15 Feb 2001
PART: Chapter 2
PAIRING: 13xmany
WARNINGS: AU/OOC; heavy shounen-ai with yaoi and lemon in later chapters DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing and it's characters are property of Bandai, Sunrise, and Sotsu Agency. This work is for entertainment purposes only
We set off from Great Chesterford an hour later and rode southwest at a good pace. My cousin occupied himself with novel, which I soon learned was a rather florid tale of romance between a countess and her gamekeeper. Not that I wanted to know about it, but Treize took to reading the more suggestive portions of it out loud, doing the voices in character, and making me blush furiously on hearing of the amorous intentions of the countess and the rather dazed enthusiasm of the lucky gamekeeper. I was certain that the story was never meant to be heard by boys of my ae, and told my cousin as much, but he only laughed at me and bade me listen to the next paragraph involving a garden shed and a very squeaky floor board.
During one of these readings I noticed that it was darkening rather sooner than usual and a few minutes after that it began to rain in earnest. By the time we reached Ingate the storm was a practically a flood and the warm common room of the inn was a cheerful sight indeed.
Treize spoke with the landlady and then came back to where I stood, still shivering and wet, a bemused smile on his face. "It seems the storm has waylaid several traveling parties and we've been asked to give up one of our rooms," he said, smiling at me. "It looks as if you'll be sharing my bed tonight, cousin. Shall we go up?"
Looking back on that night, I realize that I was blessedly ignorant. I didn't know at the time that anyone who knew anything about my cousin would have warned me away from that arrangement, most in vehement terms. I had no idea of his reputation for seduction and illicit love affairs and so I felt no qualms at all following him up the stairs to the room that we would share.
It turned out to be small but cozy, with a cheerful fire, two large, overstuffed chairs and a very inviting bed, piled with blankets.
"Do you... want me to sleep in one of these chairs?" I asked Treize. "I don't mind, really."
He was ridding himself of his jacket and scarf and looked over at me with amusement. "Well, if you *want* to torture yourself that way you *can*, but I'm sure the bed will be much more comfortable." Shutting the small wardrobe, he strode to the mirror and ran his fingers through his hair to smooth it. "Besides," he drawled, "I like my youngsters a little less young, so you have nothing to fear from me."
"I wasn't afraid," I said quietly. "I just didn't want to inconvenience you."
He looked up at me suddenly and then a slow smile spread across his face. "Oh, don't worry - I'll let you know when you're inconveniencing me. Shall we go down and get some dinner?" The he was out the door and striding down the hall, leaving me to run along after him.
Dinner was quiet. The inn itself was very crowded and we could barely hear ourselves speak, let alone carry on a conversation over the babble of so many voices. Afterwards, I noticed a group of guests crowded around a middle-aged man who was obviously a storyteller. I wanted very much to join the group and listen, but Treize insisted that our early departure time required an equally early bedtime and he shepherded me upstairs before I could say a word against him.
Now it was just my cousin and myself and nowhere but in front of each other to undress. I turned my back and began unbuttoning my coat and shirt, only to find when I turned around again that my cousin was completely naked, arranging the pillows on the bed. I turned away quickly but not before he saw me looking at him. The next thing I knew he was standing at my side.
"Curious, cousin?" he murmured, taking the black ribbon from my hair. "That's only natural. You haven't been around other boys... don't know what's normal and what isn't."
I stammered an apology, turning my back towards him, grateful for my long hair, which hid my burning cheeks. He laughed at me, at my childish shame, and for a moment I wanted to hit him, but then he crossed the room and cupped my chin with his hand, forcing my eyes upwards.
"Don't be so jumpy, Miriald," he said... "I'm not going to seduce you. I told you - I prefer my partners to be older. Now come to bed." With this, he led me over to the bed itself and pulled me in after himself.
I must have lain there, barely breathing for the better part of an hour before I heard his deep, even breaths and I relaxed enough to fall asleep myself.
As he had wanted, we rose early the next morning and ate a quick breakfast in the inn's common room, nearly deserted at that hour, before climbing into the carriage for the last leg of our journey. My cousin looked no more awake this morning than he had the day before. He looked ready to go back to sleep, nestled into his cloak again, but I didn't let him immediately.
"When do think we'll arrive?" I said, trying not to sound too eager.
"Midafternoon, I expect," came the sleepy drawl from inside the cloak.
Nothing more was forthcoming, so I probed a little more. "Is it a large house - the one you live in?" I said, secretly enjoying the withering look he gave me from his one open eye.
"Not large, no," he said, "but very old and very beautiful. Rosewood was built in the 1600s and has always had a caring owner. I wouldn't sell it for the world."
"Rosewood..." I said, rolling the name around on my tongue a bit. "Does that mean you have a garden? With rose bushes?"
"You're mind is like a rapier, dear boy," he drawled back, tone dripping with irony. "Yes indeed, I have a rose garden - one of the finest in Kent, I might add. And you're not to touch one petal of it, do you understand?" The single eye peered blearily out at mean from the recesses of the cloak and I fought down a sudden urge to laugh.
"Absolutely," I said at last and busied myself with the view outside my window, allowing Treize to snort and then close his eyes to nap.
The landscape had undergone an amazing change from the flat, gray fen country of Peterborough. The rain was only a light shower now and there were downs and pleasant lanes on either side of us. Everything seemed to be painted in colors more intense than any I remembered from East Anglia or even London. Even this tiny trip south was enough to make spring that much more a reality and my spirits brightened with every mile.
A particularly picturesque scene passed the carriage - a pale green meadow with a stream running through it and apple trees in early blossom, and I couldn't contain my excitement. "Treize!" I said, rather impatiently, my nose practically touching the window, "you're missing all this beautiful countryside!"
He muttered something about dreadful boys and then seemed to wake up. "Miriald," he said, "I *live* in this countryside, I see it every *day.* Surely there's no need to get excited about *everything.*"
He closed his eyes again briefly, which allowed me to stick my tongue out at him and our journey continued.
About an hour later he sat up in earnest and looked out the window. "Thank goodness for hearth and home," he murmured and our carriage began to slow. We were passing through a small village on the outskirts of Maidstone and Treize watched, enraptured, as the village gradually fell away and we approached a long lane of cherry trees.
I peered out the window as well, eager to see my new home. We came upon it suddenly, for the gardens surrounded it nearly completely, and when I saw it I couldn't stifle a little pleasured squeak. It was a very large, thatched roof cottage with diamond paned windows and climbing roses covering the outer walls. In fact, all the things around it, even the twin chimneys, were rather rosy colored and if it wasn't rosy it was a soothing green. The house seemed to glow with life and color, making it a dwelling unlike any he'd ever lived in.
The rain that had dogged their entire trip had lightened to a fine mist and the sun was already breaking through a few small pieces of cloud. Treize alighted first, paying the driver, who then began unloading our baggage. I stepped out next, gazing up at the house, and came to stand beside Treize. "It's beautiful," I said, "truly beautiful. You must hate to leave here."
He was silent for a moment and then said, in a low voice, "Sometimes... and other times I can't leave soon enough. With that, he turned away from me and strode up to the house, where a housekeeper was opening the front door.
End of Chapter 2
(:./kumiko/mor2)
