September 17, 2002
This was a present to Lady Douji for hosting my Dangerous Liaisons series. This isn't anything new, its just that I realized that it wasn't in my section on GWA.
Pairings 5x2, 1x3x4, 13xR, 6xD,
Rating:PG16
Warnings: Language, mentions of past NSC, AU weirdness with psionics
<> Telepathy
In a once and future time, or an alternate dimension or just the imagination of an extremely sick individual, there was an accident, involving an experimental power plant and a large population center, but it was hushed up, due to the fact that most of the world was controlled by large corporations, who controlled what people saw in the media, both written and seen. Corporations now replaced governments of large nations, small nations and those in between. Freedom was limited to what the corp or corporation in your area wanted to give you. Which wasn't much. An ignorant population was one that was easy to control. If they didn't know what they were missing, they couldn't complain about it.
As the population centers of the world had merged and grown, individual cities were a thing of the past. Metroplexes sprung up, covering large areas of land masses, leaving other large areas to be used as farms or other sources of food. There then came a sharp division between those that had it all and the have nots. And the have nots of the world started outnumbering those that had the power and the control. And so when there was an accident in an area that was considered to be backward at best, it was hushed up. After all, most of the population couldn't read any more, never mind find out where this city had been. The survivors were dispersed among other areas that were controlled by our evil fictional Corporation.
The Corporation that was the power in the area in question decided that the death of an entire city due to themistakes of a few technicians was something that the rest of the of the world and their rivals didn't have to know about. So since it hadn't officially happened, they didn't have to acknowledge the odd side benefits that resulted from that accident. A handful of children that were born a generation or two after that time, from the survivors of that nameless place, showed special abilities. Abilities that gave this Corporation an edge in the business wars that were being waged. The average citizen didn't know about these wars, shrouded as they were in intrigue and back stabbing. But they were happening and the nameless corporation, otherwise known as OZ, needed soldiers for it. And so the children that were changed by the accident ceased to exist in the eyes of their family and the world, once the corporation found them. They existed only at the pleasure and profit of OZ….
%%%%%
Duo and Quatre were being escorted to their new quarters. They long ago had other names and once had families, but since they were taken from them by OZ, for them those things didn't matter anymore. They were now tools in the endless skirmishes against the other corporations, until they either burned out or died. Most psis preferred death to burn out, since that meant that they were free from OZ. A side effect of their altered condition seemed to be that most of them were attractive and often were treated as exotic toys for bored OZ executives and their families, before they were put on the front lines in this unofficial war. Since nations had in reality ceased to exist, being replaced by corporations.
Quatre stumbled and Duo quickly caught him before he fell. Not that it mattered, Quatre would automatically heal any cut, bruise or other physical damage that had been done to him. That ability had made him popular among the more twisted of the OZ execs, a toy that they really didn't have to worry about damaging too much, since it was self repairing. Quatre was still recovering from the 'party' that had been thrown by some of the execs last night, one last go round with him, since they no longer had free and easy access to his body, now that he had been assigned to a psi team. He had been delivered back to Duo about an hour before they left barely conscious and shaking uncontrollably. Duo had to help him clean up, then fed and dressed him so that they could leave on time for their new living area. Not that they had much in the way of preparation to do, they just had the clothes on their back; anything else that could be considered a personal possession had been forbidden to them.
Duo was also recovering from his own late night 'meeting'. He was popular among the OZ execs for his delicate beauty and the fact that he couldn't speak or scream. Many of them thought that he was simple because he couldn't speak to them. So they said most anything in front of him, thinking that he was safe to talk in front of. Most Telepaths couldn't 'path' to the non psionic population. Most of them could speak though, not being mute like he was. Sign language helped trying to communicate with the norms, but not enough people understood it; he felt trapped, like an animal in snare anytime that he was separated from Quatre, which was far too often.
<You okay?> Duo pathed to him.
He didn't need to be an empath like Quatre was to see that his friend was on the edge of a breakdown. They had been in 'training' together, a loose term for the testing that had been done on them in the beginning and the abuse that they had been subjected to in the years after they had been taken from their families. After their initial tests, Duo swore that they had been lost in the system until now. He hadn't heard about anybody that had been on the circuit as long as they had been. It wasn't like they weren't competent to be stuck on it for so long. Duo usually could find Quatre no matter where he was, unless Quatre shut him out. It didn't matter if they were next door or in a different part of the complex, or even a different metroplex, he could tell where he was. Quatre had healed himself and Duo from some really horrific injuries over the years, from the injuries that they had gotten at the hands of the execs. Duo knew that the only reason that he could still walk was the fact that Quatre had healed him after particularly wild party that the two of them had been at last year. He still had nightmares about it sometimes.
Quatre usually got a double dose of abuse at those events that he was taken to: the physical abuse and the mental backlash that he felt from those that were torturing him. Duo just hoped that Quatre would be left alone in this new place that they were being taken to, he had spent long hours trying to comfort the other boy, trying to keep his sanity intact. Not that his own was too good, he had spent most of last night wondering if he should fight back for once and hope that the beating that he got killed him. He didn't because he didn't want to leave Quatre alone. Quatre was the family that he lost when he was grabbed by OZ. He knew that Quatre felt the same way about him. They had been mother, father, and brother to each other as soon as they'd been grabbed by OZ.
<Just dizzy,> Quatre reassured him, getting to his feet. <What do you know about where we are going to?>
<They're tough. Nasty. Mean reputation among the execs,> Duo sent back. He usually got the most information, they'd say almost anything in front of him. He had heard rumors about who they were being placed with for the couple of months, at his assignments. A ruthless team that would do anything to complete whatever assignment that they had. Killing a rival corp exec, destroying a computer system, torching an entire section of research in a rival corporation. Whatever the assignment they did it, no matter if it killed an innocent bystander or their target.
<Oh…> Quatre's answer was filled with fear/disappointment/resignation. He had a tendency to send whatever he was feeling in his answer as well as the verbal component. It was a side effect of his empathic powers.
<They might be nice,> Duo sent hopefully, trying to reassure him. <The execs are norms, they don't know anything. Besides there's only three of them and two of us….>
<And anything is better than what happened to either of us last night.> Quatre 'pathed in resignation, shutting himself off from Duo.
Duo made a face, but respected his privacy. Anything was better then what the execs did to them. A shove from the guards with them got him moving again. Stalling wasn't going to help things. Thankfully the guards didn't seem to be interested in making a quick stop with them for one last taste of them. That happened on occasion, but usually when they were delivered home, so they might be safe. Quatre wouldn't survive that, not on top of last night. After a couple of switches between complexes, they stopped in front a door. Duo assumed that it was to be their new cage.
Psis didn't have homes, they had cages in his opinion. Most everyone who was anyone in OZ knew who a was psi when they saw one, because their ear jewels made sure of that. They were color coded to what kind of power they had: Telepathy-blue, Telekinesis-red, or Healing-gold. In various shades, to show what your power level was and what training you had. The darker the color, the more deadly you were. Just had to grab an ear and check, like they were a pet or something, to see what you could do. Duo didn't understand why he was so angry at the system, it wasn't only the psis that were tagged like that. Bonded Security for OZ and the other Corporations had the same system. But at least people were afraid of Security, they didn't treat them like crap.
He had no illusions about what was going to happen. Teams were together, through everything. They lived together, worked together, socialized together. That's what he had been told long ago during his initial indoctrination. Duo thought that he and Quatre would be passed around, because they weren't fighters that had any offensive powers, they were weak. The strong took what they wanted, not caring about what the other person might want. He'd learned that lesson.
This team did have the reputation of being ruthless and that reputation got them what they wanted. They had demanded a support staff and got it, him and Quatre. Hopefully they were what they wanted and didn't end up back as freelancers again. Duo would put up with a lot if it meant that he and Quatre didn't end up back on the circuit again. Three people working you over was better then a new group of perverts every night. You knew what to expect and might be able to block it out after a while.
Their escort unlocked the door after a respectful knock. Duo and Quatre exchanged surprised glances, such treatment was rare. OZ owned you like a desk or a computer; you didn't give those things privacy, why give it to the psis?
Duo and Quatre were shoved inside when they didn't move fast enough for their guards and barely kept on their feet. One guard stayed in the hallway and the other shoved a disk at one of the boys inside. He was powerfully built Chinese boy, a little older then they were. Duo was surprised to see that his hair was almost as long as his, worn loose. Long hair was rare, on either a male or a female. Behind him were two more, both of them giving off an aura of intimidation that you could see almost see. Duo was disturbed to notice how hard their eyes were, how controlled and hostile their body language was. It shouted trouble. They were shielding themselves too, because all three had locked themselves down tight. He would have to work at it if he wanted to scan them. He started to wonder if this wouldn't worse then the party circuit. Beside him Quatre shifted, grabbing his hand for comfort or to comfort him, Duo couldn't decide.
"Here. We delivered them to you, just acknowledge that you got them and give it back to me," the guard growled.
"Of course, sir," murmured the boy respectfully, with just the slightest hint of sarcasm. "Thank you for your kindness and consideration in delivering them so quickly." He quickly read the disk and thumbprinted his acknowledgment of their delivery. Just another piece of equipment for OZ Corp.
"Here's their records," Another disk was tossed. One of the other boys stopped it in the middle of the room with telekinesis, then floated it to a table. Duo couldn't tell which one had done it. They all had covered their earrings, so he couldn't get any visual clues from them that way.
"Thank you. Is that all?" the Chinese boy asked. Duo thought he was the leader for the group. Or at least the spokesman.
"You all have a briefing on tomorrow," the guard leered at them. "Don't damage them too much between now and then. You do have that reputation…."
"Of course," agreed the boy said smoothly, cutting off whatever he was going to say, "reputations are so useful." His expression didn't change, but the guard suddenly started to shiver with cold as the temperature of the air dropped around him.
"Stop it you little bastard!" he cried.
"You've overstayed your time here; get out. It'll stop as soon as you leave," was his unconcerned reply.
The guard didn't say anything but left the room in a hurry, shivering even harder before he got out the door. "Don't think that I won't tell your controller about this…" was the faint threat that they heard through the door.
There was silence for a moment, the two groups just looking at each other. Quatre broke the silence first, feeling that he should since he and Duo were the newcomers here, they should introduce themselves first.
"I'm Quatre and this is Duo," he said politely.
"I am Wufei, The one behind me, with the wild brown hair is Heero. The one with the bang is Trowa. Why don't you sit down and I'll get us something hot to drink. You look exhausted." The Chinese boy replied.
Wufei left the room while Duo and Quatre gratefully sank into the overstuffed sofa that was there. Duo swore it was the most comfortable thing that he had sat on in his life.
"You can let go of his hand." Trowa said quietly. #Are we that frightening to you?#
"Huh?" Quatre asked in confusion.
"You can let go," Heero repeated slowly, "of his hand. Or is he too frightened to speak to us?"
<Not frightened> Duo broadcast, <just not able to.>
"That makes you the telepath then," Heero said. "Quatre's the healer we asked for. Your records didn't have pictures that I could get." #Mute. I wonder how he managed to survive after OZ got him. Quatre was useful to them at least, but telepaths are common enough that they were willing to pass him around like they did. But his initial tests were impressive…just ignored for some reason.#
<You just got our records.> Duo 'pathed in confusion.
Heero smirked. "Electronics are a minor -talent- of mine. I knew the moment that you got assigned to us practically." #I worked hard enough for it. I had to jump through enough hoops, thankfully none of them were in her bedroom this time. #
"What he's trying to tell you is that our Heero and computer systems get along oh so well." Wufei said sarcastically, returning with a tray. "They're his other self you might say. When he's not killing for our… controllers."
"Oh." Quatre said in a small voice. "I…."
"Don't have to worry about that." Trowa said. "If you work out, we'll protect you, from the other psis and from the execs. Most of them don't want to anger us. Heero's ability to manipulate data sees to that." #What did they do to you two? If your records didn't say that you were seventeen, I wouldn't believe it. You both look like you just hit puberty. Must have had the perverts all excited to see you coming.#
"<If we work out?>" Duo and Quatre asked simultaneously.
Wufei smiled and handed them both a cup of something that smelled wonderful. "If. We may not be able to work together. But we have been studying the new ones and you seem to be the best of the lot. Though, I hesitate to call you new. You've been in the system for as long as we have. Longer then I have been, in fact. But this is the first time that you've been assigned to a team. Either of you. In fact we had to insist on it. Why?"
<We weren't under someone's 'protection' if that's what you asking.> Duo comment bitterly.
Protection was a code word for personal toy. If someone was highly placed enough, they could keep a psi that they wanted from being assigned to a team. He just stared at his drink like he hadn't seen hot chocolate before, which he hadn't, not for a long time. He used to dream about it when he was younger, when he was first captured by OZ. And carefully put the cup down, he didn't want any of it now, he was too nauseated to enjoy it. It was something that he wasn't going to enjoy until he knew that it wasn't going to be snatched away from him. He didn't want to start dreaming of it again.
"They liked us both for the party circuit. They said that we weren't good for anything else." Quatre said in tired voice, sipping at his drink, to be polite. Duo wasn't going to be, he was just looking at it with a revolted expression on his face, not even trying to be polite. His hands were trembling slightly, just enough so that it almost spilled on his lap. He placed the cup back on the tray and folded his hands. He didn't want to spill anything on the one pair of clothes that he owned. It wasn't like he was going to get another set until they wore out or he grew, neither of which was going to happen soon. Chocolate never got out of anything he remembered vaguely. His mother used to complain about it when he lived with her.
"How long?" asked Trowa, not bothering to explain the question. They both understood it.
Duo noticed the faint distaste in his voice. He didn't need to scan his thoughts to know that part of Trowa's apparent emptiness came from the same treatment. Neutral was a very good mask to wear around the norms. But he 'felt' nice, kinder then most of the execs that he had been with. They all had relaxed their shields as soon as the guards let. Duo astonished that they would pull that on someone that they had also trained to kill people, he noticed that Trowa's earring was a deep blue, almost black. How stupid were they? They owned them, but it just took something very small to have someone decide that it wasn't worth it anymore and that taking a few of them with you when you suicided was a good idea.
<Almost three years,> Duo broadcast quietly. <For both of us.>
"No one's lasted that long. Most you're supposed to get is six months or a year." Heero growled. "For Trowa it was almost a year and half before they realized how wasteful it was."
<You can fight back. Or have a gift that can hurt them.> Duo snarled back, angered at his ignorance. His earring was just a shade or two lighter then Trowa's, not the almost clear blue that his was. <Quatre and I don't. And do you know how popular someone that can heal himself is on that circuit? Someone that can't tell you to stop is almost as prized. I can't 'path to the norms, just our kind. So no matter what they did to me I couldn't say no. Or stop. Or that you're hu-hur-hurting me> Duo curled up and hugged himself, starting to shake. He didn't want to go back. He had hoped that they were free of that, but they weren't and he had to go back and it would start again….
Wufei stood up and started rubbing his shoulders soothingly. "Sh…sh its all right. You're free from that now."
<Now. Just now. But…but….> Duo's thoughts faded into a mindless keen as he started rocking back and forth, sobbing silently. Quatre leaned over to hug Duo, only to be stopped by Heero and Trowa.
"Let them alone. Wufei can take care of him. You don't look too good yourself. Come into our room." Heero said. Actually Heero was wondering if the other boy was going to pass out at any moment, he looked that pale.
"Yes," Quatre muttered resignedly. He went with them into their bedroom and stripped off his clothes and laid on the bed, legs spread with a blank look on his face, trying to shut himself down, close his shields as tight as he could. It helped sometimes, but he had never been used by one of his own kind. It might not work. He hoped it did, he was scared from watching Duo break down like that. "Whatever you want. However you want it. I can take whatever you do to me," He announced tonelessly.
Trowa and Heero looked at each other, appalled, before sitting down next to Quatre.
"You don't have to do that here," Trowa said gently. #Why did they let you think that you were only good for the abuse that you could take? Healing is such a rare talent, why did they waste it using you as a toy?#
"We aren't going to force you. You can say no." Heero added.
"Why?" Quatre asked bitterly. "You don't have to be nice to me. You can take what you want." #Everyone else has, except Duo, since I've been snatched from my family.#
"Because unlike the norms, we don't like abusing someone," Trowa said and his tone just as bitter.
"We also don't think that forcing our healer or anyone is a good idea," Heero said quietly. "A few minutes pleasure versus the fact that you are going to be the one that is putting us back together after an injury. No one will be able to tell if you just 'accidentally' stopped our heart instead of fixing it."
"I can't do that!" Quatre said in horror. "That's wrong!"
"So is telling you to lie back and spread your legs for three years." Trowa said sarcastically. #Still innocent after all that. Wouldn't you have figured out that no matter you did to them it wouldn't be wrong. You have to fight back, any way that you can, because you can't trust the norms, even the nice ones.#
"I think I would have liked it better if it was just spreading my legs." Quatre said in the same tired voice. "But they usually wanted other things, things that hurt. They liked it. Hurting me. And I felt it all mentally and physically. It was overwhelming my shields most of the time."
He curled up in a little ball, hugging himself. He was tired, from the late night before and it took all the energy that he had to expand to heal himself, so that he could walk out of that place. It had been bad. With the additional mental exhaustion from meeting his new team members and Duo's crying, he just wanted to sleep.
Heero sighed and lifted him up as Trowa drew back the covers on the bed. Heero laid Quatre down again and then crawled into bed with him, arranging him so that his head was on his chest. Trowa crawled in on the other side and started to rub his back soothingly. Quatre melted into Heero's chest with a tiny sob. He started crying uncontrollably when he felt the concern of the other two boys. Yes they lusted after him, but their overriding interest now was to make him comfortable, to let him heal himself. They respected his right to say 'no'. Quatre cried himself to sleep, Heero's heartbeat soothing his tattered nerves. Trowa's soft touch lulled him and he hadn't ever felt this safe in ages. Heero waited until he felt Quatre was asleep before 'pathing to his partner.
<They're staying, I don't care if they aren't useful,> Heero stated flatly. <Letting them go back would be cruel. They're defenseless.>
<Agreed,> Trowa 'pathed back. <I'd get in touch with Wufei, but he probably has his hands full. Not that he's any good at sending.>
<Three years,> Heero's disgust was almost visible. <If it wasn't for me stumbling across those odd records, they'd still be out there. And did you feel Duo? Whoever tagged him lied about it. He's powerful, with training….>
<Talk to Relena about it,> Trowa quietly replied. <And we should shut down, you're getting angry and it will wake him. His soul is fragile.>
Heero snorted, causing Quatre to stir. It was almost amusing to hear Trowa's poetic side. It came out so rarely. He and Heero had meet in the same psi holding area, taken in the same random testing that happened periodically. They had been trained together but then they were separated afterwards. After Heero had proved his worth, he managed to free Trowa from the party circuit. Wufie he had found while idly wandering through accident and hospital records. Several of the execs that had taken pleasure with him had ended up in hospitals. Each time the damage level rose. The last time he had killed someone. Heero managed to talk his Relena into assigning him with him and Trowa, instead of having him destroyed which had been OZ's first plan.
It hadn't taken much, a promise of anything that had turned into an evening of bondage with her. While he did prefer psis to the norms, men to women, it had been an interesting and enjoyable night. And Wufei was well worth an evening of kinky sex with his controller and her husband. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed his time with them, it was that he hadn't liked cheating on his lover. But he wasn't included in the deal, so Relena was not even getting near him. Trowa understood though, he knew that you had to give something to the norms to get something out of them.
It had been a very successful partnership for all involved. Heero had been disappointed that Chinese boy had been standoffish, not interested in extending their partnership on a more intimate level. Duo and Quatre might be interested, once they got over their experiences from the circuit. Three years. Trowa had only been there for a year and half and it had made him skittish to Heero's advances. There still were nights that Trowa would unexpectedly flinch and start to shake during their lovemaking, the flashbacks canceling out who he was in bed with. And the execs were stupid enough to pull that crap on an empathic healer and a powerful, but untrained telepath? Just because they were beautiful?
%%%%
Wufei picked up Duo and carried him to his bedroom. He correctly guessed that most of his problem was shattered nerves and overtiredness. The circles under his eyes almost matched the color of the bruises on his body. Wufei discovered those when he stripped Duo of his clothes and bundled him into his bed, to get him warm. Duo had panicked then, fighting back with feeble slaps, that he blocked easily until he realized the Wufei wasn't going to hurt him. His steady stream of murmured reassurances to Duo helped calm down the smaller boy and reassure him that he was safe with them. Wufei cuddled him in his arms, letting Duo warm up while crying himself to sleep. The choked sobs died down to silence, Duo passing out from exhaustion more then anything.
Wufei looked down at Duo. He gently stoked back his overgrown bangs, wondering why he had bothered trying to comfort Duo. Comfort was for those that had real names and families. Not for them. But Duo had needed it, terrified as he had been of going back to the circuit. Wufei hummed to Duo as he shifted him on his chest into a more comfortable position. They were staying. He would insist on it. They were both defenseless and he didn't need to see the future to know that if those two had to go back out on the circuit, they would kill themselves just to avoid it. Wufei would slit their throats himself if he thought he could get away with it, rather then send them back. He knew that his position was awkward on the team, being the last one on it.
And he hadn't endeared himself to Heero, their de facto leader, by refusing his offer to share a bed with him and Trowa, He felt uncomfortable with them, that way. They would surely laugh at him now, wondering if he should ask Duo to sleep with him. And he wasn't even sure that he wanted sex with him or just the comfort of his company…. Wufei was still musing on this when he fell asleep himself.
Duo stirred after a couple of hours, waking up a little from his nap. He lifted his head groggily, wondering where he was. The smooth, muscular chest didn't belong to Quatre. And Quatre didn't smell like tea and exotic spices. It smelled nice in here and the bed was soft. This wasn't his holding area.
"Go back to sleep Duo." Wufie whispered to him.
<Wufei?> Duo 'pathed in a confused tone, <Nice…bed's new. You're the only one that's slept here.>
"What?" he asked in confusion, "How can you tell?"
<Ghosts. I call 'em ghosts> Duo 'pathed at him, sounding sleepy still <Impressions of other people, thoughts and feelings that they left behind. Sucked on the circuit. After a while I couldn't tell if it was me screaming in my head or someone else.>
"Shh…Duo, no ghosts here. The place was built new and we're the first ones to be here." Wufei comforted him. #Oh Gods…# Wufei choked off that thought, not knowing how much Duo could follow his thoughts.
<S'okay Wufei.> Duo 'pathed gently. <Just strong emotions, I didn't tell anyone about it because they'd think I was crazy. Or they'd make me touch things all the time. I like touching you though, you feel nice. Comforting. And you got good shields. Anyone ever tell you that?>
"No. Is it a compliment?" he asked in an amused tone. Duo's mental 'voice' was comforting tenor, warm and smooth. If it had come out of his throat, instead of his mind, he could have been a great singer. And that comment on good shields meant that he couldn't accidentally read his mind. But Wufei felt that if Duo tried he could probably shred them without a second thought, he 'felt' that powerful. But he was woefully undertrained for some reason.
<For me, yeah. I'd get stuff off the execs, when they were fucking with me. It was noisy in my mind between the ghosts, me screaming, and their so called thoughts. And they couldn't understand why I wasn't enjoying it, the few that cared. I wonder if it's as good as they say?> Duo sent that one last thought before burrowing closer to Wufei and falling back to sleep.
#I don't know if I should be happy that you didn't enjoy it or hope that you did?# Wufei mused. #They all couldn't have hurt you? Or maybe it was just that no one cared if you did take pleasure with them. I know that mine didn't. And I felt so ashamed afterwards; that's when I started hurting them. But I want to find out how good it can be with you. I get flashes of it from Trowa and Heero when they're together, but it would be nice to find out first hand.#
Wufei was dragged out of his thoughts by Trowa quietly entering the room. His eyes smiled at the sight of Wufei cuddling Duo. He had hoped that one of the new members would warm Wufei's heart. He wasn't interested in either Heero or himself or didn't want to be the odd one out on an established relationship. Duo would be good for him. And he would be good for Duo, if he was willing to console him within the first five minutes of meeting him. Trowa didn't think that Wufei had it in him. But the same could be said of Heero, who he had left curled up with Quatre, not wanting the smaller boy to wake up alone. The only reason that he left was to check on Wufei and Duo. His range was limited with telepathy, a room or two. Heero was about the same, and Wufei had to be practically on top of you to 'path. His talents were more physical. Burning, chilling and generally smashing things. So most of the time, it was just easier to get up and talk to Wufei, then 'path to him.
Heero's talent was, as he put it, 'mindfucking' the computer. What Duo probably could do, given more training, to the human brain, Heero could do to a computer. Given enough time, Heero could walk through the security of any computer, just given access to a terminal or a port. He also fairly talented with his telepathy if he pushed it, but he'd rather fool around in an electronic brain then a human one. Heero also preferred to talk, than 'path, also. Not that he talked much either.
Heero had been either lucky or unlucky, depending on how you look at it. He never had to do the circuit. He just had gotten targeted as a plaything for a couple of highly placed execs. One of which later ended up with their controller, as her husband. The other had been her brother. Heero didn't mention much about what happened to him, but Trowa didn't think that it had been that bad. Not from the sexual skills that he had picked up. And Trowa enjoyed every last one of them.
What was bothering Heero was guilt of not being worked over like the rest of them. Trowa was just happy that his lover wasn't as cynical as Wufei and he were. And Heero's good experience might help them with Quatre. The smaller boy needed the caring that Trowa and Heero wanted to give to him. They would protect and cherish him as long as they could. Trowa wasn't a believer in love at first sight, but something had stirred in him when he saw him with Duo, holding his hand for comfort. Then he had to watch the other boy lie down and announce that he could take whatever they did to him. That had hurt. No one should be conditioned like that, especially not a person like Quatre. He could see the caring that had been buried in the other boy. His treatment of Duo showed that. Trowa wondered if Quatre would believe that they just wanted to make gentle, sweet love to him, so that he would know pleasure instead of pain.
Not that he would believe that two corporate killers didn't want to hurt him, no matter what he read off them, not with all the abuse that he had been subjected to. Trowa smirked. He was very good at killing things, the execs just made it sound like a bad thing, but they weren't the ones that had to get their hands dirty. He didn't have to use his hands any more, he could hurt them just as well with his power. Not that he did that often, listening to their brain cells fry under the pressure of his mind was not as satisfying as killing the norms with his bare hands. But he was practical and whatever worked he went with. He'd stop that habit, because he didn't want to cause Quatre any pain trying to fix him. With any luck, he could teach Duo to use his mind to kill people, not just be a relay station for orders. He sensed that Duo had power, it was just no one had bothered to train him. Heero said that his range was good, that's why he wanted him. Not because Duo was one of the most gorgeous creatures that he had seen. Quatre was as beautiful too. Two tattered angels that needed their protection. But Quatre spoke to the odd places in his heart, while Duo felt like a younger brother. Or sister. Trowa amended that thought, looking at the length of his hair.
"He's asleep." Wufei said softly. "Quatre?"
"Heero's with him. You think that you could keep Duo with you?" Trowa asked quietly.
"If he wants to stay," Wufei said, trying not to sound too eager. He'd kill for it.
"We thought that Quatre would be better off with us. But only if he wants to stay with us. We have to get them our 'uniform' and some more clothes." Trowa smirked to himself. Wufei had fallen at last. This was the most emotion he'd seen out of him.
Wufei smiled. Their uniform consisted of tight leather pants, a tank top and a leather trench coat. All black. Duo might be able to carry off the look, but Quatre?
"And if they want to sleep together?" Wufei asked. #I hope not. They might not either; I think that they were together for protection and comfort more than anything. Not that it did any good.#
"We'll worry about that when they are both awake." Trowa said with shrug. "And you know that the beds are big enough for all five of us to sleep together."
"That's only because you let that witch have free reign on furnishing the place," Wufei grumbled. "I think she wanted to test them out with us."
"Relena's got good taste. And she's willing to spoil us." Trowa admitted. "Not many controllers are willing to put up with our antics." #We were both scheduled for termination. Heero doesn't know that I found that out. But they thought that they couldn't handle me anymore, since I wasn't docile enough for them. But what did they expect after they turned me loose to kill? That I would happily spread my legs for them once I got back? I hated everyone that used me, and then they trained me to kill them. After some freedom from the circuit, on an undercover assignment, they sent me back to it. They were wise not to trust me. And you, you didn't even realize what you had done, but they wanted to get rid of you for it anyways.#
"She gets what she wants out of it, not one of us in her bed occasionally as you think, but we make her look good. The higher ups think that she's good because she manages to keep us in line. And we get results." Wufei said.
Actually Heero had been the only one that had actually slept with her, but if she asked, the others couldn't say no; Oz and its people owned them. And as punishment for that little stunt he pulled this afternoon with the guard, she might ask him. It was worth it though and annoying the guards was fun, to certain extent. Duo and Quatre had looked like a pair of lost children and they didn't need to hear that crap from the norms. They were under their protection and the guards should learn that fact early.
@@@
Quatre woke up, feeling warm. He pulled the blanket around him tighter and snuggled closer to the chest that he was lying on. It took him a second to realize that he wasn't sleeping with Duo. For one thing, it was warm. Their area was usually cold, they slept together to keep warm more then anything. Duo also wasn't this muscular, he would be on the skinny side to tell the truth, even if he was getting enough eat. And whoever he was sleeping with smelled like ozone and gunpowder. Who was he sleeping with? The execs usually just used him and left. As he shifted to see who it was, a calloused hand reached under the blanket to start softly rubbing his back. Quatre panicked a little, that hand didn't belong to the chest he was sleeping on, not at the angle that it was rubbing him.
"<You're awake>" came two voices simultaneously, one mental and one verbal. It came back to him, he was sleeping with his new team mates, Heero and Trowa.
Quatre relaxed. He still felt the concern and caring from the other two, along with a hint of amusement from Heero. Quatre couldn't understand why the other boy was amused until he realized that he had been unconsciously rubbing himself against Heero's leg. He blushed and hastily wiggled away, bumping into Trowa, who loosely wrapped his arms around him. Heero laughed and leaned over to kiss Quatre on the top of his head.
"I take it that you still want to say no?" he asked.
"I want to still say no." Quatre said faintly, hoping that he still could. He didn't feel threatened by Trowa holding him, even though the other boy had him in an embrace that he felt that he would have a hard time breaking out of. Trowa felt nice holding him like that, though and comforting. But he didn't want to. Trowa shifted and let go of him after a tight squeeze.
"Are you sure…?" Heero let his offer trail off, letting his eyes and his mind conveying to Quatre that he would be very glad to have him say yes. But he would also listen to a no answer too.
"Very," Quatre said faintly. "It's not you…."
"We understand," Trowa whispered in his ear, reassuring Quatre. He kissed him behind it. "We do both understand that sometimes, you have these involuntary reactions, before you wake up."
"It's nice to tease you about it though," Heero laughed. "We understand if your mind wants one thing and your body tells us another."
"Then what would you like for dinner?" Trowa asked changing the subject, Quatre was blushing and he didn't want to tease him too much. "You slept most of the day away."
"Doesn't matter," Quatre muttered. He was glad that the subject had been dropped.
He and Duo had been living on the standard rations for the poor, supplemented by whatever little treats they were fed at the parties. So long as it filled his stomach he didn't care. After healing himself he ate just to get his energy back. He didn't care what it was that he ate. Duo usually gave him his meal just so that Quatre could still function.
"Take out?" Heero asked. "Or we could cook something. That's if we can pry Wufei away from Duo, he's the best cook."
"Never had the option for either." #Pry him away? What is he doing to him? Duo isn't protesting, I'd feel that, he's asleep actually.#
Trowa and Heero exchanged glances. These two really had been neglected. Or was it that Relena did spoil them? They really didn't have anything to compare it to. They hadn't been too close to their own kind, since they had started to be thought of as rivals more then friends, among the other groups. And the execs usually encouraged it, the bastards. They said it was to keep their skills honed, but Heero thought that it was more so that they won't ally with each other and maybe stop this horror.
"Do you have any food that you like in particular?" Heero asked. "Italian, American, Chinese? Meat or non meat?"
Quatre shook his head again. "We've been living on standards for the last three years and whatever we could swipe at the parties. So if it doesn't move fast enough, and we could grab it, we'd try to eat it." #And Duo didn't eat except at those parties half the time, because he'd give me his ration. What he had to do for food though…#
Quatre felt Trowa put his arms around him, while Heero leaned over and hugged him. The security/comfort/liking that he felt from the two of them threatened to have him start crying again. They sat that way for a while before Heero let go of Quatre, giving him a small kiss on the nose.
"Shower, because we are all sticky from you crying," Heero smiled and put his finger to Quatre's lips to silence his protest. "Then food. We'll find something for you to wear of ours and then order dinner. After that we get some clothes for you, because you are staying with us. I don't care if you can't fix a hangnail, you are staying with us."
"Why?" Quatre asked.
<Because we couldn't live with ourselves if we sent you back out there.> Trowa said, nuzzling his ear. <And we like you. We hope that you'll like us too.>
"We like you. Maybe Wufei was tactless to tell you that you might get sent back. We thought that you couldn't work with a team; that's why you were on the circuit. Or that it was punishment. We didn't realize that no one had ever bothered to look beyond the fact that the two of you are gorgeous." Heero said.
Quatre blushed again at the compliment and curled up a little. He felt uncomfortable that he was the only one naked, but he had been the one to take off his clothes, even if it was under the mistaken impression that the other two wanted him in their bedroom for another reason than giving Wufei and Duo some privacy. Duo's breakdown had shocked him, since he didn't realize that Duo was that close to the edge of a breakdown. Duo didn't like telling him about his parties because he didn't want to worry Quatre. But it must have been bad if he had cried like that if he thought he had to go back. Duo never cried.
@@@@
Duo woke up alone, blinking sleepily and snuggling into the pillow, wishing that it was Wufei. He wondered where Wufei had gone to; Quatre was in the next room with Heero and Trowa. He could tell that without any effort. Quatre was happy too. He 'looked' a little further and realized that Wufei was at the other end of the apartment, exercising. Duo got up and wandered to where Wufei was, wanting to be with him and unconcerned that he was naked. Wufei had already seen him naked, and he lost any body modesty he had years ago. He slipped into the room and sat in a corner watching Wufei work out. He was amazed that someone would have all theses mirrors in one room. The last time he saw something like this…. Duo shuddered. The exec had wanted to see everything that he was doing with Duo. He got off on watching Duo touch himself, pleasure himself and then punishing him for it, then taking his own pleasure with him.
Duo admired the moves that the other boy made, slipping from one kata to another. That must have been where all the muscles had come from. He sighed as Wufei stopped and noticed him hiding in the corner. "What are you doing here? Where are your clothes?"
<I was watching you. You look good. And I don't know where they are.> Duo 'pathed to him.
"You shouldn't run around like that." Wufei scolded him.
<Last night I was lead through one of the better restaurants in this Metrocomplex, on leash, naked and crawling on all fours. Then fed at the table like a dog, whatever he didn't want. The only reason I didn't have to service him there was that it wasn't dark enough in the restaurant, like the last time, for me to give him a blowjob with his dessert. He was angry that he had to wait until he got me into a car to stick it in me. After I had to work at getting him up because the guy had been drinking. It's a little too late to be worried about my virtue.> Duo's tone was resigned rather then angry.
"Oh Gods." Wufie closed his eyes and tried not to give in to his anger. If he did, every mirror in the place would shatter and Duo would get hurt.
<Shh…shh> Duo soothed him, moving closer to him to give him a hug, sensing Wufei's anger, trying to calm him down. He had been angry about that stuff in the beginning, but then it had faded to resignation and apathy, when he was worn down by the abuse and the lack of food. <I don't have to do that again. I hope.>
"I'd kill you before I'd let you go back out there." Wufei said on a low tone, stoking Duo's hair.
<You say the nicest things.>
Wufei glanced sharply down at Duo, wondering if he was being sarcastic. But he 'sounded' so sincere. "Trowa and I understand; we have been there, but it wasn't that rough for us. Heero hasn't though."
They were interrupted by Trowa walking into the room. He smiled slightly at Duo's state of undress and Wufei's embarrassment at being caught hugging him like that. "I want to find out what you two would like for supper." Trowa said.
<But I was fed today.> Duo was confused. <I'm not hungry. I don't want to steal someone else's ration.> His stomach rumbled a little, causing Trowa to laugh. Wufei just looked angrier.
"You have been eating only one meal a day?" Wufei spoke slowly, trying not to scream and frighten Duo.
"Wufei…Wufei…" Trowa waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. An angry Wufei was a dangerous one for those around him. "Why don't we continue this outside? I have a feeling that you might break something by accident and there's a lot of glass in here."
Duo glanced between the other two, wondering what the problem was. What did he do wrong? Okay, he shouldn't have lied about not being hungry, but he was hungry most of the time. It wasn't something new. Wufei let go of Duo and grabbed his towel and wiped the sweat off his face. He stalked out the door, counting out loud, ignoring the other two. Trowa smiled at Duo to reassure him, "He's not mad at you."
<But he got mad after I said that I didn't want to steal someone's food. What did I do wrong?> Duo 'pathed in frightened tone. If he screwed this up, it would be more nights like last night. Begging for table scraps like a dog because it amused the exec that had him. Treated like a dog all night until…. Duo stopped that memory, even though he had just told Wufei about it. He couldn't do it anymore. And Wufei promised that he didn't have to go back, but would he break it because Duo made him angry?
"Nothing. It's not your fault. Wufei had a lot more education than me and Heero. It lets him know why things work with us." Trowa reassured him. "He was found late by OZ; he was already looking at colleges to go to when he was taken." #He had his life planned out…College, marriage and a career in medicine. Not being a killer for OZ corp. I wonder what slip he made so that he got caught. He is usually so polite, so controlled, but then he has to be, with a gem that red, most of the TKs blow themselves up if they aren't. And he's more powerful than most of them.#
<Oh.> Duo said in a small tone, <but why would me not eating get him angry?>
Trowa shooed him out into the living room and motioned for him to sit on the couch, throwing a blanket over him. Duo might not mind being naked, but it was bothering Trowa. Duo was thinner than he was which was saying something. "Wufei will be out in a minute. He'll shower, try to calm down and then explain it to you. He doesn't like being angry; it's bad when he looses control, because of his talents." #Because he likes you and wants to protect you, I don't think that you understand that. Anyone that was with you before never bothered to be nice to you, you were just an orifice that moved for them. #
They sat in silence until Wufei rejoined them. He threw a shirt at Duo, gruffly ordering the other boy to wear it. He knew that nothing else that he owned would fit Duo, he was kilos lighter and much shorter. The shirt was long enough that it almost reached his knees, so it did cover everything. He took one look at Duo's frightened face and sat next to him on the couch, drawing the other boy onto his lap.
"I'm not mad at you." Wufei said quietly. "Its just that…you need to eat more. We use up a lot of energy, doing what we do. At least the three of us do, but we destroy things or manipulate our environment, which does take a lot of energy."
<Quatre was always hungry. I'd give him my meal a lot so that he could function. If I didn't he couldn't fix either one of us. And they usually didn't like seeing the bruises from someone else.> Duo 'pathed. #I made that choice early. Quatre needed to eat more than I did; he had more demands on his body.#
"So one meal a day wasn't good for you, and you weren't getting that most of the time too. You're probably malnourished. And with more food, you might grow a bit more. And your range and strength will increase." Wufei said to Duo. "You're powerful now. I can feel that, no matter what they tagged you as, you just need a lot of training. Trowa and Heero will help you there. Quatre is lucky that most of what he does is instinctive. But I'm going to see how much he needs to learn about anatomy. He might have to patch one of us up fast and he should find out what can be ignored and what's important. I take it he spent most of the last three years either putting himself back together or helping the norms get it up?" Wufei's tone was angry.
Gods they had wasted two talented people for three years because the execs thought that they would be better as pretty toys for jaded norms. He took a deep breath and centered himself, calming down again. The time in the shower really didn't help, because he calmed down and then just the thought of Duo's frightened eyes would get him angry again and guilty because he had caused that look.
"Doesn't help that they were on standard 'rats either," Trowa observed. He was amused that Wufei was getting so angry. He usually kept it bottled up inside of him, because letting his temper go resulted in three things happening: fire, frost or shattered breakables. He couldn't let himself be angry because of the consequences. Trowa and Heero had thought he was just shy until they realized that fact on one assignment, when he managed to level almost an entire section of the labs that they were sent to destroy, because he found out that they were experimenting with crossing animal and human genes, to create something different. The place had practically melted under Wufei's attack. They had to carry him out he was so wiped, but there was nothing left of that lab or the scientists that were doing the research.
"Soy and seaweed. Not what they needed. I wondered how they kept them from appearing to be as powerful as they are. Simple starvation." Wufei mused aloud, idly stoking Duo's back. He was amazed that it was calming him down, which stopped happening when Duo sighed sensuously and leaned into him, enjoying his touch. He hastily moved the smaller boy off his lap, embarrassed by his reaction to that sound. Duo had spent the last three years of his life being subjected to that unwanted attention, he didn't need it now, no matter how much Wufei wanted to give it too him.
Duo snuggled and purred at Wufei, the gentle stoking feeling very nice. He was amused to feel Wufei shift him off his lap because of what started to poke at him. <Wufei…?> Duo was confused. Didn't Wufei like him? Or was he just embarrassed about that reaction? Duo knew that he could probably sneak around his shields to find out, but that would be an invasion of his privacy.
Trowa watched this with interest, amused that the other boy was being so considerate of Duo. He had noticed Wufei's reaction to Duo's contented sigh. But feeding Duo and Quatre was more important than watching Duo and Wufei dance around each other. Even if it was amusing, because Trowa knew that he was going to be doing the same dance with Quatre and Heero in the future.
"We're ordering out. Those two have no preference." Trowa said, waving in the general direction of the bedroom. "So does Italian sound good? I like that little place on the second level. We can order a variety of things so that Duo and Quatre can taste to see what they like."
"Duo?" Wufei asked, "Do you mind? Is there anything that you want besides Italian?"
<You mean that you eat like the norms? No rations. Or that it's not what they throw you or you can steal?> Duo's tone held a note of wonder in it.
"Duo, didn't you have any interaction with our kind after you were taken?" Wufei asked. #He can't 'talk' to anyone but us. If he wasn't with a psi, he was cut off. But he must have been used to that, since his family wasn't taken with him.#
<Just Quatre. And that's so that I could talk through someone. No one else, but those that had burned out.> #I couldn't talk to anyone most of the time, because Quatre was someplace else…it was scary. Unlike my family, the execs didn't care to try and understand my signings. The Burnouts couldn't stand to be near me because I reminded them of what they lost. A lot of them were too strung out on drugs or drink to care either.#
Wufei hugged Duo to him again, surprised that he was letting him get to him, but he had been lonely. "We are treated a little better then most of the others, because our controller realizes that's how she's going to get our best performance out of us. And if we do better, she looks good. And it also looks good if she can keep us in line without force, because of our reputation. But most psis get more then one meal a day."
<I remembered that, some
of it, from before. But didn't want to think about it because then I would realize
how bad it was. I just drifted from one exec to another, trying to forget everything
that they were doing to
"That's over for you," Wufei said. "You can eat until you're stuffed and then I can feed you some more. But Relena, that's our controller, has a reputation for being kind to the psis, not just us."
<So she's nice?> Duo asked, curiously.
"She treats us, the psis, well because to not do so would be stupid." Wufei said sarcastically. "But I don't forget that she thinks that we're property of OZ more than anything."
<But I won't…> Duo let that thought trail off as he put his head on Wufei's shoulder. He was so comfortable, physically and mentally.
"I don't know." Wufei said cautiously, knowing what Duo was asking. "She hasn't asked any of us for that, so I can't say what she'd do with you. You are better looking than we are."
Trowa smirked at that, he was figuring out what part of Wufei's one sided conversation was about. "Heero's that only one that has dealt with her, in that manner. And that was quid pro quo for Wufei joining the team."
Wufei flushed. "I didn't know that." he said quietly. #I felt so dirty. The last one patted me on the head as I lay there and told me I was a good whore, and I just broke. I found out later that I shattered every bone in his body.#
"He liked it, mostly." Trowa said quietly. "It was worth it to him if we got you. And he was stupid enough to promise her anything."
"But…" Wufei blushed. "I didn't realize that. I don't want to bother anyone."
"Then you shouldn't have lost your temper," Heero said sarcastically, walking in on them. "But I can't say anything, I wasn't there. And I never had to be."
He smirked at Duo sitting on his lap. Duo was probably a toucher. Wufei putting up with it was unusual. He had been standoffish about them. Or maybe he was just shy? Quatre walked in behind him and Duo stood up and went over to give him a hug.
<You okay?> Duo sent.
Quatre hugged him back. <I was worried about you…you never cry.>
<I was so tired…> Duo 'pathed, letting his shields down. Quatre sighed and tightened his grip, dropping his own shields. <You going to be okay? They're…>
Warmth/reassurance/support he sent to Duo about Heero and Trowa, Duo returned it with, comfort/shyness/understanding Duo sent him about Wufei. They communicated better this way. Quatre's empathic talents made words so redundant, and they had needed someone in their life that would touch them without hurting them. It had been these little sessions that kept them both sane.
Wufei shook his head. With what he had told him earlier he was surprised that he wanted to touch anyone. He probably was crawling onto his lap just so that he didn't have to get any impressions off of the furniture. He couldn't actually like him.
Duo and Quatre broke off their embrace, Duo to return to Wufei, Quatre to curl up on the floor, near Trowa and Heero.
"Food should be here in a little while," Heero said. "We might as well get some work done before it arrives, I don't think that we're going to be able to keep anyone's attention after it arrives."
"What do you want to know?" Quatre asked. He looked even younger then before, dressed in a pair of Heero's sweats and one of Trowa's shirts. Both were far too big for him.
"How much education have you had, before…" Wufei let his voice trail off. He didn't want to remind Quatre of what might be painful memories.
"Enough, not much beyond what I needed for high school though, why?" Quatre replied. He was happy with Wufei's tactfulness. It was painful to remember his family, they had been close. And he had a number of extended kin that he hadn't seen again. He wondered if he could go back there again and see his family. He had been told that he couldn't but now it was different. Now he had some freedom and wasn't a whore that was unwrapped for a new audience every night. He wanted to see them all again so much. He missed them.
"You're going to need a crash course in anatomy, some biology and an EMT course, to start. Just so that you know what you can do." Wufei said. "What you can heal, should heal or can ignore."
"Okay…" Quatre said uncertainly, "Who is going to?"
"Me…" Wufei said. "I…have had some training." #I wanted to heal people, study medicine, not rip them apart with my mind.#
"If I'm not going to be a bother…" Quatre said, shyly.
"No bother." Wufei said shortly. #Teaching someone would be a joy, but the memories…#
"What about Duo?" Heero asked. "Training is nonexistent. Test scores are from what he could do three years ago, they might have changed with what has happened to him. Stress is the leading cause of burnout. And the circuit causes stress. Plus I'd like to get my hands on whoever tagged you so low, because that was criminal."
"They have." Wufei said quietly. "Or they didn't bother to put in certain things…."
<You mean about the ghosts?> Duo broadcast to the group.
"Yes…" Wufei said, "I know that you didn't want the execs to know, but it's important that there are no surprises. That we know doesn't mean that Relena does. And what is your range?"
"Ghosts?" Trowa asked, at the same time Heero said, "His range was listed as several meters."
<Ghosts. Impressions that I can get off things of people that had used it or been there before. Either strong emotions or long possession of an object.> Duo explained. <And I can find Quatre almost anywhere…even if they took him to another 'plex or two away.>
Heero shook his head, impressed. Duo could find Quatre almost a third of the way across Oz territory. He vaguely remembered an old map that he had seen once. Duo's range seemed to be halfway across the continent. That was a lot further then anyone he had heard of and a big difference from what he was listed at. He wondered if it was just Quatre or if he could find any of them that way. "We'll mention the second to Relena, hopefully we can teach you a few things. You have a lot of power, no training though. With enough training, you could shred anyone's shields. And you are about the only telepath that can communicate with more then one person at a time, that's very useful for us. The first…let us find out what your limits are before we tell her, if we even do…." Heero smirked.
Keeping secrets from Relena made them look like they could pull a rabbit out a hat or any other miracle fairly regularly. Heero suspected that she knew of that habit of theirs. He and Trowa would have their hands full with teaching Duo. Thankfully Wufei could train Quatre. And luckily, Duo wasn't interested in either one of them. He had gravitated to Wufei. Must be the hair. Quatre wasn't interested in staying with Duo or in Wufei and might eventually be interested in joining them. Sleeping arrangements could wait until after dinner and Heero would be very clear about the sleeping part. Not that he thought Wufei would take advantage of Duo or Quatre.
<He won't.> Trowa 'pathed to him. <He's willing just to cuddle, for now. He was embarrassed that Mr. Happy was happy that Duo purred at him.> Heero mentally sniggered at Trowa's attempt at cuteness. Mr. Happy indeed. Mr. Mindblowing was more like it, but Heero admired Wufei's self control. Duo needed time if he had been on the circuit as long as Quatre. Waiting would be good for Wufei too, make it all the better when Duo approached him.
Trowa went to answer the door, when they heard the buzzer ring. Heero frowned, he had to mention that to the other two. Only Trowa and Wufei answered the door. They had been too many problems when they were younger, other teams wanting them or wanting to kill them. Those two had the best defenses, so they answered the door, dealt with people.
"Only Wufei and Trowa answer the door or talk to people. Any questions, they handle them. Even if they're like us." Heero instructed them.
<Why?> Duo asked.
"There was trouble when we were younger. It's died down, but we do have a rep, which does make us a target. People like to get rid of rivals or things that they can't understand." Trowa said, depositing the food on the table. He had over ordered, but it was worth it from the look of awe on Quatre's face. "We're in the mid level exec section. Nice quarters and surrounded by people that have proven their worth to the company. Good security too. But it still pays to be careful. You and Quatre can't defend yourselves now."
Wufei gently pushed Duo off his lap and stood up, then helped him up. "Come on, we can get plates, something to drink and something to eat with."
<Okay…> Duo 'pathed to him, happily, he was curious to see what Italian food was like. So much food and he could eat it! Openly! And not have someone feed it to him like an animal!
"A little bit of everything." Heero commented snidely. "You thinking that we're never going to eat again?"
<Relena can afford it. >Trowa 'pathed to Heero. It's not like they got paid, Relena had a budget for their activities, and she always planned a generous allowance for their food. <And it's worth the look on their faces. Duo looks like he's in heaven. Quatre…> Trowa trailed off.
Heero smiled and kissed Trowa. <Duo's going to need it once we start training him. It won't go to waste. Quatre, you're playing dirty and are seducing his stomach.>
<Actually I was aiming a bit lower, but…> Trowa trailed off again, sending a thin beam of amusement at Heero, who had watched Duo bounce in with a couple of bottles of tonic and some utensils. Wufei followed at a more sedate pace with the plates and glasses. And he did get to watch Duo bounce about.
Quatre looked up sharply at Wufei, smiling a little when he 'felt' Wufei's interest in Duo. He was shy, but he did like Duo. Wufei would be good for him. Much as he didn't want to, he'd return to Heero's and Trowa's room tonight to sleep, he decided, and give those two some alone time. He'd sleep on the floor or something, just so that they could get some privacy. Not that he wouldn't know what they were doing, if they did it, because it wasn't that big a room and sex was one of the stronger emotions. He couldn't sleep out here, because the execs had only shielded the bedrooms. And most psis couldn't sleep in an unshielded room, it was like trying to sleep in the middle of a Mallplex. The backwash of other people's dreams, thoughts, wants, was incredible; you had to have that shielding or you'd lose yourself. That had been the only luxury that he and Duo had had for the last three years.
Quatre shook off his sadness and smiled, looking forward to being able to eat his fill for the first time in years, even if he couldn't identify half of what was there. Italian food hadn't been known in his Arabic family. Trowa smiled at him, opening up containers of food.
"Do you trust me?" he asked, watching Heero watch Quatre.
It was nice to see the small blonde smile. With some more time with them, he might be the happy person that Trowa thought he should be. Heero had showed him Quatre's and Duo's records the night he had found them. Duo had been a solitary child, raised by his older sister and her husband, home schooled and he hadn't been among people a lot. After their deaths in an auto accident, the authorities had found out that Duo was a telepath. It seemed that his sister had been hiding him as long as she could, not liking the rumors that they heard about how psis was treated. She most likely knew what would happen to her gorgeous baby brother.
Quatre had been the youngest of a big family. They had dragged him out of his house kicking and screaming, having to fight off his family to get him. The family hadn't cared about the rewards that had been offered to turn in their son, he had been the only one, out of a hoard of sisters and had been pampered since he was born. It had been a shock for the both of them once OZ got their hands on them. Trowa hoped that even after all the abuse that they had suffered, they would be able to function after a while.
"I trust you," Quatre said softly, smiling shyly at him. He really did.
"You shouldn't you know," Heero said solemnly. "It's that statement that got me a plateful of squid one time, after I let him order in the restaurant."
"You liked it until I told you what it was," Trowa protested.
"True enough." Heero agreed. "But no squid this time."
"None," Trowa teased him, "just calamari."
Heero, laughed, kissing Trowa. "Bad. It's still squid!"
Quatre giggled when he got the joke. Wufei smiled at their antics, watching Duo's eyes widen more when the smell of the food hit him. <Mmmm> Duo broadcast, <smells wonderful!>
"Then let us get you a plate and have you eat something." Wufei stated firmly. He started filling Duo's plate with a variety of things, mock fighting with Heero who was doing the same for Quatre. Trowa was pouring drinks for everyone, making sure that Quatre and Duo had something to drink. They seemed overwhelmed by the attention.
Duo looked up and smiled when Wufei handed him his plate and a fork. "There are some tortellini, eggplant lasagna, a couple of different stuffed and sauced raviolis and some garlic bread." Wufei pointed things out as he named them. "If you want more there is more, but a lot of little meals will be better for you."
<Thank you, Wufei> Duo beamed at him, smiling up at him. <You spoil us.>
"No problem, you need to be spoiled." Wufei tousled his hair, before getting his own meal.
<Can I spoil you some time then?> Duo 'pathed hopefully. He laughed when Wufei blushed at his teasing. It was cute. But he was serious, Wufei felt so nice. And he did need someone to spoil him.
Quatre gingerly poked at the plate that Heero handed him. "I'm looking for the squid, you might have slipped me some. I didn't say that I trusted you." he teased him. He sent a stream of reassurance to Heero, just to show that he was teasing. He really wasn't too certain of the bigger boy's temper. He seemed to have the same quiet humor of his partner, Trowa, but Quatre was unsure still.
"No squid, not on their menu." Trowa reassured him, glad that he felt comfortable enough with them to tease Heero. "I'll take you to that restaurant someday. It's on the East Coast, we were there for a data raid. The two big industries in the area are tourism and computers. The restaurants are awesome." #The hotels in the area are comfortable. It was the off season, so Heero and I had a floor to ourselves, and a suite with a hot tub, it was wonderful.#
Heero shook his head, and filled his own plate with food. "I'll get you tonight, just wait. I'm stealing the covers on you."
Quatre blushed when he heard Heero's threat. Heero stopped himself and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I am assuming that you both want to continue with the same arrangements."
"Actually," Trowa said, deadpanned, "I was planning on kicking you into Wufei's room and stealing them for myself."
Heero tossed a piece of garlic bread at Trowa, which Wufei TK'ed onto Trowa's plate. "Waste not, want not." he intoned. "And Heero snores."
"I do not!" Heero protested.
"I was with you on the last job, you snore. Trowa must have been overjoyed to have a quiet night in bed."
"He's quiet in bed other than that, we haven't woken you up from the noise." Trowa commented while watching Quatre and Duo, wide eyed at this interplay. Duo hadn't even bothered to start eating, he was too busy watching them. Quatre was blushing bright red and Trowa just wanted to laugh. They weren't innocent, no one was after OZ got their hands on them, but he doubted if they had seen such teasing in awhile. And it was a change from the emotionless façade that greeted them this afternoon.
"Not the noise from you," Wufei agreed. "But the bed squeaks."
"No it doesn't." Quatre said, puzzled.
"That means that we have to prove it to it to you one night," Trowa promised, leaning down to give Quatre a quick kiss. <Only if you want to though.> Trowa 'pathed to him, <though we can bounce on it tonight. Keep 'em guessing.>
Quatre giggled and shook his head.
"You don't mind that you'll be sleeping with us?" Heero asked, settling down beside Quatre. "And sleep is the key word. What we told you earlier still goes."
Trowa perched on the other side of him, managing to balance himself, his plate and drink all on the arm of the sofa. "If you want to sleep with Wufei and Duo I'm sure they won't mind."
Quatre shook his head. "I like you guys. And…" he poked at his food some more, thinking.
"Eat it Quatre, food makes everything better, my mother told me that more then once." Trowa said.
"You think that they think of us?" Quatre asked sadly. "Sometimes…I dream of them. Like it was…and wonder what happened…it…."
"What happened was that the world went to Hell. I still find records sometimes that tell of how it was before the Corps took over and I get angry. Then I get sad because unless something radically changes, it's going to be like this forever. Probably…not with the psis, they can't seem to get us to breed. And they've tried. It seems that most of us…" Heero stopped. Quatre had put his plate down and was hugging Heero, letting a feeling of reassurance/liking/comfort flow over him. Heero sighed and let Quatre soothe him, it felt good.
<I didn't know that you can do this,> Heero 'pathed to Quatre.
<I just do it,> Quatre 'pathed back. <Part of what's me. I feel your emotions, that how I can tell what needs to be healed. Your body and mind talks to me. And I can let you feel mine. Actually easier then talking most of the time.>
<You might be addictive…> Heero sighed, nuzzling him, projecting his own reassurances to him. Trowa put his arms around the both of them, hugging them close, joining with them.
<Do you mind?> Wufei asked Duo, putting an arm around him. Contact helped. He knew that he couldn't 'path through closed door if his life depended on it. It was usually easier for him to smash the door and talked to the person inside.
<They like him…he needs it. We…> Duo smiled up at Wufei, <Quatre and I never thought about ourselves, that way, with each other. Like… I want to think of you…> The last part was a barely heard whispered comment to Wufei.
@@@
Relena sighed and leaned back, purring contently when she felt strong hand massaging her shoulders. "Goodness I knew there was a reason that I married you…besides mind blowing sex and you have a brain."
"And I thought it was the fact that we were just such a handsome couple," replied a smooth sensuous voice.
"There is that, Treize my love. How has your day been? Ready to meet Heero's new toys tomorrow?"
"Relena…don't be catty, leave that to your sister-in-law Dorothy. Heero correctly pointed out that Wufei is useful for destroying things, but has no range to contact them if he gets separated from them. So they need a telepath to work with him. And since he found this healer…they have had to pull back on occasion to get medical help. It would be good that they have it with them."
"Wufei has had some medical training." #Accepted at four medical schools, because of his grades in the accelerated program that he was in, when OZ snatched him. His parents were horrified that their polite, dutiful, scholarly son could almost level a building with his mind. #
"And is usually the one that they are carrying out. That won't do. Relena you are just angry that you haven't managed to trick Heero into our clutches again." Treize explained.
"But that was wonderful…wasn't it?" Relena smiled slowly. Heero writhing underneath her, panting, moaning, screaming. Tied down and helpless, that look on his face. Wonderful. The best part had been the morning after, Heero politely and sincerely thanking her for treating him like a toy. He must have been desperate to get Wufei, not that it had done him any good, he wasn't in Heero's bed.
"Heero is excellent. I know, I trained him." Treize said dryly. "Your brother and I had him as a pet for months, until he got a little too friendly with our computer." They had decided to get married about that time. It would look good for their careers, for the both of them to settle down and they did like each other.
"Well what did you expect? That is the area that he's good at." Relena said sarcastically, taking the sting out of her words by kissing Treize deeply.
"He was ready to go." Treize said, hugging Relena. "He was just showing us how ready. It was his work that got the information that earned your promotion. And the job as wrangler for him and the team that he assembled. Trowa is our best assassin. Heero's excellent at data gathering. Wufei is just priceless. They make you look good, keep the higher ups thinking that you are some sort of miracle worker. Don't ruin it with thinking with something else besides your brain. And giving them what they want; they will work harder. They aren't trying to take advantage of you."
"You are right." Relena sighed. "The execs are suspicious of us. They are under the impression that you and my brother are still sharing a bed."
"Well, my dear we are. It's just you're there too, along with your lover, who happens to be his trophy wife." Treize said. He wished it was her brother that he could be living with, but that was not in the cards, since that would have been career suicide. Relena understood though, her lover had married her brother as a cover, since they were also friends. But it hurt that they had to do this because of the system.
"Since it doesn't affect our performance, does it matter who we sleep with? It's not like we are flaunting it. I saw one of the vice-presidents leading a boy, naked and on a leash through the restaurant last night that I was having my business meeting at. If he was fourteen, I'd be surprised. And the exec was fifty if he was a day. That was disgusting."
"Mmm. The age difference or the public flaunting?" Trieze asked. "Homosexuality has been a taboo for centuries, except for a short time, my dear wife."
"But why should it matter who we are sleeping with? It doesn't affect my work the next day any more whether I am up all night with you or with Dorothy." Relena complained.
"Hair splitting my dear. The psis can indulge in any kind of perversion that they want or be subjected to any perversion by an executive, but we have to be beyond the pale in our actions, Caesar's wife and all that. None of that weirdness that you two like so much, we have to be…respectable."
"So" she purred throatily at him, "Want to show me what married sex should be like?"
Treize smiled back, "Of course. I should show you a few 'mundane' things, for future reference."
End Part One
Christine
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