic.'

'I'm totally sure,' Duo said quickly. 'I love that place, you know.' He rolled over, resting his chin on Treize's thigh and looked up at him. 'It's special. I know we had sex the first night in the gallery, but the lodge was where we first really got to know each other.'

'It was.'

'Remember that drive up?'

Treize nodded. 'Of course.' He always would. It had been late enough; early in the morning, really, for them to have the road to themselves, to be the only two people in the universe. There had been something unearthly about the whole experience. He'd wanted, very badly, to stop living that night, and then there had been Duo and it had all changed.

They'd stayed at the lodge for a week, before going back to face reality.

'That's a wonderful idea, love.'

'Cool. Quat's going to be bummed that we're not going on a cruise or something. He probably wants to come with us.'

Treize laughed; Quatre probably would, too. 'Well, he can't. Not this time.'

'No.' Duo curled against him, opening his mouth for his lover's kiss. 'Just us.'

'Just us.'

It was just them after that; whispers and sighs and soft kisses and the gentle lap of water against the boat, and bird calls. The rustle of clothing loosened and then discarded, and the slide of skin against skin, flesh into flesh. Then Duo's sudden high cry as he came until Treize sealed his mouth with a kiss.

'I absolutely hate to say this,' Treize said eventually, but we should head back before it gets too dark.'

'I guess.' Duo groped for the oars with one hand, tugging up his jeans with the other. 'A bath might be nice right now or…oh, shit! One of the oars just fell in.'

'Well, don't fall in after it. Do you need a hand?'

'I always need your hands.' Duo turned his head to give a quick wink and then leaned over the side again. 'No, I got it. oops, no. I think it's stuck in mud or something, heh, stuck in the mud, here it comes and OWWWW!'

The oar, dragged suddenly on board caught Duo a hefty whack against one side of his face.

Treize almost upset the boat, getting to his side.

'Duo! Are you all right? Did it hurt you?'

'Yeah, it damn well did.' Duo touched one hand to his cheek and winced. 'Hurts like hell. My own stupid fault; I wasn't thinking of where it would end up.'

'You're going to have a lovely black eye.' Treize tilted his chin up. 'It's not too bad. We'll put some ice on it when we get back to the hotel. Or would you rather go home?'

'NO way! I've planned this perfect evening and it's not going to get messed up because I was a clumsy idiot.' He managed a smile. 'My face might be out of bounds tonight but the rest of me's still in perfect working order.'

 

~ * ~

Chapter 17

Back to Waterlilylf's Page

Back to GW Authors Index.