Treize slid from Zechs' grip as they entered the bathroom, but he'd closed the door behind them, so it made the space seem small and more comfortable.
Vaguely, as he turned on the tap and began to prepare a very nice bath, he remembered that they were both nude. Not that it bothered him in the least -- and he was proud of Zechs for being so wonderfully accepting of it all. "You know," he commented, adding rose essence to the heated water, "I remember when you thought kissing was disgusting."
Zechs blushed and looked a little sheepish. "Well, I was younger then," he said, a little indignant. He paused for a moment and then said in a lower voice, "It was kind of weird... I... changed my mind about things last fall... it was rather sudden..."
"You grew into yourself," Treize smiled softly, pulling back from the large bathtub full of heated water and rose petals. "After you." And he gestured toward the tub, waiting for Zechs to get in, and entering it himself after Zechs had done so.
Zechs wrapped his arm around Treize's hip and was still for a long time. This level of comfort, this level of peace and certainty, was something that had evaded him since the destruction of his family and country. /This is close,/ he thought to himself, /so close to what it felt like... from what I can remember... maybe I can finally stop worrying.../
Treize remained silent, simply touching his young lover lightly, luxuriating in both the warmth of the bath as it soaked into his skin, and the warmth of Zechs' frame. During the holidays they had been intimate, but never so very close, never this far before...
Slowly, Zechs scooped up a handful of warm water and poured it over Treize's chest and shoulders. "Can you tell me about your gardens?"
"Roses, Milliard, and there's a beautiful balcony that overlooks a pool and faces the west; lines with trellises of flowers, all, currently, in bloom -- we should go up there before the sun begins to set, my dear friend," he smiled, scooping up a handful to dampen Zechs' hair. "Let me wash your hair."
Zechs laughed softly. "All right, but nobody's ever asked to wash my hair before. Are you sure you're up to doing it?" he teased, sitting up. "It's a pretty big job."
"It will be... enjoyable," Treize murmured, scooping up another handful of the water to dampen the blonde's hair. "Just close your eyes and relax." Soft instructions, as he reached for the shampoo and uncapped the bottle to pour a properly sized -- for the amount of hair that Zechs had -- glob into the middle of his palm.
Zechs felt suddenly shy and was glad to be facing away from Treize. Blushes are difficult to hide, especially on blonds, he had learned, and he didn't want the man to know how much he flustered him. So he did as Treize told him to and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the water seep into him as it ran down the mass of his hair, getting heavier every moment. He had never thought of hair washing to be a potentially erotic exercise, but it seemed that, with Treize at least, the smallest, most ordinary activity became slow and sensuous and powerfully meaningful.
The glorious heaven that had been spoken of by his father could not compare in the least to the feel of those wet strands slipping through his fingers. Nothing could, for this was his own religious oration and his own prayer of a faithful soul, this touch to the one he loved so dearly. His shampoo-slick fingers threaded through that hair, slowly working up a lather as he massaged the scalp beneath.
A soft groan emerged from the boy as powerful fingers worked at every tense muscle along his scalp. /Oh, this feels so good... I'm such putty in his hands.../ "You're very good at this, Treize - who taught you how to do this?"
"My mother used to do this for me when I was younger and had stress headaches," he murmured, fingers still slowly working through that tenseness -- when he was done there and had rinsed the perfect hair clean, he'd pull Zechs from the tub after a cursory cleaning of himself and massage the boy until he turned into a puddle of goo on the bed.
"Oh, it's heaven..." Zechs murmured as more warm water cascaded down his hair. "Your mother... was a wonderful person..." he said softly, not wanting to open any wounds. "And she must have spoiled you endlessly and I'm sure you took advantage of it, am I right?" He smiled at Treize as he turned to look at him, his hair clean and fragrant.
A wet hand stroked through equally wet hair. "Mm, yes I did -- only a fool would not take complete advantage of such a thing." His voice held a quietly nostalgic tone, and his mind drifted back to thoughts of his mother. She'd always been so kind and understanding, and had in her own way, encouraged him to follow his heart -- follow it down the path that led to Milliard Peacecraft, a boy who needed him just as badly as he needed the boy. Reminiscing made his throat a little tighter than he was comfortable with, but he pushed that away as he lowered his head to take a teasing, gentle kiss.
Warm water, gentle hands, and soft kisses proved a powerful combination. Zechs turned so that he was facing his lover and slipped his arms around Treize's neck. Brushing his lips against Treize's, he ate softly at the warm mouth deepening the kiss, bit by bit. /I want to be out of this water and back on Treize's bed.../ The thought came unbidden and he scolded himself for thinking it. /It's hard to be patient, but perhaps he'll try to kiss me in the garden.../
Mouth still locked to the other's, arms around Zechs' body tight enough to...
The ginger haired young man rose to his feet, pulling Zechs up with him, and stepping out of the bathtub, all without breaking the kiss. A large towel was snagged, and he pulled Zechs even closer, wrapped them both up within it.
Zechs let it all happen, grateful that their contact wasn't broken. When the soft cotton of the towel surrounded them he wrapped his arms tightly around Treize and laid his head on the man's chest. There it was - the soft, steady beating that had become so important to him. "I love listening to your heart, Treize," he said shyly and bent down a little to kiss the spot that lay just over that vitally important sound.
A hand rose to rest at the nape of Zechs' neck, his other arm sliding around the boy's waist. "They say the heart's beat is proof that one is alive -- I think it is the beating of the soul's heart that is that proof."
"I wish that I could see your soul," Zechs said softly. "I think it would be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen - besides you of course..." He needed to say the words, but again, they made him feel vulnerable and shy, so he buried his face in the warmth and fragrance of Treize's neck.
The press of the perfect face against his skin was heartening. "No, it's more beautiful," he spoke sincerely, the fingers of one hand gently lifting Zechs' chin. "It's you, Milliard."
Those words struck him like a wave, sweeping him under tumbling waters and drowning him in awe. /How can he say that?/ Zechs wondered, staring as if hypnotized into Treize's vivid blue eyes. /I could never be worthy enough to be that much a part of him, even though it's what I long for.../
"Treize..." He lifted a hand up and gently pushed back damp, golden brown hair, then let his fingers wander over his lover's face. He closed his eyes as he pulled Treize down for a long kiss. It started softly, his lips pressing only the slightest bit against Treize's. But passion and desire got the better of him and the kiss deepened, until it almost seemed that they were fused into one person.
The hand that had rested on Zechs' chin stroked back lovingly, and Treize pressed closer. Yes, oneness, that was what they both wanted, needed so badly...
And couldn't yet have.
But they could strive closer and closer... Warm skin pressed to warm skin, naturally golden against paler, the smaller wound up tightly in the arms of the young officer.
It was heaven and frustrating hell all wrapped together, and Treize felt an insistent urge that he would later desire to die like that.
Zechs reluctantly broke the kiss, pulling back only and inch or so and then nuzzled Treize's ear. "Treize... will you dry my hair... and brush it for me?"
"Oh, gladly, my love." As he spoke, he was already guiding Zechs back to sit on the edge of the bathtub, still wrapped up in the towel, while he pulled away, snagging a towel to wrap loosely around his hips. "Do you prefer blow-dry, or buff dry?"
"Oh, ah... I, uh... really like the warm air... just not on the ends."
A nod, simple and to the point, and Treize opened the cabinet beneath the sink and retrieved a blow dryer. Short moments were wasted to plug it in, but soon enough he was seated beside Zechs, with the heat on 'low.' running his free hand through it to remove any knots.
The younger man had always loved the feel of his hair against his back, and the warm air from the dryer was a double treat: the warmth itself, and the fact that it moved his hair around on his skin. But now, the sensual task of drying his hair had been perfected, because it was Treize who was doing it and that made all the difference.
He leaned his head backwards, his back arching a bit. The towel that had been around his shoulders fell slowly to his hips as he closed his eyes and felt a rush of pleasure.
Sapphire blue eyes drifted lazily and heatedly over Zechs' now mostly exposed upper body, and he couldn't help but smile -- Zechs was putty, and completely in his control. "Just relax into it," he murmured, hand still stroking gently.
A soft moan came from the blond boy as the air washed over him. He could feel the stirrings of arousal beginning and he shifted a bit to get more comfortable. His back arched a bit more and it put pressure between his legs, causing him to whimper softly. He was lost, completely lost to pleasure and bliss.
"My sweet, sweet love," Treize praised over the hum of the blow-dryer. "So good." The hair was nearly dry in most places, and rather than wreak Zechs' ends but keep up the heat, Treize turned it off, slipping his arms around the boy. "Grab a brush on your way out and let us sit on my bed."
"Mmm...? Oh. Okay..." It took the blond a moment to come out of the pleasure-induced haze he's been in, but he followed Treize out to the bed and handed him the brush he's picked - made of boar bristle and a deeply polished cherry wood. He sat, rather shyly, on the bed and handed the brush to Treize.
They were both still wearing only towels, something Treize noted with no little amount of pleasure as he sat behind Zechs with one leg folded up under his body. Small brush strokes began at the ends, slowly, lengthening, moving slowly, casually through the beautiful hair. "It's late, you know, Milliard -- why do we not save the gardens for the morrow, and rest tonight?"
Rest. That meant bed. And bed meant... The pressure in his groin increased to barely tolerable as he managed to get out, "Oh... Yes, that would be fine..." /Oh please, Treize... I want it all over again... please.../ He held his breath and waited.
"Wonderful," Treize smiled, pushing aside a swath of newly brushed hair to kiss the back of Zechs' neck lightly. After pulling back, he took his time, slow and easy, in brushing out the blonde's hair.
/I wish I were more like him... So cool and level-headed about things... Not wanting anything too much and always composed... and me just a handful of desires. At this moment I'm the farthest thing from level-headed, and he makes me want everything, right now.../
The brushing felt good, so he tried to remain patient and happy, and fought against the growing doubt.
"You're so beautiful, Milliard -- Beautiful, exquisite in mind and body, and completely mine," Treize murmured softly as he set aside the brush, one hand slowly stroking through the now de-tangled hair. The towel at his hips fell away completely as he moved closer, pressing himself against the blonde's back. "I love you, my friend. You may not believe my words when I say that you are my soul, but someday you will realise it."
Leaning back against the warmth of Treize's chest, Zechs sighed. "I don't think I've earned it yet," he said in a quiet but intense voice. "But I will someday, Treize. I swear to you, someday I'll make myself worthy of all this." He turned his head slightly, staring in complete adoration at the man who'd made him remember happiness and introduced him to longing. "Ah, Treize... " Zechs closed his eyes and nuzzled against Treize's cheek. "Sweet Lord, you've given me everything I want. I want to do the same for you - as your soldier... and more."
Treize leaved back until his back rested on the headboard of the large bed. "Soldier, friend and lover -- just existing and at my side, you are all I need you to be," he breathed softly, tone sincere and convincing, pressing in against that gentle nuzzle.
Needing no other encouragement, Zechs changed from nuzzling to kissing, soft and slow along the line of Treize's jaw then back down his neck. One of his hands was now tangled in Treize's hair and he tugged softly to bring the man's sweet lips down to meet his own. "I want... I want to make you feel this fire," he panted softly around deepening kisses. "I want to make sure you *never* forget this time... how can I do it, Treize? What's the secret?" he whispered as he placed a warm palm on his lover's chest. "What's the magic that will open this cool heart of yours?" A very long kiss followed and then another whisper. "I would know of it, sweet lord, so that I might make it burn for me as mine does for you." His mouth moved slowly up Treize's cheek and Zechs closed his lips over the tender lobe and began, very softly, to suckle.
That drew not a shiver from Treize, but a softly moaned shudder, eyes flickering closed as his hands tightened on Zechs' side. "Oh, I think you've found my Achilles heel, dear warrior..."
Sucking and licking, and a few gentle nips followed as Zechs' eager hands began to explore Treize's body. He moved to the other ear and let his thumb brush roughly across one taught nipple as he did so, all the while whispering Treize's name like a prayer. The tip of his tongue slid into the recesses of the ear he pleasured, flicking back and forth and then tracing the outline of it while he squirmed with frustrated desire against the man. Then he slid down and fastened lightly onto one of the warm, brown nipples and began his suckling all over again.
For the both of them, it was frustrating -- Treize shifted fitfully on the bed as Zechs explored with all the energy he had within him, and he was forced to suppress the steadily rising urge to pin the boy beneath him and... "Milliard," he panted, pulling the boy back from that aching nub. Harsh breathing filled his ears -- both his and Zechs'. "Slow. Please."
A wave of mortification washed over Zechs and he sat back, well away from Treize. "I'm... I'm sorry! I did something wrong! I... I didn't mean to! I...I..." Zechs turned his face away from the elegant man before him. /Now I've done it. I don't know what, but... why won't he tell me what he wants!/
The older man followed after the boy, pulling him tightly into his arms. "Oh, no, Milliard -- you've done nothing wrong at all. Nothing wrong in the least," he murmured, a smile touching the corners of his lips as he finally did catch his breath. "I want to do things with you slower, my dear friend -- so there's more to feel, so it lasts longer -- and so you don't drive me to such a point of distraction that I accidentally hurt you."
"How could you possibly hurt me," Zechs said in a low voice. "I love you. I would do anything you wanted me to, and gladly. And you..." he turned and looked a Treize. "You're not that kind of person, Treize."
/No, I am not, but you've brought me so close to that point... just out of need./ "I need you badly, my friend -- Passion can do strange things to a man, and I do not want to hurt you in the heat of it." The nude blonde was bundled close, and he pressed a gentle kiss to once temple, trailing his lips down the side of Zechs' face. "I wish to teach you. I want to brew a hunger deep in the heart of your body, a hunger so hot that you'll beg me for your release... do you wish to do that? I gain pleasure from touching you, and it is the best way I have to express the depth of emotion in my heart."
Zechs melted into those almost-kisses and brought a hand up to stroke the side of Treize's face. "I want you to teach me," he whispered, "only you. But I want to give to *you*, and not just take..."
Treize made a soft, 'shhh' sound. "You give to me, just by being here."
"Mmmm..." Zechs murmured, and began nibbling on Treize's ear again.
Treize gave another shudder at that touch, but was already turning Zechs around, moving him to lay back on the bed. "Just relax, and feel for me. There's much I can show you."
Zechs put a hand up to Treize's shoulder to stop him from going anywhere. He looked at the man, blue eyes searching deeper blue for something he couldn't name. "Can't you feel things for yourself... Treize? Or is it that you don't want to?"
"So sweet," Treize breathed. "Don't ever change, Milliard -- you're just as I need you to be. I know what you're thinking, but that would be the worst thing to do. You are not my Milliard without your passion."
"Sometimes I feel as if I've let passion take over my life. Especially lately." The blond boy continued to gaze at his lover as he leaned back against the headboard. His voice was very serious. "But I have no regrets. And you - you, Treize are the reason I have any passion at all." He put a hand out to touch the tall man's lips and then leaned forward and kissed him. "Before I came here, that first time, I felt as if I were dead, but somehow my body didn't know it. I couldn't feel anything. It was a horrible way to live." He ducked his head for a moment, remembering the dark years before he'd met Treize again. "But then... you... you smiled at me, and you touched me, and you... you wanted me here, not like the others that had to take me in. And all of that," he ran his fingers over Treize's arms and chest, "all of that and your grace and beauty, set me on fire. You woke me up, Treize. And I'd thought to spend my entire life asleep."
"It would have been a terrible fate, were you to have remained asleep," Treize murmured, pulling Zechs back away from that headboard, so that the two of them could lay side-by-side on the bed. "Life is to be savoured." He took a soft kiss from the boy, smiling against those lips as he pulled back only fractionally. "I love you -- you're the only companion, friend or otherwise, who's wanted to be with me becuase of me, not becuase of status, or other petty reasons. For a soul to feel alive, it needs love -- and I will gladly lavish that love on you for hte love I already gain from you."
"And I promise you, Treize, that I won't waste any of it. I'll use everything you give me to make sure that what you want will come to pass." Zechs kissed the broad shoulders and graceful neck. "Will you... will you teach me what makes you happy now?"
"Oh yes, gladly," the older of the two murmured, pressing the length of his body agaisnt Zechs'.
/Ah, his hands... make me want him, ache for him... feel like there everywhere at once.../ Zechs let out a long, ragged breath and arched his back, pushing him closer to the long and lean form of his lover. "Treize..." he whispered. "Treize, my lord and master..."
"Only yours, dear love," came the breathy reply as he lowered his head to kiss along the lean torso. A handful of small kisses, then a nip, then another handful of kisses. He bit lightly at a small, pale-coloured nipple. "Someday I want you to mark me as yours as I mark you now."
Oh, the sheer bliss at hearing those words. Words of love and desire with a touch of animal-like possessiveness, just under the surface. That was what Zechs wanted to feel. The heat below Treize's calm and cool reserve. "Yes, Treize... someday... too far away..."
"Too far," came the soft agreement. "But not so far as you think." The fire within him was building, slowly, steadily... His hands kept traveling over the lean body, darting down to stroke Zechs' erection before moving back up, while he let go of that nipple, and moved up to claim Zechs' mouth in a fierce kiss.
Zechs let out a soft, shaky whimper at the feel of heat behind that kiss. He wound his arms around Treize's neck and returned every bit of passion that the older man gave him. As the kiss deepened, he felt his legs rise, almost without a thought from him, and twine around Treize's hips. /Such paradise... I never thought anything could be this good.../
The older of the two pulled back, biting lightly at Zechs' lips while his hands trailed down to grasp Zechs' hips. It would only take a slight little shift downward, and he'd be able to...
A low groan escaped him at that thought, but he stopped himself, and did the next closest thing he could -- the hands on Zechs' hips pulled him closer, and slowly, Treize began top grind his hardened member agianst the boy's.
More soft whimpers came from Zechs, the noises hungry and passionate. As Treize's shaft pressed against his, he gave a little cry of pleasure around the kisses, pressing back against the urgency he felt from his lover.
The golden-brown haired man drew needy breaths against the boy's mouth, hips snapping forward in a motion he wanted to use to claim the boy. Damp hair tumbled into his eyes, the short strands mixing with Zechs' beautiful longer strands as he reclaimed his lover's mouth against those pleasure noises.
/I'm drowning in him... surrender is more beautiful than I ever thought it could be.... Treize.../ Zechs' head was spinning, Treize's fire consuming both of them and making every movement sweet agony. The blond boy's fingers slid up Treize's back and buried themselves in his damp, silky hair as Zechs pulled him closer still.
For one of the few times in his life, Treize just let go. He trusted instinct to not hurt the beautiful creature beneath him, and simply let the sensations wash over him, as he continued to thrust. Skilled hands plucked at Zechs' nipples while their mouths remained intertwined, Treize probing deep, as if it would help them to become one.
Zechs arched up, wanting more of Treize's teasing finger, of his hardened shaft and heated mouth. He was so hungry for the beautiful man above him that kissing and touching had become feasting. All of his thoughts were drifting and incoherent as his body and it's pleasures took him over completely. /This is what I've stayed alive for.../ A tiny voice deep inside him was saying dreamily. /This is why I'm here... for this one man, this one, amazing and beautiful man./
Treize could manage no thoughts -- he simply continued acting on precious skilled instincts, pressing closer as if to become one with Zechs. They moved in synch with each other, the smooth, heated rolling motion of their hips bringing him closer and closer... One hand trailed down to rub at his lover's balls, and ghost over the tiny entrance that he would one day breach.
Treize had been breathing heavily in Zechs' ear, the blond boy's eyes closed against the sheer pleasure of it. But when he felt that whisper-soft touch his eyes flew open. So much electricity flowed through him that he thought for one, incoherent moment that he wouldn't survive it. His body, responding on pure instinct, sought out the finger that had triggered the ancient response, causing his back to arch upwards, lifting his hips off the bed, and driving the long, slender finger just inside of him.
"Aaahhhhh!" Zechs eyes went wide at the feeling that tiny invasion brought. Something strange and intensely erotic washed through him, making his entire body tremble as he gripped Treize's arms and closed his eyes. The finger, dryer than Treize would have wished it to have been, worked in slowly as he kept grinding his hips against Zechs'. It wasn't hard to find the small, soft gland just inside, and push against it with the intent to drive his lover over the edge he himself teetered on.
Zechs gave an inarticulate cry as the finger hit home, thrusting against it and then finally, finally falling over the edge of a high precipice, feeling nothing but the release it brought him. "Ahhh... Treize..." he murmured, his body trembling badly. Blindly, he sought out Treize's neck and nuzzled his way up, pressing up against the older man as he did so. "Treize..."
The splatter of semen against his body triggered his own release, and the clamping around his finger. Shuddering, he shoved forward a few last times, before crying out with the pleasure of it and collapsing, spent, against his young lover.
Carefully, he withdrew his hand, finger and all, and wrapped his arms tightly around hte boy. "I love you so..."
The tight embrace was returned by Zechs, his face pressed against Treize's neck. He was trying, again, to hide the tears. /Maybe after we've done this for awhile I won't get so damned emotional over it... but I doubt it./ He felt a wave of fatigue rush through him as his body finally relaxed completely, and it was heaven to be there, in Treize's arms, as sleep stole over him.
Careful to not move him, Treize tugged up the blankets there were at the bottom of the bed -- up until it came up to Zechs' neck, where the boy had his head pillowed on his shoulder. Small crystalline tears had fallen from those beautiful eyes, and a graceful hand gently wiped them away. "Good night, my love," he murmured softly, not knowing if those words had reached his friend.
End of Part 2
(:./kumiko/bblood9)
