"You can see the dead?" Duo raised his eyebrows and looked at the boy. "Look man, if you're trying to scare me, it won't work. I appreciate the effort that you're going through. I mean, I was just the same way when I was you're age - I wanted everyone I met to be intimidated by me. But you don't need to do that, okay? Just be yourself."
Duo was amazed at how mature he sounded and gave himself a mental pat on the back for how far he'd come since those horrible days that followed the Maxwell Church Massacre. Mouse, however, was either a very good (and persistent) actor, or else he really did think he was seeing people who had died.
"I'm not trying to 'intimidate' you," he said, looking at Duo, an expression of hurt on his face. "I thought you might understand. I thought you might be different, that's all. That's the only reason I told you." He turned and began to walk back into his room. Duo lightly grabbed one of his arms.
"Hey! Don't get mad - it's just that, well, ghosts aren't real, you know? And I just want to know why you'd say something like that."
Mouse turned abruptly. "I really *do* see them! I know you probably won't ever believe me, but I *do* see them! They try to... to tell me things... almost like they want something from me, but... they scare me. *So* much. And... and I don't know what to do about it!"
Duo considered. "Mouse, how often do you see these... people?"
"Everyday. I usually see at least a couple everyday. Sometimes they're frightening, sometimes just there. I never know when one of them is going to appear."
Duo put a hand on Mouse's shoulder. "Maybe you need to talk to someone about this. You know, maybe a counselor or something."
Mouse's eyes flashed and he pulled his shoulder away abruptly. "You don't believe me! You're just like all the rest! You think I'm crazy!"
Duo put his hands up in a gesture of supplication. "Now, I didn't say that -"
"I'll prove it to you," the boy said, his voice quiet but fierce nonetheless. "You come up here tomorrow, and I'll *prove* that you're wrong about me." He headed for his room and was closing the door when Duo called after him.
"Look, we can be friends, can't we? This doesn't have to stand in the way."
The door opened up, just a bit, and Mouse looked out at him, hurt and anger clouding his face. "Just you be here tomorrow, that's all." Then the door slammed shut.
Duo stared at it for a moment, then slowly shook his head. As he walked down the narrow stairs to his own room, he found himself wondering what to do. /Should I go tomorrow? Should I go back right now and make sure he's okay? Should I call a doctor for the kid? Oh, man - why me?/ He sighed heavily and opened the door to the bedroom he would be sharing with Zechs.
The tall blond was there, staring out at the murky London afternoon. He turned and smiled at Duo. "I was wondering where you'd gone to - doing some exploring?"
"Yeah," Duo said slowly, "yeah, I was. Did you know there's a boy living on the third floor?"
"No, I didn't - although I did hear from Hadley that the cook had a son. That must be him. Did you introduce yourself?"
"Uh huh - he's a weird little guy. He says -" Duo cut himself off in mid-sentence.
Zechs, who had sat down on the bed and taken his shoes off, looked up at him expectantly. "He says...?"
For a reason he couldn't quite understand, Duo couldn't bring himself to talk about the boy's odd behavior. /Maybe it was just a joke and it didn't turn out well , so he stuck by the story to not feel embarrassed. Or maybe he really *is* crazy. In either case, I don't think I should tell anyone right now.../
"Oh, it's nothing," Duo waved a hand and sat down beside his lover. "I think I'll go see him tomorrow though, unless you had other plans."
Zechs smiled. "Actually, Duo, I thought I'd let *you* make the plans this time. We'll just do whatever you want to - all right?"
A wide grin spread quickly over the impish face. "Oh, yeah, bunny - that's fine with me. Now let me show you what I want to do with *you.*"
Pushing the older man back against the pillows, Duo scrambled up to kneel between Zechs' long legs. He put a hand on either side of the blond's head and smirked down at his prey. "I've got you now," he cackled softly, "and you're not going anywhere until I say you can." He punctuated this with a firm grind of his hips against Zechs'.
Zechs let out a ragged breath and lifted his hips to meet Duo's. "I'm your slave, little man... Do anything you want to me..."
Duo took hold of Zechs' wrists, one in each, and pinned them over his head. Then he leaned down and brushed the older man's lips with his own, pressure only enough to heat, not to satisfy. He did the same to Zechs' cheeks, chin, ears, and neck - just a soft whisper of skin on skin that spoke volumes about desire and reverence and adoration. A long, low moan came from the tall blond.
"Do you like it when I do this, bunny?" the younger man whispered. "Do you like to be held down while someone has his way with you...?" Duo's tongue traced the contours of Zechs' ear before squirming inside in a slow, thrusting motion that mimicked the sex act itself.
"Ahh... yes. Yes, Duo... I... I want... you... only you can do this to me..." Zechs' breath was coming a bit faster now, his hips pressing upwards against Duo's. "Only you... little master..."
"Mmmm... that's right, Zechs. I am your master. Now, about these buttons..." Duo tilted his head to one side and regarded Zechs' soft, linen shirt. He let go of the other man's wrists and made short work of the buttons, pushing the shirt aside and laying bare the blond's finely-muscled chest.
As he did so, however, Zechs reached up and caught a hold of Duo's braid. Drawing the soft and heavy plait to his face, he inhaled the scent of it deeply, azure eyes locked onto violet. Then, with his teeth, he took hold of the small black band that fastened it. Still staring at his lover, Zechs made one small, incredibly erotic movement, and silky, chestnut waves fell around the two of them, a thick curtain to shield their kisses from the world.
The entire sequence had made Duo slightly frantic with desire and now he put his hands back down on either side of Zechs' head and ground his hips firmly against the blond's, ragged breaths escaping with each demanding press. Zechs responded in kind, arching up in rhythm with Duo, neither of them taking their eyes off the other.
"You're mine," Duo whispered to the man beneath him. "All mine, and no one else can do this to you, can they?"
"No," came the breathy reply. "Ahh... only you, my sweet little man..."
A slow smile from Duo and he lowered his head to nuzzle at Zechs' neck, giving the older man little nips and kisses, then settling into the hollow between neck and shoulder and suckling long and hard.
"Aaaah!" A ragged gasp was torn from the blond man, who closed his eyesand turned his head to the side, allowing Duo better access to the tender skin. The American licked the small bruise he'd made and then nuzzled his way down the powerful shoulders and chest, only resting when he brushed one, hardened nipple with his lips.
"Mmm... what do we have here? Are you feeling it, Zechs? What I want to do to you?" Giving the sensitive nub several hard flicks of his tongue, he clamped his mouth on it and began sucking, softly at first, just enough to arouse, then harder, giving it little nips as he did so. He could feel Zechs writhing under him, arching up to be suckled. Long, elegant fingers were buried in Duo's hair and their hips ground together, bodies chasing instinct.
"Ah, Duo... my little demon... my sweet love... don't stop... oh, please don't stop!"
Nosing his way over to the other nipple, Duo gave it equal treatment as his hands strayed to Zechs' fly and opened it. He stripped off the trousers in one, smooth motion and pushed the other man's legs apart with his knees. Sitting back on his heels a bit, he took a moment to admire the lean and golden form before him. Zechs lay, eyes closed, head to one side, pale gold hair a storm across the pillow. His open shirt was half off his shoulders and somehow made him look more wanton than if he'd had nothing on at all. A hardened shaft strained against tiny, deep red silk briefs and the bulk of it drew Duo's hand like a magnet.
Cupping his lover in a warm palm, Duo squeezed softly and reveled in Zechs' long whimper and the way he looked, lifting his hips and letting his head fall back against the pillows. "Please," the lovely blond moaned. "Oh, Duo... please... I'm begging you...."
A wicked grin was Duo's answer as he bent down and began licking the firm bulge in the red silk. Kissing and sucking at it, washing it with his tongue, he felt the shaft beneath grow harder as Zechs gave out a soft cry. The American looked up for a moment.. The tall blond had reached behind him and grabbed onto the bars at the head of the bed, pulling against it as he bucked softly against Duo's mouth. The younger man smiled and ran a hand over Zechs' chest. "I think you're ready, Mr. Prince..."
He received only soft whimpers for an answer as he hooked his fingers over the silk and pulled the briefs off slowly. /Oh, there he is. That's my beautiful man, laid out for me and begging./ Duo quickly stripped off his own shirt, pants, and boxers, and stretched out along the length of Zechs' body, nothing but skin to heated skin. Pushing the long, golden legs up and out with his knees, Duo rested his forearms on either side of Zechs' head and took the man's mouth in a long and possessive kiss. His eager tongue invaded the wet warmth and probed deeply, again making sex-like thrusts, his hips echoing the movement.
Without breaking the kiss, Duo felt for the lubricant they had placed on the bedside table. Spreading the slick, warming ointment on his fingers, he reached down and brushed against his lover's tender opening, pushing a finger in, smooth and deep, then two.
Duo own shaft was aching to invade the blond. Taking Zechs' wrists in hand again and pinning them over his head, he pushed up inside the older man, letting out a low, hungry sound as he did. "Now you're really mine," he growled softly in Zechs' ear. "I've got you just where I want you."
"Oh God... yes..." Zechs opened his eyes slowly and gazed dreamily at Duo. The whisper was ragged and yearning. "Please..."
Tightening his hold on Zechs' wrists, Duo thrust hard and deep into his lover, feeling the tight ring of muscle surrender to him, setting his blood on fire. Now he let his body take control, allowing it to lead him in its need to claim the beauty below him. He probed deeply, so deep that he was pressed up against the blond man's body, his shaft buried deep inside.
"Oh, Zechs..." he panted, "I have to move... Have to..." The thrusts came faster, deeper, and Zechs' eyes took on a dreamy, far away look. "Ohhhh...." Duo moaned softly. "There it is... there it is... so close..."
His movements now were pure instinct, his eyes locked onto Zechs' and half-lidded with desire. Over and over he drove deeper into the blond, at last giving a final, ringing cry pushing his shaft as far up inside his lover as he possibly could. Warm, shuddering pulses went through him as he gave himself up to the storm inside of him. Through it he could hear Zechs' long, keening whimper and felt his lover's warm seed wash over them both.
They floated back to earth with exquisite slowness, rocked by little aftershocks of pleasure, Duo still buried deeply inside of Zechs. The American stretched out on top of his partner, laying his head on Zechs' shoulder and giving the older man soft nuzzling kisses along his neck and jaw. Slender fingers roamed through thick, pale gold silk as Duo gradually pulled himself onto one elbow, the other hand with a fistful of Zechs' hair. His gaze had gone soft, not moving at all from the ice-blue pools of the older man's eyes. "I need you," he whispered intensely. "You've made it impossible for me to live without you, Zechs. So please... don't leave me... don't leave."
The blond man returned the gaze, staring into Duo's eyes in rapt adoration. "Never, love," he whispered back. "Whatever I have to do, wherever I need to go - I'll beg you to stay with me..."
Duo tightened his grip on the golden strands in his fist and leaned down, claiming his prince with a deep and fiery kiss.
The light outside the gracious house had faded and early evening had brought a chilly, late winter wind that sang in the trees and rapped at windows all along Berkeley Square. Duo and Zechs had been dozing in each other's arms and the American was now waking to the sight of his lover's noble beauty, the man himself still lost in dreams. He was on the verge of kissing the other awake when a soft knock came at the door. Duo got up quickly, not wanting to deny his companion rest, threw on a robe and wrapped his hair fastener around a thick mass of tousled hair, leaving it in a long, loose ponytail. He eased open the door a bit and was faced with Hadley, waiting patiently outside.
"Oh. Um... Hi, Hadley." He tried a charming grin - it had always gotten him out of uncomfortable situations in the past. The butler, as discreet as they came, gave an excellent impersonation of a man talking with a well-groomed superior in a business suit instead of a 17-year-old in a bathrobe with sex-tangled hair. It came off very well, much to Duo's relief.
"Good evening, Mr. Maxwell. I have a message from Mr. Marquise's sister."
Duo looked back to the bed where Zechs had turned over, away from the door. All that could be seen of him was a lump under the covers and a long, tangled mane of fair hair. Duo made a quick decision - Relena wasn't going to interrupt *that* bit of comfort.. "I can take it, Hadley - is it a note?"
"No, sir - the Princess is in the White Room, just down the hall. We've got her all settled in, brought her belongings over from the hotel, that sort of thing. She wants to know when Mr. Marquise will be joining her for dinner."
Duo's mouth fell open a bit. He crossed his arms in front of him, leaning against the door frame and staring off down the hall to the door of the bedroom the butler had indicated. "She's *living* here now?" he said, a look of flustered disbelief crossing his boyish features.
"Yes, sir. I believe she had discussed it with Mr. Marquise; said it would make her stay in London more convenient and comfortable. As I understand it the Princess has never been fond of hotels."
Another glance down the hall and Duo grumbled, "Well, hell - she's rich enough. Why doesn't she buy her *own* house?"
Hadley nodded his head noncommitally and waited.
Duo gave another glance back at his sleeping prince and stepped out into the hall, closing the door softly behind him. Trying his best to look serious and authoritative, he nodded to Hadley. "I'll talk to her. Thanks, Hadley."
He was heading down the hall when the butler's softly cultured voice stopped him. "Pardon the suggestion, Mr. Maxwell, but would you care to change first?"
Turning around Duo looked down at the robe, which was actually Zechs' and was, therefore, several sizes too big. He grinned up at Hadley. "Naw - we're all living in the same house now, right?" He shrugged eloquently. "She'll just have to jolly well get used to it!" He waved a hand and headed off down the hall toward the White Room and it's princess.
Hadley stood motionless for a moment, his face impassive. Then a ghost of an admiring smile played across his lips as he bowed to the now absent young man. "As you wish Mr. Maxwell, as you wish."
End of Part 2
(:./kumiko/2road19)
