DISCLAIMER: All Gundam Wing characters are property of Sunrise, Bandai Visuals, Sotsu Agency, and Asahi TV. This work is not written for profit, but for entertainment purposes only.
Pairing: 6x2/2x6 (implied 13x6/6x13, 13x5)
WARNING: Beginning of a sex game, angst, unhappy ghosts (that last one goes for the whole fic, not just this chapter)
Zechs tossed Duo onto their bed, pointed a long, golden finger at him and said, "Stay." He disappeared into the closet for a moment and the braided boy got to his knees. "Oh yeah?," he said in mock anger, "and what are you gonna do if I don't, 'stay, huh?'" Zechs emerged from the closet and leaned against the doorframe. He leveled an devastating stare at the boy on the bed and twirled a pair of handcuffs around his finger.
"I'll just have to make sure you do, won't I?" he said, his voice low and threatening.
Duo stared back defiantly, but now a tinge of apprehension marred his bravado. He knew the timing of their little game very well. "You wouldn't dare use those on me. I'll call the police if you do!"
"Hmm," the golden man replied, "pity it wouldn't work. I use these on the police chief, too..."
The American began to say something, but seemed to be rendered speechless by the sordidly erotic confession. "You're... you're doing the chief of *police?*" he asked in a stunned voice, as Zechs began walking towards him. Only then did he see the three additional sets of cuffs that the tall man was carrying. "What are *those* for?"
"These?" Zechs said carelessly, holding up the restraints. "Oh, well -these will ensure that you'll be in the right position to give me the maximum amount of pleasure." He smiled at his victim, a slow, wicked smile that made Duo's breath come faster. The room suddenly seemed to have become extremely warm.
Backing away from the blond man, Duo scuttled to the brass headboard, gripping the rails and looking at Zechs with an expression of mild panic. "No... please don't do this... I'll... I'll give you anything, I swear!" Between his legs, Duo felt the delicious stiffening that always came when he saw that predatory look in Zechs' eyes, the idea that someone as beautiful and powerful as Zechs would want *him* and what him *that* much...
"I don't need anything you could possibly give me," Zechs murmured, standing next to the bed, "so don't think you're going to get out of this, little boy. You will be completely obedient or I will turn you over to the authorities. Remember - I have proof of your crimes and I won't hesitate to use it. Now - undress."
The braided boy swallowed thickly and began unbuttoning his shirt. He could see Zechs' erection now, and the azure eyes following the movements of his fingers, so he made them tremble a bit more. "Are you going to hurt me?" he asked the tall man, voice shaking a bit.
"Not if you're obedient," Zechs purred, eyes devouring the younger man's nicely-muscled chest, the creamy skin begging to be touched, nipples a rosy brown and stiff, despite Duo's protests. After the shirt was dropped onto the bed, the tall man reached out a hand and brushed heated fingertips over one of the sensitive nubs before giving it a little pinch.
Against his will, Duo gasped softly, clutching the rails of the headboard tighter. "Oh, please... don't do this..."
"I love hearing you say that," Zechs breathed, "knowing you're going to get it no matter how much you plead." With that he brought the other hand up and began rolling both nipples between his fingers, squeezing and rubbing them until they were hard. He leaned down and whispered in the Duo's ear, "You're mine and I can do anything I want to you... and there's nothing you can do to stop me..."
Duo's eyes closed at the touch of that hot breath on his ear, a steady stream of delicious pulses moving from his nipples to his aching erection. Shaking his head, he whispered, "No... no, please... ahhh..."
Zechs moved closer and gave a long lick to Duo's jaw line, ending up at his ear again and whispering, "You want it, don't you? Want it rough - want to be controlled...You want me to chain you up and give it to you until you scream... don't you?"
Duo's entire body was trembling as Zechs began to nuzzle along his cheek and neck, fingers straying lower to where his shaft begged for release from his clothing. He felt Zechs cup his hand around it and squeeze, making the American cry out. Oh, this was going perfectly...
With a murmured, "Yes...", he pressed himself against that teasing hand, needing contact, needing something to rub against. Zechs, however, had different ideas, because just as quickly, the hand was gone.
Wufei arrived downstairs to find Hadley waiting patiently for him at the door to the drawing room. The ex-pilot was blushing to the roots of his very black hair, but he had to ask. "That... that doesn't bother you?"
Hadley merely bent down to straighten a row of unruly fringe attached to an oriental rug, then stood up and smiled. "What 'that' would that be sir?"
Wufei looked a little cross and snapped back, "What that? I mean - that that!" Gesturing to the floor they'd just come from, Wufei turned pinker, if that were possibly, and murmured, "*That*... what's... going on up there."
"Ah - the two young gentlemen? Well, it *is* an hour until dinner sir. I think it perfectly healthy to find something relaxing to do before hand -don't you agree?" He tilted his head to one side and regarded Wufei with pleasant interest.
Wufei cast another dark look up the staircase. "Well I'd bet you didn't have to put up with this kind of thing when Treize owned the house."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," the butler mused, as if he hadn't thought of it before. "But then, Mr. Treize usually stayed over night and left the next morning. On his own. This just wasn't a place that he brought anyone to often. Only twice, I believe." Hadley began walking again leading them into the drawing room, and while Hadley told him what era the furniture came from, Wufei thought about what was going on upstairs.
/Duo... why on earth are you with him? He's not like us at all - they were never like us. Both of them seemed to be at one time, but with him it all went out the window when his precious Kingdom fell. And Treize... Treize was better than any of us...
Hadley had moved on to the wallpapers and draperies, but Wufei couldn't help but think about his dead lover, about Treize, coming here, sleeping here and having breakfast... /God I miss him!/
Finally, Hadley moved them to a large glass cabinet which housed a collection of miniature clocks. But before he could say anything about them, Wufei interrupted. "Who did he bring here?" he insisted, and stared at the butler, trying to look reasonable, yet intimidating.
For a moment Hadley just blinked, but then his everyday poise took over. "Why, Mr. Marquise, of course," he said quietly. "The new young master. I apologize - I had thought that since you were acquainted with him, you would have known that he and His Excellency -"
"Don't say it!!" Wufei nearly covered his ears with his hands as he walked back down the length of the room to the last large window and stood, looking out. He crossed his arms in front of himself, brows drawn together in a frown.
A faint look of puzzlement came over the pleasant face of the butler. "Mr. Chang - this is upsetting you. Perhaps another time..."
No answer came back from the young Chinese man and Hadley took a step towards him. "Forgive my impertinence, sir, but it seems that you and Mr. Marquise are not on the best of terms, yet you obviously enjoy the company of Mr. Maxwell. It must be very difficult - to reconcile the two."
Wufei looked over at the butler, his expression unreadable. The older man was standing near the far end of the room, arms at his sides, a look of unquestioning empathy on his face. That, and an air that spoke of infinite patience.
"Yes," Wufei said, his voice hoarse with emotion. "Yes it is, very difficult." He turned back to the window. "What makes it worse is that I can't find a really good reason to hate him. Not that stands up to scrutiny, anyway. But I want to..."
Hadley took a few quiet steps closer, but said nothing.
"I want to hate him. I want to scream at him for leaving the best man in the world a partly broken thing. He had what I wanted and he gave it all up... Started that bloody battle *knowing* what Treize was going to do - he *knew* it, I'm sure!" He had to close his eyes at that. At that horrible knowledge - and his own actions that followed it.
He felt Hadley nearby and he looked up to find the butler just a couple of steps away. "I know what you're thinking, Hadley. You think I shouldn't be staying here because of the way I feel, don't you?"
The butler paused a moment, and then spoke. "On the contrary, sir. I believe that staying here could be the exact thing you need."
Wufei looked back at the man in surprise. "What did you say?" he asked a bit testily.
"Perhaps there is something to be found here - and only here - that your visit will reveal. I would counsel patience at this point, Mr. Chang. Enjoy the company of your friend and give the meaning a chance to surface." Hadley made an unconscious little bow. "At least," he said effacingly, "that's what I would recommend. You may do with it what you will."
The Preventer agent stood for several moments, regarding the butler, then looked out at the garden, fading in the twilight. "It's a reasonable plan," he said at last. "I'll try my best."
The butler smiled. "One would hardly expect anything less from a person of your caliber, sir. Now, shall we move on the the back of the house?"
On the third floor, Mouse was dozing on the floor behind his bed when something woke him up. He opened his eyes reluctantly and found the lawyer standing over him, not two inches from his face. "Who *are* you???" the dead man demanded.
With a small scream, Mouse tried furiously to back away from the man, who suddenly seemed to be all staring eyes and bloody hair. There was nowhere to go, though, backed up as he was against the wall. He swallowed thickly and forced himself to look at the man. Pale skin, red-rimmed eyes, as if he'd been crying very hard for a long, long time. And of course, that horrible caved-in skull. /He needs your help... he's just another one who needs your help.../
"My name is Mouse... I... I live here. What's your name?"
The man's face screwed up in frustrated rage as he punched the wall above Mouse's head, causing the boy to scuttle around him and cower near the door to the room - just in case...
"You *live* here?" the man cried. "The tell where this place is! And why are you keeping me here?!"
The lawyer took a step towards the frightened boy, who put a hand behind his back and fingered the knob on the door. "This is a house," he said softly, trying to say the right things, trying to keep the dead man calm. "A house in Berkeley Square... and I'm not keeping you here, I swear I'm not."
Screwing his face up again, the man moved closer to Mouse, who threw the door open and ran out into the hall. In a flash the man was in front of him, though, backing him up against the railing of the staircase. "The why can't I *leave*?? Why can't I get down those *stairs*," he cried, pointing to them with a trembling hand. His face seemed to crumble on itself all of a sudden, and tears began falling from the reddened eyes. He looked over a Mouse, almost pleading, "Why doesn't anything feel as it should? All I want is to go home, to go about my business - but I'm trapped..." His head dropped down, hiding his eyes from Mouse. "And I don't know why..."
/He's really not a monster,/ Mouse thought to himself. /He's just terrified, as I would be if I were in his place. Maybe now he'll listen to me.../ Deciding it was best to start with the direct approach, Mouse took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice calm and sounding reasonable. "Sir? I think I know why you're trapped. That is... the last thing you remember is being at a house, isn't it? A house in Berkeley Square?"
The lawyer's face was puzzled, uncomprehending. "I... Yes, yes now that I think of it... but how would you know that?"
/All right, here goes.../ "You were killed, sir, in a car accident just outside this house. It happened when you were leaving. But it must have happened too quickly because you never realized you were -"
"NO!!!!!" The sound of the man's scream was blood-curdling and the sheer force of it made Mouse press himself against the stair railing again.
"Sir, please, just listen -"
"No!! No!!" The man's eyes were impossibly wide, and with each word he took a step towards Mouse, who was now backed all the way up against the far wall of the landing. " Why are you doing this to me?? Why would you be so cruel? And you - only a boy... *Why??*" The last word had nearly been a scream, and after he said it, the fire seemed to go out of him. "I don't understand," he said weakly. "I don't know why you hate me so - to keep me here, and tell me such things... I don't understand at all..."
The man's battered head hung down and now he seemed unable to face the boy at all. "I'm going to listen to my radio... at least the BBC are still trustworthy..." With that he opened to the door to the sitting room, went through, and let it close.
Mouse was left to slide down the wall to a sitting position, heart pounding, and glad in some small way to have come out of the encounter with his wits.
End of Part 9
(:./kumiko/2road26)
