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"Bottled Blue "Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU/Fantasy, Angst, mild violence, mild
language, fluff, borderline NCS (more like reluctant surrender), non-graphic
lemons, my corky humor lol Unbeta'ed Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5+all Summary: When Duo discovers an ancient bottle
his life his irreversibly altered by the beautiful, blue genie that
resides within. AN: This was written some years ago in response
to a fic I read. I so enjoyed the character dynamic’s I couldn’t
resist borrowing the idea and writing a fic of my own using a variation
of the character profiles. The original fic was Blue Bottled Belly
Dancers... by clarysage ^_^ I liked it so much I wanted more so I
wrote this but that was uh... years before I ever thought to post
anything. I don't really remember how closely mine follows the original
but I hope it's entertaining. ^_^ Thanks everyone! "Bottled Blue " Chapter 1 Jordan ‘Why in the hell couldn’t Pierson do this job?’ he thought for the ten thousandth time dumping his bag on the slender little cot that was supposed to serve as his bed during his stay. “Nice pick,” he groaned turning on the spigot in the bathroom to find nothing but a tiny trickle of orangish gloop within. He knew Catalonia hated him but this was a bit much. How she’d convinced her grandfather to send him on this devils errand was beyond him. The man wasn’t the editor of the New York News because he was weak willed. Even when it came to his beauteous granddaughter he usually stood his ground so what in the hell was Duo doing in the middle of a Jordanian slum doing a piece on the rapidly declining rate of virgin, teenage girls? “Damn it,” he growled just thinking about it. Virgin girls?! What the fuck was up with that? Great… the shower didn’t work either. A hundred and ten in the shade, knee length hair and no god damn shower. Perfect. Maybe he could con someone into baptizing him. * “This way please.” Well, the place looked decent enough now if he could just shake the leering stares of the other patron’s maybe he could managed to settle some food in his stomach. Was it the fact that he was so obviously American that drew their condescending stares or just the hair? He’d found, on other occasions, when he visited ancient countries he was sometimes ill received because of his lengthy braid but it all boiled down to personal choice. Fuck’em, no one had ever cut his hair and no one ever would. There was a price to pay for his stubborn obstinacy however, and it reared its ugly head in the form of a cocktail that was brought to his table. The waitress blushed softly and pointed out an older man with a huge mustache across the way as the one responsible for the offering. Duo snagged her arm before she could get away and put the drink back on the tray watching as the man’s gaudy grin slipped into a frown. It happened sometimes, especially in a backwards slum like this one. Usually they figured him for a girl since he was still too young to grow much facial hair. The braid didn’t help the illusion but he was as steadfast on that subject as he had been since he was eight. It might have bothered him to be so easily mistaken for a woman but then a lot of the women in these little countries closely resembled the men which probably explained the need for veils. Dinner wasn’t too bad, a bit on the spicy side but it filled the hole. Things would’ve been almost livable if he’d have been able to shower when the got back to his room. ‘Virgin girls,’ he thought again. How in the hell was he supposed to research that? By the time he rolled off his lumpy little cot the next morning the answer had presented itself in the form of a militia force banging on his door. Great. Some stupid bomb had gone off in the city somewhere overnight so he soon found himself being shoved into the back of a truck with a group of other foreign visitors and aimed at the Arabian boarder. As much as he would have liked it his press badge held little clout in instances like these. Now, if he’d have been in a decent hotel in Amman instead of stuck in a rat hole in Al Karak things might have worked out differently but you don’t argue with an anxious twenty year old with a riffle so… Arabia it was. Long drive, bumpy ass road, sweaty foreigners that didn’t speak a word of English. He’d made some pretty intricate plans on how to hang Dorothy by her calf length hair when he got home by the time they reached Tabuk. The truck stopped just outside of town where Duo and the other reluctant refugees were summarily dumped on the side of the road and tossed their things before the soldiers drove off back toward the Jordanian boarder. Nice. One of the other men, a tall guy with wide shoulders and short legs for his build moved by him gathering his and what appeared to be his wife’s things from the dusty ground and Duo just about fell over from the stench of him. My god, if this guy smelled that bad he didn’t even want to think about how he must reek. Time to find a motel and a bath. He was gathering his spilled belongings from the dirt and shoving them back into his bag as the others wandered off toward town when he heard a soft sound that prompted him to turn his head and discover the oddest thing he’d seen in a long time. It was a cat. Just a cat like any other cat unless you considered that it was about twice the size of a normal house cat and the most fascinating dark, grayish-blue color he’d ever seen. “Hey there,” he cooed as it sat there watching him intently, its long tail twitching slightly. “Wow, you’re a big fella, huh?” he said moving closer to the large feline. It didn’t look malicious or wild. It just sat there silently watching him as the others became nothing more than a memory and they were left completely alone. Duo was still moving slowly toward it utterly fascinated by the sheer size of the thing but before he could get closer than a couple of feet it stood and turned toward the tree line that bordered the road. “Hey... wait,” Duo called after it and it paused just in the shadow of a thistle bush to look back at him, its eyes glinting gold and blue in the half light and Duo found himself mesmerized by the utter beauty of the creature then, with the flash of its eyes and a flick of its tail it dove into the brush. “Wait!” Duo called again bowling into the trees as well. Where did this thing come from? Was it someone’s pet? Did they breed such an animal around here? Where had it gone? Gods, it was so beautiful! He ran for what felt like hours, each time he thought to give up his pursuit he would catch a glimpse of the pretty cat and dive after it again until suddenly... “Whoa!” he gasped just managing to stop before he fell head long into a shimmering pool that lay at his feet. For a moment he was taken by the beauty of the pool. It was a spring. He could see the underground current bubbling in the far corner and it was so crystal clear he could see the color of the pebbles what were scattered along its sandy, white bottom. Then he saw the cat. It was sitting on a stone on the opposite side of the glittering water licking its left paw. Duo stood watching in wonder as it continued to methodically bathe itself cleaning its paw, then its muzzle and chest before stopping to gaze at the longhaired boy. “Hey,” Duo called soothingly squatting down to un-shoulder his pack. Maybe he had something in there that the cat would like? “You hungry?” he asked rummaging around in the bag. The cat regarded him for a moment going so far as to cock it’s head curiously which stalled Duo in his efforts, did cats do that?, before bending to drink from the surface of the pool and return to its silent vigil of just watching him. “Shit, I know I had some beef jerky in here somewhere,” he grumbled turning to intensify his search and coming up with a smile when he’d found his quarry but when he looked again the cat wasn’t on the rock anymore. A quick look around proved he had moved to another stone further to the left and was once again leisurely cleaning himself only this time he appeared intent on scrutinizing his genitalia. Duo could now see it was a male because the creature was doing a very thorough job. He watched for a moment wondering if he should interrupt, it seemed like a very private moment then his eyes shifted back to the sparkling waters of the spring. When he looked back up the cat was sitting up again looking at him intently, its dark eyes drifting first from the water then to Duo and back again. Well, he could take a hint. There was certainly no harm in his gaining a bath out of this too. Besides, it was just too damn cute the way the cat seemed to be indicating he should. He slipped off his boots and stuffed his socks inside then dipped his tired toes into the pool. It was really quite warmer than he’d expected, pleasant to the touch and oooh so inviting. The cat fidgeted anxiously as he watched and Duo couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright already,” he told it pulling his shirt over his head. For some reason he found once his body was exposed that the cats gaze bothered him. He watched him so intently, his dark eyes wandering along every curve and nuance of his torso as if memorizing it and suddenly Duo felt as though he should be putting his clothes on instead of taking them off. It was a silly notion that he refused to give into especially when the spring was so enticing but he did end up turning his back to the curious creature to finish undressing. When he turned back around the cat wasn’t on the stone anymore. He looked left then right then jumped two feet off the ground landing with a loud splash in the water when it appeared right under his feet. He came up spitting and sputtering and glaring at the smug looking feline as it sat amongst his discarded clothes sniffing around. “Thanks a lot,” he grumbled pausing when the cat looked back up at him. It was the weirdest thing but if a cat could smile that’s just what this one would have been doing. “Nice place,” he told it assuming this must be his home. There was no sign of a collar having ever been around his neck so he didn’t think he was anyone’s pet. “Mmm, this feels great,” he groaned lying back in the pristine water. It was truly amazing how something as simple as a bath could totally revive ones spirit. He hadn’t thought to defile this place with anything like soaps or shampoo but it sure felt nice to just kick back and rinse away the dust and grime. His misgivings about the soaps were in vain however, when the cat brushed by him dropping his travel sized shampoo bottle into the spring where it began to bubble up since his teeth had poked holes in it. It seemed redundant not to go ahead and wash after that though the odd behavior of the cat was beginning to really creep him out. “You’re spring might taste a little like lilac for awhile after this,” he told his small blue/gray companion mostly to break the tension that was mounting in his chest because the thing simply would not stop staring at him. It watched silently, unmoving and intent as he washed himself and babbled on about the troubles he’d faced on his trip and anything else that came to mind. “You know ... she must have something on the old man,” he told it massaging a good amount of lather into his long hair. “I mean, he likes me, you know? I seriously doubt he’d have sent me on this joke of an assignment unless that bitch had something dirty on him right? Right... I knew you’d see it my way,” he rattled on while the cat sat quietly and just… watched. “Well, there’s no way I’m staying here,” he went on pausing to dunk his head and rinse. “This wasn’t the assignment…” Another dunk, “…and since they won’t let me back into Jordan after that scene...” another dunk, “... there’s no damn reason for me to stick around right?” he said once again looking at an empty spot on the bank. “Hey... where’d you go?” he voiced looking round for the wayward feline and starting when he found him right behind his head on the stone that was there. “Geez!” he barked backing away a little. “Don’t do that!” he breathed getting that creepy feeling again as the cats eyes delved beneath the clear waters to ogle him again. For a moment he thought the thing was going to jump in the pool with him as it balanced precariously on the edge of the stone then he noticed it was looking down into the depths of the water and followed its gaze. Curiously he inched forward, a wavering discoloration buried in the sand catching his eye. It was the most beautiful color, dark and mysterious as it danced within the ripples of light. A blue like he’d never seen before, not in the heavens or on Earth and he reached for it in fascination. When his fingers first encountered the smooth surface he felt as if he’d been shocked, as if he’d touched something forbidden but it was so warm and alluring he couldn’t help but touch it again. It was warm, much warmer than the waters of the pool and felt vibrant in his hand as he pulled it from the shifting sands. “A bottle?” he mused lifting the artifact above the surface of the pool. It was truly remarkable. A deep, cobalt blue that shimmered and sparkled in a way that spoke of so much more than mere sun beams dancing along its surface. The top quarter was smooth, a fluted, graceful neck that ended in a stopper that appeared to be made up of a single, magnificent sapphire so deep in its color it almost looked black. The body of it held a texture that felt so good against his palm he found he never really wanted to put the thing down again and the bottom was encrusted with golden lattice work and plate that made it look a little like a small wine bottle in its styling. Just looking at it Duo knew it would be worth more than he could even calculate considering it must have been very old to have been in this spring not to mention the gold and jewel but there was something else. Something … more… “Well... it is a bottle, right?” he grinned at the cat who was sitting on the stone anxiously kneading it with its front paws as it bobbed its head back and forth nervously. “Want to see what the ancients used to get bombed?” he chuckled reaching for the sapphire stopper and for the first time he heard the cats cry. “What is it?” he asked curiously. “You want some?” he chuckled. “Lets see if its even any good first, ok?” he said as he pulled the stopper from the neck and the spring suddenly exploded. Duo had no time to think or react other than to duck his head and shield the cat from the enormous spray as something erupted from beneath sending half the water in the pool into the air and splashing all around. When all had died down enough for him to raise his eyes again the first thing he did was check on the cat but it was gone. The second was to whirl around as he realized there was a twelve feet tall man wearing a vest and some damn gaudy pantaloons behind him! The solid gold belt that hung low around his thin hips and the multiple bracelets and necklaces, ear rings and even the golden brocade that dangled from his messy hair behind one ear all gave him the appearance of opulent wealth and power. Hell, the sheer size of the guy proved beyond the shadow of a doubt this dude was not human! Duo shook his head but he didn’t go away then he looked at the bottle in his hand and back up at the towering giant standing in the center of he pool and shook it again. He still didn’t go away and the motion had brought his sizable attention to Duo. The moment he saw him his gigantic face flushed and his eyes grew wide then just as suddenly as he had appeared he shrank down to Duo’s size and Duo… shook his head again. It still didn’t help and now he was standing over him looking down at him. No... leering at him with a lust in his eyes that set Duo’s skin to tingling just to look at it. For the first time he noticed just how gorgeous this guy really was. He wasn’t just beautiful, he was perfect in every single detail from the rich color of his thick hair right down to those sumptuous hips that showed above his belt and with the look in his eyes it was all Duo could to do recall that this person was a man. The fact that he was a male as well appeared to have absolutely no ill effect on the guy however, as Duo suddenly found himself in his arms being kissed more profoundly than he’d ever dreamt possible. The guy wasted no time scooping him up and depositing him on the beach as he plundered his mouth, his hands roaming the longhaired boy’s body so expertly, easily finding all the right places to drive him completely insane. It wasn’t until the other gently nudged his thighs apart that he suddenly snapped back to reality and pushed him away. “Stop!” he panted knowing he didn’t really mean what he was saying and having no clue as to why. The guy stood for a moment looking crestfallen and confused then advanced again pushing against the hand Duo straight armed into his chest. “Wait!” he ground out feeling his resistance fading fast. Who in the hell was this guy!?! “Stop it!” “I won’t!” the other growled pushing past his resistance and forcing himself atop him. Duo struggled but the more he touched him the less he felt the desire to resist. His mind swam with uncertain thoughts, a thousand questions that had no answers as long as he was at this person’s mercy and suddenly there was a new emotion as anger began to erupt in his chest. As good as it felt to have this guy touching him he’d be damned if he’d be lunch for some under sexed, horny ass Jinni! “STOP IT!” he screamed scrambling across the spring. He stopped when he realized the guy wasn’t following him and looked back to find him restrained by some sort of invisible shackles at the elbows, his eyes a fit of confusion, desire and pain as he strained to free himself and all Duo could do was stand there, gulp for air and stare at him. He tugged and pulled growing more and more frustrated by the minute until the cat suddenly appeared on the stone by his side. His presence served to instantly calm the blue eyed Jinni but the sadness, the loneliness that radiated from him and the utter and profound need that rose from his being like heat off the desert sands remained as he gazed at the silent feline for a long moment then collapsed to his knees in the shallow water. The bindings that had held him vanishing the moment he abandoned his quest to capture the stunned boy standing naked in the pool. “Who…who the hell’re you?” Duo rasped between panted breaths as he moved towards his clothes on the bank. The guy looked up then, confusion and pain lancing through his beatific features before his eyes once again shifted to the cat and all emotion save sallow ill contempt drained from his eyes. “I am Ala Hiiroalaadin Hahtohakartook Ishuyuysan Maladrinana Eckatol,” rolled out of his mouth in an accent that was as beautiful as it was ancient and Duo found it sent shivers down his spine just to hear the sound of it. “Ok, umm... Ala Hiiroaaa... whatever…” Duo said pulling his pants on over his wet body and feeling much better for it since the guy and the cat had been ogling him through out. “Exactly what are you?” he asked hoping for some logical explanation for what he’d just witnessed. “I am Jinn.” “Jinn,” Duo repeated suddenly going numb. The other nodded from where he remained on his knees and dropped his eyes to the waters surface. Duo looked to the cat as if it might answer some of his questions but it, unsurprisingly, just stared at him. “You mean like a genie?” “I do not know this word,” he replied. “A Genie. You know?” Duo rolled his eyes. “Like you live in that bottle until I uncork it and grant me three wishes? That kind of Genie?” “I am Jinn,” the other repeated. “Ok,” Duo sighed pulling his shirt over his still wet body. “Let’s try this again,” he sighed. “So ...what’s a Jinn? And what does it have to do with me?” “Jinn are... Jinn,” the other replied looking uncertain about Duo’s sanity. “We are spirits of the other plain,” he explained. “And you are my new master,” he stated simply. “Master,” Duo repeated dumbly. Master. The word rang through his mind. He was the master of this magical, most probably ancient, genie type, impossible gorgeous guy. He really was the most exquisite being he’d ever laid eyes on. “How old are you?” he asked curiously. “In what way?” the other asked confounding the longhaired boy once more. “Um... how about years?” Duo ventured reaching for his boots. “It is difficult to calculate,” the other told him. “Since I only age when outside the keep,” he explained. “But I think I would be about seventeen from the feel of my body.” Ok. Communication was going to be a challenge. “How about this,” he sighed pulling on his other boot. “What year were you born?” “In the year of the cat.” Duo rolled his eyes again and sighed. This was getting him nowhere. “Never mind,” he told him. “What’d you say your name was again?” “Ala Hiiroalaa…” “Hold it,” the longhaired boy sighed. “How about I just call you Hiiro?” he smiled though he hadn’t expected the suggestion to almost bring tears to the other boy’s eyes. “So what about the wishes?” Duo asked changing the subject. “What wishes?” Hiiro asked. “I don’t get wishes?” Duo snorted. Figured. “You may have anything you desire,” the other replied adding in a softly lilting tone that made Duo’s thighs twitch, “Anything.” “So, if I wanted to go home right now?” “I would take you.” Hn. “And I don’t have to wish it?” “No.” “Is there a limit to this windfall I’ve discovered?” Duo chuckled as his mind told him no way was any of this real. He had to be dreaming or ... something. Maybe there was opium in this spring. “Use me wisely and I will stay by your side,” Hiiro told him. “And if I use you unwisely?” Duo asked seriously interested in the answer to this one. “I will not,” was all he said. “What if I don’t want to use you at all?” Even the cat stood up on that one but the other boy’s mild shock faded quickly enough. “You have only to command and I will obey,” Hiiro told him bowing his head again respectfully. “Yeah?” Duo smiled standing in his soggy boots. “Get out of the water then,” he told him gasping softly in surprise when he suddenly materialized in front on him. Right in front of him. Like… one inch in front of him where he could smell that heady scent that had so completely penetrated his senses only a few minutes before. He backed away already feeling dizzy and had to put out a hand to keep Hiiro from advancing on him again. “Have a little more respect for personal space, ok?” he said and the other boy reluctantly withdrew. “Let me do something for you,” Hiiro all but begged suddenly. “Anything,” he said enthusiastically. “I can make you riches... sweet wine?… Fame. Isn’t there anything you desire?” he asked hopefully. “Right now,” Duo sighed sloshing toward the path that had led him there. “All I want is dry socks and hotel room with room service and a hot shower,” and instantly he found himself in a cozy room lit with softly glowing, red shaded lamps. His hair was dry and braided neatly, his socks were dry though his boots were no longer on his feet as were the rest of his clothes and Hiiro was laying on the double bed looking like a wet dream come to life in nothing but a red silk robe and a smile. Ahhh, damn. Food... he needed food. Where in the hell was the phone? “Where are we?” he asked turning his eyes from the decadent image of Hiiro on the bed to look for the phone. “RiYoudh,” was the softly purred reply. Damn! Ok... think! Stay on task! He was still in Arabia. Good. It’d be damn hard to explain how he got home so fast and why he’d abandoned his assignment without calling in first. “Listen,” he said pulling the phone out of the end table drawer where he’d had to trace the wire to find it. What it was doing in there he had no clue but room service was usually ... ah yes… zero. “Don’t do that anymore ok?” he told him awaiting the answer on the other end. “I’ll let you know if I want you to actually take action or anything alright?.. Yes? Hi... this is room...?” he looked to Hiiro who held up one finger on his left hand and two on his right. “…room twelve..?” Hiiro nodded smiling softly. Damn “Could you send up a couple of roast beef sandwiches and a bottle of …” as he spoke a bottle materialized before his eyes on the end table and he shot Hiiro a disapproving glare. “A gift,” the Jinn smiled. “Just the sandwiches,” Duo sighed. “Yeah, oh, and some more towels,” he added as an after thought before hanging up. “What’s this?” he asked picking up the amber colored bottle to examine. It bore no label or crest other than the image of a bores head imprinted into the wax seal on the cork. “Just a subtle stock I thought you’d enjoy,” Hiiro smiled. “Wine?” Duo mused removing the seal before he stopped and looked dumbly at the cork. A moment later the soft stopper wriggled with a life of its own and dropped from the mouth of the bottle into Duo’s waiting hand. “Thanks,” he grinned. This could be fun. “A glass?” he said holding out his fingers into which a fluted wine glass appeared. It looked to be hand blown and was covered in hand painted scrawlings of gold and silver. He raised a brow at his new servant. “From the table of King Louie the IV,” Hiiro smiled. “It’s beautiful,” Duo complimented pouring an ample amount which he then offered to his sultry companion with a smile and Hiiro looked up at him with such dark invitation as he took the cup from his hand it was all Duo could do not to jump on him right then and there and ravage him senseless but he hadn’t forgotten that kiss at the pool and how he’d lost all manor of reason when this guy touched him. Not to mention he was a guy after all. Notwithstanding that he was Jinn but that hardly made up for Duo’s sudden lack of reservation. He’d sure never wanted another human guy like that. Maybe it was a spell. Jinn were tricky little bastard’s right? He’d read about them before… a long... loooong time ago but he recalled that once you got past the western modification Jinn were actually believed to be real spirits and some of them... ok... most of them... had a reputation for being conniving little bastards. Apparently, they didn’t really take kindly to being bound to objects in the human world and forced into servitude. Go figure. So, why was this one being so damn... umm… compliant. He held out his hand and another, identical glass appeared which he also filled before sitting the bottle back on the end table and sinking into the over stuffed chair beside the little table near the heavily curtained window. “So,” he sighed tasting the drink. It was dry and tart, not too sweet but not bitter either and it bit at his tongue all the way down the back of his throat granting him a very pleasing experience indeed. He smiled and tilted the delicate glass toward Hiiro who mimicked the motion before slinking down onto the bed, one hand on the glass, the other laced into the back of his hair as he laid half on his stomach and drew his right leg up until it was as exposed as his right shoulder. Duo let his eyes travel along the crimson fabric where it contrasted so beautifully with Hiiro’s bronzed skin until his eyes were captured once again by the Jinn’s dark, sapphire gaze. Duo crossed his legs to hide his impending arousal and cleared his throat. “Where’s the bottle?” he asked casually. Something flashed through Hiiro’s eyes. Pain? Loneliness? … fear…then the cobalt blue bottle faded into existence on the end table beside the exquisite bottle of wine. Duo gazed at it for a long moment of thought then reached out and picked it up. He paused a moment when he saw Hiiro flinch then continued until he cradled it in his hand. It was truly remarkable in its simplistic beauty, much like Hiiro himself he mused. “What happens if I just smash it on the floor?” Duo asked conversationally sipping his wine. “It is an accursed thing,” the exotic boy replied softly averting his eyes from it. “It is not so easily destroyed,” he explained. “Hn,” Duo mused looking it over again. There was seal in the gold lattes work that encased the bottom quarter he hadn’t noticed before. The head of a lion along with the right paw which was raised to strike as the lion bared its teeth. All this was surrounded by a wreath of holly leaves and berries which made it resemble a very macabre Christmas seal. “Can it be destroyed?” he asked. “Yes,” Hiiro replied so softly he barely heard him. “What happens to you if that were to happen?” “I am bound to the bottle,” the dark haired boy told him. “Break the glass and my soul will shatter along with it,” he confessed sadly. “How can it be destroyed,” Duo asked refusing to look into the eyes of the boy when they whipped up to gape at him. “Tell me,” Duo insisted turning the beautiful glass this way and that in his hand. “It must be… cast into the flames of Karien where it was forged,” Hiiro told him. “And that’s the only way?” Duo asked and Hiiro nodded dejectedly and laid his head on the bed. “Is there anyone else alive right now that would know this information?” the longhaired boy went on almost chuckling as his companion shook his head without lifting it. “Good,” he breathed suddenly and Hiiro sprang back to life look at him expectantly. “Then I forbid you to ever reveal this to anyone but me,” he told him bringing a bright smile to the Jinn’s face just as a knock came at the door. Duo offered him a reassuring smile before setting the bottle down and going to get their food. The bell hop was courteous but stubborn as hell insisting on setting up the food and, of course, awaiting a generous tip before leaving them to their meal. Duo had done his best to get the kid, he had only been about thirteen, out of the room since Hiiro was still only half dressed and the boy was obviously as affected by him as Duo. Once they were alone Hiiro slinked, because Duo couldn’t think of the motion in any other sense, over to the table and curled up in the opposite chair not caring that his crimson robe had fallen open leaving his chest and legs exposed to the eye, the small rope tie around the waist the only thing holding it on and making it so that his entire hip area wasn’t blatantly revealed. Duo found himself hurrying through his meal in an effort to move things along. Damn it! Why’d he have to be a him!? Actually, he was caring less and less that he was a him every minute which was only an even better reason to get this meal over and done with. “What’s inside the bottle?” he asked through his dry throat. It didn’t really matter how much he drank. It was still dry and swollen shut as long had Hiiro sat there half naked nibbling, not eating but nibbling on his food. The question stopped his flirtatious behavior again however. “Nothing,” Hiiro replied. “Nothing?” Duo echoed. “You mean it’s just you when you’re in there?” he asked shocked by the very idea but Hiiro only nodded. “Does it have to be that way?” Duo asked. Hiiro looked up at him incomprehensively. “I mean can you take stuff in there with you if you want to?” “I… suppose,” Hiiro replied suspiciously. “If the stopper were left out,” he amended. “Only I can exist within the keep once it is sealed.” “Fine,” Duo sighed in relief retrieving the bottle. “Listen,” he told him pulling the sapphire stopper out and laying it on the table. “I really need to get some sleep,” he told him. “So why don’t you just set yourself up a cozy little niche in here and…” “What?!” Hiiro gasped cringing away. “But... why can’t I just share the bed?” “Look,” Duo sighed in exhaustion. “Just humor me, ok? I can’t sleep with you out here its… distracting,” he told him blushing softly which brought a soft smile to Hiiro’s lips. “You’ll be ok in there as long as the tops not on right? Just whip yourself up a bed and get cozy for awhile, ok?” “How’s this?” Hiiro smiled and Duo jerked back when he suddenly shrank down to the size of a small cat. Of course, the robe didn’t shrink with him leaving him bare assed naked and even at that size it was disturbing. “In,” Duo sighed averting his eyes. “But...” “In!” “Oh, alright!” the Jinn snapped instantly dematerializing into a cobalt wisp of smoke that was summarily sucked into the neck of the bottle. Duo took a deep breath and let the serenity fill him. Sweet solitude. And no gorgeous, blue eyed genies to mess with is mind. He took a moment to peer into the depths of the bottle. “You ok in there?” he asked seeing the tiny little Hiiro in the bottom with a tiny little bed which he was angrily jerking the sheets off of. “Fine,” he growled tossing his naked little body into the bed and jerking the covers over him as he curled up and fumed silently. “Good night then,” Duo chuckled sitting the bottle on the end table. He was just about to climb into his own bed when he heard a scratching at the door and went to investigate. When he opened it he was surprised to see the cat on the other side and watched silently as he pushed his way in and jumped up on the table while Duo shut the door. “Is this your master then?” the longhaired boy asked smiling as the cat licked at the rim of the bottle the suddenly it too changed into a gray/blue fog and disappeared into the depths of the Jinn’s keep. Duo paused to peer inside again but now it was dark
and he couldn’t see anything but the outline of the bed and the
cat’s silhouette jumping onto the foot to disappear into the
shadows. It made him feel a little better that Hiiro wouldn’t
be alone in there so he went and snuggled into his own bed happy to
finally be able to just lay back and rest his weary bones. It had
been a very weird trip so far which reminded him he’d have to
call work when he woke up but for now... blissful sleep. ~ * ~ tbc... |
