01-Jan-2001
I'll get the legal stuff out of the way. Gundam Wing property of Bandai, Sunrise and a host of other people I probably don't know about. Used for entertainment purposes and because the voices in my head tell me to write this stuff. Scary thought, eh? Not for profit.
Here's my offering for the Holiday Season, only a little late.
1x2, 4x3, 13x6x5 NC17...
Duo lay in bed and thought about the party that was held in the house earlier in that day. It had been a Christmas party, the traditional one that his Aunt Une held every year, for the people that worked for her. It wasa lovely party, most every one of her employees came, to see the tree and the house. The adults came to drink and gossip, the children to play. It was about the only time that he and his older brother, Zechs allowed out from under the critical eye of their guardian, Lady Une. The party was the only time that she ever acted warm and friendly to those that worked for her and lived with her. Duo and Zechs had come to live with Une at the death of their parents several years before. She was supposedly a relative, but Duo never remembered his parents ever mentioning her to him or Zechs before their death.
Lady Une was severe woman, who was reputed to have suffered a tragedy in her youth, that left her a bit odd. For most of the year, she was dour and strict, but around the winter holidays, she turned warm and loving, the perfect hostess and was kindness personified. Frankly, it creeped out Duo more then he really wanted to admit. Une he could stand to live with, if she was one way or the other, but this personality switching that occurred during the holidays was more then he could handle. Zechs had confessed the same thing to him one night.
But Une had been the perfect hostess tonight, even in the face of too many children that were hyped out on sugar and adults that had imbibed one eggnog too many,and those who were trying to be seen and to see everyone at this party. Her façade had cracked only when Duo's crazy Uncle G had shown up. She froze for a second when he handed her flowers and then smiled a lovely, false smile over gritted teeth and wished him a happy holiday. But her look to Duo spoke volumes, sometime in the future there would be one of those painful talks with her about this incident, when she was out of the sweetness and light mode. He hated those talks, because they always ended the same way, with her threatening to cut off his hair if he misbehaved again.
G wasn't really his uncle, just an old man that Duo had befriended, when he had first moved into this house. Sure he was a bit odd, puttering around in his old house, filled with bits of experiments and memories that he didn't want to leave, but compared to Une... G was a normal. Duo had spent many a night there when he didn't want to go home the cold sterility of the house that he was existing in. So when Une's gigantic holiday party was being held, he asked G to come, he knew that the old man was lonely.He also selfishly wanted someone there that he liked, not a bunch of people that were kissing up to him, to get to Une.
Duo was surprised at the present that he had gotten from his friend though. It wasn't until near the end of the party, that Uncle G gave him his gift. It was a little silly, he guessed to give a teenaged boy such an odd gift. It was a nutcracker. Not one of those silly modern ones made of metal and cold to look at, but a hand carved wooden one, of a boy with beautiful blue eyes and wings on his back. The boy wasn't an angel, even with the wings; the face was too hard and the eyes were too sad.And no angel dressed in a tank top and skimpy pants, like the ones that had been painted on this nutcracker. Duo stared at it for a second, feeling G's eyes on him and knowing that the man expected some sort of response from him. He wasn't going to tell him the truth, that he felt something strange pass through him when he opened that package, that was something that you don't tell someone, even if you consider the man your best friend.
"It's... lovely," Duo said finally, wondering why he felt so strange. He thought that the bloody thing was looking at him, studying him in some way. But it was just a toy, something that the old man had carved in his spare time and loneliness.
"Don't be too upset boy," Uncle G said kindly. "I know that most kids want something modern and spiffy. But I thought that you might like this."
"I... " Duo looked up and blinked a little, it felt like something had gotten into his eye. A bit of tinsel or fumes from too many people smoking. He would never admit that it was because the neighborhood crazy had taken the time to make him something by hand, just for him. No one had ever really bothered to do something like that for him in a long time. "I can't tell you what I am feeling." Duo finished lamely. He thought that such a stupid line would upset Uncle G, he saw the details and care that had been lavished on this piece, the piece was almost lifelike. He thought that he was looking at a real person, not a wooden puppet. As he looked up from studying his present, he was happy to see that Uncle G wasn't angry with him.
Uncle G just smiled at him, a broad grin that just lit up his face. The man usually wasn't this happy unless he was blowing something up in his lab, so Duo knew that something important had just happened, he just had to figure out what. "Duo... I understand, if you really can't explain things. I just hope that you like it."
At that Uncle G gave him a rough hug and whispered in his ear, "Good luck," before walking out the door.
Duo was sad to see him leave. G was about the only one here that could carry on an intelligent conversation, besides Zechs and he was no where to be found. The girls just wanted to flirt with him, which he had no interest in. The boys, which were more to his liking, would punch him out first and then tell Une that her nephew was not quite right in the sex department. Even in her Sugar Plum Fairy act that she was pulling right now, Une would not want to find out that her nephew was more of a fairy then the season called for. Duo worked hard to keep that secret from everyone.And he was very happy that no one had found out yet. Zechs came over to look at what Duo was staring at. He frowned when he saw what it was. "A nutcracker? The old man is really over the edge if he thought that someone would like something as weird as that for a gift in this day and age!"
Duo tightened his gripe on his present and turned away from Zechs, feeling oddly protective of his gift. It was silly, Zechs wasn't going to grab the thing and break it on him, no matter how silly he thought it was, Zechs was always considerate of other people'sfeelings. Zech shook his head, his long blonde hair swishing. "Duo, don't let Une see it. I think that she'd think that it was sillier then I do. And she might do something nasty to it, destroy it or something. I suggest that you hide it under the tree and then put it in your room later, you say that you picked it up after Christmas or that it wasn't a present. She might think that G wants to be a different kind of Uncle to you, not that you'd mind."
Duo looked up sharply. Zechs smiled a smug, Cheshire cat smile and walked away. Duo made a mental note to corner his older brother after all this was over and find out how much they had in common besides their killer taste in hair styles.
That was earlier this evening and Duo had done what Zechs had suggested, hidden his present under the tree, to be retrieved at a later time. And it did save on trying to explain to all those people where he had gotten it. He was having the odd feeling that now was the time that he wanted to rescue his present and take it to his room. He had just woken up suddenly and had the overwhelming urge to go downstairs and see what was happening there. He pulled on a pair of loose pants and walked out of the room. He jumped out of his skin when he met Zechs coming out of his room, also walking towards the stairs, similarly dressed or undressed, he couldn't make up his mind about that.
"You couldn't sleep, either?" Duo asked quietly. Une's room wasn't near their rooms, but they still didn't want to wake her up. She was under the impression that they both should stay in their room all night, unless there was some sort of emergency, like the house burning down or an invasion by aliens, until she called them in the morning. That was one of the main rules of the house and one that they followed, no matter what personality she was in at the moment. They were too afraid of her not to.
Zechs shrugged and managed to look sheepish, "I thought that I heard someone downstairs, so I should check it out."
Duo nodded, "I just had to get down there, strange, no da?"
"Stop the weird language crap that you picked up from that crazy coot and let's check downstairs. If we get caught by Une, we are deep in trouble." Zechs said.
Duo bowed and swept his hand out in a gesture that indicted that his big brother should go first. If there was trouble, the big bruiser brother should tackle it first, not his skinny, underfed baby brother. Duo just hoped that he was going to get a growth spurt soon, he never remembered Zechs ever being this short in high school.
Zechs nodded and moved out in front. It was the sensible thing to do. Duo was little and he should always protect his young brother, like their parents told him too, before they died.
They made their way down the stairs, glad that the party had been cleaned up by the caterers before they let. Duo shuddered to think what a mess they would be waking up to tomorrow if that hadn't gotten done. As Zechs snuck over to the kitchen to check things out there, Duo made his way into the librarywhere the tree had been set up. The decorator thought that it would look good in there this year. Duo peaked into the room, his feeling of uneasegrowing. It was too quiet. Usually the house made some sort of noise at night, but now... he could hear a pin drop. Or the odd shuffling noises and faint, piping giggles that he heard right now. Zechs came up behind him and laid a hand on his arm, scaring him out of his skin. Duo jumped and turned around to yell at Zechs, quietly so that Aunt Une didn't catch them, when he heard the clock in the library strike midnight. Which was odd, because he knew that it was later then that, the caterers hadn't left until after one.
Zechs frowned when he heard that noise too. He knew that the clock in the library usually wasn't working, Une refused to wind it up regularly, preferring that it didn't work at all it seemed. They exchanged glances and opened the door. Zechs and Duo slipped in through the smallest crack possible, not wanting to disturb whoever was making the noise in there. The stood in the doorway, letting their eyes get adjusted to the light in the room. As the clock finished chiming the twelfth stroke, a strange and scary thing happened! Duo and Zechs felt dizzy for a moment and then the Christmas tree in the library began to grow! The walls fell back andDuo felt that strange feeling again, the one that he got when he first looked at that odd nutcracker that Uncle G had given him. He clutched Zechs's arm and waited for the feeling to pass and looked for the source of the giggling and noise that he had heard. As he scanned the room, it wasn't hard to find. The source was the group of man sized mice that were gathering around the overlarge tree. Or had they shrunk to the size of mice to make it think that they were as tall as they were? But what was the weirdest thing was the fact that they could both understand what the rodents were saying!
"It's time! It's time!" one crowed, a small blonde mouse with strange eyebrows and a big sword.
"It's time! It's time!"another mouse echoed, fingering her throwing knives.
The other mice that were scattered about separated when another blonde mouse came forward. They all parted with excited murmurs of "Miss Relena! Miss Relena!"
Duo didn't know why, but something about that mouse struck him as wrong and just plain ... evil. The wrong part he didn't understand, he was in a room, with a bunch of mice that he could understand and he was about the size of the aforementioned mice. That was just plain wrong to begin with and Duo wondered if there hadn't been something slipped into the punch when no one was looking and this was just a strange dream. Especially since the mice all looked like the people that had been at the party earlier, all those poor sods that worked for Aunt Une. But he glanced over at Zechs, and Zechs was busy pinching his own arm and shaking his head, so this was real and not a dream. Duo began to get alarmed when all the mice started to follow the weird blonde Relena mouse over to the area that he had hid his present in. He had chosen one of the corners in the beginning but moved it on a whim, nearer to the two ornaments that Une had hung up, even though they didn't go with the theme of the tree this year. The decorator had started to protest, but one look at Une's face, he had shut up. Duo thought that the man should have known better, she always hung up those ornaments, no matter what the theme of the tree was.
It wasn't that the ornaments were ugly, they were just strange, but made of the finest materials and they were perfect. Une had been hanging them up for years, as long as Duo could remember. They were about the same size as the nutcracker that he had been given, but one was of a Chinese boy in traditional clothingwith a sword. The other was a clown that was wearing a half mask and had a very odd hair style, that covered the part of his face that wasn't covered with the mask. Une usually spent hours looking at them smiling strangelyand murmuring something too low for Duo or Zechs to understand. Duo had thought that Une was strange when he had meet her, but to find out that she enjoyed gloating at Christmas ornaments, he knew that she had gone around the bend even before he had found out about her personality problems.
Duo started to follow the mice, wanting to find out ifthey were after his present or if it was something else. Zechs shook his head and followed, he knew that there would be hell to pay if he let his little brother be hurt. They managed to get closer to the tree and the mice were still hadn't known that theywere there whenstranger things began to happen.
The nutcracker was still in under the other presents that he had hidden him under and most of the mice hadwere trying to clear all the stuff that he had piled on top, to camouflage him from Une's prying eyes. The only ones that weren't doing that was the Relena mouse, who was standing around with her hands clasped and muttering something about knowing secrets. The mouse with the knives was flinging them at the clown ornament, who was dodging them! Spinning and rolling, balancing on anything that didn't move fast enough, the clown was a sight to behold, poetry in motion. Duo was trying to figure out how this had happened when his attention was diverted by the mouse with the sword. She was dueling with the Chinese ornament,fighting back and forth across the floor, silently battling one another, intent on killing each other, Duo knew this somehow, he couldn't figure out what had given him this information, it was just something that he knew. Duo and Zechs looked at each other again and Duo was surprised to hear Zechs murmur, "I finally find a nice looking man that I might like to get to know and he's a Christmas ornament!"
Duo shrugged, may be that conversation wasn't going to be needed if Zechs was telling him that right now and whispered back, "We're the size of mice and you are checking out guys! Can we get our priorities straight? We are so screwed if this isn't a dream." He thought for a second. "Do you think that this happens every night, which is why Une doesn't want us to leave our rooms?" he asked thoughtfully.
Zechs stared at Duo, he knew that their guardian was a bit off, but he didn't think that she knew something like this was going on. But if she didn't... why would the woman gloat over those two ornaments? The ones seemed to be alive, now. He frowned when he saw Duo move forward, he didn't want him to get hurt by those two crazed cutlery carrying rodents, even though they seemed more interested in their chosen targets then anything else that was happening around them. But he knew why Duo wasgetting involved this strange drama that was unfolding in front of them, the mice had dug out the present that G had given him and the blonde, whiny mouse was making a beeline to the statue.
Duo ran forward, moved by some impulse that he had to protect his present from the Relena mouse. Her minions had managed to dig him out of the pile and Relena was moving into do something nasty to him. He had to save that sad eyed angel from that mouse!As Relena was stalking forward to do something to him, his Nutcracker was slowly retreating, trying to get away from her, even though he was boxed in by minion mice that were continuously cooing "Miss Relena! Miss Relena!"
Duo managed to get behind her and was desperately looking for something that would stop her from whatever she was trying to do to his nutcracker, he thought that she wanted to kiss him. It wasn't that he was feeling possessive about him, it was just that he knew that the other boy didn't want this mouse to touch him, never mind kiss him! It wasn't like he could whip out a gun and shoot either one of them, he didn't have that luxury. Hell he wasn't even wearing shoes to throw at the bitch! Duo was about to give up and tackle the crazed mouse bitch when he found something small and fairly heavy that he could hurl at her, which he did. He thought that it was an earring that someone lost at the party. Duo held his breath, hoping that his aim was true when he threw his weapon at the back of her head. He breathed a sigh of relief when he manage to hit her, making a meaty ‘thunk' sound when it hit the back of her head and she collapsed in a heap.
When that happened, several other things happened at once. The Chinese boy managed to kill off the mouse that he was fighting. The clown's attacker ran out of knives and disappeared. The other mice all ran away, faster then one could say ‘Cat!', leaving the object of their adoration in a heap on the floor. And Duo found himself under the intense scrutiny of the boy that he just saved. He didn't know when his present went from being an inanimate object to a human being and frankly he didn't care.
The others gathered around the two of them, staring at each other, in apparent wonder and then at Duo and Zechs. The clown's expression didn't change, but Duo saw a faint frown on the face of the fighter, as he stared at both Zechs and Duo.The frown deepened for a second and then bloomed into an all out scowl. Duo wondered what was going on when his hand was grabbed by the nutcracker boy and dragged over to one of the shelves in the library. Duo struggled a little, wondering what was going on, until he realized that he would have an easier time bending steel bars then trying to get out of the grip that he was being held in. He looked over his shoulder, trying to figure out what was happening with his brother, when he saw that Zechs was being herded behind him by the other two. As they got the shelf, Duo put hisfoot down and stopped suddenly, tugging at his captor's grip. He was not going to go another step further until he found out what was going on!
His captor turned back, with a faint frown on his face. Duo scowled back and said, "I just want an explanation. Information... a name. Mine's Duo and this is my brother Zechs. Maybe I should call you nut boy?"
At the sound of his voice, the others made hushing gestures, as if they were annoyed that Duo had said something. He was about to argue some more when he heard footsteps outside the library door.Nut boy, put his hand over Duo's mouth and glared at him, daring him to say something. Duo kept his mouth shut, he knew that tread, it was Une and he didn't want to get caught by her any more then the others did. She'd just step on him if he was this size. But an imp of mischief bit him and he started to lick the fingers that had been jammed into his mouth to keep him quiet. Nut Boy looked startled when he did this, but didn't remove his fingers, just giving him another intense stare as they waited for Une to go away. As the footsteps passed by the door without opening it, the entire group heaved asilent sigh of relief.
As Nut boy moved his fingers, reluctantly Duo wouldswear, the clown came forward, looking for something on the shelves. Even though this was a library, a lot of the space had been given over odd knick-knacks, rather then books.One of those knick-knacks was a model of a hot air balloon, that usually was in the center of the room, but because the tree had been put up and the things rearranged, had been moved here.Duo noted the since they were this size, they all would fit into the balloon, but he couldn't figure out why they would want that. But since he was the size of a mouse, had weird things happening to him all night, he would just go with the flow, as soon as he found out who all these people were. As the others were looking at the balloon, Duo managed to maneuver his captor over to the books and whispered in his ear, "Could you spell out your name?"
Nut boy frowned and then nodded, slowly pointing to the different letters in the titles of the books that surrounded them. Duo was happy to find out that Nut boy's name was actually Heero. The Chinese boy's name was Wufei and the clown was named Trowa, he was willing to go anywhere now, he had the information that he wanted. And it couldn't get any worse, leaving with these people, there was no where else to go but upin this crazy adventure.Besides he was working on the theory that this was just one weird dream and nothing really bad could happen to him, could it?
Heero scowled at him, dragging Duo over to the balloon and then helped him inside, swinging Duo over the basket and gently placing him on the floor. Duo was confused at the attention that Heero was paying to him. Trowa, thankfully was ignoringhim and testing to see if all the lines on the balloon were secured. Duo didn't want to be the one that pointed out the rest of them that the balloon was a model, therewas no way for them to get hot air in the blasted thing to get any lift and take off to whatever place those three thought they were going to reach in this thing. Zechs looked bemused by the whole event, like he also thought that this was a dream, and he would wake up in his bed and he could get back to sleep and pass this off as the result of too many sugar cookies before bed, even as he was being shoved into the balloon by Wufei. Wufei was scowling at anything and Duo was about to give into the impulse to speak again and point out that this balloon wasn't going anywhere, when he felt it shift. He grabbed onto the side of the basket and was amazed to see that the floor was getting further and further away. He wasn't even going to try and figure this one out. He started to get hopeful and curiousabout what was going to happen next when Une's foot steps were heard in the hallway. Everyone looked alarmed at that, including Heero, even though that was hard, since he hadn't changed his expression from the faint scowl that settled there when he saw that it was Duo that killed the Relena mouse. Duo wondered what was his problem, did he think that the finger licking was a bit too bold for someone whom he had just met?Or maybe he didn't swing that way?
Duo was dragged from his idle musing by the fact that Une had opened the door and was striding towards the gently lifting balloon. Duo didn't remember her opening the door, it was something that justhappened. He wondered if there was a chance that Une could overlook what was happening. That hope was dashed when she stared straight at them and let out an unearthly shriek that broke a few of the glasses that were in the room. After that first shriek though, she calmed down, anevil expression crossing her face. Duo started to panic as the balloon got closer to Une, especially since she was starting to chant something at them and gesturing.He looked at Zechs, who appeared to be as bewildered as he was about what was happening and closed his eyes, he was too much of a coward to see Une kill them. After a second he changed his mind, wanting his last sight to be Heero for some unknown reason. As he gazed at the other boy, he noticed that Heero was looking back at him for a second, before glancing away and staring at Une. The balloon got closer and closer to her and just as Duo thought that she was going to be able to snatch them out of the basket, the world shifted on him again and Une, the library and everything that wasn't Heero, melted away.
Duo was woken up by the fact at his feet were cold. Actually most of his body was freezing, since he wasn't really wearing anything more then a thin pair of pants. But parts of him felt warm, maybe because he was being held in Heero's arms? And Heero seemed bigger now, taller and more muscular. It was unfair that he grew and Duo still was small. He didn't think that he was ever going to get any bigger then his minuscule 5'4". But Heero was the right size to cuddle him now, so it wasn't that much of a bad thing. Since when did he like total strangers cuddling him? He was gay, but he wasn't easy! He knew nothing about his guy, it was probably a dream but why did it feel so good to be held by this person, even if they were in the middle of no where being snowed on?
Duo opened his eyes and smiled at Heero. Heero's expression didn't change, but his eyes relaxed when he saw that Duo was awake. "Is this better then the library?" Duo croaked. "Freezing to death, you think is better then anything that Une was going to do to us?"
Heero nodded and huggedDuo tightly. After a startled second, Duo returned the hug, borrowing his face into Heero's neck. He didn't know how long they had been like that when Duo heard Zechs say, "I hear bells. Sleigh bells."
Duo mumbled into Heero's neck, "We getting a ride?"
Heero nodded.
Duo pulled his head out from the shoulder he was nestled on and looked deeply into Heero's eyes. "Can any of you talk?" he asked curiously. He knew that they had to be silent in the library so that Une wouldn't catch them, but out here in the middle of the woods where they were the only ones around, why keep silent? The bells would tell anyone that they were here.
Heero nodded slowly, then shrugged, gesturing a little.
"You guys just can't talk now?" Duo theorized, trying to figure out what all the hand waving meant.
Heero nodded firmly at that statementand then leaned over to kiss Duo gently on the forehead.
Duo smiled at the gesture and was going to try and see if Heero could aim lower, when the he heard Zechs's voice behind him. He had forgotten about his brother, he had been mesmerized by Heero's company. He could stare into those blue eyes forever. Why was he getting this strange feeling that he should know these people?
"If you are quite through, maybe we can get someplace warm?" Zechs asked grumpily. Trowa had disappeared into the woods, while Duo and Heero were cuddling in the snow, which left him alone with the cute, but intense man with a sword.Wufei was staring at him oddly and Zechs was trying to figure out if he should be worried or flattered by his scrutiny. The guy was hot and he wouldn'r mind giving him a tumble or two, even if he had the habit of herding him around with his sword.
Trowa pulled up in a sleigh, pulled by eight tiny deer. Duo and Zechs stared at the sleigh, it looked comfortable, but where the hell had he gotten it? Had the silentclown hijacked the silly thing from a fat guy in a red suit? They didn't have time to wonder about it anymore, because Wufei was herding Zechs into the sleigh with the business end of his sword. WhileHeero had just tossed Duo in the sleigh, gently and climbed in after him. And then spent a lot of time bundling the two of them into the rugs and furs that were in there so that they were warm. Duo protested a little at Heero's high handedness, but Heero ignore him and Duo soon settled down, enjoying the warmth that the other boy was generating.
Zechs smiled at the way that his brotherwas being handled, it was so amusing to seeDuo bullied like that. But his smile faded when Wufei shoved him towards the sleigh. Zechs shook his head and suddenly turned around facing Wufei, "Will you stop that!"he exclaimed, "Or I won't keep you warm under those blankets!"
Wufei blushed at his statementand then bowed, making a sweeping gesture, telling him to go first. Zechs bowed back and sat in the sleigh. When Wufei went to climb in a sit between Heero and Zechs, Zechs grabbed around his waist and plopped him on his lap.
"I refused to be squished against the wall of this thing! You're light enough to stay on my lap. And then we might have some extra blankets to make sure that Trowa can bundle up. I don't know about either one of you, but I am freezing!" Zechs exclaimed, tucking blankets around Wufei and himself. He was not going to be cold a moment longer then he had to be.
Wufei perched on his lap, not willing relaxinto Zechs's embrace. Zechs, on his part, enjoyed slowly running his hand up and down Wufei's leg and teasing him, so that his back was not the only stiff thing on his body. He was attracted to the shorter man for some unknown reason, and he wanted to see how far he could get with him, without getting stabbed with the wrong sword.
Duo ignored the antics of his brother, willing just to sit quietly in Heero's embrace. Heero seemed happy also, just idly playing with Duo's hair,feeling his warm breath on the side of his neck. Duo was lulled to sleep almost by the motion of the sleigh and the rhythm of Heero's heartbeat.
Trowa ignored what was happening behind him. He wanted to get this journey over as soon as possible.He had a destination in mind, now that he was partially freed from the spell that he was under, he was going to home to the one that he loved. He glanced back once more, noting he bliss filled look on Heero's face.Duo had curled up against him and fallen asleep, to Heero's delight as he played with Duo's hair. It had been so long since the two of them had been together. Zechs was fooling around with Wufei, enjoying the way that he was squirming on his lap. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that Duo and Zechs really didn't seem to know them, what had Une done to them while they were living with her? They seemed to be so unaware of what was going on. Zechs and Duo didn't seem to recognize any of them! Trowa snuck another look behind him, Wufei was still scowling at Zechs, who had the silliest smile on his face while he was teasing with Wufei. Thankfully Wufei's sword was still in sight or Trowawould be worried about blood all over the place, leaving a trail for their enemy to follow. He was at peace though, driving through these snowy wood that he hadn't traveled through for a while, racing towards his paramour. His wait was over and he could become whole again!
Duo woke up, refreshed by the nap that he had taken. He as confused that the sleigh seemed to have went from in themiddle of the woods in a snow storm to a desert scene while he was asleep. The only reason that he woke up was because he was comfortably toasty now, rather then freezing. Duo stretched and shifted, smiling a little when he caught Heero staring at him.
"You think thatyou can untuck some of the furs, it's gotten warmer." Duo teased him.
Heero shook his head no. Duo opened his mouth to argue with him when Heerowaved at something off on the horizon.
"Are we almost there?" Duo asked curiously.
Heero nodded.
Duo frowned, noticing that while he had slept, Heero had gotten older! It wasn't bad, just odd. Not too old... he looked like he should be in college, closer to Zechs's age. He shifted, uncomfortable. If Heero was closer in age to his brother, he might be happier to be with him and leave Duo with either the psycho with the sword or the clown.
Heero noticed his frown and kissed Duo gently on the forehead. He could see the worry in Duo's eyes, he was wondering what was happening. Heero wondered also, what had been done to him so that his lover was so young? And why didn't Duo remember him? What had happened during the time that the three of them were under the spell of the evil sorcereress Une? He longed to ask these questions of Duo, but he couldn't, not until the final parts of the spell had dissolved. There was still a chance that they wouldn't break the spell, that they all would be spend more time apart. He was doomed to silence until he was sure that Une had been defeated.
Wufei sat still, trying not to give into the teasing that was undergoing and respond to Zechs's advances. That would be a disaster, there were still a few more things that had to be done before they could be free of the influence of that evil onna! And Zechs was not helping any... it was like he didn't remember what had caused this injustice in the first place. His innocent teasing wasn't helping him, while he scanned the area to make sure that they weren't being followed by either the mice that survived or Une. He was thankful that he saw their destination on the horizon. He should have known that Trowa would not let anything delay the reunion that he had dreamed of over the long years, which was to be reunited with his lover. Wufei also longed also to see one of the inhabitants of that silent, desertstronghold.
Duo lost track of time, he was just conscious of the wind in his hair and the feel of Heero below him. It was strange, he usually wasn't this forward with someone that he was attracted to, he was too afraid of rejection by the object of his desire. But since he had seen Heero, lying in that box, he had been willing to do a lot of things that he knew would get him in trouble. He was content to see what would happen, what was waiting for all of them in this strange castle that they were racing towards. He was astonished that the deer could run as fast over the sand as they had the snow. He just blinked his eyes once and they had arrived at their destination.
Duo was impressed with the fortress. He really couldn't call it anything else. It was too pretty to be simply called a fort. It looked like it was made out of spun sugar and frosting. A giant, pink fort that was resembleda wedding cake, but could also stand off an army. He thought that it wasn't any worse then any thing else that he had seen tonight; the chanting mice, ornaments coming aliveand being chased by Une for sneaking out of his room. In fact, it was the most normal thing that he had seen all night! Too big and weird to live in, but normal. Familiar in fact, Une had a cake that looked the same, served at every Christmas party that he had gone too.
Trowa pulled up to the front of the cake/fort. Duo felt a momentary twinge when he saw the hoard of huge guys out in front, lead by a giant that was at leastseven foot tall, without the fez on his head. Trowa and the rest of them weren'tbothered by these people, as Trowa leaped out of the driver's area and tumbled into the fort, intent on getting someplace very fast. Duo was just amazed that after all that time driving, with a wind blowing past him, Trowa's hair hadn't moved. And then he had all that energy to tumble out! Wufei jumped out of the sleigh, gesturing that Zechs should follow him. Duo frowned, he really didn't want to be separated from his brother. Zechs opened his mouth to argue with Wufei, but the pointy end of his sword underneath Zechs's nose convinced the tall blonde that he should follow Wufei quietly. It wasn't like either one of them could escape if they wanted, they were in the middle of a magical desert, being herded into a cake fort that had forty very large men guarding it. They had gone past the point of sanity and safety when they first got into the balloon and escaped from Une. Heero kissed Duo on the lips, chastely almost, before gesturing that Duo should follow his brother and Wufei inside. Duo nodded, confused about what was going on, but knowing that he should be silent for some reason.
As they entered the building, Duo noticed that Trowa was no where to be found, but there also wasn't anyplace that he could have gone. They were in a small anti-chamber, with only two doors, the one that they came in and the one in front of them. Zechsdodged Wufei's attempts to drive him through the second door and went over to Duo. Duo had to smile, Wufei reminded him of a small, but intense dog that was trying to drive a very big and very unruly sheep someplace that it did not want to go. Zechs hugged him tightly, almost afraid to let him go. He bent over and whispered in Duo's ear, "I feel that something will change if were separate. Something... "
"... that is both good and bad." Duo finished for him quietly. "That is something that we can't stop ... it was too late when we decided to break Une's rules and leave our rooms."
They looked at each other and simultaneously whispered, "Take care," beforeZechs allowed Wufei to escort him through the other door. Duo flinched when he heard it slam shut, his heart stopping for a second. He was all alone with Heero and he had no idea what was going to happen next!
Trowa jumped out of the sleigh, barely registering the fact that Rashid and the rest of the Manuacs were there to take care ofthe animals for him. He nodded his thanks, absently, concentrating more on the fact that he was going to see his paramour after all the time that they had been separated. He tumbled into the fort, almost crashing through the door in his haste. It had been too long, he needed to hear Quatre's voice, to see his love's gentle eyes. Their separation had been eternal, he could feel Quatre just out of reach, as he was resting in the dark, floating; waiting for the few chances that they had to break Une's spell over the lot of them.
He reached Quatre's room, and hesitated afraid for a millisecond that this was another trick by that evil witch, that he was going to be awaken by the light of her opening the box that she had packed him in and then have to watch the festivities that she conducted, parties that she threw to keep the spell that bound them intact. He opened the door and stopped, drinking in the sight of Quatre standing by the bed waiting for him.
"We are all here?" Quatre mouthed, the only phrase that he managed to get outbefore Trowa moved to his side, throwing away his mask.
Trowa nodded, before he bent down to kiss Quatre. Gently at first, but with increasing passion as he tasted his lover, a taste that he had dreamed about for too long. Nothing was going to stop him now, nothing at all, this was the chance that they had waitedalone for too long.
Quatre responded, twining his fingers through Trowa's hair and pulling his hips closer, grinding against Trowa in a frenzy. He had had waited and longed for him, while they had been parted, slowly loosing hope that Trowa would ever be free. But Trowa had managed to find his way back to him... he couldn't ask for anything else.
Trowa fumbled with the waist of Quatre's pants, feeling equally clumsy and needy hands trying to strip him of his clothes also. Trowa grabbed Quatre's shaking hands and smiled, they had time. There was no need for haste, for panic... they would be together forever, they had all the time in the world.
Quatre looked up, startled that Trowa had touched him like this, the he smiled the gentle smile that had melted Trowa's heart the first time that they had met. Naked, they started to slowly caress their partner, doing a mirroring their explorations of the other's body.
Quatre mewed when Trowa lightly touched his erection and his knees buckled with the surge of want/need that went through him. Trowa caught him as he fell and swung him onto the bed, burying himself in Quatre's arms. Quatre shifted and hugged his lover, enjoying the weight of him in his arms.It had been too long that he had woken up alone, in an empty bed. Trowa leaned on one hand and gently started to trace Quatre's cheeks and softness of his lips. As his finger slipped into his mouth and Quatre sucked on it, Trowa closed his eyes in pleasure, groaning softly. Quatre wrinkled his nose at him, enjoyingthe expressions that passed across Trowa's face. Love, passion, delight. All the things that had been missing when they were apart.
Trowa kissed Quatre, deepening it when their passion grew. It changed from the gentle longings that he had kept banked out of necessity to a fire that threatened to burn the place around them. With a growl Quatre flipped Trowa on his back and leaned down to take him into his mouth. Sucking gently on the tip, tasting the essence that was his other half, Quatre ignored the gentle tugs that Trowa had making and continued to worship him.A strangled gasp drew him from his labor of love and Trowa dragged him up the length of his long, lean body, to taste himself on Quatre's lips.
Quatre smiled with delight, his silent lover had never been handicapped by this spell, they knew each other too well. It was the separation that was hideous. Trowa was ready, he needed to be joinedwith him. Quatre retrieved the cream that he had hidden and started to carefully prepare him, slowly stretching him and teasing Trowaby taking him to the edge of his orgasm and then stopping what he was doing. He ached himself and felt that he was going to burst, but his reward was the steady gasps and pitiful moans that he wrung from Trowa.At last he could wait no longer and he slowly entered him, kissing Trowa deeply as he filled him.
Trowa gasped into Quatre's mouth, after the eternity that he had been teased by Quatre. The gentleness that he showed in joining with him, was often proceeded by the most inventive torture that he could imagine. But it was a sweet torture that continued with the thrill that he felt every time Quatre hit that special spot deep inside of him. It was heavenly and he didn't want it to end, even as the pressure built up between the two of them and they exploded together, rushing out into the universe as one, having every fiber of their being join together and bind them closer then they could imagine.
AsQuatre collapsed into him, Trowa eased him down gently, cuddling his shivering body and kissing any part of him that he could find.As Quatre lay in his arms,his heart, his soul,Trowa just hoped that he could this way forever, even if they couldn't break the spell that bound them.
Quatre stirred and looked up, his eyes worried. He kissed Trowa and mouthed, "So now it begins."
Trowa kissed him back,mouthing "And hopefully it ends."
Quatre smiled, a lovely and heartbroken one, "We are so close, after so long, it can't be real."
"But little one, my heart, true love always triumphs in the end." Trowa comforted him.
As they went through those strange doors, Zechs had a feeling that they had crossed something that was powerful and deadly.Was that thing his Aunt Une, and if it was... why were all these people afraid of her? She was a powerful business woman, but he felt that something as mundane as that wouldn't get these people upset, they lived in a fort that looked like a cake! Nothing mundane about that, unless that's why the mice were involved and they were going to eat the fort? He shook his head, he had to many questions and no answers, and he would worry about this when he knew what to worry about.
Zechs looked up, startled by the sudden smell of roses, he would havesworn that he was in a room, just a second ago, but now he was in a garden. A lush, green garden that shouldn't survive in the desert, unless this place was one its own private spring, but then why waste water on flowers? He noticed that Wufei had also stopped poking him with his sword and was running to another man that was in the garden. Somehow he wasn't surprised that Wufei dropped his sword and practically launched himself into the man's arms, kissing him for all he was worth. Zechs stared, he knew that it was rude, but they looked so good together, Wufei's lithe darkness, complimenting the ginger-haired man's solid, pale musculature. They really looked right with one another, so why did the little psycho bring him here? He could have stayed with his brother and not watch the two of them make out in front of him! It was making him horny, but also touching something deep inside himself that had nothing to do with his libido. After a while, Wufei stopped kissing the other man long enough to half lead him/half drag him over to where Zechs was standing. Zechs stared, the man was handsome. He had none of the prettiness that Heero and Wufei possessed,his was a mature beauty, tinged with sadness. And someone that Zechs wanted to get to know so much better. He was grateful that the other man wasn't wearing much in the way of clothing, all the more flesh exposed for him to ogle.
Zechs was startled by these feelings, he was attracted to Wufei, but the man that was in front of him also stirred something in him. He felt that he should know him. But neither one would be interested in him, they had each other. That was obvious from the way that the two of them had acted. He thought that he might as well find a corner to hide in while they got reacquainted with one another.But if that was whatwas going on, why did Wufei bring him here? Revenge for all the teasing that Zechs had done to him earlier? He was still trying to figure out what was going on, when he felta gentle touch on his lips, the other man had started to stroke his face with a rose bud. Zechs blinked, where the hell had that come form? And how did he get so close, he had been watching him the entire time, ogling his muscular chest and flat stomach.
Wufei stood up on his tiptoes, caressing the other man's ear with his tongue and smiling at Zechs.The rose was sending little shivers down his spine and he knew that he was sportingthe most enormous hard on that he had in his life! He adored boys, but older men sent a thrill through him that couldn't be matched. And now he was being tempted by the best of both worlds! But something wasn't right, if they had each other... why did they want him?
He stopped thinking, hell he stopped caring when the rose was replaced by the other man's lips. He kissed divinely,not too hard or too wishy-washy. Just because he looked like he was a delicate piece of statuary, didn't mean that he was as fragile as his little brother. And this man seemed to sense it! Zechs wondered where Wufei had disappeared to, one moment he was there and the next... he was licking his way up Zechs spine, causing him to moan into Rose man's mouth. He heard both of them chuckle at his reaction. Zechs pulled away, hurt that they thought that this was amusing
.
"You... you people, I am not here as a toy, for your amusement. I just want to tell you that I was forced to come here by your little psychotic playmate." Zechs started to rant. "I just want to know what is going on!"
The Rose man looked startled at his ravings and then sad. Zechs shook his head and frowned at him, his anger gone. "Am I supposed to know you?" he asked, taking a stab in the dark. They both acted like they knew him, now that Wufei put down his sword and stopped acting like an idiot.
The man nodded.
Zechs smiled and, grinned at him, "I know you really, really well, don't I? The both of you, as in biblically."
Wufei and the Rose man nodded, frantically, pleased that he had figured it out. As Wufei stood on his tip toes to give Zechs a kiss, Zechs stepped back, not letting Wufei kiss him, almost laughing at the outraged look on his face.
"No further until I get a name for him. It's really unfair, I know yours, you both know mine, but I only can call him Rose man."
Rose man smiled and slowly started to spell out the name ‘Treize' on Zechs's stomach. Zechs shivered at his touch and then smiled slowly, "So Treize, Wufei, why don't we finish what we started. I think that you guys wouldn't have hit on me unless it was important."
They nodded again and Treize tipped Zechs's head down to give him a kiss. Zechs moaned as Treize sparred with his tongue, playing with him. Wufei wasn't idle, his nimble hands had managed to strip the clothes off the three of them before Zechs's noticed that his pants were gone. He moaned again, gasping when Wufei started to make tiny, little nips on his stomach and thighs, the pain inflaming his desire. He grabbed atTreize, rubbing against him, wanting nothing more then to feel skin against skin. He had no idea about the logistics involved in this relationship, but he was will to do anything to keep up these sensations.
Wufei sighed as he started to taste Zechs, nibbling at his skin, knowing that it would inflame him more then anything else. Treize he licked gently, knowing that the older man did not enjoy pain. He tasted the two of them, alternating between them until, they all were shaking with desire. Zechs and Treize kissed frantically, until their legs gave out and the three of them were on the ground, the smell of musk starting to overwhelm the roses there.
Wufei crawled over to Zechs kissing his mouth while Treize worked down his body. Zechs mewled, writhing mindlessly. Wufei could tell that he was on the edge, it hadn't taken much in the past to send his blonde lover into a frenzy.Wufeistopped kissing Zechs and leaned over to kiss Treize, feeling Zechs run his hands over any part that he could touch. Wufei moaned into Treize's mouth enjoying the touch of both his lovers. He had missed this, trapped in a form that could neithertalk nor feel.
Treize smiled at his lovers, he had missed them both so. And he didn't even have the comfort that the two of them were together. But as much as he wanted to draw out this encounter, time was of the essence, they didn't have too long before Une would trace them to this place and try to stop what was happening. He leaned over and grabbed a bottle of oil that was in this place, the favorite place that they had when they made love to each other, under the sky and surrounded by roses. He poured a little on his fingers and gently started to trace the split in Zechs's buttocks to his secret opening. He was reward with a gasp and Zechs starting to wiggle on his finger, even though it was barely in him. Zechs was so responsive, it was a miracle that he didn't spend himself just thinking about sex.Wufei looked down and laughed silently, Zechs looked wonderful. He had comforted himself with his memories of their lovemaking, during that exile. It was priceless to be able to feel it again. As he leaned overto kiss Zechs, he gasped feeling Treize starting to stretch him also.When he felt that he was ready, Wufei tackled Zechs and rolled so that he was on top of him. Zechs looked startled and then smiled, guiding himself into Wufei, slowly sinking into his heat. Zechs was kissing Wufei deeply, fighting not to move so that he could get used to the feel of him inside, when he felt Treize searching for his opening, he thrust deeper into Wufei, surprised at the deep groan the smaller man made, thrusting back into him, urging him to go deeper.
Treize stopped, enthralled by the sight of Zechs and Wufei together. That was the sight that had brought about this problem.He had entered his gardens late at night and saw the two of them together and was drawn by the passion and tenderness that they showed each other. Nowords were necessary, the welcomed him and showed him that night how much love their hearts could hold. He felt cherished and adored when the morning's light had come, something that he knew that he would never get with the sorcereress Une. It was then that he regretfully turned down her suit... he would never have dreamed that she would have reacted the way that she did.
He shook of his memories and licked a line down Zechs back, to the base of his spine. Zechs choked out a scream and shuddered, overcome with lust by that simple move. Treize put his hands on Zechs hip to steady himself and then started to enter him. Zechs held still, not wanting to miss any of the sensations that he was feeling. As Treize began to thrust into him, he fumbled for a few strokes and then the three of them found their rhythm, moving as one person. Treize and Zechs both fumbled for Wufei's erection, encircling it with their hands and enjoying the moans and silent screams that they were wringing from Wufei.
Wuifei was in heaven, Zechd filling him and Treize on top of him also. The weight was comforting and he almost came when they both started to stroke his cock. He could couldn'tstop touching the two of them stroking any part that he could find, whether it belonged to Treize or Zechs. He was close and the two of them were driving him over the edge, it was too soon... but he knew if he drew this out, they might neverbe able to do this again. He arched his back, screaming his lung out as he came, trying to drive both Zechs and Treize deeper into him, he wanted this so much. As he covered their hands and his own stomach with fluid he could feel Zechs coming also, filling him with his seed, Treize collapsed a second after Zechs had, rolling gently to the side so that he was still in Zechs, but his wasn't crushing Wufei.
Zechs laid panting between the two of them, drained by the incredible sex that he just had. So jumping into bed, sort of, with two guys that he just meet, that claimed to know him wasn't the brightest thing that he had done, but... it had been wonderful, earthshattering and mindblowing all at once. And it hadn't been just sex, not with the cuddles and caresses that the two of them were giving him. He sighed, laying his head on Wufei's shoulder and asked the question that he couldn't resist, "So will you still respect me in the morning?"
The silent laughter thatthis question caused, gave Zechs the answer. They would. Now he just had to figure out why this was important. And worry about his baby brother with that odd Heero person. He knew that they probably going to be going at it like a pair of bunnies, he just hoped that Heero realized that Duo wasa bit new to all this, he doubted that Duo had gone much beyond kissing. But Treize starting to suck on the back of his neck, made all thoughts go out of his head as he grinned mischievously at Wufei and whispered to him, "Turn about is fair play, I think that Treize should be the bottom this time."
Wufei grinned back and Zechs rolled over to trap the older man beneath him with kisses, trying not to laugh at the mock outrage that Treize showed at his actions that stopped as soon as Wufei and Zechs started to make love to him again.
Heero gently tipped Duo's chin back, kissing him on the lips, trying to distract him while Wufei and Zechs walked outthe other door. He would have to be an idiot not to see the fear in the smaller boy's eyes. Fear of the unknown. Fear of where his brother was being taken to, separating them and confusion about everything that had happened to him. Une had done something to his lover, she had clouded his mind so that he was unable to remember him. Heero silently cursed the woman, she had ruined so many lives in her fury that she had, being rejected by the one that she had chosen. Heero waited for the door to shut behind them, before breaking off his kiss and swinging Duo into his arms.
Duo squirmed, wanting to be put down. What was wrong with Heero that he thought that he had to carry Duo everywhere? Or was that his method to ensure that Duo went where he wanted him to go? Duo glared at Heero, wondering why he was dragging him outside again. Then he was astonished that the door that they just came through, led to another room, not the outdoors, like he thought. Duo squirmed some more, wanting answers before they went any further. What the hell was going on? Why was there a room now, instead of the front door?Andit was a room that was making him very nervous. All that was in here was a giant bed, big enough foran orgy! It was comfortable looking too, beckoningto him, urging Duo to curl up in the middle of its fluffy softness and sleep. Duo figure that sleep was not what Heero was interested in,not with the way that he had been hugging and kissing him all this trip. Duo felt the first tendrils of panic settle into his system when he realized that there was no way out of this room!
Heero put Duo down, not wanting to hurt him by restraining him when he wanted to get away. He was worried, this was not the lover that he remembered. That Duo was bold, he had aggressively and shamelessly chased him all over this palace before Heero allowed himself to be caught. In this incarnation, the only familiar thing about Duo was his hair. He was shy, gentle and above all young! Heero felt like he was molesting a child. Was this something that Une did to him, so that they would not break the spell?
Duo sighed, he had felt the puzzled looks that Heero had been giving him. Something was wrong and it bothered Heero. Beside all the weirdness that was going on, the mice and the ornaments and the fact that Heero had been a carved puppet up until a short while ago. Had they known each other... was that the strange feeling that he had gotten in during that party when G handed him Heero? Or was it something else?
Heero put aside his worries. This was Duo and no matter how confused he was now, he had been his lover, his soul mate during the time that they had been together, before.There had been nothing that could have touched them or destroyed the love that they had felt for one another. Nothing would come between them now, he would help end the spell that had kept them apart for more years then he cared to remember.
Heero moved silently to Duo, standing behind him, so that he could feel the heat that was radiating off his body. Heero was dizzy for a second, drunk on the scent of Duo. He moved fractionally and molded his body to Duo's, trying to merge into his skin. Duo started and turned around, fear in his eyes. Heero tried to smile, but couldn't. This was his life, his love and the man, no the boy, had no idea who he was.Une had worked her magic well!
He tilted Duo's head back and kissed him again. He tried to convey all the tenderness and love that he felt into that kiss, so that he could reassure Duo, that things would be fine.Duo struggled a little, then melted into those kisses. He was nervous, but willing to trust him.Heero could sense that as he felt his heart beating franticly against his chest, the only sign that he was upset.
Duo moaned and kissed Heero back, his fears not exactly assured, but he was willing to ignore them for a while under the influence of those mind numbing kisses. Heero was a very talented kisser. Heero was willing to leave it just kisses, until he felt the build up of power.Trowa and Quatrehad found each other and were together.He felt that Wufei, Treize and Zechs were together also. All of them had started to wear away atthe spell that was binding them. It was time to do his part with Duo.
Heero maneuvered Duo so that they were closer to the bed. Duo looked up at him, his eyes lidded and glazed, reflecting the desire that Heero felt for him. He didn't fight when Heeropushed him back, so that he landed on the bed, floating in clouds it seemed. Heero stripped off his top and crawled over to Duo, praying that he didn't frighten him by moving too fast. Duo watch curiously, then reached out carefully to touch him.Heero gasped as Duo lightly stroked his chest, tracing his collarbone down to his sternum. He felt as if his skin was on fire... it had been too long. He held his breathe as Duo ghosted his hand over his stomach muscles before reaching up to stroke his cheek. He knew that Duo had noticed his erection, but had shied away from it, was he still frightened? Or did he want to drag out theirencounter?
Duo was floating, that was the only explanation that he had. The bed was so soft and Heero was looming over him, letting him touch him. Duo felt a small shock almost as he trace the muscles and bones that made up that marvelous chest. He was warm and strong. Duofelt the breath catch in his lungs as Heero leaned over him again and started kissing him, slowly running a hand over his chest. Duo shivered and squeaked when he brushed up against one of his nipples. The roughness of the calloused fingertips felt wonderful. He hadn't felt anything like that before and suddenly all the blood was rushing to his groin and he felt dizzy again. He groaned into Heero's mouth and he felt electricity surging through his body from where Heero was touching him, but became confused when Heero pulled back and studied his face intently.
Heero reassured himself that Duo was all right. The groan sounded frightened, but then he realized, looking into Duo's eyes that he was very inexperienced and he was anxious about what was happening, even as he was feeling these sensations for the first time. He should have known that this was all knew for him, Duo was so young, it wasn't like there had been a lot of opportunities for him! And he didn't have the memories of their being together. So he had the duelproblem of trying to seduce his lover that didn't remember him and on top of that, Duo was very inexperienced in the ways of love,and he couldn'treassure him that things were going to be fine, that this was meant to happen.
"Heero?" Duo asked huskily. Heero ignored his worries and returned to the pleasurable pass time of kissing Duo, it would work out... how couldn't it? He slowly shifted his body, so that he was kneeling aside Duo, straddling his hips. Duo moaned at the pressure that was on his middle, thrusting blindly, trying to relieve the ache with some friction. Heero quickly stripped the pants off of Duo, his breath catching in histhroat. His lover was beautiful, a work of art that he did not deserve, Duo shuddered when he felt his pants being taken off, he was starting to get worried again. "Heero?" he repeated nervously.
Heero started kissing Duo again, pinning his hands above his head, sucking the breath out of his lungs, trying to devour every inch of him. Duo shuddered and squirmed, fearful when his erection bushed against Heero's, he felt the heat of the other's body, he swore that those shorts should melt off his body with the heat that he was generating.Then they did, as Duo felt skin against skin, as Heero rocked his against his body.It was wonderful, intoxicating and he didn't want it to stop.
"Heero... I... I" Duo started, frightened again. He knew where this was leading and he didn't want that. Not yet... not now! he was scared and confused and had no idea where this place was or if he could ever go home again. To have sex with Heero now seemed like it would be a commitment that he didn't know if he could make or if he wanted to make. He needed time to think, he wanted time to think! And Heero wasn't giving him that time with the things that he was doing.
Heero lazily trailed his tongue overDuo's taut stomach. It quivered at his touch and Duo's soft gasp inflamedHeero's senses.He could feel Duo waiting breathlessly to see where this was going. He blew softly across the moisture, enjoying the shiver that hecaused, before taking Duo's shaftinto his mouth in one swift gulp. He relaxed his throat and took Duo deep, sucking him deep, keeping up the constant pressure, attempting to suck all of Duo down his throat until Duo screamed and flooded his throat with his seed. As Duo rode the crest of his orgasm, Heero suddenly plunged his fingers into his body, stretching him with slick fingers. Duo was still gasping for the breath that he screamed out, hoarsely panting, when Heero reared up and plunged into his body, wrapping his legs around his waist, going as deep as he could.
Duo left the comforting, mindless fog of his orgasm when he felt the gentle nudging of Heero's cock at his entrance. Before he could put a voice to eitherconsent or protest, Heero plunged into his body. It felt like he was being split if two, the pleasure that he felt was banished instantly by the pain. Duo whimpered, his breathe stolen from him again, unable to make a louder protest then the faint sounds that escaped him. He sobbed as Heero shifted and started to thrust into his body, ignoring the feeble sounds that Duo was making, protesting what was happening to him.
Heero was in paradise. He was joined again with his lover, his soul mate. Duo was so warm, so tight it was unbelievable. He couldn't believe that he had lived without this for so long. He leaned over and kissed Duo, ignoring the protests that he was making, it would feel good for him too and then he would understand everything soon.
Duo stopped protesting when he saw that they were being ignored, Heero's hands around his wrists pinned him to the bed, he was trapped and all he could hope for was that it was over soon.His kisses no longer had the bemusing qualities that they enticed him with earlier and all he wanted was for it to be over... for the pain to end. For him to be free of Heero being in him and the pain that he caused. He laid still and sighed in relief when Heero grunted and thrust deeply for the last time. When he bigger man collapsed on top of him, Duo bit back a cry of pain.
Heero looked down at his love, worried about the pain that he saw in those violet depths. This was supposed to have been wonderful and special, their first time together all over again. But Duo acted like a beatenpuppy, cringing away from him. Heero reached up gently, ignoring the flinch that Duo made and traced the tears that had fallen from Duo's eyes. He wanted to say something, anything to comfort him but found that he was as silent as before. Nothing that he had done was able to break the spell that Une had woven around them. He had failed to free Duo.
Heero turned when the door burst opened and the rest of the bespelled ones poured into he room. Duo didn't move, he sat frozen on the bed, not bothering to acknowledge the newcomers or Heero.They had been sitting there for a while, lost in misery.
Zechs took in the bruises on Duo's body and wrists and tackled Heero, knocking him to the floor, shouting "You bastard! I should kill you for what you did! Why... how could you hurt him?"
Heero looked at Zechs with empty eyes, unable to explain what he had done to Duo. He had forced the one that had made the endless years bearable with the promise that they would be reunited again. He had found him and then promptly hurt him. He couldn't even say that it had ended happily, the spell was still in effect.
Quatre went over to cover Duo up, there was no need to expose him to the rest of them. He felt the slight shivers that shook Duo's frame and realized that the boy was in shock.
Wufei and Treize managed to drag Zechs off of Heero when they all heard a cruel laughter breaking the silence that surrounded this place.
"It goes on still, doesn't it?" Une asked mockingly as she stepped into the room out of thin air. "Heero... you never learn do you?"
Heero looked at her dully, not bothering to answer.
She laughed again, the sound cutting across his nerves like the rasp of a sword of steel. "I forgot... you can not speak, you can not explain to this lovely child that it was a mistake... that you still love him... that you are sorry."
Heero bowed his head, acknowledging the truth in her statement. He had hurt Duo and there was nothing that he could do to fix that. Not when he cringed at his touch and just sat there, shivering in fear and shock.
"But the you never had the golden tongue that I needed to silence, Treize did." Une continued, her voice softening on Treize's name, before she snarled, seeing that he was with his lovers. The men that he preferred to her! That unnatural pair!The ones that broke her heart and dashed her hopes!
"Aunt Une," Zechs cried out, confused at her anger. "What is going on here?"
Une snarled and walked up to Zechs and slapped him. "I am not your Aunt Une, you fool! That boy on the bed isn't your brother! Haven't you figured it out by now! Or did they thoroughly fuck your brains out"
Zechs rocked with the blow, shocked at her language and not caring about the pain, he wanted to now what was going on! As she reached over to hit him again, she was surprised that Trowa has grabbed her arm to stop her.
She glared at him, furious at his interference."You... you should know by now, not to get between me and what I want. Haven't you learned, all the years that I kept you in that box, apprentice? Do not interfere with my pleasures.I know that you own unnatural inclinations make you want to side with Treize and his brother, but... you have tasted the honey of heaven... do you want to go back to the bitterness that you choked on while I had you trapped? You know thatthe minor magics you control will never match my power."
"Then explain to me... to us... what is going on!" Zechs demanded as he watched Duo staring at them with dulled eyes. He thought that Duo watched them because they were the only ones that were making noise. There was neither interest nor life behind those dull eyes. Heero's actions had done something terrible to him.
"It was long ago, but that's how it always starts, these little stories." Une snarled. "I was secure in my power and I wanted a consort. A man that would match me in wit and wealth, and be desired by all that see him with me. I had the time and the inclination, so I went hunting for a husband.Many a fool wanted me, for my power, my wealth and my beauty.But I wanted none of them... I had set my heart on man that had wit, and would not be afraid of me. I wanted Treize Khushrenada.And so I went a courting, begging for his favor, like I was some peasant. But I wanted him, he would be a good match, so I swallowed my pride and went to him. On the same day that I arrived with my apprentice,strangers from theEast appeared. A trio of warriors that were traveling.
Like a fool I thought that they were no threat to me. Duo and Heero fell madly in lust the first time that they saw each other.Their antics were... amusing. And it was obvious that the other two were involved, I had never dreamed that they would pervert the one that I wanted."Une paused and then continued in an icy voice,"I thought that he was a gentleman, that he was shy. I had no idea that the two of you had seduced him into your perverted bed!
Une cast a sour glance on all those that were there, watching her. They knew this story, most of them did, at least.Duo continued to stare blindly at her, while Zechs had stunned look on his face. He had no idea if this was true or if this was just something out of a dream.
"And how did you keep up the pretense, that you were our Aunt?" Zechs asked dazedly.
Une smiled coldly, "Do you remember your parents? Anything that we did together? Any time outside all those parties? Anything at all?"
Zechs thought, disparately trying to remember something, anything about his life. And he couldn't... not one blasted thing! Une studied his face, gleefully noting the desperation that she saw there.
"You and he could move, act and were alive, but remembered nothing!" She made a sweeping gesture. "They could remember, they knew what had happened and could not tell you! Trapped as they were either in this place or as toys. The only threat to me was Heero. I had lost him, he had been spirited away by a rival that I couldn't over power, during one of the numerous challenges that I have faced. I had thought that he was hiding,waiting for me to act, but he had been working on Duo all this time, he gave up his power so I couldn't sense him!" Une cried in frustration.
"G," Zechs breathed, "no wonder you were so angry that he knew Duo, that he came to the party."
"All I had to do was wait! Treize was weakening, even with the support of that whore of a shaman!" Une ranted, "I made my mistake there, I didn't realize that Quatre would be able to stand to be separated for so long from Trowa!They were joined, one heart! One soul! And they willingly sacrificed each other, for your happiness!"
Trowa and Quatre looked at each other and smiled, what she thought to be their weakness was there strength.And they couldn't explain it to her, but it annoyed her and frustrated her plans,so that was enough for them.
"You selfish, sorry bitch." Duo whispered tonelessly. "You couldn't have what you wanted, so you ruined it for everyone! What was so terrible, that Treize had chosen someone else?"
Heero started when he heard Duo and was sad that he sounded so lifeless. Treize stepped forward to stand near him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Une narrowed her eyes and started to gather powerfrom the air around her. Duo ignored what was happening as he continued to stare at her.
"You question me!" she hissed.
Duo looked up at her, suddenly angry. He evidently had gotten over his shock. "You couldn't have him and made sure that he was separated from everyone that he loved. You left Quatre here to tempt him... didn't you? When they got too lonely or too sad, you wanted them to turn to each other, huh? The same with me and Zechs... you wanted to be able to cry foul if we fell, if one of us gave into the loneliness and keep things the way they were. You in control of us all... "
Duo's voice trailed off and he got up to stand next to Heero, shrugging off Treize's hand. Heero winced when he saw the pain that Duo was in, he had hurt him with his impatience and his ignorance. He wouldn't look at Heero though, he was staring furiously at Une, his voice on the edge of screaming it was so loud and broken.
"You didn't want a husband or a lover, you wanted a fucking lap dog! Next time you get the itch for companionship, buy one! What kind of man would let you control him, the way that you wanted to? My brother would have left you after a month of that treatment. I know that I would have!"
Une screamed her frustration and left loose a bolt of power. Heero tackled Duo to get him out of the way, both of them landing heavily on the floor. Heero hissing at the burns that he felt across his back. Duo leaned his forehead against Heero, silent for a moment, then he wiggled out from underneath him.
"He... he was so lonely and so scared that we would be like forever that he ruined it for himself and the rest, but I just have one question before this starts all over again... how long? How long has this been going on?"
Une laughed, "Decades, centuries... a millennium? Does it matter? You are trapped! Heero... "
"Heero blew it in bed with me, but you always thought that it was just sex, didn't you?" Duo asked furiously. "If he hadn't cared, he wouldn't have gotten me out of the way of that thing you just did. If he didn't love me, he wouldn't have cuddled me and kept me warm in the forest. He wanted this to stop and it had to stop by making love to me. He tried... he did, but you twisted it so that I was young and scared and he rushed things so that he'd have me before you caught us and we'd be trapped again!"
Heero stood up and moved beside Duo. He didn't touch him, he knew that he didn't have the right. "I forgive him... he erred out of love and desperation. I can'tfault him for that." Duo'sbreath voice dropped to a whisper, "And I hate myself... that I was the one that made him into that sad eyed angel. What did we do that made you include us in this curse?"
Trowa spoke, his tone grave, a bare whisper of sound. They all could tell he was fighting the spell that they were under. "You told Une what you thought of her, just as you did now. Quatre and I tried to stop her, she was furious, wildin her anger that Treize preferred the company of men to herself. We... we weren't strong enough to stop her, she bleed herself dry of power to cast that spell, to make sure that it happened."
Quatre went over to him and hugged him, not wanting to waste what little time they had together, by not touching him. He didn't know how long it would be before they had the chance to make love again. Trowa continued to explain, wrapping his arms around Quatre"Une focused on the one thing that had hurt her so much, that Treize thought that she was undesirable. So she tied our freedom, the weakness that would cause her work to unravel intothe condition that we had to be reunited with out love onesand make love to them."
Zechs shook his head, confused. "You... you did nothing to deserve this, why... "
"They interfered with my pleasure, with what I wanted." Une stated again. "They thought that they could beat me, stop me from what I was doing. I am the mistress of many magics, nothing that a hedge shaman or my apprentice could do would stop me."
"Then why did you make love the condition that frees us all?" Duo asked, "Was it because you never had it and thought that it wasn't strong enough? Love is something that has move poets to new heights of passion, started wars, moved mountains, love is eternal. You won this time, but... will you win the next time? Will Heero remember and know that I am ignorant of him?"
"Heero will never see you again!" Une hissed. "I will turn him back into the little toy that I made of him and then the two of you will never see each other again!" She started the incantation that would turn Heero back into a Nutcracker.
Duo saw her start chanting and pushed Heero out of the way, screaming. "Run, damn it! I can't let her do that to you!"He then tackled Une, not knowing or caring the danger that he would be in disrupting such a powerful spell. Heero hesitated and thenignored Duo's instructions. There was no way that he was going to allow Duo take all of Une's wrath. He had failed him before, he wasn't failing him a second time. Duo had no idea about the power of the woman that he was trying to stop.
Heero felt the explosion around him and the world went black. He hoped that Duo had survived, his lover in spirit, but not in body, because of him. Duo should return to living and forget the pain that he caused him, Duo didn't deserve that pain, he should be happy and alive again...
...Heero lay in bed and thought about the party that was held in the house earlier in that day. It had been a Christmas party, the traditional one that his Aunt Une held every year, for the people that worked for her. It wasa lovely party, most every one of her employees came, to see the tree and the house. The adults came to drink and gossip, the children to play. It was about the only time that he and his older brother, Wufeiallowed out from under the critical eye of their guardian, Lady Une. The party was the only time that she ever acted warm and friendly to those that worked for her and lived with her. Heero and Wufei had come to live with Une at the death of their parents several years before. She was supposedly a relative, but Heero never remembered his parents ever mentioning her to him or Wufei before their deaths...
The End
I'm sorry :-(
It started out as a light hearted romp, a retelling of the Nutcracker Fairy Tale, that I read a long time a go. It's a bit different from the ballet.
But it got angsty at the last minute and I am toying with a happy ending sequel.
I hadn't died, just spent a most of the last two months on another project. I'm back now and will try and finish off all my fics.
Thank you for waiting. :-)
Christine
Please send comments to: Devilkitty@speakeasy.net